Casting Cats from "The Lazy Girl's Guide to Magic" series by Helen Harper

I own two adorable cats named Lucky (left) and Cookie (right). I spend A LOT of time in their company and know all about cat body language, their unique little quirks, and their shenanigans when I'm not around. So, I was incandescently happy reading The Lazy Girl's Guide to Magic series by Helen Harper. Why? Because of the cats, of course.

This post is dedicated to all the cats in the series, their role in the story, and why they are so important to witches.

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1. Slouch Witch
2. Star Witch
3. Spirit Witch

A Witch's Familiar

In the TLGGTM series, a witch's familiar is always a cat. It's not so much a pet as it is a magical guide that helps the witch when they need help. The cats can understand human language so they can perform tasks requested by their witch, like guarding a pair of thieves or chasing bad guys. While they may be intelligent, they are still cats. They love lounging in the sun, eating their favourite cat treats, and grooming themselves.

Some popular familiars in the literature that I've read is Crookshanks, Hermione's pet from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling and Tabby, Mildred Hubble's familiar from The Worst Witch series by Jill Murphy. Although, in both cases, the cats are not as intelligent as in TLGGTM series. They're not as sassy either!

READ: 10 Funniest Lines in "Slouch Witch" by Helen Harper

Cats from TLGGTM series

#3 Harold Fitzwilliam Duxworthy the Third

Photo by stanvpetersen via Pixabay

Harold is the familiar of Eve Harrington, the neighbour and friend of the main character, Ivy Wilde. In Slouch Witch, Eve asked Ivy to take care of Harold while she was away on Order business. As you may expect from his name, he's quite uppity. Although his breed was not mentioned in the books (I think), I imagined him to be an orange cat with amber eyes.

The scene below is from Slouch Witch.

Best Scene:

‘Harold,’ I called. ‘Harold! It’s Ivy from down the hall.’
The cat didn’t answer. Perhaps I was being too familiar with the familiar. I tried again. ‘Harold Fitzwilliam Duxworthy the Third? Are you there?’
There was a faint meow from the living room.

#2 Princess Parma Periwinkle

Photo from dollfacepersiankittens.com

Prince Parma is the familiar of Adeptus Exemptus Raphael Winter, the love interest of Ivy. We meet the white long-haired Persian cat in Slouch Witch when Winter 'called' to her from Ivy's apartment. To give you some context, Winter lives 'on the other side of town' which means the cat travelled a long way on her own to find Winter. Such love!

The scene below is from Slouch Witch.

Best scene:

We re-grouped upstairs then walked into Eve's flat. Although Bell End and Alice barely stirred, Princess Parma Periwinkle and Harold sprang apart. It looked to me as if they'd only been grooming each other but I couldn't be sure.

#1 Brutus

Photo by Neko412 via Pixabay

Brutus is Ivy's familiar. Unlike the other cats in the series, Brutus can talk. This, of course, leads to many amusing scenes in his interactions with his lazy witch as well as other people who encounter him. We are led to believe he has a very limited vocabulary, but that is not the case at all. In fact, knowing that he's only pretending to be stupid makes his scenes all the more hilarious!

How do I describe Brutus? Well, I think he's arrogant, mercurial, protective, silly. He's just such a cat. I think all cat owners will understand why he's so lovable despite himself. I don't think his breed was ever mentioned in the books, but Ivy did note that he had yellow eyes. So, in my imagination, he's a Tabby with yellow eyes.

The scene below is from Spirit Witch.

Best scene:

'Brutus sorry' He rubbed himself against my leg once again, although this time there was a hint of desperation in the action. [...]
'I wouldn't have stayed away if it wasn't important,' I told him. 'And you had Eve. You like her. And Princess Parma Periwinkle.'
His tail began to flick dangerously from side to side. 'Love Ivy,' he said.
My heart melted. [... Ivy gave him treats...]
I created a rune for blacklight. It was the fastest way to locate where exactly Brutus had peed. [...] I folded my arms and nodded grimly. The little shit. 'Brutus!' I yelled.
He sat down in the middle of the floor, washed his face then glanced up to admire his handiwork. There, across my entire wall, sprayed in cat pee was the word 'bitch'.

Final Thoughts

As someone who loves animals, I love it when they become characters in books. It makes the story cute and funny at the same time. Brutus and all the other cats in The Lazy Girl's Guide to Magic series definitely made the story better. They reminded me a lot of my own cats.

My question to you is: if you had a familiar, what kind of animal would it be? Let me know in the comments!