Doesn't surprise me in the slightest that the more serious image collectors and anime masters (I'll always defer to you or HDS on that front) have already made excellent use of this rich source! My biggest regret is that I found some of this spookier material too late to serve in your Halloween thread from last month.
Yes indeed, that does appear to be a transformed Hermione Granger. As I recall, she accidently turned herself into a cat girl in one of the early Harry Potter novels (the second, I think... Nessie would be the expert here).
And your theory concerning the appeal of the cat girl is as convincing as any I've read on the subject! Though there's an inate guileless innocence to the phenomenon that seems at odds with the famously crafty feline personality... oh, the confusion! I admit it! The subject's too deep for me!
PS: Nice Tenchu material, by the way!