Chapter Twelve: The Prediction
For a long time Kit lay in bed, not able to fall asleep. Finally the girl couldn't take it anymore. She climbed out of her four poster bed, grabbed her shoes, and crept stealthily from the tower. Upon reaching the Gryfinndor common room, she slipped into her shoes, took her wand out of her back pocket, and left the tower.
For the time span of about an hour Kit wandered the huge castle. Stairwell after stairwell. Hallway after hallway. Finally Kit found herself at the foot of a silvery ladder. Without hesitation, Kit climbed it. At the top was a large circular room, filled with all sorts of tables and chairs. Shaded lamps and a fire were the only means of light. Tired after her long trek, Kit flopped down in an armchair.
"You're up late my dear," a misty voice sounded quite close to Kit's ear. The girl nearly jumped out of her skin.
"Calm down dear. It just me," a large form stirred in one of the nearby chairs. Kit stared. "Come. The crystal ball has told me to tell the fortune of an unexpected visitor. I will do this for you."
"Okay," said Kit, moving over to where the woman beckoned her.
Sit." Kit sat. "Concentrate on the ball child. Concentrate," Professor Trelawney's voice took over Kit's mind. All of the sudden the Seer's eyes rolled into the back of her head. Kit jumped again as the mistiness left the professor's voice.
"Dark forces are coming. You will be torn between fighting the good fight, or betraying your close friends. Pay attention little one. Listen to those who surround you. Hear the one of lightning, the fur and the padded one. They will give you answers. The ones who believe they are lower hold the key.
A fire is alive in your heart. You are angry. Your anger will lead to your destination. The one you love the most will be taken. Will you find him? Do not be afraid to ask questions. They will help you.
The day of darkness will be upon us soon. Be prepared to fight for your life. Some will be taken forever, never to reenter this dimension. Others will be aliveand suffering. Listen to the clues of the phoenix song. Your blood will lead you home, lead you free." Professor Trelawney suddenly becamealive again.
"You must excuse me dearie. I keep dozing off. You'd best get to bed. You'll have a long day ahead of you. Shivering, Kit left the tower.
Moments later she emerged from a hidden passage outside of Gryfinndor. She climbed through the portrait hole, went back up the spiral staircase, and climbed back into bed, falling asleep instantly, just as the morning's first light was spreading over the horizon.
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Hermione awoke to find the door to the dormitory wide open. Kit, Lavender, and Parvati were all still asleep. The only one Hermione bothered to wake was Kit. The other two could rot in Filch's office for all Hermione cared.
Kit did not want to get up. She was tired, she was sleepy, she'd had a long day, it was too early, etc were all of the excuses Hermione had to suffer through.
At long last the brown-haired girl had gotten Kit up and wide-awake. In seconds the taller girl was dressed and two were headed down to the Great Hall.
The morning, and the next few weeks of school, passed uneventfully. In Transfiguration the fifth year students were learning how to become animagi. Kit had already learned how to change herself into her chosen animal, a tigress, so she helped Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Ron had decided to take the shape of a fox. Harry was going to be a falcon. And Hermione had decided to become a lemur, since "Monkeys and apes are some of the smartest animals there are".
Taking Trelawney's prediction to heart, Kit was constantly writing home with questions to Sirius, Terence and Jon. At school, it was her fellow Gryfinndors and her professors that got bombarded.
Kit also took advice from everyone willing to give it. She often spent hours talking with Professor McGonagall, who turned out to be Kit's mother's best friend and both Kevin and Kit's godmother. The Transfiguration teacher was like the mother Kit had never had.
Both she and Kevin went once a week to see Dumbledore, who made sure they were keeping on track with what the kids in the U.S were learning, just in case they switched back next year.
The four Gryfinndors, Harry, Hermione, Kit, and Ron, spent almost every available weekend down at Hogsmeade, shopping for socks for Dobby, or hats for Winky, since that was her favored clothing item. They also loved to sit and chat in a cozy booth at the Three Broomsticks.
Soon Halloween had passed, and the castle was in an uproar about the Christmas festivities, featuring a Yule Ball. Once again Harry and Ron were seeking dates. This time they wasted no time though. Harry asked Hermione immediately.
Ron however had a harder time summing up his courage. He hoped that Kit wouldn't say no. Ron had already seen the lines of boys waiting to ask Kit to come to the ball with them. He had seen their dejected faces when she shook her head, and Ron wondered; who was Kit waiting for? Did she already have a date? Finally the day came. Ron, nervous as ever, walked up to Kit just as they were leaving Transfiguration.
"Kit, uh, do you already have a date for the ball?" Ron said, trying not to say it to fast. Kit looked up, surprised.
"No, not yet," she replied delicately.
"You don't? Well, then would you perhaps want to go with me?" Ron asked.
"Sure. I've been waiting for you to ask me for the longest time. Then I thought maybe you were going with someone else," Kit answered.
"Really?" Ron queried; stooping to pick up a book that had fallen.
"Yep," Kit answered. "Come in Fire-top, let's get on down to Potions.
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The class was horrid. Snape was angry about something that Alex had said to him yesterday, and was taking it out on the Gryfinndorsmostly Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Kit, who he hadn't liked before anyway.
"Put that powdered unicorn horn away Black. I haven't told you to add it yet. Don't even think about adding those roots to you potion Granger, I see you looking over there. Five points from Gryfinndor Potter, for not paying attention to me when I'm talking. I saw that Weasley. I will not have you shooting glares like that at the other students in the room. Fifteen points from Gryfinndor," Ron had shot Malfoy a killer glance when the other boy had begun snickering at Kit.
"Put on your dragon-hide gloves now," said Snape. "Weasley, where did you get those?"
"I made them myself," said Ron, who had indeed made them himself. The gloves had come in a kit from Charlie that Ron had gotten for his birthday.
"Ah, of course. I should have known, you can't afford already made gloves," said Snape silkily.
"That's not-" Ron started to snap back.
"SILENCE! You will not argue back to me! Twenty points from Gryfinndor."
"Professor Snape, he was just standing up-" Kit started to say.
"Can you hear Ms. Black?" asked Snape quietly. "I believe I asked the class to be silent."
"So what?" replied Kit angrily.
"You keep treating others like this Ms. Black, and you will end up like your brother; a lying, cheating, cowardly piece of scum he was. And still is." Kit went stone cold.
"You are only saying that because he made a fool of you at school, and made a fool of you again two years ago. You thought you were so smart didn't you Snape? Thought you had Sirius between your neat little hands that night. I can imagine your reaction when you found he was dead," Kit snarled. "And then Kevin and I made fools of you too. Back at the road that day. And Alex took the job you wanted." From Kit's shoulder, Draco the Jarvey made a rude noise.
" That can get you suspended girl," Snape growled. "I will speak to your brother about this matter. Alex should not let his younger sister dishonor his family. For now, go and see the headmaster. Leave my room," said Snape, pointing towards the door. Kit left silently.
Softly the girl went up to the headmaster's office, told the gargoyle the password, and knocked once on the mahogany door.
"Come on," called Dumbledore. Kit entered, setting her things down.
"Professor Snape sent me here sir," said the girl quietly.
"I see. And what did you do?" asked Dumbledore, gesturing for Kit to have a seat. She sat and then told her story. Dumbledore listened attentively.
" So you were standing up for Mr. Weasley?" he asked finally.
'Yes sir," answered Kit. "And just for the record, I will not apologize to the-"
"Ahem!" Dumbledore intervened gently. "I can see that you are upset my dear, but don't become rash. I know that Sirius and Severus have always disputed each other. Yet what you did was wrong. You should not have shamed him so in front of a class."
"He shouldn't have shamed Ron OR me in front of a class either," retorted Kit. Dumbledore chuckled softly.
"Stubborn little one eh? Yes that is true Ms. Black, he shouldn't have. And you have right to be angry with him for that. Just don't express your anger like that again. I will let you go for now, and I will speak with Professor Snape. He should keep himself in check. Good day Katrina," replied Dumbledore, opening the door to his office.
"Good day professor," Kit replied. With that she headed off to lunch.
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All of the sudden Christmas was a week away. Hermione and Kit had spent every possible minute looking through dress robe catalogues for robes for Kit, who hadn't brought any along. Seeing that the girls disliked them being around when they were planning, Harry and Ron found themselves hanging out with Kevin, Fred, George and Lee, all who working on their joint joke shop. They were currently in a jumble over a name for their company. Harry and Ron weren't much help there, but hanging with the older boys was a lot of fun.
Finally the day of the ball had arrived. Kit was standing in front of the full-length mirror in thee girl's dormitory, wearing her robes. They were gorgeous; the palest of pinks, bringing some light to her whitened skin (Kit had hated the color being so feminine, and would have opted for blue, had Ron not come over and said 'Good choice. They'll look good on you), with white and gold ribbons going across the bodice. The sleeves were in Guinevere fashion. Kit had on a pure white under-dress beneath the pink, making the robe's color stand out even more. Around her neck was a gold locket Ron had given her for Christmas. The teenager's hair flowed behind her, unhampered by a scarf, or barrette or band. Kit had decided to put it back later.
Kit had worked hard trying to find suitable gifts for everyone. For Harry there was a huge volume of Quidditch teams, as well as a collection of other Quidditch-related books. For Hermione, there was a brand new collection of spells and charms, since that was what Kit's best friend was into at the moment. For Remus Kit bought a brand new quill and a writer's desk. For Sirius there was a new book of muggle jokes (He collected them) and a cozy fleece jacket. For Terence, there was a collection of photos of the English countryside and several long letter Kit had forgotten to send. For Jon, there was a giant puzzle (Jon loved them. Once he'd gone for two weeks without eating trying to finish one of those muggle jigsaw puzzles). For Alex, there was a barrel of butterbeer (He was mad about the stuff) and some magical healing solution, since Alex tended to get his Dark Arts creatures from Hagrid. For the kindly gatekeeper Kit gave an enlarged photo of Norbert. For Kevin (He was the toughest because he was so picky) a huge basket full of whatever practical joke materials Kit could find. And last but not least, for Ron there was a picture of the two of them that Harry had taken at the beginning of the school year. They were standing, Ron' s arm around Kit's shoulder, in front of the castle right before sundown. It had been one of Kit's favorite memories of the school year.
"Hey Kit," It was Ron.
"What's up?" she replied. Ron had gotten brand-new dress robes. They were a deep green in color, accenting his hazel eyes and red hair, which Kit noticed, was darkening slightly.
"D' you need help with you hair?" Ron asked.
"Sure"Kit replied slowly, knowing this hadn't been what Ron had come for. Carefully she sat down in a chair near a window. Ron stood behind her for a few moments, then made her stand back up, since her hair was too long for him to brush while she was sitting down. A few moments passed in silence.
"Why did you really come here?" Kit asked, breaking the comfortable silence.
"Hmm? Oh, I had to tell you something," Ron replied, spinning Kit's waterfall of hair into a braid, then into a low bun. Taking some roses from a nearby vase and twining them into the braided bun, Ron continued, "I have to know if you like me as much as I like you. I'm not asking for marriage agreements or anything, I just want to know how you feel."
Kit thought about his question for a long time. Finally she said, "Ron, you were one of the first friends I ever had. One of the first and only people who saw me for Kit, not just as the sister of a 'murderer', and that was important to me. And I think the distance between you and me made me fonder of you more than ever. So yes, I can safely say I like you more than a friend. I was worried you wouldn't see me the same way," Kit replied. Ron smiled, tucking the last rose into her hair.
"What do you think?" Ron asked.
"I love it. You did a fantastic job," Kit answered, turning to see it in the mirror.
"Really?" Ron asked.
"Why are you always questioning? Of course, I would have said so if I didn't." Ron grinned.
"Sorry," he muttered, offering his arm to Kit, who took it and together two headed down to the Great Hall for the ball.
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The ball was a great success. Ron actually took Kit out on the floor, which was a big difference than what had happened last year. Harry, slightly jealous of the fun his other two friends had been having, was also having a great time with Hermione. Whenever Kit and Ron got tired of dancing, they would come and sit down next to Harry and Hermione, and the four would look for those who seemed most uncomfortable (Draco Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle all fit into that category). Malfoy hadn't managed to get Pansy Parkinson to go with him again, and therefore was stuck watching Harry and Ron dance with their dates. It must have been driving the guy mad.
At midnight Dumbledore sent all of the students back up to their towers or dorms. By that time Kit had danced with Ron, Kevin, Fred, George, Lee, Harry, Alex, Professor Dumbledore, and Neville, Ron had danced with Kit, Hermione, Lavender, Padma (he was forced to do so) and Parvati. Harry had danced with Kit and Hermione only, and Hermione had danced with only Harry and Ron. Yet the four had had a wonderful and momentous time, one of the last they would all spend together.
