Notes: Ellipses (...) indicate memories when placed at the end of one paragraph then again at the beginning of the next.
* * * *
Later that evening Hermione was bent over a table in the Gryffindor common room trying to complete her Arithmancy homework before Ron and Harry came back from the Quidditch pitch. Harry had already begun practices, claiming that as captain he had the right to work the team to the point of exhaustion and Ron adored watching, so the two went out nearly every evening. The entire Gryffindor team was determined to win the Quidditch cup for the third year in a row and win the house cup as well.
With a sigh, Hermione shut her textbook and leaned back in her chair. The common room was mostly empty save for Parvati and Lavender in the far corner, huddled over their Divination homework. She closed her eyes and let the glow from the fireplace wash over her. The school wasn't cold yet, but it was a comforting heat that radiated from the dancing flames. It was nice to be able to lean back and just relax, to not have to think about school or homework for just a second. To not have to worry about what she would say to Ron when she finally admitted that she liked him.
She hated keeping such an enormous secret to herself, but Hermione knew better. She hadn't even wanted to tell Harry but after their fourth year he had come to his own conclusions and asked her about it one day. Not able to lie, Hermione admitted to her crush on Ron and then threatened Harry's life until he promised to keep quiet about it. Now, two years after Harry had confronted her about it, Hermione still hadn't said anything to Ron even though she planned to every morning when she woke up.
Hermione remained in her chair with her eyes closed even when she heard someone take one of the chairs across from her. Harry and Ron wouldn't be back yet and she assumed it was Neville sitting across the table, hoping for some assistance with his homework. She took a deep breath, forced herself to relax, then opened her eyes.
"Oh!" she exclaimed, finding Kendra sitting across from her, an open book in her lap. "I'm sorry. I thought you were Neville coming for help on his Potions homework."
Kendra smiled shyly. "I helped him a bit earlier. I think he's got it this time."
Hermione smiled back. "Well, I certainly hope so. He did so miserably with his O.W.Ls, we're all hoping that he studies enough to do well on his N.E.W.Ts this year."
"I think he'll be fine," Kendra said softly, the light from the fire dancing over her face.
Hermione frowned, then glanced away. "Did you help Ron today in Potions?"
Kendra bit her lip and stared into the fire for a long moment before answering, "Yes. I did help him."
"Do you mind if I ask you about it?" Hermione said.
Kendra shook her head slowly. "I guess not."
"Can you read everyone's minds?"
Kendra shook her head again. "It's not even like mind reading. It's only with certain people and I can only hear them when they're in trouble, when they're worried."
"Who else have you been able to hear?" Hermione asked.
Kendra blushed a furious shade of red, then met Hermione's eyes. "Only six people my entire life. Ron, Harry Potter, Parvati Patil, you and-"
"Me?" Hermione squeaked. "When have you heard me?"
"Mostly during the second and third year. When you were struggling with the Chamber of Secrets and then when you and Harry saved Sirius Black." Kendra smiled. "You thought that secret was only between you, Harry, Ron and Dumbledore, but I knew as well. I also knew he was innocent. I could hear it going through Harry's mind."
"So when we were stuck in the Shrieking Shack, you could hear everything that went on?" Hermione asked.
Kendra nodded. "Most of it. It was all mixed up because your thoughts were jumbled with Harry's and Ron's and Professor Snape's."
"You can hear Snape?"
"Sometimes," Kendra admitted. "That's how he knows I can do it. He doesn't get worried very often but when he does I can hear it loud and clear. And Dumbledore . . . I've only heard him once and that was when Harry told him that You-Know-Who had his body back."
"Wow," Hermione breathed softly. "So you know everything that's happened to us over the past six years." She looked shocked for a moment. "You know our secrets, things we don't tell anyone except our closest friends. Secret crushes and such?"
Kendra shook her head quickly. "No, not at all. Only when you're in trouble. Sometimes I can help, like in class today, and other times I can't." She stared at the fire again. "I couldn't help when Harry broke down after Cedric was killed."
Hermione looked down at her hands. Everyone remembered when Cedric Diggory had been killed during their fourth year at Hogwarts. She had only been fourteen years old and now here she was, seventeen and the name Cedric still affected her.
"No one could help that," Kendra continued softly. "But those are the only people I've ever heard."
"What does Snape worry about?" Hermione asked.
Kendra shrugged and opened her mouth, but before she could answer, Harry and Ron came running into the common room. They were both out of breath and laughing madly.
"What?" Hermione asked.
"Ron t-tried to ride my broom," Harry began, pointing at his Firebolt. "It doesn't like to . . ." he drew in a deep breath, "doesn't like to be ridden by just anyone I guess. It went crazy and flew Ron all over the school. Snape had a fit when he saw a broom racing through the corridors. Said he'd had enough of our foolish games."
Ron nodded, collapsing into a chair beside Hermione. "It was brilliant. Bloody hilarious I tell you."
Hermione smiled politely, then caught Kendra's eye and shook her head.
Kendra laughed quietly and mouthed 'Boys'.
Harry and Ron both saw Kendra sitting there in the same moment, their laugher dying away quickly.
"Uh, hi," Harry mumbled.
"Hi," Kendra replied.
Ron stepped forward. "I know you got in trouble, but it was really great of you to give me the answer today in Potions."
She shrugged and blushed slightly. "It was nothing."
"Well, thanks anyway," Ron said, smiling.
"I think I'm going to bed," Kendra said, closing her book and putting it on the table. "Goodnight."
The three others echoed her words as she walked toward the girls' dormitory and disappeared behind the door.
"She's real nice," Hermione said when Kendra was gone. "Seems very smart too."
"Did you talk about how she gave Ron the answer?" Harry asked.
Hermione nodded. "She said that she only hears certain people and only when they're worried or in trouble. She's only heard six people her entire life. This is where is gets bizarre."
"What do you mean bizarre?" Ron asked, still staring at the dormitory door.
"She's heard only six people Ron," Hermione began. "You, me, Harry, Parvati, Dumbledore and Snape."
"She hears Snape's thoughts?" Harry asked, shuddering. "That must be awful."
"Only when he's worried or in trouble," Hermione stressed. "But don't you think that's rather odd?"
Ron shrugged. "I sure don't mind her hearing my thoughts."
Hermione slapped his arm. "That's only because your thoughts right now consist of how pretty you think she is."
Ron grinned and shrugged while Harry scratched his head.
"I didn't think she was that pretty," he said a moment later. Hermione smiled gratefully at him, knowing he had said it to make her feel better.
Ron glared at him, then tuned out the rest of the conversation Hermione and Harry were having. He knew they were talking about Kendra, but only her ability to hear thoughts. The only thing Ron wanted to talk about was her hair and her face. He sighed happily, thinking about how horrible he must have been to completely miss her for the past six years. She was as nearly as tall as Harry, which was saying quite a lot. Harry had shot up over the past four years spent at Hogwarts and he was quite a bit taller than most of the other students. Kendra's hair was as black at Harry's as well, but it was long and perfectly straight, not a single hair out of place. Her ghostly complexion had reflected brightly in the moonlight pouring through the windows. To complete her entire look, her eyes had contrasted sharply with everything. Where Harry's green eyes matched his hair and skin tone and Snape's black eyes fit perfectly with his dark and dreary image, Kendra's bright blue eyes were warm. They looked oddly out of place on her pale face, but they brought a warmth to her.
"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed suddenly. "Have you been listening to a word we've been saying?"
He shook his head absently. "Not a single word."
"He's been daydreaming about Kendra," Harry said. "I'll bet anything he's got a crush on her."
"So?" Ron challenged. "I'm eighteen years old? I can't fancy a girl?"
"Well, you never even noticed her before. You never notice any girls, not even the ones standing right in front of you" Hermione said quickly, then flushed and looked away. "You don't even know anything about her. Harry and I think it's rather suspicious that she can read our thoughts."
"I don't care," Ron said, standing suddenly. "Can't I just find a girl pretty without everyone getting suspicious about her?" He stared at his friends for a moment, then shook his head. "I'm going to bed."
Hermione and Harry stared after him until he was out of sight, then glanced at each other.
"Lovely boy," Hermione said, shaking her head.
"Think we ought to ask Dumbledore about Kendra?" Harry asked. "Maybe he knows more about this thought reading that we do."
"I can't help thinking about the night of the Yule Ball," Hermione said thoughtfully. "Dumbledore said I would understand in time, right? Well, maybe that night Kendra saw something horrible in Snape's mind and it affected her so badly that she started crying and couldn't stop. Maybe he was hurt or-"
"He was terrified of You-Know-Who coming after him," Kendra said from where she stood against the girl's door.
Hermione frowned. "What?"
Kendra came over to them and picked up the book she had left on the table, nervously turning it over in her hands. "I've never spoken to anyone about this, but the way you three are I figured I might as well tell you. You'd find out on your own if I didn't." She glanced around. "Where's Ron?"
"He went to bed," Harry explained.
Kendra nodded slowly, then sat in one of the chairs in front of the fireplace. "It was right before You-Know-Who gained power again. I didn't go to the Yule Ball that night, I spent it in the common room with the first and second years. Suddenly I got this horrible pain in my arm, right below the elbow and if I closed my eyes I could see the Dark Mark burning into someone's arm." She shook her head slowly. "Snape's Death Eater mark had begun to hurt and he knew that meant the return of Vol- uh, You-Know-Who. He was overcome with worry and memories of the things he'd done before turning back to Dumbledore . . . it was awful."
"Dumbledore said he came back to the good side before Voldemort lost his power," Harry said.
Kendra cringed at Harry's use of the name, but nodded anyway. "He did, but not before carrying out many tasks for him. Snape had so many people under the Imperius Curse and he controlled them all. That night that his Dark Mark began to burn all he could think about were the people he'd hurt and killed using others. His guilt is so immense, it overwhelmed me." Kendra sighed. "He feels so guilty for all the things he did under You-Know-Who's power that it tore my body to pieces just feeling a shred of what he must have felt. When I could finally stand I went to the dungeons to find him . . .
. . . Kendra wandered down the empty corridors, knowing it was far too late for her to be walking in the school. If it hadn't been for the Yule Ball still raging in the Great Hall, Kendra never would have wandered out, not even for the pain she had felt earlier. She had heard Snape's thoughts as he talked to Igor Karkaroff, the headmaster from Durmstrang about the Dark Mark. She knew how incredibly worried he was, yet that he refused to show it. He would be strong in front of Karkaroff, he was not going to submit to Voldemort again no matter how hard the former Death Eaters tried. He would prove himself, even if it meant going mad.
Kendra arrived at the dungeon door and knocked gently, the sound eerily hollow in the dead silence. The music from the Great Hall had faded as she had walked away from it and now the only sounds were her breathing and the echo of her knock.
"Professor?" she called softly, pushing the door open slightly and entering the room.
Snape was sitting at his desk, both hands entwined in his dark hair. He hadn't heard her enter, he was so wrapped up in the emotions that were driving through his mind at that moment. It was only when an extra strong thought passed right through him and into Kendra did he finally notice her. When his thought flew through her mind she screamed, tears springing to her eyes.
"What are you doing here?" he snarled, standing up. His black cloak billowed around him as he swept down to her level and stood in front of her. "You should be at the Ball, or at least in your common room."
"You're a Death Eater," Kendra said, reaching toward a desk to support herself on. "I can see it all."
"You . . . what?" Snape asked, still staring at her angrily.
"All the guilt, all the pain," Kendra said. "I can feel it all. I read thoughts Professor, the hurt and worried thoughts of a few people. You are the fourth person I've read and yours are by far the most painful."
Snape was silent, his dark eyes expressionless as he stared down upon her.
"You're just a girl," he said finally. "Just a fourteen year old little girl. What can you possibly know about pain?"
Kendra smiled slightly then. "Nothing of my own pain Professor, absolutely nothing. But in fourth year when the Dementors forced Harry Potter to relive the death of his parents I felt his pain. And whenever Draco Malfoy makes a crack about Ron Weasley's family, I feel his pain. Whenever Hermione Granger is called a Mudblood or ugly or whenever you pick on her, I feel her pain. And now you . . . when you remember what you did as a Death Eater I feel your pain. I feel your guilt and your sorrow and it overwhelms me." She shook her head. "No Professor, I don't even know the full extent of your pain, but I know a part of it."
Snape's eyes softened for the briefest of moments and he gripped Kendra's shoulder tightly. "Then I pity you," he said. "If just a fraction of my guilt is cause enough to overwhelm you I hope you never experience what I have. If you are so susceptible to pain, I pray you never experience a loss of your own."
Kendra nodded slowly, then asked, "Are you really all right Professor? Do you need anything?"
Snape stared at her, then turned and walked back to his desk. "Do not think this little talk will get you any extra points Miss Rayne. Go back to your common room and if I ever catch you out of your room again at this time I will make sure to tell Dumbledore."
Kendra stepped backward, then turned toward the door. She was nearly in the hall when Snape cleared his throat and she slowly turned on her heel to look at him again. His head was down and he was carefully studying his desktop.
"Your concern, though unfounded, is appreciated Miss Rayne," Snape said. "I thought you should know."
Kendra opened her mouth to respond, but Snape looked up sharply. His dark eyes bore into her and very carefully, he pointed to the door. With her head down, Kendra left the dungeon and walked quickly back to the Gryffindor tower . . .
. . . I could still feel him," Kendra said to Harry and Hermione. "When I got back to the room I just sat on my bed and waited, because I knew that no matter what he had said to me, he was still hurting very badly. It hit me especially hard just before everyone began to return from the Yule Ball. That was when Hermione found me crying on my bed."
Harry stared at her, his mouth and eyes wide. "Wow," he whispered finally. "That's . . ."
"A curse," a voice from the shadows finished for him. Parvati Patil stepped into the light from the fire a moment later looking tired and withdrawn.
"Parvati!" Hermione exclaimed. "What's wrong? You look so tired."
"I am tired," she said, sinking into a chair beside Kendra. "I'm so very tired and there's nothing I can do about it."
"What's wrong?" Harry asked.
Parvati shrugged. "Part of it is that I've been thinking far too much lately. I stay up for all hours of the night just thinking 'why us?'. Why can Kendra hear us? Four other students and two teachers . . . isn't that strange?"
"Oh come off it," Kendra exclaimed loudly. "I know it's strange but you and I have talked about this already Par! We've nearly figured out why I hear only six certain people and that's not why you've been staying up half the night. You tell them the truth."
Hermione and Harry stared at Parvati, waiting to hear what Kendra was talking about.
Parvati sighed. "Fine." She looked at Hermione and Harry. "The real reason I like my Divination class so much is because it's a room where I feel like I belong. If I have a vision in that room, it would be okay. Professor Trelawny would probably give me a medal if it happened in her room."
"If what happened in her room?" Hermione asked.
"If I saw You-Know-Who!" Parvati explained quickly, glancing around the common room to make sure no other students were lurking in the shadows.
Kendra sighed and crossed her arms. "She has visions of things to come."
"Not necessarily things to come," Parvati said, shrugging her slender shoulders. "I just see You-Know-Who and we're all there."
"Who's all there?" Hermione asked.
"Kendra and everyone she can hear," Parvati said. "I see us all standing against You-Know-Who. Kendra and myself, you Hermione, Harry and Ron. Professor Snape and Dumbledore are there as well. They're encouraging us, pushing us forward."
"Pushing us forward against You-Know-Who?" Hermione asked, her eyes wide.
Parvati nodded slowly. "Yes. It's scary and hard to understand. Kendra and I tried to figure this out all last year but we couldn't. Why would I have visions of all the people Kendra can hear? It doesn't make any sense."
Harry glanced up at her. "It does make sense, if you think about it for a minute."
"Enlighten us then," Parvati said sarcastically.
He sighed, then began. "This scar means something to Voldemort. Dumbledore seems to believe that I'm the only person who can fight him and if I'm with you . . . maybe together we can fight him. Or we're stronger against him when we're together. It's really very simple."
Kendra stared at him. "You're crazy. You can't fight the Dark Lord, it's just not possible. You can only run from him and hope that he doesn't find you."
"Kendra," Hermione said. "Harry's right. He's been at large for two years now. We know he has his body back and that he's powerful once again but no one has heard anything since . . . since he killed Cedric. Maybe this is telling us that we have to band together."
Parvati shook her head. "No, Harry's not right. I can't fight You-Know-Who, none of us can. You're being ridiculous." She glanced around the room. "We shouldn't have told you about this. You're off your rocker, all of you." She caught Kendra's eye and said, "Even you." Without another word, Parvati walked over to the girl's dormitory and disappeared inside.
Kendra sighed and looked at her hands. "You can't fight the Dark Lord," she said, repeating her earlier words. "But something about Parvati's visions make sense. Something tells me that . . . Harry is right." She glanced up. "You're the ones who are always getting in trouble for trying to solve some big mystery, where do we go from here?"
Harry sighed. "Maybe Dumbledore can tell us more."
Kendra shook her head. "I've already asked him to explain this to me many times. He refuses. He said I would understand soon enough."
"My next step is always the library," Hermione said. "The Restricted Area contains books on everything. Maybe we can find something about your ability to hear only certain people." She glanced at her watch. "Tomorrow."
~*~
* * * *
Later that evening Hermione was bent over a table in the Gryffindor common room trying to complete her Arithmancy homework before Ron and Harry came back from the Quidditch pitch. Harry had already begun practices, claiming that as captain he had the right to work the team to the point of exhaustion and Ron adored watching, so the two went out nearly every evening. The entire Gryffindor team was determined to win the Quidditch cup for the third year in a row and win the house cup as well.
With a sigh, Hermione shut her textbook and leaned back in her chair. The common room was mostly empty save for Parvati and Lavender in the far corner, huddled over their Divination homework. She closed her eyes and let the glow from the fireplace wash over her. The school wasn't cold yet, but it was a comforting heat that radiated from the dancing flames. It was nice to be able to lean back and just relax, to not have to think about school or homework for just a second. To not have to worry about what she would say to Ron when she finally admitted that she liked him.
She hated keeping such an enormous secret to herself, but Hermione knew better. She hadn't even wanted to tell Harry but after their fourth year he had come to his own conclusions and asked her about it one day. Not able to lie, Hermione admitted to her crush on Ron and then threatened Harry's life until he promised to keep quiet about it. Now, two years after Harry had confronted her about it, Hermione still hadn't said anything to Ron even though she planned to every morning when she woke up.
Hermione remained in her chair with her eyes closed even when she heard someone take one of the chairs across from her. Harry and Ron wouldn't be back yet and she assumed it was Neville sitting across the table, hoping for some assistance with his homework. She took a deep breath, forced herself to relax, then opened her eyes.
"Oh!" she exclaimed, finding Kendra sitting across from her, an open book in her lap. "I'm sorry. I thought you were Neville coming for help on his Potions homework."
Kendra smiled shyly. "I helped him a bit earlier. I think he's got it this time."
Hermione smiled back. "Well, I certainly hope so. He did so miserably with his O.W.Ls, we're all hoping that he studies enough to do well on his N.E.W.Ts this year."
"I think he'll be fine," Kendra said softly, the light from the fire dancing over her face.
Hermione frowned, then glanced away. "Did you help Ron today in Potions?"
Kendra bit her lip and stared into the fire for a long moment before answering, "Yes. I did help him."
"Do you mind if I ask you about it?" Hermione said.
Kendra shook her head slowly. "I guess not."
"Can you read everyone's minds?"
Kendra shook her head again. "It's not even like mind reading. It's only with certain people and I can only hear them when they're in trouble, when they're worried."
"Who else have you been able to hear?" Hermione asked.
Kendra blushed a furious shade of red, then met Hermione's eyes. "Only six people my entire life. Ron, Harry Potter, Parvati Patil, you and-"
"Me?" Hermione squeaked. "When have you heard me?"
"Mostly during the second and third year. When you were struggling with the Chamber of Secrets and then when you and Harry saved Sirius Black." Kendra smiled. "You thought that secret was only between you, Harry, Ron and Dumbledore, but I knew as well. I also knew he was innocent. I could hear it going through Harry's mind."
"So when we were stuck in the Shrieking Shack, you could hear everything that went on?" Hermione asked.
Kendra nodded. "Most of it. It was all mixed up because your thoughts were jumbled with Harry's and Ron's and Professor Snape's."
"You can hear Snape?"
"Sometimes," Kendra admitted. "That's how he knows I can do it. He doesn't get worried very often but when he does I can hear it loud and clear. And Dumbledore . . . I've only heard him once and that was when Harry told him that You-Know-Who had his body back."
"Wow," Hermione breathed softly. "So you know everything that's happened to us over the past six years." She looked shocked for a moment. "You know our secrets, things we don't tell anyone except our closest friends. Secret crushes and such?"
Kendra shook her head quickly. "No, not at all. Only when you're in trouble. Sometimes I can help, like in class today, and other times I can't." She stared at the fire again. "I couldn't help when Harry broke down after Cedric was killed."
Hermione looked down at her hands. Everyone remembered when Cedric Diggory had been killed during their fourth year at Hogwarts. She had only been fourteen years old and now here she was, seventeen and the name Cedric still affected her.
"No one could help that," Kendra continued softly. "But those are the only people I've ever heard."
"What does Snape worry about?" Hermione asked.
Kendra shrugged and opened her mouth, but before she could answer, Harry and Ron came running into the common room. They were both out of breath and laughing madly.
"What?" Hermione asked.
"Ron t-tried to ride my broom," Harry began, pointing at his Firebolt. "It doesn't like to . . ." he drew in a deep breath, "doesn't like to be ridden by just anyone I guess. It went crazy and flew Ron all over the school. Snape had a fit when he saw a broom racing through the corridors. Said he'd had enough of our foolish games."
Ron nodded, collapsing into a chair beside Hermione. "It was brilliant. Bloody hilarious I tell you."
Hermione smiled politely, then caught Kendra's eye and shook her head.
Kendra laughed quietly and mouthed 'Boys'.
Harry and Ron both saw Kendra sitting there in the same moment, their laugher dying away quickly.
"Uh, hi," Harry mumbled.
"Hi," Kendra replied.
Ron stepped forward. "I know you got in trouble, but it was really great of you to give me the answer today in Potions."
She shrugged and blushed slightly. "It was nothing."
"Well, thanks anyway," Ron said, smiling.
"I think I'm going to bed," Kendra said, closing her book and putting it on the table. "Goodnight."
The three others echoed her words as she walked toward the girls' dormitory and disappeared behind the door.
"She's real nice," Hermione said when Kendra was gone. "Seems very smart too."
"Did you talk about how she gave Ron the answer?" Harry asked.
Hermione nodded. "She said that she only hears certain people and only when they're worried or in trouble. She's only heard six people her entire life. This is where is gets bizarre."
"What do you mean bizarre?" Ron asked, still staring at the dormitory door.
"She's heard only six people Ron," Hermione began. "You, me, Harry, Parvati, Dumbledore and Snape."
"She hears Snape's thoughts?" Harry asked, shuddering. "That must be awful."
"Only when he's worried or in trouble," Hermione stressed. "But don't you think that's rather odd?"
Ron shrugged. "I sure don't mind her hearing my thoughts."
Hermione slapped his arm. "That's only because your thoughts right now consist of how pretty you think she is."
Ron grinned and shrugged while Harry scratched his head.
"I didn't think she was that pretty," he said a moment later. Hermione smiled gratefully at him, knowing he had said it to make her feel better.
Ron glared at him, then tuned out the rest of the conversation Hermione and Harry were having. He knew they were talking about Kendra, but only her ability to hear thoughts. The only thing Ron wanted to talk about was her hair and her face. He sighed happily, thinking about how horrible he must have been to completely miss her for the past six years. She was as nearly as tall as Harry, which was saying quite a lot. Harry had shot up over the past four years spent at Hogwarts and he was quite a bit taller than most of the other students. Kendra's hair was as black at Harry's as well, but it was long and perfectly straight, not a single hair out of place. Her ghostly complexion had reflected brightly in the moonlight pouring through the windows. To complete her entire look, her eyes had contrasted sharply with everything. Where Harry's green eyes matched his hair and skin tone and Snape's black eyes fit perfectly with his dark and dreary image, Kendra's bright blue eyes were warm. They looked oddly out of place on her pale face, but they brought a warmth to her.
"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed suddenly. "Have you been listening to a word we've been saying?"
He shook his head absently. "Not a single word."
"He's been daydreaming about Kendra," Harry said. "I'll bet anything he's got a crush on her."
"So?" Ron challenged. "I'm eighteen years old? I can't fancy a girl?"
"Well, you never even noticed her before. You never notice any girls, not even the ones standing right in front of you" Hermione said quickly, then flushed and looked away. "You don't even know anything about her. Harry and I think it's rather suspicious that she can read our thoughts."
"I don't care," Ron said, standing suddenly. "Can't I just find a girl pretty without everyone getting suspicious about her?" He stared at his friends for a moment, then shook his head. "I'm going to bed."
Hermione and Harry stared after him until he was out of sight, then glanced at each other.
"Lovely boy," Hermione said, shaking her head.
"Think we ought to ask Dumbledore about Kendra?" Harry asked. "Maybe he knows more about this thought reading that we do."
"I can't help thinking about the night of the Yule Ball," Hermione said thoughtfully. "Dumbledore said I would understand in time, right? Well, maybe that night Kendra saw something horrible in Snape's mind and it affected her so badly that she started crying and couldn't stop. Maybe he was hurt or-"
"He was terrified of You-Know-Who coming after him," Kendra said from where she stood against the girl's door.
Hermione frowned. "What?"
Kendra came over to them and picked up the book she had left on the table, nervously turning it over in her hands. "I've never spoken to anyone about this, but the way you three are I figured I might as well tell you. You'd find out on your own if I didn't." She glanced around. "Where's Ron?"
"He went to bed," Harry explained.
Kendra nodded slowly, then sat in one of the chairs in front of the fireplace. "It was right before You-Know-Who gained power again. I didn't go to the Yule Ball that night, I spent it in the common room with the first and second years. Suddenly I got this horrible pain in my arm, right below the elbow and if I closed my eyes I could see the Dark Mark burning into someone's arm." She shook her head slowly. "Snape's Death Eater mark had begun to hurt and he knew that meant the return of Vol- uh, You-Know-Who. He was overcome with worry and memories of the things he'd done before turning back to Dumbledore . . . it was awful."
"Dumbledore said he came back to the good side before Voldemort lost his power," Harry said.
Kendra cringed at Harry's use of the name, but nodded anyway. "He did, but not before carrying out many tasks for him. Snape had so many people under the Imperius Curse and he controlled them all. That night that his Dark Mark began to burn all he could think about were the people he'd hurt and killed using others. His guilt is so immense, it overwhelmed me." Kendra sighed. "He feels so guilty for all the things he did under You-Know-Who's power that it tore my body to pieces just feeling a shred of what he must have felt. When I could finally stand I went to the dungeons to find him . . .
. . . Kendra wandered down the empty corridors, knowing it was far too late for her to be walking in the school. If it hadn't been for the Yule Ball still raging in the Great Hall, Kendra never would have wandered out, not even for the pain she had felt earlier. She had heard Snape's thoughts as he talked to Igor Karkaroff, the headmaster from Durmstrang about the Dark Mark. She knew how incredibly worried he was, yet that he refused to show it. He would be strong in front of Karkaroff, he was not going to submit to Voldemort again no matter how hard the former Death Eaters tried. He would prove himself, even if it meant going mad.
Kendra arrived at the dungeon door and knocked gently, the sound eerily hollow in the dead silence. The music from the Great Hall had faded as she had walked away from it and now the only sounds were her breathing and the echo of her knock.
"Professor?" she called softly, pushing the door open slightly and entering the room.
Snape was sitting at his desk, both hands entwined in his dark hair. He hadn't heard her enter, he was so wrapped up in the emotions that were driving through his mind at that moment. It was only when an extra strong thought passed right through him and into Kendra did he finally notice her. When his thought flew through her mind she screamed, tears springing to her eyes.
"What are you doing here?" he snarled, standing up. His black cloak billowed around him as he swept down to her level and stood in front of her. "You should be at the Ball, or at least in your common room."
"You're a Death Eater," Kendra said, reaching toward a desk to support herself on. "I can see it all."
"You . . . what?" Snape asked, still staring at her angrily.
"All the guilt, all the pain," Kendra said. "I can feel it all. I read thoughts Professor, the hurt and worried thoughts of a few people. You are the fourth person I've read and yours are by far the most painful."
Snape was silent, his dark eyes expressionless as he stared down upon her.
"You're just a girl," he said finally. "Just a fourteen year old little girl. What can you possibly know about pain?"
Kendra smiled slightly then. "Nothing of my own pain Professor, absolutely nothing. But in fourth year when the Dementors forced Harry Potter to relive the death of his parents I felt his pain. And whenever Draco Malfoy makes a crack about Ron Weasley's family, I feel his pain. Whenever Hermione Granger is called a Mudblood or ugly or whenever you pick on her, I feel her pain. And now you . . . when you remember what you did as a Death Eater I feel your pain. I feel your guilt and your sorrow and it overwhelms me." She shook her head. "No Professor, I don't even know the full extent of your pain, but I know a part of it."
Snape's eyes softened for the briefest of moments and he gripped Kendra's shoulder tightly. "Then I pity you," he said. "If just a fraction of my guilt is cause enough to overwhelm you I hope you never experience what I have. If you are so susceptible to pain, I pray you never experience a loss of your own."
Kendra nodded slowly, then asked, "Are you really all right Professor? Do you need anything?"
Snape stared at her, then turned and walked back to his desk. "Do not think this little talk will get you any extra points Miss Rayne. Go back to your common room and if I ever catch you out of your room again at this time I will make sure to tell Dumbledore."
Kendra stepped backward, then turned toward the door. She was nearly in the hall when Snape cleared his throat and she slowly turned on her heel to look at him again. His head was down and he was carefully studying his desktop.
"Your concern, though unfounded, is appreciated Miss Rayne," Snape said. "I thought you should know."
Kendra opened her mouth to respond, but Snape looked up sharply. His dark eyes bore into her and very carefully, he pointed to the door. With her head down, Kendra left the dungeon and walked quickly back to the Gryffindor tower . . .
. . . I could still feel him," Kendra said to Harry and Hermione. "When I got back to the room I just sat on my bed and waited, because I knew that no matter what he had said to me, he was still hurting very badly. It hit me especially hard just before everyone began to return from the Yule Ball. That was when Hermione found me crying on my bed."
Harry stared at her, his mouth and eyes wide. "Wow," he whispered finally. "That's . . ."
"A curse," a voice from the shadows finished for him. Parvati Patil stepped into the light from the fire a moment later looking tired and withdrawn.
"Parvati!" Hermione exclaimed. "What's wrong? You look so tired."
"I am tired," she said, sinking into a chair beside Kendra. "I'm so very tired and there's nothing I can do about it."
"What's wrong?" Harry asked.
Parvati shrugged. "Part of it is that I've been thinking far too much lately. I stay up for all hours of the night just thinking 'why us?'. Why can Kendra hear us? Four other students and two teachers . . . isn't that strange?"
"Oh come off it," Kendra exclaimed loudly. "I know it's strange but you and I have talked about this already Par! We've nearly figured out why I hear only six certain people and that's not why you've been staying up half the night. You tell them the truth."
Hermione and Harry stared at Parvati, waiting to hear what Kendra was talking about.
Parvati sighed. "Fine." She looked at Hermione and Harry. "The real reason I like my Divination class so much is because it's a room where I feel like I belong. If I have a vision in that room, it would be okay. Professor Trelawny would probably give me a medal if it happened in her room."
"If what happened in her room?" Hermione asked.
"If I saw You-Know-Who!" Parvati explained quickly, glancing around the common room to make sure no other students were lurking in the shadows.
Kendra sighed and crossed her arms. "She has visions of things to come."
"Not necessarily things to come," Parvati said, shrugging her slender shoulders. "I just see You-Know-Who and we're all there."
"Who's all there?" Hermione asked.
"Kendra and everyone she can hear," Parvati said. "I see us all standing against You-Know-Who. Kendra and myself, you Hermione, Harry and Ron. Professor Snape and Dumbledore are there as well. They're encouraging us, pushing us forward."
"Pushing us forward against You-Know-Who?" Hermione asked, her eyes wide.
Parvati nodded slowly. "Yes. It's scary and hard to understand. Kendra and I tried to figure this out all last year but we couldn't. Why would I have visions of all the people Kendra can hear? It doesn't make any sense."
Harry glanced up at her. "It does make sense, if you think about it for a minute."
"Enlighten us then," Parvati said sarcastically.
He sighed, then began. "This scar means something to Voldemort. Dumbledore seems to believe that I'm the only person who can fight him and if I'm with you . . . maybe together we can fight him. Or we're stronger against him when we're together. It's really very simple."
Kendra stared at him. "You're crazy. You can't fight the Dark Lord, it's just not possible. You can only run from him and hope that he doesn't find you."
"Kendra," Hermione said. "Harry's right. He's been at large for two years now. We know he has his body back and that he's powerful once again but no one has heard anything since . . . since he killed Cedric. Maybe this is telling us that we have to band together."
Parvati shook her head. "No, Harry's not right. I can't fight You-Know-Who, none of us can. You're being ridiculous." She glanced around the room. "We shouldn't have told you about this. You're off your rocker, all of you." She caught Kendra's eye and said, "Even you." Without another word, Parvati walked over to the girl's dormitory and disappeared inside.
Kendra sighed and looked at her hands. "You can't fight the Dark Lord," she said, repeating her earlier words. "But something about Parvati's visions make sense. Something tells me that . . . Harry is right." She glanced up. "You're the ones who are always getting in trouble for trying to solve some big mystery, where do we go from here?"
Harry sighed. "Maybe Dumbledore can tell us more."
Kendra shook her head. "I've already asked him to explain this to me many times. He refuses. He said I would understand soon enough."
"My next step is always the library," Hermione said. "The Restricted Area contains books on everything. Maybe we can find something about your ability to hear only certain people." She glanced at her watch. "Tomorrow."
~*~