Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
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Chapter One
Catrin's teeth were clenched as she held her arm still and finished writing the ingredients to the potion they were to brew today on her arm in her ornate, curly writing. She blew on her arm before pulling her robe back down over it, and capped her bottle of ink. She wiped spare ink off her eagle-feather quill, and tucked it under her pillow with the ink, praying that the ink did not leak.
"Catrin! What are you doing? Hurry up!" Ginny's Weasly's impatient voice called from outside the dorm door. Catrin jumped off the bed and walked out the door.
"Ready," she said, happily. They walked down the stairs and into the common room. There were few people here, mainly stragglers trying to make sure that all their homework done for classes. Most people weren't up, or they were down at breakfast already, the latter was where Ginny and Catrin were headed. They slipped through the portrait hole, and meandered through the cold winter halls of Hogwarts, to the Great Hall. Catrin shuffled her cloak around on her shoulders, and clasped and re-clasped the silver buckle. Ginny looked radiant in the cold, her cheeks flushed red, her hair shimmering garnet as alternate shafts of light caught it. Catrin's own dark brown hair tried to sneak tendrils out of the clasp and over her face; she brushed them away impatiently.
"Advanced Potions first, I don't know how I'll stomach Snape this early in the morning," Catrin groaned. Ginny laughed.
"You stomached him perfectly well after lunch, what's so different about our new schedule?" The two girls had been taking advanced potions, and, at the request of Dumbledore, had moved into the Sixth-years' class. This had radically changed their schedule, and they had only been going to those classes for a week. (This new addition of Advanced Potions forced them to take Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts at the same time, much to their delight. It was a class that people admired you for passing, and both Catrin and Ginny were strong in DADA.) In Advanced Potions, it turned out, that Snape was almost equally cruel to Gryffindors and Slytherins alike. This class was not for idiots, he had told them, and if they wanted to stay there, there would be no horseplay, no stupid comments… Snape had prattled on for close to an hour with all the rules he expected them to obey.
"It's advanced. There's Harry and Ron and Hermione there. Come on, I can make an ass of myself with my year-mates but making an ass out of myself with them there! It'll be so…humiliating!" Catrin replied. Ginny was the real potions expert; she could commit almost anything to memory after only a few looks at it, depending on the length. That made her an invaluable potions partner. Ginny also hated the fact that she would always be "Ron's little sister" or "Bill's little sister" and that people rarely noticed her for Ginny, star Quidditch player and potions expert. So, while Catrin had many problems with being in a class with The Boy Who Lived and Hermione Granger, Ginny merely yawned at what other fifth-year girls would have called a novelty. Ginny's crush on Harry had long worn of, and Catrin never had one, so neither of them were interested in that aspect of being in a class with them.
Catrin wouldn't have eaten anything at breakfast if Ginny hadn't forced her to. It was Friday, just two days until Gryffindor's Quidditch match against Slytherin. Beside her nervousness for the Gryffindor team's first really trying match, Catrin was terrified of the aspect of joining an advanced class. Where Ginny had a yearning black hole for knowledge, Catrin was like a cat. She didn't know what she wanted, but she wanted more of it. More knowledge terrified her, intrigued her and left her craving more. So, while she mindlessly ate, she ran over the list of things she had branded into her mind to do for today. When she had expended that, squeezing out every last detail, she ran over her new moves for the Quidditch match.
As a chaser, she was open to attack, and had been before. She knew just where she had to be for which maneuvers, but was unsure of her ability to do it. She rose when Ginny tugged on her sleeve, and walked mindlessly out into the hall. Ginny, clicked her fingers in front of Catrin's face.
"You can't turn up to Potions looking like that, Snape'll kill you!" Ginny said, snapping Catrin out of her reverie. "Come on, maybe if we turn up to potions early and study later chapters in our books, Snape will finally think that we're serious about this class."
Catrin nodded. It seemed plausible enough. They headed down to the dungeons, making sure that they didn't trip over Mrs. Norris while they were there. Peeves met them in the hallway and opened his mouth.
Catrin beat him to it. "Peeves, before you say anything incriminating, I would like to remind you that Professor Snape told you that if you were found anywhere near his dungeon again he would string you up on the Quidditch pitch wearing pink lingerie, so I would think before I speak. You wouldn't want a nice convenient trail to be following you so Professor Snape you find you immediately would you?" Catrin widened her eyes and feigned innocence. Ginny smothered a giggle at the memory of the incident.
Peeves closed his mouth and flew off, muttering about pushy fifth years. When Catrin and Ginny entered the dungeon, there was no one there, but the door leading to the potions storeroom was open. Ginny and Catrin slid into their seats. The seating in most classes was not organized and Ginny and Catrin chose to sit together, no matter who their potion-partners were. Ginny immediately pulled out her book and began committing more information to memory. Catrin hesitated. Snape often left a parchment hanging on the wall that told them who their potions partners were, and he liked them to be in that order when class began. She was about to stand up when Draco Malfoy and a group of his Slytherin cronies—Crabbe and Goyle had, unsurprisingly, not made it into the class—and they sauntered over to the list.
Malfoy sat down at the next block of two-desks after looking at the list and turned lazily to Catrin. "Kismet, you're with me," he stated plainly, and returned to talking to his friends.
Catrin nodded a silent apology to Ginny, who merely nodded and went back to studying her book. Catrin moved over to sit next to Malfoy, and took out her book. She shifted the chair back and rested one knee on the table, leaning the book against that knee. Malfoy stopped talking to his friends when some of them left and more people filtered into the room. He looked over her shoulder at the chapter she was studying—one chapter ahead of what they were currently studying.
"My, my. How admirable of you Kismet, to be so incredibly studious," he whispered as he moved his head away from her shoulder. A small shiver ran down her spine and she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and continued reading the chapter. His white blonde hair brushed against her cheek as he turned to talk with his friends. Ginny looked at him and scowled, presuming him to have insulted her again.
Catrin ignored the prickling feeling running up and down her arms. She was the sensible one, just like Ginny. She was trying to do something with her life, she didn't need complications. Small questions niggled in the back of her mind, and she sat wondering. What the hell just happened?
Catrin scowled as Malfoy smiled laconically, his large pale hands cutting up the Mandrake leaves they were required to use in the potion. It was the last thing they needed to add before letting it stew for fifteen minutes. Thanks to Draco's total self-esteem in potions and Catrin's knowledge where his lacked, they were well ahead of the rest of the class. Harry and Ron were experiencing trouble with their Mandrake leaves, and Ginny and Hermione were a little behind Catrin and Draco.
Catrin took her book out and continued reading the chapter that she had stopped reading when Snape walked in. For a classroom it was unusually quiet. That was a result of Snape's discipline. The crackling of fires under cauldrons and the small, muted mutterings of students discussing their potions was all that could be heard. So Catrin was left alone with her thoughts. But, not trusting herself to deviate from her work, she had taken out her book and was reading.
She sighed, at the thought of Draco's unwanted attention. That was a path she had tried not to stray on all her life. Despite a few mild crushes, her life was normal. She had seen what guys did to girls. All too many times she had heard Lavender Brown or Parvati Patil giggling and shrieking at the antics of their current boyfriends. All too often she had comforted Jenna or Marin, who had had their hearts ripped out and impaled in the name of love.
Boys, she decided, were a distraction.
In that way, Ginny was ultimately the perfect friend. She didn't flirt, she didn't flaunt her natural good looks. She was someone who you could be the only person you were around, and she didn't have two personalities.
Over the years, Catrin and Ginny had been best friends. Except for the time in their first year when Catrin had been moody and unreachable. Ginny had retreated to her diary, Tom's Diary, really, and had got into all that mess with the Chamber of Secrets. Catrin was one of the few who knew the true story.
She had spent so much time with the Weaslys and Ginny in the past, that she almost felt a sister. Much better than her own shambled family life had to offer. She had strayed from the path her parents had carved for her, model students, Head Boy and Girl, a year apart, they had both been involved in the Ministry, specializing in different charms. Catrin preferred Defense Against the Dark Arts and Quidditch to Charms, something her parents had never really forgiven her for.
"Kismet, take the potion off." Malfoy knocked her arm to get her attention. Catrin scowled at him, and took the potion off the fire and allowed it to cool. She had left her book open to where she was reading on the desk, and Professor Snape sauntered up the isle, criticizing and scowling. He took one look at her open book, and turned to her.
"Kismet, Malfoy. Your potion will be tested first, so be prepared. Kismet. You will meet me after class," he said, his lip curling only slightly at Kismet, offset by the shining of his favourite student, Malfoy.
Their potion, like most others, was a success at bringing their charmed model back to life. As everyone filed out Catrin stayed in her seat, shivering. The dungeon was cold, but she had the feeling that what Snape was about to deliver would curdle fresh milk. The potions master paced for a few moments, silently. Catrin sat and worried about her face. So ironic, she thought, that my last name should mean fortune. Snape certainly didn't get that part.
"Miss. Kismet. I"—he stopped, his upper lip curling—"sympathize with your situation. I can see why you feel the need"—he stopped again, scowling—"to get ahead of the rest of the class. I understand that you wish to be knowledgeable in the area of Potions, but"—here it was. Catrin recognized it. He had been fairly nice so far, and was about to deliver the killer—"don't you think that you should ably understand the topics that we have already covered, before attempting anything harder. I would hate for the friend of Harry Potter"—he spat the word out—"to come to any harm."
He had been scowling the whole time. Catrin felt the need to say some smart-alecky remark that would wipe the scowl off his face. She tried her very best to look upset. "I was going to ask you about that Professor. May I have permission to use this dungeon on Monday night, to practice a few potions that I just can't get. It would be for the best if I had someone here to help me, as well," she tried as hard as she could to look thoroughly chastised. She layered self-admonishment and utter adoration of the Professor on in generous amounts. Snape's expression didn't soften.
"I will arrange for someone to meet you here. Most likely me. You are excused, go," he said. Catrin picked up her book-bag and hurried out, trying to restrain the smile form her face. If she had asked in any other way Snape would have found some way to refuse, making sure that she would fail something in the final.
Ginny met her outside the door. "What did that slimy old bastard want?" she asked. Scowling. Ginny's hate of all Slytherins had intensified over the years.
"He wanted to talk to me about my utter lack of talent for Potions. As usual," Catrin snorted, and sorted through her bag for her spare quill, to be ready for their next class. The rest of the day passed in a multicoloured whirl. Professor Sprout was incredibly mad because something had got to her Mandrakes, and McGonagall had been having trouble in the previous class when Neville Longbottom turned a chair into a nest of snakes.
The Great Hall was full of light and life as people came to dinner. As usual, Ginny and Catrin walked in together, but today Ginny led Catrin away from their normal crowd. Girls of all year levels looked at her jealously when Ginny sat her down with Harry, Ron and Hermione.
"What did Snape want with you after class today?" Hermione asked. Catrin snorted.
"Just to insult my total lack of talent in Potions. But, at least today he couldn't complain about my not remembering all the ingredients," she pulled up the sleeve of her robe to reveal the list. Ron and Hermione shook their heads, Ron in amazement, Hermione in wonder.
"It just looks like a bunch of designs, you have got to show me how to do that," Ron said. Catrin laughed.
"You have all the knowledge there, why don't you use it?" Hermione asked. Ginny snorted.
"Too lazy, that's my bet."
Small talk continued. Most of it was about Sunday's game. Harry was the team captain now, and he had a whole new team. Oliver Pascal and Henry Fitzreinald were the other Chasers, aside from Catrin. Ginny and Monday deCerizay were the Beaters and Julie Quinn was the Keeper.
"And this year there will be another glorious win for Gryffindor," Ginny predicted happily, leaning back on her chair. Catrin smiled. With Harry, there was hardly any way they could lose.
As Ginny and Catrin walked through the throng of people leaving the great hall, Catrin felt a light brush on her cheek. She spun around, trying to see who it was, but whoever it was had disappeared into the crowd.
More mysteries, thought Catrin, just what I need.
A/N: This has been revised, unless you can't tell. Ginny and Catrin are in their fifth year while Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, Dean, Seamus etc. are in their sixth year. Thankyou to those who reviewed, namely Jae, Junbug, Naavi, Gray Frog and my wonderful Naddie. It's great to see those reviews. As pointed out by Naavi, I had issues with the whole sixth-year/fifth-year thing, but corrected it and some other minor errors!