By: Gemin16
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it all belongs to J.K. Rowling who can claim the title of a genius and a goddess. I however, own, Kitrina, Lady, and the memory of Kalvin.
A/N: Yes you guys were very straightforward on how you enjoyed the last chapter (*ducks as rotten vegetables are thrown at her*). It mad me very happy yet very sad. Sad because Kalvin died and you guys liked him and happy because it was well written.
I was also disappointed when I looked to see how the chapter looked on Fanfiction.net and I realized the italics and bold didn't show. If it did it would have added such a cool effect to the end, I know, I know, I'm being mean)………
Only two more chapters after this one! Is anyone else besides me excited?
Oh well thank you to all that reviewed and those who didn't. That is really all I have to say for now.
Chapter 13: Kitsune's End
***********************************************************************************************
It was raining.
The droplets fell pitter-patter as it hit the glass of the windows, each drop making the exact same noise as the rest. When they fell together, the drops made a wavy pattern on the glass. It was beautiful but sad in a way.
It had been like that for past week. Hermione sighed softly as she heard the constant drumming of raindrops. It's starting to get annoying, she thought quietly to herself as she worked on her homework.
It had been a long week since the events of achieving the fifth item, the Time Turner. It would have been a wonderful celebration with the gaining of a new item, a lost friend returned, and only one item short of finding them all. But the most cheerful member of their party wasn't herself.
Hermione looked over at Kitrina's limp body underneath her star blanket. The vixen had never left her fox form after that sad day. It was obvious that she was greatly saddened and hurt from his death and realization of who he really was. Even when they buried his body, she didn't bother to change forms. Rather she sat in a tree and stared at the funeral. Not too many people showed up, a few acquaintances, teachers, and Hermione, Ron, Harry, and the others. It was sad and short since not many people knew who Kalvin really was. The only person who could really tell them anything was the woman once known as Lady, but she was still recovering from the shock she received and being free after being under the enchantment of the Imperious Curse so long. She was slightly weak and couldn't attend.
Hermione wondered if she would ever hear Kitrina laugh or see her smile again. It was like her heart and soul were broken apart. She walked and ate like she was under a spell, no emotion present what so ever and everything looked so automatic. Her eyes had lost their bright warm color being replaced with a disturbing cold look.
Will she ever heal? Hermione asked herself for the umpteenth time. She never knew what it was like to loose someone that close and didn't know how she would react if the exact same thing happened to her.
Her thoughts were interrupted as she saw Crookshanks jump onto the desk where Kitrina lay and laid along side her with a meow. Kitrina didn't response but Crookshanks kept meowing.
"Crookshanks leave her alone," Hermione told him but the cat wouldn't listen. He kept meowing at the vixen in a soft voice. Kitrina's ears made some movement but that was it. Deciding that maybe she should leave the two alone. Hermione gathered her things together and left.
"I have no clue what he could say to her but maybe he might get her to get up," she said as she headed down to Harry's house at the side of the castle. She hadn't talked to any of them since the funeral.
When she arrived there she found the door open and decided to let herself in. Inside she noticed Ron and Harry sitting at the table along with Remus. They had the three items glowing in front of them and looking at it with blank faces. Ron was the first to notice she was there.
"Hullo, 'Mione."
"Hello."
"How's Kitrina?" Remus asked in a quiet voice.
Hermione frowned. "She hasn't come out of her fox form for a week. She's eating but she's had this dead and cold look ever since. Crookshanks is with her right now, meowing away."
"Maybe he's trying to annoy her so she'll change into a human and shut him up," Ron mumbled. He was trying to make a joke but it just didn't sound like one.
Hermione looked at the items. "They're glowing."
Harry nodded. "When we put them all together, they started to glow. I guess they attract each other that way or something."
Hermione thought for a moment. "Maybe that's the key to finding the sixth item. I have an idea but I can't put it into action until Kitrina decides to come out."
"Let her be," Remus said. "The time of healing is different for every person. When Kitrina is ready she'll be sure to let us know." The three teenagers nodded.
"Hello, Hermione. Haven't seen you in while."
Hermione turned around to see Sirius standing at the door removing his cloak. He hung it on the rack and went to go sit along with the rest of them.
"How's Rosaline?" Remus asked.
"She's getting stronger by the day," Sirius said with a smile. "She'll be out in about two or three days."
"That's good to hear," Remus said, relief reaching his features.
"So who is this Rosaline person?" Harry asked.
"She's an old friend of the Marauders," Sirius said. "Real close to your mum too, Harry."
"What happened to her?" Hermione asked.
Remus frowned. "Right after you were born Harry, she disappeared. Never to be seen again. She was rumored to be dead, killed by Voldemort supposedly but thank goodness its proven false. Was Arabella there?" he asked Sirius. "She was there when I visited yesterday."
"When has she left is more like it," Sirius said with a laugh.
Hermione gave a questionable look to Harry and Ron.
"My mum's best friend," Harry told her.
Hermione nodded and continued to listen to Remus and Sirius's conversation.
***
Kitrina sighed as she redid her ponytail. "I look like hell," she said quietly to herself. She quickly used her wand to wet a rag to wipe her face. Was she in pain? Yes, her whole heart ached. She had so many questions but now they were almost impossible to answer. She could understand why he didn't' tell her but still- it would have been nice to know why.
She rubbed her face gently as she thought about how she first met Kalvin. He was alone and like solid ice but then on that last day she knew he was full of emotion and it was showing. She knew he regretted his actions of the past. His heart had healed and that was what mattered most.
"Although now he's not alive to share it," she said sadly. Crookshanks stood next to her and rubbed his body against her with a meow.
"What were his last words?" she asked him. He nodded. Kitrina blushed a little but tears were clearly in her eyes.
I love you"He said-" a sob came choking out, "he said that-that he loved me." She fell to the floor crying. Crookshanks rubbed his head against her arm meowing. "I never even got to tell him how I felt. Dammit, Crookshanks, you were right." The cat kept on rubbing and purring against Kitrina. She cried harder as she leaned against the desk. She held the sides of her head and rocked back and forth.
"I love him."
Crookshanks meowed.
Kitrina nodded her head and wiped her eyes. "I know, I know, I can't be sad forever. I've had a week to mourn and now I have to get on track and live on with my life. I can't let his sacrifice go to waste so I have to cheer up."
"Meow."
"I've lost almost all of the people close to me, Crookshanks. If the Holy Sorcerer's Stone falls into the wrong hands then, then all hope is lost. But where could it be?"
She was so deep into her thoughts that she didn't notice the look on Crookshanks' face.
***
"Who in their right mind would have an item of Merlin's?" Hermione asked no one.
"Who knows?" Harry answered.
"Wonder if You-Know-Who has a clue?" Ron asked rubbing his temple.
All three of them were sitting on the front step of Harry's house, thinking of who could have the human item. Hermione had pointed out that it would have to be someone with a connection spanning over three hundred years.
"He does," Kitrina said walking over to them with Crookshanks behind her. "If he had a good clue of where the last few were, then he knows, giving him the big advantage over us."
Harry, Hermione, and Ron, look at Kitrina with concerned faces. She looked well- she didn't quite look herself but she was more lively than before.
"Kitrina-are you?" Harry asked.
Kitrina smiled, although it was small and not as bright as usual. "I'll be fine, honestly. Items first and then you can spoil me with all your love. Remember now. Favorite candies are those live gummy worms and I could use a brand new set of earrings. Crookshanks will take notes if you have any questions." They smiled. Even though she didn't' look like it and even if what she said just now sounded forced, they could tell that Kitrina was healing rapidly in her own style.
"So how exactly do we find this Holy Sorcerer's Stone thingy?" Ron asked.
"We could use the other items," Hermione suggested. "They seem to glow when another is around."
"That we could," Kitrina said sitting down next to Harry. "But it will take us a while, I can guarantee you that much."
"What about the other items. What exactly can the time turner do?"
"Go backwards in time depending on how you turn it. It's dangerous though; if you change the wrong event serious consequences could happen. It's something Master was very careful about, I'm glad we have it. But it's the Holy Sorcerer's Stone that I'm worried about. It's the most important and powerful item that Master created. There was an old rhyme that master once told me, something like if you hold the stone that which is sacred, you hold the key to eternal power. I'm sure that's what Voldemort is really after. But even so any of the items can be dangerous if used properly by the wrong hands."
"What about the other items?" Harry asked.
Kitrina leaned back. "The first item that was stolen was the Sorcerer's Stone, that's for sure."
Hermione looked at her. "How do you know?"
"For one, we only have two choices left of what he has, the holy stone and the normal one. Master didn't leave the Holy Stone with the Goblins. They weren't trusted back then; Master was lucky that he could get them to hold an item for him. I'm actually surprised that they would hold the Sorcerer's Stone."
"What about this Excalibur's Hilt?" Ron asked her.
"Excalibur's hilt, an item that requires little magic yet great skill. Like the name implies. It's nothing but a hilt."
"What's the catch though?" Harry asked her.
"It changes into any weapon the wielder desires. All it takes is thought but in order for it to work, you'll need to know what you're doing with the weapon."
"The gourd we know about, the time turner we understand, the pendant however we don't," Ron said putting his arms behind his head.
"I guess that one you'll just have to figure out on your own," Kitrina said softly. "I'm all out of ideas."
"Didn't the centaur say something about finding the last item?" Harry said.
"Fiernze said that Master left the item with someone he trust more than the centaurs and unicorns, which is pretty hard to figure out who it is. The only person that Mater trusted more than the centaurs and unicorns were Emrys, Yurah, and Gatoh and there's no way any of them could have. Yurah and Emry's died along with Master and Gatoh wasn't there when Master hid the items." Crookshanks meowed.
"So what should we do?" Hermione asked.
"We'll split up, each of you taking an item with you and finding the last item. If it glows, then you know it's somewhere close."
"What about you? We only have three items," Harry told her.
"I have my own way of sensing the items," she said with a wink. "Hurry and get the items before we loose our last chance. We'll meet back here in about three hours okay?" Agreeing the three adolescents ran inside and retrieved the items. Harry took the time turner, Ron had the pendant, and Hermione left with the gourd. As they walked out, Ron was the last to one to leave the house. He saw Kitrina tying her boot with Crookshanks waiting.
"Um, Kitrina," he said sheepishly.
Kitrina looked up. "Yeah?"
"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked her. Kitrina smiled and a tiny bit of her fox ears popped out, making Ron worry what she would say.
"The way you were worrying about me, you would think you liked me and not Hermione." Ron blushed and went to go kick at Kitrina but the vixen was too quick for him. "See you later, Arrow-boy!" she called back.
Ron growled inwardly but smiled. She was definitely getting back to her old self. He looked at the item he was holding. Funny, he thought. Why was it glowing?
***
Kitrina sighed as she walked the streets of Hogsmeade. She had separated from Crookshanks over an hour ago. "Come out, come out, where ever you are," she said childishly. She passed by a few stands in the middle of the street. Looking in her pocket she noticed she still had plenty of shopping money left. She smiled to herself and looked up to the gray sky. "I can't help that I'm a girl so please forgive me Master. Who knows I may find it in a shop somewhere."
***
Harry looked at the time turner in his pocket. It still wasn't glowing and in fact it hadn't glowed since he started his search two hours ago. It wasn't looking good. If they didn't' find that last item, the Voldemort would go on killing more and more people. People like his parents, Kalvin, and many more.
Harry frowned and started running.
***
Ron wasn't having much luck. His pendant didn't glow since he left Kitrina by Harry's house and he was still puzzled by that thought. It's probably because it was near the other items for so long, he thought to himself.
He wondered what things You-Know-Who would do if he got his grubby hands on the last item. Kitrina said it was pretty powerful but then again she said any of the items could be pretty powerful if used correctly. He held up the pendant and looked at it. "Only a powerful wizard could use you, huh?" he asked himself out loud. He heard the giant clock strike two o'clock.
"Great," he mumbled. "Three hours searching and nothing."
***
"I've found nothing," Hermione said to herself as she started walking back to Harry's house. Only one more item to go and then they would still have to get the other two back, she thought. After that their quest would be done. Then what?
Would she leave the book?
Would she be forced to leave the only friends she had? Ginny, Harry, Lisa, Kitrina, Ron and all the others.
Or would she and Crookshanks have to stay in this world? Not that would be a bad thing but she would never see her parents or teachers ever again.
I wonder if they even know if I'm gone? she thought.
***
Kitrina slid the package under Hermione's bed and smiled. "It's the least I can give her," she said bouncing on top of the bed. She heard the clock stuck two and sighed. "No item. Well at least Voldy doesn't have it."
Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard a tapping noise on the window. She stood up and saw a large owl sitting on the windowsill. "I've never seen you around here before, who are you?" she asked it. The owl said nothing and presented her with its leg, a note wrapped around it.
"For me?" she asked sarcastically. "You shouldn't have. I feel so honored being presented with your leg."
"Hoot!"
"Don't call me a twit, you oversized excuse for a pillow. Of course I see the damn note. So stay still." She took the note off of its leg and opened it. Her eyes narrowed as she read it. She looked at the owl.
"Whose your Master?"
"Hoot."
"I see. Well thank you." The owl flew away.
Kitrina thought to herself as she reread the note. It was shakily written but she got the message loud and clear. "The chances of it being a trap are high but I can't let it slip. This might have been all a part of Master's plan." She looked at the package under Hermione's desk. "This doesn't feel good but might as well write something." She took out a piece of paper and a quill and started writing.
***
"Where could she be?" Ron asked as he tapped his foot impatiently.
"She may have found something," Hermione said.
"Or she may have forgotten," Harry added in.
"I hope she found a clue or something," Hermione said as she looked at the sky.
Ron looked at all three items and watched as they glowed. He cocked his head.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked.
"They're glowing."
"Well what else would they do when they're put together," Hermione said dryly.
Ron shot her a mean look. "I know that, it's just that when I was with Kitrina, the pendant glowed. There was no other item too"
"Seriously?" Harry asked him.
Ron nodded. A thought came to Hermione as Crookshanks came trotting by them.
"No fox with you aye," Harry asked. Crookshanks ignored him and rubbed his body against Hermione's leg. "What is it, Crookshanks?"
"He has something in his mouth," Ron told her.
Hermione took the note out of his mouth and read it out loud.
Searchers of the Items,
I know someone who can give you information on the last item. Come to the dungeons inside Hogwarts around three and I will tell you all I can.
WT
"Whose WT?" Ron asked.
Hermione shrugged. "I certainly don't know. Crookshanks where did you find this?"
"Meow."
Everyone stood silent for a minute. Finally Ron spoke up. "What made you think that he would answer you?"
Hermione shot him an aggravated look. "I'm sorry it's just that Kitrina does it all the time. Did you get it from her?" she asked her cat.
Crookshanks shook his head.
"Where? My room?"
Crookshanks nodded.
Hermione thought. "Then that means that Kitrina must have gone to the corridor, huh."
Crookshanks meowed.
"Why didn't she tell us?" Ron asked with a frown.
"Because if it was a trap then we would get hurt," Harry said. "And she would rather die than have us get hurt."
That's when it hit Hermione. "The Holy Sorcerer's Stone could only be with someone that Merlin truly trust."
"The item glowed when Ron was standing with her," Harry said.
"And when she held the pendant before," Hermione said remembering. She tried to shush Crookshanks as he meowed constantly.
"She's very close to Merlin," Ron said.
All three of them looked at each other with shocked expressions.
"KITRINA!"
***
Kitrina sneezed as she entered the unused corridor. She felt her forehead as she kept on walking. "Funny it doesn't feel like I have a fever," she said.
It was dark and it was cold. She held out her wand and made it glow so she could see her way. "Now why would this W.T. guy want to meet in the dungeons? Sure they would never be used giving enough privacy but it's way to cold to start one. I'll have to have a serious conversation with this guy on the dangers of holding conversations with chattering teeth."
Little did she know that there was a tail swiveling around the halls in front of her, hearing ever word.
***
"Hold on guys," Harry said as they ran into the castle.
"What's wrong, Harry?" Hermione asked stopping along with Ron and Crookshanks.
He winced as his hand flew to his forehead. Ron eye's opened wide. "You don't think?"
Harry nodded as he winced some more. "I think so."
Hermione looked at both boys frantically. "Think what?"
"It's him," Harry said. "He's here."
"Who?"
"You-Know-Who," Ron said with a serious expression. "Harry's scar burns whenever he's near."
Hermione face lit up with fear. "The that means-"
"We have to hurry," Harry said as they started running again.
***
Kitrina felt something, the feeling that she was waiting for. "There's an item here!" she said happily as she started running forward into the dungeons. "W.T. must have the Holy Sorcerer's Stone!" She kept running forward until she saw the glow from torches. Slowing down to catch her breath, she looked forward and saw a shadow.
"Hello? W.T? I'm one of the searchers of the items. Are you there."
"I'm right here."
Kitrina turned around only to meet face to face with a wand. Before she could react, ropes came from it and wrapped all around her body causing her to tumble over.
"It was a trap," she said as she hit the ground with a thud.
"But of course," a silky voice said from behind her. She struggled to turn her head but regretted doing so. Standing before her was a tall and skinny excuse for a person dressed in black robes.
It was Voldemort!
"Wormtail, chain her to the wall!"
"Y-yes, Master." Kitrina felt herself being lifted by a spell and glided over to a wall. The ropes fell from her body and sooner than she could react, she felt her hands and feet being chained to the wall of the dungeon. She looked at Wormtail with confused black eyes. Once he stepped back, she was left to stare at the glowing red eyes of Voldemort. A sudden fear came over her as he drew near her and cupped her face in his hand. It felt like ice. She shivered.
"Are we afraid my dear," he said tauntingly.
Kitrina removed her face from his grip. "Not afraid," she said with a tremble in her voice. "Disgusted!"
Voldemort laughed. It was crackled and disturbing.
"What do you want from me?" Kitrina demanded. "I don't carry any of the items with me!"
"Oh but you are."
Her eyebrows narrowed. "What are you talking about?"
"I was angry!" Voldemort said ignoring her question. "I've been searching for the items but had no clue as to who could have them but then it hit me. Let the vixen be set free once more and have her show me where the items were. Wormtail followed you to many places and heard many of your conversations. The ones he missed, he deserved a fair punishment for each one." Kitrina could see Wormtail's figure cower in fear but she looked back at Voldemort.
"I found out where they were one by one but I was searching for one item in particular. The one item that I would need to grant me all the power I wanted, the Holy Sorcerer's Stone. But there was one problem. After seeking one by one to see what the other creatures had, none of them had the Holy Stone! Luckily for me, Wormtail heard one detail that would help me solve all my troubles. Merlin would only leave the Holy item with the person he trusted the most. And that my dear little fox, is you!"
Shock entered Kitrina's expression as she stared at Voldemort.
"Surprised aren't we," he said.
Kitrina didn't answer.
"Think about it? How else could you have lived for so long? You ability to understand other animals, the power to transform into a fox at will, you could sense the items without fail, and you can read into people whenever you liked. What else would give you that power but the Holy Sorcerer's Stone."
"Yes, I have to admit why would Merlin trust the most precious item with a stuffy little girl? But then again a stuffy little girl wouldn't realize what she could do with the full potential of the stone. She could have easily taken over other people's thoughts and mind, even other creatures! She could have done so much with it but she didn't. Why, you wonder? Because her dear precious Master didn't want her too!" His voice was loud and taunting and ever word hit Kitrina ears. Everything he said made nothing but perfect sense.
She now understood where all her powers came from but she just still couldn't believe that she would have the stone. But where? How?
"You see you created not as an accident, not even for a companion, you were created for a purpose. You want to know exactly what you are?"
She didn't answer him.
He smirked. She could tell he was enjoying this.
"You're nothing but a shell, a casing to cover up the item that he wanted to hide so dearly. He never loved you like you thought he did. You were being used all this time! He only cared that you kept his item safe."
Tears fell from Kitrina's eyes. Was Voldemort telling the truth? Was she nothing but a shell? Ever since she could remember, she had always known that she was created differently from other children. That she was made not born.
Was she just a shell?
Was her Master really just pretending that he cared and loved her?
Was her feelings and life really that unimportant to the man that she looked up to and respected more than anyone, the one person that she would remain loyal to, beyond death? Would he really do that?
But then a flood of memories rushed into Kitrina's head.
~*~*~
"Mather, Mather!" A four-year-old Kitrina called out to an elderly man reading a book.
He smiled. "Aren't you supposed to be in bed, little one?" he asked her.
Kitrina shook her head, two curly pigtails swinging in opposite directions. "Mth. Yourah said I could get a stowie firth. Will you read me one, pweaze?" She held up a thick book in front of him.
Merlin smiled. "I'd be delighted to. Come on." He picked her up and let her lean against his frame as he began to read to her.
*
"Master, Master, look, look! I did it." A nine-year-old Kitrina called out to Merlin. She had just performed her first spell.
He patted her gently on the head. "Very good, Kitrina!" Fox ears came out of her head.
"She's such a clever little girl," a lady's voice said.
"She very smart for age, Merlin. You should be proud of her," a man's voiced told Merlin.
Merlin smiled up at the man. "I couldn't be more proud of her."
Kitrina beamed with pride.
*
"See that star up there, Kitrina?"
An eleven-year-old Kitrina looked up at the stars. "Yeah."
"That star will always be there to guide you when you're lost and alone. Never forget that."
Kitrina nodded her head eagerly. "I won't. Honestly!"
Merlin smiled affectionately at her. " I know you won't."
*
A fifteen-year-old Kitrina entered Merlin's study. "Master, Emerys said you wanted to see me."
"I did. Sit down, Kitrina." She did as she was told. Merlin looked like he was greatly disturbed.
"Is something wrong?" Kitrina asked. She hadn't gotten into any trouble in the past four hours so what could he have wanted.
He looked at her with his brown eyes. "Very soon, little one, I will have to leave as well as Yurah and Emrys"
"Leave. You mean on a trip or something?"
"I'm afraid not. I will leave this world I mean."
Kitrina gasped. "You mean you're all going to die!"
Merlin nodded sadly. "I'm afraid so."
"No! You can't!" Tears spilled from Kitrina's eyes. "You can't die!"
Merlin looked sadly at her, his own eyes threatening to shed tears. "It' will be alright. Gatoh will still be here."
"But I want you to stay!" Kitrina said hugging her Master close.
Merlin hugged her back. "I'm afraid I have to go, fate has already chosen this path for me. You have to stay here and live the path fate has chosen for you."
She sniffed. "I'm going to miss you!"
"As will I. You know I love you very much, Kitrina. I'm very proud of who you've become and I will always be proud of you. I know you'll grow to be a lovely young lady."
"I love you too. Your like my papa!"
"And you're nothing short of a daughter to me."
~*~*~
"YOU'RE WRONG!" Kitrina yelled at Voldemort. "I WAS HIS DAUGHTER, NOT A SHELL! UNLIKE YOU, YOU BACKSTABBING, MURDERER, MASTER WOULD NEVER CREATE LIFE FOR THAT PURPOSE!"
"Don't you dare yell at me," Voldemort said slapping her across the face but Kitrina stared back at him with angry tear filled eyes. How dare he try to turn her love for Merlin into hatred.
"You'll never win," Kitrina said. "I don't care how powerful you are, you'll never win!"
"Oh but I will. You'll see, but perhaps you won't live long enough to see that. If you agree to work for me I'll spare your life, just get me Potter and his friends along with the other items."
Kitrina managed to smile despite her anger and tears. "Never. To betray one's friends is a crime far worse than killing an innocent unicorn." She noticed Wormtail gasp in the corner.
"Very well," Voldemort said reaching into his robes. "Since you refuse I will have to claim what will only be mine." He took out a hilted figure. It glowed dimly as he held.
Kitrina gasped. "The Excalibur's Hilt!"
Voldemort laughed. "What better way to retrieve an item and kill you but with the very item your own Master made."
Kitrina's eyes widened in fear as the hilt change into a dagger as Voldemort slowly raised it up into the air.
Master help me!
***
"Did you hear that?" Ron asked as they ran down the stairway that led down to the dungeons.
"It sounded like a scream," Harry said, the color slowly draining form his face.
"You don't think it could be-" Hermione said, fear clearly in her voice.
They ran even faster, hoping that somehow in someway that they weren't too late. They couldn't be late. Too much was on the line. Kitrina, the item, the fate of the entire wizarding population. They just couldn't be.
No one bothered to light their wands as they ran down the hall, all that could be heard was their feet pounding the ground and Crookshanks's paws softly hitting the ground as he ran ahead of them. Hermione felt her heart beat getting louder with every passing second.
Harry grabbed at his forehead. "Vol-de-mort is here and close."
What seemed like a minute of running felt like an eternity. As they ran further they noticed the hall lighting up with the light from a torch. The smell of the dungeons filled their nostrils but there was an added ingredient to the smell.
Blood!
Crookshanks was the first to reach the dungeon with Harry, then Ron, and finally Hermione. It took all of Hermione's strength not to scream, much less faint.
Lying on the floor in a pool of her own blood was Kitrina with no one else with her.
Crookshanks walked up next to her and rubbed his head against her hand. "Meow."
"It's good to see you too."
They gasped. She was still alive. All three of them ran to her side and looked at her body. Blood ran down from the corner of her mouth and from a large gash in her side. Harry quickly took off his robe and covered it up but blood seeped through it. He lifted up part of her body so that she sitting up and looking at them. The color was draining from her face and she seemed to be getting weaker by the minute.
She smiled. "I'm glad I get to see you one last time," she said hoarsely.
Hermione looked at her friend. "Don't talk like that. Hold on, we'll get someone in the castle down here to heal you and everything will be okay."
Kitrina shook her head. "No, it won't be. Voldemort stabbed me good, right through the liver. I only have a few more minutes to live. Besides you can't give up this chance, Voldemort's in the building walking around with the Holy Sorcerer's Stone. Who would have thought that I would have it, huh?" She tried to laughed but coughed instead. "You guys have to go after him."
"But what about you?" Harry asked, tears filling up in his eyes.
"Stop crying all of you. You should be happy for me. I'll get to be with my master and all of the others. I'll get to see Kalvin again and tell that idiot how much I love him. See, it's not a bad thing."
"But Kitrina?" Hermione said.
"But what?" Kitrina asked. She looked at Crookshanks. "We had a lot of fun together, didn't we? If it weren't for you, a lot of things wouldn't have happened. I'm glad I got to see you again, Crookshanks. Hehe. I like your new name; it's funnier than the last one. Take care of these three for me okay? "
Crookshanks meowed.
Kitrina smiled, tears rolling down her eyes. "I'll do that. Thanks." She looked up at Harry. "I have to say, your one of the bravest people I've ever known, Harry. It was also fun to have another person top share ideas and thoughts on certain human subjects on, right? Looks like you'll win this bet though."
"You would have won," Harry said. "You won the last one, and you would most likely win this one."
She blinked. "You're the leader, I'm trusting you to do the right thing."
Harry nodded, letting the tears fall down. "I will."
She looked over to Ron, who was trying not to cry but failing. "I liked hanging out with you, Ron. You're honest and funny but I guess I got on your nerves a lot, didn't I?"
Ron wiped his eyes. "Forget about it, Kitrina, you didn't honestly."
"You have to watch her, you know that and believe in her. It'll be hard but I know you can make it through."
"What are you talking about?"
Kitrina giggled but she ended up coughing again. "Love, silly. Ron loves Hermione doesn't he?" He didn't even blush like he normally would.
Finally Kitrina turned to Hermione. "It was really nice having another girl to talk to. We had so much fun together, right? When I told Albus Dumbledore to write that book fifty years ago, I never would have imagined someone like you coming through. I'm glad you did."
Hermione's eyes opened in shock. She told Dumbledore to write the Mysterious World. "Kitrina?"
Kitrina blinked letting her tears fall down. "Yeah, I told him. Prophecy said we needed someone from the outside and you were the one. Hermione, you learned the most didn't you, you learned more about yourself than you would have ever imagined. Watching you change was so much fun and I was glad to apart of it." Her voice grew weaker and her eyes started to close.
"Kitrina you can't go! We need you! You were the one who brought all three of us together!"
"You did," Harry said.
"If weren't for you Hermione would still be stuck in her room studying and me and Harry would be in detention not knowing that she existed," Ron said.
Kitrina's smile never faulted. "I'll never leave you guys, I'm very hard to get rid of you know. Honestly I don't have too much time left. Listen, Harry, behind you is the Excalibur's Hilt, take it and bring it with you. Voldemort left it behind after taking the Holy Sorcerer's Stone. All three of you have to go after him and Hermione, I know you're thinking this so don't even argue. What ever you do, don't use the time turner. If you do, something awful will happen. And remember this. If you three work together, you can beat him and save the wizard race. Just use the skill and items that you have now and you'll make it. I'm so tired….."
"Kitrina!" Hermione cried.
"I'm still here," she said but it was barely audible. "I'm glad I got to meet all of you. I never grew up with too many people but I'm glad you three were my best friends and stop crying, Master's calling. Bye-bye-" Her eyes closed and she leaned back into Harry's grip. Crookshanks meowed but Kitrina's reply never came.
The little vixen, who was loyal to the very end, finally got her wish.