Kay stepped into the hall, bright eyes shining at the array of people
gathering for breakfast. She grinned a bit impishly as her gaze drifted and
she debated where to sit. Considering May was not there yet, the Gryffindor
table, probably. Oh well, she'd have time to bug some Slytherin's later.
She sat down near the end of the Gryffindor table, eyes darting repeatedly
to the entrance, hoping to see May.
May walked quickly into the room, hugging her Potions books to her chest and making sure to avoid her tormentors from the night before. She caught sight of her sister almost immediately this time and bounced over to sit
next to her at the Gryffindor table, "Kay Day!"
"May!" Kay yelped happily, grabbing her sister and pulling her down beside
her, close enough that she would be the only one to hear a whispered, "Tonight, 8... we get to meet with the other mischief twins, a...astrology tower... I think." She was silent then, grinning to her sister as her eyes
sparkled mischievously.
May nodded as she slipped her book in her bag, "I'll be there..if I can find it." May began filling a plate of food, not noticing the three older
Slytherin boys approach her with identical smirks.
"Well, well, look who it is," said Draco Malfoy, startling May. "Still
sitting with the kittens?"
Kay glanced at the boy, eyes narrowing smoothly. "And why not? Kittens are better then snakes any day." She was ready to move protectively between him
and her sister, but waited a moment, still sitting down.
May turned and grinned at Draco cheekily before granted him a long wet raspberry. With a giggle she turned back to her meal as the blonde stood
there flabbergasted. Kay grinned impishly, turning back to her food as
well.
Draco scowled, "You're a Slytherin, not a flea-bitten Gryffindor! Show some pride!" Draco paused and a nasty smile began to spread across his face,
"But then, what could I expect from a Mudblood?"
The table gasped in disbelief and a passel of Red-hairs stood up speaking
in loud angry tones that merged together to become nearly intelligible.
Kay glared, shaking a bit with anger as she glared at Malfoy. It was obvious he meant the term to be insulting the first time, and this time, it had her very angry. Her eyes narrowed as she clenched and unclenched her
fists, doing her best not to lose her temper or control. "Fine," she
finally hissed, glancing to May, "Let's go sit with the snakes today."
May looked over quizzically at Kay before nodding and standing. She grabbed her bag and moved to walk with her sister to the Slytherin table.
"No," Draco told Kay as he pulled May to him, tucking her under his arm carelessly. May hugged her bag to her as she stared wide-eyed up at him. "She's the Slytherin, stay where you belong Gryffindor," Draco spat at Kay.
Kay glared, her eyes burning as she stood up to follow. "We belong together," she hissed gesturing from herself to her sister. She had to keep
control, before she did something stupid and got her and her sister
permanently separated somehow.
"Let her go, Malfoy," came a low voice filled with warning from behind Kay.
May looked up to see Harry backed by his best friend Ron and the three other Weasley brothers. His green eyes burned fiercely as his hand drifted
towards where May was sure he kept his wand.
"Or else what, Potter," Draco drawled in return. "You'll go cry to
McGonagall? Come off it! She's Slytherin, I'm just reclaiming her."
"Let her go, Malfoy," Harry growled back, "You don't own her!"
Draco smirked, "You don't own her either, Potter."
A red flush crept its way up Harry's neck and face, "Malfoy...let May go!"
"She's the only one of you that's worth anything," Fred joined in the
argument.
"And we have to protect her poor precious mind from gits like you," George
added on a grin.
Kay grinned a bit, her temper cooling she three people came to May's defense. "C'mon, let her go before you.. give her a disease or something,"
she quipped between comments, grinning broadly and impishly.
The other Gryffindors laughed and Ron chimed in, "Yeah, the slimy git disease! Can't have her getting sick from you, can we," George threw in
his two cents.
"She's only in danger of becoming an idiot kitten if she stays here, so
bugger off," Draco told them as he began backing away with his goons.
Harry leapt forward and grabbed May's arm, pulling her towards her sister
and stepping in front of the two, his wand drawn. "Back off, Malfoy!"
Kay grabbed onto her sister as the was pulled towards her, eyes focused, rather surprised, at the scene unraveling before she glanced to May to see
if she was all right.
May grabbed hold of her sister and watched the scene behind her in shock,
"Kay, Harry's strong..."
Kay nodded, watching. "Yes he is," she began softly, eyes darting from her sister to the others as she hugged her sister tightly. "Nobody can separate
us."
"Harry can protect us, too," May said as she watched the boys all begin arguing in earnest. Looking off to the side, she saw Professor Snape begin
to head for the fight and decided it was time to go.
"Come on, let's get out of here," she told her sister as she pulled Kay
toward an exit.
Kay didn't need to be told twice and followed her sister towards the exit, sparing half a moment to grab random food items from tables as she moved by. She grinned to her sister and shrugged, "We didn't exactly get time to
eat... well... I didn't."
May grinned at her sister, "We'll get the other twins to show us the
kitchen sometime, Kay Day?" She noticed Snape's eyes followed them out
even as he reprimanded the Gryffindors they had left behind, but she
shrugged it off and began the trek to her first class.
Kay nodded brightly, ignoring Snape's gaze as she grinned to her sister. "I can't wait till tonight," she almost yelped in excitement, though softly.
May grinned, "I have to go to History of Magic now, I'll meet you at 8,
KAy?"
Kay grinned a bit impishly back and nodded, "K, May. See you then." With
that she turned, headed to her first class as well.
************************************************
The castle loomed tall over the sparkling lake and town below it. And it
was everything the man remembered it being. He could still smell the scents of adventure and camaraderie that grew stronger the closer he came
to the ancient school of witchcraft.
Laughter filled the air and the man quickly reverted to his dog form. From his view within the shadows of the old Whomping Willow, he could a group of
older students cheerily making their way to Hagrid's old hut near the
forest.
The now dog sighed, shaking his head in nostalgic misery. He wished he
could be a carefree pup again, free from the chains of his guilt. But thoughts like that only reminded him of his dead friends and The Traitor, Peter Pettigrew. He had to find the rat before he could hurt his godson,
it was essential that he did so quickly.
But the task would not be easy. Everyone believed that he, Sirius Black, had killed James and Lily Potter, which left him without a friend in the world. In fact, if anyone even knew he was here, he was a dead man. Worse
than dead even, he was a soulless shell.
HIISSSS!
Sirius started, almost tripping over his large paws in surprise. He
steadied himself and shifted to look over at a madly spitting orange furball of a cat standing at the edge of the madly swinging tree's reach.
The cat was angrily hissing at Sirius as though he was a devil and not
simply an overly large stray lab.
Sirius growled at the cat, certain it would run for it, but it simply arched it's back, becoming even more of a furball than ever. Sirius barked and the cat bolted - right at Sirius' eyes. Sirius ducked and the cat flew over him, landing on his wide posterior. Sirius howled, bucking madly to
dislodge the cat. The cat didn't budge an inch.
Finally, as a last ditch effort, Sirius ran out of the tree trunk's
protective area and into the swinging branches. Ducking and dodging he
avoided the branches, but the cat was not so lucky. A lucky limb swung down and up, taking the cat with it. A high scream filled the air as the
orange beast flew through the air and landed on its feet some distance away. It gave a final hiss at Sirius and limped away, a sour look on its
ugly scrunched face.
Sirius hurried back to the tree, opening the hidden passage within and trotting slowly to the Shrieking Shack. This encounter was a bad sign of
things to come, he was sure. Or perhaps that was the influence of his prison time still affecting him. It didn't matter, just as he no longer
mattered. The only one who mattered was his godson, Harry Potter.
***************************************
May quietly crept emptied her belongings out of her bag onto her bed and
slipped her Potions book back in. Throwing the strap over head, she
quickly positioned it for comfort, threw in a few more mischief-making materials and made her way as unobtrusively as possible from the Slytherin
dormitory.
Kay moved quickly along after her classes, and dumping her books onto her bed she began searching for a few... toys. Grinning she tossed them in her
bag, eyes darting about to make sure no one saw her. She tossed the bag
over her shoulder and walked slowly, trying to sneak out of her
dormitory.without looking like she was trying to sneak.
May made it out fairly easily. The other girls in her year went searching
for her in their room shortly after May had managed to sneak into the common room. No one else seemed to care enough to pay her any mind and so
she managed to slip out unnoticed and make her way stealthily to the
Astronomy Tower to meet her sister.
It was a long walk, with many stairs that May remembered wanting to learn a few curses for from the astronomy lesson she'd had earlier that week, but she managed to make it to the top with a minute to spare. Collapsing by
the door, she curled up to pant and wait for her sister.
May quietly crept into her dormitory and emptied the contents out of her bag onto her bed and slipped her Potions book back in. Throwing the strap
over head, she quickly positioned it for comfort, threw in a few more
mischief-making materials and made her way as unobtrusively as possible
from the Slytherin dormitory.
Kay moved quickly along after her classes, and dumping her books onto her bed she began searching for a few... toys. Grinning she tossed them in her
bag, eyes darting about to make sure no one saw her. She tossed the bag
over her shoulder and walked slowly, trying to sneak out of her
dormitory... without looking like she was trying to sneak.
May made it out fairly easily. The other girls in her year went searching
for her in their room shortly after May had managed to sneak into the common room. No one else seemed to care enough to pay her any mind and so
she managed to slip out unnoticed and make her way stealthily to the
Astronomy Tower to meet her sister.
It was a long walk, with many stairs that May remembered wanting to learn a few curses for from the astronomy lesson she'd had earlier that week, but she managed to make it to the top with a minute to spare. Collapsing by
the door, she curled up to pant and wait for her sister.
Kay almost darted through hallways and up stairs, but still, was running slow to get where she wanted. She wanted to get to astronomy tower as soon
as possible, but it almost seemed further away then she remembered. She
grinned, panting when she saw her sister. "May," she half whispered,
grinning impishly.
May grinned at her sister, her eyes twinkling in welcome, "Where are the
twins?"
Kay shrugged slightly, glancing around, "On their way is my guess."
"They're late," May whispered back as she glanced at her necklace watch.
It was already five past eight.
"No, we're not, oh dear apprentices," came a jovial voice from behind them.
"We were waiting for your arrival in here."
May turned around, her eyes opening in fright as she discovered she could
find where the voice could be coming from. "Kay!"
Kay would have been amused, were her sister not frightened, and so, pulling her arms around her sister protectively she scanned with her eyes or the
source of the voice. "In where?"
Out of the shadows that lingered in the round corner by the door leading
into the main tower room popped the Weasley twins, "In one of the many
secret passages of Hogwarts Castle." The twins grinned down at their
female counterparts and swept themselves down in a low bow, as though
presenting the passageway to a pair of queens.
May breathed a sigh of relief, glad that she would not be forced to finally
face one of the infamous Hogwarts ghosts that she'd been so studiously avoiding. Standing, she almost tripped over her own feet in her hurry to
investigate the corner the boys had come from.
Kay followed quickly behind, grinning as May was now leading. She was just as curious, but, was just, sort of savoring the moment. This was so fun.
One of the Weasleys chuckled, "The mouse isn't so mousey after all. I do
believe we have picked our proteges well, brother dear."
The other grinned back, "Indeed, but we still have to show them the
grounds. We only have so many warm days left to explore outside."
"Too true," the first brother replied, following the Day sisters into the
passage. "And we have so many passages to show them before the grounds
grow dark enough for our mischievous purposes."
Kay grinned happily between her sister and the twins. She couldn't wait to
see everything!
May grinned and ran ahead in the passage against the protest of the others.
It was dark, but she wasn't afraid. It was very interesting!
Suddenly she ran into something large and furry. Falling back, May screamed. A large dark shadow reared and disappeared. She could hear the
loud pounding of padded paws as she sat sprawled and panting loudly.
Kay wrinkled her forehead, skidding to a stop right behind May, her eyes
glared out, trying to pierce the dark for what had scared her sister.
"May... you alright? What happened?"
May nodded before she remembered that her sister probably couldn't see her,
"I'm fine. I just ran into something big and furry."
"Big and furry, eh," said one of the twins.
"Sounds like they let Fluffy out to stretch his legs."
Kay turned, an eyebrow going up ever so slightly. "Fluffy?"
"Hagrid's giant three-headed dog," answered a twin as he worked his way
towards May.
"Yeah, gave Harry a bit of trouble his first year," said the other, now
kneeling by Kay.
"Not to mention good ol' Snape," laughed the first, startling May with his
nearness.
May grinned as she imagined her staunch Head of House having trouble with anything. He almost seemed too...too strong. She looked back at the older
twins, "So... Are we going, or what?"
Fred grinned, "Yeah, c'mon. We'll introduce you to the House Elves."
Kay tilted her head lightly as she moved to follow. "House elves," she
asked curiously, eyes alight at the various figures envisioned by that
description...
"Yeah," George said as he brought up the rear. "Strange looking little
guys who live to serve."
George laughed, "Yeah, and pity the poor one who makes them think they
failed to please!"
May laughed as well, but her mind kept wandering back to the whatever she had seen earlier. Maybe it had been a giant dog? It had felt dog-like...
"What are we going to the kitchens for anyway," she asked finally, trying
to re direct her thoughts.
"Well, I figured we might make friends with the Elves and pick up some sweets to keep up our energy," Fred replied as he ducked around a corner.
"Yes, the Forbidden Forest is not the nicest of places,
after all," George agreed.
May's eyes grew wide and she stopped suddenly, causing a back-up in the
passage. She ignored Fred and Kay indignant "Ow!" in favor of staring
straight ahead into the darkness. "B-but I thought that place was
dangerous."
Kay grinned rather brightly, nudging May, "C'mon, can't be too dangerous
for all of us together, besides, it'll be fun!"
"Oh no," George said with a grin. "It's dangerous. What with the
werewolves and giant spiders and all."
His brother's eyes twinkled mischievously as he nodded his agreement, "But
if you don't want to go..."
"No," May and Kay exclaimed together.
"I mean, what else is in the forest," May asked, running to catch Fred and hurry him along the passage. The feel of the book in her bag backing her sister's reasoning to give her even more courage than even her normal avid
curiosity did.
Kay grinned, bobbing her head a bit in agreement with the question, her curiosity almost as sharp as her sister's, though it was the thrill of the
danger that really made her want to go.
George grinned at the sisters, "That's the ticket! Adventures await us in those woods! And also centaurs, vampires, unicorns and I heard Harry met
You-Know-Who in there two years ago."
Kay had heard the phrase You-Know-Who far too many times, and as of yet had anyone explain. "Actually," she began at a half-quip, "we don't know who."
Her voice was both mischievous, and incredibly curious at once, bright
green eys shining out with the same qualities.
A loud thump was heard both behind and in front of the girls as well as a
loud "YIPE" from May as she tripped over Fred's prone body.
"You--" George started incredulously.
"--don't know who You-Know-Who is," Fred finished in just as astonished a tone as his brother. They shook their heads and Fred sighed. "He was just
the most evil wizard to ever live. He even gave Dumbledore problems and
Dumbledore's the greatest wizard since MERLIN."
Kay moved on instinct alone to reach May when she tripped. She glanced in
the direction of the boy's voices. "Oh," she mouthed softly, suddenly intrigued, about this You-Know-Who. "But...what's his name," she questioned curiously, almost innocently, head cocked to the side though they probably
couldn't see it.
There was a pause as the twins thought in horrified silence at how to answer the seemingly innocent question. "I don't think it matters," Fred
finally answered.
"No one uses it. And it's considered bad to say it," agreed his brother.
"How much further," May asked, remembering something she'd heard about You- Know Who from her dorm and not wanting to find out more. She wanted to have
fun, not have a history lesson!
Kay was always inquisitive, but learning had never been a key interest of hers, however this intrigued her, more because she could learn no more then
any valid curiosity. She let her attention shift with May's though, shrugging off the virtual 'do not enter' sign that tempted her, "Yeah, how
much?"
The brothers breathed a barely audible sigh of relief and said, almost as
one, "Not far. We're almost there."
Kay bobbed her head up and down in a nod of delight, grinning. Later she would venture to find out the unnamed evil wizard's name, but only later. For now that was passed, now she could focus on the adventures that awaited
them.
"What are we gonna do first," May asked excitedly, her eyes twinkling as
mischievously as Dumbledore's must have when he was young.
The Weasley twins laughed before George answered, "We're just gonna show you around tonight. We'll go straight out since we wasted so much time in
here."
Fred shot a look at his brother before continuing, "We want to introduce the forest to you. And the Whomping Willow. Can't show you Hogwarts without
showing you the Whoming Willow!"
Kay's eyes lit up and her not quite innocent grin brightened. Her head
tilting to the side once more she spoke, "I like the sound of that..
Whomping Willow, what's a whomping willow?"
Fred chuckled, "The Whomping Willow is a tree that likes to try and pummel
whatever wanders too close. Ron flew our car into it last year and we
haven' seen it since!"
"Mind you," Fred added. "That might not be a bad thing. Ron said there wasn't much left of it after that tree got done with it. And what was left
just rolled off into the Forest to become a Wild Magic Creature."
May eyes opened wide and her pace quickened, "Wow..."
Kay's eyes went every bit as wide as May's, though she offered even less of
a response then her in her stunned mixture of awe and surprise.
Suddenly a cool breeze lifted May's black hair and then she was outside on the moonlit castle grounds. Quickly she ran out into the open and began to
twirl. "Kay! It's beautiful here!"
Kay laughed softly, nodding as her eyes drifted about in awe, "Yeah, May...
it is... so many possibilities for adventure."
May laughed a laugh hat held the pure joy of a born mischief maker. "Let's
go!" she called as she ran quickly away towards the Forest.
"Hey! Wait," the twins called after her, but she ignored them and ran over
the grass and into the nearest stretch of forest.
Kay yelped, "May," she darted after her sister, seeking, but unable to
find.
May finally came to a stop as she tripped over a tree root. Moaning, she pushed herself up, attempting to stand. Pain lanced through her leg from
her ankle and she flopped back to ground. Twisting she tried to see her foot, but her view was blocked by a large tree root and she couldn't see
it. She settled back and resorted to her usual plan B: she sobbed, "KAY
DAY!"
A rustle next to her head startled her back into awareness of her
surroundings and she finally remembered the dangers of this forest. Her eyes opened wide and her heart began to pound as her tummy clenched in on itself in fear. Whimpering, May edged back away from the sound as much as
her trapped leg would allow. A large black shape stepped out from the
foliage and May gasped before screaming, "HELP!"
Frantically, May began struggling against her shackle, sobbing all the while as she was certain she was about to be eaten. Gentle hands startled
her out of her haze of terror and she stilled to stare up into the dark eyes of a haggard and quite dirty man. His hair was long, black and filled with tangles and the remains of a forest-floor bed. His skin was sunken and rather grayish, as though he was not eating enough. May knew she should be afraid of this man, but something told her it would be all right. Quietly, she watched him move down to her ankle and free it from its shackle. May
imagined she could hear the tree scream in frustrated protest.
"Thank you," May said quietly as she watched the man feel around her foot.
The man barely acknowledge her before reaching up and tearing a strip of
cloth from the hem of her black robes. She squeaked in protest, but the
man's gentle, callused hands held her still.
"To help the bleeding," the man told her, binding her ankle with the cloth.
May nodded and moved to sit up properly from the awkward position she'd
been in.
"Why were you out here," the man asked in a croaky voice, moving quickly to prevent May from falling over and injuring herself. "Even if you are Muggle-
born, you must already know the forest is off-limits."
"I--I--" May stammered, "I ran ahead. The twins were showing us around."
"Us," the man asked suddenly, looking slightly nervous at the revelation.
"May Day," shouted Kay, searching for her sister, eyes darting about, seeking. "May Day!!" It was then that she tripped, skidding across dirt, suddenly finding herself looking upwards and forwards to where May sat with
a man. She pulled herself to her feet quickly, eyeing the man.
"Who are you," she snapped in question, making certain whoever this was
didn't hurt her sister.
The man stared at the girl that seemed identical in every way to the one he had just helped, except... There was something different about this girl
from the one he had already met.
"KAY DAY," May cried happily, attempting to stand. Her hurt foot gave under
her weight and she fell right into the arms of her unnamed savior.
"May," she yelped, darting forward to help her sister, "What happened to
your leg?" Again she eyed the man with a glare, "and who is this?"
"He saved me, Kay," May told her sister. "I fell and that root," She pointed at the offending object, "took me prisoner! But he rescued me and bandaged my ankle." She looked thoughtful for a moment, "But I don' know
who he is."
Kay just tilted her head, glare shifting to a look of questioning as she
awaited an answer from him.
"Padfoot," the man said, his voice creaking as though from disuse. He began to settle May more comfortably on his lap and he returned to checking out
May's ankle.
"Thank you, Uncle Padfoot," May chirped, happy to have her sister with her
now.
Padfoot chuckled, "Let me guess. Twins separated into separate houses?"
Kay nodded, blinking a bit, "Yeah... how'd you guess?"
May stared up at Padfoot in amazement as he answered, "Your personalities.
What houses?"
"We're in Gryffindor and Slytherin," May told him. She bit her lip as his
fingers pressed a sore spot.
The man looked up sharply at the twins, shock evident in his eyes. Then he
smiled as he again looked them over with searching eyes, "Are you in Gryffindor and you in Slytherin?" He pointed first at May and then at Kay.
Kay and May just started giggling, Kay finally managed to shake her head,
"Just a bit off Padfoot."
Padfoot stared at Kay incredulously before turning his wide eyes on the
innocent face of her sister. "The old hat must have gone senile..." he
breathed.
May giggled in response and whined, very expertly, "It separated us!"
Padfoot shook his head and answered by standing and placing May gingerly on
her feet. "How does that feel?" Tears welled in May's eyes at the sharp
pains that were shooting up her leg. Padfoot sighed and he motioned Kay over, "You're going to have to help her back. And go slowly or you'll hurt
it again."
Kay nodded, moving over to support May. Adventure didn't matter now, seeing
May back safely did. "Thanks for your help," she replied softly.
"May! Kay," came the older twins voices just before they shoved there way
into the small clearing. Both boys looked worried and as tough they had
just run a mile full-speed as they panted before the little girls.
"Fred! George," May replied happily. "Look who we met!" She and Kay turned
to point at a very large black dog. The dog barked once at them, before
turning and disappearing into the forest.
"Blimey..." one of the twins said, May wasn't sure which, "That's a big
dog!"
Kay grinned slightly and bobbed her head in an enthusiastic nod, not even phased by the change, not for the moment at least. She leaned close to May,
whispering, "I wanna be able to do that!"
May grinned and nodded in enthusiastically agreement. "But I wanna be a
cat! Or a wolf," May whispered back.
"Are you guys ok," the boys asked, breaking into the sister's conversation.
Kay decided they'd finish later, glancing back to the Weasleys, "Yeah..
well, mostly, May's leg got hurt..."
"What," the boys cried together, scrambling forward to look at her ankle.
"Bloody hell, that's gonna be tricky to hide!" Fred moaned the last and was
smacked upside the head by his brother.
"We'll just take her to Pomphrey. She never asks questions. Even when
Hermione managed to turn herself into a werecat," George told him. He stepped forward and gallantly swept May into his arms. "My lady! You need
to go on a diet."
May wrapped her arms around the older, laughing, "Kay, I found my prince!"
"She must need glasses," Fred joked and ran ahead to make sure Hagrid was
nowhere nearby and escape the wrath of his brother.
A/N:
Wow. It's been a while since we posted! Sorry! But since it's two of us writing, it's tough to find time in which we can get together and write. Hopefully, this (and others of AngelZash's stories at least) will be updated more regularly from now on.
Also, I have other news. I'm no longer going to email individual updates to people. Rather I'm going to create a mailing list to tell people whenever a story has been updated. So if you wanna be notified as to an update, tell me in a review of email and GIVE ME THE EMAIL ADDRESS YOU WANT USED IN THE BODY OF THE MESSAGE. I WILL NOT GO LOOKING FOR IT. I'll probably be using topica, which is a free mailing service and not hard to join if you are not already a member. I like them better than yahoo as they send messages faster and are easier to use. I just have to remember my password.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the story! We were really looking forward to writing Sirius and his meeting with the Twins. From now on, he's going to be a BIG part of the story.
to the entrance, hoping to see May.
May walked quickly into the room, hugging her Potions books to her chest and making sure to avoid her tormentors from the night before. She caught sight of her sister almost immediately this time and bounced over to sit
next to her at the Gryffindor table, "Kay Day!"
"May!" Kay yelped happily, grabbing her sister and pulling her down beside
her, close enough that she would be the only one to hear a whispered, "Tonight, 8... we get to meet with the other mischief twins, a...astrology tower... I think." She was silent then, grinning to her sister as her eyes
sparkled mischievously.
May nodded as she slipped her book in her bag, "I'll be there..if I can find it." May began filling a plate of food, not noticing the three older
Slytherin boys approach her with identical smirks.
"Well, well, look who it is," said Draco Malfoy, startling May. "Still
sitting with the kittens?"
Kay glanced at the boy, eyes narrowing smoothly. "And why not? Kittens are better then snakes any day." She was ready to move protectively between him
and her sister, but waited a moment, still sitting down.
May turned and grinned at Draco cheekily before granted him a long wet raspberry. With a giggle she turned back to her meal as the blonde stood
there flabbergasted. Kay grinned impishly, turning back to her food as
well.
Draco scowled, "You're a Slytherin, not a flea-bitten Gryffindor! Show some pride!" Draco paused and a nasty smile began to spread across his face,
"But then, what could I expect from a Mudblood?"
The table gasped in disbelief and a passel of Red-hairs stood up speaking
in loud angry tones that merged together to become nearly intelligible.
Kay glared, shaking a bit with anger as she glared at Malfoy. It was obvious he meant the term to be insulting the first time, and this time, it had her very angry. Her eyes narrowed as she clenched and unclenched her
fists, doing her best not to lose her temper or control. "Fine," she
finally hissed, glancing to May, "Let's go sit with the snakes today."
May looked over quizzically at Kay before nodding and standing. She grabbed her bag and moved to walk with her sister to the Slytherin table.
"No," Draco told Kay as he pulled May to him, tucking her under his arm carelessly. May hugged her bag to her as she stared wide-eyed up at him. "She's the Slytherin, stay where you belong Gryffindor," Draco spat at Kay.
Kay glared, her eyes burning as she stood up to follow. "We belong together," she hissed gesturing from herself to her sister. She had to keep
control, before she did something stupid and got her and her sister
permanently separated somehow.
"Let her go, Malfoy," came a low voice filled with warning from behind Kay.
May looked up to see Harry backed by his best friend Ron and the three other Weasley brothers. His green eyes burned fiercely as his hand drifted
towards where May was sure he kept his wand.
"Or else what, Potter," Draco drawled in return. "You'll go cry to
McGonagall? Come off it! She's Slytherin, I'm just reclaiming her."
"Let her go, Malfoy," Harry growled back, "You don't own her!"
Draco smirked, "You don't own her either, Potter."
A red flush crept its way up Harry's neck and face, "Malfoy...let May go!"
"She's the only one of you that's worth anything," Fred joined in the
argument.
"And we have to protect her poor precious mind from gits like you," George
added on a grin.
Kay grinned a bit, her temper cooling she three people came to May's defense. "C'mon, let her go before you.. give her a disease or something,"
she quipped between comments, grinning broadly and impishly.
The other Gryffindors laughed and Ron chimed in, "Yeah, the slimy git disease! Can't have her getting sick from you, can we," George threw in
his two cents.
"She's only in danger of becoming an idiot kitten if she stays here, so
bugger off," Draco told them as he began backing away with his goons.
Harry leapt forward and grabbed May's arm, pulling her towards her sister
and stepping in front of the two, his wand drawn. "Back off, Malfoy!"
Kay grabbed onto her sister as the was pulled towards her, eyes focused, rather surprised, at the scene unraveling before she glanced to May to see
if she was all right.
May grabbed hold of her sister and watched the scene behind her in shock,
"Kay, Harry's strong..."
Kay nodded, watching. "Yes he is," she began softly, eyes darting from her sister to the others as she hugged her sister tightly. "Nobody can separate
us."
"Harry can protect us, too," May said as she watched the boys all begin arguing in earnest. Looking off to the side, she saw Professor Snape begin
to head for the fight and decided it was time to go.
"Come on, let's get out of here," she told her sister as she pulled Kay
toward an exit.
Kay didn't need to be told twice and followed her sister towards the exit, sparing half a moment to grab random food items from tables as she moved by. She grinned to her sister and shrugged, "We didn't exactly get time to
eat... well... I didn't."
May grinned at her sister, "We'll get the other twins to show us the
kitchen sometime, Kay Day?" She noticed Snape's eyes followed them out
even as he reprimanded the Gryffindors they had left behind, but she
shrugged it off and began the trek to her first class.
Kay nodded brightly, ignoring Snape's gaze as she grinned to her sister. "I can't wait till tonight," she almost yelped in excitement, though softly.
May grinned, "I have to go to History of Magic now, I'll meet you at 8,
KAy?"
Kay grinned a bit impishly back and nodded, "K, May. See you then." With
that she turned, headed to her first class as well.
************************************************
The castle loomed tall over the sparkling lake and town below it. And it
was everything the man remembered it being. He could still smell the scents of adventure and camaraderie that grew stronger the closer he came
to the ancient school of witchcraft.
Laughter filled the air and the man quickly reverted to his dog form. From his view within the shadows of the old Whomping Willow, he could a group of
older students cheerily making their way to Hagrid's old hut near the
forest.
The now dog sighed, shaking his head in nostalgic misery. He wished he
could be a carefree pup again, free from the chains of his guilt. But thoughts like that only reminded him of his dead friends and The Traitor, Peter Pettigrew. He had to find the rat before he could hurt his godson,
it was essential that he did so quickly.
But the task would not be easy. Everyone believed that he, Sirius Black, had killed James and Lily Potter, which left him without a friend in the world. In fact, if anyone even knew he was here, he was a dead man. Worse
than dead even, he was a soulless shell.
HIISSSS!
Sirius started, almost tripping over his large paws in surprise. He
steadied himself and shifted to look over at a madly spitting orange furball of a cat standing at the edge of the madly swinging tree's reach.
The cat was angrily hissing at Sirius as though he was a devil and not
simply an overly large stray lab.
Sirius growled at the cat, certain it would run for it, but it simply arched it's back, becoming even more of a furball than ever. Sirius barked and the cat bolted - right at Sirius' eyes. Sirius ducked and the cat flew over him, landing on his wide posterior. Sirius howled, bucking madly to
dislodge the cat. The cat didn't budge an inch.
Finally, as a last ditch effort, Sirius ran out of the tree trunk's
protective area and into the swinging branches. Ducking and dodging he
avoided the branches, but the cat was not so lucky. A lucky limb swung down and up, taking the cat with it. A high scream filled the air as the
orange beast flew through the air and landed on its feet some distance away. It gave a final hiss at Sirius and limped away, a sour look on its
ugly scrunched face.
Sirius hurried back to the tree, opening the hidden passage within and trotting slowly to the Shrieking Shack. This encounter was a bad sign of
things to come, he was sure. Or perhaps that was the influence of his prison time still affecting him. It didn't matter, just as he no longer
mattered. The only one who mattered was his godson, Harry Potter.
***************************************
May quietly crept emptied her belongings out of her bag onto her bed and
slipped her Potions book back in. Throwing the strap over head, she
quickly positioned it for comfort, threw in a few more mischief-making materials and made her way as unobtrusively as possible from the Slytherin
dormitory.
Kay moved quickly along after her classes, and dumping her books onto her bed she began searching for a few... toys. Grinning she tossed them in her
bag, eyes darting about to make sure no one saw her. She tossed the bag
over her shoulder and walked slowly, trying to sneak out of her
dormitory.without looking like she was trying to sneak.
May made it out fairly easily. The other girls in her year went searching
for her in their room shortly after May had managed to sneak into the common room. No one else seemed to care enough to pay her any mind and so
she managed to slip out unnoticed and make her way stealthily to the
Astronomy Tower to meet her sister.
It was a long walk, with many stairs that May remembered wanting to learn a few curses for from the astronomy lesson she'd had earlier that week, but she managed to make it to the top with a minute to spare. Collapsing by
the door, she curled up to pant and wait for her sister.
May quietly crept into her dormitory and emptied the contents out of her bag onto her bed and slipped her Potions book back in. Throwing the strap
over head, she quickly positioned it for comfort, threw in a few more
mischief-making materials and made her way as unobtrusively as possible
from the Slytherin dormitory.
Kay moved quickly along after her classes, and dumping her books onto her bed she began searching for a few... toys. Grinning she tossed them in her
bag, eyes darting about to make sure no one saw her. She tossed the bag
over her shoulder and walked slowly, trying to sneak out of her
dormitory... without looking like she was trying to sneak.
May made it out fairly easily. The other girls in her year went searching
for her in their room shortly after May had managed to sneak into the common room. No one else seemed to care enough to pay her any mind and so
she managed to slip out unnoticed and make her way stealthily to the
Astronomy Tower to meet her sister.
It was a long walk, with many stairs that May remembered wanting to learn a few curses for from the astronomy lesson she'd had earlier that week, but she managed to make it to the top with a minute to spare. Collapsing by
the door, she curled up to pant and wait for her sister.
Kay almost darted through hallways and up stairs, but still, was running slow to get where she wanted. She wanted to get to astronomy tower as soon
as possible, but it almost seemed further away then she remembered. She
grinned, panting when she saw her sister. "May," she half whispered,
grinning impishly.
May grinned at her sister, her eyes twinkling in welcome, "Where are the
twins?"
Kay shrugged slightly, glancing around, "On their way is my guess."
"They're late," May whispered back as she glanced at her necklace watch.
It was already five past eight.
"No, we're not, oh dear apprentices," came a jovial voice from behind them.
"We were waiting for your arrival in here."
May turned around, her eyes opening in fright as she discovered she could
find where the voice could be coming from. "Kay!"
Kay would have been amused, were her sister not frightened, and so, pulling her arms around her sister protectively she scanned with her eyes or the
source of the voice. "In where?"
Out of the shadows that lingered in the round corner by the door leading
into the main tower room popped the Weasley twins, "In one of the many
secret passages of Hogwarts Castle." The twins grinned down at their
female counterparts and swept themselves down in a low bow, as though
presenting the passageway to a pair of queens.
May breathed a sigh of relief, glad that she would not be forced to finally
face one of the infamous Hogwarts ghosts that she'd been so studiously avoiding. Standing, she almost tripped over her own feet in her hurry to
investigate the corner the boys had come from.
Kay followed quickly behind, grinning as May was now leading. She was just as curious, but, was just, sort of savoring the moment. This was so fun.
One of the Weasleys chuckled, "The mouse isn't so mousey after all. I do
believe we have picked our proteges well, brother dear."
The other grinned back, "Indeed, but we still have to show them the
grounds. We only have so many warm days left to explore outside."
"Too true," the first brother replied, following the Day sisters into the
passage. "And we have so many passages to show them before the grounds
grow dark enough for our mischievous purposes."
Kay grinned happily between her sister and the twins. She couldn't wait to
see everything!
May grinned and ran ahead in the passage against the protest of the others.
It was dark, but she wasn't afraid. It was very interesting!
Suddenly she ran into something large and furry. Falling back, May screamed. A large dark shadow reared and disappeared. She could hear the
loud pounding of padded paws as she sat sprawled and panting loudly.
Kay wrinkled her forehead, skidding to a stop right behind May, her eyes
glared out, trying to pierce the dark for what had scared her sister.
"May... you alright? What happened?"
May nodded before she remembered that her sister probably couldn't see her,
"I'm fine. I just ran into something big and furry."
"Big and furry, eh," said one of the twins.
"Sounds like they let Fluffy out to stretch his legs."
Kay turned, an eyebrow going up ever so slightly. "Fluffy?"
"Hagrid's giant three-headed dog," answered a twin as he worked his way
towards May.
"Yeah, gave Harry a bit of trouble his first year," said the other, now
kneeling by Kay.
"Not to mention good ol' Snape," laughed the first, startling May with his
nearness.
May grinned as she imagined her staunch Head of House having trouble with anything. He almost seemed too...too strong. She looked back at the older
twins, "So... Are we going, or what?"
Fred grinned, "Yeah, c'mon. We'll introduce you to the House Elves."
Kay tilted her head lightly as she moved to follow. "House elves," she
asked curiously, eyes alight at the various figures envisioned by that
description...
"Yeah," George said as he brought up the rear. "Strange looking little
guys who live to serve."
George laughed, "Yeah, and pity the poor one who makes them think they
failed to please!"
May laughed as well, but her mind kept wandering back to the whatever she had seen earlier. Maybe it had been a giant dog? It had felt dog-like...
"What are we going to the kitchens for anyway," she asked finally, trying
to re direct her thoughts.
"Well, I figured we might make friends with the Elves and pick up some sweets to keep up our energy," Fred replied as he ducked around a corner.
"Yes, the Forbidden Forest is not the nicest of places,
after all," George agreed.
May's eyes grew wide and she stopped suddenly, causing a back-up in the
passage. She ignored Fred and Kay indignant "Ow!" in favor of staring
straight ahead into the darkness. "B-but I thought that place was
dangerous."
Kay grinned rather brightly, nudging May, "C'mon, can't be too dangerous
for all of us together, besides, it'll be fun!"
"Oh no," George said with a grin. "It's dangerous. What with the
werewolves and giant spiders and all."
His brother's eyes twinkled mischievously as he nodded his agreement, "But
if you don't want to go..."
"No," May and Kay exclaimed together.
"I mean, what else is in the forest," May asked, running to catch Fred and hurry him along the passage. The feel of the book in her bag backing her sister's reasoning to give her even more courage than even her normal avid
curiosity did.
Kay grinned, bobbing her head a bit in agreement with the question, her curiosity almost as sharp as her sister's, though it was the thrill of the
danger that really made her want to go.
George grinned at the sisters, "That's the ticket! Adventures await us in those woods! And also centaurs, vampires, unicorns and I heard Harry met
You-Know-Who in there two years ago."
Kay had heard the phrase You-Know-Who far too many times, and as of yet had anyone explain. "Actually," she began at a half-quip, "we don't know who."
Her voice was both mischievous, and incredibly curious at once, bright
green eys shining out with the same qualities.
A loud thump was heard both behind and in front of the girls as well as a
loud "YIPE" from May as she tripped over Fred's prone body.
"You--" George started incredulously.
"--don't know who You-Know-Who is," Fred finished in just as astonished a tone as his brother. They shook their heads and Fred sighed. "He was just
the most evil wizard to ever live. He even gave Dumbledore problems and
Dumbledore's the greatest wizard since MERLIN."
Kay moved on instinct alone to reach May when she tripped. She glanced in
the direction of the boy's voices. "Oh," she mouthed softly, suddenly intrigued, about this You-Know-Who. "But...what's his name," she questioned curiously, almost innocently, head cocked to the side though they probably
couldn't see it.
There was a pause as the twins thought in horrified silence at how to answer the seemingly innocent question. "I don't think it matters," Fred
finally answered.
"No one uses it. And it's considered bad to say it," agreed his brother.
"How much further," May asked, remembering something she'd heard about You- Know Who from her dorm and not wanting to find out more. She wanted to have
fun, not have a history lesson!
Kay was always inquisitive, but learning had never been a key interest of hers, however this intrigued her, more because she could learn no more then
any valid curiosity. She let her attention shift with May's though, shrugging off the virtual 'do not enter' sign that tempted her, "Yeah, how
much?"
The brothers breathed a barely audible sigh of relief and said, almost as
one, "Not far. We're almost there."
Kay bobbed her head up and down in a nod of delight, grinning. Later she would venture to find out the unnamed evil wizard's name, but only later. For now that was passed, now she could focus on the adventures that awaited
them.
"What are we gonna do first," May asked excitedly, her eyes twinkling as
mischievously as Dumbledore's must have when he was young.
The Weasley twins laughed before George answered, "We're just gonna show you around tonight. We'll go straight out since we wasted so much time in
here."
Fred shot a look at his brother before continuing, "We want to introduce the forest to you. And the Whomping Willow. Can't show you Hogwarts without
showing you the Whoming Willow!"
Kay's eyes lit up and her not quite innocent grin brightened. Her head
tilting to the side once more she spoke, "I like the sound of that..
Whomping Willow, what's a whomping willow?"
Fred chuckled, "The Whomping Willow is a tree that likes to try and pummel
whatever wanders too close. Ron flew our car into it last year and we
haven' seen it since!"
"Mind you," Fred added. "That might not be a bad thing. Ron said there wasn't much left of it after that tree got done with it. And what was left
just rolled off into the Forest to become a Wild Magic Creature."
May eyes opened wide and her pace quickened, "Wow..."
Kay's eyes went every bit as wide as May's, though she offered even less of
a response then her in her stunned mixture of awe and surprise.
Suddenly a cool breeze lifted May's black hair and then she was outside on the moonlit castle grounds. Quickly she ran out into the open and began to
twirl. "Kay! It's beautiful here!"
Kay laughed softly, nodding as her eyes drifted about in awe, "Yeah, May...
it is... so many possibilities for adventure."
May laughed a laugh hat held the pure joy of a born mischief maker. "Let's
go!" she called as she ran quickly away towards the Forest.
"Hey! Wait," the twins called after her, but she ignored them and ran over
the grass and into the nearest stretch of forest.
Kay yelped, "May," she darted after her sister, seeking, but unable to
find.
May finally came to a stop as she tripped over a tree root. Moaning, she pushed herself up, attempting to stand. Pain lanced through her leg from
her ankle and she flopped back to ground. Twisting she tried to see her foot, but her view was blocked by a large tree root and she couldn't see
it. She settled back and resorted to her usual plan B: she sobbed, "KAY
DAY!"
A rustle next to her head startled her back into awareness of her
surroundings and she finally remembered the dangers of this forest. Her eyes opened wide and her heart began to pound as her tummy clenched in on itself in fear. Whimpering, May edged back away from the sound as much as
her trapped leg would allow. A large black shape stepped out from the
foliage and May gasped before screaming, "HELP!"
Frantically, May began struggling against her shackle, sobbing all the while as she was certain she was about to be eaten. Gentle hands startled
her out of her haze of terror and she stilled to stare up into the dark eyes of a haggard and quite dirty man. His hair was long, black and filled with tangles and the remains of a forest-floor bed. His skin was sunken and rather grayish, as though he was not eating enough. May knew she should be afraid of this man, but something told her it would be all right. Quietly, she watched him move down to her ankle and free it from its shackle. May
imagined she could hear the tree scream in frustrated protest.
"Thank you," May said quietly as she watched the man feel around her foot.
The man barely acknowledge her before reaching up and tearing a strip of
cloth from the hem of her black robes. She squeaked in protest, but the
man's gentle, callused hands held her still.
"To help the bleeding," the man told her, binding her ankle with the cloth.
May nodded and moved to sit up properly from the awkward position she'd
been in.
"Why were you out here," the man asked in a croaky voice, moving quickly to prevent May from falling over and injuring herself. "Even if you are Muggle-
born, you must already know the forest is off-limits."
"I--I--" May stammered, "I ran ahead. The twins were showing us around."
"Us," the man asked suddenly, looking slightly nervous at the revelation.
"May Day," shouted Kay, searching for her sister, eyes darting about, seeking. "May Day!!" It was then that she tripped, skidding across dirt, suddenly finding herself looking upwards and forwards to where May sat with
a man. She pulled herself to her feet quickly, eyeing the man.
"Who are you," she snapped in question, making certain whoever this was
didn't hurt her sister.
The man stared at the girl that seemed identical in every way to the one he had just helped, except... There was something different about this girl
from the one he had already met.
"KAY DAY," May cried happily, attempting to stand. Her hurt foot gave under
her weight and she fell right into the arms of her unnamed savior.
"May," she yelped, darting forward to help her sister, "What happened to
your leg?" Again she eyed the man with a glare, "and who is this?"
"He saved me, Kay," May told her sister. "I fell and that root," She pointed at the offending object, "took me prisoner! But he rescued me and bandaged my ankle." She looked thoughtful for a moment, "But I don' know
who he is."
Kay just tilted her head, glare shifting to a look of questioning as she
awaited an answer from him.
"Padfoot," the man said, his voice creaking as though from disuse. He began to settle May more comfortably on his lap and he returned to checking out
May's ankle.
"Thank you, Uncle Padfoot," May chirped, happy to have her sister with her
now.
Padfoot chuckled, "Let me guess. Twins separated into separate houses?"
Kay nodded, blinking a bit, "Yeah... how'd you guess?"
May stared up at Padfoot in amazement as he answered, "Your personalities.
What houses?"
"We're in Gryffindor and Slytherin," May told him. She bit her lip as his
fingers pressed a sore spot.
The man looked up sharply at the twins, shock evident in his eyes. Then he
smiled as he again looked them over with searching eyes, "Are you in Gryffindor and you in Slytherin?" He pointed first at May and then at Kay.
Kay and May just started giggling, Kay finally managed to shake her head,
"Just a bit off Padfoot."
Padfoot stared at Kay incredulously before turning his wide eyes on the
innocent face of her sister. "The old hat must have gone senile..." he
breathed.
May giggled in response and whined, very expertly, "It separated us!"
Padfoot shook his head and answered by standing and placing May gingerly on
her feet. "How does that feel?" Tears welled in May's eyes at the sharp
pains that were shooting up her leg. Padfoot sighed and he motioned Kay over, "You're going to have to help her back. And go slowly or you'll hurt
it again."
Kay nodded, moving over to support May. Adventure didn't matter now, seeing
May back safely did. "Thanks for your help," she replied softly.
"May! Kay," came the older twins voices just before they shoved there way
into the small clearing. Both boys looked worried and as tough they had
just run a mile full-speed as they panted before the little girls.
"Fred! George," May replied happily. "Look who we met!" She and Kay turned
to point at a very large black dog. The dog barked once at them, before
turning and disappearing into the forest.
"Blimey..." one of the twins said, May wasn't sure which, "That's a big
dog!"
Kay grinned slightly and bobbed her head in an enthusiastic nod, not even phased by the change, not for the moment at least. She leaned close to May,
whispering, "I wanna be able to do that!"
May grinned and nodded in enthusiastically agreement. "But I wanna be a
cat! Or a wolf," May whispered back.
"Are you guys ok," the boys asked, breaking into the sister's conversation.
Kay decided they'd finish later, glancing back to the Weasleys, "Yeah..
well, mostly, May's leg got hurt..."
"What," the boys cried together, scrambling forward to look at her ankle.
"Bloody hell, that's gonna be tricky to hide!" Fred moaned the last and was
smacked upside the head by his brother.
"We'll just take her to Pomphrey. She never asks questions. Even when
Hermione managed to turn herself into a werecat," George told him. He stepped forward and gallantly swept May into his arms. "My lady! You need
to go on a diet."
May wrapped her arms around the older, laughing, "Kay, I found my prince!"
"She must need glasses," Fred joked and ran ahead to make sure Hagrid was
nowhere nearby and escape the wrath of his brother.
A/N:
Wow. It's been a while since we posted! Sorry! But since it's two of us writing, it's tough to find time in which we can get together and write. Hopefully, this (and others of AngelZash's stories at least) will be updated more regularly from now on.
Also, I have other news. I'm no longer going to email individual updates to people. Rather I'm going to create a mailing list to tell people whenever a story has been updated. So if you wanna be notified as to an update, tell me in a review of email and GIVE ME THE EMAIL ADDRESS YOU WANT USED IN THE BODY OF THE MESSAGE. I WILL NOT GO LOOKING FOR IT. I'll probably be using topica, which is a free mailing service and not hard to join if you are not already a member. I like them better than yahoo as they send messages faster and are easier to use. I just have to remember my password.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the story! We were really looking forward to writing Sirius and his meeting with the Twins. From now on, he's going to be a BIG part of the story.