The days went on quickly and October the fifteenth was steadily creeping up on Kim.  Finally, what Kim had been threatening to do ever since she came to school happened: she was sent to Dumbledore's office for bad behavior.

She was almost glad that she was sent there: she'd wondered what a man like Dumbledore would have in his office.  She could really care less that she was in trouble, however: feeding a whole Fanged Frisbee to Mrs. Norris didn't seem like a bad thing to her, because Mrs. Norris had had it removed anyway and would now probably leave her alone while she was in the castle.

As she stepped into the office, the first thing that met her eyes was a lot of books.  She figured that a part of the library could've fit into this place and easily looked at home.  The next thing she noticed was a beautiful phoenix with lovely golden plume and fiery, glossy feathers.  She edged away from the bird nervously.

Then she spotted the Sorting Hat.  Unsure of whether or not she wanted to try it on, she slowly picked it up and put it on her head, plunging her sight into darkness.

"Bee in your bonnet, Miss Pettigrew?"

"Yes," she replied, feeling quite odd, being that she was speaking to a hat.  "I was wondering if you put me in the right house?"

The hat replied, "Many students have asked me this in the past, but I have never changed my mind.  Your father was in Gryffindor, as well, but I was hard-pressed to decide with him.  You see, I felt he would have done well in Hufflepuff at first, but I went against this thought and placed him in Gryffindor.  There was a time when he tried me on again in his later years…  Ah, he would have done so well in Slytherin then.  What's this?  I see that he hasn't told you anything about this, has he?  Well, you should ask him yourself… I am not the one to explain…"

"But was I put in the right house?" she repeated.

"Well, quite frankly, since you're passing information, you are a traitor. Like father, like daughter, eh?" the hat chuckled.  "I must express my feelings, however… I think you are going to fit into Gryffindor very well."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," the hat replied, irritably, "you don't belong in Slytherin. Why ask me a question, then question my answer?"

Kim put the hat back on its shelf, giving it a look.

"You must be wrong.  My father was a Slytherin… everyone that I know was or is a Slytherin.  You're just telling me lies, you stupid hat.  I really DO belong in Slytherin and you're just toying with me!"

The hat did not reply.  She silently huffed about this to herself, feeling very much as though she wanted to kick something.

"Ah, Miss Barkley, have a seat, please."

She looked up and saw Dumbledore sitting at his desk, patiently.  She sat, her ears growing very warm; how much had he heard?

"Professor McGonagall tells me that you fed Mrs. Norris a Fanged Frisbee," he said with a chuckle, blue eyes twinkling.

"Yes, sir," she replied, hanging her head and not wanting to look him in the eyes.  She hoped he hadn't heard her yelling at the Sorting Hat…

Dumbledore chuckled again and she looked up at him, wondering why he was not mad that she had nearly killed the Caretaker's cat.  "I have seen and heard a great deal of rule-breaking while I've been Headmaster here."

Kim began to wonder how he was going to punish her.

"Don't do it again," he said simply with a small smile.

She gazed at him, wondering how Voldemort could hate such a man.  Why would he be afraid of him?  Dumbledore seemed to be a man of kindness… not one who would battle with someone of such power as the Dark Lord.  Kim's head began to ache.

"What about my punishment?" Kim burst out, finally.  "Filch said he was going to hang me by my thumbs in the dungeons for three days!"

"There will be no punishment," he repeated, "as long as it does not happen again."

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Kim trudged back toward Gryffindor Tower, wondering how anyone could hate Dumbledore, when she suddenly remembered she was supposed to hate him, too.  She approached the Fat Lady's portrait and said the password ("Coro Boing"), then climbed inside.  She noticed Ginny in the corner, watching a game of Exploding Snap between Natalie and Harry.  She sauntered over and sat next to Ginny.

The first thing anyone said to her was, "I thought you got in trouble."

"Well, Dumbledore's a great person… he let me off…  My dad doesn't like him, but I think he's great," Kim replied.

"Dumbledore is a great Head," Harry agreed, not looking at her.  He was afraid that if he looked her in the eye, he would see his parents' betrayer.

Ginny was about to say something when the entire stack of cards exploded in Harry's face, singing his eyebrows.  They were all laughing when the Portrait Hole swung open and Ron and Hermione came in.  Harry stood up and thanked Natalie for playing cards with him and joined his friends.

"So, Kim," Natalie said, turning to her as Ginny occupied Harry's empty seat and began shuffling for a new deck. "I've got a bit of a predicament."

"Yeah?"

"Well, you see, I was going to ask you to come over this Christmas break…"

"I'd love to!"  This would make her plan a whole lot easier, at any rate.

"But if you did come over, it would be during the time that… well… during the full moon…"

"But what does that have to do with anything?" Kim asked, feigning a puzzled look.

"Well, my dad is a werewolf," Natalie replied, distributing the cards to herself and Ginny.

Kim raised her eyebrows so that they disappeared behind her bangs.

"Yeah, he is," Natalie said, noticing her face, "so maybe I could go to your house for the first half of it?  I'd have to go home two days before then to help him, but I'd be nice to be able to see you more often…"

Fear was obvious on Kim's face at that moment.  She realized it just in time and hid it behind a dull smile.

"I'll have to ask my dad.  I think he's having some friends over, so he might not let me, but I'll ask anyway," she replied, rising from her seat and heading to her Dormitory.

She opened the door to the fifth year girls' Dorm and lay down on her bed in an exhausted heap, wondering how she might get out of THIS predicament…

Kim put her head on the pillow and jumped up when she felt something underneath.  She lifted the pillow and saw a note and a package underneath.  She picked up the note and opened it. It read:

Kim, my father found these mirrors. You can communicate through using them with the person who has the other. I've got the other one at the moment. Just say my name into the mirror and I will appear on the other end.

Draco

"That's interesting," Kim remarked.  She put the mirror up to her face and said, "Draco Malfoy."

"Hello," Draco said from the other side.

"How did you get this mirror into my Dormitory?"

"I have my ways…" he replied slyly and trying to look overly sneaky.  Kim knew him better.

"Did your owl deliver it?"

"Yes."

Kim began to laugh. "You'll never guess what… Lupin wants to come over to MY house this Christmas Break…"

"NO!" Draco yelled.  "What if she were to see the Dark Lord?"

"I know, I know, I'm not that dense," she retorted.

"Alright, good.  Just making sure… Have you chosen your desired Animagus form?"

"No, not yet…"

"How about a rat?" he suggested.

"No, I don't want to be like my dad," she replied, sticking out her tongue, "besides, I'd probably be an annoying white rat with the pink eyes and be mistaken for a lab rat and dissected."

"Okay," he said, raising one eyebrow.  "You do know that the Dark Lord will choose for you if you can't find something, right?"

"Ugh!  I don't want to be a snake…"

"What about a cat?  They blend in pretty well."

"Nah, McGonagall is a cat.  Why bother?"

"Yeah, I see your point," he agreed.  "A bat?"

"Yes, next you're going to suggest that I'm a vampire" she replied sarcastically.

"Well what do you want me to say?" he retorted, "tell you to become a pink flamingo?"

"Oh, yes," she replied sarcastically, "that would pass ANYONE by without a second glance…"

"Muggles sometimes have plastic ones in their yard…"

"Yes, now I'm going to be plastic!" she replied. "I'll just…"

"What about a weasel?" he interrupted.

Kim was about to protest, when she heard footsteps outside the Dormitory.

"I've got to go, someone is coming in," she said suddenly and touched the center of the mirror.  Draco disappeared.

"Who are you talking to, Kim?" Anna asked inquisitively.  As she started to make herself comfortable, Kim grabbed the note and crumpled it up.

"Myself," she replied irritably and went downstairs to practice the spell the were learning in Charms.

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The next morning was Defense Against the Dark Arts with Ravenclaw again.  Kim gathered her books after breakfast and walked to Croft's classroom with Lauren, Anna, and Ginny. They met up with Luna on the way, much to Lauren's dismay.  Kim thought it was a bit mean of Lauren to be prejudice against Luna in this manner, although she didn't say anything when Lauren's eyes nearly popped out of her head at the sight of Luna's radish earrings.

During the class, however, she had another close shave with the revelation of her secret. It was a mixture of the fact that she had mentioned owning a Runespoor (an illegal pet, to be sure), and also that she had mentioned another of the Unforgivable Curses for the twenty-fourth time.

"Kimberly," Professor Croft said gently, "were you home-schooled in Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

"Uh... sort of," she replied, thinking of the incident with her being put under the Cruciatus Curse to "persuade" her to clean her room.

"What exactly… er… how exactly were you taught... and by whom?"

Kim was beginning to think he was getting suspicious, as well as the class, who was watching her very intently for an answer.

"Well my aunts and uncles would all fling hexes and curses at me and I would try to block them," she replied, deciding on a rough image of the truth.

"Didn't your father try to stop this?" he asked, slightly horrified.

"Uh… no, my father helped them…"

"Was there a particular thing you did to make them behave this way?"

"No, well... I suppose partly because they were bored.  But I guess because needed training, too."

"Is there something wrong with your father?" Croft demanded.

"He was, um..." she struggled for a reason and was saved by one of the Gryffindor boys.

James Livingston spoke up. "UNEMPLOYED!" he shouted, rudely, and out of turn.

"Yeah," she agreed, nervously, refusing to speak any more on the subject.

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"This Hex is quite uncomplicated, but are there any questions?" asked the Professor after the Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson was over.

Michael Chatfield raised his hand immediately, "Is it against the rules to break into the kitchens, hog-tie the house elves, and throw all of the food at the Slytherins?"

"That's a good question, Michael, but yes, it is against the rules," Professor Croft replied with a smile. "Does anybody else have a question?"

Orlando quickly spoke up, being friends with Michael, "Chocolate is a lot like wine, it tastes better after it's been aged a bit. NOT THAT I DRINK WINE, of course!"

"That's very interesting, Orlando, but unfortunately it's not a question.  Does anyone have a question?" the Professor said, looking around.  James raised his hand – being friends with Michael and Orlando - and the Professor swallowed a smile. "James?"

"Will you rub my feet?"

"No, I will NOT rub your nasty feet, James. Why don't you ask Mr. Filch?" Professor Croft said with a wide smile. "Class dismissed."

Giggling, the class rose and walked over to their next classes.  Kim dropped her bookbag and waved good-bye to Terry as he gave her a radiant smile.  She collected her books and shoved them into her bag, unceremoniously.

"Kim, might I ask that you wait for a minute?" Croft requested.

"Sure," she replied, dropping her books carelessly on the floor and sitting on the edge of her desk.

Croft waited for the class to empty before he said anything to her.

"I was wondering if you've been telling the truth about the things that you've been saying in class," he asked, seriously.

"Er..."

"Because if it's true, then I'm going to have to tell the Headmaster."

"No," she answered a little too quickly. He eyed her suspiciously and closed his briefcase with a snap.

"Well I don't mind you seeking a little attention," he said, "but don't get too deeply into lying or it will become a nasty habit. Enjoy your next class."  He didn't seem to believe her.

Kim nodded and pushed back the lump that was rising in her throat.  As she walked out of the classroom, she made a resolution to think about every little thing she said from then on to tone down on the suspicion.

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"Draco?" Kim asked into the little mirror that night.

"Yeah?"  He looked ready for bed.  His hair wasn't slicked back like it normally was, but instead was falling all over his face and was quite tousled.

"Nice look for you," she giggled.

"Oh, shut-up," he said with a yawn, trying to smooth his hair back. "Now what do you want?"

"I think Croft has caught on to me," she said in an undertone.

"You think?" he asked sarcastically.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because Croft has a set of file drawers and one has your name on it," he replied. "What, you didn't know?" he said with a laugh at her horrified expression.

"What!  He DOES?"

"Yeah, I saw his file drawers in Detention with him. When he left me there, I snuck over to them and opened them up. There was one on you, one on Potter, a few on other various students – mostly seventh years, some lesson plans and one titled 'Ministry Work'."

Kim frowned, "That means that he's definitely NOT just a Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor."

"We think he's an Unspeakable from the Ministry of Magic," Draco mentioned casually.

"And he has a file on me?" she asked, her eyes wide.

"That's the way it is.  You'd better tone down, or the Dark Lord will have no more use of you."

"Oh, that's nice," she replied sarcastically.  "What were you in Detention for anyway?"

"Provoking Weasley," he said with a smirk. "The Weasleys might as well go shove their heads in a toilet… mind you, it'd have to be a rather large toilet, seeing as there's so many of them," he said, laughing.

Kim didn't seem to think this was as funny as she normally would have, for some reason.