The first thing Kim saw the next morning when she went downstairs was Remus sitting in an old armchair, flipping through the photo album that Harry had been looking at the previous night and smiling. Killer was flouncing airy about his legs, hoping to be scratched behind the ears ever since Kim had decided Remus was safe (as Killer was very protective and refused to like anyone Kim didn't approve of first). Kim smiled and walked by him toward the kitchen, where she spotted Mundungus and Brandy Randy practically tearing the kitchen apart.
"What're you looking for?" Kim had to yell.
"FIREWHISKEY!" they both roared at her, still ripping apart the kitchen.
"Oh, but you're messing up the kitchen!" she exclaimed. "Wingardium Leviosa!"
Both Brandy Randy and Mundungus were lifted into the air and just floated there, looking at her angrily, while Brandy Randy clawed at thin air.
"There you two are!" Mrs. Weasley said, coming into the kitchen. Her eyes were flashing dangerously, "And what have you done to the kitchen? I'd just cleaned it last night!"
"It's okay, Mrs. Weasley, I'll clean it," Kim said quickly, then turning to Mundungus and Brandy Randy, she said, "if you'd like some firewhiskey, go see Orlando, he's probably got some on him. Either that, or go somewhere that you can buy it legally."
She levitated them both down to the ground and they looked at her spitefully.
"Thank you, dear," Mrs. Weasley said kindly, glaring at the two of them as they went upstairs in search of Orlando.
"You're welcome," Kim replied and shoved her wand in her back pocket. Then she set to tidying the kitchen. It was a chore she didn't mind, since she'd had to do it before when she'd been living with the Notts, who had been her guardians.
Mrs. Weasley, Kim learned was a very nice and kindly woman with a dangerous temper, and by the time they were done cleaning the kitchen, Kim had begun to look up to her as a sort of mother figure.
"Thank you for your help, dear," Mrs. Weasley said thankfully. "I don't know why they let those two in the house, even if Mundungus is in the Order."
"Molly, can you come here for a moment?" someone called from another room.
Mrs. Weasley thanked Kim again and hurried out, wiping her hands on her dress. Kim sighed and sat down on the floor.
"Hey, Kim," Ginny said, walking in the kitchen. "They're having a meeting, so I'm not allowed in."
"That stinks," Kim replied as Ginny sat down, too. "Do you want to do something? I'm rather bored."
"We could try to borrow Fred and George's Extendible Ears, but they've probably put a Silencing Charm on the room, so it wouldn't help," Ginny replied. "Did you know that the mongoose came back last night?"
"Did it?" Kim asked vaguely and shoving a giggle back down her throat.
"Yeah. Shame you're never around to see it," Ginny replied.
"I've seen it," Kim said slyly. She decided to tell Ginny of her powers, but she wasn't keen on anyone else finding out.
"Have you?" Ginny asked curiously. "Good, it means I'm not going mad..."
"I've got to tell you a secret, Gin, but you can tell anybody, okay?"
"Sure."
"Okay, here it goes," she said and changed into the mongoose form.
Ginny gasped, "You're just like Sirius was! He was an unregistered Animagus, too!"
"Shhh," Kim whispered, changing back, "you're not supposed to tell anyone! Only Dumbledore knows, and probably Moody."
"I won't tell a soul-"
"Kim? Are you coming, dear?" Mrs. Weasley called from the other room. "You're in this, too, you know."
"Oops. I'd forgotten," Kim murmured, blushing. "Bye, Gin."
She scrambled to her feet and followed Mrs. Weasley's voice, "I didn't think I was allowed in. Sorry."
"It's quite all right, dear," she replied kindly as Kim walked inside and sat down.
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The meeting had gone along quickly. Kim had been surprised when a woman named Tonks suddenly changed her hair color with a tiny 'pop' and when Moody plucked his magical eye out of his head and put it in a glass of water, while it still zoomed around wildly. But what surprised her the most was seeing Hagrid, her Care of Magical Creatures teacher show up for the meeting.
By the end of the time, Kim had squashed several suspicions that people had voiced about what Voldemort was doing or how he was going about things. She'd also been assigned the task of getting a list of all of the Death Eaters that she could, just in case there were some that Snape wasn't familiar with.
After being given this task, the meeting ended and everyone began exiting and Disapparating or just leaving the room. Kim Disapparated back up to her bedroom, where she hoped to get her book and read for awhile before dinner. She Apparated inside and found Ron and Hermione snogging on the bed. They both looked up at her in embarrassment and alarm.
Kim grabbed her book and sighed, "I'm not going to tell anyone... I'll just leave you two at it," and Disapparated back downstairs with a 'pop'.
0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0
Over the course of the next few days, Kim found herself falling in love with #12 Grimmauld Place and its occupants. She wished that the Easter Break would never end and she'd be able to stay there for years. It had been the happiest time of her life in a long time. She'd also met several new members of the Order, such as Jerry Lovegood, who was Luna's father, and even Professor McGonagall, who looked just as surprised to see Kim there as Kim did to her.
She was saddened to meet the end of vacation, as was almost everyone else in the house. When it came time for her to leave, she Apparated there with Mrs. Weasley long after everyone else had left.
"Now don't get into trouble, dear," Mrs. Weasley said as she bid her good-bye.
"I'll try not to, Mrs. Weasley, but it seems to follow me around like a lost puppy," she replied with a smile.
Mrs. Weasley just shook her head the way she did when Fred and George did something troublesome before giving her a warm hug. Kim liked that part the best, because she couldn't remember being hugged like that for a long time.
She boarded the train sadly and sat in a compartment with Ginny, Orlando, Michael, and James.
Orlando and James didn't seem to know how to act around her after they'd learned that she was a spy. Michael, however, went about his business as usual and was reading a book and sucking on a Blood-Flavored Lollipop absent-mindedly.
Kim had wondered about Michael's behavior lately. She'd gone into the boys' room late one night because Orlando had stolen her copy of A Study of the Dark Arts, to find that Michael was locked in the closet. When she'd tried to open it, Michael yelled at her not to open the door and Orlando and James covered it up by saying that he liked the closet and that he was probably changing inside of it.
She shook the thought from her head and dove back into her book.
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The days went by at Hogwarts and Kim found herself studying every night for her O.W.L.s before everyone else had even thought of it. Hermione seemed to approve of this and helped her out with it when she had the time.
Quidditch was also going very well. There was only one more game until the final match and Gryffindor's chances were great. They would be playing against Slytherin.
Before her O.W.L.s, however, Kim found herself facing something that would be much more difficult: Career Advice with Professor McGonagall.
Her time to discuss her possible future was scheduled on a Thursday during Divination, so she left the classroom a few minutes early, to make sure she wouldn't be late and waited outside for a moment.
Dumbledore had thought it wise that she should keep the last name Barkley so no one would get suspicious of her, most of all, Draco, so she was the first to be brought into the office.
"Now, Kimberly, do you have any idea what you'd like to be when you get older? You're here so we can discuss any ideas you might have and which subjects you'll want to continue taking in your sixth and seventh years," said Professor McGonagall, as she flipped through Kim's small records.
"Er..." Kim had thought about it a great deal and could think of one thing which she'd decided that she wanted to do most, but saying it aloud made her feel awkward: "I.. well, I suppose I'd like to look into a career as a... Healer."
The Professor glanced at her though her square spectacles and continued flipping through the file of records. "Well your grades are quite outstanding in almost all of your courses. Healing is a very responsible job, but not too many people have been taken on in the past few years. I suppose you'll want to know which courses you should take?"
"Yes," said Kim politely.
"You would need to take Transfiguration, and at the rate you're going, you should do just fine in getting into my N.E.W.T. class. You'd need to achieve at least an 'Exceeds Expectations' in all of your N.E.W.T.s courses. You'd need to continue in Charms, which is another class that if you keep up your work you should pass easily in, obviously you'd need to take Potions, but Professor Snape is a very strict grader and you'd need to achieve an 'Outstanding' in his course for him to even consider taking you on, so you'll need to work an ounce better at that. Then you'd need to continue Herbology: Professor Sprout seems to be very impressed with your work, so you shouldn't have trouble at all in getting that, either. Then you'd need Defense Against the Dark Arts. I must say that Professor Croft thinks that you'd need to work a bit harder in this subject as he, well, to tell you the truth Miss Pettigrew, he's rather suspicious of the fact that you keep on mentioning Unforgivable Curses at the wrong times. You'll need to watch that."
Professor McGonagall smiled, "Other than working a bit harder in Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts, you should you well in becoming a Healer if you decide to continue down that path. I also should let you know, that if you're going to try become a Healer, you must be very patient. You can go now if you have no questions."
"Thank you, Professor." Kim walked out of the classroom and saw Lauren standing outside, waiting.
"Did it go okay?" Lauren wondered.
"Yeah. She said I've got almost everything I need. Good Luck." Kim raced back to Divination and found that the class was all assembled on their backs and looking up at the bewitched ceiling where the stars were twinkling above. Kim sighed and lay down on her back next to Ginny and began listening to what the Divination teacher, Firenze, who was a centaur, was saying about the way Mars was glowing brightly.