A/N: Okay! Only six more chapters and then I'll take a wee break, since this installment will be done! If Victoria likes the idea, I will be doing a sequel, and no, I will not, follow the Order of the Pheonix's plotline! (I stole some people for the sequel, but it was inevitable!)
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Wag Your Tail
Kit froze, that wasn't what she had been expecting. Ginny let out a wail, covering her face in Fred's robes.
Kylie and Derek looked so strange midst all of the tear stricken faces. Kit knew how they felt. It wasn't as if she didn't know Sirius, it was just that she didn't have as strong a bond to him. Harry was trying to be strong, but of course Kit could see the turmoil inside, and all that she could think was that he probably deserved this the least.
All of his life he had been tested, all of the people he loved were constantly in risk of being killed, and all he did was wait by, not able to get in and get himself in danger. It seemed stupid, but she could understand how it felt not knowing what was happening, how the people she cared for were doing, and now hearing this had to be the worst let down of his life.
"Oh..." Kit sobbed, hugging him, trying to give him the little strength she had left. She felt his tears on her shoulder, but it didn't matter. To him this was as if his whole world, the world he had been holding up, supporting all alone, had just crumbled around him, and all he could do was sit...and watch idly.
"Kit, everyone's depending on me, I can't do this! It's not fair to them..."
Kit caught a glimpse of Ron, supporting Hermione, a solitary tear on her face. Ron's face was stony and set, staring back at her. She couldn't fully grasp how strong he looked, how his soul was braced for his friends, and he'd do whatever he had to to keep them happy. Kit envied his soul, she envied him fully, whether he knew it or not. She tried to reach to his mind, but Harry's thoughts were too strong, and when she tried to pull to Ron, his mind sucked her in, making her lose all sense of herself.
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He stared helplessly as she fell limp, her face serene and eyes closed. He had never seen her so pale, never seen her so lifeless and dead. Harry stood there, shaking as he knelt over her, lifting her up slightly. Ron heard him whisper something, then repeat it louder.
"I can hear you...you're in my head..."
His heart jolted, Hermione stirred. Looking at Harry oddly, she gasped, then ran to Kit and pulled out a talisman.
"Harry! She's been gravitated! She can't get out unless someone pulls her out with a strong thought, a strong thought of her own! We need to get her to Dumbledore quickly, she could die like this..."
Harry looked at her desperately, "She needs out, she's crying... Get her out! It hurts!"
Kylie was in tears, and Ginny was yelling for help. Fred and George had already left for help, and Hermione was in hysterics, "She's dying...she's DYING!"
Derek crawled through the brush, leaving Ron as the only one in his right mind, although that mind was heavily hung. Kit was in a spiritual limbo, or so he commended from Hermione's rantings, stuck forever, or until they could conjur some strong thought of her own. He thought of how she must of felt, drifting he supposed, across the sea that was his mind. Probably being jostled about by the uncertainties and tribulations that he was going through at the moment... What a fate.
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(What is this place... I feel so empty! Am I alive? Why am I asking so many things to a phantom of thoughts... thoughts of which have no remorse! The little voice inside my body keeps telling me to live... telling me to hold onto some form of myself... but I don't know who that self is! I'm not me, I'm not anything! If there is a god, he will surely point me right! Point me out of this placid abyssal plane of existence and lead me onto the other side! My body's drained and I can hear voices... telling me to come to them, telling me to think of my life, my love... my hopes and dreams! But what are these things to me? Am I not just a spiritless form of being, light trapped in an icy cage of solitude and hunger, searching for some form of restitution? My mind aches, and I long for my end! I long to know of myself, yet I know it can never be!)
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Kylie looked at the talisman that Hermione was clutching, wiping her eyes, "What's that thing all about? It looks like that bracelet Kit made for Kyle."
Hermione held the charm up to the light, the silver dove shining brightly as she murmured something to herself, then looked blankly at Kylie, "It's a thought charm, it's supposed to soothe the soul and calm thoughts. I'm trying to get Harry to wear it so Kit can have a chance to pull away from his thoughts and grasp her own!"
Ron looked at Harry, a shaking form clutching to his cousin desperately, screaming at the body as if its soul were poisoned, "Stop it! You're driving me crazy, stop screaming!"
The bushes parted, and emerging from the twigs were Dumbledore and the very person Ron would have liked to see the least: Severus Snape. The twins and Derek followed closely behind, and a pale Draco heading up the rear.
Ginny looked up from her spot by the tree, tears shining as she ran to Fred, looking at Harry in disdain, "Oh, Fred! I think he's gone mad! He won't stop s-s-s-shaking her... He's nutters!"
Snape looked at them in disgust, following Draco with his eyes as Draco knelt to take Kit from Harry. "Don't bother, Draco."
Harry didn't even notice that anyone else was there, he just sat screaming at Kit's body, not even ceasing for air.
"Please, get him away from her... he's hurting her!" Kylie screamed, running to Snape, shaking him and pointing to Kit in a wild manner, willing him to make Harry release her.
"Shut up, you silly girl!" Snape snarled, pushing her off, "He's in shock ,it's best to let adults handle matters such as these. Now, Weasley and Kingston, you two seem to be the least hysterical, I need you to take these," He gestured to Kylie, Ginny, and Hermione, "to the hospital wing. And do it quickly. Tell Pomfery that we'll be there shortly. And Draco, you go too, I need you to keep an eye on them."
"What about Kit---"
Snape rolled his eyes, "Just go, Draco!"
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Draco sat there staring at the five with utter distaste. (Snivelling Weasleys... nothing new. And those two stupid orphans. I think that the only orphan worth wasting my time on is Kit. And she's not really an orphan, considering her mother's still alive. Oh, almost forgot the Mudblood. Probably worried sick about Saint Potter. What a bunch of saps. I could care less about that plebian hero, he's just gone crazy because he has no one left to control... Well, beside his mindless friends.)
Hermione picked at the talisman around her neck, considerably less stressed and more alert with what was really happening around her. "Do you think they'll be here soon?"
"Do you think you could shut up for one minute so that I can think straight?" Draco snapped, ignoring the glares being sent his way. "You're not the only one who's worried about her."
He covered his hands in his face as Ginny sent him a sympathetic look, shifting on the infirmary bed, "I guess that you really do care about her then, don't you?"
Hermione and Ron both looked over, eagerly awaiting his answer. He knew what they were thinking...how could he care about anyone but himself? Yes, they probably thought he'd snap at them, yelling about how the only things he cared about were Dark Arts, how he'd become a Deatheater before caring for Kit. Not the case.
"Yes, as a matter of fact I do. And though you think I'm a heartless bastard, I do care about her deeply. And I don't care who knows..."
His eyes flitted over the five, Kylie and Hermione sitting on the bed next to the south window, mingled expressions of shock bore across their faces. Ron was staring at him blankly, the only one who hadn't said a word since they came in. Derek was sitting next to Ginny, both sharing looks of understanding.
"Don't kid yourself, Draco..." Ginny started, shaking her head, "No one's that heartless...not even You-Know-Who."
Ron looked between him and the others, apparently torn, "She's just like that...easily cared for...but she can't be in pain or anything...I mean, she's not hurt, just trapped. Nothing physical about it...right?"
When no one answered, he continued, slightly heartened, "I mean, Harry's just grieving, it's not really his fault or anything. Didn't Professor Flitwick tell us about mind charms...he said something like someone could get trapped inside a mind if it were too riddled with thoughts, especially if they're strongly attached to something like that. I just wish I could remember what it was called..."
"It's called being gravitated..." Hermione said solemnly, looking at him as she toyed with the talisman's pendant, "Kit told me about how it was the main cause of death of her race during the middle ages...some many people being accused of witchcraft that the accusers had to have some way of finding out who was 'evil' and who was pure.
"They kept the Bewitchers for that purpose, and the witches usually killed them by trapping them inside of their mind and never letting them out. Usually it was the Bewitchers themselves who told them to kill them....they just couldn't stand being slaves like that."
The very thought of it was prepostorous, but yet he could see the links. Some many people had said that these times were the worst for the wizarding kind, but no one had ever heard the stories from that point of view. It was so odd to think of them as murderers, but the pieces did fit together. In the same way that the Dark Lord's followers killed, their kind did. They did it to keep themselves safe, or to ensure they were kept high among the normal kind. Maybe it was preposterous, but at least it was the truth...no matter how real or unreal it seemed now.
"But why---" Kylie didn't get a chance to finish, for the had just burst open, revealing Harry and Dumbldore, then Snape followed after, ushering the twins inside. Fred set Kit's body down on a bed, shooing Ginny and Derek away.
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(A thought of my own.... a thought of my own... What thought is there! Ah... a person? What was that, Harry? Think of someone? I know people... um... Richard? No... but it starts with an R... Ray? Roy? Oh! What is it! TELL ME! Just tell me! I can't stand this guessing! It's not fair! I'M NOT STRONG ENOUGH! Oh... just give me a hint, Harry! I'm drawing a blank... there's another boy, with blonde hair? Am I right? Dr... Daren? Drake? WHO?! Oh... I don't know anymore! I know you, Harry... At least I think I do... Someone save me!)
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"She's trying to figure it out...can I give her hints?" Harry asked Dumbledore, his face red and strained.
He shook his head, "You'll just confuse her. I would try to talk to her if I could, but your brain is too addled. You never want too many thoughts in your head that aren't your own. That was the reason you were so rational earlier, you weren't listening to your brain, you were getting confused, and when you get confused, your body doesn't realize when it has to act. It just overloads and does the first thing that pops into it's mind..."
Harry thought harder, sending her another encouraging thought. His brain was trying to make him ignore her, but he knew she'd just die if he didn't talk to her. She needed some kind of contact with the outside world. Maybe he could help her get out.
(Just don't get confused...uh...do you remember your name yet?) He thought anxiously, trying to keep his mental emotions restricted so that he wouldn't get her hysterical again.
He felt a jolt, like sob bouncing around the inside of mind, touching every feeling he had and making him want to scream from the pain of her cries. She sniffed then answered. (Is it Katherine...uh... Clivelle?)
Even though the unsurity in her voice was disheartening, he still found the fact that she remembered a silver lining in the darkness of her thoughts. (That's right...uh... what do you think that you look like. What's your height?)
Harry turned to Kylie, "What's her height?"
"5'7" or 5'8"..." She said calmly, though she was looking at him anxiously, like everyone else.
(Is it...5 something? Um... 5....5'8"?)
Harry whooped uncontrollably, causing the rest of the people around him to stare oddly, except for Dumbledore, who was looking extremely relieved. (You're right...you're right!)
He felt a laugh bounce around his mind, filling with extreme ease. Of course she was right...she was remembering. Now all she had to do was get one strong memory and she could probably make it out of his mind.
(I think I remember somthing else! I see some sort of person...oh! He's got bright red hair and freckles and he's blushing. I must be on him... I can see some of my hair on his face. He's trying to say something...uh...)
(Don't strain yourself, it's alright if you can't remember now--)
(Ron Weasley! He's the one! It's when we almost kissed... I busted his lip and you and his brothers, Fred and George are laughing at him! I can make it! I know who I am!)
Harry felt a strong shudder, like his mind was caving in on itself, all of his thoughts were being strecthed and he couldn't make out the room before him. He saw a bright light, people were shouting at him, some cheering as someone breathed in loudly, apparently waking from some sort of sleep...
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A/N: Okay! Aren't you so happy! *Kit grins, poking Harry in the side* Okay, the next chapter is the breaking point, and it's not the kind of thing you'd really expect...so maybe you are expecting it now! *Ron shakes his head, sticking out his tongue* Enough! Good-bye!
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Wag Your Tail
Kit froze, that wasn't what she had been expecting. Ginny let out a wail, covering her face in Fred's robes.
Kylie and Derek looked so strange midst all of the tear stricken faces. Kit knew how they felt. It wasn't as if she didn't know Sirius, it was just that she didn't have as strong a bond to him. Harry was trying to be strong, but of course Kit could see the turmoil inside, and all that she could think was that he probably deserved this the least.
All of his life he had been tested, all of the people he loved were constantly in risk of being killed, and all he did was wait by, not able to get in and get himself in danger. It seemed stupid, but she could understand how it felt not knowing what was happening, how the people she cared for were doing, and now hearing this had to be the worst let down of his life.
"Oh..." Kit sobbed, hugging him, trying to give him the little strength she had left. She felt his tears on her shoulder, but it didn't matter. To him this was as if his whole world, the world he had been holding up, supporting all alone, had just crumbled around him, and all he could do was sit...and watch idly.
"Kit, everyone's depending on me, I can't do this! It's not fair to them..."
Kit caught a glimpse of Ron, supporting Hermione, a solitary tear on her face. Ron's face was stony and set, staring back at her. She couldn't fully grasp how strong he looked, how his soul was braced for his friends, and he'd do whatever he had to to keep them happy. Kit envied his soul, she envied him fully, whether he knew it or not. She tried to reach to his mind, but Harry's thoughts were too strong, and when she tried to pull to Ron, his mind sucked her in, making her lose all sense of herself.
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He stared helplessly as she fell limp, her face serene and eyes closed. He had never seen her so pale, never seen her so lifeless and dead. Harry stood there, shaking as he knelt over her, lifting her up slightly. Ron heard him whisper something, then repeat it louder.
"I can hear you...you're in my head..."
His heart jolted, Hermione stirred. Looking at Harry oddly, she gasped, then ran to Kit and pulled out a talisman.
"Harry! She's been gravitated! She can't get out unless someone pulls her out with a strong thought, a strong thought of her own! We need to get her to Dumbledore quickly, she could die like this..."
Harry looked at her desperately, "She needs out, she's crying... Get her out! It hurts!"
Kylie was in tears, and Ginny was yelling for help. Fred and George had already left for help, and Hermione was in hysterics, "She's dying...she's DYING!"
Derek crawled through the brush, leaving Ron as the only one in his right mind, although that mind was heavily hung. Kit was in a spiritual limbo, or so he commended from Hermione's rantings, stuck forever, or until they could conjur some strong thought of her own. He thought of how she must of felt, drifting he supposed, across the sea that was his mind. Probably being jostled about by the uncertainties and tribulations that he was going through at the moment... What a fate.
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(What is this place... I feel so empty! Am I alive? Why am I asking so many things to a phantom of thoughts... thoughts of which have no remorse! The little voice inside my body keeps telling me to live... telling me to hold onto some form of myself... but I don't know who that self is! I'm not me, I'm not anything! If there is a god, he will surely point me right! Point me out of this placid abyssal plane of existence and lead me onto the other side! My body's drained and I can hear voices... telling me to come to them, telling me to think of my life, my love... my hopes and dreams! But what are these things to me? Am I not just a spiritless form of being, light trapped in an icy cage of solitude and hunger, searching for some form of restitution? My mind aches, and I long for my end! I long to know of myself, yet I know it can never be!)
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Kylie looked at the talisman that Hermione was clutching, wiping her eyes, "What's that thing all about? It looks like that bracelet Kit made for Kyle."
Hermione held the charm up to the light, the silver dove shining brightly as she murmured something to herself, then looked blankly at Kylie, "It's a thought charm, it's supposed to soothe the soul and calm thoughts. I'm trying to get Harry to wear it so Kit can have a chance to pull away from his thoughts and grasp her own!"
Ron looked at Harry, a shaking form clutching to his cousin desperately, screaming at the body as if its soul were poisoned, "Stop it! You're driving me crazy, stop screaming!"
The bushes parted, and emerging from the twigs were Dumbledore and the very person Ron would have liked to see the least: Severus Snape. The twins and Derek followed closely behind, and a pale Draco heading up the rear.
Ginny looked up from her spot by the tree, tears shining as she ran to Fred, looking at Harry in disdain, "Oh, Fred! I think he's gone mad! He won't stop s-s-s-shaking her... He's nutters!"
Snape looked at them in disgust, following Draco with his eyes as Draco knelt to take Kit from Harry. "Don't bother, Draco."
Harry didn't even notice that anyone else was there, he just sat screaming at Kit's body, not even ceasing for air.
"Please, get him away from her... he's hurting her!" Kylie screamed, running to Snape, shaking him and pointing to Kit in a wild manner, willing him to make Harry release her.
"Shut up, you silly girl!" Snape snarled, pushing her off, "He's in shock ,it's best to let adults handle matters such as these. Now, Weasley and Kingston, you two seem to be the least hysterical, I need you to take these," He gestured to Kylie, Ginny, and Hermione, "to the hospital wing. And do it quickly. Tell Pomfery that we'll be there shortly. And Draco, you go too, I need you to keep an eye on them."
"What about Kit---"
Snape rolled his eyes, "Just go, Draco!"
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Draco sat there staring at the five with utter distaste. (Snivelling Weasleys... nothing new. And those two stupid orphans. I think that the only orphan worth wasting my time on is Kit. And she's not really an orphan, considering her mother's still alive. Oh, almost forgot the Mudblood. Probably worried sick about Saint Potter. What a bunch of saps. I could care less about that plebian hero, he's just gone crazy because he has no one left to control... Well, beside his mindless friends.)
Hermione picked at the talisman around her neck, considerably less stressed and more alert with what was really happening around her. "Do you think they'll be here soon?"
"Do you think you could shut up for one minute so that I can think straight?" Draco snapped, ignoring the glares being sent his way. "You're not the only one who's worried about her."
He covered his hands in his face as Ginny sent him a sympathetic look, shifting on the infirmary bed, "I guess that you really do care about her then, don't you?"
Hermione and Ron both looked over, eagerly awaiting his answer. He knew what they were thinking...how could he care about anyone but himself? Yes, they probably thought he'd snap at them, yelling about how the only things he cared about were Dark Arts, how he'd become a Deatheater before caring for Kit. Not the case.
"Yes, as a matter of fact I do. And though you think I'm a heartless bastard, I do care about her deeply. And I don't care who knows..."
His eyes flitted over the five, Kylie and Hermione sitting on the bed next to the south window, mingled expressions of shock bore across their faces. Ron was staring at him blankly, the only one who hadn't said a word since they came in. Derek was sitting next to Ginny, both sharing looks of understanding.
"Don't kid yourself, Draco..." Ginny started, shaking her head, "No one's that heartless...not even You-Know-Who."
Ron looked between him and the others, apparently torn, "She's just like that...easily cared for...but she can't be in pain or anything...I mean, she's not hurt, just trapped. Nothing physical about it...right?"
When no one answered, he continued, slightly heartened, "I mean, Harry's just grieving, it's not really his fault or anything. Didn't Professor Flitwick tell us about mind charms...he said something like someone could get trapped inside a mind if it were too riddled with thoughts, especially if they're strongly attached to something like that. I just wish I could remember what it was called..."
"It's called being gravitated..." Hermione said solemnly, looking at him as she toyed with the talisman's pendant, "Kit told me about how it was the main cause of death of her race during the middle ages...some many people being accused of witchcraft that the accusers had to have some way of finding out who was 'evil' and who was pure.
"They kept the Bewitchers for that purpose, and the witches usually killed them by trapping them inside of their mind and never letting them out. Usually it was the Bewitchers themselves who told them to kill them....they just couldn't stand being slaves like that."
The very thought of it was prepostorous, but yet he could see the links. Some many people had said that these times were the worst for the wizarding kind, but no one had ever heard the stories from that point of view. It was so odd to think of them as murderers, but the pieces did fit together. In the same way that the Dark Lord's followers killed, their kind did. They did it to keep themselves safe, or to ensure they were kept high among the normal kind. Maybe it was preposterous, but at least it was the truth...no matter how real or unreal it seemed now.
"But why---" Kylie didn't get a chance to finish, for the had just burst open, revealing Harry and Dumbldore, then Snape followed after, ushering the twins inside. Fred set Kit's body down on a bed, shooing Ginny and Derek away.
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(A thought of my own.... a thought of my own... What thought is there! Ah... a person? What was that, Harry? Think of someone? I know people... um... Richard? No... but it starts with an R... Ray? Roy? Oh! What is it! TELL ME! Just tell me! I can't stand this guessing! It's not fair! I'M NOT STRONG ENOUGH! Oh... just give me a hint, Harry! I'm drawing a blank... there's another boy, with blonde hair? Am I right? Dr... Daren? Drake? WHO?! Oh... I don't know anymore! I know you, Harry... At least I think I do... Someone save me!)
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"She's trying to figure it out...can I give her hints?" Harry asked Dumbledore, his face red and strained.
He shook his head, "You'll just confuse her. I would try to talk to her if I could, but your brain is too addled. You never want too many thoughts in your head that aren't your own. That was the reason you were so rational earlier, you weren't listening to your brain, you were getting confused, and when you get confused, your body doesn't realize when it has to act. It just overloads and does the first thing that pops into it's mind..."
Harry thought harder, sending her another encouraging thought. His brain was trying to make him ignore her, but he knew she'd just die if he didn't talk to her. She needed some kind of contact with the outside world. Maybe he could help her get out.
(Just don't get confused...uh...do you remember your name yet?) He thought anxiously, trying to keep his mental emotions restricted so that he wouldn't get her hysterical again.
He felt a jolt, like sob bouncing around the inside of mind, touching every feeling he had and making him want to scream from the pain of her cries. She sniffed then answered. (Is it Katherine...uh... Clivelle?)
Even though the unsurity in her voice was disheartening, he still found the fact that she remembered a silver lining in the darkness of her thoughts. (That's right...uh... what do you think that you look like. What's your height?)
Harry turned to Kylie, "What's her height?"
"5'7" or 5'8"..." She said calmly, though she was looking at him anxiously, like everyone else.
(Is it...5 something? Um... 5....5'8"?)
Harry whooped uncontrollably, causing the rest of the people around him to stare oddly, except for Dumbledore, who was looking extremely relieved. (You're right...you're right!)
He felt a laugh bounce around his mind, filling with extreme ease. Of course she was right...she was remembering. Now all she had to do was get one strong memory and she could probably make it out of his mind.
(I think I remember somthing else! I see some sort of person...oh! He's got bright red hair and freckles and he's blushing. I must be on him... I can see some of my hair on his face. He's trying to say something...uh...)
(Don't strain yourself, it's alright if you can't remember now--)
(Ron Weasley! He's the one! It's when we almost kissed... I busted his lip and you and his brothers, Fred and George are laughing at him! I can make it! I know who I am!)
Harry felt a strong shudder, like his mind was caving in on itself, all of his thoughts were being strecthed and he couldn't make out the room before him. He saw a bright light, people were shouting at him, some cheering as someone breathed in loudly, apparently waking from some sort of sleep...
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A/N: Okay! Aren't you so happy! *Kit grins, poking Harry in the side* Okay, the next chapter is the breaking point, and it's not the kind of thing you'd really expect...so maybe you are expecting it now! *Ron shakes his head, sticking out his tongue* Enough! Good-bye!