Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Thank you for all the recent reviews, I know that it's a liitle slow but I had to explain some things through the story before all the adventure could start. Again, thank you!
Chapter 4: Chalk and Circles
"Oh no, oh no, oh no!" Kira thought panicking, "I should have never done anything! I shouldn't have said anything!"
Kira dropped her books and stopped in a random corridor and slid down against the wall. The light from the window across from where she sat, gave off a slight sheen from the grey, hazy sky outside. The scar on her back was throbbing.
Kira sighed in exasperation, "Stupid, stupid, STUPID!" she thought as she slammed her head back against the wall several times. Soon after several berating thoughts, she gathered herself together and got up to stare out of the window.
"What do I do now?" she whispered, fogging up the glass.
"Nothing…" a little voice in her head said.
"Nothing?"
"Nothing…leave it as it was...if he doesn't say anything, then there is no need for you to do so…"
Kira eventually picked up her things once again and set off for the Hufflepuff common room. She mumbled the password and entered, trudged up to her dorm, and passed out on her bed. By the time she woke, it was ten minutes into dinner and all of the other girls had already gone down to the Great Hall, leaving Kira to walk by herself. Her stomach twisted and her brain throbbed at the thought of having Professor Snape staring down at her once more for the long staff table.
Kira could still feel his eyes on her as she slipped on a new shirt and robe; for a few minutes, she had just considered not going until her stomach gave an audible growl. So she went down the stairs, climbed through the portrait hole, and made her way towards the Great Hall.
When she entered the Hall, she could feel several people staring at her but ignored it as she sat down at a random space at the table. Kira knew for a fact from the prickling on the back of her neck, that Professor Snape was definitely looking at her.
"Don't look at him, don't look at him, don't look at him…" She repeated in her head, while gathering food onto her plate. She began to eat slowly, which eventually led to her shoveling it into her mouth in hunger, and picked up her glass of pumpkin juice and gulped it down. Before she finished, she noticed a few of the girls from the group in McGonagall's class watching her intently. Realization dawned on her and she quickly put the glass back down and stared at her food.
"I hope they didn't poison it…" she thought, getting up to leave the table. "I can only wait to find out…now, where would someone go to read an illegal book in private…the Library!, in the back of course, no one ever goes back there and it's not like reading a book is suspicious." Kira grinned to herself and pulled the narrow book out of her robes.
The library was eerily lit with candles and there were only a few people here and there wondering through the shelves or sitting down. Kira picked up two candles and brought them to the back table in a dark corner of the vast room where she blew off the dust from the aged wood and sat down. She ran her fingers down the spine of the book, letting graze over the grooves of the faded embossed letters recalling what she had read earlier that day. It cracked slightly as she opened it and began to read:
"Magik existes in all formes, not wicked nor true. Thou must call it withe the heart and take it withe the soul, it bears firstly in a ring."
"A ring?...oh-a circle!" Kira thought and looked down to the small illustration of a simple circle.
"Writ withe stone, the ring holdes the oldest and strongest of powers when conjured, it is the ground for moste conjures of contract and protection. The runes of time state its purpose and are writ round the outer partes of the ring. Withe these letters, thou shall be learned of all magik of olde.
Yet heed thy warning once more: Magik existes in all formes, not wicked, nor true."
The next few pages began in rigorous instruction with such tiny handwriting that she had to squint very hard to decipher it, the two candles were simply not enough light. Kira turned and pointed her wand at a far away candle and levitated back to her table where she set it behind her so the light could shine on the book.
"That's better." she said to herself.
The script was clearer now and started with what looked like the first step: "Call forthe the magik of olde ." It began with the drawing of a circle that was "writ with stone" and required the person to stand in the middle of the circle, without any of the runes.
"Close thine eyes and reach outwards withe thine heart and it shall come to you. Feel it upon you and open thy soul to drink it in and capture it. Open thine eyes and thou shall see a gl—"
"You should cover that up with something before Madame Pince comes back here." Kira gave a slight jump and looked over to see the Slytherin from earlier that day, Alexander.
"What brings you back here?" Kira smiled slightly.
"You're at my table."
They looked at each other for a moment before Kira spoke, "Would you mind I sat here a little longer?"
Alex simply walked over and sat in the seat across from her and began to read. Taking this as a "no", Kira turned to get a larger book off of the shelf, opened it and placed the ancient one inside of it like a jacket and continued to read again:
"Close thine eyes and reach outwards withe thine heart and it shall come to you. Feel it upon you and open thy soul to drink it in and capture it. Open thine eyes and thou shall see a glow emanate all around you and fade. Once you have captured thy magik, thou shall release it with every conjuration. Be wise in thy choice, a drop of blood holds more magik than the greatest wand."
"I bet whoever wrote this did not care to elaborate anymore on certain things, what does it mean, 'writ withe stone', and how do you 'reach outwards withe the heart'?" Kira sighed in thought and looked over at her new company, who was reading, "Seeds and Saps: A Guide to Carnivorous Blossoms by Witherew Jenkins."
"Herbology homework? Or are you reading it for fun?" she asked him.
Alex looked up and pressed the book to his chest, leaning forward as he sneered with his eyes closed, "I like plants."
"I do, too." Kira said simply. He looked slightly taken back with this and put his book back down, sinking into his chair.
"Do you think you could help me?" Kira said, "There's a lot in this book that I don't really understand and you seemed interested before."
"What if I bad intentions?" he asked softly.
"To tell you the truth, I don't really know if you do or not, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't give you a chance."
"Well I have more important things to worry about than old, nasty books." He sneered again, but it slowly formed into a smile as he said, "What does it say?"
"I thought so." Kira grinned and leaned over to look at the book with him.
Kira had a strange feeling come over her the moment they began talk. It was like an immediate connection had formed between them, she had never met anyone that she could really get along with before. The two of them seemed to fit together like puzzle pieces, he was flamboyant, expressive, and passionate whereas Kira was quiet and shy. They read and talked quietly to each other until Madame Pince came stalking about, kicking out any stragglers that had stayed past nine o' clock, and spelling all the books back to their places.
Kira and Alex walked out of the library without a word and paused to look at each other before parting ways.
"Well… thank you… for helping me out." Kira said awkwardly. "Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yes, in Divination, we will be predicting each others futures tomorrow." Alexander said.
"Be creative, I don't want to die a boring death."
"I'll make it bloody and magnificent."
"Good. Well…good night then, Alex." she said and began to walk away down the hall.
"You know," Kira stopped as Alex spoke, "chalk is made from stone. Maybe you would be able draw a ring with that."
Kira's eyes lit up in realization.
"That's right! Maybe we'll be able to find some in one of the old class rooms, but," she said yawning, "let's leave that for tomorrow."
"Alright then, good night, Kira" Alex said walking away.
Kira walked briskly back to her dorm; thoughts of chalk and circles buzzing through her head as she climbed through the portrait and up to her bed where she collapsed, fully clothed, onto her bed.
"I wonder what will happen tomorrow?...I will have to go and look for chalk…aaand oh no!, I forgot about my transfiguration essay! Oh well, I'll just have to finish it in the morning…and potions…what will I do?...what can I do?..." the thoughts echoed in her Kira's head as she fell into a cacophony of strange dreams…
She was running. She was dashing through the forest so fast that her chest was burning and her heart was beating dangerously fast against her ribs. There were shadows falling quickly behind her feet like billowing curtains of darkness, swallowing everything into nothingness. A bright Harvest moon was hanging low in the sky, its red glow bleeding into the dark sky and shining onto the ground where her feet splashed through the mud and cleared the vast roots rising up on the forest floor.
Suddenly, Kira stopped abruptly as a hooded figure appeared in front of her in a clearing, blocking her way out. The vague light shined over it and she narrowed her eyes, looking onto the figure's face making out a pair of dark eyes and a strangely familiar face: Professor Snape.
She backed up and found herself surrounded by darkness with no where to go while the stars glittered brightly in the sky , and looked down to see that she was standing in the center of a circle made with what looked like…blood.
"What is this? Where am I?"
It was deathly quiet.
"Hello?" Kira called out into the night. "Professor?...Any one!"
"What's going on?" she said shakily to herself. Voices could be heard in the distance and grew louder as they drew closer. They were singing a chant of some sort, gathering around her. Kira turned to see the Professor step forward, the hood still hiding his face.
"Professor? What's happening?" she cried.
The chanting grew even louder, drowning her cries while she watched as the Professor threw back his hood and moved his lips with no sound in an incomprehensible language.
"Stop! Stop it, what's happening?!"
The darkness surrounded the professor and sucked him in, twisting and distorting his body, growing larger and larger, as his screams filled the night. His hands turned to spindling claws and his face had been transformed into something completely unrecognizable. It was silent once again except for the ragged breathing of this new creature.
"P-Professor?" she said. There was no answer.
The…thing stayed stationary. Its creeping silhouette towered over her in the moonlight, moving up and down slowly as it breathed heavily.
"W-Who are you?" Kira breathed. "Show yourself…"
It stepped forward into the moonlight and she shrunk back in horror as she looked upon its face. Its monstrous features were pulled back into a spine chilling grin and its eyes and teeth gleamed with a sticky crimson.
All she could do is scream. It moved closer and closer until she couldn't see anything but red…
Kira shot up in bed, getting tangled in the sheets while she looked frantically around the room. She was drenched in sweat and her skin was blazing but she shivered in the night; a sickening feeling was creeping up the back of her throat and she wavered slightly as she stood up.
"A dream, it was only a nightmare." She breathed heavily while walking slowly to the door. "Damn it, I think I'm going to be sick."
She was on her way to the bathroom when she stopped and turned towards the portrait, "The food…those girls put something in the food! Why would I get sick from a dream?"
She climbed out of the portrait and landed on the floor in a heap.
"Hospital wing. I need to get to the hospital wing…now, which way?"
Kira staggered down the hall and took the moving stairs down to the second corridor and swept swiftly down a narrow passageway that cut through the walls to a narrow flight of steps that descended to a corner in the far right depths of the ground floor. She padded softly in the direction of the wing trying hard to keep her balance.
"That is not a matter that I wish to discuss here, Severus…" A soft voice echoed off the walls in almost a whisper. Kira froze at the corner, unsure of what to do.
"I'm aware of that Headmaster, but he has been pressing for information lately, information that I don't have. He's planning something and I need to know about this before he decides to put it into action."
Kira's eyes darted from side to side, looking for an escape, "Professor Snape and the Headmaster? What are they doing down here?"
"It will all reveal itself in due time and all I can do is ask for your patience." Professor Dumbledore answered calmly.
Professor Snape replied to this with great resentment in his voice, "If you are aware of how the Dark Lord operates, then you must know that I do not have long before he questions me personally."
Kira's eye's widened with shock and her knees began to shake.
"I know my job, Dumbledore, but I need cooperation from both sides in order to stay alive."
"I know, Severus, I know." The two of them had stopped walking. "Being a spy is not easy, but I must tie some loose ends on my own plans before I divulge anymore information to you. If it didn't endanger you anymore so than you are already, then I would have told you. I have my reasons, and I need you to trust me."
"A spy? He's a spy for Dumbledore! Is that why he's working here?" Kira thought.
Her silent raving came to a halt when she heard them moving closer to her corner. She thought about turning around, but didn't trust the thought of going through the night with some unidentified poison in her veins, so she decided to continue on to the Hospital wing.
"Maybe they won't notice." She walked forward awkwardly to get across the intersecting joint towards the next section of the corridor; it seemed so far away. "Please don't notice."
But all her hope of going unnoticed ceased when she started across and ran straight into none other than Professor Snape. Kira cringed and looked up to his emotionless face.
"Miss Price…" he said softly. She swallowed hard and prepared for whatever punishment he would bestow upon her.
"It is quite some time after curfew, young lady." Dumbledore spoke.
"Y-Yes, I know, sir." Kira replied walking into the torch light. Beads of sweat were now pouring down her forehead and she felt herself falling against the wall to stay up in the air from being so dizzy. The Headmaster's expression had now turned to one of curiosity and the Professor was still as emotionless as ever.
"May I ask why you are wondering about the castle at this time of night?"
"Hospital Wing…I need to get to Madame Pomfrey…" Kira gasped. "I think…I think I've been poisoned…" She staggered forward between them and tried her best to continue down the hall, but quickly lost her balance and fell straight to her knees on the hard, stone floor. She let out a small groan and a sigh, making a new effort to get back on her feet.
"Well then, I think it's best if you come with us," Professor Dumbledore said bending down to grab her arm. "The Professor and I were just on our way there also, you see."
"Oh…alright then…" Kira was hoisted up and began to walk a bit unsteadily between them down the long hall. They were walking for what seemed like forever in silence, until Kira began to getting a strange prickling sensation on the back of her neck, sending chills up her spine.
"Blood and stone…"
Kira stopped suddenly and looked around. A sharp draft blew through the corridor towards her making the light of the torches waver slightly in its wake.
"Are you alright, Miss Price?" Dumbledore asked.
"Yes…it just felt like someone was watching…" she said turning around.
"I see…" he said looking at her with an unreadable expression.
She continued to look over her shoulder periodically as they made it up a small flight of steps and entered the hospital wing. Madame Pomfrey came bustling out of her office as soon as Kira stepped in.
"Albus?" she called. "How-" The nurse stopped when her eyed rested on Kira. "Is there a problem, dear?"
"Ah, Poppy," Albus interrupted. "I believe this young lady is sick, Severus and I found her in the hall on the way here."
"Very well, then. Go sit on one of the beds and I will be with you in a minute." Madame Pomfrey said, ushering Kira towards the beds.
Kira shuffled over to a bed in front of a large window. A flash of light cut through the sky and the rain was beating hard on the window, whispering things in an unknown rhythm against the glass. She hadn't noticed that it was storming until now. She sat down on the bed and continued to watch the raindrops slide down and disappear at the windowsill.
"I really wish you would be more careful, Albus." She heard Madame Pomfrey mutter. "All this adventure could do you in eventually!"
"I am forever aware of this, Poppy." he responded calmly.
Kira was now staring at them over her shoulder and watching Madame Pomfrey wipe some sort of salve all over the Headmaster's arm. Her gaze lifted up to Professor Snape, and her eyes looked over him as if she were sizing him up. Suddenly, his averted upwards and locked into her gaze, boring into her face; the image of her dying mother screaming in pain flashed before her eyes and the dazed memory of the blood strewn room passed through her memory. The Dark Mark from Snape's arm was coming up when Kira panicked and looked away.
"Alright, dear," Madame Pomfrey was right besides Kira making her jump with surprise when she spoke. "just change into these clothes and I'll have a look at you."
The nurse jerked the curtain around and Kira slipped off her robes, careful to keep the book in place, and put on the pair of pajama pants. She was beginning to get droopy-eyed with sleep as she slipped the shirt over herself when she heard a yelp.
"By Merlin, girl! What did you do to your back?!" Madame Pomfrey jerked the curtain open and pulled up the back of Kira's shirt, revealing the ugly scar on her backside. Kira struggled to pull it back down, but Madame Pomfrey's grip held firm. Over her shoulder she could see that the two Professors had turned around in surprise upon exiting, to see what had happened.
"Is everything alright Poppy?" Professor Dumbledore asked. Snape was looming behind him.
"Well it's no wonder you're sick! What did you do, bathe in acid?!" the Madame cried to Kira.
"Partly…" Kira squeaked.
"This is no time for cheek, young lady" Madame Pomfrey had leaned in closer. "I've never seen anything like this before!"
The older woman touched the scar and ran her fingers across it. Before Kira realized what was going on, the scar had constricted, painfully twisting her skin inward, causing several streams of blood to come pouring out of it and down her back. Her eyes began to sting and she let out a small cry.
"What kind of magic is this? Albus! Come see!"
"No please…it's not that bad…" Kira started, but no one was listening. She took this as an opportunity to pull her shirt back down and turned around, preparing for the nurse's next attack.
Madame Pomfrey was rushing to get some bandages and an assortment of oddly colored jars while Dumbledore and Snape ambled over to Kira's station and stood in front of her waiting patiently.
"Stop that! You're getting blood all over the back of your shirt!" Madame Pomfrey threw all of her new things on the bed and proceeded to spin Kira back around and wrestle her shirt back up. "Now just stay put. Albus, look!"
There was a moment of silence and Kira could hear the Professor's soft footsteps come closer and stop in Madame Pomfrey's stead. Looking behind her, Kira could see the reflection of the entire scene in a mirror close by: Madame Pomfrey was standing on the left looking as perplexed as ever, Dumbledore was slightly bent over looking closely at her scar, and last but not least, Professor Snape was staring at it over him with a calculating look.
"It appears to be an old wound…one that has never actually healed, am I right Kira?"
It took her a moment to register that he was speaking to her and she finally replied: "Yes…"
"How did this happen, Miss Price?" They had let Kira pull her shirt back down again and were all staring at her as she turned around to face them.
She looked down at some nondescript spot on the floor and cracked her fingers nervously, "Um…I…I don't really remember. It happened a long time ago."
Dumbledore looked down at her through his half moon spectacles and looked at her directly in the eyes. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, of course." Kira eyed him warily.
With this Professor Dumbledore stepped back a little and turned to Madame Pomfrey, "That scar was obviously inflicted by Dark Magic, but I have no idea what the curse it is exactly; though I think that Severus may know."
"That's fine, but that doesn't explain the other damage, it looks like someone took a jar of extra-strength cauldron cleaner and rubbed it all over her back!"
"That's from a potions accident that happened earlier today…" Kira said.
"Well then why didn't you come to the Hospital Wing?! And why didn't you send her here directly?!" Madame Pomfrey was now looking pointedly at Professor Snape.
"He couldn't…" they were all looking at Kira now as she spoke, "well, I mean Professor Umbridge came in and sent me out-" Madame Pomfrey gave an audible huff at this.
"And I didn't come here because I got…" Kira looked up and met Professor Snape's eyes, "distracted." She looked back down at the floor again and twisted her fingers.
Kira zoned out and sat on the bed for what seemed like an hour. She could hear the Professors speaking in the background to Madame Pomfrey and the occasional burst of thunder, and finally she was allowed to lie down on her stomach when the Professors left. As the night went on, Kira eventually fell asleep and did not awaken until 11:00 the next morning.
There's the fourth chapter, it can only get better after this! Please read and review, Please!