REVISED 1/7/13.
The day after the Quidditch match, Kirsten decided to visit Hagrid. The giant man had sent a letter to her not that many days prior the match, however, she had no time to go; what with meeting professors for extra assignments and letters to get caught up. Reaching up to knock on the door, Kirsten could hear barking from the other side.
There's no way he could be in there.
Her brows furrowed in confusion and her body froze until Hagrid opened the door.
It wasn't the black bear like dog Kirsten had already seen twice. Instead it was a large brown boarhound that slid between Hagrid and sniffed her.
"Hello, Kia!"
"Hey, Hagrid," she said, looking away from the dog and up at the man. He led her into his home and she settled down in a large armchair. The large boarhound followed Kirsten to where she sat and she pet the black coat of fur.
"Name's Fang," Hagrid told her while making a cup of tea.
If only I was allowed to bring a dog here.
Kirsten's eyes traveled over to Hagrid and she could see him fidgeting while making the cup. His movements were a little shaky and her eyes narrowed.
"What's wrong Hagrid?"
The giant man let out a shaky breath before he glanced at the grey eyed witch.
"It's Buckbeak…Malfoy's father, he's gettin' a trial done for Beaky. And yeh should know how scared people are of Malfoy," he said, his eyes focused on the window. Kirsten's gaze followed his and she saw the hippogriff tied in Hagrid's yard. "I'm sorry for what happened to yeh–"
"It's not a problem," Kirsten said, watching the creature. "It was Malfoy's fault anyway. The git goaded him. And there's no way that Malfoy's going to win. I'll make sure of it."
"Thank yeh, Kia. Means a lot to me and Beaky."
Kirsten just threw the man a smile and accepted the cup of tea. The conversation between the two changed over several topics during the span of an hour, Kirsten continuously swaying the topic away from Buckbeak. She intended to bring up the topic of her parents but with Hagrid upset over Buckbeak's fate, she decided to keep quiet on that matter for now.
Kirsten had stayed with Hagrid for the majority of the day, and by the time she headed back to the castle the sun was preparing to set. Hagrid was determined to make sure she got to the castle before sunset. And the conversation moments before she left resounded in her head.
"Oh come on, Hagrid. Do I really need to head back now?"
A struggled look appeared on Hagrid's face. She knew Hagrid did not exactly follow the rules on curfew when it came to past years, but this year was different and she knew why. Sirius Black.
"Kia, yeh shouldn't be out during the evening…it's not safe," Hagrid told her. "Sirius Black was able ter get into Hogwarts."
Kirsten completely forgot about Sirius Black while talking with Hagrid until that moment. Since the moment Kirsten learned Sirius Black was convict who escaped from Azkaban, a little thought always nagged her. What if Black was innocent? What if he was framed? Like how Voldemort framed Hagrid. It was certainly odd that Black would save her life if he truly was a mad man. He didn't threaten her life in the least. She personally didn't find him to be as dangerous as anyone says. She had talked to the man after all and survived. Then again there were witnesses that claimed he killed thirteen people. But she didn't know the exact details.
"Hagrid…what was Azkaban like?"
The giant man's beady black eyes widened slightly and he shuddered at the mention of the prison.
"Guessin' Harry's told yeh about last term," Hagrid mumbled. "Bloody awful…never wanted to get away from a place sooner."
Kirsten nodded her head in understanding. "It must've been even worse to be convicted of something you've never committed."
"O' course! But I didn't have much proof I was innocent." Kirsten's grey eyes were on Hagrid and she nodded her head sympathetically.
"I'm glad that you're alright," she said, a genuine smile on her face. "Goodnight, Hagrid."
"Thank yeh, Kia," he said, smiling down at the girl before him. "Do yeh need me ter walk you up ter the doors?"
"Nope, I'll be fine."
Kirsten couldn't help but think that Black could be in the same predicament Hagrid had been in. She also wondered why Black would go straight to Gryffindor Tower…or how he knew where to go.
The young witch toppled to the ground as she hit something and swore loudly as she looked up.
"Ten points from Gryffindor, Carlisle," the black haired man drawled out. "And might I ask why you are wandering around the castle during dinner?"
She had to restrain herself from uttering another foul word. It was just her luck to run into the biggest asshole at this school. And that was saying something, considering Malfoy and Parkinson were at Hogwarts.
"I was with Hagrid," she told him, her eyes cast on the open doors of the castle. There in the distance she saw a black four legged figure skulking around. Her eyes widened at the sight. She blinked several times not trusting her eyes and found the four legged figure no longer there. She looked back at Snape with as much normalcy as possible but found he was looking out through the doors as well.
Please don't tell me he saw him…
Snape's black eyes snapped towards Kirsten, and she inwardly sighed in relief in her head. The expression in his eyes didn't signify anything but loathing. And she couldn't help but glare at the man who stood before her. Who did he think he was to sneer at her?
And Kirsten didn't care at that point how many detentions she would have to suffer. She was tired of being such an obedientstudent; tired of holding back her snarky comments. Being in a new setting didn't mean she had to act appropriate. She didn't care what kind of hell he'll bring her. And right now she just wanted to make him uncomfortable.
"Did you want something, Professor?" she asked in a suggestive manner, raising an eyebrow. A smirk was forming on her lips as she saw the fleeting emotion of shock fill his face before a pink hue tinged his complexion. His eyes narrowed considerably and she knew he was furious.
"Detention, Carlisle."
"If Snape's teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts again, I'm skiving off."
"I second that," Kirsten agreed with her red haired friend, and then glanced at Hermione. "Can you check and see, just in case?"
The bushy haired witch peered through the doorway and faced the three Gryffindors with a smile on her face. "It's okay!"
The four friends walked inside the classroom and Kirsten spotted Lupin looking as tired as ever. Her eyes softened as she gazed at him, and she gave him a smile as he caught her looking at him. He reciprocated the act; the exhaustion momentarily leaving his eyes. Kirsten didn't plan on telling anyone that the man was a werewolf. If it was a secret he wanted to keep, then she would help keep it a secret. And it was clear that Snape wanted the class to know his secret as well. Why else would he skip over to one of the last chapters to talk about werewolves?
The entire class burst into an explosion of complaints about Snape. The smile on Lupin's face wiped off as he heard what Snape had done.
"Did you tell Professor Snape we haven't covered them yet?" Lupin asked, frowning slightly.
The class broke out once again.
"Yes, but he said we were really behind—"
"—he wouldn't listen—"
"—two rolls of parchment!"
The last bit Kirsten heard made her chuckle and she saw Lupin smiling again, a slightly relieved look on his face.
"Don't worry. I'll speak to Professor Snape. You don't have to do the essay."
No doubt about it, Kirsten enjoyed the rest of class and took her sweet time getting out of the room. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Kirsten were heading out the door when a voice spoke up.
"Wait a moment, Harry," Lupin called out. "I'd like a word."
November soon came to an end only to be replaced by December with two weeks till term ends. Most of her days would consist of finishing her schoolwork and attending extra lessons. It seemed as if she had no free time, and she realized that she'll have to use the holidays to write almost a dozen papers. Harry was exceptionally happy and guilty that Ron and Hermione were staying over the break.
However, she noticed Harry's positive demeanor changed slightly when he heard there was a Hogsmeade trip coming up.
On Saturday morning, Kirsten and Harry said their goodbyes to Ron and Hermione, who were wrapped up in scarves and cloaks. The two friends left and walked down a corridor. Her grey eyes glanced over at Harry and she studied her friend. The way he carried himself at the moment, the way his movements were wary with every step he took told Kirsten there was something bothering him.
"Something's bothering you, Harry," Kirsten stated. There was no need to sugar coat it and they were alone. He stayed silent as his green eyes locked with hers. The young witch frowned at the lack of conversation.
"It's the grim," he said.
"What about it?"
"I've been seeing it lately and I saw the dog at the match before I...fell," Harry admitted, sighing. His eyes no longer locked on with Kirsten's. Kirsten's eyes narrowed at this revelation.
"It's big, black, bearlike?" she asked him, and he continued to nod his head. Kirsten inhaled deeply with that, and made sure to lock eyes with her friend. "Stay away from that dog, Harry."
The serious tone of her voice caught Harry off guard. "I know I will…but why?"
She knew what he was asking about, but she didn't know how to respond. What was she supposed to say? Harry, I think that dog is Sirius Black! That would possibly be the most sensible thing to say, after all the man is allegedly on the hunt for Harry. But if Harry's been seeing Black several times, wouldn't Black just murder Harry on the spot? Kirsten shook her head before she started to argue with herself about Black.
"I don't know, Harry…. I just have a weird feeling."
"Psst—Harry! Kia!"
Kirsten turned to see Fred and George peering at her and Harry from behind a statue of a humpbacked, one-eyed witch.
"What are you doing?" Harry asked curiously. "How come you're not going to Hogsmeade?"
"We've come to give you two a bit of festive cheer before we go," Fred said, winking at Kirsten. "Come in here…"
George grabbed Kirsten's arm and pulled her into an empty classroom, Fred maneuvering Harry in the same manner. George closed the classroom door quietly and then beamed at both Harry and Kirsten.
"Early Christmas present for you both," he said.
Fred pulled out something from inside his cloak with a flourish and laid it on one of the desks. Kirsten stared at the large square of parchment with nothing written on it. The parchment appeared to be worn and used plenty of times. However, the parchment was blank.
"What's that supposed to be?" Harry asked, eyeing the parchment a bit warily. Kirsten eyed Harry with an eyebrow raised and grinned at his reaction. She was curious about this bit of parchment too.
"This, Harry, is the secret of our success," George said, patting the parchment fondly.
"It's a wrench, giving it to the two of you," Fred continued, "but we decided last night, your needs' are greater than ours."
"Anyway, we know it by heart," George told his two fellow Gryffindors. "We bequeath it to the both of you. We don't really need it anymore."
"And what do we need with a bit of old parchment?" Harry asked.
"A bit of old parchment!" Fred exclaimed, closing his eyes with a grimace as if Harry just mortally offended him. "Explain, George."
Kirsten couldn't help but be amused and curious by the twins' behavior. Fred caught her eye and grinned at her.
"Well…when we were in our first year—young, carefree, and innocent—"
Both Kirsten and Harry snorted at that remark. Since when have these two ever been innocent? The young witch didn't know them for as long as Harry did, but with the amount of time she's been around them she knew, she doubted whether Fred and George had ever been innocent.
"—well, more innocent than we are now—we got into a spot of bother with Filch."
"We let off a Dungbomb in the corridor and t upset him for some reason—"
"So he hauled us off to his office and started threatening us with the usual—"
"—detention—"
"—disembowelment—"
"—and we couldn't help noticing a drawer in one of his filing cabinets marked Confiscated and Highly Dangerous."
"Don't tell us—" Harry said, a grin making its way onto his face.
"Well, what would you've done?" Fred asked. "George caused a diversion by dropping another Dungbomb, I whipped the drawer open, and grabbed—this."
"So Filch didn't really notice it missing, because he doesn't know how to work it, right?" Kirsten asked, looking at the two redheaded troublemakers. They both grinned at her.
"Exactly, Ki," George said.
"And you know how to work it?"
"Oh yes," Fred replied, smirking. "This little beauty's taught us more than all the teachers in this school."
"You're winding me up," Harry said.
"Oh, are we?" George asked, and he took out his wand.
The tip of his wand lightly touched the parchment. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
Kirsten's eyes widened as she witnessed thin ink lines spreading from the tip of the wand throughout the parchment. The lines of ink crisscrossed and joined in areas all across; then words began to blossom across the top, in great curly green words that proclaimed:
THE MARAUDER'S MAP Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs
Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief Makers
are proud to present
THE MARAUDER'S MAP
Kirsten's jaw dropped open in amazement as she saw little ink dots moving around and noticed that there were names labeling each dot. She bent over the map to see clearer. A labeled dot displayed Mrs. Norris prowling the second floor. Her eyes traveled through the hallways of the familiar corridors and some passages Harry, Hermione, or Ron never showed her. That leads –
"Right into Hogsmeade," Fred said, interrupting Kirsten's thoughts. His fingers traced the passageway with his finger. "There are seven in all. Now, Filch knows about these four"—he pointed those out—"but we're sure we're the only ones who know about these. Don't bother with the one behind the mirror on the fourth floor. We used it until last winter, but it's caved in—completely blocked. And we don't reckon anyone's ever used this one, because the Whomping Willow's planted right over the entrance. But this one here, this one leads right into the cellar of Honeydukes. We've used it loads of times. And as you might've noticed, the entrance is right outside this room, through that one-eyed old crone's hump."
"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs," George sighed, patting the heading of the map. "We owe them so much."
"Noble men, working tirelessly to help a new generation of lawbreakers," Fred said solemnly.
"Right," George said briskly. "Don't forget to wipe it after you've used it—"
"—or anyone can read it," Fred said warningly.
"Just tap it again and say, 'Mischief managed!' And it'll go blank."
"So, young Harry, young Kirsten," Fred said, in an uncanny impersonation of Percy. "Mind you behave yourselves."
"See you in Honeydukes," George saluted, giving the third year Gryffindors another wink.
The Weasley twins left the room, smirking in some sort of satisfied way. However, Kirsten glanced down at the map before her and realized why something was familiar about the map. Her eyes landed on one word…or rather name.
Padfoot.