REVISED 1/8/13.

"Carlisle, what are you doing on the floor?"

A groan escaped Kirsten's lips as she responded, and rolled onto her back. Her hand instinctively reached up to her pounding forehead. So it wasn't a dream. Her head was pounding. She felt the cold hard floor as she rolled onto her side. Opening her eyes, she was met with a pair of black boots.

It was then that she noticed how familiar the voice sounded, and internally groaned as she looked up at a pair of onyx eyes belong to Snape.

"Hello, professor," she rasped, trying to sound as cheerful as possible. It was as if someone was having fun making her day a living hell. Finding out Sirius Black was her father, having her best friend turn his back on her, fainting as an aftermath, and now this… Someone must really hate her.

Getting up from the floor, Kirsten steadied herself and blinked away her foggy vision.

"What wouldn't I be doing on the floor?" she replied cheekily, looking up at him. "The stone floor looked pretty damn welcoming to me."

She really did expect him to dock off points in a heartbeat or assign her detention. She didn't expect him to reach out to touch her forehead lightly. Kirsten jerked her head back in pain as stinging sensation coursed through her head. Grey eyes met black and she swore she saw something flicker in his eyes.

"I advise you to go to the infirmary, Carlisle," he said, his eyes sweeping over her body. Not even a second later, he continued walking down the hall. "Detention. My office, Wednesday."

Kirsten's eyes narrowed at the man's back and pulled a face.

Weird.

Kirsten left the infirmary hours later with nothing more than a headache. The odd sound continued to pound as soon as she set foot in the infirmary, and stopped minutes later. She was now wandering the halls of the school, her mind a jumbled mess. She didn't want to go to Gryffindor tower. She didn't want to face them.

The witch couldn't shake the sinking sensation as she realized those that she called friends would want nothing to do with her. She knew who she really was now. Why Fudge looked at her the way he did when she walked through the door. She wouldn't have realized behind that fatherly exterior, but she had a suspicion. He had looked uneasily at her several moments the night she walked in the Leaky Cauldron.

If McGonagall, Flitwick, and Hagrid knew as well that most likely meant that the rest of the faculty knew who she really was. That would explain why Snape absolutely loathed her. Sirius Black, the best friend of James Potter. The man hated Harry's dad, according to Harry, and would rightfully hate her father. So he hated her by association.

However, the way the man reacted just hours ago. It wasn't his usual mask of loathing. His onyx eyes contained something else when his eyes met hers. She expected the man to be spiteful, especially after Sirius Black attempted to get inside Gryffindor tower. But instead Snape was acting rather odd. And Kirsten didn't like it one bit. She'd rather face a hateful or indifferent attitude. Something she expected from people who usually interacted with her. But since she stepped foot at this school she's faced people who didn't hold such malicious personalities with an exception of few. Ever since she found out she was a witch, she viewed things in a different light. Harry had been her friend before as children, however, she hardly saw the boy since he was in a different class than she. And they would spend most of their time running from Dudley and his gang. Now here she was at this school where she felt like she belonged. For the first time she didn't feel alone. She had friends here. People who actually cared about her…

Not any more…

Ron and Hermione will no doubt stay by Harry's side. And Kirsten didn't mind. They were Harry's friends first. They had been through so much together. They shared their secrets with one another. They trusted one another. They depended on one another.

And it dawned on Kirsten that she didn't truly have close friends. She was independent and only relied on herself. Throughout her thirteen years, she had always been alone. She had learned from an early age to not trust those around her. They would only turn their backs on her in the end.

But McGonagall stood up for her…and there was Hagrid as well. A ghost of a smile pulled along her lips as the tense conversation between the minister and McGonagall transpired in her head. The woman had outright defended her. The professor knew who her father was. And she didn't find her dangerous.

The girl turned a corner and walked towards the large open doors towards the library. Ignoring the stern gaze of the librarian, she eyed the enormous bookshelves around her and walked among the towering columns. Her eyes glazed over the stack of books to her right and she reached for a large and worn book. With the book in hand, Kirsten made her way to a small table hidden from view. Her eyes read the title but none of it processed in her brain.

She could feel her hands tremble while trying to turn the page.

"Kirsten?"

The voice was soft, and the girl in question raised her head. Dark grey eyes were staring back at her with concern.

"Hi, Cedric," her voice cracked and she silently cursed at herself. She couldn't let herself fall apart right now. Not in public. There was a reason she chose a back corner in the library. A reason she had walked along the more deserted corridors of the school. She didn't want to be spotted sulking and crying. But Kirsten's vision blurred as she looked up at the boy, and in the next instant his arms held her against him. She didn't know for how long she had been crying. Or how long Cedric had been holding her. Calming her. Listening to her senselessly.

She was thankful though. That someone she didn't know as well was keeping her company. Letting her lean on him. It was more than enough. And she knew from that day on, Cedric Diggory would have a special place in her life.