REVISED 5/12/2013.

"Out! Get OUT of my LIBRARY!"

"Damn it, woman. I'm leaving already!"

"OUT!"

Kirsten raced out of the library as quickly as possible. She was careful to be quiet as she went down the dimly lit corridor. There was never a time she was in the mood to face Mrs. Norris or Filch. This time was no exception.

Damn.

The third year maneuvered herself behind a towering suit of armor as she heard footsteps racing in her direction. Peeking through the hole she could see the figure of the caretaker rushing towards the library. As he turned into another hallway, Kirsten slipped her hiding spot and hurriedly made her way in the opposite direction. She could still hear the woman yelling. Making her way down the corridor, she thought about her what occurred hours ago.

A small smile made its way onto her face, remembering. It felt like forever until she was able to assure Cedric that she was fine. The look on his face when he left to go to bed was still unsure. She did breakdown crying in front of him. Her cheeks warmed with embarrassment for the first time since she could remember. She broke down crying in front of him. It's been so long since she's cried in front of someone that she couldn't remember the last person who has seen her do so. She was surprised when he wanted to stay with her for as long as she needed.

He asked no questions. Something that she appreciated. He just held her as she rambled on about nothing.

Turning another corridor, the black haired witch didn't expect to hit something. Or someone.

Her eyes were met with dark blue robes. Mentally swearing at her stupidity, she slowly looked up to see the twinkling blue eyes of the Headmaster of Hogwarts. Out of all the people to be caught by, it had to be the man in charge.

"Ah, Kirsten, what a pleasant surprise," he said calmly. This took Kirsten by surprise. She was expecting him to shout. And she was certain it was against the rules to be roaming the castle during this hour, even if it was four in the morning.

However, instead of questioning his relaxed demeanor, she threw a small smile his way and thanked God that it was not Professors McGonagall or Snape. She internally winced as the last of Madam Pince's yelling could be heard. She guessed that Filch had probably reached her.

"Hello," she said. She nodded her head in the direction she came from. "You'd think I was defacing the books."

"So I've heard," he said, amusement evident in his voice. The amusement in his tone piqued her interest. He was the headmaster of the school. He should be the one to instill the rules among the faculty. How is it that he seemed to be the most lenient? She remembered his demeanor the night Sirius Black broke into the castle. He was calm and collected. After that night, she gave him her utmost respect. He didn't ask her any redundant questions. And from what she gained back at the Three Broomsticks, McGonagall said that he practically protected her from any questioning from the Ministry. The Minister of Magic did not want her attending school. The portly man thought she was a danger. He practically wanted her locked away.

But that never happened.

Thanks to the man before her.

It was then that she realized that he knows her. He must have known her parents. And that meant he knew about her father.

"When were you going to tell me my old man is Sirius Black, Professor?"

Kirsten expected him to look shocked, widen his eyes a bit, or at least demand how she knew. Instead, he merely smiled down at her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Would it be too much trouble if we continued this conversation in my office?" he asked. The black haired witch shook her head and with that, they started their way down the hall. After several minutes of walking in silence, the pair was met with two stone gargoyles.

"Skittles."

As the words were spoken from the Headmaster's lips, the two gargoyles hopped to the side; admitting them entrance into a winding staircase. Kirsten raised an eyebrow at the elderly man, but smiled slightly all the same.

Following him up the staircase and into his office, Kirsten could feel her mouth open in awe as she took everything in. Ancient stone objects covered the shelves with portraits cluttered on the wall. Observing the portraits, she realized these men and women were previous Headmasters and Headmistresses of Hogwarts. A swift movement caught Kirsten's eye and she turned to see a swan-sized bird; its body was covered in magnificent red and gold feathers.

Its black eyes met her grey and something held Kirsten in a state of familiarity. Large wings flapped up once and the bird carried itself in her direction. She felt a soft weight land on her shoulder.

"That is a phoenix."

As soon as she felt the bird's talons clutch her shoulder, she could hear the heartbeats sound in her head. Thump, thump. Thump, thump. Thump, thump.

Her head was not throbbing in pain. As more and more heartbeats began to resound in her head, she didn't even feel like she was going to combust. Instead she felt calm. More calm than she had ever felt in her thirteen years. Through the contact, Kirsten didn't feel an ounce of anger like she usually would. Instead, what she felt was a connection with this creature.

It was odd to even think but she felt as if they were kin of some sort. A feathered head nestled against hers before the red and gold bird flew back to its perch.

Seconds passed until the rhythmic beats stopped, and yet, there was still no pain.

What the hell?

Grey eyes opened to meet Dumbledore's blue eyes.

"Professor…"

His eyes watched her intently behind his half-moon spectacles.

"I'm not human, am I?"

A small smile graced the headmaster's face and he let out a small chuckle.

"You are as human as I am, Kirsten," he told her, "however, you have abilities that differentiate you and I."

The elderly man walked pass several shelves surveying the artifacts on his shelves, but Kirsten never took her eyes off him.

"And you know these abilities."

"Quite well."

She closed her eyes as she breathed in deeply; the phoenix's head still nestled in her neck. "These sounds... I have an idea what I'm hearing... but what are they?"

Dumbledore nodded his head. "Those are heartbeats of those around you. One day you will be able to distinguish certain heartbeats from others."

So she guessed right.

"The pain it causes... it leads to... I – I try my hardest to push the dark thoughts from my mind. I feel like I might hurt someone."

"And you haven't hurt anyone, Kirsten," he told her.

"Yet," she said, reaching up to run her hands through the bird's feathers. "Professor Lupin told me he'll help me try and control it."

Dumbledore nodded his head with a small smile. "Then I expect Professor Lupin will teach you well."

Kirsten nodded and felt the light weight of the phoenix leave her shoulder. Watching the scarlet and gold bird's tail drift behind its body, she remembered why she was in the headmaster's office.

"Were you ever going to tell me he's my father?" she asked him.

"Eventually," he replied, sighing. "You needed to settle down first. Cornelius did not want you know at all ordered the any of the faculty to not relay the information to you. However, he has no authority over the faculty."

Kirsten shook her head as she stared at the wizard in front of her and inhaled deeply. She couldn't understand how she went from the life of an orphan to a witch with a father who is on the run from a magical government. If someone told her this was her future last year, she would've laughed in their face.

"So was it my dear old dad or mum who passed this condition down?" Kirsten asked, glancing down at her hands before looking up at Professor Dumbledore.

"Your mother," he answered, smiling at her. "She went through similar experiences as you are now."

"Are there more like me?"

"Yes," he told her. She could see from the loss of a twinkle in his eye that what he was going to say would not be good. "However, many of them who still alive are in hiding."

Kirsten's grey eyes narrowed. And before she could ask why, Dumbledore continued.

"Those with the same condition as you are known as the Simurgh, after the Persian version of the phoenix," he informed her. She nodded her head, processing the name in her mind. "The Simurghs have different names they go by; however, that is for another time."

"Why are they in hiding?" she asked, no longer wanting to discuss the topic of father.

"The Ministries of Magic across the world are under the impression that Simurghs are dangerous. They have yet to understand that anyone can be classified as highly dangerous given the motive," he said, and Kirsten detected the dark tone in his voice. "I assume you know who Lord Voldemort is?"

She nodded her head, thinking briefly what Voldemort would have anything to do with Simurghs. Then it hit her, and she inwardly groaned. "Please don't tell me he's a Simurgh. I really don't want to identify with another murderer."

"No need to worry," Professor Dumbledore said with a smile. "Unfortunately, many Simurghs were in league with Voldemort. He promised them freedom from the Ministry of Magic's persecution, if they were to assist him. Those who did not join him, he murdered. "

"So they helped him," Kirsten concluded. "Was my mother – ?"

"Your mother never thought about joining his side," he reassured the young witch. "She was able to rally up a group of Simurghs for our cause."

"Wait, she fought against Voldemort?"

"As Voldemort was gaining strength and threatening more lives, I decided to form a secret society against him called the Order of the Phoenix," he said. "Your mother was much too young; however, I asked her and a handful of students by the end of their Seventh Year if they would join. She was the first to give me her response."

It took Kirsten several seconds of silence to process the information. Her eyes reached the Professor's and she smiled at him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he said, blue eyes twinkling. "It is six forty-five and from what I can remember it is not a crime to roam the castle during this time."

She looked at him questionably, wondering how he knew she wasn't going back to the common room. Opening her mouth, Kirsten decided to close it and just smile at him. She felt a soft weight on her shoulder and felt the outline of the birds head nudge hers.

"What's his name?"

"Fawkes."

"Kia! Oh yeh don't know! Worst news –!"

After grabbing a quick bite to eat from the Great Hall, Kirsten decided she wanted to visit Hagrid. It's been months since she's been over at his place to have a conversation. And just by glancing at Hagrid, it was well overdue.

The giant man choked back a sob as large tears dropped onto his beard, and Kirsten stared on in shock. She never saw Hagrid this distraught and hoped that she never would again.

"Hagrid, are –what happened?" she asked aghast as he began to sob uncontrollably. The young witch grabbed his large arm and steered him back into his house. Guiding him toward a chair, Kirsten let go of his arm he slumped over the table and began to sob uncontrollably.

"Buckbeak—yeh—letter!" he blubbered and pointed to the table where an official-looking letter laid. Kirsten grabbed it and scanned the letter quickly.

Dear Mr. Hagrid,

Further to our inquiry into the attack by a hippogriff on two students in your class, we have accepted the assurances of Professor Dumbledore that you bear no responsibility for the regrettable incident.

However, we must register our concern about the hippogriff in question. We have decided to uphold the official complaint of Mr. Lucius Malfoy, and this matter will therefore be taken to the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. The hearing will take place on April 20th, and we ask you to present yourself and your hippogriff at the Committer's offices in London on that date. In the meantime, the hippogriff should be kept tethered and isolated.

Yours in fellowship…

A list of the school governors' signatures followed the last bit of the letter which Kirsten ignored. She could care less about them. On her mind at the moment was the supposed victim in the ordeal, and she was furious. The witch looked up at Hagrid who was no longer sobbing but some tears were still rolling down his cheek into his beard.

"So they're holding Buckbeak on trial because of Malfoy?" she muttered darkly.

"They're all scared of 'im, Lucius Malfoy that is," Hagrid replied.

"But I got hit by Buckbeak and they don't see me complaining."

"Malfoy's speaking out," Hagrid choked out.

"Then how about I help. I'll find trials and defensive material to back Buckbeak up in the trial so he won't be convicted," Kirsten said. "Don't get upset. Buckbeak hasn't been sentenced."

"Yer right. Thank yer, Kia," he said. A light pounding sound reached her ears and she looked over to the corner in Hagrid's house to see Buckbeak chomping on something with blood oozing out. "I haven't really bin meself lately. Yer know, I think no one likes me classes—"

"Are you kidding me Hagrid," Kirsten said, cutting him off. "I really like your classes, especially the first one with Buckbeak. I honestly don't blame him for the incident. It was Malfoy's fault. But what is annoying are those flobberworms."

She could see Hagrid's beard twitching and she grinned at him.

After spending an hour with Hagrid and keeping him from crying, Kirsten left went straight to the library. She needed to gather books for the trial. As she walked through the doors, the third year didn't see Madam Pince. With hopeful eyes, she scanned the area, hoping the woman decided to retire.

Turning her head to her left, she nearly had a heart attack. There stood Madam Pince, watching her only several feet away. A figure stands in front of me and I look up to see her face.

"What are you doing back here?" she sneered. The girl in question's mind was reeling to come up with a sensible lie.

"I have assignment due for several of my remedial classes. I have full permission to come in the library according to Professor Dumbledore," she said. The woman walked back to her desk, but Kirsten could still feel the Pince's eyes on her. It took her approximately two hours to find three thick books that she found would help Buckbeak's case. As she left the library, she smiled in Madam Pince's direction.

"I'm in and out, Madam, in and out."

"Kirsten?"

The witch stopped in her tracks and turned around to find Professor Lupin staring at her. He frowned slightly as he observed her face before he kindly smiled at her.

"Would you like to join me in my office?" he asked.

Kirsten watched the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor as he began to make her hot chocolate. He looked tired as usual and a bit more on edge. A thought crept up in her mind as she remembered her conversation with Dumbledore. How did he know about the sounds in her head? Unless…

"Did you know any Simurghs?"

This took the man by surprise as he almost dropped the two mugs of hot chocolate onto the floor.

"How'd you know –"

"Give me more credit than that. I mean, I actually am one," she said, smiling at the man and grabbing her hot chocolate before she settled in her seat again. "So did you?"

Lupin stared at her for quite some time. A small smile made way onto his face as he shook his head. "Your mother."

This didn't surprise the witch as she realized that her mother would be around the same age as Lupin. And she knew he went to Hogwarts since he admitted that himself. But something caught her off. If he knew her mother, then that would mean he knew about him.

"So you knew my father," she deduced.

Lupin's eyes narrowed considerably by her drawn up conclusion, and she knew he knew. Perfect.

"You know, don't you?" he asked. She could see practically see the gears churning in his head. So he did know him... She didn't want to give anything away just yet and decided to throw a rather confused look in his direction.

"What are you talking about?"