Chapter 14 – Patterns in the Darkness

"Who is the Master?" Asked Filch.

"I wish I knew," Katia tapped her fingers against her mouth. "He had a black robe; he was wearing a hood. I can only recall a serpent-like embroidery on his sleeve." She looked at Filch expectantly.

"I believe that one of Salazar Slytherin's portraits can fit this description, though you haven't given much information to go on, did ya? The one in your common room has a hooded Salazar with a snake on his left arm."

Katia weighed his words for a while. It may make sense; Hogwarts in his time wasn't full of paintings, right? And the bricks were fresher, so they seemed brighter. She furrowed her eyebrows, trying to remember if she seen this particular corridor, having been in the dungeons so many times.

"You've been through a lot, Katia," Filch stopped her train of thought. "Let things settle down, and do not dwell too much on it. It may have been a combination of what you saw, what you are afraid of; something like that."

Katia just nodded and he stood up. She was sure that he wasn't telling her everything, but decided to not push him until he was ready to tell her himself.

"I will be going before Poppy kicks me out," She could see his smile. "You weren't supposed to have any visitors."

"Thank you for being here," she smiled back.

"Get well," he said and, with that, disappeared behind the screen separating her from the rest of the world. He was obviously embarrassed. Was he expecting her to dismiss him?

Katia lay awake until early morning, wondering if the dream meant something or if it was it just her sub-consciousness keeping her mind active while her conscious mind was asleep.

She was almost used to the pattern of taking potions, staring at the walls while deep in thought, and dreaming the same dream again and again until she was not sure if she was sane anymore.

This day was different from the others, however. After eating a tasteless excuse of a vegetable soup, Madam Pomfrey instructed her to dress up and make herself presentable.

She was leaving the Hospital Wing. As much as she hated being here, it separated her from the rest of the school. The place where she pretended to be someone she was not.

She had just finished with her tie when Professor Snape appeared in a billowing of his black robes. She felt strange. Before the attack she could feel him somehow, like there was more to him than appearance, sound of his voice and the sandalwood scent.

"Good afternoon, Professor," she said, smiling politely towards him. He did not return her smile, as expected.

"I came to inform you that certain arrangements were made during your recovery. You no longer be sharing dormitory with your house mates. I will show you your new room. Follow me."

With that, he left infirmary and she followed him, trying to not cringe as everyone looked at her as she walked through corridors.

Had she grown another head?

She could not help herself staring at the delicate lines marking stone walls and comparing them to those in her dream. She lost herself in this comparison and the silken voice of her Professor made her jump.

"I believe that the effects of Draught of Peace and the Strengthening Solution may have left you in a bit of a numb state, but it doesn't excuse you to completely ignore your surroundings," he sneered at her. "Is it that hard to follow me to the Dungeons where you lived for over half of the year, Miss Ivanov?"

He was towering over her. She should be intimidated by his facial expression, his voice, his rebuke. She should feel shame in being called dumb, in a manner of speaking.

But, she felt next to nothing. Only her logic saved her from turning the opposite direction and ignoring his uncalled rudeness.

"My apologies, sir," she said. She didn't mean it, but bowed her head slightly anyway.

Their resumed their walk, and for Katia, it seemed endless. Even the portraits eyed her curiously, whispering things she couldn't catch as she passed them. She quickened her pace, stiffened her back and put her chin up, proudly, not giving anyone an impression that she might feel uneasy.

Then she looked at Snape. He moved with a feline grace, a trait which was so very familiar to the Master from her dreams. But his nose would betray him as the Master, she tried to humour herself.

As they reached the Common Room, most of the Slytherins from her year were present. She also spotted the one who was the captain of Quidditch team; she had seen him during their practice. All the talks ceased, but Katia kept a blank expression.

Snape led her to the girl's dormitories, but they passed the door which lead to the chamber she knew. He lead her to the unused room, which she heard was left unoccupied in case the number of students was larger than usual.

"You may set your own password now," said Snape, looking at her, waiting for her reply.

"Rasputin," she said quietly, in a case someone might be listening. She felt a slight change around her, as if the magic vibrated with the word she spoke.

Strange. She thought. I have never felt magic this way.

"The headmaster expressed his concern for the well being of all students and decided that it would be the best if you were separated from them. It's a permanent change, and I would rather not have you pleading me to give you a roommate, Miss Ivanov."

So, she was meant to live there all alone? It must have been her father who persuaded Dumbledore to this. It if wasn't Snape standing here, she would have grined like an idiot. She dreamed of some privacy since the first night, and now she had it.

"I am truly touched that you're worried for my well being professor, but this arrangement works for my favour."

She smiled at him politely, and even if he caught irony in her statement, he never showed it.

"I expect you during Potions tomorrow."

"Yes sir." With that, Katia entered her new chambers.

The room was smaller than the previous one and it contained only two four poster beds, but the rest was all the same. A wardrobe, a mirror, a small bathroom and two night stands. She also spotted a shabby tea-table in the corner.

The amount of furniture was modest, like in her old bedroom, but the quality of things, including the carpet and curtains, was like in the rest of Slytherin house – exclusive.

She unpacked quickly and then fell asleep, the remnants of the potions she took in the infirmary still in her system.

There were patterns in the shadows leading to the door.

The Slytherins were chatting about various things, but mostly about a strange disease revealed itself after Bulgarian girl drank the Love Potion.

Daphne Greengrass watched with amusement as most of the Slytherins gathered when Tracey Davis announced that Snape went to infirmary to retrieve Katia Ivanov. It would be interesting to see her interact with her housemates again after the incident that occurred on Valentine's Day.

She could think of some nasty pranks she could pull if she was in Katia's shoes.

Pansy was terrified at the prospect of Katia's possible revenge, but most of the Slytherins were making fun of her, coming with the wildest ideas possible.

"She'll give you a Draught of Living Death and then bury you alive," said Nott.

Draco sniggered and waved his hand. "She's more into physical violence. She could put Pansy in a barrel full of glass and nails and roll her down a hill," he said and almost fell from his chair with laugher at seeing Pansy's terrified expression.

Some Slytherins laughed as well and others had a mischievous expression, probably thinking about other nasty things. Goyle was red with laugher. "Maybe she will drop a dung bomb on-on your bed-ha-ha while you sleep!"

Davis, the prefect, watched Pansy with an evil glint in his eyes. "She'll drop the untransfigured beetles into your shoes," he said, knowing how much she hated bugs. Everyone knew this; Daphne was first to learn about it when Pansy shrieked when she saw a tiny spider on her pillow.

Marcus Flint looked towards Pansy and narrowed his eyes a little. "I think that she'll dip your head in the toilet."

Daphne was surprised, seeing Pansy's flabbergasted expression. Flint must have hit the point.

All chatter died away when their Head of the House entered with Katia Ivanov walking stiffly by his side.

Daphne was surprised seeing that Ivanov was lead to the spare girl's room. Of course she followed them and kept herself hidden, but she was too far away to hear the password when it was set.

Katia had no problem ignoring the curious glances which greeted her when she entered the Great Hall for breakfast. She ate mechanically, her mind completely wrapped up in the recurring dream she had. She tried to figure out the similarities between the dark corridors she walked through every time she fell asleep and the Hogwarts Castle as she saw it in her waking hours.

She didn't care if her housemates tried to poison her food again.

"Messed up her brains, I tell you," said someone to her left.

She noticed that Draco was leaving the table. She stood as well and followed him to their first lesson today, Transfiguration.

She waited for McGonagall to come and traced her fingers over the ragged surface of the wall.

Patterns, leading to the black door.

Minerva was pleased, seeing that all students were waiting for her near the door. It meant that there would be no one late. She looked at Ivanov girl. She was standing, leaning against the wall, with her mouth partially opened and stroked the wall with delightful glint in her eyes.

Minerva shuddered inwardly. The girl was acting creepy. Nevertheless, Poppy released her, so Ivanov won't give be treated exceptionally.

The Transfiguration Mistress was always fair and tried to handle all students equally, so Ivanov would have to work as hard as everyone else to receive a positive mark.

"Today we will be changing animals into water goblets. I have some animals for those who couldn't provide their own." She eyed the class, seeing that a fair amount of student came prepared. Ron Weasley was petting his rat.

Minerva explained how the proper Transfiguration should be done, and watched as the students got to work.

Ivanov took a vividly green little frog and seemed to be measuring it with her wand. The Professor fought the urge to roll her eyes. Goyle, being miserable in her subject, managed to turn his tortoise into a hybrid of water goblet and animal. It seemed to be made of the tortoise's shell and was flailing its short legs.

Ivanov was getting on her nerves when she played with a strand of her hair. The girl had no respect, ignoring the lesson and not even pretending to be doing the exercise. Minerva approached her, slightly irritated by this behaviour.

"Miss Ivanov, would you show us how you transfigure this little creature into a water goblet as assigned?"

"Yes, Professor," answered the girl, and made some movements over the frog. It slowly transformed into a circular, greenish goblet on a thick stem.

Minerva raised her brows in surprise. She expected the girl to humiliate herself as she did with most lessons. She looked at the rest of students. Miss Granger was beaming, as if it was she who had done the transfiguration. Minerva wasn't going to underestimate the girl just because she did not like her and was in Slytherin.

"Very well Miss Ivanov. Ten points to Slytherin. You may practice until the end of lesson and help your friend here whose examples of transfiguration needs to be corrected."

"Of course," said Ivanov. Minerva noticed a triumphant smirk on the girls face.

What an insolent child.

Ron Weasley seemed to be having problems with his rat, so Minerva left Ivanov, and went to help the boy.

Katia couldn't believe it. Her magic was present! She could feel its presence during the lesson. She fought with the urge to transfigure everything within range. She also had hard time stopping herself from thinking about her dreams.

They had a break now, so she just wandered aimlessly. She checked if anyone was following her, and seeing that no one was, she aimed her wand at the nearby armour.

"Reducto!" she said, putting all her might in the spell, as she always did. The armour exploded and Katia jumped back, bewildered. So she had a chance to possess magic if she wasn't a cursed one!

She knew that things wouldn't stay this way for long. In few months her curse would be back with full force. She knew that the curse couldn't be removed in any way except by killing its bearer. She was born with it, like with additional organ in her body and it was so weird to live without its constant presence.

It was like a humming, and only when the sound stopped, she realised that it was ever present, closer or further, but never quiet, like it was now.

Katia ran from the broken armour, shocked by her discovery. And yes, once the potions from the infirmary wore off, she would be able to feel emotions again. They were different than those caused by curse; she found herself more calm. It didn't make her stop thinking about her dreams thought. She was determined to find out why her dream came back every time she fell asleep.

She stopped running and leaned against the wall, panting. The library would probably provide some information about dreams.

Katia headed towards the moving staircase. It shifted and she found herself facing a strangely familiar dark corridor.

Katia felt shivers of excitement running down her spine. Maybe it was her imagination, but the corridor seemed to be the same she saw every night. Even if the walls were slightly different and there were paintings on the walls. It was more a feeling than anything else.

She followed the path from her dreams, heading to the part of castle she never seen. The corridors led down to the dungeons.

She opened the wooden door and the corridor that was beyond it was much darker than the corridor behind her.

"Lumos," she whispered and her wand lit with a steady, blue light. The shadows were dancing on the walls as she walked further. She turned left after some time and her feet stopped, as if on their own accord.

Katia pushed the brick as if she had done it for countless times; partially that's what she did in her dreams. A fragment of the wall before her started shifting, revealing the black door. Her heart was beating so fast that she thought her chest might explode.

She pushed the wood and her eyes filled with tears as she fell into a coughing fit. The dust that billowed out almost suffocated her, but it fell down after a moment. Katia could do a scourgifying spell as her magic was strong now, but she decided against it. She could get rid of something important by accident.

There was nothing except one torch and a small window and Katia found herself a little disappointed. This was the room from her dreams? This small dusted place with nothing?

She touched the walls, pushing her hand here and there but nothing happened. No hidden door, no trap door or any indication that there could be something more in here. She decided to examine the torch at least.

The thing was impossible to remove from the wall and as she pulled it, the torch moved down. She could hear a rumble, as if castle's stomach was rumbling with hunger pangs. The very spot she stood on started descending, similar to a muggle lift and Katia found herself in a completely different room.

There was a ragged, old four poster bed on her left and a big table had some notes and books on it. Katia took few steps towards it and "the lift" returned to its previous position. Katia turned around.

There was no window here, no handle on the wall behind her. She felt an unpleasant twist in her gut.

No, there must be way out of here.

The rooms seemed to be someone's office, so the person needed to be able to get out. She looked to her right. The was a bookcase, and a Pensieve shimmering with a faint blue light. It seemed that some memories were floating inside of it. In the corner she noticed a mirror, or something which strongly resembled a mirror. There was a faint reflection of herself, holding a lightened wand, but there were also colourful stripes moving like some underwater plant.

It was interesting as Katia had never seen such an object before. However, the table was in the way and she glanced at it to see that there was an opened book with notes on the margin, written in a precise, neat hand.

She looked at the cover. "HOMO ANIMA" said the title and Katia could tell it was Latin most likely, but she knew too little of Latin to be able to translate it. She opened to the first page.

The book was written in a spiky handwriting. Not only it was in Latin, but there were parts which suggested some kind of old English, but far from contemporary.

There were sketches showing some plants, body parts and finally cauldrons and people. It made no sense to her, so she went back to the beginning, to look at the small notes. They were written in English and obviously in a great rush as there were single words, unfinished sentences. Intrigued, she started reading.

'Possibility of creating a substitute of human body. Needs a binding spell which binds the ethereal elements with physical mass… Ability to recreate provided the constant stability of origin. Obedience disrupted in a incipient phase, resulted in contaminating the basic formula. Failure while lacking the willingly provided blood of its creator. Body part may provide more sufficient results. Disturbed magic, lacking ingredient.'

Katia took a deep breath. It looked like some scientific gibber and she couldn't grasp what it was about fully. What did she get? That someone used blood and other things; as she saw names of magical plants and stones marked in the text; to create a magical being? She resumed reading, her mind working furiously, trying to catch any sense.

'Possibility when mixed with blood of enemy, taken unwillingly. Possibility of creating the second type. Can help avoiding the side effects. Is able to use magic as it's not interfered by the binding spell, hardly recognizable as a subject. Free will is no longer conditional of binding spell. Experiment considered failed and the subjects – terminated. Not all of them. Substitute for binding charm – Horcrux. Experiment resumed using the remnants of previous ones. Experiment still considered failed.'

The last note was written inside of the back cover. She needed to read it few times to decipher the writing, which seemed hasty.

'Adding basilisk skin and replacing mandrake juice with Ginkgo biloba can be successful even if the initial phase was distracted by unforeseen factor.'

Katia's mind seemed to be in a complete mush now. She turned off the light from her wand and walked towards the mirror. Her reflection was not as clear as before and the colorful stripes moved with more vigor than before. It looked like the mirror detected her presence and wanted to show her something.

I'm an idiot. It's not going to wag in joy at my sight.

She touched the surface and felt as if someone pushed her forwards. At the same time a part of her remained in the dark room with her hand outstretched. She wondered if it was like what a ghost felt. She was in the corridor, able to fly through walls, moving with an incredible speed.

Katia looked at her hands, but she was a violet mist, nothing which resembled her original form. She encountered no one and sped up, directing herself towards the Great Hall. It was dinner time and everyone was probably already eating.

She was right, but the sight before her! There were no people, just red and blue specters. She saw three of them heading towards her and instinctively backed away a little. From closer proximity she could distinguish their features. Two red ones were Potter and Weasley, the blue one was Hermione.

Katia flew up and saw that many specters started moving from their seats. There were three violet ones visible in the crowd. She moved closer to the nearest, wanting to find out who it was, but one of the blue specters shot tentacles towards her.

She felt panic rising inside of her. The grip felt real at it was suffocating her. She felt like drowning and mustering every ounce of her will she freed herself from it. She retreated and noticed that more blue tentacles were aiming at her.

Katia retreated towards the dark room when the rest of her was standing.

What the hell was that?

Why were some people were represented by red and some blue? Why was she violet? Who was the other violet one, aside from her? She was panting heavily as though she ran a long distance. Taking a shaky step back, she tripped over the rutty floor and fell on her bum. Something crashed under her palm and she shrieked, frightened.

"Lumos," she breathed, illuminating the area around her.

I'm so stupid, these are only Rasputin knows how old snake skins. They can't hurt me.

She got up and brushed her hands against her robe. She had enough of this room, she needed to get out. But how?

Katia walked around the room, looking for some handle, torch, anything which could make the piece of the floor slid down again and take her up. There was something resembling coins on the walls, but that was all.

Great, I came here like an idiot, all alone, and my brave adventure will end with dying of asphyxiation. Fuck me!

She kicked the bookshelf angrily and regretted it immediately as the dust leaped from the books, causing her to sneeze like mad.

It left the Pensieve. She only hoped that memories inside it wouldn't try to murder her as the mirror did.

A/N: Thanks to Artemis J. Halk for killing all grammar monsters here :)

I revealed much more than I originally planned to. Your votes in the poll made me do that as well as your reviews. Thanks everyone who voted. The poll will remain open and everyone who want to have something to say about the story and prefer anonymity, may still vote. For those not so shy I suggest reviews. I have a plan for the entire story, but I can concentrate on aspects which seem to be more interesting for you. There is also the Pensieve waiting for Katia and it contains some information. I'm sorry that Katia isn't able to read in Latin. I don't wanted to make her smarter than… Than the one who visited the room years before she did.