Ed Kuper Normal Ed Kuper 2 25 2003-07-14T22:11:00Z 2003-08-05T04:32:00Z 12 3783 21565 Ed Kuper 179 43 26483 9.3821
Chapter 2: Of More Meetings and Classes
Katz woke up at 6:30 the next morning to her alarm clock. She got up and took a shower. Hermione was up by the time she came out. Hermione went in and took a shower after greeting Katz. After fifteen minutes, there was a knock on the door. Katz went to answer it, and found Harry and Ron standing there.
"Is Hermione up?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, I'll go get her. Hermione!" Katz called. Hermione came out of the bathroom, brushing her hair.
"Yeah?"
"Harry and Ron want to talk to you."
"Oh. Okay." She walked outside. Katz closed the door behind her, but not all the way. She listened closely. "What is it?"
"Sirius is here," said Harry. "He wants us to meet him in Dumbledore's office."
"When?"
"As soon as possible, which means now."
"All right, just let me put my brush away and get my wand." Katz quickly stepped to her bed as Hermione came back in.
"I want to go with you," she said.
Hermione looked up from her dresser. "What?"
"I want to go with you and meet Sirius," Katz repeated.
"How did--how'd you know?"
Katz grinned. "I have extremely good hearing. Besides, it's quite all right. I know that Sirius is innocent. So, can I come?"
"You'd have to ask Harry. He's Sirius's godson."
"Okay. Oi, Harry!"
"What?"
"Can I come along?"
"What do you mean, come along?"
"Come along to see Sirius. I know he's innocent, and that it was Wormtail who betrayed your parents, so it's all right."
"Well.... Okay. But if Dumbledore tells you to leave, then you'll have to leave."
"Okay! Just as long as I can come along." And so they set out.
Upon arriving in front of the gargoyle, Harry said, "Sour gummy worms." The gargoyle came to life and jumped aside. Katz giggled as they ascended the steps. They knocked on the door.
"Who is it?"
"It's us, Professor. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Katz."
"What's Katz doing here?"
"She wanted to come along, sir. She heard us telling Hermione, and she knows he's innocent."
There was a low sound, as if Dumbledore was asking Sirius if it was all right. After a moment, the door opened. They walked inside. When Katz saw Sirius, she gave a small, illegible sound that sounded like 'meep'. Harry and Hermione hugged Sirius; Ron just shook his hand. Katz hung back, looking solemnly at him. He seemed... familiar somehow. Sirius looked at her. He gasped, though faintly. Then he smiled.
"Hello Katz," he said, coming forward. She gulped as he stuck out his hand. She shook it. His grasp was comforting, in a weird yet nice way.
"Hi," she squeaked. Sirius grinned.
"It's all right. I don't bite. Well, sometimes..." he trailed off, apparently not sure if he should finish his sentence.
"When you're a dog?" Katz offered. Sirius looked taken aback.
"How'd you know?" asked Ron.
Katz shrugged and repeated what she had said the night before, "Intuition, I guess."
"Oh. Anyways, Harry, you said you had to tell me something?"
"Yeah, I did. I had the strangest dream about a week ago. It was about Voldemort, but my scar never hurt."
"Really? Do tell."
"All right...."
***Flashback***
"Wormtail!"
"Y-yes, my lord?"
"Have you found anything out?"
"About Dumbledore's plan? Yes."
"No, you pigheaded dolt! About the girls! Lupin, Black, and Degas's children!"
"Oh! Yes, they are coming to Hogwarts. They will be in the sixth year with Malfoy, Potter, Weasley, and Potter's Mudblood friend."
"Ah, yes. Good. Dumbledore would bring them to Hogwarts, so he can keep an eye on them."
"What are we going to do?"
"We are going to make sure they never come back. Ever."
***End Flashback***
Katz was clenching her fists. "Hermione is not a Mudblood!" she burst out. "How dare they call her that? Oh, I want to go over there and kick him where it really hurts."
Sirius was pale. "Albus.... A word, if you please?"
"Of course. If you all would please go. You may return tonight."
They left. As she closed the door, Katz heard Sirius ask, "Albus, do you think it's Katz?"
"It very well could be," replied Dumbledore. Katz stopped and stood outside the door, intent on hearing the conversation.
"I mean, her eyes.... They're the exact same color as mine. It's freaky, really. And she has her mother's hair."
"Yes, she does look quite like her mother." Sirius nodded.
"Should we tell her?"
"No. Best wait till her mother sees her and confirms it."
Sirius sighed. "It's been such a long time since I saw Jasmine. Does she look the same?"
"Oh, very much so."
"Does she know I'm innocent?"
"Of course she does, Sirius. Did you think that your own wife wouldn't believe that?"
Katz quietly walked away, thinking, 'I never heard this conversation.'
***Slytherin***
Jess woke up to Pansy talking in her sleep.
"Oh, Dracy, you're sooo sexy in those jeans," murmured Pansy. Jess rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. It didn't work. So instead, she got up, took a shower, and got dressed. After grabbing her wand, she picked up a pillow, debating whether or not to throw it at Pansy. In the end, she walked to the door, opened it, threw the pillow, and ran out.
As she made her way up to the Great Hall, she pondered why the Slytherins didn't have a portrait. But when she got to the Great Hall and saw the look on Katz's face, all thoughts but those of Katz were forgotten.
"Something wrong?" Jess asked, sitting next to Katz. Katz nodded and glanced around.
"I met Sirius today," she whispered.
"So? That's nothing to be worried about." Katz shook her head.
"You don't get it. I met him, for the first time, but it seemed like I already knew him. When I shook his hand, his grasp was... comforting, somehow."
Jess was still confused. "It's just a feeling. Why are you so worried? It's not like he's related to you or anything."
Katz gripped her arm and looked into Jess's eyes. "Jess, his eyes are the same color as mine."
Jess gasped. Not many people had the same color eyes as Katz. In fact, Jess had never met anyone who had the same eye color. This meant something. She tried to say something comforting, but all she managed was a soft 'oh'.
"You see what I mean?" Jess nodded weakly.
"Lee!" Katz and Jess whipped around. There stood Draco. "What are you doing at the Gryffindor table?" he asked coldly.
"Talking to Katz," replied Jess.
"I suggest you get back to the Slytherin table. That is, if you really want to know what classes you've got," Draco snapped. Jess went over, got her schedule, and came right back over to Gryffindor table, much to the displeasure of Draco.
***Katz's POV***
Jen and Appy came over after getting their schedules.
"What's up?" Appy asked, looking at Katz, who was pushing her food around on her plate.
Jess told them. In the end, their reactions were much like hers. Appy soon went back to her table. Hermione walked over and sat down.
"Katz, you need to eat," she said.
"I'm not hungry."
Hermione looked at Katz's schedule. "We've got Potions first thing, Katz. If you're going to survive, then you need to eat something."
Katz reluctantly took a bite. And another. Soon, she was serving herself more. Once that was all eaten, Hermione led her up to the dorms and they got their books.
Once arriving in the Potions dungeon, Katz took a table right in front of Harry, Ron, and Hermione's table and shared it with Jess and Jen. Class began when Snape arrived in the room.
"It seems," he began in his silky tones, "that we have some new students joining us today, so I must tell you all the rules. One, I do not tolerate cheek. Two, I do not tolerate cauldron melting for the fun of it. Three, I do not tolerate cauldron melting at all. Four, I expect all homework to be turned in to me on the due date, not before, not after, and it must be the exact length that I assign." This caused Hermione to blush. "And finally, I do not tolerate any protests against who I pair you up with when I pair you up."
He began to take roll. When he arrived at Katz's name, he paused, and looked up.
"Ah, yes," he said softly. "Kathleen Potter. Our new orphan student, I suppose?" Katz could almost feel the angry heat radiating from Harry. She raised her hand. "Yes?"
"Sir, the name's Katz. And, if you don't mind, I'm not an orphan. In fact, I'm not related to Harry at all."
"Well, we'll see about that, now, won't we? Katz, come up here, to the table in front of me." Katz went up there. "Now, I am going to ask you the same three questions I asked Potter on his first day in Potions. If you get them all right, I might let you go back to your seat. If you get them wrong, you will stay here for the rest of the year." Katz nodded, acknowledging this crucial situation.
"What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"
"A sleeping potion so powerful that it is known as the Draught of the Living Death," Katz replied promptly.
"Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"
"The stomach of a goat, of course. Bezoars can save you from most poisons. Honestly, Professor, this is first year stuff."
"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"
"They're actually the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. It is one of the key ingredients in a Wolfsbane Potion, which allows werewolves, if taken before dusk, to stay sane during their transformation."
Snape was really not amazed. "And where, pray tell, did you learn of the Wolfsbane Potion?"
Katz grinned. "Why, Prisoner of Azkaban, sir."
"And what sort of a Potions book is that?"
"'Tisn't. It's a book about the third years of 1993." There was a small amount of chattering as the students recognized it as the year of their third year.
"Where would I be able to locate this book?"
"My dorm. I brought a copy with me. I can lend it to you, if you like."
"Get it to me by Thursday. And five points will be taken from Gryffindor for your cheek."
"Yes, sir," said Katz, giving him a sweet smile. At this point, Snape made eye contact, and gasped.
'The eyes... those are Black's eyes.... Surely Black can't have a daughter! Wait, I think he did... but didn't she die, soon after Black went to Azkaban?' Snape thought wildly. "The eyes..." he muttered, backing away. He quickly turned his back, regained his composure and said, "Potter, you may return to your seat."
"Thank you, sir," said Katz, and she returned to her seat.
"Wow.... You really creeped Snape out with your eyes," whispered Jess.
"Yeah, but I don't like creeping people out. I mean, I know my eyes are unusual, but...."
"They shouldn't creep people out?" offered Jen.
"Exactly," replied Katz.
They began working on their potions.
An hour later, they were released.
As they headed to Care of Magical Creatures, Hermione, Ron, and Harry caught up with Katz.
"Hey, I want to thank you," said Harry.
"For what? I didn't do anything."
"You stood up to Snape. Not many people can do that."
Katz blushed. "It isn't really all that hard. Personally, I think he's kind of insecure."
Harry looked intrigued. "You really think?"
"Oh, yes. That's why he has to punish people who stand up to him."
Harry and Ron chuckled. "How'd you reach that conclusion?" Hermione asked.
"I plan to be a psychologist when I grow up, so I must make observations. I merely observed that he had difficulty controlling himself when people stand up to him."
"Oh." This stunned answer made Katz burst out laughing.
"Uhm...." Harry and Ron looked at each other as Katz leaned against the wall, unable to hold herself up.
"What, pray tell, is so funny, Miss Potter?" came a silky smooth voice. Katz immediately stopped laughing and stood straight up.
"I want to be a psychologist someday, sir, and I was merely telling Harry, Ron, and Hermione of my observations so far."
"And what have you observed?"
Katz knew he was trying to get her into trouble. "Only that Malfoy is an insufferable git," she replied innocently.
"Potter, I will not have you talking that way about a fellow student. Five points from Gryffindor. See that you make no more such observations."
"Yes, Professor," Katz replied sweetly, though inside, she was seething. This dude was just like Mr. Nitsch, her 8th grade Science teacher. Mr. Nitsch had not liked her, and she did not like him.
Snape left, and Katz glared daggers at his back, willing his hair to burst into flames. Suddenly, she saw a tongue of flame flicker at the hem of his robes. She gasped.
"Harry! Snape's robes!" she whispered urgently, pointing. Harry looked over there.
"Oh my God!" he muttered. "Hermione, did you do that?"
Hermione looked at Snape. "No...."
"Then who did?" asked Harry.
Katz blinked. Maybe that burning sensation in her eyes was the cause of Snape's robes being on fire. Snape still hadn't noticed. Hermione hurried after Snape. She quickly hid behind a knight and doused the fire. He spun around, looking for the person who had soaked him, head to toe. Not seeing anyone, he yelled something about Peeves and hurried on his way.
Katz, Harry, Ron, and Hermione headed off to Care of Magical Creatures.
"Why're yeh four late?" asked Hagrid gruffly.
"Snape held us up," Ron said, frowning.
"Ah, well then, yeh three oughta get over teh the other students. Today we're learnin' about Chimaeras."
Katz swallowed. "Ch-Chimaeras? You mean, y-you're bringing Chimaeras here?" she asked, growing pale.
"I don' see why not," replied Hagrid.
"I'll come out to talk to you tonight and tell you exactly why not," said Katz firmly.
"All righ', then. Now, get over wi' the other students and start taking notes."
Katz saluted and ran over to the other students, who were lying sprawled on the ground. Draco was complaining about getting his robes stained.
"Oh, shut up, Draco!" yelled Jess, whacking him over the head with her book before running away.
"Ow!" cried Draco, getting up and giving chase. "You'll pay for that!"
"Shut up!" replied Jess, and started climbing up Hagrid's house.
"Oi! Get down from there!"
Everyone froze. There was silence.
"Now, wha' caused all o' this?" asked Hagrid.
Draco and Jess started talking at the same time. "Well, sir, he was complaining about his robes getting dirty, and I was just plain tired of it, so I hit him with my book and ran," said Jess.
"I was innocently talking to my friends, and she just hit me with the book and ran. Naturally, I would want revenge, so I chased after her," replied Draco.
"Well, Malfoy, yeh'll have teh keep yer discussions softer so they don' bother other students," concluded Hagrid. "An' Jess, yeh shouldn' hit other students wi' books. An' get off o' my house!"
Jess quickly obeyed. The bell rang.
"Oi, Katz!" yelled Hagrid, over the sounds of the mad rush that the students were making.
"Yes sir?" she asked.
"Come see me after dinner, all righ'?"
"Of course, Hagrid." She gathered up her things and headed to lunch, where she met up with Jess and Jen.
"Hey, Jess! Nice job," said Katz.
"It wasn't really anything super," she muttered.
"Yes it was! You totally kicked his ass!" Katz paused, contemplating this thought. "Well, you hit him in the head, at least."
Jen and Jess laughed. "That I did," agreed Jess. They went to lunch and ate up. After lunch, Jen and Katz had Divination. Jess had Transfiguration.
"Erg...." This was the only sound coming from Harry as he led them up to the North Tower. They reached the steps and he turned to them. "Let me warn you of something. She always predicts my untimely death at the beginning of the year and at nice little intervals. So don't freak out. Okay?"
Jen and Katz nodded. The ladder swung down from the trapdoor, and the students climbed up and into the Divination room.
They took their seats. "Good afternoon, students," said a voice right behind Katz, making her jump. "Ah," said Professor Trelawney, "it seems that we have some new students joining us this year." At least, Katz thought that the glittery object behind her was Professor Trelawney.
Trelawney took a seat right in front of Katz. Unluckily, Katz had chosen the seat in the middle of the front of the room. She made a small mental note to never sit there again. This lady was creepy.
"These next three weeks we shall be reviewing," she said, "so that our new classmates can get an idea of what we've learned. Today, it is tea leaves. Everyone, pair up and go get a teacup. I'll come around with the tea. Also, two of you need to pair up with the new girls." Harry and Ron immediately went and joined Jen and Katz. They went to go get their teacups, got them filled, and sat back down.
Katz took a small sip of her tea and made a face. "Needs sugar," she muttered.
"Don't put anything in it," replied Harry, whom she had paired up with. "You might get in trouble." Katz sighed, drank her tea, popped a mint in her mouth, swilled the dregs around, and drained the cup. She then switched it with Harry's.
"Right," said Katz, rotating his teacup. "You've got a falcon, a club, a skull, and a Grim. But it's plain logic for the both of us that the Grim is really"-here she lowered her voice-"Sirius Black in Animagus form."
Harry grinned. "It's nice to know that some people other than me and Ron think that Divination is just plain junk."
"C'mon, tell me what's in my cup."
"All right. You've got . . . a weird sort of thing with a beak . . . yeah, it's a falcon -- hey, maybe your deadly enemy is my deadly enemy-- you've got a crooked sort of cross--wow, what a horrible cup--and a . . .. Wait, is that the Grim?" Trelawney rushed over.
"Dear, let me see that," she said, snatching the cup from him. She rotated the cup, announced that Katz had a falcon, a club, and a cooked cross, then gasped and let out a little scream. "Oh, my . . . you poor, dear girl . . . just like the dear boy next to you . . .." Katz glanced uncertainly at Harry. He shrugged.
"What is it, Professor?" asked Jen.
"My dear," Professor Trelawney's eyes opened dramatically, "you have the Grim."
Katz stood up. "Oh, is that all? Just a Grim? Gees, you people are so weird!" she burst out. "Honestly, there is no such thing as a bloody fricking Grim!"
Trelawney looked quite taken aback. "My dear, you have clearly been disturbed by the resonances of the future in this room."
"I am not disturbed! I may be a little nuts at times, especially after I've had sugar, but I am not disturbed!" With this last statement made, Katz gathered her things, kicked open the trapdoor, and descended the ladder.
Trelawney sighed. "Class dismissed."
They all gathered up their things. Harry was first down the stairs, followed by Jen and Ron. They raced down the halls after Katz just as the bell rang.
~~~Transfiguration~~~
"Welcome to a new year, class. And a very special welcome to Miss Lee," said McGonagall after taking roll.
"Today we will be transfiguring pillows into animals." McGonagall handed out the pillows. Since Draco was right next to Jess, she could hear him complaining. Again.
"Oh, this is just what we need," groaned Draco.
"Draco, I'm only going to tell you this one more time," said Jess. "Shut up."
"You can't tell me what to do."
"Yes I can."
"No you can't."
"Yes I can."
"No you can't."
"Yes I can."
"No you can't."
"No I can't."
"Yes you can."
"All right then, if I can tell you what to do, then I'm telling you to shut up."
"But I didn't say you could tell me what to do."
"Yes you did. You just said I could. You said, 'yes you can.'"
"You made me!"
"No I didn't!" Jess's eyes were wide and innocent, but she was crossing her fingers behind her back.
"Malfoy, Lee, stop bickering and get to work," said McGonagall.
"Yes Professor," they replied, giving each other glares.
Jess murmured the spell and pointed her wand at the pillow. However, her pillow remained a pillow. Oddly enough, there was no smart remark from Draco at her failure. She looked at him. He wasn't there. Instead, in his place, was a white blonde cat with slanted gray eyes.
"Oh, what a cute kitty!" she squealed, scooping it up.
The cat glared at her. "It's okay, kitty," cooed Jess, stroking it. The cat seemed to wince, then settle into her lap.
Suddenly, Jess noticed that she was no longer stroking soft fur, but cloth. Looking, down, she saw that Draco was lying in her lap, looking quite angry.
"AIEEE!" she shrieked, jumping up.
Draco toppled off her lap onto the hard floor.
"OW!"
"What in the world is going on here?" asked McGonagall sharply.
"She transfigured me into a cat!" said Draco.
"Your pillow was missing, so I figured you had found better company!" cried Jess.
"Wait. My pillow is missing?"
Jess nodded, stricken.
"You must have turned it into a cat, too," said Draco.
"We've got to look for it," added Jess, who was on the verge of tears at the thought of the poor kitty getting trampled.
They conducted a full out search, with them both crawling about on the floor, looking for the cat. They finally found it under Blaise Zabini's desk.
Draco crawled under and retrieved the frightened kitty.
Jess offered to take it, but Draco would not let her near the poor thing.
'I never knew Draco had a soft spot for animals,' thought Jess, looking admirably at Draco, who was petting his cat.
She jumped as the bell rang. She quickly gathered her stuff and ran off to Charms.
~~~During Transfiguration and Divination: Charms~~~
Appy glanced around. 'All right,' she decided, 'Charms isn't that bad. Look at the bright side. You've got a teacher who's so short he can barely see over the top of his desk, and that's with three huge books, too!' Sitting down, she glanced at the person on her right.
"Hi, I'm Padma. Padma Patil," said the girl.
"Hi."
"You're Rhapsody, right?"
"Yeah. Most people call me Appy, though."
"Oh. Okay."
"I'm Terry Boot," said the boy on her left.
"Hello," replied Appy.
"Welcome to a new year, class. Especially to our brand new student, Rhapsody Sabine."
Appy gave a little wave.
"Today we will be working on debating charms."
"Debating charms? How can you use charms for a debate?" asked Appy, who had a lot of experience with debating.
"To use better grammar and debating skills. Also to make better arguments."
"But we should use our human skills for debates."
"Sometimes, to win, we must do desperate things."
"Winning isn't everything, Professor Flitwick."
"Now class, as you can see, Miss Sabine and I are debating over whether using a charm for debates is unethical."
"It's totally unethical, sir. It is, to put it really simply, cheating."
"And you've hit the nail on the head, Miss Sabine, because that is your homework for tonight. To research debating charms and write a three foot long essay about which ones are mainly used for cheating and which ones aren't. It is due on Friday."
Then the bell rang, and the Ravenclaw Sixth Years headed off to Herbology.
~~~Dumbledore's Office~~~
"Albus, I am telling you that she is Black's daughter!"
"I know that, Severus," replied Dumbledore calmly. "And so does Sirius. However, we must confirm this with Jasmine. That is why I am trying to write a letter to her. However, it is very hard to do so with all these interruptions."
Snape got the hint. "Of course, Headmaster. I'll be going, now," he said, leaving.
"God I hate him," muttered Sirius, coming back into the room.
"Ah, but you must work together, if we are to destroy Voldemort."
"I know," Sirius said, sighing.
~~~The Great Hall~~~
Jen, Jess, Katz, and Appy had all had a great day.
However, Katz was still fuming at Trelawney.
"Damn her," she muttered. "Grims are nonexistent. Anyone who believes in them is a doodoo head."
Harry, Ron, and Hermione chuckled. "Doodoo head?" Hermione asked with a grin.
"Yeah," replied Katz, returning the grin.
Meanwhile, Draco was still fuming about the cat incident.
"Missed her pillow and turned me into a cat! Honestly, any Pureblood could at least hit their pillow, instead of hitting me."
"Dangit Draco, will you shut the heck up?" asked Jess very irritably.
"Why should I? You haven't even apologized for turning me into a cat," Draco replied coolly.
Jess was thoroughly fed up. "If I didn't love your ducky sucks, I would dump this whole tureen of soup onto your head," she said threateningly.
"Wait! How'd you know about those?" he asked, scared.
"Secret. And two of the Gryffindors and a Ravenclaw know about them, too." Jess grinned evilly. Perfect blackmail.
"Well, I've got to go. Must send an owl to my mum," Jess added cheerily, getting up from the table. On her way out of the Great Hall, she leaned down in between Katz and Jen and muttered, "Meet me in the Owlery in five minutes." Katz and Jen nodded.
Five minutes later, they arrived in the Owlery.
"I've got the perfect blackmail material," whispered Jess.
"What?" asked Katz eagerly.
"For who?" asked Jen.
"Ducky socks. Draco."
Katz squealed. "You mean he really does have ducky socks?" she asked eagerly.
Jess nodded. "Now, you guys know how I've been trying to make him shut up today, and he hasn't? Well, next time I tell him to shut up, I'll threaten to tell the whole school about his socks. Then, when he doesn't shut up, I'll magic something onto the back of his robes and summon one of his ducky sucks and attach it with the words. So, what do you think?"
"Ooh! It's so Slytherin!"
Jess smiled smugly. "I know, Katz. That's why I thought it up. No offense."
"None taken," chirped Katz.
"But... what if he finds out it was you?" asked Jen.
"He won't."
"You're the only one that knows about his ducky socks, as far as he knows, right?"
"No, I told him that two Gryffindors and a Ravenclaw knew, too."
"Jess!" Katz and Jen yelled simultaneously.
"Don't worry. It'll all work out."
"If you say so," Jen said, unbelieving.
Katz shrugged before yawning. "C'mon, let's get to bed."
And so they did, memories of their first day at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry fresh in their minds.
~~~~~~~b~~~~~~~
DISCLAIMER: The name Degas belongs to Edgar Degas, the famous French artist. The ducky
socks, obviously, belong to Cassie Claire and Draco.
Author notes: A big thank you to Jen, Jess, and Lily. For what, I can't remember. I really do want
to be a phsycologist.