Harry Potter 1. The Tale Begins

Disclaimer:

I do not own anything related to Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling does.

I took some inspiration from Jaquieline Carey's 'The Kushiel legacy' while creating Katia's curse and Houses. All recognizable elements belongs to her.

Names of spirits and deceased wizards are from 'Avalon' of Marion Zimmer Bradley and I don't own anything of it myself.

IMPORTANT: 

I feel obligated to add a little more explanation for those, who will read this story for the first time. After some - let's say for lack of a better word - _rude_, private messages. I felt awkward finding out, what people think about me and my story.

First: My character is young at the beginning of the story and WILL NOT be subjected to any type of sexual abuse at her current age. However, it is not to say, as she become of age things will change. By using a time-turner Katia is able to do Hogwarts homework and prepare herself for Bulgarian exams - aging herself in the process. Right now I can't say exactly when things will have a more mature content, but it will happen and I will put a notice at that beginning of that chapter to be forewarned.

Second: Please, do not confuse yourself so much about the main character and a plot. It wouldn't be interesting if I told you everything at the beginning. Remember to watch for little hints - they may be subtle but they will be there. I have a detailed plot planned for the entire story and every little element will click into place as the story progresses.

Third: As a new author, I know I will make mistakes. I will try hard to learn from them. If my first chapter isn't the best that you've read (hint* sarcasm *hint ). Keep reading - I know they will get better. I written the first 7 chapters mostly from Katia's point of view, but starting with chapter 8 it will change.

Katia is one of the main characters, but she will not dominate the whole story. Canon characters are known to reader, Katia is my own creation and I feel she needed a little show time - _that is I feel that she needed_ - to become a regular Hogwarts student.

EXTENDED SUMMARY:

Katia is the adopted daughter of Dumbledore's former lover, Wulfrick Ivanov and is transferred to Hogwarts in Harry's second year. The curse that Katia is under causes her to have an obsessive affection towards Professor Snape.

It is at Hogwarts that you'll find that Katia has a special purpose - one that no one else can fulfill. A purpose leading her straight to the Dark Lord's side. Remember that no one can be involved with the Death Eaters and remain unscarred. Snape is not aware who Katia really is and will one day be working with along side her to fulfill her task.

Rating WILL change in the future chapters.

* * *

**Chapter 1 - The Tale Begins**

So, you want to hear about Severus Snape? You want to know if he was an unsung hero or the greatest traitor of his time?

I think, I can tell you the tale. But it's not what you may believe it to be.

No knights in shining armor, no damsel in distress.

It's a story of fate, of great courage and betrayal. Of sacrifice, pain and passion, of people who were just ordinary and yet – special - and they all were good and bad at the same time.

Today is the last day of December. Tomorrow will bring a New Year and I will be a year older than today. It's a good time to remind what made me the person I am now and to remember Them. All of them.

When I close my eyes, it's not difficult for me to see Them as they were, these days.

Their faces so clear, everything so full of colors, smells, and feelings.

"_Don't move so much Katia, you'll ruin my work and it took me two hours to do your hair."_

_A dark haired girl shifted uncomfortably on her seat and wrinkled her nose. _

"_Can't you apply this bloody charm now Irina? Why wait?" Impatience was visible on the girl's face and she wasn't trying to hide it._

"_Because the effect will be better. And besides, I'm enjoying your impatience so much," mocked the older girl, smirking as she pinned the next curl to the dark mass of hair. _

"_I wonder if he will like it," said Katia, a distant look on her face._

"_Of course he will, silly. Let's hope he__ wont faint when he meets you." _

_Irina giggled and looked at the mirror to see the younger girl's face. Katia's forehead was frowned in irritation. _

"_Oh yes, what a funny thing, really. Finish it, because my ass is getting flat as a plate from sitting here for Rasputin knows how long._

Or, maybe I should go back earlier, to the day when it all begun?

* * *

Diagon Alley, August 19, 1992

The tales she heard about Diagon Alley ware nothing compared to the crowded street with more shops that she could imagine.

Katia, more used to the peaceful and lazy atmosphere in Ivanov Manor or very a different type of streets, was now surrounded by a crowd of people, not knowing were to go first and wanting to see and touch everything.

A short man in his early fifties, walked beside her and grabbed her hand smiling.

"Everything has its own time, sweetie," he said in a strange mixture of Russian, Polish and maybe one or two Slavonic languages.

"I know, but this place is truly amazing. I have never been in a marketplace such as this."

It was like day to night when she tried to compare the crowded marketplaces of Bulgaria, with its people yelling to buy their merchandises, wizards driving muggle cars and honking on others constantly, street children dressed in shorts, running and trying to steal as much as they could, to this place.

At this time of year there would be a very hot sun shining almost all day and she would be covered in dust up to her knees.

Here in England, she felt cold, as if it was late Fall. There were thick clouds in the sky above her and she was grateful to her father that he advised her to wear warmer clothes.

They visited shop after shop, buying supplies and books from the Hogwarts list and. Her servant, Maria, followed their every step, carrying groceries in big bags.

They stopped near "Flourish & Blotts" and Maria took a seat on a nearby bench.

The crowd inside this shop was impressive, and Wulfrick along with Katia entered, careful to not bring too much attention to themselves.

She wasn't in the mood to answer tons of questions about who she was and why was she here. She was sure, that the students of Hogwarts could recognize an unfamiliar face rather quickly.

Katia looked at the list of books and wrinkled her nose.

"Do I really need to buy all of this shit?" Her companion pattered her arm and furrowed his brows in annoyance.

"A young lady like yourself should not be using such language in public."

The girl rolled her eyes and sighed, "Don't be so absurd Papa. They cannot understand a word."

"_I_ understand."

They moved forward a little, but neither Katia nor Wulfrick were tall enough to see the reason of such a big crowd inside the bookshop. Katia tapped at Gilderoy's surname with her manicured finger.

"I can't believe that this retarded moron will be our teacher."

Wulfrick chuckled and smiled mischievously. "At least you will _not_ have an opportunity to show how _gifted_ you are with a wand."

"Funny, because I would like to show them right here, right now what an excellent dueler I am," she snorted in a mock angry tone.

The pair moved to the corner pretending that they were looking at the titles of the books on shelves, but both waited for an opportunity to see something more than people's backs.

A high voice, belonging to a mother most likely, was heard and after a while she was visible. People behind them pushed Katia and Wulfrick forward, for now they were able to see something or someone of interest.

"Weasleys," hissed a voice in her ear while she looked at the redheaded family. "Malfoy, behind them. And his son upstairs and-" she interrupted, "Potter, I know."

She stood with her face towards Lockhart, but her eyes never left Lucius Malfoy.

"He is so handsome," she said in English. It would look suspicious if they were talking in foreign language standing so close to other students.

"Gilderoy Lockhart is SO cute," replied a blonde girl with dreamy eyes, standing next to her.

"We are so lucky he will be our teacher," she continued.

The blonde started babbling and whatever Katia said, she received a new river of words from the girl.

Finally Wulfrick had enough.

"Tshort ty, poshol von," he hissed quietly, so only Katia and the blonde girl could hear him.

The girl retreated and Katia turned her head a little towards her companion.

"I know it's a bit early, but I want so much to-"

Anything she wanted to say was interrupted by a peal of laughter from Lockhart. Nevertheless, Wulfrick knew what she meant because he leaned to her a little and whispered, "I know child, but take your time."

"He will fulfill my needs, I can see it. It's his body, his eyes, his movements…" Her voice changed, becoming seductive as her eyes darkened. She felt a harsh grip on her left shoulder.

"It's not a sweet and you are not in a candy shop, so stop salivating this instance for Rasputin's sake!" Hissed Wulfrick angrily, shaking the girl by her arm.

In the mean time, Mrs. Weasley made her way back through the crowd. She seemed very satisfied having a pile of books signed by Lockhart.

Wulfrick pulled Katia towards the salesman and they bought all the books on the list.

When they were finally outside, they handed a bag to Maria and headed towards a nearby restaurant. Wulfrick and Maria ordered ice cream covered in lemon juice and cappuccino, Katia took a fruit salad with a glass of soy milk.

She interrupted the silence after a while.

"If an attribute of the Devil is temptation, than this man the Devil impersonated," she closed her eyes for a moment and smiled, remembering an oriental, musky scent of expensive perfume and a brush of velvet robes.

"Who is that?" Asked Maria, as she swallowed a frozen grape with a grimace.

"If you still have to ask, girl, then you have a lot more to learn than I expected," answered Wulfrick with his all knowing smile.

"Lucius Malfoy, silly," said Katia with a friendly tone and an understanding expression.

Maria colored and dropped her gaze. "Of course," she sighed, "I can be so stupid sometimes."

* * *

A/N:

Tshort ty, poshol von - transcribed Russian. It may contain minor mistakes in transcription, because I'm not a native English speaker and Russian isn't my first language too.

"Tshort" – the devil, "ty" – you, "poshol"- out, "von" – go away. In a free translation it means "Go away, you devil" which is an equivalent of "Go to the Hell"

Due to the environment in which Katia was raised, there will be some Polish, Bulgarian, Russian and Czech in her parts of dialogue, but not too often.

I am sure that most of you know who Grigori Rasputin was. If not, a friend named Google should explain much :)

He will be mentioned later for those too lazy to read about him.

I thought that he would make an excellent equivalent of a British Merlin.


	2. House I Belong To

**Chapter 2 - House I Belong To**

Katia Ivanov stood on the platform 9 and 3/4 with Wulfrick Ivanov at her side. Her pose was relaxed and her face expressionless as she watched students making their way to the train. She was looking at the Hogwarts Express for the first time, anticipation and anxiety welling up inside of her.

"Maybe I should go now?" she asked with a thick, Russian accent.

"Maybe we should wait for a while, you still have ten minutes left."

"Do I look plain enough?" She smoothed her thick, grey robes as if to underline her question.

Her father nodded, and Katia looked at the Hogwarts Express again. She'd always used Sidelong Apparation with someone, or gone by a Portkey; so traveling by the train was something new for her. If not for the Muggleborns, all students could have been Apparated by their parents, she thought.

The platform soon became crowded. Young wizards with their parents were pacing, running, shouting. She tried to listen, but there were too many voices at the moment to separate a single sentence.

A hissing from behind interrupted her musings.

"Focus now, they're here." She looked to her right and saw a bushy haired girl with a round-faced boy.

"Harry Potter's friends, but no sign of him." Her voice betrayed a slight, yet barely audible anxiety.

"Follow them then." It was the only reply, the closest thing to a good-bye she received from Wulfrick.

She nodded, gave him a brief kiss on the cheek, took her trunk and headed to the train. Cursing under her breath, she pushed the heavy trunk inside and looked around to see a familiar face, but she had no such luck.

She made her way from end to end, but there was still no sign of Wonder-Boy. That left the two she saw at the platform.

* * *

Hermione took her seat by the window, Neville opposite to her.

"Are you sure you haven't seen Harry and Ron? The train will leave soon," she said nervously, tapping her foot impatiently on the floor.

Neville scratched the back of his head and shrugged. "Don't ask me. They're usually in by now." With a sharp pull, the train slowly left Platform 9 and 3/4 "Maybe they're in trouble?" he finished with another shrug.

Hermione knitted her brows together, looking through the glass at the landscapes, not seeing them, lost in her thoughts. It wasn't long before they heard a knock, and the door of the compartment slid open. An unfamiliar girl stood in the entrance, dragging a large trunk.

"I'm sorry, but all the other seats seem to be taken. Would you mind if I joined you?" She produced a shy smile, waiting for a reply.

The two took a moment to study her features. She was rather tall compared to Hermione, but not thin, with a tendency to be plump. It was hard to tell exactly because her uniform was definitely too thick for her. Her dark chestnut brown hair was straight and shiny, covering both sides of her face and reached her shoulders. Her face wasn't exceptional, rather typical with an average nose and almost pale lips. Her skin was neither paler nor darker than theirs and there wasn't much to tell about her eyes except that they were blue. It was Neville who first spoke to her.

"Of course we don't mind, forgive us, but we were trying to figure out if we've seen you before."

He took her trunk and placed it on the luggage rack above their heads. The girl took the seat next to him and raised her hand to her hair, but put it back down before she reached it.

"No, we don't know each other yet, I'm Katia Ivanov and I'm new here."

"Hermione Granger, and this is Neville Longbottom."

Before Katia had a chance to respond, Hermione spoke again. "You don't wear any house colors and you look too old to be a first year. Are you a transfer student? Or did you just received your letter later than we did?"

Katia smiled and looked straight at Hermione. For a moment brown eyes locked with blue and the girl spoke.

"Yes and yes to your first two questions. I'm from Bulgaria and I will be attending with the second years."

Neville raised his brows in surprise. "So you're from Durmstrang?" She nodded and looked at Hermione again.

Katia took a deep breath and smiled. "Yes again to the questions," she said calmly, "but I had private lessons, and I went to Durmstrang only once, to pass first year exams. I will be seeing Hogwarts for the first time. Can you tell me something about it? I don't want to make an idiot of myself on the first day."

Hermione lit up at this request, leaned forward to the Bulgarian girl, and began telling her a lecture on Hogwarts' history. Katia feigned interest, occasionally nodding and smiling, but was lost in her own thoughts.

She listened carefully when Hermione mentioned teachers, trying to figure out who might be strict and when she should watch herself the most.

"Professor McGonagall is our Head of the House. She is an Animagus and her form is a cat. She teaches Transfiguration and I really like her subject, but she is demanding. It's good, because I like the challenge," she took a deep breath as if to continue, but decided against it.

Instead she leaned closer "What do you think, Katia? What is your favorite subject by the way?"

Katia thought about her busy schedule and her additional lessons, and two especially stood out.

"I enjoy Self Defense and Potions.."

"Self Defense? You meant Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

Katia listened to the British accent Hermione spoke with, the one she loved so much, and only then did she realize just how much she had to practice.

"No, I meant Self Defense. It's very useful. If an opponent disarms you, you are not helpless, having plenty of possibilities. You can dodge their spells, kick them in some sensible place or throw something at them. It's not a good thing to relay only on your wand and as a Muggleborn, as you claim yourself to be, you should know that I'm right"

Hermione seemed to be surprised. "Of course, you're right, but Hogwarts doesn't provide us with Self Defence lessons," she paused. Katia was quiet, sitting in a modest pose, her hands resting in her lap.

"You mentioned Potions. Professor Snape teaches that. He is the Head of the Slytherin House and is quite an unpleasant person, unless you are a member of his house. But even then he makes exceptions sometimes."

Neville looked at Hermione disbelievingly, raising his brows almost to his hairline. "Quite unpleasant? Great gods, Hermione! This greasy git makes my life miserable every chance he can."

Katia chuckled and put her hand on Neville's arm. "It can't be that bad," she said, looking between Longbottom and Granger.

"I'm afraid he's right. Professor Snape terrifies Neville and he seems to enjoy doing it. I'm sure he won't care that your English isn't perfect and he might lower your grades unless you copy the text from the book unchanged."

Katia sighed. It seemed that Hogwarts wouldn't challenge neither her knowledge nor her logic, but rather condemn her for poor language skills. The only contact she had with English for seven years was provided by Russian or Bulgarian teachers whose accent wasn't much better than her own. Better to work on pronunciation. Besides, if she survived Aine Delorge, she could survive anything. This Snape just couldn't be worse than her. No one could.

The train began to slow down and Neville went to the window to see if they were in Hogsmeade. However it was dark outside and all he saw was the reflection of their compartment in a window glass.

They were already changed into their school robes and headed to the entrance when the train stopped.

"You were so nice to me. I wish I could be friends with you".

Hermione put a hand on Katia's arm. "Of course you can, why?"

Katia produced a shy smile and looked at her feet. "You see, I'm not sure where I will be sorted. You suggested Ravenclaw because I like to read, but I don't think that will be the case. You like books also and you were sorted into Gryffindor. Would you like to be my friends despite the house I'll be in?"

Hermione squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Of course Katia, we're not the ones with prejudices, but I hope you will be in Gryffindor. You are really nice"

"Thank you, it means a lot to me". Katia didn't need to act, for it was honest from her.

Maybe she wouldn't be so terribly alone after all, even if Granger's company was a bit tiring.

Besides friendship with her was access to Harry Potter.

* * *

They went outside and Katia smiled to a half-giant who greeted them. As a new student, she was to ride the boats with the group of soon to be first years.

Hagrid was a nice guy, she could tell, and she was sure that her bad English didn't matter to him. They could understand each other and it that was enough.

Katia was as much impressed as her companions were when seated in the small boats, but she was admiring her surroundings without her mouth gaping open. She entered through the large doors, trying to embrace everything at once.

Only years of learning self control stopped her from standing here with wide eyes and mouth agape when she looked at the impressive castle. She wasn't showing her obvious interest, however. To a mere observer, she looked at her surroundings with mild interest.

She stepped out the boat and entered the building, feeling pleasant shivers inside.

Such a place to study magic!

An elderly looking woman at the top of stairs welcomed her. She presented herself as Minerva McGonagall.

She said the greeting speech to the new students and shortly before the door to the Great Hall opened she gestured Katia over. The girl stepped closer and smiled uncertainly.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, you must be Katia Ivanow I presume?"

The Bulgarian girl nodded and looked at the floor, not wanting to disrespect the woman by looking straight into her eyes.

"Don't be shy, I won't bite. The Sorting Ceremony is really a nice experience. You will be the first, because you are the oldest. Now cheer up child, it is the time."

"Of course."

Katia's response was drowned out among the noise made by first years. She entered the Great Hall with the flow and looked around. The enchanted ceiling was the most beautiful thing she had ever saw and the levitating candles made the effect almost stunning. She barely paid attention to the Headmaster's speech, being as absorbed by her surroundings as she was. It was out of character for her to be so careless, but she couldn't help it.

She focused however, hearing her name. She straightened her hair with one quick motion, a nervous habit that stubbornly showed her nervousness no matter how hard she tried to stop it.

She lifted her chin and walked stiffly between the tables. She was aware of the looks she received, and it did nothing to faze her. She kept her gaze at the height of McGonagall's knees. She heard whispers amongst the students:

"Nothing special," whispered a bored, tall boy.

"Quite plain," someone said aloud.

"Kind of ordinary looking."

"Wonder if she likes Chocolate Frogs," laughed someone.

"Do you think she'll be in our house?" asked a girl nearby.

"I hope not," replied a voice behind her.

She decided to ignore them.

The Sorting Hat was placed on her head and in the same moment she heard a voice inside her mind. She fought the urge to flinch.

"I see a lot of courage. That would make an excellent Gryffindor."

"I am not a coward if it's what you mean."

"No, no. You also like to learn new things, even if they were…huh…sometimes forced upon you."

"Does it mean Ravenclaw?"

"Your hard work and constant need to prove yourself would make you more a Hufflepuff than Ravenclaw."

"Huff Le Puff then?"

"But… Oh, so much acting, so much cunning in such a young mind."

"It has a reason and a purpose."

"Of course it does and nothing will help you better to gain you goals than …"

"SLYTHERIN!" it shouted and Katia heard a clapping from one table.

She sent an apologetic look to Hermione and Neville and headed to the Slytherin table. Despite the dirty looks from some of them she kept herself calm and composed, sitting stiff and proud. Providing a small smile she sat on the edge of the bench and, avoiding Malfoy's eyes, looked at her new teachers.

She was a member of the Ivanov family and they could eat the likes of Malfoys for breakfast. The truth was that if they knew what her true heritage was, they would hate her openly. Ivanovs, Malfoys, Slytherins. Most likely all of them.

She shuddered inside at the thought and took a deep breath. They couldn't know; there is no way.

Perhaps no way for them to know, but she did and her anxiety was growing despite her efforts to calm herself. Did she leave her confidence with Wulfrick at the train station?

She thought that she was over the feelings of anxiety caused by such truths coming out about her or not. Yet it still caused her to be nervous. She would have to work more on self -control and sooner rather than later.

The Staff table contained one unoccupied chair as Katia scanned the teachers through hooded eyes, trying to figure out who was who. She couldn't tell much, because Hermione focused on describing their teaching attitudes, not physical traits. She only recognized Professor Flitwick because Neville mentioned that he was tiny.

She looked at the Gryffindor table and spotted Harry Potter with one of the Weasleys, looking as if they had fought some wild animal a moment earlier. Their heads were close and she assumed that their casual clothing and an the atmosphere of conspiracy had something to do with their late arrival.

It wasn't long before a tall, lean man crept behind them. His skin was pale and his face was obscure by lank, black hair. Only his large nose was visible. He said something and their eyes widened. She turned her head towards the Slytherins, trying to hear what they were saying.

"-must be in trouble," said someone behind her.

"-a hell of-" she heard from the middle of the table.

"Snape won't- bla-bla-bla – easily" It was so hard to catch the words in all the noise.

"Potter-" of course Potter, whom else would they discuss? Her? She was "nothing special" or so they said earlier.

"McGona-"

"and Headmaster-"

"-went-"

She looked around again, but there was no sign of this Snape and Headmaster. Feline in disguise was also missing.

She drank her pumpkin juice and ate some fruits, but there was nothing else she could stomach.

"Big cow. Almost like Millicent, yet eats like a bird," she heard a snarky female voice comment, but pretended to be unaffected.

She was aware that sitting as she was, stiff and with her back turned to her new house mates, she wasn't the friendliest kind of person. Their unpleasant reactions didn't make her feel any friendlier. It was also irritating her further that she was constantly playing with her hair.

* * *

By the time Katia reached the Slytherin common room she felt dizzy from all the noise the student body provided. She was used to more quiet, spacious surroundings.

She was half way to the girls dormitories when a door opened and a pug faced girl poked her head through. She recognized her voice as the one that had made the cow comment.

"Oi! Everyone! Her things are in my room! C'mon, let's see what she's got here!" she shouted and most of Slytherins followed her before Katia could do anything.

When she finally pushed through the crowd, almost the entire floor was covered with her belongings.

Girls were trying here perfumes and cosmetics, boys were looking at her underwear.

Malfoy was wearing her bra, touching with and shouting obscenities. When he noticed her presence he smiled wickedly.

"Wooo what we've got here! Didn't know that twelve years olds could grow breasts already!"

Everyone looked at Katia, probably expecting her to run and cry, but she didn't. She stood still, her head bowed with her hair hanging around her face, covering most of it, yet she could still see through it.

She suspected something like this to happen and that's why Wulfrick took her most important things to Dumbledore when he was at Hogwarts during the holidays.

However suspecting and actually seeing her privacy violated in such a manner was a major difference and she couldn't let it go.

She felt rage boiling in her and this time she did nothing to stop it.

"Leave it," she said in a deadly low voice. Were it Ivanov Manor, they would have listened immediately, but here she was "nothing special" and alone. It only caused a laughter and more obscenities.

"NOW!"

"Or what? You'll hex us all or go back to mommy and daddy crying?"

Without a warning she jumped to the center of the crowd, punched the girl straight into her stomach, elbowed a black skinned boy and kicked a big baboon of a boy in his groin.

They hadn't had time to react, and she would have done more, but Malfoy's son had his reflexes also and drawn his wand.

* * *

Severus Snape was furious. Potter and Weasley should have been expelled for their foolish actions. But, of course, they were untouchable. As if that wasn't enough, the old bag McGonagall made sure their punishment wasn't too hard.

Had they been in Slytherin, they would've been packed and on the train back to London by now.

That reminded him of his past. When Sirius Black almost got him killed, he was also spared and punished by a mere detentions and he, the victim, had to be grateful that James Potter saved his life.

He was heading to his quarters when he heard noises from the Slytherin rooms. He quickened his pace, Disillusioned himself and entered into the Common Room just in time to see a torment party they prepared for the Bulgarian girl.

He suspected that being from Bulgaria would provide her an education in the Dark Arts, even if she hadn't attended Durmstrang. Her vicious attack and incredible speed surprised him.

She didn't stand a chance however. She was alone and as far as he could see, this careless child hadn't even drawn her wand. He smirked to himself when he saw Draco's wand trained on her.

But his amusement wasn't long lived when she flew across the room and slammed into him hard, knocking the air out of his lungs. His back met the door painfully.

Katia felt something hard and solid hit her and loose it's balance, but she hadn't registered it in her furious state.

"Svolotch!"

Being defenseless and not having the advantage of surprise, she took off one high-heeled shoe and threw it in the face of the Pug-faced girl. She smirked hearing the lovely noise of bones breaking.

Pug face was holding her nose with two hands, blood flowing from it at an impressive speed.

"You got what you deserved, psha yuha ty!"

She could almost feel their hatred as the other Slytherins approached her, their jaws clenched and fists balled. Any moment and they would tear her into pieces.

"You think that you are strong, tshorty vy, because you are in a pack! But none of you, NO ONE wants to come here and be first!"

She was holding her wand now in a steady, firm grip. They backed up a little and she advanced, her face controlled and lips in a thin line.

"Remember that this was only a show, a sample. You _don't_ want to be my enemy. Now, you will gather my things and put. Them. _**Back**_."

Some of them reluctantly retreated and Katia raised her wand higher.

"Move!"

She stepped closer to see if all her things were put back into the chest.

Snape used the chaos of the situation to retreat. He decided to not interfere, but she wouldn't get away with this.

His back still hurt, but it was a side effect of his curiosity. The girl handled the situation, but it was strange that she used physical violence instead of some nasty hex.

* * *

In the Slytherin Common Room was a nervous and unpleasant atmosphere.

Katia demanded to be left alone and most of them agreed to do it. Malfoy however thought, that having her on his side would be an interesting addition to his bodyguards, Crabbe and Goyle.

Pansy was escorted to Madam Pomfrey, claiming that she tripped over one of the staircases.

Draco took Katia at his side.

"You think that you will rule us now?"

"I never said that. Just don't mess with me and we can live here in peace."

"I am afraid that I've not heard you name, but by the way you acted, I would say you are a Mudblood, using violence like you did."

"I must disappoint you, Malfoy. I don't know what the term Mudblood means, but by your tone I suppose it's some lower kind of people. I'm from the Ivanov family. We are one of the oldest and richest Pureblood families in Russia"

_Ivanov? She's Ivanov? Oh bloody hell. Father is going to kill me._

"You must forgive my fellow Slytherins, but we were not aware of your heritage. I sincerely apologize and I hope that you wouldn't hold my mistake against me," _This should do._

"I have no wish to have an enemy in you, but restrain yourself next time. I want respect for my person, nothing more. I want to be treated like one of you, even if my English isn't perfect and I'm a foreigner. I hope that we have an understanding."

_He doesn't know, Rasputin the Great, why I am so worried?_

"We do. Remember that whatever happens in this house stays here," he said, this time trying to smile friendly.

_Slimy little git, why aren't you more like your father?_

She felt hot inside when she thought of Lucius, standing not so far away from her in the book shop.

"Good night Malfoy."

"It's Draco, good night."

* * *

It was long after midnight when sleep finally claimed her. She felt hungry and wasn't used to other people sleeping in the same room with her.

Their snoring was irritating Katia to no end.

She woke up around five in the morning, more hungry than ever and dressed, waiting for the breakfast to arrive. She thought about the fight the night before and realized she had collided with someone, but who might it be? She was probably too focused on the things before her to see someone behind her. Some unfortunate Slytherin would have a rude awakening due to the force in which they hit the door.

* * *

A/N: Here's some words that can be problematic for you:

Svolotch – trash (about people). It's used in Bulgarian and Russian mostly to insult a group of people.

psha yuha ty – psha yuha is originally written as "psia juha" but was changed to show the proper pronunciation. It means literally "dog's blood", but it's a mild insult and it shows a disrespect. "ty" means you, and putting "you" and the end of sentence is correct grammatically in some Slavonic languages. It's used in Polish, sometimes in Russian, Czech and Bulgarian.

"tshorty vy!" – literally it means "you devils" but in Russian it's more of an insult than it sounds in English, but a rather mild one.

Cat Paws, my wonderful beta-reader! It would never been posted without you! Thanks!!!

I also want to thank my readers. I've reached over 100 hits for the first chapter. Thanks for the rewievs!


	3. Disaster in Progress

**Chapter 3 - Disaster in Progress**

Finally eight o'clock came and Katia went for breakfast with Draco Malfoy and his two bodyguards. At this time her stomach ached from hunger.

She took her seat between Crabbe and a rather well built girl, probably this Millicent she was compared to.

She arched an eyebrow seeing Weasley's humiliated face when he received a Howler.

_Mrs. Weasley has quite the temper_, she thought, smiling to herself.

Her stomach was doing flips by the time food appeared on the table.

She took a rather large portion of porridge and drank three glasses of pumpkin juice. After that she ate two slices of bread with tomato and cucumber.

She felt watched, but it was nothing unexpected. She was new and she was sure that half of the school was eyeing her. It didn't make her self - conscious, however. Pretending to be completely concentrated on her food, she looked at the Staff Table and noticed the black eyes of Snape. He wasn't staring at her openly, but his gaze was intense and she could feel it every time he laid his eyes on her.

She looked at the Headmaster and was amazed at seeing a striking resemblance to her father in his gestures. She wondered, who learned from whom.

They way he held his fork, raised his eyebrows or scratched his temple. It was as if Wulfrick was there, wrapped in a different body. It was a pleasant thought, because she loved her father with all her heart and missed him already.

She wondered if he had a similar addiction to sweets as Wulfrick.

When she was full and satisfied, she looked at the Gryffindor table to see Hermione smiling at her. She smiled back and Weasley's face frowned. Not a good sign at all.

Granger rose from her seat, and so did Katia, hoping that she would go with her to her first class today, Transfiguration.

She exited the Great Hall and almost caught Hermione when a silky voice spoke near her ear.

"Miss Ivanov, I want you to stop."

She turned around to see the tall, lean frame of Professor Snape no further than two feet from her.

"Yes, sir," she said politely.

"As your Head of House, I must warn you that using physical violence is strictly forbidden at Hogwarts and I would advise you to seek other solutions for your misunderstandings."

_Quite polite for a "greasy git who makes life miserable." I wonder how he knows about it. Probably Pug Face told him_.

"I sincerely apologize, sir, but-"

"Your efforts are touching, however you will serve a detention with me tonight. Be at my office at 8pm o'clock sharp."

"Of course, sir." She was about to go, when he spoke again.

"Know that being late will result in more detentions…"

She nodded and went after Harry Potter to her first class.

* * *

Having rather good sight she took a seat at the end of the large classroom and waited for the lesson to begin.

Professor Flitwick eyed his students as he entered the classroom and smiled a little seeing Katia among them. She smiled back and looked behind him to see a rather large table. Near, on the floor was a feather, a glass full of water, and a chair.

He climbed onto the large pile of books on a chair and stood, gaining attention.

"Good morning class. Today we will revive our knowledge from last year and add a little to it. A year ago we were learning _wingardium leviosa_ and all of you performed the spell on a feather correctly."

Some students moaned disapprovingly.

"I thought we would learn something cool," remarked someone from Slytherin and Professor Flitwick clasped his hands, gaining attention again.

"Patience, children. You've learned how to lift a little object, but today we will try to learn precision. Your task is to lift the objects in order from the lightest to the heaviest and put them on the table. What counts is speed, precision and grace. In order determine grace, the glass is full of water. The one who performs it the best will earn ten points to their house."

Granger's hand flew in the air high and she wriggled on her seat. Some other student lifted their hands and Katia cowered a little, hoping that she won't be chosen. No such luck.

"Patience, patience, children. Maybe Miss Ivanov can show us how to do this properly?"

_No, take someone else._

"_At least you will not have an opportunity to show how gifted you are with a wand." _

_No.  
_

_No no no no no. _

"Well Miss Ivanov? We are waiting."

She slowly rose from her seat and with her usual stiff movements she walked to the table.

"First the feather."

"_Wingardium leviosa!_" she spoke the incantation with a clear voice and perfect pronunciation, her wand movements precise and smooth.

The feather jumped few times and finally ascended, landing on the table. From the corner of her eye she saw Professor Flitwick furrowing his brows a little.

Seeing her hesitation he motioned his hand. "Please continue, Miss Ivanov."

She nodded and pointed at the glass. "_Wingardium leviosa!_"

The glass swayed a little from side to side, and some water spilled on the floor. Katia felt her insides trembled from concentration.

"_Wingaridum leviosa!_" she shouted, slight irritation quite clear in her voice.

The glass moved up half way to the table and fell, the sound of the shattering glass ringing loud on the stone floor.

Flitwick's frown deepened and a laugh was heard among the students.

"It was a mistake, Professor."

"You are a mistake!" shouted Pug Face.

"Shut up, Pansy," she heard Draco say.

Professor Flitwick waved his wand and the glass repaired itself and filled with water.

"Maybe you should try with the chair, but be careful."

Katia felt frustration building inside her. Was he trying to condemn her completely?

But he ordered to do it and she obeyed. Taking a deep breath she trained her wand on the chair.

"_Wingardium leviosa!_"

Blasted piece of furniture didn't move even by inch. She concentrated on the spell, trying to accomplish the task with all her might. Her vision darkened a little and drops of sweat formed on her forehead.

The chair slid by two inches on the floor, and Katia lowered her wand, gasping for air. She felt exhausted as if she was trying to lift a hippogriff with the strength of her muscles.

But it was the humiliation which hurt her the most.

She told herself to ignore all the nasty comments but failed.

She was used to teachers humiliating her, one nasty witch in particular, but being the target of so many bothered her.

She made her way to her seat stiffly and proudly, not wanting to give anyone satisfaction.

Even "the Gryffindor pussy" Neville Longbottom managed to lift the chair.

The lesson ended and she followed Draco to the next, when a nasty voice spoke behind her.

"Good to know that you can't hurt a fly with your wand, you walking failure!"

She turned around and with one, quick move she grabbed Pansy by her throat and slammed her hard against the wall. Her voice was deadly low and barely audible

"Maybe I can't hex you, but if you ever try to threaten me, you ugly pug face, I will smash your face so hard that even your healer will be unable to fix it."

Katia let her go and Pansy grasped her throat, breathing heavily.

None of the Slytherins interfered and Katia quickened her pace to catch up with Hermione.

"Hey," she said uncertainly.

"Oh, hello Katia. I feel so sorry for you. They shouldn't laugh, you know."

Katia shook her head and smiled.

"I don't need pity, Hermione. I wanted to ask if you would come with me to the library after classes. I don't even know where is it. If you still want to talk with me, being in Slytherin and all that is."

"I would love to show you the library and remember what I said in the train. It doesn't matter that you're Slytherin until you plan to do something nasty to me."

"I don't," Katia smiled mischievously "and I think I don't even have the required ability to do so."

"You're talking with Snakes Hermione? Are you out of your mind?" interrupted Weasley.

Hermione's face darkened.

"Ronald I-"

Katia put her hand on the girl's shoulder "I'd better go. Meet me at the entrance of the Great Hall after dinner."

Without another word she left.

* * *

Katia was the first to enter the Transfiguration classroom and took a seat in the middle, at the edge of a bench. Goyle sat next to her and soon the lesson began.

Their task was to transfigure beetles into buttons.

There was a jar of beetles on her table and Professor McGonagall instructed them in what to do.

Katia looked behind her, then to the left. All of the students were trying to perform the task with better or worse result. Goyle's button, at her left, still had legs and it was running all over his table. The boy was trying to catch it and finally smashed it, unable to grab it with his sausage-like fingers.

She watched the Professor discreetly and swished her wand trying to perform the task, but the poor beetle was only running back and forth. Soon the tall figure of the Professor towered over her.

McGonagall spoke quietly, so only Katia could hear her.

"Miss Ivanov, I believe that being schooled by the teachers provided by such a wealthy family as yours should result in a perfect example of transfiguration. I'm disappointed to see that you only try to fool me by waving your wand without any visible result."

Katia took a deep breath and answered with a hushed voice.

"Please forgive me, Professor, but I'm doing my best. I can present my wide theoretical knowledge, but it won't change the result of this exercise. I'm really sorry but I just can't do it properly."

"If you say so, maybe I should ask you a question, let's say from a higher level. Do you think you can impress me with you answer?"

Katia smiled politely. "It may give me an opportunity to prove myself in a different way."

"What stands in opposition to Transfiguration and how does it work?"

"The opposite of Transfiguration is Untransfiguration, which would be returning something to its proper form, Professor," she replied, her face expressionless and answer short and precise, despite her horrendous accent.

"Would you be able to show how it works with this little insect?"

"No, Professor. But I can write a full theory and a description of practical exercise right now if you want."

"It won't be necessary, Miss Ivanov. For the rest of the lesson try do perform your earlier task and to learn from your class mates."

* * *

She went to dinner hoping that a full belly would ease her feeling of discomfort. She sat at the opposite site of the table, having a clear sight of the Gryffindor table. She noticed Snape's gaze once, but now she knew he was looking at her.

He knew what she did yesterday and he was probably the one she bumped into. Remembering what Hermione said about him, he won't let it go.

So, her humiliation will not end at dinner.

She looked at the plates full of meat, potatoes, covered with some sauce and salad with mayonnaise. Not even a shadow of red beet. She sighed and sipped her tea, her stomach growling.

Draco looked at her across the table.

"Why don't you eat?"

She smiled but it was a bitter smile. Should she tell him? No.

"I'm on a diet. As your _friend_ said yesterday, I'm a big cow, so why bother to eat now?"

"Yeah, will do better to be less…" he swallowed a forkful of meat, "to be thinner maybe."

She imagined what it would be like to eat this food as he did and felt nauseous.

Granger must be ecstatic to show her the library, because she saw that her plate was almost empty now. She rose from her seat and exited the Great Hall. She leaned against the wall and looked at the entrance. She didn't have to wait long.

"Ready to go Katia?" Surely she would be disappointed.

"I must change my planes unfortunately. I have an urgent matter to discuss with the Headmaster. Would you be so kind as to show me his office? I will wait for him there."

"All right."

"Don't be angry Hermione. I will go with you tomorrow, I really will. I'm very fond of books."

* * *

Dinner was almost over when she met the Headmaster near the Gargoyle. He smiled seeing her and spoke a greeting.

"Good day Miss Ivanov. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Yes Headmaster. Can we talk for a while?"

"Of course, of course. Follow me."

The statue moved as if by its own accord and she stepped after Dumbledore onto the spiral staircase. She was impressed seeing his office, but made no comment. The Headmaster took a seat behind the massive desk and motioned for her to take a seat.

"Lemon drop?" A plate full of sweats appeared in front of her. She inspected them and sniffled the one she took with her fingers.

"Does it contain gelatin?" She seemed serious.

"No child, only sugar and lemon juice."

She popped the sweet into her mouth and moved it with her tongue to speak clearly.

"There is a small thing concerning me, sir, and I believe that my father failed to discuss it with you."

Dumbledore stroked his beard.

"We had a rather long conversation about you. Can you enlighten me?"

Katia smiled at him and put her hands at her lap, straightening her back at the same time.

"He told you about the meals sir?"

Dumbledore seemed a little surprised.

"No, he didn't. Does Hogwarts menu not satisfy you appetite, Miss Ivanov?" before she could answer he continued.

"Forgive me, but would it be all right with you if I called you by your given name? Your surname brings associations with certain person for me and it's a bit strange for me to call a young lady like you Ivanov."

"I would be honored if the Headmaster of Hogwarts would call me by my given name. Besides I would it like it very much. It would also make me feel more at home, because you would be the only adult calling me Katia."

He seemed satisfied when she agreed and Katia could guess that the sound of her surname would bring all the memories he shared with Wulfrick.

Her father must have been very important in the Headmaster's life, she saw the official letter from was signed: Professor Albus Percival _Wulfric_ Brian Dumbledore

She wondered if Percival or Brian were given names or remnants of his past.

Dumbledore's grandfatherly, warm voice interrupted her musings.

"Could you tell me, Katia, what problem do you have with our food?"

"I was born with a rare malfunction of my digest system, inherited genetically from my mother. I don't have the enzymes required to digest any animal products. In other words, I cannot eat anything containing meat, eggs, milk, fish or their products."

"Oh dear child, so what do you eat? Grass?"

Katia chuckled. She heard similar reactions when she attended to family dinners with Ivanovs.

"I drink soya milk instead of cow milk and I eat avocado or plant butter instead of traditional butter. That's an example and I can write a complete list of meals you can provide with plants. I also beg you to not reveal this information, because I'm afraid that I would become a victim of cruel pranks. If it's possible, I would like to eat in the kitchen if there will be nothing for me during lunch or dinner. I can go there in the evening."

"It can be arranged. I'll show you the way to the kitchens and you will come there just before the curfew with your list."

"Thank you very much sir."

"I have a delicious cheese cake here, but I'm afraid that you won't try a piece."

"I'm afraid not."

* * *

The rest of the day passed without incident and around 7:30 pm she took the complete list, put it in her pocket and went to find the Potions classroom. According to Draco, who explained to her the way, Snape's office was adjacent to the dungeon classroom.

She sat, cross-legged near the door and took the list out of her pocket, re-reading it and occasionally adding something. Two minutes to eight she knocked on the door.

"Enter," she heard the cold, uninviting voice of Professor Snape. She checked if the golden chain on her neck was hidden and stepped inside.

His office was cold and dark, the atmosphere unwelcoming, an impression which could be easily extended to its owner. Snape was sitting behind the desk, obviously waiting for her to do something.

His hair was black and greasy looking, his skin pale even in the warm light of candles. His shoulders were quite wide and it made him look thinner. His long fingers were intertwined together. She dared to look at his face only once, intending to show respect by averting his eyes.

"Good evening, Professor. You wanted to see me," she clasped her hands behind her back, her posture composed and eyes at the height of his chest.

"You are mistaken, Miss Ivanov, if you imagined in your vicious little mind that I would _want _to spend my evening with you."

Snape smirked seeing that the girl gave no sign of nervousness. Every dunderhead he had the displeasure to teach tried to brave with better or worse results, but in the end most of them ran away in tears. She thought that she was better than them, because she was rich and passed one year in Durmstrang? He would wait for her to show something, any hint of what she felt and then he would strike knowing where to hit.

"You will not serve the usual detention, so don't ever think that you will scrub a cauldron and go away. Sit down."

Katia took her seat on the only available chair, which turned out to be uncomfortable, the wood digging into her butt.

She fought the urge to stand up and say what she really thinks of his treating her like that, and kept her face expressionless. She could tell that he was counting on that reaction to condemn her.

No way.

Her previous lessons were a complete disaster and she had a strange desire to win his appreciation. She failed with Aine Delorge but here she still had the chance. She waited patiently for him to speak, watching his hands.

She always had a thing for hands. His hands were elegant, long fingered, and slender, without visible veins.

"Miss Ivanov what was your final grade in Potions?"

"I received the highest possible grade, an equivalent of Hogwarts Outstanding."

"Well, well you think you are a genius then?"

Snape leaned towards her a little, waiting for a reaction.

"I have a love for the field of Potions and I hold the view that making them is an art. It's not just putting ingredients in a cauldron, it's a process of creation, passion and precision."

"We will see what kind of artist are you, Miss Ivanov. My standards can be quite different from those you are used to. Now I want to try your knowledge if you love the subject as much as you claim to. Tell me what are the ingredients of Polyjuice potion, how should they be prepared and what is its purpose."

Katia barely stopped herself from grinning like an idiot. She brewed this potion quite often since she was ten. It would be _three years_ now.

"The ingredients," she began, trying to copy his accent, "are lacewing flies, which need to be stewed for 21 days, whole leeches, powdered bicorn horn, knotgrass, fluxweed which should be picked only at full moon and shredded boomslang skin. If the potion is brewed correctly it can be identified by its color and consistency. It looks like thick dark mud and bubbles sluggishly. One would add the last ingredient at this stage, which should be a small piece of the person to be transform into, like hair or a nail. The purpose of this potion is to turn into the source of the last ingredient, but it only changes physical appearances without altering the voice of the drinker."

She lifted her gaze to see that Professor Snape arched one, black eyebrow, looking amused by her response.

"You obviously forgot to tell how long the effect lasts, the final color and consistency, but I can accept your answer. Can you brew it correctly?"

"Yes, sir."

"And if I asked you to do it now?"

"I would do it if I had the required ingredients. Without them it will take a month to collect and prepare everything for brewing."

"You will do it now, I have everything you would require."

He stood up and with a few large strides he was at the door. Katia followed him to the Potions classroom where he _accio_-ed a clean cauldron.

"See that cabinet on left. You will collect everything you need from there. Begin now."

She went towards the cabinet and just before she reached it, he spoke again. "Don't even think about summoning anything by magic. I will not tolerate foolish wand-waving in my classroom."

"Of course, sir," she answered rather absent-mindedly. The man had an incredible voice. Like a steel wrapped in silk and its timbre was music to her ears.

She was sure that she would like to listen to it even if he insulted her. But maybe that last part could be blamed on the blasted curse she was born with.

Maybe the curse was restraining her magical abilities from developing.

She put everything she needed on the table and started making the potion. She really liked the subject. She felt Snape's intense gaze while she was cutting, crushing and putting things into the cauldron. Her movements were smooth and precise. She had exact timing and kept her workspace as clean as possible.

It wasn't strange because she knew this potion by heart and she truly meant what she said about her love of the field.

She could improve here and wasn't limited by poor magic or teachers who hated her with a passion for her stupid, childish mistake.

She heard knocking to the door and Professor Snape went past her to answer it.

"Continue," he said and opened the door a little.

"Severus," she heard McGonagall's voice.

"Minerva, Filius. To what do I owe this late visit? Do you wish to invite me for a tea party?"

"We came here because Miss Ivanov is your responsibility."

Katia felt the skin on her back crept.

* * *

A/N: BIG THANKS to my beta reader.

To my readers: I do not write for the reviews, but if you have comments or thoughts - it would be appreciated if you posted them.

Click the tiny green button :)

It helps me to develop my writing skills.


	4. Insecurity

**Chapter 4 - Insecurity**

"I must admit that I was positively surprised that she hadn't turned out to be a complete dunderhead. She impressed you so much that you came here to talk about her success with me?"

McGonagall's voice was cold when she spoke.

"Unfortunately quite the opposite, Severus. The girl turned out to be a complete disaster during mine and Filius's practical exercises."

Another voice joined in.

"I checked her magical signature and compared results with Minerva. She's just above a Squib."

"She's barely a witch, Severus. At this rate it's impossible for her to pass Transfiguration and Charms."

Katia let the breath she was unaware of holding in out. So, the unavoidable had arrived. They would vote to expel her.

She closed her eyes recalling when the first time she showed any signs of magic.

* * *

_The evening was cold and stormy and she was playing on the floor near the fireplace. Her mother looked at her from time to time, probably to see if she could move the toys without using her hands. _

_She heard a crack behind the window, but no lightning. Strange. _

_Her mother looked through the window and put her hands over her mouth, muffling a cry. She turned around frightened. A doll fell on the floor._

"_Anthony, they're here! And our floo network is sealed! And we placed anti-apparition wards inside the house!"_

"_Hide Cally, I'll hold them back!_

_Her mother grabbed her by the hand and pulled her into the nearest bedroom. _

"_Cally, sweetheart. Come, hide under the bed. It's a game, you see? You can't come out until mommy says so. Do you understand?"_

_She only nodded, cold fear making it impossible to talk._

"_That's my good, brave girl. Now stay under there and be very quite. I love you."_

_She crawled under the bed and waited, watching the living room through a tiny hole in the sheet. There was an explosion and the door disappeared, revealing two figures dressed in black with frightening, skeletal faces._

_Her parents were thrown near the bed and were trying to do something, waving their wands, but those intruders were faster._

_Her mother fell on her right side near the bed._

"_Where is your filthy little brat, you mudblood whore?"_

"_No where. She's not here."_

"_Crucio."_

_Her parents were screaming at the top of their lungs as she sat hidden under the bed covering her mouth trying to not make any sound._

_The horror dragged on endlessly and finally they said two unfamiliar words._

"_Avada Kedavra!"_

_A flash of the green light flew from their wands and her parents froze, never to move again._

"_We did a good job. A blood traitor and a pathetic excuse of a whore on the floor right where they belong."_

"_Your brother was a piece of cake. Let's go find their spawn."_

_She forced her breathing to slow down, but her little heart was beating so fast that they would surely discover her any minute. _

"_Try under the bed, I'll check the cabinets."_

"_Please mommy, make them not see me, please, make me disappear, please" she repeat it like a mantra in her head, her lips moving without making any sound._

_The sheet was lifted and she felt a foul breath mere inches from her face. The man was kneeling, looking at the very place she sat. She looked down at her body and almost gasped aloud. She was invisible! _

"_The whore was telling the truth. There's nothing here."_

"_Nothing here either," replied a voice somewhere above her._

"_So move your ass, Avery, before the place starts to swarm with Aurors."_

_They left and she still sat under the bed, the sheet lifted, her body shaking uncontrollably. Her chin was trembling so much that she couldn't close her mouth._

_She never knew how long she sat there, afraid to move, to take a deeper breath, but finally she crawled out from under the bed and over to her mother._

_Her face was twisted into a frightening grimace, her hair spread wildly like a black halo on the bloodied carpet._

"_Mommy I know I disobeyed you, but the game lasted too long. Stand up now, Mommy."_

_Her words were barely audible and completely thick with both sadness and fear._

_She heard voices outside the house and froze. _

_They where coming back for her. She wanted to escape, but her legs disobeyed her. Flames from the fireplace made the intruders visible. There were three men and one woman._

_She recognized one; a man dressed in green robes, with long, dark brown hair tied into a ponytail and intelligent, blue eyes._

"_Uncle Wulfrick?"_

_She tried to say, but only a squeak was audible, and her chin still trembled badly._

"_Callista, child, come to me," he said in a warm voice and extended his hand._

"_Tosh to malenkaya dievotchka, Vulfryg," said another man, taller and bigger than her uncle. "Ot tshorty zdielali! Blatz yego matz!" She couldn't understand a word spoken, but it was clear this friend of his uncle's was angry. _

"_Tihay, ona niet ponimaye nitchevo," replied her uncle in the same, foreign language._

_A pair of arms encircled her and lifted her from the floor. _

_Years after that night, this foreign language would become more familiar than her native one._

_

* * *

  
_

"In my modest opinion we should speak with the Headmaster."

"Very well. I will make an appointment for 9.30 pm," replied McGonagall. Her steps could be heard echoing down the hallway, along with Flitwick's little ones.

Katia was halfway done with the potion by the time they left and Snape came close to examine her progress.

The substance inside the cauldron turned muddy when she threw leeches into it. When the mixture needed only a boomslang skin, she dug in her pocket for a while and took out a miniature bottle. Without hesitation she uncorked it and added a few drops of something.

Snape grabbed her arm and scowled.

"What do you think you are doing, spoiling the perfect potion with…what is this?"

He took the bottle from her hand and read the label: Neosynephrin-POS 10%.

"What is _this_, Miss Ivanov?" he tapped the bottle with one, long finger.

"It's a drug containing fenylofelefrine in a pure form."

Snape's scowl deepened.

"Explain."

"Fenylofelefrine is an amino-acidic synthetic substance which extends the activity of drugs in human organism. This bottle contains Muggle nose drops and by adding five drops I can lengthen the time of influence of Polyjuice Potion from one hour to two. Five more drops and the time extends to another hour. But if you add the whole bottle, the drinker is poisoned to death. "

"Muggle nose drops? How do you know?"

"I was taught by Vladimir Kashpirovsky and he patented this method last year. "

He knew the name. Kashpirovsky was a famous Russian Potions Master and his methods of brewing were unique and characteristic for using uncommon ingredients and methods.

"You know, that the secrets taught by your master are strictly confidential. You are not supposed to talk about them with everyone."

Katia smirked and clasped her hands in front of her in a very Wulfrick-ish manner.

"That is why I talked about it only with you, Professor. You are not everyone."

"What are you trying to gain, Miss Ivanov?"

"Honesty isn't a Slytherin trait from what I know, but I will speak truthfully with you. I know that you will be one of voices in tonight's discussion about my future or lack of it in Hogwarts. I wanted to prove that I'm worth something, sir. I have a feeling that if I convinced you somehow it would be significant."

Snape snorted and shook his head.

"You are dismissed Miss Ivanov."

"Have a good night, Professor." She smiled politely and exited, shutting the door silently behind her.

* * *

When she glanced at her watch, it was fifteen minutes past the curfew. The list was still in her pocket.

She made her way to kitchens quickly, her excellent memory helping her find a way in the labyrinth of corridors and passageways. She handed the list to one of the house elves, who had been waiting for it for quite some time, bid her good night and headed back to the Slytherin dorms.

A brownish, bottlebrush tail caught her eye. She quickened her pace to see a pretty cat in one of alcoves. It didn't run when she came closer, so she scooped it in her arms and stroked its fur.

"You are a sweet little thing, you know that?" she said to it. The cat purred when she ran her fingers through its long, silky fur.

Argus Filch was doing his usual rounds when he heard a strange, thick accent in a girl's voice. He smiled to himself. He was about to catch the first troublemaker of the new school year. As he rounded the corner he was unprepared for what he saw.

What struck him first was that Mrs. Norris wasn't hissing, and he couldn't feel a mild pulling at the back of his head. She wasn't calling him. As a matter of fact she seemed to be quite comfortable in the girl's arms.

"Do you have an owner little one? You seem to be lost and it's not pleasant to be lost here, alone, isn't it katchitchka?"

Filch was trying to stalk quietly, but the girl turned to him and smiled. She spoke before he had a chance to do so.

"Good evening, sir. I found this little kitty and I was about to search for someone who might be own her, but since you are here, maybe you would be so nice as to help me?"

That was different. The girl was polite to him and her smile looked genuine. Besides Mrs. Norris purred in her arms. He felt her soothing vibration in his body.

"It's my cat, Miss and you are in trouble."

Trouble, yes. Expulsion was a good description of trouble. She felt her chest tighten and tears forming in her eyes. Her usual composure was not important now. Probably tomorrow she would be packing and who cares that she was sad about it and had shown it? She swallowed and took a breath trying to calm herself.

"In _trouble_, sir, yes. I am in trouble. Professor McGonagall said that my magical signature is barely present, and I'm almost a Squib. She, along with Professor Flitwick, will vote to expel me because, like she said, I am a _complete disaster_ and won't pass her classes."

She tightened her grip around the cat which nestled its tiny head in the crook of her arm like it was sensing her bad mood.

Filch was silent, not expecting such a confession from a student. He could understand her, being a Squib himself.

The girl lifted her eyes, holding unshed tears in them.

"What can be worse than being humiliated before all of my class mates, being laugh at by everyone and judged unworthy to attend _here_?"

He wouldn't be the one to add to her misery.

Argus Filch wasn't a sadist. It was lack of acceptance and humiliation that made him so hard-bitted towards the student body. They treated him inferior because he couldn't hex them and he, like every human being, wanted some respect. He wanted acceptance, but found it only in the Headmaster, when Dumbledore hired him and in the little creature that was everything to him, Mrs. Norris. She didn't care that he was bitter, had no magical abilities or wasn't socially accepted by the wizarding community. She loved his hands, when he was stroking her fur. She liked delicious things, which he picked especially for her, and a warm place in his bed, near the bolster.

He wasn't about to condemn the girl who was already feeling miserable and did nothing to disrespect him. Yet.

"Come with me," he said and turned around, not looking at her. He didn't get along with crying women. Besides, if she decided to flee, he would do nothing to stop her. He could do it to be at peace with his conscience.

Katia followed him through the long, damp corridors. She tried to remember all the turns and forks, but tears made her vision blurry, and she didn't care anymore. Maybe she should go to the dorms, but it was her first instinct to obey. He said _come_, so she went after him, still carrying the cat in her arms. Its presence comforted her somehow.

Finally he stopped and opened the massive, wooden door. He motioned at her.

"After you."

She entered and stopped near the big armchair, near the fireplace. There was also a bed, a wardrobe, some cabinets, the second armchair and a tea table. He nodded, so she sat down.

"Would you mind sir, if I held the cat for a while?"

Filch smirked and turned to lock the door.

"You held Mrs. Norris for a while already, but I don't mind if she doesn't."

"Forgive me my manners, sir. I am Katia Ivanov."

He sat in the armchair nearby and poured some tea into two cups.

"Argus Filch, I'm a caretaker here. I've heard about you, Miss Ivanov. You are the new transfer student from Bulgaria." He handled her a cup. "Drink, it will do you good."

She took it and smiled wearily. "Thank you sir."

"Was it really that bad? During your lessons, I mean."

"I should have lifted a glass full of water and put it on the table. Instead I dropped it and spilled the water. One girl called me a failure. I almost choked her after. I acted violently the first day. I started a fight because I couldn't hex them. They fear me, but they try to see how much they can do to me, when my back is turned."

"Why were you wandering after curfew?"

"Professor Snape must have seen my behavior yesterday and I had a detention with him. That was where I heard what the professors think about me."

Filch eyed her for a moment and sighed.

"I can understand how you feel. I'm a Squib myself and even as a caretaker I am often a target of those stupid kids. I regret sometimes that Dumbledore is too soft on them. They would show some respect for me if they knew that I could hang them by the ankles in my office or whip them raw."

Katia's mouth formed into a perfect "o". She would love to behave badly just to see what it's like…Bloody hell! Stupid, damned curse. She bit the inside of her cheek so hard that she could taste blood. The older she got, the more powerful the curse became, trying to take control over her at the worst possible moments.

"Don't look at me like that. It would be fun to see them hanging upside down, waving their limbs helplessly. But I'm not some kind of sadist."

"It sounds like fun. I could see Pug Face in that position, the Slytherin girl that is so rude. I broke her nose with the heel of my shoe. I shouldn't have said that but it doesn't matter now."

"Don't be so pessimistic. The Headmaster agreed for you to study and he doesn't like to change his decision. Besides, you are a member of Professor Snape's house. He would take your expulsion as a personal attack on his person and he's not the type who will take it easily."

Katia smiled and took a sip from her cup. It did make her feel better. Mr. Filch was bitter but good man. Even if only to her.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a while and finally Katia put the cat in his lap and stood up.

"Thank you for you support and the tea, sir. I believe it's time to go for me."

Argus also stood up, but without her grace. He heard his knees protesting loudly against the sudden movement.

"I'll show you the way to your dorms."

* * *

Albus Dumbledore was sitting in his armchair in his office, looking at a moving photograph. It showed a man in his mid-forties and a boy. It was hard to tell if the boy was a young looking adult with a boyish features or an actual boy. They were standing close, holding hands. In the background were mountains, snow on the tops of them.

Albus traced the smaller figure with his wrinkled thumb. He turned the photo over. There was a short sentence written in an elegant, cursive hand:

_There will always be a warm spot in my heart waiting just for you. _

_With love, _

_Wulf_

He heard the staircase moving and put the photo back in a drawer. Soon there was knocking on the door.

"Come in."

The door swung open, revealing his three employees, Minerva McGonagall, Filius Flitwick and Severus Snape.

"What brings you to me this beautiful evening?" asked Dumbledore, adjusting his half moon spectacles.

McGonagall crossed her arms. Not a good sign.

"Albus, you know very well what. I've sent you an owl half an hour ago."

He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"Oh yes... Sit down please. Would you like to try my lemon sherbet?"

"Thank you," said McGonagall, sitting opposite the Headmaster and taking the cake.

"We came here to discuss the case of Miss Ivanov, and we explained the details in the letter we've sent earlier," said Flitwick.

"The girl is not able to continue her studies here," added Minerva, as she swallowed a piece of cake.

"Now, now, Minerva. I believe that you judged her too harshly. Severus, do you have anything to add? I cannot believe that you want to dispose of her as much as the others do. I've seen her marks and she is excellent in Potions."

Snape's expression changed from scowling to… less scowling.

"I disagree with Minerva and Filius. The girl has potential," he looked at McGonagall "and I must say that I can't remember if I've seen anyone, except for myself, who enjoys the subject this much. I believe, that she is clever and despite her lack of magical ability, will be a worthy addition to this bunch of dunderheads I must teach."

"Severus, we are not talking about Potions. Her cleverness isn't enough to perform a spell or to do the proper transfiguration. She may learn a great deal about the subjects, but Transfiguration is mostly a practical subject. It requires some level of ability to perform the tasks."

Snape arched an eyebrow.

"So, you are saying that she can't produce even a spark from her wand?"

McGonagall put her empty plate down with a little more force then was required.

"She lifted a feather, _a feather_ Severus, and failed to lift a glass full of water. It wasn't a goblet, just a small glass."

Hearing that, Flitwick joined in.

"She also moved the chair by an inch or two. Would that make her capable of passing my class? She was supposed to lift it on to the table."

Dumbledore brushed the drawer absent-mindedly, and when he caught himself at it, he felt anger building inside of him. The discussion was absurd to him.

He cleared his throat and looked at the three of them.

"I believe that we should give her a chance. She can-"

McGonagall interrupted him, standing up.

"Albus I said that-"

"Enough," said Dumbledore with a commanding voice. "The girl will remain at Hogwarts and continue her education. As a qualified teacher, Minerva, I expect you to tutor her. You can also give her additional assignments. She is smart, and can do a good of job by observing the students and writing about the reasons of their good and bad results in performing Transfiguration tasks."

"Albus you can't expect us to lower our-"

"That is not what I said. She can pass with the lowest grade by doing the simplest of your exercises and writing additional essays. That is my final decision."

They stood up, McGonagall shuffling her feet like an angry child.

"And Minerva?' McGonagall turned around, her face defeated. "Talk with her tomorrow and add to your plan an hour or two during the weekend to tutor the _girl_." It was somehow wrong to call her Ivanov.

When they left, he put his fingers to his temples. He was getting sentimental. And seeing Wulfrick not so long ago didn't help the matter.

What changed that he decided to take a woman and impregnate her? He was never into women, as long as Dumbledore could remember. Now the girl reminded him constantly of his younger years. Her accent, her gestures, her oval face, long fingers and her very Wulfrick-ish smile.

He felt a strange protectiveness towards her, wanted to do everything to make up for what he failed with her father.

Besides, Severus said that she had a talent in Potions. Maybe not directly, but he praised her somehow.

And it mattered.

He could justify his decision, taking Severus's opinion as a deciding factor.

It didn't matter that she was _Wulfrick's daughter_.

It_ didn't_.

* * *

Katia couldn't fall asleep when she finally was in her bed. She turned from side to side, thinking about her uncertain future at Hogwarts and the reassuring small talk with Mr. Filch.

She came here not only to learn, but she had a certain task, and was determined to do everything to accomplish it.

She wasn't supposed to think about it now. First – do everything to convince the Headmaster that she should stay. Second – pass Graceful Movements in December. She needed to start searching for a place to practice undisturbed. No one could know what she was learning and, most important – why.

Wulfrick had almost fished Mark at her age. She haven't had even a tiny stain of magic ink at the base of her neck.

Tired of tossing on the bed, she reached for her bag and took the book covered in Cyrillic, Russian letters. There was a man with long, dark hair on the cover. His was quite handsome for to her with almost inhuman piercing eyes, a large nose and elegant, long fingered hands. He was dressed in black priest robes. He held one hand in his lap and the other on the armchair he sat in. The title read _The Life and Death of Grigori Rasputin_.

She knew the book very well. In fact she could tell what was written on each page, could see all the pictures when she closed her eyes.

He was the greatest Russian wizard and his fame matched that of the British Merlin. He could heal with his hands and foreseen the future of the royal family and all of Russia. People used to say that he was a holy demon with his incredibly silky voice and steel gray eyes.

Women would fall for him deeply. He welcomed them, claiming that his soul was pure and unstained, belonging to God, while his body was human and also had its needs. He was a hedonist, a lecher, but he wasn't selfish and tried to make people's lives better at every cost. In the end an Empresses cousin murdered him, but he didn't die immediately.

He was poisoned by a large amount of cyanide, then shot several times and finally he was put into a large sack filled with stones and thrown into the river. Later examinations showed bubbles in his lungs, indicating he had drown.

It was almost dawn when she finally fell asleep with the book on her chest.

* * *

A/N: Some translations and explanations for this chapter:

Tosh to malenkaya dievotchka, Vulfryg- Tosh – but, to- it, malenkaya – little, dievotchka – girl, Vulfryg – I transcribed Wulfrick's name to sound like the Russian could pronounce it. In the case of this name- it would be pronounced exactly the same in Polish, despite the huge difference between these languages.

Ot tshorty zdielali! Ot- something like "look what", tschorty – devils (plural form), zdielali – did their doing, or just did (something). You can read this more like: look what these ( morons? [put any matching word here]) did.

Blatz yego matz!- blatz means whore, yego- his, matz – mother, it's a common vulgar byword, rather an equivalent in English to "Fuck!"

Tihay, ona niet ponimaye nitchevo- Tihay – be quiet, ona – she, niet – not or no, depends on context; ponimaye- understand/comprehend, nitchevo – nothing. "Be quiet, she don't understand a thing"- it would be the best translation.

Katchitchka – little feline

Kashpirovsky – it is an authentic, living man. Those who live in East Europe probably heard about him.

In the 1990's he was a famous healer who hypnotized millions and healed through the TV. He was doing it very seriously, but my family and I sat in the evenings, listened to his "put your hands on the screen, one, two three" and laughed to tears. I've read that he's still famous in Russia and is planning to return. His name brings a smile to almost everyone who heard about him. His name is Anatolij, but I changed it to Vladimir.

Many thanks to my wonderful beta- Cat Paws and for my readers.

I would love to know what do you think about it, so please, review :)


	5. It had eyes

**Chapter 5 - It had eyes **

She was standing near the entrance of the Great Hall, unsure if she should go in or not. She leaned against the wall, her long forelocks obscuring her eyes almost completely.

She caught the scent of herbs, sandalwood and a man, the same she had smelt yesterday during her detention.

"Good morning Professor Snape," she said in a monotone voice, not even turning her head to look at him.

"Miss Ivanov, I believe it is best you go and eat your breakfast. Your first lesson is Potions with me and I won't tolerate lateness or your annoying me with a growling stomach."

She didn't have a chance to respond as he went away. She also spent a good minute to compose herself. In his harsh, cold way Professor Snape told her that she wouldn't be expelled. She wanted to hug him.

Maybe not hug him. But she wanted to say _thank you _at least.

She went to breakfast then, and after Potions.

Every seat near the back was taken, but she wasn't planning to sit far from Snape. She wanted to hear and see everything the best she could, so she sat near his desk.

The door opened with a loud bang and Snape entered the classroom making all the students jump in their seats and go completely still. He swept himself up to the front of the class, his black robes billowing. He looked upon everyone with a sneer on his face and spoke in his silky, low voice.

"Today you will be making a headache potion. It must be done in pairs."

His black eyes rested on Katia.

"Miss Ivanov has no partner. Is anyone from Slytherin, willing to be her partner?"

Katia turned to see the rest of the class, but they just gave her disapproving glares. Only Draco whispered to her. "Sorry mate, but I need to pass Potions."

She just nodded and sat straight in her chair. Professor Snape crossed his arms at the height of his chest and scowled.

"No one? Pity."

With two long strides he was in the middle of the classroom. "Miss Greengrass, take a seat next to Miss Ivanov. You will be her assigned partner as need requires."

The girl who sat next to Katia had a scowl on her face, which almost matched the one on Professor Snape's face.

"Don't even think that you will pass because of my skills," hissed Greengrass.

She was beyond furious that Snape paired her with this slip of a witch. She was sure that she could say _good bye_ to her 'Exceed Expectations' in Potions.

"Forget it," grumbled Katia, angry that this silly chit tried to embarrass her in the front of Professor Snape.

"Now, you decide, who will supervise the process and adding of ingredients, and who will prepare them. For a qualified Potions Master it is not a problem to make the potion alone, but with your pathetic ignorance of the subject, I wouldn't dare to let you do it without a partner. I can see only two students capable of doing it without help, but unfortunately they are from opposite houses, so two dunderheads would be left helpless."

He turned and sat behind his desk. "The list of ingredients is on the blackboard. You may begin."

"I am supervising," said Greengrass, her voice full of venom. Hope you're better at preparing ingredients then you are at casting spells."

"As you wish," hissed Katia and followed Hermione to the cabinet which held the ingredients.

She went back and started cutting, grinding, and separating with studied precision and rapidity. She didn't even pretend that she was listening to what Greengrass had to say and finished her potion quickly. Hermione was not even near being finished. The moment Snape towered over their cauldron, she knew her mistake, but she only wanted appreciation after all her previous failures.

"The potion is adequate, Miss Ivanov, Miss Greengrass," Snape smirked but it wasn't a friendly expression, "however, brewing the potion isn't a show. Do it once again, and you will serve another detention and I will be forced to take points from my own house."

"I am sorry, sir," said Katia, her head bowed, a too long forelock obscuring her eyes.

He turned around with a swirl of his black robes.

"Potter, your potion is far from adequate. I would advise you to take a little example from Miss Ivanov and do it quicker. We do not have all day to wait for this soup you're cooking in your cauldron to be ready."

The girl paired with Katia took a sample from their cauldron, labeled it and placed it on Snape's desk. She took her seat then and looked at Katia.

"I shouldn't have said all of that earlier, but-"

Katia stopped her with a gesture and shook her head a little.

"You shouldn't," her voice was monotone and emotionless.

"The previous lessons and gossip, you know. I want to be healer and Potions is a vital subject."

"Save it. And don't talk with me during the lesson."

They waited in silence until the bell rang. Katia stood up and caught the familiar scent right behind her. She turned immediately.

"Professor?"

"A word, Miss Ivanov."

They waited until the last student went off for the break and then Snape spoke.

"Would you add your nose drops to this potion to extend the effects?"

Katia looked at his crossed arms and gently shook her head.

"In most cases, no, Professor. If the drinker has heart problems, it can make them worse. Also, the headache can be caused by micro extravasation in the brain, or migraine and it would aggravate the symptoms. To make it more efficient I would add an aspirin to it and some caffeine."

"That would be all, Miss Ivanov."

She wanted to grab her bag and go, but stopped in mid-move.

"When may I ask about my mark, Professor?"

"I already marked your work, Miss Ivanov. You received an Outstanding, but if you continue this ridiculous show to prove yourself, it will be lowered until you learn that brewing is not some kind of a race. You will also cooperate with your given partner or I give the mark only to Miss Greengrass."

"Of course sir," she took her bag and smiled. "And thank you." With that she left the classroom and headed for her next lesson.

* * *

History of Magic wasn't her favorite subject, but she had heard about Hogwarts from Hermione and she read a book or two, so she was not worse nor better than her classmates. She sat beside that Greengrass girl and poked her in the arm.

"Hey," said Katia in a tired, friendly tone. Daphne turned to her, confusion clearly written on her face

"I thought that we were not supposed to talk during classes, according to what you said earlier," replied Greengrass, in an uncertain voice.

"I overreacted, the same way as you did, but I don't want us to be enemies."

"I should apologize Ivanov, I don't know you and…you know, messing up something during Snape's class-"

Katia patted her arm, interrupting her.

"It doesn't matter anymore, okay? Call me Katia by the way. It's my name, you know."

She smiled and extended her hand. It was no good to be stubborn and disliked in a place she was supposed to live in for years to come. Besides she could have worse partners, like some stupid, pug-faced twit.

"Daphne. Let's start from the beginning, all right?" She also smiled.

Having Ivanov on her side was a good development. Her grades wouldn't suffer and Katia was from a wealthy family. Even if she was still a failure in wand work. Pansy Parkinson was an idiot, messing with the new girl. She had a feeling that Ivanov wouldn't let it go, and she wasn't willing to be on the receiving end of Katia's wrath in the form of a shoe or any other violent reaction.

Professor Binns appeared in the classroom and put an end of their small talk. Katia felt some kind of relief that there wasn't any wand work involved here, even if she wasn't extremely interested in history, having read much of italready.

* * *

At dinner she took a charger full of fruit salad. The rest of Slytherin was eating a roasted steak, appreciating its juicy taste.

"Why don't you try the steak, Ivanov?" asked Draco from across the table. Katia smirked. She couldn't tell the real reason why.

"I don't eat things that have eyes," she replied smugly.

Draco looked at her disbelievingly and raised his eyebrows.

"It's a steak for Merlin's sake! It has no eyes."

Katia swallowed a forkful of salad and shrugged. "It _did_."

After dinner she waited near the Headmaster's office. She needn't wait too long. Albus Dumbledore ate his meal faster than yesterday. His smiled seeing her and greeted her cheerfully.

"Katia, child, what a pleasant surprise. Is there something I can do for you?"

"Actually yes, Headmaster. I would like to thank you for not expelling me and if it isn't too much trouble, I need to buy something and if you could Apparate with me to a nearby town, I would be very grateful."

Dumbledore sighed and put his hand at her arm.

"It can be arranged. Is that all, child?"

Katia snorted, suppressing laugher.

"You have a yellow candy stuck to you beard, sir"

Dumbledore stroked his beard and soon found a lemon drop.

"Oh, it must have been saving itself for later," he said and popped said candy to his mouth.

* * *

Argus Filch took a nap, preparing himself for late night rounds. He was sure that he was dreaming still, when he heard a knocking on his door, but the second time he was awake.

"Coming," he said in a sleepy voice.

He opened the door to see the girl from yesterday holding a cauldron in her arms.

"Good afternoon, sir," she said cheerfully and seeing his trampled clothes she added quickly.

"I am sorry if I woke you, but I have something for you."

"I guess you won't leave me alone and since you did wake me up, come in then."

He let her into his room and took a seat in the large armchair exercising his arthritic hands. Katia followed him, locking the door behind her. She put the cauldron on the floor and brought out a heart shaped box from inside it.

"These are for you. I appreciate your help. You gave me a hope and you were right."

Filch took the chocolates from her outstretched hand and examined them carefully.

"I've been told that they are really delicious, but unfortunately, I'm allergic to milk chocolate."

Filch nodded and opened the box.

"I have something more," she said, emptying the contest of the cauldron.

"And what is that?" asked Filch, raising an eyebrow.

"I took everything which I need to prepare a salve for you hands and knees. I can see clearly that you are in pain and since I know some effective salve, I thought that I could make some for you."

Filch sighed, resigned.

"It's very nice, Miss Ivanov, but I've tried everything from the Hospital Wing and it was only a temporary solution. I also used it too often and now it doesn't work."

Katia shook her head, busy with preparing ingredients.

"It's not like I am better in potion making that Professor Snape or your healer. I saw the material in the book and Professor Snape has much to teach me, but I studied under the best Russian Potions master, and his techniques are…different. He uses traditional recipes and combines them with Muggle ingredients. This salve was patented in January of this year, so it's still not imported to Great Britain and definitely not in the books here. He only teaches his private students and he's not a regular teacher."

She wanted to add more, but stopped herself. Looking at the caretaker she said quietly.

"Please, let me try."

Filch scowled. He wasn't sure if the girl was right, but it could do no harm to try something new.

"All right. But how do you want to heat the cauldron here?"

"It doesn't require the heat. Only water if you can provide me any."

He looked with genuine interest at the girl when she started making the salve. She grinded and blended everything in concentration. Most of the components were partially prepared, so it didn't take long for her. When she was finished, she placed the slimy, green substance in a large jar.

She crouched next to him with the jar and took a small portion of it with two fingers.

"Give me your hand."

Filch winced like she woke him from a dream.

"What?"

"Your hand, please. Or take your trousers down if your prefer to try it on your knees."

Filch snorted and blushed instantly. Mrs. Norris lifted her furry head at the sound and seeing that everything was okay, went back to sleep.

"I prefer hands," he said in a small voice.

The feeling of the substance wasn't as disgusting as it looked. In fact it had a creamy consistence and an herbal smell. He felt a warmth in the places she put the salve with her slender, skilful hands. There was a tingling sensation somewhere inside his bones but slowly it faded away along with the pain. He was perplexed. This Russian teacher had the brains to create something like that, and the girl must have been talented to copy his results.

He was sure that these words would never leave his mouth towards the student, but this girl made him do it.

"Thank you," he said, uncertainly, looking at his hands. Their appearance remained unchanged, but he felt like if they were new.

"You were kind to me, sir, when others turned me down. I can repay for kindness."

He wasn't used to that. In a fact it was hard to believe for him, that the girl could have any good intentions. He couldn't stop himself from suspecting that in any minute it all would turn out to be some cruel joke.

But the girl seemed to be different, sitting on the carpet, with a large jar of healing salve, her long forelock covering her eyes, her head bowed a little, her sight at the level of his ankles.

Suddenly he was curious why she never looked him in the eye.

"Do you find my shoes interesting, Miss Ivanov?"

Katia shook her head, lifting her gaze a little to let it rest on his knees.

"Looking directly in the eyes is daring and rude, and lowering the gaze means respect. Why do you ask me such a trivial question sir?"

Filch sighed. _Oh dear, not only her is accent wrong_.

"Miss Ivanov, you are mistaken. Here, in Hogwarts, avoiding the gaze means cowardice and disrespect. It also means that you don't listen to your speaker or are extremely shy."

Katia looked at him immediately, her eyes a little wide.

"Oh," she said incoherently. "Oh, I didn't know."

They had a talk about her habits from Bulgaria and the culture she was raised. It was near the curfew when she excused herself to go and do her homework. Filch ate almost the entire box of chocolates as they talked.

It seemed that he wasn't as bad a man as he wanted the students to think him to be. Besides how could a heartless bastard be so caring towards the little creature he owned? She felt a sympathy for him and she wasn't wrong in her judgment of people usually.

She stood up and took the empty cauldron with her. Looking him in the eyes she asked uncertainly.

"I know that I may be asking too much, but would it be okay if I came here to practice sometimes?"

Filch raised an eyebrow. "What do you want to practice, Miss Ivanov?"

She couldn't lie entirely, so she decided to tell a half – lie.

"I have had dance lessons in Bulgaria and to finish the course I must practice some movements. I live with other girls in the dormitory and it is impossible for me to concentrate. Besides they don't like me very much. I wanted to ask you if I could come here from time to time."

Filch seemed lost in thought for a while.

Her visits meant more salve if he runs out of it, and using his rooms she would constantly be in his debt. Her company wasn't tiring and she behaved polite, so he could endure her dancing eventually.

"You may, but come earlier, or later than today. I wake up usually at seven o'clock pm so this would be an acceptable time for you to come here."

"Thank you very much!" she exclaimed.

"Remember to not tell anyone and try not to be seen while you are walking through the corridors."

"Of course sir."

* * *

Her way back to the dormitories was full of thoughts about the upcoming exam with Aine Delorge. She despised the blasted woman with every cell in her body. The feeling was mutual, so the slightest mistake could result in failure, again. It would be her third try. She knew that Delorge wouldn't give her an Outstanding, even if she liked her, but she would pass anyway.

With the silent war raging between them, she had to perform for the highest grade to pass with only the lowest, but positive, grade.

Sometimes she wanted to fall asleep and wake up in January with good grades here at Hogwarts and with Graceful Movements behind her.

She found a niche, covered with cobwebs and after making sure that she wasn't seen by anyone, she took a gold chain out of her robes. She brushed the tiny hourglass with her thumb, almost lovingly and spun it four times.

Her counterpart passed her with a full cauldron in her hands, to go for a meeting with Filch. She left the cauldron in her niche and went in the opposite direction, towards the library.

"Hello, Hermione."

Granger lifted her head above the large pile of books, looking at Katia disbelievingly.

"I thought you would not associate with me. I'm sure that now you understand what means to be in rival houses."

Katia circled the table and pulled a chair for herself. She sat gently, without the studied, stiff movements.

"I do. Nevertheless I find your company more worthy than the ones I _should_ prefer."

Hermione opened her mouth to ask probably the most obvious question, but Katia stopped her.

"However it would be the most unwise to include the others in our little agreement."

Hermione moved closer and spoke with a hushed voice.

"Katia, Harry and Ron are my friends. They will understand eventually."

Katia also moved closer and smiled ironically.

"I do not doubt it, but it will take time. I am not ready, just yet, to give them anything which would assure them my intentions are friendly. Your red-haired friend is exceptionally narrow-minded as he proved himself lately. Don't deny it, for Rasputin's sake!" she took a deep breath and half-smiled. "As one with such a brilliant mind as yours, Hermione, you should separate you feelings from pure logic. Then you will agree with me."

It was clear for her, that Hermione needed her time to digest everything that was said and they busied themselves with homework to avoid further discussions. Katia wasn't sure how long she could continue before her temper kicked in, so concentrating on the essays was the best way to avoid a heated quarrel.

She needed Hermione's trust to gain useful information about Harry Potter, and she knew that it required patience. She could be patient, but new surroundings and her failures made her temper worse than before. She was still young and had much to learn in the ways of self-discipline and control.

* * *

A/N: Thank you for the reviews. It's good to know what you think.

brandon279: The thing with pranks and disliking Katia will be solved later. Thank you for the remark.

Without the reviews I will have no way to know if I'm doing well or not.

Cat Paws: Thank you for editing this chapter :)

To those who may wonder about Hermione - I think that she wouldn't reject Katia, because she also want to have a person who is intelectually equal to her. However, I do not see them making a girl's talk.

Any ideas and suggestions are highly appreciated, so please, review :)


	6. Death breathing down my neck

**Chapter 6 - Death breathing down my neck**

She woke up early, like in previous days. She had survived Lockhart before, she could do it again.

Why couldn't she choose Potions over the nonsense babbling he called lessons? She groaned inwardly and took a quick shower. The sun was in its red - purple glory while she made her way about the Hogwarts grounds, stretching her arms, her tracksuit too thin for the morning chill. She started running, circling the Quidditch pitch.

It made her feel like home. She needed to train every day to keep fit and pass difficult Krav Maga exams. It also helped her with the anger.

The anger was her philosophy and motivation. It helped her with Aine Delorge, her past, her lack of talent. It kept her sane while she was on the edge, when the curse possessed every cell of her body, leaving her lying on the floor, crying with her throat raw and burning. The curse screamed for release, but she denied it, being angry every time she had shown weakness. It was being more frequent and more violent while she grew up.

Today was one of these days, and exhausting her body breathless hadn't helped.

She punched the rough wall until her fingers bled.

It still wanted more.

She bit the inside of her cheek until she drew blood.

It seemed to be enough.

For now.

She took a small vial of healing salve from her pocket and smeared it on the bruised flesh and returned to the castle. Her muscles would ache from running too long so it would be a good time to practice in Filch's room.

It was still an hour before everyone woke-up and two more for breakfast, so she decided to explore the castle for a while. Her wanderings led her to a the fifth floor and she turned left, into the first opened room. It was a large bathroom with a male lavatory. She turned the cold water on and splashed it on her sweat covered face. She looked around. The windows were covered with stained glass picturing various water life forms.

She took a few steps to examine them closer Just as she passed a large bathtub, something clicked under her feet. It seemed to be a grate, probably leading to a sewer. Carefully she lifted it up. There was a gaping, black hole underneath. She lifted one foot, then the other and found a tiny stone. She dropped it and listened carefully.

Not deep. She jumped down and found herself in a drainpipe, her head and shoulders above the hole she went it. She pulled the grate closed cover the entrance and drew her wand.

"_Lumos_," she whispered. The wand emitted a weak light then flickered and faded, leaving her in a dark, slimy drainpipe.

"Kurva," she swore.

A few meters ahead of her a weak, dark-green light filtered down from a different grate. She closed her eyes for a while, to adjust them to the darkness, lowered to her knees and bowed her head to go further. It was very quiet there; only the sounds of dripping water were keeping it from being completely silent.

Her way was full of twists and turns. Sometimes it leaded down, sometimes up. Finally she reached a larger space with a pool of black water in the middle of it. If her orientation was correct, she was directly above the Great Hall.

Maybe higher than one floor, maybe a little lower, but anyway near it.

She brushed her fingers against the wall. She could place a torch or two in the holes. In the corner she could set up the heat and in the biggest hole she could keep the most useful ingredients and a cauldron.

Perfect.

She tried to make her way back to the fifth floor, but got lost. She wasn't scared by any means, as she got out through the nearest hatch, careful to not gain any unwanted attention.

The third floor seemed abandoned. Weird.

She practically ran to the Slytherin dormitories to change her slime - covered clothes and wash herself.

* * *

She met no one in the hallways, but her luck wasn't long-lived. Pansy Parkinson was already awake, and when she saw Katia covered in filth from head to toes, her jaw dropped. It shut after awhile, genuine shock replaced by a nasty grin.

"Don't even speak to me!" hissed Katia, her hands balled into fists. But Pansy wasn't wise to keep her tongue behind her teeth when she should.

"Bathing in a cesspool where you belong?" she asked. Were it yesterday, perhaps Katia would have controlled herself, but not when the curse was showing its nasty head.

"I will kill you," she stated in a venomous tone.

Pansy stood no chance. In one, swift motion her fingers were curled in Parkinson's hair and she yanked her head down to her waist. Dragging her across the room and kicking the bathroom door open, she shoved the girl inside. Her grip was like steel and Pansy's eyes widened in fear when she saw where she was dragged to.

"Na hran s toboy!" shouted Katia, kicking the door of a nearby lavatory.

"No!" she tried to scream, but only a muffled squeak left her mouth before her head was shoved into the toilet.

Katia wasn't kind enough to choose the clean one. She stopped when the girl's struggles ceased.

She pulled her up, the girl's head covered in excrements. Pansy gasped for air like a fish, her body shaking uncontrollably.

"Tell anyone and the next time, I will hold a _little_ longer, you pug-faced bitch," she breathed and left the bathroom.

She undressed, took a shower and sat on the bed covered in a bathrobe. Pansy was still in the bathroom, scrubbing herself like a madwoman.

Katia put fingers in her hair. It was bad. She could kill her and spend a long time in Azkaban.

She would never, ever take someone's life. With all her hatred towards Death Eaters she couldn't imagine herself killing them. Punishing them, watching them suffer, yes. But never kill. She would never forgive herself if she killed this stupid Parkinson girl. She was mean, stupid and ugly, but she was a living being. And Katia would never kill one.

She took Rasputin's biography and looked at his picture.

_I wish I was like everyone else. With magic instead of a curse. Why did it__ have to be me? Please, tell me! Why me?_

Tears rolled down her cheeks. She brushed the picture with her fingers, as if caressing Rasputin's jaw line.

_Please help me. I want to learn how to control myself, how to control this. Give me strength. I believe in you._

She kissed the picture and then looked at it again.

"I put my faith in you," she whispered and wiped her eyes.

She left the book under her pillow dressed in her student's robes and went for breakfast.

* * *

There was a heated discussion about the upcoming Quidditch practice on Saturday. Draco asked her to watch him and she agreed. Using her time-turner, she would also spend this time in setting up her little potions lab. She must remember to bring some fresh clothes to change.

When the mail arrived, a small, tawny owl had a letter for her. She opened it carefully, but it was written in Cyrillic, Russian letters, so she unrolled it and read openly while eating her sandwich.

_Dear Katia!_

_How could you vex me so? You promised that you won't let me down and then I hear on your first day you beat on your housemates. How could you do that to me? To us? You were supposed to associate with them, to acquire vital information and prepare yourself for being an Adept. How could you do this? You know how important it is for me what Albus Dumbledore thinks of you. _

'And you don't know what I almost did.'

_**You**__ are most important to me. Don't do anything foolish. I know you better than anyone. _

_Fight with you-know-what when the time comes. _

'I try, father, but it grows within me.'

_I love you._

_W. I._

'I love you too.'

She crumpled the letter and put it in her pocket.

"You think that eggs also have eyes Katia?" asked Daphne, sitting at her right.

She smiled towards her. "They will if you let them."

* * *

Saturday came and Katia watched the unfriendly exchanges between Slytherins and Gryffindors. She had a hard time suppressing laugher when Redhead vomited with slugs when his hex backfired.

Quidditch wasn't fascinating by any means, but she was curious of relations between her fellow Slytherins and other Hogwarts students.

Setting up everything to begin her experiments in the drain pipes was an interesting part of her day. When she was finished, she used a small niche to hold two lit candles on either side of Rasputin's picture. She talked to him in her thoughts, hoping that he would give her strength to fight the curse.

She made her way back to the fifth floor. Going back and forth was becoming easier and easier. She paused when she thought she heard something.

It wasn't water or slime. That much she was sure. It sounded different somehow and she could swear the drainpipes vibrated, like a huge, slick stone was rolling inside. She became angry.

What kind of idiot discovered this place the same time she did?

She followed the noise for some time. It wasn't her imagination now. Something big was in the lower part of the sewer and obviously it was too big to push itself through the smaller pipes on the higher levels. There is no way that this thing would destroy her potions lab!

She made her way back to the space with the pool of black water, listening carefully to the noise. She walked as silently as she could, but filth squashed under her feet anyway. The noise became louder. It wasn't human by any means. She took the cauldron and put all the things in it frantically. She put the clothes first, to prevent the vials from shattering, then the picture and sacks with herbs. She dimmed the torches, putting them into the water and snuffed out the candles. The noise was closer now, maybe two or three forks from her position, blocking her way out in the bathroom on this level. She headed to the higher level, running. She wasn't as fast as she would be without the heavy cauldron. She slowed down more when the ceiling lowered, slouching.

The noise was so loud that she was sure it was right behind her now. She turned right, the wrong way and the ceiling was higher again. Left again and the ceiling lowered. She almost tripped over a large, dried snake's skin.

Katia didn't have time to think about what could leave this kind of skin. She spotted another dark tunnel, which was smaller than the one she was in, so she ran as fast as she could there. It didn't matter that her hair touched the slime on the walls while she turned around to see if the thing was behind her or not, or that she was covered in the stuff.

Finally, after maybe ten minutes in the smaller pipes she collapsed, the cauldron hitting the wall with a loud bang. She was exhausted, breathing heavily. Slime and sweat plastered her hair to her forehead and cheeks. Her fingers were bleeding from catching sharp edges of pipes while she was trying to regain her balance countless times. Her lungs burned as if there was lava inside them and her throat was dry. She was sure that the thing could hear her heart beating wildly inside her chest like a large hammer.

_I must get up and run._

But she had no strength. The sound of a large body sliding in the pipes echoed all around her. She could smell its stench. She tried to get up, but her legs failed her. She leaned her head against Rasputin knows what and closed her eyes.

When she could move again, she took a small knife from the cauldron and a wand. She was sitting in a small stream of whatever it was, ready to defend herself. She wasn't sure if she had any chance to strike, but damn her if she didn't try.

The noise changed somehow. She leaned forward to hear better. It sounded like the large thing couldn't push itself through the smaller pipes. She was thinking furiously about the way she took. Looking at the size of the drainpipe and the time she run she could be on the fourth level. She encountered the thing somewhere between the first and second floor. She could stand there without lowering her head. Now she could walk only when she lowered herself onto her knees and bowed her head.

She waited for a while, listening. The thing seemed to have stopped trying, the noise sounding like it was moving downwards.

Katia stood up, still breathing heavily, and took a few careful steps towards the turn she passed while she was running. She walked for some time and was now in the place where the pipes were a little larger. She took a lighter from her pocket, but it was wet with slime.

"Kurva," she muttered and took her wand. "_Lumos_," she whispered.

The wand lit with a weak light and shook with her hand. There were strange patterns exactly were the pipe became smaller. Damned thing as sure as hell was trying but couldn't fit though.

She decided to find a space to work on the higher levels.

Taking the cauldron she went back, passed the hatch in the bathroom on the fifth floor and found herself in a spiral drain pipe. She was almost crawling here, but kept moving, dragging her things behind her. She went a little further and found a crossing. There was an opening above her and the pipes were bigger. It wasn't as good as her previous place, but it seemed to be safer. She left the cauldron in a small niche and went higher. She was already filthy as hell so it didn't matter if she crawled in the pipes a little longer. She saw the light at the end, so she followed it like a moth. She found a hatch, making it a bathroom. She looked up through the tiny holes when she heard someone's footsteps.

"I swear Ron, I've heard a voice."

"Maybe it was some of Gilderoy's tricks? You know, to scare you"

She saw a glimpse of unruly, dark hair. Harry Potter. So, he heard a voice that no one else did.

She waited for them to leave the bathroom and crawled to the fifth level. Changing her clothes was pointless.

She felt exhausted when she put the hatch in its right place. She turned the water on, and took a bath, washing her clothes in the process.

Running like at a mad dash she reached the small niche where she activated the Time-Turner the last time.

* * *

She went to Filch, practicing Graceful Movements in her mind, but the door was locked. She spotted a tiny piece of parchment near the doorframe, on the floor.

_I'm supervising detention with one dunderhead. Come back later._

She knocked on the door a few times to be sure and when she was making her way back, something shattered inside of the room. She stopped.

The door opened and Filch poked his head out to see who disturbed him.

"You again. Come in, move."

He swayed from side to side. He was obviously drunk.

She entered inside and locked the door. Filch slumped into the armchair and poured himself another glass of golden liquid.

She leaned over the table, took the bottle, sniffled it and took a large sip. She shuddered at the burning taste.

"Hey, what do you think you are doing?" he asked, yanking the bottle out of her hand.

"I did something stupid today. And you know what? I did something stupid twice. Third time's the charm, right?"

He leaned his head against the back of his armchair and laughed. It was a drunk, throaty laugh which made her smile.

"You think that drinking will make you brave and adult?"

She shook her head, smiling a little strangely, but said nothing.

"I'll tell you something. It will lead you to be as weak and miserable as you see me now. You want to reach the bottom?" he snorted. "Oh, the hell with that. Do what you want or move your butt out of my room, but leave me alone, understand?"

Katia shrugged. "If you say so."

She dropped her drenched sweater near the fireplace, took off her shoes and socks.

Her body protested against more effort, but she forced it to obey, arching her back in impossible angles, twisting her limbs and walking on tip-toes. Her motions were fluid, changing from one to another with a measured grace. She swirled a few times, jumped and landed on her toes, than on her knees with too much force. Filch grimaced seeing it and hearing a loud thud.

"You did it wrong, girl! You want your knees to be like mine before you reach your thirties? Use balance while you land, Merlin! It hurts me to look!"

"Then don't look," she said with unshed tears of pain in her eyes. But the old Squib was right. If he saw it, then Delorge wouldn't be fooled.

She spent the next two hours on exercises and finally sat on the floor, leaning her back against the armchair.

She was sure that Filch was asleep, and the sudden movement behind made her almost jump. She turned her head to see that he had emptied almost two bottles of this whisky or whatever it was.

"Stubborn, aren't we?" he gestured towards the bottles. "You and I."

"I guess so." She tried to get up, but the weariness won. She brushed her messy hair with her fingers. Her clothes dried on her and she suspected that the ones near the fireplace were dry too.

"Want some help?" a hand came into her vision.

"Yeah," she grabbed it and slowly stood up. "It's time for me to go."

He walked her to the door, supporting his weight on every piece of furniture available.

"Good night, Mr. Filch, Mrs. Norris."

* * *

Katia stepped out of the shower, and leaned against the wall. She barely had the strength to wash herself and now she sat exhausted, biting her fingernails. She could swear she heard a faint sound of a massive body sliding somewhere in the drainpipes. It echoed in the bathroom, driving her insane. The mushroom soup she ate in the kitchens left a bitter taste in her mouth.

She stood up, supporting her weight on the wall and brushed her teeth.

Back in bed, she covered herself from head to toe, shivering in fever . Not good.

* * *

She struggled with the illness to perform her duties, attend to lessons and do her homework. She abandoned her workspace in the sewage and stopped her practice of Graceful Movements, coming to Filch only because she had chosen his company over her roommates. She used and overused her Time-Turner to sleep, sleep and get more sleep, but it was never enough.

Draco Malfoy doubled his efforts to be friendly towards her, and she must admit that even if he was pretending, she liked his jokes, their talks about school and families and his attitude.

He wanted everyone to see him as cruel, dominant and resolved, but Katia learned all her life how too look behind a façade. He was uncertain, cowardly and cocky. And was nothing near to the sadist his father was. She liked that he was funny and polite towards her. He was everything his family wanted him to be, but inside he was torn between their expectations and his own needs.

He would never tell her that, but she could see it in his gestures, tone of voice when he was telling her stories from his childhood and the most important, his eyes.

Katia listened to him, not judging him, and looked without the puppy eyes. He felt more relaxed in her presence, because she really paid attention to what he said and never asked uncomfortable questions. So unlike Pansy.

It made his task of befriending Ivanov easier, less unpleasant. But despite her violence, what a gray mouse she was. Too tall, too fat, with dark hair obscuring most of her face from view, too pale lips and ordinary blue eyes. During that day's Potions lesson she looked like hell.

Pale, with watery eyes, like she had been crying, red nose and lank, greasy hair. A perfect counterpart of his Godfather with that hair.

October came and soon Katia Ivanov's appearance wasn't an oddity when a cold epidemics spread in Hogwarts.

Katia put a vial with a sample of her potion on Snape's desk. He took it through the handkerchief and his face twisted with disgust.

"Miss Ivanov, step away from me."

Katia obeyed and sniffled her nose.

"You are a walking plague and I don't have a wish to share the same isolated room with you."

She looked at him disbelievingly, but before she could ask a question, he continued.

"To the Hospital Wing, immediately. Stay there as long as Madam Pomfrey orders you to."

* * *

Madam Pomfrey seemed to be nice woman, but something in her awakened Katia's attention. She spoke about her latest patient's situation too much. She was way too talkative to keep a secret in the girl's opinion.

Katia headed to a bed as she was waiting for her Pepper-up potion.

She looked curiously at the other students with smoking ears. Finally she also drank the substance but she couldn't feel any real difference.

The healer examined her, making complicated wand motions, and furrowed her brows.

"Oh dear. It seems that you have a lung infection, something which can't be cured by a simple potion."

"Is it bad?" asked Katia wearily. She had enough of all this noise. It just made her pounding headache worse.

"You need to stay in bed a few days."

"Can I go now?"

"Child I just said that you need to stay in bed. I don't want you to feel lonely and-"

Katia raised her hand to stop this babbling. "Just tell me, Madam, all right? Please, I am not a baby."

"You must have been ill for some time and the infection changed into pneumonia. You will stay in the isolation ward and no visitors." The healer said it in one breath.

It pained her somehow to tell it to the new girl who wasn't too social. She felt like she was taking from her any chance to be closer to the other students. She herself had never felt good being alone.

The girl looked like a porcelain doll with her dark, straight hair and pale face, shining with sweat.

Katia's lips curled into a weak smile.

"I think I can live with that, Madam."

"Come with me then, you need to take a warm bath and change your clothes."

But she felt lonely. Her only visitors except Madam Pomfrey were the House Elves, and their visits were short. Just pop in, put the tray on her bed, pop out, and after some time pop in, take a tray, get an order for the next meal and pop out again. It was dark there, the heavy rain bombarded outside the window, dark blue clouds hanging in the sky all day. She felt relieved that there was no storm.

Her imagination was overactive due to her loneliness, and all the hairs stood on her neck while she was using the lavatory in the night. She expected the monster to poke its head out from the toilet and take her away to the dark, slimy drainpipes.

* * *

A/N: Many thanks to my beta-reader who did wonderful job as always and everyone who enjoyed this story so far :)

Problematic words: Na hran s toboy – Katia swore very badly. It would better to leave it without translation :)

"Kurva" – "Fuck"


	7. Familiar Sensation

**Chapter 7 - Familiar Sensation**

Katia met Mr. Filch on her way back from the Hospital Wing. He was cleaning the floor from some muddy spots.

"Need some help?" she asked in a casual tone. Filch jumped startled and dropped his mop. She quickly picked up a white envelope that fell from his pocket in the process and put it into hers.

"You want to give me a heart attack, don't you?" the tone of his voice wasn't its usual grumble. There was a hint of anger to it.

"I am terribly sorry, sir, I didn't mean to. Can I help you?" she leaned down and picked up the mop.

"You can."

He went for another mop and Katia read the letter: Kwikspell, A Correspondence Course in Beginner's Magic. She read the whole rubbish promising that everyone can be Dumbledore's match after it.

_Rubbish!_

She helped with cleaning the floor and went with Mrs. Norris and Mr. Filch to his office.

He took a seat in the chair and Katia closed the door. The room was dingy and windowless, lit by a single oil lamp dangling from the low ceiling. Wooden filing cabinets stood around the walls. A highly polished collection of chains and manacles hung on the wall behind the desk.

He checked his pockets, then the drawer. "It must be here, somewhere," he said to himself.

Katia put the letter in from of him. "You are looking for this?"

Filch's eyes widened and suddenly the throbbing vein on his forehead was quite visible.

"You- you've read it?" he asked disbelievingly.

"Yes and I would advise you to-"

He slammed his fist onto the desk. "You had no right to! No right! How _dare_ you!"

Katia, who was standing across his desk leaned forward to him and hit the desk with two, opened hands. Her voice was low and accusing. "You were talking about hitting the bottom? _This_," she pointed at the letter "is dragging you down. You can't accept who you are, after all those years-"

"OUT!" he roared, pointing at the door.

"Fine! I'll go out and will never make the _mistake_ of caring about an old fart like you!" she shouted and marched out of his office, slamming the door loudly behind her.

"What are you staring at, girl? I told you to get out!"

Katia blinked. Her overactive imagination had kicked in. She could lose the only person in the castle who was the closest thing to a friend.

She shook her head, walked out of his office and shut the door quietly behind her.

She realized that there was something wet on her face, so she wiped it with her sleeve. Her cheeks were covered with tears.

Katia leaned her back against the wall.

"Damn it," she hit the wall with her fist.

The following days she spent in her 'potions lab' located in the lower level of the Gryffindor tower. She recreated the unique formulas of Kashpirovsky's potions and tried more complicated potions from her Hogwarts program. She borrowed a book for the third and fourth year, because she already knew the material from her present school year.

Minerva McGonagall came to her a few days after her quarrel with Filch. They set Katia's tutoring for seven every Thursday.

The Professor was patient and polite, but Katia have seen tiny hints that it wasn't entirely honest.

Logic also reminded her that this woman voted for her to be expelled, so Katia was very polite, as she always was towards professors, though reserved.

Katia planned to do her own research in Potions. She had a few years of learning ahead her already, but it wasn't enough to rival her Professor or her previous teacher. She still lacked the knowledge and abilities but if she could do something, like altering an existing formula in any way, it would be enough. It would prove that she was a witch indeed.

She needed the large skin that she had encountered in the lower pipes. Whatever had left it, it was definitely not an ordinary snake and using it instead of traditional ingredient could make the difference. She was afraid to go into the lower levels where the thing could move freely and catch her, but with every passing day, her need to prove herself grew.

She stopped her practice of Graceful Movements, because every unused place was too small, to stuffed or not adequate somehow. Maybe because it lacked a certain person who could encourage her? She never imagined she would miss the old Squib.

Halloween came very quickly. She heard one day that not only the students were going to have a party, but ghosts too. She wasn't interested in either. It just provide the right distraction for everyone so she could accomplish her task.

Her anxiety made her restless. She wasn't afraid that she could die as much as she should have been. Rather that there would be no one who would notice her absence, and that it might not make a difference.

That she would be rotting in the slimy drain pipes with the rest of the filth, alone and forgotten didn't trouble her thoughts. She had seen the end of her parents from such a close perspective that death wasn't terrifying anymore.

She dressed in comfortable clothes, took a torch, a lighter, her wand and a dagger, and packed everything in a waterproof backpack.

"Happy Halloween," She said to herself and lowered into the black, gaping hole at the fifth floor.

She was two levels down when the noise reached her ears.

_Think of the skin, and don't stop_.

She moved quickly and as quiet as she could, her trainers splashing from time to time. Finally she was a fork away from it. The sound of a massive body was horribly close. She took a few careful steps. There it was! The skin!

The sound was even closer.

_Now or never._

She run towards the skin, cut a piece in a few fluid movements and turned back. She ran, heading up, putting her trophy into the backpack at the same time.

But judging from the sound, the thing was able to move faster than her, not slipping on the slimy ground at every turn.

"Harry, what're you-?"

"It's that voice again – shut up a minute – "

"…so hungry…for so long…"

"Listen!" said Harry urgently, and Ron and Hermione froze, watching him.

"…kill…time to kill…"

The voice was growing fainter. Harry was sure it was moving away – moving upward. A mixture of fear and excitement gripped him as he stared at the dark ceiling; how could it be moving upward? Was it a phantom, to whom ceilings didn't matter?

"This way," he shouted and began to run, up the stairs, into the entrance hall. It was no good hoping to hear anything in here, the babble of talk from the Halloween feast was echoing out of the Great Hall. Harry sprinted up the marble staircase to the first floor, Ron and Hermione clattering behind him.

"Harry, what're we –"

"SHH!"

Harry strained his ears. Distantly from the floor above and growing fainter still, he heard a voice: "…I smell blood…I SMELL BLOOD!"

Katia quickened her pace. She felt hot blood oozing from the top of her head. Taking a turn, she had hit something sharp with her scalp. Evidently the creature's sense of smell was very good, because it started to hiss loudly.

She moved upwards and turned right. There was a faint light somewhere ahead of her. She wasn't sure that she could reach it fast enough, but the thing was right behind her and there was no turning back.

Adrenaline was making her run faster, especially now when there was little hope to survive it. She hit the hatch, pushing it with force, but it remained in place. A hot pain erupted in her fingers. She caught it with both hands and turned to the left. It moved so she pushed it up again. The hatch gave way and she broke out to freedom. In one swift move she was up, but the thing got her shoe.

She put the metal cover back into place fast and turned it to block the creature's pass.

Katia fell on her back, exhausted. The bathroom she was in was flooded and unkempt.

She lie there in three inch - deep water, tears of relief streaming down her cheeks mixing with the liquid.

Finally she left the bathroom, careful to not be seen. Something glowed on the wall; she turned to see it better.

THE CHAMBER OF SERCETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.

'What the hell is _this_?' she thought.

She felt weak on her knees so she sat against the wall, facing the writing. Something trickled down her face, so she wiped it with her dirty hands, all covered in a slimy, unidentified substance. They were soon red with blood. She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

Argus Filch went back to the scene of the crime. There was a figure in the shadow, crouching against the wall.

"Who are you and what are you doing here? Came to admire your work?" he spat and stepped closer.

"I didn't do it Mr. Filch," a weak, familiar voice replied.

"Ivanov?" he asked, surprised.

Since their quarrel he did his best to avoid the girl. He knew that he shouldn't be so harsh, but then again, she shouldn't be so nosy. Were it any other student, he would tell her this and that, especially now, when someone hurt his cat, but her absence left an unpleasant sinking feeling. He missed her company and couldn't tell why.

"You should go back to bed. It's past midnight."

"Just….Just let me be, all right?" she said with a small voice. He needed to strain his ears to understand her.

"Go, Ivanov, or I'll fetch your head of house."

She lifted her head and a light from the torch fell on her face and shoulders. Filch gasped.

The girl was wet, covered in some greenish-brown slime, her hair was a complete mess with bloody dreadlocks. Blood also covered the right side of her face. It was smeared over her nose and her chin. There were two streaks across her face, from eye to temple on either side in a twisted parody of crows feet. Her eyes were distant and her lips partially opened.

"What happened to you?" he asked, disturbed by her appearance.

She smiled weakly. The smile on her dirty, bloody face made her look like a nutter.

"I was…sight-seeing and, and I had a little accident. Doesn't matter."

"You will go to Madam Pomfrey or I'll drag you there," said Filch stubbornly.

Her features changed. There was defiance now.

"There is no way I will go there. I don't need half of the school gossiping about me tomorrow morning!"

He should keep his word, but after today he felt defeated. "All right. Come with me. Move, girl!"

She was soon resting in a comfortable armchair, facing the fireplace, wrapped in a large towel, which fell to her ankles. Her scalp was itching from some healing salve that Filch smeared on clumsily. She pushed wet, dark strand of hair from her face.

Argus Filch put his glass of Ogden's Old Firewhiskey on the table.

"Care to explain what happened to you, now?" he asked, tired. It was the middle of the night, and the girl hadn't said a word since he found her in that horrible corridor.

"I said that I had an accident. I hit something sharp, I fell, I went to the bathroom, now I'm here."

"And all this time you haven't seen who could have petrified my cat, right?"

"Mr. Filch, I appreciate your concern, even if it is only because you want to find out what happened, but I cannot tell you because I wasn't there when it happened. As you may have guessed, I am physically incapable of performing a 'complicated dark magic spell' on anyone."

She took a sip of tea, her eyes never leaving the dancing flames in the fireplace.

"We had a misunderstanding," she continued, "you told me to get out and I obeyed, the end."

He poured himself a generous amount of Firewhiskey and looked at her again. "I believe you, girl. Not in this horse dung about the _accident_ of course, but I don't think that you would do such a thing to Mrs. Norris. You wanted to say _something_, before- you, before I- told you to leave."

Katia laughed and shook her head.

"Yes, you politely told me to leave your office. Does it matter anymore?"

Filch rubbed his forehead.

"You don't have guts to tell me now, huh?"

"Don't play on my ambition, sir. It's highly inappropriate," she mocked, but her tone was friendly.

"Well?"

Katia looked him in the eyes.

"So?" he asked, but she was silent still.

"WHAT?" he lost his patience finally.

She took a deep breath.

"I wanted to tell you that we must accept who we are, Mr. Filch. There are things we can change and the others that we cannot. Trying to change the impossible- that leads to frustration and self-destruction."

She faced him and swung her legs on the back of the armchair.

"Kwikspell is bullshit. You thought that they would give you the abilities you are lacking? There is no way. If you don't have wings, you won't fly. If I suck with spells, I will never receive an outstanding. But there are other things, sir. From what I've heard, you are the master of stalking in the shadows, your hearing is sharp and you share some kind of connection to Mrs. Norris." Her features softened somehow.

"You have a heart, a good one, no matter how much you want to hide it, I can see it. You are bitter, driven by anger, lonely, but you can be caring and have a good sense of humor. I like these things in you. I respect you and I don't want to see you making your life miserable. That's why I was so nosy and that's why you were so angry. You know that I'm telling the truth."

Her eyes were glistering with unshed tears, but she didn't feel like crying. Quite the opposite, in fact. She felt that a huge weight was lifted off her shoulders when he was finally ready to hear her.

"You have no idea how I hate to admit that you were right about that stupid course."

"I understand that you want to be something more. I wish I were talented, I dream of it with all my heart. To be someone, to mean something in the Wizarding World. That's why I looked like I fought a hippogriff when you found me."

She paused, shocked with her sincerity. Why she made such a confession to someone she knows barely two months baffled her.

"Can you tell me what exactly happened to Mrs. Norris?" she changed subject quickly, to avoid his questions.

Filch's face twisted into an ugly grimace. His eyes became glassy and his lips trembled.

"Someone petrified her. I- I thought, I was afraid, that she, that she- was dead."

_No, bad move. _

She was sure that he wouldn't want her to see him in this condition.

"I'm sorry for what happened, Mr. Filch, but I think it's time for me to go."

During Potions she swore inwardly. Her hands and nails were covered in tubeworms body parts. She was not in the mood to grub in disgusting things so early. She felt furious, but somehow, the silky timbre of Snape's voice calmed her.

When he checked her cauldron, it was the first time when her eyes locked with those black orbs of his. Snape's eyes reminded her of endless black tunnels, and she felt that she could become lost in them.

"This," he broke the contact, "is the required consistence, color and smell. The bubbling green slime of your Potion Potter can be vanished, and you will stay after lesson, to scrub the tables."

When the bell rang, Katia left with the other students, though reluctantly. She couldn't explain why, but she wanted to stay a little longer. While others despised him, something in her reacted differently in his presence.

Like as if awakening from a long dream.

She ignored Professor Binn's lecture. She tried to understand herself but couldn't and it frustrated and infuriated her.

She heard something about the Chamber of Secrets and the monster. Her eyes widened for a moment. Could the thing in the sewer be the infamous Slytherin beast?

She needed to take the skin for analysis. Kashpirovsky was qualified enough and he was too rich to fool her and keep it for himself. He would tell her what kind of creature could have left it.

During the following weeks, Katia's anxiety grew. There were new attacks and two students were petrified.

There were suspicions flying around Draco, and he himself was rather proud that others thought of him as being the Heir of Slytherin. Nevertheless Katia was sure that it wasn't him. He himself asked her who could be the Heir and nothing gave her a hint that he could be acting.

Potions were peculiar. Every time she was in Snape presence she felt somehow better inside, though the inexplicable feeling returned. It wasn't strong, just a tiny sense of something _different_.

She was often looking at him, but not openly and sometimes their gazes met for a second.

Severus Snape felt comfortable and angry at the same time. The girl was good in potions, he could even tell that she really had the passion for the subject, but something, a tiny thing was wrong somehow. He looked at her from time to time and the feeling of a strange familiarity washed over him.

Like he had met her before.

He shrugged it off. Maybe he met someone from her family who possessed a striking resemblance to her. The uncertainty infuriated him, but eventually he chose to ignore it.

The weather was awful. It was the middle of November and Severus Snape was in a foul mood. Years ago he mourned Lily at Godrick's Hollow and every Fall he felt depressed. The weather reminded him of his loss. He was extra nasty to his students, even to Ivanov.

Katia slept under two extra blankets. She couldn't understand how the others could stand this freezing cold. She was used too much warmer temperatures. She missed her servants, who would bring her clothes while she was shivering under thick covers.

She definitely hated December in England. And it was barely the beginning of the month.

"At least my teeth are not clattering anymore."

She took another sip of rum tea. "And?" she asked, noticing, that Filch's eyes grew distant, again.

"I'm telling you that they are up to something," Filch emptied his glass of Firewhiskey and wiped his mouth.

"Walking in the corridor doesn't make them guilty."

"Maybe we should go there and check, it won't do any harm."

Katia shook her head.

"If you have this feeling, I can go and see if you're right. You smell of fags and whiskey, they'll know that you are stalking there. I'll go alone."

Katia wasn't sure if Filch was getting paranoid or if he really had the sixth sense, like most of the staff who worked with children for so long. Like he said, it wouldn't do any harm to spy on them.

Argus Filch always had trouble with sleeping. Usually he patrolled the dark hallways, sometimes even all night. The only time when school was relatively quiet and uneventful, was the afternoon. Students were after dinner and the professors kept a watchful eye over them. He would use this time to take a nap. This time however he was woke by a loud banging on his private room's door.

"I'm coming," he said sleepily, angry with the intruder.

"It's me, Katia," she said when Filch opened the door.

"Merlin, girl, I told once that you should come here later. I was sleeping."

"So maybe I should let you go to bed and tell you what they were up to later," she smiled in a very Wulfrick-ish manner and turned to leave.

"Wait, damn you!"

"It's Katia, not _damn you_, sir."

He sat in the armchair and poured himself a generous amount of Firewhiskey to cure the remnants of hangover from yesterday. "So, tell me."

"I will if you promise me to keep it for yourself only."

"They could be doing…ah, whatever. You've got my word."

"We had double Potions today and we were making a Swelling Solution. I finished it first along with Daphne Greengrass, my partner. I had a lot of time to look around. The Potter boy threw a firework into Goyle's cauldron and it exploded, showering most of the class. We were lucky that it was too far to reach us. It's a shame you didn't seen those who had been splashed. Various parts of their body swelled to enormous size. I thought that I would burst into laughter, but it wouldn't do with Professor Snape in the classroom. He was angry as hell. Hermione Granger used the chaos to slip into the Professor's office. She stole from there; I saw the bulge under her robes. I was first to leave the classroom and run as fast as I could to that horrible toilet. You were right, Mr. Filch, they went in there seconds after me. I saw the bomslang skin, and the consistency of the potion. They are making Polyjuice Potion. Probably they want to impersonate someone."

"Impersonate?"

"They need someone's hair to put into the potion to turn into that person. It usually wears off after an hour."

"They could be trying to impersonate anyone. Even the Headmaster. We must go and tell him." Katia stopped him.

"We're not going anywhere and you promised, _you promised,_ that you keep it to yourself. Besides, the voice remains unchanged so they can only prank each other."

Filch slammed his fist against the table, spilling some Firewhiskey and Katia's tea in the process.

"They committed a crime, they've robbed from Professor Snape!" he shouted.

Her temper was as short as his and she was on the edge already. Filch was smoking a cigarette, he was red from anger. Katia took a deep breath to calm herself.

"Mr. Filch, it would be most unwise to interrupt them. I think they are looking for who is responsible for petrifying your cat and the students in this castle. Let them do it. You can always punish them later, right?" she said with forced calm.

"Maybe," he said, taking a sip from his glass and grimacing at the burning taste. "But if you say they are looking for the one who is responsible for this mess, watch them."

"I need your help, sir"

"You got it."

The days which stood between Katia and her trip back home dragged by endlessly. She practiced Graceful Movements, spent afternoons in the library with Hermione discussing homework and the Wizarding World, and tried to figure out why the Golden Trio made Polyjuice Potion. She couldn't ask about it openly, but got a tiny hint when Hermione asked about the Heir of Slytherin.

Finally, the 21st came and she was sitting on her bags, waiting for her father.

She missed him very much and he, instead of picking her at King Cross, arrived to Hogwarts and was talking with the Headmaster. She waited for two hours, before Dumbledore and her Father appeared in the fireplace in the Slytherin Common room.

Dumbledore made a few swishes with his wand and smiled.

"Merry Christmas, Katia," he said cheerfully, but his eyes were locked with her fathers.

"The same, sir," she replied politely.

"You may now Apparate, Wulfrick."

"It was a pleasure, Albus," her father replied, and took Katia's arm.

She wondered about this weird exchange. They were polite towards each other, but she knew that her father was very tense. His accent was worse than usual and he smiled too wide.

Seconds later she was standing in the entrance hall in Ivanov Manor in Bulgaria. Her luggage shot out from the large fireplace.

A/N:

I am terribly sorry for the lack of updates, but sometimes life is unpredictable.

As you may notice, I took quotes from J.K.R.'s work, but I needed it to synchronize the action; timeline in the book with Katia's doing.

I don't want to repeat the whole plot from the books and add Katia there, I'm trying to go with the plotline but write something new. As I wrote in the summary- my story is canon compliant, and I'll try to make it as canon as possible.

Some problematic words:

Kurva, written originally as kurwa is a Polish word. It can be translated as "fuck!" but the true meaning is "whore". Interesting fact: In Great Britain you can recognize Poles because of this word. They go to a foreign country, so they swear, because they think that no one understands them. I have never been abroad yet, but a lot of people confirm it.

There will be no Katia in the next chapter, just canon characters.


	8. Polyjuice Potion Variations

**Chapter 8 - ****Polyjuice Potion Variations**

Hogwarts was a huge castle but when most of the students left for the Christmas break, it seemed almost endless. The usual crowded hallways were mostly empty when Minerva McGonagall made her way to the Headmaster's office.

Albus Dumbledore seemed lost in thought when she greeted him. It took him a while to regain his usual composure and she had a strange feeling that perhaps she was disrupting his thoughts.

Minerva was always polite towards people; she was a lady. And a lady did not like to be ignored. She shook off this feeling. She had known Albus for years and sometimes he was like that. Distant.

He cleared his throat and put on his usual warm smile.

"What a pleasant surprise Minerva," he said after she took her seat opposite to him. "What brings you here tonight my dear? Missed my company, perhaps?"

His eyes were twinkling and she could tell that the smile reached to them. She felt bad knowing that maybe he wouldn't be so happy after their little chat.

"Your company is always a pleasure to me, Albus," she smiled genuinely at him, "but it's been quite some time since we had a talk about our transfer student."

Dumbledore adjusted his half-moon spectacles. He knew Minerva and he had no doubt she would come eventually.

She was against Wulfrick's miserably gifted daughter since she had first begun lessons with the girl. Definitely she waited, hoping that he himself would see the pointlessness of Katia's further education. He decided to play his game for a while. Maybe Minerva would give up, seeing that it's pointless to question his decisions.

"As a matter of fact I was curious how was she doing under your tutelage."

Minerva sighed. Unfortunately she couldn't admit that it was going very well. Quite opposite if she was about to be honest with herself. For what ever progress made, she was set back further then when they had started.

"That's the problem I wanted to discuss with you. I did my best to teach her the art of transfiguration and I must say she's a hard worker, but that's still not enough."

Dumbledore spoke with his ever-patient grandfatherly voice.

"I'm sure that she will make progress with time, and you my dear, must be more patient. Not all students are as talented as my Transfiguration Mistress. Some of them need to be guided a _little longer_ to find their path."

She sighed again. Albus Dumbledore was such an impossible man sometimes. He was stubborn, he knew that he was and she knew that he was.

There were times when she enjoyed his little games, especially when pitted against Severus. Not that she hated Severus so much, but that he was a good opponent for Dumbledore.

She was just tired when her efforts led her back to the starting point.

"The thing is that even with my tutelage and her extend theoretical knowledge, her progress is _barely visible_," her voice took a on a slight persuasive tone, "That is why I believe we made a mistake placing in allowing her to remaining at Hogwarts."

Albus needed to change tactics and make her argument become one of a defensive nature rather then persuasive.

"My, my, are you prejudiced Minerva? Was she not polite?" He seemed to be puzzled as he looked at her with raised brows.

McGonagall's expression became very concerned. She was not by the any means prejudiced. Maybe he really couldn't see her point?

"I have never said that I don't like Miss Ivanov," uttered Minerva heavily, weighing the thought in her mind, "As a matter of fact I feel bad for her, because our standards are too high for this poor child. She works too much and the result is still not enough."

She sighed. "It would be better if she had a home schooling. Everything would be set at the right time, with a teacher who would be patient and could wait for her. As much as I try, I can't do the exercises for her and I can't wait,"

Seeing a disbelieving look on Dumbledore's face, she added, "Albus, what I'm trying to say is that I don't want her to feel left behind when all the other students are making such progress and she is not. It's almost painful to see her put forth such an effort only to barely scratch the surface of a simple spell."

And she meant it with all her heart. She felt bad for Harry who was an orphan and was carrying such a large burden on his shoulders. Katia Ivanov was not so different. Though not an orphan, the challenge of keeping up with Hogwart's minimal standers was still a great burden.

She could see that the girl tried as hard as she could and it wasn't enough for an "Acceptable". She should have an "Outstanding" for her efforts and forcing her to work so hard was cruel in Minerva's opinion.

"It's very kind of you Minerva and I appreciate your efforts to help Katia, but you must understand that she needs a challenge and she can set an example to many of our students at Hogwarts that hard work and persistence lead to success," said Dumbledore after a while.

It wasn't in his nature to be open, even with Minerva. He was used to his loneliness, being surrounded by a crowd of people. Even among those who were as close to him as a family. He was wise and there were very few who could challenge his mind or knowledge. He learned to hide his true reasons behind the safe façade of an old man.

He would never admit that he took Katia because she was Wulfrick's daughter and was training to become an Adept to be used as a spy to hunt down the ex-Death Eaters. The challenges and deeds required of such a role would make the years at Hogwarts seem like paradise.

Minerva would think him a cruel, heartless man, no better then Voldemort himself.

Maybe he was and maybe he wasn't, but sacrifices had to be made and those around him had to be ready for whatever lay ahead in the greater turn of events. He knew that people like Katia and Harry would make a difference. Some more so then others but everyone had to play their part. He was wise enough to know that pawns would win the game in the end.

Besides, Katia was not as important to him personally as Harry, whom he had an almost parental concern for.

There was no way for Minerva to understand all of this from his point of view. And it wasn't necessary. He liked her attitude towards Katia and under normal circumstances he would agree that Hogwarts isn't for witches who could barely produce a spark from their wands, but now it was different.

Poor Minerva continued to do her best to convince him that she was right.

"I understand you, I really do, but is this setting-an-example thing worth it? Is it fair to give her such a burden? To force her to make things she physically cannot do?"

Albus smiled and covered her hand with his own, to underline his words.

"Katia is stronger than you think, she can manage it if you let her. We need her and the Ivanov family. We must do everything to keep her here, because I have a feeling that we will need it. _You_ must support her and tutor her Minerva, and I think that no one can do it better than you."

She did not seem convinced but he felt her giving up.

"Thank you for your kind words, Albus, but I am not entirely sure if it is right, you know."

Albus Dumbledore avoided conflicts at any costs, since his brother broke his nose. And he was a master of changing topics.

"I think it's time for a supper. Would you like to walk with me? I've heard today the House Elves made fresh cakes for Christmas and they will give us a piece to try."

Minerva McGonagall knew when her efforts to convince the Headmaster were useless, such as now.

And she knew what she should do.

"Oh, really? Of course I will walk with you. I can't wait."

She should agree with Albus, because there was no other way in most cases. And pretend that she is not entirely aware of his retreat behind the familiar façade of a friendly old man with a sweet tooth.

* * *

As Harry and Ron waited in the deserted entrance hall after the Christmas tea for Crabbe and Goyle, they never noticed a figure lurking in the shadows.

Argus Filch was extra watchful since Katia told him about the Polyjuice potion. When he watched them, he figured out that it would be too obvious if Harry Potter really was a powerful dark wizard. He was always found in the middle of the crime scene and his puzzlement seemed sincere. Besides he and his friends made the potion for some reason.

He watched as the two overfed students ate two suspicious cakes and fell on the floor with a thud. He raised his eyebrows even, seeing the two baboons being carried to the broom closet.

He followed the two Gryffindors while they headed to the flooded bathroom on the second floor and waited until they appeared again, looking like the two Slytherins who stuffed in the broom closet.

It was strange that the Granger girl wasn't present but he decided to leave it for later.

He continued to follow at a safe distance. They met the prefect, Percy Weasley and shortly after that, Draco Malfoy passed dangerously close to him. Fortunately the blonde was too focused on the three boys to notice his presence.

Filch couldn't enter the Slytherin common room, so he waited outside. He could only guess what Potter and Weasley might be doing there. And he was too focused to stay unnoticed by the others to think about the possibilities.

Finally they left in a rush. He could see that the potion was wearing off because the clothes were too big for the boys and their features were changing rapidly.

He ran after them to see that they left their shoes near the broom closet, where the two real Slytherins were obviously waking up.

So, Potter and Weasley pranked some unfortunate Slytherin, or talked with Malfoy, or whatever else. He was glad that they didn't impersonate some teacher to steal things from his or her office.

But he was still curious. It infuriated him to no end that he could only wonder and speculate about their reason for making Polyjuice potion and he had no answers. It just added a dozen new questions to the large list of the previous, unanswered ones.

Some time later, one tiny mystery was solved. The Granger girl accidentally turned into a cat. So that was the reason for her absence. But who was she about to impersonate? Professor McGonagall maybe?

* * *

"I understand it Hermione and I, we, feel very bad for you," said Harry. It was one of many evenings that he spent with Ron visiting Hermione in Hospital Wing.

"Maybe you should steal Ivanov's hair? I've never seen her with any pets," he continued.

Before Hermione had a chance to respond, Ron spoke in angry tones.

"People say that you spend time with her in the library. You shouldn't side with a Slytherin, they're slimy liars!"

"Ron!" Rebuked Harry.

"What? You want me to be quiet while I'm only telling the truth?" Hissed Ron.

"Boys, please," said Hermione. "We just study together sometimes. She's helpful, besides we don't talk about anything except homework. She has no chance to poison my mind with all this pureblood talk."

She lifted herself on the pillow and continued in a tone that was very similar to Professor McGonagall's.

"You don't have to talk with her, but I want to. I will manage to study with her and be careful enough. Don't be so nasty just because she's in Slytherin. It reminds me of the prejudice Malfoy shows. He hates me just because I'm a Muggleborn."

Ron was impatient and he furrowed his brows.

"Hermione, we are just worried about you. She's a Slytherin and they do things for a reason."

Harry was silent. Once again he thought about the Sorting Hat. There was a great possibility that he could have been placed there. Were his actions driven by any particular reasons? Did he keep company to with Ron and Hermione because of benefits?

He wanted to be accepted for himself; not for his name and the great thing he did as a baby. Did that count as taking advantage of their friendship? Wasn't he selfless when he spent evenings with Hermione in the Hospital Wing.

"I can't deny that maybe our meetings in library are in favor for Katia, all right? But she's polite, she's funny and she never treats me like someone of lesser worth because of my heritage."

Maybe that wasn't all true, because Katia seemed shy and sure of herself at the same time. She was annoying sometimes, especially when she started something and left it unfinished.

Hermione did not like her looking through people like they did not exist. She also never knew when Katia was serious and when she was only teasing. Nevertheless, Hermione couldn't say that because even if she said everything was fine, the boys would still have a bad opinion about the Slytherin girl.

Honestly, Hermione had to admit that Katia was a challenge in Potions and her knowledge of the Wizarding World helped. So, their acquaintance was worthwhile on both sides. That's why she needed to defend the Ivanov girl against her friend's accusations.

She wondered about Harry's silence. Did it mean that he was agreeing with her or with Ron? Maybe he was thinking of new arguments? Anyway she preferred to have him on her side.

"Harry, please are you mad at me?"

The concentrated look on Harry's face changed to a more comprehensive one and he shook his head.

"No Hermione, I'm not. Just be careful, and I- I think that I'm not ready yet to talk with Ivanov. Besides, the library isn't my favorite place to spend an afternoon, you know."

Hermione turned her furry face towards her redhead friend. "Ron?"

"All right. Do as you want, but don't say that I never warned you. And don't expect me to befriend her. Merlin, Ivanov is plain, untalented and a Slytherin, with her baggy clothes and horrible accent, I wonder why someone would want to be friends with her."

Ron never liked Slytherins and he knew very well what rich, pureblood families thought about Weasleys. He was concerned about Hermione and he was afraid that maybe she would prefer Ivanov's company to his. She was good in potions and it seemed that she was likeable sometimes. Even Neville told him that he didn't mind her. He couldn't forbid anything to Hermione, but he would watch over her, just to be safe.

Ivanov could be nicer and uglier than Malfoy, but she was still a snake. And it was against the nature for a lion to befriend a snake.

* * *

If Draco Malfoy was about to be honest with himself he would admit that he could feel the absence of Blaise Zabini and Katia Ivanov. Blaise was his friend since first year of course and it was not a secret that his mind could almost rival Draco, but Ivanov?

Katia was reserved, polite and dangerous. She was so ordinary, but that was before he looked deeper. It's true that her blue eyes were nothing special, but they could almost shine while she was unusually happy and they were cold as ice when she was reserved and her polite smile was forced. It amused him to learn how to read emotions from her face. To a mere observer she was everything she was to him when he first met her. Nothing special.

He still didn't find exceptional beauty in her face which was mostly obscured by her hair. She wasn't a pug face or a square jaw either; just too tall and too plump for a girl perhaps.

But there was something more to her than met the eye.

There were times when he really liked her face, but not in the conventional way. Like when she almost choked Pansy after Charms with Professor Flitwick. He smiled inwardly. She would make amusing facial expressions, probably taking an example from his godfather.

As he sat in the nearly deserted Slytherin common room he felt lonely. He could have gone home and done something, talk with people, spend Christmas with his family, but since his father humiliated Arthur Weasley, he was too busy with the Ministry. He wouldn't have time for Draco right now.

Draco was important as a son, as an heir and he was sure that his father loved him somehow, but in situations like this; Draco was non-existent. Of course he would receive a pile of Christmas gifts because his father like to live in peace with his conscience – if he had one. Or he liked to show that he out of all parents he loved his son the most, buying him things worth twice as much as Arthur Weasley's salary.

He hated Ivanov right now. Even if she avoided the family topics, he was sure, he_ knew_, that she was happy right now, surrounded by the ones who cared for her. Why did he miss her presence then?

The answer was very simple – because he would feel better if he could talk to someone whose intelligence wasn't equal to a flubberworm. And he wouldn't be the only one who receives gifts instead of Christmas with family. And the only one who was competent enough to realize what it meant.

Goyle farted loudly as if to confirm his thoughts about flubberworm.

"You idiot!" hissed Draco and left the common room.

* * *

Lucius Malfoy was sitting in the Leaky Cauldron. He needed some time for himself to relax after the latest events. He fulfilled his threat against Arthur Weasley and was quite proud. Nevertheless he couldn't find peace with himself, knowing that the diary could not even reach Harry Potter.

His emotions were conflicted. A part of him wanted the Dark Lord back, to be his loyal and noble servant. To show the world that Malfoys were not to be messed with.

The other side wanted freedom and independence. But what was done couldn't be undone. He slipped the diary into the youngest Weasley's possessions and now he could only wait.

He ordered another drink and waited, growing impatient with every passing minute.

Two drinks later he noticed a pretty, black skinned woman. Her hair was pinned up high and she was wearing a long, crimson wrap with a stand-up collar. She sat herself down by the counter, not far away from his table and ordered a pumpkin juice with vodka. He wasn't sure if she was the one he waited for until she took off her coat. He noticed her womanly curves and the most important – a blood red dahlia tattooed at the base of her neck.

Slowly he approached her and lowered his lips near her ear. He knew that she noticed his presence before he spoke; she straightened her back, though barely noticeable.

"Hello Dahlia, are you waiting for someone?" Being accustomed with this particular House of the Night he knew that the Adepts were identified through their marks.

The black skinned beauty turned her head to him slowly, tickling his chin with her sweet breath. Her full, red lips formed into a welcoming smile.

"It would be my pleasure if you were interested, Mr. Malfoy."

Her perfumes, lowly cut white blouse and whatever she did with herself to look stunning took an effect on him.

"I am, my sweet Dahlia. Particularly in you," he said in a low voice.

She smiled at him and brushed his hand with her finger tips. "Today I am only the intermediary, but I am sure that I can find someone to fulfill your appetite."

He breathed through his nose. Why it was always like that? He wanted this sweet black Dahlia right here and she tells him that she'll find someone else.

He agreed anyway, knowing that he needed to show certain people that his position at the Ministry was rising up and he _wanted_ to show and taste it right now.

"Just choose a girl who was initiated already. I don't want be responsible for traumatizing some innocent young thing."

"You don't have to worry about that, Mr. Malfoy."

Veronica was very glad that _she_ wouldn't be an the object of his ministrations.

Of course her expression betrayed none of her thoughts as she intertwined her fingers with his and Disapparated with him to the Nightfall, her House of the Night.

* * *

Argus Filch swallowed another mouthful of Old Ogden's Firewhiskey and turned over an old, muggle photograph. There was a young, rather handsome man and a woman in her early thirties on it. The man had some Filch's features and was leaning towards the petite woman with dark, short hair, as if to kiss her. She was looking at the photographer mischievously, and holding the young man at arm's length, as if to push him away. There was a large bush in the background and it was hard to tell if it was part of a forest or a private garden.

He turned it again. There was a small note, written in pencil.

_Adele Johnson – Norris and Argus Filch. Bath, Summer – 1961._

He took another sip, straight from the bottle. When everyone was happy because of the Christmas holidays, he drank himself into oblivion remembering his past. Bringing _her_ back somehow.

He grabbed a violet muffler from the table and sniffed it, closing his eyes. The smell was gone as was its owner, but Filch could remember how it had smelt. It was the sweet smell of jasmine, vanilla and a woman.

"Gone, isn't it?" said a warm voice and a woman, very similar to the one at the picture, took a seat next to him. Argus was silent and sniffed the muffler again.

"Oh please, Argus. Don't tell me that you don't remember my scent by heart. It's pathetic to smell the old rag, knowing that there is nothing there."

He put the muffler down and looked at her sadly.

"My, my Argus, you're completely smashed," she laughed.

"It's because I wanted to see you Adele," he replied with a rasp, drunken voice, "Christmas makes me miss you more than ever."

He felt her putting an arm around him.

"I don't believe a word, Argus. Your drinking is a habit and please, _please_ don't seek such silly excuses."

His eyes were closed as he tried to imagine her smell. He felt a tightening in his chest every time he caught a similar scent. It was like an obsession, destructive, unavoidable, and ever-present. His drunken mind would recreate a strange spectrum of Adele if he indulged it with enough alcohol to numb every nerve ending in his body.

His pain after her death never eased, he just got used to it. He even called a cat Mrs. Norris. It was contrary, because this name reminded him of Adele, but he would never deface her name like that. It was her husband's surname.

The current Mrs. Norris also worried him. Poor thing was petrified and he hoped that everything would be all right, but life taught him that hope was a mother for stupid.

His musings were interrupted by a knocking at his window.

There was a large owl with a package, sitting on the windowsill. He stood up, stumbled, and opened the window.

"Wrong address, birdie," he slurred, but the owl just tilted its head.

"Get the hell out of here you stupid thing!" he shouted, but the stubborn bird was still there. If birds could make facial expression, he could swear that this one could; there would be annoyance.

"Argus," warned his Adele, "the poor thing made a very long journey to drop off your Christmas present. Let him in," she caressed his neck with a feather light touch of her fingertips.

He gave up and opened the window wider, so the bird could fly in. It dropped its package onto his bed and waited patiently until he took off a small note attached to its leg.

_Please, feed Danny before you let him go. It will be a long journey for the poor beard. _

_Katia Ivanov_

"Beard?" he snorted. His irritation was gone for a moment and he fed the owl old bread.

"The girl has a horrific accent, which shows even in her writing, but surprisingly good taste," purred Adele to his ear.

When he finally unfolded the package, there was a bottle and another note:

_I hope that Bulgarian Moonshine Rakija will keep you company during my absence. Merry Christmas Mr. Filch!_

_Katia _

Oh he would be in good company indeed.

Adele, Rakija and himself.

* * *

A/N: The first chapters were focused on Katia to introduce her to you. She will still be present of course, but not as much as before. I can say that the mystery around her is connected to some canon characters, but to which – it's for me to know and for you to find out.

I do not plan to put her in Harry's place in significant events, or in anybody's place.

As J.K. Rowling told the story from Harry's perspective, I'm telling mostly from Katia's, but not only from hers. I gave a little show time to Mr. Filch because he's an interesting minor character.

Oh and do not try to assume that if Katia doesn't like a character, I don't like this character. She's also not me and _not like me_, so don't be mean in private messages just because you don't agree with her opinions. They're not mine and if it pissed you off- it means that I succeed and Katia turned out to be human – with faults and being annoying sometimes.

Every little thing here has a purpose, and if you stay with me, you may be surprised :)

Thanks to all of you who put my story into Story Alert or in Favorites; I hope that you'll grace me with a review.

Thanks to my reviewers, I can describe how much your opinion helps me with writing! I am really grateful that you wrote your opinion!

Many, many thanks to my precious beta reader- Cat Paws :)


	9. Merciful Christmas

**Chapter 9 - Merciful Christmas**

Filius Flitwick was quite an emotional man. Even if he kept his students at a distance to have some order and gain respect, he still cared about them. Until the Christmas break he was busy enough to not think so much about the kids, but now – he had way too much free time.

He thought of the talented, muggleborn Hermione, who constantly needed to prove herself. He thought about Harry, who was clever but wasn't working so hard.

He would think of Neville Longbottom; poor boy was like an orphan with his parents in such a delicate, irreversible state.

But none of this could he change, no matter how compassionate he was.

He couldn't find peace, especially lately when he had a lot of time to think and worry.

* * *

Early afternoon found Filius Flitwick in one of the Greenhouses where he hoped to meet the one person who understood him the most, Pomona Sprout.

She was leaning over mandrakes, measuring their growth with her professional eye.

"Hello Pomona," a voice behind made her jump. "I didn't mean to startle you," added Flitwick quickly.

"Oh, of course you did Filius, and that's not so funny!" She replied with mock anger, wiping her hands off on her work-gown.

He smiled and took one of the pots, turned it upside down and sat on it.

"How are they?" He asked, gesturing towards the mandrakes.

"I needed to put on more heat. The poor things were cold. It wouldn't do them any good, especially now when we need them so much," she sat on one of the benches across from him.

Seeing him, she could tell that he was concerned about something. She knew him well enough and it wasn't unusual for him to be in this state around this time of year. She liked her friend, however, and it was almost Christmas. He should be happy, not worried about some poor soul that couldn't be helped.

"You didn't come here because of the plants did you, Filius?" Asked Pomona, her tone suggesting that she already knew the answer.

He shook his head a little and smiled. "No Pomona, I wanted to ask about them too, but there is something which has been bothering me for quite some time now."

"Tell me, maybe I can help?" She said, concerned. For years they solved problems together, this time wouldn't be an exception.

Filius watched her for a moment. Pomona was a kind, friendly soul in his eyes. Her traits were quite visible in her physical appearance.

In her flyaway hair, rounded face and dirty fingernails, which touched all living things with so much care.

It was in her eyes, her smile, her warm, soft voice that reflected her kind, giving soul.

"Tell me, what do you think of Miss Ivanov?" He asked after he contemplated her features.

"She can mix with the crowd actually, she isn't exceptional by any means,"

Pomona took off her hat and furrowed her brows a little wondering, why would her friend be asking her opinion in this matter. Could it change something?

"She has a theoretical knowledge; she knows many foreign plants, but that's quite understandable. She does live in a different country. Hungary?" She felt that perhaps by examining the girls abilities would lead to a more sincere opinion; one that neither praised nor underestimated her.

"Yes, I believe it's Hungary," she continued, "Miss Ivanov appears to know much but when she does something, it looks as if she has never planted a seed with her own hands."

Filius raised his eyebrows. Curious.

"Why are you asking about this girl?" She asked the question finally, growing impatient with his enigmatic attitude.

"Her first lesson was with me. She turned out to be one of the less talented students I ever taught. It's true that she's even worse in Transfiguration. Her magical signature is barely present. It's less in the magical equivalent of physical abilities and the ability to change the material structure of an object. I've noticed that it is more present in spells requiring mind magic. I believe she could do an _Obliviate_ Charm if taught," He stood up, moved the pot closer to Pomona and sat again, leaning towards her as if to absorb her reply.

"Oh that's a shame. She came long way from Hungary just to be less than average. I'm sure that she knows so much in theory to cover her lack of magic. I know that my best student, Neville Longbottom, is not very strong in magical talent, either. Nor is he the smartest, but I do admire his love for plants. He reminds me so much of myself. I hope that he will choose a career in Herbology. It would be a waste if he didn't."

She could tell much about her favorite student, but she could feel that this wasn't the case. Filius often blamed himself for things he shouldn't and given his emotional nature, it was very often. Nevertheless it wasn't that he was brooding and crying, more like being concerned even if he shouldn't be.

"I thought that _he_ was terrible at Charms, until Ivanov came. What troubles me is the fact that Minerva convinced me that expelling the girl would be the best solution. That we would be doing her a favor because she won't pass exams anyway and better to let her be disappointed at the beginning, not when she had spent a full year here."

Pomona looked at him disbelievingly. A moment passed and then she understood why Filius was in such a mood. Of course, after everything he had come to the conclusion that Minerva was wrong.

"And you believe that you can't show kindness to someone by expelling them from the beginning. You don't want to add to her misery," she did not ask it, she stated what now was obvious as much to her as was to him.

Filius's face brightened. That's why he came only to Pomona. She was the one who understood him perfectly.

"Yes, I regret it. We were both trying to convince the Headmaster, but he and Severus were insistent. I have a feeling that with a little help, she'll be able to pass the exams. If she wants to work hard, I won't be a stumbling block for her."

Pomona needed to keep up his spirits. The girl was still attending school.

"I think that you acted under Minerva's influence in the moment, but if nothing bad happened, you should stop blaming yourself."

By Filius's expression she could tell that the weight of guilt was somehow lifted off his shoulders. His look then became pensive and she could tell that he was thinking about something different.

Flitwick levitated a couple of dead leaves. They formed into the shape of an "S".

"Do you think that Harry Potter is innocent?" He asked.

"I want to believe so. Even if all the evidence is against him, why would he do such things?"

This question had crossed into Filius's thoughts, as well. _Why would Harry do such things?_

* * *

After supper, Katia was informed that her father is waiting for her in his office.

"Sit," said Wulfrick. She immediately knew that he was angry. She took her seat across his desk and lowered her gaze, her hands resting on her lap.

One passing glance at his face earlier told her that he barely controlled his fury, however when he spoke, his voice was terrifyingly calm.

"I think that I gave you too much credit. You foolish girl," his control gradually slipping away, as his voice became louder.

"You are an idiot, Katia!" He spat.

"You could kill yourself or be expelled for this stupidity!" He was practically yelling now.

"That's _how_ I raised you? To act like a seven year old? To bring me shame and risk your life like it is worth _nothing_!?"

It was a very stupid idea, but she had to try. She spoke, instead of listening with her head bowed. Filch had changed a little bit of her understanding about respect, but it wouldn't work with her father, as he was the one who saw fit to this rule.

"I don't want you to be disappointed with me. I am so sorry, father," she said very quietly and risked a glance into his eyes.

It seemed to infuriate him greatly as he stood and slammed his palms against the desk in a very similar manner as she not so long ago in Filch's office.

"Shame that you weren't _so sorry_ when you almost killed your roommate or yourself, you insolent girl!" He screamed, furious with her attitude. His face was reddened with anger and she could see a throbbing vein on his forehead.

She didn't know why she spoke again, as if against her will.

"I discovered something, and-" he stopped her with one icy look and surprisingly, the impulse which made her speak faded.

"Enough! You are dismissed," he added, calmer now.

She exited without a word and quietly shut the door behind her. Making her way to her room she almost collided with a girl. She stopped herself from a biting comment about watching feet and all.

"Is there anything I can do for you, Miss Ivanov?" Asked Maria, one of her servants.

Katia scowled at her. "Yes, you can get out of my sight," she hissed, but Maria still stood in place, like if she was waiting for something.

"Are you fucking deaf? OUT!" Roared Katia.

Her hands were shaking when she reached the white, double door.

"Miss?" Asked a male servant who just exited from her room.

"Don't speak to me," hissed Katia, her face angered. He only nodded and left her, being smart enough to not try to engage her into a conversation seeing her furious state.

Katia turned on the TV and slumped into sofa. She spent some time jumping from one channel to another, but there was nothing interesting.

_What a useless box!_

She left a music channel and just sat, lost in thought. Suddenly Hermione came into her mind.

They never spoke about personal matters of any kind. There was always an exchange; knowledge for knowledge. Surely the girl was disappointed with her lack of magic, probably expecting Katia to be good at everything like her but it didn't work.

Katia wasn't exceptionally good in other subjects, like Herbology or History of Magic. She liked Potions and had to work hard on spells. That was enough for her.

Funny. Even if she tried to think of Hermione, all her thought were school subjects. She couldn't tell much about the muggleborn except that she was smart and a bookworm. And nice.

Was it friendship? No, it was _something_, but nowhere near close to being real friends.

Whatever.

Her thoughts then drifted to another. She had to keep a watchful eye on Harry Potter.

Her father suspected that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named may be living in the boy's body. More like co-existing. Were it someone else to have this kind of suspicions, she would laugh out loud, but her father could be right in this case.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when a warm voice whispered her name.

Wulfrick chuckled at her reaction and patted the only available place on the sofa.

"May I join you?"

She moved a little to give him more space.

"Of course father, sit down."

His face, lit by a blue light coming from TV, was full of worry lines.

"I came to apologize, honey. I shouldn't act so harshly towards you," he said in a tone full of regret.

Katia shook her head and took his hand in both her hands. "I know that you were worried and we both react with anger when we're upset."

"You took it out on poor Maria. I heard you and I'm not pleased with your choice of words."

It was hard to tell it he was disappointed or amused. She voted for the second.

"It wouldn't be like that if she left while I told her so, instead she was standing like a cow in a dike." Wulfrick laughed at the seriousness in her voice.

"Try to restrain yourself next time, Katia. They are servants, not training sacks"

His face grew serious after that, as if he was considering something. Katia turned to him, sitting cross-legged.

"There is a matter I need to discuss with you."

"Of course," agreed Katia.

After a long pause, he continued.

"You may believe that Albus likes you, but the truth is, he doesn't have any kind of feelings towards you. He treats you well because he wants to fall into my good graces. As much as I'm ashamed to admit it, I also play this game. I want you to behave good and polite, because I want him to think better about me."

He looked like he was weighing words before he spoke again.

"You are my daughter, and he sees me in you. He doesn't know about your true heritage and he never will. We talked a lot the day I came to take you for Christmas break. He knows why are you there. He knew that before the holidays and that's why he agreed to accept you as a student. He must protect you and it must stay in secret. You must do everything to stay as ordinary as you can. Don't risk everything with your foolish actions."

"I know that they were foolish, father. I was just curious, speaking of my little sightseeing. If you mean that Parkinson girl, I was in a new place and she was getting on my nerves."

"You've learned for years how to control yourself and yet it's just slipping away more and more..."

"I know and I regret it. Father, I wanted to tell you something. I found a skin of something and I want you to send it to someone who can identify the creature. I want to know what it was."

"It can be arranged."

"You wanted me to tell you about Harry Potter. I saw him when the retard made a big dueling freak show. He speaks parseltongue, and he has made a Polyjuice potion."

"Albus told me about the snake's speech. It confirmed some of my suspicions concerning the boy, but we should wait till he makes a move."

"They should box him immediately. The Boy-Who-Lived may be someone else," she said coldly

"What if he's innocent? Have you ever considered this possibility, Katia?"

"Honestly? I don't care if he's guilty or not. He may be a modified version of You-Know-Who and I would prefer to prevent things from happening, than to sit and cry afterwards."

"And if you were in his place? Do you have no compassion?" He felt strange after hearing these words. Did he make a mistake during these years when he raised her?

"I am not and he'll never be in mine. I don't give a damn if someone who could possibly be a threat was upset because I did everything to avoid the worst scenario. I love my life and I think that I am not the only one. "

Wulfrick sighed.

"Katia, I thought and thought about your further education here in Bulgaria and I'm not sure-"

She interrupted him, before he had a chance to finish.

"Please, father you can't change your mind now!" she said flabbergasted.

"You are driven by revenge, Katia, and you are still so young," he tried to reason. Inside, he was torn, not really knowing which option was worse.

"I am more mature than you think. Not just because my childhood was as you know, but also because I've learned from you. I was surrounded by people who do this, I have Irina!"

"And Irina is vulgar. She has been a bad influence on you!"

"It might be revenge, it could, but it's not only like that. I want the children who live right now to not have memories like mine," She was getting desperate, trying to create arguments that would convince her father.

"I want to change something, I want to help. I am useless with a wand, what can I do against them? Martial arts can give me seconds in crucial moments but I can't fight against the wand with my bare hands! "

She sank on her knees, putting her hands on his lap.

"I want to mean something, I want to be _somebody_!" she cried.

He looked at her kneeling form, feeling that his heart was breaking in that very moment.

He had chosen her future the moment he learned that she bears a curse, but now he had second thoughts. How could he condemn this child for a fate like this? Was his thinking exactly like Albus's?

Using her time-turner like she was supposed to do, she'll be of age by the end of the third year and her Adept training will be finished and she would be mark at the base of her neck. Veronica would teach her how to choose robes and Irina would help with make-up and hair.

She would be a fully trained seductress, craving with every fiber of her being to be violated. And what then? She'd be sold to that sadist Malfoy? He shuddered at the thought, cursing himself at the same time when he felt a familiar tingling at the prospect of being subjected to Malfoy's ministrations.

"I beg you, father!" She burst out, taking his silence as a refusal, "I swear on Rasputin, on God, on my soul that I will do everything to bring the people who used to be Death Eaters down. I'll pass Delorge, I've worked hard on it."

Tears were streaming down her cheeks and she couldn't stop them, "What can I do otherwise? Sit and wait? It will destroy me, the mere thought that they're walking around as if nothing happened after they murdered my parents and many other good people. It's _eating me alive_!"

"Listen to me Katia, please. I know that you will give everything you can, but I _do_ have second thoughts. I don't want to destroy your life by letting you finish your education here and become a plaything. Maybe I'm realizing it too late, but I was blinded with my idealistic plans. I wasn't thinking clearly on what I should do."

He lifted her chin to look her in the eyes.

"Look at me! What has this lead me to?"

Katia smiled through tears, her voice was shaking, but no one would doubt that she admired the man sitting opposite.

"You are a respected, wealthy, noble man with a great influences and you can look at you reflection and honestly say: I did everything I could to help defeat He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. You gave me a happy childhood full of acceptance and love, father. You helped me fight my demons. "

He sighed. The girl could do wonders to his self-loathing, but she wasn't able to understand what he was trying to say.

"You are right, but only partially. It also led me to be a pathetic excuse of a man who was too proud and blinded with his own greatness to realize his mistakes towards the person he cares for the most.

He looked into her tearful eyes and continued.

"We share the same trait, Katia. We tend to get obsessed about things and people and it often leads us to complete misery. If I let you-" he hesitated, "If I let you continue, it's as if I pushed the hatchling out of the nest and watched it crash against the hard ground."

She shook her head violently. "If you forbid me this education father, I'll go to them anyway. You won't keep me here like a prisoner. And maybe I am a hatchling, but I'll learn how to fly _before_ I reach the ground."

He was defeated and Katia was right; she would do it anyway, she was stubborn. Nevertheless, without the things she should know _before_, without the knowledge she needed to survive, without the Adept training it would be suicide. He sighed.

"You have an exam with Aine Delorge tomorrow."

* * *

Severus Snape was sitting in his quarters, facing the fireplace. It's not like he had nowhere to go, but there was nothing for him at Spinner's End. Not that there was much here. He took care of building his reputation as unapproachable and unsocial and to be left alone. He didn't need pity from his colleagues or (Merlin, forbid!) his students.

His long, bony fingers were holding a copy of Potions Monthly, and he was looking at the same page for half an hour, not reading it.

He was thinking about Lily again. It would creep up on him like a rising tide. A little, happy detail, leaving a bittersweet feeling then to the thought that what happened was irreversible. It was a mixture of bliss and misery. Sometimes his pain was so intense that he felt it was ripping his soul apart, but he could never ever make the choice to get rid of these memories, to get rid of her. It was his obsession, his favorite way to torment himself.

Knock, knock, knock!

He reluctantly stood up, cursing the one who dared to interrupt his peace. To his utter misery, there was the blonde head of Lockhart.

"Oh, Severus!" He exclaimed and Severus fought the impulse to slam the door straight into his pompously smiling face.

"How good to see you!"

Snape arched an elegant, black eyebrow, trying to figure out _what_ he could want this time…

"I was wondering if you wished to assist me with the next dueling club, becau-"

"No," Severus did not restrain himself this time.

* * *

"Katia, look at you! You're so tall!"

She was locked in a suffocating embrace and was being lifted from the floor.

"Irina, you'll break my ribs, let me go!" She squeaked, but inside she was happy that her friend, Irina Saburova missed her so much.

"How are you Katia? Ready for some girl talk?" she asked and smiled. Irina was a stunning beauty to Katia. With her blue eyes, thick, long blonde hair, heart shaped face and plump lips she was a typical Russian beauty.

She was curvaceous in all the right places or plump, depending on one's tastes. Her creamy complexion made her look very Slavic. Katia envied her looks, having rather small breasts and bum.

"So tell me, how is it there?" Asked the blonde.

"I've made a friend," said Katia, smiling.

"Is he tall, mysterious and handsome?" asked Irina, grinning.

"No, he's old, bitter, and drinks too much. He's the school caretaker and everyone hates him."

"Who are you and what have you done with Katia Ivanov?" Joked Irina, being puzzled.

Katia smiled, pushing her too long forelock out of her eyes.

"Seriously, Irina, it is weird that I even talk with him. I don't understand it myself."

"Neither can I. You're Ivanov, you are the first to show servants who's the boss. Where's the catch?"

"The problem is, that there's none. I was devastated after overhearing what teachers think about me. They tried to convince my head of the house that I should go back to Bulgaria. I met Mr. Filch and- you won't believe it – I told him how I felt and he invited me for a cup of tea and said that it would be fine. And it was," Katia started tapping her lower lip, wondering about what she said.

"It's quite obvious that he would comfort you. You are superior to him," said Irina with the tone meaning that it was _the most _obvious thing in the world.

"Irina, in Hogwarts we are all equal, and the student body is inferior to everyone. Besides, he's not a bleeding heart. I think that under normal circumstances he would give me a detention, being nasty as hell. It was after the curfew already, so I broke the rule, and he loves to punish the misbehavers."

"Maybe he has a thing for you, you know," she winked and slid her hands around her large breasts.

"No, he doesn't, you fucking pervert," she said in a mock – angry tone.

"Then make him want you. You'll need his support to sneak out when you'll be an Adept," she frowned a little, seeing Katia's defiance.

"You have to do your job and don't get used too much," added Irina.

Katia sighed, Irina was such a bread head when it came to men, and she filled Katia's head with her folk wisdom as often as she could.

It required a long absence for Katia to look differently at her friend, but it didn't mean that Katia wouldn't take her words to heart. She spent most of her life with Irina and she wasn't a piece of rock to not be influenced by the girl. She shared her father's point of view.

"Remember," the blonde continued, "Every man is a pig and has a weak spot and you can find it and use it. Make them listen to you, make them want you. As many of them as you can. It always pays to have a wealthy or influential or both man at your beck and call. You don't need to fuck them, but it won't do any harm to have the ones who want to"

Reluctantly Katia had to hand it to Irina. She was right, but the thought of Filch being after her? No way.

"I have Delorge tomorrow," she changed the subject.

"Great! Have you chosen your initiatée yet?"

Initiatée was a variation from word fiancée and meant the first to encounter as an Adept.

"I thought about Lucius Malfoy," she said, thinking about that day in _Flourish and Blotts_.

Irina clasped her hands, her smile wide.

"Excellent choice! Don't you fucking," she just loved that word, "dare to change it, because I've dealt with him already and for cursed ones like us he is all honey and sugar!"

If she said that, who was Katia to disagree? Irina was six years older, a cursed one and a very good Adept.

* * *

Katia entered the Ballroom in Bulgarian's Nightfall – the House of Night that belonged to her father. Aine Delorge, her most dreaded professor was already there. Katia shuddered inwardly under Delorge's hateful glare. The woman was never a pleasant person, but Katia gave her a strong reason to be insulted and mocked and failed if she dared to make a tiny mistake.

The worst was that her father forced her to face the consequences of her stupid, childish mistake. The memory resurfaced, unwanted as hell.

"_You enter the room, feet one after another in a straight line. Chin up, back straight, butt back, breasts forward, stomach flat," a thin, fragile looking woman in her late years shook her head.  
_

"_How many times you plan to fail an exercise? THIS is what you call graceful? You move like an elephant in a porcelain shop." _

_Nine years old Katia tried to follow every instruction but her muscles ached and she had enough already._

"_You almost tripped, for Rasputin's sake! Again!" Yelled Delorge._

_  
Katia sighed and started the exercise again. She felt tears forming in her eyes, but she waited for them to pass, taking deep breaths. _

_  
She followed instructions and after ten steps she was in the middle of  
the room._

_  
"Now look at my knees, do not dare to look higher. Back straight, you stand on the tip-toes,"_

_  
Delorge circled Katia and kicked her foot._

_  
"Feet in a line, child! Now you slowly descend, still on toes. With one, fluid movement you move the balance from tip of your toes to the knees."  
_

_THUMP!_

_  
Katia's knees painfully made contact with the wooden floor._

_  
"You are hopeless," said the professor and leaned down to look into girls eyes. _

_  
"Your crocodile tears earned you an hour of jogging tomorrow after Krav Maga. Get up."_

_  
Katia obeyed and stood with her head bowed, shaking with anger._

_  
"Do you know," continued Delorge, "that Irina passed this long ago at your age? And look at you! You cannot perform the simplest task! Again, now!"  
_

"_Can I try to do only the descending part?" Asked Katia, forcing herself to be calm with all her might._

_  
Aine Delorge smiled, but it was a cold, cruel smile._

_  
"What do you think? You enter the room, feet one after another in a straight line. Move, NOW!"_

_Katia fell on her knees in the same moment as previously. She could see Delorge's cruel smile as she said "Again."_

"_No," whispered Katia._

"_What!?" Asked the older woman, looking at her with a mixture of puzzlement and mockery._

"_I know why your child died," said Katia, tears of pain streaming down her cheeks "you exercised him to death, you cruel bitch!"_

_With that she run out of the room as fast as her sore knees let her._

She took a deep breath to calm herself. She failed this exam in the summer. She trained for five months to try again. It was her third exam with Delorge and she never made it the first time, she would always repeated it.

Aine scowled seeing the insolent girl. She was very tall for her age, with almost no sings of womanly curves, too broad shoulders with all her hair combed into a ponytail.

Katia saw another professor, a woman she had seen only in corridors. She was teaching the Art of Seduction, which Katia hadn't started learning yet.

"Well, Ivanov," started Delorge with cold, unpleasant voice "Show us how you improved since your last failure."

Katia barely remembered her performance; as if she did all the moves she practiced in Filch's rooms, in a trance. She managed to descend on her knees with one fluid movement and concentrated on keeping balanced.

She focused on breathing calmly when she was finished.

Delorge cocked her head and whispered something to the other professor. Then she spoke aloud.

"As even the most lowly of God's creatures can express his grace, you've passed with five point five of ten points. It's the lowest positive grade, because you still have something in common with an elephant, though a thinner one than last time."

"Thank you," said Katia, looking at her feet.

"Now get out of my sight, because I don't want to look at this disturbing display of graceful movement a minute longer."

* * *

A/N: I promise that I'll try to update more frequently. Don't bite me :)


	10. Cabal part I

**Chapter 10 ****– Cabal **

**Part I**

The Hogwarts Express was quite crowded, despite the fact that some students had stayed at Hogwarts during Christmas break.

"Davay v tchortu matcheru!" swore Katia under her breath, struggling with a heavy trunk.

"Blatz yego matz Irina, shto ti tam nautikala!" she cursed, already regretting that she agreed to go shopping in London with Irina.

"Let me help you," she heard a voice behind her. It was Neville Longbottom, who took the trunk and pushed it to a nearby compartment.

"Thanks, Neville," she smiled "Always there to help a lady in need," she joked, patting his arm.

"Merlin, girl! What did you put in here? Rocks?" He asked, breathing hard, trying to put the heavy thing on the shelf. The train pulled sharply and Neville lost his balance.

He landed on Katia, squashing her into the glass door and dropped the trunk with a loud thud. Its lid burst open in the process, breaking the window. The shattered glass landed on the two occupants of the compartment.

"Mmmphf!" wheezed Katia. Neville finally regained his composure and got off her.

"My things! They're…Everywhere! Do something!" she screeched, smacking a sheepishly blushing Neville in the arm.

* * *

"Greengrass, choose, because it's pointless right now," said Blaise, irritated.

Daphne smirked and moved a little closer. "Oh really? And what's in it for me?" She asked wryly.

Pansy, who was mostly listening up to this point, frowned. "Are you one of us or not? Because _she_ is NOT. Oh come on, Daphne!"

"All right, listen," said Blaise, trying to get the attention back, "She's a disgrace to Slytherin, she hit me, she's barely a witch," he stopped, hearing a loud, scrapping noise.

He lifted the curtain a little to see the Ivanov girl pulling a half opened trunk and the idiot Longbottom pushing it.

"Need I say more?" He whispered, pointing at the two with his elegant, dark finger. "She's befriended Neville 'Gryffindor Pussy' Longbottom!"

Pansy's face reddened with anger as she voiced her opinion. "She has no loyalty to our house. Besides, she's violent and ugly."

"And she's called you a fat cow," said Blaise glancing at Millicent Bulstrode.

"Do what you want, I'm out of it," said Daphne, shrugging. Her smirk returned as she turned to the handsome, black boy. "Just don't lie, Blaise. It doesn't suit you."

He wanted to continue his point, but a loud stamp made him jump in his seat. "_What_ did she call me? A _cow_!?" shrieked Millicent, who just got what Zabini said.

"That's right!" Exclaimed Pansy. "She said that you're a big cow," she continued slyly. The truth was that _she_ had called Millicent a cow, but did it really matter?

Daphne just shook her head and looked through the window.

"We should hex her to the next term!" said Millicent, angered.

She was upset because this rude remark actually hit the mark. Millicent wanted to be petite and fragile, like a delicate flower, but unfortunately, none of these adjectives could describe her build. She hugged her black cat causing it to hiss under the pressure.

"Hexing her would be too obvious," said Blaise, like a professional, "We must embarrass her and make her feel inferior to us."

"Yes, she thinks that she's better then us. We need to knock her down a peg or two," said Pansy enthusiastically.

"Maybe a Babbling Beverage? During Transfiguration?" Proposed Blaise, thinking out loud.

"Or we can splash her butt with a Swelling Solution? It would get as big as a hippogriff's," said Pansy slyly, grinning.

"We have some time," he seemed to consider something, "The timing must be right. During Valentines day. There entire student body will be there. We'll figure out something for then."

* * *

"I really didn't mean to-" began Longbottom for the umpteenth time.

"Oh stop it, Neville. It wasn't your fault," assured Katia while repacking her things.

Her first instinct hadn't failed her. Neville really was a nice guy and she liked him. Not that he would be her type, but she regretted the fact, that in her thoughts she referred to him as "Gryffindor pussy". It wasn't entirely her fault. The whole of Slytherin called him that and it became more of habit. She felt terrible, being one of them. Even if she had never said it aloud, she still thought it.

Nevertheless, he deserved to be called Neville, and she had a strong resolve to do so.

As she repacked more of her clothes, her fingers curled around a woolen scarf. It had gotten mixed in by mistake, she realized, astonished. Irina had bought it for her new boyfriend. She handed it to Neville.

"That's for you," she said, smiling.

Neville eyed it carefully. It was a beautiful black scarf with complicated, gold patterns. It looked very expensive.

"I-I… Katia I can't take it."

Her smile grew wider.

"Consider it a token for your help. Besides, it'll look good on you," taking advantage of his temporary hesitation, she pushed it into his hands.

Honestly, Neville always wanted something luxurious, but his Granny would never buy him something so trivial, or so expensive. He felt bad because he really wanted to help Katia in the beginning. They ended up running from the compartment, with glass in their hair and Katia's trunk in tow. Fortunately, only a pair of jeans flew out the window.

He wanted to apologize, explain that it was an accident, but Katia ushered him out, saying it would be better to tell nobody.

"Thanks, Katia," he said finally.

She playfully punched his arm "Why so long a face? Try it on, silly!"

At least he hoped that it was playful. She was kind of strong.

* * *

Katia was the first friendly face he saw for two weeks. Crabbe and Goyle were familiar, pig like faces, not intelligent ones.

"Hello honey, miss me?" She asked jokingly. What she did not expect was a the fact that he really did miss a decent conversation.

"Actually, yes," said Draco in a similar tone and enveloped her in a firm hug.

"Ow!" she hissed, when his arm brushed around her neck.

The day before she had received her first portion of magic ink. It was a tiny thing right now, but the skin was swollen and sore anyway.

She felt incredibly proud of herself. Even if her future mark looked like a cat's scratch right now, it was there already. A little pink and green stains, a reason to her pride and joy.

Draco let go of her, but not before he noticed that she was thinner than before.

"Why do your wear these potato sacks, Katia? You're not so fat, really."

"I feel comfortable in them, I like it this way," she shrugged. "Anything exciting happened during my absence?"

* * *

Neville hummed happily as he reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. He had the scarf wrapped around his neck and had no desire to take it off. He wondered if someone would notice.

"Hogsmeade," he said and the portrait moved away. The common room was empty, but he met his friends in the boys' dormitory.

"Hello," he said and they lifted their heads to see him.

"Hi," greeted Harry and Ron.

Ron immediately noticed the black – golden scarf. It was in the Daily Prophet, described as one of the "best Christmas presents for your boyfriend." He felt a sting of jealousy and couldn't help it. He always had hand-me-down clothes and Malfoy's rude remarks did nothing to help his self-confidence or lack there of. He wasn't angry at Neville, it just wasn't fair!

"Neville, has your Granny robbed a bank or you have a secret admirer?" He asked, pointing at the scarf.

"You're referring to this?" Asked Neville, stroking the soft wool. "Actually Katia Ivanov gave it to me."

Ron expression changed to puzzled. Why would she give Neville such a thing?

"Are you sure it's not cursed? You know, some dark magic involved."

Neville looked at him disbelievingly. Katia wasn't the type who could do such a thing, was she?

"Oh come on," continued Ron, "she's a Slytherin and they do things for a reason."

"I, uh, sort of- helped her with her trunk, and she said that it was a way to say thank you"

He wanted to say how it really was, with broken glass and all, but Katia told him to forget about it and maybe… maybe it was her way of asking him for silence? If yes, than it was a fair exchange in his opinion.

Harry frowned a little and put his hand on Ron's arm.

"Ron, let it go. Can't you see he's happy? Let him be." Then he turned to Neville. "I really like the scarf, you know? It looks nice on you. I'm sure that Malfoy will be jealous as hell."

Neville's concerned face lit after this. "You really think that Harry?"

"Of course, mate. I wouldn't lie to you."

And Harry didn't lie to his friend. Ron indeed let go, but it was hard for him.

* * *

Hermione was sick of being in the hospital wing. She was alone for the better part of the day and the most depressing thing was that tomorrow classes would start and she would be stuck there, without an opportunity to attend.

"Please, Madam Pomfrey, I know what it's like, to be here alone all the time."

She recognized Katia's Russian accent. "It depends on if Miss Granger has a wish to see you."

Hermione was desperate to see people. Besides Katia wasn't the gossiping type.

"I wouldn't mind a visitor, Madam," she said and lifted herself to a sitting position.

"Hello, Hermione," greeted Katia, smiling. "I thought that you might be lonely here, because you know, I've spent some time here myself when I had pneumonia."

Her hands were behind her back and Hermione was almost sure that the girl was hiding something there.

"Actually Ron and Harry visit me in the evenings, but most of the day…yes I feel rather lonely."

"I thought, that maybe a book would keep you company. I'm sure that most people brought you a book, but-" she took a breath. "The hell with that, it's for you" she handed her a book with an elegant cover.

_Twelve uses of dragon blood by Albus Dumbledore, _read Hermione and her eyes widened.

"Oh my, Katia! Thank you but I have nothing for you…"

Katia took a seat on the nearby chair.

"It's my gratitude for your help throughout the whole semester," she leaned closer and whispered "Professor McGonagall thinks that it was her tutoring, but she's wrong. _You_ helped me, Hermione."

She was positively surprised with Katia. She did not help her because she wanted gifts of appreciation, but because Katia was so keen on learning.

The Bulgarian girl was different today. She was smiling more than usual and she could see that this smile was also dancing in her eyes. Seems that she really had a good time at home.

* * *

Few days after classes had begun, Pansy had a brilliant idea.

"You know what," she started, "I think I know what will humiliate her completely."

They had just left the Transfiguration classroom and were heading to lunch. Blaise took her and Millicent to an empty corridor and they talked with hushed voices.

Pansy waited for their reaction with an expression like that of a fox who just caught a fat hen.

"And what is that? A potion that makes the drinker fart like crazy?" Asked Millicent, curious.

"It would be a great idea, but _I think_ that slipping her a love potion in front of Lockhart would be ten times better," replied Pansy smugly.

"Those are good ideas girls, but there are two things," said Blaise. "First we need to have a love potion and none of us are capable of brewing it, besides it's forbidden and we can't buy it legally. Second, how would we slip it to her?"

"Maybe we could do it during DADA lessons?" asked Millicent.

Pansy frowned and then it hit her.

"Do you remember what Lockhart said about Valentines day?"

Blaise smiled. "We can do it in the front of the whole school. She would be sitting, facing the teachers, and if she happens to look at one of them, she'll be in love-"

Pansy interrupted him

"With the first person she sees, even-" this time it was Blaise's turn to interrupt.

"And no one will know, because we'll do it when all attention is elsewhere. No one will suspect _us_."

"But how you will get the love potion?" Asked Millicent.

Pansy rolled her eyes. This girl was as thick headed as a brick. "I'll owl my mum, of course, and tell her that I want to give a love potion to the rich, handsome boy I fancy."

"You better practice swapping glasses during meals, Blaise," said Millicent.

"Why me?" Asked Zabini.

"Because I would be too obvious," said Pansy. "And Millicent who sits closer, is too clumsy"

"Hey!" Protested Bulstrode.

"Calm down, Millicent," assured Blaise. "You had a good idea with those glasses."

* * *

Ron never had any friendly feelings towards Ivanov, especially since he found out that she spends afternoons with Hermione in the library. He was full of suspicions and jealousy since he noticed the black scarf, but now… Now he disliked her as much as Malfoy.

She was a friend of Malfoy's and she gave a present to Hermione. If that wasn't enough, she tried to botch up their friendship, visiting Hermione and doing it alone. When he and Harry weren't present. Merlin knows how she could poison Hermione's mind with her Slytherin theories and this sense of superiority.

Unfortunately, Ivanov seemed oblivious to his hateful glares. She never noticed when he burned holes in her back, wishing something bad for her.

Potions were particularly difficult without Hermione and Ivanov showing off. It didn't help his irritation.

His own wand was broken and he could never owl his mother to buy him a new one.

Besides Percy infuriated him to no end. He was like Slytherin, keeping his nose high in the air.

"Stop it and tell me what to do next," said Harry, breaking Ron out of his thoughts. "Come on mate, I'll never finish it in time without your help."

He sighed and opened the book on the proper page. It wouldn't be good if Snape targeted them _again_ with his snarky remarks. He liked Harry and had no wish to cause him problems. Or himself of course.

One embarrassing Howler for a year was enough.

* * *

Katia felt as though some burden had been lifted off her shoulders. There was nothing but time and hard work between her and her initiation as an Adept.

She spent the afternoons after her classes with Hermione in the hospital wing and evenings with Draco in the Slytherin common room. Using her Time - Turner she trained hard, to be ready for the next exam with Aine Delorge in July and the Art of Seduction exam in September.

She practiced Graceful Movements under the watchful eye of Mr. Filch and she found an unused classroom to practice seducing. Having no one to train on, she brought a mirror and spent long hours talking to it in trained poses and expressions.

It was tiring sometimes, but Katia had the determination to become the best Adept.

They say "if you want to be the best in anything, you must put your sweat and blood into it". At least that's what her father always told her.

Her good mood after a training session seemed to affect Mr. Filch as they often laughed together and it became rare when he was upset about Mrs. Norris. It was a shame that they couldn't think of nothing constructive concerning Polyjuice potion.

She couldn't tell anyone that, by using the Time - Turner quickened her aging and the curse grew stronger each day. Morning exercises and hitting walls were not enough and only her will kept her problem hidden.

The day after Hermione was released from the Hospital, Katia mastered a particularly hard swirl with her hips. She stayed longer in Mr. Filch's office and reached the library just before closing.

She took a book of Transfiguration to do an essay for the next week and headed towards the Slytherin common room. She almost bumped into Millicent, she was so lost in thought and happy inside of her next successful achievement.

Bulstrode seemed to be going in the opposite direction. It was strange because it was almost curfew.

"Stop," said Millicent while Katia tried to pass her.

"Is it urgent?" Asked Katia with a playful smirk on her lips. Nothing could spoil her good mood.

"As a matter of fact it is," said Millicent darkly. Katia was used to the fact that the big girl wasn't the happiest person ever.

"Yes?" She smiled and adjusted her bag.

Bang!

A well-aimed punch landed straight into Katia's face. She bent down, feeling blinding pain and covered her face with her palm. "Whaa-" she tried to say but Millicent grabbed her neck and slammed Katia, head first, against the stone wall.

END OF PART ONE

* * *

A/N:If anyone wonders how Katia looks like here you can see her:

http : // img41 . yfrog . com / img41 / 1848 / contemplatingkatia . png (remove spaces)

Katia punched by Millicent: http : // img97 . yfrog . com / img97 / 6927 / waylaid . png (remove spaces)

The model is my dear friend known as Devil Yoko.

* * *

**CABAL**

Word meaning secret clique or conspiracy, given to Charles II's administration of 1671-3. The ministers, whose initials formed the word cabal, each had different objectives. Lord **C**lifford, who climbed from being a Devon squire to become lord treasurer, became a catholic and advocated war to seize Dutch commercial wealth. **A**rlington, a courtier and careerist, tried to implement what he interpreted as Charles's wishes. **B**uckingham wanted to become chief minister: he affected popularity and favoured religious toleration. Lord **A**shley, advanced to be earl of Shaftesbury, also advocated toleration. The cynical **L**auderdale governed Scotland. The cabal disintegrated 1673: Clifford died, Buckingham and Shaftesbury went into opposition.

* * *

Some problematic words:

Davay v tchortu matcheru!- Come on, the hell!

Blatz yego matz Irina, shto ti tam nautikala – Oh fuck, what did you put In there Irina?

I want to thank you my wonderful beta reader, Cat Paws. I know that you're very busy and you still find some time to help me! :)

Thanks for reading, reviews are very much appreciated, as always ^^ I would like to know if it was interesting. Oh and maybe there is a character you would like to see here but he/she had no screen time yet?

Merry Christmas folks :)


	11. Cabal part II

**Chapter 11 – Cabal **

**Part II**

"Where is your superiority now, Ivanov?" asked Millicent, furious.

Katia's vision darkened and she started seeing stars. She never ever suspected this to happen. If she did, her martial arts training would give her an advantage against Bulstrode's obvious strength. Now she could do nothing but protect her bloodied nose. The curse hummed along with the blood in her ears and it added to Katia's weakness.

"I- we can talk of-"

Millicent grabbed her hair and kicked Katia in her unprotected stomach.

"Now you want to talk, huh?" She took a fistful of Katia's hair and next aimed to punch her bloodied face.

"Listen, stop it!" Ordered Katia, hoping that harsh tone would work on distracting the girl.

"Let her go right now Miss Bulstrode," said a cold voice right behind Millicent and it made her freeze.

She let go of Katia who leaned against the nearby wall, still holding her face.

"She-" tried to reason Millicent, bewildered, but Snape stopped her lifting his hand.

"I don't want to listen to your silly excuses, Miss Bulstrode. You will go to your dormitory right now, and will have a detention with me tomorrow at 7 pm".

Katia could swear that a few heads ducked inside just before Millicent went in.

"Miss Ivanov, are you able to walk on your own?" Asked Snape, seeing that she was leaning against the wall, panting heavily.

"Yes sir, why wouldn't I?" She asked wearily and with a little hint of sarcasm.

"You will go with me to the hospital wing," he replied as if he did not get what she said.

Their way seemed shorter somehow, but Katia did not pay attention to shortcuts she was lead through. She was concentrated on walking. Neither did she notice Argus Filch, who was stalking behind an armor, alarmed with her loud steps.

"When I said to not provoke fights, Miss Ivanov," said Snape after a good fifteen minutes of walking "I never forbid you to fight back."

Katia would have snorted if not her bloodied, sore nose. It was probably broken into tiny pieces. Of course she would fight back, if she hadn't been taken by such surprise. She didn't voice her thoughts however and finally they passed through the familiar double doors.

"Oh dear," said Poppy Pomfrey sleepily. "Let me see your face, child."

Madam Pomfrey made some complicated movements with her wand, but to Katia it was all the same. She should be grateful for this even. The curse retreated, leaving her in a numb state of "whatever".

When the school nurse applied salves and potions on her face, she just slumped on the bed boneless and slept there until the next day.

* * *

"You're so stupid sometimes, Bulstrode," said Blaise, irritated.

"What do you want from me?" Exploded Millicent, "You have a wish to look like Ivanov?"

Pansy stood between Zabini and Bulstrode. She put on her sweetest smile and turned a pleading gaze towards Millicent.

"Don't get him wrong, but you were supposed to turn her face into a tomato during Valentines day, not before. You wasted a chance to make her completely humiliated. You are playing against us by doing things on your own."

"You think that you're so smart, both of you, huh?" Asked Millicent.

She was angry because she did her job and they called her stupid. And she had detention with Snape. Dear Merlin, she was angry with them.

"If you listened to us, everything would be fine and you wouldn't have to deal with Snape tomorrow. It's your fault," said Blaise.

"I know perfectly well what I have tomorrow, and it's your fault," she poked him in the chest "Your and hers!"

"My, my," said Blaise, mimicking Draco perfectly, "are you with us or not Millicent?"

What other option did she have? Taking a deep breath, she mumbled, "I'm with you."

* * *

Katia was excused from classes after the eventful night. She spent most of the day in the library, looking at text but not reading it. She couldn't figure out the reason behind the late attack on her person and didn't know how to proceed further.

Avoiding her whole house wasn't an option out of this.

She visited Mr. Filch later that afternoon. He almost immediately asked about the night before, confessing that he had seen her walking with Professor Snape.

Katia was puzzled.

"All I can say is that, I really have no idea."

She related the facts precisely. After reviewing the events they both couldn't tell why Bulstrode attacked her.

"I just can't understand this aggression," said Filch. "The girl is kind of slow, but she never used physical violence until now. Are you sure that you didn't do anything to upset her?"

"I can honestly say that I did not."

Katia left earlier than usual, not wanting to repeat yesterday's situation.

* * *

Millicent was really scared by the time she reached Snape's office. His uninviting voice sent shivers of fear through her spine. And it was a solid spine.

Her professor was in one of this horrible moods, she could tell. He was sitting by the desk, fingers on his temples.

"Sir?" She asked with a small voice.

"Miss Bulstrode, you will not have a detention with me. Go to Mr. Filch and if I hear that you disobeyed him, you'll have detention till the end of term. Is that clear enough for you?"

"Yes, sir," she said relieved. It was a blessing that she wouldn't be there with Snape and his bad mood. She went to Filch's office almost happily. But her luck wasn't long-lived.

Filch hadn't said a word besides "Follow me."

She followed him to the second floor where he handed her a rug and a bucket. Almost the entire floor was flooded with water.

"You will clean it dry. I don't care how long it will take, it must be done," said Filch dryly.

Millicent guessed that he was upset because of his cat.

"Have a nice time," he added nastily and went off somewhere almost whistling.

"Wooooooow" screeched a semi-transparent girl with big glasses. "Someone's going to loose a little fat today!"

Millicent decided to ignore a ghost, but it rankled her all night anyway.

She finished with the sunrise.

* * *

Valentine's day was their big day. They got up earlier than usual to be in their places before Ivanov.

"You got it?" Asked Blaise, quickening his pace.

Pansy who almost ran to keep up with his long strides rolled her eyes. "You asked three times, I packed it yesterday and checked just before we left."

"Millicent," he turned to Bulstrode, "if she won't be distracted, elbow her in the ribs, but not too hard."

"I'm not stupid, you don't need to repeat it every single minute!" She said irritated.

Zabini saw Weasley's red hair just before him but wanted to push through anyway. He ended up colliding with the Gryffindor.

"Watch yourself, Weasel," he pushed him roughly against the door frame.

The redhead wanted to say something, but Millicent pushed him as well.

The trio sat at the Slytherin table; Blaise next to Draco, facing the rest of the tables, Millicent right next to Katia's seat, as usual, and Pansy on Draco's left.

Blaise took the bottle from Pansy and added its content to his pumpkin juice.

"Don't turn around, Millicent," warned Pansy.

* * *

Valentines day wasn't any celebration for her. In Bulgaria and Russia it was called an American razzle-dazzle by adults and Katia, who felt more mature - shared their opinion.

The day started rather unfortunate for her, as she found a rude card in her bed:

_I wouldn't know that you were a witch_

_Perhaps there was__ some kind of __a__ switch_

_With a swirl and a swish and the help of the moon_

_Someone __changed a princess into baboon _

_Dressed her __up__ in potato sacks_

_And gave her a wand that only cracks_

_So__ she sits on it with her fat ass_

_Because there is no other use of it in class_

_She may use it in other way__s_

_But it's to__o__ gross to even say_

Now she had another reason to dislike this day. She tore the card into pieces and went for breakfast.

The Great Hall looked horrible with all of the ridiculous decorations. It was a disgrace to the beauty of the old castle and most of the students who entered for breakfast obviously shared the same view.

Ron Weasley was furious at Zabini and Bulstrode. He watched them, waiting for the opportunity to show them an ugly face and his middle finger.

When Harry came, asking what's going on, he only pointed at the teacher's table and resumed glaring at the Slytherins.

The professors were looking as though they were going to throw Lockhart through the nearest closed window any minute.

"Calling him a moron would be an insult to morons," grumbled Snape to McGonagall.

Minerva sighed "Really Severus, he's not even funny."

Almost everyone was looking at dwarfs with golden wings and harps. Almost.

"Look Harry, Zabini changed his glass with Ivanov," said Ron, but it was so fast that Harry hadn't noticed.

"So what," said Harry not turning his eyes from the teacher's table.

Katia was fed up with the atmosphere in the Great Hall and all she wanted was to use the opportunity that everyone was here and go outside. The curse was showing its nasty head and she was tired of restraining it. She needed to deal with it somehow.

She stopped watching the dwarfs and took a few gulps of her pumpkin juice.

Her eyes locked with Draco's the moment she drank from the glass. However, he quickly turned his gaze to the dwarfs.

She felt as though someone had punched her in the stomach. The curse started to boil the blood in her veins.

_No, I can't have an attack in front of everyone! I must get out of here!_

She stood up, feeling pain, spreading through her body.

Katia took two steps and stumbled. She felt as if someone was piercing her temples with needles. She grasped her head with her fingers and froze.

Draco's eyes widened a little as she teetered and fell on her back, eyes rolled inside her skull.

There was a bang heard from the teacher's table. It was Snape, who dropped his fork.

"What's wrong with her?" Asked Pansy, flabbergasted.

"I don't know," whispered a terrified Blaise, as they heard a terrible shriek, which echoed through the Great Hall.

Katia's body shook uncontrollably, almost like an epilepsy attack and her back arched. She was screaming at top of her lungs as she withered on the floor, looking as if someone hit her with the Cruciatus curse.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading :D

Thanks to my beta, Cat Paws - without you it wouldn't be posted!

**manicrose**- you're my 100 reviewer! :)


	12. Condition:Degenerative

**Chapter 12 – Condition: Degenerative**

Everyone turned to see the source of a terrible shriek. Argus Filch, who was standing near the door, rushed to Katia's side. At the same time, Severus Snape left the teacher's table to do the same.

"Who's screaming?" Asked Ginny, who was too short to see around the other students.

"Someone from Slytherin," said Fred.

"Bulgarian girl," said George in the same moment.

Snape was confused. Who would dare to use an Unforgivable Curse in front of everyone. He trained his wand on Ivanov, who continued to scream and convulse on the floor.

"_Finite incantaem!_" He said, but nothing happened.

"Silence!" Said Dumbledore and everyone fell silent except of Katia.

The girl was now surrounded by crowd who waited anxiously for what would happen next.

"Move!" Said Snape and reached to pick up the girl. Suddenly, her right hand clenched around his wrist in an iron grip and he felt like he was burned by liquid fire. He gasped and closed his eyes for a moment as a sensation spread through his body. It wasn't as intense as the first time of contact, but he felt it anyway. It came as a sort of numb pain that originated where her hand made contact with his wrist. When he opened his eyes, Dumbledore was towering over him.

"Mr. Filch, help professor Snape here and take her to the infirmary."

Severus lifted her upper body. It felt like if she weighed a ton. It wasn't unusual, because a human who is resisting seems heavier. Concentrating on not being hit, he missed a sudden intake of breath which came from Filch as he took Katia's legs.

Of course, Snape could have levitate her, but with her limbs flying in all directions she could get hurt.

Madam Pomfrey heard Katia long before she saw her. As soon as the girl was carried in, Poppy began running tests, using her wand.

She silenced the air where the girl was lying, unable to work with those horrible shrieks.

"I have no idea," she said defeated, have run through all the usual test she could think of and even a few unusual. "I can see that the brain activity is minimal, similar to a catatonic state, but the body is reacting violently to something- some kind of stimulant."

Dumbledore, who came seconds after the group, furrowed his brow. "Is she in pain?"

"I think it's quite obvious," snarled Snape under his breath. His thoughts were complicated. The girl's presence affected him greatly in an unpleasant way, but something restrained him from leaving her.

"There is a possibility that she suffers from an unknown disease, or even a curse or was poisoned," said Madam Pomfrey, worried.

She was a good healer, she knew her profession and she could handle almost everything. And yet there is this girl, who can't stop screaming and needed to be restrained, and nothing would work on her.

"Do you suspect another attack, sir?" Asked Filch, looking at Dumbledore.

"It's different from the previous ones, but we can't exclude the possibility."

"But Miss Ivanov is a pure blood," said Snape "And with all due respect, the previous targets of the attacks were muggleborns or half-bloods."

* * *

Ginny Weasley wasn't the last to leave the Great Hall. People talked and whispered about the Bulgarian girl and wondered if it was the next attack of The Heir.

Her thoughts weren't the same. As a matter of fact Ginny felt as though someone had awakened her from a long dream. The strange, magical diary that had been in her possession since the beginning of the school year was a bad thing and now she was fully aware of that fact.

She quickened her pace, heading towards the flooded bathroom on the second floor. She was determined to dispose of the evil, little book.

As she entered the bathroom, the annoying ghost that haunted the place was crying in one of the toilets. Ginny ignored it and threw the diary into said toilet, feeling as if she had thrown away some heavy burden.

She felt free now. She could breathe again.

* * *

Draco Malfoy felt somehow torn. He was a Slytherin and Blaise was his friend, but when Dumbledore announced that Katia's condition was getting worse, he had second thoughts.

Nevertheless, he decided to wait yet. He was curious as hell: what had Blaise slipped into this pumpkin juice? But he never asked. It would be obvious that he had seen.

He dismissed the thought that her condition might be life-threatening. It was easier that way.

He felt an unpleasant shiver run down his spine. The very moment her lips touched the glass, their eyes met. She knew that he knew.

* * *

Ron Weasley had seen the whole incident and he knew very well who was responsible for it. However, he wasn't in any hurry to go and tell what he saw. It was not his business what snakes did to themselves. Besides, he felt no sympathy towards Ivanov; quite the opposite in fact.

His internal battle lasted for a good hour after dinner.

Pacing back and forth in front of the dungeon door, Ron finally raised his had to knock.

"Enter," said Snape, not even trying to rein in the fury in his voice, for he had good reasons to be angry as hell.

He was almost sure that the old Squib knew something, but he kept it to himself. He felt something when that blasted girl caught his wrist. The old drunk must have felt something too when he lifted her legs.

Filch smiled when Severus asked Dumbledore if Ivanov's condition could have an affect on anyone else. He was sure he had seen the smirk on the Squib's face.

He made a fool of himself asking the question, had no idea what to do with the girl and already suffered from a pounding headache that was growing with each passing moment.

Severus lifted his head to see who was disturbing his peace.

_Weasley._ What could this brat possibly want from him?

"Yes?" Asked Severus, expressing all of his irritation in this short question.

"I-uh came here-"

Snape arched an elegant eyebrow. "That's quite obvious. Tell me something I_ don't_ know."

"I think that I-I may possibly know why-Ivanov-may-be-in-this-predicament," he said in one breath.

Snape stood up slowly, giving the impression of a hungry coyote stalking his prey. The redhead took a careful step backwards, regretting that he had made the choice to go there in the first place. He should leave the snakes to themselves!

"And why may that be, Mr. Weasley?"

Ron mustered his Gryffindor courage. He wasn't a coward; he straightened his back daring to look his professor in the eye.

"I saw Zabini switch her glass with his. It could be a poison."

Snape's eyes narrowed. "You dare to suggest that I wouldn't know if she was poisoned? That I wouldn't try a bezoar or anything else which may have helped her?"

"That's not what I said, _sir_. I just wanted to be fair and I'm not lying. I think I'll go now."

He made a careful step towards the door. Snape grabbed his arm, his face twisted into an ugly sneer.

"Are you absolutely sure of what you saw?"

Ron only nodded, wishing that he could just disappear and no longer be in this greasy git's presence. He felt Snape's probing glare, sliding over his face. The grip on him arm loosened and the professor stepped back.

And said something that was so unlike him that it almost seemed unreal.

"Mr. Weasley, you probably saved her life by telling me this. And that's a noble thing."

Ron was in deep shock as he went after the professor leaving the unwelcoming office. They went through damp dungeon corridors in silence and just when their paths lead in opposite directions, he heard Snape's silken voice again.

"Ten points for Gryffindor."

* * *

When Severus arrived in Dumbledore's office, followed by a very terrified Zabini, the Headmaster was seated comfortably in his usual chair, looking very troubled.

Poppy Pomfrey had just left less than five minutes after proclaiming that she can't do anything for Katia and the girl was dying no doubt.

Albus turned his attention to the Potions Master and Blaise Zabini.

"Mr. Zabini," he began, "Could you tell us please, what had you slipped into Miss Ivanov's drink?"

But Blaise was too scared to compose a comprehendible reply, muttering something under his breath instead.

The Potions Master stood waiting and fuming. He turned to Blaise then.

"What. Have. You. Done?" He spat every word, every syllable.

"We-we just wanted to prank her, so-"

"Mr. Zabini, we have no time to stand here all day listen to your mindless blabbering. Answer the question," said Snape, "What was in _that drink_?"

"Love Potion, I swear we did not intend to-"

"You think that I'm a fool and believe that it was a love potion?"

Snape obviously wanted to say more, but the headmaster stopped him. "Now, Severus. The boy might be telling the truth. Are you, Mr. Zabini?"

"Yes, sir," Blaise managed to say without stuttering. "But it wasn't only me!"

"We'll deal with that later," said Dumbledore, the tone of his voice suggesting that the discussion was over for now.

* * *

Somewhere in Bulgaria, in a wealthy manor, the locator clock hand marked "Katia Ivanov" moved to "Danger" then "Mortal Danger" before finally coming to rest on "Death". It hadn't settled itself in the "Death" position just yet, but it was very close.

Wulfrick happened to be passing by it and noticing the locator clock hand, he froze.

Almost at the same time, the fireplace near him roared with green flames and Albus Dumbledore's head appeared in there.

"I'm coming," said Wulfrick before the Headmaster had a chance to speak.

Albus wasn't about to delay their conversation, for the matter was gravely urgent.

"Someone slipped a love potion into Katia's drink," he said. "But it's hard for me to believe that she reacted so badly to a love potion, since she was given all anti poison treatment we could provide."

Wulfrick's face darkened. "It's because she's a cursed one, and the potion may have multiplied the need for release of the curse."

"Which would be receiving a certain amount of physical pain," deduced Dumbledore.

"Exactly."

They wasted no time in heading to the infirmary.

* * *

After ushering out Madam Pomfrey and the caretaker, who had remained there since they had first brought the girl in, Dumbledore took out his wand.

Katia ceased shouting as she was barely breathing, her rasping gasps the only indication that she still lived.

"Are you sure, Wulf?" asked Dumbledore to be certain.

"I am," was the curt reply.

Dumbledore pointed his wand at Katia

"_Crucio_," he whispered.

For a while she laid as motionless as before, but slowly the rigor returned. Her breaths became deeper and more frequent.

"Do you think it's enough?" asked Albus, his brows furrowed.

"It seems to have worked. Now we can only wait," replied Wulfrick, hoping against hope that he was right and the spell wasn't lifted to early or too late.

Albus lowered his wand.

Katia looked as if her tormented body was finally in a state of peaceful sleep. Her breaths became regular and her body seemed relaxed.

Wulfrick sat on the chair which stood near the bed and took Katia's cold hand in his. He didn't turn to see who came in, however after a while the white robes of Poppy Pomfrey came into his vision.

She checked Katia's life signs and her concerned face relaxed a little.

"Whatever you did, it worked," she stated. "If you want to stay with her all night, I will put a screen behind you," she said to Wulfrick. "I'll tell Severus to prepare some potions for her sore, dry throat."

"Thank you madam," he replied, his eyes never leaving Katia.

Dumbledore sat on the chair next to him and they watched girl's sleeping form in silence.

"Does she know?"

"No, Albus. I am not ready to tell her just yet."

He felt warm fingers, curling around his free hand. So long ago they held hands in such a way, still his heart remembered as if it was yesterday. Feelings, which he restrained for many years, resurfaced with impossible strength and he squeezed Albus's hand gently.

It felt as if nothing had changed, but the world had passed through many seasons since their hands clasped in such a manner.

Poppy came to check on Katia not long after midnight to see an unusual sight.

The headmaster was sitting with his head leaned back and mouth open, snoring like a wild bear. His hand was held by Katia's father whose head was on Dumbledore's shoulder. He was also in deep sleep, whistling soundly through his nose.

"Nox," she whispered and closed the door, smiling to herself. Who would have thought?

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading.

Comments, suggestions? Something was out of place? Your opinion is something which help me improve my writing and entertain you better. Thanks everyone who reviewed so far.

I'm not writing for myself, I'm writing for you folks :)

Thanks for beta reading, Cat Paws!


	13. The Misbehaves

**Chapter 13 - The Misbehaves **

At first, she wasn't aware where she was. But, as Katia slowly regained consciousness, she found herself surrounded by the sterile environment of infirmary. Every part of her body was in pain, but somehow, she was still alive and breathing.

Then, she heard footsteps approaching her infirmary room. Katia struggled to open her eyes, finding the lids surprisingly heavy.

The black robed figure of Professor Snape brushed past her bed and she heard him putting glass vials on her nightstand. She wanted to tell him that she was thirsty, but was unable to produce a sound from her dry throat. Any second, he would leave her, thirsty and sore, thinking that she was asleep.

Katia gathered all her strength and caught his hand. He flinched, as though he was expecting her touch to burn.

Katia was obviously trying to say something, but screaming for hours had badly abused her vocal cords.

"Miss Ivanov, something tells me that this is not the end of your problems; it's just the beginning."

Katia would take his words amiss, but the tone of his voice seemed somehow playful; it lacked usual sarcasm, so she smiled.

Snape helped her with vials, and soon, the pain she felt earlier had eased. Three vials later, she dared to clear her throat, finally finding her voice. She couldn't call this rasping her voice, but it was a voice, nonetheless.

Her eyelids became heavy again and she suspected that one of vials contained a Sleeping Draught.

"How do you feel?" Asked the Potions Master.

"I've had better days," she croaked. And then sleep embraced her.

* * *

Severus wanted to be nowhere near the inane girl. But, it was his duty to help her, and he spent some time preparing potions for her.

He was sure that the girl was still sleeping when she suddenly grabbed his hand. He cringed at her touch, expecting the unpleasant and somewhat painful feeling which he had felt last time, but surprisingly, nothing happened. He only felt her thin, trembling hand which barely clenched around his.

He wondered: W_hat had changed_?

That persistent thought wouldn't leave him alone as he sat in the comfortable armchair in his quarters.

Severus tried to be reasonable. It wasn't her fault that her housemates almost killed her. Of course, there was something not right with her and he was eager to investigate it further. But, Katia herself seemed harmless.

The fireplace roared with flames and the white head of Albus Dumbledore appeared in the middle of the inferno.

"Severus, may I have a word?"

* * *

Ron and Harry had been playing Wizard Chess for quite some time. They hadn't found anything new about the Slytherin Monster or Chamber of Secrets since Harry had found and started writing in the diary, and they were anxious.

Ron, however, was distracted somehow. His mind seemed to be wandering, and it took an explosion to jerk him back to reality.

At least that's how it looked for Hermione.

"I can't believe I finally beat you, Ron!" Exclaimed Harry, disbelieving his good luck.

Ron just shrugged. "Seems you're lucky today."

Hermione put down the book she was reading. "Three times in row? Even I can't believe in such luck, Ron," she said knowingly. She glanced around the common room, and seeing that they were alone, spoke again.

"Something is on your mind; you hide it poorly," she sighed, seeing confirmation in Ron's expression.

"We're worried about you," reassured Harry.

"All right, I'll tell you, but- but I don't know how I should feel about it." Ron looked at the chessboard, twisting his fingers nervously.

"It's okay we won't judge you. We're friends, right?" Hermione was curious, but tried to be patient.

Ron looked at them and then averted their eyes. "You know what I think of Ivanov," he said quietly. "But I saw Zabini swap the drinks during breakfast. I told Snape."

Hermione put a reassuring hand on his arm. "You did right thing."

"I wasn't so sure when I went to Snape's office. You wouldn't want to see him like that. It was as if he suspected _me_ of all people." He took a deep breath. "But I told him and he- he awarded ten points to Gryffindor."

Harry seemed to weigh his words and Hermione used this to voice her point.

"You did the right thing. You probably saved her life. I'm sure that _Professor_ Snape found a cure for her." She emphasized the title, correcting him as always, but it was more like a habit for Hermione.

Ron looked at his hands as if they were the most interesting thing in the world. When he spoke his voice was calm and rather quiet. "I just couldn't stand the thought that if I didn't do anything, she would die. No matter how much I dislike her, I _needed_ to do something."

"The attacks stopped," Harry said finally. "Do you see the connection?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "No, we don't Harry. Katia is not able to perform dark magic with her poor abilities," she said as if speaking to children.

"One would never know that," said Harry as he cleared the chessboard so they would be able to play again.

* * *

When Katia woke up again, she found some flowers on her nightstand and a sealed scroll of parchment. She took it carefully with trembling hands. She recognized the seal as Kashpirovsky's and impatiently unrolled the parchment, curious of what analysis he had made. There was only one word, written in steady, Cyrillic script:

Василйск

В. К.

_Oh__. A Basilisk_. She was almost eaten by a freaking basilisk! Thank Rasputin that she had not dared to look it in the eye; she would be in worse condition than the petrified people who were spending their time in the infirmary with her! A kind of irreversible state as a matter of fact.

Her hand still trembled, probably a side effect of the curse attack, as she tore the parchment into tiny pieces. She wasn't going to talk about her recent discovery with anyone. She decided that she will find a way to kill the giant snake herself, and make use of the creature's body parts. It would make a great start of her career in Potions and she wasn't going to share it with anyone.

Her father would most certainly forbid her from doing such experiments and would go straight to Dumbledore with the news, so they won't be informed about the creature. Until it was killed.

If that was even possible.

She wasn't doing anything wrong. After all, the Basilisk wasn't responsible for the writing on the wall.

* * *

Severus did not find this afternoon particularly amusing, as he was almost immediately involved with student issues. More accurate, he found himself again under Minerva's annoyed glare as problem with his Snakes resurfaced, unwanted. Of course Ivanov was on the top of the list even if she was a victim this time.

"I'm only trying to be reasonable, Minerva," said Severus, who was already tired with this conversation.

"Reasonable?" She asked, as if surprised. "Severus, she's brought trouble, and nothing more, since she set her foot on Hogwarts grounds. The attacks-" she trailed off. "Chamber of Secrets which has been closed for fifty years! But since Miss Ivanov has been here, it's miraculously reopened!" She snapped, her eyes narrowing as she looked at Severus.

Minerva was furious, and Severus could see it clearly. She blamed his Slytherins for all the evil of this world.

He shouldn't be surprised; her perspective was the same when he was a student here, why would it change now? She was very thoughtful if it concerned her Gryffindors, of course, but when it came to other houses… He couldn't find her logic sometimes.

Like now.

Dumbledore chuckled and put down a quill he was holding above a yellowed piece of parchment.

"Now Minerva, we have no proof that Miss Ivanov is involved in opening the Chamber."

McGonagall exhaled and joined her fingers together. "My priority is safety of _entire_ student body," she said calmly. "I believe that expulsion of that four students which were involved in such an unfortunate incident can save us from further … complications from their side. As far as the Ministry is concerned, the situation doesn't look appealing. We can't hide what's happening here, even if we wanted to."

She looked at Snape and continued despite his eyebrow raised in disbelief and smirk. "My judgment isn't clouded by my personal likes or dislikes towards these children. I care about _all of them_, not only those who are in my house."

Minerva turned to face the headmaster. "Albus, you know that I'm doing everything I can for the sake of this school, for its students."

"How about Harry Potter?" Asked Snape, his tone slightly amused. "All the evidence is against him since the attacks started. Somehow he was always in the middle of the crime scenes." He raised a hooked eyebrow sceptically.

"Harry Potter is not the subject of our discussion," cut Minerva shortly. "How convenient for you, Severus, to blame the boy and compare him to those- to those _criminals_," she hissed the last word, expressing her great outcry.

"Expelling my Slytherins won't help the matter," retorted Snape smugly. He would tell her what he really thought, as he took everything against the Slytherin house as an attack on himself, but he preferred to have Albus on his side.

McGonagall grew impatient at this.

"Severus, they almost murdered a fellow student. I think that she should join their fate and be expelled too. There is two against you, the Headmaster and I-"

"I never said that I wanted those children to be expelled," interrupted Dumbledore. "They should be punished, of course, but they are so young. We all made mistakes when we were young." The Headmaster spoke quietly. He was sitting at his desk, leaning on his elbows, with his fingers interlocked beneath his chin.

Minerva only nodded at his remark.

"One of those children may be responsible for writing on the wall and the petrified students, Albus. Don't you care about that?"

_Oh dear_, thought Dumbledore. _They won't let me write this letter._

"Of course I care, Minerva. However I believe that our dear caretaker would solve the problem with punishment with the greatest caution. And Miss Ivanov is the victim here, we should remember that and not blame her for the predicament she has found herself in."

* * *

Draco Malfoy could tell that he was really lucky. Not only he wasn't responsible for his house mates' actions but someone else told his godfather about the incident and those who were guilty.

He was sure that during breakfast, while the Great Hall was full of students, there could be anyone who might be looking at Blaise while he swapped the glasses.

Pansy, Millicent and Blaise were looking quite miserable, but Draco did nothing to comfort them, busying himself with his homework and throwing glances in their direction. He was at peace with his conscience – Katia was alive and he did nothing to threaten her life.

The three Slytherins were talking quietly among themselves and no matter how he strained his ears, he couldn't catch a word besides 'Filch'.

Theodore Nott approached them and Draco smirked nastily. Teddy had a particular dislike towards Pansy, and he never bothered to be liked by groups of people.

He said something and Pansy's eyes filled with tears. "It's not true!" She shouted, clenching her fists. "I am not a murderer!"

"We should go for detention, it's time for us," said Blaise, standing up. He caught Pansy by her sleeve and she reluctantly followed, throwing hateful glares towards Theodore, who flashed her a smile that was all teeth; not at all a friendly expression but rather a predatory one.

* * *

She was walking through a hallway, accompanied by a tall, hooded figure.

She, was holding a lantern to illuminate their way. They reached a shifting staircase and waited patiently until it delivered them to an entrance to a dark corridor.

The castle seemed familiar, though there were no portraits on the walls and the bricks looked somehow brighter. The passed many twists and forks, and finally, they were standing before a wooden door.

She leaned down and pushed the wood and something clicked.

"We can continue, Master," she said in a strange, disembodied voice. They were probably in the dungeons, and the ground lowered as they continued their walk.

The corridor seemed endless, as nothing lit the end. They turned left, the lantern swaying slightly, making shadows dance and creating complicated patterns in the ruts on the walls. She ignored the shadows however, concentrating hard to keep her pace with her Master. The anxiety was building inside of her as they slowly reached their destination.

She pushed a brick and a fragment of the wall started shifting, revealing the door. It was almost completely black and she wondered what it was made of. It was ebony most likely, but, on the other hand – it was dark and it could be her imagination.

She bowed her head, her Master brushed past her, then it was her turn to go inside.

Katia opened her eyes wide to find herself in familiar surrounding of Hogwarts infirmary.

"Hello sweetie," said Wulfrick, smiling. "I was so worried about you." He took her hand in his and she closed her eyes, feeling safe and happy.

It was so unrealistic for her to be here, at Hogwarts with her father, that she blinked few times to be sure that she wasn't dreaming anymore.

"It's so nice to see you father," she wanted to squeeze his hand, but found herself weak as a baby. "The last thing I remember before waking up in infirmary was that I had an attack in front of everyone. You have no idea how embarrassed I am," she whispered.

Her voice has not returned fully yet, so she preferred speaking quietly, than like an old drunk after party.

"You just weren't careful enough, Katia. You housemates planned to slip you a love potion. And you failed to notice when they did," he explained.

"Pansy Parkinson?"

"Accompanied by Zabini and Bulstrode," he added, rubbing circles on her palm with his thumb. "Do you feel any presence of the… _occurring event_?"

Katia's shoulders shook with restrained laugh. Her father named the curse in similar way as the wizarding world did with Voldemort. He was ridiculous sometimes. There was little chance that anyone could speak Russian so well to eavesdrop on their conversation and understand what they meant.

The was even less chance for someone to find out that Wulfrick wasn't her biological father and she panicked the first day. She could let it pass.

"No, but after so strong of an attack, I wouldn't be surprised if it's retreated for a while." As a matter of fact, Katia felt like she had never been a cursed one. The thirst for something indescribable was gone, as well as her need for pain. There was no desire inside her and she felt rather burned off of strong emotions.

"I would give it a good four or five months before it returns with its usual force. I suppose that you've been using the Time Turned I gave you?"

Katia nodded. "I did every day. I wouldn't be able go take extra lessons with my friend from the other house, being tutored by Professor Flitwick and McGonagall, do my regular homework, practice for Bulgarian's exams and associate with anyone. Not to mention eating meals and to have spare time."

"By the end of the summer term, you should be fifteen then."

She understood where Wulfrick was going with the conversation. "So I can serve during Veleriana's initiation ceremony?"

"Most certainly," he said, smiling.

* * *

A single bottle rolled from the table and fell with a _clang_. Filch made no move to stop it and watched as the remnants of the golden-reddish liquid swirled inside of it.

"I wish they knew what I felt, what Snape must have been feeling while we were carrying her to the infirmary," he slurred, still looking at the bottle as it stopped near the wall.

Adele, who lay on the table leaning on the elbows, turned her gaze from flames.

"There is more to the girl than thick eyebrows and plain features, doesn't it Argus?" She asked playfully and moved her hand before his eyes.

He remained silent.

"How many fingers do you see?"

He made a move like he was trying to wave away a particularly nasty fly. "Fifteen. Now tell me-" He dozed off in a mid sentence.

Some time later a little group of Slytherins was very surprised and incredibly relieved to find Mr. Filch's office empty. None had the desire to visit his private quarters.

* * *

A few days passed and the rumours started to die away. They were replaced by fresh ones about a trio of Slytherins, dutifully cleaning the floors, polishing school trophies and dusting off the portraits.

Katia was still in the Hospital wing and she was ordered to have no visitors.

She couldn't feel the presence of the curse; as a matter of fact, she felt as tough someone had burned off her feelings, compared to how it was before Valentine's Day. She felt curiosity and a ghost of anxiety as she drifted off to sleep. There were hallways, the Master and ebony doors waiting for her.

She never slept that much as far as she could recall, but it must have been connected to the curse – the thing kept her body alert and she had had problems with sleeping before.

Then, sleep engulfed her and she found herself in a hallway. The staircase shifted and, although some part of her was aware that it was a dream, she couldn't do anything than more like before. It was like a Muggle movie, playing on its own accord.

When they reached the door and Master brushed past her, she felt herself waking up. She wasn't about to give up, clutching to the remnants of the dream.

"I want to go through the door!" She slurred sleepily. "What's behind the door?!" She said louder, forcing the image to stay under her closed eyelids. Her efforts were in vain as everything turned into black.

She opened her eyes to find herself in infirmary, as usual.

"What door?" Asked a familiar voice beside her bed. She turned her head to met the narrowed gaze of Argus Filch.

She was still drowsy from sleeping and voiced her first thoughts.

"I have a recurring dream," she breathed. "Every night I dream of corridors, Master and the door."

Her eyes were wide open and her gaze unfocused. "I can see patterns in the darkness." She clutched her bedcovers. "I want to know what's behind the door."

* * *

A/N: Thanks to Artemis J. Halk for help with this chapter. A bowl of virtual cookies for you :D

Thanks for all wonderful reviews. Your help is priceless and I must admit that I'm surprised how many different opinions I've received. I never thought that my dear readers have so various points of view! Reviews help me to improve my writing and are encouraging me greatly to write more :)


	14. Patterns in the Darkness

**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.


	15. Consolation with a Twist

**Chapter 15 – Consolation with a Twist**

Katia approached the Pensieve. She noticed some empty bottles on the floor around it. There must be plenty of memories swirling inside.

It wasn't the first time she'd viewed memories this way, but nevertheless she took a deep breath before she put her head inside.

Katia found herself in a clearing. There were some people dressed in robes and she suspected that they were wizards and witches. They were talking with a strange accent. It was definitely English but, strangely, she couldn't recognize any of the words. There were cauldrons, very big ones actually and some ingredients in bowls laying nearby on the grass. A man whom she recognized as the Master was explaining something to a thin, petite woman.

They started putting crushed plants, some liquids from bottles and other things into cauldron. Katia watched, transfixed, as the Master sliced his wrist open and let the blood drip into the cauldron while pronouncing foreign-sounding words in a melodic voice. The woman cut a lock from his hair and added it to the bubbling mixture. There was almost no heat under the cauldron and Katia was sure that it wasn't boiling.

The substance thickened and she saw a hand rising from it. Inadvertently, she took a step back. The wizard was making complicated movements with his wand and soon purple threads burst from it, wrapping around the body as it rose from the cauldron.

They watched as a naked man stepped out, looking curiously around his surroundings. He looked weird somehow, and his eyes… they were red! It gave Katia the creeps, but before she had a chance to think about it anymore, the scene changed.

She was in the castle, in a big room where the wizards and witches from the previous memory were discussing something. The Master entered, bringing some people dressed in white tunics. She could see that they were being questioned. She could also tell that the answers weren't satisfactory as she saw disapproving expressions on many faces.

Suddenly, she was in the forest again. She saw a huge mess of magic folk killing men and women in tunics, using mostly knives or their bare hands instead of the killing curse. Only a few flashes of green were visible, burning into her eyes, and Katia cringed at the association of her memory with the Avada Kedavra. If not for Wulfrick, she would be a mental wreck, but her father had done everything to make the memory an unpleasant moment in the past, so it didn't affect her as badly as it should have.

She closed her eyes, but she saw the memory to its end anyway. The experiment started again and new people emerged from cauldrons.

Katia could understand some parts of the notes. It meant that it was the second phase of experiment and it was also described as a failure. By now she was a sobbing wreck, wishing these memories would just go away. She was still fidgety after the unpleasant experience with the mirror and the blood she had seen. The compassion she felt along with the helplessness now, combined with her own memories of hiding under the bed, made her cry openly. When she was sure she couldn't take it anymore, the scenery changed again.

She was in the same room, but still in the Pensieve. The Master sent the boy who had accompanied him away. The servant, as she guessed the boy was, pushed two coin-like ornaments on the wall and the 'lift' appeared. The Master worked on some incantations and she was sure that he discovered something he would like to repeat, as he preserved this memory. Luckily for her, it was also her chance to escape from this horrible chamber.

Katia collapsed on the floor, breathing hard. She needed to get out of here. One minute longer and she would go insane, she was sure she would! She could barely see the coins, even with the bright _lumos_ provided by her wand. She couldn't stop crying and her distress didn't diminish when she shut the black door as she got out.

Katia ran through the hallways, the images she had just seen floating in her head. It was so—so inhuman to do such a thing to another living being! And she couldn't save them, couldn't even close her eyes to block the images from her view. The killing curse, so much blood… She was sure that the images were seared into her memory.

She found herself unable to take deeper breaths as she ran; she felt as if something was pressing against her chest. She wanted to meet someone alive, someone who would talk to her and distract her from what she had seen.

She was in a familiar part of the dungeons now, though rather deserted as there was nothing as useful as a classroom or common room. Just some locked rooms. She spotted Professor Snape not very far from her, his black robes billowing as he marched in her direction. Or the direction where she'd come from, she didn't know. She'd taken a different path going back and had been lost until now.

Katia quickened her pace and in all her distress hugged her Professor, desperate to touch someone alive.

* * *

Severus was heading towards his second storage room, where he kept his most vile ingredients. He located it in the unused part of dungeons in case if something exploded or leaked. If was safer this way, as there was almost no chance that some student might come here. He heard someone panting and soon Miss Ivanov appeared from around the corner.

She was a complete mess with filthy robes, straggly hair and bewildered expression. He fought an urge to laugh; she was looking as though some dragon had chased her all the way.

His urge to laugh immediately disappeared as she flung herself at him, practically hugging him.

He noticed that she was trembling.

He stiffened and mustered one of his famous glares.

"Kindly remove yourself from me, Miss Ivanov," he said coldly; and to his relief she obeyed, staring at him wide-eyed.

"I-I'm sorry s-sir," she stuttered and Severus thought that it was so unlike her to be in a state like this. Ivanov was usually very composed, especially for her age. He couldn't pin her behaviour on the incident from Valentine's Day. She had been looking better when he'd seen her in the Great Hall; she'd looked better even yesterday when he had walked her to her new room.

"Do you care to explain the reason for your strange behaviour, Miss Ivanov?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I got lost…and I couldn't find my way back, sir," she said quietly and added "sorry" after a moment.

She avoided his eyes, but even if she hadn't, Severus knew that she was lying through her teeth. He felt irritation building up inside of him. Something had happened and she, knowing how important it could be, having been in a hospital wing with petrified students, seeing them was stupid enough to cover her reckless wanderings from him. Did she believe that he was silly enough to take her words as truth?

"I'll ask again, what happened?" he said slowly and coldly. She should be intimidated enough to hesitate.

"I said, that I was lost, _sir,_" she said clenching her jaw and looking at the floor. So, she was fighting to conceal her lie. He would need to get it out of her a harder way. He couldn't take the risk of letting her go with vital information about attacks in the school.

"Look at me," he demanded, and she obeyed. However, he could see defiance in her eyes. Severus caught her arm firmly.

_Legillimens_, he thought and invaded her mind with such force that he saw her knees buckle.

Katia Ivanov, no more than five, was painting some animal on the wall. It looked like a hybrid between a dog and a cow…Filch's office and the infernal Ivanov inside, drinking something from a bottle… A few girls, all dressed like Katia, with glasses in front of them. The girl to Ivanov's right had a pregnant belly and a glass of something before her. Katia was drinking from that glass, grimacing but feeling proud and all the girls were laughing. A dark tunnel appeared and Katia was running through it, covered in some filthy substance...A thin, short girl placed a tray full of food and a glass of milk in front of Katia. He felt her anger as Ivanov shouted something in Russian and threw the milk in the girl's face. The tray followed and Katia picked a spoon and threw it at the retreating servant… There was a thin woman with a loathing expression and little Katia screamed at her and ran out of the room…Pansy Parkinson screamed as her head was pushed into a filthy toilet.

Severus felt a pressure—he was aware that the girl was trying to push him out of her head and putting a lot of force into it, too. Severus fought back as he continued rummaging through her memories.

Flash of green light, a woman with her face twisted into a frightening grimace, her hair spread wildly like a black halo on the bloodied carpet. 'Stand up now, Mummy'… A short man holding little Katia who was clinging to his neck and Igor Karkaroff standing not far away…A dark corridor and a hooded figure going through the black door…A portrait of Salazar Slytherin, dressed in the same robes… 'I can see patterns in the darkness. I want to go through that door'…Katia Ivanov opening the same door as the hooded figure.

The pressure increased as he saw a glimpse of a forest and he was aware that Ivanov's body racked with sobs. She tried to free herself from his grip but he held her tight.

Then he saw; a forest and a group of people. Some of them dressed in heavy wizarding robes, some in simple tunics. The killing curse flashed here and there and people in tunics were trying to run away. Some of them fought and those died were killed with the Avada Kedavra or by being stabbed with knives. A man, no more than twenty, ran in Katia's direction; he was entirely covered in blood, his expression horrified. Severus could feel Ivanov's fear, desperation and helplessness.

Her rising anger, which had been somewhere in the background before, increased and finally it was above any other feeling. Severus was pushed out of her mind and Ivanov's face was twisted with rage.

"How could you invade my privacy in such manner! Prostak idiot!" Shouting, Katia turned and tried to yank her arm free.

Severus should have reprimanded her for her rudeness, but instead he jerked her arm so she was facing him again. With his free hand he pointed his wand at her head. Her eyes widened, but he didn't hesitate.

"_Obliviate!" _

Ivanov's eyes became glassy and he used her temporary confusion to convince her that last two minutes hasn't happened.

"I understand that you were lost, Miss Ivanov, come with me. You need to calm down," he said smoothly and gently led her to his office.

Severus would be lying if he said that the things he had seen in her head weren't disturbing him. He saw glimpses of her home life and of course she _was_ spoiled. At the same time she had seen things which children at her age shouldn't see and experience. He could understand her better, feeling the amount of anger which accompanied most of her memories. If she wasn't schooled in self-control, she would be wreaking havoc every time someone did something that wasn't to her liking.

He was concerned about the amount of pressure she had used to push him out of her mind. Of course she stood no chance against him as he was not only talented in mind magic but also experienced. However what she had done was definitely more than a mere natural gift—she _knew_ what to do, which meant that someone had taught her. But why? And how had it been possible for her to repel him from her mind given her poor magical talent?

Severus shut the door of his office and gestured to the chair by his desk. Ivanov sat on it, lacking her usual grace, staring at nothing. He took a vial from the drawer and handed it to her.

"It will calm you," he said, but Ivanov smelled the contents instead of drinking it. Severus fought the urge to roll his eyes.

"It's a Calming Draught, not a poison," he said a little more harshly than he'd intended to. He couldn't get over her lying to his face, her rudeness when she had dared to call him an idiot, and the fact that he couldn't say a word against her now as he had invaded her mind and Obliviated her after.

The girl drank all the potion in the vial without hesitation and then looked at him. "I was just curious about the potion, sir. I trust you wouldn't do me any harm."

_Ignorance is bliss, isn't it Ivanov?_

"It was foolish of you to wander all alone in places when you shouldn't be," he said, changing the subject. He needed to hide the fact that he knew about the strange room she'd visited. He needed to stop being infuriated with her behaviour before he Obliviated her.

"I didn't know it was forbidden to explore the castle a little. I didn't know I was doing anything wrong, sir."

Something strange flickered in her eyes for a moment and her gaze darted away. He was wiser now; now he knew how she reacted when she was hiding something. With her nasty temper he needed to admit that she had a great deal of self control. And was able to lie far better than Potter ever did. She would have fooled him if he'd met her now, when she was back to her normal ever-polite, composed state.

Severus took a deep breath. "Miss Ivanov, I have something to say and I would like you to listen to me carefully."

Her eyes met his and she straightened in her chair as he continued. "I know it's hard for you to interact with your housemates after what has happened…lately. But I can assure you that it will only get worse with each passing day if you don't try to socialize with them. This may seem impossible for you right now, but you will be living there in the near future and you can't be on your own."

She nodded. "I… haven't thought about it Professor, but yes. I cannot hide from them forever and my wanderings were a form of delaying the inevitable, which would be setting things back to normal." She traced her lips with her finger. "I'm not even sure if I'm scared…No, I think not. It's more of an uneasy feeling of being frightened, knowing that they talk about me behind my back. And I'm not used to dealing with situations like this." She looked at him again and he was sure that something was wrong with her.

Ivanov rubbed her left arm and he cringed inwardly. Of course her arm was probably mottled in a shade of violet where his fingers had made contact with her flesh. He'd forgotten to do something about it.

"Now go to the sink and do something to clean up your robes. They're filthy."

Severus watched the girl, trying to determine how much her emotions affected her movements. Surely she liked to hide behind her hair as she did nothing to take it off her face and never tied it back. Her movements were always as precise as everything she did; he had seen enough of it during lessons. An untrained eye would think that she was acting as if nothing had happened, but he had seen some stiffness in her back, and she watched him out of the corners of her eyes. Finally she finished, and biding him good day, left his office.

* * *

A/N: Thanks to **manicrose** for beta-reading this chapter. I hope you liked it :D If you found something wrong, - please let me know. I would be delighted to have a chance to improve my writing. And I love your reviews very much!


	16. Being one of Us

**Chapter 16 - Being one of Us**

The Slytherin common room was full of people as it was early afternoon and most of them were finished their classes already. Whatever the students were chatting about, they fell silent when the door opened and Katia Ivanov made her appearance.

Unlike Transfiguration lesson, she looked normal, at least to Daphne who had seen Katia's haunted look.

Everyone looked at Katia who produced a polite smile. "Hello," she said, leaving no doubt that she was aware of poorly hidden staring. Zabini, Parkinson and Bulstrode made an attempt to leave, but Katia spotted them anyway.

"You are not going anywhere, I have something to say to you," she said, looking at them and advancing in their direction.

"What do you want?" asked Pansy, taking step back, her voice higher than she wanted it to be.

Katia sat on a nearby table and crossed her arms. As she spoke, her voice was unconcerned; she could be speaking of weather as well.

"What I want is you to know that I won't seek revenge on you. It's not that I'm happy that you almost killed me, but I don't think it's your fault that you were dim enough to not know that some people may be allergic on Love Potions. I'm not eager to give you this kind of reprieve twice, but for now I can take that it was a stupid mistake." She extended her hand. "I offer you a truce," she proposed, smiling a little.

Blaise, the bravest of them, or just standing closest to Katia, extended his hand as well. "I wanted to do something to you, but never something like this," he admitted and caught her hand, giving it a little squeeze. "Truce," he said, smiling back at her.

"I wouldn't have done anything to you if you haven't called me a cow," admitted Millicent, advancing Katia.

"_I_ called you a cow? It's a misunderstanding of the year," laughed Katia. "I was the one called, how it was? Ah, a big cow like Millicent." She looked menacingly at Pansy, who stepped back a little.

Millicent's cheeks became red and she balled her fists. "How could you?!" she roared, turning to Pansy Parkinson who had enough self preservation to run for her life. Bulstrode chased after her towards bedrooms.

Everyone laughed seeing that. Blaise looked to his right, where card players were seated. "I hope it will end cockroaches in my soup?" he asked hopefully.

Katia raised an eyebrow, though it wasn't quite visible under her forelock. It was more like her left eye seemed bigger than another. "And what would be cockroaches doing in your soup, Zabini?" she asked.

Marcus Flint put down cards he was holding. "There would be a punishment for him; for being an annoying little shit, stupid enough to almost murder you and bring disgrace to our house," he replied before Blaise had a chance do so. "How about that?"

Derrick, who was sitting next to Flint, also looked at Katia. "We've been pulling pranks since our first year here, but no one was in mortal danger because of them. Zabini, you crossed the line," he said angrily.

"I said I'm sorry, all right?" blurted out Blaise, not happy that he was a subject of public discussion.

Flint looked at him disbelievingly and a smirk appeared on his face. "I don't think I heard you say so earlier. And I would advise to choose less…retarded cohorts," he said smugly.

Blaise looked behind him as if expecting Parkinson or Bulstrode there, and it caused an onslaught of laughter from everyone who watched this exchange.

"Would you like to play chess with us?" asked Daphne who was watching the whole exchange. She was seated opposite to Goyle, who was playing with Theodore Nott.

"Of course," said Katia and sat at their table.

She was looking at the chessboard, but her thoughts were drifting elsewhere. Her arm was throbbing painfully and she couldn't recall in which moment Professor Snape held her so strongly to cause it.

What was more, she found a piece of parchment in her pocket. She must have taken it from that horrible room. She unfolded it and deciphered the letters, looking like they had been written in rush. It said 'Seeing Mirror. Cursed ones – violet. Red – carry the curse in their blood. Blue – do not have it, mostly Mudbloods'.

Katia blanched. So that is how cursed ones came into being? And who was that someone before her in that room? Did he or she use the process to create a body for themselves?

* * *

It was still cold, although the snow had melted a few days ago. However, it wasn't too warm to prevent Neville from wearing his precious scarf. He went for a walk just after dinner, as many students did and thought about the one person who couldn't just leave his mind.

He was fond of Ginny Weasley since she started her first year at Hogwarts. Ron kept company to Harry and Neville decided to help the girl around. He liked Harry; he was a good friend, but Neville wasn't happy that Ginny developed some unhealthy obsession with him.

The girl talked of Harry as if he was some kind of untouchable celebrity. Neville shrugged. He couldn't change it; he just hoped that his new friend won't get hurt by Harry's complete ignorance towards her.

She was acting strange at the beginning of the year, but lately, they had had some decent conversation and snow fights. He spotted her going towards the owlery and followed her.

"Hello," he said as they were inside.

"Hi Neville," greeted Ginny, her cheeks flushed from cold wind. She was attaching a letter to the owl's leg.

"I came, because we…We were supposed to do your Herbology homework and I decided that a nice walk won't be bad." He was nervous, but he couldn't tell why.

Ginny was a nice girl; she had a fiery temper, but living with six brothers would do that for you, especially Fred and George. He suspected that his nervousness had something to do with the fact that of all the people at Hogwarts, she wanted to spend her time with him and admired his knowledge in Herbology, telling him how smart he was. He wasn't used to people telling him that he was good at something and there was doubt in his mind, that maybe she was just being nice, maybe she just pitied him like everyone else.

"How thoughtful of you Neville, it's really good idea," she said smiling. "This place is not the best to clear your mind, the stench and all."

Seeing that Neville looked at some spot behind her, she ushered him outside. He was silent and smiled to her from time to time.

"You made some friends?" he finally asked.

Ginny giggled. "I have friends already. You, Harry, and Hermione are really great and I'm happy that we keep together."

They were walking on the Hogwarts Ground and Neville could tell that spring was in the air. Everything was waiting to grow and he could feel it through his skin. He wanted to stay here, have some hot tea and feel the nature awakening after winter. The perspective of sitting in dusty library wasn't alluring at all.

After something like an hour, that's exactly where he found himself, sitting with Ginny and telling her about various methods of growing magical plants.

They weren't alone; near their table was Hermione with Katia Ivanov, discussing Katia's success in Transfiguration and Charms.

Hermione must have been a great tutor since Katia had improved so greatly. He had nothing against the Slytherin girl, she was always nice to him, but they had hardly anything in common. Neville had no courage to join them and sighed inwardly, looking at the essay which Ginny furiously scribbled under his watchful eye.

* * *

"Checkmate," said Goyle. Katia sighed and shook her head.

"Impossible, how did you do that?" she asked him, amazed.

"He always wins in chess," said Draco Malfoy. "That's why I never play against him. Give the goods, Ivanov. You lost."

Katia pushed forward a small pile of items and money. Malfoy smirked. "You though that Goyle is a complete idiot and it will be easy for you?"

Katia wanted to punch him and wipe off that annoying smirk. "No, I saw how he won against Theodore." She looked at Goyle and smiled apologetically. "Besides, sorry. I didn't mean to talk about you Gregory like you were absent."

Goyle just shrugged. "It's ok."

* * *

It's been almost two months since the unfortunate Valentine's Day incident. Katia stopped being the subject of rumours and everything went back to normal. She could say that it improved even, as now she socialized with her housemates. Being an outcast was unpleasant and drew attention to her person.

Katia stopped practicing the Art of Seduction as now, without the influence of the curse she had lost her touch in the subject. She might as well be seducing Peeves. She spent less time with Hermione as her magic was strong enough to perform tasks during lessons. She melted in the crowd being just one of the students. It suited her perfectly.

She had learned that McGonagall developed a certain allergy to Slytherins as Snape had a similar one to Gryffindors. She kept her meetings with Hermione relatively secret and they always met in some less crowded part of the library. It helped them avoid students and teachers who might be opposed their acquaintance. Katia needed these months she spent at Hogwarts to fully realize how far the animosity between the Houses went.

She couldn't tell that she was immune to it, however being raised in a different culture she tried to be rational. She couldn't lose Hermione. The girl was bossy and stubborn and nice and so smart that in never ceased to amaze Katia. It was such a rare combination to be smart and hard working.

"Ron and Harry seem to not realize how important is to choose the subject wisely," said Hermione, pulling Katia out of her train of thoughts. "Our future depends on this choice and they treat it so lightly."

Katia nodded. "I agree, but honestly I don't know what I'll be doing in the future."

"It's obvious, Katia. You will be the Potions mistress; you're brilliant in Potions and you have a natural talent."

"Maybe you're right. I do not have much choice though. What did you pick so far?"

"Everything, of course. How can I know which subject is useful if I not try them all?" asked Hermione rhetorically, her tone suggesting it was the most obvious thing in the world to pick all of the subjects.

Hermione felt the casual atmosphere as she talked with Katia. She stopped suspecting the girl of being disingenuous. One couldn't act so all of the time. Besides, Katia was one of few who never used Hermione to get her homework done. What was more, she improved in Charms and Transfiguration and Hermione perceived it as her personal success since she tutored the girl.

"I don't think I would be able to study this much," said Katia after a while. "I think that Divination is tempting, and I'll take Defence Against the Dark Arts too. I like the subject itself, and I hope that maybe Headmaster Dumbledore will change the teacher. This Lockhart is just insufferable. However it's good that you won't waste your potential, Hermione"

"Do you think I would be a good student if I was at Durmstrang?"

Katia shook her head. "No."

Hermione was startled. "Why do you sound so sure about it? Do you think I wouldn't be working hard being there?"

"No," said Katia, rubbing her forehead. "It's not the case."

"So what _is_ the case?" asked Hermione impatiently. She hated when Katia danced around the subject. She did it rarely, mostly when she found the answer difficult. Maybe she was hoping that Hermione would let go?

"They do not accept Muggleborns. What is more; you don't receive the letter from Durmstrang as I heard is the case with Hogwarts. Durmstrang in Unplottable and you need to contact them yourself, by sending them an owl."

"And you think it's fair?" asked Hermione.

"I've lived with these rules; I was raised in that culture. I never asked if it was fair or not. It just _was_, period."

Hermione furrowed her brows and looked hurt. Katia sighed; she hated expressing her personal views. It was a delicate issue.

"Listen, I do not see the difference between Muggleborns and Purebloods. If I cared about the birth status…most of people are, let's say - below me, I would have no friends at all. So I do not worry about things I have no leverage over. I judge people by their actions, not their social status."

Hermione accepted that explanation, but obviously she felt bad about Muggleborns in the eastern – no, the north region, because she stopped asking about Durmstrang. As if the mere existence of that school offended her.

* * *

Katia got used to Slytherins and spent her afternoons with them. She enjoyed playing 'Poke Explode,' a wizard version of muggle Poker, using exploding cards. She wasn't extraordinary good, but often got lucky. Usually she played with the Quidditch team and some girls.

Some time later even Pansy joined them and Katia lost some money to her. This evening was particularly lucky for Katia. Most players were washed up and there were four large piles of money and goods. It was unspoken tradition to bet for more than one owned if the players were sure to win.

Her wager was an equivalent of four piles of goods, but she had enough pocket money to afford it if she lost.

Marcus Flint fought the urge to smile. It was the fourth round of betting and he had good cards and was sure that no one would have better. Draco Malfoy, Theodore Nott and Katia Ivanov were stubborn to lose some money today.

Malfoy and Nott resigned and he was left with Ivanov.

"Checking you," said Ivanov and he put cards on the table. "Full House," he said and looked at her.

"You lost," she said smirking. She put her cards faces up. "Four of a kind." The cards exploded.

Marcus slammed his fist against the table so hard that Ivanov jumped in her seat. He was obviously angry and the inane girl was smirking instead of cowering before him. He stood up and his chair keeled over after him.

All eyes were set on them as Ivanov took a pile of money and other things. Marcus was towering over her and forced her to look up.

"Hey Flint, cool down!" shouted Derrick. "It's only a game, for Merlin's sake!"

Marcus knew he could be intimidating with his height and angry expression. He was furious because he lost more than he could afford.

"Time to pay," said Ivanov, her cheerful tone suggested that she was oblivious to his furious state. He had seen however, how she gripped a small, silver ring. Her knuckles were white, so she _was_ scared after all.

"You are going to stand here looking at me all day?" she asked, grinning.

"I've lost more than I have, are you happy?"

"Come on, Flint. You're unlucky in cards; it means a lot of luck in love life, doesn't it?"

He wanted to throttle her. He had never had a girlfriend and he was a seventh year. Of course some girls were interested having a boyfriend who was a captain. Bloody Slytherins, attracted to power, as always. He heard them gossiping, talking about him as no more than a school title. He wasn't handsome or rich or talented in anything except flying and he was bloody unfortunate with the girls. Ivanov must have known, it wasn't a big secret that he had a nonexistent love life.

"My love life is not your concern, Ivanov. I have no money to pay you, what do you want instead?"

"Take your clothes off!" shouted Sylvia Rosier, his dim witted classmate. Oh yes, she was the one who wanted to be his girlfriend, but he would rather kiss a giant squid than her.

"Strip! Strip!" the others started shouting and clapped their hands rhythmically. Ivanov shook her head and a few "ohhhhh"s were audible.

So, she wasn't going to humiliate him completely? Or maybe she had something nastier in her sleeve?

"Everyone needs to pay, Flint," said Malfoy from across the table. "Maybe tomorrow you'll leave her in her knickers, winning everything she got."

Katia smiled sweetly and seemed to be contemplating something. "I want your broomstick."

"What?" asked Marcus aghast.

"You can't, we need to practice!" shouted Montague.

Marcus leaned over her, placing his hands on the either side of her. "Don't. You. Dare," he spat.

"I can and I will. You have two options. One you can play again and try your luck. I can tell that these nice shoes of yours will do. And second, I can be so generous as to lend you my broom for a small favours. What do say?" She looked right, and then left to see reactions. There were approving ones and some girls giggled as some boys whistled.

One thing was sure – everyone waited for his reaction.

"I think that I would like to have my new broomstick delivered _here_," she added with a sly smile.

"All right, I'll bring the broomstick," he said angrily. "_Accio broom!"_

Ivanov nodded, still smiling. "How nice of you."

The broomstick landed in his hands and he put it before her.

"But I have a Quidditch practice this afternoon."

Ivanov took the broom and rose from her seat. She wasn't tall, compared to him, barely reaching his chin. She moved close to his ear.

"I believe I can think of something for you to do, to have the broomstick for a few hours. But you must be eager to please me," she whispered.

* * *

Hermione watched as Flint, the big Slytherin, put down a rather large sack near the door of Transfiguration classroom. Katia smiled at him "That would be all. You can leave now," she said smugly.

Hermione advanced her. "You're friends with that- that eww...Harry says that he has some troll blood in him."

Katia shrugged. "I don't care how he looks as long as he carries my things, and serves as a personal house elf," she said casually.

"Why is he doing that?"

"He lost a game with me and couldn't afford the bet, so he does things for me. Like carrying a bag full of things needed for today's lesson. I've got those promised bricks for you, Hermione," said Katia cheerfully. It looked like she had fun making Flint serve her.

Harry and Ron couldn't stop laughing when Hermione told them the news.

* * *

Katia went to Quidditch practice with Flint. She wasn't a fan of this game, she never had been, but she wanted to see the looks they received. She wasn't going to humiliate the Slytherin captain, but she won his broomstick after all, and she planned to collect it after the practice.

She needed to say, that all the things he did in the air were impressive. She had seen her cousin, Viktor Krum, more than once doing his own magic up in the air, but Viktor was a different story. She believed that he was born to fly. She herself had never flown on a broom and her final mark in papers was fake. Oh maybe not a fake, but it was a mark from different subject, like "Wizarding Technology Studies". The subject was about wands, dicta quills, portkeys and such.

She smiled to herself and Flint must have noticed her smile, what is more he didn't take it as a good sign, because his face fell. His eyebrows were drawn together in angry expression and his jaw was set.

"What do you want this time?" he spat angrily.

"I just wanted to say that you're magnificent on the broom, but-" She looked at her shoes. "Silly me, surely everyone tells you that." She looked at him again.

Flint relaxed somewhat and corners of his lips twitched upwards. "Thanks," he said. "You want the broom back?" he asked, some frown back on his face.

Katia shook her head. "I can't keep it knowing that you need to practice and, it's just unfair. I've seen that you love to fly." She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "You may want to use the good weather." She smiled at him and this time, it didn't cause him distress. She decided that he did enough little favours over the week and she wasn't cruel to have him serving her all the time.

"I have never seen _you_ fly," said Flint.

"Maybe it's because I _don't_ fly?" she asked rhetorically.

He took one of the brooms left by his players. "Maybe it's time to try?" He asked, handing her the broomstick. She took it reluctantly. Her poor magic made flying impossible for her, but she always wanted to feel wind in her hair, feel the sun and clouds being up in the air.

"I can easily predict a failure here," she said half-jokingly, half–serious.

"You'll never know until you try. I'll take care of you. Just straddle it and kick off the ground."

Katia nodded, feeling a knot of nervousness. After mere seconds she found herself in the air. It wasn't higher than five feet, but for her it was five feet higher than she has ever been on a broom.

They flew in circles around the Quidditch pitch, no more than twenty feet above the ground now. Katia could tell that she could barely control the broomstick, but was embarrassed to admit it, pretending that everything was fine. The flight drained her magic reserves and she could feel it with every passing minute.

"Try higher," said Flint after some time. It seemed that he was tired of flying like he was five years old again.

Katia turned right, sped up and flew higher. She reached three or four feet more when her broom jerked and she found herself falling, fast.

She fell into the grass with a loud thud.

Marcus was terrified. He wasn't going to be responsible for Ivanov's accident during his practice. He flew down to the place where she lay. He suspected her to be angry at him, and after knowing her for some time, he knew that she had quite a temper.

What surprised him was the fact that she tried to get up, laughing.

"What's so funny?" he asked, giving her hand and pulling her up.

"That was fun! Except the fact I killed my arse in the process."

He laughed as well, hearing her strange choice of words. They went back to the castle together and it was first time for Katia too see Flint without his famous scowl for such a long time.

* * *

A/N: Thanks to **Artemis J. Halk** for beta reading this chapter at the speed of light! :D

Reviews appreciated :D


	17. Flying

**Chapter 17 - Flying**

Ginny couldn't concentrate on her essay for Herbology. Neville's voice, which said something about Belladonna, faded away. She could feel as some invisible strings pulled her to the diary.

"Ginny?" asked Neville, pulling her arm.

It was like addiction.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat the question?"

"When Belladonna is ready to cut, how can we…"

She was thinking about Tom Riddle with increasing frequency.

"I think I had enough for today. Sorry Neville," she said, blushing. What would Tom say seeing her so distracted? He was a perfect student, good in every subject, so unlike her.

She almost forgot why she had thrown the diary away.

"I'll walk you back to the dormitory," offered Neville and Ginny just nodded. What it would be like if Tom had walked her back to Gryffindor Tower? She might have invited him, using Harry's Invisibility Cloak.

"You should go and get some sleep," suggested Neville when she almost tripped over the stairs.

Tom was such a good friend. He wouldn't mistake her distraction with tiredness, would he?

"Mhm, you're right. I'm tired."

They would sneak out of the castle and fly on a broom, or he would help her with her homework, making all the hard things simple.

"Thanks, Neville" she said, and went up to her bedroom. Sooner than later, she would need to have it back. To have Tom back, because it was so empty here without him. Neville wasn't even a quarter as smart as Tom was.

* * *

Marcus invited Ivanov for the next Quidditch practice. He wouldn't admit it, but her recent compliments had flattered him. She watched him all the time and seemed genuinely interested with his flying. It gave him an idea. He approached her when the practice was over and everyone were leaving the pitch.

"Would you like to fly with me?" he asked, measuring her looks for the first time. She looked older than her classmates. He never stared at her and it was a coincidence that she was always sitting next to him. It was only recently when he saw how tall she was. He was six-foot-three, so she must have been at least five-foot-six. She was quite wide in the shoulders and it suited her well somehow. It itched him to take that insufferable hair away and see how the rest of her face looked. Maybe she had protruding ears or some other facial disfigurement she tried to hide?

Ivanov smirked at him and cocked her head slightly. "Me and flying? Don't be ridiculous."

"I didn't mean for you to fly on your own. I can predict a failure here," he quoted her and smiled, seeing that it caused her to laugh. "I wanted you to fly with me; if you're not afraid of flying after last time."

She seemed surprised but nodded. "I think I might try."

"Sit on the front and grab the handle," he said, straddling the broom. She climbed and he placed his arms on the either side of her, curling his fingers around the polished wood just beside her hands. After a while they were up in the air.

"If you let me fall and die, I will be back, haunting the shit out of you for the rest of your life," she threatened him and he laughed.

Some time later Marcus got used to the strange position he was in and Ivanov must have been relaxed too, since she leaned against him.

He increased the height wondering when would she get nauseous. Trees got smaller and smaller.

"Flint, it's- it's exquisite!" she said, her voice expressing pure rapture.

"Are you afraid?" he asked, making a sharp turn.

"Noooo!" she squeaked. "Do something crazy!"

"Hold on," he said and seeing that she tightened her grip, flipped over. The girl shrieked and laughed.

"I wanted something crazy but that was beyond insane!" She turned her head to him "You really want to kill me, don't you? Admit that you're still crying because you lost the game with me!"

Marcus was almost sure that she was joking, but it fired up him anyways. He increased height and aimed at forbidden forest.

"You see the snitch, but the rival Seeker sees it as well," he said and dove down. He needed to tilt his head as Ivanov's hair fell into his eyes. "You need to be faster than he is." He increased speed. "Do not hesitate, you see other players in your way."

They barely missed the canopy of trees. He saw her holding the broomstick tight, but she was quiet.

"You pass them by," he continued, dodging trees, flying so close that he felt leaves tickling his face. "And the snitch is yours," he said, turning towards Quidditch pitch. He landed them gracefully.

Ivanov just slid off the broom and sat on the ground, holding grass. She was pale and was breathing fast. He stood casually, leaning on the broom and waited as her breathing went back to normal. He wondered if she would ever speak to him. He over did it with his little revenge, but hell, she earned that.

"Are you ok?" He asked. She rose up, her face was neutral. If her jaw wasn't clenched, he would never suspect that she was angry. Oh, he would be, being in her shoes.

"You fucking bastard!" she shouted and aimed to punch him, but he was ready and caught her. She struggled to hurt him and she was really strong for being a girl. He was holding her wrists, but she kicked him in the ankle and Marcus lost his balance. She fell also, landing on top of him. They battled on the grass for some time and she was winning. He raised his hands to protect face from her eventual blows, but none came.

"Just look at yourself," she said, her expression changed to mirthful. She started laughing and lay on her back, next to him.

Marcus looked at her. She was a complete mess with tangled hair and leaves sticking out of it. She was crazy. But it was his type of crazy, he could tell. He grinned.

"Myself? You could be working as a scarecrow."

"Never fail to compliment a lady, don't you Flint?"

* * *

Hermione talked Katia into reading books of their third year curriculum. She was glad that the Bulgarian girl was eager to learn. She had at least one person who understood importance of learning, though Katia admitted that Potions were most interesting for her. It was the only subject in which Katia was undoubtedly the best. It had meant that every other subject was less important for her.

They started "Ancient Runes Made Easy" that afternoon.

"It's easier for you," said Katia, tired with foreign English. "I would prefer it written in Russian."

"You're very good in English for a foreigner," complimented her Hermione. "Your accent is far more better than it was at the beginning of the year."

"I've learned English my whole life, but I only used it occasionally, quite the opposite to Russian and Bulgarian."

"Which one do you like the most?"

"I think that Russian. I speak Bulgarian with some of my family, who live in Bulgaria and when I'm in town. My father prefers Russian and I use it at home or when I visit the other part of family in Russia. I believe the worst is that every language has some beautiful phrases which sound gibberish when you try to translate them. Sometimes I would like to express my feelings and use a combination of those three, but no one would understand it."

"I've learned French, but I never had to use it like you use English. I can say that they have magnificent poetry, but it looses its beauty when translated."

Katia smiled. "I believe that my mind would have exploded if I tried to learn another language. I have enough of those three."

When Hermione went to take another book from the shelf, Katia slipped a little piece of parchment between pages of the Ancient Runes at the beginning of the next chapter. Hermione would be reading the book in her dormitory later, it was no doubt.

* * *

She couldn't sleep without him invading her dreams, possessing her thoughts while she was awake. It was like an irresistible urge and finally she just gave up. She had known that the boys' dormitory was nearly empty. She waited patiently until last of them left it and then sneaked in.

Where would they keep it? She rummaged through things, searching for the diary.

Urgency made her movements frantic as she randomly threw things out of Harry's trunk. It wouldn't do good is she got caught, so she needed to find the diary fast.

The Invisibility Cloak fell on the floor, soon to be followed by blanket from Harry's bed. There was no diary under the pillow, as well as under the mattress.

Finally she got it! At the bottom of the trunk. She took it with trembling hand and kissed the leather cover. Then she fled. It was pure luck that she wasn't spotted by Neville. He came through the portrait hole seconds after she left the boys' dormitory.

Ginny went to her bedroom and drawn the curtains around her bed. She opened the diary and written in it.

_Dear Tom! You have no idea have much I missed you. Are you angry at me?_

The response was immediate.

_I missed you too. I thought that you __didn't __like me anymore._

Ginny sighed, relieved.

_You are my best friend. Of course I like you. I'm sorry._

This time the words appeared slowly, as if Tom considered something.

_I need you to do something…_

* * *

Hermione was reading "Ancient Runes Made Easy", as Katia predicted. She reached the end of chapter and something flew from it and landed on the floor. She picked it up and looked at the small piece of parchment. 'What creature has a deadly stare?' was written in a messy hand.

She hadn't given much thought to the parchment until the next day when Harry said that he had heard the voice again. She needed to find more about the creature.

* * *

Katia was terrified by the news. She hadn't realized how much she liked the bushy-haired girl until she saw her frozen expression when she looked at Hermione's petrified form in the hospital wing.

It was quite a trip to hospital wing and back, while they were supposed to be escorted by teachers to every lesson. She would never have made it if not for Marcus Flint, who knew loads of shortcuts and some hidden passages.

The atmosphere in Slytherin House was suffocating. The common room was crowded as people had nowhere else to go after lessons.

"My father says now that Dumbledore had been removed, we can have a new Headmaster. Someone who would keep the Chamber of Secrets open," said Malfoy, smirking.

"My father says that more than half of us aches to feed you to Slytherin beast," drawled Katia, making face at him.

"Shut up Malfoy," demanded Montague. "I feel like if I open the wardrobe and there would be you and your father inside. Hell, I lift up the lavatory seat and you would be there as well!"

Draco pursed his lips and fell silent. It would be unusual for him if he had listened to his classmates, but older Slytherins were different case. Like some upper class, and Draco knew that Montague was able to beat him into a pulp if Draco angered him. He had enough self preservation to keep his mouth shut when needed.

Well, most of the times he did.

"I've heard Ernie McMillan, the filthy Hufflepuff, saying that we all should rot in Azkaban just in case," said Tracey Davis, outraged.

"And you really care about things that that Mudblood said?" asked Blaise, raising an eyebrow.

"Can we talk about something that isn't 'a Mudblood said'?" demanded Pansy. "It's getting old."

"She's right," said Katia, and elbowed Marcus who was sitting on her left. "What? I _can_ admit if someone's right." She earned a raised eyebrow from the Quidditch captain.

"You deal," said Draco, putting cards in front of her.

"Ignoring the problem won't make it change its mind and go away," said Daphne.

"Talking about it twenty-four/seven neither," said Marcus with theatrically bored voice and spread the cards in front of him.

Katia looked at her cards and sighed.

"You have an awful hand for cards," Marcus voiced her thoughts. "I've had enough for today," he continued and put down the cards he was holding.

"There is nothing we can do. Do you have better idea?" she asked, slightly irritated. "We're grounded, we can't go and do what we want."

"And I think I've done my homework for the next semester," added Pansy.

"So what do we do?" asked Derrick.

"Let's play truth or dare," proposed Pansy with a playful smirk.

Katia rolled her eyes. "It's for kids," she said impatiently. There was no way she was going to say anything about herself. Knowing Slytherins, the dares were going to be humiliating or risky.

"Let's play," said Daphne. "We've got nothing better to do."

"Ok," said Bole. "Parkinson got the idea so she's first."

Pansy looked somewhat shyly at her knees and said "Draco Malfoy, truth or dare?"

"Truth," answered Malfoy.

"Tell me an honest compliment."

"You're a smart ass," he said smugly, waiting for the reaction.

Some Slytherins smiled, but Pansy furrowed her brows. "That was a compliment?"

"Kind of, you saved my butt during the last Potions lesson." He shrugged and looked at Katia. "Katia Ivanov, what do you pick?"

"Dare," she said.

"Kiss Vincent."

Katia snorted, but got up, approached Crabbe and gave him a quick kiss on cheek. "Not a big deal," she said, seeing Draco's surprised expression.

"Malfoy?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Dare," he said, looking somewhat frightened, seeing Katia's grin.

"Dance on the table. Seduce us with your hips."

"All right." Malfoy's face fell, but he needed to keep his end of the deal. "Ivanov, Zabini! Take your feet off table first," he spat.

Everyone laughed as he climbed on the table and started swaying hips. It lasted good five minutes, as girls whistled loudly. By the time he finished, Draco was as red as a tomato.

"Ivanov," he said and Katia knew that he planned something nasty to ask her or order to do.

"Dare," she said anyways, preferring to keep her privacy.

"Kiss Flint." She smiled and shrugged. "On the lips," he added slyly and whistles were audible again. Katia had never kissed a boy, but now she had no choice. She considered Marcus as a friend. For almost a month she went with him to Quidditch practice, they had flown together on his broom and laughed together. Not to mention playing wizard chess, or cards or sinking ships.

She felt awkward somehow. "What gotten in you with all this kissing, Malfoy?" she asked.

Draco just shrugged and smiled.

Katia frowned. "You're playing a matchmaker, Malfoy, or you think that I'm some kind of cuddly bear?"

It earned her another salve of laughter and Marcus was almost as red as Draco was while he was dancing on the table. She leaned to him and prayed that he wouldn't hate her for that. Taking his face in her hands, she tilted her head and gave him a peck on the lips.

"I've had enough," she stated after that and left to her room. She never thought how Marcus took her immediate departure.

Katia slumped on her bed. She groaned, feeling a hard cover of a book digging into her ribs. She kicked all things off her bed. The room looked like a tornado had passed right through it.

She had kissed the boy. So what? She kissed two of them, so why she was making such fuss over Flint? Was she attracted to him?

They had spent some time together lately. She needed to admit that she had had the fun of her life those few times he took her on a ride on his broom. She trusted that he wouldn't crash them as she had seen that he was a skilled flyer. She noticed that his grim expression was just part of him; he wasn't angry all the time. He just had a nasty temper and did nothing to hide it. Whatever Hermione may have said about his appearance, Marcus wasn't bad to look at. She didn't give a flying fuck what others thought about him.

She wondered what he thought now on the contrary. They were friends and she was surprised how fast she started thinking of him in these terms. Probably as fast as about Mr. Filch, and she wasn't going to drool over him. There was nothing there, she said to herself.

But the nervousness, the anticipation she felt in this short moment told otherwise. She groaned and put a pillow over her head. Everything she needed now, when her fate was sealed, was to be attracted to some Slytherin from a poor family. Everything she needed was to ruin the first true friendship with a boy who wasn't part of her family. Damn it to hell.

She felt so utterly embarrassed and hiding under a pillow didn't help at all.

* * *

No matter the appearances, almost everyone had enough of Malfoy and tales of his father. As a matter of fact, Weasley and Potter weren't the ones who wanted to murder the blonde. The Slytherins just hid it better.

"Sir," said Malfoy loudly. "Sir, why don't you apply for the headmaster's job?"

"Now, now, Malfoy," said Snape, though he couldn't suppress a thin lipped smile. "Professor Dumbledore has only been suspended by the governors. I daresay he'll be back with us soon enough."

"Yeah, right," said Malfoy, smirking. "I expect you'd have Father's vote, sir, if you wanted to apply for the job – I'll tell Father you're the best teacher here, sir –"

Katia and Daphne barely contained laugher seeing how Draco went all toady around Professor Snape. What Malfoy failed to notice was how Professor Snape mocked him. Katia turned to see her classmates faces. Most of these oafs failed to see the mockery along with Draco.

It's not like everyone liked Dumbledore. However, now, when he was gone, they felt like they were in a giant zoo, being held on a tight, short leash. Malfoy walked among them, proud like a peacock and tested everyone's patience while he was telling 'My father this, my father that'.

"He's such a kid," said Daphne, and Katia only nodded as she thought the same.

* * *

A/N: The dialogue between Snape and Malfoy is quoted from the original book. I don't claim any rights to it.

Anyone who recognized 'Sky Fighters' movie reference – point for you :D

Thanks for your reviews :D They made me writing like mad!

Thanks to **Artemis J. Halk** for correcting mistakes!


	18. A Slimy Creature

**Chapter 18 – A Slimy Creature**

Katia had a feeling that if she had spend one day more in the crowded Slytherin common room, she would be taken to St. Mungo's to the mental cases ward. Her patience had worn thin. She locked herself in her room and started painting a portrait of Rasputin on the wall. She wasn't very talented but she had slow-drying paint so there was time for her to make corrections.

Some time later, Daphne Greengrass kept knocking stubbornly until Katia, covered in paint, opened the door.

"What do you want?" she asked impatiently.

"Just wanted you go to and play Exploding Snap. We took bets on who will have the best time."

Katia shook her head. "I can't."

"Why? Katia, you don't want to be all alone again, do you?"

Katia frowned and wiped her hands on her paint stained blouse. "It that a threat?"

"No, it's just people asked for you. Flint too."

Katia moved so Daphne could enter her room. The girl's mouth dropped open at the sight.

Almost the entire floor was covered with books, parchments, quills and clothes. There were also some vials of something and there was a big face painted on the wall. It was a far cry from a masterpiece. There was also a colourful combination of red and blue streaks and violet dots on the grey background, painted on the wall between two four poster beds.

Daphne couldn't tell which bed was worse. Both were messy, one of them served as a wardrobe and the second one as a library and study room in one. She wasn't sure where she should put her feet to avoid treading on things, as the mass of them almost reached the door.

"I don't know why should I care if Flint asked about me, but I don't want to take it out on you. I just can't stand looking at the same faces every day for so many hours. I want to breathe fresh air, do something instead of playing games." She made a frustrated gesture and sat on the bed.

"It's less than a month until the holidays. Are you sure you want to spend all this time in …Merlin, Katia! This is a stinking hole, not a room. Don't you ever tidy up here?"

Katia stood up and angrily kicked things into piles, making a path to the door. "Happy now? Because I don't see any problem with my room. If you do, kindly remove yourself from here."

"No, sorry. You're right, it's your mess," she said smiling.

"I want to finish this painting," said Katia, making dreamy eyes at the monstrosity on the wall.

Daphne made her way to the wall, and looked at the paints in the jars.

"It gets worse when you try to fix it. May I?" she asked.

Katia shrugged and pointed at the jars. "I've destroyed all the brushes because I forgot about them and they…dried. You'll have to use your fingers. If you think you can do better, here's the original." She handled Daphne a book with a muggle photograph. _Sure_, thought Daphne, _the moving ones would be harder to paint_.

"Why you want him on your wall? It's Rasputin, isn't it?"

"Grigori Jeffimovitch Rasputin, yes. He was the greatest Russian wizard. They said his voice was hypnotic and he had remarkable eyes." Katia had a dreamy expression on her face again. "He was a healer, a politician and a man who believed that the human soul is sacred and belong to God, but the body belongs to man and he made good use of it. He was called a holy demon and his sight was believed to be hypnotic. I wish I knew him. I admire him."

They talked about Rasputin and Russian wizards as Daphne made the painting. By the time she finished, it resembled the photograph. Katia was fantastically happy and thanked Daphne at least ten times.

* * *

Nothing could make the general mood worse than more isolation. Students were taken to their respective common rooms as Professor McGonagall announced that there was another attack. They were also told, that it was their last day at Hogwarts and tomorrow they would be riding home.

The Slytherin common room had something petulant in the air. No one was playing games or chatting. Students were finding trivial reasons to yell at each other. They were also curious about what was about to happen and everyone crowded in the common room to hear the news first hand.

As none came for many hours, they were beginning to speculate about it themselves. It didn't do any good that everyone was edgy.

"I wonder who was taken to the chamber," said Pansy.

"Probably some Mudblood," said Sylvia Rosier. She didn't take her eyes off Marcus Flint.

"It's good, now finally someone will teach the Mudbloods respect. Maybe he'll get rid of them for good," said Draco, with such pride in his voice like it was him who was the Heir.

"And you really believe this crap you're saying?" asked Flint. He was getting angry, but Malfoy ignored the obvious signs.

"How can you say that?" asked Blaise. "He can be dangerous. It may be some madman and you're happy that he's terrorizing the school? They want to close it for Merlin's sake!"

"As long some Mudblood is there – I support this Heir," replied Draco.

Flint backhanded Malfoy, knocking him on his back. He clutched his jaw, tears shining in his eyes.

"You're crossing the line, Malfoy," Marcus warned him.

Draco crawled back to a safe distance, his features were twisted into something between anger and fear. "You! _You_ crossed the line Flint. And you'll pay. I promise you will regret the day you dared to raise your hand against me!"

"I can't wait to see that," said Marcus mockingly. "You're pathetic, Malfoy." His words held none of the anger he had felt a moment ago. Hitting the little snob had helped Marcus to regain much of his composure.

"I've had enough. I'm leaving," said Katia, wrapping her cloak around herself. It was May but it was cold in the Dungeons anyway.

"You can't leave," Derrick, who was a prefect, stopped her.

She shoved past him, but he grabbed her by sleeve. "Turn back, Ivanov! You're not supposed to leave the common room!"

"Because? Because WHAT?" she yelled, furious. She slapped his hand and opened the door. It slammed loudly behind her as she left.

Malfoy was next to try to leave, but Derrick had enough. He turned with his wand trained on the blonde. "Anyone who tries to leave, will receive a nasty hex, is that clear?"

* * *

The corridors were empty and dark as Katia made her way to the front exit. She didn't care about running into teachers, she just wanted to get out of here. She didn't go far as she spotted a familiar figure with long hair, approaching her.

"Mr. Filch," she said, smiling a little, and hiding her trembling hands in her pockets. She was hoping to take some fresh air but knowing Filch, he would probably take her back to the common room as the school wasn't safe.

"Riding for a fall, aren't we?" he asked wryly.

"Actually avoiding it, I can say," she said wrapping her cloak around herself more tightly. "All they need is another person on the edge. They're picking fights already and I'm not the most peaceful witch." She looked at him. "Please, don't make go back in there," she added tiredly.

"Come with me," he said, and headed towards his rooms.

As they took their seats in the dingy room, Katia asked a question which was the main topic of discussion in the Slytherin common room.

"Do you know who was taken to the Chamber?" She tried to sound casual, but was barely able to hide the curiosity in her voice.

"The youngest Weasley."

Katia furrowed her brows. "It makes no sense. I was sure that this Heir was targeting Muggleborns."

"Don't ask me. I'm just repeating what the teachers said. Lockhart is supposed to rescue her, though the only thing that fop cares about is his pampered arse."

Katia laughed at this. "My thoughts exactly."

"As a matter of fact it's good that I met you today."

"You weren't the only one who missed out on the little chit chat," she said teasingly. The situation was anything but funny, but Rasputin help her, she needed to relax somehow. She wasn't even aware how tense she was until she sat down in the comfortable armchair in Filch's room.

"That too, but I had a strange feeling today." His eyes became distant as if he were searching for the right words. "Some…trepidation."

"The situation we're in is most unpleasant, the future of Hogwarts is in danger, I think it's normal—"

Filch raised his hand to silence her. "It's not that. Oh, I am sure it's not that." He took a cigarette and lit it. "I can feel it in my bones. I can't find peace. I need to do something or it will eat me up alive," he said wearily.

"I am willing to help you, though I don't know how."

"I feel I should follow it. I can feel it more when I'm in the lower levels of the castle." He looked askance at her. "I've felt it before. It was when you had that strange attack."

Katia furrowed her brows, her eyes growing bigger as she looked at him disbelievingly.

Filch smirked unpleasantly and continued. "I've felt a strange burning feeling and ha! That's a good one; Snape felt that too. He admitted it to the Headmaster while we were in hospital wing. Explain that to me, you're the one who is taught magic here."

Katia shook her head. The news shocked her and honestly she couldn't answer Filch's question.

"I know things…some things but they are pieces of information and the more you talk, the less sense I see. I feel that the answer is just beyond my grasp, that if I had one more clue, everything would be clear."

How _the fuck_ did they even feel _her_ curse? How was it even possible?

Katia stood up and looked at Filch. "We need to go. Whatever you feel, it may be related to what you felt then."

Soon enough they were following Filch's strange feeling. It brought them to the lower levels of the castle, as he'd told her earlier. They heard footsteps ahead of them and Filch pushed Katia behind him, retreating into small, dark alcove.

It was Snape, looking as if he was searching for something. He was so preoccupied by whatever he came for, that he passed them, obviously not noticing their presence.

After a good half an hour Katia stopped and leaned against a wall. "It's pointless, we're walking in circles."

Filch rubbed his chin. "Damn it," he said angrily.

Katia swallowed and looked at his scowling face. "I believe I know where we should go," she said quietly. "There is a way to go deeper, but there is…a basilisk in the pipes. I think this creature is called the Slytherin monster and it's living in the lowest part of the plumbing."

Filch's eyes widened for a moment and then she saw that he was barely holding back fury.

"Why didn't you _tell_ me- why didn't you tell _anyone_ that!?" he hissed.

"Because the teachers wanted to expel me, that is why!" she hissed back. "There would have been questions. Besides I've learned that it was the basilisk quite recently. It was when I had those strange dreams. The Headmaster would have never believed me that I didn't know earlier."

Filch nodded. "You were in the plumbing that night when Mrs. Norris was petrified, weren't you?" he asked, but it was more of a statement than an actual question.

"That I was," she said, not looking him in the eye. "Are we going to go down there?" she asked after a moment.

"Yes," he answered shortly and followed her to the prefect's bathroom. Katia preferred to be in the smaller pipes first, in a case that the basilisk would be heading higher. She didn't want to find herself trapped. It was the reason they hadn't gone through the flooded bathroom with a certain sobbing ghost inside.

She left her cloak among the towels; she needed something to cover her filthy clothes after they got back.

"_Lumos_," she said and the lit up. They went deeper and deeper, occasionally stopping to hear the inevitable sound of a massive body sliding in the pipes, but none came. Finally they reached the lowest level. The pipes were so wide that they resembled tunnels.

"Which way now?" asked Katia, whispering.

Argus needed to admit that the girl made some sense out of coming here. It was risky as hell, but at least it gave him some peace to follow the strange feeling. It was much, much stronger down here. Nevertheless he also needed to admit that Katia Ivanov was a nutcase. Why the hell had she come down here in the first place? What she was doing here?

He concentrated on the feeling, but it was fading away.

"It's gone," said Filch after a while and the disappointment was noticeable in his voice.

"I want to see where it leads anyway," said Katia.

Idiot girl.

However…they'd made it so far, it wouldn't do any harm to try where his feeling was leading him, now would it? It was strange that she was able to illuminate their way. He suspected that this _lumos_ required a very small amount of magic energy.

They reached an entrance to some bigger room. It was dimly lit and very long. The light provided by the girl's wand lit only a small area and he couldn't see very far ahead. He looked down and froze.

What he had assumed was water, splashing under his feet, was blood. The entire floor was flooded by blood. Katia must have noticed that he wasn't following her, as she turned to him.

"What?" she asked and her gaze followed his. "Bladz yego—" she trailed off and covered her mouth with her hand.

He was curious of what could have left so much blood.

"Look," whispered Katia and pointed ahead. There was a massive body, in a pool of blood, it lay tail to them. They watched it for a while, ready to run for their lives, but it remained motionless.

The girl approached the creature and kicked it. "It's dead," she stated.

They walked along the body and Argus needed to admit that it was huge. As they saw its head, he narrowed his eyes, examining it.

Its eyes looked like they'd been stabbed with something sharp. There was also a hole in its head.

"It seems that someone killed it with a long knife, I can say it might even have been a sword," he said.

Katia crouched and brushed her hand against the slimy skin. "He's magnificent," she said, awed.

To Argus the carcass looked anything but magnificent. It made him want to gag.

He walked along the chamber, looking for the source of his anxiety which had led him here, but he found nothing. Except for something looking like a tooth, which lay a good ten feet from the carcass.

"There is nothing here," he said, leaning to pick up the thing.

"Don't touch it!" yelled Katia from behind him. He nearly jumped out of his skin as her shriek echoed all around them. "It's a basilisk's fang. Rasputin! It's poisonous."

She torn a sleeve from her blouse and picked up the fang with it. "You could poison half of Hogwarts with this thing." She wrapped the tooth tightly and handed it to him. "You can keep it."

Filch raised his brows. "Should I _want_ to keep it? As some kind of trophy?"

Katia laughed. "No, it's worth some money. You found it, so it's yours. I found this," she pointed at the huge carcass.

"What are going to do with that? With such an amount of that?"

"It's extremely rare creature. And a very potent Potions ingredient. I would love to explore the field of Potions concerning the use of basilisk body parts. Maybe one day I will be as good as our dear Professor Snape." She shrugged. "I don't know, but at least I have _a lot _of opportunities to try," she finished with a smirk, her gaze fixed on the slimy dead body.

They took the opportunity to walk around the chamber. "Strange thing," said Filch. "Who could have possibly think of creating a chamber in the plumbing?"

They stopped near the huge statue. "Maybe this was the one who invaded my dreams?" She pointed at the stone figure.

"Salazar Slytherin," said Argus. "So if this is the Chamber of Secrets-"

"Ginny Weasley was either rescued or is somewhere inside the basilisk's digestive system," finished Katia, shuddering.

"I'm sure we will know as soon as we get out of here."

* * *

A/N: Thanks to **manicrose** for beta reading this chapter!

Anoyone who wants to see the painting on the wall, here is the picture :D

http: // c4 . ac-images . myspacecdn . com /images02/73/m_ . jpg

(remove spaces)

Thanks for reviews! They make me write faster. There no better motivation for an author here than a bunch of reviews :)


	19. Happy

**Chapter 19 - Happy**

Dumbledore rested his chin in his hands.

Did Malfoy really think that he could remove him from the school?

It was only a matter of time before Malfoy's wicked ways of gaining favors were discovered. He looked at the package in front of him. It was from Wulf, as was the note he had read previously. He just couldn't make himself to open the tiny box.

The note said that Voldemort was hiding in Albania. He smiled. It was ridiculous that Wulf always called Voldemort "You-Know-Who" or something similar. The Russian believed that talking about bad things would make them happen somehow.

It looked like everything was coming back to the way it had been before. Well, maybe not everything. Wulf now had someone who was more important to him than Albus.

He furrowed his brows.

As they were together, Wulf would never ever take a woman, despite everything that the Ivanov family expected from him. Now the evidence of change was roaming in the Hogwarts corridors. She made him feel as if Wulf had poked him with an invisible finger, telling him 'She's taken your place. You left me, so there she is to fill the emptiness I've felt after you left me.'

Albus had no replacement.

He heard the Gargoyle moving and put the package in the drawer. It was Filch, with wet hair and fresh clothes, holding a small piece of parchment.

"I was told to give this to you, Headmaster," he said. His breath was still shallow and fast from climbing up the stairs.

Dumbledore had dismissed him quickly, being in no mood for talk with the caretaker. He unfolded the note and his eyebrows rose nearly to his hairline.

_As the old, wizarding law says: A thing with no owner that is found, is owned by the finder, _

_I, Katia Ivanov claim all rights to the dead basilisk which lays in the Chamber of Secrets._

Insolent child, he thought; however after a moment a small smile appeared on his lips. The girl knew about things she shouldn't. Wulf raised her as his successor, it was no doubt since she was an Adept in training.

With Voldemort gathering his strength to rise again, it was a matter of time before he would need to use the girl. Good for her if she was smart and had a natural talent for meddling into things she shouldn't.

Albus took the package from the drawer and this time he opened it. It was a pair of woolen, purple socks. His smile widened. He loved to spend cold evenings sitting in a comfortable armchair with something sweet and tasty to eat, reading a good book and wearing a pair of warm socks. Wulf knew about his preferences better than anyone else. It seemed that he remembered after so many years.

* * *

The door to the Slytherin common room opened and Katia Ivanov ran across it, straight to the girl's dormitory. She emerged a while later, dressed in green, baggy trousers and a black t-shirt. Some students were in pajamas already, sitting with bored expressions. She just made it in time as the door opened again.

Their head of House made his appearance all in black, as always.

"There will be a feast in the Great Hall, I expect all of you to grace it with your presence," he said. His eyes swept over students who started murmuring.

"Feast at two in the morning?" asked a voice somewhere in left.

"I believe I stated myself clearly," said Professor Snape and left, leaving them stunned. All except Katia who was grinning and wriggling in her seat.

"Where have you been?" asked Marcus while packing his things from the table into a schoolbag.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she said, flashing him a smile. "Come on, leave this stuff." She grabbed his hand and they followed the crowd which was pushing through the door.

She didn't know how pleasant it was for him to hold her hand. He himself was surprised that he felt so comfortable around her. Her hand seemed so small in his. She had left so quickly after the dare that he was convinced it had been an unpleasant experience for her. Now he was glad that she'd recovered somehow.

Sometimes he didn't know how to see her—from her sometimes coarse demeanor she could appear almost tomboyish. But that kiss, at the dare? That had been anything but tomboyish.

He quickly let go of her hand, afraid that she would think he wanted anything from her.

Katia changed her usual place by the table and now she sat down next to him with an uncharacteristic smile. Marcus was surprised, but not unpleasantly. He glanced quickly at the staff table to see if they had noticed the change of place, but Snape was his usual scowling self. The headmaster however looked like he wanted to pierce Katia with his gaze. Marcus shuddered and leaned close to Katia's ear.

Her hair was slightly wet, so he assumed that she had gone for a long bath when she left the common room few hours ago.

"Do you know that Dumbledore is looking at you? He has a strange expression," said Marcus, glad that the look wasn't directed at him.

Katia looked at the staff table and smiled in a nauseatingly sweet way.

"He's probably glad that I made it alive to the end of year, you know," she replied, not taking her eyes off the Headmaster.

Katia was unusually cheerful and he couldn't deny that her mood affected him. Well, it couldn't be _her_ affecting him…not because of one game of dare! The entire table seemed to be happy and there was plenty of delicious food. His face fell a little when McGonagall announced that the exams were cancelled.

It had nothing to do with his N.E.W.T.S.

"You will do well," Katia reassured him.

"McGonagall hates me, she will sure as hell fail me," he said gruffly.

"She would have failed me if the exams weren't cancelled, so I've got a one year reprieve. And then the hell will break loose again." She shrugged and took another large piece of fruit salad.

Marcus told himself not to look at her, but couldn't help it. There was a subtle sort of grace in her fingers, something that he was never the type to notice. He watched her sideways, so he could look away quickly if anyone caught him staring.

* * *

No matter what he wanted to believe, it wasn't any kind of McGonagall's prejudice that he failed Transfiguration. Marcus was so afraid for the exam that his hands shook, and he couldn't transfigure a chair into an eagle.

His nervousness made it impossible for him to imagine the process of transformation, so he couldn't come up with the series of proper spells. A feathered chair was left to decorate the staff room and he was left to repeat his year.

It was Ivanov again who cheered him up, babbling the nonsense about his failure could help his team to win next year's Quidditch match. _Why does she always have to do this?_ Yet he couldn't deny that, in a strange way, it _did_ comfort him.

Adrian Pucey would have to wait to claim his position as a captain.

* * *

Ginny Weasley was happy to be free from the destructive powers of the diary, but truth to be told – she was quickly left alone again. Her brother, Ron kept Harry and Hermione company, leaving Ginny on her own.

She was not completely on her own, though. Neville took it as a personal duty to keep her company and he promised to protect her.

Ginny smiled. Knowing his poor abilities he wouldn't be able to protect even himself, but surely he kept her amused and quite happy. She would never admit it to anyone, but as much as she feared him, she missed Tom. She knew it was stupid – he'd only wanted to use her, but he was the only one who truly understood her problems, was brilliant and smart and-

"Come on Ginny! The weather is great! I've seen that the Quidditch pitch is completely abandoned so I borrowed a broom for you to-"

She never let him finish as Ginny threw her arms around Neville, feeling happiness bubble up inside her.

"Thanks Neville, it's a brilliant idea!"

Maybe Tom wasn't the only one who understood her? Plus, Neville wasn't planning to feed on her life energy and seemed to genuinely like her.

* * *

Daphne managed to convince Katia that she needed to quit wearing too large robes and right now she was happy, making a use of the good weather. She sat under the tree, rolled up the legs of her trousers and was taking her first sunbath this year. Her skin was used to tanning, as Bulgaria was a really warm place.

She was reading 'Hogwarts a History' finding the book not only informative but also amusing. A large shadow blocked the afternoon sunrays and she looked up to see Marcus Flint.

"Um hello?" she said, a smile appearing on her face without a hint of forced politeness. "Care to join me?"

Marcus and Daphne were the only people form her house who came to her even if they didn't need anything. She guessed they liked her presence as she liked theirs. Maybe she liked Marcus' presence even more, but why? It was something between the fact that he was a decent guy and had no one and that she liked his company. He was like an open door, beckoning to her.

"Actually I wanted to show you something, if you want of course."

Katia shoved the book in her bag and stood up. "Is that something far from here?"

"No," he answered, smiling. "But the last one is a looser," he answered and started running.

"You asshole! It's not fair!" she shouted, running after him. He may have been in a good shape being Quidditch captain, but Katia used to run every morning. She'd been skipping her training only lately, but so had he.

She almost caught up with him and they ran towards the lake. She was so tired that she barely could catch her breath, but she wasn't going to give up. Katia just loved competition, especially in the areas where she had a chance to win. She was just after him and knowing that she won't be able to run so fast any further, caught his shirt.

"Can- can you let- me go?" he breathed, tired. She just shook her head.

"Admit-" she took a deep breath. "That I'm not a looser- or I will- I will jump on your back," she threatened him, still holding the shirt. They slowed down and Marcus pointed at the lake.

"Look, there is a Giant Squid I told you about. You never believed me," he said triumphant.

Katia looked at the tentackled thing and shook her head. "It's- cool," she said, out of breath. She swayed a little, but Marcus caught her by the arms. She leaned against him, closing her eyes. Had she ever been this close to another boy? She didn't think so.

Katia was taller than most boys in her year, so it was a pleasant feeling being smaller than someone. He wasn't much to look at, but wasn't that bad on other hand. His black hair and harsh features were kind of interesting for her. He was almost like some exotic breed of animal, although he wasn't exotic to look at…it was more like the emotions, the feelings she sometimes had around him, were foreign to her. Since the dare, she'd felt strange in his presence. Like now; as she leaned against him, she was aware of the heat radiating from his body and the agreeable dipping sensation in her belly. If Katia had a tendency to blush, she would be purple right now.

However her skin remained its usual color and only a sunburn or severe cold could change that. For a second, she felt like one of those pretty girls who walked down the street on the arm of their boyfriend—not that she was thinking of Marcus as a boyfriend. But still, no one else had ever made her feel attractive before.

She felt comfortable and nervous at the same time. It was so different from anything which was caused by her curse in 'Flourish and Blotts'. She wanted to hang on to this feeling, keep it close to her.

It didn't last long. As soon as she ended hyperventilating, Marcus let her go and leaned to take off his shoes.

"What are you doing?" she asked, intrigued…and a bit disappointed. "Taking a bath with that thing?"

He shook his head. "No, it's pretty harmless, I wanted to show you." He stepped into the water and touched a large tentacle. "Like a big pet."

"So you don't need me, you already have this friend of yours," said Katia, taking a cautious step back. She wasn't particularly fond of animals and this went both ways.

"Touch it, it has a funny texture," he said and gestured at her.

"No, I don't think I want to." She looked at his stubborn expression. "And no, you can't make me."

He came back to the shore and sat on the warm sand. "It won't eat you."

Katia purposefully sat so close to him that their legs touched. She wanted to feel that funny feeling again. Just as she started wondering why she felt that way, he shifted to the left.

It infuriated her, but she said nothing. Was he angry at her, or did she smell bad?

The Giant Squid was swimming near them, completely oblivious to Katia's shifting mood.

"Who knew that you're such a coward?" he asked mockingly.

Katia punched him in the arm. "You can hardly call me a coward if I refused your life threatening entertainments just this once."

"And did you enjoy my _life threatening entertainments_ so far?" he asked, rising an eyebrow.

"I wouldn't have agreed to come here with you if I didn't. I thought it's pretty logical."

Katia took a piece of bread with butter form her bag and threw into the lake. A giant tentacle picked it up and it disappeared somewhere under the water.

"You're the first girl who doesn't come to talk about Quidditch or to boast that she knows a Quidditch captain."

Katia shrugged, nonplussed. "I like things you can do on the broom, but Quidditch itself isn't interesting for me. It's enough that I watched you showing off." She snorted. "But to talk about it?"

The way he looked at her, intense and yet insecure made her heart beat faster.

"You have no profits from our-" he cut as if searching for the right word.

"Friendship, Marcus." Katia looked at the lake, somehow she couldn't stand looking in his eyes for so long. She felt extremely embarrassed of looking and of not looking. "When two people like each other and have no profit from their acquaintanceship, it's called friendship."

He seemed stricken. "I know what friendship is…I just wasn't sure if I am a friend for you." Did he slightly stress that last word, or was it her imagination?

"I've called you that for some time, as a matter of fact," she said, drawing shapes in sand.

"Oh really? I never heard you calling me a friend."

Katia looked at him and smiled. Well maybe not directly at him, but somewhere near his chest. _Meet his eyes, you freak! _"It's because I call you that inwardly."

"You call me a friend, inwardly?" he repeated her words. "Have I ever told you that something's wrong with your brains?"

"Uhmm," she nodded. "Something like every day."

The afternoon quickly turned into evening. Katia and Marcus came back to the castle laughing as many other students. She saw some looks of disgust, mostly from Gryffindors. She stuck her tongue out at them.

She didn't care what they thought of Marcus. She'd enjoyed her afternoon and considered it felicitous.

* * *

Not everyone could call the afternoon successful in any way. Albus Dumbledore took Minerva to his office and after the usual small talk his expression became more serious.

McGonagall was pacing like an anxious cat as she read a letter from Wulfrick. He had rewritten the letter of course. First – it was in Russian, and second - it contained some small personal part which he preferred to keep for himself.

Minerva quickly put down the piece of parchment, as if it had burned her.

"Oh my God, Albus…it's happening again, isn't it?"

Dumbledore only nodded slowly, his expression somewhat distant and the twinkle in his eyes gone.

McGonagall took off her glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "He will be back, eventually, and this nightmare will start again," she said matter-off-fact and sat down on the chair.

Her posture looked older somehow, as if she'd grown a decade in this short moment. Even her tartan robes looked somewhat flat on her.

"Is there nothing we can do?" asked Minerva after a good while. "Albus?"

Dumbledore took a deep breath. "We will do what we did before. Gather as many allies as possible, keep Severus as our spy, run the school."

"And keep Harry Potter out of danger," she added icily. "He's too young to handle Tom yet. We need to protect him."

"That we will do," replied Albus, but his words did not sound convincing to Minerva. Not at all.

* * *

A couple of days later, Katia found herself walking towards the lake with Marcus again.

All larger parts of shore were occupied by other students. Some of them swam, some were taking a sun bath.

They reached the shore of the lake. It was the same tiny beach where she had seen the Giant Squid for the first time. There were bushes and trees and she could see a rope dandling from a branch, its end just above the surface of the water.

"Take off your clothes Katia," said Marcus, a playful glint in his eyes. He undressed himself, looking at her expectantly.

"Come on," he urged her, standing in a shallow water only in his boxers.

Katia looked at the rope. "You can't be serious about it. I thought that we will just sit on the beach and take a sun bath or cool our feet in the water, nothing more."

"Stop making so much fuss of it. Just take off your clothes. I won't drown you for Merlin's sake!"

Was she really so afraid of his – how it was? Ah, life threatening entertainments.

Katia sighed and took off her baggy trousers. She was standing in a black tank top and black knickers.

Marcus noticed that she had quite wide shoulders for a girl. Her arms were rather thin but brawny. Her hips were also wide, but visibly smaller in comparison to her shoulders. Her legs suggested that she was running a lot. She must have been some health nut.

She would probably make a good beater on the team, being built as she was...if she had any talent with brooms.

He swam a little further and waited for her.

"Do you reach the bottom there?" she asked, gripping the rope.

"Of course," he lied. "Why, you can't swim?"

"Of course I can," she replied scowling a little. He rather liked this scowl of hers. "Odin-dva-tri," he heard her muttering under her breath. In one, swift movement she swung and let go of the rope. Of course, she fell far below the surface as the bottom wasn't anywhere near.

She emerged a moment later, spluttering and furious. "You liar!" she shouted and swam towards him, her glare murderous. He laughed and dodged her, swimming a great deal faster than she did.

Katia had expected it, of course she had. But the asshole had the guts to lie in her face. Finally she stopped, took a swipe and splashed him with as much water as she could. Repeatedly.

She smirked when he spluttered. "You didn't find the water tasty?" she asked mockingly. "So did I! I should have drowned you!" she shouted.

He dove just to emerge with a large portion of water plants, which landed on her. "There! You look like a mermaid. And probably smell like one!"

She dove and got rid herself of a greenish crown.

Some time later they were laying on the warm sand.

"You couldn't tell me that the water was deep?" she asked, with feigned seriousness in her voice.

"It was funnier this way," replied Marcus, shrugging. "Besides, I wouldn't let you drown."

Damned _male._ He _likes_ to annoy me.

Katia smiled and turned to him, leaning on her elbow. "I've got sand in my knickers and I smell like a fucking tuna," she said and looked at him. His brown eyes seemed brighter as they reflected sunrays. That feeling of excitement began to creep over her again.

"So, we're on the same boat," he said, moving slightly closer to her.

His gaze raked over her with an intensity that was almost predatory, stopping somewhere near her lips. It hit her that he was probably making an attempt to kiss her. Her breathing became shallow as she realized it. Katia wanted it very much. She felt nervous anticipation and suddenly it was funny how he leaned so slowly.

Katia giggled nervously and his expression changed to scowling.

"That was a stupid idea," he said gruffly, moving away. Katia caught his arm.

"No, no! I want you to do- that thing you wanted to do before-" she said, nervously.

She learned how to seduce a man for Rasputin's sake! Why couldn't she use the theory in a practical situation? Why was she so nervous?

Katia moved closer to encourage him and closed her eyes. A moment later she felt his lips on hers and then his hand tangling itself in her hair. It was so far from perfect, but it made their kiss so innocent.

It was Marcus who pulled away, being unable to resist the urge to see her expression. To see if she liked it as much as he did.

And she… she was looking at him, grinning like a nutcase, some joyful spark dancing in her eyes. And then she pulled him into an embrace, pressing her cold, wet body against him.

He put his arms around her, and rested his cheek against hers, being unable to suppress the a smile which that spread across his face. Marcus had acted upon some instinct, and it turned out that she enjoyed what he'd done, maybe as much as he had. Well, this was certainly a first.

Marcus dressed fast and was standing, waiting for and looking at her.

Katia's skin looked golden in the blazing sun. He noticed the oval shape of her face as once the insufferable hair was pulled away. Her chin was slightly prominent and it gave her face a lot of character.

Right now, he would punch anyone who would dare to tell her that she was nothing special, as he'd heard it often about her at the beginning of the year.

"What are you staring at?" she asked cheekily, spilling sand out of her shoes.

"You," he replied simply.

She couldn't deny it, this made her feel appealing again. She tied her shoes and approached him. "So, you found anything to your liking?" she asked, smirking.

"Very much to my liking," he said, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards. Merlin, she made it so easy for him to feel comfortable around him.

Katia took his hand in hers and closed distance between them. It was her this time who kissed him. There was fondness in this kiss as she kissed him again and again.

Too soon they came back to the castle.

Too soon the semester ended and Marcus found himself packing.

* * *

Katia spotted three Gryffindors as they were leaving their tower for the train.

"Hello," she said, smiling uncertainly. Her gaze rested on the red head. They all looked at her expectantly and it made her feel more uneasy. Weasley's expression resembled loathing.

"I wanted to thank you for saving my life," she said, looking him in the eye.

"I did it because I wouldn't be able to live knowing that someone died because I kept my mouth shut. It doesn't mean that I like you or something," he said stiffly as if ashamed that he'd done something for a girl from the Slytherin house.

Katia looked at her nails and then at Weasley. She cocked her head slightly and smiled like he had said something funny.

"Prejudice." She snorted. "It's so easy to put everyone in the same bag, isn't it?"

"You can't deny that most of your friends are from families who supported You-Know-Who," said Weasley with an angry voice.

"No, she can't Ron, which doesn't mean that she's from one as well," interrupted Hermione.

Katia took a deep breath and looked at them.

"My mother died when I was four. She was tortured and killed by the Death Eaters and I saw everything hidden under a bed," she said in one breath.

The three Gryffindors opened their mouths, she could tell that they hadn't been expecting _that_. Before any of them had a chance to speak, she continued. "My point is that not everything is as it seems. Not every Slytherin is a bastard who deserves Azkaban just in case."

Harry Potter looked her in the eye.

"I jumped in conclusions, I did, yes, and I'm sorry for that," said Potter. His face was full of contrition and suddenly Katia felt something tightening in her chest. Something which made her admit one thing she felt ashamed of right now.

"Your not the only one, Potter. I was no different, suspecting you with the rest of the school. I think of myself as an open minded person, but I was no better than everyone. And I feel bad right now, I'm sorry. I should have known better." She looked at the bushy haired girl. "Hermione is too smart to be friends with someone who wants Muggleborns to die."

"It's good that you finally noticed it Katia," said Hermione in her bossy manner. Katia just smiled and looked at the red head again.

"A word if you please, Weasley," she said.

"See you," said Hermione, Potter only nodded and they left.

Weasley had a look of uncertainty in his eyes and Katia's polite smile did nothing to change it. He almost jumped as she reached to her pocket.

"I didn't know what you like, so- just buy yourself what you want," she blurted and gave him an envelope. "I'm really grateful, Weasley," she added.

"Thanks," he muttered and walked away, to join his friends.

She turned in the opposite direction to meet Marcus who took care of her trunk.

* * *

They sat with Adrian Pucey and Miles Bletchley.

Adrian smirked and took a camera. "Don't you want a picture?" he asked in a tone suggesting that he would take one anyway.

"I do want one," said Katia, grinning. Marcus scowled, so she punched his arm. "Hey, don't be so stiff. You don't have to keep it."

He sighed and put his arm around her, looking into the eye of the camera. He wasn't serious for long, seeing that their little disagreement was perpetuated on a wizarding photograph.

The boys started talking about Quidditch and Katia had hardly anything to say in that topic. Katia felt her eyelids growing heavy. She rested her head against Marcus' shoulder, and gently tucked her arm around his.

Merlin, how natural that felt.

As they were leaving the train, her expression grew very serious. "You don't even look at me as we leave, ok?" she asked in assertive tone.

Marcus furrowed his brows. "But -"

Katia put finger against his lips. "Just don't, please."

She took her fingers and kissed him quickly. After that she left the train, and left Marcus to deal with his parents and explain why he was left for next year. Knowing them, he would be working all summer to earn money for the next year. They would not take his failed exam lightly.

* * *

A/N: BIG THANKS to manicrose not only for beta reading, but for help with some parts which were incredibly hard to write for me. There are some areas in which my English fails me completely - yet. Nevertheless; I'm working on it :D


End file.

Harry Potter, Drama, Romance