Chapter 3

To Kill a Mangy Cat

Disclaimer: Do I look like a genius? Of course the Harry Potter world isn't mine. I do, however, have the honor of claiming all the original characters and the storyline.

"Student out of bed!" A disheveled man panted as he ran down the corridor. His thin lips were curled back in a malicious smile, showing crooked yellow teeth.

Kirstin glared at the cat. This is who you brought back? If her legs had worked, she would have been tempted to give that molting rug a good kick. She looked up at the old man standing over her. "I'm so sorry. Let me explain," she used her most charming voice. "A bunch of boys stole my forearm crutches. I tried calling for help, but no one heard me. I couldn't scoot all the way to the dorm."

The man paid her no attention and picked up the cat. "Good girl Mrs. Norris. Catching all those naughty students." He stroked the cat with affection bordering on bestiality. "We'll have fun in detention, oh yes we will. Good girl."

Kirstin imagined the yowl the cat would make when she threw it out one of the tower windows.

"But I didn't do anything wrong." She said.

"Don't lie to me! Do you think I'm a moron?" He snarled and stomped down the hallway behind her. "If they stole them, why are they right here?" He brandished one of the crutches leaning against the wall.

Confusion clouded Kirstin's mind. How had they gotten there? Had someone confiscated them, Snape maybe? If he had, he would have woken her. She wondered if one of the Slytherins had put them there to get her in trouble. The man was seething. "I don't know how they got there. Some Slytherin boys stole them from me last night."

Footsteps echoed down the hallway. Professor McGonagall appeared; her lips were taut and thin like a tightrope. She looked at Kirstin on the ground and the crutches in the man's bony hands. "Mr. Filch, what is the meaning of this?"

He nodded his head in what resembled a bow. "I found her sleeping in the hallway. She tried giving me a story about her crutches being stolen, but they were leaning against the wall down the hallway." His drooping eyes narrowed at Kirstin. "Liars should get extra detentions."

Kirstin shook her head and looked up at her head of house with pleading eyes. "But I wasn't lying. If I were, I wouldn't have left my crutches in the hallway."

McGonagall arched a thin eyebrow. "If they were stolen, why, pray tell, were they in the hallway at all?"

" I don't know! I ran into a bunch of Slytherin boys last night and they took them from me." She was not convincing her. Kirstin scrambled to give evidence. "Avery! One of the boys was Avery. And there was another one. I don't know his name, but he had blondish hair and lots of acne." She rolled onto her stomach and pointed to her dirty skirt. "I had to scoot on my butt because no one was around to help me."

McGonagall continued to stare at her, waiting for any hint as to whether the girl was lying. She pursed her lips and sighed. "Mr. Filch, give Miss Cooper her crutches back." She turned back toward Kristin. "This goes against my better judgment, but I am going to trust you Miss Cooper. However, do not expect leniency a second time."

Filch let out an indignant yelp. "She was clearly out of bed past hours. At this rate students will start having parties and blatantly disregarding curfew."

McGonagall gave him a steely glare. "Thank you, Mr. Filch. You may return to your other duties."

Relief washed over Kirstin. She watched the bitter old man throw down her crutches and shuffle down the hallway.

She turned back toward Professor McGonagall. "Thank you Professor. I promise I wasn't lying."

She nodded. "I expect you weren't. I will speak to Professor Snape about the incident. Now, I believe you need to prepare for your day, Miss Cooper."

"Thank you." Kirstin reached for her crutches and brought herself to her feet. The rhythm of her gait was comforting; her crutches felt like an old friend.

Elle rushed toward the table Kirstin sat at in the potion room; her already round eyes were nearly full circles. She threw her bag on the ground and sat beside her exhausted friend. "Where were you? I waited up for you, but you never came in. I looked for you in the hallways, but it was close to curfew and I didn't see you." She stopped for a breath and looked at the bags under Kirstin's eyes. "Are you alright? I was really worried. I was starting to think you might have fallen or something." Her dark eyebrows furrowed and she fixed a strand of Kirstin's copper hair that stuck out.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Tired though. My crutches got stolen. I had to sleep in the hallway."

"You're kidding me!"

Kirstin sighed and shook her head. "No. A bunch of Slytherins stole them. Filch found me in the morning. He wanted to give me detention, but McGonagall didn't let him."

Elle was indignant. "How could he give you a detention? Your crutches were gone, it clearly wasn't your fault." She gesticulated violently with her hands.

Kirstin leaned forward, life sparking in her eyes. "That's the thing. When I woke up in the morning, the crutches were there again. Someone must have returned them, because none of the professors knew what happened. So, it looked like I was lying. Thankfully McGonagall believed me."

Elle grew thoughtful. "Huh. I wonder who did it. It had to have been a Slytherin, otherwise someone would have helped you."

Kirstin moved closer to Elle and dropped her voice to a whisper. "That's what I was thinking. Someone didn't want anyone to know what he was doing."

"He?" Elle's eyes narrowed. "Do you know who did it?"

Kirstin watched the train of Slytherins enter the classroom. "I think I might." The Slytherins looked disgruntled. "What's up with them?" She asked Elle.

Elle's plump lips curved in a smirk; she gave a low chuckle. "Oh, they just lost twenty points. I wonder why?"

Snape swept into the room, his black cloak billowing behind him like a dark storm front, bringing chilled air and anxious silence. "Today we will be making shrinking potions." He turned on his heel and began writing instructions and the theory behind the potion on the board in his cramped cursive.

After the conclusion of the lecture, Kirstin adjusted the height of the flame beneath their cauldron, and Elle gathered the ingredients. Elle crushed the beetle eyes while Kirstin minced the dittany. Kirstin put the dittany in a bowl and reached for the wormwood. She held it over a bowl and attempted to squeeze the juice out. Milky fluid dripped into the bowl. Kirstin squeezed harder, the potion called for far more wormwood fluid than she was getting.

"Slit it lengthwise three times to extract more."

Kirstin jumped and nearly dropped the wormwood into the bubbling potion. She looked over her shoulder, where Snape stood with his hands behind his back, surveying her work. She nodded and slit the plant three times, each an equal distance apart. When she squeezed, liquid trickled out. She turned to thank him, but he was no longer behind her.

Half an hour later, their potion was perfect and shimmered silver. Elle leaned over their cauldron, watching it bubble. "It's so pretty. I wish I had a dress that color." A thought struck her; she grinned and looked at Kirstin, "Or eyes that color. What do you think?" Her eyes batted and she gave an exaggerated come-hither look over her lashes.

Kirstin imagined her with glowing silver eyes and the same ridiculous facial expression. She snorted. "Maybe just stick with the dress."

Elle stuck her nose in the air and swung her hair over her shoulder as she turned away. "You obviously know nothing about true beauty."

"Why don't you get your beautiful butt to the supply closet and put the ingredients away. I'll take our vial up." Kirstin poured the potion into the glass and stopped it with a piece of cork.

Elle gathered the ingredients and then looked back at her butt while leaning over the table. "It is rather beautiful, isn't it?"

They both laughed quietly, and Kirstin rolled her eyes. "Amazing."

The mischievous girl grinned and said, "Oh, I know."

"Wow." Kirstin muttered and stood, holding the vial between her fingers on her right hand and the handle of her crutch in her palm.

Elle gave her the same worried look she gave in the Great Hall. "Maybe I should take the vial up."

"Why?"

Elle furrowed her eyebrows, thinking. "I don't know. I just feel like you shouldn't take it up." She shook her head at her stupidity. "Never mind, I'm just being weird." She took the ingredients to the closet.

Kirstin moved toward the front of the room, bewildered by her friend's actions. Did she think she would drop the potion? Or maybe she was worried about her tripping. Kirstin shrugged it off.

Liquid splashed her right hand and sudden white-hot pain seared through her arm. She impulsively let go of her crutch and her legs started to buckle. As she fell she grabbed at the table, knocking over the cauldron. Gray liquid ran over the edge of the table onto her back. The liquid felt like a thousand knives stabbing her. Screaming, she rolled out from under the acid waterfall. The skin on her hand was a shiny, angry red. She struggled to remove her wet cloak without touching it.

In the background, Kirstin heard Snape interrogating the freckled boy at the table. "I accidently dropped the ladle. I didn't mean to hurt her," the boy whimpered.

"If you were not incompetent, the potion would not have hurt her." Snape hissed.

"Kirstin, are you alright?" Elle was by her side, afraid to touch her. "Oh Merlin."

"Out of the way Ms. Piper." Snape conjured a stretcher and levitated Kirstin onto it. When her back rested on the white canvas she bit back a scream. Snape turned toward Elle. "Gather her affects, she will spend the night in the hospital wing."

Elle gave Kirstin one last wide eyed glance and nodded, scooping up both of their backpacks and jogging out the door.

The stretcher floated beside the professor. The trip to the hospital wing seemed to last an eternity. After many operations she had learned to handle pain, but this was a different pain, sharp and unrelenting. Her breathing was explosive and irregular as she held her breath and tensed her body to battle the agony.

Kirstin's eyes were closed when they entered the white wing. Quick, gentle hands began administering to her. She opened her eyes and saw Madame Pomfrey rubbing potions on her arms, which relieved the burning. She levitated Kirstin out of the stretcher and gently laid her facedown on the bed. The healer drew the curtain and removed what was left of Kirstin's white Oxford shirt. The potion had eaten holes in it.

Snape was still standing in the room when Madame Pomfrey opened the curtain and left Kirstin in the bed with her torso wrapped in bandages. They murmured to each other and the healer went into her office. Snape sat on the spindly chair beside her bed.

For the first time, Kirstin examined him closely and was surprised at his youth. He was in his mid twenties, but his cynical demeanor aged him. He stared at the wall on the other side of the bed. His face was pale, his nose was hooked, and his hair stringy. Overall, the face was not one of beauty, but it had an intensity Kirstin found intriguing.

She broke the silence. "Thank you for bringing me up here."

He nodded.

Kirstin tried to make conversation again, she was curious about this man, what made him tick. "What did that boy do to the potion to make it so acidic?"

He gave an exasperated sigh. "The boy put more wormwood into the potion than called for. Most likely the wormwood was chopped instead of juiced."

She blinked and furrowed her eyebrows. "But the instructions said juice, not chop. How can you mess that up?"

The professor looked down at her with a cynical half smile. "The acts of idiocy students are capable of are astounding."

Kirstin wanted to say something to make him laugh. "Well, I haven't died yet today, so I guess it's been a pretty good day."

He returned his gaze to the wall.

"Why don't you like Gryffindors?" She cringed; that question was too blunt and intrusive.

His eyes were hard and black when they met hers, but she refused to look away, to blink. "That is none of your concern."

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to pry. I was just wondering why you don't like Gryffindors, yet you like me."

She looked down at her hands and tried to think of ways to fix her error. "You must be really good at potions to be teaching here. All the other professors are a lot older than you."

The softening of his eyes was infinitesimal, but Kirstin saw it; she had cracked his mask. "Not many people see the beauty of potions. To be able cure, destroy, shape without ever touching a wand is a powerful tool."

Kirstin gave her sweetest smile. "Plus you probably end up becoming a pretty awesome cook." She tossed her red hair over her shoulder and eyed her nails. "I bet my French onion soup is better than yours though."

A smile pulled at the corner of his mouth and he looked at her sleek hair glowing like a fire in the morning light from the window.

The door opened with a bang. Two Hufflepuff students hurried into the wing supporting a limping boy.

Madame Pomfrey turned to them. "Falling off your broom again Mr. Finnis? Let's take a look at that leg." He sat on a bed and she rolled up his trouser, touching his leg in various places. "Feels like it's broken. Fibula Emendo." She waved her wand airily and rolled down his pants. "You should be fine to go."

The gangly blonde boy rolled his ankle a few times and stood to test his leg. He thanked the healer and walked out of the room with slow, cautious movements.

An insatiable hunger rose in Kirstin. "You can heal fractures?" She asked Madame Pomfrey in a desperate voice.

The healer gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm afraid there is nothing I can do about your legs." She sat on the end of the bed and patted Kirstin's ankle. "Your bones have already repaired themselves. Even before they set, the damage would have been far too great to completely heal."

Kirstin looked at the potions master. "Are there any potions that could help me?" For years she had accepted the knowledge that her wounds could not heal, but this place of magic had given her hope once more.

Deep black eyes stared at her; his face betrayed no expression. "No. There are no potions that could help."

Kirstin nodded, she had guessed so, but tenacity would not let her yield. She puzzled the question out loud. "Magic can't fix my legs because they've healed. There are no potions. It's nearly impossible to break bones in the same place twice." She turned to Pomfrey with hungry eyes. "What if we got rid of the bones? We could regrow them!"

Madame Pomfrey looked at Snape with caution. "Dissolving the bones would be simple enough, but I know of nothing that can regenerate bones."

Snape said nothing.

Kirstin knew what his silence meant, but she refused to give up. "Just because there isn't anything for it doesn't mean it isn't possible." Tears welled in her eyes and her face was hot. Magic surrounded her in this new world and the thought of putting limits on magic was oxymoronic.

A brilliant potions master sat beside her and she turned to him. "Please." She hated how her voice cracked, how she sat leaning forward, the blankets clenched between her fingers.

The young professor bore his obsidian eyes into hers, pure and blue. A sallow mask hid his emotions. He leaned back in his chair and put his elbows on the thin wooden armrests. Long fingers touched and formed a temple over which he continued to stare at her.

Kirstin refused to look away, and through her firm gaze willed him to help her.

He blinked. And blinked again. "This is your burden, not mine." His voice was sudden and soft.

Incredulity filled Kirstin. A man who would not help a crippled girl regain the use of her legs was selfish and cruel. Her lips curled in disgust.

His face remained impassive. "The task is yours, however, I shall assist you as needed." His long, thin torso leaned forward. "But know that the success or failure of this endeavor is with you." In one motion he stood and swept out of the room.

"Thank you." Kirstin called as the oak door shut behind him. She leaned back against the pillows propped up on the headboard. Her thoughts swam.

A few minutes later the heavy door opened again. Elle hurried into the room, panting. She sat Kirstin's book bag, which bulged with the extra items in it, beside the bed and dropped into the chair. A basket sat on her lap.

"How are you doing? Does it still hurt?" The sunlight from the window made her eyes look as if they had specks of warm honey in them.

Kirstin gave her a fond smile. "I feel a lot better. Madame Pomfrey put a potion on me that made it stop hurting." She nodded toward Elle's lap, "What's in the basket?"

Elle put a hand on the container and lifted her chin in pride. "Well, I figured you probably wouldn't be able to go down to lunch, and you said the house elves liked you, so I had them prepare a meal for us. I know it isn't lunch time yet, but I only wanted to make one trip up here."

"Thank you. I really appreciate it." Kirstin sat straighter against the white, fluffy pillows. "So what did they pack?"

Elle's long, elegant fingers opened the basket. "They made you special food. A grilled prosciutto, pesto, and brie cheese sandwich. I have no idea what half of that even is." She pulled out two wrapped parcels and put them on the edge of the bed. "Some strawberries, a salad with candied pecans and goat cheese, and sugar cookies with special messages on them." She took the lid off a tin and handed it to Kirstin. Inside were cookies that said, "Get Well" with hearts on them.

Kirstin imagined Silvy frosting the cookies with a pastry bag the size of her torso.

"You know what? I'm hungry now. I'm going to eat the sandwich while it's still warm." She unwrapped a sandwich and inhaled the scent of prosciutto. It smelled like happiness. She smiled when she bit into it and savored the subtle, balanced flavors.

The wrapping of the other sandwich crackled when Elle unwrapped it. She examined the fillings between the grilled bread and took a tentative bite. Her eyes widened. "Oh my gosh. That's really good." The doubt in her eyes was replaced with wonder.

Kirstin chuckled. She loved watching people discover quality food, the food she loved and cooked. "It's very good. This is the type of thing I cook at home."

One of Elle's hands covered her mouth as she spoke through a mouth of prosciutto. "You can cook for me anytime."

They fell into silence while they ate the sandwiches. Kirstin watched Elle; the way her chocolate hair swooped forward when her chin tilted downward. How she tucked the tresses behind her ears, revealing her high cheekbones. An air of grace surrounded her, yet was infused with energy and mischief. Soon, men would notice her and women would envy her. Her beauty was one of complexity. Amusement always shone in her eyes in response to an inward commentary on the world around her.

"You knew I was going to get hurt, didn't you? And you knew it was a bad idea for me to go down to the kitchens last night."

Elle stopped eating and stared at her sandwich. "Yeah." She would not meet Kirstin's eyes. "Well, I guess I didn't really know you were going to get hurt; I just had a feeling." Her fingers picked at the sandwich wrapper. "I don't know. It's weird."

"Has it happened before?" Kirstin watched her fidget.

Elle's pink lips parted to speak and she looked toward the window, her brow furrowed. "I guess. I never really paid any attention to it. I thought it was just gut feelings, like intuition or something. But lately, it's been happening more often." She looked down, her long eyelashes creating a crescent fan on her cheeks. "It's getting stronger."

"Do you think you can predict the future?"

Elle frowned and squirmed.

Kirstin changed tactics. "I should have listened to you. But on the other hand, if I had let you take the potion, you would have gotten hurt."

Elle looked at Kirstin with regret and shook her head. "No. I wouldn't have. I would have gone down the other aisle to get to his desk." Her voice was firm and certain; clearly she had thought through the situation several times.

Kirstin waved her hand in dismissal. "It's not your fault. Plus, with the way my day has been going, I should have known better than to take the vial up."

A shy smile sneaked onto Elle's face. "Your day really has sucked."

A small chuckle forced its way out of Kirstin's lips, and then she fell silent, thinking. "Have you ever tried focusing on these feelings?"

Elle shook her head. "I don't think anything would happen."

Kirstin persisted. "But you have to remember that you're a witch—you have magic. Maybe this is magic."

Doubt clouded Elle's face. "Real seers are rare. Extremely rare. It's probably just some sort of intuition thing."

Kirstin raised her eyebrows. "So what if they're rare. You could be one of them. Why someone else and not you?" She gestured toward her legs. "Cripple witches are rare too, but look at me." Leaning forward, she captured Elle's eyes. "You just don't want to believe that you might be special. If you don't believe it, then no one else will." She looked at her atrophied legs, and then she told her friend of all that had transpired in the hospital wing.

"So you're going to make the potion?" Admiration shone in Elle's eyes.

That insatiable hunger was back. "I have to. I can't live my life like this and not try to help myself." Kirstin's voice was husky. "Snape said I'm talented at potions, and let's face it, if he says so, I am. And if I need help, I'll ask him." She realized she was trying to convince Elle that she was not crazy.

"What if-" The pretty girl chewed the inside of her lip. "What if it doesn't work?"

"I've thought about that. The worst that can happen is that I don't ever get to use my legs." Kirstin shrugged. "How is that any worse than now?"

Elle's words were cautious. "Well, that's not true. You could mess up the potion and poison yourself." She gave an apologetic grimace. "Look what the potion that spilled did to you."

Worry filled Kirstin. "Are you getting a bad feeling?"

Elle's eyes widened. "No! No, it doesn't work like that. I was just thinking of the bad things that could happen." She looked flattered by the importance Kirstin put on the intuition.

"I'm sure you'll be fine. You're smart." Elle tried to assure her.

Kirstin nodded. "Well, it's probably going to take a long time to make it." She leaned against the pillows and stared at the ceiling.

Elle sat on the bed beside Kirstin's right leg. "You'll figure something out. I didn't even know how to begin to fix that shrinking potion, and you did. That's with no potion experience." She patted Kirstin's knee.

Kirstin looked down at Elle. "I don't even know where to start."

"Here's where you start," Elle's voice held authority. "You ask Snape to help you first thing tomorrow." She waved a hand in front of Kirstin's face to get her attention. "Okay?"

Kirstin nodded with more resolve. "Yeah. You're right."

An impish grin spread across Elle's face. "Of course I am. Now, I have a sandwich to finish." She took a bite of her sandwich and looked toward the basket.

She cocked her head to the side. "What do you think strawberries would taste like on this?"

Kirstin thought. "It might be really good. Try it."

Elle got out the container of strawberries. "I will if you will."

The curtains drawn around Kirstin's hospital bed diffused the morning sun shining through the windows and surrounded her with a soft yellow light. She removed the bandage wrapped around her hand and looked at the pink skin. The night before, her hand was a red sore, shiny with histamine. Soon, her skin would be ivory again.

She used her crutch to hook the strap of her bloated book bag and pull it toward the bed. The uniform inside was crumpled, but the cotton was soft against her wounds. Before Kirstin left the hospital wing, Madame Pomfrey fussed about the wrinkled clothes, casting a charm to straighten them and forced her patient to eat a small breakfast of toast.

Kirstin arrived at the office door of the potions master. She took a deep breath to regain her composure. Her hand was shaking with nervous excitement and she knocked on the door, beyond which was her future, her dream.

The hinges made no noise when the door opened, nor did the man who greeted her. He stepped aside and she entered the dim room, lit by candles with great stalactites of wax hanging from them. Kirstin felt surprise. The candles looked like they belonged in a vampire lair, yet the furnishings were simple and tasteful, if a bit worn. He sat in a stuffed armchair that had cushions tamped down by use. Kirstin sat in the chair opposite. The cushions were thick and looked new, though the upholstery matched the other chair.

The office was an apartment. Kirstin had not thought of the fact that the teachers live in the castle.

She attempted a nervous smile. "Thank you for helping me." She looked down at her hand, which did not look pink in the candlelight. "It really means a lot to me."

He did not acknowledge her words.

"I don't know where to begin." She sighed.

He gave a brisk nod. "The simplest place to begin is by looking at a potion that has similar results to those you wish to create."

She thought. "We've done shrinking potions. Is there a growth potion to reverse it?"

Approval showed in his eyes when he nodded his head. "What is the most important factor in making a potion effective?"

"The active ingredient." She leaned down to take her potions book out of her bag. "So, first I need to find the active ingredient in the growth potion and base my potion around it." The potion was not in the index of her book.

"That potion is not covered until third year." He said. With a swish of his wand, a book flew into his hand.

"After finding the ingredient, you must find any potions which effect bones, even adversely, to see which ingredients they have in common."

She nodded, memorizing the instructions.

"Come to me in a week with a list of possible ingredients."

Butterflies grew wings and flew in her stomach. In a week she would be one step closer to a real life.

They stood and she left, intending to spend her Saturday in the library.

Well, what did you think? Let me know!

Thank you to all the reviewers—you have know idea how much they help me to keep writing instead of just abandoning the story.