Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. Time was passing very fast. Everything seemed to be going well, but future events only contradicted this claim. The worst was yet to come.
Katie was just sitting in the Astronomical Tower, she loved going there. There was peace and quiet there, from so high, you could see a really beautiful landscape stretching far away. Girl was leaning her elbows on the railing. A cool breeze blew through her brown locks of hair. Teenager closed her eyes for a moment and then sighed heavily. After a few minutes, she heard someone coming upstairs to her. Gryff Girl turned in that direction and saw Zoe smiling at her.
"Hey..." Katie was the first to speak.
"Hi." The other replied. "As I thought I'd find you here." Said and walked over to her friend.
"You were looking for me?"
"I didn't see you going to any class today." She announced and looked at her companion.
"Ooh, I decided to take the time off." McAllister smiled. "Maybe tomorrow I'll come to a lesson if I feel like it." She added and the blonde laughed softly.
After a few longer moments, Zoe removed the little blue hair clip from her hair. It was decorated with flowers and leaves of the same colors. In some places there were small, shiny pebbles, also in blue colors.
The blonde looked sadly at hair clip. Katie knew how such a reaction was coming from. This is the last thing left of her parents. Her dad gave it to his spouse on her wedding day, and later her mom gave Zoe a hairpin as a gift. It was the same day the teenagers' parents died.
"You were right about Peter." The younger witch said after a while. "I feel really happy with him." Added with a faint smile.
"Just remember to invite me to your wedding." Katie interjected, which caused her companion to laugh.
"Of course. You'll be my bridesmaid." Said smiling. "Katie..." Blonde became a bit serious so McAllister looked at her. "Thank you for everything you've done for me." Added.
"You have nothing to thank for. Where do these sentiments suddenly come from?"
"Just like that..." Zoe said. "I have a request for you." She looked at her friend. "If anything happened to me..." Began sadly. "I want the hair clip to come to you. I want you to have it."
"Why do you say something would happen to you?" Katie straightened. "What do you mean by that?"
"Nothing, just such sentiments." Smiled faintly.
McAllister wanted to say something else, but she didn't have time, because Filch showed up and, for some unknown reason, chased the girls from the Astronomy Tower.
***
Another few days passed. This time Katie showed up to class. Some subjects were tested so they had to be passed.
A few hours later, they were all sitting in the Great Hall and eating their meals. All kinds of laughter and conversations spread all over the room. There was a fairly cheerful mood, and the owl post arrived later. The students started reading the letters or browsing the newspapers.
"Thanks, Hedwig." Katie stroked her snow-white owl and after a few moments the bird flew away.
McAllister got a letter from her grandmother. The woman wrote that she was fine and that she missed her granddaughter very much.
"A letter from grandma?" Padfoot glanced at the smiling friend.
"Yes." Girl replied to him. "She reminds me in advance to come home for Christmas." Added amused which caused a smile on Sirius' face.
Later, a Quidditch match was to be played, so the students gathered in the stands. Gryffindor faced Slytherin this day. From the very beginning of the match, you could see how much the players were determined to each other. Everyone wanted to win. James chased the Golden Snitch Candle, and Sirius bravely defended his team. Slytherin was very sneaky, they wanted to win at all costs. The students struggled with the Gryffindors, did not pay attention to the fact that something could happen to someone.
"Look!" Lily grabbed Katie's hand and pointed in the direction of Padfoot, which was aimed at by one of the Slytherin players.
It was so sudden that Sirius didn't have time to react and fell off the broom. McAllister immediately got to her feet, terrified, and hid her face in her hands. Luckily, Black grabbed his broom with one hand at the last moment and sat back down on it. Nothing happened to him. Katie breathed a sigh of relief, and Padfoot began to mimic her by hiding face in his hands, just as the Gryff Girl did when he fell. Brunette stuck her tongue out at him in response and sat back down.
After a few minutes there was a loud bang so everyone looked where it was coming from. There was James on the ground and a second Seeker from Slytherin. After a few moments of arguing, Potter raised his hand and showed the Golden Snitch Candle in his hand. At this gesture, all the Gryffindors cheered. Gryffindor won.
Katie, Lily, Remus and Peter left the stands and headed for their team. Evans hugged Potter tightly, and McAllister threw herself on Sirius' neck. Black just laughed and returned the teenager's gesture.
"Don't scare me like that." Witch said.
"It was worth it, since you were so worried about me." He laughed and she hugged him again.
Moments later, in the distance, Katie saw Regulus retreating. Boy watched the situation for a moment and then left with other students from Slytherin.
***
In the afternoon, Sirius and Katie were just returning from Hogsmeade when suddenly a large, brown and fluffy dog appeared on their way out of nowhere. Katie froze motionless as Black looked at her with a question mark.
"What's wrong, Kitty?" He looked at his companion and then glanced back at the dog. "You're not afraid of him, are you?"
Frightened brunette glanced at Marauder, and when the quadruped barked and moved towards them, she hid behind Padfoot.
"Don't laugh, just protect me." Katie was scared.
"Oh, Kitty..." Sirius laughed and then slowly approached the animal, calmed it down and stroked it. "Look what a cutie." He pointed at the dog, but Katie was still afraid to approach. "You're not afraid of me, and yet you're afraid of him?"
"It's different with you." Said. "Besides, I have only recently known that you're turning into a dog." Sighed. "Can we go now?" Asked and hesitantly glanced at the quadruped.
"Yeah..." Black stood up and looked at McAllister. "But only after you pet him."
"N-no, no way." Girl replied immediately. "I'm fucking scared of dogs. No way, I'm not gonna stroke him." Said confidently.
Padfoot sighed and then went to Katie, took her hand and pulled closer to the quadruped.
"No, Sirius, please..." Witch wanted to run away, but she failed.
"Why you're so afraid of them?"
"Because when I was little, a few of them chased me and bit me..." Replied quickly.
"You trust me?" Boy looked at her.
"I trust you, but I don't trust him." She pointed at the dog.
"So imagine this is my doggy form." Black pointed at the quadruped again. "You would stroked me, wouldn't you?" Smirked.
After a few longer moments, McAllister and Sirius approached their canine companion. Girl hesitantly extended her hand to him, and after a while the doggie pulled out head to stroke.
"And? Not that scary." Black smiled proudly.
***
It was evening already. Katie couldn't sleep. Gryff Girl silently got up from the bed and headed towards the common room. Sirius was sitting on the couch next to the fireplace. Girl was a bit surprised at the sight of him, she thought that Marauder was asleep.
Black looked at her and nodded in greeting. Witch smiled slightly and then came closer, sat down next to Padfoot on the couch, and a moment later she cuddled up against his torso. Black put his arm around her and began to play with a strand of her brown hair.
"You can't sleep too?" He asked, glancing at his companion at the same time. Teenager nodded.
"Something bothering you?" Katie raised her head slightly to look at Marauder. "It's not normal to you to be so sad." Added at which Gryff Boy smiled faintly. "You know, I saw your brother today." That got Sirius' attention even more. "What were you arguing about then?" Asked looking at the Padfoot.
"You know what my relations with my family are..." Black sighed. "I don't want to talk about it."
"But it wasn't always like that, was it?" McAllister looked at him in while she was still cuddled to him.
"Maybe everything would have been different if I were like my relatives." He said. "If I didn't tolerate Muggle-born wizards. But I don't regret my choice." Admitted. "Most of my family are obsessed with purity of blood, which is why I'm an outcast. Because I'm different. Not only I end up in Gryffindor instead of Slytherin, like most of my relatives, but I also tolerate people outside of pure blood. Virtually no one in my family liked it." Sighed heavily. "This wasn't always my relationship with Regulus you know..." Mentioned about his brother. "We used to be... Closer, but now it's different. Regulus is the apple of my parents' apple. They always persuaded me to set my younger brother as a role model. They have tried practically everything, so that I would only share their views..."
Katie listened very carefully to her friend's words. She knew that he had been through a lot. She admired him for standing up to the family. Black had a really good and loving heart. However, he was hurt so many times that now it's difficult for him to open up to someone. McAllister was delighted that the Gryff Boy trusted her.
"Lovely family." Sirius sighed with a hint of sadness in his voice.
"What makes you different also makes you unique and amazing person." Katie said, which caught attention of the other. "Maybe in your previous family they put you down for your views, but it's not the same in your current family." Said. "Here crazy people support each other." Added with a smile. "We're Family. You, me, Remus, James, Lily, Peter..." Mentioned a few close ones.
Black looked at her sadly, then he approached the brunette and kissed her softly on the cheek, and then he hugged her again.
***
In the morning, Katie and Remus were returning from breakfast to the Gryffindor common room. As they entered, they stood still, eyes staring.
"What's wrong with you guys?!" Lupin called, and his companion just made a straight line from her mouth and shook her head.
A deer stood in the center of the common room. Yes exactly. The deer stood there in person. And as if that were not enough, he ate some crisps. A rat was dozing on the table next to him, and on the couch, by the fireplace, was a big black dog. Luckily Katie and Remus found them like that, and not anyone else. It was a miracle that no one had noticed them yet.
"Okay, mischief managed." Katie stepped into the room. "Quick, guys! No one can see you like that." After these words, girl heard only a heavy sigh from Sirius, who was still lying on the couch in the form of a dog.
Teenager walked over there and sat down next to him. Black lifted his doggy head and placed it on McAllister's lap. Witch just shook her head and stroked the boy's head, then smiled slightly. She knew it was Sirius, and she wasn't afraid of him. The fear of other dogs at that moment disapireed.
"James, leave those crisps." Remus took the deer delicacy. "Get hold of yourself quickly before anyone comes in. What will you do if Lily sees you like this? Such a drunk... Deer." He added and Katie laughed.
Peter shifted back into his human form and a moment later flew off the table where he had been dozing when he was turned into a rat.
"Quieter there, Moony..." Sirius said, he had changed back into a human. Marauder, still lay with his head on Katie's lap. "I have a bad headache." Added resignedly.
McAllister smiled and continued to play with his longer hair.
"You drunked again?" Suddenly Lily came inside, at which everyone looked at her with fear in their eyes. After all, James was still standing there as a deer! "Hm?" She looked at shocked friends.
"Yeah, you know, it just worked out like that, Evans." Potter said suddenly, changing from an animal to a human at the last moment. The other scared four breathed a sigh of relief when they saw him in his normal form.
***
One day later.
Katie wandered around Hogwarts in search of Zoe. Boys took the map with them somewhere, so witch couldn't find out exactly where her friend was. Suddenly, she heard someone calling her so teenager turned to the direction from which the call was coming. Girl smiled involuntarily when she saw Sirius.
"Heey." Black smiled.
"Hi." Gryff Girl replied the same. "What's up?" She asked. "Oh yeah, have you seen Zoe somewhere?" Added. "I'm looking for her everywhere."
"I was just passing her." Marauder announced. "She asked me to give it to you." Added and handed the envelope to his friend.
Surprised, McAllister took the gift and after a while she opened the envelope, and when she saw its contents froze.
"Where did you met with her?!" Asked immediately.
"Eh, I think somewhere near the entrance to the Astronomical Tower, why?"
Katie didn't answer him, but she immediately ran to that place. She mentally pleaded not to be too late.
The envelope contained a hair clip that Zoe had from her mother. A small note was pinned to it with the words "I'm sorry." It didn't mean anything good...
Katie ran quickly to the place and began to run quickly up the steps to the very top of the tower. Out of breath, she stopped at the top and looked at Zoe standing behind the railing.
"Zoe..." Gasped. "No..." She said and the blonde only smiled faintly and then let go of the railing and fell into the abyss. "No!!" Gryff Girl screamed and ran to her friend with the intention of grabbing her hand. Unfortunately... It was too late.
Zoe fell down from tower.
McAllister quickly descended from the tower and headed for the place where the dead body of her friend was. Several other students had already begun to gather around the body. Katie squeezed between them and stood in shock at the dead Zoe. There was blood everywhere.
Gryff Girl covered her mouth with her hand and fell to her knees next to her friend. She started crying and cursing herself for not having time.
"Get out of my way!" She heard Sirius' voice somewhere. "Stand back!" He called, and stopped short when he saw Katie kneeling and crying over Zoe's body.
Padfoot didn't wait a moment, but ran to the distraught friend and tried to pull her away from the blonde's body.
"Let me go!" Witch struggled, but Black was too strong for her and after a few attempts the girl gave up.
Sirius closed her in his arms. The shaky Gryff Girl snuggled tightly into Sirius. Teenager couldn't utter any words even though she tried. Padfoot tried to calm her down a bit. He stroked her head and kept saying that he was there for her.
Hogwarts director Albus Dumbledore and McGonagall also came a few minutes later. The teachers told the students to leave and they took care of Zoe's body.
"Sirius..." Dumbledore turned to him. "Please get Katie out of here, take care of her." Added gently and boy nodded his head.
Katie had wiped away her tears and was now sitting with her friends next to Dumbledore's office. Gryff Girlwas terribly pale, she didn't say a word to any of her friends. After a few moments, the director was able to go out to them. The man looked sadly at McAllister.
"Come in, let's talk." He pointed to his office.
Teenager shook herself after a long moment and then rose uncertainly on her feet.
"I'll go with you." Black took his friend's hand at which she looked at him. Girl nodded and they both entered Dumbledore's office.
The Gryffindors took their seats in front of the Headmaster.
"I know this is a hard topic..." Began the elderly wizard. "But I have to ask..." He looked at the devastated Katie. "What exactly happened?"
The girl was silent for a long time, she was unable to say anything.
"Katie?" The director spoke again, but teenager didn't answer.
Padfoot looked at his friend and then took her hand and only then witch woke up. Teenager sighed softly and then slowly began to talk about what happened, and when she finished, there was a momentary silence.
"I thought it was better..." Katie said sadly. "That she's really happy now. She found a boyfriend and seemed happy... She no longer told me that someone was still harassing her." Said devastated. "How could I not notice that she was lying to me..." Teenager hid her face in her hands. "I'm such a horrible friend..."
"It's not your fault." Black put his hand on her back.
"It is! It's my fault, Sirius." Gryff Girl looked at her friend. "I should have noticed that something is still wrong. If I had reacted somehow earlier... If I had got there sooner..."
"Don't blame yourself." Dumbledore interjected. "You couldn't have known what could happen. It's not your fault. Zoe must have been hiding her sadness from you because she didn't want to worried you."
"Friends should tell each other about such things. How else we are supposed to help each other?!" Girl hid her face in her hands. She couldn't believe her friend's death.
"Katie, listen..." The Headmaster spoke again. "I know it's hard for you right now. If you want, I can help you somehow..." Added, which attracted the attention of the Gryffindors. "If you want, I can erased some memories, maybe you will..."
"Erased the memories?" Witch said. "Forget about Zoe?"
"About some..."
"No." McAllister replied immediately. "No, I don't want that. I don't want to forget. Neither about the good ones nor about the bad memories. I don't want to forget anything, I don't want to erase anything."
After a few minutes of further conversation, Katie and Sirius left the Headmaster's office. Their friends were waiting for them outside. James, Remus and Lily.
The red-haired girl immediately approached Katie and hugged her tightly. McAllister didn't react. After a moment she moved away from Evans and looked at her friends.
"Where's Peter?" Asked in a broken voice.
In response, Remus pulled out a map and pointed to where their friend was. McAllister started in that direction.
"We'll go with you." Potter said.
"No. I'll talk to him myself." She added and then she went to her friend.
Marauder was sitting on the wall next to Hogwarts Square. Katie walked over to him slowly. The blond boy cried, and when he saw his companion he wiped his tears and looked at her.
"Why...?" He asked right away, but got no answer. "Why did she do that?" Repeated the question. He looked Gryff Girl straight in the eyes. "Explain it to me, because I don't understand." More tears ran down his cheeks. "You said that she loved me, that she was happy..."
"I know what I said..." Brunette said sadly. "I was telling the truth."
"So why?!" Boy shouted.
"I don't know..." Katie said. Tears began to rise in her eyes but witch wouldn't let them flow out. "Peter, she really loved you..." She came up to her friend. "Really."
"Oh, yeah?" He looked at her. "It doesn't look like it." Added. "She told me she loved me, she told you that too, but those were just empty words!"
"No, that's not true." Katie cut him off.
"If she really loved me, she wouldn't do that!" Shouted. "She wouldn't do that to me or you!" He pointed at his friend.
"Calm down, please..." Girl tried to calm her friend.
"No, Katie, I'm not gonna be calm." Said crying. "We were with her the whole time, and that's how she repaid..."
"I know that you're angry now, but listen to me..." McAllister came closer to friend. "Zoe loved you, believe me. When she was with you, she was really happy. I haven't seen her like this for a long time. I know you're angry with her for what she did, for leaving, for leaving us... "She paused for a moment and then continued. "Dumbledore told me that her grandfather also died today... Even though I tried to protect her, people persecuted her all the time, apparently she couldn't take it anymore..."
"Stop it!" Peter said. "Stop it..." He softened a bit. "You're lying to both me and yourself." Pointed at her. "And you know it." Added. "You don't even believe in your own words." Said. "Love... Heh..." Laughed. "It's all just pathetic... You say you love someone, that you care about someone, and then that someone finally leaves you... Love is just some pathetic mockery, now I understand it. It's not worth anything." Said, Katie was suprised buy his words a bit. "Family, friends... Normal attachment to people who will leave you one day, and you end up all alone after all."
"Peter..." McAllister began, but the blond boy didn't let her finish.
"It's true, Katie." He looked at her. He stopped crying already. "Now I understand how wrong I was, but..." Marauder got up and walked over to friend. "Better late than never." He sighed, looked at Katie and then walked over to her, put his hand on her head and hugged her gently. "I'm sorry." Whispered, then left the shaky girl alone.
Now that she was alone, the girl couldn't hold back tears. Emotions took control of her. Teenager fell to her knees and began to cry loudly.
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* Mischief Managed *