Secrets

Chapter 2 - M.A.P.s

As the Ravenclaw students finished settling into their dormitories, they filtered downstairs to gather around the softly glowing fireplace in their common room. Kyra settled into one corner of the large blue sofa in the center of the room. Lisa's orange striped tabby cat, Garfield, arranged himself on her lap, purring contentedly. No one had been able to figure out why, but for some reason the kitten had taken to Kyra right off the bat, rather than Lisa. This would be the cat's sixth year of spending the evenings with his owner's best friend, rather than his owner. Luckily, neither girl seemed to mind the cat's confusion all that much.

Terry had finished unpacking in record time and been the first one down to the common room. As a result, he'd claimed The Chair, the large overstuffed armchair in the corner that looked very well loved and was a favorite of all the housemates.

"Has anyone figured out who they're going to do their Magical Arts Project with this year?" Lisa questioned as she settled onto the couch next to Kyra. She reached over and scratched her kitty behind the ears.

During their sixth year, students were expected to pick a teacher to study with and work on a year-long project with them. It could be in any subject that interested the student, and was usually related to the career they wanted to go into, but not necessarily.

"I think I'm going to work with Professor Binns, in History of Magic," Anthony Goldstein replied. He was sitting cross-legged on a cushion in front of the fire, flipping through the new Charms textbook.

"I'm probably going to stick with Professor Flitwick and do a Charms project," Padma Patil spoke up. She was sitting on the sofa across from Kyra and Lisa, unbraiding her long dark hair.

"Yeah, me too," added Noel, who was seated beside Padma.

"That's just because you're a chicken," Terry commented, eying his friend from his perch in The Chair.

"Oh yeah? And who are you planning on studying with, O Brave One?" Noel retorted. "Snape?"

"As a matter of fact," replied Terry, "he's at the top of my list."

A chorus of disbelief circulated through the group.

"Terry, you're such a kidder," Kyra said. "We are all quite aware of how much you like plants." The sixth-year boys' dorm always resembled a jungle by the end of each year. Terry had an overly enthusiastic attachment to plants that had resulted in many interesting tales over the years, like the time Lisa's cat ate Alihotsy leaves and ran frantically around the common room for 18 hours. They now had to keep their door closed to prevent any more of the house pets from entering and eating the plants

"Yeah, I know," he replied, "but I'm serious. I really like Potions. And I get the feeling that if you get to know Professor Snape, he really isn't that bad."

Lisa snorted. "Yeah, I bet he's a real peach." Lisa expressed almost Gryffindor quality hate towards Potions and its professor. While no one especially liked Snape, most of them respected him as a highly qualified teacher and remotely enjoyed the subject. Lisa was a complete klutz when it came to her potions however, and barely managed to pull a decent grade due to the fact that she was always screwing up her assignments.

"What about you two?" Padma asked Lisa and Kyra.

"I don't know," Kyra answered thoughtfully, stroking Garfield. "Maybe either Charms or Defense Against the Dark Arts, assuming we get a decent teacher this year."

"That's about how I'm leaning," replied Lisa. "I could definitely use the practice in Dark Arts, that's for sure," she added. "Last year was such a joke!"

Some of the other students looked at each other, but didn't say anything. Kyra, Terry, Michael Corner, Padma, and Anthony Goldstein had all participated in a private study group devoted to Defense Against the Dark Arts last year. The group had been led by Harry Potter, and they'd taught each other a lot, despite not being able to meet very often. The wicked Umbridge woman had invoked an insane number of Educational Decrees, forbidding just about every activity under the sun, including group meetings and Quidditch practice. Cho Chang, Luna Lovegood, and Marietta Edgecombe had also participated in the group along with a large number of Gryffindors and a few Hufflepuffs. Together they called themselves Dumbledore's Army. With the Educational Decrees all revoked now they really didn't have anything to worry about, but the secrecy had been ingrained in all of them, so none of them spoke up about the subject. Marietta had also ended up betraying the group to Umbridge, so they were all very careful not to mention the subject around Marietta.

Michael Corner was the last to speak his mind. He'd been sitting on the floor, staring at the staircase to the girls' dormitory for the last fifteen minutes. He was probably wondering why Cho hadn't come downstairs yet, but since none of the seventh-year girls had come downstairs yet, it most likely meant that they were catching up with each other up in their room.

"Hey Michael," prompted Padma after a short lull while they waited for him to snap back to reality, "what about you?"

"Huh?" he replied. "Oh, um, I was thinking of studying with Professor McGonagall. I want to become an Animagus."

"Seriously?" questioned Kyra. "Whatever for?"

"Why not?" he replied, somewhat defensively.

"What's wrong with Transfiguration?" Padma asked her.

Lisa replied for her friend, "Oh, it's not the class she has a problem with. It's just that people turning into animals makes her skin crawl."

"I never knew you were prejudiced against Animages, Kyra," Terry said, a look of concern on his face.

"Robert Witherspoon is an Animagus," added Noel. Robert was a second-year who turned into a parrot and flew away anytime he felt really upset and threatened.

"Yes, I know he is," returned Kyra, "and if you've noticed, I don't hate him," she added in her defense. "It just makes me uncomfortable, that's all. The whole thought that people can turn into animals and spy on people without them knowing is horrible." They'd all heard about how Ron Weasley's pet rat Scabbers had actually been a man by the name of Peter Pettigrew. Kyra had been afraid of Garfield for weeks after that, until Lisa took her cat to Professor McGonagall and had him tested to be sure he was truly a cat.

"It's okay, Kyra," Luna Lovegood commented. She'd just come downstairs and sat on the floor beside Terry. "I don't think you're a terrible person."

"Thanks, Luna," Kyra replied wryly. The thought that the others might think she was a terrible person was not entirely heartwarming.

"I'm sorry, Kyra. I wasn't trying to make you sound like a horrible person," Lisa apologized to her friend. "She really isn't a horrible person!" she added, addressing the rest of the group in an attempt to make amends.

"Anyway, I'm sorry Michael," Kyra apologized. "Just don't spy on me, okay?" she asked, forcing a smile.

"You have my word, Kyra," he replied, making a show out of crossing his heart.

As the common room began to fill up, the sixth-year students found themselves pulled into more general and numerous conversations.

"So, Noel, you trying out for the Beater position this year?" Roger Davies asked, sitting on the edge of the couch near Kyra.

"I thought I might," he replied.

"Great!" Roger answered. "What about you, Lisa?"

"Me?" she asked, shocked that he'd even asked her. "The world's biggest klutz?"

Terry grinned at her from across the room. "Hey, the open position is for Beater, not Chaser. You aren't expected to hang on to the ball!"

Lisa pantomimed picking the cat up off Kyra's lap and throwing him at Terry, who ducked in response. The whole common room erupted in laughter.

Several of the younger students expressed their interest in trying out for the team to Roger and the other players, who did their best to answer their questions. Noel probably stood the best chance of making the team, since he'd spent some time last spring bugging the former Beaters. Both of them had graduated, however, and Noel was only one person, so that left one more spot open.

Lisa sat quietly and considered her options. She was a decent player and played often over the summer in pick-up games with her rather large family. She was a terrible Chaser and Keeper, always dropping the ball. Her favorite position to play was Seeker, but Cho wouldn't graduate until next year, and then the position would probably go to a younger student with more talent than she had. Being a Beater wouldn't be bad, but she really didn't think she stood a chance, and it meant she'd have to spend more time with Roger. She'd just have to continue to be content to watch and cheer from the sidelines with Padma, Luna, and the rest of the house.

After a while, students began to call it a night and headed upstairs to their dormitories. Yawning, Kyra picked up Garfield and carried him up to the girl's room. Luckily, unlike his namesake, Lisa's cat was actually pretty small and only weighed about six pounds. The girls crawled into their large four-poster beds, and Garfield curled up at the foot of Kyra's.

~*~