The Diary

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Chapter 18*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The next morning the decision was made. Thomas would give up his mother's diary until he could make up the work, but not before he read a bit more.

~The Diary~

~Flashback~

"Draco, what are you doing here?" Kali asked flustered as she put some distance between herself and her former boyfriend.

"I needed to buy my books. Why else would I be at Flourish & Blott's?" he asked.

"To spy on me!" she accused as her arms crossed over her chest.

"Spy on you?" Draco repeated, "Please not everything revolves around you oh conceited one."

"Malfoy, stop patronizing me or I'll..." her voice drifted off.

Draco closed the distance between them till their faces were inches apart, "Or you'll what?"

"I'll..." she whispered but Draco silenced her with a kiss. Old flames began to spark as Kali melted back into his embrace. For a moment that is. "Or I'll do that!" she yelled after giving him a good smack in the face.

"Come on Kali," he said with his signature smirk, "you can't say that you didn't enjoy it."

"I did enjoy it but that is not the point Draco. The point is that we are through. I'll still be your friend but we are not dating anymore," she explained, "and it would be in the best interest of Slytherin House if both of its prefects got along."

"You fancy him don't you?" Draco accused, "You like Harry Potter."

"No I don't," Kali defended rather flustered, "I don't know why you'd think so. He is just a friend; someone to keep me company while I was alone in my manor."

"Sure Kali," he said sarcastically.

"You are so infuriating!" she hissed.

"And you are quite stunning when you are mad," he complimented, "Your eyes kind of seem purple and you get these little red flecks in 'em."

"AHHHH! I hate you," Kali seethed, "This means war Malfoy." After her declaration she left in a flurry of her Hogwarts robe and fall cloak.

"Bring it on," he whispered as he entered the shop.

~Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor~

Kali arrived at the designated meeting spot ten minutes early, but she already saw Harry waving at her and inviting her to sit with him and his friends. She took the empty seat in between Harry and Ron and placed her parcels on the floor next to the chair. Florean Fortescue came to take her order, vanilla ice cream and orange sherbet.

"Kali may I introduce my friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger," Harry said as he gestured to each person, "Ron, Hermione this is Kali Lupin."

"Pleasure," Hermione stated rather than greeted. Kali nodded in her direction.

"Nice to meet you," Ron greeted warmly as he shook her hand.

"Actually we've met before. Remember? I was exiting the hospital wing and you were entering and we collided after the last eve... at the end of last term," she explained.

~Mini-Flashback~

Sorry about that. I hope I didn't hurt you," he said as he helped Kali up.

"I'm fine," she said as she dusted herself off.

"My name is Ron Weasley by the way," He said as he offered her his hand.

"I know who wouldn't? You are a part of the infamous Gryffindor trio," Kali said as she shook his hand, "But I must be off and I am sure you are very worried about your friend, Harry."

~End Mini-Flashback~

"Oh yeah, the pretty Slytherin," Ron said grinning madly while glancing at Harry.

"I wouldn't know about the pretty part," Kali blushed, "but I am a Slytherin."

"Why were you in the hospital wing?" Harry asked with concern evident in his voice.

"Well, I..." Kali suddenly became quiet and quite interested in her ice cream.

"You were that girl who was screaming in the Slytherin stands weren't you," Hermione accused, "They say that you are a seer."

"Hermione!" Ron said in shock.

"It's alright, Ron. Yes I was, but I am no seer," Kali answered flatly, "It was a fluke that I... that I saw what happened." She chanced a glance at Harry who wore a look of shock and, surprisingly, hurt.

After Kali's answer the group fell into silence and any attempt at conversation was strained and failed. Soon Remus and Padfoot joined the group and speech returned to the table. After an hour goodbyes were said and they all departed; Ron to the burrow, Hermione home with her parents and everyone else went to Lupin Manor.

~End Flashback~

The next few days were difficult for Harry and I. He felt betrayed that I never told him about the vision and I was confused about, well, everything! I decided that it would be in my best interest if I kept myself occupied. That is where my book came in handy. I didn't know what I was getting into, but things would change and secrets would be revealed.

~Flashback~

*It's just a stupid journal! There is nothing here but blank pages,* Kali thought as she quickly flipped through the book for the hundredth time. "Ow ow ow ow," Kali muttered as she began to suck on her finger. The coppery taste of blood filled her mouth, "I hate paper cuts!" She looked down at the book, it was flipping itself back to the beginning and the pages took an eerie glow. When it reached one of the first pages a spot on the side of the book began to glow, it was where she cut her finger. When the glowing stopped, words in a curvy, elegant handwriting began to appear.

Welcome to the Book of Prophecy

The words faded and new words began to form.

By giving your blood you have proven your heritage

And as a member, you have been granted

The secrets of the Slytherin Clan

"No," Kali whispered, "I can't! I can't be one of them." She knocked the book off her bed as she covered her ears while repeating 'I can't'.

A knock sounded on the door, "Are you ok Kali? I was passing by when I heard something."

She wiped her eyes and sniffled a bit, "I... I'm fine Harry. Just fine."

"Are you sure? If you want something I could..." Harry let the offer fade into silence.

"No, I'm alright. Just knocked a book off the nightstand," Kali lied.

"Ok, see you at dinner then," he said.

"Wait, Harry," Kali said, "Please come in." The door creaked open and a mop of black hair peeked in. Kali smiled slightly then patted the bed space next to her. He cautiously walked over and sat down. They sat in silence for a moment.

"I'm sorry," they both announced in unison. Kali chuckled and motioned Harry to continue.

"I'm sorry Kali," he began, "I had no right to get made at you for not telling me about the visions. It's you business, not mine."

"No, it is your business Harry," Kali lamented, "I saw what happened. I know what happened better than anyone else. I should've told you, maybe then you wouldn't have had to bottle everything up."

"I'm not bottling everything up," he defended.

"You are too!" she yelled playfully.

"Am not!" he pouted.

Kali laughed, "You never talk about yourself."

"What's to say?" he shrugged.

Kali thought for a moment, "What was your childhood like?"

"I don't want to talk about it," he replied coldly, "I'm sure you already know anyways."

"I know what other people think it was like. I don't know what you thought it was like," she told him before silence joined them.

Kali was about to tell him that he didn't have to tell her but then he said something, "It was bad. Dudley and his best friend, Piers Polkiss, would always beat me up. My aunt and uncle were no better, though they were never physically abusive." Harry sighed and looked down at his hand. It was covered by Kali's as a sign of comfort and urging him to let it out. "I never heard a kind word from them. It was always 'do this do that. You're such a burden you ungrateful pest. Your parents were worthless just like you.' Basically, I felt like dirt."

"You're not dirt or worthless," Kali consoled, "You're..."

"Harry Potter, the Boy-who-Lived," he said, "The hero of the Wizarding world."

"Actually, I was going to say that you're just Harry; son of Lily and James Potter, godson of Sirius Black and Katherine Kensington-Lupin, best friend of Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, arch nemesis of Draco Malfoy and star seeker on the Gryffindor quidditch team. You aren't worthless. If anything, they are the worthless ones with their holier-than-thou attitudes and prejudices."

"You forgot something," Harry told her after her speech, "Friend of Kali Lupin."

Kali smiled and gave his hand an assuring squeeze, "Yeah, I did forget that."

"What about you? What was it like in the orphanage?" he asked.

"Well, I didn't spend all my time at the orphanage. I was adopted several times but every couple returned me like a defective television," she laughed, "The first time I showed signs of magic, I was living with this middle-aged couple. They liked to watch tv at night and they forced me to sit with them. The shows were horrible! Reality shows were their favorites, drove me up the bloody wall! One night I had finally had enough and asked if I could watch some cartoons or comedy shows. They yelled their heads off and I got so mad that I caused the television set to explode. Fantastic bit of pyrotechnics in my opinion, but they just yelled more. Thank god they returned me the next morning."

"How can you laugh at something that sounded so bad?" Harry asked bewildered.

"Two reasons; one, if I can't laugh then life would be no fun," she told him.

"And what's number two?" he asked.

She gave him a smirk, "Can't tell you. It's my secret."

"Well, I still have a potions essay to finish," Harry said as he hopped of the bed, "See you at dinner."

"Till then," Kali said as she watched him close the door behind himself, *Now what am I going to do about the book?*

~End Flashback~

I didn't know what to do. I couldn't go to anyone. How would I even approach the subject? "Hi, my name is Kali and I am a Slytherin as in descended from Salazar Slytherin. Can you help me?" Who would help me? People would run from me. So I did the only thing I could. I read the book.

Its thinness was very misleading because it was filled with information. After the introduction page was a sort of table of contents. I just had to point my wand to whichever section I wanted and it would appear on the blank pages. There was a section of personal writings from the family, spells, potions and of course a section of prophesies about our family made by Cassandra Slytherin, Salazar's youngest daughter. Ironic isn't it, her name being Cassandra and all, but back to the important thing. There was a family tree that recorded the births within the family and helped me discover my true lineage. My mother was not Katherine Kensington but Katherine Riddle. My grandmother, Kaitlyn, didn't want her... lover, I suppose would be the correct term, to know that he had fathered a child so she gave my mum her maiden name. You see my grandfather was... is quite evil. The majority of the Wizarding World is afraid to speak his name. Of course most of them don't even know that his real name is Tom Marvolo Riddle. They just call him Voldemort.

~End Diary~

Thomas closed the book. *He... she... they can't... can they?* he thought, *Impossible!* He fished out the book his father had given him and opened the old book to the middle. *Now I need something sharp,* he thought as he looked around his bed and nightstand. He couldn't find anything so he resorted to purposely giving himself a paper cut. After several failed attempts he finally got a bleeder. He let a few drops land on the paper before he began to nurse his finger. The same thing began to happen pages glowed and it began to flip itself to the beginning.

Welcome to the Book of Prophecy

The words faded and new words began to form.

By giving your blood you have proven your heritage

And as a member, you have been granted

The secrets of the Slytherin Clan

Thomas grabbed his wand and turned the page. He pointed at the words 'Family Tree' and flipped to the next page. It worked. He quickly flipped to the very end where he saw what he wanted.

Tom Marvolo Riddle - Kaitlyn Kensington

Katherine Kensington-Riddle - Remus Lupin

Kali Lupin - Harry Potter

Thomas Potter Kristina Potter

It was true he was a Slytherin, but that was not the most shocking of discoveries. It was the name next to his. Who was Kristina Potter? And why was she on the same line as his? He had several options to choose from to find out. *One, I could ask Dad. No, he won't say anything. Two I could ask the granddads. No, they are just as bad as dad. Can't ask the Weasleys or the Malfoys. Dumbledore? No. Maybe I should wait. My mum has to mention it, right? Yes, she has to,* he thought, *But I have to give Covington the diary today. Wait Covington might know! Maybe I should try her first.*

Happy with his plan, Thomas went to breakfast with his friends. They chatted and Thomas told them about seeing his mother. Soon afterwards he excused himself and went to go see Professor Covington.

~Professor Covington's Office~

"Come in come in," came her voice and a yawn. Thomas entered the room with the diary in hand. He strode purposefully to her desk and deposited the book on its top. Covington looked from the book to Thomas and back to the book again, "What is the meaning of this, Mister Potter?"

"I've decided that you were right. I have to start paying more attention to my school work and not the diary," he answered her formally.

"Did your father put you up to this?" she asked while staring him down.

"No, he still doesn't know about the diary and I made the decision myself," Thomas replied.

"You've made a very hard and a very mature decision, Mister Potter," she said as she put the diary in one of her desk drawers. She brought out a roll of parchment and handed it to her student, "Here you are Mister Potter, the scroll with your assignments. You forgot it yesterday morning."

"Thank you Professor," he said as he looked down.

"No need to feel ashamed Mister Potter. You had a right to be angry," she told him, "Now why don't you go off to a quiet area where you can get a start on those essays." She took a seat behind her desk and looked at the papers that laid scattered about, "You are still here Mister Potter."

"Yes, ma'am," he responded, "I have a question."

"And what might it be?" she asked as she looked back at him.

"Well," Thomas began, suddenly feeling scared, "I... I was wondering if you knew anything about Kristina."

"I am impressed Mister Potter. I didn't think you could read that fast," she started before a realization hit her, "Of course if you had read that far you would have known about her." Thomas nodded his head. She continued, "I cannot tell you, for I am not even sure myself. All I can tell you is that you should read on... after you finish your assignments. Now run along Mister Potter."

Thomas said as he left the office, "Goodbye."

"Goodbye Mister Potter," Kay said as she saw him leave.

~Gryffindor Common Room~

After the talk with Professor Covington Thomas knew he had to get a start on the assignments right away, but first he'd have to get his stuff. He entered the common room and spotted his best friends sitting in a couple of comfy read chairs in the far corner.

"Hi guys," Thomas greeted as he tried to hurry past them and into the stairway to the dormitories.

"Thomas," Rhiannon exclaimed as she moved to block his path, "Where have you been?"

"Out with my dad," he replied emotionlessly.

This time Will voiced a question, "Out with your dad? What did you do?"

"I visited my mum," Thomas's voice cracked with suppressed emotions.

"Oh," Will responded.

"Where are you going," Rhi questioned as she followed Thomas up the stairs and into the first year boys' room.

"To the library, I have some assignments to work on," he answered as he packed some rolls of parchment, books, quill and inkbottle into his rucksack.

Will was about to speak when Rhiannon signaled him to stop, "Alright, I was just about to challenge Will here in a game of chess.

"You are?" Will asked as he stared at his cousin.

"Yes, remember?" Rhiannon coaxed.

"Oh yeah," Will mumbled.

"Well I have to go," Thomas said as he secured the flap of his bag and hefted it onto his shoulders, "I'll see you later."

"Bye," Will responded.

"Bye Tom," Rhiannon said, "Maybe later we could hang out."

"Maybe," he muttered as he left.

~Library, Several Hours Later~

Thomas found a quiet spot in the back of the library and went to work on his essays and after several hours he needed a break. He reached into his bag and pulled out the Slytherin book and made it take him to the prophecy section. Towards the end middle of the book he found some interesting prophesies about a bird, a cub and a snake.

Prophecy of the Bird, Cub and Snake

Twisted and molded into what it is.

The snake will rise to power not once but twice.

The first defeat shall come from a cub.

The second defeat from the cub and the light of a bird eternal.

The snake, ever living, shall never die, merely change.

Forever shall it be hunted by the cub and the bird and never will it live unhunted.

*Now what does it mean? Obviously about Voldemort,* Thomas thought as he shut the book and continued with his studies, *Oh well, I'll think about it later. Can't be the first Potter to be suspended can I?*