Katherine leaned forward, putting both hands on the table, and sat down. As she sat there, just staring and thinking, minutes rushed by uncounted by anyone in the room. She thought about the man in the Pensieve and the woman who had raised her. Everything she had seen ran through her head as she tried to sort out the truth. A hand on her shoulder brought her out of her thoughts and she looked up into the eyes of Remus Lupin, there were tears in them. Pulling him down into the seat next to her, Katherine softly asked him, “Are you my new guardian?”
He smiled, surprised by the question. “Yes, I can be. You don’t technically need one, but if that’s what you want I would be honoured,”he answered.
Her face still gave away no emotion, but she nodded her head in consent. She continued, “So then, what is going to happen to me now?”
Remus looked at the others in the room, but Katherine just stared at him. “Well, I don’t think I should be the only one to decide. I think that we all should-”
“Remus, I think we can all agree that you can be the sole guardian of Katherine,” interrupted the older woman called McGonagall, turning to the couple to make sure she wasn’t speaking against their ideas.
“I don’t think-” Remus began before being cut off by the other woman.
“Remus, Arthur and I agree. There will be less confusion without having to consult each other every time a decision needs to be made.”
Katherine sat silently through this conversation, waiting for them to return to her question. She didn’t look away from her new guardian, but stared fixedly into his eyes. He turned back to her and met her eyes.
“You will go to Hogwarts to finish your schooling,” he answered finally. “When you’re not there, you can stay with me.”
His words were comforting to her. They caused her to once again feel emotion, but she couldn’t let these new people see her fear and sadness. However, her eyes gave her away, at least to Remus, who saw the pain behind them.
“Well, we’d best go to bed,” he said, realizing Katherine didn’t want to appear weak in front of the group of strangers. The couple left without another word. The older woman stood and whispered something to Remus before she too left.
“The Hogwarts Express leaves for school tomorrow morning, but McGonagall says I can take you tomorrow night so you can go buy what you need during the day,” he said, sighing deeply. He seemed to struggle with the words to say next, but standing up he continued, “Harry’s here. He doesn’t know. He shouldn’t know. Do you understand?”
“Yes, you don’t want me to tell him. In fact, I don’t think you want me to tell anyone,” she stated calmly.
“That’s right. Someday you can, but not now. Also,” he continued, this pause appearing to Katherine to be as deeply conflicting to him as asking her not to tell Harry who she was. After walking to the fireplace and stirring the embers, he turned to her and finished, “I’m a werewolf.” Then he hung his head and wouldn’t make eye contact with her. This confession shocked her, but she wasn’t afraid. Even after all she had seen, the belief she held that all beings were equal could not be shaken.
“You are already my guardian; there is nothing I can change,” she told him. “You are obviously a good man. When most others run away from Him, you went to the place where The Dark Lord was, solely to save me.”
“You are as strong as your parents,” he said turning back to her.
“Which ones?” She laughed at herself, but the truth of her statement hurt and she broke into uncontrollable tears. Remus sat down beside her and put his arm around her shaking shoulders. He offered no words, but just let her cry. When she had finished, Remus led her out of the kitchen and up to a bedroom. Bidding her good night, he shut the door. Katherine didn’t take time to look around her room; she went straight to bed.
The next morning, Katherine was awoken by a multitude of voices out in the hall. Sitting up in bed and looking around the unfamiliar room, she remembered what had happened. She stood and walked to the door. Stepping into the hall, she searched for the source of the voices. The noise led her down the stairs. No one seemed to notice her entrance at first; their own conversations seemed to be the only thing on their minds. She just stood for a bit, unnoticed by the throng, waiting for someone to introduce her or at least acknowledge her presence.
She didn’t have to wait long before the woman of the couple she had met last night came over.
“I’m Molly, if you don’t remember,” she began warmly and pulling her into a hug. Gesturing at the crowd, she began to introduce them, “Any of them with red hair are my children. There’s Ron.” She pointed to a gangly, tall boy, who waved awkwardly before turning quickly away, whispering to a bushy haired girl.
“Ginny,” she gestured to a red haired girl who smiled. “They are both still in Hogwarts. Fred and George, on the other hand,” she moved on to the twin boys both grinning mischievously, “are already out. They are just accompanying us to the station. This is Hermione, a friend of Ron and Ginny’s at school.” A bushy haired girl a bit younger than Katherine nodded to her.
“This is Tonks,” a middle aged woman with short, blonde hair smiled at her. “She’s a Metamophmagus. So, if you see her again she probably won’t look the same. This is Mad-Eye,” she said, indicating a man holding a hat who had mismatched eyes, which alarmed Katherine so much she took a step back.
“Now, where is he? Ah, here he is. This is Harry.” The woman smiled down at her pointing to the boy who just walked in from the kitchen. It was uncanny to Katherine how familiar he seemed, and although she had never met him, she could see the resemblance. His hair, though darker, was just as messy, his expression was uncannily close to hers, but his eyes” his eyes were the giveaway; they were exactly like her eyes. He smiled at her and kept walking toward Ron.
“All of you, this is Katherine,” Molly said, interrupting Katherine’s thoughts. “But we must be off. Sorry to leave you in such a rush.”
Katherine watched as they left in small groups, wondering if any of them had noticed the resemblance but her. Remus came over when the party was half gone.
“I’m going to stay here. I would have woken you earlier to meet everyone, but I thought you would need your rest,” he began. “Once everyone is gone, we can get ready and go to Diagon Alley. I told McGonagall I’d have you at the Start-of-Term feast for the Sorting at 5:45. We’ll have all afternoon to get your things at Diagon Alley. I borrowed Harry’s supply list so we’d know what you need. I’m not going to take you back to your house; you’ll need to get all new stuff. Did you grab your wand last night?”
Katherine thought a moment before reaching into her sleeping robes and pulling out her wand, “I must have grabbed right when I woke up. It was an instinct I guess, because I hardly remember doing it,” she explained, shocked at how blurry the last moments in her home were.
She looked around and realized the crowd was gone. She wondered why all those people were here, or even where ‘here’ was.
“Do you live here?” she asked, trying to find out more.
“No, I stay here sometimes, but I don’t actually live here.”
“And where exactly is here?” she continued.
“London,” he answered, “well, practically. You better get ready. Molly left some breakfast in the kitchen for you, so you can eat some before we leave.”
Katherine stood a second, watching him walk to the kitchen. “Wait,” she said suddenly, “I don’t have anything to change into.”
He laughed, “I almost forgot, Molly set out some of Ginny’s robes for you to wear. You can give them back to her at Hogwarts. Now go change, it’s almost eleven.”
Katherine went up stairs and changed. She found a brush with the clothes and attempted to tame her hair, but once again failed. Giving up, she tied it up in a pony-tail. She looked at herself in the mirror. The robes didn’t fit her right and her hair was not at its best, but she made no effort to improve herself; it didn’t seem to be that important. The only thing that bothered her about her attire was what it represented: her life’s sudden upheaval and what she was forced to leave behind. She looked at her watch, 12:05. She went downstairs and ate some breakfast, or lunch. Remus was in the kitchen when she got there and ate with her. They didn’t speak much while they ate and were finished in less than half an hour.
“We better get going,” he told her. “We only have about five hours. Are you up for a Side-Along or would you rather use Floo?”
“Side-Along is fine.”
They spent the afternoon getting everything she needed from her list. She got some new robes from Madam Malkin’s, all her books, and some supplies for potions. When they got to Eeylops Owl Emporium, Remus asked if she would like a pet to take with her. Katherine, however, said she’d just keep Maximus, Ms. Evans’ owl. So they only had to buy a cage.
“Well, I think that’s it. What’s the time?” Remus asked, holding the cage and books.
“It is ten to five,” she said, checking her watch.
“Well, we have time for a drink,” he suggested, leading the way to the Leaky Cauldron. They sat and enjoyed a few Butterbeers, but they both remained quiet.
“It’s half past,” Remus said, looking up from Katherine’s watch, “I had better get you there. You’ll probably want to change. There’s a restroom right over there, just take your new robes. I’ll go pay for the drinks and wait for you back here.”
Katherine walked into the restroom and changed into her new robes. They were much more comfortable than Ginny’s robes. She looked into the grimy mirror, trying to make herself look as nice as she possibly could, but her hair just wasn’t working with her. Leaving the restroom, she found Remus waiting at their table.
“Hold on tight, we’ll Apparate so your robes don’t get sooty.” He smiled and she gripped his arm tight. In less than a second, they were gone. They soon appeared in front of a gate over a path that led up to a magnificent castle. Katherine let out a short breath. Remus smiled at her, saying, “Yes, Hogwarts is very amazing. All we need to do is walk up the path to the castle. I won’t stay for the feast, but I will stay until the other students get here.”
As he was speaking, he led the way to the castle. Katherine looked around, trying to take in everything: a giant lake, the many turrets of the castle, a small village behind her. There were so many things that she couldn’t remember everything. It began to sprinkle just as they stepped through the giant oak front doors. The hall that met her eyes was as equally amazing as the grounds. Remus led her to the right through more doors into another giant hall with four tables running the length and one table at the other end running from side to side.
“Sit here and I’ll go get Minerva,” Remus said, motioning at the nearest table, before walking back out the door they had just entered. She sat quietly waiting for his return. As she waited, adult witches and wizards began to enter. All of them smiled at her, but began muttering softly to each other once they passed.
She was beginning to become nervous. She had never been in a large group of magical people before, nor allowed to have friends her age. How would they treat her? What would they be like? She couldn’t guess. Before long, Remus returned, accompanied by McGonagall.
“It’s nice to see you again, Katherine. The other students will be arriving shortly. We will Sort the first years, and then we’ll Sort you. But until you find out your House, you can sit at the High Table with the Professors. This is the Great Hall and the previous room is the Entrance Hall. Also, you’ll need to refer to me as ‘Professor McGonagall,’” she said, very business-like. “By the way,” she added, softer and more sympathetic, “you’re always welcome in my office if you need to talk. Enjoy yourself.”
Professor McGonagall walked back out the doors, and Katherine could hear her talking out in the other hall, giving last minute orders.
“Well, I had better go now,” Remus said, stepping up next to where Katherine was sitting. “I’ve got things to do. If you have any problems or need anything, just write. I’ll send you a letter about breaks later. Also, I’ll send you a letter about what we find out about Ms. Evans and your home.”
He began to walk off, but turned around again and added, “For a long time I’ve been without a family. I’ve even tried to push away those people who accepted me and wanted to be my family. I’m afraid you may do the same. But maybe now that we are something of a family, we’ll both be able to let others in. It can be a new beginning for both of us.”
“Goodbye, Remus,” Katherine said, standing up, “Thank you for caring.” Then she walked over and hugged him.
“Goodbye, Kathy.”
They let go and Remus walked out the doors. Katherine turned and walked up to the High Table, taking an empty seat next Professor McGonagall, who must have re-entered without her notice. All the seats at the High Table, except two, were now full. Katherine heard a great burst of noise from the Entrance Hall. The students were here, and the school year had begun.