Katherine’s mind raced, she knew that she had to say yes, but still part of her wanted to say no.
“Yes,” she said quickly before she lost her courage.
A smile crept across Professor Blue’s face and for the first time she saw a twinkle in his eyes. In that moment, she forgot how he had been so annoying and couldn’t help but notice how handsome he was, but her attention was brought quickly back to why she was even there.
“Okay, the prophesy says, basically, that Voldemort could be brought to full power through only one person… one heir. He used the Blood Right Charm to make you his only living heir. Powerful magic runs down your family line. That is why he chose you. He wants you because in his mind you are the only one who can help him defeat Harry and once you bring him to power it will be for good.”
He stared fixedly at her, waiting for a response. Katherine sat for a moment.
“Is there anything else?” she whispered.
“Well, yeah,” he began, his excitement leaving him. “There is one other thing, but it’s not important. You should just let me worry about that.”
He did not meet her eyes as he spoke. She didn’t like the sound of what ever she wasn’t being told about the prophesy. It didn’t explain the dream.
“Why was Draco there then?”
“As I said let me worry about the rest of the prophesy, at least for a while,” he said finally making eye contact. “You know what you need to know for now.”
His firm tone was comforting and she said no more about it, turning her attention to what she had to do next. She didn’t want to do this more than anything else, but knew she had to know.
“And what about the second prophesy, the one about Harry?”
“Ah, I wondered if you would ask about that or not,” Professor Blue said. “It basically says he is ‘The Chosen One’ as the Daily Prophet says. The funny thing is, as Dumbledore told me, is that both prophesies only came to be because Voldemort made it so. He created an heir that could refuse to help him, that would be you. Also, he instilled in Harry such a hatred that he could not let Voldemort live and then gave Harry the means to destroy him.”
“You knew Dumbledore?” Katherine said, not able to keep the question from slipping out.
“Yes, I did. He had it set up for me to come here in case he died. I only agreed to do so because I thought it was so unlikely. Unfortunately, I was mistaken. He told me everything I needed to know to accompany Harry, if the time came, and also how to help you. That’s why Harry and I were gone. We were out…”
“Out doing what, Professor?”
“I don’t think I should tell you yet. This next week will decide what I tell you or don’t tell you.”
Silence fell. Katherine fiddled with the belt of the robe, staring at the floor.
“Katherine,” Professor Blue said, breaking the silence, “there is something else. You can’t let anyone, not even Harry, know what you know, and unfortunately, I can’t either. I had to tell Harry about the first prophesy, but he doesn’t know that it means you or that you are his sister. I’m sorry I can’t fix everything between you and your friends, but I have to protect something greater than that.”
Katherine nodded her head. She understood what he meant. School would be different without her friends and there was no way to gain their trust without telling them what he didn’t want her to tell.
“You’ll have to fend for yourself now,” he continued. “You won’t have your friends. Come see me if you need anything. Now, get back to bed.”
He scrawled a note and handed it to her and ushered her out the door. She made it back to her bed without any problems, but found it hard to get back to sleep. She finally fell into a restless sleep, but woke up again as the sun’s light began to slide into the room. She dressed quietly and grabbed her things for Herbology and some extra parchment. While she was lying awake she had decided to write to Remus; he would be able to help her. He seemed calm and reliable. She crept out of the dormitory and found a corner of the common room that was lit enough to see. She pulled out her parchment and quill, but the words to write didn’t come. Staring out the window, Katherine tried to think of what to write. She had to tell him everything, but she didn’t know how. Before she had put a single word down, students had begun to trickle into the common room and down to breakfast. Not wanting to be caught here when any of her friends came down, she shoved her things back in her bag and followed some younger students out of the portrait hole and down to breakfast. She sat alone towards the far end of the table nibbling some toast. After finishing a piece, she finally began to write the letter.
Dear Remus,
School has been going well, but these past few days haven’t. First things first though, can I trust Professor Blue? I need to know, because he has told me a little more about Harry and myself. Also, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny aren’t speaking to me. Well, I don’t believe they will be. We had a row last night. There is a long story that I suppose I should tell you. It started as Hermione being stroppy with me over Ron. Then at the others when they took my side. Then last night Draco Malfoy came to me. He told me his parents told him to watch out for me. Hermione saw us together and thought I was a spy. She told the others, so now they think the same. I don’t know how today is going to go. Last night, something else happened. I had a strange dream. I’ve had it before. I’ll write about it on another parchment and send it with this one. How are things with you? I hope your week has been better than mine. Please send me some advise.Love,
Katherine
After finishing she wrote a description of the dream and rolled it outside of the letter. While she had been writing, the Great Hall had filled. She spotted Ron and Ginny way down the table and, after turning, could see Hermione and Harry there as well. Thinking it was about time for class, she packed away her things. She walked down the table, keeping her eyes down as she passed the others. As she turned for the door, the ‘mystery man’ caught her eye at the end of his table. He looked up for only a second then turned to the boy who had ran into her and kept talking. As she passed, the one he was talking to said, “So, you’re the new Gryffindor ambassador to the Slytherins, are you?”
Katherine sped up as she heard laughter sweep down the table. She walked alone to Greenhouses, where she grouped with some Hufflepuffs for the assignment. Herbology was getting hard enough for her, but today was especially difficult as her lack of sleep caught up with her. By the end of class her lack of attention had earned her extra homework. After class, she made her to the owlery. She had to ask a professor for directions but finally made it. She called for Maximus who landed gracefully next to her. She tied the letter to his leg and was about to tell him where to take it when it occurred to her that it might not be safe to send it to Remus. If he was doing work for the Order, someone might suspect something. Maximus tugged her robes impatiently.
“Stop, I’m trying to think of who to send it to,” Katherine said, petting his head. She reread the letter in her mind. Then it hit her.
“Take this letter to the Burrow and give it to Mrs. Weasley,” Katherine said, taking out a small piece of parchment and scrawling a quick note to Molly. She tied it to Maximus’s leg and watched him fly away. As she walked down to lunch, she thought about the last two weeks. She had been living in a dream with Harry and his friends. It had not been reality. She had ignored the fact that they were at war and had forgotten about what the Dark Lord had done to her. She had ignored her Aunt’s memory, except for a brief moment during the funeral. As she got lost in her thoughts, Katherine wandered down stairs and through halls she had never been. Soon she was really lost, looking around but not recognizing any thing. Sitting down, she scooted against the wall. She let the memory of the night she left her house pour over her. She went through what Dumbledore had told her and what Remus had said. As she went on to her conversations with Professor Blue, she didn’t even realize that tears had started to run down her cheeks. Somehow, though, the memories felt different today. She did not feel overwhelmed, like the times she remembered them while trying to sleep. As Katherine sat there on the floor, she made a promise that she would do what she had to do in order to fight Voldemort. She stood up and wiped her face. Pulling her hair back, she began to look for a way down the Great Hall.
It wasn’t long before she was setting down by Neville and Dean, two of the few other students she knew in Gryffindor. She pilled her plate with potatoes as she began a conversation with the two boys. It was an awkward conversation, but Katherine appreciated it. She didn’t expect or want to become instant friends, but hoped that they might become real friends over time.
“So, are either of you going to Slughorn’s for the optional potions lesson this week?” she asked.
“No, I’m not in Potions,” Neville said, taking a bite of beans. “What exactly is ‘optional’ potions anyway?”
“It’s an extra class to go over things you’re having problems with or to work on more complicated potions or theories that we don’t cover in class,” Dean said. “At least, that’s the way Slughorn put it.”
“Oh, well at least it’s not Snape teaching anymore,” Neville said.
“So are you going, Dean?” Katherine asked.
“Yeah, I guess so. I need help on the potion from last week. Are you going?”
“Yeah, I am. I hope it doesn’t last long. I have that assignment from Herbology this morning.”
“Neville could help you with it when we get back from Potions. He’s really good at it.”
Katherine turned back to her food. She and Dean walked to Potions together, but sat apart since Katherine was there for extra work and not to review. There weren’t many people there. Dean was one of five who were there for help and the only other person besides Katherine there for extra work was a Hufflepuff, who she thought was named Ernie.
“OK, is there anyone else you know is coming?” Professor Slughorn asked the students. “No, then let’s get started. First, I’ll work with the group that’s reviewing, then I’ll come work with Ernie and Katherine. Until then, both of you think about what kind of things you want learn to make potions for. After that, if I’m still not with you, begin to look over the next chapter.”
Katherine skimmed over the table of contents. She already knew what kind of potions she wanted to learn. If she was to keep the promise she had made to herself, she would need to learn potions she could use to fight Voldemort, but that seemed very broad to her. She saw a section for healing potions, which she knew would be useful. Also, there were transfiguration and poisonous potions. Overwhelmed by the variety of options, she turned to Ernie and asked him, “What kind of potion making are you interested in?”
“Oh, anything to help with the NEWTs really. I hope to become a Healer though, so any potions that would involve that would be helpful.”
When Slughorn returned, Katherine and Ernie both listened as he explained differences between a large variety of potions used for healing. He listed fourteen different ones for them to take down.
“Blood-replenishing potion, boil cure potion, bruise healing paste, burn healing paste, Calming Draught, cough potion, Mandrake Draught, Murtlap Essence, Pepperup Potion, wound-cleaning potion, Consciousness Potion, Draught of Vigour, Draught of Peace, and sleeping potion. These range from the relatively simple potions, with the boil cure potion or Murtlap Essence, to moderately complex potions, such as burn healing paste or Calming Draught, to very complex potions, including the Mandrake Draught and Consciousness Potion. First work on the Draught of Vigour. Before next week, if you decide to come that is, I want you to divide this list into three groups: simple, medium, and complex. Don’t worry if you don’t know how to do one that is simple, it may have not been taught but should be easy to pick up. Also, I want you to describe how each one can be used and in what situations. I’ll return at the end of class to see how your potions turn out. If you need any help, I’ll be helping the others.”
As Slughorn walked away, Katherine and Ernie went to work on the Draught of Vigour. By the end of the period, both students had managed to produce the glowing, golden potion making Slughorn smile and earning twenty-five points apiece. Katherine gathered her things and returned to the common room. That night she worked on her extra Herbology work with Neville and started on her Arithmancy from the previous day. She made her way to bed early and was fast asleep before anyone else entered the room.
After breakfast on Thursday she went to History of Magic and sat alone at the front of the class ignoring comments from Michael. That night she finished her Arithmancy and helped Neville and Dean with some Transfiguration work. Friday night she worked on Charms and went to bed early, but noticed that Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny seemed to be having a good time around the fire. She slept restlessly. Dreams seemed to take her from bad to worse ending with her floating in the midst of hooded figures surrounded by yellow light.
Saturday morning there was no sign of Harry or the others. She had heard them talking about doing something earlier this week but never heard any details.
After breakfast she gathered the potions papers and spent the morning in the library working through the potions. Nothing shook her concentration until Dean was leaving.
“It’s time for lunch. I thought I should tell you because otherwise nothing will get you to leave.”
After lunch, Katherine started back for the library, but after looking at the number of potions left to do, she decided she needed a break. With no one else to spend time with, she decided to go flying. Before the fight, Ron and Harry had told her that old brooms were kept down by the pitch, so Katherine chose a Cleansweep 5 in fair condition. She walked on to the pitch and saw a few boys down the other end practicing Quidditch plays. There weren’t enough for a team, so she assumed the pitch was open. She hadn’t flown in so long; the air on her face was pure exhilaration. She stopped, floating beside the middle goal hoop. She took the ribbon out that was holding back her hair. She wanted to let the air fly through it. Wanting to find out who was flying at the other end, she flew around the edge diving and climbing to get the feel of the broom. As she got closer, the group stopped their play and turned their attention to her. Suddenly Katherine wished she were anywhere but here.
“Look who it is,” Michael said, “it’s little miss Slytherin or Gryffindor… which was it again, Anthony?”
Anthony, Katherine thought, that’s a nice name.
“You spying on us for him?” another boy asked.
“No! And I’ll have you know I didn’t ask him to talk to me! He forced me!”
Michael and the other boy laughed, but Anthony just stared at her coldly.
“Did you hear that?” Michael started. “She expects us to believe her after her cozy escape with Mr. Malfoy. Is he a good kisser? Do you sneak off between…”
“Shut it, Michael,” Anthony interrupted. “Katherine, just go away. I don’t want to hear anymore lies from you.”
Katherine opened her mouth to argue and Anthony rolled his eyes at the thought. However, she thought better of it and only managed to mutter, “Ok then.”
She put the broom back into the closet. Tears were gathering in her eyes, making her vision blur. She sat down in the closet, holding her knees to her chest. She sat there letting silent tears run down her cheeks. Suddenly a door slammed and the closet door shut, closing her in. As she stood up, she heard the boys talking on the other side.
“Anthony, why do you let yourself get so worked up over her?” Michael said.
“Yeah, it’s not like you two were even together,” the other boy added.
There were a few moments silence, then Michael added, loudly, “Don’t you turn away. If we have to put up with your foul mood, you’re going to tell us why!”
“Why,” Anthony yelled suddenly, “because I saw her walk right by me with him and his hand around her waist. He smirked at me, like they had laughed at the very thought of me liking her. Then, she laughed at my face about it. But what make the angriest…”
He paused for a second, then continued without yelling, “What makes me the angriest is that I believe her.”
Suddenly, something hit the closet door making Katherine squeal. The door opened and the other boy stared back at her.
“What is it, Terry?” she heard Anthony ask.
“It’s her,” he answered, than stepped back.
Now, Anthony stared at her. Katherine couldn’t meet his eyes, but rested her chin on her chest. Staring at the floor, she stepped out of the closet and made her way to the door. As she opened it, she turned to face the boys. Michael and Terry stared at Anthony, apparently waiting for him to yell at her, but Anthony just stared at her silently.
“I’m sorry, Anthony,” she whispered, then closed the door behind her.