Their return to school was not so enjoyable, after having spent a marvellous five days with Sirius and the Weasleys. Far too much Firewhisky was consumed on New Year's Eve; Sirius finally putting his family's stores to good use. New Year's Day was spent lazing by the fire, most of them nursing hangovers whilst Mrs. Weasley produced a steady stream of delicious food from the basement kitchen. The train was fairly empty as they journeyed back up to Scotland; many students having remained behind to attend the ball. They had a whole carriage to themselves and they amused themselves by playing games of exploding snap and miniature Wizard chess; feasting on a lunch of turkey sandwiches, sausage rolls, mince pies and Christmas cake that Mrs. Weasley had prepared.
Once they were back, the holiday seemed like a distant memory when faced with the mountains of work the teachers decided to throw at them on their first week back; Snape setting a particularly vindictive essay. McGonagall wasn't nice either, giving them a mountain of reading and two essays, paying no heed to their complaints that they didn't have any major exams that year.
"That doesn't mean you don't have to work, Mr Thomas." She said sternly to Dean on Wednesday.
The Slytherins were also being more annoying than usual. Malfoy had been in a foul mood ever since the ball and was taking every opportunity to try and curse Kathryn between classes. She ended up with a guard made up mainly of DA members who escorted her through the corridors. By the second week of term Malfoy finally gave up, partially because he was sick of going to the hospital wing every other day because one of the DA members' wands had 'slipped' and sent a hex straight at him.
Surrounded by her friends at the beginning of a new year, Kathryn actually dared to hope. Though it was highly improbable, she dared to dream that Lucius Malfoy had actually given up on his quest to try and elicit information about the Order form her. She actually found herself not having to fake a smile, as she was actually happy.
These hopes were dashed, however, halfway through the third week of term at the end of January. They were in the dungeons, nearing the end of their potions lesson when the door creaked open and Mr Malfoy stepped through in his usual arrogant fashion. Her blood seemed to chill in her veins as he walked right past her table. Whatever he was here for, she knew it could not be good.
He headed straight for Snape, who was walking amongst the steaming cauldrons making snide comments about their work. Her stomach contracted horribly as he glanced at her, and she immediately busied herself with her potion; willing that he was not here for some reason connected to her. He had a hurried discussion with Snape before they moved over to where Kathryn was stood. Still she did not look up, slicing her roots furiously as if it would dissuade them from interrupting her work. With a wave of his wand, Snape packed away all her equipment and vanished the potion that was simmering in her cauldron.
"Go on then Potter, out." He said in an annoyed tone, jerking his head towards the door. "But I want an essay on the way potions are used in the Ministry of Magic for when you get back." He continued, oblivious to the puzzled look on her face. Obediently she packed away her books and slung her bag over her shoulder. With one last puzzled glance back at Harry, Ron and Hermione she followed Mr Malfoy out of the dungeon classroom and through the corridors leading to the Entrance Hall.
"You mentioned that you were considering going into the Ministry." He said as they walked. "I have got you a work experience placement there for a few days." He finished as they came out into the deserted Entrance Hall. She had no idea what to say, taken completely by surprise that he had even remembered the conversation. She stood there staring at him, completely gob smacked until he spoke again.
"Now, hurry up and pack a bag." He told her curtly, raising his eyebrows as if he was wondering why she was still there.
She left him standing there whilst she ran up to the Gryffindor common room, changed out of her uniform and threw some things into a bag. She also dashed off a quick note to Harry, leaving it on his bed for him to read later, before running back down through the castle.
She heard the bell go just as they climbed into the Thestral-drawn carriage that was waiting for at the foot of the steps. No sooner had they pulled away he was on her; his hands roving where they wanted, his lips tracing the contours of her face and neck. He would have gone further had they been going anywhere other than a secluded spot from which to apparate. She knew that he would be expecting her to stay with him, and, summoning up every drop of courage she could muster, she spoke.
"I live in London. I'm staying at my house." She said rather quickly. "I'll see you tomorrow at nine, at the visitors' entrance." She did not give him the chance to reply before she apparated straight to Grimmauld Place.
She reappeared with a small 'pop' in her top floor bedroom. Throwing her bag onto her four-poster bed she opened the door and walked slowly downstairs, looking for Sirius. He was not in the library or upstairs drawing room, not that she had expected him to be.
Continuing on, she found no signs of life; the rooms eerily still. She had never really spent much time at the house when it wasn't the holidays, and hadn't realised that it could get so quiet when the Order wasn't having meetings. She finally found Sirius sitting alone in the kitchen, absentmindedly fiddling with a sandwich that was sitting on a plate before him; his fingers methodically pulling it to pieces.
"You know, for an ex-fugitive you lead a pretty dull life." She said with a smile from the doorway. Sirius jerked to life, automatically reaching for his wand, and turning in his chair to see where the sound had come from. "The whole illusion is just ruined for me now!" She went on, laughing a little as she spoke. Sirius just stared at her with a stunned silence.
"What are you doing here?" he asked with a confused expression on his face.
"I've got an unexpected week off school."
"They suspended you?" he said in disbelief.
"Yeah, I really shouldn't have forced Snape to swallow one of Fred and George's fireworks." She said in a serious tone, looking slightly ashamed. "But Madam Pomfrey says he'll live, although his stomach might never be the same again."
"You did what!" He asked incredulously, anger beginning to creep into his voice. Kathryn, however, could no longer keep her face straight and burst into fits of laughter.
"Relax, relax. Snape, unfortunately, is fine." Sirius just looked even more confused. "I'm just pulling your leg, don't panic!" Sirius finally saw the funny side and broke into laughter himself, remembering well the days when he and James would taunt Snape at every possible moment.
"So, what are you really doing here?" he asked as she sat down at the table with him.
"I've got a week of work experience at the Ministry. I mentioned it to one of the Governors at the ball over Christmas and he has organised a placement for me." Kathryn explained.
"Who?"
"I don't know, can't remember his name. I mean, I only mentioned it in passing." She lied. "I just got the letter this morning."
"Any idea where you'll be working?"
"No. I just have to turn up at the visitors' entrance at nine tomorrow." This at least was true.
"You'll have to pop in and see Arthur. He's been working on another modification for your iPod. You really shouldn't encourage him you know." Sirius said with a smile, knowing Mr Weasley's passion for all things Muggle-made. "Molly doesn't like it."
"Oh, let him have his fun, Sirius. I don't mind. He's the reason why I can take it to Hogwarts." It was true, if she hadn't allowed Mr Weasley to tinker with it, she would never have been able to use it in Hogwarts because the huge amount of magic emanating from the castle interfered with anything electronic.
They had all questioned her when she had come back to Grimmauld Place with the small, white, Muggle contraption. Mr Weasley had gotten very excited over the small instruction manual and had nearly fainted when he had seen the gleaming white plug. His many years spent tinkering with Muggle artefacts made it easy to remove the need to charge the machine and Kathryn swiftly donated he plug to his collection. After that, it was just a simple matter of devising a manner to get the music she wanted onto it. After much trial and error, this involved going to a Muggle music shop under the cover of the invisibility cloak, and finding the music she wanted. One swift incantation later and the music was hers.
They still didn't understand why she wanted it though, despite finding the idea of having thousands of songs in her pocket quite fascinating. Her answer was simply that she liked music, which was half true. She wanted it because music was an escape. With the little white headphones blocking out all other noise, her mind could wander and her imagination run wild. Of late it was becoming more of necessity than folly as her mind was dogged by agonizing memories and the accompanying guilt.
"Well, seeing as you're here, lets go out for lunch. As you can see I don't really have much in the house." He indicated his lone sandwich.
Sirius treated her to lunch in Diagon Alley and she in turn took him to Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlour where they sat with steaming drinks just watching people go by. Unable to resist, she did pop into a few shops in search of suitable outfits for the coming week.
That night was spent in ten hours of blissful, blank sleep. She lay curled beneath her duvet, completely content, with the knowledge that he could not find her here as she lay beneath her warm duvet.
The next morning she dressed in her smartest jeans, a fitted blue shirt and a boyfriend-style blazer. She gave Sirius a quick hug before grabbing a piece of toast and walking out the front door, looking like any normal person on their way to work; except for the fact that she was not working in any normal place.
Not long after leaving the house she disapparated and reappeared in a dingy alley lined with bins and containing a single, old style red telephone box. Before long there was another small 'pop' and Lucius Malfoy appeared, looking his usual, haughty self. They did not say a word as they squeezed themselves into the phone box and announced themselves to the cool female voice that greeted them. Once a small silver visitor's pass appeared from where change normally would, they shot below the surface; rapidly descending many levels before arriving in the vast reception hall of the Ministry of Magic.
They passed the giant golden Fountain of Magical Brethren with its gleaming gold witch, wizard, centaur, goblin and house-elf in the middle. Digging inside her pocket Kathryn produced a single gold galleon, which she dropped into the water. She always did this whenever she visited, on her way in and on the way back out. She would never forget the way the golden statues had come to life and saved both hers and Harry's lives by blocking Voldemort's deadly spells when they had attempted to 'rescue' Sirius in their fifth year.
Of course, it had been thanks to some quick spell-work of Dumbledore's, but she still felt like she owed them something. She could still see it all vividly, even though she had been near death at the time; her life ebbing away as Sirius held her in his arms, trying to get her out and back to the safety of Hogwarts. She could see faint marks on the wall where spells had struck and scratches on the wooden floor from one of the statues exploding when Voldemort hit it with a curse.
On either side of the hall wizards and witches were coming and going through the fireplaces, flashes of green appearing every few seconds, and memos were zooming through the air on the way to their recipients. They stopped first at the security desk where her wand was weighed, doing her best to ignore the young wizard who spent more time gawking at her forehead than looking at her wand, before moving on into the crowd waiting for the elevators. Here she got even more looks, several people nudging their colleagues and pointing at her scar. Most, however, had their noses buried in the Daily Prophet and did not care to notice. They ended up on the fifth floor where they were met by a friendly looking witch who was going to look after her while she was there. Much to Kathryn's relief, she seemed capable of talking to her face and not her scar.
As she rode up and down in the rattling, golden elevators; being given a tour of every floor she was forcibly reminded of her first visit to the Ministry. It was on the day of Harry's disciplinary hearing, four summers ago. They had left without her and, with the directions of Sirius; she had made her own way there and talked her way past the security guard. She had first gone up to Mr Weasley's floor to find them and was informed, discreetly by Kingsley, that the venue had been moved down to one of the old courtrooms. Instead of taking the elevator, she pelted down the many flights of stairs at full speed, nearly knocking down a wizard piled high with scrolls of parchment.
She arrived on the ninth level, skidding to a stop on the highly polished floor a metre or so from two important looking people. Turning, she had found Harry and Mr Weasley behind her, looking in surprise at the two figures and then at her. As it had turned out, the portly figure had been Cornelius Fudge and the other Lucius Malfoy. She was completely unaware of this, however, as she stood panting slightly in the corridor wearing only a thin summer top and a pair of very low cut jeans. They had stood there, frozen for a moment, shocked by this new arrival. Fudge and Malfoy had obviously no idea about who she was; her long hair falling over her forehead, concealing her telltale scar.
"I don't believe we've met." Fudge had been the first one to break the stunned silence.
"That's because we haven't." She had replied in a frank, half-sarcastic tone. "Now, let me guess." She had continued. "You," she pointed at Fudge, "you look dressed for work, slightly official. And you," she had then turned to Mr Malfoy, casting a roving eye over his luxuriously crafted clothes and cane, "well, you're just rich." Fudge finally offered his hand to her.
"Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic." She had shaken his hand politely before turning to Mr Malfoy who also took her hand.
"Lucius Malfoy." He gave her hand a small kiss, fixing her with a slightly puzzled, but very interested, look.
"And you are?" Fudge had finally asked. Kathryn chose that moment to sweep her hair back from her face where it was concealing her scar. Harry and Mr Weasley had both seen their eyes widen in shock as they got their first glimpse of the lightning bolt shaped mark that they thought only the boy standing ten feet behind her possessed.
"Kathryn Potter. Nice to meet you" She had introduced herself with no sense of formality, as if she was not special at all. Fudge had gone spare, not believing it at first and then demanding to talk to Dumbledore. Mr Malfoy had remained silent, allowing this information to sink in, and finding himself oddly fascinated by this girl.
When she had a free moment, she nipped up to the Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects where she found Mr Weasley reading through a file beneath his poster detailing the layout of a plug. There was no one else in the office and, after closing the door, she handed him her iPod. He pulled out his wand and muttered something under his breath; a jet of green light shooting out of his wand and hitting the small white object in his hand. After another few taps he handed it back to her with a satisfied smile on his face.
"There, you shouldn't have any more space problems now."
"Thanks Mr. Weasley." She said, slipping it back into its case. "I'd better get back." She gave him a small wave and disappeared down the corridor.
When she had her break for lunch she again went off and found the Auror headquarters, knowing that it was somewhere where people wouldn't stare at her so much. Tonks was the only one in but she was more than pleased to see Kathryn, admitting she was slightly bored on her own. Her hair was midnight blue today, styled into a choppy bob, a change from her usual bubblegum-pink. They talked about school, Quidditch, and her year-old marriage to Lupin. In a hushed voice, she told Kathryn that she and Lupin had talked about having a baby.
"He doesn't really want to," she sighed, looking downcast, "he's worried it'll be a Werewolf, just like him."
"I'm sure it wouldn't." Kathryn reassured her.
"Well, in any case, we're not going to bother trying until this blasted thing's over." She nodded at the wall behind her where a large poster informed them of the precautions to be taken against Voldemort and the Death Eaters. "No sense having a child when we might not even make it out alive."
"We will." This time, when Kathryn spoke, she was confident.
Kingsley arrived after a while, the wall behind his desk covered in a large map and plotted with possible locations Voldemort might be using. It also had names of some escaped Death Eaters and their last-known locations. It also had possible Death Eaters up there, although Kathryn noted that Lucius Malfoy's name was not amongst them. From what she had heard at Order meetings, they had been warned by Fudge to lay off such a rich and important man. His old claim of acting under the Imperius curse still stood after all these years. Technically, they had no concrete proof of him being involved with the Death Eaters.
Kathryn remembered when that wall had been covered with pictures of Sirius. Even though Kingsley, Tonks and several other Aurors knew Sirius was innocent and more importantly, where he was, they had kept a map up to throw others off the scent. They had also engineered false sightings in far-flung corners of the globe. This deception, however, had become unnecessary once she had helped prove his innocence and Voldemort was now the greatest threat to the wizarding world.
On Friday, she found herself working in the Minister's office. It occupied an entire floor, with his various secretaries in the outer office. She spent a majority of the morning being lectured by Percy Weasley on the proper procedure and how his horrendously complex filing system worked. Privately she laughed at him as, every time Fudge poked his head round his office door, he sprang to attention. He also seemed quite put out when Fudge greeted her amicably, without any trace of formality.
She remembered well the day that she, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville and Luna were summoned to Fudge's office along with Dumbledore, Moody, Lupin and Mr Weasley. Sirius was also present; carrying Kathryn for she was still weak from the force of Bellatrix Lestrange's spell. They had proceeded to tell Sirius' story, starting on the night Voldemort had killed Harry and Kathryn's parents. Fudge had listened patiently, although they could all see the disbelief in his eyes. However, thanks to the events of a week previously, he had no choice but to officially pardon Sirius for he himself had seen Voldemort and Peter Pettigrew in the Ministry.
Once she had returned from lunch, she settled herself behind an empty desk in the back corner of the large room and began to summarise a file into a two-page memo for the Minister. She heard Percy spring to his feet yet again as someone left Fudge's office, but did not realise who it was until a shadow appeared over her piece of parchment. Looking up, she saw Mr Malfoy standing before her desk.
"Might I have a word?" he asked, not expecting a reply. She stood and quietly followed him out to the corridor containing the many elevators. She did not speak, waiting for him to explain. He regarded her for a moment, and she shifted uneasily. She was dressed in a smart pair of black dress trousers, a matching waistcoat and a loose white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Her hair was loosely pinned up in a chignon and she looked far too elegant to be working in an office.
"I need you to be back here in the Atrium at seven o'clock tonight."
"Are you going to elaborate as to why? I might have plans you know." She said with a hint of apprehension in her tone.
"No." He replied with a touch of mystery. "But pack for somewhere hot."
"Anything in particular?" he did not reply as people emerged from one of the elevators and waited until they had gone into the outer office before resuming.
"Elegant. Enough for a few days away." He reached out his hand and tucked a stray lock of her black hair behind her ear. "And something nice for me as well." He whispered in her ear in a lower, more sinister tone. Without another word he swept into one of the waiting elevators. Her stomach clenched into a tight ball and she fought the urge to vomit as she watched him disappear out of sight.
When she got back to Grimmauld Place that evening she hurriedly fabricated a story about being invited away on a trip, hoping that he would accept that as a reason to be away for a few days. She explained this to Sirius before rushing upstairs to pack; throwing several outfits into her bag in the hope that at least one would be right.
Sirius was slightly reluctant to let her go, saying that she shouldn't be expected to be able to pack up and leave at the drop of a hat as it was far too dangerous. She scolded him for this between mouthfuls of her hurried dinner, arguing that it was all part of the experience and she wouldn't be in too much danger as it was an unannounced trip. After checking her bag for a final time, making sure he did not see what she had packed in the way of nightclothes, she gave him a quick hug and a peck on the cheek before apparating back to the Ministry just before seven.
The atrium was all but deserted when she arrived, the wizard behind the security desk the only one there. She stood by the fountain to wait, dropping another Galleon into the crystalline water. There was a small 'pop' as someone apparated and she turned to face whoever had arrived. It was, as she had expected, Mr Malfoy who was also clutching an expensive looking travel bag. He also held, for some strange reason, a slightly worn soft toy in the shape of a rabbit. She realised it was a Portkey the moment he offered it to her. She took hold of one of its ears and she heard a cool voice say 'Seven pm Portkey to Dubai'. She felt the small jerk behind her navel, her feet left the polished wood floor and everything disappeared in a whirl of colour.