She did not see Mr. Malfoy much for the rest of the year, and once again her heart was buoyed by the freedom she felt. He remained elusive, being seen only at the last Slytherin Quidditch match before the final. Although she was standing with Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny on the other side of the stadium, she could feel his eyes on her. His arrogant gaze washed over every gentle nuance of her body as she cheered on Ravenclaw; shouting in anger as Goyle nearly knocked Cho off her broom.
She saw no sign of him after the match either, though she still walked through the castle expecting him to appear and pull her away into a dark corner. In a similar fashion, he still disturbed her dreams. She would bolt awake in the middle of the night and expect to find him next to her; the memory of his tough was so vivid. The ring he had given her sat in the top drawer of her bedside table and, despite the guilt she felt; every so often she would slip it onto her finger. It had hardly ever gone beyond her dormitory door, but on the occasions it did she was sure that someone was going to notice it and ask far too many questions. In her mind, she was sure that the ring was as bright and obvious as a beacon; signalling her betrayal for all to see.
They did cross paths, however, at the Quidditch final. It was held later than usual, in the two glorious weeks after the end of the exams. She bumped into him in the teachers' box as she was inspecting the pitch before the match. The stands had already started to fill up, students carrying banners and flags in support of their respective teams. She noted that there was much more red and gold in the stands than there was silver and green; Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw also wanting to see Slytherin lose. It was perfect weather for flying, maybe a little hot, but otherwise alright; with a cloudless sky and only a slight breeze. She was already in her full Quidditch gear, a light summer cloak keeping it clean until the start of the match. A person appeared at her left shoulder, but she already knew who it was.
"Perfect conditions."
"Yes. We've had luck." She replied, incredibly aware of how close he was.
"Are you sure you are going to win?" he asked quietly. "You know I am quite tired of watching my team lose so often."
"Good brooms don't make good players, as I have told you before. And no, I will not lose."
"Fine, if Slytherin win, I leave you alone this time. If they lose, however, you are my consolation prize." Her insides froze as he spoke, but she did not let it show. He paused, apparently deep in consideration, before speaking again.
"Are you a gambling person?" he asked curiously. "What do you say to one hundred galleons on Slytherin to win?"
"I hope you brought your money with you." She said by way of agreement, turning round to face him. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a Quidditch match to win." She jerked the appropriately crimson cloak off her shoulders and allowed it to fall to the floor; revealing the most magnificent of all her pieces of armour. It was deep red and gold, the Gryffindor colours, and had been bewitched so the golden lion actually moved around on the surface. Climbing up onto the edge of the box she mounted her broom; kicking off hard and speeding down to the changing rooms where the rest of the team was waiting.
"It's perfect outside!" She informed them cheerily, belying the dread she felt, as they pulled on the brown leather gauntlets that protected their arms and shins. "It's a bit bright, we could do with a bit of cloud cover to keep the sun out of our eyes, but we'll manage." They all stood around the entrance to the pitch, watching the stands fill up with students eagerly anticipating a fast-paced, gripping match.
A hush finally descended over the stadium as Dean began the commentary, introducing the Slytherin team first. They came whizzing out of their entrance, seven green blurs on their Nimbus two thousand and one's.
"Listen." Kathryn said quickly. "Lucius Malfoy is up in the stands, I saw him when I was inspecting the pitch. No doubt he wants to see his team win, not that they have a chance." The entire team sniggered. "Let's show them how a real team plays Quidditch, how decent players do it. Oh, and watch out. I expect Malfoy will have told them to play as dirty as possible so watch your backs."
"AND NOW THE GRYFFINDOR TEAM MAKE THEIR WAY ONTO THE PITCH!" Dean yelled and they shot out of the entrance, making the Hawkshead attack formation and zooming around the stadium, much to the delight of the gathered crowd.
Kathryn could just make out Luna Lovegood's hat shaped like a lion, roaring every so often. She and Harry broke the formation and raced each other round the pitch before settling into their positions; Harry hovering high above the pitch whilst Kathryn landed in the centre with Madam Hooch and Malfoy. They shook hands with the looks of people who were about to fight to the death; Malfoy trying to crush her fingers in the process. Kathryn, having the wit to anticipate something so basic, grasped his hand below the finger joints and squeezed back; a small grimace flitting across Malfoy's face as his fingers were crushed painfully together.
The match began quickly, Ginny stealing the Quaffle straight away and going for the goal; expertly dodging two Bludgers and sending the Quaffle flying through the middle hoop. The Slytherin keeper passed straight to one of their chasers who sped off in the direction of the Gryffindor end. Gryffindor however, were too quick for them, and an expertly directed Bludger sent the Quaffle spinning out of the chaser's hands and straight into Kathryn's arms.
She took off with lightning speed, running rings around the Slytherins until she reached the goal. The crowds went wild as she scored another; cheers of 'GO GO GRYFFINDOR!' resonating through the stands and drowning out the taunts from the Slytherin end. Gryffindor received a penalty ten minutes into the game, Crabbe committing the offence of blagging; grabbing the tail of Emma's broom as she sped towards the goal hoops. Ginny sailed it past the Slytherin keeper Bletchley no problem, Kathryn meanwhile getting into position to intercept the Quaffle halfway up the pitch.
Slytherin did eventually get a couple of goals past Ron, although one was only scored whilst Ron had dived sideways to avoid a Bludger and couldn't defend the goal properly. The retaliation was formidable, the Gryffindor beaters performing their best ever; nearly knocking Malfoy off his broom several times. They tried out several famous moves, Ginny and Emma flying high with the Quaffle and then dropping it at the last minute to Kathryn who was waiting below them to score with ease through the badly defended goalposts.
"The Gryffindor chasers pull off the Porskoff Ploy with considerable finesse." Dean cried out to the stadium of eager students. "These girls do take some beating, it's like Johnson, Bell and Spinett never left!" he referred to their predecessors; Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell and Alicia Spinett. Gryffindor won another penalty as Crabbe, trying and failing to play dirty with no one noticing, hurled his beaters' club at Kathryn as she headed for the goal. It hit her square in the small of her back; knocking the Quaffle out of her hands and nearly sending her off her broom. She was suddenly very glad for the dragon-hide armour protecting her back.
"WHAT A DISGUSTING FOUL!" Dean cried above the appalled shouts from the crowd and the Slytherins laughter. "HOW LOW WILL THE SLYTHERIN TEAM GO TO WIN?" he was finding it somewhat difficult not to take sides.
"Thomas." Professor McGonagall said in a stern voice.
"Sorry Professor." Dean apologised quietly. "Crabbe of Slytherin fouls Gryffindor chaser Potter, which could happen to anyone." He amended. "Unperturbed, Potter steps up to take the penalty and…SHE SCORES!" The crowds went wild again.
Slytherin again managed to pull back a few goals, their supporters' spirits lifted by this revival. Their marking subsequently improved and soon Ginny found herself flying towards the goal stalked by every member of the team apart from Malfoy and the keeper. Kathryn and Harry took the initiative, flying straight towards them and causing them to scatter wildly in different directions.
Harry returned to his position high above the game, watching for any glimpse of the golden Snitch. He dodged sharply to the left as a Bludger whizzed dangerously close to his head, slugged in his direction by Goyle.
"Careful Potter, don't want to fall!" Malfoy jeered, as Crabbe sent another Bludger hurtling Harry's way mere seconds after he had regained his balance. He dodged it again, wanting nothing better than to ram Malfoy off his broom. Such behaviour was, however, unbecoming of a team that played fair and his sister would never forgive him for stooping so low. Besides, he had a better idea.
A split second later he dived, plummeting towards the ground with his arm outstretched. Malfoy, instinctively, followed close behind. In truth, Harry hadn't seen the Snitch at all and was only feinting; payback for Malfoy's dirty tactics. It was therefore quite surprising when he flew straight into the path of the actual Snitch. He felt his fingers close around the small metal ball. They had won! He kept on diving though, hurtling towards the ground at top speed with Malfoy right on his tail. He pulled up sharply only a few inches from the ground; leaving Malfoy to plough straight on into the grass and skid along the pitch for a good thirty feet.
"Potter was feinting," he heard Dean say as he rose upwards, "no, wait," he paused in shock as he saw Harry waving the Snitch triumphantly. "POTTER HAS THE GOLDEN SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WIN!"
The stadium erupted with noise and Kathryn half crashed into her brother in mid-air as she rushed to get to him. The rest of the team, waving and cheering, soon joined her; all trying to congratulate Harry at the same time. They floated back down to earth several minutes later and were swamped by the Gryffindor supporters who lifted them up onto their shoulders and carried them towards Dumbledore who was waiting with the gleaming Quidditch cup. Harry and Kathryn raised it above their heads to the cheering crowd as streamers and confetti rained down on them; coating the pitch in a layer of red and gold.
The party in the common room began as soon as they got back, Dean and Seamus pinning up the banners whilst Ginny sped off to the kitchens to persuade the house elves to give them food and plenty of butterbeer. Fifteen minutes after she left, several house elves, led by Dobby, appeared with a series of loud 'cracks'; all of them bearing mountains of food and cases of butterbeer. Kathryn filled the common room with music and the party began. Someone had smuggled in some of Fred and George's merchandise and, every so often, someone would turn into a canary as they re-lived the match again and again.
Kathryn also used this as an opportunity to use up her personal stock of Fred and George's merchandise and she filled the room with clouds of red, purple, pink and blue stars as she set off the exploding sugar mice. As twilight finally fell she trouped outside with the rest of the Gryffindors and, with them all watching at the base of Gryffindor tower, she poked a small fuse attached to the wall. Moments later the wall exploded in a burst of colour and her entire collection of Fred and George's fireworks, mounted on the wall the previous day, lit up the evening sky.
The fireworks did not fade for hours, providing a pleasant distraction from the raucous party inside the common room; Kathryn sitting on the castle steps to watch the dragons and Catherine wheels soaring through the sky and the grounds. Aside from basking in the glory of her victory, she also used the time to contemplate how she was going to get away from the celebrations later that evening. She knew that he was still in the castle, she had seen him eating in the Great Hall with Snape, and she knew that, somewhere, he would be waiting.
She rejoined the party for a while, swigging from a bottle of butterbeer as she listened to peoples' views on the match, before slipping up to her dormitory. She checked her copy of the Marauder's Map, an exact replica made by Sirius and Lupin so that she and Harry didn't have to share. She saw the tiny dot labelled 'Lucius Malfoy' making its way along a corridor on the seventh floor that she knew well. She saw it walk backwards and forwards in front of a wall she knew was directly opposite a tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy showing him trying to train trolls for the ballet. After three passes, he disappeared. He was going to use the Room of Requirement, the very same place that they used for DA meetings, although she expected it to be furnished quite differently this time.
She changed quickly, pulling on a fresh pair of knickers and an electric-blue silk camisole with a low cut, scooped neckline that did little to conceal her figure. When paired with a pair of old jeans, however, it looked like nothing more than a normal summer top, albeit a very nice one. On top of this, she added a chunky cardigan that concealed the majority of her outfit.
As a precaution, she pulled out her toiletry bag and stuffed her mother's invisibility cloak inside. It was only eight o'clock and the eighth and ninth years were allowed out in the corridors until eleven, but she packed it just in case. Slipping on a pair of flip-flops, just to keep up the illusion of going for a shower, she strolled lazily back down to the common room; doing her best to act as if she hadn't a care in the world.
She made it out of the common room fairly easily, nearly being dragged into more conversation, but slipping quickly out the portrait hole before anyone could pull her back. The castle was eerily still compared to the Gryffindor common room. She caught brief glimpses of her fireworks as they soared past windows, lighting up the corridors as they passed.
Heading in the direction for the prefects bathroom on the fourth floor, she made it almost all the way there before ducking behind a tapestry and cutting through a secret passageway that led to the opposite side of the castle. From there she climbed the revolving staircases to the seventh floor, remembering to jump the vanishing step as she passed the sixth floor staircase. She halted before the door to the Room of Requirement for a brief moment, deliberating what could possibly happen if she never showed up. She decided not to chance it. Taking a deep breath, she grasped the handle and pushed the door open.
She returned to the party up in Gryffindor tower just before midnight; her toiletry bag considerably heavier with the weight of the large bag of coins. As soon as she stepped through the portrait hole, a cool bottle of butterbeer was pushed into her hands and she had to fight her way through the crowds of smiling Gryffindors to get back to the dormitory steps.
Depositing the gold and her invisibility cloak in the safety of her trunk, she went to stand before her mirror. She looked alright; her hair was slightly rumpled, as if she had been in the shower and hand-dried her hair, but nothing else was amiss. Replacing her camisole with a T-shirt, she sprayed on a touch of a light, flowery perfume to mask the heady scent of sex that still lingered about her body. Satisfied with her appearance, she darted back down the stairs to a party that was showing no signs of slowing down.
Professor McGonagall came in at two o'clock that morning, clad in her tartan dressing gown and slippers, to tell them to get to bed. She did not leave until they had all gone upstairs and were in their dormitories. Kathryn and Hermione collapsed onto their beds, Kathryn not even bothering to pull the covers up over her shoulders. She lay awake for only a little while, hoping against hope that she would never have to tell what she had done that night; that her brother and her friends would never find out the mess that she was digging herself deeper and deeper into.
The euphoria of their winning the Quidditch cup lasted well into the next week, much to the disgust of the Slytherins. For Kathryn, however, her high spirits were dashed by Wednesday as she found out she would be spending the night in the company of Malfoy.
As a Prefect, she had to patrol the corridors at night; assisting Filch the caretaker in his war against rule-breakers. He had never really gotten over Umbridge leaving, still maintaining that she was the best thing that had ever happened to the school. She considered it to be quite ironic that she, Harry, Ron and Hermione were supposed to be upholding the rules when they spent a fair time breaking them. At dinner on Wednesday morning, Professor McGonagall informed her that instead of doing her duty with Ernie Macmillan, who was in the hospital wing recovering from a Venomous Tentacula bite, she would be doing it with Draco Malfoy.
By unspoken agreement she met him at eleven o'clock that night in the Entrance Hall. He was still fully dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt and looked sulky, probably still cheesed off about losing in the Quidditch final. In comparison, although being just as annoyed at the prospect of spending several hours in his company, she was far more relaxed. She was pretty much in her pyjamas. A pair of grey, baggy pyjama bottoms hung off her hips, combined with a black vest-top and a pair of relaxed flip flops. This was all covered by a soft, thin, pale grey cotton dressing gown that she hadn't bothered to tie at the waist. Her wand stuck out of one of the pockets, her fingers brushing against it as she approached Malfoy.
"Look," she began before he could say anything, "I don't want to do this as much as you, more probably, so let's just get it over with." She did not wait for any reply, heading straight for a corridor off the hall.
"Fine." He muttered before moving to follow her.
She heard him walk silently along behind her through the corridors and she kept hold of her wand throughout, not trusting him to walk behind her without doing something sneaky.
It was an uneventful five hours spent walking through the castle, searching for miscreants attempting to sneak around at night. Kathryn laughed to herself as she, Harry, Ron and Hermione were often out of bed and wandering the castle at night; concealed of course by their invisibility cloaks. They finished their patrol at four o'clock the next morning, emerging into the Great Hall from a side door near the teachers' table.
"There, now that wasn't hard, was it?" she said in a slightly strained voice, exhausted from spending the entirety of the five hours in complete silence. "An experience I hope never to repeat." She muttered quietly as she walked towards the great double doors, eager to get back to her comfortable bed in the Gryffindor common room.
She did not hear it until it was too late. He drawled something under his breath and a jet of piercing blue light lit up the hall, hitting her square between the shoulders. She was vaguely aware of the sound of footsteps running across the hall before she felt a tingling sensation spread out from where the spell had hit her. Soon, her whole body felt like it was buzzing and an icy cold sweat erupted across her forehead. She staggered forward, her vision clouding and her head spinning as she tried to stay on her feet. Her efforts were, however, in vain and she fell flat onto the cold floor, lying sprawled out in-between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables. Immobile and close to comatose, she was unaware of what happened next.
She was found the next morning by the first few people to come through the doors of the Great Hall for breakfast. Several girls screamed whilst others ran for the teachers. By the time Professors were found there was a large crowd of students forming a ring around Kathryn. Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Flitwick and Snape entered the hall and the crowd parted to let them through to the centre of the circle. Professor McGonagall gasped as she caught sight of what was causing the commotion. Snape and Dumbledore remained silent.
Harry, Ron and Hermione came down the stairs a few moments later, puzzled by the crowds blocking the door. People began to whisper as they saw him approach, skittishly moving out of the way and letting the three of them pass. Pushing his way through the throng, Harry caught a glimpse of what everyone was staring at.
"No!" He cried in a strangled voice, pushing his way through more forcefully to get to the centre of the circle.
Floating fifty feet in the air above them was Kathryn, her face oddly serene and seemingly emitting a pale, iridescent light. She was still wearing her pyjamas, her dressing gown hanging off one of her shoulders.
"What…what happened?" he stammered to Professor McGonagall, not taking his eyes off the floating form of his sister.
"Oh, Potter." The teachers all turned to look at him when McGonagall said his name. "We don't know. She was found here a few minutes ago." Harry stood there along with Ron and Hermione in a stunned silence, all of them with no idea of what to do.
The culprit was soon identified as Malfoy, who was promptly given detention every day until the end of term. However, despite knowing who had performed the curse, the teachers, including Dumbledore, were at a loss to find the counter-curse. Although they trawled through countless volumes and tried several possible remedies, no solution appeared. They could also not get her down from her position in the Great Hall, and were obliged to leave her there until they could find an effective remedy. Harry was forced to watch his sister, suspended above them and growing paler by the day; as if her life was slowly ebbing away one day at a time.
After almost a week of searching for the answer, there was no alternative left, and Dumbledore sent an owl to Wiltshire. The following afternoon Mr Malfoy appeared in the Entrance Hall where he was met by Professors' Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape, with Malfoy walking sullenly along behind them. Harry could hear their hurried conversation from his seat in the empty Great Hall as they walked closer.
"It's a family curse, as it were." He could hear Mr Malfoy saying. "As far as I know, it was developed by my great-great Grandfather. He's not supposed to even know about it."
"Well, we would appreciate it if it stayed out of school." Harry heard Dumbledore say in a grave voice.
"I cannot prevent him reading." He replied casually, although Harry knew that Malfoy had most probably been taught the curse as opposed to learning it form a book. "You should have contacted me immediately though. I cannot say how badly it will have affected her, leaving her for almost a week will have been cutting it very fine." He appeared in the doorway and looked up at the figure suspended in mid-air.
She was now deathly pale, so serene in fact, that she could have been thought dead were it not for the almost imperceptible rise and fall of her chest as her breathing became steadily shallower. Harry, who had been sitting on one of the benches that lined the tables, looked across at him as he walked closer; the elder Malfoy's eyes fixed on Kathryn's immobile form.
"Put her right." He said in a slightly hoarse voice, his eyes tired from too many sleepless nights sitting in the Great Hall. Hermione and Ron appeared at his side, giving his sleeve a gentle tug to usher him out.
"I'm not leaving." He snapped, his voice cracking slightly.
"Harry, come on." Hermione said softly. "You need to rest; it'll all be over soon anyway."
"Yeah mate, you look a mess and you know she'll tell you so when she's down." Ron added, nodding his head towards Kathryn and trying to inject some levity into the gloomy situation.
"Dumbledore told us to fetch you. You don't need to watch this."
"She's right you know." Mr Malfoy added, not taking his eyes off Kathryn. "It's a complex bit of magic and I'd rather I didn't have a gaggle of schoolchildren watching."
"Come on." Harry allowed Hermione to pull him to his feet and lead him towards the doors. He allowed himself one last look before the doors closed and then flopped down onto the cold floor; leaning against the wall to wait. Silently, Ginny slid down next to him and took his hand.
"Death becomes her." He muttered to himself as he pulled off his cloak.
Even near death, she was still beautiful; as if she was merely sleeping. He cursed his son under his breath and pulled out his wand. This kind of curse was not supposed to be lifted, it was after all designed to kill, and that made the counter-curse very complicated. Technically, it would only lift when the victim died. It had been designed to cause suffering amongst the family of the person cursed, as they had no alternative but to watch their loved one die. Like most dark magic, it needed a fair bit of power to conjure, but took a great deal more effort to undo.
Pointing his wand directly at Kathryn he spoke the incantation, hoping that it would work. The caster needed to believe that they could return the victim to life, had to want to have them back. At this point, he wanted nothing more than to see her eyes. To his great relief, a stream of silvery light snaked its way from the end of his wand and up to Kathryn's motionless figure where it formed a shining, cocoon like structure around her. It span rapidly around her for several moments, emitting a pulsing white light that illuminated the entire hall. Harry saw the flashes and made to run for the door; Hermione, Ginny and Ron grabbing the back of his t-shirt to keep him from moving. Inside, the bright light stopped and the cocoon faded away into nothingness. All that was left was Kathryn, still suspended in mid-air. Slowly and gracefully, she began to float down, as if supported by an invisible cradle. Standing beneath her, Mr Malfoy made ready to catch her, spreading his cloak across his arms and holding them out.
She settled gently into his arms moments later. She was still deathly pale, her skin icy cold to the touch, and she did not open her eyes. Not wasting any time, he wrapped his cloak about her, checking to see if she was still breathing. Thankfully, he could just make out shallow breath sounds that seemed to be getting slowly stronger. Her face, however, remained disturbingly pale and lifeless. He desperately tried to think of something to do, clutching her still form closer to him. Sitting down on one of the wooden benches, he rubbed his hands quickly up and down her arms in an attempt to warm her up. He clutched her to his chest; willing her to wake up, to be alive.
Ever so slightly, her eyelids fluttered. Cupping her cheek in his hand, he could feel the warmth returning to her body. Her eyelids fluttered again, this time opening fully and catching sight of his face looking right at her. She smiled weakly at him as he once more pulled her tight to him, hardly daring to believe that she was all right. Once satisfied that she was generally well, he stood and hurried towards the doors.
Harry sprang to his feet as they exited, catching only a glimpse of his sister; pale and swathed in a black cloak, as Mr Malfoy passed him on the stairs with Kathryn in his arms. The three of them followed him at a quick pace, along with the other teachers and Professor Dumbledore, going in the direction of the hospital wing. Harry's heart sank when he realised where they were going, thinking the worst. He pushed those thoughts from his mind; knowing he wouldn't be taking her to the hospital wing if she were dead.
They watched as he removed his cloak from around her shoulders and lay her down on a bed where Madam Pomfrey was waiting. He then retreated to the opposite side of the hospital wing and watched as Madam Pomfrey bustled about; checking her pulse, feeling her forehead for any traces of a fever and spooning a large amount of a purple liquid into her mouth.
Harry watched in relief as, slowly but surely, the colour returned to her cheeks and a smile returned to her face. It seemed apparent that, although the curse had sapped most of her energy and just missed out on claiming her life, there were to be no lasting side effects. This did not, however, persuade Madam Pomfrey in any way that she was able to leave the hospital wing. In all the fuss that was being made, no one noticed Mr Malfoy disappear out the door of the hospital wing and down towards the dungeons.
He returned later that afternoon with an abashed Draco at his heels. The conversation stopped as they caught sight of him in the doorway. Kathryn's face, which had previously been smiling at something Hermione had said, froze into a hard line somewhat akin to Professor McGonagall's expression when you hadn't done your homework. Malfoy did not move, glaring back at the three of them.
When it became obvious that he was not going to do anything, his father intervened. In one swift movement he had taken his cane and given his son a sharp whack across the back of his shins, forcing him forward into the room. He shot his father an angry look as he walked towards Kathryn's bed; Harry, Ron and Hermione standing defensively beside her.
"Sorry." He muttered quietly in an annoyed voice, he clearly thought he had nothing to apologise for.
"What was that?" she asked dryly, cupping a hand to her ear. "I don't think we heard you."
"Sorry." He repeated in a louder, still angry, voice.
"Fine." She accepted his apology in a blasé voice, not looking at him. "Try not to be such a sore loser next time though, I mean, you should be used to us beating you by now." She shot him a wry smile, enjoying watching him silently seethe, unable to retaliate. "Now, run along," she shooed him away with a wave of her hand, "aren't there some owl droppings waiting for your attention?" they all laughed quietly as he walked away, his cheeks pink with embarrassment. That was what they had been laughing about when Malfoy had arrived; as part of his detentions he had to scrub the owlery clean, without magic. Mr Malfoy gave her an almost imperceptible nod before following his son out of the hospital wing.
"I know exactly what Mad-Eye will say when we get back home." Kathryn sighed, a smile still on her face. "What was I doing turning my back on a known enemy with a wand in his hand?" the three of them laughed even more, knowing Mad-Eye Moody, the legendary ex-Auror, well enough that he would be disappointed in her.
That evening after she had finished her dinner and, of course, after Madam Pomfrey was satisfied that she was fit, she left the hospital wing. She did not, however, head for the Gryffindor common room. Instead she walked through the deserted Entrance Hall and down the front steps into the grounds. She removed her flip flops and padded barefoot across the lawn to the far edge of the lake where she settled herself on the grass and let the water gently lap around her ankles.
It was a balmy June evening, still light and with plenty of warmth still in the air. She lay back on the springy grass and looked up into the branches of the blossom tree she was sitting under. The creamy-white flowers floated down softly on the warm breeze, settling in her hair. She did not know how long she lay there, watching the sky slowly turn from pale blue to a deep pink as the sun sank below the horizon. She closed her eyes after a while, listening to the sounds of the evening and allowing herself to completely relax.
She wasn't surprised to hear another set of footsteps walking along the edge of the lake; in truth, she almost welcomed his being there. She did not acknowledge his presence, keeping her eyes closed. She heard the sound of someone sitting beside her and only then decided to speak.
"I wondered when you'd show up." She felt fingers toying with her long tresses of black hair.
"You're still pale." He remarked, his fingers brushing her cheek. She opened her eyes and looked up at him.
"Thank you." She said, sitting up and bringing her knees up to her chin. "I know full-well that you could have left me to die." She hugged her knees tighter to her chest. "A job well done."
"Why would I want that?" he moved closer, apparently unconcerned of their position being in full view of the castle. Darkness, however, was fast falling, and soon they would not be visible from the lit windows of the castle.
She rested her chin on her knees and looked across at the castle as he moved around to sit behind her. She felt a pair of hands slide around her waist, pulling her gently towards him until she was leaning against his chest. She was surprised that he did nothing more than hold her, his head resting gently against hers as she watched the colours of the sky reflected in the lake. It was disarmingly comfortable, and soothing in a way she could not describe.
"It's nearly the holidays." She commented as they sat there, not really knowing why she said it.
"I'm sure I'll be around."
Without another word she slipped from his arms, grabbing her shoes, and dashing away on tiptoe around the bank of the lake and back towards the castle.
"I'll definitely be around." He added once she had gone.