She's safe." That was how Snape greeted them all when he swooped in on them having breakfast the next morning.
"Where was she?" Harry asked between mouthfuls of cereal.
"Newcastle."
"Thank you, Professor."
"She might be a little worse for wear though." Snape added in a hesitant tone, taking the cup of coffee that was offered to him by Mrs Weasley.
"Why?" Sirius snapped; the concern for his God-daughter apparent. "What did you do to her?"
"I did nothing, Black." He snapped. "Instead of having one to many I think she had about eight too many." Snape went on to explain.
"Oh."
"Well, if you'll excuse me," he pulled his cloak about his shoulders, "I need to change before going to the Ministry." With no more words of farewell, he swept out of the kitchen.
"Have you ever seen her drunk?" Hermione immediately asked.
"No." Harry shook his head. "I mean, I've seen her drink and she can generally hold it quite well, but if Snape's just got back then she must've been bad."
"She's not going to be in a good mood." Hermione said sombrely. "At all."
Somewhere in the room an alarm rang in a vain effort to wake her up. Opening one bleary eye, she saw the small silver clock that had been added to her bedside table. Groaning and burying herself further beneath the covers, she reached for her wand. Her fingers curling around the thin wooden instrument, all it took was a lazy wave to stop the noise. Ten seconds later she was asleep.
The next time she woke the alarm was not one that you could switch off.
"Miss!" came the high pitched squeak right next to her ear. "Miss! You is going to be late!"
"What?" she managed to murmur, her throat painfully dry and tasting of stale alcohol.
"It is ten thirty Miss!" the House Elf squeaked. "You has to be at the Ministry at eleven." This reminder sent her shooting bolt upright in bed.
"Thank you." She croaked. "Bring up a cup of coffee and have a bottle of water ready for me to take away." She ordered hurriedly as she scrambled out of the twisted bedcovers.
"At once Miss!" the House Elf disappeared with a 'crack'. Staggering across the bedroom, she pulled off her knickers, having worn nothing else to bed, and practically fell into the shower. Realising that the hot jets of water were lulling her back to sleep, she turned them as cold as they would go and forced herself to stand beneath them for a good few minutes.
Not stopping to breathe, she dashed through to the wardrobe where she quickly dried herself off and pulled out a random selection of clothes without really looking at them. Scraping her hair back into a loose ponytail, she pulled on her jeans followed by a black camisole and a long grey jumper which was loosely knitted with a wide scooped neckline. She barely looked at herself in the mirror, only glancing at her reflection long enough to see that her eyes were dark, puffy and bloodshot.
Hurrying back through into the bedroom she gulped down as much of the hot coffee as she could before brushing her teeth furiously to get rid of the rancid taste that still lingered. Grabbing the necklace he had given her for her birthday, she fastened it around her neck before grabbing her favourite chocolate brown tote bag and flinging anything she thought she might need. She put her glasses in their seldom used case and instead placed a pair of large sunglasses over her eyes to hide the telltale sign of a heavy night.
A clock somewhere chimed eleven. Swearing loudly, she grabbed his cane and walked over to the fireplace. Throwing in a pinch of Floo powder, she stepped into the emerald green flames and cried out her destination.
"Number twelve Grimmauld Place." The swirling was sickening and she prayed that it didn't make her ill again. Tumbling out into the kitchen, she immediately grabbed more of the green powder of the mantel and threw it into the fire again.
"Ministry of Magic." She shouted this time, bracing herself for the sickening journey.
Her arrival in the Atrium was even less dignified than that of her arrival at Grimmauld Place. This time she did actually fall, banging her knees on the well polished floors and sending a small cloud of soot into the air. People stared as she stood and brushed herself down and set off for the courtroom as fast as she could manage.
Downstairs, people were uncomfortably shifting in their seats as they waited in silence. Dumbledore was in deep, hushed conversation with Snape whilst Fudge appeared to get angrier by the second. Lucius, on the other hand, whilst looking completely stoical had a distinct look of worry in his eyes. Everyone looked up as the door slowly creaked open. People craned their necks to see who slipped through the doors. It was Kathryn.
She walked slowly down the courtroom and Harry could not help but be amazed at how different she looked. Compared to the previous days, she looked a mess. She had on her favourite pair of boy-cut jeans on that were well frayed around the hems and hung very loose off her hips, a pair of battered Converse trainers poking out from beneath them. The grey jumper she was wearing was hanging off one shoulder and had a conspicuous soot mark on the side. Her hair was a mass of waves, roughly corralled into a ponytail that hung over her shoulder, whilst her eyes were hidden by large dark sunglasses.
"Miss Potter," Fudge said dryly as she approached the Wizengamot bench, "how nice of you to join us." She did not reply. "You may consider yourself to be above authority but, I assure you that you are not, and I would be grateful if you would take care to arrive on time like everyone else." She still didn't reply, not appearing to be even paying him any attention. "And it would be very nice, Miss Potter, if you acknowledged me when I speak to you." She finally stopped when she was next to where Lucius sat, laying one of her hands on his.
"Good morning to you too Fudge." She finally said quietly, her voice still rather hoarse. "My apologies for being late but I did just wake up three quarters of an hour ago."
"Really? Well you should get up earlier. Personally, considering what we have seen over the past few days, I would've assumed that you are late because you were getting dressed." Harry couldn't believe what he was saying. "Obviously not." There was a small ripple of laughter through the benches.
"I'm so sorry to disappoint." She replied dryly. "I do know that it was some time since your youth, Fudge, but I do assume that you are familiar with the effects of too much alcohol." Her head pounded with every single sound and she tried to disguise that she was using the chair to which Lucius was chained to hold herself up. Harry thought that although obviously hung over, she had done well with her clothes as, if anything, they would remind people that she was still only a girl.
"I beg your pardon?"
"I was drunk last night Fudge." Despite being hung over she could still sound like Snape at his most acerbic. "You know, hammered, smashed, trolleyed, bladdered, wasted; whatever you want to call it." There were a few titters of laughter from amongst the benches of observers.
"I am not responsible for your actions, Miss Potter," Fudge replied tersely, "and I suggest that you do not practice such self-destructive behaviour when you have important things to attend to."
"And I suggest that you do not use such barbaric methods of discovering the truth, thus provoking such self destructive behaviour." She shot back, her expression unreadable thanks to her large sunglasses. Had he been able to see her eyes, Harry was sure that she would be giving him a look that could've silenced a Death Eater at twenty paces. "Something for you to consider."
"Well, if you would be so kind as to assume your normal place, we shall continue."
"As you wish." Her voice was cold as she walked up to the podium where she had stood for the past three days. It was only up there that she removed her sunglasses for her ordinary ones. Harry understood, upon seeing the dark circles and bloodshot veins, why she had chosen to shield her eyes.
"You will be grateful, Miss Potter, that today is going to be a short day." Fudge began, sounding decidedly pompous. Kathryn supposed that he was happy that she wasn't on her usual form. "Seeing as you were un-contactable last night, we were unable to inform you of our intentions for today."
"And they are?" she asked tersely, wishing greatly to throttle Fudge.
"The Wizengamot, on reflection, would like to see proof of all the gifts that Mr Malfoy gave to you as well as being shown the areas of his manor where the, erm, aforementioned events took place."
"So you mean you wish to invade my privacy even further," she summarised, "correct?"
"If that is how you wish to put it." Fudge shifted nervously. "But we merely wish to add to our understanding of events. We will then adjourn until Monday when we will hear Mr Malfoy's account of events."
"Very well." She sighed. "When can I expect you?"
"We will discuss this momentarily." Fudge told her before addressing the rest of the court. "Court adjourned until Monday morning at ten o'clock." There was a great rumbling as people rose and made their way out once more, probably annoyed that they weren't going to see or hear anything interesting today.
"Miss Potter, would you please join us in chambers for a moment." Fudge instructed her as the Wizengamot left. Without speaking, she walked down from her stand and slipped through the hidden door that led up to the Wizengamot's bench. As she walked through into the Wizengamot chambers, she noticed that Harry, Ron, Hermione, Sirius, Snape and Dumbledore were waiting. Closing the door behind her, she found herself facing the twelve, purple robed witches and wizards as well as Percy Weasley and Umbridge.
"Well, ladies and gentleman, when do wish to visit?"
"As soon as possible." Fudge stated plainly.
"Well, I need to have at least an hour or so before I can even dream of entertaining." She remarked wryly. "And it's going to take me a while to find everything he gave me."
"One o'clock?" Fudge suggested.
"Please, that's just over an hour away, I need a nap too."
"Two o'clock?"
"That should be alright."
"Very well, we'll see you at two." Fudge seemed satisfied, assuming that the conversation was over.
"Wait a moment, Fudge," the tone of her voice stopped him in his tracks, "we haven't discussed what I get in return."
"The fair and proper execution of justice." Fudge offered.
"Somehow I'm not tempted." She shrugged in a blasé fashion. "I need something more real, something I can count on."
"How dare you have the nerve?" Fudge exclaimed; shocked at how like Lucius Malfoy she could actually be. "I'm not going to offer because I think you know what you want."
"I want the weekend."
"You have the weekend," the witch with the long white hair and pince-nez pointed out, "you are not due back here until Monday."
"I think," Fudge commented pensively, "that she wants more than just a weekend." Kathryn merely smiled. "And I have to say that you are pushing your luck, if what I assume you are suggesting is correct."
"I think you pushed it yesterday, I am merely pushing back." She explained.
"And how do you suppose the public will react to such a thing?" Fudge asked. "How do you think I will look if I allow such a thing?"
"It's not like people have to know, Fudge. Unless, of course, you give me reason to tell them."
"Miss Potter, are you suggesting that you should be allowed Mr Malfoy to return to his home for the weekend in exchange for allowing us to see the Manor?" the wizard with the shock of white hair asked.
"Well," she paused dramatically, "yes, actually, I do."
"I don't know how you have the nerve." The elegant woman with fading blonde hair asked.
"I don't know." She shrugged. "I guess I just think that I have enough leverage to convince you."
"And what might that be?"
"Oh, that would spoil the surprise." She teased, hoping that her plan would work. More than a few of them looked nervous, making her wonder what they had to hide.
"Very well." Fudge spilled out.
"I knew you'd be receptive to the idea." She smiled. "When might I extract him from the building?"
"This afternoon, once our visit to Malfoy Manor is complete." Fudge said firmly, Kathryn understanding that he wanted to end this conversation by asserting some control.
"Until two then." She nodded, sweeping out the door.
Walking straight over to Lucius, still chained down to the chair, she took as much of him in her arms as she could and just held him for a moment.
"I'm sorry if I still smell like booze." She whispered in his ear, kissing him lightly on the cheek.
"God you look awful." He remarked dryly, smirking a little. "Although you do look oddly happy."
"Let's just say that I'm spending the weekend with a wonderful gentleman." She murmured in his ear.
"Oh really," he said, feigning interest and completely understanding what she meant, "enjoy yourself."
"Oh I will." Giving him one final kiss, she walked off with Harry Ron, Ginny and Hermione following behind.
"You look knackered." Harry commented once they were in the lift.
"I am." She sighed, putting her sunglasses back on. "My head feels like the Hogwarts Express has gone through it at full speed."
"How much did you drink?" Hermione hissed under her breath.
"I don't honestly know." She shrugged as they arrived in the Atrium. "I mean, I got through half a bottle of vodka before I left the house and then I had about six or seven cocktails when I was out."
"It's a wonder you managed to walk." Harry commented as she swept, surprisingly easily, through the crowds of people.
"I do remember Snape holding me up at one point." She rubbed her forehead, trying to remember. "And possibly some carrying although I can't really recall that much." They were opposite the green fires that transported people to and from the Ministry.
"Are you going to be wanting us around this afternoon?" she stepped into the roaring green flames.
"No." she shrugged as they all re-emerged in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place. "I'll have them on my turf so they will play by my rules."
"What about afterwards?"
"All I am going to do tonight is go to bed." She said with a small laugh. "And I persuaded them to give me Lucius for the weekend so all I assume that he will want to do is sleep too."
"How about tomorrow?" Hermione asked.
"Come over for lunch, at about one." She suggested. "I've got to go." Throwing some more Floo powder into the fireplace, she returned to Malfoy manor before they could even vent their surprise at his 'release' for the weekend.