Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - part 2 (standard:fantasy, 11429 words) [2/2] show all parts
Author: Gryfinndor_Girl	Added: May 17 2002	Views/Reads: 2691/2110	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Continuation.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

* 

‘Er, Professor Dumbledore, we need to talk to you' said Hermione timidly
as she stepped over the threshold of Dumbledore's office. 

‘Of course, come on in' said Dumbledore warmly showing Ron and Hermione
into the comfy seats in front of his desk. 

Neither of the two wanted to start talking, and Dumbledore sat in
silence eyeing the two thoughtfully. 

‘What is it you want to talk to me about?' he said eventually, staring
evenly at the two teenagers. 

‘Well, it's about what happened in the Great Hall today, about what
Harry did?' said Hermione shyly, wondering if Dumbledore even knew what 
happened. 

‘Yes I know what you are referring to' said Dumbledore questioningly. 

‘Well, we were wondering if we could tell you something about what we
saw while we were there' said Hermione nervously. 

Dumbledore merely nodded, and allowed Hermione to continue, Ron remained
silent and stared impassively at his hands throughout the whole 
meeting. 

‘Well, when Harry was, er talking to Malfoy, Professor Snape tried to
interrupt Harry and I noticed something that completely shocked me, er 
us' she said motioning to Ron, who was still silent. 

‘And what was that?' asked Dumbledore, looking between the two teenagers
faces, still trying to understand what was happening. 

‘Well Harry kind of pushed Snape away, with his hands, but Professor
Snape went flying through the air, as if he'd used some kind of 
levitation spell. It definitely wasn't Harry's own strength it was 
definitely magic' said Hermione in a rush. 

‘I see, and aside from the obvious fact that Harry attacked a member of
staff, why do you find this so shocking?' asked Dumbledore, eyes 
twinkling. 

‘Because...' Ron cut in suddenly, ‘Because Harry didn't even have his
wand with him, he left it in class after he ran out looking for 
Catalina'. 

‘So what are you saying?' asked Dumbledore, who had already come to an
impossible conclusion in his own head. 

‘I'm saying, Harry did magic without his wand, just like Catalina. I, I
mean we, think Harry is a Magus' said Ron staring defiantly into 
Dumbledore's blue eyes. 

A shocked silence filled the room, as the three figures contemplated
what had already been decided, but not voiced. 

‘I think you better start at the beginning, tell me what happened today'
Dumbledore said finally. 

So Hermione and Ron launched into a detailed description of the days
events, telling Dumbledore everything that had happened since Harry ran 
out of their Herbology lesson that morning. 

‘...and then he stormed out of the Great Hall, and all the windows and
glass in the room just exploded into a million pieces!' finished 
Hermione, looking fearfully at her headmaster. 

‘I see,' said Dumbledore sitting back into his chair, thoughtfully
stroking his beard, ‘And how did Harry know that Catalina was in 
trouble?' 

‘We don't know, I just assumed it was because she didn't turn up for
class. But the way he acted was really strange, he just jumped up and 
ran out, looking as if he was about to pass out in fear or something' 
said Ron, remembering the way Harry had ran out of the greenhouse so 
suddenly. 

‘Yeah, he told us "Catalina's in trouble, she's really scared, she's
terrified", and then ran off. It was like he knew what she was feeling 
or something' said Hermione, blushing at the very stupid and illogical 
thing she'd just said. 

‘Yes, it certainly seems like that though' said Dumbledore, ignoring the
way Hermione and Ron's mouths dropped open. 

‘What? You really think...?' asked Ron incredulously. 

‘I don't know yet, I'll have to talk to Harry. I would like you two to
try and talk to Harry, find out what really happened' Dumbledore told 
them, standing up as he did so. 

Ron and Hermione both stood up, and walked over to the door. Just before
he did so though he turned around and regarded Dumbledore thoughtfully. 


‘Do you really think Harry is a Magus?' he asked slowly. 

‘It seems that maybe more than we think happened after that attack on
Halloween, it is possible that some of Catalina's powers were 
transferred into Harry' he told Ron carefully. 

‘Right' said Ron, who turned on his heal and walked out of the office. 

Dumbledore shut the door, and walked over to his desk, falling heavily
into the chair. He sat for a long time, twirling his wand between his 
fingers, occasionally putting it towards his head, and extracting 
silvery lines of light. He directed these into a stone basin that he 
had placed before him, and gazed at it for a long time. Suddenly he 
stood up and walked over to the large fireplace. He threw a handful of 
glittering powder into the merrily crackling flames. 

‘Sirius, I need to speak with you urgently' 

* 

Catalina groggily opened her eyes, and looked around the room slowly.
She couldn't make out anything in the inky blackness of the room and 
she slowly closed her eyes again. She sank deeper into her pillow, as 
the thoughts and memories of the last few hours crashed into her 
consciousness. 

She remembered being in a small dark room, and being scared, no
terrified, and then someone had found her, rescued her. She cast her 
mind back over the events, and a pale, laughing face floated in front 
of her eyes, taunting her. Catalina angrily clenched her fist, and felt 
with a sudden surprise that a hand was clasped in hers. 

She looked around swiftly to her left hand side, and realised with a
thrill of fear that no one was sat next to her. She slowly held out a 
shaking hand, and touched where her hand was supposed to be. Her hand 
came in contact with a hard surface, and she ran her fingers across it, 
taking in the feel of silky material. She let out a shaky breath as she 
realised it was an invisibility cloak. She stared unseeingly at the 
figure who was lying with his head on the side of the bed, and whose 
hand still held onto hers. 

She reached forward with an educated guess, and pulled the material
away. A head of messy black hair came into view, who was fast asleep, 
head balanced against the cold metal rail of the hospital bed. 

‘Harry!' she whispered in relief, shaking the boys hand, ‘Harry, wake
up!' 

Harry groaned for a few seconds, then slowly opened his eyes, taking in
his surroundings. He suddenly sat bolt upright, looking around 
fearfully as his cloak slipped off his shoulder even more. 

‘Catalina! Are you ok?' he whispered anxiously. 

‘Yeah I'm fine, what are you doing here?' she asked, laughing softly as
Harry rubbed life back into his dead arm. 

‘Making sure your ok,' he muttered, blushing in the darkness, ‘Are you
ok? Can you remember what happened?' 

‘Yeah, I remember' said Catalina distantly, thoughts going back to the
eternity she spent locked in her prison. 

Harry clenched his fists, anger flashing in his eyes, but softened when
he saw Catalina, struggling against tears. 

‘It was so dark in that place, I was so scared, ' she said, blinking
against the prickling heat of her eyes. 

‘I know, I know' said Harry soothingly as he gave her a small hug,
‘Don't you worry about it though, I got Malfoy back' 

‘What did you -?' started Catalina, who was cut off by a sudden noise. 

‘Who's that? Who's in there?' asked Madam Pomfrey walking into the
Hospital Wing, candle in hand. 

Catalina looked nervously at where Harry had previously been standing,
but she stared at nothing but empty space. 

‘Oh your awake are you? How are you feeling dear?' asked Madam Pomfrey,
walking over to Catalina's bed. 

‘I'm fine' said Catalina with a small smile, as one last squeeze of her
hand told her Harry had gone. 

* 

The next morning Ron and Hermione visited Catalina. They both wore
identical looks of worry, and she could see something else lurking in 
their eyes, was it fear? She couldn't tell. 

‘Hi, how are you feeling?' asked Hermione, smiling as she sat down on
the corner of Catalina bed. 

‘I'm alright now' said Catalina blushing, she felt incredibly stupid at
having lost it like that in front of everybody. 

‘Harry's still in bed, I would have thought he'd be down here bright an
early to see you, but no, gotta have his beauty sleep!' said Ron, 
laughing at his best friend half-heartedly. 

‘Speaking of Harry...' started Hermione, shooting a glance over to Ron,
who merely nodded to Hermione, ‘He did something yesterday after you 
were put to sleep, something I think that we‘d rather tell you, rather 
than some school gossip' 

‘What?' asked Catalina fearfully, looking at her friends solemn faces. 

‘After what happened yesterday, Harry sort of...well he...He kind of
went...' said Hermione struggling for words. 

‘Mental' finished Ron, ‘He went completely mental, stormed into the
Great Hall and practically put Malfoy in his own Hospital Bed. Snape 
tried to stop him and got thrown across the hall, and Harry stormed 
out, not before shattering every window and piece of glass in the hall' 


‘And Malfoy...?' she finally asked, mouth hanging open in shock. 

‘He got away with it, Harry took the wrap. He didn't want to tell the
teachers what had happened, about You-Know-Who' said Hermione with a 
look of fear on her face. 

‘He did what?' asked Catalina incredulously, unable to take in the
repercussions of yesterdays attack. 

‘Don't worry we told Dumbledore what really happened that day, about
Malfoy and everything, he'll probably be talking to you and Harry 
today' said Ron hurriedly. 

Catalina looked between her two friends faces, there was something they
weren't telling her, some kind of secret they were hiding. Catalina was 
about to ask them what was wrong, when Harry chose that moment to come 
sliding into the Hospital Wing, clearly out of breath. 

‘Sorry...overslept' said Harry panting. 

Hermione covered her giggles and Ron covered his smile with his hands as
they watched Harry hurry over to Catalina's bed and sat down on the bed 
staring worriedly at her. 

‘I think we better go and get breakfast' said Ron dragging Hermione
towards the door. 

Catalina watched Ron and Hermione hurried off towards the Great Hall,
laughing between themselves. 

‘They told me what you did to Malfoy yesterday' she said after a long
pause. 

‘Oh yeah?' said Harry, avoiding her eyes. 

‘Did it in style didn't you?' she said raising an eyebrow, grinning at
Harry's discomfort. 

‘What do you mean?' he asked confusedly. 

‘The broken glass everywhere?' she reminded him rolling her eyes. 

‘Really? I don't remember that, no wonder McGonagall was in such a bad
mood!' said Harry laughing with Catalina at his amnesia. 

‘Yeah, but Ron said Dumbledore understood everything, he'll sort it all
out' laughed Catalina, stopping abruptly when she saw the look on 
Harry's face. 

‘What?' he asked quickly. 

‘What? Ron just said he'd spoken to Dumbledore, told him what Malfoy
did' she said looking into Harry's angry face. 

‘Where are you going?' she shouted after Harry's retreating back, who
just waved an impatient hand towards her. 

Catalina sat back in her bed, listening to Harry's anger, wondering
about his sudden change of mood. 

* 

The Great Hall was nearly full of students chattering happily between
themselves when Harry walked in. The noise level suddenly dropped, and 
students regarded Harry fearfully as he strode purposefully to the 
Gryffindor table. Harry straddled the bench next to Ron, and looked at 
his friend intently. 

‘What's up Harry?' asked Ron, nervously eyeing Harry's blank face. 

‘What did you tell Dumbledore?' he asked evenly. 

‘Err...we just told him what Malfoy did, tried to get you out of
trouble' said Ron, looking around at the watchful faces of the hall. 

‘And that's all?' asked Harry carefully, toying with his wand between
his fingers. 

‘Well we just told him everything that happened yesterday' said Ron,
eyes fixed on Harry's wand. 

‘Everything?' asked Harry, eyebrows arched, ‘Like what?' 

‘Just about how you got all worried about Catalina all of a sudden, and
stuff...' said Ron, quelling under Harry's furious stare. 

‘And what did Dumbledore think of all that?' whispered Harry, who had
become aware of the staring faces. 

‘He reckons, you can...you can...feel each other's emotions' he said in
a rush, staring at Harry. 

‘Ron' Harry whispered angrily to his friends, ‘That's private and
personnel and of no concern of you' 

‘It's true?' whispered Ron back incredulously. 

‘Ron, what else did he tell you?' asked Harry urgently. 

‘Well we told him about what you did to Snape and he reckons you're a,
a, Magus' said Ron, holding his breath. 

‘I'm a what?' asked Harry loudly, staring at his friend open-mouthed. 

* 

Harry hadn't returned to the Hospital Wing after the conversation in the
Great Hall, his head was swimming with Ron's words. "You're a Magus" 
kept echoing through his head over and over again. Harry had walked 
down to the lake and sat on the bank throwing stones into the cold 
black water. 

He sat for a long time, staring at the water, trying to sort out the
thoughts in his head. He had attacked a professor without even knowing 
it, he had smashed all the windows and glass in the Great Hall without 
knowing it. He felt dangerous, how was he supposed to control something 
he didn't even know existed inside him. 

‘Yeh alright Harry?' asked the large black shadow that had just fallen
across his path. 

‘I'm fine Hagrid' said Harry monotonously. 

‘Sure yeh are,' said Hagrid, settling onto the bank next to him, ‘A
lot's happened since I last saw yeh Harry' 

‘I know Hagrid' said Harry heavily, thoughts still with his present
situation. 

‘Yeh know Harry, it's not good ter keep things inside. You gotta let
them out, tell people. How are we supposed to know what to do, if you 
don't tell us anything' asked Hagrid slowly. 

Harry looked up into Hagrid's large red face, thinking about Hagrid's
words. Ever since his argument with Sirius, he had lost the one person 
he could usually tell important stuff to. Ron and Hermione were trying 
to do their best, but Harry didn't know if they'd understand. But now 
Hagrid was offering himself as a sounding board, and Harry was tired of 
keeping things inside. 

‘Your right Hagrid, I've just got so much happening to me so quickly,
and it's scary, and there's no one who I can tell!' said Harry looking 
across the black lake. 

‘Well I'm here now, if yer want to talk?' ask Hagrid also staring across
the large lake. 

Harry gave Hagrid a slow look and began. He told him everything, about
Cedric's death, about the Dursleys death, Catalina, Halloween, Malfoy, 
and Snape. After what seemed like hours of talking Harry finally 
stopped talking, and there was a long silence. 

‘So Dumbledore reckons yer a Magus now? Figures...'said Hagrid looking
down at Harry. 

‘What?' asked Harry confusedly. 

‘Well, when You-know-who gave yeh that scar, he transferred some of his
powers into you. It makes sense that when you and Catalina where hit 
with that curse again, she transferred some of her powers into you' 
said Hagrid simply. 

‘I...never thought of that' said Harry slowly, thinking about how simply
Hagrid could put the complicated situation. 

Harry sat thinking for a few more minutes, it did sort of make sense
when he looked at it like that, and Harry had almost forgotten Hagrid 
was there until he spoke again. 

‘Yer getting close to Catalina then?' he asked, a small smile twitching
at his lips through his great beard. 

‘Well she's my friend' said Harry defensively, then smiled as he saw
Hagrid's expression, ‘Sirius isn't too happy about it!' 

‘Yeah well, you can't live your life how other people want you to,
Sirius should know about that' laughed Hagrid to himself. 

‘Why?' asked Harry curiously, as he watched Hagrid chuckle to himself. 

‘Well I remember when he was ere, took an instant liking to this girl in
Ravenclaw, started following her around like a lovesick puppy! Until 
one day he found out her name, his family and her family were caught up 
in an old feud, generations old in fact. He hadn't realised who she 
was, and his family forbid him to speak to her. Of course Sirius being 
Sirius he carried on, ignoring his and her family' said Hagrid laughing 
at the memory. 

‘Oh that's just great, it's "do as I say, not as I do" huh?' asked Harry
thinking about Sirius's past. 

‘Something like that. Now don't yeh worry Harry, it'll all sort itself
out. Dumbledore will know what to do, now yeh better get back to 
Catalina, she'll be worrying about yeh' said Hagrid with a small smile. 


‘Yeah, I suppose, Thanks for the talk Hagrid, it feels good to talk to
someone about it all' said Harry standing up and walking towards the 
castle. 

Harry walked towards the Hospital Wing, heart feeling lighter than it
had done in days. He walked over to Catalina and realised with a smile 
that she was asleep. Her black hair was spread across her pillow, and 
her face had a bit more colour in it. He sat in the chair he'd sat in 
last night and watched her sleeping, waiting for her to wake up. 

‘Hey Harry' came Ron's nervous voice behind him. 

‘Oh hi Ron, I didn't see you there' said Harry, still looking at
Catalina. 

‘I'm sorry' said Ron, shifting from foot to foot, ‘I was only trying to
help' 

‘Yeah I know you were, I'm sorry I got so mad with you' said Harry
looking up into his friend's face. 

‘It's ok' said Ron smiling in relief. 

‘Grab a chair' said Harry motioning beside him. 

Ron and Harry stayed in the Hospital Wing during the cold Saturday
afternoon, talking for a long time about everything that had happened 
since Halloween, and the latest revelations. 

‘So can you really, you know, feel what she's feeling' asked Ron
uncomfortably, not sure if it was the right thing to talk about. 

‘Yeah' Harry admitted eventually, avoiding Ron's eyes. 

‘Oh, Why didn't you want anyone to know?' asked Ron curiously. 

‘I don't know, I just thought it was like private you know? I didn't
want everyone talking about it and analysing us' said Harry, still 
trying to sort out his own thoughts. 

Ron nodded in understanding and was about to ask another question when
Catalina opened a sleepy eye. 

‘Morning!' said Harry cheerfully, laughing as Catalina sat up trying to
figure out the time. 

‘Calmed down now?' she asked leaning back into her pillows, grinning at
Harry. 

‘Er, yeah, I spoke to Ron about it, it's all fine' he said, noticeably
blushing. 

‘Hi Hermione!' called Catalina, looking over the two boy's head towards
the doorway. 

‘Hey guys' said Hermione nervously, sitting across from Harry and Ron
and the other side of Catalina's bed. 

Harry sighed as he looked between his friend's nervous faces, and took a
deep breath. 

‘There some stuff we all need to know about, so I'm going to start at
the beginning...' began Harry, who was finally ready to stop with the 
lies and tell his friends the truth. 

~*~*~ Chapter Twenty Five ~*~*~ 

The Deceivers 

‘So what's it like?' asked Hermione, who way lying on her bed watching
Catalina brush her hair. 

‘What's what like?' asked Catalina absentmindedly. 

‘You know, the emotion thing' said Hermione blushing faintly at asking
such a personal question. 

‘Oh...I don't know. How d you mean?' asked Catalina climbing under the
heavy blankets and turning to face Hermione. 

‘I mean, what does it feel like, how do you know what's you, and what's
him?' she asked, trying to understand the new concept. 

‘I don't know' she admitted with a thoughtful look on her face, ‘I
suppose its like half of you, just feels like normal, like your just 
feeling your own emotions, but then there's the other half. It's just 
like feeling your own emotions, except like different. Like different 
flavours. I can just tell that it's either him or me' 

Hermione tried to get her head round the idea, but wasn't succeeding, it
just sounded so alien to her. 

‘You don't mind?' she puzzled. 

‘Mind? Oh it depends on the situation. Like whenever he passes Malfoy in
the corridor he gets really angry, and it's strange because it makes 
you angry as well. Most of the time though its alright, just like a 
part of yourself' explained Catalina, with a frown on her face as she 
tried to concentrate. 

‘And you don't mind that he can hear you as well? Because all I can
think about if how it's like a invasion of your privacy, how he always 
know what your thinking' said Hermione slowly. 

‘He doesn't know what I'm thinking, not thoughts just emotions, like
happiness and sadness, stuff like that. But you know when I went away 
to my parents at Christmas it was horrible. I was on the train I could 
just feel it slipping away. The further away I got from Hogwarts the 
less I could feel until when I got home, I couldn't even pick up a 
single emotion. It was so lonely!' she said sadly. 

‘It went away?' said Hermione with wonder. 

‘Yeah, I was so scared because I was awake at the time, and I could feel
it leaving me bit by bit and I couldn't hold onto it. It made me feel 
sick and empty. Harry must have got a huge shock when he woke up and 
found it' laughed Catalina nervously. 

Hermione tried to cast her mind back to the morning after Catalina left,
trying to remember what Harry was like. 

‘God yeah!' said Hermione nodding her head emphatically, ‘We thought it
was just because you'd gone away, but he was in a foul mood the whole 
three days' 

‘Thought as much' laughed Catalina softly. 

The didn't speak for so long that Catalina assumed that Hermione had
fallen asleep, and she was herself until Hermione spoke again. 

‘You really like Harry huh?' she said softly, on the edge of sleep. 

‘You really like Ron huh?' said Catalina after a thoughtful pause. 

‘Checkmate' said Hermione, laughing softly. 

* 

It had been a long weekend, but eventually it was time to face the
school again, and Harry had no choice but to attend classes again. The 
fifty points from Gryffindor still stood, but no news as heard about 
the detentions, and Harry felt Dumbledore had something to do with it. 
Harry felt a lot better that Ron and Hermione knew the truth, and he 
felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulder that he 
didn't even know was there. 

The four had been walking down the dungeons on the way to potions,
something he was really not looking forward to. Catalina was sharing 
Harry's dread and they paused outside the door. 

‘My two favourite people in one lesson' said Harry sarcastically. 

‘Don't worry, deep breath, grin and bear it' she said squaring her
shoulders and walking into the cold classroom. 

Harry followed her in, encouraged by Catalina's bravery, and sat down at
his seat without looking around. The class quickly filled the room up, 
and only when he had to take notes on the potion they were going to 
concoct, did he raise his eyes. They immediately met the cold black 
eyes of Snape who was staring at Harry with a mixture of loathing and 
maybe even fear. Harry quickly averted his gaze, and managed to make 
his way through the lesson without anything going wrong. Malfoy had 
spent the lesson sat in the corner of the room, looking wearily at 
Harry, but there was something in the lingering smile on his lips that 
told Harry he should have hit him a bit harder. 

Harry breathed a deep sigh of relief when the end of the class was
called, and stood up with Catalina, anxious to get away from both 
Malfoy and Snape. 

‘Potter, stay behind for a moment' said Snape icily, and Harry grimly
made his way to the front of the class. 

Catalina, Ron and Hermione gave him a sympathetic smile before going out
the room, and finally Harry was left standing alone in front of Snape's 
huge wooden desk. 

‘Potter...twice now you have attacked me, and twice you have been
excused in the eyes of the school, but I'll tell you this. You have not 
got away with it in my eyes' he spat, staring at Harry. 

Harry didn't say anything, but stared back at Snape. Snape got up and
walked round the desk and stood in front of Harry. 

‘Third time you wont be so lucky Potter' he spat with loathing, ‘I won't
be made accountable for my actions' 

With this Snape swept out of the room silently, and Harry let out a long
sigh of relief. He walked slowly out of the room, thinking about his 
newly acquired ‘gift'. He thought, a little guiltily, life was much 
simpler when Catalina hadn't been around. 

‘What am I talking about?' Harry asked himself out loud, ‘My life's
never been simple' 

* 

‘New term, new topic' announced Professor Figg, and the class settled
down into their usual seats. 

‘Turn to Page 547 of your books, and read the introductory paragraph,
then get yourself into groups' said Professor Figg as she cleared small 
areas of tables and chairs around the room. 

Harry opened his book to the page given and looked over the title page, 

Fear in the Dark Arts 

Fear is one of the greatest weapons that witches and wizards of darkness
can control. There are numerous spells, incantations, curses and hexes 
that can be harnessed for the purpose of darkness. Dementors for 
example are now used to control dark witches and wizards, but not so 
long along ago Dementors were on the side of evil. Their weapon is the 
ability to make people relive their worst experiences in their lives. 
This is one just example and now spells can take the places of the 
Dementor. 

Bravery and courage can disappear when you are faced with your own worst
fears and memories, and even the greatest witches and wizards can be 
defeated. 

Harry looked up and around the class. They had all gone rather pale at
the thought of their new topic, and Harry dearly wished they could stay 
on the shielding charms. He had no love for the idea of facing another 
Dementor, even if it was in the form of a spell. By the looks from Ron, 
Hermione and Catalina's faces they didn't either. 

‘Now all of you, get into groups, and find yourself a space' said
Professor Figg, indicating to the newly cleared spaces around the room 

Harry and Ron joined Catalina and Hermione in their own space, and got
their wands out ready. 

‘Now the spell I am about to teach you is not to be used outside this
classroom EVER, do you understand that? If I catch anyone even thinking 
about it, you'll be out of this school faster than you can say ‘unfair' 
got it?' she stated, staring around the pale faced class. 

‘Now the spell is Pessimus Cogitato, and it is part of a group of spells
known as the deceivers. They pick a fear from your head, you may not 
even know you have it, and it is most defiantly not your worst fear. 
Every time the spell is cast upon you, you will find a different fear, 
and believe me there's more up in your heads than you care to know or 
acknowledge. Basically when this spell is cast upon you, you will have 
a vision of your worst fear, which is so real and lifelike you wont be 
able to tell the difference between it and reality' said the professor 
is a dryly. 

‘Now I want one person at a time to be put under the spell, and I want
the others in the group to observe, and help the person if needed. Have 
courage class, ok, you may start now' 

Harry turned to his three friends who were by now incredibly pale. 

‘Oh I don't like the sound of this' murmured Hermione, who was agreed
with by three other nodding heads. 

‘Ok who first?' asked Harry looking around his friends. Unsurprisingly
no one volunteered. 

‘Ok, shortest straw' Harry said, while transfiguring their quills into
sticks of different lengths. 

They each picked a stick from Harry's clenched hand, and compared them;
Ron gave a small groan as he saw the results. 

‘Your up Ron' said Harry, pulling out his wand. 

Ron gave a small nod and stood tall as Harry cast the spell on his best
friend. As small ray of black light came out of the end of Harry's 
wand, and wrapped itself around Ron like a snake. Ron's eyes had 
clouded only slightly. 

‘What did you say?' whispered Ron to Harry, whose eyes were now alight
with terror. 

‘What?' asked Harry confusedly looking at the others. 

‘NOOOOO!' moaned Ron, sinking to the floor in a pile of robes. 

‘Ron!' shrieked Hermione falling to his side, ‘Take it off Harry!' 

Harry was one step ahead and the spell was already being taken off. The
three crowded around Ron, who was sitting up on the floor shaking. 

‘What happened Ron' asked Harry, watching his friend intently. 

Ron just shook his head and got to his feet slowly. 

‘Who's turn was it next?' he asked steadily, but something of his fear
lingered in his eyes. 

‘Er...Hermione was next' said Harry, understanding his friend's
unwillingness to share his fear with everyone. 

Hermione gave a small whimper, before the curse was places upon her,
this time by Ron. Again the thin snaking line of the black light wound 
its way around Hermione, and her eyes dimmed. 

‘W– what?' Hermione stuttered, staring at an unseen figure in front of
her. 

‘No please! Anything but that! Please! Please! Stop it!' begged
Hermione, as tears formed in her eyes. 

Ron soon lifted the spell, and Hermione gave a small sob, before
straightening up. She let out a long shuddering breath before speaking. 


‘Harry its your go' she said in a small voice. 

‘Harry's heart dropped but he stepped forward resolutely. He watched as
Catalina stepped forward and uttered the curse. He watched as the black 
light wrapped itself around him, and he looked up. Everything was 
exactly the same as before, and Harry thought for a moment that the 
spell hadn't worked. Just then Ron stepped forward clutching something 
in his hands. 

‘I'm really sorry Harry' he whispered as he handed over the small piece
of paper he was clutching. 

Harry looked down at the piece of paper in his hands, and felt his legs
give way. It was an article from the Daily Prophet. A picture of his 
godfather was framed by the bold title proclaiming ‘Black captured and 
Kiss performed'. Harry gave a dry sob as he stared at the impassive 
face of his godfather, who was now as good as dead. 

Suddenly the piece of paper vanished, and he looked up to see his three
friends kneeling beside him. Harry swallowed against the sickness 
building up in his stomach, and climbed to his feet. He glanced over to 
Catalina who was also pale faced, he'd forgot that Catalina would feel 
all that as well. 

‘Sorry' he mumbled watching her push as strand of hair out her eyes with
a shaking hand. 

‘No problem' she said defiantly, ‘Ill get you back' 

Catalina gave a small grin before Hermione put the spell on her. The
black light snaked around her, and Harry watched as a thinner beam, 
attached itself to his wrist, and started creeping up his arm. He shot 
a startled look at Hermione and Ron, but they were focused on Catalina. 


She had sunk to the floor, and both hand were trying to shake something
invisible to the other three. Tears were pouring down her face and cold 
fear and dread were building inside Harry, who felt like falling to the 
floor as well. Catalina sank forward and her hair hid her from the view 
of the others as she cried into her hands. 

‘Hermione, stop it!' said Harry anxiously. 

Hermione lifted the spell, and Catalina slowly got to her sat up. Her
hair fell from her face and she wiped away the tears. Harry pulled her 
to her feet, and gave her hand a squeeze. The four stood in a circle 
for a few minutes clearing their minds, then looked around the class. 
The rest of the classes were in a similar state, and Parvati Patil was 
lying on the floor sobbing her heart out. Soon all the class was free 
from the curse, and were glaring at the professor. 

‘What was the point of that eh?' asked Seamus angrily. 

Harry and the rest of the class agreed with Seamus. They hadn't been
taught how to fight the curse, or learnt anything from it. 

‘Class, I put you through that not only to show you what it feels like
it, but how to recognise it. There are ways to stop the curse, which I 
will be teaching you soon. But that's it for now, get yourselves down 
to dinner, and have a big meal, it'll make you feel better' said 
Professor Figg soothingly. 

The whole class trooped out of the room, and made their way to dinner in
silence. It wasn't until pudding that anyone spoke. 

‘If that's what going to be happening every class, I don't think I'll be
turning up to them' said Ron moodily, stabbing his apple pie with his 
fork. 

It was a sign of how much everyone had hated the class when even
Hermione agreed. 

* 

‘Hermione? Can I ask you something?' asked Catalina that night, as they
lay in the darkness of the dorm. 

‘Sure go ahead' said Hermione, pulling the covers closer to her. 

‘What did you see today? When we had that deceiver put on us?' she
asked. 

‘Oh... I saw someone was being tortured by a Death Eater, and I couldn't
stop it' said Hermione quietly, tears forming at the vivid images in 
front of her eyes. 

They sat in quiet for a few moments, then Catalina hesitantly spoke up. 

‘Was it Ron?' she asked. 

The silence that entered the room once again and Catalina took this as a
yes. She shuddered herself at the thought. 

‘What did you see?' Hermione asked after a brief pause. 

‘Harry', Catalina whispered, ‘Dead' 

It was an uncomfortable silence that filled the room, which was
eventually filled by the sounds of two fitful sleepers. 

* 

Harry's own experience stayed firmly in his head, and he took the
decision to visit Dumbledore the next morning. It was when he was 
sitting in the small cosy headmaster's office that Harry felt calmed 
for the first time. 

‘I need to speak to Sirius' Harry said as he sat in the plush red chair.


Dumbledore gave him a thoughtful stare before standing up and walking
over to the fireplace. He threw a handful of glittering powder into the 
fire. 

‘Sirius can I have a word' he said to the flames. 

A few moments later, Sirius stepped out of the fire, and he looked up to
the headmaster. 

‘What's –?' he asked, before his eyes settled to Harry sitting in the
chair. 

‘I think I'll go down and check on the kitchens' said Dumbledore backing
away the two and heading out of the door. Harry heard him magically 
lock the door before moving away down the stairs. Sirius walked over to 
the chair opposite Harry and sat down in it. 

‘I'm sorry I shouted at you' said Harry after a few moments of silence. 

‘Oh' said Sirius, clearly surprised. 

‘Yeah, I was just angry at the time, and I want things to be back to
like before' he said, concentrating on picking a piece of cotton from 
the fraying arm of the chair. 

‘Sure Harry, and I'm sorry for making you angry' said Sirius studying
Harry thoughtfully, ‘Why the sudden change of heart?' 

‘Oh, something just made me see the light I suppose' said Harry
evasively. 

‘Ok' said Sirius sitting back with a smile on his face. 

‘Are you safe where you are?' asked Harry urgently whose thoughts kept
returning to the Daily Prophet article. 

‘Perfectly safe Harry, don't worry' said Sirius in a calm voice. 

Harry nodded thoughtfully and they returned back to silence. 

‘I better go now, Ron, Hermione and Catalina will be wondering where I
am' said Harry picking up his bag. 

Sirius eyes darkened at the mention of Catalina's name, but had enough
sense not to say anything. He was amazed at how quickly it had turned 
from Harry, Ron and Hermione, to the four of them. And how easily the 
names fitted together, and how strange it seemed when Catalina's name 
wasn‘t included. Sirius sighed at the memory of his own group. Was 
history destined to repeat itself? Sirius thought as he walked over to 
the fireplace. We‘ll know soon enough, he thought as flames tickled his 
ankles as he stepped into the fire. 

~*~*~ Chapter Twenty Six ~*~*~ 

Betrayal 

Life inside the castle continued with whatever passed for normalcy
there, and the world outside Hogwarts was sheltered from them, with 
small insights only occurring in the regular letters from the 
Weasley's, the Daily Prophet reports, and the Order of the Phoenix 
meetings. However, life outside the castle was nearly as quiet as life 
inside the castle, and while no news of Voldemort was definitely good 
news, it left Harry with an uneasy feeling in his stomach. 

The four of them were sitting in the common room one-day trying to do
homework, while a blizzard raged outside. Ron and Harry had abandoned 
Potions for a game of chess, which was becoming increasingly violent. 
Harry was nervously eyeing Ron's Bishop, who was looking particularly 
shifty when Catalina strolled over. 

‘Harry can I borrow a quill, mine just snapped, and I don't really feel
like disturbing Hermione' she said pointing to the hunched figure of 
Hermione behind a tower of books. 

OWLS weren't for another four months, but a manic energy seemed to have
possessed Hermione who was now sitting in her seat by the fire every 
night without fail, surrounding by parchment and books. 

‘Sure, there's a spare one in my bag' aid Harry kicking his bag
unceremoniously over towards Catalina. 

She started to rummage around and finally pulled out a quill, as well as
something else. 

‘Your carrying this heap of junk around with you?' she asked, eyebrow
raised. 

Harry glanced over the thing held in Catalina's hand before turning his
attention back to Ron's bishop, who as suspected, was now attacking his 
queen with its crucifix. 

‘Its not junk, it works perfectly fine!' said Harry, wincing as his
queen fell limply to the boards floor. 

‘You got it working?' she asked turning the snow globe shaped object in
her hand. 

‘Yeah, guess I must have forgot to tell you. Just tap it with your wand
and say Retego' said Harry, who was plotting his revenge against the 
violent bishop. 

Catalina sat next to the two, stone in hand. 

‘Retego' she whispered, as she pointed a finger at the stone, watching
the white light arch towards the stone 

‘Hey cool' said Ron, watching Catalina wide eyed. Harry took the
opportunity to finally wrestle Ron bishop to the ground with his 
knight, before it stabbed it repeatedly with its lance. 

Ron's face fell when he saw the wreckage of what had once been his best
player, and glared at Harry, who was staring innocently at the ceiling 
twiddling his thumbs. 

‘If the smoke goes purple it's the past, and if it goes green its the
future' said Harry watching her looking at the stone. 

‘We reckon it shows you past and future alternatively, but we have tried
asking for anything else yet' added Ron, and his other bishop crept 
behind Harry's castle. 

Harry turned back to game in hand, groaning as he castle was beaten
mercilessly by the former bishop's twin to the floor. 

Catalina however was absorbed into the stone. The first time she'd
looked at it she'd seen an hour in the past, and had seen Ron and Harry 
playing chess. The number of Harry's pieces on the board told her they 
hadn't been playing long. 

‘Retego futura' she commanded the stone, as watched as the green mist
parted and showed her the common room in an hour's time. She saw 
herself walking up the stairs to the dormitory, watched closely by 
Harry. 

‘Right she's gone, come on lets go' said Ron distantly, standing up. 

‘Come on then' said Harry heavily, before the silver mist closed in on
the scene. 

Desperate to know more she commanded the stone to reveal the future
again, and caught Harry, Ron and Hermione disappearing beneath and 
invisibility cloak, and watched as the portrait opened and swung shut 
again. Then the silver mist appeared again. 

‘Did I win my game' came a voice to the side of Catalina. 

‘What?' she asked looking over to Ron. 

‘Did the stone show if I win my game?' asked Ron again. 

‘Oh I, er, I didn't see' lied Catalina, whose thoughts were still with
the images in the stone. 

She became angry with the other three in the time that passed from her
vision of the future. They were keeping secrets from her, and she 
didn't like it. Harry was shooting her thoughtful glances, and Catalina 
wished for the first time that she could shield her emotions from 
Harry. 

‘I'm going to bed' she said shortly, heading up the stairs. 

‘Right she's gone come on lets go' said Ron as he saw her disappear into
the dormitory, standing up. 

‘Come on then' said Harry heavily, pulling out his invisibility cloak
from under the chair. 

He shrouded himself and his two friends under the cloak, noting that it
was getting a lot smaller for them now, and headed towards the portrait 
hole. Their silent procession to Dumbledore's office gave Harry time to 
think about Catalina. She had been angry ever since she had looked into 
the stone, and he wondered briefly what she'd seen, before the reached 
the gargoyle. 

They gave the password and headed up the stairs, and seating themselves
in the gathering group of teachers and Phoenix members. While they 
waited for a few late arrivals Harry suddenly had a thought. After 
doing a quick calculation in his head he realised Catalina must have 
seen them disappearing under the cloak. He sighed, as he understood why 
she was so angry, she thought they were keeping secrets from her, and 
doing things without her. 

It was then we he also had another thought. If that were him, he'd want
to find out what the others were up to. He looked around the room, at 
the long line of people in chairs, of which he was at the end. Harry 
casually ran his fingers through his hair, before dropping his arm over 
the side of the chair. The satisfyingly solid patch of air confirmed 
his suspicions, which were further strengthened by a small gasp coming 
from nowhere. He turned and looked down at the vacant position with a 
small smile on his face. Pretending to have an untied shoelace, he bent 
down and looked to his left. 

‘You really shouldn't be here you know' he whispered before sitting
upright. 

Dumbledore chose that moments to begin the meeting and Harry had no
choice but to listen. 

‘We have no news from the Ministry about the attack last weekend in
Dorset' said Dumbledore heavily looking around the assembled figures. 

‘Now, this was the first attack we have seen since Hogsmeade, and we are
prepared to bet it wasn't authorised. So this leads us to the question, 
what is Voldemort Planning?' asked Dumbledore. 

‘I believe that's he is planning something big, so we have to be ready'
said an auburn haired witch at the other end of the line. 

This statement was greeted by nods from nearly everyone around the desk,
and everyone looked to Dumbledore. 

‘I believe your right, what we have to do now is find out what. Our man
on the inside tells us that there has been an increase in activity over 
the past few weeks. Now we have a list of known Death Eaters, and I 
would like you to get close to these people, follow them, try and find 
out what their up to. Fletcher, I'm assigning you Avery, and Snape I'm 
assigning you Lucius Malfoy. After his son's attack on Catalina 
Firelight, we know for sure that he is deeply involved' he said. 

Harry heard Catalina gave a small gasp, which Harry managed to cover by
coughing loudly, and unimpressively. 

‘After the attack on Miss Firelight, I'm sure you will appreciate my
reasons behind this. Speaking of the Firelight family. I have been in 
contact with Charles this morning, and he believes they are nearly 
ready to come out of hiding and return to Firelight manor. I have tried 
to dissuade him, but he is adamant. In that case, we will need everyone 
we can spare on the first day of next month when they are to move in, 
to strengthen the charms around the manor, and protect them on their 
way' Dumbledore explained. 

Harry could feel Catalina's panic, worry and even anger as she sat next
to him, and he sent a warning glance to wherever he thought her head 
was. 

‘From what I can deduce, Miss Firelight seems to have become a target to
the Death Eaters, after the attack on Hogsmeade on Halloween' 
Dumbledore stated to the shocked faces. 

‘What?' asked Harry angrily standing up, ‘When were you planning on
telling us?' 

‘Harry, I just did, now don't worry. There are numerous charms and
protection spells on this castle and on her. She's safest here' 
Dumbledore told him. 

Harry sat down slowly, trying to ignore the small smiles of the other
adult members of the Order. He could hear Catalina panic even louder 
now, but it was nearly being drowned out by his own worry. He could 
cope with himself being a target, but not Catalina. 

‘Now if that's all, you may all go, we'll meet back here same time next
week ok?' said Dumbledore rising. 

Harry quickly stood up, preventing people from trampling Catalina, and
led her out of the office, and down the staircase. When they reached 
the bottom, Harry threw the cloak over his friends and himself and made 
his way towards the common room. 

‘Don't worry about Catalina' said Hermione to Harry, ‘She's safe here' 

Harry merely nodded, and watched his friends go up into their dorms. 

‘Coming Harry?' shouted Ron down the stairs. 

‘Nah, I'll be up in a minute' said Harry, sitting in the silence. 

‘Ok Catalina, stop hiding' said Harry to the empty common room. 

‘I wouldn't be hiding if you were straight with me' came Catalina's
voice from behind him. 

Harry spun around to see Catalina pulling off her cloak, with a furious
look of anger on her face. 

‘I wasn‘t allowed to tell you‘ said Harry calmly, trying to avoid
aggravating Catalina even more. 

‘You go up there every week to discuss me and my family, and you don't
think I should know? Were you going to tell me I was in danger? Or am I 
not allowed to know that either?' she asked furiously. 

‘Of course I was going to tell you' Harry answered, nearly being pushed
back by the force of her anger. He had felt her this angry before, but 
not directed at him. It was a new and unpleasant experience, and what's 
more he had no idea how to make it better. 

‘Yeah right' Catalina sneered, balling the cloak up in her hands and
heading towards her dorm. 

‘Look Catalina,' pleaded Harry grabbing her arm, ‘let me explain' 

‘Let go of me' she cried pulling her arm from Harry's grip. 

‘You've been telling a room full of strangers all about me, personal
things Harry' she hissed, cats eyes flashing. 

‘Catalina listen –' began Harry, but was cut off by her furious voice. 

‘Leave me alone Harry' she whispered angrily before heading towards her
dorm again. 

Harry made another move to grab her, he had to explain things to her,
she'd got the wrong end of the stick. 

‘Get away from me Harry, I don't want you anywhere near me!' she
shrieked twisting out of his grip and running up the stairs out of 
sight. 

Harry stood in the same position for a few minutes, staring at where
Catalina had just disappeared. Catalina's fury was washing over him in 
waves, and he felt so guilty and upset that he felt like he was about 
to be sick. He slowly climbed the stairs to his dorm, and sat on the 
edge of his bed. 

‘What was all that about?' asked Ron sleepily, ‘I heard shouting' 

‘Nothing' said Harry shortly, pulling the curtains around his bed. 

It took him a long time to get to sleep and thoughts of his argument
with Catalina were swimming through his head. He had no idea what to do 
now, he had to explain to her somehow. But Catalina's angry voice kept 
filling his head. 

Get away from me Harry, I don't want you anywhere near me! 

Harry turned over a groaned, how was he supposed to sort this out? 

* 

Harry woke up to find Catalina's anger hadn't subsided in the least, and
he slowly got ready for classes. He and Ron made their way to 
breakfast, and Harry noticed immediately that Catalina was missing, and 
Hermione was eating alone. 

‘Hey, where's Catalina?' asked Ron as he at down. 

‘Library' she said between mouthfuls of food. 

‘Why?' asked Ron indignantly, ‘What about breakfast?' 

‘I don't know, she said she had something really important to look up'
she said reading the Daily Prophet that was propped in front of her. 

Harry sat down and began to mechanically eat his breakfast. Ron and
Hermione swapped questioning glances, but didn't say anything. 

‘You know if you hurry up, you could make it to the library before
Herbology' said Hermione unashamedly. 

Harry did say anything, but carried on eating. After a moment's
indecision he picked up his bag and walked out. 

What was all that about?' asked Ron confusedly. 

‘I think they had an argument' said Hermione knowledgeably. 

* 

Harry walked along the corridor to the huge double doors of the library
and took a deep breath. He strode in and immediately located Catalina 
engrossed in a book the size of a tombstone. Harry was about to say 
something when Catalina eyes snapped up. 

‘Don't bother' she said calmly. 

‘What?' asked Harry nervously. 

‘Don't bother talking to me Harry' she said through gritted teeth. 

‘Oh' said Harry watching her draw her attention back to the book, which
looked incredibly old. 

He didn't feel like leaving without a fight, and decided to try one more
time. 

‘What are you looking up?' he asked casually, hoping to get her talking.


Her eyes rose towards his, and rather worryingly smiled sweetly. 

‘Well Harry, I'm trying to find a way to get rid of this' she said,
running her fingers along the air between them. 

‘What?' he asked brows furrowed in confusion. 

‘Your emotions! They're driving me insane! I want to be rid of them now'
she said turning back to her book. 

Harry felt like he'd been punched in the gut. He'd never, ever imagined
Catalina's emotions as being a nuisance or a burden. He loved it in 
fact. The very thought of being without them forever was made him feel 
sick. She must be really angry with him to be that desperate. 

‘You want to be rid of them' he repeated, trying not to show his
feelings on the issue. 

‘I want to be rid of you' she hissed. 

Harry didn't want to listen to anymore and was getting angry himself. He
stood up and threw his bag onto his shoulder. 

‘Fine' he said loudly as he walked away. 

‘Fine!' Catalina shouted back, which earned her a reproving glare from
the librarian Madam Pince. 

* 

Catalina avoided Harry all day, and no one saw her in the common room
until late at night. Harry was feeling depressed as well as angry, and 
kept out of the way. Hermione and Ron were feeling left in the dark, 
and knew something big had happened, but Harry was saying anything. 

‘She spends more time in that library than you do!' exclaimed Ron o the
fifth day of Catalina's new behaviour. 

Hermione silenced him with a look, and glanced over to Harry, who was
viciously stabbing his bacon. 

‘Harry, what happened?' asked Hermione softly, looking into her friends
saddened face. 

‘Why don't you ask her?' he said after awhile, which caused them to both
to sigh heavily and turned back to their food. 

‘Maybe I will go and talk to her' said Hermione thoughtfully. 

Harry watched with a sinking heart as Hermione walked to the library,
where Catalina was no doubt researching a way to cut her away from him. 


* 

Catalina was sitting in the same seat in the library, with a large stack
of books shielding her face from the view. She had been researching for 
five days solid now, and she couldn't find a single thing anywhere. She 
strongly suspected that this was because no one had ever been able to 
do what she and Harry could. The more she sat in her chair however, the 
angrier she became until it was all she could do not to shout and 
scream her lungs out to the whole school. 

It wasn't just Harry though, Hermione and Ron were both joined the
meetings, and they never told her, but she felt for some reason that 
Harry should have been straighter with her. However, the sight of 
Hermione walking into the library, nose held high made her blood boil. 

‘Hi Catalina' said Hermione sitting down next to her. 

‘Hermione' acknowledged Catalina, continuing to stare at the book in
front of her. 

‘Do you want to talk about it?' she asked sympathetically. 

‘Not really' she said shortly. 

‘What did he do?' tried Hermione again after a brief silence. 

‘Listen Hermione, it's not really anything to do with you, is it?' asked
Catalina acidly. 

‘Fine, I'm only trying to help you' said Hermione calmly. 

‘Only trying to help me' Catalina laughed derisively. 

‘You don't know what you're talking about' said Hermione stoutly. 

‘I know more than you think I do' said Catalina, eyes flashing. 

‘Are we talking about the same thing here?' asked Hermione. 

‘Probably not. Now why don't you run along with your little friends and
talk about me a bit more' she said angrily. 

‘What are you talking about?' asked Hermione uncertainly. 

Catalina however stood up and started to pack her bag, occasionally
flashing angry looks at Hermione. 

‘I'm talking about your little midnight meetings' she said before
stalking out of the library. 

Hermione sat flabbergasted for one moment, how had she found out?
Hermione was so sure that Harry would never say anything to her. 
Hermione sighed and stood up, about to walk away until she saw the page 
Catalina had been reading. 

‘How to remove a powerful charm or curse' Hermione read out, looking
over to a piece of parchment propped against the book. It was covered 
with Catalina's tiny scrawl. 

Hermione wandered to her first lesson, eyes wide as she read the piece
of paper. No wonder Harry was so upset she thought as she walked into 
class pocketing the parchment. Catalina was sat at the front of the 
class, with her back to Harry and Ron. Ron looked over to her and was 
about to ask how it went, but a shake from Hermione's head told him it 
was better not to ask. 

* 

Finally Harry had been made to explain the whole situation to Ron and
Hermione, and with a little help from Hermione the whole story had come 
out. 

‘She's going a little over the top isn't she?' asked Ron, with a
confused look on his face, ‘surely she could tell that were trying to 
help?' 

Hermione nodded in agreement and looked over to Harry. She hadn't dared
to show him the scrap of parchment she'd found she knew it would only 
make things worse. 

‘I'm sure if you just leave her for a while she'll calm down. We can
explain to her then' she reasoned looking to Ron for support. 

That won't work! She's just getting angrier. She's more angry now than
after the meeting!' said Harry despondently. 

‘I know let's just ask Dumbledore! He could talk to her, explain
everything!' said Ron excitedly. 

‘No! We cant do that, this is exactly why she's angry with us, she
doesn't want anyone to know about her!' said Harry quickly. 

‘Then what are we going to do?' asked Hermione slowly. 

‘I don't know' sighed Harry. 

* 

Harry woke up the next morning and dragged himself out of bed. It was a
Saturday, and also a Hogsmeade visit. He hadn't been to Hogsmeade since 
the attack, but he was so desperate to get out of the castle, he forced 
himself to swallow his fear and leave. He donned a winter cloak and 
headed for the portrait hole. 

Ron and Hermione had already gone together, after Harry had told them he
wasn't going, and he knew Catalina was staying behind. Any chance to do 
a bit more research he thought sadly as he made his way down the 
entrance steps. His walk to Hogsmeade took him longer than expected, 
and when he finally got there it was swarming with students. There was 
one place he had to visit first. 

He approached the tall brick building at the end of a narrow alley. He
ran his finger along the bare bricks remembering the last time he'd 
been here until he reached the end. He sat on the floor facing the 
entrance to the alley, staring unseeingly at the blue sky. He could see 
so the scene of the past Halloween so vividly, that he thought for a 
moment that maybe the deceiver curse had been put on him. He could see 
Ron and Hermione disappearing into the crowds of Death Eaters, and him 
and Catalina inside their shield. 

So much had changed since then and this is where it had all started he
thought as he picked the frayed hem of his cloak. He suddenly stood up 
and rammed his hands in his pockets, walking briskly out of the alley. 
He was so intent in watching his feet walk that he walked into someone 
and stumbled backwards. He cursed as his hands, which had been thrown 
out to break his fall, started to bleed. 

‘Watch were your going' said the voice from above him. 

He was about to reply when he realised who it was. 

‘What are you doing here?' he blurted out. 

‘Do I have to explain my whereabouts to you?' Catalina hissed, taking a
step backwards. 

‘No...Its not safe for you on your own here' said Harry awkwardly,
getting to his feet. 

‘Oh well I know how my safety is your main priority, I'll just go and
hide in the castle shall I?' she said scathingly. 

Harry merely stared back at her, amazed at how the usually calm and
caring Catalina could turn so wild and angry so suddenly. 

‘Excuse me then' she said trying to get past Harry, who was blocking her
way. 

Harry slowly stepped aside, and watched as she swept passed him. She
swept into a large crowd of people, and Harry felt an opportunity slip 
through his fingers. 

‘Are you willing to give up everything we had just because of a stupid
fight?' shouted Harry down the now crowded street to her retreating 
back. 

Some people stopped and stared and others shot him curious glances, but
Harry was oblivious as he watching Catalina stop and turn back to him. 

‘And what did we have?' she asked quietly when she close enough. 

‘We had friendship. I stuck up for you against Malfoy, against Sirius,
against everybody. I fought for you, or are you forgetting Halloween? I 
nearly died for you!' Harry told her, staring into the unreadable cats 
eyes. 

‘I've been protecting you and your family from Voldemort and his Death
Eaters, we all have' Harry told her, pressing on his advantage. 

‘I don't need protecting, I can look after myself, and I don't need
friends, especially if their anything like you' she said backing away 
from him and merging into the crowd. 

‘Well I need you!' he shouted to her down the street, ‘Your willing to
break me apart just because your to stubborn to listen?' 

Catalina swept back down the street, and stood her face inches from his.


‘I've listened, and I understand a lot more than you think Harry Potter.
I should have listened to my parents all along' she said. 

‘Stuff your parents! Were talking about us here!' said Harry loosing his
temper. 

‘No that's just the point your not getting Harry. There is no us, no you
and me. Just me. I'm looking after number one from now on' she said 
calmly. 

Harry watched as Catalina walked off through the crowded streets. Harry
cast his eye back into the alleyway. So where it all began, it all ends 
he thought as he walked back down the street towards Hogwarts. 

* 

Harry was sitting on his bed when Hermione and Ron came back from
Hogsmeade. They were grinning ear to ear until they saw the look on his 
face. 

‘I came down to Hogsmeade today' remarked Harry, looking at the
photograph in his hand. 

‘Oh yeah?' questioned Hermione, sitting on the bed opposite. 

‘Yeah, ran into Catalina' he said. 

‘Oh' said Ron, joining Hermione. 

‘I just make things worse! I don't know what to do! I've tried
explaining and that didn't work. I've tried ignoring it and that didn't 
work. I've even tried arguing and that didn't work' said Harry heavily, 
still looking at the photo. 

‘I don't know what to say Harry, maybe there nothing you can do' said
Hermione in a small voice. 

Harry looked up sharply, but then nodded in agreement. 

‘Maybe your right' 

‘What you looking at?' asked Ron hoping to change the subject. 

Harry looked at the photograph, then spun it between his fingers to show
them. It was a wizarding photo of Harry and Catalina at the Yule Ball. 
They were standing next to each other, both wearing identical smiles of 
joy. The Harry in the photo was laughing with Catalina, and trying to 
get her to give a bow for the camera. Harry gave a small laugh and 
turned over the photo again. 

‘No Harry, it's worth fighting for this is. You can't just give up.
We'll help you somehow to sort this all out' said Ron reverently. 

Ron's words filled Harry and Hermione with confidence, which was soon
lost on Hermione's part when she went to bed that night. As she was 
climbing into her four poster bed, she noticed two scraps of paper on 
the floor. She bent down and picked them up and realised with a sinking 
heart that it was the same photo Harry had shown her, ripped in two. 
Harry was looking downcast and eyed the division sadly, while Catalina 
was laughing with glee. 

‘Reparo' Hermione whispered, laying the complete photo on Catalina's
bedside table. 

* 

Harry rejoined the school the next week with a heavy heart. Never before
had he felt so depressed at Hogwarts, homework was being loaded onto 
all the students, Quidditch practises were long and hard, Order of the 
Phoenix meetings were depressing and worrying and his weekly Defence 
Against the Dark Arts lessons left him feeling sick and scared. All of 
it however, paled into insignificance whenever he thought about the 
Catalina situation. She had a remarkable way of holding onto a grudge 
and her anger, and whenever Harry had seen her around the school, she 
had turned the other way, or ignored him completely. 

Ron and Hermione were trying their best to help, but nothing they
thought of would work, and if anything Catalina became even more 
distant. Harry would see her only in classes, in which she would pair 
up with fellow Gryffindor's and for two minutes in the common room 
every night before she went to bed. 

‘Maybe we could try hypnotising her?' suggested Hermione one night, as
she was doing her homework. 

Harry dismissed this idea with a look and continued with his potion's
essay. 

‘Or maybe a full body bind curse? She couldn't run away then and she'd
have to listen!' said Ron, who was silenced by a look from Hermione 
this time. 

After a few more minutes of silence Ron looked up around the common
room, as if searching for someone. 

‘Where is she anyway? Libraries closed at this time of night, and she's
not in her dorm. Where does she go every night?' he asked them. 

‘Astronomy Tower' said Hermione promptly, ‘She's always up there, she
obviously can't feel the cold because it's freezing outside!' 

‘Come on it's nearly time' said Harry heavily, pulling the cloak around
his three friends and setting off for Dumbledore's office. 

Next Chapter Coming soon... 


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