AN: My first multi-chapter Harry Potter fic, so be nice please. I know OCs are dangerous territory, but I'm going to try my best. She also won't be the only focus of this fic - I could never write for a fandom without having some focus on the original protagonist. There will be more than one OC, and I hope I can find the right balance between my characters and Rowling's. I hope you enjoy, and let me know if there're things I could improve or include.
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Harry Potter franchise, nor the plot and characters created by J.K. Rowling. (Apply to every chapter, because I'm not writing it every single time).
"Katarina! Katarina hurry up, we're going to miss the train!"
Theodore's voice drifted up the stairs, ringing with impatience. Katarina Nott, fourteen year old witch and fourth year student at Hogwarts, smiled as she heard her big brother shouting at her. She knew that some people would find it odd that she enjoyed being yelled at, but she was still basking in the luxury of being able to yell at each other at all.
"I'm coming, Theo! I'll be down in a minute!"
Katarina was so excited. She was going back to Hogwarts! Theo was going back with her! She felt like she would explode with happiness. She knew she'd have to cool it before they reached the platform, but for now, in the safety of her own home, Katarina was free to show as much emotion as she liked. Especially now that she was in no danger from her pig of a father, may he rot away in Azkaban for the rest of eternity.
"Ready? Let's go!" Katarina flashed another smile at her reflection, and bounded away down the hall and down the staircase. "I'm ready, Theodore."
Her big brother looked down at her, fond exasperation covering his face and laughter shining in his brown eyes. "What took you so long? I know you can't have been packing, you nearly had a panic attack last night because you couldn't find one last book."
Katarina pouted at being laughed at – taking advantage of the emotional freedom – before she gave up and giggled, poking her tongue out. "I was doing my hair."
The eighteen year old boy just sighed and gave a rueful smile. "I should have known. It looks lovely, sister."
"Why thank you, brother. Shall we depart?"
"We shall." And with that, Katarina took Theodore's offered elbow, taking one last glance around the manor before they were whisked away with a loud crack!
"Theodore! Katarina! Come, join us in our compartment."
Katarina couldn't quite contain the small quirk of her lips as Pansy Parkinson ushered the siblings into her compartment. That girl was so…. So. There was no one quite like Pansy. Sitting down in the seat offered to her by the enthusiastic Slytherin girl, Katarina looked around to see who else was there already. Draco Malfoy, of course, Pansy would never be separated from him. Blaise Zabini, Daphne Greengrass and her sister Astoria, Tracey Davis, her younger brothers Aston and Ethyn, and Millicent Bullstrode. It looked like most of her brother's Slytherin year mates, except for Crabbe and Goyle. One dead, and the other gone who knows where. Katarina shivered and forced her mind away from the subject.
"So what do you think, Katarina?" Ethyn Davis's voice broke into her thoughts.
"Pardon? Apologies, I wasn't paying attention." She smiled politely at her year mate.
He grinned back, utterly careless. How lucky for him. "I was just asking if you agreed that the teachers will be working everybody except the firsties harder than ever, to make up for last year."
She let a small grimace cross her features. "I do. We're all going to have to make up for lost time. Put a lot more effort into keeping up."
Tracey, the eldest Davis child, cut in. "Don't worry about it so much. I know our new Head Boy and Girl will be doing a lot to help everyone out this year, they won't be able to help themselves."
At this, most heads in the compartment turned her way. "How do you know who the new Head students are? Who are they?" Daphne demanded.
Tracey smirked. "It's completely obvious once you know. I just happened to overhear a conversation in Diagon Alley during the summer."
Katarina could feel the curiosity levels rising. Obvious…. Who would be the most obvious choice… Oh! Oh, it couldn't be! But if it was-
"It's Potter and Granger."
Silence filled the air. It was rather obvious, but then again, nobody knew if the Golden Boy, the Saviour, would even return to Hogwarts this year. Katarina could barely keep the smile off her face – Harry and Hermione were the Heads! They so deserved it, and oh, Hogwarts under their care, it would be amazing!
Instead, she chose to smirk at the facial expressions of the older students. Pansy and Millicent were both scowling, probably more about Hermione than Harry, Katarina thought. Draco was looking rather stupefied; everybody knew that the Harry Potter had spoken for the young Malfoy during his trial, and his mother as well. The others all had thoughtful looks on their faces, bar Tracey, who had the biggest, smuggest smile Katarina had ever seen. She seemed to be quite pleased with herself for provoking this reaction.
"We really should have known, shouldn't we?" Daphne finally broke the silence, a rueful look on her pretty face. "Granger would of course be going back to finish her schooling, and Potter and Weasley would never leave her alone for an entire year."
Everybody nodded in agreement. Honestly, it was common sense. The whole student population knew about the 'Golden Trio' and their bond. Katarina, having known the three since her first year, was well aware of just how much they meant to each other. She loved seeing them all together; something about the picture they made just filled her chest with happiness.
Blaise was the next to speak. "We need to be extra careful about how we are seen. Without those two in positions of authority, we had to be careful about what we said. Now, you just know that they'll be keeping an eye on Slytherin house, and us in particular. We will need to control ourselves."
This with a pointed look at Pansy and Draco. Everybody was well aware that the two older students were the ones who needed to keep themselves in check. They were the prominent Slytherin figures in their year, and they held the most enmity towards the two Gryffindors. Their rivalry was almost legendary in Hogwarts.
Draco just nodded, his face a little pale. Katarina thought he was probably planning to just avoid Harry all together. Pansy scrunched up her face, but the fourth year knew she'd go along with the others. She had lost a lot of her status as top female during the past few months, just like Draco had lost almost all of his. They'd play nice if it killed them.
Later on that evening, sitting in the Great Hall, Katarina couldn't help but compare the atmosphere to the previous two years. It had been so tense; the fear running through the student body had almost been palpable. Now, the air was clear. It was quite somber, but the students all seemed to be chattering away to each other, faces free of the stark terror of last year. Katarina herself felt so unbelievably relieved. Thank Merlin for Harry and his friends. She had no doubt that had she had to live under the Death Eaters rule for much longer, she would have broken. She would have gone mad, or ran away, or joined the rebel group, or gotten herself killed, but she would not have been able to go on for much longer.
Speaking of Harry…. Katarina's head involuntarily turned towards the Gryffindor table. It wasn't hard to spot her black haired friend, surrounded as he was. The familiar Weasley red hair was visible to either side of him, separated only by Hermione's bushy brown hair and Longbottom's dark brown hair. She smiled inwardly to herself. Without his friends fending off his admirers, Harry would have been mobbed by now. She still remembered the first time she'd met him, the famous Harry Potter.
Katarina was lost. Hopelessly lost, as a matter of fact. It was the first weekend of the school year, and she'd taken the chance to explore the old castle where she'd be spending the next seven years of her life. Only, the staircases kept shifting, doors kept disappearing, and there were no portraits to point the way! The eleven year old slumped to the floor, eyes stinging. How she wished that the teachers hadn't piled the homework onto the fifth years! She wanted Theo, warm, comforting Theo, who had looked after her for her whole life.
Suddenly, Katarina could hear voices coming towards her. She'd barely had time to think about maybe hiding before three people had walked around the corner and spotted her. Katarina nearly had a heart attack. Of all people, she'd been found by Potter and his friends. She buried her face in her drawn up knees and hoped the fifth years would just walk right past her. Her dorm mate, Isobel King, had an older sister in fifth year and in Gryffindor. Isobel said her sister had told her all about Potter's hatred of Slytherin students. And of course, Theodore had told her of the Potter-Malfoy rivalry.
Katarina tensed. The footsteps had stopped. She'd been so deep in her thoughts; the sound of feet had disappeared. Maybe they'd just ignored her? Sweet Merlin, she prayed they had just continued on their way. Cautiously, Katarina lifted her head – and found herself face to face with the Boy-Who-Lived. She sucked in a breath, and flinched back before she could help it. Concerned green eyes watched her.
"Hello? Are you okay? What's your name?"
No, no, no, this wasn't happening. What would Theo say if he knew she'd talked to Harry Potter? He wouldn't. She would get herself out of this, and Theodore would never have to know. According to rumor, Potter didn't like the Slytherins, and he didn't like lies. The Sorting Hat had told her she had some Gryffindor spirit in her – time to see if it was true.
She lifted her head, tears still gathered in her eyes. "I'm Katarina," no last name, he might recognize it. "And I'm lost."
There was a chuckle from behind Potter. Katarina had almost forgotten his two friends were there. "Ronald!" The girl spoke, and the sound of a slap.
Katarina almost giggled, but she managed to hold it. The effort was made pointless though, when Potter rolled his eyes and grinned at her. Giggles spilled from her mouth, and it sounded like he was laughing too. Her tension eased. He wouldn't hurt her. Anybody with a laugh like that, and an open expression like his, couldn't be so bad.
"Well Katarina, I'm Harry, and these two are Ron and Hermione." Mirth still danced in his eyes, and she had to smile.
She lifted her head up and looked at the other two. The girl, Hermione, was currently smirking at the scowling redhead, Ron, obviously a Weasley. Harry cleared his throat noisily and both of their heads snapped around. A light blush crept up their faces, and Katarina couldn't help the giggles escaping again. They blushed some more and waved sheepishly. She waved back.
"So, uh, lost huh? I remember getting lost every day for our whole first week, right Harry?" Ron said with a grin.
It was Harry's turn to flush. "Couldn't even find the Great Hall," he confirmed. "Were you trying to get somewhere, or just exploring, sweetheart?"
Katarina started a bit at the pet name. Nobody had called her by anything other than her given name, ever since her mother died six years ago. Not even Theodore. It felt nice.
"I was just exploring. My brother was supposed to show me around, but then he got more homework than he expected, so I just went off on my own." She sounded forlorn, even to her own ears.
"Fifth year?" Hermione asked sympathetically.
Katarina nodded, hoping they wouldn't ask who he was. No such luck.
"Who's your brother?" Ronald! Katarina wondered if this was how Hermione felt about the redhead every day. Just hit him and make him. Shut. Up.
She sighed. Best to get it over with. "His name's Theodore." Hopefully they wouldn't even know him…
"Theodore? Theodore Nott?" Merlin damn it all, did Hermione Granger know everything?!
"Nott? That Slytherin bloke?" Harry looked to his friends for confirmation.
"Don't ask me, mate, you know I don't know any of them except for Malfoy, his pet trolls, and Parkinson. Oh, and that girl-troll, Bulstrode." Despite the tension she was feeling, Katarina had to stifle another giggle at that.
Hermione sighed. "Oh Ron. Hopeless, you are. Yes, Harry, the taller one."
Katarina could feel herself trembling a little as Harry turned to look at her. His face was blank, and he was staring, and why wasn't he saying anything, and- He smiled.
"You have his eyes. Come on, we'll show you around the upper levels. I reckon you don't want anybody seeing us together, yeah?"
Katarina smiled internally as she remembered. How naïve she had been. To think she had been scared of Harry. Harry! He was such a teddy bear! He really had been lovely that day, showing her around the six and seventh floors with Ron and Hermione. He'd offered to help her whenever she needed it, and of course, to keep it a secret. She just couldn't risk it getting back to Theodore that his baby sister was hanging around with Gryffindors – and that Gryffindor in particular.
"Attention, students!" Headmistress McGonagall's voice cut through the students chatter, and clatter of cutlery. The stern woman's face seemed to soften just a smidge as she looked out over the sea of students. "I hope you have all enjoyed your dinner. Now, it is almost time for you all to head to your common rooms, but I must first make a few announcements. As always, the Forbidden Forest is forbidden. Be warned, I shall know if any students set foot in there. Mr. Filch has put a blanket ban on any product from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and Zonko's joke shop. We have three new professors with us this year, Professor Taityn, who has taken over Muggle Studies, Professor Armstrong, who is taking transfiguration, and Professor Raiden, who shall be taking Defense Against the Dark Arts, as well as head of Gryffindor." She paused for the applause to die down. "Now, I know last year was hard on everybody, and we have all changed, in one way or another. I would like for everyone to remember that at Hogwarts, we are family. If you feel the need to talk with somebody, know that our prefects, head students and professors are always available, as are your friends. I would like for us to bow our heads for a moment of silence, to remember those that have fallen, who should be here with us in this moment. To respect those who gave their lives, so that we may live ours."
Katarina bowed her head, mourning the waste of life that took place just a few short months ago. Too many gone, forever. The minute passed quickly, and as everybody raised their heads, the air seemed to be filled with somber grief.
McGonagall cleared her throat, the sadness clear upon her face. "Their sacrifice will not be in vain. We will all strive to live our lives in a way that would make our missing loved ones proud. Would the returning eighth years please remain behind a moment? Prefects, show your houses to your common rooms. Dismissed."
Katarina pouted a bit at that, but dutifully waved goodnight to Theodore and followed Isobel and Ethyn down into the dungeons.
AN: Let me know how I did? I actually only just found this in my files, I wrote it almost two years ago, and I still have my notes and everything. I'll probs upload all the chapters I still have, just to get it out there, so I didn't waste my sixteen year old time :L.
- Kelly