True Love is Blind
Summary: Though Charlie Weasley enjoys his job in Romania, he cannot help but feel alone. It has been years since he had seen his best friend, Katrina. Little does he know, things have changed greatly since then. Katrina has lost her sight in a horrible accident caused by Death Eaters. She had closed herself off from the rest of the world, never leaving her house, refusing to see anyone. Can Charlie save her from herself before it is too late?
Chapter 1:
I sat in my kitchen, wallowing in self-pity, playing with the food on my plate, moving it from one side to the other. It smelled like chicken, but I couldn't be sure. I could never be sure of anything in my life anymore, as I was blind. I still remember the day I lost my sight.
It was a year after I had graduated from Hogwarts. I was living in Diagon Alley at the time, working as a journalist for the Daily Prophet. I was writing an investigative report on the underground Death Eater societies that still existed.
Though Voldemort had died, there were still secret groups of his followers all over; one only had to know the right place to look for them. For months I had followed leads, going under a false name trying to find anything that would lead me to my ultimate goal; infiltrating one of these secret societies, living among them and finally exposing their existence.
Then, one fateful day, as I was sitting in the Leady Cauldron, sipping a cup of steaming hot coffee, I overheard to men speaking in hushed tones. I subtly leaned back in my chair, trying to listen to them more closely.
"Borgin and Burkes. That's where we're meeting tonight, Lucius, at 11. Make sure to tell Crabbe and Goyle, they'll want to know too. I've already informed Pettigrew, he has a hunch about our Dark Lord," one man whispered.
I gasped. This was the lead I had been waiting for. Hurriedly, I dropped a few coins on the table, downed the rest of my coffee, wincing as it bunt my tongue and throat, and left. Making my way through the crowds of witches and wizards strolling in the street, I rounded a corner, on my way back to my apartment to ready myself for the night.
Being an investigative reporter, I was used to sneaking into places to obtain crucial information, but this was the first time that I was truly nervous. This would be dangerous, I was well aware of that, but it was my job to get the information out to the wizarding world, and I would do just that.
Walking up the stairs to my tiny apartment, I saw a familiar figure standing by my doorway. As the person heard my footsteps, he turned around, and upon seeing my grinned.
"Charlie! It's so wonderful to see you," I exclaimed, throwing my arms around my best friend since my first year at Hogwarts. He was a year above me, and had taken on the role of my protector when he saw some Slytherins bullying me my first year. Since then, we had been nigh inseparable, until he left for Romania to work with dragons, that is. Ever since then, though, we had a habit of surprising one another with random visits.
I quickly unlocked the door, ushering him into my untidy living room, "Sorry for the mess," I apologized, embarrassed that I did not do a better job of keeping my 'home' tidy.
"Kat! I've missed you and your messes, love," teasing me as he pulled me into a hug. I grinned and sniffed him, taking in the musky smell that belonged only to him. Truth be told, I was in love with Charlie Weasley, and had been from the moment I met him. He didn't know this of course, but whenever I saw him, my heart skipped a beat. When he smiled at me, that lopsided grin that he reserved only for me, I lost my breath. His hugs, engulfing me in his warm embrace, holding me tightly, shielding me from the world, made me speechless. "Kat, why in the world are you sniffing me?"
I blushed. He'd never noticed me doing that before. "You smell good," I muttered, looking down at my feet.
He laughed and lifted my chin up with his hand, looking deep into my eyes, "Now, now, none of that. We've been best friends for ages. There's no need to blush. I happen to think you smell fairly wonderful yourself. You always smell like roses."
"Yeah, you smell like the forest. And you know how much I love the forest," I smiled, reminiscing about our nights spent sneaking out of the castle after curfew, wandering around in the Forbidden Forest. Unlike others, I was not afraid of the forest. I felt at peace there, surrounded by the enchanting beauty of the trees, their boughs draping over one another, shading the floor from the light, creating soft shadows. I loved listening to the sound of Unicorn's hoofbeats.
"It's a wonder we were never caught. I reckon Hagrid must've at least known, but he always did have a soft spot for us. You know, you really should have come with me to Romania. I know how much you love magical creatures," he whispered. There was something off about his tone; there was almost a concealed fervent longing. I must have been imagining it, though. There was no way that he could love me. I wasn't anything special to look at. I had boring mousy brown hair that could never seem to be tamed. My eyes were a muddy brown, my lips too full, as was my figure. I had never been 'model skinny'. I was curvy. Very curvy. I hated it. No one wanted a fat girl. The one boyfriend I had once told me that he was only dating me for my breasts, which were also too large for my taste. There was no way Charlie could love someone like me.
"You know full well that if I had a choice, I would be there, but my parents would just about murder me. That's why I write, you know that, Charlie," I said, suddenly feeling downcast.
"Hey, I'm sorry. I was being a git, that wasn't fair of me,"
"Don't worry about it. We all make mistakes," I smiled weakly at him, quickly changing the subject, "Would you like anything to eat or drink? You're welcome to help yourself to anything in the fridge. Oh, and will you be staying over night? I'll have to pop out for a bit around 11 tonight, but I should be back by morning."
Charlie's relaxed expression suddenly turned cold and tight, "Kat, you're not still on about that underground Death Eater society, are you? You know how I feel about that; it's entirely too dangerous."
"Charlie," I sighed, "I know full well how you feel, but I can't change what my boss assigns me. If she wants me to research this, I will."
"What if something happens to you? These are dangerous criminals, Katrina, not some rebellious students," he said, referring to my days as a Prefect.
"I know that too, Charles," I glared, "but this is my job. I can't just stop doing it because it's slightly dangerous. You want to talk about danger, Charlie Weasley? What about your job? Just how many times have you been bitten, burned, scratched, and otherwise injured doing your job? You are a complete hypocrite."
I hated fighting with him, but we knew just how to frustrate one another, which tended to happen quite often, especially when it concerned each other's safety. I knew he was just trying to show that he worried about me, but I thought it completely unfair, as he never listened to me when I told him I worried about him on his job.
His eyes flashed dangerously as he took a step towards me, grabbing my shoulders so that I had no choice but to face him, "That. Is. Completely. Different. Dragons are animals, and it's only one dragon with multiple handlers. This is you against Merlin-knows-how-many Death Eaters. You will be alone. God forbid you were discovered, what would you do then? I'm only looking out for your well being, Katrina," he said more softly.
"I know, Charlie. I'm sorry," I said, knowing that he would be furious with me when he heard my decision.
"So does this mean that you'll stay here tonight?" he glanced at me hopefully.
I broke out of his grasp, going to stand by the window silently, as I turned my back to him, leaning on the windowsill, staring down at the street. "I'm sorry, Charlie. This doesn't change anything. I must go. I really am sorry."
"Fine, I guess I'll just leave then… but know that I'd rather see you dead than going to wherever this meeting is," he growled angrily.
I flinched as if I had been hit. Charlie's eyes widened as he realized what he had just said.
He walked towards me, holding his arms open, ready to engulf me in another giant hug. I turned around, tears stinging my eyes. I could feel the hot, salty drops falling down my face. "Kat, I-I-I didn't mean it, hey, come here, I'm sorry, Kat, please, forgive me, please."
"I- I think it would be b-better if you just left, Charlie," I managed to choke out. "Pl-Please j-just g-g-go."
By that point, I was sobbing. As if I weren't already nervous about the upcoming confrontation as it was. I didn't need Charlie reprimanding me too. He was supposed to support me, wasn't that what best friends did?
Charlie tried to come towards me, to comfort me, but I shrunk away from him. I knew I had hurt him. I could see tears forming in his eyes. Charlie never cried. This was truly a rare occurrence, and no matter how tempted I was to engulf him in a hug, I had to turn my back to him.
I heard him punch the door frame before storming out. I felt my knees give out and I crumpled to the floor. I don't know how long I sat there crying.
After what seemed like hours, I glanced at the clock. It was 10:30. I cursed quietly, grabbing the invisibility cloak my boss had given me. It would keep me invisible, but if someone shot a spell at it to remove it, I would be undone.
Pulling it around me, I grabbed a quill and parchment, stuffing them into my back pocket as I walked out the door, angrily wiping tears from my face.
Walking in the now eerily quiet streets, I heard a group of voices talking in hushed whispers.
"Ahh, you've made it Lucius, and good, you've brought Crabbe and Goyle," the voice said. It was the same man who had been talking earlier. Carefully watching my steps, I trailed the group, making sure to follow at a safe distance, gliding in the door of Borgin and Burkes quickly before it shut.
I hid, crouching under a display table, eagerly listening to the conversation. I muttered a silencing charm so that the scratching of my quill on parchment could not be heard.
"So…kind of all of you to join us tonight. I'm sure the Dark Lord would be pleased."
"You speak as if he were here," another man hissed.
"You mean to question our Lord, Lucius? I'm surprised you even showed up tonight. From what I've heard, you've been acting as if you had never been a Death Eater," a deep, gruff voice whispered angrily.
"I am merely trying to protect my family, for appearance's sake. You of all people should understand that, Yaxley. I am as faithful to our Dark Lord as anyone here. I was merely questioning your statement. The Potter boy destroyed our Lord, though I know he is back. The Ministry is in denial. We should use that to our advantage. We should focus on destroying Potter," the man, Lucius, retorted.
"And how do you expect to do that? The Dark Lord himself could not succeed. Not on that night, not with the Sorcerer's Stone, not in the Chamber of Secrets. How could we do any better?"
I gasped, jumping up a bit and disturbing the table under which I was hidden. Damn! I prayed that they would not notice, but to no avail.
"Wait. What was that? The table moved," Lucius stood, looking directly at me, "Homenum Revelio."
"There! There's someone there! A spy!"
Within a second, I was surrounded. My was way blocked. The table was thrown to the side. Terror gripped me. I was certain that I was going to die. Charlie had been right, of course. Charlie. My best friend. My love. I hadn't even said goodbye to him. My last words to him had been harsh. The last memory he would have of me would be my harsh words.
My invisibility cloak was ripped off me, I was yanked upright.
"Who are you? Are you a spy?"
I flinched away in fear, but the man only pulled my hair back harder, making me look into his cold gray eyes. I knew instantly who it was, the long slivery blonde hair and the cold, cruel expression in his eyes gave him away; Lucius Malfoy, my uncle.
"Katrina, what a lovely surprise," he sneered. "How is your traitor of a mother?"
"Please. Don't do this. I won't mention anything. I swear. Just please let me go," I was terrified at this point. I was sobbing, begging for mercery.
"I'm afriad we can't do that. You've heard to much. Shame to ruin such a pretty thing," a hooded figure growled, "Crucio."
I writhed in agony. I felt as if my whole body was on fire, my flesh buring, my blood boiling, bones breaking, muscles being torn apart. In that moment, I wanted nothing more than to see Charlie one more time. If he could forgive me, then I could die in peace.
"Crucio! Crucio!"
The torture continued. My knees had given out, and I was on the floor, curled in the fetal position. Tears streamed down my face. I would surely go mad if this did not end soon.
"As much as I am enjoying this, someone will hear her. Finish her off quickly. We must leave."
So this was it, I thought. I was going to die.
All of a sudden, one of them yelled, "Sectumsempra!"but at the same time, a voice-one that I knew all too well exclaimed "Expelliarmus!"
The next thing I knew, my eyes felt like they were on fire, a red film flowing over them, which I later realized was blood. My vision went fuzzy, and I was lost to the darkness. But I was happy. If I had died, at least Charlie had come back for me, for I was certain that he had been the one to disarm the Death Eaters.