Author's Note: This story has taken a while to finally appear on this site, but I'm glad it has! This particular story is set in the timeline of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Some events have been altered to fit in with the story.

Disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR. Unfortunately. I do own Katherine and Laryssa though.

~X~

Katherine was walking through a field of tents, all here for the Quidditch World Cup. Some people recognised her and showed their respects. She had found her tent some time ago, and was now looking for a tent that she knew would be inhabited by her greatest friends. She could just make out their voices from a few tents in front of her. A large smile breaking out onto her face, she ran forwards, dodging people and canvas, until she reached a pair of small-sized tents with a sign in front marked 'Weezly'. Between the two tents, there was a large campfire roaring. The Weasleys, Harry and Hermione were sat in a circle around it, eating the remains of a mound of sausages and eggs. Harry looked up first and spotted her.

"Katherine! I didn't know you were coming!" He left his plate on the grass and stood to hug her. Ron and Hermione followed suit soon after, and the rest were calling out their greetings. Katherine collapsed in front of the warm fire and sighed.

"How was your summer Katherine? Thanks so much for all the food by the way. Those cinder toffee cakes were to die for! And that cake!" Harry exclaimed. Katherine smiled at him. At the start of the summer, she had received a plea from him for sugary food-apparently his monstrosity of a cousin was on a diet, meaning the rest of the household was too. She had sent him packages every month with pastries, chocolates, biscuits and sweets. She had also sent him a triple layer chocolate cake for his birthday.

"I'm glad you enjoyed the food; it sounded like you very desperately needed it. And I'm pleased that the birthday cake went down well-I made it myself. My summer was alright. The tension in the country is heating up though. Either he dies, or he lives forever. Honestly, it's his dilly-dallying that's so undignified." Hermione looked mildly shocked by this statement.

"Katherine...You can't say that! He's your king! Its treason, isn't it?"

One of the two Weasley boys she had yet to be introduced to spoke up.

"Can someone please explain all of this to me please? I'm afraid Ron was a little vague whenever you were mentioned in conversation. I'm Charlie by the way." He said, offering his hand. Katherine leant across the fire and shook it, feeling the calluses and old burn scars. This must be the one who worked with the dragons in Romania.

"I'm Katherine, and I'm Laryssan. I'm sure you've heard of them, haven't you?" There was a lot of head shaking around the circle. "More specifically, I am of the House of Entriesse. Once every few generations, a woman like us shows up. Cleopatra, Helen of Troy, Boudicca, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Anne Boleyn and Marie Antoinette are all members of my House. We all look the same. We have the Face that Launched a Thousand Ships, a gift from Helen. We all think the same, and we all share the same fate. I am one such woman-we are called the Fated. Laryssans in general though, are invited to drink from the Waters of Youth upon turning twenty-one. We cease to age from that moment onward. There are only three ways we can die after that. And an outsider needs royal consent before they drink the Waters. At the moment, we have a king on the throne, and for whatever reason, the Waters left him. He is old and he is dying. He is also without an heir, which means that when he dies, civil war will break out, trying to put various contenders onto the throne.

I, however, am a royal cousin, not to mention the Duchess of Entriesse. This means that either I or my sister will be on the throne. The other will be dead by the time of the coronation. Does that answer your question?"

The group nodded. "But," Hermione interjected "if you are one of the Fated, why are you not the only choice for the throne?"

"Because people do not want one of my kind on the throne. We have brought empires to their knees, torn countries apart, killed millions with words, with irrational actions. We are not the best queens." Katherine glanced at her delicate silver watch. "I'll have to leave you now. I'll see you at the match later; we're in the same box." With that, Katherine stood and walked off, weaving one more between the mazes of tents.

"She's...intense, isn't she?" asked Bill once she was out of hearing range.

"You have no idea." Muttered Harry as he watched Katherine go.

~X~

Katherine was stood in front of the large glass mirror in her tent. She had slipped the long, silky black dress on a while ago, and her handmaid had only just finished her hair and make up when Katherine dismissed her. She was sitting with the other foreign dignitaries in the Top Box, and she felt like making a lasting impression. She leaned closer to the mirror and began scrutinising her reflection. Her dark brown hair had been elaborately curled, falling to the middle of her ribcage. Her soft, pale skin contrasted the colour of the dress perfectly, and her large golden-brown eyes were rimmed with eyeliner to make them stand out. Her full lips were a scarlet red and she was liberally covered in Chanel No 5. Yes, she was ready. She wasn't queen yet, but at least she could act like it here, where her blood sister held no sway. With a final glance in the mirror, she swept from the room, her skirts swirling around her feet.

~X~

Harry spotted Katherine immediately when they reached the Top Box. She was dressed to impress, he guessed, and an emerald and jet necklace glittered around her throat. It looked like it cost more than the entire contents of Harry's vault at Gringotts. Idly, he wondered just how much money Katherine actually had. Her elbows were resting on the railing, and she was gazing intently into the pitch, her long hair wafting around her face in the breeze. The Weasleys said their hellos, and then Katherine returned to gazing into space.

~X~

Katherine was gazing at the pitch when her friends had entered. She had greeted them, but had once more become immersed in her thoughts. They had turned to the rising tensions in her home. Her blood sister, Adrianna had left the house, furious that the King had granted Katherine the dukedom instead of her, and that Katherine was born one of the Fated instead of her. She was rallying for support, throwing Katherine's status as one of the Fated in her face, using it as her main excuse. Katherine could not keep her mind on what was going on in the box around her, try as she might. All she knew was that Harry had had an argument with a House Elf. Various idiots who wanted her attention made a show of bowing, so she was forced to stand and let them kiss her hand. When the Fudge fool, who had somehow got himself, made Minister for Magic, arrived, she stood and greeted him with a short curtsy. He in return, bowed and introduced the Bulgarian Minister for Magic. She spoke to him briefly in Bulgarian, and then returned to her seat, only to be jolted by the arrival of the Malfoys. She rose once more and shook Lucius' hand.

"Your Grace...how pleased I was to hear of your father's successful campaign in Scorcha. You recall, of course, that he and I are distant cousins?"

"How could I forget? You remind him ceaselessly at every opportunity." Lucius' smile darkened. Fudge chose that awkward moment to butt into the conversation.

"Ah, yes! How is the King? Well, I hope? Still undecided who he will have as his heir?" Katherine turned to face him, the smile gone from her face.

"His Majesty is very ill. Unless he chooses a successor soon, he will leave a country behind that is on the brink of a civil war. Now let us talk no more of it, for it is an awful subject that should stay confined to the court." She sat down abruptly and caught Harry's smile, returning it quickly, but not entirely convincingly. Someone was looking right at her, that much she could tell by her raised hair on the nape of her neck. She didn't bother to turn to discover who it was though. Let them look! She ignored it and turned to the pitch, where the mascots were about to appear. !t was going to be a very long night.


A/N: I hope you enjoyed it! Reviews are very welcome!