Summary: Ms. Phoenix, her first job as a elementary school counselor in England. Her first patient was none other then Harry Potter. Years later, running from a troubled past, Phoenix tries to escape by taking an impromptu trip to visit her first patient.

When she meets Harry however, strange things start to occur. Eventually Kat Phoenix is wholed up in a hellish house, with a disgruntled mass-murderer and a mythical creature.

A/N: This fanfic is based on my previous attempt known as Silent Eyes (This one is much better I'm proud to say). A lot of this chapter is parallel to Chapter Two in OoTP. Some of it is pretty much direct quotes. If you read a part that seems really familiar, chances are it is. Anyways, hope you enjoy it. I hope it makes up for the long wait.

Prologue

Kat stared into the eyes of the dead body. A sickness climbed up her throat, but she swallowed it down. She would never get used to this. It had been six years since she had gotten the position of criminal profiler. She had been ecstatic, especially since it came right on the end of her contract with the British Government.

It had been 10 years ago when she had been fresh out of college that a professor of hers had approached her with a proposition. He had heard of a new job that was just being developed. She would be able to work within the British School System as a School Counselor and at the same time earn credits for a Master's degree. The program would last four years.

Her first patient had been a small kid, with messy black hair and to-die-for green eyes. It had been Kat that had discovered that Harry had needed glasses, his negligent Aunt and Uncle would probably never have noticed if she hadn't. Unfortunately she couldn't prove how horrible they had been.

Kat stared back at the corpse in the picture. She had also once had the same sparkling emerald green eyes as Harry, but now … now her eye's had faded to a dull green. She gently rubbed her forehead. She knew she was burning out. She could feel the strain that the job had created make every muscle sore.

She wasn't the only one to notice it. Her boss, Bill Woods, had also mentioned it. On multiple occasions he had said that she should take a holiday, just for a week. Just to get her head back in the game.

Then, as these things sometimes happen, she knew she had to go. But go where? A small voice in her head asked her. Anywhere but here, she answered. It was July 31st and she could not spend another day in the office, another day looking at dead bodies, another day spent going over crimes and being asked to know what people were thinking when they did those heinous acts. No, she was going, leaving.

But where? The voice was back.

To Harry, she answered this time. Back to the last place I was truly happy.

Chapter One

If there was one thing that Katrina Phoenix hated above all else, it was flying. She spent the entire flight with her head in the toilets, emptying her stomach of the crappy air line food. She remembered the first time she had taking a flight (from Canada to England). She had waited eagerly in the long lines, clutching her ticket in naive anticipation. An anticipation that had lasted until the first wave of nausea had rolled over her.

Kat tried to make it back to her seat as the plane announced it's descent from the skies. As she sat in her seat, she said a small prayer to whatever deity had allowed the plane to not crash in the blue waters that had seemed to go on forever. Getting out all her needed information, she pushed her sweaty brown hair out of her eyes.

At thirty-three years of age, she had only been on a plane three times in all. Her deep green eyes, short styled brown hair and petite frame always made people think that she was younger than she really was. Until she was thirty, whenever she went to bars or clubs, they would always ask for ID, and even then they seemed to be doubtful.

The plane jerked as it landed and Kat felt her stomach leap into her throat. Swallowing, she barely managed not being sick on the man in the suit sitting in front of her. She quickly got off the plane and made a bee-line for the public washrooms. Five minutes later she exited the washroom looking like she had never been ill. It was one thing that she had inherited from her father, and was forever grateful. As she quickly straightened her white blouse and jeans, she went to grab her bags. Bags which weren't there.

"What do you mean you don't know where they are?" She asked trying to be patient. It was, after all, not this nice womans fault. No, it was the fault of the incompetent air-line employees over at the Toronto airport, who couldn't tell the difference between Japan and England.

"I'm terribly sorry mum, but we will have your luggage, at the earliest, Monday morn'" the lady said kindly. Kat peered down at the name tag.

"Er, right, Sally. What do you suppose I wear from today, Friday, to Monday? That's ... One, two," Kat counted on her fingers," three. THREE DAYS!" She said waving her three fingers around in the air. "What? Should I just go au natural?" She queried. It was not easy to keep ones temper at the best of times, but after hours spent on a plane puking ones guts out, it was near impossible.

Sally seemed to be taking aback. Kat sighed, "Monday's fine." She said and left the airport ten minutes later, still angry at the Wright brothers and their 'inventions'.

The sky seemed unnaturally blue, and the grass was dead on the lawns surrounding the airport. It was a quick walk to the car-rental shop she had arranged to rent a car from. It was a twenty minute walk at a brisk pace, but the hot sun beating down on Kat ruthlessly seemed to make time move slowly. By the time she entered the parking lot of the car dealership she was red-faced and sweating profusely. Wishing she had listened to the weather station before she had left, she let out a sigh of relief as she entered the air conditioned inside of the building. Her relief didn't last long.

"What do you mean I never had a pre-rented car?" She asked, green eyes shooting flames.

"I'm sorry mum but our last car was rented just five minutes before you came in." The young pimply man squeaked, intimidated by the fuming lady leaning over the counter. If looks could kill, the young man would have been dead. "B-but I could phone up a taxi?" He suggested nervously.

"Thank. you." Kat said in short breaths. As she went and sat waiting for the cab to come, her mind wandered to the reason of her coming halfway around the world. She guessed it started when she had been twenty-five. It had been her first year out of University and she had always wanted to live in England, in a castle with history all around her. Instead she had found a poor paying job as a school counselor, and the smallest apartment in the world on the end of Privet Drive. And she had met him...

Harry James Potter. The son she never had. With a small sigh, she thought back to how he looked the first time they had sent him down to her office. The small child with an unruly mop of black hair and shocking green eyes, that seemed to know too much, resigned to a life of misery and loneliness. Something no child should be assigned to. He had been so quiet and shy, sitting on her chairs that seemed to make him seem even smaller. He was her first ever patient, and her favorite.

In her mind she could see him laughing as they played soccer in the field. When they talked about his parents and he had just stared out the window, looking ... wise. She remembered when he got angry and threw one of her framed pictures against the wall. How he had pulled that one prank on his least favorite teacher, only after she had agreed to help him. How he would mess up his hair when he was embarrassed. How -

The taxi pulled up outside and Kat dashed out of the car dealership after a final 'evil eye' at the jerk behind the counter.

"Where you headed?" He asked in a thick accent of some kind. After half a second to work out what the man had said, she replied politely, "Number four Privet Drive please."

As the taxi pulled up to number Four Privet Drive, the only thing that surprised Phoenix more then the fact that the garden was completely dry and dead (Which wasn't THAT surprising considering that there was a drought), was the sight of a person that could only be Harry heaving an enormous teen who could be his cousin Dudley up the front stairs. Phoenix came up with one plausible explanation, they had been out drinking. But together? Dudley and Harry used to hate each other. But it has been six years! The annoying voice said, a lot can happen in six years.

Kat got out of the taxi and quickly handed over the change. "Harry?" She called out before he could knock on the door. The skinny teenager looked back, looking panicked. Kat immediately recognized that look. Something bad had happened. He looked at her suspiciously.

"Who are you?" He demanded, his grip tightening on a … twig? What was Harry doing holding a twig?

"I'm Kat Ph-" She started but Harry cut her off, his eyes wide.

"Ms. Phoenix?" He asked and looked at her closer. While this exchange occurred, Dudley had continued to look more and more ill until finally he was sick on the front porch. Harry grimaced, "This isn't a great time … maybe you should come back tomorrow …"

"Nonsense," Kat said straightening her shoulders. "Here, let me help you." She put Dudley's other arm around her shoulders and heaved him up the final step. Harry still didn't look too sure about things and hesitantly knocked on the front door.

Phoenix barely had time to marvel at how heavy the kid was, before Mrs. Dursley opened the door. She was exactly the same. "Diddy! About time too, I was getting quite – quite – Diddy, what's the matter?" yep, she was definitely the same.

Dudley swayed on his feet, obviously on the verge of fainting. "DIDDY! Diddy, what's the matter with you? Vernon? VERNON!" Kat felt that her eardrums were about to burst. Really, her son was in bad shape, but the least they could do was acknowledge the fact that there was a stranger standing beside him!

Harry's Uncle Vernon was suddenly heard thundering toward the front door. Phoenix was amused to see that he still had that stupid walrus moustache that looked decidedly messy (as usual when he was agitated). He and Mrs. Dursley took Dudley from Kat and Phoenix, not even acknowledging the two of them. Yep, something's never changed.

"He's ill Vernon!"

"What is it son? What's happened? Did Mrs. Polkiss give you anything something foreign for tea?" Kat snorted at the thought of Dudley going out to tea, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that it must have been a wild party of some sort. Probably drugs … but Harry wouldn't … would he? It's been six years …

"Why are you all covered in dirt, darling? Have you been lying on the ground?"

"Hang on – you haven't been mugged, have you, son?" At this, Kat felt herself being drawn into police mode. The list of routine questions filled her head.

Mrs. Dursley screamed. "Phone the police, Vernon! Phone the police! Diddy, darling, speak to Mummy! What did they do to you?" Kat took it as her queu to step in.

"Perhaps I can help you, Mrs. Dursley?" She offered. They just stared at her.

Mrs. Dursley pursed her lips. "And, who exactly are you?" Kat caught the fearful glance she made towards Harry, who looked like he was trying to plan an escape.

"Perhaps you don't remember me? I'm Katrina Phoenix; I used to be the counselor looking over Harry? I left town about six years ago when my contract was up and found work with the FBI?" Kat knew that Mrs. Dursley would remember her, she was known as the noisiest woman of Privet Drive, which was quite a feat.

Mr. Dursley drew himself. "And what are you doing back in town?" He asked defensively.

Kat smiled politely and said in a light tone, "I was on vacation and decided to come and check up on Harry here." She smiled at Harry who looked oddly like a deer caught in head lights. "He was always my favorite client and I must say that I have had a hard time clearing my conscious about leaving him after only four years. I was hoping to make it up to him by maybe taking him out to dinner or something." Kat saw the conflicting emotions that this brought up in Mr. and Mrs. Dursley. However the dizzy swaying of Dudley brought everyone's attention back to the main problem.

"Perhaps we should take him to the kitchen?" Kat suggested and though they did not agree or disagree verbally, all five of them made their way into the kitchen. Kat saw Harry trying to slip away and pinned him with a look. "Stay here as well Harry, I have some questions for you as well."

Once they were all settled into the kitchen. Kat got into her role as FBI agent. "Now Dudley, you will need to repeat these questions to the real police when they get here. But for right now, can you tell us if you were mugged?"

Dudley looked more ill, and shuddered uncontrollably. He was in shock; Kat realized and immediately scolded her self for not realizing the signs before now. She was the trained professional after all. Yeah, one on the verge of a break down …

It was obvious that Dudley was not in any shape to answer. "Ok Dudley, I know that you're in shock, but I need to know, do you know who did this or what happened to you. OK? I know you are having a hard time coping, but you need to take a deep breath and tell me. I can help you, ok?"

Dudley opened his mouth and closed it. Then opened it again and said in a shaky voice, "Him." He lifted up a trembling hand and pointed to Harry. Immediately all hell broke loss. Mr. and Mrs. Dursley started yelling at Harry demanding that he tell them what he did to their son. Kat had enough of it. It was obvious from the look on Harry's face (and Harry had never been a good one at lying) that he did not have any due this to his cousin. It was clear, however, that there was more to the story.

"QUIET!" Kat bellowed and immediately the house quieted down. "Now Harry, what do you know about what happened to your cousin? Was he robbed?"

"He wasn't robbed, no." Harry muttered, looking at his feet.

"It was your – your – abnormality­- wasn't it? You used your freakiness to hurt our Dudley!" Mr. Dursley bellowed. Kat looked at him; he had finally reached the point of insanity! He was now talking nonsense.

"I didn't do anything to him!" Harry shouted at his Uncle, obviously not liking getting blamed.

Kat started to say, "Ok, we need to -" Yet, at that exact moment, on owl flew into the kitchen from the window. It narrowly missed Uncle Vernon's head as it soared across the kitchen, dropping the large parchment envelope it was carrying in its beak at Harry's feet, turning gracefully, the tips of its wings brushing the top of the fridge, then zoomed out again and off across the garden. "Was that an owl?" Kat asked, frozen to her spot. Everyone in the room was looking at her.

"Please, please tell me I'm not hallucinating." Kat begged, locking eyes with Harry.

Harry looked at her and his green eyes were filled with worry. Then, she saw him make a decision. His eyes hardened and he looked away. Staring at a random part of the wall. "Remember how I used to make odd things happen?" Harry asked and Kat nodded. She used to joke with Harry about it. One day, she had seen Dudley and his gang chasing him as was usual. She had gone to out to tell them to stop it, when suddenly, in mid-jump, Harry was gone. Or rather, gone for a second until they realized he was on the school roof. The principle had not believed her and had insisted on sending a note home with Harry saying that he had been climbing school property. There had been other one's as well of course, but that one stuck out in Kat's mind the most. She just could not find a logical explanation for it. Even now, over 8 years later, she still couldn't.

"Well -" Harry started but Mr. Dursley burst in.

"Don't tell her a blasted thing! You ungrateful, arrogant -" Mr. Dursley was bellowing again. But Kat, once again, used her authoriatative voice to override his.

"That's enough, now Harry tell me why you received an owl and what the hell that piece of paper says!" Kat ordered. This had been the worse day of her life. First the flight, then they lost her luggage, then she didn't have a car and after ALL that, there was THIS!

"I'm a wizard."

Kat looked at Harry. He was serious. Kat opened her mouth, then closed it. She tried to speak again, nothing came out. She closed her mouth again. She suddenly felt very closed in, after six years of FBI work and seeing many shocking things, this took the cake. "You're a what?"

"I'm a wizard." Harry repeated. He opened the letter and quickly read through it. Kat saw something like panic settle over him. "And I need to go." Harry made to stand up.

Before Kat could do or say anything, Harry was making for the doorway. Mr. Dursley made to block his way. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Get out of my way." Harry said quietly. Kat still hadn't so much as blinked since his confession.

"Your going to stay here and explain how my son -"

"If you don't get out of my way I'm going to jinx you," said Harry raising the stick Kat had seen earlier. No, she realized, that was a wand. Her eyes felt glued to the wand. No, it was impossible … or was it?

"You can't pull that one on me!" snarled Mr. Dursley. "I know you're not allowed to use it outside that madhouse you call a school." Kat's eyes sprang up at a mention of a school. There was a whole school for wizards? How many were there?

"The madhouse chucked me out," said Harry. "So I can do whatever I feel like. You've got three seconds to."

"Harry!" Kat snapped. "Don't you do anything stu -"

A loud CRACK filled the air. Everyone immediately tried to find the source of the noise. Harry seemed to spot the dazed and confused owl at the same time as Kat. It had just collided with the kitchen window.

Harry ignored his Uncle's anguished cry of "OWLS" and rushed to the window to open. The owl stuck out its leg, to which a small roll of parchment was tied, shook its feathers and took off the moment that Harry took off the letter it had carried. His hands were shaking, Kat noted.

"Read it aloud." Kat pleaded more then told.

Harry looked up at Kat and nodded, before unfurled the letter and slowly read it out loud.

"Harry-

"Dumbledore's just arrived at the Ministry and he's trying to sort it out. DO NOT LEAVE YOUR AUNT AND UNCLE'S HOUSE. DO NOT DO ANY MORE MAGIC. DO NOT SURRENDER YOUR WAND.

"Arthur Weasley"

Kat scrunched her eyebrows trying to understand what that letter meant. Who was Dumbledore? Kat remembered the reference to the 'Ministry'. What did the government have to do with anything? Not 'any more magic', did that mean Harry had already done magic that night? And what was that about him surrendering his wand? She noticed that Harry looked as confused as she felt. Unfortunately for Kat's headache, Mr. Dursley had also picked up on the whole 'any more magic' part of the letter.

"WHAT DID IT MEAN 'ANY MORE MAGIC'? WHAT DID YOU DO TO DUDLEY?!" Mr. Dursley yelled, sending a shower of spit across the room.

"NOTHING! I didn't do ANYTHING to Dudley!" Harry yelled back, and Kat barely had time to be grateful that Harry didn't send spit flying like his Uncle, before his Uncle started yelling again. Kat wasn't even listening anymore.

In the matter of minutes everything that she knew, or thought she knew, had been shredded to bits. There were wizards. They had their own school. Apparently they also had their own Ministry. Harry Potter, the sweet little boy she had thought of as a son, was one of them. And apparently, he was in a lot of trouble over something he did or did not do concerning the use of magic.

"YOU UNGRATEFUL, FREAKISH -"

"SHUT UP!" Kat yelled. "Shut up!" The room suddenly plummeted into complete silence. "Ok, now I want some answers! Harry, tell me who the hall is Arthur Weasley?"

Harry looked up at her. "He's my best-friend Ron's father; he works at the Ministry of Magic."

Kat saw that Mr. Dursley was about to interrupt, but she silenced him with the look she usually reserved for criminals. "Who's Dumbledore?"

"He's the headmaster of my school." Harry shifted uncomfortably.

"And when did you use magic before?" Kat asked, looking directly into Harry's eyes, telling him silently to tell her the truth. Harry gave a quick glance at Dudley and swallowed.

"We were attacked by dementors, they …" He seemed to struggle to find the correct words.

"Suck the happiness out of you," said a quiet, petrified voice from off in a corner. Both Harry and Kat jumped a mile in the air. Kat had completely forgotten about Mrs. Dursley who had shrunk off into the corner. Mrs. Dursley suddenly looked almost ill with herself and covered her mouth. Everyone in the room just stared at Mrs. Dursley.

Harry was the first to break the silence. "That's right, Aunt Petunia. They suck the happiness out of you and force you to remember the most horrifying memories you have …. How d'you know?"

Mrs. Dursley looked quite appalled with herself. She glanced at Mr. Dursley in fearful apology, and then lowered her hand slightly to reveal horsy teeth.

"I heard – that awful boy – telling her about them – years ago," she said jerkily.

"If you mean my mum and dad, why don't you just use their names?" Harry asked loudly, but Mrs. Dursley ignored him. She was clearly very upset that she remembered that piece of information about the magical community. Kat however was even more confused now.

"So, wait a minute. Were your mum and dad magical too?" Kat asked Harry who nodded deftly. "But then, why isn't your aunt also a wizard?"

Harry opened his mouth to explain, as did Mrs. Dursley, but before any one of them could answer, another owl shot into the kitchen. I could never get used to this, Kat thought, as she watched Harry open the letter the bird had been carrying. "What does it say?" She asked as Harry read through it quickly.

"I've got to go to a hearing," said Harry.

"And they'll sentence you there?" Mr. Dursley asked with a horrible glint in his eyes.

"I suppose so."

"I won't give up hope then," said Uncle Vernon nastily.

Kat shot a distasteful look at the overgrown pig before facing Harry. "Harry, please tell us what happened tonight?"

Harry looked at his feet, before throwing himself down onto a chair. "Fine. Dudley and I were walking the alleyway between Magnolia Crescent and Wisteria Walk. Dudley thought he could be smart with me, I pulled out my wand but didn't use it. Then two Dementors showed up -"

"But what ARE dementiods?" asked Mr. Dursley furiously. "What do they DO?"

Kat and Harry just glared at the man. Honestly, he CANNOT be that slow … it isn't humanly possible, Kat thought furiously. Harry, obviously losing hold of his temper, answered shortly, "We've already told you – they suck all the happiness out of you and if they get the chance, they kiss you -" Mr. Dursley was about to interrupt, but Kat silenced him. At this pace all her 'looks' would be used up. "That's what it's called when they suck the soul out of your mouth."

Kat felt as if the bottom of her stomach had disappeared. Her knees weakened. Your soul? They suck out your soul? And her Harry had been attacked by them. And after you promised to protect him, the nasty voice reminded her, returning from its silence. Tears started to form in Kat's eyes, Harry had said that so matter-of-factly, what else had he witnessed that would make that seem insignificant? Kat didn't even notice as Mrs. Dursley shriek on and on about how her son didn't have a soul. She walked towards Harry and engulfed him in a hug.

"I'm sorry I left," She murmured. "I never forgot you though … I know it isn't enough, but I … I'm so sorry." She felt Harry stiffen awkwardly under her embrace. And it hurt, when he had been little, he used to hug her tightly. She remembered when he ran up and hugged her after she had given him a football. He had kicked that toy around for days … before Dudley had taken it. Now, however, Harry was as stiff as a board in her arms. It's just a teenage phase; she tried to reason with herself.

Or he hates you for abandoning him …

Suddenly another owl flew out of the chimney. Kat let go of Harry in order to let him go get the letter. Noticing that the Dursley's were now staring at her like she had two heads. She ignored them and kept her eyes on Harry. He was still small and skinny for his age, messy black hair, emerald eyes, glasses and hand-me-down clothes. His eyes however were duller now, much like hers.

"Who's that one from?" She asked when no one seemed ready to speak.

"My Godfather," he answered brusquely. Obviously the note was not good news, for anger seemed to be rising in Harry. Kat also noted, with some confusion, that the mention of the godfather seemed to have made the other members of the room scared almost. Kat did the only thing she could think of, she continued with her line of question.

"When and why did you use magic today?"

"I used a charm, known as the Patronus Charm in order to get rid of the dementors. It's the only thing that works against them." Harry explained.

"Well, then you shouldn't have any trouble at your hearing. I mean," she hastily added when everyone shot her an odd look, "wizarding law can't be that different from normal law. I'm sure they can't reprimand you if it was a case of self defense."

Harry slowly nodded and she could see a grateful smile begin to form. It was a closest to a full smile from him yet.

Mr. Dursley seemed to have more questions however and he turned to his nephew. "But what were dementoids doing in Little Whinging?"

"Couldn't tell you," Harry answered wearily. "No idea." Kat was suddenly struck with that thought. What had those demons been doing in Little Whinging? Was it a coincidence? Kat scoffed at the thought, there were no such things as coincidences, and six years of FBI work had ingrained that into her.

"It's you," Mr. Dursley said forcefully, obviously coming to the same conclusion as Kat herself. "It's got something to do with you, boy, I know it. Why else would they turn up here? Why else would they be down that alleyway? You've got to be the only – the only" Evidently he couldn't bring himself to say 'wizard'. "The only you-know-what for miles."

Kat saw Harry about to argue back and stopped him. "As much as I hate to agree with your Uncle Harry, it would make a lot more sense if the dementors were after you. Can you think of any one that would want to harm you? Anyone at all?" Harry diverted his eyes. "Harry, we need to know."

Harry muttered a name under his breath. "Sorry, what was that?"

"Lord Voldemort," said Harry.

"Lord – hang on," said Mr. Dursley screwing up his face. It seemed that he recognized the name, even though it meant nothing to Kat. "I've heard that name ... that was the one who-"

"Killed my parents, yes," Harry said dully. Kat gave a jerk.

"I thought your parents died in a Car Crash!"

"I thought so too," Harry said, sending a look of pure anger towards his relatives. "Until I was sent to Hogwarts, the school for witches and wizards that I told you about. That's when I learned my parents had not died in some car crash, but were rather murdered by one of the darkest wizards of our time."

Mr. and Mrs. Dursley did not seem to be following their conversation. "But he's gone." Mr. Dursley was saying. "The giant bloke told us so. He's gone."

"He's back," Harry said heavily. Kat's mind meanwhile was doing summersets; painful, painful summersets.

"Whoa," She said, shaking her head. "You mean back is in 'Oh my god, he came back to the country' or do you mean back as in 'zombie form'. And how do you know he's back?"

Harry shifted uncomfortably. Kat could see that he was debating whether or not he should tell her. "I saw him come back. He wasn't exactly dead … but he was almost dead. He was just a spirit for years …"

"He's going to be coming after you," Kat said slowly. This reminded her of too many cases. Now that she looked at Harry again, he showed clear signs of being a victim. The bags under his eyes indicated lack of sleep and the way his eyes kept darting to all the exits, as though keeping all of his escape options open was a must.

"I think," Kat said, "I think you'll be safe here, because if he actually knew where it was you lived the dementors would have been waiting for you at home. We'll have to be extra careful and get you moved as soon as possible. Is there anywhere you can go? Somewhere that no one would think to search for you?"

"Well … there is The Burrow, my friend Ron's place, but everyone knows that I usually spend my summers there." Harry frowned.

Kat sighed. "Well, this Dumbledore is probably looking into getting you to a safe location, let's leave it for four days, and then contact people, ok?" Harry nodded.

At that moment a fifth owl zoomed down the chimney so fast it actually hit the floor before zooming into the air again with a loud screech. Harry raised a hand to grab the letter, which Kat noted, was in a scarlet envelope, but it soared out of his reach and over his head. It flew directly to Mrs. Dursley, who let out a scream and ducked her arms over her face. The owl dropped the letter on her head, turned and flew straight up the chimney. Harry made to move to get the letter, but Mrs. Dursley snatched it up.

"You can open it if you like," said Harry. "But I'll hear what it says anyways. That's a Howler."

Kat did not like the sound of that at all.

"Let it go Petunia!" roared Mr. Dursley. "Don't touch I, it could be dangerous."

"It's addressed to me," Mrs. Dursley said with a shaking voice. "It's addressed to me, Vernon, look! Mrs. Petunia Dursley, The Kitchen, Number Four, Privet Drive …" At the mention of kitchen, Kat's eyes glanced around the room looking for a camera or something. How did they know they were in the kitchen?

Everyone, except Harry gasped as the envelope started to smoke.

"Open it!" Harry urged his aunt. "Get it over with! It'll happen anyways."

"No."

Mrs. Dursley's hands were shaking. She looked wildly around the kitchen as if for an escape route, but too late – the envelope burst into flames. Mrs. Dursley screamed and dropped it. An awful voice filled the kitchen, echoing in the confined space, issuing from the burning letter on the table.

Remember my last, Petunia.

And that was it. The voice … er … letter, said nothing more. Everyone just stared at Mrs. Dursley who looked ready to faint. Mr. Dursley looked confused. Hoarsely he asked, "What is this? What – I don't – Petunia?" No one said anything. Mrs. Dursley looked to be in shock. Kat's head was killing her and she didn't feel like taking any sort of shit.

"Ok, big deal! You got a burning letter. Who the hell was it from and what does it have to do with this?" Kat asked, gesturing wildly around the room. Petunia snapped back.

"It is none of your business!" She snapped at Kat. Kat took a calming breath.

"You're right. It is none of my business. But I'm going to stay here until Harry is safe. I might not be magical but I can still help defend him and your family if anything were to come up. I'll pay for a room and board, and I will of course repay you for any food I may eat. But I ain't leaving here. Not until Harry is safe." Kat stared at Mrs. Dursley, daring her to say no. But she just shrugged.

"We have a guest bedroom upstairs next to Harry's room." Was all she said before turning to Harry. "Boy, go make her room for her."

Harry looked like he mad more to say, but shook his head and made to leave the kitchen. Kat followed close behind. Between Jetlag and finding out that magic was real, all Kat really wanted to do was sleep. But somewhere, deep in her sudconscious, a question bubbled to the surface. I wonder if Santa is also real …

RR

- Ella Nite