I forgot to say in the first chapter, this is slightly AU.


Chapter Two

Katherine was staying at Malfoy Manor for Christmas. Her Muggle parents sent her presents over to the Manor. This was standard procedure for the Peters; Katherine always spent Christmas with the Malfoys.

"So, I hear you're a Gryffindor, Katherine." Mr. Malfoy commented as he combed his long white blond hair. They all were sitting in the drawing room; Mr. Malfoy, Mrs. Malfoy, Draco, and Katherine.

"Yes, I am." Katherine answered.

"I hear you are friends with Harry Potter." Mr. Malfoy looked her straight in the eye. She shrugged.

"Gryffindors stick together, just like Slytherins."

"Lucius, leave Katherine alone. She can't control where the Sorting Hat placed her." Mrs. Malfoy gently placed her hand on her husband's arm.

"That stupid Potter gets everything he wants." Draco grumbled.

"How so, Draco darling?" Mrs. Malfoy asked.

"Dumbledore bent the rules for him so he could play Quidditch for Gryffindor." Draco mumbled.

"So, he's already Dumbledore's favorite." Mr. Malfoy mused.

"Dumbledore hasn't spoken to him." Katherine said quietly. The Malfoys stared at her.

"Katherine, how about you and I go race my new broomsticks?" Draco said getting up. Katherine followed him outside. They spent the rest of the morning racing. Katherine always let Draco win because he sulked every time he lost.

"Katherine," Draco said as they were putting the brooms up. Katherine raised an eyebrow. "You shouldn't spend so much time with Potter."

"Why not?" Katherine said swallowing her anger.

"He's a brat."

"That's your reason?"

"Just stay away from him. Please."

"Why?"

"My parents are giving me a hard time about it. They think of you as a daughter; they don't want you to get involved with the wrong sorts."

"Wrong sorts?"

"The blood traitor, the Mudblood, and I'm-So-Special-Potter."

"Draco,"

"Look, I know you don't want to hear it, but this is what my parents want."

"I'm not going to stop being friends with them."

"Will you stop being so stubborn? Just do something that someone asks!"

"Fine. I'll stay away from them."


For the rest of the year, Katherine kept her distance from her Gryffindor trio. She spent most of her time with Draco and his two idiot followers. Exams were upon them before they knew it, and then they were over.

Katherine was sitting in the common room with Neville Longbottom. She got a new book and she could not put it down. As the hours crept by, Neville sat there doing nothing except stare off into space.

She heard soft footsteps come down the stairs. Neville leapt to his feet. The newcomers paused. Katherine remained quiet and hidden in her chair.

"Where do you think you're going?" Neville said blocking the exit.

"Neville, go back to bed." Katherine heard Hermione say.

"No. You already got Gryffindor in trouble once, I won't let it happen again." Neville trembled a little, but nonetheless held his ground.

"Neville, please go to bed." Harry begged.

"No." Neville stood with his hands in fists at his sides.

"I'm really sorry, Neville. Petrificus Totalus!" Hermione put Neville in a full body-bind. The trio started to walk towards the exit. Katherine got up and blocked the door. Hermione raised her wand, and Katherine immediately threw up her hands to show that she was unarmed.

"Wow. No need to spell me." Katherine smiled to put them at ease.

"Look who's finally talking to us." Ron said.

"Oh, Ronald, when will you ever learn? Talking does nothing except tell secrets." Katherine put her hands down.

"Katherine, move. We're in a hurry." Harry said. Katherine didn't move.

"Perhaps I could tag along." She said looking at her fingertips.

"You don't even know what we're going to do." Harry said.

"You're going to go past Fluffy and rescue the Philosopher's Stone from Snape." Katherine lazily looked past them. They blinked at her in surprise.

"How do you know that?" Ron questioned flabbergasted.

"I told you, Ronald, talking does nothing except tell secrets. So aren't we in a hurry?" Katherine asked. Harry pulled out a cloak and threw it over all four of them. It took Katherine a moment to realize it was an Invisibility Cloak.

Draco's right. She thought. Potter gets everything.

They arrived at third-floor corridor. They threw off the cloak and found themselves face to face to face with Fluffy. Harry pulled out a flute and began to play. Fluffy's triple set of eyes began to close. Soon, the three-headed dog was asleep. Hermione pulled open the trapdoor. Katherine pulled out her wand and jumped down first.

She landed on something soft. Suddenly, vines began to creep up her leg. She gasped when she recognized it.

"Devil's Snare!" Hermione said from somewhere near her. Harry and Ron started to struggle.

"Stop moving." Katherine commanded. She relaxed and the plant killed her less quickly.

"Harry, stop fidgeting! You're distracting me. I'm trying to remember how to kill it." Hermione said. Ron continued to fight it.

"Stop, Ron! It will kill you faster if you fight back!" Katherine told him. That did nothing to calm him down.

"I've got it!" Hermione exclaimed. She said a charm and blue flames burst out of her wand. The Devil's Snare reacted immediately; it retracted from the captured first years.

"Bloody hell! I almost died!" Ron said rubbing his neck.

"Well, if you stopped struggling like a git, you wouldn't have had that problem." Katherine said looking down the hallway.

"Let's keep going." Harry said taking the lead. He opened the door to the next room to find it had keys flying around. There was another door on the other side.

"One of the keys must open that door." Katherine stated the obvious.

"But which one?" Ron asked. Harry and Katherine scanned the room.

"That one." They said in unison pointing to a key with a broken wing.

"How can you tell?" Hermione asked for once bewildered.

"It's already been used." Katherine answered as she and Harry walked over to the broomsticks. Katherine, with twinkling eyes, challenged Harry. "First one to get it wins."

"Fine. Ready, set-"

"Go!" She shouted jumping on her broomstick before Harry could mount his. The keys started to attack the two. Katherine zigged and zagged through keys trying to catch the silver key with the broken wing. Harry was a blur in the corner of her eye.

"I've got it!" Harry shouted. The keys stopped chasing Katherine and decided to go kill Harry instead. Katherine landed and Harry threw the key to her. She opened the door, ushered Ron and Hermione through, held it while Harry fell off his broom into the next room, and quickly closed it.

"That was fun." Katherine said as she wiped blood away from the scratches given to her by the keys.

"I won, Katherine." Harry smiled.

"You got lucky." Katherine teased, her green eyes twinkling with laughter. The group turned their attention to their next challenge.

"Wicked." Ron said when he saw the giant chessboard.

"What do we do?" inquired Katherine.

"Looks like we have to win the game." Ron said.

"Ron, you're the best chess player I know. You tell us what to do." Harry said.

"Harry, go play Bishop. Hermione, be the rook. I'll be the knight. Katherine, what do you want to be?" Ron asked.

"I'll be the queen. I'm always the queen." Katherine stepped onto the chessboard. The white pieces across from them moved first. Ron directed the pieces, who silently followed his instructions. Suddenly, the white queen smashed the other knight and dragged its body to the side of the board. The game progressed with many black and white pieces being maimed.

"Oh, I see. This is how it has to be." Ron muttered as the white queen turned towards him.

"NO!" Hermione screeched.

"What's going on?" Harry said feeling left out. Katherine watched the exchange with no expression on her face.

"He's going to sacrifice himself." Hermione answered sounding close to hysterics.

"No, you can't do it!" Harry shouted at his friend.

"Do you want to stop Snape?" Ron yelled. "It has to be done!"

He moved his piece, the queen menacingly crept towards him, and she hit him in the head with her stone arm. He flew across the board and landed next to the wounded pieces.

"RON!" screamed Hermione. She started to move towards him.

"Stay!" Katherine and Harry commanded. Harry moved towards the king.

"Checkmate." Harry said. The white king threw off his crown and bowed to Harry. They had won. Katherine, Hermione, and Harry raced into the next room.

A terrible scent scorched their noses. Katherine pulled out her wand recognizing the stench in seconds. She kept Harry and Hermione behind her. Katherine relaxed once she realized that the troll was knocked out. They moved on to the next room.

A table with seven bottles lied in front of them. A black fire sprang up in the doorway behind them, while a second black fire emerged in the doorway in front of them. Katherine reached for a parchment roll.

She read it out loud:

"Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,

Two of us will help you, whichever you would fine,

One among us seven will let you move ahead,

Another will transport the drinker back instead,

Two among our number hold only nettle wine,

Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line.

Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore,

To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:

First, however slyly the poison tries to hide

You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;

Second, different are those who stand at either end,

But if you would move onward, neither is your friend;

Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,

Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides,

Fourth, the second left and the second on the right

Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight."

Hermione smiled. Katherine handed the parchment to her. Harry looked confused. Hermione went over to the table trying to figure out the puzzle. After a few moments, Hermione picked out the bottle that allows them to move forward.

"There's only enough for two." She said with a frown.

"You two move on; I'll go get Ron." Katherine offered.

"No. You and Harry go." Hermione said.

"Hermione, which bottle lets you go back?" Harry asked.

"That one." She replied.

"Drink it. Take Ron, grab the brooms from the key room, and get a letter to Dumbledore." Harry ordered.

"What are you going to do?" Hermione asked anxiously.

"Katherine and I will hold off Snape until Dumbledore gets here." Harry said.

"Good, I've been itching for a fight." Katherine said. Hermione threw her arms around both of them.

"Hermione!" They both gasped embarrassed.

"You two are just so brave." She said as she released them.

"I prefer to be called the most brilliant witch in the Universe." Katherine smiled with her green eyes twinkling.

"Go drink the potion, Hermione." Harry said. She did and went back the way they came.

"Bottoms up." Katherine said as she took a sip and handed the bottle to Harry. They both walked through the black fire and pulled out their wands.

"Well, Potter it seems that anytime you decide to go someplace where you can get killed, you have to bring a shield. First, your mother, and now, Peters." Quirrell, not Snape, said. The two first years' jaws fell open.

"Where's Snape?" Harry asked looking around as if Snape was behind a stone column.

"Snape? You thought Snape was the one trying to steal the Stone?" Quirrell mocked.

"Why do you want it?" Harry questioned.

"He doesn't. His master does." Katherine said.

"So clever, Peters, too bad I'll have to kill you." Quirrell stated. Katherine pointed her wand menacingly at him.

"Try to. I dare you." She said through gritted teeth.

"In time, my dear. But first, I need to get the Stone." Quirrell turned his attention to a mirror behind him.

"The Mirror of Erised." Harry whispered. Katherine raised an eyebrow. "It shows the person their heart's desire."

"I see myself getting the Stone, but why don't I have it?" Quirrell muttered frustrated.

"Use the boy." A high voice said. Quirrell turned around.

"Potter, get over here!" He barked. Harry walked towards the Mirror, with Katherine a step behind him. "What do you see?"

"I see Professor Dumbledore giving the Gryffindors the Quidditch House Cup." Harry said. Katherine looked at his pocket and saw it get bigger almost as if a stone was in it.

"He lies." The high voice said. Harry and Katherine walked backwards away from Quirrell.

"Potter! Tell me what you see!" He commanded.

"Let me speak to him." The voice said.

"My lord, you are not strong enough." Quirrell said.

"I am strong enough for this." Quirrell started to take his turban off, and he turned around so his back was to the children. A hideous face with red eyes and slits for nostrils was attached to the back of Quirrell's head.

"Harry Potter." The face whispered. "Give me the Stone. I know it's in your pocket. Give it to me." Harry tried to walk backwards.

"Stop, don't be a fool," the face snarled. "Join me or die like your parents. They died begging for mercy."

"YOU LIE!" Harry screamed. The face smiled, but it just looked like the flesh twisted in creepy way.

"So brave. Your parents were brave. Your father I killed first; it was so easy to do so. Your mommy didn't have to die. No, she died to protect you, her baby boy. Now give me the Stone, so that she didn't die in vain."

"NEVER!" Harry stubbornly protected the Stone.

"KILL HIM!" The voice commanded. Quirrell sent a nasty curse at Harry. Katherine jumped in front of it. She was thrown backwards, over Harry's head. She smacked into a stone column, rolled on the cold tiled floor, and landed with a pool of blood underneath her light brown hair.

Suddenly, Quirrell was on top of him. Then Quirrell whisked himself away from Harry screaming; his hands were blistering.

"KILL HIM!" The voice yelled in a voice so terrifying that ice froze in fear. Quirrell tried to get his hands around Harry's neck, but Harry put his hands on Quirrell's face. His scar was on fire from the pain; he was slowly falling into unconsciousness due to it. Then he vaguely felt Quirrell being pulled off of him.


Harry Potter woke up in a bright room. He looked around and saw Katherine sitting up, reading a magazine, with a white bandage, that was slowly turning red, around her head. She saw Harry was awake and she looked at him curiously.

"Are you really awake this time?" She asked.

"This time?" Harry's brain was slow to comprehend her words.

"Well, one time you woke up and told me that you loved me." Katherine started laughing at his flabbergasted and horrified face. "Just kidding."

"How long have I been out?"

"Three days."

"Your head has taken three days to heal?"

"Well, Madame Pomfrey managed to fix my skull, but she doesn't know what spell Quirrell used, and the bloody thing won't stop bleeding."

"What happened?"

"I was hoping you could tell me. Or perhaps he can tell us." Katherine said as an elderly wizard with a waist long beard came in.

"Harry, glad you're awake." Professor Dumbledore said smiling.

"Professor, what happened?" Harry asked. Dumbledore looked at Katherine as if this was something he did not want to discuss in front of her.

"He's going to tell me everything anyways." Katherine said. Dumbledore smiled.

"Well, I arrived down there just in time to pull Quirrell off you." Dumbledore said.

"Why couldn't Quirrell touch me?" questioned Harry.

"Your mother died to save you. Voldemort cannot understand love nor can he understand that love creates a powerful protection. Since Quirrell was sharing with Voldemort could not touch you because of your mother's love."

"How did I get the Stone?"

"Well, that is something that my brilliant mind surprised me with. See, only the person who wished to find the Stone, not use it, would receive it. Ah, my brilliant mind." Dumbledore looked at the pile of candy at the foot of Harry's bed.

"Where'd that come from?" Harry asked.

"What happened is a secret, so the whole school knows. These are gifts from your admirers." Dumbledore picked up a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. "As a young man, I had a most unfortunate encounter with a vomit flavored one. Miss Peters, would you like one?"

"Sure." Katherine said as Dumbledore tossed her a bean. She put it in her mouth. Bit into it. Her entire face contorted, she grabbed a tissue, and spat out the bean. She then began to gag and make horrible disgusting noises.

"Vomit?" Dumbledore asked amused at her performance.

"Worse. Buttered popcorn."


All four of them were sitting in the Great Hall. Harry was completely scar free, except for his lightning bolt shaped one. Katherine, however, had a huge cut that reached from her hairline down a centimeter under her eye. It stopped bleeding, though. The Great Hall was decorated with Slytherin banners because they had won the House Cup.

"Another year gone, but don't worry summer is coming so you can forget everything you learned." Dumbledore said to the students. "The House Cup points are these: In fourth, Gryffindor with three hundred and twelve; in third, Hufflepuff with three hundred and fifty two; in second, Ravenclaw with four hundred and twenty six; and, in first, five hundred and twenty two."

Slytherins erupted with applause and cheering. Draco smiled joyously at Katherine, she returned the smile because she could not remain angry at a friend.

"Yes, good job, Slytherin, but I need to award some new points in light of recent events." Dumbledore announced.

Everyone fell silent. The Slytherins' smiles fell.

"First, to Mr. Ronald Weasley for the best played chess game ever, I award him fifty points."

It was the Gryffindors turn to erupt in cheers. Percy was yelling to the other prefects that Ron was his brother. Silence fell again.

"Second, to Miss Hermione Granger for the cool use of logic in the face of fire, I award her fifty points."

Gryffindors shouted ever louder than before. Hermione fell with her head in her arms crying of happiness. The Hall fell silent in anticipation.

"Third, to Miss Katherine Peters for knowing that sometimes her own life is not as important as the person next to her, I award her fifty points."

Gryffindors yelled their bloody heads off. Katherine stood up and graced everyone with a regal wave. She smiled broadly.

When she sat down, she whispered to her. "I should be foolish more often; we get points!" Silence fell once more.

"Fourth, to Mr. Harry Potter for outstanding courage, I award him sixty points."

The Gryffindors were shaking the tables with their screaming. They were tied with Slytherin. Everyone held their breath.

"And lastly, it takes a great deal of courage to stand up to enemies, but even more to stand up to our friends, I therefore award ten points to Mr. Neville Longbottom."

Gryffindors shouted, screamed, screech, and yelled. The Great Hall moved a couple of inches. Professor Snape was shaking Professor McGonagall's hand with a forced smile. Dumbledore clapped his hands and the banners changed to roaring lions.


Soon, they were all on the Hogwarts Express, and then they were at King's Cross. Katherine said good bye to the trio and followed Draco to find his parents. Harry was harassed by his uncle to get his bottom in the car. He said bye to Ron and Hermione smiling.

"What's so funny, Harry?" Ron asked.

"The Dursleys don't know that we're not allowed to do magic. I'm going to have so much fun."