Disclaimer: Harry Potter isn't mine.

Chapter 4 More like a Funeral than a Wedding

Lily missed her girls. When she and James first married, she wanted the house filled with children. Bellatrix cursed her when Katherine was five, and at the time, she and James already had been trying for two years. The idea of adopting a baby was painful, but when she was presented with the opportunity to adopt ten year old Hermione, she didn't hesitate. It felt right, and she never regretted it.

But now her girls were grown up. She was the only female healer at St. Mungo's, and Lily was nervous about going back to work now that the war was over. Hermione would already be back to work. Katherine would be too busy having fun to care. Lily admired them both.

"If anyone gives you trouble…" James tried to look at the paper and not her but quickly tossed it aside. Hermione and Kat had only been gone an hour, and they both missed them terribly. "You're the best healer in St. Mungo's, if not the country, Lils. And if you want to become a Muggle doctor—"

"No." She didn't want to be an outsider. People still treated her like one, twenty six years after she entered the wizarding world. One would think nearly twenty years of fighting would change that. "But there's something I need to do first."

James raised his eyebrows and then sighed. He knew her better than she knew herself. "Pansy Parkinson."

Lily picked at her toast. Like Kat, she hated eating when she was upset. Sometimes, she felt like she was wasting away. "I feel like the worst sort of person and helping her…"

"It's not going to change anything." James smiled bitterly. "Did you know when they left for Hogwarts for the first time, and me and Sirius got roaring drunk, that he bet Kat would marry Ron?" His smile twisted, like his next words tasted like vomit. "I bet she would marry Malfoy."

Why? Lily was too shocked to yell that like she wanted to. She stopped picking at her toast, not noticing the dusty pile of crumbs it was becoming. James had the… What did Severus say before he died? The emotional intelligence of a walnut. Apparently, it was true.

"They've always been obsessed with each other." James downed the rest of his coffee and rose from his seat. "Perhaps this is easier on Neville." He kissed the top of her head as he left. "I'll forgive you when they stop being so thick and admit they love each other."

Yes… She was definitely married to a walnut.

Lily asked Pansy to paint what she was feeling. They didn't know each other, obviously, so she kept her distance until she was done. Narcissa hovered around them protectively and even Lucius popped his head in once and a while.

Pansy used a lot of red and black. There was an agitated fear about the painting, a fear that had been bottled up and released repeatedly too many times. Nothing eased it, so it grew and then was washed away, only to grow back like a stubborn mold.

"What's that?" Lily asked after Pansy threw her brush down and started biting her nails. At first, she thought the white blob was simply a spot on the paper that the girl missed, but then Pansy let a little of the black and red swirls seep into it.

"Me," Pansy whispered. "I couldn't move. Nothing was clear… Nothing but the laughter. His laughter."

"Who's?" Lily asked, causing Narcissa to glare at her. This wasn't going to go away, and Pansy didn't have to hide anything, not around her.

Pansy glanced at Narcissa and suddenly looked ashamed. "They have everything. The Muggles. And they have the freedom to do it. I didn't think it was dangerous. I love to dance. My mum loved to dance."

Lily nodded and looked at the painting. The white blob was trapped in the middle of all the pain and darkness. "Can I keep this?" Pansy didn't answer and turned away, retreating into herself. "I want to do something in Hogsmeade. The three of us."

"Without Lucius?" Narcissa was appalled at the thought. Lily was sure that the woman could count the number of times on one hand that she had done something without her husband outside the Manor in the past twenty five years.

Lily forced herself to smile. At this point in her life, she had been in the wizarding world more than not. The lack of independence some women had from their husbands still shocked her sometimes. "It will be fun. And only for an hour," she added for Pansy's benefit. "I have a present waiting for you."

Sirius invested so much money into WWW that he and Molly stopped talking for a while. At the time, Lily nodded in sympathy as Molly ranted and raved about Sirius indulging in the twins' pipe dream, but she secretly told James to make sure the twins kept their books in order. She wanted them to have independence from Molly, who meant well, but if she had her way, Lily knew that they wouldn't so much as breathe without her knowing.

Are you much better? Lily thought as she flooed to the Hogsmeade WWW with Narcissa and Pansy. It was their most popular site, but they agreed to close it for the day. Not many went to the Diagon Alley store, since it was so close to London. Most didn't understand why the Ministry built Diagon Alley and kept Gringotts there. No one but Arthur Weasley and children of Muggles wanted to be so close to a city.

"If it isn't my favorite red head besides myself," Fred joked as she stepped through the floo. "How's Kat? Sirius was freaking out, saying she told him Malfoy was a vampire and was biting chickens' heads off at dinner the other night."

One day, James and Kat were going to give Sirius a heart attack. The stories got wilder and wilder, and poor Padfoot fell for them every time. At least they were able to keep their spirits up…

Pansy frowned. "Draco's—"

"Pansy." The firm, almost reprimanding, tone Narcissa had made Lily jump. A split second later, she softened. "Don't you want to see your present?"

"No." Pansy looked about the shop in distaste. From what Lily could remember, she was the opposite of Kat. Puking pasties and stuffed animals that resembled garden gnomes wouldn't impress her.

"But I picked it out myself," Fred said proudly as he took a purple pygmy puff from behind his back. "Pansies are purple, aren't they?"

Pansy glared at him with obvious distrust. Perhaps she should've told Fred to stay in the back with George. Her lip curled, and for a moment, she was the old Pansy Parkinson. "They're a lot of different colors, idiot."

Fred grinned while Narcissa's face became as bright as a tomato. Lily tensed, thinking that she had failed. First she ruined Kat's life, and now she ruined Pansy's first day out of Malfoy Manor since she was attacked.

Then she remembered that Pansy Parkinson was a brat. She pointed to the giant orange bird cage by the window. "I want her to sleep in that."

"An excellent choice!" Fred handed Narcissa the pygmy puff when he saw that Pansy didn't want to take it from him. Lily stood in the background while Pansy made demands and insulted the shop. She had a feeling it was a sign things were going well.

"Thank you," Narcissa whispered when Pansy called Fred a soulless ginger. "This is the most she's talked in over a month."

For the first time in two years, Lily felt like she did something right.

James liked Neville. He was a nice boy, and Kat could have a wonderful life with him. It broke his heart when Hermione wrote about the conversation she overheard between him and Kat with Extendable Ears. But… When Kat panicked, she ran, and although Lily's life was on the line, she wasn't doing a whole lot of running. In fact, she wasn't doing a whole lot of anything.

She was smarter than Muggle clothes and a haircut. The Sorting Hat didn't almost put her in Slytherin for nothing. Plus, Malfoy handed her an opportunity to end this, and she didn't, even if she had to lie to him. There was no plotting besides practical jokes. Maybe she was in denial, but James wasn't so sure it was only that. Kat wasn't exactly above lying. If she told Malfoy that he had to throw Pansy on the street, she would've ruined any future relationship, even a friendly one, with him. She was hesitant to hurt him like that.

"They need more time," James said as he sat in Lucius's office, a frighteningly clean place that somehow reminded him of his horrifying brother-in-law. Perhaps it was the overly polished desk, or the smell of barely used leather. Everything still looked new even though it wasn't. Nothing was actually lived in. "A month is ridiculous, Lucius—"

"She was kissing another man on the train." Lucius was angry, and Malfoys never showed emotion. For the first time since this started, James feared for Kat, so much so that risking Lily briefly crossed his mind. "They will be married this weekend."

James let out a small laugh, forgetting he was with a man who did not joke. He played games yes, but Lucius Malfoy never joked. "You aren't going to allow your son to be happy at his wedding because of money. They could be happy, Lucius, if they were given time."

Lucius sat back in his chair, considering this. "This is my son's only chance at happiness."

A rushed wedding to someone he spent most of his life bickering with? So he was a stupid as Vernon Dursley too. James rolled his eyes and a voice that sounded suspiciously like his mother, reprimanded him in his head for hoping Lucius had an unfortunate accident sometime soon. "I'm trying to be kind, Lucius."

"You are in no position not to be." Lucius leaned forward to get a better view of James, to be able to savor his horror. "They are marrying Sunday, and as soon as the little whore finishes her first cycle, they will have an heir. Draco will not permit Longbottom to be near her and—"

James lost it.

Lily told Kat that it had only been a Stinging Hex, but in reality, James had put Lucius in the hospital. He didn't want anyone to know that the pathetic excuse for a man had called Kat a whore. Not for Lucius's benefit, certainly. He didn't want it to get back to his daughter. So as much as he wanted the world to know what kind of man Lucius Malfoy was, James pretended that the situation was mostly his fault. That he had lost his temper over such a rushed wedding.

Still, James wasn't about to blush and pretend that he was the one at fault. "The restraining order is for your protection," he said dryly as he nursed his tea at breakfast a few days later. Lucius hobbled in, all flustered like a startled hen. Maybe someone had finally yanked the broom out of his arse. "Take another step forward, and I'll rip your face off."

"James!" Lily was torn, again because in her mind he was the one who went overboard.

Lucius ignored him and slapped the newspaper on top of his breakfast. James jumped when he recognized Kat. "Who is this man? So she's cuckolding Longbottom too?"

Lily leaned over to see the headline. Potter Heiress Spotted in Muggle University Town. "Dudley?"

James squinted. Kat was dancing with a wine bottle while riding on a Muggle's shoulders. Triple chin, breasts larger than hers. Yes… It was definitely Dudley. "Dudley got into college?"

"James!" Lily gave Lucius an apologetic look that made James's blood boil. "Her cousin. She must have written to Petunia…"

"Funny," James snapped. Ever since Kat could write, Petunia had been trying to turn her against Lily. And Lily, being Lily, only saw the good in her sister, hoping that Petunia had loved Kat in a way she didn't love Lily. "I thought I told Petunia if she answered any more of Kat's letters that I'd chop her hands off so she couldn't answer the next."

Lily stuttered, trying to think of a way Petunia could have well intentions by filling their daughter up with liquor with a bunch of gorilla men. "Dudley's looking at schools. Maybe-maybe Kat wants to go to university."

"What?" James and Lucius said at the same time. James glared at him while Lucius looked equally disgusted.

Lily shrugged. As mean as it was, James wanted to yell that Kat hadn't finished a book since Cat in the Hat, which she was sore over because she, being five, thought it was about her. Reality's a bitch, Sirius had joked when she finished the book only to realize the cat wasn't secretly her, earning himself a smack on the back of the head from Lily.

"Anyway," James yelled, "clearly she isn't in the library. And if Petunia doesn't know where she is, Lily so help me—"

"I'll kill her myself."

Lily was hesitant to distrust her sister. Tuney had blamed her for their parents' death, and frankly, Lily blamed herself. At first, when Kat was showered with gifts every Christmas, her heart swelled, thinking her sister had dusted her own heart off. But then Hermione came along.

You love her more than me, Kat had said. How many times had Petunia said that to her mother? Lily tried to brush it off until Petunia's childhood words started coming out verbatim. It's not my fault she's prettier. She thinks she's so special. Perfect Hermione!

Perfect Lily. She sighed as she apparated with James (and unfortunately Lucius) to Privet Drive. At least Kat had grown past that (or so she hoped), but it was because unlike herself, Hermione wasn't afraid to give her jealous sister a piece of her mind. And unlike Petunia, Kat had the capacity to feel bad when she was cruel.

Lily closed her eyes as she knocked on the door of Number Four. She knew she shouldn't kid herself. Petunia didn't love Kat at all. But how was she supposed to explain that to Kat?

Vernon answered the door. The sour faced walrus only opened the door wider because of their attire. The neighbors thought they were strange war reenactors, if the Dursley family had kept up with that explanation.

"Where's Tuney?" Lily didn't have her usual smile. Was it usual, since she had only met Vernon twice and forced herself to smile each time? Once on a double date and when Dudley was born. Tuney hadn't wanted her sister to overshadow her at the wedding.

Piggy eyes narrowed at Lucius. "Is this her husband? He looks sixty. No wonder she ran off. Disgusting—"

"Her future father-in-law." Lucius was pink in the face, afraid to breathe in too much Muggle air. "Where is she? Sullying herself with a Muggle?"

Vernon frowned, telling Lily he didn't know what the word "sullying" meant. "Where's Tuney?" she repeated, not wanting to see Lucius and James form a temporary truce to dismember her brother-in-law. "The sooner I see her, the sooner we leave, Vernon."

With a grunt, Vernon waddled up the stairs. Lily stared at the clock as she heard Vernon yell, "There are three of them in here, Petunia!"

Ever the drama queen, Petunia swept down the stairs with an air about her that they were inconveniencing her. She folded her arms over her pink floral dress and did her best to look down on them. "Lily."

James was never one for mind games. Lucius had learned that first hand. Lily wondered if Petunia was about to learn as well. "Where is my daughter? I'm not solving riddles or letting Lily beg. You're going to tell me where she is, or you're going to get me thrown in jail again." He jerked his thumb in Lucius's direction. "Ask him. I turned his nuts to fire ants the other day and I won't hesitate to do the same to whatever you have down there."

"You will not to talk to my wife like that!" Vernon roared, but all of his bravery deflated with the rest of him when James jabbed his wand between the man's many chins.

Petunia smirked. She knew the law. Magic against a Muggle would earn James more than the slap on the wrist he got for hexing Lucius. "Probably in the hospital."

In her own way, Lily supposed Petunia thought she was in control. She didn't understand that James would risk a few years jail time for his daughters. He lunged at her just as Dudley opened the door.

"Mum!" He was half carrying Kat, causing James to drop his wand and rush over to her. The panic in his voice reminded Lily that he was just a boy, too young and stupid to understand his mother. "I don't know what happened! She started throwing up and—"

There was a rushing sound in her ears, and Lily's heart started to pound, fearing the worst since Pansy's story of being drugged with Ketamine was still fresh in her mind. Petunia's smug grin brought Lily back to reality, and she returned the favor by punching her in the face.

"What did you do to my baby?" she shrieked as James dragged her away after she kicked her fallen sister in the ribs. "What did you do?!"

"Mum?" Kat blinked sleepily, too drunk to realize what was going on. "I gots a tattoo." She started laughing hysterically and lifted her shirt to show off a clearly infected feather tattoo on stomach. "It's a phoenix feather!"

"It's a peacock feather," Lucius said, deadpanned.

"And," Petunia gasped as she scrambled to her feet, "she slept with Gordon. Try marrying her off now, Lily!"

Kat laughed again before Lily could process that and attack her sister again. She stumbled to her aunt and patted her on the cheek, absolutely reeking of alcohol. "Yeah right! Dudley threw him out a window." She laughed so hard she snorted. "I love college!"

"How did you know that?" Dudley said stupidly.

"I'm not marrying her off," Lily cried.

"Yes you are!" Petunia spun in Kat's direction so fast the girl looked a little dizzy. "She used you as a pawn because that's all you are to her! She had three abortions after you because she was disgusted by what she created—"

"I had three miscarriages!" Lily had never felt so stupid in her life. If there was one thing she and Petunia shared, it was grief. She had wanted to see the same Muggle fertility specialist Tuney had used to bring Dudley into the world. "Tuney—"

"Hermione is smarter than you," she went on as if Lily hadn't spoken. "She does everything better. It's not your fault though. Lily could never be bothered to give you the same attention."

When James realized that Kat's sluggish, drunken brain was understanding this, he grabbed her and apparated. Lucius did the same, realizing that Dudley had prevented her from sleeping with Gordon. This left Lily, alone with the Dursleys.

"None of that is true," Lily said quietly, feeling angry, sad, and ashamed at the same time. Petunia's cheek was already starting to swell. "Mum loved you, Tuney—"

"She loved you more," she said stiffly.

Lily shook her head. "She just missed me when I was off at school… You tried to-to ruin my daughter's life—"

"You ruined your daughter's life," Petunia spat, eager to make her feel worse than she already felt. "Raising her in a world where she can be sold like a prized breeding mare yet letting her live in a bubble where such barbaric things will never happen to her! The first chance you got, you dumped her on the first taker! For what? So you wouldn't have to deal with her anymore?"

"To keep her safe!" Lily cried. "She's looked up to you, Tuney! She thinks you love her like a daughter!"

Petunia smirked. "Then she really is as stupid as you her believe to be!"

"I don't think she's stupid!" Was this what had been going on all these years? Lily had given her privacy when it came to Kat's letters with her sister, a grown woman. All this time, she had thought (hoped) that Petunia was comforting her, getting carried away with her own memories of jealousy and that Kat had seen herself in Petunia. It never occurred to Lily that all of this might be intentional. "How could you do this?"

Petunia snorted. "How could you let me?"

Kat slept the morning away and only peeled her eyes open as Lily was applying paste to that horrible tattoo. She wondered if her daughter remembered anything. The whole school was talking (according to Hermione), and Minerva was considering suspending her after one week back.

"Mum." Her eyes squeezed shut at the sunlight, which wasn't that bright considering it was nearly dinner time. "Did Malfoy break up with me? For the tattoo? And the drinking? And applying to Oxford."

So that was what Petunia told her, that further immersing herself in the Muggle world would chase him away. Lily did her best to smile. "No… Tuney isn't that bright, Kat. And I don't think you're going to get into Oxford."

"She's says I'm smarter than you think," Kat mumbled before covering her face with her pillow.

"Petunia doesn't know me as well as she thinks." The bitterness in her voice made her wince. "You're very smart Kat, but you don't have a Muggle education. I think Oxford might think you're transcript is a prank."

"What's a transcript?" Oh what she would give to see that application. Lily covered her laugh with a sigh and poured her hungover daughter a glass of water. "Mum?" She hummed to show she was listening. "Dad said that Aunt Petunia doesn't love me this morning, but I forget why."

Lily gaped. The jumble of a thousand words that wanted to burst out of her amounted to nothing. With a humorless laugh, she put on her best you're dad's an idiot face on and handed her the water. "You know how he worries, Kat. Tuney loves you like a daughter," she lied. "But… She seems a little reckless, if you ask me, letting you and Dudley drink like that. Could you do me a favorite and stop writing to her for a while? So Dad doesn't worry."

Kat smiled to herself and started to doze. "Hermione said he's scared of the Muggle world."

"Yes." The girl was so out of it that she didn't hear the sarcasm in Lily's voice. "That's definitely it."

Back in her library, Lily had a dozen balls of parchment around her desk. Never contact me again… I hate you… Stay away from my daughter or… She put her face in her hands, wishing she had it in her to cry. Who knows what could've happened to Kat. Lily didn't like the sound of that Gordon fellow. But for some reason, Severus always said it was her biggest flaw, she couldn't bring herself to hate Petunia. She couldn't make herself hate anyone except herself.

1996

They were trying to take over Lestrange Manor. There were at least twenty prisoners in the dungeons, Muggle and Wizard alike. Somehow, Kat later realized it was with Narcissa's help, they were able to take down the wards. The aurors were with them because, again somehow, they knew the Death Eaters were holding a meeting.

Chaos erupted as soon as the wards fell down.

Kat managed to stun a few. In fact, she had just hexed Avery into a stupor when Goyle grabbed her arm from behind and twisted it out of its socket. Kat screamed in shock, not expecting it. Death Eaters usually thought physical fighting was beneath them.

He flipped her around and flung her wand to the ground. As it landed in the mud, Kat felt like she suddenly the size of a mouse, no worse, as weak as an earthworm as Goyle shoved her to the ground and jumped on top of her. She struggled, doing her best to scratch him as his meaty hands tried to wrap themselves around her neck.

"Greg!" Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Malfoy rushing towards him. He looked startled, and in her panic, Kat just knew that he was going to help his bodyguard finish her off with tortuous magic instead of fists. Goyle turned his head slightly, distracted for a split second and giving Kat a chance.

Sirius gave her a knife for her fifteenth birthday, and Dad told her to always keep it in her boot. Kat had never used it until today. She felt the hot blood spurting on her face and into her mouth before she realized she stabbed him in the neck. She would never forget the shock on his face as she ripped out her knife and shoved him off.

Malfoy stopped in his tracks as he watched her sob and crawl to her wand. She wasn't the soldier Mad-Eye thought she was. Like a baby, she apparated home to Mum and cried in her arms until Dad and Hermione came home.

With a gasp, Kat woke up to darkness. For a moment, she thought she was at Lestrange Manor, waiting for Malfoy to run over to her and finish what Goyle started. Her eyes slid to the clock at her nightstand.

In three hours, she was getting married.

1996

The Potters liked to pretend that everything was alright. They still had feasts at Black Manor and tonight were still hosting their annual ball to raise money for lycanthropy research. Mum begged Father not to disable their floo and wait on the grounds, and now, Draco knew why. Did she know about the dogs? Perhaps she simply didn't want his future wife to be captured by the Dark Lord.

He was sick, so he didn't join his father and Crabbe and Goyle Sr. in the efforts to capture the Potter family. He doubted Mother wouldn't have let him anyway. At the time, she said it was because they were being reckless, that Goyle was still too angry over Potter killing his son. Did she know about the dogs?

They fell asleep by the fire waiting for Dad to come home, gloating over the praise he received from the Dark Lord. He apparated into the parlor screaming.

Blood. The sickening smell burned his nose before he's feverish body had the energy to allow him to open his eyes to see it all over the carpet. Father was gripping his leg and sobbing from the pain. He had never seen his father cry.

"Dogs!" he howled. "They had wolves!"

Draco felt sick as he watched Mother fumble with a pillow to use to try to stop the bleeding.

"Lupin?" Mother asked, flinching when she realized it couldn't be the full moon. Like they would have the lycanthropy ball on the full moon, Draco forced himself to think. "What-what happened, Lucius?"

"You-you're going to have to chop it!" Father yelled, panicked. "I'm going to lose my leg."

"Dippy," Mother snapped. "Get the salve."

But Mother was rubbish at healing salves and potions. Poisons were her specialty. Father knew this and tried to crawl away. They didn't know that the salves and potions were being supplied by Lily Potter.

"They-they ripped Vincent and Greggory to pieces." He gagged but because of pain or the fresh memories, Draco didn't know. "One was eating my leg! Then Potter blew a whistle, and they stopped!"

Mother shushed him and applied a salve that instantly stopped the bleeding. Draco remembered sitting by his bedside all night, wondering if his father was going to die.

"Draco!" Mother had found her way into his room at Hogwarts. Blaise was probably all too happy to show her. "What are you doing still sleeping?" His heart was pounding, and for a moment, he thought he was back in the summer of 1996. "You're getting married in less than two hours!"

This couldn't be happening.

James held Kat's arm so tightly as they walked down the aisle that she occasionally winced, but she didn't tell him to loosen his grip, and he certainly wasn't going to let her go, not in the slightest. Everyone was silent as they walked down the Great Hall of Malfoy Manor. Remus was marrying them, looking as awkward as ever as he watched them slowly make their way down the aisle.

"Kat," James whispered.

"I'll be okay," she lied.

"I think you will," he said honestly. "But if you're not…"

"Hasn't Sirius told you?" She smiled, but it didn't quiet reach her eyes. "Mum didn't make a Vow. I have to get married because Malfoy and I are expecting quadruplets."

"Dumb dog," he muttered.

"I was hoping he'd say there was no way since I'm not fat." Kat frowned. "Maybe I should lay off the cakes."

"Are you nuts? You have to have cake at your wedding." They stopped at the altar, and James looked up to see that Malfoy was scared shitless. Good. "And…"

"Dad, I think I can take them in a fight." She put both her hands in his, hoping that he wouldn't notice her tear filled eyes. "And if you don't think I can, obviously you didn't teach me enough."

James forced himself to smile, even though he wanted to scoop her up and run off to take her to the Gryffindor Quidditch practice going on at Hogwarts. "I'll give you some pointers during the father daughter dance."

Before she could answer, James forced himself to walk away and sit with Lily and Hermione. They both could stall and talk to each other for hours. He kissed Lily's temple when she started crying softly. His wife didn't see Malfoy gently wipe a tear off Kat's cheek with his thumb. The gesture and the concern in the boy's eyes made James think that everything was going to be alright.

It didn't feel real. In fact, the marriage contract never did. His parents rushed through it so fast that he never got a chance to process it. Potter was still playing jokes and acting like a child, so he knew this morning was just as much a slap in the face to her as it was to him.

She was beautiful in her white dress robes, but then again, when wasn't she? Her sad face ruined it though as her father walked away. He tried wiping her tears away to show that he was on her side in this, but like him, she was barely listening to Lupin's words.

Actually, she was listening far less than he was because when he leaned in to kiss her, Potter jumped and wiped her mouth. Black's bark like laughter made him want to die.

"This feels more like a funeral," Kat mumbled as she robotically danced with Malfoy after the ceremony. She scowled as she saw Ginny with Daphne Greengrass, still laughing over the fact that Kat had wiped her mouth after they kissed as husband and wife. It was a reflex!

"Why are you standing on my feet?" Malfoy grunted as he tried to dance.

Kat stuck her nose in the air. "It's how I dance with my dad."

"You weigh five hundred pounds. Get off."

"No."

"You don't know how to dance, do you?"

"Neville doesn't mind." Kat swore under her breath as soon as the words came out of her mouth. Things almost felt… normal between them. As expected, Malfoy hardened. "Sorry. He's not here, if you didn't notice."

"I can't imagine why he would be," Malfoy hissed.

Because I asked him to be. At least Kat knew better than to say that. "Look, Malfoy, I…"

"I had a dream last night," he confessed. "About Father and the dogs. And how your father used the whistle to save him."

"Whistle…" Dad didn't… Kat perked up. "You mean my flute?"

"Your flute," he repeated dumbly. He forgot that she was on his feet and tried to twirl her to the music. Another dumb move. Distantly, Kat heard Ginny laugh loudly when she stumbled. "So you…"

"I thought it was you." Kat blushed at the memory. "I thought you were getting revenge for me killing Goyle. Since I apparated before you could finish the job."

Kat heard the screams as soon as they apparated home. She spotted Crabbe and Goyle Sr., or what was left of them, and almost followed Mum as she tried to shield her daughters and rush them inside. Then she saw the blonde hair.

The flute was kept around her neck and resembled a small charm. It grew to normal size at her touch, and Ginny jokingly called it her dick necklace because of its shape and since it elongated at her touch, and she put her mouth on it. Ginny was a bitch.

Death and Eater stopped and started wagging their tales at the sound of the flute's music, thinking Kat was going to play fetch with them. Her stomach lurched when one of them picked up Crabbe Sr.'s head. With a pop, Malfoy was gone.

"How could you do that?" Hermione screamed as Death, muzzle now washed of blood, pranced around the parlor with his new squeaky toy. "He's just going to try to kill us again!"

"It was Malfoy," Kat said weakly. Then, she corrected herself, not wanting Hermione to think she meant Lucius. "Draco."

"So?" Hermione yelled. "The one who called me mudblood? The one who said I'm not a Potter? He's just like his father! He'll kill us given the chance too!"

"I…" Kat shivered, despite the fact that it was summer, and wrapped her arms around herself. "I…"

"Am in love with him?" Hermione filled in for her. "Well it doesn't matter! He'd kill you for a pat on the head from Voldemort. How could you be so stupid?"

"Hermione." Dad was firm, almost yelling. Was there ever a time when he had to yell at Hermione? Kat wasn't sure. "Go to bed."

"But—"

"I said go to bed."

Hermione's eyes watered. Before she left, she said, "You're going to regret this."

Dad narrowed his eyes until she left. "Kat…"

"I'm sorry." She was fully expecting a lecture. Hermione was always right, after all.

Dad smiled and scratched Eater behind his ears as the dog gave him puppy eyes, begging for more peanut butter. "There's nothing to be sorry for. If someone's going to die, and you don't want them to, don't ever hesitate to help them, Kat. This is war but… we're still human. We still love."

Kat wrinkled her nose. "Everyone thinks I'm in love with you. For some reason."

"People are stupid." Malfoy grinned, and Kat tried to ignore the fluttery feeling in her chest. "Although you did get a peacock feather tattoo. Mother says that your mother says it will scar into a white feather."

"Phoenix feather!" Kat groaned, remembering the Malfoy's prized albino peacocks. "I fucking hate you."

Malfoy grimaced. Proper ladies didn't curse. "I hate the idea of bringing you out in public."

She wasn't a broom for him to show off to his friends! Kat planted her feet firmly on his again, feeling satisfied when he grunted in pain. "Good. Because Sirius thinks I'm going on bedrest after this. The quadruplets aren't as big as they should be."

"Don't touch me tonight."

"What part of bedrest don't you understand, Malfoy?" Despite her steady, cheeky tone, Kat glanced at the clock in fear. What was going to happen tonight?

Until now, Draco had never had the… pleasure of speaking with Ginevra. He supposed it was what he deserved for trying to avoid James Potter.

"So you and Kat are married," Ginevra said coolly. "I think she'll make a stunning widow, don't you?"

"I can't leave the quadruplets fatherless, now can I?" Draco said with false cheer, swearing when he realized they were walking by Black, who started choking on the five crème puffs he had crammed into his mouth.

With a bratty eye roll, Ginevra grabbed him by the arm and behind a rather large ice sculpture. "Kat's scared out of her wits."

"That explains a lot," he drawled.

Ginevra went on with her threatening speech as if he hadn't spoken. "If I hear any horror stories in the morning… I killed Crabbe and the Lestrange brothers. You're nothing but a bug that belongs under my shoe, Malfoy."

She was a Weasley! There was no reason to be afraid of her, right? "We all know what this marriage is, Weasley. We'll ignore each other, have a child or two, and then go back to ignoring each other. Stop being so dramatic."

Draco stormed up to his room before Ginevra could get another word in. Honestly, he wasn't sure why he was in such a rush to get away from her. His own words hurt more than hers.

Dinner was a silent affair. It wasn't because her boys were enjoying their meal as usual. No, Vernon was mad at her. He hated that Dudley knew about magic and that she wrote to Katherine. Her husband didn't understand that without Lily Mummy and Daddy would be alive, that Mummy would've appreciated her.

Lily thought she was so perfect with her perfect, fairytale life, her castle-like home and prince-like husband. She never had to live in the real world, and yet again, none of the harm she deserved came her way. Petunia didn't want to talk. She thought for sure she could get revenge. Potter would've divorced her—

"Mum?" Poor Dudley was confused. He enjoyed a wild night with his cousin and her credit card, not understanding how horrible his aunt was.

"Yes, Duddykins?" she asked, pouring all her love for him into those two words. Her baby was absolutely perfect, unlike that stupid spoiled brat Lily produced.

Dudley looked at his empty plate, shaking his head when she started refilling it for him. "How-how'd you know that Gordon tried to give Kat Ketamine?"

Petunia opened and closed her mouth several times. She knew because Gordon's Mum found a drugged girl in his room after coming home early from a vacation with her husband. With promises that her husband would invest in Vernon's drill company, she helped her dump the girl in London.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about, baby," she lied nervously.

Luckily, Dudley was a good boy who loved his mother and didn't question her. He did look uncomfortable though. "Oh… So Kat isn't going to live with us?"

Petunia pretended to be disappointed. "I'm afraid not, Dudders. Lily sold her off to the blonde man's son."

"It's not fair," Dudley muttered, and Petunia decided to let it go. Life wasn't fair, but at least Lily would have to live with the fact that she ruined her daughter's life.

"I saw you talking to Ginny." Potter standing at the door to their room. Her hand was still on the doorknob, and she was still in her dress robes. She was probably afraid to change in front of him. Draco was in too foul of a mood to be a gentlemen and leave. "You had three options. Talk to my dad, Sirius, or Ginny. And you picked the worst."

"Thanks for the heads up." Draco folded his arms over his chest. He was lying on their bed and sulking. "You have your own room. A house elf will show you."

"We…" Potter pursed her lips. Pureblood newlyweds were expected to share a room until an heir was on the way. Neither one of them wanted to go down that road. "What are we going to do?"

Potter was right. The wedding did feel like a funeral, and it drained him. Perhaps that was what made him be honest, even with himself. He was too tired to act like he hated her.

And so, Draco said what he had been pushing down ever since he saw her with Longbottom in Hogsmeade third year. "I love you."

So I have a confession, I have been hoarding this chapter for about two weeks. For some reason, I only seem to be happy about the writing every other chapter. BUT a lot of what I'm looking forward to writing takes places after the wedding. That being said, if there's something that can make the wedding better and less rushed, please let me know. You're reviews inspire me a lot. ;)

Thank you to reviewers RegdirbArze EzraBridger, Ern Estine 13624, amata0221, Nataly SkyPot, and gr8rockstarrox!

RegdirbArze EzraBridger: I'm so sorry I forgot to answer you! This story revolves a lot around Kat falling in love with Draco, and Draco accepting what's wrong with him. (There will be more hints for that next chapter. And a Neville scene!)

One last note: I was bad and started yet another new story instead of focusing on this one. (I love starting new stories!) It's a Snarriet and called The Halfblood Princess. It's pretty f-ing weird though, so I don't mind if you aren't interested. Just thought I'd let you know. :)