Catherine Labelle: the beginning of the third twin

by Cecile Ilargiana

Catherine Labelle finally managed to escape her parents and join Hogwarts with Dumbledore's help. She will meet her new family there and face some personal struggles while starting to work with her Headmaster keeping the future comeback of Voldemort in mind.

15. Learning about the past

Learning about the past

During breakfast on the 25th of January, Muninn arrived with a letter for Kate. It was the first time that Charlie was writing since she last saw him. The young witch was a bit anxious, her fingers were trembling as she took the letter in her hands. She sent the bird to the owlery and stared at the letter without opening it.
- 'Come on, open it,' encouraged George.
- 'I'm scared,' she whispered.
Fred swiftly took the envelope, opened it and put the letter back, unfolded, into Kate's hands. She looked at him, baffled.
- 'Now you just have to read,' he smiled.
After breathing deeply, the young girl started reading.

"Hi Kate,
I'm sorry I didn't write earlier. After I left Hogwarts, I had to organise everything, and I was late on my schedule because of all the arguments with my mother. Muninn was flying all the time across Europe. I'm happy you lent him to me, I don't think Errol would have survived.
Anyway, I arrived one week ago, on the twelfth of January. I had so much to visit, to learn, to do that I hadn't really time to write before. I hope you can forgive me for that.
Being here is even better than I imagined. We have different dragon species (Chinese fire-ball, common Welsh green, Romanian longhorn of course – which has a breeding program – and more), of course each has its characteristics. I think the most dangerous one is the Hungarian horntail. As I'm new, I'm not allowed to approach dragons without any experienced wizard or witch, but I could already go close to a Swedish Short-Snout. They're silvery-blue dragonswhich breath bright blue flames out.
We are provided with some fireproof clothing, so we are a bit protected. That's a great thing because they told me the healer is not that good with potions, they have to buy them, so they advice to go only for bigger problems in order to avoid lacking potions when it will be really needed. So I must admit, I already used the potion you gave me. It was only minor burns, don't worry, it was just uncomfortable. I'll learn to be more careful, it will be easier when I'll understand the different species' behaviour better.
This weekend, I started to have the classes I need to follow to get my N.E.W.T.s in June, and I'll have some after work as well. So I can't promise I'll write often, because my days will be pretty busy, but I'll try my best to stay in touch with you.
I hope you're doing okay.
Take care of you.
With love
Charlie."

-'He seems happy to be there,' said Fred.
- 'Sure,' Kate answered distractedly.
- 'I think that's not the part that caught her attention,' laughed George, pointing at the part about the healer. 'I bet she'll work on potions even more now.'
Kate was already focused on her Potions Master's mind, explaining him that she wanted to brew healing potions to send to Charlie and asking if he could control that she was doing it properly the first time. He told her to be in his office quarter an hour later.

- 'You're right, I'll start right now,' she said, standing up. 'I'll see you again for lunch.'
She ran to the Common Room, picking up all what she needed to brew healing potions, her ingredients, cauldron, scales, dagger and the book she received for Christmas as well. She also took what she had brewed in the last few weeks to kill time. Kate walked to Snape's office, but as she arrived at the stairs, she heard voices coming. There was still this non-spoken agreement that no one should know Snape was working with a Gryffindor, Kate didn't want any questions, she used the disillusionment spell on herself again and hurried to the dungeon where she waited in front of the door. Steps were approaching, she only removed the spell when she was sure that it was only Professor Snape.
- 'I didn't know you can hide yourself so well, Labelle.'
- 'I learned during the holidays, I had time to kill,' she lied.
- 'Come in.'

He closed the door behind her, made her sit down and stared at her silently.
- 'I just received a letter from Charlie, he explains that their healer is not good at potion making, they have to buy them, so if people come for every minor burn or injury, they might lack potions when it will be really needed. He already used the potion I made in your class, so I'd like to brew more and send him.'
She paused, looking at her professor who was still staring at her coldly.
- 'I received a book about healing potions for Christmas, I tried already some of them, however, I'm not sure I made them properly, maybe you could have a look. And I thought I could try some more and it would be nice if you could correct me if I'm about to make a mistake.'
- 'Show me what you have done until now.'

The young witch took out the containers she already filled and gave them to her Professor. She had carefully written on each one what was inside. He took a first one, looked at the name, he opened the bottle, verified the consistency, the colour, the smell,…
- 'This one seems really good,' he said.
He took his wand, produced a flame and directed it to his hand.
- 'What are you doing?' cried Kate.
- 'We have to see if your potion is effective, don't we?' Snape answered while letting a drop of the potion fall on the burn he just made.
The red mark on his hand slowly disappeared.

- 'As we can see, this is perfect. I was right believing in your abilities and sending you this better material.'
- 'You're the one who offered me the material to prepare potions for Christmas?'
- 'Yes, I am. I rarely have the chance to see such a promising student. Professor Dumbledore offered you the books.'
- 'Well, thank you, then. I was wondering who sent me these gifts, there was no note with them.'
- 'Obviously not. I don't want anyone knowing that I'm encouraging a Gryffindor. Maybe you could start while I finish controlling what you already did.'

Kate took out her book, ingredients, prepared her cauldron and searched for the page of the balm she wanted to try. Snape shortly looked what she chose and muttered 'complicated.'

- 'Complicated doesn't mean impossible. I believe Charlie might need it.'
- 'All right then, prepare your ingredients, I'm nearly done.'
The young witch started to cut herbs, weight different powders, sorting everything on the desk in the order of use. She was about to start trying to cut a really thick bean when Snape came closer.
- 'You need the juice of it, is that right?' Kate nodded. 'For such beans, and some beetles as well, it is really difficult to actually cut them. I advice you to crush them with the flat part of your dagger, the juice will easily come out, and it is less dangerous for you.'

The young witch did as Snape suggested and saw how effective this technique was. She worked as usual, the Potions Master only intervening when there was an easier or better way to do things, but it wasn't really often. Shortly before lunchtime, she was done. Now it only had to cool down before putting it into containers. She packed all her material, ingredients and all the potions she had brought for control in her backpack, then carefully added the cauldron in it and secured it.
- 'Thank you, Professor.'
- 'You have a real potential for potions. I would like you to work with Cromwell in my class. I believe you would achieve great results together.'
- 'I can't let Katie work with Santana. And I don't have that much classes in which I'm with her any more.'
- 'I can arrange that she doesn't work with Lopez, who is anyway bound to fail in Potions, it doesn't matter with whom she works. I'll find someone from my House good enough for Bell. She holds you back. You could do much better without her.'
- 'Weren't you the one telling me I should stick to my friends?'
- 'As much as I hate saying it, you know I meant the three Weasleys with whom you are really close. Even if the twins are useless in class, I know they are the most loyal friends you could have. And they won't make you take a path you will later regret.'
- 'How do you know that?' she asked suspiciously, staring at her Professor. 'Did you enter their mind when they were in class or in detention with you?'

Snape didn't answer, he only looked at Kate, without moving, not even trying to say something, to deny doing it.
- 'How dare you? There was absolutely no need to do so!' growled the girl.
- 'Dumbledore asked me to protect you.'
- 'I'm really thankful that you thought of confunding the students of your House into thinking I don't look like myself, and that you told my parents there was no student fitting with my description at school. But I definitely don't need your advice to choose my friends.'
- 'I learned quite a few things you did at school through them –'
- 'So what? You want to give me detention? Do it! You want to expel me? I bet Professor Dumb-ledore will have a problem with that! Thank you for your help this morning with my potions, but I think I'll manage by myself now!'

The young witch walked straight to the door, used the disillusionment spell on herself again as she left Snape's office and ran away. Once in the Entrance Hall, she went to the nearest toilets to remove the spell before joining the others for lunch. She took time to calm down before entering the Great Hall, but as always, George noticed that something was wrong. She tried to ignore his quest-ions, but he kept insisting. Obviously she couldn't say that she spent the whole morning working with Snape on potions, she decided to use a little bit of the truth to build a more or less convincing lie.

- 'I met Snape in the corridors this morning, he wants me to stop working with Katie in his class because she's holding me back. He told me I'll work with Thor now. I said I don't want that Katie has to work with Santana, but he didn't say anything, he just left.'
- 'It's maybe a good thing, you said that Thor is a good student, and he seems nice, he tried to help when Lopez was fighting you,' said Fred.
- 'I know, but I have so few lessons left with Katie, I like working with her. That will be only in Herbology now, as we can't really talk in History of Magic.'
- 'That's not that bad, Kate,' said George. 'It could be worse.'
- 'Of course it could be worse. But you'll be out of school at least one year before me, what will I do when you're gone if I can't make other friends? I'm sitting alone in the Common Room when you're in detention or at your quidditch practice, if I can't spend time with other students now, once you'll be gone, I'll be alone all the time.'
- 'You still have quite a few years before we're gone. There's plenty of time!' said Fred.
- 'I know there's time, but except for you and Charlie, I never got along with people that well, I don't actually know how to make friends. So I probably need all these years just to make one other friend.'
- 'You have Alec, now, don't you?' asked George.
- 'We'll see how long. I remind you he hated me for three months or something. And he's in Hufflepuff anyway.'
- 'You never told us why he hated you,' wondered Fred.
- 'I promised I won't tell anyone. It has to be his decision to talk about it.'
- 'Why does he have to decide if he wants to talk about it? It involves you as well, no?' asked Lee.
- 'It wasn't because of me per say. It's more the result of a personal experience. Does anyone of you has a leather pouch with which you do nothing? I could buy it back.'
- 'I have one in my dormitory,' said Lee. 'Why do you need it?'
- 'I need something to send potions to Romania, it shouldn't be too big or heavy, so that Muninn can carry it on such a long distance. I'll put an Extension Charm on it.'
- 'All right, I'll get it when we're back in the Common Room. I don't use it anyway, you don't have to give me anything for it.'
- 'Thanks, Lee.'

The four friends ate quietly, the boys wanted to start experimenting to create their own pranks. Kate advised them to look into Herbology and Potions books, to learn about the effects of plants and other ingredients that could be used. Then they walked back to the Gryffindor Common Room – it was the first Saturday without detention for Fred and George since the end of the holi-days – and Lee went directly picking up his leather pouch for Kate. The young witch sat down and started working on the extension charm. Once she was done, she took out the potions that were already made and started packing them safely. Then she took out her cauldron with the balm on which she worked in the morning and started putting it in different containers, then packed them in the pouch and closed it carefully.

Kate only had to write a letter for Charlie now, she wanted to tell him about Snape that morning, but she didn't want the twins to know about it. They were way too curious to take the risk to write in front of them. She went to her dormitory to do so.

"Charlie,
Don't worry for the delay, I wasn't expecting anything earlier. I'm glad to see you enjoy being there, and it seems to match all your expectations.
I started to work on different healing potions after last time we met, I received material and a book for Christmas, I learned today it comes from Snape and Dumbledore. After receiving your letter this morning, I asked Snape if he could check the potions I already prepared and maybe help me with another one that I wanted to try. We met in his office. No one knows that here, it's better like this. Anyway, I'm upset against him now. I realised he spied in Fred's and George's mind to check if they are friends good enough for me. There were no valid reason to do so. His only argument was that Dumbledore asked him to protect me, but that still doesn't give him a right to enter my friends' mind like this. He also said he learned some things about me through them, I bet at least about what happened with Lopez, maybe the trip in the forest and the one to Diagon Alley where I organised that Fred and George could go to Zonko's Joke Shop. Or maybe Hogsmeade. I told him if he wanted to give me detention, he should do so, but Dumbledore would have a problem with him expelling me. And I left before letting him time to say anything. I'm so mad that he casual-ly spied in their mind as if it was the most natural thing to do.
I needed to say it to someone, and I can't at school, because no one should know that he helped me. Anyway, I packed all potions I brewed and the balm I finished this morning in the leather pouch Muninn is carrying. I'll try to keep making potions regularly for you, as you said your healer is not that good at brewing them. I know now how to check that mine are well done.
Also, there is something else I should tell you. I didn't want you to know before you arrived in Romania. After you and your mum left, I had some troubles to deal with what I was feeling. I went through another episode like the afternoon I spent in the storm, except this time I went outside in my jumper, walked away and lay in the snow to contemplate the Forest, which was beautiful covered in white, all the silence and immobility. I think I wanted to feel another pain than the emotional one I was experiencing. When Fred and George arrived with their warmer clothes, they forced me to move away, they were really scared seeing that my hands had turned blue. But all was fine, I just had to focus my energy in them, like when I want to heal. Your brothers wanted to tell you straight away, but I was scared that it wouldmake you doubt if you should leave or not. I made them promise not to tell you, they agreed only if I promised I would not do something like that again. But I think now that you're there and everything is going fine, you should know. Now I'm back on track, don't worry. The Art class Dumbledore organisedduring the holidays was really good to express my feelings in a better way. I'm happy he didn't make a big deal out of it.
So, I guess that's it, all I had to say. When you start running low on potions, send Muninn back with the pouch and I'll send you refill. I want to be helpful in some way.
Take care of you.
With Love
Kate."

The young witch sealed the envelope and left for the owlery with it and the filled pouch. She ran through the Common Room to not let any chance to the twins to accompany her, she wanted to be alone. She hurried through the castle, arrived in the owlery and looked for Muninn. She attached the leather pouch and the letter on one of his legs and sent him back to Romania. Kate watched the bird fly away until she couldn't see him any more. Then she quietly walked back.

In the corridors, she met Snape again. She stopped on the spot, stared at him angrily, then kept walking, trying to ignore him. But as she walked pass him, he caught her arm.
- 'Labelle, don't be silly. We have to work together for Professor Dumbledore,' he said in a low voice.
- 'I don't think it's silly. You knew they are no risk for me, you spied in their mind just for the sake of it. They're no enemies withholding vital information, there was not a single reason for you to do what you did,' she whispered angrily
- 'I know too well the influence that bad friends can have on someone. I chose mine poorly. I don't want you to do the same.'
- 'I know I have black hair, fair skin, I'm a legilimens and an occlumens, but that's all we have in common. You remember who my parents are? If I had to choose the wrong side, I would have done so long ago. I can't help to think it's no wonder you are the loneliest person I know if you violate the most private thing a person has, their mind, just to kill time.'
- 'Watch your words, Labelle!' he snapped.
- 'Why? Do you believe I'm wrong or does it hurt to hear it? You barely talk to any other professor, you're mean with nearly everyone. You said yourself that many Death Eaters have troubles trusting you. Okay, there is some mutual respect between you and Professor Dumbledore, but I don't think I'd call that friendship. All what's coming from you is guilt, sadness and anger. Some fear as well sometimes.'
- 'Stop it!' he said through clenched teeth.
- 'Why should I? You didn't care if it was okay to spy in some students' mind, maybe I don't care if it's okay to keep on this way. That woman I saw in your mind, why do I feel so much guilt surroun-ding her? It was the mother of the boy Voldemort tried to kill, right?' she was nearly shouting now.

Snape wasn't answering any more. Kate was about to start again when Dumbledore arrived.
- 'Kate, Severus, would you mind coming with me please?'
Both followed the Headmaster to his office. He invited them to sit down in front of his desk and sat on the other side, calmly watching them.
- 'You should avoid such conversation in the corridors. Unfriendly ears could overhear you,' he stated.
Neither Snape nor Kate answered.
- 'I need you two to work together, it would be easier if you could communicate quietly. May I ask you what happened that sparked this argument?'
- 'He spied in Fred's and George's mind to see if they are good friends for me. There was no reason to do so. He just freely entered their intimacy. I know I can trust them with my life, I don't need to spy in their mind to be sure. What if I was entering Professor Snape's mind just for fun? I try my best to avoid seeing informations I should not know. Like when I first entered his mind, I saw this dead woman surrounded by a feeling of guilt, I didn't start searching for more information just because I was curious. It's called decency. It's all right looking in an enemy's mind to find relevant information, but… I don't know, that's just driving me mad.'
- 'I'm sure Professor Snape had a reason to do what he did.'
- 'He said it's because you asked him to protect me. But I really don't need someone to protect me from Fred and George. They're always looking after me, taking care that I'm doing okay. We share a connexion stronger than friendship, there's no need to use legilimency to be sure. How would he feel if I was now spying in his mind to quench my curiosity?'
- 'Don't you dare,' Snape muttered.
- 'It might be time for Kate to know a bit more about the whole story, though,' the Headmaster said.
- 'If you say so,' answered the Potions Master in the coldest manner.
- 'That woman Kate saw was Lily Potter, I suppose?'

Snape nodded.
- 'I probably should start at the beginning. I must tell you that Professor Trelawney already made a real prophecy and I happened to be there when she did so. She has no memory of it, as she was in a trance, but that's the reason why I took her as a professor here. Now I need your word that you will not say anything about what you're about to learn today.'

The witch stared at him silently and made a short sign of agreement. The old man took his wand, extracted a thin silver filament from his head that he put in a stone basin engraved with runes that was filled by a cloudy substance. He invited Kate to approach it and look inside. As Snape stood up to come closer, Dumbledore stopped him, simply saying: 'not you Severus.' This surprised Kate and angered Snape, but the girl approached and bent her head into this cloud. She was swallowed inside and looked at Dumbledore and Trelawney, in a room she didn't know. The headmaster was interviewing the witch for a post as Professor of Divination. The old man didn't seem happy by how the interview went and was about to leave when Trelawney went into a kind of trance and spoke those words: The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies... Then a hand grabbed Kate's arm and pulled her out of that memory. Dumbledore took back his memory and went sitting at his desk again.

- 'But we were overheard. Professor Snape was listening until he was thrown out by the Hog's Head owner. At that time, Severus was a faithful servant of Voldemort and he went telling him what he heard of the prophecy. The Dark Lord is not stupid, he was quick to find out it could talk about two boys: Neville Longbottom or Harry Potter. They will both start at Hogwarts next year. For some reason, Voldemort chose Harry Potter. It's his mother that you saw in Professor Snape's mind.'
- 'What happened?' asked Kate.
- 'Your professor came to see me, told me that Voldemort decided to kill Lily's son, he asked me to protect her, them, telling he'd do anything for me if I would do so. I think what he felt for her was similar to what you feel for Charlie Weasley, except... it was not reciprocated.' Kate looked briefly at Snape who seemed extremely tense.
- 'So that's why there's so much guilt around her memory, you feel responsible for her death. You think if you hadn't say anything, she'd still be alive.'

Snape was staring fixedly at the feather on Dumbledore's desk, his teeth clenched, a painful expression on his face.
- 'That's when Severus started to work for me as a double agent. This is the reason why I agreed to help. We hid the family, their location was protected by the Fidelius charm, but they put their faith in the wrong person for a secret keeper. It was Sirius Black. He betrayed them. He still is in Azk-aban. Anyway, as soon as Voldemort knew where they were, he headed to their house, he killed Harry's father on his way upstairs, Lily put herself between Voldemort and her son to protect him, she was wand-less, she sacrificed herself. It was only him and a one year old infant, yet for some reason, the spell rebounded, the child survived, left with only a scar on his forehead, and Voldemort disappeared. Many said he was dead, I always doubted it and you confirmed my fears a few months ago.'

- 'How come the child survived the killing curse?'
- 'I'm not entirely sure, but I think it's Lily's selfless act of love, sacrificing herself to protect her son, that put the strongest protection upon Harry, allowing him to survive.'
- 'Is love the power the Dark Lord knows not? That would make sense at least.'
- 'Why do you think so?' asked the old wizard.
- 'He doesn't know what love is. He's born from a loveless relationship, his mother gave his father a love potion. And she died after giving birth.'
- 'How do you know about his parents?' asked Snape sharply.
- 'I don't know. I don't think it's a memory I saw in someone's mind. It felt like a vision, just like when I foresee something, but it was the past.'
- 'Does that happen often?' wondered the Headmaster.
- 'Not really. Not as often as seeing the future or what is happening.'
- 'This is really interesting. Anyhow, we will keep talking about this in the coming weeks Kate, during our extra-lessons. Now let's get back to your argument today. I think it is safe to say that unlike you, Professor Snape never learned how to trust people. You had the luck to have your twin as a child, even though you couldn't trust your parents, and now you met three of the Weasley children who are more loyal to you than anyone could be. I agree with you, you can trust them blindly, but that is something Professor Snape can't do. Maybe you can take this into consideration.'
- 'I'll try. But I don't see how I can work with him if he can't trust anyone. He will have to learn to trust me or it won't be possible. He can't come in my mind to check that I'm not lying. If he's doubting all I say, I don't see how this could work.'
- 'You're right. But we are not in a hurry, I'm sure Severus will learn to trust you if you give him time enough.'

The young witch looked at the black haired man who was again staring at the feather on Dumbledore's desk.

- 'I think what matters isn't the time I'll give. It's mainly depending if he's willing to trust me or not. If he doesn't want to, it can't work, even if I give him years.'
Both Dumbledore and Kate were looking at Snape now, who was still not saying a word.
- 'Severus?'

- 'I know you lied to me about Lopez, and you lied to everyone when you went in the Forbidden Forest with the Weasley twins and Jordan but miraculously weren't caught nor killed.'
- 'Listen, I can trust you to fight Voldemort alongside us, but as a Professor, I do not believe you would be fair with me, especially as I'm in Gryffindor. How would you have reacted if I told you that I showed Lopez a different reality to make her trip, or that I made her see the spider? Professor Dumbledore knows all this without having had to spy in my friends' mind. I told him.'
- 'I would have taken points from Gryffindor, or given you detention.'
- 'Yes, and that wouldn't have solved anything. She would have kept picking on me, threatening me, … This is the only way I found to solve the problem, you can't deny it was effective. Of course I feel bad because I made her wonder if she wasn't insane, but I saw no other solution. All your interventions only aggravated her. And I guess you still miss a part of the whole story, as even Fred and George don't know what happened the evening when she wanted to meet me at midnight in the trophy room.'
- 'Indeed, I don't know this, just like I don't know how you managed bewitching that rubber ball, your wand was tested.'
- 'So you couldn't even believe what you saw there?' Kate asked with a smile.

She looked around her for an object she could take, but found nothing. So she decided to try something else. The young witch concentrated her energy in her hands, put them in front of one another and imagined a little yellow bird flying in between. She was entirely focused on this, and slowly, this little bird materialized itself between her hands. Kate's smile broadened, she lowered her hands and released the bird who flew away through the window.
- 'You – you can do wand-less magic?' Snape asked in a whisper.
- 'Obviously. I mean, every child in our world can do so, it shouldn't be such a surprise…'
- 'Well, it is, Kate,' said Dumbledore. 'Most of the time, when witches and wizards start using a wand, they lose this ability. It requires an incredible amount of concentration and strength, that's why it mostly happen to children when they are particularly upset, angry, happy… And it's a whole different level to bewitch a rubber ball than to conjure a bird. This is simply remarkable. Did you practise a lot?'
- 'Practise? No. As I can heal with my hands, when I found the rubber ball, I thought I could try if I can do something else. And it worked. I wanted to show you how I did it, but I didn't see anything I could use that I wouldn't risk to damage, so I tried doing something else. It was a first try each time.'
- 'Then I would like you to train this ability, but unknown to other students. It's all right if the Weasley twins know, but I want this to stay secret. I can think of a few situations in which wand-less magic could be useful, especially if the people who disarmed you don't know you can do it.'
- 'All right. Where can I practice, then, if it has to stay secret?'
- 'You can use the classroom where you practised with Charlie Weasley. No one ever goes there.'
- 'And – the trophy room story?' Snape asked.
- 'You told me this morning you didn't know I can hide that well, doesn't it give you an idea of what happened? Santana is the only one who saw me out of bed that night, so no one would believe her after she saw things that do not exist, and when she decided to fight me the next day, I acted as if she imagined everything. That worked, at that moment she started thinking that maybe it was all in her head and slowly stopped obsessing with me, with a bit of help from you and Madam Pom-frey. That's all I wanted. I didn't want to break her wand or gain ownership of her second one, it just happened like this. And if I had found another way to solve the problem, one that wouldn't have made her believe she's insane, I would have used it.'

The Potions Master nodded silently. He seemed to consider every word that was said.
- 'I'll try,' he said, before standing up and leaving the room, his cape floating behind him.
- 'I think it's the best we will get,' smiled Dumbledore after Snape left.
- 'It's more than I hoped for.'
- 'Maybe you should leave as well, I guess your friends are wondering why you're still not back.'
- 'Probably. Professor, is wand-less magic really so rare?'
- 'I know really few European wizards or witches who can use it for complex magic. It is common in other parts of the world, wands are a European invention. But it is often less reliable and less performant. What you showed today was incredible, even more so as it was your first attempt at conjuring something without a wand. I want you to practice as hard as you can. I rarely, if not never, saw a student as talented as you. Of course, Voldemort was extremely talented, but –'
- 'You taught Voldemort?'
- 'Yes, at the time he was still Tom Riddle. When I met him at the orphanage, he was already dis-playing evil traits. He liked to terrorise the other children there, and the personal as well. He said he would behave at school, but I never trusted him, I was right doing so. I think it's the reason why he always was wary of me, because he showed me his true nature.'
- 'Can he do wand-less magic?'
- 'He did back then, I don't know if he will still be able to do so when he'll be back. Most stop using wand-less magic once they have a wand, because it's easier to channel the magic through it, it is more precise, more accurate. But obviously it is not the case for you. I can do some wand-less magic. But I can't conjure a bird, I fear,' said the old man with a smile.
- 'So I guess I shall learn this by myself.'
- 'I don't think you need anyone to show you how this works, you already know. All you need is practice.'
- 'All right. I will do. I think I should go now, before Fred and George start freaking out.'
Kate slightly bowed towards her Headmaster and left the office.

Once she arrived in the Common Room, Fred and George rushed to her, but before they could ask anything, she talked.
- 'I need to talk to you, can you follow me?'
They agreed and followed her out of the Common Room. She led them through the castle until she reached the classroom where she taught Charlie.

- 'All right. I met Snape again in the corridors, he confronted me, because he saw what happened with Lopez, and that I went with you in the forest. He spied in your minds. I started arguing with him, but Dumbledore arrived and asked us to follow him to his office. That's where I was the whole time.'
- 'Damn, did you get detention? Did he take points?' asked Fred.
- 'No, Dumbledore knew everything, so he managed getting Snape out of these ideas. But that's not the point. I'd like you to learn occlumency.'
- 'How do you want us to learn it? There's no Professor who will teach us that!' said George.
- 'I know, and I can't either, I know the way I do it is not the usual way, that's maybe why it's harder to break in. But I can't be sure it works for others.'
- 'So how?' asked Fred.
- 'Try at the library, there must be books about it there. The fact is, you're my closest friends, there is a risk that people who look for information I might have will try to enter your mind after they couldn't enter mine. Right now it's just school stuff, it doesn't really matter, but later, when the war will come, it will be really dangerous.'
- 'And what if we can't? If that was an easy thing to do, everybody would be an occlumens,' said George.
- 'True, but you're talented, you can learn really fast. That would be also a good thing for you to protect your projects. If you can't, I fear I'll have to keep nearly everything for myself. But at least I'd like you to try.'
- 'All right, we will. If Snape spies in our minds, it's worth trying. It would be too easy for him to give us detention or take points from us only because we thought about doing something.'
- 'Exactly. Then I wanted to tell you I'll spend quite a lot of time here, I guess.'
- 'Why?' asked George.

- 'Dumbledore asked me to practice wand-less magic, but it has to stay secret. Snape knows about it, he was there. Seems it's something really uncommon and he'd like me to be as skilled as I can in this area. He said I can use this classroom to practice, that's where we went with Charlie.'
- 'But he knew you bewitched the rubber ball without wand, didn't he?' asked Fred.
- 'Yeah. Snape saw it in your minds too, but couldn't believe it. I wanted to demonstrate it, but as I found no object to use, I tried to conjure a bird, it worked. They were both amazed. Seems it really isn't that common. Dumbledore said wand-less magic is often less effective, and he knows only a few witches or wizards who can do complex magic that way. He also said that he could think of a few occasions where it might be helpful to have this ability well developed and unknown from the people who would have disarmed me.'
- 'Isn't it a bit hard to always think about what might go wrong? You seem to always prepare for the worst case scenario,' George asked.
- 'I do, I think it's necessary. But that's why I need you to bring some fun in my life,' smiled the young witch.

When she arrived in Dumbledore's office on Tuesday after lunch, Kate had a few questions.
- 'Professor, what is this object in which you showed me your memory on Saturday?'
- 'It's a Pensieve, a really old magical object. It was there before the school was built.'
- 'And how did you extract the memory you wanted to show me? Because I have something I would like to show you.'
- 'It's not complicated. You need to think about this memory, visualise it hanging at the tip of your wand as you put it against your head, and the memory will follow it. What is it about?'
- 'I think it has to do with what you told me on Saturday. I don't know if it was a dream or a vision, I saw this in the night from Sunday to Monday. That's easier if I show you, really.'
The Headmaster went to a closed cabinet that he opened, he picked up the Pensieve and put it on his desk. With a soft move of his hand, he invited Kate to proceed. She approached, took her wand, thought for a short moment, then did as Dumbledore explained to extract her memory. She pulled it out and threw it in the Pensieve.

- 'Would you join me?' asked the old man.

Kate nodded and they both dived in it. They were looking at three people, a woman, Lily Potter, and two young men. One of them was thin, had hazel eyes and messy hair. He was wearing glasses. The other one was tall, handsome, with lustrous black hair, striking grey eyes. They were talking together, or rather arguing, the handsome one telling that Voldemort would suspect him to be the secret keeper, and once he'd be dead, everyone knowing the secret would be able to give the information away. He kept saying that Wormtail would be a better choice, that no one would ever suspect they would have chosen him. After a long discussion, the couple agreed with the other one – Kate supposed it was Sirius Black – and decided to take another friend as a secret keeper.

Then the memory changed. They were in front of the half blown up house, Sirius was holding a baby in his arms and Hagrid arrived to pick him up. Once Hagrid left with the baby and the young man's motorbike, Kate and Dumbledore followed Black. He was tracking down some-thing or someone. At some point he seemed to have found what he was looking for, he rushed to an ugly young man, looking like a rodent, with a cowardly attitude. As he was about to confront him, shouting 'Wormtail' in the street, the other turned to face him, screaming that he betrayed his friends and was surely coming to kill him now. Then, before Sirius could react, the rodent-like man created a heavy blast that killed twelve Muggles and disappeared in the form of a rat. The memory ended with officials coming to arrest Black who was laughing uncontrollably. Kate and Dumbledore came back in the office.

- 'What do you think about it, Professor?'
- 'It's hard to believe, I'm the one who performed the Fidelius Charm, and I could swear it was Sirius that was there.'
- 'Maybe they used Polyjuice potion.'
- 'How do you know about Polyjuice potion already?'
- 'Well, you allowed me into the restricted section and told me to read all I could. That's what I do when Fred and George are not there.'
- 'Did you ever tried brewing it?'
- 'No, I don't have a use for it. Do you think it's possible they would have disguised this Wormtail into Sirius Black to make him secret keeper?'
- 'His name is Peter Pettigrew. It is possible, of course. I wonder why they would have tried to hide this from me, or from Lupin, their other friend.'
- 'Didn't you have the feeling there was a spy in your ranks?' Dumbledore nodded. 'Then maybe they just had suspicions on the wrong person. From the way Pettigrew looks and acts, no one could suspect him to be a double agent. He seems to be such a coward.'
- 'That is indeed possible.'
- 'What did Black say at his trial?'
- 'There was no trial. They decided he was guilty just because of all the witnesses who said he was the one who caused the blast, the fact that we found one of Pettigrew's fingers and Black was laugh-ing like a maniac when the officials came. He seemed mad.'
- 'But that's absurd. The way this finger was looking, it couldn't have been severed by a blast, it was a neat cut with a sharp knife. Also, I remember the name of Peter in my parents' mind, they thought he's responsible for Voldemort's downfall. Isn't it possible to ask for Black to have a trial?'
- 'On what argument? What reason can we give to have a trial for him, now? A twelve years old having a dream about the past? Even if I know you are a really skilled seer, this is for me barely believable. Imagine how it would be for people who do not know you.'
- 'I don't know, on the argument that everyone deserves a fair trial. Even Death Eaters like Bellatrix had one, and she was one of the worst.'
- 'I know, and I agree. But remember how your sister reacted when you told her your parents would kill her. It's impossible to force someone to see the truth when they firmly hold on their own version of it.'

- 'Then why I am seeing this? What's the purpose of seeing such events if it can't help anyone?'

- 'Maybe to keep an eye out for Pettigrew. Or to be ready to help when the opportunity will come. It is possible that the thing you should learn most is patience, Kate,' Dumbledore said with a smile.

The young girl smiled back, that was quite true.
- 'Maybe. But if I'm counting right, he's already in Azkaban for nine years, for something he hasn't done. It's completely unfair.'
- 'I know. But until you showed me this, I as well thought he was guilty. See, during the first war, I organised the Order of the Phoenix. Fawkes was a symbol of hope,' he said, showing the bird at the back of the room. 'Black, Pettigrew and Lupin, who were Potter's best friends, were all part of the movement, as were James and Lily. We knew there was a spy among us, because Death Eaters were having crucial informations that only the members of the Order knew. To be honest, I thought that these four friends would never betray each other. I was horribly wrong. I proposed James to be their secret keeper, though, but he trusted his friends.'
- 'Who were the members of the Order?'
- 'They were many people I recruited. The parents of the other boy were part of it, Frank and Alice Longbottom, they were tortured into madness after Voldemort's downfall, by Death Eaters who wanted information about what happened to their master; Fabian and Gideon Prewett, uncles of the Weasley kids, they were killed during the war, Hagrid, and quite a few others. I guess most of the ones who survived will join again when the war will start. You'll get to know them then.'
- 'I'd like to be part of the Order when you will restart it.'
- 'I'm counting on it,' smiled the Headmaster. 'Or all what we are doing now would be a waste of time.'
- 'Professor, how come you trusted me so easily, even though you were deceived in the past?'
- 'Well, looking at it now, Pettigrew was a mystery even for the sorting hat. I should have been more careful with him. But for you, the hat was really fast. He saw what you went through, he saw why you were here, and he obviously put you in the House where lies the brave at heart.'
- 'I can't help to think I have qualities that might have fit in other Houses. I'm really smart and creative, I'm loyal, and yes, maybe I'm brave. So I think I might as well have fit into Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff, even maybe in Slytherin, seems I'm good at manipulating people to get my way.'
- 'Maybe you're brave? At nine years old, you lost your twin and decided to prepare to fight the ways of your parents, for this you didn't hesitate to manipulate them, you escaped from their influence, crossed half of the world alone, found me, and we organised everything to keep you as safe as we can because by leaving you clearly put your life at risk. And you came here to be at the right place to fight in a war, all this at the age of twelve. You duelled three last year students and one of your professor, you stayed alone in the forest and faced Centaurs, you advised a young man you love to follow his dreams even if that was breaking your heart, you faced his angry mother and calmed her down, and with all of that, you're not sure to be brave?'
- 'Maybe it's not bravery but madness…'
- 'Both are really close to each other. But in your case, I'm quite sure it's bravery and determina-tion. I believe Gryffindor suits you perfectly. Being in Gryffindor doesn't mean you don't display qualities that are in other Houses, only that the more prominent ones are those of the House you're in. And I trust you because I saw how you stand for fairness, because of how you managed to get along with Firenze and Magorian, because of how you stand for your friends and how kind you are to the house elves when you go to the kitchen, or with our ghosts. Even Peeves seems to like you. I have no doubts where your heart lies. It's definitely not on the Dark side.' - 'Yet I was mean with Santana, I lied to my professors, … That's not being a good person.'
- 'And you feel bad about it. Trust me, this is a sign that your heart is at the right place. People on the other side do not feel regrets or remorse. As long as it serves them, even if the only purpose is enjoyment, they don't care if they hurt someone, destroy a family, kill people, lie, … You are a good person, Kate, of this you can be sure.' - 'Thank you,' she whispered.
After this, they worked together, then as the end of the afternoon was approaching, Dumbledore stopped their private lesson, sending Kate away so she could spend some time with her friends before dinner. She found them in the library, in the middle of Potions and Herbology books, and George was looking at a book about occlumency. The young witch sat with the twins and Lee. They asked her why she was back so early. She explained briefly what they talked about, her dream, the Order of the Phoenix,..
- 'What do you know about your uncles, the Prewett?' she asked them.
- 'They were our mother's brothers. She told us they died as heroes, that it needed five Death Eaters to kill them. But she never wanted to talk more about them,' explained Fred.
- 'Were your parents in this resistance group?'
- 'No, I don't think they were ready to take the risk with young children. Bill was born in 1970, when the war started. Charlie came two years later, then three years after came Percy, and later we arrived. I guess it was too dangerous for them, wondering what would happen to us if they died,' said George.
- 'It's legit. But they were against Voldemort's ideas, right?'
- 'You should not say that name,' Lee whispered.
- 'I'm not scared of the name,' said Kate shrugging. 'I don't even think I'm scared of him. I'm more scared of what he could do to the world if we let him, or to the people I love.' - 'Yes, they're against his ideas. Our father is fascinated by Muggles. Many other pure blood fami-lies consider us as blood traitors. They think we are too kind with Muggles, they can't understand why we would let Muggle-born children do magic, …' Fred explained.
- 'I'm happy about it,' smiled the young witch. 'I knew you're decent people.'