Grindelwald's story
The next day, Kate was feeling better. Not only was she less scared of herself, she also wasn't dizzy any more. She went through her morning classes without troubles, and during lunch, she met Snape's gaze. He made a tiny move of his head, as to confirm he was ready to help. The young witch still didn't know what to do to make him give her long term detention, though. She couldn't decently ask Fred and George how she could manage, they shouldn't know she was organising her meetings with him.
Kate let her mind work alone, her eyes looking around in the Great Hall. They stopped on Thor. He was still quite isolated, the other Slytherins seemed to be rather indifferent to him. Maybe he could help her. She went in his mind and asked him if he could act badly with her in their Potions class, be mean, annoying, anything that could go on her nerves. When he asked why, she simply answered that she needed to have detention and that it would be a great way to make him look better in front of his classmates. He told her he would try, she knew it wouldn't be easy for him.
The lesson started normally, but soon, Thor started stealing ingredients from her, what obliged her to go picking up some new ones. Only each time Kate came back to her cauldron, other ingredients had been changed. She told him mentally to keep on, she only started to show some signs of exasperation. As she once more went to the cupboard to replace another stolen ingredient, Thor threw something in her cauldron, it started fizzing and boiling, a few Slytherins were laughing. She took out her wand and used the first shield charm that came in her mind to separate her desk from Thor's, knowing that it would annoy Snape. But the first that came was Protego Diabolica. Snape stood up at once when he saw the black flames growing in the room.
- 'Labelle, get this off immediately!' he nearly shouted, rushing towards her.
Kate did as she was told, the fire disappeared, it seemed to ease the Potions Master fear.
- 'I want you after dinner in my office, Labelle. You earned two Wednesdays detention!'
That wasn't long term enough. She had all reasons to still be upset, as he didn't even say a word to Thor – what was obviously good, it was all planed – so with a little move of her wand, she sent Thor's cauldron flying through the room. It landed in a deafening noise a few meters away, spilling potion all over the place.
- 'Four Wednesdays!' Snape said, walking back to his desk.
Kate packed her belongings and left the room. As she reached the door, she heard 'Five Wednesdays.' She left, smiling. She still had fifteen minutes before the end of the lesson, she mentally thanked Thor for his help and put herself on the way to Dumbledore's office. The Headmaster was surprised to see her so early.
- 'Yesterday I asked Professor Snape if he could help me learning to control my emotions, he agreed, but I should manage to get long time detention with him. He just gave me five weeks. I hope that will be enough.'
- 'I hope for you. We lost a lot of time yesterday, it's good that you're early here today, let's start, shall we?'
They worked intensively on Transfiguration and Charms until it was time to go to dinner. On the way to the Great Hall, Kate was too curious to not ask.
- 'Professor, did you send Fawkes to me last night?'
- 'What do you mean?'
- 'Well, I was talking with Katie about how much I would like to talk to Charlie about what was happening to me at the moment, how I'm feeling and all, and Fawkes appeared in the Common Room. He came straight to me and proposed me to bring a letter to Charlie. He came back right after the second year left for Astronomy.'
- 'I didn't ask Fawkes anything,' said Dumbledore. 'I thought he went looking for food. It seems like he really appreciates you. He wouldn't have done that otherwise.'
They parted when they entered the Great Hall, Kate joining her friends. She had to finish her homework during dinner as she had detention with Snape. The young witch realised she had to explain how she got detention with Snape for five weeks without telling that it was the plan.
- 'I have detention with Snape tonight,' she started. 'And every Wednesday for five weeks.'
- 'What?' shouted the three second year.
- 'What happened?' asked George.
- 'Well, I thought it would be great to help Thor get along with the other Slytherins,' she whispered, 'so I asked him to annoy me as much as he could. He did so well, I got mad, I conjured a wall of flame between us. Snape was furious, he gave me two weeks detention there, but he didn't say anything to Thor, so I threw his cauldron away, for what I got two weeks more, and well, at that point, did it even matter? I left for going to Dumbledore's office. We didn't work much yesterday because of how I was feeling, so I thought it's better if I was going early. And Snape gave me one week more for leaving. At least it worked out well for Thor, looks like they're talking to him now.'
The twins didn't add anything, they couldn't really ask any question without referring to the previous Saturday with the young Slytherin, what Kate made clear should stay absolutely secret. She kept working on her homework while the boys talked about their day. At the end of the meal, Snape arrived behind the young witch.
- 'Follow me, Labelle, now,' he said in the coldest manner.
She packed her last book in her bag and hurried to follow the Potions Master. She tried to look as unhappy as she should be and noticed a few Slytherin pointing and laughing at her on the other side of the Great Hall. As soon as they entered his office, he closed the door and muffled it.
- 'Are you completely mad?' he exploded. 'Don't you know the spell you used is very Dark and powerful magic? Is that really the path you want to take?'
Kate was taken aback. She hadn't expected such a reaction.
- 'What path do you think I'm taking?' she asked as calmly as she could.
- 'The last known wizard to have used this spell is Grindelwald, he nearly burned Paris to the ground with it. I should have thought about it. You have so much in common. I'll tell Dumbledore we shouldn't let you work with us –'
- 'Will you please calm down?' Kate asked firmly. 'Just because I have similarities with a Dark Wizard doesn't mean I will end up like him. I share similarities with my parents, yet I chose another path. The only reason why I want to help win this war is because I want we all can go back to a quiet life in which we don't have to worry for our loved ones. But seriously, this is first of all a protective charm, even if rooted in Dark magic. I'm not scared of using it, I know I'll be in control. I mean, I can produce a Fiendfyre and stop it. I hate it, though, but I can. To be honest, I want to change the Protego Diabolica spell to root it in a positive magic, but I need to understand it before and for this I need to use it. I'm just certain it can be a powerful protective charm to use during a battle to protect our side.'
- 'It is madness. You don't know where it will lead you,' he breathed. He seemed genuinely worried.
- 'Professor, please! Do you really think I escaped my parents to become the next Dark witch? Seriously? What for a Dark witch would I be, I remind you that I came to you yesterday asking for help because I'm terrified at the idea of hurting the people around me. I went rescuing one of your students last weekend. I got along with Centaurs. Does it sound Dark? And why do you have to compare me with Grindelwald only because I want to try a new spell?'
- 'It's not just this spell. Elemental-magic, divination, occlumency, highly skilled at a very young age, healing abilities, wand-less magic, charisma, need I go on?'
- 'Yes, please. But go on with what tells us apart. Maybe thirst of power, wish to rule the world, not caring how many people would have to suffer and die on the way he'll take to reach his goals… This is nothing I want! I'm not him, I'll never be like him. Of course I know Dark magic, you know my parents. You should know that Aurors also have really good knowledge of Dark magic. It doesn't make them Dark wizards.'
He took some time before whispering 'maybe.'
- 'Surely! It would be great if we could work on how I can control my emotions, it's the reason why I had to get detention with you in the first place.'
Snape asked her to sit down, he sat at his desk and proceeded to explain her how he was himself dealing with his emotions when he had to hide and dissimulate. He told her how aware she should be of every physical sign of change, tension in her shoulders, stomach, chest, anything that would show the presence of a latent emotion. It was at this stage that she should start acting, under-standing what these signs are meaning for her, acknowledging the underlying emotion to avoid it building up until being uncontrollable. He gave her some examples of his own experience, then gave her some homework for the coming week. She had to write down each time she was feeling a stronger emotion, which physical signs she was experiencing, trying to break down a pattern and understanding herself better.
- 'When you will recognise these physical signs, you will be able to see each time you are feeling an emotion that might be problematic. And it will be easier to control it, as you can immediately act on these physical signs, breathing more deeply to release the tension in your chest, actively lowering your shoulders, anything that would act on what you are feeling in your body. That will help lower the intensity of your emotions. It's already quite late, I believe you have your Astronomy class later on, we'll be done for today.'
- 'All right. What should I say was my detention today?'
- 'Re-organising all the potions ingredients in the students cupboard,' he said, waving his wand as all the containers switched places. 'I advise you to truly work for next week, we will start practising.'
Kate's second detention with Snape had been exhausting and frankly frustrating. He started on the subject of her twin sister, asking her to talk about her, and as she never truly could talk about what she felt, she was overwhelmed to the point that it rained heavily in Snape's office. He then switched on to making her angry, alternating between telling she had been a terrible friend for Charlie Weasley and comparing her to Grindelwald again. It was already encouraging for her that she managed to avoid a full thunderstorm raging, only some wind and tension were felt before she managed to calm down. But somehow, hearing once more this comparison with this Dark wizard started to be annoying. She couldn't get it out of her head.
On Friday morning, after breakfast, Dumbledore came to the Gryffindor table, telling Kate that he could not give her her lesson that morning. He just received a message from the Wizengamot that he had to go there. They had a council during the weekend, and an audience had just been added that day. He wouldn't come back before Sunday evening. She went to the library to wait for her Herbology class, but she couldn't focus on what she was reading. The young witch was clearly obsessing about theses similarities she was supposedly sharing with Grindelwald. She already had all troubles in the world working the previous night while the twins were at their quidditch practice. It was easier when people were interacting with her, so Herbology went without troubles.
After lunch, the second year left for their class, Kate told Katie she had some work she could not talk about to do for Dumbledore and she went alone to her classroom. She proceeded to lock the door carefully, using different spells, she muffled it and protected it. The young witch had had a mad idea during lunch and she wanted to try it. She thought really hard about Fawkes, how he could help her, and soon enough, the bird appeared in the classroom and landed on her arm.
- 'Hey Fawkes. You can apparate anywhere, is that right? I need to go to Nurmengard and meet Grindelwald.' The phoenix seemed reluctant. 'I know it's dangerous, but I want to understand why Dumbledore and Snape keep telling me I'm so much like him. You can stay there with me, and if you notice he might attack me, you take me back here.'
The bird took a moment. Kate pleaded, looking as miserable as she could. The bird took off, he turned twice in the room, came closer, she grabbed his leg and in a golden flash, they disappeared. She landed in an empty cell in front of an old man sitting on the ground in a corner.
- 'Who are you?' he asked, totally surprised to see someone there.
Kate looked at him, Fawkes was resting on her shoulder, and she saw how the man was staring at the bird.
- 'Oh, of course, you recognise him! Yes, it's Dumbledore's Phoenix. It doesn't matter who I am, I'm just one of his student.'
- 'Why are you here?' His voice was hoarse from not speaking for a long period of time.
- 'For more than a week now, both Dumbledore and another professor keep telling me how similar I am to you. I wanted to see that by myself.'
- 'You're a child,' he whispered. 'Why aren't you afraid of me?'
- 'Why should I? You're stuck in here for many years, in your own prison, and you don't escape. Either you can't, what would mean you lost your powers somehow, or you don't want to, maybe because of regrets, guilt, or a feeling that you deserve to be here. I hope it's the second option.'
- 'Maybe I just need a wand to be able to escape,' he tried. 'I could steal yours.'
- 'You don't need a wand, I know you can do very powerful wand-less magic, just like me. But it seems we have more similarities: elemental magic, occlumency, very high skills in charms, transfiguration, Defence against the Dark Arts and Dark Arts, healing and sadly, I'm also a seer.'
She turned herself invisible, then visible again but transfigured into someone else before changing back to herself while talking.
- 'Did he send you here?' he whispered.
- 'He doesn't know I'm here. He had to leave for the Wizengamot this morning and won't be back before Sunday.'
- 'You mean, you came here unknown from all? If anything happens, no one will ever know? Don't you think this is extremely foolish?'
From a little move of her hand, she produced a line of this black fire parting the cell between them.
- 'I don't know, you tell me,' she said defiantly.
He stared at her and the fire, speechless. He recognised the spell immediately, he had troubles processing the fact that it was a child who just produced it. Kate put the fire off as easily as she started it.
- 'How old are you?' he breathed.
- 'Twelve. I'm preparing for a war against Voldemort – I'm sure even here you heard about him – for nearly four years now. I don't fear facing you, nor do I fear facing him one day. Your most dangerous feature was to make people rally your side, now you don't have anything to fight for.'
- 'I could have won with someone like you by my side, you seem so powerful.'
- 'I would never have joined you. I discussed this with Dumbledore already. There is no Greater Good, in my opinion, if it's the greater good for only some. The only reason why I decided to fight Voldemort is because I want to help to reach a peaceful world again where we will not have to fear for the life of our loved ones just because their blood status is not good enough. I do not seek power and I do not believe I know the ultimate truth that everybody should follow.'
- 'Maybe you are wiser than I was.'
- 'I don't know, I don't know you. Only what I heard and read about you, and it seems like you were a horrible person. You caused many deaths for your ideology. Both among muggles and magical folks. Your motto sounded good, but the results were disastrous.'
- 'I know, I understood that a few years ago. I've let myself get caught by my ideas, it sounded so good, I wanted to implement it at whatever costs. I know now I was a fool.'
Kate sat down on the ground, right on the other side of the cell. Fawkes was still on her shoulder, she knew he wouldn't leave her there.
- 'What made you understand?' she asked.
He didn't answer. The young witch stared at him, trying to get inside his mind. After a time, images appeared in front of her.
- 'That's interesting,' she said. 'I didn't know it was possible to project false information above the protections around your mind.'
- 'How do you know – '
- 'I'm both a legilimens and an occlumens. I've built like a huge black wall around my mind to protect it from my father's intrusions – my parent's are some of Voldemort's followers – I can recognise when someone uses the same kind of defences. It's like you're projecting a movie on a black wall. It's interesting to see it's possible to lure others. I guess I have something to work on, now. But I do like challenges, I'm sure with a bit of time I'd find a way into your mind.'
- 'Only you don't have time, you have to leave before anyone notice you're gone,' he smiled.
- 'I have a few hours. But it would indeed be easier if you'd tell me what made you change your mind.'
- 'I don't know. I grew up, maybe?' he said ironically.
- 'Did you love him?' Kate asked abruptly.
Grindelwald seemed surprised by this very direct question. He needed a moment before answering, lost in his thoughts.
- 'Of course,' he whispered. 'He was handsome, intelligent, talented, he was able to ground me. I was like fire, ready to spread and destroy everything on my path, he was helping me to settle, think through. Not that I couldn't think by myself, only, I was impulsive, following my emotions, sometimes blindly. Being a seer gave me an extreme feeling of confidence. He was rather using cool logic. With him I would have succeeded. It's probably good that he didn't follow me when I left.'
- 'Why did you leave?'
- 'I felt responsible for what happened, I couldn't look at him in the eyes any more, so I left. It was easier than facing his reproaches. Easier than seeing him hating me.'
- 'Do you know who cast the curse that killed her?'
He shook his head.
- 'It could have been any of us. We were three really angry young men fighting, it was a chaos of spells in every direction. It's impossible to know.'
- 'Then why leave? It was obviously an accident…'
- 'I was responsible for this. If I hadn't been there, it wouldn't have happened. It's my fault. I started it all by torturing Albus's brother. He has all reasons in the world to hate me.'
- 'He's carrying that same guilt ever since. I will not complain that you left him, he came back to his senses after that and that's probably the only thing that happened for the greater good.'
- 'I don't know why I'm telling all of this to a child,' he muttered.
- 'Just see it as a way to let your guilt out. Dumbledore told me about this one and a half week ago.'
- 'I never attacked Britain,' he said, lost in memories. 'I couldn't face him. I pretended to look for ways to do so, I managed to get an Obscurial join my side and told everyone it was to kill Albus, but I never intended to actually kill him. I knew he would defeat it anyway. But how could I even have thought about hurting him? Even after they stole the phial of the blood pact we made, I knew it was just a question of time before he would face me. Imagine that, it never bothered me to kill people standing in my way, but him… Impossible.
'I knew it would come down to that, though, and it happened, both of us facing each other again, it had to, I foresaw it. He seemed emotionless. I was so angry to see that, when I was dealing with my guilt and love for him for so long. It seemed unfair. That's probably the main reason why I fought that much. People said it was the greatest duel that was ever seen. I can't say. It was my frustration and anger fighting, and my love trying to avoid killing him. I think that's why the Elder Wand chose him in the end. He was sure of what he was doing, he simply wanted to stop my madness. And he succeeded.
'They brought me here, in the highest cell of the prison I built. I probably could have found a way to escape, but why? He was right, I was mad. I was blinded by my ideal, not seeing all the lives I would shatter on the way, or rather ignoring them, dismissing them as an unavoidable and unfortunate collateral damage. He didn't even confronted me about what happened the day when his sister died. He didn't say anything. Why should I keep fighting when all I have from the man I love is indifference? Not anger, not love, not hatred, not disappointment, it was just as if I was someone he never met. No matter what I did or would do, I was no one for him any more.'
- 'It's hard to imagine that someone who killed so many people was actually able to love,' Kate whispered.
- 'You're too young to understand the devastating effects of love.'
- 'Why does everyone think it's a matter of age?' she answered, firing up. Wind started to blow, she took notice and took a deep breath, relaxing the tension in her shoulders. 'I know what love is! It's something great and terrifying, something that makes you both stronger and weaker. When you're with the other, it feels like nothing could harm you, like you're the strongest person on earth. But at the same time, you know exactly that, should anything happen to this person, it would destroy you, let you broken in pieces, not knowing how to make a step further.'
Grindelwald looked at the twelve years old intensely, not saying anything any more. Kate was staring, still trying to get inside his mind.
- 'So you're a seer, and you are conscious of your visions. Do you only see the future, or do you also see events as they happen, or sometimes the past?' she asked.
- 'Why do you ask me this?'
- 'I couldn't ask my parents about divination, they would have asked what I foresaw, I'd have had to say I saw them killing my twin sister. And the teacher at school apparently does make predictions, but is in a kind of trance and has no memory of it whatsoever. You're the only other human seer I met that is conscious of what he foresees with whom I can talk, I'm interested.'
- 'I only see the future, but you don't, do you?'
Kate shook her head.
- 'I see the future, of course, and I hate it. But I also regularly see things that are happening, and a few weeks ago I saw something that happened nine years ago.'
- 'Why do you hate seeing the future? It's extremely helpful.'
- 'Is it? What I see cannot be changed. I saw my twin sister would be killed by my parents when I was eight, how is that helpful? What's the help of seeing my sister being killed twice? I saw the war that will come when I was seven years old, the only positive thing that came out of it is that after my sister died, I decided to prepare myself to fight this war against my parents. I see things that are completely overwhelming. I hate foreseeing what will happen.'
- 'Maybe you are just too young to understand the benefits of this…'
- 'Or maybe, as I don't want to manipulate people, I don't need that knowledge anyway. Because that's how you used it, right? Telling people that's what Muggles will do, and it's the reason why they needed you to be in charge, to avoid it happening. But you knew what you foresee can't be change, didn't you?'
- 'Possible... How will you learn how to master your gift if your professor is terrible?'
- 'I befriended a Centaur in the Forbidden Forest, I managed to convince the leader of the herd that I was no threat for them, he allowed me to go there when I need guidance.'
- 'If it can make you feel better, you are very different from who I was. No Centaur would have let me put a foot on their territory. I would probably have killed them anyway because I would have deemed them useless.'
- 'It's ironic that you fought against Muggles because of their prejudice against us when you hold so much. You believe Muggles are all terrible humans who can't rule upon themselves, who are dangerous for us and them. You believe you are superior to all other species. What is useless to you doesn't need to exist.'
- 'I was like this, indeed. But I believe I changed. Maybe it's because Albus forgot what he was feeling for me that I realised I'm not the middle point of everything and thus, not everything has to fit my beliefs. I wished he would have killed me that day. It's not losing that duel that hurt, but knowing that I completely lost him. Maybe the reason why I never tried to escape is because he mattered more than all I fought for, and that was over.'
- 'People say you never attacked Great Britain because you were scared he would defeat you.'
- 'I was scared, but not of a defeat. As long as I wasn't seeing him, I couldn't know how much he hated me, if he forgot me, fell in love with someone else, … I preferred keeping this little hope that maybe he still loved me to going and being sure I lost him. What meant Great Britain without him?'
- 'Do you regret what you did?'
- 'I regret that I spread death and destruction, I regret that I caused so much pain to many people, I was stupid or cold hearted enough to believe that as long as the goal is good, the path you take is not relevant.'
Kate looked at him silently for a moment. She found a tiny breach in his defences, she went in his mind and felt pain and guilt all around her. She slowly went back to herself.
- 'He never forgot you,' she whispered. 'When he talked about you, there was this strange light in his eyes, a mix of regrets and pain. He feels guilty for his love for you, as much as for the death of his sister, and for what he would have done if that hadn't happened.'
- 'If it can help him, tell him that it was me, that I killed his sister. Tell him that I'm sorry for all the pain I caused, to everyone, but especially to him.'
They heard a door open in the distance, Kate stood up immediately, she took out her wand and conjured a blanket for the old man – there was nothing in this cell – on which the words 'we never truly heal from the people we love' were written. Fawkes started flying.
- 'Thank you for telling me all of this,' she breathed before grasping the bird's leg as someone was approaching.
And they disappeared in a golden flash. Kate appeared in the classroom, someone was knocking on the door. She quickly thanked Fawkes and sent him away before opening. It was Fred and George and they were both worried when they saw how blemish she was.
- 'What were you doing, we're knocking for twenty minutes now?' asked Fred.
- 'What happened?' asked George. 'You got some bad news?'
The young witch shook her head but still didn't say anything. The twins were pressuring her with questions, however, so she took her wand, secured the door, and once again, she cast a Fidelius charm, making her secret keeper of her visit to Nurmengard. She couldn't take the risk that anyone else discovered what she had done that afternoon. No matter how well Dumbledore was thinking of her, he wouldn't like that she left school using his Phoenix to visit the dangerous man he loved. Once she was done, she stared at them for a few seconds before talking.
- 'The reason why I didn't open is because I wasn't there.'
- 'But you opened the door from inside,' started Fred.
- 'And you can't apparate within the school,' finished George.
- 'Indeed, I can't,' she said before marking a pause. 'But Fawkes can.'
- 'But… That's Dumbledore's Phoenix.'
- 'I know, but we share some connection. Last week he came to the Common Room offering me to bring a letter to Charlie when I was feeling so distressed.'
- 'So, where were you?'
- 'In Nurmengard,' she answered coldly.
- 'What?! You're not serious – You have to be kidding –' the twins said in disbelief.
- 'You remember how for one and a half week now, both Dumbledore and Snape are comparing me to Grindelwald? I had to see by myself. When Dumbledore told me this morning he wouldn't be there until Sunday evening, it gave me the idea to ask Fawkes. So I came in this classroom after lunch, protected the door as much as I could, and I called Fawkes. He came, I explained him where I wanted to go, he was a bit reluctant, but he agreed in the end. He stayed with me the whole time, the deal was if he sees a danger, he's bringing me back.'
- 'But – what have you done there?' asked George, trying to stay calm.
- 'We talked.'
- 'He didn't try anything against you?' asked Fred in a shaking voice.
- 'No. He meant that I was completely stupid to join someone like him in a cell, when he could steal my wand and escape. He stopped trying to impress me when I conjured wand-lessly the black fire with which he nearly burnt Paris to the ground.'
- 'What did you talk about?'
- 'I can't tell. A lot of really private matters. At some point he said he would have succeeded with someone like me by his side, so I explained him all the reasons why I wouldn't have joined him. He also expressed a lot of regrets regarding all he did, all the suffering he caused.'
- 'He just want you to find someone to free him!' commented Fred.
- 'He always was super skilled in wand-less magic, if he wanted to escape, he could. I believe it's because he truly regrets his actions that he stays in jail. And whom would I ask to free him as no one should ever know that I left school?'
- 'You realise he could have attacked you, maybe killed you, and no one would have known where you were?' asked George.
- 'I know, but he didn't. He didn't even made a move towards me.'
- 'Was that at least helpful for you?'
- 'I think so. He said himself I'm very different from the man he was. And I discovered it is possible to project an image outside of the protection I have around my mind to lure legilimens. I'll try to work on that.'
- 'Then why are you looking so terrible?'
- 'Shortly before I had to leave, I found a tiny breach in his defences and I managed to get in his mind. All I could feel was pain and regrets, it was really heavy. I couldn't talk about it with him because a door opened and someone seemed to approach, I had to leave.'
- 'Nobody else saw you there?'
- 'No. Maybe the person coming saw the golden flash, but they haven't seen me. And Grindelwald doesn't know who I am. I just told him I was one of Dumbledore's student because he recognised Fawkes. Even if they ask, I don't think he would give any information about me.'
- 'Why do you think so?' wondered George.
- 'He won't do anything that might be detrimental to Dumbledore.'
- 'How are you so sure?' asked Fred.
Kate shook her head. She couldn't say more than this.
- 'All right, you can't tell,' George said. 'But you don't look like you're feeling well. Can we do anything for you?'
- 'I think I took some of his guilt and regrets with me while leaving his mind, it's quite heavy to carry. I don't know how to get rid of it.'
George came closer, he took Kate in his arms and stroke her head.
- 'That's not yours to carry, you have to let it go,' he whispered.
- 'We should go outside,' proposed Fred. 'It's quite windy today, maybe you can try to let this be carried away by the wind.'
- 'That's a good idea,' she smiled.
- 'But before we go, please, promise us that you won't ever do something like this again without at least telling us before. This way we can warn someone if you take too long to come back and you might need help.'
Kate nodded, smiling weakly. They left the room and walked out of the castle. The trio went straight to the Lake, as it was where the wind was strongest, obviously what the girl preferred. She climbed on a rock and stood there, facing the wind, eyes closed, imagining all what she was carrying that didn't belong to her being taken away by the flowing air. After a few minutes, she went down and the three of them started to make ricochets on the lake. Soon enough, Kate started to create movement in the water to avoid Fred and George beating her all the time. They playfully fought in the grass, laughing hard. One hour later, Kate stood up.
- 'I haven't been to Hagrid's in a while, maybe we should pay him a visit,' she said.
The twins found the idea good and the trio walked to Hagrid's hut. The huge man opened the door, surprised to see them there, but let them in anyway. He started preparing tea for all of them. Fang seemed really happy to see Kate again, he sat beside her, his head on her lap.
- 'I realised I didn't come since last time I saw Charlie, it's not really polite of me, especially as you helped me that day. So I thought I could give you some news from him,' explained Kate.
When Hagrid was done serving tea, he sat down with them. The young witch showed him the picture Charlie sent her and gave Hagrid the latest news that came with Charlie's last letter the week before. The Gamekeeper was really happy to know how he was doing and he was in awe in front of the baby dragon on the picture. They talked about dragons until it was time to go for dinner.