A/N: Sorry, this chapter turned into a song fic for some reason. So I think I only put in two or three stanzas of a song, but if it makes not sense to you, just skip it because it isn't like major to the plot, it just makes it more dramatic for some reason, even though it doesn't contribute. But all you people who have ever enjoyed Fiona Apple; this one's for you!







~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
And I went crazy again today
Looking for a strand to climb
Looking for a little hope
I said, "honey I don't feel so good,
Don't feel justified
Come on put a little love into my void."
He said, "It's all in your head!"
And I said, "So's everything."
But he didn't get it
I thought he was a man
But he was just a little boy.
~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*





Katherine stared at the great shaggy dog with a weary eye. The days had grown uncomfortable and she was growing restless. Matters didn't help when she had been trying to find Harry and had overheard a conversation in the locker rooms between Sirius and him.

She silently scolded herself for running away. ~* Running away like a scared horse *~ She told herself gently. Katherine broke the stare and went back to Hermione, who was chatting happily about her grade on the last test.

"I can't believe I got a hundred and four percent," She said, her eyes sparkling. "I barely studied."

"Oh right, Mya (and I will be calling you that now)! You studied for weeks!" She said and wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Mya?"

"Yes, Mya. You know Her- MYA- nee! It works, I swear. Plus, Hermione is a mouthful of a name. Simplify and grow."

"You are strange."

"I wouldn't be talking."

"Can I sit down or is this girl talk?" Seamus asked. He had been wandering around from group to group all morning.

"Come, join the grotto." Katherine said and gestured to the little empty circle of chairs.

Seamus grinned evilly and plopped down on her lap. Pretending to be quite content he yawned and stretched while Katherine squirmed to get him off.

"Who do I get to sit on?" Ron asked, coming down the stairs and joining them.

"I'm taken!" Katherine said in a muffled voice from behind Seamus's back.

Hermione blushed.

"No, I wouldn't do that to you." Ron said with a slight shake of the head and plopped down in a chair next to her.

"Okay- I am so not feeling the love here." Lavender whined and sat down. Seamus (who had it bad for her) immediately stopped pinning Kat down and went to go sit by her.

Neville, who had been struggling with homework in a corner now joined them too. Dean, who was trying to help him with the homework, followed shaking his head and looking back over his shoulder at bunt up pile of that had once been his Charms book.

"Neville, you don't add that extra syllable in the spell, Ovegrantium…oops." His wand emitted puffs of strange smelling perfume. "See?" He recovered and continued, "That's what's supposed to happen."

"I tried." Neville shrugged.

"Who are we missing?"

"Parvati and Harry."

"I'm here." Parvati sat next to Seamus.

"Where's Harry?"

"With the dog." Parvati said. "I just don't get it. Snuffles is just a dog. How does he just sit there with a dog…alone…for more than a half an hour?"

"Another mystery." Neville said flatly.

"Maybe it's not a dog…" Lavender said suddenly, her eyes sparkling. "Maybe it's- uh- maybe it's actually a real body guard who is an unlisted animagus!"

Everybody laughed some more nervously than others.

"I think it could be." Seamus said thoughtfully. " I mean, I swear that dog actually understands us sometimes."

"Maybe it's just smart." Hermione said with staged innocence.

"Yeah, a lot of Wizarding dogs are really smart." Ron ventured, looking shifty.

"That is true." Parvati said. "I had a dog once that could jump 15 feet in the a- hi Harry!"

"Hey." Harry sat down. "Talking about me?"

"Oh yeah." Katherine said. "We were gossiping all about you…we said-"

"That I'm fat?" Harry retorted with fake exasperation.

"What?" Parvati asked, laughing. "We were only talking about-"

"Yo Mamma!" Harry finished. Katherine shook her head.

"Crazy." She muttered. "Absolutely crazy."


~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*




Winter melted into spring and the days grew longer and warmer. Quidditch matches were starting to be every weekend and Voldemort's attacks were hard to come by. Fear was fading and hope was rising. Harry was almost sure Dumbledore would be letting him out of the castle for something other than Quidditch practice.

But he didn't relent.

Harry was getting sick and tired of the castle for the first time in his life. It made no sense to him because he had always loved the castle and it was like a home to him.

But on the other hand, you would be sick of something to if you were stuck inside it for over two months.

He forced himself not to even look at the hump backed Witch when he passed it to get to Transfiguration. He never dug around in his trunk so he could avoid seeing the invisibility cloak. And he kept his newly fixed car in a pair of Vernon's old socks so he wasn't tempted to just ride away.

So many escape plans were useless. So many chances to get away gone to waste. And Harry knew he shouldn't leave that night when everybody was asleep in the dorm, but he did it. He hated himself for it, but he did it.

He sat up in bed one night. Sirius was asleep in his doggie bed growling softly in his sleep and Neville was covering up Harry's footfalls with his loud snores. It was a perfect plan.

He tiptoed down the stairs and walked into the common room. Nobody was there thankfully and he went on. He made it to the Fat Lady.

"You must be crazy." Said a quiet, flat voice from the other side of the round room. Harry, half covered with the invisibility cloak turned around to see Katherine.

"Crazy?"

"Crazy not to even think of waking me up." She winked and walked silently over to him.

"How did you know?" Harry asked.

Katherine smiled and pointed to her eyes and then to his.

"You know- the telepathic thing we have going for us."

"Oh. Don't listen to my thoughts. That's evil."

"I'm evil…what can I say?" She shrugged.

"Are you going to tell on me?"

"How old are you, 8? I just want to come with."

"Okay fine then. It might be a squeeze but if you can fit in here you're welcome to come with me."

"I think we can make it."

~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*

"Watch out for the bump." Harry warned as they climbed the stairs.

"What?" Katherine asked. With a * SMACK * her head thumped the trap door that lead them into the candy store. "Oh…" She continued faintly. "That bump."

"Shhh- shh!" Harry pressed a finger to her mouth. "The owners live on the upper level. We have to be very, very quiet."

"It's wabbit season. We have to be vewy vewy quiet." She said, impersonating Elmer Fudd. Harry chuckled silently and then making sure no sound could be heard from the outside, pushed up the trap door.

"Cool huh?" Harry asked. Kat nodded and took the hand offered to help her out.

"Is there a party going on in there or something?" Katherine wondered. Harry looked at her oddly.

"Party?"

"Listen!"

"Okay. Shut it!" Harry strained his ears and sure enough there was a racket behind the thick oak door leading out of the storeroom.

"Let's go see." Katherine whined.

~* Don't talk out loud. ~*

~* Good thinking ~*

~* That was a horrible pun Kat. ~*

~* Sorry. Come on budge up! ~*

~* You sound like you're from England now. ~*

~* It's rubbing off on me. ~*

They walked up the stairs into the main room. Harry was shocked at the sight he saw. The candy shelves were gone and they had been replaced with a bar and scantily dressed women handing out alcoholic beverages to men.

~* Now who would have guessed that? ~* Kat thought disgustedly. ~* Harry let's get out of here. ~*

~* What? Oh. Uh- sure. ~* Harry tore his eyes away from the scene and led her out of the store.

~* That's horrible. A burlesque house…in THIS town? ~*

~* It seems to be so. ~*

~* Oh you enjoyed that I expect. ~*

~* Actually, I was more startled. ~*

~* Sure…even you aren't THAT innocent. ~*

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Harry retorted out loud.

~* It means, dip shit, that you have nothing bad on your record. What have you done that's horrible? Tell me! ~*

~* I snuck out of the castle in my third year and hit Malfoy…that brainless git…in the back of the head with mud. ~*

~* Oh whoopee. ~*

~* I uh- cheated in the Triwizard Tournament. I got outside help. ~*

~* Everybody cheats in the Triwizard Tournament, Harry. ~*

~* I cheated on every single one of my Divination Quizzes. ~*

~* We all do that, but you are getting better ~*

~* I made a glass disappear at a zoo and had a boa constrictor chase my cousin and his friend. ~*

~* That has potential. ~*

~* That's it. ~*

~* Okay, you aren't that clean but you aren't anywhere close to being bad. ~*

~* Oh, what have you done that's so horrible? ~*

~* In America I made a love potion that would make you be attracted to this ugly boy who worked in the cafeteria and slipped it in my worst enemy's chocolate milk. ~*

~* That's mean. ~*

~* The boy loved it…. Once I - ~*

~* Just remembered something. We made an illegal potion and snuck into the Slytherin Common room. ~*

~* That's cool. Once I got mad at my step dad and I dyed my hair neon green with bright pink streaks and pretended to be addicted to cigarettes. It was a hoot. ~*

~* That isn't too bad. ~*

~* It was still really funny. ~*

~* You are strange. ~*

~* You aren't like any boy I've ever met. ~*

"What?" Harry blurted out.

"I mean to say that nobody else I know would forgive a friend in less than five minutes after ruining his car."

"She paid for the replacements."

"And you paid half of it."

"She was short on money. She owes me 450 galleons."

"Ooh. But even so, Harry you're not judgmental at all."

"Um- Kat? Have you seen me and Malfoy?"

"Okay he deserves to be judged. You are smart and funny-"

Harry snorted loudly and said, "Hardly."

"Harry, you don't seem to understand that I'm flirting." Kat said. They were far out of town, and making sure nobody was around she took off the cloak.

"I knew that." Harry said and studied his shoes. "I just don't know if we should get involved in a-"

"Just shut up and kiss me." Katherine said and drew him up by the lapels and kissed him full on the mouth. Harry regained balance before returning the gesture. His brain buzzed with comments like, 'why do I never make the first move?' and 'If she digs her nails any harder into my back I'm going to bleed.'

Something barked very loudly but they continued on as if they hadnt noticed. The something barked again.

Katherine muttered, "Shut up."

"I'm not talking," Harry said and moved down her neck momentarily before finding her lips again.

Something was pulling at the hem of Harry's robes.

"I wasn't talking to- oh shit!" She said against his lips. She glanced down to see an angry shaggy black dog pulling madly at Harry's robes. Harry looked down and cursed as well. They pulled apart, blushing up a storm.

"She was suffocating…" Harry began.

"And then I tripped and fell and I just happened to fall right on his lips…"

"And then I thought we heard thunder, and we're both terrified of that so we gripped each other for safety…"

"And then--"

Sirius barked for silence and then in an instant he was a man again and was scowling.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT- HARRY POTTER I WAS TOLD YOU HAD STRICT ORDERS TO STAY IN THE CASTLE AND YOU!" He pointed at his daughter. "YOU COMING WITH HIM LIKE THAT WHEN YOU KNEW EXACTLY WHAT WAS HAPPENING. I'M VERY DISSAPOINTED YOU TWO, VERY DISAPOINTED! SNEAKING AWAY ON A SCHOOL NIGHT AND WITHOUT EVEN TELLING ANYBODY WHERE YOU WERE GOING! RON AND HERMIONE WERE IN FITS OVER YOU TWO! THEY WOKE ME UP! SEEMED TO THINK I MIGHT KNOW WHERE YOU TWO HAD GONE. AND I HAD TO DIG THROUGH YOU THINGS HARRY TO FIND THAT BLASTED MAP TO FIND YOU! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WOULD PUT US THROUGH ALL THIS TROUBLE- JUST TO HAVE ME CATCH YOU TWO MAKING OUT! I'M DISGUSTED AT THAT DISPLAY!"

He ranted on for what seemed to be hours. It was only when Katherine stormed away when he stopped yelling.

"Sirius." Harry held a hand in front of his godfather's chest to hold him back. "I think I should handle this one, okay?"

"Leave." Sirius said and waved him away. He began muttering about teenagers as he left.

"Kat- wait." Harry said and jogged to catch up to her. He grabbed her wrist to hold her back. "Don't worry about him. He's supposed to be guarding me. We are at fault here I suppose… and me running away when I'm in danger like this wasn't smart. Plus-"

"God Harry, you think I'm upset that I got caught making out with you?"

"Well-"

"I'm upset because this is the first time I've ever even seen my real father up close and he's already chewing me out." She looked into his eyes. "Just let me go. I don't care if I get in trouble back at school. I'll make your excuses if you want. Just let me go. Let- go- of- me!"

Sirius ran up to them just as Katherine began to leave again. He put a hand on her shoulder. She stopped and glared at him viciously.

"Don't touch me." She hissed and walked briskly down the road they were on. Sirius stared at her retreating back.

"What was that all about?"

"Later Sirius. Later." Harry scooped up his cloak and ran down to walk with Kat. Sirius blinked and they were gone. Unnerved by Katherine and Harry's response to his concern for their safety Sirius turned into a dog and decided to spend the night howling at the moon with the wolves.

~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
Hunger hurts, and I want it, so bad
Oh it kills
Cause I know I'm a mess
You don't wanna clean up
I've got to fold cause
These hands are too shaky
To hold
Hunger hurts. But Starvin'
It works
When it calls too much to love.

~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*



A/N: Okay- that would be the awkward chapter. I dunno if you've read my story called The Love Children, but if you have you know the kids in that book accept their father in two seconds. So I decided to "write out of the box" and make her and Sirius not get along. At all. Anyway, if you don't like how I added all the Fiona Apple in there, please don't include that in your reviews because I really don't know if I like it either, But if you did, please tell me and maybe I'll add more.

Credits: I'm going to thank some people right now, okay? Krazy Kris and someone2 have been cool, along with NoReply and Malena. I'd also like to thank Katy Burrito for being a cool bean (oh the puns!) and also Rishi Khiara and Idgit. So you should check some of these people's stories out because they're cool, okay?