*~*~Somewhere I Belong~*~*

Kat felt the rush of fear hit her as she walked down the long marble hallway to the Minister's office. The last time she had been here, she had been sent to Azkaban.
She reached a huge door and shivered. She knocked and walked in.
"Father." Kat said nodding.
"Kat. My, haven't you grown since I last saw you." the Minister said sullenly.
"Cut the crap. What do you want?" Kat said warningly.
"I want you to stay away from Hogwarts for a while. Until the entire Death Eater break-in dies down. I want you to come home for a week or two." he said softly. His eyes showed compassion for his daughter.
"Why? I mean. You know I had no part in that. You do believe me, right?" Kat whispered.
"I believe you, but Dumbledore doesn't. He's ready to expell you. That's why I want you home for a while. So he can't blame anything on you." Fudge wet his lips. He hoped that she would stay with him for a while.
"I'll stay home," Kat said. "But I'm not staying two weeks. The longest I'll stay is," she looked at her father, who was gray with old age, and smiled. "Two days tops."
"Fine, go and get ready. I'll send a carriage to get you tomorrow." Kat turned to leave then stopped. She ran over to her father and hugged him.
"Thanks, Daddy." she said.
"You're welcome. Sleep well." he whispered to her disappearing shadow.
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Sirius was sittng in the Slytherin Common Room when Kat got back. Kat tld him that she was going home for two days and that she would write to him. He watched her pack and then walked with her to dinner.
Dumbledore watched her closely and when dinner was over, she had been sitting in the common room with Kilia when Snape walked into the common room.
Snape walked over to Kat, "You are wanted, Miss Fudge. Dumbledore's office, now."
"Yes, sir!" Kat said enthusiastically. She got up and left.
When she reached Dumbledore's office, she knocked and entered. To her surprise, there were dementors in the office.
"Err... Professor. You wanted to see me?" Kat said looking around.
"I just wanted to make sure you are leaving. You are, aren't you?" Dumbledore said calmly. His blue eyes twinkled with merriment.
"Yes. I will be gone two days." she said.
"Good. Have fun. You may leave." Dumbledore said, his voice gettiing cold.
Kat left and went down to her dorm. She went to sleep and before she knew it, she was at breakfast again.
She ate in silence and then kissed Sirius goodbye and left. When she was home, she just plopped down onto her bed.
She looked around to the familiar things in her room. She grew up in this room. 'This is my home.' she thought. Suddenly, she heard a loud crash come from outside.
She walked over to her window that overlooked the Graveyard and smiled. It was at this moment that she realized her place in the world.
"This is where I belong" she murmured to herself.
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The day went by in a blur of events. The Death Eaters were glad she was back. Kat spent time with her father as well. Actually, things went pretty well. Her father, she figured out, was trying to be a good role model for her. Her brother, Michael, was getting married. To Kat's surprise, he was marrying Alex's sister!
"Ali, did you ever think when we were growing up that you would marry Mikey?" Kat asked that evening.
"Nope. I never did. You will be home for the wedding, right? I mean I want you as my Maid of Honor." Ali said.
"Of course! Who would miss their brother's wedding? I wouldn't miss it for the world. When are you guys planning it?" she said.
"In the spring. Man, did you know how much we all missed your big mouth around here. We missed always knowing what to do and how to do it. Now, everything is out of order. I can't wait until you're done with school." Ali murmured.
"Don't worry, Al. I'll be back soon. I still have the summer, remember? Anyways, this summer is going to be kind of dull, too." Kat said and she looked at the evening sky, thinking about Sirius. 'I wonder what he is doing right now.' she thought.
"Kat, what happened between you and Alex? I mean, he wrote me this long letter saying that you guys broke up because you did something that made him want to let you go." Ali said looking at her.
"Yeah. Something did happen. I fell in love." Kat grinned. "No, not puppy love. Serious love." She frowned. "This guy, on the first day there, gave me a note like, you know, shit about being a Death Eater and all. I was talking to him after the feast and he ended up kissing me and it was strange. We've been dating ever since. I haven't talked to Alex much. I feel kind of bad." Kat looked at her soon to be sister-in-law.
"Alex misses you. He says that he thinks your happy without him around. He's trying to stay out of your way so you can be happy. He really loves you and he wants what is best for you. Oh, great. I sound like my mother." Ali whispered.
Kat laughed. "No you don't." Her tone got serious. "I'm going to write to Alex now. I just don't know what I'm going to say, though." Kat said getting up.
She went to her room and shut and locked the door. She pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill and ink bottle and sat down at her desk. She paused for a minute and then wrote.
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Hey. Sorry for the cliff hanger but I need to start another chapter soon. I think my editors are more anxious to see what happens than you, the readers, are. Well, I hope you've enjoyed this so far. I was thinking about making 5 or 6 more chapters and then an ending chapter. What do you think? Please read and review. I'd really appreciate it! Thanks! --Kat