Elle-poohbear: I know it's a little scary, but I love suspense.

cRyStaLvioLinIst: Thank you, and here's an update.

elvenrarehunter: But you did get another chapter out of it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Potter.

Words of Warning

Katie skillfully flipped the fried newt sandwich that was sizzling in the frying pan. Her flat seemed much quieter than normal without Oliver around. They had decided to cut back his visits to no more than three days a week so that no one else would become suspicious. It was bad enough having Dumbledore watching their every move to make sure that they were not doing anything the Blue Flame would deem "illegal."

With a sigh, she slid the sandwich out of the pan and onto a plate she had grabbed from an upper cabinet. She made a mental note to ask Oliver to bring her more interesting food; fried newt sandwiches were getting a bit tired. Not that she was extremely hungry, it was more like a habit of forcing food down. German negotiations were less than two weeks away, and most mornings her stomach felt like there was a mariachi band inside it doing the conga. She had despised having a nervous stomach since the first time she got ill, her final potions exam her first year.

Her eyes wandered over to the wall clock. Any moment, Angelina would arrive. Dumbledore had said that she had important news for Katie. Katie hoped that it meant the intensely free-spirited girl could continue her assignments in the field. As dangerous as the assignments could be, Angelina despised being stuck behind a desk for hours on end.

She took a gigantic bite of her sandwich, glad that her stomach seemed to have settled down for the time being.

There was the usual pop as a person arrived in her flat. Katie turned around, some cheese hanging from her mouth. Angelina looked much better than she had the first week after her last assignment. The only evidence of the unforgivable curse that she had been hit with was a tiny faded scar on her chin.

Angelina hugged her tightly. "You're not going to believe this!"

Katie grinned and swallowed. "Dumbledore said you had something to tell me. Have they put you back in the field?"

Her face fell slightly, but the smile remained. "Not in the field, no, but you are looking at the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for Hogwarts."

Katie shrieked. "You're joking!"

"Nope. Dumbledore decided the students would benefit from my experience, and I can still do work for the Order without being stuck in the office." She stole part of Katie's sandwich and stuffed it in her mouth. "Snape is pissed."

"I would imagine," Katie laughed, "not that we really care how he feels."

Angelina's face softened. "Snape isn't the person we always thought he was. He has his reasons for everything he did."

"And his reason for making me absolutely miserable for seven years was what?" Katie asked bitterly.

"I said he had his reasons, not that I knew what they were."

They grew silent for a moment, the only sound being Katie chewing on her food as she thought about Angelina's words. They did not matter much to her at the moment. She was no longer at Hogwarts and the odds of her ever seeing her former potions teacher again were extremely small.

"How's Fred?" she asked, tactfully changing the subject.

"Good, but paranoid," Angelina sighed, "ever since I got out of St. Mungo's, he's been worried that something might happen."

"Well, he did see you get hit with an unforgivable curse. You almost died right in front of his eyes and there was nothing he could do." She took her plate back to the kitchen and got them both bottles of butterbeer. "We've already lost Alicia…"

Angelina twisted the top off her bottle and took a swig. She relished the sweet taste in her mouth.

"Well, I'm safe now," she muttered, "not much trouble I can get into at Hogwarts, but Fred… I worry every day he's gone. I worry about all of them, even you."

"I'm safe here," Katie assured her, "Dumbledore is watching after me. Besides, no one can get past the charms on this flat."

"Oliver can."

Katie's eyes opened wide.

'Don't think we didn't notice that Oliver barely ever sees Dumbledore about coming to visit you," Angelina told her, "but we know he's here. Katie, please, promise me you two will be careful."

"We are careful," Katie retorted indignantly, "our careers are at stake."

"I'm not talking about your careers, Katie. I'm talking about your lives."

"No one knows that he knows how to reach me, except apparently you, Fred, and George!"

Angelina groaned with frustration. "Voldemort has ways of finding these things out."

"Then why are you still visiting me?'

"Because I don't know how to transport myself to the flat. I don't have that secret, but Oliver does!"

Katie set the glass bottle down on the coffee table so hard, she was shocked it did not shatter.

"But Voldemort doesn't know about us. Why would he even care?!"

Angelina took a deep breath. "You are about to go into negotiations with a suspected deatheater. You know that. What if he really is a deatheater? What do you think Stovald is going to do?" She tugged on a loose strand of hair. "He is going to go straight to Voldemort. Voldemort would like nothing better than to take down a few more Blue Flame members."

"Voldemort has bigger fish to fry than me."

"Katie, I talked to Snape yesterday," Angelina said, staring Katie straight in the eye, "He's been, well, he spies on Voldemort's inner circle. He pretends to be double-crossing Dumbledore."

Katie's eyes grew even wider.

"He said Voldemort is planning a strike against one of the secret ministry organizations. They haven't said which one, but… Katie, watch what you say at this meeting. Do not give anything away. Please, don't give them a reason to go after you."