Disclaimer: Potter obviousley does not belong to me.

When All Falls Into Place

Katie struggled to get her dress to close over her six month pregnant stomach while it strained uncomfortably against the black fabric. It had been two months before Dr. Langford decided she and Oliver were well enough to leave St. Mungo's. The Ministry had immediately scheduled a hearing for all of them which she was now dressing for in a concealed private room at Hogwarts.

"Bloody hell!" she yelled in frustration and collapsed on her bed, the zipper still only half zipped.

Immediately, there was a knock on her door.

"Katie, are you alright?" Angelina called through the large wooden door.

She sighed and pulled herself up to let her friend in.

"No," she complained, opening the door, "We're about to face at least five Ministry officials who have the power to ruin our lives forever, and my bulging stomach will be constantly reminding them of my transgression!"

Angelina patted her on the shoulder and took out her wand. Katie's zipper was soon zipped and Angelina was handing her dress robes.

"Everything will turn out fine in the end, Katie. I know it will."

She turned to leave, but Katie quickly grabbed her arm.

"Angelina?"

"Yeah?"

"About, well, that night," she chewed on her lower lip thoughtfully, "Who was it that saved us?"

Angelina smiled. "Professor Snape found you. He gave up his cover to save you."

Oliver paced anxiously up and down the halls of the Ministry waiting for everyone else to arrive. He had not seen Katie since they had left the hospital. The Ministry had separated them, sending her to Hogwarts and him to stay with George, hidden from everyone lest Voldemort try again to kill them.

"Will you stop that," George hissed, "You're making me nervous."

Kathy put her finger to his lips. "You have nothing to be nervous about," she told him, "The Ministry never should have come up with such cockamamie rules in the first place. Voldemort would have found his way to Katie in some way."

Oliver watched them briefly, allowing himself to forget about the hearing while Kathy calmed George's nerves.

"Is that Kathy?"

He turned to see Katie standing beside him. It was hard for him to believe how much her stomach had grown and that it was his child she was carrying. Granted, she was not due for another three months and would probably get bigger, but parts of him almost did not believe the situation was real.

"Yeah, that's her."

"He looks happy."

Oliver slipped his arm around her waist. "Aye, he is. I just hope this hearing doesn't destroy all that."

Katie bit her lip nervously. "I hope so, too."

The door to the courtroom opened and Percy Weasley stuck his head out. "They're ready to see you now."

Kathy gave George a quick kiss and whispered something in his ear. He nodded somberly. Oliver removed his arm from Katie's waist, hoping not to draw anymore ire from the Ministry. The six of them filed into the room and sat at a long table. Five Ministry officials sat before them, Cornelius Fudge in the center. Percy was off to the side, his quill poised to write. Arthur Weasley had managed to convince Fudge to allow him to watch the trial of his twin sons andhis daughter-in-law. Katie was sure that he had not come to support her and Oliver for she had never really met the patriarch of the Weasley family. Guilt coursed through her for putting him through the hell of worrying if his sons would be thrown into Azkaban for the rest of their lives.

Cornelius Fudge ran his eyes over them, stopping to eye Katie's burgeoning belly.

"I trust that you all understand why you are here."

They nodded.

"Good," he turned to the other officials, "we would all love an explanation of why you felt that Ministry rules and regulations do not apply to you."

Oliver could feel his stomach drop. There was no decent explanation for their behavior.

"It is my fault," Dumbledore spoke up, "I allowed them to believe that what they were doing was in the best interest of Miss Bell."

"That's not so!" Angelina disagreed.

The Ministry turned their eyes to her as Percy's quill scratched furiously across the parchment. Angelina's throat went dry.

"We knew what we were doing was wrong," Fred finished for her.

"We were just worried about her," George added.

"If you were so concerned for her, why didn't you stay away?" He was staring hard at Oliver. "You knew these rules were in place to protect her. You nearly destroyed years' worth of work and placed Miss Bell's life in danger."

Oliver could feel his nails digging into the palm of his hand. He was seething with anger.

"You put her in danger! You're the ones who sent her to negotiate with a suspected deatheater!"

Fudge leapt out of his seat. "That was out of order, Mr. Wood!"

"You're lucky Stovald didn't kill her right there!"

"Sit down, Wood!"

Katie grabbed his shirt sleeve and dragged him down.

"We can't afford to anger them anymore," she whispered, "just let me talk."

She stood up. "Mr. Fudge, they were only trying to help me." Her voice rang out clearly in the room. "I was completely isolated in that little flat. A few more days alone and I would have given up hope entirely. They helped keep me sane."

Her friends nodded.

All five Ministry officials stared down at her.

"Is that all?" Fudge asked.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "The rules need to be revised. It is highly illogical to expect a person to give up their friends and family. It is even more illogical to expect them to not love someone or act on those feelings. It goes against human nature. We understand that we did wrong, but you need to admit that the Ministry was also in the wrong."

Fudge's face turned red with anger.

"The Ministry is NEVER wrong!"

"Never wrong?!" George exclaimed, "What about denying the existence of Voldemort for a full year! If you hadn't been so pigheaded, Katie wouldn't have had to be apologizing to the other Ministries for you!"

The room became dead silent. Even Percy had stopped writing.

"Please," Katie pleaded, "You made a mistake and so did we, but is it really worth sending us all to Azkaban?"

Fudge stared at her.

"All right," he relented, "I agree it is foolish to expect human beings to deny natural emotions and isolate them from civilization, but you still broke the rules we set forth. I can not allow that to go unpunished."

Oliver grabbed Katie's hand and gave it a squeeze.

Fudge continued.

"For bringing unauthorized people to visit Miss Bell, Albus Dumbledore, you are dismissed from your position as headmaster of Hogwarts."

Dumbledore merely nodded.

"For visiting a member of the Blue Flame Order without authorization; Fred, George, and Angelina Weasley; you are banned from ever working in the Ministry. For carrying on a prohibited relationship, Oliver Wood, you will not be allowed to resume your position as keeper for Puddlemere when the war ends. And for disobeying nearly every rule set for the Blue Flame Order, Katherine Bell, you are dismissed from your position."

His gavel banged against the wooden table, finalizing his decision. Katie threw her arms around Oliver and shed tears of relief. They had lost so much, but they still had each other.