LIFE OF SHADOWS
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Chapter 7-
Ruffled Feathers
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"I lived a life of shadows, never felt the sun on my face."
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Katrina stared at her new timetable, a frown creasing her forehead. There were so many classes, so many different teachers, in different places, she doubted that she would ever be on time anywhere or even know where she was going for that matter.
"A bit overwhelming isn't it?"
She heard Harry say as craned his neck to see her timetable. She nodded, peeking over his shoulder to look at his. He grinned, putting one hand behind his head in an attempt to get his hair to lie flat, even though it was wet. They'd all had to take showers after the fight and now they were right back where they started.
"Does it always stick up like that?" Katrina asked, an amused look on her face. Harry blushed and opened his mouth but was spared answering her by the flock of owls that swooped down suddenly upon them. Katrina stared at them, mouth open slightly as Harry watched her, a smile on his lips. To Katrinas' surprise two owls landed in front of her, one a handsome tawny owl and the other…
"That one is Malfoys." Harry said with barely disguised disgust.
"Malfoy?" Katrina asked, a confused look on her face. "Malfoy… it sounds vaguely familiar." She frowned, attempting to search her memory. "Malfoy." She said again, hoping that saying it would trigger a memory.
"Yeah, Draco Malfoy." Harry said languidly, glancing at her. For some reason he felt as if it was his job to educate her in matters of filth such as Malfoy.
"Most wizarding families are aware of them. Maybe you've heard of his parents? Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy?" When her face remained blank Harry shrugged, sighing. "Well lets just say that they're not a very nice lot. The whole family has been placed in Slytherin and their current son – Draco – is like the Slytherin Prince. He's a little ferret." Harry said, a grin on his face for reasons unknown to Katrina. "You might as well open the letter although it's probably something he's hoping will kill me."
Oblivious to the Potter/Malfoy feud she gave him a queer look, wondering if Harry Potter had actually cracked after all he'd been through.
"Right…" She said slowly, making a mental note to buy 'The book of Paranoia signs' for Christmas. Ripping open the envelope she looked inside for the contents which was a piece of parchment that she unrolled slowly then quickly skimmed.
"It's not from… Draco did you say it was? It's from someone called Keller. Listen to this-" She said, reading out the message.
Meet me outside the Greenhouses at midnight tonight. Show or else.
-- Keller
Katrina frowned, shrugging and ripping the piece of parchment into little bits and throwing it in the air, where it came down like confetti, sticking in Harry's hair. She looked at him, expecting him to be laughing, smiling at the very least. Instead he had an anxious look on his face, his eyes searching hers ardently, as if he was worried she'd actually go.
"Harry? You don't think I'd actually go and meet this person who's threatening to kill me do you?"
Harry looked surprised for a moment, then hastily shook his head, bits of the parchment falling out of his hair.
"No, of course not… aren't you going to open your other letter?" He asked, motioning to the tawny which was still waiting patiently. Katrina nodded, hesitating for a moment before reaching out and taking the roll of parchment from the owl. Who'd be writing her a letter? She wondered, a slightly confused look on her face. Harry looked at her, a small smile on his face.
"I wonder who it's…" She broke off mid-sentence, a look of utter horror on her face. A crest was stopping the parchment from springing apart. A dragon and a basilisk were the main items on it, standing back to back, half of each beast showing only. Underneath the two creatures was the phrase, the phrase that made her life not worth living…
Katrina whispered it out loud, her blue grey eyes wide and fearful. No. It couldn't be. She wouldn't let it. How dare they. Her emotions switched quickly, from fear to hatred to anger and then back to fear.
"What's the matter?" Harry asked, concerned, looking suspiciously at the owl, as if it were all its fault.
"What does… that stuff… mean?"
Hermione spoke up from where she had been reading a text book propped up against the jug of pumpkin juice.
"It's Latin forLife of Shadows" She said matter of factly, immediately absorbed in her book once again. Harry looked at Katrina, a questioning look on his face, but she didn't answer him, suddenly becoming very interested in the ceiling, which was clear and blue, an occasional white fluffy cloud floating across. Katrina couldn't tell Harry who the letter was from. She almost laughed out loud at the frustation the situation caused. A simple letter could cause so much trouble. Amazing.
"I have to go." Katrina said simply, when Harry opened his mouth to ask her something she knew that she couldn't answer… not truthfully anyway. She got up and walked away from the house tables, ignoring the raucous whispers that seemed to plague her. How she wanted to wipe those stupid smirks off their faces. Shaking her head from side to side she steeled herself. Who cared what they thought? Who cared what anyone thought? She knew the answer to that, it lay deep within her heart. She cared. Pushing her hair out of her eyes angrily she ran out the hall, her fists clenched at her sides. How could they do this to her? And she wasn't talking about the Slytherins. A Slytherin first year walked and stood in front of her, a idiotic grin on his face. Katrina gave him a glare that sent him running. She was not in the mood.
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Katrina leant against the wall outside, covering her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking slightly. She wished… she wished for so many things but most of all she wished that she could tell everyone everything. She wished she could tell them the truth. Scowling she clenched and unclenched her fists, seemingly oblivious to the half moon shaped marks she left in her own skin. She would tell the entire school everything in a second… but she knew if they knew about her past, who she really was, they would give her a look of loathing and hate her for the rest of her time spent at Hogwarts.
She couldn't tell them the truth. She'd have to carry on lying. Carry on pretending she was something she wasn't. She couldn't afford to let anyone know about her. The real her. She'd have to do whatever it took to keep them all from knowing… from finding out… she stared up at the sky which had darkened, rumbling black clouds shifting hazily, contrary to what the ceiling in the Great Hall said. They had no idea who she really was. Katrina slid down to the ground, her hair falling over her face, tears mingling with rain as she sobbed, a lone figure in the whole of Hogwarts.
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