Wolf Boy and Ice Princess

Disclaimer: Alas me no owns Harry Potter. Me wished me owns but me doesn't…Oh well…

Sorry for the delay but the site wasn't working for me. But now here it is, finally. Enjoy.

Chapter 10 – Light at the end of the tunnel

The news that Jacob and Katherine were now a couple spread through the school like butter spreads in a hot bread. Anyone who had missed the vocal announcement could always catch the live one. Jacob seemed to want to make sure everyone knew so every occasion he had he kissed Katherine, especially if lots of people were around.

Needless to say this did not fall well in Rosh's ears. He didn't say anything but started acting strange. He would only come out for classes and meals and most of the time he wasn't even in the castle. More than once Katherine saw him make his way to the Whomping Willow. Of course now she had other things in her mind so she ignored it.

Time passed and soon the Christmas holidays arrived. Katherine was sitting in her bed watching as Jade prepared her bag so she could go spend the holidays at home.

"After all this time I'm yet to understand why you don't go home for the holidays." Jade commented as she searched her trunk for a sweater.

"I like Christmas at Hogwarts. You have no idea what you're missing. The Minister of Magic himself comes every year to have dinner with us."

"Dumbledore just can't stay away from here. I myself prefer a nice quiet dinner with the family. My brother is taking his girlfriend this year. It's bound to be interesting."

Katherine laughed lightly. Jade's brother, Jasper, was already 23 and was currently working on the family business. Katherine had met him during her first year and hadn't seen him since the last day of that year when they said goodbye at the station. She remembered he was a funny guy but very responsible. So responsible he was Head Boy. He was always surrounded by girls and could have very well dated half the older girls. Katherine didn't think he was anything special but every other girl seemed to think he was very dreamy.

She had to leave her memories behind because Jade closed her bag and picked it up.

"I have to go now. The carriages will be leaving soon and I don't want to miss the train. Have a good holiday and I hope you like my gift." She said as she walked over to Katherine.

"You too and don't worry. I always love your gifts. See you next year." Kat said and hugged her friend.

"See you next year." Jade said laughing.

Katherine sat back against the headboard and watched as her friend left the dormitory.

Jade found Rosh at the end of the stairs and noticed he was waiting for Katherine.

"Hey." She said to him.

"Hey there. Is Katherine coming down?" he asked.

"I don't think so."

He nodded and didn't even wait for Jade to join him. She watched for a moment as he left the Tower then did the same herself. She was practically at the marble staircase when someone came past her running like there was no tomorrow. She frowned, shrugged and continued on her way.

Katherine was looking at her pendant when a thought flashed through her head. Rosh was leaving for the holidays and she hadn't said goodbye to him. She quickly placed her pendant back inside her robes, got up and ran down the stairs and out of the Tower towards the exit. She passed by many students making their way to the carriages waiting for them outside. She ran as fast as she could in an effort to reach him before he left. Near the marble stairs she passed by Jade but that didn't stop her. What did stop her was Rosh's body as she came to a halt abruptly behind him. He turned around and grabbed her. She panted heavily and tried to calm herself down enough to talk.

"Hey, where's the fire?" he asked playfully.

"I'm sorry. I forgot you were leaving." She said, her breath still raged.

"It's ok. You ran all the way from the Tower?"

"Yes. And very fast too."

"I'm touched." She said, his hand on his chest.

"Bastard."

"No. Your boyfriend is the bastard." He said smirking.

"Jerk. Have a good holiday and see you next year." She said and returned to the castle.

"You too. See you." He shouted to her.

She turned and saw him enter the carriages driven by the winged horses. Suddenly all went black as a hand placed itself in front of her eyes.

"Came to give me one last kiss or to say good bye to the pretty boy?" a voice whispered in her ear.

"Both." She answered smiling.

She turned around and came face to face with Jacob. He was grinning at her and she gave him a small kiss on the lips. Then she smiled and made her way to the castle.

The castle was quiet and serene. Practically everyone was home with their families, enjoying a nice evening by the fire waiting for the clock to strike midnight. Katherine, however, was pacing the hallways. Sleep didn't seem to want to come so she just walked the corridors with her mind lost in thoughts about Jacob, about Rosh and about everything that happened since she had accepted Jacob's proposal. She stopped her pacing to watch a bird soar through the heavily clouded sky. When the bird disappeared it started raining. Katherine decided to stay and observe as the rain went from a light shower to simply pouring. Suddenly she found herself remembering the first time she had experienced being under the falling rain and feeling liberated.

Flashback

It was raining heavily. 4-year-old Katherine was sitting by the window watching as the water fell from the sky and hit the floor with light splashing sounds. A shadow came down upon her sitting form and she looked up to see her mother standing there watching the rain as well.

"Mommy, do you like rain?" little Katherine asked.

"I love it. And it's not just looking at it. It's feeling it on my skin. Want to try it?" Iris asked her little girl.

Katherine beamed and got up. Iris extended her hand and she took it happily. The two left the house and stepped out into the rain. Katherine felt she was in heaven or something like it. The rain was liberating even if she was freezing cold. She watched as her mother swirled around and started imitating her.

"Ladies get back inside. You're going to catch a death of cold." Katherine heard her father call from the house.

She stopped twirling and looked at him. He was leaning against the doorframe looking intently at them. He was smiling and it widened when she ran towards him and jumped to his arms. With a bit of effort he picked her up and gave her a kiss in the cheek.

"You're going to be just like your mother." He said still smiling.

"I want to be like you."

"Who knows, maybe you will."

With another kiss on her cheek Sirius turned around and got inside followed closely by Iris. Katherine smiled and looked at the two of them. They looked happy…and alive.

End Flashback

Katherine covered her eyes with her hands and allowed the tears to fall. She allowed herself to slide to the floor and there she stayed for a long time crying and thinking that she was going to spend another Christmas without them. And just like the previous years she found herself missing them more than at any other time.

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As she had expected Albus Dumbledore, Minister of Magic, was sitting at the Christmas table set at the Great Hall. On his right side was Professor McGonagall and on his left was Harry. They were talking amongst themselves and the rest of the table was in silence. Professor Dante was sitting by a fourth year Slytherin and the other teachers were looking at their plates. Katherine noticed that her aunt wasn't there but it was to be expected. She quickly made her way to the table as she realized they had been expecting her.

"I'm sorry I'm late." She said smiling.

Professor Dante looked at her displeased but Dumbledore smiled at her.

"Not a problem my dear. How are you?" he asked.

"I'm fine sir."

He laughed and she noticed Harry smiling.

"She called me sir. I've known her since she was born and she calls me sir." Dumbledore said happily.

Katherine blushed and cleared her throat.

"Well if it makes you fell better she calls me Professor Potter all the time." Harry said to Dumbledore in the same tone.

She blushed even more and started to consider opening a hole on the ground to hide herself. Fortunately the conversation ended there as the Headmistress told them to dig in and just eat.

The food was delicious and by the end of the meal Katherine was full. The Slytherin boy was the first to leave and Professor Dante went with him. After him the rest of the staff left one by one leaving Dumbledore, Harry, Professor McGonagall and Katherine alone.

"So Katherine, how are things?" Dumbledore asked.

"Great. I'm currently in a new stage of my life…" she paused but was encouraged by Dumbledore to finish. "Albus."

"It's not so hard it is?" he asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

"I called you sir out of respect. My parents taught me that you know. To respect the elders."

"Now you're insulting me." He laughed. "So what is this new stage in your life?"

"She's dating Dante's son." Harry intervened.

"Really? No wonder he looked upset all night." Dumbledore commented.

"So what if he's a Slytherin? I believe that all houses should unite." Katherine said to Harry in particular.

"I'm not judging. I'm just stating."

"Well I'm glad you have settled, so to speak. That will keep your mind from other things." Dumbledore said to Katherine with a strange look on his face.

Great, he knows, she thought as she looked at the Minister.

"Like what Albus?" Harry asked frowning.

"That, my friend, is between me and Miss Black."

"If you call me Miss Black I'll call you Dumbledore sir."

"It won't happen again." he said raising his hands in mock surrender and the conversation died there.

After that they all got up and after saying goodbye to the Minister everyone went to bed. Katherine made sure she left quickly to avoid any question Harry might have after Dumbledore's slip. Not that he had said anything specific but Harry seemed to have suspicions. And she knew how he got when he was suspicious.

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That night she dreamt about the figure in the dark room. This time she was able to see clearly it was the Great Hall. The lone figure was standing in the middle of the Hall and when she came closer she saw him raise his arm and extending his hand as if asking her to grab it and join him. She extended her own arm but the moment she touched his finger she woke up startled and it ended. After writing it down on her journal she went back to sleep but found it hard to do so. She kept remembering she had been so close to see who the figure was. However she did have the feeling she knew him well as she recalled what she felt when she touched the tip of his finger. It was a familiar feeling but at that time of the night she didn't know where it came from. She got tired of some much thinking and finally managed to fall asleep.

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On the days that passed until the students got back Katherine had the dream two more times. Nothing new happened but the familiar feeling was becoming more familiar. She knew sooner or later the dream would reveal itself completely so all she had to do was wait.

Finally the students got back and Katherine was sitting in the marble staircase waiting. The oak door opened and she saw them entering in small groups. She got up to get a better view and saw Jade coming in front, followed by Rosh and finally Jacob and his friends. Katherine gave a quick hug to Jade and passed Rosh running, making her way to Jacob. He let go of his bag and hugged her. Rosh shook his head and continued on his way. He went to the boy's dormitory and unpacked his bag with the rest of the seven-year Gryffindors. Soon the boys left the dormitory to go eat but Rosh stayed behind. He sat at his bed and closed his eyes. He hadn't been received the way he expected. The previous years she had always gave him a warm welcome with hugs and kisses on the cheek. Now the one getting her warm welcome was the bastard. He felt like he could break something. However his trail of thought was broken when the dormitory door opened. He turned his head to see who it was and found himself looking at Katherine. She smiled at him and walked to his bed. She sat at his side and bent forward and placed a kiss on his cheek.

"Welcome back." she said smiling.

"I thought you were going to ignore me." He said sadly.

"As if. So how was it?"

"Pretty normal. Except for the part where the Weasleys dropped by."

"Really? That's nice. How are the lot?" she asked smiling wider.

"Great. The twins are still making money like crazy, Ron brought Hermione along of course and it seems that they are finally starting to talk about children and Ginny has a new boyfriend."

"Ron and Hermione planning on having children? Molly must be ecstatic."

"She couldn't talk about nothing else. Some people may think it's a bit late but look at our parents."

"You're right. It's never too late to have children. And how's Ginny new boyfriend?"

"Looked like a nice guy. They didn't stay very long. And how were your holidays?"

"Boring and normal. Dumbledore showed up for dinner as usual and there was some new additions to my dream, the one I told you about." She explained.

"The one on the Great Hall?" she nodded. "What additions?"

"Now I can touch the person in the middle of the room. Not much, I know, but it's something."

Rosh nodded in agreement and silence fell between them. For a moment they looked into each other's eyes but her eyes started averting to his lips then back to his eyes. They were close and if he moved his arm two inches he would brush it against her. Before he had the change she moved forward and pressed her lips against his. It was a quick kiss but still it had an impact on both of them. She covered her mouth with her hand, got up and left the dormitory. He moved his head back and bumped it against the headboard. He had missed her kiss and he was sure she had missed his. That last one was proof of it. Not all was lost and he could see the light at the end of the tunnel. He just hoped it wasn't the train heading his way.

Another week, another chapter. And I have 25 reviews for 9 chapters…..way to go me! Of course I have to thank my wonderful reviewers:

Snuffles2984: Thanks a lot for reviewing. I'm glad you like my story. Kudos to you.

Aria-wolfstar: Yes you're a friend. And I guess everyone understandsKat's decision and soon you'll see the consequences of that same decision. Things will get interesting pretty soon. Kudos.

Amilin: I hope you are feeling better now (I was sick myself afew days ago) and that your computer is alright. I'm really touched that you went to a PC room to read my story so of course I forgive you the missed review.

Don't worry, your wish will be granted. Good stuff is coming round pretty soon (in two chapters actually)…so stay tuned.

And don't go saying you live for my story cause I blush and then I get all warm inside and then I get writer's block…and you don't want that to happen do you? But I'm really glad, happy and proud that you like it so much. Thanks a lot, you rock.

Cheers everyone, including my readers whoever you guys are…