Chapter 14
Potions class, on the following Monday was just ending. As everyone gathered up their books, Snape called out, his voice louder than the chatter in the room.
"Catherine, please stay behind for a moment!" Sighing heavily, the young woman walked up to his desk as the class left.
"Yes?" She asked, sitting on a desk top.
"I needed to speak with you. I don't think you fully understood me when I apologized, nor did we have time to complete our conversation on Saturday, thanks to those little brats."
"All right." Cate replied, "To tell you, my mark only hurt when you first did it, and the next day. It's not that dark, and it hasn't been hurting at all."
"Good to know. Has anyone seen it?"
"Students? No. Teachers, some of them."
"I see." He thought for a moment, "Everyone at The Order knows about it right? And that it was an accident?"
"Most of them. I haven't met everyone yet, but I'm sure they've heard about it."
"Hmph." Was his only reply.
"Anything else?" The young woman raised an eyebrow at him. "You said that you thought I hadn't fully understood you before."
"I uh . . . it . . . yeah . . . that's about it." He seemed to be struggling for words.
"All I can say to that is this: ever since you left Mom and I, I haven't had the warmest feelings toward you. As you know, we never received any type of contact from you, so it seemed like you hated us. Not to mention the fact that Mom was poisoning my mind about how horrid you were." Catherine stood up from the desk top and left the room.
Back in the Gryiffindor common room, Hermione, Ron and Harry sat in a group of armchairs in the corner by the entrance, talking in hushed voices.
"Hermione, are you sure that Cate's a death eater? I mean, my Dad and brother were in the room with her. So was Lupin." Ron protested.
"They were talking about spying, and marks. Obviously the bruise was some form of the dark mark. I'm telling you, she's either a death eater, or some sort of spy."
"On our side." Ron stressed, "You should drop this. She knows about The Order, both her parents are . . . err . . . were for one, in it. Cate's one of Charlie's close friends, trust me, she's no death eater!"
Throughout all of this, Harry sat between his two friends in silence, his brain was working everything through, each tiny detail. He had to figure out where Catherine was really from, and what she was really doing here. Around him, Ron and Hermione continued to argue.
At that moment, the portrait hole opened and in walked Catherine. Ron and Hermione froze mid-sentence.
"Yes?" Cate asked, looking over at them, and eyebrow raised.
"Nothing." They both replied.
"Okay . . . " She replied hesitantly, then headed to the dormitory.