Chapter Four

Kate slouched her shoulder blades, her back against the cold marble of a pillar of the Temple, a book in hand. She'd pulled the dusty book from a shelf. Not one hiding the box, of course. The cover was in surprisingly good shape, its binding hand-sewn and passed down through generations of women in the Temple. And it was handwritten. Perfect, curly black script filled the parchment, carefully dried to avoid smudging. She'd come at night, as usual, but this time she'd brought a stash of candles. Setting a rough loop of them around her and lighting them, she could read easily. The flames flickered slightly in the light wind, but otherwise, the Temple was peaceful. Kali lie in Kate's lap, basking in the glow of the firelight and glancing lazily at the attractive text. Little by little, her breathing slowed and thickened and she wasn't in the Temple bathed in candlelight anymore.

Hovering somewhere above the Garden walls like an apparition, Kate saw movement in the shadows. She was unseen, floating there, suspended in the weak light. From far off, she could see the wavy shadows of her candles in the Temple. Kate caught her breath. The shadows were moving again. Someone was there, waiting for her.

Back in the Temple, Kate sucked air into her lungs like a victim of drowning. With a decisive push, the wind picked up, extinguishing the candles in one blow. Kali meowed at Kate, padding toward the round door to leave. Sighing, Kate stood and replaced the book along. She brushed herself off and followed Kali over the stones, convincing herself that there was no one outside the Garden, waiting to ambush her. Even if there was, they couldn't see the Garden anyway. Or her, for that matter. Kate would have the invisibility cloak if she needed it. But she doubted she would.

Tentatively, she turned the silver knob and pushed the round door open. Kali prowled out in front of her, stalking into the trimmed grass. Just out of the corner of her eye, Kate detected a hint of movement from the corner. Tensed and ready to run, Kate edged toward it. She reached her hands out to touch it… it was only a bush. She had been scared of a rosebush. Kate laughed at herself from under the cloak. She backed out from the corner and her heart stopped. She had bumped into something. Something solid. A someone. In the clumsy process of turning around, the cloak slipped from Kate's shoulder.

Draco laughed.

"That wasn't funny! Quit smirking!" Kate fumed, crossing her arms. "I really thought I was in trouble, Draco." Without warning, tears came to Kate's eyes. No matter how much Kate thought she'd matured, she always went back to a small child when she cried.

Draco pulled her into his arms, her head against his collarbone. "It's okay, Katie. I've scared you," he said softly in her ear. "Listen, I'm sorry. I…I just needed to see you. Okay?" he soothed.

Her ear pressed against Draco's collar, Kate wiped at her tears furiously. She knew it was okay, nobody was hurt, she was safe; but she couldn't stop herself. "And I already feel guilty for being here anyway…"

Draco stroked her hair awkwardly, calming her. He wasn't good at this. After awhile, she stopped crying and they stood together in the shadows. "I'm sorry for scaring you, Kate. I just wanted to see you, to talk to you again. And I knew you'd be here…at the Garden…" His pale eyes alighted with a innate fire.

Kate pulled away from his arm thrown over her shoulder. "You…you can see the Garden?"

Draco laughed and teased. "Yes, Katie. What did you think? That I just wander around the grounds, looking for girls?"

Kate didn't answer, but relaxed into his arm again. Somehow, in some mysterious way she couldn't explain, even to herself, she was drawn to him, bound to him, in the same way he was drawn to her.

"I knew you'd come, Kate. I just knew it. You'd come to me eventually. You couldn't stay away for long." He kissed her cheek, her ear. Light kisses, like a breath. He yawned and stood up. "I have to go. Meet me here tomorrow night?"

Kate nodded and smiled. He pulled her up by the wrist and planted his mouth on hers, leaving her breathless. Again, he disappeared into the shadow into a world she couldn't follow him into.

Walking back to the Tower, Kate grinned. Suddenly, she felt good. Draco really did make her feel better. Better than being trapped in her infernal cage. Feeling light and airy, she ran all the way back to the Tower.

More often than not, Kate and Draco would secretly meet in the night, outside the Temple Garden walls. They strolled around the grounds holding hands, watching the moon rise and the beautiful scenery around them bloom into summer. When they were together, both of them felt whole and alive. And they reveled in the glory of it.

Within a matter of weeks, the school term would end. Kate already knew she was staying at Hogwarts for the summer. Dumbledore had told her so. The great war was still raging, though on the inside of Hogwarts, it went unnoticed. They were kids still and Hogwarts gave them time to be kids. For the summer months, the Order had relocated to the refuge of Hogwarts and Kate, along with the rest of her family, would be there under Dumbledore's protection. But Draco was another matter entirely.

"Well, after school ends, we could escape. Go somewhere where none of them could find us," Draco imagined one night when they laid under the stars. Draco took her hand and kissed the knuckles, his eyes sparkling with promise and ambition and hope.

"Draco, you know that isn't possible. It can't happen. You'll go away. Go home to your family, and I'll…stay here. Where it's safe." Kate pulled her hand away, sat up. She felt like she was stomping on his dreams and she knew that by telling him where she was staying during the summer was treading dangerously close to the fire that could burn them all up. Kate knew who his father was. Who he was--what the name Malfoy was, what it stood for. But she trusted him to keep her secret.

"But…" Draco twiddled a piece of grass between his fingers. He couldn't think of anything to say to that. It was the truth. The bloody miserable truth.

"Come on. We'll deal with it when it comes. Okay?" she soothed and put on a silly grin. "Promise me," she pouted, her eyes shining with smiles.

Draco couldn't resist it. He smiled too. "Okay. I promise." He stood, pulling her up with him, and laughed.

One night, Kate and Draco were near the Garden, resting against the Garden wall. They were spending more and more time there. Draco stroked Kali's feather-soft head. Kate ran her hands over all she could reach, her fingers tracing the cuts of stone marked in the wall.

Kate was standing in a field. A field of golden wheat, blowing in the wind against her bare legs, making them itch. It was daytime in the Garden. It didn't look like the Garden, but Kate knew where she was. The impression was the same. Two children, a slight girl with golden braids the same brightness as the wheat and a boy, maybe a couple years older, with long black hair touching his shoulders, spilled through the pliant stalks down an unseen path. They seemed to know the way, where they were going. In a moment, they vanished. They were nowhere to be seen, their laughter gone. The next, a young woman and man strolled through the field, paying to attention to the scratchy shoots scraping at their legs. Her flaxen hair waved down past her shoulders and she was lovely. He wore all black and his straight black hair fell into his dark eyes. The smiles and silly grins they wore were only for each other and their hands were laced together. He kissed her cheek. They were dimly familiar to Kate and disappeared just as the children had. Another man and woman appeared. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a bun and she was crying. He looked wild with anger. And injured, like a caged lion. They were yelling something at each other, incensed words Kate couldn't hear. Finally, she pulled a ring off her finger and tossed it to him. He caught it and stared into his hands. He obviously couldn't believe what was happening. She was gone. A single tear streaked down his ashen cheek, quick as lightening, as he stared at where she'd been standing. Then with a blink, he too, was gone.

Kate's frame convulsed and she gasped for air. She knew those people. In the vision. The merry children, the lovesick teenagers, the sad adults. They were all the same people. The woman was her mother, Diana Bennett. And the man was Severus Snape.

"Kate? Kate? What's wrong? What happened?" Draco was on his knees, holding her hands. His eyes were worried and shaken.

Kate shook her head. She struggled to keep her voice level. "I'm okay. Just…just a premonition."

"Are you sure? I felt…you were there. And then you weren't. I thought…oh Merlin…" He pulled her against his chest, breathing in her reassuring scent. "I saw you there. And you passed out…I couldn't feel you anymore, Kate."

When the moment was over, Kate grinned perceptively. "You can feel me?"

Draco looked away, his eyes clouding over. "Yes. Strong with you, though," he said sheepishly. He didn't get the teasing.

"I need to sleep, Draco. I've got some things to muse about, to ponder," Kate laughed.

Draco wasn't in the jesting mood. "Do you need to tell me anything?"

Kate kissed him. "No. I don't think so."