Chapter Eight
"Hello, Grandmother," Kate said without much enthusiasm. She'd been lacking in that department, it seemed, since Draco left. Half of herself was missing and Kate wasn't interested in living life fully unless she was whole.
Helen Graham hugged her granddaughter rather stuffily. Her face reminded Helen of her dead daughter, especially the eyes. Even looking into the mirror each day at her own reflection made Helen want to weep. Everywhere she saw those eyes; everywhere she found sadness and loss. "Good afternoon, Kathleen. How are you, my dear?" She stepped back, holding Kate's hands, appraising. Her granddaughter's eyes looked to have sealed over, blocking out everything. Or locking something inside. "You look like you need a good meal, dear, a nice bath, and a good night's sleep. What do you say the two of us go out for dinner?"
When Helen looked conspiratorially at Kate, Kate inwardly groaned. She didn't know if she was ready for 'dinner' with her grandmother. "Well…" Kate looked away and bit her lip.
"Oh, Kathleen. Really. It is just dinner."
Kate sighed. 'Just dinner' with Helen usually meant some huge dinner party, where she'd be expected to act, talk, and smile like the porcelain doll her grandmother expected her to be.
"Just dinner with a few close friends, dear. It would mean so much to me. After all, we both know this may well be the last time we see each other for a long time…" A slight whine laced itself in her grandmother's words.
After staring at her feet for almost a minute, debating against herself, Kate finally leveled with Helen's hopeful eyes. "Yes, I suppose I'll go. It might be fun."
A triumphant grin broke out on Helen's pretty face. "Yes. Fun. Exactly. I knew you'd want to come. We'll have the best time. I promise."
Later that night, after discussing the idea with Dumbledore, Remus, and Severus, Kate sat at the vanity, applying the last bit of makeup to her eyes. Not that it mattered. Not really.
The meeting in Dumbledore's office had been brief that afternoon. Both Severus and Dumbledore had thought the party a wonderful idea. They both saw how Kate was and thought she needed a chance to have fun; to get out of the castle. For one night, at least. Kate suspected Helen got to them before she did. Just to be safe, though, Kate would have to use another name and be escorted by Remus.
The dress code was Muggle-clothes, so Kate slipped into the sheer, elegant black dress she'd laid out earlier. It dipped low in the back and flattered in the right places. In the dress, she looked slender and a little older than she actually was. Quickly, Kate softened her dark locks so they waved gently around her face and shoulders. Grabbing a lace shawl and some heels, Kate headed down the many, many steps to the outside where Remus and her grandmother were meeting her outside.
It was roughly four o'clock when Kate made it outside, the shawl and shoes in her hands. Remus was dressed in a suit, looking handsome in his brotherly way. He smiled at her and complimented her on the dress in the good natured way he always had. Helen, who always looked beautiful and elegant, was wearing a dark coffee-colored dress and pearls. Helen, who was actually in her sixties, looked forty. She was a slim woman with golden curls that never grayed, as far as Kate knew, and the same large green eyes as her daughter and granddaughter.
"You look beautiful, Grandmother," Kate said as she accepted the pecks Helen gave her on the cheeks and gave her own.
"You too, dear. That dress is most becoming."
"I think you both look ravishing," Remus said, motioning toward the limo pulling up to them. He helped them both in the car and got in himself before they drove away.
'A limo' Kate thought sarcastically. She hadn't seen one of those for a long time. Not since before her parents died. Her family did have money, but most of it went into trust funds for Kate, for security reasons. Kate's father had always said the money was used for comfort and happiness for their friends and family. Kate had always liked the way he'd said it.
Staring out the darkened window, watching the countryside pass by, Kate thought of Draco. "Where, exactly, is this 'dinner'?"
"At the Minister's manor, of course. Dear Cornelius sent me the invitation himself." Helen went on to babble a little more about her friend Cornelius Fudge, but Kate wasn't listening. She was hoping she would see Draco there. But hoping she wouldn't at the same time. Kate knew they wouldn't be able to speak to each other as if they already knew each other. She wasn't sure what she would do if that happened.
"So why does Kate need a pseudo name and you don't, Mrs. Graham?" It was Remus speaking. Kate thought it was a good question. She didn't know the answer to it herself.
"The danger has passed over me. The Dark Lord had no use for me. I cannot use the Temple or the Garden. Kathleen, however, can. And that's what puts her in danger. That's why she is in hiding and why she is your guest, Remus. Simply a friend of a Graham family friend." Helen looked away sadly. "My. It was a good idea from your father that you were kept from the spotlight, wasn't it?" she said, feigning cheerfulness.
Kate and Remus muttered a few words and fell silent. The car drove and drove, until they arrived at a large stately manor only three hours from Hogwarts. Many other guests were already there, most dressed in dark colors. Beautiful women and powerful, distinguished men.
As they were stepping out of the car, Kate whispered urgently to the other two. "Remember: I'm Anna. Anna Sample."
They all nodded at each other and walked into the party.
"This is Remus, a family friend, and his date, Anna Sample," Helen beamed as she introduced them to the Minister.
"Very nice to see you again, Remus," he said, clapping Remus on the shoulder with his sturdy hand. "A pleasure to meet you, young lady." He shook Kate's hand and smiled in a grandfather-like way. Helen excused herself, seeing an old friend or seven over in the corner, leaving Kate and Remus alone with the Minister of Magic. "Are you two…here as a couple?" he frowned slightly at Remus. As Minister, he of course knew Remus was a werewolf.
Remus handled it well, chuckling a bit. "No, actually. Anna's my cousin, in this part of the country for the time being. A distant cousin," he added, just in case.
"Ah. In that case, I would like to introduce you to a close friend of mine. He's about your age, my dear, if I read you correctly. You are nearly seventeen, are you not?"
Kate nodded. "I would surely like to meet him." In fact, Kate did not want to meet him. She wanted to go home and wallow some more.
"I will find him momentarily and make the introductions." And with a curt, polite nod, the Minister left.
Within the half hour, the Minister had found his friend and presented him to Kate. "Harry, may I introduce Miss Anna Sample? And, Anna, may I introduce Mr. Harry Potter?" They said polite but distant hellos in front of the Minister, who left to attend to his other guests in all of five seconds. When he was gone, Harry and Remus said their hellos, giving a hug and grinning at each other.
"You know each other?" Kate asked.
"Yes. I teach Harry up at the school and I knew his father, back when we were at school." He clapped Harry on the shoulder.
Kate watched Remus talking with Harry, like a father would, bored. In between a conversation about some unknown person named Snuffles, she excused herself with a quiet nod at Remus. She weaved through the crowd of distinguished ladies and gentlemen sipping wine and laughing in dry, fake, airy voices. Then she saw him.
Draco was sitting in a corner, in a plush arm chair, surrounded by a group of friends. He didn't see her, wasn't looking her way. Kate couldn't discern whether she was glad or disappointed in this fact. He was dressed in his usual all black, his white hair setting off the contrast. He looked good. Draco always did. A girl stood beside his chair and Kate felt herself scowl at the sight of the other girl. She was attractive enough, with straight near-white hair and pretty violet eyes. Jealousy stirred in the pit of Kate's stomach. 'The Pop-tart has no right…' Kate thought begrudgingly, gritting her teeth.
When she realized what she was doing, Kate shook her head and ran a hand along side her hairline, heading into the cluster of bodies again. She didn't have the right to be jealous. Not anymore. Draco was free and deserved to find someone else. Even if Kate didn't like it.
From a distance, Kate heard a chime and the announcement for dinner being served.
After the posh dinner, Kate found a balcony that was deserted. It was dark and quiet. She sat on the stone bench, let the cool wind bathe her face and her thoughts overwhelm her. Noiselessly, a couple tears slipped down her cheeks like silk.
"Penny for your thoughts." It was Harry.
Embarrassed, Kate wiped the tears away angrily. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what?" Sweetly, Harry sat on the bench beside her. "You're freezing." He took off his own jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. "Better?"
Kate nodded. "Thank you. Harry, you don't have to do this."
He smiled gently. "I know it. But I want to."