The first thing that I was aware of was a splitting headache. Then, the intensity of the bright lights. Together, it made me so nauseous.
I sat up, and became aware of where I was- the Hospital Wing. However, more importantly I became aware that I was about to vomit. Unfortunately, there was nothing in my stomach to get the satisfaction of throwing up, and I just heaved a few times.
Well, that was one way to tell people I was awake. Also, for the first time I noticed that I was in pain in placed other than my head. My whole left side was very, very sore. And there was a sharp pain from my right shoulder down my chest.
"Katherine!" my father said, coming behind the screen that surrounded my bed. I noticed my brother following him.
"Dad," I said, weakly. My mouth was dry and rough, so it came out a little warped.
Dad gave me a hug, but it hurt so I winced and pulled away. "Oh, right- I'm sorry, hun, I forgot. How are you feeling?"
"Awful," I told him, burrowing into my pillow and away from the light. The events of tonight were slowly coming back to me. I wondered how everyone was. I sincerely hoped that I was the only one injured, but knew that was unlikely.
"I'll go get Madame Pomfrey," Rob said.
"What were you doing out of your dorm?" Dad asked. "The school was on lock down, you were violating rules."
His tone wasn't accusatory, it was just curious. "They needed me," I said. "Was anyone else hurt?"
"Yes," he said, softly. "But it doesn't matter who... all that matters is that you will be okay."
I didn't have the energy to fight that, and just wanted some pain potion. Luckily, Rob was back with Madame Pomfrey. "Sit up, dear," she said.
I did, although it was hard. I just hurt in so many different places, in so many different ways. She handed me a small vial of pain potion, which I took in one big sip and choked on the terrible taste.
"Your bleeding is controlled, and I'll set you up with some potions to speed the healing. You got hit with a cutting curse, and fell pretty hard on your side. I would like to keep you overnight, for sure," Madame Pomfrey said.
"Unfortunately, I would like to take her home as soon as possible, hopefully tonight," Dad said.
"Sir, the school year is not over," Madame Pomfrey said. "Katherine will be back on her feet in a few days and will only miss a minimal amount of classes."
"I don't find Hogwarts to be a safe environment for my daughter anymore," Dad said "I'm pulling her out."
"Dad!" I said, completely shocked. I didn't want to leave. I wanted to be here more than ever! This wasn't fair. He hadn't even asked me.
"Katherine, be quiet," he said, "Who should I talk to regarding these matters?"
"Er," she looked a bit confused. "You can come with me, sir."
"Dad!" I said, louder this time. "I'm not leaving, you didn't even ask me!"
But he was gone, and I was alone with Rob. "Professor Dumbledore was killed a few hours ago, Kat," he said.
It was like having ice dumped all over me- I was in total shock. "W-what?" I asked, uneasy. That was impossible. I didn't think anyone could kill him.
"I know," he said. "Dad is just concerned for your safety... I'm sorry."
"Can't you do something? I'm safe here, I promise."
He sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry, I've got to support him with this..." he trailed off. A moment later, he started speaking again. "I have to apologize."
"For what?" I asked, lifting my head up.
"Calling after you out there," he said. "It was incredibly stupid. I'm a terrible Auror, I should know better than to call after someone who is dueling."
"That was you?" I asked, not believing it. He was the reason I was here right now! It was all his fault. Well, not all his fault, but if I hadn't been distracted, I may be in a much better state... and my father wouldn't be involved and I'd get to stay at school!
He nodded. "I was just so worried when I saw you dueling one of them out there, you're a terrible dueler, I wanted you to be okay."
"Ugh!" I cried into my pillow. I was just too upset. "I'm too tired for this."
"Then sleep," he told me. "It's well after midnight."
I wanted to ask who else was hurt or killed. I feared the worst for my friends. But I didn't want the news to come from Robert. He was being incredibly unsympathetic, but that was probably because it was the middle of the night. I just closed my eyes, but I was too uneasy to actually sleep.
"Kat! You're awake!" Hermione said, coming behind the curtain, but staying half outside.
"Hi!" I said. I knew, if my father got his way, this would probably be the last time I would see her until, well, I didn't know when.
"Harry wants to know if he can come in," she asked.
"Of course," I said. I was so happy to see them alive, but wondered where Ron was.
Hermione came over to me, and gave me a hug. I didn't hug back because it would hurt. "How bad are you hurt?" she asked.
"I'll be fine," I told them. "I'm just a little banged up. How are you two?"
"We both made it out without a scratch," Harry said. "Ron and Ginny too- they're just busy. One of their brothers got hurt. It seems like everyone is going to make it through all right."
"You heard about Dumbledore, right?" Hermione asked.
I nodded, and tears spring fresh in my eyes. "It's so hard to wrap my mind around it," I said.
Harry just sighed, and stared off into space. "Yeah..." he said.
I wasn't sure how to break it to them that I was leaving. Part of me wanted to not tell them, but I knew that wasn't fair. "My dad's making me leave," I said slowly.
"No!" they both said at the same time.
"Why?" Hermione asked.
"My father no longer feels I am safe here," I said, the words slow and deliberate. I couldn't look at them, I just picked at a threat on the sheet.
"He's wrong," Harry said. "You are safe here. Safer than anywhere else, I bet."
"He's not going to change his mind," Rob said, speaking for the first time since my friends had entered the room. "He wants you to be safe, Kat, and he'll do whatever he has to."
"So he'll take her home, where there aren't any safety curses? Do you know how easy it would be to attack you there?" Harry asked. He was getting really upset. He must have been upset about Dumbledore and it was bleeding over into this.
"I know," I said. "But I'll be okay..."
Hermione sighed. "I'll miss you," she told me.
"I'll miss you too," I said. "But it's not that long until school is over and then we can hang out. Will you let Adam know what's going on? I'm sure he's worried sick about me."
"Of course," she said.
Harry moved closer to me and I was a little surprised he gave me a hug. "Won't be the same without you," he said.
I wiped a smudge of dirt off his face with my thumb and tried to smile. "I'm sure you'll be okay."
He nodded. "Yeah..." he said.
Dad came back behind the curtain then, and it was very crowded. "Your things are being collected," he said. "We'll be ready to go in about an hour." He looked to my friends.
"We'll write you," Hermione said, and I knew they were leaving.
I just waved. When they were gone, I curled up on my unbruised side. Luckily, that allowed me to face away from both my brother and father. I wasn't very happy with either of them. They were treating me like I was four and had no thoughts for myself. Plus, my exhaustion was starting to catch up on me, and I just wanted to sleep. Sleeping would mean getting to ignore everything that had happened in the last six or so hours.
I drifted in and out of sleep, but didn't want to get too comfortable. I would be leaving soon anyways, and would have to go home. I had no idea how we were going to get there. I didn't feel well enough to Aparate, as that would mean having to walk to outside of the grounds. We wouldn't be able to Floo, as Dad's house didn't have a Floo hook up. A portkey didn't sound like the most fun way to travel either.
Almost exactly an hour later, Madame Pomfrey came back with a bunch of potions for me. "Pain salve, bruise salve, pain potion, and a Dreamless Sleep potion," she said. "You should rest a lot for the next week. Don't do any heavy lifting. You should be all healed in about ten days."
I nodded. "Okay," I said. I just wanted to sleep, though.
Getting up and out of the bed was especially hard, but I did it just because I knew I wouldn't get to sleep until I did. Rob helped me walk and Dad carried my things. I hoped whoever had packed for me had gotten everything, but I would write my friends if they hadn't. I so wished this wasn't happening, I just did not have the energy to fight back against Dad right now.
But that didn't stop me from crying as we started to leave. I was leaving people that were really my family, because my father was forcing me to. That didn't seem very fair to me, and I had so many different emotions in me. I was angry, sad, anxious, lonely... I missed Adam and wanted to talk to him.
"You'll be okay," Rob said.
"No, I won't," I said. I was being a little mean, but I didn't care at all.
Dad pulled out a portkey, and took my other arm. It seemed they were going to help me take it. I just shut my eyes, and waited for the spinning. It was terrible and made me more nauseous, but at the end of it, I was so glad to be in Dad's house. I had never been so happy to be here.
A clock on the wall told me it was after three in the morning. Rob helped me up the stairs and to my bedroom, where he sat near my feet. "I know this sucks," he told me. I reached for the Dreamless Sleep potion, knowing I wasn't strong enough to put up with any nightmares tonight. "But Dad really does have your best interests in mind. We both love you."
I sighed. "Good night, Rob," I said.
He got up off my bed, kissed my forehead, and left. I closed my eyes and turned on my unbruised side. It didn't take long to drift off into a very deep sleep.
~.~
It took a long time for me to heal. The bruises turned many hideous colors as they began to fade. The pain from my bruise wasn't too bad, but the gash on my shoulder more than made up for it. I stayed in bed every day the first week. Part of it was because I was too upset to face people. Rob came to visit a few times. It was three days before I saw Cecelia or Madeline, but that didn't bother me at all. I took my meals in my bedroom and didn't really talk to Dad. I was still so upset with him.
Surprisingly, the first letter I received was from Harry. He wanted to know how I was feeling. He told me about Dumbledore's funeral. I was surprised about how beautiful he made it sound. I enjoyed talking to him, though.
I had to write to Adam twice before getting a response from him. I desperately wanted to go to his graduation, but Dad would not let me. I was very upset, but what else was new? Adam didn't seem to understand that I wanted to be there. His letters were short and full of terse remarks. I asked him to visit me when he got home, but he never seemed to want to make concrete plans.
Luckily, I was back up on my feet quickly after the battle. I felt better with every passing day. That had an unfortunate side, though, as it meant I had to start working at Vera's coffee shop. I didn't mind it that much when I got the right shifts, but sometimes my days were so long I felt like Vera was doing it just to keep me away from the family.
I liked the late night shifts. The coffee shop was open until midnight, and there was usually only one person working. It was quiet, and the people that were there usually tipped a decent amount. So I wasn't busy and got some time alone. Not many people wanted to work those hours, so I got to take them four or five days a week. I enjoyed the peacefulness of the city at night. Taking the train home at midnight was really enjoyable.
Hermione came and visited a lot of nights. She usually came with a book and read in the corner until it was slow, and then we would talk for awhile. "I'll be going to the Weasleys soon," she said. "But I don't know exactly when..."
"Oh," I replied. I wasn't sure what she meant by that. "Why?"
"They need me," she said. She kept staring into her mug of tea. "It's... complicated. There's so much you don't know, Kat."
"Well, you can tell me," I offered. "I'll listen."
"It's not my story to tell," she said. I could tell from the look on her face and the tone of her voice that she did want to tell me. But I respected that it wasn't her stuff to say.
"Whose is it?"
"Harry's," she told me.
"Maybe he'll tell me. We've been talking a lot," I said. "I get letters from him a couple times a week."
She smiled. "That's funny," she said. "Considering I can never get him to write me more than once a month during the summer."
I shrugged.
"Well, I should get going," she said, collecting her things. It was after ten, and dark outside.
"I'll see you later," I told her.
I watched her walk out the front door. I wouldn't see her again for a long time.
Author's Note: A little intrigue at the end there, eh? Hehe. I HAVE to ask you guys a question: where are you all coming from? Did someone recommend me or something? I've had a huge influx of new followers and reviewers in the last day and can't believe it's all a coincidence! Thanks to potter-reading-coastie for betaing. Let me know what you think :)