Before long, we ended up in a part of London I was very unfamiliar with. The houses were large and ancient looking.

"Wait out here," Harry said to me, slipping through Hermione and I to get to the door. I did as I was told, and leaned against the railing. I had no clue what was going on, and everything I had just gone through was starting to catch up to me. I was exhausted, and my held felt a little foggy. I tried to take deep breaths and keep my thoughts shallow, so that I could postpone analyzing the night to a time when I had more energy.

It only took a few minutes for Harry to return to my side, although it felt longer. "Kat," he said, sighing.

"Harry?"

"Please, don't take the fact that I don't want you here as an insult," he started. "Because it's not. I just want to protect you, really. Being with me could get you into a lot of trouble. However, at this point, you know too much." He grabbed me by the arm and pulled me inside the house to a dark hallway.

This statement confused me. I felt like I knew nothing! What was he talking about? "No," I began. "I don't."

"Yes, you do," he said. "You know where we're going and what we're doing and who I am with. In the wrong hands, that information could be huge. So I'm going to ask you to stay with us. I'm not sure of any of the details. But I do know that, regardless, you're a great asset, and we're lucky to have you."

"Thank you," I said. "To be honest, I'm surprised you're so... accepting of it."

"I'm livid with Hermione for not telling me," he said. "But she does have a valid point, and you're at the point of no return."

That made sense, I guessed. "So... now what?"

"Now..." he held the word in the air for longer than necessary. "I'm not entirely sure."

"Can I go home?" I asked him. "Just to grab some clothing, and some money..."

"I don't think that's a good idea," he said.

"Please," I said. "Everyone will be asleep. They will never know I'm there."

"How will you get there?" he asked. "It's likely we're being watched."

"My dad is Head of the Department of Magical Transportation," I said. "I'll Floo to my brother's then Aparate."

He looked at me. "You're not running away, are you?"

I shook my head, but didn't say anything else. That seemed to satisfy him, though. He led me into what seemed to be the living room, and there was a fireplace along one wall.

"See you in a few hours," I said, before dropping into the flames.

~.~

On the other side, Robert's apartment was extremely quiet. I wondered if he was even home. It didn't sound like it, and I wasn't sticking around to find out. I quickly Apparated out, to just outside Dad's front door.

I got the door open as quietly as possible, then tip toed upstairs. I knew I didn't have long here, and I wanted to get as much of my stuff as possible. I picked up my wand, first, and used it to expand the inside of one of my purses. It was similar to Hermione's bag and would hold all my things.

I opened my closet, first, and pulled out everything I could find. I had no idea how long we would be gone, or where we would be staying, so I needed to pack for any condition. I picked up as many T-shirts as I could. They would be useful- for both clothing and rags. I got sweaters too, because I would rather be over prepared. I got shoes, all three of my pairs of sneakers, along with a pair of sandals and a pair of high heels. I figured that I would only grab three or four pairs of pants, because that was all that fit. That seemed like enough clothing for now.

I looked around my room, sensing that I was missing something. The journal that Adam had bought me sat on top of my bookshelf. I picked it up, thinking that this was the adventure I was waiting for.

I also grabbed the only family picture I had, because it was important to me. Dad stood, in the back. His hair was darker, and there were less wrinkles in his face. He looked happy, which was an emotion I couldn't remember seeing on his face. He always looked pleased around his new family, but there was a huge difference. My mother was beautiful, and held me in her lap. I was probably a year old, if even. My hair was still curly and wispy. Robert was next to my mother, about five years old. It was a beautiful family portrait.

I grabbed the piggy bank I had since I was a child. It was heavy, full of money, and I decided now was a good time to use it. I put it in my bag, and it made a 'thud' as it hit the bottom.

Then I went into the bathroom. I opened up the medicine cabinet, and threw in all the bottles of medicine. Aspirin, allergy tablets, pills to settle an upset stomach... they would all come in handy. Potions of the Muggles, was how I thought about it.

It seemed like I had everything. I quietly shut my bedroom door. How did I know I would ever return to this house? I didn't. So I took a few extra moments to enjoy it. The stairs didn't creak, because I knew where to step, and soon I was in the kitchen. I went to the pantry, and grabbed as many cans as I could. No one in my house really cooked, so they wouldn't be missed.

Then, I decided it was time to write a note to let my father know where I was. I grabbed a piece of paper that was intended to make a shopping list out of, and began to write.

Dear Dad,

I'm going away. I'm safe, I promise. Don't look for me. I'm so sorry.

Katherine

I was finally ready to leave, after what felt like a thousand years in this house. Unfortunately, fate decided to throw me yet another curve ball.

"Where do you think you're going?" Cecelia asked, standing on the stairs.

"Go back to bed," I said, edging closer to the door.

"Not until you tell me where you're going," she said, crossing her arms.

I sighed. It would be really hard to deny someone who got everything they wanted this piece of information. And she could easily wake everyone in the house up and screw everything up for me. And I still had one more stop to make.

"Look," I said. "Cecelia, go back to bed. It's none of your business... or I'll tell your mom about that party you were at last week."

Her jaw dropped slightly before she could recover enough to pull herself together. "Fine," she said.

I took that opportunity to slip out the door, and I didn't look back. I traveled on foot for awhile, just to get away from my house. I didn't even know what time it was anymore, it was somewhere in that gray area between night and day.

Finally, I found somewhere I could aparate from. It took me a minute to concentrate on where exactly I was going, and I found it hard to keep both feet on the ground. But I just thought about Adam, and knew magic would bring me to him.

Crack!

I found myself in his bedroom. He slept in the bed, on his stomach but with his face to the side so he could snore. I sat on the bed, next to his body, and shook him.

"Wassgoinon?" he asked, jumping as he reached consciousness.

"Adam," I said.

"Kat!" he exclaimed. He almost sounded happy to see me.

"Shh..." I said. The last thing I needed was for someone to catch me here.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, sitting up.

"It's over," I told him.

"What is?" he asked, beginning to look really concerned.

"I'm leaving," I told him. "I want to break up with you before I go."

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I..." I tried to think of the best way to explain it. "I can't really tell you because I don't really now."

He sighed angrily. "You're not leaving then," he said, grabbing my arm.

"Please don't make me leave you like this," I told him. "It's over, Adam. It's been over for months, neither of us have had the guts to come out and say it. You're a great guy, and I do wish you the best, but it's over."

"Kat!" he said. "No."

I just nodded, and stood up. He got out of bed and followed me, grabbing me by the arm. He used that leverage to pull me towards him and kiss him. I didn't fight too hard, because I knew he was stronger than me. When he pulled away, I drew out my wand. "Let me go or else," I said.

He looked around, and we both spotted his wand on his bedside table. It was useless there, plus we both knew he really wouldn't do anything to me. "I have a question first," he said.

"What?" I asked.

"Where were you exactly the day of that Quidditch game?" he asked. "Were you with Potter?"

I sighed. Why did this have to come up now? "Adam," I said. "I'm not sure why that is important right now."

"If you want to leave, answer my question," he said.

"Yes," I admitted. "I was. I had detention with him, because he dragged me into something earlier that week. But you know this. But it wasn't my fault, Adam. I couldn't tell you because I knew it would put you off your game and I couldn't do that."

"And you knew I would be pissed," he said.

"That wasn't my main motivation," I told him. "Do I regret helping Harry that day? Yeah, I do. Every day. Because right now, we should be sharing a flat of our own in Diagon Alley. Not... this. But it is what it is, and I really need to go, Adam."

"You're going to him now aren't you?" he asked.

"Adam," I warned. "I told you, I'm not telling you where I'm going. Now a deal's a deal, let me out of here."

"Please stay," he said. He was resorting to begging. "Please, Kat. You go out there, you'll die. I don't want you to die. Please, I'll do anything. I'll be a better boyfriend. We can get the flat like you want, I'll be home more and bring you flowers every day. Anything you want, just don't go out there and get yourself killed."

"Adam!" I said again. "I need to leave."

He flung himself at me, holding tightly to me, as if that would make everything better.

"I'm really sorry," I said. I shook him off me, and in the second he had no contact, aparated away. It was really hard to walk away from someone like that. Adam and I had so many happy memories together, and it had been so long. It was over now, and I tried really hard not to dwell on it.

I was back in Rob's apartment. I knelt in the Floo, and took a deep breath before returning to my friends.

It was quiet. But I looked at the clock in the corner, of course it was. It was almost morning. Harry, Ron and Hermione had a long night, they were probably asleep. I knew I would be joining them quickly, but first, I was starving. I went into the kitchen so I could rummage through my bag and find something to eat.

I found Harry slumped over in a chair in the kitchen. He must have been waiting for me. He looked so peaceful that I didn't want to wake him, but I removed his glasses, because they looked seriously uncomfortable.

He jerked awake when I touched him. "Kat," he said, shaking his head to wake up.

"Shh," I said. "It's really late."

"Yeah, yeah it is," he mumbled. "Did you just get back?"

"Yeah," I told him. I rummaged through my bag, and found a can of soup. That sounded delicious, so I went and turned on the stove top to warm it up.

"What took you so long?" he asked.

"Had a lot to do," I said.

"Like?" he asked.

"I broke up with Adam."

"Oh," he said. I felt a bit of an awkward silence fall over us. "Er, I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," I said, brushing it aside. We all gave things up to be here. "Are you hungry?"

"No, I'm fine," he said. "Thanks."

"I grabbed a ton of food," I said. "And Muggle medicine, and clothing, and money."

"Oh, wow," he remarked. "You're prepared."

"Well," I started. "Not exactly like I know where we are going, is it?"

"I guess I owe you a bit of an explanation, don't I?"

"It'd certainly be nice..." I said. I grabbed the can of soup off the stove and summoned a spoon. It was incredibly dirty, but a quick washing and it was fine. Harry disappeared into the living room, so I followed him, eating my soup out of a can.

He slumped down into the couch, so I sat next to him.

"How... long are we going to be gone?" I asked him.

"I can't honestly give you an answer," he said. "It could be a month, or... it could be much longer."

I nodded, before taking a big breath. "Are we staying here? Or is this just a temporary place?"

"I would say temporary," he said. "We're likely going to have to keep on the move."

"All right."

"I think it would be better for us to talk about this all in the morning," he said. "It's a long story, and I'm rather tired."

"Me too," I admitted. My soup was almost gone, and then I planned on finding somewhere to curl up and sleep for about twelve hours.

"When you're done with that, I'll show you where we're sleeping," he offered.

I looked at him. He looked very tired. And I knew it was four o'clock in the morning, so everyone should be tired, but he looked as if he had run about ten marathons. I wanted to see him look alive again.

This was going to be a hard journey, I knew. With no end in sight, I felt a little bit alone. I was friends with Hermione, and a friendship had been blossoming with Harry over the last few months, but it was still easy to forget these people meant anything to me. I almost felt a little anger that I had been pulled into it. Maybe once I heard everything Harry had to say, or at least had a good night's sleep, I would feel more passionate. But for now all I wanted was a warm bed.

I looked over at Harry again, and found him asleep next to me. He was slumped over. I sighed. From my position on the couch, I could see the staircase upstairs, and it was completely dark and a little scary looking. I wasn't going to venture up there, not knowing my way.

I used magic to remove his glasses, and it didn't wake him this time, just cause him to lean more towards me. I summoned a blanket, put it over myself, and used his shoulder as a pillow. It took mere seconds for me to find sleep.

Author's Note: Hehe, a nice little chapter there, eh? Let me know what you think :)