Not an hour later, the only people left in the Room of Requirement were the Weasley family, Adam, Remus, and Harry. I found it so strange that both Adam and Harry were making small talk with each other while Ginny tried to get her mother to let her join the fight.
"What are they doing in the Great Hall?" Adam asked Harry quietly.
"Well, first, we've got to evacuate all the underage students, get them out of here. Then, I imagine we'll organize people to fight in groups."
Adam looked around at the people in the room and nodded, assessing us. I looked to Harry, on my left, and practically ached.
"You're underage!" Molly Weasley yelled. "I won't permit it!The boys yes, but you, you've got to go home!"
I had so much that I wanted to say to him. I wanted to tell him how angry I was at him, how terribly he had treated me when I had needed him. But I also thought that the anger was useless now. Who knew if either of us would be alive when this was over? I wanted more than anything to come to peace between us.
But not here and now, in front of the Weasleys… it was not the place. I didn't know if there was going to be a place.
"Why don't we head down there?" Harry asked, trying to diffuse the attention from Ginny and Molly's argument. I liked the distraction, though. I was fairly sure that Ginny was going to lose though.
When I didn't follow him, Harry reached out to touch my shoulder and I flinched.
"Sorry," he mumbled, but I followed them and half the Weasley clan out.
Just as we were at the doorway between this little reprieve from chaos and the rest of the school, Harry froze and used the marble arch to hold himself up.
"Harry," I hissed, not wanting to attract attention from the Weasleys. "What's going on?"
After just a moment, he shook his head and his eyes seemed focused again. "We need to get to the Great Hall," he said, quickly. "Now."
Down there, it was pretty much chaos. The underage students were mostly on their way out, evacuating and going to the safest place possible: Hogsmeade. I recognized some of them, faintly, but didn't say hello to anyone. It was very strange to be back at Hogwarts, in the Great Hall. I had longed to be here for so much of the last year, it was strange to finally be here. I had wanted a meal made by the house elves and the water pressure and the familiar smell of the Potions classroom...
I stuck with Adam, mostly, not wanting to get lost in the Weasleys. Hermione and Ron were nowhere to be found, but of course Harry was staying close.
I was so conflicted about him. Now seemed like it might have been a good time to talk with him, if I wanted. One last chance. Once we split up from here, who knew what would happen?
I looked up at him, and found that he and Adam were chuckling about something, and found myself being angry. What could they possibly be laughing about? I tried to focus on what they were talking about.
"I'm going to send you to help fortify the castle," Harry was explaining to Adam. "And I'd like you to take Kat with you. She's not so quick with her spells, I don't want her to be sent out to duel because I don't want her to get hurt."
"I'm better than you think I am," I said, finding my voice before really thinking it through. "Better than I used to be, that's for certain."
He looked a little shocked that I had spoken up. "Yeah, you are, Kat," he said. "You're a lot better than you used to be."
"I learned a lot of spells for safety wards on the run, Kat. I'm sure you could show me a few." Adam said.
I felt very placated. I was here to fight, not to set up safety spells and watch others get attacked. I was a better dueler than Adam, that was for certain.
Suddenly, the hall was quiet. I knew that most of the students had gone, just those that wanted to fight remained, but it was weird. The silence almost pressed up against me.
"Give me Harry Potter," said Voldemort's voice, "and none shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter, and I shall leave the school untouched. Give me Harry Potter, and you should be rewarded. You have until midnight."
Then, more silence. The hair on the back of my neck stood up at the sound of Voldemort's voice. I wasn't quite sure there was any air in my lungs to breath as the shock of hearing it reverberate off the walls filled me with shock. Everyone in the hall was looking toward Harry.
"Potter," finally, Professor McGonagall broke the silence. "Aren't you supposed to be looking for something?"
"Uh… yeah!" he said, turning away from the onlookers and walking out of the hall.
I guess it wasn't meant to be. I wasn't going to talk to him, and I guessed that was maybe for the best. I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to say. But Harry was gone, and I didn't know when I'd see him again.
It wasn't long until Fred, George, Lee Jordan, Hannah Abbot, Adam, and I were off to set up some protective wards on the castle. I followed them, trudging up the stairs and getting to work. I felt better about things when I could distract myself by putting up wards. It made me feel productive and took my mind off the situation with Harry.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Adam work. His form was poor and while he knew some good spells, I wasn't sure he was doing them totally correctly.
I hoped that he wouldn't have to duel anyone tonight.
Time passed weird in the corridor, as anxiety started to hit me like waves. I tried to focus on the task at hand, but it was hard… we had worked our way down the third floor hallway. The paintings across the hall wanted to chat with us. Fred and George humored them a bit.
Harry's Point of View
After I had gotten the information that I needed from Helena Ravenclaw, I knew where I needed to go, but I had a stop to make first.
Seeing Kat again after being away from her was a difficult experience. In the past few days, I had come to realize how terrible I had been to her at Shell Cottage. Seeing her hurt at Malfoy Manor had absolutely shaken me to my core, and I had pushed her away because I thought it would help keep her safe.
I could see now that my plan had worked terribly. She just looked so hollow. She flinched when I tried to touch her.
I didn't know what was going to happen to her tonight. I knew I would not see morning, but I didn't want to leave her thinking that I had done what I had because I didn't care about her.
I did what I did because I loved her.
I passed a group of people fortifying the other end of the third floor, in the Charms Corridor, and asked that one of them, a seventh year that I hardly recognized, ask Kat to go to the Clock Tower to meet a group to go work on some potions. Then, I quickly made my way to the Clock Tower to wait for her.
Kat's Point of View
"Harry?" I asked, stunned to see him waiting in the Clock I had been directed to. He was at the window, watching something outside. I wagered I didn't want to know what he was grimacing at.
"Kat," he said, slowly, turning around to look at me. "Hey."
"I don't think I'm in the right place," I explained, honestly confused as to what he was doing here.
"No, you are," he said, walking towards me. "I sent for you. I wanted to see you."
"Oh," was all I could manage in my stupor. I blushed and looked at my feet. Harry had acted so strangely towards me both after Malfoy Manor and today… I couldn't quite wrap my head around the fact that he was both initiating conversation and looking me in the eyes.
At this point, he had managed to close the distance between us. I didn't know how to act, watching his hand scrutinously as he brought it up to cup my face. I moved backwards, out of instinct, unfamiliar with the idea of him touching me.
"I guess I deserve that," he said, taking a step back and running his fingers through the scraggly hair on the back of his head. Somewhere in the distance, we could hear screams, though neither of us gave it any notice. "Look, Kat."
"What, Harry?" I asked, finding my voice. I felt so many emotions, a giant mix of very hurt, blind rage, and utter confusion surged through me. I balled my fists at my side so tightly my knuckles were white. "What could you have to say to me, now?"
"I love you, Kat," he said. "I really do. I've never told someone that before, you know."
My heart swelled at the same time my brain wanted him to shut up and go away. I didn't really have anything to say back just yet, I really wanted to see what else he had to say first.
"And I know, I've done an awful terrible job of showing you that I love you. I was a prat, a giant prick, believe me, I know. But I wasn't upset with you… I was upset with me. I had fallen for you out of no where, you weren't part of the plan. I hadn't planned to do this terrible journey with someone I cared for like I cared- care, for you. I don't like watching my friends get hurt, but it's even worse watching you get hurt and knowing I should be protecting you. Listening to your screams of terror that day at Malfoy Manor was my version of hell… to hear you be violated like that, and to be the reason you're in that position. Your screams still haunt my dreams, Kat."
I felt a little bit sick, but also intrigued. I needed to hear what he was saying. I felt a little bit lighter than I had upon walking in already.
"I thought that the only way to fix my actions in that situation was to distance myself from you. If we weren't close, you'd be less likely to get in harm's way in the future. And I know that it was wildly unfair to you… but it made sense in my mind at the time. I didn't think you were dirty or unclean or any of that- far from it. I just wanted you to be as normal as possible after the attack. I realize how selfish that was, it was really just totally unfair to you. You had never really signed up for this, you were just thrust into it, but you did so well. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you, Kat. Having you on the journey with me was such an unexpected source of happiness. You made me laugh, you made me happy, and most of all, you cared so deeply for me when I didn't deserve it. I feel so lucky to have gotten to experience love with you before everything that will happen tonight."
My breath hitched in my throat and I felt tears filling my eyes, but I tried to blink them away as as quickly as I could. I didn't want to cry right now, but I didn't want to lose him.
"Oh," he said, though I could tell he wasn't sure what to do. Harry never was great with crying girls, and I let out a small, watery chuckle. "I'll just…"
He put his arms around me, very slowly to give me a chance to back out. I didn't- I wanted to take in every ounce of him while he was here with me and I could feel his hot breath on my neck. I turned into the embrace, putting my head on his chest.
"I didn't mean to make you cry," he said, stroking my hair.
"Shh…" I shushed him, just needing a moment. I took a few deep breaths.
Once I had managed the tears in my eyes, I looked back up at him, his bright green eyes dark with something I couldn't identify.
"So I was wondering if maybe you could find it somewhere in your heart to forgive me?"
"Harry Potter, you absolute git," I said, and leaned up to kiss him, fresh tears in my eyes. I closed my eyes for a second and lost myself in the embrace. The way his lips tasted, the feel of his scraggly hair against my cheek, his exhale grazing my face. I wanted to stay in this empty classroom snogging him forever. "I love you too."
It may have been a few minutes or half an hour later when he finally pulled away from me, a small grin on his face. Then, we heard more screams from outside and couldn't ignore them this time. He cupped my face with his hands and looked me in the eyes. "I want you to be as safe as possible out there tonight," he said.
"Of course," I said quietly, looking up at him. I didn't want us to leave the classroom, because I didn't know what was going to happen. He didn't seem very optimistic about what was going to happen but I didn't dwell on it because it made me feel sick. Stepping foot beyond that door made everything real again. "You too."
I hugged him tight again, practically sure that I was hurting him with how tightly my arms were wrapped around him. He pulled away first and moved towards the door. I took a deep breath and felt much, much better than I had when I walked in the door.
Author's Note: *waives meekly* Hiiiii guys. I'm really bad at updating this! I really do apologize. Being an English major is mildly soul sucking when it comes to wanting to write any more outside of class, but I managed to scrounge up some energy. If there's anyone left out there, please enjoy and let me know what you think :)