Chapter 61: A Cursed Katie

September 14, 2003

As Harry had expected, the Quidditch trials took most of the morning. Half of Gryffindor House seemed to have turned up, from first years who were nervously clutching a selection of the dreadful old school brooms, to seventh years who towered over the rest, looking coolly intimidating.

Harry decided to start with a basic test, asking all applicants for the team to divide into groups of ten and fly once around the pitch. This was a good decision: The first ten was made up of first years and it could not have been plainer that they had hardly ever flown before. Only one boy managed to remain airborne for more than a few seconds, and he was so surprised he promptly crashed into one of the goal posts.

The second group was comprised of ten of the silliest girls Harry had ever encountered, who, when he blew his whistle, merely fell about giggling and clutching one another. Romilda Vane was amongst them. When he told them to leave the pitch, they did so quite cheerfully and went to sit in the stands to heckle everyone else.

The third group had a pileup halfway around the pitch. Most of the fourth group had come without broomsticks. The fifth group were Hufflepuffs.

"If there's anyone else here who's not from Gryffindor," roared Harry, who was starting to get seriously annoyed, "leave now, please!"

There was a pause, then a couple of little Ravenclaws went sprinting off the pitch, snorting with laughter.

After two hours, many complaints, and several tantrums, one involving a crashed Comet Two Sixty and several broken teeth, Harry had found himself three Chasers: Katie Bell, returned to the team after an excellent trial; Ginny, who Harry was sure had used her Slayer reflexes, was particularly good at dodging Bludgers; and Dawn, who Harry was sure had also used abilities given to her by the Slayer, had out flown all the competition and scored seventeen goals to boot. He had been tempted to pick someone other than Ginny and Dawn, but he had been hard pressed to find anyone as good as they were.

"That's my final decision and if you don't get out of the way for the Keepers, I'll hex you," he said having shouted himself hoarse at the many complainers and was now enduring a similar battle with the rejected Beaters.

Neither of his chosen Beaters had the old brilliance of Fred and George, but he was still reasonably pleased with them: Jimmy Peakes, a short but broad-chested third-year boy who had managed to raise a lump the size of an egg on the back of Harry's head with a ferociously hit Bludger, and Ritchie Coote, who looked weedy but aimed well. They now joined Katie, Dawn, and Ginny in the stands with Buffy and Willow to watch the selection of their last team member. Harry had deliberately left the trial of the Keepers until last, hoping for an emptier stadium and less pressure on all concerned. Unfortunately, however, all the rejected players and a number of people who had come down to watch after a lengthy breakfast had joined the crowd by now, so that it was larger than ever. As each Keeper flew up to the goal hoops, the crowd roared and jeered in equal measure. Harry glanced over at Ron, who had always had a problem with nerves; Harry had hoped that winning their final match last term might have cured it, but apparently not: Ron was a delicate shade of green.

None of the first five applicants saved more than two goals apiece.

Ron looked ready to pass out as he mounted his Cleansweep Eleven.

"Good luck!" cried a voice from the stands. Harry looked around, expecting to see Dawn, Buffy, Willow or Hermione, but it had been Lavender Brown.

Ron saved one, two, three, four, five penalties in a row. Delighted, and resisting joining in the cheers of the crowd with difficulty, Harry turned to McLaggen to tell him that, most unfortunately, Ron had beaten him, only to find McLaggen's red face inches from his own. He stepped back hastily.

"Your sister and her girlfriend didn't really try," said McLaggen menacingly. "They both gave him easy saves."

"Rubbish," said Harry coldly. "You are aware that they both are Slayers, right? Theirs were ones he nearly missed."

McLaggen took a step nearer Harry, who stood his ground this time. "Give me another go."

"No."

Harry and McLaggen turned and saw Dawn standing next to them.

"You had your chance," Dawn said. "Ginny and I didn't make it easy on Ron. If you want to make a big deal of it. You can forget the possibility of being chosen as replacement. A position that was added to the team last year when I joined." McLaggen turned and got in her face. "I think you might want to back off. As Harry, said, I am a Slayer, remember? And so is Ginny, recently called over the summer."

McLaggen glared at Dawn and then stormed away, growling what sounded like threats to thin air.

"I think you need someone else for the replacement," Dawn said. "Sorry, Harry."

"It's all right," said Harry as he and Dawn turned to look at Ron who was beaming at them.

"Well done," Harry said. "You flew really well—"

"You did great, Ron!" agreed Dawn.

After fixing the time of their first full practice for the following Thursday; Ginny, Dawn, Harry, Ron, and Hermione bade good-bye to the rest of the team as well as Buffy and Willow and headed off toward Hagrid's.

"I thought I was going to miss that fourth penalty," Ron was saying happily. "Tricky shot from you, Dawn, you had a bit of spin on it—"

"Couldn't make it easy," Dawn said.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

The smell of roast beef made Dawn's stomach ache with hunger, but they had barely taken three steps toward the Gryffindor table when Professor Slughorn appeared in front of them, blocking their path.

"Ginny, Harry, Dawn, just the people I was hoping to see!" he boomed genially. "I was hoping to catch you three before dinner! What do you all say to a spot of supper tonight in my rooms instead? We're having a little party, just a few rising stars, I've got McLaggen coming and Zabini, the charming Melinda Bobbin—I don't know whether you know her? Her family owns a large chain of apothecaries—and, of course, I hope very much that Miss Granger will favor me by coming too."

Slughorn made Hermione a little bow as he finished speaking.

"I can't come, Professor," said Dawn at once. "I've got a detention with Professor Snape."

"And I have Slayer training," added Ginny.

"Since Dawn has detention, I am Ginny's sparring partner tonight," added Harry.

"Oh dear!" said Slughorn, his face falling comically. "Dear, dear, I was counting on you three! Well, now, I'll just have to have a word with Buffy and Severus and explain the situation. I'm sure I'll be able to persuade Severus to postpone your detention. Dawn. And I am sure I can persuade Buffy to postpone the Slayer training. Yes, I'll see you later!"

He bustled away out of the Hall.

"He's got no chance of persuading Snape," said Harry, the moment Slughorn was out of earshot.

"Harry's right," agreed Dawn. "My detention's already been postponed once; Snape did it for Dumbledore, but he won't do it for anyone else."

"And Buffy knows how much I hates his dinners," added Ginny. "She won't postpone training as a favor to me."

After dinner they made their way back to Gryffindor Tower. The common room was very crowded, as most people had finished dinner by now, but they managed to find a free table and sat down.

Dawn saw that Ginny was playing with Arnold the Pygmy Puff. "I see you love, Buffy's gift," she said as Ginny looked at her and smiled.

"Dawn?" said Demelza Robins, appearing suddenly at her shoulder. "I've got a message for you."

"From Snape?" Dawn asked.

Demelza nodded. "He says you're to come to his office at half past eight tonight to do your detention—er—no matter how many party invitations you've received. And he wanted you to know you'll be sorting out rotten flobberworms from good ones, to use in Potions and—and he says there's no need to bring protective gloves."

October 12, 2003

Halfway through October came their first trip of the term to Hogsmeade.

Dawn woke early on the morning of the trip, which was proving stormy, and whiled away the time until breakfast by reading her copy of Advanced Potion-Making. The more she pored over the book, the more she realized how much was in there, not only the handy hints and shortcuts on potions that were earning her such a glowing reputation with Slughorn, but also the imaginative little jinxes and hexes scribbled in the margins, which Dawn was sure, judging by the crossings-out and revisions, that the Prince had invented himself.

Even though Dawn knew Buffy would not have approved, especially since Dawn was a Slayer, she had already attempted a few of the Prince's self-invented spells. There had been a hex that caused toenails to grow alarmingly fast (she had tried this on Crabbe in the corridor, with very entertaining results); a jinx that glued the tongue to the roof of the mouth (which she had twice used, to general applause, on an unsuspecting Filch); and, perhaps most useful of all, Muffliato, a spell that filled the ears of anyone nearby with an unidentifiable buzzing, so that lengthy conversations could be held in class without being overheard.

Sitting up in bed, Dawn turned the book sideways so as to examine more closely the scribbled instructions for a spell that seemed to have caused the Prince some trouble. There were many crossings-out and alterations, but finally, crammed into a corner of the page, the scribble: Levicorpus (nvbl)

Dawn stared at the letters in brackets. Nvbl… that had to mean "nonverbal."

Pointing her wand at nothing in particular, she gave it an upward flick and said Levicorpus! inside her head.

"Aaaaaaaargh!"

There was a flash of light and the room was full of voices: Everyone had woken up as Hermione had let out a scream. Dawn sent Advanced Potion-Making flying in panic; Hermione was dangling upside down in midair as though an invisible hook had hoisted her up by the ankle.

"Sorry!" yelled Dawn. "Hang on—I'll let you down—"

She groped for the potion book and riffled through it in a panic, trying to find the right page; at last she located it and deciphered one cramped word underneath the spell: Praying that this was the counter-jinx, Dawn thought Liberacorpus! with all her might.

There was another flash of light, and Hermione fell in a heap onto her mattress.

"Sorry," repeated Dawn weakly.

By the time they had gotten dressed, Hermione was pulling Dawn into Buffy and Willow's suite. After checking to make sure neither Willow or Buffy were there, Hermione turned an expression of wintry disapproval upon Dawn. "That spell was from that potion book of yours?" she asked.

Dawn sighed and nodded.

"So, you just decided to try out an unknown, handwritten incantation and see what would happen?"

"I'm a Slayer that can use not only wand but Wiccan magic, Hermione," said Dawn. "It doesn't matter if it's handwritten, you know. It doesn't matter if the Ministry of Magic approved of it or not. Half the spells I cast will never be approved by the Ministry as they want to regulate Wiccan out of existence, at least in England."

"While you make a good point," admitted Hermione. "I think this Prince character was a bit dodgy."

"You're probably right," said Dawn. "Are you going to tell Buffy?"

"Possibly," answered Hermione. "If you keep using those spells, I might."

"I have a right and a duty as a Slayer to protect those I love, Hermione," said Dawn. "And in case you haven't noticed that includes you. Or have you forgotten you are dating my brother?"

"I've not forgotten," said Hermione with a sigh.

"That means learning everything I can and practicing spells that normally no one else would think to use," said Dawn. "Think about it the spell I accidentally used on you could be useful against a vampire. Lift it into the air and …"

"…you could stake it fairly easy while its dangling," said Hermione. "Again, you make a good point."

"There you two are," said Ginny as she came in through the portrait hole from the common room. "Dawn, Dumbledore sent a note on his next lesson. And he said I can come too."

Dawn smiled as she kissed Ginny before taking the parchment from her girlfriend. She read its contents. "Monday evening. Need to show this to Buffy, Willow and Harry."

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Filch was standing at the oak front doors as usual, checking off the names of people who had permission to go into Hogsmeade. The process took even longer than normal as Filch was triple-checking everybody with his Secrecy Sensor.

"What does it matter if we're smuggling Dark stuff OUT?" demanded Ron to Ginny, Buffy, Willow, Harry, Dawn and Hermione, eyeing the long thin Secrecy Sensor with apprehension. "Surely you ought to be checking what we bring back IN?"

His cheek earned him a few extra jabs with the Sensor, and he was still wincing as they stepped out into the wind and sleet.

The walk into Hogsmeade was not enjoyable. The road to the village was full of students bent double against the bitter wind. When they finally reached Hogsmeade and saw that Zonko's Joke Shop had been boarded up.

"Hmm," said Buffy as she looked at the joke shop. "Will, remind me to owl Fred and George. This could be a great opportunity for them."

Ron pointed, with a thickly gloved hand, toward Honeydukes, which was mercifully open, the group staggered into the crowded shop.

"Thank God," shivered Ron as they were enveloped by warm, toffee scented air. "Let's stay here all afternoon."

"Ginny! Harry! Dawn! Elizabeth! Willow!" said a booming voice from behind them.

"Oh no," muttered Harry.

They turned to see Slughorn occupying at least a quarter of the shop.

"Harry, Elizabeth, Dawn, Willow, Ginny, that's three of my little suppers you've missed now!" said Slughorn. "It won't do, I'm determined to have you all! Miss Granger loves them, don't you?"

"Yes," said Hermione helplessly,

"So why don't you five come along?" demanded Slughorn looking at the Potter family.

"Well Dawn, Ginny and I've had Quidditch practice, Professor," said Harry, who had been scheduling practices every time Slughorn had sent a little, violet ribbon-adorned invitation.

"Well, I certainly expect you to win your first match after all this hard work!" said Slughorn.

"And Willow and I are usually quite busy," added Buffy. "I have papers to go over and grade. Willow is the guidance counselor so she has office hours most days and some evenings."

"But a little recreation never hurt anybody. Now, how about Monday night …"

"I'm afraid none of us can make it," said Buffy. "We have an appointment with Albus on Monday. Kind of a Slayer thing."

"Unlucky again!" cried Slughorn dramatically. "Ah, well… you all can't evade me forever!"

And with a regal wave, he waddled out of the shop.

"I can't believe you guys have wriggled out of another one," said Hermione, shaking her head. "They're not that bad, you know… They're even quite fun sometimes…"

Buffy sighed. "Hermione, it's one thing to be invited to something like that once or twice. But every single time. You don't know how much the teachers actually do outside of class."

"And I have counseling sessions most evenings," said Willow.

"Personally, I just don't want to go," said Dawn.

"Neither do I," agreed Harry and Ginny.

"Let's go to the Three Broomsticks," said Harry. "It'll be warm."

They bundled their scarves back over their faces and left the sweetshop.

The bitter wind was like knives on their faces after the sugary warmth of Honeydukes. The street was not very busy; nobody was lingering to chat, just hurrying toward their destinations. The exceptions were two men a little ahead of them, standing just outside the Three Broomsticks. One was the barman who worked in the other Hogsmeade pub, the Hog's Head. The other was tall and thin and juggling something in his arms.

"Mundungus!" said Dawn recognizing the man.

The squat, bandy-legged man with long, straggly, ginger hair jumped and dropped an ancient suitcase, which burst open, releasing what looked like the entire contents of a junk shop window.

"Oh, 'ello, Dawn, 'Arry, 'Lizabeth," said Mundungus, with a most unconvincing stab at airiness. "Well, don't let me keep ya."

And he began scrabbling on the ground to retrieve the contents of his suitcase with every appearance of a man eager to be gone.

"Are you selling this stuff?" asked Buffy, watching Mundungus grab an assortment of grubby-looking objects from the ground.

"Oh, well, got to scrape a living," said Mundungus. "Give me that!"

Ron had stooped down and picked up something silver. "Hang on," he said slowly. "This looks familiar—"

"Thank you!" said Mundungus, snatching the goblet out of Ron's hand and stuffing it back into the case. "Well, I'll see you all—OUCH!"

Buffy had pinned Mundungus against the wall of the pub by the throat. Holding him fast with one hand, she pulled out her wand. "You took that from my home," she said, almost nose to nose with Mundungus and was breathing in an unpleasant smell of old tobacco and spirits. "That has the Black family crest on it."

"I—no—what—?" spluttered Mundungus, who was slowly turning purple.

"What did you do?" Buffy snarled. "Go back during the summer when my attention was directed at Sunnydale and take some of my property?"

"I—no—"

"Give it to me!" said Buffy.

There was a bang, and Buffy felt her hands fly off Mundungus's throat.

Gasping and spluttering, Mundungus seized his fallen case, then—CRACK—he Disapparated.

Harry swore at the top of his voice, spinning on the spot to see where Mundungus had gone. "COME BACK, YOU THIEVING—!" he said.

"There's no point, Harry," said Tonks who had appeared out of nowhere, her mousy hair wet with sleet. "Mundungus will probably be in London by now. There's no point yelling."

"He stole from me," said Buffy as she and Willow headed for the castle. "I am going to talk to Albus. There has to be a way of uninviting him from the Fidelius charm."

Dawn, Ginny, Harry, Ron and Hermione watched as Buffy and Willow left. Then they turned and headed through the door of the Three Broomsticks.

Several minutes later Buffy and Willow ran into McGonagall on their way to Dumbledore's office.

"Minerva," said Buffy. "Is Albus back?"

"No," answered McGonagall. "Not till Monday. Why?"

"Mundungus is stealing from my home," said Buffy. "How do we disinvite him from the charm that Albus put on the house when it became Headquarters for the Order?"

"There is no way to disinvite someone," said McGonagall. "The only solution to keep him or anyone else that has been let in on the secret out of Grimmauld Place would be to place traps to ensure their capture. Either that or someone would have to be there to deter potential theft of property."

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Harry, Dawn, Ginny, Ron and Hermione were heading back toward the castle as they followed Katie Bell and her friend. The two girls were having an argument about something Katie was holding in her hand.

"It's nothing to do with you, Leanne!" Katie said.

They rounded a corner in the lane, sleet coming thick and fast. Leanne made to grab hold of the package Katie was holding; Katie tugged it back and the package fell to the ground.

At once, Katie rose gracefully into the air, her arms outstretched, as though she was about to fly. Yet there was something wrong, something eerie… Her hair was whipped around her by the fierce wind, but her eyes were closed and her face was quite empty of expression. Dawn, Ginny, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Leanne had all halted in their tracks, watching.

Then, six feet above the ground, Katie let out a terrible scream. Her eyes flew open but whatever she could see, or whatever she was feeling, was clearly causing her terrible anguish. She screamed and screamed; Leanne started to scream too and seized Katie's ankles, trying to tug her back to the ground. Dawn rushed forward to help, but even as she grabbed Katie's legs, she fell on top of them; Dawn managed to catch her but she was writhing so much they could hardly hold her. Instead Dawn and Leanne lowered her to the ground where she thrashed and screamed, apparently unable to recognize any of them.

"Stay with her!" said Dawn as a portal formed in front of her. She stepped through to Buffy's side. "Buffy!"

McGonagall, Willow and Buffy looked at Dawn.

"Katie Bell," said Dawn. "She's been hurt or cursed or something."

She led McGonagall, Buffy and Willow back through the portal. They found a little group of people around Katie, who was still writhing and screaming on the ground; Ginny, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Leanne were all trying to quiet her.

"Get back!" said McGonagall. "Let me see her!"

"Professor, something's happened to her!" sobbed Leanne. "I don't know what—"

"Buffy," McGonagall said. "Take her to Poppy."

Buffy bent down, scooped Katie into her arms as Dawn opened a portal and she stepped through it. As the portal closed Katie's piercing screams disappeared with it.

"Ms. Laughland," McGonagall said as she looked toward Leanne. "Did it just happen all of a sudden, or—?"

"It was when that package tore," sobbed Leanne, pointing at the now sodden brown-paper package on the ground, which had split open to reveal a greenish glitter.

Willow bent down to look at the package, she saw an ornate opal necklace was visible, poking out of the paper. "Minerva, I recognize this. It was on display in Borgin and Burkes last summer. The label said it was cursed. Katie must have touched it."

McGonagall nodded as she looked toward Leanne. "How did Ms. Bell come to have this package?"

"She came back from the bathroom in the Three Broomsticks holding it, said it was a surprise for somebody at Hogwarts and she had to deliver it. She looked all funny when she said it… Oh no, oh no, I bet she'd been Imperiused and I didn't realize!" answered Leanne as she shook with renewed sobs. Hermione patted her shoulder gently.

"She didn't say who'd given it to her, Ms. Laughland?"

"No… she wouldn't tell me… and I said she was being stupid and not to take it up to school, but she just wouldn't listen and… and then I tried to grab it from her… and—and—" Leanne let out a wail of despair.

"What happened when Katie touched the necklace?" McGonagall asked.

"She rose up in the air," said Harry, "and then began to scream, and collapsed."

McGonagall nodded. "Dawn, your scarf, please," she said as Dawn removed her scarf and handed it to her. She wrapped it around the necklace before picking it up. "Now a portal if you would be so kind to the hospital wing."

Dawn opened the portal, she, Willow and Leanne followed McGonagall through before it closed behind them.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Katie was removed to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries the following day, by which time the news that she had been cursed had spread all over the school, though the details were confused and nobody other than Buffy, Dawn, Ginny, Willow, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Leanne seemed to know that Katie herself had not been the intended target.