A/N: Sorry it's been a while since I last updated. I've been really busy.
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Chapter 21 – Alea iacta est
Faye looked up at the urgent knocking on the door. Hesitantly she laid down her quill and moved over to the door, opening it curiously. At the sight of the person on the other side, her look of surprise turned to a frown.
"Hermione?"
"It's Katherine," said the brown haired girl, twisting her hands together nervously. "She's...in a bad way and I heard you tell Remus that you'd trained as a Healer in America. Please – Avery won't take her to Saint Mungo's and..." She broke off, biting her lip and looking imploringly up at Faye. "There's a lot of blood."
Faye stared down at the girl, a thousand and one scenarios flitting through her head. Hermione knew Katherine? How was that possible? Was this really Hermione or...?
"Please, Faye. You've got to help." Hermione's eyes were wide, her face pale and the expression of concern on it was genuine enough. Maybe she was walking into a trap but could she afford to take that chance?
"Ok," she said quietly. "Where is she?"
x – X – x
The fireplace at Grimmauld Place flared green and Hermione stepped out, expression worried but calm.
"She's coming."
Robert Avery regarded her distrustfully, Katherine lying unconscious on the floor next to him. "If you've gone to the Aurors you're going to regret it," he said softly, malice underlying every word.
Hermione shot him a scathing look, moving to stand next to Harry and Ron who had their wands trained on the two Death Eaters. "Of course I didn't. I said I knew someone who could help and I found her. She'll be here in a minute."
Avery scowled at her, then turned his attention back to Katherine, hating the fact that he had to put her life in the hands of a group of teenage Gryffindors. He supposed he could have tried Saint Mungo's but that would mean Azkaban for them both or at the very least awkward questions from him and that wouldn't do anyone any good. He sighed, moving his hand away from Katherine's head to see if the bleeding had stopped yet; he'd used his shirt to try and stem the flow of blood but it hadn't helped much. Don't die, Kat. You didn't come this far to get killed at the first hurdle. You didn't come this far to give up on me...
Green light lit up the room again as Hermione's supposed Healer arrived and Robert glanced up, then did a double take and looked again.
"Who the hell are you?" he demanded, getting to his feet, blood stained hands reaching for his wand, only to remember the trio had taken it from him as he'd examined Katherine.
"My name's Faye," said the woman, setting a bag down on the floor and reaching out towards Katherine. Robert knocked her hand away, glaring at her.
"That wasn't what I meant," he growled through gritted teeth. Faye looked back, meeting his gaze with equal animosity.
"Well if this is how all her friends behave when I'm trying to help I can see why she made sure we never met," said Faye pushing determinedly past Avery and kneeling by her cousin.
"What are you talking about?" asked Robert, dropping to the floor as Faye examined first Katherine's eyes, then the back of her head.
"Later," said Faye distractedly. "How did she do this?"
"Got slammed into the wall," said Robert curtly, holding Katherine's hair back as Faye took something out of her bag. Faye's oak green eyes looked at him in surprise at this gesture and he let his gaze fall to Katherine's pale face. He hadn't seen her look so helpless since Evan had poisoned her over twenty years previously and she'd very nearly died then.
"Who slammed her into a wall?" asked Faye innocently, sealing the wound with her wand.
"No one."
"What then?" asked Faye, looking up at him. "Doing something she shouldn't have been?"
Avery smiled grimly, though his brown eyes remained worried. "Always."
Faye smiled back faintly and turned Katherine over, taking her pulse. "Katherine? Kat? Can you hear me?"
No response.
Looking thoughtful, Robert leant down and whispered something in Katherine's ear. One blue eye flickered open and looked blearily but nevertheless accusingly up at him.
"Liar," she murmured, half raising a hand to thump him on the arm, but letting it fall again almost immediately. "What happened?" she asked, not even bothering to open both eyes, let alone try and sit up.
"You nearly gave me a heart attack, that's what," said Robert, looking appraisingly down at her.
"I said it might kill me," muttered Katherine with a sigh. "It was a chance I was willing to take. Shame it didn't work. Is it gone?"
"Destroyed," smiled Robert, eyes triumphant now.
"What was?" asked Faye, leaning back against the sink and gazing down at her now lucid cousin.
Both of Katherine's eyes flew open at the sound of her voice and she turned her head, wincing slightly, to stare at Faye.
"What are you doing here?"
"Saving your life," answered Faye, folding her arms. "What were you doing?"
Katherine managed a half hearted smile. "Attempting to save everyone else's." She turned her head back to look up at Robert. He shook his head, rubbing his face tiredly.
"You can explain later when you've thought up a suitable story," he sighed, getting to his feet and helping Katherine into one the chairs that had survived the blast of fury from the horcrux.
"She's my cousin," said Katherine quietly, looking him in the eye. "She works at Hogwarts and I told Tom I killed her and that it's me working there in disguise."
Robert regarded her carefully for a moment, then looked at Faye. "In that case you'd better be getting back there before anyone notices you're missing."
Faye nodded, picking up her bag. "I want you to come and see me tonight, Kat – or I'll come and see you. You've probably got concussion and I need to give you a proper look over, right?"
Katherine sighed but agreed reluctantly. "Ask Rem where my house is and meet me there – only don't tell him about this. He'll probably lecture me."
Faye smiled. "Ok. I'll see you then."
"And not a word of this to anyone," added Katherine, as Faye moved over to the fireplace.
"I won't tell a soul – so long as you meet me tonight," answered Faye, clear eyes serious before she turned to the fireplace and said calmly: "Hogwarts."
Katherine smiled wanly then placed her folded arms on the table and rested her head on them. "How did she get here?"
"I got her."
Katherine raised her head and unfocused eyes settled on Hermione. "You?"
"You didn't think we were going to let you die without giving us answers, did you?" asked Harry, pulling up a chair opposite her.
Katherine studied him for a moment then frowned, though Harry could have sworn she was suppressing a grin.
"You're a bloody clone of your father, you are."
"And are you a clone of yours?" asked Harry, gaze fixed on hers.
Katherine grinned wickedly, burnished eyes glittering. "Hell no, Potter. I'm unique."
"You destroyed the horcrux."
"I did."
"You knew it was Voldemort's horcrux."
"I knew."
"Why did you do it?"
Katherine raised an eyebrow. "Why? Because I promised Reg I would." She smiled with all the lazy menace of a tiger and added: "And because I hate Tom. Yours weren't the only parents he killed."
"He killed your parents?" asked Harry, his forehead creasing in a frown.
Katherine smiled mirthlessly. "My fault; I should have stayed with him."
"You're lying."
Katherine gave Harry an odd look. "Excuse me?"
"Your father's alive," said Harry, returning her look with one of anger. He didn't like being treated like a child.
Katherine tilted her head to one side and smiled tightly. "Biology isn't everything, Potter."
"But he is your father," said Harry, only a trace of uncertainty showing in his voice.
"Tom? Yeah, I guess giving me twenty six chromosomes means he qualifies as being my father, but he's not my Dad. My Dad was murdered when I was sixteen, along with my Mum," said Katherine, looking ruefully at Harry. "My fault." She glanced at Robert, who had stopped removing the last of the broken pottery from his shoulder and was staring at her. "What?"
"You never told me that."
Katherine chuckled softly. "You never asked." She sighed heavily, then cast a sudden glance around the room, looking as though she'd lost something. "Where's Kreacher?"
Harry started, realising he hadn't heard the elf's discontented mutterings for a while now.
"Maybe he went back to Hogwarts," suggested Ron, shrugging, but Hermione tugged on his arm and pointed towards the pile of splintered wood that had previously been a set of shelves. Katherine leant over the table and saw a pair of feet sticking out from under them; they weren't moving.
"Ah," she said quietly as Robert muttered something Harry couldn't hear and sparks flew from his fingertips, engulfing the small body, turning it to ash in a matter of seconds. "You weren't too attached to him were you?"
"To Kreacher?" asked Harry, his incredulity evident in his voice.
Katherine laughed, sitting back in her chair. "I see you've inherited your godfather's distaste for him then. Can't say I blame you – Reg always said he was a nasty little git."
"So you did know him," said Harry, green eyes boring into Katherine's. He was going to get answers if it killed him.
"Course I did – he was in my year," said Katherine nonchalantly, though something about her stance told Harry she was being deliberately careful.
"He's got his arm round you in the photo," said Harry, a touch of accusation in his voice.
"End of term high spirits," said Katherine calmly, eyes bright with mystery.
"You were friends?"
"For a while," admitted Katherine quietly.
"Then what happened?" asked Harry, determinedly.
Katherine smiled again, eyes full of regret. "Neither the time nor the place, Potter," she sighed.
"And when will it be," asked Harry angrily.
"I don't know," said Katherine. "But it's not now." She got up and Harry noticed she wasn't even swaying anymore; how could she have recovered that quickly? She'd lost a lot of blood – the evidence of that was congealing on the kitchen floor and matting her glossy black hair, but if you hadn't known that, you'd never have guessed she'd been at death's door ten minutes previously.
Robert Avery chuckled, rinsing out the cloth he'd been using to tend to his own wounds. "She's a fast healer," he said quietly, noticing Harry's confused expression. "Very fast," he added as Harry shot him a disbelieving look.
Katherine stood up from her crouch, fragments of gold in her hand. "One down," she grinned, dropping the shards onto the table and sitting back down, her alert gaze focused on the trio. "Now, I think, is the time to talk horcruxes."
"Why should we talk to you?" asked Ron, pulling up a chair beside Harry, Hermione with him.
"Because we're smarter than you are," offered Robert flippantly. "Or maybe because you just saw us destroy one and you can't afford not to be on our side."
"Can't we?" asked Hermione defiantly.
"No," answered Katherine softly. "Because if you're going to go shooting your mouths off to anyone, we're going to have to kill you, prophecy be damned."
"But you work for Voldemort," pointed out Harry, hand clasping the fake locket in his pocket, Remus' words echoing in his head: "...you really don't want her as your enemy..."
"And you think that means we're on his side?" asked Katherine, looking vaguely amused. "Tom uses threats and punishments to ensure loyalty and they're not exactly the best methods of winning the hearts of your followers."
"You're risking a lot by tracking down horcruxes then, aren't you," said Hermione. It wasn't a question.
Katherine looked at Robert, then back at the trio. "I've got nothing to lose and Robert's got everything," she shrugged. "Tom has to be stopped."
There was a short pause, then Ron asked quietly:
"Look, exactly whose side are you on? His or ours?"
"Mine," said Katherine firmly. "Nasty Slytherin habit that – don't care much about other people."
"Except Remus?" questioned Hermione sharply. Katherine grinned and surveyed the girl with an amused gaze.
"Except Rem."
"You not caring about others isn't a very good reason for us joining you, is it?" remarked Harry, frowning deeply. There was another factor in this somewhere, he knew it – if only he could work out what it was...
"You need us," said Robert seriously. "We're more experienced with Dark Magic."
Harry looked at him thoughtfully. "You mean you need us. I'm the one who can defeat Voldemort and..." He paused, smiling grimly. "...and you don't know how many there are, do you? One down – but how many more to go?"
Katherine's eyes narrowed, though not in annoyance. "Father's looks and mother's astuteness. That's rather a dangerous combination you've got there, Potter. No wonder Tom's mad at you." She sighed, smiling slyly. "But Rob's still got a point – you do need us."
"Because you're better at magic?"
"No, because you've got no idea where to look," said Katherine simply. "If you did, you would have found that locket long ago and would be well on the way to tracking down the next one by now."
"And you know where to look?" asked Harry, irritated.
Katherine smiled artfully. "When I first met Tom he used to tell me a lot about his childhood – he wanted to get me on side I guess, by telling me all about his troubled life. I know of plenty of places where the horcruxes might be – we just don't know what they look like or how many there are, so we're in a bit of a dilemma. For all we know, that horcrux could have been the last, but I don't fancy some one on one combat with Tom to check, 'cause if it wasn't I'll die."
"You'd help us?" asked Harry, gazing at Katherine in puzzlement.
"You want to get rid of Tom?"
"Of course."
Katherine glanced at Robert, who nodded, then she turned back to the trio and smiled magnanimously. "Then providing you don't speak a word of this to anyone, our skills are at your service, Potter."
Harry looked at his friends; Ron shrugged and said softly: "She has a point – we don't know where to look. Worth a try, isn't it?"
"And you?" This was directed at Hermione, who was looking dubious.
"I don't like it, but Ron's right, we need them," she ventured slowly. "Plus, I think we can trust Katherine at least – she wouldn't do anything that could hurt Remus; you saw the way they were talking on the rooftop."
"Aside from trying to kill my parents?" asked Harry sceptically.
"Hey – for the last time, I did not kill your parents, Potter," interrupted Katherine, making Harry jump. He scowled; he hadn't realised she'd heard them.
"That's not what the papers said," he argued.
"That's not what you said, come to that," added Robert, looking appraisingly down at Katherine.
Katherine pulled a face, folding her arms. "Yeah well, I say a lot of things."
"So what did happen?" asked Harry, looking questioningly at her. "I'm not telling you anything unless you explain," he added quickly.
Katherine cast a wretched look at Robert. "I don't suppose there's much chance of you putting your fingers in your ears and humming loudly is there?"
"None at all," said Robert, trying not to look amused at the expression on his friend's face.
"You're going to get mad at me," she warned.
"Quite probably," he agreed. "But I'm sure I'll get over it."
"Fine – but none of you are to tell Remus, you hear? He'll probably never talk to me again if he finds out," said Katherine and there was real earnest in her voice. At unanimous nods from the trio and an over exaggerated cross-my-heart-and-hope-to-die from Robert, Katherine explained. "Tom told me to eliminate your parents a couple of days two days before Regulus told me about the horcruxes, only I knew that if I did it I'd break Remus' heart and if I didn't Tom would kill me, so I took the only other option left open to me. I went with my partner to the restaurant we'd found they were going to and made the attack. Unfortunately, Wilkes somehow managed to get between me and them just as I aimed and..." She shrugged, sighing theatrically. "Poor Leo."
Robert chuckled darkly, grinning at his friend. "Oh yes, I bet it just broke your heart when that happened."
"Hey, I loved Leon," said Katherine in a mock hurt voice. "He was the best mistake I ever made."
"Only you had to kill him."
"Well I couldn't have Rem hating me, could I?" asked Katherine, eyes glittering playfully. "Anyway, the Aurors turned up just after Wilkes fell and I ran for it," said Katherine, smiling ruefully at Harry. "Had a bit of unfinished business to catch up with before they carted me off to Azkaban, see."
"Azkaban was your other option?" asked Hermione in a slightly shocked voice.
Katherine's blue eyes flicked up to her face and she arched an eyebrow. "When it's a choice between death, prison and Remus giving you that disappointed look he does so well, I'd take prison any day. Food's terrible but at least Tom can't get you."
"What about the Dementors?" asked Harry quietly, looking curiously at the woman in front of him. He had the feeling that it was going to be a long time before he could even try and understand her, but he was starting to think it was worth the effort.
Katherine shrugged again, though her blue eyes were serious. "They're not so bad when you know your greatest fear can't come true. Anyway," she sighed, shaking her head to clear it. "I had a lot of time to think about everything Reg told me about the horcruxes and I don't break my promises – I will destroy them. Tom's not invincible, despite his telling us otherwise on a regular basis."
Harry was silent for a while, considering all this information. Could he run the risk of collaborating with Death Eaters? But then they already knew about the horcruxes and he'd seen them destroy one – and aside from all that it would be useful to know if Voldemort had any inklings of what they were up to. Plus there was the glaringly obvious point that they were far more experienced with magic than the trio were and Katherine had seemed to be telling the truth when she'd said she wanted to be rid of Voldemort...
Slowly, he pulled the fake locket out of his pocket again and slid it across the table towards Katherine. She frowned and picked it up, flicking it open in one easy movement and unfolding Regulus' note in long elegant fingers. She quickly read it, grinning and passed it to Robert. The blond man raised his eyebrows.
"Always did have a certain way with words, that boy. Basically along the lines of 'F you', isn't it?" he remarked, handing it back to Katherine, who laughed.
"Good old Reg," she said softly, giving the locket back to Harry who was studying her carefully.
"You miss him, don't you?" he asked gently.
Katherine smiled mirthlessly. "I'll be seeing him soon enough." She glanced at her watch, the glass of which had a crack running through it, presumably a result of her collision with the wall earlier. "And now I think I'd better be off. We'll owl you if we think we've found anything of significance."
"And how do we contact you?" asked Harry, rolling Robert's wand across the table. The blond man picked it up, smirking.
"Send me an owl or a memo or something – I work at the Ministry; Transportation Department. Try not to be too conspicuous – Aurors aren't the only ones I need to avoid," he said, pushing the chair back and getting to his feet.
"Or if it's incredible urgent, ask Rem. He'll probably unwillingly agree to seek me out," grinned Katherine, also standing. "Good to meet you, Potter." She picked up a fragment of the broken horcrux and stared at it for a moment. "Nice to know you're a little more open minded than your father," she added quietly. "We'll be in touch. Good luck."
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