The next day at breakfast, Kat told Harry, Ron, and Hermione everything that had happened the night before. Hermione giggled. "Usually, it's the guy who comforts the girl!" "Don't laugh, Hermione!" Kat snapped. "He can't help it! You'd probably do the same thing!" Hermione stopped laughing, and looked serious. "Kat…be careful! It could be a trick!" Kat thought for a moment then frowned, saying, "I don't think so Hermione, but I think I know how we can tell." Harry frowned, confused, and Ron (whose mouth was crammed full of food) muttered, "Aybeek ud shink simer sum tin." "Oh for heaven's sake, Ron!" said an exasperated Hermione. "Don't talk with your mouth full!" Ron swallowed hastily, then said, "Sorry. Maybe we could jinx him or something." "No," said Harry, "There's no jinx that can make someone tell the truth."

"No, there isn't," Kat agreed. "But there is Veritaserum…" Hermione's fork clattered against her plate, and she stared at her as if she had suddenly sprouted antlers. "What, are you mad?!" she hissed. "That stuff takes ages to make, and half the ingredients are almost impossible to find! You'll never be able to make it!"

Kat gave her a sly smile and a wink and said, "Who said I was going to make it?" Hermione gasped, and even Harry looked a little worried. Ron, not paying attention as usual, just kept eating. "Oh, Kat," said Hermione, "What are you going to do now?" "Please don't do anything stupid," added Harry. "No worries, mates," Kat said cheerily, as she got up and hurried out of the Great Hall. " I know what I'm doing!"

*************

Kathryn stood in front of the stone gargoyle that hid the stairs to Dumbledore's office, and fervently hoped that he wasn't there. She pulled the Marauders' Map out of her pocket, tapped the blank piece of parchment with the tip of her wand, and murmured, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Instantly dark lines began to spider out across the parchment, turning into a map of Hogwarts. Tiny dots, each labeled with a name, moved through the hallways and rooms on the map. Kat scanned the parchment until she located a dot labeled A. Dumbledore. Good, she thought, he's still eating. "Er-er," she muttered, trying to remember the password that Harry had given her.

"Honeydukes?" she ventured hopefully. With a grating sound, the gargoyle shifted aside to reveal the moving staircase that led to Dumbledore's office. Kat breathed a sigh of relief and tapped the map with her wand again. "Mischief managed," she whispered, folding the map and cramming it into her pocket as the lines disappeared. Then she hurried up the stairs as the secret entrance slid shut.

Once inside Dumbledore's office, she scanned the room until she found what she was looking for. On a shelf in an oaken cabinet was a small glass vial filled with a clear liquid. She took it down from the shelf and tucked it away in a pocket. As she turned to go, she heard a grating sound. Oh, Merlin, she thought. Someone's coming!

Kat looked around for a hiding spot and stepped into a large wardrobe, closing the door just as Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall entered the room.

She pushed the various robes and coats around, and to her surprise, one of them was an Invisibility Cloak. Well, that's handy, she thought, taking it down and draping it over her knees. She listened closely as McGonagall and Dumbledore conversed in hushed tones, and was surprised to hear that they were talking about her!

"She needs to know!" said McGonagall. "She can't spend her entire life not knowing about the prophesy!" "Yes, yes, I know Minerva!" said Dumbledore calmly. "She will know soon. I have been observing Mr. Malfoy and Miss Langdon, and they seem to be working it all out on their own." Professor McGonagall sighed and said sadly, "I am afraid that those two have some rough times ahead of them. It's strange though, I mean, a Gryffindor and a Slytherin? How can that possibly—."

Unfortunately, Kat's foot chose that moment to cramp, and as she tried to move it to a more comfortable position, it slipped and banged against the side of the wardrobe. She hurriedly pulled the Invisibility Cloak over herself as Professor McGonagall's footsteps hurried to the wardrobe. She flung the doors open, and blinked in surprise at finding nothing there. Suspicious, she began to reach into the wardrobe, but as she did so, Dumbledore said, "Minerva, will you please take this note to Hagrid? Thank you."

Professor McGonagall gave the wardrobe one last suspicious glare, then took the proffered note and went out the door and down the stairs. Good, Kat thought. Now I just have to wait for Dumbledore to—. "Miss Langdon?" called Dumbledore. "You can come out now." Damn! Kat thought as she climbed reluctantly out of the wardrobe, ready for some sort of punishment. Instead, Dumbledore merely said, "Run along. I'm sure you have things to do."

She was very curious about the prophesy that Professor McGonagall had mentioned, but decided not to push her luck, and instead just went back to the Gryffindor Common Room, where she knew her three friends were waiting for her.

***********************

Kat ran all the way back to the Gryffindor Common Room, and as she slipped inside, her three friends looked up expectantly. "Well?!" demanded Hermione. "What did you do this time?!" Kat told them everything that had happened, and ended by handing the Marauders' Map back to Harry.

"Sorry mate," she grinned, "but I nicked this from your trunk." Harry grinned and said, "No problem. So--" Hermione cut him off impatiently. "What's this prophesy you were talking about?"

Kat gave Harry a pleading look, and he broke in hurriedly, "So, how are you going to give the Veritaserum to Malfoy?" Ron had caught the look passing between her and Harry, and for once he caught on. "Yeah, I mean, you can't just shove it down his throat," he said. "You're right," Kat agreed, purposefully avoiding Hermione's eyes. "And we can't just ask him to drink it, because that might damage his pride."

Suddenly, she brightened. "I've got it!" she crowed. "It'll mean that I have to drink some of it myself, but that's all right!" "What are you going to do?!" chorused her friends. Kat gave them a mysterious smile. "You'll see!"

************

The next day at breakfast, Kat caught Draco on his way to the Slytherin table and said, "Hey Draco! Do you want to come sit with me and my mates?" He looked surprised. "Um, all right then," he said, and followed her over to the Gryffindor table. There were several hostile glares and a few people muttered under their breaths. Kat glared at them. "Shove off!" she growled. "He can sit wherever he bloody chooses!" The muttering died down, and she gave Draco an apologetic grin. "Sorry about that mate!" she said with a shrug. He smiled uncertainly and said, "That's all right."

Kat reached for her goblet as soon as it was filled, discreetly uncorking the tiny glass bottle of Veritaserum. She tipped a few drops into her drink, took a sip, and then made a face. "Oh, wow!" she said. "Does this taste weird to you?" she asked, offering her goblet to Draco and giving her friends a sly wink as she did so. He took it from her, tasted the contents, then shrugged. "Tastes fine to me," he said. "Oh, okay," Kat said, then asked him casually, "So, Draco, can we really trust you?" He gave her a strange look, then said, "Of course you can!" Kat breathed a sigh of relief, then her mischievous nature took over, and she asked, "So, as a show of good faith, will you answer a question for me?" He nodded, and she asked gleefully, "All right, who do you think the prettiest girl in Hogwarts is?" Hermione giggled into her goblet, and Harry stifled a laugh by pretending to cough into his napkin. "You!" Draco said, immediately blushing bright red. Hermione stopped giggling and looked at him in shock, while Harry turned to help Ron, who was choking on a piece of bacon. Kat's jaw dropped open, and she looked at Draco in disbelief. After a long, embarrassing silence, she shook her head and said "Wow…" Kat looked around at her friends. Hermione just looked at her and frowned in disapproval. Harry gave her an amused grin, and Ron, who had gotten over the initial shock, was eating again. Kat shook her head again, then held up her goblet. "All right then," she said cheerfully. "Since we're all friends now and everything, is anyone up for a game of truth or dare?"