What with the killer amount of homework the first years had been given, Catrin hardly had any free time over the half-term, and the increasing stress was not helping her spells, which were already shoddy. She just couldn't get the hang of Defence Against the Dark Arts! Spells which sounded fine in her head came out jumbled or backfired- often with nasty results: both on her and the surroundings. The Gryffindor Common Room had become too dangerous, what with all the books and tapestries around, so Catrin had taken to practising in unused classrooms.
It was just on one such evening that it happened: Catrin had been attempting stunning spells, and getting nowhere apart from increasingly more frustrated.
"Stupefy...stupefy!" She cried, her hair plastered to her scalp with the effort. Despite her efforts, the desk on which she had been practising only smouldered slightly. "Aaargh!"
"Oh dear- problems?" Came a sympathetic voice from behind her. Cheeks aflame, Catrin spun around to see Professor Longbottom looking kindly at her.
"Aaah...yeah." She admitted shamefacedly, slumping against a desk. "It's just...my wandwork isn't all that great. I can't seem to get the hang of spells!" Her anger had subsided all of a sudden, leaving something a bit like panic in its place. Her voice cracked a little. "I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong!"
"Do you want my opinion? You're not." Longbottom came up and leaned against the desk in front of her. "You'll be fine. Do you know how long my teachers shouted at me for not being able to do anything? I transplanted my ears onto a cactus once..." He sighed. "Embarrassing? Just a little, and that was in front of Minerva McGonagall as well. At least my daughter hasn't inherited my talent- or lack of it."
"In front of the Headmistress?" Despite herself, Catrin was distracted. "Did she teach, then?"
"Yeah, Transfiguration. She might still take a couple of NEWT classes, I'm not sure." The teacher sighed, and shifted a little. "The point I'm making is, don't worry. It'll be fine. I can cast with the best of them now- well, maybe not the best..." he chuckled . "But I did behead a snake once."
"I heard about that. It's true?"
"True as anything can be. Anyway, I heard that James Potter and Fred Weasley are good at defensive spellwork. Real double act, those two." He laughed briefly, as if reminded of something. "Why not ask them for help?"
"Oh... I hadn't thought of that." That wasn't exactly true- it had crossed Catrin's mind once or twice, but James seemed extremely unwilling to pass on his magical knowledge, or, as he so thoughtfully put it, 'trade secrets'.
"Well, at least I won't be in the action." Catrin was surprised to hear a note of disappointment ring in her voice. Had she always been like that?
She swallowed past the lump in her throat and looked up, to see Longbottom scrutinizing her thoughtfully. "You remind me of someone." He said thoughtfully. "Who are your parents?"
"My...my mother was Gwendolyn Jones. I never knew my father."
"Ah. Not who I was thinking of." He gave her a brief- relieved?-smile, and stood up. "Think about asking Potter and Weasley for defence help. Maybe you have something to trade for lessons? You're not stupid or lazy, Miss Jones, you can see that from the work that you put in."
"Maybe." Catrin grinned at him, and a shadow crossed his face. The professor turned to leave.
"By the way." He called on the way out. "There's a Teddy Lupin looking for you. I think he's in the Great Hall."
Woah, Catrin thought. Mary moved quickly.
But then again, she thought, as she raced down to the Ground Floor, it was a good way of ending a conversation that she really didn't want to have, and especially not with a teacher. Although the Potter/Weasley lesson trade was something to consider...what could she do that they couldn't?
She would have to consider it if she wanted to fight properly.
She stopped for a minute on the Fourth Floor landing by a huge engraving, stretching the entire length of the corridor. Fascinated in spite of herself, Catrin glanced at the carved stone in front of her. This, unlike the rest of the ancient castle, seemed newer than anything else. What was it?
Her question was answered on the first carved line.
On this spot on the 2nd May 1998, the first spell of the Battle of Hogwarts was fired.
It was because of this battle that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was struck down by Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived.
May those that lost their lives in order that we may stay free not be forgotten.
There then followed a long list of names. Catrin read through a couple of lines, stunned. Colin Creevey...Fred Weasley...Sirius Black... Each name stood out. She felt...humbled, reading this. There was so much Wizarding history that she didn't understand- wasn't sure she wanted to understand.
This He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named- she guessed he was Voldemort. The person responsible for all of these deaths? She was glad that she hadn't been born 20 years earlier. All the same...she felt she owed it to these people to find out.
Ten minutes later, she arrived in the Great Hall, hot and thoroughly out of breath. Teddy was sitting at the end of the table, bag up in front of him. Mercifully, the Great Hall was empty, as it wasn't dinner for another hour.
He glanced up, eyes like grey orbs underneath the shock of blue hair. "Catrin Jones! I wasn't sure when you were coming."
"Professor Longbottom caught me." She said, trying to stop panting, and swinging herself onto the seat in front. She eyed the parchment in front with a look of extreme dislike. "Shall we get this over with?"
He laughed. "Not too keen on this, then?"
"Mary talked me into it. I wish she'd talked me out of it too." Then she relented. "But if it means people will be able to read my handwriting, maybe it's not such a bad idea."
"Alright then. I've got some parchment but if you like there's also some paper and a ballpoint. Now, I think we'll start with writing with quills- they're tricky things to work with..."
To Catrin's surprise, the lesson passed quickly. Teddy was an excellent teacher: never endingly patient and always willing to correct her before moving on. Much to her surprise-and delight- Catrin made good progress, and by the time people were filtering into the Great Hall he pronounced her writing 'readable'.
"Well, that's something." Catrin sighed. "If someone rushes me I'll be able to scribble all over him."
Teddy scrutinised her for a moment. "Having problems?"
Catrin hesitated for a moment, and decided to avoid the issue. "Were you alive during the battle of Hogwarts?"
His grey eyes clouded over, and for a horrible moment she thought she'd offended him somehow. A full thirty seconds passed, and then he spoke. "Yes. Just about."
He was quiet for a moment, as though making up his mind, and said suddenly "My parents died in it."
"Both?" Catrin was staggered. "I'm-"
But Teddy had held up his hand. "Don't say it." He smiled. "I can't even remember them- I was only a couple of days old."
"Oh." There was silence for a moment, and then she asked "Wha...who looked after you?"
Who had looked after Teddy when his parents died, who hadn't looked after her when hers had?
"My grandmother. But I spend a lot of time with the Potters and Weasleys." He smiled briefly. "My dad was Harry's friend- and Harry's dad's too, I think."
"Who was your dad?"
"Remus Lupin. Went to school with James Potter- James' granddad. Apparently he was in a group with him- including Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black. He was the only sensible one."
"He passed that on, then."
"I-" Teddy looked up, startled. "Me, sensible?"
"You're Head Boy." She pointed out. "Your parents sound like nice people."
"They were- or so everyone tells me. I don't- sorry, but it sounds like something similar happened to you."
Catrin pressed her lips together. That was annoying- Teddy Lupin was more perceptive than she'd given him credit for. She couldn't exactly lie- but she hated telling anyone about her past. Somehow, though, she didn't think pity would be a problem when it came to Teddy Lupin.
"Yes." She admitted finally. "My mother- Gwendolyn Jones- she looked after me until I was nine. I never knew my dad- I can remember her saying he was a lovely man, but they couldn't meet often. When... when she died, I didn't want to go and live in an orphanage. I waited for my mother's family to come and get me...but they- they never did. In the end, I scarpered before the social services came. I spent two years living rough. I hated every minute of it."
Something wet plopped onto the table in front of her. With horror, Catrin realised she was crying. Angrily, she dashed her tears away. She wanted to finish this. "The Sorting Hat said that my father had studied here. Professor Longbottom said I reminded him of someone. It's like...he's here, just out of reach, and I can't find him! I don't even know if he's alive! If he is, why hasn't he contacted me?"
Teddy was silent for a long time after her outburst, and when Catrin dared to peek up through her wet eyelashes at him, she found that he wasn't averting his eyes in pity, but instead looking at her with empathy. With a slight shock, she saw that he was smiling slightly.
"I feel like that too sometimes." He said bluntly, leaning forward over the table confidentially. "But you've got to remember that you have friends, Catrin. They'll help you through the bad times and help you to enjoy the good times. I have wonderful friends- they're almost like family: James, Fred, Louis, Hugo...Victoire." He turned slightly red at that, and despite herself, Catrin smirked.
"Just...don't lose hope." Teddy smiled.
She hadn't realised he would make such a good therapist.
"Don't lose hope? Is her handwriting that bad?" Catrin jumped and turned to see the blond head of Louis Weasley grinning at them both. "Hi, Catrin."
"Er...hi." She replied, slightly puzzled by his friendliness.
"Right, this time next week, Catrin. Remember what I said." Teddy didn't seem at all fazed. "And hopefully the teachers will be able to read your essays by then."
"I'll cross my fingers." She replied, as Louis sat down next to Teddy. All of a sudden, dishes materialised on the table in front of them, laden with food.
"Right on time." Said Louis appreciatively, grabbing the nearest tureen of soup. "You eating with us?"
"Yeah...that'd be good." A warm glow seemed to be bubbling up inside her after Teddy's speech, and she cautiously identified it as happiness. She had friends in the Weasleys and Potters, it seemed: everything was going to be fine.
All that was left for her to do was homework, discovering who her father was and why people were vanishing.