Sorry it's been such a long time, I got caught up in other things. Hope you enjoy the chapter and that I'm still making it enjoyable for you all!

Katherine merely rolled her eyes as the twins discussed how they could cheat their way into the tournament as they made their way up to the tower. They may actually stand a chance, but she knew there was no way they were getting in. She was actually more interested in the other two schools. She'd known the tournament was happening, but her father hadn't mentioned with schools were involved, though she'd seen a small list and learnt about the ones one there. Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. That was Bulgarian and French. Her father had business with people from both those areas, some of whom had kids. Would those two be…?

"So, are you going to enter?" Katherine asked, looking towards Angelina, who was just a little way away from the other and blinked at her for a moment.

"I'm not seventeen," she answered blankly, making Katherine chuckle.

"You will be," she pointed out, "By September."

"Well, I suppose," Angelina answered, looking thoughtful, then she smiled, "Want to be my coach if I do?"

"Don't do it," Alicia warned, "Remember last year, her 'help' with OWLs? You really want her coaching you on practical work?"

"I'm pretty sure I'm insulted Alicia," Katherine frowned, following the small crowd into the Common room, "And sure I'd help you Ang, though I don't know how much use I'd be. This tournament isn't the most predictable event, the tasks can be almost anything."

"Speaking of almost anything, you never told us your OWL results, Kat," Alicia frowned, turning on the couch to look at her friend. Fred and George opened their mouths, most likely to tell her exactly what Katherine got, before frowns started pulling at their faces.

"Of course I did," Katherine answered anyway, going about her usual task of pulling out her notebook as she curled up on the couch. They always caught up after dinner, and they would probably be up late discussing the tournament.

"No, Kat, I don't think you did," George frowned, searching through his memories to try and find evidence she had. Katherine looked up at them with a frown.

"Yes I did," she insisted, looking confused by their confusion.

"No," Katie said, shaking her head with certainty, "You said you passed all your classes, but you didn't say what you actually got."

"Didn't I?" Katherine asked, eyebrows furrowing. Fred's eyes narrows.

"So, what'd you get?" he demanded.

"Oh I don't know Fred," Katherine sighed, forcing down a slight blush. She hated lying to the twins, but it wasn't like she really wanted to boast about how she'd spent hours studying to make sure her father wouldn't be furious that she'd done less than he'd expected, "I don't have a photographic memory, and I took a lot of classes. I'm continuing everything but Astronomy and History of Magic, does it really matter what I got?"

"Guess not," Angelina shrugged, recognising the signs that they needed to back off and let the twins have reign. She trusted Katherine entirely, and she knew Katherine would trust them with her life, but there were still certain things that put Katherine on edge, and if they pushed she'd get snappy and that just put everyone in a bad mood. She easily started up conversation about the upcoming tournament, debating whether or not it was worth cancelling Quidditch.

"Did you father see you're OWLs?" Fred asked lightly as the others talked.

"Yeah," Katherine replied absently, returning to her drawing.

"What'd he say?" George asked, just as lightly as Fred. They all knew what was going on, but it was easier to treat it as unimportant.

"He said I did well and he expected me to keep it up," Katherine answered uncaringly. The twins stared at her, then looked at each other. Katherine had an absolutely horrid relationship with her even more horrid father, though they kept that though to themselves. If he'd said she did well, she must have done…

"Bloody Hell," Fred groaned, rolling his eyes at her, "You got an O in everything?"

"What?" Katherine asked blankly, "How did you…?"

"Ah, you underestimate us Katty," George shook his head in mock seriousness.

"Oh, and I've been trying so hard not to do that," Katherine replied in a similar mocking tone.

"You know, if it wasn't for how much we rely on your ability to know random things we don't think of, I'd be rather annoyed by your inability to get anything wrong," Fred informed her.

"Now you're just exaggerating," Katherine rolled her eyes, though there was a pleased smile on her face, "Thank you for the complement though."

"No worries, so, now will you help us-"

"No."

"Have you two done anything today?" Alicia asked the twins as the pair sat down lazy.

"Charms," they answered together, then Fred added, "And I was in Transfiguration."

"Don't talk to me about that," Alicia cringed, "But honestly, you two spent most of the morning just wandering around."

"She has a point," Angelina commented, "Do you realise how much it freaked people out when they saw George wandering around on his own?"

"It was hilarious," George chuckled.

"Well, they only have three classes each," Katherine pointed out with a shrug, "They're going to have some free time, aren't they?"

"We're not all smart enough to take eight NEWT classes Katty," Fred rolled his eyes, "And did anyone else even make it into Potions?"

"Couple Slytherins, a few Ravenclaws, and one Hufflepuff," Katherine recited, "We've formed a study group. I can't really say that Snape is better but, the class itself is better now. Besides, now that it's a smaller group for him to watch we're doing some more volatile potions."

"Sounds like loads of fun," Katie snorted, "He's still horrible in my class."

"Either way, glad to be rid of him," Fred shook his head, "Beside's-"

"-we've got Defence Against the Dark Arts after lunch and we're all in that," George finished.

"Which is impressive in and of itself considering the horrible teaching we had over the years," Alicia snorted.

"Going to be interesting to see what Moody's like," Lee grinned, "An Ex-Auror, he's got to be good."

"Can't wait," the twins grinned back.

Defence started out excellently, as far as the boys were concerned. Being told they wouldn't need their books was always something they looked forward to. Katherine, too, was interested in how this would play out, though she was a little more wary of the man than her friends seemed. Honestly, he freaked her out a little bit, though she couldn't pin point why. She figured it was something to do with her father's life choices and put it to the back of her mind.

Moody, it seemed, was going to focus on curses, where Lupin had focused on dark creatures. It made sense, though Katherine knew she'd be doing extra reading again to ensure she covered all her bases. She was already a head on curses anyway.

The he asked about the unforgivables.

Katherine, who'd felt his eye settle on her when he'd spoken about dark wizards, now felt her friends glancing at her. She knew all the unforgivable, of course, but she stared resolutely at her desk, intent on not answering.

"The Killing Curse," Hufflepuffs offered. By right the Killing Curse was the most well-known, they all knew the story of Harry Potter after all.

To Katherine's horror Moody proceeded to show the effects of the killing curse on a spider he enlarged. She started at it for a moment, before blinking rapidly to force the flash of green out of her memory. That was horrid!

The rest of the class seemed equally shocked, though most of them had a lesser reaction. Fred and George both seemed to twitch slightly, like they were forcing down memories as well.

"Anyone know another?" Moody demanded, reaching for another spider. Katherine forced a blank expression on her face as she sat watching, hand steadfastly down.

"Mr Jordan?"

"The Imperius Curse," Lee supplied. Katherine, honestly, wasn't sure what part of the Ministry his father was in, but he was part of the Ministry, so it made sense for Lee to know that one.

The class laughed as they watched the spider, and Katherine continued her silence. She wasn't sure if this was how it was going to work. In her mind, the Crutiatus was the worst, though she knew others would say different.

You could learn to fight Imperius, though she wasn't sure how, so there was a way out. It could make you do some pretty bad things though, and then you had to live with it. There was no fighting the Killing Curse, and she didn't think dying was a solution to anything, but, on some level, it was merciful. Dead rather than having to live in care like some Crutiatus victims.

The Cruciatus curse couldn't be fought, and there was nothing kind about it. Just the idea of that curse had given her nightmares for weeks when she learnt about it, before she'd even started school. Just pain. It was incredibly difficult to heal from as well. It damaged the nerves themselves, and long exposure could permanently cripple people.

She hadn't noticed when the class had stopped laughing, or Moody asking if anyone knew the last unforgivable.

She did notice, however, when her name was called.

"Miss Nott?" She looked up at Moody, meeting his normal eye with her blank stare, "What the last Unforgivable."

Katherine stared. She'd never refused to answer a question before. She couldn't see the point when she had the answer. It was on the tip of her tongue. She opened her mouth.

"I don't know," she answered in a level voice. She was impressed with herself because, privately, she was wondering where on Earth that answer had come from. The rest of the class seemed to notice something odd as well, for she knew they were all staring.

"The Crutiatus curse," Moody answered for her, turning his wand on the spider once more, "Crucio."

Katherine stared blankly at the spider, vaguely aware she must look similar to when she was facing her father. She wondered if he was using the same method with any of the younger years, and felt violently sick at the thought.

Someone, though Katherine wasn't sure who, made a noise and Moody released the spell. Katherine shunted the memory of the spider to the back of her mind where she could forget it existed as soon as possible

The rest of the lesson was spent taking notes on the Unforgivables and various cases in which they'd been used. Katherine did not drop her mask during the class, she kept herself focused on making sure she had incredibly detailed notes that she was fairly sure she wouldn't look at again.

As soon as the class ended people began talking animatedly, clearly excited about the class they just had.

"You alright, Kat?" Fred asked as she stepped out of the room.

"Yeah, fine," she smiled at him easily, "I've got to head to Ancient Ruins; I'll see you at dinner."

"Yeah, no worries," Fred nodded, though he and George were both frowning slightly. Katherine rolled her eyes and waved as she headed down the hall.

She didn't want to worry them, especially when everyone else clearly saw no problems with it. Besides, it was interesting, the history of it, she just didn't like thinking about it too much. She already knew pretty much all the uses of the curses, and she didn't need Moody or anyone else breathing down her neck about the knowledge she shouldn't have.

…

Katherine put her books back in her bad, extremely grateful for feather light charms. She was making her way to the great hall when she heard a horribly familiar voice.

"Don't you dare insult my mother, Potter."

Katherine paused, easily catching sighted of Draco Malfoy and snarling at Harry, who was holding Ron back with Hermione's help. She contemplated going over and intervening, right up until she caught sight of Moody. No doubt he could handle it better than her anyway.

That thought didn't stop her from being shocked when the Malfoy heir was turned into a ferret.

Or from committing the image to memory. Uncertainty about the teacher was no reason to pretend that wasn't one of the greatest things she'd ever seen.

She slipped out of the way when Moody clunked past with Malfoy. She made sure she remembered the scene before beginning to move to the Great Hall. She could probably do up a rough sketch during dinner to show the others.

She joined the girls in the Great Hall, leaving the guys to fawn over how cool Moody was.

Katherine wasn't really getting involved in the twins issue with Bagman, not because she didn't care, more because it unnerved her a little bit to see the pair so furious. She helped a little bit with wording things, but mostly she just sat with them while they talked. She helped when they asked, but they rarely asked, and she used the time they spent plotting to work on her homework. She still had more than them, after all.

Not that it was hard with them only taking three classes.

Other than that it was pretty much business as usual. Though she had noticed Hermione was getting a bit wrapped up in House elf rights, which was odd. She wondered, briefly, how many house elves the young girl had actually met. Getting her answer by overhearing Ron.

With examples like Dobby and Winky she could see where the other girl was coming from, but she knew it was wrong. If she so much as mentioned clothes, or even pay, to Trixy all she'd get from it would be a horrified house elf who thought she was a failure.

She still wasn't overly fond of defence classes either. Especially after their second class, in which Moody took the time to put each of them under the Imperius curse.

Katherine had watched Fred and George do some ridiculous things. She thought it was odd, a strong will was needed to break the curse. The twins' definitely had a strong will.

'Maybe it's because they would do that stuff anyway,' she thought to herself with a frown. The pair enjoyed making everyone laugh, so it didn't really phase them.

Katherine had forced herself not to cringe when her turn came. She didn't like the idea of giving up control; it was sort of similar to her hatred of Veritiserum.

Skip around the room.

I don't skip, a small part of Katherine's mind reminded, even as she had already started moving. The skip turned out slightly jerky, but still clearly a skip. It may just look like she was really bad at skipping, but she felt ridiculously tired when she sat down again.

It had been exhausting. She sincerely hoped she'd never be put under the bloody thing again.

Fred and George were simultaneously excited about the tournament and gloomy about Bagman. It was giving Katherine whiplash. One moment they were psyched and discussing ways to get their name in, next thing they were at the table discussing Bagman again.

"It's a bummer, all right," George was saying gloomily to Fred. "But if he won't talk to us in person, we'll have to send him the letter after all. Or we'll stuff it into his hand. He can't avoid us forever."

"Who's avoiding you?" said Ron, sitting down next to them. Katherine rolled her eyes, knowing exactly how that was going to end.

"Wish you would," said Fred, looking irritated at the interruption.

"What's a bummer?" Ron asked George.

"Having a nosy git like you for a brother," said George.

"You two got any ideas on the Triwizard Tournament yet?" Harry asked. "Thought any more about trying to enter?"

"I asked McGonagall how the champions are chosen but she wasn't telling," said George bitterly. "She just told me to shut up and get on with transfiguring my raccoon."

Katherine couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. George wasn't even taking transfiguration this year.

"Wonder what the tasks are going to be?" said Ron thoughtfully. "You know, I bet we could do them, Harry. We've done dangerous stuff before…"

"Not in front of a panel of judges, you haven't," said Fred. "McGonagall says the champions get awarded points according to how well they've done the tasks."

"Who are the judges?" Harry asked.

"Well, the Heads of the participating schools are always on the panel," said Hermione, and everyone looked around at her, rather surprised, except Katherine who simply nodded, "because all three of them were injured during the Tournament of 1792, when a cockatrice the champions were supposed to be catching went on the rampage."

Katherine and Fred both became entranced by their breakfast. She and the twins had all reafused S.P.E.W badges. It hadn't gone down well with Hermione, apparently she'd been planning on Katherine's support.

"Katherine, would you tell them?" Hermione demanded in a huff. Katherine cringed slightly before she sighed.

"Hermione, you know normally I agree with you, and I think it's great that you're so passionate but I think you're in the wrong this time," she told the girls gently.

"What?" Hermione demanded, both shocked and angry, "How can you-?"

"Hermione, I have a house elf," Katherine said tiredly, "Trust me, suggesting something like this to her, would be like telling you, you have to take time off school because you study too hard."

Hermione had, of course, scoffed, and pointedly ignored Katherine whenever S.P.E.W. came up now. Apparently she'd been deemed an enemy to the cause or something. She didn't really mind, other than the fact that she'd quite enjoyed her friendship with the younger girl before it had become so strained.

Before they knew it they were outside. Waiting.

"They're taking too long," Fred whined, keeping an eye out for anything odd. They didn't know where the others would be coming from so eyes were darting around all over the place.

"I imagine it's difficult to be exact with different means of transport," Katherine replied, pulling out her wand as she did, "I'm sure you'll think the wait was worth it."

"But it's cold," Alicia grouched.

"Oh I know you so well," Katherine snickered, casting a light warming charm on the other girl before doing the same for Angelina, and Katie who was sitting in front of them.

"It's times like these we truly learn to value class," Angelina chuckled.

"You guys cold?" Katherine asked.

"Nah, it's not that cold yet," Fred shook his head.

"Though we'll have one if it takes much longer," George murmured.

And then Dumbledore called out from the back row where he stood with the other teachers - "Aha! Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons approaches!"

Katherine burst out laughing at the same time Fred grinned and elbowed his twin, saying, "Why didn't you speak up sooner?"

"Beauxbatons," Katherine announced once she could make out the carriages.

"Wonder what kind of things are going to be pulling the Durmstrang carriages," Fred said thoughtfully.

"There's no way they'll arrive the same way," Katherine snorted, already turned away from the sky, "Don't know if you've noticed, but the magical community tends to enjoy showing off."

There was a little more searching and muttering about having to wait. Until everyone started picking up a noise.

"The lake!" yelled Lee, pointing down at it. "Look at the lake!"

"Underwater boat," Alicia commented, "It's definitely impressive."

"No kidding, I wonder if it's unique," Katherine said thoughtfully.

"Of course you- Bloody hell, is that Krum?" Fred demanded, leaning forward.

"Viktor Krum?" Lee clarified, doing the same. Katherine rolled her eyes. Her entire friend groups were Quidditch fanatics and, while she appreciated the game, and the players to an extent, she was not looking forward to any Krum trivia that might come forth. At least it wasn't Ron.

Dinner was an interesting affair. Everyone was chatting, about the guests and about the new foods around the table. Katherine was, of course, required to explain the different foods to her friends once they worked out she was familiar with it.

"What's this one?" Alicia asked, pointing to a bowl and making a face at it.

"That's Kavarma," Katherine answered, rolling her eyes as she served herself some, "It's an extremely popular dish in Bulgaria."

"Hey, at least it's not snails," Lee shrugged, glancing towards the Bulgarians at the Slytherin table every now and then.

"Escargot isn't that bad," Katherine replied, rolling her eyes at the doubtful looks her friends gave her, "Well, I suppose it's an acquired taste. Like sushi."

"Why have you eaten all this stuff?" Angelina asked.

"My father often took Theodore and I when he was meeting with the foreign people he worked with," Katherine shrugged, "We'd often end up having dinner with them, and it was rude not to eat what was put in front of us."

"So you've really eaten snails?" Katie asked curiously.

"Yes, a few times," Katherine nodded, "Like I said, it's not that bad, as long as you know it was prepared by someone competent."

"You're not having any tonight though," George pointed out.

"I figured it'd gross you guys out," Katherine snorted, giving them a sly look. For Gryffindors you can be wimps sometimes."

This, of course, had the intended effect and soon enough each of her friends were staring at a plate of escargot.

"It's all, green and gross," Alicia cringed.

"And still in the shell," Katie added, "That's weird right?"

"It's put back in the shell for decoration," Katherine replied, easily picking one up, along with one of the small forks on the plate. The group watched as she easily pulled the flesh out and popped in in her mouth, smirking slightly at them.

"Yeah, not sure I can do this," Fred frowned.

"Dare you," was Katherine's reply as she reached for a second one. Fred shot her a look, before glancing at George. Katherine smirked; the twins couldn't turn down a dare, it was almost physically impossible.

With grim expressions the pair picked up a shell and mimicked Katherine's actions. Katherine had to bite her lip to stop her from laughing at their expressions as they chewed.

"It wasn't too bad," George supplied once they'd swallowed. Fred nodded in agreement.

"And we're never eating it again," he said seriously. Katherine lost her fight and started laughing at them.

"I'm going to introduce you to sushi sometime," she said as she laughed.

"What is sushi?" Fred asked suspiciously.

"Traditionally its raw fish wrapped in rice and seaweed."

"Oh Merlin," Fred groaned.

"We're totally in," Fred grinned, George nodding happily.

"Have you decided if you're entering?" Alicia asked Angelina, ignoring the boys.

"I think I will," Angelina nodded, "It would be cool to win, and if Kat agrees to help I'll feel quite confident."

"You'll help us if one of us gets chosen right?" Fred asked, turning to Katherine, who was sketching idly. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"If you manage to both get passed Dumbledore's age line and get chosen, I will personally guarantee you win the tournament," she supplied, rolling her eyes.

"I get the feeling you're being sarcastic," Fred frowned.

"Yeah, how would you do that anyway?" George nodded in agreement with his brother.

"Cheating," Katherine shrugged, "It is, after all, just as traditional as the tournament itself."

"Really?" Lee asked doubtfully.

"In a life threatening tournament do you really think no one cheats to increase their chances of survival?" Katherine snorted, "It's an honour to be chosen as champion, that doesn't extend to being honourable enough to risk your life more than necessary."

"Ok, so how would you help him with the tournament by cheating?" Katie moved the conversation on, clearly curious.

"Shrinking potion," Katherine shrugged, "That way myself and whichever of the boys isn't chosen could be snuck into the tasks. They work better together, after all, and it would give us the opportunity to exchange ideas on how to deal with it. Other than that it's really just making sure you know a wide range of spells."

There was silence for a moment, broken by Alicia.

"Why have you thought this out so thoroughly?" she demanded.

"I know that these idiots are planning something that could potentially kill them," Katherine shrugged, gesturing at the twins, "I plan what to do if they succeed so that I can minimize backlash."

"Aw, you do care," Fred grinned.

"Not that it'll stop me from cursing you myself," Katherine rolled her eyes. The group just laughed.

Sorry again for the long wait. Hope you enjoyed and feel free to review, even if you hated it I suppose.
PS. If you have yet to receive your dragon egg it has likely gotten lost in the mail. My sincere apologies for that however, if anyone asks, I never had any illegal dragon eggs.