10TH September

"Are you okay?" a very timid Parvati spoke to me as I buttoned up my blouse this morning.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I nodded, unable to force myself to smile.

Lavender was the next to speak, "We saw what happened last night…"

Fay took a seat on my bed, handing me my tie, "What happened between you two?"

"He decided that I wasn't good enough for him. This is him making it very obvious that he's moving on…" I spoke in a toneless voice.

"I'm so sorry…" Parvati put an arm around me, "He doesn't deserve you any way…"

I looked in the mirror before heading down to breakfast. My eyes were red and puffy and the dark circles under my eyes were more pronounced. My head was banging and I wanted to curl up in a ball, but as Ginny had told me the night before, I needed to pick myself back up again and focus on making myself completely irresistible. I can't even say I look remotely desirable right now with less than four hours sleep, but I forced my body to function as normal.

I didn't draw too much attention to myself as I sat through the theory lesson of Bubotubers and looked after the disastrous Blast Ended Screwts. At lunch Hermione encouraged me to eat and poured out a cup of coffee each for us. She had been up until after midnight talking to me, it was voluntary on her part, so she can't blame me. Ron looked conflicted, not wanting to see me hurt but not wanting to slag off his brother. I told him not to worry, that I didn't expect him to ever choose me over his family.

The first thing Maura said to me at the beginning of our meeting this afternoon was, "You look awful."

"Thanks very much." I replied, "I looked in the mirror this morning thinking I was the prettiest girl in the school."

Maura shook off my sarcasm, "Tell me everything…"

I couldn't hold it in any longer. I burst into tears. I spilled all, including the fact that George was the one who drugged Oliver, but I made her swear not to tell anyone. It felt good to get it off my chest. "And despite everything he's done to me, I still love him…" I admitted.

"Do you feel any better for telling me?"

"Yeah." I nodded, blowing my nose, "I thought I could conquer the world when I was with him, he made me feel like my past didn't matter, that he accepted me just as I am."

"You just need time, and if he is dating this friend of yours, you need to be the bigger person, show that you're happy for them. Try to rise above it, do something that makes you feel good." Maura advised me, "And your friend Ginny has some good advice for you too, this whole making yourself irresistible thing is perfect. You'll find someone better, I know it."

I placed my hand on my necklace, "You are aware that Ginny is his younger sister, right?"

"She's a good friend." Maura said before taking a look at my dream diary and my challenge diary. She seemed pleased at the work I had put in and encouraged me to continue with it. "If you do need someone to talk to during the week, please don't hesitate to contact my office." She smiled and then concluded the session, "Keep doing what you're doing and I'll see you next week!"

11th September

Angelina approached me today after lunch. "Hey girl, I haven't seen or heard from you in ages…"

"I know, sorry…" I said, knowing exactly the reason why- she was closer to Fred and George. I was introduced to her as their friend and now considering George and I are no longer on speaking terms I reckoned that my friendship with them had also ended.

"And you are the worst person for replying to messages on the Rogues parchment!" she shook her head, "You completely disappeared off the face of the earth during the summer and it's as though you've been avoiding us from the start of term…"

"It's complicated."

"That's exactly what George said and Fred won't tell me anything either." Angelina spoke with frustration, "What's going on?" she sat me down on one of the sofas and leaned on the table behind her, facing me as she spoke.

"I'm not coming between you and your friends, Ange."

Her chin dropped, "But you're my friend, too! You seemed really upset yesterday… I don't want any of my friends feeling like that." She sighed, "Look, as there's no Quidditch this year I'm feeling a bit restless with there being no practices to go to, so I talked to Professor McGonagall and she's allowing us to use one of the spare classrooms to do something active. It would be great if you could come along, too."

"Erm…" I said.

"Just think about it. For me, please." She turned her back to go up to the girls' dorms.

I smiled, thinking of Maura and her challenges, "Ange?" I called after her, and she stopped in her stride, "Count me in."

Angelina clapped her hands together in excitement, she brought me up to her dorm room and threw me a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and told me to get changed. I felt horribly self-conscious as we walked to the empty classroom on the fourth floor. Angelina was the same height as me, but she was much thinner and more toned, which was evident in the clothing I was wearing. I felt even worse when I saw who else was there: Alicia Spinnet. One look at her saw me turn my back and head back out the door again.

"Kathryn! Wait!" she ran after me.

I stopped, raising my hands in surrender, "Look, Alicia, I'm happy for the two of you, just keep the couple stuff to a minimum when I'm around."

"As soon as I saw the look on your face I knew he had lied to me. I slapped him, told him to bugger off. Us girls have got to stick together." Alicia explained, "I'll tell you all if you join us?"

Probably against my better judgement I followed her back into the classroom.

"Now that's all sorted," Angelina began, "I have managed to get my hands on some gym equipment for us all to use between classes and I've charmed it all to work inside Hogwarts. Don't ask how. All I know is that I'm really excited to have some practical girly time! Let's get stuck in!"

Alicia asked me to join her on the rowing machines as she took the opportunity to fully enlighten me what had happened between her and George that night, "He told me that you were back with Wood, that the two of you were writing to each other and you had been to some of his matches. He also said that you were awful to him. I found it very difficult to believe him apart from the fact that he is absolutely miserable. Then he started to get very touchy-feely with me that evening, his eyes flickered between me and you the whole time. Then he kissed me. I saw you run off in floods of tears. I slapped him and haven't spoken to him since. I'm so sorry, you looked like you hadn't slept the next morning…"

"Well, apparently he doesn't want to go out with me. He's all yours if you want him."

"His eyes barely left you, Kathryn, I'm not coming between whatever is going on between the two of you… Not that I want to date him anyway…" she clarified.

The two of us chatted for a while switching between different machines. Katie, Angelina, Alicia, and two girls I hadn't previously known called Rachel and Gemma made up the numbers in the room. Half an hour before dinner, we all headed back to the bathrooms to get showered. I know this is completely unladylike of me to say but the sweat was literally dripping off me, but I had such a good feeling. This is one of Maura's challenges I reckon I'll be able to maintain.

25th September

'Hey Oliver,
I'm so sorry for the late reply, stuff happened.
George is being an absolute prick and just the other day he and Fred gave a poor first year some ton-tongue-toffee… He kissed Alicia just to spite me. He flung food across the table at dinner awarding himself a detention. He even poured water over Lee Jordan's face when he fell asleep in the common room. I could tell that he was mortified but tried to laugh it off. He's getting even more immature by the day. It's just not funny anymore… I wish he would grow up!
Sorry, rant over.
Otherwise Hogwarts is just as it usually is. Moody is eccentric to say the least. Some of his lessons are dodgy, and he shouts a lot. I think I hear the words 'CONSTANT VIGILANCE' in my sleep, I'm sure that's an improvement, somehow… The Triwizard Tournament is due to start around Hallowe'en. (Apparently F&G are trying to find a way to Hoodwink the age restriction on the impartial judge…)
Thanks for writing to McGonagall. The sessions are going well and I feel I'm really benefiting from them. Maura and I have started discussing the relationship I have with my parents and we are trying to figure out why they chose me as their victim. It was already ongoing before everything with Barbara, so she can't have been the catalyst. Maura thinks if I know why, then I can truly move on.
How is everything going on your end? Have there been many matches since? I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Quidditch has been cancelled this year because of the tournament. But Katie, Alicia and Ange have found other ways to train for next year- they're almost as dedicated as you.
Feel free to rant back (haha!),
Kathryn.'

Shortly after finishing the letter, I headed up to the Owlery on the top of the West Tower. Harry told me to try and convince Hedwig to take the letter for me and gave me a handful of owl treats to give to her in apology. She had her head under her wing when I arrived but when I called her name, she swooped down and landed on my arm, "This is Harry's way of saying sorry…" I said, holding some treats for her, "men just don't understand us girls, do they?" I laughed at my own humour and for the fact I was talking to an owl. She nibbled on my finger affectionately after eating the treats. "Could you do me a favour and send a letter to Oliver Wood for me?" I brandished the piece of parchment and Hedwig flew to the windowsill, holding out her leg for me as I tied it to her. She hooted and flew off into the night sky.

As I turned to head back down the spiral staircase I saw one of the Gryffindor first years I had seen outside McGonagall's classroom on the first day of term. She was crying. "Hey…" I said softly, "what's up?"

"I d-don't know what to d-do…" she spluttered.

I placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Is there anything I can help with?"

"It – It came…" she sniffled, "for the first time and I don't know what to do…"

I clicked on to what she meant, "Do you have a sore tummy?"

She nodded shyly.

"Do you have the necessary equipment?" I asked.

She shook her head.

"No need to worry!" I smiled at her, "You've bumped into the perfect person. I'll get you sorted." She took a hold of my hand as we walked towards the Hospital Wing. Fred and George walked past us on the marble staircase but I ignored them, handing the girl a clean tissue from my pocket. "I'm Kathryn, by the way." I announced.

"I'm S-Sophie." She looked up at me all teary-eyed.

As we got to the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfery was busy attending to two other patients, so I made myself useful and grabbed a handful of pads from the store. Sophie then changed in the bathrooms before returning. By this stage I had the opportunity to explain the situation to Madam Pomfery who had a potion ready and waiting, "This should do the trick for the pain," she said to Sophie, "and if you need anything else, don't hesitate to visit me."

Sophie asked me to sit with her as the potion did its job and the two of us got talking about school. She told me that she enjoyed her lesson with Professor McGonagall and thinks that Professor Snape is very scary. I told her that Snape was a fluffy bunny underneath his tough exterior. She laughed appreciatively. After half an hour, Madam Pomfery approached us, checking on Sophie and said to me, "Your appointment with Mr Jensen has been scheduled here in the Hospital Wing for the 1st October straight after your Charms class."

"No problem." I replied. Sophie and I headed back up to the Common Room where her friends had a look of relief on their faces as they were wondering where she had gotten to. Harry, Ron and Hermione were looking expectantly at me. I told Harry that Hedwig accepted his apology and then slipped into the conversation about Maura and how she was helping me. I thought it was about time they knew.

"We know." Hermione said.

Ron scratched his head with his quill, "McGonagall let it slip."

Harry elaborated, "She was asking how we thought you were getting on…"

"And we were completely clueless, but then again it made sense cause despite all you're dealing with, and by that I am including how my brother is giving you a really tough time, you're coping well." Ron said.

"We thought we would wait until you wanted to tell us," Hermione smiled, "and we're glad you have, it shows that you're recovering. We're really proud of you."

1st October

I had my appointment with Jensen this morning. I was quietly confident- I knew myself that my body was healing. My ribs no longer hurt and my lower back was no longer giving me any bother. A few spells and an examination later, he confirmed that for me. Jensen then provided me with the expensive (pungent smelling) ointment that fades scars which Madam Pomfery carefully assisted me with – I am now officially scar-free!

"Do you feel your time with Maura is beneficial?" he sat down at the other side of Madam Pomfery's desk and took out his notebook.

"Completely," I said with a smile, "She's not like anyone I've talked to before."

"I'm glad to hear that, you seem much happier," he commented and in the same breath said, "I have some developments on your parents."

I gulped.

"They have both been caught and are currently under arrest and will be kept imprisoned by muggle police without bail until they stand trial in a few months' time." He spoke sincerely.

"O-Okay, good." I nodded, trying to take the information in, "Where were they? When they were caught?"

"They were found in Northern Ireland, a group of Aurors tracked them down and brought them to the muggle police. You brother was brought to school and will be taken into foster care during the school holidays, as will you."

"And Granny?"

"She has not been sighted…" he said, "A muggle lawyer has also been in contact with me, looking for you. Do I have permission to pass on your medical notes?"

I felt odd; I wish I had someone sitting next to me holding my hand, "Sure."

Jensen added, "You also have the opportunity to speak in front of the court during the trial, to tell your side of the story whenever the time comes, alongside the other victims and witnesses."

I placed my hand on my chest, "Others?"

"She is just a girl, Mr Jensen!" I heard McGonagall's footsteps hurry into the office, her fierce voice sounding from behind me as she placed a hand on my shoulder, "She has been through enough already."

"It's fine! I'm fine!" I turned to face McGonagall who was pale as a sheet, "I need to know everything, I need to understand, I need to know why."

She pursed her lips at me, the way she did when she was annoyed and in deep thought, "This is not the time."

"Professor," I took a deep breath, "if there are other victims, if they hurt other people, I need to know…"

Jensen placed a piece of parchment on the desk in front of him, "There were other victims but I do not have any details. The lawyer will be in contact with you, Professor McGonagall and Maura. I wish I could be of more help…"

"No, thank you, I appreciate it."

"She's stronger than you think, Minerva." I heard him whisper, and with that, he left the office.

McGonagall sighed as she watched the Healer leave. She turned and sat down on the spare seat beside me, "Are you okay? You're looking a bit peaky…"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I assured her. I knew my parents couldn't harm me anymore. Or anyone else for that matter.

"Why don't you leave off your bag in the Common Room and head down for lunch?" she suggested, "Feel free to visit me in my office at any time. I'll always have a listening ear, a cup of tea and a ginger newt for you."

When Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfery had fussed over me enough, I found myself walking towards Gryffindor Tower, taking the longer of the two obvious routes. I was in deep thought about my parents. If anyone had talked to me, I didn't hear them. I thought about the other victims. I wondered if they were beaten up like me? Or if they had murdered anyone? Tortured? Do they think I'm dead?

"Balderdash." I said to the Fat Lady who was looking at me expectantly.

The portrait door swung open and I climbed in. I saw Fred and George sitting on the window sill opposite the entrance. George looked up at me and smiled, I walked over to hug him, to tell him the news of my parents but his expression dropped to one of concern as I approached. "G-" I began to call out his name. Then it dawned on me. I turned away.

"Are you looking for me?" Ginny put her hand on my arm and her face was full of concern too, "Are you okay, you look very pale?"

I grabbed Harry, Ron and Hermione and we went to the Great Hall, I knew if I wasn't there, McGonagall would come looking for me. The five of us sat at the end of the Gryffindor table, closest to the teachers where I filled them in on what I had heard. There reactions were similar to mine.

"I'm so glad they've been caught." Ginny said with a weak smile.

Hermione looked gravely at me, "What about these other victims? Don't you know anything? Did your parents not-"

"I genuinely didn't have a clue. I thought it was just me. But you have to bear in mind, mum and dad-" I stopped mid-sentence, feeling strange at calling them 'mum and dad' when the two people were anything but deserving, "Helen and Richard worked away from home a lot, they could have been doing anything…"

"I'm not trying to be insensitive or anything-"

"Then don't say it Ronald." Hermione gave him a look.

I shrugged my shoulders, "Nah, go on."

Ron grimaced as he said, "It's not like they were under the Imperius Curse or anything…"

2nd October

"Today I will be placing the Imperius Curse on each and every one of you. This will give you the opportunity to feel the power of the curse and determine whether you can resist its effects." Professor Moody spoke as the lesson started.

"But – but you said it's illegal, Professor." Hermione shouted out uncertainly as Moody cleared away the desks with a sweep of his wand, creating a clear space in the middle of the classroom.

"Dumbledore wants you taught what it feels like," Moody's eye swivelled onto Hermione, I could see her cheeks redden in the corner of my eye, "If you'd rather learn the hard way – when someone's putting it on you so they can control you completely – fine by me. You're excused. Off you go." He pointed his gnarled finger at the door.

"I didn't mean – I didn't want to leave…" she spoke sheepishly.

Moody's real eye found Hermione, "Well then I'm sure you'll gladly be my first volunteer."

She nodded, taking a step closer to him, looking very nervous. Moody raised his wand, pointing it at Hermione and muttered the incantation 'Imperio'. Under the curse, Hermione got up on top of one of the tables at the side of the room and started dancing and playing an air guitar. It was a strange sight, seeing her look so care-free. Only when Moody lifted the curse did she return back to normal. Dean volunteered next and hopped around the room singing the national anthem.

Moody's fake eye rolled and focused on me, "You'll go next, Miss Pink."

"Will I now?" I joked as I took a step forward, staring at Moody.

"Imperio," Moody pointed his wand at me. I immediately felt as though I was on happy pills. I was completely relaxed and zoned out. Then I heard Moody's voice echoing in my brain shouting 'Tell Mr Longbottom you're sorry. Tell him you're sorry.' Before I could react, my legs were already carrying me over to Neville and my knees hit the floor, my hands clasped together and I told him how sorry I was. Just as Moody's voice in my head was telling me. "I'm sorry Neville, I don't know why I'm sorry but I'm sorry…" tears were rolling down my cheeks as the curse was lifted from me.

"That, ladies and gentlemen is an example of when the Imperius Curse can go wrong… You were listening to everything I said, Miss Pink and took it very literally. Do you remember what I told you to do?"

"Tell Mr Longbottom you're sorry." I noticed at the pink colour in Neville's cheeks and then I looked back to Moody.

"You will be very difficult to imperise," Moody spoke to me but included the class, "you have a very detailed mind." He concluded, "You must have been taught to analyse speech, you don't miss a thing, do you?"

I gave him a mysterious raise of the eyebrows and gave nothing away. I had no idea what he was going on about, though. It might be related to all the counselling, electroconvulsive therapy and cognitive behavioural therapy when I was younger.

Moody moved swiftly on. Lavender imitated a squirrel. Neville performed a series of astonishing gymnastics. Seamus barked like a dog and chased his non-existent tail. Ron acted like a cheerleader, cheering for the Gryffindor Quidditch team with a very feminine dance routine with the finale being the splits. Ouch. Harry went next, he walked over to the table Hermione was on, bent his knees and smashed headlong into the desk, knocking it over.

"Now that's more like it!" Moody growled, "Look at that, you lot… Potter fought! He fought it and he damn near beat it! We'll do it again, Potter, everyone watch his eyes, that's where you'll see it. Very good indeed, Potter! They'll have a lot of bother controlling you!"

Moody then performed the curse on Harry four more times as we watched him resist the curse. An hour later, the whole class having had an opportunity to be imperised, left the classroom and proceeded to the Great Hall for dinner.

"The way he talks," Harry said as walked down the marble staircase, "you'd think we were all going to be attacked any second."

"Yeah, I know," Ron spoke, skipping along the hallway happily, the effects of the curse still hadn't worn off yet, "Talk about paranoid."

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" I shouted in attempt at copying Moody's growl. I heard a few giggles surrounding us. Ron looked like he was going to wet himself. Hermione shook her head disapprovingly.

"And when do you think we are supposed to read up on resisting the Imperius Curse with everything else we've got to do?" Ron complained, though he was smiling. It was very strange to see him acting like that. I had to agree with him though, we had transfiguration homework on turning hedgehogs into pincushions, History of Magic research on 18th century goblin rebellions, Potions research on antidotes to poisons, three chapters to read on summoning for Charms, I had an essay due on muggle devices used to communicate and now Hagrid was expecting us to do observations on the Blast Ended Screwts in our spare time. Not that spare time really existed. Luckily I had the majority of my work done for tomorrow which gave me the weekend to catch up.

After dinner, Hermione disappeared to the library as usual. The boys headed down to Hagrid's hut to 'look after' their Blast-Ended Screwt. I sat in the corner of the common room working on the recognition, ingredients and step-by-step instruction guide for the potion to cure sepsis for Snape. I had three or four books perched open in front of me as I wrote.

"Hello," Neville sat down beside me.

"Hey!" I said, shutting the fourth book, giving him room to sit.

"I didn't think I was capable of becoming a gymnast." He said, "I'm thinking of taking it up as my new hobby, I might even make a career out of it."

I couldn't tell if he was being serious. I glanced up at him to see him smiling so I replied, "Just the same as I'm going to become a world famous actress."

"I think you'll become a comedian first, dry humour seems to be a speciality of yours." He chuckled.

"Never." I said sarcastically.

"It's curious how, in reality, those three curses can cause so much devastation." He said.

"He'll be putting the Cruciatus curse on us all next," I sighed, "I don't think I'd cope as well with it. I've been in extreme pain before, but I imagine it would be 100 times worse."

"It is…" Neville told me, "It does terrible things to people…"

"Have you seen it?" I asked him out of interest.

Neville spoke so quietly I hardly heard him, "My parents…"

I whispered back, "Were they-"

"They were tortured to insanity by a Death Eater called Bellatrix Lestrange…"

"Oh Neville, I'm so sorry…" I felt a shiver up my spine, "is that why you live with your grandmother?"

"Yeah… my parents stay at St Mungos, have done for almost 13 years…"

"Do you get to visit them?" I asked, very conscious of the sensitivity of the subject.

Neville shifted position in his chair, still leaning in to talk to me in hushed tones, "I visit them during the holidays, but they don't know who I am…" he looked intently at his hands, "please don't tell anyone, Kathryn… I don't know why I told you, I just reckoned you'd listen or something… Moody worked with my parents, they were both Aurors too… he thought it might be good if I talked to someone... and when you talked to me, I wasn't ready…"

"I am always here if you want to talk," I placed a hand on his upper arm, "and I won't tell anyone. I can't even pretend to understand how difficult it has been for you… but I thank you for telling me and for trusting me."

"Okay." he said awkwardly before getting up and leaving, climbing the stairs to his dorm.

24th October

Over the past few weeks I have been hanging out with Katie, Alicia and Angelina in the spare classroom a lot more with Hermione spending so much time on our increasing workload. They even asked me about George's strange behaviour. "He asked me if I was on my time of the month the other day when I was in a bad mood." Alicia vented, "No George, I'm annoyed because you just made a very inappropriate comment on the size of my boobs with Lee." She sighed.

Katie sighed too, "He told me to smile the other day. I told him that if he stops being so miserable I might consider it. Honestly, Kathryn, whatever happened between you has gone too far. He's just so…"

"Snappy?" Angelina suggested, "Kathryn, you're the only person that will sort him out. Please, it will be the best birthday present ever!"

"Oh oh ohh. Not a chance. No way." I shook my head, "he's not my problem. Besides, was my present not good enough?" I put my hand on my hip, raising my eyebrows at her.

"But seeing the two of you happy together would just make my day complete!" Angelina pleaded.

"What would he have to do for you to take him back?" Katie asked.

I snorted, "I would need a very heartfelt sincere public apology. For him to get down off his high horse. Better grades. Maturity. He would also need to take me seriously. He needs to be less of an insensitive wart. And not a complete unreliable, inattentive, jealous, embarrassment. I just don't think he has it in him."

"And if he changes would you take him back?" Angelina asked.

"Probably not."

"UGHHH!" they all sighed in frustration, spending the next hour trying to convince me to sort him out. When the four of us made our way down for dinner a number of individuals congregating around a large sign which had been suspended in mid-air at the bottom of the marble staircase. It read:

'TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT
The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving at 6 o'clock on Friday 30th of October. Lessons will end half an hour early. Students will return their bags and books to their dormitories and assemble in front of the castle to greet our guests before the Welcoming Feast.'

"You know; I think I will enter." Angelina said.

Katie and Alicia let out excited giggles.

"Rather you than me!" I smiled at her, "I think you'd be amazing!"

"I think you and George would be amazing together, too." She replied with a smile as we sat down to dinner together.

That night I saw the jar of notes George had filled for me and lifted one out which said:

'Never give up'.

30th October

At breakfast this morning I noticed a marked improvement on the cleanliness of the castle. The Great Hall had been decorated overnight as well- enormous silk banners were hung from the walls, each representing the four houses and a banner behind the teacher's table bore the Hogwarts coat of arms.

We were all full of anticipation today and could hardly concentrate in classes. All teachers let us have fun and play a few games, apart from Professor Binns who droned on as usual. Maura had also written to me on Monday to postpone our usual scheduled meeting until 1630 this afternoon. So when the time came, I had to knock on McGonagall's door and interrupt her class. Of course it had to be her 6th year class which included Fred, George, Angelina, Alicia and Lee. I'll have to claim I was in detention or something…

"Sorry… May I?" I pointed to McGonagall's office.

"Of course, Miss Pink."

I hurried to the front of the classroom, keeping my head up high as I passed Fred and George who were sitting at the front giggling. As I got to Maura's office, it had the 'engaged' sign up, so I took a seat outside. Twenty or so minutes later a gentleman left the room and Maura apologised profusely for her lateness.

In today's session I told her about what was bothering me. The usual topic of discussion was George and how he was really getting on my nerves. Maura told me to be patient with him and advised that using the spell confringo on him was not a good idea. I also mentioned how the girls wanted George and I to get together. Maura advised me to be open minded. I felt like pulling my hair out. No one seems to understand me when I say that I want him out of my life completely. I advised her to meet him first or watch how he's getting on and then she'll appreciate what I mean. She laughed. Secondly, Maura broached the subject of my parents' impending trial and let me vent about that for a while and she answered any questions she could (which wasn't many). Then she suggested that it might be beneficial to meet with the lawyer in a future session to discuss my options further. I agreed. Then I looked at the clock. It had just gone 1823.

I swore aloud, "I'm late. The other competitors are arriving now. I've got to go; I'll see you Monday." I grabbed my bags and ran. I made myself invisible as I ran from McGonagall's office, up to the Gryffindor Tower where I dropped off my bags and grabbed my cloak and hat and hurried down to the entrance hall.

"Ce château est massif!" I heard the awe in the voice of a male Beauxbatons student, "C'est incroyable!" he was standing on the spot looking up at the ceiling and suddenly noticed me, "Bonjour!" he said with a smile.

"Bonjour!" I nodded, "Bienvenue à Hogwarts!"

"Merci!" his cheeks went pink, "Je m'appelle François!"

"Je suis Kathryn," I giggled, unsure of what to say next.

Next thing I heard McGonagall's voice, "Miss Pink, may I ask you to join your classmates?"

"Sorry, of course."

"À bientôt, Kathryn." François called out to me. I simply smiled at him before stepping outside, squeezing into the line between Harry and Hermione waiting for the students from Durmstrang to arrive.

"Where on earth have you been?" Hermione whispered.

"My meeting with Maura ran on… She wanted to discuss my parents…"

Hermione's voice rose, "For two hours?"

"Would you two please be quiet?" McGonagall gave me a warning look and pointed into the distance. There were ripples on the surface of the water and suddenly a whirlpool formed in the middle of the lake. Then a mast appeared, followed by rigging. Slowly but most impressively a ship rose out of the water, gleaming in the moonlight and bobbing around at the bank. We heard the splash of the anchor and the thud of the plank.

People started disembarking, seemingly all tall and very broad-shouldered. As they came into view I could see that they were all wearing furs of different sorts. The man leading the group wore a silver-coloured fur that matched his silvery hair.

"Dumbledore!" he called out heartily as he walked up the slope, "How are you, my dear fellow?"

"Blooming, thank you, Professor Karkaroff." Dumbledore replied and directed him towards the entrance hall of the castle. Karkaroff's students followed closely behind.

"Dear old Hogwarts!" Karkaroff's smile didn't extend to his eyes as he looked up at the castle, "How good is it to be here? Viktor, come along into the warmth… you don't mind, Dumbledore? Viktor has a slight head cold…" He beckoned to one student in particular. As he passed by I saw the familiar prominent curved nose and the thick black eyebrows.

All I could hear was Ron whispering loudly into Harry's ear, "It's Krum!"

I caught eyes with Ginny and winked at her. Her jaw was touching the ground beneath her.

Inside the Great Hall, Ron hadn't stopped talking about Krum. He was stunned, star struck and a little frazzled, "Krum, Harry! Viktor Krum!"

"Oh for heaven's sake, Ron, he's only a Quidditch player." Hermione chided him.

"Only a Quidditch player?!" he looked at her as though he couldn't believe his ears, "Hermione – he's one of the best Seekers in the world! I had no idea he was still at school!"

I rolled my eyes at the number of students all fretting, looking for a quill to get an autograph. A few girls were wondering if it was acceptable to get him to sign something in lipstick. Yes, he was a Quidditch player, but I really didn't get the fascination. He didn't have much else going for him.

The Durmstrang students sat down at the Slytherin table (much to Draco's delight) and the Beauxbatons students sat alongside the Ravenclaws. The French students looked miserable, clutching their silk scarves and shawls to their bodies for warmth. "It's not that cold!" Hermione said irritably.

Ron asked Harry, "I wonder where they're going to sleep? We could offer Krum a space in our dormitory, Harry… I wouldn't mind giving him my bed, I could sleep on a camp-bed."

Hermione and I snorted.

At the front of the Great Hall, Filch had added four extra chairs – for Madame Maxime, Professor Karkaroff, Ludo Bagman and Mr Crouch. Madame Maxime easily towered over everyone else at the top table. She was even taller than Hagrid (and that's saying something)! As everyone found their seats and had gotten comfortable, Dumbledore stood and silence fell over the hall. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and – most importantly – guests," he began, "I have great pleasure in welcoming you to Hogwarts and I trust that all of you will find your stay here both comfortable and enjoyable."

One of the girls from Beauxbatons gave out a derisive laugh.

"No-one's making you stay." Hermione whispered, loud enough for me to hear.

Dumbledore continued, "The Tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast. I invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!" And at once, the dishes in front of us filled with food. The house elves had really outdone themselves this time as a range of dishes were presented including those that were undoubtedly foreign.

"What's that?" Ron asked, looking slightly disgusted at a seafood/ shellfish like soup.

Hermione was quick to reply, "Bouillabaisse."

"Bless you," Ron said.

"It's French," she explained, "I had it on holiday, summer before last, it's very nice."

"I'll take your word for it." Ron pushed the dish aside to get a better grip on the plate containing black pudding.

A voice sounded from behind me, "Excuse me, are you wanting ze Bouillabaisse?" I turned to look at a beautiful girl with waist length blonde hair and bright blue eyes who was looking at Ron.

Ron went purple. He stared at her, struggling to find words in which to reply.

"Yeah, have it," Harry pushed the dish towards me and I lifted it to pass it over. She gave me a small smile and took it from me.

"You 'ave finished wiz it?" she enquired.

"Yeah," Ron spoke breathlessly, "Yeah, it was excellent."

As she sat back down at the Ravenclaw table I couldn't help myself as I said, "Honestly you two. Put your tongues back into your mouths. She's a girl, not something for you to ogle at."

Harry started to laugh.

"She's a Veela!" Ron spoke hoarsely to Harry.

"Of course she isn't! I don't see anyone else gaping at her like an idiot!" Hermione said tartly.

I cleared my throat and gently elbowed her in the arm. I saw the eyes of many boy's following her as she crossed between the two tables. I think I even saw Fred and George miss their mouths. Ange, who was sitting opposite, gave Fred a swift kick in the shins. I chuckled as his cheeks turned pink.

"I'm telling you, that's not a normal girl!" Ron leaned sideways to get a better view of her, "They don't make them like that at Hogwarts!"

"They make them okay at Hogwarts!" Harry looked over in the direction of the Ravenclaw table, a little along the table than the girl with the blonde hair.

"Okay? Okay?" I pretended to be offended, "You are aware that two of your best friends happen to be female, right?"

"Right." Ron and Harry said quickly.

Hermione shook her head, "You really can't fish for compliments with those two, Kathryn, you should know that by now. I'm surprised they've even recognised we're girls, if I'm honest."

After dessert had been demolished, the plates emptied and Dumbledore rose from his seat, "The moment has come. The Triwizard Tournament is about to begin. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring in the casket."

"The what?" Harry questioned.

Dumbledore introduced Ludo Bagman and Mr Crouch and informed us of all the hard work that had gone into preparing for this Tournament. "They will be joining myself, Madame Maxime and Professor Crouch on the judging panel." Dumbledore smiled at how attentive everyone was being, "Mr Filch, the casket, if you please."

Filch soon entered the Great Hall again holding a large old wooden bejewelled chest. Excitement quickly rose amongst all students and Dumbledore took the opportunity to continue, "The three tasks will be evenly spaced throughout the school year, and they will test the champions in many different ways… their magical prowess – their daring – their powers of deduction – and, of course, their ability to cope with danger."

I swear you could have heard a pin drop.

"Each champion will be marked on how they perform in each of the Tournament tasks and the champion with the highest score at the end of the three tasks will win the Triwizard Cup. The champions will be selected by an impartial judge – the Goblet of Fire."

Dumbledore took out his wand and tapped three times on the top of the wooden casket. The lid creaked slowly open. Dumbledore reached inside it and pulled out a large, roughly hewn wooden cup that was full to the brim with dancing, blue-white flames, and placed it on top of the casket for all to see.

"Wowzah." It was breath-taking and in that moment I was so much more excited than I had been.

"Anybody wishing to submit themselves as champion must write their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment and drop it into the Goblet. Aspiring champions will have 24hours in which to put their names forward. Tomorrow night, Hallowe'en, the Goblet will return the names of the three it has judged most worthy to represent their schools. The Goblet will be placed in the Entrance Hall tonight, which will be freely accessible to all those wishing to compete." Dumbledore then cleared his throat, "to ensure that no underage students yield to temptation, I will be drawing an age line around the Goblet of Fire once it has been placed in the Entrance Hall. Nobody under the age of seventeen will be able to cross the line."

"Finally, I wish to impress upon any of you wishing to compete in the Tournament is not to be entered into lightly. Once a champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obliged to see the Tournament through to the end. Placing your name into the Goblet of Fire is a binding magical contact. There can be no change of heart once you have become champion. Now, I think it is time for bed. Goodnight to you all."

"An Age Line?!" Fred's eyes lit up and both he and George headed upstairs, heads together formulating a plan.

In the common room I caught up with Harry and Ron who were sitting in front of the fire.

"I couldn't imagine anything worse than entering that Tournament." I admitted.

Ron whispered, "But you're an invisibilia, you'd have an edge on the rest of the champions."

"Nah, I'm alright. If you two were seventeen, would you be entering?" I asked.

"Definitely!" Ron said.

"No way!" Harry said conclusively.