17th September (cont'd…)

"Why did you assault another student?" Dumbledore asked calmly.

Cormac McLaggen had been brought to the Hospital Wing to be treated for his broken nose and for his hurt pride as I was marched up to Dumbledore's office. I wasn't in the least bit afraid of the consequences of what I'd done. In fact, I was surprised at myself for being able to keep in my anger for so long.

"He deserved it." I said, "And I don't say that lightly. He shot a stunner at me, first."

Dumbledore's eyes x-rayed me from across his desk, I was perfectly calm now, "What equates to him deserving it?"

I didn't fancy detention for the rest of the year, so I tried being as polite as possible, "He was making inappropriate sexual comments about a friend."

In a flash, Dumbledore's eyebrows raised and lowered and he implored, "Please explain."

"I was watching the Gryffindor try-outs with Hermione Granger and she was made to feel uncomfortable, so I approached him and asked him to move so that we could see the pitch," I reached into my bag and lifted out my diary, "And he, after a short conversation said, 'So you can see the Weasley girl and her idiot brother – I mean, no matter how much I'd like to get some of that, I bet she's not that tight down there anymore, with six brothers, I mean –' After that, I warned him to get out of my way." I left out the details of promising to put him in the Hospital Wing, "Sir, I didn't fight him then, no matter how much I wanted to. But he's maintained his inappropriate comments over the last few days. "

"I do recall you being able to withstand taunts to a greater extent than this." He commented, still as calm as ever.

I sighed, reaching into my diary, "You'd better read this…" I handed him the letter Bellatrix sent me.

"Ah." He set it down, "I understand."

I looked over my shoulder to ensure that no one else was watching, "Look, I wish I could get out of this, but I made a mistake and now I'm paying for it. She made me lose my temper and then I punched the guy who pushed me over the edge. She's making demands and I'm not prepared to give the truth. Do you know who killed Hannah's mother?" I asked.

"Bellatrix wouldn't have wasted her energy on a target like Mara Abbott."

"What am I supposed to do?" I sighed, "I need something to tell her or -"

"Right now you don't need to tell her anything." Dumbledore interrupted me, a roll of parchment and a quill appeared, "I am revoking your privileges to send letters, I am placing you in detention and you will also report to Professor Snape for all of your free periods for a month or at least until you have served your punishment fully and all your Professors approve the lifting of the ban."

I watched as he wrote, "You're kidding me."

Dumbledore looked up after dotting every 'i' and crossing every 't', "I think that will suffice in annoying Bellatrix Lestrange." He remarked, "I believe, as your next-of-kin, she ought to be informed of your troublemaking and that she should expect not to hear from you."

I sat silently, knowing that if I was to argue back, my punishments would only increase in severity. I watched as he placed the letter in an envelope and Fawkes left to deliver it.

"Your punishment will be three detentions; you will receive a letter from the teacher whom you will spend this time with." He nodded, "I cannot let you walk away from this, no matter how seemingly admirable your actions."

"Yes, sir."

"I'd also like for you to go back to therapy." He said, "Do you understand why I'm asking you to do this?"

I nodded, "Because you fear that I'm turning into my mother." Even I was thinking it. The whole school saw me lose my cool and go after a guy who's both bigger and stronger than me. I didn't even use a wand.

"You still haven't noticed that your knuckles are bruised and bleeding."

I looked down at my hands for the first time, which were clasped together in my lap, "I've had a lot worse than these injuries, and yes, I'm also aware of the bruise on my cheek." I paused, expecting a reaction from Dumbledore, a comment, anything, but he said nothing so I filled the silence, "I'm angry at her, you know. She gave me up for him, she would sacrifice me for him time and time again, she's bullying me, she's using me, she's treating me like my parents treated me, and my only saving grace right now is the fact that I'm trapped inside this castle."

He nodded.

"I understand you probably don't trust me fully, but I would like to be kept in the loop of what is happening with the Order. I need to feel useful. I need to know what's going on out there. I need the distraction." I said simply, I guess I wouldn't trust me if I were him.

"Minerva did inform you of Mara Abbott's death, as a member of the Order, we agreed that telling you was the correct thing to do. I have not been intentionally hiding anything from you. Nor have I informed anyone of my true whereabouts when I leave the castle, the time will come."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

The corners of his lips rose slightly, "Avoid sending letters to anyone other than Order Members for the next month, attend the three detentions, resume therapy and… go to the hospital wing and tell Mr McLaggen to come to my office at his soonest convenience. I will punish him suitably; I can assure you. Good day, Miss Pink."

I smirked, "I'll take that as my leave then."

I entered Alchemy for the last fifteen minutes of class, I apologised to Mr Junis, explaining that I was with Professor Dumbledore. All five of my male classmates stared at me as I sat down at a desk on my own, taking out my work on the element of the week - 'fire'.

After a few minutes, there was a collective sigh in the class when Mr Junis cleared his throat, "As I'm not a full-time Professor here at Hogwarts, we have had no issues whatsoever discussing the fact that you punched someone this morning."

"Not just any old someone -" Ernie MacMillan corrected, "Cormac McLaggen - a seventh year, he's an absolute unit and you knocked him to the ground with one punch."

I couldn't help but smile smugly, "Yeah I did."

"But our question is… why'd you do it?"

"Didn't you know? I want to prove myself as one of the biggest lads in this class!" I smirked, "Totally worth the detentions."

With Hannah gone, it was going to be a very lonely two years in a classroom of men and this seems to have done the job for my social standing. My morning's antics seemed to impress everyone but Zacharias Smith, "Just because you took on another guy doesn't mean you're a hero. You're just stupid and surprisingly lucky."

"You're just worried I'd knock you out." I said, flicking my hair off my shoulder dramatically as I turned to look at him, "I'm still up for that duel any time, bud."

There was a knock at the door and my stomach lurched.

"Excuse me, Mr Junis, I have been informed by Professor Dumbledore that I have to apologise to Kathryn."

"I believe that you ought to refer to this young lady as 'Miss Pink', I do believe that manners maketh the man, don't let the side down." He gently chided, "A man should never leave a mark on a woman."

I desperately tried to hide how much I was enjoying this situation. Mr Junis was making Cormac McLaggen a shade of beetroot and he was clearly very uncomfortable. I think I just knocked the boy down a peg or two.

He stood to face me, hands clenched into fists and I gave him the sweetest, most innocent smile as he mumbled, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry, I didn't quite hear that…" I leaned forwards, pointing to my ear.

"I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"For offending your friends."

"And?"

He shot a pensive look in Draco's direction, "Your family."

"And?"

"And what?" he snapped.

"And you promise never to do it again."

"Trust me, I'm never you offending you again, a month of detention." He spat on the floor, "You have the whole faculty wrapped around your little finger, you know that?"

I smiled, "I hope your nose isn't going to permanently disfigure your face, it's the only thing that was going for you." I waved him out the door, "Buh-bye."

"You're mean."

"He deserves a whole lot worse."

"He offended our family?" Draco sat in the seat beside me.

"Oh honey, you have no idea." I said, facing him as though to start gossiping like we did all last summer, "He'd never dare say it to your face, and now, he won't say it to mine, either." I was about to divulge what he was saying about the Malfoy/Lestrange families but I was stopped by the bell.

19th September

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GRANGER!"

"Since when have you called me, Granger?"

I beamed, "Since the day you turned seventeen! Welcome to the club!" I sat on the edge of her bed, lifting up the pile of presents I had spent ages wrapping the evening before with a lot of decorative bows and ribbons that George sent with the items I requested he bought.

Hermione carefully opened the packages so as not to rip the paper, "Oh Kathryn." She cooed, "It's so beautiful!" she held up the purple scarf which I had purchased in the market in St Tropez. She then followed this by demonstrating the use of the hairbrush for curly hair then inspecting the book 'To Kill a Mockingbird', "Is this one you've read?"

"Yeah, it's a brilliant literary classic," I nodded, "I also think it's very relatable to what's going on at the minute… How the justice system is flawed, especially when you're judging different groups of people, in the books it tells of the prejudice of white people against black people in the 1930s."

"Thank you." she added the book to the top of the pile at the side of her bed, "I don't read enough fiction."

"So, what do you wanna do today?"

"Let's go to the library after classes." She said excitedly, rubbing her hands together, "We can both pick out random books for a bit of light reading!"

2nd October

It's been a busy few weeks with half the school being afraid of me and the other half admiring me for my handiwork. Cormac McLaggen didn't even so much as look at me, nor did he utter anything under his breath as I walked past, I merely wondered how long it was going to last. Ginny was shocked when I finally gave in and told her what made me so angry to take on a full-grown man.

"Why do men have to over-sexualise everything?" she asked as we sat on my bed eating brownies we took from the dinner table for a quiet dessert, "All Dean wants to do is help me through doors and do this thing where he puts his hand here."

"I can say nothing, George does it too." I added, "I don't get what a guy's fascination for boobs is anyway, it's just a load of adipose tissue."

Ginny raised an eyebrow.

"Fat tissue." I told her, taking a bite out of a second brownie.

"I miss our chats," she rested her head on my shoulder, "how are things with you George?"

I smiled, thinking back to our conversations over the last few weeks, we have been communicating a lot using our parchment, "We're making the whole long distance thing work. I don't think we've ever been so open about everything. Sometimes he's a little too open, but it gives me a giggle nonetheless and makes me grateful that no one else can read our conversations."

Ginny shook her head, "I dread to think. Is he coming to Hogsmeade? The date was put up in the Common Room this morning – it's two Saturday's away."

"I'll let him know." I reached for my diary and scribbled a message to him, "How're Quidditch Practices going?"

"Harry's a great Captain!" she smiled brightly, "The team is on top form, Ron is saving goals, Demelza is a great chaser the three of us are a good scoring team. Katie always asks about you, but your detentions with Snape always seemed to be scheduled during practices…"

"Snape always loves to think he's got the upper hand." I commented, thinking of the three hour sessions I spent with him last Thursday evening, last Sunday afternoon and yesterday, "He made me research defensive spells during my first detention from really old textbooks he owns. Then on the Sunday afternoon, he was teaching me Occlumency for an hour before making me do more research. Then last night, he had both McLaggen and me in the same room. I re-organised his dusty bookshelves and McLaggen scraped gum off the tables."

Ginny was puzzled, "Why would Snape voluntarily teach you?"

"Let's be honest, chances are I'm going to have to block my mind to a number of Death Eaters and I'm going to have to defend my life." I shrugged my shoulders, "From what I know, Snape and Bellatrix hate each other, so this must be an act of defiance, Snape arming me against her. Either that, or Snape is trying to work out where my weaknesses are."

"But you don't trust him?"

"You know that saying, keep your friends close?"

She laughed, "You're keeping him mighty close."

"Detention with Snape makes me a better person." I said.

"No I think that's got to be the therapy." She elbowed me, "What exactly do you talk about in those meetings? I even had a Slytherin ask me where you were at dinner two nights ago, I told him you were in detention, I thought that would go down better."

I sighed, "Let me guess, tall, blonde, bit weedy looking?"

Ginny squinted at me, "Yes?"

"Theodore Nott." I confirmed, "I don't know what's going on with that boy -"

"Didn't you attack his father in the Department of Mysteries? Does he not know?" she gasped, "Oh Kat, you're going to have so much explaining to do whenever he finds out."

I smirked, "He was the one who chose me for this group project. With Hannah gone, the two Puffs team up and no matter how much I'd love to have been working with Draco, Theo sat down beside me in the library and asked me what I wanted him to do."

Ginny sat up on her knees and stared at me, "You know what this means, right?"

"Oh, I know. I'm friendly and I will not let him infer any interest from me. I mean, he doesn't know that George and I are still together and whilst I'd love to get him to back off a bit, I can't risk it. George agrees with what I'm doing."

"With gritted teeth, I'm sure."

I shuddered as a cold breeze came in the window beside my bed, "I can't see Theodore Nott ever seducing me, can you?"

Ginny laughed, "But he'll try, I'm sure."

"He'll never be able to compete with your brother," I winked, taking another bite of brownie.

Ginny screwed up her face in fake disgust as Lavender walked in, sighing heavily stating ever so dramatically, "No one will ever love me..." before flopping on her bed.

That concluded our conversation on our own love lives, that's for sure.

12th October

I woke this morning with excitement coursing through my veins. I showered and had my hair and makeup sitting perfectly. Hermione went down to breakfast without me as I was taking too long. She lost patience with me as I complained that I hadn't anything to wear.

Based on the stiff breeze that came in through the window, it was a cold one. Multiple dresses, pairs of tights, skirts, blouses and shoes lay strewn across my bed as I finally completed my outfit of the day. Black woolly tights, Tonks' boots and a purple form-fitting jumper dress was probably not the wisest of choices, but at breakfast I did turn a few heads and I've learnt to embrace it. With a long woollen coat and a chunky scarf, I braced the stormy weather. I didn't have time for breakfast, I was already running late. Harry, Ron and Hermione would understand, they know my plans.

At the gates, Filch probed me a little too keenly, checking for illegal items as I left the castle alone. Giving him the dirtiest of looks, I power-walked down the path towards Hogsmeade.

"Hey you." I beamed as I approached George sitting on a bench just off the path, "Oh it is so good to see you!" I wrapped my arms around him, "Hey – what's wrong?" his body was tense and his face told me something was bothering him.

He scowled, "I had everything planned…"

"Has something happened in the shop?"

He shook his head, "I booked us that table for lunch in London, I thought we could spend a bit of time together in the flat, but no."

I raised my eyebrows, reaching up and interlocking my hands behind his neck.

"Merlin, you're so beautiful." He pulled me in close and we kissed, he was hungry for more, but he pulled away, "I got a letter from Dumbledore this morning, we've to attend an Order meeting," he looked down at his watch, "and we've to be there in ten minutes."

I stood on my tiptoes and said, "Ten minutes it is then. Now put your arms around me and keep me warm as I kiss you."

"Ah, Miss Pink, Mr Weasley."

"You know, Sir, I've actually seen you more than I've seen George recently, so I'm hoping for your sake that this isn't -"

With his hands clasped, Dumbledore invited me to sit down at the Weasley's kitchen table, "I heard intel that you were going to be a target in Hogsmeade this afternoon. It appears that our plan didn't work out."

"Well, that's just great." I clasped my hands, mirroring Dumbledore, "I wish this news came as a surprise."

George took a seat beside me and leaned forwards, "Are you still receiving threats in the mail?"

I accepted a cup of tea from Molly before answering, "From time to time, but it's not nearly half as bad as what it was. These people are a little late to jump on the bandwagon. It doesn't particularly phase me anymore, not with all the crap I've taken from other students."

Molly shuffled herself towards me, "And is it true, that you punched a boy?"

"Try man." George answered on my behalf, "I wanted to ask you about that. You have to tell me what he said, because it's not like you to -"

"Trust me, you both would have done worse to him," I assured, "but it's resolved now. Trust me, just leave it. I've served my month of detention and my month's ban of communication with the outside world." I gave Dumbledore a good wiggle of my eyebrows.

Molly didn't seem content, she looked to George, whom I had told minimal information to, who shrugged his shoulders, "Katy has dealt with the problem, mum. We've all got to trust her." He took my hand and squeezed it, his eyes never wavering from mine, I say they don't need to know, he believes me.

"Did Mr Potter remember his Invisibility Cloak this morning?" Dumbledore enquired, "I'm sure you're aware of our next lesson on Monday evening?"

I shook my head, "Actually, no. I was running a bit late this morning, so I skipped breakfast to get to George on time. I haven't seen Harry or Ron. Hermione knew I was going to go down to Hogsmeade on my own, that was always the plan."

"Miss Pink, may I enquire into the teachings of Mr Junis?" Dumbledore asked me after a moments silence.

I smirked, "He's a little unconventional, loves hearing about school gossip – I'll admit, I was wary of him at the beginning, but I think he really enjoys spending time with our class, and with being the sole female, I'm getting a proper insight into the minds of men."

"I'll need you to inform me if any of those six individuals start acting in a peculiar manner."

"Of course."

That request certainly gives me a lot to think about.

Dumbledore then leaned towards me, "Have you received any correspondence from Bellatrix?"

"None." I smiled, "Absolutely nothing. The only letters I've received this last month have been from Freddie and Tonks." I paused, "Am I allowed to ask what you've been doing outside Hogwarts yet?"

Dumbledore inspected me from above his half-moon spectacles, "No, and that is what you will tell Bellatrix should she ask."

"Sir, who or what alerted you to – I don't know how to put it politely – who was going to do Bellatrix's dirty work?"

"Tonks alerted me to a discussion held between the Death Eaters stationed at Hogsmeade." He said simply, "the overheard conversation in question was regarding my letter and how they weren't going to get information unless it came directly from your lips, so they were going to take you, which would make us all expect that you left Hogsmeade of your own accord."

I sighed loudly.

There was something that I couldn't help but think but wouldn't dare verbalise. Chances are, if I went missing again, people would just assume the worst of me. I'd be dead before they realised what really happened. I was lucky I was able to leave a wide gaping exploded hole of evidence behind me in London when I was taken. I don't even know how to act now. Do I treat Death Eaters like friends? Or do I fight them off? I've got to appear to be loyal to Voldemort, yet…

I can't please one without displeasing the other.

"I'd know." George said.

"You'd know what?" Molly questioned her son.

"I'd know if something happened to Katy." He said, I glanced up and realised he was staring at me as I sat thinking to myself, "I'd know because I know you."

I nodded.

"I hear from Professor Snape that your lessons were successful?"

"Well I certainly wasn't letting him see what's going on in here -" I pointed to my head, I tried not to laugh, "Bellatrix only got the bits I wanted to show her when she tried legilimency against me. I don't imagine she'll be hurrying back any time soon." I looked around the room, "Is anyone else coming?"

Molly poured more tea into my cup, "No dear, it's just the four of us, I wanted to keep you safe."

I looked at George and let out a long sigh. Dumbledore always had the knack of ruining my mood, today was supposed to be good, it was supposed to be me and George and now I have to think about getting back to school with Death Eaters searching for me. Oh, come on Kathryn. You can walk through those gates without anyone seeing a thing.

"No offence, but right now, I don't want to be here." I said, taking George's hand, "We've got lunch plans and the Death Eaters will have to deal with my wrath if they try and ruin my afternoon."

Molly laughed, "I know I wouldn't get in your way when you're determined."

George and I both stood, "We won't be staying long enough to change your mind, see you mum."

"BYE!" I yelled, running out the door, wrapping my scarf around my neck, the freezing cold breeze sending chills though my body.

"You never fail to amaze me, Katy." George said as we sat down in the Italian restaurant, I had managed to convince the front of house waiter that we definitely deserved the last remaining table in the restaurant. I really wasn't taking no for an answer and I'm pretty sure it was mine and George's table from our booking that was for over an hour ago.

"Come on, I'm hungry!" I stared at the menu with great interest, "A girl's gotta eat!"

I could see George shaking his head as I glanced up from the menu, "Priorities." He mimicked my accent.

"I couldn't let your plans be messed up too much," I said, glancing at a bowl of pasta that passed behind George's head, "I know how much planning you put into today. We've been discussing it for long enough." A waiter placed a complementary plate of garlic bread on the table in front of us, "And you know me, I'd never say no to good food. I don't even care if I have garlic breath." I set down the menu and demolished my slice.

George bit his lower lip, "You are so attractive."

I laughed.

"No, I'm being serious." He said, "You're so beautiful."

I swear in that moment I blushed and I got those butterflies in my stomach that only he gave me. I'm still terrible at taking compliments, so I responded, "You're not so bad looking yourself."

He smirked, "I even shaved this morning for you."

I placed my hand on my chest and fained shock, "I'm so privileged! What a lucky girlfriend I am!" I reached across the table and stroked the soft skin of his cheeks, he leaned into my hand as though craving my touch. It had been over a month since we had physical contact, "I've missed you." I said, only loud enough for him to hear, no dramatics just straight from the heart.

"I've missed you too…" he took my hand and held it across the table, allowing me to sit down again as the waiter approached.

We ordered drinks and a mountain of creamy chicken and mushroom tagliatelle for me and a Bolognese ragù for George. We talked about everything from the craic in the shop, to the gossip circulating Hogwarts, to Angelina's overnighters and conversation managed to get around to me punching Cormac McLaggen.

"You probably shouldn't have punched him, you know." George said after swallowing an impressive amount of pasta all at once.

"Honestly, George…" I emphasised, "If you were there – it was worse than the reason for you getting into that fight with Draco."

George started pushing the remaining pasta around the bowl, his free hand propping up his head. This was weighing him down.

"I'll be back in a mo." I said, getting up from the table with my bag and after using the toilets I paid for lunch, "Let's get out of here, honey."

He didn't even argue with me as we put on our coats and braced the winds. We didn't have that much time left together before I had to go back, but I needed to sort this and I was worried enough to be willing to get detention for a month if I was late. The more we talked, the more George showed how he was feeling and I couldn't quite understand it. He was frustrated and annoyed when I saw him in Hogsmeade, he got progressively quieter the longer I spent in his company. We walked hand in hand towards the Leaky Cauldron and we walked through invisibly. I really couldn't be bothered trying to explain why I was there and with George if someone was to recognise me.

"What're you doing here?" Fred looked panicked as he saw me walk through the shop, George trying to hide my identity from customers, "Death Eaters were in here about half an hour ago, they were asking Verity – what's happened?"

I pointed at Verity, "You're in charge, you didn't see me."

I grabbed Fred and walked up towards the apartment where I locked us in and performed the muffliato spell on the door. I took off my coat and made myself at home, pointing my wand at the kettle and made a pot of tea.

"What's wrong mate?" Fred asked his twin, taking a seat beside him, I sat on the edge of the coffee table, passing mugs to the boys, Fred turned to me, "What happened?"

"Cormac McLaggen essentially said that he'd love to do your sister, but with –" I paused, searing with anger at him again, "But with her having 6 brothers, she's probably not that tight down there and he wouldn't get any pleasure out of it."

Fred's eyes locked onto mine in shock. I heard George's knuckles crack as he clenched his fists.

"That's the main reason why I punched him." I explained, "I held in my anger for so long, but he kept pushing and he was bloody well asking for it. He made the first move and I retaliated. I told Dumbledore and he got way worse a punishment than I did. It was worth the bruises and I'd do it again."

"I always remember Bernie saying he was an arse, but – that's –" Fred couldn't find the words, he just looked to George to help, but George was looking at his outstretched palms on his thighs, "I think I'm going to leave you two to it." He got up.

I followed him to the door and wrapped my arms around him, planting a kiss on his cheek, "Dumbledore said that Death Eaters are looking for me, because he banned me from communicating with the outside world as part of my punishment. He even wrote to Bellatrix to tell her because I was such a mess about how she was treating me. He knew I just needed a breather from the intensity of it all. But now these people are trying to find me, to take me and do merlin knows what."

"I'll come with you both to make sure you get back to Hogwarts okay." He said, a hand on my shoulder before nodding his head towards George, who still hadn't moved, before he left.

I took a few cautious steps towards the sofa, trying to think about the best way to approach this. I felt bad that I hadn't just told him, it's just brought a massive downer on our day, our date. He's probably wary of me, being so violent, doing what my parents did to me. I sat down on the sofa and, all of a sudden, I was disappointed in myself.

"I'm sorry." I said, knowing that it wasn't nearly enough, but it was a start.

"You should be getting back," he said, his eyes not lifting from him his lap.

I edged closer, taking a hold of his hands, sitting with my legs crossed on the sofa, "I don't give a shit about that, I give a shit about you and right now, we're not good and I'm not leaving until we are." I paused, "Talk to me."

"How can you be so calm?" his voice was barely a whisper.

"I've had time to process it."

"How?" he looked up, confusion spread over his face.

I was lost, "It happened weeks ago?"

"I'm not talking about that dickhead; I'm talking about the fact that a bunch of Death Eaters are desperately trying to find you, I can't help but get flashbacks from when they took you." I could see tears form in his eyes, "I can't lose you -"

"Oh Georgie…" I stood and pulled him up onto his feet and wrapped my arms around his middle, "You know I wouldn't let them ruin my time with you." I looked up at him, wiping away the tears that were now streaming from his eyes.

"I need you to be serious about this for a second."

I straightened up, this wasn't something I was going to be able to joke away. When George is serious, it's bad, "But George, we weren't planning on going into Hogsmeade, we were always going into London -"

"But I was also going to bring you back here, and they were here, Katy, they were looking for you here." He blew his nose and refocused on me again, "I don't think you're grasping how much danger you're in. They're trying to get you, this is an active manhunt, or womanhunt or whatever."

"Yeah, and if I came across them I'd give them as good as I get." I said, "You don't need to worry about that."

He sighed, "But I do!" his voice an octave higher than usual, "You're seventeen Katy. Yes, you're talented, but you're not good enough to take on three full grown men all at once, especially when they've been given orders from Voldemort, these men are desperate and you should be as scared as I am." He took a deep breath to settle himself, his hands were shaking as he moved them to my lower back, "I'm terrified that I'm going to lose you."

"I wish you would stop thinking that way…" I grabbed a tissue and dabbed away further tears. I hadn't seen him this vulnerable in so long. This side of George scares me.

"One of us has to," he batted the tissue away impatiently, his eyes intently focused on mine, "Your mum is a crazy psycho and you haven't given her any information in a month. She's desperate. Just remember what she's done already – she's killed Helen and Richard, she tipped off Death Eaters to find you and torture you for information, she's sold you to Voldemort – what's next, Katy? How far will she go?"

"Why do you think Dumbledore revoked my privileges to write to her? Why do you think I'm back in therapy?" I asked him, my hands on his cheeks, pleading to understand, "I'm feeling all this too, but I've already been through all these emotions with Maura. Of course I'm scared, George, I'm terrified. But when I'm with you, I feel safe, I feel secure, I feel like everything is going to be alright even if it is just for a few minutes."

"I'm not always going to be by your side to check over your shoulder for you."

"George I've been checking over my own shoulder for as long as I remember." I pulled him close, my eyes just seeing over his shoulder to the window beyond, the sun was lowering in the sky, "I've been through this before, I can do it again."

"This isn't the same," he shook his head, "This is much worse. One spell can kill you. One."

I took a deep breath, trying to remain the strong one, "Only if they can see me."

"And that is the best secret weapon we have in our arsenal."

"Oh, you are in trouble." Filch looked positively delighted to see me approach the gates with Fred and George, well beyond the curfew, he probed me once again, checking for contraband, "You'll be in detention for another month."

"Happy days," I said sarcastically, pointing up towards the castle, "Can I go in now?"

Filch looked at Fred and George disapprovingly.

"They're not going to leave until I go in. I can stand here and argue with you all day, if you like?" I put my hands on my hips, "You know it's me." I looked over my shoulder at the twins and beyond, wondering who might be lurking around, waiting for me.

"Please just let her in, mate." George said.

Filch stepped aside and let out a sigh, "Don't think you're getting out of this."

"I love you both." I looked over my shoulder before walking through the gates, we had already said our goodbyes and I knew how quickly we all needed to act. They disapparated and I ran up the hill towards the castle and in through the oak front doors where I was confronted by a seething Professor McGonagall.

"How are we meant to protect you when you do not follow the rules we set in place for all of our students?" she was loud and angry, "Of all people, Miss Pink, you should know better. I'm so disappointed in you."

I stood there, perfectly still. Unreadable. I daren't say a thing. I knew she wouldn't listen if I tried to explain myself and right now, there were far too many students crowding around watching the drama unfold.

"You could be dead. Or taken, again. How am I meant to get the message through to you?"

I blinked slowly.

"Detention? Revoking more privileges? More homework? What, Miss Pink?"

I had to be careful here. I've seen McGonagall angry before, but this was on a completely different level. She cares. She was scared. "I'll take any punishments you see fit." I said simply.

The students all started muttering. They were wondering why I hadn't just apologised, they wondered why I hadn't tried to get out of it. I could hear them asking if this is how the Lestrange kid gets away with everything. They imagined what I had been up to, if I'd went to Bellatrix and if I was planning something with the Death Eaters. They were assuming the worst of me. McGonagall heard this, too. But there was something I had missed.

"Katie Bell was cursed in Hogsmeade today."

"What?" I broke my unreadable expression for a second. My thoughts began to race, my head filled with a million different scenarios. My mind couldn't help but focus on one thing: The Death Eaters were looking for me. Katy Belle Lestrange. Did they attack her? "Where is she? Is she okay?"

"Come with me."