Chapter Twenty-Seven: Down the Rabbit Hole

"Well well well," Montague said from behind Katie in the dimly lit sixth floor corridor she'd been half sprinting through, "look who's out of bed almost after hours."

"What are you going to do, run and find Filch?" Katie snarled over her shoulder, wondering how she could shake Montague before making her way to the 7th floor and the tapestry of trolls ballet dancing, and realizing she probably couldn't and was going to end up missing the DA meeting.

Her mood, if it was possible, soured further.

"Not me," Montague said, his footsteps coming closer, as Katie grit her teeth and purposely turned left when she should've turned right.

It was bad enough that she was going to miss the only thing that brought her any joy. No point in risking her mates getting expelled on top of it. On the other hand, getting Zacharias Smith expelled…

"Sure," Katie snorted, "you all love tattling on Gryffindors. It's Malfoy's favorite thing to do after writing songs with all the musicality of a ferret banging pots and pans."

"I didn't say it wasn't Malfoy's favorite thing to do," Montague said, now in step with her with ease, "I said it wasn't mine. Anyway you shouldn't worry about Filch. Worry about Umbridge."

"Was that a threat?" Katie blustered, trying not to wince when she turned to look at the boiled ham boy next to her.

Sloper had hit her in the ribs with a bludger again. When practice had already been over. They were going to lose the cup by the worst margin in a hundred years at this rate.

"That was a friendly warning about our worst professor," Montague said, "if I threaten you, you'll know it."

"Like right then?" Katie snapped.

"Precisely," Montague said, "see? You're learning. I didn't think that was possible with Gryffindors, but–Bell, where are we going?" Katie had made another left turn and they were back where they'd started.

"I don't know where you're going," she said, "but where I'm going is none of your business." She hurried to the nearest stairwell without thought and started descending. If she went too far away from the Room of Requirement, would Montague realize she'd been leading him away and double back to where she was avoiding, finding the other stragglers and turning them over to Filch? Two years ago, she would've thought he was too stupid to realize what she was up to. Now that she'd unfortunately gotten to know him better, however…

"Is it to a super secret meeting with Potter?" Montague said casually, and Katie missed a step and flailed for the bannister.

Montague grabbed her, wrapping his arms around her waist and steadying her.

"Get off!" Katie tried to shriek, but the air was out of her lungs and she managed only a breathless half whisper.

Fucking perfect. Now he was going to think–

"Your heart didn't feel like it was in that, Bell," Montague said into her ear, not removing his arms in the slightest, and instead, drawing her into his huge, meaty chest.

Katie tried not to gag. God knows how a deranged sex friend like Montague would misinterpret that.

"I can't breathe," Katie retorted, and Montague relaxed his grip a bit, but didn't let her go, "do you think everything is about you, including my ability to breathe? For fuck's sake, Montague."

She realized that she should be fighting harder to get away from Montague and his diseased claws. But something had happened since that day in his Quidditch office. She suspected a spell, or a potion, or a sudden undiagnosed brain tumor. Because Katie had started having dreams. And too many of those dreams ended with her naked and under Montague in his captain's office. She'd wake up, bile in her throat and her stomach roiling, but her lower parts uncooperatively not disgusted.

She'd given in after two months of torture, two months in which she'd avoided Montague with every ounce of energy she had, and finally admitted the terrible truth to Leanne. Leanne had been beyond generous as a friend and refrained from mocking Katie, as she so richly deserved. At least Leanne understood, even if her other mates never would. Leanne's advice had been for Katie to snog another boy (and maybe more than one) at once. Katie had tried, she'd snogged Freddie Corsington, the starting Beater for the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, and woken up that same night after a particularly vivid dream of Montague shagging her in the Slytherin common room.

"I don't even know what the Slytherin common room looks like," she hissed in agony to Leanne the next morning, "my dream brain made it covered in skulls and emeralds!"

"Probably accurate," Leanne had murmured, but there had been a faraway look in her eyes that Katie hadn't noticed. Not until later. Much later.

"Thought you'd want to know I dumped Candace," Montague said, half into her ear again, half into her neck.

Katie felt goose pimples rise again, knew Montague also felt it in on her neck and arms, and grit her teeth, waiting for him to mock her. Instead, his arms tightened again.

"So what?" Katie said, "Do you want a biscuit? Go to McGonagall. She'll give you one shaped like a bagpipe and tasting like sawdust. It will have been baked in 1802 and maybe completely non edible–"

"I dumped her for you, Katie," Montague said into her neck, his lips brushing her, and Katie blamed her dream conditioning for the fact that a part of her was enjoying the feeling. That, and maybe the Bludger Kirke had cracked into her skull three days previously had done some damage.

"I didn't ask you to-"

Montague's lips were pressing now, and Katie knew, with every fiber of her being, that she had to stop this immediately, and yet couldn't seem to. A thought, lighting clear, blasted through her teenage hormones.

"How many points are you earning him in his little game with his mates, Katie?" Fred had snapped at her after the incident by the tree, "he's telling me you snogged him, you know!'

"He's a liar!" Katie had retorted, "trying to wind you up!"

How many points? Fred asked again from the stair landing as Montague kissed her neck. Fred was older, hair shaggier again than it had been in his seventh year, but he wasn't as old as he should be, and somehow, this younger version of Katie knew that. The older Fred vanished.

Katie wrenched herself away with some effort.

"No one said you could kiss me, Montague!" she snarled, "in fact, no one said you could touch me at all!"

"Fine, next time I'll let you fall face first down the stairs," Montague said, a hint of irritation penetrating through what was clearly his out of control teenage boy lust.

"I'm not sure how contaminating me with your saliva is necessary to stop me from tripping on a stair," Katie said, now not sure if she was madder at Montague for well, everything, or herself for being a total idiot.

"Yeah I know, I disgust you," Montague said, heavy sarcasm in his voice, "you shudder at my touch so much it takes you ages to tell me to stop."

"It's flight, fight, or freeze," Katie said coldly.

"What?" Montague said, sounding baffled, "is this more Muggle–whatever. You're never at fault Bell, sorry I forgot that. But did you hear what I said to you, earlier?"

Katie shoved aside a random tapestry and made her way to another corridor blindly, having no idea where she was.

Fucking Hogwarts. Always multiplying when you were late to class, or desperately needed the loo, or were fleeing from disgusting Slytherin boys your subconscious was insisting you sexually wanted.

"No, you have such a sweet, soothing voice I blocked it out," Katie said, wondering what she was missing in the DA now. Probably something important, and now she was going to get killed by a Death Eater on top of it because she hadn't learned a good counterjinx. Add that to the list of the ways Montague had ruined her life.

"I told you that I dumped Candace for you," Montague said, the irritation growing in his voice, "Bell, dammit, wait up!"

Katie perversely, walked faster.

"Aren't you going to say something about that, Bell?" Montague said, "answer what I'm asking?"

"Did you ask a question?" Katie said, gaining joy from how much she knew she was angering Montague.

Good. He deserved it, ruining her night like this. Now she had to ask Harry to teach her whatever he was instructing everyone else in the meeting in private! He'd do it too, good old Harry, but then Ginny Weasley, (who was hiding her still blazing crush on Harry not nearly as well as she thought) would kill her.

"You are being pedantic–fine, Bell, fine! Don't you understand what I'm saying, that I dumped Candace for you?"

"No," Katie said honestly, practically running now.

"Why are you running away from me like I'm a monster, Bell!"

"Take a hint," Katie sneered, her eyes alighting on a girls' toilet. Perfect!

She pushed the door, hoping Montague would assume she'd been running away from him because she needed the toilet so badly, and his disgust would make him leave her alone forever. He seemed the type of bloke to be grossed out by women having natural body functions. She sped into the loo, triumphant, only to hear footsteps behind her.

Bollocks!

The door swung shut behind them. Katie sped into a stall, committed to the bit now. She closed the door, realizing she'd cornered herself like an animal.

"Bell," Montague said, "we both know you're just standing there hoping I go away."

"Not true," Katie lied, "I've got violent diarrhea. Also my period. Both at once. It's quite messy." She flushed the toilet for effect. There. That should do it.

"While you're standing nowhere near the toilet," Montague said slowly, "sure."

"Yes, it's a disaster and I'm extremely embarrassed," Katie said, "do the right thing for once and go away, leaving me with a scrap of dignity."

"And why should I do that?" Montague said, "you've stripped away all my dignity years ago. It's about time you know how it feels."

"Pardon?" Katie said, baffled.

That was it. This was the weirdest moment of her life, and that included having McGonagall show up to her house the summer before her first year. McGonagall had turned herself into a cat and back to convince Katie and her parents that she wasn't a random madwoman who'd wandered off the street trying to kidnap their daughter, and was actually a witch who could do magic.

"You heard me, Bell," Montague said, "Do you know how humiliating it is to want a Mudblood?"

Katie felt like the wind was knocked out of her for a second, and then rage rushed in. She slammed the stall to the loo open.

"Oh, shocker, you were lying," Montague said, his arms crossed from where he was leaning against a sink, "you're the biggest liar I've ever met in my entire life, did you know that?"

"I doubt that," Katie said, a ringing in her ears that meant she was about to go full screaming Harry Potter, "unless you aren't counting yourself, that is."

"I've admitted that I want you," Montague sneered, "as disgusting as that is to me, as much as I'm shaming my family name, my ancestors, my parents, my very birthright–"

"Please, stop," Katie said, "I can only get so excited."

"Oh don't get all sensitive, like you're some girl," Montague said, "that's what I like about you, I think. You're not into stupid things like the rest of them, not always crying and whining and flirting and–"

"I told you to stop," Katie said, "I'm already so horny from this conversation that I might explode."

"But you," Montague ranted on, "you won't admit you want me, will you? And why not? I'm so far above you it's a joke, I could give you anything you want, fuck you till you scream, buy you the nicest things, you can't openly be my girlfriend of course, but I assumed that would be a bonus for you, Bell, since you like to put on airs so much about your delicate Gryffindor virginity or whatever."

Katie contemplated cursing Montague until he turned into a pile of ooze. Harry had taught her that one after their last DA lesson, when she'd told him he'd been having an issue with the Slytherin Quidditch team, both of them giggling as they pretended to turn Malfoy into a squished slug.

"Well?" Montague demanded, "say something. Something real. Don't quip at me."

"Or else what?" Katie said, "what are you going to do?"

Montague was bright red, like a glazed ham yet again.

"You think this is funny?" he said, a look in his eye that should've scared Katie if she wasn't so mad, "you think it's funny you've ruined my life? Flint has spent years giving me antidotes to love potions, checking me for Imperius curses. Adrian and Cassisus told me it's just lust, that they understand, they want undesirables like you too, that once I fuck you it will be out of my system and I can marry someone respectable. But we both know better, don't we?"

"Yes we know better," Katie said honestly, "because you and your friends are deluded if you think I'm ever fucking you. Now get out of my way, or I'll scream."

"Bell," Montague said, "stop lying to yourself, would you? I'll make you happy."

"Oh, will you?" Katie said, voice rising, "how is that, exactly? When you're fucking me and then hiding that from everyone because I'm so disgusting and embarrassing? When you're tossing me aside like a piece of trash for some girl you're not ashamed of? How, exactly, will you be making me happy?"

"It will raise your status," Montague said, like they were bargaining, "who would've wanted to marry you before? If you're lucky, some lesser Weasley like Ron. Although the Weasley's for all their talk about equality, they end up married to purebloods. Hasn't anyone noticed that but me? But if everyone finds out I was dating you, your status–"

"I thought you were hiding me out of deep shame," Katie said pointedly.

"Why are you being so difficult," Montague hissed, "and who says I even want to toss you aside? I'll marry some boring girl, and then we'll still–"

"Over my dead body," Katie spat, "now stay the fuck away from me if you know what's good for you. I know some good hexes now."

"The ones Potter taught you in your secret group?" Montague said swiftly.

"The ones Harry taught me after we shag," Katie lied coldly, "now if you'll excuse me, we've got another appointment–" she reached for the door and Montague grabbed her arm, "ow!"

"You're going to be mine," Montague said, and Katie's blood went from bright hot rage to cold fear, "just accept it, Bell, and stop fighting–"

The door swung open, and the absolute last person Katie wanted to come to her rescue came in.

"Hem hem," Dolores Umbridge said, her eyes darting from Montague to Katie and then back, "what is this, Graham? I'm sure you know better than to be in the girl's lavatory!"

She shook a finger at him, smiling her stupid toad smile, like an aunt who was telling her favorite nephew six biscuits were quite enough–no fine, a seventh is okay, just don't tell your parents.

"Miss Bell needed my assistance," Montague said smoothly, the hand that was encircling Katie's upper arm straightening her robes, "reparo!"

He repaired a rip that must've occurred when Katie almost fell down the stairs.

"What a gentleman," Umbridge simpered, "ten points to Slytherin!"

Katie choked on her outrage. At least if Umbridge was here, she wasn't catching her mates in their DA meeting. Umbridge's hideous face turned to Katie, the simpering smile disappearing like it had never existed at all.

"And what are you doing out of bed alone with boys this late, Miss Bell?" she asked.

"The period shits," Katie said bluntly, "you know how that is."

Montague snickered.

"Ten points from Gryffindor for vulgarity," Umbridge said coldly, "my word, Graham, I must say your mother will be most distraught that you are showing an interest in such a girl as this. I don't want to ruin our next tea time together, but I do feel it's my duty to tell Helena–"

"Not to worry, professor," Montague said, "I would never touch a Mud–girl like this. I was just helping her fix her robe out of charity."

"Excellent," Umbridge said, the bulging eyes resting on Katie again, "I'd hate to see one of our finest flowers trampled by a weed."


Whatever had occurred between them in that loo before Umbridge had arrived had at least successfully driven Montague away from Katie. He'd ignored her ever since, and she had told Fred with truthful vigor that Montague had finally come to his senses and decided to leave her alone. He was, however, back to snogging Candace Caradoc all over the school.

If Katie still had occasionally inappropriate dreams about Montague that left her aching and then, when she woke up further, nauseous, no one had to know, not even Leanne. Her waking brain was more disgusted by Montague than ever before. He was somehow, incomprehensibly, worse than Katie had thought, a disgusting pig who treated women like farm animals he bought and controlled at whim. If Montague had finally gotten the message that Katie would never want him, she discovered right after Christmas hols that his friends, alas, had not.

"You still leading my mate on, Bell?" Adrian Pucey asked from behind Katie as she made her way back to the train compartment, her hands full of candy from the trolley.

"Piss off," she said, not even turning around.

"He's been drinking all holiday," Pucey persisted, "I mean, he usually does anyway, to get through being around his father, but I showed up to play a game of pick up Quidditch and he was dancing on a table with a house elf and a bottle of wine at eight in the morning."

"It's good to have hobbies," Katie said over her shoulder.

Pucey was frowning at her, like she'd actually done something wrong.

"You should give him a chance," Pucey said, "he's a good guy."

"Oh, is he?" Katie scoffed, drawn into their stupid conversation against her will, "do, pray tell, tell me what a Slytherin has to do for you all to consider him a bad guy. Actually punch me in the face? Or is that ok, since I'm a Mudblood?"

"You're lucky he even wants you," Pucey said, "you know that, right?"

Katie burst out laughing.

"You're so immature," Pucey said, rolling his eyes, "you're gorgeous and all, but I really don't understand what he sees in you."

"He sees something that he can't have, and that's why he wants it," Katie said, for she'd spent far too much of her holiday poring over Isla's psychology books trying to figure out why Montague was even bothering with her at all.

"That's probably it," Pucey nodded, "yeah, that makes sense. Well, give it to him so he'll move on, Bell. He's annoying the shite out of the rest of us."

"Oh I'm sorry," Katie said, "you want me to do something to make the Slytherin Quidditch team less miserable, because you're all just such kind boys?" She pointed to Pucey's Weasley Is Our King badge.

"Oh, grow up," he scoffed, "Weasley shouldn't be so shite at Keeping if he doesn't want the mickey taken. The usual Weasley arrogance blinded him, made him think he could join your team–"

Katie rolled her eyes and turned about, more than ready for this conversation to be over.

"Bell," Pucey said sharply, "don't be stupid. You're playing a dangerous game. That will have consequences, if you don't come to your senses."

"Excuse me?" Katie blustered, "what the bloody fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"I am saying that you playing your little hard to get act, this little tease shit, well it just isn't allowed," Pucey said slowly.

"Allowed by who?" Katie said. In the window, she saw Leanne, in a gothic dark gown, her face drawn.

"Run," she whispered, and Katie blinked and she was gone.

"By us," Pucey said cryptically, "and if you don't give in and get with him, there will be–"

"Consequences, I heard you the first time," Katie spat. "Well do me a favor and fuck off, Pucey. If you don't, there will be consequences for you."

Pucey smiled. It was weird, and not just because Adrian Pucey had never smiled at Katie. It raised the hair on her neck.

"Okay Bell," he said, "have it your way. Don't say I didn't warn you."


Somewhere in the future, Katie gasped in her trance, flailed around, clutched at her throat. The savior of the wizarding world, a boy who'd defeated evil twice by the age of seventeen, was asleep, glasses hanging on by one ear, mouth hanging open. Down the hallway, a Muggle man in a "Kiss the Chef" apron and his wizard accomplices were shouting as Marty McFly sped off in a Delorean while being shot at.

Future Katie twitched, then settled down again. She had almost understood, somewhere in her mind, but then it had slipped from her again, beneath the waves of her diseased memory.

"We thought you'd want some good news," Fred smirked at Katie as fireworks raged through the hallway, Umbridge tottering past on heels, her hair matted and sweaty, her hideous pink outfit soot smudged.

"Better news than this?" Katie said, clapping with the assembled students in the hallway as Filch pelted after Umbridge, a scorched broom under his left arm, "how is that possible?"

She saw with no small amount of surprise that some of the clapping students were wearing Slytherin robes and ties. Who knew that the only one who could bring together all four houses was Dolores Umbridge?

"Well, we're not certain anyone else would find our news better than firework mayhem except for you," George said, popping up on her other side with a smirk of his own, "other than us, of course. Thought we'd share the joy together."

"What are you two talking about?" Katie said, cackling as a pink firework set aflame one of Umbridge's decrees as the assembled students whooped with glee.

"We shoved Montague head first into that old vanishing cabinet," Fred said.

"You're welcome," George added.

Katie was sure she hadn't heard correctly, until she turned and saw the devilish grins on both twins' faces.

"Just now?" she blurted.

"A bit earlier," George said, "did you know he joined the Inquisitorial Squad like the absolute tit he is? Well, he tried to take points from Gryffindor and we shoved him in the cabinet before he could."

Through the window, they could see a group of Inquisitorial Squad members getting walloped by a stray firework on the grounds.

"At least, that's what we'll tell everybody else," Fred said.

"So what really happened?" Katie said, an unexpected mixture of emotions coursing through her, "and what happens when you get shoved in a vanishing cabinet?"
"Who cares," the twins said in unison.

"He had it coming, after he's been threatening you," George said, an ugly expression crossing his face.

"I shouldn't have told you that," Katie sighed. But she had.

After the train incident with Pucey, combined with the way Montague had cornered her in the loo that night and grabbed at her when she'd dared to tell him no, she knew someone had to know what was happening. Fred had seemed the worst choice, but it was still the one she'd made in a panic. This time I have to tell George, he'd told her grimly, and only kept it from Ange on Katie's insistence due to Ange currently having a constant meltdown over the dire state of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

"We would've done it anyway," Fred said, "he started it. There we were, minding our business, and he came over and said to leave you alone."

"You, leave me alone?" Katie said, outraged.

"Exactly," George nodded, "the boy is insane. He held visible madness back better than Flint or Warrington, but–"

"-it always comes out in the end with Slytherins," Fred nodded as well.

The assembled students cheered when a firework knocked into Umbridge and she fell down the stairs. Katie clapped as well.

"So we told him he needed to reverse that order, or there would be hell to pay," George added, "and he uh, well he didn't take that well, so we shoved him in the cabinet."
Past Katie, who hadn't been looking for it, didn't see the way the twins' eyes darted to one another rather than away, hiding something from Katie. But the buried part of Katie who was lying on a bed and twitching saw it, and understood. George had told her something worse had been said, hadn't he?

"Will it hurt him?" Katie asked, "I don't know a lot about vanishing cabinets."

"We can only hope," Fred said.

"No," George said, after another sidelong look at his twin, "he'll just pop out the other end. I expect he'll storm back here and try to get us expelled with his daddy's money and power behind him."

The twins both shrugged like this meant nothing to them.

This sounded like the truth to Katie, who had learned a lot about the wizarding world as a Muggleborn, but not quite everything. She allowed a laugh.

"Hopefully he ended up in a swamp somewhere."

"A swamp," Fred said thoughtfully, "there's an idea." His eyes unfocused.

"You're not worried about getting expelled, though?" Katie asked, "I know you two have gotten away with a lot, but Dumbledore's gone, and–"

George snorted. "Please," he said, "do we look like the traditional type of wizards?"

"Never," Katie said. Even at the Yule Ball they'd worn robes with magenta sequin cuffs (Fred) and purple tulle tufts on the collar (George.)

"So why should we care if we don't end up with some stupid scroll saying we graduated from a school run by a bloated toad?" Fred asked.

"It's not like we're joining the Ministry," George said.

"What about professional Quidditch?" Katie asked, "you're terrific Beaters, and as a pair, you really-"

"Nah," Fred said, "we have higher ambitions."

"Higher ambitions than a professional Quidditch player?" Katie said, astounded.

"Oliver, I didn't recognize you there," George said, "you've really gotten a lot better looking."

Katie laughed. At the bottom of a stairwell she'd fallen down, Filch was beating Umbridge with a broom, ostensibly to put out the cinders on her robes. But if he was beating her with a broom for fun, who could blame him?

"He's really not going to be hurt?" Katie asked abruptly, "I mean, he deserves punishment, don't get me wrong, but–"

"But he's soooo dreamy," Fred said with an eyeroll, "right? Dreamy, and such a forbidden bad boy."

"Excuse me?" Katie squawked, "what are you implying? And he's hideous, don't be absurd!"

"He has potential," George shrugged, "you know. If you didn't hate him so much."

"Sounds like you are the ones who finds him to be a dreamy forbidden bad boy," Katie said acidly.

"That was meaner than telling us we look just like Ron," Fred said, shaking his head with admiration, "well done. You've finally grown up."

"The point," Katie said, "is that I want him to suffer, yes, but murder–"

"Oh stop it, he's fine," George said, "he'll show up in an hour or two, saying more disgusting things about–everyone in Gryffindor in no time."

"Just enjoy the peace while it lasts," Fred said, as Filch whacked a member of the Inquisitorial Squad with a broom now, beating at cinders.

"Oh I will," Katie said, "do you think we could get a firework to take out Snape for us too, or am I being greedy?"

"Greedy, or a genius?" Fred said.

But Montague didn't turn up that night, or even the next day.

"Should I say something to someone?" Katie asked Leanne in Charms as they practiced conjuring violets, "this doesn't seem right."

"I'm sure he's fine," Leanne said, "the twins know far more about magic than we do, don't they?"

"Yes," Katie said reluctantly, "it's just–"

"Why are you standing up for him like this?" Leanne said sharply, "they did you a favor. He grabbed you and followed you into a loo and said creepy, possessive stuff like he owns you. Did you like that?"

"No!" Katie said, hurt and angry, "how could you think–"

"How could you think that any of that was anything other than dangerous?" Leanne asked, "has he done something to you? Messed with your mind?"

"I'm not saying that I liked it, but what if the twins seriously hurt him?" Katie asked, " a punch to the face, a hex, public humiliation, whatever, that's all fine, but–"

"I wish someone cared about what's happening to me the way you have friends that will stick up for you," Leanne said, "you're lucky."

"I…what?" Katie said blankly, "you're my friend, I stick up for you! What do you mean, what's happening to–?"

"You never even noticed," Leanne said, "did you? I gave you all these signs, and you just never saw, even now."

"Why weren't you in the DA?" Katie asked. "When you were my best mate?"

Leanne turned to her. She was so pale and skinny she looked like a Muggle Halloween decoration of an evil witch.

"You are asking the wrong questions," she said.


Katie sat up with a scream in her throat, sweat pouring down her body. Harry jolted awake after a moment, wand in hand.

"Is it the spiders tap dancing again?" he asked stupidly.

"I wish," Katie said, "how long was I out?"

"An hour I think," Harry said, squinting at the clock on her bedside, "I just haven't been sleeping. Sorry, I didn't mean to nod off."

"Only an hour?" Katie said, astounded, grasping at her skull in pain from everything that had been forcefully crammed back in, "did I really lose my virginity to Dean Thomas?"

"Er, what?" Harry said, after a delicate cough.

"Never mind, not the point," Katie said, "Listen, about Leanne."

"We can't find her," Harry said, "that's partially why I'm so tired. We've been searching for her, Ron and me and some of the other Aurors we trust, and we think she might've left Britain and gone on to live as a Muggle in Hawaii."

"In Hawaii?" Katie said, "why—nevermind. No. She's not there."

"Did you…remember something?" Harry asked.

"A lot of things," Katie said, "a lot of things Montague has never mentioned."

"Like what?" Harry frowned, pushing up his glasses and whipping out his notepad.

"It's almost like…the thing is…it's like he doesn't remember either," Katie said, frowning, "he doesn't even hint at what happened between us for years. Almost like–"

"He's being dosed too," Harry finished for her, "with the Confucius Confusion!"

"I knew it!" Hermione Granger's muffled voice came from outside the door, and they both jumped. The door flung open and she sped inside, as the strains of Johnny B Goode came from the living room. "I told you, Harry!"

"Told him what?" Katie asked.

"You're blinded by your feelings," Harry said to Hermione, "I don't think–"

"It's Nott!" Hermione said, "I told you all, it's Theodore Nott! He's dousing everyone with illegal potions, including me!"

"Including you?" Harry and Katie said together.

"Well, why else would I think he's sexy?" Hermione said, "it all fits!"

Harry took off his glasses, and rubbed his forehead, "you think he's–God Hermione, don't ever tell Ron that."

"It's a potion, it's not my fault," Hermoine said, "why else would I find that stringy, Death Eater spawn sexy?"

"Er," Katie said, "I mean, you should know about hormones by now, right, Hermione?"

"He's gotten better looking, to be fair," Harry said thoughtfully, "he's rich and smart and reads books you like."

"He's tall," Katie added.

"He does a lot of charity work," Harry said.

"He's got excellent taste in pretentious coffee drinks," Katie said.

"That's not the point!" Hermione said, "he's clearly altering my mind for fun!"

"He's not," Montague said from the door, and Hermione went vermillion red with embarrassment, "but someone is altering Katie's mind. Someone close to me."

"Someone's altering your mind, too," Harry said, "we just figured it out."

Montague sighed. "Has no one explained to you all that the precious twins shoved me in a cabinet and that messed up my memory and my ability to fly and–"

"You're different now," Harry interrupted, "I noticed at Alicia's birthday party just how different."

"Yes," Katie agreed, "Harry's right. I just saw the proof."

"Because of that cabinet!" Montague said, "and so what, I did a few charms to look more attractive, what of it? I'm still me!"

"You are, and you aren't," Katie said, "I see that now. You were worse. You were meaner, and–"

"I already told you I grew up," Montague said, "I became a better person, as gross and Gryffindor-ish as that sounds, but–"

"So why have your friends filed reports with the Ministry that they feel like someone has been altering your mind for years?" Ron said from the doorway now, arms crossed.

"Kids!" Bill yelled down the hallway, "should I keep it paused and pop out to get us pizza?"

"Yes!" Katie called back. Her father didn't need to hear this.

"They've been what?" Montague said.

"Nott told us to dig, so we dug," Ron said, "your mates have been convinced someone has you under some sort of bewitchment. They couldn't figure out who, or what, so they got desperate and involved the Ministry."

"Some of them think it's Katie," Harry said, "well, until they realized something is off about her too. Some think it's Tatiana, or Zabini, or–"

"It's Leanne," Katie said, "I told you before."

"Leanne?" Montague said, baffled, "your Muggle friend from school that you dropped ages ago?"

"Muggleborn," Katie corrected, "and yes. I know for certain now. Leanne is involved somehow. I don't know why, or how, but I have a guess."

"I don't believe it," Montague scoffed, "a Muggleborn, knowing ancient dark magic and casting it with expertise on a pureblood–"

"But it's not Leanne herself," Katie said, looking at the boy she'd maybe grown to love, so different from the boy from her schooling years.

She must not feel sad about the fact that she'd fallen for a boy that didn't exist, a boy that only behaved the way he was because he was being poisoned, a boy who should still be the scary, jealous, prejudiced asshole she had remembered him being before that night in the club.

"But you just said–"

"It's Leanne," Katie said, "but she's not alone. Someone is working with her. Someone with the knowledge of dark magic. Someone who wants revenge."

"Who?" Harry said.

"How?" Ron asked.

"Why?" Montague asked.

"How do you know it's not Nott?" Hermione demanded.

"But isn't it obvious?" Katie asked, "don't you all know?"


Author Note: I feel like I'm making excuses a lot but the past few months have been WILD and I haven't had time to write. But I'm back! Thanks for still reading.