The snow was falling down silently from the sky, making Hogsmeade glisten and look beautiful. Well, what I'm sure was beautiful to most people. For me it was just frozen water as cold as my soul felt.
I had offered to patrol the weekend trip to Hogsmeade mainly for something to do to keep my mind from falling into its usual black hole of despair, but now feeling how cold it was, I began to wish I hadn't have bothered.
"Are you selling this stuff?" I heard Harry's voice and turned in the direction it was coming from. I saw he was watching Mundungus Fletcher grabbing an assortment of items from the ground.
"Oh, well, gotta scrape a living," said Mundungus. "Gimme that!"
I watched as Ron bent down and picked up something silver.
"Hang on," I heard Ron say slowly. "This looks familiar -"
I squinted my eyes at what Ron was holding and felt my heart clench. I would recognise those goblets anywhere, the amount of times I had seen them or drunk from them. They were from the Black family.
"Thank you!" said Mundungus, snatching the goblet out of Ron's hand and stuffing it back into a grubby case. "Well, I'll see you all - OUCH!"
Before I even knew what was happening, Harry had pinned Mundungus against the wall of the pub by the throat. Holding him still with one hand, he pulled out his wand.
"You took that from Sirius's house," said Harry. "That had the Black family crest on it!"
" - no - what -?" spluttered Mundungus, who was turning slowly purple.
"What did you do, go back the night he died and strip the place" Harry snarled.
"I - no -" gasped Mundungus.
"Give it to me!"
As Mundungus started to turn blue, I pointed my wand at the back of Harry and muttered "Relashio!".
There was a bang and Harry's hands flew off Mundungus's throat.
Gasping for air and coughing, Mundungus seized his fallen case, then - CRACK - he Disapparated.
Harry swore at the top of his voice, spinning on the spot to see where Mundungus had gone.
"COME BACK, YOU THIEVING -!"
"There's no point in shouting," I said as I approached Harry and his friends. "He's probably back in London by now,"
"He's nicked Sirius's stuff! Nicked it!" Harry shouted, spinning around to look at me.
I looked at the spot where the goblets had been on the ground and wet my lips thinking about how Sirius hated anything that remotely reminded him of his family.
'Yes, well,' I said flatly, "you can't go around attacking people."
'Can't the Order control Mundungus?' Harry demanded of me. 'Can't you at least stop him stealing everything that's not fixed down when he's at Headquarters?'
I glanced around as I noticed people starting to stop and stare at him shouting.
"Harry-" I started placatingly.
"What is wrong with you?" He shouted at me furiously "Do you even care that he's dead?"
I felt as though he had punched me in the face. My chest grew tight and I stared at him, feeling as though I wanted to shake him in an attempt to try and make him feel my all consuming grief.
"Harry!" Hermione gasped looking from Harry to me.
Harry's face went from tense and defiant to falling slightly. He opened his mouth to speak but I cut across him.
"You should get out of the cold." I nodded at the Three Broomsticks behind them and without hesitation I spun around and started to make my way up the street and back to Hogwarts.
*
It wasn't long until I was face to face again with Harry, Ron and Hermione.
While walking back into the castle grounds, Hagrid had run by me holding something in his arms.
"Hagrid?" I shouted as he passed me.
He stopped and looked down at me, his face full of panic.
"What's happened?" I asked urgently as I realised he was holding what appeared to be a body.
"She's been cursed!" Hagrid shouted over the wind.
"Who?" I asked, standing on my tiptoes trying to see who he was holding.
"Katie-" he shouted "Bell."
He kept walking and I practically had to run to keep up with him. We got into the entrance hall and Minerva came running down the grand staircase.
"Hagrid what happened?!" She asked hurriedly looking from Hagrid and looking behind him at me as I finally caught up.
"It's Katie Bell, Professor - she's been cursed - Her friend saw it happen with Potter, Weasley and Granger -" explained Hagrid who was slightly out of breath.
"Ok, Hagrid- please take her to the hospital wing immediately, I will wait for the others."
She watched Hagrid rush up the stairs and turned to me looking worried.
"How can a student get cursed in Hogsmeade with the amount of security around?"
I shook my head, biting my thumb nail, thinking hard as to whether I had seen anything out of the ordinary.
She rushed past me and I watched as she met up with Harry, Ron, Hermione and Leanne.
"It's the thing she touched," said Harry as they walked inside the Entrance Hall. I saw he was holding something wrapped in what looked like a scarf.
"Good Lord," said Minerva, looking alarmed as she took it from Harry. "No, no, Filch, they're with me!" she added hastily, as Filch came shuffling eagerly across the Entrance Hall holding his Secrecy Sensor aloft. "Take this necklace to Professor Snape at once, but be sure not to touch it, keep it wrapped in the scarf!"
"My office now," Minerva told Harry and the others pointing up the stairs and they started to ascend as she turned to me. "Meg, do you mind?" She gestured upstairs and I nodded.
"Of course," I said, following her upstairs and unfastening my cloak as we went.
Minerva closed the door after we went inside her office and she swept round her desk to face Harry, Ron, Hermione and the still-sobbing Leanne. I stood at the back of the office waiting to hear what the hell had happened.
"Well?" Minerva said sharply. "What happened?"
Leanne, in between sobs, told how Katie had gone to the bathroom in the Three Broomsticks and returned holding the unmarked package, how Katie had seemed a little odd and how they had argued about delivering the unknown object, the argument culminating in a tussle over the parcel, which tore open. Then Leanne became so overcome she could not carry on.
"All right," said Minerva, not unkindly, "go up to the hospital wing, please, Leanne, and get Madam Pomfrey to give you something for shock."
I moved aside, opening the door for Leanne to leave and turned my attention back to Harry, Ron and Hermione.
"What happened when Katie touched the necklace?" Minerva asked.
"She rose up in the air," said Harry at once. "And then began to scream, and collapsed. Professor, can I see Professor Dumbledore, please?"
"The Headmaster is away until Monday, Potter," said Minerva, glancing at me looking surprised. I frowned, confused at this request from Harry.
"Away?" Harry repeated, sounding angry.
"Yes, Potter, away!" snapped Minerva tartly. "But anything you have to say about this horrible business can be said to us, I'm sure!"
Harry hesitated.
"I think Draco Malfoy gave Katie that necklace, Professor."He said after a beat.
Minerva glanced at me again and I walked slowly around to stand next to her, and stared at Harry. What on earth made him think that Draco had anything to do with this?
"That is a very serious accusation, Potter," said Minerva, after a shocked pause.
"Do you have any evidence of this?" I asked as I searched his face for any sign that he was joking.
"No," said Harry looking at me rather sheepishly, "but…" and he told us about following Draco to Borgin and Burkes and the conversation they had overheard between him and Borgin.
When he had finished speaking, I looked at Minerva who looked slightly confused.
"Malfoy took something to Borgin and Burkes for repair?" She asked.
"No, Professor, he just wanted Borgin to tell him how to mend something, he didn't have it with him. But that's not the point, the thing is that he bought something at the same time and I think it was that necklace -"
"So you saw Draco leaving the shop with a similar package?" I asked, frowning.
"No, Professor, he told Borgin to keep it in the shop for him -"
"But, Harry," Hermione interrupted, 'Borgin asked him if he wanted to take it with him, and Malfoy said "no" -'
"Because he didn't want to touch it, obviously!" said Harry angrily looking at Hermione.
"What he actually said was, "How would I look carrying that down the street?"" said Hermione.
"Well, he would look a bit of a prat carrying a necklace," interjected Ron.
"Oh, Ron," said Hermione despairingly, "it would be all wrapped up, so he wouldn't have to touch it, and quite easy to hide inside a cloak, so nobody would see it! I think whatever it was it was something he knew would draw attention to him if he carried it down the street - and in any case," she pressed on loudly as Harry looked about to interrupt, "I asked Borgin about the necklace, don't you remember? When I went in to try and find out what Malfoy had asked him to keep, I saw it there. And Borgin just told me the price, he didn't say it was already sold or anything -"
I frowned looking from Hermione to Harry and back again, trying to keep up.
"Well, you were being really obvious, he realised what you were up to within about five seconds, of course he wasn't going to tell you - anyway, Malfoy could've sent off for it since -"
"That's enough!" said Minerva loudly, as Hermione opened her mouth to retort, looking furious. "Potter, I appreciate you telling me this." She took in a breath and turned to look at me.
"But, we cannot accuse Draco based on the fact that he visited the shop where this necklace may or may not have been purchased. The same is probably true of hundreds of people." I said seriously looking at Harry who wasn't quite meeting my eye.
"-that's what I said -" muttered Ron.
"And in any case, we have put stringent security measures in place this year, I do not believe that a necklace of that sort could possibly have entered this school without our knowledge -" Minerva added.
"-but -"
"-and what is more,' said Minerva, cutting across Harry once again, "Mr Malfoy was not in Hogsmeade today."
Harry gaped at her, deflating.
"How do you know, Professor?"
"Because he was doing detention with me. He has now failed to complete his Transfiguration homework twice in a row. So, thank you for telling us your suspicions, Potter," she said as she marched past them,"but I need to talk to Professor Megera and then need to go up to the hospital wing to check on Miss Bell. Good day to you all."
She held open her office door. They had no choice but to file past her without another word.
Minerva closed the door and paused before turning around.
"Why does this sort of thing happen when Albus is away," she muttered more to herself than me.
She looked at me with a serious expression on her face.
"What are you thinking?"
"Well," I said slowly, as my mind raced through different possibilities. "It couldn't have been Death Eaters, one of us would have picked them up."
Minerva nodded in agreement.
"What about Malfoy?" She asked tentatively.
I shook my head. "He's just a teenager - he wouldn't know how to curse something to cause that much damage." I paused, raising my eyebrows and quietly adding "My uncle on the other hand…"
I trailed off into silence, dwelling on this thought for a beat before dismissing it. Lucius was in Azkaban.
Minerva watched me worriedly before saying "Yes, well, I'd better go and check on Miss Bell." She opened the door and looked back at me "Would you mind informing her parents while I do that?"
"Of course," I said as she turned her back on me again and left her office.
I felt sorry for Minerva, this type of thing was always difficult to deal with, especially when it came to the students welfare.
As I walked out of Minerva's office and to my own I thought about what Harry had said about seeing Draco in Borgin and Burkes. My father knew Mr Borgin quite well in fact and I thought maybe it was time to pay him a visit.
*
Katie Bell was transferred to St Mungo's later that day
and, after accompanying her parents there, I apperated across London to Knockturn Alley.
I pushed on the door to Borgin and Burke's shop and realised that it was locked. Mentally cursing myself I tapped my wand on the door knob and the door burst open, setting the bell ringing above the door. I entered the gloomy room as though I frequently broke into shops.
"Borgin!" I called as I heard something move from the back of the shop.
"What in Merlin's -" he started shouting as he appeared behind the counter "Oh" he said quietly as he spotted me.
"Long time no see," I said, smiling slightly as his face fell.
"W-what can I do for you Madam Megera?" He asked, bowing rather reluctantly.
"I need some information from you," I said coldly, walking towards the counter and leaning both my hands on top.
"Well, I can certainly try," Borgin said, looking down at my wand gripped in my hand with a slight apprehension.
"It is my understanding that my cousin, Draco Malfoy, possibly purchased something from this shop possibly at the end of summer." I paused and looked him straight in his beady eyes "You're going to tell me what that item was." I finished quietly.
He frowned and licked his lips nervously.
"I-I don't recall your cousin coming in," he said very unconvincingly.
I smiled and made a disapproving noise through my nose.
"Mr Borgin," I said silky, "Let's not play games now, I wouldn't want to have to tell my father that you've been most unhelpful to me,"
He started to twist his hands together "I've heard you don't talk to your father," he said eventually clearly after hesitating about whether or not to say anything.
"How would you know if that's true or not?" I said dangerously and raised my chin slightly.
Borgin seemed to withdraw within himself and I continued to look at him as he swallowed, cleared his throat and said "Master Malfoy didn't buy anything."
"You're absolutely sure about that?" I said looking into his eyes and using my occlumency skills to make sure he wasn't lying to me.
"Y-yes ma'am" he stuttered as I forced myself into his mind. I found he wasn't lying, which was good news for him.
"Well, if he does, I want to know about it, do you understand me?" I said glaring at him, as I pushed myself off the counter.
"Yes, of course ma'am" he said bowing once again.
"Good." I said with an air of finality as I spun around and marched out of the shop, feeling his eyes boring into my back.