AN: Hello readers. I apologise, but an error was made when writing out chapter 20, in which I overlooked that Dumbledore was to address the school on Monday morning. 20 has been updated with this minor change. This notice will be removed in one week when I assume most past readers will be caught up.

Katelyn was having a strange dream. Well, she was quite certain that it was a dream, anyway, as it didn't make proper sense, and that was typical for her dreams.

She was in the common room, sat on the floor, in a great big circle of her classmates. It was dark but for candlelight that danced across their many faces. Only, she couldn't see anyone's face, because now they were wearing hooded robes, and masks.

They were all chanting under their breath, but she couldn't make out the words. A fire of pale green began rising in the centre of the circle - she watched, unable to move, unable to look away - until the fire shifted, swirling, becoming deep, ruby red. Just as quickly, the flames formed into an enormous, raw crystal. Her head felt heavy, and her robes were itching against her skin.

A sudden pain erupted in her head as a hand snaked forth from the stone, emerging raw and red before hardening into a pallid, white claw.

The two students kneeling at either side of her in the circle rounded on her, grabbing her shoulders and shoving her violently, trying to force her towards the hand as it writhed, trying to claw itself free of the gemstone, which was now glowing a bright, sickly green.

The pain quickly became blinding, the green light burned brighter, as she was pushed closer, and closer, she tried to fight off her two assailants - the pain growing, and growing.

She tried to scream - her very skull was about to split open, the chanting was deafening -

"Katelyn! Katelyn! Hey, hey!"

She sat bolt upright, almost knocking heads with Hermione, who was leaning over her, now firmly pressing her down by the shoulders.

"Katelyn, it's okay. Hey … relax. It was just a dream."

She collapsed back into the pillow, pressing a clammy hand to her forehead. Her head was still burning fiercely, pain swirling around in waves.

"What's wrong?" Hermione whispered, inching closer, "Does your head hurt?"

"Mhm," she answered tightly, squeezing her eyes shut. She saw ghostly flashes of her dream behind her eyelids, but the haunting imagery was more bearable than the pain that continued to pound through her skull.

Hermione gently pressed her fingers to Katelyn's cheek.

"Oh, you're burning up, Katelyn. Maybe you're running a fever?"

"I … " She trailed off, only able to shrug. It was hard to form a coherent thought, but she somehow doubted she was sick. Or at least, not any normal kind of illness.

Hermione laid back down beside her, trying to help her relax, until a few minutes later when her breathing returned to normal, and the headache had subsided enough that she could at least form coherent thoughts.

Hermione fetched Katelyn's dream journal and a ballpoint pen, and pressed them into her hands.

"I know its hard," she said, "But we should keep trying."

"Yeah, you're right."

Hermione helped Katelyn sit up, and rubbed her back as she scribbled in as much as she could remember.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Hermione whispered after a minute of silence.

"It was different from a lot of my dreams," Katelyn said hesitantly, pausing her writing. "I was here in school … I was part of some horrible ritual."

"A ritual? Like … some sort of sacrifice?" Hermione said, slightly aghast.

"No, it was … it was more like they were summoning something."

"Summoning what?"

"There was this great red stone in the centre of the circle … and this horrifying hand came out of it. They tried to push me towards it. That was when my head started to hurt … but you woke me up before anything else could happen."

Hermione's hand on her back had gone still.

"Sorry, did I say something?" she asked gingerly.

"Uh - er - no, no," Hermione said quickly, shaking herself slightly. "It's just an awfully peculiar dream, don't you think?"

"Yeah, really strange. I, uh … I should finish writing."

"Yes, of course," Hermione said, resuming her ministrations.

As she wrote, it finally occurred to Katelyn that she did know of a stone - the one that Hermione and Ron had been discussing. The one that could bring Voldemort back. That made the hand … well, she doubted that he would come crawling out of the stone like a zombie from one of Dudley's computer games … but on the other hand, she couldn't prove that wasn't exactly what would happen. It wasn't as if she had anyone to ask.

Katelyn felt a fresh pang of guilt for having spied on her friends. Well, she hadn't meant to. Hermione had told her that she would be in the library if she needed her, after all. And from there, things had just … happened.

She redoubled her focus before her mind could start replaying the other horrible events of the evening. Though writing about her nightmare was not much better. At least it wasn't real. Hopefully, it would stay that way.

"Okay, done," she said with relief, tossing the journal to the end of the bed. She sank back into the pillows, massaging her temples.

"Do you want to go see Madam Pomfrey?" Hermione asked, watching her closely.

"What time is it?"

"It's only five-thirty."

"Maybe we can lie down for a bit … and if I don't feel better we can go before breakfast?"

Hermione giggled softly.

"Well, all right," she said, lying down beside Katelyn and snuggling up to her. "Just this once."

Though Katelyn's head was still hurting her, she was safe and warm in bed, with her best friend right by her side. Despite the dream, and the headache, and everything else wrong with her life, she was still feeling rather lucky for the moment.

Katelyn drifted in and out of sleep for the next hour, listening to the gentle sounds of Hermione's breathing, and the occasional chirping of birds outside the windows. As their chests slowly rose and fell, a few loose strands of bushy hair would tickle her cheek, but she welcomed the sensation as she drifted into a weary sleep. By the time Hermione woke her, she decided that she had suffered far worse mornings, all things considered.

"How is your head feeling now?" she asked.

"Much better," Katelyn said, though in truth her forehead still felt a bit … sensitive to the touch.

The two got up and began their morning routines. They showered, brushed their teeth (Hermione had to remind Katelyn to floss, as per usual), and changed into their uniforms. They were almost out the door when -

"Oh, Katelyn, wait up a sec!" called Parvati Patil.

They both turned to see her emerging from her bed, still in her pyjamas.

"Er - good morning," Parvati said quickly, before turning and vigorously shaking the frame of Lavender's bed. "Wake up, Brown!"

Parvati came over to them, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. The hairs on Katelyn's neck stood up. She could still recall the conversation she overheard last night.

"Hi, Katelyn, Hermione," she continued. "I er … I wanted to apologise for our behaviour this term. I know that Lavender and I haven't always been the kindest … and uh … after what Dumbledore said, I just wanted to say that I shouldn't have been so pushy with you before. I didn't know it was like that."

"Oh," Katelyn murmured as Hermione subtly took her hand. She was surprised to find that she wasn't being overwhelmed with panic, hearing Parvati refer to her attempt. She thought about the conversation she overheard last night … and she tried to empathize with what Parvati and Lavender must have felt like throughout the year. The weird, snobby Katelyn Potter always skulking about, bringing down the mood and making everyone uncomfortable. Showing off in class. Fainting in the middle of the corridor, or going straight to bed the moment classes let out instead of trying to be social.

Despite the many lessons Healer Burch had tried to teach her about her own self-esteem, she was under no illusions about the many possible reasons for her lack of popularity.

"It's okay," she said after a moment, squeezing Hermione's hand, "I was being a right pain, wasn't I, waking you up at night and all that."

"Well, now that I know the circumstances, I think it's quite forgivable. And Hermione … about the hair … "

"Oh, right, that. It seems like such a long time ago, doesn't it? It was funny, I think, now that some time has passed."

Parvati gave them both a smile of relief, before turning over her shoulder.

"Lavender, get up!" she called out in frustration.

" … coming … "

The three watched as a grouchy Lavender Brown finally emerged from her four-poster, yawning and stretching as she joined the group. Parvati nudged her arm conspicuously.

"Oh, right," Lavender said, blinking thickly. "I'm sorry that we were being gits. We thought we were just having a laugh, all that teasing. We didn't really mean anything by it."

It was perhaps not the most eloquent thing she'd ever heard, but Lavender did look guilty, squirming slightly as the rest of the girls watched her.

"Well, it's a start," Parvati said, rolling her eyes.

"It's okay," said Katelyn, eager to be done with the apologies. "I get it."

"So uh … friends?" Parvati asked, looking slightly sheepish as she offered her hand. "Or cordial acquaintances at least?"

"Friends is okay," Katelyn said, gently taking her hand and shaking. The smile of relief on Parvati's face helped put her nerves at ease.

'Not such a bad morning after all,' she told herself as they went down to the common room. It was a small surprise not to find Ron waiting for them, but it was still early. It's not as if he was obligated to meet them every morning.

"Well … shall we wait for Ron?" Hermione asked gingerly. "Or, uh - I'm sure he'll understand if you don't want to linger … "

"No, it's okay, we'll wait," Katelyn said determinedly. She had been avoiding the common room like the plague for days now, and it would be a nice thing to do for Ron.

She followed Hermione over to their usual study table. It was worn, and slightly wobbly, but it was also about as secluded as you could get in the Gryffindor common room, tucked away, against the back wall between some dusty bookshelves.

So they sat, watching, waiting. Hermione began reading a book that she'd picked out a few days ago, titled "Flabbergasted: True Tales of Gremlinkind". Katelyn tried to read along with her, but was more concerned with just staying calm as her fellow Gryffindors began slowly tricking into the room. She kept her eyes fixed on the pages, not really seeing the words, trying not to notice how many people looked her way as they passed by.

A minute later, Oliver Wood came down the steps, chatting with one of his year mates, a boy she had never learned the name of. She saw Oliver whisper something, and his friend went on without him.

"Hi Katelyn, Hermione," he said, looking cheerful and alert. "Don't often see you two here in the morning. How are you?"

"A bit of a headache," Katelyn said with a shrug. "But I'm doing okay. We're just waiting for Ron. How are you?"

"Peachy, thanks. Do you want me to check on him for you?"

"No, that's alright. It's still early. We'll let him sleep in a bit more."

Oliver sighed, and sat down opposite them.

"I uh … I wanted to talk about something else too. I was going to bring it up at practice but I didn't want to overwhelm you. I dunno, maybe I should have. Did anyone tell you three that Dumbledore told the school what happened? At breakfast yesterday. I noticed you all left right before he started."

She shrugged again as her stomach began to twist. Hermione answered for her.

"Well, he never did tell us exactly what he was going to talk about," she said slowly. "But he did warn us. We just assumed it would be a lot of unwanted attention, so we didn't want to hang around."

"Oh, good. I was hoping as much. Well, he never mentioned you by name, but I reckon everyone knew it was about you. He just said that some parts of the rumours were true. He said that it was really serious, and that anyone making fun of it … or uh, you, rather … would be in major trouble. Then he talked for a bit about helping each other, and reaching out. That it was important to talk to your friends and teachers and, well … you get the idea. It was … actually pretty moving, I thought."

"That doesn't sound too bad, does it?" Hermione said, softly pressing a hand to her back.

"I guess not," she said noncommittally.

"But you're alright?"

" ... I think so. It's … it's a lot right now, you know?"

"Not what it's like to be in your shoes, Katelyn. I suppose you're probably getting sick of me worrying after you, but I just wanted to check in on you," Oliver concluded with a slight smile, getting to his feet. "Let me know if you ever need to talk. I'll see you around."

Hermione gave her a look once he was gone.

"What?" she asked, feeling a bit insecure.

"Well, I just think it's very nice that Oliver is looking after you, don't you think?"

"I … yes, it is I guess … " she said with a slight blush. "The attention makes me nervous, is all. He was like this before practice too."

She was once again reminded that the whole school might very well be paying her more attention, now that Dumbledore had confirmed the rumours were true, and her insides began to squirm with renewed vigour.

"Oh," Hermione said, watching Katelyn's frown grow. "Do you want me to talk to him for you?"

"Er, no … I'll say something to him if it ever starts to bother me. But thanks."

Hermione gave her a gentle hug about the side before she returned to her reading. Katelyn tried to follow along but her attention span had not improved. It wasn't long before Parvati and Lavender came down the steps, their hair damp and bookbags slung over their shoulders.

"Waiting for Ron?" Parvati asked as the two approached. She seemed ever-so-slightly nervous, which was odd for a girl that normally looked the picture of confidence. Lavender seemed indifferent, or half asleep, or perhaps both.

"Yes, it seems he's slept in today," Hermione said, looking up from the book. "Not that there's anything wrong with that of course. We don't mind."

"I'm actually quite impressed that he's been waking up so early for so long. I remember the first few months, it seemed like the only thing that would get him out of bed was his stomach."

Katelyn tried to smile as the other girls shared a polite laugh.

"Well, see you later," said Parvati, taking the opportunity to gracefully exit the conversation. Katelyn thought she made it seem far too easy.

Not a minute later, Katelyn had entirely abandoned any hope of reading. She was wondering who they might see next when Neville somewhat frantically descended the stairs and look about the room, until he locked eyes with her and scurried over.

"Hello Neville," Hermione said politely, while Katelyn nodded, trying to seem friendly.

"G-good uh … good m-morning," he said, nervously averting his eyes. "Ron asked me to find you. He slept in by mistake. I uh … I woke him up."

The timid boy took a quick glance at them, seemingly a bit proud of himself for this.

"He says that he'll be down soon, but you can go without him."

"Well, that was very kind of you, Neville," Hermione said encouragingly, before turning to Katelyn. "What do you think?"

She took a deep breath.

"We can wait," she said, trying not to sound calm.

Hermione smiled brightly at her, turning back to Neville.

"You're welcome to wait with us if you'd like, Neville. You can join us for breakfast."

He seemed terribly frightened by the idea, by he seemed to force himself to agree.

"Sure," he said, awkwardly clambering into the seat next to Hermione.

Katelyn noticed that, after another minute had passed, Neville still seemed on edge. She saw Hermione look up from her reading, and give him a glance as well.

"Are you alright, Neville?" Hermione asked.

His eyes went wide.

"Uh - er, yes! Fine! Nothing's wrong!" he squeaked.

"You're not nervous because of me, are you?" Katelyn asked.

His mouth opened and closed a few times, like a fish trapped out of water.

"It's okay," she insisted. "I'd probably be too. But I don't have any reason to be upset with you. Honest."

"It's just … " he mumbled, "about the … "

"Oh … well. I don't think anyone really knows what to do about that."

"It's uncharted territory," Hermione agreed. "For all of us."

"But, honest, you can sit with us," Katelyn insisted.

Neville seemed to relax, and a few moments later Ron finally came down, looking a bit ragged.

"So sorry," he said, "Don't know what's gotten into me. Er - thanks again, 'Nev."

The three rose to their feet, and Katelyn gave Ron a quick hug.

"No, it's okay, really," she said, smiling at him as they parted. "You don't need to feel bad for sleeping in. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, just tired. Stayed up a bit too late finishing my homework," he said easily. "Breakfast?"

"I was just about to ask," Hermione said with a giggle, before beckoning Neville to follow them, "Let's go before we run out of time."

Katelyn was mindful to try and seem less nervous than she felt in Neville's company. The thought that she intimidated him was a struggle to wrap her head around. Not how odd it was that she could possibly frighten someone, but what she could do to make him feel more at ease.

As they walked and talked, she let her friends carry the conversation, deep in thought. She worried all the way down to the Great Hall, where she had to suffer nearly as many stares as the day before. The march to their seats was not as terrible as it was yesterday, true, but it was still terrible. She noticed Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore watching her from the head table, and gave them a meagre little wave before taking her seat.

She watched Ron eagerly grabbing all of his favourite foods from the platters and trays around the table, while Hermione politely served herself some oatmeal and pieces of fruit. Even Neville was not shy about spearing sausages, piling them atop his beans and toast before reaching for the pitcher of orange juice.

Katelyn sighed, eyes drifting across the table for the umpteenth time and hoping that something other than mash would catch her eye, as her empty plate continued to glare back at her.

"What I pick some things for you?" Hermione suggested, always conscious of her struggle. "Maybe having them on your plate will help."

"It's worth a try," offered Ron between bites. "Not a bad idea, 'mione."

"Uh … sure, please," Katelyn said. "Thanks."

"Is something wrong?" Neville asked, catching on to her look of embarrassment as Hermione began reaching about the table, neatly forking different foods onto Katelyn's plate. "Are you ill?"

"It's nothing, Neville," she said, averting her eyes. "I just … I have a poor appetite sometimes."

"Oh, me too!" he said innocently. "I always have a hard time eating when I'm nervous. Uncle Algie says I have a weak constitution, but I'm not sure what that means exactly."

She was spared further discussion when she spotted the Weasley twins approaching on the opposite side of the table.

"Hi Fred, George," she said as they sat down, already feeling better for her growing little bubble of friendship, as though the more familiar people she surrounded herself with, the more she might be protected from anyone gossiping or staring.

"Good morning, milady!" they chorused, with a slight bow that made Katelyn blush and smile self consciously.

"Hope you don't mind if we join you," said Fred.

"Lee is proper cross with us," said George.

"Aw, what have you done to the poor bloke this time?" asked Ron.

"We recently came into possession of accursed knowledge!" George said with theatrical flair, waggling his fingers in the air. "And Lee was overcome with rage when he failed in his attempts to learn our dark secrets!"

"Ancient muggle magic!" cried Fred, as he pulled the corner of his robes in front of his face and swished them around.

"I thought muggles don't have magic," said Hermione, who looked as though she was trying quite hard not to smile at the duo but couldn't help herself. "Isn't that the entire point?"

"Nonsense!"

"Ignore this non-believer!"

"How about you, Neville?" Fred asked, dialling back the theatrics just a hair. "Ever seen any muggle magic?"

"Not really, no," he said, unconsciously inching away from them.

"Then would you do the honour of being our humble assistant?" Fred said with a wolfish smile. Katelyn caught George's eye and he winked at her.

"It's not going to hurt, is it?" Neville asked slowly.

"Not one bit!" said George.

"And you'll find it's far less permanent," said Fred.

"Much easier to clean up."

"Clean up?" said Neville. "Wait, what do you mean clean up?"

"Observe, our first trick!"

Before Neville could get another word in, Fred snatched his hand towards Neville's face and withdrew it again just as quickly.

"Dabra Kadee, Dabra Kadob!" cried Fred. "Look at me, 'cus I've got yer gob!"

Neville looked in horror to see Fred's thumb pinched between his index and middle fingers, held aloft. He gasped, horrified, before clutching at his face to find that his nose was right where he had left it. Everyone burst into laughter. Even Neville joined in after a moment.

"That's a good lad!" Fred chuckled, giving him a pat on the back.

Katelyn watched Neville for a moment, and it seemed that his laughter was a bit put-on, as though he was really just trying to hide his embarrassment.

"Don't worry, Neville," she said, leaning in slightly to catch his eye as the twins began to demonstrate their next trick. "Being a little gullible isn't so bad. It just means that you're very trusting. That's nothing to be ashamed of."

"Oh, I suppose if you look at it that way," he said, cracking a smile as he thought it over. "Thanks, Katelyn."

"Don't mention it."

It was not long before Katelyn was feeling a good deal better about herself. Fred and George had moved on with their act, and were now teaching a trick that made it appear that you were pulling the tip of your thumb off. Neville was grinning from ear to ear, and he laughed along with the twins, who started teasing him once more because his thumbs couldn't quite bend enough to make the trick work.

"C'mon Nev', you've gotta want it!" Fred was cheering, as though he were coaching him in sport, while George was pretending to pound his fists on the table in excitement.

"Katelyn," Hermione said a bit later, leaning in to whisper. "I hate to bring the mood down but, er … "

She glanced down. In the commotion, she had yet to touch her plate.

"Oh, right," she sighed. "Sorry, I honestly forgot."

"It's alright," Hermione said, giving her shoulder a quick squeeze. "I'm just worried it might go cold soon."

Katelyn nodded her agreement, dutifully scooping a few bites of egg into her mouth. It was a little easier, she thought, when she had a proper distraction from her worries. The twins wrapped up their performance with a bow and a little bout of applause from their audience. Even Hermione reluctantly agreed that it was impressive, particularly their skill with sleight of hand. Ron told them that his brothers spent more time practising tricks and pranks than studying, which Katelyn thought sounded about right.

The next distraction came with the morning post, which had diminished quite a bit in volume as the year progressed. Katelyn, try as she might, couldn't help but keep an eye on the owls as they gracefully swooped into the Great Hall each morning, wondering what kind of gifts or letters parents might want to be sending their children. What they would say to each other.

Because of this, Katelyn was quick to notice that this particular morning, there was an absolute storm of owls suddenly flooding into the hall. Perhaps more than she had ever seen before. As they made their deliveries, she also noticed that the din of casual chatter grew more frantic. And, suddenly, heads were turning her way again.

It seemed that Hermione and Ron were beginning to catch on as well, as they started looking about while Katelyn's arms broke out in goosebumps.

Hermione was about to say something when a large barn owl swooped by, and dropped a paper atop Neville's plate.

"That's odd," he said innocently, picking the paper up and inspecting it. "I don't normally get the Prophet. Nan always says … "

He trailed off, his eyes going wide, before he looked up, right at Katelyn, his jaw going slack.

"What?" Hermione said tensely.

"Uh oh," he said faintly, before Hermione reached out and snatched the paper from his hands.

Despite the sick feeling in her stomach, Katelyn couldn't help but look. Before her eyes, spread across the entirety of the front page in the biggest, blackest, boldest print she had ever seen, were the words:

"KATELYN POTTER, WIZARDING HERO: HER SECRET SUICIDE ATTEMPT REVEALED! Dumbledore behind coverup?"

The weight of it hit her like a train, as though she had been punched by a fist the size of Hagrid's hut. She might have heard the fork in her hand clatter across the table and onto the floor.

"Oh no," someone said near her. "Katelyn. Katelyn, are you alright?"

She couldn't answer. She couldn't move. She didn't even know where she was anymore. The pressure was building inside of her, as if she might explode at any moment.

"Oh God, she's not breathing. Ron, help me!"

She heard, felt, her pulse throbbing through her head, in her ears and behind her eyes. She was burning up, her face was on fire and her chest was made of lead. Her vision was blurring, fading in and out. In the distance - it felt like miles away, it sounded like someone was frantically digging through a bag.

"I've got it!"

Suddenly a vial was being pressed against her lips.

"Drink - drink this, Katelyn. Katelyn, you have to drink the potion! You're gonna be okay!"

She only managed to comply as she realized that it was Hermione's voice beseeching her - she cracked her lips open and let the noxious, sappy liquid pour into her mouth, into her throat - it spilt down her chin and into her lap as her entire body shuddered at the taste, but she swallowed a small gulp - and then another, and another after that.

Slowly, yet suddenly, a heavy cloud of fog began to swirl around in her mind, weighing her body and her thoughts down, as she drank more and more of the horrible potion. She felt her lungs open once more and sucked in a great, ragged breath before a few flecks of the potion entered the wrong part of her throat and she was forced to cough. Again, and again, as her mind felt heavier and heavier, while her chest became lighter and lighter.

Someone was rubbing her back.

"Do you feel better?" Ron asked gingerly.

"I … I want to go … " she heard herself whimper.

"Of course," said Hermione, gently wiping Katelyn's chin with a napkin. "Why don't we go visit Madam Pomfrey for a bit, until you feel better?"

"Fine," she pouted stupidly.

She felt a distant pang of embarrassment as she was being helped to her feet, when she noticed Neville's horrified expression,

"Sorry," she mumbled sheepishly.

"Don't be sorry," Ron said kindly. "You're doing great."

Katelyn didn't have the strength to explain.

They were halfway to the Hospital Wing before Katelyn noticed that Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore had joined them - she could hear them conversing in low voices at the back of the group. She wished she could feel more embarrassed, or she thought she did.

Madam Pomfrey sprang to attention the moment she saw Katelyn Potter and company step through the door.

"Oh dear, what's happened this time, Ms Potter?" she said calmly bending down to scrutinize her.

"I don't feel good," she said meekly, her own voice disembodied, floating away from her as she spoke. "Can I lie down please?"

"Of course, of course," she said, and several people helped her up and into the nearest bed.

She curled up the moment her head touched the pillow, wanting desperately to fall asleep, feeling anything but tired. Her chest slowly rising and falling with empty sobs as her world blurred in an out of focus.

It was late in the evening. The hospital wing was lit by torches and the faint, pale glow of a sun that had already set. Hermione was sitting with Ron at Katelyn's bedside. It was all far too familiar. The strained, weary quiet. The air full of unasked and unanswered questions. They'd skipped lessons for the day, opting to keep their friend company when she so clearly needed it.

Katelyn had barely spoken a word since returning from her visit with the mind healer earlier in the afternoon. She'd been calmer, sure, but just as miserable. It was something they had rarely seen - Katelyn just outright depressed, and not trying to hide it any longer. All thanks to that dreadful story in the Daily Prophet.

Hermione had read the sensationalized publication in its entirety after Katelyn had first fallen asleep. There had been wild, unfounded claims, and baseless speculation. Endless hyperbole and accusations levelled in every direction. However, there had been frightening glimpses of truth as well.

The writer, one Rita Skeeter, had even suggested the possibility that Katelyn was being mistreated by her muggle relatives, and had speculated about the circumstances that led to them acting as her guardians in the first place. She'd boldly claimed that Dumbledore had failed in his duties as Headmaster of Hogwarts, though perhaps it wasn't entirely untrue.

The only saving grace was that the article had been nothing but sympathetic, if not overbearingly so, towards Katelyn. Making her out to be some wretched, pitiful child struggling to live up to the reputations of her beloved parents. Not that there wasn't some truth to that as well.

No matter the brush with which it was painted, the article was the last thing Katelyn needed at such a fragile time in her life.

She looked to Ron, who gave her a small smile of sympathy and understanding as he reached over and gently squeezed her shoulder. She nodded back, grateful for his support, now and throughout the many months of friendship they'd shared with Katelyn.

There were seldom times when Hermione allowed any self-pity. Sure, many things troubled her. Almost nightly, she thought back to when she chose to skip her grandmother's funeral to stay by Katelyn's side after she had attempted suicide, those many weeks ago. Her parents told her not to feel guilty. That it had been an impossible choice to make and that there was no right decision.

But sometimes she wondered. She wondered if Katelyn would have noticed if she had come to her a day later. She hadn't even wanted to see her, at first.

It wasn't always easy to be Katelyn's friend. It took a lot of energy to be supportive, attentive, caring, at all hours of the day, while still looking after herself as well. In fact, sometimes it was quite difficult. But Hermione didn't pity herself at all, because, as she'd come to realize in the last few weeks: it was all worth it.

There was something about Katelyn Potter. Something special. No matter the hardships, Hermione knew that she would do it again in a heartbeat. How incredible it was to care about someone like they were your own family, and feel that same care in return. Just seeing Katelyn smile, those rare moments where she could truly be herself, and be happy. Well, that didn't make it okay, everything that they were going through together ... But it certainly made it worth it to be there for her.

It was such a shame that they weren't out of the woods yet. It felt like ages since Hermione's worries had been strictly academic, the way she preferred it.

"You alright?" Ron asked under his breath, shooting her another sympathetic look.

"Oh, yes … I'm fine, I suppose," she said slowly. "I'm just thinking about how much as changed … and how unfair it is that she has to go through all this when she's already suffered enough for ten lifetimes. It finally seemed like things would be okay."

Ron nodded sadly.

"But she'll be alright," he said without a hint of doubt. "She's got us now. And Dumbledore and McGonagall, Oliver, my brothers and … can you keep a secret?"

"Besides the load of secrets we're already keeping?" she couldn't help reply.

"Well, yeah. But I mean, it's for the best, isn't it?"

"I know, you're right … and yes, I suppose I can keep one more."

"Do you, er, remember the meeting with Dumbledore I had Sunday night?"

"I remember that you went to meet him, but you never did say what it was for."

"He's asked my mum if Katelyn can stay us with this summer."

She could barely contain a small squeal of excitement as she twisted around in her chair to hug him.

"Oh that's wonderful Ron!" she said into his shoulder, reminding herself to keep her voice low. "Or, I uh, I mean, has she answered him yet?"

"Well, it sounds like they've been owling back and forth loads, but I can promise she said yes."

"You can?"

Ron made a little snort of laughter.

"I wrote her one letter a month before Christmas because Percy made me. I put in a little bit about 'my new friend Katelyn Potter'. I only said she was a bit shy, kept to herself mostly. Remember how she told us that her aunt and uncle didn't do gifts?"

She nodded, frowning at the memory.

"Well, I mentioned that since I thought it was so odd, and Mum went and knit her a sweater, just like that. Owled it to her for Christmas."

She could see him smiling fondly in recollection of the memory. She cracked a little smile of her own, remembering the many times she'd seen Katelyn wearing that very same emerald green sweater, with a big golden K across the front.

"That's so wonderful, Ron. Oh, it's going to be so lovely for Katelyn to stay with a proper, loving family. And a wizarding family, no less."

"Sometimes it's a bit of a madhouse, honestly," Ron said with a shrug, still smiling. "But if anyone can take care of her, I reckon mum and dad can. And we'll be there to look after her, of course. Me and all my brothers, and Ginny I expect will be over the moon to meet her."

"Oh, your sister, right? I suppose she'll have heard of Katelyn, being magical," she thought aloud.

"Yeah, you should have seen her when she heard the Famous Katelyn Potter was on board the express. Mental, I tell you."

She moved to playfully bat him on the arm, but had so little energy that it felt more like a friendly pat of sympathy. She was too tired to even chide him for teasing his sister.

"I wonder if mum and dad will tell her," Ron wondered aloud.

"Tell her … about … "

"Yeah. I keep imagining how mum and dad would have looked like when they read it. And poor Gin. If they tell her …"

She nodded, staring at her lap.

"It must be so horrible."

As they lapsed into silence once more, her mind began to wander. She wondered what Katelyn might have discussed with Healer Burch. If she would have been able to articulate all of the things she was feeling, and thinking. Katelyn had barely spoken a word when McGonagall collected her to apparate down to London for their appointment. She'd been silent after returning. Hermione wondered if therapy would be enough.

"You're still here," came the faint, raspy voice of Katelyn Potter, into the heavy silence of the night. Her tone was somewhere between question and statement.

Hermione turned to see her friend, still curled up into a ball, half asleep, looking absolutely miserable.

"Of course we are," said Ron, "But if you want to be alone, we can go."

They both saw her brow furrow slightly, as she thought it over. A moment later, she shrugged. It seemed like if it were possible to sink any further into the sheets, to just melt into the fabric itself and disappear, she might have.

"We'll stay, then," said Ron.

"Okay," Katelyn murmured. Her slender fingers tightened against at the sheets for a moment before relaxing again.

"How do you feel?" Hermione prodded gently. "Do you need anything?"

"No. I hate being me."

"I can't even begin to imagine how awful it must be. I'm so sorry, Katelyn."

Katelyn was silent for a long moment.

"But I still have you."

Hermione was surprised when tears suddenly welled up in her eyes. She thought she might have heard just the slightest hint of doubt behind Katelyn's voice, as quiet and meagre as it was.

"You do," she said with a sombre smile. "You have us. We're not going anywhere, promise."

"And it'll be okay, eventually," said Ron. "It might take time, but we'll just take it day by day."

Katelyn sniffled. Hermione could see a hint of a tear glinting down her face in the torchlight.

"Thanks … thanks for being my friends."

She couldn't help but share a melancholy smile with Ron.

"Don't mention it," she said, dabbing at her cheek with the sleeve of her jumper.

Hermione wouldn't change it for the world. Well ... some things they could do without. But right now - she couldn't imagine spending her evening doing anything other than sitting with Ron at Katelyn's side.