Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own Harry Potter or anything else that is owned by someone else that I put into this story.

Chapter 1

How it All Started

Harry Potter and Katharine Parker lay in the front yard of Number 4 Privet Drive waiting for the arrival of their two best friends, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger.

The four of them have been friends since their first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was now early July, the summer after their sixth year. Harry and Katharine had both gone to the Dursley's house on Albus Dumbledore's orders before his death. Ron and Hermione had both gone to their own homes to see their families off before they were to meet Harry and Kat.

Harry had told the three of them at Dumbledore's funeral that he was not going to Hogwarts for his seventh year. He was going to finish his and Dumbledore's task: to destroy all of Voldemort's Horcruxes. Ron, Katharine, and Hermione refused to let him go alone.

So that leads up to now, where Harry and Katharine lay, both in their deep, separate thoughts.

Katharine was thinking about how she had stumbled into this situation. She remembered everything almost like it was yesterday, meeting Harry and Hermione on the Hogwarts Express. She had already been best friends with Ron since they were very young. She and her family had met the Weasley's at a Muggle park when she and Ron were just five years old. Ron and his family were there admiring all of the passerby muggles even though a few muggles passing by gave them strange looks of how they were dressed. The Parkers were kind and thought they looked interesting and introduced themselves. Their families had kept in touch and became very close, seeing that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were the same age as Mr. and Mrs. Parker. However, the Weasley's had kept their secret about being a magical family until they had heard that Katharine had received her Hogwarts letter.

Katharine Marie Parker was a decently attractive lady. Tall and curvy. She had milk chocolate eyes framed by wavy, layered, reddish brown hair that fell down to her elbows. She was smart, but definitely no where near as book smart as Hermione, though.

Now, Kat wasn't an only child. She actually had a fraternal twin and his name was Kyle. She was still the first born, though, but only by a few minutes. Unfortunately, only Katharine had received a Hogwarts letter that day.

Just to mention her parents, her father's name was Michael and her mother's was Emma. They did not understand this whole Hogwarts business upon receiving the letter. But, since Mr. Weasley worked at the Ministry of Magic, he was placed in charge of explaining everything to the Muggle family. The Parkers were, of course, "surprised" about the whole ordeal, but they trusted the Weasley's and knew they were good people. Katharine was thrilled, of course, and was excited to begin this new journey in life knowing that her best friend Ron would be by her side every step of the way.

Just to recap, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Katharine had been through everything together. In their first year, they learned about the Sorcerer's stone and fought through all of the magical spells and enchantments. In their second year, they learned about the Chamber of Secrets and found out who Tom Riddle was. In their third year, they learned about Harry's Godfather, Sirius Black, and found out how Hermione was taking so many classes. In their fourth year, they learned about the Triwizard Tournament... And it was that year that became the turning point in Katharine's life.

The four were all excited about the upcoming event. When the day came for the Goblet to choose the players, they were horror struck when Harry and Katharine's names were both shot out of the Goblet.

Everyone was pretty sure why Harry's name flew out, basically because everyone was out to get him, but no one could understand why Katharine's was as well. For whatever reason it happened, they were still forced to compete.

Since they were only 14 years old at the time, the Minister of Magic thought that it would be best if Harry and Katharine competed in the tasks together as "one." However, they were only given permission to use one wand. So, they had decided that Harry should keep his wand and Katharine should give up hers.

Once they were over the initial shock, they were grateful that they were to compete together because, for one, they didn't want to compete against each other; and two, they weren't quite sure if they could do it alone.

So, they fought through three dangerous tasks, both of them side by side. But after Harry, Cedric, and Katharine had grabbed the Triwizard Cup, their whole world turned upside-down when they were transported into the graveyard. When Wormtail killed Cedric, Katharine had nearly lost hope. The whole time that she had competed with Harry in the tournament, she was clueless as to why she was even in it. She knew why Harry was; obviously some one wanted to kill him. But why her?

In the graveyard, Voldemort had tortured her with the Cruciatus Curse while Harry had watched helplessly. And at some point during the Curse, she remembered passing out.

It was not until Katharine's fifth year that she was told of the reason she had been placed in the Triwizard Tournament.

On a rainy night, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Katharine sat at their favorite spot by the Gryffindor Common Room fire.

Ron was sitting in the middle of the couch staring into the fire with all of his books scattered across the couch, clearly showing that he was in no mood to study. Hermione was sitting in one of the red arm chairs reading Hogwarts, A History. She had already finished all of her assignments and was now relaxing. Katharine was lying on the rug facing the fire with a few of her assigned books to read scattered across the floor. Harry sat in the other arm chair closest to Kat reading his book about Quidditch matches. He was already finished with his assignments thanks to Kat helping him get it done before she had even tackled hers. He was almost always reading that book, anyway, considering that the book was the closest thing about Quidditch that he could get to after he and Katharine were kicked off the team because they kept stating that Voldemort was truly back.

Harry, being the Seeker, and Katharine, being one of the three Chasers, absolutely loved Quidditch. Ron – being the Keeper and still on the team – didn't bring up the subject much anymore, most likely afraid that Harry and Katharine would become angry and receive more detentions.

They were all being very quiet until Hermione looked up from her book after at least twenty minutes with her face pressed into it, and saw that Ron wasn't doing his assignments.

"Ron, are you finished with your work yet?" Hermione asked.

"Uh," he said snapping back into reality and turning to face Hermione. "I can't really think anymore. It's getting a bit late for me and my mind is totally blank..." He trailed off raising his eye brows and nodding as if it was the truth.

Katharine looked up at Harry and barely whispered, "Like that's something new."

Harry snorted and then quickly turned it into a cough. Katharine smiled and resumed reading her book.

"Well, you'll be asking for it when none of your assignments are ready to be turned in tomorrow," Hermione sang back at him.

"Well," Ron started. Harry stopped coughing and Katharine stopped reading. They turned around knowing that Ron's next move might be his last. "I was kind of - er - hoping that you could - um - you know... Do it for me?"

And that pulled Hermione's trigger.

"Ron! You are fifteen years old - almost sixteen - and I thought that maybe, just maybe, you would have started taking a little bit of responsibility by now! If you ask me again to do your work for you, I swear I will hex you all the way to Australia!" Every one in Gryffindor Tower was now staring at the two.

"But - but - Kat still helps Harry with his homework," Ron whimpered.

"Well, if Katharine enjoys getting caught up into yours' and Harry's sorry little schemes, then she can go right ahead. But I will NO MORE! You both are pathe-," Before Hermione could finish her sentence, she was cut off by Professor Dumbledore walking into the Common Room. Everyone in the room fell silent. No one had ever seen Dumbledore come into Gryffindor Tower before.

Dumbledore cleared his throat and searched the room. His eyes fell on Katharine and he said, "Hi Miss Parker. I need you to come with me."

At first, Katharine stared at him dumbly, but then his words finally sank in and she hopped up immediately.

"Is everything alright, Sir?" She asked a little puzzled noticing his worried look.

"Please, follow me, Miss Parker." And with that, he stepped right back out of the open portrait hole, leaving a very confused Katharine. He had sounded so serious and unlike himself.

Katharine turned to face Harry, Ron, and Hermione, all three standing up now and looking just as confused as she was.

"I'll be back in a few, I guess," she said.

Ron and Hermione nodded. Harry, however, stepped forward and pulled her into a comforting hug. When they let go, Katharine smiled at him, hoping he knew she meant thanks, and turned on her heel.

Dumbledore was standing in the corridor waiting as she stepped over the threshold.

"Please follow me to my office, Miss Parker," he said in that same, serious voice he had just spoken a minute or so ago.

Worry was overwhelming Katharine now. She knew that something terrible had happened. As they silently walked down the corridors, Katharine's mind raced with thoughts of what she might find out.

Before she knew it, they were both standing in front of the Gargoyle that led into Dumbledore's office. He muttered, "Fizzing Whizzbees," and the Gargoyle started to move upwards. Turning and turning then revealing a spiral stair case. He on and Katharine followed. Round and round they went until they stopped in front of a great big, oak door. He held the door open and motioned for Kat to go sit in the brown chair in front of his desk.

"Miss Parker, I am sure you've noticed by my silence that something is wrong," he said as he took the seat opposite her. Katharine nodded. "Well, there is no easy way for me to say this." He cleared his throat then started again. "I have just been notified by the Minister of Magic that there was an attack of Death Eaters reported last night at 7:30. Could you please tell me what your family was doing last night?"

"I- I think they were having a family get together. They have it every year in February around my birthday, the nineteenth, to show that they are thinking of me... We have a really close family." She answered not really understanding why he was asking.

"Hmm," he mumbled nodding his head. "Now Katharine, I want you to listen to me and listen to me very carefully," Dumbledore said in a serious tone again. Katharine found that she did not want to hear what he had to say next but then wished he would get on with it already... He had never called her by her first name before.

"Your whole family was murdered by Voldemort and his Death Eaters."

Katharine didn't say anything. Did she just hear him right? Her whole family was murdered by Voldermort and his Death Eaters? No, this couldn't be right. Why would Voldemort do this to her? She couldn't think of anything she'd ever done to just be picked.

She stood up and walked over to the rain streaked window. It was very dark outside, but you could see a bit of light from the occasional flashes of lightning. It was a little strange that it was raining so much in the middle of February...

She turned her gaze towards the lake and watched the rain become "one" with the lake. She stood there with her forehead on the cold window for a few minutes not really thinking about anything. She wanted to ignore everything he had just said. She didn't want to believe it. Who would want to believe it?

Breaking the silence, Dumbledore spoke softly, "Katharine, there's… something else I must tell you. I-I'm y-your-,"

"This is strange. Dumbledore never stutters." Katharine pointed out to herself.

Dumbledore stopped; cleared his throat; and then started again, speaking more confident than before. "I'm your grandfather."

Suddenly for some reason, anger instantly swept over Katharine. She knew Dumbledore wasn't playing a trick on her because he always spoke the truth. Her forehead was stuck to the window, but she hadn't noticed until after ripping her face off the window. "What?" she said loudly rubbing her forehead and forgetting all about her manners.

"It was a very long time ago, Katharine-,"

"Oh! Well, obviously," she said crossing her arms.

"I know you're upset, but let me just explain-,"

"Well, explain then!"

"Right. Now where shall I start-," he said speaking to himself more than Katharine.

"Usually the beginning is a nice place to start," Katharine mumbled sitting back down in her chair. Luckily, Dumbledore didn't hear the comment.

"Well, it was in the year of 1949 when I met your grandmother, Sarah Swan. It was a beautiful day in the month of late June and school was already out for summer break. I had the urge to go out into the muggle world and explore for a while. As I was walking the streets of London, I turned a corner and literally bumped into your grandmother. She had just stepped down the last library steps and was carrying about, from the looks of it, 10 to 15 books. They went over the top of her head and she naturally couldn't see where she was going. She dropped all of her books and I apologized and helped her pick them up. When we both stood up, I looked at her for the first time. She was a very beautiful woman with dark red hair that sat on her shoulders and bright, hazel green eyes; must be where you get your gorgeous looks," Dumbledore said trying to break the ice. This did not faze her at all. In fact, it sounded kinda creepy.

"Anyway, we talked a little and I offered if she would like to join me for a cup of coffee. She agreed and we both walked down the streets to a little coffee shop about three blocks down-"

"Do I really have to hear all of this detail?" Kat interrupted again.

"Yes you do."

Kat glared at him as he continued. "So after coffee, she said that she must be going as it was getting late. We had gotten along very well and had not even paid attention to the time. So, I took a big leap and asked her if she would like to have dinner with me sometime. She said she'd think about it. She gave me her number and I gave her mine, and she told me she'd call me the next day."

"Did you even have a telephone for her to call you on?" Katharine interrupted raising an eye brow.

"My dear, do you think I'm some foolish old man who does not know how the muggle world works? Of course I had a telephone." Dumbledore said shaking his head.

Katharine felt a little rude now, but shrugged it off and thought that she had good reason to be rude.

"Anyway, the next day came and I was anxiously waiting for her call. She did not call until 4 o' clock that evening. She said that she'd love to have dinner sometime. So, we made plans for that Saturday night. The date had been wonderful. We both had an excellent time.

"Well, about three months had passed and Sarah and I were getting even closer. We were seeing each other almost every day of the week. But, as September came nearer, it was almost time for me to go back to school. I had told her before that I was a teacher in a boarding school farther north. But, that did not keep me from seeing her every weekend. I could not see her everyday of the weekend, for I told her that I could not leave the school for that long, but I did see her every Saturday night.

"Of course, everyone in the school (including the staff) wondered where I went on Saturdays. I did not know why I had never told anyone about Sarah. I guess that I just wasn't ready to share.

"Anyway, one Saturday night Sarah had surprised me by making us both a dinner at her house. After dinner we just talked a little. Then things became a little closer….." Dumbledore trailed off.

Katharine watched him with one eye brow arched high. This was too weird, strange and just awkward. Dumbledore dated her grandmother? Even a muggle for that matter. She was related to Dumbledore!

Dumbledore continued. "A few weeks went by. On yet another Saturday we had dinner at her house again. When we had finished, I made my way to cleaning the dishes, but Sarah said that she would take care of it later. She said that she had something important to tell me. She looked happy and worried at the same time. I was not a stupid man, but I wasn't sure whether this was going to be good news or bad. We sat down on the sofa and she told me slowly... That she was pregnant... I didn't know what to say at first; but then I had a sudden rush of happiness. I knew that it would be okay. I knew that we would get married and start a family. But then again, I didn't know that everything was going to be okay. I had not forgotten that I had not told her yet that I was a wizard; but not just any wizard, possibly the most powerful wizard ever. So, when I left and Disapparated back to the school, I thought about it, and made up my mind that I was going to tell her about me being a wizard the next time I saw her.

"Well, when I told her, let's just say it didn't go so well. As I had planned, she panicked. She at first thought I was crazy; then she asked me to prove it. So, I showed her my wand. She still quite wasn't following me. So, I told her to stay calm as I transformed her cat into a goblet, then back into a cat. She was horror struck. She screamed and told me to get out of her house and her life and to never speak to her again-,"

"So, you just left! You never went back to her to try to explain further?" Katharine said getting frustrated from trying to gather all of this in.

"Well, of course I went back to her. Of course I tried to explain everything to her," Dumbledore calmly spoke. "But, she would not listen. It hurt me deeply when she threatened that if I ever came back to see her, she would call the police- like they could to much," he chuckled. "She said that she was going to leave the city and move somewhere where I'd never find her.

"So, I decided that it was best that I should leave her alone, for the sake of my school and the wizarding world. I did, however, try to find her. Then, finally, I found her in the year of 1954. I found her in Scotland where her older sister, Rebecca, lived. She had been staying there for four years- ever since she had fled from her home in London.

"The school year would not end for another month, and since I knew where she now was, I decided that it would be best if I waited until school was out for the summer. The day after school had ended, I set off to find her. Since I did not know the exact location that she was at, I was only able to apparate to places that I was familiar with. I was actually able to apparate pretty close to where she was staying. Don't ask me how I knew where she was staying. I just had a strange feeling about where she was... It's good to always trust your feelings, dear." Dumbledore stopped for a few minutes to gather his thoughts.

Yet again, Katharine was still watching him with one eye brow slightly raised. This was just so bizarre!

Dumbledore started yet again. "So, I finally found her exact location after searching for her for two days. It was a very nice looking cottage and I was very happy that she was being properly taken care of. The thing that I was mostly worried about was that she would not be able to take care of a child on her own. But, I was proven wrong." Dumbledore took a deep breath and then resumed.

"I walked up to the front door and rang the door bell... I heard little running footsteps and then a little girl, no more than the age of four, opened the door. She had hazel blue eyes and long, dark red hair. I was so happy her looks came from her mother," Dumbledore smiled. "She looked up at me and smiled the prettiest smile I had ever seen." As Dumbledore said this, tears started to form in his eyes. He sniffed very lightly and resumed again, his voice sounding normal. "I said hello and asked her if her mother or her aunt was home. She said her mum was home and ran to get Sarah, leaving the door wide open.

"It was a very nice, cozy house. I looked straight ahead and saw many pictures of Sarah, Rebecca, our daughter, and a man I did not know along the entrance hall. I tore my eyes away from the happy photos and sat on the porch.

"I was a little shocked that Sarah wasn't watching her daughter and had just let her answer the door. Really anyone could have been at the door... I heard Sarah scolding the little girl about answering the door without permission." He paused to smile again thoughtfully, "Then I heard Sarah walking to the front door. I turned to look at her as she stepped out drying her hands off with a towel. Her hair was very long and still a beautiful dark red. She had filled out a little more, but not much. As soon as she walked onto the porch, she practically froze when she saw me.

"She asked me, of course, how I was able to find her and I simply said that a wizard is able to find anyone in hiding... She didn't take that too kindly." He chuckled again.

"So she told me to leave and that she wanted nothing to do with me... I asked if I could just explain... She said something along the lines of 'what is there to explain other than that I lied to her for three months.'

"I told her there was so much more... But she refused to listen once again... I then asked if she was okay with our daughter growing up without a father... Well, she answered that perfectly fine." He paused and sulked for a second...

"Well, she told me that she was engaged and would be married very soon... And that our daughter would never know her true father...

"I don't know why it had surprised me so much... I should have known that she would move on, but I guess I was in denial... I was disappointed in myself. If I had told her sooner that I was a wizard, maybe things would have turned out differently... But I guess everything happens for a reason." He smiled at Katharine.

"So, I asked if I could say bye to her... She said no at first but then said that it couldn't hurt since the little girl didn't know who I was... So she called her out and Sarah introduced her to me as Emma Marie... She told her that I would like to say goodbye and surprisingly, Emma jumped into my arms and gave me the sweetest hug I think I will ever receive in my entire life." Dumbledore stopped to wipe a tear from his eye again... Katharine almost felt sorry for him.

"Well, it sure seems like you've thought out this story before many times," she said.

"I have relived that moment many times before in my Pensieve because that was the last time I saw Sarah and your mother," Dumbledore sighed.

"Why have you never told me before? You had to have known who I was when you sent me a letter accepting me to Hogwarts, right? I mean, you know who everyone is when you send them a Hogwarts letter," Katharine said as she was becoming confused about the whole thing.

"Well yes, I did know who you were. That's why I sent you a letter to Hogwarts." He replied with a little twinkle in his baby blue eyes.

"So… Why am I a witch and Kyle isn't - wasn't," she said remembering why she was here in the first place. Afraid that she would start to cry, she threw that in the back of her mind.

"Well, there's a long story to that too, but I shall keep it short," Dumbledore smiled.

"Well, I will start off by saying that you are my first grandchild. You were born before Kyle was. So, that makes you my second descendent. Your mother being the first. It is said that the second descendent of a great witch or wizard shall be an even greater witch or wizard. Usually, magic is handed down to every other generation if one of the child's grandparents was a witch or wizard. Are you understanding this?" He asked very seriously raising one eye brow.

"Um, no. Not really," Katharine said, screwing up her face.

"Come on, Katharine. You're not a foolish girl. You are the heir of a powerful wizard, which makes you a powerful witch. Which makes Lord Voldemort scared of you. Which makes you able to defeat Voldemort as able as I am. But, of course, we know that we are not the ones to do that. Harry Potter is the Chosen One and he is the one to defeat Voldemort. Everyone in the Wizarding World knows that I am the only one Lord Voldemort is feared by, even though you and I know he should also be afraid of Mr. Potter. Well, he somehow found out that you are the heir of mine, which means that he is trying to defeat you before you become old enough to be an even greater witch than I am. Not that I'm a witch, but you get my point." Dumbledore took a great big breath.

Katharine just sat with her mouth hanging open. "I'm not going to be an even greater witch than Dumbledore," she thought. "I'm just Katharine. A muggle born witch that just happens to always be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"No, no. I - I can't be…" she trailed off.

"Oh, but you are. That's why Voldemort put you and Harry in the Triwizard Tournament. He wanted you and Harry dead. But, once again, he underestimated yours' and Harry's powers." Dumbledore smiled at the fact.

"So, you're telling me that you knew all along why I was in the Tournament and you never told me? You let me compete through the Tournament not even knowing why I had to go through it in the first place?" Katharine said as every word she spoke grew louder.

"I'm sorry, Katharine, that you feel this way; but I was keeping you safe by not letting you know how powerful you truly are. I didn't know how you would take it if you knew that you were much more capable of doing even greater magic than you are learning now. You will one day understand this." Dumbledore said leaning back in his chair.

"When I was chosen to be in the Tournament, did you know immediately why I was in it?"

"I had a hunch, but I wasn't quite sure."

Katharine slammed her fist on the table and stood up. "Then why didn't you tell me!" She bellowed as she started to pace the length of the desk.

"I already told you why. I was afraid that you would take pride in yourself." Dumbledore replied keeping his voice calm.

"That was not your decision to make! You had no right to keep the truth of my past from me! And I would NEVER take pride in my self!" She added.

"I kept the truth of your past from you? You are acting as if your grandmother did not know anything about your past."

"My grandmother didn't raise me. Yes, my grandmother had no right, as well as you, to keep the truth from my mum and me. But, you have had plenty of time to tell me about it. Six years to be exact." She said placing her hands on the desk and leaning in closer towards Dumbledore as she spoke, then resuming her pacing.

"Five." Dumbledore corrected her.

"No. Six. My birthday was eight days ago." She said glaring at Dumbledore.

"So it was…" Dumbledore said thoughtfully.

"Yes. It. Was." Katharine was now at her boiling point. She had just about heard enough. Then it hit her. What about her family's funeral? "When is their funeral?"

"Wednesday. Two days from now."

"And - do you possibly know - how they look?" She asked timidly not really wanting to know the answer, but she knew that she must be prepared.

"Well... I will just leave it at... Not too good."

Katharine's voice had now become very shaky with anger. She balled her hands up into fists as she spoke, "You. Have now. Officially. Made. My life. A LIVING HELL! All of this time you knew that my family was in danger and you did NOTHING TO PROTECT THEM! How could you be so selfish! How could you do this to your FAMILY! I HATE YOU AND I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!" Without realizing what she had just said, she spun around and stormed out of Dumbledore's office with no turning back.

She ran down the stairs, two at a time, and raced down the corridors. No tears fell. Not even a single tear welled up in her eyes. She was done with Hogwarts. She was finished with living in fear. She was sick of people always coming to her with their problems. Did anyone even care for once about her feelings? No! Not once did someone ask her how she was doing. Not once did someone just let her spill out all of her problems. But, after all, that was her problem. It was her problem that she never spoke up. It was her problem that she cared about everyone else before she even looked twice at herself. It was her problem that she was such a good listener and such a caring person towards others. But, she would have that problem no longer. She was going to run away. Some where far away where she was all alone with no one to care for except herself. She had cared for so many others and helped others long enough to last her a life time! She knew she was being extremely selfish, but for once, she was going to be selfish.

And no, she did not care who she left. She did not care about who missed her (if it was even possible for anyone to miss her). Ron, he had just been a real asshole lately; and Hermione, all she ever did was read her books and seclude herself from everyone; and Harry... Katharine had loved him ever since she had met him. But, did he ever show any feelings towards her even when she gave him the slightest hint? No. She was sick of being hurt every time he had a new crush. Katharine didn't even know why she was in love with Harry anyway. He was such a little kid sometimes who never took responsibility. She now wished that she hadn't followed him like a little puppy for all those years.

She stopped running. She reached inside her back jeans' pocket and found that it was empty. "Damnit!" she cursed to herself. She had forgotten that she had given Harry her wand so that he could polish since it had started to look a bit rugged. She looked round at her surroundings to see where she had run to. She realized that she was in the Entrance Hall and right in front of the entrance doors.

"Argh!" she yelled out loud not really caring if someone heard her or not. She turned around and ran up the stairs three at a time heading back to Gryffindor Tower to retrieve her wand.

She ran right up to the Fat Lady's portrait and started cursing at her for no reason, making her jump right out of her deep sleep. It was at least after midnight and way past school hours.

"I- don't- care what the- bloody password is! Just open the- damn door!" She yelled, completely out of breath from running.

"Now there is no reason what-so-ever for you to use that kind of language! It is way past school hours and I surely hope you did not wake anyone up. Now, you will give me the password politely and quietly." The Fat Lady said crossing her arms.

Katharine scowled and gave her the password. She jumped through the hole and ran inside to find the Common Room completely empty except for Harry, Ron, and Hermione all sitting by the fire obviously waiting for her to come back.

Ron was fast asleep and snoring very loudly with his head hanging over the back of the couch. Hermione was right where Katharine had left her, reading her beloved book. Harry had his elbows on his knees and his head propped up on his hands as he stared into the fire. Her books had been picked up by one of them and were now in her bag lying next to Harry.

"Harry!" She bellowed snapping him right out of his gaze. "Where the bloody hell is my wand?" She yelled as she placed her hands on her hips.

Harry was so shocked and a little dazed from his abrupt awakening, he had to shake his head to focus and to review what had just happened. Hermione had dropped her book from Katharine's tremendous cry and Ron had jumped up off of the couch screaming. If Katharine hadn't been in such a foul mood, she probably would have laughed.

"What the bloody hell is your problem! Coming in and scaring the shit out of us like that!" Ron screeched grabbing his chest.

"Oh shut it, Ron. Harry, where is my wand?" Katharine asked more demanding and more threatening this time.

"What the hell has gotten into you, Kat?" Harry asked as he stood up.

"Just. Give. Me. My. Wand." Katharine was finding it very difficult to word out her thoughts now.

"Not until I know what is wrong with you." Harry said, stepping forward.

"Harry, for once will you fucking listen to me! Give me my wand now!" She said thrusting out her hand.

"Alright! Will you stop cursing already?" Harry said, giving in. He reached inside his jeans' pocket and pulled out her beloved wand.

Without a thank you, she tore it out of his hand and spun on her heel. She kicked the portrait door open and jumped right out. In her process of kicking it shut behind her, Harry kicked it back open, almost hitting her in the back of her head.

"Where are you going?" Harry demanded.

"Leave me the hell alone, Potter!" She yelled over her shoulder as she ran the other way.

Not even considering that for a second, Harry charged after her, slamming the door shut as he ran.

As if the two yelling teens had forgotten all about them, Ron and Hermione exchanged very confused looks.

"What the-," Hermione began but Ron grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards the boy's bathroom.

"We can get a perfect view of Hogwarts' gates in here. I have a feeling Kat is running away. This is exactly how she acted when she was running away from her house to come to mine." He said shutting the door. They ran to the window and waited for Harry and Katharine to come into view.

"What on earth do you kids think you're doing throwing me around like that? I can feel you know!" The Fat Lady bellowed after Harry and Katharine as they ran down the corridor.

Katharine was running like a speeding bullet and Harry was having trouble keeping up with her, but he managed.

"Katharine! Will you please tell me what is wrong with you?" Harry pleaded, trying to catch his breath.

"Oh, this is ridiculous!" Katharine said to herself spinning around so fast, Harry almost collided with her. "You want to know what's wrong? You want to know what's wrong!" She said twice as her anger totally boiled over now.

"For bloody hell's sake, YES!" Harry said, getting very annoyed now.

"Fine. Let me just sum it all up for you then. Voldemort and his Death Eaters destroyed my whole family last night. All of them! I have absolutely no family left! Well, that is except for Dumbledore," she said with a very evil tone of sarcasm.

"Except for Dumbledore? What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"Oh yeah, by the way, Dumbledore is my grandfather. My mum's father. He dated my grandmother in 19 bloody 49 and got her pregnant months later. He told her about him being a wizard, oh, and not to mention the "greatest" wizard of all. She thought he was crazy- which I am too starting to think that he really is- and she left him and moved to my Aunt Rebecca's house in Scotland. Then he told me something else that he's kept from me for sixteen years. He said that since I am his first grandchild, I am supposed to be an even greater witch than the wizard he is today. And you know what? I hope I bloody will be!" Katharine stomped her foot as she finished the last sentence. She turned on her heel (which she has really been doing a lot lately) and dashed down the steps.

Harry stood dumbstruck for a moment, and then chased Katharine down the stairs.

"And what do you plan on doing next, Kat? Running away from your family like you always do?" Harry called after her.

"What is that supposed to mean?" She asked from the bottom of the staircase.

Harry jumped down the last three steps, and answered her question. "Don't think that Ron doesn't share stories about you. He's told me many times that you've run away from your home and always go running to his family. What's up with that, Kat? Do you like his family more?"

"Of course not!"

"Then why do you have a habit of always running away from the ones you love, huh?"

There was a short pause.

"I don't have a habit of always running away from the ones I love," Katharine whispered. She then headed for the big oak doors and pulled them open with much difficulty as Harry simply watched her, shaking his head.

Harry was on her heels as she ran out into the pouring rain, getting soaked in a matter of seconds. They ran all the way down to the gates that lead out of Hogwarts' grounds, and Katharine grabbed its lock and shook it the first time, tears started welling up in her eyes.

They were now soaked as if they had just jumped into the Black Lake. She was freezing cold, she was so angry, and she was even more confused than before.

"Katharine," Harry said over the roar of the rain, laying his hands on her shoulders. "I'm sorry about your family, but you have to understand that running away isn't going to do any good."

"No, it probably won't. But, at least it will get me away from here!" She shrugged Harry's hands off of her shoulders and turned around to face him as her voice started to rise, but was very weak. "I have absolutely no one here, Harry! No one here loves me and no one here pays any attention to me! The only time someone comes up to me is when they need to talk about themselves! I don't mind listening and helping someone out, but for once would someone listen to what I need? And you, Harry Potter, would never understand this because every one here in this bloody castle is always on their knees kissing your feet!" She buried her face in her hands and finally let the tears fall down her cheeks.

Harry was deeply hurt by this. As tears streamed down his cheeks as well, he grabbed Katharine's arms on either side of her. "Katharine." He said and she tried to shrug him off of her. He shook her. "Katharine! I am here! I've always been here for you, just waiting for you to come to me when you needed me! And- and- Katharine, I do love you. I love you so much and only you." With these words Katharine looked up at him.

Suddenly, Harry grabbed her face with both of his hands and kissed her. Oh, how she had wanted this day to come so badly. Katharine then couldn't help but break down in his arms. Their lips parted as her knees gave out. Harry held her, but brought them both down to their knees on the flooded pathway.

As she cried into his chest, he laid his head on top of hers and cried with her. For what felt like hours, Harry finally picked Katharine up and walked back towards the castle, cradling her in his arms. She buried her face into his chest and let out all of her misery about her family.

Harry carried her all the way to the seventh floor corridor and up to the Fat Lady's portrait.

"Oh my goodness! Are you two alright?" She squealed.

"Yes, we're fine. Just a bit muddy and very cold." Harry replied with a faint smile.

He said the password and she swung open for them. As he stepped inside, they found Ron and Hermione talking excitedly on the couch.

Ron looked up at their arrival with a wild grin on his face. Hermione saw that Ron had looked up and she turned around, with an almost exact wild grin on her face as well. Neither one of them got up. They simply kept grinning.

"Why on earth are you two grinning so insanely at me?" Harry asked, a little annoyed.

"Um, I think I should take Katharine up to our dormitory and get her nice and warm, don't you think." Hermione made it more of a statement than a question. She got up from the couch as Harry placed Kat on her feet. "Oh my gosh, you're as cold as ice!" Hermione exclaimed as she wrapped an arm around Katharine. "Harry, you should get up to your dormitory and get warm as well," Hermione said over her shoulder.

"I will. I just want a quick word with Ron." Harry said with an evil smile. Ron noticed his smile and quickly got up off of the couch. Harry watched Hermione and Katharine climb up the stairs until they were out of site. He then turned to Ron.

"So, Ron. What's with the grinning?" Harry asked, stepping towards him. He decided to have a little fun with the guilty kid.

"Well, um…. Hermione and I went into the boy's bathroom over there," he pointed towards the bathroom but Harry didn't take his eyes off of Ron. Ron swallowed. Harry had to step up onto his tip toes in order for his face to be level with Ron's, which was now an inch or two away. "We um... Waited until you and Katharine came into eye sight and um..."

"You know, Ron, you really shouldn't be afraid of me considering how much larger you are than me." Harry pointed out falling back down onto his heels.

This seemed to help Ron loosen up. "Sorry Harry, but we wanted to see where you guys were going. And I had a feeling that Kat was running away. So, I took Hermione to the bathroom and to that one window so we could see what you guys were doing."

"How much did you see?" Harry asked a grin appearing onto his pale, frozen face.

Ron snorted, "Everything."

"Even when I..." Harry trailed off.

"Yup," Ron said with the biggest grin on his face that Harry thought his cheeks would split.

Harry stared at him and his huge grin for a moment. Then they both burst into laughter.

"So," Ron piped up after regaining himself. "What happened to Katharine tonight?"

It took Harry a minute to realize what he was talking about, and then when it hit him, he explained everything.

"Really?" Ron said in a high pitched voice. "They're all gone? Her whole family?"

"I'm sorry, Ron. I know how much you and your family loved them." Harry said.

"And, she's related to Dumbledore?" Ron asked, holding himself together about the horrible loss.

"Yup. It's weird, I know. But, it's true." Harry shrugged.

"Strange," Ron said drumming his fingers on his chin.

"Yeah... Well, I am incredibly cold from these soaked, muddy jeans and I think I'm going to take a shower and then get in as much sleep as I can. What time is it anyway?" Harry asked.

"Three-fifteen." Ron answered, checking his watch.

"Well, I think it's time for bed, mate. What do you think?" Harry said, heading towards the stairs.

"I think it's one of the best things you've said all night." Ron answered, "And uh, I think you really helped her tonight, you know." Ron said patting him on the back as they climbed the stairs.

"Yeah... I hope."

End of Fifth Year Flashback