I don't completely know how law works in Harry Potter (or in real life to be honest lmao) so please just bear with me throughout this chapter.

***

Thanks to the stillness in the Hall, everyone had heard this shocking announcement. Multiple gasps erupted and everyone burst into frantic whispers. Katie stared at the Ministry Witch in front of her, her mouth hanging open in a silent shout. She found herself unable to form any words, and even her thoughts didn't seem to be working properly. A hundred-thousands questions were whirring through her brain, but only one emotion was coursing through her veins — panic.

The girl had frozen stiff in a state of blind panic. All sounds around her seemed to be muffled, as though she was underwater, and dark spots were appearing in her vision. She didn't even notice her own brother push through the crowd.

"What are you doing?" he roared at the Ministry Wizards. "That's my sister!"

Chris tried to heave the wizards off of Katie, but to no avail. They swatted him away like they had done to Harry.

The witch nodded curtly at her counterparts. "Seize him."

The wizard who had been holding Harry back let him go and instead grasped Chris and held his hands firmly behind his back. Chris struggled and writhed but couldn't break free of the man's strong clutches.

"Christian Blair, you are under arrest for the murder of your father, Anthony Blair."

"WHAT?" Chris bellowed. "This is ridiculous!"

A wave of relief crashed down over Katie when she saw Dumbledore appear before her.

"Come now, Amelia," he said beseechingly. "Surely you don't believe that these two teenagers—"

But the witch in the purple robes, who Katie now knew as Amelia, had waved an irksome hand in Dumbledore's face and sharply said, "They were the only people spotted at the crime scene. I'm afraid I have to take them in, Albus, Minster's orders."

Katie looked up at Dumbledore, her teary eyes pleading with him to do something, but both Katie and Dumbledore knew all to well that even he could not sort this situation out — not here, not now.

All that Katie could do was allow herself and her brother to be steered from the Hall as the despondent and thunderstruck eyes of their fellow students followed them. Katie could hear Harry shouting after them — the volume of his voice echoing throughout the otherwise silent room.

The doors of the Great Hall slammed shut, drowning out all sound from within. Shaking with terror, Katie looked aside at Chris, who seemed to be just as helpless as she was. All he could do was shake his head in dismay.

***

Katie had never been inside the Ministry of Magic before, and under different circumstances, it would've been quite a wondrous experience to step inside the Ministry for the first time. She found herself standing at the end of a long hall with a highly polished, dark wood floor. The walls on each side were paneled in shiny dark wood with a green tint, and had many gilded fireplaces set into them for witches and wizards arriving to the Ministry using the Floo Network.

At the very end of the hall was a fountain. A group of enormous golden statues stood in the middle of a circular pool. Tallest of them all was a noble-looking wizard with his wand pointing straight up. Grouped around him were a beautiful witch, a centaur, a goblin and a house-elf. Glittering jets of water were flying from the end of their wands, the point of the centaur's arrow, the tip of the goblin's hat and each of the house-elf's ears.

As it was midnight, not a single other soul was in sight.

"This way." Amelia said.

Katie and Chris, who were now being held in magically bound handcuffs, followed Amelia down the hallway (the three wizards still at their side). She led them through a set of golden gates, behind which there was a smaller hall, where at least twenty elevators stood behind golden grilles.

The party stepped into the first elevator. The grilles slid shut and the lift ascended slowly. It came to a halt after a few moments, and a cool female voice said, "Level Two, Department of Magical Law Enforcement, including the Improper Use of Magic Office, Auror Headquarters and Wizengamot Administration Services."

Amelia stepped out of the elevator, but Chris and Katie remained rooted to the spot until the other wizards nudged them forward.

After this, Katie lost track of where they were going as she and Chris were maneuvered down endless identical corridors. The whole time, the same words were ringing through her head: 'This is insane, this is insane, this is insane...'

What felt like hours had passed when Amelia finally stopped walking. Katie examined her surroundings, though, there wasn't much to look at. They were stood in the middle of a dimly-lit hallway. On either side of them stood rows of golden gates which closely resembled the doors of the elevators, only, on closer inspection, Katie discovered that they were holding cells. Very clean and polished holding cells, but holding cells nonetheless.

Amelia waved her wand and the golden bars to one of the cells disintegrated. She then stepped aside and the three wizards ushered the two helpless teenagers into the holding cell. With another flourish of Amelia's wand, the bars reappeared, and Katie felt the cuffs on her wrists vaporise.

Amelia was saying something — Katie could here her sophisticated voice spewing words, but her brain wasn't registering exactly what was being said. Instead, her eyes were nervously darting around the small, polished, green cell, as panic began to arise within her once more.

Katie hadn't even noticed that Amelia and the other Ministry Wizards had gone until Chris started mumbling.

"This is absurd! This is absolutely mental!" he promptly turned to Katie. "Are you OK? Did they hurt you?"

The girl had a frown on her face and was massaging deep marks on her wrist that the handcuffs had made, but she was otherwise unscathed.

Chris yanked Katie into a hug. She could feel him trembling, but he was trying very hard to control his tremors, probably to stay strong for his sister.

"This is crazy," Katie whispered, tears now leaking from her eyes. "We didn't do it, Chris. How could they think—?"

Chris shushed her softly and moved a hand up to stroke her hair. "I know, I know. But, hey, listen, we're only going to be in here for the night. Crime rates are low right now, so we'll probably be taken for questioning in the morning, a hearing at worst, and then they'll let us go."

"What if they don't?" Katie sniffled. "Chris, what if they really think we did it?"

Chris didn't respond to this, and Katie knew that she had stumped him, because he was fearing the exact same thing as Katie... What if they really thought they did it?

Time seemed to be behaving strangely. Hours ticked by much slower than usual, and minutes felt like hours in themselves. Katie and Chris didn't get a wink of sleep that night. They sat on the cool, wooden benches in the holding cell, staring blankly at the walls for hours on end, just waiting. They weren't exactly waiting for anything in particular — they didn't know what to expect — they had no clue what was going to become of them, but they were just waiting for something to happen.

After what felt like a lifetime, a slight tapping of shoes on wood echoed down the hallway. Katie watched, her stomach churning in anticipation, but her heart pounding with fear, as the bars on thier holding cell disintegrated into nothingness once more.

On the other side of the bars stood a man. He was a very tall and lean man, with a curved nose and straight lips. He had minimum facial hair — only slight stubble, and a full head of glossy, slicked-back brown hair. He was dressed in a deep blue suit that seemed to be made of leather.

"Miss Blair," he said, his voice low and gravelly, "if you would come with me please."

Katie glanced anxiously at Chris, but her gave her a nod, reassuring her that everything was going to be alright. Trembling from head-to-toe, Katie hesitantly lifted herself to her feet and left the cell. The wizard in the leather suit began to lead her down the hall. Katie glanced back to see that the bars had reformed on her and Chris' cell.

Katie wasn't taken far. They only had to turn two corners before they reached their destination. Katie surveyed her surroundings. She was now in a hallway almost identical to the one in which the holding cells were, only the walls were bare, excluding the one, dark wood door at the very end of the hall.

Her heart in her mouth, Katie allowed herself to be guided down this hall. The wizard placed his hand on the door knob and Katie held her breath as he swung the door open, revealing a small interrogation room.

The walls were of polished, deep green, like the hallways, and were completely free of decoration. There was only one light in the room, and it hung above a table and two chairs. Standing one one side of the table was the witch who had arrested Katie and Chris, Amelia. She was now wearing a dark purple, knee-length pencil skirt, paired with a black blazer and frilly shirt. She held her nose in the same pompous position as she had the day before.

"Thank you, Robert." Amelia nodded, and the wizard, namely Robert, vanished back into the corridor.

Katie stood frozen by the closed door. She thickly swallowed the lump in her thoat as she stared at Amelia, just waiting to be hexed or to be told that she was to face life in Azkaban for a crime that she didn't commit. However, Katie was pleasantly surprised when, in a curt voice, Amelia said, "Take a seat, Miss Blair."

Legs still quavering, Katie stepped forwards and lowered herself into one of the two chairs. She placed her hands on top of the table, just to prove that she hadn't any weapons (her wand had been confiscated upon her arrival and the Ministry) and nervously twiddled with her thumbs.

Amelia didn't sit down. Instead, she started pacing around the cramped room. The clicking of her heels against the hard ground made Katie feel very uneasy.

"Do you know who I am, Miss Blair?" Amelia asked plainly.

Katie looked up and, gulping once more, shook her head. Amelia continued on.

"My name is Amelia Bones. I'm Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

Uncertain of what to say, and worried about accidentally saying something that made her sound guilty, Katie merely nodded her head in understanding.

"Do you know why you're here, Miss Blair?" Amelia Bones' eyes met Katie's, and Katie felt her stomach twist into horrible knots and she was growing very hot very fast. She shuffled around uncomfortably in her seat.

"I didn't murder my father." Katie said, her voice barely rising above a whisper. Amelia's eyes flashed as she surveyed Katie, and she pursed her glossy lips.

"You understand, Miss Blair, that you and your brother were the only people spotted at the scene of the crime — as reported by your neighbours, Mr and Mrs Smith, and Mr and Mrs Wilson." Amelia kept her tone stiff, but it was surprisingly not very stern or demanding, which Katie supposed made her feel slightly comforted.

Feeling tears bubbling up in her eyes, Katie spoke in a shaky voice. "He was already dead when we got there."

Amelia seemingly ignored this claim. "Anthony Blair's body was found completely unharmed; not a hair on his head had been damaged. The method of his murder is still under investiagtion, but some experts believe that he may have been poisoned."

Katie hastily wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. Flashes of her dream were vividly painted in her mind, and she was internally debating whether or not she should tell Amelia Bones that her father had been killed by the Avada Kedavra Curse.

Amelia reached into a handbag that was resting on the floor and pulled out a file. She placed the file on the desk, and two things caught Katie's eye — the Hogwarts crest and her own name: Katerina Blair.

"I requested a copy of your student file from Hogwarts when you were ruled as a leading suspect, and I understand that you are top of your class in Potions, rivaled only by Hermione Granger."

Katie's heart was beating wildly. She could already see where this was going.

"With skills like yours, it would be exceptionally easy for you to concoct a simple poison—"

"Avada Kedavra!" Katie yelled suddnely. Amelia stared at her in alarm.

"I beg your pardon?"

Realising that it probably sounded as though she was trying to murder Miss Bones, Katie let out a sigh and leaned forward, and elaborated on her statement.

"It was the Killing Curse," she said in a quavering voice. "He was killed with Avada Kedavra."

Amelia blinked at Katie in suspicion then narrowed her eyes and scrunched her face up into a scrutinising expression.

"And you know this how?"

Although Amelia's voice was steady, her tone was extremely demanding and grave. Katie blinked away the tears that were forming in her eyes and swallowed down the huge lump in her throat.

"I... I had a dream..." she croaked, refusing to lift her gaze from her hands, which were still folded on the table in front of her.

There was a screeching noise as Amelia Bones pulled up the second chair and sat herself across from Katie.

"A dream?" she repeated slowly. Katie nodded, her eyes still fixed on her trembling fingers. "And what exactly happened in this dream? What did you see?"

Katie paused and took a deep breath.

"Him," she looked up finally, and a single tear rolled down her cheek. "I saw him die. There was a woman, but I couldn't see her face. She cast the Killing Curse."

Amelia entwined her hands and studied Katie thoroughly. After a few moments of stiff silence, the Ministry Witch spoke again.

"Are you sure this dream wasn't a flashback?

Perhaps you were reliving the night that you killed—"

Katie eyes snapped up. "I didn't kill my father!" she shouted, surprising herself at her own daring, but she was growing angry now. She was being unfairly treated. Not only was she accusing her of a murder that she didn't commit, Miss Bones was forcing Katie, a fourteen year old girl, to relive the most traumatic experience of her entire life. as though she wasn't already struggling to cope with it enough.

Amelia did not as much as flinch when Katie raised her voice at her. She continued to scan Katie's face through contracted eyes.

"What's your alibi, Miss Blair?" she asked calmly, standing up once more.

Katie blinked in perplexity. "My alibi?"

"What were you doing on the night that your father was murdered?"

"I was at the Quidditch World Cup." Katie said quickly.

"Yes, but my sources tell me you left the Quidditch World Cup early, after reappearance of the Dark Mark. Is that correct?"

"Well, yes, but—"

"And you returned home hours before the death of your father?"

Katie cocked her head to the side. "What? No. I didn't go home."

Like Katie had done, Amelia bones tilted her head, only she done it out of skepticism rather that confusion.

"Where would you have gone, if not home?" she quizzed.

"To my friend Ron's house," Katie was very grateful that her voice was no longer trembling and her words were coming out quickly and smoothly. "I went there the day before the World Cup I stayed there for the end of summer."

"I see," Amelia nodded. "So — and correct me if I'm wrong — you stayed with your friend Ron from August 24th until the morning of September 1st?"

Katie nodded. "Yes."

She had hoped that this would be the information that would prove her innocence, so Katie was horrified when Amelia placed her hands on the table and leaned down, close to Katie's face, and glowered at her.

"Convenient, wouldn't you say?" she said slowly. "Convenient that you were absent from your home at the time of your father's death? It would make a wonderful alibi, wouldn't it, to say that you were staying at your friend's house? Maybe you cast the Dark Mark yourself — wanted to cause a distraction so you could commit the perfect murder, did you? If I recall correctly, you were one of the teenagers that Mr Crouch found at the scene of the crime, were you not?"

Katie's words failed her. She gaped at Amelia and her bottom lip quivered slightly. Seeing how Katie had frozen stiff in terror, a small smirk tugged at the corner of Miss Bones' mouth. She raised herself to her full height and had just parted her lips to speak when the door opened. Katie strained her neck to see one of the Ministry Wizards who had crashed the Yule Ball in the door frame.

"Miss Bones, we have some important information for you, regarding the death of Anthony Blair." he said.

Jaw slacking in agitation due to the fact that her interrogation had been disrupted, Amelia Bones huffed, straightened her blazer, and stormed from the room. Katie heard the lock click behind her.

Katie was left alone to wallow in her fear for about fifteen minutes. When Amelia Bones returned, she found that the teenager was much paler than she had been when she left, due to the fact that the silence in the interrogation room had allowed her thoughts to wander, and she had made herself sick with worry.

Amelia Bones was clutching another file and a clipboard. This file, however, did not have the Hogwarts crest or Katie's name stamped on it. Instead, it bared the label: Case #39456 - Anthony Blair.

Licking her fingers, Amelia pulled two pieces of parchment from the file. Her eyes scanned down the first page, then she announced, in a clear voice, "Tests have confirmed that Anthony Blair died on the morning of August 26th, at 11:52am," she flipped over to the second piece of parchment, "Eyewitnesses claim to have seen Katerina and Christina Blair standing in their ablaze living room around the hour of 1pm, on August 26th."

"We went back to—"

Miss Bones had raised her hand to silence Katie. She placed the parchement back in the file, then looked at the teenager sitting in front of her.

"Mr and Mrs Weasley, father and mother of Ron Weasley, arrived at the Ministry a half hour ago and provided us with sufficient evidence that both you and Christian Blair were indeed at their home — namely the Burrow — at the time of Anthony Blair's death." Amelia bone stated.

Katie felt as though the weight of the world had just been lifted off her shoulders. She let out a breath of relief as a sudden surge of happiness coursed through her body... She had been found innocent.

"You are cleared of all charges, Miss Blair, but before you go," she added quickly upon seeing Katie rising from her seat. "I must ask a few more questions, regarding Case #39465 - The Disappearance of Maria and Leo Blair."

Katie's blood ran cold. "I had nothing to—"

"I know, Miss Blair, I know," Amelia waved her down. "I just want to know exactly when and where you last saw your brother."

Katie nodded, fighting back tears at the thought of Leo. "It was the day of the Quidditch World Cup, but it was hours before the game, mind you — probably the early afternoon. We were over by the water fountain."

Amelia hummed in understanding as she scribbled down notes on a piece of parchment. "And, when you were speaking to him, was he acting... different? Did he say anything out of the ordinary?"