Mrs Weasley took Katie and Chris back to the Burrow and insisted that they remain there for the rest of the holidays. Katie quite liked the idea of spending New Years at the Burrow, because she didn't fancy the whispers and stares that would follow her if she went back to Hogwarts too soon.

Bill and Charlie, Ron's older brothers, were staying with their parents for the Christmas holidays, so Katie got the chance to meet them.

Bill was — and there's really no other way to put this — cool. He had red hair like the rest of his family, but he kept it swept back in a ponytail, and he had an earring dangling from one of his ears.

Charlie closely resembled Bill, only he was slightly taller and his hair was much shorter. Charlie was very well built, which probably had to do with the fact that he worked with dragons, as Ron had told Katie. Upon closer inspection, Katie recognised Charlie as one of the dragon tamers from the First Task.

Katie got along very well with Bill and Charlie, but she couldn't say the same for Percy, who was also at the Burrow for the holidays, but he spent the entire time cooped up in his bedroom.

"Are you two alright?" Mrs Weasley asked Katie and Chris for the hundredth time during their stay. They were all sat around the kitchen table enjoying dinner.

"Molly, dear, you just asked them that ten minutes ago." Mr Weasley said softly. Bill laughed at this, but he tried his best to conceal it.

Mrs Weasley shot Mr Weasley a glare. "I'm only checking, Arthur. That Amelia Bones gave them a very hard time—"

"I have to say," Charlie chimed in as he was cutting up his steak. "It was mad — arresting two teenagers for their father's murder."

Percy let out a grunt of indignation. "Miss Bones was only doing what had to be done. When a leading suspect in a case is found, the Ministry must take them in for questioning—"

"Do us all a favour, Perce," Bill said, yawning and leaning back in his chair. "Shut up."

There was a great bang against the window. Katie whipped her head around just fast enough to catch a glimpse of very small owl repeatedly smashing against the glass pane.

"Pigwidgeon." Mrs Weasley grumbled, rising from her seat.

"I've got it, mum." Bill announced. He stood up and walked over to the window.

As soon as Bill opened the window, the miniature owl that looked more like a floating ball of fluff began whizzing excitedly around the room. It was letting out small chirps of glee, despite the fact that it had flown straight into the light quite a few times.

Charlie jumped up and caught the owl with one, quick swipe, which didn't shock Katie — Charlie was known at Hogwarts for being quite the Quidditch player, and Katie made a mental note to ask him for some tips.

Un-clipping a letter from Pigwidgeon's foot, Charlie examined the scribble of writing on the envelope.

"It's for you, Katie." he said, holding the letter out to the girl.

Katie's heart leapt. She hadn't heard from any of her friends since she was arrested. Without hesitation, she took the letter from Charlie and ripped it open, instantly recognising the Ron's handwriting.

𝙺𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚎,

𝙷𝚘𝚠 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞? 𝚆𝚎'𝚟𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚗𝚘 𝚘𝚗𝚎'𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚗𝚎𝚠𝚜 𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚖𝚞𝚖 𝚠𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚞𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙲𝚑𝚛𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚎𝚛.

𝙾𝚏 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎 𝚠𝚎 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚍𝚘 𝚒𝚝, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝙸 𝚌𝚊𝚗'𝚝 𝚜𝚊𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚕. 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎'𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚕𝚘𝚊𝚍𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚐𝚘𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚜𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚕𝚒𝚖𝚢 𝚂𝚔𝚎𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚠𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚕𝚎 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙲𝚑𝚛𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚍𝚊𝚢.

𝙰𝚗𝚢𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜, 𝙸'𝚖 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚏 𝚖𝚞𝚖 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚕𝚎𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚘𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚒𝚍𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚘𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝙷𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝚐𝚘𝚎𝚜 𝚖𝚊𝚍,

𝚁𝚘𝚗.

"Who's it from?" Chris asked.

Katie slipped the letter back into the envelope. "It's from Ron. He's just checking in. I'll write back later."

Katie and Charlie volunteered to clean the kitchen after dinner so that everyone else could relax. As Katie was drying the plates, Charlie started up a conversation.

"So, Ron tells me you play Quidditch?" he said.

Katie almost rolled her eyes. She knew that Charlie was only trying to be friendly, but she was also sick of the fact that people only wanted to talk about Quidditch with her. Her passion for the sport seemed to be the only likeable quality about her.

"Yeah, I do." Katie replied as passively as possible.

"Yeah? Are you any good?"

Katie shrugged. "I'm alright, I guess, but it's really Chris who got all the talent."

Charlie handed Katie another plate that he had just finished scrubbing.

"I used to play when I was at Hogwarts." he told her.

Katie let out a small laugh. "I know. You're sort of a legend at Hogwarts."

Charlie chuckled at this. "What position do you play?"

"Chaser. I was a Seeker in first year, though."

"I was a Seeker myself," Charlie said as he and Katie started putting the dishes back in the cupboards. "Maybe I could give you some tips before you go back to Hogwarts on Sunday."

Katie felt a shiver run down her spine. Ever since her arrest, she hadn't really thought about the concept of going back to Hogwarts, but she did know that she wasn't particularly looking forward to it

"Don't worry," Charlie said gently, noticing the distressed look on Katie's face. "I'll write to Fred and George and tell them to handle anyone that bothers you."

"You'll do no such thing!" Mrs Weasley joked as she hurled back into the kitchen.

"Only joking, mum." Charlie said reassuringly, but as soon as Molly turned her back, Charlie winked at Katie, and she had to bite down hard on her lip to prevent a laugh from escaping her

***

The day before classes were to begin again, Sunday, Mrs Weasley took Katie and Chris to Platform 9 3/4. Katie had never seen the Hogwarts Express so empty. The compartments were filled mostly with only first and second years, as they weren't allowed go to the Yule Ball, and a small few people from older years who decided to go home for Christmas were dotted around here and there. Thanks to the lack of students that didn't stay at Hogwarts over the holidays, Katie and Chris had no trouble finding an empty compartment.

Katie slept for most of the train ride. She and Chris hadn't spoken much since the night of the Yule Ball, because neither of them really knew what to say. There was no point in the siblings offering words of comfort to each other because, truthfully, they were both still shaken up and wouldn't really mean anything that they said.

After what only felt like five seconds, Katie felt a light tapping on her shoulder. Her eyes blinked open and she squinted through the blaring light that was shining in their compartment.

"We're here, come on." Chris muttered.

The group of arrivals stepped into the Entrance Hall. The doors to the Great Hall were wide open. All of the Yule Ball decor had been removed, as had the Christmas trees, and the house tables were back. The rest of the school were already enjoying dinner. Katie moved alongside her brother with the crowd, but stopped when she heard a familiar voice call out her name.

"Katie!"

There was a rush of footsteps as Harry, Ron and Hermione tore down the marble staircase. Katie didn't have the chance to utter a single word before Harry flung his arms around her. He almost knocked the girl over with the sheer force of the hug, but she quickly regained her balance and hugged him back.

"Are you OK?" he asked shakily. Katie hummed a yes and buried her head into the crook of Harry's neck. Harry sighed. "No, you're not."

"Well, she was wrongfully accused of murdering her father, mate," Ron said. "That's bound to shake anyone up."

Laughing gently, Katie unraveled herself from Harry's arms so that she could hug Ron. He held her protectively, like an older brother, and it made Kate feel warm and safe.

"Thanks for the letter." Katie said.

"Harry wanted to send one," Ron told her, "but his hands were shaking too much and he couldn't write. He's been a mess without you, really — cries himself to—"

"Alright!" Harry snapped, a hint of pink on his cheeks. "You've made your point!"

Katie looked around for Hermione, only to find that she was clinging on tightly to Chris, who was gently swaying her side to side.

"I can't believe they arrested you like that!" Hermione said angrily. Her voice was muffled because her face was pressed against Chris' chest, who was a head taller than her. "It was totally barbaric!"

Harry gently ran his hand up and down Katie's arm. "Are you sure you're OK?" he asked softly.

Katie gave him a small smile. "I'll be fine."

***

Katie went to the Slytherin common room that night exhausted and ready for a good night sleep. The Great Hall had been unusually quiet at dinner — it was filled with whispers rather than the usual regular jocular chatter. Many eyes flicked towards Katie, but they looked away as soon as she caught them staring.

Unlike the Great Hall, the common room was loud and bustling. As Katie stepped through the doors and began to make her way across the large room, she heard the jesting talk slowly begin to die down. Katie's mouth grew drier as the common room grew quieter, until it was so silent that you could hear a pin drop, and Katie could feel her heart hammering against her ribcage.

Although she kept her eyes firmly fixed on the floor below her, Katie could feel the intensity of the shrewd gazes being fired at her from every direction. Amidst the pulverising stillness of the room, a shuffle of footsteps was heard. Katie dared to lift her eyes and felt a wave of relief crash down on her when she saw Draco and Pansy making their way over to her. Each of them placed a gentle hand on either of Katie's arms.

"Are you alright?" Draco asked in a low rumble so that no one else could hear. Katie found that her words had failed her, so she just nodded.

"I'll take her to the dormitory." Pansy said.

Draco nodded. He gave Katie a small smile before Pansy steered her through the judgmental crowd, all the way up the stairs, and into their shared dormitory. All of the beds in the room were completely deserted.

As soon as the door was closed behind them, Pansy pulled Katie into a tight hug, which she gratefully accepted.

"What'd I miss?" Katie asked as their girls started to change into their pyjamas.

"Seriously?" Pansy reprimanded. "You get arrested for suspicion of murder and the only thing you want to talk about is what you missed at school?"

Katie shrugged. "What else am I supposed to talk about? I got arrested, they found me innocent and they let me go."

Pansy frowned and her shoulders drooped. She pulled off her socks, tossing them aside, and sat herself down next to Katie on the bed. She gingerly gripped Katie's shoulder.

"You don't have to act like this isn't affecting you," she said in a hushed tone. "Harry will still like you if you're not all though."

Katie laughed and pushed her hair behind her ear.

"I don't know, Pans," she sighed out. "It's just so much so fast... The Dark Mark, Leo and my mum went missing, my dad died, I got arrested..."

"I know, I know." Pansy said soothingly as she rubbed Katie's back.

"I think I just need some rest." Katie told her friend.

Pansy nodded understandingly. The two girls clambered into their own beds and flicked off the lamps on their bedside locker. Katie had just gotten comfortable when Pansy's voice sounded through the dark.

"If you ever need to talk, I'm here for you, Katie. You know that, right?"

Katie smiled, a genuine smile.

***

The first week of term was nothing short of terrible for Katie. Everywhere she went stares and whispers followed. On a few occasions, she had caught ear of some students filling in their friends about what had happened at the Yule Ball while they were at home for Christmas.

"See her?"

"Who? Katerina Blair?"

"Yeah... apparently she murdered her dad."

"She did WHAT?"

Just like Katie, Chris was facing a huge amount of opprobrium, but at least he had his fellow Gryffindors to back him up — most of the Slytherins seemed to enjoy ridiculing Katie.

Harry took extra care to hold Katie's hand everywhere they went, with the hope that everyone would leave her alone if they saw him accompanying her. This worked most of the time, but the occasional person would slip in a snarky remark, and Katie would have to use all her strength to hold Harry back so that he didn't jinx them right then and there.

After classes ended on Friday, both Katie and Harry found that they weren't very hungry so they decided to skip dinner together. They climbed up to the clock tower, as always, and sat on the ledge.

Snow was still thick in the Hogwarts grounds, and broken sheets of ice were still drifting across the Lake. Katie shivered as the cold, winter air enveloped her. Harry noticed this and took off his scarf, wrapping it tightly but comfortably around Katie's neck. She smiled as a way to thank him and then leaned her head on his shoulder, sighing as she did so.

"What're you thinking about?" Harry asked. The two of them gazed out at the snow that was glittering under the silver light of the moon.

"Leo." Katie said honestly. There was no point in lying — Harry always saw right through her.

At her words, Harry wrapped one arm around Katie and pulled her closer to him as an effort to comfort her. It did work, to some extent, because it made Katie feel safe.

"He's going to be OK, Katie." Harry whispered reassuringly.

Katie felt tears pricking her silver eyes. "You don't know that."

Harry tenderly placed a hand on Katie's cheek and titled her head so that she was looking directly at him.

"He's going to be OK." he repeated, firmer this time, but still comfortingly.

A small smile tugged at the corners of Katie's mouth. "I would kiss you, but your lips are all cold and chapped."

Harry chuckled and, rolling his eyes, leaned down.

"Deal with it." he said smugly before planting a gentle kiss on Katerina's lips. Katie felt a sense of tranquility wash over her, which was a feeling that only Harry could seem to give her. It was like he was her anchor — he kept her going, and she would be lost without him.

Harry pulled back first, much to Katie's disappointment, but he leaned his forehead against hers. They both shut their eyes and let out content sighs, enjoying their few moments of peace.

"Did you know that Hagrid is half-giant?" Harry broke the silence.

Katie opened her eyes and gave Harry a piercing stare.

"Wow, Potter, you really know how to rile a girl." Katie drawled sarcastically.

Harry rolled his eyes but laughed gently.

"No, I didn't know that," Katie said finally. "But it doesn't surprise me. How'd you find out?"

"Ron and I heard him telling Madame Maxime at the ball. He made the mistake of mentioning her being half-giant—"

"Oh no—"

"And she got really mad. She told him that she's just 'big-boned,' but I don't know who she's trying to fool... the only thing with bones bigger than her is a dinosaur."

***

Midway through January there was another Hogsmeade visit. Katie didn't really feel like going, she would rather enjoy her time away from constant taunting in the common room, but Hermione insisted that she had to get out for the good of her health.

So, one icy Saturday morning Katie found herself trudging down the slushy High Street with Draco and Pansy. The two of them kept sneaking worried glances at her, as though she was going to break down at any moment, which deeply annoyed her but she didn't say anything.

When they reached the village, Katie parted ways with Draco and Pansy and went to meet Harry at Honeydukes like they had promised. When Katie arrived, Harry was standing outside the shop with a broad grin plastered on his face and a bulging bag of Honeydukes sweets clutched in his hand. He held them out to Katie.

"I got you something." he waved the bag around as though it was a bell. Katie bit her lip uncertainly.

"Harry, there is no way I can eat all of that." she chastised.

Harry shrugged. "Then we can share."

Harry held open the bag and Katie dipped her hand inside. She pulled out a cauldron cake and nibbled on it as she and Harry made their way through Hogsmeade together.

A group of Ravenclaws walked past Katie and Harry. Their eyes trailed up and down Katie before they broke into hushed whispers. Harry noticed this. He let out a small growl, took Katie's hand and pulled her as close to him as possible without them standing on each other's ankles.

"Hey — Blair!" one of the Ravenclaws called. Katie tightened her grip on Harry's hand to stifle her anger and kept walking forwards, but the Ravenclaws were following close behind.

"Blair!" Katie glanced back and saw that the one who was speaking was a brunette boy with an awful haircut that covered most of his face. Katie didn't know much about him, only that he was a Pureblood and extremely proud of it. "I was just wondering how you got away with it — murdering your dad, I mean. Maybe you could give me some tips? I was thinking about cursing some of the Mudbloods—"

Harry thrust his hand into his pocket for his wand but Katie held him back. Then, Harry rounded on the group of Ravenclaws, who stumbled back in shock but quickly regained themselves.

"Say that again." Harry spat angrily.

"Better watch yourself, Potter, or you'll wind up it Azkaban with your girlfriend." the Ravenclaw boy sneered.

Harry's jaw was slacked in anger and he balled his hands into fists, squeezing so tight that his knuckles turned white. Katie grabbed his arm and tried to tug him away.

"C'mon, Harry," she begged softly. "Harry, please..."

"You leave her alone." Harry's voice trembled with rage as he spoke.

"Or what?"

"Or you'll have us to deal with." a third voice sounded through the crowd and Katie saw Fred and George pushing past the group of Ravenclaws.

"We have plenty of new products that need testing. We might just slip some into your dinner." George suggested threateningly.

The brunette glared at Fred and George but didn't say anything else. Instead, he just turned on his heel and stalked away with his friends.

Harry relaxed Katie finally released her firm grip on his arm, only for him to turn around and take her hands.

"Are you alright?" he asked seriously.

"Don't mind him, Katie," George said. "He's a bit of a tosser, really."

"I'm OK," Katie told Harry. "Can we go somewhere more quiet?"

Harry nodded and took Katie's hand again. He led her to the Three Broomsticks, and while it wasn't exactly quiet, per say, they could sit themselves down at fair distance away from the rest of the people in the pub.

As soon as she stepped in out of the cold, Katie felt a surge of warmth rush through her and she smiled instinctively.

"Look," Katie pointed to a table at the other end of the pub. "It's Hermione and Ron."

Katie and Harry were greeted by two friendly smiles when they sat themselves down with their friends.

"Has Hagrid been in?" Harry asked as he shuffled out of his coat.

Hermione frowned. "No. I'm getting worried about him."