45

She did not speak for the entirety of the journey back; instead gazing out of the window at the countryside that was speeding past. This created an uncomfortable silence in the car; none of them wanting to be the one to speak or question her first. They could sense just by the way she sat that they were unlikely to get any information easily; she was trying to be as small as possible, turned away from them with a distant expression on her face. She did not seem to notice their arrival in Grimmauld Place until the rest of them had actually gotten out of the car and Sirius tapped on the window to rouse her from her reverie. She walked slowly up the front steps, lagging behind the rest of the group and closing the door softly behind her.

"Tea dear?" Mrs Weasley asked her, touching her elbow; trying desperately to bring her back to them. She shook her head and, before anyone could say anything else, she was taking the stairs two at a time towards her room. They heard the door slam shut, and then silence.

Draping his cloak on a chair she climbed onto her bed and curled up, tears streaming silently down her cheeks. It wasn't his arrest that saddened her, it was the fact that she knew that she was soon to lose everything and, once the whole truth came out, she would have to fight tooth and nail to ever be as respected as she used to. She did not pay heed to the time as she lay there staring into space. She ignored the sounds from downstairs; of people celebrating and congratulating each other. That was, until someone knocked on her door. She was about to tell them to go away when Albus Dumbledore stepped over the threshold.

"Come now Miss Potter," he said in a kindly voice, "this is no time to be hiding away. It is a time for celebration, not melancholy." He laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Remaining so steadfastly silent will only worsen your situation. And remember, no matter how much Tom Riddle might have despised and mocked it, there is no better cause to fight for than love."

"They will hate me." She said quietly. "I deserve no praise." Tears streaked silently down her cheeks.

"On the contrary, I would disagree. You, along with your brother, are a hero. Let no one tell you otherwise. I am not going to force you to explain now; you may do so when you feel ready." She sat up and hugged her knees to her chest. "Besides, I must ask you to return to Hogwarts with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Severus, Minerva and myself. I believe that there are many who greatly desire to see you alive." She nodded and stood, wrapping the black cloak once more about her shoulders and followed Dumbledore back downstairs. She did not smile as she reached the bottom where the rest of them were waiting but did murmur a few words of goodbye to Sirius before taking the Portkey.

They landed back in the Entrance Hall of Hogwarts with a crash, nearly collapsing into a heap as students rushed away at the commotion. Upon seeing who it was, however, they all rushed forwards to try and get near Harry, Ron, Hermione and Kathryn; all of them shouting congratulations. Quickly extricating themselves, the four of them headed straight for Gryffindor tower where they found a raucous party still going on. Empty bottles of butterbeer were strewn everywhere and Fred and George's fireworks were whirling round the room. Kathryn also noted that there were some empty bottles of a substance much stronger; Firewhisky. She had thought Hermione at least would have tried to assert some control over the situation but, apparently in no mood to be strict, she collapsed into her favourite chair and began to kiss Ron. Harry followed suit with Ginny and she was able to grab one of the many copies of the Prophet that were lying around before slipping upstairs.

Pulling on his white shirt and some pyjama bottoms, she sat cross-legged beneath her covers and began to read. The front page was, of course, dedicated to their defeat of Voldemort and was full of exultant praise for all involved; but none more that Harry and herself. There was, by the side, a small piece that announced the fact that she was nowhere to be found and, so far, had not been found amongst the dead. It was almost like an obituary and she found it rather surreal to read. She had barely gotten through the first few pages before a great wave of tiredness enveloped her. She pulled the curtains around the bed and buried herself beneath the sheets, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. She did not hear the rest of the ninth year girls come up to bed, nor did she hear them get up in the morning and go down to breakfast.

She woke at ten, feeling substantially refreshed and, after dressing, headed down to breakfast. There were few people about; most of them probably having a late breakfast after the various parties that had been going on. The still substantially damaged Great Hall was, however, full to bursting with students who were all smiling and chatting with their friends. As soon as she began to walk down towards Harry, Ron and Hermione, however, the whispering began. She was aware that people were giving her skittish glances and that copies of the Daily Prophet seemed to be being passed around the tables at a phenomenal rate. Harry, Ron, Hermione and the rest of the Gryffindors did not smile at her as she approached; indeed, most of them seemed to be scowling.

"So, are you going to explain now?" Harry asked her in a caustic tone, throwing a copy of the Prophet into her hands. "He wasn't lying, was he?" she looked down at the paper in her hands. The big, black banner headline read 'HERO WITH A DIRTY SECRET' and beneath, what she saw made her let out a small gasp. Beneath the headline was a picture of her and Lucius on the balcony the day before. She watched the photo for a few minutes as their photographic selves kissed over and over again; touching her fingers to her lips, she remembered how it had felt. It seemed like it had happened so long ago, like a far distant memory, even though it had only been the previous day. The room seemed to spin and all the muttering seemed to spiral into a loud buzzing in her ears. She heard several taunts shouted above the muttering.

"Traitor!" it came from the Ravenclaw table.

"Whore!" that one was definitely from Slytherin. She dropped the paper and ran; a look of sheer panic on her face, their heckling following her until she heard Dumbledore's voice above the crowd.

"Silence!" he boomed over the shouting, but she did not get to hear what else he said because she was already well on her way back to the common room. With a wave of her wand, her things were packed and she was dragging her trunk back down the stairs into the Entrance Hall. People saw her dragging her trunk and, with a great scraping of chairs, many rushed out to see what she was doing. Another round of insults came her way but stopped as the room shook. She was so angry and upset that she could feel herself losing control of her magic. Her scar was burning and there were tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Wait!" Harry cried out, pushing through the crowd towards her as the room shook again. Kathryn shook her head and, with a final look around at the place she loved so much, Harry watched her go through the movements necessary to Disapparate.

"You can't!" Hermione cried. You could not apparate or disapparate within the grounds of Hogwarts; she had told them hundreds of times. They watched as, defying all they had ever been told, she disappeared with a crack.

"Bloody hell." Ron said, staring at the now empty space. "She did it."

"She can't have," Professor McGonagall stammered, "no one has ever managed to break the enchantments surrounding the castle." She looked slightly faint.

"I believe that Miss Potter may be the first. You felt the way the room shook Minerva," Dumbledore said. "She lost control of her magic. With unrestrained power like that many things are possible."