𝙼𝚎𝚎𝚝 𝚖𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚕𝚘𝚌𝚔 𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚕𝚞𝚗𝚌𝚑.

Katie found this note on her desk in Potions after she had returned from placing her ingredients back in the supply cupboard. She knew at once that it was from Harry — she recognised his hand writing and the clock tower had always been the place that they used to meet when they wanted to be alone.

So Katie spent the whole of lunch feeling rather anxious about the reasoning for Harry asking her up to the clock tower almost a year after they had split. Once the glittering golden plates had been wiped clean and Katie saw Harry leave the Hall, she got up, told Pansy that she was going to the bathroom, and made her way to the clock tower.

When she arrived, Harry was sat in his usual spot by the edge of the railing, his legs hanging over the side. He turned his head when he heard footsteps as Katie approached cautiously.

"Hi." he greeted.

Still feeling rather uncertain about the whole ordeal, Katie stepped forward but did not sit down, instead choosing to stand directly in the middle of the tower.

"Bit of a strange meeting spot, don't you think?" she said, faking a joking tone of voice.

Harry laughed shortly. "Yeah, I know, but I needed somewhere private."

When Katie still didn't move from her spot in the middle of the room (she was now awkwardly bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet) Harry nodded to the space next to him.

"Aren't you gonna sit down?"

Although she still felt vaguely uncomfortable, Katie moved forward and settled herself on the ledge next to Harry.

"So," she commenced, "what did you want to see me for?"

Harry's face was very strained, giving the impression that he didn't really want to share with Katie whatever he had asked her up to the clock tower to discuss.

"Dumbledore's decided to give me private lessons," Harry started and Katie nodded to show that she was listening. "I thought at first that maybe he'd teach me more advanced defensive magic, but I had my first lesson last night, and he basically just wants to tell me everything there is to know about Voldemort."

Katie blinked rather slowly. While this was all quite interesting, she hadn't the faintest idea why Harry had chosen to share this information with her, but her confusion was diminished by Harry's next words.

"After the lesson last night, I asked him if I could tell Ron and Hermione everything that he told me, you know..." Harry went on. Katie nodded again. "He said I could, but he also asked me to share it all with you."

Stunned by this, Katie allowed her head to tilt to the side, perfectly expressing both her mingled surprise and perplexity.

"Why me?" she asked. Harry merely shrugged.

"I don't know," he said. "Dumbledore wouldn't tell me. But that's why I asked you up here — to tell you what I found out last night."

Harry paused as though waiting for Katie to speak, but when she didn't, he launched into a story about Lord Voldemort's past.

"Right, so," he shuffled around a bit to get comfortable as he spoke. "Voldemort's mother was a witch named Merope, Merope Gaunt, and his father was — get this — a Muggle."

This was probably the most shocking piece of information Katie had received in recent months. Lord Voldemort, the Pure-blood fanatic, was a Half-blood?

"Yeah, I know," Harry said in response to Katie's blatantly shocked expression. "But Dumbledore reckons that Merope gave Tom Riddle Senior — that's Voldemort's father — a love potion, or else put him under the Imperius Curse, because about a year after they were married and had run away together, Riddle went back to his village without Merope and said that he had hoodwinked him into marrying her."

This was all a lot of information to take in, and while Katie certainly found Voldemort's past very intriguing, she was still very confused as to why Dumbledore wished her to know about it.

"Is that all?" she questioned.

"I suppose so," Harry replied. "I guess it'd also be good to know that the Gaunts were the only remaining relatives of Salazar Slytherin."

"Does that make... Voldemort... his last living descendant, then?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, it does."

Katie contemplated all this new information for quite some time as she and Harry sat in silence. Still the most shocking revelation was that Voldemort's father was a Muggle.

"Merope died, by the way," Harry said after many minute's silence. "And Tom Riddle — Voldemort — was raised in an orphanage."

"That's... a lot." Katie said, feeling slightly overwhelmed.

"I hate to break it to you, but I have more." Harry said.

"Go on."

"It's about the prophecy."

Katie tore her eyes away from the swirling clouds, instead focusing them fixedly on Harry, whose face was once more contorted in restraint.

"But it was destroyed," Katie said, although the statement sounded uncannily like a question. "It smashed at my feet, remember?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, but it was Trelawney who made the prophecy, and she made it to Dumbledore, who recited it to me."

For some inexplicable reason, Katie found the contents of the prophecy much more fascinating than Voldemort's mysterious past, and was now giving Harry her rapt attention, more so than she had been when he was telling her about Merope Gaunt.

"Dumbledore actually told me not to tell anyone," Harry chewed his lip nervously. "But I told Ron and Hermione so I feel like I have to tell you."

"Harry, you don't have to tell me anything." Katie said softly, but she was secretly hoping that Harry would tell her what the prophecy said.

Harry shook his head. "No, no, I'm going to tell you," he shifted closer to Katie. "You just have to promise that you won't see me any differently after I tell you what it said."

A sense of nervousness bubbled up inside Katie, but she nodded anyway and Harry, taking a deep, shaky breath, began to recite the prophecy.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."

With each passing word, Katie could feel her blood growing colder and colder and every hair on her arm stood up.

"...and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives..."

When Harry said this, a great shiver ran down Katie's spine and she remembered, as goosebumps erupted on her skin, hearing that exact line when the prophecy smashed in the Department of Mysteries. How could she have forgotten?

"So it's true, then?" Katie asked quietly. "What the Daily Prophet's been saying is true — you are the Chosen One."

Katie could have sworn she saw tears prickling Harry's evergreen eyes but he hastily turned his head away from her. Her heart sunk to the pit of her stomach.

"Harry—"

"My life has to end in or involve murder," Harry said, his voice quivering greatly. "Either I have to murder him or he has to murder me."

Katie could not remember ever feeling so much pity for someone.

"I'm not cut out for this, Katie," Harry shook his head violently. His voice grew croaky and Katie knew that he was biting back tears. "Why me? Why me?"

Tears were now threatening to fall from Katie's own eyes. She couldn't seem to muster any suitable words of comfort. What could she possibly say that would make Harry feel any better? He was a marked man, he had been ever since he was a baby, and there was nothing that she or anyone else could do about it. All because of a stupid glowing orb, Harry's life had been completely altered. If it wasn't for that prophecy, he wouldn't have the lightning shaped scar on his forehead that was clearly visible in the moment as the wind ruffled his hair, his parents would still be alive, and who knows, maybe Voldemort would have been dead long ago, because it would not have been Harry that had to kill him.

Completely stumped for anything else to do, Katie took Harry's hand and squeezed it gently, which he did not object to. Katie was reminded greatly of the time in their third year when she comforted Harry by the Lake because he was upset about how much of an impact Dementors had on him, only this was so much bigger. O.W.L examinations, homework and detentions had never mattered less, because Harry really was the Chosen One, and sooner or later he would have to face his destiny.

***

Katerina arrived back at the Slytherin common room feeling thoroughly disheartened. Her head was pounding as she struggled to comprehend all the information that Harry shared with her.

She was relieved to find that the common room was almost completely deserted — the only people around were a couple of seventh years who evidently had a free period and, sat by the fire and engaged in hushed, almost panicked conversation, Draco and Pansy. Deciding that it would do her well to distract herself rather than let thought of Voldemort burden her mind, Katie made her way towards Draco and Pansy and she caught a snippet of their ongoing conversation.

"For Merlin's sake, Draco, just ask her."

"But what if she says no?"

"Don't be stupid, of course she won't say no."

"Hey guys," Katie announced herself. At the sound of her voice, both Draco and Pansy whipped their heads around, each of their faces displaying the same look of raw fear. "What's up?"

Katie sat down in the armchair next to the couch on which her friends were seated and saw Draco, eyes bulging, discreetly and stiffly shake his head at Pansy, who glared at him and nudged him with her elbow. Then, gulping harshly, Draco rounded on Katie and looked at her with fear in his eyes, as if he thought she was Lord Voldemort.

"Er — Katie — I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?" Draco asked, his voice hoarse, a pink tinge rising on his cheeks.

Katie raised an eyebrow. "Yeah..." she said in a questioning tone. "We always go together."

Katie did not see anything wrong with her response, therefore was confused when Pansy sighed deeply, shook her head and massaged her temples.

"Merlin help you two." she mumbled, clearly fed up about something, and she got to her feet and walked away, leaving Katie in a state of utter bewilderment and Draco looking more nervous than he had before.

"What's up with her?" Katie asked as she watched Pansy go. Draco did not reply, but Katie got the feeling that he knew exactly what was wrong with Pansy.

"So, when are the Quidditch tryouts?" Draco asked in a desperate scramble to change the subject at hand.

"Tomorrow," Katie told him. "You're already on the team, though. You don't have to try out."

"Don't be ridiculous," Draco rebuked. "You might find someone better than me."

Katie snorted. "I doubt it. Unless, of course, I decided I wanted to play Seeker again."

"Oh, come off it," Draco scoffed with an added chortle. "You didn't catch the Snitch once."

"I was eleven!" she countered, heat rising to her neck and face. "And don't think I've forgotten that time in second year when you were too busy goggling at Harry to notice that the Snitch was right beside your ear."

"Yes, well..." Draco started, but promptly trailed off, being unable to come up with a good arguing point. Folding her arms and painting a complacent smirk on her lips, Katie leaned back in her seat.

***

The weather outside on the morning of the Hogsmeade trip was frightful. Wind swept the grounds as heavy sleet pummeled against and rattled the windows. For a split second, Katie seriously considered just staying in bed and skipping the Hogsmeade visit, but then she remembered the sweet smell of Honeyduke's Cauldron Cakes and thought better.

After breakfast, Katie returned to her dormitory to ready herself to venture out into the wild weather. Layering a long-sleeved shirt and the white jumper that Harry had given her for Christmas, she fastened a cloak tightly around her neck and added a scarf for extra warmth.

When she reached the Entrance Hall, she found, to no surprise, a much smaller crowd of people wishing to visit the village than usual. It was clear that most people didn't want to go outside in the harsh weather, and those who dared had wrapped up just as warm, if not warmer than Katie.

As people filed out of the oak front doors, Filch prodded them all with a Secrecy Sensor to ensure that they were not carrying any Dark objects. Casting her gaze around, Katie found Draco leaning against the wall and, giving him a smile made her way over.

"Hi," he smiled. "Shall we get going?"

"Sure," she said happily, but she began to look around as though searching for something. "But where's--?" Katie spotted Pansy laughing with Blaise and Theodore. "Pansy! Hey, Pansy! Are you coming with us?"

Pansy threw her gaze over her shoulder, saw Katie, who was waving enthusiastically, and Draco, who looked beside himself with exasperation, and she rolled her eyes.

"Oh... that was weird," Katie hummed, slightly confused, slightly saddened, when Pansy turned away from her. "What's her problem?"

"No idea." Draco replied with an undertone of sarcasm.

The walk to Hogsmeade was anything but pleasant. More than once, Katie almost slipped on particularly icy patches of the path and Draco had to catch her before she could tumble over. Sleet melted in her hair, making it wet and tangled, and although she pulled her scarf over her face, the exposed bits of her skin grew numb from the cold. It was a great relief to both Katie and Draco when they stepped inside the Three Broomsticks and felt the warmth embrace them.

Just as Katie had reached into her pocket to retrieve her money bag, Draco said, "I'll get you a drink, you go find seats."

The bar was, as usual, quite packed, which came as a minor shock to Katie, given the fact that very few people braved the journey from their homes in such troubled times. It seemed that all the Hogwarts students who had decided to go on the Hogsmeade visit had the same idea as Katie and Draco — get inside the cosy Three Broomsticks and have a drink to keep warm — so it was very hard to find seats. As she scoured the bar for a table, she passed Harry, Ron and Hermione. Harry appeared slightly disgruntled about something, but moved over to make space for Katie nonetheless as Hermione asked her to join them. Katie, of course, politely declined, and eventually found seats by the window.

She had only just sat down when Draco arrived carrying two, hot tankards of Butterbeer. Katie must have drank half of hers in one gulp and, almost instantly, she felt much warmer and much, much more comfortable.

"So," Draco started as he wiped some foam away from his mouth, "Alchemy is an interesting subject, isn't it?"

Katie gave him a piercingly quibbling look. "Really? You want to talk about school?" she drawled.

"Just trying to make conversation." Draco shrugged.

"Of all the topics in the world, you chose school."

"Alchemy is very fascinating." Draco defended.

"I can't say I'm a fan of the transmutation of substances part of the course."

"You're telling me that you prefer the study of the properties of the elements?"

"Yeah."

"You're mad, you are."

An hour and several tankards of Butterbeer later, Draco rose from his seat an announced that he was going to use the bathroom, which seemed like quite a normal thing to do, only he never came back.

The door of the Three Broomsticks swung open, sweeping a bitter cold over all of the customers, and Pansy, Blaise and Theo walked in Pansy spotted Katie, frowned, and made a beeline straight towards her.

"What happened with you and Draco?" Pansy asked, dejection interlaced with her curious tones.

Katie quirked an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"We just saw him leave the village to head back to the school. Why aren't you with him?"

There was a short pause in which Katerina said nothing as she felt her heart sink, and it was a now angered Pansy that broke the silence.

"Oh no," she growled through gritted teeth. "He did not."

Suddenly wanting to do anything but sit in the snug Three Broomsticks and drink Butterbeer, Katie promptly got to her feet and started wrapping herself up in her cloak and scarf. Both Theo and Blaise shuffled awkwardly on their feet as Pansy, growing redder and redder with anger, kept looking between Katie and the door.

"We were going to get some pumpkin juice, if you want to join." Pansy attempted a comforting tone, but all that came out was a hoarse bark of rage.

"No thanks, Pans," Katie said quietly. "I think I'll just go back up to the school. See you later."

Head bent low against the whistling wind, Katie thought hard about what she could have possibly said or done to make Draco desert her, but nothing came to mind. Did he really hate the Appleby Arrows so much that conversing about them made him want to leave?

Katie's thoughts were interrupted by a loud scream ahead.

Hovering six feet above the ground, her arms and legs curved back, her hair whipping her face, was Katie Bell, a Gryffindor Quidditch player, while her friend Leanne screamed and tried to tug her down by the ankle.

Harry, Ron and Hermione, who Katie had not noticed were in front of her, rushed forward to aid Bell, but as they reached her, she fell from the air. Harry and Ron managed to catch her but she was thrashing and screaming so much that they had to lay her down on the ground. Heart beating painfully fast, Katie dashed forward.

"What happened?" she shouted over the roaring of the wind.

"Get back!" Hagrid was thundering up the pathway. "Get back, all of yeh!"

Hagrid took one look at Bell, scooped her up in his arms, and carried her, running, towards the castle. Hermione hurried over to Bell's friend and put an arm around her.

"It's Leanne, isn't it?"

The girl nodded.

"Did it just happen all of a sudden, or—?"

"It was when that package tore," Leanne sobbed, pointing down on a sodden brown-paper package that lay ripped on the ground, An ornate opal necklace was poking out of the paper. Katie bent down, her hand outstretched, but Harry seized her arm and pulled it back.

"Don't touch it!"

Harry crouched to examine the necklace without touching it.

"I've seen this before," he mumbled to himself before rounding on Leanne. "How'd Katie get hold of this?"

"Well, that's why we were arguing. She came back from the bathroom in the Three Broomsticks holding it, said it was a surprise for somebody at Hogwarts and she had to deliver it. She looked all funny when she said it... oh no, oh no, I bet she'd been Imperiused and I didn't realise!"

Hermione pat Leanne's shoulder comfortingly. "She didn't say who'd given it to her, Leanne?"

"No... she wouldn't tell me... and I said she was being stupid and not to take it up to the school, but she just wouldn't listen and... and then I tried to grab it from her... and — and—" Leanne let out a wail of despair.

"We'd better get up to the school," Hermione said, her arm still around Leanne, "we'll be able to find out how she is. Come on..."