For a moment, Katerina felt good, she felt triumphant, but this passed like a fleeting shadow and she realised what she had done. Maria Blair's grey eyes, one of her features that she had passed on to her children, stared emptily at the chandelier that was glinting above. Katie felt nauseated as she staggered backwards.

"No..." she whispered, staring down at her own hands, which were trembling. As though it had burned her, she hastily dropped her mother's wand. It clattered to the floor, rolled, and settled by Maria's foot. "No — I — I didn't..."

"Remorse," Voldemort growled venomously. It was no surprise that the Dark Lord did not think too fondly of remorse. "You feel remorse. No matter, some day, you will have killed so many times that it will come naturally."

But Katie wasn't listening. Heavy tears were cascading down her face as her eyes flickered between her mother's lifeless form and her own hands. She had done this. Blood was on her hands — her own mother's blood.

A pulverising silence had engulfed the room. Nobody moved or spoke. Even Bellatrix seemed to be stunned into immobility.

Katie turned sharply on her heel. Despite the fact that her vision was clouded by her tears, she could still see the rippling outline of the open doors and the hallway beyond it. She should have seen it coming; as she moved towards the doors, Voldemort gave a lazy flick of his wand and it banged shut. Katie slowly faced him, her entire face contorted with mingled rage and grief.

"You," she spat. "You manipulated me."

Voldemort chuckled darkly. "I simply released your true self," he said. "You would not have killed her if, deep down, you did not want to."

"I didn't want to!" Katie shouted.

"You tried to kill her two years ago at the Department of Mysteries," Voldemort chided. "Of course you wanted to."

"This was different," Katie sobbed. Through her tears, Voldemort was all but a rippling blur. "I — you made me do it. This is your way of turning me over to your side."

Voldemort laughed maniacally and, as per usual, horrible shivers ran down Katerina's spine.

"And now you're one step closer to rising with me." Voldemort said.

Katie made a quick decision, one that she knew she would not, and could not regret. Her yew wand, the one that was almost identical to her father's, was still clutched tightly in her fingers. She raised the wand with a trembling hand and pointed it against her temple. Voldemort's triumphant grin faltered and something new flashed through his eyes — fear. Katie was crying harder than ever now.

"If you wanted a daughter to fight by your side, you should've had another child, because I won't do it." Katie's voice was shaking from fear and because of her excessive crying, but she still managed to stand tall (well, as tall as she could) and strong.

"Rina, stop it." a small voice said behind her. Katie bit back sobs. She was never going to get the chance to resolve her conflict with Draco; she would never be able to tell him that, although the mere sight of him made her blood boil with anger, she loved him too.

"Yes," Voldemort hissed. "Listen to the boy."

For the first time in forever, Voldemort looked genuinely afraid. He did not dare take a step closer to Katie out of fear that she would blast herself into oblivion.

Katie shook her head defiantly. "I won't be another piece in your twisted game."

Voldemort let out a roar of fury — one that made the very walls tremble. The chandelier smashed, the lamps on the walls exploded, and glass rained down upon them.

Behind Katie, Draco shouted, "Protego!" A protective shield surrounded her and the glass bounced back. Bellatrix screamed as she and Lucius dived under the table for cover.

Once the glass shower ended, Katie found that the only source of light in the room was the natural sunlight seeping through the tall windows, creating beams of light at intervals.

Momentarily, she cast her gaze over her shoulder. Draco was wincing and he plucked a shard of glass from his cheek. His face and hands were bleeding profusely and Katie revived a stab of mingled gratitude, guilt and sadness. He could have cast the Shield Charm around himself, but instead he chose to protect her, and now she was going to repay him by casting the Killing Curse on herself.

For a split second, Katie began to second guess her choice, but then her eyes met Voldemort's — piercing silver on blood red — and she realised that she had no other choice. If what Voldemort said was true, if she really did have a secret, powerful talent for Dark magic, she would be dangerous. Voldemort himself was so desperate to have him join her. She owed this to the world.

She pressed her wand more firmly against her temple and opened her mouth to utter the curse.

"NO!" Draco screamed. "Expelliarmus!"

As her wand slipped from her grasped, Katie made a desperate grab for it, but it flew from her reach and right into Draco Malfoy's hands.

Perhaps she was supposed to feel grateful — that was the second time Draco had saved her life in a few short minutes, after all, but in the moment, she was only feeling one thing — panic.

She was now standing defenceless in front of Lord Voldemort, whom she had just openly betrayed. She did the only logical thing — she ran. Thankfully, the doors were unlocked, and Voldemort was too shocked to react quick enough when Katie flung open the doors and tore down the hall. She could feel the grey eyes from the Malfoy family portraits following her interestedly as she made a desperate run for escape.

She heaved at the handles on the front doors but they would not budge. Even if she still had her wand, she was sure the doors would remain locked. There was no luck with the windows either, they were also magically sealed.

Katie knew that she didn't have much time before Voldemort started pursuing her down the hallway. She did not what he would do to her, but she sure as hell didn't want to stay around long enough to find out. Pocketing her wand, she rushed up the stairs, and was about to disappear into her room when someone called her name from the top of the staircase.

"Katie?"

Of course she knew at once that the voice belonged Draco. However, instead of slamming the door closed and shutting him out, she peeked out of her room. Draco was slowly making his way down the hall, as if Katie was a deer and would get startled if he made any sudden movements.

Katie closed the door but she did not lock it. A few seconds later, Draco opened the door and, when Katie didn't protest or yell at him to leave (she always did) he slipped inside.

"Why?" Katie started. Her voice was heavy and hoarse from crying. "Why would you do that?"

"I wasn't just going to let you die." Draco said gently. He took one step closer to Katie but she backed up, shaking her head.

"I just killed my mother, Draco!" she sobbed. Her vision was swimming in and out of focus and she wasn't sure if it was due to the fact that she was crying or the nauseated feeling churning inside her. Images of Maria Blair crumpling and falling dead at her hands flashed through Katie's head.

"But she killed people too." Draco reasoned. His voice was soft and comforting, and yet Katie was not calming down.

"You should have let me die," she choked out. "I'm dangerous. You've seen that I'm capable of..." Katie trailed off but Draco knew that the missing word was murder.

"You're not your father," Draco reached out for her hand and she did not flinch or pull away. "You would always say that to me, remember?"

The small smile that played around Draco's lips somehow made Katie even more upset and fresh tears streamed from her eyes.

"But I am!" she cried. "Everything I hate about myself, I get it from him."

"And what about the things you do like about yourself?" Draco asked.

Katie considered this for a moment then shrugged despondently. "There isn't anything."

"Don't be stupid—" Draco began but Katie cut him off.

"My mother is — was — a Death Eater, Draco. She had my family fooled the whole time. It's just like he said, I'm supposed to be a Dark witch." Katie wanted to meet Draco's eyes but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. She tried not to focus on the feel of his hand in hers — it had been so long since she received comfort from him, and, although she would never admit it aloud, it was nice.

"Well then, that means that all your good qualities are yours, and yours alone. You're a good person, Rina, and good people are quite hard to come by these days." Draco frowned when he said this. Katie knew that he was thinking about some of the unforgivable things that he had done.

"I need to get out of here." Katie said out of the blue.

Draco shook his head. "I can't help you, and even if I could, you already know I wouldn't. He's gone," Katie knew that Draco meant Voldemort when he said this. "He's... looking for something, but I'm not sure what. We'll be going back to Hogwarts next week."

"I don't want to go back," Katie said firmly. Her tears were beginning to retreat now and her words were escaping through gasps. "Everyone thinks I'm dead, and they think I died fighting for... him."

Draco smiled, but it was a sad smile, and he shook his head once more. "Remember I told you that no news gets in or out of Hogwarts? No one knows that the Prophet reported you dead or claimed that you're a Death Eater. Sure, the people that went home for the holidays may have heard the news, but at least they won't be believing it for long before you go back to school and show that you're alive."

Slowly, Katerina walked towards the window and gazed outside. Snow was falling gently, adding to the already thick carpet of white that was completely covering the grounds of Malfoy Manor. She wondered what her friends were doing now. Ginny had probably gone home for Christmas, excited for the holidays, but when she got back to the Burrow she would have been met with the news that one of her friends had died.

Then, of course, there was Chris. Katie hadn't the faintest idea where he was or could be — she didn't even know if he survived the wedding. Not to mention Ron, who could be anywhere, and Harry and Hermione stuck in a tent in the woods or on a cliffside for Christmas.

"Why are you defending me?" Katie spoke at last. "You just watched me murder someone in cold blood, and you know who my father is, yet you're still so convinced that I can be saved."

Katie's voice trembled threateningly but she managed to bite back the new wave of tears that was welling up in her eyes.

"You always defended me." Draco answered quietly.

***

Mr and Mrs Malfoy took Katie and Draco to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters so that they could get on the Hogwarts Express. Katie did not hang around to say goodbye. As soon as she stepped onto the platform, she heaved her trunk (it was newly bought and given to her as a Christmas gift from the Malfoys) onto the train.

She stared down the corridor and felt her mouth grow dry. After she told Harry she would go on the Horcrux hunt with him, Katie had assumed she would never be back on the red steam engine. It felt odd not having Felix at her heels, Milo tucked into her cloak, and Hermione or Pansy at her side.

After heaving a deep sigh, she started moving down the corridor. As she passed the doors of compartments, people began to recognise her. They would lean across the seats and whisper something to their friend, and then they would stare, open-mouthed at Katie. Some people even stepped out of their compartments to get a better look at her.

An uncomfortable tingling sensation ran down Katie's spine. She tried to ignore the prying eyes of the other students and the dense silence that was broken only by whispers.

Up ahead, a compartment door slid open. Katie would have completely disregarded this if a head of flaming red hair did not come out of the carriage. Katie stopped dead in her tracks as a warm, fuzzy feeling washed over her.

"Katie?" Ginny breathed, like she couldn't believe her eyes.

Someone in Ginny's compartment yelped, "WHAT?"

Katie let go of the handle of her trunk and it hit the floor with a loud thud. Ginny and Katie ran through the corridor, meeting halfway, and Ginny pulled Katie into a rib-crashing hug.

"What are you doing here?" Ginny cried. "They said you were — I thought you were dead! And the Prophet — it said you joined him."

"It's a long story," Katie's voice was strained because of how tightly Ginny was squeezing her. "I'll tell you later."

"Come on, grab your trunk, you can sit with us." Ginny offered.

Katie heaved her trunk into Ginny's compartment and found two familiar, dumbstruck faces staring up at her, their eyes and mouths wide.

Neville let out a strange sort of squeak, jumped to his feet and embraced Katie like an old friend — which, of course, she was. Although she had never been too close with Neville, she was always friendly to him and he was forever grateful that she asked him to Slughorn's Christmas Party the year before.

The other person in the carriage was Seamus Finnigan. He did not hug Katie but he allowed himself to smile.

"We thought you were dead!" Seamus said. "We were just planning your memorial, actually."

Katie raised her eyebrows. "You were?"

"News doesn't get in or out of Hogwarts," Neville explained. Katie already knew this piece of information, however. "So when we all got home for the holidays, the first thing we find out is that you'd apparently joined the Death Eaters and died while fighting at their side."

"We didn't believe you'd joined them, of course," Ginny hastily corrected upon seeing Katie's frown, and Neville and Seamus nodded in agreement. "But as for you being dead... we had no way of being sure."

Now that she finally had the chance, after all these months, to ask the question that had been burning in the back of her mind, Katie was not going to waste her opportunity. She looked directly at Ginny, who seemed to know what Katie's question was going to be before she even asked it.

"Chris?" Katie croaked out, her voice thick. "Is he—?"

"He survived the wedding," Ginny confirmed and Katie was sure she had never felt more relieved in her life. It was as though a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "But I don't know where he is now. He and Niall used You-Know-Who's name without knowing about the Taboo so they had to flee. No one's heard from them since September."

Katie's brief sensation of relief washed away as quickly as it had come. Ginny must have seen the tears welling in Katie's eyes because she pulled out a box of Chocolate Frogs, distributed them, and changed the topic of discussion to Quidditch.

***

Katerina barely ate at the feast. She had only been back at Hogwarts a few minutes and, already, she could see that it was not the same. Severus Snape was sat proudly in Dumbledore's tall-backed golden chair, sneering down at the students through his black hair. Two Death Eaters, the names of which Katie was sure were Alecto and Amycus Carrow, sat either side of Snape.

Professor McGonagall's expression was one of mingled discomfort and rage. Whatever state the school was in, she did not like it at all, but she had no power to do anything about it. Along the staff table, Professor Sprout, Professor Flitwick and Professor Slughorn were sat, and Katie admired their courage. They would probably rather be anywhere in the world, but they decided to stay at Hogwarts to watch over the students. Hagrid was no where to be seen, and while this upset Katie and made her feel a little afraid, she did not dwell on it.

After the feast, Katie made her way to the Slytherin common room alone, ignoring the whispers and stares that past her everywhere she went. When she arrived at the common room, most of the Slytherins were already there and engaged in loud conversation. As soon as the door opened and Katerina Blair stepped inside, the noise died away to be replaced by a tense silence.

Blood pounding in her ears, Katie started moving towards the girls dormitories. Someone appeared at her side and when she looked she found that it was Draco. She could feel the piercing stares of her fellow Slytherins boring into the back and sides of her head. And then she heard it, a voice that made her blood boil.

"Katie?" Pansy called out. Katie whipped around to face her. Pansy looked exactly the same as before, but when Katie looked at her, she no longer saw her best friend — she saw a coward and a traitor. Without hesitation, Katie started marching towards Pansy.

"You're alive!" Pansy beamed.

"Yeah, no thanks to you." Katie growled and the false grin melted off Pansy's face in an instant.

"I — I thought you were dead!" Pansy squeaked.

Katie narrowed her eyes. "So you thought you'd soil my memory, did you?" she bit. "Thought it would be a nice idea to spread rumours about me when I'm not around to defend myself?"

"I was just trying to stay alive!" Pansy said, sounding desperate and afriad. "When the Death Eaters ask you for information, you give it to them."

"Not if the information is a bunch of lies!" Katie yelled.

Against Draco's protests and Pansy's quick, half-hearted apologies, Katie pulled out her wand and said, "Furnunculus!"

People gasped and Pansy screamed in pain as horrible boils began erupting on her face. She flailed her arms around and desperately slapped her face, as if she could just hit the boils off. Noise erupted in the common room once again but was instantly silenced by a loud roar of, "WHAT'S GOING ON?"

Amycus Carrow pushed his way through the babbling ground, his eyes blazing with anger and his sister, Alecto, on his tail, looking just as murderous as her brother. Amycus' eyes flashed between Katie and Pansy, who had been surrounded by a ring of people and stood in a sort of clearing. Pansy was wailing in agony as her boils began to grow bigger and more painful.

"What is the meaning of this?" Amycus demanded of Katie, who flinched when he pulled out his wand and aimed it directly at her. For one, horrible second, Katie thought she was going to get her first taste of the school's new brutal justice system, until Alecto grabbed her brother's arm and swung it down.

"We can't, Amycus," Alecto said quietly, but the common room was now so still that her words were heard clearly by everyone. "That's her."

At these words, the Slytherins exchanged confused glances. Katie could feel herself growing hot. She wanted nothing more than to get out of there, and fast. The last thing she needed was the entire Wizarding world finding out the truth about her parentage. Fear flashed through Amycus' eyes and he considered Katie for a moment. Although he looked like he wanted to maim her, Katie knew all too well that he wouldn't, because if he did, Voldemort would have his head.

"Her?" Amycus spat. "This one?"

Once again, all eyes were on Katie, and they were full of emotions that Katie could not read. She knew, however, that Amycus and Alecto were referring to the fact that she was Voldemort's daughter.

"Well?" Amycus barked and Katie almost jumped in fright. "Is it true?"