"ARE YOU SURE YOU SHOULD be playing?" Hermione asked, keeping her head down as she watched Katelyn tie up her shoes. Trinity was fixing her hair beside the girl, humming.

"I am fine, Hermione," Katelyn said, standing up and pulling on her robes, "You're not supposed to be in here."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Marcus didn't say anything about it," she muttered, leaning against the locker when she saw Granite walking around without a shirt.

"That's because you kind of scare him," Trinity said, peeking around her friend with a grin, "I mean, what first year knows almost every spell in the curriculum?" She scoffed.

"Me," Katelyn mutters, frowning a bit.

Trinity shot her a look, "exactly."

Hermione brushed her fingers over Katelyn's shoulder pads and robes, making sure everything was in the right place. Katelyn just let her do it, sensing the girl's anxiety.

Katelyn hadn't taken long to recover at all. Pomfrey was good at her job and she always healed faster than others did. She didn't know why, but her mother healed faster, too. So she chalked it up to being a Royal thing.

Trinity smirked a bit, shaking her head. "You two are hopeless," she muttered, brushing past them as she tugged on her gloves.

Hermione ignored her. "You better be extremely careful today," she said, dropping her hands and crossing her arms, "No stupid tricks. No nothing. Please?"

Katelyn huffed a bit and rolled her shoulders. "Alright, Hermione. No funny business. I'll finish the game. And I'll catch the Snitch," she grinned, cupping the girls cheeks and squishing them a bit. Hermione stared up at her dryly, annoyed like all the other times Katelyn has done it. "And when I do catch it—"

"If."

Katelyn narrowed her eyes a bit, "When I catch it, I'll give it to you. As a promise. You know?"

Hermione blushed, pushing Katelyn's hands down. "I'll believe it when I see it," she huffed, hiding her face in her scarf. Katelyn smirked and grabbed Hermione around the waist, putting her over her shoulder. "Hey! Kallinikos Royal, you put me down this instant!"

"Later, Granger!"

"Hey, we got our own mascot!"

"Piss off, Bletchley!" Hermione snapped, her fingers flicking the side of the Keepers head as Katelyn walked past. The boy laughed.

"Wish us luck, yeah?" Killian called and Hermione huffed, ignoring him.

Katelyn walked out of the locker room and set her down. Hermione brushed down her clothes, shooting her a glare. "I'll see you at the end of the game. You better be conscious," she pointed at the younger girl.

"Noted," Katelyn smirked, pinching the bridge of the older girl's nose, "Now, go. Cheer me on." Hermione rolled her eyes, shoving the girl's chest before walking away. 

◂◊●◯●◊▸

KATELYN DUCKED OUT OF the way of a Bludger, dipping a bit lower in the air. She shot forwards, twisting around a Hufflepuff beater and kicking their broom. They went sideways, missing the Bludger.

Granite and Trinity came behind it, using the Double Beater technique. It shot past Katelyn with more speed than she's seen before and crashed into the chest of one of the Hufflepuff beaters.

They spiraled and plummeted. Katelyn whistled, wincing. That had to hurt.

"AND FRANCIS SAMUELS TAKES THE HIT—AND HE'S UP! A MIRACLE AFTER THAT AGGRESSIVE, BEAUTIFUL DISPLAY BUT SLYTHERIN BEATERS, GRANITE AND TRINITY REYNOLDS."

Katelyn's attention focused back on the game, eyes searching intently for the Snitch. Killian and Marcus flanked Theodore in a Hawkshead Attacking Formation as they raced toward the goal hoop. Killian flew forwards at a higher speed and shot upwards before he hit the Hufflepuff keeper.

Marcus pointed his broom downwards, zipping backwards.

"—BREAK UP AND IT LOOKS LIKE THEODORE IS GONNA TRY A DIONYSUS DIVE! WHAT A SHOW SLYTHERIN IS PUTTING ON. CAN HE DO—"

Theodore threw the Quaffle up, standing on his broom and leaping in a Dionysus Dive, punching the Quaffle into the goal. He tips, grabbing onto his broom and righting himself.

"TEN POINTS AWARDED TO SLYTHERIN BY THEODORE BLACK-BURKE! A SUCCESSFUL MANEUVER PLAYED BY HIM. SEEMS LIKE SLYTHERIN'S TRYING TO MAKE UP FOR THEIR SEEKERS DEFEAT LAST GAME AGAINST GRYFFINDOR."

Katelyn tensed a bit, glancing at the announcers box. She hated that they couldn't have different announcers for every game. Lee Jordan not only hated Slytherin but hated her specifically. He was a year or two older than her and ever since she played a prank on Fred and George (which was retaliation for a prank they pulled on her cousin) he disliked her.

She hadn't meant to set George on fire.

"Don't listen to him," Theodore said as he passed, slapping her shoulder good-naturedly, "Kick Hufflepuffs arses and we'll show him. You've earned your spot. Show it."

Katelyn nodded, determination filling her. She looked around the pitch, taking it in. A glint of gold. She shot into the air with no warning. The Snitch twitched in front of her eyes, a few feet away from her.

A second later, the Hufflepuff Seeker appeared beside her, knocking into her. She whirled out of the way of his next hit easily and cursed when she noticed the Snitch was gone. She twisted her body and dove back down.

She did a quick round of the pitch, clenching her jaw.

"VERONICA SINCLAIR COMING IN HOT. SHE REELS HER ARM BACK—" Katelyn looked up just in time to see Miles do a Starfish and Stick maneuver, kicking the Quaffle away and into Killian's waiting hands, "—BLETCHLEY BLOCKS WITH AN INSANE STARFISH AND STICK, ROYAL COLLECTS IT AND TAKES OFF!"

Katelyn shouts, throwing her fist in the air. Miles grins back at her, raising his arms up. "HELL YEAH, BLETCHLEY," she yells to him as she glides past him, slapping his hand before she takes off toward the opposite side of the pitch.

She barrel-rolls side-ways over Granite, sliding her hand over his back to keep them from crashing when he cuts in front of her. He smacks a Bludger hard, the object flying through the sky and hitting the other Hufflepuff's beaters bat.

She glances around. They've been at the game for about two hours now. The game won't end unless all captains call it or a Seeker catches the Snitch.

This was really not going her way, but no way was she gonna embarrass herself again. She'd hesitated before because of her stupid arm, she would not lose this time.

"KAL!"

A Hufflepuff Chaser crashes into her side and she spins out of control. She grabs hold of her broom and tries to steer herself away from the Gryffindor stands. If she goes out of bounds they're screwed.

Right before she's about to slip forward and fly off her broom, Trinity comes from nowhere, crashing into her side and righting her. Katelyn spins around, holding the back of Trinity's broom until she gets her bearings.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" Katelyn shouts as she passes Madame Hooch who calls no penalty even though the Hufflepuff obviously purposely crashed into her. "HE BLATCHED ME!"

"Play on, Royal!" Hooch called and she snarled. Fine, they want to play that way. She'll let 'em play that way.

Katelyn lowered herself toward her broom and shot toward the Chaser with the Quaffle.

"DESPITE BLATCHING, HUFFLEPUFF IS NOT BEING PENALIZED. HOW WILL SLYTHERIN RESPOND?"

Katelyn smirked and sat up as she got close to the Chaser. She threw a punch, but instead of it landing, it stopped inches from the Chaser's nose and she flipped over her, laughing as the Chaser jerked backwards and dropped the Quaffle.

She shot downwards, grabbing the Quaffle and chucking it toward Marcus who easily collected it.

"CO-CAPTAIN ROYAL DOES A TRANSYLVANIAN TACKLE SUCCESSFULLY AND GIVES THE QUAFFLE TO OTHER CO-CAPTAIN FLINT. HE COMES UP TO THE GOALS—HE THROWS—HE SCORES! TEN POINTS TO SLYTHERIN."

Katelyn tilts her head as buzzing comes by her ear. She smirks and spins around, shooting after the Snitch as it flies away. She hears the Hufflepuff Seeker come up behind her but she easily puts herself between him and the Snitch.

She twists her body a bit, lifting herself so her feet are on the broom. She tilts the broom upward, clutching on it as the Snitch flies upwards. She launches herself upwards and off her broom, hand out.

"CO-CAPTAIN ROYAL LUNGES FOR THE SNITCH!"

Katelyn's hand closes and she ducks her head out of the way of the Hufflepuff Seeker as he flies over her head, trying to grab the Snitch before her.

Time seems to slow around her as her body tips backwards. Then she's plummeting.

Killian and Theodore flank her immediately as she whistles loudly. Her broom snaps back to life, shooting toward her. She grabs it, settling on top of it and slowing to a stop before Lee Jordan.

She smirks at him, holding out the Snitch in her hand as its wings slide out, fluttering.

"AND KATELYN ROYAL HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH! 150 POINTS TO SLYTHERIN, WINNERS OF THE MATCH!"

The Slytherin stands and the fans that came to watch scream and cheer as Katelyn holds her hand up with the Snitch between her fingers.

Katelyn swirls around and joins her team who were all celebrating. Trinity lunges at her friend, their broomsticks crashing as Trinity hugs her tightly. "You did it!" She yells over the boys cheering.

Katelyn grinned, hugging her back.

Marcus clapped her on the back. "I knew you had it in you!" He laughed, high-fiving her.

Miles, Killian, and Theodore each slap her back and shake her shoulders in excitement. Granite gives her double high-fives, whooping loudly. "Killer moves," he shouted.

"You've caught your first Snitch!" Killian said with a proud grin, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, "Whatcha gonna do with it?"

Katelyn smirks and shoves him off. She kisses the golden ball and tilts her broom upwards. She leaves her teammates and flies over toward the Gryffindor stands.

"That was bloody awesome!" Katie shouts at her as Katelyn high-fives Vincent.

"That was really brilliant!" Harry yells, shooting her two thumbs-up.

Katelyn tips her head in thanks before coming to a stop in front of Hermione. She leans her arms against the tower and holds out the Snitch. Hermione has her face half-buried in a scarf but it doesn't hide her bright red cheeks.

"I believe I owe you a Golden Snitch?" Katelyn calls loudly, hoping Hermione can hear her over the screaming.

Hermione rolled her eyes though she was obviously smiling. She reaches out, taking the Snitch from her best friend. "You're an idiot," she shouts over the volume.

Katelyn grins. 'Your idiot,' she thinks but doesn't say. She pinches Hermione's nose before she pushes off the tower and goes to her locker room.

"AHHHH!" Katie, Parvati, and Fay squealed, shaking Hermione back and forth.

◂◊●◯●◊▸

CHRISTMAS TIME DESCENDED UPON Hogwarts, pausing the four kids investigation.

Katelyn closed her bag, humming 'We Wish You A Merry Christmas' under her breath.

"You going home for the holidays?"

Katelyn looked up, smiling at Daphne. "Yeah, I am. Are you?" She asked curiously. Most Slytherin's did go home since they didn't have much of a choice. Fancy parties and such to attend. Especially families of the Sacred Twenty-Eight.

"Yeah," Daphne nodded, leaning against the doorway, "You know, you're pretty brave. Interesting for a Slytherin."

"Brave?" Katelyn repeated, grabbing her backpack and sliding it around her shoulders, "Whatever did I do to be considered brave?" She smirked. Other than the Troll encounter and basically anything on the Quidditch pitch.

"The mudblood," Daphne said and Katelyn tensed, shooting the girl a sharp look. Daphne rolled her eyes. "Don't give me that. You can't seriously think so highly of the girl. She's a muggle. She has no business being here—"

"She's a witch," Katelyn interrupted, "She has magic in her blood. Muggleborn," she emphasized harshly, "Or not, she belongs here just as much as the rest of us. I have no interest in speaking to you if you're going to act superior because of your incestuous bloodline."

"Says thee Pureblood," Daphne snaps, standing up straight and glaring at the girl. Katelyn steps toward her, jaw clenched. "Your bloodline is just as incestuous."

"Perhaps, but at least I'm not going around spouting bullshit about muggle borns just because I'm pure, or whatever the bloody hell you people think that means," she snapped back.

"God, you're so pathetic," Daphne snarls, slightly towering over Katelyn since she's known to be a bit on the smaller side, "Befriending a mudblood—"

Katelyn's hand moves faster than either of them comprehend. A dark red handprint is left on Daphne's cheek as she stumbles backward from the hit. Katelyn blinks once then stands up straighter, deciding to roll with it.

She steps toward the girl, grabbing her robes and forcing her up against the wall. "Don't ever call 'Mione a mudblood again. She's much more than that," Katelyn says quietly but sternly. Daphne stares at her, cheek and eyes stinging, lip trembling. "I don't care about your discrimination. I'm me. Not you. Not my father. I'll treat people the way I wish—with empathy and equality."

Daphne swallowed hard, trembling under the gaze. She shrunk slightly, nodding quickly. "S–Sorry," she muttered.

Katelyn releases the girl's robes and brushes her clothes down. They had gathered an audience, but the blonde couldn't care less. She gathers her bags and then makes her way out of the common room.

"Gnarly." Theodore appears at her side with Killian in tow. "Your father is so going to throw a fit."

Katelyn shrugs. "Whatever. He can bite me," she said and quickly walked away from the two. Her wrist was hurting. She ducked into a dark corner of a corridor and yanked off her fingerless glove. She stared down at the growing mark on her arm in shock. A long line now wrapped around her forearm starting from her wrist and ending at her elbow. "What is going on?" She muttered, eyes wet from the pain and the frustration of not being able to figure it out.

"Kal!"

Katelyn jumped and quickly put her glove back on, sliding her sleeve down over her arm. She turned, grinning when Trinity crashed into her side. "Hey, Trin. Going home?" She asked, grabbing her bag again as the two set off.

"Yep! Grandmas taking us," Trinity grinned, "How about you? Going back to your rich ass family?"

Katelyn chuckled. "Yeah, I am. Luckily, my dads away the whole time. Hates family stuff. So, I get to chill with my mom and see—" She stopped, blushing when she saw Trinity's look. Last Christmas, Harry, Trinity, Granite, and Poppy had found her at Hermione's house, drinking hot cocoa.

"See your girlfriend!" Trinity laughed, bouncing on her toes, "'Cause you loooove her!"

"Shut up!" Katelyn wrapped her arm around Trinity's neck and rubbed her fist into the girl's hair. She laughed when Trinity shrieked and tried to fight her off.

"Oh, Niko, stop it!" Trinity whined, wincing a bit. Katelyn let up, ruffling the girls hair once more. "You suck." Katelyn rolled her eyes.

"Hey you guys." Katie appeared, linking her arm with Katelyn's, "Excited to go home?"

"Yep," Trinity rolled her bag down the long corridor after fixing her hair, "As much as I love it here, I do really miss my parents. And my little siblings."

"Yeah. I miss Poppy," Katelyn sighed. Every time she thought about her little cousin she always got a bit sad. She misses her every day and wished she was just a little older so she could be here with the rest of them.

Almost there.

"Yeah," Katie said, leaning her head on Katelyn's shoulder, "So, what are you two doing for the holidays? Can I come over?" Katie asked, nudging her friend gently.

"Obviously," Katelyn replied, kissing the girl's temple, "I'm probably just chilling with my mom, aunt, and Poppy. Perhaps my aunts and uncles will come down. I'm not too sure. Usually we have this big feast but since we're all at Hogwarts—I don't know."

"I think your mom and aunt are throwing something," Katie argued softly, picking her head up, "Mum said something about it, but I don't know if it's still going on."

"I guess we'll see," Katelyn shrugged.

"If you are throwing something, send a good ol' invitation to your favorite beaters, yeah?" Trinity grinned, punching her friend's shoulder.

Katelyn laughed, "Sure, Trin. I'll do that." Trinity beamed and waved to her, jogging over to her brother who was talking to one of the second year Gryffindors—Claire something, she thinks.

Katie and Katelyn made their way into the dining hall, finding Vincent sitting with Ron and Harry with Hermione standing beside them. Harry and Ron seem to be just finishing a game of Wizard's Chess.

"Who won?" Katelyn asked, slipping her arm around Hermione's waist and looking down at the board.

"Me, as always," Ron replied and Harry huffed, rolling his eyes. Katelyn laughed.

"You knew about this barbaric game?" Hermione frowned, looking at her.

Katelyn raised an eyebrow, blinking. "It's Wizard's Chess," she said in defense, gesturing to the board. Vincent snorted, shaking his head. Hermione rolled her eyes. Katelyn grinned at her and turned to the boys. "How come you two aren't packed?"

"Parents decided to go visit my brother in Romania," Ron shrugged, "He's studying dragons there."

Hermione rolled her eyes once more. Katelyn tilted her head, "That's cool. Is he studying under Luca?"

Ron's brows furrowed. "You know Luca?"

Katelyn stared at him for a moment then glanced at Katie and Vincent who both snickered. Ron frowned. "He's married to my uncle Fynn. You know, Luca and Fynn Royal. Some of the first openly gay purebloods."

"Oh," Ron muttered as Hermione giggled, "I never caught his last name."

"That's alright. Sorry, I just thought you were blanking," Katelyn shrugged. She turned to Harry, "How come you're not packed?"

Harry raised an eyebrow at her, "Would you want to spend Christmas with the Dursely's?" He deadpanned.

"No," Vincent answered immediately, causing Katie to smack him. "Ow!"

Katelyn sighed and shook her head. "You two have about twenty minutes to pack," she said seriously, setting her hands on her hips.

"We just told you we were staying here," Ron frowned, confused.

"Yeah, and now you're coming to mine," Katelyn shrugged, like it was obvious.

Vincent and Katie cocked an eyebrow. Harry and Ron shared a startled look before looking at the girl again. "No way. My parents would freak out," Ron argued.

"My mom's pretty good with words," Katelyn said, waving him off, "If you're already there, what are you parents going to do... send you back to school?"

"Maybe," Ron muttered, staring up at her in slight awe.

"I've got plenty of extra space in that house of mine. C'mon. Get your arses up and pack!" Katelyn ushered the two out of their seats.

"What about your mom and aunt? No way are they just gonna allegedly kidnap two kids," Harry hissed.

Katelyn rolled her eyes. "Like they'd care. You know, my Uncle Fredrico showed up one day and mum let him stay."

"He's family," Harry frowned, "We're not."

Katelyn huffed.

"And they were going to look through the library for anything about..." Hermione hesitated and glanced at Vincent and Katie, "You know who."

Katie raised an eyebrow. "About who?"

Katelyn's brows furrowed. "I have plenty of books at my house. Especially since some of Uncle Fred's stuff is there. It's way bigger than the library here. Besides, there's no restricted section at my house," she smirked, crossing her arms.

Harry and Ron shared a look. Then they booked it toward their common room causing Hermione to huff.

Katie and Vincent shared another look before leaving the two and heading over to where Rebekah was sitting with Kai, Theo, and Killian.

"You'll sit next to me on the train?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Do you want me to?" Katelyn tilted her head.

Hermione shot her an exasperated look. "I wouldn't have asked, Niko," she sighed.

Katelyn blushed a bit and smiled. "Sorry," she muttered, kissing the girl's cheek.

Hermione blushed and knocked her shoulder into the younger girls. "I can't believe you're letting Ron stay at your house. He still doesn't know if he likes you or not."

Katelyn shrugged. "It's cool. My families aren't exactly known for being... welcoming. At least, my father's side. My mom's side has gotten much better, especially with recent generations but that's a lot of bad blood to settle."

Hermione hummed, eyes softening a bit. "I've noticed—I mean, I noticed a long time ago but never asked, but... you call your dad 'father' and your mom, well, 'mom'. What's with that?" She asked gently, hoping she wasn't over stepping.

Katelyn sighed. "Well, you saw my father, right?" Hermione nodded. "He's not exactly the 'dad' type, now is he?" Hermione frowned a little. "I've never really thought of him that way. If anything my aunt's more my 'dad' then he is. He's just kinda... been there. I get this—this feeling whenever he's around. It's kinda scary. It's, like, screaming at me that he's a danger. That he's not really my dad. Not to listen to him, not to—"

Hermione cupped her cheeks when Katelyn's breathing started to grow faster and her eyes started to seem far away. "Niko," she said softly and Katelyn met her eyes, inhaling sharply, "Have you talked to your mom about this?"

Katelyn looked away, taking one of Hermione's hands. "No," she admitted quietly, "I haven't... I haven't told anyone. Well, except for you." Hermione smiled a little as Katelyn's eyes met hers for a second before bouncing away.

"Come on. Let's go," Hermione murmured, tightening her grip on Katelyn's hand and tugging her along, "We've got to get home."

Katelyn smiled. "You won't tell anyone?"

"Not a soul," Hermione promised, leaning into the girl.

Katelyn kissed her temple.

◂◊●◯●◊▸

Katelyn blinked her eyes open, feeling cold, hard ground underneath her. She frowned in confusion, remembering falling asleep with her head in Hermione's lap on the comfy train cushions.

"Morning."

Katelyn jerked upwards, blinking rapidly to clear the dizziness from her vision. She met the woman's eyes.

Wild dark curls, dead eyes, and decayed teeth. She wiggled her fingers in a wave.

Katelyn turned slightly, looking through the metal bars, and seeing that the sun was just rising here. She looked back at the woman, waving back. "Morning, Trixy," she said back, stretching her back. It popped and she sighed.

"Do you have a question for me?" Trixy asked curiously, wondering why she was here. She usually only showed up when she was really exhausted or needed an answer that nobody else would give her.

"No," Katelyn replied, shaking her head. She glanced around the cell, that familiar sickness building up in the back of her throat and the thought of the woman having to go through this everyday for the last eleven years.

"Focus on me, little serpent." Katelyn's eyes snapped back to the woman's, nodding. "Why don't you tell me about little Bella, huh? Is she still good?"

Katelyn hummed, looking down at her right forearm and rubbing her wrist over the leather glove. "She's good. She'll be starting at Hogwarts with Poppy next year."

"Maybe," the woman sighs, looking away.

"She will," Katelyn sat up a bit straighter, "Nobody knows she's yours."

"She has my name."

"Yeah, well," Katelyn huffed and stood up, wiping off her pants even though nothing was on them, "You and Aunty E used to be best friends. It makes sense she'd name her after her old best friend."

Bellatrix met her eyes dryly but said nothing more.

"You feel any more sane?" Katelyn asked curiously, leaning against the wall. The first time she had visited the woman in her dreams, she'd been five and the woman had barely been able to talk. Of course, she knew who it was.

Bellatrix Lestrange. Her Aunt Eliza's cousin who was Voldermorts right hand. Tormented Alice and Frank Longbottom to vegetables.

She hadn't understood why Aunt Eliza had been so torn up over her, not until she found records of the Order of the Phoenix. Three names she'd never thought would be on the 'Double Agents' list.

One being Bellatrix Black.

After that, she tried her hardest to make the woman more sane. It had worked for the most part. Sometimes she'd have to redo her work because of the Dementors, but mostly, Bellatrix was able to gather her wits by herself.

"I'm fine. Did you happen to bring that tooth spell?" Bellatrix flicked her tongue over her decaying teeth with a sad little sigh.

Katelyn snickered and pulled out her pocket spellbook that she always had on her. She produced her wand and pointed it at Bellatrix's teeth. She recited the spell and made a small circle with her wand.

Bellatrix groaned as her teeth fell out. Katelyn pulled a face, turning away. Bellatrix spat on the ground, blood and a stray tooth hitting the floor. "Gross," Katelyn muttered, "Sorry."

Bellatrix waved her off, grimacing as teeth slid from her gums. Pearly and white. She hummed, touching them with the tips of her fingers and then running her tongue over them. "Beautiful. Thank you, little one."

"Sure," Katelyn shrugged, putting her wand and book away, "Perhaps I'll bring you some toothpaste and a toothbrush next time. So you can keep up."

Bellatrix's eyes lit up and she revealed a hole in the wall behind the toilet. "I have the perfect place."

Katelyn snickered a bit, nodding.

"Now, what is bothering you, my little sanity?" Bellatrix asked, taking a seat on her very uncomfortable bed.

Katelyn huffed. "You know Harry's of age to be at school, right?" Bellatrix nodded, leaning back against the wall, "Well. Some weird stuff has been happening. I was at broom class when a boy's broom started acting weird—bewitched." She ran a hand through her hair, "It was my broom, Aunty Trixy. Mine. Somebody was trying to bewitch my broom. Then, I was playing Quidditch and both Harry and Is brooms were bewitched! Luckily neither of us were hurt because of that—but then the Bludgers were bewitched. They almost killed me!"

She wrapped her arms around herself. As much as she told Hermione she was fine, she was rattled from her near-death experience. Somebody was trying to kill her.

"Why is someone coming for me? Shouldn't they be going for Harry?" She muttered, wincing as she said it. She didn't want anybody going after Harry any more than she wanted them going after her... but why was it her?

Bellatrix eyed her silently for a long moment. She took in everything she said and tilted her head. Then she exhaled heavily. "Did you know you were there that night?" She asked quietly and Katelyn's brows furrowed, "The night Lily and James died? The night Harry got that scar?"

Katelyn gaped at her. "What? No way. Mom would've told me!" She argued.

Bellatrix sighed and looked away. "Look, I can't tell you much more. I swore to your aunt. She needs to be the one to tell you. They both do. But, little one, Harry Potter is not the only one who lived." She meets Katelyn's eyes, "You, Kallinikos Royal-Black, survived that night, too."

Katelyn swallowed hard. She took a step forward but was jerked back into her body.

She gasped sharply, sitting up. Hermione quickly grabbed her shoulders, wrapping her arms around the girl gently. "Niko, it's just a nightmare. You're okay."

Katelyn swallowed once more, her throat very dry. She couldn't find it in herself to untense. To relax into her friend's hold. Her eyes stayed forward, staring at the wall unseeing. Her breathing was quick, her chest tight.

Harry and Ron shared a look, concerned but helpless.

Hermione gently guides Katelyn back down onto her lap, brushing her hand over the girl's face. She slides her fingers through Katelyn's hair softly, humming a familiar tune.

The tune her aunt used to sing her to sleep with. The one Katelyn sang to Poppy when the girl had trouble sleeping. The one Hermione had picked up on after one sleepover when they were six.

Katelyn's eyes snap toward Hermione's, breath stuttering. Hermione's eyes softened, combing her fingers a bit harder through Katelyn's hair. The blonde's shoulders relaxed and her fingers unclenched. She slowly closed her eyes.

'You, Kallinikos Royal-Black, survived that night, too.'

Katelyn turned her body away from the boys, burying her face into Hermione's stomach. She just needed to forget. Yep, just forget.

Forget.

◂◊●◯●◊▸

AN: bella, bella, bella... you can't just tell her something like that and not explain

HAPPY NEW YEARSSSSS . we're in 2025 now folks, oh my gosh.

QUIDDITCH TERMS

Tactics:

Doublebeater Defense: Both Beaters strike a Bludger at the same time, to double the force behind a swing.

Hawkshead Attacking Formation: Three Chasers fly in triangle shape to force other Chasers aside.

Dionysus Dive: A Chaser stands on their broomstick and leaps, punching the Quaffle towards a goalpost.

Starfish and Stick: A Keeper holds on hand and one foot on the broomstick, while stretching their body out, to ensure maximum shielding against oncoming Quaffles.

Transylvanian Tackle: A fake punch to the nose to confuse the opponent (as long as contact is not made, it is not illegal). 

Fouls:

Blatching: Flying with the intent to collide (All players)