When Katherine came to, she was already lying in her own bed.
She lay there dazed for a while before the last thing she remembered surfaced — the moment right before she passed out.
That little wretch actually dared to drug her!
Anger flared all at once. Katherine sprang up, threw a coat carelessly over her shoulders, and rushed out of the room — just in time to see her dear niece setting a dish of food on the dining table.
"Auntie, you're awake!" Kate showed not the faintest awareness that she was due for a thrashing. She even greeted her with a cheerful smile. "Perfect timing — I made lunch. Come have a taste."
Lunch?
Only then did Katherine glance out the window, belatedly noticing the blazing sun. It was already midday.
She had meant to give Kate a good scolding, but her stomach refused to cooperate. One whiff of the food's aroma and she couldn't make herself walk away.
She stood in silence before the table for a moment, then gave in to her true feelings and sat down, absently picking up a plate of pasta and shoveling down a couple of bites.
Kate sat across from her, eating her noodles at an unhurried pace, and explained, "I've sent Black away. Don't worry — it's an absolutely safe place."
Katherine's hand froze. She looked up, suspicious. "Are you really certain that was Black?"
"Of course." Kate arched an eyebrow — the exact expression Katherine herself liked to make.
Looking at this niece of hers, who resembled her in more ways than one, Katherine found she had a bellyful of fury and nowhere to vent it. All she could do was lower her head and keep eating.
Only when lunch was over did she rub her slightly rounded little belly and lift her gaze to the niece who was so dutifully clearing the dishes. "After I passed out, what did you do?"
"Brought you and Black home, then contacted an acquaintance and had him take Black away."
Kate's voice was so level, so utterly without a ripple, that it sounded rehearsed — as if she'd anticipated the question and prepared the answer in advance.
How could a tone like that not make Katherine suspicious?
"You just handed Black over, like that? Here I thought you'd gone to all this trouble because there was something specific you wanted with him."
She crossed her arms and spoke with conviction.
From the very moment Kate had first come to her, she'd had her doubts.
When it came to Kate's closest friends, apart from Hermione there was Cho Chang — the two of them had been brought into the manor and personally vouched for by Kate herself.
As for that Harry Potter, though he was often seen loitering around Kate too, anyone could tell at a glance that he wasn't as close to her as Hermione.
If someone told her Harry was Kate's friend, she'd believe it.
But that her little niece would risk confronting a wanted fugitive for the sake of this Harry Potter — that she absolutely would not believe.
For Hermione or Cho Chang, maybe. But not for him.
"Deceiving your elders is very bad behavior, you know, Little Kate." She propped her chin on one hand, watching her with a look that hovered between teasing and serious.
Kate was quiet for a moment, then picked up her plate and headed for the kitchen. It was a while before she spoke. "I just wanted to help Harry."
And complete a quest along the way.
"If all you wanted was to help him, then you should have sent Black back to Azkaban — not dragged your auntie in to help, only to knock her out cold and then spirit Black away in secret."
A trace of temper colored Katherine's expression. "Who did you give him to? As your accomplice in this, don't I at least deserve an explanation from you?"
She had even guessed by now that from the very first moment Kate came asking for her help, the girl had already planned to drug her and smuggle Black off.
The thought alone was enough to make steam nearly shoot out the top of her head.
The events of those years past were long settled in the magical world, the case closed. Katherine had no idea whether Kate had gotten hold of some other evidence, or learned some hidden truth no one else knew.
None of that concerned her.
What concerned her was that this little wretch had come to her for help and then didn't trust her enough to explain any of it.
The girl was really asking for a hiding.
"If you won't tell me, then you're not welcome here." She raised her voice.
But Kate went on washing the dishes in silence, not making a sound.
She knew this behavior had already angered Katherine, but she still couldn't reveal Sirius's whereabouts.
"I'm sorry, Auntie," Kate said, wiping a plate, her voice apologetic. "When it's all over, I'll tell you."
That was one of the reasons she'd asked Katherine for help. Anyone else would most likely have dug for the root of the matter — but Katherine wouldn't.
Sure enough, the woman, who had eaten her fill and was now sprawled on the sofa, only stared at Kate's back for a moment before letting out a soft snort. "In that case, once you've finished the dishes, off you go, back to wherever you came from."
"I mean, go home. I don't want to see you for a while," Katherine added.
"All right." Kate answered mildly, then set the washed plates into the cupboard, untied her apron, and went into the room to gather her things.
Not the least bit surprised.
So the little thing had guessed exactly how she'd react.
She'd certainly come well prepared.
Katherine lounged on the sofa, clothes still in disarray, frowning as she watched Kate finish packing. She only felt that she could see through this little niece of hers less and less.
Sirius, whom even the Ministry of Magic couldn't find — she'd managed to locate him with ease, and knocked out a grown adult in the bargain.
Heaven only knew what else had happened while she was unconscious.
Even her own auntie she was willing to play. Anyone else would have hauled her back for a good lecture long ago.
"Auntie, I'm heading home, then." Kate reached the door and pulled on her shoes as she reminded her, "I made a bit of dessert and left it in the fridge — remember to eat it. And I fixed that old, worn-out faucet in the bathroom, so next time turn it a little more gently…"
Katherine cut her off, rather impatient. "You already said all this a couple of days ago."
"All right, then." Kate nodded, turned, and opened the door. "So… goodbye, Auntie."
And with that, she was about to close the door.
"Wait!"
Seeing that she really was leaving, just like that, without a shred of fuss, Katherine had to sit up. With a look of distaste she jabbed a finger at the little stool in the entryway. "There's something under there. Remember to take it."
Kate paused, then her eyes curved. She bent down and picked up what had been placed under the stool all along — a key, and that parental consent form for Hogsmeade village.
Katherine had already signed it.
She smiled without a word, and even her calm voice carried a good deal more cheer. "Thank you, Auntie!"
Katherine snorted, a little embarrassed and irritated. "Get lost, quick. I can't be bothered to look at you right now."
"Yes. Before this is all over, I definitely won't come and pester you of my own accord." With that, Kate hurried to shut the door before Katherine could get riled enough to climb up off the sofa.
The door swung shut with a click, and the woman on the sofa let out a soft sigh.
This little brat carried far too much on her mind for someone so young. She didn't even know how to lean on her a little.
The truth was, if not for the worry of the Ministry of Magic causing trouble, Kate wouldn't have needed to come to her for help at all — Katherine understood that perfectly well.
Never mind. She'd get around to disciplining her slowly, some other time.
Katherine perked back up and rose to her feet, opening the fridge with no small amount of glee.
Little cakes, here I come!
…
Back at the castle once more, Kate felt as though the exhaustion had worn a whole size off her.
A month at home charging up, and less than half a month out in the world had drained her nearly flat.
After getting home, the first thing she did was move Fluffball to another room. Then she flopped onto the soft, spacious bed and slept clean through the afternoon, until dinnertime, when a house-elf woke her.
"By the way," Kate said, hesitating as she surveyed the dazzling spread of food, before calling Jingjing out, "has Grandpa Rand not come back at all?"
"He came back once, three days ago," Jingjing said, thinking it over. "The Butler said that if you returned, I was to tell you not to worry about him."
I see…
She hadn't seen the old butler for most of the summer holiday, and she had no idea whether the old man had been hurt.
Kate nodded, looked over the food on the table, forced down a couple of bites, and then left the table with no real appetite.
After successfully knocking out the two of them last night, she'd caught sight — in the middle of moving them — of Harry fleeing his home, unable to bear the humiliation, and then boarding the Knight Bus.
By now he ought to have reached Diagon Alley. As someone with nowhere to go, that was the only place he could turn to.
Should she go and check on him?
Never mind — that would seem a bit too deliberate. Better to drop in on him in a few days, when she went to Diagon Alley to buy her things anyway.
She yawned again. Matching wits with grown-ups was far too tiring — it really didn't suit a child like her. If this kept up, she'd never grow any taller!
Better to go back to sleep.
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