Pariah: The Other Malfoy

Chapter 58: Katie

Halfway through October was the first trip to Hogsmeade and it was a horribly sleety Saturday. Tobias and I spent the first half of the day together before we left to go to the Three Broomsticks and met Harry, Ron and Hermione there.

We caught them up just after an altercation with Mundungus Fletcher, a member of the Order. He was pawning off things from Grimmauld Place, a house that once belonged to Sirius and now Harry. Harry was unsurprisingly furious, but he was stopped from attacking Fletcher by Tonks, who had appeared on the scene. Fletcher Disapparated just as Tobias and I arrived.

We spent some hours in the Three Broomsticks, drinking Butterbeer and enjoying one another's company. Harry was telling us about his meetings with Dumbledore, where they were trying to find clues in the Dark Lord's past to work out how to defeat him.

After a while, we decided to head back to school. It was getting colder and colder, and frankly, all I wanted to do was curl up in my bed again. We spoke about Harry's potion book as we walked, Hermione was suspicious about it, though Ron was leaning towards her being jealous that Harry was better than her at Potions now.

"For weeks you carry around this book, practically sleep with it... and you have no desire to find out who the Half-Blood Prince is?" Hermione was incredulous.

"I didn't say I wasn't curious," Harry argued, "And, by the way, I don't sleep with it."

"Yeah, right," I imagined Ron received a glare from Harry, "Well, it's true. I like a nice chat before I go to bed. Now you're always reading that bloody book. It's like being with Hermione!"

I leaned against Tobias slightly, shaking my head.

"Well, I was curious," Hermione said, "So I went to—"

"The library," we all chorused.

"And... nothing," she cried, "There's no reference to the Half-Blood Prince anywhere!"

"Good, that settles it then," Harry said with finality.

"Katie, you don't know what it could be!" My eyes were drawn to the pair in front of us, I understood one to be Katie.

Before any of us could ask what was wrong, Katie rose six feet into the air. We stared silently at her, unsure how to react, when she started screaming - loudly.

Tobias and Harry rushed forward, grabbing her ankles instantly. She fell to the snow, thrashing and shrieking, her friend stood shell-shocked beside her. Harry fell beside her as we caught up, examining what was wrong.

"I warned her!" Her friend yelled, "I warned her not to touch it!"

I glanced at where her figure pointed. It was a necklace, but something told me it was not to be messed with - not even because of how Katie had reacted to it, there was just something off, something evil about it. I held Hermione back as she stepped forward, but we were quickly distracted.

"She's swallowing her tongue!" Ron called.

"I'll get someone—" Hermione began, but was cut off.

"Get back! All o' yeh!" Hagrid's voice cut through as he ran towards us.

We all stepped back instantly as he rushed forward, stopping up Katie's body that was still thrashing. He whispered to her, holding her tightly, until she finally went limp in his arms.

"Don' go touchin' tha', 'cept by the wrappin's. Unnerstan'?" He asked, before turning and rushing up to the school.

I eyed the necklace on the ground. What was going on?

"You're sure Katie did not have this in her possession when she entered the Three Broomsticks, Leanne?" McGonagall asked, we were all stood in her office as she examined the strange necklace.