We will meet again ~ Fred Weasley

- Lines Being Drawn -

"With every new rule nailed to the walls,  it started to feel less like home and more like a prison. The laughter in the corridors grew quieter, fear settled into every corner, and for the first time, it felt like darkness wasn't waiting outside the doors anymore—it was already inside."

______________________________

The following day felt strangely heavy from the moment Katherine woke.

Not dramatic.

Not immediate danger.

Just a quiet sort of dread sitting low in her chest that refused to leave.

The castle seemed different in daylight after seeing the Slytherins again the night before. Their reunion kept replaying in her head in fragments — Veronica's bright pink hair and forced grin, Theodore's exhaustion hidden behind dry humour, Draco looking angrier than she had ever seen him, all of them pretending things were normal when they clearly weren't.

Nothing was normal anymore.

By breakfast, the tension hadn't eased.

Katherine sat at the Gryffindor table beside Fred, lazily swirling her drink on the table while the Great Hall buzzed around them. Owls swooped overhead carrying letters from home, students laughed loudly over summer stories, and somewhere nearby Colin Creevey was trying to photograph Ron against his will.

It should have felt comforting.

Instead, it felt distant.

Like she was watching Hogwarts through glass.

"You've been glaring at that table for five minutes," George commented, dropping into the seat opposite her. "At this point, I think it's intimidated."

"It knows what it did," Fred added seriously.

Katherine snorted quietly despite herself, though it faded quickly.

Fred noticed immediately.

His smile softened.

"You alright?"

"Fine," she answered automatically.

Fred raised an eyebrow.

"You're a terrible liar."

Before she could respond, a group of Slytherins entered the Great Hall together.

Katherine's eyes instinctively lifted.

Draco was at the front, pale and sharp-faced as always, though there was something tighter about him now. Theodore walked beside him with his hands shoved deep into his robes, expression unreadable. Veronica followed slightly behind them, her newly pink hair standing out violently against the sea of black Hogwarts robes.

For a second, Katherine caught her eye.

Veronica smiled.

It was small.

Tired.

But real.

Katherine returned it faintly before the girl looked away first, already heading towards the Slytherin table.

Fred watched the interaction carefully.

"That bad?" he asked quietly.

Katherine hesitated.

"No we are fine. It's just...they've changed."

"Well...everyone has."

"No," she said softly. "I mean really changed."