We will meet again ~ Fred Weasley

- A Place Waiting For Me -

"I spent so long fearing the future that I almost missed it taking shape right in front of me."

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"Stop reading that bloody thing."

Katherine leaned across the small café table and snatched the latest copy of the Daily Prophet from Harry's hands before he could stop her.

"Honestly, Harry, you've read this article at least twenty times."

Harry reached for it immediately.

"I wasn't—"

"You were." She folded the newspaper and placed it firmly beside her untouched cup of tea. "And every time you read it, you look more annoyed than the last."

Harry rubbed a hand over his face.

The headline had been impossible to avoid all summer.

MINISTRY CONFIRMS RETURN OF HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED

For over a month the papers had been filled with stories about Voldemort's return, Cornelius Fudge's resignation, the Ministry's failures, and endless speculation about what would happen next.

The wizarding world had finally been forced to accept the truth.

Unfortunately, that didn't make living with it any easier.

Especially not for Harry.

Or Katherine.

Neither of them talked much about what had happened in the Department of Mysteries.

About Bellatrix.

About Voldemort.

About how close they had come to losing Sirius.

Sometimes Katherine still woke up convinced she could hear Bellatrix's laughter echoing through the darkness.

Other nights she dreamed of green light.

Of Sirius falling.

Of noticing one second too late.

The fact that she had saved him didn't seem to matter to her subconscious.

The nightmares came anyway.

"Besides," she continued, deliberately changing the subject, "I think your attention should be elsewhere."

Harry frowned.

"What?"

Katherine tilted her head towards the counter.

The waitress who had been serving them quickly looked away.

A grin tugged at Katherine's lips.

"She's been staring at you since we walked in."

Harry immediately turned red.

"Oh, shut up."

"I'm serious."

"You're impossible."

"That's what Sirius says."

Harry snorted despite himself.

The sound felt like a victory.

It had been harder than usual to make him laugh recently.

Harder for both of them.

The war had changed things.

Everything felt heavier.

Even ordinary conversations.