We will meet again ~ Fred Weasley

- Messy Handwriting -

"The best part of my day was often a folded piece of parchment with his name at the bottom."

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By Friday morning, Katherine had convinced herself that the weekend would be a good one.

Or at the very least, a distraction.

Girls' night was finally coming together. She had a plan, snacks to steal from the kitchens, and enough things to organise that she could keep her mind occupied.

Which was exactly what she needed.

Because whenever she wasn't busy, her thoughts had an irritating habit of wandering towards things she didn't want to think about.

So she threw herself into planning instead.

It was easier.

Safer.

By the time she arrived at breakfast, she was already mentally running through a list of everything she still needed to arrange.

Firewhisky.

The kitchens.

Making sure Pansy didn't start an argument with half the attendees.

The usual challenges.

Katherine barely tasted her food.

She devoured breakfast in record time before hurrying from the Great Hall.

Her letters to Fred, George, and Sirius the previous night had kept her awake far later than intended.

Not that she regretted it.

Writing to them always made Hogwarts feel a little less lonely.

A little less heavy.

Fred's reply was still tucked safely inside her robe pocket.

She'd reread it twice before falling asleep.

And once again that morning.

Not that she would ever admit that to Fred.

He would never let her live it down.

As she hurried through the corridors, Katherine attempted to smooth her uniform into something vaguely presentable.

A losing battle.

Her tie was crooked.

Her hair was refusing to cooperate.

One sleeve was folded incorrectly.

Normally she would have fixed all of it.

Today she simply didn't care.

Three minutes early was still early.

That was enough.

Especially where Snape was concerned.

The Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom was already filling when she arrived.

Students shuffled into seats.

Conversations echoed across the room.

Snape stood at the front like an overgrown bat.

Looking deeply disappointed by everyone's continued existence.

Some things never changed.

The second the bell rang, silence fell.

Snape's eyes swept across the classroom.