Chapter Text
Katarina had been delaying this all summer. But she couldn’t put it off any longer; she’d be back in Hogwarts soon and one of the worst death flags was coming up, one she hadn’t been able to directly deal with at all.
In Hogwarts Lover, if Maria got too many negative points with Katarina, Katarina tried to sneak into the Triwizard Tournament and the end result was that they BOTH died in the Triwizard Super Bad End. Given that the player and Katarina BOTH got eaten by sharks in this ending, then everyone at Hogwarts went on to be enslaved by Voldemort, this was one of the worst possible endings.
Katarina wanted very much to avoid this ending. But until she got to Hogwarts, she couldn’t do anything about that. Beyond what she’d been doing ever since she was nine.
For a moment, she thought she had caught her parents having sex when she went into their bedroom, but then she realized her father was helping her mother put on a corset, rather than take it off and they were both dressed entirely in green and red. The colors of her father’s favorite Quiddich Team, the Limerick Limericks. “I thought the World Quiddich Cup starts Friday.”
“It does. We were just practicing for Friday morning,” her father said quickly.
“Okay,” Katarina said, relieved. She’d come home from a party at Nicol’s house last weekend and her parents…
She pushed the image out of her brain, FOREVER.
Forever, she told her brain.
Dammit, brain.
“Look, I… umm…” She wasn’t sure how to breach this and the part of her brain which was terrified 365-24-7 was screaming. “There’s this thing…”
“Are you pregnant?” her mother asked in a panic.
“I’m only fourteen! I haven’t even kissed a boy!” she protested. It now hit her – kissing and dates unlock in year four! I need to review my notes, she thought. This was the year where trouble with Katarina really heats up for Maria in the game. Generally, you lock out one of the potential captures by the end of the year and another one each year until you’re settled into one of the four major end sets. Your final year determines if you get a good or bad end, unless you stumble on one of the weird or earlier bad endings, like you and Katarina being eaten by sharks.
Katarina fought the urge to go over her anti-shark drill she’d developed.
“I told you,” her father said to her mother. “So what’s the problem?”
“Did Mary do some crazy thing and you got HER pregnant?” her mother asked.
…
Three out of the five Katarinas in her head fell out of their chairs. Only the chairwoman and scared Katarina didn’t collapse; scared Katarina was busy reviewing anti-shark techniques and the chairwoman almost never panicked.
“Mother, I’m using the anti-pregnancy charm and so is she,” she said. She’d made sure of that; Katerina had never kissed anyone in her previous life but she knew enough about how sex worked to take no chances.
Her mother made noises as her father gently soothed her; then her corset tried to explode off her body and he went back to tying it in place.
Katarina wore a bra, because bad game experiences with corsets in her last life had made her wary of them, though Mary tended to wear one that made her look *even* bustier than she already was. She didn’t want to find out if there was a secret cut in half by whalebone end.
There was probably a ‘break corset’ spell and Voldemort would be saving it to use on her.
“Also, honey, you shouldn’t just lounge around without some support,” her mother said.
Her chest did need it now, though she wasn’t done growing, she was pretty sure. “I made some bras. I’m fine.”
“You can’t go around to social events wearing something so plebian,” her mother chided her and the twenty minute underwear lecture now played out; Katarina zoned out, having heard it before, and did her anti-shark drill in her head.
“So what did you want to ask us, honey? You’re old enough you can just visit your friends when you want. That’s why I put up the calendar,” he told her. “Just remember we head to the World Quiddich Cup on Friday.”
“You certainly can’t wear those things during Quiddich. Your chest will hit you in the face,” her mother finished.
Katarina knew she wasn’t the smartest person in Hogwarts or Wizarding Britain, but she also knew that was literally impossible. Mary would have killed herself by now.
That would really be the worst bad end, even worse than the one where Gerald Abracadabras Katarina, then exiles himself. That’s one of the ‘Katarina joins the Death Eaters, dies in the Battle of Hogwarts’ endings. Aachan had leaked it; she hadn’t played through that.
“I will wear my game corset when I do Quiddich, but this isn’t about my chest,” Katarina said, desperately trying to get this back on track.
Her father quickly said, “So what is going on, honey?”
He now had her mother laced up.
She now had completely blanked out what she came here for. This happened all the time when she was…
“THE WIZARD WAR! What did you two do during it?” The game was pretty vague on it and she had to know.
“We weren’t alive during… oh, you mean the War with Butthead,” her father said. Most wizards referred to Voldemort as ‘He Who Must Not Be Named’, but her father called him Butthead or Cornholio. She wasn’t sure why and wasn’t sure she should ever ask.
“Yes,” she said nervously. Her parents had both been Slytherins at the time; they’d been gratified she’d joined it. She had MEANT to join Gryffindor, to get closer to Maria, but no, she’d been so focused on it that the Sorting Hat had decided for her while she was telling herself to be ready.
This was her life, really, in a nutshell.
“Yes,” she said, a little afraid of the answer. She didn’t think they had been Death Eaters, but some of her kin had been and Voldemort had tried to kill her when she was a baby, but she puked on him and he ran away.
She wondered, sometimes, if the real Katarina Claes had died then and her soul substituted somehow, but she tried not to think about that.
Her father mumbled something about ladies. Her mother mumbled something about being serious. They both stared at different walls.
Katarina felt her stomach churn. “That’s when grandfather Ades died, right?”
“The House of Ades had stood for a thousand years and nothing now is left it but ashes and me and you,” her mother said softly. “Father killed eight werewolves and six Death-eaters in a grand conflagration but it killed him too,” she said. “Luigi, your father, promised him that he would take care of me, and so we were married and then had you. And nearly lost you.” She shivered. “No one understands how you survived what he tried to do to you.”
She’d only learned this part of Katarina’s backstory by *living* in the game. Acchan probably knew it from all the other media stuff she’d read, but Katarina preferred to win a game the hard way.
You learned more that way.
“Were either of you in the fighting or just trying to take cover?” She asked, hating to be blunt.
Her father looked extremely embarrassed. “I did fight two Death-Eaters but it was by accident; they got mad because their girlfriends liked me better than them,” her father finally said.
“I covered Lucius Malfoy in cheese and turned hungry rats loose on him,” her mother said.
…
“It’s why I warned you that Draco would probably have it out for you,” her mother continued.
That’s why Draco kills Katerina in that one end, Katarina suddenly realized. Why he has it out for her and helps Maria beat her in that duel!
You could romance Draco, she’d heard, but it was apparently pretty hard and you had to unlock it by capturing the four main guys, one for each of the four Hogwarts houses. Alan was a Gryffindor, Jerry was a Slytherin, Nicol was a Ravenclaw, and Keith was a Hufflepuff. Draco was also a Slytherin. There was supposed to be an extra unlockable target in each house. She didn’t know what the ones for the other three were, though she suspected Ron was the one for Gryffindor.
“Malfoy claims he was forced with the Imperius curse, but… I think he’s lying,” Katarina’s mother said softly. “One of my boyfriends ended up in Azkaban.”
“Sirius Black,” Katarina said. She’d met him the previous year and he’d told her she looked just like her mother had at her age.
“Don’t spread it around; people have mostly forgotten but I still…We’d broken up before I married Luigi,” her mother said, her hands fiddling about with each other nervously. “He was handsome and charming but totally irresponsible.”
She touched her forehead and got a flash of memory; every time she touched it, she could remember puking on Voldemort. She normally didn’t WANT to. Not a lot of details, just that feeling of puking and the disgust in Voldemort’s eyes.
“I was worried he would try to come around after he escaped from Azkaban,” her father said. “But if he has been around, it was subtle.”
A-chan had leaked that he eventually died, but she wondered if she could save him. He hadn’t died in year four, anyway.
She couldn’t let her mother’s old boyfriend die. “So why did you cover Lucius Malfoy in cheese? Just generally because he was evil?”
“He thought he could use me as leverage against Sirius, but instead, I took him out.” Her mother sounded very proud.
I should ask him about it, she thought.
And try to figure out how to ensure he didn’t die too. But right now, she had to get through year four.
There was a chime. “We have a guest. I’ll go greet them while you finish dressing Mom up,” Katarina said, then took off.
“We’ll be there in a minute,” her father said, oddly dolefully.
It was Mary. She was in leather pants and quidditch corset with goggles, even though she’d come by flue. She had her broom. “I’m sorry! Father suddenly decided I needed a two hour lecture on how not to get pregnant by Alan before we are married. I’ve never even kissed someone!”
“That doesn’t unl… Hogwarts doesn’t let us date until our fourth year,” Katarina told her. “Wait, did we have practice planned today?”
“I was just coming for moral support but… what did they say?” she half-whispered.
“Mother covered Draco’s dad in cheese and turned rats loose on him. Father spent it stealing the girlfriends of Death Eaters, then having to fight them.” Katarina shook her head. “I worried for nothing.”
“I was pretty sure that Gary’s family would not have…” She paused, then sighed. “You know who I mean, right?”
“I know,” Katarina said, patting her shoulder. “I’m going to need to change, but we could totally do some flying.” It was her greatest talent as a witch. She could do everything a witch could do… just badly. But she was *amazing* at Quiddich, which she was pretty sure due to having racked up 100s of hours of flight and space simulators. Her father had been a Quiddich star and…
And they were probably going to go knock the baffle around some, Katarina thought. Her father didn’t play professionally due to a knee injury now but… no wonder they seemed embarrassed. “My folks might want to join us,” she said.
Mary cocked her head. “They’re busy.”
Long experience had taught Katerina to never question Mary if she said that.
“Let’s go flying, then,” she said. “I’ll change into something more suitable.” Anne had suited her up in one of her best dresses; she’d felt she had to look dignified to the extent she ever could.
Her cellphone now went off, playing the soup jingle. Which meant… She pulled it out; keeping it charged was HARD, since the wizarding world didn’t use them and they were a new technology, because she was in the magical nineties.
Buying all that Google stock was going to make her rich, though.
“Maria! I’m about to get changed and go practice with Mary,” she told Maria. “I hope things are okay for you at home.”
“I’ll go get your outfit ready,” Mary said, going on ahead.
“I had a little adventure with Ron. He wanted to meet me to buy his father a birthday present from here in the Muggle World,” Maria said. “But he’s so used to wooshing that he didn’t read the map scale right and we ended up chasing all over London trying to find each other.”
“Did you visit the Bridge?” Katarina had not been to real world or Hogwarts Lover London, so all she knew came from anime and manga. She wondered again if Yomiko Readman was real in this world or not.
“I wanted to but we didn’t have time. But we *did* go see a movie and visited a gaming shop and bought him the Monopoly set he wanted,” Maria said; Katarina could hear her smile.
This wasn’t in the game. Was it a good sign that she had found a new path… or was she opening new ways to die?
“And I visited Hermione,” she said. “My Aunt and Uncle went on a vacation to Bath without me, and so I went and visited Hermione and her parents gave me a free teeth cleaning.”
“You have perfect teeth,” Katarina told her. Wizards have special potions which keep your teeth shiny and your breath fresh. She drank one each night before bed.
“Because I brush them every day and floss,” she said, maybe a little chidingly.
“I use Posepea’s Persimmon Potation every night,” Katarina told her. “It means I have perfect breath.” Which she needed, given her eating habits.
She felt the urge to touch her scar and told herself NO.
She strongly suspected Voldemort’s curse had damaged her magic before she puked on him, preventing him finishing the job. It explained a lot.
“Anyway, your father’s letter finally got through. I am totally ready to go see the Quiddich World Cup with you!” Her voice wobbled a little.
In Fortune Lover, you had to decide how to focus your energy each week. Different activities earned the favor of different NPCs and built your skills. Maria started out with just one point of Quiddich, the basic talent from being a witch. Her biggest talent was potions, which started out at five and was easiest to raise. This earned you credit with Snape, Alan, and Jared. Nicol and Keith didn’t care about Potions so much. Alan also liked Music and Quiddich, while Jared…
His name changed AGAIN. Katarina felt sure the curse was getting worse and it bothered her. Jared’s mother had put a blessing on him as Butthead killed her; it concealed Jared’s true name, making it basically impossible to directly affect him with many kinds of magic. This had prevented Butthead killing him.
“Then I will see you on Friday,” Katarina told her. “I’ve missed you.”
“I missed you too,” Maria said wistfully.
“We’ll be back together soon! And your stupid kin won’t be able to tell me to stay away!” Katarina said.
She remembered when she and Alan had flown halfway across England to go see Maria… the summer between their first and second year? Yeah. There was no more making Maria live under the stairs after she’d put the fear of Katarina Claes into them.
Admittedly, she had not PLANNED to crash into the door and drive it through the house and into the wall on the far side of the living room. That broom had become unsalvageable and she’d had to ride back with Alan. Who had grumped but had the skill to make it work.
“They’d better be taking good care of you,” Katarina said.
“They’re scared you will visit again,” Maria said, then laughed softly. “Anyway, Mary will probably explode if I don’t let you go.”
“See you Friday! And they should be afraid, because I’m coming to your house,” Katarina said excitedly. “Bye!”
“Bye!”
Click.
She ran to go change; it was time to FLY.
******************
Mary’s talent for Quiddich always confused Katarina; Mary, in the game, never played it and was focused on Herbology. Mary certainly was still very good at Herbology in this path, but she’d determinedly overcome her fear of flying and become a great player. Herbology had become Katarina’s other area of excellence; all the farming she’d done to prepare for being exiled to the United States had given her a talent for it.
Developing your Herbology was important to the Alan Good End, but Katarina had done it without even thinking about that. Alan was no good at it, but it impressed him; that’s how he’d ended up engaged to Mary, in fact. It also got you points with Keith.
You obviously couldn’t play a proper game with two people, so they were basically practicing passing the ball and scoring. Mary had her relentless look, the one where she’d once somehow punched through a wall, which had boggled Katarina.
Then she became pinned under rubble, and Maria had to heal her. But that had been their first year.
She must know a stone breaking charm, Katarina suddenly realized, only to get a ball to the face as it evaded her bat.
“I’m so sorry!” Mary said, horrified. She dropped her bat, but Anne caught it and charmed it back up to her. “Thank you, Anne!”
“You’re welcome!” she shouted. She was sitting on a lawn chair, watching them.
“It’s okay,” Katarina said. “Come here, BALL!” She flew around, cutting it off and driving it back to Mary, who now knocked it through the hoop. “SCORE!” she shouted, waving a triumph fist.
They were still batting the ball around when, to her surprise, Geronimo showed up. Katarina frowned. She liked Geronimo but his name had shifted AGAIN. To one of the worst variations. “Did you have trouble on the way here?” she asked.
“I’m never going to answer that question,” he said, looking embarrassed for a moment, then putting his smooth face on. “I was coming to invite you to dinner, Katarina,” he said.
“Sounds great! Come work up an appetite, then the three of us can fly over to your place,” Katarina said excitedly.
Mary said, “You honor me with your invitation, Geronimo. I assume Alan will be joining us?”
“He will now,” Geronimo said.
“What?” Katarina asked.
“I’ll see if he is free,” Geronimo said. “I’m going to have to borrow a broom.”
“You can use my X-L-R-8 2000,” Katarina shouted. “Come on up!”
This was going to be a great day, Katarina thought.
Wait, don’t *mice* like cheese, she thought. She decided to worry about it later.
*********************
Katarina Claes and the Goblin on Fire
Chapter One: The Quiddich World Cup
By John Biles
A Hamefura/Harry Potter Fusion/Crossover Thing
***********************
For just a moment, Katarina thought Gerald’s name had changed to Garglebargle, but it was just her imagination. She put the thought aside and adjusted Gerald’s pants. “Okay, now we can walk through Maria’s neighborhood unsuspected.”
“Are you sure Muggles wear their pants backwards?” He asked, moving awkwardly in the reversed pants.
“And a two color shirt over a black shirt is another classic,” Katarina said. Red on top, a kind of faded blue on the bottom. A little hot, this time of year.
She adjusted her shoulder pads and skirt. It kept trying to ride up, even though it was slit for flying.
“Thanks for coming with me,” Katarina said. Someone had to tote Maria’s luggage and since *she* was driving, he got to tote.
Keith had insisted on coming; he’d had to abandon his sweater, but his plaid shirt and faded denim jeans looked *right* to Katerina. More toting power. He’d probably carry Maria’s owl in his cage.
She pulled the car up in front of the house. Just like in Grand Prix 2000. Nice and smooth. This was the right house?
The intersection of Main and Character Streets, 2002 Main Street.
The little house was vastly smaller than Katarina’s, but much bigger than the apartment she’d lived in, back in Japan, with a *huge* yard. She knew this made Maria’s family *loaded*, which made their pretending not to have money ridiculous and made their treatment of her *worse*.
Anyone with a yard this large in a modern city had to be loaded. There was practically room for two more houses on the lot!
Dudley opened the door, saw Katarina getting out of a car, and got this look like the apocalypse had begun. “MOM! THE DEMONESS IS HERE!” He fled inside, tripping because *his* pants were on backwards.
“You were right,” Gerald said to Katarina.
“Hey, Muggle Studies is one of my best classes,” Katerina protested. Because she had all the knowledge of a teenage Japanese girl in her head. It had tripped her up a few times, like when she realized Britain *used different money* too late to avoid blowing three questions but she usually could kick some ass.
“I am not putting my pants on backwards,” Keith said firmly. When Gerald stumbled, he caught him.
“Thank you,” Gerald said tightly and Katarina smiled. All her friends loved each other like she loved them and that was for the best.
She knocked on the door, even though it was open.
“EVERYONE DIED,” she heard Maria’s Aunt Petunia shout. Aunt Petunia’s brother was Maria’s father. Her other Aunt, Lily, the third sibling, had been killed by Lord Butthead back in 1980.
“Maria! We have come for you!” Gerald shouted.
They could hear running noises. “I’m off, Auntie,” Maria shouted. Then she stopped and they could *feel* her power. “You need to be careful, so you don’t hurt yourself, Dudley,” they heard her say, then she arrived at the door, wearing a knee-length pleated skirt, a blue blouse and a Limerick Limericks cap, a gift from Katarina’s parents. She had two suitcases and her owl cage.
Keith took the cage. “Hello, Guelph.” Guelph made happy noises and he idly fed Guelph a treat.
Gerald took the suitcases. “Good to see you, Maria.” Loudly, he shouted, “We’re off! If we hear you did anything bad, we’ll come back and curse you!”
“Thanks, Maria,” Dudley mumbled; he got up and ran deeper into the house.
“You shouldn’t curse them; Aunt Petunia worries about me dying like Aunt Lily and my parents did,” Maria said softly.
“You have way too much sympathy for rubbish,” Gerald said and she winced, then he sighed. “Sorry, Maria.”
“It’s okay,” she said. “Thank you for carrying my luggage.” She patted his shoulder and he relaxed.
“You’re so soothing,” he said softly, then turned. “Okay, let’s get going.”
They soon stowed the luggage in the trunk, while Maria stared. “Did Ron’s family get a new car?”
“Conjuring pound notes is really easy and if you conjure enough of them, you can do anything,” Katarina said confidently. “Don’t worry, I have hundreds of hours of driving experience.”
You couldn’t conjure precious metal, though you could summon it but if you weren’t careful, someone came after you for theft. But paper money, you could conjure that ALL DAY.
Katarina had learned not to overdo that, though. Even Anne couldn’t get that dress clean.
“My folks insisted we meet them at Harrogate to go to the Cup,” Katarina said.
“Wait, not Lancaster? Your family lives in the woods near there, right? In the mountains?” Maria said hesitantly.
They were currently in Worcester.
“It’s about a hundred and sixty kilometer drive,” Katarina said. “It’s near my uncle’s estate. The whole Claes clan is assembling there.”
“So about two hours, if all is well,” Maria said.
They got inside and Katarina put on some music, even if she was stuck to listening to oldies. To her, all the music was oldies.
“I can drive WAY faster than that,” Katarina said proudly.
Keith felt his blood pressure start to rise. “Katarina,” he began; he, Guelph, and Gerald were in the backseat; Maria was riding shotgun.
“Wait… your broom!” Katarina said.
“It’s in luggage one,” Maria said.
“Time to BURN RUBBER!” She peeled out, taking the turn as she sped up, then roared through the streets of Worcester. Oh yeah.
******************
Katarina roared up the M1, dodging cars, as four police cars chased after her. “Dammit, this never happened before,” she said, forgetting she’d been playing racing games, which had no cops.
“A lady shouldn’t swear,” Keith chided her gently.
“I suppose if I conjure my Wizard Atlas, someone might notice and we’d be in trouble,” Maria said hesitantly.
Gerald produced his wand, mumbled a bit, then conjured it out of her suitcase. “You can blame me,” he said grandly. Knowing his status would ensure minimal punishment.
“You’re always so sweet, Gerald,” Maria said warmly, then began studying it. “Okay, in five miles, we can enter an invisible road. It eventually leads to York.” The invisible roads had been created before the flue network had made bopping about so common. They weren’t always maintained well. Only a wizard would see the turnoff.
The cops were getting closer, so Katarina put the pedal to the metal and pulled ahead. Gerald conjured a book and began flipping through it. Then he cast a spell and laid the book in his lap.
The exit came up and Katarina changed across three lanes, then roared down it; as she did so, a burst of rain lowered visibility on the M1.
“Thanks, Gordo,” Maria said, then her eyes widened.
He sighed. “A prince should protect fair maidens like you and Katarina.”
Keith mumbled something about maidens.
King Python, who was actually a cute little grass snake, now came out of Maria’s blouse and licked her cheek; she whispered to him, her voice making the sussurating noises of Parseltongue, the language of snakes; she had a natural talent for it.
“Hey! Ask him if he can sing Union of the Snake,” Katarina said; she’d been saving this joke ALL SUMMER.
He began singing it; you couldn’t understand the words, unless you were Maria, but the tune was unmistakeable.
Katarina blinked, then grinned. “Okay, that’s even better,” Katarina said.
Gerald sat tensely; his fear of snakes had only been made worse by nearly dying at the hands of the Basilisk. While Katarina had learned swordsmanship as part of her plans to *not die*, since her character was not good at magic, the moment where she’d driven the Sword of Godric Gryffindor into that thing was one of the proudest of her life. Then Maria had healed everyone who had been poisoned and turned to stone.
“I’m sorry, Gerald,” Maria said, sounding guilty.
“You need to get over it. King Python is a sweet little boy,” Keith told Gerald.
Sometimes, Katarina could imagine she understood King Python. Right now, he was urging her to look where she was driving.
She turned back in time to see she’d nearly driven off the road into a tree. SCREECH.
Okay. Everything was going to be okay.
**************
“You can’t just conjure money! You could destroy Britain’s economy,” her father said. “Also, what are we going to do with this car????”
“I have the perfect solution,” Uncle Mark said. He drew his wand and waved it; the car shrank down to Matchbox car size. “Tada!”
Katarina put it in her purse. “Problem solved!”
“Okay. We’re all here.” All twenty-three surviving Claes were here, ready to go, with various friends and hangers-on.
Katarina now hugged Anne, who smiled quietly. “Thanks for bringing my luggage.”
“Okay, we all get up at 6 AM so we can grab some decent camp ground,” Katarina’s father said. He looked at Keith, then pulled Keith over and whispered to him.
“I have a room set up for you and Katarina tonight,” her mother said warmly to Maria. “Agatha assures me there will be *no* trouble with ash monsters this year.” She sighed deeply.
“It’s okay, I can handle ash monsters,” Maria said confidently. “My magic is good at that.”
“They terrify Katarina,” Keith shouted from where he was talking to his father. His adopted father; Katarina could see Keith’s birth father, Coleman Claes, with some woman he’d picked up somewhere, as was his wont.
“I’m not scared of them now,” Katarina protested, but remembered the visit to her aunt where they’d gotten into the room on a cold winter night and tormented her until her mother had driven them off, when she was much younger.
“Don’t worry,” Maria said to her firmly. “I’ll protect you this time.”
Now Katarina was embarrassed, but also pleased. “I know you will,” she said softly.
But surely her aunt had sprayed for the damn things this time!
****************
Harrowedge Manor made spooky noises *all night*. But it was an old family home. So Maria drew a circle around the bed and it then glowed softly with light. “This ward will keep them out.” She laughed softly. “It still amazes me that magic is real.”
“Yeah,” Maria said. That was part of how she had charmed Gerardo in the game; growing up magic, it was all normal to him, but he would learn to see it through her eyes of wonder. On their route.
Katarina was unsure which route they were on. But I could see if she’s into one of them tonight, she realized.
“You’d better ward the path to the bathroom and the bathroom. They love to strike innocent young girls there,” Katarina said darkly.
King Python hissed softly and got into the bed, hiding himself in the sheets.
Maria laughed softly and drew a ward on the floor across the room to the door to the bathroom. Then Anne helped them dress for bed and went to go sleep herself.
“You should probably ward Anne’s room too,” Katarina said.
Anne looked embarrassed. “I will be fine.”
“Unless you’re off to snuggle with someone, you shouldn’t be left unguarded,” Katerina said. “Those stupid ash monsters think they are clever.” But she had her sword in her luggage. She was ready.
Sadly, Dumbledore had not let her keep the magical sword, but it was a *Gryffindor* sword, after all.
She pulled the nice warm sheets up over her body and laid on her back. Maria did the same. “Umm…”
Katarina pulled her in close. “The ash monsters hate warmth, so we’re safer if we snuggle, like…” Like she’d done with Anne on that awful night.
Dammit, this could be a doom flag for both of us, she thought, suddenly paranoid. A *super* bad end.
“I’m safe with you,” Maria said softly, and Katarina smiled.
Normally, blam, she would have slept but every tiny creak and noise told her the *ash monsters* were coming for her. The only time she had strong magic was when she was really angry or really scared and she worried she’d send the whole place up like a torch if she wasn’t careful. But without her wand…
She felt King Python twine himself around them. Their arms, anyway; she petted him gently and he made what she knew was a happy noise.
“Oh, NATURAL gas,” she said, suddenly realizing how a ‘gas’ leak could have killed Maria’s parents.
“What?” Maria said.
“Your parents. I didn’t… did they forget to turn off the oven?”
“A pipe burst,” she said softly. “I slept in another room, so I got out in time and they did not.”
“I’m sorry to remind you,” Katerina said softly.
There were trees rustling outside; their branches were moving and sending shadows back and forth. What the…
“It’s just the wind,” Maria said softly and Katerina sighed.
“Only, it wasn’t poison, there was a spark and the house burned,” Maria said softly.
Anne’s home had burned too but that had probably been Death-eaters. Katerina was going to make whoever had killed Anne’s mother and burned her home pay one day. It couldn’t be an accident. No one… died by accident… in a game like this.
But Maria had been born to a muggle family and…
The Wizarding War was over when her parents died and she had to go live with her aunt and uncle, wasn’t it? And her family had just been muggles, though Maria’s aunt Lily had been a witch… Or was it during the Wizarding War? She wasn’t sure.
In the game, the first event of the fourth year was staying with kin of the boy Maria was closest to, before attending the World Quiddich Cup. Allegedly, there was some way to get good enough you *played* in the Cup, but even Acchan had not been able to find out how to do that.
Instead, she’s here with me, Katarina thought. I guess she must be balanced with them all. Maybe THAT is how you unlock playing in the Cup?
There was a knock on the door. In the game, the boy who you were closest to came by. Now I’ll know who she’s closest to, Katarina thought.
“I’ll get it,” she said and ran to the door, only then realizing she had left the ward and it *could* be the ash monsters.
It was actually her Uncle Coleman, Keith’s birth father. Sans floozy.
“Keith’s dithering around in the library; I told him not to hold back but you know how it is. So you’re going to have to go to him.”
Wink.
What?
He then gave Katarina a thumbs up and ambled away.
What?
Katarina felt totally confused. Coleman normally only appeared once, when you went to see Keith compete in a Care of Magical Animals contest. Keith got really embarrassed, but he was… sleazy but nice. Did that make any sense?
That would be in year five and you only got it if you were still on the Keith path.
Katerina saw him a half dozen times a year at various family events, far more than the game.
“Keith’s birth Dad wants us to go meet Keith in the library or… something…” Katarina said. “It might be a prank.”
Maria threw on a nightrobe over her pajamas and Katarina did the same and then Maria conjured a ball of light. She could do wandless ‘light’ magic, which ranged from simple balls of light to basically freaking out and blasting Death Eaters through walls. But mostly was healing and driving off dark spirits. Her patronus was especially powerful. Gerald had freaked out at seeing a giant version of King Python; Katarina laughed softly at the memory.
Then he had laughed at Katarina’s patronus – a nimble monkey. She’d been embarrassed at first, then decided to hell with it, what else symbolized her better?
The floors creaked and the house moved in little ways and she could hear the wind now as they crept through the hallways to the library. Keith was in a nice plush chair by one of the bookcases, clonked out with a book on his face. The walls were lined with bookcases and Katarina wished she could read them all.
She gently shook Keith. “We’re here.”
Snore.
She shook him harder. “Keith, wake up! Maria, make sure the book isn’t evil!” That damn diary had nearly taken Anne from her and Katarina would never forgive it.
Maria’s eyes widened and she quickly grabbed it and threw it to the table, then waved her arms; white light rushed down on it and… nothing happened, save that it cast Keith’s shadow on the wall.
“Bwurhsi?” Keith mumbled.
“He’s possessed. Speaking in tongues,” Katarina said frantically.
It was fortunate that white magic flooding him did no harm; it was bad that it put him back to sleep as he relaxed.
“Maybe we’d better just get him to bed,” Maria said.
She helped get him onto Katarina’s back; years of farming and swordfighting and Quiddich meant Katarina was quite strong.
Then Maria led her down the hallway to what Katarina believed would be Keith’s room.
In fact, it contained Gary, who now sat up and stared at them as they carried Keith in; Gary was shirtless and Katarina tried not to stare, while Maria turned red and blundered into Katarina; Keith woke up with two women fallen on top of him.
“What… how…”
They were still piled on him when the door opened again; Aunt Agatha was in the doorway. “What is going on here?”
“We just were taking Keith to bed,” Katarina said.
The look on her aunt’s face told her this was the worst possible thing to say for some reason.
Gary was shaking with his… was he laughing at them???
Maria looked like she wanted to bad end because it would be better than this.
Katarina and Maria were soon dragged off back to their bedroom.
“Young ladies cannot let themselves make a lot of noise at night and then get caught in a boy’s room,” she said firmly. “People will *talk*.”
A half hour of lecture later, she tucked them into bed and Katarina said, “But people talk all the time.”
Maria laughed softly. “We should sleep before we get into more trouble.”
“Those stupid ash monsters had better leave us alone,” Katarina grumbled.
*******************
Katarina woke to the sound of a chime. Five humanoid figures made out of ashes were trying to break through Maria’s wards. Katarina reached down and tried to get her luggage open, fumbling around as Maria stood on the bed, arms waving, reinforcing the wards. “I couldn’t find these in the Bestiary but here they are,” she said softly.
“They’re real! I know no one but Anne believed me but they’re real!” Katarina said.
The first thing she grabbed was Snakey. Snakey had begun its life as an ‘Anti-Gerald’ weapon, in case of that bad end, but it had been refined into Katarina’s greatest work of magic. Snakey was an animated attack Slinky; Ron’s dad had given it to her as a Christmas Present after the Basilisk incident; Ron’s older brothers had helped her hone it into a defense weapon; George had told her that she had restored his faith in humanity by suggesting it.
Basically, Snakey was a compressed magical artificial snake with a giant spring inside it; when you opened the can with a command word, he sprang out and released knockout gas in the face of his target.
Ideally.
She took one of the ash monsters in the chest but he became woozy and she now pulled out her sword. His arms came off before he recovered, crumbling to ash; the others pulled back while he stumbled around and she took his head off.
They lurked out of range of her sword and began sending off sparks and things began to burn.
Katarina grabbed her wand and shouted. The wrong spell. A cream puff appeared and flung itself at the target.
Another trick Ron’s brothers taught her. The cream puffs were pretty terrible ones… or she might have just shot them into her own mouth until she got sick.
She could learn from experience.
The cream puff slammed into the ash monster, which looked confused.
At this point, Jerry and Keith came charging in, wands in hand. “What the hell?” Jerry said, staring, while Keith grimaced.
“So they were real,” he said softly. “Aquam Vitae!” he shouted and water sprayed like a hose from his wand onto one of the creatures; it dissolved into sludge and the three survivors charged right at Jerry and Keith. Another one died in a second spray of water and Jerry hit them with a pushing hex, which caused them to explode into burning ashes everywhere, then Keith hosed down the room with water, putting the fires out, but also soaking Maria and Katarina in the process.
Keith then rushed over to them. “Are you okay?” he asked Katarina frantically.
“Who sent those things?” Jerry demanded of the now ash-smeared and water-soaked walls.
“I don’t know,” Maria confessed and looked at Katarina.
Anne now reached the doorway; her mouth opened, but only incoherent noises came out.
“Are you choking, Anne?” Jerry asked, worried.
“Family…. Coming…” Anne managed to say.
“My family is under attack?” Katarina said in a panic.
Then a half-dozen of her aunts and uncles and cousins showed up, and then more, all staring at everything soaked, including their nightclothes, though they had enough layers that it was just uncomfortable. Aunt Agatha waved her hands, words tripping and clogging her mouth.
“Sexy,” cousin Cameron said, then his father headlocked him and dragged him off for a lecture. More kin piled in.
“What… have… you… done…” Katerina’s mother said.
“I’m sorry, I hosed down the ash monsters and made a mess,” Keith said.
“Keith, I know you always take the fall for Katerina’s errors. So this can’t be your fault because you wouldn’t hose down an entire room with water for nothing,” Katerina’s mother said, striding through the room. “Everyone go to bed, I have to eat my child’s empty head.”
“The ash monsters were *real*,” Jerry said urgently.
“Not you too, I know all about you, Jerry,” Katarina’s mother said.
She now herded him and Keith out and sent Maria with Agatha to get her dry and into clean clothes.
“Honey, I know you’re excited to go back to school and be with your friends, but… what did you *do*?” she asked.
“There really were ash monsters,” Anne said. “Keith overdid it, but he did hose down the room. Katarina was just defending herself and her friend.”
“Young ladies don’t wave swords around either,” her mother said sternly. “That’s why we have wands.”
“Swords never play tricks on me,” Katarina whined.
Katarina’s mother turned to Anne. “This house is not haunted by ash monsters.”
“Nonetheless, they were real and the children fought them off,” Anne said firmly.
“Anne saved me from them when I was little,” Katarina said softly.
“They were real,” Maria squeaked out.
“Let’s just get this cleaned up,” Katarina’s mother said wearily.
Anne’s magic handled that well and Maria was soon brought back clean and dry and red in the face. “You can’t really… with three people at once… right?”
For a moment, Katerina thought her mother might explode into a million bits. Then she said, “At your age, it’s best to be careful. Even spells aren’t totally reliable.”
Maria looked like she might just keel over and die herself.
“Do what with three people at once?” Katarina asked.
“Have a contest to see who can eat the hottest pepper,” her mother said quickly.
“That’s me! And I’ll take on all comers!” Katarina said proudly.
“Of course you will,” her mother mumbled. “Your father loves hot peppers too.”
“Unf!” Katarina declared. “Dad and I should challenge you all tomorrow, then.”
“I can’t handle spicy food, I belch horribly,” Maria said weakly.
“I am going to bed and if anything wakes me up, I will cover *you* in cheese,” Katarina’s mother said, then fled.
“Well, let’s get some sleep,” Katarina said. Tomorrow, we check all the flues.”
“For… oh, for ash monsters?” Maria asked.
“I mean… it’s the logical source of an ash monster, right?” Katarina said. “I bet too much use of the flue causes like a magical overload and makes them.”
Maria looks thoughtful. “Hmm, maybe so. Let’s rest.”
*****************
They awoke in the small of the night to the sound of scratches on the window; it was a big black dog. Katarina crept over, wand in hand, just in case, Maria behind her, also armed.
The dog jumped in, then turned into a man. Sirius Black. “I recognize smells around your house. There have been Death Eaters in this area.”
“Uncle Sirius,” Maria said, then hugged him. He’d been best friends with her aunt, Lily Potter, who had been killed by the Death Eaters, and she thought of him as an uncle.
“THEY sent the ash monsters!” Katarina said.
She told him what happened.
“My aunt’s security should have noticed something, though,” Katarina said.
“It didn’t notice *me*,” he said. “She chintzed on it.”
“She doesn’t put enough cinnamon in her buns either,” Maria said, shaking her head. To her, this was a crime.
She did not understand why Sirius now covered his mouth and rolled around laughing. He finally recovered, then his eyes widened slightly. “Duke Ades was your grandfather,” he said softly.
Katarina blinked. “I… don’t get your train of thought. But yes.”
He got this odd half-smile. “You should watch out for Malfoy,” he said. “Your mother did a job on his Dad, back in the war.”
“I know, Mother told me about it,” Katarina said. “His clique drives me crazy sometimes.”
“He can’t be trusted,” Sirius said wearily. “Anyway, I’d better go; if I’m caught here, there will be hell to pay.”
Maria laughed nervously. “I wish you could stay,” she said softly.
“Turn into a dog so I can cuddle you,” Katarina said.
“Best I not,” he said. “You’re getting past the age where you can cuddle just anyone, you know.” Then he looked at Maria. “Just cuddle her.”
“Well, of course,” Katarina said and Maria turned red.
Sirius dogged out and jumped out the window; Katarina shut it. “Better strengthen the wards. I’ll try and think of an excuse to warn everyone.”
“Okay,” Maria said and got to work.
****************
“Death eaters threw eggs at your windows,” Katarina’s mother said dubiously.
Katarina had conjured the eggs. You had to summon food or it would vanish in your stomach. But this didn’t NEED to stick around a long time.
“They didn’t throw themselves,” Katarina said.
Katarina’s Mother looked at Maria.
“It’s totally true,” Maria said frantically.
Katarina’s Mother sighed. “Come eat your breakfast.”
******************
“Katarina would have eaten the eggs instead of throwing them,” Jerod pointed out.
“Don’t remind me,” Katerina’s mother mumbled.
“She’s *still* doing that?” Aunt Agatha said, horrified.
“Well, we should keep an eye out for trouble. Sirius Black *did* escape from Azkaban and he could come around causing trouble,” Katarina’s Father said. “He probably has some mad plan to revive Butthead.”
“Please don’t use that name either,” Uncle Mark said weakly.
They were all eating pancakes, sausage, eggs, and sliced apples.
Katarina just stuffed her face, having given up trying to convince anyone he wasn’t a criminal. Dumbo… Dumbledore had believed her.
Her heart was still disappointed he could not use his ears to fly. Though she *knew better*.
Uncle Coleman gave her a thumbs up. She didn’t know why but it probably portended ill.
I should call him ‘the Wizard Formerly Known as Butthead’, Katarina realized, laughing maniacally and spewing her food.
Her mother buried her face in her hands, while her father cleaned it up. “I’m sorry, Aunt, Uncle, everyone,” Katarina said. She still followed the five second rule but spewing food was rude even back in Japan.
An embarrassing argument over whose fault her behavior was ensued.
*****************
Anne had helped Maria and Katerina change into their team support clothing. She merely put on a badge herself, but dressed them both in green and red.
“Quiddich would probably make huge amounts of money if it was shown on TV,” Maria said.
“Ludicrous bank,” Katarina said.
“Secrecy laws forbid it,” Anne said firmly.
“I know,” Maria said.
“This is going to be *so cool*,” Katarina said excitedly. “Especially for you, Maria. You’ve never seen anything like it!”
“I have watched the Football World Cup,” Maria said. “Uncle Vernon loves Football.”
“Any idiot can kick a ball, but not just any idiot can play Quiddich,” Katarina said. “It takes a special kind of idiot.”
Anne said nothing.
******************
Maria’s eyes caught when they went inside the Claes family tent; it was basically a giant mansion on the inside, when on the outside… well, it was about twenty by ten meters. Not a *small* tent.
But the flap opened into a huge dining area; you could see a kitchen; there was a staircase to an upper story and various doors and…
And she got her own bedroom, well, one shared with Katarina, but that was fine by her. One wall was lined with books and the other wall had a small oven and a fireplace and a pantry cabinet and… everything she needed to make some treats.
“I had Dad put that in for you,” Katarina told her.
Maria smiled brightly. “I’ll make something nice for dinner. The formal matches start tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah, there’s a couple of exhibition games. There’s going to be a Bulgarian team taking on *goblins*,” Katarina said, then sighed. “I got in so much trouble the first time I visited Gringott’s.”
“I didn’t think Goblins could use brooms,” Maria said hesitantly.
“Goblins can use magic just like us,” Katarina said. “They were banned from using wands, but that just means they pour their magic into *making* things. I expect Goblins are hella broom-makers and that they probably can put on a great show on the Quiddich Pitch. Also, I think every Goblin has some kind of wandless magic they can do. They can probably do other stuff the hard way. I don’t know why they got banned from using wands.”
“I feel like they’re so cranky because they get dumped on a lot,” Maria said hesitantly.
“Makes sense,” Katarina said. “I’m going to read something. The Bulgarian-Goblin match is after lunch. You can make some treats or read or… wait! You totally haven’t seen all the stands and shops and everything! It’s like Diagon Alley times five!”
She took Maria’s hands and they went out to hit the merchants.
******************
Anne trailed behind them, towing a multi-leveled cart to hold everything. Katarina would have blown all her allowance by now but Maria had restrained her with a reminder of treats for sale on multiple days.
“So much stuff…” Katarina said weakly, feeling the money calling to her.
Maria was eating sausage on a stick; she’d gotten Katarina one as well.
They now came to a bookstand, where Sophia was busy studying each book carefully. The bookseller saw Katarina. “Back off! If you spew on my books, you will have to buy them.”
Katarina nearly lost it on the books, but forced herself to quickly chew and swallow. “What are you talking about?”
The Daily Prophet had a picture of her spewing enough food for five people all over her kin. It wasn’t THAT bad.
“This says ‘Artist’s Recreation’!” Maria protested.
“It’s a good way to avoid a suit,” the bookseller agreed. “But I need my books clean.”
“Katerina loves books and would not do that,” Sophia said. “But let’s go check out Ironclaw’s stall.”
“No, wait, come back!” the man said, watching Sophia walk away from a stack of ten books, as yet unbought.
Sophia was trembling slightly. “Are you okay?” Maria asked, worried.
“I wanted those books but I couldn’t let him insult Katerina,” Sophia said. She looked back ruefully.
“Ironclaw will have some good stuff,” Katerina said.
Ironclaw was actually named Ernie, Katarina was pretty sure, but his ludicrous outfit helped him stand out in a sea of ludicrous outfits. A wrought iron half-mask, a glove with claws, a stop sign strapped to his back… it was kind of silly but he had great books.
Sophia ended up buying ten books; Anne put them on the cart and then they wandered around together, looking at everything.
****************
“Nicol has been trapped listening to our Uncle blather on and on and on,” Sophia said. “I had to fake fainting to escape.”
He’s getting dangerously handsome, anyway, Katerina thought. This was no place to freeze up staring at someone.
They were studying jewelry; it all proclaimed allegiance to various teams. “I want this Limerick Limericks hairpin but I need to save some money,” Katarina said weakly.
Maria and Sophia’s hands collided as they held out some cash to her. Then they both laughed softly.
“I’ll get this and you can make me some treats later,” Sophia told her.
“Deal.”
Katerina soon had an allegedly lucky Limerick Limericks Four-Leaf Clover over one ear.
Maria also got one for herself. “Since I didn’t spend any wizard money all summer, I was able to save up for this but there’s so many things to buy.”
“Wait, how do you get wizard money, Maria? I never thought about it,” Sophia said.
“I have a small scholarship and that goblin I saved gave me an annuity. Half of it gets reinvested to grow the annuity, so each year it pays me more money and half goes into my expenses fund,” Maria said; her voice was… a little odd. Like she was imitating someone. “So I have some spending money but I have to be careful.”
“Wow, you sound like Uncle Andrew,” Sophia said, amazed.
Katarina could handle spending an allowance but had little knack for finance. She ruefully remembered the time her casino had somehow gone bankrupt in that game the first fifteen times.
“You do know that it’s national teams, right?” Alan said.
The three of them started; it was Alan and Mary, both decked out in England’s colors. “Mary!” Katarina said, hugging her. “Now we just need Nicol and Jareth.” Her eyes crossed.
“I know,” Alan said, frowning. “I don’t regret it now.”
He had survived by being hidden inside a garbage can; he had long resented this.
“I sometimes wonder if someone stole an ‘e’ from Nicol,” Katarina said.
“Nicole is the girl version,” Sophia said.
“Or Nicola,” Alan said thoughtfully.
Katarina felt as if an entire country had just opened up before her. Blond and Blonde! I get it!
So if Alan turned into a girl… Alana. Which meant Alanna Morisette was… no, not that she was Alan but they had the same name.
So if I was a guy, I would be Katarin, she thought. Might be important, just in case.
“Father went to the all-nun exhibition game, but that seems like a bad idea to me,” Mary said.
“Someone narced me out to the Daily Prophet,” Katarina said. “It was an *accident*.”
Mary’s eyes flashed. “They’re such a scandal rag lately.”
“They claimed I was cavorting with three women! They’re all my cousins!,” Alan said angrily.
“I know,” Mary said, patting his shoulder. “We were going to see about getting some lunch, since Alan’s chef isn’t doing lunch and mine is doing lobster and I don’t want seafood.”
“You can come to our place. We’re having roast beef and the good potatoes,” Katarina said excitedly. “We should probably rescue Nicol and… where’s Jereth?”
“Off with friends,” Alan said, waving his hand vaguely.
“Let’s bust out Nicol, then,” Katarina said.
“We may get trapped, unable to escape,” Mary warned her.
“Uncle is very hard to get away from,” Sophia said.
“You have to be bold,” Katarina said.
******************
“I’m not a kidnapper!” Katarina shouted as she fled through the maze of family tents, Nicol over one shoulder, as half a dozen of his family’s retainers chased them.
“I can walk,” Nicol said. He made no effort to get down, though.
Katarina ran into her family’s tent-palace and let the door guards sort it all out, placing Nicol on an empty bench. “Okay, boys on this side, ladies on the other,” she said. “Keith!”
He had sat down by himself but now hustled over to them.
“I have to see the Goblin exhibition,” Katarina said. “Ireland’s first match is tomorrow morning, so I have to get up early. I’m counting on you, Keith.”
“Father will make sure of that,” he said.
They then had lunch and talked about the matches to come.
*****************
Katarina was watching the Goblin-Bulgaria Exhibition match (currently tied 150-150) when she suddenly intensely felt like she’d forgotten something. Like someone was going to do something.
But nothing exploded, so she decided to check her notes later. Maria was cheering for the Goblins, because she was so full of kindness.
Katarina had to fight the set of instincts that told her the Goblins would suddenly get even with her for three years ago. It had been an honest mistake!
Maybe I have played too many RPGs, she thought.
It would be so much easier if save points existed inside the universe.
“Who’s that guy?” Alan asked, studying the Bulgarians. Alan watched Quiddich but he’d never gotten into as much as some of the others had… he was too good at falling.
“Viktor Krum, one of the youngest to play in a World Cup ever. He’s *amazing*,” Mary gushed.
Alan blinked at her.
“Well, he is!” About five minutes of Quiddich statistics ensued.
Wait, is HE unlockable, Katarina wondered. Where he stays at Hogwarts and maybe becomes the unlockable… but he would be a Gryffindor and Ron is the unlockable Gryffindor, I think.
“I really am a fan now,” Mary mumbled, a little embarrassed.
Alan smiled at her. “Your enthusiasm is fetching.”
“Fetching what?” Katerina said, feeling she missed something.
Maria laughed softly but did not explain.
“Attractive,” Nicol said to Katerina.
Ahh, so she has some points for him after all, Katerina thought. I mean, he has for her!
And I forgot to ask Maria! Maybe before supper.
*****************
The Goblins were leading, 420-400, when suddenly three brooms burst into flames and they began death spiraling towards the stands. Maria rose and ran towards it, even as everyone fled where it was heading to. Katerina whipped out her wand and fired off a pushing hex, only it was actually one that put the target in a clown suit. “AAAAAAAAA.” She yelled as Alan and Nicol and Keith formed a human shield to keep the mob from trampling her, Mary, and Sophia.
“Maria!” she said, suddenly realizing she couldn’t see her.
The goblins were glowing white as they came down, and now one of the Bulgarians dove and managed to pull one of them off his broom; a second broom crashed into a water tank, and the third hit the stands. Katerina winced, closing her eyes.
There was fire and smoke and… Maria was in there.
“MARIA!” Katerina began slamming her way through the mob as it fled, pushing wizards about with the strength she had far in excess of most wizards and witches. Nicol and Alan flanked her with Keith to Alan’s right and Sophia and Mary behind them.
She reached the edge of the fire and Keith began putting it out. “We’re in trouble if they figure out we were using magic,” he said.
“Doesn’t matter, I’m always in trouble anyway and at least we can’t lose points for this,” Katerina said. “Much better than the time I got in trouble for the flying sandwich.”
She would never accidentally cover Snape in mayo again. She enjoyed living.
Jerry reached them through the crowd just as the flames parted; Maria had been healing herself and the goblin faster than they could burn but now her clothing was ruined and Jerry immediately threw his cloak over her. The goblin she was holding was only half-conscious. But alive when he should have died.
“No wonder… it’s you…” he mumbled before passing out.
“Sleep and heal,” Maria said soothingly. “Thank you so much, Jerry.”
“That was no accident and the Bulgarians aren’t dumb enough to blatantly cheat and Goblin items don’t fail,” Jerry said, his face stern and his eyes so cold it made Katarina shiver. The black hearted prince was still part of him, though sometimes he could smile so happily and be… just happy.
“Someone probably wanted to ensure they won a bet,” Nicol said. “I must report to Father. Sophia, come with me.”
His father was one of the major secretaries at the ministry but Katarina *still* couldn’t remember which one.
“Maria, I’ll send you a new dress, okay?” Sophia told her.
“Thank you,” Maria said. “We have to find the others and be sure they’re okay.”
They could see wizards lifting the one who hit the water tank out and now Krum flew down and landed beside them; his goblin was still glowing; Krum’s jacket had burned up and he lost his hat but he was otherwise unhurt. “I am *very* angry,” he said and Maria stepped back. Krum sighed. “Not at you. Whoever thought we could not win without *cheating*.” His voice reminded Katarina of Jerry’s dark side.
“Pound-for-Pound, are you okay?” the carried goblin asked.
“I’m alive, the Child of Light made sure of it,” he mumbled. “Heron-call can’t swim, he will need help.”
Heron-call floated through the air over to them; four officials had him. He was wet all over and lost his hat and shoes but was otherwise fine.
Maria tensed; the penalties for kids using wands outside their homes during the summer could be… harsh.
“On behalf of the staff, we’ll take all three of them,” one of the wizards said. “To their base and ensure any needed treatment.” He was a middle-aged man in striped robes, the mark of a referee. “Hammerfall, I’m sorry.”
“Whoever did this has to pay for it,” Krum said angrily.
“They will,” the referee said. “You kids should get back to your tents; we have to make sure there won’t be any trouble before tonight’s exhibitions.”
“Goblins ensure all debts are paid with interest,” Hammerfall said sternly. A little more gently, he said to Krum, “We can see about a rematch later this year.”
“Good,” Krum said. “I hate to leave things unresolved.” He turned to the referee. “I will carry him.”
Hammerfall let himself be carried and the other two goblins also got carried by the officials.
“I’m glad I could save him,” Maria said softly.
“I’m stunned you got through the mob to him,” Jerry said to her.
“I learned how not to be noticed and pass unseen before I got any formal wizarding training,” Maria said softly.
Mary patted her shoulder. “Let’s go get you into some proper clothing that isn’t damaged, take a bath before dinner. We need it.”
“We can all bathe together!” Katarina said excitedly.
“Your mother would murder us,” Jerry said, though he sounded sad about this.
“Ladies only,” Mary said, a twinkle in her eye. “Boys, you’d better get pretty for us.”
“Father will want to hear about this, Alan,” Jerry said to him.
“Yeah,” Alan said softly.
Keith went back with the ladies to the Claes’ family tent, while the others peeled off.
****************
“Maria, that was so brave but also insane,” Katarina’s mother said to Maria as she washed Maria’s hair.
Mary was helping Katarina and Anne was assisting everyone as needed.
Keith was off in the men’s bath.
“I couldn’t just let them die,” Maria said softly. “Let them… burn up. What use is magic if you can’t help people?” Her hands were shaking.
“If I’d had some plants to work with…” Mary sighed.
“If I had a hammer, I would hammer in the morning,” Katarina said with a little bit of glee.
“I learned that lesson,” her mother said dolefully. “Fortunately, the officials are pretending they didn’t notice anything about your underage wand use, but this is going to be all over the Prophet. Pretend you know *nothing*.”
“Yes, mother,” Maria said and Katarina’s mother smiled.
“You are such a delight,” Katarina’s mother said.
“We are just chopped liver,” Mary said to Katarina and they both laughed.
“You’re a fine young lady who doesn’t eat food off the floor or cover herself in fuzz,” Katarina’s mother said.
“The fuzz was an accident,” Katerina mumbled.
“You should tell them about how you covered Malfoy in cheese,” Maria said softly.
That kept Katerina’s mother busy until they were all clean.
*****************
The remaining exhibitions were all cancelled to everyone’s frustration but the show would go on tomorrow.
The worst of it is over, Katarina thought.
There would be a bullying incident, maybe, on Day Three. But Katarina already had a plan for that.
Everything else mostly gets glossed except for that, though you can go… we have to try the Quiddich Simulator tomorrow! Ireland wouldn’t be playing *all* the time, right?
They’d get tired, fall off their brooms, die.
Yeah, everyone has to rest some time.
*********************
‘Father is paranoid and keeping me in,’ Sophia sent to Katarina by her owl.
Well, Katarina could understand that.
Sophia was very squishable. Katarina now had a flashback to the time she’d managed to knock a bookcase on herself and Sophia.
Oww!
“Fortunately, my bed can hold three; we’ll just have to snuggle,” Katarina said.
“No objections,” Mary said, grinning.
“Fine with me,” Maria said, smiling.
They soon got changed and fell asleep.
******************
Katerina awoke to find Mary and Maria holding hands over her stomach. That’s so sweet, Katerina thought.
Only now she couldn’t get out of bed to go without waking them up.
“HAAAAAGIS,” she yelled in a panic; they both woke up and rolled out of bed onto the floor. “Ack!”
She’d just meant to pretend to a nightmare.
Wait, did this mean you could unlock MARY when playing as Maria?
Or was this a friendship hand holding like she’d done with both of them all the time?
Or probably a joke… ‘Mary’ and ‘Maria’ holding hands with such similar names.
They both rose, confused.
“I’m sorry, I had the death by haggis nightmare and now I have to go to the bathroom,” she said and fled to do her business.
Anne had stumbled in when she returned. “I’m so sorry, just a bad dream,” she told Anne.
“Eating just before bed does that, you know,” Anne said to the bedpost.
Katarina helped her get to bed, then got back in and took each of them’s hands because she wanted a friendship hand hold too.
“Was there a chime or did I imagine it?” she asked. Every so often, she would hear a bell for no apparent reason.
“Ding ding,” Mary said groggily, then giggled.
She drifted off to sleep.
******************
Katarina awoke to Anne’s gentle shaking. “You need to rise so you can breakfast before the first game.”
Somehow they had gotten moved around so now her face was on Mary’s legs and Maria’s head was on her legs. And King Python was sleeping atop her head.
Anne gently lifted him and put him on Maria, who now woke up.
“Willow-san is eager to see us,” Mary said.
She’d somehow tamed the monster tree; Katarina didn’t know how but it let her climb it, as long as Mary was there and it was a *great climb*.
“He can talk to you at a distance?” Maria said amazed.
“He can now,” Mary said proudly. “My green magic isn’t as strong as your white yet but it’s getting stronger.”
Katarina was a little embarrassed; her brown magic had never gotten much stronger; she could trip people with it but not much else. And she either used the wrong charm or messed it up half the time with normal magic.
Maria turned a little red. “Thank you, Mary.”
Anne said, “I am glad I know woven magic, or you three would go broke having to buy new clothing.”
“Don’t forget the time I accidentally stripped Alan instead of taking the skin off my chicken,” Katarina said.
“I think we should all forget that,” Anne said quietly, while Maria’s eyes crossed and Mary laughed.
“Sophia nearly fainted every time she saw him for a month,” Katarina said gleefully.
“Let’s get you all dressed,” Anne said firmly.
They were soon full of food and off to watch Ireland kick some ass.
*****************
Most of Day two was a blur of watching Quiddich and having fun. Katarina was a little more tense on Day three, knowing someone would take a shot at Maria; in the game, this would be interrupted by one of the boys, depending on which way you ran.
I forgot to ask her again, Katarina thought.
They were checking out a flower stall while waiting for Ireland’s next match when Katarina (accompanied by Keith and Maria) was approached by Geraldo. “I’m going to stick with you today,” he said. “Father is worried about your safety.”
“I can’t believe someone so blatantly wrecked the match,” Keith said, shocked.
“It hasn’t happened in eighty years,” Ron said.
Katerina jumped. “When did you get here?” she asked.
“We wanted to see Transylvania in action and it dragged on *forever*,” Hermione said. She looked at Maria. “That was you, right?” she said softly.
“What was me?” Maria said, confused. “I didn’t do anything to the game.”
“Were they up against San Marino? They’re always amazing on defense so the game takes *forever*,” Katarina said.
Hermione blinked at Katerina, then said, approvingly, “Good logic. You’re right.”
“HAH! I was right!” Katerina shook a triumph fist in the air.
“Who saved the goblins,” Hermione said.
“It was,” Maria said.
Hermione patted her shoulder. “You did a really good thing.”
“I couldn’t let them die. Not…” Maria suddenly shook and began crying.
The flashback, Katerina realized. That should have happened yesterday. But she was ready. “It’s going to be okay,” she said, embracing Maria; Keith patted Maria’s shoulder, while Ron looked sympathetic.
“Your parents blew up in a gas leak, right?” he said.
“Ron,” Hermione said tensely.
“Hey, I actually know what that is,” Ron said. “I didn’t think it was *laughing gas*.” He looked right at Hermione.
“My parents have an electric oven,” she mumbled, embarrassed.
“Yes, that’s how they died,” Maria said softly. “The neighbors saved me, then I went to live with my aunt and uncle.”
The fire… she didn’t say anything… Katerina suddenly felt like a terrible friend. “You were super-duper brave yesterday,” she said firmly.
“You were amazing,” Keith said to her.
“You’re the one who put the fire out,” Maria said weakly to him.
“You saved three people at once,” Keith said. “And you’re not even to the peak of your power yet. None of us are.”
I had better not be, and I need to work on my shark protocols some more, Katarina thought. But she pushed the worry away to focus on Maria, who needed her here and now.
“Want a sausage on a stick?” Ron said, offering his to Maria, who devoured it to everyone’s surprise. Ron smiled a little at that.
“Thank you, it was tasty,” Maria said weakly.
“I hope you’re all ready for this upcoming school year,” Hermione said.
“You can’t even imagine how ready I am,” Katerina said. She’d carefully plotted out how to deal with each major crisis to avoid any doom flags.
Hermione looked at her dubiously, but of course, she didn’t know the extent of Katerina’s planning, virtually none of which was academic.
“Katerina!” a boy shouted through the mob.
“Fred!” she shouted. Ron winced, but she didn’t noticed.
Fred and George came running up and she hugged them both. “It’s so good to see you!” she said excitedly.
She caught Fred’s hand when he tried to drop a gas bomb down the v neck of her dress and dropped it into his shirt. He pulled this with Maria in the game. Depending on how you handled it, you got different points with the various boys, ranging from being saved by Jerry to dropping it down Nicol’s shirt and he thanks you for the nap.
She didn’t quite understand THAT one.
He staggered, laughing and George nearly fell on Ron, who got yanked out of the way by Maria.
“Thanks,” he mumbled to her and she smiled.
“You two are so irresponsible,” Hermione grumbled.
Katarina stumbled around laughing. “No one catches me SIX TIMES with the same trick.” Five… yes. Six, no.
“You’re the best, Katarina. You could learn from her, Ron,” George said to his brother.
“I’ve learned lots of things from Ron,” Katarina said. “I actually win a third of my chess matches now!”
She’d learned all the standard openings but she often then struggled once she couldn’t run on a script. But she had gotten better. She and Jerry played every week and she’d beat him any time now.
Ron smiled that goofy smile of his. “You’re a hell of a quidditch player too.”
They grabbed each other’s hand and squeezed. “No mercy on the pitch!,” they both shouted, then laughed.
Right as she let go, cheese began to rain down on her from above, slices of yellow cheese as two dozen owls dumped it on her.
Then a tide of giant rats poured across the area towards her. PETTIGREW’S REVENGE, she realized. He was probably still mad she’d tripped him and he’d banged his head before she’d had to run away from Professor Lupin rampaging.
Who knew how many people he’d hurt because she couldn’t stop him???
She reached out with her magic instinctively and the ground rippled and rose and formed a huge stone bell, trapping them inside; she felt all wobbly and her scar ached.
“Holy shit, you’ve been practicing,” Ron said. “Man, it’s dark in here.”
Hermione produced a flashlight. “We’re sealed in. We shouldn’t talk until we can get an airhole, at least.”
“I guess a firecracker would blow up in our faces,” Fred mused.
“Two part prank. Well executed,” George said. “I can hear them scratching at it.”
“Also, using magic outside Hogwarts, you could be in trouble,” Hermione continued.
“Stop talking,” Ron said. “Katarina, we need air.”
“So tired,” Katarina said. “Napping now.”
She fell onto Fred and drifted into dreamland.
*****************
Katarina didn’t expect to find Nicol’s father, the Minister of Magic, with him. “Katarina, you shouldn’t be using magic unsupervised,” he chided her. “Your father made a good case for you, and…” He sighed. “Maria was saying it’s the strongest she’s ever seen you do magic.”
“I panicked. Did someone catch the rats?” Katarina asked hopefully. She was back in the Claes tent, on her bed.
“They fled,” he said and she sighed.
No proof. Only she, Ron, Hermione, and Maria had seen Pettigrew. If only they could have caught him.
“Are you okay?” Nicol asked her.
“I’m fine,” she said. “The wall protected us perfectly.”
“I was impressed,” Nicol’s father said. “I thought you could only produce very small shapings of the Earth.” He had recently been elected Minister of Magic. Katarina was boggled by knowing the leader of the magical community in Britain.
“Normally,” she said. “I can’t say I’m good at magic. I’m not a squib, but something always goes wrong, it seems like.”
“You do fine with potions,” Nicol said.
“I have had plenty of accidents,” she mumbled. “But thanks. Potions are like cooking and I can handle cooking.”
He’s so handsome, she thought. He’s going to be stupidly gorgeous by the time this game ends… she suddenly wondered if the world would just go on or come to an end when the game did or what.
“I suspect the Malfoy boy but I have no proof and we can’t touch Malfoy without proof,” Nicol’s father said.
“It makes sense,” Katarina said. Surely the Minister of Magic could do something, though.
“Let me in!” she could hear Mary telling whoever was guarding the door.
Nicol’s father touched his temples for a moment. “I never expected she’d grow up to be such a firebrand.”
“People are surprising,” Nicol said.
“Come in,” Katerina shouted and Mary was soon tackling her.
“Are you okay?” she said frantically.
“I’m fine,” Katerina said to her, ruffling her hair; Mary now relaxed.
“Sir, the Malfoy boy is running through the camp, screaming about meatloaf in his pants or something,” a man said, sticking his head in.
Nicol’s father was very silent for a few seconds, then said, “I’ll go talk to Mr. Weasely.”
“I can’t imagine Mr. Weasely putting… oh,” Katerina said. Fred and George. Maybe Ron too. Not their dad.
Mary smiled in an angry way. “He had it coming.”
Nicol’s father looked at her and she wilted. “It wasn’t me, though if I had thought of it, I wouldn’t hesitate.”
“Sir, poison ivy has overrun the Malfoy tent,” another man said, sticking his head in.
Mary laughed softly, then Nicol’s father took her for a lecture on responsibility.
Maria now appeared as if from nowhere and sat down in the now empty chair. “I brought you a shishkebob,” she said, passing it to Katerina. “I’m sorry, Nicol, I didn’t know to bring you anything.” She dug in her purse. “Cookie?”
“Yes, it is,” he said, but then he began eating it.
“I feel kind of drained, so assuming it’s not already Day Four, I think I should stay here and rest. But you can go watch a game if you want,” Katerina said.
But then she might get bullied and I won’t… “Nicol, you’ll watch over Maria, right?”
“Of course,” he said.
Sophia now came in with a big bowl of soup. “I made you some dinner,” she said. “I thought we could just have soup and read.”
“That sounds amazing,” Katerina said.
In fact, she clonked out after eating and getting ten pages into Lady Chatterly’s Laundry.
********************
She awoke the next morning, starvingly hungry and with Maria and Sophia cuddled up to her. Keith was sleeping in a chair nearby; she slid out of the bed, gently picked him up and carried him to his bed, worried he would ache all day from sleeping there.
Then she got enough breakfast for three, brought it back to her room and woke her friends. It was crumpets and fried eggs and oranges. With honey, butter, and jam.
“Sunny-side up, just like I like it,” Sophia said.
This was an actual year two plot point!
“Scrambled for me,” Maria said, smiling.
And sunny-side down for Katerina.
“Ireland is today, right?” Sophia said. “I mean, Ireland vs Peru.”
“And Bulgaria vs Zimbabwe,” Katarina said. “The loser bracket plays in the evening and tomorrow, the final!”
“Jerry’s not happy England got knocked out,” Sophia said. “There was a brawl, right?”
“Someone on the English team showed up in yellowface against China and mocked them, and it just turned into a broom riot,” Maria said sadly. “Jerry was very unhappy.”
I wonder if that means she favors Jerry… I can’t ask her with Sophia here. She might get too embarrassed.
I need to know which path we’re going to go down, Katerina thought.
“Maria, there are two boys… a boy and a man to see you,” Anne said, coming in.
“We’ll see them once we get dressed,” Katerina said. Oooh, maybe this will be a flag event.
She had to look her best for that.
****************
It was Mr. Frappemaker, a goblin. “We’ve added to your annuity,” he told Maria. “In gratitude for saving three of our players.”
“I just did what a person should do if they can,” she said, looking down at his feet.
There was a moment of silence, then he patted her shoulder. “You did more than most wizards would. Maybe your generation will finally make things right.” He sighed, then handed her a manilla folder. “Anyway, your new holdings are here, the full records for you, along with your summer report.”
“Thank you, Mr. Frappemaker,” she said, then pulled out a small wooden box. “This is for Mr. Kinderhook. It needs to stay closed until he eats it.”
She made a treat for goblins? I guess her treat-making powers are unparalleled, Katarina thought.
“A Knickerbocker Glory,” Mr. Frappemaker said. “He’ll enjoy that.” He took out some tape and taped it shut. “Just to avoid trouble.”
He soon said his goodbyes and Sophia asked, “Who is Mr. Kinderhook?”
“He’s my portfolio manager. The court appointed him but we get on well,” she said.
Katarina wondered if *she* had a portfolio manager.
**************
The other visitor turned out to be Alan. “Father had to ensure Malfoy didn’t use Mary to play tetherball,” he mumbled. “Are you two okay?” he asked.
“We’re fine,” Maria said, smiling warmly.
“Anyway, Jerry is doing something ‘important’, so he told me to stay by your side and guard you, just in case,” Alan said.
“I can handle myself,” Katerina said. “But I’m happy to have you come with us. We’re going to go watch Ireland kick some ass!”
“Jerry is chewing leather,” Alan said. “He’s pissed. There’s a rumor going around that someone is trying to rig the World Cup.”
“We should keep our eyes out for trouble, then,” Katerina said.
Alan nodded. “Let’s go.”
*******************
Katarina, her whole family, Keith, Alan, and Maria all reached the gate together. To her surprise, Viktor Krum was standing at the gate. He studied them all and sighed, but then approached Maria and held out a box to her. “This is for you. For doing the right thing.”
It had a golden necklace with a white lily pendant. “Mother thought you were most like a lily,” he mumbled, but then more loudly said, “And lilies are a symbol of white magic.”
“You don’t have to give me this,” Maria said, but she smiled at it.
“Take it, I can’t wear it,” he said. “But it suits you.”
She took it and donned it immediately.
Alan gave her a thumbs up. “Looks great.”
“Thank you, Mr. Krum,” Keith said. “Good luck.”
“I fear luck for me will be at your expense,” Krum said, then sighed. “I fear more sabotage. Someone wants to ruin the World Cup.” At that he got a look like Gerald at his angriest. “I will not allow that.”
“Everyone will have their eyes open,” Katarina’s father said to him. Then he said something Katarina couldn’t follow at all.
Krum’s eyes widened. He replied… it must be Bulgarian. “Your daughters are good women, Master Claes.”
“Ma…” Katarina began.
“I’m very proud of all my children,” he said.
“Well, good luck to you all. Ireland is going to need it,” Krum said proudly, then took his broom and took to the sky. “I’ll see you again when I win!”
“BULGARIA IS GOING DOWN,” Uncle Coleman shouted as Krum flew off.
Krum’s laughter was full of joy and belied his fierceness.
Another black-hearted prince who can also be kind, Katarina thought.
I think Maria just unlocked him. I don’t even know what his paths are like or how this can work if he leaves Hogwarts after the… man, we haven’t even gotten to the Triwizard Tournament! Katerina felt her head spin.
Normally, he goes to the ball with Hermione… oh no, Maria stole Hermione’s first love flag!
“A lily,” Katerina’s mother said softly.
“What?” Katerina asked.
“Nothing,” she said. “Let’s find a seat. We were supposed to have a box but it collapsed over night.”
*****************
Katerina’s father had to use magic to let them hear the announcers but they were able to watch the game with only minor incidents. At half-time, the Minister of Magic, Nicol’s Father, publicly chided Mary for overrunning the Malfoy tent with vines and Katarina felt terrible for her.
The Bulgarians had the worse of it, though Viktor Krum managed to take the Snitch towards the end, so they lost by 10 points instead of one hundred and sixty.
Afterwards, there was celebration everywhere in the camps; even the Bulgarians were busy celebrating having gotten second place. (Zimbabwe had lost to the Peruvians, who had speed on their side. So third place Peru and fourth place Zimbabwe.)
Uncle Coleman was ecstatic, handing out various trinkets to everyone. “I made out like a BANDIT,” he said.
Most of Katerina’s crew were with her, though Ron and Hermione were at the Weasley tent and Jerrod was with her father doing something. HIS father. Mary was being lectured by her mother.
“You shouldn’t gamble,” Katarina’s father chided him.
“And this is for you,” Uncle Coleman said, handing Keith a book. He winked, then gave cheap rings to the ladies of Katerina’s crew and books to Alan and Nicol.
He then went off to get drunk with his lady.
Keith opened the book. His eyes widened.
“What’s this book?” Sophia asked. “I’ll trade you if it’s interesting.”
Keith made noises; Nicol studied his book briefly and tucked it into a robe pocket. Alan turned red and shoved his into a pocket.
Katerina said, “You realize we’re curious now.”
“We have to tickle them until they confess,” Maria said, then covered her mouth, embarrassed.
Nicol pulled out his book, somehow turned it edible and ate it. Keith laughed and laughed but had built up resistance; also, Sophia was a lousy tickler. Nicol showed no emotion but shook slightly as Maria tickled him. Alan… was doomed. Katerina was a tickling machine who knew his every weakness.
“It was a book of sex advice!” he shouted loudly.
Then he fled in a panic… he tried, but Katerina grappled him.
They were still wrestling when Viktor Krum arrived with a tall, strong boy who bore some resemblance to him. “Everyone, this is my cousin, Nicolaj Tsvetsnitsa; we both go to Durmstrang, but we will be visiting your school this year for the Triwizard Tournament.”
He gently nudged Nicolaj, who said, “We’re coming to invite you to our party.”
“Sure,” Katarina said. “Daaaaaaaad.”
“It’s fine if Keith goes with you,” her father said.
“Keith is my brother,” she said, pointing to Keith, who was now tickling Sophia.
“Is she part-Veela?” Krum asked softly.
“Yes,” Katarina said. “But she’s very nice.”
“Veela can be nice,” he said. “Every kind of person can be good or terrible. But right now, it’s time to celebrate.”
This is going to be great, Katerina thought.
*****************
She was pretty sure she was drunk but not sure how drinking tomato juice had *made* her drunk. Maria was giggly. Keith had organized a line dance of his earth magic golems; Krum’s mother was trying to teach him how to make them do some Bulgarian dance.
Katerina had danced with a dozen Bulgarians, including people whose name she didn’t know and who couldn’t speak English. She was giddy.
And then Mary and Jerrod stormed in. “We have to go, now,” Jerrod said. “Before the trouble starts.”
“Trouble?” Viktor said; he had been dancing with Sophia, after dancing with Maria.
“Tell the adults. The World Cup is about to be attacked,” Jerry said.
There was a distant explosion.
“And here we go,” Jerry said softly. Then his face hardened. He picked up Katerina. “We’re going.”
“I can walk!” she shouted.
She could not walk.
The following was a blur of fire magic, white magic, golems and explosions; Katarina’s head ached and she could see the Dark Mark floating in the sky. She kept cursing everything and clinging tightly to Jerry, utterly embarrassed.
Finally, he got her to the Claes tent. Her father had the portkey ready and the last thing she remembered was him taking her hand and touching the enchanted map.
Then she was at home and Jerry took her to bed. He kissed her forehead and laid her down. “Maria, I leave her to your care.”
“Of course,” Maria said softly. “Are you going back?”
“I have to,” he said.
Katerina dimly remembered this from the game but her brain wouldn’t focus and her scar was trying to kill her.
“BUCKET!” she shouted.
Anne was there like a rocket. There went dinner.
Then sleep took her.
****************
“Maria is staying with us for safety’s sake, until school starts,” Katarina’s father told her at lunch the next day.
“Sounds great,” she said. She would have been happy to have her whole crew move in.
She just wanted to be with them all forever.
And not become shark chow.
Which is why she’d asked for shark sandwiches. If she had to risk death by shark, she was going to eat them first.
That, she was good at.
END CHAPTER ONE