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KATES' FIRST TWO MONTHS at Hogwarts flew by so quickly, she almost suffered from whiplash just thinking about it. Dean was in Gryffindor with them too, and they were all quick to befriend the sweet but sort-of-hopeless Neville Longbottom. Hermione was one of Kates' dormmates, and whilst she wouldn't consider them to be friends, she found the other girl's fascination with magic endearing—besides, Hermione didn't have any friends, so Kates made it a point to at least be there for her.
Early on, she found a surprising ally in Professor McGonagall. As it turned out, the professor made it a point to meet with new Gryffindors who came from families like hers. It was a rare situation, sure, but the woman had told her that it happened on occasion. She wanted to make sure everything was all right and reassure her that, as she realized that first night, she'd be safe at Hogwarts.
Well, safe from that particular problem, at least. As she would come to learn, she just so happened to be at Hogwarts during its most dangerous years to date.
The Hallowe'en feast was something everyone in the castle was looking forward to, Kates included. It would be a chance to spend more time with her friends and housemates, not to mention she'd get to enjoy delicacies beyond what they were served each night. Besides, fall was her favorite time of year and the Hallowe'en decorations made her feel all sorts of giddy. Her family, unsurprisingly, never decorated for any holiday or season, so seeing decorations beyond what Aunt Jackie put out was reason enough for celebration.
"My mum and stepdad love Halloween," said Dean once Kates had brought the subject up, taking a moment to shovel one last spoonful into his mouth before setting the cutlery down with a dramatic air of finality. Their stomachs were all nearing capacity; Kates had been the first to finish and had been nibbling on a slice of cake as they talked. "They always have the house decorated for it, sometimes even more than they do for Christmas."
"My mam hates Halloween," said Seamus with his mouth full. He took a moment to finish eating before continuing. "Says it gives us all a bad name."
"I mean, she's not wrong," mumbled Neville, and he at least covered his mouth with his hand as he spoke. That was the thing about being friends with boys, Kates mused to herself, but she didn't mind it in the slightest. In fact, she found it great; her family we always so uptight, it felt good to get as far away from that as possible.
"I can't wait to see the Great Hall during Christmastime," she said dreamily, setting her fork down as she decided she couldn't possibly eat another bite. "I heard Hagrid brings in the most gorgeous trees—" Her next words were drowned out entirely as yelling erupted from the back of the hall. She was quick to identify the source: poor Professor Quirrell was running down the middle aisle toward the teachers' table, shouting words she couldn't quite hear over the chatter that filled the hall. Thankfully, everyone was just as curious as she was; all talking ceased as he reached the end of the tables.
"Troll in the dungeon!" he shouted one last time. Then, in a much quieter voice, he said: "thought you'd want to know". He fell to the ground then and there, probably having fainted. Kates' brows furrowed together.
"How did a troll—" But again her next words were drowned out. Many people started to scream and some tried to run, but no one really got anywhere. Dumbledore called for silence, and that seemed to make everyone come to their senses. No one moved, and the hall was eerily silent, the only sound being the thunder that clapped outside.
The orders were given with a calm voice, and everyone followed them immediately after they were given. Prefects began to bring their students back to their houses and the teachers made a beeline for the dungeons. Kates obediently followed the other red-and-black-robed students out of the Great Hall, but a sudden recollection made her stop just short of joining them on ascending the staircase.
Kates' thoughts flashed back to earlier that afternoon, just after their Charms class. She fell into step with Hermione, and the two of them trailed behind the group of Gryffindor boys.
"You did brilliantly," she commended the bushy-haired girl, who smiled shyly back at her.
"You did, too," was Hermione's reply. They walked in silence, and it was as they walked that they heard Ron's voice raise from in front of them.
"'It's Leviosa, not Leviosa'! She's a nightmare, honestly!" The others laughed, and Kates raised her brows reproachfully. Hermione, meanwhile, stormed off ahead of them, making it a point to bump right into Ron. Even from behind him, Kates could see his ears turn red in embarrassment.
"Don't be rude just because she can cast a Charm better than you," she called ahead to him, and he slowed to a stop, turning to face her. The others followed in suit, and had she not been so irritated, she would have laughed at the shameful looks on Dean's and Seamus' faces.
"Me? She was the one being rude—"
"How so?" snapped Kates, and each and every one of the boys present flinched, for they were not used to her being anything but incredibly kind. "She was trying to help you in the only way she knew how. You didn't think of that, did you?" It wasn't a question, and they all knew it. Ron's eyes widened, any anger disappearing immediately and being replaced by shame. Kates didn't expect a response, and she didn't wait for one. Instead, she stormed past them and went to comfort Hermione.
A shiver went down Kates' spine as she thought back. Hermione had appreciated the thought, but in the end had sent Kates on her way, wishing to be alone. She wouldn't know about the the troll; she could get hurt, or at the very least could get in trouble if she were discovered later.
Kates glanced briefly at her friends, but their attention was on getting back to the common room safely. Without hesitation, she wove her way through the crowd and ran off in the opposite direction toward the girls' lavatory.
She was slightly out of breath once she arrived, and perhaps she would have taken a moment to breathe had she not seen Ron and Harry standing just outside the lavatory, looking exhausted themselves. It was an odd sight for many reasons, none of which Kates had time to consider at the moment.
"What are you two doing here?" she asked, slowing down as she neared them. They turned to her, beaming triumphantly. What were they so proud of?
"We went to find Hermione," said Harry, and looking back she knew it had been his idea, Ron being a reluctant accomplice. "We wanted to warn her about the troll. We were looking for the girls' lavatory when we found the troll here, and we managed to lock him inside this room!" He pointed to the door, then he and Ron both frowned as they realized she going to commend them. In fact, she was about to do quite the opposite. She rushed to the door.
"For the love of Merlin," she said as she moved with much haste, and after a moment she managed to get the door opened again.
"What are you doing?!" shouted Ron. She spared a moment to face him, wearing an expression furious enough to drain all the color from his face.
"This is the girls' lavatory!" she shouted, emphasizing every word. As if on cue there was the sound of shattering porcelain and a scream: Hermione.
The ordeal was over soon enough. Kates and Harry were quick to distract the troll by throwing debris at it, and Harry got on top of him, which managed to do some good. To Kates' surprise, Ron saved the day by following Hermione's advice when it came to the levitation spell.
The professors were royally pissed off, to say the least. Ron and Harry were absolutely useless when it came to explaining themselves, so Kates stepped in, speaking directly to McGonagall and doing her best to ignore Snape's presence entirely—he already had it out for her as it was.
"Hermione wasn't feeling well, so she's been here since this afternoon. I wanted to check on her and make sure she could get back to the common room safely, and Harry and Ron followed me, worried I was going off alone to do something reckless. We got here just as the troll wandered in." Her peers gaped at her, and McGonagall wore a look that said she didn't believe her story, but wasn't going to question it. In the end, she removed ten points from Gryffindor due to Kates' recklessness, saying she expected better of her...but then she awarded ten points to her, Ron, and Harry for their bravery and selflessness when it came to saving Hermione. Only once all the professors were gone did they all let out a collective sigh of relief.
"That was a good story," said Ron sheepishly. "Made Harry and I sound a lot better than the real one does." His gaze lingered on Kates for another moment before he turned to Hermione, rubbing the back of his neck. "I, er, I'm sorry about earlier. It was rude of me—" Hermione cut him off, and in spite of everything she smiled.
"It's all right," she said, then she addressed them all. "Thank you all, really." And so the four new friends began on their trek back to the common room together. Harry, Ron, and Hermione became an inseparable group. Kates was always welcome, of course, though she tended to spend more time with Dean, Seamus, and Neville than she did with them. Still, though, she was grateful for their friendship, and she made sure they never thought otherwise. There were a lot of moments that year—and the years going forward—where Kates felt she was really making a life for herself outside her family's grip, and that night was one of them.
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