When they arrived back at the tent after retracing their footsteps through the lantern-lit woods, no one quite felt like sleeping, especially Niall, who hadn't stopped singing since Ireland lifted the Cup. And, due to the loud celebrating of the Irish, sleeping would have been impossible anyway, so Mr Weasley agreed that they could stay awake and converse about the match.
A lively conversation soon melted into dancing, cheering and celebrating as Niall demonstrated some Irish dancing, and, for the third time, the Weasley twins sang their lousy attempts at the Irish national anthem.
Ron was still in awe of Krum, and Katie couldn't blame him. Krum was, without a doubt, a tremendous flyer and spectacular player. While Ron was professing his love for Krum, Niall was doing the same for Troy.
"Kat, you shook Troy's hand!" Niall exclaimed. "I... how did that even happen?"
"I bet she's never going to wash her hands again." Harry said in a teasing manner, grabbing Katie's hand and twirling her around. She chortled and shoved him away, rolling her eyes as her cheeks heat up.
"Oh, shove off!"
Harry laughed loudly.
Outside the tent, distant screams and roars could be heard, as well as the occasional boom that sounded an awful lot like explosions.
"Sounds like the Irish have got their pride on!" Fred said.
At that exact moment, the entrance to the tent whipped open, and Arthur Weasley, who's absence Katie hadn't even noted, rushed inside. His face was pale and ridden with panic.
"It's not the Irish," he said, voice quavering, and rushed to Ginny's side. "We've got to get out of here... now!"
Katie quickly threw a jacket around her shoulders before ducking out of the tent to see the most devastating sight she had ever laid eyes on. Many of the thousands of tents had been lit on fire, the sparks of which were flying twenty feet into the air. By the light of the fire, Katie could see people running away to the woods, fleeing something that was moving across the field towards them, something that was emitting odd flashes of violent green light.
A burst of strong light illuminated the scene, and Katie could now clearly see a group of masked wizards, tightly packed and moving together, wands pointing straight upwards, marching swiftly across the field. Katie felt a cold shiver run down her spine.
"Get back to the Portkey, everybody, and stick together!" Mr Weasley shouted. "Fred, George, Ginny is your responsibility!"
Mr Weasley whipped out his wand and went to help the Ministry wizards who were flocking to the scene to try and settle the chaos. Fred grabbed Ginny's hand and, along with George, they took off across the camp. Ron, Harry and Hermione quickly followed them, but, try as she might, Katie found that she couldn't move — she was frozen in fear, watching the masked figures grow closer.
On either side of her, someone grabbed Katie's hand, and she looked around to see that it was Chris and Niall.
"We've got you, Kat." Chris said. So, with a boy on either hand, Katie ran, ran as fast as her exhausted leg could carry her. Every so often, a fire would hiss and spark, making Katie shriek, and Niall would squeeze her hand as a manner of comfort.
Her heart thumped violently against her ribcage. Katie thought about Harry, Ron, Hermione — everyone — and just hoped that they were all right. Then her mind drifted to Leo and her parents, who were camping at some spot on the other side of the field. Had they made it out alive?
Pure terror was the only thing that was keeping Katie moving. If it hadn't been for the still audible screams of witches and wizards alike, and the crackling of the roaring fires, the Slytherin's weak legs would have buckled.
They reached the Portkey at last, and Katie was relieved to find Ginny( who was crying and being cradled by Fred), George, Hermione, Ron and—
Katie's heart dropped.
"Where's Harry?"
The fires cast flickering shadows on Hermione's face, and Katie was able to pinpoint the exact moment that she realised that Harry was no where in sight. Hermione's face paled and her lip trembled.
"H-he was right behind us..."
"Christian? Katerina?"
Katie and Chris whipped their heads around to see their father, ashen-faced and sweaty, heaving himself up the slope. They rushed to his side and he pulled them both into a tight embrace. Katie's eyes desperately scanned the surrouding area for her little brother. Her blood ran cold when he eyes couldn't seem to find him.
"Leo," she said hastily. "Dad, where's Leo?"
Much like Hermione, Mr Blair's face turned a ghastly white. He snapped his head in all directions and stumbled from shock.
"L-Leo... your mother, they — they were just ahead of me, I—"
Mr Blair frantically looked around, tears of terror rolling down his face. Katie stumbled backwards but was thankfully caught by George before she could plummet to the ground. She could feel the blood draining from her face as her head became fuzzy and her vision was blurred by tears.
"LEO!" Chris was screaming, running around in search of his little brother. He fell to the ground, shaking and sobbing uncontrollably, his head buried in his hands. Niall broke away from the group and rushed to Chris' side.
Hermione had her head buried in Ron's shoulder and she too was crying. Ron had one arm around her as he scanned the area, calling out for Harry.
Katie wriggled out of George's arms and made a dash towards the campsite, but she was dragged back by her father.
"We can't just leave them out there!" she screamed, desperation evident in her voice. Hesitation flashed through Mr Blair's teary eyes. With a sigh, he pulled his daughter close to him, hugging her tight.
"I'll go find them. You stay here. I love you, Katerina."
Katie didn't get a chance to respond before her dad unwrapped his arms from around her and sprinted back into the burning chaos.
The girl turned around to face her brother, who was now on his feet, but was still shaking violently.
"We have to go." Katie said weakly. Chris gulped and nodded in agreement. Niall tried to hold him steady.
"No!" Niall said firmly. "No, there's no way I'm letting you two go back out there."
Ron finally spoke. His voice was hoarse from screaming and trembled slightly. "I'm going out there too. We need to help Harry."
"I'm going as well." Hermione said sternly, wiping the tears from her eyes. Fred and George glanced at each other, sighed in defeat, then led the group back into the burning campsite.
The screams had now died down, as everyone had run to seek refuge in the woods, and the masked men were no where in sight. Now, the only sound to be heard for miles was the crackling of dying flames and the voices of eight terrified teenagers, screaming out for Leo and Harry.
Fred suggested that it would be more efficient if they split into twos. Everyone agreed, so Katie found herself trudging through a burned down campsite, calling out for her little brother as Hermione yelled Harry's name.
Suddenly, Hermione let out a shrill yelp and latched onto Katie's arm. Katie looked at her friend, startled, to see that her eyes were blown wide and she was staring up at the sky.
Katie followed Hermione's gaze and saw, illuminating the night sky, a colossal skull, composed of what looked like emerald stars, with a serpent protruding from its mouth like a tongue.
"Bloody hell." Katie breathed. Hermione was shaking with fear.
"It's the Dark Mark," she whispered, voice quavering. "It's his mark."
Katie felt an icy shiver run down her spine as a fearful lumped formed in her throat. She gulped and grabbed Hermione by the hand.
"C'mon, we have to keep looking." Katie muttered.
As they moved cautiously across the desruction of the campsite, Katie kept her wide eyes fixated on the Mark in the sky. The very sight of it made her bones shake, and she wondered, if just the Dark Mark was making her feel with terrified, how would she feel in the presence of Voldemort himself?
Katie's thoughts were interrupted when Hermione pointed straight ahead.
"Look," she said. "It's Harry!"
Sure enough, on the other side of the remnants of a tent, Harry Potter stood rooted to the spot, staring up at the Dark Mark in the sky. At the exact moment that Katie spied him, Ron came rushing through the field.
"Harry! There you are! We've been looking all over for — bloody hell..."
Ron had clearly just spotted the Dark Mark and he, like Harry, froze up and stared at it. Katie and Hermione rushed over to the boys.
"Ron, where's Fred?" Katie asked, becasue, when they split up, Ron had went with Fred.
"We ran into George and Ginny. Ginny was crying so Fred stayed back to help George calm her down." Ron explained, not tearing his eyes away from the Mark.
Katie gulped. "Did you see my brother?" her voice shook as she spoke.
Ron's face drooped and he looked at Katie sadly. The girl felt her heart sink.
"No, I'm so sorry, Katie."
Katie sucked in a shaky breath as Harry turned around sharply, eyes alert.
"Chris? What happened to him?"
Katie shook her head. "No, Leo. My dad lost him — and my mum."
Harry's eyes saddened and he opened his mouth to speak, but was hastily cut short by his own scream of pain. He slapped his hand over the lightning scar on his forehead.
"Harry!" Hermione gasped.
Loud cracks erupted from all around the Hogwarts students, and multiple wizards appeared out of thin air. They surrounded them, pointing their wands at the four teenagers.
"DUCK!" Harry yelled, diving on top of Katie. Ron pulled Hermione to the ground and shielded her.
"Stupefy!" the wizards bellowed and sent red sparks flying at Katie, Harry, Ron and Hermione. Katie felt her hair on her head ripple as though a powerful wind had swept the field.
"Stop!" someone yelled. Katie recognised the voice. "STOP! That's my son!"
Katie lifted her head as best she could, though it was hard as Harry was still sprawled across her back, using his own body to protect her from harm. However, she could raise her head just enough to see Mr Weasley pushing past the wizards.
"Ron — Harry —" his voice sounded shaky. "—Hermione — Katie — are you alright?"
Mr Weasley helped the four of them to their feet. Katie's eyes scanned the wizards surrounding her and counted twenty of them.
"Out of the way, Arthur." said a cold, curt voice. A wizard wearing a sophisticated hat and sporting bushy eyebrows and a moustache to match strode forward.
"Which one of you did it?" he snapped, his sharp eyes darting between them. "Which of your conjured it?"
"Barty, you can't possibly—"
"You have been discovered at the scene of the crime!"
"Crime?" Harry said, seeming confused.
"Barty, they're just kids!" Mr Weasley tried to speak some sense to the wizard that Katie now knew as Barty.
"What crime?"
Like she had done to Katie only minutes before, Hermione whispered to Harry, "It's the Dark Mark, Harry, it's his Mark."
Harry's eyes flashed between the Dark Mark and Barty, who was flourishing his wand in the teeangers' faces.
"Voldemort?" Harry inquired, making everyone, including Katie, flinch. "Those people tonight — in the masks — they're his too, aren't they? His followers?"
Mr Weasley nodded sharply. "Death Eaters."
Barty glanced around at his party of wizards. "Follow me."
Before the twenty wizards could clear off, however, Harry stepped forwards.
"There was a man," he told them, pointing to a clearly amidst the crumpled tents. "There."
Barty's eyes were suddenly wide with panic. Katie noticed him gulp harshly before he and his wizards took off in the direction that Harry had pointed.
"A man, Harry?" Mr Weasley asked skeptically. "Who?"
Harry shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't see his face."
After checking that everyone was indeed all right, Mr Weasley led them back to the Portkey, a small light on the tip of his wand illuminating the path ahead of them. No one spoke. All the hairs on Katie's arms stood up as she listened to the eerie silence that enveloped the very campsite that had been alive with excitement only hours before. Her mind trailed back to Leo, and she just hoped that Chris or her dad had managed to find him.
They arrived back at the Portkey to find Chris, Niall, Ginny, Fred and George all sat cross-legged on the cold grass. Fred had a comforting arm wrapped around his little sister, and Chris looked extremely distraught. Katie saw that Chris' jeans were stained with blood and she rushed towards him.
"Chris! What happened?"
There was a gaping wound carved into Chris's thigh and blood was oozing out of it slowly.
"Tripped on a root." he explained, wincing in pain as he tried to move his leg. "I wanted to stay out and keep looking, but this one here—" he gestured towards Niall, "—insisted that we come back."
"And right he was," Mr Weasley said firmly. "All of you, grab onto that Portley. It'll be leaving in a few minutes."
Katie whipped around sharply. "I can't. Mr Weasley, please, my brother is still out there—"
Mr Weasley waved his hand, signalling for Katie to be quiet.
"I'll stay with the Ministry and look for your brother. You lot get back to Molly and explain what happened. Go — quickly!"
Reluctantly, Katie joined her fellow Hogwarts students and grabbed ahold of the musty boot. They waited for about two minutes before, without warning, Katie was being pulled forward, spinning in a howl of wind and a blur of colour. Just as she begun to feel as though she might throw up, she hit the ground of Stoatshead Hill with a hard thump.
Rubbing her head, Katie brought herself to her feet.
George pulled out his wand, "Lumos!"
Leading the way with his light, George brought the wizards and witches back down Stoatshead Hill and through the woods. They walked in complete silence — each of them too shaken by the night's events to utter a single word. Chris was being supported by Niall and Fred, seeing as he couldn't walk on his injured leg.
The moon was bright in the night sky. It cut through the gaps in the trees, bathing the damp grass is a soft, mystical light. The distant howl of a wolf matched the tone of the scene perfectly.
Minutes later, the roof of the Burrow came into view amongst the tops of the trees. Katie was surprised to see that many of the curtained windows were illuminated — the lights in the house were on, which was odd given the fact that it must have been around four in the morning.
The party approached the house and George rapped the knocker against the wooden door. There was a rumble of footsteps from within, before the door swung open and, Mrs Weasley, her red hair askew, face solemn, sporting a green dressing gown stood before them.
"Oh, thank heavens!" she cried, holding the door open and allowing the children to file in. "A Ministry wizard came about a half hour ago — told me everything. Are you all OK?"
One by one, a worried Mrs Weasley gripped the faces of each of the children, examining each of their faces for injuries and embracing them all warmly. None of them objected — they could all do with the comfort in the moment.
Mrs Weasley shrieked when she got to Chris.
"Goodness, Christian! What on earth happened to your leg?"
"Oh — err — I fell over—"
But Mrs Weasley wasn't listening. She ordered Niall to help her carry Chris upstairs to the spare bedroom, and that was the last Katie saw of her older brother for the night.
"We're going to take Ginny up." Fred said quietly. He and George then disappeared up the stairs with their sister, leaving only Katie and her Gryffindor friends alone in the kitchen.
Ron coughed awkwardly. "Will I make some tea?"
"Well, I doubt any of us will be sleeping." Hermione replied, glancing thoughtfully around at her friends.
As Ron busied himself with making tea, Katie, Harry and Hermione retreated to the living room. Katie collapsed on the couch, leaned forward and buried her face in her hands. It took all of her strength to keep from crying.
Her brother, her twelve year old brother was out there somewhere, possibly alone, in the dead of night, lost amidst Voldemort's followers. She felt sick at the thought.
A hand wrapped around Katie's shoulder. The girl looked up to see that Hermione had joined her on the couch and was frowning at her.
"Katie?" she asked timidly.
"Hermione, can you give me a hand?" Ron called from the kitchen.
Hermione rubbed Katie's back, assured her that everything would be all right, then went to the kitchen to aid Ron. Katie felt the couch beneath her shift as Harry sat down beside her. He wrapped both arms around the Slytherin girl, and she naturally lay back, curling up in his arms.
Katie drew in shaky breaths that stifled her tears while Harry's thumb rubbed soothing circles on her shoulder. Neither of them spoke. Quite frankly, they didn't have anything to say. Harry knew very well what Katie was feeling, so she didn't have to express that, and he knew better than to question her. No words that Harry — or anyone, for that matter — gave her would make Katie any better. In the moment, the best comfort she could ask for was to fall asleep in Harry Potter's arms.
And that was exactly what happened. It must have only been three minutes later, because Ron and Hermione hadn't even returned with the tea yet when Katie's eyes fluttered closed and her exhaustion took control of her. Harry heard Katie's breathing even out and he smiled, knowing that, at least for a few hours, she would be relaxed and have no worries about her brother.
Ron and Hermione entered the sitting room a few minutes later. Both of them had a mug of tea in each hand and they were talking rather loudly. They both paused abruptly, however, when their eyes landed on Katie and Harry.
Harry shushed his friends quietly. "She's asleep."
Ron nodded knowingly and placed a finger to his lips, signalling that he would keep his voice down. Hermione gave Harry a gentle and approving smile as she sat herself down next to Ron on the opposite couch.
Harry didn't touch his tea. He didn't want to move and disturb Katie, so he just watched as the steam gradually stopped rising from the cooling beverage.
Half an hour had passed when Hermione's eyelids started to droop. Yawning, she placed her mug on the coffee table and stood up.
"I take it back," she said drowsily. "I will be sleeping tonight."
Ron mimicked Hermione's actions, standing up and yawning wildly.
"Me too."
Ron was the first to leave the sitting room. Hermione had just slipped through the door when he head peeped back in.
"Oh, Harry, won't you go to bed too?" she sighed. "You look dreadful."
Harry's eyes flickered between the sleeping girl in his arms and his friend by the door.
"No," he said finally. "I don't want to wake her."
Hermione bit her lip in uncertainty, but ultimately smiled warmly at Harry. A knowing glint flashed through her eyes, but Harry chose to ignore it.
"Goodnight, Harry." she said at last, glancing between Harry and Katie.
"Night, Hermione."
Just when Hermione had disappeared through the door, Harry let out a dramatic yawn. He rested his head against one of the cushions and it wasn't long before, like it had done to Katie, sleep overtook him.
***
Katie awoke to a muffled clanging of dishes through the walls. Something was tickling her face, making her want to sneeze. Squinting through the bright light, Katie tilted her head, only to find Harry Potter's face inches from her own. His mouth hung open slightly and his eyes were shut loosely. His lopsided glasses were still perched on his nose, and he had his arms wrapped tightly and protectively around Katie.
Now that she was more awake, Katie could hear banging pots and pans and Mrs Weasley's agitated voice.
"Morning, sleepyhead." someone in the room said, a hint of mischief laced through their voice. Although she couldn't move — Harry's arms were holding her in place — Katie managed to lift her head. Fred and George were sat on the other couch, grinning wickedly at Katie and Harry's sleeping figure.
"Watcha want?" Katie mumbled sleepily. Fred and George snickered in unison.
There was a thud of footsteps. Katie heard the living room door swing slowly open, and then Mrs Weasley's angry hiss.
"What are you two doing in here? I — oh, Katie, dear, you're awake!" Mrs Weasley noticed that Katie's weary eyes were cracked open just a little and her tone softened. She rounded again on the twins and was angry once more. "I warned you two not to wake her!"
"She woke herself, mum, honest." Fred said, still grinning, as was George.
"Yeah, mum. We just wanted to be here when it happened." George's eyes were twinkling maliciously.
Mrs Weasley scolded the boys for a few more seconds before turning on her heel and marching from the room.
"Out!" she called back to them. "I want that garden de-gnomed by two!"
Harry stirred and let out a deep groan. Fred and George leaned forward excitedly.
"'S going on?" Harry mumbled, yawning a little.
He peeled his eyes open and sucked in a sharp breath when he saw Katie. He loosened his arms around her but didn't let her go altogether.
"Oh!" he said, sounding surprised. "Hi, Katie."
"Morning," Katie smiled. "Sorry about, you know, falling asleep on you."
"It's OK." Harry chuckled as he subconsciously rubbed his hand up and down Katie's arm.
Fred coughed loudly. "We're still here, you know."
It was obvious to Katie that the twins were trying to embarrass her and Katie. It almost worked — Harry became flustered — but Katie merely rolled her eyes.
"Didn't your mum want you out in the garden?" she said casually. Fred and George huffed but still didn't step down.
"So, did you too have fun last night, then?" George suggestively wiggled his eyebrows.
Katie finally sat up, brushing her messy hair from her eyes.
"Well, no," she said flatly. "My brother and my mum went missing, if I recall correctly."
This definitely shut Fred and George up. An expression of regret washed over their faces as they glanced helplessly between each other. Katie sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Without another word, she got up off the couch, wobbling on her legs a bit, and made for the door. Harry followed quickly behind her.
Mrs Weasley was pottering about the kitchen, waving her wand about. Sausages were frying themselves and cups of tea were filling without the aid of a teapot. Mrs Weasley turned around as the sound of footsteps reached her ears and grinned merrily at Harry and Katie, both of whom were incredibly groggy, with unkempt hair and dark circles under their barely-opened eyes.
Hermione and Ron were sat at the kitchen table, helping themselves to a late breakfast (it was midday). Katie caught a glimpse of Ginny's long, red hair whipping by the window outside.
Hermione smiled when Katie sat down, but Ron didn't look up from his food for even a second, much to Hermione's disapproval.
"Good morning, Harry," Mrs Weasley beamed, handing out sausages to everyone. "Did you sleep well?"
Harry blushes furiously. "Uhm — y-yeah, thanks."
Katie felt her own face heat up when Ron snook a glance at her. She quickly distracted herself with her sausages and egg. As they were eating, Ron and Hermione kept momentarily looking at Harry and Katie, but Katie decided not to notice.
"Oh, Katie," Mrs Weasley said suddenly. "Your brother is awake. He's upstairs in the spare bedroom."
Katie quickly downed her pumpkin juice. "Thank you, Mrs Weasley."
The girl made hasty work of cleaning her dishes, then hiked the stairs in the Burrow, all the way to the spare bedroom. She knocked gently and heard a groggy voice from within.
"Come in."
Katie slipped inside, shutting the door behind her. The room was very cramped — the double bed took up most of the space, and the only other things that the Weasleys had managed to squeeze into the tight are were a wardrobe and a floor lamp.
Chris was sat on the bed, the covers askew. He smiled at Katie when she entered. Her eyes trailed down his injured leg, the pant leg of which was rolled up, revealing the tight wad of bandages that were wrapped around Chris' wound.
"How are you feeling?" Katie asked and sat herself at the end of the bed.
"I actually feel fine," Chris said casually. Katie let out a breath of relief. "I was thinking that we should go back home to check on dad."
Katie nodded quickly. "Yeah, I agree, and we can find out if he found Leo and mum."
So five minutes later, the two Blairs made their was down the stairs. Chris wobbled on his leg, so Katie supported him as they descended the creaky steps of the Burrow. When they finally reached the kitchen, Mrs Weasley, Ron and Harry were they only three in the room. Their heads turned when they heard the footsteps approaching.
"How are you feeling, Christian?" Mrs Weasley quizzed, rushing to Chris' side.
"I'm OK, thank you, Mrs Weasley," Chris smiled and turned to his sister. "I can stand."
Hesitatntly, Katie unwrapped her arm from around Chris. He staggered for a moment, making Katie's breath catch in her throat, but ultimately, he regained his balance and was able to hold himself up.
"Err — Mrs Weasley?" Katie said uncertainly.
"Yes?" Mrs Weasley looked at her, smiling broadly.
Katie chewed her lip. "Chris and I were thinking that it might be a good idea for us to go home — just to check in, you know?"
Mrs Weasley's smile faded. She glanced between Katie and Chris, seeming reluctant to let them leave, but she eventually let out a deep sigh and nodded.
"I suppose you're right," she hesitantly agreed. "But you'll let Arthur go with you, won't you?"
Katie looked to her brother, unsure of what to say. He took up the burden of responding.
"I appreciate your concern, Mrs Weasley, really, but I think it would be better if Katie and I were to go alone."
Mrs Weasley sighed again. "Oh, alright," she hobbled over to the fireplace and picked up a pot of Floo Powder. "Here you are."
Mrs Weasley handed the pot to Chris, who in turn passed it to Katie.
"You first."
Nodding, Katie dipped her hand into the pot and scooped out a handful of the shimmering Powder. As usual, she stepped into the fireplace, threw the Floo Powder to her feet, and was engulfed by a roar of green flames. The familiar sickly feeling washed over her as she spun through the fire, but it was nothing compared to the churn of fear that erupted in her stomach when she arrived in the living room at her own house.
Three legs on the splintered coffee table had been snapped, the couches were torn and flipped, stuffing from the cushions lay scattered across the dirty carpeted floor, the pictures that usually hung neatly on the walls were smashed on the floor, there was a gaping hole blown in one of the walls, allowing Katie to see straight out into the garden, and worst of all, the entire building was on fire.
There was a roar of flames behind her and suddenly Chris was by her side. He gasped loudly, taking in the sight in front of him.
The smoke finally reached Katie's lungs and she started coughing profusely. Completely disregarding the danger of her actions, she stepped into the centre of the destroyed living room.
"DAD? MUM? LEO?"
Suddenly, Chris let out a scream so shrill that it rattled Katie's bones. His face had been completely drained of colour, his hand cupped his mouth, and his terrified eyes were staring at one particular spot on the floor.
Tracing his gaze, Katie's eyes found a body laying behind the couch, it's hand and head sticking out from behind the battered piece of furniture. It's mouth was open in a silent scream, it's eyes popping out of it's head with fear, it's skin as white as snow.
And then Katie was screaming, so loud that it hurt her throat. She doubled over in raw shock.
"D-dad..." she choked and, with a sudden burst of adrenalin, she screamed, "DAD!"
Shaking with horror, Katie made to dive towards her father's body, but the ceiling had begun to collapse from the fire, and Chris was acting on logic rather than emotion. He reached out, wrapped his arms firmly around his sister's waist and pulled her back. She thrashed and yelled as a waterfall of hot tears streamed down her face.
Chris dragged her back into the fireplace. She just about caught sight of the ceiling collapsing on top of her dad's body before she was engulfed by violent flames.
The Blairs flew out of the fireplace of the Burrow. Katie was sobbing loudly, shaking from the shock of the moment. There was a smash of dishes as Mrs Weasley dropped the plate that she had been drying.
Everyone just so happened to be in the kitchen now — Mr and Mrs Weasley, Harry, Hermione, Niall, Ron, Ginny, Fred and George — and they all stiffened with fright when Katie and Chris emerged from the fireplace, both of them crying and Katie hyperventilating.
There was a screech of wood against stone. Harry pushed his chair out and, like Mrs Weasley, dashed towards Katie and Chris.
"What happened?" Mrs Weasley shrieked, pale with dread. "Are you alright?"
Katie was struggling to catch her breath but she managed to force out a few words between gasps.
"Fire — so much fire —" she was crying harder than ever, "—and — my dad — my dad—!"
"What? What happened to your dad?" Mrs Weasley questioned, panicking now. She looked to Chris for answers, but he just shook his head as his lips quivered uncontrollably and he tugged at his dirty blonde hair.
"He's dead!" Katie screamed.
A horrified silence engulfed the whole kitchen as everyone went quiet, stricken by disbelief. No one spoke a single word as Katie sunk to her knees, unable to hold herself up any longer. Mrs Weasley couldn't find it within herself to even move, never mind comfort the girl. She turned sharply to face her husband.
"Arthur—" she said breathlessly. Mr Weasley, who was just as shaken as everyone else, seemed to get the message. He strode over to the fireplace, whipped out his wand, and disappeared in a puff of green fire.
Harry crouched down and pulled Katie close to him. She latched onto his shirt like her life depended on it, and he didn't know what else to do but soothingly stroke her hair. Harry looked up at his friends. Silent tears were rolling down Hermione's cheeks and Ron was pale with shock. Fred and George didn't move a muscle as their eyes blankly darted around the scene in front of them, both of them in horrified by the news. Ginny was crying, her hands clasped over her mouth, and Niall was at Chris's side, comforting him.
"Christian, dear, what happened?" Mrs Weasley asked softly, leading Chris to an armchair in the kitchen. But Chris found himself unable to answer. As he done before, he just shook his head non-stop. Mrs Weasley turned to Harry and he saw that she was crying. She nodded at him and Harry understood exactly what she was insinuating.
Gently, he helped Katie to her feet. She kept her eyes shut and was shaking her head in a similar manner to her brother. Harry led her into the sitting room, away from the rest of the people, and sat her down where she had fallen asleep the previous night. Mrs Weasley joined them on the couch. She wrapped her arms around Katie and whispered as many comforting words as she could muster.
None of it made any difference, however. Even falling asleep in Harry Potter's arms couldn't make Katie feel any better this time, because she had spent her whole summer distancing herself from her father, and now he was dead.