A Contradiction of Terms

Chapter One: A New Neighbour

It was an average Wednesday morning on Privet Drive. The sun rose gently over the houses, illuminating the neatly trimmed lawns and shrubbery. Every house looked the same, even with attempts at new and

original ornamentation. A lawn can only hold so many ceramic gnomes.

A few days after Harry Potter arrived home from school, a removal van parked in the driveway of Number 11, Privet Drive, and the removal men began to unload a houseful of furniture and boxes, effectively blocking traffic by piling them on the pavements and lawn, which itself wanted trimming. The neighbourhood gossips set their tongues wagging, because while the house now had things in it, there had been no sign of inhabitants.

"I heard it's a single woman," Mrs. Next-Door said, sipping tea in Aunt Petunia's sitting room.

"Has she called on you?" Aunt Petunia asked. "She's been living in the house a week, and hasn't called on us yet," she sniffed.

"Uppity. Putting on airs, that's what I say."

Then, the following Saturday morning, a woman stepped out of the house and headed over to Number 4. Aunt Petunia was peering though the curtains in the kitchen and saw her crossing the street to her house.

Very quickly, for the words "speed" and "Dudley" were never synonymous in the Dursley household, Aunt Petunia rounded her family up and had them ready in the sitting room when a sound rapping came from the hall.

"Get the door, boy!" Uncle Vernon snarled. Harry frowned, and debated scuffing the newly waxed floor on his way to the front door, but decided against it. It had taken him a long time to wax it the day before, and he didn't want to be spending another afternoon like that.

"Hello," he said, looking at the woman. She was wearing hiking boots, denim trousers, an Arsenal tee shirt and a red and grey flannel shirt. She looked vaguely American. The woman glanced at him, cocked her head to one side and said:

"You must be Harry Potter. I've heard about you." Any suspicions of being American were alleviated; she had a slightly softened Liverpool accent.

"You have?" Harry asked. "From who?"

"Mrs. Figg. Aren't you going to invite me in?" she asked, grinning. He was blocking the door.

"Oh, yeah. Come in."

Harry led the woman into the sitting room.

"Hello," she said brightly, extending her hand. "I'm Katherine Hanover-I just moved into Number 11."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Petunia simpered. "My name is Petunia Dursley, this is my husband, Vernon, and our little pride and joy, Dudley."

Katherine stifled a snort. "Little" the wrong word, and "enormous" would be an understatement. The boy took up a whole sofa!

"Won't you sit down?"

"I'm sorry, I can't. As much as I wish this was a social call, I have a lot of work to do at home and I came to ask a favour."

"Certainly," Petunia said, a sour smile on her face.

"Make some tea, boy!" she snapped at Harry. He scowled, but did as he was told.

Miss Hanover looked like she was about to slap Aunt Petunia. Instead, she smiled and changed the subject.

"Mrs. Figg told me that you had a boy living with you that was good with housework-may I borrow him for the day? I promise I'll have him back in one piece."

"Of course you can!" Uncle Vernon boomed. He continued sotto voce. "Just to warn you-he's a bit funny. Don't believe anything he says. If he misbehaves at all, send him home and we'll take care of it."

"Thank you. I don't expect he'll be much trouble, but I'll keep your advice in mind."

-~-

As they were walking over to her house, Harry began to talk to his saviour.

"I'm sorry about them. They don't like me much."

"I could tell. Don't worry, whenever you're at my house, you can talk about whatever you like."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it."

"Miss Hanover-"

"Call me Kate."

On impulse, Harry asked, "Kate, what if I were to say I was a wizard?" He instantly regretted it. "I'm in trouble now," he thought. "Just my luck. I find a nice Muggle, say something stupid, and now the Ministry'll come and wipe her memory clean. Never mind getting me expelled from Hogwarts."

"I'd say that you're a very lucky young man, and that you shouldn't talk about that much outside my house. I get the feeling that such a revelation would be unwelcome here."

They crossed the street in silence.

-~-

As Kate was unlocking her front door, Harry noticed a bright green eye staring at him from under a bush. Upon further investigation, he saw that it belonged to a rather large tomcat that had a patch over his other eye. The cat slunk out of the bushes and stalked over to Harry, intent on sniffing his trouser leg.

Kate was having a difficult time unlocking the door, as she had the key upside down, and didn't see the cat sniffing around Harry's ankles.

"Is he yours?" Harry asked.

"He who?"

"The cat."

"Oh. Yes, he is. His name is Cavalier Jack. Don't worry, he won't bite you." She went back to working the lock. "Damn key."

"May I try?"

"Sure. It's been so long since I've had to use keys, I think I've almost forgotten how." Harry opened the door easily and all three scrambled inside.

"Where did you live before?"

"In America, with a tribe of Native Americans. I learned how to survive without m-" She paused for just a split second. "Many of the modern conveniences."

"How long did you live there?"

"Almost 15 years."

"Wow! Why did you came back?"

"Um, I was asked to come and teach a class at a school around here, and I wanted to get re-accustomed to Britain. A lot has changed since I was here."

Cavalier Jack blinked at her. She made a face in return. While Harry was helping unpack boxes, he told her a little about Hogwarts, the Weasleys, Hermione, Dumbledore, and all the teachers at school. He left out a lot of information about fourth year. She was eager to hear all about the people there, although she didn't press.

-~-

Before they knew it, the sun was setting.

"I had better send you home. Here," she said, producing a wallet from one of the drawers. She pulled out a 10 pound note and shoved it into his hand. "For all your help. Now, don't tell Dudley I gave you this. And don't expect it every time I ask for your help."

"I won't!" Harry said, curbing his excitement a little. He stuffed the money into his pocket. "Um, Kate, is it all right if I come back tomorrow? I can, uh, wash the windows." Kate snorted.

"Sure. Come over whenever you like, so long as you tell the Dursleys where you are. Somehow, I don't think they'll mind."

Cavalier Jack jumped up onto the counter after the door closed and sat next to Kate.

"That was interesting," he said. Kate gave a start.

"Don't do that to me, Cav!" she exclaimed. "What was interesting?"

"How you nearly told him you are a witch."

"I know, that little bit. I got carried away."

"Yes, and if you're not careful, you'll end up doing something very stupid, like leaving Knuts laying around. He'll get suspicious."

"I did not leave any Knuts laying around!" Cavalier slyly opened the drawer where she had put her wallet. In it were several small bronze coins. Kate swore.

"You don't think he saw them, do you?"

"No. And if he did, he probably thought they were pennies. You have to be more careful, Kate. You know what Dumbledore said."

"Yes, I know. And if I were to listen to him all the time, I wouldn't be here," she gestured, indicating the house, "At all. I'd be at Hogwarts."

"You'd be closer to Sirius," Cav said, nonchalantly cleaning his paw. Kate blushed scarlet. "And Remus."

"I haven't really spoken to either of them since Harry's christening."

"How could you? Remus was constantly moving around, and Sirius was in Azkaban for 12 years. I'll bet that if you sent either of them an owl, or even went yourself," he paused, stretching. "They'd welcome you with open arms. Or would that be open paws?" the cat smirked, leaping off the counter before Kate could hit him. Kate followed the cat to the living room, sat down in a large arm chair, and let him jump into her lap.

"I don't like keeping all these secrets from Harry, though. I feel dirty."

"And right you should, Kate. You're the boy's godmother, which makes you a legal guardian. You're teaching at his school in the fall, you're a witch, and your godfather is Dumbledore. Not to mention that

you played Quidditch professionally in America. And you're in love with the boy's godfather."

"I am not in love with Sirius."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are. Trust me. I'm a cat, I know these things. One look into his big, brown, puppy eyes, and you're a lost woman," Cavalier said, a note of distaste in his voice.

"It's been over 13 years, Cav. I doubt he even remembers me."

"I'm sure he does. If not, he will once you're back at Hogwarts."

"It'll be good to go back," Kate said, changing the subject. Cav noticed and sighed.

"Yes, it will. I can't wait to pay Mrs. Norris back for my eye."

"Dumbledore told you not to piss her off."

"Shall I quote you about Dumbledore?"

"Point taken. I miss Hagrid. I wonder if he ever got his dragon."

"Oh, I hope not. The last thing I need is to be looking out for a dragon. I won't mind toying with Nearly Headless Nick. He's always good for a bit of fun."

"Well, just don't get on the Bloody Baron's bad side. I don't want Peeves hanging around too much."

"Yes, mother," Cav said sarcastically.

Later that night, as Harry lay on his bed, he thought of his great fortune at having met Kate Hanover. She was pretty cool, for an older person. Over the course of that one day, she had shown him more consideration than the Dursley's had ever shown him in his entire life. And now he had money in his pocket, real money that he hadn't asked for. Harry smiled up at the ceiling. He was looking forward to going back there tomorrow.

Chapter 2: Happy Birthday, Harry!

"I've got some business to take care of out of town," she said, a few weeks later. It was nearly the end of July. "Do you think you could come over every day and bring my mail in and feed Cav? I'd really appreciate it."

"Of course. How long will you be gone?"

"Maybe a few days. I'll be back by the end of the month."

"Okay. Um, just for the record, my birthday is the 31st. Not that I'm asking for presents or anything, I just thought you'd like to know."

Harry tried to hint without hinting and failed miserably.

"No problem. I'll pick something up for you. You don't by chance need skivvies, do you?" she grinned.

"No," he smiled, blushing lightly. He knew she was joking, but it was still embarrassing.

"There goes that idea. What about socks? I hear those old castles can be a bit drafty." Harry laughed outright. "Socks it is then. I'm leaving very early tomorrow, so you don't have to come see me off. I

know how young people treasure their sleep."

The next morning, Kate appeared in Arthur Weasley's Ministry of Magic office.

"Kate Hanover! What brings you to my humble office?" Arthur said, getting up from behind a cluttered desk.

He shook her hand, then pulled her into a friendly hug.

"I decided coming here would be better than going to the Burrow. How are Molly and the kids?"

"Wonderful, just wonderful. Of course you know about Charlie, Bill and Percy; the twins are starting their 7th year at Hogwarts, Ron his fifth, and Ginny her fourth. I hear you're teaching there this coming

year!"

"Yes, a survival course. I'm just wondering how it'll go over with some of the parents; they're sending their kids to a school to learn magic, not how to live without it."

"Oh, don't worry. You know how to handle them."

"That's true. Only I don't think that hitting them over the head with a big stick will do much." Mr. Weasley laughed. "I see Fudge has managed to muck up again," she said finally. Arthur sobered.

"Yes. I could lose my job for saying this, but," he whispered conspiratorially, "I think we need a new Minister of Magic. Dumbledore is right, we need the help of the giants in this. You-Know-Who will try to get them on his side."

"It was a black day for the wizarding world when Fudge decided not to listen to Dumbledore," Kate said grimly.

"Have you ever thought about running for the office?" Mr. Weasley asked suddenly.

"Not really. Lately, though, like in the past month that I've been back, I've seen just how ineffective the Ministry is. I'd love to have the opportunity to make some changes."

"It won't be easy," Arthur warned. "Fudge has some staunch supporters. Especially the ones that prefer Ministers who turn blind eyes to certain matters."

"I know. Should I?"

"Yes, you should. I think a lot of people would vote for you. You're a former professional Quidditch player and Hit Wizard, you helped bring Sirius Black to justice," Kate's grin wavered. "You're bright, logical, god-daughter of Dumbledore-" She cut him off.

"Don't put that one in my list of qualifications. Supporters of Fudge will use that against me."

"That's right. What other qualifications do you have?"

"I lived with American witches and wizards for nearly seven years. And I was involved in politics over there for a while."

"Good! Allies. And you're a people person, honest, trustworthy, and you have strong moral fibre. You can also differentiate between good and bad advice."

"Gosh, cut it out. You're making me blush! Alright, I'll do it. But only with you as my campaign manager. I don't think anyone else could paint me as such a nice person. Now, for the real reason I came here..."

-~-

It was mid-morning when Harry rang the bell at number 11. When no one answered, he let himself in. He was a little disappointed, however, since it was his birthday, and Kate had promised to be back. Cavalier was nowhere to be seen in the front hall, like he usually was.

"Cav?" he called. A sudden whisper and giggle alerted him to a dark corner of the living room. Squinting into the gloom, he saw Cavalier's one good eye glinting at him.

"Who's there?" Harry asked, wishing he had his wand. Someone flipped a switch and the room was bathed in light. Standing in the corner were the whole Weasley family, minus the oldest three, and Hermione.

"Happy birthday, Harry!" they all shouted. Harry was too surprised to say anything intelligible.

"How..."

"I wrote to Hermione (She said it Harmony) "And she helped arrange it." Kate said. Cav rolled his eye. He knew that wasn't the truth.

"How did you all get here?" Harry asked.

"Mr. Weasley had my fireplace temporarily connected to the Floo Powder network. It was quite a surprise to see 7 people walk through the fire."

"Enough talking, let's eat!" one of the twins exclaimed. Kate laughed.

"Fine. I have hot dogs and hamburgers in the fridge. Let's all go outside. It's too nice a day to stay indoors. I have some tables and chairs we need to set up."

Mr. Weasley and the twins took it upon themselves to take care of the tables, while Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat and talked. Mrs. Weasley, Kate, and Ginny were in the kitchen, preparing the food for the party.

"She's pretty cool for a Muggle," Ron said.

"Yeah. She doesn't believe a thing the Dursley's say about me, and I can come over whenever I want."

"What does she do for a living?" Hermione asked.

"She told me that she'll be teaching a survival training course at a school nearby."

"Survival training? Like camping and that rubbish?" Ron exclaimed.

"I think so. She didn't go much into it, though. She learned from Indians in America."

"Wicked! D'you think they scalped people?"

"Ron!" Hermione cried in disgust.

"What?"

"Never mind," she said, rolling her eyes. If they had been paying attention, they would have seen Cavalier Jack silently laughing, his feline shoulders shaking with mirth. "What I want to know is why the Ministry of Magic hasn't done anything about her. I mean, they're supposed to keep Muggles from knowing about us."

"You worry too much, Hermione. One Muggle isn't as bad as a whole bunch of Muggles. She hasn't told anyone else about it," Harry said.

"I hope it stays that way, for her sake. And I hope your father doesn't tell anyone at the Ministry," Hermione said to Ron.

"He won't. Miss Hanover promised to answer any of his questions about Muggle stuff. I'm surprised he hasn't started grilling her already."

"Speaking of grilling," Harry interjected, "Let's go outside and see if the food's ready."

-~-

"Thanks, Kate. That was the best birthday I've ever had," Harry said as the day was winding down.

"You're welcome. I have one last gift for you." She pulled a small, handmade leather pouch on a rawhide lace from her pocket. "This is a medicine bag. Wear it always, and put little things that mean something to you in it. I've started it for you by putting in a feather from an eagle. Keep adding and replacing the items you put into it; give stuff away. It's very powerful magic to the Native Americans. It might come in handy for next year."

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it. One more thing. You'll be going home with the Weasleys for the rest of the summer. I'll go over with you and get your stuff when it's time to leave."

"Oh. Okay," Harry said, oddly disappointed. He usually longed for when he could go to the Burrow.

"What's the matter? You don't want to stay here all summer, do you?"

"It's just-this is the best summer I've had. I'm not sure I want this part of it to end."

"While I'm very flattered, Harry, you know that all good things must end. Go with the Weasleys, have fun with your friends for the rest of the summer. Write to me as often as you want."

"And you'll be here next summer." Harry began to feel more optimistic.

"Well, maybe not. I can't promise that I'll be here. But regardless, you will see me again. I can promise that much. Keep an eye on the skies."

-~-

That night, at the Burrow, Harry scribbled out a letter.

Dear Sirius and Remus,

I just wanted to let you know that I'm at the Burrow with the Weasleys, and I'll be here until school starts. I had a great birthday party at my friend Kate Hanover's. She lives on Privet drive, near the Dursleys. She moved there just after school finished, and she asked if I could help out around her house. I've practically lived there all summer, until now. I like her. Hermione, Ron, and most of the Weasleys were there. Harry

As Sirius read Harry's letter, one thought occurred to him.

"It can't be her. There must be dozens of Kate Hanovers in Britain." His mind went back to that night in 1981, cloudy pictures forming and dissipating in rapid succession.

Peter Pettigrew had just blown himself up.

He turned and began walking away when nineteen and one Hit Wizards Apparated around him. Kate was one of them; one of the wizards who delivered him to Azkaban. She had left for America shortly after that, having officially been drafted into the Manitou Marauders Quidditch team from the Falmouth Falcons. He remembered her eyes clearly, the bright blue clouded by doubt and disappointment.

"I'm innocent, Kate," he had said. She had smiled grimly and nodded.

Yet she hadn't tried to clear his name; not like she could, being an ocean away.

"It's not her," Sirius said with finality, putting Harry's letter away.