A Contradiction of Terms

Chapter 11: The Daily Prophet

The Christmas holidays came around, and Kate had decided to stay at Hogwarts, for most of the holiday, at least. She tied a sprig of mistletoe onto her hat and walked around, kissing students and staff on the cheek. Even Severus Snape got a peck, which brought some colour to his cheeks and put him in a good mood that lasted the whole holiday.

Unfortunately, a few days before Christmas, bad news arrived by owl. Kate's mother, Evelyn, sent her the Daily Prophet from the day before. A picture from the debate was featured prominently on the front page. Fudge was looking smug, Lockhart was preening, and Kate was hiding in the background. Splashed across the top was the headline "CANDIDATE FOR MINISTER HAS SOMETHING TO HIDE!"

It has been brought to the Daily Prophet's attention that Miss Katherine Hanover, who recently voiced her desire to be Britain's new Minister of Magic, and has participated in a debate with current Minister Cornelius Fudge, may have some ulterior motives for wanting the position.

Sources claim that while she attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Miss Hanover befriended and later was romantically involved with the escaped criminal and mass-murderer Sirius Black, who was responsible for the betrayal of Lily and James Potter to He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named.

"It would not be hard to believe," Minister Fudge states, "That should Miss Hanover become the next Minister of Magic, she would undoubtedly pardon Black, due to their past involvement." Fudge also told the Daily Prophet that tracking down the Azkaban escapee is still high on the Ministry's list of priorities, and that all necessary steps will be taken to ensure his recapture and return to Azkaban.

Miss Hanover was unable to be reached for comment, and her second in command, Arthur Weasley, refused an interview.

Kate set the paper down and stared the length of the hall.

"Unable to be reached for comment?" she muttered. "Stupid gits didn't even try, I'll wager! This whole thing stinks." She stood abruptly and, taking the paper, left.

The way to Gryffindor Tower wasn't hard for Kate to remember, and soon she was standing in front of the Fat Lady's portrait.

"Password?" the painting asked.

"Marzipan marigolds."

It was a short distance from the Fat Lady to the Gryffindor common room. Kate found Harry just where she thought she would, playing a game of wizard's chess in front of the fire with Ron Weasley.

"Why didn't you go home for the holidays, Ron?" she asked.

"Thought I'd stay and keep Harry company. Check."

"Oh. Okay. Get your things, boys. We're going to the Burrow for Christmas.

"What are you talking about, Kate?" Harry said, her abrupt declaration sinking in.

"Just what I said. I'm going to the Burrow because I need to talk with Mr. Weasley. I thought I'd take you and Ron with me and let you have Christmas in a house instead of here."

"Did Dumbledore say you could?"

"Haven't asked him. He'd probably say no, anyhow."

"How'll we get there? The train's already left," Ron asked.

"Floo Powder. I've got some with me. Comes in handy," she said. "Well, come on. Get a move on. Scoot!"

The boys scrambled up the stairs to their dormitory. Kate leaned down and moved Harry's knight.

"Checkmate."

-~-

The fire in the Burrow glowed green, which of course made Molly Weasley look up from her baking. Kate Hanover stepped through the flames, followed closely by Ron and Harry, and an indignant Cavalier Jack.

"Hello, Molly. Is Arthur home?"

"Not yet! Would you care to explain why you just popped in, without warning?"

Kate cringed. Ron and Harry, who had seen Mrs. Weasley like this before, quickly ran up to Ron's room, with Cav hot on their trail. "Traitors!" Kate thought.

"I'm sorry, Molly. I just read yesterday's Daily Prophet, and I got a little carried away. I needed to talk to Arthur, so I thought I'd come by and bring Ron and Harry. We can always go back..." Kate motioned to the fireplace, talking quickly as Mrs. Weasley advanced with a dusty rolling pin in one hand. She looked like she was going to swat Kate round the head.

"Please don't hit me!" Kate cried, raising her hands to protect her face. Mrs. Weasley lowered the rolling pin and rolled her eyes.

"What's a few more mouths to feed?" she asked, turning back to her kitchen. Kate sighed with relief. "I just don't know where I'll put you. Bill and Charlie will be home tomorrow, and I've moved the twins into Ron's room."

"I can sleep on the couch, Molly. And of course, I'm willing to help out around here, buy food and whatnot."

"You'll do no such thing, Katherine Hanover!" Molly admonished.

"Yes, ma'am!" Kate said, saluting smartly.

-~-

"I can't believe that the Daily Prophet would print such things!" Arthur Weasley said, later that night.

"I didn't believe it myself when I read it. What I don't understand is why Fudge is actively slandering me like this! I would never go so low as to write something so malicious without a good reason-and Fudge doesn't have one!"

"Well, you did humiliate him at the debate."

"I would have thought that the Minister of Magic would be a little above this sort of thing, though," Kate mused, pacing Mr. Weasley's small home office. "I must have really scared him!"

"But how do we handle this?" Mr. Weasley asked, bringing Kate's attention back to the article.

"I'll just have to write a counter, won't I?" she grinned. "That should be fun." Arthur gave her a look of apprehension. Her reports after police stings had been legendary. "Don't worry. I won't attack his position. I'll just defend mine."

Kate sat down at Arthur's desk and pulled out a roll of parchment, an ink bottle, and quill. A few minutes and sheets of parchment later, she handed a reply to Arthur for a second opinion.

"I don't think you should mention that you shared a flat with Black, Kate. It isn't the message you want to publicise," Arthur said, handing the scroll back to her.

"Good point." Kate scratched out the sentence, then decided it would be better to re-write the whole thing.

"Do you think Fudge had anything to do with this?"

"Most likely. I'll bet he smiled when he gave them that quote; I can almost see it. Should we wait until after the holidays to send this in?"

"I think we can wait that long. Fudge won't try anything else until then. He has his image to uphold."

Kate folded the letter, once she was done re-writing it, and slipped it into an envelope. She sealed it and set it aside, ready to be sent a day or two after Christmas.

-~-

Kate waited uneasily for the Daily Prophet that would hopefully print her letter, but her anxiety was nowhere near as intense as Sirius'. He had torn the paper to shreds after reading the first article. He knew Kate well enough, and knew that she would retaliate. But with Arthur Weasley as her advisor, the reply wouldn't be as sharp and nasty as Kate would have originally made it.

Finally, an owl dropped the newspaper in the window, and, without waiting for payment, flew away. Sirius ran to the window and picked it up. Flipping past the first page, he found the section for letters to the editor, and Kate's reply.

To the esteemed writers and editors of the Daily Prophet, and Minister Fudge;

I would like to offer my sentiments on a recent article printed in this fine newspaper.

Minister Fudge insinuated that, should I become Britain's new Minister of Magic, I would most likely pardon convicted murderer Sirius Black, due to a past friendship and alleged romantic involvement.

First off, I would like to draw the public's attention to the fact that I was never romantically linked to Sirius Black, while attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry or afterward.

Secondly, I would not pardon Black because he was my friend. The only grounds for a pardon would be if he is proven innocent. I do believe, myself, that there is still a chance that Black may be found not guilty.

Third, many people know that I am currently employed at Hogwarts as a professor. I have been receiving mail there from my family and friends for a whole term now, which shows that owls can still reach the school. If I was not available for comment, it was for lack of trying on your part, not mine. Please consider that next time you would like my input.

Thank you.

Katherine J. Hanover

Sirius set the paper down. Well, the part about their relationship was true, there had never been more than friendship. Why was that again? Oh, yeah. He never got up enough courage to ask her out.

He had hoped that she would have pardoned him, if she made Minister. She knew he was innocent. Unfortunately, there were enough people out there that thought otherwise. He would just have to wait until Pettigrew could be found and made to talk. Until then, he would still be wanted for murder.

Rolling the paper back up, Sirius chucked it at the wall. It was going to be a long wait.

-~-

Chapter 12: Fire Starting For Beginners

Classes resumed the week after New Years. It was too cold to go outside for classes, even though it was a Wilderness Survival course, so Kate's class camped out in her classroom. Piles of wood, stacked behind her desk since before Christmas, were brought forward.

"One of the basic needs one must consider for survival is warmth. This class session will focus on building a fire. I've prepared enough firewood for everyone to have a go at it."

Standing a massive log upright, Kate sat on a step and brandished a hatchet in one hand and a hammer in the other.

"First things first. We need kindling. It's hard to start a fire with just logs and paper." The hatchet made a satisfying "thunk" in the wood as Kate began to split the log. In a matter of seconds, she had managed to break the large chunk of wood into two smaller pieces.

"And, working at angles, chop the wood into wedges, like cutting a pie. You might want further split larger pieces into smaller ones, but be careful. These hatchets are sharp, and I don't want to have to take you to Madam Pomfrey. She'll kill me."

Kate picked up a few pieces of wood and set them on her desk.

"Miss Hanover," Draco asked abruptly. Kate, who had been concentrating on trying to set the splinters up on her desk, jumped, and the sticks clattered onto the table top. "When you're starting a fire, what do you use?"

"Matches," she answered, after thanking Merlin that she hadn't been splitting wood when he asked his question. "I usually use matches. Or if I'm pressed for time, I use magic. But I want to show you a few ways of starting a fire. Too bad the sunlight's not strong enough, or we could us Harry's glasses."

A light titter of laughter washed through the class. Harry rolled his eyes. Hermione spoke up.

"Actually, Miss Hanover, we couldn't. They're the wrong shape."

"Thank you, Harmony." Harry looked like he wanted to dive under a desk and stay there forever. Kate tried to bring the class' attention back to the lesson.

"Now, no matter how you stack the logs, make sure that there's enough space between them, so that air can get in. Air feeds fire."

"Okay, before I show you how to start a fire with a flint and steel, I want everyone to split a few logs and build a little nest to catch sparks. I have some mailing twine up here. Take a little, separate the threads and shape them into a nest. Make up a few of them, just in case."

Kate walked around the classroom as the students worked. She paid close attention to Neville, who smashed his thumb a few too many times.

"Don't worry too much about getting them perfect, Neville," she said. "We need some splinters and chips for tinder. How about you work on making your spark nest? Might save your thumb before you break it."

When everyone was ready, Kate demonstrated how to make a spark with the flint and steel.

"You want to strike the flint with the steel, and not the other way around. Strike the flint over the twine nest and try to catch the sparks with it. Don't worry about them hurting you, they're not that hot."

She struck the flint, and caught a spark in the twine.

"When you have a spark, like this, slowly add little pieces of tinder, like grass, leaves, and small chunks of wood. Work up to where you're adding bigger pieces, then carefully place your split logs around the little fire you made. It takes a fair bit of practice."

Kate made it look effortless. Unfortunately, most of the students weren't as skilled as she was. Neville ended up setting fire to his desk twice, and Pansy singed the front of her shirt. Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt.

"Okay, good job, everybody. Next week we'll learn another way of starting fires. Make sure your work stations are cleaned before you leave, please!" It was too late. Everyone was gone. Kate sighed, and began cleaning the desks.

Large hands covered her eyes, and a male voice whispered "Guess who!"

"Severus Snape!" Kate grinned. Remus took his hands away and pouted. She turned around to face him.

"You can't pout convincingly," she said. "What brings you here?"

"I came to see if you wanted to go out to Hogsmeade for dinner tonight. My treat."

"Who can pass up a deal like that? I'll get my cloak."

To save time, Kate summoned her cloak, which of course called Cavalier's attention to her activities, as he had been sleeping on it. He was in the classroom almost immediately.

"Whatcha doin'?" he asked, rubbing against Remus' legs.

"Remus is taking me out to dinner tonight. And you're not invited!"

"Did I imply that I thought I'd be coming along? So, Remus, is this a date, or just a meal between friends?" Cavalier looked up at him, his eye glinting in the candle light. If Remus wasn't mistaken, the cat was positively grinning!

He reddened. "It's just dinner, Cav. Don't read anything into it."

"It's Cav you're talking to, Moony. He can read into cake recipes."

"That's true. Shall we?" Remus offered his arm, which she accepted. Kate stuck her tongue out at Cavalier.

-~-

Kate and Remus sat down at a table near the back of the Three Broomsticks and nursed their mugs of hot butterbeer.

"I take it you read the letter I wrote to the Daily Prophet," Kate said.

"When I managed to piece the paper back together, yes. Sirius got to it first. He wasn't too happy about it."

"He tore it up?" she was astounded. "Did he say anything?"

"Nothing intelligible. A lot of grunts and growls, a few gestures. Put him out of his misery, Kate."

"How do you want me to do that, Remus?" she snapped.

"Kiss him. Shag him. Tell him you love him."

Kate was silent for a while. Remus watched her closely, but there wasn't much to see. Her face was expressionless as she traced the rim of her mug with her thumb.

"Kate, you know you love him. He loves you too."

"How do you know?" she asked, her voice hoarse and barely above a whisper.

"I've lived with him for the past 6 months or so. Any mention of your name, his ears perk up and a light comes on in his eyes."

"What about you? Wouldn't that put a strain on our friendship? As a trio?"

"Kate, I've given up on love. I'm past feeling anything like that." It was his turn to be quiet. He avoided her eyes.

"Liar."

"What if I am?" he challenged, his eyes glowing with some raw emotion. Kate hoped it was the light in the pub, but knew it was something else.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she whispered.

"Because you were mooning over Sirius. I don't want to pass on my condition, Kate. To y- my mate or my child."

"There are precautions that can be taken-" Kate started. Remus put up his hand.

"I don't want to take the risk. It's not worth it."

"How can you say that? What happened to the man who believed that love could conquer all?"

Remus looked at her, his amber eyes boring into her blue ones. Madame Rosmerta came by with more butterbeer. She looked at the two of them, locked in a staring match, raised her eyebrows and walked away.

"What if the wolf takes over? You could be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and I could kill you!" Remus said, once Madame Rosmerta returned to the bar.

"It's my decision, Kate."

"You're making the wrong one." Remus ignored her.

"I came to plead Sirius' case to you, Kate. Not to throw myself a pity party." He heaved a huge, cleansing sigh. "No more. I did what I came to do. How is your campaign going?"

-~-

Kate ambled up to Headmaster Dumbledore's office and sat down dejectedly in a chair, facing Fawkes. The bird looked at her, assessing her mood before fluttering over to sit on the back of her chair. He rested his head on her shoulder and cooed reassuringly. After a moment or two, Dumbledore came down and sat in the chair opposite.

"Well, Kitty, it's not often you come here. You must really need my advice."

"Yeah. I'm about ready to head out to the Forbidden Forest and take up residence."

"Hiding from your problems will not solve them."

"I know. Between teaching here, running for Minister, and trying to sort out my relationships with Remus and Sirius, not to mention Harry, I'm completely overwhelmed." She gently stroked Fawkes' silky plumage.

"The men in your life seem to be giving you the most difficulty," Dumbledore said, a gleam in his eye. Kate grinned.

"Definitely," she chuckled. "Have you ever been in this kind of spot?"

"Been in love with a werewolf and an escaped convict at the same time? I can't say that I have."

Kate blinked. Dumbledore grinned beneath his beard.

"You're wondering just how I know this."

"The thought had crossed my mind."

"My dear, you've always been one to miss the obvious. It was quite clear to everyone, when you and Remus started here, that you shared a special sort of link. For instance, you always seemed to know what the other was thinking, and often could finish the other's sentences. Some might say that you are soul mates. Sibyll Trelawney, especially."

"Soul mates?" Kate asked, incredulous.

"Yes. That's one theory. The definition of soul mate includes 'sharing a deep empathy in terms of sensitivity and point of view.'"

"That's us in a nutshell," she whispered. Albus nodded. "But what about Sirius? I've loved him forever-and now..."

"You are in an awkward situation."

"I know that, Grandpa! I just want things to go back to the way they were 15 years ago. We had that great apartment, lives that weren't romantically tangled, everything was so simple!"

"The only constant thing in life is change, I'm afraid. For all our wishing, that will never be different."

"Yeah. But what do I do about Sirius and Remus?"

"The best advice that I can give you, Kitty, is to decide what you want from life. Do not allow anyone to pressure you into making a choice that you will possibly regret."

Kate was silent for a few moments as she digested his words. Fawkes nipped her ear affectionately, then flew back to his perch.

"Thank you, Grandpa. I think I'll do just that."

She stood and kissed her godfather on the cheek. As she was leaving his office, preoccupied, as usual, she didn't see Professor Snape walking in the opposite direction, and therefore she walked right into him. They both fell to the floor, books and parchment flying.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Severus," she muttered, as she helped pick up his dropped texts.

"Nothing to worry about, Katherine. I think that dinner would make up for it. Shall we say, tomorrow night?"

"Sure," she answered, not paying attention. It wasn't until later that she realised what she had agreed to.

"Oh, for the love of Merlin!"

Chapter 12, Part 2: Cavalier and Crookshanks

Kate had disappeared some time earlier that evening with Remus, and Cav thought he would visit some of his old stomping grounds. He sweet talked his way into Gryffindor Tower and enjoyed the attention lavished upon him by the first and second year girls-even if they tried to tie pink bows on his tail.

The lights dimmed noticeably, the universal signal to head to bed. The girls reluctantly said good-night and climbed the stairs to the dormitories. Cav stretched out before the fire and let himself doze.

"Who are you?" a stuffy voice, speaking Universal Cat, said. Cavalier jumped to his paws and looked about wildly to find the speaker.

A large orange cat with a flat face sauntered from behind one of the squashy arm-chairs and accosted Cav again.

"Who are you? Tell me, or I shall call Sir Nicholas."

"Oh, really? Go ahead. Tell Nearly Headless I said hi."

"Such impudence!"

"Oh, shut up! You should treat your elders with more respect." Cav sat down on his haunches and stared blankly at the other cat.

"You can't be older than myself."

"Think again. I've been chasing rats since before you were born, my son!" Cav walked past the other cat, brushing the cat's face with his tail. "Whatever happened to common courtesy? 'Won't you please tell me your name,' 'Why have I not seen you before?' and all that. You young people are so disrespectful. You could at least tell me your name, you know."

The orange cat growled and turned to face Cavalier.

"My name is Crookshanks, if you must know. I take it you are American. In fact, judging by your own rudeness and devil-may-care attitude, you can be nothing but."

"Hit the nail on the head with that one, Crooky."

"Crookshanks."

"Sorry, Crookshanks." Cav rolled his good eye as he investigated the remains of a cheese sandwich that had fallen from the table.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Your name, sir? I trust you have one. Even the most uncouth Yanks have names."

"As a matter of fact, I do have a name." He left the sandwich alone as an anonymous house-elf started cleaning, and instead put in an order for fresh rabbit. The elf complied, saying that it should be up shortly.

"Are you going to tell me your name, or just order the house-elves around?"

"Patience, my dear chappie," Cavalier replied. "My name is perfectly ordinary. It's Jack. Cavalier Jack."

Crookshanks was stunned.

"The Cavalier Jack? The Cavalier Jack who defiled the portrait of Sir Trevellian the Vain? I heard the Fat Lady talk about you! You're a legend!"

"Yes, yes, I know." If Cavalier had had fingernails, he would have been polishing them. "So, are you through with your interrogation?"

"Just one more question. Why do you wear an eye patch?"

"Because of this," Cavalier said, wiping his face with a paw.

He pushed the patch up, revealing an ugly criss-crossing of brown-black scar tissue where another green eye should be.

"Took a few too many liberties with Mrs. Norris, and she gave me what fer." A flick of his claws set the patch back in place. "So what is it you do around here? I've never seen you before."

"I'm a pet. Hermione Granger is my owner. Your owner is Katherine Hanover."

"She doesn't own me. It's rather hard to own me."

"How so? You're a cat, someone has to own you."

"Not entirely. The Hanover family and I... well, it's an interesting relationship we have, really. I am a free entity, an individual perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I live with Kate for a bit of excitement."

"I'm sure you can generate enough excitement of your own."

"Yes," Cav said after a moment's thought. "But it takes work to find excitement. With Kate, it comes to me."

"So then, why are you not with her now?"

"She's on a date," he said with a sneer. "With Wolfie. At least he's better than Doggie."

"Wolfie? Doggie?"

"Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. Friends of hers."

"Ah. I know them. They passed through here about two years ago."

"So I heard. I'm not at liberty to say where they are now, of course."

"Afraid Katherine would skin you alive?" Crookshanks gave the feline equivalent of a grin.

"No, I'm afraid I'll be eaten by either one."

"I thought you couldn't die."

"Not by natural causes, no. If someone wanted to kill me, however, my life isn't worth a plug nickel. Of course, I'd have to be mortally wounded, preferably by something sharp and pointy."

"Has anyone tried to kill you before?"

"Not intentionally. Some of Kate's cooking is positively lethal, especially her spaghetti sauce-but since it was a potion that made me immortal, anything cooked in a pot isn't going to do any serious damage. I've been hit by two cars and a Greyhound-"

"A dog?"

"No, a bus. Don't interrupt. I've fallen from the tops of trees, been kicked by a few unscrupulous characters, and had a rather large child sit on me. So far, I haven't died."

"That's amazing! You are indeed a living legend."

"Am I?"

It was a credit to the feline that he actually didn't know his own celebrity, as he would have had an enormously over-inflated ego, more so than usual. Unfortunately for Crookshanks, it was too late to amend his mistake.

"Ah, yes. Every cat in the United Kingdom knows your name."

Cavalier looked at the other cat sceptically.

"Frankly, I don't believe you."

"A modest legend! How refreshing. Between yourself and Harry Potter, you could set the world an example!"

"Are you feeling all right? I thought you just said that I could set the world an example."

"Yes," Crookshanks said.

"Well, anyway, don't compare me to Harry. He doesn't need it, nor do I."

A house-elf scurried up to Cavalier and whispered something in his ear.

"Ah, well, Kate's on her way home and not in the best of moods. I'm going to go try to cheer her up...or make her feel worse, whichever the case may be. We should do this again sometime-maybe even venture outside of the common room."

"I'd be delighted!" Crookshanks purred, amazed the THE Cavalier Jack wanted to spend time with him. As much as he liked Hermione and her friends, sometimes a cat just wants the company of other cats.