Easier To Run

A/N : Ok, I've officially started writing this chapter three times. But I think this is the right way to go with it. Ok, uh, on to typing so I can go and watch "Robin Hood : Prince of Thieves". LOL, yes, I've never seen it. And I am trying to catch up on my Alan Rickman movies. I still have to rent "Die Hard" too. Ugh. : )

P.S. Just watched "RH : PoT". Uh, completely nutters! I don't know if its just me, but Alan was hysterical and not really evil. He pranced around in dungeons and was completely mental. I was pretty much MSTing the entire thing, and doing a good job at it if I may say so myself.

****

Katie hastily sent out letters to Percy, Angelina, Lee, Cedric, and Remus about the ring. Apparently though, and not using his regular good judgment, Percy had told the Twins. And while they had each sent her individual letters, Katie assumed without the others knowledge, saying they were happy for her, their combined letter was mocking and humorous. And Katie loved it.

Percy had sent her a very comforting letter. Then he had rambled on about work and someone named Mr. Crouch. Katie figured he must have started serious work with the Ministry. But the way he droned on gave Katie an uneasy feeling.

Angelina's letter had been filled with 'I told you so' at least a dozen times. She wrote her back saying the same about Fred, which she knew had earned her a long distance glare in her direction. She managed to set up a date where she could meet both her and Alicia for the girl's day out they had promised to have in Diagon Alley.

Lee's letter had, of course, said exactly the right things to make her feel better about the ring. That, money isn't important when dealing with matters of the heart. And that Oliver would recoup that money quick enough. And to basically be happy that she was so lucky. She made a mental note to hug the life out of Lee the next time she saw him.

Cedric's letter was filled with congrats, and he also hinted that he might ask Cho out the coming term. He said that they had spent some time together over the summer and that he really liked her. Katie was extremely excited by this. She loved playing matchmaker in her mind, but this was the first time she had been recruited to help.

Remus' letter was exactly like Lee's; it eased over her fears. About more than just the ring. He said that 'Snuffles' had stayed at his place for a while, but had 'run away' a few weeks ago. Katie knew that had to be Sirius. Because if Pettigrew really had gone back to the Voldemort and that letter had been intercepted, he would know who 'Padfoot' was. Katie had managed to get a lot of things out of Remus about his days at school. Like how Sirius could transform into a dog so large it resembled a large bear, and how Harry's dad, James, had been a stag, which explained Harry's Patronus. Katie was glad that Sirius was alright. Even though she had never met him, she trusted him if Remus did.

****

Katie was walking over by her rock one sunny August afternoon, when she heard a distressed hooting sound. Following the sound expertly, she made her way over to her rock. On the lakeside of the rock, she saw it. A grindylow that inhabited the lake, had grabbed a small owl by its leg. The minute owl was flapping its tiny wings in desperation, trying to get away. Appalled and frightened, Katie reached down and broke off several of the grindylow's brittle fingers. The creature let out a screeching noise at her and disappeared below the surface of the water. The owl fluttered down onto a more dry stretch of land beside Katie and hooted its thanks. The owl was so tiny that Katie thought it would probably fit in her hands. It was tan, and had bright yellow eyes.

"Well, your welcome. You should stay away from the lake from now on," Katie said, patting the owl on the head lightly.

The owl hopped over to her and stuck out its leg. The same one that the grindylow had grabbed. There were scratches on its tiny leg, and Katie scooped it up into her hands. She had been right about its size.

"You'll be ok, I'll take you to Hagrid. He's good with animals," Katie said, using one hand to pet the small owl.

It gave a hoot and settled into her hand. Katie walked slowly over to Hagrid's Hut, looking down at the owl every so often. She'd never had an owl of her own. Her parents had never thought she would need one. She wondered if she helped heal the little owl, if it wouldn't mind being her pet. 'It seems to like me,' Katie thought, smiling down at the little owl as she approached the Hut.

Luckily, Hagrid was outside, and Fang didn't bark when he saw her. It would have scared the little owl to death. Fang simply walked over to her and nudged her until she petted him.

"Hello, Katie. What's that you got there?" he said looking down at her hand.

"I found it over by the rock. A grindylow had grabbed it, so I saved it. But its little leg has some scratches on it," Katie said, holding the owl up for Hagrid to see.

"I see. Follow me. I'm sure I have a little bandage that will fit," Hagrid said smiling, and Katie followed him into is Hut.

He rummaged through some cabinets before coming over victorious. Katie sat the tiny owl down on Hagrid's table. But the little owl took one look at Hagrid and hopped toward her.

"Hey, you. Be nice to Hagrid," she said, nudging the owl in Hagrid's direction.

It stuck its leg out carefully and Hagrid placed the tiny bandage on its leg. "There yeh go, good as new."

The owl hooted its thanks and hopped back over to Katie again.

"Looks like you got yerself a pet there, Katie," Hagrid said smiling.

"Yeah, I guess so," she said picking up the owl again, "Thank you, Hagrid."

"'T's no trouble."

Katie walked up to the castle and into the entrance hall. Once inside, she spotted Snape walking down to the dungeons.

"Severus," she said when she got closer, causing him to turn around, "Look."

Now, she didn't expect him to act like the tiny was the cutest thing in the world. She wasn't daft. But she though maybe he'd be happy for her. Either way, Severus surveyed the owl, and looked down at Katie frowning.

"Awfully small, isn't it?"

"It could be a baby," Katie said, looking down at the owl.

"Afraid not, Katie. Its one of those local delivery owls. You can't send it too far, its just not safe," he said honestly.

Katie shrugged. "Well, I rescued it, and Hagrid said it likes me. So I'm keeping it. Even if it can't deliver my letters. I'll use the Hogwarts owls for that," she said smiling, "Oh! While you're here, I'm going to be meeting Angelina and Alicia in Diagon Alley to get my supplies next week."

Snape smiled at Katie. "Alright, keep the owl," he said, pulling out a piece of parchment, "And this will go along with your supplies list. Its your Advanced Potions ingredients for the coming year."

Katie sighed loudly. "That wizard at the Apothecary was so rude last time. Just cause Malfoy was there," she said tutting.

Snape waved off her statement. "Don't mind him. He's never pleasant, trust me on that."

Katie looked down at the little owl again. "I need to think of a name for it," Katie said, thinking aloud.

"Go on then, I have work to do," he said smiling, and turning on his heel, made his way back down into the dungeons.

****

Katie went to Hogsmeade the next day with Severus to a pet shop. She found out that the owl was a female. The owner of the shop, an elderly wizard named Mr. McEwan, gave Katie a good deal on everything she would need for the owl, including its cage and food.

On the way back up to the castle, the owl happily hooting in its cage, Katie got an idea for its name.

"I think I'll call her Hekate," Katie said proudly, holding up the cage as the tiny owl hooted in happiness.

"And why is that, Miss. Bell?" Severus asked.

"Well, Hekate is the Goddess of Witchcraft. I reckon it fits. She also discovered Wolfsbane." Katie said looking up at him sheepishly, "I have a large book on Mythology."

"I see," Severus said, arching an eyebrow at the Wolfsbane reference, "Well, in that case, it does seem an appropriate name," he said surveying the owl once more.

Hekate ruffled her tail feathers at him, which caused Katie to giggle. Snape just scowled at the owl.

"Now, now. I'll have none of that," Katie said to the owl in the cage, "He's not as mean as he looks."

Snape snorted, which caused Katie to smile. She'd crack his armor if it was the last thing she did.

****

The day came that she was going to Diagon Alley. Dumbledore had given Katie her list of books and the like. She noticed on the list that she would need dress robes. But upon asking Dumbledore what that was all about, he only smiled and said, "You shall see, Miss. Bell.", which Katie found infuriating.

She had agreed to meet Angelina and Alicia at Florean's, but as soon as they had spied each other, all three girls ran to meet each other. Katie hadn't realized how much she had really missed them until she saw them again.

"Where did you get these robes?" Angelina said as they sat down at a table at Florean's.

"Hogsmeade. Speaking of robes, did you see that we need dress robes? I'm going to have to get out more money than I was planning on," Katie said, looking anxious.

She knew that she had her own vault at Gringotts, and that she was the only one with a key, but she wouldn't have put it past her parents to have closed out her account. She had mentioned her fear to Snape, and he, seeming to think it was likely, gave her the key to his vault just in case. He didn't want her getting to her vault and finding out she was flat broke. He had confided in her that he had more than enough savings if ever she should have need of it.

"Katie, you don't think- I mean, your parents wouldn't have, taken you money, would they?" Angelina asked cautiously, giving Katie cause to believe that she too could read minds.

"Do you have your own vault, Kate?" Alicia asked confused.

"Yeah, and I'm the only one with a key. I guess they were trying to teach me responsibility for Hogwarts. You know, cause if I lost my key, I couldn't get to my money," Katie said simply.

"Well, the goblins are very strict on who they let down there. I wouldn't worry," Angelina said patting Katie's hand, "Speaking of, let's go and get that out of the way and go dress shopping!"

Katie laughed at her friend as she grabbed her hand, dragging her down toward Diagon Alley. Katie was indeed shocked when she got to her vault. She turned to goblin who had brought them down.

"Has anyone had access to my vault in the past nine months?" she asked politely.

"Only your parents, ma'am. They extracted some of the gold and placed it in their vault some floors above us," he said gruffly.

Katie sighed, pushing down her anger. Scooping the remainder of her gold into her pouch, she mentally counted it. She would have enough for her supplies and her robes. Even though she didn't want to ask, she may have to ask Severus for money for Hogsmeade this coming year.

After going to Angelina and Alicia's parents vaults, they walked down Madam Malkin's to see what she had to offer.

"How can I help you ladies today?" the elderly witch asked kindly.

"We need dress robes for the coming year," Katie said kindly.

"Yeah, and we're not sure what they're for," Angelina added, smiling.

"Hogwarts?" Madam Malkin asked, and the girls nodded, "Well, they'll need to be from out winter collection than," she said with a mischievous grin and beckoned for the girls to follow her.

Angelina pulled Katie close to her side as they walked. "You have the inside scoop, right?"

Katie shook her head smiling. "Dumbledore just said that we would see. Sometimes I don't like that man."

Madam Malkin showed them her winter collection. The robes were made of a heavier material than usual, but just as extravagant as any in the store. Katie immediately fell in love with a dark blue Empire-waist set, and the price wasn't as bad as she had expected. It had a square neckline and its sleeves came to a point over her hands in a very Medieval fashion. It came with a hooded cape, that Madam Malkin offered to hem so it, and the robes, would fall to her ankles. Winking, she added that Katie would need a pretty pair of shoes for those particular robes. Angelina and Alicia couldn't speak as she exited the dressing room and just hugged her instead.

Katie mentally tallied how much this was going to cost her. She decided that she would have to have Madam Malkin hold them until after she bought all of her other necessary supplies.

Angelina picked out a set of purple robes, not as fancy as Katie's, but Angelina didn't need all that, seeing as she was very pretty on her own. The robes accented her dark features and made her look beautiful. Alicia and Katie both clapped their approval as she exited the dressing room. Alicia picked out a set of maroon robes which, in Katie's opinion, were fancier than hers. Hers were embroidered in a very pretty off-white lace making them look very regal. She also received a round of applause upon exiting the dressing room. All three girls took their purchases to the front and waited patiently as Madam Malkin tailored them to each girl. As the witch worked, the girls talked.

"Oh, Katie. Let me see your ring," she said, her eyes shining.

Katie held out her hand reluctantly. Angelina gasped and nearly pulled Katie's arm out of her socket as she dragged her over to where Alicia was standing, being careful not to disturb Madam Malkin.

"Tell me that's what I think it is," Angelina said thrusting Katie's hand up for Alicia to see.

Alicia gasped too and Katie sighed in frustration. "Would you two like to sure what is so gasp worthy?"

Alicia let go of her hand and smiled. "See that swirl in the Sapphire?"

"Yeah? What is that?" Katie asked her brows furrowing.

"A Phoenix Tear," Alicia said beaming.

Even Madam Malkin looked up at that and Katie clutched her right hand to her chest. "My, my. Whoever gave that to you must care a great deal, dear. Phoenix Tear jewelry is becoming something of a collector's item," she said standing and pulling a chain from her robes, "My late husband bought this for me before we were married. And that was 70 years ago now."

Katie looked at the pendant, which was an Emerald with a Phoenix Tear swirling in it. She gave a sad smile, and looked to Angelina. Angelina took the hint and dragged her over to a chair.

"You ok, Kate?"

"Tell me how much? How much could this have cost him?" Katie asked, tears in her eyes.

"Honestly?" Angelina said arching an eyebrow when Katie nodded, "You don't want to know."

Katie nodded resolutely and wiped the tears from her eyes. Soon after, Alicia stepped off of the platform and Angelina took her place. Alicia sat down next to Katie and smiled.

"Don't worry about the cost of that," she said holding up a hand as Katie started to protest, "Ol loves you dear, and he knows that you don't get gifts like that. He's just trying to be sweet. Don't beat yourself up over it."

Katie tried to head Alicia's advice, but she ended up crying anyway. After she calmed down, Madam Malkin called her up to hem her robes and cape. She explained her money situation, in the least amount of words, to Madam Malkin, and the elderly witch agreed easily to hold the robes for her until she returned later on.

The three girls walked down to Flourish and Blotts and bought their school books. They went onto the Apothecary to get their Potions ingredients, and for Angelina and Katie, their Advanced Potions ingredients. The weary wizard seemed to be a little nicer seeing as he was outnumbered this time around, although Katie had the impression that he recognized her. As they walked out, Katie ran headlong into someone, and the person with them made her heart sink and her blood boil.

"Watch where you're going, Bell!" Draco shouted, but his mouth twitched into a small smile.

His smile disappeared as he father's hand rested on his shoulder.

"We meet again, Miss., Bell is it? Now you wouldn't be Kathleen Bell would you?" Lucius Malfoy said sneering down at Katie.

Katie's heart rate sped as her mind went back to what Snape had told her. The Death Eater's knew of her being his godchild and according to Draco, Lucius Malfoy father had been, and most likely still was, a Death Eater.

"What if I am, sir?" she said, being as polite as possible to the horrible man.

"Well, I'm just curious," he said smirking, "Because a friend of mine happens to be your godfather if you are indeed Miss. Kathleen Bell."

"How interesting. But I don't have a godfather, sir. So, I'm afraid you must be mistaken. Now, if you'll excuse me," Katie said making her way around the Malfoys and into a nearby quill and parchment store.

Katie tried to calm her beating heart, but it was no use and the next thing she knew everything went black.