Harry Potter and the Scar of Fate

Chapter 4

The Hound of Death

Snape took them to Hogwarts. Kathy was sent to the Pruett's, who had a son, Hans, of her age, and had agreed to keep her till Hogwarts reopened.

The Burrow had been warded off. No one except Mr. & Mrs. Weasley and their five remaining sons could enter the house. Dumbledore had offered to use the Fidelus on them, but they had refused.

Ginny, now in the Inner Circle of Death Eaters, was hot on the trail of her family, determined to destroy every one of them. She had also told Voldemort about Snape's dual role. So, Snape was in danger as well.

Ron was in shock. He could never have imagined that his little sister could be so evil. He was filled with a seething hate. He swore to himself that he would avenge Bill's death and protect Harry at all costs. He would not let her win; he would not let Voldemort win.

Soon, it was first of September. Students arrived, and the Great Hall was full again. The moment Kathy saw Harry, she ran to hug him.

"I learnt all about you, Harry. Why didn't you tell me you were the hero before? Oh, I'm so proud of you! I'm so happy!" she chirped happily.

"Go on, little Kathy. Join your friends. Let's see which House you get into."

"I want to be in Gryffindor. You're there, right? It must be the best house! I hope I don't go to Slytherin! But I don't know anything, so I may end up in Hufflepuff! And I want to see a Quidditch match also! Hans told me all about it!"

"You must not think Slytherin is bad, dear. Draco is in Slytherin. All the best, Kathy," said Harry and smiled as she ran off to the other first years.

Harry and his friends watched the Sorting eagerly.

"Ross, Kathy."

Kathy ran to the stool and eagerly put on the hat. She reminded Harry of Hermione, except that she was not a know-it-all. He smiled to himself.

"Slytherin!"

Kathy walked to the Slytherin table, looking thoroughly disappointed. She brightened up a little when Draco waved at her. She sat down next to him. Harry looked at Ron, whose mouth was hanging open.

"Slytherin?" he said faintly.

"There's nothing wrong with Slytherin, Ron. The hat wanted to put me in Slytherin. It was only because I asked it not to so vehemently that it put me in here, very reluctantly, if I may say so," said Harry, little aware that he'd be obliged to repeat the same dialogue to Kathy the next morning.

Ron gaped at him. Then he hung his head. "Sorry," he muttered.

"It's ok."

To their great pleasure, Lupin had come back as the DADA teacher. Not that Quinn was bad, but Lupin was far better. When Dumbledore announced this, there was a deafening applause that lasted so long that Dumbledore had to shoot sparks from his wand to quieten them.

Classes were also rather difficult. It was their N.E.W.T. year, and they had to work really hard. Everyone was glad when the notice for the Hogsmead visit was put up.

***

The four friends sat comfortably in the Three Broomsticks, sipping butterbeer. Ron suddenly got up and ran out, muttering, "I'll be back in a minute."

The other three assumed that he had seen Luna and gone after her, but when he didn't turn up for an hour, they were all worried. They went out to look for him, asking people. But no one had seen him. One old man remembered a girl with long flaming red hair, though.

"Ginny!" whispered Hermione, and a cold hand seemed to clasp around Harry's heart. Their search grew frantic.

Suddenly, they heard a shout. It was unmistakably Ron's voice. They ran towards the voice.

It was a dirty, narrow alley. Ron was bent over on the ground, clearly trying to recover from a Cruciatus. Ginny was standing smiling next to him. She raised her wand and opened her mouth.

"Avada - "

"Expelliarmus!" Harry yelled. Ginny's wand flew into his hand. He snapped it into two. Draco and Hermione had run over to Ron and were helping him to stand up. Ginny looked at Harry coldly.

"Why do you always have to interfere?" she asked bitterly.

"If you weren't trying to murder my best friend, I wouldn't have to."

She laughed again. Then suddenly, a viper replaced her. Harry's body began to change unconsciously. He was not even aware of the change. He opened his mouth, and a pale blue light burst out, surrounding the viper.

"Avada Kedavra!" yelled three voices at once. Harry rolled over and knew no more.