Habeas Corpus

Disclaimer: Except for an OC, the characters here and the world they inhabit are the creation and property of JK Rowling.

Katherine did as Kingsley directed and went back to London. At her flat there, she showered, dressed and made herself up. She went to Diagon Alley and drank a cup of tea in a very quiet Leaky Cauldron as she read every society page from every periodical that was on hand. She compared notes with a social calendar she kept, and then she went to work.

When not actually on a job, Katherine spent a great deal of time mixing at society events. She was frequently seen at library openings and hospital wing dedications. She rubbed elbows and met those who were likely, in the future, to become her clients or targets. She heard endless dreams of young witches and listened to many sordid tales of conquest told by wizards old enough to know better.

It was to this world she returned, although her heart was not quite in it. Oddly enough, although the streets of Wizarding London were quiet and subdued, the high society doings were as active as ever. Indeed, in the late evenings, the parties were a bit more riotous than before. Someone made sure those who thought they were in charge were enjoying themselves. The Firewhisky and mead kept flowing, and the party goers acted as if there were not a care in the world.

With a soft smile and a quiet comment here and there, Katherine learned much about various families. When she visited with Kingsley Shacklebolt, Remus Lupin, or Tonks, she was able to pass along quite a bit of information about which families had certain loyalties and how various wizards and witches might behave in an all-out battle.

Her visits with Lupin and Tonks left her worn. Their little boy was everything a baby should be, and it took all of Katherine's willpower not to dwell upon what she had lost so many years before. It was hard not to be envious of the doting looks the married couple shared, as well. When Katherine gave her reports to them, she finished quickly and left before the thoughts had a chance to come to her. She couldn't see the small glances and touches without wishing for the touch of Severus's hand. For some reason, she kept daydreaming of the son she had lost, and he always had black hair and dark eyes within a too-pale face. As long as she could keep those thoughts to herself and the privacy of her apartment, she convinced herself that they were not a problem.

Nights were difficult. After the lights were out and Katherine curled into her bed, he came to her in her imagination. Asleep or awake, Severus was there as he had been so few times in reality, driving her to passion and demanding the same in return. In her waking moments, she forced herself to recall only the earliest times that they had shared each other's bodies. As long as she could concentrate upon the part of their relationship that was purely physical, she knew she would survive being apart from him.

Her dreams, however, took her to the island where she had learned in his arms what lovemaking truly was. She woke teary-eyed, aching for his touch and the feel of his body moving against hers. There was nothing to do but head for the shower and have a cup of strong coffee. Each morning she would prepare for the day and hope that something, anything that day would prove to be the catalyst for the change that had to come soon.

Katherine was not altogether worried or upset the afternoon she Apparated into Diagon Alley and found that a large crowd was standing in front of Gringotts. Perhaps this would be the day something happened. There were several goblins in front of closed doors, facing down witches and wizards who looked quite angry. Katherine worked her way toward the crowd and asked one witch on the edges what was happening.

"It's a run on the bank," the witch answered.

The wizard next to her chimed in. "Potter and his friends attacked it. They flew a dragon in and tore the place up. Everyone just wants their money back now. It belongs to us; we should be able to get it if it's there."

Katherine allowed her eyes to widen in agreement as she nodded. "Indeed we should." Secretly, she congratulated herself for having moved most of her money to a bank on the Continent several weeks earlier. She was prepared if it turned out that he really did want her... not that she would count on it, of course.

Katherine mentally shook herself. If she were to be of any use at all, she needed to concentrate better. "So Potter attacked Gringotts with a dragon?"

The witch shrugged. "That what everyone's saying. He stole everything out of the Lestrange vault, destroyed several others, and then flew the dragon back out. Harry Potter must be able to do just about anything."

"Quite interesting," said Katherine. "Thank you very much, and good luck to you. I hope you get your money back."

"You and me both," said the witch before turning and joining into the chants aimed at the goblins.

All of the events Katherine had planned to attend that day were canceled. The witches and wizards who would be attending the afternoon tea and evening cocktail party were all within the growing crowd outside the bank. She went back to her apartment, changed into clothes she could wear to battle, and waited. She drank cups of coffee and put the fake Galleon on the coffee table in front of her.

The wait was interminable. Every time there was a sound from the street, Katherine jumped and picked up the Galleon. When it was nothing, she would sigh and put it down. She was starting to doze when it made a sort of vibrating hum. This was it. Kingsley had said he would let her know and now he had. Somewhere a battle was brewing. Katherine realized with a catch in her throat that Severus might already be in it, fighting, suffering, or dying. She checked those thoughts and reached for the coin.

Hog's Head, Hogsmeade.

It was time to go. Katherine made a final check over her preparations. She had her wand, she was properly dressed, and she had such healing potions and items as could be reasonably carried within her robes. She looked around her sitting room one last time and then left her flat, walking swiftly to a dark corner from which she could Disapparate.

When she got to the Hog's Head, she found herself within a group of witches and wizards climbing up onto a mantelpiece and walking through a tunnel. The others around her mentioned that this was a path into the school. Some were here to take revenge while others simply came for the adventure. Several were hoping to find their children and keep them safe.

They arrived in a strange room on the top floor of the castle. Kingsley and other Aurors were hustling everyone out the door and suggesting places they should go, based upon their skills as he knew them. He sent Katherine to the front lines.

A cool breeze came through a broken window, and suddenly Katherine's mind was clearer than it had been in weeks. She was here to fight, just as she had been trained to do so many years before, and as she had been required to do time and again since. She met a person wearing a black robe and Death Eater mask. Almost without thinking, she engaged this opponent in battle and succeeded in tying him or her up. She removed the mask and recognized a former class mate, whom she locked into a nearby closet.

From that point it became almost easy. She fought with anyone wearing a Death Eater mask, besting most and getting help in some cases to dispatch others. She fell easily into the old habits that had been trained into her. With a grim sort of contentment, she realized that this was the Katherine Stanton she knew herself to be.

She knew it wasn't quite the case. Although she was fighting the Death Eaters with her usual skill, she was also carefully not thinking about one person. She was carefully not thinking about how she wished she could leave this battle behind and escape with that person. She was also quite aware of a fear that the person would somehow be on the other end of her wand or pointing his own at her. As long as the Death Eater she faced was not him, it would be a minor distraction, but it was still a distraction.

During a lull in the action, she went to the Great Hall where she learned that Snape had left the school hours earlier. "Like the coward he is," someone said disparagingly. She turned to cast a jinx at the speaker and instead came face to face with the lifeless body of Tonks. Kingsley had levitated her and was moving her close to the body of her husband.

Too many thoughts pummeled Katherine at once. Tonks's cheerful "Wotcher" every morning... her positive glee upon discovering Snape's boxer shorts at Spinner's End... her impish delight in mismatching his socks in the same place... her steady love for her husband... Remus and his constant worry over the future... the joy of both in their infant son... The envy she had in their happiness only a month before evaporated instantly in dismay that it was over for them so soon. Someone was talking to Katherine, but it was just a buzz in her ears.

"Get back in the game, Katherine." Kingsley had finished his task and was shaking her now.

"I don't know if I can do this."

"None of us can do this, Katie, but we're the ones who are here. We have to do this, and we will."

"Yes." Katherine's gaze strayed around the room to the groups of people who were no doubt mourning their dead. She shook her head and looked at Kingsley. "Yes, of course. I'm sorry, Kingsley. I'll do the job, for as long as you need me."

Shacklebolt gave her a small smile and moved on to encouraging another group of his volunteers. The battle began again and Katherine made good on her promise. Where possible, she cast binding charms around the Death Eaters she fought; where necessary, she killed them. She struggled and fought as long as anyone pointed their wand in her direction. She was in the Great Hall and heard everything said between Harry Potter and Voldemort until both described her lover as dead.

Suddenly time stopped and she couldn't think or breathe. She looked around the room, not sure what she was looking for until she saw Kingsley give her a small nod. She slipped out the door as the final spells were shouted. She barely registered that Potter had somehow triumphed. Where was Severus? They had mentioned the Shrieking Shack, and she couldn't get there fast enough. Were the protective spells around Hogwarts still in working order? What could it hurt to try? She closed her eyes with great determination as she turned.

It worked. She found herself standing in front of the most haunted house in England. The front door was open. She forced herself to treat this as any investigation. She was alert as she looked through the hallway. She was aware of every sound and breath of air as she looked into the rooms. They were dingy and musty but empty.

The last room was just as empty, until Katherine saw the small pieces of metal in a corner and the pool of blood in the middle of the room. Where was Severus? This must be where Potter and his friends had left him. Suddenly she felt as though all of her own blood were draining down through her feet to join his on the floor. She became aware of the movement in the hallway far too slowly. She reminded herself to stay professional and turned just as the Stunner hit her.

A/N: Thank you all who have been reading and reviewing! Thank you especially to beta reader Trickie Woo.