Come the weekend, Kate made her way to the Headmaster's office with one hand propping up her lower back.
It was mostly because of that flying tackle from Hermione — she really couldn't take it. Her back had ached for two or three days, and was only just starting to feel a little better by the weekend.
When Dumbledore saw her in such a state, he very nearly thought she'd been the victim of school bullying.
"Ah, so it was with Miss Granger..." The old man understood at once the moment she explained, a faint smile spreading across his aged face. "Do be careful when you're playing about next time."
Kate was so mortified she wished she could find a hole in the ground and crawl into it. She murmured a single low reply, then dropped her head and said nothing more.
Fortunately, Dumbledore knew well enough that young people had thin skin, and didn't press the matter. He simply had the armour brought in straight away, and bade her resume last week's conversation.
"How have you been keeping lately, little Tom?" The armour wrote on the diary in a tone that bordered on flirtatious.
In almost the very instant the ink vanished, the next line of writing appeared: "Who are you? Katherine?"
It was obvious enough — it was very worried that "Katherine" might hand it over to Dumbledore.
"So eager not to see me? What a shame — I did pop over to Hogwarts this week, but I left without ever getting to see Dumbledore."
The writing on the diary finally slowed a little this time. "You went to Hogwarts? What are you trying to do?"
"Just as you said — I went to take a look at that school. The scenery is rather nice, the students and Professors are decent enough too, though it would be even better if the Headmaster could be replaced."
Having written that, Kate cast a slightly nervous glance at Dumbledore.
She had already done her best to use somewhat less inflammatory language when disparaging him, but openly speaking of staging a coup right in front of the man himself was still rather a thrill.
"You've finally realised where you fall short of Dumbledore." The diary was thoroughly pleased with itself — after having been forced into silence for so long, it now felt as though it was finally about to seize the initiative in the conversation.
A hint of amusement rose in Kate's eyes as she manipulated the armour to write on: "It would seem you have some way of helping me chase him out of the school?"
This time the diary fell silent for a while.
She didn't rush to push it along. Instead, she and Dumbledore each poured themselves a cup of black tea, and the two of them simply stood there sipping it slowly.
"I'm guessing it won't be so easy to get it to spill all its secrets at once," she said, taking a sip of tea, analysing things calmly. "I'll have to keep needling it a bit more."
Dumbledore, as always, added a lethal dose of sugar and milk to his tea — enough to make Kate click her tongue in disbelief.
"And how do you plan to handle it, then?" His deep-blue eyes regarded her steadily.
Kate gave a shrug. "I'll block each move as it comes."
After all, with the White Dark Lord here to back her up, what was there to be afraid of?
A short while later, words surfaced on the diary once more: "I can help you create chaos at Hogwarts — but I will need to borrow your body for a time."
Tsk — there it was, the dagger at the end of the scroll.
This Tom really wasn't very practised in the art of negotiation.
Kate exchanged a glance with Dumbledore, then directed the armour to begin writing: "You want to use my body? From the name I'd taken you for a male consciousness — don't tell me you have a thing for women's clothing?"
Even Dumbledore very nearly choked on her words.
The diary was visibly thrown for a moment. Words appeared in a rather flustered, indignant rush: "I am not! Even if you were a man, I would still make the same request!"
"Oh — so men and women are all the same to you," a smile played at the corner of Kate's lips as she had the clone go on writing in the diary, "how old are you, exactly? How can you be so wild already?"
Dumbledore finally couldn't hold it in any longer; he turned his back and gave a few coughs. The instant he turned back, he was greeted by fresh writing on the diary, equal parts furious and helpless.
"Katherine! I beg you not to test my bottom line!"
Ah, the young Voldemort really couldn't take any teasing at all.
Kate gave a quiet chuckle and shook her head, then went on writing: "Do you really think I'd hand my body over so easily to some... thing whose true nature I don't even know? Little Tom — aren't you being just a touch naïve?"
No one had ever used the word "naïve" to describe him before.
The diary was practically trembling with rage; the ink kept vanishing and reappearing — exactly like some bratty kid losing a verbal showdown, unable to out-argue the other side, reduced to furiously editing and re-deleting words in the chat box.
By the time Kate finally saw a complete sentence appear, half her tea was already gone.
"I see. You're deliberately trying to provoke me. You don't actually believe I can help you at all, do you?"
"Well, what did you expect? You don't even have a body. Just how many of Dumbledore's spells do you suppose this diary of yours could block before it crumbles?"
As she wrote that line, Kate pointedly cast a sideways glance at Old Man Dumbledore, and found that the old man had honed his emotional self-control to an almost otherworldly level.
Not only was he entirely unaffected — he was even watching with a thoroughly cheerful air.
"Idiot. I only need to stir up unrest at Hogwarts — naturally there's no need for me to take action personally. You don't seem to be a Hogwarts student yourself, so you've probably never heard: hidden away inside this castle lies a certain monster."
Kate's relaxed expression tightened ever so slightly. She saw Dumbledore sit upright in his chair as well, and knew that the main event had finally arrived.
"A monster? As far as I know, this castle has stood for a thousand years. What kind of monster could possibly survive in here that long without ever being discovered?"
As the ink gradually faded, Kate found herself involuntarily holding her breath — until at last a single line appeared on the diary.
"Fifty years ago, the monster of Hogwarts made its appearance once before. Since you don't trust me, go and look into it yourself."
The writing slowly faded, and no matter what Kate tried to write next, no further dialogue appeared.
With some reluctance she closed the diary, pressed her lips together, and turned to Dumbledore. "Professor, fifty years ago... what exactly happened? And what kind of beast is actually hidden inside the castle?"
Dumbledore's habitually gentle expression at last vanished. His face turned grave as he drained the milky tea in his cup, then silently stepped past Kate and took a few paces forward.
"Is it... a secret you can't share with me?" Kate asked hesitantly.
When the answer was slow in coming, she lowered her head in dejection. "I understand, Professor. I still have homework I haven't finished — I'll head back first."
She turned around and had only taken a few steps when Dumbledore's voice called her back: "I cannot be sure, child, whether you would be able to bear what happened fifty years ago."
Inexplicably, Kate felt a sudden sting in the bridge of her nose. She turned around and looked at him steadily.
"Professor — even if you don't tell me, I will look into it. Even if I have to comb through every kind of book and question every single ghost and portrait in the castle. You know I will. I am absolutely going to look into it."
She heard what sounded like a soft sigh from Dumbledore. Then he drew his wand to his temple, pulled out a few silvery threads, and placed them inside a small bottle.
"Take it back and view it. Once you've thought it through, if you still want to keep investigating this matter, come and find me in my office."
Kate took the small bottle, gave him a single, complicated look, and withdrew from the office.
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