Chapter 10 – Free At Last

No. 12 Grimmauld Place, August 1995

The three of them sat in stunned silence. Sirius leant back, concluding his story whilst Lupin was sympathetically reminiscing.

"So did she really go to Azkaban?" Harry asked, breaking the silence.

Lupin nodded. "The combination of the rebounded stunning spell, and the force of the plate smacking his head, caused Nero Buckley some severe mental damage. He was taken to St. Mungo's immediately and died after a few weeks," Lupin explained. Harry looked shocked.

"Although Kat was only eighteen, she was of age, and was imprisoned for manslaughter of Nero," Lupin continued. "It didn't help that his father was high up in the Ministry. I have a feeling that if it weren't for him, Kat would have been let off."

"She completely blamed herself," Sirius added. "If she'd been let off she probably would have begged them to take her to Azkaban. In her eyes she was a criminal – a murderer," he said miserably.

"She was in there for a few years, before I was sent to Azkaban. They let the prisoners read the Daily Prophet, so she most likely read about my crime and imprisonment. But Nero's father was appalled at the idea of us being so close after everything that had happened, not that we would've ever seen each other, so he ordered her immediate release."

Harry listened, fascinated.

"I never saw Katereen Felis again. Although, the first night in prison I could've sworn I watched a black cat stalk past my cell, flashing its green eyes in my direction. Most likely just a shadow though," Sirius grinned.

Lupin grasped Sirius' shoulder affectionately.

"How did you cope with it?" Harry piped up. "I mean, right after she was taken away."

Sirius chuckled and took a sip of his tea. Lupin answered before he could. "Oh, he got over it. After a lot of time by himself and an unhealthy amount of Firewhisky, we finally convinced him to start talking again and come back to classes."

Sirius nodded in agreement. "I admit it was hard watching Lily and James be so happy together, but I was never going to be good boyfriend or husband material. All I needed was my friends and soon I was back to my mischievous ways, wreaking havoc with the help of your father." He smirked at the thought, and thee three of them laughed.

After a long silence, Sirius finally spoke again. "I wonder what happened to Katereen Felis…?"

At that exact moment, a caravan was hurtling along an old, dusty road directly into the sunset. Two horses were pulling the caravan, whipping past the trees and bushes that lined the road. At the front of the caravan stood a woman, with her eyes closed, feeling the wind on her face.

She was pretty, and had a huge grin on her face, emphasising the dimples in her cheeks. Masses of blonde corkscrew curls tumbled down past her shoulders, and once she opened them, even her eyes gleamed with happiness.

She travelled alone in the wilderness, moving from one place to another every day, a sort of wizarding gypsy if you will. She often helps distressed witches or wizards she finds in her travels – letting them hitchhike and tag along – but most of the time she travels alone, like a wildcat, with no pride and no chains tying her to anybody.

She never makes plans or agreements; she goes where the wind takes her.

Free at last.