Coming home to the Burrow always felt very refreshing to me. No matter what chaos I was going through, the warmth and love of my family made up for everything else.

That was exactly why I was so scared to lose them. They had taken me in when I had no one, and shown me what it was like to be loved and cherished. Now that my ancestry was in question, there were times I simply wanted to bury the truth and never look back.

But Professor McGonagall was right. Some day or other, the truth was bound to come out.

That letter in my bag seemed the heaviest but I hadn't yet opened it, deciding to take a good look at it when I retreated to my room at night.

Dinner passed with the usual family antics until it was time to retreat to our rooms. I picked up the bag and was about to go up the stairs when Fred and George stopped me.

"Kat, got a minute for your old pranking buddies?" George spoke up, his arm carelessly dangling off Fred's shoulders.

"Sure, what is it?"

"We have to talk to you," Fred resumed, and both of them gave me a look as if they had figured out something and wanted to confirm their assumption, "It's about Perce."

That was unexpected... "Percy? Why?"

"Can't we come up to your room to discuss?"

I considered and nodded, leading the way as they followed me up the stairs. My room would feel cramped considering that we had gotten a lot taller and with the three of us in there, not much space would be left to move about.

Still, we settled down as I took the bed, and my brothers conjured bean bags for them to sit on the rug. I didn't say anything myself and waited for them to continue discussing whatever they wanted.

"So we know you and Percy are close but we are kinda feeling left out these days," George spoke up and Fred nodded, agreeing with him as always. 

"Like it seems you two are up to something and we're concerned because you didn't tell us anything about it," Fred added, "I thought we were your ultimate secret keepers but guess we were wrong..."

Oh, I see... They are feeling insecure because I asked Perce to help me out with the Everhart case and not them. "You were not wrong, of course, you two are my best secret keepers," a smile threatened to break on my face as I tried to convince them.

"Oh yeah? Then what is going on with this Percy situation?"

They were keeping one secret for me already and I didn't want to burden them with another much deeper secret.

"I just needed him to find out about a woman I was seeing in my visions lately," I decided telling them just that as it wouldn't possibly concern them further, "He works in the Ministry so it would be easier for him to do that compared to you two. That's all."

"You underestimate us," they remarked, folding their arms defiantly as they glared at me.

"Come on, guys, it's nothing like that," I tried to ward them off the topic.

"And why do you suddenly feel the urge to find out about the woman from your visions?" George asked, his eyes narrowing in concern, "You have never done that for anyone else before."

"Yeah, because earlier I only saw people I knew in my visions. I don't know her at all but it feels as if she's connected to me," the words were out before I could stop myself and I could see their curiosity had been piqued.

"And there's no other reason for you to involve Percy except for his connections at the Ministry which would help in finding out this woman?"

"Yes, of course. And I do trust him to help me out so..." I observed their expressions carefully but it seemed like they weren't as pissed off after hearing the explanation.

"Alright, just one more question," Fred piped up and I turned to face him, "You haven't told him anything about the time travel?"

"Of course not, why would I do that?"

A satisfied look spread on their faces and they nodded, "Good. We want to be the only ones knowing that secret. And well, Harry knows too but that doesn't matter."

"Yeah, I am not telling anyone else, and neither should you," I warned, and they nodded in agreement.

It was quite late when they left and the dreadful weight of opening Dumbledore's letter fell upon me again. Locking my door shut, I returned to my bed and took that envelope out of my satchel.

It was sealed and I had to remove it with a small scalpel. My hands were unsteady but I pried it open, taking out the contents within.

There were a few letters, addressed to Dumbledore, and there were cuttings from an old book, its parchment almost withering away. I had to separate the items very carefully and then sat down to read through them. 

I picked the letter on the top and saw the name inscribed at the bottom: Evelyn Everhart.

Headmaster Dumbledore,

I am writing to you in utter distress as I have no one else I can turn to. My visions have gotten worse and I have been seeing terrible things. No one in the family believes me but I have seen things that will tear our world apart. Please write to me soon and tell me what to do.

Faithfully, Evelyn Everhart.

I put that letter down and picked up another, again written by Evelyn. My eyes stopped at the lines shortly after the formal opening.

I am staying at Malfoy Manor and Narcissa ensures me that no mail I send will be intercepted. But I can't be sure of anything now. Evander has been looking for me and already came here thrice. I won't be able to write to you again but if it is possible for you, please arrange some other place for me to stay. I do not want to burden my good friends any longer.

There were a few letters from Evander too, all demanding Dumbledore that he tell where his sister was hiding. Some had a haint of concern while some were downright threatening to take Dumbledore to the Wizengamot.

It was all rather confusing and I couldn't figure out the reason Dumbledore would leave those letters to me until I read that old book cutting. The golden inscription stood out and I paused, running my finger over the withered words.

The Curse of Phoebus. 

The lines that followed were an old inscription, taken from the grave of probably the first Everhart witch:

In shadows deep, where secrets sleep,

Lies the curse of Phoebus, dark and steep.

A seer's line, by fate entwined,

In visions bound, their souls confined.

No joyous sight shall grace their gaze,

Only the shadows, where sorrow stays.

With every glance, they glimpse the woe,

But unable to change the path they know.

For Phoebus's curse, it holds them tight,

In the grasp of darkness, day and night.

So let it be, this curse profound,

The Curse of Phoebus, forever bound.

I read it twice but it didn't make any sense to me. The only person I knew who could help me out with that inscription was Professor Trelawney, but she had left Hogwarts too and I didn't know where she was.

Dumbledore should have given me a guide to interpret those words too. Or perhaps he thought I would envision it myself.

All I could guess so far was that my ancestry was masked with an ancient curse and the guilt of my parents that still ran deep. Unraveling all those sinister threads would take me much longer and considering the current situation of us standing at the brink of war, it could never be possible.

***