It was the end of Potions class when Harry approached Katie, asking her to join him in the Gryffindor common room that evening so he, Ron and Hermione could make amends. Not only that, but he told her that he had something else he wanted to discuss with her, and the air of urgency to his tone had piqued her interest. And so, after dinner, she found herself climbing staircase after staircase as she made her way to the Gryffindor common room. It was only once she reached the portrait of the Fat Lady that she realised, with a wave of exasperation, that she did not know the password to get inside.
Katie glanced behind herself, hoping to see a Gryffindor student making their way up from dinner, but she had no such luck. Just as she had a mind to give up and retreat to the dungeons, the portrait swung open and someone clambered out.
"Hi Katie," Neville smiled. In his hand he clutched his Remembrall, swirling with scarlet smoke. "I spent ages trying to figure out why this thing was red. Then I saw everyone coming back to the common room and I remembered that I forgot about dinner. See you later!"
As Neville hurried off down the corridor, Katie hastened through the open portrait hole before it could close. The Gryffindor common room was surprisingly empty, with only a few students here and there doing homework or conversing with friends. Ron and Hermione were sat cross-legged on the rug by the fire, engaged in an intense game of chess, and Harry was next to them in an armchair, deep in thought.
"Hey," Katie began, selecting the plush red couch to sit on. "You wanted to—"
"Don't talk to me for a second," Ron said. "I need to concen—" He caught sight of Katie in his peripheral vision, tips of his ears growing a faint pink. "Oh, hi, Katie."
She was beginning to grow tired of the nervous glances shared between Harry, Ron and Hermione every time she was around. When none of them spoke, Katie decided she would take this opportunity to express her own feelings.
"Look, I get it, Slytherins have a bad reputation," she started. "I'm not particularly fond of my housemates either. But you need to understand that I never asked to be sorted into Slytherin. If I was given the choice, I'd switch to Gryffindor in a heartbeat."
With a pink tinge dusting her cheeks, Hermione looked down at her feet in shame. "We know."
"You guys are my friends," Katie went on. "Or I want you to be, at least. But that means trusting me and not leaving me out."
"We're really sorry, Katie," Harry said, voice swelling with sincerity. Ron passionately nodded in agreement. "We never meant for you to feel excluded. I don't know what we were thinking, really. It just felt like a secret that wasn't meant to be shared."
"Well, you've shared it with me now," Katie reminded me. "Care to keep me filled in in future?"
Ron gave a firm nod of his head. "Absolutely."
Feeling a smile curling at her lips, Katie tucked her legs up onto the couch and nodded towards the ongoing chess game.
"So, who's winning?"
"Me, obviously," Ron snorted, clearly oblivious to the burning glare that Hermione was sending his way. She did not like being bested at anything, and chess was evidently no exception.
"Did I tell you what Wood told me?" Harry asked, and when Ron hummed in response, he elaborated. "Snape is refereeing our game against Hufflepuff."
"Don't play," Katie said at once, thinking back to how Snape had jinxed Harry's broom during the last Quidditch match. If he could cause that much damage as a spectator, she didn't want to imagine what he could do as a referee.
"Say you're ill," Ron suggested.
"Pretend to break your leg," Hermione said.
"Really break your leg."
"I can't," Harry sighed. "There isn't a reserve Seeker. If I back out, Gryffindor can't play at all."
Solutions whirled about Katie's mind, and just as she had opened her mouth to put one forward, Neville stumbled into the common room, falling flat on his face. It was a great mystery as to how he had managed to climb through the portrait hole at all, because his legs were bound together with what was recognisable as the Leg-Locker Curse. While almost everyone in the room erupted with laughter, Hermione bound up from the floor and ran to Neville's aid. She preformed the counter-curse with ease and helped a trembling Neville to his feet.
"What happened?" Hermione asked, leading him over to Katie, Harry and Ron.
"Malfoy, of course," Neville answered. "I met him outside the library. He said he'd been waiting for someone to practice that on."
Katie felt her stomach drop. Sometimes, Draco would exhibit if only a shred of friendliness, and it always had her believing, albeit foolishly, that he could possibly be a good person (though she would never admit this wish to her Gryffindor friends, of course). But then he would turn around and pull a cruel trick on someone he knew would not, or could not fight back, or make a nasty comment for the thrill.
"You've got to stand up to him, Neville!" Ron said. "He's used to walking all over people, but that's no reason to lie down in front of him and make it easier."
Tears welled in Neville's eyes. "There's no need to tell me I'm not brave enough to be in Gryffindor, Malfoy's already done that."
Sympathy washing over her, Katie reached into the pocket of her robes and pulled out the remainder of the Bertie Botts that Harry had gotten her for Christmas.
"Here." She handed the box to Neville. "They may not all be nice, but you might get a good laugh from them."
Neville took the jellybeans from Katie, flashing her a weak but grateful smile.
"You're worth twelve of Malfoy," Harry said. Katie's stomach twisted into a strange, uncomfortable knot, which she chose to ignore as Harry continued on, "The Sorting Hat chose you for Gryffindor, didn't it? And where's Malfoy? In stinking Slytherin."
Neville inhaled sharply, eyes darting towards Katie. The words had fallen from Harry's tongue before he even had the chance to stop and think about what he was saying. Four pairs of wide eyes stared at Katie in trepidation, but she merely waved them down.
"It's fine," she almost laughed. "You're right, Harry. Slytherin sucks."
Harry still tried to apologise. "Katie I—"
"Seriously, don't worry about it." Katie brought herself to her feet, brushing out her skirt as she did so.
"Oi, where are you going?" Ron said loudly, his eyes trailing after Katie as she made her way across the room.
"To find Malfoy."
As Katie made her way down staircase after staricase, she pondered where Draco could be. During a free period, she could usually find him down by the lake, tossing pebbles and unsuspecting first-year girls. In the evenings, he typically lounged by the fire in the common room, smirking in smug satisfaction as Crabbe or Goyle did his homework for him.
Deciding that she would check the common room first, Katie descended the marble staircase, all the while thinking about what she would say to Draco when she found him. Truth be told, she didn't think she had it in her to tell him off. Perhaps she would simply demand that he apologise to Neville.
She almost laughed out loud to herself. Draco Malfoy? Apologise?
Katie stormed her way down to the dungeons, footsteps echoing off the stone walls and, as she turned a corner, walked straight into something—or, someone, more like.
"Watch where you're—Katie?"
Draco's harsh tone promptly faded when he realised who exactly he had collided with. Katie rubbed her head, soothing a blooming ache.
"Malfoy."
"What are you doing here?" Draco questioned. "I thought you were hanging out with Potter."
"I was . . . looking for you actually," Katie replied, voice growing more quiet as, for some inexplicable reason, she felt heat rising to her cheeks. Raising an eyebrow, Draco considered her with suspicion written all over his face but, much to Katie's discontent, he did not request elaboration. He hadn't given her a chance to explain why she had been looking for him in the first place.
"Well, I was just about to come and get you, actually," Draco said, his voice at the same level as Katie's was before. "Flint decided that you should have a last minute training session this evening. I just wanted to let you know."
Although she was taken off guard by Draco's uncharacteristic act of kindness, Katie chose to ignore it.
"Thanks, Malfoy, but I actually wanted to talk to you about—"
"Katie! Katie, you left this behind!"
A panting, red-faced Ron Weasley skidded to a halt before the two Slytherins, hands on his knees as he caught his breath. Finally, he stood up straight, though he was still out of breath, and handed a large, tattered book to Katie.
"What's that?" Draco asked, peered at the book cover.
"Just a book that Hermione lent to me," Katie shrugged.
Draco snorted in mockery. "That's a big book, Blair. Are you sure you've got the brain to read it?"
There it was again. One moment, Draco was completely civil, or dare Katie even say friendly, and the next he was giving out insults as though they were Sickles.
"What's your problem, Malfoy?" Ron bit, spitting out Draco's surname like it tasted bad on his tongue. A devilish smirk curled at Draco's mouth.
"I don't have a problem," he said. "I'm just speaking the truth."
Embarrassed that Ron had to stick up for her as opposed to her jumping to defend herself, Katie was at a loss for comebacks. Taking her by the hand, Ron began to lead Katie away.
"Come on," he said gently, rounded on Draco once more. "Leave her alone, you slimy git. She's better than you'll ever be."
Draco did not get the chance to offer a retort before Ron whisked Katie around the nearest corner. Once they were out of the dungeons, he dropped her hand, and she finally found her voice.
"You didn't need to stick up for me like that," she mumbled, refusing to meet his eyes. "I can handle myself."
Ron grinned. "I know you can."
***
The skies might have been clear at Quidditch practice that evening, but the air was bitterly cold. Katie came to realise that the changing rooms were much too cold to wash up in, so she decided to return to the castle and have a bath there.
After Katie tucked her school-appointed broomstick neatly into the broom shed, she turned around, starting to find that Draco was stood only a few feet away. Although the sky was dark and his hood was up, Katie recognised his sleek blond hair peeking out from beneath the rim. At first, she thought that he had come to apologise for what he had said to her before, but then she remembered that this was Draco Malfoy she was dealing with. He didn't do apologies. Eyebrows furrowed in confusion, she approached him.
"You're filthy," Draco pointed out, eyeing the girl, who was indeed covered in muck.
"What are you doing here?" Katie ignored his comment. "You're out after dark."
"You said you wanted to talk to me about something," he shrugged nonchalantly. Katie had to admit that she was taken aback. Had Draco really trekked down to the Quidditch stadium in the dark at the risk of detention just because he was interested in hearing what she had to say?
Katie brushed that thought aside, reminding herself that she was supposed to be angry with Draco.
"I wanted to talk to you about Neville."
He might have momentarily stiffened, but his expression quickly melted into one of wicked triumph. In fact, he was practically glowing with pride.
"It was quite a funny joke."
"No, it wasn't," Katie argued, falling into step with him as they started towards the school.
"Loosen up, Blair," he snorted. "I was just messing around. Besides, that Longbottom boy isn't worth a Knut anyway."
Jaw falling slack with anger, Katie balled her hands into fists as an effort to control herself. But this only proved to be fruitless when her small hand whipped across Draco's face, leaving a glowing handprint splashed across his pale cheek.
His mouth fell open in indignant shock, stuttering out a futile attempt at words. He stared with wide eyes, completely gobsmacked, at Katie who, truth be told, was just as stupefied as Draco.
"That's from Neville," she bit, turning on her heel and marching up the lawn towards the castle.