Title: Happy Christmas Katie
A/N: Written for Sparkling Soul's The "I Kissed A Girl" Competition.
Katie boarded the Hogwarts Express as usual for her final year of school. But for the first time since she had met them, she wasn't greeted by Alicia and Angelina's hyperactive hugs and loud fast chatter. They had been her closest friends, and now they had graduated and gone on to other things, leaving Katie alone again. Sure she had other friends, but none of them were as close to her as the two older girls had been.
She continued along the corridor, lost in her thoughts, until the shock of an impact with another person pulled her back into reality.
"Oh god I'm so, so sorry!" she burst out without even registering who the other person was. Leanne laughed.
"Katie calm down, I'm fine. Bit distracted today are we?" Katie grinned sheepishly and nodded. "Why not come sit with me? My friends have prefect duties so I'm stuck on my own..."
"Sure – you want to play exploding snap?" Katie pulled a pack of cards from her bag. Fred and George had taught her, Angie and Alicia to play back in first year. She shuffled and dealt the cards, and they passed most of the train ride talking about their summers and contemplating the enormous stacks of homework they would have this year. Their voices were punctuated by the BANG of the cards and occasional coughing fits over the clouds of smoke, until they were interrupted by Leanne's Prefect friends.
"Hey Lee-lee! I've missed you so much! Sorry I didn't see you before I was late again, our lovely Head Girl was not impressed... But how was your summer? Was France good?" Susan Bones was unexpectedly talkative, babbling a mile a minute.
"Breathe Susie. Let the girl speak!" Another 6th year, who's name she couldn't quite remember, followed her in, rolling his eyes at Susan's over excited manner.
"Hey," Leanne placed a card while I wasn't looking, causing a particularly violent explosion. "Guys, say hi to Katie. Katie, the thing bouncing off the walls is Susan, and the slightly less insane guy who thinks he has a chance with her is Oliver Rivers." She made the introductions, earning a glare off him.
"Charmed to meet you." he winked at Katie and took my hand, kissing it like someone from a Muggle film. "And contrary to popular belief, I have no interest in Susie beyond pushing her off the Astronomy Tower." She flipped her middle finger up at him, and when he turned his back drew her wand and flicked it in his direction. He left the compartment for the bathroom, humming happily. A minute or so later the entire train heard him yelling.
"MY HAIR! SUSAN!" Susan merely smirked and dealt the cards again.
I collapsed into a chair in the library at what was now our usual table. It was the last day of term before Christmas, so it was fairly empty – the general idea was that they'd have two whole weeks to do homework. I was first here for once, even after an exhausting Quidditch practice. Since September I'd become good friends with Leanne, Oliver and Susan, despite their quirks and Oliver and Susan's frequent arguments. Even since their on again, off again relationship had begun they fought at least every fortnight, leaving the Hufflepuff common room in disarray and invariably ending with them ignoring each other for a few days before returning to normal. I shut my eyes for a second, leaning back and relaxing. This lasted all of two seconds before...
"KATIE KATIE KATIE! Hows life my good, good friend who will help me with this impossible Transfiguration essay because she loves me?"
"No shouting in the library!" Madam Pince snapped. Susan flopped into the chair next to me and pulled out parchment and a quill, looking up at me expectantly. I groaned and pulled her textbook towards me.
"As if I don't have enough of my own..." I muttered. Oliver and Leanne came in a moment later, having walked rather than ran to the library.
"It's the holidays ladies! Two weeks of freedom, snow, cake, presents..." Oliver dumped his bag on the table with a bang.
"More like homework, homework and more homework... And what have you got in there anyway, bricks?." I pushed his bag off the Transfiguration book and continued reading.
"Close enough. Herbology equipment." He stuck his tongue out at me.
"Helping with Transfiguration are you Katie? Good, I'm stuck too." Leanne perched on the edge of my chair, reading over my shoulder. My hands shook a little and I let my hair fall over my face to hide the red blush rising up.
That was another thing that had sprung out of the last three and a half months with Leanne: a definite and undeniable attraction to her. Which was also completely hopeless – she was as straight as a ruler. As proved by what I heard when I caught up with the conversation again.
"Okay, okay! I have a date. Are you two happy now?" She admitted, scowling at them and blushing.
"Who is it?" Susan probed.
"Nick Summers." Leanne was staring down at her feet, embarrassed. The appropriate squealing and flood of questions was generated by Susan and Oliver (who could be such a girl sometimes).
"And I'll just be sitting here alone..." I sighed dramatically for the benefit of my friends.
"Aww Katie, you'll find someone eventually!" Susan patted my shoulder sympathetically.
"You're such a sweetie Kate. Someone will see that." Leanne smiled. Then Oliver decided to jump in and ruin the comforting comments with
"Yeah, and when they see you handle that bit of wood on the Quidditch pitch..." he winked. We all burst out laughing.
"OLIVER!" I gasped out between laughter. "Just, no!"
"THATS IT! Out, all of you!" Madam Pince stood over us, wand in hand. We left in a hurry, books and papers everywhere.
"Well we have Prefect duty anyway... see you guys tomorrow." Oliver and Susan walked off hand in hand.
"More like snogging duty. You coming to Hogsmeade tomorrow Katie?" Leanne asked as we made our way to the kitchens.
"Nah, I'll leave you lot to your dates. I've already got all my Christmas shopping." I winced internally at the thought of her and Nick.
"Well, if your sure... See you afterwards then." She continued on to the Hufflepuff common room while I headed into the kitchen – I'd skipped dinner for homework and Quidditch practice. Again.
I woke up bright and early the next morning, against my wishes, to the sounds of the other Gryffindor girls getting ready for Hogsmeade. I automatically shoved my head under a pillow and made a desperate attempt to go back to sleep. Until someone shook me, trying to wake me up.
"I am the only person in the whole damned school without a date. Leave me alone." I muttered into the pillow. They continued shaking until I finally sat up, grabbing the pillow as a weapon. Leanne stood in front of me, tears streaking her face. I lowered the pillow and hugged her.
"Hey, hey what's wrong?" I asked, rubbing her back soothingly and trying not to think about how close she was. This was not the time. "I thought you were going out with Nick?"
"I was" She sobbed. "But then, then I went up to meet him, and he was there, which was you know, good, but then, I saw, he was wrapped around this other g-girl kissing her."
"Oh Lee-lee." This guy was clearly an idiot who didn't know what he was missing.
"I j-just thought he actually liked me." She sniffed and wiped at her eyes.
"Yeah well when I get hold of him he'll wish he was never born... no-one hurts..." I stopped myself saying 'my Leanne'. She wasn't mine, I had no claim on her. "One of my friends." I finished. "And you know what Susie will be like when she finds out." She managed a watery smile.
"Thanks Katie... I'd better let you sleep." She turned to leave.
"No, don't bother. I'll come to Hogsmeade with you if you like. But, just a question... How did you get in here?"
The week passed in a blur. Leanne's failed date was quickly forgotten, Oliver and Susan had managed 3 whole weeks without a fight. Christmas morning found me heading to the Hufflepuff common room for the first time, carrying presents for both me and them. Susan let me in, and we filled buckets of water to go wake Oliver – he really wasn't a morning person. Once he was dry and slightly less zombie like we sat down and opened gifts, getting so distracted that we missed lunch. Leanne and Susan saved us from starvation however, by getting food from the kitchens. Several mince pies and a pile of sandwiches later, Susan had the idea to end all ideas – or at least end her life if Oliver's hair got messed up.
"Alright everyone, outside! Snowball fight!" We wrapped up in scarves and gloves, and headed outside where other students appeared to have had the same idea. Someone had built an enormous snowman near Hagrid's hut, clearly using magic – no-one could lift something that big.
Dinner that night was eventful. We all sat around one table, and the plates laden with food of every description were interspersed with wizard crackers. I ended up wearing a straw hat, and a teacup, frog and a knitted tea cosy had fallen out of the crackers. We headed back to the Hufflepuff common room with the others, singing Christmas carols and throwing things at Peeves, who they met on the way down. It was turning out to be the best Christmas ever. Despite their quiet reputation, the Hufflepuff's were a lot of fun once they got used to you. The topic of conversation between the four of us drifted from insulting Nick and plotting his death to plans for the New Year. At three in the morning I decided it was about time I left. We were all drifting off a little, courtesy of too much good food and a long day.
"I'll walk back with you." Leanne offered, yawning widely. It took longer than usual to get up to the tower – I was starting to suspect that someone had spiked that pumpkin juice, we were all acting a little tipsy. We finally made it to the top. Only one torch was lit outside the Fat Lady's portrait, and we stood there for a few minutes. The conversation slowly tailed off into silence, and I jumped a little as I realised I was staring at her.
"Umm, anyway, night Lee-lee." I turned to give the password, and she caught my arm, pulling me back around. Before I could think about what was happening, she was kissing me.
"Happy Christmas Katie." She whispered and ran off.