Chapter Four
"I made it!" Katherine shouted as she ran into the Great Hall on Friday night.
"Made what?" Hermione asked.
"The Quidditch team, of course! You're looking at Gryffindor's newest Chaser!" Katherine's smile was past her ears.
"Congratulations!" Hermione smiled.
"The tryouts were an ordeal, though."
"What happened?"
"I don't own my own broom, so I had to use one of the school's Snail brooms. You know the ones that get passed by butterflies."
"Why don't you buy a broom?"
"Too expensive. Besides, I have to save my money for school supplies for seven years."
"That's too bad."
"Ya."
The next morning, Katherine was shaken awake by Angelina Johnson, another Chaser. Katherine knocked her hand away, but Katherine kept shaking her.
"Go away." Katherine growled pulling the sheets over her head.
"Get up. Wood wants to start practice early." Angelina sounded like she'd rather go kill Wood than wake up this early. Katherine reluctantly got out of her warm bed and changed into her Quidditch robes.
When she made it to the changing room on the Quidditch field, everyone was there except Harry. Fred and George were sitting looking annoyed. Katie Bell and Angelina were falling asleep next to each other. Katherine chose the most comfortable corner and fell asleep there.
"Harry!" Oliver's voice cut through Katherine's nap and she jerked herself awake. Oliver then began to lecture the team about plays he had come up with during the break in which he, apparently, had nothing to do.
"Alright, let's go practice." Oliver grabbed his broom and led the team out of changing room. They had been in there so long that the sun was up. Soon, the team was all up in the air. Katherine noticed Colin Creevey taking pictures. She started posing for him.
"How's this, Colin?" She said while doing a handstand on her broomstick.
"Why is that first year taking pictures? He could be a Slytherin spy." Oliver frowned.
"The Slytherins don't need a spy." Fred said as Katherine flipped off her broom and landed on the ground gracefully.
"Why not?" Oliver asked.
"They're here." The rest of the Gryffindor team landed and Oliver ran over to the Slytherin Quidditch team.
"Flint! I booked the field today! Get lost!" Wood screamed. Flint grinned mockingly.
"We have a note from Professor Snape. 'I give the Slytherin team permission to practice today due to the need to train their new Seeker.'" Flint said.
"You've got a new Seeker? Who?" Wood asked distracted. Draco waltzed out from behind the Slytherin team.
"Me." Draco smirked.
"Aren't you Lucius Malfoy's boy?" Fred asked with dislike.
"Glad you mentioned Draco's father; we wanted to show you the gifts he gave us." All the Slytherins smiled more broadly. Eight brand new, highly polished brooms with the words Nimbus Two Thousand and One in gold gleamed underneath the Gryffindors' noses.
"Came out last month. Outstrips everything." Flint mocked.
"Katherine, my dad bought one for you." Draco held out the eighth Nimbus Two Thousand and One. Katherine took it and she could already feel the power inside of it.
"Tell him he shouldn't have." Katherine said.
"Oh, look, invasion." Flint said as Ron and Hermione made their way over.
"What's going on? What's Malfoy doing here?" Ron asked Harry.
"I'm the new Seeker for Slytherin, Weasley. The Gryffindors here were drooling over my father's presents." Draco sneered as Ron gaped at the brooms.
"Draco," Katherine whispered so that only he could hear.
"You all should raffle off those Cleansweeps; I bet a museum would take them." Draco said clearly ignoring Katherine. The Slytherins howled with laughter.
"At least the Gryffindor team is compromised with people who didn't buy their way in; they have pure talent." Hermione said sharply. Draco looked smugger.
"I don't remember asking you, you filthy little Mudblood." Draco spat.
Flint and Katherine dove in front of Draco to stop Fred and George from jumping him. Katie screeched, "How dare you!" Ron pulled out his broken wand and yelled, "You'll pay for that, Malfoy!" and pointed it under Katherine's arm at Draco.
A sound like a gun going off echoed around the pitch, a jet of green light came out of the wrong end of Ron's wand, the blast hit him and sent him flying backwards.
"Ron!" Hermione squealed. Ron opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He gave a belch and several slugs slowly slithered out of his mouth. Everyone stared at him for a moment.
The Slytherins howled louder than they ever had with laughter. Flint was leaning on his broom for support as he laughed. Draco was on the ground pounding his fists while guffawing. The Gryffindors surrounded Ron, watching as more slugs came out, no one wanted to touch him.
"Let's take him to Hagrid's." Harry said as he and Hermione grabbed Ron's arms. Katherine followed them clutching her broom.
Hagrid gave Ron a bucket.
"Who was he tryin' ter curse?" Hagrid asked.
"Malfoy called Hermione something that made everyone go insane." Harry said.
"He called her 'Mudblood,' Hagrid." Ron said between slugs. Hagrid was outraged.
"He didn'!" Hagrid growled at Hermione.
"He did, but I don't know what it means." Hermione admitted. Katherine, at first, was shocked that Hermione did not know what something was, but then thought that Hermione probably wouldn't look up profanity.
"A Mudblood is an insulting name for someone who is Muggle-born." Katherine explained.
"Katherine, why did you protect Malfoy?" Harry asked.
"Why wouldn't I?" Katherine countered.
"He insulted you." Harry said.
"What?" Katherine questioned.
"Why would she not defend Malfoy? He bought her a broom." Ron said.
"Why would I be insulted?" Katherine asked.
"Katherine, why don't you just go and snog Malfoy? You could thank him properly for the present." Ron sneered with slug slime all over his mouth.
"What is your problem?" Katherine nearly screamed at him.
"You didn't defend Hermione! You defended Malfoy!" Ron accused correctly.
"And that makes me evil?"
"Go snog Malfoy."
"Hermione," Katherine said in a gentle tone, though she looked ready to kill Ron. "I protected Malfoy because if Fred and George hurt him, their lives would become really hard. I do not agree with what Malfoy said and I will talk to him."
"I understand." Hermione said as Katherine walked towards the door.
"But Katherine won't talk to him. She's afraid that he gets mad he'll take away her broom." Ron said. Katherine turned around to face him.
"Ronald, I'm poorer than you, but I don't choose my friends because of how rich they are." Katherine looked at Ron, looked at Harry, back at Ron, smirked, and left.
She watched Slytherin practice, and once they were done, she hopped into the air. The Nimbus Two Thousand and One felt like a feather underneath her. She zipped this way and that. The wind rushed through her hair.
She flew as high as she could stand. Then she sat a moment looking down at the castle. She turned the nose of the broom down and accelerated. The ground raced closer to her. She was grinning as the broom flew faster and faster. Six inches from the ground, she pulled up. The broom wobbled a little bit, but she managed not to crash.
Clapping from the stadium made her look behind her. A tall dark haired boy was the source of the sound. She flew over to him and flipped into the stands.
"You are very show-offy." He smiled with gray eyes twinkling.
"Not all the time." Katherine grinned at the extremely handsome boy.
"The Wronski Feint was impressive though. First time?"
"Yep."
"Even more impressive. Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. Cedric Diggory." He held out his hand.
"Katherine Peters." She accepted his hand. Cedric sat down admiring her new broom.
"How old are you?" Cedric asked.
"Twelve. I'm a second year."
"And you can do the Wronski Feint? Are you the Seeker?"
"Nah, Harry's Seeker. I'm a Chaser."
"Harry? Harry Potter?"
"Yes."
"So, you're in Gryffindor."
"And you're in?"
"Hufflepuff." Cedric said. Katherine looked down at her broom.
"Would you like to try it out?" Katherine offered.
"I couldn't. It's your broom."
"Go ahead. I insist."
Cedric took the broom and flew off. He did flips and zagged through the three hoops. He swooped over an inch above Katherine's head. When he landed, the smile on his face said one thing, Fantastic.
Hours later, Cedric and Katherine were sitting and talking still. The light was slowly going away, but neither of them noticed.
"What are your parents like?" Katherine asked.
"They're very proud of me. I am told that I do well in school." Cedric said embarrassed to be bragging about himself. "And your parents?"
"Dead." Katherine looked at her hands.
"I'm sorry." Cedric said sincerely.
"They died while battling Death Eaters when I was one."
"Who do you live with?"
"My parents' best friends. A pair of Muggles."
"You don't seem to like them."
"I like them, but they are the type of people who were never supposed to have children. They like to travel too much by themselves."
"So, do they take you with them?"
"Nope. I spend almost all of my time with the Malfoys."
"The Malfoys?"
"I live down the street from them. Since I've been friends with Draco since I was four, I am kind of a daughter to Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy."
"Are they nice to you?"
"They're the ones who bought this broom."
"Very nice, then." Cedric smiled. His stomach growled. "What? I just had lunch."
"Cedric, I think it's almost time for dinner." Katherine said as she looked at the sun setting.
"Oh. We've been having a great conversation, haven't we?" grinned Cedric.
"We have." Katherine beamed.
"Shall we go to dinner?"
"Let's."
Katherine and Cedric walked to the Great Hall. They made promises to meet up after the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin game. Hopefully, it would be the start of a great friendship.
