Chapter 3
The summer seemed to pass too quickly for Kathryn as the months passed in the blink of an eye. Yet somehow she found herself happy, looking forward to seeing her friends again at school and telling them all about her summer adventures. Of course, she'd written to her friends and her friends had written back but it wasn't the same thing as being able to tell them in person and share in enthusiasm the exciting tales.
The daytime trip to Diagon Alley approached quickly on the day that her parents would take her and her brother to shop for their school supplies. Kathryn was excited because her parents had told her that she could have her first broom considering that Professor Wood had told both her and Tiffany that they had excellent talent for first years. Kathryn hoped to try out for the Quiditch team this year, even if she would be on Slytherin's team.
Over the summer her father had taught her, on a practice broom, the rules and ways of Quiditch and had shown her his previous position as beater on the Gryffindor team when he'd attended. Kathryn could imagine if Roxy had lived to see Hogwarts that they would have gone out for the Quiditch team together and not cared a wink what house they'd been put in as long as they were together. Kathryn often had found herself the previous year hoping to find someone among the Slytherins like that. She'd found close friends in Katlynn and Tiffany but it wasn't the same as having a twin sister that you could be up all night in the same bunk talking about the previous day's potions class or the cute boys that walked through the corridors, not that Kathryn had seen any last year, but she did wish that there was a fellow Slytherin that she could complain to about Scorpious. He had toned down his aggression after the ferret incident but he was still annoying always hanging around her reading corner.
When the trip to Diagon Alley finally happened Kathryn found that she spent all her time looking at the different broomsticks. Her brother Fred was in need of a new one too but he quickly chose a simple broom that was sleek but not overly pricey or special. But in looking at brooms that was when she heard the voice she'd honestly least expected to hear, Tiffany.
"HEY! WEASLEY!" Tiffany was shouting from across the street, "COME OUT HERE!"
Kathryn laughed to herself while continuing to look through the broomsticks until she looked up to see Tiffany standing no more than a foot from her. "You startled me," Kathryn laughed.
"Well I should hope so, I was only shouting at you and you just blatantly ignored me. Whatcha doin' anyway?" she asked.
"Looking for a broomstick. My da' said I could get my own this year since I wanted to try out for the Quiditch team," Kathryn replied.
"Cool! My parents are still not entirely sure why they let crazy people use magic. You'd think they'd have learned by my eleven years of potions in the kitchen," Tiffany laughed coldly, "But they said I could get a broomstick too. Worked all summer for it. You wouldn't believe how hard it is not to use even the simplest spells when you're being told you can't until you're back at school."
"They didn't wean you off potions too did they?" Kathryn asked.
"Technically yes. But I guess the house I live in has this sort of like secret basement so while they thought I was out doing yard work for neighbors I spent some of my time down there practicing my potions," Tiffany replied, "So which broom do you think is best for me?"
"Dunno, which position on the Quiditch team do you think you want to try out for? Or are you just going to get a broom for joyriding?" Kathryn replied.
"I'm thinking either chaser or beater," Tiffany smiled, "Na, definitely beater. It'd be fun to smack around some bludgers."
"Rather like Malfoy?" Kathryn laughed.
"Mind your manners, Kathryn. Your mother and I raised you better than that," George said seaming to appear from nowhere.
"Yes, da'," Kathryn replied going back and looking at the broomsticks with Tiffany.
After another half hour of browsing and testing broomsticks Tiffany decided to go with a Nimbus 3000, the latest model from the Nimbus line. It wasn't anything particularly special but as a beater she wouldn't need anything fast really, just sturdy and the new Nimbus was built like the Whomping Willow. Kathryn didn't need anything special either but she liked speed. She was also strongly considering trying out for a beater position on the Slytherin team but she didn't know if the broom would last her longer than her schooling years and so she wanted something that was fast for a joyride through London. Her father spent a short while joking about her becoming the new Slytherin seeker with a broom as fast as the Firebolt but what really caught Kathryn's eye was the Lightningbolt. The newest and fastest model of broomstick. Forget the Firebolt's zero to one-hundred-fifty in sixty seconds, the Lightningbolt went zero to three-hundred in sixty seconds. The speed was high over what would ever be necessary but there was something about the dangerous speed that had Kathryn begging her parents for the broomstick.
Angela was skeptical feeling that her daughter would never need the speed of the broomstick and that it would be damaged in a Quiditch game and therefore would need to be replaced. But despite her doubts and worries George talked her into allowing Kathryn this broomstick, if for nothing more than figuring that Kathryn would grow out of the need for speed by the time she needed a new broom.
When the day arrived to head off to Hogwarts Kathryn found herself once again greeting her massive family at Platform 9 ¾. Kathryn had stuffed away treasures in her bags from the summer that she hoped would not be found if bags needed to be searched upon arrival at Hogwarts this year. She had her father's knack for getting into trouble with her items, but she thought this year would be even worse as she didn't just have pranking materials from her father's shop but she had a few things that she'd found in the grounds of her family's house as well as the object she'd found in the Forbidden Forest the year before.
But when her Uncle Harry pulled her aside she was more than shocked. "Normally I would send you your birthday present via an owl, but this year is special. You see my Godfather, Sirius, gave me something that he said has been in the Black family for many generations, back as far as anyone can remember, probably back to the time of Merlin…Anyway he said it was special and that I would know when I needed to pass it on. I think it's a talisman of some kind, but you see I woke up this morning and it seemed to be speaking to me. I thought I would give it to Albus when he graduated school, but it seems to want you," Harry handed Kathryn a white crystal about ten centimeters long that was on a chain, "The chain was silver but I charmed it into pewter since I know it irritates your skin."
"You'd think she was a werewolf," James laughed from somewhere nearby. Normally his comments would have angered her but she was too entranced in the crystal talisman that her uncle had given her. He had been right; it did seem to want her.
Kathryn sat in the compartment with her friends on the ride up to Hogwarts. Tiffany went on about her potions experiments over the summer under the watchful eye of her ghost and the silly muggle things her parents made her do to get her broom; and Katlynn complained that her parents gave her everything but paid very little attention to her. She'd spent the summer seeing if she could anger them at all with no success at all.
When her friends were finished with their summer stories Kathryn made sure the door was closed nice and tight and that all the blinds were drawn shut before she spoke. "Okay, so you know how I found that pebble, rock whatever thing in the forest last year?" she asked her friends.
"Ya, what about it?" Tiffany asked.
"You figured out what it is didn't you?" Katlynn jumped in her seat a bit suddenly excited.
"Yes," Kathryn replied, "It's a dragon egg." Kathryn wasn't one much for theatrics between her friends so she got right to the point, "I was doing research almost the whole summer on different magical articles that look like rocks and came across the picture of dragon's eggs only to find a match. The book said that the eggs start out the size of pebbles and they grow over time. Some take hundreds of years to mature to a size that a dragon can hatch. My egg is a Hebridean. It's grown quite large since last winter. I just hope my shrinking spell on my clothes won't rouse suspicion when my bags come through."
"Wait," Tiffany stopped her, "You brought it BACK?"
"Of course I did. Did you really think I was going to leave a dragon's egg at home to terrify my parents? That's mad!" Kathryn replied.
"No," Katlynn said, "What's mad is bringing a dragon's egg into Hogwarts when you know the dangers involved. Go and give it to Hagrid when we arrive, at least he can take care of it better than you can."
"They won't let Hagrid keep a dragon either," Kathryn said, "I don't even know if it'll hatch this year."
"No! There is no way we are not telling someone about there being a dragon egg in Hogwarts!" Tiffany snarled.
Just then Dante opened their cabin door, "Hey guys how was your summer?"
"Would you get in here and close that damn door," Katlynn growled.
"Why are you so moody?" Dante asked closing the door behind him.
"Well she tried to anger her parents over the summer to no avail," Kathryn replied.
"And Kathryn's going to keep a dragon egg in her room in Slytherin," Tiffany piped in.
"Where in Merlin's beard did you get a dragon egg?" Dante asked.
"In the Forbidden Forest last year. You know when three of us had detention," Kathryn replied.
"Can I see it?" Dante asked receiving a rather loud smack from Katlynn.
"Careful, she has claws," Tiffany and Kathryn both laughed.
By the time they arrived at Hogwarts Kathryn had convinced all three of her friends to keep their mouths shut about her dragon egg. She promised if it hatched that she would turn it in but she wanted to see if she could at least get it to hatch herself before she gave up her treasure.
During the sorting ceremony Kathryn ended up sitting beside the Slytherin that had been kind to her the year before. He was two years ahead of her and the Slytherin team's keeper and captain but she didn't even know his name. When she looked over toward the Gryffindor table she knew that Tiffany would pester her about it later but honestly when he smiled she almost forgot the world.
When the day came for Gryffindor team tryouts Kathryn and Katlynn were there for Tiffany. Katlynn had brought along a first-year whom had joined the Hufflepuff house hoping she would win the approval of their group of friends. Amanda Watson was her name, and she was just as Katlynn had described. She was a misfit seeming to belong more in Ravenclaw than in Hufflepuff considering how smart she was. Amanda reminded Kathryn a bit of her Aunt Hermione. The professors were considering putting her in second year classes because it seemed that she knew everything they were teaching in the first year classes. Kathryn could understand what that was like in potions and even transfiguration this year seemed to be too simple so far. She imagined that Tiffany felt the same way in potions seeing as she could probably teach the sixth years class, not that she would mention that to Professor Malfoy for fear of actually having to teach them something.
Tiffany's new broomstick served her well during the tryouts. She could maneuver just as well, if not better, than the other hopefuls and seemed to be beater enough for the whole team. Kathryn's brother, Fred, was re-assigned to his chaser position and Tiffany gained her position as a beater.
Kathryn's tryouts for the Slytherin team were closer to dark after some classes were over and she was starting to get nervous. Watching Tiffany's tryouts and knowing what she would have to endure to get a position on her team as a beater was going to be hard work, and it was going to be near dark that she had to accomplish these feats. But still after watching Tiffany she felt like she had an advantage. Slytherins were brutal cheaters, yes, but they didn't train their beaters to keep the bludgers away from everyone on the field kind of like Tiffany had during her tryouts and she had managed easily enough.
"So you're gonna go see that captain of yours and bribe him for a spot Weasley?" Tiffany was joking in between classes later that day.
"Oh, so that's how you got into the Gryffindor team Negrand? Bribery? Because it seemed to me that there were plenty of older Gryffindors that had more talent," Kathryn sarcastically sneered back at her friend.
"Oh would you two bloody shut it?" Katlynn growled, "I wish we didn't have to sit through transfiguration when the team tryouts are happening."
"Why? Did Lorcan want you to come watch him fall off his broom?" Kathryn teased, "I heard he's not very talented on a broom…"
"Oh isn't that bloody brilliant? You're his friend too aren't you? He was going for a beater position, aren't you worried he's going to get hurt?" Katlynn replied.
"Oh you worry too much. He's not that great on a broom but he'll be fine," Tiffany said giving Kathryn a wink.
After transfiguration it was time for Kathryn to suit up for the Quiditch tryouts. She was small compared to her other housemates. Albus was standing next to her when the captain called out, "For those of you who don't know who I am, I am the team captain and keeper, Seth Thornton. Most of the team last year consisted of sixth and seventh years so this will most likely be a whole new team this year. For those of you who were on the team last year, things are going to change. Slytherin has gotten a reputation for being the cheating team and I plan on changing that. We don't need to beat Gryffindor by cheating. We will form two teams for this tryout. If I call your name while we are playing your time is up and you are excused. If I tell you to play a different position you will do so or your time is up and you will not make the team. Albus Potter, you have chosen to try out for seeker, given your skills with a broom I want you playing as a beater instead, you will switch with Kathryn Weasley whom I'm told has the broom skills of a seeker," he said.
Kathryn and Albus exchanged a doubtful look before gathering in the teams that Thornton was organizing. Kathryn had no doubt that her broom was well suited for a seeker position but she really did feel more comfortable being a beater. Albus proved to be a fair beater but nowhere as good as the other hopefuls. After about twenty minutes Kathryn decided she'd had enough waiting for the Seeker tryouts to begin, as there were separate trials she had to go through, she hopped on her broom and ordered Albus off the field taking the bat from him as he flew down to the field in shame. She heard Thornton call her name a few times growing angrier as he continued until she got into the swing of the game beating out the other hopefuls almost as easily as she'd seen Tiffany. Beating ran in her blood you could say, even if Fred was terrible at it, Kathryn had been closer to their father anyway and therefore had learned the tricks of the trade before she knew how to ride a broom.
When the tryouts were over Thornton pulled her aside still a bit pissed but amazed none the less. "I can't have my team disobey me in the future Weasley. I'm keeping you on because you're good. But the second you go against my wishes in a game, you're gone. Do we understand each other?" he almost seemed to growl.
"Perfectly, sir. As long as you realize that I may know better than you when it comes to me, after all I did just prove you wrong on my skills," Kathryn sneered back.
"I know Quiditch, Weasley, and you will respect my judgment. You are a beater but that does not exempt you from learning and participating in a game plan," Thornton replied.
"If you want Slytherin to win games by skill alone and not cheating, just let me keep the bludgers off the team and we'll get along just fine," Kathryn snapped turning on her heels and leaving her team captain standing in the center of the field looking like he was going to explode.
"You really should listen to him better," Albus said as they headed for the Slytherin common room.
"Yes, and he should learn to judge skills after he's seen them personally. This is why we belonged in Gryffindor. They don't know how our parents are so they don't know what we will know. I mean you were catching snitches in your crib, not that they were hard to catch… And my da's been teaching me Quiditch rules and strategy since, well before I can remember, but in the position of a beater," Kathryn replied.
"You could have said something like that to Thornton before you bit his head off by disobeying the rules during the tryouts. You really pissed the bloody hell out of him," Albus laughed.
"And he deserved it. He shouldn't have been team captain if he couldn't recognize that there are certain skills that people possess that make them better at a position than others. I don't know what he was thinking trying to get Hallie to be a chaser. Especially with her apparent like of pain," Kathryn laughed.
Once they had changed for dinner they headed off to the Great Hall, or at least they had started to head off when a certain team captain stopped them again. "Potter, do you mind if I speak with Weasley in private?" Thornton asked.
Albus gave Kathryn an apologetic look before nodding and disappearing down the corridor. "What is it you want with me now?" Kathryn asked sighing as her stomach growled.
"I heard you talking with your cousin about my skills as a team captain. Whereas I don't appreciate the backhanded slaughter I do want to apologize," he said.
"You want to apologize?" Kathryn felt her voice squeak as it caught in her throat.
"Yes. I should have known that you knew better when you signed up to try out as a beater and Potter as a seeker. And I know you think I was crazy asking Hallie to play as a chaser but I had to make sure that she was in the right section considering this was her first year trying out for the team. She's a year behind me so I had no idea how she was on a broomstick," he said staring at the floor.
"Well thank you for the apology, but it was really not necessary. I used to pride myself on staying out of the gossip and telling people that I had a problem with what that problem was to their faces instead of hiding behind cruel words… I guess this house does things to people," Kathryn said playing with her crystal pendant.
"Well I'd like to make it up to you. Let me walk you to dinner," Thornton said.
Kathryn blushed, "Look, you've been very nice to me up until this afternoon, which I will admit I deserved…but my friends are going to start talking if you walk me to dinner."
"Your friends are very into gossip then aren't they?" Thornton said.
"Sometimes…" Kathryn mumbled, "But I usually meet a couple of them at the top of the stairs since we all tend to eat dinner at our house tables. It was good to have this little talk Thornton…But I will see you at practice tomorrow afternoon."
When she tried to step around him he took a step so he stayed in front of her, "Let me walk you to the stairs then," he offered.
"Look, I just don't want them to talk, Thornton," Kathryn replied.
"Let them talk," he said, "and please call me Seth."
"I hardly know you! Why would we be on a first name basis after Quiditch practice?" she almost squeaked. Sure she found him cute but she wasn't even thirteen yet. Why should she even be thinking about cute boys?
"I thought maybe we could be friends," Seth sighed moving out of her path, "I don't meet many decent Slytherins and figured that you might feel the same way."
Kathryn almost instantly felt bad, "I don't know many decent Slytherins either, but it seemed more like you were looking for a girlfriend than a friend. You were moving plenty fast enough."
Seth blushed, "Well you are quite different than the others in the house, and I will admit that the thought had crossed my mind a time or two but we are still young. I didn't realize…"
"Don't mention it, please. You can sit with Albus and I at dinner if you'd like and we can get to know each other, but don't get too cocky about it. Even the Ravenclaws in the group of friends that I've gathered took a while to be on a first name basis with me," Kathryn said before almost sprinting down the corridor and up the stairs almost bowling into Tiffany.
"Someone's hungry," Tiffany laughed steadying her friend.
"Oh like you're never so hungry that I walk to dinner by myself?" Kathryn snapped.
"Whoa calm down," Tiffany replied, "I was just making a joke. What's got your knickers in a twist?"
"Bet it's Malfoy again," Katlynn piped in.
"No, it's not Malfoy," Kathryn replied as she and her friends started walking toward the Great Hall.
"Then what is it? Did the captain give you a bad time about the stunt you pulled at tryouts? He didn't kick you off the team for being a better player did he?" Tiffany asked.
"Well he was a bit, well…pissed, but no he didn't kick me off the team," Kathryn replied fully aware of the footsteps behind them and their exact distance that was always maintained even when they paused.
"Then what in the bloody hell are you so weirded out over?" Katlynn asked, "It's not the dragon egg is it?" her voice dropped to a whisper.
Kathryn felt like slapping herself. Another Slytherin was within earshot of them and the dragon egg under Kathryn's bed had been mentioned, and she'd invited him to sit with her and Albus at dinner. She couldn't wait to hear his thoughts on that reckless action if he didn't announce it to the headmistress. "No," she growled, "I will tell you about it tomorrow." And with that she headed off at a swifter pace toward the Great Hall leaving her friends behind. There was no way she was talking about boy issues with the boy not far behind them.
When she got to the Great Hall she sat down next to Albus without saying a word. Only when Tiffany and Katlynn had taken their seats at their respective tables did he turn his attention to his cousin, "What did they do?"
"Nothing. They wanted to know what had me riled up and I wasn't going to with Thornton just a few paces behind us," she snapped fully aware that she had left an empty seat next to her when he walked through the doors.
"What's wrong with you Weasley?" Scorpious's voice entered her thoughts, "Did Thornton kick you off the team after all?"
"Just because you got in as a chaser doesn't mean that I'm going to suddenly be nice to you, Malfoy," Kathryn snarled her anger at her friends and Thornton boiling over into her hatred of the Malfoy boy.
"Calm down Weasley," Scorpious said, "I was going to say that he would have been a fool, even after your disregard for his authority. My father's made me watch hundreds of Quiditch games and I think you're honestly the best beater I've seen in a while."
"Quiditch against Gryffindor will be interesting then because Tiffany is just as good if not better than I am," Kathryn replied, still cold but not as angry.
"A bunch of the team members are sitting together to start talking about strategy, would you care to join us?" Scorpious asked, "Potter's invited too."
Albus almost immediately jumped out of his seat but Kathryn was a bit more hesitant, "Is there really strategy that Hallie and I need? Don't we just kind of have to keep you guys from getting bloodied up?"
"Well you see, if you and Hallie head the bludgers over toward the other team then they'll be distracted or maybe even hit so we'll have less of them to worry about," Scorpious said.
"I thought I said we weren't going to be doing that this year, Malfoy," Seth's voice broke their conversation.
"It's a strategy. We don't have to aim at them so much as near them," Scorpious countered.
"I still don't want it happening as a strategy. If it happens it happens, but not purposefully. You understand Hallie?" Seth questioned looking over at the blonde beater.
"You have two beaters on your team you know," Hallie responded glaring in Kathryn's direction.
Great, she thought, now they think I'm a favorite. "I've already made it clear that I would not aim for another player," Kathryn snapped back.
"Well look who's the captain's favorite already. Aren't you a little young to be dating Weasley?" one of her other teammates laughed.
Kathryn glared at Seth as if saying, 'You see what happens?' "Oh would you all calm down? She's a beater, you know what that means?" Scorpious piped up, "It means she could aim a bludger you and call it an accident."
Silence befell the team, all but Hallie whom quickly added in, "But that would go against her little private talk with the captain."
"And you all wonder why the other houses can't stand us? With comments like that at a team member? What is wrong with all of you?" Kathryn snapped before walking angrily over to the Gryffindor table and sitting down next to Tiffany, something that didn't usually happen during dinner.
She expected them to make comments about being a traitor now but decided that she didn't care. If they were going to talk they were going to talk. At least now they would shut up about her being the captain's favorite.
When the first Quiditch game came up Kathryn was talking to Seth before the game about how the team would react since the first game was against Gryffindor and he noticed her pendant, "You really going to wear that during the game?" he asked.
"I was going to, yes. I wore it to tryouts and all the practices," she replied.
"You might want to have someone hang onto it. We tone down the bludgers for practice. If it's valuable you should treat it as such," he said.
So Kathryn gave her pendant to Katlynn to hold and continued to do so every game thereafter.
When Christmas came around Kathryn and Fred were called home as was Katlynn. They would be attending a Christmas Party put on by the Malfoys. Kathryn wasn't looking forward to it and she could see her brother roll his eyes at the letter from their parents. Katlynn had been to a couple in the past as a small child but now that they were students, it was pureblood networking to get children to breed later in life with other purebloods.
Kathryn wasn't so much upset that she would be attending a party that Scorpious was a part of, as she'd come to like him a bit better while playing on the Quiditch team with him, it was the networking she scoffed at.
When Kathryn and Fred arrived home their parents were arguing.
"It's polite to accept the invitation! I don't care if they're the Malfoy family or the Black family! We were invited so we are going!" Angela seemed to be screaming at her husband.
"Do you really think the children want to go? Have you read any of Kathryn's letters? Half of them are of the Malfoy boy and needing to be put in his place!" George wasn't quite as loud as his wife but the volume was still easily heard from the front hall.
"WE'RE HOME!" Fred yelled from the front hall rolling his eyes at his sister. Kathryn laughed lightly. Their parents were always loud when they disagreed but it tended to make family life interesting.
"Dinner will be ready soon go sit down at the table," Angela called back.
This worried Kathryn and Fred, their parents when caught fighting would never just ask their children to sit down at a table for dinner. They both had known, coming home for Christmas this year that they would be attending the Malfoy's Christmas Party that happened every year. What they didn't understand was why their parents would still be arguing about it.
When they sat down at the table for dinner their food joined them before their parents. When the food started to get cold they decided to eat without their parents. When they were just about done eating George joined them at the table.
"Spill it da' what's the big issue," Kathryn said before her father could say anything.
"There's no problem," George replied.
"Please, we could hear you and mom arguing from outside the door," Fred said.
"Your mother and I disagree about accepting the invitation to the Malfoy's Christmas Party," George said.
"Well that's obvious," Fred snapped back, "What's the issue?"
"Your mother thinks it is polite to accept whereas I think that they should have invited us in past years for it to be polite for us to accept," George replied.
"Da' it's just a party. It's not a big deal," Kathryn sighed.
"I would just like to know why our family has been invited after all these years," George said.
"Well she's in Slytherin and on the Quiditch team with their boy," Angela said sweeping into the room, "They could have felt obligated."
"Then we should do them a favor and stay home. We haven't had a nice Christmas at home with the kids in years," George replied.
"I don't mind da'," Kathryn said, "A few of my friends will be there too."
"You see?" Angela seemed to snarl at her husband.
Fred rolled his eyes, "Besides, wouldn't it just be easier to make mother happy than to go through the pain and suffering of her wrath?"
"You watch your tongue when you speak about your mother," George snapped, "But I suppose if no one else has a problem with this sudden party we can attend."
Over the next week Angela pampered her daughter and left George to do what he liked with his time with Fred. It seemed all of a sudden that Angela cared about the Malfoy's opinion and Kathryn didn't understand it but she let her mother fiddle with her hair and tried on every dress presented to her. At thirteen Kathryn was already quite busty which seemed to earn her points with the older students, mostly the guys, but she was still young to care for dating. Her mother on the other hand seemed to want to flaunt her daughter's maturity by putting her in every low cut gown she could find. Luckily her father would step in once and a while and go on about how his 'baby girl' was 'too young' to wear something so mature.
When Kathryn did get some free time she spent it with her father and brother in their Quiditch field doing drills. Her mother always liked to see her in dresses so getting her arse on a broomstick was the only way to wear a pair of pants.
"You'd think this Christmas party was your coming out party," Fred was joking one day as Kathryn grabbed her broom and bat.
George gave his son a very stern look, "Your mother is just excited. She very much wanted a daughter and since your sister's death she only has one chance to get this right. You forget that your mother was raised in the life of pureblood parties."
"I just wish she'd let me wear jeans around the house," Kathryn said beating away a ball her father had thrown toward her.
"She'll get better after the party," George promised, "You probably don't remember but you and Roxy always complained when she put you in dresses as infants. I think you learned to put up with skirts as you got older."
"Oh no, I didn't learn to put up with them. I learned to make mum happy you get cookies," Kathryn laughed.
"Oh so that's why you seemed to always have a cookie in your hand," Fred laughed.
"Ya, well it was easier than being three on a broomstick," Kathryn replied.
They spent the rest of the evening playing around rather than actually practicing. The following evening would be the Malfoy's Christmas party.
When Angela showed Kathryn the official gown she would be wearing to the Christmas party she almost ran to her father for help, almost decided that the Malfoy's party was a waste of time agreeing with her father… That was, until she saw the look on her mother's face when she asked, "Do you like it?"
The dress was a pine green, almost emerald green but with less blue, with a black band just under the bust. The dress was made of chiffon with a scoop neckline that wasn't quite as revealing as some of the others Kathryn had tried on but it showed off more than enough. Kathryn honestly hated it, mostly because it was a dress and she hadn't picked it out herself. She had liked a baby blue dress that her mother had decided wasn't fitting of a Christmas party, but since it wasn't in the running and her mother did seem so happy with this dress she simply said, "It's beautiful."
With the dress on Kathryn had to admit to herself she liked it a bit better. The color against her skin tone was soft and elegant and made her hair dance like fire. But what she really loved was the soft black ribbon that her mother pulled out to hold her crystal pendant. As far as she knew her Uncle Harry would not be attending this party but gosh did she love that pendant. Her mother allowed her to wear her hair down but straightened out the frizz from her curls and used a special hair pin to hold up a few curls away from her face.
"So beautiful," her mother said before rushing to go finish getting ready herself. Kathryn studied her reflection in the mirror. It didn't seem to reflect her so much as an older version of what she imagined she would have to look like. Her mother had left her makeup simple with only white shimmering powder on her eyelids with black mascara and black eyeliner, only on the top lid.
Upon arriving at Malfoy Manor Kathryn found herself feeling shyer than she had going into the Slytherin common room in her first year. She knew most of the people here that were her age, yet somehow she felt like she didn't know a soul. When she spotted Katlynn in a corner of the room she felt a bit better, but getting to her was a task she didn't want to accomplish, the dance floor.
Kathryn walked with her family to the Malfoys to greet them as proper guests did at such events, or so claimed her mother. George looked highly uncomfortable when he shook Draco's hand but Kathryn figured it was just past rivalry that fueled her father's discomfort. "Thank you for coming," Draco said, "It really is an honor to have you here."
"The pleasure is ours," Angela replied making Kathryn feel sick to her stomach.
Scorpious bowed lightly to Kathryn, "It is proper for the host to dance with his guests," he said offering her a hand. Kathryn glanced quickly at her mother and father suddenly regretting agreeing to attend before taking his hand and being lead to the dance floor. There was a calm song playing, probably a waltz, but Kathryn didn't notice as she was trying to keep her stomach from turning inside out and coming up through her throat. "You don't look very happy to be here," Scorpious commented.
"It's not that at all," Kathryn replied, "I just didn't expect to feel so nervous at a party."
"You know almost everyone here, save everyone's parents. I imagine that your friend from Hufflepuff is even here. Her family is quite highly honored," Scorpious said.
"Why do so many people care so much about blood relations?" Kathryn sighed, "I have quite a few friends that are considered half-bloods but they are just as good at magic as any pureblood I've met."
"Including yourself? Or have you forgotten that you are a pureblood too?" Scorpious asked.
"Could have fooled me with the way your family treats Weasleys. Why is this the first year we have received an invitation to the Christmas party? Did the owl get lost with our letter every year till now?" Kathryn snapped.
"No," Scorpious replied, "My parents were trying to be respectful of your parent's wishes. Or have you not noticed that your father really does not want to be here?"
Kathryn looked over at her father standing near a refreshments table, "Part of his problem was not receiving an invitation until now," she responded.
Suddenly Scorpious stopped dancing and Kathryn could feel someone standing behind her. "May I cut in? I'm sure you have other ladies to entertain," Seth's voice startled Kathryn. She had forgotten that he was a pureblooded wizard and so she hadn't expected him at the party.
"Of course," Scorpious almost snarled bowing again to Kathryn, "It would honor me if you would save another dance for me."
"I'm sorry for cutting in but you just looked so miserable," Seth said quietly pulling Kathryn into another dance.
"Honestly dancing isn't exactly something that I enjoy," Kathryn replied.
"Well you are quite good," Seth commented, "And you look absolutely beautiful."
Kathryn blushed feeling as if her face had turned the shade of her hair, "You don't clean up too badly either," she said.
"A bit different than my robes and Quiditch gear I imagine," Seth laughed, "I'd like to think I don't look too bad in those either."
"Well you look better than Malfoy at least," Kathryn laughed, "So are you trying the friendship approach again or are we back to flirting?"
"Well I saved you from your dance with Malfoy, so I believe that I was headed in a friendship direction. But if you'd prefer I would be more than happy to flirt," Seth replied.
"I was trying to decide when to end the dance," Kathryn said the smile removed from her face, "And I think I just found my answer." She pulled her hands from his and curtsied ever so slightly, "It was a very nice dance but I think I will go and rest my feet a while," she said finding that she wasn't too far from her friend and escaping toward her.
Katlynn was surrounded by young men asking her to dance. She was wearing a deep blue gown with crystals sewn throughout it, making it appear that Katlynn was covered in a clear night sky. Her hair was pulled back into a simple bun and her makeup looked as if her mother had just pained gold on her eyelids. When Kathryn finally reached her she shooed them all away receiving a quick, "Thank you," from Katlynn.
"So are all the parties the Malfoys throw like this?" Kathryn asked her friend.
"Dancing and then dinner and then more dancing… Oh and for Christmas they have a toasting ceremony where they give gifts to the families who attend. You got here a bit late and they announced a special piece of news to come after dinner. Because of Mr. Malfoy teaching potions the party started late so it looks like this is it for dancing," Katlynn replied.
"Well thank god, I don't know how much more of Scorpious and Seth fighting over me I can take," Kathryn laughed.
"Your father doesn't seem too happy to be here," Katlynn commented after a while.
"No," Kathryn sighed, "He was very adamant about not coming at all though I can't imagine that it was just his dislike in the Malfoy family that had his knickers in a twist."
At dinner Kathryn and her family were seated at the end of a large dining table next to the Malfoys and on the other side of the table were the Nettles. The food was pretty good but conversation seemed to lack, especially when someone asked George a question. Kathryn noticed after a while that he would go from glaring at Draco to Scorpious and occasionally at Angela. She was curious, but decided against asking, why her father was so unhappy. Eventually she would find out, even if it was on their trip home.
When dinner ended Scorpious stayed annoyingly close to Kathryn causing her great discomfort and a confused look from Katlynn. She noticed the wandering eyes from Seth as well as everyone made their way back to the ballroom for the sort of closing ceremony for the night. Each family was presented with a gift from the Malfoy family via a very magical show that Kathryn might have otherwise enjoyed if she hadn't been fully aware of Scorpious's arm around her waist.
When the show was over Draco raised a champagne glass in the air, "To a marvelous Christmas with friends and family and a wondrous New Year to come!" The toast was passed from young and old in the room though Kathryn and George didn't seem to be quite so happy to spend Christmas with the Malfoys. "And in other joyous news," Draco said once the excitement had died down a little, "As is tradition, though we are a little late in announcing my apologies," a laugh filled the room that was light but hesitant, "The betrothal of Scorpious Malfoy!"
Looking over toward her father Kathryn could now fully understand his hesitation in coming. But when she saw the smile on her mother's face she about died where she stood. "It is the honor of the Weasley family to produce our only daughter for the betrothal," Angela said placing a light hand on her daughter's shoulder.
"The arrangement is set!" Draco called out, "Scorpious Malfoy and Kathryn Weasley!" The champagne glass was raised for another toast.
Kathryn found she couldn't hold herself upright and thus was grateful for Scorpious's arm around her but she wished that it was her father or her brother holding her upright, not a new fiancé. "No," Kathryn found herself mumbling as congratulations went through the crowd, "No!" she called out louder until she had everyone's attention. "An arranged marriage? Are you all kidding me?" she felt her Scottish accent, which she usually kept under control, boiling over, "And at thirteen, you have all got to be joking!"
"It is an honor," Angela growled quietly.
"No it is not! Up until I was on the Quiditch team the Malfoys paid us no attention. I agreed to come to this party to be polite not to agree to marriage! I am barely on speaking terms with my teammate and you want me to marry him when we come of age? NO!" Kathryn howled.
"I agree completely," George piped in, "Our children should at least be able to decide whom they will spend the rest of their lives with. Would you have done the same to her if Roxanne had still been alive?"
That ended the evening as Angela was too angry to allow her family to stay any longer. Upon arriving home Kathryn went straight to her room ignoring the angry calls from her mother. For once even Fred didn't want to listen to his parents bicker.
The next morning when Kathryn didn't come down for breakfast or the family Christmas Fred knew something was up. She spent every waking hour with her family if she could work it since she was so isolated in Slytherin. He went to find her with a tray of food, telling the house elves that he wanted to take it to her. She was his little sister after all.
When the knock came on Kathryn's door she contemplated jinxing the door for whoever came in since the house elves always apparated in but decided against it. She was less agitated when she saw Fred with the tray of Christmas breakfast. "You know mum and dad are waiting for you downstairs right?" he said setting the tray on her bed.
"Is mum still mad at me for last night?" Kathryn asked.
"I imagine so, but I think she'll just be happy if we can forget it and move on to Christmas celebration," Fred said though even he didn't look hopeful.
"I don't imagine that my outburst did anything in the way of a pureblood betrothal did it?" Kathryn asked.
"I have no clue, but I would imagine not," Fred replied, "Is that going to be awkward back at school?"
"Not after I send a few bludgers his way," Kathryn joked though she didn't feel the usual warmth that a joke usually caused in her.
"Would you come downstairs please?" Fred asked, "Mum wanted a family Christmas, just the four of us, before the rest of the clan show up."
Kathryn thought for a moment imagining that she could cause her mother the most pain by denying a warm family gathering until she had to put on a happy face for the relatives. But she knew her mother and knew it would only get worse if she didn't confront the problem soon. That was until her favorite house elf popped in with the newspaper. The headline was "Malfoy and Weasley Get Engaged" which only fueled Kathryn's resentment.
Somehow Fred managed to coax her into coming down only moments before the mass of family started arriving and to Kathryn's surprise her mother did look much more calm. Maybe she hasn't seen the paper, Kathryn wondered. And the evening started out well-mannered and calm until Ron found the paper. Then it was as if all hell had broken loose in the Weasley home as they all questioned the rationale behind marrying off a Weasley to a Malfoy.
When the Kathryn, Fred and their cousins decided they'd had enough of the family argument they snuck out to the Quiditch field where they had their annual match. It was turning out to be a very interesting Christmas.
When the holiday ended Kathryn and Fred were more than happy to return to school. Kathryn spent as much of her time away from Slytherin as she could as she returned to questions about her engagement and a very confused Scorpious. Even Albus rarely spoke to her. She felt more isolated than ever. Fey spent his nights with the owls as he didn't like the noise level from the other students, but Kathryn still had her secret dragon egg.
Quiditch games became awkward as it was now obvious that Seth had feelings for her and Scorpious was under the impression that because of their betrothal that she was his and she thought about resigning from the team. But after a few games beating the bludgers with everything she could muster she decided it was a good outlet for her pent up frustration.
But after a tense game with Gryffindor the team returned to a mess in the common room. Everyone wondered what had happened, most of them turning to Kathryn for a prank-gone-wrong solution only to come up with screaming coming from the girls' dormitory. Kathryn winced as she realized that her dragon had hatched and most likely wreaked most of the havoc.
When she got to the room she found a little black dragon nested in her pillow. A couple girls were still shrieking, putting out a couple of small fires but there were a couple who turned to glare at Kathryn the moment she walked in, knowing exactly who was at fault.
"Are you mad? Why did you have a dragon egg in here?" one of them shrieked.
"What were you thinking?" a few others asked.
Kathryn ignored them crossing the room to the dragon. It seemed to sense her coming and opened its eyes to reveal lavender eyes. It crawled from her pillow to sit in front of her as if knowing she had been the one to care for the egg until it hatched. "It's fate," she almost giggled reaching out a hand to stroke the dragon's head only to receive a sort of cat-like reaction of the dragon prodding her hand and almost purring.
"She is mental, she is," Kathryn heard a couple of the girls gossiping as she stroked her dragon, "They'll never let her keep it."
"You need a name," Kathryn said to the dragon as it reached its claws up toward her like a child. She picked up the tiny thing and it instantly crawled toward her shoulders where Fey angrily left to perch himself on a bedpost. An idea struck Kathryn and she couldn't believe how obvious it was, "Fate," she said and the dragon seemed to purr louder, "Fate it is."
That was when Professor Malfoy walked into the dormitory, "A dragon? Really? Come with me Miss Weasley," he said not waiting for her to respond just grabbing her wrist and dragging her along with him.
Eventually he let her walk on her own until she realized that they were headed for the headmistress's office. Once Kathryn realized where they were going she slowed her pace and started looking for escape routes which lead to the professor taking her arm again until they reached the office.
"What is it now Miss Weasley?" Professor McGonagall asked when she spotted the redheaded girl, and then she noticed the black dragon on her shoulder. "Oh my, what have you got there? A dragon in Hogwarts? Are you mad Miss Weasley? Your father pulled some stupid stunts while he attended school but nothing as dangerous as a dragon!"
"I'm sorry Professor," Kathryn said lowering her head only to feel the dragon take it as an invitation to climb on her head.
"Even so, I've never seen a dragon take to someone such as this one has to you… We are without options though Miss Weasley. I must send this dragon away. Please contact your uncle by owl, if you would, and let him know that we will be sending him another dragon," McGonagall said, "That will be all Miss Weasley. Oh but please leave the little beast here; we don't want it wreaking havoc in the Slytherin common room now do we?"
After a lot of effort Kathryn left the dragon with the headmistress and went to write her letter to her Uncle Charlie in Romania. The letter she wrote was small and concise stating simply that the dragon would be headed his way and that the dragon's name was Fate. Fey insisted on carrying her letter when she headed off to the owlry to deliver it, despite her attempts to use McGonagall's owl like she'd been instructed but Fey was a winged familiar which meant he would carry the letter to the end of the world if she asked him to, though she highly doubted he would in reality.
As the months passed Kathryn received a few letters from her uncle updating her on Fate and her progress as she grew. A few letters even included pictures which Kathryn gladly shared with her friends. But as the end of the year approached she received less and less news and almost gave up completely when May rolled around.
Amanda had been a great addition to the grouping of odd friends as she was super smart but a little on the goofy side making her a perfect companion for Katlynn when Kathryn or Tiffany were busy. But one afternoon at lunch Katlynn announced some interesting news.
"You're going out with who?" Kathryn almost shouted after a long Quiditch game with Ravenclaw, "You're only thirteen!"
"Lorcan, why is that a problem?" Katlynn said without even blushing.
"Please tell me that isn't going to get awkward," Tiffany groaned her head hitting a post.
"Why would it get awkward?" Lorcan asked coming up behind them.
"Well we're all friends and you're young….and it's just weird," Kathryn said.
"I think it's sweet," Amanda piped in, "They're like childhood sweethearts."
"They are thirteen," Kathryn said again, "It's not like we're seventh years and they're settling down!"
"Exactly," Katlynn said, "Why would it get awkward if it's not even that serious?"
"Okay, just no snogging in public, please," Tiffany moaned.
"So why aren't you and Malfoy getting cozy?" Katlynn asked Kathryn looking pointedly over toward the Slytherin team that seemed to be waiting for her.
Kathryn's palm hit her forehead in a clap loud enough it almost sounded like thunder, "Can we not even go there? My parents have decided that I can't get out of it so I'm stuck… I can't even date later unless it's him. Why would anyone do that to someone in a free world?"
"It's a pureblood thing I think," Katlynn said allowing Lorcan to wrap an arm around her shoulders, "It's not all bad. Maybe you could turn him into a nice person."
Kathryn laughed, "That'll be the day." But when she saw how upset Seth looked standing waiting for her she bid her friends good bye and headed off toward her team.
When the end of the school year came around Kathryn found herself almost in tears as she packed her luggage. Katlynn had a summer romance and Tiffany was going off for a magical internship kind of thing to get her away from her crazy muggle parents while Kathryn was stuck learning the ins and outs of pureblood society with the Malfoy family. She was going to go mad over the summer and she knew it.
She was glad though, with the engagement to Scorpious she was able to finally sit down and have a friendly conversation with Seth and get to be friends with him. Though he often expressed that he would treat her better than Scorpious ever did or would, she figured everyone had that one friend that flirted with you relentlessly even though they knew nothing would come out of it…ever.
"Maybe you'll get to see that dragon of yours over the summer," Seth said while they entered the train, "They'll let you go see your family at least right?"
"If they don't I could always set curtains aflame," Kathryn laughed.
"Yes I suppose you could," he laughed in response.
When the train whistle blew Kathryn silently bid good-bye to her simple old life as a Weasley and faced the new world of a betrothed pureblood though she refused to sit with her fiancé on the way back to London.
A/N: So there should be about one more chapter before the real story kicks off. Well read and review please! I love you all who do!
