Chapter 12: Boys and Brooms
Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction and no copyright is intended. Everything that you recognise from the Harry Potter Universe belongs to J.K. Rowling.
Author's Note: Thank you to my reviewers on the last chapter; noturgorl, beaniebun, and the Guest. I'm still undecided about how I would work in the flashback chapters, so I might just stick with mentions of her parents and perhaps something seen in a pensieve later on in the story.
But for now, here's Chapter 12!
December came and brought with it sleet, snow, and the freezing over of the Black Lake. The highest turrets were permanently dusted – as if with icing sugar – like something out of a storybook, visible only if students were resilient enough to brave the near-Baltic breezes for longer than necessary between classes. Morning didn't truly begin until just before lessons most days, and evening blanketed the castle during the last lesson of the day.
Katherine hadn't felt her fingers completely since mid-November, the lack of sensation exacerbated by daily Quidditch practise that left them frozen to the school broom Katherine was borrowing for the time being. It was worse for her as a Seeker, spending a lot of time just cruising the pitch looking for the gold amongst the powder instead of weaving, throwing, and catching like her team mates and working up a sweat. As Keeper, Marlene shared some of her pain and often voiced – especially as of late – that she lost Katherine's hair in the snow for most of their practices.
The shivering in the wind and snow for two hours every day wouldn't cease, though. James Potter was pedantic about their practises, wanting to be in tip top shape before Gryffindor's first match of the season. He, himself, had fallen prey to one of the many colds jumping from student to student in the close quarters the cold temperatures fostered.
Even those who didn't expose themselves to the ridiculous conditions exposed themselves to near-exhaustion over O.W.L's or N.E.W.T's, depleting their energy levels and immune systems all the same. Lily had become something akin to a Pepperup junkie to get through her days, spending more and more time in the library with Katherine as she hid out from the occasional pointing and stares from her fellow students in the trickling wake of the now-old article in the Daily Prophet.
Katherine was too frightened of being caught staring at Gideon to attempt it much anymore, no matter how often his N.E.W.T revision drove him into the library. He was always prepared to chat with her after nearly dying with her too, not that Katherine could manage more than a few words at once.
It wasn't unusual to see steam pouring out of ears as Katherine walked the hallways, it being a side effect of the Pepperup Potion Madam Pomfrey spent her days brewing and distributing. Her voice was often heard berating whoever would listen about staying indoors and wearing layers. There was a special level of shrillness reserved for Quidditch Captains and Quidditch players who came in both sick and injured.
Being a Seeker spared Katherine from the main wrath of Bludgers, but she had become accustomed to cold hands, numb feet, and a leaky nose.
The weather was abysmal and Katherine had never been happier.
The best places to be for warmth were Gryffindor Tower, the Library, and the Great Hall; the smell of old books and firewood unable to be washed from Katherine's clothes.
It was while watching the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall one morning, waiting for a delivery from her Gringotts' vault that Giles arranged so that she could mail order a proper broom, that owls dropped identical green envelopes in front of Katherine and Lily.
"The Christmas party?"
"Yes," said Lily, pushing away a green-tinged piece of parchment, "It happens annually."
Marlene picked up the parchment, gold detailing glinting in the morning light, "But you've only just had the first supper of term."
"Well, it was delayed beyond the usual date," said Lily, shrugging, "But you can't delay Christmas."
The gold on the parchment lost the morning light, a shadow moving between it and the window. A shadow belonging to a conical-hat-wearing, booted witch with a severe black bun.
"Evans, McKinnon," said McGonagall, peering at a scroll over her spectacles with a quill poised in her right hand, "Staying over Christmas?"
"No, Professor." Lily and Marlene chorused.
"And, Katherine…"
Katherine caught the moment her friends averted their eyes from her.
"I'll be staying, Professor."
McGonagall froze her perusing of her scroll and looked over her spectacles at Katherine.
"Oh, sorry, dear," said McGonagall, before freezing again and fixating on Katherine's hair, "Have you dyed your hair?"
"Potions mishap," lied Katherine, swirling her teaspoon around her cup with the flick of her finger, "The pigment should return in a day or two according to Slughorn."
It wasn't a mishap at all – at least, not on Katherine's part. And it was the reason she was so easy to lose in the snow at Quidditch practises.
Greengrass had poured a potion over Katherine in the Entrance Hall a few days previous. It was a badly brewed boil potion which only served to steal her usual blonde tones. Unable to find a cure with her friends, Katherine hoped the pigment returned to her newly-white hair over time, not wanting to walk around looking like a Malfoy doppelganger any longer than she had to.
The incident only served to make Katherine, and her increasingly-less-reluctant-to-believe friends, suspect that it was Greengrass further retaliating due to Katherine not drowning in the passage with Gideon.
McGonagall continued to regard Katherine with a strange expression, her lips not in their usual purse.
"Is everything okay, Professor?" asked Katherine, tucking her hair behind her ears.
"Oh, yes, yes," said McGonagall, blinking, "Everything's fine…"
Along with her words, McGonagall trailed off and away down the table, taking names for other Gryffindors staying at Hogwarts over the Christmas period.
Lily looked ready to pop open, sitting up in her seat only to slump again like a lacklustre jack-in-the-box.
"I can always –"
"No," said Katherine with a smile, knowing what Lily was about to offer, "Lily, really, it's alright – you need to see your family – you can't even owl them during the term."
Lily nodded with a sad smile, her eyes on her juice and her mind undoubtedly on her parents Katherine had seen a photograph of on her friend's bedside table.
Marlene nudged Katherine, the moment jerking some milk out of the brunette's bowl of cereal, "And you know I'd stay, Katherine, but it's my mum's birthday on Boxing Day…"
The girls, both at once, seemed to realise that they were furthering the divide between them and their new friend with talk of family that Katherine didn't have.
But Katherine had gotten used to it over the years, having attended a boarding school before where she always stayed over the Christmas period and most people didn't. There was an added dark cloud of not even having a home to go back to this time though.
"Guys, it's okay – promise." said Katherine, eyeing her friends sternly with a smile.
Before they could manage any more sympathetic looks, McGonagall stopped across the table.
"Potter…Black… you'll be staying too, I presume..."
Lily shoved the green invitation into her pocket, Katherine still leaving hers unopened beside her plate of fruit.
"It's a good thing the party is before the train leaves." said Lily.
Marlene hummed, Katherine barely able to note the subtle aura of not-invited-ness from her curly haired friend, "I dare say it's why he does it – not many people would stay behind for his party."
"The lure of home at Christmas is always far too strong." said Lily, nodding.
Katherine resisted a smile and Marlene, newly perceptive, changed the subject.
"So who are you going to ask, Lily?"
Lily made a face at her porridge before lifting an apprehensive one to Marlene.
"You know your brother, Marley?"
Marlene laughed, "As much as I'd love you to date him, Lily, you can't ask him – he's no longer a student."
"No, not Lincoln," said Lily, smiling bashfully as she wound down from her own brief laugh.
Emerald eyes found the Ravenclaw table before locking on the wood of the table, adamantly not looking up as the girl they belonged to whispered a name.
"Bertram Aubrey,"
Marlene dropped her spoon into her cereal, clutching a hand to her eye that milk had rushed up into.
The laughter across the table whittled down, Katherine assumed from distraction of the sudden noise as she hurriedly picked up a napkin for her friend who took it with mumbled gratitude, wiping her face and blinking out the milk.
"I've kind of had my eye on him since I came round during summer in third year and he was visiting your brother," said Lily cautiously, watching Marlene wipe her face and eye.
Across from them, the boys all continued to stare at the disturbance that had come in the form of Marlene – all except for James Potter, who stared resolutely at his bacon.
Lily took to gnawing on her bottom lip as she snuck another glance at the Ravenclaw table, rising up to see over stuck up jet black locks belonging to a bespectacled Gryffindor Chaser suddenly fascinated with breakfast meats.
It was while she searched for the Ravenclaw Quidditch player that Alice stood up, mumbling her leave.
Sighing, Lily sat back down in her seat, "Do you think he'd say yes?"
"Fat chance!"
The girls jumped and found Sirius Black snorting at his friend who had been distracted from his plate at last.
"I'm not going to that Christmas party with you, mate, Slughorn might think I want to do something with my life." said Sirius to James before leaning backwards precariously on the bench to reply to Remus who was sat on the other side of James.
James gave a half-smile, rolling his eyes before returning them to his plate where his eyebrows descended upon them in a thought-heavy frown.
"You won't know unless you ask him, Lily," said Katherine, smiling to bolster her friend, "What's the worst that could happen?"
"I'm going to leave,"
Marlene stood, slinging her bag over her shoulder.
"I forgot to read that chapter on mending charms and we're covering it today – I should get there early and knuckle down."
Lily made to stand, "We'll come with you –"
"No,"
Lily frowned at her friend.
Marlene noticed and offered a light smile, "You've got to ask Bertram out – don't you?"
Lily plopped down, her eyes widening and staring at nothing.
"Oh, yeah," said Lily absently before her face snapped into panic, "Oh – gosh!"
Marlene bowed her head and nodded at Katherine in farewell, stealing away down the hall and leaving Katherine with a suddenly catatonic Lily.
Lily had raised a hand to cover her lips delicately, "I've got to ask him out…"
James pushed up on his elbows with a roguish grin, "If you wanted to be asked out, Evans –"
"Lily," said a new voice, cutting James off.
Katherine turned, the Ravenclaw Chaser they had been talking about standing by her bag and smiling at Lily.
Bertram Aubrey was the type of boy girls wanted to take home to their parents and into a broom closet both at the same time. He was a sensible dresser, a half-blood, his grasp on both wizard and muggle garb impeccable. He had a sensible haircut, unlike the long hair that was so very in fashion, and he had a pleasing grin – just impish enough to make a girl blush and polite enough to use to push a girl's chair in at a family dinner.
Unlike the boys in fifth year – he was already a man; his Quidditch playing only enhancing his broad shoulders and chest while not making him overtly muscly.
Katherine understood Lily's attraction, but there was something…something that didn't do it for Katherine…
"I ran into Alice on my way out – she said you wanted to speak to me?" explained Bertram.
"So you came all the way over here?" asked James from across the table, blinking with an arrogance that rivalled Sirius'.
The change even alerted his aforementioned best friend who looked up from his own green-tinged parchment, his face lined in surprise.
Bertram's smile tightened and his eyes flashed at James before he turned to Lily anew; perfectly gallant.
That was the something that was wrong for Katherine, the girl deduced. At least Sirius, known to be a bit insolent at times, was consistent and unapologetically sincere in his insolence – unpretentious.
"I'm sorry, Lily, are you otherwise engaged?" asked Bertram, his voice prim and knowing as he cast his eyes pointedly at James and back.
"No, not at all," Lily stood, Katherine able to hear her friend's breathlessness, "I'm heading to Charms, would you care to accompany me for part of the walk?"
"I have Potions…" trailed off Bertram, shuffling his feet and rubbing along his nose as he thought of the trek that awaited him and his debate whether Lily was worth it was plain on his arguably handsome face.
Lily pinked, "Oh, I – I can walk with you then?" she offered, gently pushing her hair over her shoulders.
Bertram grinned quickly, clasping his hands together, "Excellent."
Lily struggled with her bag as she stepped over the bench and made to join Bertram between the tables, him humming and looked around absently.
Conversation started up again only once the pair, a large height disparity apparent between them, slowly but surely disappeared from view and the Great Hall.
"What a wanker."
"He's got a fat head, don't you reckon?"
"I could make it fatter…"
"Isn't that hex illegal, Sirius?"
"What's life without a little risk?" declared James, hands flat on the table and smiling.
Sirius' eyes glinted and the corners of his lips slipped upward, his nose swinging around as he regarded his best friend with a certain fondness.
"Life not spent in Azkaban, James," said Remus, flicking through the paper before sighing and handing it off to Sirius, "Crossword."
"Jolly good,"
Sirius sat up straighter as he wet the tip of his quill in his crystal ink pot that Katherine had admired from the first day she saw it catch the light in Charms and scatter it into countless colours over her desk.
"I won't do it just yet, though," said Sirius, grasping at the tail of their conversation as he inked in letters with ever-surprising care, "He might say no."
"You've got self-restraint – lovely," said Remus, shutting one eye and peering into the bottom an empty cup of coffee, "I was beginning to worry."
"As if he'd say no to Evans," said James, mussing his hair and squirming on the bench as he attempted something akin to indifference, "What with her flaming locks of auburn hair…and eyes of emerald bloody green…"
"I'd say no to her." said Sirius, without looking up from his crossword.
"But you're a bloody nun – you stupid bastard," snorted James, sighing and pushing around his crusts on his plate, "You could have any girl you wanted."
"There are bigger things to worry about than my love life," said Sirius, flourishing his copy of the Daily Prophet, "Look."
Witches and wizards scrambled around a podium within the photograph's frame, the border mocking them, 'Bagnold Too Old? Ministry Complacent With Security' circled the moving scene.
"Looks like it was something from the Department of Mysteries…" said Remus, his intelligent eyes roaming the lines of print and in between.
Dread trickled down Katherine's spine and a certain knowing crushed down upon her shoulders at Remus' quiet but striking words.
Her conversation over hospital sheets with Dumbledore rang through the halls of her mind again.
The prophecy…
He was after it too…
Katherine waited for James to look at her, not disappointed when he almost snapped his neck in the feat.
"Some Unspeakable probably misappropriated a half-strung experiment and didn't want to fess up…" laughed Frank, "Dad says it happens all the time – their lot wanting to blame the Ministry whenever it suits them while constantly trying to become independent of them... absolute poppycock."
James laughed, his eyes betraying him as they stayed on Katherine – gleaming with his loyalty to the privileged knowledge he only received by mere technicality.
Between barking orders on the Quidditch Pitch and nods of acknowledgment in the hall, they hadn't interacted since the day of the Dementor attack. It was very much like running across a broken bridge to one another, their path's spotted by the holes in their knowledge – both limited. But there was a comradery in it. In knowing and not knowing.
A flying velvet sack broke through the air and Katherine's line of vision, an eagle owl hooting away without waiting for treats or payment. The embroidered 'G' and jingling sound it made told Katherine exactly what it contained. She stowed it away in her robe pocket, stood while sinking the last of her coffee, and offered James a nod before making her way to Charms.
It was at Charms where she found Professor Flitwick already perched upon a stack of books, piled up the east windows overlooking the lawns and part of the Quidditch Pitch. Marlene was flicking her textbook's pages disinterestedly at the very front desk in the classroom, her coffee curls stark against the snow-washed landscape veiled from them by wall-length window panes.
Katherine sat, in the middle seat as Marlene was leaning against the wall as she sat, and hadn't a moment to say even a half-thought greeting before Lily clattered onto the chair next to her, breathing hard from a rush up what would have been five flights of stairs if she had accompanied Bertram all the way to the dungeons.
It was as Lily's hands shakily produced her inkpot, parchment, quill, and textbook that Professor Flitwick's warbling voice erupted from the his chosen stack of books in front of them effectively silencing any possible conversation.
"Hi, hello, how are we all?" beamed Flitwick, not waiting for a response before he went on, "Mending Charms today!"
Chairs creaked as people behind Katherine sat up in interest.
"It will be a spell in your regularly used arsenal – a witches' and wizards' bread and butter, really," said Flitwick, flicking his wand at the board and dancing onto a new, shorter stack of books, "The wand movement and incantation is on the board, but before we get practicing – are there any questions?"
There were no questions, but an avalanche of students yelling 'Reparo', voices filling the classroom all the way up to its dusty rafters.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" rushed out Flitwick before smiling congenially, "Today I will be covering for Professor Giles in period two so there will be no need to leave after the bell."
The news unsettled Katherine, her fingering the sack of gold in her robes, thinking of her absentee mentor instead of attempting the spell herself.
Lily had gotten it on her second try, the first resulting in a half-hearted flopping together of her ripped pieces of fabric, and had scowled as Flitwick commended Sirius Black behind them on getting it on his first try.
Marlene's best attempt was what looked like a badly stitched together wound that had scarred skin, not fabric.
The air was rippling in preparation for the bell to ring when Flitwick stopped by their table one last time, "Aren't you going to give it a try, Katherine?"
"Sorry, Professor, I got lost in thought," Katherine apologised, circling her wand at the piece of green felt that he had deposited on her desk earlier, "Reparo!"
The green felt glowed gold and when the light subsided, even the frayed edges of the material were solid and smooth. It never failed to surprise Katherine how her magic always seemed to do exactly what she wanted it to.
"Marvellous!" cried Flitwick, "Ten points to Gryffindor!"
The bell broke through the walls of the castle, signalling the change-over of lessons, but not a single student in the Charms classroom so much as changed an expression as they waited for Flitwick to give further direction.
"Professor Giles didn't leave a lesson plan, I'm afraid," said Flitwick, "So this will be a study period for other subjects and an excellent opportunity to continue trying your mending charms while I am here to help."
It was after Flitwick hopped down and went to help Stebbins that Katherine pushed her chair back, in the middle seat, and sought the conversation of her two friends either side of her.
"My gold came after you two left."
Marlene grinned, reaching down into her bag, "Excellent, I have a broom magazine in my bag, hang on…"
"A broomstick?" said Lily, her round arches high and her lips twisted.
"Yeah, the first match of the season is next weekend and the school brooms vibrate too much when I go above fifty feet." said Katherine, shrugging modestly under her friend's critical eye.
Lily's lashes fluttered in rapid blinks, "But you need to get robes for Slughorn's Christmas party."
"She has clothes, Lily," said Marlene lightly, pointing emphatically at her magazine, "She doesn't have a broom."
"How much gold did you get out?" asked Lily, "Dress robes are around ten galleons at Gladrags..."
"I haven't counted it yet," said Katherine, finding the sack in her robe pocket, "Giles got it out for me."
"What did you tell him it was for?" asked Lily, frowning.
"A broom."
Marlene sat up a little straighter and smiled wider, "Then you should get a broom."
"You can use the school brooms, you don't have any dress robes." maintained Lily, a delicate flush rising on her chest.
Images of her arriving sans robes to Slughorn's do but with a brand new Nimbus in hand circled Katherine's brain. After his dinner, Katherine wasn't sure that she'd be missing all that much if she opted out of attending the Christmas Party. But she knew she'd been letting down the entire Gryffindor team on one of the school brooms.
A broom was the pride of Quidditch player as much as boots were the pride of a Football player – there had been no shock for Katherine in switching between the sports.
"A Shooting Star will look like a joke next to Richard Davies' Comet two-sixty – wait," said Katherine, breaking off as her own words sunk in, "Davies only has a Comet… if I get a Nimbus, we'll definitely win…"
Frank Longbottom's head raised from his conversation with Alice across the aisle of desks and he regarded Katherine and Marlene strangely. It was then that Katherine noted the curious glances she and Marlene were getting from people in their vicinity, mostly appraising.
"A Nimbus is one hundred and sixty galleons, Katherine…" said Lily slowly, eyeing Katherine sideways.
Marlene winced, "How much did Giles get out from your vault?"
Katherine reached into the bag, not finding the cool metallic rounds of currency, but parchment.
"Hang on," Katherine frowned, pulling at the parchment, "There's a note…"
Katherine found Giles' tidy scrawl, the only presence of the man in her day as he was absent from the Head Table and the lesson.
"'Undetectable extension charm'… and there's a receipt," said Katherine, her eyes speeding down the parchment, "Vault seven-oh-six…one hundred and seventy galleons withdrawn…"
Marlene snorted, "Was there any left?"
"One hundred and seventy galleons…" mumbled Lily, frowning at the table as she counted on her fingers before she paused; eyes wide and voice hushed as she leant into her friend, "Katherine – that's over eight hundred pounds!"
"And only enough for a Nimbus," said Katherine, sighing and tilting her head with a shrug, "And maybe a broom servicing kit…"
Marlene grinned, slapping Katherine on the back, "I'll get you one for Christmas –"
"What about dress robes?"
Katherine felt her insides split two ways as she looked between her two friends, both facing with blank expectation to agree with them. A feeling pulled at her throat, a feeling that told her that her decision was for more than a broom or robes.
"Giles isn't around for me to ask him to get some more, so I'm going to have to pick..."
"It would make sense to just get a Comet and have enough left over for a nice pair of dress robes that will last you until you're out of school," said Lily, pausing and rubbing her forehead, "Oh, gosh – I sound like my mother…"
"Cheer up, Lily," said Marlene – the epitome of cheerfulness in the security of knowing Katherine would choose to buy a broom over robes – playfully punching Lily's arm, "If worst come to worst – Katherine can skip the party. Do you even want to go, Katherine?" continued Marlene.
Lily rubbed her arm, "How was punching me in the arm meant to cheer me up?"
Marlene shrugged.
"It works with the Quidditch team."
"Well, Quidditch players are thick, aren't they?" said Lily, neatening her robes.
Marlene blinked once, traces of amusement threading through her cheeks, "I'm a Quidditch player."
Lily didn't deign Marlene with a response, smiling at Katherine instead.
"And of course Katherine wants to go to the party," said Lily, nodding encouragingly, "Don't you?"
Katherine tucked her hair behind her ears before mashing her hands together on her lap, "I…er…"
A voice, from behind – and not above – as she had first thought in her gratitude for the intervention, stole Lily's attention.
"Evans." said James, a question in his voice and a glint in his eye.
Beside him, Remus had hunkered down in his chair, as if bracing for a shelling. Sirius was glancing around with his chin on his palm. And Peter was looking between James and Lily in avid anticipation.
"Potter." returned Lily, throwing a glance behind her.
"If I were an animal, what would I be?" asked James, grinning.
Lily didn't look up, suddenly pretending to be enthralled with her Transfiguration essay she was using the free lesson to work on.
"A pig."
"I better get on a broomstick, make that proverb come true."
"And only enough for a Nimbus,"
The words strummed at his sternum, the threat of a laugh tickled his insides, but he kept his lips in a line while trying to keep his eyes off of her own lips. They weren't much to look at, but on her face, they boiled a sea of molasses in his loins.
He found it strange that he had never noticed her before. He had seen her, of course – multiple times a day, in fact – but he had never really paid attention.
He found her innocent unawareness compelling and disarming. A nurturing desire flared in his lungs deeper than any fire that he had choked on, and it was all he could to not fall to his knees and pledge allegiance to the religion that was her.
She was Botticelli's Flora, Madonna, and Venus simultaneously; breathing and reading right in front of him sans her golden frame. But she wasn't imposing like the angelic figures on the Renaissance painter's canvas, there was a gentleness – a homeliness – shining out of her eyes as she sat there, holding together her green felt and the very fabric of his reality.
She was freshly broken bread, steaming from the oven.
She was the golden sliver of light pouring out of a cracked door.
She was a patchwork quilt.
She was his favourite green wash-worn jumper.
And she was smiling.
He thought that he would like to make her smile forever. Acts of idiocy to entice the feat and secure it indefinitely already danced across his mind…
"And maybe a broom servicing kit…"
From that moment on, it seemed he couldn't look at anything else. The mere sight of her was salve on his soul.
And it showed.
Never had a person looked at another so loudly.
"You know," said Lily as the girls walked to lunch, "Gideon's going to the party."
Katherine felt her throat constrict, "What's that got to do with anything?"
"He watches you, you know?"
"So does the rest of the student body." said Katherine, tucking her hair behind her ears.
"You should ask him – I bet he'd say yes," said Lily, taking to hanging on Katherine's arm with a bright, pleading smile, "You could double with me and Bertram!"
"I'm going to go for a fly, while the weather's good," said Marlene suddenly, hitching her bag up on her shoulder, "Save me a ham and cheese sandwich?"
"Of course." said Katherine, waving her friend off while noting that the snow had started to come down heavier as they passed a window and that Marlene wasn't going in the direction of the Quidditch Pitch.
"I know Marlene's being a bit weird over not being invited, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't have fun." said Lily, holding her books to her chest as the girls bounced down the moving staircases.
"That's not it," said Katherine, sighing, "I went to enough parties to last a lifetime with my Aunt and Uncle - I've only just started being able to slouch…"
"You can slouch all you want – Slughorn will still think you hung the moon and it's left over back problems from hauling it up to the heavens." joked Lily.
Katherine's lips twitched before she was emboldened by Lily's insistence that in Slughorn's eyes she could do no wrong.
"Hey, Lily," said Katherine, frowning at the absurdity of not having had her thought earlier, "Why don't I just take Marlene to the party – we could all hang out together."
"There's partner dancing on option at this kind of soiree, Katherine."
"Marlene's coordinated – I see her on the pitch every day."
Lily laughed gently before sighing, "I'm sorry if it seems like I'm pushing this, Katherine," apologised Lily, changing her grip on her books, "I just want to spare you from any further ridicule that might get directed at you if you do things a bit unorthodoxly."
"It doesn't have to be Gideon." said Katherine, feeling gratefulness swell in her chest at Lily's admission but not giving in based on that solely.
Lily's blaze of red hair swished as they jumped onto the ground floor to skip the disappearing step.
You'd be staring at him all night no matter who you take," said Lily lightly, keeping her voice low – something Katherine was grateful for, "You might as well give yourself an excuse to."
"You're presuming that he would say yes if I asked him."
"You've got to give yourself some credit Katherine," sighed Lily, "Greengrass isn't the be all and end all of how people perceive your appearance,"
Katherine frowned, his eyes fixing on the hallway, her rather noting that the bathroom loomed ahead than get her hopes up.
"I'm just going to nip off to the loo, coming?" asked Lily, pushing her hair over her shoulders as they slowed by the door.
Katherine went to agree and step in before her lace nearly tripped her, "Yeah, you go ahead, I've got to tie my shoes first…"
Lily nodded and disappeared into the tiled room as Katherine bent down, placing her books on the ground before making quick work of her oxfords' laces.
Werewolf howls alerted Katherine to Greengrass' presence, the Slytherin one of the only students still using the form of teasing.
Katherine tensed, grabbing her books and quickly rising to her feet, her free hand feeling her robe pocket for her wand.
"Dementor Magnet, don't your family want you round for Christmas?"
The clanging of a suit of armour stole Katherine's attention from the group that was Greengrass, Flint, Avery, Mulciber, and Snape. The only person who seemed to notice apart from her was Snape, his greasy nose lifting in the direction, barely peeking out from between his limp curtains of hair.
The suit of armour reminded Katherine greatly of the manner Bagnold's assistant held himself in, and Katherine was struck by an undeniable string of words.
"It's probably for the best," said Katherine, sighing theatrically and nodding, "After all, Hogwarts is one of the safest places in the world – I'd hate to try my luck in an undefended manor in the countryside,"
The four out of the five that the comment applied to shared glances.
"The Ministry is relatively abandoned in the holidays too, isn't it?"
Greengrass' widow's peak perfectly lined up with her lips that buttoned with barely suppressed rage.
Katherine pretended to think, tapping her chin for effect.
"Guess that leaves Azkaban – I'm sure you'll become acquainted with their visiting hours soon enough when the Ministry catches up with your dad and his uncommon hobby of torturing muggles for a megalomaniac."
The look on Greengrass' face could have allowed Katherine to cast a thousand Patronuses. Defeated and eyeing Katherine like she was something filthy, the Slytherin led her posse away, and Katherine allowed herself a grin before bouncing into the bathroom.
The rest of classes flew by, and before Katherine knew it, she was doing homework in the common room. She sat cross-legged in front of the fireplace, her shoes off, outer robe off, and sleeves rolled up. Rubbing an ink spot on her forearm after she finished the two feet for potions, she looked around.
Emmeline and Lily were on the couch, using their textbooks to rest their parchment on as they wrote. Marlene was a constant at the chess board by the window, playing her way through the First Years and Alice.
"Come on, Katherine," said Marlene as Alice stood up, defeated one too many times, "I need someone new to play."
"I… I don't know how to play chess." confessed Katherine.
"You're kidding!" said Marlene, waving Katherine over with an eager grin, "Come sit down, I'll teach you."
Katherine hesitated, but spelled her finished homework dry, rolled it up and put it with her things on the table.
After slipping her shoes on, she sat opposite Marlene at the chess board.
The cold was leeching through the window, Katherine pulling her sleeves back down. Marlene nattered on about controlling the centre of the board and protecting the King. Katherine did her best to keep up with how the different pieces were allowed to move and capture, but Emmeline and Lily had finished their homework and were beginning to talk.
"Why aren't you on patrol?" asked Emmeline.
"Remus wasn't feeling well so we swapped with Nightshade and Hubble." said Lily, reaching for a teacup.
Emmeline frowned, "That's the third time you've had to swap."
"We're still patrolling, Emmeline." said Lily, sighing.
"But you have to make a right mess of the schedule to do it…" sniffed Emmeline, her chin lifting.
"If Remus doesn't feel well, I'm not going to drag him around the castle with a sick bag." said Lily, fixing Emmeline with a pointed look.
Before Emmeline could reply, the entrance clanged open importantly and a dark mass stole inside.
"Black," Emmeline stood, narrowing her eyes, "What are you doing coming in so late?"
Sirius paused just shy of the window where Katherine sat with Marlene, turning a cold expression on Emmeline.
"You're not McGonagall, Vance." said Sirius, narrowing his own eyes.
"Have you done something to lose us points?" asked Emmeline, crossing her arms.
"I wasn't caught." said Sirius, offence seeping into his already annoyed tone.
"Stands to question," Emmeline pressed, "What were you doing? Were any Prefects or Professors around?"
"Fine," said Sirius, "I broke into the Slytherin common room, jinxed Greengrass a bunch of times, and then left."
Katherine blinked, the chess game forgotten. Even Marlene wasn't bothered with pretending to not be listening either. A few first years had even taken to looking up at the statuesque fifth year in awe.
"Why on Earth would you do that?" asked Lily, eyes bulging.
"That's my business, Evans," said Sirius, with an obvious effort to be polite.
A grin split his face.
"Sorry." he tacked on, turning to continue to the Boys' stairs.
"Katherine, it's your move."
"Oh, sorry, er…"
Katherine stared down at the board, completely befuddled.
"Queen to E5."
Katherine looked up to see that Sirius had stopped by the chess board, regarding the game aloofly.
"Thanks." breathed Katherine, watching her Queen take Marlene's King.
Sirius leapt up the stairs without so much as a glance back, and the game reset itself on the chess board.
Katherine had never been less interested in playing.
"We've got a bloody Auror coming to the school, he should probably wise up." said Marlene, squinting at her chess pieces and ignoring the insults they sledged at her and each other.
"Auror?" asked Katherine.
"Dark Wizard catcher." said Marlene, moving a rook.
"The closest thing the wizarding world has to police." explained Lily, noting Katherine's expression.
Marlene rolled her eyes as she took one of Katherine's rooks, "Actually, Moody'd probably think Sirius had the right idea…'attack the enemy before they attack you'…"
Author's Note: Thank you for reading! Whose P.O.V do you think it was in the middle? Let me know all your theories - they fuel my creative fire! :)