Early in the morning, they had breakfast. The Hogwarts Express was leaving at 10 AM, so in order to save them some time and quite possibly out of commodity, Draco's father apparated them on Diagon Alley to grab some last-minute supplies before their departure. He signaled to Draco behind the girl's back that he was going to be with them in a minute. That's when Katherina noticed that people were crowding a book shop in a rather unusual way.
"Have you heard of anything happening there today?" she asked Draco.
He shrugged. "I doubt it's anything important. Let's check it out if you're curious."
"Don't act as if you're not!"
The two walked in, barely managing past the thick queue of wizards and witches pushing their way forward. The staircase to the top floor was empty though, so that's where they went. From the balcony above they caught a good look at the events below. A wizard that didn't give any of them the impression of power was launching a new book about himself, signing autographs, and flashing a smile brighter than the summer sun. He looked like the typical pretty-boy from girls' dollhouse sets.
"Why do I get the feeling this one's a charlatan?" Draco rolled his eyes. "Oh, 'Magical Me', the book every housewife wants, what a disgrace. What kind of silly name is that, anyway? I wouldn't name a children's book 'Magical Me'."
"I don't know, but have you seen his suit?" Katherina chuckled. "He's trying so hard to look rich, I bet his pockets are empty. I wonder what would happen if I would drip some... You know, accidentally, of course, no ill intent at all..." She tilted a small bottle of ink she had bought earlier.
Much to their surprise, this joker noticed Harry bloody Potter in the crowd. There he was, being called to the front of the line, gifted his books for the year, posing with his dumb expression for the Prophet. Draco's smile dropped instantly. Why did he have to be so damn famous? It's not like he did anything extraordinary. He was only alive because his parents sacrificed themselves - that wasn't his merit. So overrated... He flipped through a random book as he walked down the stairs, before ripping out a spell he thought interesting, then placing the book on a pile by the railway.
"Draco... Don't do it, it's not worth it," Katherina tried to warn him, but he didn't mind her. He cut off their path.
"Bet you liked that, didn't you, Potter? Famous Harry Potter - can't even go to a bookshop without making the front page!"
Sighing, Katherina slid down the railway. "Why bother with the lower-class?" but once again, Draco shot her a look and chose to ignore her.
The youngest Weasley witch stepped forward. "Leave him alone," she commanded through gritted teeth.
Katherina bent down at the girl. "Oh, what a pity! The worse you want to behave, the better you need to dress, but you've got dirt on your face."
"Oh, look, Potter - you've got yourself a girlfriend! Looks like a beggar, but-"
"Children," the voice of Lucius stopped them both in their tracks. He had placed his cane on Draco's shoulder, gently but firmly asking him to step aside. "Play nicely." He then proceeded to introduce himself to Harry Potter.
Katherina tapped Draco's pocket subtly. She nodded towards the book from which he had ripped the two pages in a gesture commanding him to put them back and take the whole book. The boy rolled his eyes and watched the interaction between his father and the group of losers. He was roasting the Weasleys so badly, it smelled like barbeque! He had to hold back from showing his amusement though. His father wouldn't have appreciated that. Katherina sighed, placed the money inside the front cover of the book, then levitated it to the cashier, past the Weasly twins who turned to look after it.
"What are you doing?" Draco whispered.
"Buying you the book you ripped," she replied in a low voice.
"But I don't want the whole book!"
"Too bad!" she whisper-argued. "You should have thought of that before."
Hermione caught their conversation but tried to act like she didn't hear anything. Was that an ounce of decency she noticed about Caesarius? What was she doing with Malfoy, in the first place? How come this aristocratic bully was talking about Hermione's muggle parents and not about Caesarius? It was obvious something had changed dramatically over the summer, but what was it? Obviously, Malfoy values remained just as Medieval.
"Associating with muggles... And I thought your family could sink no lower," Lucius glared at Arthur Weasley.
Unable to come up with a reply, Weasley senior smiled uncomfortably.
"I'll see you at work," Malfoy greeted him before walking away. Katherina summoned the book back into her hands and followed quickly, while Draco took another moment to enjoy the shade his father had been throwing on the group for the last minute.
"I'll see you at school..." he addressed Potter before catching up.
Katherina kept an eye on his father while falling behind to wait for Draco. "Was any of that necessary?" She placed the book in his arms.
He rolled his eyes. "Quit moaning over a book!"
"I'm not talking about the book, Draco! You know you can judge someone by whose with who they associate themselves. What more do you need?"
"A castle in the sky? I'll start with that," he snapped as they caught up with his father.
Katherina rolled her eyes. "You're so mad because of that little brat...!"
Still angry, Draco entered a sweet shop and began filling his arms with chocolate. When he heard the front doorbell, Lucius stopped to give Katherina a questioning look. Panicking just a little, she quickly followed Draco inside the shop.
Once they had everything they wanted and Draco had calmed down, they apparated to the train station, on the 9 3/4 platform, and had a very non-emotional good-bye. They both embarked on the train and were looking for a suitable compartment. That's when Katherina gasped as she suddenly remembered something.
"Draco...?" she asked, alarm obvious on her face.
That scared him a little. "What?"
"Did you put the cape back?"
His worry was taken over by a smug smile. "Don't worry about that. I left it in the kitchen. He will think one of the house-elves took it."
Katherina followed him into a free compartment. "Draco! That's wrong!"
"I'd rather it be one of them than me!" He sat down and extended his legs on the seat across from him.
"But it had the Flagrante Curse on it. Won't your father notice it is gone? House-elves are not allowed to use magic, they could be executed!"
"Sit down and close the door!" Malfoy extended his wand towards the window and opened it to let some fresh air in. "Stop making such a drama over a house-elf. It's not like I haven't thrown the blame before and my father never killed any of them."
Sighing, Katherina sat beside him. "If you say he won't..."
"You're too soft," he remarked as he looked outside. "You did take the copy, right?"
"It's in between my clothes. Why do I get the feeling this wasn't your first time breaking your father's orders?"
Draco threw her a smirk. "You think so? Hm. I wonder why."
She shook her head and smiled. "Of course. What book was that, anyway?"
"Do you think I got to look at it?" He took it from his bag. It was a red hardcover with a golden frame.
Katherina leaned over his shoulder to take a look. "Defense against the Dark Arts, volume IV. Can I have it?"
Without much feeling, Draco passed her the book and she flipped it over, reading aloud the description on the back.
"Recommended for the fourth year of studying in the field, it contains a fine selection of charms and spells meant to protect the caster or another of their choice against dark creatures, spells, and curses."
That drew Draco's attention. "Fourth year?"
"Apparently..." Katherina opened it and looked at the table of contents, while Draco took out the pages he had ripped. "It describes the Unforgivable Curses!"
He frowned in surprise. "Do they teach that at Hogwarts? I thought not."
"Well, it's in the book, so... I suppose we'll get there."
"I heard aunt Bellatrix talking about the Cuciatus Curse. She said one must feel a really intense desire to cause someone pain, or it won't work." He looked unsure and a bit disturbed but tried to hold his cool.
"The Imperius Curse sounds more useful to me." She flipped through the pages and found it near the end. "A curse to nullify the free will of an individual or being," she read, "that could come in handy! What pages did you take?"
"257, 8, 9, and 260," Draco said as he looked at the bottom numbers. "The Patronus Charm. Perhaps the most powerful defensive charm known to wizardkind, it requires an extreme level of concentration, as well as a... pure heart," Draco read from the first page in his hand. "What's this fairytale?" he asked in disgust.
"Let me see." Katherina placed the pages back into the book and used Reparo to fix them. "It's effective against Dementors and Lethifolds! Maybe we should learn it? Right after we're done going through the copy!"
"You go ahead. I don't care for this nonsense. What's that mention about a pure heart doing in a scientific book?"
"Does it really matter?"
Draco shrugged. "Next summer, I'll ask aunt Bellatrix to teach me the Dark Arts. You can study the pure heart charm all you want!"
Katherina closed the book and poked him in between his ribs. "You're just scared you won't be able to cast Patronus!"
Taken by surprise, he flinched away. "I am not! I can cast any spell as long as I study it!" He tried to push her hands away.
"You're scared your heart is too dark for it," she continued to tease and tickle him.
"For the last time, I'm not! Bloody hell, stop!" he tried to be serious, but couldn't help a laugh.
"Right, 'cause you have no heart at all!" She laughed as she ticked Draco into the window.
"You bloody didn't-!" Draco managed to catch her hands with his right and began tickling her back with his left. "You're gonna regret this! Nobody corners Draco Malfoy!"
"Except for me!" She slithered herself free and they began fighting over supremacy.
Alarmed by the screams and laughs, the twins in the next compartment went to take a look at what on earth was taking place. Perhaps someone needed help? Fred opened the door and George looked in first. They saw Katherina Caesarius and Draco Malfoy kind of... tangled up.
"Seriously?! On a train?" Fred began laughing loudly.
"On a bloody train!" George joined him. "And so young!"
"Who would have thought?"
"Not so aristocratic when daddy isn't around, huh?"
Draco was on his feet in a split second, aiming his wand at them. "You two monkey heads will shut up and leave immediately!"
"Says who?" George laughed.
"You?" Fred continued his mocking.
"I wonder what daddy would do if he knew."
"Do you think we should owl him?" Fred offered.
Draco took one threatening step towards them. "Don't you dare!"
Several students came out of their compartments as well to see the show. Giggles and whispers were filling the train.
"What do we get in exchange?" Fred said with a look of superiority written on his face.
Katherina walked past Draco. "Go ahead and tell," she challenged the twins. "Remember what happened to the last couple of low-lives who crossed Malfoy and me."
George seemed a little suspicious. "You can't get us expelled. We didn't do anything!"
Catching the game, Draco raised his eyebrows at them. "You wanna bet?"
The girl pushed both twins against the corridor window. "Perhaps you should worry about yourselves, not others. I mean, you most definitely can't afford the best, but these rags look like they came out of a dumpster. How they allowed you to get on the train in the first place is a mystery."
"Perhaps I should owl my father about your harassment," Malfoy threatened them with a smug look. "I wonder what he'll have to say about you two vermin bursting into my compartment uninvited, without as much as a knock? Clearly, your family lacks manners as much as they lack everything else."
The enthusiasm of the twins had drained off their faces. Damn, these two were like a dementor, feeding off their positivity. The thought that their father could get in trouble at work over something so silly made them leave back into their own compartment quietly.
"What are you peasants looking at?" Draco snapped at the others, who withdrew as well.
Katherina sat back down with a sigh. "Such a waste of time..."
Draco closed the door as he noticed that he had lost the window seat to Katherina. "You think?" He threw himself on the bench and lifted his feet on the seat across. He went through the bag of sweets he had bought earlier and took out two chocolate frogs. "Do you want one?"
Author's notes:
Part of this chapter is based on a 1,5-seconds scene pointed out by someone on Youtube in a comment on a compilation of Draco's best moments. If you pause at the right moment, you can see Draco ripping out what looks like one or two pages out of a random book, which he then leaves in a pile by the railway. The book appears to be red or maroon. The focus in that scene is on none other than Harry Potter, so this is happening in the background. I thought it was a nice little gem I could use.