DISCLAIMER: As always, Katie, Draco and the rest are not mine. But, since
I've been doing this for a bit now, there are a few people that I'd like to
dedicate this story to. Bryn: One of the only reasons I kept going after
chapter one. Dani: You've been so supportive of this. Thanks so much.
Rosalie: Eh. I just love you. Linnie: You account for most of my reviews!
Go you! And finally, Jackie: The other half of my reviews. I love you
forever. That said, onward to the story! Review if you like it, please!
- - -
The weather outside seemed to personify Katie's stormy mood. The air seemed to crackle and spark, in preparation for a lightning storm of mammoth proportions. The sky was dark and ominous, scowling at Katie from its superior position in the cosmos. In the mood that she was in, she just scowled back.
She walked about the corridors, knowing that she should be going to Care of Magical Creatures, but she was taking her time in getting there, knowing that, at any moment, the skies would open up, and the wrath of the glowering sky above would leave her water logged for the remainder of eternity. Finally, she abandoned all hopes of being sour, and ambled out to Hagrid's hut, where a crowd of her classmates had gathered.
"Gather 'round you lot!" Hagrid bellowed, calling the wandering eyes of the students to him. Seeing that the class was now attentively staring at him, and the bundle of humming, multicolored fuzz in his arms, he gave a satisfied sort of nod and cleared his throat. "Now then," he continued, his tone considerably more affectionate than before as he gazed at the fluff in his arms, "What you have here is yer basic Fleffapod. They're on'y cubs right now, but once you train 'em up a bit, they're used in most of th' Love Potions that yer learning how to brew up this year. Yer assignment is to raise 'em up, best you can, so that they'll be ready by the time Christmas rolls around."
Several of the girls in this class tittered with excitement, but the news only did worse to dampen Katie's spirits. Now, the entire seventh year would be fluttering about, talking of love potions, boys, and other such drivel that seemed to make sense to everyone but her.
Hagrid then began distributing one bits of the fuzz, which Katie found to be individual Fleffapods, to each student. When he came to Katie, he handed her a pastel blue bit of lint that was trembling violently. She quickly took it, and held it close to her, worried that it would freeze to death in the dipping temperatures before the class was through.
"It won' do you any good, Katie," Hagrid said sadly. "He's not shaking 'cause of the cold. He's shaking 'cause he's missing what all th' Fleffapods need ter live."
Katie looked at him, confused. "What's that?"
Hagrid ran a thumb across quaking Fleffapod. "Warren needs love, Katie. Some creatures need food and water, but Fleffapods thrive on love between two people, don't matter if they're friends, family, or anything. But, without it, they die," he replied, sorrowfully eyeing the shaking ball of fluff. "This one's hasn't been exposed ter anything pleasant in weeks, and if he keeps shakin' like this, he's not likely ter make it through the night." Then, he walked away, handing out the rest of the happily humming Fleffapods to her classmates, who all cooed over them.
Katie looked down at Warren the Fleffapod, trembling and emitting a small sort of whimper as it huddled close to her heart. She heard the sound of the bell, and began to walk up to the castle. As the wind began to kick up, and the rain finally began to fall, she made herself a promise. She would make that tiny creature live if it killed her. Then, as she deposited him in a warm box, and began the walk to dinner, she realized that it might kill her.
- - -
Katie didn't even bother sitting with Alicia and Angelina at the Gryffindor table. They'd been rather huffy with her lately, and she knew that Draco would call for her anyway, just as he had every other night. So, she sat with the Slytherins, and Pansy. But, when she arrived, he wasn't there. Figuring that he was just late, she took her usual seat.
Goyle raised an eyebrow at her, and she raised one back, surprised that he wasn't at Draco's side.
"What're you doing here?" Pansy spat, spraying Katie with stray flecks of mashed potato.
Katie wiped the food from where it had pelted her forehead, and sighed exasperatedly. "Same thing I've been doing here for the last three nights, Parkinson. Gracefully fulfilling my duties as Draco's personal servant."
"Well, don't expect him here anytime soon," Pansy replied, an evil smirk twisting across her face. "Last I saw him, he was in the Common Room, talking with some girl!"
Katie felt her heart give a slight jolt. "You're lying," she said at last, reading Pansy's face for any telltale clues that Draco really was with someone else.
Pansy stumbled for a moment. "No I'm not," she finally snapped.
"Yes she is," Katie turned to her other side, and recognized the redhead from her first night sitting amongst the Slytherin crowd. "Bell, Draco's 'studying' in the dormitories. He's rather hiding from you, unless I'm mistaken. You gave him a nasty surprise, walking away like that. He's never really been shot down before, much less walked away from when he was expecting to have his way," the redhead said, an amused grin on her face. "That took courage, Bell."
Katie was taken aback by the girl's words. She hadn't expected him to tell any of them about what had happened the night before. Or, if he had, that he would have lied about it and told them that they had gone ahead and done their deeds in that classroom. There was no way it could be true. Draco Malfoy would never confess to losing a girl, would he? "How did you find out about that? Was someone else there?" she asked, nervously eyeing the people around her.
The girl suppressed a chuckle. "No one was spying on you, Bell, if that's what you mean. He told us the whole thing. He was furious when he told us. Said that you had some nerve, leaving him like that after that kiss that you gave him."
"He told you that, did he?" Katie asked, her tone unreadable.
The redheaded girl nodded. "Every word and more. Personally, I think he's a bit scared of you, Bell. It could be just me, but it seems like you're all that he talks about. Granted, it's usually that he can't stand you, or that you're one of the cheekiest lasses that he's ever met, but it still gets old after a bit." Her tone was unclear. It wasn't as though she were trying to be friendly, but her voice lacked the usual annoyance that most Slytherins held when they addressed her.
Again, Katie felt a funny feeling in her stomach. "Thanks, but I really ought to be going. It was nice talking to you, er. . ."
"Zabini. Blaise Zabini. It was nice talking to you too, Katie," Blaise replied.
"Right then, night," she said.
"Hey Bell!" Blaise called again as Katie turned to leave.
"Yeah?"
"A Slytherin and a Gryffindor. It's never been done before," she said evenly, looking Katie over.
"And it never will be," Pansy snarled, before Katie could make her reply.
Katie just shook her head, a smile on her face. "Whatever you say Pansy," she replied. And she walked out of the Great Hall, leaving Pansy to ponder the true meaning behind her words.
- - -
Katie found herself back in the Gryffindor Common Room, unsure as to how she got there. She was feeding Warren happy memories with a charm that Hagrid had taught the class, hoping that he would stop shaking long enough for her to get attached to him.
"Come on you great fuzzy lump!" she pleaded, "You have to eat something!"
But to her words, Warren emitted a small squeak and began to tremble more than before.
Katie felt her eyes widen, "I'm sorry," she repeated over and over again, cradling the mass of fluff against her chest. She had to suppress a laugh when she realized what she was doing. She was in a right state over the creature that she'd been taking care of for less than a day. But, she looked down at him, and she could see why. Curled up and trembling was the blue Fleffapod. He reminded her of cotton candy, the shade of the sky on a lovers' summer day. Two huge black eyes stared at up at her, and she nearly melted at the sight.
"Well, Warren, you'd best stick around now," she said with a giggle. She stroked him for a bit, whispering words of praise to the tiny creature. She'd been doing this for some time when a thought suddenly popped into her head, and she realized what he had to do.
Placing Warren back into his box, she crept up the stairs and opened the door to the girls dormitories.
" 'Licia, Angelina, can we talk?"
- - -
The weather outside seemed to personify Katie's stormy mood. The air seemed to crackle and spark, in preparation for a lightning storm of mammoth proportions. The sky was dark and ominous, scowling at Katie from its superior position in the cosmos. In the mood that she was in, she just scowled back.
She walked about the corridors, knowing that she should be going to Care of Magical Creatures, but she was taking her time in getting there, knowing that, at any moment, the skies would open up, and the wrath of the glowering sky above would leave her water logged for the remainder of eternity. Finally, she abandoned all hopes of being sour, and ambled out to Hagrid's hut, where a crowd of her classmates had gathered.
"Gather 'round you lot!" Hagrid bellowed, calling the wandering eyes of the students to him. Seeing that the class was now attentively staring at him, and the bundle of humming, multicolored fuzz in his arms, he gave a satisfied sort of nod and cleared his throat. "Now then," he continued, his tone considerably more affectionate than before as he gazed at the fluff in his arms, "What you have here is yer basic Fleffapod. They're on'y cubs right now, but once you train 'em up a bit, they're used in most of th' Love Potions that yer learning how to brew up this year. Yer assignment is to raise 'em up, best you can, so that they'll be ready by the time Christmas rolls around."
Several of the girls in this class tittered with excitement, but the news only did worse to dampen Katie's spirits. Now, the entire seventh year would be fluttering about, talking of love potions, boys, and other such drivel that seemed to make sense to everyone but her.
Hagrid then began distributing one bits of the fuzz, which Katie found to be individual Fleffapods, to each student. When he came to Katie, he handed her a pastel blue bit of lint that was trembling violently. She quickly took it, and held it close to her, worried that it would freeze to death in the dipping temperatures before the class was through.
"It won' do you any good, Katie," Hagrid said sadly. "He's not shaking 'cause of the cold. He's shaking 'cause he's missing what all th' Fleffapods need ter live."
Katie looked at him, confused. "What's that?"
Hagrid ran a thumb across quaking Fleffapod. "Warren needs love, Katie. Some creatures need food and water, but Fleffapods thrive on love between two people, don't matter if they're friends, family, or anything. But, without it, they die," he replied, sorrowfully eyeing the shaking ball of fluff. "This one's hasn't been exposed ter anything pleasant in weeks, and if he keeps shakin' like this, he's not likely ter make it through the night." Then, he walked away, handing out the rest of the happily humming Fleffapods to her classmates, who all cooed over them.
Katie looked down at Warren the Fleffapod, trembling and emitting a small sort of whimper as it huddled close to her heart. She heard the sound of the bell, and began to walk up to the castle. As the wind began to kick up, and the rain finally began to fall, she made herself a promise. She would make that tiny creature live if it killed her. Then, as she deposited him in a warm box, and began the walk to dinner, she realized that it might kill her.
- - -
Katie didn't even bother sitting with Alicia and Angelina at the Gryffindor table. They'd been rather huffy with her lately, and she knew that Draco would call for her anyway, just as he had every other night. So, she sat with the Slytherins, and Pansy. But, when she arrived, he wasn't there. Figuring that he was just late, she took her usual seat.
Goyle raised an eyebrow at her, and she raised one back, surprised that he wasn't at Draco's side.
"What're you doing here?" Pansy spat, spraying Katie with stray flecks of mashed potato.
Katie wiped the food from where it had pelted her forehead, and sighed exasperatedly. "Same thing I've been doing here for the last three nights, Parkinson. Gracefully fulfilling my duties as Draco's personal servant."
"Well, don't expect him here anytime soon," Pansy replied, an evil smirk twisting across her face. "Last I saw him, he was in the Common Room, talking with some girl!"
Katie felt her heart give a slight jolt. "You're lying," she said at last, reading Pansy's face for any telltale clues that Draco really was with someone else.
Pansy stumbled for a moment. "No I'm not," she finally snapped.
"Yes she is," Katie turned to her other side, and recognized the redhead from her first night sitting amongst the Slytherin crowd. "Bell, Draco's 'studying' in the dormitories. He's rather hiding from you, unless I'm mistaken. You gave him a nasty surprise, walking away like that. He's never really been shot down before, much less walked away from when he was expecting to have his way," the redhead said, an amused grin on her face. "That took courage, Bell."
Katie was taken aback by the girl's words. She hadn't expected him to tell any of them about what had happened the night before. Or, if he had, that he would have lied about it and told them that they had gone ahead and done their deeds in that classroom. There was no way it could be true. Draco Malfoy would never confess to losing a girl, would he? "How did you find out about that? Was someone else there?" she asked, nervously eyeing the people around her.
The girl suppressed a chuckle. "No one was spying on you, Bell, if that's what you mean. He told us the whole thing. He was furious when he told us. Said that you had some nerve, leaving him like that after that kiss that you gave him."
"He told you that, did he?" Katie asked, her tone unreadable.
The redheaded girl nodded. "Every word and more. Personally, I think he's a bit scared of you, Bell. It could be just me, but it seems like you're all that he talks about. Granted, it's usually that he can't stand you, or that you're one of the cheekiest lasses that he's ever met, but it still gets old after a bit." Her tone was unclear. It wasn't as though she were trying to be friendly, but her voice lacked the usual annoyance that most Slytherins held when they addressed her.
Again, Katie felt a funny feeling in her stomach. "Thanks, but I really ought to be going. It was nice talking to you, er. . ."
"Zabini. Blaise Zabini. It was nice talking to you too, Katie," Blaise replied.
"Right then, night," she said.
"Hey Bell!" Blaise called again as Katie turned to leave.
"Yeah?"
"A Slytherin and a Gryffindor. It's never been done before," she said evenly, looking Katie over.
"And it never will be," Pansy snarled, before Katie could make her reply.
Katie just shook her head, a smile on her face. "Whatever you say Pansy," she replied. And she walked out of the Great Hall, leaving Pansy to ponder the true meaning behind her words.
- - -
Katie found herself back in the Gryffindor Common Room, unsure as to how she got there. She was feeding Warren happy memories with a charm that Hagrid had taught the class, hoping that he would stop shaking long enough for her to get attached to him.
"Come on you great fuzzy lump!" she pleaded, "You have to eat something!"
But to her words, Warren emitted a small squeak and began to tremble more than before.
Katie felt her eyes widen, "I'm sorry," she repeated over and over again, cradling the mass of fluff against her chest. She had to suppress a laugh when she realized what she was doing. She was in a right state over the creature that she'd been taking care of for less than a day. But, she looked down at him, and she could see why. Curled up and trembling was the blue Fleffapod. He reminded her of cotton candy, the shade of the sky on a lovers' summer day. Two huge black eyes stared at up at her, and she nearly melted at the sight.
"Well, Warren, you'd best stick around now," she said with a giggle. She stroked him for a bit, whispering words of praise to the tiny creature. She'd been doing this for some time when a thought suddenly popped into her head, and she realized what he had to do.
Placing Warren back into his box, she crept up the stairs and opened the door to the girls dormitories.
" 'Licia, Angelina, can we talk?"