A few days before winter break, Katherina was sitting at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall with her roommates. They had also become her squad of followers - the three were by her side most times. Selena Selwyn was the softer of them all, more likely to get along with the Hufflepuffs than Slytherins, but Katherina kept her close for how loyal she was and how discreetly she could find out everything moving at Hogwarts. Her role was to stay close to Harry, Hermione, and their group, and to try and keep a perfect image in the process. The more professors trusted her and saw her as a 'good girl', the more solid her testimony was going to be if their group ever needed it. Katherina made sure she was always protected.

Elisabeth Flint was the closest to Katherina's level of ambition, but she was impulsive and rash. Her job was to keep an eye on the Quidditch games and keep close to the Slytherin team. It was usually not for first-year students, but Harry Potter had made it into the Gryffindor team, so Elisa received the same mission from Katherina. She was also the one responsible to learn as many spells and charms useful in duels as possible, mostly from hanging out with older students, so that she could tutor the rest of the group.

Lastly, Annelyse Rosier had the entire interior code of Hogwarts memorized, with a very scientific approach. She knew every rule they had to follow and what they risked for breaking it, as well as the loopholes they could use to escape blame or throw it on somebody else. Whenever Katherina had to make a plan for something, she had Anna by her side, warning her of any dangers. Keeping a perfect image was easy for Anna, and her parents were quick to notice and support her.

Having assembled such a functional team, Katherina managed to impose herself as something close to royalty at Hogwarts and Slytherins soon found themselves gravitating towards one side or the other. Draco was furious, but he didn't let it show too much in public. Where did she learn to do that? He had beaten her in Wizarding Chess, which meant he was the superior one when it came to making strategies and planning!

Most of the hall was empty. He sat at the other end of the Slytherin table. He had Vincent Crabble and Gregory Goyle by his side, but these two morons were useless! He had asked them to follow Selena Selwyn the other day and they've been lured into a trap with chocolate chip cookies! How ridiculous! 'But Draco, they were white chocolate and cranberry cookies and they were so hot and smelled so good!' What kind of bullshit is that? He would have shown them punishment if they weren't both so weak and so dumb! What's the use in punishing a board of wood? It still won't understand anything!

What's worse? He came out third! He still had the second place, but who cared about that? There were two names ahead of his on the final list following this first semester - Hermione Jean Granger and Katherina Priscilla Caesarius. They were sharing first place!

But Draco was woken from his inner monologue by the shade engulfing him. He looked up to see three Gryffindors and a Slytherin. He had barely ever spoken to the Slytherin girl before - she was a fifth-year, so much too old to hold his interest, and pretty ugly. She had manly features and strong bones in her face and body, broad shoulders, and wide palms. She was the perfect gatekeeper for the Slytherin team, but other than that, he never bothered to acknowledge her existence.

"May I have a word, your highness, Mud-foy?"

The boy was on his feet in an instant. He had to lean his head back to look at the manly woman, but he couldn't care less. This bitch had insulted not only him but his entire family!

"What did you call me?!"

"You heard me, Mud-foy. That's what people will start calling you for hanging out with these two losers, but then again, you are one too, aren't you? Why else would you take their side against my brother?"

"What the hell are you talking about? Are you delusional? Did you slip and smacked your little head on the pavement?" Draco was honestly confused. What was this about? He didn't remember defending those two morons from anyone recently. His mere presence was enough to keep them out of trouble.

"Richard Avery," one of the Gryffindors punched him in his side.

"Two days ago," another Gryffindor hit him behind the knee, causing Draco to take a step forward to catch himself from kneeling.

"In the Astronomy tower," another the other as he hit him over his back, causing Draco to gasp.

"Don't you remember, you little prick?" The girl punched him in the face while somebody took his wand and broke it in two.

Draco was unable to take all four of them on and without his wand, there was very little he could do. Cabble and Goyle got scared and tried to run, but one of the Gryffindors had time to cast the leg-bounding charm on them. The blond aristocrat fell to the ground, barely able to keep track of every hit that landed on him. He felt large, heavy shoe soles landing on his back, pressing down his ribcage against the floor, as he tried and failed to lift himself back up. His entire body hurt and his vision threatened to fade, already blurry, adding to the confusion. He found comfort in the coldness of the floor before he heard rushed steps clicking so loudly...

"Stephanie! What the hell?! Are you such a coward you can't pick on those in your year so now you pick on a first-year?"

The girl stopped to look at her cousin. "What do you care, mud-blood?"

"Do the Averys know how low you two have sunken? Rich wasn't in the Astronomy tower two days ago!"

"Who says that?" a Gryffindor grinned as he took a few intimidating steps towards her.

Elisa stepped forward. "I say. I was there all day with Selena, you assholes. You wanna go? Come on! I'll take you on!"

A deep voice made their blood freeze. The look of confidence melted off Stephanie's face as she swallowed hard and turned around slowly. The Gryffindors quickly turned to face the professors as well.

"I had higher expectations from you, Stephanie Avery," Snape said as he arrived at the scene.

"You better have a good explanation for this," McGonagall assisted him.

Annelyse stood proudly behind Snape, flashing a grin of superiority and victory at the fifth-year students. Selena told her neither Snape nor McGonagall appreciated useless blabber, so she held her tongue, enjoying the power that their shadows held.

"This is a set-up!" Stephanie yelled. "It was obviously this muggle-born who made it look like this, but we were just passing by! It's her fault, running after that name of ours! She would do anything to make me look bad and pose as the hero!"

Snape had a look that could send the dead shivering into their graves. "Yes, of course, and I assume that Malfoy is counting ants?"

The girl behind him bit her tongue and held her breath to suppress her laughter.

"Professor Snape, if I may," Selena asked softly, "Elisa and I were in the Astronomy tower all day two days ago, studying and working on the project that we've handled you yesterday. If Richard Avery would have been there, having a conflict with Malfoy, we would have certainly known."

After an entire semester of excellent work and discreet, respectful behavior, the two professors were willing to take Selena's word any day over Stephenie's.

"I will see you in my office right now, Stephanie Avery! Bring your brother as well!"

The Gryffindors were watching McGonagall with anxiety. They didn't dare speak before Snape was gone.

"We apologize, Professor McGonagall, we're just in the wrong place. You see, Stephanie said Malfoy has been bullying Rich-!"

"That's a lie!" Katherina interrupted them. "Rich and Stephanie want to silence Draco because he knows something compromising about Rich. I don't know what it is, he wouldn't tell me, but it's a good motive, in my opinion."

"Is this true?" the professor asked them. The boys looked at each other.

"Um, I haven't heard anything about it...?" one said.

"Yeah, I guess it's Slytherin stuff."

"Why would you intervene in 'Slytherin stuff'?" McGonagall asked them. "Take Mr. Malfoy to the infirmary and come see me in my office right away. Also, please uncharm those two boys!"

That wasn't a plead, it was an order. The boys quickly lifted the spells holding Draco's minions, then took him to the hospital wing and let Madam Pomfrey handle the situation from there. They couldn't tell if he was still conscious, but they hoped he wouldn't remember their faces too well.

Left in the hall, Katherina sighed in relief. She had sent the girls to keep an eye on their room, half expecting Richard to try and take revenge because she dared to stand up to Stephenie. She was thankful for Selena's testimony and for Anna running quickly to get Professor Snape - this way, Stephenie will surely get punished. It had been their second attempt at messing with Draco, only the first time they had accidentally attacked the wrong wizard while he was walking out of the boy's restroom near the training grounds. The main problem? There were no witnesses. Stephanie and her friends had covered each other up.

"Are you just going to stand there?" Katherina asked them. Other students were standing and watching, in shock that something like this could have happened to Malfoy.

"Um, uh... Thanks," Goyle said once the hall was mostly empty.

"His things?!" she rolled her eyes. The girl gathered up Draco's things and dumped his bag into Cabble's arms. "I will never understand why he's wasting his time with you! Go take these into his room and stop looking like you just got struck by lightning, or I'm going to give you a reason for it!"

Scared, the two left for the dorms in a panic. Was there anything they could do without someone giving them instructions? Katherina sat down. This was a disaster... His father was surely going to make a scene and in truth? What father wouldn't! All because he had to brag about having seen Rich coming out of the girls' corridor several times. Draco didn't even listen to her when she tried to warn him about the other kid.

Eventually, Katherina followed her friends to the dormitory and managed to make it there without any incidents. She had her eyes peeled for anything that seemed out of place and her ears opened to any sound. To say her guard was up was an understatement. When they saw her, the girls stopped playing cards and looked up.

"Say, Kath, what are we gonna ask in return?" Elisa asked with a grin.

She rolled her eyes at them and headed to the bathroom. "Nothing. You won't ask for anything."

"You mean you're gonna ask for something instead?" she insisted.

"No!" Katherina yelled as she got ready for a shower. "We didn't help Malfoy, we just caught the Averys in the act! We won't ask for anything from him, understood? From his father, neither!"

"Well, it's only fair that we accept, if his father wants to offer," Selena tried on a sweeter tone.

"Malfoy had it coming," Anna pointed out. "He's been bragging about how Richard has an affair with a Slytherin girl and how he's seen him completely ravished, heavy breathing, blushing, sweaty and all..."

Katherina closed the bathroom door and took a shower. Hopefully, they were going to drop the topic by the time she'd be done.


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