The last thing he remembered was pain, and ironically, it was the first thing he felt when his senses decided to return to their duties. Draco felt a sharp pain in his back every other second... Breathing? Yes, he was breathing, and it hurt. That's what woke him. He felt the rigid mattress beneath him and the metal structure of the bed pushing through it. When he opened his eyes, he recognized the mint fabric dividers of the hospital wing, as well as the scent of disinfectant that he hated so much. Draco saw the ceiling through the darkness and quickly noticed a few shadows dancing on it. There was a candle burning on his bedside table, melted almost entirely.
He tried to move, but everything hurt. His arms felt swollen and bruised and so did his face, but that wasn't the worst. The pain in his back held him down, he had no chance of sitting up. The memory of his beating returned to him as violently as the flood, washing away his confusion. There were three Gryffindors and the Slytherin Quidditch gatekeeper girl, Stephanie Avery. They were all fifth-year students, yes, and they said something about him... What was it? They accused him of... some kind of bullshit about a fight he supposedly had with the other Avery, the prefect. That's around the time when he realized there was something over his right hand, something heavy and warm.
When he tried to move again, he saw a familiar face sitting upright on a chair beside his bed. She had fallen asleep with her arms crossed over the edge of his bed, her head resting on them. Draco had to clear his throat to find his voice.
"What... Why are you here?"
Groggy, Katherina rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "You sound like yourself, that's a relief." She sighed. At least he didn't hit his head too bad. "I thought you'd want to talk to someone when you wake up, and then before bedtime, I asked if you were okay, and Madam Pomfrey told me I can stay here if I keep quiet."
"But why? This has nothing to do with you!"
"I can leave if you want!"
As she stood up, Draco reached for her. He barely reached her hand, but it was enough to show his intention. He looked away through the darkness. He hated the hospital wing and anything related to hospitals. He despised being alone in the dark, quiet open space among other beds, occupied or empty, in a world of shadows. The wind was howling outside, and besides... she could fill in the blanks for him. Yes, that was it, that's why he stopped her - to get some answers!
"I didn't say that! ...What happened?"
Katherina sat back down. The strangest thought crossed her mind - Malfoy was the closest to a friend she had. Sure, her roommates were nice and everything, but she kept them around because they could be useful to each other and she was absolutely certain they felt the same way around her. It was beneficial to all of them to respect that formation, and Katherina was the best of the group at keeping everything neatly organized and functional.
"Remember I tried to warn you to keep quiet about Rich? He asked his sister, Stepanie to... shut you up. I wasn't sure she was going to try again after that quiet kid from earlier, but I made a plan, anyway. Anna went and got Snape, and I'm not sure if she bumped into McGonagall by accident or not, but she came with them too. I also made a scene so people would gather and they won't be able to run away and play innocent again. Selena spoke against them and given her image, it was easy to convince everyone of what was going on."
Oh, great! Drago rolled his eyes. If she made a scene, whatever that meant, it most likely led to people seeing him beaten up! Wonderful image. "...What about your last name? I thought you wanted to be an Avery. If they didn't want you before, I can't imagine you made much progress siding with me."
Katherina sighed. She lit a second candle that was waiting on the bedside table and replaced the fading one.
"They're a bunch of cowards. If that's how they handle things, I don't care for their name. My father raised me to be fair before anything else."
Silence fell over the hospital wing as they both looked away from each other. There had been a lot of tension between them this first semester. They had called each other names on more than one occasion. Richard was being a jerk to both of them, but also to most other first-year Slytherins. When he tried to get on the Quidditch team, Stephanie called Draco a short weakling, and the captain told him to try again next year. He blamed Katherina for that at first, considering it was her goal to be accepted by the Averys, until they had a fight and screamed their arguments at each other. She thought that he had teamed up with Rich, who had been trying to make her trip in front of Snape for weeks on end, sabotaged her projects, and attempted to corner Selena and Ana alone.
"I should head back. Are you alright, though...?"
The question took him by surprise. "Fine. I'm... I'm fine."
Katherina took one long look at him. "Do you want anything? Water, ice maybe?"
Draco did have a terrible taste of blood in his mouth and his throat was pretty dry. He quickly ran his tongue over his teeth and felt the place where his lower lip and his cheek had come into contact with his teeth too violently. That explained the metallic taste he felt, but at least it didn't hurt too bad. "I'll take some water if you insist."
Nodding, she poured him a glass of water and sat beside him, trying to help him sit up. Malfoy resisted, trying and failing to push her away and support himself at the same time.
"Look. I don't know how you see this, but it's fine to take someone's help when you need it. It's fine to take it even if you don't need it. I'm not your enemy, you idiot."
"...I'll owe you," he stopped abruptly as the pain in his back cut his breath short.
"No, you won't. You should have listened to me when I told you to forget about that bastard," she smirked and straightened his back, "but you don't owe me anything. Remember you beat me in chess?"
Draco drank water from the glass she offered him and found that he was thirstier than he first thought. He had downed it all in mere seconds, barely breathing. He felt her warmth and it terrified him. Being so close to someone who was not family, when he was unarmed and weak, feeling absolutely helpless...! It paralyzed him, this strange feeling of... vulnerability, he guessed. He was certain he had never felt it before, but his father described it. He warned him to never let his guard down, never depend on another, never expose his weakness. People will take advantage, kick you when you're down, stab you in the back.
Katherina tried not to overthink the entire day. It was already too much; though... She couldn't just leave him alone there, most likely in pain, confused, maybe even scared, if a Malfoy could feel fear. If her mother insisted that she learns all of those rules and hobbies and values of the upper class, her father insisted on making her into a strong and independent child, who would grow into a capable woman - capable to understand and use economy and politics to her advantage, but also capable of empathy, of fairness, of relating to others and finding the good in them. He told her about associating herself with the right people, the ones who were strong but also kind, who had a good heart, even if their exterior might be less than ideal. Kind hearts were often hidden by armor - but wasn't that its very purpose?
"Are you staying here for the holidays?" Draco asked after another indefinite moment of silence. He tried to lay down again and felt the all too familiar pain burning in his back, knocking the air out of his lungs. She stood up and supported his back so he could find the uncomfortable mattress again.
"I think so. It's not like I have anywhere else to be." The thought saddened her, but she pushed it back into a corner of her mind.
"What about the Averys?" Draco asked again.
"Well, I've never met their parents... so I'm not sure what they'll do, but if I was in their place and my kids would have done this, I would probably have them spend the holidays at Hogwarts instead of allowing them to come home," Katherina said in a confident, matter-of-fact voice.
Malfoy tried to laugh when the pain in his back reminded him he shouldn't make sudden movements. "Bloody hell!" he gasped.
"What?" She had her attention on him, even if she didn't really know what to do.
"...Nothing," he mumbled as he tried to shift his position and find a comfortable way to lay.
"What hurts?" The pain was written all over his face.
"Nothing, alright?!" he raised his voice.
"Fine!" Katherina turned her back on him. "You stubborn idiot!"
"You can't leave me until I command you! Stuck-up muggle-born!"
"Arrogant prick!"
"Know-it-all!"
"Spoiled brat!"
"Can you shut up already?" a voice groaned from the other end of the hall. "You're giving me a headache!"
Malfoy and Cesarius looked at each other, then away from each other.
"Well, she started it!" he yelled in defense.
"Don't you dare throw this on me!" the girl tried to defend herself.
"Shut up!" the voice from earlier called again.
An awkward silence fell over the dark hospital room. Through the window above his bed, Katherina could see the sky fading to blue, and then purple, pink, red, and eventually orange. The sun was coming up, shining its golden light over the forest and the training grounds. The ice flowers on the glass were beginning to soften around the edges just a little bit, their cores sparkling in the morning light. Katherina stayed beside Draco now mostly because she didn't want to upset whoever had just yelled at them a moment earlier, but the view was splendid as well.
Both students jumped a little when they heard the main doors opening. There were several sets of footsteps coming towards them. The girl wanted to hide, but after she looked around, she realized she had few to no choices and absolutely no time. The adults were by their side in a few seconds. She looked up to see Snape, alongside a tall man with long blond hair and cold, unforgiving eyes. Madam Pomfrey was behind them. Katherina noticed the quality of the stranger's clothes and shoes - three guesses on who he might be, she thought.
"Good morning. Excuse me-" she bowed and tried to make a getaway towards Madam Pomfrey, who opened her arms for her, but a long black cane with a silver snake at the top separated them. Katherina took a step back and looked at Snape.
Draco was trying to sit up on his own. Damn, it hurt! That horrible pain felt like a sword was driving through his flesh straight into his lungs. He held his breath and tried again. It didn't matter if he couldn't breathe, he could not allow his father to see him act weak in front of other people!
The man took one look at the girl with light reddish hair and dark shadows under her eyes and one at his son. He had a few bruises and it was quite obvious he had taken some serious hits. The head nurse also warned him that the boy had two broken ribs.
"I've been told you saw the incident," he addressed the girl.
Once Katherina saw Snape close his eyes in agreement and give her the most subtle nod in history, she nodded too. This man's attitude surely did explain some of Draco's defensive mechanisms.
"I expect you can recognize the culprits."
Oooh, shit! This was going to escalate. "Yes, sir, I can."
"Good. Draco, get dressed. You," he addressed Katherina, "come with me."
The nurse tried to reason with him. "Mister Malfoy, sir, if I may, it would be best if the student remained at least for another few days, given his state is not the fittest for travel-"
"...Is it not your job to ensure my son is fit to travel, or do you have another reason to exist?" He watched as the nurse apologized and stepped away from his path.
Their brief exchange gave Katherina time to look at Snape with a quiet but obvious look of concern. If she knew how to communicate telepathically, she would have screamed at Snape 'get me out of here!' but that wasn't an option. If Richard and Stephanie disliked her before, they will surely hate her with a passion now. Damn it all, the whole school was probably going to stay away from her. She hated the thought of being the one to point out those to be punished and by the look of this man, they were not going to get away with something minor. Even his shadow had to be grandiose! Shit...
Author's notes:
I'm glad you find the story to be to your liking. I might post more frequently if I see some feedback from you, the readers.
