Through the silence, short sequences of rapid knocks made her thoughts lose track. She was using a ruler to keep track of each row across the many columns, but right as she was about to reach a conclusion, the knocks returned. A little slower each time, a bit fainter with every minute, until she heard her visitor sliding down against the door.
Realizing her quill was dripping ink on the poor blank page she had chosen to hold her notes, she picked it up and set it aside. In theory, it could have been anyone and she should probably open the door, just in case someone needed help. In reality, though, what could anyone need from her that other Slytherin girls could not provide? If someone had been running from the serpentine monster, any other room would have offered them the same relief as hers. Anna and Selena were likely working out Selena's feelings, as Anna had mentioned earlier that she was going to ask her if she had some interest in Weasley. Elisa claimed she wanted nothing to do with her.
Eventually, Katherina went to check on the door. She drew back her hand from the handle, as something alike to a vision crossed her mind for less than a second, and her body tensed up in anticipation. She thought the doorknob had suddenly morphed into the most horrible python, bearing its fangs and staring into her soul with eyes darker than the moonless nights. However, when she touched it, the doorknob was the same, ordinary piece of metal she has been using since the beginning of the year.
Part of him still hoped she was going to want to talk. Part of him was furious with himself for even being there. Regardless of his thoughts, his legs wouldn't push him off the ground, his feet refused to take him back. His hands refused to tap the wooden door anymore. Then, just like the Devil's Snare, he felt it moving away from behind him. Draco stood up and turned to look at her. She had red veins over the whites of her eyes, dark circles underneath, and a bitten lower lip.
Katherina knew he would be there. She watched him studying her face, as she unconsciously mirrored his action. He seemed tired but mostly alright.
"...What do you want?" she asked.
It took him a moment to realize he should have said something. "I..." he began, words stopping in his throat. "I don't want you dating Diggory."
Slowly, Katherina rolled her eyes and turned to go back into her room, attempting to close the door. Draco put his hand against it to stop it.
"Let's talk..." What he had intended as an order came out as barely a whisper.
"Oh, now you want to talk!" Katherina's voice cracked for a brief second. She went away from the door, keeping her back on Draco as she tried not to let her emotions show.
Draco stepped inside and closed the door behind himself. "...I didn't think it would... matter," he searched his words, "but it matters enough to make me sick when I see that loser-!"
"Draco, stop right there." Katherina opened a drawer of her desk. "That loser cares about me more than you ever did!" She took out a stack of papers and handed them to Draco.
Confused, he looked over them. Cedric's handwriting was so pretty, he would have never guessed it was that of a boy. His gray eyes ran between the lines, catching words every here and there. Love letters, poems, words of encouragement, praise, it was all there. He didn't find any persistent questions, the tone was never harsh, he didn't demand anything, but kindly asked instead. They smelled like baked apples, almonds, and cinnamon. He sent her flowers which she pressed between the letters and notes.
"...Every time you or your crowd of brainless minions got on my nerves, Cedric calmed me down. The Slytherin heir thing is the only reason I'm not with him right now. He listens to me, Draco, he really does - not to respond, but to understand. I don't need him to give me a sarcastic answer, I can do that myself. Instead, he gives me a different perspective. It's like his whole personality is... sunny, like a warm day in July."
He didn't know what to say. Draco was at a loss. He always thought that kindness was weakness, that there was no reason to talk if the conclusion was evident, that the world was black and white, and ran by precise sciences, by predictable algorithms. Hufflepuffs were weak, spineless, useless little things, too insignificant to be part of any of the other three houses, yet... he couldn't help the bitter taste of defeat. He was horrible at communicating, but Diggory was writing her fucking poetry. He couldn't say what he thought because he might be perceived as weak, but Diggory was pouring out his heart on paper.
"...This will never work. My parents, they want us to marry."
She nodded slowly. "I know. It's killing me, but I know..."
"Then why keep...!" He stopped himself. If he called Diggory by any name, he felt his anger threatening to spill and he knew that would push the two of them further apart.
"I don't know," Katherina confessed. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked away, pressing her index nail into her lip and breathing into her loose fist. "After Parkinson's rumors, I wanted someone in the Hufflepuff house to keep an eye on things, and he's very influential in their house, and then... You kept pushing me away, and then you insinuated that I was the one spreading the rumors..."
For once, he saw the pain in her green eyes, even if she didn't dare to look at him directly. It paralyzed him. When Draco found his voice, he felt a newfound need to speak his mind, writhing restlessly inside himself.
"I thought... if we fought, and people knew, they'd stop throwing mud on your name."
Shock blinked her thoughts away and for a little while, it was silence.
"You thought... they'd stop...?"
He nodded. Draco was studying the carpet again, noticing for the first time that it was a lot simpler than he would have wished. It wasn't nearly enough to keep him from overthinking. "I'm sorry."
Lines blurred as Katherina felt her eyes burning with tears that didn't have the permission to fall. She blinked them away, quickly realizing it was futile. She wiped them off instead. "You're an idiot, you know...?" she whispered.
Much to her surprise, he sighed heavily and nodded. "I know..."
The girl reached for the closest seat to her, the one on the sofa, but she curled up her legs underneath herself and leaned over the back to look at Malfoy. She had played one such conversation in her mind a million times, thinking of everything she would say if she had the chance, but now that it was happening, and Draco was finally showing himself to her, she couldn't bring herself to say any of those things.
"Pansy's been drooling over you for some time now..." she said when she felt her voice secure enough.
"And several other girls..." Draco stated without much feeling.
"Vesuvia, included," she sighed.
"I'm sorry about her, too." Draco walked around the sofa, hesitant. "I've seen you spending time together."
"She's terrified of speaking up now... Terrified of Slytherins, terrified of being on her own..."
Malfoy hummed softly in acknowledgment. He sat down, waiting for his punishment. Surely her brother wanted his skin on a stick.
"I told her you probably didn't mean everything you said. She still hates you, but she'll be alright."
"I figured she'd hate me," he mumbled.
"You know..." Katherina said after a moment of silence, "in order to cast that spell you hate so much, you have to think of a happy memory. You need something... quite strong, something that would make you feel good, some precious moment you wouldn't want to forget."
Draco felt her gaze on him, but he didn't dare to look up. He was ready to hear all about her happiest moment with Diggory, half-expecting a kiss, followed by a list of everything she loved about him.
"Really? What's your memory, then?"
Katherina hid part of her face into her arm, an elbow rested on the back of the sofa. "Remember when... you took that book, and you didn't even know what you've picked, and then you realized you had taken the pages of a pure heart kind of spell from a wannabe scientific book? I teased you about that, you argued back, and we had a tickling contest after I had driven you into a corner."
"That's... what you wouldn't want to, um, forget?" His eyes widened and Draco looked at her, searching her expression for confirmation.
She looked away. "It's stupid, I know - go ahead and mock me-!"
"It's not stupid, I just didn't... expect it, I guess."
Katherina closed her eyes for a moment, not ready to face him. "Why not?"
"Well, I thought since you're dating that insufferable Mr. Perfect..." His voice filled with anger, but he had no use for that emotion. Draco took his time letting it go. "I thought you'd be thinking of him."
She pulled her knees closer only to hold something. "He calms me down, he encourages me to go on... but I don't think I'd want him by my side for long. He's too kind, too soft, too pure... I don't want to break him. I can't show him my darkness, not really. He's so lovely, he wouldn't survive for long beside me."
"You can't be so dark and horrible if you can cast that bloody spell you've been bragging about today..." Draco crossed his legs and leaned with his elbows over his knee and ankle.
"Your father administrated my heritage. There are businesses aimed at both muggles and wizards. There is terrible pressure on him at this very moment. I've been looking through the reports, you see, and I've found something intriguing. I think I've spotted our first traitor, a muggle-born close to the Blackwood family. That's what I wanted you to send to your father."
Draco threw her a curious look. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"You were too busy with Pansy," Katherina sighed. "Come, I'll show you." She stood up and walked to the desk, then flipped through the reports looking for a certain company.
Reluctant, Draco followed her. "Have you showed this to Diggory?"
"No," she answered without hesitation. "I get the feeling he's too kind for business. Here, I found it. On this column, on the third row above the last, see?"
Draco tried his best to focus his tired eyes. He was exhausted from their talk, or whatever that was. His emotions could have very well tossed his body against the walls like a rag doll and he would have probably felt less drained.
"That's the raw profit. It looks impressive to me."
Katherina flipped the page for him. "That was from August. This is from September."
He raised his eyebrows. "It's growing. What's wrong about that, isn't it supposed to grow?"
"It nearly doubled, Draco. Look here," she circled the numbers on several other rows. "See?"
Taking a moment to focus on what he was reading, Draco felt his headache coming back. He held his hands together, looking for that specific pressure point and trying to ease the tension. "The expenses are about... ten times lower? How is that possible? The income is similar... They stopped paying rent, and utilities and pretty much all of the expenses are insignificant."
Katherina noticed his actions and stepped behind him. She placed her hands over his temples and moved them in a circular motion. Draco noticed they were cold, but he also began to relax. If he hadn't been standing on his feet, he would have probably been close to slumbering by now.
"I suspect that the business is closed. Let me explain - this is a shop for magical creatures. The clients can pay whenever they want for up to three months after buying, and in case they find the said creature to be not tame enough to handle, they will get a refund of half the price. I also believe, based on the income evolution from April through August, that he has taken part of the money for himself. If my suspicion is correct, another shop will open on Diagon Alley soon, if they haven't already, while this one - the only competition - will be declaring bankruptcy. Because the income will keep flowing for another two months, by the time it will become obvious, it will be already too late."
"So you're saying... it's been sabotaged from within? The Blackwood family has been chasing the status of nobility for a long time. Now that the Averys are about to lose it, they would have every reason to try and expand their assets and businesses, show off so to speak, and this muggle-born wizard would be a precious insider for them."
The girl nodded, feeling a smile spread on her face. She was bitter but glad. "I knew you'd get it."
Draco took her hands in his, turned to face her, and watched the blood rising to her face. They were close enough to feel each other's breath on their faces.
Author's notes:
There - they're back together. For now. I'm going to twist the canon plot a little bit, I hope that's fine with you, readers. I'm always willing to hear from you.
In other news, just as a fun little game, can you guess which of the female characters will be in the spotlight of the new, Snape-centered story? I already have 5 chapters of it and it's very aesthetic.
