On the last Sunday morning, before they would be allowed to leave home for the winter holidays, Malfoy woke up surprisingly well. Although he didn't want to admit it, he was kind of excited. He dressed up and made his way over to Katherina. Strangely, in the girls' corridor, he noticed Anna going to their common room, so he hid behind a curtain. Right before reaching Katherina's room, he passed the one shared by Anna and Selena and there was a huge bouquet of roses on their doorstep. He rolled his eyes - that just had to have come from Blaise, it was too obvious! Regardless - he had already made up his mind not to mind other people's problems. He knocked a few times and then let himself in.
"Wait, don't-!" Katherina didn't get to finish her sentence. Instead, she ducked behind the closet door. "Draco, I told you not to do this anymore!"
He noticed her dress on the bed and turned red. "Sorry!" He faced the opposite side of the room. "Guess what I found, though!"
"Is it relevant to anything?" the girl sighed. Still concealed by the closet door, she levitated the dress to her and put it on.
"It's funny," he said with a chuckle. "Blaise gave her roses. That stubborn idiot - Selena is scared of him."
Katherina went to the vanity. She didn't have many options in styling her short hair, but she wanted to choose some jewelry for the dress. It was blood-red with black lace peeking from underneath, sleeveless, but otherwise covering her from the base of her neck down.
"I think she'd be best with Weasley if I'm honest. Blaise would eat her heart out."
Draco hummed to himself. "I don't know... They're still Weasleys, you know? Her family can't possibly agree to that. By the way, have you heard? Your friend Anna is an apprentice to Snape. When did that happen?"
The girl chose a small single pearl necklace. "I haven't. Who told you that?"
"I heard from Zabini, who knows from Nott, who says he knows from a... first-year? Apparently, he had her supervise them while they reviewed some potions during their last class before the break. Are you ready yet?"
"Yes, I am. I just have to get the gift... That would explain why she's rarely around anymore."
Draco turned to look at her. He remembered her words from the first day they met when she said she wanted to be a Gryffindor simply because green and blue made her look dead, while red was her usual choice. He never believed that until now. The red of the dress contrasted well with her pale skin and made her eyes shine brighter than before. Her hair seemed almost blonde, and her lips redder.
"I guess..." he mumbled. "You were right. Red looks decent on you..."
She smiled. "You look decent, too."
Draco looked down at his dark green suit and white shirt. "I look stunning!"
"Yes, decent for a Malfoy," she continued to tease him. "Did you get your gift?"
Draco showed her a cardboard bag sealed closed with a few pieces of decorative tape with poinsettia flowers.
"Let me guess - you asked Selena?" she chuckled. Katherina showed him a rather large box with a green bow.
"Is it so obvious?" he signed. "Everything she owns has flowers on it."
"So... what did you get Potter?" Katherina sat on the sofa and waited for Draco to join her.
"Aren't we going?" he asked. "I got him a book about Godric Gryffindor, I figured he'd find it interesting, and a chocolate frog."
"We still have about an hour before breakfast. I'm so glad you decided to give him something normal, you know? He's probably going to expect a prank from you."
"Oh! Right," Draco said as he sat down. "Are you finally going to tell me what name you've drawn?"
"Not," the girl chuckled. "It will ruin the surprise."
Draco eyed her suspiciously. "Are you sure it wasn't my name?"
"Positive," she laughed. "Are you excited about a muggle tradition?"
"Nonsense," he quickly defended himself. "I'm excited about the presents. I hope I'm gonna get something good, not... a mug and some chocolate."
"What's wrong with that?" the girl asked as she levitated a Wizarding Chess set from her nightstand.
"It's terribly boring," he whined. "Good idea. Beating you should help pass the time."
Katherina rolled her eyes. "In your dreams."
The game had kept them occupied. Draco won the second round after a draw, which made him flash Katherina a glamorous grin of victory.
"I told you I'll win again."
"Only because I let you. We both know you're a sore loser," the girl tried to hide her disappointment. Even so, she didn't mind losing to him that much. He was so happy about it, her loss faded in comparison.
"My name isn't Blaise," he laughed. "Let's go before we're late and everyone starts gawking."
Katherina threw him his gift for the exchange and picked up hers, then followed him into the Great hall. They immediately noticed that the tables had been moved and that they each had a green stocking stuffed with something in front of them, right above their breakfast plates. The piano had reappeared on the stage, while the Christmas tree and the table of the professors had been moved to the side.
"What happened to this place...?" Draco seemed unsure of where to sit. "I don't see our table."
That's when Katherina spotted Selena at a table near the piano, right in the front. "Come with me, I've seen Selena saving us seats."
They finally sat down and noticed Selena holding another spot occupied beside her.
"Where is Anna?" Draco asked.
"Headmaster Dumbledore wanted to speak with her. She helped organize everything." She smiled brightly, holding one hand over the seat meant for Anna.
Blaise took her hand, kissed it, then placed his ass on the bench. "Good morning, beautiful. Did you find my surprise?"
Terrified, Selena slipped her hand from his and leaned closer to Katherina. "Those were from... you?"
"Who else? I've barely seen you these days, are you avoiding me by any chance?"
Anna set her heel over Blaise's toes and leaned on it. "Selena and I helped Professor Snape organize today's event," she hissed politely with a murderous stare and a subtle smile suggesting she enjoyed the boy's groans of agony. "If you have any complaints, I'm sure Professor Snape will make time for you."
Several Slytherins began laughing, Draco and Katherina being two of them. Selena looked worried for a moment but chuckled after Anna released Blaise and he struggled away.
"You little-! Ah!" He dragged his foot, leaning on his heel. He couldn't stand the leather of his shoes pressing down his toes.
"This is the Slytherin Elite table, by the way. Your table is over there," Anna pointed with her wand towards the group of tables at the other end of the Great Hall.
Cabble and Goyle, who had just noticed Draco sitting there, looked at each other, then at their group. "Uuh... Draco?" Cabble asked.
"You two sit down before I change my mind," Draco rolled his eyes. He received an elbow from Katherina and an amused 'be nice', but he just laughed it off.
As Dumbledore welcomed everyone and said his speech about the holidays, Selena whispered a sincere 'thank you' to Anna. He spoke about the 'recent events' - his way of referring to the Chamber of Secrets being opened, and how bravely 'Harry Potter and his friends' had saved everyone, which ticked Draco off the most. Katherina put her hand on his shoulder to have him sit back down. If Snape had organized the event along with other Slytherins, it would be a really bad idea to make a scene now.
"We'll win the House Cup, it's fine."
Draco sighed in frustration. "If Dumbledore doesn't arrange it, that is..."
"Enough talk, now, don't you agree? Let's exchange gifts!" the headmaster said with a joyful smile.
"Finally!" Draco jumped on his feet. He went towards the Gryffindor area, searching for Potter.
Looking at each other, Katherina and Anna laughed a little. The red-head placed the gift on Draco's seat and then went to look around. She watched Selena from a distance as she approached Ron, who was giving a gift to Terry Boot.
"Um, Ron? Here!" Panicked, Selena put the gift bag in his arms and turned to run, but Ron was quick enough for once in his life and caught her hand.
"Thanks, Selena. Stay with me while I open it?"
While that seemed to be going fine, Katherina suddenly heard laughter from behind. She turned to see Draco absolutely covered in black ink. At the same time, Potter opened the book and the front letters changed to call him 'the slowest pull-out in history' above an animated drawing of a Basilisk.
"You! You're gonna regret this! Wait until my father hears about it!" Draco tried to wipe the ink from his eyes. "Filthy little mud-blood!"
The girl went by his side, trying not to laugh. "Draco, it's me. Calm down-!"
"No, I won't! Not until Granger pays!"
"Sit down, Draco - there!" She had him sit on the nearest bench and took a napkin and water and began cleaning the ink from his face.
"I can't bloody see! My eyes hurt! That little mud-blood!"
"Hold still for a moment, will you?" Katherina couldn't help a small laugh as she said this.
"Do you think this is funny?"
"A little. Come on, let's not ruin Professor Snape's event. Remember what I said about superiority?"
Draco tried to stand still but he was boiling with rage. "I should have put a curse on that bloody book!"
All this time, people kept laughing - both at Draco and at Harry. Unlike the Slytherin though, Potter could show people the animated drawing without too much embarrassment while his hand easily covered the words.
Elisa came their way and handed Katherina a gift. "Just so you know, I traded Pansy for you. No hard feelings, right?"
Katherina accepted the bag. "If this is how you want it... Thank you for the trade."
In the meantime, Draco kept on wiping ink from his face. "My shirt is ruined... My coat, too. Bloody hell, that Granger... She can't even afford to pay for my tie!"
"I wouldn't worry too much about that," Katherina said with a smile. "You've got some ink in your hair..."
"I swear I'm going to pay her back..." Draco sighed in frustration. How come he didn't recognize the exploding ink vial? It was an old trick, so overused he didn't even consider it if he was to play someone a prank.
"Don't you want to open your present first?" Her words seemed to have taken him by surprise. "I've seen something on your seat. I suppose it's for you."
Still mad, Draco dragged his feet back to their table. He immediately recognized the box with the green bow and grinned from ear to eat. "I knew it! Why'd you say it wasn't for me?"
"Why ruin the surprise?" Katherina chuckled. "Come on, open it!"
Draco took a knife from the table and cut the bow so he could take the lid off. He was met with a colorful display of chocolates in metallic, festive wrapping. He quickly set those aside to reveal an emerald green shirt with the silver Slytherin snake embroidered on the right corner of the collar. Draco took out the shirt, carefully unfolding it from its cardboard support, and held it in front of himself. It seemed to be the right size, too.
"So...?" the girl asked after a moment of silence.
"I love it!" His eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. "I think I'll try it on. I've got to change, anyway, thanks to Granger. What did you get?"
Katherina opened her bag as well. "A set of three quills, a notebook, and chocolates."
Draco looked at the see-through plastic box holding the quills. "Nice. Floating Castle makes the best quills."
"Let's go have you change in something else. I mean, you don't want to stay in those all day, do you?" she began to laugh as he sighed. "How did that end up in your hands, anyway?"
"...Granger said she got me a present, something like a peace offering, and I actually believed her! Gosh, I feel dumb!"
"It's fine," Katherina laughed a little. "That's her level of mental maturity - or lack of, rather."
"They were all in on it!" he whined as they made their way back into the Slytherin house so Draco could change into a different suit and try on his new shirt.
Katherina followed him into his room and waited with her back on him, as he had earlier. "I wonder what Snape and Dumbledore got."
"We can ask Anna, right?" Draco said as he buttoned up his shirt. "I'm sure she'll find out. Have you seen that necklace on her before?"
"Now that I think about it... I don't believe I did. Have you?"
"It looks new. Could she have an admirer?"
"A fictional character, at most!" Katherina laughed. "No offense, but she reads more than she lives."
"...And yet, people call me the mean one," Draco teased her. "How do I look? Dashing, right?"
The girl turned around to see him in a black suit with his green shirt. "You look... like a snake," she teased him back.
"You take it back!" Draco tried to sound intimidating but ended up chuckling.
"Make me!" Katherina ran out of the room and through the common room.
Author's notes:
The first update of this year! Please let me know what you think by leaving a review.
Also, make sure to check The Losing Game as well for a different view on these events.
PS. I thought I had published this days ago. Sorry for the delay.
