Disclaimer: Harry Potter isn't mine.

So I realized I spelled Katherine wrong… There is an actress with it spelled Kathrine though. Anyway, I fixed it. For future reference, feel free to correct my terrible spelling.

Chapter 2 Suffocating

Kat woke up in a Muggle hospital. The pain in her chest and arm was fading, but she still couldn't help flailing. Something told her she was dying, and she had to figure out what that was if she was going to make it.

"Hey! Kat! Kat!" It took her a minute to realize that it was Dudley who was trying to calm her. He put his hands on his shoulders and forced her to lay down. "Let me-let me get the doctor. He said you were fine but…"

As he left, Kat debated apparating to St. Mungo's. A doctor wasn't going to be able to help her if something was wrong magically. Unfortunately, the doctor arrived before she could decide what to do. Since he wasn't Madam Pomfrey, Kat was brave enough to glare at him. Here we go.

He was most likely in his late forties with short grey hair and glasses that were perched near the tip of his nose as he read her chart. With a few mumbles to himself, he attached it to the front of her bed. "Katherine? It would seem that you are severely anemic. What have you eaten today?"

Great. Kat gritted her teeth, knowing she was in for a long lecture. She pushed herself up by her elbows and tried to take a deep breath. "Three cups of coffee and a chocolate milkshake."

"You do realize that that is not nearly enough to sustain a twenty one year old woman?" he asked in a nasally voice. He sounded so condescending that Kat wished she had the strength to punch him.

"Yes," she gasped out. If she wasn't in so much pain, she would probably childishly say she was going to have a big dinner. "I think I'm having a heart attack. My chest—"

"It's because of your low iron," he interrupted. "Just wait for the IV to bring your levels up."

It was times like this that Kat wished Sirius would listen to Remus and get a phone. She was feeling too weak to protest and felt silly for insisting she was having a heart attack, considering her age. They obviously ran tests, and her diet was terrible, to say the least. If she rested, maybe she would feel better.

Meanwhile, Sirius was doing his best to keep his mouth shut. When Kat's wards went off, he thought that she was in trouble. The last thing he expected was to find Draco Malfoy in the sitting room, gasping for air in a pool of his own blood.

Currently, he was in the waiting room at St. Mungo's with Narcissa, Lucius, and worst of all, Snape. Luckily he had Remus to do all the talking.

"I sent a Patronus to Hermione," Remus murmured soothingly. "Kat wasn't responding to hers—"

"Because-because she's d-dying like Draco!" Narcissa managed to get out through her nearly hysterical tears. Sirius tensed but didn't speak. Remus warned him not to start anything and for once, he was going to listen.

"Hermione will call her," Remus tried to reassure. Lucius was stonily silent, probably for the same reasons as Sirius. "She's with her cousin. He'll answer her cellphone if she isn't conscious."

"Why," Lucius managed to get out through clenched teeth. "Would the Girl-Who-Lived not have stronger wards up? My son—"

"She has them up for wizards, not Muggles," Remus said. It was hard to defend her, since he clearly agreed. He could only imagine what the future was going to be like and sighed in exasperation. "Kat… Kat has lost her way, I'm afraid. She doesn't always keep the best company, so I think she was lax on her wards for that reason."

"Remus," Sirius growled. Who Kat spent her time with was certainly none of the Malfoys' business.

"Well it's true, Sirius," Remus muttered. He squeezed Sirius's hand, knowing that he was worried out of his mind for their goddaughter. "Maybe this will help her—"

"Being chained to Draco Malfoy isn't going to—" Somehow, Sirius managed to stop himself. Narcissa was staring at him as if he had shot Draco himself. Frustrated, he forced himself up and stomped off.

Hermione was calling Kat nonstop, but she wouldn't answer. Of course her stupid cousin wouldn't think to do so. There were too many hospitals in London for her to look herself. She was pacing outside St. Mungo's trying to figure out what to do.

"Hello?"

Oh thank Merlin! Over an hour after she started calling, Kat finally answered. Unsurprisingly, she sounded pretty beat up, and Hermione wasn't exactly sure what to say. There was no easy way to explain it…

"Kat…" Hermione chewed on her lip. "So I was right. I'm not a Veela's mate…"

"Yay." Her voice was flat and tired, like she was trying to make a joke out of it and didn't have the strength to do so. "Hermione, I feel like shit. So I'm not planning on listening to anything you have to say…"

"Kat, it's you!" Hermione blurted out before she could stop herself. She cursed silently and stamped her boots impatiently into the pavement. They didn't have time for this! "I bet you can't breathe and are in a lot of pain. And I'm sure you can't really move your left arm too well."

Silence. Only the occasional cough told her that Kat was still on the other line. Finally, she moaned, "Please tell me you've dropped out of law school and want to be a healer now."

"I'm sorry." Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione could see Sirius hovering in the background and held a finger up to silence him. "Can you apparate? Ron's at your flat if you're closer to it. You need to get to St. Mungo's."

"Why's Ron…" Kat made a frustrated noise and started giving Dudley directions. "Turn here. Apparently I'm needed elsewhere."

Sirius must've heard that because he snatched the phone out of Hermione's hand. "Kat! If Malfoy dies, you die, so you better get your scrawny arse over. If you stall, so help me—"

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Kat grumbled. Hermione knew she was going to be alright because the Marauder in her added, "So I guess Dudley and I can't stop for a burger?"

As always, she managed to get her godfather riled up. "KAT!"

It was only because she felt like shit that Kat wasn't freaking out. Malfoy must've hexed her or something. He was so proud of being a pureblood that there was no way he was a Veela.

She waved Dudley goodbye with an eye roll and told him that she'd see him next week. He made a face that was almost guilty and sped off before seeing that she got into the building. Shrugging, Kat brushed it off to get to the matter at hand. Narcissa would tell her how to get off the hex. She owed her that much.

But by the time she made it to the waiting room, Kat could tell that Mrs. Malfoy thought just the opposite. She pointed at Kat as if she had killed Draco. "You! What did you do to my baby?"

"She didn't do anything!" Sirius spat, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. Kat's eyes rested on Snape, who she hadn't seen since the Final Battle. She told Kingsley that he was a spy all along and thought she would have the privilege of never seeing the slime ball again.

"Kat," Remus said loudly before fighting could erupt. "Your flat was robbed. Draco… I don't think he knows what a gun is, and well, he was shot in the chest and arm."

"Oh, erhm, well, I wasn't home." Kat tried not to look at Snape, whose soulless black eyes could sense guilt a mile away. She didn't want to get Dudley in trouble, but she knew he was the only one who would rob her. Everyone else in town was afraid of her boyfriend. And she knew the two loan sharks who were stupid enough to break into her flat.

Narcissa (and probably everyone else) could see right through her too. She took a deep breath, like she was trying to be patient. "Both my and Lucius's mothers were Veelas. That makes Draco half as well. You-you need to see him, please."

"But—"

"Katherine Lily Potter." Remus was using that no nonsense tone that only Hermione was able to master. "You can argue until your blue in the face once he's stable, but until then, he's in room 104."

With an annoyed growl, Kat stormed off to room 104, not bothering to wait for Mrs. Malfoy to get up. She had questions, but everyone was acting like it was her fault Malfoy got shot. Because of his Dark Mark, he shouldn't be able to even set foot through her front door, leading her to believe that Hermione let him use her floo. And Malfoy should have stunned the Muggles. He wouldn't get in trouble for doing so since they were a threat.

Kat only felt bad when she set foot in his room to see the healer working frantically to save him. She locked the door behind her when she saw that Malfoy's heart wasn't beating. Mrs. Malfoy didn't need to see him die.

But when she took a few steps closer, the strangest thing happened. Like, well, magic his heart started up again. He still looked like death warmed over, but even the healer stopped to stare in awe. Maybe… No, she was going to deny it until Malfoy woke up and admitted to hexing her. There was no way they were 'mates.' It was the biggest load of rubbish she had ever heard.

"Oh thank Merlin!" A healer grabbed her by her hand and led her closer to the bed. Kat was sure her green eyes were about to pop out of her head. "Just-just stay here. He needs some potions but now that you're here…"

She scurried off before Kat could question her further. Probably to get those potions because Malfoy looked like he needed a lot of them. But he was looking a little less blue…

"Okay." Kat poked him in the arm, but he didn't spring to life like she half thought he would. "Wake up, Malfoy. Because I want to know what the hell is going on, and no one wants to tell me until your ferret face opens its eyes."

Nothing. Kat narrowed her eyes. If he was a Veela… they're sex creatures, right? She could already hear Hermione calling her crude and ignorant, but what if…

"What are you doing?" As soon as she heard Mrs. Malfoy, Kat froze. She was leaning over the bed, about to kiss Malfoy.

As if Mrs. Malfoy had thrown cold water at her, Kat jumped away and laughed nervously. "I-I… When Veelas were at the World Cup, they had all the boys staring at them and… It works in fairytales."

"Fairytales," Mrs. Malfoy repeated. Kat had a feeling she was thinking, You're just as stupid as my son says you are. At least she was polite enough not to say it.

Feeling like an idiot, Kat took a deep breath and started babbling. "In Muggle fairy tales, the prince kisses the princess, and she wakes up, even if she's nearly dead."

"My son…" Mrs. Malfoy covered her mouth. It must be hard to be patient when her only child was lying there, dying from something she didn't even know existed. "Contrary to popular belief, a Veela bond is dependent on love. However, with a bond as strained as yours, it is currently physically dependent. Physical, not sexual, Katherine."

Kat almost asked what the difference was but didn't want to look any more like an idiot. She glanced at Draco, suddenly very uncomfortable. It was too late for love. "I-We don't like each other. I don't think I can fall in love with him."

"Unfortunately…" Mrs. Malfoy paused, like she wasn't sure how to put her words together, or if she should say them at all. "That is not necessary. Draco is the Veela. He needs to fall in love with you. I will have to remind you that that gives you a lot of power."

At first, Kat had no idea what she was talking about. She had to remind herself that she was dealing with a Slytherin. Narcissa was telling her not to abuse this 'power' she was given. "This is a mistake."

"Magic doesn't make mistakes," Mrs. Malfoy said stiffly, although it was clear she didn't believe her own words. She obviously didn't like who Magic wanted her son to spend the rest of his life with.

"Right." Kat just wanted to go home. Surely Ron would be gone by now and wouldn't question her until tomorrow, after he got a good breakfast in him. Sleeping a thousand years seemed like a grand idea.

"Come here." A little annoyed, Mrs. Malfoy grabbed her arm, and Kat reluctantly let herself be lead to Malfoy's bed. She opened Draco's robes to reveal blood soaked bandages. To Kat's horror, she took out her wand and magically split them open.

Before she could scream, Mrs. Malfoy grabbed her hand and placed it over Malfoy's wound. Kat closed her eyes, expecting to feel hot blood flooding through the tiny spaces between her fingers.

But there wasn't any blood. With a surprised gasp, Malfoy's eyes snapped open.

Yet another cliffhanger for you guys! ;) So, I think to get reviews, maybe I should ask some questions I'm on the fence with. Should Fred be alive in this story? What about Tonks or Teddy?