Disclaimer: Harry Potter isn't mine.

Chapter 3 Fleeing

Kat fled. It wasn't entirely unreasonable. All this talk about Veelas and bonds and worst of all love was too much for her to handle. The fact that no one chased after her led her to believe she was right.

Thankfully, Ron and the other aurors weren't waiting for her at the flat. They were also kind enough to get rid of the blood. She wondered what they said to her Muggle neighbors.

As soon as she got home, she threw her coat on the sofa and opened a bottle of red wine. As cruel as it was, she didn't hesitate to call her boyfriend, Lou.

"Did you hear what happened?" she asked as a way of greeting. She took a swig from the bottle as she waited for him to answer.

"Yeah." For a moment, she heard loud music in the background, but as he went into his office, it quieted down to a rhythmic thumping. "Who was the bloke? Did he die?"

Exhausted, Kat threw herself on her scarlet sofa. "Just someone as I was shagging for the weekend," she lied smoothly. She smiled. "Jealous?"

"Get stuffed," he muttered, cursing when she laughed. "You know I hate it when they sleep over."

"You know I hate it when yours think you fancy them." Kat sighed tiredly. If only Malfoy was just a small fling to be forgotten. "Anyway, he's going to be alright. I've just had to deal with his mother."

Lou didn't say anything, and it took her a moment to realize someone was in his office. She heard a whiny voice in the background before Lou yelled at the girl to go home. "It was your cousin, you know that, right?"

"It was Lenny and Travis," she hissed. "You know that, right?"

"The red haired detective said they made off with the five thousand in your desk."

Kat sneered, although she knew he couldn't see it. "If I so much as see them again…"

"Forget about it, Kat. Their father sells a lot of coke at the club. Maybe you should control your cousin. Get an alarm. I don't fucking know."

"You know how I get when there's fighting," she muttered. He had no idea about the War, obviously. She told him she grew up in a violent home, and considering Dudley's current state, he bought it. At least she wasn't entirely lying.

"Tell you what." Although she couldn't see it, she knew he was smiling. "We'll play husband and wife for the week, and by the end of it, you'll feel safe again."

Kat pretended to consider. He was a jerk, to say the least, but he was constant and didn't expect anything of her. "I get the side of the bed closest to the window."

"Deal."

To say that Lucius was furious was an understatement. When Draco confessed that Granger was his mate, he was absolutely revolted. He didn't force himself to act differently until Draco started getting sick, and he saw that his son was avoiding the mudblood because of him. He was disgusted but not disgusted enough to lose his son.

And so, he gave Draco his blessing, but the boy was still afraid, afraid of ruining generations of tradition and tainting the family with Muggle blood. When he heard that Granger dumped the youngest Weasley boy, he practically shoved Draco to the owlery.

At first, Katherine was a relief. She was a halfblood, which was much better than a mudblood. Potter was a good name.

Then she ran off. She wasn't in her apartment. Three days went by, and they still hadn't heard from her. Draco was awake, but obviously suffering because he was so hurt, and his mate was nowhere to be found. Finally, Lucius decided to lower himself by talking to Granger.

"I know you know where she is." He glared at her as if it were her fault. "Get her or I will."

Granger groaned, probably regretting going to the hospital café alone. "I don't like where she is. And-and her, erhm, friend hates me."

Lucius narrowed his eyes at the word 'friend.' Potter was… He didn't want to so much as think of it. Cissa would be heartbroken. "Take me there, and we'll retrieve her."

Potter must be in a really awful place because Granger set her coffee cup down and agreed. "Just don't tell Sirius or Remus."

At first, Granger was relieved when Katherine opened the door. That is, until she realized she was drunk. The mudblood wasn't surprised, however. She was more exasperated and disappointed. Lucius had never been more appalled.

His son's mate opened the door wide. "Welcome to the Hughes home!"

"Kat," Granger tried. "I know you're upset, but no one knows where you are, and Sirius is worried sick."

Potter's glassy eyes focused on Lucius. "I can't. I'm married this week." She held up her hand, which had a plastic ring in the shape of a black spider. "Ma-Malfoy thinks he can just waltz in and—Well he can't! I have a husband."

"Kat, you know Lou isn't going to marry you," Granger pressed gently. "And you and Malfoy can just start over. He actually cares—"

"Because he has too," Potter spat. She swayed slightly and would have collapsed if Lucius hadn't picked her up by her arms. He looked past her to see a lavishly furnished flat. The building was a dump, but inside, it looked like an upper class home.

"Kat." Granger glanced at Lucius, silently telling him to play along. "You can't drink like this while Draco's sick. He's dying again."

Potter blinked, clearly confused. "N-n-no… I've only had one glass."

Granger shook her head. "Draco knows that isn't true. He hasn't stopped throwing up since last night. You need to go take a sobriety potion or he'll die."

"He won't die," Potter slurred stubbornly. Lucius frowned, wondering if this was why Draco was getting so sick so fast while separated from his mate. Potions bought him about six extra months, but he was looking like he was in the final stages of the Separation Sickness.

"My son can die because of you." Lucius didn't feel guilty in the slightest for lying but could tell by Granger's face she was starting to. They had to get out of here fast. "So we're leaving."

Before Granger could protest, he grabbed Katherine's arm and apparated.

Lucius made sure Kat took a sobriety potion before seeing his son. She supposed that was for the best because Remus would have lectured her for days if he saw her drunk. Sirius would have tried to get her to move back to Grimmauld. She hated it when they pitied her.

Malfoy wasn't exactly angry with her. As she entered his hospital room, he was staring at her like he thought she was angry with him. Kat felt too guilty meet his eye.

"Are you alright?" he asked awkwardly. Behind her, Lucius laughed bitterly.

"Yeah." She could feel Remus watching her. She probably reeked of booze.

"We should give them some time alone," Narcissa said loudly. No one made a move to leave, however, not even her. Everyone wanted to protect Draco, even the people who were supposed to be on her side.

Malfoy was propped up by pillows, and his arm was in a sling. He tried to sit up on his own but literally cried out in pain, causing his mother to rush over to him. Narcissa ignored him when she tried to wave her off. Kat wanted to hide under her bed for the rest of her life.

"Don't bother," Kat muttered. "Hermione said we aren't friends anymore if I don't stay."

"Do you think I want this?" Malfoy growled through the pain. "Because if you do, you're out of your bloody mind."

Kat was used to him hating her. It almost felt normal. "I'm sorry."

"Me too." Resentment was practically radiating off him. He was obviously sorry that they were so called mates and was sorry for himself, not her. It pissed her off, but she supposed it was justified. "We can't start over with you doing whatever it is you were doing."

I don't want to! Kat screamed in her head. But she didn't have much of a choice. Hopefully she could find a way to make this as painless as possible. She held out her hand. "Hullo. I'm Kat Potter. Nice to meet you."

He stared for a moment for taking out his good hand. His eyes widened when his hand touched hers. She felt the spark too but did her best to keep her face blank. "Draco Malfoy."

"Favorite color."

As boringly cliché was it was, they sat around asking each other questions after that. Remus had to pretty much drag Sirius out of the room once they all had a quick, extremely awkward supper. Narcissa was the only one who refused to leave. She was so fiercely protective of Draco that Kat wondered if she should be offended.

Kat shrugged. "Purple. Dark blue. You?"

"Green." Malfoy blushed as if noticing for the first time that her eyes were bright green. She was sitting with her legs folded at the edge of his bed, right by his feet. "But because of Slytherin."

"Nice save." Kat could've sworn she saw Mrs. Malfoy, who was pretending to sleep in a chair by Malfoy's bed, crack a smile. She paused, trying to think of a question. "Let's see. You don't watch the tele. Or go to the movies. I bet you've never even had cheese fries."

"I bet it's revolting, judging by the contents in your kitchen," Malfoy said snobbishly. "And Father says Muggle films are depraved."

"Father says," she mocked in a whiny voice, grinning when he scowled. "You've never wanted to rebel, and I don't know, eat a hotdog or something?"

"No." Malfoy shuddered in revulsion. "I guess Pansy rebelled after the War and got a disease called an STA or something. She wouldn't tell me how though."

"She…?!" This had to be the best thing Kat heard in a while. She stared openmouthed, too shocked to even laugh. After taking a second to collect herself, she cleared her throat and acted like it was nothing. "Oh? I hope you didn't shag her because you'll have an STD too."

"Why would I sleep with her if she isn't my mate?" Draco asked as if she had said something ridiculous. "I mean, we were hoping. Some think that if a couple spends enough time together, Magic will see that they are meant to be. That was the case with my parents anyway. But Pansy's happy with Theo now."

"You mean you've never…" Kat trialed off when she saw that he was silently saying not to bother asking. "Well…"

"How many?" he growled. Kat bit her lip and pretended that she didn't hear him. It was tempting to ask if he could turn into a harpy, like the Veelas at the World Cup. He was looking pretty feral… "How many men how you slept with?"

"How am I supposed to know?" she snapped defensively. Her heart sunk when his eyes widened. It wasn't that bad. She didn't have any 'STAs' like stupid Pansy Parkinson. After the War, she was just very casual for a while. "Less than twelve."

"Twelve?" he repeated, sounding like she said a hundred.

"Is that a problem?" She tried to keep a straight face. This was why she didn't live with Remus and Sirius.

"No," he lied poorly. "I'm just surprised."

"I'm twenty one years old." Kat sneered at him. She didn't have to explain herself to him or anyone. "And it's not like we're married. You claim to have some animal instinct to—"

"Favorite food."

Kat blinked. "What?"

He swallowed and looked away from her. "What's your favorite food?"

It was because he had to. He was just acting like it didn't matter because he had no choice, Kat told herself. Otherwise, he would be calling her names and making fun of her. She chewed on her bottom lip, not sure how to feel about it. "Chinese."

Draco found that it was easier to learn about Katherine when she thought he was sleeping. At first, mother was worried because he was 'sleeping' so much, but soon enough, she caught on and stopped fussing. He almost 'woke up,' however, when he found out the Weasel was in his room.

"Kat, don't make us arrest you for not cooperating," the Weasel murmured so low that Draco had to strain his ears to properly hear him.

"I'd rather not have a bullet it my head." Katherine laughed almost genuinely. If he remembered correctly, bullets were what the healers had to take out of his arm and lung. "Since when do you care about Malfoy, Ron?"

"Since his life is tied to yours," Weasley grumbled.

Again, Kattherine laughed. "Oh that's good. I thought you grew up for a second. Then who would eat sugary cereal and watch cartoons with me?"

"It's not funny." The Weasel paused, probably to make sure Draco was still asleep. "Listen, I've been talking to Sirius, and he wants you to move back in with him and Remus."

"I live alone."

Although it was a risk, Draco opened his eyes just slightly so he could at least get a glimpse of what they were doing. Katherine seemed dangerously close to losing her temper while Weasley seemed like he didn't know what to say. Finally, he settled for making a threat. "I'll tell Malfoy."

Katherine raised her eyebrows and folded her arms over her chest. "Tell him what? And what's he going to do? If it wasn't for this stupid Veela bullshit, he wouldn't care who was going to steal my mother's earrings or whatever they would have found."

"I don't trust him," Weasley admitted. "But Hermione does. And she's worried about you, Kat. Which tells me she knows a lot more than I do."

"Ron…" Katherine let her hands fall to her sides and sent a quick glances in Draco's direction. Her eyes widened, and she swatted at the Weasel. "Get out! He's waking up!"

The Weasel sighed, sounding fed up. Before he left, he said, "Neville and I will continue investigating."

"You and Neville should use the resources of the Auror Department for something that's worth it," she hissed, but Weasley was already gone. She gestured rudely to the door he left from and then turned to Draco. "How much did you hear?"

Draco pretended to struggle to open his eyes fully. "Something about Veela bullshit. Thank you, by the way, for so eloquently describing my grandmothers' heritage."

"You used to 'so eloquently' describe Hermione's ," she snapped. "Pureblood wizard my arse."

"Magically pure," he stressed. "And yes, I was cruel. But I guarantee you that I will love our children unconditionally."

Apparently that was an odd thing to say because Katherine stared at him as if he had grown another head before her eyes. She looked torn between laughing and yelling at him. "Malfoy, you do realize that we aren't together."

Draco flinched but did his best to ignore her. Mother told him to be patient. Katherine was sleeping at the hospital and was with him for most of the day. Things were going better than they had hoped. "Call me Draco."

"Malfoy," she said flatly.

Draco narrowed his eyes. "I'm trying to be nice."

"Because the animal in your head thinks I'm-I-I don't know but don't act like it doesn't bother you!" she yelled. "You let yourself rot for years because you didn't want to wreck your bloodline! The only reason I'm here is because I don't want another person to die because of me!"

"You mean you don't want to die," Draco accused. "Yes. I'm nice because I have to be. And yes. I'd much rather be on a boat in Italy right now with Hermione like I'd planned. But I don't want to do this because I 'have to.' I want the life my Grandmother Druella had and my parents have!"

"Newsflash, Malfoy, you don't always get what you want." She glared at him, reminding Draco of the second time they met, which was on the train when he was making fun of Weasley.

"I just…" Draco yanked at his hair. "What is that incessant buzzing?"

Katherine frowned and cocked her head to the side. She must've been tuning it out these past few days. "What? Oh that… It's my phone. Your father apparated me away from a Muggle's house."

"Your what?" Whatever it was, it was driving Draco mad. It had been going off nonstop since a few hours after she returned.

Katherine walked over to her purse, took out a strange object, and pressed a button to stop the buzzing. "It's no one important." She stared at the device, but then shoved it back into her purse. The interruption must have calmed her because she softened a bit. "I'm sorry. You… Hermione is much kinder than I am, much more forgiving."

"I'm going home soon." The Veela in him was screaming at her rejection and left a dull ache in his chest. "My parents are throwing a ball to celebrate. Will you come?"

Katherine fiddled with her glasses. He could tell she really didn't want to go. "I can't dance. I butchered Ron's feet at the Yule Ball."

"I won't be dancing either. My lung… I'll be out of breath for a while. Probably on potions for a year." Draco felt his face heat up. He didn't really think about dancing with her, touching her. He just instinctually wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. "Mother invited Black and Lupin. And Hermione, of course. And my friends... I'll tell them to be nice."

"Pansy can call me Four Eyes for old time's sake," she mumbled. Once he said Lupin's name, he could tell that she was going to force herself to go.

"So you'll go?" he asked, almost eagerly. He hated how desperate he sounded.

Katherine shrugged and wouldn't meet his eye. "For a couple of hours."

Kat couldn't remember the last time she had to go to a formal event since Bill and Fleur's wedding. She usually avoided the balls that went with the revealing of the War memorials like plagues.

Hermione left on time, of course, so Kat had to tame the wild beast that was her hair on her own. She had yet to get a Patronus from Sirius, meaning she still had enough time on his watch. After breaking a brush while trying to flatten the tangled me, she gave up and scooped up her hair with a thick silver clasp that Sirius said was her great grandmother's. Some hairspray held down the stray spikes, but Kat knew better than to hope that would last all night.

SLAM! Kat jumped and felt her heart pounding with a ferocity she hadn't felt since right after the War. She almost took out her wand from the thin pocket of her long black dress robes until she heard who it was.

"WHAT THE FUCK, KAT?!" Lou. Kat took a deep breath. She disappeared with his door open a week ago and had been ignoring his calls since. She had this coming.

That didn't stop her heart from pounding when he came into her room and grabbed her by her arms, shaking her slightly. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut. Being afraid wasn't going to do anything.

"Get off!" She pushed him hard enough to make him stumble backwards. "Remus was in the hospital again."

"Oh please!" he shouted. When he took a step closer to her, Kat did her best to hold her ground. "You say that every month! You could have at least have had the decency to answer the phone or shut my fucking door before you leave."

"Do you want to ask him?" she spat, although she knew that would be a problem since Remus didn't know about Lou. Sirius was usually the overprotective one, but when Remus thought a line was crossed, well… It wasn't pretty to say the least.

"I want you to stop lying to me like a fucking bitch!" he screamed. "I mean." He gestured to her outfit. "Where the hell are you going? You look ridiculous."

"It's my friend Luna's birthday," Kat lied automatically. Actually, she was testing him and every time, he failed. This was the third 'birthday' Luna had in six months.

"Yeah?" He laughed bitterly but yet again, didn't catch on. "What is she? The queen of England? Forget her. We're going out."

Kat shook her head and turned back to her mirror to put in some pearl earrings. If she just acted like everything was normal, maybe she wouldn't feel so nervous. "Look, I'm sorry. But I was really worried about Remus."

There was a tense silence for a while. He was probably trying to figure out how to get her to go with him. Eventually he saw that she was going to be stubborn, even if they had to fist fight over it. "Fine. You're not worth it. Never were."

Kat jumped and closed her eyes when he slammed the door to leave. He didn't mean it. If she wasn't so rude…

"Kat?" Sighing sadly, she looked over to see Sirius's Patronus. "For some reason, Remus is upset with us for being two hours late… So… I'll be ready in fifteen minutes. Don't come for twenty so he isn't sore with me."

Smiling to herself, Kat grabbed her shawl and apparated straight to Grimmauld so poor Sirius could get a lecture.

"I suppose she's better than Granger." Pansy frowned when she saw that Katherine had finally arrived and was being greeted by Draco's mother. "At least she doesn't have a stick up her butt."

Theo snorted and wrapped an arm around Pansy's waist. "Watch it, Pans. I think Draco still fancies the muggleborn."

"I'm right here," Draco growled. They always thought it was funny to talk about him like he wasn't there. Probably because he fell for it every time and got irritated. As if they were one person, they snickered at the same time. "And Katherine and I are already discussing children."

Pansy giggled. "Liar."

"Alright fine." Draco grabbed two champagne glasses from a house elf as Katherine started reluctantly making her way towards him. "But we're almost friends."

Katherine walked up to them and didn't say anything. It was more out of awkwardness than shyness.

She wore stunning black dress robes, and her glasses were nowhere to be seen, but something else was missing too. Smiling shyly, Draco reached up and took out the clasp in her hair, allowing the wild mess to fall to her shoulders.

Katherine stared for a second, almost in awe, until Pansy had to be the worst friend ever and let out of small laugh. She smirked and then said, "Nice try."

"Nice what?" Draco sent a dirty look to Pansy, silently telling her to keep quiet. "I like your hair."

"Nice try," she repeated, smiling now and looking a little bashful. "Remember fourth year? When I cut my hair short, and you called me Porcupine Head?"

Theo snorted. "My favorite was when he called you Harry because of the way your hair stuck out everywhere."

"Oh? I didn't know about that one." Katherine sighed. "One bad haircut, and I become Harry Potter."

"Well I was stupid." Draco stared his friends down until they left but not without laughing at him, of course. "Sorry about that. You look beautiful by the way."

Something flashed in her eyes, but only for a second. Without asking, she took one of his glasses of champagne and downed it in one gulp. "Sirius says to keep your hands to yourself tonight."

Draco frowned. So 'nice try' meant that she thought he was trying to sleep with her. "You can tell Black that I'm not an animal."

"Just a harpy." Katherine eyed the bar and briefly looked ashamed of herself before turning away from it.

Draco shook his head and put his hand on the small over her back. She shivered involuntarily, which he took as a good sign. "That would only happen if I thought you were in danger. Female Veelas can do it more easily, so they can protect infants. Although my mother did say that Father almost transformed when a healer tried to check her over after her water broke."

"Cool," was all she said. She started searching the crowd, probably for Hermione. "This place is so different than I remember."

"Now it actually has life in it." Draco became distant, remembering all the horrors that the Dark Lord tainted the Manor with. "Aunt Bella heard me telling Mum that Hermione was my mate. She put a Sleeping Draught in my tea and when I woke up… I felt so terrible. Like my heart was being ripped out. Mum said that Hermione was being tortured, but you all escaped. Did something happen to you?"

"Yeah." The anger welled up so quickly in Katherine that Draco could feel it. She stepped away so he was no longer touching her. "Dobby died in my arms. Remember Dobby? You spent your childhood torturing him."

"I…" He shouldn't have opened his big mouth. There was no reason to bring up the past, especially since it always reminded her how of cruel he could be. He had no idea how to prove to her that he had grown up. "Regret it."

To his horror, her eyes started to glisten. She really must've cared about Dobby, although Draco wasn't exactly sure why. He couldn't exactly label any memories with the house elf as positive. She pursed her lips, trying to hold back a bitter smile. "Oh, good for you. Do you want a medal?"

"Katherine," Draco tried. Hermione warned him about this, that it would be hard to start a future with Katherine because she was so focused on the past. That's why she spends so much time in the Muggle World, Hermione had said. I think it hurts less.

She held up a hand to silence him as she started to walk away. "I can't do this. I can't. We're too different and—"

"I can't change how I treated Dobby." Draco could feel the nearby house elves watching him. None of them liked Dobby, so he was sure they had mixed feelings about what he was saying. "But with Hermione… The other house elves… The Manor looks so different because it is. It's less cold, less—"

He had to wonder if she was listening. Her watery eyes scanned the ballroom until she spotted the fireplace. "I-I need—"

"To drink yourself silly?" Draco accused harshly. "Listen Katherine—"

"It's Potter to you!" she snarled. "People I loved where murdered by people your family and friends!"

"I am not Bellatrix or Severus or my father. I was a kid just like you!" he finished with a scream. Several people around them were starting to quiet down and stare.

He couldn't tell what was she was thinking. That's what bothered him the most when she fled for the floo. There was no clear way to fix this, and he didn't know what to do.

Next chapter: Draco and Kat go out on a date! What would you guys like to see in it? Please answer! It's starting to bum me out. :(