Disclaimer: Harry Potter isn't mine.

Chapter 9 Christmas Special

"How could she do that?" Draco asked for what felt like the thousandth time. Lucius was being to regret coming to the board meeting early. It had been two days since they left, and his son couldn't stop talking about his latest encounter with Katherine. "She knew I was already going up the floo! But what if she didn't and thought I didn't say anything? No… She's evil. She always does stuff like this."

Just two more days, Lucius thought. Two more days and then I can get rid of him. He sighed. "I think we should focus on the merge."

Draco ignored him. "Or what if she was joking? What if she didn't really mean it?"

"I think the Ironsmiths are asking for too much gold." Lucius was beginning to wonder if it would look bad to fire his own son. No… Narcissa would kill him.

Draco glanced at the paperwork for about half a second. "I wanted to say it to her the other day, but I was afraid things were moving too fast. Or that she would think I only said it because we were…"

Finally his son shut up. When Lucius saw why, that his son's face was bright red, he groaned. He certainly did not want to hear about Draco's sex life. Perhaps this was his chance to rid himself of the conversation. "So I was thinking of taking ten thousand galleons off the asking price."

"How could I do that?" Kat whined while having coffee with Hermione and Ginny. "This has to be the stupidest thing I've ever done. What if he doesn't love me? Or what if he thought I was joking? Or—"

"Or what if you don't actually love him?" Ginny asked while mixing sugar into her tea. "What?" she asked when Hermione glared at her. "You've only been dating for a few months. What if you wanted to say it just because he was going to? While you were about to fuck him I might add."

Kat frowned while Hermione rolled her eyes and gestured to Tom to levitate the coffee pot to their table. "Yeah it's only been a few months…"

"And we've hated him for years," Ginny pressed. "About a decade."

Kat squirmed in her seat. "But everything's so much better when he's there. And I want to tell him everything. And he makes me happy. And he's just… everything. I can't explain it."

"You know he'd expect you to live in the Manor, right?" Ginny leaned forward. "Where Hermione was tortured."

"Ginny! Stop it!" Hermione warned, sounding like she was trying to push her temper down. "How do you know Draco's incapable of change if you can't even look at him? You don't know him anymore. And we get it but…"

"No, you don't," Ginny mumbled.

"So I guess this means you don't want to be a bridesmaid," Kat tried to joke. She flinched when she realized the air was too tense. "I do love him, Gin."

Ginny forced herself to smile. Probably since she knew it was a battle she wasn't going to win, Kat thought. "Charlie's still single, you know."

Kat grinned, glad Ginny was willing to drop it. "I'll make sure Luna's wearing mistletoe at the Christmas party then."

As the time for Draco to come over drew near, Kat started becoming so nervous that she could only halfheartedly tease Sirius while they colored at the kitchen table with Teddy.

"What are you going to get Drake?" Teddy asked as he colored Santa Claus with a blue beard to match the current state of his hair. "Daddy said we get him Quidditch tickets."

"I don't know. I think the baby I'm giving him will be enough," Kat said absentmindedly while she checked the clock for what must have been the millionth time since breakfast. She didn't even smile when Sirius started choking on his hot chocolate.

"Katherine Lily," Remus halfheartedly chided, but it was no use once they heard the floo roar to life. Kat jumped up, swearing when she knocked over a bunch of crayons and Teddy started laughing at her.

As she ran into the living room, she heard Teddy whine, "But I wanna say hi to Drake too!" Remus quietly promised him that Draco would sleep over if he stayed put, which led to a small family fight with Sirius.

"Hey!" Kat did her best to smile while Sirius threw a fit in the background and Teddy yelled that Draco was his brother and that he had to move in too.

Draco cleared his throat while Remus said he didn't see what the big deal was if they were going to get married anyway. "Want to go get coffee?"

Kat glanced at the kitchen door. She would bet her Firebolt that Remus said that loudly on purpose. "Please."

They were being very… awkward. Draco wasn't sure if he should bring up what she said or not, and he could tell that she was thinking the same thing. They sat by the fire because Katherine started shivering the second they apparated outside The Leaky Cauldron, but that only made Draco worry that he was sweating.

"So I got a job," Katherine announced, trying to be causal. Ignoring how shocked he looked, she took a sip of her coffee before continuing. "But Remus fired me. He owns a book shop. Did you know? Anyway, he said I have poor costumer service."

"What a surprise," Draco drawled, smiling when she scowled. "So you managed to get fired in less than five days?"

"I don't see how those boys could be considered costumers if they clearly weren't going to buy anything," Katherine grumbled, reminding him of a spoiled child being forced to apologize. "They were making a mess, and Remus tripped over one of the books they were playing catch with. So I screamed at them to get out."

"You actually screamed at them?" Draco asked with a laugh.

"In their faces." Katherine sounded almost proud of herself. "Remus says that I'm not good with people over the age of twelve. He says I scare the other cashier too."

Draco smiled and then forced himself to bring up what had been driving him mad all week. "Father almost fired me because I couldn't stop talking about your little declaration at the floo."

Katherine turned scarlet while Draco had about a million thoughts running through his head. Was she going to tell him that she was joking? Or was she going to try to avoid the subject? Her green eyes slid to the coffee mug in her hands. "Oh… Sorry. I just really wanted to say it. Because I thought you were going to the other day. And I wanted you to know that I felt the same way, so you wouldn't be afraid to."

"Really?" Draco asked in disbelief. Relief soared through him when she hunched into herself and nodded. "That's good… Because I love you too."

Katherine smiled genuinely for the first time since he had returned. Unfortunately, her smile quickly dropped. "God damn it…"

"What?" Draco swore when he realized who was behind him.

"Katherine?!" Rita Skeeter gushed. "Are you on a date?" He could hear the scribbling of a Quick quill, telling him that she already answered her own question. "With Draco Malfoy? The Death Eater? Is it true that he killed the heir to the Umbridge fortune a few weeks ago?"

"No comment." Katherine frowned. "Don't I have a restraining order against you?"

Skeeter sat in an armchair adjacent to the both of them. "It expired two days ago," she said happily. "So, tell me about your new love!"

"Sorry, we have to go." Draco rose from his seat and held his hand out for Katherine.

"Oh? Tell me, is there a wedding in the near future?" Skeeter practically yelled as she bounced out of her seat to follow them. "Tell me Mister Malfoy, how does your father feel about your relationship? Or is this an attempt to save the family's reputation? Katherine, I heard you were in the hospital yesterday."

"I got a flu shot!" Katherine started trying to drag Draco away before he could start panicking. She muttered under her breath so only he could hear, "Apparate before I explode."

"So I take it your date went well Draco?" Mother asked over supper. She appeared to be trying not to laugh at either him or Father, who immediately soured at having to hear about Katherine after hearing about her for a week straight. "You'll have to tell us what to get her for Christmas."

"I was thinking about getting her a puppy, but Lupin said no." Draco wanted to ask Katherine when she was planning on moving out, but he had a feeling that Edward wouldn't be too happy. "She likes black and white animals, so I wanted to get her a Dalmatian. Or at least a crup that looks very similar."

"Well…" Mother glanced at Father, daring him to say otherwise. "If we got her one, and kept it here, perhaps she could come over to the Manor more often."

"Wonderful," Father mumbled, seemingly very interested in his string beans.

"Actually…" Draco laughed awkwardly. "I want her to get over her fear of Father before we did anything like that."

Mother stared, not quite understanding. "Why would she—Lucius wouldn't…"

"She's not a Veela. She doesn't understand." Draco sighed. "Well, I mean, she knows, but not instinctually. And she will never admit it, but I can see she still hasn't moved on from the war. She did admit to blaming herself for everyone's death, but she would never admit to being afraid. You saw how she was at dinner."

Mother tapped her nails on the table. "I thought she faking it and was using her fear as an excuse to leave."

Father rolled his eyes. "A Gryffindor isn't intelligent enough for that, Cissa."

Draco thinned his lips to keep from yelling at him. He was still hesitant to confront his parents about their obvious dislike of Katherine. They had every reason to be wary of her. "Well, we'll try again at the Christmas Eve's Ball. Just try to remember that she's a part of our family too."

Mother wrinkled her nose while Father actually shuddered in revulsion. It was going to be quite the Christmas.

"I don't want Teddy there, Remus," Sirius whined. He was sitting on the bed, and they were getting ready for the ball. "Molly would be more than happy to babysit."

Remus straightened his tie before answering. "Narcissa is his aunt, Sirius."

"And I'm his cousin!" Sirius snapped.

"You're his father," Remus corrected, knowing that would soften Sirius up at least a little bit. "His bedtime is in two hours anyway, Padfoot. And Kat's going to be living there one day."

"Over my dead body," Sirius mumbled.

Remus turned away from the mirror. "I wouldn't be surprised if he proposes before the summer. Teddy doesn't understand blood status and why you don't like Draco's parents, and I want to keep it that way. At least for now. He's going to have to deal with it enough when he starts school. My condition is coming knowledge. On top of that he has two fathers. A famous sister. And he's a metamorph—"

"Alright, alright!" Sirius waved him off. "Stop guilting me, Moony! I'm not letting Teddy out of my sight though! Even if I have to follow him around as Padfoot."

"You mean Snuffles?" Remus teased, laughing when Sirius threw a pillow at him. Poor Teddy was going to have to grow up with Kat and Sirius being over protective of him. He could only imagine what it was going to be like when the boy started dating.

Kat had to say that she never thought Lucius would have the balls to threaten her, but there he was, in the coat room being his usual slimy self.

"Ever be unfaithful to my son again," he said menacingly. "And I will put wards up in the Manor to make sure you can't leave it."

Kat, who was hanging her coat and had her back to him, tensed. So he wasn't much different from the man who tried to curse her when she wasn't even thirteen.

Before he knew what was coming, she sped towards him and slammed him against the wall. She looked him dead in the eye as she jammed her wand in his neck. "Ever threaten me again, and I'll hex your fucking dick off."

Lucius forced himself to laugh, but she could tell that he was scared. "So Draco is right. You are afraid of me."

Kat narrowed her eyes but didn't lower her wand. "Why would I be afraid of you?"

"I want my son to be happy." Lucius tried to lean away from her wand. "And so far because of you, he has nearly been killed. He's been kidnapped. He's been forced to kill a man. All the while you've expected him to ignore the fact that you were sleeping with another man. So don't act like my concerns are not valid, Katherine."

"Yeah well…" Kat gritted her teeth. She couldn't come up with a single excuse for herself. "Well you and Narcissa need to realize that Draco's grown man and can handle his own problems."

"You're deflecting." Lucius smiled, sounding so cocky that Kat wanted to punch him. "I'm not stupid, Katherine. You're a puppy that's been kicked a few times too many. But it is not my son's fault that he is the first significant other of yours that has treated you decently. Grow up."

Kat shoved him hard into the wall. "Thanks, Dr. Phil. I'll be sure to take your advice into account."

"What?"

"Fuck you!"

"Hey look!" Theo whispered loudly to Pansy. "Potter actually looks hot for once."

Pansy giggled as Draco growled at him. "No wonder I didn't recognize her. But that is her. I'd recognize that self-righteous Gryffindor pout any day."

"I hate your father," Katherine announced in a way of greeting. She grabbed a glass of champagne from a floating tray and downed it in one gulp.

Draco closed his eyes, not wanting to know. At least Mother seemed to be on her best behavior. He should have said something right away because Pansy of course had to swoop in.

"Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy are just super protective of Draco," she said, more than happy to make fun of him. "Once, he scrapped his knee, and his mother took him to the hospital."

"What did you do to your hair?" Draco asked to try to change the subject. No wonder Pansy didn't recognize her. She had those contacts in, and her hair was no longer a spikey mess. It was long and smooth, curling just past her shoulders.

Apparently she didn't like his tone and became upset. "You don't like it?! It took Hermione three hours to fix it!"

"Pansy and I like it," Theo offered, laughing when Draco not so playfully shoved him.

"There was nothing that needed to be fixed," Draco muttered.

When the next tray floated by, Katherine set her empty glass on it and almost grabbed another. Her fingers curled back into her hand before she let it fall to the side. "So you'd object to me not washing my hair for over a month so it stays this way?"

"That's revolting," Draco said as Pansy laughed. He wondered if Katherine knew that his friend was laughing at her and not with her. Probably since she had yet to look at her.

"If I use the potion too much, my hair will fall out." Katherine scanned the crowd until she spotted Lupin, Black, and Edward. "Which is why I had that awful haircut fourth year."

Shaking his head, Draco grabbed her arm. "We're going to dance before you freak me out with more stories of you poisoning yourself."

Katherine smirked but let herself be dragged away. "Poisoning myself? You haven't heard the half of it. Last year, I got my bellybutton pierced. I think Snape almost threw up when I asked for a potion for the infection, and he said he needed to see it to know exactly what to give me."

"Thank you for sharing," Draco said through clenched teeth. His Veela side wanted to ask her a million questions while the rest of him was annoyed that she thought this was funny.

As he walked away, Pansy made sure they heard her say, "She better make me a bridesmaid."

"I'm not making her a bridesmaid," Katherine informed him flatly once they were on the dance floor.

Draco smiled and kissed her jaw. "You will if you want to live." He twirled her around and drew her close to him. "And I'm sorry for whatever Father said."

Katherine pursed her lips. "Did I ever tell you I was sorry?"

"Sorry?" Draco repeated, confused. They weren't really dancing. They were more holding each other and swaying slightly on the dance floor.

"I don't think I did…" Katherine scanned the crowd again and relaxed a bit when she spotted Edward eating chocolate cake with Black. She focused her eyes back on him and bit her lip. "For being cruel. For Lou… I'm sorry."

Draco swore under his breath. He wanted to forget about that. "It's fine."

"No it isn't." Katherine glanced in Edward's direction but went rigid when she saw Black and Lupin take him with Mother out of the ballroom. "Where are they going?"

"Huh? Oh, Mother offered the picture of Nymphadora as a newborn." Draco grabbed her wrist when she tried to leave to follow. There was no reason for her to get so panicky. "Katherine, Mother wouldn't—Lupin and Black are there. Katherine, breathe!"

"I can't leave him. Not in this house," Katherine gasped out in a way that scared him. "I left Hermione alone—"

"He has Lupin and Black. And look." He pointed to where Father was speaking with Severus. "Father isn't with her. So Mother's outnumbered."

Katherine seemed torn between bursting into tears and yanking her wrist out of his grasp. She was still breathing shallowly but looked down at her feet as if embarrassed. "I don't want anything to happen to him."

"Neither does my Mother," Draco said slowly. "She loved Andromeda. She didn't show it. Not even when she died, but she did. She wouldn't let anything happen to her sister's only grandchild. And if I thought otherwise, I would apparate you to them myself."

"That does wonders for easing my fears." Katherine laughed at her own sarcasm and hugged him tightly. "Who knew such a snob could be so sweet."

"Gee thanks."

When Kat woke up to a giggle from Teddy Christmas morning, her eyes snapped open. He only laughed like that when he was with Sirius, and they were about to something they knew they shouldn't. Before she could grab her glasses, she felt a bunch of cold chunks of ice tumble all over her. Sirius's bark like laughed boomed over Teddy's giggles.

"You gotta wake up, Kat!" Teddy yelled. "It Christmas!"

"Oh joy." It wasn't even light out! Kat groaned and reached for her glasses so she could peg a few ice cubes at Sirius. She'd have to get him back later.

Draco could tell that Hermione liked Katherine talking to the Weasel under mistletoe about as much as he did. However, Hermione was willing to push her feelings aside and shoved a gift bag at him.

"These are Ginny's favorite chocolates," she whispered. "Give them to her as a peace offering. She's driving me mad. You'll find her in the kitchen."

Draco scowled. Malfoys didn't ask for forgiveness, especially not from Weasels. "With the knives."

Hermione smirked. "Good luck."

"Hermione gave me these to give to you." Draco tossed the bag on the counter where Ginevra was pulling cookies out of the oven. "Look, I'm not going to beg. I'm sorry I was a prat, and my father does owe you a big apology and then some."

Ginevra set the tray down a little too gently. "Hermione? Of course. Hermione, who you were prepared to spend the rest of your life with a few months ago. First you steal her from Ron, and then you steal Kat. And you know what's fucked up? She's happy. Happy being your second choice."

"It's not like that!" Draco snapped. "I love—"

"You think I don't know?" Ginevra turned away from the cookies and put her hands on her hips. "Every guy Kat has been with has treated her like dirt. I know that wasn't a car accident. They just keep getting worse and worse. So tell me. What makes you worse than the last? I know that being a Veela makes you possessive."

"Protective," Draco corrected. "And I don't know what you've heard—"

"I didn't hear," Ginevra hissed. "I saw. Saw what you were like at school. Lay a finger on her—Kat or Hermione—, and I'll kill you."

"Right…" Draco heard her say she understood he was a Veela. She was a pureblood. She should know that he'd sooner hurt himself. "I won't."

For a moment, Ginevra looked a little sad, like she lost something. She snatched the bag up and said, "Whatever. Happy Christmas."

"I heard you went toe to toe with Gin-Gin!" Katherine snickered as she snuck him up to her room. "Right before fourth year, I had the biggest crush on Charlie, Ginny's second oldest brother. I would of married the guy. I mean, I knew him for like two days and was afraid to talk to him, but we were going to get married and have our own Weasley clan."

"How much have you had to drink?" Draco held her steady as she wobbled up the stairs. She seemed to think the story she was telling was hysterical, but if she wasn't intoxicated, he had a feeling she wouldn't be telling it at all.

Katherine acted like she didn't hear him. "So Ginny wanted me to be with Charlie and Hermione to be with Ron so we could all be sisters. She doesn't like seeing me with anyone. Or Hermione, which is part of the reason why her mystery man is still a mystery. It's a childish dream, I guess, but it's sweet in its own way. Did you ever date anyone besides Pansy?"

"No." They stopped in front of her door, and Draco was hesitant to let her go until he realized she was very tipsy but not totally wasted. "Unlike you, one whack job was enough for me… Well, two I suppose."

"You should have dated." Katherine fumbled with her door even though it wasn't locked. "Just for the stories."

"Astoria Greengrass fancies me." Draco smiled as she stumbled into her room and started looking for his present, which she left right in the middle of her bed. "Well she did. She now claims I'm too feminine."

Katherine turned around and gave him a once over before resuming her search. "Yeah. I can see it."

"Hey!"

"Sorry! Sorry!" She didn't sound sorry at all. "Astoria wants a lumberjack guy. Dirt, sweat, and muscles. You would cry if you got dirty. I should introduce her to Ron."

"Please don't." Daphne would kill him for sure. Draco walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "You're piss drunk."

"No. No." Katherine tried to keep a straight face and tell him seriously, but she wound up choking on her own laughter. "Just a little tipsy." After turning around to face him, she brought her index finger and thumb together. "I got you the perfect gift. I just have to find it…"

Draco was tempted to let her keep searching like an idiot, but he wanted to give her his gift too. Smiling, he pointed to her bed. "It wouldn't be that, would it?"

"Oh yeah!" Katherine walked to her bed (not without nearly tripping over a shoe) and snatched up a small box. "If you don't like it, I'll spiral into a depression."

"But no pressure." Draco reached into his robe pocket and handed her a similar box with dark blue wrapping paper. "Happy Christmas."

Katherine didn't say anything and seemed to sober up as she ripped the paper off the small box. Draco bit his lip to keep from laughing. She obviously thought it was an engagement ring and was afraid of having to make a decision so soon. As much as he hated to admit it, it felt good to have one on her for once.

Once she saw that it was a family ring, Katherine lit up. It had an emerald stone with delicate platinum dragons forming the ring. Draco had to go to a jeweler because he was afraid to give her one with the family motto Purity Will Always Conquer in Latin on it. Perhaps it was time to get rid of that…

"Open mine!" Katherine exclaimed without taking her eyes off the ring. "This is the best! Thank you!"

"You're welcome." Draco was tempted to open his gift as slowly as possible, but he was also insanely curious. For some reason, seeing his gift made her more excited about her own. "Really?"

"Virtus in aruda," she said so proudly that Draco didn't have the heart to tell her that she spoke Latin terribly. She'd blame it on the alcohol anyway. "Courage against difficulties."

"You bought me a family ring too?" It was dark gold with a sapphire. The Potter family motto was written on around the outer ring.

Katherine shook her head. "I dug my grandfather up yesterday for it."

"Wh-what?" Draco ripped the ring off his finger, scowling when Katherine started laughing at him. "He died of Dragon Pox, Katherine!"

"Kidding! Can you believe his name was Fleamont? I never heard of that name until I found out that's what his name was." With a satisfied smirk, Katherine slipped the ring back on his finger. "It was in my vault. Griphook says it hasn't been worn for about two hundred years, so I think you're safe from Dragon Pox."

"Thank you." He kissed her softly and admitted when he pulled away, "I didn't want you to wear a ring that said Purity Will Always Conquer."

"Why?" she said with feigned ignorance. "I'm plenty pure."

"It's Christmas, so I'm not going to argue with you." Draco laughed as she shoved him onto the bed. This was the best Christmas he had in a long time.

"I can't believe your making me do this." Draco scowled behind his white beard. It was Boxing Day, and he and Katherine were dressed up as Mr. and Mrs. Klaus.

Katherine put her hands on her hips. "It's your fault for not making sure Teddy's gift would ship on time. Sirius was all for telling him that you're an arse, but I wanted to save your reputation and blame Santa."

"I can't walk." The amount of pillows that she had stuffed into his shirt was starting to make him sweat. He didn't want to know where she had gotten the costume. The beard smelled…

Katherine looked at him like he was an idiot. "Then waddle. I don't know what to tell you, except that you'll want to watch what you eat when you hit fifty then."

"Thanks for the concern," Draco drawled. "All this for a bloody toy Firebolt."

Katherine sighed with obvious disappointment. "You better not do this to little Lily and James. Or Mason. Or Alexandria and Minnie. Or—"

"Who?" Draco dared to ask.

"Our children," Katherine said casually, as if it were obvious.

Draco opened and closed his mouth several times. Five! She listed five names and was about to say at least one more! Before he could answer, Edward found them.

"Santa!" Edward ran over to him and hugged him while Draco hoped he was young enough not to notice that he was mostly hugging pillow.

"What am I chopped liver?" Katherine said in the voice of an older woman. She jerked her thumb in his direction. "He's the one who forgot to bring Draco's present. I had to remind him."

Terrified by such a hideous creature, Edward hid behind Draco. Draco patted his currently light brown hair in comfort. "She scares me too."

Katherine scowled, looking like a cranky old women with her white wig and wiry gold glasses. She tilted her chin up. "We put Draco's present in your room, Teddy. And make sure to give Sirius the bag of coal. He's been sending it back to us for thirty years."

Edward nodded, afraid to disobey Father Christmas's terrifying wife.

"I need to ask you something," Draco said gruffly. They were half asleep, and it was the day before New Year's. The day before that, he wasn't too please to stop by and find the Weasel listening to a Chudley Cannons game on the radio with Katherine and Edward.

Kat rubbed at her eyes but didn't open them. "No."

Draco kissed her bear shoulder. "It's stupid but… Did you and Weasley ever…?"

"Excuse me?" Katherine sat up and finally opened her eyes. "Me and Ron? No. Not in a million years."

"He was your date to the Yule Ball," Draco defended. "I just forgot that you were so close to him."

Katherine frowned. She took a deep breath before speaking. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes!" Draco said, a little too quickly.

Katherine scratched at her scar. It didn't hurt her anymore, but she told Draco that it was a nervous habit when something was really bothering her. "I-I get it."

Draco brushed some of the hair out of her face. "Katherine."

"I said I get it!" she snapped. She brought her knees to her chin. "But I need to be alone for a couple days."

"A couple days?" Draco repeated. "Because I'm jealous of Weasley?" When she nodded and shook her head in the negative a few seconds later, he sighed and got out of bed. "You're impossible."

It was New Year's Eve, and Kat was still hiding from Draco. The fact that he didn't trust her hurt. The fact that she deserved it made it hurt worst.

"And technically," Kat slurred before downing another shot. She was spending the holiday at a bar with Ginny. "I wasn't cheating on him. I was cheating with his royal highness."

Ginny scoffed and took a sip of her firewhiskey. "And you and Ron? That's worse than me and Ron… Wait…"

Kat laughed loudly. At least the bar was full of obnoxious drunk people, so they blended in enough to not get kicked out. "I love him. I love him so much! I was a prat, Ginny. A real wanker."

Ginny put a hand on Kat's shoulder, but she wasn't sure if it was out of comfort or to steady herself. "No! You weren't ready! Just because he was ready didn't mean you were ready."

"To grow up?" Kat took half of her shot once it was refilled. "That's what his father said. That I needed to grow up."

"Lucius said you needed to grow up?" Ginny snorted. "Now that's rich."

"I grew up plenty in the past few weeks." Kat blinked, hoping it would stop the spinning in the room. "I had a job! So Draco should trust me now!"

Ginny drank the rest of her firewhiskey. "Malfoy isn't going to trust you until you have his name branded on your arse. He's a control freak."

"No. No…" Kat tried to get up but nearly fell out of her seat. "He just doesn't know that I grew up! But you gave me and idea, Gin. I'm going to show him!"

Draco was at Pansy's and Theo's, sulking during the New Year's Party. He must look pretty upset, since they only teased him about it for half an hour.

Alright, maybe he didn't completely trust Katherine, but that didn't mean she had to give him the silent treatment like a spoiled child!

He knew that he hurt her feelings, and honestly, he could tell that Weasley saw himself as her protective older brother. He just wanted to hear her say that she wouldn't hurt him again and didn't take her feelings into account. If only he had explained that to her…

"I'm surprised I was invited." Hermione sat next to him. She was unusually late, unless she was with someone else during the party, which he doubted. "Where's Kat?"

"I offended her." Draco rolled his eyes and stared at his butter beer. "So I don't know."

Like she wasn't surprised in the slightest, Hermione shrugged. "Then she's probably out with Ginny. Especially if it's her fault. She'll need Ginny to tell her that it isn't."

"Great." Draco twisted his shoulder, trying to ignore the dull throbbing feeling. He probably hurt himself playing Quidditch with Blaise and Theo. They were against Pansy, Daphne, and Astoria and lost miserably.

Hermione smiled at someone, but when Draco looked to see who it was, the person vanished. "Don't worry about it, Draco. She's proud. She'll try to win you over by giving you sweets later but don't fall for it. Make her apologize."

Before Draco could respond, the pain in his shoulder sharpened, causing him to double over and hiss. "I'm going to kill her."

"What's the matter?" Hermione asked worriedly.

Draco gripped his shoulder with his other arm. "I don't know. But if she's hurt, I'm going to kill her."

"Teddy's sleeping over Victoire's." Sirius kissed Remus on the couch in the living room. "Kat's out terrorizing London. When's the last time we're had New Year's to ourselves? Better yet, when's the last time we've been able to have sex out here?"

Remus frowned as Sirius started unbuttoning his pants. This used to be Walburga's house. "Have we ever?"

"December 31st, 2001. Mark the calendar, Moony." Sirius pulled Remus's pants off and was about to go for the boxers when Draco ripped open the door.

"OH MERLIN!" The boy shielded his eyes and backed into the wall.

"MALFOY!" Sirius yelled when Remus shoved him off and hastily tried to put his pants back on.

Draco kept his eyes covered. "I was just looking for Katherine."

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" Kat and Ginny yelled as they kicked open the door. Thankfully, Remus managed to pull up his pants in time.

"What happened?" Draco demanded over their laughter. He paled when he saw an odd looking bandage on Katherine's shoulder. "Did you get in an accident?"

Ginny giggled. "He's so dumb."

"That guy at the tattoo parlor was so dumb," Kat whined. Remus's eyes widened. Lily would have a fit. "He refused to put your name on because he didn't think it was a real name."

"Tattoo parlor," Draco repeated, sounding as horrified as Remus felt. "You got a tattoo?!"

"Shhhh!" Kat held her hands up to try to calm him. "Don't worry," she said sleepily. "It's wicked."

Kat woke up with a splitting headache. Every time she got drunk, she swore she was never going to do it again. Next year she'd turn in early with Teddy and Victoire and drink nothing but apple juice.

She didn't realize that she had fallen asleep in Draco's arms until she sat up to try to find a glass of water. He didn't wake up until she tried to stretch and winced.

"You deserve it," he mumbled. "You passed out and hit your head, so the hangover is probably worse. You deserve that too."

At least he was nice enough to leave water and a pain potion on her nightstand. He couldn't be too mad. "What happened?" she asked before grabbing the potion.

"You and Ginevra drank your way through London." Draco opened his eyes. "And you somehow managed to find a tattoo artist who wasn't afraid of getting sued. I suppose the feathers on your shoulder are in honor of our undying love?"

"What?" Kat tried to twist her shoulder to see, but it hurt too much.

Draco opened her dresser drawer and took out a pocket mirror. As he handed it to her, he said, "Lupin is picking you up ointment to take care of it. Black says you're grounded for ruining December 31st, 2001. You don't want to know."

"Fuck." Kat took the mirror and took a peek. "At least the artwork is good."

"If you can't remember, Ginevra claims that it was an attempt to prove to me that you are serious about our relationship." Draco raised an eyebrow when he could tell by her embarrassed expression that she vaguely remembered. "You're an idiot."

"I'm sorry." Kat laid back down to doze in his arms. "I know I don't deserve it, but I do want you to trust me. I won't hurt you again."

"I trust you," Draco whispered as she started to drift off.

Kat woke up around supper time, so she and Draco walked a few blocks from Grimmauld to pick up some Chinese food. They walked in comfortable silence while Kat clutched a list of what everyone wanted in one hand and Draco's hand in the other.

To try to get Draco used to dealing with Muggle money, she made him order and pay, silently laughing as he tried to lean away from the cashier while handing over the money. The cashier glared at him, thinking he was racist until Kat happily informed her that he was a germaphobe.

"You enjoy making me look like an idiot," Draco groused as they sat down to wait for the food to cook.

Kat smiled brightly. "It's not my fault your father told you that Muggles can suck the magic out of you."

"I should have never told you that," he grumbled. Late one night when they were talking, Draco told her that Lucius told him that to keep him from wandering off at the train station.

Kat opened her mouth to torture him some more but sunk into her seat when she saw someone she recognized. "Oh God…"

"What?" Draco tensed and turned around, thinking it was someone dangerous. If only.

"Kitten!" A blonde man a few years older than them walked up to the booth they were waiting in. Draco gaped and for good reason. They looked so much alike that they could be brothers. "How have you been?"

"Fine." Kat felt her face turning redder and redder. "This is Draco."

Thankfully, he had a big bag of food in his arms, so he didn't hold out his hand for Draco to shake. "Cool. I'm throwing a New Year's Party if you want to join in."

"Nope. Nope. We can't," Kat said instantly. "We… We're visiting Draco's dad at the hospital. He just had heart surgery. Sorry Tim."

Tim frowned. "You're bringing Chinese food to the hospital? After the poor bloke had heart surgery?" Kat pursed her lips. Fuck! Luckily, he laughed it off. "You always knew how to torture people, Kat."

Kat breathed a sigh of relief when he left. She grimaced at Draco, who was looking at her as if she were nuts. "Old boyfriend."

"You mean my twin?" He was trying to sound light and carefree, but there was at least a little jealously in his voice.

"Don't tell Remus and Sirius but…" She lowered her voice into a whisper. "He was like perfect. Polite, smart, funny, but…"

Draco fidgeted. "Somehow this isn't making me feel better."

"He had a foot fetish!" Kat hissed. Draco blinked. "I'd like to think I'm an open person, but one thing I learned from that relationship is that I don't like my toes sucked."

Draco stared for a moment before bursting out laughing. The cashier, who had to think he was out of his mind, put their brown paper bag of food on the table and backed away. "Are you serious?" he asked in between laughs. "You actually…"

Kat glowered when she realized he was laughing too hard to finish his sentence. "He's a nice guy!" she defended. "Just—whatever. I only told you because didn't want you to go Veela on him."

"Katherine." His lips were twitching with an effort to be serious. "I trust you with him."

"I hate you."

Phew! I feel like I haven't updated in forever! I stayed up all night last night to make sure I could post today! :)

Thanks for reviewing Snowfire the Kitsune, Guest, crazypagen, gr8rockstarrox, Guest, and justaislinn!

crazypagen: At first I thought you were saying that Kat didn't love Draco because of what she did and added a lot to this chapter because of it. I had this whole explanation in my head saying it's because she's selfish and although she would never admit it, a little afraid of Lou, but not because she doesn't really love Draco. Oh well… :) Dudley will come back in the story in a few chapters. There's just so much I want to write!

So far I believe Blaise is winning! But Hermione's going to keep her mystery man to herself for a while, so we'll see. Happy Holidays!