~ In which a shy Hufflepuff falls for a certain redhead Gryffindor that changes her life. ~
Disclaimer: I only own Katherine, Alden, and other original characters not found in the original HP world. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling.
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Katherine watched the students eat their lunch as she and Bill stood outside the dining hall. The kids seemed so happy as they talked to their friends and ate their food. Hopefully, it stayed that way, and the kids didn't have to face the darkness that was heading their way. Hopefully, Dumbledore or Harry would defeat Voldemort by the end of the school year. Suddenly, Harry walked towards the two.
"Hello, Harry!" Katherine smiled.
"Hey, Kari," Harry stopped and turned to Katherine. "Wait, Kari? What are you doing here."
"Just patrolling," she replied. Harry pinched his eyebrows and looked around, waving a Bill.
"Oh, well, okay," Harry said. "Have a good day."
"You as well!" Katherine called as he walked into the room. She looked at Bill with raised eyebrows. "I would have figured Dumbledore would have told the students about us by now."
Bill shrugged. "Maybe he did, and Harry wasn't listening. You know, Harry's been on about Draco being a Death Eater all year. Maybe that's got him distracted."
"Draco?" Katherine questioned. "But he's only sixteen."
"That's what everyone else said, but Harry doesn't seem to think that'll stop You-Know-Who," Bill said.
Just as they finished their conversation, Draco walked by. Katherine was surprised by his appearance. The boy was paler than usual with big bags under his eyes. His eyes were frantic as he walked, and it seemed like he hadn't realized Bill and Katherine were standing guard. Katherine watched him hurry into the dining hall.
Katherine noticed Draco stop not long after he entered the hall. He was looking at Harry and Katie, who was targeted as well in the winter, talk. Draco seemed nervous and hurried out of the dining hall with Harry shortly following him. Draco raced past Bill and Katherine, continuously looking over his shoulder. Harry wasn't far behind Draco. When the Slytherin turned the corner, Harry's fast walk turned into a jog.
"Should I see what's going on?" Katherine asked Bill.
"Probably," Bill answered as he shook his head.
Katherine clenched her jaw and followed the two boys. Harry was out of sight, making Katherine slightly jog. When Katherine heard shouts, she started to run. She turned in the direction of the boys bathroom. The shouting got louder, and the sound of water appeared.
"Sectumsempra!"
Katherine ran into the bathroom and saw Draco lying on the floor in a pool of blood. His side had a large cut just like the one Bellatrix gave Katherine. She ran to his side and started to cover the wound, but it was no use. The cut kept bleeding. Katherine looked at Harry, who was behind her.
"What did you do?" Katherine cried.
"I-I don't know," Harry stuttered. "I found the spell in a book."
"Harry, he's dying!" Katherine yelled. She looked at Draco who's breathing was getting shallow. "Draco, hang in there. Somebody, help! Hey, hey, Draco. Think of happy thoughts."
Draco began to whimper, and his breathing was getting scarce. Thankfully, Snape ran into the bathroom and rushed to the boy. Snape took out his wand and muttered a spell. The blood on the floor started to return to Draco's body. Soon enough, the scar disappeared. Katherine was able to breathe again.
"Miss. Black, please accompany Mr. Malfoy to the infirmary," Snape mumbled.
Katherine nodded and levitated the unconscious Draco. She ran past Bill and to the infirmary. When she got to the infirmary, Madam Pomfrey waved her to an empty bed. She asked Katherine what happened and she told her everything. The cut from a spell, the bleeding, and how Snape healed it. Madam Pomfrey dismissed Katherine, but she wanted to stay. He shouldn't be alone when he woke, not after he was so close to death.
It took an hour for Draco to wake up. Katherine was still there, reading a book she conjured up. Draco's mumbling made her turn to him. His eyes were open, and he was looking at Katherine. Draco was confused about why she was here. He had heard what happened to her at his house, so what was she doing?
"Are you okay?" Katherine asked as she put down the book.
"Why are you here?" Draco questioned.
"To make sure you're okay," Katherine chuckled. "Why else would I be here?"
"Okay, but why are you here?" Draco asked. "After everything my family has done to yours, I would expect you to hate me."
"Was it you who hurt my family?" Katherine tilted her head.
"Well, no. But—"
"No buts," Katherine wagged her finger. "I can't judge you based on your family."
Draco relaxed for a minute but tensed up again. "I have to get out of here."
"What?" Katherine was confused about Draco's uneasiness. He uncovered himself and hurried to the door. Before Draco left, he turned to Katherine.
"Um, thank you. For staying with me," he said. Draco walked out, leaving Katherine at a loss.
"Never heard that sentence come out of someone's mouth," Fred snickered, making Katherine nudge him. "Oi!"
"It's not funny!" Katherine said.
"I know, I know," Fred put his hands up in defense. "When things get rough, I tend to crack jokes."
"Yea, I can see that," Katherine huffed. She shook her head as she put it in her hands. "I'm sorry. I'm being rude."
"It's okay, Kari," George said, putting his arm around the girl. "Why don't you go to bed. It's getting late."
"Can you come with me?" Katherine asked. "I don't want to be alone."
"Yea, give me a minute," George smiled at her as she walked up the stairs. He turned to Fred with the same smile. "You'll be okay to go to the loft by yourself, right?"
"Of course I will, mate!" Fred slapped his hand onto his brother's shoulder. "I can invite Angelina over. If you know what I mean."
"Just don't do it on the couch," George cringed.
"Can't make any promises!" Fred winked and walked out of the Burrow.
George shook his head in disgust as he got up to walk to Katherine's room. He opened the door to see she was already asleep. Smiling, George put on his PJs and slipped into bed. He stroked the side of her face, making her smile in her sleep. Before fully laying down, he kissed her forehead and whispered something.
