Katie looked around the great hall. She felt terrible. After her argument the day before with Lyla, she had tried to study or do anything but instead did nothing but cry and feel miserable. She finally let the all the bottled frustration out and after crying for hours she realized she had to finally talk to Harry.
She had no idea how he would react. She had been terrible to him for almost a month for a cliché reason that deeply embarrassed her. It seemed that all of her lowest self-inflicted moments were terrible cliches.
Now she had to see if there was something to be salvaged from her poor decisions. She hoped there was.
She would not blame him if there was not.
And much like every other time where she desperately needed to talk to Harry, he could not be found. She searched everywhere for him. Not even Hedwig knew where he was and she would not fly to him, not even for the handful of bacon that Katie took to the owlery. Now Katie was looking for Luna, hoping she would know where Harry was.
"Ah, excuse me," said someone who bumped into Katie from behind.
Katie turned and steadied herself and the other person. "Oh, sorry, I just kinda stood in the door here." Her heart rose a fraction. "Hey Daphne, actually, do you know where Harry is?"
The Slytherin prefect looked at Katie with a considering eye. "I have an idea. I actually need to speak with you as well. Perhaps you could help me, and I'll help you find Harry?"
"Uh, sure, yeah. I really need to talk to Harry though."
"This will not take long. Follow me."
Katie followed the blonde girl, intent on finding Harry and not thinking twice about what Daphne might want. Daphne led her some way away from the main floor and halls to a small classroom. Katie looked around in surprise at the interior. It was one not in use for teaching, but it was clean and there were tables and chairs around. In the middle sat a round table with three chairs arrayed around it. A very nice tea set was laid out with a cup in front of one chair. Daphne waved a chair for Katie to sit in while she poured out tea from the pot into a fresh cup.
"This is our impromptu break room," Daphne explained as she poured. "It's the exact opposite side of the castle from the Prefects' offices. We use it as our mid-patrol break space."
"That's handy. And everyone uses this very nice tea set?"
"Certainly not. This is mine. I was raised to be very serious about tea so I insist on having a proper set with me here at school." She finished pouring it out and showed Katie the cream and sugar as well as a few biscuits. She took a sip from her own cup and bit into a biscuit immediately. At Katie's raised eyebrow she explained, "To show that none of the door or drink has been tampered with. It's polite."
"Thanks?" Katie took a sip of her tea and looked at it. "That's really nice."
"A private blend. I don't even need cream or sugar with this. I'll make you a jar."
"Thank you."
They sat in awkward silence. Katie watched as Daphne slowly stirred her teacup with a silver spoon, swirling it around and around while taking dainty sips and nibbles from her biscuits. Finally, Katie could not handle the silence anymore, "So, you wanted my help with something?"
Daphne smiled. "You lasted far longer than most. Usually, the first one to speak loses the initiative in negotiations."
"I wasn't aware it was a negotiation," Katie said, her tone becoming annoyed. She narrowed her eyes at Daphne, leaning forward in her chair after setting her cup down.
YOU ARE READING
The Family that Chooses You
FanfictionYou cannot choose the family you're born into, but you can choose the family you belong to. An alternate universe Harry Potter setting where a hurt Harry Potter is helped by the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. This story will eventually deviate from cano...