Enchanting Expedition, a Story

Nine

Chapter Nine- Staying at a Friend's Mansion

The party on Saturday flew by and Draco got the reply from his parents on Tuesday.

'Dear Draco,
Your father and I would love to meet your friend and it would be our honor to be able to house her for a few days during Spring Break. When I read your letter to your father he chuckled at how you planned something that is still months away and was proud that you acted as he so often does.
We are happy to hear that you passed your tests with perfect scores and are proud of your friend, Kat, as well. Let us know if it is okay with the Weasleys that she stay over for a few days. Let them know that we will deal with all transportation and to not fret about us ever mistreating a guest.
Love,
Mother and Father'

"See Kat, I told you they'd be fine with it! Go ahead and write your family about it." Kat wrote to Molly and Arthur who in return said it was all fine by them and that they were proud of her not only passing her tests so extraordinarily, but also embracing which house she was put in; Kat did not read that part out loud though.

By the time Spring Break really did roll around, Kat hardly ever talked to her Gryffindor friends anymore as they seemed very busy with something every time she tried. She boarded the train with Ron and his brothers, Harry- who was apparently spending the break with the Weasleys-, Hermione, and Skylar. Kat was to meet up with Draco later whenever they arrived but she needed to tell her cousins where she would be for the first half of the week.

"You're what?!" Ron nearly yelled, earning a solid jab in the ribs from Fred or George.

"I do hope you'll have fun there!" Sky smiled at Kat, knowing she was surely nervous about it. "Does this mean I can expect to see you at the Christmas parties next year?"

"We'll see if this goes well, then I'll let you know, promise." Kat then explained everything she and Draco had talked about previously to let the others know what was going on. Hermione told her to be cautious and Harry wished her luck, saying that he'd see her whenever she returned home. Ron just stared out the window depressingly while the twins told her to behave and left to do Merlin knows what. Percy had been with his supposed girlfriend the entire time.

"Bye guys, see you soon," Kat told her Gryffindor friends.
She met up with Draco and Lucius Malfoy where a house-elf took their luggage. Lucius gave her a once-over and raised an eyebrow. Kat immediately blushed, thinking her outfit was a bad choice.

"I've got to admit, I was expecting bright red hair and freckles," Lucius gave her a slight smile. "I've got to say that I'm pleasantly surprised. It's nice to meet you, my name is Lucius Malfoy." He stuck out his hand. Kat told him her real name- of course telling him to just call her Kat- and shook his hand politely.

Lucius put a hand on Kat's and Draco's shoulders and apparated to the Malfoy Manor. Kat blink away her dizziness and took in all of the mansion while Draco nearly emptied his stomach. A woman walked out to greet them, enveloping Kat in a hug first.

"Hello, I'm Narcissa, Draco's mother. You must be Kat! It's our pleasure to be able to have you as a guest." Narcissa guided Kat inside after hugging her son as well. She told Draco to show Kat around the house and allow her to choose a room to stay in.

Draco first showed off the first floor which consisted of the kitchen where most of the house elves were, the dining room, a bathroom, a guest room, a laundry room where a few house elves were, and the living room. Draco then led Kat to the second floor where his parents' room was, as well as their individual studies. Two more bathrooms, and another guest room.

Up another flight of stairs, and you were met with 3 guest bedrooms, a few bathrooms, Draco's room and his own potions lab, his study, and a spare study. There were also four different towers that they had yet to go to but Draco told her that two of them were just watchtowers, one was an place for their owls and the last one had the best view of the stars at night.
Kat then walked around the three guest rooms on the third floor and chose the one across the hall from Draco's room which had a connecting bathroom and the spare study. It was a very practical choice.

Draco was just about to show Kat everything that was outside whenever a house elf appeared with her luggage. All of her clothes went into the dresser with a snap of its fingers and everything else went into the respective places. Kat thanked the house elf kindly who just squeaked in return and disappeared a moment later.

"Come on Kat, we've got all of outside to tour!" Malfoy took my arm, dragging me away and down the many stairs.
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Dinner was delicious and Draco's parents asked Kat many questions.

"So, why do you think you were sorted into Slytherin?" Narcissa brought her goblet up to her mouth, sipping as Kat answered.

"I've thought about that for a while now, and I believe that I use things to my advantage without realizing it. I even persuade people to do my bidding without meaning to sometimes." Kat thought about how she always gets Harry and Blaise Zabini to help her out whenever she was really just too lazy to do something herself.

"If you're talking about Potter or Blaise, they probably just like you." Draco adds in.

"Then what's your excuse?" Kat smirks at him, and Draco blushes a little.

"I'm just an extraordinary gentleman, helping a damsel in distress." He smirks back, recovering. His parents laugh at the friendly banter going on.

"I think that it's nearly time for bed, let's all go to bed. Draco, Kat, you can stay up a little longer if you want but go to bed before eleven. Goodnight dears." Narcissa and Lucius walk up the stairs together.

"Do you want to go swimming? If you don't have a swimsuit then you can wear shorts and a t-shirt, I'll meet you in the hall." Draco ran up the stairs, Kat close behind him.

Kat loved to swim, it was one of her favorite hobbies. She unfortunately didn't get the chance to swim often but she could do all kinds of tricks in the water. She began to pull a plain black t-shirt over her head and black shorts up. She stepped outside to see Draco wearing basically the same thing. Laughing, the pair went down the flights of steps and outside to the pool. Technically, it was an indoor pool because it had walls and a ceiling but the ceiling was like the one in the Great Hall back at school.
Draco jumped into the pool, coming up quickly and waving Kat over. Kat dove into the deep end gracefully and slicked her hair back once she came back up. Draco swam over to her and they raced from one side of the deep end to the other multiple times until they both grew tired. They had been floating in the surface of the water for a while until he remembered the curfew his mother gave them. He grabbed his abandoned wand from the floor next to the pool and cast a spell to tell him what time it was. He cursed quietly and jumped out of the pool. Kat followed suit and they both used a spell to dry themselves off. Draco grabbed Kat's hand and they ran back to the house. They wished each other goodnight and disappeared into their respective rooms. Kat fell onto her bed and wished that Kat never had a crush on Draco so that there was never a reason for their friendship to be ruined.

Kat sat up suddenly, confused. Where had that thought come from? The thought never abandoned her mind, bringing up what it might be like to date Draco. She shook her head to get rid of the unwanted thoughts floating through her head. She laid back down, this time under the covers, and tried to fall asleep. Her mind flooded once more with thoughts, such as how each of her friends would react to her and Draco dating in the future.
Kat rolled her eyes at herself, and rolled over to get more comfortable. It worked and eventually she was so comfortable that she fell asleep without realizing what was happening.