Draco was heading outside in the company of Blaise, Pansy and Goyle after their last class ended.
He saw Harry and his "squad" coming towards them, he guessed they were going back inside the castle. As the two groups passed each other, someone bumped into him on purpose.
The Slytherin turned around, annoyed.
"Watch where you're going, Weasel," he spat.
Ron turned around, followed by his friends.
"Oh, look! It's Malfoy, the Death Eater!"
Draco clenched his jaw, trying to keep his cool.
"I suggest you shut your stupid mouth, before-"
"What? Are you going to tell your father about this?" Ron asked.
"Ronald!" Hermione looked at him warningly.
"It's true, that's all he can do! He's all talk and no action!"
Blaise took a step forward, standing next to Draco, ready to fight if he needed to.
"Come on, Malfoy! Won't you at least call Hermione a mudblood or something?"
Draco's eyed widened. He couldn't believe he would say that word in front of her. He took a glance at Granger, not surprised by her face. Her eyes were full of disappointment as she was looking up at her future husband.
"Seriously, Ron, stop!" Harry stood in front of him.
Katherine came outside after a little session in the Library, surprised by what was happening there. She didn't know what happened, but she saw the ginger boy getting upset at Draco for some reason.
She took a few steps closer to them, but no one seemed to notice her, they were all staring at the Weasley guy.
"You know, Malfoy," Ron continued. "You deserve to be treated how you are. All your actions came back to bite you in the arse, so don't go walking around like a lost little puppy."
It took everything in him not to react, but he didn't even need to, because someone did instead of him.
"Rictusempra!"
Ron started laughing hysterically and everyone turned towards where the voice came from.
"Katherine?" Draco asked, not expecting to see her standing a few steps away from the group.
She walked up to him and looked into his eyes, concern obvious in hers.
"Are you okay?" She whispered.
He nodded, letting out a low chuckle. Ron was still laughing, crouching down on the ground, holding his stomach.
"You could get in trouble for that, you know," he smirked at Kat, nodding his head in Weasley's direction.
"Oh, I know, but I couldn't bear him talking about you like that."
A genuine, happy smile took over Draco's features.
Harry and Hermione pulled Ron up from the ground, supporting him back inside the castle without saying another word to them. He didn't mind it though, he was glad they left.
"Why Rictusempra?" Blaise asked with a grin on his face.
"I didn't want to hurt him, so it seemed like the best option," she shrugged.
"Hey," Draco turned to his friends. "You guys go ahead, I'll find you in a bit."
Blaise nodded, then he walked away with Pansy and Goyle.
He turned back to Katherine, smiling down at her.
"Thanks."
"Please, it was nothing. I'm sure you would do the same for me. Besides, I can't let people treat my future husband like that, can I?"
"No, you can't," Draco smirked.
"What happened anyway?" Kat furrowed her eyebrows.
"Well, Weasley started it. I was just standing up for myself," he straightened his back.
"Good. People shouldn't talk to others the way he did," she shook her head.
"To be honest though, I kind of deserved it, I guess."
"No one deserves that," she looked up at him sternly.
"I said way worse things in the past, so maybe I do."
"Draco, stop!"
"Haven't you been paying any attention to me in the years before, Katherine? You must have seen how I treated others, heard about the terrible things I've done, and-"
She wanted him to stop saying those things about himself so desperately, but she didn't know how to make him do it, so she did the first thing that came to her mind.
She slapped him right across the face.
Draco's eyes widened in shock, touching his now pink cheek.
Katherine put her hand over her open mouth, watching the Slytherin in horror.
She didn't mean to do that. She did not mean to do that.
"Oh, Merlin..."
She quickly threw her arms around Draco's waist, hugging him tightly.
"I'm sorry, I'm so, so, so sorry, I did not mean to hurt you, I swear, I just wanted you to stop saying those things, I'm sorry, please forgive me."
It took a few seconds for the Slytherin to process what happened, but then he chuckled, hugging the girl back.
"You keep surprising me, Katherine."
It felt good to have her arms wrapped around him. He never quite felt anything like that before. The only hugs he got were from his mother probably, but those were way different.
Her hug was like getting kissed by the Sun on a chilly day or drinking hot chocolate by the fireplace on Christmas morning. Not like he'd done that before, but he imagined it would feel something like that.
"You should probably go back to your friends now," she said quietly, pulling away slowly.
Draco didn't want the moment to end just yet, so he pulled her back quickly, his arms holding her body to his tightly.
"They can wait."
The Hufflepuff let out a small chuckle, resting her head on his chest.
Draco didn't care that there were other students outside surrounding them, they didn't matter to him. He wanted to savour that moment with his future wife, he was afraid he would never get to experience it ever again for some reason.
After a few seconds, he sighed, letting her go.
"I'll meet you later, okay?"
"Okay," Kat nodded.
She went back inside the castle, not in the mood to read outside anymore.
Draco turned on his heel, beginning to search for his friends. It didn't take long, though, he saw Blaise a few metres away, a grin on his face.
He shook his head while walking up to them.
"What's so funny, Blaise?"
"Nothing. I'm just happy for my best friend, that's all," he shrugged.
Draco raised one of his eyebrows at him.
"If you say one word to anyone, you're dead."
Blaise let out a chuckle, nodding.
"Don't worry, man. My lips are sealed."