A/N: This chapter is kind of trashy so I'm sorry in advance :/
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Katie was only minutes away from the Gryffindor common room when she realised that she didn't actually know the password to get inside. Luckily, a distant but heavy panting sounded from behind her. She turned around to see Neville running up the corridor.
"Hi, Katie," he tried to smile while still panting. "Good game. You played really well."
Katie grinned at him." Thanks, Neville!"
Neville had finally caught up to her and slowed down to a walking pace, though he was still breathing quite heavily.
"Are you going to see Harry?" Neville inquired.
"Ron, actually."
Neville frowned. "He's in a pretty bad state." he said, pausing in front of the portrait to give the Fat Lady the password to Gryffindor tower. The portrait swung open, revealing the bustling common room behind it. Neville helped Katie through the portrait hole (despite the fact that he tripped himself) and they spotted Ron sitting by the fire.
He was slouched so low in his chair that his pointed nose was almost level with his knees. Hermione, Fred and Ginny were situated around him, attempting to block him from the view of everyone else in the room and talking to him in hushed voices.
On the opposite side of the room, Angelina, Chris and Niall were discussing the game with a group of fascinated first years who were gazing up at the three Chasers with total admiration written all over their faces. Harry and George were no where to be found.
"See you later, Neville." Katie said, breaking away from him and making her way over to the very glum looking Ron Weasley.
Hermione looked up when she heard Katie's footsteps approaching and she shook her head sadly. This was the only indication Katie needed to understand exactly what was bothering Ron. He was disappointed in himself for letting all of Slytherin's goals in.
"Hi, Ron," Katie said softly, sitting down next to him. "You played — er — really well out there."
"Don't be stupid," Ron grunted bitterly. "I was lousy."
"That's not true! You were just nervous, that's all." Katie said. Ron did not respond; he sank down further into his seat, which Katie didn't even think was possible.
The portrait swung open and Harry and George clambered through. Both of them appeared to be in some kind of torpor — their eyes were full of empty shock and there wasn't even a hint of colour in either of their faces. They were greeted by the rest of the Gryffindors with rapturous applause, but neither of them seemed to notice, nor did they care.
"Harry?" Hermione asked warily. "What's wrong?"
"What's wrong," Harry said acidly, "is that Umbridge just banned Fred, George and me from playing Quidditch."
Katie's heart missed a beat.
"What?" she, Hermione and Ron all gasped together.
"Yeah, and all because Malfoy provoked us." Harry said, and Katie could've sworn she saw his eyes flash dangerously in her direction.
Katie sat rooted to the spot, her mouth hanging open stupidly. She couldn't even argue Draco's case because what Harry had said was true. If Draco hadn't had provoked Harry and the Weasleys, they wouldn't have attacked him, and while Katie didn't think that they were right to retaliate with violence, she definitely thought that a ban from Quidditch was much too severe of a punishment.
"Harry, I'm so sorry--" Katie commenced.
"I'm not sure why you're acting all innocent," Harry hurled at her. "Your Quidditch team wrote that song about Ron, after all."
Stunned by the accusation, Katie looked around at her friends for backup, but all of them were staring at her, their mouths open in horror.
"What? No we didn't." Katie defended.
Harry folded his arms. "Oh, really?"
"Really."
"Well that's funny," Harry snarled, "because Malfoy literally called them his lyrics."
Shocked by this piece of grisly new information, Katie opened her mouth to speak but snapped it shut again, finding that she didn't have any words to describe how she was feeling.
Harry laughed tartly. "Please tell me you're not trying to say that your entire house composed a song without you knowing about it?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying." Katie replied promptly, and as the words were rolling off her tongue she realised just how erroneous they really sounded, but what she was saying was the truth, even if it didn't sound believable.
Harry let out a sarcastic snort. "Yeah, OK."
"I didn't write the song, Harry!" Katie snapped, anger rising within her.
"Well maybe you didn't, but you let them sing it." Harry countered angrily.
Katie laughed coldly. "What was I supposed to do, call timeout so I could lecture the entirely of Slytherin house?"
"Actually, yes!" Harry shouted, flailing his arms dramatically.
Hermione and Ron were exchanging terrified glances. Every time Katie and Harry's voices grew slightly louder, Chris and Niall would flinch worriedly. No one liked the growing tensity in the room and they were all fearing the worst outcome.
"In case you haven't noticed, the vast majority of Slytherin house hate me — thanks to a long list of events — so even if I did have the authority to tell them all off, none of them would listen to me."
Katie bitterly recounted all the times the her own house had turned on her — when she lost Slytherin their game against Gryffindor in first year, when Draco spread the rumour that she was the Heir of Slytherin, when she was arrested, when she punched Daphne Greengrass because she had prompted her...
"Well, every time you scored, they sang louder, and it was throwing Ron off!" Harry's face was growing red now and his voice was quavering, which were always worrying signs. These signs did not go unnoticed by Hermione, either, who was chewing her lip and looked as though she wanted to intervene but didn't quite know what to say.
"So, what was I supposed to do, just not score?" Katie snapped.
"Works for me." Harry said angrily.
"I'm not just going to let my team lose just because your team is too sensitive to take a joke!"
Katie and Harry's yells were now loud enough to seep into every corner of the Gryffindor common room. The party had been put on hold as all heads turned to face the bickering couple, but Katie paid no mind to all the prying eyes. She thought that Harry was being very unfair and she was not going to be the one to apologise or let out of the argument first, regardless of how far they would take the row.
Harry opened his mouth to speak but quickly closed it again. Hermione and Ron let out sighs of relief, being fooled into thinking that the altercation had ended. Harry crossed his arms.
"You know what?" she said icily, his eyes darkening and narrowing into slits. "You've changed."
Katie let out a dry laugh. "Oh, I've changed?"
"Yes, actually, you have!" Harry proclaimed exasperatedly. "Ever since you've started hanging around with Malfoy and Parkinson—" he spat their names venomously, "—all the time, you've changed. You've become obsessed with Slytherin, and you never even liked your house before."
Katie could feel herself shaking with anger now. The hatred that had built up inside of her when she heard the Slytherin singing Weasley is our King, and the rage that had engulfed her when the Snitch slipped from Draco's grasp, and the indignation that was controlling her now that Harry was lecturing her were all mingling together, creating an overwhelming sense of red-hot fury, and she exploded, shouting so loud that Hermione actually screamed and had to clap her hands over her mouth to silence herself.
"Oh, I'm sorry that I have a bit of house pride! I'm sorry that I was sorted into Slytherin, I'm sorry that I'm not going to let the colours on my school tie dictate whether or not I should try to lead my Quidditch team to victory, and I'm sorry that you think of me as being below you because I sit by a different fireplace to you in the evenings!"
A pulverising silence had caved in on the Gryffindor common room. Everyone had seemed to have held their breath as Katie vociferated. The fire crackled more aggressively than usual, and the flickering lamps sent gloomy shadows dancing across the walls that perfectly complemented the dismal atmosphere in the room.
Katie had predicted that Harry would shout back at her, but instead, he stared at her blankly, a dawning comprehension settling in his emerald eyes.
"What?" Katie spat virulently.
Katie wasn't entirely sure what she had expected Harry's response to be, but nothing could've prepared her for the words that slipped past his lips next.
"I just realised how wrong we are for each other."
There was a sharp intake of breath throughout the whole room. A flurry of different matters occurred within Katie all at once, leaving her with an empty sort of feeling — the blood rushed from her head, leading her to feel faint, at the exact same time her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach she felt it clench painfully, her stomach lurched horribly, and her skin grew numb.
"What?" she whispered despondently.
On the couch beside her, Hermione let out a choked sob, which she stifled by covering her mouth like she had done when she screamed. This cry was the only puncture in the deafening silence that was pulsing through the entirety of Gryffindor tower.
Upon close inspection, it was clear the tears were prickling at Harry's eyes.
"You're breaking up with me over a Quidditch game?" Katie asked disbelievingly.
"It's not just over a Quidditch game," Harry sighed. "It's because we just don't work, do we? Our personalities clash—"
"No, they don't," Katie countered, trying to keep her voice steady. "You're just looking for excuses."
"No, I'm not. We don't work, Katie, we were never going to, and you know it." he continued, sounding both dismal and determined. With every passing word, Katie felt a sliver of happiness slip through her fingers.
"So that's it?" she choked out. A large lump had formed in her throat and she couldn't manage to swallow it down.
"That's it," Harry nodded. "This is done. We're done."
Hermione was crying on Ron's shoulder now. Katie suddenly became aware of the tens of pairs of eyes that were staring, shocked, at her, and the humiliation of being broken up with in the middle of the Gryffindor common room had begun to set in. Her bottom lip trembled threateningly as a feeling of complete and utter despair whirred around inside of her.
"Fine." she said finally, much more balefully than intended, but she felt as though her tone was fitting anyway.
"Fine!" Harry spat just as, if not more viciously, which was a drastic change from his quieter tones only moments before.
The two held eye contact for many lingering and tense seconds before Harry turned around and stormed through the door that lead to the boy's dormitories, leaving Katie standing alone in the centre of the circular common room. Still, no one spoke. They stared, completely aghast by what they had just witnessed.
"Dammit..." Katie muttered angrily under her breath, running her hands through her hair. "Dammit... dammit," her voice was beginning to rise, "dammit... dammit... dammit!"
Many people flinched. Katie threw her gaze around at everyone and, as her eyes met with many of the Gryffindor's, her embarrassment set in deeper. Taking a deep breath to hold back the wave of tears that were threatening to burst free, Katie nodded once, then swept from Gryffindor tower.
She tore down the marble staircase, her vision blurred by stinging tears, and escaped into the Hogwarts grounds. Without really thinking about where she was going, Katie found her feet carrying her to the tree that she and Harry stood under one day in third year in the snow. Katie recalled the memory with a bitter taste in her mouth.
Harry slipped his hand into Katie's, like he had done at the Three Broomsticks, only this time, he wasn't sweating, he wasn't trembling, and he didn't squeeze her hand. He was peaceful. Katie had grown so numb that she couldn't feel how cold Harry's hand was in her own.
Harry finally spoke. His voice was quiet and somewhat groggy. "Every time a Dementor gets close to me... I hear her..."
Katie looked at Harry.
"I hear my mother screaming, begging Voldemort not to kill me... and he laughs."
A shiver ran down Katie's spine, and not because of the cold. This time, she was the one to squeeze Harry's hand.
"I wish there was something I could do to help." Katie told him sadly. He finally looked at her. His eyes momentarily flickered down to their intertwined hands, then they landed back on her face, and he smiled.
"You are helping."
Katie channeled all her emotion into kicking the stump of the tree, which proved a very bad idea because a sharp pain shot through her whole leg. Trying very hard not to cry, she leaned her head back against the tree, heaving deep yet fast breaths, staring vacantly up at the swirling wisps of silvery clouds above.
"Blair?"
Katie startled. She whipped her head around to find Draco standing beside the tree, frowning at her.
"Are you all right?"
Katie hastily wiped her tears and faced away from him. "Yeah — yes, I'm fine."
Draco heaved a great sigh and stepped closer to her. "No you're not," he said sadly. "What happened?"
Katie didn't exactly want to relive the affair — she wanted to sit under that tree, alone, as the cold bit at every inch of her exposed skin and eventually numbed her ever-growing pain, but she felt like there was no point in denying Draco the truth — he would hear about it soon enough.
"Harry," she croaked. Apparently, just this one word wasn't enough information for Draco to fully understand the situation, because he blinked at her confusedly. Katie took a heavy breath and, with a plummeting feeling in her chest, she said, "We sort of, broke up, I guess."
Draco stared at her, stupefied. "What?" he said. "Why?"
"Shit happens." Katie shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant, but the raspy tone of her voice was blowing her facade.
"Talk to me," Draco encouraged, stepping closer to her yet again. "What happened?"
Unwillingly, Katie found herself reciting the event that had just taken place in the Gryffindor common room while Draco listened rigorously. As she told the story, repeating anything that she or Harry had said that she could remember, Katie felt as though a great weight was being lifted off her shoulders.
If someone had have told Katerina Blair six months previous that she would be opening up to and sharing her grief with Draco Malfoy, she probably would've laughed in their face, but as she unfurled all of her emotions onto him, a sensation of solace swept over her; she realised that she had never felt quite as comfortable with anyone as she did with Draco, with the exception of Harry alone.
When Katie finished speaking, she certainly felt a great deal happier, but repeating the story caused yet another lump to form in her throat, and tears were threatening to leak from her eyes once more.
There was silence between the two Slytherins for many moments. The only sounds to be heard were the gentle rustling of the mighty oak tree in the soporific breeze, as well as the gentle rippling of the frigid, murky water as a school of minute silver fish swam in the shallows of the Lake.
"Permission to hex him?" Draco said, bringing an end to the tranquil stillness.
"He didn't do anything wrong." Katie mumbled. She was refusing to meet Draco's gaze, instead focusing her eyes on a loose bit of string that was dangling from the hem on the sleeve of her jumper as she twirled it idly around her finger.
Draco shook his head. "He's not thinking straight."
"I know," Katie responded sadly. "I mean, he's been on edge since summer, he has a lot going on, so it makes sense that he's angrier than usual—"
"Stop," Draco cut her off suddenly. "Stop making excuses for him."
"I'm not—"
"Yes, you are," Draco stated sternly. "And I'm not about to sit here and listen to you list off a bunch of reasons why you deserved to be broken up with, because none of them are true."
"Draco—"
"Shut up and let me hug you."
Katie didn't get a moment to respond before Draco had wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close and holding her protectively. Her breath hitched in surprise — Draco was not the type of person to express affection or show endearment, nevertheless, she was in desperate need of consolation, so she accepted the hug gratefully.
"You're really not having a good day, are you?" Draco said.
Katie laughed dismally. "No, I'm not."
"Do you want your Chocolate Frogs back?"
Katie dithered for a brief moment.
"Yes please."
"Want me to do your History of Magic essay for you?"
"Are you going to do it anyway, even if I say no?"
"Of course."
Katie laughed faintly more heartily than she had before, but as the fleeting second of happiness occurred, it was gone again, and she was left with the same hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach. Tears were prickling at her grey eyes once more, and although she frantically blinked them away they didn't go unnoticed by Draco.
Frowning dejectedly, he gingerly placed his hands on the sides of her face, sending a transient yet vehement shiver down her spine.
"Please don't cry." Draco said softly, and while his intentions were purely good, this statement only tipped Katie closer to breaking point.
"I'm trying," she whispered brokenly, biting down hard on her bottom lip, which was now trembling. "I'm really, really trying."
"Please don't cry," Draco repeated just as gently as before. "He's not worth it."
But the tears that Katerina shed weren't just for the end of her relationship — they were for the loss of the most powerful friendship she had ever formed, for the fracture that was inevitably going to occur in her bond with both Hermione and Ron (they were both closer with Harry than they were with her, after all), for the loss of her anchor — she didn't think it was a coincidence that her nightmares stopped once Harry had arrived at Grimmauld Place, and for the realisation that she no longer had a person in her life that could relate to her troubles — losing parents, having haunting visions.
Harry hadn't just been her boyfriend, he was her refuge, her confidante, and most importantly, her best friend. No one understood Katerina Blair quite like Harry Potter did, no one could relate with her in the ways that he could, and, on that seemingly hopeless afternoon, Katerina didn't believe that she would ever find the sense of safety that Harry gave her with anyone else.