PRINCESS ➳ harry potter, draco malfoy (NEW VERSION)

12 || Quidditch

Katie sat alone at the long Slytherin table, picking at her unappetising breakfast of bacon and eggs. It was the morning of her first Quidditch game; Slytherin was playing Gryffindor and she was far too petrified to eat. She had woken ridiculously early and, upon finding that her nerves were not letting her drift back to sleep, she had gotten dressed and dragged herself down to the Great Hall.

As she was taking a sip of her pumpkin juice, Katie heard her name being called from the other end of the hall. Turning her head, she saw Harry, Ron and Hermione enter, waving enthusiastically at her. She beckoned them over and they complied.

"Good morning. How are you feeling?" Hermione slid onto the bench. Katie shrugged nonchalantly, masking her burning anxiety.

"Good luck today," Harry smiled. Katie spun around in her seat to face him. "I know you'll do great."

"Better than you, anyway," Katie quipped, laughing when Harry feigned offence. She leaned closer to her friends, whispering, "Don't tell anyone I said this, but I'm rooting for Gryffindor."

"You can't say that!" Ron gasped.

"I can, and I did," Katie said. "Anything to wipe that smug look off Malfoy's face, even if its only for a day."

"Just try not to get too worked up, okay?" Hermione said gently, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You'll do brilliantly."

Once the three Gryffindors retreated from the Slytherin table, Katie found herself alone again, but Draco soon arrived with Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle following close on his tail. Pansy chose the seat next to Katie and sat down.

"You were up early," Pansy noted, lifting an eyebrow.

Katie shrugged. "I just wanted to make sure I ate enough before the game."

Pansy glanced at her plate. "You've barely touched your food."

"I swear to God, Blair, if you don't catch that Snitch, I'll—"

"Oh, shove it, Malfoy," a third voice interjected. Whipping around, Katie saw Ron standing behind her. She shot him a grateful smile.

"Do you have a problem, Weasley?" Draco snapped, narrowing his eyes.

"No, but clearly you do. Silver spoon stuck up your backside?" Ron turned to Katie. "Are you ready? We'll walk you down to the stadium."

"Actually, I was going to walk Katie to the stadium," Draco cut in coolly. "We can't have our Seeker being seen with the rival house on match day now, can we?" If Katie hadn't known better, she would've sworn there was a hint of jealousy in Draco's voice.

"I'll go with Ron, but . . . thanks, Draco, " she said, taking one last swig of her pumpkin juice before standing up. Ron whisked her out to the Entrance Hall, where they met up with Harry and Hermione; all four departed for the stadium together.

The grass twinkled white with frost, but Katie was sure it wasn't the cold November wind that was sending shivers down her spine. Mist clouded the air and she wondered if she would be able to see as she flew at all.

"It's bloody freezing!" Ron complained.

"It's not that bad," Harry sountered.

"Easy for you to say. You're going to be moving around. Hermione and I are going to turn to blocks of ice sitting around in that stadium!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I told you to bring a scarf, Ronald."

"As if that would help," Ron grumbled, pulling his red woollen hat further down his head. "That just stops your ears from being cold. I'm not worried about my ears."