PRINCESS ➳ harry potter , draco malfoy (OLD VERSION)

96 || The Slytherin Princess

On the morning of September first, instead of the usual two disguised Death Eaters leaning against the iron gates across from numbers eleven and thirteen, there were six. Apparently they were expecting Harry Potter to just stroll out of number twelve with his trunk and head off, happy as anything, to Hogwarts. As Katie was sat in the kitchen with Hermione and Ron adding extra detailing to their plan to infiltrate the Ministry, she could not help but feel strange that she was not on the train on her way to Hogwarts. Sure, it had always just been school, but she would definitely miss it; she had some good memories there.

Kreacher came hobbling towards the three of them carrying a shining silver tray of tea and cakes. Instead of his usual rags, Kreacher was now wearing a fluffy white towel and had the fake locket dangling from around his neck. Harry had gifted Kreacher this locket, and ever since then, Kreacher had been much nicer, and Harry was kind in return. The house-elf had scrubbed the kitchen from top to bottom one night while the four teenagers were asleep, and now he took pleasure in cleaning and cooking once more. Kreacher had even stopped calling Hermione a Mudblood and actually wished her a good morning on a few occasions. Hermione, of course, was delighted, and she was overjoyed that people were finally treating the house-elf with respect.

When he reached the legs of Katie's chair, Kreacher sunk into a low bow and held the silver tray up high so that it was within her reach.

"Would Mistress Blair like some tea?" he asked in what was his most polite croak.

"What have I told you about bowing, Kreacher?" Katie chuckled while accepting a cup of tea and a cake from the elf. "I'm not some kind of — some kind of princess, or something."

"According to the Daily Prophet, you are." Harry's voice sounded from the doorway. That morning, it had been his turn to hide beneath the Invisibility Cloak by the entrance of the Ministry and see if he could find out any information that might help them safely get inside, get the locket, and get back out. He had just returned and brought with him a copy of the Daily Prophet.

Katie arched her eyebrow, confusion bubbling inside of her. "What?"

"Here, take a look at this." Harry dropped the Daily Prophet down on the table and took a seat next to her. Katie pulled the newspaper close to her and gasped. A picture of her in her Slytherin Quidditch robes and holding the Quidditch Cup was beaming up off the page. Above her picture was the headline: WANTED FOR QUESTIONING ABOUT THE DEATH OF ALBUS DUMBLEDORE.

"What's it say?" Ron demanded, lifting himself up out of his seat and attempting to read the Prophet upside down. To save him this strain, Katie read the article aloud. The other three sipped their tea and nibbled their cakes as they listened.

"Katerina Blair, seventeen, seventh year Slytherin at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is wanted for questioning about the death of Albus Dumbledore. One student, a fellow Slytherin by the name of Daphne Greengrass, claims to have seen Katerina running towards the Astronomy Tower, where Albus Dumbledore was killed, on the night of his death. Reliable sources tell us that Katerina, who is more commonly known by the wizarding population as the Slytherin Princess, was not at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters this morning to take the journey to Hogwarts School. In fact, Katerina has not been seen by any member of the public since the first of August. A common theory is that Katerina is a powerful user of Dark magic and has joined forces with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, as reports from her classmates (Daphne Greengrass and Pansy Parkinson) tell us that she is a known Parselmouth. In the winter of 1994, Katerina was arrested for the murder of her father, Anthony Blair, but was later released and cleared of all charges."

Katie broke away. She did not want to read the rest of the article. Although that paragraph contained many shocking pieces of information (and misinformation), only one really stood out to Katie. It did not come as a surprise to her that Daphne Greengrass would sell her out just to get her name in the Daily Prophet, but Pansy? Pansy had been one of Katie's best friends. She never would have expected it of her.