THE CHRISTMAS PARTY WAS HUGE.

Katelyn didn't think her mother even expected how many people were going to show up. Eliza had to step in and coordinate everything after her mother got so filled with anxiety.

Most of her mothers side appeared this morning, barging in like they owned the place. The siblings were already arguing, immediately giving Camilla a migraine.

As much as Katelyn and Camilla loved their family, when everyone was together, they weren't the nicest people to each other. Katelyn's cousins and herself were better, but not by much. Especially when their friends came around.

Luckily, her mother said Hermione would be coming over so they could sneak off.

She and Harry had tried to get to the library the whole morning, using the chaos of her family to try and get through, but Fredrico seemed to catch on that they wanted to get away.

He made it his mission to keep them around and in attention.

It irked on Katelyn's nerves, but there wasn't much she could do.

"Fynn, stop touching things!" Camilla exclaimed, smacking her brother's hand down, "I don't come to your house and start messing with everything. Can't you act like a civilized human being for five seconds?!"

"One... two... three... four..." he smirked at his older sister, "five." He went back to touching the pictures frames.

Katelyn scoffed, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes. She never understood why her aunts and uncles always tried to get on her mothers nerves. It more often than not had her mothers nerves frayed and her

"Your uncles are kind of... rude," Ron muttered to her quietly, afraid that the men would hear him and turn him into a rat.

Katelyn sighed heavily. "I know. They're always doing this," she muttered back.

"Fynn. She said enough," Eliza grabbed his arm tightly and yanked him away from the photos, "Go sit with your husband or kindly get out of the house."

Fynn rolled his eyes. "You two, always fun killers."

Luca appeared, grabbing his husband's hand, "We're guests. Be respectful, would you?" He hissed, pulling him away and throwing the two women an apologetic glance.

"How come they're always so mean to her?" Poppy pouted, watching as her mother rubbed her aunts back as Camilla fixed all the frames.

"Jealousy," Rebekah said as she settled beside Poppy. She wrapped her arm around the young girl, pulling her onto her lap.

"Jealousy?" Harry repeated, tilting his head.

Rebekah nodded, leaning her head against Poppy's. "You don't know?" She asked Katelyn who shook her head with a frown, "Well, you know our ancestor... our great, like, times 15 grandmother? She was super powerful. More powerful than Godric, Helga, Salazar, and Rowena so is said. She picks people from the bloodline to bless with her magic. Some say that one day, one of her picks will be strong enough to bring her back. To either help the world prosper... or to destroy it."

Ron stared at her in awe. "You guys are related to Camilla Royal? Like thee Camilla Royal?"

"What do you think, Red?" Rachel appeared behind her cousin, plopping down on the cushion beside Rebekah with a frown, "Of course we're related to her. You meet many people with the last name Royal, do you?"

"Rachel, be nice," Katelyn scolded, shaking her head. Ron scratched the back of his neck, choosing not to argue with a ten-year-old. "How come you two know so much about her? I mean, I've heard of her, of course. Mom's named after her and everything, but..." she shrugged. She was kept in the dark about a lot of things unfortunately and as much as she hated it, she couldn't do much about it.

"Weird," Rebekah muttered, glancing at her, "Considering your mother was said to be blessed by her. One of the most powerful to exist, actually. Some say she's the reason He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named died."

Harry frowned a bit. "But... how? She wasn't there that night."

Rebekah shrugged. "I dunno. It's just what my parents talk about sometimes," she muttered.

Katelyn frowned.

A knock on the door and Eliza quickly goes to fetch it.

"So, who else is supposed to come?" Rebekah asked curiously, bouncing Poppy on her lap.

"Um, some friends from school. Katie and Vince will be here at some point probably. I don't know who else, honestly," Katelyn shrugged. Eliza walked back through the door with Narcissa and Draco right behind her. "Aunty Cissa!" She exclaimed, shooting out of her seat and barreling into the woman.

Narcissa's eyes widened a bit, stumbling backward when the girl grabbed onto her waist. She laughed softly and brushed her hand over Katelyn's head before leaning down to kiss her cheeks. "Hello, sweet girl. How has school been?"

"Oh! It's been so fun—"

"She made friends with a muggle," Draco muttered, crossing his arms tightly and glancing at his cousin. Katelyn shot him a sharp look.

"What's wrong with that?" Eliza asked, tilting her head as she set her hand on the back of Katelyn's neck.

"Nothing," Narcissa said quickly before Draco could answer. She shot him a scolding look and Draco huffed. "You know the people here do not share the same views as your father. If you're going to be rude, I will send you home with Cibpy."

The house elf in question looked up curiously before nodding dutifully once what Narcissa said registered. Katelyn grinned, waving to the elf. Cibpy was her favorite house elf. Her mother said that they had gotten her when she was born and Cibpy took care of her.

(Most of the house elves that worked in the Royal family were free but chose to work because of the much better conditions they offer. They have their own rooms and get fed regularly rather than starved and abused.)

Idly, she wonders how Kreacher's doing.

Draco side-eyed the elf and rolled his eyes. "I'm going to go eat some snacks," he muttered, brushing past them.

Katelyn frowned after him. As much as she tried to steer him away from the blood purity argument, he just kept falling back into it. It didn't help that a lot of other Slytherin's still held the same values. Especially those with families who still follow the Dark Lord.

"I'm sorry about him. I'm sure your muggle friend is very nice," Narcissa said, setting her hand gently on Katelyn's shoulder, "His father is just..."

"I know," Katelyn shrugged, sighing. She understood why Draco kept falling back into old habits, but that didn't mean she had to be around that. She's made her side clear and if he couldn't respect that, then he wasn't going to be in her life.

Narcissa smiled sadly and pinched the girl's cheek gently. "Now, school?" She prompted.

Eliza frowns a little. "It's been a bit of a rough year, I think," she said, glancing down at the girl.

Katelyn blushed and looked down at the ground, nodding. Narcissa raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "I... I may have been in the infirmary quite a bit. Someone's been bewitching my things."

Narcissa frowned deeply and looked at Eliza. "Is there somebody looking into this?" She asked, linking her arm with her cousins.

"I believe. Madame Hooch and Professor Flitwick said they were looking into it," Eliza sighed and shook her head, "But they haven't told us anything. They wouldn't let me help. It's not like I helped raise her or whatever." She ruffled Katelyn's hair and tugged her closer, kissing the top of her head.

Katelyn giggled a bit, hugging the woman. Narcissa smiled and tapped her cousin's chest. "Professor McGonagall didn't vouch for you?" She asked, a bit disbelieving since McGonagall absolutely adored Eliza, Sirius, Lily, and Camilla when they were at school.

"Oh, she did," Eliza shrugged, "Dumbledore went over her head."

Narcissa rolled her eyes. "Pity." Eliza snickered a bit, kissing her cousin's cheek. 

Katelyn was sitting by the door. She had gotten overwhelmed pretty quick and Hermione had yet to show up. Her mother said she invited the Grangers and since Hermione hadn't been able to come over any earlier in the week, the three were hoping they could steal her away to check the library.

If she ever showed that is.

The Reynolds had shown up a bit earlier and had meshed perfectly with the rest. As always, the Royal's were very welcoming and even Narcissa was kind. Draco kept himself in check after Kai gave him a body shove.

Katie and Vincent had shown up with their families, too, which had both been a bit awkward (in regards to Katie and Rebekah having to greet each other) and funny (seeing the parents force them to make up).

Poppy was enjoying seeing her friends again and held most of Katelyn's friends attention which led to the older girl to get some air.

The doorbell rang and she startled a bit, forgetting how loud it was. She got up, brushed off her pants, then opened the door. Her eyes widened when she saw Hermione on the other side with her parents behind her.

They all looked lovely, but Hermione held her attention. She was in a beautiful green dress with black tights leading to small heeled boots (which matched her mothers heeled boots). Her hair was just as curly as before but instead of it being a mane around her head, she had a braided crown.

Katelyn was aware she was staring and her mouth was a little open, but couldn't find it in herself to say something.

Hermione was staring back at her though, her eyes slightly wide and her cheeks pink. Camilla had dressed Katelyn in black dress pants, a green button-down with a black tie, and a black suit vest (Harry was wearing the same but with a red button-down while Ron had the opposite of what Harry was wearing on. Eliza had found it hilarious much to the three childrens dismay) and her hair was down and wavy.

Oliver and Rose shared a look, amused. "As much as I love standing out in the cold night, are you going to let us come in, champ, or are we gonna freeze?" Oliver piped up.

Katelyn startled, looking up. Her cheeks flushed at the knowing looks on the adults faces and quickly stepped backwards. "S-Sorry," she stammered.

Hermione walked in first, shedding off her coat. Her parents followed and Katelyn took their coats to hang them up. "What a gentlewoman," Rose smiled, squeezing Katelyn's cheek gently. The girl blushed harder. "You look dashing, sweetheart. Do you always wear suits like these?"

"Mostly," Katelyn shrugged, "Sometimes I must wear a cloak or a longer coat that reaches the back of my knees. Sometimes even my heels!" She huffed and shook her head.

Rose laughed.

Oliver ruffled the girl's hair which made Katelyn sigh heavily and blow a piece of hair from her face. "Daddy!" Hermione scolded and set her hands on her hips, "That wasn't nice."

"Oh, hush you," Oliver said, poking his daughter's forehead, "Where is your mother?"

Katelyn pointed down the hallway. "There's a lot of people. I can walk in with you if you'd like? My family is kind of... a lot." She winced when she heard her Aunt Aria scream something in French to Veronica who yelled back.

The Grangers shared a wide-eyed look at the very loud argument.

"SHUT UP! BOTH OF YOU!"

Katelyn smiled innocently when her mother's voice suddenly rang out. Rose laughed softly and shook her head. "She's a bit worked up. She'll be happy you two are here. People who don't wish to annoy the, as she says, shit out of her."

Oliver laughed. "I'll let that slide this time since it seems they truly do."

"Do your guests need anything, Mistress Royal?"

All of them jumped when Cibpy suddenly appeared beside Katelyn, her little ears twitching at the little screams Oliver and Rose gave out.

Hermione stared slightly wide-eyed at the elf. She'd heard so much about them, especially from other students around Hogwarts. From what she could gather, most were severely mistreated.

"Blimey, you scared us," Katelyn said, rubbing her chest as she stared down at the elf with a small frown. Cibpy bowed her head in apology. "Uh, no, I took their coats already, Cibpy."

The elf stared at her silently for a moment. "Why?" She asked slowly, confused.

Katelyn blinked. "Why what?"

"Why did you take their coats? You never take your friends coats," Cibpy said, thin arms poking the girls ribs. Katelyn jerked a bit, batting her hand away. "Just making sure you're real."

"Real—What—" Katelyn stammered and blushed a bit at the knowing look on the elf's face, "Cibpy, shut up, would you?"

Cibpy smirked a bit. "No. I must tell your mother." She snapped and disappeared.

Katelyn groaned. 'I am sooo never hearing the end of that. From either of them,' she thought.

"Uh... what was that?" Rose asked, her voice a bit high-pitched.

Katelyn blinked and turned back to the muggles. "Oh! Right, sorry. That was one of our house-elves," she grinned, "Her name is Cibpy. Mom got her for me when I was born. We've practically grown up together."

"Oh..." Oliver nodded slowly, "They're like..."

"Servants," Katelyn filled in with a shrug, "Most magical families have at least one. We have about... twenty in rotation. They're all free, though, unlike most other elves. They're not slaves. At least, ours aren't." She sighed heavily, thinking about the treatment of the other elves.

"Oh, good," Hermione huffed, shaking her shoulders, "I thought I was going to have to smack you."

Katelyn snorted and nudged her friend. "Come on, I'll take you guys in."

"Oh, wait!" Hermione quickly fixes Katelyn's hair making the blonde's cheeks pink slightly then she grabs the girl's hand. "Okay." Katelyn ignored the looks the adults were giving them and guided them toward the heart of the party.

Her mother was sitting beside Narcissa drinking what was probably Cissa's calming tea while Eliza spoke to her cousin.

"Would you like to see my mom first or be introduced around the room?" Katelyn looked up at the adults, tightening her grip on Hermione's hand when she felt the girl nervously wrap her other arm around the one she was holding.

"If your mother needs a minute, you can take us around, darling," Rose said.

Katelyn looked toward her mother, looked her over and decided, yes, she did need a minute. "Okay, come with me." She guided them toward the closest guests. She tugged on the woman's sleeve and the older woman turned, smiling at her. "Hi, Mrs. Ophelia. I'd like to introduce you to our newest guests. Mrs. Ophelia, Mr. Quinn, this is Rose and Oliver Granger and their daughter Hermione. She goes to school with me."

"Oh! We've heard so much about you guys. Camilla speaks very highly of you," Quinn said as he shakes Oliver and Rose's hands. Ophelia greets them as well. "Katie said that Hermione's one of the smartest in their class."

"Thank you," Rose smiled as Oliver put a hand on Hermione's head.

Hermione blushed. "Oh, well, I—"

"It's true. She's read through all the material already," Katelyn interrupted before wincing when Hermione squeezed her arm tightly, "Ow, Hermes."

Hermione shot her a glare.

"Have you really?" Ophelia asked, raising an eyebrow. Hermione looked at her, nodding shyly. "Reminds me of someone else I know." She smirked a bit and looked at Katelyn who shrugged her shoulders, "This one was reading all those books way before she even got an invite to Hogwarts."

"They were interesting," Katelyn defended and Quinn snickered, patting her shoulder.

"Sure they were. Now, off you go. More people to meet. It was lovely to meet the three of you," Quinn said, smiling at the Grangers.

"It was lovely to meet you, too," Oliver said, shaking the man's hand once more before Katelyn guided them away. Katelyn walked them around, letting them meet everyone. It was a bit taxing, especially for people who have never done this type of thing before. Katelyn tried to make them brief, but most of her aunts and uncles took it as a chance to embarrass her.

Finally, they got to Camilla who snatched Katelyn into her lap the second she was close. The younger blonde blinked and looked up at her aunts. Narcissa put a finger to her lips, shaking her head. Eliza looked seconds away from laughing.

"I will gut you, Eliza Walburga Black," Camilla muttered sharply which made Eliza sober up and shoot the woman a glare. Camilla just smiled sarcastically back at her. Camilla sighed and looked toward the newest guests with a much more polite smile. "Hello, darlings. I'm sorry I didn't come greet you right away."

Rose waved her off, taking a seat beside her friend. "You seemed like you needed a moment. Besides, this one was a wonderful tour guide." She pinched Katelyn's cheek again 'causing the girl to huff.

Oliver turned to Eliza and held out his hand. "I'm Oliver Granger. That's Rose. This is our daughter Hermione," he greeted as Eliza shook his hand before he shook Narcissa's.

"Eliza Black. My daughter's the little blonde one over there playing with the Transformer toy," Eliza smiled, gesturing to the ten-year-old who smacked the toy over Kai's head. Rebekah burst out laughing and high-fived the girl.

Hermione whistled and Poppy picked her head up. The girl's eyes widened and she beamed. She scrambled around the parents and Hermione opened her arms, the little girl crashing into her.

"Hermie!" Poppy squealed as the older girl spun her around, "You're here! I mean, Mom said you would be, but—"

"Breathe," Hermione grinned, setting the girl down. Poppy inhaled and then exhaled, blinking. "I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see you, now could I?"

Poppy grinned back and hugged the girl tightly again.

Katelyn's chest warmed. Hermione was always protective over her friends, but she was especially protective about Poppy whenever the girl was with them. Like Katelyn was. It was nice.

"I don't even know them..." Eliza muttered in slight confusion, glancing at Camilla and Narcissa. The latter stared at her dryly before smacking the side of the woman's head. "Y-OUCH! Blimey, Cissy. Can you stop?" She rubs her ear as Katelyn snickers.

"I think she was talking about me, love," Camilla said and Narcissa made a noise, her face saying 'no shit.'

Eliza blinked then nodded. "Right," she said.

"Pardon my idiots of cousins," Narcissa smiled and reached over to shake Rose's hand, pushing Katelyn's head back so she could see the woman. Poppy and Hermione giggled at the huff Katelyn let out. "I am Narcissa Black. My son's around here somewhere. I have heard so much about young Hermione here."

"No. No, you haven't," Katelyn interrupted quickly, getting up from her mothers lap, "She has memory problems. She's thinking of somebody else."

Eliza snorted and dodged her cousins smack. "Kallinikos," Camilla scolded but the girl was grabbing Hermione's arm and pulling her away.

"Bye!" Katelyn tugged the girl along who tugged Poppy behind her. She quickly brought Hermione over to where Harry and Ron were sitting with most of the other kids. They seemed to fit right into the chaos that was Katelyn's cousins.

"You talk about me a lot?" Hermione asked with a teasing grin.

Katelyn's cheeks flushed. "Shut up, Hermione."

Hermione giggled and nudged her friend's shoulder with her own.

Katelyn swallowed nervously now that she realized it was her chance to pull Hermione away. The blonde looked down at Poppy who caught her look. The girl pouted and hugged Hermione. "I gotta go pee! Can you two take me? Please."

Hermione laughed, "Sure, Soda Pop." She holds out her hand and Poppy grins, taking it. Together, the three walk out of the room and toward Katelyn's bedroom. "Um, I know this isn't my house or anything, but I've been here long enough to know this is not where the bathroom is." She shoots Poppy an amused look.

"Whoops. Short term memory," Poppy said before quickly running out of the room.

Hermione blinked and watched her go. Katelyn quickly heads over to her desk where she had wrapped the gift she planned to give Hermione. "What are you two—" Hermione paused when she saw the gift in Katelyn's hands, "What is that?"

Katelyn's ears burned as she held out the gift. "Your present."

Hermione stared at her for a second before gently taking it. "You didn't have to get me anything," she said slowly, worried about what would be inside. She knew Katelyn had a lot of money, she always had. Katelyn had gotten her plenty of expensive things that she kept stashed away (she was afraid she'd break them).

"Well, I know you don't like it when I buy you expensive stuff," Katelyn sat down on her bed and patted the space beside her. Hermione took a seat. "So I gave you something much more useful. Something you've been wanting."

Hermione's brows furrowed and she quickly unwrapped it. Her eyes widened in shock. ROYAL SPELLBOOK VOLUME X. She ran her fingers over the cover, swallowing roughly.

"You'd eventually have to give it back, of course," Katelyn shifted nervously, rubbing the back of her neck, "But I thought—you're a quick reader so. You could learn what you wish and then, you know, just give it back later on."

"I..." Hermione looked over at her friend. She had seen Katelyn reading it a few times and expressed interest in it. The spells were cool, but Katelyn could tell the girl wanted to go more in depth. "Katelyn, I can't possibly—"

"You can," Katelyn nudged her friend's shoulder, "Nobody 'round here will miss it. If asked, I'll tell them I have it in my dorm. No biggy."

"I don't want you to get in trouble, Niko," Hermione frowned though she hugged the book close to her chest. Katelyn laughed a bit and pinched her friend's nose. Hermione huffed.

"I'll be fine. Swear," Katelyn grinned. Hermione smiled back and brushed some hair out of Katelyn's face. The girl's cheeks pinked. "I... Hermione, you look very pretty tonight," she said, kicking her feet as she quickly looked down.

Hermione blushed and looked away as well. "Well, you look quite handsome. Beautiful," she said, tapping her fingers nervously along the cover of the spellbook.

Katelyn glanced to the side, her cheeks red. Hermione glanced toward her, too. They met eyes and then quickly looked away from each other.

After a long moment of awkward silence, Hermione hesitantly reached out one of her hands, setting it beside Katelyn's on the bed. Slowly, she moved her pinky toward Katelyn's.

The blonde glanced down at the movement, holding her breath.

Hermione hesitated once more before wrapping her pinky around Katelyn's.

It's not like they never held hands. They do it all the time, especially when they were younger, but this felt different.

Like the way her mother holds Aunt Eliza's hand when she thinks Katelyn has gone to sleep. Or the way Aunt Eliza stares at their intertwined fingers like they were the answer to everything and anything in the world.

Katelyn swallowed and slowly linked their fingers together. She kind of wanted Hermione to be her answer.

She wondered if Hermione wanted it to.

"Nik, Hermione!"

The two jumped apart, looking up at the door just as Harry and Ron poked their heads in.

"Everybody's distracted!" Ron said as he waved them over, "Now's our time to search."

Hermione and Katelyn stood up and made their way over to the boys. Hermione's brows furrowed. "Are you three matching?"

Katelyn rolled her eyes and groaned while Hermione giggled. 

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AN: when your parents ship you but don't wanna pressure you so they just give knowing smiles and looks. (camilla had so much fun dressing the kids up, honestly. especially when ron and katelyn complained.) camilla crashing out on her siblings for being annoying is very much a me thing and i needed to include it 🙏