PROFESSOR HOOCH WAS DEFINITELY GONNA BE one of her favorite teachers. That may also be because she was the Quidditch director and referee. She had gray hair and yellow eyes. She was strict but cool. So Katelyn liked her.

Katelyn stood beside Ron, everyone else having picked their brooms already. She glanced around at the class. Gryffindors and Slytherins. Again. She stepped up beside the broom that was on the ground.

"H-Hey, Katelyn?" She looked up to find Neville Longbottom looking at her nervously, fidgeting with the end of his robe. She tilted her head at him, curious. "Mind if we... switch brooms?" He asked nervously, looking down at the ground after a second. She glanced at where his broom was and saw it between Draco and Goyle.

"Sure, Longbottom," she patted his shoulder and ruffled his hair. She took her place next to Neville's old broom while he deflated in relief and took hers. His cheeks were a bit red, from Katelyn touching him or the nervousness to ask, she didn't know. She fist-bumped Draco and looked over to where the professor was walking over.

"Good afternoon, class," Madam Hooch said as she walked between the two rows of brooms that were laid out in front of the students in the grass. It was their lesson about brooms. Katelyn honestly didn't know why she was in the class, but she wasn't gonna question it.

"Good afternoon, Madam Hooch," everyone chorused.

"Good afternoon, Amanda. You too, Black," the woman said, giving Katelyn a nod who gave one right back. Madam Hooch knew her aunt and uncle. She was there during some of Katelyn's quidditch games from smaller leagues refereeing her games. Katelyn saluted her while the woman backtracked slightly to stand in front of her. "What are you doing here? I would've expected McGonagall to have you in my advanced classes. Hmm." The woman continued before Katelyn could say anything.

Katelyn turned to look at Draco, blinking slowly. The platinum blonde shrugged back at her, shaking his head. Katelyn focused back on the woman.

"Welcome to your first flying lesson," Madam Hooch said, putting her hands on her hips as her yellow eyes burned into all the students' souls. "What are you waiting for? An invitation? Everyone, step up to the left side of their broomstick, to the right if you are left-handed," she instructed.

They all did as they were told (all of them except for Katelyn who had already been in that position).

"Stick your right hand over the broom and say, 'up'."

"Up," Katelyn said, leaning heavily on her left foot. Madam Hooch was right, she should be in more advanced broom classes, but since first-years are forbidden to have their own brooms and don't have much of a chance to get on the quidditch team in the first year, she must've wanted her to be 'normal'. Or whatever.

The broom flew into her hand effortlessly. She barely flinched, staring down at the piece of wood before looking over at Harry.

Everyone began to chant the word 'up' as they tried to get their broom to levitate into their hand. Hermione was staring at her in bewilderment from across the aisle while Katie just rolled her eyes with a scoff.

"Show off," Katie said and Katelyn winked at her, stuffing her hand in her pocket. Harry got the broom to levitate first try just as she did which makes sense, he had James' blood running through his body. He was a born quidditch player. Draco was the next to get it on the first try, grinning over at Katelyn.

She grinned back at him, giving him a high-five.

Hermione continued to try along with Katie, but neither of the two seemed to get it anywhere higher than a few inches off the ground. Katelyn wanted to help, but Ron got hit in the face with his broom making a surprised laugh fall from her mouth.

"Bloody hell," Draco snickered, trying and failing to contain his laugh. Katelyn snorted and looked away from him so they didn't get in trouble for laughing. "Remember when Joey did that his first time with a broom?" He asked, barking out a laugh.

Katie scoffed through her nose, glaring down at her broom as she tried not to laugh at the image that popped up in her head. Tears welled in Katelyn's eyes as she pressed her lips together tightly, trying to stay calm. Then she made eye contact with Katie.

Together, the three burst into laughter. Draco wheezed, holding his stomach as he bent over. Katie covered her face with her hands, laughing so hard that tears were falling from her eyes. Katelyn knelt down on the ground abruptly, arms wrapped around her stomach as she laughed so hard that it was silent.

None of them could breathe properly.

"Royal. Malfoy. Humphrey." The three quickly stopped laughing and stood up straight as Madam Pooch approached with her usual stoic expression. "I should've known you three would give me the most trouble." Katelyn scoffed through her nose, pressing her lips together again as her body wracked with laughter every so often. Katie could barely keep it together, staring at Madam Pooch intensely so she didn't look at the other two.

"Sorry, Madam," Draco said through a cough, exhaling deeply. The Professor rolled her eyes, spinning on her heel and walking away. Katelyn met Hermione's eyes only to be met with a deadpan stare. Katelyn snorted and put a hand over her face to stop herself from laughing and looking at her friend. Hermione cracked a small smile, shaking her head in amusement.

"Now, once you've got hold of your broom, I want you to mount it and grip it tight," Madam Pooch instructed and they all did as they were told. "You don't want to be sliding off the end. When I blow my whistle, I want each of you to kick off from the ground hard. Keep your brooms steady, hover for a moment, then lead forward slightly," she turned toward Katelyn with a sharp look, "and touch back down."

Katelyn nodded in understanding.

"On my whistle—3... 2..." She blew the whistle and suddenly, Neville Longbottom began to float in the air even though he hadn't moved an inch.

Katelyn frowned in confusion and eyed the boy curiously. "Longbottom, lean forward slightly," she told him as Madam Pooch walked over.

"M-M-Mr. Long—" He began to fly into the air, "Mr. Longbottom!" She called as he flew away from them. Harry called out to him, trying to warn him to be careful while everyone else gasped and whispered. Neville cried out in fright, holding the broom tightly as he flew.

"HELP!" Neville yelled, his voice growing distant as he zoomed into the sky.

"Come back down this instant!" Madam Hooch called after him (like he could hear 50 feet in the air). Katelyn quickly undid her robe, pulling it off and handing it to Hermione who was closest to her.

"What are you doing?" Hermione demanded, "And you really need to stop giving me your robes." Katelyn gave her a small smirk before whistling loudly. She paused for a half-a-second then sprinted forward, jumping and turning her body to the right, landing perfectly on her new Nimbus 2000. She shot into the sky after Neville.

"BLACK! GET YOUR ARSE BACK DOWN HERE!" Madam Hooch cried out, enraged at having two students in the air.

Katelyn merely leaned closer to her broom causing her speed to increase. She slowed to a stop a couple of feet from Neville whose broom was going everywhere. It reminded her of that time her mother had bewitched her aunt's broom and almost caused her to crash (it was a demonstration so Katelyn knew what a bewitched broom looked like).

"Neville!" She called over the wind and his screaming. He was terrified. "You need to relax or you won't be able to get back control of your broom!" She ducked when he flew over her, spinning a 360 before the broom continued to jerk side-to-side.

"I..." His broom dropped a few inches before going back up, "can't!..." His broom threw him to the side rather violently as if trying to shake him off, "relax!" He finally finished. He zipped past her, heading straight for the wall of the castle. He bashed into it three times, the broom flipping around every time.

"Bloody hell," Katelyn muttered. She zoomed after him to cut him off when suddenly his broom plummeted to the ground and pulled up, heading straight for Madam Hooch and the students. They all quickly scrambled and lunged out of the way. "Madam Hooch! Do something!" She yelled frustratedly as she zipped after the poor boy.

His broom flew past a statue of an old man holding a spear to the sky and Neville's robe got caught onto it, ripping him off his broom. Katelyn quickly maneuvered toward him, slowly standing up and balancing on the other end of the broom. She whistled gently and the broom slowly levitated upwards, letting Neville straddle it. His hands instantly gripped the wood, his breathing heavy and his poor body shaking like a leaf.

"Easy, Neville," Katelyn muttered, making sure not to look down so she doesn't lose her balance.

"My—my arm—" Neville stammered, slowly looking down at his left arm where it seemed to be dislocated. Katelyn didn't respond outwardly so as to not frighten him, but she grimaced on the inside.

"You know, you're the first Gryffindor first year to ride a broom this year," she said and he looked up at her. She took out a knife from her left pocket (she had been gifted it by Rebekah's mother for her eleventh birthday) and flicked it open. "That's a pretty big accomplishment. Even if it was an accident," Katelyn continued, cutting the fabric of the robe that was already ruined.

"It doesn't f–feel like one," he said, frowning. His body sagged slightly in relief as he no longer felt his robe almost choking him out.

Katelyn hummed, nodding. "Well, yeah, but I think you handled it pretty well," she said, squatting down slowly and untying his robe. She gently pulled it off of him and then righted her position.

The broom trembled under the weight of both of them, but Katelyn wasn't going to take much longer. She lowered the broom to the ground slowly as Neville gripped her shirt as much as he could with his dislocated arm and gripped the broom with the other.

"Everyone out of the way!" Madam Hooch yelled at the gaggle of first-years that were watching them. Their feet landed on the ground as the first-years parted, revealing the broom teacher.

Katelyn let the broom drop and helped Neville toward the woman. She whistled and the broom flew back to where it came from (her locker in the Slytherin locker room).

"Ow, ow, ow," Neville whined when Madam Hooch touched his arm. She paused in her movements and checked out the wound.

"Oh, dear, looks like a dislocated shoulder and broken wrist," she said and Katelyn sighed. "Good flying, Miss Black, but do listen to me next time. Come on Mr. Longbottom, I'll take you to the hospital wing," Madam Hooch said, taking Neville's weight from Katelyn and guiding him toward the entrance back to the castle. Hooch turned one last time to address the class. "Everyone's to keep their feet firmly on the ground while I take Mr. Longbottom to the hospital wing. Understand?" She gives them all a serious look, "if I see a single broom in the air, the one riding it will find themselves out of Hogwarts before they can say 'Quidditch'."

They all gathered in a half-circle cluster as they watched the two walk away. Katelyn came to stand beside Draco who was holding Neville's Remembrall.

Katie nudged her in the back and gave her an impressed nod. Katelyn shrugged, stuffing her knife back into her pocket. Hermione placed a hand on her forearm, holding onto it firmly. Katelyn's robe was resting on her arm that held the broom but made no move to give it back.

Katelyn frowned and she looked at the Remembrall. Neville. 'Who would want to bewitch Neville's broom?' She thought to herself. The poor boy has been through enough in his life, he doesn't need something playing life-threatening tricks on him. That could've ended much, much worse if the statue hadn't gotten him off the broom.

Then the realization hit Katelyn like a punch in the gut.

It was her broom before it was Nevilles.

"Did you see his face?" Crabbe asked as he plucked the Remembrall out of Draco's hand, "when he got his robe caught?" He tossed it into the air and then caught it.

"Maybe if the fat lump had given this a squeeze, he would've remembered to fall on his fat ass," Goyle added, grinning as he bumped shoulders with Crabbe.

"Don't make fun of his weight, ravine," Katelyn said with a glare, "he was terrified. He handled it pretty well all considering. If it was you, you would've been shitting in your knickers." She gave him a malicious look, smirking evilly at the two boys.

Goyle backed down and Crabbe flinched back. Another first-year Slytherin that was the bane of Katelyn's existence and the boy that her father wanted her to marry when they were of age, stepped forward, snatching the Remembrall out of Crabbe's hand.

Noah Learman. He wasn't bad looking. Green eyes, dark brown shaggy hair. Katelyn already knows a few people who were fawning over him. All Katelyn wanted to do was gag.

Noah wrapped his arm around Draco's shoulders, shaking the ball in his face. The platinum blonde shoved him off, face scrunched in disgust. Draco handed Katelyn his broom and quickly brushed off his robe as if Noah had infected it.

"What's wrong with you, Malfoy?" Noah demanded as Katelyn handed Draco back his broom. The platinum blonde glanced at Katelyn who raised an eyebrow and Draco turned to blankly stare back at Noah. "Are you getting soft, Malfoy?" He sneered, stepping forward so he was inches away from Draco.

The platinum blonde scrunched his nose in disgust at the boy's breath. Katelyn shoved Noah back, "back off, Learman. He's just doesn't want to be a bloke after a kid literally broke his wrist and dislocated his shoulder. Now, give me the damn ball and go gallivant about your lack of hygiene somewhere else," she snapped, eyes filled with a calm rage as she held out her hand.

Hermione grabbed her other arm as Katelyn stepped toward him. The blonde didn't move an inch after the brunette grabbed her, but she still held out her hand and glared at Learman.

"Just give it to her," Harry butted in, stepping to Katelyn's other side.

Noah looked down at the Remembrall and then up at the two standing before him. "No," he said simply, "I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find." He tossed the ball into the air and caught it before mounting his broom and flying through the students causing them to make a path. "How 'bout on the roof?" He taunted and flew into the air.

They all watched him go and Katelyn stared at him with a blank expression. If anything, she'll just buy Neville a new Remembrall and charm it so only he could touch it and stuff like this wouldn't happen.

"What's the matter, babe?" Noah called back, grinning evilly down at the group. Katelyn scrunched her nose at the nickname, disgusted as it came from his mouth. Katelyn grabbed Draco's broom, but Hermione yanked on her shirt, causing her to bend over slightly and look Hermione right in the eyes.

"You are not going up there," she said seriously, glaring at Katelyn. The blonde's ears turned bright red and she nodded quickly. Hermione loosened her grip but didn't let go completely.

Harry, seeing the reaction to the nickname and the way Hermione wasn't going to let Katelyn do anything, mounted his broom.

"Harry, no way!" Hermione quickly went to his side, giving him a scolding look (she still kept a grip on Katelyn), "you heard what Madame Hooch said. Besides, you don't even know how to fly." He flew into the air anyway, disregarding her completely. Hermione exhaled deeply, watching him go with a deadpan expression, "what an idiot."

Harry and Noah faced off for a moment before Noah threw the Remembrall as hard as he could. Harry went after it, almost knocking Noah off his broom. Noah landed back on the ground and Katelyn quickly stalked over to him.

"What is your problem, Noah?" She demanded, glaring at him.

The boy raised an eyebrow. "I was just having a bit of fun, lighten up, Katelyn," he scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"That's not your property. It's Neville's! He didn't deserve that because he's an 'easy target'," she hissed.

Noah shook his head. "If you're so bloody pissed, why didn't you come get it from me? I gave you the opportunity—"

"Katelyn," Hermione grabbed Katelyn's sleeve, giving Noah a glare. The blonde looked at her.

"This has nothing to do with you, mudblood—"

Katelyn shoved him. Hard. Noah stumbled back and landed on his arse. He winced as a sharp pain flew up his wrist. "You're getting on my last nerve, Learman," Katelyn hissed, clenching her jaw as she glared down at him.

He glared right back and stood up. "You're pathetic, you know. You've always been, but this is another level. Hanging out with a muggle? Your father must be so proud. I'm surprised you haven't been burned off your family tree. Just wait till your father hears about your little girlfriend here, he's gonna have a field day with her—"

Katelyn tackled him to the ground, throwing a punch at his face. He cried out in pain and she pinned his arm on either side of his head, glaring down at him with a murderous rage in her eyes.

"You're not going to say a thing to my father," she whispered dangerously as Noah shook in fear, unable to look away from her eyes, "and if I even catch a hint of you opening that big mouth of yours, I will not hesitate to be just like my mother and make your life hell."

Then she stood up, dusting off her knees and stepping away from the boy. Her face was wiped clean of the anger and threat that made the boy quiver on the ground in terror. She stepped up beside Hermione, smiling at her while the brunette merely stared at her with an unreadable look in her eye.

"What?" Katelyn asked innocently. Draco and Katie smacked their forehead from a couple of feet behind them.

Hermione blinked, her cheeks turning pink as she shook her head.

"Katelyn, please refrain from scaring the other students," McGonagall called behind her as she walked Harry back toward the school.

The blonde looked over at her godmother, surprised to see her. The woman didn't even bat an eye at her, disappearing with Harry.

"Oops," Katelyn deadpanned.

◂◊●◯●◊▸

KATELYN WALKED THROUGH THE corridor trying to get to her common room. She eyed the time on her watch. She had maybe fifteen minutes to get there. It was a good amount of time, especially for a campus this big. Her and Flint had to finalize plans for quidditch. 

"Did you hear Harry Potter is the new Gryffindor Seeker?" Nearly-Headless Nick said as he passed with another ghost on his arm. She looked on, bewildered. She hadn't heard that. That must've been what McGonagall was talking to Harry about 'cause no one would kick Harry Potter out of Hogwarts.

She frowned and shook her head a bit. It didn't matter, she had to focus on her own quidditch try-outs today. It's been all the common room could talk about since she and Flint put up the flyers two days ago. We had worked it so it was at a time when everyone who wanted to could come and try out.

She heard Harry's voice ahead of her and looked up from the drills Flint and her would be running tomorrow. She saw him with three redheads. "Harry!" She called and pushed through people to get to the boy who paused and looked back at her. She wrapped her arm around his shoulder and his went around her waist. "Why didn't you tell me you were Gryffindor's new seeker?" She demanded, ruffling his hair good-naturedly.

"McGonagall said you would know," Harry shrugged with an apologetic look in his eyes. "Sorry, Katelyn," he said.

She merely pecked his temple. She looked at the two older Weasley boys, the twins George and Fred. They were beaters for their quidditch team. "We were just talking about how Harry was the youngest quidditch player in a century. And the first first-year to be on a quidditch team," Ron said, looking all too smug as he stared at Katelyn.

The blonde merely raised an eyebrow at him. All the Weasleys knew that almost every member of the Royal family plays or played quidditch and has broken some kind of record or been given a title.

"Good for you, puffo," Katelyn said, kissing his cheek.

"I told you I don't like that name," Harry complained, pouting. Katelyn merely grinned.

"Quidditch is a rough game. But, nobody has died in years. Someone will go missing for a month or 2 though!" Fred finished as Harry, Ron, and Katelyn split off from them to walk through the corridor.

"Don't listen to them, Harry," Katelyn said, "you know aunt Eliza's been playing it since she could walk, so did my mum! You'll be fine." She didn't mention anything about his dad playing since whenever someone brought James up, he'd get sad.

"Quidditch is great," Ron agreed as they continued walking.

Harry paused and ducked out from underneath Katelyn's arm, frowning at the both of them. "But I've never played Quidditch. What if I make a fool of myself?" He said, looking at the two with frustration.

"You won't," Hermione said as she popped up beside Katelyn. The girl jumped a bit at the sudden appearance. "It's in your blood, Harry." Harry and Ron looked at each other in confusion and curiosity. Harry looked at Katelyn and the blonde nodded her head. "Here, come," Hermione said, linking her arm with Katelyn's and gesturing for the two boys to follow them.

Hermione guided them into the school and down a couple of corridors before they got to a trophy case. Hermione pointed to the plaque with a grin. Ron's jaw dropped while Harry stared in awe.

CHASER
James
POTTER

"Harry, you never told me your father played quidditch too," Ron said in shock, giving his friend a look before staring at the plaque.

"I... didn't know," Harry breathed, shaking his head a bit. He looked over at Katelyn who gave him a small smile.

"Your mum was one of the best Slytherin keepers," Hermione said, looking over at Katelyn as the four passed through the threshold of the stairs. Katelyn and her both jumped a bit when the railing behind them slid into the wall.

Katelyn eyed it suspiciously before looking back at Hermione. "She was, yeah. The Royal family kind of carries a legacy in all the houses about being some of the best Quidditch players. But, she said she joined because she liked someone and they were on the team," she explained with a shrug. Her mother had left out the part of 'who'. Even her aunt Eliza wouldn't tell her.

"Really? That's really cool. Are you thinking about—" The four were all suddenly jerked to the left as the stairs began to move. Katelyn grabbed Hermione's waist with one hand and the railing with the other. Hermione grabbed Katelyn's jacket tightly and gripped the railing with another.

"What's happening?" Harry asked hurriedly, staring down at the floor.

"The staircases change, remember?" Hermione said.

The staircase stopped. "Go," Katelyn told the two boys, pushing Ron slightly to get him to move. They all quickly stepped onto the platform so they were off the staircase before it started moving again.

Harry pushed open the door at the end of the platform and the four of them stepped into a dark and cold corridor. It was dusty and grimy, definitely not a place people went to.

Ron gulped as he looked around. "Anyone have the feeling we shouldn't be here?" He asked.

"Because we're not," Hermione replied, "this is the third floor. It's forbidden."

Suddenly, a flame started on top of the pillar next to Harry. The four looked at it, Ron looking terrified. Katelyn turned her head toward the door when she sensed a presence. "Oh, Merlin," she said as she made eye contact with Filch's cat.

They turned all turned at Katelyn's utterance and froze at the sight of the cat. "Oh, no," Hermione whispered, "it's Filch's cat!"

Harry was already moving when he said, "run!" The four quickly took off down the corridor. The flames lit up as they went, causing a trail to be left behind. "Quick. Let's hide through that door," he said. She and Harry got there first and tried opening it up, but the thing wouldn't budge. "It's locked!" He exclaimed, frustrated.

"That's it. We're done for," Ron whimpered.

"Oh, move over!" Hermione said exasperatedly, shoving Harry out of the way and pointing her wand at the lock. "Alohomora," she cast and the lock unclicked. Katelyn stared at her in awe as Hermione pulled open the door. The blonde jumped out of the way before she got hit, and pushed Ron into the room when he didn't move.

She closed the door behind herself and pressed her back against the wall with Hermione across from her.

"You read through the material already?" Katelyn asked her, surprised. She shouldn't have been, Hermione was ahead in all of the classes and was already the leading student. Hermione nodded, giving her a grin. Katelyn scoffed through her nose, hiding a smile as she faced the door.

"'Alohomora'?" Ron repeated, giving Hermione a confused look.

"Standard Book of Spells, chapter 7," she explained as if it was obvious. Katelyn shushed them when she heard Filch. Katelyn heard him walk away and gave Hermione a small nod. "Filch is gone," the brunette told the two boys as she and Katelyn stepped away from the door.

"Probably thinks this door's locked," Ron said.

"It was locked," Hermione told the boy.

Harry had frozen, staring at something in front of him. He grabbed Katelyn's arm when she moved to step past him. She looked at him and then what he was looking at and froze just as he did. "Merlin and Morgana," she muttered.

"Locked for good reason," Harry said. The other two froze, their eyes widening at the sight of the large three-headed dog asleep in front of them. It began to wake up, one of its large heads yawning while the other two blinked rapidly to get rid of the drowsiness.

It growled at them. Hermione, Harry, and Ron all took a deep breath in sync and then started screaming. Katelyn flinched as they suddenly ran toward the door. She rolled her eyes at the three and stepped forward, raising her hand. The dog stopped growling, the three heads staring down at her.

"Hey, buddy," Katelyn cooed and the middle head ducked down into the hand that she raised.

"A Royal!" The left head said excitedly, the large tail wagging in the back and hitting the walls with loud thumps.

Katelyn yelped when the right head-butted into her side, almost knocking her over. "Easy, boy. Easy," she said, scratching behind the right head's ears. "What are you hiding?" She asked. There was a reason this floor was forbidden and with the robbery at Gringotts, Katelyn is beginning to think it's all connected. Why hide a three-headed dog away in a small room if not to protect something?

"We can't tell you that," the middle head said in a huff. Katelyn raised an eyebrow.

"Ma stai nascondendo qualcosa," Katelyn smirked. The three heads growled at her, but she wasn't fazed. She scratched underneath each of their chins. "Come si chiama?" She tilted her head. [But you're hiding something... What's your name?]

"Fluffy," the three heads replied at once, causing her to grimace as her brain rattled in her skull. She blinked a couple of times to get rid of the dizzy spell.

"That's... alright. You're not so scary, are ya?" She said and the left head licked her face. She blinked at it, flicking off the extra saliva (and there was a lot.) "Gross," she tells him with a smile, "we're gonna go now. Verrò a trovarti più tardi." [I'll come see you later.]

The three heads barked at her excitedly and she turned around, pausing when she saw them all staring at her in astonishment. She raised an eyebrow at them, confused. Then she remembered, despite it being somewhat common knowledge, not everyone knew she could talk to animals.

"Do any of you read a history book?" She smirked, brushing past them and walking out. The three watched her go, unmoving. Fluffy growled and the three all but scrambled out of the room, following after the blonde. Hermione locked the door behind them.

The three quickly left the corridor after making sure it was safe and then they had to split up.

"Blimey, I've got to go," Katelyn muttered as she looked at her watch. She was supposed to meet with Flint ten minutes ago. They still had plans to finalize for tomorrow's tryouts. "Bye, guys," she was halfway down the stairs before she turned back to give them a serious look, "and please, don't get yourselves killed." Then she continued on her way.

◂◊●◯●◊▸

TURNS OUT, WORKING ON quidditch plans was an all-night task when your co-captain was none other than Marcus Flint. He kept wanting to change things when they were so close to having them finalized. One thing they had to come to an agreement on was the colors. Obviously, it was green and silver.

During scrimmages, Katelyn's team would be all green with silver numbers. Marcus' team would be all silver with green numbers.

It was well past curfew. Maybe four or so in the morning. It was a Saturday though so they didn't have to go to class so they weren't worried about having to sleep-walk through the day.

"Alright, I can't. My brain feels like it's going to bloody melt out of my ears," Flint whined, thumping his head against the coffee table. Katelyn looked away from staring at the ceiling where the creatures were passing and looked at her co-captain.

Katelyn hummed and jumped up, grabbing the back of Marcus' sleep shirt. She yanked him up and he yelped in surprise at the ease she did it with. "Get your jacket, idiota," she said as she walked away from him.

They were both in their sleep wear. Marcus had on black silk pants and a black silk button-up. It had his family crest on the right breast pocket. Katelyn was merely wearing red and black flannel pants along with a washed-out pink t-shirt that she's pretty sure she stole from Hermione over the summer a year ago.

"I'm serious, can you tell me your work-out routine, 'cause dayum!" Marcus said, shaking off the shock from her show of strength. It was surprising considering how much taller he was then her. He shook his head and rushed to get his jacket.

They both met downstairs wearing their jackets and shoes a couple minutes later.

"Where are we going, shorty?" He asked as they left the common room.

"Shh," Katelyn hissed, smacking his chest and putting a finger to her lips. The last thing they needed was to awake Snape. Marcus raises his hands in surrender before zipping his lips. Together, the two ventured out of the dungeon and to the kitchen, Katelyn keeping a tight hold on his wrist.

When they got to the kitchen, they saw the chef elves already hard at work, cleaning pots and pans, making a crap-ton of food. One of the elves popped up right in front of them causing Flint to yelp and move to smack her.

Katelyn slapped his hand away–hard–and gave Flint a glare. "Don't touch 'em," she muttered darkly making the boy gulp and nod quickly. She then turned back to the elf who bowed to her.

"Mistress Royal, good to see you again. What can we do for you?" The elf asked kindly, grasping Katelyn's fingers and bringing her over to the large island. Katelyn waved to some of the elves who were putting away plates and things.

"I was just wondering if we could have some coffee, if it's no trouble," Katelyn murmured, tossing the elf up onto the island when she gestured to it. The elf turned to face her, nodding dutifully.

"Of course, Mistress Royal. Who is your friend?" The elf asked, looking at the boy standing behind the blonde. He was staring at all the elves in astonishment, his mouth open slightly.

"This is Marcus Flint," Katelyn gestured to the boy offhandedly as one of the other elves magically slid two cups of coffee to them. Katelyn's was prepared just how she liked, lots of sugar and creamer. "Thank you!" Katelyn grinned and the elf ducked their head bashfully, rushing off once more.

"Master Flint, what do you like in your coffee?" The elf in front of them asked.

Marcus head whipped toward them and he blinked. "Oh, uh, nothing. Just black is fine," he said with an awkward smile on his face. It was weird being nice to the servant elves.

Katelyn took her cup, wrapping her hands around it and bringing it to her lips. "Just like your soul," she said into the cup, taking a sip.

Marcus scowled and smacked her on the back of the head. Katelyn grimaced and shot him a glare. "Are we hanging out in here?" He asked, glancing around uncomfortably. He wasn't used to being around this many elves much less being nice to them.

"No," Katelyn said, smiling at the elf as she pulled Marcus out of the room, "thank you, Crinkle!" She brought Marcus to the bridge, the cool air hitting their skin and making them shiver. "You know, they don't deserve the abuse we give them," she said as she leaned against the wall, looking out at the dark sky.

Marcus grimaced and did the same. "You're right," he said quietly, resting his chin on his hand as he took a sip of his coffee. "They kinda creep me out though," he muttered.

Katelyn hummed and side-eyed the boy. "You think Slytherin's could ever be... better? I mean, I know we're not all bad and we're not all a bunch of abusive, arrogant, shit heads, but some of us are still... pretty crappy. I know a bunch of us are scared of our parents, me included. My father scares the shit outta me, but... I also stand up for what I think is right. And most of the stuff that I've seen us do and become isn't that."

Katelyn pauses and stares down into her coffee.

"I know it's not just Slytherin's. I've met some pretty crappy Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs... Gryffindors," Katelyn drawled. Marcus huffed, rolling his eyes at the G-Word. "I think we can be better. We can do better. And I want that," she said.

Marcus glanced at the blonde who looked like she was lost in her head. "Is this about that mud—muggle?" He quickly fixed himself when he saw the murderous look on her face. Katelyn's shoulders sagged and she looked away from him.

"Hermione is my friend and, yeah, I hate the fact that a lot of Slytherin's call her names just because she doesn't have parents who are magic. I hate that a lot of Slytherin's make Trinity and Granite feel like shit because their muggle-born! We're all people, we all have magic. I just don't get it. But no, it's not just about her," she rambled, ducking her head and sipping at her coffee.

Marcus laughed at her. 

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AN: poor neville :(