Disenchanted

“For weeks you carry around this book, you practically sleep with it, you won’t let it go.” Hermione said with an annoyed look as they walked down the snowy path towards Hogsmeade, “And you have no desire to find out who the half blood prince is.”

“I didn’t say I wasn’t curious, and I don’t sleep with it.” Harry said in an exasperated tone, causing Kitty to giggle at him, and wrap an arm around his shoulders.

“I’m sure Ron can vouch for you Harry,” Kitty smiled glancing at the ginger who was frowning too.

“Can’t say I can,” Ron said, causing Hermione to give Harry a pointed, knowing stare, “I like to have a nice chat before I go to bed. Now all you do is read that bloody book, it’s like being with Hermione.”

Kitty and Harry chuckled, as Hermione stopped her walking and glared at Ron, before shaking out her hair, “Well I was curious. So I went to the l-”

“Library.” Ron, Harry and Kitty said in unison, giving Hermione a
cheeky grin as the crossed the snow covered, stone bridge.

“Did you find anything?” Kitty asked as she kicked around snow in her walk.

“No, and I looked through everything and their was not a single reference to the Half Blood Prince.”

“Well that can only mean one thing,” Harry said with a grin as they reached the main entrance of the small town.

“What?” Hermione asked suspiciously.

“That the person is obviously not a threat.”

“Harry!” Hermione said exasperatedly, “How can you put that much trust into a book?”

“I’m not trusting it,” Harry said with an eye roll, as they all glanced around the shops, waving at fellow classmates that were in Honedukes, before they walked towards the Three Broom Sticks.

“Then what is it you are doing?” Hermione said as they quickly grabbed a table, Ron taking a seat next to Harry, Kitty seating to his left, and Hermione directly across from her.

“Nothing you need to worry about Hermione,” Harry said, looking dazed for a moment, before he focused on Professor Slughorn who was seated at the bar.

“Can I get you all anything?”

Kitty smiled at the waiter, who gave her a double take and blushed darkly, “Four butter-beers please-”

“A little bit of ginger in mine please,” Hermione piped up before turning towards Ron and Harry once again.

“Oh, bloody hell.” Ron groaned and made a disgusted face as he looked to his left, behind Kitty, who glanced around and stared surprised, her eyebrows hiding up into her bangs. Ginny and Seamus were cooped up in a booth in the corner of the pub giggling and kissing.

“Well, they make a cute couple,” Kitty said with a chuckle.

Ron gave her a repulsed look, and groaned, “I’d like to leave.”

Hermione scoffed and rolled her eyes as the drinks were placed infront of them. Kitty briefly ignored them as she sipped on her warm-cold drink deeply, a smiling growing on her face before she glanced up and saw Malfoy starring at her, a surprised look on his face, a look of surprise that he had been spotted gawking.

“What does he want?” Ron sneered, causing Hermione to turn around, as Harry narrowed his eyes, and they watched as Draco dissappeared out the door.

“Always suspicious Malfoy is,” Harry stated leaning around Kitty to see if he could catch a glance of him out the snow covered windows.
Kitty merely rolled her eyes, as her foot tapped noisily on the floor, as she was so tempted to head out into the snow after Malfoy.

“Harry my boy!”

Kitty watched over the rim of her butterbeer as Professor Slughorn approached the table with a lazy smile on his face.

“Hello Professor.” Harry said with a grin.

Kitty bit the inside of her lip, before she chugged down the rest of her beverage wincing as she hiccuped before pulling out some change and placing it by her drink, saluting Hermione as she headed out the door.

“Bit obvious don’t you think, Jenkins.”

As Kitty made her way down the snowy streets, turning corner after corner in directions Draco would’ve turned on she jumped as she stopped at the path that lead towards the shrieking shack, glancing unsure at the blonde boy who gave her a smirk.

“What’d you mean?” she asked softly walking closer to him, watching as he glanced down her body and up to her eyes again.

“I mean, you sped out of the shop, before Mudblood Granger could even tell you that you have moustache of butter beer foam.” he chuckled darkly, watching as the small girls face erupted in pink tint before she used her mitten covered hand to wipe her face before sending a sharp glare at Malfoy who was walking down the path.

“I thought you had detention,” she stated sharply as she stumbled down the snowy path, after the boy, curiousity glistening in her eyes.

“Since when do you pay attention to what I do, or don’t do?” Malfoy asked with an amused tone as he watched the girl trip, before glancing at him warily.

“I can do what I want,” she stated softly, as she caught herself with her gloved hand as she fell backwards.

“So you don’t care what Potter and Pals think?” he said in a dark tone as the reached the wired fence that separated them from the shack.

“No, I do care-”

“Doesn’t seem like it, if you’re still here,” Malfoy said in a smug tone.

“I do care what they think, I just don’t let it influence me entirely.” Kitty said with an eye roll as she stood beside Malfoy leaning against the wooden post.

As she stared straight ahead, Draco couldn’t help but glance at the girl out of the corner of his eyes with hesitant curiousity. She was plain, Draco thought before pulling his gaze rapidly as she turned to him her lips pressed together in a smile, before turning back and gazing at the house.

“You know, if you did ditch detention McGonagall will give you double-”

“Why do you care?” he asked her hotly, watching as the smile fell from her face and watched as she chewed nervously on the inside of her cheek.

“I’m allowed to care, aren’t I?” she asked softly, shoving her hands in her coat before walking to a log a few feet away, ridding of the wet snow with a whip of her wand, before she sat down.

“Yeah but you shouldn’t,” Draco said walking towards the log watching as the girl waved her wand around with delicate flicks of the wrist, making the snow on the ground rise up slowly and in thin bunches before making them drop back down.

“You’ve never give me reason not to care,” Kitty said softly, testing the waters as she spoke, watching as Draco’s face flashed hotly, before he glared.

“What if I give you a reason now Mudblood.” Draco said haughtly, before his face fell as he stared at the bored girl.

“I’d know you’re faking it.” she said with a tired sigh, rolling her neck back before glancing at him with a teasing smile. Draco swallowed dryly, he nerves shot as the girl continued to stare at him, his face was burning, before he haughtily glanced away.

“What if I wasn’t?” he asked in a cool voice.

“Then I’d say you’d have to be a spectacular actor,” she smiled thoughtfully.

As Kitty walked through the common room entrance later that evening. Her face flushed pink from the cold and from giddiness. Her hand was tingling. Before she had walked through the main entrance doors, she had to depart from Draco. After their ‘conversations’ at the shrieking shack, the two had remained there until late in the day, when the sun was begining to set and they heard strange noises from within the forest, and decided it was time to return to the castle. They walked in silence, not needing to worry about eyes that would see them and gossip, because their were none. Before Kitty made the first move and walked towards the doors, Draco grabbed her hand swiftly. He just wanted to feel the touch of her skin against his. And the feeling it sparked in both of them worried them.

“I always knew he was capable of something like this-”

“Is she okay-?”

“He did seem suspicious when he was in Hogsmeade, but always is-”

“Kitty!” Hermione exclaimed as the small girl finally made her ways through the door,

“Where have you been?”

Kitty gave Hermione a frown as all eyes of landed on her, “Hogsmeade?”

Hermione narrowed her eyes, “All this time by yourself?”

“Yes, I can make it on my own Hermione.” Kitty snapped at the bushy haired girl who immediately gave her friend a shocked look, before sitting down once more, beside Ron and Harry.

“We were just worried Kitty.” Harry said.

“Why, what happened?” Kitty asked leaning against the couch.

“You didn’t hear?” Ron asked surprised.

“Hear what?” Kitty asked with a frown.

“You didn’t hear the scream when you were in Hogsmeade?” Harry asked with narrowed eyes.

“No?”

“Katie Bell was curse Kitty.” Hermione said quickly, wringing her hands, “She’s at St. Mungo’s now.”

“Do they know who did it?”

“It was a cursed necklace...” Ron trailed off.

“And- as always Harry jumped to suspicion, and well-”

“Well what?” Kitty asked hesitantly.

“They’re blaming Malfoy.”