Early in the morning, Harry finished breakfast at the Leaky Cauldron, where he was currently staying, and then wandered off into Diagon Alley.
Over the past few days he'd already spotted plenty of familiar classmates coming to buy their things. It was a novel feeling, and he was thoroughly enjoying himself.
After making a loop around Diagon Alley without running into any young wizards he knew, he was just about to head back for a rest when he saw Kate emerge from behind a wall.
"Kate!"
He hurried over to greet her, thrilled, and even told her the whole story of why he'd stormed off from home.
"I honestly can't believe it — I used magic on Aunt Marge, but Minister Fudge didn't show the slightest sign of wanting to punish me!"
Kate listened for a while, thought it over carefully, then spread her hands. "You've probably just got good luck."
Last year, when Dobby used magic at Harry's house, the Ministry of Magic had mistaken it for Harry breaking the rules and sent a warning letter over.
Now Fudge, as Minister of Magic, had clearly changed his tune — and it was all because Sirius had escaped from prison.
He was worried Harry might learn that Sirius had betrayed his parents and go looking for revenge.
If the famous Savior were to die during his term, it wouldn't just be a permanent stain on his political career — it would also bring Dumbledore down on his head.
Letting Harry's matter slide, for now, could only work in his favour.
As for the political calculations behind it all — better not to let a kid like Harry, barely thirteen, in on any of that.
She exchanged a few pleasantries with Harry, then claimed she still had things to buy and excused herself.
The first stop was Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. In just one year, her height had shot up like bamboo after rain, and she was now nearly a hundred and sixty-three centimetres tall.
At this rate, she'd probably reach over a hundred and seventy as an adult — far beyond anything she'd predicted for herself before.
By the time she came out of the robe shop, Diagon Alley had already filled up with people, and the Quidditch supplies shop drew the biggest crowd of all, a cluster of little heads packed together at its doorway.
Kate glanced over from a distance and spotted the newly developed Firebolt on display at the shop entrance.
It was currently the fastest broomstick in the world — even professional teams had ordered several of them.
A broomstick like that was, of course, wildly popular among the children.
But to match its coveted looks and performance, its price was outrageously high.
With Kate's current finances, she could certainly afford one.
But for a flying dropout like her, riding the cheapest practice broom and riding a Firebolt made no difference at all.
After one more look at the crowd of onlookers, Kate cleared her throat, turned, and walked into the bookshop.
She bought the books she needed, and while she was at it she helped the shop manager work out how to subdue those copies of The Monster Book of Monsters that loved to bite one another.
After all, her family had a stake in the shop, so she ought to put in some effort.
Ten minutes later, Kate came out cradling a stack of now well-behaved books. She looked around, bought two ice creams, and walked over to a shady spot to wait.
After a while, a "boy" with pale blond hair finally slipped away from the crowd and hurried over.
"Here, have this." Kate held out one of the ice creams, which was already starting to melt.
Malfoy eyed the ice cream with a touch of distaste. "You actually eat this sort of thing? It's for little kids."
As if you aren't a little kid yourself.
Kate wasn't about to indulge her. "Are you eating it or not? If not, give it back."
And with that she reached out to take it, only for Malfoy to dodge nimbly aside.
"You already gave it to me, so it's mine!" The young lady hastily stuffed the whole thing into her mouth in two or three bites, then quickly began puffing out cold breaths, frozen stiff by it.
The adorably foolish sight made Kate break into laughter — until the flustered, indignant young lady glared at her, and she clapped a hand over her mouth.
Yes, from the very start she'd arranged to tour Diagon Alley together with Malfoy.
She'd originally only meant to invite Hermione, but this young lady's letter had arrived a few days early, written in a haughty tone that said, in essence, how very reluctantly she was doing this, but that she was writing at her father's insistence.
Since Kate had refused to visit Malfoy Manor as a guest, then wandering around somewhere — anywhere — with her would do just as well.
Kate had fallen silent after reading it. She'd meant to refuse outright, but then it occurred to her that she and Malfoy were, after all, in the same house, seeing each other day in and day out, and turning her down flatly seemed a bit unwise.
This was probably the sense of "compromise" baked into the bones of every person from China.
So she'd made a deal with Malfoy: in crowded places they'd pretend not to see each other, and only draw close once they reached somewhere quieter.
She'd even prepared an excuse — because Harry was staying at the Leaky Cauldron, and if he spotted them, the two of them would be exposed.
So from the moment she'd entered Diagon Alley, Malfoy had stayed on the far side of the crowd, silently trailing after her.
Only once she'd finished her shopping did Malfoy appear alone to join her.
Looking at it this way, the young lady had graciously lowered herself to extend the invitation, and yet the whole thing had ended up like a spy rendezvous.
"Now that the shopping's done, shall we go out and look around?" Kate suggested.
Malfoy had just swallowed her ice cream. She hesitated and glanced back at the spot where the crowd was still thronging.
As Slytherin's Seeker, she had naturally been one of those onlookers packed into that crowd just a moment ago.
If her hair hadn't been so eye-catching, Kate might not have been able to pick her out of the crowd at a single glance.
"Don't want to go?" Kate read her thoughts, polished off the rest of her own ice cream in a few bites, and took her hand of her own accord. "Come on, let's go look together!"
And with that she pulled her into the crowd, and after a great deal of squeezing they finally forced their way to the front, close enough to make out the words on the sign beside the Firebolt.
"The fastest broomstick in the world… price on request?" Kate raised an eyebrow and turned to her. "Aren't you going to have your father buy you one?"
Malfoy shook her head, deflated. "He won't agree to it. Just last year my father bought a Nimbus 2001 for every member of the Slytherin team."
True enough — that model was outrageously expensive too, and buying seven at once made it plain that Lucius had splashed out only to get his daughter onto the team.
Even with the Malfoy family's wealth, there was a return on investment to consider.
Kate tilted her head to study the wistful look on Malfoy's face, thought for a moment, and said, "Actually, I'm thinking of getting a new broom too. What do you think of the Comet 260?"
"What?" Malfoy wrinkled her nose. "Compared to the Firebolt, the Comet 260 is a joke."
"But it's plenty practical for me." Kate arched her brows and, brooking no argument, made to drag her inside. "Come on, let's go take a look!"
Reluctance was written all over Malfoy's face. "No, I want to stay here and look at the Firebolt a while longer!"
Unable to budge her, Kate could only let go with a helpless shrug. "Fine, then I'll just go in and look on my own."
She pushed the door open with a light step, leaving Malfoy still pressed against the glass display case, gazing dreamily at the Firebolt.
"Malfoy?" A familiar voice came from behind her.
She turned around, brows knitting. "Potter? You're here too?"
Unlike in the original works, aside from that one time in first year when Malfoy had brazenly snatched away Neville's Remembrall, the two of them had never clashed again.
So there wasn't much dislike between them — just an ordinary classmate relationship.
"Mm, I've been coming here every day lately to look at the Firebolt." Harry kept a slight distance from her and answered politely.
Malfoy pursed her lips. She had no interest in trading barbs with Harry — right now she just wanted to gaze a little longer at this broom of her dreams.
She had no idea how long she'd been looking; the wizards crowded around her had cycled through several groups, and Harry had had his fill of looking too.
Though he had no idea why Malfoy was here all alone, he had no intention of asking.
Only after he'd left did Kate come out of the shop with her hands on her hips, casting a glance in the direction he'd gone.
It was a good thing she'd spotted Harry outside while she was in the shop, or else the fact that she and Malfoy were together couldn't have been kept secret.
Turning her head, she found that Malfoy was somehow still staring at the Firebolt — only from a different angle now.
She shook her head helplessly, squeezed into the crowd, and hauled her out by force. "Any longer and it'll be dark out."
"But…" Malfoy still rose onto her toes, unwilling to give up. Yet at her current height, tiptoeing was useless — she couldn't have seen inside even if she'd jumped.
Kate slung an arm over her shoulder, amused. "I went in and asked for you just now. One Firebolt costs more than all seven of those Nimbus 2001s your father sponsored put together."
"You really went and asked!" Malfoy's eyes went wide with astonishment, but her little face soon drooped again. "That's far too expensive…"
"It is a competition-grade broom, after all." Kate spread her hands in feigned helplessness, then suddenly broke into a smile.
"But I've been thinking it over, and you were right — the Comet 260 really is a step down. So I just went in and ordered a Firebolt. It should arrive in about two weeks."
At this Malfoy forgot all about keeping a low profile, her voice shooting up at once. "You ordered a Firebolt? But you can't even play Quidditch…"
"But I can ride a broom." Kate raised her brows, unwilling to concede. "Are you the only one allowed to use a good broom, and I'm not?"
Malfoy's thoughts were a bit of a tangle. "But — but it's so expensive, and you don't even compete. Isn't that a waste?"
She could just picture it: Kate holding this top-performance broom, using it only for the occasional flight, and leaving it locked at the bottom of a trunk to gather dust the rest of the time.
Kate blinked. "It's not a waste. I've got more money than I could ever spend, so why not?"
To her, the cost of a Firebolt was just a number she could recoup by making and selling a few more alchemical items.
If she put on a little sob story for the old butler, he might even go and strike a deal with the broom-making company to supply her brooms specially.
Watching Malfoy's face nearly contort, Kate finally laughed and added, "Of course, if you want to ride it, I can lend it to you — but I'll charge you per use."
"…Really?" Malfoy froze for a moment, and once she registered what Kate had said, her expression swiftly turned to sheer delight.
It was a Firebolt! Priced beyond what seven Nimbuses combined could buy!
Kate rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "But now that I've bought a Firebolt, the coming year's going to be a bit tight for me—"
"I'll cover your living expenses!" Malfoy's hand shot up at once.
"Naturally you'll cover them," Kate said, folding her arms, entirely matter-of-fact. "And that's not all — five Gold Galleons every time you borrow the broom, no haggling, and you'll handle the broom's upkeep too…"
She ticked the conditions off one by one on her fingers, and before she'd even finished, Malfoy — by now swept up in excitement — flung herself into Kate's arms.
"Yes! I'll agree to anything you say! Kate, you really are my very best friend!"
Even a hundred loans would only come to five hundred Gold Galleons, a far cry from the Firebolt's actual worth. She'd landed herself a real bargain!
Made dizzy by all of Malfoy's hugging and jumping, Kate quickly pried her off. "All right, calm down, people are watching."
Couldn't she see the wizards passing by all staring at the two of them?
Luckily there was no one they knew about, or this could easily have become the talk of Slytherin.
Only then did it dawn on Malfoy, and her face flushed red as she ducked her head and giggled foolishly, embarrassed — a sight that had Kate shaking her head.
If merely lending out the Firebolt could make them best friends, then had she given it outright, this girl might well have offered to marry her on the spot… ahem!
Of course, she had absolutely no such designs on a child — the above was purely a figure of speech.
"Look at you — hugging and clinging in weather this hot, you've sweated right through."
Seeing the blond hair at Malfoy's temples soaked with sweat, Kate could only pull out a handkerchief and lean in to gently dab it away.
These children were such a handful. Didn't she know it was easy to catch a cold like this? Hm?
Why was the sweat only getting worse the more she wiped?
Lowering her gaze in bewilderment, she found herself looking straight at Malfoy's naturally pale little face, now flushed completely crimson, her eyes fixed on her in a dazed stare.
"Is there something on my face?" Kate asked, not understanding, and withdrew her hand to touch her own cheek.
Apart from her chin being a touch thinner and more pointed than before, there was nothing different about it.
Malfoy came to her senses with a jolt, snatched the handkerchief from her hand, and turned away to wipe at herself in a fluster. "No — no there isn't! I was just spacing out just now!"
Kate cocked her head. "All right then. Shall we keep looking around?"
As long as they finished the day's outing, Malfoy should be able to report back to her father.
"No need, I'm tired already." Malfoy turned, tucking the handkerchief into her own pocket without a second thought, and lifted her chin proudly. "I had a lovely time today. Thank you."
"So I should say you're welcome?" Kate tugged at the corner of her mouth and was about to say more, when the girl spun around and — as though Kate were some fearsome monster — darted off into the crowd in the blink of an eye.
Why did this girl's moods swing back and forth like this?
Kate was thoroughly baffled. Compared to the other few girls she'd dealt with before, Malfoy was the mercurial one.
In a good mood she'd call her her best friend; in a bad one she'd bolt off right in front of her without so much as a goodbye.
She sighed and looked up at the blazing sun overhead.
In heat like this, no wonder she'd run off so fast.
Never mind. Time to head back.
____
________________________________________
💖 Gift for Everyone: Once we hit 50 Powerstones, I'll release +1 bonus chapter to warm your hearts.
🚀 Community Reward: If we reach 20 supporting members, we'll have a +5 chapter marathon across all stories! The romance won't stop.
👻 Come to our secret corner: Search for GirlsLove on (P). You know that's where the magic happens... 😉