Chapter 53: Snake in the Grass (4)

'This tea party is probably my last chance to achieve some progress on the Animagi transformation this year.' – thought Catherine while looking at herself in the mirror. She was dressed in a cute knee-length white dress she borrowed from Lily, since she hadn't brought any dresses from home. It was a bit too short than the original design because Catherine was taller than Lily, but it wasn't unacceptable.

'It makes me look childish.' – concluded the young witch with a pout and daunted her ankle-high white sneakers. The shoes were much bigger problem but nobody from her friends had appropriate footwear, and she didn't have enough time to order suitable flats or small heels. Therefore, she decided to be adventurous and cast a Whitening Spell on her sneakers, so they can at least appear new.

'Well, my mom always says that one should not follow the fashion but create it. This combination does look stylish and cool at the same time.' – concluded the second year and with one final look at the mirror gathered enough bravery to leave the Gryffindor Tower and head outside the castle.

The party had almost been ruined by the sudden rain that poured in the morning, but in the afternoon the May sun was shining again, the sky was blue, and the only memory of the downpour were a few mud puddles glistering, scattered around the school grounds. 

While Catherine stood in front of the castle, calculating how to safely jump across one such puddle she heard someone's steps behind her. She turned around and saw Valeria Malfoy, wearing a lace white dress, matching high heels and a beautiful hat, attached flawlessly to her platinum blond hair. Valeria looked extremely satisfied with her appearance.

The Gryffindor girl decided to ignore the newcomer. While they had never formally introduced each other or interacted in any way, other than that misfortunate spell aimed at Bellatrix Black, Catherine was certain that Valeria hated her. It was obvious by the way her pale blue eyes were sparkling every time she passed the other girl in the corridors or in the Great Hall. She was also going beyond her way to make some offensive comments about Muggle-borns or 'little scrawny girls who would do anything for boys' attention' every single time Catherine was within earshot range. The present situation seemed not an exception as Valeria approached the Gryffindor second-year, casting mocking glances her way.

"What're you doing here, staring at the puddle? Did you finally managed to get a good look at yourself and realised you dressed up while still asleep?"

"What do you want, Valeria?" – Catherine asked flatly. 

"Eww, how dare you address me like this? Who do you think you are, Mudblood?" – the other girl screeched – "If you are to refer to me, you would address me as Miss Malfoy or Lady Malfoy."

"Lady Malfoy?" – Catherine couldn't resist but burst into laughter – "Talking about someone who doesn't know their place. You may dream of your family being aristocrats all you want, but the sad reality is that both you and I know, this is not the case."

"What do you even know, Mudblood?!" – Valeria hissed, stomping her foot.

"I know that despite your constant efforts, nobody from the aristocratic families wants to have anything to do with you. I also know that you would spend a mountain of gold if this would get you invited into one of the main families' gatherings. Ain't that right, Miss Malfoy?" – said Catherine, enjoying the other girl's face getting paler and paler with every word. 

"These are just nasty rumours by jealous jerks like you, Plantier!" – screamed Valeria, beyond herself with rage – "You can pretend you're one of us Pure-Bloods but you're always going to be a cheap copy. Look at yourself! Wearing a dress and sneakers and all in white despite the fact it's my signature colour! You're just trying to imitate me and steal some attention for yourself!"

"Are you nuts?" – asked Catherine torn between laughter and disbelief – "How could I know you would be wearing white? You can't own a colour! What kind of miserable insecure girl are you?"

The last remark apparently triggered Valeria and she suddenly dashed towards Catherine in an attempt to push her in the mud. However, the black-haired witch quickly figured out the Slytherin's plan and swiftly moved out of her way. As a result, Valeria Malfoy plunged magnificently into the puddle. A piercing scream echoed through the castle grounds while the blond-haired girl was hectically trying to clean herself to no avail. Catherine carefully and gracefully jumped across the water at the far end of the same puddle and once safely on a solid ground, turned around and smirked at the wet and dirty Pure-blood witch on the brink of hysteria. 

"At least now we're not wearing the same colour! It was very considerate of you to change because of me."

*** 

Catherine had to admit that Professor Slughorn did know how to throw a decent party. An elegant white table was placed in the middle of the fresh green meadow. At the centre of the table a porcelain vase was decorated with a lavish bouquet of white roses and lilies of the valley. The Potion Master was happily navigating the conversation, currently describing to Melisande Greengrass his newly acquired tea set, apparently being a gift from a former student of his who was representing the Ministry of Magic in Japan. 

Catherine felt out of place. She knew most of the students around the table but only by names, and none of them had ever talked with her, therefore, she was just sitting quietly, and eating little pieces of the butterbeer scone she had helped herself with. 

'This is not good. I need to get Slughorn's attention.' – she thought nervously.

"Hey, we meet again!" – the young witch heard a voice close by and before she could react Frank Longbottom took the vacant seat next to her and grinned wholeheartedly – "At least I'm going to have someone normal to talk with."

"I'm not sure how normal I am, but I'm also happy to see you here, Frank." – Catherine said honestly – "Do you come often to these parties?"

"Not really. He only invites me because of some relatives I have in the Ministry of Magic. I know you're here based on talent, but as you can imagine I also prefer getting attention for my own merits."

"Yeah, I see what you mean." – nodded Catherine, casually glancing at the other people around the table. She was positive most of them were here precisely because they had relatives Slughorn was interested in. 

"Anyway, it's the last party for the year," – Frank continued – "he cornered me and Greg, insisting we should come this time. As usual Greg bailed out and I just couldn't say no."

"Does McMahon frequent these events?" – asked Catherine pretending to hold her end of the conversation. 

"Greg? No, he runs away every chance he gets but Slughorn is incredibly persistent and there are just as many times you can decline an invitation without actually appearing hostile. That's why he usually soldiers through one or two events a year."

"How brave of him!" – Catherine chuckled sarcastically.

"Unlike most people at school I know you don't really like Greg." – Frank said carefully.

"Really? How so?" – asked Catherine, genuinely curious. 

"Well, he told me that he wants to be your friend and you shoot him down every time. I understand you may think he's stuck up or something, but he's a really great person and an even greater friend."

"It doesn't seem he really needs my friendship when he has someone so loyal as you by his side." – Catherine noted, smiling.

Frank blushed and opened his mouth to protest, but he was silenced by the sudden and late appearance of Lucius and Valeria Malfoy. The girl had changed into a pale pink dress with matching shoes, but her face was paler than usual, and her thin lips were trembling from time to time. 

"Ah, Lucius, you know better than being late for our last party of the year!" – Slughorn met the newcomers with a fake angry expression and burst into laughter – "And your sister is lovely as always – one of the most beautiful flowers of Slytherin!"

"More of a poison ivy." – Catherine whispered to Frank, who almost choked on the biscuit he was eating. 

They had tea in relative peace, answering occasional questions coming from Slughorn. Catherine felt rather anxious because her Professor appeared truly interested in her parents' jobs had and she needed to improvise on the spot. 

"They own a few companies that sell different products." 

"Ah, how wonderful! You should bring some Muggle goodies for us to try next time!" – suggested Slughorn enthusiastically. 

Scanning the faces around the table, Catherine determined that Slughorn's enthusiasm and curiosity about the Muggle world were not shared by the rest of his students. 

"It would be my pleasure, Sir." – she quickly responded, attempting to butter up the Potions Master. 

In about fifteen minutes, Slughorn invited everyone to have a stroll around the meadow, enjoying some light cakes and pleasant company. Catherine determined that this was her best chance, and she was just about to excuse herself in front of Frank when their path was blocked by a tall young man, dressed in a well-tailored beige suit. His platinum blond hair was shoulder-length and he kept it tied in a ponytail. The young witch thought that Lucius Malfoy would have looked very handsome if it weren't for something in his eyes that instantly made her distrustful of the wizard. 

"What a beautiful weather!" – he said, smiling – "Would you care to join me for a brief conversation, Miss Plantier?"

Catherine didn't like this dangerous smile one bit. She was also certain about the topic of the conversation he wanted them to have. The girl felt annoyed. The episode with Valeria, while amusing, was already in the past, and she had no interest in revisiting it. 

"Obviously, she's not interested, Malfoy! Leave us alone!" – said Frank, after a quick glance at Catherine's face.

"I don't remember asking you anything, Longbottom!" – Lucius snapped, while his right hand trembled slightly. 

Catherine quickly assessed the situation. She didn't know Frank well enough, but she could see he would not back down to the sixth-year Slytherin, and this could end very ugly, destroying any chance for her to talk with Slughorn one on one. For this reason, she decided to play diplomatically. 

"It's alright, Frank, I promise." – she turned towards Malfoy, her smile, mimicking his own – "Let's go then, Mister Malfoy."

"You are a smart girl." – he purred while both of them slowly walked side by side towards the end of the meadow. Catherine's mind quickly weighed her options. She had noticed Valeria engaging Slughorn's attention in a vivid conversation, and there was little doubt it was a trick to cover Lucius' absence. The black-haired girl felt her wand, which was concealed under her dress, securely tied to one of her thighs with some Spellotape she had borrowed from Marry. In theory, she could have been able to quickly reach for it, but she didn't know if she would have been a match for the older of the Malfoy siblings.

While Catherine was deep in her thoughts, they arrived at the deserted vegetable garden behind the Greenhouse Three. Without a warning, Lucius Malfoy drew his wand and cast some sort of a non-verbal spell towards Catherine. She managed to grab her own wand, but she was not fast enough to use a Shield Charm. Malfoy's spell, however, was immediately deflected and hit an old apple tree, causing a few of its branches to fall to the ground. 

The wizard looked around hastily. Catherine felt a burning sensation and glanced at her right hand. The silver ring Greg had gifted her for her birthday was emitting intense heath. 

'It's enchanted!' – Catherine thought with surprise – 'Why didn't he mention it? What a darn luck I decided to wear it today!'

"How did you do that?" – asked Lucius Malfoy, appearing more curious than angry about his failed attack. 

"I believe the question is rather, what do you think you're doing?" – hissed Catherine, her wand finally in her hand.

Lucius laughed sinisterly, assessing the girl from head to toe. 

"Where have you been hiding this piece of wood, little girl?"

"None of your business!" – snapped Catherine who felt that somehow the wizard across from her was not taking her seriously and was having way too much fun. 

"You didn't think that you could assault a Malfoy and not pay the price for your impudence, did you?" – the blond Slytherin asked with a velvety voice. 

Catherine raised her wand, eyes flashing, while her whole being was ready for a fight. The sixth-year didn't appear intimidated. 

"You really need to learn your place. You're fun to play with, I'll give you that, but way too arrogant for the lowly Mudblood you are."

"Oh?" – exclaimed the black-haired girl mockingly – "And are you going to be the one to teach me my place?"

"It's a tempting idea indeed." – said Malfoy, casually flickering his wand – "Serpensortia!"

A huge green snake erupted from the tip of the wizard's wand and hissed violently at the Gryffindor, being just half a metre away from her feet. For her own astonishment, the young witch didn't feel any fear towards the animal. She just stood there, watching it calmly. 

The snake seemed extremely agitated. It slid hastily through the fresh grass and lunged towards the girl with its thin long fangs bared and ready to sink into her flesh.

"How dare you! Back off this instant!" – Catherine screamed, suddenly beyond herself with unexplainable rage. 

The snake stopped immediately and lay on the ground, appearing almost docile. Amid the hissing coming from the animal, the girl thought she heard the words 'I'm sorry, Mistress!'

'The fuck is happening?' – she asked herself, lifting her head and noticing Lucius' face, completely frozen in a strange grimace. 

"You speak Parseltongue?! How could a Mudblood…" – he stuttered with a hoarse voice.

'Damn, what should I do? Why do I find out this just now?' – the black-haired witch thought irritated, and then she remembered this was the first time she had actually seen a snake in real life. Nobody could have known she was a Parselmouth because nobody had ever bothered to check.

"You're more interesting than I imagined." – the blond wizard finally spoke, overcoming his initial shock – "It's too bad that you have such a misfortunate blood status."

"What is this supposed to mean?" – snapped Catherine, struggling with her own confusion. 

"It means you possess some rare talents, and you're certainly not lacking courage." – Malfoy answered deliberately. His lips curled into a faint smile – "Despite your efforts to fight and best all the snakes in the den, you remain nothing but a little bird. I would be sad if you become someone else's prey. You have my attention."

With that Lucius Malfoy left the vegetable garden and returned to the party, leaving Catherine utterly bewildered, staring at his wide back. 

"What's wrong with him?" – she sighed helplessly, glancing at the snake that was now curled on the ground, sunbathing, and didn't provide any answers.