Quite a lot had happened since Christmas. Harry received a Firebolt for Christmas anonymously. As the mysterious and expensive gift was left for Harry without a note or name attached, Professor McGonagall took the broom to inspect if for jinxes and Harry still had not gotten it back. Although McGonagall never told them directly, both Katie and Harry knew that she was taking extra precaution with the broomstick, fearing that it was Sirius Black who had sent it.

Gryffindor beat Ravenclaw in their Quidditch match and Harry had gotten the Marauder's Map confiscated from him by Professor Lupin, but worst of all, Buckbeak had been sentenced to death. Hagrid said that Lucius Malfoy frightened the Committee into doing as he wanted, which did not surprise Katie one but. Katie had only met Draco's father once, but he was by far the foulest person she had ever known, and that was saying something because Snape was the head of her house.

As much as she wanted to be there for Hagrid, extra safety measures imposed on the students since Sirius Black's break in made it impossible for her to see him anytime other than Care of Magical Creatures classes. The only time Katie managed to get a breath of fresh air was when she was out on the Quidditch pitch training for the final.

The final was taking place the first weekend after the Ester Holidays. Although Slytherins and Gryffindors had been at each others throats for centuries, the tension between the two houses was almost unbearable. Katie couldn't walk through the corridors without Gryffindors trying to trip her up, but none of the players were getting as hard of a time as Harry Potter. The other Slytherins were out for his blood, making it so Katie had to accompany him on his way to all his lessons, because the Slytherins wouldn't dare to try and put him out of action if she was there.

"You know," Katie begun one day as she was escorting Harry to Astronomy class, "if we weren't such bloody good friends, I would probably throw you off the Astronomy Tower."

Harry laughed loudly. "Threatened?"

"Shut up, Potter. You're lucky I'm not Seeker anymore — I'd flatten you."

"What ever helps you sleep at night." Harry said and Katie chortled. At that moment, they arrived at Harry's Astronomy classroom. He pushed the door open and waved to Katie.

"See you in Potions!"

Katie continued along the corridor. She was on her way to History of Magic when she heard a familiar voice call out behind her.

"Fraternizing with the enemy, Blair?"

Katie's jaw slacked in anger.

"Hello, Pansy." Katie said blankly. Pansy caught up to Katie and started walking alongside her.

"You know, you should really stop hanging around with that Potter and his Mudblood friend—"

"Don't you dare call her that!"

"—it makes the other Slytherins and I very angry." Pansy spoke slowly, letting her words sink in, and sneered.

Katie had to refrain from rolling her eyes. "Yeah, well, lucky for me, I don't care what you and your Slytherins think."

"Oh, but I think you do," Pansy drawled. "And so does Draco—"

Katie stopped dead in her tracks and whirled around so that she was facing Pansy. A surge of anger shot through her veins.

"What is up with you this year?" Katie snapped. "You were always such a good friend to me, but now you've turned into a stuck up bitch!"

Pansy stared, stunned, at Katie for many moments. She shook herself and snapped her agape mouth shut.

"Just because I can accept that Slytherins are—"

Katie cut across Pansy yet again. "This isn't about Slytherins, Pansy! This is about you. Now, I understand that you've never particularly liked my friends, and I can except that, but if you ever dare say another cruel word to or about Harry — or Ron — or Hermione — I will..."

Katie wanted to make a brutal threat, but she decided against it incase there happened to be a teacher lurking around a corner. Pansy Parkinson, however, managed to get the message and did not hang around Katie for much longer after she said that.

***

The entire school was alive with excitement the morning of the Quidditch final. Katie didn't think that the students could possibly buzz anymore — that was until Harry Potter entred the Great Hall for breakfast, and in his hand he clutched a magnificent, gleaming Firebolt.

The hall went insane. Katie could barely hear her own thoughts thanks to the roaring and shouts of exhilaration. Whether Slytherin won or lost no longer mattered when Katie spotted Malfoy staring in disbelief at Harry's Firebolt. His pale face had somehow grown whiter, the silver in his eyes had been engulfed by his pupils, and his jaw was hanging open so wide that it could've touched the table.

Katie decided that she would go and playfully taunt Harry. They liked to do that to each other quite a bit when it came to Quidditch. She also wanted to get a closer look at Harry's broomstick.

When she was approaching the Gryffindor table, Katie caught ear of the conversation that the Quidditch team had been having.

"Relax, Oliver!" Fred exclaimed. "We've got this in the bag. Draco Malfoy doesn't stand a chance against Harry."

"It's not Malfoy that I'm worried about," Wood said. He leaned across the table and his team followed suit. "It's that Katie Blair."

Katie couldn't help but smirk proudly to herself, and she noticed how Harry and Ron shot each other grins.

"She is a fair flyer." Niall Murray said seriously.

"But so is Chris." came Fred Weasley's voice.

"So is Harry." George piped up.

Wood turned swiftly to Harry. "If she comes anywhere near you or the goal posts, you knock her right off that broomstick. You hear me, Harry? No time to be a gentleman."

Harry chortled. Fred and George, sat on either side of Harry wrapped their arms around Harry's shoulders. "Harry would never do that to her, wouldn't you not? Fancies her too much, don't you, Potter?"

Katie's stomach lurched horribly and her head momentarily spun. Hermione, who had been nose-deep in her Arithmancy book, poked her head over the top, her ears practically pricked up in curiosity.

"You what?" Hermione gasped. Harry's face had gone scarlet. He shoved Fred and George off of him and picked up a slice of toast.

"I don't fancy her," he defended firmly, but it was hard for him to hide the fact that he had grown hot and flustered. "Shut up, guys."

Shaking herself, Katie decided that her eavesdropping had done enough damage. She sat down at the Gryffindor table, startling Ron, as per usual.

"STOP DOING THAT!" Ron bellowed.

"Good luck, Potter," Katie said smugly. "You're going to need it."

Harry smirked confidently and his eyes twinkled. "I'm the best Seeker in the school. I like my chances."

The Gryffindor boys let out a chorus of 'ooooh' and Ron gave Harry a high five. Katie giggled and rolled her eyes. She loved Harry's Quidditch persona. Everyday Harry was possibly the least self-centered person Katie had ever known, and he would never actually give himself praise, but when he and Katie were jokingly at each others throats about Quidditch, he didn't hold back.

"Go easy on us, will you, Kat?" Niall joked and his team laughed, though Oliver Wood was staring wide-eyed at Katie as if she were a ticking time bomb that was about to go off any second.

"Sure you can manage that broom, Potter?" said a cold, drawling voice. Draco Malfoy had appeared at the Gryffindor table with Crabbe and Goyle at his side. The Gryffindor team fell silent.

"Yeah, reckon so." Harry replied casually.

"Got plenty of special features, hasn't it?" Malfoy continued, eyes glittering maliciously. "Shame it doesn't come with a parachute — in case you get to near a dementor."

Crabbe and Goyle sniggered. Katie brought her goblet to her lips and drank, trying desperately not to say anything.

"Pity you can't attach an extra arm to yours, Malfoy," Harry said. "Then it could catch the Snitch for you."

Katie snorted and pumpkin juice squirted out of her nose, so she quickly covered her mouth with her hand. The Gryffindor team laughed loudly (Ron gave Harry another high five). Malfoy, his cheeks slightly pink, glared at Harry before turning away with Crabbe and Goyle. Katie eyes briefly met Draco's, and although she shouldn't have, she laughed out loud.

***

"Here come the Slytherins!" Lee Jordan yelled. "Flint, Blair, Malfoy, Montague, Derrick, Bole and Bletchley!"

A loud chorus of booing erupted from the crowds. It didn't come as a shock to Katie that the vast majority of the school was rooting for Gryffindor. Their vendetta against Slytherin did make her slightly uneasy, but she had built her reputation as a good person, so she just kept reminding herself that the school were booing Slytherin house and not her.

"And here come the Gryffindors! Wood, Potter, Blair, Murray, Weasley, Weasley and Johnson!"

The crowd went wild, although the Slytherins did make themselves known by booing exceptionally loudly.

"Captains, shake hands!" Madam Hooch ordered. Flint and Wood approached each other and grasped each other's hand very tightly. It looked as though both of them were trying to break the other's fingers.

As Katie mounted her broom, she felt her nerves begin to build. Thankfully, she was now hovering on her broom, so she didn't need to rely on her jelly legs to hold her trembling body. Katie's eyes met Harry's. He grinned broadly at her and winked, and she jokingly sneered at him, which made Harry laugh and somewhat relieved the tight knot of tension in Katie's stomach.

"Three... two... one..."

The sound of Madam Hooch's whistle was lost to the roars of the crowd as the fourteen brooms soared into the air. Katie's nerves left her due to the thrill of the flight.

Harry sped off down the pitch in a blur of scarlet. The Firebolt was even faster than she had imagined. Suddenly, the girl was growing nervous again. Malfoy's chances against Harry had already been slim, and with that broomstick, Draco would be helpless.

"And it's Gryffindor in possession, Christian Blair of Gryffindor with the Quaffle, heading straight for the Slytherin goalposts, looking good, Christian! Argh, no — Quaffle intercepted by Blair, Blair of Slytherin tearing up the pitch — WHAM! — nice Bludger work there by George Weasley, Blair drops the Quaffle—"

Katie growled in annoyance. George winked at her before whizzing away to help Gryffindor players in need.

"Quaffle is caught by Johnson, Gryffindor back in possession, come on, Angelina — nice swerve around Montague — duck, Angelina, that's a Bludger! — SHE SCORES! TEN-ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!"

"Alright down there, Katie? You seem a little put out."

Katie looked up to see Harry hovering on his Firebolt and grinning down at her. She rolled her eyes.

"You haven't seen anything yet." she said confidently. A glimmer of fear flashed through Harry's eyes, but Katie didn't stick around to see it. She flew down the pitch, heading straight for Niall.

"Gryffindor in possession, Murray with the Quaffle — HE SHOOTS! NO! Intercepted by Katie Blair! Blair takes off down the pitch — OH! DODGES FRED WEASLEY'S BLUDGER — swerves around Blair of Gryffindor — passes Angelina — SHE SHOOTS! ARGH! SHE'S GOT IT!"

The Slytherins in the stand went wild while the groans of frustration from the other houses echoed clearly throughout the stadium. The points had now been leveled out, but that didn't last long when Gryffindor were awarded a penalty because Flint had deliberately smashed into Angelina, almost knocking her off her broom.

"Gryffindor in possession, no, Slytherin in possession —!no! Gryffindor back in possession and it's Niall Murray, Niall Murray for Gryffindor with the Quaffle — Katie Blair on his tail — THIRTY-TEN! TAKE THAT, YOU DIRTY, CHEATING—"

"Jordan, if you can't commentate in an unbiased way—!"

Katie knew very well that Slytherin were winning the tournament, meaning that Gryffindor would need to secure more than fifty points before Harry caught the Snitch. She just had to make sure that didn't happen.

"Might I just say, Potter on that Firebolt—"

"JORDAN! YOU ARE NOT BEING PAID TO ADVERTISE FIREBOLTS!"

"And it's Gryffindor in possession again, as Johnson takes the Quaffle — Flint alongside her — poke him in the eye, Angelina! -- it was a joke, Professor, it was a joke — oh, no — Flint in possession, Flint flying towards the Gryffindor goalposts, come on, now, Wood, save—!"

Lee swore so badly that Professor McGonagall tore the megaphone away from him.

"Sorry, Professor, sorry! Won't happen again! So Gryffindor in the lead, thirty points to twenty, and Gryffindor in possession — nevermind — Katie Blair with the Quaffle again — STOP SCORING BEFORE I—"

"JORDAN!"

Slytherin were now tying with Gryffindor. This was turning into the dirtiest match Katie had ever played. Bole hit Niall with his club and claimed that he thought she was a Bludger. George Weasley elbowed Bole in the face in retaliation. Both teams were awarded penalties, taken by Angelina Johnson and Graham Montague. Angelina scored but Graham missed, tipping the score to the Gryffindor side.

By the time Katie had scored twice more, making the score 50-40 to Slytherin, the Gryffindor team became outraged. They all grouped together to circle and block Katie as best they could, but she still managed to grasp another ten points. Chris scored once, making the score 70-50 for a short while until Flint scored again. One more goal and Harry was free to catch the Snitch and win the Qudditch Cup for Gryffindor.

Chris scored once again, and from there on, the game grew even fouler. At one point, when Harry had made a dive for the snitch, Draco flung himself forward and grabbed a hold of the back of Harry's Firebolt. Despite that Harry was part of the enemy team, Katie still told Drcao offed. He merely scoffed and flew away.

Before the game ended, both Gryffindor and Slytherin had been awarded another penalty each, but both Katie and Chris missed (and Draco made a snide comment about the inaccuracy running in the Blair family).

Then, Katie saw something that made her stomach flip. Malfoy was diving a look of triumph on his face — there, a few feet above the grass below, was a tiny, golden glimmer. Harry urged the Firebolt downwards but Malfoy was miles ahead.

The whole stadium stood still and held their breaths. Even the players stopped in mid-air (Niall took an iffy shot at the posts but missed).

Harry was at Malfoy's ankles — he was level — he threw himself forwards, taking both his hands off his broom. He knocked Malfoy's arm out of the way and—

The stadium exploded. Harry pulled out of his dive, threw his hand in the air and soared above the crowd. The Gryffindor team attacked Harry with hugs and Oliver Wood looked as though he could kiss him. Chris, Niall, Fred and George were chanting, "We've won the Cup! We've won the Cup!"

Wave upon wave of people dressed in scarlet swarmed onto the pitch. Katie's stomach lurched in disappointment as she flew to the ground and landed next to the Slytherin players, who were all extremely put out and pale with grief. However, when Katie saw the huge grin on Harry's face as the crowds lifted him above his shoulders, she couldn't help but be overcome by glee.

"C'mon let's go." Malfoy huffed. The Slytherin team started walking away but Katie didn't follow them. Instead, she rushed over to the crowds. Being the only one dressed in green, she stuck out like a sore thumb against the scarlet, but she didn't care. Harry spotted her and his eyes lit up. He ushered himself down from the crowd's shoulders and made is way over to Katie. He didn't say anything, he just beamed at her, until Ron jumped on his back, screaming with joy.

"YOU DID IT, HARRY! YOU DID IT!"

Of course Katie was disappointed that Slytherin had lost. She wasn't that much of a traitor that she would be rooting for the rivals, but how could she not be overcome with joy when Harry Potter, the boy who had been through so much in one short school year, was smiling like that?