Kate stared at the still-sniffling Delar, a sweatdrop of exasperation forming on her brow.
Used tissues already littered the floor. How was this girl still not done crying?
"Maybe I should go undo Pansy's petrification first."
She meant to use it as an excuse to slip away, but Delar whipped around and stopped her. "No! She can't see me like this, or... or she'll definitely laugh at me!"
Heh. The little miss had some pride after all.
The more Kate listened, the more something felt off. She couldn't resist asking, "So you're not afraid I'll laugh at you?"
Delar sniffed and finally got her tears under control, though her eyes were still red. "Would you?"
Uh...
Kate had meant to tease her a little longer, but one look at how earnestly the girl was watching her, and the urge to play tricks fizzled out.
"Fine. I promise that what happened today won't get out to a third person."
She stepped forward and bent down slightly. Under Delar's suddenly tense gaze, her slender fingers gently touched those swollen, tear-reddened eyes.
"You've cried so much. Want me to get some ice for them?" she asked softly.
Delar felt the warmth of those fingertips stroking back and forth beneath her eyes, and a strange heat spread rapidly outward from every spot they touched.
Her heart was practically leaping out of her chest. How could she make sense of what Kate was saying? All she could do was nod.
Kate smiled, wand in hand, and walked into the bathroom. When she came back out, she was holding a handkerchief wrapped around some ice.
"Here, sit down first."
She led Delar to the edge of the bed, then tilted her head up a little and pressed the icy cloth gently against her face.
"Ssss..." The sudden cold made Malfoy shut her eyes on instinct and try to pull back, but she felt something hold her hand in place.
Once her eyes grew used to the chill, she opened them again and saw that it was Kate's hand, gripping the cold cloth to ice her eyes for her.
That long, graceful hand had gone pale from the ice. Through the fair skin, she could almost see the bluish-purple veins beneath.
She stared at it blankly, and only then did it dawn on her that she seemed to be clutching Kate's other hand in her palm.
Instinctively she lowered her head to look at their joined hands, but the moment her eyes dropped, Kate leaned in even closer. "Don't move."
Delar froze. Her gaze traveled up the body only a breath away from hers, from the loose wizard robes to the slender neck, and finally to Kate's focused face.
Kate had never looked at her so attentively, or so gently.
This Kate seemed completely different from the one who bickered with her day after day.
This Kate was kind and considerate, like a perfect lover cuddling her every night before sleep.
They were so close. If she leaned forward just a little, she could touch those beautifully shaped lips.
She swayed forward without meaning to, but a drop of icy water landing on the back of her hand snapped her awake.
Delar leaped to her feet in a panic. Her heart was pounding so hard it frightened her.
"What's wrong?" Kate looked up, baffled. The cold cloth in her hand kept dripping, one drop after another, and each one seemed to land right on Delar's heart.
Delar snatched the cloth away and pressed it to her eyes herself. "You're too slow! I'll do it myself!"
Was something wrong with this kid?
Kate watched, utterly speechless, as she jammed the cloth roughly against her eyes. "You'll give yourself frostbite like that."
"If I do, it's none of your business!" Delar snapped at her without thinking.
The next second, she realized her tone was off. She yanked the cloth away, only to meet Kate's complicated gaze.
Had she said the wrong thing?
An indescribable dread rose from the depths of her heart and wrapped around her wildly pounding pulse.
"I-I didn't mean it like that..."
She tried to explain in a flustered rush, but Kate cut her off coolly. "I won't tell anyone about today, whether you believe me or not."
Delar froze, then it hit her: Kate thought she didn't trust her.
How could that be?
How could she not trust Kate?
"I do believe you!" she blurted quickly, afraid of being interrupted again. "Kate, I-I think of you as a friend!"
With a trace of humility she didn't even notice herself, Delar carefully took Kate's hand. When she felt the chill in those fingers, the urge to cry rose in her all over again.
For some reason, ever since Kate discovered her true gender, she'd had less and less control over her tear ducts.
Seeing that the girl was about to be scared into tears again, and not wanting to coax her a second time, Kate quickly wiped the expression off her face and squeezed her hand hard. "All right, stop crying."
Delar looked up with tear-filled eyes, and Kate took the ice cloth and pressed it over them.
Everything went dark. She sniffled a few more times, and once she was sure Kate hadn't pulled away the hand she was gripping, the tension slowly drained out of her.
As for Kate...
She was rolling her eyes in resignation.
She had only wanted to give the kid a little scare. Who knew what was going on in that head? One sentence, and she'd nearly made her cry again.
What had she done to deserve this?
Still, judging by today, Delar didn't seem to hold a grudge over her finding out the secret.
That was a good thing, at least.
Bored, she counted the minutes. After fifteen had passed, she lifted the cloth, now warmed through by Delar's hands, and studied her eyes carefully.
"Not bad. There's still a bit of redness, but the swelling's gone down." She nodded in satisfaction, then added, "Don't cry again later. If Pansy notices, there's nothing I can do."
Delar immediately turned meek. Not only did she press her lips together and nod obediently, she even followed along when Kate headed for the bathroom.
"Ahem!" Kate pointed at her hand, which was still being held, and forced a small smile. "I have to wash the handkerchief."
"I'll do it!" Delar grabbed the handkerchief and had it clean in no time. She dried it with a spell and tucked it into her own pocket without being asked.
Kate's eyebrow twitched. She decided to pretend she hadn't seen that.
"Oh right, Pansy's still out there. You can go undo her petrification now." She acted as if she'd only just remembered.
Delar clearly hesitated.
"When the Quidditch match ends and everyone comes back to find Pansy petrified..." Kate pressed on while the iron was hot.
Well, now the young lady understood she was being shown the door. She nodded reluctantly. "Then... I'll go."
"Don't hurry back." Only now did Kate put on a genuine smile, and she hurried to push her toward the exit.
Delar let herself be pushed all the way to the doorway before she remembered something. "Wait! I-I have something else to ask you!"
Kate took a deep breath and fought down her impatience. "What is it, Miss Delar?"
She was already being shoved out the door, and the reason she'd come to Kate's room in the first place still hadn't been settled.
"I just wanted to ask," Delar said, watching her anxiously, "did you and Professor Scamander know each other before?"
Kate frowned, bewildered. "Why are you suddenly asking that?"
"Well, actually, Pansy said it," Delar admitted, avoiding her gaze guiltily. "She said you have a photo of him here, so..."
"So you had Fluffball bring you in to see what that photo was about?" Kate folded her arms, seeing right through her.
She glanced down at Fluffball, who was playing dead in the corner, and snorted. "Fluffball, no snacks for you this whole week!"
The Dodo in the corner let out a mournful wail and vanished on the spot.
"Where did it go?" Delar asked in shock.
"Don't worry about it," Kate said with a careless wave, turning toward her desk. "It'll come back on its own in half an hour."
As she spoke, she pulled a photo from a drawer and slapped it into Delar's arms. "See for yourself."
Delar hurriedly picked it up and looked. Besides David, there was a familiar fire dragon in the picture.
"David is my Senior Brother. He heard I was missing Dark Cloud, so he took this photo especially for me. That's all."
Kate watched her with a half-smile. "Satisfied now?"
Under that gaze, Delar's face flushed bright red. She shoved the photo back at Kate and fled through the door.
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