Kate Zoa grew up in a magical family in Bangor, in Northern Wales. Her father was a beater for the Caerphilly Catapults. In fact, Quidditch has run in the family for so many generations, Kate's father, Bryan, likes to boast that one of his ancestor's played in some of the original matches in Queerditch Marsh... but there's really no proof of that. Much to his dismay, Bryan had two daughters and no sons, so he was convinced that the Quidditch tradition would be broken. He was, therefore, pleasantly surprised when at the age of 6, Kate took his Firebolt out for a spin around the countryside, showing both natural form and a great liking for flying. He started immediately taking her flying as often as possible and trained her to be a beater.
At Hogwarts, Kate was sorted into Ravenclaw, where she met her best friends, won the quidditch cup 4 out of the 6 years she played, and did reasonably well, though she was over shadowed academically by others in her house and her older sister, Emma, who was head girl in her time at Hogwarts. She excelled in Herbology, Charms, Arithmancy, and Care of Magical Creatures. Her worst subject by far was Potions (which she stopped taking after her 5th year), mostly because she couldn't muster the concentration for it.
Her last year in Hogwarts, she was recruited by the Holyhead Harpies as a beater. Kate was of course thrilled, female beaters were rare, and to get offered a position on the all women's squad was an honor. Kate did so well with the Harpies, she was offered a beater position on the Caerphilly Catapults after two years, and also a position on the Welsh World Cup team. Acclimating to the new teams was hard, but made easier by the presence of Christopher Foster, her old beating partner on the Ravenclaw team in her Hogwarts days, and also on both the national team and the Catapults. The Welsh team did well, surprising everyone by beating out the favored Canadians in a quarterfinals match to get to the first semifinal in over a century. There they lost by a mere 10 points to Romania who went on to win the cup.
After the excitement of the world cup, Kate moved to be closer to the team in Caerphilly and spent the next few seasons with the team, who won the league her 3rd year there. The following year, she was asked back to the national team, and accepted, but was knocked out during the first match when an opponent got her in the knee with a bludger from only a few yards away. Because of a mess up with the healers, the damage became permanent (she still walks with a slight limp), making it impossible for Kate to be competitive enough for professional quidditch. Her sister offered her a job at the Ministry of Magic, but Kate refused; she just wasn't cut out to be at a desk all day long. She then took a job with the club on ground crew so she could stay close to the game, but found that she needed a break from the emotional drain of not being able to play the game she loved so dearly. She was offered the open position of Groundskeeper at Hogwarts in 2054, and took the opportunity to revisit her alma mater, get away from her present situation, and take some time to think about her future.
After one term as Groundskeeper, Kate was asked to step into the recently vacated spot as Charms instructor. She greatly enjoyed her new role on staff and stayed in that position for several years. During term 11 (2057-58), Kate was infected by a love potion that caused her to make a fool of herself in front of the Flying Instructor Andrew McAiken. Embarrassed by her own behavior and realizing that she was avoiding her real life at Hogwarts, Kate left the school at the end of term.