(A/N) I don't want my continuous uploading of stories to appear needy, like I'm desperate for you to read it, so I'll go ahead and explain myself. The stories I've uploaded non-stop are all just the completed fanfics from before I got my account, that were just sitting there on my Mac.
Also, this has a lot of Quidditch in it, so hopefully I got everything regarding that correct.
And now that that's out of the way, you can read the actual story.
Happy reading!
Always The Tone of Surprise
Harry Potter was known for being a good person. And he was; a good person, that is. He had defeated the Dark Wizard Voldemort and saved the world, and he was morally a just person. Unfortunately, Harry Potter made one big mistake in his life.
After the war, he and his wife Ginny and her brother Ron all decided to travel to America. They'd planned on going back as soon as possible, but they'd become involved in the American Ministry and had gotten jobs there as well.
After living in America for three years, Harry decided it was time to visit their old friends. Or, at least return to England. They had barely had contact with their family, the Weasley's, since owls weren't really a Trans-Atlantic affair, and they were all missing home. Ron especially. Whilst Harry and Ginny had each other, Ron was still pining for Hermione, their best friend from their Hogwarts days.
They got a card annually, signed by everyone, and their latest card was filled to the brim with signatures.
Arthur & Molly
Hermione 3
Gred
FORGE
Bill & Fleur
Neville & Luna Longbottom :) :)
Andromeda Tonks
Those were the first names. In the second card, they'd been added to. There was also a sticky handprint from Teddy Lupin.
Seamus Finnigan
Dean Thomas
Parvati & Padma Patil
In the third and final card, were the signatures that made Harry decide he needed to go back and figure out why these people were signing his card. Also, Hermione's signature had disappeared.
B. Zabini
Theo Nott
Gregory & Pansy Goyle
Daphne & Astoria Greengrass
Mr. & Mrs. Malfoy
Harry wasn't even entirely sure who Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy were. Lucius and Narcissa? That would be odd, considering that Lucius was in Azkaban. Was it Draco and his wife? Harry hadn't heard that he'd gotten married, but it was certainly a possibility.
Harry wanted to get to the bottom of why on Earth his annual card from his friends and family now included a bunch of former Slytherins, some of which he'd never even met.
That was why he decided to return to Britain.
Oh, and also that Ron had gotten tickets to England's Quidditch Cup. That was a big part of it too.
Regardless of how it happened, Harry and Ginny Potter, who was five months pregnant, and Ron Weasley arrived at the Quidditch Cup in England three years after having next to no contact with their family.
Oh joy.
"Come on, boys!" Ginny laughed, finding her seat quickly. Harry smiled at his wife and sat down beside her, wrapping his arm lovingly around her shoulders.
Ron sat next to Harry, already holding a pair of omniculors.
"Isn't this exciting?" Ron gushed. "They've got a new team and everything! Well, they've had this team for a few years, but this'll be the first time we've seen 'em play!"
Ron was talking about England's team, the Trowbridge Thestrals. They were a fairly new team, as they'd started two years prior, but Harry had heard good things about the team, though he didn't know any of the players.
The team that they were playing against, Ron's favorite Chudley Cannons, had already flown in, so now it was time for the Thestrals to come in. Ron was over the moon with excitement.
"And here come the Trowbridge Thestrals!" cried Ludo Bagman, the announcer for the game.
The players flew out, clad in their dark blue uniforms and shooting like bullets. They had a basic V formation, with the Seeker and Captain in front, the three Chasers flanking him and the Beaters and Keeper in the back.
"And we've got Seeker Malfoy-"
"Malfoy?!" Ron gasped.
"Chasers Zabini, Nott, and Johnson!" Ludo was saying, waving his hands around erratically. "Beaters Weasley and Weasley and Keeper Wood!"
"No," Ron mouthed. "Angelina, Fred, George and Oliver are on a team with Slytherins?"
"At least we know why they signed that card," Harry shrugged, wondering how Malfoy had ever gotten to be a professional Quidditch player. From what Harry remembered, he'd sucked in Hogwarts.
Malfoy certainly didn't suck now; he was currently showing off by performing flawless somersaults in the air.
"Wow," Ginny said from beside Harry. "He's improved a whole lot since last we saw- oh my goodness!"
Ginny's last exclamation was in reference to Malfoy standing up on his broomstick without unbalancing himself. Fred and George flew up and high-fived him, all three grinning like idiots.
"I can't believe them!" Ron hissed. "Making nice with Slytherins!"
"Ron," Ginny interrupted. "Professor Slughorn was a Slytherin, and you don't have a problem with him. And Professor Snape, and Regulus Black, and Andromeda Tonks, and-"
"Okay, okay, I get your point." Ron groused. "I didn't like Snape though."
Harry rolled his eyes, focusing once more on the game. Surprisingly, the Thestrals were doing excellently. Harry hadn't expected Zabini and Nott to be such good Chasers; especially since Nott was so thin and didn't look like he had an inch of muscle on him. Regardless of how muscular he was, Nott was an agile and swift player, looping and weaving around the other team to score.
The Quaffle had been dropped a few times, but it was always the Cannons that dropped it, as Fred and George were getting quite friendly with their Beater bats. Angelina seemed to mesh perfectly with the two Slytherin Chasers; moving with ease between them and passing the Quaffle from Chaser to Chaser without any hiccups. Oliver was doing excellently as well, occasionally directing Fred or George to swipe a Bludger at somebody, or contorting himself into different shapes to keep the Quaffle from scoring against them.
The only player Harry hadn't seen do something spectacular was Malfoy. He was hovering above the game, his eyes narrowed in search of the Snitch. Just as the Cannons' Seeker had flown a little closer, Malfoy whipped around and shot downward at an alarming rate.
"Ah, and it seems Malfoy has seen the Snitch!" cried Ludo, jumping in excitement.
But, just as they neared the ground, Malfoy jerked his broom up and shot away, down the pitch. The Cannons Seeker barely was able to pull out of the plunge, losing a lot of momentum.
"And it seems Malfoy has just employed the Wronski Feint!" Ludo annouced, giddy. "What an excellent Seeker, I must say."
The score was now 140 - 30, Thestrals and Cannons respectively. If the Cannons caught the Snitch, they'd still win.
Zabini, Nott and Angelina were working overtime, not willing to let the Cannons win easily. Oliver had lost ability in his left leg somehow (most likely a Bludger), and was doing his best to stop the Quaffle with his three remaining limbs.
"Zabini scores, sending the total to- MALFOY HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH!" Ludo roared, sending the stadium into a frenzy. "THE TROWBRIDGE THESTRALS WIN THE MATCH!"
Ron was grumbling about the Cannons losing to 'lowly Slytherins' while Harry and Ginny were out of their seats cheering like there was no tomorrow.
"GO THESTRALS!" Ginny cried, waving a flag she'd bought from a vendor.
"Gin-" Ron tried to interrupt, but Ginny ignored him.
"I LOVE THIS TEAM!" Ginny jumped up and down, giggling.
Harry smiled and hugged his wife, both of them bouncing happily. Harry wasn't quite as enthusiastic as her, but he was just happy so see her thrilled.
"I'm replacing all my Chudley Cannons stuff," she announced as they walked down the stairs. "This is the best team ever!"
Ron was still in a bad mood, as he only griped more and complained about how if Hermione was here she wouldn't care about such frivolous things. Harry and Ginny didn't remind him that he was only upset because of the game.
As they reached the bottom, a short brunette woman pushed past them, her wild hair nearly smothering poor Ron.
"Oh, I'm so sorry-" she said, turning to disentangle Ron, but freezing. "Ron?"
Ron stared at her. Harry and Ginny blinked. Was that-?
"Hermione?" Ron whispered.
"Ron!" Hermione squealed, throwing her arms around him and hugging him to death. "Harry! Ginny!"
She threw herself at them next, crushing them and speaking so fast and in such a high pitched voice that they couldn't even understand her. Eventually she slowed down, much to Ron's relief; her voice was beginning to blow out his eardrums.
"Oh, I've missed you guys so much!" Hermione gushed, adjusting her dark blue scarf.
"We've missed you too!" Ginny hugged her friend again. "I see you're a Trowbridge Thestrals fan too, huh?"
Hermione suddenly flushed a bright pink.
"O-oh, yes," she smiled, fiddling with the ends of her scarf. "I need to tell you-"
She cut herself off by shrieking in excitement at something behind them and pushing past them.
"Hermione…?" Harry blinked, turning around to see where she was running.
Hermione dashed over to where the team was standing, hiding from the press.
"Hermione," Harry called after her, rolling his eyes. "You can't just run up to the team, that's rude."
He followed, preparing to drag Hermione away, wondering why on Earth Hermione liked Quidditch so much. He remembered her having a mild dislike for it at Hogwarts, so why had it changed?
Ginny wasn't being much of a help, as she was just as thrilled to see the team as Hermione was.
"Hermione-" Harry tried to grab her hand before she made it to the group of Quidditch players, but he fell short and she flew right into the center, throwing herself into one of the player's arms.
"Er," Ginny paused, feeling awkward now that her friend had gone and embarrassed herself. "Hermione, what are you doing?"
"Oi!" said the player Hermione had thrown herself on. "You're suffocating me-"
Hermione extracated herself, revealing the player to be Malfoy. Hermione dropped back down to the ground and settled for just hugging him. Oddly enough, Malfoy didn't pull away like Harry expected; instead, choosing to wrap his arms around Hermione's waist.
"Weaslette!" exclaimed Zabini, crossing his arms and smirking. "And Potter- wait, you must be Potterette now, aren't you, Ginevra? And then Weaselbee, ew."
"Potterette?" Ginny frowned. "That must have a lot of 't's in it."
Zabini laughed, uncrossing his arms and letting them swing freely.
"Hey, Draco," he said, nudging Malfoy with the back of his hand. "Weaselbee is back."
Malfoy looked up, his eyes narrowing. He pushed Hermione away slightly, still keeping his arm around her waist. Hermione shrugged and leant her head on his chest, her own arm snaking around his waist.
"Potter," Malfoy nodded to him curtly. "And the female Weasley, Potter, is it?"
Ginny nodded pleasantly, obviously content since no one had insulted her yet. Harry himself was pleased with this, but was confused as to what was going on between Hermione and Malfoy.
"And Weaselbee." a condescending smirk slowly appeared on Malfoy's pale face. "Well, welcome back, Gryffindors."
"Get away from Hermione, you ferret." Ron growled.
Harry rolled his eyes, wishing Ron would stop thinking he and Hermione were meant for each other. In Harry's opinion (which he'd never shared with Ron for obvious reasons), Ron and Hermione were far too different to ever have a successful relationship. Harry figured if Hermione wanted to date Malfoy, he wasn't going to stop her.
Even if he did think it was kind of random.
"Hmm," Malfoy pretended to think about it. "How about no?"
"Ron-" Ginny began.
"No, Ginny!" Ron yelled. "Come over here, Hermione, get away from that Death Eater."
Malfoy stiffened at the mention of his previous occupation, and his left arm flexed were it rested around Hermione's shoulders.
"And why should she go anywhere?" Malfoy challenged, genuinely angered now.
"Because she's my girlfriend!" Ron snarled.
Harry and Ginny exchanged an exasperated look. Zabini and Nott grinned at each other and Angelina buried her face in Fred's shoulder to hide her laughter. Fred, George and Oliver weren't even trying to hide their laughter.
"What?" Ron blinked, clearly not getting it.
"I am not your girlfriend, Ron," Hermione said, laughing. "You think after three years without even seeing you I'd still be waiting?"
Ron didn't answer.
"Did you seriously think that?" Ginny frowned at her brother.
"B-but Hermione!" Ron exclaimed. "Everyone expects us to get married and now you've gone and started dating Malfoy?!"
"I'm not dating Draco, " Hermione rolled her eyes. "I dated Draco, yes, but that's in the past."
"Well, you're certainly acting like you're dating," Ron grumbled.
"That's because we're married, you prat." Malfoy smirked, repeating what Hermione had just done and rolling his eyes.
"WHAT!?" Ron gasped.
"We signed the card as Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, didn't we?" Hermione smiled innocently. "Always the tone of surprise, Ron."
(A/N) I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading and, if you want to, drop a review so I can read your thoughts!
