The crisp wind that rushed past him as he flew through the skies above Hogwarts felt cold and electrifying. Draco tightened his grip on his broomstick as he soared higher into the sky, not slowing down.
It had been such a long time since he'd last flown; he could hardly remember the last time he had even laid hands on a broom for his own recreational pleasure. Being able to fly like this again made him feel so free. Draco hadn't realized exactly how much he actually missed being on a broomstick until that moment.
Once he'd gotten to a fairly high altitude above Hogwarts, Draco looked onwards to the horizon of the Black Lake, admiring the openness of the terrain beyond the school's suffocating walls. The sunset of the late afternoon was warm with tints of purple and gold that laced the clouds afar. The sight was absolutely mesmerizing.
Draco then tore his attention away from the sunset and looked at Hogwarts below him, the students outside walking on the grounds appearing so small. Draco frowned as he gazed down. He was in the skies, briefly liberated from the walls of Hogwarts that he was forced to be behind as means of rehabilitation by the Ministry. He could just fly away right now- escape to wherever he could remain free. It would be so easy.
Draco turned back to stare at the sunset over the Black Lake, then thought of his parents. No, it wouldn't be easy. If he escaped now, it would hurt more than help them. With his father in Azkaban and mother being a prisoner of their own home, his "escape" would not play in their favor during their rehabilitation.
He bit his bottom lip and let out a breath through his nose, resisting the strong desire to just fly into the horizon and disappearing without a trace. With one last gaze at the sunset, he slowly made his way down back to his reality.
Draco landed easily in the middle of the grass of the Quidditch pitch, coming to a jogging stop when his feet reached the ground. From the corner of his eye, he saw a tint of red hair to his left. He was not alone at the pitch as he was just minutes ago.
He turned his head to see Weasley's younger sister approaching him across the grass. She looked older than the last time he'd caught sight of her in the school's halls the previous year, as if she'd been heavily worn down.
He didn't blame her, he felt as if he himself had aged ten years after what had transpired in the last two years of his life. The War had taken its toll on everyone it had touched, some certainly more than others.
"Hi, Malfoy," the Weasley girl greeted with a brief nod, stopping a few meters away from him. Her smile was small and polite. Her bag hung on her left shoulder, part of her red Quidditch uniform sticking out from its opened flap.
"Hi," Draco said back awkwardly, sticking the butt of his broomstick on to the ground and putting a hand on his hip. It was odd that the younger sister of one of his enemies from adolescence had approached him from out of the blue like this. What in Merlin's name could she want from him?
"Ginerva- Ginny- Weasley, right? What do you want? " he said almost too harshly out of habit with a slight frown on his face.
Ginny paused for a moment as if she were choosing her next words carefully, "I'm here to ask⦠if you could train me as a Seeker. If you're able to, of course."
"And why is that?" Draco asked, scoffing more in an amused way than a condescending one. The inquiry took him slightly by surprise, "Aren't you more of a Chaser anyway, Weasley?"
"I'd like to pursue Quidditch professionally as a Seeker after graduating this year," Ginny said, crossing her arms. The look on her face was visibly of adamant determination, something Draco had to note was admirable by her hardened eyes alone.
"Why don't you ask Potter? According to everyone else, he's a more talented Seeker than I am, apparently," Draco drawled.
Ginny shook her head and sighed, "I'm afraid he's far too busy for that, training to be an Auror and all."
"Ah, right," Draco said, looking away and nodding once. He had forgotten that Potter and the older Weasley had opted out of returning to Hogwarts for an 8th year in pursuit of being Aurors shortly after the War ended. Draco had to admit his fervent jealousy for them.
"So then, why are you asking me?" he asked, genuinely curious as to why she had approached him, of all people. He didn't have any personal gripes with the youngest Weasley, but it was still peculiar as they had never spoken directly like this before.
"I like the way you fly," Ginny said simply, "I've learned some tips and tricks from previous Seekers of other Houses, but the way you fly has something about it that I'd like to learn from."
Draco raised an eyebrow at her. That was a bold statement. However, from her firm expression, he could tell she wasn't pulling his leg and was dead serious. It wasn't meant to be a flirtatious compliment, but an objective comment coming from someone who had a strong resolve to improve.
"And what would I receive in return if I agree to help you?" Draco teased, smirking. Surely she realized that asking such a sudden favor from him didn't come without a price; he'd have to sacrifice his own time for Merlin's sake.
Ginny shrugged, unfazed by his light taunting, "Name your price."
Draco instinctively had the urge to reply with a snarky comment, but caught himself just in time. Old habits die hard, apparently, but he had no reason to be snide to her and the instinct almost felt like he was overcompensating for the depression that had been eating away at him as of late.
Instead, he quickly pondered on what to say next. If he agreed to her request, he would surely lose his own personal time, but what other things did he need to do other than schoolwork? With Crabbe gone, Goyle and Blaise Zabini coldly distant, Pansy Parkinson and Theodore Nott missing after the War, he rightfully predicted his days at Hogwarts to be lonely. Participating in Quidditch for his House was also out of the question, for he was an eighth year and overage.
"Don't worry about a price, Weasley," Draco said, adjusting his grip on his broomstick.
"Ginny! Are you coming?" he suddenly heard someone call out. They turned towards the direction where the voice came from and Draco found Hermione Granger at the edge of the field with her bag and books in tow. Luna Lovegood stood beside her looking as airy as ever.
Ah, he had also forgotten that the third of the Golden Trio had chosen to return to Hogwarts for an eighth year to finish the studies she had missed. It didn't surprise him much, as Hermione Granger was as studious as they came despite what had transpired the last year for her. Studying heavily on a Sunday didn't surprise him at all either.
His gaze then met with Hermione's. She gave him a small, uncomfortable looking smile and gave him a nod of acknowledgement. The back of Draco's throat suddenly went dry as he stared back.
"I'll be right there in a second!" Ginny called back. She turned back to Draco who was still kept his eyes on Hermione.
"So, do we have an accord?" Ginny asked, holding her hand out to him, "Even if you don't have a price- for now?"
Draco stared at her outstretched hand before responding, having second thoughts. Was he really willing to sacrifice some of his personal time and energy for this? He hardly knew the girl, only having seen her around school grounds during his time at Hogwarts without so much of an acknowledgment to her existence.
He looked up at her in the eyes. What he saw in them was not only determination, but hollowness- something he could see in his own eyes when he looked in the mirror. Then he remembered that the Weasleys lost something back in the War.
"Sure," Draco finally said, taking her hand and giving it a firm shake. He felt extremely odd speaking with her for this long, "We can start next Saturday if you'd like. I reckon I won't have much schoolwork to do just yet."
Ginny gave him a friendly and triumphant smile before beginning taking her leave, "Alright, thank you, Malfoy. See you next Saturday."
Draco nodded a farewell and watched as Ginny jogged over to Hermione and Luna. They walked away towards the castle, chatting about something he was too far hear. He saw Hermione quickly glanced over at him once before they disappeared behind the stands. If she looked at him with concern for Ginny or suspicion of him, he couldn't tell.
Draco heaved a tired sighed and started to make his own way towards the Slytherin Dungeons to unravel and relax for the rest of the day in his dormitory. It had only been a week since the term began, but to him it felt like centuries had passed already. The fearful and hateful stares he received around school grounds and the occasional muttering of nasty comments from other students as he walked by proved hard to ignore. He almost wished the Ministry had sent him off to Azkaban with his father as punishment instead- almost.
Redemption was going to be a daunting feat, that was certain. But maybe- just maybe- agreeing to help Ginny Weasley, the younger sibling of the Weasley he had hated the majority of his time at Hogwarts, would be a small but steady start of absolution for his sins.
Greetings! It literally has been years since I've written fanfiction for anything, but recently getting back into obsessing over HP has got my creative gears turning. Being my two favorite characters, I just had to string something together with Draco and Hermione. I hope you enjoyed this first chapter!
Any kind of feedback so far is also always appreciated! See you in the next chapter.
