So. This is it! I hope you guys liked it. I decided to show a bit of Draco's side. And maybeee that end is the start of something new. (you sang that, admit it) I quite like the quidditch scene. Please leave me some reviews!
P.S: I'm working on a soulmates/identifying marks story now (HHr) so if you're interested, stay tuned!
It started out as a small fascination.
She was supposed to be dirty, but her skin was dewy and a pretty shade of tawny brown, dusted with tiny freckles. Her eyes were a rich dark brown, though her kind and calming gaze hardened whenever it met his.
And how could she have stolen her magic, if her hair seemed to bounce with it?
How could she not belong, if she was always the first to master a new spell?
He knew he could never have her, so he jumped on the first chance he had to be with her, even if she didn't want to. The bet would make sure she would.
It wasn't anything new, really, for him to follow her into the library, and steal looks at her from behind a bookshelf on the evening before the match. He watched her for a while before approaching her. He didn't know what he was planning to say, but called her name anyway.
"Granger."
Hermione's head snapped up at his voice, her brows already furrowed into a scowl.
"Leave me alone, Malfoy." she hissed at him. He took the last few steps before coming to a stop right next to her table. Hermione stood, feeling slightly more vulnerable with his height over her.
"Are you excited?" he asked her. He was so close to her now he could smell her shampoo. He breathed in deeply, not even realising that he'd leant in.
"Shut up. Leave, Malfoy." she hissed, backing up one step. He followed, his hand reaching up to tug on one curl.
Before he could say anything else, a hand gripped his shoulder painfully and he was wrenched away, the curl slipping through his fingers. Turning around, he sneered at Harry.
"Dont touch her." Harry snarled at him, moving to Hermione's side protectively. Draco sneered at them, speechlessly watching with barely concealed jealousy as Harry gathered her books and took her hand into his before pulling her through the bookshelves towards the exit. He kept up his fast stride, making it hard for Hermione to keep up. Only when they reached the hallway did he slow down and eventually come to a stop.
Pulling her closer by the hand that was still grasped in his, he slid his hands up her arms and rubbed her shoulders before one of his hands slid up to the nape of her neck while the other slid across her back. Hermione sighed and leaned her forehead to his collarbone.
"I shouldn't have let you go alone. I'm sorry." he mumbled into her hair.
"You have nothing to be sorry about, Harry. It's Cormac who should be apologizing for this." she told him.
He looked at her for a moment before sighing.
"You okay? He didn't do anything, did he?" Harry asked. She smiled and shook her head before standing up on the tip of her toes and placing a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth. His breath flew out of him. She was looking at him through heavy lids, smiling shyly at him.
He barely needed to move, only lean his head forward before he caught her lips again. They were soft and full under his, moving slowly before opening. The smallest taste of her drove him insane. He moaned quietly and dove deeper into her wet warmth when suddenly it was ripped from him. His eyes flew open, brows furrowed, an apology already on his lips but it died down as soon as he saw her. Warm brown eyes fluttered open and Hermione blinked up at him.
"My feet started to hurt." she said sheepishly. He was confused for a moment but realised soon that she had been standing on the tip of her toes to reach him, which must have been why he didn't have to lean down much, he thought. He grinned then, and she giggled. It was such a pure, innocent moment that he felt giddy, grasping her hand again, he started walking to the Gryffindor tower.
In the common room, they didn't answer any questioning stares, Hermione merely shaking her head at the girls telling them "Later."
They sat down next to eachother, their intertwined hands resting on his thigh, which was pressed to hers from hip to knee. Silently they smiled into the fire and sat until everyone else had retired into the dormitories. Once they were alone again, Harry turned on his seat so he was facing Hermione, and hesitantly put his hand on her waist, encouraging her to do the same. The kiss had been a nice distraction but now her thoughts had returned to the match, and the bet.
Her eyes had dimmed, her mouth turned down unhappily again.
"Don't worry, Hermione. It's going to be fine." he said quietly. She nodded but didn't speak.
"I'm just so confused and irritated and... scared." she whispered finally. It felt good to get it off her chest. Her anxiety had been building over the day and she felt like she was going to have a panic attack any moment.
"Malfoy has been saying disgusting stuff, really nasty. I don't know what he's planing to do if Slytherin wins but I'm pretty sure it's nothing pleasant."
"I know, I promise we will all do our best tomorrow. I'll throw Malfoy off his broom if I have to, alright?" he said. Trying to think of something to lift her spirits, he got an idea.
"Wait here." he said before standing up and hurrying up the stairs to his dormitory. There he rummaged around his trunk quietly, as everyone was sleeping. He found what he was looking for, and went back to the common room, where Hermione was waiting exactly as he had left her.
"Wear this okay? It'll be like I'm with you, right? Plus, it'll piss Malfoy off as his shirt is currently hidden who knows where." he chuckled, giving her the Gryffindor Quidditch sweater he wore for practice. It seemed to do the job, Hermione started smiling brightly.
"You should go to sleep." she said.
"Yeah." he said but didn't make a move to get up.
"Maybe you should give me a goodnight kiss, so I fall asleep quicker." he suggested with a lopsided smile. Hermione raised one eyebrow, but leaned forward. Harry moved forward to get closer to her. He closed his eyes when she was inches away. Her lips touched his for a few seconds, but before he could move them against hers, they disappeared again. His eyes opened and he let off a disappointed grunt. She had a smug look on her face and was already getting to her feet.
"Night, Harry." she said in an innocent voice.
"Night, Hermione." he sighed and made his way to bed.
When Harry woke up in the morning, after what felt like five minutes of rest, there was an almost electric tension in the air. It went nicely with the nervousness, thought Harry bitterly, as he dressed and went down to the common room. Everyone seemed to be buzzing with excitement, though for most of the people in his year it mixed with dread. The entire Quidditch team was waiting for him anxiously.
"How are you feeling, Harry?"
"Well rested?"
"All good?"
"Ready to beat Slytherin?"
He nodded at them, gave them two thumbs up and went over to Ron.
"Is Hermione at breakfast already?" he asked. Ron stopped chewing on his nail long enough to shrug at Harry.
"Still upstairs. I think she threw up this morning." Lavender whispered loudly to him and gave him a meaningful look. Then she took Ron's hand and pulled him to the portrait to follow the team to the Great Hall.
"Yeah, you guys go ahead, I'll wait for Hermione." he muttered to himself sarcastically.
He barely managed to wait for 30 seconds before finally started contemplating on how to get up to her dormitory without falling on his face.
He didn't have to think for long though because Hermione was already walking down the stairs.
"Morning, Harry." she said and smiled sweetly at him. It took him a while to answer. She was wearing his maroon Quidditch jumper, the Gryffindor coat of arms on the right side of her chest. He couldn't see it but he knew his name was printed in gold lettering on her back. It made his palms tingle.
"Good Morning. How are you?"
"I'm fine, let's get to breakfast, you need to eat." she said and started walking. Now he could see the it: Potter
He followed her distractedly.
They were quite late, the halls were empty and everyone was at breakfast already. Harry took her hand into his and rubbed comforting circles across its back with his thumb. He huffed in annoyance when he realised they were about to make a great entrance. They only hesitated for a second before walking into the Great Hall. All conversations halted for a moment before the noise coming from the tables grew until it became overwhelming.
Gryffindors cheering, Slytherins hissing and sneering, some Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws turning to their friends to discuss the jumper Hermione was wearing, most of them also cheering. Luna's lion hat roared above everyone else. Dean was standing on a chair, swinging a great banner.
Potter! Potter! Potter! Potter!
Harry scratched the back of his neck in embarrasment before waving to those who were chanting his name. The morning of a game was always energetic, but he had never seen the entire school so hyper. Undoubtedly because of the bet. They sat down with the team and immediately began talking about the conditions. It was a clear day, with only a few clouds scattered around the sky, perfect weather for a game. Harry shoveled down some food and got into his captain mode. Soon they were in the dressing room, all ready, waiting for Harry's speech.
"There's nothing to say, really. You all know that this is an important game, not only because of the Quidditch cup, but also because of the bet. Our chances are very good, we've been training everyday this past week. Just do your best. Let's go." It was a short speech. Especially by the standards of Oliver Wood. Each team member clapped his shoulder as they went past him to the line up. He joined them and led his team onto the pitch.
Taking determined steps he met Malfoy in the middle, caught his hand in a deathly grip, shook once before releasing it. Simultaneously they mounted their brooms and with the whistle the game began.
He had been in the air for no longer than ten seconds and already was dodging bludgers. He realised at once that their main strategy was to injure Harry, aiming to get him off the pitch somehow. He started to circle the pitch and zig zagged through the air to avoid bludgers and players. Malfoy was hot on his heels, following him. He scanned his surroundings for the golden snitch and attempted to keep up with the scores.
Their goal was to win the game as fast as possible. As their previous games had been very successfull Gryffindor didn't need a too large point difference. The faster he caught the snitch, the faster Hermione would be free of the bet and maybe, he hoped, she'd kiss him in thanks.
"Ginny Weasley has the quaffle and- yes! 10-20 for Gryffindor!"
Harry stopped listening to the commentary, Crabbe and Goyle were flying on either side of him. The bludgers were both in Gryffindor possesion but the two Slytherins were flying so close to Harry that he was in the danger of not being able to control his broom. Harry flew up and down, attempted to throw them off by changing directions but there was little he could do. As a last resort, he pulled the handle of his Firebolt back and braked. It worked, Crabbe and Goyle had both lost him.
He flew by the Gryffindor stands and saw Hermione standing between Neville and Dean.
He lost her again when Malfoy came up beside him.
"Slytherin scores, 30-20."
Malfoy smirked gloatingly at him.
"An hour from now I'll be with Granger. Bet you just can't think straight from worry, Potter." he shouted at him over the chants in the stands.
"And yet, it's my shirt she's wearing, Malfoy. You'll never have her the way I do. The only way you get to spend any time with her is by forcing her. You're pathetic." he answered without stopping his scanning of the field. Malfoy sputtered beside him.
And there it was. A tiny ball of glittering gold, hovering about three meters above the ground just by the Gryffindor goal post. There was no time to waste. He hoped that Malfoy was still searching for an answer and dived.
Malfoy dived only a second after him and was gaining on him. Harry flew towards the snitch but in his head he was already calculating. If he kept up his dive he would fly past the snitch and right onto the ground. He pulled on the handle of his Firebolt and decelerated his dive. Now he was too far up. In a split second decision, he wound his legs tightly to his broomstick, gripping it between his knees and rolled himself down so he was flying with his body hanging from the broomstick.
The people in the stands gasped in unision.
Harry let go of his Firebolt with one hand, reached out and finally, finally, grasped the snitch firmly in his fist.
The stands erupted in cheers.
"Potter! Potter! Potter!"
Harry didn't mind the chants half as much now. He righted himself on his broom and looked at the snitch in his fist. He brought it to his lips and kissed it before throwing his arm in the air, showing it to the students.
Flying to the ground he jumped off and was immediately assaulted with a small body flying on his. He recognized the curly hair obscuring his eyes and picked her body off the ground. For a while they just stood there swaying from side to side, Harry's arms wound tightly around her waist, hers around his neck, Hermiones feet hovering a few inches above the ground. She pulled away eventually and he dropped her back on the ground. He brought his fist up, presenting her the snitch.
Hermione smiled prettily up at him. Then she grabbed his face in both hands and pulled it towards hers. Their lips met and Harry felt euphoria like he had never known before.
They pulled away when the other Gryffindors slammed into them. In a moment of absolute happiness, he gave her the snitch, bent down and placed Hermione's thighs around his neck, sitting her up on his shoulders. Hermione squealed and grabbed his dark hair. Looking down to the crowd of red and gold, she smiled when she saw Collin's camera flashing.
Ron was shouting into Harry's ear about telling Oliver Wood and Angelina Johnson about "that epic Sloth Grip Roll" he had performed.
For a second Hermione saw Malfoy sitting on the grass untying his shinguards, his shoulders slumped towards the ground. She almost felt bad for him. But as Harry and the parade of Gryffindors made their way towards the castle she decided that nothing would ruin this moment for her.
Ginny Weasley volunteered to go to the kitchen for snacks and was tickling the pear on the portrait when Draco Malfoy walked into the corridor she was in.
When he noticed her standing there, he put his hands up in a non threatening manner and backed away slowly. He was just about to turn around and leave when she decided to voice her question.
"Malfoy."
He looked at her questioningly, one eyebrow pulled up.
"Out of curiosity. What were you planning on doing with Hermione?"
He hesitated but in the end her smiled bitterly.
"Probably a picnic." he snorted, then shrugged.
"Don't worry, I'll stop bothering her. I get it, she's with Potter." he said, then turned around and left.
Ginny stood there dumbfounded, her eyes widening. Maybe he just didn't know how to go about flirting with a girl. She decided she'd teach him.
