Forgiven
Hermione POV
Hermione entered the common room where Ginny, Harry and Ron were already waiting.
"Shall we go?" She asked them, whilst pulling a Gryffindor scarf around her neck.
They nodded and made their way down to the grounds to enjoy the Sunday afternoon. When they reached the Great Lake Hermione produced two jars from her pocket and muttered "Incendio," creating small flames to keep them warm. She then took Ron's hat and transfigured it into a blanket. They all sat down, comfortably chatting about their holiday plans.
"Are you staying at Hogwarts this year Hermione?" Ginny asked.
"Yes, my parents are going to Paris but I've already been twice, so I said I would stay at Hogwarts."
"You know that you're always welcome to stay with us, don't you?" Ginny offered.
She smiled at her, "Yes I know, thank you but I'm perfectly happy staying here and Padma is also staying, so I won't be alone."
Ginny still looked unsure.
"Don't worry Ginny," Harry laughed, "Hermione's got the whole library to herself for two weeks."
Hermione nodded and they all burst out laughing.
"Laughing about your poor attempt at Quidditch Potter?" A voice drawled from behind them.
Hermione grimaced and turned to face Draco, who was with a group of Slytherin's that were smirking behind him. She was glad to see that Pansy wasn't one of them.
The argument they had had yesterday was still clear in her mind and she regretted what she had said to him but knew it was only out of anger. Their kiss was also vivid in her memory and she wanted to ask him what it had meant but knew she couldn't, as she had clearly asked him to stop speaking to her. He didn't look up at her but turned to Ron who had suddenly piped up.
"Shove off Malfoy, it was a lucky win!"
"You can't really speak Weasel, you're not good enough to even get on the team." He spat back.
Ron's face was scarlet and Harry had to hold him back to stop him wrestling Malfoy to the ground.
Malfoy smirked, "How about we settle this right now? A Quidditch match on the pitch, it's free all afternoon."
Hermione groaned, this wasn't going to be good.
"Yeah, let's do it!" Ron cried.
"No, Ron! Don't be ridiculous!" Hermione scolded him, but none of the boys were listening to her protests. Harry and Ron were up in seconds and were following Draco and the Slytherin's down to the pitch.
"Come on Hermione, we better go with them." Ginny said, helping her up. She didn't need telling twice.
The stands were empty and the weather was now turning vicious, the wind biting at her face. She walked onto the edge of the pitch with Ginny, watching as the boys sorted out their teams. Fred, George and Lee had joined the boy's team but they were still in need of two players. Harry came rushing over to them, whilst the Slytherin's slouched by the stands waiting impatiently for them to complete their team.
"We need you two to play." Harry said.
Hermione was stunned but Ginny nodded, confidently.
"What? Are you mad, I haven't ridden a broom since first year!" Hermione cried.
"Don't worry, you will be a chaser with Ginny and she can do most of the work." Harry offered.
"I am not getting on a broom. In fact I don't even have a broom!"
"Fred's got a spare shooting star, and there is no one else to play for us." Harry pleaded.
"Come on, Hermione. Have a little fun for once." Ginny pressed.
This hit a nerve, why did everyone keep saying that she couldn't have fun?
"Fine, let's do it." Hermione agreed, out of spite.
She anxiously took the broom that Fred offered her and slipped off her cloak, so that it didn't get in the way. The wind instantly hit her, making her eyes water but she did her best to ignore it and joined the make-do Gryffindor team, broom in hand.
Draco POV
He hadn't expected the Gryffindor's to actually agree to the Quidditch match but now he was more determined than ever to win. He also didn't expect their seventh player to be Hermione Granger and he raised an eyebrow as she walked onto the pitch. She just gave him a defiant glare and a Malfoy-worthy smirk.
Flint had stolen the Quidditch set from Madam Hooch's office and the game began as soon as he released the snitch. It was a violent and unpleasant game and Draco had nearly been hit by a bludger twice. The golden snitch had made an appearance a few times but each time he went for it, it disappeared from his view.
He had also found himself unconsciously keeping an eye on Hermione, who was doing surprisingly well. She had scored a goal in the first fifteen minutes and the score so far left them in a tie. A flicker of gold brought him back to the game and he dived after it, with Harry close on his tail. His hand was centimetres away, when he heard a scream and shouts of protest.
They both stopped immediately and turned round to see Flint trying to knock Hermione off her broom. Anger rose up in Draco and he sped off in Flint's direction, giving him a hard shove. But the force of the shove caused Flint to hit Hermione, who was right next to him and she went spiralling off towards the stands. Draco dived after her, desperate to catch her before she hit the stands.
Hermione POV
The two seekers were chasing the snitch and she watched in anticipation, but a hard shove caused her to nearly fall off her broom, as Flint crashed into her. An unintentional scream escaped her lips, catching the attention of the others and she clutched her broom tightly, trying to move out of his way.
She dodged his next attempt at trying to make her fall off her broom, and over his shoulder caught a glimpse of Draco heading in their direction, a furious expression on his face.
Flint was unaware that Draco was behind him and the shove took him by surprise, but the force of it caused him to collide wither. Hermione tried to move out of the way but it was too late and the impact of Flint left her heading rapidly towards the stands. She pulled out her wand and muttered a quick cushioning charm before shutting her eyes and bracing herself for the hit.
But it never came, instead a pair of hands grasped her by the waist and when she opened her eyes she found a pair of familiar grey ones staring into hers. She let out a shaky breath as Draco pulled her up onto the back of his broom, her own falling down into the stands.
He kept his broom steady, leaving them hovering in the air, behind the teachers stands.
"What were you thinking, agreeing to play?" He said furiously, not turning round to face her.
She looked at him, confused by his anger.
"Draco I'm alright, I'm not hurt. You saved me."
He didn't turn around so she placed her hand on his cheek, gently turning his head to face her.
"Look, I'm fine." She said softly, giving him a small smile. His features relaxed slightly as he checked her over, realising that she hadn't been harmed.
"I'm sorry that was my fault, I didn't realise he would go crashing into you." He muttered, bitterly.
"It wasn't your fault Draco, you were trying to help me." She whispered, her hand still on his cheek.
"Thank you." She added, leaning forward to give him a light kiss on the cheek. A small smile tugged at his lips and she felt herself blushing.
"Now can we get back onto the ground? I've had enough flying for a lifetime and I'm sure everyone's wondering why we are hiding behind the stands." She laughed.
He nodded and told her to hold on tight as he dived towards the ground. She gasped and her arms wrapped around his waist so that she didn't fall off. She knew he was enjoying this and although she couldn't see his face, she was certain that he was smirking.
Draco POV
They landed smoothly on the ground in front of the furious looking Gryffindor's and Hermione carefully dismounted his broom as he held it steady for her.
"I'm going to kill you Malfoy!" Ron growled, marching in their direction.
Draco exchanged a confused glance with Hermione at Ron's sudden statement.
"Ron, what are you doing?" Hermione cried, as he threw a punch at Draco who stepped back just in time.
"I saw him! He pushed you off your broom!"
Harry was now holding Ron back with great difficulty. Hermione stood between Ron and Draco and he began to protest but she silenced him with a glare.
"Ron, he didn't push me off my broom, he saved me!"
It was Ron's turn to look confused, "But-but I saw him."
"Well, you saw wrong Weasel." He drawled.
Ron's anger flared up again, "Don't speak to me like that Malfoy, I swear I'll-"
"Ron, stop it!" Hermione pleaded.
"Why are you standing up for him, Hermione?" Ron asked.
"Because he didn't do anything wrong!"
Ginny now joined the scene and the other Slytherin's were edging closer, protective of Draco.
He turned to them and brushed them off, "I'm fine, you can go back inside."
They stood reluctantly before turning and heading back up to the castle.
"Ron, I was closer than you," Ginny began. "Malfoy didn't push her, now leave it at that and go back to the common room!"
Draco felt a sudden sense of respect towards her and nodded appreciatively. Ron gave him one last glare before storming off with Harry and Ginny. Draco turned towards Hermione who had gone to pick up her cloak and was now walking slowly off the pitch.
She stopped briefly and turned to him, "Are you coming or not?"
He smirked and made his way over to her, falling into step next to her.
"Seeing as I saved your life," he began, hesitating slightly. "Does that mean you forgive me for yesterday?"
She looked up at him and shrugged nonchalantly, "I guess."
He gave her a true smile, with no hint of a smirk in it and she smiled back. They passed the Great Lake and a few students gave them odd glances but he ignored them.
"I-I didn't mean what I said before," she said, looking at the ground. "I was angry and I don't really want you to stop talking to me."
"I know," he said slowly. "I figured I would just give you some space."
She nodded, appreciatively.
"Are you doing much during the Christmas holiday?" He asked casually, attempting to change the subject.
She grinned at him and he rolled his eyes, he hadn't meant for her to interpret it that way.
"I didn't mean-" He began but she cut him off.
"I know." She laughed. "I'm staying at Hogwarts, what about you?"
"I'm staying as well." He said, before grinning mischievously, "I've heard that not many students are staying, so we could meet-"
He stopped mid-sentence as she raised an eyebrow at him.
"What? It's just a suggestion."
"I know, I know but… I suppose we could sort something out, later though." She said, stopping as they reached the front doors of the castle.
He nodded and gave her a smirk, "I'll see you Friday."
She smiled and made her way into the castle, leaving him standing there with a huge grin plastered across his face that he didn't bother to try and remove.
A/N: I've already started the next chapter and I hope you enjoyed this one! I read Fantastic Beasts at the weekend and went to see it on Saturday, it was amazing! I can't wait for the next screenplay...
Reviewers:
Sachiko Heiwajima: I know, I know! But at least I made Hermione feel guilty about it and there is more kissing in the next chapter...
Moonfangs90: Thanks for reviewing again! Dramione fanfics that I would recommend are;
Isolation by bex-chan
Happily Divorced by writerspassion18 (I currently read this one every week)
Lady-Delphinea also has plenty of Dramione fanfics that I would recommend. Hope this helped.
Please leave a review.
