This chapter is dedicated to my children, see if you recognize yourselves in this chapter. My children are my light, they are wacky wonderful people and I love them very much. Here's to you!
Chapter 8
Let the games begin!
The next morning Draco was up and almost ready to go before his friends arrived. Today was the first Quidditch match of the season and Ravenclaw was playing against Hufflepuff. Draco didn't intend to miss it. They had moved up the matches a couple weeks this year in order to give everybody more study time at the end of year for finals.
He'd been going to watch the Ravenclaw practices on a regular basis and while at first he had been looked at with suspicion, they soon became accustomed to him being around. After the first two attacks, the team had actually become pretty welcoming. They even let him join them as an opposing Chaser, making their practices a little better.
He was often accompanied by Luna, who was a surprisingly avid watcher considering her usual attention span. Helen was typically in the library during the practices since, as she had once put it; "It's just not my thing, I don't find it to be a logical or efficient use of my time." Astoria however, was Ravenclaw's keeper. Her defense of Draco was not the only thing she put her protective instincts to work on. If she wasn't defending Draco, or the goals she was helping the younger students acclimate to being away from home so much.
Draco remembered Astoria's older sister Daphne as being similar, she had been in Draco's year and was in Slytherin as well, but they hadn't interacted much. She had been in Pansy's little group, but when Pansy's treatment of those younger than her started to get bad, they had stopped hanging out. He wondered what happened to her.
The door to the infirmary opened as he was folding up the last of his nightclothes. He looked over his shoulder and smiled at the three women who came into the room and an even bigger smile broke out on his face at what he saw. Luna was wearing a large bronze eagle balanced on her head, it rose about 3 feet above her and she had to duck and hold the hat in order to get through the door.
"Luna!, what in Merlin's name are you wearing?" Draco asked and burst out laughing.
"Do you like it, watch what it can do." When Luna touched a spot on the brim of the hat the eagle spread its wings out to a span of about 6 feet, stretched out its neck and let out an ear piercing screech. Everybody pressed their hands to ears and Madam Pomfrey came running out of her office.
"What is that racket? Stop that this instant!" She yelled, hands also pressed to her ears.
Luna calmly reached up and shut the hat off. It was an amazing piece of magic.
"Geez Luna, save it for the field, that's way too loud for inside." Astoria said, lowering her hands.
"That was wicked Luna!" Draco said, still smiling.
"Yea, real wicked." Helen said, wiggling a finger in her ear, "I may be deaf now."
"Mr. Malfoy, you are free to go, please try to avoid coming back, I would prefer not to see you again if you don't mind." Madam Pomfrey said, and started to herd them out of the room. "Out now, of you go, along with that silly hat."
The four friends left the room, still chuckling and talking about Luna's entertaining ensemble.
Draco found himself growing quiet as he took in Astoria who was also dressed differently, wearing the basics of her Quidditch uniform. The heavier blue robes with bronze trim hugged her figure, long slits on all sides made it easy to sit a broom and adjust as needed but it also showed her legs. The thick hide pants she wore under the robes were tight to her thighs and the high top boots gave an extra inch to her 5'6" frame.
When they arrived minutes later at the Great Hall for breakfast; most of the tables were already full. They didn't arrive unnoticed and Ginny and Hermione waved from the Gryffindor table, well, probably at Luna, but all of them waved back. The girls sent them a friendly smile in return.
They found seats at the Ravenclaw table and settled in to breakfast. Draco started by taking a long drink of Pumpkin Juice, since for some reason his throat was suddenly dry. Astoria was nervous about the first game of the season but ate heartily anyway, not knowing when she would get her next meal. Draco glanced up at the magical ceiling and was pleased to see it was a nice clear day, great for flying. After they had settled the first pangs of hunger Draco looked to Astoria.
"Hey Astoria, I was just thinking about Daphne this morning, what is she up to these days?" Draco asked, between bites of scrambled eggs.
Astoria seemed startled by the question. "What brought Daphne to mind." She asked very casually, taking a bite of sausage.
"Actually I had been thinking about your goal keeping abilities, comparing how you defend the hoops with the same dedication that you do younger students. It just reminded me that Daphne had often protected the lower years as well."
"Oh." Astoria blushed a little and smiled. "She's doing really good actually, she left after her 6th year here to study abroad at the Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts. She'll be there for another 2 years. Did she ever sing around you?"
"Yea, she was really good actually."
From what he remembered of Daphne she had a beautiful singing voice and her looks…well, she had always been easy to notice. She and Astoria shared that trait in common. They were both great looking, he was a guy, of course he had looked. Something had always kept him from approaching the beautiful Slytherin girl though.
"Hmm" Astoria was thoughtful. "Well anyway she really wants to be a singer, it's pretty much why she ended up in Slytherin, she has a lot of ambition."
That made sense, not everybody who went to Slytherin were bad people, many of them had ambitious dreams and goals and could be very single minded. That tended to make them good fits for the house that valued desire and greatness above all else.
"Do you get to see her very often?" He asked.
"She'll be home for Christmas and she might come back in the summer but she's not sure yet." Astoria answered and then changed the subject. "Helen, are you going to be studying again today or will you be watching the game?"
"I'll come to the game, but I have to study again this evening, you should join me Draco, we can work on our DADA homework. It's due on Monday."
"Sounds like a plan." Draco said, returning his attention to his breakfast.
When breakfast was finished it was time to head down to the Quidditch pitch. All the students were filing out of the room and Draco ended up at the door with a number of Slytherin students nearby. They glared at him and pulled their robes back to avoid touching him or any of the girls. This actually did more to piss him off then any of the previous attacks and before he realized what he was doing, his hand was resting on his wand and he was snarling at them, the old sneer of hatred twisting his face. The Slytherin student's eyes grew wide and they collectively backed up putting distance between themselves and the sudden appearance of the old Draco.
He felt a small hand on his arm and looked down to see who had at the temerity to touch him, and found himself staring into a pair of guileless blue eyes, set under a ridiculous hat. "Come Draco, we don't want Astoria to be late to the match."
Draco blinked, coming back to himself. His face fell and his hand dropped away from his wand. He turned away from the Slytherin's who had not moved and walked out with the woman who somehow, in such a short time, knew him so well.
Draco was silent as they moved down to the pitch. Astoria and Helen kept up a running conversation about their visit to Hogsmede yesterday while Luna remained her normal quiet self.
Slowing just a little bit Draco put some distance between himself and his friends but Luna, who didn't even seem to be paying attention to where she was going, remained by his side.
"Don't worry Draco." She said quietly.
He didn't pretend not to understand "How can I not worry? I was going to attack them, just for being rude." He replied, just as quietly.
"But you didn't, that's all that matters."
"Only because you stopped me." Draco sounded sad.
"Two years ago, even last year, you wouldn't have stopped just because I was there. In fact it was just as likely I'd be a target. I believe in you Draco, I've always believed in you, before you even knew there was something to believe in. I know you've changed, others are learning it too and it's why some in Slytherin hate you so much. But complete change takes time, and instinct may always play a part. Your instinct to protect others may have had more to do with the decisions you made in the past than you may think. Give yourself time."
It was the longest, and most sensible, speech he had ever heard Luna give. He placed his hand on her arm and stopped, she stopped with him.
"Thanks Luna, I really appreciate it…and you." Draco leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He had a fleeting thought of another he wouldn't mind kissing.
"That's fine; I'm only doing my part." Luna said in her quiet soft voice.
They didn't notice that others had in interest in their conversation.
They started walking again; and looking around Draco noted that Astoria was headed off to the team changing room to finish getting ready and get her pep talk before the match started. Draco and Luna caught up with Helen and headed into the stands along with the rest of Ravenclaw house.
The match started a short while later. There was a new announcer this year; Draco hoped he had some idea what he was doing. The Headmistress was seated in the box next to him. Draco thought he might be from Hufflepuff house, which meant the match would be fairly commentated if nothing else.
He looked around the stands; everybody was wearing their house colors. Draco recalled how that had been an issue for him when he first came back to school. All of his uniforms were in Slytherin colors, but the following morning he had found 2 sets of robes, 2 ties and other assorted articles in the distinctive Ravenclaw colors of blue and bronze. There was also a note suggesting he order his winter garb soon before it became cold. Draco had sent the order with his beautiful owl Belleza on his first break that morning. Despite his estrangement from his parents, he had funds of his own that he had inherited when he turned 18. That reminded him, he needed to get up to the Owlery to visit her, it had been a while and he didn't want her to think he didn't care.
The unknown commentator was just announcing the team names. From Hufflepuff Eric Summerby was back as Seeker and James Cadwallader and Richard King were back as Chasers. He knew Richard was the captain this year. Richard's twin brother Charles was also back as Keeper. They had two new players he didn't recognize at all as beaters but they were big buggers and looked comfortable on their brooms. They were a fast team and it should be an interesting match.
Then the Ravenclaw team was called and Luna turned on her magical eagle, which drowned out what the commentator was saying. However, he knew the players. Astoria of course as Keeper, then the team captain Allen Foster with Marian Bistry as Chasers, Cody McGregor and Josh Kingsley were the beaters. Jeremy Stridel was the Seeker this year, it was his first year and you could tell he was really nervous. Draco had spent some time working with Jeremy on his seeker skills and thought he was one of the best he'd seen since Harry sat on a broom in their 1st year. Even Harry might have a hard time keeping up with the little bullet Jeremy was turning into.
Madam Hooch moved to the center of the pitch and released the latch on the case that held the balls: the Snitch shot off and was soon lost to sight. The Bludgers remained in their locked positions while Madam Hooch removed the Quaffle and mounted her broom. The two captains came to meet her and she provided them with the standard speech. Draco couldn't hear it but he knew it by heart. "Now I want a good clean game. Captains shake hands." After the two men clasped hands and moved back Madam Hooch brought the whistle to her lips and with one long blast and a toss of the Quaffle the players were on the move. With a subsequent swish of her wand the bludgers were freed and the game was on.
Almost immediately you could tell this was going to be a good game. All of the players were fast and it all seemed to flow like a dance. Allen of Ravenclaw had caught the Quaffle and was passing it back and forth with Marian; however it wasn't long before Richard snatched the ball from between them by coming in from below and passing it to Cadwallader who was above them, they both raced down the pitch toward the Ravenclaw end as the Ravenclaw chasers turned to go after them. King ducked a bludger by rolling over on his broom and with an underhanded toss passed the Quaffle to Cadwallader. "Ok, these guys are good." Draco thought to himself.
Astoria stopped their goal, but only barely and passed the Quaffle on to Foster. As the game progressed Draco found himself studying their moves. Watching and starting to anticipate what the opposing team was going to do next. He'd done this before but never did anything with it because he was always too busy messing with the other teams Seeker. Slytherin tended to use insults and bully tactics to win, not skill.
Ravenclaw scored the first goal when McGregor slammed a bludger at Cadwallader stopping him from intercepting Marian, the other King twin, expecting the move to be blocked was just a smidgeon too late getting in place and the ball passed by his fingertips. The score was 10-0.
It didn't take long to figure out that Hufflepuff had fielded a hell of a team this year. However, it still took another hour before Hufflepuff managed to score twice in quick succession, bringing the score to 10-20. Ravenclaw had been unable to breach the Hufflepuff defense in that same time.
Draco was starting to see that they had a weakness though. Their seeker was slower, and tended to get distracted by the game while the young Ravenclaw seeker was keeping his focus on finding the Snitch. Jeremy also seemed to have eyes in the back of his head, quickly diving or swerving when a Bludger was sent his way, but never taking his eyes from the pitch, constantly searching.
Five hours into the game the score was at a tie 60-60 and all the players were starting to get a little slower. Which is why, when the Hufflepuff Chaser King dodged a Bludger by rolling over on his broom again, the Ravenclaw team misjudged what was to happen next. Since Cadwallader was in position to take the Quaffle on a pass through, just like in the first goal attempt, the Beaters targeted him. However, instead, free and clear, King completed his roll without tossing the Quaffle to his teammate; instead it sailed right through the center goal, while Astoria had anticipated the left one, giving Hufflepuff the lead. If the Hufflepuff seeker got the Snitch now, Ravenclaw would lose, making it very difficult to place above 3rd.
The game continued, and a half hour later, young Jeremy was making a dash for the Hufflepuff end of the pitch. He'd done this before, there had been a dozen false alarms and close catches during the game and the Hufflepuff seeker, now paying close attention was after him in a flash.
Draco could see it, in fact, he had seen it a number of times during the game when the seekers had not, but he didn't judge, this one was incredibly sneaky. He'd talk with Jeremy and do a little post game play-by-play later. The tiny golden Snitch was hiding behind the right-most goal at the Ravenclaw end of the pitch, so he didn't know why Jeremy was headed toward Hufflepuff.
However, as soon as the slightly faster Summerby passed him, Jeremy dove straight for the ground and did a single roll, when he pulled out of the dive a few feet short of smashing into the ground he was headed full speed in the opposite direction. He now far outdistanced Summerby who hadn't noticed he was no longer going in the same direction as the smaller boy. The shout from the Hufflepuff side of the stands was loud, but too late.
Jeremy snatched the Snitch as he shot past the Ravenclaw goal.
Ravenclaw had won, 210-70 in a game that had lasted longer than any in years. Everybody was on their feet, it was a spectacular win, worthy of Harry Potter himself, who Draco could see cheering along with everybody else.
Draco looked at Harry, and after catching his attention, smiled slightly and gave a little nod. Harry nodded back and smiled as well. Oh, the Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw game was going to be fun. There was a seeker in Ravenclaw that might just rival the best seeker the school had seen in a hundred years. However, he was young and inexperienced, but Draco could work with that. He'd been watching Harry long enough that he didn't fear that he could help prepare Jeremy and maybe even add in a few tricks of his own.
The teams were headed back to change, they were completely wiped out though and dragging their brooms behind them. Draco suddenly grinned and grabbing Luna and Helen by the hands he said, "Let's go, we need to get some food for the common room, they'll need to eat and get some sleep. And they deserve a celebration." With that said, he broke into a run, dragging the girls behind him, laughing.
Luna's hat had gone silent some time ago, the magic having worn off, so it was just chattering students, reliving the best parts of the game as the three of them rushed back to the school. Luna had not seen Draco ever look for happy, he was laughing and seemed years younger than normal. He was pulling them into the castle, however, he didn't head for Ravenclaw house, instead pulling the girls with him down toward the basement.
"We're going the wrong way Draco." Helen said, but in a laughing voice, this was the most fun she had had in a while and Draco's enjoyment was infectious.
"No, we need to get food, trust me." Draco said and soon had pulled them up, stopping beside a painting of a bowl of fruit that hung on a wall directly below the Great Hall. He had been following Harry years before and seen them come here. He reached out and lightly ran his fingers over the pear, almost like he was tickling it. The pear shivered and a door opened in the wall.
A house elf stood in the doorway. His tea towel neat and pressed, Draco thought it might be the same elf who had come up to Professor Flitwick's office the day he was sorted into his new home.
"How may Dinkle help Master, Mistresses?" the squeaky voice asked.
It was the same elf, he must run the castle staff of House Elves. "Ravenclaw just won the first match of the season. I was hoping we might be able to get some food worthy of a celebration?" Draco asked, very polite.
"Of course Master, come in, come in, Dinkle would be happy to help."
"Winky, come, Master and Mistresses need some food for a celebration." The house elf called out, his high pitched voice carrying across the room.
"Oh yes, Winky would be happy to help." Another voice answered, and a female House Elf hurried up to them. He could see dozens of House Elves in the room, preparing food and placing large platters along the tables that he saw matched the layout of the tables above in the Great Hall.
The little elf bowed low and looked up at him. Her large round eyes got even rounder, in what seemed to be surprise. "Master Draco?" she squeaked.
"Yes, I'm Draco, how did you know?" He asked, surprised that a House Elf would know him.
"Oh, Winky was good friends with Dobby sir, Dobby always spoke very highly of his young Master, called you his friend he did. Dobby was sad that you were mad at him, but Dobby said he understood. Dobby was sorry he was never able to tell you the truth. But he told Winky."
"Told you the truth? He was sad about me? I don't understand." Draco was stunned. He had never known any other House Elves and after what Dobby had done, he hadn't wanted to.
"Dobby told Winky sir, told her what he had done when Master was a young boy. Dobby was sad that he had to make the young master sad, but Master would have got in trouble you see." Winky replied.
"What, no I don't see, I didn't have anything to do with Dobby, and he certainly wasn't my friend." Draco was becoming upset, he didn't want to talk to this little elf and he was quickly regretting coming here.
"Winky is sorry Master, Dobby never told you, of course Master wouldn't see. Winky is bad for not realizing that." With that the little elf ran to the wall and banged her head against it.
Dinkle ran over to her, "Stop that now, you know Headmistress doesn't like it when we punish ourselves without permission."
Winky stopped like a freeze spell had been placed on her; she panted for a few seconds and then turned back to Draco. "Winky is sorry young Master and Mistresses had to see that, Winky is still trying to remember all the new rules." She straightened her tea towel and walked back over to Draco, Luna and Helen.
Luna and Helen were simply staring, they had never had much contact with House Elves and weren't sure how to react.
"Dobby tells Winky all about it, about how his old Master ordered Dobby to take young Master's pet and drown it. But sir, Dobby couldn't do it; Dobby knew it would make young master sad. So Dobby hid it instead, Dobby had to punish himself over and over again. Dobby fed it and helped it get better and then Dobby gave it to another House Elf whose family would take care of it. Dobby was very sad that he couldn't tell young Master what he had done, but Dobby was scared you would get in trouble. Dobby tells Winky, hoping that maybe Winky can tell you some day. Dobby didn't want you to be sad anymore." Winky seemed to run out of breath and was again panting slightly.
Draco was in shock and no thoughts could make their way out of his brain. He didn't even realize that tears were running down his cheeks until Luna quietly and stealthily placed a kerchief into his hand. This broke the spell that seemed to hold him and a choked sob escaped his control.
Draco got down onto his knees in front of Winky, put out his arms and slowly pulled her to him in a tight hug, "Thank you Winky, thank you for telling me." It was as though a great weight had been lifted, all those years that he had hated Dobby and all Dobby had done was protect him. He owed that little elf and he could never repay him.
Winky patted his back with her little hands. "Winky doesn't need thanks young Master, Winky was just doing the right thing." She pulled back "But young Master has a celebration right? Winky thinks it is better for young Master to celebrate. Not to be sad anymore, Dobby would not want young Master to be sad."
Draco stood back up, using the kerchief to wipe his cheeks and blow his nose. He would have it cleaned and returned to Luna later.
Both Luna and Helen each took one of his hands and together they gave him a group hug, he was sandwiched by affection and it felt strange and wonderful.
In the Ravenclaw Common room the students enjoyed the food, Butterbeer and deserts that were provided by the generous House Elves and Draco celebrated with them. He was now a full member of this large and extended family, with the closest being the three young women who seemed to make his life complete. The party didn't end until Professor Flitwick arrived to break it up, well, actually it ended when he left; following food, Butterbeer and the tales of a remarkable win. After all it is rude not to offer refreshments to a visitor.
Wow, longest chapter yet I think.
I love this chapter, it may very well turn out to be my favorite of the entire book. I hope you guys get "feels" from this J
But there is much much more to say yet.
Enemies to meet, and hopefully to defeat.
Tell me what you think, vote and if you feel up to it, share it with your friends. Until we meet again.
