Note: Wow guys, I'm so so sorry I haven't updated in a really long time. School got out for the summer, and for some reason I just really didn't feel like writing. But lucky for y'all, I just took a 12 hour round trip car ride to visit family, so I gave in and wrote down what I've been hoarding in my head. I start school in a couple of weeks again, so if I decide to be a cruel and awful person and continue to give into my laziness, I'll be back to normal in not too long ^^
The Gryffindor versus Slytherin Quidditch game was fast approaching and neither Harry nor Draco could find a moment to spare to make one of their secret meetings out near the lake. Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape seemed to have come to some disagreement during a dinner conversation causing both to have an overwhelming desire to see the other's house crushed on the Quidditch pitch. Whatever the disagreement was over must have been big because Professor Snape on any normal occasion hated Quidditch, but Harry was too exhausted from practice to be curious.
The Quidditch pitch was constantly occupied. When one team had finished practice, the other was being ushered out onto the field by the team captain. Harry and Draco would catch site of one another during this trade-off, but neither dared say a word to other while the rest of the team was around.
Apart from those brief glances at practice, Harry and Draco were left to steal moments between classes in the corridors. Though, thanks to the crowd of students and Draco's faithful tag-alongs, Crabbe and Goyle, they could only give each other meaningful glares and snide remarks and, if they were lucky enough, the passing of a secret note. It was all driving Harry mad.
"For heaven's sake, Harry! Just go meet him after dinner!" Hermione demanded after watching her love-sick friend stare at his yams for entirely too long. Ron jumped at Hermione's outburst and had managed to stab the roof of his mouth with his fork, causing him to yelp.
"Slytherin has practice before dinner. Look at him; he's much too exhausted for me to bother him," Harry turned for a moment to see Draco nodding off over his own plate of yams. "See?"
Hermione did not look, but was rather freezing water with her wand for Ron to stick in his injured mouth.
"Just talk to him for a minute or two then. It won't hurt him, and from the sound of things, it will only do you good. Ron told me you haven't been sleeping well."
"What, so you two are 'gossip about Harry' buddies now?" Harry glared at his friends. Ron's face turned red in embarrassment, though Harry wondered for a moment whether it was just from the cold of the ice. "I've just had a lot on my mind is all."
"Either about Voldemort or Malfoy, I'm sure," Hermione said as she urged more ice into Ron's mouth. "And from the way you're moping, I'm betting Malfoy."
Harry sighed and began to eat. Hermione was right as always.
"U'ees eevin," Ron tried to splutter through his ice-filled mouth.
Both Harry and Hermione looked up from their plates to stare bewilderedly at their red-headed friend.
"Eeees eeevink!" Ron tried again, this time gesturing frantically to the door of the Great Hall.
Harry turned just in time to see an exhausted looking Draco saunter out of the hall completely alone.
"Well go on!" Hermione urged.
"Draco, wait!" Harry called after the blonde-headed figure disappearing down the passage to the dungeons. The Slytherin stopped and turned to stare sleepily at Harry.
"Hey," Draco smiled.
"I know you're exhausted, but it's been so long since we've had a chance to talk."
Draco nodded the looked wide-eyed as a group of Slytherins came out of the Great Hall. Before they could be spotted Draco grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him down the passageway towards the dungeons.
"Quick, in here," Draco led Harry into what appeared to be a closet.
"Lumos," the two muttered simultaneously once the door was shut behind them. They wand light revealed what Harry recognized to be the potions storeroom.
"This is cozy," Harry laughed as he shifted away from some of the more menacing looking potion's ingredients.
"Sorry, it was the first place that came to mind," Draco apologized and then yawned.
"I…I should really let you get some sleep…" Harry stumbled over his words. The close proximity to which he found himself with Draco made it hard to concentrate on what he wanted to say.
"Not yet," Draco half-smiled before another yawn overtook him. "I've missed you."
Unable to hold back any longer, Harry stepped forward to kiss Draco. The Slytherin responded positively to the gesture, but had to shift sideways in the small space to properly kiss Harry back. As he shifted to one side he managed to knock over one of the many glass vials off of a shelf, causing a distinct shattering noise when it hit the stone floor. The two boys ignored the mishap and continued in their kiss, but the sound of the shattering glass had alerted an unfortunate figure in the passageway outside.
No sooner had the door to the storeroom flung open when Harry and Draco felt a hand grab each of them by the shoulders of their robes.
"Office, now!" Snape growled as he yanked the two out of the storeroom.
Harry and Draco stumbled into the office and waited, dazed, for Snape to close the door behind him.
"Explain yourselves," Snape demanded with pursed lips and his arms crossed across his chest.
"If you and Professor McGonagall hadn't scheduled so many extra practices…" Harry began, but was cut off.
"I fail to see how a few extra Quidditch practices requires you to hide away in the storeroom."
"We just needed some place to talk," Draco tried adding.
"Talk? Is that what you call it these days?" Snape sneered. "I should give you both detention, but I shall let you off this time since you did follow my instructions to be discreet about your…relationship. I do not want to see either of you around that storeroom again. Is that clear?"
"Yes sir," the two mumbled.
"You are lucky the vial you knocked over was only full of porcupine quills, not erumpent powder. I am not protecting the two of you only to have you blown up! Now off to bed with the both of you," Snape finished and ushered the boys into the hallway. Apparently suspicious, Snape stood planted in his doorway until Harry had gone out the corridor one way and Draco the other.
Two days later the long-awaited Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin was underway. Nearly the whole of Hogwarts was in attendance, but to the disappointment of all present, the game was an utter disaster. Sleep deprived and muscles sore from the hours of extra practice left both teams struggling to maneuver their brooms correctly. Midway through the game only one beater had managed to aim a hit at a passing Bludger and the Quaffle had been dropped so many times, the commentator wondered aloud whether it might be a new record. High above the field Draco and Harry struggled to keep their eyes open to search for the golden snitch.
"Stop staring at me and look for the snitch yourself, will ya?" Harry yelled across to the Slytherin who had taken up his normal strategic plan.
Malfoy was quite aware that Harry was the better seeker, but he also knew that he could fly just a tad faster than the Gryffindor. Therefore, he had come up with his own strategy that, when playing against Harry, to wait for the Gryffindor to find the snitch and then zoom into to catch it first. It was a strategy that annoyed Harry to know end because, to his chagrin, sometimes it worked.
"Fat chance, Potter. This game your ass is mine."
Harry was about to snicker at the comment when he saw a glint of gold about three feet behind the Slytherin. He tried to hide his excitement, but it was too late. Draco could read his mind, it seemed. The Slytherin seeker wheeled around on the spot and saw instantly what Harry had found for him.
"Shit," Harry cursed as he leaned forward to chase after his rival.
"In a normal game Malfoy would have had the snitch in seconds, but this particular snitch was a mean one. As soon as it sensed it had been spotted, it headed straight down for the ground. Malfoy hated this part of being seeker most and considered pulling up in fear he might crash, but he could feel Harry on his tail. Determined not to lose Malfoy pushed forward and reached out his hand towards the glint of gold.
Just before he should have felt the snitch brush the tip of his fingers, Draco crashed head-on into the ground and rolled of his broom. Harry, only inches above him, realized just in time that a disaster was due and jumped off his broom to avoid crashing into the other boy. Unfortunately his split-second decision to jump was not well-planned and Harry landed directly on top of Draco.
Shocked, with the wind knocked out of them, the two seekers just laid their one on top of the other. A moment or two later Draco came to his senses.
"Get off me!"
Harry only grunted.
"Get off me!" Draco repeated and roughly shoved the boy off of him. He stood on shaky legs to see Madame Hooch rushing towards them. The stadium was full of a deafening chant of "Slytherin!" and Draco realized it must have seemed to the audience that he and Harry and been fighting over the snitch while they had lain there on the ground together.
"There is no need for a fight!" Madame Hooch scolded once she had reached the crash site.
Harry still lay on the ground groaning, leaving Draco to feel a rush of guilt flood over him. He wanted badly to check to see if Harry was okay, but the whole school as watching his every move. Should he risk it? Was it worth the suspicion it would bring?
"I'm okay," Harry mumbled at Madame Hooch who had crouched over him, saving Draco from his dilemma. A second later Harry had pushed himself off of the ground and held out his clenched fist for Madame Hooch to see the snitch he had caught on his way down.
"Well done, Potter," Hooch congratulated and then frowned, "but since Mr. Malfoy here seems to think you cheated, we'll need to check who caught it first."
"What?" Draco asked confused at the accusation, but held out his hand anyway to receive the snitch. The small winged ball felt hot in his hands but did nothing.
"As I suspected," Madame Hooch tisked and took the snitch to place it in Harry's hand once again. The moment the snitch met Harry's palm it sprouted wings and began to hover just a few inches above his hand.
"Gryffindor!" Madame Hooch shouted as she thrusted Harry's arm into the air. The stadium erupted in cheers.
Note: I've already started working on the next chapter, so it will be coming eventually, I promise!
Reviews: To Dance Until The World Ends - You sent me a pm the other day about the story, but you seem to have pm's disabled. So sorry I never replied! I did try!