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Author's Response to Questions, Comments, Reviews
Lori94 (8/22/12) – I'm glad Millicent agreed to help out. Lavender really needs her friends! ***** Yes, she does! Lavender, I mean. And, obviously I'm not making Millicent as bad as she seems in the books...or the rest of the Slytherin kids, for that matter. Times have changed...and so have people.
Demitea (8/28/12) – Just found Ur story! :) I love it! Loving the suttle drarry progression :) and I love Ur authors notes, I love the facts u throw in :) great story! Can't wait for more! Update soon! ***** Thank you so much, dear...so nice to hear. *grin*
Mazabm (9/6/12) – Wow, turquoise.. . Great job! As usual cant wait for that match! Why is Harry so clueless?! Keep updating. ***** I'm not sure why Harry's so clueless, but...it's fun to write…his cluelessness, I mean. Hehe.
Phoenixgirl26 (9/8/12) – sorry I haven't reviewed each chapter, so I'll start now. I love the story and enjoying it very much, and of course it has me laughing a lot. The bickering between draco and harry is hilarious, good work. ***** Thank you, thank you! And, no problem...about your lack of reviews. I like them, of course, but would never whine about not getting them. Some people don't like to write them and others are too busy. I usually write a lot of them, but sometimes I get lazy and don't. *sigh*
JustAboveYourAverageSlytheri n (9/22/12) – I NOTICED! I did greek mythology last year, and I thought when I read her name, "gah, her parents must've HATED her..."! lol ***** Have you read the new information (back story) about McGonagall on Pottermore? I've included NONE of it in my story, but it's great to read more about her. BTW...I'm NightQueen21779 on Pottermore!
JustAboveYourAverageSlytheri n (9/22/12) – I think I'm a bit messed up... Started chuckling about the car skinning thing... crack myself up. Anywhozle, sweet story. ***** Thank you, love...and I appreciate that you took the time to review...three times!
JustAboveYourAverageSlytheri n (9/22/12J) – Every time Draco says "fabulous!" I think of Sharpey from HSM and him wearing a lot of pink, including a Kurt Hummel-style beret. ***** Like I already told you (in a PM), I had no idea what you were talking about here, but...looked it up and now I do. Lol. I love learning something new! =)
Author's Note
Hi all...sorry it's been so long. My only excuse is that I've been reading and not writing. *sigh*
Okay, here's Chapter Twenty-one...
Posted: 3 November, 2012
Word Court: 4,856
Class of Ninety-nine
Chapter Twenty-one
"Eighths vs. Gryffindor"
The Quidditch match against Gryffindor hadn't gone well. In fact, it was a disaster. The Eighths did eventually win, in the end, but not without some struggle—and a couple injuries. Ron was their first casualty. Twenty minutes in he took a Bludger to his thigh, the hit breaking, first his femur—with a sickening crack—and then his broom, immediately sending him careening to the ground. The game was stopped briefly, he was gathered up, and quickly carted off to the hospital wing.
At that point there'd almost been a fight. The Eighths were furious, because it was obvious that Gryffindor had intentionally sent the Bludger at their red-haired Keeper—though the lions vehemently denied it. Draco, Ernie, and Michael were demanding that the game be rescheduled, so that they would have a Keeper—because the rules stated that "no substitution of a player is allowed during a game"—but Madam Hooch shook her head and said they'd have to continue on with one less player. Michael then asked Madam Hooch to at least call a foul on Gryffindor for Bumphing—because hitting the Bludger toward a Keeper was against the rules—but that too was refused, because apparently the Quaffle was within the scoring area. Gryffindor, of course, was pleased by all this, but the Eighths continued to argue—quite loudly—until Harry stepped in and ordered his team to back off. He was thankful—and surprised—that they listened to him.
Ginny, on the other hand, had kept her mouth shut during the commotion, but she was not at all pleased with the turn of events—Gryffindor did not cheat!—and she was surprised that the match wasn't called off due to her brother's injury. Ron had been conscious when they'd taken him away, but he didn't look good. She would have preferred that the game was stopped so she could accompany him to the hospital wing, but was thankful when she saw Hermione making her way out of the stands to go up to the castle with Ron. After watching them take him off the pitch, she ripped into her Beater.
"Why the hell did you do that, Jimmy?" she growled.
The boy shrugged. "Ah. I wanna win."
Ginny shook her head. "That's not the way Gryffindor does things. You're gonna be sorry you did it."
"Oh please, Ron'll be fine and...it's not fair anyway; they're all older than us."
"Only by a year," she hissed at her teammate as they were moving back into their positions. "It's not a big deal. Plus, Harry's been playing against older players since he was eleven. If he can do it, then so can—"
"Yeah, yeah, we know...youngest Quidditch player in a century." Peakes rolled his eyes. "So what!" he snapped.
Ginny frowned. "Didn't you see their faces?" she asked nervously. Not much worried Ginny Weasley, but she'd seen how angry Ron and Harry's teammates were—Draco Malfoy and Ernie Macmillan in particular—and really didn't like raising their ire...not that she particularly liked either boy. She had a bit of a truce going with Malfoy and she didn't really know the former Hufflepuff boy, but still. And she'd seen the faces of their other housemates—the ones in the stands—they didn't look very happy either.
Her Beater only scoffed at her worried expression.
"And, did you have to take out my brother?"
"He'll survive."
Ginny frowned at this, hardly believing the boy's flippant attitude. "Regardless...try something like that again and you're off the team!"
He stared at her for a second, then... "You can't do that?"
"I most certainly can! I'm the captain!" the red-haired girl countered. And, when Peaks continued to just stare at her, Ginny continued. "Yeah, you heard me!" she growled. "Gryffindor has never been a bunch of cheaters and we're not starting now. Got it?!"
His eyes wide now, Jimmy Peakes nodded.
"Good! Now, get your arse out there and play fair," she ordered—then flew off. She was embarrassed that it was her player who'd essentially cheated and angry that it was her brother who'd been injured. All around, it felt wrong to her.
The subsequent result of the Eighths being without a Keeper was that Gryffindor started scoring like mad. At first the Eighths tried to just keep the Quaffle away from the other team and at the other end of the pitch. It didn't take long, however, for them to realize this wasn't working. Gryffindor quickly added seventy points to their score. Frustrated, Draco ordered Zacharias to tend the goals—much to the ex-Hufflepuff's unset, because he felt he should be chasing. Zacharias' immediate response was to fly over to where Harry was watching on the sidelines—to complain—but Harry only told him to follow his co-captain's orders. In the meantime, Gryffindor scored two more times.
The next person to suffer an injury, minor though it was, was Michael Corner. It was strange really. He wasn't hit by a Bludger or anything, but he somehow got himself tangled up with two of Gryffindor's Chasers and ended up flat on his back on the ground, in the center of the pitch, eyes glazed over from the fall—or so they believed. This time it appeared to be an accident, but the Eighths, who were clearly still bristling from the loss of their Keeper, weren't shy about voicing their discontent. Madam Hooch didn't stand for their grumbling though and quickly shut them up.
After Michael was cleared away and the game was restarted, Quincy pretty much had to join Ernie to keep the Bludgers away from the other players—leaving Daphne as their sole Chaser. Being fairly decent, the blonde was able to score a few times, but she just couldn't keep up with the three Gryffindor Chasers, who were scoring right and left against a very frustrated Zacharias Smith. Aggravated and angry, Ernie sent a Bludger right at the Gryffindor who'd taken out Ron and, though the iron ball didn't hit the Gryffindor Beater, the action earned Ernie a satisfied smirk from Draco Malfoy. They were, after all, a team now.
However, in the moment it took Jimmy Peakes to avoid the Bludger, then right himself on his broom—earning an I told you so look from Ginny Weasley—Draco managed to spot and acquire the Snitch, giving the win, by a score of 190-180, to the Eighths.
A groan could be heard from the stands as an announcement was made—Gryffindor House was not pleased, to say the least—but there were cheers as well. Slytherin was thrilled to see Gryffindor lose their first match, because that didn't happen often. The only thing that would have made Gryffindor's loss any better was that if Slytherin had beat them themselves. Ravenclaw hoped that meant they had a better chance at the cup this year. And Hufflepuff was just cheering because they thought the Eighths had played a good match despite adversity.
XxXxXxX
Still dressed in their Quidditch uniforms, all of the Eighths present and most of the Gryffindor team—because Ginny insisted—trudged up to the hospital wing to see how the injured players were doing. Ginny was angry about the loss, but even more furious about the shenanigans pulled by her team.
"I'm sorry, Ginny, I am...I just—"
"Save it, Jimmy!" the redhead snapped. "I told you, prior to the match, that Harry promised his team would play fair. But you just had to fuck with them, didn't you?!"
"Nice language, Weaslette," Draco chimed in with a smirk.
"You shut it too, Malfoy!" Ginny snarled. "I don't need help from the peanut gallery!"
Draco chuckled—but stifled it when he received an elbow to the ribs.
"Come on, Gin...I'm sure Ron's fine," Harry put in as he glared at the blond beside him.
Ginny shook her head. "Not the point, Harry. You said you guys would play fair, but I didn't even consider that I was surrounded by a bunch of twats on my own team. And you guys still beat us!" she griped.
Draco snorted. "Only by ten points. It was sheer luck!" He'd take the win, of course, but didn't like that it had been so hard and that the score was so damned close. Like he'd just said, they were lucky that he'd seen and captured the Snitch when the Gryffindor Seeker was otherwise occupied by her idiot teammates and lucky that they'd managed to have just the right amount of points previous to his snag to secure the win.
This only got him another glare from Harry's little woman. "Don't make me hex you, Malfoy," she threatened—but the blond knew she was just frustrated and had no intention of hexing him or anyone else, despite her ranting. Well, she might be considering a hex or two toward her own team, but that didn't matter to him.
When they reached the hospital wing, both Ron and Michael were laid out on beds side by side, but neither looked any worse for the wear. Ron's leg was immobilized and already healing, as were the various other wounds he'd sustained in the fall, but he had a rough night ahead of him. Michael, however, seemed to be unconscious.
After a brief glance at the injured, Ginny looked at Madam Pomfrey. "What's wrong with him?" she asked as she pointed her finger at the prone figure of Michael Corner.
"I gave Mr. Corner a Sleeping Draught; seems he's picked up a bug," the older woman said. "Shouldn't have been flying around out there in that weather at all. What is wrong with you kids?"
Ron rolled his eyes, as did several others—everyone knew what Madam Pomfrey thought of Quidditch.
"You're both off the team," the school healer continued. "At least until I give you the okay to play again."
Ron groaned, but Morag MacDougal grinned. "That mean I get to play?"
Harry smiled. "Absolutely."
The young woman's smile turned nervous.
"Don't worry, MacDougal, we'll train you up a bit before the next match," Draco put in.
At this Ron snorted and was about to say something rude, but Madam Pomfrey interrupted, saying visiting hours were over and that it was time for everyone to move along. Hermione and Ginny managed to talk the healer into letting them stay with Ron, but everyone else cleared out.
XxXxXxX
"So, what are we doing tonight?" Pansy asked as they reached the portrait in front of their common room. "I mean, it's Saturday and it's early and...it'll be a long night if we just sit around for the rest of the day."
A few people nodded—actually, most of them did.
"Party?" Blaise suggested, a hopeful note to his voice.
There were many smiles.
Draco laughed. "That's your solution to everything, Blaise."
Blaise grinned. "Of course! You know me."
"Yes, we do know you...some of us know you quite well, in fact. But, I don't want to be cooped up in the common room," Pansy complained. "Let's hit Hogsmeade."
"Ooo, Three Broomsticks!" Lavender all but squealed—causing the former Slytherins to cringe. "Oh, come on guys...let's have some fun!"
"All right," Millicent quietly agreed as she surreptitiously watched her roommate. "I could use a drink. I'm in."
Blaise and Pansy glanced at one another, then shrugged. "Okay."
"Not me," said Daphne. "I'm worn out and...I'd like to work on some homework later."
Blaise laughed. "I'm sure Granger will be joining you as soon as she gets back from the hospital wing," he said—then he looked at Draco. "You coming?"
Draco frowned. "I...ahh...don't think so."
Most weren't sure what the problem was—even Blaise looked confused—but Harry figured it out right away. "I'm sure Madam Rosmerta won't mind," he said.
"I don't know," the blond said, clearly still feeling awful about casting an Unforgivable on the woman. "I'd prefer the Hog's Head."
Blaise rolled his eyes. "Draco, that place is boring."
"Yeah...empty and painfully quiet," Pansy added.
Millicent shuddered. "And let's not forget how filthy it is in there."
The blond frowned. Boring and empty and quiet—and Rosmerta-free—sounded excellent at the moment, even if the place was a bit dirty—and dodgy. He didn't, however, relish the idea of seeing Aberforth Dumbledore either, after what he was supposed to have done to the man's brother. Everyone now knew that Draco had been ordered by the Dark Lord to kill Albus Dumbledore. They also knew that he wasn't the one who'd killed the man. But still...maybe he should just stay in the castle and let the others go off and have their fun.
"Oh, come on...I'll buy you a drink," Harry offered.
Draco snorted at this. "I can buy my own drinks, thank you very much!" he bristled.
Harry shrugged. "Suit yourself, git," he said, then started for their shared room to change his clothes.
Also needing to change—because they'd not done so after the match—Draco moved to follow, but stopped when he felt a hand on his arm. It was Pansy.
"Hint," she whispered. "When the guy you'd like to fuck offers to buy you a drink, you let him, you moron!" She rolled her eyes at him, then started up the stairs to her room.
XxXxXxX
The group entered The Three Broomsticks in what seemed to Draco Malfoy to be slow motion. Not really wanting to go in—and stalling as long as he could—he held the door open, letting everyone else enter before him, then almost turned tail and walked right back up to the castle. The only thing that stopped him was Harry fucking Potter—who grabbed him firmly by elbow and literally dragged him into the establishment.
"Ouch!" he groused as he yanked his arm back from the messy-haired ex-Gryffindor. "Rough much?!"
"Come off it, Malfoy. I didn't grab you that hard."
"That'll probably leave a bruise, Potter!" Draco continued to complain, rubbing the place where Harry's hand had held him—and thinking about the times when he would have threaten to tell his father.
Harry rolled his eyes. "So sorry to damage your dainty little limb, Malfoy. Didn't realize you were such a delicate flower," he said. "What are you, a girl?"
"No, but some of us just finished a grueling Quidditch match, while others just sat around watching."
Harry laughed—because it was just like the blond to turn things around on him. "Maybe we should have tucked your arse into bed then," he teased.
This caused Pansy, who was standing right in front of them, to snicker—and mumble something under her breath about how much Draco wouldn't mind being tucked in if the right person were doing the tucking.
Clearly, Harry didn't comprehend the dark-haired young woman, but her words earned her a glare from Draco. Opening his mouth to fling out a sharp retort, the blond thought better of it when he noticed Madam Rosmerta glaring daggers at him. "I should...probably go," he said, regretting his decision to accompany the group.
Having seen the older woman's disgruntled look, Harry reached out and took Draco's sleeve. "You're not going anywhere," he said, his green eyes piercing Draco's gray ones—then he gave the man a gentle push toward Pansy, saying, "Don't let him leave," as he turned and smiled at the owner of the bar. "Hello, Madam Rosmerta," he said cheerfully. "Good to see you again." But, when the woman just raised a brow, Harry continued. "I think there are...ahh...twelve of us. Do you have room?"
Still eyeing the group wearily, it was clear the woman wanted to deny them a table. But, as there was plenty of space at this time of day and she obviously didn't want to start a quarrel with The Boy Who Lived after he'd saved the wizarding world, she nodded. Throwing one last glower at Draco, she waved them in. "Sure. Sit anywhere you'd like, Mr. Potter. Someone will be right with you."
Smiling broadly at the woman, Harry thanked her and followed his friends—they were already heading for a large table in the back.
"I bet she'd take you right upstairs if you poured it on any thicker, Potter," the blond said with a familiar sneer.
"Pfft! I just wanted us to be allowed in," Harry explained, then placed a hand on Draco's shoulder and pushed him—not so gently—into one of the chairs at one end of the table. "Now sit down and have a bloody drink! First round is on me," he declared.
Everything in Draco's being wanted to push back up to his feet and walk out, but Pansy must have seen it in his eyes and plopped herself right down onto his lap and grinned, first at Draco and then at Harry.
"That sounds fabulous, Potter," she said with a flip of her short dark hair. "I'm quite parched."
Rolling his eyes, Draco glanced around the table. Somehow Blaise had gotten himself sandwiched in between two ex-Gryffindors and, though Lila Malone wasn't too awful, Lavender Brown was talking up a storm. Strangely enough, on the blonde girl's other side, Millicent sat calmly and didn't look at all annoyed by the incessant chatter. In fact, she appeared to be avidly listening, as if there was nowhere else in the world she wanted to be—as was Blaise. With a frown, Draco shook his head and looked down the table at the others.
At the other end, Lila was laughing at something Sophie Roper had said, which had apparently caused Morag MacDougal and Mandy Brocklehurst to burst out laughing as well. Draco couldn't hear whatever it was that had been said, but wondered why everyone was getting along so well after years and years of discord.
Glancing to his left, he watched Potter talk to Quincy Rivers—with a mostly silent Zacharias Smith (prat!) to their left listening. They were close enough to hear. The subject was Quidditch, of course, and Rivers was jubilant over the match—making Draco admit, if only to himself, that their fill-in guy had played quite well. That brought his thoughts to the fact that only three people who'd played in the match had come out for drinks; the made him wonder why the two uninjured players wouldn't want to be there after such a good win.
"So, good match, guys," Harry said once their drinks had arrived.
"Hear, hear!" Pansy agreed as she slid off Draco's lap and into her own chair next to his.
Shifting her attention, Millicent said, "I can't believe we won. You guys did great!"
"Good thing Draco caught the Snitch when he did though...it was only a matter of time before Gryffindor scored on Smith again," Pansy said, flashing an unreadable look down the table at the young man who'd taken over when their Keeper had been injured.
"Hey!" Zacharias burst. "I've never been a Keeper before and...I told Malfoy to have someone else do it."
Draco opened his mouth—to put the prat in his place—but someone else beat him to it.
"Well, Daphne's a better Chaser than you are and not a great Keeper, so...we needed you to tend the goals," Harry countered.
Zacharias frowned. "What about Quincy? He could have switched to Keeper."
Everyone's eyes went to Harry. What Zacharias said was true, so he nodded. "Yeah, 'could have,' being the operative words, but...that wasn't the choice that was made."
"That's why I went to you for confirmation, Harry," the former Hufflepuff, who no one seemed to care for, said.
Harry sighed, then downed his drink and set the glass on the table before speaking. "Let's get something straight right now...Malfoy and I call the shots. We're the team captains. We all voted on it," he said with a gesture at everyone sitting there. "If one of us makes a change...no matter which one of us it is...then that's what goes."
"But—"
"No buts, Smith!" Harry snapped testily. "If you don't like it, then don't play. Got it?!"
"That's not fair!" the other young man continued to argue, his voice turning somewhat whiny—and grating.
"Would you just shut it, Zach!" Sophie Roper suddenly burst, her eyes narrowing on the young man sitting beside her. They'd both once been in Hufflepuff, so one might think they were friends, but...Zacharias Smith wasn't the easiest person to like, even for those who were extremely friendly. "Clearly, Harry's going to support whatever decision his co-captain has made and...if you're not careful, you're going to talk yourself out of a position on the team."
His jaw snapping closed, Zacharias blinked in surprise—then he silently picked up his drink and took a few swallows.
And that was the end of that!
XxXxXxX
After the second round of drinks, during a lull in conversation, Sophie suggested a Muggle drinking game called Quarters that she'd learned from her American cousin. Seeing that everyone was interested, she pulled out a Galleon—because no one had any Muggle money—and quickly demonstrated while explaining the rules.
"It's simple really. You bounce a Galleon into an empty cup in the middle," she said as she demonstrated. "If you make it in, then you instruct someone to drink." She grinned. "I choose Zach," she said as she elbowed the young man next to her.
Zacharias narrowed his eyes at her—obviously still disgruntled about her earlier scolding—then picked up his drink and took a healthy swallow.
"Some people play with the rules of chugging their drinks, but my cousin never did...he said the game's over too fast if you play that way. This way, we could actually play for hours." She grinned again. "So, because I made it, it's still my turn." Picking up the Galleon, Sophie bounced it and once again it found itself in the cup. "Drink, Parkinson," said the blonde ex-Hufflepuff.
Without wasting a second, Pansy picked up her glass and drank.
"Still my turn," Sophie said as she picked up the Galleon again. This time she missed. "If you miss, then you drink and your turn is over." She drank, then quickly explained that there were extra rules when someone was able to bounce the Galleon into the cup five times in a row...but that she'd explain that if that occurred.
After more than a few times around—and several extra rules created:
#1 – a restriction on the word "drink," with a punishment of taking an extra one if you break the rule (made by Sophie)
#2 – another restriction...against using surnames...same "punishment" (Lavender seemed tired of hearing "Malfoy" and "Parkinson" and "Potter" and "Zabini")
#3 – that missing your shot three rounds in a row meant the shooter had to consume twice any time either his/her shot was missed or he/she was instructed to consume by another AND that he/she had to sit on the lap of the person to his/her left for the next round (created by a grinning Pansy and unsuccessfully protested by Draco, for which he countered with a rule of his own)
#4 – any time he, Draco, had to imbibe, so did Pansy—and she lost her next turn (Draco)
#5 – that any time the person directly across from you took a swig, so did you (created by Blaise, for which he was quite sorry, because Zacharias was across from him and the former Hufflepuff stunk at the game)
—most were more than a little loosened up. In fact, they were bordering on smashed by the time they paid their tab and made ready to leave the Three Broomsticks.
As they started back up to the castle, with Lila, Mandy, Quincy, Morag, Sophie—and a leeched-on Zacharias—in the lead, their arms looped around one another, they began singing several horribly off-key rounds of Hogwarts' school song:
Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,
Teach us something, please,
Whether we be old and bald
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling
With some interesting stuff,
For now they're bare and full of air,
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we've forgot,
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot.
Directly behind the group of singing students, Lavender was giggling, so hysterically in fact that she could hardly walk. After watching her stagger and stumble for a few moments, Blaise swooped in and scooped her up and tossed her over his shoulder—causing the young woman to first laugh harder and then turn an interesting shade of green. Not that any of them could see it with her turned arse over elbow and her long hair handing over her face.
Hanging upside down, Lavender struggled against the man holding her. "Down," she groaned. "Put me down!"
"Not a chance, Brown! I like you right where you are," he said with a chuckle, then slapped her rear end for emphasis.
Being jostled over and over caused the blonde to moan, then pound her fists on his back. "I'm serious, Zabini!"
Laughing again, Blaise said, "Nope!"
"Please," she whined—then abruptly emptied her stomach onto the man's backside.
Behind them, Millicent and Pansy managed to sidestep the vomit that had landed on the ground in front of them, then burst out laughing—as did Draco and Harry.
"Nice aim, Brown," Draco congratulated the woman as he laughed.
"Not funny," Lavender whispered, then hiccupped.
"Totally not funny, you guys!" Blaise called out. He wanted to drop the woman hanging over his shoulder, but knew doing that would just make more of a mess.
"Serves you right!" Millicent scolded him.
"I'm sorry," Lavender whimpered as she continued to dangle there.
"Come on...someone Vanish that shite; it's disgusting!" Blaise went on, ignoring Lavender.
"Oh, I don't know, Blaise darling, it could be a new look for you," Pansy said. She snickered, then wrinkled her nose. "Though, I'm not sure about the odor."
"And I'm not sure my spell work is all that decent at this stage in my drunkenness," Draco quipped. "I might Vanish that shapely arse of yours, mate."
Almost everyone laughed—then Millicent took pity on them. "Oh, all right! I'll do it," she said. Taking out her wand, she flicked it, making Lavender's mess disappear, then she helped Blaise lower the blonde to the ground.
"I'm so sorry, Blaise," Lavender said, tears in her eyes, once she was on her feet again.
Looking at her, the dark-skinned boy shook his head sheepishly. "Naw, it was my fault. I should have put you down when you asked me to."
Slapping the man's chest with the back of her hand, Millicent glared, "Damn right, you should have!" she snarled. Then to Lavender she said, "You okay?"
The blonde hesitated for a second. "I think so, yes," she said with a nod. "Actually, I feel loads better."
Millicent gave her a rare smile.
"Here, let me carry you back to the castle," Blaise offered—then held out his arms bridal-style and added, "properly," when Lavender looked at him skeptically. After she nodded, he scooped her up again, this time gently, and they continued on.
From behind, Draco watched his friends. Seeing Blaise Zabini, his long-time friend, honorably carrying the usually-giggly ex-Gryffindor, and Millicent Bulstrode, of all girls, fussing over her, Draco wondered yet again what in Salazar's name was going on between his friends and their once-loathed classmates. This was so...odd, he thought to himself.
But then his thoughts were interrupted as Pansy dropped back and positioned herself between Potter and him. Once there, the dark-haired young woman reached up and planted a sloppy kiss on his cheek, then slung an arm around first, his shoulder, and then Potter's—much to the green-eyed man's surprise. This caused Draco to smile inwardly.
"That was fun," said Pansy.
"What, no kiss for Potter?" Draco asked his friend, giving her a lecherous grin.
Harry's face immediately turned bright red and Pansy glared at Draco—then she turned, grabbed the front of Harry's shirt, and kissed him soundly...right on the mouth!
"Satisfied?" she asked, turning back to her friend when she'd finished.
Draco snorted. "Not hardly."
Pansy rolled her eyes. "Well, now I can honestly say that I kissed the Chosen One...and that's something even you can't say, Draco darling," she drawled.
At this Draco huffed—and Pansy laughed because only she knew that her friend was extremely jealous over what she'd just done.
"We'll have to do this more often," Pansy said, referring to their entire evening. "I think this was good for our House. The win was brilliant, of course, but going out for drinks and playing that Muggle game was a blast. Don't you think?"
Draco nodded—as did a still-blushing Harry.
"Next time, and I cannot believe I'm going to say this, but...we'll have to get the others to come as well," she went on.
And on and on—and on—the young woman went as they walked up to the castle, only ceasing her chatter when they reached their Common Room and left her there.
Post Script
Games
1. Quidditch
Rules - the official rules of Quidditch are partially described in Quidditch Through the Ages. They are said to have been laid down in 1750 by the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Some of the more common rules are as follows:
* Players must not stray over the boundary lines of the pitch, although they may fly as high as desired. The Quaffle must be surrendered to the opposition if any player leaves the boundary. Quidditch matches in the Harry Potter films, however, show players often deliberately flying over the boundary lines and even around the spectator towers.
* A time out may be called at any time by a team Captain. It may be extended to two hours if a game has already lasted for more than twelve hours. Failure to return to the pitch afterward disqualifies the offending team.
* The referee can impose penalties if a foul occurs. A single Chaser from the fouled team takes a penalty shot by flying from the central circle towards the scoring area. The opposing team's Keeper may attempt to block this shot, but no other player may interfere, much like a penalty shot in ice hockey.
* Contact is allowed, but a player may not grasp another's broomstick or any part of his or her body. (Draco Malfoy breaks this rule in Prisoner of Azkaban by grabbing Harry's broomtail to stop him from seizing the Snitch.)
* No substitution of a player is allowed, even if one is too badly hurt to continue (rare exceptions may be made when the game continues for a great length of time, and players become too fatigued to continue).
* Players may take their wands onto the pitch, but they must not be used on or against any players, any player's broomstick, the referee, any of the four balls, or the spectators. (The right to carry wands at all times was granted during the height of wizard and witch persecution by Muggles, according to Quidditch Through the Ages).
* Players are not allowed to attack one another by wand, hand or broom.
Fouls
Rowling writes that there are 700 Quidditch fouls listed in the Department of Magical Games and Sports records, but most of these fouls are not open to the public, owing to the Department's supposed fear the wizards/witches who read the list of fouls "might get ideas". It is claimed that all 700 occurred during the very first Quidditch World Cup. Apparently, most are now impossible to commit as there is a ban on using wands against an opponent (imposed in 1538). The most common of those fouls which are described are enumerated below.
* Blagging: No player may seize any part of an opponent's broom to slow or hinder the player (Draco Malfoy commits this foul in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, thus preventing Harry from seizing the Snitch).
* Blatching: No player may fly with the intent to collide. (Substitute Slytherin seeker Harper breaks this rule when he collides into Harry after insulting the latter's friend, and Gryffindor Keeper, Ronald Weasley. This occurs in the sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.)
* Blurting: No player may lock broom handles with the intent to steer an opponent off course. (Often occurs whilst playing Slytherin)
* Bumphing: Beaters must not hit Bludgers towards spectators (although Harry jokingly orders one of his Beaters to send one at Zacharias Smith in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince), or the Keeper, unless the Quaffle is within the scoring area (in the first film, however, Marcus Flint, a Chaser, commits this foul with a Beater's bat, and Madam Hooch refuses to penalise him for it).
* Cobbing: Players must not make excessive use of their elbows against opponents. (Marcus Flint, the Slytherin Chaser, commits this foul against the Gryffindor Chaser, Angelina Johnson, in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban).
* Flacking: Keepers must not defend the posts from behind by punching Quaffles out of the hoops—goals must be defended from the front.
* Haversacking: Chasers must not still be in contact with the Quaffle as it passes through a hoop (the Quaffle must be thrown through).
* Quaffle-pocking: Chasers must not tamper with the Quaffle in any way.
* Snitchnip: No player other than the Seeker may touch or catch the Golden Snitch.
* Stooging: No more than one Chaser is allowed in the scoring area at any one time. (However, game play in Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup and the fan-made Q3D permit this behaviour.)
International renowned player Patrick Mckenzie of Scotland is the only known player to commit more than half of these in one match, with multiple offenses.
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2. Quarters
Quarters is a popular drinking game which involves players bouncing a quarter off a table in an attempt to have the quarter land in a certain place, usually into a shotglass (or cup) on that table. The game is popular at parties, especially in colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, as well as in Germany. It is also played in South America, where it's called "monedita", Spanish for little coin.
The player bouncing the quarter is referred to as the "shooter." In some variations the glass is empty and each player has a separate glass to drink from, while in other variations the glass that the shooter is aiming for contains an alcoholic beverage.
The quarter is customarily bounced on the face whether heads or tails. Some games may allow a player to bounce the quarter on the edge, particularly by rolling it down their nose.
Gameplay (rules vary by group of players and none of the following are the rules my friends played by)
Version 1: Each round starts off with a glass filled with beer in the middle of the table and two people on opposite ends of the table having a quarter and a glass. Each player shoots his or her quarter at his/her glass until he makes it in, then the player passes the glass to the player to his left. If the player to his left still has a glass as well, the player taps that glass with his, and the player who has been tapped must drink the glass of beer in the middle of the table, refill it, then make the quarter into his or her glass before she gets tapped again, with play still going around the table. If a player makes his or her first shot, s/he can choose to pass the glass to any player who does not currently have a glass. If there are enough people at the table, the group can add more shot glasses and position them equally spaced around the outside of the circle.
Version 2: An alternative method of gameplay is that one glass is positioned in the center of the table. Participants take turns attempting to bounce the quarter into the glass. If the shooter succeeds, they pass the glass to anyone at the table, and that person must then chug the beverage and catch the quarter in their teeth. Play then passes to the person on the shooter's left. Should the shooter fail to make the shot, they have the option of passing the quarter to the left, or shooting a second time. If the shooter succeeds on his second shot, he passes the glass as usual. If the shooter fails on their second shot, they must drink the beverage. In either case, the person on their left becomes the next shooter.
Version 3: Another method involves various cups and one community cup. A community cup is first placed in the center of the table. Each player has their own individual cup, and these cups are placed around the community cup, forming a ring around the community cup (much like a flower pattern). Players fill their individual cups with a shot of their drink, and pour a small amount of their drink into the community cup (various drinks can be used to play, so the community cup may house a mixture of different drinks). A shooter begins by bouncing a quarter towards the cups. If the quarter lands in a player's cup, the player must drink his/her shot, refill the cup, and place it back with the rest. If the shooter lands the quarter in to the community cup, every player must reach into the center and drink their shot. The last player to finish their drink must then drink the community cup. If the shooter makes his/her shot on the first attempt, they may shoot again until they miss. If they miss on the first attempt, they must pass the quarter to the next player on their left.
Version 4: Yet another alteration, named speed quarters, involves six or more people around a small table, several quarters, beer for each player, and two empty shot glasses placed in front of opposite players. When the game begins, the two players with glasses pick up a quarter and try to bounce it off of the table into the shot glass in front of them as quickly as possible. If the shot is not made they keep shooting until one makes the shot. This player dumps the quarter out and passes the glass to the player to his left while the other shooter continues to shoot until he makes a quarter into his shot glass. Eventually, when repeated enough, one glass will catch up to the other in rotation. When this happens, the player still shooting must overturn a glass and stack the other on top. He gets two chances to bounce a quarter off of the table and into the top glass. If he makes it on the first, he can pass the stacked glasses to any player, where that player get two chances, and so on. If the player makes it on the second shot, the glasses are unstacked, one passes to the player on the left, and one to the player opposite him. Gameplay resumes from the beginning. If the player does not get a quarter into the stacked glasses in two shots, the player on his right will spin a quarter while the "loser" chugs his beer until the quarter ceases to spin. Any player can blow on the quarter or spin it with their finger to keep it spinning. After this, the glasses are split like when the game started and it begins again. Gameplay ends when the players feel they are sufficiently inebriated.
Any shot where the shooter does not bounce the quarter off of the table at least once counts as a miss.