Well, thought I would add another chapter... ;-)
Chapter 35: Muggle Football Training
The inevitable happened. Two days after Robert had proposed that Draco go to football training, Draco was in fact going to try out for the football teams in the district. He could barely believe it when Robert had said the day before that the organisers of the league were delighted that Robert could coax his good friend's son from Wales into playing for them. Robert had told them not to expect that he would be a world class player because he had only just taken up the sport and wanted to use the league as a trial to see if he could handle it. They didn't mind; it was good that there was another player for their sides.
The league that Robert had chosen consisted of those boys and in some cases girls who were in between leagues. It wasn't that they could not play; it was just that they lacked certain skills to be able to play in the leagues higher up but were too good for the beginner leagues. Nevertheless, they could still hold their own and so he thought that it would be better for Draco to develop his skills at the same pace as people who were at the same level as him than to throw him into the deep end.
Regardless, Draco was ecstatic to be given the chance to play football in a team. He loved playing Quidditch for that reason, despite his fellow Slytherins not being quite so friendly on the ground as the rest of the houses were. Slytherins were known to berate their players if they failed but highly praise them if they succeeded. Potter was the only Seeker who would beat him to the Snitch so he was usually on the receiving end of praise.
When Draco found out, he told Hermione at once that he was going to play in the league.
"Oh Draco!" she had exclaimed. "That's fantastic! I think you'll enjoy it immensely."
"I hope so."
"No, you will. Trust me on that."
"Okay."
She had thrown her arms around him and given him a big kiss. He was still finding it quite hard to believe that he could kiss her at any given time and she wouldn't care but the thought was getting easier and easier to get used to. He loved that thought and knew that she felt the same way.
They hadn't progressed as far as that first night since then but they had also felt that they didn't need to. They were simply enjoying one another's company as they always had and knew that they would progress further when the timing was right.
So now here he was, driving on the way to his first football practice.
"How ready are you?" Robert asked.
"Not at all," Draco muttered in response.
Robert laughed. "You'll be fine. Just say all that I told you and all should be good."
"That's the part I'm worried about. What if they ask more than I prepared for?"
Robert gazed at Draco. "Hermione tells me that Slytherins are cunning. You are a Slytherin, aren't you?"
Draco looked back in shock. It was one thing for Hermione to say that Slytherins were cunning; she went to the same school as him. Hearing Robert say it was an entirely different matter.
"Yes. That's just something I wasn't expecting you to say."
"You see my point, though, don't you?"
"Yes, but the Wizarding World is one thing, the Muggle World is another."
"Hmm. Well, just make something up but for Chrissake, stick to the same story."
"Okay then."
They arrived at the grounds and Robert parked the car in the car park.
"Did you want me to stay or did you want me to go up the street until it's time to pick you up?" he asked.
Draco pondered this for a moment. "Do you think you can stay, at least until I find myself here?"
Robert smiled. "No worries. Just let me know by thumbs up that you're fine. If you wave or do anything else, I won't budge."
"Thanks, Robert."
"Don't mention it. Now, I'll come over and introduce you to the coach who will lead you in the training."
"Okay then."
Robert and Draco wandered over to where a fit-looking middle-aged man stood.
"Robert!" he exclaimed.
"Joel," Robert said by way of greeting. He turned to Draco. "Draco," he said. "This is the coach, Joel Hunter. He will take you through your paces for the training sessions. Joel," he addressed the coach. "This here is the boy I was telling you about, Draco Malfoy. He has shown quite some promise playing in our garden. I wouldn't doubt you'll think similar when you see him on the paddock."
"How are you, Draco?" Joel said, extending his hand in a warm gesture.
Draco hesitantly took it and shook it firmly. He still found Muggle formalities much nicer than Wizarding formalities. "Not bad, thank you."
"Draco, you have an interesting name. Where are the Malfoys from?"
Draco was not sure on how to answer the question. After making a split second decision, he felt that the truth could not hurt in this matter.
"France. My ancestors came over in the 15th century and have been in Great Britain ever since. I have relatives over there, still."
"That explains it then. I suppose your parents are somewhat of traditionalists, then?"
"Very much so."
"Well then, I guess we should get you meeting the others. They are all roughly your age so you should find them easy to get along with. Everyone is roughly at the same level of fitness and ability as well so you won't need to feel that someone is going to get the better of you."
Robert chose that moment to speak. "I'll leave you to it, Draco. I'll be in the car reading the paper if you need anything."
Draco could have almost reached out to prevent the man from going. Being here talking to Joel was alright but the prospect of having to meet a big group of Muggles was quite daunting. Draco wasn't sure why that was the case; he thought it was more to do with meeting a large group of people he knew nothing of. He resigned himself to the fact that he was here to play football and so he should forget about everything else and get on with it.
"No worries, Robert. I'll come over when I'm done."
"Good luck." Robert went and sat back in the car.
"Well, Draco, I'll lead you to the others," Joel said as they walked back to the others. "I don't expect you to remember everyone's name because you'll only be working in smaller groups but you'll at least be able to meet a few of them."
"Okay then."
"Right-o, you'll be training with the Orange side. We don't have names for the sides as such, it's easier to call each team a colour instead. Okay," he said as they reached the rest of the players. "This is Draco everyone. Draco," Joel said, looking at the left-most person, "this is David, Simon, Rhys, Gareth, Nigel, Thomas, Heath, Patrick, Yvonne, Matthias, Jamie and Cindy."
Throughout the introductions, people smiled or stuck out their hands. In fact, everyone seemed to be genuinely friendly on his side. He wondered whether this was true of everyone here at training or if he was lucky enough to score a decent side.
"I'll leave you guys to get sorted, we're going to start some drills shortly," Joel announced.
As soon as he left, the lanky fellow with the short, cropped dark hair called Matthias came up to him. "How are you, Mate?" he asked. "I realise it's a bit daunting being the new bloke in the side but you'll see we're not a bad bunch."
Draco was mildly shocked at the boy's abrupt but friendly nature. "I'm sure you aren't. Give it some time though; it could change," he grinned, showing the dark-haired boy he was joking.
Matthias laughed. "I see we have a prankster here. You'll fit right in here, we all enjoy a laugh. We have to with two females on our side."
"Hey!" the shortish red-haired girl called Cindy fired back at Matthias. "Say that again when I make three passes against you!"
Matthias went slightly red. "Cindy, I was kidding."
"Sure you were, Matty," Cindy replied. "Sure you were. Draco," she turned to face Draco. "Great having another on our side. We were one player short and we needed someone else to substitute for us. It was a bit hard with one player missing for full games."
Draco grinned, inwardly disbelieving how easy it was to get along with this new group of people. "I'll bet."
The rest of the team were fairly quiet during this exchange, either talking amongst themselves or watching for Joel to make an announcement over what they were to do.
Draco was glad of his circumstances now but knew it was only a matter of time that they started asking him personal questions. Questions he didn't really want to be trying to answer right now.
As it was, that time never happened during training since they had all become too busy trying to do all the drills that Joel had set them. If anything, practice was more gruelling than Quidditch practice, something Draco found hard to believe. Flying always took it out of him but not in the same way that football training just did. He found by the end of it he was completely buggered but at least he could now say that he could bounce the football on his head for longer than 10 times. He had only ever been able to do it for about 3 times before he lost his balance. Joel also taught them how to flick-kick it above their heads, something he said would be very handy when dodging opponents. None of them could fully do it by the end but at least they knew the footwork to complete the move.
Draco waved to Robert as he moved across to the car park.
"Hey, see you next week, Draco?" Heath yelled out across the park at him.
"Cheers, Mate. See you then," Draco responded.
"Yeah, nice meeting you," Yvonne called out. "You're part of the crew now."
"Thanks, Yvonne. I'll see you all next week."
Robert started the car while Draco got in. "How was it?" he asked.
Draco couldn't deny it. He smiled and said, "Bloody awesome fun."
Robert chuckled. "I wasn't sure how you were going to go after the last two morning jogs we've done. Although you seemed to be able to do better than me."
"It's not like we've gone on huge strenuous jogs though. Give me one with some uphills and ordinary terrain and it'll be a different story. Remember, I'm used to flying over all of this, not running across it."
"Too true. I might have you there. I did used to do Orienteering when I was in High School."
"Orienteering? What, with a compass and a map?"
"That's it. Great fun, that."
"I've heard of it but I can't say I've done it."
"It's the challenge of being thrown in the middle of nowhere, well, within reason, and seeing a course that might be 20km long and having to find markers along the way through terrain you wouldn't ordinarily think you could get through. Of course, I didn't get into it like I did football but it was still fun all the same. Probably like you with football. You have your favourite in Quidditch but football is still good fun."
"It's probably moreso because it's one of the few sports I've tried. Flying through the air gives a freedom that you can't really imagine getting from anywhere else and nothing else that I've tried in the Wizarding World quite gives that feeling. However, there are some other pastimes I like."
By this point they were not far from home but they were stopped at a set of traffic lights. Robert looked at Draco. "Really? What are they?"
"Skeet shooting."
"You use shotguns in the Wizarding World? I didn't think you would since you have wands."
"You're right, we use our wands. It's one of those things that inevitably happens at gatherings on a weekend at someone's estate. I used to go see my Aunt in Scotland and in summer we would partake in it."
Robert smiled. "You sound so much like me when I was your age. I was much the same, only I used shotguns to do it. I usually tried my hands at anything I could get said hands on. I've tried more sports than I suppose a lot have but I found football was one of the ones I stuck with because skills wise, it always won over the ladies more than other sports." He gave a wink.
Draco laughed. "That's the reason?"
"Partly. It's more appealing for the womenfolk to watch a football player as opposed to a skeet shooter. Don't get me wrong though; skeet shooting has a very loyal following with both men and women. Most people who try their hand at skeet shooting don't knock it afterwards, even if they don't stick with it."
"Yeah, I always enjoyed it. It was relaxing for me."
"That's what I thought. It's funny saying that shooting is relaxing. People who are into shooting know the risks involved in it. That is why sports shooting and shooting in general would probably have the tightest rules enforced than any other pastime. And rightly so; guns in the wrong hands is lethal. I'm assuming it's like that with the Wizarding World. Everyone has a wand but not everyone partakes in Dark Magic. They know the risks and steer clear of it. Most, I realise, not all."
Draco grimaced. He wasn't sure why but the latter that Robert was talking about made him feel uncomfortable. He didn't think Robert meant to talk about it, only as a form of comparison but it hit a bit too close for comfort with him.
"I'm sorry, Robert but I have to say that talking about people performing Dark Magic is a bit raw for me."
"Oh shit, sorry Draco. That was pretty insensitive of me. Don't worry, I won't say anymore."
"You're alright. I know you didn't mean anything by it, it just hits close to home."
"I'm sure it does. As I said, I'll make sure not to mention it again."
"Thanks."
It wasn't long until they had reached the Granger's house. Robert and Draco went inside to see that Jane had left dinner for them in the oven.
As it was, she had left a nice portion of tuna casserole with pineapple. Draco was finding the sensation of eating food he wouldn't normally eat rather nice. Especially since it contained enough rice to replenish some of the energy he had lost during the game. Hermione had made a dessert for that evening as well; a tropical trifle, one of Draco's favourite desserts. He knew he hadn't told her about that but thought that he ought to, since the one she had made tasted so good.
Hermione and Jane weren't there while Draco and Robert ate in mutual silence so he scouted her out after the dishes were done. It turned out that she was making use of the summer light and was sitting outside beside the fishpond with a book in her hand.
"Hey," he kissed her softly on the lips and sat down beside her.
"How was football practice?" Hermione asked.
Draco stared into the fishpond, not sure how to answer the question. So many emotions ran through his head when he was there that finding one word to describe it was quite difficult. "It was... brilliant."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
Hermione didn't appear to push for a further response. Instead, she leant over and kissed him. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. I bet it's also nice to mix with a lot of people who don't know you, hey?"
"Yeah it was. There was no one who was going to judge me on who my parents are. I could just be me. It was a nice feeling. Everyone was there with two things in mind; have fun and learn some skills."
Hermione sighed. "I like escaping back here for the very same reason. I'm not judged by being Harry's best friend and all. I completely agree."
Draco looked down at Hermione and grinned. It was very easy to get lost in her eyes during moments like these. He moved his arm around her shoulders and pulled her towards him. She snuggled into him and put her head on his chest.
"I could stay like this forever," she mumbled.
Draco laughed, silently agreeing with her.
"How about we go upstairs and I can have a shower?" he suggested.
Hermione smiled. "Okay."
They made their way back inside and headed upstairs. Hermione made to walk to her bedroom when Draco had a sudden urge. He put his hand on her arm and said, "Why don't you come in with me?"
Hermione looked stunned; she opened her mouth to say something and instead said nothing. Draco suddenly wished he hadn't suggested her coming into the bathroom with him; then he realised that she probably was not thinking exactly what he was thinking.
"You don't have to literally come into the shower with me, but I'd be comfortable with you coming into the bathroom with me. That way we can keep talking."
Hermione seemed to relax slightly at this and nodded dumbly.
He still wasn't sure about it but since she agreed he pulled her gently into the bathroom.
Draco had no idea what made him do it and now that she was in there he wasn't sure if he would be comfortable with her being in there. He had forgotten about the very minor detail of having to strip down to have a shower and was now wondering if he could actually do it in front of Hermione. He was someone who was very comfortable with himself and it would not be the first time he had shown himself off to someone but Hermione, it seemed, was not someone. Hermione was Hermione, someone who he knew a lot better than any of those others and someone who he was feeling very, very strongly towards. It was like he would be seeking her approval of him, despite everything that had happened between them.
He noticed that she was looking everywhere else but at him. He knew it would not do for either of them to be in this position and then for both not to feel comfortable.
"Hey," he said softly, moving close to her, "if you really feel uncomfortable being in here you don't have to stay. But I want you to be comfortable seeing me, seeing all of me, because I want to be able to show you who I am, no secrets."
Hermione looked at him with a newfound look in her eyes that Draco did not recognise. She reached around his neck and pulled him down to her to kiss him passionately, slowly snaking her other arm around him to fully embrace him.
I will never tire of this, he thought, as he playfully kissed her bottom lip and ran his tongue across it, relishing the reaction that she gave. He was greeted with the same treatment in response, feeling a shiver of his own run up his back. He could feel something stirring deep within him and knew that if he didn't stop it he would be seriously embarrassed.
Eventually, he pulled himself back reluctantly and looked at Hermione. Her eyes darted downwards briefly and by the wry grin on her face he knew that she knew the reason why he had stopped.
Too late, he thought, smiling embarrassedly.
"You better have your shower," she said with a quirk of her eyebrow. "I won't leave." She turned serious. "In fact, I feel very touched that you want to do that and for the reasons that you want to. It's a very honest response."
Draco smiled. So that explains her reaction.
His eyes did not leave hers as he pulled off his T-shirt. He watched as her eyes darted down to his navel and back up to his eyes. Suddenly he was very nervous but knew that it would not do to back out now. It was something that he had to do. Slowly, he pulled his track-suit pants down and was left standing in his boxer shorts. Hermione's reaction gave him sufficient reason not to feel self-conscious any longer. It was all he could do to stop and walk back to her and kiss her again. He had to keep going.
One more step.
Draco felt for the band on his boxer shorts and slipped his thumbs in each side. Just like he did with his track-suit pants, he pulled his boxers completely off.
His first thought was to reach down and pull them back up again as quick as he could but it would be pointless now if he did. Besides, Hermione was eyeing him up and down, pausing at his mid-section each time. Thank God he didn't have the reaction that he had not one minute before. It seemed nerves took that feeling away as quick as it had arrived.
Draco knew his body wasn't what every girl dreamt of, or at least what he thought they dreamt of, despite his face being, well, not bad on the eyes. He was lean and somewhat muscular, although not like Bruce Willis, he didn't think. But he was happy in his skin and knew that he could do everything that he needed to do. The hikes that he and his mother used to do across the Malfoy estate proved that he could carry significant loads without being overly burdened.
Yet all of this didn't diminish his wonder at exactly what it was that he had just done. Now that he had done it, he felt relieved.
That was it. There was nothing else he needed to show Hermione. She knew everything now. At least, he thought she knew everything. If she didn't, she certainly knew just about all.
He looked at her properly. She appeared to be in somewhat of disbelief. He couldn't exactly blame her; he certainly hadn't thought he would have done that this morning. Neither, it seemed, did she. However, the look on her face was not one of anything less than satisfaction.
Draco felt exhilarated. He quirked his eyebrow and gave her a challenging look then turned around to the shower. He ran the water so that it was the right temperature and stepped in, only turning around once fully immersed. Just before the steam fogged the glass up, he managed to make out Hermione's look of... something... desire maybe? Something anyway that wasn't normally painted on her face.
He smiled to himself. It wasn't something that a Slytherin would do; a Gryffindor maybe, but not a Slytherin. He had obviously taken a leaf out of her book.
The hot water relieved the forgotten pain of football training, causing Draco to remember what it was that had given him the aches in the first place.
His first football training with others. It felt so good to have a clean slate with other people. He knew that something would have to be done about what he was going to tell people when they asked him questions but that would be decided at a later date. All he really wanted to be thinking about now was Hermione, who was sitting on the bathroom vanity.
Somehow the conversation that he thought he would have with her while he was showering went by the wayside. He didn't quite anticipate the shift in moods that had occurred prior to them coming into the bathroom. It didn't matter; it was pleasant knowing what just happened didn't throw her. It seemed to have the opposite effect, if anything. He probably shouldn't have expected anything less but he really, really didn't want to ruin what he and Hermione had because of doing something stupid or the like.
He turned the shower off and stepped out.
Hermione handed him his towel but not before making sure she had a really good look at him first.
"So, do I pass?" he asked, only half jokingly.
She smiled at him and nodded. "Of course, you do. You would pass even if you had a scar running down your chest. It would show that you are human, after all." Something in her seemed to stir. "Speaking of scars," and she nudged Draco to turn him around. He felt soft fingertips run down his back to the point of... Oh Shit. She found THAT scar.
"What is it?" she asked in concern.
He didn't know how to answer that one. He was more humiliated in that one encounter with his drunk and very pissed off father than he dared to imagine. It had happened after one of his father's expeditions in the south of the Amazon where Draco's sole task was to ensure that the Order did not discover the true reason for their being down there. He did not know how they had discovered that but somehow they did. It was he who had received the punishment.
"I did something, or rather, didn't do something, and it displeased my father. The Order found out about an expedition that I was supposed to keep from them and because they found out, I received the punishment."
Hermione came around him after his explanation. She looked close to tears. "Oh Draco," she muttered softly.
She had obviously forgotten about his standing with only a towel in his hand because she moved forward and kissed him. After a moment, she seemed to realise and stepped back to allow Draco to put the towel around him. Draco looked at her as she did so. Her teary eyes were soon replaced with ones filled with that same look that had been there before he stepped into the shower.
"I can't believe you just did that for me," she said after a moment.
Draco laughed. "You're disbelieving it! What about me?"
"But you truly felt you needed to; it's very touching."
A sudden wave of humbleness came over him and he found himself speechless. In response, Hermione pulled at the towel that was around him and let it fall to the floor. She traced the muscles of his abdomen with a look of interest, not fully realising the reaction that was stirring within him as she did so. It took all of his effort not to let it show so obviously. Still, she continued tracing his muscles with the tips of her fingers, moving her way up to his chest. Her fingers lingered in the spot in the middle of his chest where the hair was beginning to grow and she smiled.
"What?" he asked her quietly.
"You've got some chest hair," she giggled. "And, it's light brown, which is even harder to believe. I think it's nice."
"You do?"
"I've got to admit, I don't mind chest hair. It's manly."
"Manly?" he was not sure what to make of that. "Is that a good thing?"
"Of course, it is. All of the good looking guys have some chest hair. It's very becoming."
"Right."
Her fingers continued their way up towards his face and she ran her fingers along his chin over his stubble, causing her to giggle again.
"You're becoming a man, Draco. I like it," she said.
"I'm glad you do. I can't really do anything about it, regardless," he muttered in response.
"Anyone who says different doesn't know what a real man is like."
No response seemed like the best response as he let her talk about the benefits of chest hair and stubble and everything else that brings a boy into the world of being a man. Draco stood still as Hermione continued to trace lines over his body when he realised her fingers were continuing down again towards his lower torso. He suddenly remembered that he was very much exposed in every possible way and her fingertips were making this extremely hard to keep his composure.
A groan escaped his lips and she looked up at him. Her eyes narrowed in a challenge and her grin became even more pronounced.
Oh dear God, what's she going to do?
His obvious enjoyment appeared to have given her confidence in whatever she was thinking of doing. Soon, she had him in both hands, tracing the same patterns over him that she had done with the rest of his body, causing a growl to escape from deep within him. This brought another challenging look to her face.
Draco wasn't sure if she knew exactly how good it felt but was sure that it was plastered across his face fairly obviously. He resisted every urge to use his own hands because he knew that it would not be good to do that, not ever. He could feel himself reaching the point of no return, rather quicker than he normally would have, which surprised him. He was not sure if it was what she was after.
Remembering the towel in his hands, he thrust it into place between himself and her to protect her just in time. His knees almost buckled under the sheer pleasure of it all as he groaned at the build up of three weeks of frustration released in a matter of seconds. Obviously, it was what she was after. He felt her hands move from him to around his back to support him as he leant his head on her shoulder, not capable of doing or saying anything else.
He slowly built up the strength to wipe himself off with the towel before looking at her.
"How was it?" she asked, almost timidly.
After he was satisfied with the towel, he pulled her into a close embrace and whispered, "You have no idea just how good that was."
"I have some idea."
He pulled back. "You didn't have to do that, you know."
"I know. I'm not sure what made me do it either. I think it was just everything that has happened. But just remember, I wouldn't have done it if I didn't want to."
"I know that, I just hoped you didn't think it was too soon."
"So long as you don't expect it every night."
Draco laughed. "I don't expect it at all. It's not the reason why I'm with you. Being with you is reward enough. I know that might sound cliché but it's true."
Hermione didn't seem to know what to say to that, so instead opted to put her arms around him again and kiss him. "Thank you."
"No, thank you."
She pulled back and grabbed another towel out of the cupboard. She unravelled it and used it to mop up the parts of him that were still wet from the shower, such as his back and his chest.
"Now, you certainly didn't have to do that," he muttered dryly.
"I know, but it feels nice to."
She finished mopping up his body and moved the towel to his head. Draco hesitated for a moment before lowering his head to allow her free access to the exposed part of him that he normally took great pride in.
Hermione gave a small grin before taking to his hair with the towel. She appeared to really be enjoying herself and when she pulled the towel off his head, she laughed.
"Have a look in the mirror," she said.
Draco turned to the mirror and saw what she was laughing at. His hair was standing up completely at the back and the front wasn't much better. Laughing himself, he flattened it enough to make it appear like he had just got out of the water and had given it a quick comb-through with his fingers.
"Now THAT looks good," she nodded approvingly.
He laughed and pulled her in for another kiss. He just couldn't get enough of those, it seemed.
"How about we go to bed?" he asked.
"Sure. You don't mind if I sleep in my bed tonight, do you?"
"Of course not. I know too much of a good thing too quickly can make things turn sour. As I said, I can't believe you did what you did, I certainly wasn't expecting it."
"Neither was I. I'm not sure if it will happen so quickly next time."
"I don't expect it to. Goodnight, Hermione," he muttered quietly before giving her a chaste kiss on the lips.
"Goodnight, Draco. See you tomorrow."
Draco watched her wander into her bedroom and close the door, watching him as she did so. He then made his own way to his bedroom and put on his pyjamas.
He couldn't believe what had happened tonight. He was sure a repeat of it wouldn't be happening soon but that didn't matter to him. He felt proud of himself to having exposed all of himself, not just his body, to her like that. Especially after the explanation of the scar on his back, the one that he would rather forget about completely but knew that it would not happen.
He felt that she had exposed herself a bit as well; he noticed that she seemed to enjoy taking on a caring role, such as when she was towelling him off. Not to mention the obvious other preferred pastime.
He couldn't wait to see her tomorrow and wondered what on earth might happen in between jogging, football and reading.
Well, a bit more than I originally thought would happen between the two but hey, a little bit of fun never hurt anyone!
Any questions, you know where to find me.