NOTE: Hope you lovelies enjoy this chapter. I may not have one out to you next week as I will be gone for the long weekend but I don't know for sure yet. I may have time to write.

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Chapter 27

"Draco! What are you doing? Someone is going to see us." Hermione hissed at him as she tried to pull back into the shadows.

"I just wanted a good luck kiss was all." At this her eyes rolled.

"We both know you don't think the Cannons are a threat, but I warned you. They are having a much better season then they've had in years. Ron won't shut up about them."

"Please. They don't stand a chance against this." She placed her hands on his chest to push him away, but he instead placed his hands on her shoulder blades and pulled her in to his chest.

"Honestly Malfoy. Let me go."

"Oh back to surnames are we Granger? You were singing a different tune last night." He gave her a smirk before burying his face into the crease of her neck, his lips tickling her exposed skin. She felt the goosebumps rise as well as the small hairs on her neck. She had to keep herself from releasing the moan in the back of her throat.

"Draco." Her voice had a whine to it as if her words said stop but her body wanted more. He settled on a few more nibbles before he pulled away, placing a rough, quick kiss on her lips.

"That's what I thought." Smirk still in place, Draco grabbed his discarded broom leaning against the wall next to them and headed for the visitors' locker room. Hermione placed her back on the stone wall for just a moment. Her lips were tinged pink from his last departing kiss and she was sure she had the makings of a mark on her neck. Composing herself quickly, Hermione pushed off of the wall in search of the loo to fix her disheveled appearance.

"Miss Granger! There you are. I've been looking for you everywhere." Nigel, clipboard in tow came running towards her. Her eyes widened at the thought of the possible love marks on her neck and her slender hand quickly found its way to the clip in her hair. She released it, letting her hair fall down. Fussing with it for a few moments, trying to place the tangled locks anywhere she thought the evidence would be, Hermione turned around to face Nigel just as he reached her, completely out of breath.

"They," he panted, wiping his free hand across his forehead. "Need you down on the pitch. They want to do pregame interviews about the winning streak." She opened her mouth to protest but didn't have a chance. "Michael wanted you. He gave the go ahead. They are all waiting. We need to go."

Hermione bit her lip before reluctantly nodding her head. Nigel turned to lead her back towards the reporters waiting, his pace quick. Apparently he had been in search of her for a while. Her heels clicked against the cement floor as her short legs were struggling to meet Nigel's pace. By the time they reached the edge of the field, Hermione had to stop for a moment and catch her breath.

"Miss Granger! Miss Granger!" She gave a fake smile and made her way towards a waiting Michael and Coach O'Kelly.

"Miss Granger, what's changed this season? The Falcons are currently in second place, behind the Harpies. Last year, they had to fight to stay out of last." A few reporters nodded their heads, quick quills flying across parchment.

"Well, I'd like to think we are just functioning better as a team. Coach O'Kelly has done an excellent job with our starting seven and our reserve players are seeing more field time at home allowing them to be prepared for any outcome the game may throw at them." There was a mummer among the crowd as she finished before a new hand shot up.

"And what of bringing in Draco Malfoy? Was it the right decision for the team?"

"Draco Malfoy has proven his value as a seeker time and time again for this team. He's become a team player and takes great pride in the game he plays. We are happy to have him."

"Is the team happy to have him or are you Miss Granger?"

"I'm sorry?" Hermione's face quickly changed from confident to unsure as she gave a side glance at Michael. He gave a motion to her to allow the question to be rephrased before he would pull her from the reporters.

"It's the presses understanding that Draco Malfoy has been giving you flying lessons and after the Kestrels game, news of your impending dinner date was all over the papers. Surely you saw that." Her face turned a shade of red and she shook her head no, trying to play off the terrible article she declined to read. "Miss Granger, you're dinner date was not photographed and it's a fact that the press had all major restaurants staked out. Where did Mr. Malfoy take you for dinner?" Her throat was closing, her vision going blurry and the reporters began to spin before her eyes.

"I….umm we…." Michael stepped in, grabbing her firmly by the shoulders.

"Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy had a private dinner prepared for them at the field after the fans and media had been removed. As crazy as it sounds, neither of them enjoy being photographed while eating. What a crazy concept." Hermione wanted to throw her arms around Michael at that moment. She had never been so thankful of someone's ability to cover her arse. "That will be all the questions we have time for today. Miss Granger needs to get up to her box to watch the game. Go Falcons!"

As soon as they were out of the presses sight, Hermione collapsed into a heap on the ground. Her breathing was ragged and her focus still hadn't returned. Michael bent down next to her, trying to pull some of her hair away from her face.

"Nigel. Get her some water. Quickly." Nigel took off once again, his long legs carrying him out of sight.

"Hermione. What the hell is going on?" Hermione remained silent, her eyes glued to the floor beneath her. Michael reached up towards her face again, pushing her hair away and also catching sight of a few small marks littering her now exposed neck.

"Oh Hermione, what have you done?" A small sob escaped her lips and she buried her head in Michael's shoulder.

He received a few odd looks as a couple of stadium workers passed by. "Hermione, we can't stay here. We need to move. Can you walk?" The only response he received was another sob. Getting to his feet, he scooped her up in his arms just as Nigel reappeared with a bottle of water.

"Let's get her into the locker room. At least the only prying eyes there, we can control."