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It had been four days since she had heard from Draco. She had attempted to contact him multiple times, but each time came with no response.
Her date with Viktor hadn't been much of anything. He had taken her to a pub down the alley from the Bistro. It had been one of the few establishments still open that late. While Viktor had been solely focused on her during their date, Hermione's mind and heart were still in the Bistro…with Draco.
When the date ended, Viktor had attempted to go home with her. She had told him that she needed to do a few things for work when she got home and would speak with him soon. However, when she got home, she immediately went to her bedroom and cried.
On Sunday morning, Hermione and Draco had a meeting with Ian Helms, Draco's coach. He was going to show Hermione around the Magpies' stadium.
When she arrived at the stadium, she was greeted by a young bloke.
"Hi. I'm Andrew. I'll take you inside."
She smiled and let him lead her into the stadium. He led her down to the field where she noticed a man holding a notebook while staring up at the sky.
She looked up and was surprised to find that the Montrose Magpies were in the middle of a morning practice. It took her only a moment to spot Draco speeding through the air on his broom with the Quaffle tucked under his arm. She watched as he attempted to throw the Quaffle into one of the three goalposts and was shocked when he missed the hoop.
"Malfoy!" The man with the notebook shouted, holding his wand to his throat, "Why the bloody fuck have you missed nearly every bloody shot today?" He asked rhetorically as the players continued.
"Sir…" Andrew said, catching the man's attention. "This is Miss Granger."
The man nodded and his demeaner changed a bit, "Hi Miss Granger." He said kindly, "Practice is nearly over."
She nodded, "That's fine. Take your time."
"That's all right. I've had about as much of this shite as I can stand." He muttered and looked back up to see Cho Chang make a goal.
After another ten minutes, Coach Helms ended the practice.
"Practice is over!" He shouted with his wand aimed at his throat, "Everyone get in the showers!" He said before adding "Not you, Malfoy. Get your arse over here."
Hermione thought Coach Helms had been calling him over for their meeting. However, when Draco came over, not sparing even the slightest glance at her, the coach began shouting at Draco.
"What kind of piss poor performance was that Malfoy?" He shouted.
Hermione turned away, wanting to give Draco as much privacy as possible.
When Coach Helms finished shouting as him, Draco walked right past Hermione and went to the locker room to take a shower.
She felt terrible for him but wasn't sure how to help the situation. She heard Coach Helms clear his throat from behind her and turned to face him.
"Malfoy's my best player." He grunted. "Yesterdays game was dreadful. Never see him play that badly." He sighed. "Chang and Zabini tried their best to take up the slack, but two Chasers can only do so much." He sighed, shaking his head. "Bloke's got something messing with his head. Maybe you can talk to him while he gives the tour of the stadium. You two are mates, right?"
Hermione cleared her throat, unsure of how to respond. She simply nodded and said that they would talk.
Theo came out of the locker room and jogged over to Hermione, "Hey, Hermione!" He grinned.
She smiled, "Hi Theo! How are you?"
"I'm brilliant. How are you?"
She smiled, ignoring the question, "And Luna and Flynn? They're doing well?"
He hadn't noticed her skip over the question which she found a relief.
"They're wonderful. Can you believe he's already over a month old?"
Hermione shook her head, "No I can't. He's growing so quickly."
"You need to come over and visit sometime soon. We miss you." He said.
She smiled and nodded, "I will" she said as Blaise came over as well.
She hugged the dark-skinned wizard and asked how his fiancée, Ginny Weasley was doing.
"Ginny's great. We went to the Burrow for dinner the other night and Molly attempted to teach me how to knit her Christmas sweaters." He smirked
Hermione laughed, "Well, at least you know Molly truly loves you."
"True." Blaise replied as Draco made his way out of the locker room and over to them.
Before Draco could say anything, Coach Helms waved him over.
He sighed and walked over to the older wizard, "Yes, Coach?" He said.
Helms sighed, "I don't know what's going on with you, but you had better get it all sorted out before Saturday's match against the Falcons."
"Yes, Coach." Draco replied.
Helms nodded, "All right. Well, you're off now. I know your mate is here for a tour of the stadium. That Charity Match is June tenth, right?"
Draco nodded, "Yes, Sir."
Helms nodded, "Thought so. I've been seeing all kinds of prints and pamphlets for it all over Diagon Alley."
Draco nodded, internally grateful that word was spreading about the Charity Match. He overheard Hermione let out a small laugh at something Theo or Blaise had said and felt his heart ache to be near her. However, his heart also ached because of her.
"Well, get to it then." Helms said.
Th blond wizard nodded and inhaled deeply before he made his way back over to the others.
Blaise nodded to Draco, "You doing all right, mate?"
Draco silently nodded.
Theo furrowed his brow, "Draco mate, you've been acting a bit…off the past couple of days. And as for your Quidditch performance…" Theo shook his head.
Hermione bit her bottom lip and glanced at Draco. Her heart stung at the sight of him and the dark circles under his obviously tired eyes.
Blaise noticed the behavior between the two and cleared his throat, "You know, Theo. I've got to stop by Diagon Alley and get Gin a gift. Could you help me out?"
Theo nodded. "Sure…now?"
Blaise nodded, "Yeah. See you two later." He said before dragging Theo away.
Draco steadied himself before turning to fully face Hermione.
"All right. Since the stadium is meant for Quidditch matches, all we really need to figure out is where the kids will sit during the game. I was thinking…"
"Draco…" She said, cutting him off.
"…in a private box. I want them to all be comfortable and to have a…"
"Draco."
"…nice time while at the match. I know we've got plan for them but…"
"Draco!" She said in a pleading shout.
He sighed, closing his eyes, "Granger, don't." He said through clenched teeth before reopening his eyes.
"Please." She pleaded desperately. "Please hear me out."
"Why?" He asked bitterly.
She was surprised by his bitter response and swallowed nervously before replying, "Because I love you and you said that you love me too. And…and I really fucked everything up. Please! Just hear me out." She said in a shaky voice.
He had never heard Hermione Granger curse before, and he was sure it would be entertaining if it hadn't been for the tears that had begun streaming down her face or the situation they were in.
Draco swallowed and nodded, "Okay. I'll listen."