Author's Note: Well everyone, I know this took me quite a while to post and I'm very sorry! School is taking up a great chunk of my time right now, but I'm still doing my best. Plus, I've been using my free time to work on certain parts of the story that have taken me a while to figure out how to write. In fact, I'm still working on some of them. I keep coming up with new scenes to add into the story to make it better, so I've been rabidly working to make it better. I've added about 8 chapters in these past few weeks throughout the story and am still adding and fine-tuning. Anyways, thank you all so much for the reviews. They mean a lot to me. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

"All right team. I want us to all have healthy breakfasts," Angelina instructed, plopping heaps of food on everyone's plate.

"Er, no thanks Angelina, my stomach's not up to it," Harry told her.

"Nonsense," she responded, plopping a bunch of scrambled eggs onto his plate and filling his glass to the brim with orange juice.

Fred tried covering his plate with his hands, but Angelina just dumped food right on top of them, not even noticing with all her nervousness. Today was the final game for the Cup. They were playing against the Slytherins. It was going to be close on points, Slytherin only ten ahead. It was going to be a tight game.

Harry was too nervous to eat much. He picked at his food while Angelina scrutinized all her teammates.

As soon as she turned, the entire team began shoving large portions of food onto other people's plates.

"What? Harry!" Hermione scolded as he pushed all of his bacon onto her plate along with three-fourths of his eggs. Ron did the same to Neville who just laughed.

Each of the team members slipped their plates back in front of them as Angelina turned back around. Harry stuck a forkful of eggs in his mouth and reluctantly swallowed. Angelina looked happy.

"See! I knew you guys needed some fuel."

Everyone rolled their eyes.

Finally, Angelina signaled for her team to follow her to the locker rooms. They changed into their uniforms silently and then sat down for Angelina to give her pep talk.

"All right, guys and girls, this is it. The final match. The Cup is there, we just have to grab it." She paused. "Okay, forget this sentimental rubbish. Let's go squash 'em!"

This got a resounding cheer. They grabbed their brooms and marched out after Angelina, pumped up and ready to go.

The majority of the crowd roared as they marched out, drowning out the boos and hisses from the Slytherins. As usual in a Gryffindor vs. Slytherin game, three-quarters of the crowd was waving scarlet flags and had large banners saying things like "Sly's team may be big and rich, but Gryffindors can catch the Snitch!" and "1, 2, 3, 4 Gryffindors are gonna roar!" Harry's favorite was one with a picture of a lion playing jump rope with a snake.

The Slytherins had a few banners of their own. One had a snake that bit a lion and tore off a chunk of its flesh with the words, "Snakes eat Lion meat!" emblazoned around it. Harry thought that was a little disturbing.

"And here are the Gryffindors with a new keeper and a new captain, both who have proved themselves so far this year. Today will be the true test for the new team of Potter, Bell, Johnson, Spinnet, Weasley, Weasley, and, what do you know, Weasley!" yelled Lee Jordan, who was commentator as usual.

The Slytherins were introduced and Angelina roughly shook hands with the Slytherin captain at Madam Hooch's command.

"Mount your brooms."

Harry caught Ron's eye and they both grinned nervously. Madam Hooch blew her whistle and everyone shot into the air.

The game was intense, moving faster and more ferociously than Harry had ever seen it. The Beaters were smashing Bludgers toward people with a newfound fervor. Each attempted goal was thrown with purpose, knocking the keepers back on their brooms each time they caught the Quaffle. For the first time ever, Madam Hooch had to judge if a goal counted. Ron had caught the Quaffle, but it had been thrown with such momentum that it had knocked Ron back, broom and all, through the goal.

When she decided that it didn't count, the Slytherins became outraged. One of the Slytherin Beaters was right next to Harry and in a bout of fury swung his club at him with all his might. It hit Harry in the chest and Harry fell off his broom, grabbing on with one hand, the other one clutching his ribs, which were burning horribly. George was immediately by his side.

"Merlin, Harry, are you all right? Here, get on my broom and I'll fly you down," he said worriedly as Madam Hooch was screaming herself blue at the Slytherin Beater.

Harry took several deep, painful breaths. "I'm okay," he gasped. He swung himself back onto his broom and the game recommenced.

The next time George got near a Bludger, he hit it toward the offending Slytherin Beater with all his might, only succeeding in making the huge guy drop his club. With a growl, he had to dive down to go get it.

Harry could only take shallow breaths now, but tore his concentration away from the pain to look for the Snitch.

Malfoy came up beside him at one point, laughing. "Well, you fly as poorly as a Bludger, so you can see how the mistake was made."

"We'll see who's laughing when Angelina's holding the Quidditch Cup," he retorted, wincing at the pain that shot through his torso as he tried to talk.

"Not with my team's new brooms," he said. Malfoy's father had updated the team's brooms again that year to Lighteningstrikes, the newest brooms on the line.

"Once again, paying for your spot on the team, Malfoy," Harry said.

Malfoy just glared at Harry before flying away to look for the Snitch.

Harry's eyes searched all below him, but finding nothing, he turned his eyes to the sky. He saw it; it was above Harry and slightly down the field.

Harry pressed himself to his broom and shot off. Malfoy caught on soon after and began to zoom after Harry. The superior speed on Malfoy's broom caused him to be catching up more quickly than Harry had hoped. Harry flattened his body to his broom, despite the pain in his chest and concentrated his whole mind on the Snitch. Malfoy was still right near him, but was now only inching up compared to Harry's speed.

Harry reached his hand out with a gasp at the stab of agony in his torso. Malfoy tried to hit Harry's arm away, but Harry managed to wrap his hands around the fluttering Snitch.

Malfoy swore loudly and spun to a halt.

"Harry Potter has caught the Snitch! Gryffindor has won the cup!" Lee yelled with glee into the microphone. The crowd roared and Harry smiled triumphantly.

Below, the same Slytherin Beater who had assaulted Harry before hit a Bludger at him in fury. But his aim was off.

"Malfoy, watch out!" Harry yelled, but it was too late. The Bludger caught the unsuspecting Slytherin, knocking him completely off his broom.

When Harry saw that nobody, not even the Slytherin team, was making any move to help him, he dropped the Snitch to put both hands on his broom and dove. The crowd watched helplessly as Malfoy plummeted toward the ground. Dumbledore and the other professors were distracted with getting the Cup.

Harry caught up with Malfoy and somehow managed to pull him onto his broom before evening out. Malfoy's body slammed up against Harry's chest when Harry yanked him onto the broom and Harry let out a cry of anguish.

Malfoy turned his head and looked at Harry in utter surprise. "You caught me," he said in shock.

Harry was now shaking in pain. His torso was on fire. Black spots danced at the edge of his vision.

"Merlin, Potter, are you okay?"

Harry didn't respond, just lowered the broom to the ground. Malfoy got off quickly and backed away looking half-shocked, half-embarrassed. Harry collapsed his hands and knees, one hand clutching his chest.

His teammates flew down quickly.

"Harry! Harry!" Ron shouted, running to his side. George ran to his other side and Fred fell to his knees in front of him, trying to get Harry to look at him. Harry's arm gave out and the three Weasleys gently turned him over onto his back.

"I—I can't breathe," he gasped, clutching his ribs. The whole team was looking down at him in horror.

"Out of my way!" yelled Madam Hooch as she pushed through the crowd. She knelt by Harry. "Potter, what happened?"

"It was that damn Bole, when he hit Harry with the Beater club earlier. I think it hurt Harry more than he let on," George explained angrily.

Harry was closing and opening his eyes, trying not to lose consciousness. Madam Hooch ran two fingers along Harry's ribs, pressing lightly. When she got to Harry's left side, he let out a cry.

"What's the matter?" Professor McGonagall asked, pushing through the growing crowd around Harry. Dumbledore was right behind her. Hagrid was coming from a different direction, lifting up kids and setting them aside to clear a path for himself and Hermione.

"Broken ribs," she diagnosed. "We're going to need to get him to Madam Pomfrey quickly. I think it's pressing into his lungs and interfering with his breathing."

Dumbledore conjured up a stretcher underneath Harry which lifted magically to about four feet off the ground.

"Severus, may I ask you to see Mr. Potter to the Hospital Wing? Minerva and I must stay here to present the Cup," Dumbledore asked.

Snape came into Harry's view. He nodded solemnly.

"Professor, maybe we should wait until Harry's better," Angelina started.

"No," Harry said quietly, "go ahead and do it now so we can celebrate tonight. We need the Cup for the party and I'll make sure I'm out by tonight." He gave them a reassuring smile. "Hermione, stay and watch Ron in the ceremony because I want to hear exactly how it went."

Hermione and Ron both looked like they were going to protest but didn't.

"I'll be fine," he insisted.

Snape began walking toward the castle and Harry's stretcher floated after him, leaving everyone behind as they made their way back to be presented with the Cup.

Harry took a few more shuddering breaths before slipping into unconsciousness.

Snape looked down at Harry lying unconscious on the stretcher and quickened his pace. He was still in slight shock. Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy were enemies like he and James Potter had been, that was obvious enough. Snape knew about the nasty comments Draco made to Harry and in the past had purposely waited to open his classroom door until Harry was provoked to do something punishable.

He also knew that Draco Malfoy would have let Harry fall. He knew that James would have let Snape fall, and that he, himself, would have let James fall. No matter how much he told himself that Potter did it for the fame, he knew that it really wasn't true.

Very few people had earned Snape's respect. He could count them on a hand, but for a fleeting second, Snape thought he felt just that toward Harry. He was revolted at the very idea.

'I do not respect James Potter's son. I do not respect James Potter's son,' he mentally chanted as they entered the Infirmary, but he wasn't sure if he believed himself.

Harry woke a little later with bandages wrapped around his torso. Madam Pomfrey saw him awake and put her hands on her hips. Harry smiled.

"I'm thinking of just asking Dumbledore to let me move in here, what do you think Madam Pomfrey?" he joked.

The Medi-witch smiled despite herself. "You might as well. It would save you the trip."

"So when can I leave?"

"Well, your ribs are still fragile. You've broken them before."

Harry nodded.

"Your uncle?"

Harry blushed and nodded once again. She gave him a sympathetic nod.

"Well, they're healing, but a little slower than they would if it were the first time breaking them. Your lung is bruised as well so that's healing. I want you to stay the night."

"But Madam Pomfrey," he whined, "I feel fine and the Quidditch party is tonight! I can't miss it, we won the Cup!" He gave her a sad puppy-dog face and she rolled her eyes with a laugh.

"Fine, but you can't move from that bed until then."

"Deal!" he said triumphantly.

"Now, I think you have some visitors," she said opening the door.

The Quidditch team, Neville, Hermione, and Eloise came bustling through.

"Hey, our favorite Seeker is awake!" Katie said cheerfully.

"I'm your ONLY Seeker," Harry reminded her with a laugh.

"Not the point. You won us the Cup!" she said throwing her hands in the air.

"How are you feeling, Harry?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"Fine. Madam Pomfrey wanted to keep me for the night, but I talked her into letting me out early so I can come to the party."

"That dive was amazing, Harry!" Angelina said.

"I can't believe you went after Malfoy. Draco Malfoy. Your worst enemy," Fred said in disbelief.

"You should've let him fall," Ron murmured.

"Yeah, maybe he'd have gotten some manners knocked into him," said Alicia darkly.

Harry looked at them incredulously. "He would've gotten really hurt! Everyone was distracted. Nobody would have slowed him down like Dumbledore did when I fell off my broom third year."

Everyone gave him a look that said, "Your point?"

"Well I think you did the right thing," Hermione said proudly.

"I don't know. I think that a good bang might have knocked the word 'Mudblood' out of his vocabulary," Ron said. Eloise gave a murmur of agreement.

"You guys, it's not like I'm trying to be his friend or anything."

"You just saved his life instead," said Fred.

Harry rolled his eyes. "I didn't save his life. I just caught him. It's not a big deal," he insisted. Luckily, Madam Pomfrey came along and shooed them all out, saying their time was up and if they wanted their Seeker that night, they had to leave.

They all said their good-byes and left to start collecting food for the party.

A few minutes after they left, the door slowly opened again. Harry looked up curiously and was taken aback. It was Malfoy.

Harry looked around but, sure enough, he was the only one in the hospital wing.

Malfoy closed the door behind him and walked up to Harry's bed looking unsure of himself.

"Why did you catch me?" he asked accusingly.

"In case you didn't notice, you fell off your broom," Harry said with a raised eyebrow.

"So? I wouldn't have caught you."

"I know."

Malfoy paused. He was looking at Harry suspiciously as if trying to figure out what his true motive had been.

"This isn't going to make me stop…" he began but Harry cut him off.

"I didn't expect you to stop anything. I don't expect thanks; I don't expect you to be nice to me and my friends. I was just…I wasn't just going to let you fall. Nobody was paying attention and it was a big drop. It was just a reflex, okay?" he said, slightly embarrassed.

"Just trying to play the hero once again then?" he said scathingly. "Make everyone think you're really noble by rescuing your worst enemy."

"I'm not very concerned with what people think about me, Malfoy, and I actually try to avoid the whole hero thing since it is both inaccurate and annoying. But Merlin, if you're going to come in here and make fun of me for this, then you have some serious problems," Harry said with a glare. Malfoy's own glare faltered and he looked away, examining the potions that Harry had to take. There was a long silence and Harry was left very confused at why the Slytherin was sticking around.

"Er…Malfoy?" Harry started, trying to snap the blonde back to reality so he would leave.

"I heard you talking with your friends," he said uncomfortably, picking up a bottle of pain-killing draught on Harry's nightstand. "This stuff is crap by the way. You have to take so much for such small results."

"Just now?" Harry asked, ignoring the second half of what Malfoy had said.

Malfoy nodded.

"They weren't serious about wishing you fell," he said, unsure of why he even bothered when Malfoy had just told him that he would have let Harry fall.

"Yes they were. But, they were right when they said…when they said you saved my life," he coughed out, not meeting Harry's eyes. Harry looked at Malfoy like he had just sprouted wings and claimed to be the messenger of God. "You said it wasn't a big deal, but I happen to hold my life in very high acclaim. I'd appreciate it if you didn't undermine it the way you are by saying that it wasn't a big deal. My life is a very big deal, Potter."

Harry was very confused. It almost seemed that Malfoy was trying to thank him in his own, high-and-mighty way. But, of course, that was an impossibility. This was Malfoy after all.

"Malfoy, don't even think about it, okay? I already told you, you don't owe me and I wasn't trying to be a hero or anything," he insisted awkwardly.

"But I don't understand. Why would you do this if there wasn't anything in it for you? You hate me. I hate you. There's got to be a catch," he said in frustration.

"I don't like you, but I don't want you dead," Harry said in disbelief. "Don't get me wrong, I think you're a git who enjoys being cruel to people, but you haven't exactly done anything punishable by death."

There was a long pause where Malfoy looked at Harry suspiciously. "I still hate you, you know," he said as if testing for Harry's reaction.

"Okay," Harry said not having expected anything different.

"And you hate me," Malfoy said as if making that clear.

"I'll hate you as long as you act like an asshole to me and my friends."

There was another pause while Malfoy decided to look curiously at Harry and then the wall. Harry was nearly squirming with anxiety. He almost expected Malfoy to have an alien break out of his stomach and try to eat Harry's brain.

'Okay, no more science fiction movies at the Stensons,' Harry thought to himself.

"What did Madam Pomfrey mean when she mentioned your uncle in connection with breaking your ribs before?" he asked curiously.

Harry stilled. "How long have you been eavesdropping?" he asked annoyed.

"Long enough. What did she mean?" he insisted.

"Nothing," Harry said coldly.

"You live with your uncle, don't you?"

"Mind your own business, Malfoy," said Harry warningly. He didn't like the look on Malfoy's face. The look that said he had pieced things together and understood something that Harry didn't want him to understand.

"Interesting," Malfoy murmured.

"Nothing's interesting," Harry sneered.

"How are your ribs?" he asked changing the subject.

"Fine," Harry said coldly. "Malfoy, don't you go spreading any rumors…"

"I wasn't planning on it," he said, cutting Harry off.

"Well, anyway, I just wanted to say…thanks," he said with much difficulty, looking at his fingernails as he said it. He lifted his eyes to Harry's in a warning gaze. "But if you tell anyone, I'll deny it and call you insane." He then hurried out of the room, closing the door behind him.