(Jumps happily, and gives all reviewers a slice of cake) Thankies for
reviewing, everyone, it always makes it easier to write when people tell me
my story is good! Yah! Oh, and BTW, I've decided to make this fic AU until
further notice. (Time frame tho, in essence, is the summer before 4th year,
but they are called 4th years since they are done with 3rd year, and the
8th years, well, they're just, um, there for now. ^^;;;;
Ok then, enough talking! I'm going to try to make this one extra long, and also it's going to be both Friday and Saturday, for CasualVillain, who is a great writer and if you like InuYasha (or FF7) you should read her fics.
Any more announcements for now? Hmm, nope! Visit my website please! ^^
It was midnight. The numbers on his alarm clock read 12:02 am. 'What the hell am I waking up this earl - oh, right. The dream.'
Malfoy sat up, and brushed blonde hair out of his eyes. 12:02. 12:02 in the bloody morning and here he was, awake, because of one Harry Potter.
'What the hell is wrong with me?' Malfoy walked to the bathroom to take care of certain matters. 'Harry, of all people.' He dropped down his pants and took off his shirt before stepping into the shower.
Malfoy went through in his mind all that had happened in these few short days. Everything from the Truth or dare question Hermione asked him to the Quidditch practice he had done with Harry yesterday.
'He looked so . . . hot,' sighed Malfoy, and then glanced around, as if it was possible someone was there listening to his thoughts. But no, that was being stupid.
Little did he know that Hermione was busily putting another transmitting charm on his dream journal.
~~~
The next morning, Harry was defiantly tired. Not more than five minutes after Malfoy went back to sleep, he had woke up to find himself in quite the same predicament as Malfoy had just been in.
"You look dead tired," Hermione said to him as they walked downstairs for breakfast.
"Nah, I'm fine," Harry said, wondering how he could manage to walk down the stairs properly without falling; he was that tired.
"I agree with Hermione!" said Ron, "You've got bags under your eyes, and you look like you're still sleeping!"
"No, I wasn't up that late or anything, just was busy yesterday, what with Quidditch and all," Harry said, hoping that Hermione and Ron would buy it. They had been acting rather strange lately.
Hermione sighed. Draco had wrote down his dream earlier this morning, and, well, she was beginning to get scared of all the things he wrote down, particularly the part where he had Harry tied up and was just about to . . .
"I'm fine," Harry said, "Really! I bet I'll be fine once I eat some breakfast. And I'll get a good nights sleep tonight - By the way, they're picking the teams tonight, I think you sign up now or something."
"Right! Let's sign up right now!" Ron said excitedly. "Grab us some seats, will ya, Mione? We'll be right back."
"Um, Ron, I'm going to sign up too," Hermione said, whacking him lightly upside the head.
"Oh," Ron said lamely, and the three of them made their way over to the table set up for signing up for Quidditch. About twenty or so people had signed up, in total, among them now Harry, Ron and Hermione.
"What about a broom?" said Harry suddenly as they sat down for breakfast. "If both Ron and I are playing, you won't have a broom to buy."
"Oh, I'll buy one tonight," said Hermione. "Quidditch seems to grow on you."
"That it does."
"Potions today," Ron reminded them all through a mouthful of pancakes. Hermione nodded - regardless of how annoying the class was, it was actually ok in her opinion - and Harry groaned.
"C'mon, let's go. No use being late," Hermione told them, "No need to give Snape a reason to hate us when school starts . . ."
Harry and Ron reluctantly nodded, and they started off towards the classroom. They got there but a minute early, much to their relief - they didn't really want to stay in the cold classroom any longer than absolute necessary.
'I can count on Professor Snape to pair Harry and Draco together for whatever assignment, like he always does, so I'm good.'
Indeed, he did, and the period passed without incident.
Had to be a first.
~~~
Harry was extremely quiet during lunch. Ron and Hermione weren't the only ones to notice.
"Hey, what's up, Harry?" Seamus asked, "You look like you got ran over by a rampaging hippogriff."
Harry shook his head. "I'm fine, just thinking." He said.
"Thinking 'bout what?" asked Ron, "I mean, you're practically in another dimension here, so it must be really important, so maybe we could help?"
"Nah." Harry paused, "I think I just need more sleep."
"That you do," Hermione said, acting very much like a worried mother. "You don't seem to get near enough sleep!" She sighed softly because she knew it was her fault he didn't get any sleep last night.
"I wonder if we're all on the same team," Harry said, glancing continuously at the Quidditch sign-up sheet.
"No clue, but I'd better get a broom soon. Let's see. . . this afternoon, what do we have. . . ?"
The rest of the day passed by rather quickly. Hermione didn't get it, but Malfoy and Harry were acting really weird. She could understand them acting a bit weird about it, but this was just . . . weird.
Dinner came around quickly, and just before the food came, Dumbledore stood up to announce, "The two Quidditch teams have been picked, and are as follows. Team one, seeker, Harry Potter. Team two, seeker, Draco Malfoy. Team one, keeper, Hermione Granger. Team Two, keeper, Danielle Olson."
He paused, and Hermione smiled. "I get to play, what fun!"
"You and Malfoy again, eh, Harry?" said Seamus happily, "Well, you can bet on which team I'm going for!"
Dumbledore let them get over the first part of the teams, and then continued. "Team One, Beaters. Will Mali, Scott Nolis. Team two, beaters. Leora Usagi, Terry Boot. Team one, chasers. Kevin Black, Makato Lee, Jasmine Lee. Team two, chasers. Amber Baxtil, Lena Flowers, Ron Weasley."
He paused again as everyone began clapping and cheering. When it died down again he continued one last time.
"The game will be tomorrow at 2. Teams will meet an hour beforehand to discuss strategy. Thank you, and enjoy your feast!" Dumbledore smiled, and the food came up to the plates.
Everyone began eating, and talking excitedly.
"The Lee sisters on the same team," said a 6th year boy, Chris, "I feel bad for the team - they'll be fighting too much to play!"
"We do not fight that much!" said Jasmine (who, with black hair and green eyes, looked almost exactly like her sister who had black hair and blue eyes).
"Yes, we work quite well together!" added Makato, blue eyes flashing.
"I'm on a different team," moaned Ron, as he buttered a roll. "With Malfoy!"
"It can't be that bad," Hermione said, trying to calm him down, "He's a good seeker, and besides, both ways, if team one wins or team two, we can still celebrate."
"Yeah," agreed Harry, trying to cheer Ron up. "Besides, I don't know if you noticed, but Amber Baxtil is on that team."
Ron blushed a little. In his 2nd year, for a full month, he had had the biggest crush on Amber, who was now a 5th year.
"Oh well. Better watch out, Hermione, because I'm not holding back," Ron said, grinning.
"That's the spirit!"
"I wonder who's captain for the teams," Harry said after a thoughtful pause. "Do we get to pick amongst ourselves?"
"I guess so," Hermione said, "In which event I'm voting for you!"
"Why me?" Harry said, "Why not you? You know enough about math and stuff to come up with great plans." They began bickering, but in a good way.
It didn't seem like too much later before they were up in the common room. Bets were being made everywhere - "Team one'll win, I'll bet you 5 galleons!" - and everyone was caught up in the excitement only a Quidditch match could bring. "D'you think Harry'll catch the Snitch, or Draco?" other people would ask.
"Don't forget to get some sleep," Hermione called to Harry and Ron as she went to her dormitory room. She wasn't planning on sleeping now, but she wanted to see if Malfoy was writing in his journal as he seemed to do right after dinner.
Indeed he was. Hermione felt a pang of guilt for reading his private thoughts, but pushed it away - it was for a good cause, she told herself.
'Harry and I have been picked to be seekers for tomorrows game. I wonder who will win. I've been practicing a lot, and I think I'm considerably better than I was last year. However, I wonder if he's practiced too. Not that he needs to. He's perfect. At Quidditch that is!'
Hermione smiled. Underneath his cold interior, he was a nice person, Draco. She wondered briefly if that applied to everyone like him, like all the Slytherins and Snape. Hard to tell.
'It's really hard for me to explain what I feel around Harry. When he's around, I feel . . . calm, but I force myself to insult him anyway. How father would laugh if he thought I was attracted to a boy!'
Here Hermione felt a pang of sadness. Not that her parents weren't very loving, but they had told her once in no certain terms that if she ever decided she wanted to go out with another girl, they would disown her.
She closed her book for now - she'd read the rest later. She was way more excited by the prospect of play Quidditch tomorrow than she'd ever let on and she needed to get a broom before the match anyway.
Meanwhile, in the guys dormitories, Harry and Ron had just gone into their rooms. They were the last people to get up there, and everyone else was sleeping. In less than five minutes, Ron was too.
"Hey, Harry." Draco's voice cut through the darkness faster than a knife. "We need to talk. Common room. Now."
Harry sleepily sat up, and put back on his glasses. "whahuh? What is it, Malfoy?" He asked, still half asleep.
"Get downstairs."
Harry slowly walked downstairs, yawning every few seconds. "What's the matter, why are we down here?"
"Just tell me one thing, Harry. I need to know. Have you been dreaming about me." Draco asked, quite seriously. Had Harry not been half asleep, he would have either thought Draco was quite mad, or perhaps sleepwalking. But Harry WAS half asleep, so he nodded.
"Sometimes. More than usual lately."
Malfoy nodded. "Me too. Just needed to know. Obliverate!" Feeling guilty for using the memory charm, but knowing things would be rather complicated if he didn't, Draco brought Harry back to his bed, and then went into his own bed.
'Now, if I could only figure out what this means,' thought Draco sleepily before falling asleep.
~~~
Bright and early the next morning, Hermione was up, humming happily as she brushed out her hair and put on her best robes. She had been chosen by Dumbledore to go with Danielle, the other keeper, to get robes for the teams today. Also, she figured it would be the perfect time to buy a broom as well.
So now here she was, walking to Hogsmeade. Next to her was a tall blonde girl. They were absolutely quiet, until -
"So, what's this I heard about Harry and Draco?" asked Danielle. Not bothering for an answer, she added, "I heard that they like each other."
"How did - wait, who told you that?" Hermione asked. 'If someone knows about the bet, I lose by default. Oh, this is not good.'
"Ok, I'll admit, I was just thinking it by myself. All my friends think I'm nuts; why would two enemies like them like each other." Danielle rambled on and on. "It's just that they are so nice to each other - oh, obviously cursing each other isn't so nice, but everything else, just is. You know?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"You're playing Keeper on the other team, aren't you?" asked Danielle suddenly. Hermione nodded. "Yeah, good luck."
"Thanks. You too. But back to Harry and Draco. Do you really think they should go out?"
"Well, yeah. I have this thing for couples that aren't exactly predictable. You're Harry's friend, yeah? Try to point him in Malfoy's direction, will you?" Danielle smiled a little, and then they reached the equipment store. "I bet if anyone can do it, it'll be you."
'Well, at least one person thinks they'll become a couple. That's good.' Thought Hermione, and then looked around the shop.
"Red and blue, blue and gold, silver and white, I've never seen so many different robes in my life," Hermione said, looking around some more. Danielle laughed and agreed.
"I have to pick out a broom for today, so you can get the outfits. Just, no yellow, ok?" Hermione smiled and went off in the direction of the room while Danielle picked out robes.
'Now, what kind brooms have Harry and Ron talked about lately, well, besides the firebolt,' thought Hermione, looking at the brooms. 'Nimbus 2000 - that's what Harry had before. Hmmm.'
Hermione finally ended up getting a Nimbus 2000, which was slightly outdated by the Nimbus 2001, which meant it was pretty cheap. Danielle got robes in blue and silver and green and silver, and they made their way back to the castle.
~~~
"Blue and silver!" grinned Ron, "I hope my team gets those, because I hate green."
"Depends on the captain, I guess," Hermione said.
Harry nodded, not completely paying attention.
"Hey, Harry, did you get any sleep tonight? You still seem really restless and tired," Hermione looked at Harry.
"No . . . I'm fine, really. I just feel kind of disorientated today." Harry said, "It's really weird, but I'm sure I'll be better by the time the game is on."
"Ok, I hope so," replied Hermione. But she knew. She knew Malfoy knew. She just didn't know what to do about that.
~~~
At lunch, Dumbledore reminded them all they had team meetings in one hour to discuss strategy and to pick team captains. Everyone nodded, and you could defiantly feel the excitement in the air.
"I bet team one is going to win," said Ben, a 7th year. "Harry's quite a good seeker."
"Chances are team two will win," retorted Dan, a fellow 7th year. "Draco's probably just as good."
"It'll be interesting," agreed Leora, shaking her blue hair out of her eyes. "Plus, I can't wait to be a beater! I haven't played since, well, heh, two years ago."
"Ready to lose Potter?"
"Not to you."
"Don't be too sure of yourself."
"Don't fight you two, not before the match!"
One o'clock came around rather quickly, and the teams got up. Half the students wished the teams good luck, the other half WERE the teams.
In the first locker room, the group (team one) was holding a vote.
"Ok," said Hermione, "We can pick one of seven. You can pick yourself, but I advise against it. Highest votes wins. Agreed?"
"Yeah," came the general agreement. Parchment and pens were passed around, and for a moment everyone was silent. Then they folded up the papers and passed them to Hermione.
"Ok, let's see," said Hermione (who was in charge right now simply because everyone knew she'd not try to cheat or anything) "One for Makato, one for Will, one for Makato, one for Harry, one for Harry, one for Will, one for Harry. That's seven. Two for will, two for Makato, three for Harry. Looks like you're captain."
"Um, ok," said Harry. "Well, ok, hopefully you all know who I am," he said jokingly and everyone laughed a little.
Meanwhile, in the other room, team two was discussing who should be their captain.
"I am captain!" declared Malfoy, and stalked to the front of the room.
"Hey, you could have asked if anyone else wanted to be captain!" cried out Danielle indignantly.
"Yeah, really, Malfoy," Ron added, rolling his eyes.
"Fine, anyone else want to be captain?" There was a long pause. "Ok then. I'm captain. Now, was that really so hard?" Now Malfoy rolled his eyes.
Amber Baxtil stood up, her neatly braided red hair swaying behind her. "If you're all going to act like idiots," she said in a very strong British accent, "You can all get out now." No one said anything. "Right then. Captain?" she asked, inviting him to speak.
"Thanks," Malfoy said, partially amazed someone kind of stood up for him. "Let's discuss strategy. And then we can get our robes."
"Not green, not green, not green," Muttered Ron over and over.
"I was thinking we'd take the green and silver ones."
~~~
Finally, finally, it was game time. Seamus Finnigan was acting as commentator, since Lee Jordan wasn't around.
"Today's game is two of Hogwarts newest teams!" He said, the microphone magnifying his voice to be heard throughout the field. "Team one! Weasley - Lee - Lee - Nalis - Mali - Granger and Potter!"
Team one mounted their brooms, flew around the field some, and then landed on the ground amidst the cheers of their classmates, who were all in the same area of the stadium, but were just as loud as if there were hundreds of them.
"And team two - Baxtil - Flowers - Black - Boot - Usagi - Olson - and Malfoy!"
Team two entered the field. The cheering for them was just as loud, and the plays did little tricks in the air before landing.
Madam Hooch was playing referee, as usual. "Right then. Let's have a nice, clean game. Captains, shake hands."
Draco and Harry dismounted their brooms and shook hands. It was hard to tell what they were thinking at the moment.
"How about a little bet, eh, Potter?" Malfoy whispered, so that only Harry could whisper. "Whoever gets the Snitch gets to . . ."
"Not today, Malfoy," replied Harry quickly, returning to remount his broom. Under other circumstances he would have said sure, but there was a glimmer in Malfoys eyes that told Harry to say no.
"Alright then," said Madam Hooch, bringing her whistle to her lips. "Ready --" She blew her whistle, threw up the Quaffle, and the game began.
"Makat- no, wait, Jasmine Lee takes the Quaffle! Passes it to Makato, who passes it back. Looks like they're not wasting any time with confusing tactics," Seamus said.
On the field, Makato and Jasmine continued to pass the Quaffle back and forth, coming up to the goal. Ron and Lena swerved around to get between them, but couldn't. Jasmine threw the Quaffle at the far goal post, and Danielle got there too late.
"Ten points for Team one!" Seamus said, as the students in the crowd started shouting happily. "Play continues, team two in possession now. Chaser Ron Weasley races down the field . . ."
Ron went down the field as fast as he could, as Leora and Terry blocked all of the Bludgers sent over by Will and Scott.
"Ron shoots - Hermione, the keeper, blocks it - tough luck - oh wait," Seamus said, enjoying the commentating, "Amber Baxtil grabs the Quaffle and scores! Ten points to team two!"
The teams were playing remarkably well, considering they had gotten no practice in together. Will, Scott, Leora and Terry were practically playing 'Pass the Bludger' and Makato and Jasmine dazzled everyone with their amazing Chaser moves.
After the first twenty minutes, team one pulled ahead by 30 points.
"And Team two is called for a time-out, as the score is currently 80 - 50, team one." Seamus announced.
"Ok, we're down by thirty," said Leora, "But we can make a come-back!"
"Yeah!" agreed Danielle.
Draco looked at them. "Normally, I don't try to be nice, so don't let this get out, but you guys are doing great. What we need to do is not let Makato and Jasmine get the Quaffle. Leora - work on getting the Bludger between them, it's your best bet."
"Malfoy, being nice? I think I'm going to faint," said Ron.
~~~
The teams played hard, and the score continued to bounce back and forth, but the Snitch was not found, not even once. Harry glanced around and flew back and forth, high in the air.
"Find anything yet Potter?" drawled Malfoy.
"No, but neither have you," replied Harry, "So we're even."
Malfoy scowled and continued to look for the Snitch.
That's when Harry saw - a flash a gold, down by the goalpost for team two. He tore after it as fast as he could, and Malfoy was on his tail one second later.
"Apparently Harry has seen the Snitch - he's going after it as fast as he can, Malfoy on his tail." Seamus' voice called out. "This is going to be a close one. At the score of 130 - 110, it's anybody's game . . ."
"I have to get there first," Muttered Harry, urging his broom to go faster. Everyone stopped playing to watch (except for Leora and all the other beaters).
"You'll never get there before me," said Malfoy tauntingly, as he slowly gained on Harry.
Harry tried even harder, but Malfoy was still catching up. He reached his hand out, reached as far as he could . . .
And closed his hand around something that was defiantly not the Snitch.
"Let go of my hand!" Malfoy said a split second later.
Harry let go immediately, blushing. Had everyone seen that?
"Harry misses the snitch and instead grabs Malfoys hand! Looks like the snitch is gone now . . ." Seamus' voice rang out, and Harry cringed.
"Sorry," he muttered as he flew off to find the snitch again.
'No, it's ok,' thought Malfoy as he flew after Harry.
~~~
The end results of the game were that Team one won by 140 points. Harry had managed to find the Snitch five minutes later and feinted right, went left, and got the Snitch.
Malfoy had been rather upset, but he was a good enough sport about it (which was saying something, for Malfoy) and Ron was a bit depressed that his team didn't win. Hermione and Harry tried to cheer him up.
"We'll play again next weekend," Hermione said, "And these teams are so evenly matched - I'm sure you guys will win!"
Ron looked hopeful.
~~~
That night, Harry lied down and sighed. Malfoy had been acting so weird. It was just . . . weird. And really weird too.
'Just really weird,' thought Harry as he drifted off to sleep.
Whee, time for me to sleep now. No, it's not that late, but it took WAY too long to write this part. Review please! Thankies!
Ok then, enough talking! I'm going to try to make this one extra long, and also it's going to be both Friday and Saturday, for CasualVillain, who is a great writer and if you like InuYasha (or FF7) you should read her fics.
Any more announcements for now? Hmm, nope! Visit my website please! ^^
It was midnight. The numbers on his alarm clock read 12:02 am. 'What the hell am I waking up this earl - oh, right. The dream.'
Malfoy sat up, and brushed blonde hair out of his eyes. 12:02. 12:02 in the bloody morning and here he was, awake, because of one Harry Potter.
'What the hell is wrong with me?' Malfoy walked to the bathroom to take care of certain matters. 'Harry, of all people.' He dropped down his pants and took off his shirt before stepping into the shower.
Malfoy went through in his mind all that had happened in these few short days. Everything from the Truth or dare question Hermione asked him to the Quidditch practice he had done with Harry yesterday.
'He looked so . . . hot,' sighed Malfoy, and then glanced around, as if it was possible someone was there listening to his thoughts. But no, that was being stupid.
Little did he know that Hermione was busily putting another transmitting charm on his dream journal.
~~~
The next morning, Harry was defiantly tired. Not more than five minutes after Malfoy went back to sleep, he had woke up to find himself in quite the same predicament as Malfoy had just been in.
"You look dead tired," Hermione said to him as they walked downstairs for breakfast.
"Nah, I'm fine," Harry said, wondering how he could manage to walk down the stairs properly without falling; he was that tired.
"I agree with Hermione!" said Ron, "You've got bags under your eyes, and you look like you're still sleeping!"
"No, I wasn't up that late or anything, just was busy yesterday, what with Quidditch and all," Harry said, hoping that Hermione and Ron would buy it. They had been acting rather strange lately.
Hermione sighed. Draco had wrote down his dream earlier this morning, and, well, she was beginning to get scared of all the things he wrote down, particularly the part where he had Harry tied up and was just about to . . .
"I'm fine," Harry said, "Really! I bet I'll be fine once I eat some breakfast. And I'll get a good nights sleep tonight - By the way, they're picking the teams tonight, I think you sign up now or something."
"Right! Let's sign up right now!" Ron said excitedly. "Grab us some seats, will ya, Mione? We'll be right back."
"Um, Ron, I'm going to sign up too," Hermione said, whacking him lightly upside the head.
"Oh," Ron said lamely, and the three of them made their way over to the table set up for signing up for Quidditch. About twenty or so people had signed up, in total, among them now Harry, Ron and Hermione.
"What about a broom?" said Harry suddenly as they sat down for breakfast. "If both Ron and I are playing, you won't have a broom to buy."
"Oh, I'll buy one tonight," said Hermione. "Quidditch seems to grow on you."
"That it does."
"Potions today," Ron reminded them all through a mouthful of pancakes. Hermione nodded - regardless of how annoying the class was, it was actually ok in her opinion - and Harry groaned.
"C'mon, let's go. No use being late," Hermione told them, "No need to give Snape a reason to hate us when school starts . . ."
Harry and Ron reluctantly nodded, and they started off towards the classroom. They got there but a minute early, much to their relief - they didn't really want to stay in the cold classroom any longer than absolute necessary.
'I can count on Professor Snape to pair Harry and Draco together for whatever assignment, like he always does, so I'm good.'
Indeed, he did, and the period passed without incident.
Had to be a first.
~~~
Harry was extremely quiet during lunch. Ron and Hermione weren't the only ones to notice.
"Hey, what's up, Harry?" Seamus asked, "You look like you got ran over by a rampaging hippogriff."
Harry shook his head. "I'm fine, just thinking." He said.
"Thinking 'bout what?" asked Ron, "I mean, you're practically in another dimension here, so it must be really important, so maybe we could help?"
"Nah." Harry paused, "I think I just need more sleep."
"That you do," Hermione said, acting very much like a worried mother. "You don't seem to get near enough sleep!" She sighed softly because she knew it was her fault he didn't get any sleep last night.
"I wonder if we're all on the same team," Harry said, glancing continuously at the Quidditch sign-up sheet.
"No clue, but I'd better get a broom soon. Let's see. . . this afternoon, what do we have. . . ?"
The rest of the day passed by rather quickly. Hermione didn't get it, but Malfoy and Harry were acting really weird. She could understand them acting a bit weird about it, but this was just . . . weird.
Dinner came around quickly, and just before the food came, Dumbledore stood up to announce, "The two Quidditch teams have been picked, and are as follows. Team one, seeker, Harry Potter. Team two, seeker, Draco Malfoy. Team one, keeper, Hermione Granger. Team Two, keeper, Danielle Olson."
He paused, and Hermione smiled. "I get to play, what fun!"
"You and Malfoy again, eh, Harry?" said Seamus happily, "Well, you can bet on which team I'm going for!"
Dumbledore let them get over the first part of the teams, and then continued. "Team One, Beaters. Will Mali, Scott Nolis. Team two, beaters. Leora Usagi, Terry Boot. Team one, chasers. Kevin Black, Makato Lee, Jasmine Lee. Team two, chasers. Amber Baxtil, Lena Flowers, Ron Weasley."
He paused again as everyone began clapping and cheering. When it died down again he continued one last time.
"The game will be tomorrow at 2. Teams will meet an hour beforehand to discuss strategy. Thank you, and enjoy your feast!" Dumbledore smiled, and the food came up to the plates.
Everyone began eating, and talking excitedly.
"The Lee sisters on the same team," said a 6th year boy, Chris, "I feel bad for the team - they'll be fighting too much to play!"
"We do not fight that much!" said Jasmine (who, with black hair and green eyes, looked almost exactly like her sister who had black hair and blue eyes).
"Yes, we work quite well together!" added Makato, blue eyes flashing.
"I'm on a different team," moaned Ron, as he buttered a roll. "With Malfoy!"
"It can't be that bad," Hermione said, trying to calm him down, "He's a good seeker, and besides, both ways, if team one wins or team two, we can still celebrate."
"Yeah," agreed Harry, trying to cheer Ron up. "Besides, I don't know if you noticed, but Amber Baxtil is on that team."
Ron blushed a little. In his 2nd year, for a full month, he had had the biggest crush on Amber, who was now a 5th year.
"Oh well. Better watch out, Hermione, because I'm not holding back," Ron said, grinning.
"That's the spirit!"
"I wonder who's captain for the teams," Harry said after a thoughtful pause. "Do we get to pick amongst ourselves?"
"I guess so," Hermione said, "In which event I'm voting for you!"
"Why me?" Harry said, "Why not you? You know enough about math and stuff to come up with great plans." They began bickering, but in a good way.
It didn't seem like too much later before they were up in the common room. Bets were being made everywhere - "Team one'll win, I'll bet you 5 galleons!" - and everyone was caught up in the excitement only a Quidditch match could bring. "D'you think Harry'll catch the Snitch, or Draco?" other people would ask.
"Don't forget to get some sleep," Hermione called to Harry and Ron as she went to her dormitory room. She wasn't planning on sleeping now, but she wanted to see if Malfoy was writing in his journal as he seemed to do right after dinner.
Indeed he was. Hermione felt a pang of guilt for reading his private thoughts, but pushed it away - it was for a good cause, she told herself.
'Harry and I have been picked to be seekers for tomorrows game. I wonder who will win. I've been practicing a lot, and I think I'm considerably better than I was last year. However, I wonder if he's practiced too. Not that he needs to. He's perfect. At Quidditch that is!'
Hermione smiled. Underneath his cold interior, he was a nice person, Draco. She wondered briefly if that applied to everyone like him, like all the Slytherins and Snape. Hard to tell.
'It's really hard for me to explain what I feel around Harry. When he's around, I feel . . . calm, but I force myself to insult him anyway. How father would laugh if he thought I was attracted to a boy!'
Here Hermione felt a pang of sadness. Not that her parents weren't very loving, but they had told her once in no certain terms that if she ever decided she wanted to go out with another girl, they would disown her.
She closed her book for now - she'd read the rest later. She was way more excited by the prospect of play Quidditch tomorrow than she'd ever let on and she needed to get a broom before the match anyway.
Meanwhile, in the guys dormitories, Harry and Ron had just gone into their rooms. They were the last people to get up there, and everyone else was sleeping. In less than five minutes, Ron was too.
"Hey, Harry." Draco's voice cut through the darkness faster than a knife. "We need to talk. Common room. Now."
Harry sleepily sat up, and put back on his glasses. "whahuh? What is it, Malfoy?" He asked, still half asleep.
"Get downstairs."
Harry slowly walked downstairs, yawning every few seconds. "What's the matter, why are we down here?"
"Just tell me one thing, Harry. I need to know. Have you been dreaming about me." Draco asked, quite seriously. Had Harry not been half asleep, he would have either thought Draco was quite mad, or perhaps sleepwalking. But Harry WAS half asleep, so he nodded.
"Sometimes. More than usual lately."
Malfoy nodded. "Me too. Just needed to know. Obliverate!" Feeling guilty for using the memory charm, but knowing things would be rather complicated if he didn't, Draco brought Harry back to his bed, and then went into his own bed.
'Now, if I could only figure out what this means,' thought Draco sleepily before falling asleep.
~~~
Bright and early the next morning, Hermione was up, humming happily as she brushed out her hair and put on her best robes. She had been chosen by Dumbledore to go with Danielle, the other keeper, to get robes for the teams today. Also, she figured it would be the perfect time to buy a broom as well.
So now here she was, walking to Hogsmeade. Next to her was a tall blonde girl. They were absolutely quiet, until -
"So, what's this I heard about Harry and Draco?" asked Danielle. Not bothering for an answer, she added, "I heard that they like each other."
"How did - wait, who told you that?" Hermione asked. 'If someone knows about the bet, I lose by default. Oh, this is not good.'
"Ok, I'll admit, I was just thinking it by myself. All my friends think I'm nuts; why would two enemies like them like each other." Danielle rambled on and on. "It's just that they are so nice to each other - oh, obviously cursing each other isn't so nice, but everything else, just is. You know?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"You're playing Keeper on the other team, aren't you?" asked Danielle suddenly. Hermione nodded. "Yeah, good luck."
"Thanks. You too. But back to Harry and Draco. Do you really think they should go out?"
"Well, yeah. I have this thing for couples that aren't exactly predictable. You're Harry's friend, yeah? Try to point him in Malfoy's direction, will you?" Danielle smiled a little, and then they reached the equipment store. "I bet if anyone can do it, it'll be you."
'Well, at least one person thinks they'll become a couple. That's good.' Thought Hermione, and then looked around the shop.
"Red and blue, blue and gold, silver and white, I've never seen so many different robes in my life," Hermione said, looking around some more. Danielle laughed and agreed.
"I have to pick out a broom for today, so you can get the outfits. Just, no yellow, ok?" Hermione smiled and went off in the direction of the room while Danielle picked out robes.
'Now, what kind brooms have Harry and Ron talked about lately, well, besides the firebolt,' thought Hermione, looking at the brooms. 'Nimbus 2000 - that's what Harry had before. Hmmm.'
Hermione finally ended up getting a Nimbus 2000, which was slightly outdated by the Nimbus 2001, which meant it was pretty cheap. Danielle got robes in blue and silver and green and silver, and they made their way back to the castle.
~~~
"Blue and silver!" grinned Ron, "I hope my team gets those, because I hate green."
"Depends on the captain, I guess," Hermione said.
Harry nodded, not completely paying attention.
"Hey, Harry, did you get any sleep tonight? You still seem really restless and tired," Hermione looked at Harry.
"No . . . I'm fine, really. I just feel kind of disorientated today." Harry said, "It's really weird, but I'm sure I'll be better by the time the game is on."
"Ok, I hope so," replied Hermione. But she knew. She knew Malfoy knew. She just didn't know what to do about that.
~~~
At lunch, Dumbledore reminded them all they had team meetings in one hour to discuss strategy and to pick team captains. Everyone nodded, and you could defiantly feel the excitement in the air.
"I bet team one is going to win," said Ben, a 7th year. "Harry's quite a good seeker."
"Chances are team two will win," retorted Dan, a fellow 7th year. "Draco's probably just as good."
"It'll be interesting," agreed Leora, shaking her blue hair out of her eyes. "Plus, I can't wait to be a beater! I haven't played since, well, heh, two years ago."
"Ready to lose Potter?"
"Not to you."
"Don't be too sure of yourself."
"Don't fight you two, not before the match!"
One o'clock came around rather quickly, and the teams got up. Half the students wished the teams good luck, the other half WERE the teams.
In the first locker room, the group (team one) was holding a vote.
"Ok," said Hermione, "We can pick one of seven. You can pick yourself, but I advise against it. Highest votes wins. Agreed?"
"Yeah," came the general agreement. Parchment and pens were passed around, and for a moment everyone was silent. Then they folded up the papers and passed them to Hermione.
"Ok, let's see," said Hermione (who was in charge right now simply because everyone knew she'd not try to cheat or anything) "One for Makato, one for Will, one for Makato, one for Harry, one for Harry, one for Will, one for Harry. That's seven. Two for will, two for Makato, three for Harry. Looks like you're captain."
"Um, ok," said Harry. "Well, ok, hopefully you all know who I am," he said jokingly and everyone laughed a little.
Meanwhile, in the other room, team two was discussing who should be their captain.
"I am captain!" declared Malfoy, and stalked to the front of the room.
"Hey, you could have asked if anyone else wanted to be captain!" cried out Danielle indignantly.
"Yeah, really, Malfoy," Ron added, rolling his eyes.
"Fine, anyone else want to be captain?" There was a long pause. "Ok then. I'm captain. Now, was that really so hard?" Now Malfoy rolled his eyes.
Amber Baxtil stood up, her neatly braided red hair swaying behind her. "If you're all going to act like idiots," she said in a very strong British accent, "You can all get out now." No one said anything. "Right then. Captain?" she asked, inviting him to speak.
"Thanks," Malfoy said, partially amazed someone kind of stood up for him. "Let's discuss strategy. And then we can get our robes."
"Not green, not green, not green," Muttered Ron over and over.
"I was thinking we'd take the green and silver ones."
~~~
Finally, finally, it was game time. Seamus Finnigan was acting as commentator, since Lee Jordan wasn't around.
"Today's game is two of Hogwarts newest teams!" He said, the microphone magnifying his voice to be heard throughout the field. "Team one! Weasley - Lee - Lee - Nalis - Mali - Granger and Potter!"
Team one mounted their brooms, flew around the field some, and then landed on the ground amidst the cheers of their classmates, who were all in the same area of the stadium, but were just as loud as if there were hundreds of them.
"And team two - Baxtil - Flowers - Black - Boot - Usagi - Olson - and Malfoy!"
Team two entered the field. The cheering for them was just as loud, and the plays did little tricks in the air before landing.
Madam Hooch was playing referee, as usual. "Right then. Let's have a nice, clean game. Captains, shake hands."
Draco and Harry dismounted their brooms and shook hands. It was hard to tell what they were thinking at the moment.
"How about a little bet, eh, Potter?" Malfoy whispered, so that only Harry could whisper. "Whoever gets the Snitch gets to . . ."
"Not today, Malfoy," replied Harry quickly, returning to remount his broom. Under other circumstances he would have said sure, but there was a glimmer in Malfoys eyes that told Harry to say no.
"Alright then," said Madam Hooch, bringing her whistle to her lips. "Ready --" She blew her whistle, threw up the Quaffle, and the game began.
"Makat- no, wait, Jasmine Lee takes the Quaffle! Passes it to Makato, who passes it back. Looks like they're not wasting any time with confusing tactics," Seamus said.
On the field, Makato and Jasmine continued to pass the Quaffle back and forth, coming up to the goal. Ron and Lena swerved around to get between them, but couldn't. Jasmine threw the Quaffle at the far goal post, and Danielle got there too late.
"Ten points for Team one!" Seamus said, as the students in the crowd started shouting happily. "Play continues, team two in possession now. Chaser Ron Weasley races down the field . . ."
Ron went down the field as fast as he could, as Leora and Terry blocked all of the Bludgers sent over by Will and Scott.
"Ron shoots - Hermione, the keeper, blocks it - tough luck - oh wait," Seamus said, enjoying the commentating, "Amber Baxtil grabs the Quaffle and scores! Ten points to team two!"
The teams were playing remarkably well, considering they had gotten no practice in together. Will, Scott, Leora and Terry were practically playing 'Pass the Bludger' and Makato and Jasmine dazzled everyone with their amazing Chaser moves.
After the first twenty minutes, team one pulled ahead by 30 points.
"And Team two is called for a time-out, as the score is currently 80 - 50, team one." Seamus announced.
"Ok, we're down by thirty," said Leora, "But we can make a come-back!"
"Yeah!" agreed Danielle.
Draco looked at them. "Normally, I don't try to be nice, so don't let this get out, but you guys are doing great. What we need to do is not let Makato and Jasmine get the Quaffle. Leora - work on getting the Bludger between them, it's your best bet."
"Malfoy, being nice? I think I'm going to faint," said Ron.
~~~
The teams played hard, and the score continued to bounce back and forth, but the Snitch was not found, not even once. Harry glanced around and flew back and forth, high in the air.
"Find anything yet Potter?" drawled Malfoy.
"No, but neither have you," replied Harry, "So we're even."
Malfoy scowled and continued to look for the Snitch.
That's when Harry saw - a flash a gold, down by the goalpost for team two. He tore after it as fast as he could, and Malfoy was on his tail one second later.
"Apparently Harry has seen the Snitch - he's going after it as fast as he can, Malfoy on his tail." Seamus' voice called out. "This is going to be a close one. At the score of 130 - 110, it's anybody's game . . ."
"I have to get there first," Muttered Harry, urging his broom to go faster. Everyone stopped playing to watch (except for Leora and all the other beaters).
"You'll never get there before me," said Malfoy tauntingly, as he slowly gained on Harry.
Harry tried even harder, but Malfoy was still catching up. He reached his hand out, reached as far as he could . . .
And closed his hand around something that was defiantly not the Snitch.
"Let go of my hand!" Malfoy said a split second later.
Harry let go immediately, blushing. Had everyone seen that?
"Harry misses the snitch and instead grabs Malfoys hand! Looks like the snitch is gone now . . ." Seamus' voice rang out, and Harry cringed.
"Sorry," he muttered as he flew off to find the snitch again.
'No, it's ok,' thought Malfoy as he flew after Harry.
~~~
The end results of the game were that Team one won by 140 points. Harry had managed to find the Snitch five minutes later and feinted right, went left, and got the Snitch.
Malfoy had been rather upset, but he was a good enough sport about it (which was saying something, for Malfoy) and Ron was a bit depressed that his team didn't win. Hermione and Harry tried to cheer him up.
"We'll play again next weekend," Hermione said, "And these teams are so evenly matched - I'm sure you guys will win!"
Ron looked hopeful.
~~~
That night, Harry lied down and sighed. Malfoy had been acting so weird. It was just . . . weird. And really weird too.
'Just really weird,' thought Harry as he drifted off to sleep.
Whee, time for me to sleep now. No, it's not that late, but it took WAY too long to write this part. Review please! Thankies!