A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter- even those who called me evilevilevilevilevilevilevil... I love you all!!!!

I know that I said the Quidditch match was supposed to take place the second weekend of October, but I changed it for the second weekend of November. Sorry bout that. And also, I don't care to go and look up the ages of the Slytherin Quidditch players, so we will just assume that Warrington, Flint, Montague, Derrick, and Bole are still in school and playing, okay?

Disclaimer: I don't own them still!

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Hermione sat in the Gryffindor stands of the Quidditch Pitch with her hands clasped in her lap and trying very hard not to be nervous. She always got like this before games, simply because she was partly excited and partly scared to death that a misplaced Bludger would knock Harry unconscious for a few months. And now she had to deal with the same fear for Ron.

This was simply wonderful...

It was the first Quidditch match of the season for Gryffindor, and, as such, it was also the first match she'd ever attended without Ron by her side. Well, the Ravenclaw match of her Third Year did not count because she truly, truly did not like to remember that evening at all.

It felt strange to be sitting in the stands without him and even stranger knowing that he was about to play in his first ever House match. And, of course, it had to be against Slytherin.

That in itself made her even more anxious.

She didn't trust any member of the Slytherin team any further than she could throw them, and that definitely was not very much. She had a horrible feeling that things would be even worse this year, now that probably half of that house had reason to want Harry dead or at least knocked out cold for a decent amount of time. Her fears were not calmed by the meeting they'd had with Draco Malfoy the day before.

It was after Potions, and, as it was Friday and the last class of the day, most of the students were racing up the stairs away from the dungeon as quickly as their feet would carry them. Harry and Ron had been in just as big of a hurry and had finally given up waiting around on her to properly pack away her ingredients (which they and most of the class had done themselves ten minutes before Snape actually dismissed them), and they had each grabbed some of her supplies and taken off with them. Hermione had tried to protest, but they were already out the door; she grabbed her bag and followed them quickly, noticing at once that they were stopped on the stairs face to face with none other than Malfoy and, of course, Crabbe and Goyle.

She joined them just in time to hear Malfoy say, "Best friends again, are we? How extremely touching."

"Shut up, Malfoy." It was Harry who had spoken, and he looked as if he definitely wasn't in the mood for anything having to do with Malfoy.

But the blonde-haired Slytherin didn't seem to care what Harry was in the mood for. He simply smirked and said, "Well, it's a good thing, really. Wouldn't want some little squabble between the two of you to affect the Gryffindor Quidditch team, now would we?"

No one had said anything. Ron and Harry were watching Malfoy curiously, Hermione was watching Ron and Harry anxiously, and Crabbe and Goyle were merely existing as they always did.

Malfoy, though, went right on. "Excited about your first match, Weasley?" He obviously knew better than to expect an answer because he went right on. "I heard about the Firebolt. How'd you manage that one? Did you rob Gringotts?" Crabbe and Goyle snickered stupidly. "Or was it the consolation offering of your little fight with Potter?"

Ron turned red, and Harry opened his mouth to say something. Hermione, though, found herself speaking first.

"Oh, this is getting so old," she spoke up disgustedly. Five heads turned in her, until then, unnoticed direction. "Why don't you grow up already, Malfoy?"

Malfoy met her with the same look of dislike that he'd reserved for her for the past five years. She was glad to know that the look was undoubtedly mirrored on her own face. "Why don't you shut up already, Granger?"

"Why don't you make me?" She surprised herself by falling prey to his childish bait, but it wasn't the first time she'd found herself in the situation, and she was more than willing to bet that it certainly wouldn't be the last time, either. Her question was a challenge that earned her a swift smirk for the Slytherin.

He stepped down onto the step where she was and looked at her. He wasn't much taller than Harry, but she was still short enough to where he had to look down at her. However, she wasn't intimidated by him in the least, and she showed this by keeping direct eye-contact with him. His voice was quieter, and Hermione thought that perhaps he was trying to speak in a tone no one else could hear; he did, after all, have his back turned on the other four boys above them. "Trust me," he hissed, that smirk still on his pointed little face, "if I could shut you up without getting expelled, I would. I'd smack that smug look off your face so fast you wouldn't even know what hit you. Then maybe you'd learn where your place was and learn how to keep it. You little bitch."

Hermione was quite shocked. He had never really physically threatened her before, and, needless to say, she was knocked a bit off by it. She, for once, didn't have a comeback.

However, if Malfoy had been assuming that no one else would hear his statements, he had miscalculated. Before she could even register what was happening, Hermione found herself being yanked up onto the same step as Harry and Ron. She found that each of them had a grasp on opposite arms, and she felt Harry drop his as soon as she was tucked safely between them. Ron, though, tightened his grip and pulled her closer to him. Hermione was about to yank free and hex Malfoy, but Harry beat her to it.

He stepped down onto the lower step and literally shoved Malfoy backwards against the banister. It was shocking, to say the least, as Harry had never really ever tried to fight with Malfoy physically. He looked simply furious, though, and Hermione couldn't help but feel flattered and comforted that he was protecting her. It was a nice gesture of friendship, and while Ron did the same thing on a daily basis, the gestures somehow meant two completely different things.

"Don't you ever, ever threaten her again," Harry said warningly. "Do you understand me?"

Crabbe and Goyle both made what appeared to be movements to pummel Harry, but they stopped when Malfoy spoke back calmly, not appearing at all to be intimidated. "It doesn't matter if I threaten her, Potter," he said coolly. "She's going to end up the same way no matter what. Trust me."

Hermione was just about as far from stupid as it was possible to be, and she understood Malfoy's statement clearly. He hadn't had to come right out and say the words because everyone present knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Of course," Malfoy went on before anyone else could respond, "it will certainly be a good thing. One less Mudblood in the world is always a plus- especially one as annoying as that bitch."

Ron made a movement to join Harry, but Hermione grabbed his arm before he could even take a step. Their eyes met, and she simply shook her head; he saw this and reluctantly stopped as they waited for Harry's response.

It was simple and clear. "If I ever hear you say anything like that again, I'll make sure you're not able to see straight for the rest of your life."

Malfoy snickered. "I'm only telling the truth, you know. Granger is very high on a very important list. And I don't mean class rankings. On this list, there are actually a couple of people higher than her- must be a shock."

None of them were stupid.

Hermione could feel the blood racing to her ears as her anger intensified. Ron looked as if he actually wanted to hurt Malfoy- and hurt much worse than a bloody nose. Harry, though, was strangely calm.

"Oh, where did you see this list, Malfoy?" he questioned calmly. "At the Junior Death Eaters Convention?"

"Wouldn't you like to know, Potter?"

At that moment, the doors to the dungeon opened again, and Seamus and Dean came out, having been held over by Snape for a few minutes. They stopped when they surveyed the scene.

"What's going on?" Seamus asked curiously, eyeing Harry who still had a tight grip on the collar of Malfoy's school robes.

Malfoy turned his head in the direction and rolled his eyes. "Aren't you a Prefect, Thomas? Potter is quite obviously threatening me."

Dean just looked at Malfoy with slightly raised eyebrows. Then he turned to his roommate. "Harry, man, Snape is coming."

Harry nodded understandingly, but he didn't let go of Malfoy until he got one last word in. "I'm warning you, Malfoy. Stay the hell away from her."

With that, he released the Slytherin roughly and proceeded up the stairs with Ron, Hermione, Seamus, and Dean.

And now, as Hermione sat anxiously awaiting the start of the match, she couldn't help but glance over at the Slytherin side of the stadium and wonder how many of them actually held the same views as Malfoy. How many of them hated her as much as he did. And how many of them shared the same opinion that one less Mudblood is always a plus.

"Nervous?"

Hermione looked up to see Ginny Weasley sliding into the empty chair beside her. Ginny was bundled up tightly in her cloak and scarf, and her pale cheeks were colored with the pinkness that only biting cold can bring. She didn't appear to mind, though, as she was almost bouncing with excitement.

Hermione smiled in lieu of a response and nodded slightly. "Yeah, a bit. I always am, though."

Ginny grinned. "I know you are. You shouldn't be, though; they're perfectly safe."

"How do you define safe, Ginny?" Hermione asked, mildly sarcastically. "Random heavy objects shooting through the air with the intent to bodily injure people who happen to be a hundred feet above solid ground?"

This earned a laugh from the redhead. "It's fun, though."

"You like playing?"

"Of course," Ginny rolled her eyes. "Don't forget that I grew up with six older brothers."

Hermione couldn't help but giggle. "Oh, yeah. I heard all about the other day."

Ginny raised an eyebrow. "What has that prat been telling you?"

Another giggle. "Nothing."

Ginny didn't look convinced. "Tell me."

"He was just telling me how you managed to get yourself out of trouble and everyone else into trouble all in one sweep."

Ginny didn't look very amused. "And just how did I do this?"

Hermione tried not to laugh. "He just said you were very good at making yourself cry."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Oh, did he? I don't suppose he told you who taught me how to do that, did he?"

So, now she was getting the whole story. Slightly amused, Hermione raised both brows. "What?"

Ginny nodded, satisfied. "That's right. He used to make himself cry all the bloody time. I learned from the master."

Hermione laughed right out, momentarily forgetting her anxiousness. "He told me this whole big sob-story about how the twins used to make him do all sorts of things and get him into trouble. And how if he didn't do what they said, they'd beat him up."

"That's an exaggeration of the truth," Ginny explained simply. "The twins did used to use him as a distraction and all that, but they'd beat him up either way- if he did it or if he didn't do it. It didn't matter. But he always did it, of course, because they were Fred and George, and he always wanted to tagalong with them no matter what the reason. He had some huge complex when he were little about me being his only playmate," she waved her hand dismissively. "Anyway, Ron's full of shit if he said I'm the only one who ever pulled the fake tears bit."

Hermione laughed again, finding much humor in the situation.

Ginny went on, though, and said, "Next time he tells you some story about our childhood, come ask me, and I'll tell you how much of it is true. He's always liked to expand the truth." She smirked slightly. "His 'vivid imagination,' as my grandmum, who, mind you, never liked to think that her youngest grandson could do anything wrong at all, so liked to call it is what really kept getting him into trouble while we were growing up. It wasn't me or the twins."

At that moment, though, their conversation was cut short by the booming sound of Lee Jordan's voice magnified to float throughout the entire stadium.

"Welcome, Hogwarts students, staff, ghosts, etcetera, etcetera! This afternoon we have Gryffindor versus Slytherin!"

Yells and cheers filled the stands from all over. Hermione felt the anxious excitement she was familiar with start to fill her body as she stood up with the rest of the Gryffindors as their house team took to the field.

"Gryffindor takes the field first, led this year by new captain, Miss Alicia Spinnet!" Lee cheered right into the microphone. "The lovely Miss Spinnet is backed this year by fellow Chasers Katie Bell and newcomer Josh Brenner! I think it's fair to say that Brenner is definitely the envy of every normal male here- getting to work with those two young and beautiful women!"

Loud whoops were heard from all of those normal males. Hermione and Ginny rolled their eyes at each other unenthusiastically.

"Also on the Gryffindor team, we have another newcomer- Ron Weasley as Keeper!" Hermione caught Ginny's eye and grinned as they cheered loudly together.

"And don't forget the other Weasleys," Lee continued quickly. "As Beaters, we have Fred and George!" There was more excited applause, this based mainly on the fact that Fred and George made it a point to flirt with each and every girl in Hogwarts that could be considered of decent age.

Lee finished his introductions with, "And, of course, as seeker, we have Harry Potter!" Hermione cheered loudly again as she watched Harry and the rest of the team circle the stands. As nervous as she was to see Ron and Harry and the rest of them flying so fast and so high above the ground, she couldn't help the burst of excitement that shot through her.

At this point, seven figures robed in dark green shot into the center of the stadium from the opposite entrance. All around her, Hermione heard people start to hiss and boo, and she heard the Slytherin side of the Pitch go crazy with excitement.

Lee's voice once again filled the stands. "And here comes the Slytherin team. Pity we don't have enough time to name them all separately." He didn't sound too sorry at all. Hermione giggled as she heard Professor McGonagall's muffled voice briskly reprimanding him. He seemed to ignore her, though, and went right on with his commentary. "Both teams take the field as Madam Hooch prepares to release the balls. Ah! There go the Bludgers... And the Quaffle... Followed closely by the Golden Snitch! And they're off!"

Fourteen figures immediately leapt into action. Hermione jumped to her feet with everyone else as Katie caught the Quaffle and took off quickly with it.

"Gryffindor gets the Quaffle first! Bell in possession... And YES! She scores within the first ten seconds of the match! The new Slytherin Keeper doesn't seem to be too good at all... Sorry, sorry," he mumbled as he glanced sideways at the Transfiguration teacher. "Gryffindor in the lead, Ten-Zero!"

The Slytherin Keeper, a Sixth Year named Brendon Carlingward, glared in Lee's direction as he retrieved the Quaffle and hurled it to the closest Slytherin Chaser.

"Slytherin now in possession with Warrington now holding the Quaffle."

Hermione held her breath as Warrington zoomed toward the goal posts that Ron was guarding. She could see on Ron's face that he was equally as nervous as he watched the approaching Chaser.

"Warrington within shooting distance... And he misses! Ron Weasley blocks the shot and passes the Quaffle back to Bell!" Hermione literally whooped with excitement before biting down so hard on her lower lip that she was expecting blood to flow.

Katie shot upwards with the Quaffle, narrowly escaping a Bludger hurled at her by Slytherin Beater, William Derrick. As soon as she was out of the Bludger's way, she tossed the ball downward to Josh who caught it easily and took off toward the goal posts on the other end of the Pitch.

"Brenner in possession... This boy can fly! He lines up the shot... WATCH THAT BLUDGER!" Josh jerked backwards, saving himself from being knocked off his broom, and then he threw the Quaffle with all his might. "DAMN! He misses, and the shot is blocked by that dumb ba..." Professor McGonagall leapt to her feet and lunged for the microphone, but Lee ducked out of her way, apologizing profusely.

"Slytherin back in possession with Flint holding."

Marcus Flint, Slytherin Seventh Year and team captain, looked out for the kill as he raced pointedly toward the goal posts, ducking out of the way of a Bludger sent his way by Fred. He zoomed back and forth in front of the goals for several seconds before finally taking a surprise shot and aiming it at the lowest goal. Ron shot downwards and, miraculously, catching the Quaffle just in time. The impact knocked him backwards a bit, but he held onto the Quaffle and didn't let it pass.

"YES!" Cheers filled the stadium from three sections of the stands. The Slytherins booed as Lee said, "Weasley blocks and successfully passes the Quaffle back to the lovely and beautiful Miss Spinnet. Make sure you win this, Alicia! Remember when Warrington dumped you after the Yule Ball last year?! Payback is a bi..." He was cut off abruptly, and Ginny and Hermione giggled with each other.

Alicia took off with the Quaffle, temporarily passing it to Katie as Warrington and the other Slytherin Chaser, Kyle Montague, closed in on either side of her and tried to distract her. Once they realized that she no longer had the Quaffle, though, they turned their attentions to Katie who deftly tossed it back to Alicia.

"WATCH OUT!" Lee's sudden outburst drew everyone's attention to Derrick who was aiming a Bludger directly at Ron's head, despite the fact that the action of the game was taking place on the other side of the field. Hermione screamed loudly as the black ball hurled heavily toward Ron, completely forgetting that Alicia was on the brink of scoring. She saw Ron, frozen in horror, stare at the oncoming Bludger without moving. Just as the Bludger closed in on its target, though, George shot upwards, knocking his little brother out of the way and batting the Bludger straight back at Derrick. It knocked into the Slytherin full-force and immediately bloodied his nose. George smirked triumphantly.

A whistle blew from down below, and Madam Hooch rushed out onto the field. "Penalty shot to Gryffindor for harmful intent on their Keeper when the Quaffle was not within shooting distance!"

Hermione let out the breath she wasn't aware she'd been holding and looked sideways at Ginny, who appeared, not frightened, but strangely amused. She looked over when she sensed Hermione's gaze and rolled her eyes. "Like George has never aimed a Bludger at Ron's head before..."

Hermione laughed nervously, tension taking the place of the excitement. She resolved to the fact that she was going to have gray hair by the time she was twenty.

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Up on the field, Harry was keeping a close lookout for the Snitch. The match had been going on for a little over an hour, and the score was currently Gryffindor- Sixty, Slytherin- Thirty. So far, he had been aware of thirteen Bludgers aimed in his direction, and he was still counting. Of course, Fred and George watched over him well enough, and none of them had succeeded in hitting their target. That wasn't to say that Josh Brenner hadn't taken his fair share of hits; the twins seemed much more intent on protecting Ron and Harry and, of course, Katie and Alicia. Poor Josh had been left to take the brunt of the hits. None of them had done any damage too serious, though, and Josh was still shaping up to be a pretty good Chaser. Ron, too, was turning out to be quite good.

Alicia had done well with their training.

But the game was wearing on, and everyone was starting to tire a little. The cold November air was starting to turn even cooler, and the wind was starting to take on a biting chill that It hadn't had when the match started. It was just as Harry started to notice all of this that he caught his first glimpse of the Snitch. It was fluttering close to the Slytherin Keeper, who had obviously spotted it as well, as he was doing a very obvious job of alerting Malfoy to its whereabouts. Harry instantly looked down at the blonde-headed Seeker and saw that Malfoy was paying no attention to Carlingward's wild motions; he was combing the lower area of the field.

Without hesitating another second, he took off as quickly as his broom would take him.

"Potter is off like a lightning bolt!" Lee snickered at his own stupid reference. Harry barely heard him, but it was obvious that Malfoy had because Harry caught sight of a green-clad figure with white-blonde hair shooting upwards and in the same direction as Harry was headed.

Going as quickly as he could, Harry stayed focused with his eye on the Snitch and flew with only one single intent- to get the Snitch and win. Malfoy, though, seemed to have the same intent, and the next thing Harry registered was another broom slamming into his.

"Get off, Malfoy!" he hissed, trying desperately to stay focused on the Snitch, which seemed to be getting further away instead of closer. In lieu of a response, Malfoy jerked his broom sharply to the right forcefully and succeeded in not only knocking Harry off-course but also making Harry lose sight of the Snitch. Fortunately, the latter effect was also inflicted upon Malfoy himself.

"Damn it!" Harry cursed loudly, glaring at Malfoy, who simply smirked and shrugged in return. It was personal now, and Harry momentarily forgot about the task at hand. With all of the might he could muster, he jerked his own broom to the side and knocked roughly into Malfoy.

Malfoy was knocked off-guard for a moment, but then he looked back up at Harry with a strangely innocent look on his face. "Don't take things so seriously, Potter," he said calmly. "It's just a game." On the word 'game,' he used all of his weight to slam into Harry and knock him backwards and perilously close to the end of his broom. The two of them continued to scuffle like this until a loud whistle was blown and jerked their attention; neither of them was paying any attention to anything else up until that point- including the game or Lee's "play-by-play" commentary of their small scuffle.

"Penalty shots for both teams!" Madam Hooch shouted into the air, halting everything. "For intentional deformation of their Seekers by the opposing Seeker!"

Harry and Malfoy glared at each other but smartly stopped their small brawl. Flint took the shot for Slytherin first, and Ron blocked it easily. Alicia took the shot for Gryffindor, but it, too, was blocked. And then the game resolved.

Harry kept his eyes peeled for any sign of the Snitch for the next fifteen minutes. During this small course of time, Gryffindor scored once and Slytherin scored once, bringing the score to Gryffindor- Seventy, Slytherin- Forty. During this time, Josh was forced to take another Bludger to the stomach and came dangerously close to being knocked clear off the handle of the broom. Harry took notice of four more Bludgers aimed in his direction by Derrick and Bole, but none of them succeeded in hitting him. Likewise, Fred and George aimed a mentionable amount of the Bludgers at Malfoy, but he was always saved last minute by the Slytherin Beaters. Harry figured this was a pity, as he was positive that a Bludger to the face would flatten out the pointiness of Malfoy's chin and nose and do a considerable favor for the Slytherin.

It was at this time, though, that Harry caught his second glimpse of the Snitch. It was floating toward the lower level of the field directly in the middle. This was ironic, though, as Harry was hovering high on the left side and Malfoy was doing the same on the right side. Harry glanced at his opponent quickly and saw Malfoy's eyes glint as he, too, apparently spotted the Snitch. He lifted his eyes to Harry, and they held each other's gaze for a full second before each taking off at incredible speed toward the center of the field.

Harry tried to clear his mind completely as he shot out and downward; it was curious, really, how he was able to block out the cheers of the crowd and the commentary and even his own teammates cheering him on. He concentrated on nothing except getting to the Snitch and wrapping his fingers around it. He was dimly aware of Malfoy closing in on him, and he was pretty sure he heard Lee shouting that they were going to crash into each other. They didn't, though; when they mere millimeters from each other, they both turned their brooms straight down and went after the tiny flying object. They were so concerned with this task that they didn't even bother trying to knock the other off their broom; it was simply get to the Snitch of die trying. The ground came closer and closer into view and, with it, the Snitch seemed more and more like a reality. Just as they were probably four feet from the ground, though, the Snitch took off to the right.

Harry's first thought was to turn his broom to the right and go after it, but, as Malfoy was currently on his right, he had a bit of trouble. Malfoy smirked slightly at him before pulling out of the Feint and purposely shoving the backend of his broom into Harry's face and blocking his view. Harry was so distracted that he forgot to pull out of the Feint himself until he felt the tip of his broom hit the ground. He immediately jerked it upwards with such a force that he turned a full flip in the air before finally setting back straight. Luckily, he managed to hang on for the duration of this; unluckily, this small lapse in concentration had given Malfoy a very profitable gaining on the Snitch.

He was dimly aware of Lee Jordan yelling loudly about Malfoy's earlier tactics. "YOU LYING, CHEATING, UGLY LITTLE PIECE OF SH..." It was at this moment that Lee lost microphone privileges for the rest of the match. Harry paid this no mind, though, as he shot upwards as quickly as possible and followed Malfoy after the Snitch.

He couldn't see the small golden ball, though, so he simply did his best to get as close as possible to Malfoy. This was difficult, though, as there was already a good amount of distance between them. From the corner of his eye, he saw Warrington line up a shot against Ron and shoot the Quaffle, taking advantage of everyone's attention being on the two Seekers. However, Ron caught it miraculously. Malfoy shot in that direction, and Harry followed closely; it was at this moment that he spotted the Snitch. It was mere inches from Malfoy's grasp, and he realized that he had no hope at all of beating him. He was going to lose.

To Slytherin.

To Malfoy.

But then something wonderful happened. Ron, who was still in possession of the Quaffle, as there was no one around to toss it to, simply threw it into the air and shot upwards after it. With all of his might, he spun around on his Firebolt and whacked the Quaffle with the tail-end of his broom. To everyone's surprise, the Quaffle, now as a makeshift Bludger, sailed straight at Malfoy and hit in directly in the stomach, knocking him back with such force that Harry was easily able to dart past him, and, in the next three seconds, Harry felt his fingers close around the fluttering object.

He had won.

They had won.

It was the most wonderful feeling in the world!

As if his hearing suddenly came back, he was aware of the cheers filling the stadium as Lee somehow got the microphone back and announced the outcome.

"GRYFFINDOR WINS!!! TWO-HUNDRED AND FORTY to FORTY!!!"

Harry turned his broom down and went to land, catching a glimpse of an even paler than usual Malfoy who was clutching his broom in a desperate attempt not to lose consciousness and fall off. Harry simply laughed.

Moments later, he was on the ground where Fred, George, and Josh had already landed. They all met him with loud whoops and hard cuffs on the shoulders. Alicia and Katie met them next, each running up and kissing him on opposite cheeks before being swept away by the twins in tight embraces. Alicia seemed overly-elated at winning her first match as captain, and tears were streaming down her face. Harry wondered, though, if this was, in fact, a bittersweet victory against her Yule Ball date from the previous year. He'd never understood why she went with Warrington in the first place...

Harry looked up and saw Ron zooming toward the field. About three feet above the ground, though, he jumped off the broom, abandoning it, and took off full-speed on feet. He met Harry with a wide grin, spreading from ear to ear.

"We did it!!!" he shouted loudly. "We won!!!"

"Yes!" Harry yelled, equally as thrilled.

They threw their arms around each other in a victory hug and were both literally jumping with joy when they heard Hermione's voice calling loudly to them.

"Ron! Harry!" She let out some sort of joyful shriek before catching up with them and literally throwing herself into the middle of their embrace. Her added weight sent them all tumbling into a laughing heap on the ground. None of them bothered getting up as they half-lay, half-sat entangled in each other, laughing and soaring with excitement.

"That was so wicked!" Hermione exclaimed enthusiastically. "You should have seen Malfoy when the Quaffle hit him like that! It was BRILLIANT!!!"

They all turned their heads to see Malfoy finally on the ground, looking quite queasy and glaring at them murderously. They snickered loudly as he made his way over to them and stared down at them.

"That wasn't fair, and you know it," he said bitingly.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Oh, get over it, Malfoy. Stop being such a sore loser."

Malfoy sneered, a slight pout protruding on his lips. "Shut up, you piece of Mudblood filth."

Ron made a movement to go after him, but Malfoy was already walking away. Hermione, though, disentangled herself from the boys long enough to crawl behind them and retrieve Harry's broom, which she promptly proceeded to push into Malfoy's way, making him trip over it and stumble to the ground.

Hermione immediately dropped the broom and turned her back, doing her best to look as innocent as possible. Of course, Malfoy already knew that one of them did it, and the fact that Ron and Harry were both nearly guffawing with laughter as Hermione literally twiddled her thumbs basically gave the whole thing away. No one cared, though.

Except for Malfoy.

He got up and dusted himself off angrily before rounding on them again. "You'd all better watch your backs," he threatened seriously.

Hermione looked up at him with a wide and innocent smile. "Is something wrong?" she questioned calmly.

Harry laughed. "Yeah. Don't take things so seriously, Malfoy. After all, it's just a game."

Malfoy glared one last time at them before stalking off in a huff. When he was gone, the three of them burst into simultaneous laughter. They didn't bother to get up for a long, long time as they sat and enjoyed the moment.

And, as he sat there in the middle of the Quidditch Pitch with his two best friends in the world, Harry reflected that he'd been wrong earlier. Catching the Snitch and beating Slytherin wasn't the most wonderful feeling in the world.

This was.

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Awe... Now wasn't that sweet? Haha, sorry, I'm in a "sappy-friendship-is- the-most-important-thing-in-the-world" mood right now, so you'll have to excuse me.

As always, reviews are GREATLY appreciated!!!