Chapter Twenty Three: Never Thought She'd see the Day

Hermione awoke with a start. It was only about eleven-thirty, but there had been a

noise outside her window, like a knock.

Knock, knock

She got up form her bed, and carefully crept towards the window closest to her four

poster canopy bed. Silently, she approached it, as she didn't wish to wake Lavender or

Pavarti. She drew her wand, and opened the shades, to reveal Draco, on his broomstick,

hovering outside her window.

She opened it, and asked in a barely audible whisper, "What are you doing?"

"Visiting my sweet Juliet," he said as he took her hand in his and kissed it.

She blushed, barely visible in the darkness.

"Come take a ride with me…"

"Oh Draco, I'd love to, but I —I can't…"

"Sure you can. Come on, we could see the grounds, go up to the towers, see

everything, visit Hogsmeade if you want."

"Draco, I can't. Please try to understand…"

"Alright," he sighed.

She looked into his eyes. He was somewhat disappointed, and looked quite

disconsolate. "You have that match tomorrow, and you need to be rested, come on."

"Okay… But I want you to have this. Please wear it tomorrow, and cheer for me?"

He handed her a package and she kissed him on the cheek.

"I promise, and good luck, my Romeo."

She smiled at him, and with that, he kissed her hand once more before turning and

flying off, his cloak fluttering behind him. As Hermione looked at him, a smile spread across

her face. She never thought she'd see the day when she would cheer for Slytherin, but

tomorrow she would.

Draco awoke before all the others in his dormitory. He dressed speedily, and

grabbed a quick breakfast, on his way to the Quidditch field just before dawn. He waited for

the rest of the team at the lockers, trying to calm his nerves as he heard the students start

to file in.

The team put on a cocky façade, but inside the players themselves were somewhat

nervous. Or at least Draco was. They would be playing that morning for the right to face

Gryffindor, their biggest rival for the House Cup, in the Homecoming game.

They faced a well-trained Ravenclaw team, which would pose somewhat of a

challenge, given the talents of their seeker, seventh year Cho Chang. Draco scoffed as he

thought of her. She might have the advantage because she had been playing a year longer

than him, but he was certainly a better flyer, at least he thought so. But if she got lucky...

No, he didn't want to think about that. Draco would take the snitch, and come out

victorious, hopefully to find Hermione waiting for him with her congratulations, and a kiss

perhaps. He sighed. At least, he hoped she would be cheering for him...

The announcement of the teams brought him from his thoughts, and he stepped out

onto the field, looking around at the mass of students, focusing on the Gryffindors,

searching for Hermione. He saw her, clad in his scarf, it looked like, and at that moment

felt his confidence rise. She would be watching him, and he would not disappoint her.

Hermione watched as the players took the field. She had worn a scarf Draco had

given her the night before, his Slytherin scarf, green and silver, his House colors. But she

didn't mind. It was something he had given her, a very personal gift, which she now held

close to her heart. He had asked her to wear it that day, and to cheer for him as he faced

Ravenclaw.

She had wished him luck, and sincerely hoped he would emerge victorious. She

looked next to her, where Ron and Harry were politely cheering for Slytherin, the former of

the two somewhat grudgingly, but urged on by his best friends. Harry had decided not to

cheer for Ravenclaw, since he and Cho had had a falling out of sorts.

The rest of the Gryffindors had looked at them oddly at first, but upon seeing

Hermione, were reminded of Draco's actions in the Great Hall two days before. Some had

thought it was hopelessly romantic, and wished her the best, though others thought she

was completely insane.

She returned to the game, watching as Slytherin scored on Ravenclaw, and then

Ravenclaw scored. Before long, the score was fifty to thirty, with Slytherin leading, and

then, she saw Cho and Draco flying from one end of the field to the other at breakneck

speed.

Draco felt the excitement of victory surge from within, the surreal rush of adrenaline

that seemed to engulf him as he sped ahead of Cho Chang, and grasped the snitch, before

pulling out of a death defying dive. A roar came from the Slytherin end of the field, with the

sound of disappointment coming from the other sections.

He landed softly, gracefully, pushing back his blond hair with one hand, and allowing

all to see the miniscule fluttering, golden ball held in his other. He looked around; Slytherin

had defeated Ravenclaw, two-hundred to thirty. He saw Hermione waving to him, wearing

a green rosette and the green and silver scarf he had given her, and next to her, Potter and

Weasley, clapping politely. That was odd. No, wait; it wasn't that surprising, since Potter

and Chang had had a falling out. Besides, they likely wanted to support Hermione.

The blond Slytherin smiled triumphantly, as Madame Hooch declared his team the

winners, and Professor Snape came striding onto the field to commend him, followed by

Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall.

They congratulated him, and the rest of the victorious team, as did the Ravenclaws,

though somewhat bitterly. Dumbledore then announced that news concerning the

Homecoming and the official announcement of Slytherin's participation would come that

evening, at supper.

Dumbledore's voice resounded in the Great Hall that night. There was a deafening

silence as he rose to speak, and excitement coming from the Slytherin and Gryffindor

tables.

"Congratulations to the Slytherin Quidditch team. I have no doubt that all of you

witnessed the game earlier, and if not, surely have heard the outcome. Because Slytherin

defeated Ravenclaw today, their team will go on to face Gryffindor in the Homecoming

game. Congratulations to all Houses for their participation and efforts, and especially to the

competitors in the upcoming game.

I hope that you found your time at Hogsmeade yesterday useful, as we are ready to

make the final announcement regarding the Quidditch Homecoming Ball and Game. The

game will be held Saturday, November twelfth, and the Ball will be held precisely one week

before, on Saturday the eighth.

The attire is dress robes, of course, and the student body will vote on a court for the

ball. Nominations will be accepted up until a week from now, and then the final ballot will

be released. Each student will vote once, and we have means of preventing over voting.

Your heads of House will have more information as to this, so please feel free to ask them.

Thank you all, and enough of my rabble for now, let's eat, shall we?"

And with that, the plates filled, and the students began to eat.

Author's Note

Yeah, I know, not much detail on the match. Sorry about that, but you'll get a play-by-play

of the Homecoming Game, and that's coming along quite well (You'll like it, I promise... or I hope

so, anyways.) So yeah, the ball starts!

For all those wondering about Severus's odd behavior, don't worry, it'll be cleared up soon enough

grins evilly, in a manner that suggests she knows something more...

Hey, R&R please, and I'll post it faster... hehehe... It's actually almost finished, just need

the finishing touches, smiles

Thanks for your time,

E. Caddy Compson (persephoneia)