Disclaimer: These characters are J. K. Rowling's!
* * * * *
Quidditch practice began wearing the Gryffindor students out. Even Harry had difficulties standing up in the morning. He was running on over- tiredness if there is such a thing. He hadn't slept for days now and it was becoming increasingly apparent. His hair was messier than ever, not dirty nor greasy, just messy. If anything was keeping him awake, it was that god damn cold shower he took every morning. He stopped caring about how it looked.
The daily practice was having similar effects on Ron, but the difference was that he was getting sleep at night and at least eating to replace some of the energy lost. Harry had completely stopped eating dinner and on occasion, he would eat lunch. When he chose not to eat, he was either in his dorm, reading, or in the library researching.
Somehow Hermione made it through detention without killing herself. She couldn't understand why Draco had willingly received detention with her. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know either. She accepted what was given to her. The least she was grateful for was the fact that she had company for Snape's detentions. Anybody would go mad polishing trophies for three hours, not to mention that it would take six hours if it had only been her.
The rest of the detentions seemed to pass quickly enough and the two had worked their "friendship" up to civilized talking and using each other's last names as they had always done instead of "Mudblood" or "Ferret boy." Hermione had to admit, she somewhat enjoyed his company. It took away the seriousness of the situation, yet, how ironic the situation seemed to be.
Draco always seemed to find a way to make her laugh. Sometimes, he would purposefully do something stupid, and though he tried to hide the obviousness of his actions, Hermione knew his motives.
* * *
Draco was finding himself laughing, harder than he ever had before. As he walked down the hallway to dinner the next day, he found himself thinking about things that had happened during their detentions. He chuckled silently to himself and a smile played on his lips. One night, Snape had them organizing his filing cabinets, which, by the way, were none too organized at all. He pulled out the drawer and papers fell lightly to the floor. Draco stepped on a pile of them and purposefully slipped and fell flat on his ass. Hermione fell to the floor, howling at what he'd done.
When he entered the Great Hall, those thoughts were shattered by disappointment when he realized that he would no longer get to spend time with her in the evenings. His eyes turned back to their stormy gray state as they usually were. He couldn't help but feel like something was taken away from him that was his.
* * *
Again, Harry did not appear at dinner and Hermione remained silent throughout the meal, quietly thinking to herself. She felt those eyes watching her again, and when she looked up to find their owner, she found Draco towering over her from behind.
"Are you ok?"
"Yeah, fine. Just a little out of it."
"Come with me."
She looked at him questioningly and watched him walk away. She curiously got up and followed, ignoring the shouts coming from Ron at the table behind her. She watched his figure exit the large oak doors in the front of the castle and she followed suit, making sure to be quiet. She could faintly see the outline of Draco as he walked across the grounds and she followed him. She continued walking in that direction and see could barely see him any longer because of the growing darkness around her.
"Oof!" she said as she bumped into something and fell backwards, but before she could hit the ground, Draco whipped around to catch her fall. When she was aware of what happened, she looked up into his eyes graciously and smiled. He helped her regain her balance and released her from his grip.
"What did you bring me here for?"
"I didn't bring you here, you followed me here."
"By your request..."
"Ah, but that's all it was, a request, nothing more."
"Well then, why did you 'request' me to come out here then?"
"No reason at all. I figured maybe you could use some peaceful time and some company. You were looking a bit lonely over there."
"I was just fine thanks."
"I was merely observing."
Hermione didn't speak.
"Care for a walk?"
She looked at him questioningly again but he made no motion to do anything, only waited for an answer. She raised her eyebrow at him and he shrugged.
"Okay" she replied blatantly.
Draco led her around the lake, neither one of them talking for quite some time. Hermione began to shiver and Draco could faintly hear her teeth chattering.
"Are you cold?"
"No, my teeth are just chattering for no reason" she replied sarcastically.
"Could be from nerves. I don't know."
"Nerves? Hardly..."
"Here..."
Draco stopped walking for a moment and removed his outer robes from himself. He draped them over Hermione's shoulders and she drew them over her chest.
"Thank you" she said shyly.
Draco nodded but said nothing. Soon they reached a large rock that sat on the back of the lake and Draco climbed on top of it and lay down. She followed, with rather more difficulty and he sat up to pull her up. She lay down next to him and silence fell upon them again.
Hermione couldn't help but notice the stars twinkling at her in the sky above. Draco looked over at her and spoke.
"Something's happening that only happens every 60,000 years. You see that really bright star over there?"
Hermione nodded.
"When the planet's orbits are aligned correctly, Mars passes by Earth at the closest distance it's ever been. It seems really far away, but 35 million miles isn't all that far considering the magnitude of it all."
"So that's Mars?"
"Yes."
"Why is it not red?"
"Too far away to make that color distinction."
"It's beautiful."
Draco remained silent and looked at his watch.
"We better get back inside."
Hermione nodded and they walked over the grounds, draped with a serene darkness and stepped inside the welcoming oak doors. Hermione reached for Draco's robes to give them back, but he put his hand up in protest.
"Keep them and you can give them back to me later."
Hermione's face contorted with puzzlement as he strode away to make his nightly rounds around Hogwarts. He smirked satisfactorily at himself and disappeared around the corner.
Hermione stood once more for a brief moment, like she had in the Astronomy Tower, and then made her own rounds. She drew his robes tighter around herself and when she was finished, she returned to the common room, expecting it to be empty. Instead, she found Draco sitting on the black leather couch, with his head resting on the back of it. His eyes were closed and a lock of golden hair hung in his face.
She walked silently passed him, hoping to go by without him hearing her, but to no avail, he spoke.
"You're slow, Granger."
She acknowledged his comment and continued walking to her room. She was hoping to avoid social contact at the moment because she was tired and didn't want to engage in any sort of confrontation that she might regret.
She walked up the staircase and entered her room. Hermione closed the door behind her and slid Draco's robes off her shoulders. She clutched them close to her chest and buried her face in them as the scent of Draco invaded her nose. She inhaled deeply and laid them on her chair neatly. Hermione then retired to exhaustion.
* * * * *
Week melted into week at Hogwarts. Harry was seen less and less by Hermione. He continued, however, to work the Quidditch team hard and it seemed to be paying off. It was two days until their first match and Harry decided to give the boys a break at practice that day.
As the boys gathered around their captain, he spoke to them.
"Boys, I think we're ready. You've all done an awesome job at being here everyday and preparing for our first match. I think a reward is in order. No practice tomorrow. You boys will need your rest. The first match is against Slytherin, of all houses. We'll pull through this."
Harry retired to his dorm after practice, with Ron at his side. When they reached the common room, Harry found Hermione sitting in the easy chair.
"Harry."
He looked at her and smiled.
"I brought you something to eat. I figured you could use it."
"Thank you, but no thanks. I'm not hungry."
"Harry, you have to eat. You have a game in two days."
Harry looked at her disapprovingly and she returned the glare.
"Come here."
He nodded and Ron continued up to his dorm. Harry sat down next to Hermione after she had moved to the couch.
"Eat this."
Harry took the muffin in his hand and nibbled at it. Food had become a rare thing for it and he began to enjoy the taste. He shoveled the rest of it down his throat and Hermione watched in amazement.
"What?" he asked.
Hermione laughed but didn't speak. She patted her leg and motioned for him to put his head on her lap. He complied hesitantly. Hermione stroked his head and he closed his eyes. For once in six weeks, Harry slept peacefully. Hermione rested her head against the back of the couch and fell asleep as well.
* * * * *
The day of the first match had arrived. Gryffindors versus Slytherins. Hermione had made sure Harry had been eating properly the day before and once again forced him to eat breakfast so he could have his strength.
When the trio arrived at the Great Hall that morning, it was buzzing with anticipation for the upcoming event. Each of the houses each showed their spirit for their own team, Gryffinodrs in their traditional red and gold and Slytherins in their black and green. There had been no classes that day either. There would be too much excitement to keep the students focused on their tasks, so the teachers said the hell with it.
The brisk morning passed into an even brisker afternoon and as the entire school made their way out to the Quidditch pitch to cheer their teams on. Slytherins sat on the far side and Gryffindors on the side nearer to the school.
The teams were all lined up and ready to be introduced to the crowd. Just Fletchly took a seat next to Professor McGonagall in the announcement box and positioned the microphone to where he could speak clearly into it.
"For the Gryffindors, we have Parvati Patil....Lavender Brown....Seamus Finnigan, all of which will be playing as Chasers. Next up we have Ginny Weasley...and Dean Thomas as the season's Beaters. Ginny's older brother, Ron Weasley is the Keeper. Last but certainly not least is Harry Potter as Seeker."
The team filed one by one onto the field as their names were called, Justin pausing briefly between names so they had a chance to show themselves individually. Shouts of support could be heard from the Gryffindor stands, especially when Harry was announced which also came as no surprise, as they were introduced and groans of disapproval from the Slytherins.
Justin paused for a brief moment and began introducing the Slytherin team.
"Moving on to the Slytherins...Aleaxia Parker, and hell she's hott..."
Justin received a stern glare from the professor and smiled innocently.
"Continue Justin."
"As I was saying, Alexia Parker...Milani Thompson...and Pansy Parkinson are this year's Chasers. The Beaters stand as Vincent Crabbe....and Gregory Goyle. The Keeper is Blaise Zabini. And lastly is Draco Malfoy."
Cheers from the Slytherin stand could be heard and a wave of black and green could be seen. They clapped harder when Draco was announced and Madame Hooch enetered the field.
"Captains!"
Harry and Draco approached her as she dragged the drunk along the ground.
"Shake hands. Let's have a fair game, boys."
Draco looked fiercly at Harry and Harry returned the challenge. Draco and Harry roughly shook hands and both strode back to their teams.
"It's going to a hard game. Let's keep focused. Everyone ready?"
They shook their heads as Madame Hooch blew her whistle for them to take their places on their brooms. When she was sure everyone was ready, she blew it again, signaling the start of the match. Both teams kicked up off the ground as did she and the balls were set free.
Harry watched the Snitch leave the box and lost its path. He ascended high above the field and Draco did the same. Thought Harry could not distinguish his facial expression from this far, he knew he was staring at Harry with determination. Draco flew in circles high above the field and Harry remained stationary.
Lavender threw the Quaffle to Seamus and he attempted to toss it to Parvati, but she missed it and it tumbled into the hands of Alexia. The three tore off after the Slytherin Chasers and Ron braced himself to block their shot. They faked once to the right, but he anticipated it and successfully blocked it. Seamus caught it and tore off down the field.
Crabbe ducked as Ginny sent a Bludger in his direction. Goyle was behind him and he took a shot right in the stomach. Somehow he had managed to retain the grip on his broom but knew there would be a bruise there tomorrow.
The Slytherin crowd cheered as Milani scored one for their team. Ron kicked himself but tossed it out of his mind. Dean knocked a Bludger out of Ron's way as it almost hit him.
"Thanks Dean!"
He nodded and flew off to hit some Bludgers. Harry searched frantically for the Snitch and watched Draco continue his circles in the sky. Though Hermione was on the Gryffindor side of the pitch, she was secretly wishing Draco would find the Snitch.
Harry heard Justin announce a goal for the Gryffindor team and hear the Gryffindors roar. His eyes spotted a glint of gold and it was gone again. He flew in that direction, but not making any sudden movements to give Draco the idea that he spotted anything. Apparently Draco had seen it too.
At that moment, Hermione watched the Snitch zip by her face and stood up to watch it disappear. She leaned out over the rail to look for it.
Draco had seen it and dove for it. Harry followed suit and dove for it after him. Draco leaned close to his broom and the air whipped through his blonde hair as he sped after it. Hermione watched him and leaned out farther. Harry was hot on Draco's tail. Hermione leaned a bit farther out and that's when the next sequence of events happened all too quickly.
Draco faintly heard a blood curdling scream and veered away from his original course. When he looked around he saw a formless body falling towards the ground and he cursed under his breath.
"Take it Potter while I go save your girlfriend" he muttered to himself.
Harry slowed himself and wondered why Draco had pulled away. He then saw it as Draco was speeding for the shapeless body falling from the stands. She was inching nearer to the ground every second and he held his breath knowing what was coming. But it never came. Draco had caught her. She was unconscious from the shock of what had happened but Draco held her tightly.
He landed softly and held her draped over his arms. The game came to a screeching halt and the players landed on the field. Harry and Ron ran over to her as her eyes fluttered open.
Draco stood her up and she smiled at him gratefully. She glanced once more at him before she felt Harry's arm drape around her shoulder and he pulled her away from Draco.
"Are you aright 'Mione?"
"I'm fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes!" she snapped.
Harry looked taken aback.
"Potter, you're pathetic. You could have won and you let it slip away from you."
Harry scowled at Draco as he walked away nonchalantly.
Harry pulled her towards the castle to go see Madame Pomfrey but she protested.
"Get back to your game. I'm fine."
"But-"
"Go!"
Harry hesitantly ran over to Madame Hooch and requested the game be continued.
"Not today Potter."
He opened his mouth to protest but she stopped him. He walked away defeated and disappointed.
Justin announced the match would be rescheduled for tomorrow. Harry walked back to the castle with Ron and Hermione by his side and went to his dorm to sleep for the rest of the day.
Hermione and Ron knew there was nothing they could do to cheer him up. They let him be for the rest of the evening while they went to dinner.
It turned out the next day that the Slytherins won in the rescheduled match. How could Hermione be torn between two people? Harry was her best friend and Draco...well, she couldn't explain that yet, but could she?
* * * * *
A/N: You guys like this one? Hope you did...please continue reviewing!!!
Kinky Girl: There will be 'exciting' scenes eventually and I know exactly where...that'll come up in a few chapters.
Jacie: I think I can manage that somewhere in here...I'll think of a way to add that in...
* * * * *
Quidditch practice began wearing the Gryffindor students out. Even Harry had difficulties standing up in the morning. He was running on over- tiredness if there is such a thing. He hadn't slept for days now and it was becoming increasingly apparent. His hair was messier than ever, not dirty nor greasy, just messy. If anything was keeping him awake, it was that god damn cold shower he took every morning. He stopped caring about how it looked.
The daily practice was having similar effects on Ron, but the difference was that he was getting sleep at night and at least eating to replace some of the energy lost. Harry had completely stopped eating dinner and on occasion, he would eat lunch. When he chose not to eat, he was either in his dorm, reading, or in the library researching.
Somehow Hermione made it through detention without killing herself. She couldn't understand why Draco had willingly received detention with her. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know either. She accepted what was given to her. The least she was grateful for was the fact that she had company for Snape's detentions. Anybody would go mad polishing trophies for three hours, not to mention that it would take six hours if it had only been her.
The rest of the detentions seemed to pass quickly enough and the two had worked their "friendship" up to civilized talking and using each other's last names as they had always done instead of "Mudblood" or "Ferret boy." Hermione had to admit, she somewhat enjoyed his company. It took away the seriousness of the situation, yet, how ironic the situation seemed to be.
Draco always seemed to find a way to make her laugh. Sometimes, he would purposefully do something stupid, and though he tried to hide the obviousness of his actions, Hermione knew his motives.
* * *
Draco was finding himself laughing, harder than he ever had before. As he walked down the hallway to dinner the next day, he found himself thinking about things that had happened during their detentions. He chuckled silently to himself and a smile played on his lips. One night, Snape had them organizing his filing cabinets, which, by the way, were none too organized at all. He pulled out the drawer and papers fell lightly to the floor. Draco stepped on a pile of them and purposefully slipped and fell flat on his ass. Hermione fell to the floor, howling at what he'd done.
When he entered the Great Hall, those thoughts were shattered by disappointment when he realized that he would no longer get to spend time with her in the evenings. His eyes turned back to their stormy gray state as they usually were. He couldn't help but feel like something was taken away from him that was his.
* * *
Again, Harry did not appear at dinner and Hermione remained silent throughout the meal, quietly thinking to herself. She felt those eyes watching her again, and when she looked up to find their owner, she found Draco towering over her from behind.
"Are you ok?"
"Yeah, fine. Just a little out of it."
"Come with me."
She looked at him questioningly and watched him walk away. She curiously got up and followed, ignoring the shouts coming from Ron at the table behind her. She watched his figure exit the large oak doors in the front of the castle and she followed suit, making sure to be quiet. She could faintly see the outline of Draco as he walked across the grounds and she followed him. She continued walking in that direction and see could barely see him any longer because of the growing darkness around her.
"Oof!" she said as she bumped into something and fell backwards, but before she could hit the ground, Draco whipped around to catch her fall. When she was aware of what happened, she looked up into his eyes graciously and smiled. He helped her regain her balance and released her from his grip.
"What did you bring me here for?"
"I didn't bring you here, you followed me here."
"By your request..."
"Ah, but that's all it was, a request, nothing more."
"Well then, why did you 'request' me to come out here then?"
"No reason at all. I figured maybe you could use some peaceful time and some company. You were looking a bit lonely over there."
"I was just fine thanks."
"I was merely observing."
Hermione didn't speak.
"Care for a walk?"
She looked at him questioningly again but he made no motion to do anything, only waited for an answer. She raised her eyebrow at him and he shrugged.
"Okay" she replied blatantly.
Draco led her around the lake, neither one of them talking for quite some time. Hermione began to shiver and Draco could faintly hear her teeth chattering.
"Are you cold?"
"No, my teeth are just chattering for no reason" she replied sarcastically.
"Could be from nerves. I don't know."
"Nerves? Hardly..."
"Here..."
Draco stopped walking for a moment and removed his outer robes from himself. He draped them over Hermione's shoulders and she drew them over her chest.
"Thank you" she said shyly.
Draco nodded but said nothing. Soon they reached a large rock that sat on the back of the lake and Draco climbed on top of it and lay down. She followed, with rather more difficulty and he sat up to pull her up. She lay down next to him and silence fell upon them again.
Hermione couldn't help but notice the stars twinkling at her in the sky above. Draco looked over at her and spoke.
"Something's happening that only happens every 60,000 years. You see that really bright star over there?"
Hermione nodded.
"When the planet's orbits are aligned correctly, Mars passes by Earth at the closest distance it's ever been. It seems really far away, but 35 million miles isn't all that far considering the magnitude of it all."
"So that's Mars?"
"Yes."
"Why is it not red?"
"Too far away to make that color distinction."
"It's beautiful."
Draco remained silent and looked at his watch.
"We better get back inside."
Hermione nodded and they walked over the grounds, draped with a serene darkness and stepped inside the welcoming oak doors. Hermione reached for Draco's robes to give them back, but he put his hand up in protest.
"Keep them and you can give them back to me later."
Hermione's face contorted with puzzlement as he strode away to make his nightly rounds around Hogwarts. He smirked satisfactorily at himself and disappeared around the corner.
Hermione stood once more for a brief moment, like she had in the Astronomy Tower, and then made her own rounds. She drew his robes tighter around herself and when she was finished, she returned to the common room, expecting it to be empty. Instead, she found Draco sitting on the black leather couch, with his head resting on the back of it. His eyes were closed and a lock of golden hair hung in his face.
She walked silently passed him, hoping to go by without him hearing her, but to no avail, he spoke.
"You're slow, Granger."
She acknowledged his comment and continued walking to her room. She was hoping to avoid social contact at the moment because she was tired and didn't want to engage in any sort of confrontation that she might regret.
She walked up the staircase and entered her room. Hermione closed the door behind her and slid Draco's robes off her shoulders. She clutched them close to her chest and buried her face in them as the scent of Draco invaded her nose. She inhaled deeply and laid them on her chair neatly. Hermione then retired to exhaustion.
* * * * *
Week melted into week at Hogwarts. Harry was seen less and less by Hermione. He continued, however, to work the Quidditch team hard and it seemed to be paying off. It was two days until their first match and Harry decided to give the boys a break at practice that day.
As the boys gathered around their captain, he spoke to them.
"Boys, I think we're ready. You've all done an awesome job at being here everyday and preparing for our first match. I think a reward is in order. No practice tomorrow. You boys will need your rest. The first match is against Slytherin, of all houses. We'll pull through this."
Harry retired to his dorm after practice, with Ron at his side. When they reached the common room, Harry found Hermione sitting in the easy chair.
"Harry."
He looked at her and smiled.
"I brought you something to eat. I figured you could use it."
"Thank you, but no thanks. I'm not hungry."
"Harry, you have to eat. You have a game in two days."
Harry looked at her disapprovingly and she returned the glare.
"Come here."
He nodded and Ron continued up to his dorm. Harry sat down next to Hermione after she had moved to the couch.
"Eat this."
Harry took the muffin in his hand and nibbled at it. Food had become a rare thing for it and he began to enjoy the taste. He shoveled the rest of it down his throat and Hermione watched in amazement.
"What?" he asked.
Hermione laughed but didn't speak. She patted her leg and motioned for him to put his head on her lap. He complied hesitantly. Hermione stroked his head and he closed his eyes. For once in six weeks, Harry slept peacefully. Hermione rested her head against the back of the couch and fell asleep as well.
* * * * *
The day of the first match had arrived. Gryffindors versus Slytherins. Hermione had made sure Harry had been eating properly the day before and once again forced him to eat breakfast so he could have his strength.
When the trio arrived at the Great Hall that morning, it was buzzing with anticipation for the upcoming event. Each of the houses each showed their spirit for their own team, Gryffinodrs in their traditional red and gold and Slytherins in their black and green. There had been no classes that day either. There would be too much excitement to keep the students focused on their tasks, so the teachers said the hell with it.
The brisk morning passed into an even brisker afternoon and as the entire school made their way out to the Quidditch pitch to cheer their teams on. Slytherins sat on the far side and Gryffindors on the side nearer to the school.
The teams were all lined up and ready to be introduced to the crowd. Just Fletchly took a seat next to Professor McGonagall in the announcement box and positioned the microphone to where he could speak clearly into it.
"For the Gryffindors, we have Parvati Patil....Lavender Brown....Seamus Finnigan, all of which will be playing as Chasers. Next up we have Ginny Weasley...and Dean Thomas as the season's Beaters. Ginny's older brother, Ron Weasley is the Keeper. Last but certainly not least is Harry Potter as Seeker."
The team filed one by one onto the field as their names were called, Justin pausing briefly between names so they had a chance to show themselves individually. Shouts of support could be heard from the Gryffindor stands, especially when Harry was announced which also came as no surprise, as they were introduced and groans of disapproval from the Slytherins.
Justin paused for a brief moment and began introducing the Slytherin team.
"Moving on to the Slytherins...Aleaxia Parker, and hell she's hott..."
Justin received a stern glare from the professor and smiled innocently.
"Continue Justin."
"As I was saying, Alexia Parker...Milani Thompson...and Pansy Parkinson are this year's Chasers. The Beaters stand as Vincent Crabbe....and Gregory Goyle. The Keeper is Blaise Zabini. And lastly is Draco Malfoy."
Cheers from the Slytherin stand could be heard and a wave of black and green could be seen. They clapped harder when Draco was announced and Madame Hooch enetered the field.
"Captains!"
Harry and Draco approached her as she dragged the drunk along the ground.
"Shake hands. Let's have a fair game, boys."
Draco looked fiercly at Harry and Harry returned the challenge. Draco and Harry roughly shook hands and both strode back to their teams.
"It's going to a hard game. Let's keep focused. Everyone ready?"
They shook their heads as Madame Hooch blew her whistle for them to take their places on their brooms. When she was sure everyone was ready, she blew it again, signaling the start of the match. Both teams kicked up off the ground as did she and the balls were set free.
Harry watched the Snitch leave the box and lost its path. He ascended high above the field and Draco did the same. Thought Harry could not distinguish his facial expression from this far, he knew he was staring at Harry with determination. Draco flew in circles high above the field and Harry remained stationary.
Lavender threw the Quaffle to Seamus and he attempted to toss it to Parvati, but she missed it and it tumbled into the hands of Alexia. The three tore off after the Slytherin Chasers and Ron braced himself to block their shot. They faked once to the right, but he anticipated it and successfully blocked it. Seamus caught it and tore off down the field.
Crabbe ducked as Ginny sent a Bludger in his direction. Goyle was behind him and he took a shot right in the stomach. Somehow he had managed to retain the grip on his broom but knew there would be a bruise there tomorrow.
The Slytherin crowd cheered as Milani scored one for their team. Ron kicked himself but tossed it out of his mind. Dean knocked a Bludger out of Ron's way as it almost hit him.
"Thanks Dean!"
He nodded and flew off to hit some Bludgers. Harry searched frantically for the Snitch and watched Draco continue his circles in the sky. Though Hermione was on the Gryffindor side of the pitch, she was secretly wishing Draco would find the Snitch.
Harry heard Justin announce a goal for the Gryffindor team and hear the Gryffindors roar. His eyes spotted a glint of gold and it was gone again. He flew in that direction, but not making any sudden movements to give Draco the idea that he spotted anything. Apparently Draco had seen it too.
At that moment, Hermione watched the Snitch zip by her face and stood up to watch it disappear. She leaned out over the rail to look for it.
Draco had seen it and dove for it. Harry followed suit and dove for it after him. Draco leaned close to his broom and the air whipped through his blonde hair as he sped after it. Hermione watched him and leaned out farther. Harry was hot on Draco's tail. Hermione leaned a bit farther out and that's when the next sequence of events happened all too quickly.
Draco faintly heard a blood curdling scream and veered away from his original course. When he looked around he saw a formless body falling towards the ground and he cursed under his breath.
"Take it Potter while I go save your girlfriend" he muttered to himself.
Harry slowed himself and wondered why Draco had pulled away. He then saw it as Draco was speeding for the shapeless body falling from the stands. She was inching nearer to the ground every second and he held his breath knowing what was coming. But it never came. Draco had caught her. She was unconscious from the shock of what had happened but Draco held her tightly.
He landed softly and held her draped over his arms. The game came to a screeching halt and the players landed on the field. Harry and Ron ran over to her as her eyes fluttered open.
Draco stood her up and she smiled at him gratefully. She glanced once more at him before she felt Harry's arm drape around her shoulder and he pulled her away from Draco.
"Are you aright 'Mione?"
"I'm fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes!" she snapped.
Harry looked taken aback.
"Potter, you're pathetic. You could have won and you let it slip away from you."
Harry scowled at Draco as he walked away nonchalantly.
Harry pulled her towards the castle to go see Madame Pomfrey but she protested.
"Get back to your game. I'm fine."
"But-"
"Go!"
Harry hesitantly ran over to Madame Hooch and requested the game be continued.
"Not today Potter."
He opened his mouth to protest but she stopped him. He walked away defeated and disappointed.
Justin announced the match would be rescheduled for tomorrow. Harry walked back to the castle with Ron and Hermione by his side and went to his dorm to sleep for the rest of the day.
Hermione and Ron knew there was nothing they could do to cheer him up. They let him be for the rest of the evening while they went to dinner.
It turned out the next day that the Slytherins won in the rescheduled match. How could Hermione be torn between two people? Harry was her best friend and Draco...well, she couldn't explain that yet, but could she?
* * * * *
A/N: You guys like this one? Hope you did...please continue reviewing!!!
Kinky Girl: There will be 'exciting' scenes eventually and I know exactly where...that'll come up in a few chapters.
Jacie: I think I can manage that somewhere in here...I'll think of a way to add that in...