CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: FLYING LESSONS
Saturday, February 27th 1999The students of Hogwarts sat down to breakfast, the hall filled with loud noises as students made plans for their weekend. It was beginning to get less cold, something for which Buffy was infinitely grateful for. Coming from the warmer climates of Sunnydale California, she hadn't been expecting the blistering cold of England.
Her tan had been beginning to fade, which was why, now that it was slightly warmer during the day, she spent as much time outside in the sun as she could. As soon as breakfast was over, she had plans to lie in the sun with Draco and do very little else.
"You finished?" Draco asked quietly.
Buffy swallowed her last mouthful of juice and nodded. He took her hand and stood up, the two of them ignoring the smirks and knowing looks that they got from the other Slytherin students. Draco knew that nearly every student in the school thought that his new attitude was the funniest thing they had ever seen. His reputation as the bad-boy Slytherin had been shot to hell, but honestly, he really didn't care.
They walked hand-in-hand out of the hall, Buffy refusing to sink to a low level and smile smugly at Pansy even as the pug-faced Slytherin girl glared at she and Draco. It took some effort, but she schooled her features into a perfectly neutral look. As soon as she was outside however, she burst into a fit of laughter.
Draco just looked at her, wondering if his girlfriend had finally cracked.
"What?"
"Pansy," Buffy choked out in between snorts of laughter. "I swear, if looks could kill, I'd be buried twenty feet under by now."
Draco didn't like the sounds of that suggestion, and pulled her closer to him, his arm now around her waist, holding her tightly against him.
"Don't say stuff like that."
Buffy looked at him, wondering why he looked so serious. "Drake? You okay? Cos, I really didn't mean anything by it. It was just a joke."
Draco sighed and pushed a stray strand of hair out of his eyes.
"I know you don't mean anything by it, but…sometimes I worry. About Pansy. About what she could do to you if she really is as annoyed about us as everyone thinks she is. She could get really dangerous," Draco said.
Buffy looked at him in shock. She'd never considered Pansy to be of any real threat to herself or to Draco.
"You don't honestly think she'd do something do you?" Buffy asked. She wasn't particularly worried about any sort of physically attack. Even without her strength, Buffy was fairly certain she'd be able to defeat the other Slytherin girl. It would be a magical attack that Buffy would find herself disadvantaged in.
"I don't know. I hope not."
They pondered these heavy thoughts for a moment longer before Buffy smiled. "Come on, let's not waste our time wondering about what she could be plotting. It's a beautiful Saturday morning. Surely we have better things to be doing than talking about her."
Draco smirked and the couple stopped walking as they approached 'their' spot by the lake. He pulled her into a hug and lowered his lips to hers, brushing them gently in the barest hint of a kiss.
"What did you have in mind?" he asked.
She smiled and kissed him, revelling in the feeling of the sun beating down on them. She would never have admitted it out loud, but she had hated that she and Angel could never have spent a day in the sun together. Being with Draco like this was proof of why she and Angel never would have worked out.
"I'm sure we could think of something," Buffy whispered coyly. She kissed him deeply, the kind of kiss that made a person's toes-curl; that left them breathless and starving for air. They broke apart, their noses still brushing against each other. "Actually…there is one thing I've always wanted to do with you…"
He looked at her with interest. She smiled brightly and kissed him again.
"Teach me to fly."
He pulled back from her, incredibly confused.
"What?"
She laughed and swatted his chest. "Keep your mind outta the gutter Malfoy. Teach me to fly."
"On a broom?"
She rolled her eyes. "Is there any other way?"
His lips curled into a slow smile. "You really want to learn?"
She nodded. "Yeah. Ever since I watched that Quidditch match my first weekend here. Will you teach me? Cos, if not, I could go and get Harry-"
She squealed a little as he grabbed her roughly by the waist, pulling her to his chest possessively. "That great git of a Gryffindor is not teaching you how to fly."
Buffy giggled and kissed him again. Draco sighed and felt the anger rush from him. He had never met anyone who could get him so worked up and then calm him down so instantly. He trailed a hand through Buffy's hair and let it drift down her back. She arched into him and slid one of her hands beneath his sweater, revelling in the warmth of his skin.
"You're sure you want to do this right now?" Draco asked, a definite whine in his voice.
She pulled away reluctantly and nodded. "I do."
He stole another kiss before pulling away from the temptation. "Okay. Come on, we'll go grab my broom. I'll ask Banks if he'll lend you his broom."
"Who's Banks?" Buffy asked curiously as they headed back towards the school.
"Oh, he's one of the Chasers on the team. Sixth year. Not a bad player actually."
"When are you set to play next?" Buffy asked.
"Well, the teams only play three games a year, until the finals. You've missed our games with Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. We had them in October and early January," he explained. "So, our next game's against Gryffindor. That's not for another month. March twentieth."
"Cool. Hermione told me that the Slytherin vs Gryffindor games are the most exciting Quidditch matches besides the professional world cup games," Buffy said.
Draco chuckled a little. "Well they are. Mainly because none of us can stand each other. It makes for an interesting competition."
Buffy just rolled her eyes. "I'll bet."
"You should come to our practices," Draco said. "They're on Thursday afternoons."
Buffy nodded. She was curious to see Draco in action. She'd only heard off the other Slytherin girls that her boyfriend was actually a fair Quidditch Player. She'd heard the tale from Harry, Ron and Hermione about the second year fiasco with Draco 'buying' his way onto the team, but then showing to have a real talent for the sport.
They reached the castle and walked down to their Common Room. Buffy offered to wait while Draco went to fetch the broomsticks, but he pulled her up the stairs to the boys dormitory.
"Come on. I've seen your room. It's only fair that I show you mine," he reasoned.
He opened the door to the Seventh Year boys room. It looked much like the girls room, round with the five four-poster beds against the walls. Except the room was far, far messier. Buffy sat on Draco's bed, looking around, trying to see what sort of area lived in when he wasn't in the Common Room or somewhere with her.
It was a dark room that suited Draco. He looked at home here.
"What do you think?" Draco asked quietly as he watched her look around his room.
She looked up at him and smiled, reaching out her hand towards him. He took it and stepped forward, placing one knee on the bed beside her. Buffy smiled up at him, suddenly feeling incredibly shy. It hit her that they were alone in his bedroom, and she knew that their earlier make-out session had left him wanting.
She scooted backwards down the bed, Draco following her, kneeling above her in a predator-like manner. He leant his weight on his arms, his heart suddenly racing at the very idea of making love to his girlfriend. It was with that thought of making love to her that Draco was suddenly shocked out of his blissful haze. He sat back, his eyes slightly wide and shocked.
"Draco?" Buffy asked quietly.
He licked his lips and looked at her, wanting nothing more than to lay down beside her and lose himself in her. But…
"We're not ready for this," he whispered, almost ashamed of the statement. He tried to look away, but when Buffy smiled brightly at him, he found himself entranced.
She sat up and captured his lips in a sweet kiss.
"I know. And besides which, any of your friends could walk in here at any second," Buffy said. "I know we're not ready. But that doesn't mean that we can't lie here and just…be together without actually…y'know being together."
He smiled and couldn't help but laugh at Buffy's words. He lowered himself onto the bed, laying next to her, one elbow propping his head up so that he was looking down at her. His other hand came up to play with her hair, his fingers trailing across her face gently, coaxing a smile from the girl.
"Would you want to?" he asked, shyly hesitant. "With me…would you want us to…be together?"
She smiled and moved her hand to take his. She gave it a gentle squeeze before answering. "You're right. We're not ready yet."
"Yes, but…would you want to?"
She smiled and Draco took in the blush that suddenly covered her cheeks. "Definitely."
He grinned and leant down to kiss her. Just because they weren't ready to make love didn't mean they couldn't still have fun with one another.
Many, many, many minutes later, they pulled back breathless.
"I thought I was going to teach you how to fly," Draco whispered.
"I think you already have."
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Three and a half hours after they'd gone into the castle to retrieve brooms, they exited, brooms in hand. Draco led Buffy down to the Quidditch pitch and dropped the brooms to the ground.
"Ready?" he asked.
She nodded nervously and allowed Draco to guide her so that she stood to the left of the broom. He took her hand in one of his and held it above the broomstick, his other hand snaking around her waist to rest on her stomach.
"Alright…now…relax, and say 'up'."
Buffy twisted her head around to look at him incredulously. "You want me to relax when your hands are making me feel all fluttery? Like that'll happen."
Draco laughed and kissed the delicate spot just below and behind Buffy's ear. She closed her eyes contentedly and practically purred, her head lolling to the side to give him better access. He pulled back without warning, completely letting go of her. She turned to face him, her hands on her hips, looking the perfect picture of indignity.
"Hey!"
He grinned and moved to stand next to his own broom.
"You were the one complaining, not me," he reminded her.
"Grr."
He motioned for her to get back into position, which she did. She forced herself to relax, and tried to repress the feelings that Draco had invoked in her. She couldn't believe that he could affect her so easily. It wasn't fair!
She shook herself out and evened her breathing. She placed her hand over the broom and looked down at it. "Up!" She watched in amazement as it flew into her hand. She grinned and looked at Draco, excitement in her eyes.
"I did it!" she exclaimed.
He grinned at her and commanded his own broom. It flew into his hands.
"Alright. Now, mount your broom," he said.
Buffy watched Draco swing his leg over his own broomstick, and Buffy followed suit. He looked at the positioning of her hands. "That's good. You're a natural."
She smiled happily. "Thanks. Now what?"
"Just pull the handle up a little and lift your feet from the ground," he instructed.
Buffy breathed in deeply, but did as she was told. She grinned in delight as she realized that she was now floating three-feet from the ground.
"Very, very cool."
Draco smiled, enjoying Buffy's happiness. He put his feet on the ground and let go of his broom. He moved and gestured for Buffy to scoot forwards on her broom before positioning himself behind you.
"It'll be easier to teach you this way," he explained.
She turned her head to smirk at him knowingly. "You're making this up aren't you?"
He kissed her quickly and winked. "I most certainly am."
She giggled and let herself relax against him as he encircled her waist with his arms, his hands covering hers, his chin resting gently on her shoulder. She felt him guiding their movements, pulling up on the broomstick so that it hovered a littler higher in the air. Carefully, he pushed them forwards to add some speed to their flight, the broom slowly moving forwards.
Buffy's breath caught in her throat, slightly fearful that the broom wouldn't be able to hold two people on it. She trusted Draco though, and if he thought that this was safe, then she would take his word for it.
"Want to go faster?" Draco asked, his mouth close to Buffy's ear, sending delectable shivers down her spine. She nodded and felt Draco pressing further into her, forcing her to bend forward a little more.
He showed her how to turn, and when Buffy felt her confidence building, Draco moved his hands so that they were holding her around the waist, rather than guiding her motions. Soon enough, Buffy was steering them around the Quidditch pitch, dodging in and out of the goals at the end of the field. The thrill-seeker within the Slayer came out to play, and Buffy drove the broom into a spectacular dive, Draco tightening his grip a little, unsure if Buffy would be able to handle such a daring move on her first flight.
"Pull up!" he instructed as they came closer to colliding with the ground.
Buffy just grinned, but didn't pull up.
"Buffy, pull up!" he yelled.
She shook her head. He went to move his hands onto the broomstick so he could pull them out of the dive, but Buffy brought one of her own hands up to cover both of his, holding them tightly. Draco tried to move his hands away, but found that he couldn't move them.
Buffy grinned internally. She loved weekends for many reasons, but her returning strength was one of the top ones. On Saturdays and Sundays, she was usually at half or three-quarter strength. Her energy levels were far better than they'd been in the last few weeks. Restraining Draco's hands was easy enough to do, and she'd never been more glad of it than she was now.
Draco however was suddenly feeling incredibly nervous. With barely a foot to spare, Buffy pulled up hard, the broom straightening out and slowing to a stop directly next to Draco's broom still on the grass.
Draco swallowed hard and got off the broom, his legs shaking. He looked at her incredulously.
"I can't believe you just did that!"
She looked at him sheepishly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to freak you out like that."
"No! Buffy! That dive was…incredible! As a first-time flyer you shouldn't even be able to do anything like that. Especially not with two people on your broom. That was…wow. Let's just say that if we didn't have a full team for Quidditch you'd be on it without question," he gushed.
She smiled, both heartened by his complimentary words, and glad that she hadn't made him angry with her. She pointed to Draco's broom. "Wanna race?"
He raised an eyebrow at her, wondering if she really thought she'd be able to outfly someone who'd be flying most of his life.
"You think you can beat me?" Draco challenged.
"I bet I can."
"So what will I get when I win?" Draco asked cockily.
She glared at him and hit his arm playfully. "If you win, I'll…"
"Come to Hogsmeade with me next weekend," Draco finished for her.
Buffy's face fell. She'd forgotten about the Hogsmeade visit. She was fairly certain that she wouldn't be allowed to go. She wasn't up to asking Dumbledore for permission, and she had a feeling he wouldn't allow it in any case.
"Drake…"
Draco's face fell. "Oh…right." He often forgot that she wasn't just at Hogwarts to learn magic. This was a rehabilitation thing for her, and Hogsmeade was a privilege that he was certain Buffy wouldn't be allowed to have. "God, I'm sorry. I'm such a git."
"No, you're not a git…whatever the hell that means. You're not. I really wish I could," she said honestly.
"Have you even asked Dumbledore?" Draco asked.
She sighed and shook her head. "I'm not really one to push my luck, y'know."
"Well, he's usually a pretty reasonable guy."
Buffy sighed. Except when it comes to me. She'd still been unable to prove her innocence to him, and he'd never asked her for her side of the story. She shook her head and looked sadly at her boyfriend.
"I really am sorry," she whispered.
He moved towards her and kissed her gently. "Not your fault. Besides, when I win this race, I'll accept my reward in the form of kisses."
She grinned, suddenly feeling their light mood return. She pushed him towards his broom and watched as he expertly mounted it.
"You're on Dragon Boy."
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Re-uploaded to change the date of the next Gryff vs Slyth match of Quidditch. Not April 3 anymore. March 20. Me being pedantic and not being bothered to fill in two weeks worth of stuff happening.