Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, except the one I created myself. All others belong to J. K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. I have only borrowed them for my amusement and hopefully yours as well.

A/N: Thanks as always for the reviews. To K-chan16 – Of course your reviews make me smile, they make my day! With regard to the length of the chapters, I now realize that some of them are a little on the short side, but the fact of the matter is that this story is complete. One thing that frustrates me is that many of the stories posted on FFN do not seem to have conclusions. I keep looking for endings, but they are a long time coming, if ever. I swore that if I ever wrote a story that it would be complete before I posted it. I don't really want to start fooling around with it at this point. Next time, I promise to make them longer. I swear! Just so you know, there are lots more chappies to come!

Chapter 22

The pick-up Quidditch games became wildly popular with everyone at the school. Soon, there was a large group of spectators every time they played. Jo enjoyed the games even more because it wasn't always the same players that came out. Also, she varied what position she played depending on which one was needed at the time. Jo even took a turn at Beater. She found out she wasn't too bad anywhere she played, but her first love remained Seeker.

One afternoon, they were getting ready to play when a surprise came their way, a surprise in the form of Draco Malfoy. He was there alone, without benefit of other Slytherin players.

"Hi, Professor. Do you mind if I join in today? I could use the practice," Draco asked warily. He was fully expecting to be turned away.

Jolicia replied, "We don't mind at all, do we?"

She glanced at the other players. Jo couldn't tell if they were just stunned at seeing him there, or if they really didn't mind, but she took the decision.

"Welcome, Draco. Glad to have you on board. You came along just at the right moment – we were short a Seeker. Now that we have the full complement, let's go!" Jo called enthusiastically. She put her arm around Draco's shoulder and walked with him into the stadium.

Jo said quietly, so that only he could hear, "I 'm really thrilled that you came today. It is nice to see you without your usual gang. Good man!"

Draco smiled. He picked up on her 'good man' comment right away. Everyone had certain expectations of him- his father, his school mates, even the teachers; he was to be a 'Malfoy' at all times. That meant being cold, cruel, calculating, and above all, totally Slytherin, even if there were times when he didn't feel like it. For example, there had been so many instances that something amusing had happened but Draco had to suppress his laughter. He was expected to laugh at someone, never with them.  Draco's father, Lucius, had always taken it for granted that his son would follow in his footsteps and become a Death Eater. Increasingly, Draco wasn't so sure about taking the Dark Mark. Professor Medwin's speech about being his own man had not fallen on deaf ears. It was difficult for him to do that, so he was starting out small and would hopefully be able to work himself up to the big one. He had thanked Hermione for her help. That was really hard for him to do. Now, of his own free will, he was joining in with other students, ones who were not Slytherin. This also was a first for him. Draco was on his way to becoming his own man. Only time would tell if he had the courage to defy his father's wishes if he did, indeed, decide on another path.

For now, he was there to have fun. When they weren't chasing the Snitch, he and Professor Medwin chatted about all kinds of things. It was an opportunity for them to get to know one another. The more that Jo found about Draco, the more she liked him. His reputation was probably deserved, but she thought that it could be repaired, if only he let everyone get to know the real Draco.

The more he got to know Jolicia, the more he liked her, too. He was developing a great respect for her. He appreciated the way she treated him; she never spoke down to him or made him feel inferior. Whenever she thought he needed to be pulled back in line, she did it. She wasn't afraid of any repercussions from his father. Draco knew that Professor Medwin was fully aware that his father, while still in Azkaban, was still powerful. She wasn't scared. Draco felt almost like an equal when he spoke with her-that made him feel pretty damn good about himself. Under Draco Malfoy's arrogant, self-confident exterior, lay an insecure, frightened boy. Jolicia was one of the few people to see this. 

They all played a fantastic game. The players were so equally balanced that the game went on a little longer than usual.  Ron was at the top of his form, making save after save. He was turning out to be a great Keeper.

After a brutal serious of attacks on goal, Draco flew over to Ron and said, "Hey Ron, way to go! Keep up the good work and our team might just win."

Ron was stunned. Not only had Malfoy given him a compliment, he actually called him 'Ron' instead of Weasel or something worse.

"Um, thanks, Malf…I mean Draco. Keep up the good work, too," Ron stammered. Something had really gotten into that boy. Ron was dying to find out what.

Harry had finished his detention with Snape and had gone out to the pitch to find Hermione. He scanned his way through the crowd until he spotted her with Hagrid.

"All right there, Harry?" asked Hagrid, jovially. "Yer missing a right cracker of a game. Score's all tied up."

"Hi, Hagrid, Hermione. Sorry I had to miss most of it. I had detention with Snape," said Harry. He was going to say 'git', but thought better of it. After all, Hagrid was a teacher, too.

"Harry, look who's playing on Ron's team," gushed Hermione. She was bursting to tell him.

Harry looked at all of the players, until he spotted something.

"No, it can't be," he thought.

"Is that Malfoy?" Harry asked them incredulously. They both shook their heads.

"Oh Harry, you should have seen it. Draco came up to Professor Medwin and asked her if he could play and of course, she said yes. Everyone was shocked and nobody dared to object in front of Medwin.  That's the first time he's ever joined in with us. It's just so bizarre. Do you think she's cast some kind of a 'get along with others' spell? Do you think that there's something else wrong with him?" Hermione rambled. She was so excited about Malfoy that she was talking a mile a minute.

"It is curious, but no, I don't think she's cast any more spells on him. She might have made him see a little sense about his behavior, though. We'll have to wait and see what happens next. Perhaps we should keep an eye on him, just in case," offered Harry.

Hermione agreed that this would be a prudent course of action. They turned their attention to the game and began cheering madly.

Finally, it was Jo who caught the Snitch, right out from under Draco's nose. They had been talking when the Snitch suddenly appeared just behind Draco's shoulder. He, of course, couldn't see it. Jo just kept on talking and casually reached out and grabbed it, thus winning the game.  The crowd went wild. Draco congratulated Jo on making such a calm, cool, and collected catch. Harry and Hermione rushed down to meet Ron.

They arrived just in time to see Malfoy clap Ron on the back and say, "Great game. We'll beat 'em next time." Draco then made his way back to the school.

When Malfoy was out of earshot, Ron said "What is up with him? He gave me a complement twice and he's started calling me 'Ron'. I don't trust him; he must be up to no good."

Harry replied, "We don't know what to think either, mate. Hermione and I decided we'd all watch him." Ron agreed. They stopped talking about Malfoy and started rehashing the game. Ron filled Harry in on the parts he missed. Hermione followed behind them, not saying too much, which was unusual for her.