Jackie: I'm finally better!
Agent Blorange: Too bad you're writing's not!
Draco-muse: Shut up. Just shut up.
Jackie: I think I did a fair job on this chapter, myself. I'm not a sports person, as you'll probably be able to tell. Well, I didn't invent Quidditch. Or Harry Potter. That was all J.K. Rowling. She's the genius; I'm just a girl with an overactive imagination and a thing for an actor 2 years younger than me.
Takeru-muse: Cradle robber.
Draco-muse: Stop messing with her! That's it…*Sends out bluebell flames at Agent Blorange and Takeru-muse; both catch on fire and run off screaming*
Jackie: Was that really called for?
Draco-muse: Don't mess with my woman. And now…please enjoy!
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Chapter 6: Sweat and Hormones
The stands of the Quidditch field were packed as usual, with everyone excited about the year's first Gryffindor-Slytherin match. The Gryffindors especially wanted to see how all their new players were going to work together. With Jackie, Ron, Seamus, and Ashton, the new 3rd-year keeper, the team was practically brand new. The nervousness mixed with the normal inter-house tension gave an electric energy to the crisp fall air.
The game progressed slowly, to say the least. Neither Harry nor Draco had much to do for a long while, the Snitch being well out of sight. The same thing, however, couldn't be said for the other players. Jackie and Katie were showing the Slytherin chasers exactly how teamwork was supposed to work. In one amazing play, Jackie dove under the Slytherin beater blocking her path, and Katie tossed the ball over his head as Jackie flipped over him and flew upside down to catch the Quaffle and score the first goal of the game. By now, Draco realized that flying upside down was one of her specialties. She needs to teach me how to do that.
Gryffindor was dominating the boards as far as goals, but there was still no Snitch in sight. At long last, after almost an hour of play, Draco saw something glittering above Seamus' right shoulder. Harry spotted it about the same time, and in less than a second both boys were blazing towards the very surprised Beater, who dove downwards out of the way. As Seamus went down, the Snitch went straight up, followed by Draco, tailed closely by Harry. Potter, the smaller of the boys, had a clear advantage in maneuvering; Draco, who outweighed his rival by a good 15 pounds of sheer muscle, could shift his weight in a way that provided him a speed advantage. The Snitch, however, had plans to push them both…it would go into a series of twists and turns, then change direction and fly off in a straight line at top speed, then start twisting again.
Ron was paying more attention to Jackie and Draco than he was to the Bludgers. He was still seething from the confrontation in the halls, and was ready for some insurance. As a Bludger wobbled its way towards Katie, Ron took his opportunity. He swung his arm back and smacked the Bludger straight at Malfoy's head. Jackie saw this, and bit her tongue to keep from calling him directly. She also had figured out the Snitch's pattern by now, and her mind spun trying to come up with a discreet way to help her boyfriend.
As the Snitch flew towards Jackie, and the Bludger towards Draco, the two lovers met eyes for a brief moment. Jackie mouthed "three", and took her hands off of the broomstick, shifting her hips to where she was sliding off of the broom. Not sliding, Draco thought, twisting. That's how she does it! Then Jackie held up a finger, close to the broom handle so that no one could see it but Draco, then two, then…
As her third finger went up, Draco pulled the front of his broom up and shifted his hips to the right. He immediately found himself upside down, and in the path of the now straight-flying Snitch. He quickly grabbed the tiny flying orb in his hand just as the Bludger meant for him whizzed over his head and nailed Harry in the side. Ron winced as Harry fell towards the ground, and then glared at the still upside-down Malfoy, who was now holding up…down…whatever…the fluttering golden ball for the whole arena to see. The final score: Gryffindor, 90; Slytherin, 150. For the first time, Slytherin had beaten Gryffindor.
All the blood was rushing to Draco's head. Sure, Jackie had showed him how to turn upside down. The question is…how do I get back up?
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As the players landed and made their way towards their respective ends of the field, the Slytherin team was more energetic than they had ever been before, especially Malfoy. Sure, they hadn't scored a single goal…with a Seeker like Draco, who needed to? Draco was enjoying all of the attention as well…for the first time since the school year began, he wasn't being treated like an outcast by his house members. The classic Malfoy grin slid across his face as he looked over at Potter, who was rubbing his injured side and sulking along with the rest of the Gryffindor team.
All except for one. Jackie was grinning from ear to ear, unable to hide her pride and happiness at the whole game. Draco stopped to admire her for a moment while she stood on the sidelines away from the rest of the team. Her hair was tied around itself to form a high ponytail on the back of her head, but strands of hair had gotten loose mid-flight and were now hanging in front of her face. Her skin glowed with heat and excitement, and Draco noticed for the first time the hundreds of tiny freckles that she tried so hard to hide with various layers of makeup. I'll have to suggest that she leave those in sight…I kind of like them on her. Her Quidditch robes were tight-fitting in certain…areas, because of the general stereotype of the female athlete's body being less-than-endowed, and Draco's eyes couldn't help but pause as they traveled over the tight red silk over her chest.
Catching himself staring, he forced himself to look back at her face, where he met her gleaming eyes once again. She broke out into a broad grin, and Draco's trademark smirk softened into a smile as he made his way in her direction. She also began making her way across the field, and started jogging to meet him. As they met on the sidelines, Jackie threw her arms around him, much to the surprise of the many spectators on both sides. Draco wrapped his arms around her waist, not caring who saw them anymore, but just wanting to be with her.
Jackie nuzzled her head against his neck. "Sweetheart, they're suspecting things…" she sing-singed quietly.
Draco laughed softly, and then reached up to gently tilt her chin up towards his face. He bent his face close to hers. "Let people say we're in love," he whispered before closing the gap between them and drawing her into a well-deserved victory kiss.
The gasps and murmurs from the crowd grew louder, but Draco and Jackie felt only each other. Draco pulled Jackie in closer, and she responded by running her hands up Draco's back to his shoulders. The rest of the world seemed to fade away as Draco's tongue ran slowly across Jackie's lips, and her lips parted gently to invite him into her mouth. It was almost too cliché, but both felt as if fireworks were exploding around them as the kiss continued.
Had it not been for the thunderbolt that was Ron Weasely, who knows how long the kiss would have lasted. However, anger got the best of the scorned redhead, and he took off towards the couple faster than Harry or Seamus could catch him. Jackie heard him barreling towards them, and quickly broke off the kiss and turned to place herself between Ron and Draco. Ron simply reached out and grabbed her arm, glared at Malfoy, hissed "Astronomy tower. Tonight," and headed back towards the locker rooms with Jackie in tow, fighting every step of the way.
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"Are you sure you want to do this, Draco?"
"I have to. I'm not going to let that Weasel make a fool out of me and take advantage of you."
It was an hour before curfew, and Jackie and Draco were waiting for Ron to show up in the Astronomy tower. Jackie was nervous…she didn't know if they could trust Ron in his current emotional state to fight fairly. Draco was only thinking of protecting the girl he loved…the mixture of adrenaline and testosterone coursing through his system was too strong to allow him to think clearly.
Voices were heard making their way up the stairs of the Astronomy tower, and soon Ron and Harry both came into view. Ron looked about ready to kill someone; Jackie prayed that he didn't have the knowledge to do so. Harry stood behind Ron for once, and glared at both Malfoy and Jackie. "Alright," Ron said, his voice deep and husky from the same hormonal flood that plagued Draco. "Let's finish this."
Both assumed the traditional dueling stance, with Harry acting as Ron's second and Jackie as Draco's. Ron was the first to throw a curse, and soon the two boys were throwing everything they had at each other, from Leg-locker curses to some much more serious (and slightly illegal) moves. Draco's mind was sharper, and he was able to think things out as he and Ron fought. Ron wasn't thinking as clearly as he should have been, but his hatred was making him a more vicious and merciless fighter.
There came finally a point in the duel where Draco felt that Ron was becoming too dangerous. He quickly maneuvered his way towards Ron's side, temporarily leaving the larger boy's line of vision. "Expelliarmus!" he shouted as the disarming spell flew towards Ron's wand arm. Ron heard Draco at his side, and before the disarming spell could reach him, he pointed his wand at Malfoy's stomach. "Dolar maladictio!" he screamed, and a bolt of red lightning burst out of the wand just before it was knocked out of his hand.
Draco was not quick enough to evade the final spell, and he was hit with an excruciating bolt of pain as the curse went straight through him. He doubled up on the ground, holding his stomach as the wind was knocked out of him. Waves of searing pain hit one after another as he sucked air into his burning lungs. Jackie immediately rushed to his side to try and help him up, kneeling in front of him and rubbing back gently to try and ease the pain.
Ron stepped over to where she knelt and took her hand in his, almost crushing it from the force of his grip. "I may have been disarmed first, but he's not around to defend his prize." Jackie tried to pull away from Ron, but he simply laughed and yanked her into a standing position. Draco watched helplessly as Ron forced Jackie into a crushing kiss, but was surprised when Ron's eyes flew open, and he backed away from her.
That is, until he saw that Jackie had brought her knee up to a place that effectively "disarmed" Ron again.
Ron's knees buckled as he sunk to the ground, and Jackie returned to Draco's side. "Prick. Are you okay?"
Draco opened his mouth, but just then another wave hit him in the stomach, and he chocked out a small cry of pain. She resumed rubbing his back, until he managed to get out the words "Hospital wing". She helped get him to his feet, and gently guided him along the stairwell, leaving Ron and Harry to deal with their problems.
Every few steps, Draco buckled with pain as the curse continued to affect him. Jackie wrapped her around his waist and braced herself against the wall to prevent the two of them from falling down the stairs, all the while whispering encouragements to her ailing lover. They finally reached the bottom of the stairs, and were almost halfway to the Hospital Wing, when Draco collapsed onto the floor, and his weight caused Jackie to fall as well. The last thing he saw before the world went black was Jackie's face gazing anxiously into his, and her hand reaching out to stroke his cheek.
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Jackie: Duhn duhn DUHN! Cliff hanger!
Agent Blorange: Yeah right. You'll stay up until you get the next chapter written, I know you.
Draco-muse: Don't be so sure, it's already 11:30 and you're not completely well yet young lady!
Jackie: But I don't have school tomorrow!
Draco-muse: *Sigh* Fine, go ahead.
Jackie: YAY! And please R&R, okay, I love you, bubye!