Huzzah! Chapter nine, now up! I'll try to update a little quicker, because i FINALLY have a lot of inspiration built up. By the way, i want EVERYONE to keep a SHARP eye out for my best mate and fellow author, ILoveMantaRays. Expect great work from her, i know i do! Okies, back to 'the seventh year.' Quidditch is a lot harder to describe than i thought...oh well. Here goes!

Chapter 9

[Previously]

"Night, 'Mione," Draco said absentmindedly as he stumbled into the bathroom. Neither had noticed he had called her 'Mione', which had only been used by Hermione's most intimate friends, which was basically limited to Ron, Harry, and Ginny. Instead, Draco shut the door and went about his nightly rituals.

[End]

By now, November had said its last goodbyes, and December came in with a vengeance. Feet of snow draped the school nightly, and everything was starting to be a bit more cheerful as the Christmas holidays loomed ever closer. But even with all the tidings and good cheer that the season brought, it also brought a cold epidemic. And with the thousand plus students attending Hogwarts, a little less than half of the school was bed-ridden.

Hermione was no exception.

Hermione and Draco sat in a half empty (or half full, depending on how you look at things) Advanced Potions classroom, with Hermione sniffling up a storm. Already, the wastebasket nearest her was brimming with crumpled, moist tissues. Snape didn't fail to give her several nasty looks as her nose-blowing and coughing and sneezing had interrupted his class one too many times.

Not wanting to be interrupted again, Professor Snape set the class, or at least what was left of it, to some partnered bookwork. Hermione and Draco chose each other without a passing thought of choosing anyone else. Each team was assigned to answer the in depth questions at the end of the chapter they had just read.

Naturally, being the brightest students in the class, Hermione and Draco finished first. To bide their time, they started talking about Winter vacation plans.

"So where will you be, Draco?"

"Dunno..." Draco said, spacing out just a bit. Hermione quirked an eyebrow.

"I'm just going to stay here, I guess. My mum and dad are in California right now, living it up at a Dentists convention. They decided to spend the rest of the month there on holiday. And they didn't even ask for me to come," Hermione said, feeling a little left out at the moment.

"Mmm," Draco murmured.

"What's eating you?" Hermione asked, fed up with his lack of response. She blew her nose softly while he collected his wits.

"I haven't gotten an owl from home lately. Usually mum owls me at the beginning of the month, begging me to come home for the holidays," Draco said, eyes downcast.

"I'm sorry. But you do realize it's only the 4th? Just give it a few more days, I'm sure you'll get an owl!" Hermione assured him, sniffling slightly.

"I hope you're right," Draco said in a near whisper.

Later that night, as Hermione sat amongst her friends, she looked up and saw a single white owl swooping overhead. This was unusual, as the owl post usually came in the mornings.

'Must be urgent,' Hermione thought as she observed the bird from behind her tissue.

The bird swooped down towards the general direction of the Ravenclaw and Slytherin tables.

'Maybe Eric got expelled again,' Hermione thought bitterly as she quickly eyed the back of said boys' head. She quickly looked up just to see the letter drop into the lap of none other than Draco Malfoy. Hermione stuffed a bite of chicken in her mouth as she watched him open the letter. Even from across the room, she felt his eyes scanning across the paper. He crumpled it up in his fist, shoved it in his pocket, and got up from the table. He said a few unheard words to his cronies and left in a big hurry.

Hermione was about to excuse herself to see what was up, as curiosity was now eating away at her, but the boys started up an interesting conversation.

"So, Hermione, we've noticed you've been a little more chummy with Malfoy lately..." Ron said idly.

"He's really not that bad once you get to know him," Hermione said indifferently. She had to keep her cool, because this situation could escalate into a bigger problem REAL fast. She sniffled loudly and took another bite of chicken.

"We're just curious, Hermione. We haven't seen much of you these last few months," Harry said, a tinge of sadness and concern in his voice.

"You guys, honestly. Draco and I have grown closer, and he's really not that bad of a guy. Please don't be jealous. And it's not just him occupying my time. Head duties and all my classes are starting to take their toll," Hermione took the chance to sneeze.

"Bless you," Ginny said. So far, Ginny had been the only one who wasn't grilling Hermione about Draco.

"Thanks," Hermione said automatically. She set her fork down and put a hand to her stomach. She was starting to feel a little queasy. Hermione looked down at her plate and felt her stomach lurch. Chicken just didn't sound appetizing anymore.

"Hey guys," Hermione started, her voice sounding clogged, "I'm gunna go head to the hospital wing. I'm not feeling too good,"

"You want me to accompany you?" Ginny asked, already rising from her seat. Hermione waved her down.

"No thanks, I'll be fine," she said. Hermione felt a small wave of dizziness wash over her as she stood up. She took a swig of pumpkin juice and stumbled out of the Great Hall.

"Feel better soon!" Harry called after her, trying to act like the concerned friend. Hermione waved back, before turning the corner.

She shuffled and stumbled towards the Grand staircase, and rested heavily upon the side stone railing as it moved about. Hermione felt her stomach lurch again and a hot sweat build around her forehead as the staircase settled into place.

Once on the correct floor, Hermione stumbled down the halls, desperately searching for the hospital wing. She finally found the correct door, and nearly fell through it. Her breathing had become ragged and she leaned on the door frame awkwardly, and looked up to see she had interrupted Draco and Madam Pomfrey exchanging a vile. Hermione couldn't ask, for as soon as she tried to take a step forward, she passed out.

Hermione awoke to white light streaming in through an open window above her, casting strange shadows in her lap. She tried desperately to focus her blurry vision, but was having a hard time doing so.

"Ah, I see you're awake!" she heard the distinct voice of Madam Pomfrey. The old nurse stepped lightly towards Hermione, resting a soft hand upon her forehead.

"You look a lot better, how do you feel?"

"Tired. What happened?"

"You were dreadfully sick dear. You stumbled in as I was administering some sleeping aids to Mister Malfoy, and you passed out. Luckily, Mr. Malfoy darted forward and caught you before you hit the ground. It would have been a rather ugly fall, if I do say so," Madam Pomfrey said, looking at Hermione, and probing her here and there. Once satisfied the old woman bustled away to a cabinet, and pulled out a small vile of purple liquid. She held it up to eye level and peered through it. She nodded in satisfaction and held it out to Hermione.

"Take this, it should make you feel a little better," Madam Pomfrey said, as Hermione guzzled down the liquid. Hermione nearly gagged at the taste, but kept her tongue still. She remembered the old maids harsh words to Harry when he spat out the bone regrowing potion, and she wasn't about to turn the woman against her.

After Hermione downed the liquid, she looked about the room as Madam Pomfrey fixed her rumpled sheets.

"Where is everyone?" Hermione asked.

"If by everyone you mean Draco, he's off playing in a quidditch game. I'm pretty sure Slytherin is playing against Hufflepuff today...Or if you meant everyone as in everyone, they're all watching the game, or recovering in their dormitories," Poppy said, looking at the girl in front of her.

"Wait...why was Draco in here yesterday?" Hermione asked, suddenly recalling the fact that Draco had caught her when she passed out.

"Like I said before, Mr. Malfoy was only in here to get some sleeping agents. He said he was having some recurring nightmares that were keeping him awake. I referred him to Professor Trelawney and gave him a few sleeping pills," Poppy said, as she put Hermione's now empty vile on the counter below a wooden wall-mounted cabinet.

'He's having the dreams again? So am I...' Hermione thought. She shook her head clear and turned to Madam Pomfrey once more.

"So, what is the verdict? Do I have a clean bill of health?" Hermione asked anxiously.

"That potion should have kicked in right quick, so you should be good to go. If you have any problems, Dearie, be sure to come back for a thorough examining!" Madam Pomfrey yelled after Hermione, who had already jumped out of bed and was running down the hall ways.

"Thank you!" Madam Pomfrey heard from a distance. She smiled and shook her head. Kids these days!

Hermione raced down the halls and leaped down the stairs, 3 steps at a time. Her black robes fluttered behind her as she made her way outside. Hermione pushed open the giant oak doors and winced when the unfiltered light stung her eyes. She quickly focused and kept running.

The gravel crunched loudly under her feet as she sprinted down the path. She could hear the loud cheers of the crowd, and the new announcer (whom Hermione still couldn't name or even put a face to...) announced that the Slytherin had just put another quaffle in, making the total sound something like...thirty to seventy. Slytherin was in the lead!

Hermione dashed through the gates, past an unsuspecting couple snogging at the base of the stairs, and up a random observation tower. Hermione looked around and recognized the likes of Pansy Parkinson and company.

'Ohhhh...goodness....I'm in the Slytherin section!' Hermione thought in panic. Hermione looked around to see if anyone had seen her, but everyone's eyes were fixed upon the game. No one had even noticed that she had come into their section. Hermione decided it was safe, as long as she stuck in the shadows.

Above the roaring of the fans, Draco hovered in the air, watching the carnage below. Summerby hovered below him, glaring up at him, before floating away. Draco rolled his eyes. He hated when 'nice' people tried to look evil. He looked down once more and winced when he saw Crabbe nail a Hufflepuff chaser in the arm, nearly knocking her off the broom.

The score was already seventy-thirty, with Slytherin obviously in the lead. But the Hufflepuffs weren't going to give up, not today!

Draco looked around, squinting ever so slightly when he saw a glint of gold towards the Slytherin section. He raised a pale hand up to shield his delicate seeking eyes, to further investigate the gold glint. He focused as hard as he could, and saw a golden time turner glaring back at him. But the only person he knew that had a time turner was...

Hermione looked up and saw Draco staring in her direction, shielding his eyes. She could see that his face was lit up by an awkward light, and she immediately looked around to find the offending person. No one was 'glowing' or anything, until she looked down at her chest. The time turner (which was now just used as a piece of jewelry, as Prof. McGonagall had disabled it years ago) flashed in the sunlight. Hermione gasped and shoved it down her shirt.

'So I was right. But what is Granger doing in the Slytherin section? Shouldn't she be in the hospital?' Draco thought to himself, still keeping his eyes on his house section.

"Oi! Malfoy! Watch it!" Blaise yelled suddenly. Draco snapped to attention and leaned forward, narrowly dodging a bludger headed for his head. He looked around frantically for who might have hit it his way, but the Hufflepuff beaters were busy harassing one of his teammates.

Draco flew a bit higher, and started looking around for the snitch. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw an all too familiar white and gold movement. His eyes snapped to attention.

'There! By the center ring!' Draco's mind cried. Draco turned his broom and sped up, nearly nose-diving the goal area at break-neck speed. The Hufflepuff seeker followed suit, but was still a good 20 feet away.

Blaise looked up from his post in front of the goal. Draco was hurtling towards him with the Hufflepuff seeker close on his heels. They were 100 feet away and getting closer.

"What're you doing, mate?!" Blaise called out fearfully. 50 feet and closing.

"DUCK!" Draco shouted. Blaise just barely got out of the way as Draco hurtled by overhead, heading towards the snitch.

The snitch took one of it's tell-tale turns and sped to the ground, where it hovered a few feet above the turf. Draco turned and sped down towards it. Draco reached out his hand, his fingers itching to hold the snitch. The snitch faked right and went left, and Draco just barely turned in time. He grabbed the snitch and fell off his broom.

"Oh! And a fall worthy of Harry Potter himself from Slytherin's own Draco Malfoy! Slytherin wins!" The announcer yelled out. The crowd erupted in applause and screaming.

Draco lay on the ground, the snitch still held tight in his firm grip. He groaned. His shoulder was surely dislocated, but he wasn't really concentrating on that. The rush was gone, the pain was kicking in, and all he had his mind set on was Hermione and what she was doing in his house section, when her own house and friends were only a tower away.

"Draco! Draco! You alright there mate? Nasty fall you took," Blaise said, as he came jogging up. Draco hauled himself up on his left arm, his left arm being engulfed in white hot heated pain.

"What happened to your arm?" Blaise asked, holding a hand out to Draco, who took it. It took all of Blaises' strength to pull Draco to his feet.

"I think I dislocated it," Draco breathed, wincing in pain.

"Oh, let me go get Madam Pomfrey or someone," Blaise said, starting to turn to go get help.

"No! Just...give me a sec," Draco said. He took a deep breath, and snapped his shoulder back into place. Draco cried out in pain, and hunched forward.

"What the bloody hell did you just do?!" Blaise yelled, bending forward a touching his friend on the back. Draco looked up with one eye, grinning.

"Fixing the problem," Draco said, righting himself and flexing and rotating his arm. Blaise put a hand to his head in defeat and just laughed.

"You're bloody mad, you know that?"

"Yeah, I know," Draco said.

"Come on, let's go head into the showers,"

"Sounds good to me," Draco said, wiping the sheen of sweat off his forehead with his sleeves as he and his friend walked side by side, broom in hand, towards the locker rooms.

Draco walked out of the locker room an hour later, the last to leave. He had taken his time in the sauna, trying to relax his tense shoulder muscles. He wore his regular black slacks and belt, with a white muscle tee gracing his upper half. The rest of his clothes hung on his arm. His wet hair clung to his forehead as he stepped out past the front gates.

"Hello, Draco," a voice said from behind him. Draco turned.

"You..." he said softly.

Twilight zone music Haha, don't kill me. I'll update soon! Like i said, I gots lots of inspiration ;) I'll check back a bit later! Byeeee!

English-Foxlette