Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, creatures and places mentioned in this story. They belong to J.K. Rowling. I do however own the plot.
A/N: Trying to make my chapters longer, don't hurt me. YAY! I got reviews! Thank you to all my wonderful reviewers! And to SugarBaby: I have a plan for Ron, you'll see. ProwlingKitKat: My bad. Thanks for pointing it out!
Quidditch and the Threat of a Storm
The next morning, as Hermione made her way to the Great Hall for breakfast, she overheard the name of a certain Slytherin, one she would like to forget, coming from the nearest loo. However, what made her stop was hearing the name of her very own boyfriend. She peeked into the slightly ajar door to see who was talking, and was met with three fifth years who were primping in front of the mirror.
"So, who do you think the hottest Quidditch player is, Catie?" a tall girl with curly, black hair asked.
"Draco Malfoy, hands down," replied a slightly smaller girl with short red hair. "I mean, have you seen his body? Not to mention he's got that whole 'bad boy' thing going for him," At this, the other girls nodded in agreement. Catie then added with a sigh, "Too bad he doesn't go out with anyone below sixth year. Oh, well. What do you, think, Allison?"
"Well, Draco Malfoy is hot, but I actually think Ron Weasley is pretty hot himself," Allison said as she shook out her straight blonde hair, admiring the effect. "I mean, I would most definitely go out with him any day. Too bad he's going out with Miss Perfect. I swear, if Hermione Granger were out of his life, then I'd jump on the chance like that." She snapped her fingers in order to emphasize her point.
Upon hearing herself be called "Miss Perfect" in such a mocking tone, Hermione got slightly angry and stalked off. She did, however, feel good about the fact that even though this girl—this Allison—liked her boyfriend, she would never have him. What Hermione didn't hear though, probably would have changed her mind.
"I mean, I bet I could break up Ron and Hermione if I really tried," Allison boasted.
"Yeah, right. Look, Ron and Hermione are, like, Hogwarts' perfect couple. You can't separate them, Allison. It just can't be done," said the curly haired girl, whose name was Marie.
Allison took one last look in the mirror and started to head out. When she got to the doorframe, she turned to the other two girls and said, "That's what you think."
3.3.3.3
"Hey, Ginny," Hermione greeted the youngest Weasley as she sat down at the Gryffindor table. The latter looked up from her Daily Prophet crossword puzzle, and said with a smile, "Hey, you're looking better this morning."
"Yeah, I took a Dreamless Sleep Draught last night, and woke up this morning without remembering last night at all," Hermione replied. "But I did hear these three girls talking about Ron and me in the lavatory this morning."
"Oh, really? What did they say?" Ginny asked, waiting for Hermione to swallow her eggs before talking. Hermione told her everything, and when she was finished, Ginny asked, "Did you say that girl's name was Allison?" When Hermione nodded an affirmative, the redhead got a knowing look and said, "Yes, I know who you're talking about."
"Who?" Hermione prompted while she picked up her own Daily Prophet and started paging through it.
"Her name is Allison Morell," Ginny replied. "She's in my year, a Ravenclaw. I've suspected her of having a crush on Ron for awhile now. Ever since she let it slip to me in Herbology that she wished he would ask her to the Yule Ball back in third year. Of course, Ron was never interested in her. He really only ever noticed you, Hermione." At these last words, Hermione blushed and stared fixedly at her plate of eggs.
"Oh, well you know," the brunette said quietly. Ginny just smiled knowingly and continued with her crossword puzzle. At that moment, Draco Malfoy strode into Great Hall, looking particularly smug about something.
When Hermione saw him she spat, "Malfoy." As he sat down at the Slytherin table, his and Hermione's eyes locked for a fraction of a second. His held a look of satisfaction ("Perhaps he thinks he's won," Hermione thought) and hers simply held a look of the utmost hatred. Ginny, being the very perceptive person she is, sensed an oncoming storm and said, "Hermione, do you think you can help me with my Transfiguration homework? It's upstairs in the common room."
"Sure, Ginny," the sixth-year replied in a slightly strained voice. "I'd love to." And with that, both girls got up from the table and walked out of the Great Hall.
3.3.3.3
Over the next two weeks, Hermione avoided Malfoy at all costs. To keep herself busy, she immersed herself in her schoolwork—that is, even more than she usually does. She also paid special attention to Betty's behavior; keeping precise and doing quite well without the help of Malfoy. Although, not that he would be much help even if he was participating.
Hermione awoke early one morning on the second Saturday in October and was faced with bitter winds and the promise of a great Quidditch match later. It was the first one of the season with Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw. Harry was the new team captain, and had been busy filling the spots of the two Beaters and two Chasers. The team had been practicing daily, under strict privacy, in order to train the new players. However, nobody knew who they were yet, due to Harry wanting to keep his "secret weapon" under wraps until the big game. This meant that even Hermione, with her three best friends on the team, didn't even know who the new inductees were. The only information that the prefect did manage to procure was that Dean Thomas would now be commentating the matches.
"Ok, well I suppose I should get up and check on Betty. Then I'll go down to breakfast early to avoid him and then come back here for a bit of studying before the match. Yes, that's what I'll do," Hermione thought as she dragged herself out of her four-poster. She then looked under her bed to find Betty peacefully sleeping, so Hermione left out a bowl of food for her for when she woke up. Then she got dressed in her scarlet and gold for the match, and headed down to breakfast.
However, upon reaching the Great Hall, Hermione was surprised to see a certain Slytherin sitting by himself at the table. On account of this, she just ran in, grabbed a few pieces of toast and a cup of coffee, and ran right back out again. The prefect found solace back in her common room with her books, and stayed that way contently until people started filing in to head down to the match. Hermione caught up with Ron, Harry and Ginny before they went down to the pitch, giving them each a hug and a "Good luck" to go with it. A few minutes later, she herself joined the throng of students who were heading down for the sure-to-be exciting match.
3.3.3.3
"LOOK! The Quidditch tent is on FIRE!" Dean Thomas yelled into the megaphone. Everyone whipped their heads towards the tent, and upon seeing it fully intact, looked utterly bewildered. "No, only joking. Just seeing who was paying attention this fine morning! Look alive, all!" the Gryffindor said a little too jovially, causing some glares from the less awake students to greet him and Professor McGonagall to give him a warning look. "Anywho, on with the game! And coming out now is the Ravenclaw team with Captain and Seeker Chang; Chasers Edgecomb, Patil and African exchange student Nekenna; Beaters Goldstein and Corner; and finally Keeper Boot!" as he said their names, each player did a lap around the pitch and then landed neatly by Madam Hooch.
"And here we have the contenders of the Gryffindor team! Captain and Seeker Potter; Chasers Weasley, Brown and Creevy; Beaters Finnigan and Mitchell; and Keeper Weasley!"
Harry landed on the pitch along with the rest of his team after their names had been called. He glanced over to Cho, who gave him a polite smile and a small nod. He really didn't want to think about her at the moment so he returned the smile, but looked away. "We are going to beat them, I know it," Harry thought to himself. At that moment, Madam Hooch started talking.
"Ok, now I want a clean game, do you hear me?" All of the players nodded their assent, so the gray haired woman continued, "Alright then. Captains, shake hands. Ok, on my whistle. One, two," On three, Madam Hooch blew her whistle and threw the Quaffle into the air.
"And, they're off!" Dean shouted. "Quaffle is caught by Gryffindor Chaser Weasley, who passes it to Brown who—misses it! Quaffle is intercepted by Ravenclaw Chaser Edgecomb; she flips it back to Patil. Patil heads off to the goal posts, narrowly missing a Bludger pelted from Gryffindor Beater Mitchell. Patil shoots and—oh, nice fake out there by the Chaser. Patil actually passes to Nekenna who shoots and...scores, 10 points to Ravenclaw." Dean said these last words without his usual enthusiasm.
"Anywho, back to the game! Quaffle goes to Weasley, who passes it to Creevy and—what's this?! Seekers Potter and Chang are neck and neck and hurtling towards the ground! It seems they have spotted the Snitch!" And indeed, Harry and Cho could be seen flying precariously close to the ground. "Yes! And at the last minute Potter pulls out of the dive and Cho crashes to the ground. Looks like Harry was leading her on, much like she did to him last year,"
"Thomas! Please leave personal business out of this commentary!" Professor McGonagall scolded.
"Sorry, Professor, it won't happen again. Anyway, Ravenclaw calls a time-out, but Chang seems to be alright so the game resumes! So Creevy currently has the Quaffle, he passes to Weasley, who passes to Brown, who passes back to Creevy. Nice bit of flying there by those three; Potter must have worked them hard on that formation. You know, I once went to the Quidditch World Cup, and Romania had a similar game plan. Perhaps Potter could have taken the…"
"Thomas! The game, would you please?" an already tired Professor McGonagall cut in.
"Right you are, Professor!" Dean continued, "Ok, so Creevy in possession of the Quaffle, he lines up the shot, he shoots and he…scores! Gryffindor and Ravenclaw are now tied with 10 points apiece! Quaffle now goes to Patil, who passes to—no! The Quaffle is intercepted by Weasley, who passes to Creevy, who passes to Brown, back to Weasley, Brown, Creevy, Weasley, Brown who takes it and scores! Yet another 10 points to Gryffindor, putting them ahead!" The scarlet and gold section of the stadium erupted in noise, while the Ravenclaw end booed.
Meanwhile, Harry was flying above everyone else and searching for the Snitch. He was currently at the Ravenclaw end of the pitch, and then he saw it: floating about Ron's knee. Harry took off to the other end, with Dean shouting, "And Harry Potter has spotted the Snitch! He takes off towards his own Keeper, Ron Weasley. Chang is trying to catch up, but is miles behind. Potter reaches for the Snitch and…OUCH!"
Harry had just outstretched his hand to close around the golden Snitch, when a Bludger came out of nowhere and hit him in the stomach. Harry, who had gotten the wind knocked out of him, doubled over and lost sight of the Snitch. All of the Gryffindors screamed, "FOUL!"
Dean Thomas' voice cut in saying, "And Potter takes a Bludger, hit by Goldstein, to the stomach. You know, someone once told me that getting a Bludger in the stomach is similar to getting a swift kick in the n…"
"THOMAS!" Professor McGonagall yelled. "Must I take over the commentary? I will not warn you again!"
"Sorry, Professor. I was only joking. Anyway, so Potter takes a Bludger to the stomach, and Madam Hooch calls a foul. Weasley comes in for the penalty shot, and gets it through the left hoop nicely. Gryffindors up 30-10, with Nekenna in possession of the Quaffle," Dean continued.
"OWWAY," Harry thought to himself as he regained his breath. "That hurt just a bit. Now where did that Snitch go, eh?" The game went out without major incident for the next twenty minutes, with both Ravenclaw and Gryffindor scoring again. Then Harry saw something out of the corner of his eye: it was Cho diving for the Snitch. "Crap," Harry thought as he dove after her.
"Potter and Chang are yet again diving for the Snitch! Potter is behind, but easily makes up the distance on his trusty Firebolt. Chang attempts to shove Potter out of the way, but as he is heavier than her, she is the one who gets knocked off course! Harry reaches out for the Snitch and…YES! He has it! And Gryffindor wins the game with 190 points to 20!" Dean yelled with enthusiasm as the Gryffindors all streamed onto the field.
And as Harry stood there with the Snitch clutched in his hand, all he thought to himself was, "Woohoo!"
3.3.3.3
The party in the Gryffindor common room that night was, as Fred would have put it, "positively corking." Harry had snuck into Hogsmeade to get a few cases of Butterbeer, while Ron stowed away to the kitchens. He came back with piles of food accompanied by Dobby, who was more than happy to help "Mr. Wheezy." All in all, it was a thoroughly enjoyable time. Even Hermione got into the spirit—bravely trying some of Fred and George's new inventions. The effects left the prefect with an abundance of yellow feathers due to the Canary Creams, and bright pink hair, courtesy of Delectable Dyes. At some point, Ron called from across the room.
"Oi!" he said from his location in the corner. "We're outta food!"
Hermione, being the great girlfriend she is, said, "I'll go get some, Ron. I've been meaning to visit the house-elves anyway."
"All Right," replied the redhead. "But don't try to convince them to be free. I happen to like getting food whenever I want."
"Yeah, yeah," Hermione muttered as she made her way out of the portrait hole. "Guys, all they think about is food!"
3.3.3.3
Hermione was just making her way back from the kitchens—the house-elves being considerably friendlier to her—when she ran into the exact person she had been avoiding for the last few weeks. "Ugh, crap on toast!"
Draco Malfoy took one look at the exasperated teenager, and honestly tried hard not to laugh out loud. After all, Malfoys don't show outward emotion. "Hmm. Do I ignore this, or comment?" Draco thought to himself. "Ignore, comment, ignore, comment."
Meanwhile, Hermione stood by wondering why Malfoy looked like he was watching a tennis match, with his head tilting slightly from side to side. "Righty then, I wonder if I can just move away slowly…"
"Malfoy!" he thought. "You came to find her for a reason, remember? Ignore." And so that's what he did. Just as Hermione was moving away, Malfoy spoke up.
"Right, Granger. I'm not going to ask about…this," he said, gesturing towards Hermione's pink hair and yellow feathers. (The girl mentally slapped herself for not removing the spell before going out in public.) "Look, I know you've been avoiding me. Don't try to deny it," Malfoy added as Hermione opened her mouth to protest. "And I know you don't want me to be any part of this little project of ours, but this is my grade too. So either you let me take Betty, or we work together."
Hermione was torn. Both prospects seemed bleak and unappealing to her. Draco must've sensed this internal struggle because he added, "Granger, this isn't my cup of tea either, but if I want to be Head Boy next year, I need this grade."
The prefect couldn't deny the importance of grades, even if she hated this boy. "Damn you, Draco Malfoy!" She thought to herself. "And your duck too!" This last part, however, she said out loud.
Draco stiffened when he heard this. "My rubber ducky!" his head screamed at him. "She KNOWS!"
Hermione, on the other hand, just looked embarrassed so she quickly said, "Fine, Malfoy, but no more messing around. We're just going to get this thing over with. I'll meet you in the Charms classroom tomorrow tonight at seven. Do try not to be late." With this promise, the girl then turned on her heel and tried her hardest not to run back to Gryffindor Tower.
"Perfect," Draco said to himself as he made his way back to his own respective common room. "An arrogant sheep, am I? We'll see about that. Yes, revenge shall be sweet."
