I didn't speak to Malfoy again until Wednesday. The day of the quidditch match.
I had just finished wishing Harry and Ron good luck, and was walking out to the stands, when I literally ran into him.
"Jesus, Granger, trying to injure me or something?"
"Sorry" I mumbled.
"So you bloody should be."
I cringed. So that was it? We were just going to go back to the way we were before? My jaw set. I wasn't going to let that happen.
"Oh, and Malfoy?"
"What?"
I looked up, and met his eye. He was frowning.
"Good luck."
He blinked at me.
"Pardon?" He asked, obviously ruffled.
I forced a little smile.
"Just wishing you good luck, for today."
"What?" He said, again, and I rolled my eyes.
"I spent alot of precious time trying to save that butt of yours, I'd appreciate if you didn't just go out there and-"
He cut me off, to my great surprise, by kissing me. It was a rough kiss, and we broke apart almost instantly. I mustn't have been thinking straight, because as soon as we broke apart I blurted out;
"Why ... why did you call me mudblood?"
Malfoy ran a hand through his hair, and it occurred to me how much I liked it when he did that.
"Because, Granger, that's what you're supposed to be. You're not supposed to be anything else."
I stared at him, non-comprehending, and he shook his head.
"Look, I said forget it. It doesn't matter."
"Yes, it does" I said, flatly.
All he did was shake his head again, and walk away.
---
The match was an eventful one.
Within the first fifteen minutes, three players were in the hospital wing, and it had started to rain again.
An hour into the game, I was just cheering Ron as he made a brilliant save when Professor McGonagall came over to speak with me.
"Miss Granger?" She called, above the cheers, and the thunder.
"Yes, Professor?"
"There is something you need to know."
She grabbed my arm, and pulled me out from the stands. When we had retreated a fair distance from the crowds, she spoke again.
"Early this morning, the Ministry of Magic managed to capture a Mr Wilder."
My eyes must have been bugging out, but I didn't care. They'd caught him!!
"He was attempting entry into the Malfoy's manor when he was apprehended."
I opened my mouth once or twice, unable to think of what to say.
"I ... that's ... that's fantastic!" I cried. "Does Malfoy-"
"Yes. Mr Malfoy was informed this morning. We decided that-"
She was cut off by the sound of the crowd going wild. I looked over, and saw that Harry and Malfoy were streaking towards the same spot, just to the left of the Hufflepuff stands.
"Oh, my ..." McGonagall breathed.
We stared, transfixed, as the two raced against each other.
Past the Hufflepuff stands, around the back, up for a moment, and then down again a split second later.
Despite the fact that I was loyal to Gryffindor, I still found myself secretly hoping that Malfoy would catch the golden snitch, for once.
"Excuse me, Miss Granger" Professor McGonagall pushed past me, and began to stride back towards the stands. I hurried after her, aware of the bottom of my robes getting coated with mud as I went.
When I got back up to the top of the Gryffindor stands, I eagerly listened out for who was in the lead.
"Gryffindor leading by a whopping one hundred and sixty points! Even if Malfoy manages to catch the golden snitch, it won't be enough to bring Slytherin to victory!"
My jaw hung open. One hundred and sixty points? I knew that Ron had definitely improved his keeping abilities over this past year, and that Gryffindor had been leading the entire game, but that was insane.
"One hundred and sixty points?!" I cried, making Lavender, who was in front of me, turn around.
"You better beleive it! Ron's the best keeper Hogwarts has ever had!"
Pavarti, who was sitting next to Lavender, rolled her eyes.
"That and the Slytherin keeper got knocked out by a bludger. Nobody's guarding their hoops!"
"Well" Lavender's cheeks turned a little pink. "That, too."
As I watched, it became clear that the Slytherin team had been in no way prepared to lose their keeper. As hard as they tried, the quaffle still sailed in again and again.
Our attention was once again drawn to the race for the golden snitch, as Harry and Malfoy raced together towards the Gryffindor stands. Straight towards us.
It was then that I saw it. The snitch. It was hovering just a few inches away from Lavender's arm, although she appeared not to have noticed.
I tapped her on the shoulder.
"Uh, Lavender-"
In a blurr of red and green, Harry and Malfoy were right in front of me, trying to manouver around the screaming spectators.
I saw a hand close around the golden snitch, but it moved again before I could distinguish whos it was.
I had just finished wishing Harry and Ron good luck, and was walking out to the stands, when I literally ran into him.
"Jesus, Granger, trying to injure me or something?"
"Sorry" I mumbled.
"So you bloody should be."
I cringed. So that was it? We were just going to go back to the way we were before? My jaw set. I wasn't going to let that happen.
"Oh, and Malfoy?"
"What?"
I looked up, and met his eye. He was frowning.
"Good luck."
He blinked at me.
"Pardon?" He asked, obviously ruffled.
I forced a little smile.
"Just wishing you good luck, for today."
"What?" He said, again, and I rolled my eyes.
"I spent alot of precious time trying to save that butt of yours, I'd appreciate if you didn't just go out there and-"
He cut me off, to my great surprise, by kissing me. It was a rough kiss, and we broke apart almost instantly. I mustn't have been thinking straight, because as soon as we broke apart I blurted out;
"Why ... why did you call me mudblood?"
Malfoy ran a hand through his hair, and it occurred to me how much I liked it when he did that.
"Because, Granger, that's what you're supposed to be. You're not supposed to be anything else."
I stared at him, non-comprehending, and he shook his head.
"Look, I said forget it. It doesn't matter."
"Yes, it does" I said, flatly.
All he did was shake his head again, and walk away.
---
The match was an eventful one.
Within the first fifteen minutes, three players were in the hospital wing, and it had started to rain again.
An hour into the game, I was just cheering Ron as he made a brilliant save when Professor McGonagall came over to speak with me.
"Miss Granger?" She called, above the cheers, and the thunder.
"Yes, Professor?"
"There is something you need to know."
She grabbed my arm, and pulled me out from the stands. When we had retreated a fair distance from the crowds, she spoke again.
"Early this morning, the Ministry of Magic managed to capture a Mr Wilder."
My eyes must have been bugging out, but I didn't care. They'd caught him!!
"He was attempting entry into the Malfoy's manor when he was apprehended."
I opened my mouth once or twice, unable to think of what to say.
"I ... that's ... that's fantastic!" I cried. "Does Malfoy-"
"Yes. Mr Malfoy was informed this morning. We decided that-"
She was cut off by the sound of the crowd going wild. I looked over, and saw that Harry and Malfoy were streaking towards the same spot, just to the left of the Hufflepuff stands.
"Oh, my ..." McGonagall breathed.
We stared, transfixed, as the two raced against each other.
Past the Hufflepuff stands, around the back, up for a moment, and then down again a split second later.
Despite the fact that I was loyal to Gryffindor, I still found myself secretly hoping that Malfoy would catch the golden snitch, for once.
"Excuse me, Miss Granger" Professor McGonagall pushed past me, and began to stride back towards the stands. I hurried after her, aware of the bottom of my robes getting coated with mud as I went.
When I got back up to the top of the Gryffindor stands, I eagerly listened out for who was in the lead.
"Gryffindor leading by a whopping one hundred and sixty points! Even if Malfoy manages to catch the golden snitch, it won't be enough to bring Slytherin to victory!"
My jaw hung open. One hundred and sixty points? I knew that Ron had definitely improved his keeping abilities over this past year, and that Gryffindor had been leading the entire game, but that was insane.
"One hundred and sixty points?!" I cried, making Lavender, who was in front of me, turn around.
"You better beleive it! Ron's the best keeper Hogwarts has ever had!"
Pavarti, who was sitting next to Lavender, rolled her eyes.
"That and the Slytherin keeper got knocked out by a bludger. Nobody's guarding their hoops!"
"Well" Lavender's cheeks turned a little pink. "That, too."
As I watched, it became clear that the Slytherin team had been in no way prepared to lose their keeper. As hard as they tried, the quaffle still sailed in again and again.
Our attention was once again drawn to the race for the golden snitch, as Harry and Malfoy raced together towards the Gryffindor stands. Straight towards us.
It was then that I saw it. The snitch. It was hovering just a few inches away from Lavender's arm, although she appeared not to have noticed.
I tapped her on the shoulder.
"Uh, Lavender-"
In a blurr of red and green, Harry and Malfoy were right in front of me, trying to manouver around the screaming spectators.
I saw a hand close around the golden snitch, but it moved again before I could distinguish whos it was.