As the pair flew away, Malfoy lifted his fist and started shaking it around.
From between his fingers, two little golden wings could be seen.
"DRACO MALFOY HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH, EARNING SLYTHERIN ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY POINTS!"
The rain was getting heavier, and the thunder drowned out the sound of the Gryffindor's cheering.
Even though I was cheering along with the others, I still felt a little bad for Malfoy. He had, for the first time, beaten Harry to the snitch and yet nobody was cheering for him. His teammates didn't even pat him on the back for a job well done.
As soon as we all started filing back down to head back to the castle, I broke away and ran over to where Malfoy was, heading towards the changerooms.
"Malfoy!" I called, above the sound of the rain.
"Come to rub it in, have you?" He glared at me.
"No" I said, slowly. "Actually, I came to congratulate you. But if you're just going to-"
My statement was interrupted by a huge clap of thunder. I jumped, taken by surprise, and managed to slip over and fall into the mud.
"Oh! Oh ... darn it." I tried to stand up, but the mud was slippery.
I looked up, and saw that for the first time in days, Malfoy was laughing. I glared at him and, on impulse, grabbed his hand and yanked him down as well.
"And what are YOU laughing at?" I said, grinning.
"I was muddy already, Granger, it doesn't really matter what-" he stopped talking when he noticed I was laughing at him. He rolled his eyes, leaned over and kissed me.
We were sitting in a puddle, it was absolutely pouring with rain, and we were covered in mud, but I didn't care. I kissed him back, and felt him draw me closer with one arm. When we finally broke apart to breathe, I smiled at him.
"I heard about Wilder. I can't beleive they finally caught him!"
Malfoy tilted his head up, letting the rain run all over his face. Then he looked back down at me, and smiled.
"Took them long enough" he said, with a smirk. But I could tell that he was just as relieved as I was.
He leaned down to kiss me again ...
"Oh, lookie what we have here."
We broke apart, and I recognized Blaise from my dream.
"Isn't that just sweet?" He said, in a mocking voice. His tone changed. "For God's sake, Malfoy, that's so-"
"Oh, would you just shut up?" Malfoy interrupted, angrily. "I don't care, you hear? I don't give a crap about what-"
"I think ... I think I'd better go" I said, quietly.
Before anybody could argue, I stood up clumsily and started walking away. I was sick of people fighting because of me.
I hadn't made it far before Malfoy grabbed my shoulder and swung me around. He glared at me.
"First you tell me you don't want to forget it and then you-"
"Look, I don't want you to have to go against all of your friends, all because of me. It's not because I want to forget it or anything, it's just that-"
"I don't care, Granger, I really don't. They'll get over it, they follow whatever I do, eventually."
"So you ... you really don't mind?"
He reached out and pulled me towards him. He wrapped his dripping wet arms around my soaked body.
"I think I can deal."
I lifted my head from his shoulder and kissed him.
---
When I returned to Gryffindor tower, completely soaked through, there was a party taking place. Ron seemed to be the centre of attention, and it took me a while to locate Harry. He was sitting alone in one of the armchairs in the corner, sipping dejectedly on a butterbeer.
As much as I wanted to go upstairs and get changed, I decided to go and talk to him.
"Harry?"
He looked up, but didn't smile.
"Hey, Hermione."
"You okay?" I asked. Stupid question, because he obviously wasn't, but I couldn't think of anything to say.
"I'm fine" he said, coldly.
I sank down into one of the chairs beside him, very aware of the water that was now seeping into the material.
"No, you're not" I said, quietly. "Look, nobody blames you for not catching the snitch, Harry. And we won, anyway, so it's not like-"
"Well I blame me! It was right there, I SAW it. We could have made the biggest victory in Hogwarts history if I'd caught it."
"You tried your best, nobody can expect more than that. And, well, Slytherin lost anyway. So it's not like Malfoy's going to get much credit even though he did catch it."
This seemed to brighten Harry up a little and, after a while, I managed to convince him to join the rest of the party.
---
Early the next morning, we were all forced to go to bed by Professor McGonagall.
I still wasn't in the least bit tired, and must have layed in bed, staring at my celing for hours before I finally drifted off.
When I opened my eyes in that familiar corridor once again, I was extremely surprised. Wilder had been caught, what else was there for me to dream about?
I pressed my eye carefully to the crack, and saw Malfoy's mother sitting in the middle of a room. It was the same room that had been in my first dream.
To my surprise, she was staring straight at me.
"Hermione Granger. Come in" she said, in a friendly voice.
I stared at her. How did she know that I was-
"Don't worry, you can open the door. It's okay."
Slowly, I pushed on the door. It opened, allowing me to step into the room.
"How did you-"
"I suppose you've been wondering why you've been having those dreams. About my son."
I nodded, slowly, unable to think of anything to say. How much did she know?
"Please forgive me, Miss Granger. I didn't know what to do. I knew that Lucius wasn't going to be able to hold back the ... the others. But I also knew that Draco didn't want to do the task that was set for him."
She sighed, and looked at me apologetically. I was surprised to see that tears were forming in her eyes.
"I ... I had heard that you are the smartest in your grade. The smartest person Draco knows. I knew you weren't exactly ... friends. But I was hoping that you would be able to help him" her voice broke, but she continued. "I am very practiced in Occlumency, you see. I projected images from Draco's and my past, hoping that you would catch on and be able to ... to help him."
My eyes were bugging out. All this time, Narcissa Malfoy had been the one giving me the visions? She continued doggedly, before I could make sense of all the questions forming in my mind.
"I gave you painful images from Draco's past I ... I wanted you to feel sorry for him. To help him. And you did, Miss Granger. You saved my son's life."
I realised in a rush that my eyes were filling up with tears, too.
"No" I said, softly. "If you hadn't given me those ... images, I wouldn't have been able to help him."
Before either of us knew it, Narcissa stood up, walked over, and embraced me.
From between his fingers, two little golden wings could be seen.
"DRACO MALFOY HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH, EARNING SLYTHERIN ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY POINTS!"
The rain was getting heavier, and the thunder drowned out the sound of the Gryffindor's cheering.
Even though I was cheering along with the others, I still felt a little bad for Malfoy. He had, for the first time, beaten Harry to the snitch and yet nobody was cheering for him. His teammates didn't even pat him on the back for a job well done.
As soon as we all started filing back down to head back to the castle, I broke away and ran over to where Malfoy was, heading towards the changerooms.
"Malfoy!" I called, above the sound of the rain.
"Come to rub it in, have you?" He glared at me.
"No" I said, slowly. "Actually, I came to congratulate you. But if you're just going to-"
My statement was interrupted by a huge clap of thunder. I jumped, taken by surprise, and managed to slip over and fall into the mud.
"Oh! Oh ... darn it." I tried to stand up, but the mud was slippery.
I looked up, and saw that for the first time in days, Malfoy was laughing. I glared at him and, on impulse, grabbed his hand and yanked him down as well.
"And what are YOU laughing at?" I said, grinning.
"I was muddy already, Granger, it doesn't really matter what-" he stopped talking when he noticed I was laughing at him. He rolled his eyes, leaned over and kissed me.
We were sitting in a puddle, it was absolutely pouring with rain, and we were covered in mud, but I didn't care. I kissed him back, and felt him draw me closer with one arm. When we finally broke apart to breathe, I smiled at him.
"I heard about Wilder. I can't beleive they finally caught him!"
Malfoy tilted his head up, letting the rain run all over his face. Then he looked back down at me, and smiled.
"Took them long enough" he said, with a smirk. But I could tell that he was just as relieved as I was.
He leaned down to kiss me again ...
"Oh, lookie what we have here."
We broke apart, and I recognized Blaise from my dream.
"Isn't that just sweet?" He said, in a mocking voice. His tone changed. "For God's sake, Malfoy, that's so-"
"Oh, would you just shut up?" Malfoy interrupted, angrily. "I don't care, you hear? I don't give a crap about what-"
"I think ... I think I'd better go" I said, quietly.
Before anybody could argue, I stood up clumsily and started walking away. I was sick of people fighting because of me.
I hadn't made it far before Malfoy grabbed my shoulder and swung me around. He glared at me.
"First you tell me you don't want to forget it and then you-"
"Look, I don't want you to have to go against all of your friends, all because of me. It's not because I want to forget it or anything, it's just that-"
"I don't care, Granger, I really don't. They'll get over it, they follow whatever I do, eventually."
"So you ... you really don't mind?"
He reached out and pulled me towards him. He wrapped his dripping wet arms around my soaked body.
"I think I can deal."
I lifted my head from his shoulder and kissed him.
---
When I returned to Gryffindor tower, completely soaked through, there was a party taking place. Ron seemed to be the centre of attention, and it took me a while to locate Harry. He was sitting alone in one of the armchairs in the corner, sipping dejectedly on a butterbeer.
As much as I wanted to go upstairs and get changed, I decided to go and talk to him.
"Harry?"
He looked up, but didn't smile.
"Hey, Hermione."
"You okay?" I asked. Stupid question, because he obviously wasn't, but I couldn't think of anything to say.
"I'm fine" he said, coldly.
I sank down into one of the chairs beside him, very aware of the water that was now seeping into the material.
"No, you're not" I said, quietly. "Look, nobody blames you for not catching the snitch, Harry. And we won, anyway, so it's not like-"
"Well I blame me! It was right there, I SAW it. We could have made the biggest victory in Hogwarts history if I'd caught it."
"You tried your best, nobody can expect more than that. And, well, Slytherin lost anyway. So it's not like Malfoy's going to get much credit even though he did catch it."
This seemed to brighten Harry up a little and, after a while, I managed to convince him to join the rest of the party.
---
Early the next morning, we were all forced to go to bed by Professor McGonagall.
I still wasn't in the least bit tired, and must have layed in bed, staring at my celing for hours before I finally drifted off.
When I opened my eyes in that familiar corridor once again, I was extremely surprised. Wilder had been caught, what else was there for me to dream about?
I pressed my eye carefully to the crack, and saw Malfoy's mother sitting in the middle of a room. It was the same room that had been in my first dream.
To my surprise, she was staring straight at me.
"Hermione Granger. Come in" she said, in a friendly voice.
I stared at her. How did she know that I was-
"Don't worry, you can open the door. It's okay."
Slowly, I pushed on the door. It opened, allowing me to step into the room.
"How did you-"
"I suppose you've been wondering why you've been having those dreams. About my son."
I nodded, slowly, unable to think of anything to say. How much did she know?
"Please forgive me, Miss Granger. I didn't know what to do. I knew that Lucius wasn't going to be able to hold back the ... the others. But I also knew that Draco didn't want to do the task that was set for him."
She sighed, and looked at me apologetically. I was surprised to see that tears were forming in her eyes.
"I ... I had heard that you are the smartest in your grade. The smartest person Draco knows. I knew you weren't exactly ... friends. But I was hoping that you would be able to help him" her voice broke, but she continued. "I am very practiced in Occlumency, you see. I projected images from Draco's and my past, hoping that you would catch on and be able to ... to help him."
My eyes were bugging out. All this time, Narcissa Malfoy had been the one giving me the visions? She continued doggedly, before I could make sense of all the questions forming in my mind.
"I gave you painful images from Draco's past I ... I wanted you to feel sorry for him. To help him. And you did, Miss Granger. You saved my son's life."
I realised in a rush that my eyes were filling up with tears, too.
"No" I said, softly. "If you hadn't given me those ... images, I wouldn't have been able to help him."
Before either of us knew it, Narcissa stood up, walked over, and embraced me.