Disclaimer: I own nothing!
Author's Note: Once again, I do not speak French. I am using a dictionary/translator on my computer, so I'm aware it won't be perfect. If you do speak French, I would like to apologize now for any slaughtering of the language I may have inadvertently caused. Otherwise, what do you care, right?
French translations: ((example))
My lovely reviewers for the last chapter (mostly in reverse of the order in which they were received): To tkmoore, I bow to you, oh Queen of Reviewers! To Alex Vossen, thanks! I'm glad you like it! To Kat Davi, (snickers) Cheese sword! That's hilarious! To Goddess Of the Fallen, lol! I'm thrilled that you're satisfied! To DracoGinevraBlaise!, thanks! To Danni is Divine, James is Mine, thank you so much for the great review! I thrive on them! To me, thanks! To Lillian-is-fickle, thank you, you're awesome! To kittie06, never meant to drive you crazy! lol. To Psi, thanks, as usual! To Iced Faerie, hehehe! I hope so! To xxbabysparklesxx, cool. I'm all about freaking people out, lol. To Erin, thanks! To resentment, so can I add bringing back the dead to my list of oh-so-numerous talents? Lol. To babykelyse, hope this was soon enough! To musiclover86, no, thank you. To a-sam, hell, anyone would have flipped if they had half a brain! Lol. To AmYzA, cool. I'm glad you liked the other one too! To power of the stars, isn't it great? Twists Drama = One happy me! To Jan, I'm a pagan myself, so…Both. And no, in the true myths, Cocidius (to my knowledge) never fell. It was just part of my plot, not history. Thank you for reviewing! As usual, you're one of the best! To angelfire33, we can certainly hope for peace. If they'll actually get any though is something you'll have to wait and find out about! Okay, now to the story…
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Hermione desperately dug through her trunk, cursing as she made more of a mess than she ever had in her life. Half of its contents were already strewn around her room, draped over her bed, the lamp and the floor. Where were her damn gloves? She was going to be late, and she really didn't need that at the moment. The Quidditch game was starting soon, all of her Housemates were already gone, and she was supposed to be meeting Ginny by the gardens. After four days of avoiding her and three days of apologies, she had finally convinced Ginny to talk to her. She felt absolutely wretched, and she couldn't believe that she'd let herself gawk like that last Saturday.
The girl had just been forced to kill her brother, and instead of offering her comfort, Hermione had devoured her boyfriend with her eyes. Very classy, Hermione, she chastened herself once again. It had taken forever to work up her courage and approach Ginny afterwards, and when she had, the girl had sneered and walked away, Pansy, Melody and another Slytherin girl, Daphne, at her side. And then day before yesterday, she'd gotten her chance and cornered her after Charms, as it was the only time she'd seen her without at least two Slytherins shadowing her. She'd watched Ginny shoo them away since she'd stayed after to ask Flitwick a few questions, so Hermione had waited outside for her.
"Ginny?" She'd called when the red-haired girl had stepped out into the hallway. She'd turned slowly, contained grace in her every movement.
"What do you want, Hermione?"
"To apologize. Again." Seeing the look on Ginny's face, she had hurried on. "I really am sorry, Ginny. I couldn't help it. I promise, though, that I didn't mean anything by it. I'm not stupid." She'd said, keeping her voice as low and calm as she could. That look had flashed in Ginny's eyes again, before it had faded and been replaced by an odd, calculating expression.
"Aren't you?" Ginny had asked so softly that Hermione had barely heard her. Then louder, "Perhaps I've been a bit…harsh."
"What?" Hermione had asked, not believing her ears.
"Look, how about you meet me before the Quidditch match on Sunday?" Ginny had questioned, though Hermione had known that to say no was to lose her only chance.
"Sure, but couldn't we talk now?" She'd asked, and had breathed a sigh of relief when the other girl had laughed.
"Are you kidding?" Ginny had exclaimed, her eyes sparkling. "If I don't show up for Herbology, one of the Slytherins will run for Draco or Blaise. Or both." She had paused then, looking thoughtful. "Oh, wait. I forgot." She'd said, pulling a small, orange orb from her pocket. It was perfectly smooth, and it had reminded Hermione of the crystal balls used in Divination, because it had looked full of swirling mist.
"What's that?" She'd asked, her curiosity once more getting the better of her. And Ginny hadn't snapped at her as expected, but she hadn't really answered her, either.
"A present. It'll let them know I'm fine. You sure you really want to skip a class?" Ginny'd asked, the barest hint of animosity creeping into her husky voice.
"Yes." Hermione had replied, and watched silently as Ginny had tapped the orange sphere with her finger. It had flashed, and then flickered twice more, before returning to its previous state. Ginny had led her towards the dungeons, but hadn't taken her to the Slytherin common room as she had expected, instead going to an abandoned classroom.
"Why'd we come here?" She'd asked, looking around at the cobweb-covered walls and dusty cauldrons. Ginny's eyes had darkened, and Hermione had wished fervently that she'd just shut her mouth.
"I don't think taking you into Slytherin would be…wise." Ginny had finally responded. "If Blaise catches your scent in the common room before I get a chance to talk to him…Look, it's going to be bad enough when they smell you on me."
"But I haven't touched you!" Hermione had argued, her cheeks flushing. Ginny had only smirked, leaning up against one of the less dusty counters.
"So?" The other girl had questioned. "You think that makes any difference? They'll smell you. Trust me." Slightly taken aback, Hermione hadn't said anything for a minute.
"Look," she'd started slowly, breaking the silence, "I was completely out of line and-"
"Forget it, Hermione." Ginny had cut her off. "That night was…difficult, in more ways than one. Just don't do it again." She'd finished, her eyes narrowing.
"W-Wait." Hermione had stuttered. "You're just going to forgive me?"
"Sort of."
"But…But you wouldn't talk to me all week! I thought you hated me!" Hermione had burst out, a tear leaking down her cheek.
She truly was sorry; she and Ginny had been really good friends before this whole mess had started, and they had been almost as close as Ginny and Lauren had been. But those two had also grown apart, which made the whole world seem a little strange. It appeared that Lauren, who had been so adamant on keeping their friendship going after Ginny had gotten with Blaise and Draco, couldn't really deal with the whole 'Chosen' thing. It freaked her out more than she would admit, and she had begun acting strangely around Ginny. And Ginny, who was usually so perceptive, couldn't see what the real problem was.
But Hermione knew that Slytherins could, as their expressions had taken on an acidic quality around Lauren that they hadn't previously had, and they seemed to be trying to slowly draw Ginny away from the other girl, as if they wished to spare her the pain of the rejection that was bound to come eventually. The last article about Draco, Blaise and Ginny in the Daily Prophet hadn't helped things, either. The day after the massacre in the two Slytherins' Alexandria office, the three of them had been featured on the front page of every paper, and it was like an echo of almost two years before, except that there were three gore-covered figures instead of two. The full story had yet to be released, but some pictures had leaked, and experts were trying to decide if they were fake or not, while the Ministry had yet to comment.
"I don't…hate you." Ginny had replied. "No one would have taken that shit very kindly, Hermione. And I meant what I said. I don't mind hanging out with you again, but you make one-"
"I know." Hermione had supplied. "I won't. I promise."
Her words from that day echoed in her head as she finally found her gloves, and she pulled them on, grabbing her winter cloak on the way out. It had been snowing all day, and she wasn't looking forward to the trek across the grounds that they would soon be making. But if it meant she had her friend back, then so be it. She just wished that there was a way she could apologize to Draco and Blaise, too, but she knew that that was utterly suicidal in every way imaginable. Crawling through the portrait hole, she tried to dislodge her thoughts from that course and failed miserably, as usual. She had other problems besides her 'hormonal issues', as she had decided to call it.
Like if she blew this, what the hell were they going to do? Muttering under her breath as she sped down the stairs, she tried to think of ulterior options. They had to get more knowledge from somewhere, and their choices were limited. They didn't have the outside connections that the Slytherins seemed to possess, and the arrogant bastards were their only real chance at this point. Her muttering turned into curses as she slammed into someone's back. Again. She really was going to have to start watching where she was going more often. Her cheeks burning, she looked up, and then proceeded to wish for a swift death. This is sooo just my luck, she thought miserably.
"Sorry." She mumbled, not moving a single inch off the floor, trying to be as still and small as possible as inconceivably blue eyes glued her to the floor. She heard footsteps coming from behind her, and risked showing her back in order to see who it was, hoping against hope that Harry or Ron would walk around the corner.
It wasn't, of course, as they were already at the game, but it was nearly as good. Professor McGonagall froze when she saw them, her eyes narrowing to suspicious slits as she took in Hermione on the ground at Blaise Zabini's feet. Blaise, seeing what the woman was thinking, sneered viciously before mockingly offering Hermione a hand up, his eyes never leaving McGonagall. The Professor glanced at Hermione, arching an inquisitive eyebrow, and Hermione swallowed her fear, nodding that everything was all right. McGonagall threw a last, untrusting glance at Blaise, before spinning on a heel and leaving for the pitch. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief, as he probably wouldn't murder her with there being a witness, and then scooted backwards away from him as fast and far as possible.
"What's wrong, Granger?" Blaise questioned softly, a queer glint in his eyes. "Scared you'll catch something if you touch me?" Startled at the suggestion, she couldn't answer at first. Finally clearing her throat, she looked back up at him.
"No. She'll smell me on you or something, isn't that right?" She asked, trying her damnedest not to let her fear cloak her words as much as it was cloaking her thoughts. "Something about her changed when the three of you were Marked. I know that much. She sure as hell wasn't informing me that I smelt like dinner before that, at any rate."
"Don't worry, little mudblood. Should Virginia ever choose to feed, she has better blood than yours to feast upon." He said, his hooded eyes beginning to really, truly scare her. Wishing that she hadn't sent McGonagall away after all, she slid farther back, almost screaming as he disappeared and reappeared right next to her.
She knew that he hadn't Apparated, only moved much too fast for her eyes to follow. Panic began seeping in, as the realization hit her that he could have just as easily snapped her neck right then. Whimpering, she recoiled as he crouched next to her with the easy grace of a panther. Purple-streaked cerulean eyes bored into her through thick, silky locks of raven hair, and she couldn't seem to tear her own eyes away. She wasn't quite sure what had happened, wasn't quite sure just which moment had turned this from a hostile meeting on the stairway into a situation where she was more scared than she'd ever been in her life. And he hadn't even really done anything yet.
"Or is that the problem?" He asked bare moments later, but it had felt like an eternity to her and she had to fight to remember what he'd said last. When she did, her eyes widened and she felt the blood rushing to her face once again.
"W-What do you m-mean?" She asked, and he smirked cruelly.
"I mean I think you're a freak underneath your little Miss-Perfect charade. Poor little mudblooded Gryffindor, stuck with all the norms in your pathetic tower. I think you wear as many masks as we do, except you hide yours even from yourself. I think you dream of fangs in your flesh and blood on your tongue. And I think that you'd better not fuck my girlfriend over." Blaise drawled, his velvety voice underlain with darkness and just a hint of madness. She couldn't decide which sent more chills down her spine.
"I wouldn't do that." Hermione said, moving back the last few inches until her back hit the wall, and the small edge of the alcove twisted the light, covering Blaise in shifting shadows.
"Don't profess your idiotic Gryffindor loyalty to me, Granger. Do you really think I'll believe you just because you claim otherwise?"
"No. I don't suppose you would." She mumbled, knowing he would hear her.
"Don't hurt her. That's all. Oh, and keep your perverted fucking fantasies to yourself. You almost gave Draco a bloody heart attack the other night. He wouldn't talk for hours, and he freaked when he couldn't Obliviate the memory of your lustful little stare." He commented flippantly, his words reeking of truth, and it made her chest constrict painfully. Mortified and strangely aching inside, all she wished for at that point was for anyone, even Ginny, to come up the stairs and see them in the alcove. But the castle was empty; she knew that much. Remembering the match, she choked.
"Hey, what are you even doing here? You're supposed to be playing!" She exclaimed, her surprise lending her courage. He sneered.
"You're quite the fool sometimes, aren't you, mudblood?" He asked, standing and gesturing to himself with one elegant hand. He was wearing his Quidditch robes and pads, and she wondered how in the hell she hadn't noticed that before. She ripped her eyes away, cursing herself silently for still finding him so attractive, and got shakily to her feet.
"But the game's already started." She stated lamely, and he rolled his eyes.
"Yes, yes it has. We decided it would be best if we only played with two Chasers. You know, to liven things up a bit." He said sarcastically, looking at her as if she were some grotesque new form of pond scum. "Honestly. Hooch forgot the Quidditch balls in the Game Room."
"Then what are you doing all the way up here?" She asked unthinkingly, and he just stared at her. She looked around, uncomfortable, and noticed that they weren't very high up. In fact, they were only on the second floor. Stupid, stupid, stupid. "Nevermind. I have to go." She said, trying to bolt away before he could say anything. A hand yanked her backwards and she nearly fell, barely catching herself on the wall.
"I don't think so, little mudblood." Blaise crooned. "I don't lie to my loved ones, see. And she'll smell you on me as quick as she will the other way around. But I'm not the one who was about to be face to face with her. Are you completely stupid?"
"What do you care?" She questioned harshly, stepping away since he'd released her almost immediately, wiping his hand off on his robes. "You hate me, remember?"
"I don't hate you." He said, and she knew her jaw must have hit the floor. When Ginny had said that, she was surprised. But Blaise saying it was tantamount to a miracle.
"Excuse me?"
"I don't hate you." He repeated, beginning to walk down the last flight of steps and towards the doors that led outside. "I dislike you, but not with any real intensity, since you're so easily ignored. Now, come on. I do have a game to play, after all." He continued nonchalantly, and she wondered why it suddenly felt so hard to breathe. She should have known it would be something like that, she shouldn't have hoped for a second that…
"What's going on?" Ginny's voice broke her out of her thoughts, and she looked up from where she was trailing behind Blaise to meet Ginny's burning eyes.
"Your…friend ran into me on the stairs." Blaise replied, and her disturbing eyes flashed to him, cooling a bit. "I offered to escort her to where you were waiting." Ginny cocked an eyebrow in amusement, and Hermione relaxed fractionally.
"I seriously doubt that." Ginny said, fighting to keep a smile off her face as Blaise leaned in and kissed her on the corner of her mouth.
"You know me, ma âme." He replied, tucking a strand of fiery hair behind one of her delicate ears. "But I have to go. You'll be in the stands soon?"
"Of course." Ginny said. "And you did get what you came for, right?" She asked, and he smirked, patting a pocket.
"Oui. Reducing spells are quite convenient. Je t'aime." He said, laughing as he slid out of one of the doors and disappeared. ((Yes.)) ((I love you.))
"Je t'aime aussi." Ginny whispered after him, before turning to Hermione. ((I love you too.))
"I didn't mean to, I-"
"Hermione!" Ginny huffed. "Really, just calm down. He said you bumped into him on the stairs, didn't he? I doubt he would have been as calm had it not been an accident." Hermione nodded, unable to do anything else for the moment. Calm? If that was 'calm', then she sincerely never wanted Blaise Zabini enraged with her. But she'd known that for quite some time already.
"There you are!" A female voice called from their right once they were halfway to the pitch. Melody, Daphne and Pansy caught up with them quickly, shaking snowflakes from their hair since the downfall had stopped for a bit.
"We were looking for you." Pansy told Ginny when their groups joined, and the girl was dressed in Quidditch robes, much as Blaise had been. The Slytherins scrunched their noses when they saw Hermione with her, but said nothing for the moment, opting to talk to Ginny instead.
"I thought you guys already went to the pitch?" Ginny asked, flicking the snow on her shoulder at Pansy. It hit the Slytherin on the side of the face, and Hermione watched in fascination as Pansy simply laughed and shot a playful glare at the redheaded girl. Holy shit, Hermione thought to herself. I don't think they were lying. They really are friends. She couldn't help but notice the easy, natural symmetry between the four girls. They almost walked in sync, for the love of Merlin. It looked as if they'd been friends their entire lives, not just a little more than two months.
"We did." Melody replied. "But it's going to take even longer before the game starts now, so Pansy asked Draco if we could come find you real quick." She said, and her words became tinted with anger. Ginny's head snapped around.
"Why is it going to take longer?" She asked suspiciously. Melody looked away.
"You probably don't want to know." The girl said, flipping her wavy brown hair out of one eye where it had fallen. Ginny growled and turned to Pansy, who actually squirmed a bit.
"Well, see…someone objected to Madam Hooch sending Blaise for the game balls. Said that he would jinx them so that Slytherin would win." Pansy said, her own voice growing angry. Ginny's eyes went blank and Hermione shivered.
"Who objected?" Ginny asked quietly, and the Slytherins exchanged wary glances.
"Okay, we'll tell you." Daphne said cautiously after Ginny snarled. "But you have to promise to stay…coolheaded." She smirked and Ginny glared, a little light coming back into her eyes.
"Fine. And I'm perfectly calm, thank you very much." Ginny said sourly, sticking her tongue out at them childishly. Pansy rolled her eyes.
"Sure." She said dryly. "And I'm the Queen of Aruba."
"The Queen of Annoyance, more like." Ginny replied. "Now who was it? Ron?" When her friends nodded, Hermione felt like pulling her hair out. How could he? He knew she was meeting with his sister, he knew how much being decent to the Slytherins meant at the moment, but he apparently didn't care.
"Yeah. So now, they're having Dumbledore check them out. We should get back just in time." Melody said, and Hermione marveled over how quickly Blaise must have made it back to the pitch.
They were almost there, the stands looming above them a short way ahead, and the roar of the crowd was growing louder with every step. They went under the arch a few minutes later, and headed toward the Slytherin stands, Pansy separating from them and jogging back onto the pitch. Part of the agreement had been that Hermione would sit with the Slytherins, which had actually been her idea. She wanted to do things right; if that meant toughing out a silly Quidditch match with the Slytherins, then it would just have to be done, no matter how much she dreaded it. She didn't even want to even think about what her Housemates were going to say, though, let alone what the rest of the school would think, especially as her House was the opposing team that day.
"Are you coming or what, Hermione?" Ginny called from ten or fifteen steps up the stairs that led up into the stands, and she hurried to catch up.
The two remaining Slytherins' looks were scorching, and she drew herself up straighter under their loathing scrutiny. When they reached the section of bleachers decorated in silver, green and black, Ginny and the two Slytherin girls headed straight up to the prime seats. The other Slytherins all gawked at her for a moment; it was as if they couldn't believe that she was really on their side of the pitch. She ignored their scathing looks as best she could, and took a seat in between Ginny and Anton, who glared at her before kissing the others' cheeks. Daphne sat on Ginny's other side, and Melody sat by Anton.
"Look," Anton said. "They're almost done." He pointed down at the pitch, and she turned to see both teams, Slytherin and Gryffindor, grounded on the snow.
They were standing next to Dumbledore and Madam Hooch, who had her arms crossed and looked furious, even from so far away. Pulling out her Omniocuclars, Hermione figured she might as well pay attention to this game, since she was going to be in deep shit because of it afterwards. The figures came into sharp focus, and she saw Harry and Ron glaring at someone. Having a good feeling she knew who, she glanced over. Sure enough, Draco and Blaise were standing across from them, talking idly and leaning against their top-of-the-line broomsticks. Even Harry hadn't gotten a Firebolt Infinity yet, which she knew was a sore spot with him.
"I think Dumbledore's done." Ginny said, leaning forward eagerly, her eyes shining again. Sure enough, Dumbledore quit waving his wand over the balls and declared them fit for play, announcing that no one had tampered with them, which had smug grins appearing on the Slytherins' faces.
The team captains stepped forward, and Draco looked absolutely disgusted as he shook hands with Ron, a small, confident smirk on his frosty lips. The whistle blew and the teams shot into the air, as did the balls. The Snitch disappeared almost immediately, and Draco and Harry surfaced above the other players, circling a good twenty or thirty yards over their heads. Ron zoomed over to the Gryffindor goals, and the Slytherin Keeper, Dimitri, did the same. The Gryffindor Beaters, Benjamin and Luke, went after the Bludgers, but were a second behind the Slytherin Beaters, Crabbe and Goyle, who were actually surprisingly agile in the air, as the Gryffindor team had found out the hard way the year before.
"Yes!" Melody exclaimed, and Hermione followed her line of sight. The Gryffindor Chasers, Colin, Ryan and Lavender, had also been a second too late, as Pansy snatched up the Quaffle and darted down the field, a green and silver blur. She passed to Blaise, who looped over Luke and passed to the other Slytherin Chaser, Sebastian, who scored. The Slytherin stands erupted in cheers, the people all around her jumping to their feet. Her heart sinking at their early score, she listened intently to Casey Dorndee, who was the new announcer.
"AND SLYTHERIN SCORES! LAVENDER IN POSSESSION OF THE QUAFFLE NOW, SHE ZIPS AROUND SEBASTIAN-" Hermione laughed at the groans rising from assorted students. The one thing Casey had changed about the announcements was that he refused to call the players by their last names, even the Slytherins. "OH NO! FOUL! ANYONE COULD SEE THAT WAS A FOUL, BLAISE NEARLY KNOCKED RYAN FROM HIS BROOM!" There was a pause as they waited to see if Hooch would call it, but she waved them on, rolling her eyes. Even Hermione had a hard time seeing what had just happened as a foul, considering she'd seen much worse before and more than likely would again before the end of the game. Barbaric, she thought once more.
"Damn right!" Melody shouted, her cool, quiet demeanor gone in face of the game. It was always like that, be it Slytherins or Gryffindors. Everyone lost their bloody minds over the sport, and she just couldn't fathom why.
"He barely touched him!" Ginny agreed, her eyes wild and excited.
"NO FOUL, APPARENTLY, AND BLAISE HAS THE QUAFFLE – HE PASSES TO SEBASTIAN, WHO PASSES TO PANSY – OH, ALMOST COLIN! THAT WAS A NEAR MISS BY GRYFFINDOR'S CHASER, AND PANSY TAKES OFF DOWN THE PITCH AGAIN - THE SLYTHERINS ARE FLYING IN A TIGHT 'V' FORMATION AND THE BLUDGERS CAN'T SEEM TO REACH HER – SHE PASSES TO SEBASTIAN, WHO DODGES LAVENDER AND LUKE – WHOA! THAT WAS A FANCY BIT OF FLYING BY SLYTHERIN'S CHASERS, AND BLAISE NOW HAS THE QUAF – OH GODS!!" Casey exclaimed as both Bludgers whizzed straight at Blaise's head, missing his face by bare inches as he threw himself backwards and flipped onto Pansy's broom. The Bludgers hit the broom he'd just been on a second later, shattering the wood and slamming into each other with a loud 'CRACK'.
The stands grew quiet as the broom fell in broken pieces to the ground, and Pansy's eyes were wide and shocked, as were most everyone else's. It had happened so fast that they'd barely seen it. The teams headed for the ground, and Draco nearly tackled Blaise when they landed, knocking the Quaffle from his hand and checking him for injuries before starting to curse. She couldn't hear him doing it, as the teams were too far down, but she could tell that he was by the look of absolute murder on his face. He spun towards Crabbe and Goyle, and they slunk backwards, waving their arms emphatically. Madam Hooch was also yelling, holding part of the broken broom in her hand and waving it threateningly at Gryffindor's Beaters.
"What the fuck was that all about?" Anton hissed. "They nearly took off his fucking head!" Hermione silently agreed, her point about the stupid 'sport' being proven once again. The figures on the ground seemed to have erupted into a full-blown shouting match, before Hooch blew her whistle again and turned to Blaise, asking him something.
He nodded and Draco threw his hands up, his expression utterly furious. Blaise said something to him and he shook his head, as did the rest of the Slytherin team. But Blaise ignored them and turned back to Hooch, who nodded and took out her wand. A broom came flying across the field moments later from the Slytherin locker rooms, and Hermione recognized it as another Firebolt Infinity. Blaise grabbed it out of the air and Draco seemed to give up, turning on the Gryffindors and snarling at them instead. His mouth moved rapidly, forming what she was almost positive was an insult, and the Gryffindor Beaters moved towards him, swinging their clubs threateningly. Draco laughed and swatted Benjamin's club out of his hand as if it were a toy stick.
"Shit." Ginny whispered, clutching her forearm distractedly. "He's pissed." Luke's club followed Benjamin's a moment later, before Hooch stepped between them. Short, hurried words followed, before Draco spun on a heel, his next words loud enough to drift up the stands.
"Fine! Fuck it then! They want a dirty game, then they'll get a goddamn dirty game!" He motioned to his team and they responded instantly, mounting their brooms once again. Blaise was watching Draco warily, but the whistle blew and his attention went back to the match.
"ALRIGHT, SLYTHERIN HAS BEEN AWARDED THREE PENALTY SHOTS, AND IT SEEMS BLAISE WILL BE SHOOTING THEM – THERE HE GOES, WATCH THAT LEFT HOOP, RON! BLAISE SWERVES, SHOOTS AND – SLYTHERIN SCORES!" Cheers rose again, mostly from the Slytherins, but quite a few Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws cheered as well.
"They're soooo dead!" Daphne yelled happily, her cheeks flushed from excitement and the frigid wind. Blaise retrieved the Quaffle again, and Casey's voice once more rang out.
"BLAISE WITH THE QUAFFLE AGAIN, HE'S ADVANCING ON THE GOALS AWFULLY FAST – HE SHOOTS AGAIN AND – SLYTHERIN SCORES! THE QUAFFLE GOES BACK TO BLAISE AS HE RETURNS TO CENTERFIELD, AND RON LOOKS MORE WARY THIS TIME AROUND – BLAISE MOVES IN – BLOODY HELL! THAT WAS- SORRY, PROFESSOR, WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN – BUT THAT WAS INSANE! SLYTHERIN SCORES AGAIN!"
Hermione's lungs felt as if they'd jumped into her throat. Blaise had moved for the goals quickly again, taking the same path as before. But right as he'd gotten close enough to shoot, he'd swatted the Quaffle to the left with the tail of his broom, zipped underneath Ron, stood in one smooth movement on his broom handle, and practically snatched the ball right out of Ron's hands a second before Ron would have caught it. Spinning, and still balanced on his broomstick, Blaise had thrown the Quaffle through the hoop right behind them and slid easily back into a sitting position. Ron looked confused, then furious, swinging at Blaise in mid-air. Blaise flew away, laughing, before chasing after the Quaffle again. Regular game play picked back up, and Gryffindor managed to score a few minutes later, which caused Hermione to breathe a short-lived sigh of relief. Short-lived because of what happened after Draco gave his team a series of hand signals.
"LAVENDER WITH THE QUAFFLE, SHE'S ZEROING IN ON THE SLYTHERIN HOOPS, HOPE SHE CAN GET IT PAST DIMITRI – OH! PANSY BLOCKS HER, LOOKS LIKE SHE BUSTED HER NOSE TOO, AND SEBASTIAN GETS THE QUAFFLE! COLIN'S MOVING IN – COME ON, YOU CAN DO IT! SH – COLIN GETS WAYLAID BY A BLUDGER FROM GREGORY AND GOES INTO A BARREL ROLL – SEBASTIAN PASSES TO PANSY, AND – OUCH! RYAN GETS KICKED IN THE FACE AS HE TRIES TO DELAY HER AND SHE SHOOTS – SLYTHERIN SCORES! 50-10 IN FAVOR OF THE SNAKES!" The Slytherins were apparently amused, and their cheers turned into hisses. She supposed they meant it good-naturedly, but it sent creeping tingles down her spine.
"Your team isn't doing so well." Anton commented dryly, and Hermione started when she realized that he was talking to her.
"We'll see." She muttered, turning her attention back to the game. The next twenty minutes were absolutely brutal, and Madam Hooch gave up on calling the more minor fouls.
She'd never seen the Slytherin team, or any team for that matter, play so very viciously. After another ten minutes, she had to agree with Anton. Gryffindor was being flattened, scoring only one more goal. The Slytherins were almost literally wiping the field with them, and even the two Seekers were drawn into it. Well, more like Harry was drawn into it, anyway. Draco had been whacking Bludgers with his broomstick and knocking players around since the game had first turned nasty. But as she watched, she noticed one thing that was a bit surprising. The Slytherins weren't cheating. They were fouling people left and right, but they hadn't broken any of the staple rules, which they usually did at least once or twice during a game just to prove that they could.
"Someone's going to get really hurt." She said to no one in particular. Ginny turned toward her, those excited eyes still shining.
"Probably." She agreed, her attention going back to the game as Blaise snatched the Quaffle from Lavender.
"Isn't it wonderful?" Melody breathed, her mouth slightly open and her breath coming fast, fogging around her pretty face. "It's just so beautiful when they play this way." Startled, Hermione turned to look at the girl.
"I've never seen a game like this one before." She said, and Melody glanced at her briefly.
"Figures." The girl scoffed. "Yeah, well, this is the way real Quidditch is played. Except we usually don't bother with rules at all."
"What?" Hermione asked, slightly horrified. The sport was dangerous enough on its own, but to strip the rules away was sheer lunacy.
"It's better that way." Melody replied, her eyes following the players. "Ooooh, I think Blaise just broke Ryan's finger. Anyway, it's the way the team always practices, and the way we all play out of school. It just makes it so much more interesting." Deciding the girl was slightly more mad then she'd originally assumed, Hermione turned back to the game.
"LOOKS LIKE RYAN'S FINGER IS ALL PATCHED UP, AND HE SHOOTS INTO THE AIR AGAIN, HOT ON SEBASTIAN'S TRAIL – BLAISE NARROWLY MISSES ANOTHER BLUDGER, WHICH HITS COLIN DEAD ON, AND THERE GOES PANSY! SHE HAS THE QUAFFLE AND SHE'S CLOSING – SHE PASSES BACK TO SEBASTIAN, WHO SHOOTS AND – IT'S BLOCKED BY RON! HAH! THE SCORE REMAINS 90-20, STILL IN SLYTHERIN'S FAVOR, THOUGH, AND WHAT A SHAME THAT IS…SORRY, PROFESSOR! OKAY, BLAISE WITH THE QUAFFLE, HEADING STRAIGHT DOWN THE CENTER, LOOK AT HIM FLY! THAT'S A FIREBOLT INFINITY FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE BLIND, ONE OF THE TOP BROOMS IN THE WORLD, IT CAN DO OVER – SORRY, PROFESSOR. BLAISE APPROACHES THE GOALS BUT CIRCLES AROUND, PASSES TO PANSY, WHO PASSES IT BACK - AND SLYTHERIN SCORES!"
"This is bad." Hermione moaned quietly, putting her head in her hands. 100-20?
If Draco ended up with the Snitch, it was going to be a very unpleasant night in Gryffindor Tower. And their sure-proof plan of letting Harry take care of it wasn't so sure-proof anymore. Draco had gotten the snitch in the last Gryffindor-Slytherin match last year, and again in the first one this year. He had always been an excellent flyer, leagues above the other Seekers except for Harry, but then it had changed. For Draco, it had seemed as if it had stopped being about the on-going competition between him and Harry and just been about the game, like it had always been in all of his other matches. With that added tension gone, he'd won both following games for his team, getting the snitch right from underneath Harry's nose.
"OI, WHAT IS THIS? WHAT ON EARTH IS SLYTHERIN'S SEEKER DOING??" Casey's voice questioned, and Hermione felt her toes go numb with foreboding.
Searching the air, she saw nothing, nothing, and then she looked straight up. A silver and green blur was streaking from almost a hundred feet above the people in the highest part of the stands, racing for the ground at a breakneck speed. There's no way he'll be able to stop, she thought frantically, barely aware of Ginny leaping to her feet. Harry, who was on the other side of the pitch, saw Draco and shot off towards him, apparently trying to intercept the Slytherin's descent. The remaining members of the two teams had frozen, watching stunned as Draco pelted straight for the ground, Harry on his heels. She saw it then, the barest glimmer of gold among the trampled snow, less than three inches from the ground.
There wasn't a chance that he could get the ball while going so fast and not crash horribly, and she wondered just what in the hell he was thinking. Seconds later, she found out. They approached the ground at a nauseating speed, and Harry must have realized that Draco had lost his mind, because he pulled up and away at the last second. Which was, apparently, just what Draco had intended, as he pulled up half a second later, his foot flashing out and kicking the Snitch into the air in front of him. Never slowing, he took off after it as it zoomed away, leaving the watching spectators gaping. He sped right over the snow, as he'd barely been another half a second from impact when he'd straightened out, and he stretched his arm forward for the Snitch.
His fingers brushed the golden ball just as something flew out of the Gryffindor stands, hitting him on the shoulder and neck with a sickening 'CRACK' that sounded way too much like the sound Blaise's broom had made earlier. Ginny gave a choked scream, grabbing her shoulder and nearly falling over, but Hermione couldn't look away as Draco swerved jaggedly, somehow managed to straighten his broom out, and took back off after the golden ball. Teachers were already making their way into the stands, but she could have cared less. This was it. The only part of Quidditch that she'd ever found exciting. The capture of the Golden Snitch.
The flying object had slowed Draco down enough that Harry had caught up to him again, and they were once more neck-and-neck as they sped closer and closer to the Snitch. The little ball darted upwards suddenly and they followed it easily, rising and rising until they'd almost reached the top of the stands again. She saw Harry kick out at Draco and had a moment of surprise, since Harry never did that kind of thing, but Draco dodged it smoothly and ignored him, his mercury eyes locked onto his current prey. The ball darted right over the Ravenclaws' heads, and the Seekers followed, causing the students to shriek as they zoomed over them.
The ball turned, curved, and raced over the remaining Ravenclaws into the Slytherin stands. Harry kicked out at Draco again, which had the Slytherins hissing angrily, but Draco feinted and went slightly to the left. The ball was racing straight for one of the concrete stand dividers, and they only had moments to make a decision before they would hit. Watching them with wide, terrified eyes, Hermione ducked as they zipped less than a foot over her head. The ball was right at the divider then, and it seemed that both Harry and Draco were determined to get it, no matter what. She sucked in a breath as the ball went into reverse suddenly, turning and heading back out over the field.
Draco saw it and spun, lightning quick, slamming into Harry and using the other boy's body as a cushion against the rough stone. Instead of trying to catch his broom as it fell, Draco used his feet to push against the wall and leaped to the side, his hand closing around the Snitch in mid-air. She screamed, along with quite a few others, as he plummeted to the ground, the golden ball still clenched tightly in his fist. She saw Melody, Anton, Daphne and quite a few other Slytherins forcibly restraining Ginny, who had been a hair's breadth from jumping over the side after him. He seemed to fall forever, and she felt tears rising in her throat.
A black and green blur shot underneath him out of nowhere, and she could breathe again as she saw Draco safely on Blaise's broom. Their long braids, silver and black, twisted around each other as Blaise dove for the ground, Draco facing him on the broom and his arms tightly around the other's waist. There were a few more moments of silence, before the entire stadium erupted. They'd never seen anything like that before. The Slytherins, over their panic, were ecstatic, and Hermione knelt by Harry, who had crumpled at the base of the divider he and Draco had hit. He was two or three feet from the ledge, and he seemed dazed.
"He got it again, didn't he?" Harry asked her, his voice barely more than a whisper. She nodded hesitantly, right as Ginny snatched up Draco's fallen broom, which had landed next to Harry's in the aisle.
"Gotta go!" The redhead said brightly, before diving over the railing without a backwards glance. The other Slytherins followed her after pulling shrunken brooms from their pockets, and soon the Slytherin stands were completely empty but for her and Harry. The Gryffindor team was flying towards them slowly, and stopped ten or fifteen yards from where they were, looking at the green and silver stands with blatant distrust.
"He's fine!" She called to them, but they just glared at her. Which was expected, but she had hoped they would at least wait until they were back in their dormitory. Ron looked at her apologetically, as he knew why she'd been sitting there, and she gave him a weak grin before facing Harry again. "Harry, tell them you're all right."
"I'm fine!" Harry called to them before couching and getting to his feet. He scooped up his Firebolt and mounted it, looking at her inquisitively. She didn't like brooms very much, but she wanted to make sure that he went to the Hospital Wing, just to check and be positive that he was really okay. Swallowing her nervousness, she got on in front of him and felt his arms wrap around her before his hands grabbed the broom. He was shaking, and she knew that he was upset about losing another game to Slytherin. They made it to the ground in a fairly short amount of time, landing outside the Gryffindor locker rooms.
"It's alright, mate." Ron said as he joined them. "I didn't do so fabulous myself. Bloody Slytherins." He spat, glaring at the sea of green, silver and black-clad students that had surrounded their team, cheering and laughing as they congratulated their players. A shower of green sparks exploded over their heads like fireworks, and Hermione saw Ginny with her hands raised right before another blast came from them, this time in silver. Ron mumbled something threatening about House traitors, and Hermione only shook her head. Ginny had never really been a Gryffindor, not like the rest of them. If she had found happiness in the tight, secretive embrace of Slytherin, then so be it.
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Virginia took a few running steps and dove over the ledge, her spirit the lightest it had been in a while. That had been simply amazing. Heart stopping and terror inducing, yes, but also amazing. She still couldn't believe what she'd just seen. She knew her boyfriends were good at Quidditch, but they had played that game with a razor-edged skill and finesse that had been breathtaking. That last, sideways leap off the wall that Draco had done had scared the shit out of her until she'd seen Blaise catch him, but overall she hadn't worried for their safety too much. Well, except for the Bludger incident with Blaise, and whatever had hit Draco. But you had to expect things like that in Quidditch.
Fighting against the force of the wind, she pulled Draco's broom underneath her and continued her dive for the pitch, before landing lightly on her feet in the snow and springing off his broom. Looking up, she saw that the others were also jumping off with their brooms, before she ran for Draco and Blaise, who were surrounded by their exuberant teammates. Their eyes were lit up, the frenzy and passion of the game infusing them to their very bones, and she felt a wave of anger toward her brother. She loved Quidditch and was damn good at it, but he had refused to let her join the House team. And since he'd made captain, she hadn't been able to do anything about it.
And now she couldn't, as she didn't want to play against her friends. And if she was honest, she knew that she wouldn't be able to bring herself to play for Gryffindor now, anyway. What she really wanted was to play for Slytherin, as just the thought made her tingly, but she knew that it would never happen. She'd never heard of switching Houses before, and didn't feel like being told that she couldn't. It was enough that the Slytherins had accepted and befriended her. She didn't need Quidditch, damn it. Draco and Blaise saw her and pushed out of the circle they were in, pulling her to them and kissing her hungrily. She responded in kind, ravishing chilled and charged lips alike.
"You were both awesome." She said after they broke apart, and genuine smiles graced their features.
"Yes, we were quite brilliant, weren't we?" Blaise asked, pretending to look thoughtful as the other Slytherins landed and rushed them.
They were surrounded by their friends, who were all chattering excitedly and grinning from ear to ear. It was rare to see any of them so happy, let alone all of them, and Virginia's spirits rose even more. Throwing her hands up, she released a torrent of green, fiery sparks that exploded over their heads, falling on them harmlessly and tickling their exposed skin. The Slytherins cheered again and she sent up a burst of silver as the green faded, giggling when a spark landed on Pansy's nose and made the girl sneeze. Draco picked Virginia up and spun her around in circles, snow flying around them, and her laughter rolled from her in tinkling waves. They stumbled and fell, Blaise catching them before they hit the snow, so they dragged him down with them.
"Traitors!" He hissed, throwing snow at them. They looked at each other, smirked, and tackled him simultaneously. The other Slytherins around them were getting into their own small snow wars, and she shrieked when Blaise stuffed a handful of snow down her robes. She and Draco flipped him over, tossing fistfuls of snow at the same time, and he rolled away into a crouching position. "Is this any way to thank the person that just saved your miserable life?" He asked Draco, who stuck out his blue-tinted tongue and waved a hand, causing a small wall of snow to hit Blaise.
"Run!" Virginia yelled as she saw the look that formed in her boyfriend's eyes, and she grabbed Draco's sleeve, pulling him with her. They narrowly missed a huge column of snow, and she was laughing so hard she could barely take another step. Knowing the freezing fate that awaited them should they stop, she forced herself to continue forward, dodging a few Ravenclaws that were in their way.
"Shit!" Draco said right before something slammed into them from behind, and they went down in a flurry of limbs and flying snow.
"Hah!" Blaise said triumphantly from above them. "You thought you could run, did you?" She didn't answer, just flipped over and flung more snow at Blaise, who was looming over them. It hit his chest, and he grinned before pushing her back down. Another wad of snow hit the side of his face, immediately followed by Draco's musical laughter, and Blaise spun, leaping on top of him. They flipped over and she quickly got to her feet as their positions reversed. Not pausing, she launched herself at Draco, knocking him off Blaise and back into the snow.
"How could you?" He wailed in mock betrayal, but her lips descended on his and he quickly grew quiet. She pulled back just as swiftly, shoving a handful of snow in his face and snickering.
"Works every time. Men are so easy." She taunted, seconds before she found herself once more on her back in the wet slush covering the ground. They both were leaning over her, their eyes sparking playfully, before Draco leaned down and purred in her ear.
"You want easy, ma chou? We'll show you easy." His mouth covered hers, rational thought fleeing, and she couldn't have cared less that there were only about four hundred sets of eyes on them. Blaise's mouth soon replaced his, and she couldn't help a small moan escaping her. They pulled back, looking victorious until she tossed more snow in their faces. She used every bit of speed she possessed to scoot from underneath them, getting back to her feet and running for Pansy. She knew they were right behind her, so when she was almost there, she threw herself forward and rolled, missing their outstretched hands by a split second.
"You guys have serious problems." Pansy's amused voice said from above her, and she straightened, trying to look dignified.
"We do not." She replied haughtily, trying her damnedest not to laugh again, and turned to her boyfriends, who had frozen and looked disappointed. An evil smirk graced her lips, and she pointed at Pansy. Their eyes lit up again right as Pansy started shaking her head and backing away, and a moment later, the other girl was in the snow. She spit curses at her two Housemates as they shoveled the wet, melting ice on her, and Virginia couldn't hold back anymore. Laughter once again spilled from her, tears running down her cheeks as her side began aching. That was when the first real scream split the air.
"What the fuck?" Anton said, looking around.
Draco and Blaise were off of Pansy in seconds, helping her to her feet before rejoining Ginny. Another scream echoed the first, and they turned to face the far side of the pitch, where the sun was setting, twilight having crept up on them, and what they saw had more people screaming, while sending her instincts into overdrive. A huge figure made of fire and shadow was rising up through the ground, just outside the castle's wards. It kept coming and coming, until it stood well over forty feet tall. A long, nasty looking whip was clutched in one of its enormous fists, and it had a wide head with slit red eyes. It was flashing different colors randomly, and the distant feeling of pain and eternal suffering seemed to choke them, even while it was still outside the shields.
Draco and Blaise stepped in front of her immediately as the thing began moving towards the pitch. It stopped suddenly and the usually invisible wards seemed to appear out of nowhere, glowing a bright, yellowish-white. The creature hissed, ran its eyes over the surface of the outer shield, before raising a massive fist and slamming it into the yellow wall of power. The shield wavered but stayed up, and the thing continued its assault. She knew in her core that it would make it through, knew beyond a doubt that even Hogwarts' wards couldn't stand up to that thing. People were fleeing towards the castle, but weren't making very good progress, as they were panicking and trying to trample each other.
Most were still stuck on the field, as they'd jammed the archway, and she saw Dumbledore and the other Professors trying to calm them down and get them to safety, all the while keeping an eye on the creature. She couldn't see her brother anywhere, or Harry and Hermione, but the Slytherins were all still behind them. Not one had run, not even the first years, though she was pretty sure that they had a better idea then she did about what they were facing. Their eyes were glued on Draco, Blaise, and, surprisingly, her. Closing her own eyes as the pounding of the creature continued, she took a deep, steadying breath before facing her boyfriends again.
"How do we fight it?" She asked, and they stared at her.
"We aren't fighting it. You're taking the Slytherins and getting to the castle." Draco finally said, Blaise nodding along with him, and she bristled.
"I most certainly am not!" She exclaimed, a familiar, delicious burn beginning inside of her, signaling that her power was growing.
"Yes, you are!" Blaise argued, his eyes beginning to spark. "You can't fight this!"
"And you can?" She countered, not really meaning it. So when she saw the flicker of doubt cross their faces before disappearing instantly, she almost fainted. Oh gods. What the fuck is that thing, then?
"Yes." Draco snapped. "We can. And if we can't beat it, at least you'll be safe."
"Regardless, you can't stop me!" She said hotly as her skin began to glow, responding to her fear and anger. "I'll be damned before I run away and leave you two to face something like that alone!"
"Do you think we would even bother trying to stop it if you and the other Slytherins weren't here? The whole reason we're doing this is to keep you alive and well!" Blaise tried to reason, but she shook her head.
"Don't you get it?" She nearly screamed. "If you die, I die! It matters not whether it happens beside you or after I hear about it, I will wither and fade either way! Would you have me die alone, then? Grieving for the two of you after you'd forced me to leave you to your deaths? Would you leave that guilt and agony on my soul?" They flinched and took a step backwards, a war going on behind their eyes. Then they seemed to crumble, and she resented her harsh words. But they'd been necessary. She knew no other way to convince them to let her stay.
"Fine." Blaise intoned, his voice sounding distant. "If you refuse to let us protect you, then why should we even stay? We could be gone in moments, and leave them to their fate. Dumbledore can do nothing about this."
"And why is that?"
"Do you not know what it is that seeks entrance?" Draco asked, having to almost shout to be heard over the pounding, which kept getting louder and louder.
"No." She replied shortly. She knew that it was probably some sort of demon, but that was it. "And I don't particularly care as long as you know how to kill it. Now, will you let me help you?" She asked, and they said nothing. She closed the gap between them and wrapped her arms around their waists, leaning in to speak next to their keen ears. "Please. Do not make me walk away and leave you to this. I love you; I cannot sit idly by and do nothing as your blood spills. Switch our places and tell me truthfully: Would you demand any different if you were me?"
"No." They whispered after a few moments, and their voices were lost, only the movement of their lips giving her an answer. They squeezed her to them almost desperately, laying kissing all over her face and sending her their love through their Marks. She returned it, before a mighty 'BOOM' shook the very air around them, and a long, hairline crack formed in the shield. They spun around as the screams of their peers rose in volume, the bulk of the student body still stuck on the field.
"How do we kill it?" She shouted over the noise as they started walking forward towards the breaking wards.
"We can't." They shouted back, and she stumbled, Draco catching her arm and steadying her.
"What do you mean 'we can't'!? What the hell is it?" She questioned, and they turned knowing, fierce eyes on her.
"That, Virginia," they responded in unison, "is a Deep Lord."
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