a/n: Just pretend there's the usual disclaimer stuff here. I'm gettin' lazy. Anyway, I used to post on Portkey but switched computers and now I don't have my password anymore. I tried getting a new password but it only gets me onto the forums, not able to upload new chapters or anything. Any help on this would be appreciated! Oh, and thanks for reading. :)

chapter six: a little thing called romance

The group entered the dining room and settled at the table, leaving the chair at the head open for Draco. Scully seated herself next to Mulder and glanced up to see that he was watching her with a goofy sort of smile on his face. "What?" she inquired, raising a self-conscious hand to her hair.

"You're beautiful," Mulder said simply.

Embarrassed but pleased at the compliment, Scully cocked her head to the side. "You're just now noticing?"

"I notice every day," Mulder returned easily, "but I'm afraid if I tell you too often, you'll think I'm a supersoldier and try to break my neck or something."

Scully smiled at this, shaking her head and reflecting that only Mulder would bring up a half-human hybrid during a romantic moment. "I would never break your neck for complimenting me," she informed him.

Mulder raised his eyebrows. "You would break my neck otherwise?"

She shrugged. "Depends on what mood I'm in..."

The door to the dining room opened and Draco entered, wearing his usual charming smile. He seated himself at the head of the table and immediately engaged Hermione in a discussion about the Malfoy libraries. A moment later, Reyes slipped into the room, looking decidedly uncomfortable.

Scully looked up and met Doggett's gaze, seeing her worry mirrored in his eyes. Frowning, he turned to Reyes. "Everything all right, Monica?"

"I'm not sure," Reyes admitted. "Ask me again after dinner."

A moment later, Draco called in his servants, and in a matter of seconds there was a delicious feast spread out on the table. Scully groaned inwardly; so much for the diet she had planned to start.

Some time passed as everyone ate to their heart's content. After her third helping of roasted duck, Reyes leaned back in her chair, clutching at her stomach. "Please tell me this food is enchanted so that the calories just magically disappear."

"No such luck, I'm afraid," Harry returned, smiling sympathetically. "Even wizards have to count calories."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Well, I personally think that someone should get on that right away." She looked at Harry in mock seriousness. "Do you think Ron could put off whatever he's doing at the Ministry and start working on that disappearing calories thing?"

Harry rubbed his chin. "Well, I think he was saying that his team just started searching for a cure to cancer...but calorie expenditure is far more important."

"Far more," Hermione agreed, smiling.

The dining room door opened and a servant entered the room. He moved directly to Draco, whispering something in his ear. When he was finished, Draco turned to Hermione. "Hermione, a telegram for you, from someone named Alex."

"Who's Alex?" Mulder teased.

Hermione had suddenly grown quite pink. "My, ur...boyfriend. He must be on his way back from the states..."

Taking the letter, she excused herself from the room. "Her boyfriend?" Reyes repeated aloud. "But I thought..." She glanced over at Harry and immediately clamped her mouth shut.

Harry, in the meantime, had suddenly taken a great interest in his food. He heartily ate three more forkfulls of mashed potatoes and then turned to Draco with a thoughtful expression on his face. "You are planning on serving dessert, aren't you Malfoy?"

Draco had just opened his mouth to reply when an owl swooped into the dining room, dropping off a small, red envelope into Harry's lap. The owl immediately circled about and exited the room.

Scully blinked in surprise at this. "I'm guessing this is one of those magic things...unless it's one of those charming but quirky British things."

"It's a magic thing," Draco assured her, looking rather amused.

Mulder studied the envelope in Harry's hands with some curiosity. "What is that thing?"

"A howler," Harry returned grimly.

Reyes frowned. "What's a– "

She was answered as Harry opened the envelope and it levitated up to his head level, suddenly appearing as a large mouth rather than a card. "HARRY POTTER," it boomed in a male voice with a Scottish accent, "HAVE YOU COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN THAT YOU HAVE A TOURNAMENT GAME TO PLAY TOMORROW? PRACTICE IS NOT MANDATORY, YOU PRAT! BE AT THE STADIUM TOMORROW MORNING AT SEVEN SHARP OR YOU'LL BECOME THE BOY WHO WAS MASSACRED BY HIS TEAM!!!"

At this, the envelope tore itself into little pieces and fell down to the table. Watching this with open amusement, Draco glanced over at Harry. "So, how is Oliver doing?"

Slightly pallid now, Harry forced a smile in return. "Just fine. A little peeved, though."

"Sounds like it."

The Muggles at the table looked clearly stunned by what they had witnessed. After a moment, Doggett cleared his throat. "So," he said, "that was...interesting."

Scully forced a smile, attempting rather vainly not to be completely shocked by everything she saw in the wizarding world. She turned to Harry. "You're on a team? What sport do you play?"

Harry ran a hand through his perpetually messy hair. "It's called Quidditch...it's actually a wizard's sport."

Mulder smirked at this. "A wizard's sport? What, do you fly on brooms or something?"

Harry shrugged. "Well, actually...yes."

This was followed by a defeaning silence, and then Mulder grinned. "Can we come?"

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Later that night, Harry made his way out to the Malfoy pool. He knew he should be resting tonight for the big tournament tomorrow– he couldn't believe that he'd forgotten about it during the excitement of everything that was happening– but he felt restless, anxious. He was desperate to learn the meaning behind Scully's visions, but the Quidditch game tomorrow would be just one more delay to finding answers.

Determined to rid himself of some stress, he dove into the darkened pool, pushing through the cool water until he broke to the surface again. There was something about swimming that was just so therapeutic.

He dove back underwater and swam around a bit. When he broke to the surface again, he heard a pair of feet shuffling on the deck. Cautiously, he remained mostly hidden in the darkened water, straining his eyes to see who was approaching.

Upon seeing the flash of wavy hair, he grinned and sunk a bit lower into the water. Hermione. She seemed completely oblivious to his presence and was moving toward the edge of the pool, tentatively dipping one foot into the water. Unable to resist himself, he swam stealthily over to her, careful to remain hidden, and then abruptly lunged out of the water, pulling her in.

Hermione shrieked as she was submerged into the water. When they broke the surface again, she gasped and pushed against him frantically, struggling to get away. Harry laughed at this and held onto her. "Hermione, it's me. Harry."

"Harry?" she echoed, and then let out a different sort of shriek, punching him on the shoulder. "You scared me to death! I thought you were one of those horrible monsters Reyes and Scully have been telling me about. Did they tell you about that thing in the sewers...?"

Harry could barely conceal his grin. "Sorry."

She scowled at him. "You don't sound very sorry..."

It was then that Harry noticed he was still holding on to Hermione and that they were still in rather close proximity. Wearing only their bathing suits. Suddenly glad for the cover of darkness, Harry released her and swam back a bit, letting his head remain above water. "How's Alex doing?"

Hermione shrugged and turned a bit so he could only see her profile. "Oh, he's fine. He just got back in from visiting his mum in America."

Harry frowned at this. "He does that a lot, doesn't he?" At her silence, he added, "Visit his mother, I mean."

"She's sick, I think," Hermione returned quietly. "Anyway, he's a very loyal person. That's what I like about him."

They were silent for a moment. Harry cleared his throat. "Wood sent me a howler for forgetting to go to practice."

Hermione looked at him worriedly. "You aren't going to lose your job or anything, are you Harry?"

He shrugged. "I doubt it. But Wood'll be mad for a while, no doubt about that." He gave a short laugh. "I could try to explain to him that something more important came up, but I doubt he'd listen. After all– "

"–nothing's more important than Quidditch to Wood," Hermione finished for him. "I remember how you used to go on about that."

Harry smiled, reflecting back on those days at Hogwarts. He'd been fighting against Voldemort from the start, but somehow Quidditch had still managed to seem so important. It kind of made him feel a bit more like Wood than he cared to.

"The Muggles are tagging along," Harry informed her. "They're excited about seeing their first genuine Quidditch game."

"I'm sure they'll love it." Hermione returned, sounding amused. "Much more than I do, on any account."

Harry gawked at her with mock horror. "Are you saying you don't like Quidditch?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "The game itself is fine, Harry, but the way you play it...I'm afraid that every game is going to be your last."

He advanced on her. "So now you're insulting the way I play Quidditch, eh?"

She giggled, retreating away from him. "Well, Harry, it is rather embarrassing how you always manage to get bumped or bruised in some way."

"I may get beat up a lot on the Quidditch pitch," Harry admitted, closing in on her now, "but at least I'm not...ticklish!"

He swooped in on her, going for the spot just below her ribs where he knew she was most sensitive. She squealed and attempted to jerk away from him, but he was the stronger and quicker of the two. Laughing, she clutched at him to keep from going under water. "Harry...stop...I can't breathe!"

Harry only intensified his efforts. "Not until you admit that I'm a good Quidditch player."

Gasping for air, she let out a few more giggles before complying. "You're a wonderful Quidditch player, Harry."

"And you find me irresistably handsome."

"Harry!"

She attempted to pull away from him once more, but Harry caught her arm and used her momentum to pull her back. The pull was a little stronger than he had intended, however; she collided against him, and there was suddenly very little distance between them at all.

They regarded each other for a moment, both too surprised to really react. Hermione was breathing in quickly, trying to make up for her lost breath, and Harry knew that he should let go of her but couldn't seem to make his arm comply.

Hermione looked up at him, searching his eyes. And then she forced a wistful sort of smile. "You're...irresistable, Harry."

Taken aback, he released her. She turned and exited the pool, not looking back until she had reached the house.

And then she was gone.
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A white wedding dress. Long sleeves, laced with gold. A boquet of roses, blood red. A veil covering a pretty face, framed by red hair. Brilliant green eyes. Tears.

Scully sat up with a gasp, trembling violently. She had never felt so terrified before in her life, not through all the years on the X-Files. There was a scream welling inside of her throat, but she forced it back, letting out a small sob instead.

It took her a moment to realize that Mulder was beside her, holding her tightly, the concern evident in his eyes. "Dana, what is it? You were screaming."

Fighting back her tears, Scully took in a long, deliberate breath. "I think I just had another vision..."
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