Chapter 13

Draco and Harry faced eachother, Draco's light, amused smirk meeting Harry's venomous glare.

"Captains, shake hands!" Madam Hooch said loudly.

They stepped towards eachother and shook hands. Harry tried his best to crush Draco's hand, as was the unspoken tradition, but Draco just gave a properly firm handshake and released Harry's hand. A hint of surprise flickered in Harry's eyes. He watched Draco casually mount his broom, no hint of his usual determined hostility and tension present. This just wasn't at all normal, and it made Harry inexplicably disconcerted.

Then the whistle blew and they were off, the game instantly swinging into full gear as the teams blurred back and forth down the field. The action was high pitched as Draco and Harry circled the field, watching intently for the elusive golden snitch. Harry tried to divide his attention between his search and his teammates. Gryffindor was doing relatively well.

Within twenty minutes they were ahead, with a hundred and twenty points to Slytherin's ninety. Harry's eyes went wide as he suddenly spotted a bludger heading for Ginny. It was heading for her back, and she couldn't see it at all! He had just opened his mouth to warn her when Draco happened into the bludger's path. It hit him hard in the shoulder, deflecting it enough so it only hit Ginny a glancing blow in the arm rather than in the dead center of her back where it had been aimed.

Harry immediately called a time out as Ginny clutched her arm to her. He flew over to her, urging her down to where Madam Pomfrey was standing by. Madam Pomfrey quickly examined the arm, which was already beginning to darken with bruising.

"Looks like it's broken in two places deary." She said to Ginny, flicking her wand over the arm. "It'll just take me a moment..."

Harry looked up as Ron arrived, looking Ginny over with concern. He looked past Ron, noting Draco talking to his two beaters, Crabbe and Goyle, with a somewhat angry look on his face. Probably upset at them for getting HIM with the bludger! Harry thought with a modicum of amusement.

Madam Pomfrey quickly cast mending spells, fixing the bones, then cast more spells to take care of the bad bruising and the residual pain. By the time she declared Ginny fit to return to the game, Harry realized they had gone several minutes over the limit of the time out. He looked up in surprise. Draco was just sitting there on his broom with a disinterested look on his face. As team leader, he had the right to call a penalty for overrunning the time out, and yet he hadn't...

"Can we PLAY now?" He asked in a bored voice when he spotted Harry looking at him.

Harry just gave him a curt nod and he, Ron and Ginny remounted their brooms, flying back up. The whistle blew and the action was once again fast and furious. Harry returned to his high circuit of the field, but his mind wasn't entirely on locating the snitch. Draco's actions had been seeming more and more... odd... He was almost beginning to wonder if his wandering between Ginny and that bludger had even been an accident... but then it had to be... why on earth would he have done that on purpose?

"Hey scar head! You falling asleep over there?" Draco's sarcastic voice drawled.

Harry looked over at him and glowered, then looked away, his eyes scanning once again for the snitch. It wasn't until then that he noticed the unusual movement in the Slytherin team. As he watched, he saw that one of the Slytherin beaters stayed near Ginny at all times. Were they planning on taking her out of the game permanently? But if they were, why hadn't they hit any bludgers at her yet?

Harry jerked his broom back as one of the Gryffindor beaters darted in front of him, barely managing to deflecting a bludger he hadn't even seen coming. Harry felt a moment of relief, but then his stomach went cold. The bludger had been deflected from him, but it was now hurtling towards Ginny! He watched, startled as Goyle darted at it, batting it right back at the beater that had hit it away from Harry.

The Gryffindor beater was barely able to duck it using a sloth roll. Seeing he was safe, Harry looked over at Goyle in shock. He had protected a Gryffindor player! Why on Earth...

"Are you playing or not?" Draco asked as he came up to hover near Harry, smirking.

Harry glared over at him. "Of course I'm playing!" He snarled back. He couldn't help but notice that one of Draco's shoulders seemed to be hitched a bit lower than the other. "That bludger give you a little love bite?" He asked sarcastically.

"What? This?" Draco asked, indicating his shoulder, "It's just broken. I'll get it fixed later."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Ya, right. If it were so much as bruised you'd be bawling like a baby and we both know it."

Draco looked at him in silence for a long moment. "I'll wager I've withstood ten times as much pain as you have in my life, Potter." He said, his voice dropping into a low, serious tone. "I only complain about it if I have a good reason to. There's no benefit in whining about it now. Unlike some, I don't feel I need to run to Pomfrey the moment I get so much as a headache. There's a time and place for everything. Right now, it is the time and place for catching that pretty little golden ball. So, shall we?"

"Bugger off Malfoy." Harry growled.

Draco glided closer, "Can I tell you a secret, Potter?" He asked with a smirk.

Harry glared at him suspiciously.

Taking the silence as consent, Draco smirked over at him, "When you beat me in the past... nine times out of ten I let you beat me..."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Ya, right. And why would you do that?"

"Because it incensed my father to have his son beat by the bloody Boy Who Wouldn't Die." Malfoy said with a chortle.

"You expect me to believe that?"

"Frankly, I don't care if you do or not. It is true though. I could even beat you while injured and left handed, as I am at the moment."

Harry rolled his eyes again, "Sure..." He said sarcastically. "I'd like to see you prove it!"

"Very well." Draco said casually, darting his left hand out towards Harry's head.

Harry ducked back, expecting to be attacked. He looked over when no blow landed. Draco was smirking at him, holding a frantically fluttering golden snitch in his hand. Harry's jaw dropped in shock as the horn blasted below them, indicating the end of the game, the whole Slytherin stand exploded with cheers.

"It was nice chatting with you Potter." Draco said with a smirk, shooting off towards the riotously cheering Slytherins.

Harry just watched him go, still in shock.

Draco slowed, drifting down cautiously as the other Slytherins surged onto the field to congratulate the team. He carefully glided into an opening in the crowd beside Blaise. As he dismounted, Blaise wrapped his arms around him in a congratulatory hug, then quickly tightened his grip as he felt Draco's legs buckle slightly.

"Guess I should have stayed on the broom..." Draco chuckled ruefully, steadying and taking his weight off Blaise.

Blaise let go of him reluctantly, looking him over with concern. Draco's skin was even paler than usual, all the way to his lips, and there was the beginnings of dark smudges under his eyes. Blaise suddenly remembered the bludger. "How bad were you hit?" He asked, his voice rife with concern as he eyed the shoulder in question.

"I'll get it looked at after I change..." Draco said, his eyes not looking entirely focused.

"No. Now." Blaise said firmly. He got even more concerned when Draco didn't object, even when he took his broom and slipped his arm around him to lend him some support. "Make way!" He growled impatiently to the others. The surprised Slytherins quickly parted. The rest of the team trailed after them, immediately growing concerned as Blaise led Draco towards the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey had unfortunately already left to tend to some more minor wounds from some of the other players.

"Draco!"

Draco paused and turned as Ginny ran up breathlessly. Blaise let him stop, remembering what he had been saying to the ghost while he had been listening in the woods. He had no doubt that this was the girl who had left those nice little scratches down Draco's back. Not one he would expect Draco to be shagging, but he had to admit that she was a bit of alright.

She came to a stop, blushing as all of the other Slytherins glared at her. "Um... I just wanted to see if you were ok...?" She said sheepishly.

Blaise gave his head a quick shake as several of the other Slytherins bristled, about to make undoubtedly crude retorts. They looked surprised, but fell silent.

"I'll be fine... just going to get patched up." Draco said, giving her an encouraging smile. The Slytherins within easy earshot all looked shocked. He was talking to her in a polite, civilized manner... a Weasley! Several of them started getting knowing grins. There was only one reason Draco was this nice to girls from other houses...

"Well... I just wanted to check... and to say thanks for..."

"Ginny!" Harry growled, storming over, "What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?"

Her cheeks colored angrily, "I was just thanking Draco for taking that bludger for me..." she said irritably.

"Oh please. There's no need to thank him for not watching where he was going! And when did you start using his first name?" Harry said, folding his arms over his chest and eyeing her suspiciously.

Her cheeks went a shade darker. "This is none of your business, Harry. I already have six older brothers, I don't need another!"

"Well you obviously need SOMEONE looking after you if you're fraternizing with this riffraff whenever I turn my back!" He growled. Ron wandered over, eyeing the situation warily, but not butting in for once.

"Perhaps you should mind your own business and stop taking your anger at your own inadequacies out on your players." Draco suggested helpfully, smirking at him.

Harry glared at him with pure loathing, turning his full attention on him. He looked him over, noting Blaise's supportive arm. "So, is this your boyfriend, Malfoy?" He asked with a malicious grin.

"Bugger off you prat. He's hurt." Blaise snapped angrily.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Oh, I see... now you're pretending to be all injured... you certainly seemed just fine up there! So what is it the 'time and place' for now? Playing it up so you can get into the pants of a gullible bint or two?"

Draco's cheeks flushed slightly. "That's no way to talk in front of ladies, Potter." He hissed angrily.

Harry stormed over, standing within inches of Draco. "Don't presume to teach me manners, Malfoy." He growled acidly, "You won this one on sheer luck alone. It won't happen again!"

Draco snorted, "Please! I beat you fair and square. Deal with it."

Blaise was getting more concerned by the minute. Draco had started trembling in his grasp, and it was escalating quickly, though it wasn't very outwardly apparent yet. "Enough of the verbal sparing boys. Draco needs to get to the Hospital wing. You can banter later." He said shortly, trying to steer Draco back on course.

"Oh PLEASE!" Harry scoffed, "He's not hurt!" Before anyone could stop him, his hand darted out, smacking Draco's injured shoulder firmly.

Blaise dropped the broom as Draco let out a strangled cry of pain and suddenly went as limp as a rag doll. Blaise gingerly lowered him to the ground, looking him over frantically.

"Get Pomfrey!" Blaise barked at Crabbe and Goyle. They immediately hopped on their brooms and darted off.

The Slytherins surged forward, but Ginny got to Harry first. He never even saw the right hook coming until it was too late. "YOU BLOODY BASTARD!" She shrieked, enraged as Harry sprawled onto his back from the force of the blow. The Slytherins stopped and watched in shock (and smirking admiration) as the petite redhead pounced on him, straddling his chest with her knees firmly planted on his arms, and pummeled him furiously for nearly a whole minute before her brother managed to get his arms around her and physically lift her off of Harry. She flailed angrily and managed to get in a couple of good hard kicks as well before Ron got her out of range.

"He's in shock..." Blaise said, looking around in hopes of spotting Pomfrey. Dumbledore, McGonagall and several other teachers were hurrying over to see what the commotion was about. "Merlin's beard..." Blaise breathed as he finally prized Draco's shirt open. There was dark bruising coloring the pale flesh of his entire shoulder, and it was blatantly obvious that a number of bones were broken quite badly, if not shattered entirely.

Ginny immediately stopped trying to get at Harry and Ron let her wriggle out of his grasp. She ran over, dropping to her knees beside Draco. She reached over, stroking his pale cheek as Blaise tried to gingerly examined his shoulder, using what spells he knew for easing pain. "He's so cold..." She said fearfully. Indeed, he felt nearly as cold as he did under the Living Haunt spell, and his breathing was shallow and irregular.

Ron wandered over, working his way through the Slytherins and looking to see how bad it was. Blaise looked up into his eyes. The distress and fear those dark eyes held made Ron's chest ache.

"What is going on here!?!" McGonagall asked in outrage as she came to a stop, spotting Harry laying on the ground, looking thoroughly beaten and bloody.

The Slytherins immediately broke apart so she could see Draco laying there, all starting to go on about Harry attacking Draco.

McGonagall let out a little gasp, hurrying closer, then looking around. "We need to find..." She left off as Crabbe and Goyle came rocketing across the grounds, Madam Pomfrey perched precariously on Goyle's broom. He came to a stop so fast he spun sideways a bit and caused a slight breeze. She got off the broom quickly, clasping a hand to her chest. "Lands! That's why I don't fly anymore!" She muttered, out of breath, then hurried towards the crowd.

Blaise immediately stood, waving her over urgently. "He's hurt bad, and he's gone into shock!"

Pomfrey hurried over and began examining Draco as Snape hurried up, followed closely by Dumbledore.

"What happened here?" Snape demanded angrily as he saw Draco's pale body sprawled on the ground.

The Slytherins immediately launched into their explanations again, but Snape waved them off, unable to understand any of them with them all talking at once. His eyes narrowed as he noted the fact that Ron was standing near Draco instead of Harry as he would have expected. "I would like to hear... Mr. Weasley's explanation..." He said, eyeing Ron studiously.

Ron looked up, clearly shocked that Snape would ask HIM. He glanced over at Harry. Hermione was helping him sit up. He watched Ron (through the eye that wasn't swollen shut yet), obviously expecting to be vindicated.

Ron took a deep breath, then looked over at Snape. For probably the first time since he had come to Hogwarts, he looked him in the eye voluntarily. "Harry hit Malfoy in his wounded shoulder without provocation." he said evenly.

Slytherins and Gryffindors alike drew in a gasp of surprise at that. Harry looked completely thunderstruck, staring at Ron as if he had just stabbed him in the back.

Ron looked over at Harry, seeing the betrayed look he was giving him. His cheeks colored with anger. "Don't look at me like that! That's what happened and we all saw it! I'm not going to lie for you about it! I may hate the bloody prat, but you don't go hitting someone when they're down! It's bad form!"

"How was I supposed to know he was telling the truth about being hurt?" Harry said angrily, his words slurred by his bruised jaw and rapidly swelling lips. "Since when has he ever told the truth?"

Ron's jaw dropped in open shock as he looked at Harry incredulously, "Any idiot could have told you that you can't get hit with a bludger like that without getting hurt! You of all people should know that! Did you fancy regrowing all those bones in second year?" His cheeks colored more with anger as his voice quickly became sarcastic.

Harry just glared at him as best he could in silence.

"Well if Mr. Malfoy didn't fight back, then how did Mr. Potter get in this state?" McGonagall asked, crossing her arms and giving Harry a very disapproving look.

Ron remained silent, but Ginny stood up. "I did it." She said defiantly.

"Miss Weasley!" McGonagall said, scandalized.

Ginny folded her arms across her chest, "I did it. I admit it. I'd do it again, and I really don't care what you do to me because of it! He had no bloody right! I just came over here to see how Draco was doing after that hit from the bludger and here comes Harry! He was all bothered about losing and decided he'd take it out on anyone he could! He started taunting Draco, and when Draco tried to walk away he hit him! Right in the shoulder!"

"Well," McGonagall said grimly, drawing herself up straight and staring at Ginny with open disapproval, "Be that as it may, I'm afraid I'm going to have to..."

"Minerva..." Snape cut in. She looked over at him in surprise, not used to being interrupted. "If I may... this was an attack on a member of my house... I respectfully request that I, therefore, be the one to assign the punishments for this incident."

She opened her mouth, not liking the sound of that at all.

"That would seem to be only fair." Dumbledore put in gently with a little nod.

McGonagall took in a deep breath, then let it out in a sigh, nodding, her lips pressed into no more than a grim line.

A little smile flickered at the edge of Snape's mouth. He turned towards Harry, who cringed back. "Mr. Potter." He said, relishing the situation, "You will have one month's detention for this cowardly act. What the detentions will entail will depend on how young Mr. Malfoy fairs... for your own sake, you had best wish him a speedy recovery..." He said, a definite edge of threat in his voice as his black eyes danced.

Dumbledore nodded in agreement, looking over to where Pomfrey was casting spell after spell on Draco's limp form. "How is he Poppy?" He asked with concern.

She looked up at him. The look of worry on the face of the normally unflappable woman made everyone nervous. "I'm not sure Albus... the shoulder is bad... I'll have to remove and regrow at least two of the bones... How he stayed on the broom after that blow I'll never know... let alone winning the game and walking this far, even with help..."

"Will he recover?" Snape asked, obviously concerned.

"With time... but... I can't wake him..." She said worriedly, "I have fixed what I could and he shouldn't be in much pain any longer, and yet even my strongest revitalizing spells seem to do nothing for him..."

"Let him sleep..." Blaise said, looking down at Draco with worry in his eyes.

"He should really wake so I can get some potions down him..." Pomfrey said firmly.

"He needs sleep." Blaise said firmly.

"Let us get him to the hospital wing." Dumbledore said encouragingly. He looked up at Blaise searchingly, "And then I believe we should have a talk."

Blaise's cheeks colored, but he looked down at Draco and nodded.

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A/N - since it was asked, I couldn't find Draco's birthday, so I picked a date at random. February seemed like a good month for him to be born in, and as you can probably tell from my handle, seven is my favorite number. So in essence, don't quote me on that date. :) It would be an AMAZING coincidence if I was right! Oh, and sorry I didn't post yesterday. Wasn't feeling well and laid down... It was my own current extended bout with insomnia that first inspired this story, so imagine my surprise when I fell asleep! Sorry :)