Chapter Three

As they made their way over the grounds, Sascha and Chad were looking about themselves in absolute awe. Sascha's eyes were wide in wonder and all her problems were temporarily forgotten. She saw the lake, and gaped even more.

"You guys have a lake? And a forest? Your campus is enormous!"

They had reached the castle itself, and they walked into the main hall. Dumbledore was showing them the Great Hall, and as the studentsgaped at the ceiling, he told Hermione and Draco to take Sascha and Chad up to the Heads' rooms, while he himself would take the new students and teachers to their tower. Sascha continued to express her amazement and jealousy. Hermione and Draco led the pair up the stairs, telling them to watch out for trick steps and doorways.

"All we have are Upper dorms, Lower dorms, the classroom block and a half-size Havoc field."

Draco cocked his head with curiosity.

"What's a Havoc field?"

"Oh. Right. I forgot you play Quidditch here. Havoc is a game we play in the States. We play on a field that is 4 km2. There are eight players on brooms per team. There is one draconis handler, three attackers, two pouncers and two captors. The attackers are the ones that need to make it back and forth between the ends of the field as many times as possible. Pouncers basically ambush the opposite team, and try to knock them off their brooms. Every time someone falls off their broom, they're disqualified. The captors just catch the other teams' draconis. Each team has a pair of draconis minutiae. That's a small dragon, about 5 feet in height. The draconis are used to attack other players."

"That seems like fun. But it sounds sorta easy." Draco said this with a smirk.

"Did I mention that the field is totally covered in trees and shrubs? Well, weaving in and out of the plants, avoiding your 'enemy' and their draconis (most of the time), and trying not to fall off your broom at the same time is quite a task. Put that with being allowed to attack the other team in any which way, and you got one of the most difficult games ever, not to mention time-consuming."

Draco's eyes were sparkling maliciously. He was probably imagining Slytherin playing Gryffindor. He was expected to beat up Potter. He was allowed to beat up Potter.

"I'm the draconis handler on our team. And I have a points record of 45." Sascha said, with a smug expression on her face.

Draco was about to ask how points were earned, but they had reached the statue at the entrance of the Heads' room. Chad suggested to Draco:

"Why don't I explain the details to you in our dorm, and then you can tell me about Quidditch. We can have a guy to guy talk, plus you can tell me 'bout the… 'specimens' in your school."

Draco was about to object, but he caught the glint in Chad's eye, and agreed to discuss the 'specimens' with him.

The common room had become a circular space, with several more chairs than before, and an extra two doors. Sascha and Chad settled themselves in, so the room arrangements were: Draco, Hermione, Sascha, Chad. They discovered that their arrangements meant that Draco and Hermione would be sharing a bathroom, Sascha and Chad another.

Draco and Chad seated themselves in the common room, and Hermione and Sascha went to bed. Several minutes after going into their respective rooms, Sascha emerged in a short, pink, silk nightie. She strode over to Hermione's door, and knocked.

"Hermione? D'you wanna come over to my room and help me decorate?"

"Oh… sure. No problem."

Hermione opened the door, wearing an equally revealing black nightie, and the two quickly walked across the common room, fully aware that the two guys were eyeing them somewhat lustily.

When Sascha's door closed, Chad turned to Draco.

"Woah. That's some hot stuff you got there."

"Yea. I've never seen her in something like that before. She should do it more often. Show of those… womanly attributes." This was all said with a crude grin.

The two guys then began to discuss other things, such as the availability of girls in both Hogwarts and SDMA. After about an hour of discussion, Chad once again brought up the subject of Hermione.

"Hey, dude. Would ya mind so much if I had a go with her?"

"Who?"

"Granger."

"Oh… Why would I mind?"

"Well, considering that you two are Heads… I mean, Sascha and I've hit it off a couple of times. So I assumed you'd been with her."

"Oh… Well go ahead. I don't think she's been with anyone yet. And don't forget to tell me how it was. And now that you bring it up, I see that Sash there has something I like. Would you mind if I had some?"

Chad laughed. "Not at all."

Back in the girls room-

Sascha and Hermione had been talking about various things, boys among them. Fairly soon, Sascha had begun to bitch about the various girls in her school, stating that Clarissa was an absolute slut, and the only guys she hadn't had were the teachers. Hermione replied, saying that the same rules applied to Pansy. She soon found herself bitching about the girls in her year, and realized that she was enjoying herself. Between helping Sascha decorate her room (it had been almost totally white when they got there), and the idle chatter, they wheedled away the hours, and it was midnight before they knew it. Hermione was about to leave when Sascha asked her a question.

"Hey. Are you, like, with Draco? 'Cause he's really cute."

"Are you serious? We've been fighting since First year! I guess he is a bit of a hunk, but I mean, get serious, he hates my guts."

"Why's that?"

"Well, with me being a muggle and all…"

"Oh… Anyhow, would you mind if I went out with him or somethin'?"

"Nope. Fine with me. And just let me warn you, he's been with practically all the girls in the school."

"OK. And, by the way, I think Chad wants you. He had his eyes all over you when you came out of your room, as well as when we first met."

Rolling her eyes, Hermione said her goodnights and returned to her room. She went into the bathroom to brush her teeth, and discovered that Draco had just finished brushing his own.

"Granger."

"Yes Draco. That is my name."

"I just thought you'd like to know that Chad appreciates that flesh you're flashing."

He slapped her thigh, and left the bathroom, leaving Hermione to stare at his retreating back. She then flushed a bright red, embarrassed that she had let Malfoy violate her in such a way, but pleased that she attracted some attention. She returned to her room, and went to bed, though she did not fall asleep until early in the morning. Her mind was churning, with thoughts about Malfoy, and a certain American.