Hermione woke up the next morning with her head hurting. She glanced towards the clock. It was only 7 o'clock, but she couldn't go back to sleep, so she decided to have an early breakfast.
She brushed her teeth and threw on a black, white, and red plaid A-line skirt, a white collared t-shirt, and a red V-neck cotton sweater. It was her 'preppy' look. She pulled on ultra-thin, knee-length white socks and her favorite pair of black Marc Jacob Schoolgirl heels. A little spell made her hair stick straight and she pulled it into two low pigtails. She pinned back her natural bangs. They were so annoying.
She pulled on her black silk school robes and tucked her wand into the custom-made wand pocket on the inside of her robes. She threw her book bag over her shoulder and she was ready to go.
She opened her door and was surprised to see Draco awake already. He was making his way into the bathroom with only a pair of green silk boxers and oval-shaped no-frame glasses.
Glasses?
Hermione blushed and Draco pulled his robe on.
"I didn't know you wore glasses," Hermione said. She smiled.
Draco scratched at his neck. "Yeah. I only wear them when I read." He yawned and tousled his hair.
"You look… cute."
Good Lord, I can't believe I just said that.
Draco smirked teasingly. "I know." He shut the bathroom door.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Hermione threw her bag onto the ground at lunch down at with a thump at the Gryffindor table. She was surprised that Harry, Ron, Ginny, and most of the table were already sitting and eating. It was only 10:30.
"Why are you guys already here?" Hermione asked. She looked around. The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables were almost deserted except for a few early bird students. The Slytherin table, to her surprise, was almost as full as the Gryffindor table.
"Quidditch game today," Harry said with his mouth full. He swallowed. "I wanted the whole team to have a big breakfast lunch with a lot of nutrients to be ready for the big game against Slytherin."
Hermione smacked her forehead. "I totally forgot! I'll be there, I promise." She smiled. "I can't wait! You guys are definitely going to beat the Slytherin team."
Harry lowered his voice. "I'm not so sure. This year, I heard the Slytherins are really getting strong. Supposedly Malfoy is getting to be really good. He just got a new broom. Did you get a look at it?"
"No," answered Hermione truthfully. "I didn't."
Harry shrugged. "Whatever. We've been having excellent practices lately, so all we can is hope for the best. As team captain I'm responsible," he muttered, digging into his sandwich.
Hermione patted him on the back sympathetically.
Suddenly, a girl at the Ravenclaw table shifted in her seat and when Hermione looked up, she was staring right at Draco. He probably felt her gaze, and when he looked up, Hermione quickly looked away, pretending to be interested in Harry's Quidditch story.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXO
"GO GRYYFINDOR!" Hermione screamed with the rest of the Gryffindor house. It was cold outside, and Hermione tied her gold and maroon scarf tighter around her neck. She was seated next to Neville and Dean Thomas, who was doing the comments for the match. So far, 1 and a half whole hours into the match, the score was Gryffindor: 110 and Slytherin: 130.
"GO, GO, GRYFINDOR! GO, GO, GRYFFINDOR!" the stand was shouting. Hermione waved her gold flag in the air and cheered whenever anyone on the team made a save. Ginny made a terrific dive just in time to hit the bludger to Ron who smacked it into the Slytherin ring. The score was 120 to 130.
Her eyes, no matter how hard she tried to tear them away, stayed focused on Draco half the time. His blonde hair flew around his face as the wind blew against him on his new broom, the Firebolt Limited Edition 2. Hermione closed her eyes and took a deep breath, opening them again. She found her self looking into his eyes. He was looking back.
Rather self-consciously, Hermione waved a little with her gloved hand. To her utter surprise, he mutely waved back. Hermione felt herself blush under her scarf, and she pulled it over her mouth.
Draco was high in the air, looking around the field, trying to see the snitch. Harry was on the other end of the field, doing the same. Suddenly, Draco hot up on his broom. Apparently, he had caught a glimpse of the snitch. Going into a spectacular 50-foot dive, he looked like a bullet as he lay flat on his broom and darted towards the ground. Harry, seeing Draco shoot down, followed. Harry's broom, which was still a Firebolt, was lagging an inch away from Draco's. Soon they were side by side, bumping into each other, trying to knock the other off their broomstick.
Draco angrily lay as flat as he could, but no matter how flat, he still couldn't escape Harry. When Draco veered right, Harry veered right. When he veered left, Harry veered left. Suddenly, Draco sharply pulled out of the dive as Harry hurtled towards the ground, but he safely toppled softly onto the grass with no injuries and got back on his broom.
Draco looked around for the snitch again. It had vanished. But as soon as he had lost it, he found it again, by the Slytherin end of the field. He smirked at Harry who was a few feet behind him. Draco shot forward towards the rings and stretched out his hand. He was almost there… almost… almost…
"YES!" Draco held the struggling snitch in his hand and pumped his fist in the air, shouting. "YES! YES! YES!"
The Slytherin side of the field exploded with excitement. The stands shook as they jumped up and down and hollered and screamed. The Gryffindors were booing and frowning and shouting at the Slytherins, but Hermione was the only one who was smiling.
He did it, she said in her head. He did it!
XOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Back in the common room, it was dead silent. Harry was sitting sullenly on a maroon couch, refusing to speak with anyone. Ginny was sobbing into Ron's arm as he patted her on the back. The rest of the Quidditch team was gathered around the fire, not saying a word. As Hermione clambered through the portrait hole, she looked around at the gloomy room. Deciding not to interfere, she left and decided to go back to the empty Head dorm. She suspected it would be empty because Draco was probably celebrating with his house in their common room. She was right. The dorm was deserted.
Hermione decided to take a quick shower before she did anything else. Smelling like lavender soap when she got out, she pulled on a pair of pink and white striped pajama pants, a white long sleeved shirt, and put on her fluffy maroon robe. She tied her wet hair into a bun and took her book to the common room to read a bit before dinner. Once she sat down, the common room door opened, revealing a frazzled looking Draco, still in his Quidditch robes, holding his broomstick tightly in his hand.
Hermione raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Back so soon?"
Draco smirked and tousled his hair. "Celebrating a little is fine. Consider me a party animal?"
Hermione thought for a moment then smirked back playfully and nodded.
"Nah. I'm a little tired, actually. Playing Quidditch for almost 2 hours is harder than it looks."
Hermione looked him over. "You're not sweating."
"Yeah I took a shower in the Slytherin dorm. I was too lazy." He threw his broom onto the couch and peeled off his Quidditch robes. He was wearing a gray shirt and black pants underneath.
"But you love Quidditch even though it's hard, right?" Hermione looked at him fling himself onto the couch next to his broom.
Draco laughed. "Yeah, of course. I don't know what anyone would do without knowing how to fly."
Hermione looked away, embarrassed. Draco's mouth popped open. "What? Surely you've ridden a broom before?"
Hermione blushed and brushed away the bangs that fell over her face. "No. I'm afraid of heights, actually."
Draco shook his head. "How can you possibly survive? Come on, I'll take you for a ride."
Hermione's head looked up in surprise. Did Draco Malfoy actually invite her to go on a broom with him? Like, the same broom? That he was sitting on?
Hermione stuttered. "Um… I… I don't…"
"Come on, it's not that bad." Draco picked up his broom and smirked. "You know you want to."
Hermione couldn't help but laugh at his last line. "No, no, no, I'm fine, really…"
"No, come on." Draco went over to her and despite her laughs and gasps of protest he picked her up and carried her over her shoulder. Walking into the empty corridor (because everyone was in their houses getting freshened up after the match) he brought her outside onto the grounds.
Hermione shrieked and kicked her feet like a little girl. "PUT ME DOWN! DRACO MALFOY PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW!"
"No can do," Draco said. She could hear him smirking. "This is going to be a ride of a lifetime."
He put her on the ground and before she could run away, he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her onto the broomstick. Before she could get off, he took flight, leaving the patches of grass far behind. Hermione screamed and she felt like she was going to fall off. Not knowing any other way to be protected, she wrapped her arms around Draco's waist and closed her eyes. The sharp winds were cutting across her skin and she closed her eyes even tighter.
Draco laughed freely. His voice seemed miles away. "OPEN YOUR EYES!" he shouted over the roaring winds.
"I CAN'T!" Hermione yelled back. "I'M GOING TO FALL OFF!"
"NO YOU WON'T!" Draco shouted. "I'LL NEVER LET YOU FALL OF, I PROMISE!"
At this, Hermione opened her eyes without knowing it. Suddenly, she screamed, looking down.
"I'M GOING TO FLIPPING KILL YOU!" she screamed, clutching tighter at his waist. He laughed and did a few loop-de-loops, sending Hermione into another screaming fit. She absent-mindedly buried her face into his back and closed her eyes again.
"Open your eyes Hermione," Draco said softly. His soft voice, for some reason, project better than his loud one. "I swear I won't let you fall."
Hermione opened her eyes.
Suddenly, without screaming, she looked down. Hogwarts seemed incredibly tiny. They were floating above the Black Lake, and Hermione could see the giant squid underneath the murky black water. Her hair was blowing backwards and her eyes started to water from the stinging winds. But the stinging pain was worth it. The view from over the lake was spectacular.
The bright orange, red, and yellow sun melted into the blurry pink and purple sky. Fading white clouds looks barely visible under the coats of color in the afternoon sky. The trees were set with a hazy pink glow and the grass from Hermione's view looked purple.
"This is amazing," Hermione whispered, breathlessly. Her grip loosened on Draco's waist and he puffed out a small stream of visible steamy breath.
"Thank you," he said, smirking. "I couldn't breath."
Hermione giggled softly, and for every reason and for no reason, she found herself resting her head gently on his back. He didn't respond, but Hermione knew that he understood. He understood completely.