A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate them! Please keep them coming… Also, I don't own any of the characters except for Alysious… everything else is J.K. Rowling's.
Chapter Seven
Alysious lay in her bed and thought about the Hogsmeade trip. She was slightly bothered to think of Draco loving another girl. Who was this Rose girl, and why had she never heard of her before? And Draco had said that he loved her? Now she was God-knows-where and Draco still thought of her? Still had strong enough feelings for her that she was on the top of his mind when Harry asked him the question? Then it hit her.
Bloody hell.
Draco hadn't even referred to her as his girlfriend yet, much less tell her that he loved herPossibly, Draco wasn't interested as taking things as seriously as Alysious. Or maybe she just wanted to make things happen faster than they were supposed to.
How long have we been together-er-'dating'? September, October, November…. Okay three months. That's plenty of time to decide on a title, right?
Alysious made up her mind that she needed to talk to Draco about this issue. With the coming Gryffindor-Slytherin match she decided now was not the best time to do it. But afterwards- she had a mission. On that note, Alysious fell into a troubled sleep.
The Gryffindor-Slytherin match was the first Quidditch match of the year and one of the most highly anticipated by students. Because of their legendary rivalry, and it being Harry Potter's last year at Hogwarts, the match was quickly reaching a celebrity status. More people than ever before were going to be coming to watch the matches, not only between Gryffindor and Slytherin, but all the others as well to be able to keep up with the scores.
"Harry, I don't think I can do it." Ron sat, pale-faced and shaking at breakfast before the match.
"Do what, exactly?" Harry asked, absentmindedly picking at his food but not eating.
"The bloody match, Harry! I just- I don't think- it's too-" Ron stuttered, then paused to regain composure. At that moment, Hermione came bursting in through the Great Hall's doors, tears streaming down her face. She looked wildly around the Hall until she spotted Harry and Ron. She ran over to them and threw herself down on the chair beside Ron. Neither one of the boys knew what to do, everything was so sudden. Awkwardly, Ron started to try and pat her hair down, but Hermione slapped his hand away.
"Wha-" Ron started.
"I hope you're happy, Ronald Weasley!" Hermione practically screamed at him. "You got what you wanted!" And with that Hermione left with a heavy sob as abruptly and abrasively as she came. Ron stared after her, his mouth hanging open. Suddenly, Ron stood up, knocking his chair behind him across the floor a few feet.
"THAT'S IT!" Ron bellowed, throwing his hands in the air. "I QUIT, HARRY! YOU CAN'T CONVINCE ME OTHERWISE!" Ron sprinted out of the Great Hall, following Hermione's actions. The entire Hall was staring at Harry now, like he had caused all the drama personally.
Thankfully, Ginny had entered the Great Hall just as Ron was running out. When Ginny had tried to stop Ron to ask him if he was okay, Ron had ignored her and pushed past her. Hurt, Ginny walked over to where Harry sat, now by himself.
"What the fuck?" Ginny asked him, irate. Harry sighed, and motioned for her to come sit by him. She obliged, and sat down in a huff.
"I don't know, Gin. Something about him 'getting what he wants' or something… I dunno…" Harry explained before Ginny even had to ask.
"Getting what he wants? What is that supposed to mean?" Ginny asked, confused.
"I don't know, Hermione said it. She was crying all over the damn place." Harry took a small bite out of a piece of toast.
"Weird." Ginny said, forking some eggs onto her plate. Harry nodded in agreement. He realized that he needed to try and find Ron, for two reasons. One, he was his best mate and something was obviously terribly wrong, and two, he was the only bloody seeker Harry had trained for Gryffindor.
Getting up slowly and reluctantly, Harry kissed Ginny on the cheek.
"See you at the match, then?" he asked her softly. She smiled warmly.
"Wouldn't miss it for a million galleons."
"Really? A million?" Harry asked, looking surprised.
"Well, maybe for a million." Ginny giggled. "I'll be there, lets just say that."
"Okay, good. I think I'm really going to need some kind of support from the team." Harry ran his fingers through his hair. She was the cutest Chaser he had ever met. But, he needed to find Ron, and he needed to not stress out so much right now. Ginny waved goodbye to him and he strode out of the Hall after his best friend.
Hermione had been feeling slightly odd for a few weeks now. Originally thinking she was just stressed out about her troubles with Ron and her increased work load, she had given it no additional thought. Then, everything came to a shattering half for her. What was the date again?
FUCK! Oh fuck, fuck, fuck!
Hermione needed to find Ron, and fast. Who the hell did he think he was? Destroying everything she had worked for in her last year of school! What was she supposed to do? Their relationship on the rocks, her parents being traditional-scratch that- very traditional, conservative muggles!
Oh, he is going to pay dearly for this!
Hermione, crying, ran out of her private room and rushed to the Great Hall to find Ron.
Draco sat lounging on the floor of the steamy shower, the hot water rushing over him and calming his nerves. He couldn't stop thinking about Rose. Why did Potter have to ask him that stupid question and rile everything from the past up. Plus, now Alysious knew about her and she must have felt awkward.
Damn. I honestly don't know what to do. I can't conceivably continue a real relationship with Alysious if I can't even get over Rose. But I also can't keep dwelling on this- I'll drive myself insane.
Right then Draco heard an alarming sound. Hermione Granger was sobbing loudly and slamming doors as she left. It helped to snap him out of his thoughts.
What the hell was that all about?
Draco sighed and knew what he would have to do. He was dreading talking to Alysious, he didn't really know how she was feeling about the relationship to begin with. This could be a huge blow to her for all he knew. Draco knew it was the only way, and that it was the right thing to do. He would have to go talk to her- right after the Quidditch match.
Shortly after leaving the Great Hall, Harry found Ron. He was sitting on one of the overstuffed chairs in the Gryffindor common room, his face buried in his hands. Harry walked quietly over to him and sat opposite him.
"Spill." Harry said, his arms crossed over his chest. Ron shook his head silently.
"I fucked up." Ron whispered hoarsely.
"With Hermione, then? Tell me what happened, I'm sure everything will be fi-"
"No." Ron interrupted, looking up from his hands and straight into Harry's eyes. "Nothing is ever going to be fine again."
Harry didn't know what to say.
"You can't just bail out of everything because one aspect of your life gets fucked up, though." Harry started nervously. "The team is counting on you, Ron, we really need you." Ron laughed darkly.
"Fine. I'll play. I don't fucking care. Just leave me alone, okay?" Ron got up and walked into the dormitories leaving Harry, once again, all alone.
The whole school started piling into the stands for the Quidditch match a whole hour before the game was set to begin. People sat chattering excitedly with one another and placing bets on the winning team. Alysious had not been able to find Hermione to sit with, so she sat with Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown. The two girls had developed a reputation for being very quick to get physical with boys over the past few years, but still remained fun to be around and friendly. Alysious thought it was strange that Hermione wasn't here, but probably figured that she had lost track of the time and would show up late. Comforting herself with this thought, Alysious plopped down beside Lavender and Parvati.
"Hey, Aly! How's Draco?" Lavender giggled. Alysious cringed at the sound of 'Aly'- she hated being called that.
"Oh, he's doing well. I couldn't find him before the match… I wanted to wish him luck…" Alysious searched through the crowds, hoping to catch a glance of someone she knew.
"It's so strange, you know? How people end up together you never would have though could stand one another!" Parvati eyed Alysious. "Like you and Draco. Opposites do attract, apparently."
"Oh, no, it's just that anything is attracted to Draco. He's gorgeous. I'm so jealous…" Lavender and Parvati giggled shrilly and Alysious suddenly wished she had opted to sit by herself.
"I watched him at practice the other day, he is captain for the Slytherin team, you know, and they scrimmaged against each other. Shirts and skins- my favorite! Draco was on skins…" Parvati squealed. Alysious wondered if they were actually registering that she was dating Draco. Surely they wouldn't speak this way if they knew?
"Yes, he is… pleasing to the eyes. But he is also an intellectual. We've had many wonderful conversations, because we are…dating and everything…" Alysious raised her eyebrows at the girls. They didn't catch the hint.
"Four pack or six pack?" Lavender asked Parvati, wanting details on the Slytherin scrimmage.
"Umm… hard to tell from so far away. But definitely not a keg! I would wager a six pack."
"Mmm… I wish I could meet someone with a body like that. I'd never let him out of my sight." Lavender gazed into the Quidditch pitch. "Ooh! There's Harry!"
"And Ron!" Parvati pointed. "Is he still with Hermione?" she looked interestingly at Alysious.
"Yes." Alysious replied hotly. Both girls gave her a reproachful look.
"Don't have to be snotty… I was only asking…" Parvati frowned. A cool voice interrupted the girl's conversation.
"Fancy giving me a good luck kiss?" Alysious whirled around to see Draco smiling at her in his Quidditch robes. He looked absolutely irresistible. He hadn't messed with his hair at all, so it hung fluffy and playfully in his eyes. She loved it when it looked disheveled and natural. His dark green robes accentuated how tall he stood, and how strong and broad his shoulders were. He dropped his broom and lifted her by her waist so that she wrapped her legs around his torso. He smacked her butt playfully and she laughed in flirtation.
"Thank you for saving me from them!" Alysious whispered, motioning with her eyes at Lavender and Parvati.
"Can I have my reward, then?" Draco smirked. Alysious kissed him deeply and cupped his face in her hands. After a few seconds, they pulled apart and smiled knowingly at each other. Draco placed her back on the ground after she let go of his waist with her legs. She threw her arms around him.
"Good luck! I know you're going to be brilliant!" Alysious cried. Draco leaned down and kissed her forehead.
"Cheer for me?" he asked her, smiling. She nodded quickly. "I'll listen for you, then." Draco started to walk off while he waved goodbye to her.
The match started clean. Both teams were playing at their best and playing fair. Then, one of the Gryffindor beaters hit a bludger illegally after the whistle was called and it wound up smacking a Slytherin Beater in the face.
"You stupid prat!" Harry shouted. He had meant to direct it at his own player, who happened to be flying right behind the Slytherin who was knocked in the face, but the Slytherin took it as Harry was speaking to him. Completely irate, the Slytherin started playing very dirty. Almost every shot was aimed at Harry, they had completely abandoned their desire to score. Draco picked up on this after a few minutes, and knew he needed to put an end to it before his players hurt someone and were banned from playing the rest of the year.
"Hey!" Draco shouted to his beaters," don't focus so much on Potter! There are other Gryffindor players out there too!" Draco turned around on his broom and continued searching for the Snitch.
After another half hour of playing time, Draco noticed that his team had reverted back to aiming only at Harry. With a sick feeling in his stomach, he watched his biggest beater wind up while Harry's back was turned.
"No!" Draco shouted as he plummeted down toward his beater as fast as his broom would take him. The crowd gasped as they watched the events unfold. Harry turned around just in time to see the Slytherin beater smash his club into the side of Draco's skull as hard as he could muster. There was a nauseating crack that could be heard from the solid wood hitting bone. Draco went limp.
The crowd screamed in horror as Draco fell from his broom, blood pouring out of a deep gash and indent on the left side of his head. Harry, feeling as though it was his fault, raced after him on his broom, slowly catching up with the free-falling Draco. Seconds before Draco crashed onto the ground, Harry caught him safely and quickly flew to the Hospital wing, completely abandoning the game.
Alysious was the first person to reach the Hospital wing. She was flushed and breathless from sprinting back to the castle, and her sides ached begging for more oxygen. She burst in through the Hospital wing doors to find Madame Pomfrey frantically trying to get the wound on Draco's head to stop bleeding and to get his pulse regulated. Dumbledore, Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall were second to burst through the doors not long after Alysious.
"OUT!" Madame Pomfrey cried at Alysious, pointing to the door.
"Albus!" Professor McGonagall screamed. "The boy has stopped breathing!" All the professors rushed over to Draco and began murmuring spells all over him. Flashes of light danced across Draco's body as the charms hit him. Alysious was paralyzed in horror, she couldn't stop watching no matter how badly she wanted to run out of the room. She watched for a few minutes that seemed like days while the Professors and Madame Pomfrey were able to get Draco to start breathing again. They all looked shaken and pale.
"We almost lost him, Albus…" Madame Pomfrey looked as though she were about to cry.
"Clean and bandage his wound, Madame. He will probably stay unconscious for some time." Professor Dumbledore said wearily as he turned around. "My dear, Alysious, I know you have Mr. Malfoy's best interests at heart, but please go back to your common room for now. You will be able to visit him shortly I'm sure." Dumbledore spoke gently, seeing the terror etched in her face.
Without speaking, Alysious began walking back to the Gryffindor common room when she suddenly had a thought. Hermione had never shown up to the match. She really could not face going back to the packed common room and facing all the questions she knew people would ask her, so she changed paths and began walking towards the Head Boy and Girl's suite.
A/N: Thanks for reading and please don't forget to review!
