Hey to you all, I feel that I may have made the last chapter a little boring. Sorry about that.
Well here is the next chapter, hope you like it.
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Ewing and Gabrielle flew over the grounds of Malfoy manor at night, their keen eyes looking for prey.
They swooped over tall trees, immaculate gardens and the servants quarters.
Two figures were making their way towards the main entrance, upon seeing their masters, the owls glided down and perched on respective shoulders.
"Hello there." Hermione cooed, stroking Ewing affectionately while Draco absently ran his fingers over Gabrielle's feathers.
"So you were saying?" He prompted.
"Yes, I think we need to see Ron and Pansy, to make sure they will be alright."
"Why would I ever want to see her again?" He asked her, as though it was a perfectly logical question.
Hermione sighed, "You're going to have to get used to it, she's one of us now and she's 'engaged' to my best friend."
"What good will going to see them do?" He asked after a pause.
"Just to see how things are going."
"I thought we were busy people." Draco pointed out.
"We are." She agreed "But we can't ignore our friends."
"He's not my friend."
"Fine, my friend." She rolled her eyes and gave Ewing one last pet before he took off, Gabrielle close behind.
"We will see him when we have time." Draco announced.
"We will make time." Came the stern answer.
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The next morning, Hermione was busy sending off letters to the Ministry about her resignation and Draco was talking to Phillip for many hours in the dining room.
When they had finished a light lunch, Draco and Hermione both aparated to his quiddich training. When they arrived, a very tall man in his 30's greeted them.
"Mr Malfoy, it's a pleasure to meet you, and is this your fiancé, Miss Granger?"
Draco took Hermione's arm and nodded "Yes, she is."
"I am Cadel Paolini." He had a cool demeanour and spoke politely.
"An honour to meet you."
Cadel led them through a glittering reception and then a wide hallway. Along the walls were framed portraits of quiddich players who stirred in their frames when they passed.
Finally they reached the field. Hermione had never seen such a well kept lawn. Every blade of grass was at the perfect height and stood up. She would have been afraid to walk on it.
"This is our training pitch, I hope you find it to your satisfaction Mr Malfoy." Cadel smiled but it never reached his eyes and Hermione could sense he was daring Draco to challenge him.
"No, it is most appealing." Draco answered calmly.
"Miss Granger, I believe you will find suitable seating if you follow that stair case, I need to show Mr Malfoy to our changing rooms." He continued, not bothering to hide the fact that he didn't want Hermione around.
Draco released her hand and smiled, she returned the gesture and ascended the stairs to her right without saying a word to Cadel.
After a moment, Draco saw Cadel turn and lead him through a corridor. There were several doors but they didn't have any labels and his guide offered no explanation. Finally at the end of the corridor, one door was open and low voices could be heard as they approached it.
Cadel indicated that Draco should enter. "The team changing rooms." Was all he said.
Draco stepped in and saw an array of foreign players he had never met in person before. They looked up with curious expressions on their faces as he entered.
"I would like to introduce you all to your seeker, Mr Malfoy." Cadel announced.
Many faces seemed to lighten with recognition. They had heard of him, and he wondered if they even knew he played quiddich.
"I trust you will all be well acquainted by the time our playing season starts." Draco noticed that here, Cadel's voice was less respectful than before and he looked down at the others players with mildly concealed disdain. "You are expected on the pitch in ten minutes."
Without another word, he left. Silence engulfed the room.
"Bastard ain't he?" A rather large man grinned at him. He had what Draco believed to be an Australian accent.
"Quite." Draco replied, moving over to a bench and looking around.
"You can change over there." He offered again.
Draco nodded and took his things to change, while listening to the conversation between the other players.
"Mr Malfoy? Does he expect us to call him that?" An American voice spoke.
"No, you know that Paolini character, I don't think he likes the idea and doesn't really want this team to last." Draco felt a liking towards the Australian player and made a note to ask his name.
"Who hasn't heard of the Malfoy name and the trouble that follows?"
"Times have changed; we're a team now."
Draco emerged, and silence filled the room. He put in place a cool demeanour. "Shall we go?"
He stepped out before the others said anything, and after a moment he could hear the others following him out.
The tension between team mates escalated with each step so that by the time they reached to pitch, Draco was fighting the urge to grind his teeth with frustration.
There in the middle of the pitch was a sprightly man with brown hair and a crooked nose. It appeared to have been broken some time in the past. He waved enthusiastically when he saw them arrive.
"Welcome! I'm your coach, Mark."
Everyone nodded politely. "Well I guess you don't really know each other so lets get in the air and try some warm ups."
Draco hopped onto his state-of-the-art broom and kicked off. The others rose beside him and he stopped to look at them.
They were a well assembled team in terms of fame, skill and money. The last part made Draco feel awkward, he knew Hermione wouldn't begin to understand the complexities of quiddich, let alone the necessity of paying your dues.
He began circling the pitch, enjoying the feeling of being in the air again after so long. Hermione waved to him and he smiled in return before rising and glancing down at Mark who was indicating with his wand that he was about to release the quaffle and bludgers.
Once they were out, the tension heightened unbearably and Draco found himself trying to avoid his team mates as much as the flying black bludgers.
They were at each others throats, trying to upshow each other. He saw the Australian chaser pass the quaffle to the American man but it was hit off course by a bludger one beater had slammed at him.
Mark blew his whistle and gestured violently for them to descend.
Draco was the first down and waited calmly for the others to get off their brooms.
"That was like nothing I have ever seen before." Mark began "You are professional players and yet I see you trying to beat the living daylights out of each other as though you are still in those petty school competitions!"
The players hunched defensively but no one spoke. "This cannot be what we look like at our first match. You are the best, start acting that way."
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Hermione sat down and watched the players carefully. She saw a bludger narrowly miss Draco's shoulder and knew it wasn't a mistake. There was obvious tension between the players and she didn't want to think Draco was right in the middle of it.
She could just imagine Draco firing up the tempers of the other players; it was one of his many talents.
He smiled at her, but she was not reassured. When the coach called them back down, she had a feeling they would be there for a long time.
He was gesturing widely and had a deep frown on his face. His lips were moving fast and she could tell from the tension in the players bodies, they didn't like the way they were being spoken to.
Draco had told her they were the best in the world, having each been hand picked for the team. From this, she got the idea that it would annoy them to no end to be hounded like that by a new coach.
Her cell phone began to ring in her bag. Draco had seemed sceptical about her buying one at first, but she had insisted that their muggle business partners needed to contact her and there was hardly a person without one in these times.
In the end he had given up trying to make sense of the object and moved on to talking about the Manor's redecoration.
"Hello?" She answered it, keeping an eye on the players below.
"Miss Granger?" A cool female voice asked.
"Yes. How can I help you?"
"It's Lora Hearn."
Hermione instantly perked up "Of course, how are you?"
"Fine thank you. I was wondering when you would be free for a meeting?" Lora seemed rather uninterested and Hermione knew she didn't like the deal with Draco, who intimidated her, but higher authorities were interested.
"Yes, I'm free anytime tomorrow if you wish." Hermione offered.
"Perhaps you can swing by my office at ten?"
"Of course, I look forward to seeing you then."
"Likewise, good bye." She hung up.
When she turned back to the pitch the players were once again in the air but the air of hostility did not lessen.
Draco flew by, his eyes on the field but she could tell his attention was on her. "Are you alright?"
"Yes," she answered "Are you? It seems a little tense."
Draco chuckled without humour. "That is an understatement if I ever heard one."
"Did you say something?"
His head whipped around sharply, his silver eyes glittering, "You think I caused this? You're saying it's my fault?"
Hermione sensed her mistake "No, I just-"
"Thought I had said something incredibly rude to test the temper of my new team mates, because that's just what I do isn't it? You know me too well Granger." His voice was venomous and Hermione almost winced at the use of her last name which sounded so harsh now.
"Draco, you know that's-"
"Don't bother with the sweet talk." And before she could say another word in her defence, he had flown off.
She realised she was wrong to think Draco had caused the tension between the players and that in reality, she had no case against his accusations.
"You will never understand me Granger, because you don't want to." His words from the first day they spent together came rushing back.
After all this time, had she really gotten no closer to understanding him? If she had, maybe she wouldn't have made such a rash decision as to think he had caused all the trouble within the team.
She knew this was something little, but the meaning behind it was so much bigger. He changed for her, took her out and gave her flowers. She smiled at the memory.
She hadn't changed, she hadn't given up her old opinion of Draco Malfoy. This realisation made it feel like the giant steps they had taken over the last few months had been in the completely wrong direction.
'Lets start again.' She thought softly.
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Ok, I have done more setting up, please let me know your ideas, I welcome them all.
Also, I think it would be fun for you guys to guess what's going to happen! I've dropped so many hints and some are misleading! Don't be afraid to guess!
Thanks to my friend Jo who is just so great and also Shelly, thanks for your confidence!
Please drop in a review!
