Disclaimer: see prologue
Guide: "Speech", Thoughts, ~letters and other written things, "Parseltongue"
Warning: sexual themes and a special kind of 'foreplay'.
Beta: Platinum
AN: Sorry for the long waiting time. RL kept me busy.
Thank you all for over 250 reviews and favourites, as well as the 500+ followings. They make me very happy. :D
This chapter is dedicated to Elza. Thank you for all the lovely talks. :) I hope you enjoy the fighting for top scene.
-~-~- Altair -~-~-
-~-~-by Still waters are deep-~-~-
-~-~- Chapter 30 – And the winner is...-~-~-
Saturday, 15 November 1997, Great Hall
Today was the day. The day everyone had waited for since the start of the new school year. The day of the infamous Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin. And he, the well trusted and loved Seeker, the one his house mates counted on to win the game, was sitting at his house table eating breakfast while his sore ass hurt like hell.
Why again did I end up bottoming when we brewed the Zët Potion yesterday? he asked himself as he glared at his rival Seeker who was to blame for his soreness. But then, he was the one who had allowed himself to be tricked into submitting by a simple Slytherin tactic. And he had been soo close to topping. Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, he took a bite of his toast before he got lost in his memories of the previous day.
~-~-~-~-~-~-Altair-a life changing event-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Flashback
Friday, 14th November 1997, Great Hall, lunch break
"Have you heard?" Ron asked when he sat down at the Gryffindor table. "Slytherin's new Seeker Gind has been in an accident during Herbology and now he has to stay in the Hospital Wing until Sunday. So, catching the Snitch should be easy for you," the red-head said joyfully as he took a bite of his ham sandwich.
"I actually would prefer it if he could play tomorrow," Harry complained, before he finished the last bit of his cheese sandwich. "Now, I'll have to play against Draco," he added with a sigh, speaking more to himself than to his friend.
"Afraid that you will embarrass yourself, Potter?" Draco, who had walked by and overheard their talk, asked to rile Harry up.
"You wish, Malfoy," the brunet answered out of habit.
"In your stead, I wouldn't be so sure of yourself," replied Draco. Then the blond leaned closer and whispered into Harry's ear, "After all, I'm sure that a sore ass will drastically decrease your chances of winning." With his mission accomplished, he walked towards the Slytherin table and smirked when he saw Harry's reaction.
When he heard his Altair partner's words, Harry had groaned and then buried his head in his crossed arms, losing any hope that he would be able to talk Draco into bottoming when they would brew the Zët Potion this evening.
~-~-~-~-~-~-Altair-a life changing event-~-~-~-~-~-~-
It was a quarter after two when Draco entered the living room of Room Zero. While the Head Boy had been busy solving equations in Arithmancy, Harry had been busy thinking about a way to trick the blond into taking the role of the bottom.
It just had to be my luck that the day after we have to brew the Zët Potion, Gryffindor is playing against Slytherin. And if that isn't enough, the Slytherin Seeker had to get into an accident so that Draco has to substitute for him, Harry ranted in his thoughts, unaware that Draco was already back from his lesson.
Really, why again did they decide that this year the first Quidditch match was Hufflepuff against Ravenclaw instead of the usual Slytherin-Gryffindor match? Harry wondered, not realising that he had voiced his thought out loud.
Therefore, he was shocked when Draco answered his question. "My theory is that the other houses have more Quidditch players who take Altair subjects, or maybe Sexual Potions in particular."
"You spooked me," Harry said, once his racing heart calmed down again.
"Sorry," the blond answered, more out of politeness rather than him really being sorry about having startled the other boy.
Harry accepted the apology with an absent hum, before he thought about what Draco had said.
Gryffindor has only three seventh-year players, and only Dean and I take Sexual Magic. Slytherin has Goyle, Crabbe and Blaise. So, Slytherin and Gryffindor together have three players who signed up for Altair electives, Harry mused. And while I don't know who in Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff take Altair electives, with their teams mostly consisting of seventh-years, they should easily have around six people who are in Sexual Potions. So Draco's theory could be right, the brunet concluded.
"Though, I wonder why they could not just have moved the game to next week or the previous weekend if they bothered to change the first match of the season just because the other two houses have probably more players who take Sexual Potions," Harry complained to Draco.
"Maybe you could ask the headmaster about it?" the blond suggested. "I'm sure that if you ask, Dumbledore will do as Gryffindor's Golden Boy wishes," he joked.
"If Madam Hooch hadn't been discharged this morning, I would have tried," the brunet answered, joking along. "Besides, I though you're the expert in postponing Quidditch matches," Harry countered, remembering what happened during their third year.
"Ah, but I'm not the one who will have a sore ass tomorrow, am I?" Draco said with a big, smug smirk, letting himself fall down in his armchair, giving the perfect image of not having a care in the world.
"You know what I've been wondering about?" Harry asked tenderly. Now that Draco had opened the can of worms, so to speak, by mentioning the soreness Harry wanted to avoid, the brunet thought that it was high time he tried out his plan to make Draco the bottom during the brewing process.
"What?" Draco asked, unaware that he was slowly, but surely, walking into Harry's trap.
"In our textbook it is mentioned that the inventor designed the Zët Potion for two dominant brewing partners who fight for the top position during the brewing process," Harry began and saw that Draco nodded in acknowledgement to what had just been said. "So," the brunet began to lay the metaphorical rope around Draco's neck, "shouldn't the potion be stronger if we really fight for the top position?" he asked.
"I mean, your ancestor Thothus was right when he said that our bond would be stronger if we slept together for the first time on our own terms. So, we shouldn't it be true too for brewing Sexual Potions?" Harry asked, mentally closing the rope around the blond's neck, successfully having trapped the other boy.
Draco had to admit that Harry had him there. He really couldn't deny that what the other had said made sense. But to risk his top position for a stronger potion? No, he didn't think so. Therefore, he answered, "While your theory sounds good, I believe that our Typos Thesis already established our positions. After all, I'm the main top and dominant while you're only slightly dominant."
"Afraid that you will lose?" Harry goaded, not wanting to lose the opportunity to top.
"Of course not," Draco replied automatically without thinking, just like Harry had during lunch. After all, six years of habits were hard to break, even after two months of friendship.
"So, why don't we fight it out for real?" Harry asked. He so had Draco now.
"What do you have in mind?" Draco asked with a sigh, resigned to his fate as he slumped down even lower in his armchair. He did not look so at ease anymore.
While it may seem to Draco that Harry had only mentioned Thothus to get out of bottoming, the brunet really had thought about what kind of fight would be best for boosting the effectiveness of the Zët Potion.
During the brewing process, the scripted fight for the top position was very physical in nature, so Harry thought that a simple magical duel would be out of the question. The same could be said for playing a Seeker's game or something else which didn't involve much direct body contact.
Therefore, Harry risked ending up bottoming anyway when he suggested, "How about we have a little hand-to-hand fight. The one who successfully holds the other down for ten seconds gets to top."
Draco thought about the suggestion. He and Harry were around the same height and weight, so they were equally matched in those departments. What Harry didn't know though, was that Draco had taken some martial arts lessons before he came to Hogwarts. And while the blond was a bit rusty, he still remembered enough moves to be confident that he would be able to pin down the brunet easily enough.
Draco, on the other hand, didn't know that Harry had plenty of experience in how to avoid being held down during a hand-to-hand fight, thanks to his cousin Dudley. Thus the two boys had an equal chance to win, even though both assumed to have an advantage over the other because of their pre-Hogwarts time.
"You know what?" Draco asked rhetorically. "How about we spice it up a bit?" he suggested, suddenly having been struck by an idea.
"What do you have in mind?" Harry repeated the blond's earlier question cautiously. There were so many things Harry could think of how Draco could 'spice it up'. It could mean that the blond wanted to higher the stakes by demanding that the loser had to prepare all the nasty ingredients of the Potion or even going as far as having to forfeit catching the Snitch tomorrow. So, Harry was really surprised when he heard the blond's suggestion.
"The brewing of the Zët Potion begins with both of us being naked," Draco said, to which Harry nodded. "So I wonder, if we follow your lead about my ancestor's theory of doing things on our own terms, if we shouldn't include the undressing part into our hand-to-hand fight," the blond said.
When Harry didn't answer, Draco expressed his thoughts a bit more in detail. "It's just a feeling, but to me it feels like there is a part missing in the brewing process. And even if this isn't Ritual Magic, I wouldn't be surprised if the way one disrobes can actually influence the potential of the potion. Besides, we're supposed to fight for dominance which can also be expressed by the amount of clothing we're wearing," Draco explained.
"Hmm," Harry said as he thought about what Draco just said. After a minute he came to the conclusion that the blond was on the right track and voiced his agreement to add that they also needed to completely undress the other before they could start counting to ten.
~-~-~-~-~-~-Altair-a life changing event-~-~-~-~-~-~-
While Harry initially had planned to have the hand-to-hand fight in the afternoon, Draco's suggestion of undressing each other during the quarrel forced them to postpone the fight to right before they would start brewing so that there would be a seamless transition between the hand-to-hand fight and the brewing process.
An hour ago Harry had cooked an early and light dinner for them both. And now at half past six, they thought that it was late enough to start the brewing as the full moon had been up in the sky since around five in the afternoon.
"Where should we have the fight?" Harry asked.
"The bedroom would be the best choice as we'll be brewing in there," Draco answered. "Though, we would have to avoid getting onto the bed as it would just vanish our clothes," he admonished.
"Yeah, wouldn't want to spill any ingredients either," Harry added. "Maybe the Ritual Magic room?" he suggested.
"Hmm," Draco said in contemplation as they both walked into their bedroom. Going over to the door which led to the Ritual Magic room, the blond opened it to gauge its usefulness.
Both boys were surprised when instead of the usual stone floor they were greeted by the sight of thin mats covering the floor. "I think this decides it," Draco said matter-of-factly. Harry just nodded in agreement. What place was better suited for their fight than a wide and open place padded with mats?
"Ready?" Draco asked Harry as they got into position for their hand-to-hand fight. As previously agreed, they were both only wearing three items of clothing: a pullover, as well as their trousers and briefs. At the last minute, Draco had been able to add a forth, decorative item to the list: a belt. While it could be easily taken off in one go with the trousers, the blond hoped that the fumbling it usually took to open the belt-buckle would give him an advantage.
His precise back-up plan was that in the case that Harry would somehow be able to pin him down, the brunet would foolishly use both hands to open the belt-buckle, therefore creating an opening for the blond to get on top again. He himself planned to avoid just this situation by only taking Harry's pullover off half-way. This way, he could use the clothing to trap/cuff Harry's hands while he worked on the brunet's belt-buckle.
Opposed to Draco's typical scheming Slytherin plan, Harry's plan screamed Gryffindor. Harry's idea was simple; just get off Draco's clothes as fast as possible and then try to hold him down somehow. Taking a calming breath, Harry answered Draco's enquiry with a simple "Ready".
"On three," the blond said and then they counted together.
"One." Draco raised an eyebrow to goad the other boy.
"Two," they went on and Harry answered the blond's challenge with a slight raise of his head.
"Three," they called out and Harry charged.
He quickly moved forward, closing the distance between them in only two steps and immediately took hold of Draco's pullover. And while Draco had expected just this move from Harry and even helped to get off his pullover, the blond hadn't expected that Harry would have the presence of mind to make use of his short-lived blindness to trip him.
Hitting the ground with his back, the blond let out a short groan of pain. Harry made use of this short distraction to sit down on the other's chest as he yank at the pullover one last time with his left hand, while his right hand took a secure hold of Draco's wrists, pinning them above the blond's head.
After swiftly throwing away the pullover, Harry moved his body slightly so that his left hand had a better access to Draco's belt, his right hand not letting go of the other's wrists as he leaned his full weight over Draco's upper body.
Shit, Draco swore in his mind. This was not going according to plan. He had envisioned to attack Harry just as the brunet was throwing away his pullover while they both were still standing. And now, he could not even fall back on his back-up plan as Harry was expertly opening his belt-buckle with only one hand, as if he did it on a daily basis. If he didn't want to lose, he would have to get out of this situation and fast.
The chance Draco had waited for came when Harry was shoving down his trousers and briefs in one go. Because of Harry's position on his chest, the brunet could only move the clothing as far as Draco's knees. If Harry wanted to completely throw off the trousers and briefs, he would have to turn around completely. But for this, he would have to let go of Draco's wrists first.
In his haste, the brunet didn't think of using his much longer legs to remove the trousers. Therefore, he foolishly raised his upper body up, moved around so that his back was facing the blond's head, having to let go of the wrists at the same time and leaned forward to grab the trousers with both hands.
Draco didn't hesitate to use the opening to reverse their positions. Because Harry was leaning forwards, his weight was not pinning down Draco's upper body any longer. Thus, Draco could quickly sit up, lean over Harry and grab the back of Harry's pullover and move it half-way up, just as he had planned to do all along. Now it was Draco who had the upper hand, even though Harry had been able to completely pull off his trousers and briefs at the last moment.
The blond's legs were clasped around Harry's, immobilising them. Draco rested his whole weight on Harry as he pressed him down on the floor and then knotted the ends of the pullover's sleeves together as an additional secure measure.
Harry won't get free this easily, Draco though smugly as took a liberating breath, inhaling the smell of victory and of Harry's freshly washed hair.
"Don't be cheesed off, Harry. You would have bottomed anyway," Draco said gleefully. It was a good feeling to press Harry against the floor, to be in complete control of the situation.
What bothered the blond though, was that they were facing the same direction. While the position of his knees on the mats gave him enough room to get his right hand under Harry's body to open the belt-buckle, he would be forced to let go of Harry's legs if he wanted to completely remove the trousers and briefs.
The other option Draco had was to try the move he had learned during his material arts lessons, where he would roll both of them to their sides. From this position, he would have to let go of Harry's legs, as well as to change the grip on the other's wrists to sit down on Harry's stomach. If he was fast enough, Harry wouldn't have a chance to react. But if he only hesitated for a moment, Harry would be able to turn the tables once again.
When he finally opened the belt-buckle, he decided that he would take the risk of moving them into an other position. Really, what can Harry do with his arms bound and being blinded by his own pullover? Draco asked himself as he rearranged their position so that they were now lying on their sides.
Quickly, Draco moved to change their positions once again. He let out a relieved sigh when he had been able to move fast enough to keep Harry under his control. Leisurely sitting on Harry's stomach, Draco first used his right hand, and then his feet to pull off the brunet's trousers and briefs. Now, the only things he needed to do was to finally completely take off Harry's pullover and to hold him down for ten more seconds.
Harry hadn't idly lain on the ground while Draco was undressing him. He had struggled to get free, but Draco had such a sure grip on him that he could barely move. Come on, Harry, he incited himself to come up with a way out of this situation. Your team is counting on you to win the game for them.
When Draco leaned slightly forward to take off the pullover, their naked cocks brushed against each other, sending an arousing pulse through their bodies. And suddenly Harry had an inspiration how he may could get out of bottoming after all.
Closing his eyes, the brunet imagined a snake standing in front of him and then spoke in Parseltongue. "Oh, I really hope that I'm right and you're turned on by Parseltongue so that I can distract you," he said as Draco tossed the pullover away from them.
The twitch of Draco's cock he felt against his own penis encouraged him to continue, even though Draco's right hand was still holding his wrists together, while the blond's left hand was braced on the ground for stability.
"One," Draco said in a clear voice.
"Come on, Draco," Harry hissed. "Get distracted by my hissing," he prayed aloud as the blond reached "Four" in his counting.
"Ah, Draco," Harry screamed out in desperation and noticed with relief how Draco's "Five" sounded rather breathless and something wet touched his balls. The wetness could only be Draco's pre-cum, but Harry had no time to think more about this as Draco was still counting.
"Six," the blond said, breathlessly.
While Harry was getting somewhere with the hissing, time was running out for him. If he still wanted to top during the brewing, he had to move now. Harry twisted his body to lie on only his right shoulder, a move Draco should have recognised from his material arts lessons as a sight for an incoming attack. But the blond was to busy to keep himself under control to notice the slight change in Harry's position.
Just another four seconds! Draco motivated himself, counting, "Seven."
Harry finally opened his eyes to be in a better position for his last attack and at the same time hoped that he would still be speaking in Parseltongue, he hissed out, "Please, Draco, submit!"
Looking into Draco's beautiful grey eyes, he saw how the blond's breath caught and he jerked at his hands, while at the same time he quickly pushed with his right foot to shove his body out from under Draco's. Harry's body was now lying on its side, forming a 'C', and he quickly threw his left leg over Draco's ass, before the rest of his body followed. Now he was straddling the blond, his naked chest pressed against Draco's equally naked back.
Leaning his head over the blond's right shoulder, he began his own counting, whispering into Draco's ear, "One."
"Two," Harry continued, his mind still in Parseltongue mode.
Draco didn't know what to do. He had been so close to making Harry submit, but then his body had to betray him, and get distracted by the arousing hissing. For all he knew, Harry had been calling him a whore or something worse, though he suspected that the brunet was now counting the seconds and was just unconsciously still speaking in Parseltongue. Still, he wouldn't give up! He began to wiggle against Harry's hold, hating and loving it at the same time that the friction his movements created coupled with the Parseltongue whispers, Harry's breath on his ear and the feeling of the other's body pressed snugly against him turned him on even more.
By the time Harry reached "Five," Draco had given up the fight as he saw no way to get out of Harry's hold and let himself get lost in his arousal.
And only when Harry reached "Eight," did the brunet realise that his hard cock was lying between Draco's ass cheeks, smearing pre-cum all over it as Draco's body moved with his struggles. Though it was unclear to Harry whether Draco was wiggling because he still wanted to somehow throw Harry off, or because he was so aroused by the Parseltongue that he was in desperate need for some friction.
Before he could get distracted himself, Harry shoved the feelings he felt due to their current position to the back of his mind and forced himself to concentrate purely on counting.
"Nine...Ten," he finished, sounding relieved that it was over.
With the end of the counting, reality came back to Harry. Quick as lightning, he sprung off of Draco, looking awkwardly at his feet. But quickly he moved his gaze to the wall as not only his feet but also his aroused penis greeted his field of vision.
Draco took longer to come out of his arousal induced daze. With a groan, he came back to reality, not knowing if he should hate that he had only been a hair's breadth away from orgasm, or if he should be happy that he hadn't come after all.
Getting up, Draco was glad to notice that Harry's cock was still hard and its tip wet. At least he hadn't been the only one who had been this turned on by their little hand-to-hand fight.
"You're playing dirty," Draco accused, complaining about the used Parseltongue.
"As the team captain, I have to make sure that my team has the best chances of winning," Harry explained to the wall. "Besides, I hadn't even been sure if the dark violet colour of your Lloj Potion also stood for a Parseltongue kink. But as I didn't have anything to lose, I thought I could at least try."
"I understand," Draco said emphatically, stopping Harry's rant. He knew why Harry did it. Really, what bothered him more was that Harry had been able to get the better of him twice during their fight. Shoving his own frustration aside for now, the blond tried to lighten the mood again with saying, "Come on, the sooner we start brewing, the sooner we'll get some relief," he said, boldly giving Harry's hard cock a stroke.
At least I'm still able to get Harry's attention and make him blush a nice shade of red, Draco thought as he walked into the bedroom where they would soon start the actual brewing of the Zët Potion.
End Flashback
~-~-~-~-~-~-Altair-a life changing event-~-~-~-~-~-~-
I really hate that he got me to bottom, was Draco's final thought as he got out of his memory from the previous evening.
With a sigh, Draco got up from the bench. He really hated that Harry had out-Slytherined him by using his kink for Parseltongue against him.
"Mr Malfoy," his Head of House called him.
"Yes, sir?" Draco enquired.
"If you would please follow me to my office," Severus asked.
With a nod and an "Of course," he dutifully went with Professor Snape down to the dungeons.
"You know, Draco," Severus began once they reached his office, "I would have thought that you would be Slytherin enough to realise that bottoming while brewing the Zët Potion a day before the game against Gryffindor isn't in your best interest."
While Draco would have loved to say that he had realised that and had just been tricked into being the bottom, he knew that Severus would only berate him more for having been outsmarted by Harry Potter of all people. So, Draco wisely decided to stay still.
"But as it can't be helped that Gind is in the Hospital Wing, here you go," Professor Snape said, handling the blond a small pot which was even smaller than Draco's ink pot.
Holding it up to eye-level, Draco saw that it was a pot of Miplo's Soothing Balm. Hoping that his guess was correct and that the soothing was meant for his ass, Draco dutifully said, "Thank you."
"If you're the bottom in your partnership, I'd advice you to order your own pot of this soon," Severus advised. "And now go and apply the cream so that it can do its work before the game starts in an hour," he added, dismissing his godson.
Quickly Draco left the office and went to the next bathroom. Closing the stall door after him, he opened the small pot. Peeking inside he saw that it was already half-empty, but what was left should be enough for today. After putting the pot on the closed toilet seat, Draco opened his pants and slid them down over his hips together with his briefs so that he could apply the cream.
It felt really weird to stand half-naked in a dingy bathroom stall, spreading his ass cheeks apart with one hand, while the other hand was busy scooping up the brownish-grey cream and massaging it into the sore tissue of his rectum. At least the cream doesn't have a penetrating smell, unlike the thing Muggles apply when they have a cold which can be smelled from miles away, he thought, thanking Merlin for small mercies.
Knowing Blaise, he wouldn't let me live it down if he knew what I was doing now, Draco thought as he scooped up some more cream. Or better yet, why I have to apply the cream in the first place, the blond thought with a sigh. The lucky bastard got off lightly with having a female partner he can fuck, Draco thought jealously as he scooped up the last bit of cream.
~-~-~-~-~-~-Altair-a life changing event-~-~-~-~-~-~-
"Why are you walking like you have a stick up your ass?" Vincent asked inside the Slytherin changing rooms.
Draco, who had been walking towards his locker, stopped and turned around to face the Beater. To tell the truth, Draco was confused how Vincent had noticed anything was wrong with the way he walked. After all, his ass has stopped feeling sore about twenty minutes after he'd applied the soothing balm.
To his relief, the blond saw that Vincent wasn't looking at him but had been talking to Blaise of all people.
"I'm not," Blaise said snappishly.
And as Blaise walked towards the chalkboard, Draco could see that the other boy really walked liked he had been thoroughly fucked the night before. How the hell did that happen? the blond wondered. Haven't I thought just half an hour ago how lucky Blaise is for having Hermione as his partner? Draco asked himself. He shook his head and got out his Quidditch gear from his locker.
And then it suddenly hit him. Blaise was partnered with Hermione Granger. The Hermione Granger, who hadn't hesitated to cast a Confundus Charm on McLaggen to get Weasley on the Quidditch team. So, why shouldn't she try to give Gryffindor an advantage by making Blaise submit to her as they too brewed the Zët Potion yesterday? Draco wondered as he absently took off his sweater.
Especially since she would have assumed that Gryffindor was already at a disadvantage with Harry being the submissive partner in our relationship and therefore the likely one to be bottoming, Draco further mused as he put on his green Quidditch shirt.
She somehow must have used her role of a complete dominant as her main argument to be the leading brewer. But if Blaise's reaction to Vincent's question is anything to go by, I won't find out how exactly she tricked him into agreeing to be fucked, Draco thought as he took a quick glance at his team captain who was drawing something onto the chalkboard.
~-~-~-~-~-~-Altair-a life changing event-~-~-~-~-~-~-
"She did what!?" Ron yelled inside the Gryffindor changing rooms. He couldn't believe what Harry told him.
"She just said that she made sure that Blaise wouldn't want to stay up on a broom for very long today," Harry repeated what Hermione had told him outside of the changing rooms right after she'd wished him good luck for the game.
"That's hilarious," Dean said in between fits of laughters. Like Harry, he had a very good idea what the reason for Zabini's hindrance was. However, unlike his captain, he knew exactly how Hermione and Blaise must have brewed the Zët Potion for the Slytherin to have such a problem, which made him laugh even more.
"I can't believe that she got Zabini to agree to use the alternative method," Dean said after his laughter had calmed down somewhat.
"Alternative method?" Harry asked. In his textbook there was only one brewing instruction for the Zët Potion and as far as he could remember, his Sexual Potions professor hadn't mentioned more than one method for the mixed gender couples either.
"Yeah," Dean answered, only barely able to stop another laughing fit at the image his mind supplied him with, namely Hermione fucking Blaise with a strap-on dildo.
"It wouldn't be in your textbook, but in the mixed one, there is an alternative instruction for the case that the woman is the dominant one in the partnership," he finally explained.
"Though, I really shouldn't be surprised that they had to use the other method with Hermione being the bossy type," Dean added, making all three boys laugh.
By the time they stopped laughing, the two underage Beaters had entered the room, preventing Ron from asking Dean how exactly Hermione had been able to hinder Zabini as Altair Black's spell would prevent them from talking about anything Sexual Magic related in their presence.
The red-head decided that he would question Dean about it after the game. Not because he wanted to know in detail what Hermione had done. No, ever the strategist, he just wanted to know if whatever Hermione did could be repeated. Afterwards he could decide if they could use it to their advantage for future Quidditch matches. But for now, he would concentrate on the game against Slytherin.
~-~-~-~-~-~-Altair-a life changing event-~-~-~-~-~-~-
The Quidditch match had started with a very 'soft' handshake between the two captains. Considering that the normal handshake aimed to crush the other's hand, the secure grip Harry and Blaise shared could be considered soft.
Though, Harry had to admit that the arrogant smirk on Draco's face when they set off had worried him a bit. But now, seventy-six minutes into the game, Harry had a good idea what the reason behind the smirk was. Apparently Draco had no problem with staying up on a broom for long times, even after what they did last night. Yep, Harry decided, Draco must have somehow found a way to get rid of the soreness which plagued him before breakfast.
However, the same couldn't be said about Blaise. Slytherin's captain was so twitchy on his broom that it was rather easy for the Gryffindor Chasers to get the Quaffle from him. Add to it that Slytherin's Keeper wasn't the best player the house of the snake ever had, as well as Ginny and Dean working well together with the new Chaser and Ron being on his best today, it wasn't very surprising that Gryffindor was leading the game 150-30.
With his team being so many points ahead, Harry could afford to fly leisure circles around the field. That was until he spotted the Snitch near the outer right Slytherin goal post. Taking a quick look into Draco's direction, the Seekers' eyes met, signalling to each other that they too saw the Snitch, before both boys started to race after the golden ball.
They neared the Snitch from opposing sides of the field, but as they were about sixteen feet away from the Snitch, the ball suddenly shot upwards, both Seekers following, determined to catch the Snitch and end the game.
Draco's motivation was to save his house from certain defeat as it was clear that Slytherin's Chasers would never be able to catch up the points Gryffindor had scored so far. Harry, on the other hand, wanted to underline today's brilliant performance of his team by winning hands down against their eternal rival.
When the Snitch started to fly in spirals, Draco was not even two feet behind the brunet. To keep the upper hand, Harry decided to use his adjusted version of the move Hufflepuff's Chaser Hutchins performed during the last match to try and catch the Snitch before the blond. But, as Harry was only a bit over an inch away, a well-aimed Bludger sent by Crabbe hit the tip of his broom, sending Harry slightly off-track. This allowed the Snitch to escape from Harry's reach and to get out of sight from both Seekers again.
With the Snitch having just escaped them, they both decided that they could spare a minute for a quick chat, after all it was rare that the Snitch was spotted once again right after they'd lost it a minute ago.
"I really hadn't thought that you'd able to adjust Hutchings' move," Draco commented appraisingly as they both flew skywards.
"Thanks," Harry said in return. And then he added, "Though, if your team mates don't catch up soon, it won't even matter which of us catches the Snitch."
"Hmm," Draco grumpily agreed before he flew towards the Gryffindor side of the pitch. Ginny had used the turmoil Draco and Harry's chase had created near the Slytherin goals to score another ten points for her team. Now Slytherin is one hundred and thirty points behind, Draco thought dejectedly. He really needed to catch the Snitch soon.
And as if he had swallowed a spoon of Felix Felicis, his prayer was heard as he spotted the Golden Snitch to the left of the Gryffindor posts. Not even sparing time for a backward glance, Draco immediately flew towards where he saw the ball, only barely noticing that Gryffindor scored another goal.
Harry immediately noticed that Draco picked up speed and chased right after the blond. And this time, instead of flying spirals, the Snitch decided that it would escape the duo by flying towards the stands. But Harry and Draco were good enough flyers that they had no problem with following the Snitch under the stands and chased it through the wooden construction.
They were head to head now, both only an arms reach away from the Snitch when Draco made the deciding move. Instead of reaching out for the Snitch, the blond moved his upper body to the left side where Harry was flying besides him. But instead of jostling Harry, Draco leaned in and kissed Harry's cheek.
Harry was so surprised by the unexpected feeling of Draco's soft lips against his skin that he unconsciously slowed down a bit. But this one moment of hesitation was enough for Draco to outstrip the brunet and catch the Snitch with his right hand.
Dumbfounded, Harry could only watch as Draco held out the ball with a big happy smile on his face. And despite his disappointment, Harry couldn't help but smile himself when he saw how happy Draco was.
When they flew out from under the stands, they heard the announcer say, "Malfoy caught the Snitch! We have a draw! I don't know when we last had a draw in Hogwarts' history."
"Shit!" was all Draco could say to the draw comment. He really had hopped that Slytherin would still only have been one hundred and forty points behind Gryffindor when he caught the Snitch. But apparently he had been so focused on catching the Snitch that he hadn't realised that Gryffindor was able to score once more.
"Come on, a draw is better than a full-out defeat," Harry tried to cheer Draco and himself up. "Though, it was really unfair of you to just kiss me," Harry complained as they flew towards the middle of the pitch. He really had wanted to win this game for his team.
"No, I was just returning the favour. Or have you forgotten the little Parseltongue trick you pulled yesterday?" Draco answered. "Besides, it's not like anyone saw it," he added with a wink.
~-~-~-~-~-~-Altair-a life changing event-~-~-~-~-~-~-
AN2:I hope you liked the chapter. On my deviantart page I uploaded a picture with their positions during the hand-to-hand fight. It's in my Altair folder.