The First Match
Love was weird. I mean, don't get me wrong. I like being in love. But it did funny things to your head. The sun seemed brighter, and jokes seemed funnier. I even started doing better in my classes. There was this one day, a couple weeks later, that Slughorn decided to put us in pairs for our assignment, and for some reason he didn't want two people in the same house in the same group. So he started pairing us off, and by amazing chance, he paired me with Malfoy. We pretended to be mad and complain about it, but the whole time during class we played footsie under the table and snuck sexy glances at each other. One time, though, I did look up and catch Hermione's eye. And then I looked over, and Blaise was also looking. He looked sad. Shit. After class, Malfoy and I followed Blaise into a deserted hallway so we could talk to him.
"Blaise, wait." I said to him.
"You guys, its ok. Really. I just need some time to process this." He said.
"Just wait, we should talk about this." Malfoy said to Blaise, and he turned to face us.
"Ok, fine. Talk."
"Look, it's not like we planned this. Or even wanted this. At first." I said to him. He looked at me with hurt in his eyes.
"So is this the guy you talked about when we broke up?" He said, glaring at Malfoy.
"Yes, Blaise. But we hadn't even done anything before then."
"Oh, that makes everything ok, then." Sarcasm. Nice.
"Hey, now. Don't blame her. She did the right thing by you." Malfoy said.
"Don't even talk about the right thing, Malfoy. You have no idea."
"Blaise! I thought you said breaking up was the right thing to do!" I said at him, almost crying now.
"I did. And that's what I thought, until I found out it was because of my best friend."
"We did NOT break up because of Malfoy. I hated him, then. And he hated me. Right?" I added, glancing at Malfoy.
"Right." He said, and Blaise chuckled ruefully.
"Blaise, did you even love me?"
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"It has to do with everything. Because THAT'S the reason I broke up with you. I wanted love, and to have someone love me back. And you didn't."
"Don't make this about me."
"Wait a sec-" Malfoy started, but I was faster. And louder.
"I'm NOT making this about you! I understand that this hurts you! But I can't do anything about it, ok? I just can't. I wanted to love you, but I couldn't. I tried, Blaise. That's why I kissed you. But I didn't feel it. And I know you didn't feel anything, either. It's different with Malfoy, alright? I feel better with him."
"Whatever. You ended our sex, just so you could go and sleep with my best friend. That's way different, Tal. You know, I thought you were better. But you're just a sl-"
"HEY!" Malfoy shouted. I was bawling my eyes out at this point, and he couldn't take it anymore. He walked up to Blaise and punched him right in the nose. "Don't you DARE call her that! Don't you dare even accuse her of something like that, ok? You have NO idea what it's like with us. What we have is different than what you guys had. It's what she wanted. And if you ever say that to the girl I love again, you better watch your back." And he walked back to me and pulled me into a hug. He loved me?
"You love her?" Blaise echoed my thought.
"Absolutely." And then Blaise looked at me.
"Do you love him?"
I nodded. "Yes." And then, suddenly, Blaise looked very… embarrassed, and guilty, and much unlike himself.
"God, you guys. I'm sorry. I crossed a line. I don't know what came over me. Talia, I'm so sorry I almost called you that. You're not. I feel like shit now." So I walked over to him and hugged him.
"It's ok, Blaise. I can understand why you got upset. I forgive you."
"Thank you. I know we only ever hooked up when we hung out, but I've come to consider you one of my best friends. I hope we can stay that way."
"Of course we can. I'd love that." He looked up at Malfoy.
"We good, dude?"
"If she's ok, then I'm ok." He said. And then Blaise let out a sigh of relief.
"Hey Tal, you can stop crying now. You know crying girls make me uncomfortable." He said, and I laughed, trying to wipe the tears away.
"God, you guys. Before you guys, I never cried. And now it seems to be a regular thing. I gotta say, I'm not too fond of this." I walked back to Malfoy so he could put his arms around me.
"I'll see you guys later." Blaise said, and walked away.
"That was a close one. I almost ruined a friendship."
"That would've been all on him, babe." I looked up at him, and smiled. "What?" He said.
"You love me?"
"Well, yeah. I suppose."
"Oh, you suppose? What, it only took you having to punch your best friend to realize it?"
"Of course not. I realized it a few weeks ago, on our date."
"Really?"
"Yep. When I finished lighting the candles and turned around, and I saw you there, looking amazing in blue, I realized it."
"Wow."
"Yeah. You should always wear blue." And then, "So, you love me, huh? When did YOU realize it?"
"Last night. Sorry it took me so long."
"I'll forgive you eventually." And we kissed this soft, yet amazing kiss. And it could've gone on for a lot longer, but we were interrupted.
"You love him?" Hermione. Crap. We just couldn't get a break today.
"Hermione, its-"
"What the hell, Talia?"
"Listen-" Draco tried saying.
"Don't you even talk to me, Malfoy." She was pissed.
"Hermione just let us explain! Alright?" I yelled, which finally got her to shut up.
"Fine. Explain." And she sat down. How many times were we going to have to explain this to people? We sat down across from her.
"Ok, first you have to know something. Malfoy and I-"
"Is he First Guy, or Second Guy?" She interrupted.
"Second Guy."
"Alright. Who was First Guy?"
"Blaise Zabini."
"Zabini? Really? What's with you and Slytherins? I thought you hated them just as much as Harry."
"I did. But these two-"
"Did you love him? Blaise?"
"No."
"And he's ok with this?"
"I think he will be."
"And do YOU love her?" She asked Malfoy. He looked confident.
"More than anything."
"And you won't hurt her?"
"Of course not."
"Ok then. I'm cool." I stared at her, then at Malfoy, who was staring at me, and then we both stared back at Hermione, dumbfounded.
"Wh—What?" I said.
"Listen. I'm not happy that you didn't tell me, and I'm not sure I'm okay with it being Malfoy yet. But I trust you, and if you say he's different, I believe you."
"Wow, that was easy."
"But listen to me, Malfoy, if you ever call me a Mudblood again-"
"Talia already warned me about that, you don't need to worry."
"Oh. Well, you need to leave Ronald and his family alone, they don't deserve-"
"Covered that one too, Hermione." I said, smiling.
"Oh. And Harry, too?"
"And Harry, too." Said Malfoy.
"Well, okay, then. I guess I'll talk to you later, Tal." And she got up to walk away, but then turned back to add something. "Oh, and I'm sorry for my brief moment of profanity back there." I smiled. I hardly considered using the word "Hell" once in her lifetime as profanity.
"Wait! Hermione, you can't-" But she was one step ahead, as usual.
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. But YOU should. At least Ginny, for now."
"You're right. I will. I promise." Eventually.
"Good." And she left.
"Good God, we used to be so good at sneaking around." Malfoy said.
"It's the love thing. It's making us sloppy. We should do something about this."
"Yeah, maybe. But I don't want to."
"Me neither." And we backed into a closet and recommenced our snog fest. We sure did snog a lot.
….
"Talia, wake up!" A voice shouted from somewhere.
"No!"
"Talia, today's the Quidditch match! Ron's FIRST match! You have to get up, or you'll miss breakfast!" Oh yeah. The match.
"Just give me five more minutes."
"You said that half an hour ago! You need to get up NOW!" And they pulled the covers off and doused me with water from both of their wands. I screamed, shot out of bed, and glared at both of them.
"You guys are dead." They laughed and ran out of the room. Cowards.
I got dressed in a cute, Gryffindor pride outfit. I knew Ron was super nervous, and if I was him, I would be too. I couldn't believe Hermione confunded McClaggen like that. Ron still wasn't any better, and he knew it. He may have felt confident right after tryouts, but I think reality was finally catching up with him. Poor guy. Nonetheless, we were his friends, and we would cheer him on the whole time. Of course, secretly, I'd be cheering for Blaise in my head. But I still wanted our team to win, either way.
I made my way into the Great Hall for breakfast, where everyone was either sporting green and silver, or red and gold. Of course, red and gold took the majority. Suck it, Slytherins. On my way to our table, I glanced over at Blaise and mouthed 'good luck' to him, and he gave me a smile. When my eyes met Draco's, I melted. The way he was looking at me was so… intimate. But then he got up to leave. I wondered where he was going. Oh well, maybe I'd see him at the match.
When I got to my table, Hermione and Ginny looked at me nervously. Good. Ginny was sitting by Dean, and Hermione was sitting with Harry. We started eating, and just when I started to wonder where Ron was, I heard the huge doors open, and saw Ron shuffling in, practically shaking with fear. People kept on wishing him luck, but that seemed to just make things worse for him.
"Good luck, Ron." Said Neville.
"We're counting on you, Ron! I've got a couple galleons on Gryffindor." Said Seamus Finnigan. Damn it, Seamus, that wasn't helping anything. Ron sat down next to me, across from Harry and Hermione. Hermione kept glancing Ron's way, while Harry couldn't help glaring at Dean, over there with Ginny. Man, my friends couldn't do anything by themselves, could they? Ron was staring down at his plate.
"So, how was it?" He said to Harry and Hermione. How was what?
"How was what?" Hermione asked. I thought she could be psychic, she shouldn't have dropped Trelawney's class so fast third year.
"Your dinner party last night." He said, a little resentfully.
"Dinner party? What dinner party?" I asked.
"Slughorn's dinner party last night that only the 'best and brightest' were invited to."
"Hey, I didn't know about that!"
"Well, how could you? You've been off with M—whoever you've been off with" Nice save, Hermione.
"Well, what else have I missed?"
"Well, you know how Katie Bell is in the hospital wing now?"
"Yeah?"
"Harry openly accused Malfoy of being responsible."
"What! Harry, you can't be serious."
"Hey, I thought you were on MY side for this particular subject!" He said.
"Well, now that I think about it, I do think it's a little ridiculous."
"Oh, just perfect. Just wait, I'm right. You'll see."
"Whatever, you guys. How was the dinner party last night?" Ron asked again.
"To be honest, dead boring, really. Though I think Harry enjoyed dessert." Hermione said, glancing Harry's way. "Anyway, Slughorn reminded us of the Christmas party he's having next month, and that we're allowed to bring someone. Ginny's bringing Talia, here."
"I bet you're going with McLaggen. He's in the Slug Club too, right?" He said rudely. Oh, Ron. Hermione was quite annoyed.
"Actually, just so you know, I was going to invite YOU, Ron. So we could all hang out together."
"Really?" Idiot.
"Really. But since you seem to have such distaste for the idea-"
"Good luck today, Ron! I bet you'll be brilliant." Said Lavender Brown, passing by. Ron smiled weakly at her, and when she was gone, his face was almost a sickly green color.
"That's it, I'm out. After today's match, McLaggen can have my spot."
"Have it your way. Would you like some juice?" What was that I saw in his hand?
"Hello, everyone. Ron, you don't look so good." Luna came and sat with us, wearing her huge lion's head. She was so cute. She turned to Harry and said, "Is that why you put something in his juice?" And sure enough, when Harry reached into his bag, the little vial of Felix Felicis glinted in the light.
"Liquid Luck." I said.
"Ron, don't drink that!" Hermione said sternly. But he didn't care, and he downed that cup of juice as if it was the last cup of juice he'd ever drink.
"Harry, if anyone found out about this, you could be expelled." I said to him.
"I don't have any idea what you guys are on about. Ron?" He said, getting up. Ron looked amazing, confident, and ready to play.
"Let's go, Harry. We've got a match to win."
….
It was such an intense match. Pretty bloody, too. Thankfully none of my friends sustained any major injuries. I've never really been good at knowing all the rules and stuff, but I knew enough to be able to enjoy watching. Blaise was wonderful, flying very fast and all. When I looked over to the Slytherin section, I wondered why Malfoy wasn't there. He used to love Quidditch; he was even on the team for a few years. Ronald was doing amazingly as well, and before I knew it, we had won the game. Thank God, it seemed like it went on all day.
And the after party in the common room went on even longer. People were ecstatic. And Ron was completely the center of attention. Even McLaggen was celebrating. Ginny was messing around with Dean and Seamus, and I looked over and saw Hermione walk up to Harry. So I went over to them.
"Ron seems to be enjoying himself, don't you think?" I said to them.
"Yep. Must be his lucky day." Harry said, smiling at both of us.
"You shouldn't have done that, Harry. It's wrong." Hermione said, still bothered.
"I suppose you're right. Maybe I could've just… I don't know, confunded him?"
"Ouch. He's got you there, Hermione." I said.
"That was completely different! That was just tryouts. This was an actual game!" She protested. But then Harry showed us the little vial of Liquid Luck, completely sealed, and still full.
"You didn't put it in?" I asked him, and he shook his head.
"Ron only thought you did." Hermione said, and Harry nodded. "Brilliant." We looked back at the crowd, enjoying games and butterbeer, when Lavender Brown stepped up to Ron and practically jumped him. But he wasn't complaining. When I looked back to Harry and Hermione, she was already rushing out and Harry was already following her. Shit, Ron, now you'd done it. I went to follow them out, and found them at the bottom of a small staircase just a minute away. As I approached them, Harry caught my eye and held up his hand. I nodded, understanding what he meant, and made my way back up the stairs. This wasn't about me. Harry was better for this than me. As I walked up, I glanced out a window that just happened to face the Astronomy Tower, and saw a figure with white hair standing there, looking out at the grounds. Malfoy. I went to him.
"Hey, there." I said, and he looked at me and smiled weakly, and then looked back.
"We haven't been up here in a while. Re-living the good old days?" I said as a joke, but he didn't laugh. I went up to him and put my arms around his waist from behind, and rested my head on his back. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I'm fine, really. I just needed to be by myself for a while." He said, so I let go.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I can leave, if you want…" But he turned around and grabbed me.
"Don't you dare. Like I said before, being alone is better when you're here. I just didn't want to pull you away from the victory party." He said, and we sat down on the floor, and just rested. He was leaning against the wall, and I was leaning against him, with my back to his front, and his arms were around me. It was nice, but I still felt like something was wrong.
"Draco, are you sure you're alright? I feel like you need to talk about something."
"I'm fine, I promise."
"Well, if you're sure."
"I am."
And we stayed silent for a while. It was nice and quiet. Well, until he started talking.
"Did you notice you called me Draco?"
"What? I did?"
"Just a few minutes ago, yeah. You called me Draco."
"Don't get used to it, buddy." But it was already too late, and he knew that. I had already started to call him Draco in my head. He laughed.
"Alright, if you say so." And we talked for a bit, and joked, and laughed. And before I knew it we were asleep, on the floor. It was the best night's sleep I'd ever had.
….
"Hermione, I need to talk to you." It was the next day, Sunday, after breakfast. We were planning a trip to see Sirius today, so we were getting ready. Once Ginny was out of the room, taking a shower, I took my chance.
"About what?"
"It's about Draco."
"Oh, what did he do to you?"
"No, he didn't do anything. Well, not anything bad, anyway."
"Ok then, what's up with Malfoy?"
"Well, we were sleeping together last night-"
"Ok, stop right there. I REALLY don't need to hear about your sex life with Draco Malfoy."
"No, it's not like that. We were just talking, and then we fell asleep. No sex."
"Oh. Well then, carry on."
"It made me realize something amazing."
"What?"
"I haven't had that nightmare in a couple months. Ever since I started talking to him. Even when it was us running into each other and saying how much we hated each other. I haven't had the nightmare."
"Really? Tal, that's wonderful!"
"I know!"
"Are you going to tell him about your… abilities?"
"I… don't know. I mean, I want to, but I'm still uncomfortable telling it to people. We KNOW that Voldemort is rallying up people and creatures he can use on his side. And if he found me, and found out how to control me, well, that would be a new nightmare."
"So, you're saying that you DO think Malfoy is a Death Eater?"
"No, of course not. But he definitely has connections to The Dark Lord, like his father. I just don't want it to somehow reach his ears."
"Ah, I see. So… when are you gonna tell Ginny?"
"I'm working on it! I'm waiting for the right time, what with her and Dean going through this pretty rough patch. It would just give her one more thing to stress about."
"Well, better make it soon. The longer you wait, I bet the worse everyone will take it."
"I know, I know."
"Let's go get Ginny, We're running late."
"Alright."