Chapter 13: Where Loyalties Lie

The Slytherin Quidditch team stood together, with Professor Malfoy in front of them. "We have a strong team this year. Payton has worked hard at training, and I think it will really pay off."

Payton grinned and pulled his hood over his head. "Let's kick some ass!" He said darkly.

"P! Sensitive ears here!" Matilda yelled, covering Shyla's ears.

The rest of the team laughed as Shyla fought to free her ears. "Not that sensitive!"

"I'm going to go claim my seat. You have about five minutes until you need to go out onto the pitch. Good luck guys," Malfoy said excitedly.

"And girls! Emphasis on the plural girls!" Matilda replied.

Malfoy gave a half smirk, half smile, "My apologies. And girls."

Hermione Granger found herself awkwardly sitting in the Slytherin section of the Quidditch stands. Her eyes scanned the crowd, trying to recognize the people around her.

"Well, Granger. I would think you would be sitting with the Gryffindor supporters!" Draco said in a nonchalant way, sitting himself down next to her.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" She sighed.

"Now, now. No need to get hostile!" He teased back. "Tell me, do you even know the rules of Quidditch?"

"Honestly, Malfoy. Did we not go to the same school?" Hermione scoffed, rolling her eyes at him.

He smirked, preparing his comeback. He seemed to enjoy tormenting the woman sitting next to him.

"Professor Malfoy!" A young boy with dirty blonde hair shouted excitedly. "I was doing the potions homework and I had a question!"

Draco sighed and gave a look of annoyance to Hermione. "Mr. Swin, can't you see that I am talking?"

The boy looked at him in confusion, "Well, it will only take a minute!"

"No! It can wait until I meet with your parents." Draco scolded, becoming frustrated.

Swin frowned, but turned to Hermione. "Who are you?"

Before Hermione could reply, Draco stood. "Swin, get out of here before I remove points for pestering!"

The kid slumped off, his face flushed with embarrassment. "Sorry, Professor."

Draco turned to Hermione and smirked again, "Come with me."

"Where?" She insisted. "And why?"

"I'm not going to kidnap you. Seriously, Granger, you're so paranoid." He teased again. "There are better seats in the Professors' section. Besides, this is Shyla's first game. And if I recall correctly, you weren't the most knowledgeable at Quidditch."

Hermione stood and began following her childhood rival. "Why? Because I wasn't obsessive?"

He laughed, leading her through the crowd. "I wasn't the one who went with Krum to the Yule Ball!"

"Oh, so I can only date Quidditch players if I know every detail of the game?" She nearly laughed at the argument that was ensuing.

"I never said that!" He turned back to her and rolled his eyes. For being adults, they were certainly acting like children. "After all, I did see the Daily Prophet!"

"Viktor!" Hermione gasped.

"Oh good! You know his first name!" Draco said sarcastically.

Hermione pushed past Draco, ignoring his remark. Draco turned and watched her greet the Bulgarian Quidditch Seeker, Viktor Krum.

"What're you doing here?" She smiled, hugging the man. He greeted her with a kiss on her hand.

"Vhat a nice surprise! Vi am here for the Quidditch game." He explained, gesturing to the seat next to himself.

Hermione had forgotten about the invitation to sit with Draco, and sat down next to Viktor. "Did I tell you? Shyla is seeker for the Slytherin team." She realized for the first time that she was proud of her daughter making it onto the team. Hermione had been so focused on her daughter not acting like a Slytherin, that she hadn't noticed the good things Shyla was doing.

The remainder of the stands quickly filled, as students and parents chose which house they would be supporting.

It was only moments before the crowd erupted into a roar of cheers. Hermione found herself on her feet, and yelling in excitement as if she was 15 years old again. The word "Gryffindor" began to slip from her lips, as reality came crashing down on her. Instead she yelled, "Go Shyla!" finding she had a harder time supporting the Slytherin team than she anticipated.

Krum clapped respectfully and whistled loudly. "The Bulgarian scout has been vatching the captain of the Slytherin team, Payton Jones."

"Really? Shyla hasn't told me anything about him, but he did allow my daughter on the team, so I suppose he has to be somewhat decent." Hermione thought out loud. "Is that Lee Jordan? Wow, I haven't seen him in years!"

Lee Jordan's voice boomed through the air, "Welcome Hogwarts! Opening game of the year is the traditional Gryffindor verses Slytherin!" He opened the chest and held the golden snitch in his dark hands. "Let's keep this game clean and safe. Mount your brooms!"

Hermione watched Shyla position herself on her broom. She was much smaller than the other players that surrounded her. It was almost a surreal feeling to watch the child she raised playing such an intense game.

The whistle was blown and the players were off. Hermione couldn't help but watch the streaks of red and gold flying through the air. With some effort she latched her eyes onto Shyla, clad in the Slytherin green and silver. Shyla was slowly circling the pitch, her eyes darting every which way. Every once in a while, she would dart in a distinct direction, causing the Gryffindor seeker to chase after her.

"Vour daughter, she vas speed." Krum commented to Hermione.

"Genetics obviously don't play a role. Being your daughter, plus Weasel-bee's. He was our king for a while there." Draco smirked. Hermione had not noticed him until that moment. He sat next to Hermione, smirking at her attempt to ignore his remarks. "Good morning, Krum." He said politely, reaching over Hermione to shake the wizard's hand.

"Professor Malfoy, always a pleasure." Krum responded in kind.

Hermione glared at Draco and rolled her eyes. "Don't you have somewhere else to sit?"

"Wasn't I the one who invited you to sit in this section, away from students?" Draco nearly laughed. "Honestly, Granger. Stop interrupting the match."

Hermione scowled, but turned her attention back to the pitch. She watched as Shyla made dashes in attempt to spot the snitch. Slytherin had scored several times on Gryffindor, making the opposing team's temper a short fuse. She watched as a player from her beloved house slam into her daughter as he flew past. "Hey!" Hermione found herself shouting at the air. She could see one of the Slytherin boys shouting at the one from Gryffindor, but couldn't make sense of it. "Gryffindor did not play this rough when I was in school."

"Rose colored glasses, Granger!" Draco replied, keeping his eyes on the game, "You only saw what you wanted to see. Yeah, Slytherin played dirty, but so did Gryffindor. You and I both know that Potter should have been expelled our first day of flying class, getting caught by McGonagall and everything. But he didn't even get detention."

Hermione scoffed and looked at the blonde next to her, "I can't believe you! You were the one who stole Neville's remembrall!"

"Come on!" Draco yelled suddenly, at something that Hermione clearly missed. "I was eleven. Besides, I wasn't the one that got caught."

Hermione opened her mouth to protest, only to be shushed by Draco. Clenching her teeth, she focused on Shyla again. She was trying not to show that she was secretly terrified that her daughter was playing Quidditch. Which, in all right, she was allowed to worry about. Hermione jumped to her feet, watching a bludger hit Shyla's left shoulder. It took every ounce of will power to not pull out her wand and jinx the laughing Gryffindor boy to Diagon Alley and back.

Shyla seemed to be okay, as she continued to fly, her face solid with determination. It was only minutes later when she began to race across the pitch, towards Matilda at the goal posts. With the Gryffindor seeker right behind her, she tightened her grip on her broom. Shyla didn't slow down her speed, as she snatched her right hand through the air, causing her to nearly crash into Matilda.

"That's it!" Lee Jordan's voice boomed, "Shyla Granger has caught the Golden Snitch! Slytherin wins!"

Hermione was beside herself with excitement. Not sure of what to do, she hugged the person closest to her. Realizing it was Draco, she blushed.

Draco froze at the sudden hug from the brunette. He smirked, "Well, Granger, this was quite the surprise."

Hermione yanked herself off of the blonde and kept her eyes focused on the pitch, watching Shyla celebrate.

On the pitch, Shyla landed on the grass and grinned so large that her face hurt.

"Granger!" Matilda shouted, landing shortly after. "That was amazing!" She grabbed Shyla and pulled her into a hug.

The Slytherin team cheered taking turns congratulating their youngest player. Shyla held up the snitch for the crowd to see, enjoying the roar from the Slytherin supporters.

Once they were back in the tent, Professor Malfoy clapped with approval. "And that's how we beat Gryffindor! Great game out there! We have a few things to work on, but take today to celebrate. You earned it!" He patted Shyla on the back, "Really, nice job out there. How's your shoulder?"

Shyla smiled and shrugged, "It's alright."

"Okay, well either way, you don't fly again until I have a letter from the hospital wing, clearing your health. House policy." Malfoy explained.

"Yes, Professor." Shyla nodded, turning back to her team mates. She headed for Tripp, "How was that for a first game?"

Tripp laughed and hugged Shyla, "That was seriously awesome. I am quite impressed."

A/N: I realize that this chapter was quite a bit shorter. But the next one will be up tomorrow, since I will be visiting my parents for a week. And that chapter is the one that I am so so so excited for! :D Hope you enjoy! See everyone tomorrow!

~PurplePygmypuff

PS: Thank you to SlythernTribute12 for catching my mistake in Chapter 4, with Shyla calling Ron her uncle. I always proof read my chapters, but things slip by. If you notice an error, please, feel free to let me know!