Chapter 33 - Year 5, part 4

September 10th, 1995

It was mid-afternoon on a beautiful Sunday. The sun was shining with promises of staying there for the following week, before the highland-fall would surely come bursting through the door like an uninvited guest for a grand party.

Hermione had snuck out - with the help of Harry's invisibility-cloak - and into the Quidditch-pitch. Here, she found Daphne waiting for her in a completely empty stand, sitting with Theo like there was nowhere else he would rather be.

She smiled brightly, when she noticed the silver and green scarf, thrown over the back of the chair beside her.

Daphne yelped, when Hermione made her presence known. "Thanks for saving me a seat, it looks like you went into great trouble doing so." She lifted the hood of Harry's cloak, just enough for her friends to see her, as she took the scarf and sat in its place.

"Hermione Granger, I swear to Salazar, I will murder you in your sleep if you ever do that again!" Daphne shrieked with her hand grasping the fabric over her chest, as she heaved for breaths. Beside the angry blond, Theo was visibly struggling to stay upright as he howled so hard with laughter, he had tears rolling down his cheeks. Hermione chuckled softly along, until she found a bit of pity for her friend.

"Sorry Daph, I really thought you had already heard me arriving. I'm always surprised by how much it feels like an asthma-attack, having to ascend the stairs up here. You would think the moving staircases would have done a better job of my stamina by now."

"What in the world is asthma, and why would it attack you?!" Daphne looked horrified as she looked in what was supposedly the direction of Hermione's eyes which were once again covered by the hood.

"Inflammation, leading to the airways swelling and narrowing. When really bad, it makes it quite hard to breathe and you cough a lot sometimes. Unfortunately, there used to be a tendency of it hitting me if we travelled to hot and humid places. Luckily, I grew out of it when I was seven or eight. It was pretty terrifying, to be honest."

Even more luckily, they were silenced by the arrival of the Slytherin quidditch team. There was no reason to scare Daphne more than necessary with Muggle diseases.

The players walked in two's or three's out of the locker rooms, and went to go stand by their captain. He looked to be giving some very angry information. Well, Hermione at least thought he looked angry by how he was gesticulating all over the place.

Though they were quite far away from where the three of them were sitting, she easily pinpointed Draco when he arrived as the last person. Who wouldn't? It's not like he could hide behind his hair.

What she wouldn't do to drag her fingers through it at that very moment.

He was carrying his broom over the shoulder, and waved his wand behind him to where a large crate zoomed out and landed behind the Captain.

She couldn't keep her eyes off of him, as he walked to his fellow players and nodded along at the information given to them.

"I overheard Flint talking about drilling them all the way into next year if they didn't do a proper job today. In all likelihood, he was pretty upset with Dumbledore cancelling all Quidditch last year." Theo said, leaning back casually in his seat and lifting his face towards the sun.

Hermione snorted. "Well, when you live and breathe something, it can be… Challenging, to have to live without." She didn't remember much of what the guy did, did not or said. She didn't really care for him to be honest - he was simply a person that was in the same building as her, and nothing more.

She noticed the players on the field getting onto their brooms, and moving into positions. Draco soared up and into the air, on the other half of the field than where they were seated. He seemed to look in their direction, and waved. She couldn't quite see his face from the distance, but he looked to be smiling.

With a bright smile, Hermione lifted her hand to wave back at him with Daphne and Theo, but then remembered that he wouldn't be able to see it anyway.

She felt sort of like when you see someone wave in public, and you don't know who they are, but you wave back! Only to find out that it was someone behind you that had caught their attention.

She suddenly felt really silly. It wasn't like anyone could even see that she had tried to wave, not even those beside her but still…

The next half an hour went without any big issues. The players in front of them threw the Quaffle back and forth, scored on their Keeper and got told to do it better, or failed and got scolded anyway. The beaters went about their own thing with shooting their teammates down - all while Draco flew back and forth, around, over and under them, trying to catch the snitch. He succeeded a couple of times - which Hermione thought was pretty good, to be honest - but Captain Flint didn't sound happy about that either.

"Oh, you're here as well? How nice to have some company!" Hermione went completely rigid by the sound of the shrill voice. She couldn't move. Couldn't speak.

"Who said anything about company?" Daphne answered without moving her eyes from the pitch, her voice ice-cold.

The only thing that revealed Pansy's startlement was her taking a second too long before she answered, even if avoiding a snarky comment wasn't actually answering anything. "Did they just start? I hope I didn't miss much."

Hermione noted how her voice grew higher, and the scoff of her shoe against the wooden boards under their feet, told her that Pansy was walking closer.

They couldn't have that. What should she do? In a moment Pansy would be right where Hermione was sitting!

So quickly it almost surprised her, she stood, making the green and silver scarf in her lap, fall to the floor. Daphne quickly bent down and picked it up, like she had simply dropped it herself. The motion of picking it up, opened up an opportunity for Hermione, and she hurried past her as silently as she could.

As she sat down in the seat beside him, the wooden chair decided to creak. Loudly.

Oh, Merlin, this is it.

She saw Theo still instantly, before his arms went upwards. He stretched, and bent in all kinds of directions - while yawning loudly - and made the entire rack of seats creak just as loudly as she had just done.

Hermione snickered to herself, as she watched Pansy give Theo a look of utter boredom. "Don't you sleep at night, or what?"

"Thank you for the consideration, I slept fairly well." He answered in a chippy voice, leaned back casually, and put his arm around Daphne who hummed in delight.

A low grunt emitted from Pansy.

"Hm? Did you say something?" He asked politely, as Pansy sat down in the seat Hermione had previously occupied.

Phew, that was close. Hermione thought to herself, and relaxed fully into her chair that thankfully didn't creak at her this time.

It came as no surprise that their good mood was thoroughly destroyed by Pansy's appearance. It was supposed to have been a relaxing afternoon with good company and quidditch-watching, and now Hermione almost wanted to leave. Having to sit still and pretend like she didn't exist wasn't something that was a part of her plan.

She wanted to leave, but looking up at the sky where Draco was zig-zagging, she couldn't make herself do it. Maybe she should just sit in one of the other stands? Or go to the edge of the forest, where she could just take off the cloak?

It sounded incredibly sketchy, but she just wanted to be able to look at him. To watch him do what he loved. He looked so calm. Like he didn't have a care in the world.

She heard Pansy huff loudly. When no one questioned her about her small, dainty noises, she apparently took matters into her own hands. "This is no fun. You can't even see them properly!"

Them, or him? Hermione thought sourly, wondering if maybe Pansy wanted to try her luck at flying without a broom. The fall wouldn't be too bad. She'd surely survive.

Deciding that her mood was too squashed, she whispered to Theo. "I'm leaving. See you." She stood, but he reached out and pulled her back down without uttering a single word. She was about to object, when he turned his face and looked over Daphne's head.

"Pansy, what are you doing here? Don't you have anything better to do."

"What do you mean? I'm watching my… house, practicing." She answered innocently. Hermione nearly vomited right then and there. Pansy didn't give a damn about their house's quidditch-routine. She just wanted to gawk at Draco.

"You couldn't care less about quidditch, and everyone knows it." Daphne retaliated with narrowed eyes.

"So what?! Can't I just spend time with my friends?!" Pansy said in something between a sneer and a shout.

"If that is how you treat your friends, then I don't want to be one of them." Theo sneered, and turned back to watch whatever was left of the practice-session, one arm around each of the girls of which company he actually seemed to enjoy. Well, it's not like he could have an arm around an invisible person without being very obvious, so it was leaning, heavily, on the top of Hermione's chair.

"But we are friends! I've done nothing to you!" She almost sounded like she was close to tears, but Hermione didn't think for even one second that they weren't just a way for her to get what she wanted. Considering Pansy toyed with everything she wanted, to get what she wanted, when she wanted it.

They all ignored her.

"Daphne! tell him!"

Daphne didn't.

"It's all because of that - that -"

"I'd be very careful what I said next, if I were you, Pansy."

Pansy whirled around with a wild look in her eyes, even as the colour drained from her face. "D-Draco?" Her lip started quivering slightly.

"I don't care whether you like Hermione or not, but sitting here, pretending to like being here, while insulting my girlfriend is beyond stupid. I've listened to you insult her for so long, while doing too little, and I've had enough. I told you, I had enough, when I broke up with you, remember? You can either be a decent human-being and be happy that I'm happy, or get the hell out of here. I don't care what you choose." Someone shouted something, and his head whipped up, before nodding.

Hermione's heart was still racing from him openly declaring that she was his girlfriend, when Pansy looked down in what Hermione really hoped was shame. "Duty calls. If you see Hermione, will you tell her that I'm looking for her?"

Daphne and Theo agreed that they would, and then he flew down. But, when he flew slowly past her, his hand reached out - as if it was barely stretching his fingers - and dragged them softly against her shoulder.

She gasped, and Daphne coughed loudly, resulting in Theo padding her on the back with a grin. "There, love. All better now."

And it was all better! Mere minutes later, Pansy finally left them, and Hermione huffed out all of the pent-up frustration.

"I swear to Merlin, I almost threw her over the side." She said, and pulled down the hood of the cloak. Now that all of the players had landed and started doing routines on the ground, there was no fear of her being seen.

"I nearly beat you to it." Daphne sighed and leaned back against Theo's arm. "Honestly! The nerve of that girl! I can't believe it!"

…

Half an hour later, Hermione stood hidden a bit away from the boys' locker-rooms, but while still being able to see the door. Daphne and Theo had already left, talking about going to the owlery to check for a package from her mum.

So here she was, invisible both by shadows and cloak, hiding some kind of criminal.

She heard yells and laughs from behind the doors. Echoes of 'That's what she said!' and something with someone being their king. She couldn't quite make it out from all the laughs.

Suddenly the door was wrenched open and the laughs became louder as all of the boys made their way out all at once. She saw Draco turn off and walk back towards the pitch.

"Oi, Malfoy! Where are you going? I heard someone got their hands on butterbeer!" A boy with dark shoulder-length hair.

"I'll come down later. I just have some things to do." He said as he turned around and waved at the boy, before turning back around and made his way towards the pitch.

His teammate tried to get his attention once again, but Draco simply dismissed him, and soon enough the boy left towards the castle. Hermione could see him running towards his mates across the front-lawn.

Draco moved past her with a smile that seemed to grow as she watched, when he turned the corner, she was right behind him.

As soon as she was around the corner, she removed the cloak and stepped closer to grab his hand.

He spun instantly, and pulled her directly into his arms. "I knew you'd come. I knew you were there." He kissed her forehead as he held her close, and then her temple, her cheek, and finally, her lips.

He was warm. She could feel his damp skin against hers. Could smell the smell of soap, and something she couldn't put into words, but it was something that was entirely him.

She was melting. Completely liquid, as her fingers reached behind his neck and curled around the short, wet hair at the nape of his neck. Her fingers pushed into his skull, pushing him closer. Impossibly closer.

He shivered and his lips left hers once again.

Was shivering a good thing when one kissed?

"I missed you." He sighed against her forehead.

"You saw me this morning - and we spent time together yesterday." She chuckled and looked up at him. He was smiling that big smile she knew so well. It made her legs feel like jelly.

"I know." He said, and pulled back a bit. Still holding her hand, he dragged her with him onto the pitch. "But I could see you laughing all through lunch, and it made me miss you. Also, I've felt you watch me for the entire two hours I was out here, and that didn't help either."

"But you didn't even know I was here! How could you have known I was there?" She asked, more confused than she wanted to admit while also panicking out of her mind. Didn't the cloak work anymore? Had Pansy known she was there as well? How about the last time Harry had used it himself?

The questions were piling up impossibly fast.

"Don't worry, whatever you're using is working just fine." He looked back and smirked at her, "Daphne said she'd bring company, and I took a wild guess that maybe you weren't sitting beside Pansy. Also, I just knew."

"You knew?" she asked, dumbfounded.

"I knew. I can't explain it, but I knew you were there. Just like I knew when I almost walked into you back there." That smirk would be the death of her at some point. It wasn't fair.

"You also just defended me." Smiling softly back at him, not really knowing how proud she should be about the fact that it was his ex-girlfriend that had been the cause of such defence.

"Let me make one thing very clear, Hermione." He said her name like it was a prayer, and turned back towards her. She couldn't breathe when he looked at her with such intensity. "I'm a Slytherin, and a Malfoy. I am self-preserving and very, very selfish. I take care of what's mine - and you are mine. As I am yours."

As if to bring the point home, he kissed her again. Small and chaste, but it made her swoon all over again.

But she couldn't forget Pansy.

She sighed, leaning her head against him. "I like that you defend me, I really do. I just wish it wasn't necessary."

She had almost counted the silence to a full minute, when he sighed hard. She stepped back and watched him open and close his mouth multiple times, before he dragged a hand through his hair. It was oddly cute.

"I… I really messed up. I know that." He started and sounded a bit like he wanted her to respond to it, but she wasn't going to. "I messed up so hard, and disrespected you in the worst way and I can never apologize enough for that. I know, her and what we had, won't just vanish into thin air, but I wish it could."

"Me too." She whispered as she fiddled with the cloak. "But thank you."

"Nene, I promise that I'll do right by you. I'll make it right again. It won't be an issue for us, I promise." He said as he stepped closer to her and grasped one of her hands. "I'm sorry I hurt you. It wasn't my intention."

She nodded, foregoing using words as a whole.

Her mood-drop must have been obvious, since he stepped further into her space and used his hand to drag her mouth upwards to meet his, for a kiss that made her toes curl. Again.

"Are you going to tell me why you're dragging me all the way out here, instead of just hiding with me?" She whispered to his lips after a while, simply because she didn't know what else to say.

He leaned his forehead to hers. Breathing heavily. "I swear by Morgana and Merlin and every other holey Deity that may or may not exist - one day I won't hide with you. One day you'll be mine for all the world to see."

The world was against them in so many different ways she couldn't even name all of them. Just them being in rivalling houses was such a big thing, that so many people would be against their relationship for that reason.

But it wasn't their relationship.

"You promise?"

It was hers and Dracos. And she would fight for it every step of the way.

"I promise." He said with a soft smile. "But for now, you're going to hate me a little bit."

She opened her mouth to say that she would never hate him, and then he leaned down and picked up a broom. Apparently, you could hate someone you were all-consumingly in love.

"You wouldn't." She said with narrowed eyes

"I would. You've been out of the sky for too long and we both know it." He said in a low voice as he tried to pull her closer by the hand. But she stood her ground.

"I can't, Draco." She couldn't look at him - not while the broom was also in her peripheral. Instead, she looked down, and away. stepping away from him. "I want to, I really do. But I... Can't."

She heard the sound of something hitting the ground, and then he was in front of her, his hand and her cheeks, slowly lifting her gaze back to his. "Do you trust me?" He whispered.

He was so close; she could practically feel the breath of air leaving his mouth.

It was intoxicating.

Like invigoration draught, but with different side-effects.

Yes. Yes, she trusted him. She trusted him with everything that she was, and everything that she could be.

"Yes." She breathed.

"I will never let you fall. Not in a million years. Let me take care of you." Without breaking eye contact with her, he backed up to where he had dropped the broom. He then straddled it while keeping it completely level.

She was so scared.

She couldn't fly, not anymore. It had been years, and she couldn't do it.

She couldn't do it.

"Eyes on me, love. I've got you. Nothing else matters." He whispered.

Nothing else mattered.

"We'll go slow. Just keep your eyes on me." She looked at him with big, round, fearful eyes as he guided her leg over the broom, face towards his. She didn't say a word as he guided her bum further down the broom. Not even as he lifted her thighs to rest on top of his. Or when he circled her hands around his waist, and carefully positioned her face against his chest.

She should have been nervous to be so close to him. To feel his body in such a way that she hadn't yet done. Hadn't even thought about. To be in a position that could easily look entirely more compromising than it was… But, she wasn't. She knew that he would keep her safe, knew that he would take care of her.

She knew him. And she trusted him completely.

She felt his hand on her back, holding her tightly. She grabbed his shirt in anticipation. closing her eyes so hard she could see stars on the inside of her eyelids.

"I thought I was going to die when I called." He whispered into her hear.

"What?" She didn't understand a word of what he was saying right now.

"I thought the ground would open up and swallow me whole. I was so sure I wouldn't survive it."

"What? Why?" She didn't get it. He was saying words, but she didn't understand what he was saying. Why would the ground swallow him whole?

"Because you hated me so much, but I couldn't… Not be around you anymore." He sounded breathless.

"I didn't hate you, Draco." She said, breathing hard against his front. "I was sad, and so heartbroken. I had loved you for so long, and when you finally wanted me… You suddenly didn't, anymore. You just threw me away like I didn't matter anymore."

She felt him shift and suddenly his hands were at her cheeks, lifting her eyes to him. she could see her emotions mirrored in his, and it was sad and beautiful all at once. "I'm so sorry I hurt you. I truly never meant to. And then when you yelled at me in the tower - it just… I felt so bad and I deserved every punch you gave me that night."

"I shouldn't have yelled at you." She said, and removed a tear from his cheek.

"No, you should have, I deserved it. You mattered so much. You were everything to me, and then Pansy came in and convinced me that you didn't care for me. That you didn't want me."

"That I was…" She was trying to put the pieces back together. That was in… November? "When?"

"Fully?" He looked at her for confirmation, and nodded. He looked like he was deep in concentration for a moment. "The summer after 3rd year, I think. We were in the library, and you were so beautiful when you tried to kill the bookcase with your stare, because you couldn't comprehend what to do with the empty one in your room. And then you sat beside me, and hugged me. And I nearly died."

Her eyes went big as saucers. "Then?"

"Then. I nearly asked you to move in right then and there."

She couldn't help it as she started giggling.

"What's so funny?" He asked after a while, looking like he didn't understand a single thing in the world.

"What's so funny - is us walking around each other for so long." She smiled up at him, her hand lifting to caress his cheek. He leaned into it even as he asked her what she meant by that.

"Do you remember when you woke me up in the library in 3rd?"

"Yeah? What about that?"

She chuckled, albeit sadly. "I really struggled that year with a lot of things, and I was so wrung out. But a lot of things had happened that suddenly made something click in my mind. And then I fell asleep, and dreamt of the most beautiful gray eyes I had ever seen. And I was woken up by those same eyes, and I knew. It hit me so hard I didn't even know how I physically made it to the classroom."

Then it was his turn to laugh. He laughed so hard he had to reach beyond her to grab the broom for support. "Merlin, we were so stupid, Hermione."

Hermione leaned in, and rested her head against his chest. "Yeah. We were."

They sat like that for a while until he sat up straight again. "Well, I think that probably enough testing for one day."

"Testing? What do you mean?" She frowned, and looked up at him.

"Look down, love."

"What-" She looked down and was so shocked to find herself soaring half a meter above the ground, that she managed to lose her balance. She wobbled, and her legs locked around Draco, even as she struggled to stay seated on his lap.

As suddenly as she thought she would fall, she felt arms lock around her, and then she was crushed into Draco's chest once again. "I promised I wouldn't let you fall." He whispered into her hair.

"When did we…?" She didn't dare finish her sentence.

"Right after I settled you in. I thought it was better getting it done, before you decided not to trust me anyway." She could feel his heart beating fast as she turned her face and looked out and down.

Now that she knew, it wasn't as bad.

"Draco?" She whispered.

He hummed acknowledging.

"Can we go higher?"

His arm tightened around her, "Absolutely. Just tell me when to stop."

And then they ascended into the sky, together.