I Hate Everything About You

Chapter 3

Quidditch

He never spoke to her again after that nor did they stare at each other anymore. Two weeks passed and Hermione and Malfoy pretended as if nothing had ever happened between them. It wasn't long, however, when they realized they had to be speaking to each other whenever they needed to have meetings with the prefects or the faculty, but other than that, no words were uttered.

Hermione soon found herself more interested to the boy who did nothing but make her life miserable in Hogwarts. She found herself staring at the Slytherin Prince when he wasn't looking, observing his style in walking inside a classroom, surveying how his fingers would run through his hair. Hermione had memorized the drawl in his voice by heart whenever he and Harry and Ron would have a row for just about everything there was to fight about. She stayed out of the fights of course, and only came in when she needed to hold her friends down before things could get worse.

She never told what had happened to Harry and Ron. She didn't need them to act over protective and start telling her to get out of Malfoy's way. Besides, what they didn't know won't hurt them. But the other reason why she didn't want to tell her friends was because she couldn't comprehend it herself. 'Why did he kiss me? Why did it feel so good? Why do I keep thinking about him every night?' This was the first time she ever let questions in her mind go unanswered.

But it was for things to stay that way.

It was a Saturday afternoon, and Gryffindors had a game with Slytherin. Although she wanted her house to win, she couldn't help hoping that Malfoy could catch the Golden Snitch. She realized of course, that she was being disloyal to her house and dismissed the thought immediately. She was wearing a soft pink sweater and a simple white tank top and jeans, showing off her curvaceous body. She didn't want to be late for the match so she didn't put on any make-up and simply put her hair up to a ponytail, with some strands falling down to frame her face. She was making her way to the top bench of the Quidditch bleachers, when she saw Lavender and Parvati waving at her, motioning her to sit with them. Hermione waved back and made her way through the crowd to the two pretty Gryffindors.

When she finally reached them, she flopped beside the girls and breathed a sigh of relief. "Whew! I thought I'd never reach you guys!"

Lavender smiled. "The whole school's probably watching this match, right Parvati?"

Parvati nodded, her black hair bouncing in rhythm. "I'm not surprised though," she said. "Every girl in the school came to see either Harry or Draco--"

"Who've grown deliciously handsome, mind you," Lavender interrupted.

"-- Or even Ron Weasley, but games between Slytherin and Gryffindor are usually packed with a few fights and other excitements, so I'm guessing a mixture of those reasons would do this crowd justice."

Hermione laughed along with them. Well, it was true, but she was careful not to let that little complement get into her friends' heads. After Lee Jordan graduated last year, Dean Thomas took the throne on the microphone and did a good job commentating so far. "CLAP YOUR HANDS FOR GRYFFINDOR AND THE TEAM CAPTAIN, HAAAARY POTTER!" His voice bellowed though the speakers and the crowd cheered and applauded in appreciation as the Gryffindor players rose in the air. Hermione seemed to cheer the loudest as all of her friends were part of the team; Harry as the Gryffindor Captain and Seeker, Ron as Keeper and Ginny as one of the Chasers, who just joined in last year. Hermione couldn't be more proud of them. "GIVE IT UP FOR SLYTHERIN AND THEIR CAPTAIN, DRRRRRACO MALFOY!" Girls from all of the houses shrieked at the mention of the Hogwarts Heartthrob, but all players were given the same appreciation. Malfoy raised his arms in the air for his fans while Harryand Ron were simply rolling their eyes at him.

The seats were perfect; Hermione could see Madame Hooch clearly on the field on her broom, and robes of red and green around her. Hermione's stomach churned again. Something not good was going to happen, because she was probably as nervous as the players.

Madame Hooch said something to the players before blowing her whistle, signaling the start of the game. Immediately the players bolted into the sky, taking their position, Harry high up in the air, Ginny in the center of the field, and Ron, at the other end, guarding the Gryffindor Quidditch Goals. Hermione's eyes roamed the field, looking for a certain Slytherin with striking platinum blonde hair. Sure enough, Malfoy was there, exactly at the opposite from Harry, eyes darting around in search for the snitch. She smiled at the sight of him flying through the air like he belonged to the clouds.

"AND THE GAME'S OFF TO A START!"

Hermione drew a deep breath as Dean Thomas' voice filled the air. 'This is going to be interesting,' she thought. Forgetting the premonition she had, she leaned further out, immediately entranced by the game.

***

'So the Dark Lord my Father had spoken highly of is now dead. Killed by a mere boy. Father always said that the Dark Lord should be respected, but I was raised to despise half-bloods and mudbloods. So how could he bring me to bow down to someone with filthy blood? Father and the rest of the Death Eaters should be burning in hell... and maybe they are. What pride would they bring to us purebloods when all they ever do is dirty themselves with their blood? It's a fuckin' paradox.'

His head began to throb as his thoughts shifted to something else. A young woman smiling and laughing with her friends. Her soft brown curls trailing down her back. Her tantalizing eyes, her lips. Oh her soft lips that Draco Malfoy would give everything he owned for just one more taste of it.

'What are you talking about Malfoy?' He shut his eyes tightly and shook his head. 'Merlin, help me. Why am I feeling this way? This is her doing, Malfoy, not yours. This isn't your fault.' His eyes fluttered open. 'The Yule Ball. That's when it all started. Damn you Malfoy, you shouldn't be feeling any of this. For two years I've been trying to deny it, but... it's only getting worse. I need her.' Malfoy slightly laughed at the sudden sign of desperation in his thoughts. He was being pathetic, he was sure of that, and Father would not approve of it. He shook his head. 'How many times do I have to tell myself that he's gone? Father is gone. Along with all the lies he had taught me.' The image of his father looking at him changed into Hermione's face, looking deep into his eyes two months before when they had first kissed. 'Father used to tell me that touching a mudblood was like kissing a dementor. It would make me feel dead and deprived of all the happiness in the world. But you're wrong father. It only felt right, and for once in my life, I felt alive.'

"Malfoy!" Crabbe's voice made Draco crash back to the present. He shook his head so the images of Hermione disappeared in his head. He needed to concentrate if he wanted to win the House Cup.

"What?" he replied crudely at Crabbe.

"They just called Gryffindor. We're gonna be called next." Crabbe said in his deep, burly voice.

"Of course we're gonna be called next. Do you see any other teams playing?" said Malfoy exasperatedly.

Crabbe grunted and said something like "Sorry."

"SLYTHERIN AND THEIR CAPTAIN, DRRRACO MALFOY!"

Draco kicked back from the grass to get him to accelerate in the air and leave all his thoughts on the ground while the rest of his team followed suit, drowning their ears with the cheers and yells of the crowd.

***

"AND FLINT'S GOT THE QUAFFLE IN HIS HANDS, OOOH! BARELY AVOIDED THAT BLUDGER SENT BY MARTIN HASLEY OF GRYFFINDOR! TOO BAD! OUCH!" Professor McGonagall yanked Dean's ear. "Sorry! AND HE'S GOING STRAIGHT FOR RON WEASLEY... COME ON RON, DO US PROUD... HE'S ALMOST THERE, FEIGNING LEFT, FEIGNING RIGHT... AND YES! GRYFFINDOR SCORE! THAT'S OUR KING, THAT RON WEASLEY!"

The crowd who were supporting Gryffindor screamed with glee, while groans and a lot of foul words erupted from the Slytherin side of the Field. Ron threw the quaffle back for the game to continue and was caught by his sister Ginny who immediately sped off to the other side of field, tearing through the wind like an eagle.

"RON PASSES THE QUAFFLE TO HIS SISTER AND WHOA! LOOK AT THE SPEED ON THAT BABE! OUCH!" Professor Sprout from his other side had yanked Dean's ear this time. "Geez woman! I mean Professor. AND THERE SHE GOES, BOLTING STRAIGHT TO THE SLYTHERIN GOAL, DETERMINED TO SCORE QUICK. PUCEY'S GUARDING THE CENTER HOOP, IS SHE GOING TO SCORE? AND A QUICK PASS TO KAESHA SPINNET, WAITING AT THE LEFT HOOP AND SHE SCORES! GRYFFINDOR SCORE! YEAH! DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING! NICE PLAY! TAKE THAT! YOU FOUL, CHEATING, PIECE OF--YEEEEEOUCH!" All Professors on the Faculty box had tried to yank something from Dean to keep him from saying horrible things to the Slytherin Team.

"AND IT'S 60-50 WITH SLYHTERIN STILL IN THE LEAD, BUT GRYFFINDOR GAINING ON THEM. QUAFFLE IS BEING PASSED BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN PUNCHNIK AND BAGERBATH OF SLYTHERIN..."

***

Dean Thomas's voice seemed so far away. Draco Malfoy's eyes were searching the vast quidditch field while Harry flew closer to him. He ignored Potter and continued to hunt for the snitch, bringing his broom higher in the air.

"You know you're not gonna get her, Malfoy!" Harry yelled through the loud voice of Dean. He kept seeking for the snitch too, but he wasn't looking at his mortal enemy.

"You're wrong Potter, I'm gonna get the snitch right under your nose!" Draco yelled back, hovering slightly above him.

Harry made a clicking sound with his tongue. "I'm not talking about the Snitch, Malfoy! I'm talking about Hermione!"

That's when Draco turned sharply to face Harry and raised his eyebrow. "What makes you think I want her?"

"Stop playing games with me Malfoy." Harry gritted his teeth. "I know those silly staring games you've had with my Hermione--"

"Your Hermione?" Malfoy laughed crudely at this. "You've had her for six years and you haven't done anything about it!"

"AND SLYTHERIN SCO--HANG ON. WHAT'S GOING ON UP THERE?"

The crowd grew silent and as they looked high above the Quidditch Field. Even the Slytherins didn't scream with joy as Puchnik made another goal. All eyes were on Harry and Draco as they were facing each other on their brooms, as if they were going to kill. Over at the benches, Hermione, Lavender, and Parvati had clasped their hands over their mouth. "What's happening?" Lavender asked. Hermione shook her head. "I don't know!" Her heart was beating furiously in her chest, she thought she was about to explode. Her hand grasped on the short barricade that was there to prevent the spectators from falling fifty feet to the ground. She leaned further out to properly see what the hell was going on.

But the sudden silence of the crowd had grown ignored by the two Seekers. Harry had been planning to confront Malfoy for days now, but he never knew it would happen now. Before the game started he looked for Hermione to see if she was looking at him but she was looking at Malfoy instead. She had triggered for this to happen, and it was now or never.

"She is nothing to me Potter, nothing!" Draco shouted at him, convincing the Boy-Who-Lived and himself.

"You bastard! You won't get her! I won't let you!"

"Oh yeah? Well, what if I do get her? What next, wonder boy?" Malfoy challenged him.

"Then I'm going to fucking ki--" Harry stopped short just as the Golden Snitched zoomed past them and rested in the air, just in front of Gryffindor Bleachers. The crowd simultaneously gasped in shock but it was Hermione who broke the silence.

"GET IT, HARRY!" She screamed at her friend.

"I believe she called for me, Malfoy." Harry had time to give his foe a victorious smirk before whizzing past him, in hot pursuit for the snitch.

"Yeah, but she was looking at me, Potter," Draco drawled and chased after Harry, closing the distance between them.

Dean Thomas cleared his throat. "AND BOTH SEEKERS CHASE AFTER THE GOLDEN SNITCH, BUT WHO WILL PREVAIL? JUST A BIT MORE, POTTER! DRACO MALFOY IS CLOSE BEHIND, GAINING SPEED..."

Hermione was leaning so far out; half her body was already out of range from the bleachers. She was praying to the heavens for Harry to catch the snitch but she didn't hear her silent pleading; "Come on, Draco, come on..."

Goyle meanwhile had something else in plan. He knew with that little brain of his that the Golden Snitch was going to stay there, and so he hit the Bludger to the Gryffindor Post with all his might, silently praying that it would knock Harry Potter off his broom. But it was then that the snitch decided to change course and zoomed high above the quidditch field, leaving a trail of faint gold dust in the air from the Gryffindor Post. Harry gripped his broom tightly and pulled it to go up, and Malfoy did the same, He was a few feet away... Just a little bit more...

Both Seekers were already a hundred feet in the air when Dean's voice filled the Quidditch field.

"HARRY GETS THE SNITCH! GRYFFIN-- WAIT A MINUTE! WHAT'S THAT BLUDGER DOING?"

Harry had just caught the Snitch in his hands when Draco stopped in midair and craned his neck to see what the Bludger really was doing. He had a bad feeling about it.

The crowd screamed. "OH MY GOD! IT HIT HERMIONE GRANGER!" Draco didn't need telling twice. He brought his broom down and zoomed in the sky, free falling in the air. Hermione's motionless form was falling to the ground and if he didn't catch her soon, well, he didn't want to think about it. "Hermione!" Harry yelled, zooming close behind him. There was no point in yelling. All Draco could think about was the mudblood. He gripped his broom tightly and lay flat on the broom going faster and faster flying, falling to the ground. She was getting closer. He could smell her hair from where he was and...

"YES! HARRY CAUGHT HERMIONE JUST IN... WAIT... THAT'S NOT HARRY!"

Draco had caught Hermione in his arms six feet above the ground before either of them could have gotten seriously hurt. He pushed the broom up towards the air, just as the sun was about to set. Draco smirked. It couldn't have been a more perfect timing. She was cradled in his arms, resting her head on Draco's lean shoulders, trembling. "Harry?" She mumbled, half-conscious from the pain the Bludger had given her on her shoulder.

"No, it's me," Draco whispered in her ear. He was flying towards Potter who still had the snitch in his right hand.

"I thought so," Hermione smiled painfully. "What are you doing?"

Draco leaned down and kissed her softly on the nose. "Saving you?" he said before Hermione fell unconscious in his arms. It was more of a question since he didn't know himself. He reached Potter and carried her to him.

Malfoy shook his head and sneered at him." Nice way of getting your Hermione, Potter," he snickered and looked down on his fingers. "Congratulations, Potter, you got yourself the snitch." He turned around and called for his team. "Slytherin, let's go!" he yelled to them before descending down to the ground.

Over at the Gryffindor Post, where people began to go down the stairs, Lavender and Parvati stayed behind. "Did you see?" Lavender asked her friend.

Parvati nodded. "Yeah. He just risked his life for her."

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