A Summer in the Life of Draco

Draco opened his eyes but closed them quickly. His head hurt like hell. The night before, he had partied hard with Chase and a few of his old Hogwarts buddies. The last thing he remembered seeing before passing out on the couch was a redheaded kid streaking through the living room. Not a good image to fall asleep with...

It had been three days since Draco had taken Ella airborne. He still felt bad about making Ella so scared. She had slept for four hours after he had taken her upstairs. Even though she insisted that Draco had nothing to feel bad about, he felt terrible.

Draco rolled off the couch and rubbed his eyes. He was still at Chase's house. He looked at the coffee table and saw the bottle he had been drinking out of the night before. Shockingly, it was half empty.

He got up and started looking for Chase. Draco passed a clock and saw that it was already four-thirty in the afternoon. He took the stairs and turned left into the master bedroom. Chase was lying in bed with a girl Draco had seen him with the night before. He walked over to him silently

"Chase! Get up!" said Draco as he tried to shake Chase awake. He rolled over and looked at him with sleepy eyes.

"What do you want, Draco?"

"Where's that anti-hangover potion you're so good at making? If I go home like this, my mom will kill me!" he begged. Chase rubbed his eyes and pointed in the direction of the bathroom. Draco looked through the cabinets and found it behind the toilet paper. He took a chug and put it back. The pain in his head slowly started going away. He said goodbye to Chase and left the room.

Draco went out the front door and started on his way home. He could feel the effects of the potion slowly starting to take effect. It was only a short walk from the guest house to the main house. Last night, he had had a fun time... maybe too much fun. Partying until six in the morning when you're drunk will make you question your actions.

He reached the back door of his house and walked in. Draco had been scheming up a good alibi for why he was home so late. Yesterday, he had told Narcissa that he was only planning on staying at Chase's over-night. He had conveniently forgotten to tell her about the party.

Draco found the ladies sitting in the living room sipping tea. Ella wasn't with them. He found this odd... normally Ella was always with them when he wasn't around. He walked in casually and sat next to Narcissa.

"Draco! Where have you been?" she asked. Draco grabbed the extra cup that was on the table and poured him some tea.

"I stayed at Chase's last night. I woke up at about eleven. Then we went to the barn and worked with that new yearling filly Father purchased," he said. He didn't like lying to his mother, but sometimes it was absolutely necessary to avoid trouble.

"Oh, I was just getting a little worried..." said Narcissa. She took a sip of her tea and went back to her conversation with Melanie and Dominique. Draco polished off his cup and asked the question he was dying to know the answer to.

"Melanie, where's Ella? She's usually with you."

"Ella went to the Quidditch pitch to practice a little. She left about an hour ago," she said, adding some more sugar to her tea.

"Well, maybe I'll go out and see her," said Draco.

"I'm sure she would love that! There aren't a lot of Quidditch players in New Zealand for the summer so I'm sure she would enjoy the company," said Melanie excitedly. Draco rose from the couch.

"I better get my Quidditch robes on then," said Draco as he left the room. He went up went upstairs and rummaged through his still-not-unpacked school trunk. He found his green Quidditch robes at the very bottom. He slipped into them and put on his pads. Draco grabbed his Firebolt, which hung above his bed, and started on his way.

The sun was spewing from the many windows and into the entry hall. Draco passed the living room and heard the moms whistle as he walked by. He smiled and walked on. A lot of girls love a man in uniform...

By the time Draco left the house, it was five thirty. In the summer at Malfoy Manor, dinner was usually served at seven. When he reached the path that led to the pitch, he saw a hoof print in the dirt. Brutus must have been through here recently. Draco found it odd that he hadn't seen him all summer. He had seen prints, hairs, and horn scuffs on trees, but no Brutus.

Brutus was a special unicorn. Draco's grandfather had raised him from the time he was born since the mother had rejected him. Because of this, Brutus was tamer than most.

When Draco finally reached the pitch, he could see that Ella was already deep into her practice routine. She was tossing the Quaffle into the air and then zooming up to catch it. Then, she would throw it in another direction and fly over to meet it. She looked as if she were doing some sort of aerial dance. Draco mounted his broom and flew up to meet her.

Ella was taking a break. She had been flying hard for nearly an hour straight. She saw Draco coming up and was relieved to see a friendly face. In New Zealand, she always had to practice alone. Her brother was the worst Quidditch player ever, so he never wanted to help. Having a guy who cared as much about Quidditch as she did was a major bonus.

"Hey, Ella. I see you've been working hard," said Draco. It was written all over her. Ella's hair was drenched with sweat, her breathing was labored, and she was a little wobbly on her broom.

"Oh, this is nothing compared to what they put us through at Durmstrang. We have three hour hard-core practices Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, daily doubles on Saturdays and Sundays, and stretching exercises on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Let me remind you that this is in freezing temperatures and, most of the time, in the snow," she said as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "I'm just a little out of shape, that's all."

"Have you drunk any water?"

"Shoot! I knew I forgot something!" said Ella. Draco got a look of sheer horror on his face. An hour of practicing this hard in ninety-degree weather with no water was not good. Draco reached into his bag and pulled out his hydration juice that he always drank in the summer time when he was training. It kept him going no matter how hot it was.

"Ella, drink this," he said holding it out to her. She grabbed it from him and took a chug. It was good to feel liquid in her parched mouth. She hadn't realized how thirsty she really was.

"Thanks, Draco. What's in that stuff?" she asked, licking her lips.

"It's my dirty little secret... it's actually a muggle drink called "Gatorade." I hide it up in my room so Father doesn't find out about it. Our family loathes anything muggle. Although, Father was quite partial to a Ms. Marilyn Monroe..." he said. Ella laughed, causing her broom handle to catch the light. Draco glanced down at the label. He did a double take.

"Is that a Firebolt 2000?! They aren't supposed to release those until next year! How did you get one?" asked Draco. Ella glanced down at her broom and sighed.

"Being a very wanted Chaser will give you certain... perks. This little number was sent to me by the Bulgarian Quidditch Team. See these boots? Solid dragons hide. They were sent to me by the Romanian Quidditch team. All the padding I'm wearing? Ireland. This high-quality Quaffle? France. I have loads more stuff back at home," she said. It got boring after a while. All these teams kept sending her stuff, but it wasn't the stuff she cared about. It was the team's record that mattered.

"Wow... I didn't know you were that good," said Draco. He had heard great things about Ella's playing ability, but he never would have guessed that teams as big as Bulgaria would be looking at her. Draco was an average player but he was nowhere near as dedicated to the sport as Ella was.

"What do you want to work on?" asked Ella.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, at Durmstrang they make us work on everything from accuracy to style. They don't just focus on an individual position for one player, either. Each of us is trained for other positions," explained Ella. Draco got a confused look on his face. Ella rolled her eyes and broke it down a little more.

"Ok, I'm a Chaser. My job is to get the Quaffle past the Keeper. I assume you know the rules of Quidditch... anyway, if you understand how the Keeper thinks then you are able to figure out how to best get the Quaffle in. That's why when they first started training me as a Chaser, they also trained me as a Keeper. Now for Seekers, they also train them as Beaters. This is because the two balls that each position uses are very similar. Also, if you're a Seeker, the Beaters are probably going to be aiming to hit you. If you know how they think, you know where to hide," said Ella.

The training tactics at Durmstrang were complicated. They always tried to get the best out of everyone. Also, they tried their hardest to get their players on the big teams. In fact, every student that had been on Ella's team had graduated to become a player at national level. They even had a Quidditch class for students who were not on the team.

"So I assume you know Viktor Krum?" asked Draco.

"Yes, I do know Viktor. He was my... my good friend in his schooling days," said Ella, casting her eyes downward. She coughed and changed the subject.

"So, are you ready for some hard-core Quidditch training... Durmstrang style?" asked Ella with a cocky smile. Draco returned it and nodded.

"Ok then. What do I do... coach," he said. Ella motioned for him to follow her to the floor of the pitch. They landed and Ella dismounted. Draco followed her lead, still not sure what they were doing. Ella tossed her broom aside and took off her pads.

"Come on, Draco. Take off your pads. We'll start with something physical, so let's get physical," she said. She started stretching as Draco took off his pads. He had no idea what he was getting himself into. Ella smiled as she thought about it. He was going down.

"Ok. You know how to wrestle, right?" she asked. Draco nodded. "All right! Bring it on," she said in a cocky voice. Draco was confused. What was she having him do? Before he could answer his own question, Ella ran at him, circled her arms around his waist, threw him on the ground, and pinned him. Draco struggled to get free, but she had an iron hold.

"What the hell was that?"

"I told you we were going to wrestle! We do these three times a week at Durmstrang during practices. It's good exercise!" said Ella. She helped Draco back up to his feet. Now he knew what was coming.

"Wait a second," said Draco. He took off his Quidditch robe and shirt and tossed them aside. Ella's eyes got big at the sight of his abs. He had a rock hard body and she couldn't wait to pin it to the ground.

"I hope you don't expect me to take off my shirt," she said sarcastically. "Ok, next round starts on the count of three. One... two... three!" said Ella. They flew at each other. Ella managed to get Draco on the ground, but he flipped her over almost instantly. He tried to pin her, but she rolled out of it and hopped to her feet. What he didn't know was that she was the best wrestler on her team... and she was the only girl.

They locked arms and she twisted his around to his back. She pushed him to the ground and pinned him with all her weight. He wiggled and tried to break free, but whenever he did, she pulled his arm harder. She won again.

Draco rolled on his back and was breathing hard. This girl was half his size! How did she do it? She hadn't even broken a sweat! Ella smiled and sat down in grass. She amazed herself sometimes...

"How do you do that?!" asked Draco. He couldn't understand how a girl as petite as Ella could possibly pin him so quickly. Ella threw her head back and laughed.

"I've taken down guys bigger than you. It's not very difficult. Just remember that you're only as strong as you think you are," she said.

"That makes sense, but can we work on some actual Quidditch things now? This is getting really dull, really fast," said Draco. Ella rocked back on her heals and jumped to her feet.

"Alright. You better get your broom," said Ella. Draco got up from where he sat in the cool grass. He walked to his broom and picked it up. Ella got a smile on her face... once again, he had no idea what was coming his way.

They mounted their broomsticks and kicked off. Ella reached cruising altitude and halted. Draco stopped even with her and rocked back and forth on his broom. She was fumbling in her pockets looking for something. After a few moments, she pulled out a small golden Snitch and held it up. Draco got a smile on his face.

"I think it's time for a little friendly competition," said Ella. She hadn't Seeked for nearly two years, but she was confident in her abilities. "Let's see who can catch this sucker."

Draco cracked a smile. "Ok then," he said. Ella held the Snitch out for him to release. Draco shoved it back at her. Everyone knew that it was bad luck to release the Snitch. "Ladies first."

"Age before beauty," said Ella, shoving it back into his hand. He couldn't argue with her there.

Draco let go of the Snitch in his hand and felt Ella zoom off after it. He had to grasp his broom so the wind she created didn't knock him off. After he regained his composure, he took off in the opposite direction.

They both circled the pitch without much luck. Draco kept one eye on Ella the entire time. She was an expert flier. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ella zoom up in the air at warp speed. He turned his broom and followed after her. She turned her broom downwards into a spiral. She was heading straight towards the ground. Draco was hot on her tail, but just as she was inches from the ground, she pulled up. Draco managed to stop his broom in time. It was a perfect demonstration of the Wronski Feint... even better than Viktor Krum.

By the time Draco had gotten himself back to normal, Ella flew at him holding the Snitch in her right hand. Draco hung his head in defeat. She always seemed to beat him at everything. He was the Seeker, not her.

"Nice try, Draco. You did a great job pulling out of that dive. I think your problem is that you need to make your reaction time a little faster," said Ella. Draco rolled his eyes. Maybe she was right, but he got tired of her always being right.

"Yeah, yeah... whatever. How about you show me your skills as a Chaser? I hear that you're very, very talented," he said. Ella blushed.

"Well, alright," she said. Ella pulled out her wand and summoned the Quaffle, which had fallen to the ground. "You're going to have to Keep for me," she added. Draco nodded and flew towards the set of hoops at the south end of the pitch.

He positioned himself in front of the middle hoop. Ella took off from the middle of the pitch with the Quaffle under her arm. Draco zoomed out to the edge of the line that encircled the hoops. Ella kept coming straight at him and didn't show any signs of stopping. Draco ducked as she flew over him and threw the Quaffle into the left hoop. She flew after it and caught it.

Draco went back to his position. Ella went back to hers. Draco flew in and out of the hoops. Ella flew at a slower pace this time. When she was a good twenty feet away from Draco, she sat up on her broom and threw the Quaffle with all her might. Draco held out his hand to try and snatch it, but when he felt the impact of the ball against his hand, he pulled it away. It felt as if it had broken in two. Ella flew at him with a look of concern on her face.

"Oh, Draco! I'm so sorry! I just remembered that I forgot to give you the Keeper gloves!" said Ella, grabbing his hand and looking at it. It was red and swollen. She pulled out her wand and muttered a simple incantation. The redness and swelling went away. Draco flexed his fingers and stared at her. She pulled a pair of heavily padded gloves out of her bag.

"Here. These should help," said Ella, handing the gloves to him. He put them on quickly and went back to his position in the goals.

Over the next thirty minutes, Draco managed to stop three out of twenty-six attempted goals. Ella's arm seemed to throw the ball as if it were being shot out of a cannon. He glanced at his watch. It was almost six forty-five and dinner was being served at seven.

"Ella, we have fifteen minutes until dinner. We better get going," he said. They landed and shouldered their brooms. Ella and Draco were both sweating profusely by the time they were done. The sun was starting to set and a small breeze was beginning to blow through the trees. Draco put his arm around Ella's shoulders as they walked through the forest together.

~*~*~*~*~

Moonlight crept in through Draco's window. He had been tossing and turning for nearly an hour now. Maybe it was all the chocolate mousse he had had at dinner...

He decided that sleep wasn't going to come easily tonight, so he pulled his blanket off and crawled out of bed. His clock read one thirty-seven. Draco walked around his room humming some random song. He wasn't even remotely tired, so he walked into his sitting room and out onto the balcony.

Draco rested his hands on the railing and breathed in the cool July air. There was a full moon out and it shined down on him. He closed his eyes and he swore he was hearing angels sing on this beautiful night. It took him a minute to realize that someone was singing.

He looked around for the source of the sound and saw it in the rose garden. If he didn't know any better, he would have swore she was an angel. Ella was walking through the garden in her white nightgown, singing softly to herself. She stopped every now and then to smell the flowers.

Draco rested his chin on his hand and just looked at her. Her gown was flowing around her knees and her hair was blowing around her shoulders. She looked up from where she stood and saw him. She blew him a kiss and he returned it. Ella motioned for him to come down and meet her. Draco didn't object and turned to go down the stairs.

He reached the garden where she stood waiting for him under the gazebo. He walked up to her and she turned towards him and smiled. He stood next to her and gazed up at the stars. He felt her arm work its way around his waist. He turned his gaze on her and saw that she was looking up at him with those crystal blue eyes. Draco looked at her and wanted nothing more than to kiss her... but she pulled away.

"What do you say we go for a walk?" she asked. Draco didn't break eye contact with her. Instead, he just nodded. Ella took his hand in hers and they walked out of the garden and onto the forest path.

The moon lit their way as they walked through the woods together. They came to a fork in the road and stopped.

"Draco? Where does this road lead to?" she asked, pointing to the left fork. The right one led to the stables, but she had never been down the left one.

"Oh, that one. It leads to a little lake we have here... nothing special," he said. Draco started to walk off, but Ella grabbed his arm and made him stop.

"Can we go there?"

"Ella, it's got to be freezing down there at this time of night."

"I don't care. I just want to go see it," she asked. There was a pleading look about her that he just couldn't say no to. He rolled his eyes and led her down the path.

They walked in silence the whole way there. The forest was thicker in this part and the trees were overgrown. Moss hung down from old branches, making Ella and Draco have to duck their heads as they walked by. They rounded a corner and found the lake sparkling in front of them.

It was a beautiful sight. The full moon was reflecting on the surface of the water. There were a few lily pads floating around and the willow trees draped their branches over the surface. Ella let go of Draco's hand and walked to the bank.

Draco stood rooted on the spot as he watched her go. She bent over and touched the surface of the water with her finger tips. From where he was, he could see her reflection in the water. A breeze came through and blew her hair off of her shoulders. The presence of her made the scene more picturesque.

Ella stood up and hugged herself. The sudden breeze had caused the hair on her arms to stand up. The water was pretty warm... compared to the water in Bulgaria. She felt like a quick swim.

She slipped her arms out of the straps on her gown and let it fall to ground. Draco watched in astonishment. All he could see was her bare back. The black lace of her underwear stood out against her pale skin.

Ella dunked her head under the water. She didn't realize that Draco was standing there watching the scene with his mouth nearly on the ground. At Durmstrang, everyone went skinny-dipping. It was as common as swimming in a swim suit... but Draco didn't know that.

"Umm, Ella?" he said, his voice shaky.

"Come on out with me, Draco! The water's great!" she yelled back to him. Draco didn't know how to react. Should he go out with her? Ella was just swimming around... no harm could come from it. He pulled off his shirt and started towards the water.

Draco pulled off his pants and walked his way out into the lake. Ella was waiting for him in about the middle of the lake. It wasn't very deep and he could touch the bottom wherever he went. He dunked under for a second to get himself used to the temperature.

Ella swam over to meet him. He kept his hands firmly at his side, scared he might touch anything. In a joking manner, Ella splashed some water towards him. It covered his head and he let out a laugh. He splashed her back and they splashed and splashed each other until Draco started swimming after her. Ella began to swim away from him, laughing all the way.

Draco finally managed to grab onto her arm and they stopped. They both caught their breath, still letting out little fits of laughter. They didn't understand why they were laughing... maybe it was the moonlight or maybe it was the fact that they were both half naked and swimming in freezing cold water.

Draco was still holding onto her arm. He looked up at the moon that was shining down on them, and felt instantly warmed, even though he was freezing in the water. Ella shook the hair from her eyes and turned her gaze on him.

He was still holding her arm but he was staring up at the sky. She swam a little ways over to where he was and touched his arm. He snapped back to reality and looked into her eyes. She was still wearing a smile on her face. Draco smiled back. Ella closed the gap between them and wrapped her arms around his neck. She felt his arms wrap around her waist and then come to rest on her hip bones.

"Draco, I know I've only really known you for less than a summer, but I feel as if I've known you longer," whispered Ella.

"I feel that same way," he responded. He could see the reflection of the full moon in her blue eyes.

"I just don't get it... I've never felt the way I have this summer. I don't know if it's just that I'm in a new place or what... but I'm thinking that it's you," she said. She chewed on her bottom lip, feeling nervous.

"I know what you mean... we've only truly known each other for about a month, but already I feel as if you know me better than my friends I've known all my life," he said. He wasn't lying. There was no way in hell that Crabbe and Goyle would be able to have an intelligent conversation with him. There was also no way that he would be able to discuss his feelings with anyone at Hogwarts.

"Draco?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you mind if I totally snogged you senseless right now?"

"Not at all," said Draco. Ella pressed herself against him, kissing him with every bit of passion that was in her body. He kissed her back as she entwined her fingers in his long blonde hair. Draco didn't object, and pushed her into him. This was the best snog he had ever had in his life.

Brutus walked the banks of the lake and watched the scene unfold. After five minutes of watching it all, he stamped the earth and turned back into the forest, his tail catching the moon light. He took one final look back and watched Ella and Draco submerge in the water, still wrapped tightly in each others arms. He shook his head and trotted back down the path and into the trees.