On Storm Tossed Seas

Chapter 14: Gryffindor vs. Slytherin

A ray of light broke through the dark cloud cover the first weekend of November illuminating the Slytherin and Gryffindor Quidditch teams on the Pitch. Madam Hooch blew the whistle and the crowded stands erupted into cheers for their favored team. Hermione watched as Draco, followed closely by Harry, swept high up above the stands, eyes searching for a glint of gold. A smile crossed her lips as she noted the natural grace with which Draco swooped about.

"And they are off!" Lee's voice interrupted her thoughts as her eyes flickered to the center of the Pitch just as Alicia snatched the Quaffle. "The lovely Alicia speeds with reckless grace towards the end of the pitch. Oh, watch out! The slimy git Bole--sorry Professor--I mean, the amazing Bole smashes a bludger, sending it flying towards Alicia!"

The Gryffindors held a collective gasp as the bludger sped towards her head, releasing it as one when George and Fred simultaneously smashed the bludger towards the Slytherin chasers.

"Did you get a load of that move? A perfect execution of the Dopplebeater Defense, by none other than the amazing Weasley twins!"

High above the Pitch, Harry and Draco hovered on their brooms, each scanning the Pitch for the glint of gold; each doing their best to completely ignore the other. Harry whooped when Alicia tossed the Quaffle through the center goal, Bletchley missing it by a narrow margin, causing Draco to glare at Harry briefly.

"She may have gotten a goal, Potter, but this time, you won't be the one getting the Snitch."

Harry looked over at Draco as he spoke, letting a heavy sigh escape his lips. "Malfoy, I really don't care to hear your snide remarks."

A sneer rose to his lips. "And I really don't care to be up here with you."

Harry opened his mouth to reply when he snapped it shut, seeing the snitch a few feet behind Draco. Without hesitation he leaned forward on his broom and sped quickly past Draco, his eyes never leaving the golden blur. Immediately, Draco followed in pursuit. Harry dove in a barrel roll as the Snitch swooped towards the ground.

"It looks like Harry has seen the Snitch already! With his incredible skill, this game could be over any moment!"

Hermione's eyes found Harry and Draco as Lee spoke. She felt torn, watching them. She knew how badly Draco wanted to catch the Snitch. Not that he hadn't caught it many times playing Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, but she knew that he wanted to finally catch it when playing against Harry. He'd lamented a few times about just that over the last few days.

The two boys sped side by side, each jockeying for the front position. Harry's fingers, centimeters from touching the Snitch were shoved roughly out of the way as Draco pushed ahead a bit.

Draco strained to grab the elusive prey, his fingertips brushing against it just as the Snitch zagged to the left and zipped up at a ninety-degree angle.

Harry pulled his broom handle hard, attempting to follow the crazed path of the Snitch. He sped silently for a matter of moments, hearing the grunt of Draco behind him, straining to increase the speed of his own broom. Harry's eyes swept the area in front of him, to no avail; the Snitch was gone.

"And the Snitch has once again been lost. None too soon as Flint has grabbed the Quaffle and is speeding towards the Gryffindor goal. Here comes Bell, swooping from the left. She reaches for the Quaffle and Flint completes a reverse pass to Montague; Montague to Warrington; Warrington to Flint."

The crowd rose to their feet, Gryffindors screaming for Katie to intercept; Slytherins wildly cheering Flint on as he pulled his broom handle hard, the Quaffle protected by his side. Katie, flanked by Angelina and Alicia, sped after him.

Alicia darted ahead, her hand reaching to bat the Quaffle from the crook of Flint's arm, just as he stopped and tossed the Quaffle past her and the Gryffindor Chasers to the waiting hands of Warrington.

"And the slimy Slytherins--I mean, of course, the spectacular Slytherins," Lee corrected after a withering glare from Snape and a warning arch of the brow from McGonagall, "have pulled off a perfect Porskoff Ploy! Warrington has the Quaffle and speeds to the goal."

Fred took the situation in as a Bludger came within his range. With a hard smash of his bat, he aimed the Bludger for Warrington, watching with anticipation for the ball to knock the Chaser from his broom.

As the Bludger sped quickly towards Warrington, Bole came from the right and smashed it away, just in time for Warrington to heft the Quaffle through the left goal post, Dean swooping down to block a moment too late.

"And Slytherins score! The game is now tied, ten to ten."

A deafening roar came from the left side of the Pitch as the Slytherins applauded and cheered their Chasers onward.

The Quaffle was back in play. Katie, dodging both Bludgers, scored, her score being quickly followed by another one from Alicia.

" And the Gryffindors, leading thirty to ten again have possession of the Quaffle! Flint looks madder than an annoyed manticore and his Chasers sweep into a what looks suspiciously like the Parkin's Pincer!"

As the words left Lee's mouth Flint and Warrington swept down to either side of Angelina, while Montague sped headlong towards her.

He and Angelina closed the distance between them quickly. Only seconds from a head on collision, Angelina dove, Montague harmlessly swooping over her. With a satisfied smirk, Angelina glanced quickly over her shoulder in time to see a Bludger, aimed with precision by Derrik, flying at her. Holding tightly to the Quaffle, she gripped the broom and performed an effortless looking Sloth Grip Roll.

The Bludger skimmed over the top of her broom, missing her knuckles by mere centimeters.

The crowd came to its feet, the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws cheering wildly, the Slytherins booing.

Katie sped by and grabbed the Quaffle as Angelina dropped it to her before up righting herself and speeding after Katie, eyes scanning for the next Bludger attack. Katie swept towards the goals, tossing the Quaffle to Alicia as Flint came swooping after her.

Harry watched, cheering on his fellow teammates, Draco glaring at Angelina's near escape. A smirk rose to Draco's lips, however, as below Bole performed a Bludger Backbeat, sending the hard ball racing across the Pitch and slamming into the tail of Alicia's broom.

The sudden jolt caused the broom to spin wildly. Alicia held tightly to the handle, losing her grip on the Quaffle. Flint scooped the descending ball up and sped towards the Gryffindor goals, tossing the ball in an effortless arc.

"Flint tosses the Quaffle, Thomas swoops to the front--looks like he might miss--and no! Thomas just pulled the dangerous Starfish with Stick, blocking the Quaffle! Just another typical stunt for the amazing Dean man!"

The game continued, Slytherin gaining and passing Gryffindor, getting three Quaffles past Thomas before the Gryffindors recaptured the Quaffle. Using all the skills taught by Wood and the new skills Harry had instilled, Alicia, Angelina and Katie, backed by the Weasley twins, made four goals, much to the disgust and embarrassment of Bletchley.

"The score now stands eighty to forty, Gryffindor in the lead. It looks like this game may last a while longer as neither Seeker appears to be having lu--and there goes Potter!"

Harry buzzed past Draco, his eyes locking on the golden blur. Draco pulled hard on his broom, turning to follow. The Snitch led the two opponents on a wild chase. Harry looped about the base of the Slytherin goal posts, the Snitch zipping about just out of reach.

"And Malfoy is keeping up with Potter! The Snitch is remaining elusive!"

Draco pulled alongside Harry, his hand stretching hard for the Snitch. The two boys kept pace with each other as the Snitch swooped down to the outer trench of the Pitch. Dodging support beams, Harry's fingers finally closed around the small ball.

"And Potter catches the snitch! One hundred-fifty points!"

The Gryffindors began to cheer wildly, Hermione joining in, though with a slight heaviness in her heart for Draco. The Slytherin's sneered and began to call Harry and the Gryffindors all sorts of names. Just as a few Slytherin's pulled out wands, Lee's voice interrupted.

"It looks like Harry's in trouble!"

And indeed, he was. He had caught the Snitch, holding it high, as he swooped into the air high above to complete a victory lap. Draco had followed after him, at first thinking that Harry was still attempting to catch the Snitch. Having realized that Harry had caught it, a sneer crossed his features and he began to head back towards the ground, to join his teammates, the rest of the Gryffindor and Slytherin teams having landed already.

Harry's broom suddenly lurched, causing Harry to grab tightly to it. Again it lurched, this time flipping over. Harry tried to hold on with his free hand. It proved too much, and his other hand lost its grip. He was freefalling fifty feet to the ground. A hush fell over the audience for a brief moment before everyone began to shout. Draco watched it all happen in slow motion.

He watched as Hooch painstakingly reached for her broom, the rest of the Gryffindor team following her lead. His gaze landed on the eyes of his team and he saw each of their faces clearly marked with a look of hope a hope that matched his own expression; hope that Harry would plunge to his death. At that moment, he caught Hermione's eyes.

Draco was the closest. It was up to him. Her eyes told him as much. He swallowed hard against his pride and suddenly turned speeding to the rapidly falling Harry. Ten feet from the ground, Draco grabbed him by the back of his uniform and spiraled quickly to the ground. Once he deposited Harry, he shouldered his broom and turned without a word, stalking off the field.

~~**~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

Hermione found him on the balcony outside the Astronomy Tower after having checked on Harry in the infirmary. She stood in the doorway for a long time, her head resting on the doorjamb, as she watched him. She could see the tension in his shoulders. Slowly she crossed the stones and stood next to him, her eyes gazing out across the grounds.

"You did a good thing, Draco."

He snapped his head to look at her, anger flashing in his eyes.

"A good thing? Damn it, Hermione, I saved Potter! I can't even begin to understand what possessed me to do something so idiotic when I could have let him--" His voice trailed off as he saw a look of sorrow in Hermione's eyes. A heavy sigh escaped him and he turned around, slumping to the ground and pulling his knees up to rest his forearms on.

Hermione watched him in silence for a few moments longer before finally moving to sit next to him. Gently she placed a hand on his shoulder and spoke in a low voice.

"Draco, I know that what you did today took a lot out of you. You have your fellow housemates to face. I can understand that. But still, what you did, it was a good thing."

He leaned his head back on the stone railing behind him and watched the shifting clouds creep by overhead for a long moment before turning to look into Hermione's eyes. He didn't say anything as he reached a hand over and brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear. He blinked a few times as he marveled that what had once been strong hate could turn into something so intensely the opposite.

Hermione moved closer to him, breaking his intense gaze, and resting her head against his chest. His arm came down around her and she smiled. She didn't know why, couldn't begin to explain why, but being his arms, hearing his heart beat beneath her, it felt perfect. She tilted her head up after a moment and caught his eyes again.

"You played well today. I know that you wanted to get the Snitch, but you still played well today."

"Yeah, I suppose I did alright. But someday, Hermione, someday I want to catch the Snitch when I'm playing against Potter."

She smiled at him for a long moment, and then gently planted a kiss on his cheek before standing and pulling him up with her.

"Come on, Draco. You need to go to the infirmary to see Harry," she said, lacing her fingers through him as she moved towards the door. She stopped abruptly when she felt him tug hard on her hand. Her head turned and she gave him a questioning look.

"I'm bloody well not going to see Potter."

"Draco, you have to. Now, don't be a baby and come with me." She moved again towards the door.

He pulled her hard back to him and looked down into her wide eyes as he spoke in a harsh voice. "I'm not going to see Potter, Hermione. Don't push me."

She wrenched from his grasp, glaring angrily at him. "And don't you dare speak to me like that again, Malfoy! I'll be with Harry. When you come to your senses, I'll speak to you." She turned on her heel and stalked back into the castle, leaving an even angrier Draco standing.

After a few moments, he clenched his fists and stormed into the castle, muttering darkly under his breath. He reached the bottom of the stairs and stood silently for a moment. Letting out a breath, he leaned back against the wall, his eyes staring blankly. He couldn't believe he was letting Hermione get to him. He was a Malfoy. He did as he pleased and damn the consequences.

Then the damn small voice came back. He pushed from the wall and walked to the infirmary.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"And then, when I was about to catch it, I had to duck under the beam! I thought I'd lost it! I still can't believe I didn't!"

Harry, sitting up in the bed, gesticulated wildly with his hands as he reenacted the catch of the Snitch. Ron sat on one side of the bed, his back to the door, and a grin plastered on his face. Hermione rolled her eyes as Harry continued his story, her eyes locking onto gray as Draco strode towards the bed.

For a brief moment, Draco locked eyes with Hermione before he tore them away. He reached the edge of the bed as a silence descended. For a few long moments Harry and Draco searched the other's eyes before Harry stuck out his hand.

"I owe you my thanks, Malfoy."

Draco glared briefly at the outstretched hand before reluctantly reaching for it and grasping it in a firm shake before pulling it back.

"It was no problem."

The four remained silent, no one sure how to break the silence before Draco cleared his throat lightly.

"Well, see you around, Potter, Weasley," he paused, his eyes flickering to Hermione's, "Granger."

Without another word he turned and swept from the infirmary, feeling his throat constrict. The small voice screamed at him to go back and apologize to Hermione, but he pushed it aside as he reached the corridors, his Malfoy side coming strongly to the forefront.

He reached the top of the stairwell to the dungeons when he heard the echoing footsteps someone running down the corridor. His heart leapt as he turned, hoping that Hermione had come to find him. He suddenly wanted to tell her he was wrong, he'd been a prat.

Impatiently he stood waiting for her to reach him before he took a few steps towards the echoes. His face fell, however, as around the corner flew a first year Slytherin. He stepped back and let the younger student head down the stairs before turning and following after.

Stalking into the dungeons, he halted, his eyes meeting those of Marcus Flint. The two stood, their eyes locked. Neither willing to give ground and be the first to speak. James Bole broke the silence.

"Next you'll be saving Mudbloods. What the hell was that, Malfoy?" he sneered, crossing his arms across his chest.

Draco's gaze flickered to lock onto James's. With ingrained Malfoy arrogance, Draco simply shrugged his shoulders and moved down the stairs

to pass his teammates. Ethan Bletchley stepped in front of him, his brows lifting.

"You think we'll just let you pass by without an answer?" Ethan glared for a long moment at Draco, awaiting the younger wizard's answer.

"I think you'll take heed of who my father is, Bletchley," he returned, his eyes flashing. "You have no call to question me. I have my reasons for what I do and those reasons are none of your business."

"They are my business because I'm making them my business. We had a perfect opportunity to lose Golden Boy without any of us taking the blame and you save his life? What do you think that your father would say about that? Maybe I should owl him."

Marcus snickered a bit; James simply folded his arms across his chest, satisfied at the turn of events.

For a long moment Draco kept his eyes locked on Ethan before turning his gaze to look James and Marcus each in the eye as well. A smirk grew on his lips and he suddenly laughed.

"Are you kidding me? You are threatening to tell my father on me?" He shook his head and muttered idiots under his breath and continued on his way to his room. His progress was halted once more as Marcus grabbed him by the shoulder. Now Draco was annoyed. Spinning, her threw Marcus's hand off him, his eyes flickering. What he wanted now, more than anything, was to go to his room and be alone with his thoughts. He didn't have time for this.

Abruptly a conversation he'd had with his father in Knockturn Alley at the beginning of second year came back to him. His complaints about Potter had caused his father to turn and snap at him.

'I would remind you that it is not - prudent - to appear less than fond of Harry Potter, not when most of our kind regard him as the hero who made the Dark Lord disappear.' (1)

A long-suffering smirk spread on his face. He looked each of his teammates in the eye before speaking. "My father would find my save of Potter to be a brilliant strategic move. Don't you three forget who Potter is: The Boy Who Lived. My saving of his life will certainly make the Daily Prophet. I will become a hero. Not to mention that Potter is now in my debt. If you three used your sorry excuses for brains, perhaps you could see the wisdom in my move."

Without another word, he turned on his heel and entered his dorm.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

Hermione sat in shock as Draco swept out of the infirmary. She could feel the sting of tears in her eyes. She couldn't remember when he'd last called her Granger. She glanced briefly at Harry and Ron; the two sat in silence. Without a word, she jumped up from her seat and ran out of the door.

She reached the corridor and lurched to a halt as she saw him round the corner up ahead. Leaning back against the stonewall, she debated running after him. Finally, she gave in and pushed from the wall and ran down the corridor in the direction she had seen him go.

Hermione came to an immediate halt just as she reached the final corridor before reaching the turn to the steps. A younger student flew by her as she turned and headed back to her own common room. She wasn't going to give in. If Draco had decided to be a prat, well, she'd not force him to be any different.

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1. Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets , Scholastic Press, 1999. pg. 50.