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Unexpected	By : draconisdemented Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Ginny Views: 26235 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 10
- 11
- 12
Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Author's Note: Once again, I do not speak French. I am using a dictionary/translator on my
computer, so I'm aware it won't be perfect. If you do speak French, I would
like to apologize now for any slaughtering of the language I may have
inadvertently caused. Otherwise, what do you care, right?

French translations: ((example))

kittie06, never meant to drive you crazy! lol. To Psi, thanks, as usual! To Iced Faerie, hehehe!
I hope so! To xxbabysparklesxx,
cool. I'm all about freaking people out, lol. To Erin, thanks! To resentment, so can I add
bringing back the dead to my list of oh-so-numerous talents? Lol. To babykelyse, hope this was soon enough! To musiclover86,
no, thank you. To a-sam, hell,
anyone would have flipped if they had half a brain! Lol. To AmYzA, cool. I'm glad you liked the other one too! To power of the stars, isn't it great?
Twists + Drama = One happy me! To Jan,
I'm a pagan myself, so�Both. And no, in the true myths, Cocidius (to my
knowledge) never fell. It was just part of my plot, not history. Thank you for
reviewing! As usual, you're one of the best! To angelfire33, we can certainly
hope for peace. If they'll actually get any though is something you'll have to
wait and find out about! Okay, now to the story�

��..

Hermione desperately dug through her trunk, cursing as she made
more of a mess than she ever had in her life. Half of its contents were already
strewn around her room, draped over her bed, the lamp and the floor. Where were
her damn gloves? She was going to be late, and she really didn't need that at the moment. The Quidditch game was starting soon, all of
her Housemates were already gone, and she was supposed to be meeting Ginny by
the gardens. After four days of avoiding her and three days of apologies, she
had finally convinced Ginny to talk to her. She felt absolutely
wretched, and she couldn't believe that she'd let herself gawk like that
last Saturday.

The girl had just been forced to kill her brother, and instead of
offering her comfort, Hermione had devoured her boyfriend with her eyes. Very classy, Hermione, she chastened
herself once again. It had taken forever to work up her courage and approach
Ginny afterwards, and when she had, the girl had sneered and walked away,
Pansy, Melody and another Slytherin girl, Daphne, at her side. And then day
before yeday,day, she'd gotten her chance and cornered her after Charms, as it
was the only time she'd seen her without at least two Slytherins shadowing her.
She'd watched Ginny shoo them away since she'd stayed after to ask Flitwick a few questions, so Hermione had waited outside
for her.

"Ginny?" She'd called when the red-haired girl had
stepped out into the hallway. She'd turned slowly, contained grace in her every
movement.

"What do you want, Hermione?"

"To apologize. Again." Seeing the look on Ginny's face,
she had hurried on. "I really am
sorry, Ginny. I couldn't help it. I promise, though, that I didn't mean
anything by it. I'm not stupid." She'd said, keeping her voice as low and
calm as she could. That look had
flashed in Ginny's eyes again, before it had faded and been replaced by an odd,
calculating expression.

"Aren't you?" Ginny had asked so softly that Hermione
had barely heard her. Then louder, "Perhaps I've been a bit�harsh."

"What?"
Hermione had asked, not believing her ears.

"Look, how about you meet me before the Quidditch match on
Sunday?" Ginny had questioned, though Hermione had known that to say no
was to lose her only chance.

"Sure, but couldn't we talk now?" She'd asked, and had
breathed a sigh of relief when the other girl had laughed.

"Are you kidding?" Ginny had exclaimed, her eyes
sparkling. "If I don't show up for Herbology, one
of the Slytherins will run for Draco or Blaise. Or both." She had paused
then, looking thoughtful. "Oh, wait. I forgot." She'd said, pulling a
small, orange orb from her pocket. It was perfectly smooth, and it had reminded
Hermione of the crystal balls used in Divination, because it had looked full of
swirling mist.

"What's that?" She'd asked, her curiosity once more
getting the better of her. And Ginny hadn't snapped at her as expected, but she
hadn't really answered her, either.

"A present. It'll let them know I'm fine. You sure you really
want to skip a class?" Ginny'd asked, the barest hint of animosity
creeping into her husky voice.

"Yes." Hermione had replied, and watched silently as
Ginny had tapped the orange sphere with her finger. It had flashed, and then flickered twice more, before returning to its previous
state. Ginny had led her towards the dungeons, but hadn't taken her to the
Slytherin common room as she had expected, instead going to an abandoned
classroom.

"Why'd we come here?" She'd asked, looking around at the
cobweb-covered walls and dusty cauldrons. Ginny's eyes had darkened, and
Hermione had wished fervently that she'd just shut her mouth.

"I don't think taking you into Slytherin would be�wise."
Ginny had finally responded. "If Blaise catches your scent in the common
room before I get a chance to talk to him�Look, it's going to be bad enough
when they smell you on me."

"But I haven't touched you!" Hermione had argued, her
cheeks flushing. Ginny had only smirked, leaning up against one of the less
dusty counters.

"So?" The other girl had questioned. "You think
that makes any difference? They'll smell you. Trust me." Slightly taken
aback, Hermione hadn't said anything for a minute.

"Look," she'd
started slowly, breaking the silence, "I was completely out of line
and-"

"Forget it, Hermione." Ginny had cut her. &q. "That
night was�difficult, in more ways than one. Just don't do it again." She'd
finished, her eyes narrowing.

"W-Wait." Hermione had stuttered. "You're just
going to forgive me?"

"Sort of."

"But�But you wouldn't talk to me all week! I tho you you
hated me!" Hermione had burst out, a tear leaking down her cheek.

She truly was sorry; she and Ginny had been really
good friends before this whole mess had started, and they had been
almost as close as Ginny and Lauren had been. But those two had also grown
apart, which made the whole world seem a little strange. It appeared
that Lauren, who had been so adamant on keeping their friendship going after
Ginny had gotten with Blaise and Draco, couldn't really deal with the whole 'Chosen'
thing. It freaked her out more than she would admit, and she had begun
acting strangely around Ginny. And Ginny, who was usually so perceptive,
couldn't see what the real problem was.

But Hermione knew that Slytherins could, as their expressions had
taken on an acidic quality around Lauren that they hadn't previously had, and
they seemed to be trying to slowly draw Ginny away
from the other girl, as if they wished to spare her the pain of the rejection
that was bound to come eventually. The last article about Draco, Blaise and
Ginny in the Daily Prophet hadn't
helped things, either. The day after the massacre in the two Slytherins' Alexandria office, the three of
them had been featured on the front page of every paper, and it was like an
echo of almost two years before, except that there were three gore-covered
figures instead of two. The full story had yet to be released, but some
pictures had leaked, and experts were trying to decide if they were fake or not, while the Ministry had yet to comment.

"I don't�hate
you." Ginny had replied. "No one would have taken that shit very
kindly, Hermione. And I meant what I said. I don't mind hanging out with you
again, but you make one-"

"I know." Hermione had supplied. "I won't. I promise."

Her words from that day echoed in her head as she finally found
her gloves, and she pulled them on, grabbing her winter cloak on the way out.
It had been snowing all day, and she wasn't looking forward to the trek across
the grounds that they would soon be making. But if it meant she had her friend
bachen hen so be it. She just wished that there was a way she could apologize
to Draco and Blaise, too, but she knew that that was utterly suicidal in every
way imaginable. Crawling through the portrait hole, she tried to dislodge her
thoughts from that course andled led miserably, as usual. She had other
problems besides her 'hormonal issues', as she had decided to call it.

Like if she blew this, what the hell were they going to do?
Muttering under her breath as she sped down the stairs, she tried to think of
ulterior options. They had to get more knowledge from somewhere, and their
choices were limited. They didn't have the outside connections that the
Slytherins seemed to possess, and the arrogant bastards were their only real
chance at this point. Her muttering turned into curses as she slammed into
someone's back. Again. She really was
going to have to start watching where she was going more often. Her cheeks
burning, she looked up, and then proceeded to wish for a swift death. This is sooo just
my luck, she thought miserably.

"Sorry." She mumbled, not moving a single inch off the
floor, trying to be as still and small as possible as inconceivably blue eyes
glued her to the floor. She heard footsteps coming from behind her, and risked
showing her back in order to see who it was, hoping
against hope that Harry or Ron would walk around the corner.

It wasn't, of course, as they were already at the game, but it was
nearly as good. Professor McGonagall froze when she saw them, her eyes
narrowing to suspicious slits as she took in Hermione on the ground at Blaise
Zabini's feet. Blaise, seeing what the woman was thinking, sneered viciously
before mockingly offering Hermione a hand up, his eyes never leaving
McGonagall. The Professor glanced at Hermione, arching an inquisitive eyebrow,
and Hermione swallowed her fear, nodding that everything was all right. McGonagall
threw a last, untrusting glance at Blaise, before spinning on a heel and
leaving for the pitch. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief, as he probably wouldn't
murder her with there being a witness, and then scooted backwards away from him
as fast and far as possible.

"What's wrong, Granger?" Blaise questioned softly, a
queer glint in his eyes. "Scared you'll catch something if you touch
me?" Startled at the suggestion, she couldn't answer at first. Finally
clearing her throat, she looked back up at him.

"No. She�ll smell me on you or something,
isn't that right?" She asked, trying her damnedest not to let her fear
cloak her words as much as it was cloaking her thoughts. "Something about
her changed when the three of you were Marked. I know
that much. She sure as hell wasn't informing me that I smelt like dinner before that, at any rate."

"Don't worry, little mudblood. Should Virginia ever choose to feed,
she has better blood than yours to feast upon." He said,
his hooded eyes beginning to really, truly scare her.
Wishing that she hadn't sent McGonagall away after all, she slid farther back,
almost screaming as he disappeared and reappeared right next to her.

She knew that he hadn't Apparated, only
moved much too fast for her eyes to follow. Panic began seeping in, as the
realization hit her that he could have just as easily snapped her neck right
then. Whimpering, she recd asd as he crouched next to her with the easy grace
of a panther. Purple-streaked cerulean eyes bored into her through thick, silky
locks of raven hair, and she couldn't seem to tear her own eyes away. She
wasn't quite sure what had happened, wasn't quite sure just which moment had
turned this from a hostile meeting on the stairway into a situation where she
was more scared than she'd ever been in her life. And he hadn't even really done anything yet.

"Or is that the problem?" He asked bare moments later,
but it had felt like an eternity to her and she had to fight to remember what
he'd said last. When she did, her eyes widened and she felt the blood rushing
to her face once again.

"W-What do you m-mean?" She asked, and he smirked
cruelly.

"I mean I think you're a freak underneath your little
Miss-Perfect charade. Poor little mudblooded Gryffindor, stuck with all the
norms in your pathetic tower. I think you wear as many masks as we do, except
you hide yours even from yourself. I think you dream of fangs in your flesh and
blood on your tongue. And I think that you'd better not fuck my girlfriend
over." Blaise drawled, his velvety voice underlain with darkness and just
a hint of madness. She couldn't decide which sent more chills down her spine.

"I wouldn't do that." Hermione said, moving back the
last few inches until her back hit the wall, and the small edge of the alcove
twisted the light, covering Blaise in shifting shadows.

cla class=MsoNormal>

"Don't profess your idiotic Gryffindor loyalty to me,
Granger. Do you really think I'll believe you just because you claim
otherwise?"

"No. I don't suppose you would." She mumbled, knowing he
would hear her.

"Don't hurt her. That's all. Oh, and keep your perverted
fucking fantasies to yourself. You almost gave Draco a bloody heart attack the
other night. He wouldn't talk for hours, and he freaked when he couldn't Obliviate the memory of your lustful little stare." He
commented flippantly, his words reeking of truth, and it made her chest
constrict painfully. Mortified and strangely aching inside, all she wished for
at that point was for anyone, even Ginny, to come up the stairs and see them in
the alcove. But thstlestle was empty; she knew that much. Remembering the match,
she choked.

"Hey, what are you even doing here? You're supposed to be
playing!" She exclaimed, her surprise lending her courage. He sneered.

"You're quite the fool sometimes, aren't you, mudblood?"
He asked, standing and gesturing to himself with one
elegant hand. He was wearing his Quidditch robes and pads, and she wondered how
in the hell she hadn't noticed that before. She ripped her eyes away, cursing
herself silently for still finding him so attractive, and got shakily to her
feet.

"But the game's already started." She stated lamely, and
he rolled his eyes.

"Yes, yes it has.
We decided it would be best if we only played with two Chasers. You know, to liven things up
a bit." He said sarcastically, looking at her as if she were some
grotesque new form of pond scum. "Honestly.
Hooch forgot the Quidditch balls in the Game Room."

"Then what are you doing all the way up here?" She asked
unthinkingly, and he just stared at her. She looked around, uncomfortable, and
noticed that they weren't very high up. In fact, they were only on the second
floor. Stupid, stupid, stupid. "Nevermind. I have to go." She said, trying to bolt
away before he could say anything. A hand yanked her backwards and she nearly
fell, barely catching herself on the wall.

"I don't think so, little mudblood." Blaise crooned.
"I don't lie to my loved ones, see. And she'll smell you on me as quick as
she will the other way around. But I'm not the one who was about to be face
to face with her. Are you completely stupid?"

"What do you care?" She questioned harshly, stepping
away since he'd released her almost immediately, wiping his hand off on his
robes. "You hate me, remember?"

"I don't hate
you." He said, and she knew her jaw must have hit the floor. When Ginny
had said that, she was surprised. But Blaise
saying it was tantamount to a miracle.

"Excuse me?"

"I don't hate you." He repeated, beginning to walk down
the last flight of steps and towards the doors that led outside. "I
dislike you, but not with any real intensity, since you're so easily ignored.
Now, come on. I do have a game to
play, after all." He continued nonchalantly, and she wondered why it
suddenly felt so hard to breathe. She should have known it would be something
like that, she shouldn't have hoped for a second that�

"What's going on?" Ginny's voice broke her out of her
thoughts, and she looked up from where she was trailing behind Blaise to meet
Ginny's burning eyes.

"Your�friend ran
into me on the stairs." Blaise replied, and her disturbing eyes flashed to
him, cooling a bit. "I offered to escort her to where you were
waiting." Ginny cocked an eyebrow in amusement, and Hermione relaxed
fractionally.

"I seriously doubt that." Ginny said, fighting to keep a
smile off her face as Blaise leaned in and kissed her on the corner of her
mouth.

o:p>

"Of course." Ginny said. "And you did get what you came for, right?"
She asked, and he smirked, patting a pocket.

"Oui. Redu spe spells are quite convenient. Je t'aime." He said,
laughing as he slid out of one of the doors and disappeared. ((Yes.)) ((I love
you.))

"Je t'aime
aussi." Ginny whispered after him, before
turning to Hermione. ((I love you too.))

"I didn't mean to, I-"

"Hermione!" Ginny huffed. "Really, just calm down.
He said you bumped into him on the stairs, didn't he? I doubt he would have
been as calm had it not been an accident." Hermione nodded, unable to do
anything else for the moment. Calm?
If that was 'calm', then she sincerely never wanted Blaise Zabini enraged with
her. But she'd known that for quite some time already.

<
<
"There you are!" A female voice called from their right
once they were halfway to the pitch. Melody, Daphne and Pansy caught up with
them quickly, shaking snowflakes from their hair since the downfall had stopped
for a bit.

cla class=MsoNormal>

"We were looking for you." Pansy told Ginny when their
groups joined, and the girl was dressed in Quidditch robes, much as Blaise had
been. The Slytherins scrunched their noses when they saw Hermione with her, but
said nothing for the moment, opting to talk to Ginny instead.

"I thought you guys already went to the pitch?" Ginny
asked, flicking the snow on her shoulder at Pansy. It hit the Slytherin on the
side of the face, and Hermione watched in fascination as Pansy simply laughed
and shot a playful glare at the redheaded girl. Holy shit, Hermione thought to herself. I don't think they were lying. They really are friends. She
couldn't help but notice the easy, natural symmetry between the four girls.
They almost walked in sync, for the love of Merlin. It looked as if they'd been
friends their entire lives, not just a little more than two months.

"We did." Melody replied. "But it's going to take
even longer before the game starts now, so Pansy asked Draco if we could come
find you real quick." She said, and her words became tinted with anger.
Ginny's head snapped around.

"Why is it going to take longer?" She asked
suspiciously. Melody looked away.

"You probably don't want to know." Thrl srl said,
flipping her wavy brown hair out of one eye where it had fallen. Ginny growled
and turned to Pansy, who actually squirmed a bit.

"Well, see�someone objected to Madam Hooch sending Blaise for
the game balls. Said that he would jinx them so that Slytherin would win."
Pansy said, her own voice growing angry. Ginny's eyes went blank and Hermione
shivered.

"Who objected?" Ginny asked quietly, and the Slytherins
exchanged wary glances.

"Okay, we'll tell you." Daphne said cautiously after
Ginny snarled. "But you have to promise to stay�coolheaded." She
smirked and Ginny glared, a little light coming back into her eyes.

"Fine. And I'm perfectly
calm, thank you very much." Ginny said sourly, sticking her tongue out at
them childishly. Pansy rolled her eyes.

"Sure." She said drylyuot;uot;And I'm the Queen of
Aruba."

"The Queen of Annoyance,
more like."nny nny replied. "Now who was it? Ron?" When her
friends nodded, Hermione felt like pulling her hair out. How could he? He knew she was meeting with
his sister, he knew how much being decent to the Slytherins meant at the moment, but he apparently didn't care.

"Yeah. So now, they're having Dumbledore check them out. We should get back just in time." Melody said, and
Hermione marveled over how quickly Blaise must have made it back to the pitch.

They were almost there, the stands looming above them a short way
ahead, and the roar of the crowd was growing louder with every step. They went
under the arch a few minutes later, and headed toward the Slytherin stands,
Pansy separating from them and jogging back onto the pitch. Part of the
agreement had been that Hermione would sit with the Slytherins, which had
actually been her idea. She wanted to do things right; if that meant toughing
out a silly Quidditch match with the Slytherins, then it would just have to be
done, no matter how much she dreaded it. She didn't even want to even think about what her Housemates were
going to say, though, let alone what the rest of the school would think,
especially as her House was the opposing team that day.

"Are you coming or what, Hermione?" Ginny called from
ten or fifteen steps up the stairs that led up into the stands, and she hurried
to catch up.

&n

They were standing next to Dumbledore and Madam Hooch, who had her
arms crossed and looked furious, even from so far away. Pulling out her Omniocuclars, Hermione figured she might as well pay
attention to this game, since she was going to be in deep shit because of it afterwards.
The figures came into sharp focus, and she saw Harry and Ron glaring at
someone. Having a good feeling she knew who, she
glanced over. Sure enough, Draco and Blaise were standing across from them,
talking idly and leaning against their top-of-the-line broomsticks. Even Harry
hadn't gotten a Firt

"I think Dumbledore's done." Ginny said, leaning forward
eagerly, her eyes shining again. Sure enough, Dumbledore quit waving his wand
over the balls and declared them fit for play, announcing that no one had
tampered with them, which had smug grins appearing on the Slytherins' faces.

The team captains stepped forward, and Draco ed

"Yes!" Melody exclaimed, and Hermione followed her line
of sight. The Gryffindor Chasers, Colin, Ryan and Lavender, had also been a
second too late, as Pansy snatched up the Quaffle and
darted down the field, a green and silver blur. She passed to Blaise, who
looped over Luke and passed to the other Slytherin Chaser, Sebastian, who
scored. The Slytherin stands erupted in cheers, the people all around her
jumping to their feet. Her heart sinking at their early score, she listened
intently to Casey Dorndee, who was the new announcer.

"AND SLYTHERIN SCORES! LAVENDER IN POSSESSION OF THE QUAFFLE NO> NOW, SHE ZIPS AROUND SEBASTIAN-" Hermione
laughed at the groans rising from assorted students. The one thing Casey had
changed about the announcements was that he refused to call the players by
their last names, even the Slytherins. "OH NO! FOUL! ANYONE COULD SEE THAT WAS A FOUL, BLAISE NEARLY KNOCKED RYAN FROM
HIS BROOM!" There was a pause as they waited to see if Hooch would call
it, but she waved them on, rolling her eyes. Even Hermione had a hard time
seeing what had just happened as a foul, considering she'd seen much worse
before and more than likely would again before the end of the game. Barbaric, she thought once more.

"Damn right!" Melody shouted, her cool, quiet demeanor
gone in face of the game. It was always like that, be it Slytherins or
Gryffindors. Everyone lost their bloody minds over the
sport, and she just couldn't fathom why.

"He barely touched him!" Ginny agreed,
her eyes wild and excited.

"NO FOUL, APPARENTLY, AND BLAISE HAS THE QUAFFLE
� HE PASSES TO SEBASTIAN, WHO PASSES TO PANSY � OH, ALMOST COLIN! THAT WAS A
NEAR MISS BY GRYFFINDOR'S CHASER, AND PANSY TAKES OFF DOWN THE PITCH AGAIN -
THE SLYTHERINS ARE FLYING IN A TIGHT 'V' FORMATION AND THE BLUDGERS
CAN'T SEEM TO REACH HER � SHE PASSES TO SEBASTIAN, WHO DODGES LAVENDER AND LUKE
� WHOA! THAT WAS A FANCY BIT OF FLYING BY SLYTHERIN'S CHASERS, AND BLAISE NOW
HAS THE QUAF � OH GODS!!"
Casey exclaimed as both Bludgers whizzed straight at
Blaise's head, missing his face by bare inches as he threw himself backwards
and flipped onto Pansbroobroom. The Bludgers hit the
broom he'd just been on a second later, shattering the wood and slamming into each
other with a loud 'CRACK'.

The stands grew quiet as the broom fell in broken pieces to the
ground, and Pansy's eyes were wide and shocked, as were most everyone else's. It
had happened so fast that they'd barely seen it. The teams headed for the
ground, and Draco nearly tackled Blaise when they landed, knocking the Quaffle from his hand and checking him for injuries before
starting to curse. She couldn't hear him
doing it, as the teams were too far down, but she could tell that he was by the
look of absolute murder on his face. He spun towards Crabbe and Goyle, and they
slunk backwards, waving their arms emphatically. Madam Hooch was also yelling,
holding part of the broken broom in her hand and waving it threateningly at
Gryffindor's Beaters.

"What the fuck was that all about?" Anton hissed.
"They nearly took off his fucking head!" Hermione silently agreed,
her point about the stupid 'sport' being proven once again. The figures on the
ground seemed to have erupted into a full-blown shouting match, before Hooch
blew her whistle again and turned to Blaise, asking him something.

He nodded and Draco threw his hands up, his expression utterly
furious. Blaise said something to him and he shook headhead, as did the rest of
the Slytherin team. But Blaise ignored them and turned back to Hooch, who
nodded and took out her wand. A broom came flying across the field moments
later from the Slytherin locker rooms, and Hermione recognized it as another Firebolt Infinity. Blaise
grabbed it out of the air and Draco seemed to give up, turning on the
Gryffindors and snarling at them instead. His mouth moved rapidly, forming what
she was almost positive was an insult, and the Gryffindor Beaters moved towards
him, swinging their clubs threateningly. Draco laughed and swatted Benjamin's
club out of his hand as if it were a toy stick.

"Shit." Ginny whispered, clutching her forearm
distractedly. "He's pissed."
Luke's club followed Benjamin's a moment later, before Hooch stepped between
them. Short, hurried words followed, before Draco spun on a heel, his next
words loud enough to drift up the stands.

"Fine! Fuck it then! They want a dirty game, then they'll get a goddamn dirty game!" He motioned to tea team and they responded instantly, mounting their brooms once again. Blaise
was watching Draco warily, but the whistle blew and his attention went back to
the match.

"ALRIGHT, SLYTHERIN HAS BEEN AWARDED THREE PENALTY SHOTS, AND
IT SEEMS BLAISE WILL BOOTIOOTING THEM � THERE HE GOES, WATCH THAT LEFT HOOP,
RON! BLAISE SWERVES, SHOOTS AND � SLYTHERIN SCORES!" Cheers rose again,
mostly from the Slytherins, but quite a few Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws cheered
as well.

"Tre

"LAVENDER WITH THE QUAFFLE, SHE'S
ZEROING IN ON THE SLYTHERIN HOOPS, HOPE SHE CAN GET IT PAST DIMITRI
� OH! PANSY BLOCKS HER, LOOKS LIKE SHE BUSTED HER NOSE TOO, AND SEBASTIAN GETS
THE QUAFFLE! COLIN'S MOVING IN �
COME ON, YOU CAN DO IT! SH
� COLIN GETS WAYLAID BY A BLUDGER FROM GREGORY AND
GOES INTO A BARREL ROLL � SEBASTIAN PASSES TO PANSY, AND � OUCH!
RYAN GETS KICKED IN THE FACE AS HE TRIES TO DELAY HER AND SHE SHOOTS �
SLYTHERIN SCORES! 50-10 IN FAVOR OF THE SNAKES!" The Slytherins were
apparently amused, and their cheers turned into hisses. She supposed they meant
it good-naturedly, but it sent creeping tingles down her spine.

"Your team't d't doing so well." Anton commented dryly,
and Hermione started when she realized that he was talking to her.

"We'll see." She muttered, turning her attention back to
the game. The next twenty minutes were absolutely brutal,
and Madam Hooch gave up on calling the more minor fouls.

She'd never seen the Slytherin team, or
any team for that matter, play so very viciously. After another ten minutes,
she had to agree with Anton. Gryffindor was being flattened, scoring only one
more goal. The Slytherins were almost literally wiping the field with them, and
even the two Seekers were drawn into it. Well, more like Harry was drawn into it, anyway. Draco had been whacking Bludgers with his broomstick and knocking players around
since the game had first turned nasty. But as she watched, she noticed one
thing that was a bit surprising. The Slytherins weren't cheating. They were
fouling people left and right, but they hadn't broken any of the staple rules,
which they usually did at least once or twice during a game just to prove that
they could.

"Someone's going to get really hurt." She said to no one
in particular. Ginny turned toward her, those excited eyes still shining.

"Probably." She agreed, her
attention going back to the game as Blaise snatched the Quaffle
from Lavender.

"Isn't it wonderful?" Melody breathed,
her mouth slightly open and her breath coming fast, fogging around her pretty
face. "It's just so beautiful when they play this way." Startled,
Hermione turned to look at the girl.

"I've never seen a game like this one before." She said,
and Melody glanced at her briefly.

"Figures." The girl scoffed. "Yeah, well, this is
the way real Quidditch is played.
Except we usually don't bother with rules at all."

"What?" Hermione asked, slightly hored. ed. The sport
was dangerous enough on its own, but to strip the rules away was sheer lunacy.

"It's better that way." Melody replied, her eyes
following the players. "Ooooh, I think Blaise
just broke Ryan's finger. Anyway, it's the way the team always
practices, and the way we all play out of school. It just makes it so
much more interesting." Deciding
the girl was slightly more mad then she'd originally
assumed, Hermione turned back to the game.

"LOOKS LIKE RYAN'S FINGER IS ALL
PATCHED UP, AND HE SHOOTS INTO THE AIR AGAIN, HOT ON SEBASTIAN'S TRAIL � BLAISE
NARROWLY MISSES ANOTHER BLUDGER, WHICH HITS COLIN
DEAD ON, AND THERE GOES PANSY! SHE HAS THE QUAFFLE
AND SHE'S CLOSING � SHE PASSES BACK TO SEBASTIAN, WHO SHOOTS AND � IT'S BLOCKED
BY RON! HAH! THE SCORE REMAINS 90-20, STILL IN SLYTHERIN'S FAVOR, THOUGH, AND
WHAT A SHAME THAT IS�SORRY, PROFESSOR! OKAY, BLAISE WITH THE QUAFFLE, HEADING STRAIGHT DOWN THE CENTER, LOOK AT HIM FLY! THAT'S A FIREBOLT
INFINITY FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE BLIND, ONE OF THE TOP BROOMS IN THE WORLD, IT
CAN DO OVER � SORRY, PROFESSOR. BLAISE APPROACHES THE GOALS BUT CIRCLES AROUND,
PASSES TO PANSY, WHO PASSES IT BACK - AND
SLYTHERIN SCORES!"

"This is bad." Hermione moaned quietly, putting her head
in her hands. 100-20?

If Draco ended up with the Snitch, it was going to be a very
unpleasant night in Gryffindor Tower. And their sure-proof
plan of letting Harry take care of it wasn't so sure-proof
anymore. Draco had gotten the snitch in the last Gryffindor-Slytherin match
last year, and again in the first one this year. He had always been an
excellent flyer, leagues above the other Seekers except for Harry, but then it
had changed. For Draco, it had seemed as if it had stopped being about the
on-going competition between him and Harry and just been about the game, like it had always been in all of his other matches. With
that added tension gone, he'd won both following games for his team, getting
the snitch right from underneath Harry's nose.

"OI, WHAT IS THIS? WHAT ON EARTH IS
SLYTHERIN'S SEEKER DOING??" Casey's voice questioned,
and Hermione felt her toes go numb with foreboding.

Searching the air, she saw nothing, nothing, and then she looked
straight up. A silver and green blur was
streaking from almost a hundred feet above the people in the highest part of
the stands, racing for the ground at a breakneck speed. There's no way he'll be able to stop, she thought frantically,
barely aware of Ginny leaping to her feet. Harry, who was on the other side of
the pitch, saw Draco and shot off towards him, apparently trying to intercept
the Slytherin's descent. The remaining members of the two teams had frozen,
watching stunned as Draco pelted straight for the ground, Harry on his heels.
She saw it then, the barest glimmer of gold among the trampled snow, less than
three inches from the ground.

There wasn't a chance that he could get the ball while going so
fast and not crash horribly, and she wondered just what in the hell he was
thinking. Seconds later, she found out. They approached the ground at a nauseating
speed, and Harry must have realized that Draco had lost his mind, because he
pulled up and away at the last second. Which was, apparently,
just what Draco had intended, as he pulled up half a second later, his foot
flashing out and kicking the Snitch into the air in front of him. Never
slowing, he took off after it as it zoomed away, leaving the watching
spectators gaping. He sped right over the snow, as he'd barely been another
half a second from impact when he'd straightened out, and he stretched his arm forward
for the Snitch.

His fingers brushed the golden ball just as something flew out of
the Gryffindor stands, hitting him on the shoulder and neck with a sickening 'CRACK'
that sounded way too much lihe she sound Blaise's broom had made earlier. Ginny
gave a choked scream, grabbing her shoulder and nearly falling over, but
Hermione couldn't look away as Draco swerved jaggedly, somehow managed toraigraighten his broom out, and took back off after the golden ball. Teachers
were already making their way into the stands, but she could have cared less.
This was it. The only part of Quidditch that she'd ever found exciting. The
capture of the Golden Snitch.

The flying object had slowed Draco down enough that Harry had
caught up to him again, and they were once more neck-and-neck as they sped
closer and closer to the Snitch. The little ball darted upwards suddenly and
they followed it easily, rising and rising until they'd almost reached the top
of the stands again. She saw Harry kick out at Draco and had a moment of
surprise, since Harry never did that kind of thing, but Draco dodged it
smoothly and ignored him, his mercury eyes locked onto his current prey. The
ball darted right over the Ravenclaws' heads, and the Seekers followed, causing
the students to shriek as they zoomed over them.

The ball turned, curved, and raced over the remaining Ravenclaws
into the Slytherin stands. Harry kicked out at Draco again, which had the
Slytherins hissing angrily, but Draco feinted and went slightly to the left.
The ball was racing straight for one of the concrete stand dividers, and they
only had moments to make a decision before they would hit. Watching them with
wide, terrified eyes, Hermione ducked as they zipped less than a foot over her
head. The ball was right at the divider then, and it seemed that both Harry and
Draco were determined to get it, no matter what. She sucked in a breath as the
ball went into reverse suddenly, turning and heading
back out over the field.

Draco saw it and spun, lightning quick,
slamming into Harry and using the other boy's body as a cushion against the
rough stone. Instead of trying to catch his broom as it fell, Draco used his
feet to push against the wall and leaped to the side, his hand closing around
the Snitch in mid-air. She screamed, along with quite a few others, as he
plummeted to the ground, the golden ball still clenched tightly in his fist.
She saw Melody, Anton, Daphne and quite a few other Slytherins forcibly
restraining Ginny, who had been a hair's breadth from jumping over the side
after him. He seemed to fall forever, and she felt tears rising in her throat.

A black and green blur shot underneath him out of nowhere, and she
could breathe again as she saw Draco safely on Blaise's broom. Their long
braids, silver and black, ted ted around each other as Blaise dove for the
ground, Draco facing him on the broom and his arms tightly around the other's
waist. There were a few more moments of silence, before the entire stadium
erupted. They'd never seen anything like
that before. The Slytherins, over their panic, were ecstatic, and Hermione
knelt by Harry, who had crumpled at the base of the divider he and Draco had
hit. He was two or three feet from the ledge, and he seemed dazed.

"He got it again, didn't he?" Harry asked her, his voice
barely more than a whisper. She nodded hesitantly, right as Ginny snatched up
Draco's fallen broom, which had landed next to Harry's in the aisle.

"Gotta go!" The redhead said
brightly, before diving over the railing without a backwards glance. The other
Slytherins followed her after pulling shrunken brooms from their pockets, and
soon the Slytherin stands were completely empty but for her and Harry. The Gryffindor team was flying towards them slowly, and stopped ten
or fifteen yards from where they were, looking at the green and silver stands
with blatant distrust.

"He's fine!" She called to them, but they just glared at
her. Which was expected, but she had hoped they would at least wait until they
were back in their dormitory. Ron looked at her apologetically, as he knew why
she'd been sitting there, and she gave him a weak grin before facing Harry
again. "Harry, tell them you're all right."

"I'm fine!" Harry called to them before couching and
getting to his feet. He scooped up his Firebolt and
mounted it, looking at her inquisitively. She didn't like brooms very much, but
she wanted to make sure that he went to the Hospital Wing, just to check and be
positive that he was really okay. Swallowing her
nervousness, she got on in front of him and felt his arms wrap around her
before his hands grabbed the broom. He was shaking, and she knew that he was
upset about losing another game to Slytherin. They made it to the ground in a fairly short amount of time, landing outside the Gryffindor
locker rooms.

"It's alright, mate." Ron said as he joined them.
"I didn't do so fabulous myself. Bloody Slytherins." He spat, glaring
at the sea of green, silver and black-clad stus ths that had surrounded their
team, cheering and laughing as they congratulated their players. A shower of
green sparks exploded over their heads like fireworks, and Hermione saw Ginny
with her hands raised right before another blast came from them, this time in
silver. Ron mumbled something threatening about House traitors, and Hermione
only shook her head. Ginny had never really been a Gryffindor, not like the
rest of them. If she had found happiness in the tight, secretive embrace of
Slytherin, then so be it.

Fighting against the force of the wind, she pulled Draco's broom
underneath her and continued her dive for the pitch, before landing lightly on
her feet in the snow and springing off his broom. Looking up, she saw that the
others were also jumping off with their brooms, before she ran for Draco and
Blaise, who were surrounded by their exuberant teammates. Their eyes were lit
up, the frenzy and passion of the game infusing them to their very bones, and
she felt a wave of anger toward her brother. She loved Quidditch and was damn
good at it, but he had refused to let her join the House team. And since he'd
made captain, she hadn't been able to do anything about it.

They were surrounded by their friends, who were all chattering excitedly
and grinning from ear to ear. It was rare to see any of them so happy, let
alone all of them, and Virginia's spirits rose even
more. Throwing her hands up, she released a torrent of green, fiery sparks that
exploded over their heads, falling on them harmlessly and tickling their
exposed skin. The Slytherins cheered again and she sent up a burst of silver as
the green faded, giggling when a spark landed on Pansy's nose and made the girl
sneeze. Draco picked n stn style='font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:Verdana;color:black'>Virginia up and spun her
around in circles, snow flying around them, and her laughter rolled from her in
tinkling waves. They stumbled and fell, Blaise catching them before they hit
the snow, so they dragged him down with them.

"Traitors!" He hissed, throwing snow at them. They
looked at each other, smirked, and tackled him simultaneously. The other
Slytherins around them weettietting into their own small snow wars, and she
shrieked when Blaise stuffed a handful of snow down her robes. She and Draco
flipped him over, tossing fistfuls of snow at the same time, and he rolled away
into a crouching position. "Is this any way to thank the person that just
saved your miserable life?" He asked Draco, who stuck out his blue-tinted
tongue and waved a hand, causing a small wall of snow to hit Blaise.

"Run!" Virginia yelled as she saw the
look that formed in her boyfriend's eyes, and she grabbed Draco's sleeve,
pulling him with her. They narrowly missed a huge column of snow, and she was
laughing so hard she could barely take another step. Knowing the freezing fate
that awaited them should they stop, she forced herself to continue forward,
dodging a few Ravenclaws that were in their way.

"Shit!" Draco said right before something slammed into
them from behind, and they went down in a flurry of limbs and flying snow.

t;Hat;Hah!&q Bla Blaise said triumphantly from above them.
"You thought you could run, did you?" She didn't answer, just flipped
over and flung more snow at Blaise, who was looming over them. It hit his
chest, and he grinned before pushing her back down. Another wad of snow hit the
side of his face, immediately followed by Draco's musical laughter, and Blaise
spun, leaping on top of him. They flipped over and she quickly got to her feet
as their positions reversed. Not pausing, she launched herself at Draco,
knocking him off Blaise and back into the snow.

"How could you?" He wailed in mock betrayal, but her
lips descended on his and he quickly grew quiet. She pulled back just as
swiftly, shoving a handful of snow in his face and snickering.

"Works every time. Men are so easy." She taunted, seconds before she found herself once more
on her back in the wet slush covering the ground. They both were leaning over
her, their eyes sparking playfully, before Draco leaned down and purred in her
ear.

"You want easy, ma chou?
We'll show you easy." His mouth covered hers, rational thought fleeing,
and she couldn't have cared less that there were only about four hundred sets
of eyes on them. Blaise's mouth soon replaced his, and she couldn't help a
small moan escaping her. They pulled back, looking victorious until she tossed
more snow in their faces. She used every bit of speed she possessed to scoot
from underneath them, getting back to her feet and running for Pansy. She knew
they were right behind her, so when she was almost there, she threw herself
forward and rolled, missing their outstretched hands by a split second.

"You guys have serious problems."
Pansy's amused voice said from above her, and she straightened, trying to look
dignified.

"We do not." She replied haughtily, trying her damnedest
not to laugh again, and turned to her boyfriends, who had frozen and looked
disappointed. An evil smirk graced her lips, and she pointed at Pansy. Their
eyes lit up again right as Pansy started shaking her head and backing away, and
a moment later, the other girl was in the snow. She spit curses at her two
Housemates as they shoveled the wet, melting ice on her, and Virginia couldn't hold back
anymore. Laughter once again spilled from her, tears running down her cheeks as
her side began aching. That was when the first real scream split the air.

"What the fuck?" Anton said, looking around.

Draco and Blaise were off of Pansy in seconds, helping her to her
feet before rejoining Ginny. Another scream echoed the first, and they turned to face the far side of the pitch, where the
sun was setting, twilight having crept up on them, and what they saw had more
people screa, wh, while sending her instincts into overdrive. A huge figure
made of fire and shadow was rising up through the ground, just outside the
castle's wards. It kept coming and coming, until it stood well over forty feet
tall. A long, nasty looking whip was clutched in one of its enormous fists, and
it had a wide head with slit red eyes. It was flashing different colors
randomly, and the distant feeling of pain and eternal suffering seemed to choke
them, even while it was still outside the shields.

Draco and Blaise stepped in front of her immediately as the thing
began moving towards the pitch. It stopped suddenly and the usually invisible
wards seemed to appear out of nowhere, glowing a bright, yellowish-white.
The creature hissed, ran its eyes over the surface of the outer shield, beforaisiaising a massive fist and slamming it into the yellow wall of power. The
shield wavered but stayed up, and the thing continued its assault. She knew in
her core that it would make it through, knew beyond a doubt that even Hogwarts'
wards couldn't stand up to that thing.
People were fleeing towards the castle, but weren't making very good progress,
as they were panicking and trying to trample each other.

Most were still stuck on the field, as they'd jammed the archway,
and she saw Dumbledore and the other Professors trying to calm them down and
get them to safety, all the while keeping an eye on the creature. She couldn't
see her brother anywhere, or Harry and Hermione, but the Slytherins were all
still behind them. Not one had run, not even the first years, though she was pretty sure that they had a better idea then she did about
what they were facing. Their eyes were glued on Draco, Blaise, and,
surprisingly, her. Closing her own eyes
as the pounding of the creature continued, she took a deep, steadying breath
before facing her boyfriends again.

"How do we fight it?" She asked, and they stared at her.

"We aren't fighting
it. You're taking the Slytherins and
getting to the castle." Draco finally said, Blaise nodding along with him,
and she bristled.

"I most certainly am not!"
She exclaimed, a familiar, delicious burn begin ins inside of her, signaling
that her power was growing.

"Yes, you are!"
Blaise argued, his eyes beginning to spark. "You can't fight this!"

"And you can?"
She countered, not really meaning it. So when she saw the flicker of doubt
cross their faces before disappearing instantly, she almost fainted. Oh gods. What the fuck is that thing, then?

"Yes." Draco snapped. "We can. And if we can't beat
it, at least you'll be safe."

"Regardless, you can't stop me!" She said hotly as her
skin began to glow, responding to her fear and anger. "I'll be damned
before I run away and leave you two to face something like that alone!"

"Do you think we would even bother trying to stop it if you
and the other Slytherins weren't here? The whole reason we're doing this is to
keep you alive and well!" Blaise tried to reason, but she shook her head.

"Don't you get it?" She nearly screamed. "If you
die, I die! It matters not whether it
happens beside you or after I hear about it, I will wither and fade either way!
Would you have me die alone, then? Grieving for the two of
you after you'd forced me to leave you to your deaths? Would you leave
that guilt and agony on my soul?" They flinched and took a step backwards,
a war going on behind their eyes. Then they seemed to crumble, and she resented
her harsh words. But they'd been necessary. She knew no other way to convince
them to let her stay.

"Fine." Blaise intoned, his voice sounding distant.
"If you refuse to let us protect you, then why should we even stay? We
could be gone in moments, and leave them to their fate. Dumbledore can do
nothing about this."

"And why is that?"

"Do you not know what it is that seeks entrance?" Draco
asked, having to almost shout to be heard over the
pounding, which kept getting louder and louder.

"No." She replied shortly. She knew that it was probably
some sort of demon, but that was it. "And I don't particularly care as
long as you know how to kill it. Now, will you let me help you?" She
asked, and they said nothing. She closed the gap between them and wrapped her
arms around their waists, leaning in to speak next to their keen ears. "Please. Do not make me walk away and
leave you to this. I love you; I
cannot sit idly by and do nothing as your blood spills. Switch our places and
tell me truthfully: Would you demand any different if you were me?"

"What do you mean 'we can't'!? What the
hell is it?" She questioned, and
they turned knowing, fierce eyes on her.

"That, Virginia," they responded
in unison, "is a Deep Lord."

��

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