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The whole school had become excited. By lunchtime, more than fifty students were wearing ‘Support Lorelai and Draco’ badges. Draco was smirking, strutting around the castle; the worst Lorelai had ever seen him. Not only was anticipation for the Quidditch cup heating the atmosphere, but now Draco was walking around like he owned the place, Lorelai clamped to his hand the whole time.
Lorelai, who hadn’t had that kind of attention in over a year, was slowly but surely getting used to it. She enjoyed herself, except when she passed a Gryffindor in the hall. It didn’t even have to be one she knew; it seemed that every student with a Gryffindor emblem would glare at her like a loose animal. The younger ones seemed to be slightly scared of her, and the older ones seemed to despise her.
Lorelai had flown into Gryffindor Tower, and quickly changed her clothes, and met Draco back on the seventh floor. They were descending the stairs again, heading towards their usual abandoned dungeon, when Lorelai caught site of Williamina. She was rounding the corner on the fourth floor, and had just started down the stairs.
“Come on,” Lorelai said to Draco, squeezing his hand and walking faster towards the stairs. Draco followed her quickly.
Lorelai reached the top of the stairs, and saw Williamina starting down the stair case to the second floor. Lorelai raced down the stairs quickly, Draco slightly awkward on the stairs at that speed, as he wasn’t quite used to his large feet. Once at the bottom of the stairs, and passing a group of Hufflepuff girls that smiled and waved at them as they passed, all of them wearing ‘Support’ badges, Lorelai saw the door to the Library swinging shut, and Williamina was no where in sight.
“What are we doing?” Draco asked as Lorelai dropped his hand to open the doors. She looked around the Library anxiously, and when she couldn’t find Williamina, approached Madam Pince, who seemed to recognize her, and was looking down her nose at her. Granted, she looked down her nose at most everyone, but the mood Lorelai was in, she was sure she was looking at her differently.
“Excuse me, did you see which way Williamina Thimpet went?” she asked hurriedly.
Madam Pince simply lifted her finger and pointed to the right. Lorelai muttered her thanks and started off at a rushed pace towards the right. She would go up on her tip toes and look around periodically. Draco was walking behind her, his hands in his pockets.
Lorelai finally spotted her at a table, a box of badges near her, and a book open in her hands. Lorelai sat down across the table from her, and Draco stayed standing, though he hovered right behind her. She looked up at them, and managed a small smile, but went right back to her book.
“What are you doing?” Lorelai asked. Williamina seemed to ignore her for a second, then put up one finger, bobbed her head a bit as she read the bottom of her page, and set her book down, open faced, on the table.
“Yes?” she asked, a pleasant grin on her face.
“What are you doing?” Lorelai asked again, her voice only slightly more impatient.
“The badges? What, do you not like them?” she asked.
“I think they’re brilliant.” Draco said with a mischievous smirk.
“No, I don’t really mind,” Lorelai began, “It’s just, why on earth would you want to do something like that?”
“Well,” Williamina licked her lips thoughtfully, and Lorelai thought she must have charmed her lipstick to not smear or fade, “I just know what it’s like to date a Slytherin, and have everyone tell you not to.” She shrugged, and looked up at Draco. Lorelai turned too, to see him smiling widely.
Lorelai and Draco spent the rest of the day in the Slytherin Common Room, working on essays they had due in Transfiguration. Lorelai left at seven for her detention, which was simply alphabetizing the top shelves of Professor Flitwick’s book case. She returned to their abandoned dungeon room close to nine. Draco was waiting for her on the old couch, the blankets they used still on the floor in front of the fire. Draco had his school robes off, and his grey uniform sweater off and draped over the back of the couch. He was simply waiting for Lorelai, his hair was starting to loosen up; a few strands of it hanging down. His white uniform shirt was unbuttoned two buttons from the top, and his cuffs undone and pushed up to his elbows. His green and silver tie was loosened.
Lorelai smirked at him, and tossed her bag onto the couch. She stopped where she was, and slowly lifted her grey sweater off. She tossed that onto the couch near Draco’s, and slid her shoes off. She left them on the floor and started towards him, keeping eye contact and wearing a smug smirk.
Draco, however, stayed motionless on the couch, though his lips were slowly spreading into a smile. Lorelai undid the top two buttons of her shirt as well, pushed the sleeves up, and loosened her tie. Lorelai reached the blankets on the floor, and kneeled smoothly, crawled out onto the floor, elongating herself, and turning around so to be on her back. Draco came off the couch energetically, and put a hand on either side of Lorelai, propping himself up, and leaning in to kiss her.
Lorelai met his mouth halfway, putting her hands on his chest. After only a moment, Draco sat up. Wordlessly, he grabbed both of her ankles, lifting them up to bend her legs, and pushed them apart. He leaned back in towards her, both of them grinning at each other. He grabbed her wrists, one in each hand, and put them above her head, pressing them to the floor as he kissed her again. It was rough, but not violent, and very hormonal.
He very carefully, and slowly, brought her hands together, and held both wrists under one hand, and brought his other down, un-tucking her uniform shirt. Lorelai wrapped her legs around him, pulling him down closer to her. He drew in a deep breath through his nose because of this. He slipped his hand underneath her shirt, slowly sliding his hand up her stomach, but stopped just before her breast. He pulled his hand back out, and grabbed her other wrist again.
Draco broke away from her lips, and moved down to her neck. Lorelai tilted her head back, partially because she wanted to expose more of her neck to him, and partly because it felt so good that she felt she needed more air. She turned her head partly to the side, looking at the fire, and Draco moved up on her neck, letting his tongue trace his way up. Lorelai fumbled a breath, as Draco opened his mouth, just below her ear. He brought his teeth down, holding her skin between it. Lorelai felt an involuntary noise escape from low in her throat, and Draco’s lips parted into a wide smile. He raised up and smiled at her. He shifted her hands back under only one of his, pressing them both to the floor. She struggled to move her hands, but he clamped down even tighter.
“No.” he said, raising an eyebrow playfully, and leaned in to kiss her again. He put his free hand on her thigh, sliding it up, until Lorelai tightened her grip with her legs, pressing him even farther against her. It surprised him enough, that he moved his hand back onto her stomach, and started guiding it back up her shirt.
Lorelai raised her head slightly up off the floor, making him raise his head as well. She sucked on his bottom lip, bringing it far enough into her mouth that she could bite it gently. She pulled away right then, resting her head back on the floor and opening her eyes, to see him. He looked pleasantly surprised. And her timing had worked again, and he removed his hand before it got too intimate. He leaned back in and kissed her again, then released her wrists. He pulled away slightly, going in for periodic kisses, until he dove back into her, one hand on the floor, holding himself up, the other going to his belt, undoing it slowly. Lorelai put her hands on either side of his neck, and moving one down into the back of his shirt, at the base of his neck, between his shoulders.
Lorelai figured she would put the brakes on things at the last minute, but until then, she brought both of her hands down from his neck, and began to unbutton his shirt. However, he suddenly jumped away.
He let out a strangled scream, and sat up quickly. He raised his wand arm, holding it with his other hand. Lorelai scrambled into a sitting position, and could see his wand’s forearm reddening.
They looked at each other, and Lorelai pulled his left hand off, to see the Dark Mark on his arm glowing black on his skin, pulsing almost as It raised on his skin. He simply looked at Lorelai for another moment, though both were at a loss for words. Draco stood, without a word, and rolled his sleeves down, then pulled his sweater back on. He had just straightened his tie, when Lorelai wrapped her arms around him tightly.
He put his arms around her waist, and Lorelai could feel the heat off of the mark. “I have to go.” Draco said quietly in her ear, “If I don’t…”
“I know.” Lorelai whispered, her grip on him tightening. They were quiet for a moment. “Be careful.” She said, “Don’t get hurt.” Draco nodded, and pulled away from her. He grabbed his school robes and started towards the door.
“Draco,” Lorelai said, causing him to stop near the door, he turned and looked over his shoulder at her. She licked her lips, looking even paler and more frightened than he did, “I’ll wait for you here.”
He nodded, and left the room
Draco returned, over four hours later. Lorelai had been pacing the room for three of them, but had sat down on the couch in much the same fashion that Draco had been earlier, though there was no trace of self confidence; only worry. She was staring at the fire, when the door opened slowly, and Draco stepped in cautiously, wrapping his fingers around the edge of the door. He looked in warily, looking very pale.
Lorelai sat up slightly, and wanted to run to him, embrace him. But she stopped, when she saw the look on his face. He closed the door, staring down at the ground, a haunted look in his grey eyes. He closed the door by leaning on it, and started slowly towards the couch. Without a word, or looking at Lorelai, he crawled over her, and laid next to her on the couch, draping an arm and a leg over her, and resting his head on her chest.
Lorelai put one arm on his back, and the other on his head, stroking his hair gently.
The next morning, Lorelai woke as soon as Draco got up. Draco was sitting on the end of the couch, staring at the golden embers in the grate. Lorelai roused enough to sit up and look at him.
“Are you all right?” Lorelai asked quietly, breaking the silence, “You weren’t hurt?”
“I’m fine.” Draco said flatly. He was still staring at the fire place.
“Do you need to talk about it?” Lorelai asked, and he continued to stare.
He licked his lips, which looked very dry, “I don’t know.” He finally answered.
They were quiet again for a few minutes, before Lorelai finally spoke, “If you need to, please don’t give me any details. It will be safer for both of us if I don’t know anything.” Draco nodded in agreement, and they were quiet again for a while. Lorelai watched his face, and could practically see the gears turning behind his eyes. After a few minutes had passed, Draco’s face had changed completely from mournful and troubled, to alert.
“Come on, let’s go to breakfast, I’m starved.” He said, standing up with quite a bit of energy. He sniffed arrogantly, and held his hand out towards Lorelai. She looked at him quizzically, one eyebrow raised. He looked down at her from his standing position, a slight sneer on his face, like he might smell something foul in the room. His eyes caught hers briefly, and the surety of his look faltered for just a moment. He looked forward quickly, reinstating his expression of confidence. Lorelai took a deep breath and grabbed her school robes from the back of the couch. She held them in one hand, and slipped her socked feet back into her shoes on the way out, holding Draco’s hand the entire time.
“Are you sure it’s safe to go up after yesterday?” Lorelai asked once they were in the dungeon halls as she was pulling her school robes on. Draco was walking slightly ahead of her now.
“I’m not going to let some bunch of wet prats determine when I show my face around here. Besides, we have a fan club now.” Draco smirked, and pushed the door open for Lorelai. She stepped through, and flipped her hair out of her robes, pulling it through the neck hole. Draco’s step faltered.
“Hey, come here.” He said quietly, standing in the Entrance hall, near the door to the dungeons. Lorelai stopped and turned around, looking at him, waiting for whatever he had called her attention for. She didn’t quite know how to react around him right then.
He stepped closer to her, reaching out and slipping one hand into her hair, by way of her jaw line. His palm was cradling the edge of her cheek, and his fingers were in her hair. He pushed himself even closer, slipping his other hand around her waist, grabbing a handful of her hair. He leaned over and kissed her. Lorelai was hesitant to respond, but put her hands on his shoulder.
“Thanks.” Draco said, “For last night, you know. I expected you to wig out.”
Lorelai did her best to smile, but it came out as a sympathetic, half hearted grin, “No problem.” Draco smirked at her happily, and his eyebrows made a quick movement up and then down again. He let go of her hair, and let his hand trace its way from her neck, quickly down her arm to grasp her hand, as they headed into the Great Hall.
That afternoon, Lorelai attended a Slytherin Quidditch meeting. Marcus Flint seemed to be the only one that hadn’t grown accustomed to having Lorelai attached to Draco’s side. He seemed resentful to discuss Quidditch things around her, which was perfectly acceptable, as she was a reserve beater for Gryffindor. Eventually though, he ran out of conversational topics, and had to discuss the practice schedule for the week. Lorelai didn’t really care, and everyone else on the team, including Morag McDougall, who was wearing a ‘Support’ badge, realized that she wasn’t exactly about to run back to Gryffindor and tell them. She wanted her house to have the cup, but she would have also liked to see Draco win. But she would have liked to also see Joan and Harry win, even if she was at odds with them at the moment.
Draco didn’t really seem to care, he knew that Quidditch secrets were safe with Lorelai, not only because she was angry at the Gryffindors, but also because her morals were too strict. At one point however, she amazed everyone.
“Nope.” She said, as Marcus was just discussing goal making. Slytherin and Gryffindor were almost equally matched as far as their Chasers went, though Slytherin was slightly better. Gryffindor had better Beaters, and a better Keeper. Marcus had mentioned taking a goal towards Joan from the top when Lorelai interrupted him.
“She’s best if you take it from top.” Lorelai said. Draco was staring at her as if she had just spoken in another language. “Her weakness is that she carries a grudge. You guys play dirty, right?” Lorelai asked. They were all staring at her as if she were a solid object that had just come to life; none of them could believe it. “As soon as you get close to the goal posts, don’t aim the Quaffle to make a point, aim it at her head… she’ll know the difference. Then, when you go for your next one, fly behind the posts. She’ll follow you, pass it, and score.”
The locker room was silent for nearly a minute. Draco licked his lips, and they parted into a smile, “I love you!” he said jokingly.
“I do too!” Morag cried, and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Marcus looked reluctant, but grinned nonetheless.
“Fine, we’ll do that.” He grunted.
“It will only work once.” Lorelai said, “There are a lot of things I’d call her, but stupid isn’t one of them. She’s the best damn Keeper I’ve ever seen.” They were all watching her again, though not as an anomaly. “She’s never been scored against.”
“Never?” the Slytherin Keeper asked, sounding amazed.
“Never.” Lorelai said, “Honestly, Flint, don’t you look up on the team you’re playing?”
“How do you know so much about her?” one of the Chasers asked suspiciously.
“I played against her three years in a row. The only way to beat Gryffindor with her as Keeper is to keep a high offense against their Chasers, and you have to get the snitch first.” Lorelai said, squeezing Draco’s hand and smiling at him.
The rest of the meeting continued, and it seemed to be that the team was inspired by this. The focus of their approach was going to be high defense at their posts, and a strong offense against the Chasers. Lorelai felt slightly bad for them, as the very large, thick looking Slytherin Beaters seemed to be liking the idea of taking off after the three Gryffindor Chasers. Slightly bad.
After the meeting, Lorelai and Draco were walking towards the castle, hand in hand as usual, as Lorelai was very much a trophy girlfriend at the moment. After a hasty dinner, where almost half the school was wearing ‘Support’ badges, Lorelai and Draco started towards their abandoned dungeon room.
“Hey, why did you do that?” Draco asked, “Help us for Quidditch?”
“Well,” Lorelai smiled wickedly, “You’re going to need all the help you can against Gryffindor.” She dropped Draco’s hand, and he stopped where he was. He looked at her quizzically as she opened the dungeons door, and stepped into their little room. He however, stood there for a moment, staring at her past waist length hair, realizing he would never quite understand the girl.
What would have been their usual snogging session however, was anything but. They both seemed to realize in the same moment, that they had not been in there since morning, and night had come before the morning, and it had been a very dark night indeed for Draco. Instead of delving into each other, verbally or physically, as both were typical, they simply lay on the floor together, staring at the fire. Draco once again was on top, his head laying comfortably on Lorelai’s chest, and her fingers were running through his hair.
There were twenty long minutes of silence before Draco could stomach is no more. He was looking for an excuse to talk about something… anything for that matter. He lifted his head, and looked at Lorelai, who was watching the fire intently with her free hand underneath her head. He looked over her chest, to her neck, and the patch that was usually covered by her hair was fully visible, and there was no glamour upon it tonight.
“That scar on your neck,” Draco addressed her, running his fingers over it. She didn’t flinch, but it did draw her attention away from the fire, “Where did it come from?”
Lorelai seemed only slightly hesitant to answer. “Vampires. Remember, my friends and I were attacked at the end of last year?” she said, turning to look back at the orange glowing flames.
“You told me you were attacked, you never told me you were bitten.” Draco said sternly. Lorelai licked her lips, but didn’t look back at him.
“I was, but only once.” She said quietly.
Draco was silent for a moment, before a smirk spread across his face, “I thought you were a lot more tanned when I met you.”
But the joke that would normally have Lorelai laughing as though it were a bad joke, and kissing him the next moment fell flat. Instead, she simply continued to stare at the fire. Draco’s expression fell, and he looked at her glazed over eyes.
“It was a good bite, wasn’t it?” he asked. Lorelai nodded slowly.
“It nearly killed me.” Lorelai said, “In fact, I think it was supposed to.” She said with a slight grimace that she forced quickly away. She would rather not remember that night. Not tonight, of all nights.
“No wonder you like it so much when I bite you.” Draco said after a moment, trying to lighten the mood again, but again, it fell flat and Lorelai simply continued to stare into the flames in the grate. Draco sighed slightly, but continued to watch his face.
“Draco…” she started slowly and tentatively, “Have you ever… killed someone?”
This however, made him lay his cheek back on her chest, and he looked back into the fire. He was silent for a very tense, very long moment. “I thought you didn’t want any details.” He said slowly, his voice low and raspy.
But listening to her breathing, and her heartbeat, Draco realized how normal they were. It was not at all normal for a girl that had just asked her boyfriend if he was a murderer. Granted, he hadn’t really ever had a girlfriend before, but he seemed to think that logically, she would have been a little more worked up over this. A sudden realization flashed across his mind, and he raised his head again, to look her in the face, as he felt slightly foolish for not remembering.
“You have though, haven’t you?” he asked, slightly excited. Lorelai simply continued to stare, and the fire reflected in her eyes oddly. Draco’s face fell slightly again, and he was determined to not let Lorelai see how excited he had been only a moment before. “How many?” he asked.
Lorelai didn’t respond at all for a long time, then slowly licked her lips and answered; “Four.”
Draco could feel his eyes light up, and a mad smile creep across his face, “You liked it didn’t you?” he asked. Lorelai shot him a deadly glare that warned him to stop where he was. However, been quite foolish, only sixteen, and after all… a boy, he pressed on. He raised up on both hands, now leaning over her by a few inches, smiling evilly. “The power that flows through you, and it’s not just the spell…” he licked his lips to quickly continue, “that feeling of being in complete control-”
“Draco!” Lorelai snapped harshly, and he stopped where he was. She looked back towards the fire, a guilty look now on top of her eyes. He suddenly became quite frustrated with her.
“We all have a dark side, some of us just choose to embrace it.” He spat coldly, still pinning her to the ground. Her eyes turned on him; fiery as if they had captured the flame she had been staring into.
“Don’t lecture me about my dark side, Draco!” Lorelai said so forcefully, and with such a natural gravel quality to her voice, that it shocked him. “You don’t even know what it’s like to use that spell on a human!” her voice was cold and fierce, unusually high pitched, and oddly familiar somehow. “You’ve only practiced on animals and insects.”
“How do you know that?” Draco asked forcefully, incensed.
“We spend all our time in America on mind power, and not wit.” Lorelai retorted coldly, and after shooting him a near hateful look, snapped her head back to her side.
“You’re in my thoughts?” he asked angrily, feeling like he had been trespassed upon, and his feathers were quite ruffled about it.
“I received ten S.M.E.T.s* on both empathy and telepathy.” Lorelai said, almost as if to warn him. Draco furrowed his eyebrows, and quickly grabbed both of her wrists, pinning them above her head. She looked very surprised, and then just as soon, very angry.
“I don’t care how damned good at Legilimancy you are, you stay out of my head, do you hear?” he said hotly. Lorelai’s eyes suddenly looked oddly cold, and not at all their normal shade of blue.
“Get off me.” She commanded coldly. Draco had never heard her voice like that before.
“Stay out, understand?” he said, spitefully tightening his grip on her wrists. Lorelai’s eyes narrowed back at him, and her jaw clenched maliciously. Draco tightened his hands once more in warning.
“You’re acting just like your father.” Lorelai said viciously. Draco felt his insides ring oddly, like he was hollow and someone had just rang a gong, and it was echoing through him. He felt his tense, angry facial expression fall slack, and just as quickly saw Lorelai’s change from cruel to apologetic.
“Draco, I’m s-sorry,” Lorelai said quickly, her eyes back open as large as they normally were, and looking perfectly fine.
“What’s wrong with you?” Draco asked, letting go of her wrists forcefully.
“I didn’t mean it-” Lorelai fumbled for the words. “I just - I wasn’t thinking!”
“Obviously.” He sneered grumpily.
“I’m so sorry.” Lorelai said, her eyes looking like she might burst into tears at any moment.
“Don’t you ever say that to me again.” He commanded callously, and looked away from her, laying back down and resting his head again on her stomach. He was much to angry too go stomping away. Oddly enough, he wanted to stay right where he was, with her, even though he was so mad at her that hexes were racing through his mind.
They were both silent for a long time, and neither of them wanted to speak. For the longest time, Lorelai seemed almost afraid to. Finally however, she licked her now dry lips and said in a low, cracking voice, “Today would have been my mother’s 34th birthday.” Lorelai said.
Draco raised his face to look at her, not sure exactly what to say or feel. Luckily, however, Lorelai covered for him, “That’s why I’m all strange and mean, I – I’ve just been thinking about your dad, and my mother and I… I got carried away, I apologize.”
Draco nodded, taking in all of this information, though he would have very much liked to ignore her. It was a strange combination for him. He would to have loved to have put miles between them at that very moment, but at the same time, he did not want to be anywhere else.
They were silent with each other for what must have been another ten minutes, before Draco’s thoughts got the best of him, and having a strange urge to comfort her suddenly, raised his head again, “I didn’t know about that, you know.” He said casually, hoping to hide his emotion. It failed however, when he saw that she had tears stains down her temples, and that her hair was quite wet above her ears. She had been crying silently.
“Know about what?” Lorelai sniffled quickly, sounding like she was quickly trying to hide the fact that she had been crying.
“You’re mother. I had no idea that my-” he paused. He had never quite realized the implications of that. His father had murdered her mother. The one parent she had left, and clung to as both an adult and a friend, had been murdered by the man Draco admired most in the world.
“It’s okay, you didn’t do it.” Lorelai said, quickly wiping her cheeks clear of her tears, and no more spilled from her eyes. “And I shouldn’t have said that.” She added again.
Draco crawled off of her and sat up, looking at her, laying out, her long, tall body stretched like that over the floor. She was curiously lanky for someone who played beater. She looked at him again out of sheer curiosity, as though she really had no idea was he was going to say next.
“I’m sorry.” He said, and Lorelai seemed just as surprised to hear this as Draco was.
“For what?” Lorelai asked, propping herself up slightly.
“For what my father did. I had never really understood what it all meant…” Draco was surprising himself more than he was surprising Lorelai. Was he actually apologizing to someone? Earnestly? He stared at the fire in front of him, feeling very confused.
“You’re not you’re father, and you’re not responsible for his actions.” Lorelai said, looking at him comfortingly, though she looked like she greatly appreciated it nonetheless.
“I’m not saying I was. I’m just saying… I’m… sorry?” he asked himself. He looked at the fire again for a moment, before laying down next to Lorelai. Next thing he had known, she had rolled over, and propped herself up against his side, her head rested on his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her, the other laying over the wrist of the hand she had on his chest.
After a while, when Lorelai had fallen asleep, and he summoned the blankets from the couch. She had long since charmed the rug on the floor to feel like a bed, rather than multi-century old, threadbare tapestry on a stone floor. They had slept on the floor before, but never this close. It was an odd feeling for Draco, comforting someone like that, having someone see comfort in him, of all people. He kissed Lorelai’s forehead, and after a half hour of more troubled thoughts, drifted off into sleep himself.
Lorelai woke first the next morning, and roused Draco to let him know she was leaving to sneak into her dormitory to change. She shook him slightly after she had sat up. He opened his eyes groggily, and licked his lips.
“I’m going to go get clean clothes.” She checked his watch, lifting his wrist off of his stomach to look at it, then set it back down again. “Want me to meet you back here?” she asked. Draco nodded sleepily. Lorelai smiled a bit, and leaned over and kissed him.
She pulled out her wand, and opened the small window in the dungeon. With a soft ‘pop’ she flew into the air, and into the sunlight. She had to fly halfway around the castle, but once she got to Gryffindor tower, she checked to see that Joan and the Weasley twins were in there, huddling their heads together at a table. Satisfied that she wasn’t going to run into Joan by accident, Lorelai flew up seven more stories, and landed on the thick window sill outside the seventh floor dormitory window. It was large enough to fit a person into. Lorelai saw that Hermione was walking to the door, pinning something onto the front of her robes as she exited, most likely her Prefect’s badge. Lorelai had been wearing hers everyday, like she should of course, but had been pinning it on her chest proudly, to match Draco’s, instead of on her book bag. She didn’t mind being looked up to as a Prefect, but she found she was sometimes the target of pranks, especially from the Weasley twins or other trouble makers, if she wore it on her chest. But after the fight in the Entrance Hall with Joan, no one had been bothering her in a bad way. She saw quite a few giggling girls though, who smiled and waved at her in the halls, flashing their ‘Support’ badges.
Hermione closed the dormitory door, and Lorelai turned back into her human form. She reached into her pocket, aiming her wand at the window latch. “Alohamora.” She said, but nothing happened; the window did not unlock. It seemed that Joan was onto her, and had used other means of locking the window. Lorelai, not wanting to move, so as to not fall off, rolled her eyes. “Reducto!” she said, rather angrily, and the window’s glass smashed, as well as the frame, and a hole was also blasted through the door. Lorelai didn’t care much, but turned back into bird form and flew in through the window, so not to cut herself up on the shards of glass, though there was already a hole in her robes, as her wand had been in her pocket.
Luckily, no one had heard the noise, and Lorelai quickly repaired the window and the door, and changed, leaving her school robe on her bed, also messing up the sheets, so the house elves would find it and mend it for her.
She flew back out the window, and a few times around the castle, before going back into the dungeon window. When she arrived, she found Draco in a clean set of clothes, his hair tightly slicked back. He was sitting on the couch, an arm draped arrogantly over the back of the couch. Lorelai landed in front of him, turning back into herself.
“I’m never going to get used to that.” Draco mumbled, standing up. Lorelai grabbed her bag off of the couch, and Draco ceased her other hand, holding it a little tighter than most mornings. They found their way to the Great Hall student free, which was quite unusual, even as late as it was. There were usually very many students running to the Great Hall with only twenty minutes until class.
Draco began to guide Lorelai towards the Slytherin table, among a sea of students, with little green words flashing ‘Support Lorelai and Draco’ up from their chests. But Lorelai noticed quite a few Gryffindors wearing badges as well, theses flashing red words, though Lorelai couldn’t make out what they said. Ron was wearing one, but when Harry looked up and smiled at her from across the hall, she saw that his chest was badgeless.
Lorelai sat, and began to scoop porridge into her bowl, while Draco put marmalade on a piece of toast for himself. The doors to the Great Hall flung open in a very dramatic style, and seemed to stay open for a long period of time. A great deal of people looked up, and Lorelai did too, when she noticed that the Weasley Twins, with Joan leading them, were wearing badges on their chests, flashing red words at her. Lorelai’s stomach fell, and Joan started towards her.
The Weasley twins went towards Gryffindor table, carrying a box of the badges. Joan turned on the aisle between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, and Lorelai and Draco were sitting with their backs near the wall. Joan stopped by Pansy and her gang of girls.
“You wanted three, right Parkinson?” she said gruffly. Lorelai could clearly make out the badges now.
“That’s right, twelve sickles?” she asked, though both girls were gritting their teeth as they spoke to each other. From his angle, Draco couldn’t see what the badges said, though he was trying to read them without making it obvious. Joan pulled three out of her pocket, and when she handed them to Pansy, Draco was able to read them; ‘Re-Sort Lorelai’
His hand dove for his wand, but Lorelai quickly ceased his wrist, and Joan walked away from the table. He gave Lorelai a dangerous look, but she said; “Don’t Draco, there are teachers here.” She said, nodding towards the head table. Draco’s jaw was clenched, and he simply went back to eating his breakfast quickly.
Lorelai looked over to the Gryffindor table begrudgingly, but her look faded when she saw Harry looking back at her. He gave her a sympathetic look, and Lorelai raised her hands to the level of her shoulders, mouthing (What was that?)
Harry shook his head and shrugged, mouthing (I don’t know.) Just then, the door opened again, and Hermione stepped through. Lorelai realized she wasn’t sitting there yet, and it was most uncharacteristic for Hermione to show up late for breakfast. She was simply standing inside the doors, just like the Weasleys and Joan had done. However, her badge was flashing green.
She looked hesitantly at the Gryffindors; Joan looked furious, and Ron’s mouth was hanging open in confusion. Hermione turned, and her eyes began scanning the Slytherin table. Lorelai knew she was looking for her, and quickly jumped up, and walked fairly quickly towards her. She reached Hermione, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her out of the Hall, and they started up the grand staircase.
“What are you doing?” Lorelai hissed, looking over her shoulders and pulling open a passageway behind a tapestry. She and Hermione stepped through.
“I thought you would be pleased.” Hermione said, though Lorelai noticed Hermione’s was simply flashing ‘Support Lorelai’ and was lacking ‘and Draco.’
“I think it’s wonderful, but Joan’s going to kill you!” Lorelai whispered, she didn’t want Filch or Mrs. Norris to overhear them talking.
“Oh…” Hermione started agitatedly, “Do you think I care?” she said, “Just because she’s Harry’s girlfriend…” Hermione shook her head, “Listen I don’t really care what Joan thinks. She’s new, what does she know? The only reason Fred is helping her is because he’s still sore that you’re with Draco. And George is just helping because Fred is, and he loves to cause a bit of mischief whenever he sees he can.”
“I know.” Lorelai said.
“And you know Ron is fine with you, it’s just that… well, we all hate Malfoy.” Lorelai nodded. “Harry’s fine with you though, right?” Lorelai nodded again, “Good, he told me he was going to talk to you, but you two were awfully quiet when you got back the other day, I wasn’t sure.”
“Hermione, you don’t have to put yourself in harm’s way for me and Draco. You don’t want to be ostracized too.” Lorelai said.
“Nonsense, I already am and you know it.” She said scornfully. “And I’m not wearing it for Draco, if you’ll notice.” She said, pointing to it. “I mean, obviously, he’s got to have… something… redeeming about him if you’re putting up with him. I know he’s not in with the Death Eaters like his dad is,” Lorelai had a sudden pang of guilt for lying to Hermione about it, “but he’s not exactly a good guy either. He’s horrible, horrible!” Hermione said.
She licked her lips, then sighed, and continued, “It’s just… he was tortured too.”
They were both quiet, “Worse than the rest of us.”
“I don’t trust him, but if you do… I don’t care. You can see whoever you want, it’s none of my business. I’m just going to pretend like everything is normal, except for this badge thing.”
Lorelai smiled, and hugged her suddenly. Hermione seemed slightly surprised, but hugged her back. “Thank you, so much, you have no idea…” Lorelai said, and they stepped out of the passageway, into the noisy hall, just to see Draco, with Crabbe and Goyle walking up the stairs. Lorelai noticed a group of fourth year Gryffindors giving her and Hermione dirty looks, and they were wearing red badges.
“Time for Arithmancy.” Draco said, his voice cold and sounding restricted as he looked down his nose at Hermione, who was now very much shorter than he was.
“Well, let’s not be late.” Lorelai said, grabbing his hand, but motioning for Hermione to walk with them.
“I’m starved, I’ve missed breakfast.” Hermione said, after they had been walking for a bit. Lorelai stopped where she was, and dug into her bag.
“Here, you can have some of this.” She said, pulling an everlasting lollipop out of her back. Hermione unwrapped it, looking at it strangely, as though it wasn’t exactly a breakfast she would normally like.
“Miss Black!” came a shrill voice, surprising them all. “May I please have a word with you?” McGonagall said, sounding very disgruntled. Hermione and Lorelai exchanged looks, then Lorelai looked at Draco.
“I’ll meet you two in class.” Lorelai said, but she had already turned to McGonagall when Hermione and Draco cast glares at each other. Lorelai stepped into McGonagall’s office.
“Don’t even think about it.” Draco warned, and started walking towards their class.
“I wasn’t planning to, Malfoy.” Hermione spat, saying his last name as if it were something filthy, and waited until a group of Ravenclaws passed, and continued on with them.
“Please sit, Miss Black.” McGonagall said sternly, her voice very tight. Lorelai sat down, holding her book bag in her lap. Lorelai saw a violently green piece of paper on her desk.
“Would you mind telling me why you’ve been blasting apart your dormitory?” she asked, sounding very angry.
“Oh,” Lorelai said weakly, remembering that the school had censors for damage to it. “Well, I was just trying to get into my trunk, to put on clean clothes.”
“And why did you feel you needed to use the window?” McGonagall asked.
“Well, I was locked out.” Lorelai said, making her voice sound as innocent as possible, hoping that Joan might get into trouble.
“Excuse me?” McGonagall asked, sounding very confused.
“I’ve been thrown out of Gryffindor. I’m sure you’ve seen the badges.” Lorelai said, “They changed the password, and started locking the window.” She explained.
“Why didn’t you tell me this?” she asked.
“Well, to be perfectly honest, Professor,” Lorelai paused and licked her lips, “I didn’t know how you felt about it all.”
“I try to stay out of the love lives of the students.” Professor McGonagall rolled her eyes, and picked up the piece of green paper, crumpling it up and putting it in a small waste bin.
“Next time you have a squabble with Miss Lupin, simply come to me if she does anything this foolish. I’ll only take five points from Gryffindor, and please see to it that you don’t go about destroying anymore of the castle. And the new password is ‘Orion’.” She said, hastily scribbling something on a piece of parchment. She rolled it up, and tapped it with the tip of her wand, a green seal appearing with the letter ‘M’ on it, and she gave it to Lorelai, “Hand that in to Professor Vector, and get up to class.” She said.
“Thank you, Professor.” Lorelai said, and left her office quickly, a large smile on her face. She realized she had gotten off easily.
To no one’s surprise, Hagrid was even more cold and aloof with the Slytherins than before, as was Professor Sprout. Professor Lupin stopped calling on Lorelai in class, and Professor Trelawny (so Lorelai had heard) had been going on and on about star crossed lovers and Venus’ impact on romance. Snape was predictably rude to the Gryffindors, and particularly nasty to Lorelai, so she only hung around the dungeons when she had to, to work on Professor Lupin’s potion Professor McGonagall seemed to stay fair, though just as strict, especially with Finals approaching quickly. On Friday afternoon however, in her last class with Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, she wished Harry luck publicly, then hissed into his ear as she passed that he better do everything in his power to keep the Quidditch Cup in her office.
Saturday morning, Lorelai was woken by the sounds of Joan getting ready and going down towards the pitch. She waited until she was out of the dormitory, before she got out of bed. Lorelai had been let back into Gryffindor Tower, though reluctantly, and only Harry and Hermione spoke to her, when Joan was not around. Luckily, life back in the dormitory was not too bad, as Parvati and Lavender thought that Draco and Lorelai were the most romantic, cutest couple they had ever seen. Lorelai got herself through their gushing moments by imagining the hexes Draco would have used on them if he had heard anything they were saying.
Lorelai put on her normal school uniform, then also pulled out her Prefect badge, putting it on her chest, opposite her Gryffindor emblem. She braided her hair into two long plaits, and today, rolled them into buns behind her ears. Hermione chuckled at her, “Princess Leia” she had muttered under her breath as Lorelai was charming the second bun into place.
The four girls hurried down to breakfast, Hermione looking particularly frazzled, but she and Lorelai sat down at the Gryffindor table again. Lorelai had not eaten there in nearly two weeks. However, as soon as she drank a large portion of her pumpkin juice, she realized that Draco wasn’t next to her. She turned around, to see him looking quite confused at the Slytherin table.
“I’m glad to be back, but uh-” Lorelai trailed off as she whispered to Hermione. She jabbed her thumb in Draco’s direction.
Hermione nodded, looking like she wished that Lorelai wouldn’t leave her alone with Parvati and Lavender. Lorelai cupped her on the shoulder, and started towards the Slytherin table. She noticed that there was a spot to Draco’s right open, though sitting on his left was Morag McDougall. On his left, was another empty spot.
“Hallo.” Someone said, wrapping their arms around one of Lorelai’s. She was caught slightly off guard, but looked down to see Williamina Thimpet clinging to her.
“Morning.” Lorelai said, and the two continued on towards the table.
“You’ve never dated someone of an opposite house, have you?” she asked.
“Well, as I’m new…” Lorelai tried hard to curb her sarcasm.
“See, there’s this tradition, if you’re lad’s in another house, you wear his scarf on the day of the game.” She said, motioning towards the Slytherin scarf around her neck, and Lorelai noticed that her usually blue eye make-up was green. “See, Draco’s wearing his for you.” She said, pointing to the table. Sure enough, though Draco was in his green and silver Quidditch uniform, he was wearing his scarf.
“I wondered what bug had crawled into your head.” Draco said, leaning back and smirking at Lorelai as she approached with Williamina.
“Lorelai!” Morag cried, jumping out of his seat, and grabbing Lorelai’s shoulders, kissing her once on each cheek, then hugging her tightly.
“Mina!” he cried, once he had released Lorelai, and did the same to Mina, though after he released her from the hug, he kissed her on the lips before they sat down for breakfast.
Lorelai sat next to Draco, and peeled her own Gryffindor scarf off, and began to fold it neatly. Draco however, was staring at Morag’s head. “MacDougal.” He said, calling attention to himself.
“Ya, mate?” he asked.
“If you want to carry on the family name I suggest you don’t touch my girl ever again.” Draco said coolly, though there was a threatening edge to it. Morag rolled his eyes, and turned back to Mina. Lorelai smiled, and grabbed the edge of Draco’s scarf, and began to pull it off slowly. He turned and looked at her.
“Hey,” she said, smiling at him in a way she only did when they were alone, “You don’t have to worry about that.” She said, and having the scarf only around the back of his neck, grabbed the other end, and pulled on it gently, bringing his face closer to hers.
He smiled largely, but kissed her nonetheless. “Team!” someone called from the other side of the Great Hall. Lorelai and Draco looked up to see that the Gryffindor Quidditch team was standing from their table, and making their way towards the doors.
“We’ll leave soon.” Draco said loudly over the cheering from the Gryffindor supporters. “Sit with Mina, okay?” he asked, though it sounded more like a command.
At that, Marcus Flint, the Quidditch Captain and third time seventh year, stood and called the Slytherin Quidditch team as well. Draco and Morag stood, then both of them kissed their girls, and started towards the doors. Lorelai and Mina tucked in quickly, eating as much as their nervous stomachs could handle.
They made their way to the Pitch, one of the last chilly days of the year most likely, as it was mid May. There was still a slight nip on the air that Lorelai suspected would disappear when the sun was out fully. Though Lorelai was expecting to sit with Ravenclaw, Mina surprised her, and they went to the front row of the Slytherin stands.
Lorelai settled into the middle of the row, and looked up into the higher stands, reserved for teachers and townsfolk. She noticed immediately, Lucius Malfoy, sitting right next to Professor Snape. Lorelai’s stomach knotted, and she quickly rearranged Draco’s scarf to hide most of her Gryffindor tie and emblem. The last thing she wanted was for Lucius to spot her in the Slytherin stands. She was quite flustered, and her insides were so hot, that it took Draco flying right past her to realize that the teams were out on the field. Morag swooped past as well, and hovered near them for a moment.
“Kiss for luck?” he asked, pointing to both cheeks and leaning closer to the girls. They both laughed, and leaned forward, simultaneously planting a kiss on a cheek. Those that saw it began cheering wildly. Lorelai noticed that she had never seen the Slytherin crowd this animated. She glanced behind her at the students cheering, as Morag flew off. Lorelai saw, with some satisfaction, that nearly all of the Slytherins were wearing ‘Support’ badges. A few, very pure blooded and proud of it, were not, but only Pansy and her gang, and a few other girls, sore that Lorelai was with Draco, were wearing red ‘Re-Sort’ badges. Lorelai laughed at this, and their stupidity, as the point of the ‘Re-Sort’ Lorelai badges was to get Lorelai officially out of Gryffindor and into Slytherin.
While scanning the crowd behind her, Lorelai noticed a face she had not seen around the halls often, and in all her time in the Slytherin common room, and amongst the Slytherins, she had not ran across this person once. Morrigana was not cheering with the rest, nor was she wearing any badge. For someone that was inseparable from Draco’s side for the first term, she was very scarce now. She was standing still, glaring at Lorelai from two rows back. Lorelai met her icy eyes, and feeling very unnerved from her malevolent glare, turned back to the field.
The two teams swarmed to the ground, and waited while Angelina and Marcus shook hands. Marcus looked very stiff as he shook her hand, while Angelina looked very determined. The two teams mounted their brooms, and silence fell over the field, only to erupt again as the whistle blew.
Lorelai watched the fourteen blurs of color swoop around the field, though Joan flew immediately to her posts. “MacDougal takes possession, MacDougal to Flint, Flint’s flying towards the goal posts-”
“Don’t do it first. Don’t do it first!” Lorelai mumbled excitedly under her breath, “Wait for a bit, just wait…” she grumbled, feeling very unnerved. She suddenly realized she was cheering for Slytherin, and not Gryffindor. She was cheering for the house she felt at home in, not the one she actually belonged to.
“Flint passes to MacDougal, and, oh! Intercepted by the lovely Angelina Johnson, Quidditch Captain, Head Girl, and one foxy lady if you ask-”
“Jordan.” McGonagall said sternly.
“Just an observation Professor. Johnson to Spinnet, Spinnet to Bell, and oh, nice! Bell to Spinnet. Johnson takes it now, you know, Gryffindor’s strength lies in their three lovely chasers-” Lee Jordan was announcing.
McGonagall cleared her throat, and Lee changed direction, “And let’s not forget the lovely Harry Potter, the best Seeker Hogwarts has seen since the lovely Charlie Weasley.” There was scattered laughter among the stands.
Lorelai watched as Angelina, the Quaffle tucked under her arm, flew straight for the Slytherin posts. She was readying the Quaffle in her hand, and Alicia and Katie were flying quickly up next to her, ready for a play.
“Ouch!” Lee Jordan said loudly, flinching, “That was close Angelina, watch out for Bole, he’s after you. Pucey gets the Quaffle after that close call, and heads back towards the Gryffindor goals…”
The game continued on in this manor for forty five minutes. Neither team scored, as the Chasers would take possession of the Quaffle, then Fred and George, or Bole and Derrick, would knock the Bludger out of their hands, and the other team would steal. Lorelai, instead of watching this, turned and watched Harry and Draco circle the field. Harry was flying slowly over the Gryffindor side of the pitch, while Draco flew over Slytherins. He kept watching what Harry was doing, rather than what he was doing. He didn’t do this in any of the other Quidditch matches. When Lorelai had met him they were playing Quidditch, and he was a superb Seeker, but against Harry he was nervous. And rightfully so, as Lorelai had to admit, because Harry was the best Seeker she had ever seen. She reckoned that he could probably beat Krum if he applied himself.
“And MacDougal’s got it, he’s going towards Gryffindor…” Lee said, a tense tone in his voice. Lorelai stopped and looked back at the players. The three Slytherin Chasers were blowing towards the posts. Joan was getting ready, hovering in front of the three posts, watching them in a very cat like manner. She was extremely still, ready to pounce.
“MacDougal to Pucey, Pucey takes – No! Pucey to Flint, Flint takes the shot and HEY!” Lee sounded angry, “That’s not the Goal Post!”
They had done as Lorelai told them, and instead of aiming for Joan’s head, he actually hit her in the face. Flint had waited until he was only a few feet away, and Joan didn’t have time to duck, though it looked like she tried, as the blood was smeared to one side of her face.
The Gryffindor Supporters were booing loudly, and the Slytherins were laughing. Draco was pointed at her, laughing so hard that he was doubling over on his broom. Morag and Adrian Pucey had congratulated Flint on this, and they took a quick victory fly around Slytherin.
Lorelai suddenly felt very out of place. Even though she was angry at Joan, she didn’t find this at all funny. Madam Hooch was now screeching at Flint, who was listening with a savvy kind of smirk on his face. Angelina and Harry were checking on Joan, who was wiping her bleeding nose on her sleeve. Fred and George were now pelting Bludgers towards Draco, who had stopped laughing, and was flying in and around them, in a zig zag sort of way. Madam Hooch was too busy yelling at Flint to notice.
“And after that crude ATTACK,” Lee Jordan screamed angrily. Lorelai looked up into the box, to see Snape and Lucius laughing and smiling together, and Professor McGonagall on her feet, shaking a fist at Flint. “Gryffindor is awarded a Penalty shot, which Alicia Spinnet will take.”
Just then, a loud crack rang through the stadium, and the attention was drawn to Fred and George, who were continuing to whack the Bludgers at Draco. Fred had just shattered his bat, and the pieces were flying towards the ground. The Bludger was going towards Draco so fast, and so forcefully, that he had to pull his broom up sharply as to not have the handle smashed, that he nearly flipped himself upside down. Losing his balance, he fell ten feet before he regained control over his broom. Madam Hooch however, turned a blind eye to this.
Fred and George slapped hands in congratulations before Fred flew towards the locker rooms to fetch himself another bat. Alicia was waiting at the half line, the Quaffle in her hand. “And she’s off, Bell has the Quaffle, she’s going, going… And you missed Bletchley! Ha!” Lee Jordan was doing some strange kind of dance in happiness. “Gryffindor now LEADS, ten to NOTHING!” he shouted. Lorelai saw a flickering red badge on his chest.
The rest of the Slytherin Quidditch Team was watching the Penalty shot intently, and were all presently groaning and grunting because Alicia had made it. Draco however, had pulled aside Bole, the larger of the two Beaters, and was speaking to him, much higher up in the air than the rest of the players. He kept pointing at George. Lorelai had a sickening, sinking feeling of familiarity in the bottom of her stomach.
With a blow of Madam Hooch’s whistle the game resumed. “And Pucey has the Quaffle,” Lee grumbled, “Pucey to MacDougal, MacDougal and Flint to the Gryffindor side…” everyone was watching intently. Flint and Joan were staring each other down. Joan was moving on her broom, following Flint’s every turn. He readied the Quaffle, George sent a Bludger towards him, but missed. Blood was still trickling out of Joan’s broken nose, though her robes were now stained with blood, and there was dried blood all over her face.
Flint raised his hand again, like he was going to take a shot, but with a quick burst of speed, he flew straight past Joan, and sure enough, she tailed him. He passed to MacDougal, who was only a few feet in front of the hoop, and he scored. A loud bell sound rang through the stands, and the Slytherin supporters erupted in cheers. The Gryffindors were oddly silent, as was Lee Jordan.
“A-and…” he stammered, “Slytherin… scores?” he asked himself. Joan was flying slowly, her posture slack and her mouth open. Angelina and Katie exchanged looks, and Harry had stopped flying, looking at Joan intently. Lorelai however, only found herself clapping slightly.
“Slytherin’s back in possession!” Lee said suddenly, and everyone turned. MacDougal had taken the Quaffle, flown as fast as he could over the half line, and was zooming back towards the Gryffindor hoops. He was nearly there, and Joan suddenly sprang to life, just as Morag threw the Quaffle. It looked like it was going to make it. Joan’s broom hit the Quaffle, and instead of going through the middle hoop, like Morag had aimed for, it was knocked through the right hoop instead. The Slytherins exploded again, even more animatedly than before. Snape was even on his feet. This time, however, Lorelai didn’t cheer, but joined Draco in laughing. What were the chances that it would have gone through? Joan however, instead of looking crestfallen, looked vehemently angry.
“Slytherin now leads, twenty to ten.” Lee Jordan said slowly, his voice seeming sad. The game resumed, though it went back to the game of Chasers and Beaters. Harry and Draco were still looking for the snitch, though they both looked very bored.
“Spinnet to Bell, and Bell – HEY!” Lee shouted, and all of the Gryffindors were on their feet. George had just been hit in the elbow by a Bludger. He had been knocked off his broom, and was falling towards the ground. Both Harry and Fred dove for him, though Fred got there first. Lorelai’s mouth was hanging open in both surprise and shock. He had actually done it; he had taken George out of the game.
Gryffindor was awarded another penalty shot, but Bletchley was able to stop this one, as Angelina was so mad that she missed by about five feet.
“Hey, where are you going?” Mina asked, as Lorelai scooted out of the row, towards the stairs. Lorelai stopped and looked up at her sadly.
“I’m the reserve Beater.” She said.
Mina watched Lorelai make her way out of the stands. The Gryffindor team turned and looked at Lorelai suspiciously as she made her way across the pitch. Fred glared at Lorelai almost as if she had caused this. Everyone was huddled around George, and a group of Slytherins cheered as Lorelai joined the group.
“How bad is it?” Lorelai asked, already knowing she would have to play. George looked at her, not hatefully at all.
“Can you take over for me?” he asked, trying his hardest not to cry, but he was wincing at the smallest movements. Lorelai pulled her wand out, just as Joan landed.
“Noncondelesco.” Lorelai said, pointing her wand at George’s arm. No one seemed to no exactly what that was, except Joan, who was the only one that didn’t go towards their wand pocket.
“Thanks.” George muttered breathlessly, and smiled at her, “I’ll have to remember that one.” He said, and he and Fred started towards the door. Lorelai looked at Angelina. She was stern looking, but not angry.
“Well, what are you waiting for? Go get changed.” She said, nodding her head in the direction of the locker rooms. Lorelai nodded, and started towards the changing rooms.
She was in her Quidditch uniform, and was just pulling on her Beaters gear, when Fred came into the locker rooms.
“Are you decent?” he asked.
“Ya.” Lorelai called back.
“Dammit.” He grumbled, appearing at the end of Lorelai’s lockers, smiling. Lorelai couldn’t help but smile with him. “George says thanks, again.” He said, though the seemingly normal moment flickered away from the two of them. Lorelai figured they wouldn’t ever be as happy in each other’s company again. There was a bit of an awkward silence as Lorelai pulled on her other shin guard, buckling it behind her knee. Fred began to mess with something on his robes.
“Here.” He grumbled, holding his hand out. Lorelai took the contents of his hand, and looked down to see a red blinking badge.
“Thanks.” She said, pulling on her thick arm guards.
“Where’d you learn that anyway?” Fred asked, leaning on the lockers. Lorelai set the badge in her locker, and pulled on the left arm guard.
“Back in Salem, it came in handy last year.” She said, “My old Defense Against Dark Magic teacher taught it too me.” She said, and let her glamour down, pointing to her neck. Fred looked over at it with some mild surprise.
“So that’s what you’ve been hiding.” He said in observation. Lorelai let her glamour go completely, and nodded.
“Yep, vampires.” She said, and held her hand out. Fred handed her George’s Beater bat, and grabbed her Nimbus 2000 in her other hand. Lorelai looked up at Fred, then suddenly launched herself at him, hugging him tightly. He hugged her back, a little surprised at first, but ended up burying his head into her shoulder, hugging her tightly, his arms around her waist. She pulled away from him, looking at him and smiling. He managed to return an awkward grin, though Lorelai recognized that things weren’t going to be as easily patched up as she had hoped, and her face fell.
“All right, let’s go win the Quidditch Cup.” She said, before things had a chance to get any more awkward, and the two of them started back towards the Quidditch pitch. The stands erupted into cheers, both Slytherin supporters and Gryffindor supporters. The two Quidditch teams were standing on the pitch, seeming to be in some sort of face off. Lorelai and Fred rejoined them. Lorelai was no longer wearing Draco’s scarf, but had the white gold snake pendant necklace he had given her last Christmas tucked inside her robes. He was leaning on his broom, at the front of the Slytherin Quidditch team. Harry was standing near Joan, who had managed to clean off her face. Lorelai took her wand out of her pocket again, and pointed it at Joan.
“Scourgify!” she said, and the blood stains on her robes were instantly gone. Lorelai quickly looked away from Joan though; she didn’t want her thanks. Both of Joan’s eyes were blackened, and her nose was swollen and red, with a large purple bump in the center of the bridge. Lorelai looked back to Draco. Fred had stopped back with the team, but Lorelai continued on.
Draco was smirking smugly at her, leaning on his broomstick and glaring at her in a way that made him very irresistible. Lorelai did her best to not think about how much she wanted to kiss him right then, since they were about to play Quidditch against each other.
Lorelai stopped a few feet away from him, “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
Draco smiled this time, “I’m not a Beater.” He simply said, smiling evilly. “Besides, I figure it’ll be good for you and Weasley to work with each other.”
Lorelai narrowed her eyes slightly at him. Draco only smiled larger at this. “You’re sexy when you do that.” He continued to smile at her, though the look behind his eyes changed slightly at this. “Kiss for luck?” he asked arrogantly.
Lorelai’s eyes flickered up to the stands. “Your father’s here.”
Something flashed across Draco’s eyes, but it wasn’t fear. “I don’t care.” He said, and looked at her expectantly. “Kiss me.” He said.
“Draco…” Lorelai sighed, “Do you have any idea how your father would react?”
But Draco had already reached for his wand, and pulled it out quickly. Lorelai could feel Joan, and the rest of the Gryffindor team go for their wands as well, but Draco already had his pointed at her stomach.
“Accio Girlfriend!” he shouted. Lorelai felt an odd sensation, as if someone had grabbed her very forcefully around the waist, and jerked her forward. Draco let his broom fall to the ground, and caught her as she fell onto him. Lorelai had never been the object of a Summoning Charm before, and it was a quite new sensation for her, though very much like a Portkey. She seemed to trip on her feet slightly, and she had fallen into Draco, though he was holding her up around the waist. He smiled down at her proudly, though she was still wearing a look of surprise. The height difference was greater now, with Lorelai about to lose her balance.
Draco leaned down, kissing her. Lorelai couldn’t help but respond, as the damage was already done. Why not enjoy the moment? She pulled away to the cheers of the Slytherin supporters, and a laughter of many more.
“Though I really don’t approve, I have to say that was the best use of a Summoning Charm I’ve ever seen.” Lee Jordan said. Even more people laughed. Lorelai looked up however, to see that Lucius Malfoy was on his feet, glaring down at the pitch. Though she couldn’t really see the look on his face clearly, she could tell by his body language that he was angry.
Draco released her, letting her get her balance before he took his hands off of her. He put his right hand over his broom, “Up.” He said, and it flew into his hands with a loud, hollow sounding, wooden smack.
“On your brooms.” Madam Hooch instructed, and Lorelai turned and joined the Gryffindors on their side of the circle. She blew her whistle, and they took off into the air. It had been ages since Lorelai had flown, but it was coming back very quickly and very easily. She was very glad she had put her hair up, as if it had been down it would have been much more difficult to play.
Lorelai had decided to swoop past the stands, just to see if she could catch a glimpse of Lucius Malfoy’s face to judge the amount of damage done. What she could tell though, was not looking good.
As a Beater, Fred was slightly reserved as far as playing with Lorelai. He had never done so, but Lorelai couldn’t tell if he was trying to keep the Bludgers to himself because he didn’t know if Lorelai could handle herself, or if it was because he was still slightly flustered with her. After nearly half an hour of play, Lorelai had finally gotten Fred to pass the Bludgers to her like normal.
“And after two hours of game play, the score is still twenty to ten, Slytherin leading.” Lee announced. There was some applause, but not nearly as lively as it had been earlier.
But it seemed that just as he said this, both Harry and Draco took off into dives, in the same instant, from other ends of the field. They had nearly three hundred feet to go, but Lorelai looked down to see the Snitch, glittering two or three feet from the ground. The stands were back to life, cheering on which ever Seeker they wished to win. Draco and Harry were neck to neck, and drawing closer by the minute.
Draco reached out and elbowed Harry, sending him off course by a few feet. Harry, however, did the same, and both were equal again. Lorelai looked over at Fred, who had a Bludger coming towards him.
“Fred!” Lorelai screamed, holding up her Beater bat. Fred seemed to understand, and sure enough, knocked the Bludger towards Lorelai. She had flown to be directly over Draco and Harry, and they were both getting closer; halfway there now. She hit the Bludger with all her might, and hoped it would catch up. She pushed as hard as she could with her will, wanting the Bludger to get there.
Draco and Harry both reached out, one hand outstretched as far as it would go. They were equally matched; Draco had the better broom, but Harry was the better flier. Their arms were practically the same length; they were traveling the same speed. They turned and looked at it’s other hatefully, and both pushed their brooms just a little faster, laying as flat as they could, and Draco inched forward slightly, half an arm’s length ahead of Harry. They were both determined to not lose to the other.
Suddenly, the Bludger crashed between the two of them, sending Harry to the left and Draco to the right, swerving away just in time so not to crash. The Bludger ripped a hole in the ground, and bounced off the stands, leaving a hole there too, before it took off into the air again.
“Spectacular dives, and amazing, very thoughtful Bludger work by Lorelai Black!” Lee said loudly, sounding very thrilled. He ripped his badge off, and threw it down on the ground. Lorelai looked around, seeing all of the stands, supporters for both teams cheering her on. Both Quidditch teams were looking at her gratefully.
Draco and Harry had both turned around, only to see that the Snitch had disappeared again. They reluctantly flew back up, but were taking turns looking around the pitch and glaring at each other. For ten minutes the game continued, just as before, with equally matched Chasers and Beaters, and nothing really happened. It seemed that even the players were all getting bored.
But then, Draco took off, flying straight for the Gryffindor goal posts. The Slytherins began to cheer, though Draco was lying flat on his broom, and swearing to himself. Harry turned around and looked, seeing that the snitch was flitting about, only forty feet away from him. He glanced back to see that Draco was nearly there. He leaned on his broomstick, shooting off, his hand outstretched. Lorelai felt her stomach knot up. They were surely going to crash.
Harry managed to cut just in front of Draco, the end of his broom catching Draco’s robes and ripping them. Draco swerved away, looking angrier than Lorelai had ever seen him, and Harry flew towards the center of the pitch, his hands raised above his head, the Golden Snitch flapping its wings against his fist. The stands erupted in Cheers again, but the Slytherin Team flew begrudgingly towards the ground. Draco was the first to land, but he simply stood on the spot he had landed in, his shoulders forward slightly, as well as his face. The rest of the team landed near him, and cupped him on the back before storming off to the Locker rooms.
Gryffindors were pouring onto the pitch. And Lorelai, still high up on her broom, saw Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Neville running towards the team as it landed. George was cheering loudly from the sidelines, his arm in a sling, and Madam Pomfrey standing next to him, cheering as well. Dumbledore had emerged on the field, and was carrying the Cup towards the team, and handed it to Harry, who had been put on the shoulders of two seventh year Gryffindor boys. He held it high above his head, beaming massively at the rest of his house. Lorelai started to descend, and Harry looked up, catching her eye and smiling at her. She was happy of course, her house had won, and so had she in a way. But Draco, who was still standing on the pitch in the same spot, had lost. He had been counting on winning the cup, but had not. He had still never beaten Harry. Rightfully, he should have won, as he was the first one to spot the snitch. Lorelai managed to smile back at Harry before he was carried away by the sea of Gryffindors. Most of the Slytherins and Slytherin supporters were already outside the pitch, making their way towards the stands. Lorelai landed in front of Draco, walking a few steps closer to him. His jaw was clenched, and he was breathing heavily, though he was hardly moving.
“Hey…” Lorelai said comfortingly, reaching out a hand to touch his cheek.
“Don’t.” he commanded quickly and looked up at her. “Not right now.” He hissed, and his eyes looked side to side, though his head didn’t turn. Lorelai furrowed her eyebrows, and her hand went towards her pocket.
“Don’t.” Draco said again, “Just get out of here.” He said quickly, looking her in the eye. Lorelai licked her lips thoughtfully.
“You can’t move.” She said.
“Just get out of here.” Draco said again, slight panic in his voice. “Go get your jollies out in Gryffindor Tower.” He said, and Lorelai could tell his voice was very angry and resentful, though not towards her. “GO!” he shouted, and there was definite panic in his voice now. Lorelai took a few steps back, and then turned and jogged towards the rest of the crowd on their way out of the stadium.
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