RP: Cry Foul

[pb_hermione]

Characters: Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy
Date: 31 May 2000
Location: Contego Terrace to an obscure field in Wiltshire
Status: Private
Summary: Hermione decides it's time to play and Draco has slept long enough.
Completion: Complete

Comments

[pb_draco]

He wasn't entirely certain what he'd been dreaming about, but it was pleasant. He knew it was, because he wasn't shuddering on the edge of it, unable to wake up until it had run its course. He felt relaxed, comfortable, and warm, and he murmured under his breath as he hugged the soft shape in his arms closer to him. The edge of the mattress sank, shifting him out of full dream into half-awake, and his lashes fluttered as he recognized his girlfriend's voice. "Mmm. Sleep. More sleep. No Quid-- Quidditch?"

Draco opened his eyes and blinked at the woman grinning at him up close. "Quidditch. You want to play Quidditch." He examined her for a minute, then thumped his head back into the pillows to hide his own grin as he gave his voice the best sulky tone he could manage. "You're not my girlfriend. Whoever you are, I know several Dark curses and a few Unforgivables besides, so go away until the Polyjuice wears off. Hermione doesn't play Quidditch."

[pb_draco]

He laughed, shaking his head. "We don't. We just worry about the ones we can commit. Each individual player, I mean. I used to try to memorize them all when I got bored, but I think I only made it through a couple hundred."

Draco looked down at himself and made a slight face. "Not this shirt. Not really designed for flying in." He had a few tighter pull-overs in his wardrobe, and he thought he'd change into one of those. The breeches still fit, and those were better if he planned to do a lot of agility work. Hermione's question distracted him from thinking about his clothes, and he blinked at her as he unbuttoned his shirt. "Near the Manor? Yeah. Yeah, there's plenty of fields there we could use. There's one I used to practice in all the time. We could go there. Just let me change real quick, and we can head out in a couple of minutes."

[pb_hermione]

Hermione wondered why there were so many and how on earth Madam Hooch, or any referee for that matter, coped. She decided not ask, at least not yet, because she was itching to get in the air. Flying was brilliant. She loved it now that she had been taught properly. Hermione thought she really needed to have a chat with the Headmistress about how difficult it was on Muggle raised students who'd never had practice brooms or grew up around people flying. Likely no one had ever said anything before. Hogwarts wouldn't change if no one ever brought it up. Whether or not they changed was up to the school, but she felt it was her duty to make sure they knew.

She watched as his fingers unbuttoned his shirt but paid attention to his words this time, too. "Our satchels are in the lounge. Grab a spare blanket on your way out of the bedroom, if you would." They could use it for their picnic and nap.

[pb_draco]

He nodded as he passed her and went to the bedroom to change. When he came back out, he had on a tunic-length shirt in dark green, with the white breeches and leather boots that had been part of his uniform in his playing days. It wasn't exactly the full Slytherin livery, but close enough that he unconsciously strutted when he walked to her with a folded blanket over his arm. He stacked that with a couple of pillows, shrank the entire thing down to palm-sized, and tucked it all into the picnic basket. "All right," he said, shoving his now-dry hair out of his eyes. "Let's fly, Granger. I'll have you Chasing and Keeping like there were books at stake."

[pb_hermione]

"Cookoo says she put the practice Snitch in the bag when I asked her to pack your Quidditch gear." Hermione really needed to learn where the house-elf stored all their things. She seemed to just disappear with them and bring them when asked. There was probably some sort of magical mystery elf-storage in that pantry off the kitchen. Hermione thought Cookoo probably slept in there and hadn't bothered exploring it, wanting to give the house-elf her privacy. "All ready!" Hermione said after tucking the picnic basket into her satchel and tossing the bag over her shoulder.

Grabbing his hand, Hermione pulled him toward the door and down the stairs. "I was thinking that if you really can teach me to play well enough for fun that people won't be annoyed by how bad I am, we could invite Cho, Dean and some other people to play two or three aside. You could also invite Goyle and Millie, if you think they'd like to play." She didn't want him to think she wasn't willing to try to get on with his former housemates.

[pb_draco]

Draco laced his fingers in hers and let her tug him out of the flat. Her enthusiasm was too ... enthusiastic for him to have anything for her but a smile. She was just so excited over this that he couldn't help but adore her even more for it. "You're not that bad, love. You're still learning. Nobody's an expert right out of the gates. Not even me," he teased, squeezing her hand.

He contemplated her suggestion as they headed downstairs, mixing it in with the talk he'd had with Granny Owlswick on Saturday. "That's a possibility," he said eventually. "I wouldn't mind playing a real match again at some point, even if it's just a pick-up match. Been too long since I've had a chance to play."

She'd made a concession by mentioning his housemates, and even if his opinions on their play was something he'd keep to himself - Goyle had a little too much fun being a Beater - he appreciated that she'd thought of people he knew. He thought he should make a contribution as well. "If Chang's there, could bring Potter, too. Three of us could have

[pb_hermione]

"Well, I may not be as much rubbish as I was before but I don't think I'm ready for anyone other than you to see me play yet." Hermione enjoyed flying more than playing but she really wanted to be able to do things well. She'd grown up enough to know that not all witches, or wizards for that matter, enjoyed Quidditch, but she'd always been a fan of watching the sport even if she wasn't into all those boring statistics. Playing was something she didn't object to, and since she'd learned to love flying, she thought she'd come to like playing more as she got better at it and understood more