The Silver Arrows

ruler_of_nestleyland

Rating: R
Genres: Angst, Romance
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 5
Published: 22/07/2005
Last Updated: 25/08/2006
Status: in_progress

AU - Hermione Granger, a graduate of Beauxbatons comes to England searching for a Quidditch team that would take her in. Is it a coincidence that her soul-mate would be the captain of one of the most popular teams in England? H/Hr, D/G, R/L, and other pairings as well.

Chapters

1. The Silver Arrows

2. Hermione Granger.

3. Potter Meets Granger

4. Moving In

5. Journalists, Healers, and Pros

6. Clubbing

7. Confusion

8. Jealous

9. Revelations

10. Confrontations and Penises

11. Harry...Or Adam?

12. I Shit You Not

13. [untitled for now.]

14. Beginnings

1. The Silver Arrows

Title: The Silver Arrows

Summary: A/U (Alternate Universe). Hermione comes back to England from France in search for a Quidditch team to accept her. Harry's the captain of a team called the Silver Arrows. They're introduced. What happens next? Read to find out. Seriously, it's not as bad as it sounds. Rating might go up as story progresses. <b>(NO BOOK SIX SPOILERS.)</b>

Author: ruler_of_nestleyland

Rating: NC-17

Disclaimer: I own anything you don't recognize from canon.

Author Notes: This story was my first ever, and I had it posted on FF.Net. When I was rereading it, I asked myself, "What the HELL is this crap?" And so, I'm starting to modify the whole thing, because I wasn't satisfied at all by the way I'd wrote the thing, although people seemed to like it. Anyway. The plot is mainly the same I guess, but the context and all going to be very, very, different from what I had on FF.Net, in case my readers from there stumbled across this. Well, I hope you enjoy it. It's gonna be a long and bumpy ride. And I don't know how many chapters there are exactly. Maybe about 20 or so. Not sure. Moving on…

Chapter 1: The Silver Arrows.

"I would like to make a toast."

A certain wizard with spiked-up black hair and warm green eyes, hidden behind a pair of rectangular-shaped glasses, stood up, holding his glass of wine away from him, and grinned around at his friends who were looking at him expectantly.

"The Silver Arrows is the best thing that ever happened to me, and I'm happy to be here with all of you tonight", he continued seriously as he looked around. "What we achieved this evening has made me prouder than ever to be a part of this team, and the wonderful people in it." In turn, he lifted his glasses at each player in front of him, paying them compliments as he did so. "Oliver—You're the best keeper, and faithful friend anyone could find. Ron, Draco—Thank you for putting up with me all these years. Of course, Draco was always a prat—"

"Hey!" Said the blonde indignantly, and Harry laughed.

"It's true, mate", he smirked, teasing, then continued. "As I was saying, Draco was—Alright, alright; don't look at me like that. Adam, I've never seen someone hit a bludger that hard in my life, if you don't count Fred and George Weasley that is…Jess, you've been an amazing friend ever since you joined us, and I'm glad I've had the pleasure to meet you. Apart from the fact that you can't cook worth shit…And last but not least, Kyle. I'm sorry that you have to resign, but I can't really blame you, although you're one of the best chasers we've ever had. I doubt we'll find someone meeting up to your standards."

The brown-haired man who had said nothing so far looked rather distressed, and his arm was bandaged, but he smiled at Harry. Being muggle-born, he was oddly terrified of healers, fearing that they'd mess something up with the magic, and had ended up going to a muggle doctor instead, because of his rather severe injuries at their match that evening, which had everyone bewildered, for even muggle-borns weren't that scared of Healers. Although he was persuaded by the rest of the players to allow the healers to cast a few charms on him so he would be able to join the celebration.

"To our victory, and may the Pride of Portree rot in hell!" Harry said, holding his glass out as everyone laughed, and took sips out of their glasses, and sat back down.

"Think we should order now?" Harry asked brightly, just as a very attractive waitress turned up, a small notebook in her hand and a small tag on her chest that held the name 'Diane'.

"May I take your order now, sirs? And miss?" She looked around and smiled charmingly, but turned her eyes almost instantly back on Harry, shooting him a flirtatiously look. Harry cleared his throat.

"Yes, please.."

Jess giggled a bit behind her hand and exchanged amused glances with Oliver. The orders were given to the waitress, who had the nerve to place her notebook on the table to jot down what they wanted, right in front of Harry, and bending slightly and deliberately in such a position that Harry could see down her low cut waitress dress. He swallowed, coughed and looked away, which aroused more snickers around the table.

When she finally left—winking at Harry on the way—Harry sighed in relief and slumped down, and Ron who was sitting beside him, thumped him on the back and laughed.

"She wasn't really trying to hide it, was she?"

"Of course she was Ron", Harry raised an eyebrow at Ron sarcastically, and rolled his eyes.

"But damn, she's certainly something, ain't she?" Adam Parker, their American Beater, said in a low voice and leaned forward, grinning.

Harry shrugged. "Yeah, she's something alright. A slut."

"True, true. But none of us would mind having a one-night stand with her, eh?"

"I think one of you would", said Jess scathingly and glared at her boyfriend, who like the rest of the boys, had stared at Diane. Oliver coughed and looked away. Jess huffed.

"Aww, come on, sis. It's all in good fun", Adam laughed.

Jess glared at her twin and said nothing, but rolled her eyes when Diane came back, with two large trays, placing one on a nearby table as she distributed the food around, and then turned to take it up again, and distributed that as well.

"There's still the lasagna and fruit salad. I'll be right back with it."

She came back two minutes later and when she felt this time, she slid a small piece of paper beside Harry's plate, who when she left, tossed it on the floor with a flick of his forefinger.

"Wow, pretty forward, those muggle waitresses", Kyle muttered.

"Tell me about it", Draco rolled his eyes. "I have no doubt that if given the opportunity, she would have slipped into the bloke's lap and snogged him senseless."

"At least we get some privacy here, in muggle restaurants. The reason why we've never gone to Wizarding ones after we became popular is the damn press. They follow us all around. We get sanctuary here", Harry shrugged, putting his fork in his mouth and bit the contents off.

"Thanks, Captain Obvious", Ron said good-naturedly.

"Shut it, Weasel", Harry shot back, smirking.

"Hush, you."

"Mmhmm", Harry murmured, then turned to Jess. "Hey, Jess? Know anyone who would be interested in being Chaser for us?"

Jess pondered for a bit, chewing slowly, then nodded. "Yeah, I think I do. I believe my friend was looking for someone to accept her a couple or so weeks ago, but I don't know now. I'll floo in to ask her tomorrow."

Harry nodded. "Alright. Is she anyone I know?"

"Don't think so. She was in Beauxbatons."

"What's she doing here then? They do play Quidditch in France.."

"They do, but she had to go to Beauxbatons when she was about eleven because of complications her family faced... She'd always wanted to come back to England, but couldn't. She came recently, about two or three months ago, with her best friend, who's a journalist. Her best friend is a good friend of mine, so we got introduced, and it clicked ever since. Quite an interesting character."

"I see", Harry nodded in understanding. "Well, see if she wants the position…"

"I will. Shut up for now, though, Potter. I'm eating."

Harry laughed. "Alright."

*** *** ***

A/N - Good? Bad? Please review and tell me what you think. I accept flames too, but I might most likely ignore it, unless it provoked me greatly, and unless I'm in a bad mood, so, yeah. Thanks for taking the time to read this! ^^; Oh and the upcoming chapters will be longer than this. This was just a kind of introduction to the team. Bet you don't know who the new chaser is going to be, eh? *Wink wink.* Review? Please? I'll love you forever.

-Chris.

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2. Hermione Granger.

Title: The Silver Arrows

Author: ruler_of_nestleyland

Summary: A/U (Alternate Universe). Hermione comes back to England from France in search for a Quidditch team to accept her. Harry's the captain of a team called the Silver Arrows. They're introduced. What happens next? Read to find out. Seriously, it's not as bad as it sounds. Rating might go up as story progresses. <b>(NO BOOK SIX SPOILERS.)</b>

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot and my own characters.

A/N - You guys are awesome! I got a great response on chapter one and I'm really grateful to all who read, and especially those who reviewed. You guys seriously rock. Every time I'd get a review alert, I'd go all ^___________^; Hehe! You guys make my day! So without further ado, chapter two!

Chapter 2: Hermione Granger.

Hermione Granger was not a satisfied woman.

At 20, she was jobless, and living in her best friend's apartment, which couldn't anger her more, as she'd always been contingent on no one. She couldn't believe her luck. She'd come all the way back from France to play professional Quidditch in England, and couldn't find a team Chaser-less. Of course, there might have been teams she hadn't checked, but she'd looked over most of the teams in England, but most of these teams lacked either Seekers, or Keepers. Why not Chasers?

Hermione'd even taken to checking Quidditch teams in Scotland, but gave up quickly, as England was where she wanted to stay. She had been living in France for the past ten years, thanks to her parents. She didn't really blame them though. Her maternal grandfather was French, and when he died, he left a huge manor for them in France. Since Hermione's parents were suffering from mortgage of their house and a difficulty in their career as dentists at the time, they had no choice but to leave England and fly to France, as they had a much better state of living there. Hermione got her letter soon after, and she was admitted to Beauxbatons.

Hermione wasn't very happy about the move though. She'd always loved Britain, and the sudden thought of being plunged into a foreign country where she didn't even understand what people said, unnerved her very much. But as she adjusted to the place, she'd learned French fairly quickly, and spoke it fluently. Her English was still flawless, because she'd continued to speak it with Abby (Irish) all the time to maintain it, and her British accent was untouched as well. An accomplishment that made her proud. Not many people had the same accent once they lived in France and spoke the language. There was always that annoying nasal drawl of the words, and the quite irking elongation of vowels. Like, "theenk", instead of "think." It annoyed Hermione to no end.

Moving on, though.

She didn't have many friends in her elementary school, she was quite satisfied, as the library, in addition to Jake Willis, occupied all through the year.

She was in France, but she'd still kept contact with Jake through the mail, and the two were very close. Hermione was not one to let friends just slip like that. It had been almost ten years or so since she'd last seen him, and with all the excitement, forgot to contact him when she got there. She did though, two weeks earlier, but had received no reply, and wondered if he was out of the country, busy, or the like. She didn't dwell too much on it though, as other things seemed to occupy her pretty quickly. Like sticking her nose in newspapers or magazines to check if there was any hint of chaser tryouts anywhere. But to no avail.

The brunette was indeed getting very frustrated. Which made her best friend quite impatient with her.

"Stop sulking around Hermione. It's not the end of the world. You'll get a damn job soon."

"When, though?" Hermione scowled and throwing Witch Weekly down on the coffee table, flopped down on the couch next to Abigail Taylor. "It's been almost two months! I'm sick of sitting around, doing nothing!"

"Hermione…" Abigail cocked an eyebrow in disbelief. "Why don't you just get a job at the Ministry or something while you're looking? It'll give you something to do."

"I don't want to work at the bloody Ministry", she snapped. "They're more disorganized than ever. I've never seen a worse Ministry of Magic."

"Well what about being a waitress or something?" Abby suggested hopefully.

"I think the pregnancy's going to your head…Shall I take you to St. Mungo's?"

Abby scowled and pulled her paperwork towards her, and pressing the tip of her eagle quill on the parchment started scribbling furiously.

"I'm—" Hermione started to say apologetically, but something—or someone—was suddenly thrown face down at their feet from the fireplace. Both Abby and Hermione blinked. A feminine groan sounded from the figure and the blonde turned over.

"Jess", Abby smirked. "What a pleasant surprise."

"Pleasant my ass", Jessica Parker stood up and dusted her jeans off. "If only you'd take those damn wards off, Abby…"

"Nope. My Anti-Apparition wards aren't going anywhere", Abby laughed. "Besides, it's fun seeing you get thrown into our living room every single time you floo in."

"Yeah, funny." Jess rolled her eyes and then sat, cracking a grin at Hermione, who hadn't said anything so far. "How are you, Hermione?"

"Jobless", Hermione replied flatly, and Jess chuckled. She got the same response every single time she visited.

"Sucks, doesn't it?" She smiled mischievously, and Hermione looked suspicious.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like you've got something up your sleeve, Parker."

"No, I don't. Were you at the match last night?"

"Nope, couldn't get hold of tickets. Heard you won, though. That's great."

"Yup. You didn't hear what happened, though?"

Hermione's brows creased. "No, what?"

"Know Kyle? Kyle Travis?"

"He's your chaser, isn't he?"

"Yeah."

"What about him?"

"Well.." Jess said, the grin broadening. "He was injured."

"Yes, and?" Hermione said impatiently.

"He resigned."

"I don't ca—What?" Hermione blinked, her mouth dropping. "He what?"

"He resigned", Jess looked at her nails trying to appear nonchalant and stood up, walking to the fireplace again. "Oh but I didn't think you wanted the job…So I'll just be going now to tell Harry—"

"You…You want me instead of him?" Hermione said, dazed, while Abby laughed.

"Yeah, but I knew you'd say no, anyway…" Jess fought to keep her face straight while she grabbed some floo power. "So I'm outta here."

"You go anywhere and I'll hex you into the next century!" Hermione jumped to her feet, as if snapping out of a trance. "When do I join?"

Jess laughed. "Harry's going to interview you tomorrow morning, 9 AM sharp. Tryouts after that."

"Oh my god!" Hermione exclaimed and hugged Jess, almost knocking her backwards. "How can I EVER thank you?"

"Let me breathe", Jess gasped out, and Hermione released her, smiling sheepishly.

"Sorry." She said, although she didn't seem sorry at all.

Jess shook her head and snorted. "I get you a job and you almost kill me. How original", she teased, then went and embraced Abby.

"Thank Merlin you did", Abby said with a teasing look toward Hermione. "I don't think I could've taken her whining much longer."

"I'm not that bad!"

"Yes you are", the other two girls said in unison, and Hermione rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.

"Okay, I have to go now", Jess said glancing at her watch, and picked up some floo powder again, that was knocked out her hand when Hermione had hugged her. "Thought I'd pop in before practice. Bye guys! Harry Potter's Office!" And she was gone in a rush of violet green flames.

"You're going to work with Harry Potter." Abby smirked as she sat back down. "The most sought after bachelor in the wizarding world, Herms."

"Don't call me that. And so what if I am? Besides, I might even not be accepted…"

"You will. You're just too good. If he doesn't accept you then the guy's plain not right in the head."

"I hope so", she said dreamily. "I can't believe I'm finally going to play professional Quidditch.."

"I think I'm even happier than you."

"Shut up, Abby", Hermione smiled and leaned back, her fingers laced behind her head.

Abby chuckled and put a hand over her slightly swollen stomach, moving it around in small circles, sighing wistfully. Hermione sighed happily after a few long moments, but then her brows furrowed when she looked at her friend.

"Abby talk to me…He said no, didn't he. That's why you came back here. So you don't see him again."

"No, I—"

"I'm sick of you lying to me. I've been ignoring it but I'm not going to anymore. What happened, Abby? What did Anthony tell you? I know he said he couldn't stand by you when you give birth, but why? Why'd he do it? I thought he loved you."

Abby sighed, then clasped her hands, looking down. "That it was all a mistake and shouldn't have happened, Hermione…He told me that", Abby said in a small voice and looked up at her friend, her eyes shining with unshed tears, while Hermione gazed back, stunned. That bastard!

"He said his parents already had someone in store for him, and he'll have to marry her. I loved him, Hermione, I—" She couldn't go on anymore and started sobbing into her hands.

Hermione stared at her friend, her face fallen and her heart going out to Abby. She hugged her gently and stroked her hair, murmuring soothing nonsense into her ear while she cried her heart out.

"If I knew this before, I would've gone to him and kicked his ass so hard he wouldn't be able to sit for as long as he lived. I would've ripped that hair of his off his scalp and fed it to him! I thought he had a good reason for this!" She said furiously when Abby calmed down. Abby let out a shaky laugh at her best friend's words.

"He's been playing me all along. And I fell for it..."

Hermione sighed. "He's not worth it, Abby…He was never worth it. I always knew there was something funny about him, but couldn't place a finger on it. Stupid heartless asshole…"

"It's okay", Abby straightened and wiped at her cheeks, looking determined now, and placed a hand once again on her belly. "I'll raise this child alone. I won't let it feel the absence of its father, Hermione...Maybe, just maybe, if Anthony wants this child, I won't let him near it. He can be damned to hell."

Hermione smiled. "You won't be alone, Abby. Jess and I are here for you. And you will find someone who truly loves you, I promise."

"I doubt it", Abby murmured.

"I don't, though. And you'll see. There's someone out there for you."

The other brown-haired woman shrugged, and Hermione put a hand on her shoulder.

"Whatever happens, I'm here for you, Abby. You can count on me."

Abby smiled. "Thanks, Hermione."

*** *** ***

A/N - R/R!

Next chapter: Hermione Granger meets Harry Potter.

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3. Potter Meets Granger

A/N: So sorry for the long wait, but I put up an extra long chapter for you guys, and I hope it's worth it. I'm having exams in a couple of weeks, so it might be a while before I'll update soon. Just a warning though, I might have to pause this story so I could finish all of it, then start posting regularly. Also, I got my internet taken away and shit, so.. Aaand, one more thing. I dun have a beta, so excuse the grammatical and other mistakes.

Disclaimer: Things you don't recognize from the books is mine. The rest belongs to JKR.

Chapter 3: Potter Meets Granger

Hermione pulled on her new pressed navy blue robes, smoothening it down her chest as she surveyed herself in the full length mirror. The robes were plain, but they had this air about them that made the person wearing it look professional. Which was exactly the impression Hermione wanted to make on her first day. Working with Harry Potter meant no nonsense.

She walked over to the dresser and sat down, grabbing her make-up kit. She applied mascara and lip-gloss carefully, and smacked her lips in satisfaction. Good enough. Don't want him thinking she was a tramp…But Hermione didn't apply loads of make-up anyway.

She twirled a lock of her brown hair around a finger and watched as her expression frowned, contemplating what to do with her hair. She was actually pretty pleased with its appearance now. Back when she was in school, she barely had time for herself; she was that focused in her studies. Her hair was rather bushy and she didn't care about it, or her appearance. But now that she graduated, she had a lot of time on her hands, and Abby insisted making her over. She'd obtained a whole new look, and liked the way she looked now as opposed to before, and took more care of herself.

Hermione's hair used to be a 'halo of bushes', as Abby liked to call it. But now, rich healthy brown tendrils flowed down her back, a huge difference from her previous flyaway hair. She was finally able to tame it, and liked the way it looked now. She was actually able to do something with it now, without using tons of muggle hair spray and Sleakeazy's Hair Potion. She definitely looked better this way.

Finally deciding for a high ponytail, the brunette grabbed a small black elastic to tie her hair back with. She smiled at the way the hair flowing out bounced slightly, curling slightly at the ends. She pulled out a few strands to soften the sides of her face turning her head a bit to the side and looking at her reflection skeptically. Satisfied, she stood and walked over to the bed, retrieving her trainers from under it. She put them on quickly, and just as she finished tying the laces securely in place, she heard the doorbell ring. She hurried to answer.

"He-", Hermione smiled brightly as she swung the door open, smiling brightly, but then frowned. The person at the door most definitely wasn't Jess. It looked a whole lot like her, thought. There was a rather uncanny resemblance, really. Same dirty blonde hair (although spiked up), same twinkling warm brown eyes, except those silver wire framed glasses…Then the realization struck her. It was her twin, of course. How stupid. She'd watched the Silver Arrows play before, and she saw Adam there too. Weird how she didn't recognize him right away.

"Adam Kyle." He said smoothly, sticking his hand out for her to shake. He flashed a grin at her, looking at her intently.

"Hermione Granger," she smiled, shaking his hand. Something about his gaze made her feel a little uneasy but she brushed it off.

"Charmed", he smiled flashing a single dimple in his right cheek. Her cheeks pinked slightly; he was very appealing.

She stepped back and motioned for him to come in. "Come in. I'll just go get my broom."

"Nah", he waved a hand. "I'll wait here."

"You sure?" Hermione frowned. "You don't have—"

"Sure, I'm sure. Go on."

"Alright." Hermione shrugged and made her way back to the bedroom, quickly rummaging under the bed for her ever-faithful Nimbus.

Grabbing it, she almost forgot her wand lying on her dresser, and cursing herself, went to retrieve it, and then pocketed it.

"Okay", she smiled as she joined Adam again and closed the door behind her, locking it. Abby had already left for work, and wouldn't be back till evening.

When she turned back to Adam, he had a pen in his hand.

"Portkey activates in ten seconds", he said, holding it out.

Hermione obediently took hold of the Portkey, and as soon as the ten seconds were up, Abby's apartment door disappeared and she felt that familiar tug in her navel, that feeling of being pulled down onto the floor. Hermione had traveled a fair few times by Portkey, but never got used to it, and always ended up lying flat on her face. Somehow, that thought didn't seem very appealing now (not that it ever did), especially since she was with Adam Parker.

When Hermione saw a stadium coming into view, she began to panic, starting to fall face down and unable to stop. So she just closed her eyes and held her arms out to at least try and break the fall but felt strong arms wrap around her instead. She blinked her eyes open, and saw a grinning face looming over her hers.

“All right, there?”

“Uh…yeah.” She bit her lip, still staring upwards.

“Haven't traveled by Portkey before, have you?”

“I have…just never got used to it”, she replied, her cheeks now crimson as she pulled away, feeling terribly embarrassed. “Thanks, Adam…”

“No problem”, replied the young man brightly, not seeming even the slightest bit fazed over the fact that he had had a total stranger in his arms just two seconds ago.

Hermione cleared her throat and straightened her robes once more, and then looked up, for the first time seeing the pitch properly. Her eyes widened. The Silver Arrows' practice pitch was a beautiful shade of silver and dark blue—the team's colors—glinting brilliantly in the sunlight.

“So, I take it you like our pitch?” Adam's voice came from beside her.

Hermione nodded, smiling. “It's magnificent.”

“I'm glad you think so…Harry has good taste.” He smirked, and then turned to look at her. “Well…let's get you to his office then. He must be wondering where the hell I took you off too.” He motioned for her and started walking toward the other side of the stadium and went into a sort of built in space, where a desk and chair had been placed, with a few parchments scattered about on it and two telephones (which Hermione thought was weird, since this was a wizarding area), and a lush sofa along with two armchairs against the wall on the other side of the room. Upon further inspection she saw there was an oak door at the back too, with a star on it, standing ajar.

“Sarah?” Adam called, and then shrugging, walked over to the official looking door and pushed it open Hermione bit her lip and followed, although politely stood just outside. A female voice was speaking.

“Are you sure, Harry? He said he wants to—“

“I'm sure, Sarah”, replied a weary voice. “Tell him I'm busy. Ah, Adam. She's here?”

“Yeah.” A pause, and Adam poked his head outside, just as the woman named Sarah came out, offering a smile as she made her way to her desk. “What are you doing out here? Come on in.” He raised an eyebrow.

“I-I just thought—“ Hermione stammered, feeling the knots in her stomach tighten with her nervousness.

“Yeah, whatever.” He held the door open and motioned for her to go in. “He'll see you now.”

Hermione forced a small smile. “Thanks, Adam.”

“Hey, no problem”, he winked. “Don't worry, he doesn't bite…not too hard anyway.” He pushed against her shoulder gently so she'd go in, and closed the door behind her, leaving her alone with the captain of the Silver Arrows.

Hermione blew out a shaky breath as soon as Adam closed the door and looked toward the desk where Harry Potter sat, frowning and scuffling through some papers, raven hair as messy as ever and emerald eyes behind rectangular wire-framed glasses darting here and there on his desk amongst the sea of parchment. Then shaking his head slightly, he looked up, pushing his glasses up.

“Well, hello”, he smiled and stood up, going around the desk and moving over to her, shaking her hand. “Hermione Granger, I presume?” She nodded and smiled, looking up at him, awed by the difference in their height, although it didn't show in her features. He had to be a 6'1, in contrast to her 5'7.

“I'm Harry Potter.”

She cracked a grin. “I know.”

“Of course.” He laughed and shook his head, releasing her hand and motioned toward one of the chairs in front of his desk. “Please, have a seat.” Hermione obediently went over and sat down just as he did, and placing her hands in her lap primly after leaning her broom against her chair, looked at him expectantly.

“I'm sorry for all this mess”, he smiled, waving at the parchment on his desk. Hermione shook her head, smiling back. “Not at all.”

“Well!” He leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers beneath his chest, pausing for a second as if examining her. “May I ask how old you are?”

“I'm 20.”

“Ah…Well, I just really wanted to try you out…I'm not much for interviews.” Harry shrugged, leaning forward, his elbows propped up on his thighs. “Ready to hit the pitch?”

Hermione nodded, although inside, she felt the knots in her stomach tighten. Oh Merlin. What if I messed up?

“All right, then”, he smiled approvingly and stood up, and Hermine followed suit, clutching her broom in her hand. “Ah, you got your broom. That's good.” He continued, and retrieved his own broom that had been placed behind his desk, against the wall.

Hermione followed Harry as he made his way to the door and stepped out as he held the door open for her.

They went past who Hermione thought obviously was Harry's secretary, and instead of making their way straight to the pitch, Harry turned and taking out a key from his pocket, inserted it into a hole in the wall. Instantly, a wooden door appeared. Hermione's eyes widened as she went in after Harry, her chocolate brown eyes trying to take in everything around as he switched on the lights.

On one side of the triangular room, there were three long shelves. The first held still red quaffles, her area of expertise. The second was more interesting…Bludgers. Bludgers held by chains against the walls, twitching slightly every now and then. The third shelf held a rather long buzzing cage, in which you could detect a mass of Golden Snitches.

The side of the room where the door was placed, there were long packages—roughly about ten—leaning against the wall on either side. Hermione had never seen that number of brooms together in her life. Well, not brand new ones anyway. The third side of the room held about seven boxes and a couple of crates for the balls, along with shelves above the boxes, one of them holding more brooms, although used. The rest held Quidditch equipment, which Hermione itched to at least run her fingers over.

Hermione stared at the boxes quizzically as Harry stepped further in and grabbed a Quaffle from the shelf, bouncing it slightly in his hand.

“Nice place you got here.” Hermione said, smiling in awe as she looked around.

“Thanks…those are the player's extra Quidditch robes and equipment”, he pointed toward the boxes under the shelves, having clearly spotted the quizzical look she'd shot them. “If you're wondering.”

She nodded, flushing slightly at her own curiosity and stepped back and out, allowing Harry to lock the room again. She was impressed…It was so original.

“Alright.” he muttered as if to himself, and mounting his broom, kicked off, zooming to the middle of the place in mid-air. Hermione was quick at his heels though and started slowing down a bit when she saw him hover where he was, with his back to her. However, Harry whipped around fast and threw the Quaffle hard at her. Not the slightest bit fazed, Hermione caught it deftly, and tucked it under her arm, halting several feet away from him. She threw the Quaffle back at him with as much force, and for a while, Harry kept trying to catch her off-guard, throwing the Quaffle this way and that, but Hermione caught every single one, and couldn't help the small smirk on her face as she threw the ball back at him every time.

Harry wasn't showing any sign that he was impressed though, and kept working her hard, for about two hours.

“Alright”, he said, and pointed to the far end of the pitch as he started to maneuver his broom to the opposite side, tossing the Quaffle at her. “I want you to go out there and show me what you got. I'll be Keeping.”

Hermione pursed her lips and nodded, zooming toward the other side, and took a deep breath as she turned to face him, yards away. Determinedly crouching low on her broom, she gained speed, zigzagging through imaginary players with the Quaffle clutched tightly under her arm. At one point, she even made a back flip in mid air, and played the Slot-Grip Roll, and a few other tricky moves. She narrowed her eyes as she neared the hoops, with Harry defending and made as if to aim toward the right hoop. Harry clearly thought she was trying to trick him into defending that hoop and leave the rest, so he made to defend the left and middle, and before he knew it, Hermione had scored.

Before Hermione had the chance to be proud of herself, there was applause. Puzzled, she turned to look at where the sound was coming from, and saw about five people on their feet on one side of the bleachers, clapping enthusiastically. Hermione grinned and looked at Harry, to see him smiling as well.

“Come on”, he motioned and flew up to the stand, with Hermione in tow. As they got closer, Hermione noticed Adam amongst them and blushed as he winked at her again.

Harry and Hermione dismounted, and Harry started the introductions.

“Hermione, this is Ron Weasley, Oliver Wood, and the blonde right there is Draco Malfoy”—the three shook hands with Hermione—“And you know Adam and Jess, of course. Guys, meet our new Chaser, Hermione Granger.”

Hermione looked at him in astonishment. “I am?”

“You are”, he grinned, and grasped her hand firmly. “Welcome to the team.”

“Well, this is our humble home”, Harry smiled.

“Humble?” Hermione asked in disbelief, her eyes almost popping out of their sockets as she eyed the mansion.

The rest of them laughed.

“I know, right? Our Harry is modest to no end.” Jess shook her head. “We'll leave it up to you to give her a tour, Potter.”

And they filed into the house, waving.

“Well, come on”, Harry motioned for Hermione to follow him, and took her around the back of the house. There was a huge swimming pool, along with a nice big backyard.

As Harry led her to the door at the back of the house, which obviously led to the basement and switched on the lights, Hermione gasped. It was a fully equipped muggle gym with everything from treadmills to weight lifters. The gym was in the middle of the basement, although quite large, and on either side, there were partitions. One side had showers, saunas, hot tubs you name it. The other had billiards, carom-boards, poker-tables, board games, like Monopoly and Scrabble. Hermione thought it was amazing.

But she didn't see the house itself yet.

As they walked through the front door, just across, Hermione could see a billboard stuck with parchment with notes and stuff. There were a few she was highly amused with.

HOUSE RULES!

1. About the first-floor toilet: Ladies, if you want us to put the toilet seat down after we finish, then you better put it back up when YOU'RE done. -Adam.

2. Clean up after yourself. No one is responsible for the mess YOU make, except yourself. Especially stuff like laundry. If you know what I mean. -Jess.

3. No one touch my Chudley Cannons mug. NO ONE. If you were found doing it, you will die a slow painful death. However if no one saw you and you fessed up to it later, I guess I'll bloody well just make yoar death quick and painless. And yes, I'm still a fan. Oh and no ferrets allowed. -snicker.- One is more than enough, right Ferret Boy? -Ron.

4. Kindly make use of Silencing Charms when any of you, er…bring someone home. PLEASE. We all need our beauty sleep. -Oliver.

5. Absolutely no mudblo—Ow. -scowl.- Can't take a joke, Weasel? Potter, why are weasels allowed on the team? You Gryffindorks are so freakin' nice. -Draco.

6. I agree with Oliver, although he and Jess sometimes forget the Silencing Charm. Hem. Also, we don't need hordes of babies running all over the house, either so…you know. Ugh, what the hell. And don't be late for practice either. Or you get to do extra push-ups. `Kay? `Kay. -Harry.

7.

She laughed, glancing at Harry, who was grinning. “Yeah, we're messed up people”, he said, laughing.

“I can see that”, she teased, then tilted her head at the parchment. “Ferret Boy?”

“Yeah, this teacher once turned Draco into a ferret back in school”, he explained, snorting. “Ron claims it was the best moment of his life. We used to hate Draco. But we're friends now.”

“Oh, okay”, she laughed, her eyes scanning the rest of the clippings.

Practice time:

Weekdays: 8.30 AM—12 PM

4 PM—6 PM

Saturday: 10 AM—12 PM

-Harry.

Turns for dishwashing are as follows:

Monday: Harry (since you're the boss and all, pal.) Tuesday: Jess. Wednesday: Ollie. Thursday: Hermione (Welcome! Haha.) Friday: Me. Saturday: Adam. Sunday: Drum roll, please. It's Ferret Boy!

-Ron.

“Well that was fast”, she said eyeing her name there.

“Looks like he put in your name the moment e walked in the door.” Harry shook his head.

The ground floor consisted of the lobby, a large kitchen, a dining room next to it, a toilet, and a home entertainment system room thingy. Hermione wished right then she had ten eyes. There were rows and rows of DVD's, a large screen TV, camcorders, computers…it even had a bloody popcorn and soft-drink machine. And to think she was actually being paid for all this.

Hermione gulped as she was led upstairs to the bedrooms, not knowing now what to expect.

There were seven bedrooms (there was seven everything, really. Almost. Hermione couldn't help but think of The Seven Dwarves). Harry took Hermione right to hers, which she knew was the one the former chaser occupied. Harry opened the door, and handed her the key.

“It's pretty plain right now, but I'm sure you can apply some of your touches”, he smiled and waved a hand as she stepped in. It was quite big. A queen-sized four-poster bed, dresser, closet, full-length mirror, a desk and chair. The wallpaper and bed-sheets were white, but that could easily be fixed.

Hermione opened the door leading to the bathroom and stuck her head in.

“Well?” Harry asked.

She smiled. “It's perfect.”

“I sincerely hope you'll feel comfortable here”, he said, and Hermione almost giggled at the formality. “Oh and about your luggage…You'll go pack right? And then you can just contact me, and I'll send someone to bring it over or something.”

“Oh no. Shrinking spells come quite handy. I'll be fine, thank you.”

“Great”, he grinned, and Hermione thought she saw an impressed glint in his eyes as he leaned against the doorframe. “Well, stay for lunch. And you can go back tomorrow to get your stuff. If you want to, that is.”

Hermione looked doubtful. “But I need to shower…and I have no clothes.”

“Oh. Right”, he looked sheepish. “You can borrow some from Jess, but I understand if you're more comfortable…you know.” He shrugged.

Hermione nodded. “I'll be back tomorrow.”

“You won't stay for lunch?”

“Thank you”, she declined politely, smiling. “Thanks for everything…” She suddenly didn't know what she was supposed to call him, but after a pause continued, “Mr. Potter.”

Harry laughed and hugged her, ignoring her out-stretched hand. Hermione blinked and hugged him back reluctantly. “Harry”, he corrected, pulling back. “No one calls me Mr. Potter here, and you are no exception.”

She laughed. “Okay. Harry.”

“See you tomorrow”, he smiled and left.

“Bye”, she countered, Disapparating.

R&R!

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4. Moving In

A/N - Sorry for the delay, but I already warned you guys! I thank each and every one of you guys for the reviews, and I unfortunately didn't get the time to reply, in addition to my effed up connection. I shall try next time, though. This chapter is more of a light one, and not very eventful, but I think it has to be done. I was experiencing a major writer's block this past month and also while writing this chapter, but I think I finally managed to complete it. Even though you will probably get bored reading it. O.o; I dunno. Review? Please? -Cute pout.- I shall be in your debt forever. And just a warning, I didn't read this chapter through, so excuse the mistakes.

Chapter 4: Moving In

"I got the job." Hermione called out, grinning as she closed the door behind her.

"Praise the Lord." Abby drawled from the couch, flicking through channels. Hermione failed to come up with a decent glare, and laughed instead, plopping down beside her best friend.

"It's great, isn't it?" She sighed in bliss, closing her eyes.

"Yep. How's Potter? As hot face-to-face as he is in Witch Weekly?" Abby smirked, finally turning her attention to Hermione. The brunette laughed.

"Oh, you bet. And the house…Oh, sweet Merlin, the house. I've never seen a house so posh." Hermione gushed. "This huge pool, saunas, hot tubs…Abby, there's this whole big section downstairs that's fully equipped with muggle technology…everything from flat-screens and computers, to DVD's and popcorn machines! It's truly amazing."

"Awesome." Abby looked intrigued. "Well, Potter's loaded, so…"

"Oh, yes." She nodded. "He is. I can't even begin to describe the house to you." She shook her head. "And my room is huuuuge. I love the place."

"Enough about the house, already. Did you meet the players? Ron Weasley? I want to meet him."

Hermione shook her head. "How typical, Abby. I see your redhead fetish is kicking into action."

"I'm serious, woman."

"Mmkay. I'll introduce you guys some time…" She shrugged.

"Good girl. Did you have lunch? I made some spaghetti."

"Well, Harry invited me, but I said no. I have to pack up and stuff."

"Yeah…" Abby frowned.

Hermione bit her lip. "I know it'll be weird and all, us not seeing each other all the time…but I'll come around every other weekend, promise. And you can visit too."

Abby nodded and shrugged. "I guess so. We'll cope."

Hermione smiled and leaned over to hug her best friend.

"I don't know what I'd do without you", Hermione smiled.

"Me neither, as much as I hate to admit it." Abby tried to keep a straight face, and Hermione hit her arm playfully, grinning. Abby stuck her tongue out rather maturely.

"I'm going to eat", Hermione shook her head, disappearing into the kitchen.

* * * *

"Ron, enough. You've wiped off half of the potatoes yourself!" Jess exclaimed, holding her arm out for the bowl.

"I'm a growing boy!" the redhead replied defensively, dumping another spoonful onto his plate before handing the bowl over.

Harry snorted. "You've been saying that since first year, Ron."

"Sod off", Ron muttered, starting to stuff his face.

Oliver looked up. "So when's Herm—er…"

"Hermione", Harry prompted.

"Hermione", Oliver repeated sheepishly. "When's she moving in?"

"Tomorrow."

"Need me to make arrangements to pick her stuff up?"

"No, actually," Harry replied. "She said she'll just use a Shrinking Spell or two."

Oliver raised his eyebrows. "She sounds pretty smart."

"She is," Jess chimed in proudly. "She graduated at the top of her class from Beauxbatons."

Adam looked impressed. "No wonder…Pass the curry, sis."

"You know, at first I thought she was no good", Harry admitted. "But damn, did she show me up."

Jess grinned. "I know. She strikes most people as this bookworm who always has her head buried in some book. But she knows how to go out and have fun. She does now, anyway. Abby tells me she used to be such a tight-ass back in school."

"Yeah…" Harry said thoughtfully. "And you know what the best thing is?"

"Hmm?"

"She didn't even glance at my scar."

* * * *

"Why do you have to take ALL your books? You've read them a hundred times already!"

Hermione shrugged, taping up the last box. She plopped down on the bed next to Abby, wiping her forehead.

"You have so much stuff, 'Mione…"

"I know", Hermione shook her head. "Eleven boxes."

"Mostly books", Abby said pointedly.

"Give it a rest, already", Hermione groaned, lying back on the bed. "I'm so tired…"

"Mmhmm."

"Thanks for helping me out today, Abbs."

"You would've done the same for me."

"Of course. I think I'll go take a shower. Then have a kip."

"You do that", Abby stood up. "And I still think you should forget about the shrinking spell and just have someone pick all this up. You'll probably lose something."

"I'll be fine. I'll put them in a handbag and get it over with. I don't want all the fuss."

"All right, then." Abby lifted her wrist up and had a look at her wrist-watch. "I'm running late. I'll see you soon, hopefully."

"Yes", Hermione replied as they hugged. Abby Disapparated, and Hermione buckled down to setting the Shrinking charms.

* * * *

Two hours later, she showed up at the Silver Arrows' door, and rang the doorbell, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

The door swung open, and Jess's grinning face appeared, before she was engulfed in a big hug.

"Hermione!" Jess smiled, letting the other woman in. "Come on in."

"Thanks", Hermione replied as they went upstairs, to her new room.

"You're actually moving in!" Jess grinned. "I won't be the only female here now. You'll be sharing my misery."

Hermione laughed. "It can't be that bad."

"Well, it's fun a lot of the time." Jess admitted. "But it's hard living with six males day in and day out."

"True", Hermione conceded, arranging the miniscule boxes from her handbag on the floor, and undid the Shrinking spells. "So I don't expect the 'house rules' are actually played out?"

"As if", Jess scoffed. "Not even one of them. Well maybe the Silencing charms one, and most of the time, the 'be on time for practice' one…And you still have to add yours. The seventh place is blank."

"I noticed. I will after I think of something."

"The boys are downstairs watching a movie; they won't be out for an hour or so…We could get started on this", she waved a hand at all the boxes. "Damn, girl. That's a lot of stuff."

"I know", Hermione said sheepishly.

They started to put Hermione's things away; clothes in the closet, and some of the books stacked in shelves.

"Crikey! You have enough books to rival our library downstairs, Hermione", Harry announced his presence from the doorway.

"And that's saying something", Oliver said, over Harry's shoulder, shaking his head.

Hermione blushed. "I read a lot."

"We can tell," Jess said dryly. "Hermione, get away from there."

"What?" Hermione looked at her in confusion from where she was placing her clothes into the closet.

"Move", she said impatiently, and Hermione obliged, still confused. Jess waved her wand, and clothes flew out of the suitcases and stacked themselves neatly into the closet. "There."

Hermione shook her head, although grinned. "I just like to be more practical."

"It's easier this way", Jess said smugly, replacing her wand into her pocket.

"Good work, sweetheart", Oliver winked at her, then dragged Harry off. "We'll go out somewhere to keep out of your hair", he called out.

"Hmm…" Hermione pulled out her wand, looking at the plain surroundings speculatively. She muttered a few spells, and Jess watched as the bed sheets turned into a light blue, the curtains that hung around the bed a dark blue.

"Definitely", Jess agreed, fingering the window curtains, a silver-ish blue, that went marvelously with the dark blue carpet. "Very nice."

"Thanks. I'm really going to enjoy living here." Hermione smiled, Vanishing the empty boxes.

"You will! We're the only team in Britain who actually live together."

"Really? I wasn't aware of that."

"We are. I think it helps our relationships; we stick together more."

Hermione nodded. "Helps the team-work."

"Yep. So how do you like Harry?"

"He's a good bloke." Hermione smiled. "He was quite the opposite of what I thought, really."

"Oh?" Jess said interestedly. "What did you think he'd be like?"

Hermione made a face. "Well…I thought he would be like those rich stuck-up guys who just like showing off their money."

Jess laughed. "Well, maybe it's fair enough. He thought you'd be one of those girls who are going to freak over meeting him. It makes him sick."

Hermione snorted. "Hardly. But to tell you the truth, I was a bit nervous."

"I expect so. He was pleased you didn't even notice his scar, and actually treated him like a normal person."

"I thought he'd get uncomfortable", Hermione nodded. "I bet he gets it all the time."

"He does. It tires me out. And you know…"

"What?" Hermione raised an eyebrow at Jess's smirk.

"I think he likes you."

"Not bloody likely", Hermione rolled her eyes. "Harry Potter, like me?"

"What's there not to like?"

"Oh come on, Jess. He's…well, he's Harry Potter."

"So what?"

Hermione shrugged. "It's not possible. You just think he does. Come on, I'm hungry." She stood up, trying to avoid the subject.

Harry Potter, like Hermione Granger? That'll be the day.

R&R!

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5. Journalists, Healers, and Pros

Chapter 5: Journalists, Healers, and Pros.

The Quibbler head office was a very busy place, especially now that Luna Lovegood ran the magazine after her father died two years ago. Since then, the magazine had gained popularity, due to the fact that most of the so-thought ridiculous assumptions about a few creatures mentioned in the Quibbler were proven true. Luna had been particularly pleased about this, since everyone had thought her crazy back in school, but now here she sat, running one of the most popular magazines in the Wizarding World. True, she'd always had her head in the clouds, but that didn't mean she had no emotions. She'd always brushed peoples' thoughts off, thinking they'd never meant any harm, that it was her own fault. She was usually dreamy and smiling, but now, always serious when the occasion required her to be. One of these occasions was now, as she tried to sort out what she was doing.

The shiny metal plate, stating 'Luna Lovegood, Editor', that stood proudly on her work-desk, now was out of sight, under a mountain of official papers, articles, magazines, scrolls of parchment and other things. And Luna was a mess, not knowing where to start. This was what happened when you get the Wizard Flu when you have so much work at hand.

An abrupt knock sounded on the oak, and the blonde sitting behind the mass, looked up in annoyance.

"Come in." She sighed and pulled off her reading glasses, rubbing her eyes as Abby stepped in, her hands holding more papers. The seated woman groaned. "What now?"

"Sorry, Luna," Abby said breathlessly. "I know you're busy, but Arnold Smith was wondering about that—"

"Yes, yes," Luna said impatiently. "His article hardly makes any sense…" She pulled out a drawer in her desk and rummaged for a bit, before pulling out a large envelope. "Here, resend it, with a polite rejection letter. Just a minute." She said when Abby began to leave, and handed her a few scrolls of parchment. "I need these typed up. And those are for you; I have loads more to edit, so it'll be a big help…"

"Right," Abby nodded, and her eyes scanned Luna's desk. "Maybe it'll be easier if you stack those neatly first, then go through them, Luna."

Luna looked doubtfully at her desk before covering her mouth and sneezing, and then grabbed a tissue. "Sorry."

"You're still sick," Abby observed.

"I had to cut the sick-leave short…Look at how behind I am." Luna waved a hand at the mountain in front of her, and began arrange various articles, parchment and paper to one side so she can concentrate on what she's working on, just like Abby suggested.

Abby shook her head and edged toward the door. "Well…I'll be going. I don't want to catch your germs," she said playfully, and with a small wave, closed the door behind her as Luna nodded absent-mindedly, reading through a scroll.

Abby dropped several of the scrolls at her own desk, and then crossed the room to her colleague.

"Hey, Ginny," she greeted the red-head, who was busily typing away on her computer.

"Abby," she glanced up briefly, to see the papers in Abby's hand. "Put them over there for me will you? Thanks."

"No problem," she turned to leave.

"Hey, listen," Ginny called her back, turning her attention from her typing to the other woman. "My brother and the rest of the team are going to some club this weekend, and they invited me. They said I could bring along some friends…would you be interested? I'm going to drag Luna along too. She's working twenty-four seven."

Abby's eyes lightened up. "Yes, count me in. It would give me an excuse to see Hermione; I haven't seen her in a while. And an opportunity to meet your brother, of course." She smirked.

"Of course," Ginny laughed. "You're more interested in my brother than in Harry Potter."

Abby grinned, and replied, simply, "He's a redhead."

* * *

"Here, press it to the wound, alright? I'll be right back." The brunette said as patiently as she could, and left the man on the bed grumbling about stupid female healers and whatnot. She sighed softly as she closed the door behind her, and hurried down the stairs.

"Is Healer Finnigan here yet?" She asked the witch at the front desk, who was busy filing reports.

She totally ignored her, and the Healer started to try again before she heard a weary voice behind her.

"Don't bother. I'm here."

She rounded on him, frowning. "It's about time, too, Seamus. Your patient has been asking for you, and I have my own things to do."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry." He sighed as he pulled his white coat on and pulled her aside from the throng of people.

"What happened?"

Seamus cleared his throat slightly, and looked slightly sheepish as he shrugged. "I overslept."

"Excuse me?" She raised an eyebrow. "Your patient—"

"I know, Jules. Come on, I don't let it happen too often. And you're not my boss," he teased.

"I know, but I was forced to leave my patient and attend to yours."

"I'm sorry," Seamus repeated. "I'll make it up to you."

Julie folded her arms over her chest and tilted her head. "How?"

"I'll buy you lunch today?"

"You better," Julie shook her head and pushed him toward the stairs.

"You're so pushy," he said playfully as they entered their shared office.

"You're always late," she retorted, checking their mail. "Here." She handed him a few letters, and he looked through them, his eyebrows rising in surprise.

"Merlin, I haven't heard from the bastards in so long."

"Who?" Julie asked absently, ripping open an envelope.

"The Silver Arrows."

She looked up at him blankly. "I repeat—who?"

"They're a Quidditch team," he said in disbelief.

"Right," she said uninterestedly, grabbing a clip-board. "I'll just go check up on Roberts."

He nodded as she left the office a grin adorning his face as he read the letter.

Seamus—

How've you been, mate? Sorry I haven't been in touch, been busy this past year. Things are pretty ace here, we got a new Chaser, did you hear? Anyway, we were going clubbing Saturday, come along if you have nothing better to do. You do remember where Escape is, right? We'll see you there, say about 8.

Hope you're good.

Harry.

* * *

"Come on, Hermione. Get up," Jess poked her head in and saw Hermione sprawled on the couch, a bowl of popcorn on her stomach, watching a movie.

"Why?" She asked, not taking her eyes of the screen. "I'm really comfortable."

"I can see that. But now's not the time. We're going clubbing and we have to look sexy!"

"Oh okay," Hermione sat up, then froze. "Pardon me?"

"We have to look sexy?"

"No, the part before that," Hermione narrowed her eyes at her friend.

"We're going clubbing," Jess smiled sweetly. "Oh, damn, we forgot to tell you!"

"I'm sure it slipped your mind," Hermione said disdainfully, and plopped back down. "I'm not going."

"Oh, yes you are," Jess said in her no-nonsense voice, and pulled her up. "Come on, it'll be fun."

"It's not my type of thing, Jess."

"I know it's not, but, come on. We're all going! If you don't like it, you can Apparate back."

Hermione sighed and stood up. "Fine, alright. But just this once."

Jess grinned and practically dragged her off to her room, and threw open her closet, standing in front of it with her hands over her hips. "Do you have anything suitable for clubbing?"

"I'm not sure…" Hermione shrugged. "I'll just wear jeans."

Jess scowled at her. "Yeah, over my dead body. Wait here."

"I'm not going anywhere," Hermione grumbled as Jess left the room, and came back with an assortment of clothes, and dumped them on Hermione's bed. She scrunched up her mouth in thought then picked a black dress and handed it to her.

"Try it on."

Hermione held the thing up and stared at it. "I am so not wearing this."

"It's not that bad. Just go try it on."

And so, she did.

"You look amazing!" Jess exclaimed when Hermione came out of the bathroom, looking extremely self-conscious.

"Jess, I don't know…" She frowned, allowing Jess to zip her up.

"I do," the blonde declared, grabbing her by the shoulders and bringing her around to stand in front of the full-length mirror. Hermione ran her hands down the material and stared at her reflection. The dress clung in all the right places, and made Hermione feel very womanly. It was a simple but elegant spaghetti strap, with the neck-line low enough to show a bit of cleavage but not seem sluttish. It came up to her knees, with a tiny slit on each side. Jess noticed the small smile on Hermione's lips, and grinned from behind her.

"See? You look good. Now go sit down and let me do your hair and make-up."

Hermione obeyed, and soon after, she was slipping on a pair of black heels she had stashed in her closet. Her hair hung in glorious ringlets down her back and her make-up was tastefully done.

"Hurry up, both of you!" Oliver's voice carried impatiently up the stairs, and Hermione bit her lip. She felt very apprehensive going downstairs, where the boys were waiting, but it seemed like she had no choice now. This was what happened when you listened to Jessica Kyle, Hermione thought, her stomach twisting in knots as she grabbed her cell phone and purse from her desk. She took a deep breath, then exhaled, her hands held up in mid-air as if to calm herself. Then she walked out into the landing and looked down cautiously into the first floor, where the male members of the team were talking. They didn't notice her. Yet.

She knocked on Jess's door, and heard the muffled response of, "You go on! Tell them I'll be a few minutes."

Okay, she would have to do this herself. Summoning her courage, Hermione lifted her chin and went down the stairs confidently, even though a part of her wanted to stop, start screaming like a banshee, and run. But she didn't.

Her heels made clicking noises on the stairs and the boys—well, men, you could say—gaped at her as she descended the last step. She smiled tentatively, thinking this was a bad idea after all.

Oliver finally cracked a grin. "Looking good, Hermione," he said, lifting his hand and whacking Harry with the back of it hard in the stomach. Harry lurched forward with a painful "oof!" and punched Oliver in the arm with a scowl, before turning to Hermione.

"Yeah, um—You look rather…"

Well, he looked rather flustered, was all Hermione was think, feeling a warm glow in her stomach.

"Gorgeous," Adam put in, grinning widely, while Ron nodded, as if in awe of her.

Hermione blushed furiously. "Thanks. You guys clean up very nicely as well."

"What about me?" Jess called, coming down the stairs, looking amazing as usual with a short denim mini-skirt and a halter-top.

"You look absolutely stunning," Oliver smiled, as he snaked his arms around her waist and kissed her lips lightly. Adam shook his head in mock-disgust at the display.

"Yeah, yeah…you look nice, Jess," Harry said, knowing the offhanded comment would annoy her and flashed a sly grin. "Let's go."

Jess threw him a dirty look, and sniffed. "Too bad I can't say the same for you, Potter," she retorted.

"Of course you can't. Because nice doesn't even begin to describe how utterly handsome and sexy I am," Harry puffed out his chest, and Hermione laughed, shrugging her jacket on.

"Riiiight," Jess said in disbelief, allowing Oliver to help her into her own jacket. "Thanks, baby." She pecked his cheek.

"The Portkey activates in ten seconds," Harry held out a book, and everyone reached out their hands to touch it.

They were transported to the alleyway near the club with a small pop.

* * *

READ THIS:

A/N - I won't swarm you with excuses about why I'm updating after over a month, but my exams are just around the corner, give me a break. But I'm sorry. I'm trying, I swear. Anyway, how was this chapter? Also, the twin' last name is Kyle. I am aware that I had made a mistake of naming them differently in the pervious chapters…

The ending was a bit abrupt, aye? I just wanted the club chapter to be a chapter of its own. It'll be longer than this. Pinky promise. It'll be fun too! I hope you liked the idea of me bringing Seamus into the picture. -cackles and rubs hands together.-

That being said, thank you guys so much for the reviews! I got 34 for last chapter! And this might sound greedy, but I aim for more, since I get literally thousands of hits per chapter and only 20-40 reviews. That's hardly fair. I'm asking this as nicely as I can, please review; I'm doing this for you guys! And I'm talking about those who lurk around anonymously, without commenting. : p So do review, it makes my day!

-Chris.

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6. Clubbing

A/N - How's this for a quick update, huh? Thank you sooo much for the reviews! A definite improvement and I'm glad =P I loved the response I got for last chapter, and I just had to start typing up more for you guys! Anyhow, I think I have the pairings all sorted out, but a lot of you seem unable to guess about dear old Seamus! Haha. You'll get a major hint in this chapter, though. Also, for those who are confused about the players' positions:

Harry - Captain and Seeker

Oliver - Co-captain (sort of) and Keeper

Adam - Beater

Draco - Beater

Ron - Chaser

Hermione - Chaser

Jess - Chaser

Enough said. Onto the chapter, and as always, please review!

* * *

As the Portkey transported them, he felt a hand hold on tightly to his arm, and then stumbled against him as their feet hit the ground. His arms went instinctively around their waist and he felt his side collide with a brick wall.

Harry looked down at who he was holding, and saw Hermione's face illuminated by the light of a street-lamp, her hazel eyes wide as her hands rested on his chest.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked in concern, enjoying the feeling of holding her like that, but knew it wouldn't last.

She nodded and shied away from his gaze. "Sorry," she whispered, pulling away.

"It's alright," he gave her a reassuring smile as they all rounded the corner to the main street, the other five oblivious to what happened.

"What time is it?" Oliver asked.

"A little after eight," Ron replied. "We're lucky we even managed to leave the place." He gave Jess a mock-glare, and she stuck her tongue out at him.

"That's really mature, Sis," Adam shook his head.

"Oho, now look who's talking."

The banter continued as they reached the club, and were let in after flashing their ID's.

"Are they here yet?" Harry yelled over the loud music.

"Yeah, look!" Ron pointed to a table, where Seamus, Ginny, and two other young women sat.

They made their way over through the crowd.

"Hermione!" Abby exclaimed, hugging her friend.

"Abby?" Hermione asked in surprise, but returned the hug enthusiastically. "What are you doing here?"

"I was invited! And look at you, all dressed up," she grinned, giving Hermione a proper look.

Hermione smiled. "You look great, too. Is that Ron's sister?"

"Yeah, that's her. Come on," she pulled her to Ginny, and introduced them, then turned to Luna.

"Well, this is my boss," Abby laughed. "Luna Lovegood."

"It's lovely to meet you," Hermione said warmly, shaking the other woman's hand, but before Luna could respond, Ron's voice, laced with incredulity, interrupted.

"Luna Lovegood?" He gaped at the blonde. She was gorgeous; he almost didn't recognize her. He thought she looked familiar, but couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Ronald. How lovely."

"Umm, yeah…You-You've changed," he stuttered. "I mean—er—"

"I think she gets the point, Ron," Ginny said, trying hard to keep a straight face, before Harry breezed in and pulled Luna into a hug, giving Ron a wink, who finally closed his mouth and looked away, his ears as red as a spoiled tomato.

"Well, you must be Ron Weasley," Abby smiled at Ron and shook his hand. "I'm Abby Taylor."

"Hello," Ron managed a smile, although he was still slightly flustered. "It's nice to meet you."

Abby nodded, just as Seamus came into view over Ron's shoulder, and extended his hand to her with a charming smile. "I'm Seamus Finnigan."

"Abby Taylor," she introduced herself.

As everyone got better acquainted, however, Draco and Ginny had disappeared to a corner booth, where no one could find them.

"I missed you," she murmured against his lips, running her hands up his chest, and snaked her arms around his neck.

He fused their lips together urgently, his hand coming around to tangle in her hair, as his other arm locked around her waist and pulled her onto his lap. He buried his face in her neck, suckling on the skin there softly. Ginny tilted her hair back and breathed hard, before grasping hold of his hair and pulling him back, so he would look at her.

"Draco…" She whispered breathlessly. "We have to tell him."

"He'll go berserk."

"But…the two of you are friends now."

"He'll still go berserk," Draco repeated bitterly, leaning back. "I'm a Death Eater's son, and a Malfoy."

"You're not a Death Eater," she pointed out. "I'll convince him, I swear."

"Let's just wait, Gin, alright?"

"Fine," she pouted.

A slow smirk spreading on Draco's face, he leaned forward and took her bottom lip between his teeth, and nibbled on it gently.

"You want to dance?" Adam asked Hermione, and offered her his hand. Harry watched sullenly as they walked toward the dance floor and started dancing. Seamus and Abby, who were the other two aside from him, noticed, and shared a sly grin.

"Tough luck, mate," Seamus said.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, playing stupid, and took a gulp of his wine, but still kept his eyes on the couple.

"Nothing at all," the Irishman said innocently. He shrugged and took a swig of his own drink, and then when a slow song came on, he smiled at Abby. "Would you like to dance?"

Abby smiled apologetically, touching her three-month pregnant belly. "I'm sorry, I—"

"Don't give me that," Seamus said sternly in a playful way, his hand still held out. "It's a slow song."

"But—"

"I'll be gentle, I promise," he flashed her a dazzling grin, and she laughed, finally putting her hand in his and allowed herself to be led to the dance floor.

If it was possible, Luna was even more absentminded when the soft music started playing. Before he knew what he was doing, Ron lifted a hand up and brushed a strand of stray hair off her cheek. How had he never noticed just how pretty she was?

Luna smiled up at him, and Ron gave her a lopsided, sort of a sheepish one in return.

"You never did like me at Hogwarts, did you?" She asked bluntly.

"Er, well—" Ron started uncomfortably. "It's not that, I just thought—"

"That I was odd," Luna said wistfully, but then shrugged. "I know I was."

"I just wasn't sure around you," he said softly.

"I know," she said quietly. "I'm odd now too, but I enjoy being different."

Ron smiled and nodded. "That's understandable. But I'd like to get to know you now…"

Luna raised her eyebrows, surprised. "Really?"

Ron nodded again. "I was a git back in school, I know. But I'd really like to make up for lost time.

Luna smiled dreamily. "I'd like that."

"You look beautiful tonight," Adam whispered in Hermione's ear, holding her close as they swayed to the music.

Hermione blushed for what seemed to be the thousandth time that night. Adam was so sweet and attentive, and she felt like she could stay there all night, just dancing. As they turned in a slow circle, her eyes came in contact with Harry's which seemed to be boring into her soul, even with the distance. Then another dancing couple came in between and the contact was broken. When they moved away, Harry was talking to Draco and Ginny.

"Well, well, where have you two been?" Harry said across the room, raising an eyebrow at Ginny and Draco.

"Don't know what you're talking about, Harry," Ginny said breezily as they sat down.

"Have you been corrupting the only Weasley girl, Malfoy?"

"Potter, I don't know what you're talking about," Draco said just as innocently.

"Ron's going to kill you," Harry said matter-of-factly, pointing a finger at the blonde. "I hope you know that."

"I don't care," Draco shrugged, dropping all pretenses.

"We don't care," Ginny corrected, smiling at her boyfriend.

Harry shook his head in disbelief. "A Malfoy, and a Weasley. You have got to be kidding me."

"I kid you not," Ginny said solemnly, and downed her drink.

"Whatever," Harry rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. "Just make sure to pack and run for it when Ron's on the war-path, Draco." He patted Ginny's hand, and stood up, going determinedly toward Adam and Hermione, and tapped the other man on the shoulder.

"I'm going to steal her for a dance, if you don't mind," he smiled at Hermione, as Adam stepped away good-naturedly.

"Hey," Harry said softly, as he put his arms around her waist.

"Hey," Hermione smiled, feeling herself once again drawn into his emerald eyes, and put her arms around his neck, standing less closer to him than she had with Adam, but they were still close. There was chemistry between her and Adam, but she couldn't put her finger on Harry. She felt something entirely different when with him.

Extremely relaxed, she dropped her head onto his shoulder and moved closer to him without even realizing it. Harry could feel her breathing softly onto his neck, and lowered his head slightly so his chin was inches away from her own neck.

"Hermione," he breathed, and she lifted her head silently to look at him. Harry swallowed, his heart beating wildly, and was afraid she would be able to hear it. Hermione gently licked her lips as he started to lean in, and her eyes fluttered close at the first brush of his lips against hers in a kiss that was so very tender and innocent, Hermione thought her heart was going to break. Harry pulled back for a moment to look at her, their faces still close together. He kissed her again, applying some more pressure before pulling away.

Hermione was looking at him with her eyes wide, and looked rather flushed even though they were barely doing anything. They shared a small smile, and Hermione replaced her head back on his shoulder, sighing in content.

"Look at them," Jess said in delight as she and Oliver went to sit down, catching Harry and Hermione kissing briefly. "They're kissing!"

"I know, love," Oliver laughed as Jess seated herself on top of him. "Oh look, someone's jealous," he teased Adam who was sitting across him, and the blonde scowled at him, but said nothing.

Jess grinned at her twin. "Looks like Harry's got competition."

"Did you see that?" Abby said, grinning, as her and Seamus came into view.

Jess nodded enthusiastically, looking over at Harry and Hermione who were still dancing as another song came on. "They look like they're the only two people in the room."

"I know," Seamus laughed, draping an arm over the back of Abby's chair, and Oliver sent him a sly grin, with his eyebrow raised. Seamus gave him a dirty look and dropped his arm, narrowing his eyes as if daring Oliver to go ahead and say something. Oliver whistled innocently as he put his arm around his girlfriend's middle.

"So, what do you do, Seamus?" Abby asked conversationally, oblivious to the exchange.

"I'm a Healer," he said. "I've read a few articles of yours in the Quibbler…You're quite talented."

Abby smiled. "Thank you. The Quibbler is a fun place to work in."

Seamus chuckled. "It used to be one of the most disliked magazines, with all the so-called rubbish they had in it. But Luna's running it quite well these days."

Abby nodded. "She's fun to work with."

"Thank you, Abigail," Luna smiled at her, her arm locked with Ron's.

"You're quite welcome," Abby grinned.

It was quite late when they finally decided to call it a night, and most of the group was slightly tipsy.

"I hate not being able to drink when everyone else is," Abby grumbled, crossing her arms.

"I'm not drinking," Seamus teased gently.

Abby laughed. "Alright, true."

"So…where's your husband?" Seamus asked unsuspectingly.

Abby averted her eyes, her expression darkening. "I'm not married."

Seamus could tell it was a touchy subject, and dropped it. But he was relieved she wasn't married. He felt extremely attracted to her. "You know, there should be more outings like these. I could do it every other day if I wasn't so busy."

Abby nodded, and looked up when Harry got up, swaying slightly and grinning goofily. "Aiight…I think we should go home, people…Practice, yeh know."

"Harry, it's Sunday," Oliver reminded him, a bit more sober than Harry was.

"Oh, riiiight…" Harry said thoughtfully. "But I really fink we should be going home…"

"I think so too," Oliver said firmly, always the voice of reason, and the others groaned in unison. "We'll pass out here and find ourselves thrown in some dumpster if we don't go. I think they're closing."

And he was right. Oliver glanced at his watch; it was already 2 am. Laughing and talking loudly, the group supported each other as they shuffled out of Escape.

* * *

A/N - I hope this chapter deserves a review from the lurkers =P Peace!

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7. Confusion

A/N - I would've posted this chapter sooner, three days after the last update in fact, but Portkey wasn't accepting MS word, and I was too lazy to makee an HTML document. But, thank you for all the reviews! Each and everyone of them made me smile, and when I finished reading all of them, I actually got up to do a little victory dance. THANK YOU! You guys seriously rock. Keep the reviews coming, lol. Anyway…I'm glad you all like the pairings so far. And I know the kiss was a little too early, but you'll see why. Also, who are hoping for a relationship between Harry and Hermione any time soon, sorry. I can't make it that easy, it seems wrong to ME. Lol. I'm evil, remember? There's some Abby/Seamus in this chapter, hope you'll enjoy! And as always, let me know what you think.

P.S - I have no clue where the D/G secret thing came from. The characters just have a mind of their own I guess. =P I was just going to have them meet after all those years and stuff, but they totally refused. Apparently, they were even keeping it a secret from ME. =/

Okay, I'll shut up now.

* * *

Chapter 7 - Confusion

"Ohhhhh..."

"Huh…"

…

"HUH?!" Stare. Scream. Punch. And then some.

"Ow. Ow. Okay, that's enough. OW! Stop it, Hermione!"

"SHUT UP!" Hermione flapped her arms around wildly and hit him smack in the face.

"Yeah, go on, look like a fish, flap those fins. It's not very attractive, just so you know." Grumbles. Rubs face.

"Ughh...Get off of me!"

Thud.

Hermione crawled across and poked her head off the bed to look down at the figure on the floor, her eyes bleary. "What the hell are you doing in my bed?"

"This is MY bed," he stated, still lying on his back on the floor, spread-eagle, blinking up at her. "And this is my room. Look at my mug over there," he pointed at his desk. "Doesn't it say 'Adam'?"

Hermione rolled over, groaning, but she was relieved all her clothes were still intact. It seemed like they'd just stumbled into the room and went to sleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows. She didn't have a lot to drink, but then again, she didn't really have a lot of tolerance against alcohol either.

Adam finally sat up and slowly slithered onto the bed. "Thanks for making my head-ache even worse."

"You're welcome," emerged Hermione's muffled response from beneath the pillow. "I need some sobering potion..."

"Oliver must be making some downstairs," he muttered, throwing an arm over her waist as she lay on her stomach. "Get some, and try to find who hit me with the damn truck."

"I seriously hope we didn't do anything last night," she looked up, frowning.

"I don't think we did," Adam waved a hand between them; they were both wearing last night's clothes.

"Good," she got up, letting Adam's arm slide off her as she did so. The movement of getting out of the bed was making her see stars in front of her eyes. She winced as she brought a hand to her forehead and dragged herself to the door. She got out and closed the door behind her, but froze when she saw Harry on the landing, his hands placed on the railing. When he heard a door close, though, he turned around and saw Hermione. His lips started to spread into a smile before he noticed her disheveled state and where she'd emerged from. His eyes widened slightly, and the smile faded.

"Harry—" Hermione started to say.

He walked away, his expression stony, when Oliver called his name and went down the stairs.

Hermione, biting her lip, followed him downstairs. Oliver handed her a goblet and she nodded in thanks before gulping it and making a face. "Thanks, I think."

Oliver grinned. "You'll feel better in no time," he told her. "And Hermione...you look terrible."

"I feel terrible," she grumbled as she climbed back upstairs to her room. She could talk to Harry later.

As she stood in front of the bathroom mirror, she almost didn't recognize herself. Her mascara ran down her cheeks, and her eyes were puffy. What bothered her most though, was that her lipstick was smeared, and her lips rather swollen. Not to mention the fact that there wasn't an inch of the dress that wasn't wrinkled. Hermione barely moved in her sleep.

She touched her lips cautiously, her face falling. She and Adam might not have had sex, but it looked like they'd had a heavy make out session. She didn't like this at all. No wonder Harry was looking at her like that. She couldn't forget the expression on his face...Like he'd been betrayed.

What was that all about?

Alright, so they'd kissed. Did those kisses mean as much to him as they did to her? Why her, though? He could have ANY girl he wanted...

Hermione had felt a powerful connection between them in those two kisses, but it still didn't make sense to her why Harry Potter himself would want someone like her. It all felt so surreal.

During the rest of the day, whenever she'd tried to talk to Harry, they either got interrupted, or he just sort of avoided her eyes and frowned, ignoring her presence.

"And they say women make hasty assumptions," she grumbled under her breath after another failed attempt of trying to talk to him in the living room, and watched as he walked out with his hands shoved in his pockets.

God, he has such a fine-looking arse, though.

* * *

"This is rather annoying," Abby muttered as she left the bathroom, wiping her mouth with a tissue.

"Sorry, love," Ginny looked up from her newspaper and smiled sympathetically.

"Yesterday I threw up 'til 6 in the evening. It's a mystery to me why they call it morning sickness," she sat down behind her desk and sighed deeply.

"It should stop soon...I heard the vomiting usually goes on for the first three months or so."

Abby nodded darkly, just as the door leading to their offices opened. "It better stop."

"What better stop?" Seamus smiled as he walked in, and Abby gaped.

"Seamus?"

"I should think so," he grinned.

"Smartass," Abby laughed, and got up so she could give him a hug. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to take you out to lunch," he declared.

"What?" Abby said, blinking, rather taken aback.

"It's almost lunch-time; aren't you going to eat?"

"Well, yes, but—"

"So I came to take you," he tilted his head, his brown eyes twinkling at her.

"I'm sorry, Seamus," Abby smiled apologetically at him. "I still have a lot of work to do, and I don't feel all that good."

"Well, aren't you going to eat?" He pointed out, refusing to back down.

"I already brought my lunch," she waved at the brown bag at a corner of her desk.

"Well, I—"

"I'm sorry, Seamus," Abby said firmly. "It was nice of you to drop by, though. Thank you."

"Maybe some other time, then," he kissed her cheek, smiling. "I'm not giving up quite yet," he added softly. "Bye, Gin." He waved as he left, and Abby collapsed on her chair, sighing.

"It wouldn't have hurt to go out for lunch with him," Ginny said, frowning. "He's a great guy, Abby."

"I thought Anthony was a great guy, too. And look where it got me."

"You have to move on. Are you going to stay single for the rest of your life?"

"I'm not ready, okay?" She snapped. "I'm already trying to deal with this on my own and I'm not ready for another man in my life."

Ginny was going to say something else, but just nodded silently, and went back to her work.

"I'm sorry," Abby sighed, swiftly changing from angry to sad. "It's those mood swings...They're driving me crazy."

"I understand," Ginny smiled.

"So why aren't YOU with someone?" Abby asked, crossing her legs as she bit into a sandwich. "I've never seen you go out with anyone since I started working here."

Ginny smirked. "I have been in a relationship for about six months now."

"Honestly?" Abby raised her eyebrows and sat up. "Who is he?"

"We're kind of keeping a low profile right now..." Ginny said, trying to avoid the question. "My brother will freak if he finds out about him."

"Who is he, Draco Malfoy?" Abby joked, but when Ginny didn't laugh, she stared at her. "Draco Malfoy?"

"I'd appreciate it if you kept that to yourself," Ginny said uncomfortably.

"I will, but, six months? That's kinda long for a secret relationship..."

"I know," she shrugged. "I'm going to tell Ron soon enough, even if Draco doesn't want me to."

"Are you...in love with him?"

"Yes," Ginny blushed. "Most people think of him as an arsehole, but he's really not that bad."

Abby smirked. "In bed?"

"You could say that," Ginny laughed. "But seriously, he's not that bad. He can be a total teddy bear when he wants to be, but that doesn't happen too often."

Abby grinned. "I'm really happy for you, Gin."

"Thanks. I just hope Ron won't be too pissed. Not to mention Fred, George, Charlie, Bill..."

"Crap," Abby blinked at her. "These are all your brothers?"

"Indeed. You should meet them sometime. We Weasleys are a riot."

* * *

"I think I'll go see Abby after practice," Hermione mentioned to Jess the next morning, sipping her coffee.

"I'll come with you." Jess nodded and leaned sideways to whisper in Hermione's ear, "Just what is it with you and Harry?"

"What is it?" Hermione asked as innocently as she could, and cleared her throat when Jess gave her a dirty look. "Nothing, Jess. And I mean that literally," she said so only Jess could hear.

"You're not getting away so fast," Jess shook her head, and Hermione sighed.

* * *

"—then he just walked away," Hermione finished, frowning.

"Wow," Abby raised her eyebrows. "Are you absolutely sure you didn't sleep with Adam?"

"Yes," Hermione frowned, and then let her face fall. "I don't know…I mean we both had our clothes on…"

"I doubt you two got up after having sex to put your clothes on," Jess said, blowing on her nails. "And…this is my brother we're talking about, so I'd rather be kept blissfully ignorant."

Hermione felt her mind slightly at ease. Jess's reasoning did make sense. So Adam and her couldn't have slept together. What a relief. She wanted to actually remember her first time, at least. But now, thinking about it, it was rather stupid to think her and Adam had done it. There would've been some kind of pain, or soreness, but there was none of that in the morning. And again, there was the fact that they both had their clothes on.

"So now…who do you like?" Jess asked curiously. "Adam or Harry?"

"I don't know," Hermione said helplessly. "I like both of them and that sounds really…I don't know. I'm confused…You know, I think me and Adam sort of snogged last night…"

Abby raised her eyebrows. "Really?"

"Well, my lipstick was extremely messed up this morning and I didn't see any on the pillows…"

"On Adam?"

Hermione frowned, pondering this. "Now that you mention it, I didn't even see his face properly this morning. I went to get some sobering potion right after I woke up."

"I still can't believe you drank," Abby giggled.

"I know," the other brunette shook her head. "I don't think I've ever gotten this drunk before."

"It was fun, though," Jess said, turning so her legs rested on one arm of the chair, and her back on the other. "We should do it more often."

"That's what Seamus said," Abby said before she could stop herself.

"Really?" Jess smirked, and sat up slightly. "Tell us more."

Abby bit her lip. "He kind of came over to the office today…"

"And?"

"He wanted to take me out for lunch."

"And you refused," Hermione sighed.

Abby nodded and shrugged. "Like I told Ginny, I'm not ready yet."

"That's understandable."

"You know, you should really talk to Harry," Abby said after a while.

"He keeps ignoring me! He didn't even look at me at practice today. And I didn't even do anything."

"He just needs time to cool down," Jess told her. "He's a really stubborn kid, too. Maybe you should wait for a bit."

"Let's just hope he does cool down…" Hermione bit her lip, pausing. "I don't even know why I care so much about having him know that nothing happened."

Jess and Abby shared a look, and then Abby shrugged, a small smirk playing on her lips.

"I thought it was obvious, love."

* * *

Word Count: 1943

Pages: 6.5

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8. Jealous

A/N - Thanks for all the reviews, guys! ^_^ This chapter jumps a week from the previous one, and then tells about the next couple of months, because I want to speed it up a bit. I have a new character I want to add, and I just can't wait to get him in there. The humor's really gonna start when he comes in lol. By the way, let me know which pairings you would like to see more of; it helps me think of what to input for this and this pairing…Also, I'd love all the feedback I can get, and I would try and use any of the ideas you'd suggest. Having about six pairings can be a bit confusing lol. Anyway, enjoy. =)

Oh, and sit tight, lol. The smut's coming, although it's not in this chapter.

Chapter 8 - Jealous

Ginny stirred a bit in her boyfriend's arms and turned around to face his sleeping form. She smiled, moving his bangs off his forehead and gently kissed his nose.

"Gin…" Draco murmured, tightening his hold on her and pulled her bare figure closer against his.

"Good morning," she whispered, moving her hand down his arm from his shoulder.

"'Morning," he smiled lazily, his eyes still closed as she kissed a trail down his neck. He ran his fingertips slowly up and down her back, before cupping her bottom with one hand and burying his other in her glorious red hair. Ginny leaned up and kissed him hard before pulling away and sliding off the bed.

"It's late," she said softly when he grasped her wrist and attempted to pull her back to bed. "I have to go to work, and so do you."

Draco frowned, refusing to release her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," she twisted free and grabbed her underwear from the floor. "I just have to go to work."

"Come on, Ginny," he sat up, the rumpled sheets covering him from the waist down. "You've been like this forever now, and I want to know what's bothering you."

Ginny sighed and turned around, clasping her bra securely before pulling on a shirt. "I want to tell Ron."

Draco groaned, rolling his eyes. "Not that again."

Ginny's eyes flared to life and she crossed her arms challengingly. "'Not that again'? Just when do you plan on telling him, Draco, or anyone else? It's like you're ashamed of me or something, and I'm honestly sick of it."

"Ginny, I'm hardly ashamed of you," he sighed, rubbing his face.

"Then what are you scared of, huh? Ron? You know he'll resent it at first, but since there's nothing he can do, he'll accept it."

"Please, Gin, let's wait. Just a little longer."

Ginny stared at him, breathing hard, her mouth slightly open. She shook her head a bit. "Get out."

"…What?"

"Get the hell out of my face, Malfoy. And until you're ready to tell everyone about us, don't come back." She turned her back on him, and after a few seconds, heard some scuffling, him probably gathering his clothes, and then the angry slam of her bedroom door.

* * *

"Harry, we need to talk."

"What about?"

"About...well, you know, when you saw me coming out of Adam's room, and you thought..."

Harry frowned and looked away. "Oh, that. Well, I really must say, Hermione, I didn't think you were a slut."

NO! NO, NO, NO!

Hermione's fist stopped a few inches from the wooden door as she pictured that, eyes wide and her heart beating like she'd run a marathon. "No," she whispered to herself, her expression falling as she backed away from the door and went back to her own room, adrenaline still pounding through her veins.

"I saw that," Jess scowled at her, standing by the entrance to Hermione's bedroom, her arms folded sternly across her bosom. "You really need to get a move on, woman. It's been over a week."

"I—I can't," Hermione said woefully, sinking down onto her bed, and pressed her fingers to her lips.

"We're a team," Jess said firmly. "You can't live under the same roof with him and not converse."

"I try and converse, thanks. But hey," she waved her arms. "I'm invisible! It's like he neither sees nor hears me. I walk into a room, he leaves. I try to greet him, he's suddenly deaf. Just what do you want me to do?"

"I could talk to him," Jess said hopefully, her eyebrows shooting up.

"For the six millionth time, no, Jess," Hermione shook her head, and plopped down on her back, while her feet still rested on the floor. "If he wants to be obstinate, let him. I really don't care anymore. I'll play his game."

Jess merely shook her head and left her friend to it.

So, it started. Harry and Hermione avoided each other's presence as much as they could, although this was hard, since they had practice and meals together. However, in the times they had to communicate in some way, it was rather brief, formal and slightly curt. This was starting to bother the rest of the team, since apart from Jess, no one else really knew what was going on.

Meanwhile, though, Adam and Hermione were getting closer as the latter and Harry fell further apart. Hermione found herself often in the library or watching a late night movie when Adam would join her, and they'd start talking animatedly. Hermione felt glad she had a least some sort of distraction from the unsettling thoughts about Harry, but she was starting to take quite a liking to Adam. Although he was a complete flirt, he was sweet and funny, and he seemed to share her feelings, but Hermione didn't dare ask. This was confirmed, however, after the first month had passed since she'd joined, and Adam asked her to have dinner with him. A second of hesitation, but she'd agreed. And when she saw the look Harry gave her the next time she saw him after that, she could tell what he was thinking like he'd told her straight out. That his suspicions were true; that she did indeed, sleep with Adam and that was the reason for him asking her out.

Hermione was angry at both herself and Harry Potter, but she didn't know how to approach him with the subject without fearing he'd tell her she was a complete slut. She would rightfully deny it of course, but it wouldn't change the fact that he said that if she did talk to him. And so, she ended up not saying anything, until dear old Ron stepped in.

"Just what is the deal with the two of you?" He demanded once when she was reading in the library.

Hermione looked up, genuinely bewildered. "Sorry?"

"You and Harry," he said impatiently. "What's happened with the two of you?"

"Nothing," she lied quickly, and averted her eyes from Ron's probing glare.

"Nothing, my bloody arse," he scowled at her and pulled out a chair to sit across her defiantly. "You know, this is really starting to get on my nerves. BOTH you and Harry are denying something's wrong, when there most certainly is."

Hermione rubbed her forehead with a hand. "Harry thinks I slept with Adam."

"You—you what?" Ron spluttered, staring at her.

"I didn't," she snapped. "I didn't sleep with Adam, but he thinks so. It's all a big misunderstanding and I would explain, but he won't even listen to what I have to say."

"But," Ron said thoughtfully. "It's really none of his business, is it?"

"No," Hermione agreed. "You're right. But…I just don't know."

"Why does he think you shagged Adam, exactly?"

Hermione glared at him at the choice of words, and then rolled her eyes. "Remember that night at the club when we all got back drunk?" When he nodded, she continued, "Well, I somehow ended up sleeping in Adam's bed, but we didn't do anything. Then when I walked out of his room the next morning, Harry saw me."

"And assumed the worst," Ron nodded slowly, leaning back against his chair. "Are you absolutely sure you and Adam—"

"Yes," Hermione cut him off abruptly. "I'm not stupid."

"I'm not saying that. I mean, you know, you guys were drunk, and—"

"Ron, I'm completely sure alright?" She said impatiently, crossing her arms. "We were both fully clothed."

"Good," Ron said thoughtfully. "Well…I dunno, really. Are you sure you don't want me to talk to Harry?"

"Don't say anything to him," she said firmly. "He's being a total git; he'll come to his senses."

The redhead grinned at her. "Alright, then. I'm going to bed," he stifled a yawn. "Tired."

"Good night, Ron," Hermione smiled as he left, and buried her nose in the book again. After about an hour, she'd finished, and put it down in satisfaction. "Good book," she murmured, placing it back in its rightful place before going to the kitchen. The clock told her it was almost two in the morning, although she was wide awake. She started fixing herself a midnight snack, humming a soft tune.

Unbeknownst to her, Harry had come down with the same intention, and was now watching her from the doorway as her hips swayed, oblivious to his presence. A smile played at his lips and he leaned his shoulder against the door-frame, crossing his arms.

She turned around, now singing some muggle song he could not even make out the words from; she was practically mumbling them. She was halfway to the refrigerator when she spotted him, and almost dropped the plate she was holding. "Harry!" she gasped. "You scared me!"

He couldn't suppress the grin that spread over his face. "Sorry, I couldn't resist."

"Jeez," she muttered, opening the refrigerator door and grabbing the mayonnaise as he left his stance and came further in before hopping onto a counter. "Did you want something?"

"I was going to fix a snack, too."

"Well," she hesitated. "I was making a sandwich, do you want one?"

"Would you mind?"

She shook her head, before cutting cucumber.

Harry pursed his lips, staring at the tiled floor, his palms planted firmly on either side of him.

A few minutes later, Hermione handed him his plate, and he gave her a grateful smile. To his dismay, she didn't even look at him. He supposed he couldn't really blame her, after the way he'd been acting.

"Hermione—"

"I didn't sleep with Adam," she said suddenly, glaring at her plate.

Harry was taken aback. "What?"

"I mean…I slept in his bed, but…but I didn't actually sleep with him." Aware that she was making a fool out of herself, Hermione brought her free hand up to her face and closed her eyes, emitting a soft groan.

When Harry didn't say anything she was forced to look up. He was staring blankly ahead; Hermione didn't know what to make of it.

"Is that why you were angry with me? I mean—" she cut her sentence off, not knowing what else to say. How did this happen? It was probably something totally different, and here she was, making it sound like she thought he was obsessed over her, or something. "I'm sorry, I—"

"What are you apologizing for?" Harry sighed deeply, putting his plate down and sliding off the counter, still refusing to make eye contact. "I'm the one at fault, really. It's not even any of my business…but I still got mad."

"Why?" she asked softly, and he looked at her, his emerald eyes holding a trace of confusion.

"I don't know."

She didn't know why, but her heart fell at his words. She bit her lip, and then nodded, slowly lowering her own plate.

"I really…I don't know," he said helplessly. "I guess I was…"

"You were…?" Hermione raised her eyebrows inquisitively when he hesitated and trailed off uncertainly.

"Jealous."

R&R!

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9. Revelations

Chapter 9 - Revelations

The Trouble with Love - Kelly Clarkson

The trouble with love is

It can tear you up inside

Make your heart believe a lie

It's stronger than your pride.

The trouble with love is

It doesn't care how fast you fall

And you can't refuse the call

See, you got no say at all…

* * *

Harry's POV

"Jealous."

There, it was out. He'd finally said it.

Harry felt kind of relieved, but mentally cringed. How would she react? She looked so shocked right now; was she repulsed by his confession? Did she never want to see him again or something? But hadn't she expected it? Harry felt something for her, that was for sure, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. He cared about her a lot, that was what he knew for sure, although he wasn't yet sure if it was The Big L Word yet or not. He'd never been in love before, he had no clue what it felt like, and he didn't want to tell her he did when all could go downhill from there if he realized later that it had only been a passing infatuation. Although with her he had this unique connection he'd never felt with anyone before. He still remembered those two small kisses they'd shared that night, and he knew they had some major chemistry going on. Sparks had definitely flown then, but then she'd somehow ended up in Adam's bed, and he'd stupidly drawn false conclusions about that misinterpreting scene.

Harry knew now that it was a total misunderstanding and hated the fact that a whole two months had been wasted because of his obstinacy and foolishness. He'd blown things completely out of proportion and he knew he was to blame. He'd automatically assumed she'd slept with the Beater, but the swell of her lips and her terribly creased clothes didn't help him think otherwise. Harry definitely knew that it wasn't because of him that Hermione was in that state. Their kisses were totally innocent, and he'd felt rejuvenated after the experience; he felt so alive. He knew that it was because of Adam that morning that her lips were so swollen. He would've thought her sexy in that disheveled state if he hadn't been disgusted by the fact that she had been in his bed that night, thinking they'd done what he did not want to think about, but found it was hard to not to, because he was burning up inside.

It was the thought that Adam had been with her like that had burned him up, and the past two months or so, not being able to talk to her properly, was torture. And then Adam had to go and ask her out; the icing on the cake; torture on top of torture. He was fuming inside with jealousy, but didn't know what to do about it. He'd never been in this position before. He'd been jealous before, over a few girls, but it was never this intense. He'd never felt like he wanted to rip out the bloke's insides and shove it up his arse; he'd always let go after a short while. It was completely different with Hermione though. Harry just couldn't let go. The knowledge that Adam had her, could kiss her and hold her all he liked, when Harry himself couldn't was enough to make him go crazy. And it scared him. How was one woman capable of doing so much damage? Thinking about it though, he was the one who had been doing all the damaging. If he hadn't been so damned pig-headed she would probably have been his right now. NOT Adam's…That thought alone was eating him up inside. Adam's… Funny how an apostrophe and the letter s added to some other man's name could have such an affect on him. Especially since that man was Adam. Since when had he become so competitive?

Hermione could be the end of him. Lord.

None of them had been worth it, but he knew Hermione was the moment he met her. She was the only person he knew who hadn't gone all wide-eyed and enamored when she met him, him being the, er, hero of the wizarding world, of course. As he'd mentioned to Jess, she hadn't even glanced at his scar. She was the only one who'd taken him at face value, and not by the fact that he was Harry Potter, the boy who lived.

True, she was a bit plain than what he would usually go for, but she was special. And she was gorgeous. She hardly put on any make-up, and her hair was usually unkempt and pulled up into a messy bun or ponytail, but he found that that natural beauty turned him on more than anything else had before. Her hair wasn't down often, and it made him wonder how it would feel with him running his fingers through it leisurely. How it would feel to breathe in her scent. He knew if he had the chance to touch her like that, he would be touching her forever and beyond. She'd caught him staring at her a couple of times, when she'd twirl a ringlet around her finger as she read, or bit her lip unconsciously in a way that made his stomach do double somersaults.

Just who am I trying to kid? I'm totally and completely hooked. And loving it too. Just like I love her.

She was doing that now, nibbling her lip in an innocently seductive way that it was hard not to grab her right there and press his lips to hers.

Merlin, please don't do that…

He swallowed hard, trying to concentrate on the matter at hand, and not on the way she kept troubling her lip, surprised it hadn't started to bleed yet. They were both silent, urging the other to say something to break the unnerving silence, but nothing escaped from between their lips.

"Say something," he whispered hoarsely after a few unbearably long minutes, and she pursed her lips, crossing her arms over her chest and fidgeted slightly. He could almost see the wheels turn in her head as she tried to pull it together before answering him with a question of her own.

"What do you want me to say, Harry?" she asked him softly, and he was confused by her expression. She looked almost…crestfallen.

"I don't know," he admitted, running a hand quickly through his hair.

"It's too late," she declared quietly. "You don't hold the right to be jealous; you never have."

The words stung, and they stung badly too, because he knew she was right. She always was. Hermione pushed past him, but his quick reflexes allowed him to grab hold of her wrist and pull her back flush against his chest.

"Maybe it's not too late," he whispered, his arm circling her waist firmly and kept it there as she stared up at him with wide eyes.

"Yes, it is," she broke eye contact, her hands trapped against his chest and fixed her gaze upon them.

"No," he brought a hand up and placed his fist gently underneath her chin to lift it up, and felt a tiny involuntary tremor run through her. "Hermione…"

Her eyes fluttered close, and he took this as a cue to kiss her, but it was so much more passionate than their first kiss. Their mouths moved sensually against each other before Harry slid his tongue into her mouth and proceeded to explore the insides of her mouth. Hermione's hands were buried in his hair, and the sensation of her tongue rubbing against his was steadily driving him to oblivion. It was too much. He pressed her against the counter, a hand pulling at the hair-band that held her doubled-up ponytail together. Her hair tumbled down and he was going to run his fingers through the glorious mass, going to fulfill his wish, before Hermione pulled away, breathing hard and looking stricken, her hands sliding down slowly to rest on his shoulders.

Harry frowned, searching her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Harry, I'm with Adam," she said, trying to pull away from him, but Harry would have none of it and only tightened his hold on her, sandwiching her form between him and the counter.

"Leave him," he said breathlessly, his eyes looking down passionately into hers.

"It's not that easy, okay?" The marble on top of the counter was starting to dig into her lower back, and she tried pushing at Harry's chest again, without success. "Harry," she said his name in a feeble protest, getting weak-kneed again when he kissed her softly.

"Hermione, I want you," he said huskily against her neck, and the words made Hermione's heart skip a beat.

"Harry, please," she whispered desperately, knowing she would die with guilt if she didn't stop him now. "Please, just let me go…"

This time he did step away, his expression grim. "You're not getting away so easily," was all he said before he left the kitchen.

* * *

"Just like that?" Abby asked, her thin eyebrows raised.

"Just like that," Ginny confirmed sullenly, looking at her hands. "I haven't heard from him since last week, Abby."

"He's blind if he doesn't see how special you are, love," the brunette said firmly.

"Thanks," Ginny smiled ruefully. "He's just so proud though," she scoffed. "I bet he expects me to go back to him or something. That is so not happening."

"Judging how Ron was smiling when he'd gone in there," Abby said in a hushed voice, jerking her head toward the closed office door, "he certainly hasn't been told."

"I know," the pretty redhead grumbled. "I was surprised when he was here; I thought he'd come to tell me off or something."

"What about, dear sister?" Ron asked out of the blue, his arm hooked with Luna's.

"I don't know," Ginny shrugged indifferently. "You always have something to yell at me about."

Her brother shrugged.

"Ronald and I are going out for lunch," Luna smiled dreamily, positively glowing, and the other two women couldn't help but smile. They made a cute, albeit strange couple.

"Are you two officially together yet?" Abby asked.

Ron's ears turned red, but Luna had it all in control and shook her head solemnly. "Not yet," she said.

"Well, have fun, kids," Ginny waved, glad to see her brother happy. "Heard from Seamus lately?" she asked after the pair had gone.

Abby winced, lowering the sandwich that had been halfway to her mouth down slowly before she answered. "Too much, in fact. I somehow keep bumping into him everywhere…Even though I know he's not the type of guy who would stalk someone, you know? But I won't be surprised if I found him starting to drop at my apartment now too."

"You know, he wouldn't be doing this if he didn't really like you. I know him," she added at Abby's incredulous expression. "Cut him some slack."

"I don't want to," Abby told her flatly, leaning back in her chair.

"You won't be sworn off men forever, you know."

"Shut up, for Merlin's sake," she snapped suddenly. "Going on and on about Seamus. I don't want him, period. I don't know why he seems interested in me, now that I've really started to bulge, but I'd rather not find out."

Ginny looked rather taken aback at the sudden mood swing, and Abby exhaled deeply, closing her eyes. "He's not that type of guy," the redhead told her gently when she was sure Abby won't start jumping down her throat again.

"I don't care," the brunette said wearily. "I'm not ready for relationships yet."

And it was true; she wasn't ready. However much Seamus attracted her, she didn't want to be in a relationship right now. She had to focus on the baby. God knew what would happen if she got hurt again, and in this state too.

"And I don't like living alone," Ginny grumbled. "My roommate left for Scotland last week, and she won't be coming back. And now without Draco around, the apartment's scary sometimes."

Abby's eyes widened. "Move in with me!"

"What?"

"Move in with me! It's perfect. We both need roommates, and I have the room…God knows your apartment isn't much bigger than my butt-crack…"

Ginny stared at her for a few seconds before shaking her head and laughing. "It's not that tiny. Unless your butt-crack's super size or something…but you know, it sounds convenient. And I'm kind of having trouble paying the rent and bills, since May and I used to share."

"I know what you mean," Abby nodded. "And my apartment's closer to work too, not that it matters."

"It's going to be great," Ginny gushed. "We'll have more time to talk, instead of just at work. It sucks being lonely."

"Especially now since I'm not there?" A drawl from the doorway had both their heads turned swiftly, and Ginny's eyes widened.

"Draco?"

"Yes."

Ginny bit her lip, chancing a quick glance at Abby, who was nibbling on her sandwich, pretending not to exist.

"Listen, Draco—" Ginny started, but he held up his hand.

"I'm not here to waste my time. Is Lovegood in?"

Ginny drew herself up in her chair, glaring at him defiantly. "Don't flatter yourself," she rolled her eyes, effectively hiding the hurt that was gnawing at her heart. "No, she's not in," she replied formally, drawing a few sheets toward her and refusing to elaborate further.

"Well?" he frowned, coming in further. "Where is she?"

"Not that it's any of your business," Abby piped up, her eyes narrowed. "But she's out, having lunch. You could do us all a favor and get out."

Draco opened his mouth to retort, but snapped it shut again. It wouldn't do well to anger a pregnant at all, he reasoned. It wasn't because he didn't want to make a bad impression in front of Ginny's friend. He cleared his throat.

"Fine. I'd appreciate it if you'd let her know that I had come to speak to her on Harry's behalf, about the article the Quibbler posted about us yesterday," he said civilly, although his eyes were as cold as ice as Abby responded with a curt nod. Then he turned back to Ginny, who refused to even look at him as she flipped through some papers. He snatched them out of her hand, and she looked up at him, slack-jawed, barely registering that Abby slipped into the washroom to give them some privacy.

"Let's go and have lunch," he stated, and Ginny just stared at him before regaining her composure.

"I already had lunch," she replied scathingly. "Thank you. And besides, what makes you think I'd go with you anyway?"

Draco sighed and ran a hand through his hair, the barely-there lost look in his eyes reminding of the Draco she knew so well. She pursed her lips and looked away, because she knew if she looked into his piercing eyes she knew she'd give into anything. However she tried though, she knew if he put his mind to it, he would drag her to Pluto. But she planned to stand her ground as much as she could.

"Gin," he bent his form and leaned his forearms on her desk, his gorgeous eyes urging her to look at him, but her own blue eyes fixed onto the computer screen like she found that more interesting. "Ginny, look at me," he reached out and pressed his fingertips gently to the side of her face, but she pulled away and leaned back against her chair, crossing her arms.

"Just go away, Draco," she whispered, defeated.

"Come on, love, we can work this out," he said, coming around her desk slowly and watching as her features twist to accommodate the expression of disbelief.

"Work this out?" she asked him, shaking her head. "Work this out? After you came in here and snubbed me in front of my friend? I thought you were better than that, Draco."

"I know," he said, and she heard the sincere remorse in his voice as he kneeled down, turning her computer chair so he could look up into her face. "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking."

Ginny snapped her eyes from her lap at that. Draco never, ever apologized if he could help it. As if in a daze, she allowed him to take her hand in his and lace their fingers together, and then placing a small kiss on each of her knuckles.

"I missed you so much this week. I was going crazy."

"I missed you too," she replied truthfully, touching his cheek. "You can be such a prick sometimes…"

Draco chuckled softly, turning his head a bit to kiss her palm. "You want to get out of here?"

Ginny fixed a stern look on him, and he voiced her thoughts with a sigh and a nod.

"We'll tell Ron, if it's what you want."

"Only Ron?" She pressed.

"The whole world."

Ginny smiled at her lover, running her fingers through his hair gently before leaning down to kiss him hard on the mouth, her hair falling down to surround their faces.

"If Abby wasn't here I would've taken you right here, on your desk," he said gruffly after they'd broken apart.

"Speaking of Abby…" Ginny giggled. "Abby, it's safe now," she called out loudly, turning her head to see the brunette leaving the washroom with a grumpy look on her face.

"It's about time too. I was wondering"

"Sorry," Ginny said apologetically.

"I assume you two made up?" the pregnant woman asked, waving off the apology, one hand on her stomach as she sat back down.

"Definitely," Draco grinned, getting to his feet, still holding onto his girlfriend's hand. He turned to Ginny. "Do you have a lot of work?"

"And then some."

"So I'll see you tonight?" He asked her softly, his eyes narrowed, and Ginny bit her lip, smiling. "I'll come by at about seven…we'll go out."

"Okay," she pulled him down for another kiss before she allowed him to go. "We're going to tell Ron," she informed.

"Well, good luck. You think he'll take it really badly?"

"Oh, you have no idea, Abby. No idea."

* * *

Meanwhile, Ron and Luna were stuck in a rather uncomfortable silence, not knowing what to say. Ron played around with his food a bit, his head bent, although managed to peek a few glances at her. The blonde was pretty much doing the same. Ron found his fingers itching to reach out and push the strand of hair from her cheek to the back of her ear.

It was really astounding how she'd blossomed from that dreamy little Ravenclaw who no one paid any heed, to a woman who attracted more than a second glance and whose presence demanded respect. Ron wondered how he'd never noticed it before; wondered why he used to be so wary around her when she could be the easiest person to talk to, despite her strange ways; wondered why he'd never noticed just how smart and beautiful she really was.

With a few minutes of debating with himself, he finally gave into temptation.

Luna looked up in surprise when she felt calloused fingers carefully tucking the lock behind her ear and lingering there. He was looking at her so intently; she couldn't help but be drawn into his eyes.

"I…" He started hoarsely, and then cleared his throat before continuing. "I really like you, Luna."

Luna just smiled at him and wrapped her fingers around the wrist that held her cheek.

"I like you too, Ronald."

* * *

A/N - Loved the responses for last chapter; thanks for all the feedback, guys. To respond to a couple of reviews (because I'm too lazy to reply individually, and I want everyone to read this): Yes, I'm a girl. And yes, I know I have a lot of plots going on, and I'm sorry if ya'll are getting confused, but I think it just makes stuff interesting, and if you get bored of one couple, there's always the other to wonder about, you know? Still, if you don't like the notion, and more people agree that there's way too much going on all at once, I'll definitely try and tune it down a bit. And I appreciated the constructive criticism all the same. Helps me stay humble =) I know chapters are a bit short, please be patient with me.

About the pairings, I found that the most popular pairings were H/Hr (d'oh), D/G, and R/L. (I'm afraid I'll start to sound like some kind of announcer from here) There was also a scatter of Abby/Seamus and surprisingly, a couple of Adam/Hr fans. There was also one Adam fan! I was surprised, since everyone seemed to hate him. And sorry (or not =P), the angst is going to draw out a bit longer, can't have them getting together that easily…just stick with me, it's going to be interesting I swear. Also, PLEASE take a few seconds to review! I aim to reach over 300 reviews this time!

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10. Confrontations and Penises

A/N - So, so sorry! I know I promised fast updates, but, well, things don't go like we want them to, lol. I have a full-time job now, so I don't get much time for myself, let alone write. But yeah, I typed this out in like, half an hour, but I think I caught all the mistakes. If not, sorry. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. Thank you so much for all the reviews, guys! THANK YOU SO MUCH! Yes, I want to get my point across. But, seriously. If not for all your encouragement, I would not be able to go on. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated; flames too, but I don't pay much attention to these, if you're aiming to put me down. Anyway, you asked for the confrontation between Ginny/Draco and Ronnie, here it is! Next chapter, you will get Hermione's POV, and the "OMG, WHY is she with Adam?!?!1111" question shall be answered. =P Please review!

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Someday We'll be Together - Diana Ross and the Supremes

My love is yours, baby

Oh, right from the start

You, you, you posses my soul now honey

And I know, I know you own my heart

And I wanna say:

Someday we'll be together

Some sweet day we'll be together

Yes we will, yes we will

Someday (tell everybody) we'll be together

Yes we will, yes we will

Chapter 10: Confrontations and Penises

"Malfoy! Concentrate!" Harry barked, flying past Draco, who was clutching his shoulder painfully. The Bludger had hit him when he wasn't paying attention, too concerned with his own worrying thoughts to take heed to Harry.

"I need a time-out!" He hollered.

"What for? You're perfectly fine!"

Draco flew closer so he could talk to Harry quietly. "I need a break, Potter. I can't even think straight, let alone play."

"What happened?"

"Me and Ginny are going to talk to Ron today."

"That's not my problem. What if there was a real match and—"

"Look, Harry," Draco interrupted softly but firmly, looking around once. "Let me off today. Just for today."

"Fine," Harry shook his head after considering it for a few seconds, eyeing his friend shrewdly. "You owe me."

Draco nodded, before zooming down and landing. The rest of the team was looking at Harry curiously.

"He has something to do," Harry stated. "Move it, everyone. We'll never beat Puddlemere at this rate!"

"WHAT?!"

Harry grinned. "Oh, I didn't tell you? We're playing Puddlemere. In two weeks."

Oliver looked ready to throttle him. "Two weeks? What are you, crazy?"

"Sorry…It was impromptu, really. I knew myself early this morning."

"And now Malfoy leaves us," Wood scowled. "Great."

"It's just for today; he has stuff on his mind."

"So do I, can I leave?" Jess cut in sarcastically.

"Uh…no," Harry cleared his throat, guiding his broom away. "Come on everyone, let's get back to work."

"Yeah, move it people," Oliver proclaimed, returning to his post. "We need to train."

* * *

"Mate, what the hell's wrong with you?" Ron actually stopped chewing, a sight to behold, to eye his blonde-haired friend, who was fidgeting nervously. At this question, the rest of the table turned their heads to look at Draco, who started to get irritated.

He sighed, rolling his eyes. "I just don't feel too good."

He pushed his chair back and left the room, massaging his temples.

"You'll be the end of me, Ginny," he muttered to himself angrily as he sat down on the living room couch.

Some time later, while he was still twiddling his thumbs and glancing at the clock, Hermione joined him.

"Hi," she greeted, smiling, plopping down beside him.

He grunted in reply.

"When's she coming?"

Silence, and then, "What?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Not what, Sherlock. Ginny; when's she coming?"

"Wait," the blonde looked confused. "Who the bloody hell's Sherlock?"

"A Muggle author," she waved a hand. "So tell me, when—"

"She's five minutes late," he growled, glaring at the clock.

"She'll get here."

"I hope not," he groaned, burying his face in his hands. "Ron'll kill me."

"It's been nice knowing you," she patted his shoulder sympathetically, trying not to laugh.

Draco paused, and then lifted his head and glowered at her. "Thanks, Granger. You're very encouraging."

"I try," she said, accentuating her reply with another firm pat on his shoulder before getting back up and heading to the library.

"You spend entirely too much time in there, you know," Draco called after her, shaking his head. "It's not healthy."

"What's going on?" Harry asked, appearing in the doorway.

"Enough questions, for Merlin's sake," Draco snapped. "I'm going crazy here…"

"Okay," Harry lifted his shoulders. "Where's Hermione?"

"I thought I said—never mind. In the library."

"Good luck, mate," Harry grinned at him before disappearing into the library. Hermione was flipping through a book, standing in front of a shelf. Harry walked up quietly behind her, his hands clasped behind his back as he leaned in close to her ear.

"Hi," he whispered, and Hermione jumped, the book almost toppling out of her grasp before Harry held it steady and handed it back to her.

"Harry!" She gasped, turning around, her eyes wide. "You frightened me!"

"Sorry," he smiled, and then glanced down at the title of the book. "What are you up to?" He asked, glancing down at the book in her hands.

"Just reading," she said uneasily, realizing how close they stood together. She tried to slip out sideways, but Harry reached out an arm and gripped the shelf so she couldn't go away.

Hermione looked up at him warningly. "Harry, not here."

"Not here what?" He asked innocently, his free hand moving to mimic his other arm, effectively trapping her.

"The other night was a mistake," she said firmly, ignoring him, and held the book tightly to her chest.

"You don't mean that," he said softly, his eyebrows drawing together gently. "Come on; don't tell me you didn't feel anything…"

"I'm not allowed to feel anything when I'm with you," she replied flatly. "I'm with Adam."

Harry's eyes flared. "Stop throwing him in my face. Who the hell do you think you're kidding? You don't even care about him."

"And how would you know that?" She bit back indignantly, drawing herself up. "Besides, that's not even the point. He's my boyfriend."

"And you two aren't even that serious."

"Yes, we are," she denied, although a bit unconvincingly.

"Does he make you feel good?" He asked, his fingers brushing against her waist as he leaned closer.

Hermione's breath caught. "N—Yes."

"Are you happy with him?"

"Yes," she said, her pride not allowing her to say otherwise.

Harry raised his eyebrows, leaning his face closer to hers as his eyes bore into hers. "So why is it that every time he tries to kiss you, you practically flinch away from him?"

Hermione's mouth opened but nothing came out. For once, she was speechless. And then suddenly she frowned, and opened her mouth again in attempt to throw the ball back at him, but Ron's voice suddenly burst out.

"WHAT?!"

Harry paled. "I suppose Ginny's here."

* * *

"I told you this was a bad idea," Draco muttered under his breath to Ginny before grimacing at Ron's murderous look. "Listen, mate—"

"Listen nothing," Ron fumed from his place in the armchair. "What—when did this happen?"

Draco and Ginny exchanged a fearful glance.

Ron crossed his arms, his ears now as red as his hair. "Well?"

"About seven months now," she said in a small voice, clasping her hands tightly in her lap. She winced when her response provoked another "WHAT?!" from her brother. "Ron, calm down," she said firmly.

"Like hell I will," Ron snarled. "I can't believe—"

"I'm a big girl now; I can handle myself. And what do you have against Draco anyway? He's your friend, isn't he?"

"I'll tell you what I have against him," he snapped. "He's a womanizer!"

"Hey now," Draco glowered at him. "I care about your sister, Weasley."

Ginny placed a hand on her boyfriend's arm. "Ron, you have to understand. Draco's my choice, okay? And he's your friend," she repeated. "I thought you would be more understanding than this—no, let me finish. You used to look out for me when I was younger—now too, of course, and I appreciate it—, but being over-protective now won't do anything. I'm not telling you about Draco and me so you'd have a say in this; I'm telling you just so you'd know and not be kept in the dark. I don't want you treating him differently because of this either." She reached out across the couch so she could grasp her brother's forearm, looking at him pleadingly. "Please, Ron? It would really mean so much to me if you accept this."

Ron hated that look. He could never say no to his sister when she looked at him like that. His shoulders slumped in defeat, and he sighed deeply. "I'll try."

"That's all I ask," Ginny smiled, kissing his cheek. "You're the best, Ron."

He managed a weak smile before looking at Draco, serious again. "Mate, I'll only say this once: You make her cry, I'll make you cry."

Draco grinned at him. "Sure."

"I'm serious."

He nodded, slightly mockingly. "Yes, sir."

"Malfoy, I'm serious," Ron growled. "You treat her right."

"I always treat her right," Draco put an arm around Ginny. "Don't I, love?"

"He does," Ginny nodded, smiling.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Spare me." He got up, sighing. "I think I'm going to lie down, I have a headache. It was good seeing you again, Gin." He embraced his sister. "For Merlin's sake, be careful," he muttered in her ear so only she'd hear, before pulling away.

* * *

"Hello?"

"Hi, is Ginny there?"

"Um, no, she's gone out actually," Abby spoke into the phone, having the distinct impression that she knew who it was, and was uneasy.

"Wait…Is this Abby?"

Shit. "Um, yes," she said, banging her fist against her forehead soundlessly. "Hi, Seamus." It must've been her accent…there was that slight French twist to it.

"Hey," he replied, and involuntarily, Abby felt a flutter in her stomach, but blamed it on the baby. "How are you?"

"Oh, I'm okay. You know. And you?"

"Fine, thanks. I didn't know you were Ginny's new roommate."

"Well…yeah." She said awkwardly. "Listen…I'm sorry about the other day."

She remembered it all too well: When Seamus had dropped by last week and asked her out yet again, and she'd snapped at him to leave her alone. She'd seen the raw hurt in his eyes, but it was too late to take it back, and she was too ashamed of herself to actually face him to apologize. He hadn't made another appearance ever since, and Abby had to admit she kind of missed having him around, however much she tried to ignore the feeling.

"I was kind of cranky…"

"What? Oh," he said, and she could almost see him shrug. "It's alright."

"No, it's not," she sighed, rubbing her stomach, realizing she was going to make a big mistake, in her opinion anyway, when she opened her mouth next. "How can I make it up to you?"

Seamus hesitated. "It's okay, Abby, really," he said nonchalantly, but Abby could hear the almost hidden note of dejection in his voice. Who could blame the poor guy? With all her rejections, it was a wonder he didn't just hang up when he figured out who she was.

She ignored him. "Is your offer for dinner still standing?"

"I—yes, of course," he said with some surprise. "You—you seriously want to go?"

"Sure." Abby smiled despite herself. Going on a date with Seamus suddenly didn't seem that bad at all. There's no harm in a little fun, is there? "Is seven o'clock, Saturday fine?"

"Perfect."

"I'll see you soon then."

Seamus whooped after hanging up, pumping his fist in the air.

"What, did you win the lottery or something?" Julie asked, smirking as she came in.

"Better," he grinned. "Abby actually asked me out."

"After rejecting you several million times?"

Seamus nodded. "Women are strange, aren't they?"

"Do I have a penis?"

Seamus paused and stared at her. "Do you—what?"

"Do I have a penis?"

His eyes flicked to her skirt fearfully. "I don't know, do you?"

"No," she rolled her eyes.

"…I don't get it."

Julie looked thoughtful. "You know, I lost track of where I was going with this. So yeah, I don't get it either."

"Women are…strange…"

* * *

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11. Harry...Or Adam?

A/N -You guys are awesome! I loved the response for the last chapter; it had me grinning for the rest of the day! I just had to sit down and write another chapter for all you wonderful people. The angst is drawing out a little, huh? A few of you aren't too pleased, but I can't have them together yet! I want to make you beg and plead first. Okay, I'm kidding. =P Seriously though, some things need to be done first. Anyway, here's chapter 11.

Chapter 11: Harry…or Adam?

Harry, Adam, Harry, Adam, Harry, Adam, Harry. Harry. No, Adam…Harry?

Agh!

Why were things suddenly so messed up? Just how did things get so complicated for her? She was living so comfortably in France; there she practically didn't even have to think. She had a good life. She had a good life here too, though; she knew some really amazing people, was part of a popular Quidditch team, and had a sweet and attentive boyfriend.

Who she'd gone and cheated on, kissing Harry back like that.

She felt so guilty over that. She didn't regret that kiss, but it wasn't like she was proud of it either. Hermione knew she shouldn't have, but she was just so damn attracted to Harry, a fact she'd now come to accept. See, this was another complication. She didn't even want Adam's kisses anymore.

Okay, so, she thought Harry was being a total dick, acting like that towards her for something she didn't even do, but now…Ugh. He was showing this sudden interest in her, when it was already too late; when she was already with Adam.

How was she just supposed to drop Adam and run to Harry? She and Harry would both be happy, but that would arise even more complications. It would probably result in feuds between Harry and Adam, and ruin this ideal team-work they all had a hand in. Not to mention Adam would be hurt. She knew, after these months knowing Adam, that he had a fierce temper when provoked. Besides, Harry/Adam feuds equaled to everyone angry, and they'd blame it on her, right? After all, this all started after she'd joined the team.

She was sure Adam had noticed something…he wasn't stupid. She herself had caught Harry staring at her many times; it wouldn't be a huge feat for someone else to notice it as well. Like Jess. Oh, that girl. Nothing could go past her. The other day, Hermione was just sitting in her window-seat when Jess quietly came in and shut the door.

"Hey," she said quietly, going over to sit opposite Hermione.

The brunette tilted her head slightly and furrowed her eyebrows, looking at her friend intently. "Hey, Jess. Is something wrong?"

Jess looked uncertain for a second before that expression turned into one of determination. "Hermione, is there something going on between Harry and you?"

"Wha—" Hermione's eyes widened. "No, I—"

"Look, I don't care," Jess interrupted, eyeing her firmly. "I just don't want my brother hurt, okay?"

"Jess—"

"I'm not stupid, Hermione," she snapped. "I can tell. I can see how the two of you look at each other, and so can everyone else."

Another reason.

Hermione didn't know what to do anymore.

* * *

Adam was sitting quietly on his bed, looking forlornly out the window. Suddenly, his attention was diverted when Hermione sat down next to him, looking at him inquisitively.

"Hey," he said, forcing a smile.

"What's wrong?"

He shrugged. "It's nothing."

"It's clearly something…"

"Actually, yeah, it is, but…I can't talk to you about it. Not yet, anyway. I have to talk to Jess first."

Hermione frowned, slightly hurt, but then brushed it off. Of course he would put his twin above her; after all, she was closest him, but still...It didn't mean he had to snub her off like that. Right?

"But…" he hesitated, eyeing her."There was something else I wanted to talk to you about."

"Yes…?" Hermione swallowed, the guilt of what she did, and him somehow finding out about it, overwhelming her senses.

"I feel like we're…falling apart somehow."

She felt it too. Very much so. "You're breaking up with me," she said flatly.

"No," he said in surprise. "No, of course not. But…do you feel it? I feel there's something come between us."

"Adam—" she bit her lip, but then looked away, staring down at her lap.

Adam scooted closer, looking at her in concern. "What is it?"

"Never mind," she said in a small voice.

"Tell me," he touched her thigh. "What's wrong?"

"I—" She pursed her lips together tightly, tears leaping to her eyes. "I'm so sorry."

"Hermione," he said, alarmed now as he lifted her chin up, forcing her to look at him. "What happened?"

"I—I kissed Harry," she whispered, and Adam froze. She was aware it was the other way around, but it was best to avoid problems between Adam and Harry…this was about her and Adam, after all; no point in bringing Harry into it. It'd only cause more problems.

"You what?"

Her chest lifted with the deep breath she filled her lungs with. "I kissed Harry."

Adam slumped in his seat, rubbing the back of his neck.

Hermione stared at her lap for a while before looking up at him, and was confused when she didn't see him as upset as she'd expected. "You—aren't you upset about this?"

"I sort of guessed," he told her bluntly.

"I'm so sorry," she sniffed. "I—I just don't know…"

"I have the feeling that it was Harry who initiated that kiss, not you." When Hermione didn't say anything, he nodded, as if to confirm his suspicions. "I knew it."

"I shouldn't have kissed him back though…"

"It's okay, love. Potter's always been a player."

Hermione frowned. "Really?"

Adam nodded, patting himself on the back mentally. "This isn't the first time he's tried to steal a girl from me."

A white lie…it couldn't hurt, could it?"

Oh, Hermione…so, so naÃ¯ve…

"I never thought he'd be the type to," Hermione said, looking thoughtful. "He seems like such a nice guy."

"Don't let appearances fool you."

"But," she bit the side of her lip. "Are we okay now?"

"Of course," he smiled at her, and Hermione felt relieved, leaning over to hug him tightly.

"I promise it won't happen again."

"I believe you," he kissed the side of her neck, smirking.

* * *

"Hermione," Harry called that night, knocking on her door. "Can I come in?"

He heard hurried footsteps, and a second later, Hermione opened the door, but only enough to accommodate her body.

"Hey," he smiled, although a bit confused when she didn't move to let him come in.

"Hey, Harry," she said civilly. "Did you want something?"

Now his look grew incredulous. Why was she acting this way? "I was just wondering if you'd want to watch a movie with me. I was bored."

"No, thanks…I think I'm going to turn in early tonight."

Harry slid his foot to keep the door open when she was about to shut it in his face. "Did I do something to tick you off?" He asked softly.

Hermione plastered a smile on her face. "No, of course not. I just don't feel like company tonight."

"Well…" he said slowly."I'll still be downstairs if you change your mind."

She nodded. "Good night, Harry."

"Good night."

* * *

"Are you serious?" Seamus laughed, poking a meatball with his fork.

Abby nodded vigorously. "We were so crazy back then."

"Sounds like fun though," he smiled. "I've never been to France."

"It's a wonderful place."

They fell into an awkward silence, the only noises were of clinks of forks against plates and the quiet chatter of people around them.

"I'm really glad you decided to come," Seamus said softly. "I was scared you were going to cancel out on me or something."

Abby blushed guiltily. "I almost did."

Seamus grimaced. "I don't bite, you know."

"I know, I'm sorry," she averted her eyes. "It's just myself that I don't trust."

Seamus didn't ask her to elaborate further, but didn't know what to make of it.

Abby leaned forward, putting her fork down. "Seamus, seriously, it's nothing against you. It's just…I got out of a bad relationship, you see."

He nodded. "Yeah, I can tell. But I'm not the type of guy who'd get you into trouble and then leave you to deal with it."

She'd thought the same about her ex-boyfriend too, and then, look what happened.

"This is just sort of a make-amends dinner, huh?" He smiled sadly. "You don't consider this a date or anything."

She fingered her napkin. "I do."

"Do you?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Yes. I…I really like you, Seamus. You don't know hard this is for me—"

"Then give me a chance," he interjected. "Give me a chance and I'll prove to you that I can be better than that other guy."

Abby shook her head. "It's not that easy. It was hard enough agreeing to this, and I know this one date could lead to many more. I'm aware of that. I'm just not ready."

"I'll accept that," he nodded. "How about we start off as friends then?"

She smiled. "I'd love that."

Seamus gave her a grin. "It's settled then."

* * *

"Jess…"

"Adam, what's wrong?" Jess asked in concern, tugging on his sleeve. "You're so pale…"

"I got a letter last night."

"Who from?"

"Mom."

"And?"

Adam wordlessly pulled out a thick folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to his sister.

"No," Jess whispered, skimming over it, her face ashen as she dropped down onto her bed. "Cancer? Oh my god…"

Adam sat down next to her and pulled her into a hug, letting her cry on his shoulder.

"You realize what this means?" He asked quietly after she'd calmed down, and felt her nod into his shoulder.

"One of us will have to go," she whispered. "I will."

"Are you sure? I can go if you want."

"No," she shook her head. "She needs me. You stay here."

* * *

Hermione tiptoed downstairs nervously, looking over her shoulder. She couldn't sleep for the past hour, so she thought she'd just hop down into the kitchen to grab a bite, as she'd barely eaten at dinner.

She was scared Harry would see her though; she didn't want him to think she'd taken him up on his offer.

She breathed in relief when she saw the light coming from the entertainment room, the door slightly ajar. From where she was standing, Hermione was sure she couldn't be seen. She walked slowly toward the kitchen door, her eyes still fixed on the door behind which Harry should be sitting.

"What are you doing?"

Hermione's head snapped around in alarm and she clapped her hands on her mouth to keep from screaming in fright when she saw Harry right in front of her face. Harry fought to keep a straight face, but ended up laughing silently, pulling her by the arm into the kitchen.

"Stop that," she snapped at him, her eyes wide as she collapsed into a chair. "Merlin…"

"Sorry," Harry laughed, grabbing his open can of coke from the counter and took a chug. "It was just you looked like you were going to rob the place or something, snooping around like that."

Hermione flushed a deep red. She was so busted.

"So you changed your mind? I'm watching some stupid horror movie in there. I was going to make some popcorn."

She shook her head. "I couldn't sleep, so I just thought I'd—"

"Have a midnight snack?" He said, the hint of a smirk around his lips, remembering their encounter in that very kitchen.

She nodded, averting her eyes, and got up. She stood in front of him, motioning with her hand.

He raised an eyebrow.

"Do you mind?" She asked impatiently.

"Sure," he said, straight-faced. "What about?"

"I need to open the refrigerator, Harry."

"Well, open it. Who's stopping you?"

"You, obviously, standing like that."

Harry shrugged, shifting his stance so he was leaning more properly on said appliance, casually taking a sip of his drink. "I don't know, Hermione; I'm pretty comfortable."

Her eyes flashed. "Don't play games, Harry."

Harry smiled. "What's bothering you?"

"You!"

"No, I mean…what's bothering you?"

"Just move, Harry."

"No, seriously…what's wrong?"

"Harry," she said warningly, grabbing his arm and tried to pull him away, but he wouldn't budge. "For Merlin's sake, just move."

He took her hand from his arm and held it in his. "Tell me."

Hermione wrenched it away like she'd been burnt. "Don't touch me," she whispered, taking a step back.

Harry frowned. "Why are you being like this? We were just fine this morning!"

She glared at him. "What do you want from me?"

Harry gaped at her. "What are you talking about?"

"Harry, stop those games, okay? I'm sick of them."

Harry sighed, leaning his head back. "Is it my fault if I want you so much?"

"Want, is it?" She said bitterly. "Is this what it's all about?"

"No, I didn't mean it like that, Hermione—" Harry started, his eyes wide. "Honestly, I—"

"I don't want to hear it," she snapped. "Stop this right now. I'm sick of you messing with my head."

"I'm not messing with your head," he said quietly, coming towards her, his eyes full of confusion. "I just…I really want to be with you, Hermione."

"Yeah, right," she said, her chest heaving with anger. "You almost messed up mine and Adam's relationship!"

"Shh," Harry put a finger on her lips, his eyes burning into hers with such intensity that she couldn't get herself to look away. "Let's talk about this calmly, alright?"

"No," she shook her head vehemently. "I don't want to."

By now, Harry had her backed up against the wall.

"Let go," she spat, glaring up at him defiantly.

"You're too angry right now," he shook his head, his hands holding her upper arms firmly, but not enough to hurt. His body was at least a few inches away from hers, but other than his hands, there was no physical contact.

"I'm fine!"

"Sure you are."

His calm and collected presence annoyed her even more. "I—I hate you," she hissed.

"No, you don't," he said softly, his mouth inches away from her ear.

"Yes, I do. Let go of me. Now."

His nose brushed against the outline of her ear. "Hermione…"

Her breath quickened, and the hands that were gripping his arms, sunk their fingernails into them.

Harry kissed her jaw lightly, and she already felt her control waning as he made his way down her jaw-line, and then her cheek. "You…" he whispered, kissing the corner of her open mouth, but didn't finish his words as Hermione summoned all her strength and pushed him away.

"I hate you," her voice shook, furious at him for supposedly taking advantage of her vulnerability. "I hate you, Harry Potter."

And with that, she walked out, leaving him standing there, stunned.

* * *

A/N - I AM SO EVIL! I know. Don't hate me too much. Please? I know there's a lot of drama going on lol…just, bear with me for a while. I know what I'm doing. Review, k. =)

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12. I Shit You Not

A/N - A/N - Another quick update! It's all your doing; you're all so awesome! The reviews just spur me on, even if I'm busy. Anyway, some of you were pretty upset about last chapter, but don't worry! I think your hate will definitely turn into lurve by the end of this chapter, even though it's not that long. But it really had to be done. I introduce my favorite character by far in this story. It's about time he showed up! Seriously!

Much, much thanks to my beta, leprechaun!

Chapter 12: I Shit You Not

Hermione,

Love, it's been too long! How are you? I'm sorry I haven't written in a long time, I've just been so busy. With what, you ask? I'm moving. That is, I'm leaving the country. Australia's getting too boring for me, I need to get out. See the world. I'm leaving my team too. Everyone was plenty disappointed (I mean, hell, they were losing me! ME! They should be sad), and it was probably a huge move on my part, but I have my mind made up.

Congratulations on you're finally getting accepted, by the way! You found yourself a job, but you need to find ME one now.

I'm coming to England! I SHIT YOU NOT! *insert grin here* I'm permanently moving there. Well, unless I don't like it. I need your help, though. I already have my visa and stuff, and I need to tie some loose ends up, but I know nobody there except you. I need a place to stay, could you make reservations at a hotel for me? I'll send you my flight details when everything's fixed, I should be coming around 20-30 September, not long from now. I thought of taking a Portkey, but I thought I'd just do things the muggle way this time. Aren't you proud?

I am so excited to see you! I mean, finally! We've been pen-pals for how long? Five years? That's a really long time, and you shouldn't be too worried whether I could be a psycho-killer or something, aye? I will be very, very disappointed if you decide not to meet me at the airport. But it doesn't matter. I'm going to find you anyway. I mean, I DO have your address. Hehe.

So, take care, love! You'll be hearing from me again soon enough.

Love,

Jerry.

Hermione had a broad grin when she put down the letter.

* * *

It was next week when it all fell apart.

"You—you're what?" Harry gasped, staring at Jess, and then Oliver.

Jess fell silent, looking like she wanted the floor to open up and swallow her, while Oliver had his face in his hands.

Harry glared at Oliver. "How could you have let this happen? We have a match in less than a week, for Merlin's sake!"

"I know, Harry," Oliver sighed, and quickly placed a Silencing Charm over his room. "It's not like we planned this or anything. And anyway, we were going to lose her anyway…she was going to her mother in the States."

"I still am," Jess frowned.

"Don't be absurd," Oliver snapped. "You're pregnant; you can't just leave. Something might happen to the baby."

Adam was leaning against the wall quietly; his head leant on the hard surface, and until then, he hadn't said a word. "I guess this means we're losing two members."

Oliver and Harry looked to him, although Jess seemed to understand.

"I'll have to go if Jess stays here."

"Merlin," Harry rubbed his face, dropping down onto Oliver's desk chair.

"I hope you're happy," Adam sneered before he could stop himself. Harry's head snapped up, and he glared right back at him.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Now isn't the time to argue," Jess stepped in, shooting them both dirty looks. "For Christ's sake—"

"She's right," her boyfriend sighed. "We need to think of something."

"What's there to think about anyway?" Harry asked impatiently. "We'll have to cancel the stupid match, and find not one, but two new players."

Jess's eyes welled up, and allowed Oliver to wrap his arms around her. "I—I'm sorry, Harry. I didn't mean for this to happen."

"I know," Harry sighed, relaxing a bit. "I just can't believe we're losing both of you in one go."

"Jess," Adam started hesitantly. "You can…you know."

"Don't even think about it," she said angrily.

"I know you don't want to, but—"

"Fuck you. I'm not having an abortion."

Adam shook his head. "I'm going to the ministry for a portkey. I'll leave for the States tomorrow."

After Adam left, the three were left in an awkward silence, before Harry excused himself as well.

"What's going on?" Hermione's voice filled his ears as he shut the door behind him, and saw her standing there with her arms crossed, and her eyes worried. "Adam just stormed out of here without saying a word."

Harry ran his hands through his hair, leaning against the wall. "Everything's going wrong," he said softly, crest-fallen.

"Harry," she touched his arm in concern, her anger at him forgotten for the time-being. "What happened?"

"We won't be playing against Puddlemere."

"What?" Hermione gasped. "But why?"

"We're losing two members," he said, going down the stairs, and Hermione followed him, stunned.

"Who?"

"The twins."

"Both of them?"

Harry nodded, striding out of the house, with Hermione at his heels.

"Harry," she puffed, trying to keep up with him. "Where are you going?"

"My office," he sighed. "I have to write a letter."

"But—"

"I'll tell you," was his only response.

They walked the rest of the way to the pitch in silence. Hermione saw the front desk empty. "Where's Sarah?" She queried of their manager.

Harry shrugged, holding the door to his office open for her before walking in and sitting on the couch. "I think she went to finalize things with Puddlemere, imagine what they'll think when we have to cancel…"

"Okay, what's going on?" She asked, sitting down beside him.

Harry pursed his lips. "The twins' mother has cancer."

Hermione gaped at him, but Harry didn't give her a chance to reply as he continued.

"So Jess was leaving for the States. But now, Adam has to go."

Hermione furrowed her eyebrows. "I don't understand."

"Jess is pregnant."

Hermione looked very taken aback, before her face fell. "Oh my god," she whispered. "We're short of two players."

Harry nodded. "We have no choice but to cancel with Puddlemere."

The brunette hesitated, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Listen, I know someone who can play for us. Beater. I don't know about the substitute Chaser though…"

"Who is it?"

"A friend from Australia. He's supposed to come next week, but maybe I can get him to come earlier than that…" she trailed off.

"I'm willing to do anything to avoid canceling this." This for certain was a situation which could make or break their reputation. "I mean, it'll be absurd…refunding tickets and all of that…it's too much pain. The pitch is almost completely booked."

"I know," Hermione nodded, going over to his desk and grabbing some parchment and a quill. "I'll owl him right away. But what about the other player?"

"I was thinking of sending an advertisement to the Prophet, but it'll cause too much ruckus," he muttered. "Hermione, I don't know what to do…"

Hermione sank back down into the couch, trying to think of something. "Why does Adam have to leave so soon anyway?" She frowned. "I mean, can't he wait until after the match?"

"His mother's undergoing a dangerous operation," Harry explained. "And besides, I don't think he'll be able to concentrate on the game anyway."

"Harry," she said helplessly. "I can get Jerry, but what about our third chaser?"

"I don't know. I just don't know."

"Do you…Do you think Ron and I can pull it off?"

Harry stared at her. "Six players? It'll be a huge advantage for them, Hermione."

"I know, and we'll probably have to work extra hard to make up for our seventh player…but I think we can pull it off. Especially if you manage to get the snitch early."

"Hermione, I'm not so sure about this idea…"

Hermione eyed him owlishly. "I don't think we have any other choice."

"If we don't find a substitute by the end of this week," he responded tentatively. "I suppose we'll have to go with that."

She nodded. "The media will completely flip."

"Tell me about it."

"What about Adam and Jess?"

Harry shrugged. "If Adam decides to stay longer, I'll have to terminate his contract; especially if I like this Jerry bloke. And Jess…well, she's like my sister, we can't just kick her out. So I don't really know."

Hermione shook her head and got to work on the letter. With a fast owl and a couple of charms, the letter could be in Jerry's lap by morning.

* * *

In Sydney, Craig O'Leary, a man of twenty-five, was leisurely sitting at a dining table, reading the newspaper and munching on some toast.

"Bloody oath," he muttered, shaking his head at the page he was reading.

"Quit reading that bodgy newspaper and you'll be happier," his best friend, Jerry Steel called out cheerfully, coming into the kitchen.

"Put a lid on it," Craig rolled his eyes, and lowered his newspaper a bit so he could look at him. "You being so bloody cheerful in the morning gets me even more depressed."

Jerry just grinned, grabbing a carton of juice from the refrigerator and chugged it down his throat.

"Allie chuck you out again?" He asked, sitting down.

"As usual."

"I don't know how you keep up with her. Don't get me wrong, I love her like a sister, and you know I don't mind seeing you on my couch at least once a week, but…" He shook his head, getting a grin out of his friend.

"Yeah, I know," Craig snorted. "You'll be gone and I'll be left to rot in the streets."

Jerry laughed. "Maybe that'll teach you not to get on her bad side often."

He shrugged. "I don't know how I manage to piss her off so easily."

"It'll blow over, it always does."

"Uh-huh," Craig rubbed his eyes. "Hey, look. You have an owl." He nodded his chin toward the window.

Jerry got up and let the bird in before untying the letter. "It's Hermione," he announced, opening it. As he read, his eyebrows furrowed. When he finished he looked up with a disbelieving grin.

"She's threatening me with bodily harm if I don't get there within this week."

"She's what?" Craig stared at him. "You're supposed to leave next week, though, right?"

"They have a crisis," Jerry explained, his eyes wide as he skimmed over her letter once more. "They want me to play on this match they have, on Saturday."

"You must be shitting me."

"I shit you not, mate," he replied solemnly.

Jerry shook his head slowly, a grin spreading over his boyishly charming features.

"You're going to England," Craig said blankly.

"I'm going to England."

* * *

Australian slang translation:

Bloody oath: Bloody hell

Bodgy: of inferior quality

Chuck: throw

Please review. =)

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13. [untitled for now.]

A/N - Woo, I'm back! I didn't manage to reply to all of your reviews, but I do appreciate all of them, guys! Thanks for sticking with me so far; I know a lot of you were upset, but everything (okay maybe not everything…) rights itself in this chapter! There's not much H/Hr here, but chapter 14 will have loads. Please review and tell me what you think. =)

Chapter 13:

That same night chaos erupted, the house seemed eerie. Usually, they all hung out and watched a movie downstairs, played cards, or just sat around each other. But now, the house was silent; there was no laughter, each player was in their own room, thinking, or otherwise.

This came as a real blow, especially for Hermione. She was really looking forward to playing in her first match, but it had all tumbled down. What's more, Adam was leaving. She didn't know what would happen to their relationship either.

She was sitting on her bed cross-legged, reading a muggle novel before she realized that she hadn't taken a word in. She put it down and sighed, rubbing her eyes. As if on cue, someone knocked once on her door.

"Hermione?" Jess called, coming right in.

"Hey," Hermione smiled, patting the spot beside her.

Jess smiled weakly and sat down, twiddling her thumbs.

Hermione wasn't sure why, but for the first time since she met Jess, they fell into an awkward silence.

"I guess you know what happened," she said softly, sighing.

Hermione nodded sympathetically. "I'm really sorry, Jess…"

"You know, if things were different, Oliver and I would be over the moon about having a baby. We both love kids. But because of the team…" Her voice died off.

Hermione reached over and grasped her hand comfortingly. "I know, love. I know."

Jess smiled sadly. "Harry's too nice to kick me out," she said in a small voice.

Hermione fingered her blue sheets thoughtfully, biting her lip as her stomach did an involuntarily back-flip just because of hearing his name. "No…he was telling me he would convince you to stay after the pregnancy. He thinks of you as a sister."

The blonde sniffed. "This is all my fault."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Hermione said, straight-faced, trying to make Jess laugh. "I thought Oliver has some hand in it too, doesn't he?"

"Shut up," Jess chuckled half-heartedly, sighing.

Her friend smiled. "That's better. The Jess I know isn't so emotional," she quipped.

She rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it."

"It'll be alright, Jess," Hermione commented sincerely after a short while.

"I hope so."

"Harry won't kick you out."

"For someone who hates him, you sure know how to defend him," Jess said slyly.

Hermione froze. "How do you know that?"

"I heard you yelling at him in the kitchen the other night when I wanted some water," she replied quietly. "What's going on, Hermione?"

"You'll be so mad at me when I tell you…"

"How about I decide about that? Tell me."

So Hermione told her. Right from when Harry had seen her come out of Adam's room to when she found out he was a player. She talked for half an hour straight and Jess merely listened quietly, the expression on her face hard to figure out.

At long last, Hermione took a deep breath. "I knew you'd be angry," she said woefully.

Jess was still silent. Then, slowly, she looked at Hermione in disbelief. "I can't believe you."

Hermione sighed and ran her fingers through her hair.

"I can't believe you," Jess repeated, staring at her. "You're so fucking stupid."

"…What?"

"I thought you were smarter than that."

"Jess, I know I did some really stupid things, okay? But see, I—"

"My brother's a dick."

Hermione did a double take. "What?" She asked stupidly, staring at Jess.

Jess rubbed her face wearily. "What do you honestly think of Harry?"

"I thought he was a really nice guy," Hermione started. "I thought the papers had it all wrong about him, but when Adam told me…"

"Adam lied to you. Hell, I know he's my brother, but...Harry's the furthest thing from a player you will ever find, despite being Harry Potter and all. He doesn't take advantage of his fame. Trust me on this one."

Hermione frowned. "I really don't understand…why would Adam do that?"

"He knew he was losing you to Harry," Jess rubbed her forehead, thoroughly annoyed by what her own brother did to her close friend. "Dumbass. I guess he felt threatened or something."

"That's ridiculous," Hermione snapped, furious. "That's just not a rational excuse!"

"I know it isn't," Jess said gently. "Maybe you and Adam should talk about this."

"Damn straight," Hermione fumed, jumping off the bed and strode outside. "I'm going to castrate him!"

"Oh boy," Jess stared at the door-way. "My poor, soon-to-be-sterilized sibling…"

* * *

Meanwhile, Abby and Seamus were spending a quiet evening at Abby and Ginny's flat, watching a movie.

"Seamus," Abby giggled, throwing a piece of popcorn at him from the bowl. "Don't look so sad....It's not that bad, for Merlin's sake."

"I can't help it," he broke out into a grin. "Chick flicks depress me."

"You're ridiculous," she shook her head.

"Let's watch something else," he shot a puppy dog look at her that made her laugh. "Please."

"I can't believe you couldn't even get twenty minutes through this thing."

"Yes, I did," he said defensively.

"Nu-uh." She said smugly, looking at the small display on the DVD player. "It says 17 minutes, buster."

"There were advertisements before it!"

"But they weren't part of the movie, were they?" She pointed out, amused.

He fell silent. "You suck."

"Really mature, Finnigan."

Seamus pointedly ignored her, twisting his mouth to one side. "Can we just watch something else?"

She rolled her eyes, and pointing the remote control to the TV, turned it off. "There."

Seamus stared at the screen for a second before turning his head to look at her. "I thought we were going to watch something else?"

"I don't want to anymore," she shrugged, scratching the back of her neck.

"I ruined the mood, didn't I?"

"No, I'm just…" Abby yawned, dropping her head onto his shoulder, her eyelids drooping.

"Tired?" He smiled, and slung his arm over the back of the couch so she could settle more comfortably in the crook of his neck.

"Very," she murmured. "Seamus, I'm worried."

He shifted a bit so he could look at her properly. "What's wrong?"

"I'm still throwing up," she said softly, looking up at him. "Not as much as before but…Is this normal? I couldn't sleep all night yesterday."

Seamus relaxed. "No, it's not," he agreed. "But there are women who do barf all through their pregnancy."

Abby paled and lifted her head up. "A-all through it?"

"How many months along are you now?"

"Five," she frowned, worrying her bottom lip. "I'm going to have to put up with this for four more months?"

"Well, not necessarily," he said carefully. "You get check-ups don't you?"

"Muggle."

"Go to a wizard healer then. I would've helped you but I don't specialize in this field…"

"You're basically like a muggle surgeon right?"

He nodded. "Do you know the sex of the baby yet?"

"Not yet…I want to, but I'm scared," her eyebrows knitted together. "Will you…will you come with me? I don't want to bother Hermione; the team's in a bit of a tight spot right now…"

Seamus' eyebrows lifted in surprise at her unexpected question, but he was pleased that she had asked him. "Sure."

"Thanks," she smiled gratefully, but then the corners of her mouth drooped and the smile slipped off her face. She looked forlorn, and was quiet for a few long moments. "I can't do this," she whispered.

He fit his arm more securely around her and hugged her to him. "Of course you can, love."

"Trusting him was the biggest mistake of my life," she said bitterly. "Gave me false dreams and hopes...and then he turned around and married someone else."

"I'm sorry," he whispered, rubbing her upper arm. His heart went out to her for all she'd put up with and gone through.

She fell silent, but replaced her head on his shoulder with a half-content, half-sad sigh.

Seamus kissed the top of her head affectionately. "You don't have to go through this alone," he said gently. "You've got me, you've got Hermione; Jess…We'll be with you every step of the way."

"Thank you," she put an arm around the other side of his neck and hugged him. "That means so much to me."

Seamus smiled and started to reply, but suddenly Abby winced and put a hand to her tummy.

"What is it?"

"Shh," she said, her eyes wide as she took his hand and pressed it to her stomach, before putting hers on top of it.

Seamus was silent for a few seconds before he grinned and whispered, "It's kicking."

Abby nodded her head up and down, smiling at him.

They noticed just how close their faces were, and almost involuntarily, Seamus started leaning in, transfixed by her wide almond-shaped eyes.

Abby, though, lowered her eyes, and the moment was broken.

Seamus blinked and righted himself. "Sorry," he muttered, and then asked uncomfortably, just to allow them both some distraction, "Is there anything I can get for you?"

Abby considered. "Would you mind getting me some iced water?"

"No," he stood up. "I'll be right back."

As if on cue, the door swung open and a very drunken Ginny stumbled in, giggling like crazy. "Oh, Dwacie!" She simpered, before breaking into another fit of giggles. Draco was holding onto her arm, drunk as well, but managed to look annoyed at her outrageous behavior.

"Ginny, contain yourself," he muttered, almost falling over with her when she tripped over her own feet.

"You big bad boy," she gasped out, clutching his shirt, but then her voice turned soft, "You…you…Mmmm, I love you, you know?"

Draco and Abby both froze, and Seamus just stared from the doorway with a glass of water held in his hand. But then the blonde just shook his head and slowly lead Ginny to her room, closing it behind them.

"What was that?" Seamus asked, sitting back down.

"Drunk Ginny," Abby grinned. "Just wait 'til I tell her she confessed her undying love to Draco Malfoy while drunk."

Seamus laughed and shook his head. "Evil, evil."

"I'm pregnant," she pouted.

"And that means you can be evil?"

"Sure," she crossed her arms. "I'm going through hell here!"

"Alright," he held up his hands. "Point taken."

* * *

Hermione couldn't remember being so angry at anyone before. Adam had just stepped way over the line. She couldn't believe it though…Sweet, considerate Adam…It was like this whole new, mean side of him. They'd talked about her and Harry; she thought he was okay with it, and he'd genuinely forgiven her. It was stupid of her to think he wouldn't get into a strop over it, she knew. What self-respecting man would be okay with his girlfriend kissing his friend, and just like that, willingly forgive her, without grumbling about just a little bit? She was stupid for believing him, but at the time she couldn't really fathom why he'd lie to her.

It all made sense now, though. Jess was right; he felt threatened by Harry. He could tell how attracted she felt toward the emerald-eyed wizard. But, still…They could've talked about it like mature adults instead of him lying to her in front of her face. It just wasn't right. He'd lost her trust. To Hermione, there was no relationship where she couldn't trust her partner.

She waited a whole two minutes in front of Adam's door, waiting for him to open up. Finally, he appeared in the doorway, bleary-eyed and squinting.

"Hermione," he yawned, blinking sleepily. "What's up?"

"I wanted to talk to you," she said coolly.

"It's one in the morning, Hermione," he said in confusion, but stepped back to let her in. "Here, have a seat."

Hermione didn't comply, but instead turned to him with her arms crossed menacingly. As hard as she tried, she couldn't keep her voice calm, like she'd planned. No, it raised at least one notch. "Why did you lie to me?"

If it was possible, Adam looked even more confused, trying to get his thoughts straight. "What--?"

"Adam," she glared at him. "Why did you tell me that Harry's a womanizer?"

His expression cleared, and finally aware, he frowned. "Hermione—"

"What were you aiming for exactly when you decided to bring him down in my eyes?" She snapped, taking a step toward him threateningly. "For god's sake, I humiliated myself in front of him, because of you!"

"I'm sorry," Adam said, having the decency to look bashful. "I just felt...I don't know," he finished with a mutter, shifting his feet on the carpet.

"Harry's a great guy," she said quietly, her eyes turning icy-cold. "I don't even know why I believed you. I thought I trusted you, but you just turned around and lied to my face. Adam, I don't think I can stay in a relationship with someone I can't trust."

"That's just it isn't it?" He scowled, ignoring her last comment. "You've been cheating on me right from the beginning with that bastard, and you expect me to just sit back and watch."

"I already told you that Harry and I kissed," she glowered at him, her throat constricting. "Nothing else. I told you because I didn't want there to be any secrets between us."

"Right," he scoffed.

Hermione was quiet for a few moments, and just looked at him before saying quietly, "What do you take me for? I—"

He shrugged unconcernedly. "A slut; isn't that what you are?"

Hermione's eyes flared up with anger, and in one swift motion, she slapped him hard on the side of his face. Her finger-marks were clearly printed there when she withdrew, and she felt a small surge of satisfaction and pride at the utter dumbfounded look on his face. She smiled sarcastically, but the tears in her eyes were apparent. "I was so wrong about you," she said, her voice, and the hands fisted at her sides, shaking involuntarily. "If you think we can pick up where we left off, you're wrong, Adam. I want nothing to do with you anymore."

Adam frowned and opened his mouth to retort, but nothing else was she said as she walked out the door, and out of his life.

* * *

The next day, Adam left.

Hermione was upset, and she couldn't even meet Harry's eye. At breakfast, she wordlessly handed him the maple syrup without even looking at him. At practice, she just muttered at whatever he said, and looked distracted, barely scoring once. Harry had to holler several times to get her attention.

"Time-out!" Harry finally shouted, annoyed. Even Oliver was frowning. "Granger, a word, if you don't mind."

Oh, she did mind; but how could she tell him that? Hermione sighed, looking in his direction. Harry motioned for her as he pointed his broom toward the ground and started to land, and against her will, Hermione followed. Who could blame her? Knowing Harry, she'd certainly get an ear-bashing.

"Seriously, what's wrong?" He frowned once they were both safely on earth, cocking his head at her curiously. "You've been distracted all through practice."

Hermione scuffled her feet, staring at a point beyond his shoulder evasively. "It's nothing. I'm just…you know."

Harry ran his hands through his hair impatiently, but forced his voice to stay calm. "Is this about Adam?" He asked gently. "Hermione, we have a match in a few days. We can't have you distracted like this…especially since we're going to play with six players, you'll have to work extra hard to keep up, even though I know you and Ron are going to ace this. But I need you to concentrate, no matter what's going on in your head. I need you to forget everything and go wild when you play."

"I know, I know," she sighed, rubbing her cheek sheepishly. "I'm sorry…It's just…"

"Adam."

"No," she shook her head. "Well, yes…but, not only exactly..."

"You can talk to me if you want…" Harry let his voice trail off, trying to get her to look him in the eye.

"I'll have to talk to you eventually…" she muttered under her breath.

"Sorry?"

"Nothing," she said hastily.

Harry frowned. "Would you look at me at least? And stop telling me it's nothing? Because I can tell there certainly is something wrong."

She crossed her arms and pursed her lips before raising her eyes to his.

"There," he said, satisfied. "That wasn't too hard, was it?"

"No," she lied softly before pausing, "I'm sorry I've been so horrible to you lately."

"Yeah, about that…What's up with you anyway?"

"I'll tell you later," she promised. "Shouldn't we be resuming practice? I'll try and concentrate, I promise."

"I don't want you trying. I want you to really concentrate."

Hermione finally chanced a small smile. "Okay."

"Harry!" Sarah, their PR manager, came into view, walking with a young man. For a second, both Hermione and Harry forgot who he was supposed to be.

"Who's this?" Harry asked her inquisitively as the pair came closer. Her male companion was a built, lean man; with a relaxed smile on his face, his brown hair gently wind-blown, and his eyes a gentle hazel color. His looks were definitely no model-type, but it was his smile that caught their attention. He was the type of person you'd look at and like instantly. There was just something different about him.

"Me?" He said in mock-surprise, coming to a stop in front of them with his hands in his pockets, the smile gracing his lips widening into a goofy, friendly grin. Harry heard Hermione release a small gasp beside him before Jerry said what he said next, cutting Sarah to the chase, in a thick Australian accent.

"I'm Jerry. Jerry Steel. Nice to meet you, oh fellow team-mates."

Talk about a dramatic entrance.

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14. Beginnings

A/N - Heyyy, ya'll! THANK YOU for all the reviews! I know it's a kind of late update, I'm sorry! But hey, this chapter's worth the wait, or at least, I hope so. ^_^ I sincerely hope you like this chapter. It's a wee bit longer than usual. Next chapter, the big match, and well, stuff! Btw, this chapter isn't beta-ed, so deal with me, hmm?

Chapter 14

"Jerry!" Hermione exclaimed in the silence that followed, and pulled him into a bear-hug. "It's so great to see you! I thought you were coming tomorrow—when did you arrive?"

He laughed heartily and gave her a squeeze back. "Last night. I stayed at this muggle hotel." He pulled back and looking over her properly. "I just knew it was you the moment I saw you," he grinned, his eyes twinkling merrily.

"That's because I'm the only female around, apart from Sarah here," she teased as Harry and Sarah glanced at each other, amused with the pair's antics. They acted like they've known each other for years; and they have, but it was rather strange to see them so comfortable on just the first meeting.

"Well...okay, yeah. I suppose you're right," he shook his head, laughing. "Harry Potter?" He inquired the obvious, stepping forward to shake Harry's hand firmly. "It's a pleasure, mate."

"Same," Harry smiled, already taken a liking to the fun-loving guy. "We appreciate you coming on such short notice."

"Well, I was threatened with bodily harm! How could I not have come?"

"You would've come anyway," Hermione said smugly.

"Just a warning though, the press will be all over you," Harry said apologetically. "You being this impromptu player and all..."

"The press will be all over us anyway," Hermione intervened thoughtfully. "Adam's gone, we're playing with just six members...And then they're going to wonder about Jess..."

"Merlin, if that ever came out we'll never hear the end of it," Harry muttered, and then shook his head. "Let's not worry about that now though. We'll cover for her...say she came down with verbal diarrhea or something."

They all fell silent.

"She does yap a lot," Harry said defensively, and Jerry grinned at him while the girls stifled their laughter.

"Be thankful she isn't around," Hermione commented slyly. "She would've boxed your ears."

"I could instead!" Oliver called, zooming down and getting off his broom with the rest of the team in tow. "Well, hello! Is this our new beater?"

Introductions were made, and then they had another round of practice, just so Jerry could prove himself.

"Hey, he's good," Harry commented to Hermione, watching Jerry swing a bat hard at a bludger, aiming it deftly between Ron and a temporarily inattentive Draco, who were barely one foot apart.

"Oi!" Ron called out, startled, clutching the handle of his broom with both hands to keep from falling over. "What are you trying to do, kill us?"

"Not you, just that sour-puss blondie over there! What is your name again, mate?"

Harry snorted in laughter while Hermione covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking.

Draco glared daggers at the Australian. "I don't like him," he snarled at Harry. "Look at how he's fooling around. Where the hell did you pick him up from, Potter?"

"He was Hermione's pen-friend," Harry told him. "He's our only choice right now, unless we want to have only five players out on the field. Besides, he's really good. Look, he's not fooling around anymore." Jerry was flexing his fingers on his bat, his eyes fixed on the bludger flying towards him. Once close enough, he swung his bat and sent it to the other side of the pitch. "I can't even tell who's better from him and Adam."

Draco rolled his eyes and flew away, armed with his bat and on the look-out for Steel. He narrowed his eyes at Ron who appeared next to him.

"Somebody's feeling insecure," Ron sing-sang, grinning at Draco.

"Someone wants a whack in the head," Draco threatened with the same tone, his bat raised.

"You need anger management, you bloody caveman," Ron said straight-faced, eyeing the weapon while guiding his broom away from the angry Malfoy slowly. "So touchy, Ferret Boy…It's not healthy, having such violent tendencies, you know…"

"Violent tendencies? I'll show you violent tendencies, you carrot-headed little pig!"

"HELP!"

* * *

Abby and Ginny were at work. The former kept eyeing the redhead, and Ginny wasn't really sure how to react. She didn't say anything though, but was sure there was something strange going on. For some reason, the silence was a little tense, but Ginny shrugged it off as she sipped at her tea thoughtfully while frowning down at the page she was reading.

"Odd," she muttered, and flipped the page to the other side briefly before turning it back again. "This whole document is messed up. First off, I can't understand the stupid handwriting." She put the thing down in exasperation, along with her cup, before leaning back in her chair and waving a hand in an annoyed fashion. "So many grammatical mistakes…" She grabbed it again and flipped to the last of the three pages, and looked at the bottom. She shook her head. "It's not even signed."

"Then leave it," Abby shrugged. "Switch to something else. If you have time later, type it out and see what happens."

"My head hurts," Ginny sighed, massaging her temples.

"I'd expect so," Abby told her cautiously, putting her quill down. "You came home stinking drunk last night."

"We went to this club," Ginny shrugged. "I don't really remember much after some dancing…"

"You don't remember…coming home or anything?"

"No…" Ginny frowned. "Wha—"

"Not even the part where you confess your undying love to him?"

"No," Ginny shrugged, grabbing a small piece of parchment and pressing her quill to it before freezing and snapping her eyes to her friend. "I beg your pardon?" She asked in disbelief.

"Well, Seamus and I were just watching a movie and then you two walked in…you were really drunk, Gin. Draco was too, but not as much as you. You said you love him." Abby couldn't help but giggle as she finished, "You called him Dwacie."

The youngest Weasley looked like someone had dropped a cockroach into her soup. "Please, please, please tell me you're pulling my leg," she begged, going over to Abby's desk and placing her hand flat on the wooden surface. "Abby…"

Abby patted her arm sympathetically. "Maybe he's forgotten what happened."

"No," Ginny shook her head vigorously. "Draco never forgets, drunk or not. He wasn't even here this morning when I woke up!"

"Well, he looked like he was in a hurry…"

The redhead groaned.

"Ginny, you never know; maybe he feels the same way."

"He's a Malfoy," she replied, rolling her eyes. "Even if he does love me, he'll never say it."

"I don't know what to tell you, love. I just thought you should know in case he confronts you about it."

Ginny sighed, and then shook her head. "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it," she waved a hand, returning to her desk. "How did your date with Seamus go?" She asked after a while, to take the other subject off her mind.

"It wasn't a date," Abby said evasively. "We just hung out and watched a movie. He's fun."

"He absolutely adores you," Ginny teased.

"And I have no clue why."

Ginny opened her mouth, and then scowled.

"I'm not even going to bother," she muttered, shaking her head before getting back to work. "You're really getting on my nerves.

"What did I do?" Abby asked, bewildered.

"Stop it," Ginny snapped. "You have this amazing guy at your feet; you're not being fair stringing him along."

"Stringing him along?" Abby repeated, staring at her. "I never asked him to like me or give me all this attention, Gin. He's the one persisting when I don't even want a relationship!"

"Well, you're obviously encouraging him," Ginny pointed out. "With this movie thing and all—"

"We're just friends," Abby spat.

"That's what you think," Ginny returned dryly. "He's obviously aiming for something else."

"We decided to be friends for now, okay? We're both comfortable with that right now."

"Oh yeah?" The Weasley raised her eyebrows. "Well then, look me in the eye and tell me he didn't try kissing you at least once last night."

Abby tensed and looked at the girl open-mouthed, words refusing to come out of her throat.

Ginny nodded, as if confirming what she'd said, wearing a smug smile. "I thought so."

The brunette's mouth snapped shut and she threw Ginny a dirty look.

Ginny laughed. "I knew it. Seriously though, you guys are so good together. Not to mention Seamus—he's just great. I mean, just give in. How can you resist that accent?"

Abby finally grinned. "I love his accent," she admitted, a faint blush rising to her cheeks.

"Aha!" Ginny exclaimed triumphantly. "You do like him!"

Abby sighed. "Ginny..."

"You do! Just look at you, all blushing virgin." Ginny snorted in laughter. "Oh boy, you've got it bad."

"Now, I think you're exaggerating a little—"

"Tell me—you do, don't you?"

"Do what?" Abby asked innocently, signing her name at the bottom of an approved article.

"You like him."

"Ginny—"

"Just say it!"

The girl was practically hopping up and down on her seat with glee.

Abby shook her head. "Okay. I like him. But—" She held up a finger when Ginny's eyes lighted up. "You are not to tell him that. I need my space."

Ginny nodded eagerly.

"You know something?"

"What?"

"I don't know how Malfoy keeps up with you—you're barmy as hell."

* * *

A firm knock sounded on Hermione's door. She sighed deeply; she knew who it was. She didn't make any move to get up any answer, though, hoping that he'd think she was just asleep or something. No such luck, though. He knocked again.

Hermione got up, her expression one of sadness. She knew she couldn't avoid this forever, so might as well get it over with, even if it meant Harry would hate her.

She opened her door.

"Hi," she said softly, shuffling her feet on the carpet.

"Hey," he returned, impassive. "Can we talk?"

Stepping aside, she waved a hand to let him in. She sat down on her bed while Harry scooted her swivel-chair from her desk so it could face her before sitting down himself.

"So," he started uneasily, leaning back and resting his hands on the armrest with his elbows protruding.

Hermione shifted so she was sitting cross-legged on the bed and took a deep breath. Then, she spoke: "Adam and I broke up," she stated.

He didn't say anything, so she continued.

"It was stupid, really. He…he convinced me of something that was totally untrue, and I accused you of some horrible things. For that, I'm sorry. I was a complete idiot for believing him, thinking he had no reason to lie the way he did. I don't hate you," she said in a whisper, too ashamed to look him in the eye. "I—I said that just in the heat of the moment, and because I had believed something about you that was a total lie, and completely biased."

Harry tilted his head. Obviously, he did not understand.

"I shouldn't be making amends for myself, I know. I was in the wrong," she told him.

There was a long silence. He still didn't understand, and she couldn't even bring herself to tell him.

"What did he tell you, Hermione?" Harry finally asked in a low voice, leaning forward and bracing his forearms on his knees, his eyes looking at her face unwaveringly.

The brunette drew out a shuddering breath. "He—" She began hoarsely, before clearing her throat and trying again. "He said you were using me—that you were just a womanizer."

Harry did a double take and pursed his lips. "And you believed the bastard," he said in that same soft tone.

Hermione didn't know what to say.

Harry sighed heavily, leaning back in his chair. "I'm not blaming you," he finally muttered. "It's him, that stupid wanker."

"But I shouldn't have—"

"You don't know me that well, Hermione," he said bitterly. It was true. It was no wonder she let that piece of false information convince her of what appeared in the gossip column of Witch Weekly.

She swallowed. "Harry—"

"It's alright," he waved a hand.

She frowned.

"It's fine, really," he insisted when he saw her doubtful expression. "I guess he felt…threatened."

Hermione winced at the emphasis in the last word. That was so true. She felt it was so strange though—two men fighting over her. She was certainly not accustomed to this feeling. She was a little flattered, though…who wouldn't be?

Was that a tiny, triumphant smirk on Harry's lips, or was it just her imagination?

"I don't know what you saw in him anyway," Harry stated.

"I don't know either, to be honest. He was really nice though…all suave and gentlemanly," she chuckled. "As dumb as it sounds. But…I dunno, really."

"I guess he was safe, huh?"

Hermione glared at him.

"I'm sorry," Harry apologized sincerely. "I had no right."

She wrapped her arms around herself, and a small silence ensued.

"So," Harry declared suddenly. "Movie?"

That brought a smile to Hermione's lips. "You don't give up, do you? That must be the third time you've asked me."

He grinned lopsidedly, and Hermione's stomach erupted with butterflies. "Are you declining again?"

How could she resist that look? "No, fortunately for you," she shook her head, laughing softly.

He rose, grabbing her hand and pulling her off the bed. "Does that mean you're being forced to watch a movie with me?"

"I suppose I'll just have to suffer quietly," Hermione deadpanned as he dragged her out. "You're a slave-driver Harry Potter, and not only on the field."

Harry laughed heartily at that. "I keep you all on your toes, don't I?"

"That's the understatement of the year!"

"Shh, you," he said, nudging her into the large room.

"What do you want to watch?" Hermione asked with her hands on her hips as she surveyed the DVD library. "Hey, when did these new movies arrive?"

"Sent for them a while ago," Harry replied, going over to stand next to her. "I hear this one's good." He pulled one out. The Long Silence, it read.

"Harry Potter, obsessed with movies," Hermione chuckled. "Never would've guessed it."

"Not obsessed," he shrugged. "I just…like watching them."

"Right," she shook her head, taking the movie from him and going over to the VCR.

"Okay," he settled into the couch comfortably after killing the lights, and watched as she carefully put in the disk before grabbing the remote control and sitting next to him.

"One day, Potter," she commented, getting comfortable, and Harry looked at her quizzically. "One day, I'll find out where you get all your furniture from."

Harry grinned at her. "So you like it, aye?"

"Oh, definitely," she let her form relax and meld into the couch. "It reminds me of the couch back at Abby's apartment, only yours is more comfortable."

Harry laughed. "I can't believe we're sitting here discussing furniture."

Hermione flushed. "I like my furniture," she said defensively. "I'm really picky about stuff, particularly furniture."

"Comfort living," he said, his eyes laughing at her.

"Potter," she said warningly.

"Yeah, Miss I-Love-Furniture-More-Than-Books?" He grinned widely.

"You insult me," she told him, her eyes twinkling as well. "I don't love furniture more than books."

Harry shook his head. "Is there anything you love more than books?"

"Nope."

"No?" He nudged her playfully. "There's got to be something."

She nudged his elbow back before sitting up a bit and turning her torso towards him. "Not really. Oh, I love midnight walks. I actually have them every once in a while…the lake here is really amazing."

"But," Harry pressed, "Do you love them more than books?"

"No."

"Well, then?"

"I can't believe we're having this conversation."

"Well, you better answer me, Granger."

"I love…" She twisted her mouth to the side thoughtfully.

"Me?" He asked, smiling innocently.

"Right," she laughed, shoving his shoulder lightly. "Well, Quidditch, maybe. Books and Quidditch both are pretty much tied in my case."

"What, you find that funny?" He asked, feigning a wounded look. "Loving me?"

"Very much so," she teased.

"Yeah? Are you ticklish?"

Her eyes widened when she saw his fingers wiggling in her direction and tried lunging away from him, but he caught her firmly and tickled her side. Hermione gasped with laughter, squirming against the arm-rest of the couch.

"H-Harry! Please!" She managed, trying to push his hands away, laughing and crying at the same time as she slid downwards involuntarily in an attempt to move him, but he ended up almost on top of her. "S-stop…Mmmph!"

"Say Uncle," Harry said in a playful tone. When he stopped tickling her for a moment, Hermione took the chance to dig her fingers into his sides. He didn't even flinch.

She stared up at him in dismay. "This is so unfair."

His mouth spread into a wide grin. "Whoever said life was fair, hmm love? Now say Uncle."

She shook her head wordlessly, closing her fingers around his wrist. "No more," she said firmly.

He attacked again, pinning her down. "Say it!"

"Un-Uncle!" She finally gasped out, still laughing after he stopped, "You monster."

Harry didn't say anything; just tilted his head down at her. His knees were planted on either side of her hips, and Hermione was still holding his wrist as his hands rested comfortably on her waist. Hermione swallowed visibly when he brushed a lock of hair away from her face.

"You're beautiful," he told her, saying it more to himself than to her.

She felt drawn into his eyes, and couldn't look away. But suddenly, just when he started leaning down towards her, she broke eye contact and attempted to sit up. Harry backed off a little, but cupped her face in his hands so she'd look at him.

"Hey," he said softly, searching her eyes. "I'm not him, okay?"

Hermione gave him a smile. "I know," she replied, nodding. "But…let's just take this one day at a time and see what happens."

When this time Hermione pushed at his chest gently so he'd get off her, he wouldn't budge. She looked up at him in confusion, her hands placed on his shoulders.

"Do you like me?" He asked, tilting his head a bit.

Hermione looked away, her face heating up. "Harry—"

"Do you?" He asked a bit more firmly, lifting her chin so she'd look at him. "You can't deny the attraction between us, Hermione."

"I do like you," she admitted softly. "But…I…I mean…"

"I know," he nodded, dragging the backs of his fingers down her cheek slowly. "You've just gotten out of a relationship and all that…I understand."

"You know," she frowned a bit. "We weren't even that serious. I think we would've worked more as friends, not in a relationship…" She shook her head with a small smirk when she looked at his expression. "I know you're just dying to laugh and tell me that you told me so. Well, go on."

Harry smiled, but didn't comment on that. He was just happy to hear that from Hermione. He had known they weren't that serious, but now it was confirmed. "I really, really like you, Hermione Granger," he said. "But as you wish; we'll take it slow. I'm a patient man."

"Are you?" She couldn't help teasing him. "I rather got the vibe that you were far from patient, actually…"

"Ouch," Harry chuckled. "Okay, you're right. I'm not very patient when it comes to things I really want."

Hermione bit her lip, blushing harder. It was so long since she'd had such genuine attention from a man. So long, really, that the feeling was almost unfamiliar to her. Harry made her feel so special. On an impulse, and almost without thinking, Hermione boldly leaned up and gave him a light kiss on the mouth.

He smiled softly at her, and then to give her some space, Harry slowly adjusted himself so he was sitting properly back on the couch, but took her hand in his after she'd righted herself as well.

"Let me take you to dinner some time after the match?"

Hermione pursed her lips, and opened her mouth, but Harry cut her off.

"I shall be the perfect gentleman, I promise," he said dramatically, bowing his head.

Hermione laughed, "Harry, honestly."

"Say yes?" He smiled charmingly, lifting her hand to kiss her knuckles. Hermione's knees turned to jell-o, and if not for the fact that she was sitting, she would've stumbled.

"Okay," she agreed, smiling.

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