The Family Jewels

Chapter 37
Quidditch

Harry and Ginny were having their pre-match snog against the wall in the Quidditch Captain’s office. Since Ginny had joined the team, when they were both playing, Gryffindor had never lost. Harry thought about Umbridge for a moment, she was always good for getting his blood up.

Ron knocked on the door, “Bloody hell, can’t you two do that where I don’t have to see it up close and personal?”

Ginny broke the kiss, but still kept her arms around Harry’s neck, “An almost reasonable request from my brother? What do you think?” she asked Harry.

“Never mess with a winning streak. We’ve got a lot riding on this match. I don’t intend to be Malfoy’s slave for 24 hours. Who knows what kinds of things he’d have me doing?” Harry raised his eyebrows at his girlfriend and her brother.

“There’s no way we will lose to those wankers, but it could be worse. He doesn’t live in Slytherin, you know, he shares a dorm with Hermione,” Ron said.

“I don’t think that you should assume that Hermione won’t be on Malfoy’s side. You have been a real prat to her lately,” Ginny pointed out fairly.

“That’s all in the past,” Harry said airily. “Why are we talking about this anyway? We should be planning what Malfoy is going to be doing for us after we kick some Slytherin arse.”

The trio left the office and joined the rest of the team in changing room. After listening to Oliver Wood’s long speeches before Quidditch matches, Harry was not one to go on and on. He said the same thing every time, “Let’s go get them.”

Draco stood up in the Slytherin changing room after all his players were assembled. “I want to see focus out there today, people. I know half of you don’t know your arse from a hole in the ground. Maybe you’re so used to losing at everything that losing to Gryffindor doesn’t bother you, but I am a Malfoy. Malfoys don’t lose. Malfoys do know how to help people to succeed.” Draco held up a draw string leather pouch. “There are 100 Galleons in this bag. Each one of you will have one just like this if we win. If that isn’t enough incentive, when we win, Potter will be my slave for the next 24 hours. I believe some of you would like to see the Boy-Who-Lived-To Be a Pain in the Arse taken down a few pegs. And let’s just say that you will have earned a place in my good graces.”

Theo Nott and Miles Bletchley gave each other very significant looks at this pronouncement. They had been in Draco’s good graces before, and he was always generous to pass along the witches he had shagged and tired of. Not that they were currently without female companionship. Theo and Hannah were moving along at a comfortable pace, but Miles was falling in love with Parvati. Miles especially wanted to beat Gryffindor. Parvati had not said it, but she clearly didn’t believe that the Slytherin team could beat her house. Add 100 Galleons to the pot, and Miles was not planning on letting anything get past him today.

Draco was not finished, though. “I know that in the past, Slytherin House has perhaps bent a few of the rules in order to win matches. I don’t have a problem with that, but that thinking is in the past. We are the team to beat, and I want to show everyone we can beat them at their own game. Completely clean out there today, mates. Or you will answer directly to me.” He looked each of his players directly in the eye, and they each nodded to him in turn. Message received.

The two teams made their appearance on the field; Madam Hooch would be officiating as usual. Draco and Harry shook hands as gentlemen, there was no inappropriate show of strength here on the ground, they were saving it for the air. Ernie Macmillan of Hufflepuff House would be doing the commentary for the match.

“I will be watching all of you quite closely,” she said, giving Draco a steely eyed glare.

He just smirked at her, “Excellent. We do look good in the air.”

Ernie charmed his voice with “Sonorus” and began introducing the players. “Welcome to the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin match today. Playing for Slytherin we have Vaisey, Montague, Urquhart, Nott, Harper, Bletchley, aanndd Captain and Seeker Draco Malfoy.” A huge cheer went up from the Slytherin stands, and you could see Professor Snape clapping for his house, wearing a silver and green scarf.

“Playing for Gryffindor today, we have Weasley, Hooper, Robins, Peekes, Coote, Weasley, aannd their unbeatable Captain and Seeker… Harry Potter!” The stands for Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff went wild.

Professor McGonagall trusted Macmillan significantly more than she had Lee Jordan, who had announced the games when he had been a student. That being said, she still sat very close to Macmillan during the match.

As soon as Draco was in the air he searched both the Slytherin and Gryffindor stands and was shocked that he couldn’t find either Blaise or Hermione. He had been hoping that Hermione would be lurking somewhere outside the Slytherin changing room to give him a kiss for luck, but this was just unacceptable. Neither of them was here! ‘What the bloody fuck is going on’ he wondered angrily.

The Keepers moved into position to guard the hoops and Madam Hooch released the Snitch. It disappeared, and the Bludgers were released. Nott and Harper hefted their bats meaningfully, but the Bludgers were no where near any Slytherin team members for now. Madam Hooch had the Quaffle tucked under one arm as she rose on her broomstick to the center of the pitch. She tossed the Quaffle up high as she blew her whistle to start the match. Vaisey grabbed it with one hand and started for the Gryffindor hoops.

“Vaisey has the Quaffle and he shoots toward the Gryffindor hoops. Keeper Ron Weasley just blocked that one. Score is still tied at nil.”

Draco was circling around high above the pitch intent upon catching sight of the Golden Snitch. Potter was at the opposite side of the pitch, but Draco could tell that he wasn’t having any luck either.

“Weasley has the Quaffle, and she passes to Hooper. And it’s Hooper with the Quaffle, oh bad luck Geoff.” Geoffrey Hooper had been hit with a Bludger hit his way by Theo Nott, who grinned maliciously at him when he dropped the Quaffle. “It’s Urquhart with the Quaffle, and…he scores!” Ron had been pulled to one side by an expert fake from Urquhart, and had left his left hoop unguarded. “Ten nothing Slytherin,” Ernie said, his voice magically magnified to allow all to hear him.

“Robins has the Quaffle, and she is racing Montague to the Slytherin goal. Robins passes to Weasley, and she…scores! Ten all.”

‘At least Macmillan does a proper job of commentating’, Draco thought grudgingly.

Draco wasn’t the least bit tired, he was willing to stay on his broom and play this out for hours, if need be. His Quicksilver 2000 was a match for Potter’s Firebolt any day, and Draco was feeling good. He still hadn’t seen the Snitch, but Potter was clearly not having better luck, and Potter was distracted by the Bludgers being hit at his girlfriend. Draco had never been happier that Hermione and Blaise did not play Quidditch; he didn’t want to be distracted by worrying about them during the match. ‘Of course, it might have been nice if either of them had decided to show up to watch him play’, he thought mutinously. Especially when Blaise had been so concerned about the outcome. Hermione, too, actually,’ he thought. A faint sense of unease came over him, but he resolutely pushed it away. It wouldn’t do to let himself become distracted when playing against Potter.

The score was now sixty-forty Slytherin, but it was early yet. The Snitch would probably not show itself for some time. ‘Wait,’ Draco thought, ‘is that…?’ He took off for the wall in front of the Hufflepuff stands, thinking that he saw a glint of something metallic. It was the Snitch. Draco dove for it, Potter hot on his heels, but when Draco took his eye off it to check Potter’s position, it disappeared again.

Harry was unused to the style that Malfoy was using today. Usually he stayed right with him at all times. Today, Malfoy was playing his own game, circling above the pitch, staying out of the path of the Bludgers, allowing his Beaters to guard his Chasers.

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Blaise woke up in Slytherin and looked around the deserted common room stupidly, trying to clear his head. ‘The match must have started,’ he thought. How could things be so out of control that Draco would resort to sending Crabbe and Goyle after him with truth serum? Blaise figured that he was letting his emotions cloud his judgment if this was what Draco planned after they shagged each other last night. He had known that Draco was angry that everyone thought Hermione was his, but this was going a bit far, their personal information would be all over Slytherin in the next few hours. Crabbe and Goyle certainly couldn’t spell discreet, and associated no meaning whatsoever to the word.

Blaise looked at his watch; the match had been on for almost an hour. He needed to think what his next move should be. Hermione would surely be at the Quidditch pitch, his instincts were telling him that he needed to get to her as soon as possible. He picked up his cloak and wrapped it around his shoulders. He was walking out of the dungeons when his talisman sent off such a wave of panic that he began to run for the pitch. He wasn’t sure what was going on in a stadium filled with over a thousand people, but he was clearly late.

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Draco had been circling above the center of the pitch for over an hour, occasionally dropping down to search anywhere that caught his eye. The score was now 120-80 Slytherin. ‘The Green Machine was in fine form today,’ Draco thought smugly. The only fouls had been committed by Peakes and Coote of Gryffindor. Vaisey had converted on each of them, cementing Slytherin’s lead. Draco was still searching the stands every few minutes, his dismay that they weren’t even coming to watch growing by the minute.

Blaise hit the stairs to the Gryffindor stands at a dead run. He knew where Hermione always sat, and he was almost there…when he realized that she wasn’t sitting in her accustomed seat. His eyes searched the Ravenclaw stands; maybe she was sitting with Luna Lovegood? But she wasn’t there, not in Hufflepuff or Slytherin either. Blaise actually stumbled from the pain his talisman was now giving off. How could Draco continue to circle the pitch like that? Even if Draco wanted Hermione for himself, Blaise was certain that was only another reason that he would protect her with his life.

Blaise finally stood in the front of the Gryffindor stands and held his Talisman of Mars up so that Draco could see it if he looked that way. ‘Probably wasn’t wearing it, didn’t want anyone to grab it by mistake,’ Blaise thought. Draco looked at him and smiled. He didn’t understand what Blaise was trying to tell him.

Blaise realized he was just wasting time at this point. Hermione wasn’t here. The Head Dorms was the next place he should look; actually, now that he thought about it, he should have gone straight there. The Neanderthals had been very intent upon getting the passwords. He felt his heart drop, but he had to keep running. ‘Fuck, I should have nicked an extra broomstick from the Slytherin broom cupboard, that would have been faster,’ he thought to himself as his legs began to burn.

Blaise heard a loud cheer go up from the pitch, clearly indicating that the Snitch had been caught, though there was no way for him to tell by whom. Hopefully, that meant that reinforcements would be on the way. He skidded to a stop in front of the Head Dorm and panted out the password, the portrait opened, and he ran inside. No one in the common room, up the stairs, Hermione’s door was open, no one in there, through the bathroom to Draco’s room, no one in there. What the fuck? She wasn’t at the match, not in the Head Dorm.

The chest Draco’s grandfather left him was open. Blaise was certain Draco would never leave it open like that.

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Draco was circling over the pitch, all his concentration on catching the Snitch. In some part of his conscious mind he realized that Blaise was there, in front of the Gryffindor stands. Everything must be all right. Draco took off again; the Snitch was just teasing him.

“And it’s Vaisey with the Quaffle, passing to Montague. Montague certainly has made a wonderful recovery, hasn’t he? Let’s all hear it for those wonderful Healers at St. Mungo’s.” Macmillan’s voice just droned on and Harry couldn’t even register what he said. What was the score, damn it?

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Malfoy take off at high speed, when Ginny was hit by a Bludger in the left hand right in front of him. The impact of the blow spun her around, although she kept her seat on her broom. “Harry, go!” Ginny screamed at him.

Harry spied Malfoy laid out flat on his broom in order to cut his wind resistance, an air of determination about him. Harry saw the Snitch high above the pitch, and judged that he could still beat Malfoy to the small golden ball, its wings beating so fast it was difficult to see them. He took off at a steep ascent, while Malfoy was coming in at an almost lateral angle. The Snitch was fluttering in an aimless fashion and both the Seekers were on a collision course high above the pitch when Malfoy put on a burst of speed that had to have come from deep inside. Harry had his arm out in front of him, his fingers searching for contact with the Snitch when Malfoy closed his own around the Snitch.

“SLYTHERIN WINS,” Macmillan was saying, but Draco had finally realized what Blaise had been holding aloft. His own Talisman of Mars was currently is his Quidditch locker, but Blaise had been holding his above his head, clearly in an attempt to tell him that Hermione was in some sort of trouble. “Final score Slytherin 280, Gryffindor 80,” Macmillan shouted. Draco didn’t even pause to accept the congratulations of his teammates.

Harry was looking stunned and was taken aback when Draco rounded on him midair and said, “Something is wrong with Hermione. You are mine for the next 24 hours. Let’s go.”

The Quidditch stadium had been rocked by the deafening cheers of Slytherin House, elated that their team had finally beaten Gryffindor. Both Seekers took off for the castle, and their fans were unsure what they should do. The other players couldn’t figure out what was going on as Draco and Harry left the pitch at top speed, only pausing when Draco stopped to hold the main door open, then continuing up to the Head Dorm on their brooms.

Draco swung onto the ground, and Harry followed suit, only to barely catch the portrait as it began to close after Draco ran ahead. Blaise was in his room, unsure of his next move when Draco ran in. “Where is Hermione?” Draco asked.

“I don’t know,” Blaise said, shaking his head, “where did your goons take her after they talked to me?” he asked.

“What are you talking about?” Draco asked, barely holding onto his temper.

“Malfoy!” Harry shouted from the door to the common room.

Both of them spun around and headed out to face Harry as he entered the Head common room with Crabbe and Goyle in tow. “These two say that they were guarding the Head Dorm under your orders Malfoy, but they can’t understand what’s going on, since you never left, then you showed up at the door,” Harry said.

“Under my orders?” Draco questioned. “I don’t know what the bloody fuck you’re talking about.”

“We did just like you said, Draco, we watched the door, and the Mudblood never left after you went in,” Greg answered with an air of pride.

Draco was quick, but he was not understanding what was going on, at all. He took a deep breath and tried to calm down. Vince and Greg never did well under pressure, and he wanted to know what had happened this morning as quickly as possible. Scaring them was not going to help in that. “Greg, what time did I go in and ask you to stand guard?”

Greg looked at his watch, “I dunno, about an hour ago.”

“Greg, an hour ago I was on the Quidditch pitch playing in the match. It couldn’t have been me,” Draco said it slowly and carefully.

“I wondered about that myself, but I figured they would just wait for you if you was late,” Vince said, in an effort to be helpful.

“Malfoy, where is Hermione?” Harry asked in a deadly voice.

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A/N – I hope you will all excuse my flagrant disregard for the fact that some of the players mentioned have probably graduated. I did the best I could.

I have the rest of the story all mapped out, and I plan to get it written up as soon as I can. I was hoping to have this chapter up a few days ago, but my Schipperke Prince died. Things have been pretty tough here at home.