The game and love

5

It was game day. For the first time in many weeks, Draco felt pressure. The team was 8-0 with with three games to play. Now, you always had to win out most of the time to go to state, but with the regionals shaping up to be the toughest ever in a decade, according to newspapers, Draco felt the heat. It radiated in the locker room as he dressed and did his warm up throws out on the field.

"How are you holding up, Mister Malfoy?" Draco kept doing warm-up throws. "I'm good sir." Snape gave him a pat on the shoulder. "That's good, now just stick to what we planned and everything should be fine. Draco hoped he was right, but something was worrying him. 'Where is Ron?' He hadn't seen him since the afternoon meeting. It wasn't like Ron to miss a chance to tell him to throw him the ball alot.

Draco didn't stay too long on those thoughts as Oliver Wood came over to speak to him. "Drake, we run the screen tonight, but when we do, will you pull George in to pass protect, instead of Ron? I like his blocking better." Draco smirked. "Sure, no problem." He had no intention of doing that, but he thought Oliver could use the ease of mind. As he got ready for the huddle, everything that was in his head washed out and he focused on the game and the task that lay ahead.

"Z 62, green, Z 62! Set! Hike!" Wood was open right away, making Draco's release easy and smooth. He hit his target with ease and smiled. "Screen complete to Oliver Wood, for twenty-two yards." The announcer stated, excited by the play, this opponent didn't allow much, in eight games they had only give up ten points. "The Hogwarts Dragons are going to have success if they keep the pressure on with wood." Coach Moody must be upset.

"45, X 23 left, Z 325 yellow, 24 Jet smoke." Draco called from the huddle. He had spotted ron and gave him the usual nod that the ball would be going his way. "Ready?" "Break!" everyone called ethusiastically. Draco started his snap count and pointed out the coverage to George, who quickly adjusted his route from a short post, to a deep skinny post. The offense cpuld say alot with a point and a nod, Draco prided himself on being a man of few words while on the field.

"Green, 82 Green! Hike!" Draco stepped back and his worst nightmare occured. The pocket collapsed around him and at a very rapid pace he was surrounded by some very big guys. WHAM! He absorbed the hit as he threw. He felt his whole body explode with pain. However the ball was in the air to a wide open Ron, Who caught the ball in stride for eight yards. Oliver helped Draco up. "Nice throw, that was my fault. I should have helped in the pocket." Draco shook his head. "No, it's ok." We need you to keep the pressure of our recievers with you out in the screen." Draco recomposed himself in the huddle. "You Ok boss?" The center Crabb asked, clearly upset that he'd failed to prevent the hit.

"I'm ok, lets get this show going." They all nodded to him. Except Ron, who was still quiet. "Ok, X slot, Y 57 sticky. Ready?" "Break!" Draco was gaining confidence with each play, evident by his smile. "34 Black, Set, hike!" Draco dropped back quickly and avoided the blitz. He faked like he would pass and then handed the ball to Oliver, who went though a hole in the linemen, gaining another seventeeen yards. "Looks like number thirty-two Oliver wood, will carry the offense tonight." The announcer called. On the next play, Draco ran a dump off pass to Ron who turned up field and picked up twelve more yards.

Draco was watching everything work. He didn't like this, something was Wrong. With eight minutes left in the first quarter. He called a timeout. The crowed booed, but Snape seemed pleased with the call. "They're giving us zone defense coach. They're blitzing every play, I don't know if Oliver can carry us all night, sir." "Draco?" "Yes sir?" "Just use what's working." Draco looked a bit deflated, he'd hoped the coach would help more than that. 'I wasted a fucking timeout for that?!' He thought as he jogged back to the huddle.

"Malfoy hands to Wood. Wood breaks a tackle. He's to the forty of the Aurours. Twenty, ten, and brought down at the six-yard line. A drive that started on their own eight and looks to end with a TD." The crowd exploded with cheers, no one had done this against the Aurours. "Ron, jump ball. Ready?" "Break!" The jump ball was one of Draco and Ron's personal plays, it meant that he would throw the ball just high enough where Ron could grab it. As soon as the ball was hiked, Draco felt the pocket collapse, but he got the ball up for Ron to catch it. "Oh my, interception." Draco couldn't believe it. Ron had screwed up his route and Draco had missed it.

Things didn't get any better on defense, the other team just walked right in and scored, completely deflating the crowd. On the next chance to go score, Draco was sacked twice and wound up hurting his shoulder. Oliver was stuffed and couldn't move the ball either. It was the nightmare Draco had the feeling it would be. The Aurours scored again on their next possesion and it was quickly turning into a blow out.

Draco felt the pressure on the next possesion in the huddle. Everyone was looking at him for answers, he didn't have any. His voice was hoarse from yelling and his face was covered in dirt and sweat. "Malfoy throws to George weasley, who's wide open. Oh no, he dropped the ball and the hit he took looked nasty." Draco was sacked again after the dropped pass and his anger was taken out on the sidelines, to anyone near enough to him. "What the fuck? How hard is it to catch a goddamn ball, huh?" He threw his helment down and started to pace.

Ron aproached caustiously, but when Draco spotted him, he unloaded eveything he was feeling. "This all your fault!" He stood face to face, nose to nose with Ron. "I threw you the damn ball! What's your fucking job? Just fucking catch the piece of shit!" He grabbed Ron by the front of his jersey. This was the last straw for Ron who was now staring a hole in Draco's face. "Listen, you don't be mad at me because you're some sissy little faggot." Draco didn't even consider the consequences, the next thing he new his fist has smashed the side of Ron's face and several players came over to break them up.

"Come on, sissy fag boy!" Ron shouted. Draco, who was madly screaming stopped when he saw Harry in front of them up in the bleachers. He ran his hand through his sweat soaked head and went quiet.

Halftime was quite unsettled, Snape had taken Ron out of the game, and in so doing sacrificed his office to Ron's wraith. Once that had calmed down, Snape come into the lockroom dressing area and addressed the team. "You know what to do, you know how to do it. Now, we may have to change a few schemes, but this team is not beaten. We are the best. We have a great runner and a great Quarterback." Everyone looked at Draco who was sitting with his knees bent and his arms rest on them, resting his head on his arms. "We can do this, right?" Snape snapped. "Yes sir!" they all replied. "Well, go out there and show me."

They came out of halftime down 31-0, they had only twenty-four minutes to play, but they had some faith when goyle had sacked the aurours qaurterback. The crowd, which was now only half it's size cheered in a depressed manor. "Draco Malfoy have to throw a perfect game in the second half, if the Dragons can hope to come back." The announcer said to the crowd, himself somewhat drflated. "Malfoy hands to Wood, Wood runs through a big hole in the line, breaks a tackle, breaks a second, he's into enemy territory, at the forty, the thirty, no one will catch him, touchdown Dragons! With one play we're back in it folks!"

Draco gave the signal for two points and again, handed off to Oliver who punched himself a hole and scored. The crowd loved it, but Draco felt like crap. His stomack was in knots and he felt like throwing up. The denfense forced the Quarterback to fumble on a play by Goyle again. The crowd began to chant "Goyle, Goyle, Goyle!" Draco put on his helment and was all bussiness, no smile at all.

He threw passes now, soley like clockwork, there was no love in his game. "On the Auruors 32, Malfoy takes the snap, steps back, throws, Wide open is Geroge weasley, touchdown Dragons!" It didn't register to Draco that he just scored, he just gave the signal for two. This time he threw a screen to Oliver who caught it and scored. "It looks like they might come back folks." The announcer was cautiously optimistic.

The defneses on both teams held, till about ten minutes in the fourth quarter was left, and Draco managed to get a long ball off to George, who caught it and went seventy-two yards to paydirt. Again, they went for two, and again they scored.

However, another two denfensive stops by the Auruors, had run seven minutes off the clock. With three minutes left Draco got one last chance to tie the game and he was in bad shape. He had been sacked six times, knocked down ten times and had blood on on his arms where the ground had torn him up.

"Ok guys, we got this far, all we need is a touchdown." Draco eyed everyone in the huddle, he'd have give anything to have Ron here now, but there was no such luck. "34 zebra, sixty jet smoke. Ready?" "Break!" Draco lined up and spotted the coverage and chaged the play. Puting two fingers crossed behind back telling Oliver what he saw. "34 red, 67, Hike!" "Malfoy hands to Wood, He charges the hole and is brought down after a gain of six yards. There's two minutes and forty-two seconds left, so they will need to hurry." The annoucer's excitement was felt in the crowd as the huddle broke again and Draco got ready to snap the ball.

Draco didn't like being in the quick offense, it made it more difficult to get the right read on defenses, so he improvised some of his safe schemes like runs and screens and things that didn't require high risk. As he snapped the ball, he saw the inside linbacker start to go deep, thinking he had an opening, Draco threw the ball up. However, the linebacker had faked, he closed the gap and intercepted the ball. Draco watched his future unfold before him and slumped to his knees.

The defense was not able to stop the other team from running out the clock and running out with their dreams. The atmosphere in the lockeroom was quiet and defeated. Draco sat by himself. He was unable to wrap his mind around the loss, for the first time, he din't feel very good about himself and questioned his skills. Several of his teamates tried to cheer him up, but he didn't even notice.

He stayed in his thoughts until he felt someone sit beside him. "It looked like a tough game out there." Harry had deep concern in his eyes. Draco looked at him and all the emotion he was holding in come out. He bagan too cry, no sound just tears at first and then he spoke. "I screwed up, I lost it for everyone, I'm sorry." Harry instinctivly pulled Draco into a hug and let his head rest on his shoulder. Harry hushed him. "No, you did your best, you can't do everything. It'll be ok." He gently stroked Draco's sweat soaked hair and whispered soft encouragement to his broken hero.

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End chapter 5 A/N Better? I wanted the Ron situation to happen in a game situation for more Drama, I hope you liked that.