Musical Moments

BREATHE

Lyrics : Faith Hill
Characters : JK Rowling
Disclaimer : I own nothing except the sore arm from my flu shot today.

*** DM+HG *** HG+DM ***

I can feel the magic floating in the air
Being with you gets me that way
I watch the sunlight dance across your face and I've
Never been this swept away

*** DM+HG *** HG+DM ***

Hermione watched the Quidditch match with a heavy heart. She just couldn’t get into the game. Of course, if anyone asked, she would reply that it was because neither of the two teams playing were of her House. Granted, she realized that her formulated excuse wouldn’t hold up as the game was Ravenclaw versus Slytherin and any Hogwarts student worth his or her wand knew to cheer for any team except Slytherin…unless you were a Slytherin.

With Harry and Ron flanking her in the stands, she sat down with her arms crossed and glared out at the field. No way was she going to enjoy this game…or pretend to enjoy this game…or stare at the players…or gaze at Malfoy…or…

((Wait a sec…Malfoy?!?!))

“Come on, ‘Mione! Stand up and cheer!” Harry grabbed Hermione and hauled her up to stand beside him. “Ravenclaw just scored!”

“Yay.” Hermione clapped her hands slowly, the sarcasm lost on her friends.

Her eyes swept the field. There was the Ravenclaw team cheering and celebrating their latest goal. There was the Slytherin team glaring. And…ah hah…there was Malfoy, up high on his broom, staring.

Hermione felt dizzy, staring so high up even though she was on the ground…or rather on solidly built stands that were on the ground. She assumed that Malfoy was glaring at the Ravenclaw team just as his own housemates were, but as the sun reflected off of his pale skin, she realized that he was scanning the air.

((He’s not giving up. While they celebrate, he’s looking for the snitch.))

Even though she knew she was suppose to hate Malfoy, she had to admire the determination on his face. From the stands, she could see his muscles tense. Partly to maintain his balance on the broom as a gust of wind swirled through the stands, and, Hermione realized, he was really concentrating on locating the golden snitch that would allow his team to win the game.

Yes, she could admire that level of focus and determination.

His hair looked almost pure white with the sun reflecting off it and Hermione was suddenly struck by how much he looked like an angel, floating there high above the students.

((Except his halo is tarnished and there’s a pitchfork-like tail under those robes!)) Her brain mocked. ((To match his pitchforked Slytherin tongue!))

A few clouds gently puffed their way into the sky above the game. They formed a circle, allowing a small ray of sunlight to shine down on the stands where Hermione was. Warmth burst through her, causing her to gasp slightly.

((It’s the sun. It’s the sun. It’s not…umm…it’s the sun.))

*** DM+HG *** HG+DM ***

All my thoughts seem to settle on the breeze
When I'm lying wrapped up in your arms
The whole world just fades away
The only thing I hear
Is the beating of your heart

*** DM+HG *** HG+DM ***

Draco glanced down and followed the beam of sunlight down onto the Gryffindor stands. His eyes widened at the sight of the light reflecting off of Hermione, causing her hair to look like a waterfall of galleons and knuts.

((Waterfall?!?!)) Draco shifted on the broom. ((That’s lame, even for me!))

Frowning, Draco tried to re-gather his focus.

((Merlin! Concentrate, Malfoy!))

He flew into the sunlight filtering down to the Gryffindors, hoping that if she was out his line of sight, he could channel his energies on finding the golden snitch. Unfortunately, knowing that they were sharing the same ray of warmth, caused him to imagine that they were sharing more. A moment. A sigh. A heartbeat.

His broom dipped a bit in a short, yet strong, gust of wind.

((Concentrate!))

Narrowing his eyes, he glared at the Ravenclaw team and willed them to stop scoring, heck, to just disappear back into the mouldy locker room from which they came. He wished the Hufflepuffs would go back to doing whatever it was Hufflepuffs did for enjoyment. He wished his own Slytherins would retreat into the shadows and plot about something. Draco wished everyone would just leave him to be up here on his broom alone, enjoying the conflicting sensations of warm sun and cold winds.

Alone with Hermione. Draco wondered what he would need to do to convince her to take a ride with him. He smirked realizing that Hermione would probably fly a broom on her own first before she would trust him.

Still, though, it caused some rather pleasant sensations to course through him as he imagined sharing his broom with her. He could almost feel her grabbing on to his robes for security, wrapping an arm around her to promise her safety, hovering so that they could bask in the warm sunlight.

((Ouch!))

Malfoy grabbed his ear with a mitten-clad hand as the snitch zoomed past. If he didn’t know better, he would have sworn that the little winged ball had it out for him and was determined to draw first blood. He looked at his mitten and scowled at the tiny red blots. First blood indeed. That little ball of prey was his.

His concentration back, Draco swooped after the ultimate Quidditch prize and smiled in satisfaction as he flew past the Ravenclaw seeker. He saw the look of horror on his counterpart’s face who had not yet seen the snitch and smiled in satisfaction. Draco may not have Hermione yet, but in a moment he was going to have the snitch…and it was only a matter of time before the Gryffindor Princess was caught, as well.

*** DM+HG *** HG+DM ***

‘Cause I can feel you breathe
It's washing over me
Suddenly I'm melting into you
There's nothing left to prove
Baby all we need is just to be
Caught up in the touch
The slow and steady rush
Baby, isn't that the way that love's supposed to be
I can feel you breathe
Just breathe

*** DM+HG *** HG+DM ***

Hermione gasped in horror and closed her eyes.

“Did you see that? Malfoy practically took out their seeker!” Ron growled. “That was totally uncalled for!”

“He sees the snitch.” Harry said, worried. “I’ve never seen him want it this bad.”

“Still, though, that’s no reason to be unsporting.” Ron snapped. “Can you see the snitch, Harry?”

“I did for a moment. I think I saw it at the same time as Malfoy. I can’t see it now, though.”

“Bet you’d capture it before he would.” Ron said proudly.

Harry just shrugged and glanced down at Hermione. He noticed her eyes closed tightly.

“’Mione? Are you okay?” He asked, draping an arm over her.

She shook her head and bit her lip.

((No, no I’m not okay. I’m worried. I worried that I worried that Dra…Malfoy…almost had a mid-air collision. I’m concerned that I’m concerned for him.))

“Hey, come here.” Harry pulled Hermione closer, hoping his body heat would help her. His green eyes looked over at Ron, confused.

Ron just shrugged and turned his attention back to the game.

“What’s Malfoy doing now?” Ron asked.

Hermione, burrowed into Harry’s embrace, peeked out and saw that Malfoy had stopped chasing the snitch. In fact, if she didn’t know better she would have sworn that he was looking at them…right at her…and scowling.

She knew he was the one who had sent the flowers but refused to tell anyone. Instead, she and a few friends gathered them up and carried them to her dorm room. Comments were muttered by the male Gryffindors for the entire week that even their common room reeked of girly flowers. Lavender and Ginny figured that they were just jealous because they hadn’t been the ones to think of the idea first. Whoever came up with the idea to owl in all those flowers was a true romantic. The girls all sighed whenever one of them brought the whole scene back into conversation.

Hermione, however, had done more than not tell anyone. She hadn’t even thanked Malfoy. No note, no look, no acknowledgement….nothing. She was too suspicious that he was up to something and while she was known for being book-smart, she was street-smart enough not to trust a boy who taunted to no end.

So why was he scowling at her? Biting her lip, Hermione burrowed even more into Harry, wishing the game would just end. She didn’t care who won…she simply wanted to go back to her room and forget that her heart pounded when she thought Malfoy was going to collide with the Ravenclaw seeker.

*** DM+HG *** HG+DM ***

In a way I know my heart is waking up
As all the walls come tumbling down
I’m closer than I've ever felt before
And I know
And you know
There's no need for words right now

*** DM+HG *** HG+DM ***

Draco growled softly.

Potter!

What did that Boy-Who-Was-A-Pain-In-Draco’s-Side think he was doing with Granger?!?!

Draco growled louder.

“Get the bloody snitch, Malfoy!” One of his teammates yelled out from below, as she smacked her broom hard into a Ravenclaw player.

Eyes narrowing, Draco hoped that the smaller field of vision would allow him to spot the snitch faster. It took longer to scan the air, but it allowed him to concentrate more on a smaller area.

Ah hah….there it…what the?!?!

Was Potter holding her even tighter?!?!

He was! And she was letting him!

Blaise looked over to the Gryffindor stands from his own cheering housemates and smirked.

So that was what was causing Malfoy to lose his concentration.

The-Boy-Who-Got-The-Girl.

Zabimi coughed lightly, covering up a laugh.

Crabbe and Goyle, standing beside him, stepped away slightly.

From the stands, he could see the scowl on Malfoy’s face. And if he could see it, so could everyone else. Not good. He glanced up a few rows and noticed Snape with a thoughtful expression on his face. Following the stare from the dark-haired professor, Blaise’s stomach clenched. Yes, he was staring at Malfoy and Snape was no idiot. He would quickly surmise where Draco was staring. Hopefully, the professor would think that Malfoy was disgusted at the affectionate embrace between the two Gryffindors and not…bloody hell…Snape’s thoughtful look just changed to a scowl.

Blaise stared back at Malfoy, willing his friend to get his mind back on the game and soon.

He breathed a sigh of relief as a tight smile crossed Draco’s face. The Slytherin seeker realized he could accomplish two wonderfully Slytherin feats with one success.

((Get the snitch.))

Swirling his broom around, he caught a reflection of light and he sped up after his quarry.

*** DM+HG *** HG+DM ***

‘Cause I can feel you breathe
It's washing over me
Suddenly I'm melting into you
There's nothing left to prove
Baby all we need is just to be
Caught up in the touch
The slow and steady rush
Baby, isn't that the way that love's supposed to be
I can feel you breathe
Just breathe

*** DM+HG *** HG+DM ***

“He sees the snitch.” Harry said tonelessly, his arm still wrapped around Hermione.

She groaned. He could feel the vibrations through his chest. It wasn’t all together unpleasant but it was rather odd.

“Aren’t you going to watch, Hermione?” Ron asked, tugging on her sleeve.

Shaking her head, Hermione seemed quite content to keep her face tucked into Harry.

((Girls.)) Ron rolled his eyes.

Harry grinned back.

“Bloody hell, Malfoy just hit that pole!” Ron said excitedly.

Harry frowned at his friend.

“What?” Hermione gasped and whirled around to look. Seeing Malfoy still flying, she scowled at Ron.

He snickered.

“You prat!” She punched him in the arm.

“Hey, that hurt!” Ron exclaimed.

“Good!” Hermione stomped her foot.

“Well, I knew you’d want to see Malfoy unconscious, just like the rest of us. Figured that would get you out of Harry’s lap.”

“I was not in Harry’s lap.” She protested.

“Of course, we were standing.” Harry tried to soothe her.

“I just don’t like this game. Too many accidents and violence and stuff.”

“Stuff.” Harry said blandly. “Yes, there’s stuff here.”

Hermione glared at him.

“So what’s your problem?” He asked. “Ever since Malfoy nearly hit…”

“And Malfoy has the golden snitch! Slytherin wins!” The announcer’s voice shouted out over the system.

Gryffindor let out a collective groan and slumped back down into their seats.

*** DM+HG *** HG+DM ***

Caught up in the touch
The slow and steady rush
Baby, isn't that the way that love's supposed to be
I can feel you breathe
Just breathe

*** DM+HG *** HG+DM ***

Draco could feel the snitch’s wire wings gradually cease their frantic beating as he cradled it in his mittened palm. The metal was cold, but it was warming up from his own heat. Flying in large circles, he slowly spiraled his way down to where his team was celebrating the win. A few more goals by Ravenclaw and all that capturing the snitch would have accomplished would have been putting an end to the game. Ravenclaw had come close…but Slytherin had been triumphant in the end.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Gryffindors sit back down and he smirked. Few things beat the feeling of disappointing those do-gooders. He could imagine the captain of the Ravenclaw team writing the Gryffindors a parchment of apology for loosing to his team.

Chuckling softly, Draco accepted the congratulatory pats on the back from his team and exchanged a few words of arrogant banter with a some housemates in the stands. Naturally, Zabimi was too proper to lower himself to shouting above the masses. The two friends exchanged simple nods as a means of expressing success.

Draco noticed that Blaise was looking over at the Gryffindor stand and he smiled knowingly. Arching a blond eyebrow, Draco returned to his team who was now off their brooms and exchanging handshakes with the losing team. He couldn’t even call them opponents. Sure they had tried to put up a game, but in the end, they had lost. Slytherin was victorious.

The rush of triumph flowed through Draco. He did the necessary handshakes but refused to say such meaningless platitudes like “Good game” or “You almost had it”. As he shook the last hand, amusingly enough, it was of the Ravenclaw seeker, he stared down at the snitch. It was nestled in his mittened hand and appeared to be quite harmless. His ear could protest otherwise, the blood now dried in the cold.

“Come on, Malfoy! Shower off…get the stench of Ravenclaw off of you!” His team guffawed as they marched back to the showers.

“In a second!” Draco yelled back.

He had the snitch.

Time to put that little plan of his into motion. Really, he did come up with the most brilliant schemes when he was in the air.

Smirking, he stood on one side of his broom and rode it slowly up into the stands. The Gryffindor stands.

*** DM+HG *** HG+DM ***

I can feel the magic floating in the air
Being with you gets me that way

*** DM+HG *** HG+DM ***

Harry and Ron glared as Malfoy made his way towards them. The students in the lower rows parted to the sides. Some would say it was to ensure they had a good view. Some were honest enough to say they didn’t want to get smacked by Malfoy’s broom. Either way, the blond Slytherin had a clear path up to the benches where the Golden Trio was.

“Go away, Malfoy. Your house is over there.” Harry stood up and pointed.

Ron also stood, his fingers wrapping around his wand.

“Don’t start something you can’t finish, Malfoy.” Ron threatened.

“Really, Weasel. Don’t you and Potter ever relax?” Malfoy drawled. “Besides, I’m not here to cause trouble. In fact…”

Draco actually looked thoughtful.

“I’m not here to see you.”

Holding out his hand, Hermione could see the snitch lying in the Draco’s green mitten.

“A token, Princess.” Draco said gallantly, a small trace of a smirk on his face.

“What?” Ron took a step back, honestly shocked at the audacity of the Slytherin.

Harry frowned, looking at Hermione and then back to Draco. He paled.

“Aren’t you going to take it?” Draco asked. “I’m not leaving until you do. Where’s that Gryffindor courage you’re supposed to have?”

Hermione stood up and reached over to take the snitch.

The Slytherin stands howled. Even Draco couldn’t tell if it was cheers or jeers.

Nodding at Hermione, Draco wrapped his now empty hand around his broom.

“Pothead. Weasel.” A full blown smirk now crossed his face. He swished down to the ground and led his shocked team off of the field. He knew, without looking back, that Hermione was still standing and staring at the golden snitch now in her hand.