Tam Riddle: The Dead Will Rise Again (HP Fanfic)

Painful

We were forced to talk to each other during practices and matches. So over time we started talking again, gradually at first, but we were friends once again. Then the last match of the season finally came in November and of course we were playing Gryffindor for the Quidditch Cup.

Madam Hooch let the bludgers and the snitch go as she threw up the quaffle and blew her whistle. The game began like any other. The Gryffindors aren't exactly foul players, but they played hard, harder than the last time we played them. Harry and Draco were flying above the game, as captains and seekers of their teams they really weren't liking each other up there as they scanned the pitch for the snitch. I knew there was an exchange of insults as they passed each other in the air.

We scored a couple goals and they scored a couple. Blaise and I were kicking butt, figuratively of course, while the other chaser was literally kicking butt. He knocked one of the chasers off her broom. Blaise and I weren't one for foul play but Draco told the team to win at all costs.

We'd stop the game every few minutes because a Slytherin knocked a Gryffindor off their broom or one of the beaters aimed at a player without the quaffle. It was proving to be a dangerous match.

Suddenly, Draco saw the snitch and started flying after it, Harry was right behind him. They were diving and weaving in between the stands and players. A race between Firebolt and Nimbus 2001. The game came to a standstill as everyone watched. The Firebolt should have easily out-paced the Nimbus but Draco was pushing his broom to the max and kept neck and neck with Harry. As they passed, both Gryffindor beaters hit a bludger toward Draco as hard as they could. I shot off to get him out of the way. I shoved him off course just before one of the bludgers hit my right shoulder. I was knocked off my broom and started falling. I ignored the pain to the best of my ability as I concentrated on the wind currents, trying to get as much wind to respond to my commands to hold me up. Two inches off the ground I finally stopped my sixty foot drop.

That's when the pain caught up to me and I dropped those two inches...on my right shoulder. I yelled out in pain. I looked up as Harry caught the snitch. I started pounding my head with my fist at his stupidity.

As I thought this, Draco landed beside me and took me into his arms.

"Are you okay?" he asked with concern.

"No, you jerk. If I had known you weren't going to catch the damn snitch, I wouldn't have taken that bludger for you," I yelled at him as I shoved him away with my right arm. Bad idea. I yelled in pain again.

LATER

I was yelling in pain as Madam Pomfrey was trying to realign my shoulder in the hospital wing. It hurt like a bitch. Apparently the hit was harder than I thought. It hit and knocked my shoulder out, gross right, sounds painful I know. It is. It's the most painful experience in my life to date.

When she was done I looked across the room at Draco, he was sitting there looking all sad, I almost felt sorry for him, almost.

If he had caught the snitch then all of my efforts would have been worth it and Slytherin would have won the cup. But no he was such a spazz. He was thrown off his course and turned back and saw the bludger hit me and he saw me fall off my broom. He didn't do anything as he watched me fall in silent horror. He didn't try to save me, he didn't catch the snitch. I saved the seeker so everyone was okay about my shoving him, but because he didn't catch the snitch everyone was pissed.

I lay down in my bed to rest and Madam Pomfrey shooed everyone out of the room. Draco didn't go and because he was so quiet Madam Pomfrey didn't notice him. I didn't want to talk to him, because like everyone else, I was pissed at him. But he came over anyway.

He sat at the edge of my bed on the right side next to my hip looking at either the floor or his feet. I tried moving slowly away from him. Inch by inch. When I was on the extreme edge of the bed, I stopped and looked at the ceiling. We stayed this way for about five minutes before he finally said something.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. I didn't say anything. "I'm sorry I didn't save you. I'm sorry I didn't catch the snitch. Please, say something." Still I stayed silent. "Don't be mad. I thought you were going to die and I didn't know what to do. Please, say something."

"There's nothing to say, Draco," I said in a very calm, very deadly tone of voice.

"I'm so sorry," he said.

"I don't want your apologies, Draco," I said in the same voice.

"You shouldn't have shoved me out of the way," he said looking at me.

"If I didn't you would be here right now," I said, my voice softening up a bit, just a bit.

"But I-" he stammered but I cut him off.

"No, Draco. The one time I needed you to be selfish, the one time I needed you to just get the best of Harry, the one time I wanted you to win, you freeze up and spazz," I said as I got up to face him. "Why couldn't you have just been a jerk for once?"

"But I care about you, Tammy," he said with so much pain in his eyes and voice.

I sighed and I scooted over back to his side of the bed. The whole time he was looking down at his feet so he didn't see me come behind him. I hugged him from behind. "I care about you too, Draco, hence the hospital bed," I said as I rested my chin on his shoulder and leaned into his cheek. I could see him smile in my peripheral vision.

"Would you freak if I said I love you?" he said in cautious voice.

"No," I said in a nonchalant voice. "But I would probably say, 'No kidding, I totally did not see that coming. How very sudden of you, Draco,'" I said in a sarcastic voice.

"Why?" he said as he turned to look at me.

"Because I kinda figured when you kissed me, out of nowhere back in September," I said.

"Oh right, that," he said and I could feel his cheek going warm so if I saw his face it would be tomato red.

He moved in my arms to face me, but his movement caused my shoulder to move and pain shot through my shoulder. I yelped and fell back on the bed. My left arm was still around him when I went down, so he came down with me. My shoulder was in so much pain and on top of that Draco was on top of me and he was blushing like a fool. It was both cute and absolutely painful.

Then he got up and moved himself so I could move and he came over to the other side of my bed and laid down so we were facing each other. We stayed that way for a long time, long enough for the pain in my shoulder to slowly go away. His face was two inches from mine. And he really did look cute. I moved my face closer to his, our lips were brushing and by the look on his face he was too shocked to move. Instead of kissing his lips, I pecked his nose and then moved back.

"I think we should go to sleep, I'm really tired, Draco," I said as my eyes started drooping. He scooted under the blanket with me and I snuggled up to his chest. He put his arms around me and it felt so good. I fell asleep, just as he said, "I love you, Tammy."