Aftermath (Drarry)

Chapter 13: "He Just Wanted To Have A Conversation"

A/N: I'm back!! My A-levels are over and I've finished college so I'm back for good now I swear. Thank-you to you all for being patient with me and sticking with me for so long. Hope you enjoy the chapter :))

DRACO:

Draco hadn't played Quidditch since Seventh Year and it was only when he watched the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws play that he realised just how much he missed it. He had heard a group of Ravenclaws talking about it at breakfast: Ginny Weasley had organised it and Harry Potter might be playing. Draco wanted to get away from Blaise and Pansy for a while, so he decided to go down and watch. He obviously wasn't going to stand where any of them could see him – especially not Potter – so he walked in a wide berth around the makeshift pitch until he reached a group of trees he could sit under without being spotted by any of the players or spectators.

As he settled against the trunk of a tree, he watched the players emerge from the changing rooms and walk across the grass to gather around the box of balls. Draco noticed Luna Lovegood was there and a fresh wave of guilt washed over him; it hadn't even been a year since she had been held in the cellar at the Manor, and he didn't do anything about it. The players all took their places on the grass, before rising quickly into the air when the balls were released. The Weasley girl – he could tell it was her thanks to her vivid red hair – grabbed the Quaffle out of the air immediately and sped towards the Ravenclaw goalposts, which looked as though they had been erected rather hastily. A Ravenclaw Chaser approached her, and she passed the ball over his head to another Gryffindor Chaser, who flew into the scoring area and scored with ease. There was some cheering from the Gryffindors who were watching, and the game continued, with a Ravenclaw chaser speeding towards the Gryffindor goalposts with the Quaffle clutched tightly under her arm.

Draco glued his eyes to the Quaffle, determined not to look at the Seekers, as if just looking at Potter would alert him to Draco's presence. He couldn't keep this up for very long, however, as about ten minutes into the game, he noticed the Ravenclaw Seeker start racing towards the other end of the pitch. He finally forced himself to look at Potter, who seemed to only just have noticed this himself – he mustn't have been paying attention. Potter began to follow after the other Seeker and Draco realised that he wasn't on his Firebolt. Potter was slowing catching her up as she was slowing down and looking around her - she had lost sight of the Snitch. Potter started to look around too but neither of them caught another glimpse of the Snitch. Eventually, they both went back to circling the pitch. Draco watched Potter and noticed that he looked very preoccupied: although he was flying around as if he was looking for the snitch, he didn't seem to actually be looking around him, other than the occasional glance at the Ravenclaw Seeker.

The match continued and Gryffindor scored some more, but Draco was now watching Potter closely, wondering what he was thinking about. He thought back to when he used to play against Potter - which seemed like a lifetime ago - and how he would look so content whenever he was flying. He had always looked happier during Quidditch games than Draco had ever seen him. He found himself wishing that Potter would look like that now, instead of his frown being visible from where Draco was sitting. The Gryffindors were doing much better than the Ravenclaws and Gryffindor were 130 points up when the Ravenclaw Seeker saw the Snitch again. This time Potter was quicker to notice, but not quick enough, as it was much closer to her and she caught it in a few seconds.

Cheering erupted from the Ravenclaw spectators as Lovegood happily announced their win and all the players landed on the ground and started to head back to the changing rooms, with the Gryffindors much more subdued than the Ravenclaws. Draco realised that now was his chance to get back to the castle while they were all distracted so he got up and made his way back around the makeshift pitch, giving it a wide berth.