Begin Again (George Weasley/Draco Malfoy)

Five.

All everyone at school talked about for about a solid week was Sirius Black. My suspicion was right, Sirius did try to get into Gryffindor Tower. He even slashed the portrait of the lady who guards their common room and it had to be replaced while they got it fixed. There were rumors going around school about all of the crazy things that Sirius can do and turn into, but anyone with a brain wouldn't believe them.
   
Professor McGonagall told Harry that Sirius was after him before I could, so that was out of the way, but said that he already knew because he overheard Mr. and Mrs. Weasley talking about it while we were at the Leaky Cauldron over the summer. She then told him she didn't want him practicing Quidditch at night all exposed.
   
Speaking of Quidditch, the Slytherin team backed out of the very first game. Apparently it's because Draco's arm still isn't healed, but we all know that they just didn't want to play in the persistent rain that's been pouring since we arrived at school two months ago now. Since they backed out, Gryffindor is now playing Hufflepuff in awful weather conditions.
   
The day that I found this out, I wasn't very happy at my boyfriend. Because if he'd stop milking his injury my team wouldn't be playing against Gryffindor. I was glad he wasn't going to be playing against us, but I didn't want anyone to be playing in the game. It's too dangerous with the weather. Draco is just lucky that I am good and fast on my broom.
   
I approach him, placing my hands onto the table in front of him roughly so he knows I am here, he looks up at me and I start on him. "Since Slytherin backed out of the game this weekend, Hufflepuff has been chosen to play against Gryffindor."
   
His grey eyes grow a size with worry. "What? You're kidding? They were supposed to pick Ravenclaw."
   
"Well, they're smart, and they didn't want to play either," I sneer at him, "So they went to Cedric instead and he told them we'd play."
   
"Shit," he mutters under his breath, "I'm sorry, babe. I was really counting on Ravenclaw picking it up."
   
"It's whatever," I say, not looking at him though. "You need to quit faking your injury, Draco. Buckbeak scratched you two months ago. Everyone knows you're fine now."
   
"Fine," he agrees, but he doesn't sound happy about it. "After this weekend I'll take the sling off." His tone becomes softer then. "Will you please sit down? I was really looking forward to seeing you today." Of course I sit down next to him. I didn't have time to be mad at him anymore, we had Ancient Runes homework to do.
   
That weekend was the game, and it was a nasty one. Professor Snape took over for my dad's class, and when I asked him where he was he said that Professor Lupin was too ill to teach. I think that he and I were the only two people in the class that really knew what was going on. It was getting too close to the full moon. He made us start the chapter on werewolves, and I knew why. He wanted to expose my dad without truly exposing him. He assigned an essay on the ways to recognize and kill werewolves. I worked on it with Draco in the library, and he was confused as to why I didn't want to do this essay because it seemed like the kind of thing that I would normally be all for. And he was right, but this time it was different.
   
During the game, Cedric and Harry both saw the Snitch around the same time. Harry kept his eyes on the snitch, but Cedric was smart enough to stop. Harry kept going and he flew into a swarm of Dementors that were flying above the pitch. He came tumbling down from about 70 feet in the air. A bunch of us on the Hufflepuff and the Gryffindor team tried to catch him, but we were all too late.
   
We were joined by Ron and Heiome on the pitch as we gathered around Harry. I was one of the first ones to make it over to him, and the twins were next, and they stood on either side of me. Fred and George picked him up while Madam Hooch conjured up a cot like bed to lay him on and twins set him on there and we all took him to the Hospital Wing. Jude and I were soon gathering around Harry's hospital bed with Ron, Hermione, and all of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, minus their captain Oliver Wood.
   
"Lucky the ground was so soft," said George Weasley.
   
"I thought he was dead for sure," said Fred.
   
"But he didn't even break his glasses," said Alicia Spinnet.
   
"That was the scariest thing I've ever seen in my life," says Kaite Bell.
   
Harry was starting to wake then, and it seemed like he was going to be okay. Fred noticed him waking up first and he exclaimed, "Harry!" Bringing our attention to it.  "How are you feeling?"
   
"What happened?" Harry asks, sitting up.
   
"You fell off," says Fred. "Must've been what? 70 feet."
   
"We thought you died," said Alicia, who was shaking.
   
"But the match," says Harry, "What Happened? Are we doing a replay?" When no one answers him, the horrible truth sets in. "We didn't - lose?"
   
"Diggory got the Snitch," says George, "Just after you fell. He didn't realize what had happened. When he looked back and saw you in the ground he tried to call it off. Wanted a rematch. But they won fair and square...even Wood admits it."
   
"Where is Wood?" Asks Harry.
   
"Still in the showers," said Fred, "we think he's trying to drown himself."
   
Harry put his head to his knees, gripping his hair. Fred grabbed his shoulder roughly. "Come on, Harry. You've never missed the Snitch before."
   
"There had to be once you didn't get it," says George.
   
"It's not over yet," says Fred, "We lost by a hundred points, right? So if Hufflepuff loses to Ravenclaw and we beat Ravenclaw and Slytherin..."
   
"We would have to lose by 200 points," says Jude.
   
"But if you beat Ravenclaw..." Says George.
   
"No way, they're too good," I say, "But if we beat Slytherin."
   
"It all depends on the points - a margin of a hundred points either way - "
   
After our Quidditch talk, Madam Pomfrey told us Harry needed to rest and we all left in peace. As we were exiting the Hospital Wing, I noticed Draco was waiting outside the doors. "Adelaide," he says, quickly. Then twins and Jude all stop as he speaks to me, "I figured I'd find you here."
   
"What do you want, Malfoy?" Asks George, harshly.
   
Draco ignores him, keeping his eyes on me. "I was wondering if I could borrow your Ancient Runes notes. If that's okay."
   
"You don't have anyone else you can ask?" Asks George.
   
"Um," I say, "I don't have them on me right now. Let me go get them and I'll meet you in the library."
   
"Alright, thank you." Draco takes off quickly.
   
"Why are you helping him?" Asks George, sounding kind of angry.
   
"Because she's a Hufflepuff," sniggers Fred, "and she couldn't stand a chance to be nice to people. Even gits like Slytherins."
   
"He looked like he was desperate," I say, shrugging.
   
The twins take off in a different direction heading for Gryffindor tower. That's when Jude asks, "why did you agree to help Draco so quickly?"
   
Jude has become such a good friend of mine recently. I should tell her the truth. Maybe she'd understand? It's been two whole months now and I haven't told anyone. We were almost to the Hufflepuff basement now. So our privacy was going to run out soon. "You can't tell anyone. I mean it, no one can know."
   
"I won't say anything," she assures me.
   
"Okay," I say, "I don't have a lot of time to explain in curtail detail, but Draco and I have been friends since first year, and we've been boyfriend and girlfriend since the first day this year."