9

9: Slytherin vs. Gryffindor (June 14, 2003 to June 23, 2003)

From the way that Draco was stalking back and forth across their shared room, Harry knew that his best friend was worried about the upcoming Quidditch match tomorrow. It was perfectly normal to have nerves for most people, but this was Draco- he was a Malfoy and Malfoys were never anxious unless they feared they were going to fail. Harry knew this, had learned this by being around Draco all the time.

"He's getting better, Dray," Harry said reassuringly. "He's just as good as the 7th years that tried out. You made the right decision. Not many would have seen the boy's potential, but you did. This first game will give him the experience he needs to improve his game more."

It was only because Sebastian was the only one in the room that Draco felt relaxed and comfortable enough to show his pre-Quidditch jitters. Being an upperclassman had its perks, Draco decided, since he got to share a dorm room with only one person- Sebastian. It also meant more responsibility like Captaining the Slytherin Quidditch team, not to mention being a Prefect. Unlike last year in which most of team had remained the same, this year was a big test for him as Captain. It was his choices that were going to make or break their team. He wasn't sure he had, that was the problem.

"Bast," Draco growled, taking his anxiety out on his best friend, "Baddock cannot even block 50% of our quaffles when we're playing in a game scenario. And we're going easy on him to bring his confidence up!" He ran his hand with irritation through his platinum blond locks. "Rumors had it that this year is the best team Gryffindor has had in years. As much as I hate to admit it, Weasel's an excellent Quidditch player and he's got a great mind for strategy. We're going to have problems if they're half as good as the gossip says."

Harry grabbed Draco by the arm to stop him from pacing around the room. "It'll be fine," he enunciated clearly and slowly. "Now let's go meet Hermione in the Library. We have that Charms paper due in a week, don't you remember?"

Harry could hardly believe that he was actually doing a paper a week before it was due. It had to do with Hermione and Draco. It wasn't for any reason that they were the top two students in their years. They worked hard and didn't procrastinate. Since he no longer had Ron to procrastinate with, he found himself taking up their studying habits and found him outdoing both of them in Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions. Though the latter was mainly due to the extra tutorials he received while assisting Severus. It was amazing how much he could absorb just watching the Potions Master at work.

"Let's go," Draco muttered, grabbing his book bag as well as Sebastian's. "Not like I'm going to get any sleep tonight, so I might as well let Hermione work me to an early grave."

It was their inner joke about how relentless Hermione was over studying. If anything, this Hermione was even more a studying nerd than his Hermione was. He guessed it was because she was in Ravenclaw and that she didn't have two procrastinators to aim some of her attentions on. She only had one half procrastinator, but not anymore. She'd already whipped him into shape, he thought with wryly. "Come one, I know you like hanging out with her." He took his book bag and chuckled at Draco's dropped jaw. "Might as well admit it. You like her." And she likes you, he added silently.

Draco scowled, shutting his mouth shut. "I only hang out with her because you do!"

"That's why you went to Hogsmeade with her last weekend, because you only hang out with her when I'm there. That makes a load of sense. That's why you go study in the Library with her when I'm not there," Harry remarked with a twinkle in his sparkling eyes that was far too similar to Dumbledore's. "Why don't you be honest? You like being with her."

"Only as a friend!" Draco cried out fiercely. "And it's only because you're not there!" He gave Sebastian a meaningful look and rested his hand on Sebastian's pale cheek briefly then turned away. "Who do you want me to hang out with when you're not there? Crabbe and Goyle? Please! You and Hermione ruined me for their company. I have no idea how I stood their stupidity these last five years!"

Harry caught his strangled breath when Draco had lightly touched his cheek. The gesture had been so gentle that it made Harry yearn for it even if he didn't see Draco in that kind of light. The question was could he possibly in the future? Letting his emerald eyes skim over Draco's lithe form, he might appreciate- maybe even desire Draco a little, but gazing at him wasn't the same as staring at Severus. Draco gave him a warm feeling of companionship; Severus made him burn with desire.

"Bast?" Draco queried softly, a thrilling sensation running down his spine when he thought he recognized the look his best friend was giving him. An appraisal. Would Sebastian see what Draco saw? While Draco didn't like risking without gain, he recognized the prize that Sebastian was. Intelligent, beautiful, and powerful. The only problem was that he was male, other than that Draco saw no flaw for his father to criticize.

Jerked from his thoughts, Harry gave Draco an apologetic smile. "Never let it be said Draco Malfoy enjoys the company of a muggleborn over pureblood oafs." Draco grinned at the teasing remark. "Dray, are you coming?"

It took Draco a moment to realize that he'd been too busy enjoying the glow of Sebastian's smile to notice that his best friend was at the door about to leave. "Of course, I'm coming!" Draco exclaimed. "What would you and Hermione do without me?"

"Get work done?"

Draco smirked. "You'd get it done, but not well done."

"Arrogrant prat."

"You know you love me." At least that's what Draco hoped.

~

"The first match of this year's Quidditch season is also the most anticipated match of the year!" exclaimed Colin Creevey excitedly with as much enthusiasm as his Gryffindor predecessor, Lee Jordan. "There is no doubt that this is the best team Gryffindor has seen in years, led by the outstanding Captain and formidable Chaser, Ron Weasley!"

Predictably, those in the Gryffindor stand erupted into applause followed by a good deal of clapping by the Hufflepuffs and hisses from the Slytherins. What was different was that most of Ravenclaw wasn't clapping for the Gryffindor team as they normally did. "Captain Weasley heads up an excellent team composed of Chasers: Ginny Weasley and Dean Thomas, with Beaters: Lavendar Brown and Seamus Finnigan, Keeper Parvati Patil, and their new Seeker Dennis Creevey!"

The gold and crimson robes of Gryffindor sparkled with radiance as they mounted their brooms and flew around the arena. Once Colin was done introducing them, he moved onto the Slytherins with a much different tone of voice, "Like last year, the Slytherin team is captained by Draco Malfoy, making his debut as a Chaser. Has he finally clued in what a terrible-"

"Creevey!" McGonagall warned.

"Anyway," Colin continued unperturbed, "there are a lot of new faces on this team and Malfoy will prove his lacking skills as a Captain when the Cup goes to Gryffindor." McGonagall's glower didn't stop that particular comment, but Colin knew better than to keep pushing at it. "At least unlike Flint, Malfoy hasn't gone for brawn and size over brains. The Chasers are: Pucey and Montague, the only returning members other than Malfoy. The new Beaters are Bulstrode and Zabini, the new Keeper is Baddock with transfer student Biggerstaff as their new Seeker."

Having been introduced, the Slytherin team in their royal green robes burst into the stadium with their matching Nimbus 2001s. The Slytherins' response was deafening in applause, only accentuated by the cheers from Ravenclaw. Headed by their Head Girl, Cho Chang and their prefect, Hermione Granger, the Ravenclaws joined the Slytherins in giving the team a standing ovation.

"Madame Hooch presides as the referee and will have to keep her eyes out to make sure that there's a clean game," McGonagall aimed a warning at Creevey to keep his mouth out of the gutter, "from both teams. And the snitch and the bludgers have been released and Weasley with an excellent swipe, knocks the quaffle to Thomas, who quickly passes it off to Weasley's sister. She has the perfect opening, hurtling toward the rings and with her usual magnificence easily scores for Gryffindor! 10 to 0!"

It was different for Harry to be playing against Gryffindor rather than with them. But while he saw that most of Creevey's commentary was justifiable, using his little brother as a Seeker wasn't a great idea. The younger Creevey was a good flyer but he was no match for Harry's superior skill. It was obvious to Harry though that while the strengths of the Chasers were matched, Baddock was their weak link like Creevey was the Gryffindor's.

Harry groaned was Thomas got another quaffle past Baddock, who was trying his best and had managed to block 1 quaffle out of 5 shots. The score was now 40-10 with Gryffindor again in possession when they stole the quaffle from Pucey afer a bludger had knocked him off balance. Too busy watching the game and occasionally looking for the snitch, he didn't even the bludger that was speeding dangerous toward him until Draco screamed, "BAST, DUCK!"

And he ducked. If he hadn't, he'd probably be plummeting to the ground. He shot Draco a grateful grin and caught Finnigan's look that warned him to watch out because if he was an easy target, Finnigan was going to keep aiming at him. "Finnigan nearly takes the Slytherin Seeker out of commission if Malfoy," Colin spat out venomously, "hadn't warned his daydreaming Seeker. No matter since Gryffindor is in fine form and is clearly the better team. Captain Weasley again gets his third goal, bringing the score at 60 to 20!"

Harry had to find the snitch. For every 3 goals that went to Gryffindor, Draco and his other two chasers were managing 1. If wasn't that they weren't good- it was just that the Gryffindor Keeper Patil was a great Keeper. She was an excellent replacement for former Captain Wood, though she wasn't nearly as good as him yet. The atmosphere was becoming highly charged as Draco called a timeout when the score reached 80 to 20.

"Have you seen the snitch, Bast?" Draco asked immediately, looking down when Harry shook his head as if he were thinking about what he needed to say. Swiftly, he lifted his head and focused his gaze on Bulstrode and Zabini. "You two have been doing a good job, but I need you to help Baddock cover the rings. Don't worry about me, Montague, or Pucey. We can watch our own backs. And keep it up, Baddock, you're getting better." Looking at him, Harry knew Draco was trying to tell him without words that he needed to find the snitch soon.

The change in strategy worked well enough for a while. It kept Gryffindor equal to what the Slytherins were scorning, making it 100 to 40. When they figured it out, Harry had already caught sight of the snitch hovering a few feet over the ground. Without warning, he went into a punishing dive with dizzying speed. He didn't know if Creevey had followed him or not, but as he approached the ground rapidly, he only increased his speed when he saw the snitch begin to move.

Just a few feet from the ground, Harry started to pull his broom up to prevent himself from crashing into the earth. For a moment, long enough to cause a surge of panic in his body- he didn't feel his broom lifting up to the degree that it was suppose to. It was then that remembered that the broom he was riding wasn't a Firebolt. It lacked the maneuverability and agility. This was a Nimbus 2001, a good broom, but not nearly good enough for all the daring stunts he'd developed for the superior Firebolt.

His broom shuddered as it finally pulled out of the perilous dive not a second too soon. As soon as he was steady, he pushed his Nimbus 2001 forward. Vaguely in the background, he heard the gasps of the audience. What he didn't know was that the other players had stopped playing and were watching him instead.

More gasps were heard when he was within arm's reach of the snitch and he let go of his broom handle to steer with his knees as he reached out with both hands to grasp the golden snitch. "Amazing," Colin remarked with astonishment, then scowled when he realized he'd paid a compliment to a Slytherin and that the game was over... Gryffindor had lost again. Slytherin had again continued their winning streak. "Slytherins pull off the victory due to their Seeker, Sebastian Biggerstaff. 190 to 100."

The crowd, all except the Gryffindors erupted into enthusiastic applause. When Harry's broom touched down, he wasn't met with a grin like he expected from Draco. "Are you insane?" Draco screamed. "You could have killed yourself!"

"I was perfectly in control," Harry reassured, though his arms were still trembling slightly with his close call. "I take risks, but I don't attempt anything I know I can't do. I've done that before and been perfectly successful." It's just hard to get use to a Nimbus 2001 after a Firebolt.

Something must have comforted Draco, and Harry was glad because Hermione had just reached him with a none too pleased expression. "Sebastian Ethan Biggerstaff! I could wring your neck right now!" But instead of carrying out her threat, she threw her arms around him and kissed both of his cheeks. "Don't ever do anything that crazy again! And," she added, throwing a menacing look at Draco," you'd better make sure that he doesn't!"

Throwing his hands up in an exasperated gesture that said it's not his fault that Sebastian pulled that wild crazy mad stunt. "You know better than to disregard what Hermione says," Draco remarked with his customary smirk. "So be more careful, will you?"

Hermione gave Draco a furious look that took him by surprise. "And you have no reason to be smirking," she shouted, "you were in as much danger of getting knocked out by a bludger! You two are idiots! It's just a game!"

~

Somehow amidst the wild partying in the Slytherin dorms following the tremendous victory against Gryffindor, Harry managed to slip away from it all. He took a deep breath and leaned heavily on the stone wall. It was a relief to be out of the partying atmosphere. Take a moment for himself; being alone gave him some time to reflect. It wasn't often that he got the opportunity anymore.

"So what is the hero of Slytherin doing out here?" the sarcastic voice of Severus Snape inquired, approaching Sebastian from behind. Harry jerked away like he'd been hit away from Severus immediately. He'd been caught unprepared; he'd been caught off guard. He wasn't use to that either. "Sebastian?"

"Professor?" Harry murmured back, a soft smile twisting his lips up after he'd gotten over his surprise. "Never miss a chance to make a snarky comment can you?"

Severus was blinded by Sebastian's gentle smile, wiping all his thoughts of making any snide remarks away. It was when Sebastian's smile started to fade that Severus realized that he was so lost in the curved lips that he hadn't answered the question. Since he didn't think he could say anything up to his usual sharp tone, he grunted instead.

"Severus?"

"Yes?" Severus responded much more harsher than he'd intended to. "What is it, Sebastian?"

Harry had wanted to ask Severus whether he was staying during the upcoming Christmas holidays, but the more he thought about it the more he realized it was a rhetorical question. There were many parallels in this world and his world that he was almost certain that this Severus stayed at Hogwarts like the Professor Snape he'd known. After all, both were Potions Master and Death Eaters that belonged to the Order. That thought brought up another question. What did Severus swear on?

"If you want to ask me something, you can ask it."

"It's nothing," Harry muttered.

Severus gave him a look that said he didn't believe him and the he'd better tell what's up. When Sebastian continued not to say anything, Severus growled, "If it wasn't anything, you wouldn't said anything!"

"Don't you dare to presume you know me everything about me," Harry snapped, not feeling like dealing with Severus's sharp comments right now. It was all well for Draco to be in the thick of good cheers and everything, but Harry hated it. Despised it with all his being. He wanted nothing more than to fade from awareness. He'd been so caught up in the game that he hadn't realized what it'd mean if he actually got the snitch in that fashion. Was he a moron? Did he want to be infamous for something again? Hell no! He hated the fame. He absolutely abhorred it.

Severus narrowed his eyes, not knowing what had caused Sebastian to lose his temper. It wasn't like the calm and reserved Sebastian to lose control of his anger. It was one of the many reasons that Sebastian was one of the most likable Slytherins to ever walk the halls of Hogwarts. He had this charismatic presence despite shunning the limelight. Why else would he have escaped from the after Quidditch match celebration unless he hated the attention? No other reason, but that still didn't explain why Sebastian was losing his cool.

"Don't take that kind of tone with me, Sebastian Biggerstaff!" Severus snarled with the undertone of vicious warning. "Even if I may consider you an equal to me in my private labs, you are still my student! And you will respect me!"

He was right. Harry shouldn't have lost his temper with Severus when it wasn't his Professor's fault. He'd been quite use to the anonymity of this world that he was angry with himself for possibly losing it for himself. It was nice not being the Boy Who Lived, not having to live up to high expectations. And he'd be damned if he placed himself into that position again. "Sorry," Harry muttered. "I shouldn't have taken out my frustrations with you, Professor."

"I take it," Severus began wryly, "you don't enjoy the notoriety?"

"Can we say understatement of the month?" Harry sneered lightly, a small smile appeared on his lips telling Severus that the sneer was done only for show and wasn't meant to be taken seriously. "I hate it."

"Most people take great pleasure in it," Severus remarked.

Harry shrugged. "So I'm different."

That Sebastian was. "You better go back to your dorm and try to get some sleep. Even if it's the weekend that's coming up. You have a whole week of semester exams that must be taken before the Christmas holidays. You certainly wouldn't want to do terribly on them because you were too caught up in celebrating the great displeasure of your impending notoriety."

Harry snorted. "Like Hermione would let me get away with that. No," he sighed dramatically, leaning his back against the wall and let his eyes roam over Severus's sinewy form, "she has this entire weekend blocked off by the hours on which subjects we will be studying. It's with great pleasure that I'm here to inform you that she has considered Potions the class that has been deemed the honor of most hours necessary. A total of twenty."

"You will have no trouble with the exam," Severus stated offhandedly. "Neither will Granger, even if she isn't as good as your or Draco at Potions. The only question is whether she'll study harder to try to top you and Draco at it. I daresay she'll need the twenty hours if she even wants to try. It might do her some good not to be Top of the Year for once."

"Like that would ever happen."