Winners Keepers - Dramione || ✓

The Game is On

"Suit up, Zabini. You're right behind me. We're moving out in five minutes", Draco ordered in the Slytherin changing room.

Blaise felt harassed. Draco had been working them extra hours in the field for the Quidditch Match, practising four times a week. "Piss off, slave driver", he muttered under his breath.

"Excuse me? I didn't quite catch that", asked Draco, narrowing his eyes, hovering menacingly over Blaise, daring him to repeat what he said.

"Like you would care", muttered Nott, passing by Draco while he was putting on his Quidditch robes.

"If my team has a problem, I would like them to either grow some bālls and tell on my face, or shut the hell up!" Draco announced.

Nott and Zabini just glared at him. Astoria, the new Seeker, who had just entered, cleared her throat.
"Um.. Captain, you did work us extra hard for the game."

"Well that's because I thought my team was interested in winning the Cup, Greengrass. Apparently, that's not the case", he spat. Astoria winced.

"Well you seemed to be more interested in going out on a date with Miss Beaver-tooth. It's not like we've never won before.", Nott complained, cutting in.

Draco was livid. Did they really think it was about Granger? For the first time he had a team that had a hope of winning without having to cheat. Besides, he had already explained to Blaise that he only made the bet to break up the Golden Trio. Merlin, where were their brains?!!

"Nott, put your twisted thoughts back where they belong and try not to engage your brain in dangerous activities like.. let's say thinking? Obviously you've taken so many bludgers that your brain seems to have stopped functioning", Draco drawled.

Nott winced. He didn't understand half of that aristocratic drawl, but he knew when he was being told off.

Astoria, Bulstrode and the rest of the team gathered silently taking this at their cue to shut up.

Draco Malfoy was never good at pep talk. But he decided that one pep talk to uplift team spirit never killed anyone. So he thought of the Weasel king's face when he would lose his girlfriend, put his ego away for a moment and  began, "Now listen up you sneaky little snakes!! This is our one chance to break up the Golden Trio for good. We will score as many goals as we can, and screw the Weasel King over! Whether we get the snitch or not, this victory will be ours!!
Go SLAY them, SLYTHERINS!!"

"SLAY, SLYTHERINS!!" The team roared in response.

The team was moving out when Draco cornered Astoria and whispered to her privately, "Greengrass, to hell with everything I just said. Just get that bloody snitch, will you?"

Astoria smiled back, her eyes glinting, "Aye, Captain!", and turned away giving him a wink.😉

***************************

Three minutes later

"We seem to be having a lot of celebrities in the Quidditch teams this year, the most important being the famous Harry Potter who's back as the Seeker, his famous best friend Ron Weasley as Keeper, his present girlfriend Ginny Weasley playing Chaser...."

The podium was packed with spectators. Draco noted that the Loony girl was commenting. The Gryffindors and the Slytherins were tied at 30 points.

Draco had no time to listen to Loony. He wanted to break the tie in their favour. In a couple of minutes, he scored another goal and got his wish. The Slytherins roared!!

Ten minutes later

"..and although the Slytherins are ahead of Gryffindors, the Slytherins apparently seem to be playing a very fair game. Could it be that they have taken the Nargle wing potion that has given them such extraordinary flight abilities that they don't feel the need to openly cheat anymore?.." commented Luna in her usual dreamy tone.

"Hey Weasel! Maybe you can date the Loony after you lose Granger!"

Ron looked at Luna in shock, distracted for a split second which cost his team another ten points.

Malfoy scored again!

"...and Malfoy has managed to score another goal, which is definitely going to help him improve his image, although the first year Slytherin girls are apparently, already charmed by him, though they are too scared to approach him due to his past associations. It is said that he goes by the name of Creepy-Hottie in their circles..."

Luna's commentary wandered into Draco's tangent forcing Professor McGonagall to intervene, " Gryffindor 30, Slytherin 130!", and huff in annoyance, and all the Gryffindors to laugh at the embarrassment caused to Malfoy.

Creepy hottie? What the hell? That freak is going to pay for it, Draco thought.

"Nott!! Send a bludger at that damn Loony!!"

Slytherin was still only a hundred points ahead. Malfoy wondered where Greengrass was.

Just then he saw, Harry making a dive at full speed, with Astoria speeding past by him towards Harry. Was he going for the snitch or feinting? He had feinted in their third year. He could be again. There was no telling. That was when he spotted the snitch few metres away.

"Astoria!!", Draco bellowed at the top of his voice.

Astoria swerved her broom in a sharp turn and watched in surprise as Draco had used her first name. Draco pointed at the snitch hovering few metres above them and watched Astoria speeding towards it when he saw a bludger coming right at him and THUD!!!

Darkness engulfed him....

Astoria did not notice her Captain being pounded by the bludger and plummet to the ground. So she sped right ahead and caught the snitch, winning the game 280 to 30.

The Slytherins on the stands roared and the Weasel King looked like he would throw up.

********************************

Author's Note:

Just to inform all the people who're out of touch with Quidditch or the books, the Feinting is not blacking out but a Quidditch maneuver also known as the "Wronski Feint", that involves the Seeker taking a deep dive as if the Golden Snitch is seen, and then get the other Seeker to follow, and then pull back at the last moment, so that the Seeker crashes.

This maneuver had been performed by Harry Potter in his third year, very successfully and he's the only known Seeker other than Viktor Krum, who can pull it off successfully.