Title: Match5
Author: Bell Pie >toggledog@yahoo.com>
Rating: PG13
Pairings: Harry/Draco, Hermione/Ron
Author's Notes: Thanks to all my reviewers (and defenders! I say GO SLASH! :)) Sorry to have involved you in one person's ignorance. Oh, and my spell check has gone haywire. And with no beta, sorry if spelling isn't up to par. :)

"What is it, do you think?" Hermione asked.
"Knowing Malfoy, it will explode as soon as we open it."
"No, he wouldn't do that to Harry." Hermione snatched the box out of his hands, studying it. Ron couldn't stand the tension any longer.
"Open it!" He urged.
Hermione tore off the paper then gasped at the contents. Ron picked up the object in his hand, turning it over. He had no idea as to what he was holding.
"It's a saxophone." Hermione looked baffled.
"What's a saxofoam?"
"Saxophone. It's a. muggle music instrument. Sounds very beautiful, when it's played."
"Why would Malfoy buy Harry one of these?"
Hermione's forehead crinkled in consternation. Ron stood up, took the instrument gently out of her hands.
"Maybe Harry can make sense of this."
He found Harry in the immaculate white, shiny kitchen, buttering a piece of toast so viciously, Ron was afraid he would slip and knife himself.
"Harry?" Hermione said, quietly.
"You guys get ready. I'll be up in a moment." Harry sounded oddly deflated. Ron turned to leave but Hermione stopped him with a touch of her hand.
"Harry, would you face me, please?"
The man slowly turned. His puffy red eyes looked down at the instrument, then widened. "Where did you get that?"
"You know what this is?" the redhead asked.
"It's a saxophone." Ron noticed he trembled some.
"What's wrong, Harry?" He was a tad concerned.
"Draco's present?"
"There's an inscription on the inside." Hermione stated. Ron looked at her with impressed eyes. He peered into the end. Sure enough, carved into the gold metal was distinct writing. Ron bent closer to read, but Hermione gently pushed him back and gave it to Harry, whose shaking increased as he read. He collapsed in a pure white kitchen chair, hands covering his face.
"Right! I'm going to kill the bastard!" Ron made for the door, but Hermione ceased him once more.
Harry was quiet for such a long time that Ron was beginning to wonder if the saxophone had been jinxed to make him mute.

But wouldn't that mean Hermione and I are mute, also? I didn't read the inscription-

"It's. I told him I started to learn a muggle instrument when I was a kid but Dudley broke it. It had belonged to my mother. Not this one. But-"
He stood up so quickly, he almost knocked the chair over and made for the door.
"Harry?"
Harry turned to his two confused friends. "I'll see you at the match."
Both stared after him as he crossed the loungeroom and disappeared out the front door.


Ron noted Harry's anguish in his very body language. Feeling anger course through his veins, he rushed forward.
"What has he-?"
This time it was Sirius Black who stopped him, cutting across from the side.
"Don't bother them." He ordered, sharply.
"But, Harry's upset!"
Harry and Draco sat a little up from where they were standing, in their Quiddich seats. Harry's head was bowed, Malfoy huddled next to him, talking to him softly.
"Is Harry alright?" Oliver Wood had bought the tickets six months earlier, and managed to reserve seats seven rows back from the front. Draco had walked into the office the week before the match and used his family's influence to get front row seats.
"He's fine." Sirius said, voice a little softer.
"We should go down." Hermione told Sirius.
"I told you-"
"The game's about to start."
"Oh." Sirius actually smiled.

Ron couldn't believe that he actually forgot about Harry as soon as the game began. The ex-Griffindor cheered with the rest of the crowd when a Greenlander did the wronski feint to score, whinced with everyone when another was wacked in the head by a bludger and knocked off their broom, the force spinning them as they hurled towards the ground.
True to Draco's word, it was the shortest World Quidditch Game in history, but not the way he thought. On minute, thirty seconds into the game, after Greenland had scored two goals, Bruce Bowden turned one eighty degrees on his broom and zoomed straight at the other seeker, before swiftly turning one eighty again, zooming to the ground . The seeker thinking he had spied the snitch, followed. At the last moment, he pulled up again, turned ninety degrees and plucked the snitch from just beside the hoop.
The crowd went wild, Greenland supporters screaming and waving their flags and figurines in the air (who echoed yelling). The players landed, losers shaking the winners hands before exiting the field, heads low. The winners pulled each other close in a huge group hug. Ron and Harry screamed and hugged each other, before Ron pulled Hermione into a kiss. The darkhaired girl laughed, then raised her fist into the air. Draco simply sat silent, mouth slightly agape.



"When he turned mid air!"

"Such grace!" Hermione concurred.

The group was walking back to their tent, the three friends buzzing with energy. Draco's mouth was set in a permanent scowl.

"What did you-?" Harry began, placing an arm around Malfoy's shoulders.

"Get off me, Harry!" He said, angrily shaking him off.

Harry laughed, then pulled his lips down in a perfect imitation of Draco's pout. "Your upset because your team lost?" He said, in a puppy dog voice.

"Shut up! I don't have to put up with this. I'm leaving!"

That said, he stalked off.

Ron turned to Harry, brows raised.

"He'll be back, don't worry." Harry smiled.

Sure enough, as they were walking through the field after appearing back in the disused toilet, the familiar face rushed from behind to meet them.

"Why didn't you wait for me?" He scowled.

"I thought you were leaving!"

"I had to pack up the tent by myself!"

"Such difficulty." Harry smiled. "One spell. I don't know if your little hands can handle that."

"Stop teasing me!"

Harry sighed, then turned to Ron to talk to him about the match. Soon, the three were deeply involved in conversation. Hermione laughed when Harry reminded her of the time she battled a boggart that turned into Mcgonagall telling her she had failed everything. As the conversation turned to current wizard politics, Ron noticed Harry suddenly lift Draco's hand. The blonde, in return, watched Harry steadily. The man had his green eyes turned to Hermione, yet Ron found himself distracted by what Harry was doing. He turned Draco hand over and began to stroke the palm with his thumb. He then moved his fingers up to Malfoy's fingers, paying attention to each one at a time, holding and stroking, touching every inch of bare skin, running his fingers softly over the nails. Catching Ron glancing at this, Hermione frowned a little at him. He quickly looked away.



"No, no, no. You purse your lips like this."

As the blonde placed his lips against the instrument, Ron noted Harry eyeing Draco in an odd way. His face was flushed, pupils dialated, mouth slightly agape. The realization that this was pure lust from his best friend was rather disconcerting. An odd sound issued out from the saxophone. Ron could only liken it to the sounds his father used to make after he had indulged in Frankie's Green Beans. He could not believe that this was pleasant sounding, or ever would be. Draco released and handed it to Harry.

"How did you know that?" Ron asked.

"Did Sirius give you a few lessons?" Hermione asked. Ron noted Harry casually place a hand on Draco's knee as he positioned the instrument between his own seated thighs and brought the mouth piece close to his lips.

Ron looked about all three in confusion.

"Ah, very clever, Granger." Draco actually smiled.

"I don't get it." Ron admitted.

"Oh, let the world explode now out of sheer shock to that one."

He jumped a little from the sharp slap to his thigh, before Harry stroked soothingly.

"Sirius helped him buy the saxophone." Hermione explained. Ron raised a brow.

"Really?"

"No, she was-" Draco caught Harry's eye and frowned. "I can't help it, Harry. He's driving me insane."

More than mutual. Ron countered as Hermione took his hand. More than mutual. Though Harry seems happy. That's good enough.

tbc...

Author's Notes: Next chapter- final chapter.