IDIOTS

Hermione woke up expecting to be in her dorm. She sat straight up when she realized that it wasn't. She rubbed her eyes and spotted Draco changing into his quidditch uniform. She cursed him for looking so good.

"What time is it?" Hermione said sleepily as she stretched her arms.

"Quarter to noon. I let you sleep so you've missed breakfast." Draco strapped on his shin guards. "And lunch too if you don't get your ass up." He flashed her a smile and sat down next to her on the bed. "How's your head?"

"Pounding." she groaned.

"Well go eat, freshen up, and I hope to see you at the match this afternoon." He patted her on the head.

"I wouldn't miss it." Hermione batted her eyelashes innocently.

"I've got to go to warm up." Draco looked slightly nervous about the match between Gryffindor. Hermione was torn between who to route for. Draco stood up and left for the pitch, shutting the door softly behind him. Minding Hermione's throbbing headache.

Hermione laid back down trying to ignore her gurgling stomach. She wished he would have woken her up for breakfast. She let her head spin around for a minute before dragging herself out of bed. She put back on the same clothes she wore last night, tamed her hair, and made her way to the Great Hall. She looked around the tables for food that would cure her hangover. Most of the students were already at the pitch by now. She quickly ate a grilled cheese sandwich and downed a chalice of water before she hurried out of the castle.

It was the beginning of spring. All of the snow had nearly melted but a chilled breeze still nipped at Hermione's cheeks and she shuffled down the hill. Warmups were coming to an end and everyone was finding their seats. The wind blew Hermione's hair around as she approached the Gryffindor team to wish them all luck. Slytherin was standing close by awaiting the starting lineup. She hugged Harry and Ron right in front of Malfoy which seemed to spark a nerve. Did he expect one too? Hermione gave him a small smile before making her way up to the stands. The speakers rang as Lee Jordan introduced the teams.

"WELCOME TO THIS AFTERNOON'S MATCH BETWEEN GRYFFINDOR," The crowd went crazy. Whistles and hollers echoed through the stadium. "AND SLYTHERIN!" More noise erupted from across the pitch. The loud voice in the intercom presented the starters for each team. Hermione cheered for Harry and Ron and gave a secret clap for Draco as he entered on his broom. Hermione never noticed how good he looked on a broomstick before.

He gripped the handle as he darted around his team. Showing off, no doubt. The teams hovered over the ball box as Madam Hooch explained the rules. With a quick hand, she unlatched the box and they were off. Angelina caught the Quaffle and zoomed to the goalposts. The Bulgers flew up and went straight for the closest player available. Fred smacked one out of the way right before it hit Harry.

Harry circled the field trying to spot the Snitch as Draco circled in the opposite direction. Ron stood his ground at the goalposts trying to block any potential points made by the Slytherin team. He was pretty rusty but still managed to make a few good plays.

After an hour, the match was tight. 60-50 with Gryffindor in the lead. Harry caught a glimpse of something shiny, sending him in a dive towards the Snitch. Draco immediately noticed Harry's change in direction and shot after him. They bolted through the crisp air attempting to knock each other off their brooms. They swept past the Slytherin goals and Draco ran into Ron as hard as he could, making him lose his balance. When Ron scrambled back on his broom, he left his Keeper position and flew straight towards Draco. The three of them gathered speed and knocked each other around. Murmurs roared in the crowd. Hermione held her breath as she watched through the spaces between her fingers that were covering her eyes.

Slytherin scored ten easy points tying up the game. Fred and George hurried towards Ron, yelling at him to get back to his post. Suddenly, Ron tipped the back of Draco's broom sending them both tumbling to the ground. The crowd gasped and teachers rushed to the field.

When Ron and Draco picked themselves up, Draco grabbed Ron's shoulder and punched him square in the face, sending Ron back to the ground. Draco climbed on top of him and began bashing his face in. Ron groaned with every repeated strike. Draco almost knocked him out cold when Ron stopped a fist inches from his face and flipped Draco on his back. With blood pouring from his nose, Ron wrestled Draco and tried to choke him out. Draco thrashed and struggled to get back on top. When he finally did, Snape and Hagrid pulled the boys away from each other, their arms still flailing. They dragged them off the field and into the locker rooms.

Hermione hadn't breathed since the fight started. She gasped, trying to catch her breath. Most of the audience booed when it had been broken up. It wasn't long before they found replacements for both Ron and Draco and continued the game. The Gryffindor team was so infuriated, their faces matched their uniforms.

Fred and George cursed under their breaths as they took out their anger on the Buldgers.

Hermione was sick to her stomach. She forced herself to watch the end of the game. It only ended shortly after because (despite the commotion) Harry never took his eyes off of the snitch. Hermione admired how determined he was but was also slightly bothered that he didn't intervene. He could have spared Ron the broken nose.

After the game, Hermione met Ginny and Harry in the Great Hall for dinner. The houses were in a riot, babbling about the fight. Slytherin and Gryffindor were biased but now Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were taking sides as well.

"Where's Ron?" Hermione asked, sitting down next to Harry.

"Hospital Wing." Harry dished himself a plate. "I suspect a broken nose and a few bruised ribs. Draco left without a scratch on him, other than Ron's blood."

"He's such an idiot." Hermione said, rolling her eyes.

"Ron?" Harry's brows drew together. "Draco was the one who started it!"

"I don't care who started it! They're both idiots!" Hermione rubbed her temple.

"You're just lucky it wasn't me in that situation. Draco'd be in the wing right now." Boasted Harry.

"You're an idiot too." Hermione said boredly, serving herself up a plate. "What's the consequences then?"

"Naturally, they're suspended from their next match and laps." Harry explained as he poked his food with his fork.

"Laps?"

"Yeah, they'll make you fly laps around the pitch for unsportsmanlike conduct. Not at the same time of course."

"Fred and George got that punishment once," Ginny said, joining in on the conversation. "They had to fly for fifteen hours straight for a week."

Hermione's forehead creased. At least when the time came, she would know where to find him. Then she would yell at him for being a.

What's the word?

Oh yeah.

IDIOT!

***

Later that night, Hermione decided to visit Ron in the Hospital Wing. He was laying on a bed with gauze up his now crooked nose to stop the bleeding. Hermione approached him with a stern look on her face.

"Explain yourself."

"I had to, Hermione. Have you ever seen me back down from a fight?"

"Yes." Hermione didn't hesitate to answer the rhetorical question. Ron paused before he started up again.

"Well not anymore! I'm a changed man. I know how to fight."

"Barley! You could've got yourself killed!"

"Pshh. Draco's never killed anyone in his life. Probably never will. The coward."

"Quit Ron. You egged him on."

"Are you seriously defending him right now?"

"I'm not- '' Hermione collected her thoughts. "All I'm saying is be careful or you'll end up with much worse than a broken nose next time."

Ron looked up at Hermione with the most pathetic puppy dog face she had ever seen.

"Fix it for me?" He said, batting his eyes.

"No," she smirked, gesturing to the bottle of Skele-Gro on the table next to him. "I think you deserve to wait this one out." She patted his sore head and exited the room.