I sat down at the stands of the quidditch pitch with a stack of parchment and a quill in my lap, my astronomy textbook on my right. Daphne was sat similarly to my left, hastily flipping through her book. The wind from the crisp afternoon made the ends of the pages flap up, much to her annoyance.

Theo told me that most of the Slytherin team would be practicing today and invited us to watch. He allegedly needed some help with astronomy homework, but couldn't afford to miss a practice. As much as I wanted to refuse, I couldn't say no when he put on those puppy dog eyes.

Things had gone back to normal with the two of us and I couldn't be happier. Life wasn't the same without him.

"Have you got the worksheets ready?" Daphne inquired, peering over her book.

"Yeah," I held a few up pieces of parchment. "Whenever he's ready to come over."

"Better hope he doesn't drip sweat on them."

I cringed, laughing, as she did. "I don't know how that boy thinks he can manage studying in the ten minute breaks between quidditch strategies, but power to him."

I looked up from my papers to see Theo, along with Adrian and Lucian Bole, messing around trying to dodge the bludger. Clearly, practice hadn't quite started yet.

Theo was draped rather primitively over his broom, handling it with about the care of a gorilla. As much as I loved him, he had an immaturity about playing that made me laugh. Good thing he was chaser; he probably would've sucked as a beater.

Still, I couldn't deny that he was good looking, nobody could. Out of everyone on the quidditch pitch, my eyes went straight to Theo's dashing good lo— Draco. Of course. How could I have forgotten he was on the team? Not only that, but captain. No wonder they hadn't started yet.

I felt my heart sink into the pit of my stomach, an unwelcome anxiety bubbling up my chest to the base of my throat when I saw him. He was pretty far away, but it was hard to miss that platinum blonde hair. My attention had been ripped away from Theo faster than you could say "seeker".

"Loverboy caught your attention?" Daphne grinned teasingly.

I blushed, turning my gaze away from the quidditch pitch and back to my notes. "I forgot he'd be here, actually. Just came to help Theo."

"Maybe Theo's the one helping you out," she smirked.

"Yeah, right. If that were the case, then why would he ask me to help him during their breaks? It'd be better spent with me and Draco together."

"It's not like Draco needs help with astronomy. If anything, he'd be the one tutoring you."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence," I shook my head.

I let my gaze wander up for a fleeting moment, landing on Draco who had surprisingly been looking my way too.

He sent a satisfied smirk, one that made me happy he was far enough away that he wouldn't see the blush tinting my cheeks. He nodded his head in a manner of acknowledgement, like a silent "hello". I gave him a small wave back, nothing big but certainly enough to get my heart racing.

"Could you be anymore obvious?" Daphne chuckled.

"Shut up, I am not," I looked down at my book.

"Then how come you ignored Theo when he called your name? Too busy looking at Draco."

Only then had I shifted my eyes to see Theo staring back at me, laughing his head off and looking between Draco and I. He swung an arm around Draco and punched him in a boyishly mischievous way.

I gathered the parchment I had on my lap and lightly smacked her arm with it, causing her to recoil jokingly. "Ouch, what was that for?"

"Not having your own life for me to make jokes about."

———

"Ew, don't drip on the parchment," I chuckled, pushing the paper closer to Theo.

A bead of sweat had slipped down the bridge of his nose and off the tip, onto the paper. He still had a mass of sweat around his forehead and accumulating on his chest, soaking through his shirt. He smelled pretty bad too, but he was lucky he was good looking. Even sweated out and oily.

"Told you," Daphne chimed in.

"There's no way I'm gonna be able to retain any of this," Theo looked up and down the worksheets, "I'm too tired. And practice resumes in, like, seven minutes."

"That's what I said," I glared at him, knowing it was a bad idea.

"For once, you were right. Wanna just do a rapid review?"

"Doesn't work like that. Unless you can happen to point at the shape of and name constellations of the night sky at three in afternoon without even a page for reference?"

He shrugged. "I'm screwed then."

"Don't worry about it, Theo. Kinda pissed off you had me come for nothing but we can reschedule a study session."

"I won't have time though, with quidditch and—"

"We'll make time. Before class, during mealtimes, whenever."

He grinned at me, a boyishly handsome one that tugged up into a more malicious smirk. He inched closer to me on the bench, causing me to scoot back parallel to how fast he was moving.

"Theo... what are you doing..."

Without warning, he flung his arms around me in a giant bear hug, his long limbs wrapping around me and rubbing up against my body. He was sweaty and gross, and despite my shrieks of disgust, he only further rubbed up to annoy me.

"Ew, Theo!" I whined, "get off!"

"No can do. I show my appreciation through hugs. Sweaty, sticky ones," he tortured me some more before I finally pushed him off.

"I prefer the ones after you've showered and put cologne on," I preened myself, feeling gross after the contact. I felt like I was going to puke if I hadn't got him off right then.

I took my wand out of my bag and performed a quick cleansing spell to rid myself of any sweat or smell he rubbed on me. I then pointed it at him and did the same charm quickly. He instantly looked (and smelled) a lot cleaner, which surprisingly he looked upset about.

"Hey, that was my manly musk!"

"Remind me to do that first thing when you come to us, next time."

"It's no use since I'm just going to do it again once practice is over," he smirked.

"What's going on here?" I heard the voice of Draco prompt us, all of our heads turning to look at him.

He looked like Theo had a moment ago, the difference being that when it was Draco, it somehow was attractive. His hair, damp with sweat, clung to the front of his forehead and when he brushed it to the side with his fingers, the glisten of his platinum locks had my eyes glued to it.

His hair was always so well kept that I hardly ever got to see it messed up. Even in past quidditch games, I never took note of how he looked since I wasn't really interested. Now, I wondered how I was ever able to ignore it.

"Harassing the professor," Theo smirked.

"Huh?" Draco cocked his head to the side, clearly confused. He must not have caught the tail end of our conversation.

"Trying to tutor Theo to no avail," I shook my head. "You guys getting ready to start again?"

"As soon as Pucey get the quaffles together. You know how he is." His gaze lingered down to the papers and notebook in my lap, a ghost of a smirk playing on his face. "That explains the study material. Thought you just came for the view."

At the insinuation of his flirty comment, I definitely could not hide the blush that was reddening. How was he able to do that to me so quickly? Had he always, and I'd never noticed it before? Whatever it was, it had worked its magic on me. Judging by the expression he had on his face, it was to his liking.

"Oh, we did," Daphne added. "Who wouldn't wanna see Theo fall flat on his face during drills?"

"I did not! It was... my shoulder," he looked down.

As the two of them traded quips, my eyes met Draco's, the same half grin still gracing his lips. We had this moment of acknowledgement, it was like a private knowing moment between us that made me smile bashfully. All the while the sounds of Daphne and Theo bickering faded out to white noise, it made the look between Draco and I more personal.

Merlin, did he look good in his quidditch jersey.

Finally, he tore his gaze from mine and pulled Theo up by the arm. "Hate to break up this philosophical conversation, but we should get back."

Theo turned to look at me. "Beware of more sweaty hugs."

Draco crinkled his nose in disgust. "Gross, Nott."

Daphne and I just laughed, to which Draco looked down then pulled Theo off with him back to the pitch.

———

I was leaning against the wall of the boy's locker room, shuffling through some parchment in my hands. Theo had gone in to shower and change (after he tried to pull another sweaty hug on me) and said that he'd be out soon enough for us to study. However, knowing Theo, I'm sure he'd be too tired and just want to devour the whole dining hall's worth of food.

To their merit, they spent a lot of time out there. Another hour or so, and I could tell he was exhausted. As much as we teased Theo for the occasional fall off his broom, he wasn't a bad player.

After waiting a few minutes, I felt a hard figure crash into mine, causing my papers to fly everywhere out of surprise. I looked up and saw Draco who had his eyes on the parchment scattered about.

"Y/n, what are you doing loitering around the locker room?" he asked, bending down to pick up some papers.

"Oh, it's fine, you don't have to—"

"Nonsense," he confirmed, gathering up some homework sheets. I was down with him, organizing a few until they were orderly once more. "Didn't know you had a library's worth of papers on you."

I chuckled as we both stood up and I pushed the papers back into my bag. "Just waiting for Theo. You know, the alleged tutoring that's been meaning to happen all afternoon."

"Theo?" he raised an eyebrow. "He's beat. No way you're getting an ounce of studying out of him."

I groaned, expecting this. "I knew it, but he just insisted— aren't you going to go change too?" I motioned to his figure still in his workout clothes, while the other boys had already gone to shower.

He shook his head, bringing his hand to the back of his neck and scratching it awkwardly. "No, I uh, wanted to practice some more."

"By yourself?"

"The seeker works alone, anyway. Just let the snitch out for a bit longer; I could do with the practice."

Part of me admired his dedication. It was nice that he wanted to stay longer and practice by himself, but another part of me remembered how he once said this was a common thing. He takes time off from everyone else to work by himself. There was something lonesome about it, whether or not he was aware of it. I felt a pang of guilt about that; even if he was right that the seeker doesn't need teammates to help.

"Do you want some company?" I offered, the words leaving my lips before I could even process what I was saying. I suddenly felt a bit embarrassed, he probably wanted privacy, considering he didn't ask any of his team—

"I'd love that," he smirked, pulling me out of my own thoughts. A small smile crept its way onto my lips which I tried to cover up by pressing them to a thin line. "Theo's just got in there, he'll be a while anyway."

After some small talk on the way back to the pitch, I transfigured a blank parchment into a blanket so I could lay down on the grass as Draco worked. I had offered to help him somehow, but he knew I wasn't the most athletically apt. He insisted I just watch instead.

And watch, I did.

There was something undeniably attractive about just observing his workout. Unlike when the team practiced together, he had his own practice routine, skipping warmups or pointless drills he didn't need for his own position. I took note of what he liked doing, what he didn't, what he spent more time on or chose to omit.

It was kind of fascinating; it said a lot about him as a person. He had so much confidence in regular interactions, and it was translated on the field. Sure, he was prone to a few fumbles, but everyone was. For the most part, he certainly looked the best player and I could tell why everyone voted him captain.

Putting aside the actual workout, I couldn't deny that my real focus was on how insanely good he looked. With every flick of his hair to the side, stretch of his long arms, or just seeing how focused he looked while trying to catch the snitch, I felt a familiar knot in my stomach tighten with a sensual anxiety. It was a type of attraction that started low, but spread up and throughout my whole body, fizzling out to my fingertips. It was like all my body (and mind) could process was Draco.

More than a few times, I was sure he noticed the way I was shamefully gawking at him. I probably looked like I was drooling, with my lips slightly parted and eyes darting after his every move. I couldn't help it; he was addicting.

After catching the snitch quite a few times, he packaged it up back in its holding case and secured the clasp.

"Finished so soon?" I asked, sauntering over to him in the middle of the pitch.

He stood back up then wiped his forehead clean of any dampness with his forearm. His skin was on display now that he'd taken his gloves off, and it made him all the more attractive to see his tense muscles and veins against his skin.

Fuck, he looked so good.

"Disappointed?" he smirked.

"Maybe a little. I thought you could do with the practice." I placed my hands on my hips, trying to keep my cool and push aside the thoughts I was having.

"I did, five times actually. Don't tell me you want me to entertain you some more," he grinned.

I shrugged, returning his smirk. "I think I deserve it after the way I've spent my afternoon doing charity work."

He chuckled, his voice sounding deeper and more raspy as a result of his workout. The throaty undertones of his laugh were almost enough to make me tackle him right on the grass.

Calm down, y/n. He can probably smell it on you.

"How about we make this a little more interesting then?" he asked.

I raised my eyebrows. "Surprise me."

That malicious grin of his set deeper, meeting his eyes that had a playful glint in them. They looked bluer in the afternoon sun, as well as the glisten of the sweat playing on his cheeks to accentuate his features.

"How good are you at flying?"

A look of shock crashed over my face as I shook my head. No way, not happening. I sucked at flying. After first year's mandatory lessons, I stopped altogether. Watching quidditch was fine, but you couldn't pay me to get back on a broom.

"Forget it, Draco," I continued shaking my head vigorously, "not gonna happen."

"Come on, it won't be as bad as you think!"

"How do you know that?"

"You have the Slytherin house captain as your private instructor," he grinned.

"Haven't you shown off enough today?" I chuckled.

"Clearly not enough," he summoned his broom which was a few feet away. It hit his palm with a thud and he held it out to me, which I refused to take.

"Told you, not happening," I crossed my arms over my chest. "I hate flying."

He pulled the broom back to him and rested it against his chest casually. His eyes narrowed, like he was in thought.

"Let's make a deal, then. If you let me take you on a ride and you hate it, then I'll owe you..." his voice trailed.

"Owe me what?"

His lips curled up again in a playful leer. "A surprise."

"I'm gonna need more specifics than that. A surprise could be a pack of chocolate frogs or a fire breathing dragon that burns off my hair."

He chuckled, shaking his head. "You know I'd never do that to you. Plus, if I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise."

"Precisely. Deals don't go well with surprises. It kind of defeats the purpose of a deal."

"I promise, you'll like it. It'll be a good surprise. Something to make up for the bad flight."

I stayed silent a moment, thinking it over, before nodding.

"Alright then, and if I like it? Hypothetically..."

He cocked his head to the side, looking like he was in thought. He ran a hand through his hair that still stuck to his forehead in sweat beads that soon after fell right back and stuck back on his skin.

"If you don't hate it... there'll be a party this Saturday after the quidditch game against Ravenclaw. I could do with a plus-one."

Was he... asking me out on a date? No, no. We'd hung out, alone, many times together before. And this wouldn't even be alone. It'd be with our entire house. Speaking of which, that didn't even make sense.

"You're inviting me... to something I'm already invited to?"

His face was already red from the flush of working out, but I noticed for a moment the tone of his skin deepen into a darker tone. He probably realized how stupid it sounded out loud. I didn't mind, though. If anything, it was cute.

He cleared his throat, standing up a bit straighter.

"But how many girls in our house can say they're being escorted by the captain and seeker who will have won the game?"

"You're so confident you'll win."

"After the... extra work I put in today, how could I not?" he teased.

Part of me wanted to laugh, the other half wanted to just tell him he didn't even need to ask that. I'd be at his beck and call anytime he wanted me; probably even when he didn't.

"Since I'll be there anyway," I tried to play it cool, "it's a deal."

He looked satisfied with himself, which I hoped didn't translate to being too cocky with the broomstick ride. I still was terrified; as much as I wanted to spend time with him, this wasn't what I had in mind.

To his merit, he did try to make me as comfortable as possible.

The first couple moments were just getting me used to the feeling of the broom underneath me again, considering I hadn't done this since I was probably eleven or twelve. To be honest, I kind of forgot how it felt. It was so awkward, my feet on the pedals, being hunched over on nothing but essentially a stick.

"You're gonna be fine, just relax," he assured. "It's not like you haven't done this before."

"Yeah, seven years ago," I huffed.

"Relax," he echoed, mounting the broom behind me so his chest was pressed flush against my back. His arms went around mine, keeping them in place around the broomstick in front of me. His arms were long enough so that they could reach entirely around me and onto the wood.

Thank Merlin he was behind me and not in front, otherwise he would've felt my heart palpitations from the proximity. I didn't even care that he was still sweaty from his workout, or his jersey was damp and sticky. I could shower later. I was just reveling in the feeling of him against me.

"Keep your hands there," he lowered his voice, now that his lips were so close to my ear. He moved his chin slightly down so that it rested on my shoulder, urging me to lean into his touch. I didn't dare do so, but oh how I wanted to.