C H A P T E R 0 8
Draco
They had literally abducted him! No warning had been given when they had snatched Draco by his arm out of the hallway, on his way to the library. He hadn't panicked at first because of the sudden abduction, but he had panicked because he would miss his meeting with Harry. Dragged to headmaster Dumbledore's office, Draco had thought he had done something wrong, but there he had seen the faces of others he recognized; Gabrielle, Hermione and Cho. He had stood beside the equally confused girls and waited for what the professors in front of him had to say.
They were going to drown him! What an awful plan it had sounded in Draco's ears. Enchanted in a deep sleep but completely safe... as if Draco had been able to believe that. He had sulked while throwing vile glares at each of the irresponsible adults in front of him before demanding five minutes to at least go to the bathroom before they would unwillingly put him asleep. Of course Draco hadn't needed to go to the bathroom; he saw it as his opportunity to tell Harry about the gillyweed. He had only found out about it the night before while reading in his new plant book. Already on one of the first pages he had stumbled upon it and while reading its description, had known it was what they had been looking for all along.
Scribbling down a note, he had ran towards the library as fast as he could. Halfway he had seen Ron appear out of nowhere, shoved the note into the ginger's hands instead. Ron had given him a weird look before Draco had taken off again, hurrying back to the Headmaster's office.
The note had simply read;
Use gillyweed for second task. Find: Potions class? No warming charm.
He could only have hoped that Ron would've been smart enough to give the note to Harry or somehow obtain the gillyweed himself. But all his thoughts had faded away as the professors casted the special sleeping charm upon him right at the moment he entered the office again.
☾ *:･ﾟ✧
Nothing had Draco remembered from his trip to the bottom of the Lake. Rien. It had frustrated him even more when he had awoken, almost drowning by the surprise of finding himself in ice cold water. He had splashed his arms and legs in fury while getting cheered on by the surrounding crowd. Cursing all the professors and inventor of the tasks, he hadn't even thought about wether Harry had succeeded or not. But as the boy had grabbed ahold of his face, mumbling words Draco couldn't even hear, he knew by his clumsy kiss that he had succeeded. And succeeded greatly, apparently, as he got second place for arriving at the Merpeople's village first and saving two candidates instead of one. Fleur had been under the attack of grindylows and had to pull back before finishing her task, which made her score no points at all. But it hadn't mattered to the French girl anyway; the safety of her little sister had always been more important and worrying than her score.
Draco was still surrounded by the smell of pine, his skin in touch with the softest wool he had ever felt. The red and gold jumper, which he had made fun of at first, appeared to be one of the better things in life. And of course, that had nothing to with the fact that it was Harry's jumper or anything. It had been quite a surprise to Draco that Harry had dared to kiss him when everyone had been watching; he had thought the boy didn't want anyone to know about them. But it wasn't just something Harry should've worried about, by the public kiss their love had also been declared to all the girls and Madame Maxime herself. Draco didn't even dare to look at her; afraid she would judge him for betrayal to Beauxbatons. Already thinking about it made Draco's stomach turn upside down. He knew Fleur apparently didn't care but how would the others react? He had no idea.
He soon found out as he got back to the carriage's common room after the second task. Harry had been dragged along by a bunch of Gryffindors with the promise of a party at their common room. Draco had stayed behind with Hermione by his side, inviting him to come as well and Draco had accepted the offer before even realizing it. Curiosity of knowing what the Gryffindor common room and dormitory looked like had taken over. But he had demanded that he first wanted to change into something else; the jumper could stay but his slightly damp school robes had to come off. Not to mention that his hair desperately needed to be combed after its adventure down the Lake.
So as he got back to the carriage, he found all the girls had returned already as well. With the door swung open, he immediately heard a silence fall. All their eyes were pointed in his direction, blank expressions on their faces. Draco stood frozen in the door, unsure of what to do or how to react. Madame sat on her purple sofa by the fire, her eyes fixed upon him as well.
'Well well,' she then said. 'Vous et le garçon de Hogwarts?' Draco swallowed and felt his cheeks burn. He couldn't manage to say a single word; his throat felt dry and it was as if a little goblin was playing the drums in his chest. He nodded to her words instead. 'You know that he is Fleur's rival, oui?'
Draco nodded again. 'But I don't really mind, Madame,' he heard Fleur's voice call out. A weak smile graced her face as she looked from Madame back to Draco. 'Draco's happiness is just as important as the Tournament, non?' Fleur's words were a relief but the tension between Madame and him still hung above their heads. He felt her eyes shift from his face to his jumper and back, judging without truly doing so. Unreadable, the woman was.
Madame Maxime then let out a deep sigh, making Draco's heart jump. Was it a good sigh or a bad one? 'Peut-être,' she mumbled as she rose from her sofa. As she walked towards the portrait of her room, she threw the smallest of smiles in Draco's direction before disappearing, leaving Draco with a warm feeling in his chest.
He sighed out of relief and placed a hand upon his heart; its loud pace still resounding in his ears. At least he didn't have to worry about telling her anymore, and she didn't even seem that upset or surprised. She probably knew all along, the smart Witch that she was; probably already at the night of the Yule Ball. 'We don't mind it either, Draco,' Marie then said. Seated upon one of the blue sofas with her long brown hair let down, she gave him a sparkle of a smile. 'You and Harry are too cute together!' The girls followed her giggling and Draco blushed to scarlet red.
What seemed like an eternity of questions about Harry then followed; Is he kind to you? What does he smell like? Had you kissed before? What's his favorite food? Do you already have a nickname for him? Is that his jumper? Draco answered them all after getting pulled onto one of the sofas as well, surrounded by each and every girl including Fleur. Fleur even seemed to be the most curious and Draco wasn't really sure if she was trying to get some information she could use for the final task at the same time. But he didn't care; Harry was an open book anyway. When they were finally satisfied with their six-hundred-and-one love-related questions answered, Draco changed into a pair of fitted trousers and tied up his hair again. The girls waved him off with the cheekiest of smiles and in the twilight he wandered back to the castle, a grin wider than the Cheshire's cat upon his face.
A battle of moving stairs later Draco arrived at the portrait Hermione had told him about. The Fat Lady, she was apparently called, but Draco found it a rather rude name. Whoever had given it to the depicted lady hadn't been much of a gentleman. 'Bonsoir, demoiselle,' he said to her.
The Fat Lady gave him a little smile, apparently pleased by his addressing. 'How can I help you, young man? You do not look like a Gryffindor to me, am I right?'
