At dinner that night, a scrap of parchment found its way onto Harry's plate, and he grabbed it before anyone but Neville could see. Transfiguration room. Curfew. The handwriting was familiar. He glanced across at the Slytherin table, and nodded.
"Is it him?" Neville asked under his breath. Harry hummed quietly in confirmation, burning the note with the tip of his wand.
Since Neville was in the know and very few other people were actively talking to him, it was easy for Harry to disappear right before curfew, keeping the map in hand as he crept through the corridors under the invisibility cloak. Moody was in his office, and Harry hoped it stayed that way.
He arrived first, but didn't have to wait long for Draco. The blond hadn't bothered bringing cards this time. He looked anxious.
"Do you have any idea what you're getting into tomorrow?" Draco asked. Harry grinned at him.
"I do, actually. It's going to be great." If he didn't die. He was pretty sure he could do it and not die. Like, at least seventy percent sure.
Draco was not amused. "Will ProfRemus be there?" Draco still struggled to call the werewolf by his first name. Harry shook his head.
"We don't want Dumbledore to know that I'm still in contact with him," he said. "And they don't want him knowing they're in touch with each other." Dumbledore didn't like it when any adult got too close to Harry — except Mrs Weasley. That there should've been Harry's first sign that something wasn't right. "I promised to call him and Sirius tomorrow night, if I can."
"If you're not dead, you mean," Draco snapped.
"If I'm not too busy celebrating," Harry corrected, smiling. "Relax, will you? I've got it handled. I've done worse, you know I have. I'll be fine."
"Promise me you won't do anything stupid and Gryffindor." Draco's voice was quiet, raw in a way that made Harry's chest clench. The dark-haired boy moved closer, offering a hesitantly apologetic smile.
"Everything I do is stupid and Gryffindor. I can't promise that." That drew a faint laugh from the Slytherin. Draco placed both hands on Harry's shoulders, meeting his gaze square on.
"Then just promise me you'll do your best to just get through this task alive."
Harry stared into silver-grey eyes, losing his breath for a minute. "I promise," he whispered, once he was capable of words. It would be so easy to just lean forward, to bridge the gap between them and press their lips together. But he couldn't. His friendship with Draco was still so tentative in many ways, he didn't want to risk screwing it up with his stupid feelings. He pulled away, grinning once more. "I'm gonna put on one hell of a show, though, you can count on that!"
Draco looked at him, blinking away a look Harry couldn't place and gaining a resigned expression. "It's going to give me a heart attack, isn't it?" he asked flatly. Harry just laughed.
.-.-.
It all went by so fast. Walking down to the tent, picking their dragons out, avoiding Bagman when the man tried to speak to him privately; before Harry knew it, he was facing a dragon with just his wand in his hand. "Accio Firebolt!" He'd spelled open the dorm window to make sure nothing would be in his way, and to his great relief, the broom came zooming across the lawn towards him. Then he was off.
He didn't do much thinking until he was back on the ground, his brain hitting flight-mode and going entirely off of instinct. When he landed, he could see Charlie Weasley amongst the dragon tamers, punching the air in delight. Draco up in the stands, looking even paler than usual but with wonder in his eyes. Ron looking begrudgingly impressed, still scowling, while Neville and Hermione cheered beside him.
He could see McGonagall walking towards him, smiling. "Very well done, Potter! Excellent flying! Now off to the First Aid tent with you." It was then that Harry noticed he was bleeding from a gash in his shoulder, and he grimaced, heading off towards Madam Pomfrey. Cedric was sat there with burn paste slathered all over his face and chest, but Fleur and Krum looked alright, sitting drinking hot chocolate. Madam Pomfrey cast a quick spell on his shoulder, telling him to sit tight until it healed completely.
"That vas some very impressive flying," Krum said with a soft smile. Harry goggled at him. Viktor Krum just complimented his flying skills. Before Harry could gather his brains up enough to ask the others what they had done, he was called out to receive his score. 40 out of 50. Not bad at all. "You're tied for first place!" It was Charlie, running up to barrel him in a hug so tight Harry's feet left the ground. Harry was glad Pomfrey had healed his shoulder already. "You and Krum. Bloody hell, Harry, that was amazing! I've got to go, we've got to move the dragons, but really well done! I'll see you soon, yeah? Oh, and they need you back in the champions' tent, Bagman said," he added belatedly, ruffling Harry's hair before running off again. Harry saw Neville waiting for him, but he shook his head, jerking a thumb towards the tent. He'd see his friend back up at the common room. The other three champions were already there when Harry arrived, and so was Bagman. They listened while the man told them the egg was their clue, and Harry was relieved the next task wasn't until the end of February. Three whole months to figure it out, and get on with other things.
Everyone had left by the time Bagman let them go, so the four champions started walking back towards the castle together. "So what did the three of you end up doing?" Harry asked curiously.
They each regaled him with their own experiences with their dragons, stopping on the lawn near the lake. Neither Fleur nor Krum seemed to want to go back to their respective lodgings just yet. Harry didn't really blame them. He knew there would be a party up at Gryffindor Tower, and he was exhausted just thinking about it.
There was a beat of silence, and Harry laughed, shaking his head. "This is mad, isn't it? This competition. We just faced dragons."
Fleur laughed as well. "I knew eet would be difficult, but I did not expect zat!" she agreed. "I am vairy eempressed, 'Arry. I worried for you when I found out about ze dragons, but you did vairy well for someone so young."
"I, uh, had a bit of a heads up about them. I had time to prepare," Harry admitted, wondering if the others would confess the same. To his surprise, they did.
"Look, forgive me if this sounds crazy, but even when all four of us knew what was happening we still almost died a few times," Cedric said. "I know it's supposed to be a competition and all, but… I like you. I don't want to see any of you dead. So call me a Hufflepuff if you will, but I say we should stick together on this. The competition is supposed to be about international cooperation, right? I'm not saying we need to work on our solutions together, but we could at least keep each other updated about the clues, and offer help if needed. The people running this tournament are insane. They sent a fourteen year-old alone against a full-grown nesting mother dragon."
"You haff a point, Diggory," Krum said slowly. "ve all knew, and yet ve all came up vith different solutions. Perhaps if ve vork together, ve can survive this and still put on a show."
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