Ruthless : d.malfoy [ REWRITING ]

PART 7

ROARS of the audience seated in stalls that rose higher into the air, in a circle echoed around the stadium. The sky was a dazzling shade of blue – with wisps of grey clouds here and there – and though a chilly feeling hung in the air , a reminiscent of the previous night's wind storm – it certainly was a beautiful day for those not about to die. Their cheers , and applauds , their faces flushed with excitement and fear for their fellow schoolmates – was all that Evanna saw and heard before she took her place inside the champion's tent. In an act of faux nervousness , Evanna scrunched her handkerchief , as though seeking comfort in the old silken piece she had held onto as the last thing that associated her to her mother's love - something she had lost long ago – alongside tapping her right foot to an unknown melody.

A boy wearing gold and black robes , his honey coloured hair in a mess , paced the length of the tent which had been assigned to the champions. Cedric Diggory. Evanna hadn't really talked to him , except for the time when she had bribed him to give up the information regarding the first task. Fleur sat on a chair , twirling her rosewood wand in one hand as she appeared to be deep in thought , and Krum was pacing as well. And as for Harry , he was nowhere in sight.

Evanna sighed , as Cedric took a place beside her.

"Good luck", Cedric said to her in a good-natured way , and Evanna smiled at him faintly. "Thanks , and good luck to you too as well."

She turned away , closing her eyes and concentrating on the spells she had learnt. She had said to Draco that she could produce a Patronus , but it had been an extravagant lie. She could only produce , a minute , incandescent version of the same – and instead of conjuring her animal protector in a silver-blue hue , her patronus would be deformed and dark.

The thing that had baffled her the most was that , the night after their escapade and her catching a bewildered blonde Slytherin who had heard too much than necessary , she had found herself capable of producing a Patronus. Two memories. Both consisting a boy with pearly , mercury eyes. The first one being the night on which she had been chosen as the fifth champion , when Draco had held her in an embrace that had been more comforting than anything she had ever experienced , and the second being of the time they had ran from Filch after curfew.

How could a few days with someone she had once known as her best friend almost a decade ago , change so much inside of herself ? She didn't have the answer to the question , frankly. But all she knew that whenever she concentrated on those two memories , her innards would be filled with a rush of happiness – something she hadn't felt in a long , long time. And that , she could produce a beautiful , silver-blue Patronus. She was brought out of her reverie when she felt Cedric nudge her gently , and she watched Harry suddenly appear out of the blue , making a beeline for her.

"What is it Harry ?", Evanna asked , an undertone of frustration lying in her voice. Ever since they had been elected as champions , Harry had always come up to Evanna to express his anxiety , his grief at everything , at how his friends had thought he had committed the act purposefully – as though , she were some therapist. As much as she had concealed her irritation behind a mask of interest and kindness , now that she would be up against a dragon – Evanna was too irate to give him a pep talk , when her own nerves were full of weariness , only wishing for the task to get over as soon as possible.