The Snake| Draco Malfoy

~Year 4~ The First Task

The next few days were the worst. The school had quickly turned on Harry and hated him more than ever. It also seemed his friendship with Ron was gone. I was lucky enough to be already hated by the, as I was a Slytherin. So the hate couldn't get much worse. But the first task kept drawing nearer and nearer. Draco had started handing out pins that say potter stinks. I didn't really care as long as he didn't make any of me.

"So what do you think the first task will be?" Astoria asked me after a long divination class together. Mostly with Trelawney predicting me and Harry's deaths in the tournament. I shrugged.

"Probably something dangerous." I say, she gives me a look.

"We need to figure it out! Krum and Fleur might already know and be preparing for it!" Astoria exclaims as we head to Care of Magical Creatures. We headed down to Harris's hut and joined the gathering Slytherins.

"Ah, look, boys, it's the champion," Draco said to Crabbe and Goyle, the moment he got within earshot of Harry. "Got your autograph books? Better get a signature now, because I doubt he's going to be around much longer ... half the Triwizard champions have died ... how long d'you reckon you're going to last, Potter? Ten minutes into the first task's my bet."

Crabbe and Goyle guffawed sycophantically, but Draco had to stop there, because Hagrid emerged from the back of his cabin, holding a teetering tower of crates, each containing a very large Blast-Ended Skrewt. To the class's horror, Hagrid proceeded to explain that the reason the Skrewts had been killing each other was an excess of pent-up energy, and that the solution would be for each of the class to fix a leash on a Skrewt and take it for a short walk. I groaned. I hated Hagrid as a teacher. He kept making everyone hate care of magical creatures. And honestly he's making everyone hate magical creatures. Instead of showing and teaching useful and nice and beautiful creatures he shows us the disgusting killer ones.

The worst was transfiguration when Harry arrived. "Want a hanky, Potter, in case you start crying?" The Slytherins mocked. Rita Skeeter had recently done a interview of us. She took photos for the daily prophet which was kinda embarrassing. But she made Harry seemed like a cry baby twelve year old. Which didn't help his case at school.

It is a strange thing, but when you are dreading something, and would give anything to slow down time, it has a disobliging habit of speeding up. The days until the first task seemed to slip by as though someone had fixed the clocks to work at double speed. I still hadn't figured out the first task. Neither did the other champions. I had gone to the forbidden forest with Rose to clear my mind. When I was walking back I ran into Harry.

"Er- sorry Harry didn't see you there." I say awkwardly, he stands there for a moment before I wave goodbye and start toward the castle.

"Hey wait!" He calls after me running up beside me. I give him a confused look.

"We need to talk." He says stopping. I turn around and face him.

"If this about Draco's stupid pins. I didn't do anything-" I say quickly.

"No not that-" he interrupts me. "The first task." He states. I nod my head confused. "Dragons, that's the task."

"What-" I start saying confused.

"They got one for each of us." He says, "Krum and Fleur already know." I just stare at him for the longest moment. Dragons? This was great! I'm great with dragons! Well I'm great with Rose so hopefully I'm great with those dragons. Plus dragons are all the same. Just gotta stroke their necks and sing them to sleep. Really easy actually. While I was thinking this I didn't realizing I was still staring at Harry.