The Snake| Draco Malfoy

~Year 4~ The Second task

"So when is Neville giving you this weed thing?" Astoria asks while we practice during charms. We were supposed to be practicing the opposite of the Summoning Charm today – the Banishing Charm. Owing to the potential for nasty accidents when objects kept flying across the room, Professor Flitwick had given each student a stack of cushions on which to practice, the theory being that these wouldn't hurt anyone if they went off target. It was a good theory, but it wasn't working very well. Neville's aim was so poor that he kept accidentally sending much heavier things flying across the room – Professor Flitwick, for instance.

"It's called gillyweed." I say correcting her, "and he's supposed to give it to me before the task."

"Well he better give it to you soon. The task is in a few hours." Lucille comments from the other side of the table.

"I know." I say narrowing my eyes at my target. Neville hadn't spoken to me since our last tutoring session. I couldn't tell if he listens to me and told Harry to either. The task was just hours away. The class bell rang and I headed down to the Slytherin common room and up to my dormitory. We had been excused from the rest of classes today to watch the second task. Which was only two hours away. I was supposed to head down to the docks soon. I quickly changed into my tournament outfit and began to walk to Entrance Hall. I had been debating whether to talk to Draco before the task or after it. I wanted to talk to him badly. We hadn't even been within six feet in weeks.

And I had to admit I missed him. The Entrance Hall contained a few last-minute stragglers, all leaving the Great Hall after breakfast and heading through the double oak doors to watch the second task. Everyone stared at me as I walked down the lawn. As I walked down the lawn I saw that the seats that had encircled the dragons' enclosure in November were now ranged along the opposite bank, rising in stands that were packed to bursting point and reflected in the lake below; the excited babble of the crowd echoed strangely across the water as I started to quickly walk towards the judges, who were sitting at another gold-draped table at the water's edge. When Neville flat out ran into me. We fell down together tangled on the ground.

"S-Sorry!" Neville says quickly helping me up.

"It's fine." I say wincing getting up and rubbing the grass out of my hair. He looked at me embarrassed before pulling a slimy green weed out from his pocket.

"Gillyweed." He says handing it to me. I smile and take it from him. "Just eat it right before the task starts. You only have an ho7 before the effects start wearing off." I nod in understandment. I take the gillyweed and place it in my pocket.

"Thank you, Neville." I say as nicely as I possibly could before giving him a brief hug and running off to the judges table. Harry seems to be getting yelled at by everyone for being late. So I simply slipped in unnoticed to avoid getting yelled at to. Which seemed to work except for Cedric who noticed and just chuckled.

"Now, now, Percy!" said Ludo Bagman, who was looking intensely relieved to see Harry. "Let him catch his breath!" Dumbledore smiled at Harry, but Karkaroff and Madame Maxime didn't look at all pleased to see him ... it was obvious from the looks on their faces that they had thought he wasn't going to turn up. Harry bent over, hands on his knees, gasping for breath; Ludo Bagman was now moving among the champions, spacing them along the bank at intervals of ten feet. Harry was on the very end of the line, next to Krum, who was wearing swimming trunks, and was holding his wand ready. I was next to Cedric. In between him and Fleur. I quickly took the Gillyweed and ate it. I began panicking about what I was to retrieve. We had never figured it out and hoped it was just an item they took. But I knew it would be more than just that.

"Welcome to the second task. Last night something was stolen from each of our champions. A treasure of sorts. These five treasures, one for each champion, now lie on the bottom of the black lake. In order to win each champion need only find their treasure and return to the surface. Simple enough. Except for this, they will have one hour to do so and one hour only. After that they'll be on their own." Dumbledore announces. I scan the crowd looking for familiar faces. I see Harper, Astoria and Lucille smiling and waving at me. But I was disappointed when I could find Draco. Maybe he decided to skip or was just hidden in the crowd of Krum supporters.