𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐄𝐃 ; d.malfoy

28

After following Christmas day's horrendous events, Draco and I made a silent pact to never speak about that argument again. Because of this and the awkwardness that arose from it, Draco and I were spending less time together and it resulted in a rift between our friend group:

Daphne, Blaise, Quinn and now, Lavigne, all preferred to spend more time with me than with Draco, which resulted in him completely ignoring us all and spending the remainder of the winter holidays with Parkinson (for which, she was delighted), Crabbe and Goyle.

Furthermore, I didn't dare utter a single word about the argument to anyone--not even Quinn nor Daph, I mean, they were already happy in their relationships so why should I bother them with my problems?

Lastly, the days of the second task were near with merely a month left before it started and I was desperately helping Krum out with his egg. Though, so far, our attempts were futile.

As January and the new year begun and all the students were removed from their holiday mindset and we fourth-years had a lot of work again. Due to the stress of both the tournament and our OWLs, none of us were given any time to rest or even take a breath. Work piled on top of us just like our stress.

The only thing that gave me a break from our hectic class schedules was the Tuesday meet-up sessions I had with Krum in the library. You see, due to my classes and Krum's duties as an infamous wizard, we barely had any time to spend together after the ball so we made sure to meet up with one another on Tuesdays every week to either just talk or help each other and, with the second task nearing, we barely had time to just talk and relax as friends as most of it was spent working on that blasted golden egg:

In the tranquility of the Hogwarts' library, Victor Krum and I were poring over books and scrolls, searching for any information that might offer insight into the mystery of the golden egg.

'Have you found anything useful yet?' Krum asked, his voice was a low murmur, his eyes scanning the pages intently.

I sighed, shaking my head in frustration, 'not much. It's as if the egg's riddle is designed to remain cryptic.'

He leaned back in his chair, his expression thoughtful, 'perhaps it's coded in a way that requires a specific perspective.'

I nodded, a glimmer of hope stirring within me as my eyes widened. 'You're right. It might not be meant to be understood literally.'

Together, we continued to sift through the texts, our conversations blending seamlessly between theories and observations. We pulled books after books, trying to find some sort of clue involving the egg.

'This passage mentions merfolk,' Krum pointed out, tracing a line of text from a book he'd found with his finger.

I leaned closer, reading the passage carefully, 'yes, it does. And it talks about their songs being a form of communication.'

Krum's eyes brightened with realization, 'perhaps the egg's song is a clue. Merfolk songs have a distinct pattern.'

I felt a surge of excitement, the pieces of the puzzle starting to come together, 'that could be it. We need to figure out the pattern of the song and decode its message.'

As the hours passed, we delved deeper into our research, our shared determination driving us forward. The library's shelves seemed to hold endless possibilities, and we were determined to figure them all out.

'I've got it!' I shout, making both Pince and Krum look at me.

'What is it?' he asked, suddenly very intrigued in what I'd managed to discover.

'You see, merfolk have songs that are dangerous to an average person's ear and can only be deciphered if you listen to them underwater...'

He smiled at my revelation, 'I just have to take the egg for a swim?'

I shrug, 'yeah basically.'

Krum then proceeds to stand up and take the egg with him. I look at him, rather puzzled. 'Where're you going?' I ask.

'Taking the egg for a swim, what else?' he simply replies.

'In this winter...?' I ask.

'Of course, the lakes here are warmer than the lakes at Durmstrang in the summer,' he explains. 'Come, I'll need you there.'

So, hurriedly, we both make our way towards the Black Lake which is practically frozen in the cold, January weather.

'Are you sure...?' I ask him again as I'm very worried for his safety, 'y'know there's a squid in there...'

He laughs as he removes most of his clothing, 'I'll fight it then.'
That was the last thing he said as he jumped into the lake with his egg. I anxiously wait for him on the grass that surrounds the lake while silently praying for his safety.

And, that's also where I'm met with the taunting and heinous voice of none other than Draco Malfoy and his entourage, consisting of Parkinson, Crabbe & Goyle.

The tension in the air was palpable as Draco's eyes met mine and he walked over to me. There was an unusual sort of coldness to them--a coldness that I could not comprehend.

'With your boyfriend here?' Draco said as he noticed the Durmstrang champion's strewn clothes.

I sighed, not wanting to deal with him. 'We're just working together to figure out the golden egg's clue.'

His expression hardened, his tone was now sharp, 'Are you sure you both aren't doing much more than that?'

I feel more frustrated now, 'remind me why you care?'

'I-- how many times do I have to tell you this? You can't trust him,' he snarls.

'That's rich coming from you,' I snap.

At my words, Parkinson pulls out her wand and points it directly at me. Her obsession with Draco was concerning but I didn't know it was this bad.

'Hmm, so what were you saying about "trust"?' I retort.

He scoffs at my remark and rolls his eyes, 'come on Pansy, let her go.'
'But--'
'I said leave it!'

And, with that awkward conversation, Draco and his little fanclub left me all alone. Though, not before I received one last longing gaze from the platinum-blonde.

I honestly never understood his actions. Sure, he admitted to wanting to go to the ball with me but then, he didn't dare spend any more time with me and just spent his time hating on my relationship with Krum. He's honestly very unusual. I mean, after ruining my wonderful night with Krum, he's now ruining my days as well. If only he could muster up some courage and apologise...

'Grindylows!' came the voice of Krum. It managed to startle me and make me jump in my seat.

'What-?' I asked, looking quizzically at him.

'You were right, when I went underwater, their was a lovely song and it said that the creatures were Grindylows,' he explained.

I gave him a smile, glad that all of our hard work finally lead us to deciphering the secret behind the egg. 'Really? Well, I guess we've got to work on some charms that can make you survive underwater.'