𝐁𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄 || 𝐃.𝐌

XXX

“Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it.”

[Albus Dumbledore.]

☄. *. ⋆

“Malfoy, you're up,” Bagman replied with a sick grin written on his face. “Get ready, because it's almost your turn.”

Draco rose from his chair, his face showing no fear as he looked at Ludo Bagman. However, inside, he was already feeling anxious about what was to come. Draco had not even had time to prepare for it. The other champions, except for Draco, already had an idea of what the first task would entail.

This was because Hagrid, a great lover of dragons, had innocently invited Olympe Maxime to watch the dragons with him. Little did he know that she would tell her champion, Fleur Delacour, about the dragons. Harry Potter was also present, once again at Hagrid's request, hidden under his Invisibility Cloak. While Igor Karkaroff sneaked into the forest to discover what was being hidden and told his champion, Viktor Krum, about the first task. Although Cedric Diggory was not present, Harry told him about the dragons so he too was aware of what was to come.

Cedric was the first to face the challenge, going up against the Swedish Short-Snout. Despite the dragon's formidable reputation, Cedric was able to win the battle by using Transfigurations to outsmart the creature.

The second contestant, Fleur, had to face the Common Welsh Green. This dragon was known for its strength and ferocity, but Fleur was able to enchant it to sleep and retrieve the golden egg with ease.

The third contestant, Viktor, had to fight the Chinese Fireball. He used the Conjunctivitis Curse to temporarily blind the creature, giving him the upper hand and ultimately winning the challenge.

The fourth one, Harry faced the most dangerous dragon of all, the Hungarian Horntail. With the help of Professor Moody's advice, he used a summoning charm to bring his Firebolt broomstick to him. He then used his superior flying skills to outmaneuver the dragon and retrieve the golden egg. Meanwhile, as for Draco...

“I hope you have a good time dealing with the Peruvian Vipertooth, Mr. Malfoy.” Bagman said with a chuckle, his eyes twinkling mischievously. Draco's hands balled into tight fists, glared at Bagman and gritted his teeth in frustration. He knew that this task would be difficult.

The Vipertooth maybe the smallest dragon, but do not let that fool you. It is one of the most deadly dragons out there. Its remarkable stealth abilities make it a dangerous predator that can easily catch its prey off guard. What's more, despite its small size, the Vipertooth has a particular hunger for human flesh, which makes it a menacing creature to encounter. It is also renowned for being the fastest of all dragons, and its fangs are venomous, adding to its lethal arsenal. Vipertooth is also responsible for the outbreak of the Dragon Pox disease, a highly contagious illness that can be fatal if left untreated.

Clearly, Bagman's comment about Draco's dragon was not meant to be taken lightly, and it would be interesting to see how Draco would handle the dangerous beast. As he stepped out into the bright sunlight, he took a deep breath and prepared himself to the great unknown.

☄. *. ⋆

Meanwhile, a few moments had passed and it was still Harry's turn to face the gigantic, scary dragon. Y/n, on the other hand, had grown increasingly anxious and was fidgeting with her little fingers. She couldn't help but feel guilty, thinking that it was her fault that Draco would have to face the same daunting challenge as the other champions who had gone before him.

Would Draco be able to make it out unscathed? What if he got hurt?

She knew that she couldn't let her fears get the best of her, but it was hard not to worry when the stakes were so high.
 
The little girl had always been fascinated by dragons, having seen them portrayed as friendly, sweet creatures that could even talk in some of the movies in the Muggle world. However, her perception of them changed drastically when she witnessed not just one, but four of them during the other champions and Harry's turn. The sight of these creatures was nothing like what she had imagined— they were aggressive, monstrous, and much larger than she had ever thought possible.
 
As she sat there, lost in her thoughts, the sounds of cheers and banters of the crowd blending in, she heard a voice that snapped her back to reality, saying, “Scared, aren't we?”

She turned to see the source of the voice and was met with the sight of the professor, who has an imposing figure with a sharp gaze and an electric blue magical eye that seemed to move around independently from his normal eye—none other than Professor Moody.

Without a moment of hesitation, the little girl nodded and answered, “Professor, am I a bad person?”
 
As soon as the question left Y/n's lips, the atmosphere in the room field. Bartemius Crouch Jr. who was disguised as Moody, felt a chill run down his spine as he looked into her eyes. They were a striking (e/c) color, innocent and pure. As he looked into her eyes, a sense of deja vu washed over him. He knew that he had seen those innocent eyes before, during the first wizarding war, and he would never forget their piercing gaze.

‘It's her, she's the daughter of— no it couldn't be, right? It couldn't be.’ he thought to himself, avoiding the little girl's innocent gaze. He searched for an answer; his mind raced with memories of his past, and that's when he started to regret what he had done to this little girl, having no idea of who she was at first, but now that he does— he wanted to curse himself a lot of times by doing so but tried to play it cool by answering her in his usual demeanor.

“And why do you think that way?” asked Professor Moody, which was immediately answered by Y/n. “Draco took my spot,” with a teary eyes, she spoke. “Now he's gonna get hurt because of me...”

It was a moment of great irony, one that he could not have foreseen. Barty, disguised as the Professor, wanted to just leave her right away, for he couldn't believe that he'd have to hear the same exact words someone had told him years ago, having the same eyes, same aura, but at different times, in different situations, and from a different person.

“You're not a bad person,” said Moody, uttering the same exact words he answered years ago when he was put in this identical situation before. “The world is, Y/n. The world is.”

With that, he immediately left the little girl looking so puzzled at his answers.

As he walked away, he silently uttered himself, “Merlin, forgive me.”