Second Time Around

Dragons

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Dragons

"All day long I can hear people talking out loud
But when you hold me near you drown out the crowd
Old Mr. Webster could never define
What's being said between your heart and mine

The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There's a truth in your eyes sayin' you'll never leave me
The touch of your hand says you'll catch me if ever I fall
You say it best when you say nothing at all."—When you say nothing at all, Alison Kruass

Draco tried really hard not to laugh as he read the Daily Prophet.

"I suppose I get my strength from my parents. I know they'd be very proud of me if they could see me now...Yes, sometimes at night I still cry about them, I'm not ashamed to admit it...I know nothing will hurt me during the tournament, because they're watching over me..."

Fuck, this was why Draco wasn't letting that woman anywhere near him. The article was made up mostly of Potter's extensive interview, with Krum and Fleur mentioned a little in the end while Draco was only mentioned as the fourth Champion and that was that. His father wasn't angry with him for the lost opportunity for publicity, once he found out who was conducting the interviews he actually congratulated Draco on a well avoided attack of humiliation and shame.

But this was ridiculous. Even though Draco ribbed Potter about being a glory hog, Draco knew that he wasn't. Their shared humiliation at Lockhart's valentines in second year confirmed that long ago. Still, it was fun to go on at him so Draco pretended not to realise.

"Harry has at last found love at Hogwarts. His close friend, Colin Creevey, says that Harry is rarely seen out of the company of one Hermione Granger, a stunningly pretty Muggleborn girl who, like Harry, is one of the top students in the school."

Well, Draco really couldn't say anything bad about this part. He knew for a fact that the possibility of Potter and Hermione being together was as impossible as he and Goyle being together. It wouldn't happen. And she had called Hermione pretty, which Draco thought was true.

Recently Draco had had to control himself around Hermione. After accidently oversizing Hermione's teeth, she went to the hospital wing to have them shrunk. Apparently when Madam Pomfrey got them down to Hermione's usual size, she just allowed the medi-witch to continue the shrinking. Now when Hermione smiled, a perfect set of straight teeth shone back. And for a long time, the only flaw Draco had ever been able to find in Hermione was her disgusting buckteeth. They were what gave him strength in his resolve to keep his feelings for her a secret. Now that they were gone, Hermione took on a new level of pretty in his eyes. He didn't know what to do with himself.

Luckily, she was too occupied with translating the book he gave her to spend time with him and realise anything.

When Theo inquired about the book, Draco only vaguely told him he had found an expert who could be trusted. Slytherins, unlike like the rest of the world, were just fine with 'vague' and felt no need to say anything more on the matter and the two concentrated on finding ways to ready Draco for the first task, as well as to find out what the first test even was.

Draco was in the library near the restricted section looking for books that might be useful. So far, there was nothing that even compared to the spells that Theo had dug up, but Draco was a little reluctant to use them as they were all dark spells from illegal books and the Minister of Magic would be watching the competition. Draco had no inclination to revisit his past with Dementors. Even though he now had a Patronus he still shivered at the mere thought of the black hooded demons.