Hidden Feelings - A Draco Malfoy Love Story

Chapter Twenty-Five

Harry and I end up tying with high scores in the first task. My injuries, despite the many falls I took, were minimal, just the burn as I was lucky when falling down that slope. Madame Pomfrey positions a bucket near me as she tends to my arm, which has quite severe burns that go almost to my elbow; after a spell and a burn-healing cream that she puts on it, I feel close to no pain. I have to continue to use the cream for two weeks, as well as keep it wrapped. I had torn some skin off while rolling, as well, so the bandages are thicker around my hand.

Harry and I meet Ron and Hermione outside, Ron giving us both hugs and apologizing for everything. Something about the task being over lifts a huge weight off my shoulders; I'm not even nervous for the second task, right now. I'm with my friends, and everything seems okay.

I feel strong, for once, as I carry my golden egg through the halls. People crowd around us on the way back. Colette and her friends gush over how cool I looked, which surprises me, but I say thank you nonetheless. Emma stops me and gives me a hug, Fleur congratulates me for my score, and people I don't even remember from Beauxbatons yell out my name as I pass.

I want to be skeptical; it's what my heart tells me to be, as I'm suddenly a center of attention. Maybe it's the thrill of the fact that I just got past a dragon that makes me smile and just enjoy it.

The same happens for Harry, but only with Hogwarts students. By the time we get to the common room, the two of us are grinning from ear to ear. It's over, for now, and that's what matters.

As we near the portrait, however, I see a flash of blonde hair in the crowd of Gryffindors that surround us.

"I'll be in in a minute," I tell the other three, and push through the crowd. I wait in the back until everyone's in the common room, the shouts of excitement diminishing as the door closes.

Sure enough, there Malfoy stands.

"What are you doing here?" I ask him. His eyes snap up.

"I'm surprised you noticed me with your fan club, there," he says sourly.

I raise an eyebrow. "Something wrong? Are you sad you lost your bet? Well, technically you and your father both lost, but he was closer, wasn't-"

"You did well," he interrupts. It shuts me up with ease, my smile faltering.

"Excuse me?"

"I didn't expect that from you," he continues, ignoring his own obviously unnatural behavior. "It was cool, how you distracted it."

I narrow my eyes a little, letting out a nervous laugh as I shift the egg in my arms. "Are you okay?"

"I think you can win this," he says.

I laugh again, speechless. What is he trying to do?

"I know you probably thought you couldn't do it, but you did, and you were amazing," he tells me, his face blank as he says so. "That's all I wanted to say."

He turns to walk away, but I swallow the uncertainty in my throat and rush forward, grabbing his wrist while cradling the egg with the other arm. He turns around halfway, his eyes staring at my fingers. His skin is cold, but soft; it's just how I remember it from the countless times he grabbed my own wrist last year.

"I don't know if you're being sincere or not, Malfoy, I really don't," I say, releasing his arm. He slowly lowers it back down to his side, looking up at me. "But if you are...thank you."

He nods before walking away.

Draco's POV

Before the first task