𝑈𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 ☾ 𝐷𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑜 𝑀𝑎𝑙𝑓𝑜𝑦

Champions ☾ 4-03

The bell rung out from the clock tower, the sound echoing through the great hall. The teachers made their way to the front of the room as students sat at their designated tables. My father winked at me from the front, beside Barty Crouch, who it seems, had never smiled in his entire lifetime.

Dumbledore called everyone's attention to him as he stood around the Goblet of Fire. He dimmed the fires around the hall, making the goblet's extraordinary flame seem brighter. The Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students sat to the sides, awaiting the Goblet's final verdict. Stretton, Davies, and I watched eagerly from the side of the Ravenclaw table. I saw Cedric wink toward Cho, who blushed in response. I grinned at their adorable interaction. Halting the suspense, the fire hovering over the goblet turned into a pink-ish red hue, taking the already focused attention of everyone in the hall.

"Look, Aurora. That was the colour of your hair when Krum looked at you yesterday." Stretton laughed at Davies' joke and I scowled. Looking over to the Durmstrang section, the boys were calmly awaiting what the goblet had to say. Viktor was completely still, steadfast expression like stone. Some of the Durmstrang students had made friends and sat with the Slytherins, most likely because of their pure-blood similarity. We all watched as the single flame spat out the first piece of parchment before fading back to blue.

"The Durmstrang champion is... Viktor Krum!" Dumbledore announced, careful not to burn his hands on the ashen parchment. Viktor pumped his fist in victory. I don't think any of us were surprised. He stood up, shook Dumbledore's hand, and made his way to the room on the left of the staff table. My father shook his hand as he was led inside. The fire turned red again, this time spitting out a frilly circular piece of parchment.

I wonder what school that one's from... I thought sarcastically. Catching the gold-edged parchment, Dumbledore read out another name.

"The champion from Beauxbatons, is Fleur Delacour!" The Beauxbatons girls cheered politely for their friend as she curtsied in front of Dumbledore. A smug look on her face, she followed Krum into the side room. Swiftly catching another piece of parchment, Dumbledore read out the third name.

"The Hogwarts champion... Cedric Diggory!" The hall erupted for Cedric, including me. The Hufflepuff table cheered the loudest, grateful for the representation. Cedric shook more hands and followed the other champions. Dumbledore got everyone excited, reciting an obviously practiced speech as he revealed the trophy from underneath a thick cloth. The Triwizard cup gleamed from its pedestal. As we all clapped, I turned my attention back to the table to begin the feast when the goblet's fire turned red once again. That wasn't supposed to happen...

Dumbledore caught the last piece of parchment with an obvious frown on his face. My father's grin dropped, as did everyone else's. We all stood in suspense as Dumbledore mumbled something to himself.

☾ NARRATING POV

"Harry Potter!" Dumbledore cried, searching the room. Stunned, Harry refused to move. Ron looked furious, and Harry looked like he was facing Voldemort himself. Hermione nudged him toward the front, and Harry wordlessly followed the other champions into the room. They all turned to him, confused, as McGonagall, Dumbledore, and Whitethorn loudly ran into the room behind him. Everyone else was sent back to their common rooms, awaiting further news or instruction.

The bundle of teachers argued continuously, including Mr. Whitethorn, to Harry's surprise. Dumbledore stepped forward and grasped Harry's shoulders.

"Harry! Harry. Did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire?" He shoved Harry into the glass case behind him.

"No sir!" The startled boy cried. It was obvious Harry didn't want to be there. Whitethorn comforted McGonagall with a hand on her shoulder as she looked to Harry, terrified. Maxime, Moody, and Karkaroff continued to argue, accusing and defending Harry. Dumbledore and Whitethorn conversed in the corner, Crouch coming to join them. Crouch abruptly turned toward the gaggle of teachers.

"The rules are absolute. The Goblet of Fire constitutes a binding magical contract." He turned to face the teachers. Whitethorn put a hand on Harry's shoulder, knowing there was no way his daughter's friend would do something like this.

"Mr. Potter has no choice but to compete. He is, as of tonight, a Triwizard champion." The group of adults looked to Harry expectantly, the other champions watching from the fireplace.

☾ DRACO'S POV

Dumbledore's voice echoed through my head as I paced back and forth in the common room. Crabbe and Goyle sat on a couch lazily, doing nothing. Pansy picked at her fingernails, watching me dig a trench in the dungeon floor.

Potter? A Triwizard Champion? What a load of bullocks. He wasn't even 17 yet. It didn't matter. Everyone already knows Krum's set up to win. Father said so himself as soon as I sent an owl. I haven't decided if I liked Krum yet. He was a bit dim, but strong-willed enough. The biggest thing I couldn't get past is the way he looked at Aurora as she cheered. She cheered for everyone, and I assumed because she didn't care who won. But he didn't cheer, he only looked directly at her. She looked happy, sitting with Stretton and Davies, laughing at their stupid jokes.

I wanted to be the one telling the jokes. My father had put a stop to my sending her letters as soon as he learned she was a half-blood. Only speaking to Sebastian out of personal gain, he refused to let me converse with anyone from the Whitethorn family at all. I missed Aurora. I missed her smile, her colourful hair, and I felt incredibly guilty about it. She had stopped talking to me all together, though I couldn't blame her after the letters suddenly stopped coming. I was feeling very conflicted. Maybe Aurora's friendship was worth more to me than I thought... Pansy looked up from her nails as I ran a hand through my hair.

"You alright Dray-Dray?" She smiled sweetly. "You never pace like this unless you're really upset." I frowned at the nickname. I was incredibly upset. Not only did Potter have a cheating chance at eternal glory, but my friendship with Aurora was getting farther and farther away from me.

"Don't call me that." I spat at her. Pansy was awfully annoying, and she wouldn't get it through her thick skull that I just wasn't interested in her. She always had to make another comment, or snide remark about us being 'together'. I hated it.

"I'm going to my room," I announced, not to anyone in particular. Hopefully I'd have a clearer head the next morning.

☾ AURORA'S POV

After getting trapped up in Ron's awfully long and tedious message to Harry, I made my way through the halls, trying to obtain a sense of normalcy. Classes were uneventful, though I kept feeling a pair of eyes drilling holes in the back of my head. By the end of the day, I was quite sick of it. My hair turned red as I felt them following me through the castle. I stopped abruptly and spun on my heel, coming face-to-chest with Draco Malfoy. I fell, and he stumbled backward.

"Jesus, Aurora." He said, gaining balance against the wall. He extended his hand to help me up, but I refused and I stood up on my own. I scowled at him before stalking away in the other direction. Draco quickly grabbed my wrist.

"Aurora, please. Let me talk to you."

"I have nothing to say, and apparently, neither did you. All. Summer." I spun around again, just to be pulled back by my arm. "One more time Malfoy, and I'll hex you."

"I wanted to apologize." That caught me off guard. I didn't expect him to be so... worried about it. In fact, his hair was disheveled, and he had bags under his eyes. I'd bet 5 galleons he didn't sleep a wink last night.

He quickly and thoroughly explained the situation with his father. How he was forcing him to stay away, and it was all because of the fact that I was a half-blood. His voice was frantic, and I would almost argue that he was about to start shaking. He put his head in his hands. Frowning, I placed my hand on his shoulder and looked into his eyes as he looked up and met my gaze. He seemed sincere, for the most part. His expression was question enough and I nodded at him in confirmation before making our way to Potions.

☾

Ouuuu some drama! This was kind of weird, let me know if you enjoyed Draco's POV. I'm not really used to writing in it, but I had to find a filler for the rest of the chapter. I'm going heavily off of the movie, and I like the way the chapters are laid out. Let me know if it works!

- Z