Mischief Managed || Draco Malfoy

6. Trial 2

Things have been... Okay? Is that the word? Well, things have been calm between Lydia and Draco. After their little adventure, they managed to sneak back into the castle okay and didn't get caught - no one had a clue. And they haven't really hung out since then, what with classes starting up again and things going back to some form of normality.

Now, the 24th of February, it's time for the 2nd triwizard trial. Lydia looks around for Hermione as she heads down to the lake, and then Ron when she can't see her, but neither of them are in sight. Maybe they're with Harry?Wait, he's with Neville.

"Hey guys." Lyd says as she goes over, her hands buried in her pockets. "How you feeling, Potter?"

Harry shivers a little as he looks over the crowds walking to the boats. "Fine. Have you seen-"

"Not today." Lyd smiles sadly. Where on earth are they? "Let's get to a boat, you have to get ready. They're probably already over there with towels and cocoa to warm you up after." She says confidently; that sounds reasonable.

Harry nods. "Fine fine... Neville -"

Lydia tunes out as she looks over at the trees just behind Harry. Whys Moody sneaking about..? She frowns a bit and quickly wanders off, into the trees, Harry huffing behind her as yet another of his friends disappears. Lydia jogs to catch up - how can a one legged old bat be faster than her!?

She looks around, glancing back at how far she's come. She only has a minute before she has to grab a boat over to the docks but she can be quick. She ducks under a few bushes and looks around for Moody, her eyes scanning the forest.

Meanwhile, Draco's eyes scan the crowds. Crabbe nudges him. "What?" He grumbles.

Draco shrugs and straightens his coat. "Nothing. Wondering where stupid Potter is, wanted to give him a few words of encouragement." He says, laughing as the others do too. That's the last thing Draco would do.

He and his little group of friends make their way over to the boats, heading up to the top of the tower to get a good view. As they await for the Canon to sound, Draco scans the group surrounding Harry. Lydia should be there, shouldn't she? He slips away from Goyle and heads down a floor, grabbing Neville's sleeve.

"I didn't do anything!" Neville instantly shields his face.

Draco rolls his eyes. "Grow up, Longbottom. Where's Bailey?"

"Who?" Neville asks confused.

Draco huffs impatiently. "Lydia. Lydia Bailey."

"Oh. I don't know, she wandered off before we got on a boat. Pissed Harry off- you're welcome!" Neville calls, shaking his head as Draco stalks off.

"Malfoy!" Crabbe calls, leaning over the railing as he sees the boy climbing into a boat.

Malfoy waves him off and pushes the boat away, the charmed vessel heading back to the other side of the lake where Lydia should be. Hopefully. He doesn't know why but he has a horrible feeling. He gets a lot of those around Lydia - it's like she's a danger magnet and he can't help but want to make sure she's safe.

He jumps off the boat and looks around. "Lydia?" He calls, looking towards the trees. "Lydia?"

The only sound he hearts is the faint cheers from the towers. He slowly heads into the trees, his hand in his pocket gripping his wand tightly. He looks around as he walks, pushing a few branches out of the way. He looks at some bushes and frowns, squatting down to grab the small bracelet he sees. It's Lydia's. He remembers her telling him about it on their flying outing.

Lydia cuddles her legs as they sit on top of a spire of a church a few miles from the school. "It's beautiful up here."

Draco nods in agreement, looking around. "I like to come here every now and then, get myself in line."