Disclaimer: Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling and the publishers, I'm not making money or infriging copyright.

Warnings: Swearing

Autor's note: Here it is! The first chapter of "The Triwizard Champion" and I really plan to finish this one. Reviews are always appreciated.

Chapter One

"Draco Malfoy" He heard McGonagall's voice echoing through the Great Hall. Her voice was perplexed, and his name echoed through of the immensity of the room like a fading memory of a sound. It wasn't happening. He didn't even put his name on that Goblet. Surely he had misheard it. Maybe it was a Maco Drafoy. Or someone else. He didn't put his name.

He closed his eyes as every look in the room turned to him. Surely he would wake up in his dormitory in a few instants, this was surely a nightmare and he had to wake up soon - his head wouldn't play such ridiculous games with his mind for so long. Please wake up, he told himself.

But the hand on his arm was strong and was taking him to the centre of the hall, fuming looks following him and the hand ever so firm making him stand. He didn't know whose hand it was, but he didn't care. He was only standing because of it.

The hand took him in a small room, where he found himself with the other two champions. Ingrid Pavlov, a Durmstrang girl who seemed as though she would rip your skin off with her bare teeth if you got on her wrong side, and Jean Pierre Briand, a Beauxbatons boy who was looking down at them with a very snob smile, the kind of smile he, Draco, used to have. Viktor Krum and Fleur Delacour were there as well. And the hand that was holding him belonged to…

Of course.

Potter.

His grip was still on Draco's arm, not so firm but still there. He looked concerned at McGonagall who was arriving, seeming appalled.

"So, well…" She started, her eyes stuck on Draco. "The three champions will have the help of the previous champions, they will be your mentors. You cannot ask for help from anyone else, and you can meet anytime in this room I have designated for you, so you can practise and research." She was looking to the other champions now, and Draco could have sworn he had never seen her mouth looking so thin.

"Any questions?" She asked.

"Do we really need our… mentors? I'll be just fine without him, really." Said the Durmstrang girl.

"He's an international Quidditch player" Answered the Beauxbatons boy, his eyes wide as he stared at Krum.

"Yes. They will be necessary in one of the tasks, and if I were you, Miss Pavlov, I'd accept any help I could get." The girl roller her eyes. "Now if you excuse me." And she left.

Delacour and Krum left the room alongside with their champions, and they both greeted Potter happily. Draco thought Potter would turn around and leave as well, but his eyes were stuck on Draco's.

"Malfoy" he asked "Did you put your name in that Goblet?"

Draco raised his eyes and instead of meeting a pair of furious green eyes like he thought he would, he found worrying eyes. Potter bit his lip and looked uncertain, his brows furrowed. Draco blankly stared at him for a while, and when Potter said "So?" he straightened his shoulders and glared back at him.

"Of course I didn't. I'm not suicidal."

"That's debatable" Potter said, licking his lips. What was this with Potter and his own lips, Draco didn't know. He didn't want to know.

"Potter" Draco said, glaring back. This was so easy. He had been going around almost drowning in self-pit and thinking everyone hated him. He had answered people with his head bowed, as if he wasn't worth replying to anything. He stood quiet, distant and feeling worse than everyone but with Potter… he could glare right back at him with the pride he used to have. He felt like they were equals.

Not that they were, of course, because Potter was the great Saviour of the Wizarding World and Draco was a former and a terrible Death Eater. And Potter had actually saved his life, when all Draco did was try to save Potter's life by mumbling.

"Right" he said, with a grin. "I don't believe you put your name in… firstly because the Goblet is sure to choose the bravest and more worthy of this school and, sorry Malfoy, but that's hardly you."

"How nicely put, Potter" Draco snorted.

"And I don't think you'd have done it because I noticed how you are avoiding every kind of attention, you keep your head down all the time and you never say anything other than what's strictly necessary."

"You have been stalking me, Potter?"

"Er…" He looked embarrassed now. Good, you achieved to embarrass him again, Draco, maybe waking up today was worth it, he told himself. "McGonagall asked me to keep an eye on you, you know, because people might give you a hard time and all." He answered, looking at the ceiling.

Draco didn't comment on the fact that Potter would be in the top of the list of people who would want to give Draco a hard time. The truth was, though, that Potter had only been polite and nice to him, no more than he was to everyone else.

"Malfoy?" Potter asked, awry. Damn, he had been drifting away again.

"Sorry, you were saying?" Draco asked, trying to focus again.

"You didn't put your name on that Goblet, and I believe in you. But people won't. And you can't give up on it because it's a Binding magical contract or something."

"Why are you suggesting I would want to give up on it, Potter?"

"Because you said you didn't put your name in… Unless you were lying?"

"I wasn't. I just…" Draco met Potter's eyes again. They were full of doubt, but still, concern. Stop it, he thought. "I didn't want you implying I'm a coward again, Potter."

"I see" Potter replied with a small smile, all doubt seemed to be gone from his eyes. Draco almost smiled again but then he remembered that everyone would hate him even more after tonight. "What is it? You look worried." Potter asked. His hand now was on Draco's shoulder. Potter was an IDIOT.

"Everyone will hate me even more now" He answered. He didn't know why he was telling the truth. It probably was the effect of Potter's hands and the concerned look, maybe they were enchanted or something. That would explain a lot.

"You'll get through it" Potter said, his hair falling on his eyes. Stupid dark locks falling on stupid glasses that covered stupid green eyes. Concerned green eyes. That was his least favourite shade of green now, he had decided.

"Thanks for the great advice, Potter. You are so good at this." Draco said sarcastically. "Now, don't you have to get back to your fans and slay one more Dark Lord or something?"

Potter removed his hand and rolled his eyes. There was a ghost of a grin on his lips, and Draco didn't want to look at it. He aimed for his eyes instead, but that green. He then looked at this stupid spot between Potter's forehead and hairline. That was safe.

"Good night, Malfoy" Potter said, and left.

In the next day, they met at the designated room McGonagall had said. Draco got there earlier because he had nothing else to do and started practising some conjuring spells. He really liked those ones.

He was conjuring some mice when Potter arrived, cheeks flustered and carrying a bag that, by the sound it made when Potter dropped on the table, could only be full of books.

"Hello" He said with a grin.

"Hello, Potter." Draco nodded. "Why did you bring all this stuff? We don't even know what is the first task."

"I was thinking…"

"That's new to me"

"Shut up, Malfoy. Anyway, I was thinking and this Tournament idea is so fucked up."

"Really"

"I mean, we just ended a war. How could anyone think of something like this? To me sounds too much like trying to distract people, and that reminds me of Fudge. I still don't know why Kinglsey Shacklebolt didn't accept the offer to be Ministry of Magic, he surely wouldn't let this happen. This Balthazar Burbage bloke, though, sounds a bit like an idiot. Do you know his sister used to teach Muggle Studies here at Hogwarts? But Voldemort killed her…" Draco flinched, but Potter went on with his blabbering. "But I was thinking and I don't think they will go too far from what they had done in the last Tournament. The first task will probably have a beast trying to protect some object you must catch so you'll get a clue for the next one."

"And your idea is… to search for every dangerous beast and find out how to defeat them? That will be very useful when you ran off to be an Auror, but Potter, I don't think how this can be any useful seeing as my plan is just to lay in front of said beast and beg for mercy." Draco responded, sitting and putting his feet on the table.

"How…" Potter started when he, too, sat down. "How did you know I wanted to be an Auror?"

"You, Potter, always miss the point." Draco rolled his eyes. "It's obvious. I don't know what you are doing here, anyway. I'm pretty sure they would offer you an Auror job. Maybe even as the Head of the Department. You could even run for Ministry for Magic and win, for all I know."

"They did offer me an Auror job, but I figured it wouldn't be fair. I didn't study to get there... And besides," He smiled "I wouldn't be here to take care of you, right?"

Take care of you, his voice kept echoing everywhere through Draco's mind, take care of you, like he was a child, a pet. Anger boiled up inside of him and suddenly he found himself standing up.

"I don't need you to take care of me, Potter" He said "If you are here only to do it, just go away. Just leave. Leave me alone."

"Malfoy, what…"

"Everyone in this school treats me like I'm nothing. Like I'm less than them, but you, you are the Saviour of them all and with you I just felt…" He held the edges of the table, his knuckles going white and his throat started to burn. He didn't know why he was so livid, but the anger built inside him as though it had been there all the time, he only hadn't noticed it. "Like I wasn't less than you. Like we were equals. But no, you are here only to take care of me like I'm a fucking pet. I'm not. Go away, Potter."

Potter stared blankly at him. He wanted to yell at him and throw some stuff, he grabbed Potter's bag and threw it at him, Potter caught it and looked angry at him, the anger he craved for was there and he wanted Potter to yell at him too.

"Why do I even bother with you, Malfoy? Why did I start believing you were a good person, underneath? You are not. I don't know why I give you the time of my day…"

"Oh, really? I'm not asking for your time, Potter. For all I care, I don't even like you. You can go back to your adoring fans all at once now, I couldn't care less. Maybe they treat you like you are something else, but I won't. You are Potter, the stupid idiot who refused to take my hand on the first day of school. So I don't know why I still bother."

"I didn't take your hand because you were a little shit. I thought you had changed, but you are still one."

"You were too a little shit, now you are an even bigger shit but you just won't face it. Your Gryffindors, all of them love when you take care of them. They all love how eager you are to always save them. Well, I don't want any of those things, because I like being my own person. I'm not going to be your adoring fan."

"I'm not asking you to be. I'm just asking you to act like a nice person."

"I'm not a nice person, Potter. I thought you were aware of it."

"I thought I was too."

"But if you want to know, you are not any nicer than me. Always so full of yourself. Thinking that I'd thank you for thinking you need to take care of me. I'm not going to do it, because I don't need you to take care of me. I just want you to treat me like I'm a person, not scum."

Draco could almost hear the words falling out of Potter's mouth "But you are scum, Malfoy" and he was pretty sure Potter could hear them too, hanging on his lips, but silence surrounded them like an invisible blanket.

"Fine" the words hanged between them for a while, Draco stared at him, his hands shaking, his neck flustered. Potter glared back at him, his green eyes seemed to be on fire. Draco thought he would step in and punch Draco in the face. Or say something other than fine. Say anything. But Potter just left his last word hanging when he turned around and left. The door closed loudly behind him and Draco's knees shook and gave in, he found himself falling on that bloody chair again. He held his face with his hand, and he felt more alone than ever. Like the word "Fine" that echoed through Draco's mind and the path Potter left when he turned around were the only things connecting Draco to the outer world, to the people that weren't him, that weren't feeling everything he was feeling, and they were now gone. He grasped his shoulders, trying to feel something, someone other than him but there was no one beside himself. He was alone. It was only him, just him, and there would never be anyone else.

He didn't know in which moment he rose up and went to bed. He barely slept that night, he felt numb and disconnected. He didn't know why he was still walking, still breathing and feeling. He didn't care about the first task no more, or if people beat him up. He was nothing.

In the next few days, he didn't go to the room. He didn't look anywhere but to his shoes, because if he looked up he would fear and hope at the same time that he would meet Potter's eyes.

It was Friday when a bunch of Gryffindors found him and started beating on him. He would have fought back, but he didn't care. Potter wasn't one of them, but Weasley was there. He didn't touch on Draco, though, but his look was vicious.

They left Draco with a black eye and a bruised lip, and a few bruises on his arms and neck. He didn't know what made him drag himself towards the room, but suddenly he found himself staring at Potter's back.

"What happened?" He turned around, looked concerned again. Draco shouldn't have come.

"It's nothing, Potter. I'm not going to die" Potter sighed out. "At least not now" Draco added.

"Malfoy, seriously"

"They were just a bunch of… Ravenclaws. It's nothing. You should have seen how I left them."

Potter folded his arms.

"Ravenclaws? You think I'd believe that Ravenclaws beat you up?" Potter said sarcastically. "With what, wise words? Honestly, Malfoy."

"Ravenclaws are smart fighters" Draco shrugged.

"When Ravenclaws fight, they do it verbally. Not physically. That's something they would leave for us, Gryffindor troglodytes." Potter raised his eyes and met Draco's expression. "Oh, they were Gryffindors. I see."

"Potter"

"You didn't want to tell me because you thought that I'd feel guilty?" Potter was wearing some stupid puppy eyes expression. No wonder why everyone did what he wanted them to do.

"No" Yes. "Because I thought you might join them and finish what they started." Merlin, that sounded even worse.

"I wouldn't" Potter answered, unfolding his arms. He was so irritating.

"Glad to hear that" Draco replied, trying to sound sarcastic.

"I wanted to show you something" Potter said, his voice small.

"Got a few bruises to show too, Potter? Think we could bond through our pain or something?" Why am I even saying this, Draco wondered. Well, you never got your best lines when your brain yelled at you to quickly think in something offensive. "If's that, well, I don't want to see them."

"Do you have some sort of twisted goal where you have to offend ten different people before every meal?" Potter asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Something of the sorts" Draco shrugged again and swore to himself he wouldn't do that anymore because it hurt.

"I figured. So, I wanted to show you this" Potter said, showing him his robe, that had a small green badge on it.

It said "Support Draco Malfoy"

He raised his eyes and met Potter's, and he didn't feel numb anymore.

"That was my idea" Draco said, trying not to smile. The last time they saw each other, they were having a row. Why things seemed so nice this time? This wasn't right.

"Does that mean you like them?" Potter asked.

"Them? There are more?" Potter grabbed a white box that was full of them and showed them to Draco.

"Do you really think anyone but you will use these things?" Draco raised his eyebrows.

"Well, Malfoy, this is one of the things about being the Great Harry Potter The Chosen One And Saviour Of The Wizarding World, one day I had this green shirt. It was hideous, and had a few holes on it. You know, because it was old. So," He shook the box, making a funny noise. "In the next day, I found about thirteen different people wearing shirts with holes. You know, I usually don't care at all about this stuff about being famous, I think it's just rubbish." He rolled his eyes. Like Draco believed that. "But I think we could use it in your favour. If I start wearing these badges and supporting you in public, people will do it too."

"People are as fascinated by you as they are afraid." Draco concluded.

"Well, everyone but you" Potter bit his lip.

"Thankfully" Draco replied.

In the next day, Potter wore the badge and by lunch Draco could have sworn he had seen about fifteen people wearing them. By dinner, half of the school had them.

Draco couldn't help but be a little mesmerized at how much people worshipped Potter.

They didn't even know him. They surely didn't know that he got late to things so often… Later that day he got late to their meeting.

Draco had been there for almost an hour when Potter burst in, his cheeks red and he seemed angry.

"What is it?" Draco found himself asking.

"Ron…" he mumbled in response. "Is an idiot"

"That's not new to me" Draco replied.

"I suppose" Harry breathed out, panting.

"What did he do?" Draco asked, when he saw that it wasn't very likely that Potter would just go and tell him.

"The usual. He was jealous." He said. "Because I've been supporting you, when he was supposed to be the Hogwarts champion. He put his name in, you see, and maybe he would be chosen if it wasn't…"

"Fucked up. I see."

"Now he's mad at me for wearing that badge"

Draco closed his eyes tightly and tried focusing on Potter again. That was it. Potter would just leave him to his luck now, saying he couldn't abandon his best friend. Draco could even see it, Potter gone and the badge alone on the table. In one week, no one would remember that anymore. And in two weeks, he would die in the first task.

It seemed as a good prospect.

"Are you okay?" Potter asked, noticing Draco's worried gaze.

"Well, Potter, you can leave your badge here on this table and get back to your Weasel. I understand completely." Potter widened his eyes.

"Malfoy" He said. He liked saying it, Draco had noticed, just as much Draco liked saying Potter. He only did it, though, because he liked how his voice sounded when he said Potter, his accent so beautiful and his voice so melodic. Potter sounded like he was shrieking when he said Malfoy. "Malfoy" he said again to catch Draco's attention. "I'm not going to stop supporting you because of Ron."

"Because you are a stubborn little shit who can't give up even in the most lost causes?"

"Basically" Potter smirked.

In the next Friday, he and Potter were at Charms class practising some really weird non-verbal spells when a Fourth Year Ravenclaw stormed in.

"Professor Flitwick" he said "Professor McGonagall told me to take Mr Potter and Mr Malfoy to go and take some pictures"

All eyes turned to Potter and not to him, thankfully. He once had loved the attention but now he only dreaded it. Mainly because the attention he got was usually bad, when the one Potter got was usually good. So Potter still won.

The other champions and their mentors were still in the room they had chosen to hold all the picture taking, and so were McGonagall, that Beauxbatons headmistress who was probably a hundred feet tall and the Durmstrang Headmaster, who had a smug look on his face. A reporter, thankfully not Rita Skeeter, and a photographer were there too. And the Minister for Magic, other ministry officials and Ollivander.

Draco tried not to look into anyone's eyes and this time he let Potter lead him through the room. Someone said something about Weighing of Wands, and Ollivander started looking at the Durmstrang girl's wand.

"Blackthorn and Dragon Heart string. Unyielding. In perfect state. Very well." Ollivander's small voice said. He then proceeded to the Beauxbatons boy.

Draco fetched his wand from his pockets and glanced at Potter, who had been looking at him. He looked at him understandingly and Draco felt a soft, caring brush of Potter's hand on his wrist.

He didn't, though, have time to process what had happened because Ollivander was right in front of him. Draco gave his wand to him, still not daring to look right at him.

"Cherry and Unicorn hair, and little too springy for you, I suppose. What happened to your old wand?" Ollivander asked. Draco raised his eyes.

"It was taken from me" He answered, and Ollivander nodded. He didn't seem to hold any resentment, but Draco took his wand and continued to stare at the floor.

But the person who had taken his wand from him was there by his side, and Draco could have sworn that he had flinched when Draco's old wand had been mentioned. But Potter didn't say anything about it, and Draco decided to do the same. The last time he had tried to get his old wand back he had almost been burned alive.