Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Thank you guys so much for the positive feedback for the last chapter! I'm so glad that most of you enjoyed it!

Soundtrack: Signs by Bloc Party


"Now, all of you will be taught Archery, Astronomy, basic Home Economics, Charms, Potions and basic survival skills," said Dumbledore. Hermione licked her lips, her hand shooting into the air cautiously. The other contestants turned to look at her with raised eyebrows, but Draco was used to this.

"Sir- why will we be taught Astronomy?" She asked curiously. His eyes twinkled and he replied in an obvious tone,

"Why, in case you get lost," He replied wittily. "But there is a twist- you will choose three things to study, and your partner will choose the remaining three. Together, you must bind your knowledge if you wish to have a chance of winning. I'll let you discuss now which subjects you wish to study,"

"I'm taking potions," Draco said immediately. He was best at potions- probably even better than her, so she understood why he had said that straight away.

Hermione nodded. "I'll take Astronomy and charms. That just leaves-

"Three left." Draco finished. He breathed in once. "I'll take Archery and basic survival skills as well. That leaves you will Home Economics," He said.

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Are you being sexist?"

He frowned. The hell was she on about? "What?" He snapped, his teeth clenched together tightly. Hermione looked livid.

"You think just because I'm a woman I should cook?"

Draco rolled his eyes. The beaver was so fucking insufferable. "No, you dolt, I'm already good enough at potions that I don't need to work on it for long which means I have more time to work on Archery and survival skills. I know you shake when you get nervous so there's no way you could deal with a bow and arrow and I know that if you have to learn two new subjects then you won't have as much time to study on survival skills," He said.

Hermione backed down. That was actually a good explanation…

"Fine," She bit out. She burned underneath everyone's stare when she realised that it had taken her and Draco double the time to figure out what they were choosing. The others had taken seconds.

Great, at this rate, they would fail.

"Grand!" exclaimed Dumbledore. "Each lesson will be an hour long. You may write notes to study, but once the challenge has begun, the only thing you will be allowed is a wand. No study material will be allowed. Tomorrow, we will have a feast to celebrate the beginning of the challenge. When you wake up and prepare yourselves, it truly begins. Also, we did not want to begin the challenge tomorrow because, as you may or may not know, it is Draco Malfoy's birthday tomorrow," He said, smiling at Draco. Everyone turned to look at him, but he kept his gaze on Dumbledore let one end of his lips flicker upwards for a second. He was so fast that Hermione didn't even notice- but Dumbledore did.

"Now, the rules of the competition are simple. Whoever survives the longest, wins. This does not mean, though, that you have to kill each other. This is just a game- an illusion, if you will. If you die in the challenge, you do not really die. You will remain healthy and unscathed, but you and your partner will be disqualified. You will come across items that will aid you. They will always be related to what you have studied, so please, try and pay attention to what you learn in class. You were all chosen because you have great minds- but you were also chosen because you are alike. Your abilities match each other, to the very core. I can verify that every single one of you has tough competition," Dumbledore said. Everyone nodded to him.

Alike? Was Dumbledore on drugs? Draco Malfoy and she were not alike! They were complete opposites. Everything but alike.

Dumbledore's eyes seemed to sparkle a little. "Enjoy tonight and tomorrow." He said, and with a dramatic twist, he had completely disappeared.

Just as he left, McGonagall bounded down the stairs carefully with a small smile on her face. She nodded once towards Hermione and Draco.

"I trust you two know how to get back to your houses," She said politely to the two of them. Blonde and brunette nodded and walked by her as she introduced herself to the other contestants.

When Hermione finally touched down on the last step, she hovered awkwardly. Should she say goodbye to Malfoy? They weren't really on speaking terms, but what if, after she'd left, he turned around and spoke to her, thinking that she was behind him?

She ended up shrugging, her decision made. Her curls bounced as she walked by him and she swore she could almost feel him sneering into the back of her head. She contemplated turning around and glaring at him, but once she saw Harry and Ron, all thoughts were totally dispelled from her head and all she could feel was fear once again as she collapsed onto a chair near them.

Like a swarm of warms, everyone surrounded her immediately, pestering her with questions. Neville was the only quiet person, actually. Even Ginny ignored her irritated stare and constantly asked her things.

She shook her head, closing her eyes tightly. Make them all be quiet, please…

She waited a few moments before even did quieten down. Harry placed his hand gently onto her bicep, not wanting to startle her. "Are you alright?" He asked quietly.

Hermione sighed and nodded, taking a large breath. "Yes. I'll be fine," She tried to smile convincingly, but had a nagging feeling that she'd failed at that after watching Harry's doubtful stare.

"So… tell us all about it," Ron said, his head shaking in excitement. His red hair flicked in every direction.

Hermione licked her suddenly dry lips. "We have to win against the other schools. We'll be taught subjects that will help us win," replied Hermione in a shaky voice. Her mind had suddenly gone blank- she couldn't remember anything. She desperately tried to hold onto a memory –any of them- but all she could see was Dumbledore's blurry face. She frowned disapprovingly to herself- she was beginning to worry and panic. That wasn't good.

"I don't really understand it," Ron said, scrunching up his nose in confusion. Ginny laughed beside him and began to explain.

"Did Malfoy hurt you?" asked Harry in concern. His hard tone stunned Hermione and her eyes immediately flicked to his green ones. She shook her head.

"No, no it's not Malfoy," She said eventually. "I just don't know if I really even want to do this,"

"Then why didn't you say something?" Harry asked, frowning. He glanced up at the front of the hall, looking for Dumbledore, but he was nowhere to be seen. "Maybe we could talk to him- he'll let you resign,"

"No," Hermione responded quickly. She waved her hand around. "It's fine," More waving. "I'll just… deal with it,"

The raven haired boy pressed his lips together and nodded after a moment of looking at his friend. "Alright, I'm here if you need me," He rubbed her back for emphasis.

"So… She's gonna be alone… with Malfoy… in the woods?" Ron asked slowly and carefully. Ginny grimaced- she hadn't explained it quite as well as she'd hoped.

"Malfoy wants to win and he has to take care of me to do so, so don't worry Ronald, he won't harm me," Hermione said, eventually pulling a plate with a pancake towards her. She stabbed it with a fork and rubbed it in syrup for a moment. "Plus," She said, chewing thoughtfully. "It's only Malfoy- I could take him out in a heartbeat,"

Ron and Harry grinned at her in agreement. "We know you can, you'll take care of yourself," Harry said in a positive and sure tone. He patted her back again and then took his hands off of her, laying them on the table.

"But y'know… we wouldn't blame you, if you decided to kill him," Ron shrugged jokingly, making everyone around them laugh.


"This is gonna be so cool!" Blaise urged in an excited voice. He walked alongside Draco, who had decided to completely skip breakfast. "You'll probably win!"

"I might," He shrugged. "I dunno… there are good odds, though," He reasoned, bobbing his head to once side for a moment.

Blaise scoffed. "Mate, you got perfect exam results. You're winning, for definite. And apparently I can send you gifts when you're out there," He said with a hint of suggestion.

"Brilliant," replied Draco, still not looking as eager as Blaise. "Send me some porn then, will you?" His face turned sour. "If I spend so much time with Granger, I might end up turning gay,"

Blaise barked a laugh. "Either that or-" He gave a mock-horror gasp. "You'll end up being attracted to her,"

Adorning a horrified expression, Draco shuddered. "Don't even make jokes about that," He shook his shoulders as he shivered at the thought. Him and the Mudblood? Ew.

"She's a fucking idiot," Draco carried on, shaking his head. Once someone started him on Granger, he couldn't stop. "She actually tried to make friends with the lot of them,"

Blaise raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Aren't they supposed to be-?

"Our enemies, yeah," Draco shook his head as he finished Blaise's sentence. "She fucking goes around making friends with them all and then I have to drag her away and tell her not to like I'm her bloody daddy or something,"

Blaise sniggered at the mental image he got from that sentence. Malfoy as Granger's daddy? Okay… He had a dirty sense of humour. His face turned serious. "Honestly, though, what is she thinking?" Blaise asked rhetorically. "Does she think making friends will get her through this?"

Draco shrugged. "No idea. I saw them all sizing her up and she didn't even bloody notice. I eventually had to scare them off just so that they wouldn't underestimate us," He sighed disapprovingly.

Blaise's eyebrow twitched as he got an idea. "Wait- what if that was her idea?" He stopped walking to mull it over in his mind.

Draco stopped after a few steps and turned to him, his pale eyebrows frowning. "What?" He asked, not quite knowing where Blaise was coming from.

"What if her intention was to let them underestimate the two of you so that, when you're in the challenge, you're unpredictable?" Blaise asked, carefully placing his words. His eyes travelled up to Draco's and he waited for a response.

Was that her plan? But if she had a plan, she couldn't keep it to herself- she had to let him in on it. It was the rules- they were partners. She had looked… genuinely annoyed when he'd dragged her away and he knew just by her body language and voice that she had actually wanted to make friends with them all. No, Granger wasn't smart enough to do that plan. Or was she…?

Did she somehow know that he would come up and rescue her? Did she want everyone to underestimate her, and not him? That was it! She wanted to be seen as the one who was unpredictable- so that she looked better than him! The little Gryffindork was trying to show him up! Trying to look smarter and more cunning than him!

He smirked. Well, now that he knew her plan, it was obviously going to fail. He should probably thank Blaise for giving him the idea- without him, he may not have even thought of it. But Blaise's conclusion wasn't as malicious as the truth…

"Thanks Blaise," He said absentmindedly, distracted by his own plan forming inside his head. "I uh- I think that's where she's coming from, yeah,"

Blaise seemed to adopt a smirk of his own. "You underestimate her," He established. "What if she was the one manipulating them?"


The next morning, a brown, tawny owl arrived at Hermione's dorm holding a new time table. She petted it with one hand before it flew away, reading her classes with the other hand.

Astronomy: 11 am – 12 pm (Astronomy classroom 4B)

Basic Home Economics: 1pm – 2pm (Herbology classroom inside)

Charms: 3pm – 4pm (Professor Flitwick's classroom)

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. At least she knew professor Flitwick- he would probably help her, maybe even give her a few tips and tricks since she was such a good student. She assumed that the hour between each class was so that you could study what you'd just been taught and made a mental note to either, 1) head to the library during that time, or 2) study quietly in the hall. She wondered, very briefly, what Draco's time table looked like. Had they chosen the correct subjects to study? She bit her lip. What if Draco would be better at Home Economics? He was good at potions after all… and cooking was similar. His name was a constellation too- didn't that mean he at least had some knowledge of Astronomy? She found herself doubting him, something she didn't want to do. He'd come off as so cool and collected yesterday and although it had irked her greatly, she admitted that he had the better head. She tended to panic, which clouded her thoughts. Nothing… really seemed to bother him that much. That was quite weird.

Look at her! Trying to figure out Draco Malfoy and it was only 10am! She'd only been awake for two hours and he was already irritating her head! That stupid, slimy ferret.

With an annoyed sigh, Hermione flung her bag over her shoulder and headed to breakfast.


Snape sighed at the bunch of children in front of him. Good God, why had he become a teacher? Look at all of their disgusting faces… except Malfoy of course. Family was an exception.

"Right," He began speaking in a bored tone. "As you may or may not know, I am professor Snape," He wandered, slowly, in front of their tables. He had a feeling he would need to lay it on thick with these students. "I don't react well to intolerable children and I will not tell you anything twice, do you hear me?"

After a chorus of 'yes' responded to him, he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Why the hell had he agreed to this again?

"I'll be teaching you the most basic and helpful potions. Everything I tell you today will aid you in some way during this… tournament, so listen carefully. If you don't, I'll kick you and your partner out and you'll be left to fend for yourselves. Am I clear?"

He was met with silence. "Right," He said. With a flick of his wand, everyone's books turned to a certain page. None of them looked impressed, and he felt the need to slap every single one of them over the face- they all looked absolutely dreadful. Except Malfoy.

"You'll be taught three very important potions today. One is a healing potion, one is a sleeping potion and the other is an anti-paralysis potion. I'm sure you are… aware that you are unable to take notes into the tournament, so listen. The ingredients used for all three potions can also be used to create four more potions. Just remember that little… tid bit of information. It may just save your life," He said fiercely.

One of them flinched at his voice, and he smirked. "Memorise the ingredients, memorise the method, and you should be fine," He shrugged as if everything was all hunky-dory. "Unless of course," He began innocently. "You die before you're even able to make a potion,"

Up the back of the classroom, Draco hid a chuckle behind a closed fist. All of these idiots flinched at Snape's words- unaware that he was simply toying with them.

Idiots.


"I uh… I, yes," Professor Flitwick stuttered, much to the annoyance of many female students. Hermione felt a little uneasy that most of the girls had chosen to take charms. There were only two boys in her class, and around eight or nine girls.

Professor Flitwick constantly checked the book to make sure the things he was saying were correct. "I will be teaching you… ah, yes… three basic charms! But, even though I'm only- wait a minute," He said, frowning, checking the book again.

"Who the bloody hell is this dunderhead?" Hermione heard a girl mutter. She felt a little sorry for Flitwick inside. It wasn't his fault he was getting so confused.

"Yes! I see, I get it now, ah, even though you're being taught new spells and charms, it doesn't mean that you cannot use the spells and charms that you already know… Do you understand that? Even though you're being taught new things, you're still allowed to use other spells that you know… you know… you're not restricted to using the things that you're being taught today," He said, stuttering and mumbling when all he received was a bunch of blank stares. The only one that looked even remotely interested was Hermione, actually.

No restrictions. She wrote down clearly. Allowed to use any of the spells that you already know.

"The three charms are: a heating charm, a healing charm and a shield charm. Now, wands at the ready!"


"Alright, listen up!" A woman shouted loudly. She was wearing what looked like hiking gear and held a bow in her hand. They were outside, near Hagrid's hut, and there were a bunch of circles attached to trees in front of them with red and blue stripes. Draco shoved his hands in his pockets and blew out a sigh- this was bloody boring.

"Clasp your hands together in front of you," She said, holding her hands in front of her face to demonstrate. After some weird looks at each other, they finally complied with her demands. She brought her hands closer to her eyes and looked through a hole that was between her index fingers and thumbs. "Bring them to your eye," She said, looking through at them with her right eye. They did so, muttering how this was absolutely ridiculous.

Draco felt like a bloody donkey, but went along with it anyways. He brought his clasped hands up to his right eye and looked through.

The woman pulled her hands away from her eyes, but then pulled them towards her again. "Bring them to your eye," She repeated. "And whichever eye you bring your hands immediately to is your dominant eye. If you're left eye is dominant, you're drawing with your left hand. If you're right eye is dominant, you can guess what hand you're drawing with," She said, throwing her hands back down by her sides. A few children got confused and as she helped them, Draco thought to himself.

His right eye was most definitely dominant, but his eyesight was completely perfect. He could probably use both. Instead of making them look like idiots by looking through a hole made by their hands, couldn't she have just asked what hand they write with? Bloody idiot. Everyone around him seemed to be some sort of psychopath, and it was as if he was the only sane one left.

"Alright, what are you mister?" She asked in a squeaky tone. He almost winced at her.

"Uh, right handed," He said, catching the bow that she'd thrown at him. She moved to stand behind him and put her hands firmly on his shoulders.

"Alright, hold the bow in your left hand," She ordered. He silently hissed at the sound of her voice in his ear- he wouldn't need to bloody study, her annoying voice would be drilled into his head forever now. "Turn to the left a little, so that the left side of your body is pointing towards the target. Feet must be shoulder width apart," She said, kicking the back of his shoes. He turned around and glared at her, resisting the urge to spit: "These are Italian leather, you twat. Cows had to die for this." Instead, he moved his feet apart and revelled in the moments where she was quiet. Everyone gathered around him.

"Hold the bow out in front of you, take this arrow," She handed him an arrow and he took it in his right hand. "Draw it back until it hits your nose. Relax your shoulders and ribs. One finger above the arrow and two below- that's right. Now, aim with your dominant eye aaaaand release," She said.

With a deep breath, Draco completely let go of the end of the arrow and lowered the bow. Quickly, the arrow shot into the middle of his target and he smirked. A nearby girl frowned.

"He's clearly already done archery before! He should be disqualified!"

The teacher smirked at her as well. "Why, because he's a fast learner? You're up kid; show me what you got,"

Handing the bow over to the small girl, he took her place in the crowd of strangers, folding his arms tightly over his chest. The smirk was still plastered on his face- what? He couldn't help it. He'd never done archery before and had gotten the middle of the target on his first try. Either she was actually a good teacher, or he was an absolute god. He decided to choose the latter. As much as he was flattered that she'd defended him, he still didn't like her annoying voice.

He held in a snicker as the girls' arrow flew way past the target and cracked the bark of another tree before completely falling to the floor. She turned, specifically to him, and frowned. He frowned back at her immediately- he didn't like the sight of her. She was one of the girls that had looked Granger up and down. She had a few freckles, pale skin and dark, black hair. She reminded him of Potter, and he didn't like Potter.

She had a parting in the middle of her hair and it was pulled behind her head in a tight ponytail, pulling back her blue eyes. If they had met under different circumstances, he would've found her almost pretty, but he knew she was all evil inside.

She walked away from the bow, passing it onto another boy. A smaller, tanned boy with flicky sandy-blonde hair. He was a lot better than her, but not as good as him.

When it was his turn again, he focused a little more, just to ensure that he didn't have beginners luck. The second time, it hit the line between the middle circle and the white –outer circle bang on. He was a little off, but his vision was pretty damn precise. He suddenly thanked his genes.

"You're telling us you've never done archery before?" said the girl, her voice heavy with attitude. She left her mouth open slightly after she'd finished speaking, as if challenging him.

His lips tilted upwards. "I'm not telling you anything about myself,"


"After the feast, may I ask all contestants to come and see me? I have some more information and would like to show you all something," Dumbledore didn't say anything else, and walked back to his seat, declaring the beginning of the challenge.

"So, how was it?" Ginny asked, taking a bite of her mashed potatoes. She chewed whilst Hermione thought of a way to answer her.

"It was alright," She replied, giving a 'so-so' gesture. "I studied enough and remember everything I was taught, so," She shrugged with one shoulder. "That's a bonus,"

Ginny smiled excitedly. "You're gonna do brilliant, Hermione. I bet you'll even win!"

She swore everyone was excited about this except from her.

"I hope so," She tried to smile and think positively, but too many worries were floating around her head. Would she die? She knew she wouldn't die in real life, but would she die in the game? That would be humiliating. Utterly humiliating, especially since she was one of Hogwarts' best students. It wouldn't look good on the school, her house, Harry, or Dumbledore! She couldn't let them all down; she hadto win, even if that meant working with Malfoy. She would keep her differences aside until the challenge was finished and she had won.

"Are you nervous?" Neville asked from beside her. She let out a shaky breath.

"I'm not as nervous as I was yesterday," She lied through her teeth. She felt bad about lying to Neville- he always trusted her judgement. "I'll be fine by tomorrow, I hope," Well- that part wasn't a lie.

He nodded eagerly. "I'll be routin' for ya! Me and Seamus, we both will be!"

Ron chuckled. "The whole of Hogwarts is routing for her," He reminded. With a sour expression, he added: "And Malfoy,"

Hermione let herself laugh. Yes- she had all of her friends behind her.


"Dumbledore, where on earth are we going?" A small black haired girl with a middle parting asked. Her voice was impatient and demanding. Dumbledore turned around momentarily and smiled at her.

"You'll find out in a minute," He teased. "And," He added, sternly, but still with a smile. "You may address me as Professor,"

"Fine, professor, whatever," She hollered. Hermione looked at her incredulously- the manners of that girl! She had absolutely none! Draco looked a little annoyed at her as well.

Eventually, they came to double doors that Dumbledore stood in front of. He turned to them and held out his arms.

"For two whole hours, you will train in this room. You must keep up your stealth, stamina and strength throughout this competition. You will begin here," He said, and as he turned, the doors opened.

Inside was a large… arena looking room. There were a lot of weights and rubber, spongy blue mats that looked as if they belonged in a yoga room. There were magical treadmills along a mirrored wall that were moving as if someone was running on them. Some were faster than others.

"You may get changed here," Dumbledore said, gesturing to a door that separated the changing rooms from the main room. "The only thing I ask is that you train with your partner and not with the other contestants," Dumbledore smiled sweetly, before disappearing with a pop. Everyone looked around, expecting him to appear again behind them somewhere, but after a few moments, he didn't, so the girls and boys set off to opposite sides of the room to get changed.

When Hermione got in the changing room, there was a bag already laid on a bench with her name on it. She looked in it, almost hesitantly, and pulled out the first navy item. It was a pair of shorts that she usually wouldn't be caught dead in. They must've just covered her backside. The t-shirt that she pulled out afterwards wasn't much better- it was a grey tank top that was far too low cut.

She changed quickly, not wanting to be nearly naked for long. She pulled the shorts down as far as they would go and pulled the t-shirt upwards so that she could cover herself as much as possible. The others girls didn't seem to mind and she cringed when she saw a girl actually pull her t-shirt down lower.

She performed a number of spells on the bag with her name on it- she didn't want her uniform to end up the victim of a prank- and then pulled her hair up into a messy ponytail.

"Hah! Look at her; she's practically flat-chested!" The black haired girl shouted, pointing at someone. Hermione had a feeling it was her that was being made fun of and her stomach flipped, her eyes hardening. That girl was bloody asking for it- she wouldn't be surprised if someone slapped her by the end of the day.

She ignored the girl and threw on the tennis shoes that were on the floor next to her bag, and then walked outside. When someone threw something at her back, she knew it was her that was being made fun of. She sighed, rolling her eyes and tried to ignore it. So what if her chest wasn't very large? She still had four more years of growing to go. They would probably get a little bigger eventually, and plus, they weren't small. They were just the right size for her, and that was all that mattered. She didn't need to please anyone else.

She found Malfoy waiting outside for her- he leaned against the wall with his arms folded and his eyes closed, the same way he'd been standing in the trophy room. She wondered what he was always thinking about when he stood like that.

As if sensing her muggle-born presence, his eyes opened and he took a few steps towards her. They both stood awkwardly for a moment and Hermione found herself frowning at his attire.

"How come you get to wear trousers?!" She asked him, eyeing the navy blue trousers and grey V-neck shirt.

He shrugged one muscular shoulder, but didn't answer her. She wasn't sure if he had even listened to her.

"Why's she even wearing a bra? I mean look at the size of them," She heard the girl say again as she howled with laughter. Bringing her slim arms up to her chest, she self-consciously covered herself up, looking away as a fresh pink blush scattered across her nose. She sighed angrily.

Draco discreetly looked at Hermione's chest before scoffing at the girl, his grey eyes growing darker. "As opposed to yours, which are clearly aided by some sort of push-up bra? Skank," He said dryly, moving over to the treadmills.

Hermione followed behind him, wondering what the hell had just happened. Had he just defended her? Was he trying to be nice?! The girl did shut up… in fact; she burned as people laughed at his comment and walked away embarrassedly. He'd certainly done some good there, then. Someone had to teach her a lesson.

"Thanks for that," Hermione said awkwardly, stepping onto the treadmill beside him. It was weird to say thank you to Malfoy. He rolled his eyes at her whilst jogging.

"Don't fucking flatter yourself, Granger. I never done it for you, I done it because someone had to tell that whore where to go," He said.

It was Hermione's time to burn. She'd set her differences aside for the sake of the competition and in that moment, she thought that he had as well, but clearly not. Now it was back to hating each other, obviously. How could she be an idiot and think that Malfoy was defending her? Of course he wasn't, he was always looking for an opportunity to bully someone and he'd found it in her. He took the chance- that's all it was. He wasn't being nice to her. He couldn't be nice at all. It wasn't in his DNA.

"Right… well…" She mumbled, beginning to jog as well. She didn't even finish her sentence- she didn't know how to finish it, so she just let it fade away and a thick discomfort washed over both of them as they jogged in silence.

She tried to match his pace. He was extremely fast and had really long legs, so it was hard for her, but she kept up. He didn't even realise what she was doing until he noticed that she was looking at his legs as he ran. He thought she was ogling him at first, but then recognised that she was actually trying to keep up with him.

If she wanted to survive in this, she had to match Malfoy for everything he had. If he was fast, she had to be fast. He wouldn't save her in this tournament; she would need to look after herself, and that meant being able to do as much as he could.

But Draco noticed this and smirked. He knew Hermione was struggling to keep up with him as is and he hadn't even reached his full potential yet. As far as he was concerned, he was still in a jog and she was panting, sweating everywhere as she ran faster than her legs could carry her.

He lazily pushed the button to go faster and she looked at him disbelievingly, giving out quick sighs. She swallowed and looked ahead before quickening hers as well, her eyes widening when she took in the pace. Good Lord was he fast. She tried to ignore the two contestants that stared at them in amazement.

"Whoa," One dragged out in an impressed whisper. "They're going so fast,"

"It's almost inhuman," The other said with wide, glittering eyes.

Hermione panted faster and a sharp pain hit her in the side, throwing her off guard. She let out a yelp and pushed against it with her palm, hissing in through her teeth. She pressed the button to slow down and then hopped off, bending over to apply more pressure to her side. Draco came off after a moment with a weird smile on his face. He felt good that he'd bet her at running, but he had to admit, she made good competition.

"Where to now?" She asked through panting breaths. He shrugged and went over to a blue mat that wasn't in use and read the parchment next to it that recommended and suggested some work outs.

"Alright Granger, park your arse," He said, sitting on his knees. She frowned at him, but sat down on the cushiony mat anyways. He kneeled on her feet and she yelped, pulling them out from under them.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!?" She asked him, trying to rub her foot through her shoes. He smirked at her and pointed to the parchment that showed a diagram of someone doing sit-ups and the other person kneeling on their feet to keep them held down. She frowned- she knew that exercise and knew he had only hurt her on purpose. That blood git.

"You can go first, I need a rest," She frowned, getting onto her knees instead. He rolled his grey eyes and lay flat on his back, waiting for her to sit on his feet. In all honesty, he didn't really want her to touch him at all, but at least there was the barrier of his trousers.

She kneeled on his toes, purposely putting all of her weight on them and even jumping on them a few times, but it was clear he had a higher pain threshold than her. He simply smirked at her and done his sit-ups, enjoying her annoyed expression.

After they'd switched places –and Draco hurting her again- and done some strengthening workouts, a bell sounded out over their heads, announcing the end of their workout. Hermione walked quickly into her changing room and threw her uniform over her tank top, not bothering to take it off. She didn't want to give that girl another reason to laugh at her. She pulled her skirt on and then took her shorts off beneath it, so that nothing of hers would be exposed. She ignored the uncomfortable feeling of having two t-shirts on, but ignored it quickly and packed her things away. She left them in the bag on the bench and shoved her shoes on, walking out quickly. She didn't hear anything from the girl again. Perhaps what Malfoy said did the trick after all…


How on earth did someone get into my room? Hermione thought to herself as she took in the clothes that were laid out at the end of her bed.

Probably Dumbledore magic-ed them there, actually.

She took a quick shower and then dried herself off with her wand, figuring that it was probably the last shower she'd have for a while now. She wanted to take a long, hot bubbly bath and revel in it, but unfortunately, she didn't have the time. A quick rinse would have to suffice. At least her hair wasn't greasy, though.

She shoved on the tight black jeans and black V-neck t-shirt. Why was everything black? Even her shoes were black. Well… by shoes, she meant the heavy lace-up boots she'd been given. There was also a large rucksack/backpack type thing that had been left at the end of her bed, so she looked inside it. It contained an empty water bottle, a map, some ropes, a hair bobble, some more t-shirts, a hair brush and clean underwear. She wondered how someone would know her size but then realised they were made from fabric that allowed them to be altered and smiled lightly about how clever Dumbledore was.

As she was lacing up her shoes, her admiration for Dumbledore was replaced with an unpleasant tingling in her stomach. She was nervous and dreaded what was going to happen. She'd seen what Harry faced in the Tri-Wizard tournament and Dumbledore had said it would be similar- would she have to face... dragons and stuff? She couldn't deal with that. She wasn't strong enough, nor was she fast.

She hated herself for admitting it, but she would have to rely on Draco quite a lot.

She was a strong and independent woman, but she would definitely need his help… or maybe she didn't need his help… his help would be… a bonus, if you will. Plus, Draco Malfoy was not reliable and they hated each other- why would they help each other? If she'd just been chosen to do it with Ron then everything would be fine and they'd possibly even win, but with Draco, winning was almost an impossibility.

She sighed.

She was beginning to do that a lot.


Draco looked over himself in the mirror, finding the whole black gothic look uncomfortable and more importantly, unattractive. The black contrasted greatly with his blonde hair and pale skin and it wasn't an exaggeration. His t-shirt was black, his jeans were black and his boots were black. Even the waterproof jacket that they'd provided him with was black. They bag that they'd given him was black as well.

Of course, He suddenly thought to himself, to blend in when it's dark.

Now that he knew why everything was black, he felt a lot better. He'd taken a shower this morning and hadn't bothered to gel his hair or even comb it. When he attended to his hair at all, it was greasy the day after. However, when he didn't touch it, it magically lasted him a good few days and he doubted there would be a shower handy for them.

So, with messy, blonde bed hair, Draco swung his bag over his shoulder and trundled down the steps to head towards the hall.


"You're gonna do great," Harry said, his hands firmly planted on Hermione's shoulders. Before she'd left, she put her hair up in a ponytail and her long fringe tickled Harry's fingers.

"Thanks, I hope so," She breathed. She quickly hugged Ron, who held her a little tighter than usual and then hugged Ginny too, who looked excited. If only she was in my position Hermione thought.

She left Harry until last. She didn't know why, but it just felt normal to have him be her last hug before she left. She felt like it would give her the most hope, because he'd been in the same –and worse- situation than her.

"Bye," She waved to them, walking towards the front, where Malfoy was already standing. His black outfit made him look… taller somehow, and she felt extremely small next to him.

"Now," Dumbledore said loudly, turning towards them. In a flash, a shield was in front of them, separating them from the audience. "Goodbye and good luck!"

In another flash, the shield swallowed them up, and they were gone.


Thank you: BrightestWitchOfHerAge16, rae8807, XDramioneLoverx, Alice D, .breathless, SasoriHime05, GirForPrez, SlytherinGurrl, asjkasdf, roseberrygirl, fantastia-49, superstarem and Twilighternproud for reviewing the last chapter!

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

-FallenForTheDraco