This is a non-canon story. Different couples, different situations, etc. I am changing a lot from the book and doing it my own way. If you don't like it, you don't have to read it. If you do like it, then please, leave me some reviews because I love reading about what people think of my stories.

Disclaimer – I own nothing except my own ideas. Everything else belongs to Rowling.

Chapter 4

Harry refused to talk to anyone for the rest of their time at the Burrow. The Weasleys tried to forget about everything by playing Quidditch every day, but even that wouldn't peek Harry's interest. Hermione was the only one who knew Harry's dilemma. It was obvious that if the events at the World Cup was caused by Death Eaters, then it was possible that they were rising up again, and most likely preparing to target Harry. Through their letters, both Hermione and Draco had arrived to that conclusion. Draco decided that for them to know for sure, he would have to infiltrate a bit, which meant being much nicer and supportive of his father. Although Hermione didn't like that idea, she knew that it was their best option at the moment.

So, for an entire week, Draco stayed by his father's side, enduring many dark curses thrown at him, including unforgivable ones. The only thing that kept him sane for that week was the daily letters from Hermione. In the meanwhile, Hermione had opted to do much more research on healing magic, knowing that Draco would need her when they got back to Hogwarts. She tried to stay near Harry during her time at the Burrow, just to reassure him that someone was there for him, but Harry still refused to talk. Mrs. Weasley was the only one to get through to Harry, but their conversations revolved around what he would like to eat for the day.

The train ride back to Hogwarts was a relatively quiet affair. Everyone was too busy trying to figure out why the need for dress robes was on their school list that year. Hermione assumed there would be some sort of formal dance, but the question of why was still unanswered.

Once they finally got to Hogwarts, they sat at their respective tables, chatting happily with everyone around them. Harry, especially, had begun talking again, now that he was back in the safety of the castle. During the feast, Hermione's eyes roamed over to the Slytherin table and came to rest on a pair of grey eyes staring directly at her. She wanted to smile at him, but knew that would just gain people's curiosity. So, she kept her face blank, while he gave her his usual fake glare.

"Why is Malfoy glaring at you, Hermione?" Ginny's voice rang out, bringing her back to reality.

"Because he's a slimy git, Gin!" Ron snapped. "Just ignore him and eat. This pudding is awesome."

Hermione and Ginny rolled their eyes at Ron, who's face was, as usual, stuffed with food. They continued to eat in silence before Hermione stood up and waved good bye to everyone.

"Where are you going?" Harry wondered. "It's the first night."

"I just want to see what new books the library has this year." Hermione lied. "I'll be back in the common room in an hour."

"Damn, 'mione, you need to give it a rest." Ron snapped. "But we know you won't, so go on. See you later."

Hermione gave them all a warm smile before shuffling off to the library. Draco Malfoy watched the bushy haired girl leave the Great Hall and waited a full five minutes before getting up and leaving as well. He headed down the main corridor of the first floor before slipping through the doors of the vast library. He walked through the various sections until he came to the Dragon Section. They always met there at first before deciding where the most enclosed seating area was that day. He frowned to himself, not seeing Hermione anywhere near their section, but suddenly grunted as someone knocked into him hard. He turned around, seeing those warm brown eyes and quickly wrapped his arms around her slim frame.

"Are you alright?" she hurriedly whispered into his ear, noticing his sunken eyes and thin frame.

"I've been worse." he murmured against her ear before pulling away.

They walked over to a quiet and partially covered seating section and sat down, staring at each other. Hermione couldn't stop smiling because unbeknownst to him, she had seen him eating like a famished horse during the welcoming feast, and she was relieved.

"How is Harry doing?" he wondered.

"He seems to be better now." she admitted. "I think being back at the castle … near Dumbledore … it makes him feel safer. Now, tell me honestly, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, Hermione." Draco sighed and leaned back in the chair. "I didn't find out much though. But from what I've gathered, that wasn't just a random attack. Father believes that the Death Eaters are banding together again. He doesn't know why … or who is leading them at the moment, but it seems to be happening. Surprisingly, he's not part of it … yet."

"Yet?" Hermione bit down on her bottom lip.

"He sounds like he's going to get involved with them once he finds out who's leading them." Draco admitted.

"Draco … you don't think that he's going to get you to … join as well, do you?" Hermione wondered, a worried tone in her voice.

"Yes." Draco stared directly into her eyes, not bothering to hide his brutal honesty. "But I'm hoping to be away from him before that happens."

"You know you always have a place with my family." Hermione reminded him.

"I know." Draco pulled her closer and hugged her tightly. "But for now, let's just worry about classes."

Worry is exactly what they did. Since it was only one more year before their O.W.L.S year, Draco and Hermione threw their days and nights into studying. They still wondered why they had needed dress robes that year, and now that Quidditch was cancelled, they were even more confused and curious. Their questions were answered though during the second week of school. Everyone was called down to dinner early and it was revealed that their school was to be the host for a special event called the Triwizard Tournament.

Draco was more excited than Hermione because he had heard stories of past tournaments from other pureblood families as well as his own father. It was supposed to be a tournament symbolizing unity and cooperation among various magical institutions. Hermione, however, had read about them before and knew how dangerous the tasks in the tournament were. She was the only one relieved to know that only those above the age of 17 were allowed to put forth their name to compete.

The most welcoming part to Hermione though, was seeing students from other schools stay with them and attend classes with them sometimes. The girls from the Beauxbatons academy were very prim and proper, and she had hoped to learn more about how they were taught at their school. The boys from Durmstrangs, however, were very intimidating, especially after realising that their headmaster was a former Death Eater.

The second week of classes revolved around everyone hanging out in the Great hall, to see who was putting forth their names into the Goblet of Fire. At the end of the week, the goblet would decide which person from the selected schools would be allowed to compete in the tournament. Although many students had entered their names, each house in Hogwarts were rooting for their own. Angelina Johnson was a sure bet for Gryffindor since she was on the Quidditch team and a very intelligent witch. Cassius Warrington was Slytherin's hope, while Cedric Diggory was Hufflepuff's golden boy. Unfortunately, no one in Ravenclaw had the guts to put forth their name, although they all went around castle reminding the other houses that the tasks would have been too easy for them to figure out since they were the smartest house. It was obvious that the Durmstrang students were putting all their galleons on Viktor Krum, while the Beauxbaton girls were all up in the air.

Hermione and Draco were both sitting back idly, focusing on their work while others around them focused on the tournament. The tournament turned out to be a great thing for them since no one really noticed their absences from their social groups. They were able to spend a lot of time together at the library, getting ahead with their class assignments, etc.

At the end of the second week, everyone gathered in the Great Hall after dinner to see what names the goblet deemed worthy of competing in the tournament. Hermione and Draco kept glancing at each other, knowing that their 4th year at Hogwarts was about to get very exciting. They were both interested in seeing how the tasks of the tournament would play out.

The Goblet roared to life finally and shot out 3 pieces of parchment, one after the other. Everyone cheered in excitement as the three names were listed off by Professor Dumbledore. It was concluded that Cedric Diggory would represent Hogwarts, Viktor Krum would represent Durmstrang, and Fleur Delacour would represent Beauxbatons.

Everyone clapped and cheered, too concerned to notice that the goblet was roaring to life once more. Hermione looked over at Draco, who met her eyes before turning away to look at the goblet in both nervousness and curiosity. Hermione nudged Harry and Ron before everyone in the hall fell silent, staring at the goblet in concern.

Professor Dumbledore stepped up to the goblet just as it shot out a fourth piece of parchment. The headmaster stared down at the piece of paper in disbelief before whispering the name to himself. He looked up and began scanning the room.

"Harry Potter!?" he yelled out, causing everyone to look at Harry, Hermione and Ron.

No one moved. No one said a word. Everyone just stared at the Golden trio.

Hermione was the first to jump into action. She knew there was nothing else to be done except push him to the headmaster and let the adults decide what to do. She nudged him hard and helped him up from his seat.

"Come on, Harry." she hissed. "You don't have a choice right now."

Harry's body automatically moved towards Dumbledore like a magnet. Murmuring quickly erupted as he made his way to Dumbledore, who just pointed in the direction of the room the other contestants had disappeared into. Hermione couldn't help but shoot a glare around the Great Hall as students began yelling at Harry for cheating.

Draco's eyes didn't leave Hermione's face, and this time, someone noticed the direction of his gaze. The headmaster quickly brought the attention to himself as he ordered everyone to leave the hall and go back to their common rooms.

Hermione finally met Draco's eyes and a quick nod determined that they would meet each other in the library. She glanced over at Ron to see him still glaring at the room the contestants and Harry had gone into.

"Ron, what's the matter?" Hermione whispered to him.

"I can't believe he would do that." Ron grumbled.

"What?" Hermione frowned. "You don't seriously think Harry actually managed to put his name into the goblet, do you? Honestly, Ron! He's your best friend! He doesn't want the fame and glory that comes with this tournament! You should know that!"

"Whatever Hermione." Ron shot her a harsh glare before walking off quickly, leaving her staring after him in shock.

"How could he be so stupid." she grumbled to herself as she made her way down the corridor to the library.

It was completely deserted since all the students had returned to their common rooms, so she didn't have to worry about being caught with Draco. She made her way to their section and found him leaning against a shelf, staring into nothingness with a pensive look on his face.

"He didn't really do it, right?" Draco rushed out as he noticed her presence.

"No." she shook her head. "Harry would never do something like that. He was too relieved that the pressure was going to be off of him this year. In fact, he was actually excited to sit back and watch like everyone else."

"I think this is linked to what happened at the world cup." Draco sighed.

"I think so too." Hermione bit down on her lower lip. "Draco … that means … the school isn't safe right now."

"No, it isn't." Draco eyes darkened. "I'm going to write a letter to my father and see what he knows. But until we find out for sure, we'll have to help Harry."

"I agree." Hermione moved closer towards him and pressed her head against his shoulder. "Are we ever going to have a quiet year?"

"Doubtful." Draco chuckled as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Come on, let's go to bed. Stay up and wait for Harry. Find out what the minister has decided to do, and we'll meet back here tomorrow. Oh, before I forget, I think my mother is sending you a letter next week. You know she worries about us."

"Okay." Hermione pulled away and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. "For what it's worth … I'm glad you're not in Harry's position."

Hermione turned on her heel and disappeared into the stacks, leaving him pondering her final statement. He didn't have long to think before he heard a billowing of robes moving in his direction. He clutched his wand, instinctively and sighed in relief as he realised that it was just his Head of House and Godfather.

"Your father would be appalled if he knew who you were associating with, Draco." Professor Snape drawled out as Draco's eyes widened, confirming what Severus Snape had been suspecting since their first year.

A/N

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