Chapter Four:
Ambition
He was not the best. He never was. He was always second to the trio. The first was always obvious, Hermione Granger, the Muggleborn. During their time at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, she was always the best. She always scored the highest marks in almost every subject, even in the one he took great strides to be great in, Potions. The second, and the least obvious of the three, was Ronald Weasley. At first glance the blood traitor didn't look like much, a bit daft and unsure of himself, but when the need a rose his true character always shown through. This was most evident in both his first and second years, when he first sacrificed himself so Potter could confront Quirrell and then later went into the Chamber of Secrets when his sister had been taken. This of course, led to the third person, Harry Potter. Potter always let his actions speak for themselves. He never bragged about his accomplishments, in fact, he seemed to talk himself down constantly. He had been famous since he was only a year old, having been the one and only person to have survived the Killing Curse, the very same that had killed both of his parents. He was a parselmouth; perhaps the only one in record, most powerful Dark Wizard since the time of Merlin, drove back hundreds of dementors at the age of 13, and won the first Tri-Wizard Tournament and was the youngest seeker in over a century, not to mention the highest marks in Defense Against the Dark Arts since the founding of the school itself. With each accomplishment he never le his ego get any bigger. On the outside, he appeared to be an ordinary wizard, but beneath it all was embodiment of all the Houses combined. He had talent, skill, bravery, loyalty, cunning, and power that rivaled and surpassed that of each of his friends combined. It was all these things that had made each of the three of them better than him. Better than Draco Malfoy, former Death Eater, saved from his fate by the very people he had spent the better part of seven years hating. Now, however, it was a much different story.
They still mistrusted him; they just couldn't bring themselves to trust him, and he could not fault them for it. Weasley would more than likely hex him as soon as look at him if it weren't for Potter. That of course, was another trait that made him stand out amongst his friends. Like his mentor, the late Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter had the ability to forgive and grant anyone a second chance.
Now Draco stood alone, preparing for the tournament. Potter had informed him a week before that he was entering and would be training for the tournament as well. Although his family didn't lose much due to his and his father's service to the Dark Lord, Draco still felt as if there was something to be gained, that something had been lost when he had blindly followed in the footsteps of Lucius Malfoy down the path of darkness. It was honor. Draco Malfoy sought to regain the honor that his family had lost, and he didn't care what it would cost him.
He pushed out all thoughts of loathing and self pity. He felt his anger welling up inside of himself. The clouds above him started to darken. He could hear thunder in the distance. His cloak swayed wildly as the wind began to pick up. He cleared his head of all thoughts and concentrated on his objective. The first thing that came to mind was what he considered his greatest obstacle. A young wizard with untidy black hair, and green eyes that had a determined look about them that seemed to burn into the depths of ones soul. His always carried himself confidently, yet never under or overestimated his enemy. He was considered to be the greatest wizard of the age, considering he defeated Voldemort when countless others could not and survived the killing curse not once but twice.
'Potter…' Draco thought to himself. There was a flash of lightning and another crash of thunder. He gripped his wand tightly.
"Potter! I will defeat you!" He yelled. Draco pointed his wand at a nearby boulder and it exploded. He then pointed at another one which was sent flying into the distance. "I will finally beat you…" said Draco, calming down.