Everyone's a Champion

Draco watched the students quieten themselves down at the sight of McGonagall standing up. Dumbledore still wasn't here, which was strange. You'd think that a man like him – y'know, the headteacher – would want to be punctual for big school events.

"Oi, you lot, who d'you think the three champions will be?" Theodore asked him and Blaise, making Draco tear his eyes away from the large Goblet on the teacher's area. "My bet's on Vlad…what's that fit girl's name? – oh, Fleur and er -…Montague."

The three boys looked at the end of the table, where Graham Montague sat, playing a game with one of the Durmstrung in which you stab a knife in between the gaps of your fingers as quickly as possible. "SHIT!" he yelled when the knife nicked the side of his middle finger.

"Unless you're planning on losing all your money, I'd say chose someone else," Blaise retorted. "I'd go for…Krum…I don't know – none of the Beaxtabaton girls would be good but...I'll go for Fleur and…Johnson's pretty good."

"Who?" Theodore replied. "Angelina Johnson? The Gryffindor one?" He looked at Blaise as if he had grown another head. "You're not actually serious."

"What?" Blaise tutted. "This whole inter-house rivalry is stupid."

"Tell that to all the Hufflepuffs you bully every day," Draco remarked.

"Nah, you're only saying that cos you have a crush on her," Theodore said, making Draco snort. "Oh yeah, you know you sleep talk – 'Oh Angelina, touch me there, right there oh fuck, Angelina - "

Theodore's mouth was suddenly sewn shut. He couldn't open his mouth no matter how hard he wanted to. He started to panic, begging Blaise to stop it, but he only glared at him.

"What about you, Draco?" he asked smoothly.

"I don't even know who put their names in," Draco said.

"You know Cedric Diggory's put his name," Blaise said, sounding as if he was on the brink of laughing. "Who the fuck told him he'd a be a good player?"

A person popped into his head when Blaise mentioned Cedric. And she was right there, standing beside Dumbledore in front of the doors to the Great Hall. His eyes never left her as he watched her scurry to the Gryffindor table where she sat between her friend

"Something tells me that she'll be the Champion," Blaise said. He removed Theodore from his spell and slyly slid twenty-five Galleons to him.

"Alright," Theodore said, taking the Galleons before Blaise could change his mind. "Draco, what about you?"

"Er – sure, five Galleons…same as Blaise," he said distractedly. Theodore was blocking his view of –

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," Dumbledore's voice boomed through the hall before Theodore could complain about how little Draco was betting. "My apologies for keeping everyone waiting. I had some important business I had to get to first but since that is out of the way, let's not waste any more time." Dumbledore stepped over to the Goblet. Draco saw the other two Headteachers and Ludo Bagman, one of the Ministry officials who directed the whole thing. The other one – what was his name again? Barty Crouch wouldn't make it. The last time he remembered, he did look quite sick to Draco. "Could our Beaxtabatons and Durmstrang students make their way up to the stage, please?"

All the Hogwarts students watched anxiously as the thirty international students stood up in unison. The Beaxtabaton students were closest to the teacher's area and walked, the sound of their ballet shoes hitting the floor being the only noise in the hall. It was the Durmstrang student's turn. They marched their way along the length of the Hall to reach the teacher's area. Draco could see a few girls wave or reach their hand out to touch Viktor Krum. Draco suppressed his snort. He had talked to Viktor. It felt like he was talking to a brick wall. Once all the students had formed a line behind Dumbledore and the Goblet, the two headteachers stood behind – in the case of Madame Maxime – and next to their students. Dumbledore placed a hand inside the Goblet. A few students were amazed to see no pain on his face and his hand being completely fine. A small slip of paper was in his hand. Some students that stood behind him were trying to peek over his shoulder to see who's name was written down.

"The Beaxtabaton's champion is…." There was a moment of silence as Dumbledore unfolded the piece of paper. "FLEUR DELACOUR!"

The crowd – mainly the male crowd – cheered her on as she stepped in front of everyone and shook Dumbledore's hands. The rest of the Beaxtabaton students shot deathly glares at her. Theodore was clapping extra loudly when she waved to everyone before heading into the side office attached to the Great Hall.

"Told you lot she'd get it," Theodore said.

"Yeah, you're not the only one," Blaise muttered.

The crowd silenced themselves again as Dumbledore placed his hand once more inside the Goblet. "The Durmstrung Champion will be – VIKTOR KRUM!"

This time, there were a lot more screams from the girls as he sauntered his way to Dumbledore to shake his hand. Draco could see Theodore looking angry at himself for choosing the wrong guy while Blaise held out his hand. Fifteen Galleons were grudging placed into his hand. Karakoff – the Durmtrang's head clapped Viktor on the back, whispered something into his ear, but he disappeared into the office once more. "Will everyone please be seated once more."

Dumbledore was mainly talking to the international students, but a few Hogwart students were standing up. Draco could see Ron and Ila, among many other Gryffindors, still cheering Viktor on. He felt a jolt in his stomach when he saw her like that.

"And last but definitely not least, the Hogwart's Champion will be," Dumbledore said as he placed his hand in the Goblet once more. One last slip of paper was in his hands. It was safe to say there was a buzzing in the room. An anxious buzz to see who would represent the entire school. Who could be our Champion? The one to win 1000 Galleons and eternal glory? "CEDRIC DIGGORY!"

"What the actual - "

The rest of Blaise's sentence was drowned out by the deafening screams of the Hufflepuff table, who were chanting their house song. Many students had climbed onto the table, singing and jumping as Cedric Diggory walked up to the podium where Dumbledore was. Ila was also clapping just as enthusiastically as was the majority of the female population at Hogwarts. Dumbledore smiled at the boy as he shook his hand. Draco could see him mouth the words, 'Well Done!' to him before directing him to the office where the other two champions were.

"How exciting!" Dumbledore said once the Hufflepuffs had gotten under control by Professor Sprout. "The Triwizard Tournament has officially begun…let's give one more big round of applause to our three champions!"

The sounds of claps echoed throughout the hall, making it seem louder than it actually was. Students had started talking for the first time. Teachers were congratulating Professor Sprout for Cedric's win. A rumbling sound had come from the Goblet, though no one had really noticed, for it was too quiet for most people to hear. Draco had heard it. His eyes travelled back to the podium, leaving the conversation between his two friends behind. He watched Dumbledore looking confused at the Goblet before beckoning Ludo Bagman to join him. They exchanged whispered before looking at the Goblet once more. The next second, the claps died down as a semi burnt slip of parchment paper had erupted from the mouth of the Goblet.

"I thought there were only supposed to be three," Theodore whispered to his friends.

"Well, it seems we have another name to call out," Dumbledore said. Once again, the buzz had arrived. This was a second chance. All of the students of both schools were eagerly waiting for their names to be called out. But their second chance would never come. "Ila…Ila Potter…you're – you're the Fourth Champion."

There was a clang of a utensil – Draco wasn't too sure – dropping onto the floor. Draco was too busy staring at Ila as a million thoughts came to his mind. He watched her talk to her friends, who looked as shocked as everyone else, something she didn't want.

"Ila? Ila Potter, you must come up here?"

Draco watched Granger push Ila to her feet. She stood there momentarily, watching everyone watch her before she decided to use her feet to walk to the teacher's area ever so slowly. When she got there, Dumbledore didn't shake her hand. Instead, he pointed to the office. He whispered something to Bagman once more before he gathered all the Professors around him. The Headteachers looked…pissed, to say it simply.

"Prefects, take your house back to your common room," Dumbledore said before heading into the office himself.

"Pay up, Theo," Blaise said teasingly, knowing how much he hated that nickname as they headed into the dungeons where their common room was.

"Don't call me that," Theodore muttered, "and anyway, I thought it was a joke."

"You thought me handing you twenty-five galleons to you was out of the goodness of my heart?" he snorted. "Don't be an idiot. Now, pay up!"

Theodore looked at Draco and Balise before sprinting away from the two. He pushed past students, even knocking down a few first years to get away from his friends.

"Leave him," Draco told Blaise. "We'll get him later."

"I'm going to be honest, I was only betting on Potter as a joke," Blaise said. "I didn't realise she'd actually do it."

"It wouldn't be possible anyway," Draco said, entering their common room. He found Theodore lying on the couch in the middle of the room. Before he could do anything, Draco held his hands down.

"OI! GET OFF ME! THIS IS HARASSMENT! HELP! HELP!"

No one even looked their way. Well, no one helps. The sound of Theordore's shouts was like a lighthouse guiding all the lost boats towards safety.

Lost boats that made Draco want to land head first in the choppy waves and drown.

"Drakie! I didn't see you at dinner," Parkinson purred as she, Daphne and Millicent took their seats on the armchairs surrounding the couch.

"I was," he said, paying more attention to Blaise going through Theodore's pockets to find their money.

"No…please not there! I'm – I'm ticklish!"

"I still can't believe Potter did that," Daphne said.

"Seriously? I could," Parkinson said. "You haven't realised how pathetic she can be."

"She's clearly some attention whore," Millicent said.

"Exactly what I was going to say," Parkinson said, smiling. "Probably what happens when your parents get killed."

"OW! Draco geroff me!" Theodore groaned, pushing Draco off him, who watched Parkinson.

"Anything wrong, Drakie?" Parkinson said. "Don't like me talking about Potter this way? Calling her a bitch, an attention whore? I don't get why. She clearly is."

"You're obsessed," he muttered as Blaise handed him the money. Theodore sat up straight so both boys could sit on the couch with him.

"What do you guys think then?" Daphne asked the boys. Theodore and Blaise glanced at Draco. While he hadn't said anything to them about Ila outright, they had been friends long enough to know when something was bothering him. And making fun of Ila bothered him. Neither friend asked why – something Draco was glad for.

"I just wonder who she did it," Blaise said, the only possible answer that was neutral. Draco couldn't be bothered to pay attention. His mind drifted somewhere else. A different time…

Merlin, he never Potter could be so funny at times. He also couldn't believe how crafty she was. Well crafty relative to her. Of course, he knew it wasn't actually Parkinson the moment she opened her mouth. But it was fun to play along. He couldn't help but be curious as to why exactly she did that in the first place.

There was a small part of him that was somewhat excited. He let himself build the hope that perhaps she wanted to spend time with him…

And the moment that happened, he immediately crushed it. He couldn't do that – he couldn't give himself false hope.

Besides, why would he be happy with spending time with her? He shouldn't be happy when he spends time with her. But…

He groaned internally. He thought he discussed this last night. But it seemed that the two Dracos were once again at odds with one another. He shouldn't like her…

He couldn't help but watch her. He couldn't help but – Draco bit back his smile when he remembered their lesson from today. The look on Ila's face when he told her that…It was only supposed to be a joke. Though, that small part of him resurfaced once more. For a moment, he thought about what would happen if she agreed. He thought about her smiling, laughing. Standing at the table, getting everyone's attention and confessing her love to him. He could see how angry her friends would be from the other side of the classroom, but Ila wouldn't care. Instead, she'd jump down, walk up to him. She'd grab him by the collar and bring him closer and –

"Draco!"

"What – did you say something?" Draco asked dazedly, breaking away from these thoughts.

"I asked how did you think she did it," Parkinson said, slightly suspicious.

"Do what?"

She rolled her eyes. "How she put her name in the Goblet?"

"But" – Draco looked around to see if anyone else shared the same reaction as he did – "that's impossible. Dumbledore placed an age line. How can you get past an age line?"

"Well, she did it somehow," Parkinson said bitterly. "Clearly not that impossible."

"Maybe she made some other students do it for her," Daphne suggested.

"Like who?" Malfoy asked. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Parkinson eyeing him.

"She's pretty close to Diggory," Blaise said. "Saw him stare at her for the entire party last night and even saw him try to talk to her, but she left before he got the chance."

"Since when were you interested in her?" Daphne asked. She was clearly getting insecure as she left her spot from the armchair and Blaise's lap and rested her head against his shoulder.

"Not you too," Parkinson muttered.

"I'm not interested in her," Blaise said. "There wasn't much to do when you're helping someone throw up their entire day's worth of food because they drank too much butterbeer too quickly," he said, giving Theodore a pointed look.

"Why do you think he did that?" Draco asked as casually as possible.

Perhaps it wasn't casual enough.

"Why?" Parkinson asked, crossing her legs. "Jealous?"

Draco scoffed but prayed she couldn't see his pink-tipped ears. "Why would I be jealous?"

She raised a brow. "Who thinks that Drake here has changed? Has gone a bit…soft, why don't we say?" Parkinson, Millicent and Daphne's hands all shot straight up. Daphne looked at Blaise; the two exchange a wordless conversation before slowly Blaise raised his arm. A few moments later, Theodore had also raised his arm.

"Sorry, mate," he said quickly. "You have been acting different lately."

"I've been acting soft?" Draco asked.

Theodore shrugged. "I don't know, man…you haven't…you don't care about anything anymore."

"Not to mention you always complain whenever I go after the Hufflepuffs," Blaise said. "I mean, I get it if it were Ravenclaws, but Hufflepuffs?"

"Maybe because I don't get the point anymore," Draco replied defensively. "Maybe I'm just busy with other things than trying to figure out to piss them off the most."

"Like what?" Parkinson said. "C'mon, you say this all the time how you're so busy that you can't even hang out with your friends properly. What is it then?"

Trying to figure out why Voldemort killed Lauren Dawlish…

"Nothing that you won't understand," Draco snarled before standing up and was headed to the common room, but a first-year stood in the way.

"T-this – this – Dumbledore said – he said that he wanted to – to see you."

"When?" Draco asked.

"Oh, don't ask it more questions," Daphne muttered.

"N-now," the first year shakily said.

"Peppermints," Draco uttered. The gargoyle stepped aside for him, allowing him to enter Dumbledore's office, which was surprisingly empty. He would've assumed it would be filled with the champions and their respective headmasters as they tried to figure out what they were going to do with Ila, but there was only Dumbledore, sat at his table. He was waiting for Draco to arrive. There weren't any papers strewn across his desk. Dumbledore was watching Draco the moment he stepped into the office.

"Good evening Draco, do take a seat," Dumbledore said calmly, motioning to take a seat. Draco hesitantly did so.

"Did I do something?" Draco asked once he took the seat.

"It's strange," Dumbledore said, "with what happened tonight."

"About Potter being the fourth champion?"

"Do you think she put her name in the Goblet?" he asked suddenly.

"N-no?"

"You sound unsure, Draco," Dumbledore said.

"I'm more unsure as to why you're asking me about this," he said honestly.

"Did you have a hand in helping Ila put her name in the Goblet?"

"Sir – I'm – how would I be able to put her name in the Goblet? I'm the same age as her. I would have the same chance of getting past the age line than she does. Besides, why would I, of all people, help her?" The last question somehow worried him more than Dumbledore accusing him of playing a hand in Potter becoming the Fourth Champion.

"I have been hearing from students that you aren't acting like your fellow Slytherins," Dumbledore said. "I've also been talking to some of your teachers, and surprisingly, they all seem to put a good word in. Even Hagrid, considering how last year occurred."

Not this again, he thought. Draco didn't say anything. He merely shrugged, his attention going past Dumbledore's shoulder and into the Forbidden Forest. Was there smoke coming out of the forest?

"It seems rather out of character for you - "

It then did he realise that Ila must have spoken to Dumbledore about this. That was why the two were together in the Great Hall.

"I'm not doing anything suspicious if that's what you want to know," Draco said. "Whatever Potter said isn't true."

Dumbledore took off his glasses, wiping the lenses against his cloak before placing them back on his face once more. "I heard about what happened during the summer Draco."

His eyes shifted back to Dumbledore momentarily before sliding off him once more, back to the window. "I don't know what you're - "

"Lauren Dawlish."

Draco clenched his fists. His entire body tightened as the image of the woman materialised into his head. For a moment, he was back at the Manor, at the dining table. He could smell the rotting flesh. He could feel the tears form in his eyes. He could feel the contents of what he had last night slowly climb its way up until –

"How?"

"That isn't important, Draco," Dumbledore said. "Did you see everything?"
Draco didn't move for a few moments. "I was the first one to find her…but in regards to the note, I did see that as well."

"And what do you think?"

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Draco said bitterly. "He clearly said He was back; his followers would know. My father thought it was some joke and still terrorised some innocent Muggle Family at the Cup Final…he fled when he saw the Dark Mark…He is back."

When Draco glanced at Dumbledore once again to gauge his reaction, he was surprised to see a look of understanding from Dumbledore. As if there was a puzzle he fitting together in his head and Draco's answer was the final piece to the puzzle.

"You sound angry," Dumbledore said finally.

"Am I supposed to be happy about what happened other? About Voldemort coming back and killing her and leaving her rotting body on our table?" Draco said, his voice rising in volume. "Am I supposed to be happy that my life is changing? With Voldemort back, it's obvious that my parents will side with him, and it's obvious that…that…."

"At one point, your family will force you to side with Him?" Dumbledore finished, to which Draco weakly nodded.

"You know my parents made up – they made up some stupid lie…I s'pose I always had my doubts. Ever since I was a child, it wouldn't make sense, but…I was just an annoying child asking too many questions, poking too many holes in their story…They made me believe that the whole reason why the Wizarding War happened was that it was half-bloods and muggle-borns that were against purebloods – not the other way around. They told me that Voldemort was there to save the purebloods but…how idiotic can you be to believe that!" Draco paused for a few moments. "I read some books about what he did…I couldn't believe that my parents had lied to me…."

"It must have been hard to know that your parents supported the same man who committed a mass genocide," Dumbledore said dazedly.

"And commit another if no one stops him," Draco said darkly. The two stared at each other in pregnant silence.

"I can help you, Draco," Dumbledore said, breaking the silence. "You wouldn't have to help Him if that's what you want."

He was told that he must join the Dark for all of his childhood if he wanted to get anywhere with his life. The Dark helped you get opportunities, taught you how to use your abilities to get to the best places. Draco didn't understand it very well. His parents would always be disappointed in him because he wasn't… 'evil' enough. He didn't care about manipulating anyone or blackmailing people. He supposed his parents' biggest disappointment was during his wand choosing all the back in the first year. He came out with a wand that was no match for a Dark wizard. Unicorn hair. He could still see the sneer etched on his father's face when Ollivander told his parents what his wand was. He could hear his mother's protests, that it was the wrong one, he has to try again.

By the time he got to Hogwarts, he felt even more alienated from his family and fellow Slytherins. Or at least for the first few weeks. He could see muggle-borns and half-bloods and purebloods spend time with each other as if there hadn't been a whole war eradicating purebloods' existent. He saw how much Potter, Granger and Weasley had fun with each other. But he also knew that he couldn't share this with anyone. His doubts about the Wizarding War, about how the Dark. He had to play a role. He had to make everyone believe that Draco Malfoy was the Heir of Slytherin. That he could just as well be the next Lord Voldemort if he wanted to. In the few rare moments, it felt like Dumbledore wasn't talking to the real Draco.

The moment he had realised that he no longer wanted to side with the Dark, he hadn't actually put too much thought about what he would do when his parents wanted him to join them. Mainly because if he did, it would scare him so much, he wouldn't want to leave his bed for the next few days. He always assumed that he would run away. If Voldemort did ever win, he thought he'd then die for desertion of his post by firing squad. And if he didn't win…he wasn't too sure.

"What would you do?" he asked.

"There is a group that can help you, Draco," Dumbledore said. "Help you leave your family so you wouldn't have to join them. We can put it in a safe place, as many people can protect it as you want. You would be safe."

But if he ran away…

Who would he be helping? Draco realised as he read those books that the thing he wanted the most was to right the wrongs his family had done over the years. Running away wouldn't be righting any wrongs. In fact, he might as well have joined the Dark at that point. He couldn't just leave everyone – that would be selfish.

He wanted to help. He wanted to do anything he can to save as many lives, and to do that, he would have to –

"I want to join the Light."