November 24th, 1994

This excerpt takes place between Chapter 6: The Smoking Sack and Chapter 7: Venomous. Because of this there may be plot points or spoilers for other chapters before and after that are revealed in the following text. You have been warned.

Draco couldn't have told you why he was so on edge today, but he was not as excited for the chaos as he thought he would have been. With today being the First Task for the "Tri"wizard tournament, the whole school was jittering in anticipation – he was too, of course, but there was a sickly feeling churning somewhere deep down in his stomach.

It had to do with Audrey Potter, he was sure of it.

It was her own nerves rubbing off on him. He saw how she was trying to hide them, but he could tell they were there...and she had always been a master manipulator, whether she meant to be or the few times she didn't. Draco could always see through her lies, her intentions, and even worse, her truths.

"What if you're wrong?" Greengrass, somehow the most annoying of Potter's little triad, must have been determined to frustrate the girl until she felt no more fear – that was the only excuse for her naggy behaviour. Draco didn't blame her, however, considering the way Potter was sitting so vacantly was the most unnerving part of all.

"Then I die."

"She's never wrong when it comes to potions," Draco's roommate Theodore was always so quick to defend her. In the past, Draco had been determined to get the boy to admit that he had a crush on her. Draco had even gone as far as to question, interrogate, and try to trick him numerous times, simply trying to understand how Theodore really felt about Potter – after all, who could stick around with someone so annoying for so long unless they were in love with them? – but Theodore had never bowed to the pressure.

They were "friends" he said.

What a strange notion.

"Getting nervous, are we, Potter?" Parkinson had noticed the nerves as Draco had and like the vulture she was, she was quick to pick at them.

"You've barely touched your food," Draco noted. Taking them back to the most classic of personalized insults for her: making fun of Potter's weight, Potter's brother, and Potter's general lack of aesthetic appeal. Considering the thrum of his own nerves, Draco was glad he had these kinds of things to fall back on – he wasn't sure what he would say if he didn't have this ready-made guide. "You need to eat; after all you already look like a dead woman walking."

"No need to be concerned for me, Malfoy." She glared at him in a way reminiscent to what he had experienced after he had returned to human from ferret form. "I can just make you my distraction for this task, if you're so worried."

"Ten minutes won't give you enough time to do something like that, Potter." Malfoy smirked with a raised eyebrow. "And if my father is right-"

"No, your father is twisted towards the left, actually," Potter interrupted him. He hated how much she put down his father – his father was everything Draco wanted to be: strong, powerful, and successful...why did she resent that success so much? Was it because of her brother, or was it really because of him? His sour face gave her the strength to continue. "You're right, I'll not last ten minutes – I won't need to. I'll be done in eight."

"Care to put a wager on that?" He couldn't help himself asking. It was a horrible habit he had with the girl: once they got talking, it was hard for him to stop taunting her. "Or do you not have the money to do so?"

"I don't gamble with nitwits," she rolled her eyes at him before quirking her head to the side. Something she did while she was plotting – he sadly knew the look well. "But I'm sure Fred and George are taking bets, as promised. They'll be sure to cut you a deal."

He sneered. Yes, he was sure that one, stupid twin would cut any deal for Audrey Potter. The traitor was practically in love with her."They wouldn't have the money to back up my kind of bet."

She sneered at him, as she always did when he insulted her beloved twins. "Well then lucky for you I can back them, isn't it?"

"Ha, I'll send you an owl with the amount and we'll see who wins, shall we?" He knew those Weasleys would never be able to gamble with him – even if he were to lose, it would be with more money than they had ever seen. And best? Draco would not be lacking from it.

"I'll see that the best competitor wins," Potter agreed with a nod. "And to think, you'll just hand it all over to blood traitors! But at least it will be earned money. Even if it's mine at least it will be my own – not my Daddy's."

Draco tried to keep his composure, but when she made insults like that and when she looked so smug, she reminded him devastatingly of her brother.

"Well, there's a reason for that, isn't there?" He bit back. Usually he wouldn't resort to talking about her dead parents so openly – it was in bad taste; he had a lot more ammunition on her that wasn't so broad and he liked using the more intimate insults to prove how well he knew her wicked mind...but sometimes she left him at a loss. Especially when she glared at him like that.

Her eyes, smoldering green in a way that he had never seen on anyone else – including her twin – looked almost acidic. If she could spit venom, while most thought it would be from her sharp tongue and vicious words, Draco knew it would have been from those eyes. And while they could show such cruelty, he could see her mind turning behind them. Audrey Potter never stopped analysing, this he knew, and all he could do was fear what she was planning for him.

"I'm headed to the pitch early." She announced suddenly, bolting up from the table as if something had hit her. Theodore and Daphne looked shocked but immediately went to follow her, as those prats always did, before she stopped them with a look. "You guys stay and get good seats for later on – to be honest, I just want a few minutes to breathe."

"Since you won't be doing it long?" The way Parkinson giggled the phrase somehow seemed in bad taste. He clenched his jaw, trying hard not to snap at Pansy for being such a dunderhead – he didn't want Potter to get the idea that he was defending her just because he disliked the sound of Parkinson's voice.

"Since your stench is making me sick," Potter pantomimed smelling something foul. "Is that your natural odour?"

When she saw that there wasn't going to be any more arguing, Potter turned to leave the table. Daphne grabbed at her hand to try and stop her, or possibly to comfort her some more, but mid-step Potter stopped walking. Her entire body shivered and shook in a way that immediately caught Draco's attention – he'd seen this behaviour once or twice from her and he knew it usually meant something terrible. Like a vision...visions, as she had described to him, were impending and he could only imagine that it meant she was foreseeing the upcoming task for the tournament.

Her green, satiny robes, still swayed with the movement of her having turned, but she stayed completely still, her eyes unfocused and hand gripping at the hand that Daphne had gripped onto. Her other hand gripped her wand tightly enough to make it quiver; it set Draco somehow more on edge – he'd seen what that wand would do on accident.

As easily as she had frozen, she thawed, taking a deep breath as if she had forgotten to breathe for the entire time she had stood there like a statue. She released Daphne's hand as if she had insulted her and took a moment to compose herself.

Draco knew that look. Something was wrong.

"What did you see?" Theodore asked nervously. She looked at him, her mind catching up with her surroundings, before they snapped to attention upon seeing his worry. Draco's eyes narrowed as he watched her mind work around the upcoming lie.

"Just everyone's different techniques," her voice was soft and not at all as harsh as it had just been. He didn't hear this tone from her often, he knew it was reserved for the few friends she was able to wrangle and fool. "Not a big deal."

"You're sure?" Daphne asked, her voice as doubtful as Draco felt.

"Not a problem," she repeated, only a little more confidently. She cleared her throat. "Air would be nice before its all combustible. Excuse me."

She strode out of the hall more quickly than Draco had expected and when she rounded the corridor away from them, Draco turned to his roommate.

"Does she actually think she's a decent liar?" he scoffed. "She's worse than her brother."

"I know," Theo sighed, looking after her. "And that lie likely isn't a good sign."

"Not at all," Daphne agreed lightly, picking up her fork and playing with her food.

"Don't be so worried," Parkinson giggled. "It wouldn't be a real loss for the house if something happened to her, would it, Draco?"

She was looking for her approval, as she always was, but even Draco sneered at her.

"We have a famous Potter twin in our house, moron," he muttered, pulling his arm away from her when she tried to grip at it. "As much as we hate her, it's good for our reputation – so yes, it would be."

Pansy pouted loudly, turning toward Bulstrode and attempting to fake a conversation, as if she wasn't wounded by Draco's words. Across from him, Theodore smiled and bowed his head, unfolding his arms to play with his food in the same way that Daphne did.

"What are you smiling about?" Draco asked, somewhat aggressively. He hated it when Nott made moves like that, as if he knew something that Draco just couldn't catch on to. This, of course, was ridiculous – he was smarter than Nott. He was smarter than Greengrass. He was smarter than Potter – so why did Theodore always look at him like that?

"Nothing," he said innocently, his smile widening.

"I don't believe you," Draco muttered, his eyes narrowing. Theodore didn't even bother to hide his chuckle.

"Yeah, you probably shouldn't."

The Quidditch pitch was unlike anything Draco had ever seen. He wasn't necessarily used to the long climb up to the bleachers anymore, since no game without him playing in it was worth seeing anyway, and he forgot how high up the onlookers really watched the players on the field. He had made it in time to start hearing Dumbledore's voice booming over the crowds of people – Theodore had saved him a seat near he, Daphne, Blaise, his two oafs, and the rest of Potter's roommates up front. He was glad: he'd have to time her after putting in such a hefty bet with her little Weasley puppets.

They had been all too glad to take his bet, of course – they all followed the Potter twins blindly; but even they had been worried about the stakes. They'd never have the money to pay him back and Draco was excited to have either those stupid twins, or the other stupid twin of his enemy, to be forever in his debt.

"As you can see, the Quidditch field has been transformed from a once quaint place, to the perfect territory to accommodate the task – the first task at hand – dragons!"

Some of the audience gasped and began to whisper amongst themselves, the news unknown to them. To his left, Daphne and Lillian took deep breaths and seemed to hold them in as if that would bring them some sort of comfort. Draco found himself leaning forward.

"The terrain has been determined for the ease of these select dragons. Each competitor will confront their own species of dragon for this first task in the hopes to win the Triwizard cup-"

"He means Quint-wizard," Blaise assured Draco with a snort.

"Each competitor is meant to look among their set dragon's nest of eggs to secure their own, specially placed golden egg. Without retrieving this egg, they have no hope ofdiscovering what lies in store for them on February 24th, for the Second Task. Behind me, mere moments ago, the competitors received the order they will be competing in which corresponds to the appropriate dragon. First, we will see Cedric Diggory of Hogwarts, Hufflepuff house-"

Around the arena, fans began to scream. People had their faces painted in Hufflepuff colours while they were holding bright yellow signs and all sorts of signs of admiration for the Hufflepuff seeker. Draco couldn't help but glare at them – who really appreciated Dimwit Diggory anyway?

"Second, we will have Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons," more students cheered for her than for Diggory. It was hard to ignore that most of her admirers who weren't her own schoolmates were male.

"Third running, we will have Viktor Krum of Durmstrang," lower, gruffer cheers accompanied this one, and the applause was more than for both Diggory and Delacour combined – it must have helped that he was the second most famous school-aged wizard in the school.

"Fourth we will have Audrey Potter of Hogwarts, Slytherin house," there was very little applause for Potter that wasn't from the very section that Draco was sitting in. Beside him, everyone stood up, waving their wands and shooting green sparks in the air to show their support. Around the arena itself very few people joined in the celebration, save for a small section of Gryffindors that all seemed to be red-headed. Lillian, Daphne, and Tracey had really shown the majority of support for her. Hell, even Blaise joined in – likely only because Tracey was participating – and Draco watched them. Who knew that people appreciated Potter so much?

Sure, he liked to mock her and bother her, but should he really cheer for her when she was about to die?

Oddly, the thought bothered his insides.

"And finally, fifth will be Harry Potter of Hogwarts, Gryffindor house." Dumbledore waited as the applause deafened the blonde. He, of course, refused to participate in the cheering and was pleased to see that none of the other Slytherins felt the need either. "Now remember, the threat of these dragons is very real. While the dragons have been charmed against seeing past the stands, they are still a great risk. Please hold your applause until after the dragons have been calmed and do not try to distract them. Without further adieu, let the competition begin. Introducing – Cedric Diggory!"

The crowd began to scream and applaud despite being told not to. It didn't matter, Draco couldn't see any sign of a dragon nearby yet. Diggory walked out onto the field looking proud – he looked smug, in Draco's opinion. Draco had never really liked him.

"He's so dreamy," Lillian giggled. "I can see why Potter likes him so much."

"She doesn't actually," Blaise drawled, leaning forward to look past Draco. "Does she?"

"Oh, definitely," Tracey answered. "It's not often we hear our little Audrey so smitten."

"There's nothing great about him," Draco sneered, looking at his horribly bright yellow robes and his pretentious looking face. "Look at him; he's a ponce."

"He's Audrey's ponce," Lillian giggled, Daphne followed her actions. Draco felt disturbed enough to spit, but held himself back from it. He didn't really care – it was just a disgusting thought, after all. He'd never liked Diggory. Then again, he wasn't that fond of Potter either...she had nearly neutered him only two years before. One didn't forget that easily.

Theodore loudly cleared his throat. "They're opening the doors and bringing in the dragon."

And so they were – the doors opened silently, on the very opposite side of the arena from where Diggory had entered. It seemed that he wasn't quite able to see his dragon from where he was behind one of the major ridges of rock.

The dragon emerged and for some reason, it was bigger than Draco had imagined. He knew that the task was supposed to be scary, but there was a part of him that had doubted they would use real, full-grown dragons – but they had. It was definitely full grown. This was a Swedish Short-Snout; Draco could easily identify it because of its silvery scales. He didn't really know much about it besides it's name, though Dumbledore's voice, explaining the species of dragon, did inform him that he was right.

"I wish Audrey were here," Theodore muttered. "She could tell us exactly how to handle this."

Draco knew that he was right. Potter had always had this weird knack with animals and knowing everything about them – not only would she have known that it's a Swedish Short-Snout, she'd probably know all of its strengths, weaknesses, and how to tell its age from this far away. She'd always been good with that.

Diggory, the prick, caught on quickly that the dragon was coming toward him – Draco would give this to him: the guy had good instinct. He was quick to turn one of the large, charcoal boulders near him into a strangely coloured Labrador; it was a yippy thing, something Potter would have loved if she were here. She probably would have fallen for the lard all over again. As if trying to put on a performance, the dog began to bark and yip loudly, leading the dragon back towards the door and away from the contestant.

Diggory took the chance while he had it, making a run for the golden egg that Draco could just see a glint of from his place in the stands. It was low in one of the crevasses between the rocks that looked like shale which would break under his weight – he'd have to climb down to get it. He moved quickly, with reflexes like any seeker should have.

Draco could have done it faster, he was sure of it.

Right as he got down to the base of the crevasse where the nest was sat, it was as if the dragon heard the shift of the rocks beneath his hands. Dumbledore's voice did not seem nervous as the Swedish Short-Snout managed to singe Diggory – in fact, the old man even seemed excited, in Draco's opinion – before Diggory grabbed hold of the egg and held it high above him. Against what they were told, the audience burst into deafening applause while Dumbledore ordered the dragon to be contained.

"Well done," Daphne breathed, sounding astonished. "But...if that's what he has to deal with, what will Audrey have to deal with?"

"Probably just a Welsh Green," Draco drawled, knowing it was one of the tamest of the dragons. "They couldn't expect someone like her to do any more without dying. Probably want to keep their hands clean."

"Mm," Crabbe and Goyle agreed, as they always did.

"Draco," Tracey admonished, turning a sour face away from him and back to the field. Dumbledore was speaking over their gossip, introducing Fleur Delacour and waiting for the applause to die down before he gave the signal to open the doors and allow in the dragon.

The French woman entered in her silvery robes, her hair tightly pulled back – wise, knowing that she would be battling a dragon. Draco doubted Potter would have as much foresight. While she entered, Draco couldn't help but move forward – she was some kind of beauty. He'd heard people whispering that Fleur Delacour was part Veela, which of course made sense if you looked at her, but even being aware of that...she was still a sight to behold. It didn't matter that he thought she was stuck-up in real life, once your eyes were on her it was hard to take them off.

They let in her dragon while Dumbledore allowed the roar of the crowd to die with his introduction of her. Draco wanted to roll his eyes as he saw the dragon she would have to face, but for some reason his stomach rolled a little bit. He swallowed, trying to calm it.

"Guess I lied, Potter can't have the Welsh Green if she does."

"Do we know that's a rule?" Daphne asked, her voice quiet. She knew what this meant just as Draco knew: Potter would have a real dragon to face. Potter would not get to play it easy, despite having to because of her lack of magical talent. The November air suddenly gave him a chill.

"No, but I assume," Draco responded, turning away from her to indicate that the conversation was over. He couldn't help but be impressed as he watched Fleur stand her ground as the dragon began to charge. He didn't really agree with the idea of bravery...it reminded him ridiculously of Gryffindors, but he couldn't help but admire it when he saw it in person.

Her wand raised as it drew nearer. She moved the light wooded wand in alluring circles for a long time, her hair moving in rhythm with it. How could he help but be entranced by it? She was a Veela for Salazar's sake. This overwhelming allure was why it was so shocking that it didn't seem to work for the Welsh Green. She tried for so long it seemed impossible not to have the thing in a trance when she decided to make her move.

"It appears the dragon's trance is not deep enough," Dumbledore commentated while Fleur took a chance she didn't actually have to run for her egg. It was hidden in a large nest near the peak of one of the mountainous regions of the arena. The small, narrow jets of flame happened to catch a part of her robe and she lit up like a Christmas tree, screaming as she grabbed her egg. But it was done – she had retrieved it, causing Dumbledore to call the dragon tamers to have the creature subdued. The flames were out in moments, but her screams continued as they steered the Veela away on a hovering gurney.

Draco was glad when he was able to tear his gaze from her, but frowned when he saw how pale Theodore was beside him.

"Are you really that worried over the girl?" he asked, watching as Daphne's eyes slightly narrowed at Theodore, as if accusing him for being as entranced as everyone else had been.

"No," he muttered. "But if both Diggory and Delacour have been injured by their dragons...what will that mean is in store for Audrey? She's not really the best..."

He cut himself off, but he didn't really need to finish. He had asked a decent question...one that Draco was interested to have answered. He had money riding on it, after all...that must have been the reason he felt so nervous.

"Next to face his dragon: Viktor Krum!" The audience cheered, but silenced themselves quickly when the hard-jawed Quidditch star came onto the field. There was no time for him to show any fear as he started striding right toward the doors – though Draco couldn't understand how he could see them over the mountainous regions – and head towards the dragon as the doors started to open. Out came a Chinese Fireball dragon, long and coloured like a flame.

The dragon and Krum seemed to face off as soon as they met on the rocks. The dragon blew dangerous, dark smoke from its nostrils in warning. Krum raised his wand, forcing the creature back when it started to cough.

No. That was not coughing.

It was choking. Whatever Krum was doing was choking the dragon, giving it a kennel cough sound that Draco had heard the few times he'd been allowed near pets. It was torturous as the dragon started to sway, deprived of air.

"Oh my Salazar," Daphne gasped, watching in horror as the dragon trampled over two of its own eggs.

"Stop him," Theodore whispered under his breath. Even Blaise, on Draco's other side, was cringing.

Krum quickly dove for his golden egg, as agile as if he were still on his broom, before picking it up and moving away from the dragon – lifting the hex only when he was far enough away that he knew he wouldn't be injured. Even Draco had to admit that it was a dick move. The handlers did not need to coax the dragon before it ran back to whence it came, making sounds like an injured puppy.

"That was horrible," Tracey frowned. "Even for me."

Daphne hushed her immediately.

"It's Audrey's turn," Theodore told the lot. "Please let it have worked..."

"Let what have worked?" Lillian asked.

"Now, let us put our hands together for our fourth competitor – Audrey Potter!"

There was applause, applause that lasted too long because no one came out of the tent. He couldn't tell how he felt about it though. There was a part of Draco that almost admired her nerve to quit – it was the saner, more logical choice. There was a part of Draco that had really been expecting her to prove herself.

"Prior to the competition, Miss Potter took a dose of a self-made and modified invisibility potion for purposes of the task. She will be facing the Norwegian Ridgeback-"

"What?" Theodore breathed. "The Ridgeback?"

"Aren't those extremely venomous?" Lillian swallowed hard.

"Holy Helga," Daphne covered her eyes. "I can't watch."

"I can't not," Tracey muttered lowly, her eyes peeled towards the arena below them.

Draco could see where Potter would have to go now; that her egg was high up in the nest at the sharpest peak and it was standing out among all the more delicate, black ones. He was kind of let down that he wouldn't be able to see how Potter went about this interaction – would she be offensive, or defensive? She was already defensive with the potion, he assumed, but that didn't mean that she couldn't sneak behind the dragon and attack it to keep herself completely in the clear. It'd probably be the wisest move.

Meaning the idiot wouldn't do it.

Then her dragon was released. The Norwegian Ridgeback was everything Draco remembered of the dragon: large, black and bronze spines along every edge of it and long, thin teeth that reminded him more of needles than anything else. They were tinged green which he knew not to be about hygiene, but rather about the poison that ran through his body to paralyze and kill his prey. It was huge, one of the biggest yet and certainly the most terrifying – or was he just terrified because this was the first person he actually cared about? Not that he cared about Potter – obviously, how could he be? That would be disgusting – but he did have a vested interest in her survival during the task.

Because of the money. Obviously.

The dragon was eerily quiet as it moved forward – how it wasn't shaking the stadium with its mass, he wasn't sure. It stalked towards the tent, knowing that's where she would be. Draco wished he would have had her here with him instead of someone like Daphne, who couldn't bear to look through her fingers to watch what was happening, so he knew exactly what these risks were. Potter would know. He knew they were poisonous, but he had no idea how the poison worked; he knew it was dangerous, but he couldn't remember anything about the Ridgeback's flame...

Suddenly, as if the Ridgeback heard something that they had not, its head whipped somewhere off to the side slightly. It cocked it's head like a confused dog, before its yellow eyes narrowed in a way that made Draco's stomach churn.

Still, the Ridgeback did not attack, but rather climbed up towards her eggs and took in deep breaths, her eyes scanning the audience around her – though Dumbledore had assured them that the charm placed on the stands would keep them safe from non-human eyes – before huffing when it couldn't get a whiff on the girl in the arena with him.

Draco's palms began to sweat – likely because of the Ridgeback's eyes grazing over him in the audience and not because of any worry whatsoever for the girl who constantly pestered him. He was upset he couldn't see her, he couldn't know where her quick and slick mind was going to take her; was she going to run for the eggs now that she was invisible? Was she sneaking behind the dragon to attack? Was she even in the arena?

Never before had Draco Malfoy wanted to see Audrey Potter in action as badly as he did then.

The dragon, realising that she would not be able to find Potter that way, moved to try and hunt her down closer to the base level of the terrain.

Beside him, Theodore made a quiet sound at the back of his throat that screamed of worry. Draco's eyes darted to those around him; each nervous. Nervous for Potter. As if they actually cared about her...but didn't the gits have any faith in her? They say they were friends with her, but did they all really expect her to be eaten, or to go down without a fight? He may hate Potter, but he certainly knew enough about her to know that would never happen.

A flame, as small and delicate as it was quick, moved from between the rocks to the right of the arena. It flickered and stayed hovering against one of the bigger rock faces, making the dragon turn instinctively to attack it. The flame wouldn't last long, Draco could tell, but hopefully it'd give her time to do whatever it was she had planned.

But no – the dragon, after inspecting the fire, turned right back to where Potter must have been. She took in a deep, shuttering breath, trying to pinpoint the little redhead before she took two heavy steps that shook the entire stadium. Daphne whimpered, cowering more behind her hands.

With a sound like a small sonic boom, rubble flew high into the air – Draco hadn't been watching that closely; had that been from the Dragon's tail, or had that been from Potter? Draco had never known her to cast two proper spells in a row, but still the dragon seemed as stunned as the people watching. The Ridgeback shook it's head from side to side, spreading the smaller boulders from its body to join the rocks on the ground.

A loud, horrifying squeal peeled through the shock of the audience and made Draco's heart race. The dragon was furious – and charging towards its eggs as if Potter was already there and starting to crush them under her feet. For good measure, the dragon let out a big, blossoming flame.

Tracey swore. Theodore looked ready to vomit. Daphne screamed.

Draco kind of wanted to scream too.

The dragon continued to charge, looking to see the damage he had caused, while it spread his gigantic, translucent wings and with a leap that turned into flight. With two large bats of its bat-like wings, the dragon landed right in front of its eggs.

Merlin, it knew.

It lunged slightly into the nothingness of the arena, letting out another loud shriek as he began moving back towards his eggs. A power surge from between its legs knocked the dragon back, close enough that it nearly stumbled over its own eggs, before Audrey Potter limped out from between them.

"The potion stopped working!" Lillian all but screamed.

Daphne finally uncovered her eyes, Theodore gripped the railing in front of them. Draco leaned forward, his head shaking...no, that wasn't right. Potter had never mucked up a potion in all her life – if she had meant it to last, it would last.

"Not a chance," Theodore groaned, echoing his thoughts. "Something's wrong."

"She's hurt," Tracey acknowledged, "look how she's cradling her arm."

So she was; Draco could see the professors scrambling from their own seat in the stands, he could see that from the other side of the arena where the dragon's door had slammed closed earlier, dragon keepers were trying to open the door again as Audrey Potter fell to her knees in front of the dragon who breathed deeply, pleased with itself.

Draco had never hated dragons before...but now he understood why some might.

Potter screamed at the dragon, something that they couldn't really hear from all the way up in the stands. The dragon leaned closer and closer, watching her like a coyote watched a rabbit. Potter pointed to the egg – possibly trying to conjure it closer to her – before her hand dropped to touch the dragon. The Ridgeback's large head moved down to examine her hand and Draco waited with baited breath.

She was as good as dead. No, she may as well have already been dead. You don't just touch a dragon. That's not what happened.

Audrey Potter was dead and it churned his stomach.

The dragon turned its head to the side, rearing to get ready to swallow her whole. Draco gripped the railing as he tried to get closer and see every move the dragon and the redhead made – one of the girls was crying beside him. He couldn't bother to tell which because he couldn't take his eyes off of the scene in front of him.

It didn't matter that he had joked about seeing her eaten, that he had joked about her chances of dying – Draco had never actually thought it would happen. The teachers were close now, but a dragon wouldn't be taken down easily and it would take a mere moment before Audrey Potter was dead in its jaws. He didn't want to watch, he couldn't bear to watch, and yet he couldn't take his eyes off her because he knew that she had to save herself, because no one else could do it. He couldn't do it. He'd never really wanted to save anyone before now and though he wished that he could, he was instead going to watch Potter die.

Before the dragon could strike, Potter fell backwards – her head giving a sickening bounce against the rock beneath her. Even Draco gasped, imagining the spidery fracture that must have spread across the back of her skull from the impact. The dragon, looking pleased with the results of his venom, moved towards the egg – the golden egg, as if it somehow knew which one was different. Were they not colour-blind? Draco couldn't remember. He watched the girl on the ground as the dragon tried to crush the golden egg between its needle-like fangs...

Audrey Potter slowly pushed herself upright. The teachers and dragon handlers were in place now, around the dragon and trying to calm it down. But it wasn't even paying attention to them, but rather the tiny girl who held out a single hand toward it, as if conjuring the egg to her again.

Then suddenly, the dragon blinked and dropped the egg right at Potter's feet.

Like a dog.

Like an obedient dog.

"What the fuck?" Someone whispered. It might have been Draco himself...he couldn't tell because everyone must have been thinking the same thing as he was.

There was hardly a second between when the egg fell to the ground and when Potter's head cracked against the rock again. Daphne screamed.

The professors rushed to her, the dragon handlers moved to the dragon who became irritable once again now that others were around his eggs. The professors worked around her, Snape at the lead with vials and incantations that he couldn't hear – was it too late? Were they so frenzied because she was already dead and they were trying to bring her back?

Dumbledore stood from the center of the crowd trying to help the Slytherin, pushing his wand to his throat.

"Audrey Potter has retrieved her egg and though she has suffered injuries, she has fulfilled her task and with time, she will heal."

Daphne and Lillian burst into tears – which seemed strange to Draco who sank back into his seat as he felt something heavy be lifted out of his chest, like the rock she had smashed her head against. She would be alright – with time, with time meaning she was injured, she was still hurt. But she wasn't dead. As much as Draco was still bothered by the fact she was injured, he had to remember that she wasn't dead.

He had to struggle even more when realising that he was relieved. For Audrey Potter.

"Are you okay?" He managed to find his voice as he looked over to Theodore who looked more horrified than he had ever seen him. Theodore was even shaking as he took his grip from around the railing in front of him.

"Yeah," Theodore breathed, taking a moment to look at him. He flexed his hands, took a deep breath, and shook his head as he took in Draco's expression. There was a long moment where Theodore analysed him before he frowned. "Are you?"

Draco didn't know how to answer...because he wasn't sure if he was.

Based off of my story Green Eyed Monster.

I do not own the Harry Potter universe, or its characters. I do own Audrey Potter, her vivid potion-making skills, and her wicked nicknames.

I hope you liked the flashback, please review!

-Egypt