A/N: Alright I know that the Dungeon Duel(see the Weighing of the Wands chapter) happened probably before my little adventure to Moody's house according to the book's timeline, but I completely forgot about it until now and as I like it and want to explain it I'm going to put it in now…unless you want me to go back and cover it properly. But that would mean I'd clutter up your email Inboxes because I'd have to take down maybe 5-10 chapters post the new one and then put them all back up.
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I'm thinking no on wants that. So just go with it.
"What are you getting so upset about?" Blaise demanded, giving Draco a look. "It was poor Greg who got boils in the face."
"Damn right it was." Greg muttered in annoyance.
"Yes but it's not right. Why should I get punished? Potter pulled his wand on me first." Draco protested.
"You were wearing that," Blaise wrinkled his nose as he pointed to Draco's POTTER STINKS badge, "and calling his best friend a mudblood. What was he going to do? Ask you out for tea?"
"Who's asking Draco for tea?" Alex breezed into the group from the stairs. "Harry Potter?"
"Yep." Blaise grinned. "They're planning on starting a business selling signed photos of the two of them snogging. They'll both be rich in a week and can retire comfortably."
"They're both rich now and could certainly retire if they wanted to." She sipped from the steaming mug in her hand. "Ah, I see you're keeping up your usual level of wit, Draco. Please tell me those annoying things aren't your idea."
"What?" Draco looked downright disgusted. "This thing," he pulled at his badge, "not a chance. We got them from the Hufflepuffs. Now they are pissed off by all of this."
"I can imagine." Greg put in.
"But do you really want to rub it in poor Potter's face like that?" Alex asked, taking another drink.
Draco raised an eyebrow. "Poor Potter? Since when?"
"Well," she smiled reasonably. "he couldn't have done it himself could he? I mean his own friends are abandoning him for not admitting he did it. He'd never lie to them if he had. Thus, it follows that someone is trying to kill him. So yes. Poor Harry Potter."
Draco blinked to hear his own thoughts so closely repeated. He looked over at Blaise in time to see him throw Alex a strange glance she didn't appear to notice.
"What are you children still doing out here?" Professor Flitwick looked surprised at the gathering that filled the front hall. "Classes will begin in moments. I suggest you all get going."
As he left the more obedient students started walking, with a few dashing in horror towards dorms and forgotten books.
"You heard the man!" Alex linked arms with Blaise. "Onward to Transfigurations."
"Yeah I guess." Greg muttered. He wasn't on good terms with Professor McGonagall these days.
"You heard the woman!" Draco exclaimed in parody of Alex. "Onward to Transfigurations!"
And if he saw the exasperated looks he cronies exchanged over his head he didn't let on.
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"You should all know the theory by now." Draco noticed that the Head of Gryffindor couldn't help by glance minutely at Greg as she spoke. He chuckled silently.
"This is no harder or more complicated than anything else we've been practicing this year. There will be only one slight difference. You will each get to choose what you will be changing you animal into. Write whatever you choose on a piece of paper and pass them to the front before you begin."
The entire room fell utterly silent as each student fell to hard thinking. It was obvious that each wanted to create something awesome, but also something they could actually manage. Draco himself was no exception.
His first inclination was to change the scrambling guinea pig into a snake. But Transfiguring one animal into another of a different species was hard. If he managed, which he had little doubt he could, it would prove that he had been studying ahead. A lot ahead.
On the other hand any kind of edged weapon was out. People viewed him as too much of a threat as it was, curse of the Malfoy name and his father's legacy. But a really nice dagger, one with a snake etched into it...Draco shook his head sharply. Too bad.
But then he had it and his paper went fluttering into the basket on Professor McGonagall's desk. It would be great fun. And it would take more than one Transfiguration to do so he would be busy the entire lesson as opposed to being bored for the second half as he waited for the rest of the class to finish.
A motion behind him caught his attention and he turned to catch Alex setting down her mug. He frowned. How the heck had she managed to sneak that into class? And why had she gone through the trouble?
She felt his gaze and looked up with a smile. That clinched it as far as Draco was concerned. Something was up with her. All of a sudden she looked over his shoulder in alarm and gestured for him to turn around.
He did just in time to catch his guinea pig from escaping over the edge of the desk. Draco decided to proceed with his first Transfiguration before anything else. After the first step at least the thing wouldn't be able to move.
Moments of quiet spell casting and one scream later, it seemed someone had managed to turn their mouse into pure flame, he was ready to move on to Step Two.
"Umm, pretty Draco."
Draco grinned. Greg, it seemed, was procrastinating. "Why yes it is. Pity I'm not done yet."
"Oh?" Greg feigned interest well. "You mean you're going to turn the crystal into something? What?"
"None of your business, and if you don't finish this assignment you'll never know."
Greg frowned in annoyance but turned back to his own petrified rat.
Step Two was only slightly harder than One, it would be Three and Four that would take up all of his class time. Fixing the mental image of the dragon he wanted in his mind he only Transfigured the shape of the clear, diamond-like crystal while keeping it basically the same.
Draco found himself humming quietly. This was one of the funnest things he'd done all year. Leaning forward he began the Third step. He was going to transfigure bits of the crystal dragon into different colored crystal of the same shape.
"Wings, silver veined, black sailed. Neck and Back ridges black. Claws and fangs, silver. Scales green." He chose thinking over his color options rapidly. After another second he decided to start with the scales. That was the biggest area the rest was detail work.
Focusing his mind he began to recite the correct spell...
"Alex!" Blaise's yell, the sound of chairs banging to the floor and muffled screams from the other students snapped his concentration, messing up the spell. He whirled, temporarily ignoring the mess to find a stunned Alex on her feet, dripping in horror.
"What happened?" she asked Blaise, bewildered.
"I-" he shook his head even as Professor McGonagall descended on them.
An efficient wave of her wand banished the bloody remains of Alex's rabbit. The spell did nothing for the blood spattered girl though.
"You were trying to make a metal goblet. So what exactly did you do?" the Professor asked.
"She'd turned it into the goblet," Blaise spoke up when Alex seemed at a loss. "silver of course, and was starting to etch her family crest into it went it exploded."
"The first transfiguration didn't stick." Alex said suddenly. "I could feel it fail even as I cast the etching spell. It changed back and my spell tried to etch the animal."
The only eloquence the rest of the class could manage was a Ravenclaw girl grimacing with a shuddering, "Eww."
"I see. You are excused to clean up Miss Bellmonte. You needn't return to class but you will be expected to turn in the homework the same as everyone else."
"Yes Professor." Alex reached out and scooped up her book bag and her mug, both which were now as bloody as Alex herself, before heading out the door.
Draco sighed and turned back to his crystal figure. Instead of the Slytherin green scales, just under the surface of the crystal was a rolling red splash. It looked, Draco thought, almost like fire under the skin.
He spent the rest of class changing minute bits of the red to achieve that effect even better.
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Alex rejoined them near the end of lunch, slipping onto the end of the bench unobtrusively. Blaise looked over at her but, as she was several students away, could do no more than wave a greeting.
At the head table Dumbledore stood. "Teachers, students and esteemed guests. Today is the day of the First Task for the Triwizard Tournament and now is the time. Once you have finished your meals please proceed outside and to the stands in an orderly fashion."
It was unlikely that anyone ate more than another couple of bites after that, a low level buzz filling the huge room. Determined to be one of the first, but with an indolent air that belayed that fact, Draco got up and headed for the door. There were only a few other students doing likewise and the teachers had yet to leave their table.
He made it outside in good time, several feet ahead of anyone else before he heard rapidly approaching footsteps. A large group by the sound of it.
Draco glanced over his shoulder and smiled. It was a large group. Or rather a group of two large people. Apparently he'd managed to pull one over on Greg and Vince for once.
As they approached the newly erected stands Draco grinned. He was the first to arrive...
"Care to join us Draco?" Blaise smiled pleasantly from the best seats in the place.
"How did you manage that?" Vince demanded starting up the stairs.
Alex flipped a galleon into the air, caught it and slipped it into her pocket. "Shortcut."
"Was that...?" Draco began.
"Of course."
"And you used one to come here?"
Alex just shrugged at him. "It's not like I can't make more."
Draco felt himself freeze on the last step to their row, halfway up the stands exactly in the middle. She knew how to make PortKeys!
Greg braced himself on the bench and surveyed the dirt ring. He frowned. "I think I want to be closer to the action. Crabbe?"
"Hmm. I doubt anything that dangerous will come anywhere near us. I'm all for moving. Draco?"
"I value my skin far too much to risk it on "there shouldn't"s. Sorry." He shrugged and took a seat.
Greg and Vince made their way to the first row as the rest of the school first trickled then flooded into the small stadium.
"So, what do you think we'll be watching?" Blaise leaned back on his seat and stretched.
"I dunno." Alex replied ingeniously. "The claw marks could be from any number of large predators."
"Claw marks?" and now that she'd pointed them out Draco noticed them, scoring the ground near a large gate at one end of the oval. He stood temporarily to get a better view over the milling crowd and then sat down abruptly. "Those," he said in something akin to awe, "are not just any claw marks. Those are dragon marks."
Blaise leaned forward in interest. "Really?"
"No." Draco deadpanned.
Alex laughed at his joke, earning raised eyebrows from both boys. She shrugged it off taking a deep drink out of her mug.
Draco frowned. It was the exact same mug from breakfast, from Transfigurations, minus the blood, and then from lunch. What was she drinking! A nasty suspicion formed itself in the back of Draco's mind.
"Oh hey, I see Tania getting trampled. I'll be right back." Blaise said suddenly standing and wading into the chaos.
"Bye." Alex called.
"Mind if I have a sip?" Draco asked, gracefully swiping the mug before she could register his words. He took a ginger swallow and froze, blinking rapidly to clear the tears from his eyes.
During the moment of stun Alex snatched back her mug. "Draco...!"
"Damn, Alex! That stuff is strong!" Draco coughed, trying to clear the lingering taste of hot chocolate and a harsh stimulant from his mouth.
"It's an acquired taste!" she snapped back, a clear fire shining angrily in her eyes.
Draco suddenly realized he hadn't seen her angry like this in days. She'd been a little too happy all the time lately. Or a little too out of it. A voice whispered in his head. Like when you use stimulants in place of sleep too many days in a row.
"So," he said conversationally, "how did you 'acquire' this taste?"
She started to glare at him but her gaze faltered and softened around the edges. Alex shivered and Draco realized her hair was wet in it's normal braid. It was already deeply cold anyway. He frowned and cast a warming spell on the benches under them then on his outer robes.
"Alex..." Draco trailed off.
She replied anyway, a tired note entering her otherwise controlled voice. "What, Draco?"
"Why are you substituting Stims for sleep? And why that one in particular? It's one of the strongest and most dangerous."
"Second question first, I use this particular Stim potion because nothing less works for me anymore. And as for the other-' she cut herself off, looking over his shoulder.
"Alex..." he said warningly.
"Later," she snapped lifting her arm to wave at an approaching Blaise. Her arm bumped his shoulder as she did. At some point, probably when his robes had started giving off heat, she'd inched closer to him until she'd taken Blaise's seat.
"Later," Draco promised, shifting to let Blaise passed. He didn't comment on the seat change as he slid into his new position. He was also currently Tania-less.
"Her brother had already found her before I got there." Blaise explained, though no one had asked. "Yes Hunter, not Falon, Lex."
"Welcome, Welcome, WELCOME!" Ludo Bagman thundered suddenly from his place next to the judges box. "Welcome to the First Challenge of this Triwizard Tournament! How are you all doing today?"
There was a round of applause that was more interested than excited but it seemed to satisfy the man. He grinned and continued.
"Now before we bring out the first Champion I should explain what is it you'll be watching. Each Champion will come into the ring in a randomly selected order. It will be their task to retrieve one of these large golden eggs!" he gestured broadly at the four eggs gleaming quietly on the table. "What they don't know is this: Guarding the eggs from all but the bravest is a fearsome, fire-breathing DRAGON!"
The crowd all froze and gasped with appropriate amounts of horror. Bagman grinned again.
"They will be judged by Mr. Crouch, Madame Maxine, headmasters Dumbledore and Karkaroff and, of course, myself." As he introduced them each judge inclined his or her head from their seat. "But no more ado. Onward to the first Champion!"
Somewhere a shrill whistle blew and a large blue-gray dragon was let into the ring where, during Bagman's speech, a nest of eggs including one gold one, had been set up. A moment later, before the dragon had even settled a terrified but determined Cedric Diggory stepped into the ring.
Almost instantly the dragon lunged forward, hissing at the trespasser.
"Swedish short-snout." Draco heard himself muttered to his two companions. "Notoriously territorial."
"Aren't all dragons?" Blaise asked rhetorically.
"Oh narrow miss there. Very narrow." Bagman commented as Cedric dodged and rolled backward into the door. Standing with his back to it he waited until the dragon was practically on top of him before diving aside again. It ran full on into the door.
"He's taking risks this one!" an edge of excitement filled the words.
From the ring Cedric shouted something incomprehensible to the crowd and a nearby rock turned into a Labrador.
"Scat!" he shouted scaring the dog to the right as he began racing left. The dragon snarled at the newest enemy, following it in preparation to attack long enough for Cedric to get most of the way across the ring to the nest.
But apparently he got too close, and apparently the dragon was more flexible than he'd thought. It's head snapped around and blistering fire raked along the side of the Hogwarts' Champion as his hands closed around the golden egg.
"Clever movePity it didn't work." Bagman responded blithely as six men in matching robes raced into the ring and stunned the dragon. Several Professors, namely the four Heads of House appeared behind them and escorted the injured boy off the field and, presumably, into a hospital tent.
"Nice bit of transfiguration." Blaise said with the air of someone who knew as Cedric's score was posted. "Ouch, looks like that injury really hurt him...or rather him and his score."
Draco agreed, feeling a momentary flash of sympathy for the burned boy. He could honestly say he knew what that felt like. But a new nest, a new golden egg and another whistle all happened killing the emotion.
The gorgeous, glamorous, magically-enhanced Fleur took the place Cedric had left. She wasted no time, beginning immediately she glided up to the beast.
"Oh I'm not sure that's wise." Bagman declared from his bench.
She wove her hands and her wand in a complex motion, whispering to herself as she did so. For a long, terrifying second nothing happened, then the Welsh Green's head began to droop.
It seemed half-asleep and it was certainly ignorant of her as Fleur edged around it and approached the nest. But the eggs were halfway under the dragon, it having not moved off the nest. She stood on her tiptoes and stretched towards the golden egg. Her fingers hooked on one end and-
"Oh...nearly!" Bagman's shout made her drop it. "Careful now..."
His noise also startled the dragon. It snorted in irritation and the flames caught the edge of the Champion's skirt. A string of what could only have been French swears echoed over the stadium as she doused her skirt with her wand.
"Good lord, I thought she'd had it then! But not this girl."
Shooting Bagman a scathing glance the french girl viciously Accio-ed the egg to her and the round was over. Her scores came and went, just a little higher than Cedric's, as did the set up for the next Champion.
"Chinese." Draco classified. "A fireball I think."
The scarlet dragon fixed the crowd with a hard look, as if it were trying to decide if it could eat them all in one meal or not.
Krum came in at the whistle and, just like Fleur, began immediately. But his plan didn't work nearly as well. He shot a spell at it's face, striking it in the eye.
The dragon froze for just a second before it began to howl in pain. In it's agony whipped around the floor, coming dangerously close to the front rows and trampling half of its own eggs. He had to dance and weave wildly to avoid the maddened beast.
But Krum got the egg and the dragon tamers rushed it, one in particular with flaming red hair, casting a healing spell on it even before s stunning spell.
His score was an even 40. Some of the crowd hissed as he exited though.
"Nasty thing to do to a dragon." Draco snapped, glaring at the retreating boy. "A Conjunctivitus curse is no laughing matter in general, and to be winning because of it..."
"Just because he got the egg the fastest so far." Blaise agreed.
"So," Alex said, smiling slightly, "are you going to join me in hoping Potter wins this one?"
"Damn right." Draco covered his badge with his robes.
"And last but never least the famous Harry Potter!" Bagman yelled.
And Harry Potter joined the Hungarian Horntail in the ring. The match began as Harry shouted something but then he just stood there. What was going on?
Had Potter finally snapped?
Draco hoped not, but then it would be just like the wonderful "Boy-who-lived" to go nuts at the worst possible time.
But it seemed he hadn't, he was just waiting and his broom sudden zoomed into view breaking the silence. Draco grinned. He hadn't know Potter was smart enough to play to his strengths like that.
Launching himself onto the Firebolt Harry zoomed into the air, capturing the dragon's attention. As she lurched at him he swerved into a tight spiral, emerging at exactly the right place to beginning another sweep.
Bagman was, as always, commenting. "Great Scott, he can fly! Are you watching this Mr. Krum?"
It was unlikely any of the other Champions weren't, Draco mused. Not with the noises of horror and excitement coming from the rest of the crowd right now.
What Potter's strategy was became clear in just another minute as he began to lure the dragon up off her nest. He got a little too close on only one pass, earning him a minor cut, before succeeding. With a easy dive he swooped in to grab the egg.
"Look at that! Will you look at that! Our youngest Champion is quickest to get his egg! Well, this is going to shorten the odds on Mr. Potter!"
"I'll say." Alex muttered. And a few minutes later, when his score was revealed the crowd went nuts.
Harry Potter was tied for first with an even 40 points!
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A/N: Hmm. Nothing else to say except this: there will be a little Draco/Alex relationship development in the next chapter. According to my chapter list(which I had lost but I just re-found YAY!) they don't officially "date" until later this spring. I'm not sure if I'll keep it that way though.
Review.
Oh yeah. PS: Have the chapters been long enough? Cause I can start combining them if I need too.