Disclaimer – I do not own Harry Potter.


Harry sits by the window in his dorm as he thinks over the situation they are met with. The final task is a week away, his memories are coming back slowly but steadily, now remembering up to the first task, though not the task itself. Harry can't really bring himself to care, he just wants to make it through this last task, find his Uncle, and rescue Ginny.

"And we have no idea what this task will be?" Dean asks, Hermione shakes her head.

"Well then how do we get him ready?" Neville asks, Hermione sighs.

"We can't," She replies. Harry doesn't turn around, but he can feel them all looking at him.

"They won't really let him die, will they?" Ron asks, Hermione looks away.

"This is wrong," she whispers, tears filling her eyes.

"What if Harry's sick?" Seamus asks.

"Right, or we could break his leg or something?"

"Magic, Hermione. It'd be healed again in a minute flat," Dean reminds her.

"Right."

"He could just not show up?" Neville suggests.

"What? And run from a fight?" Seamus sounds scandalised by the very idea of it.

"Harry?" Ron asks, Harry doesn't turn around, just continues staring hopelessly out the window. Then his gaze falls on something in particular, and he smirks, "Harry…?" Ron asks again, seeing the smirk in the window reflection.

"Bravery and justice is all well and good, but it won't help us here. We're thinking like Gryffindors. That won't help us as we ferret for a way out of a problem." The others all exchange looks.

"What do you suggest?" Hermione asks, Harry looks over, smirk firmly in place.

"We ask a ferret."


"Malfoy!" Draco rolls his eyes as he turns around, Pansy, Vince, and Greg behind him.

"What do you want Potter?"

"Walk with me?"

"He's not going anywhere with you," Pansy tells him sharply, Harry channels his inner Sirius Black and smiles disarmingly at her, unknowingly resembling his father quite a bit.

"I assure you Miss Parkinson…is it Miss or is it Lady?" Pansy blushes slightly, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Miss, until my Father passes that is." Harry's smile grows more charming.

"Well, future-Lady Parkinson," She flushes again, "I assure you, I only want to get his opinion on something. I may be his nemesis, but even I can see he's an incredibly talented wizard. Unless, you think I should get help somewhere else…?" Pansy's eyes widen.

"No, no of course not. There's no one better than Draco," She replies, nodding at Draco who stares at both of them in disbelief.

"Well then, Draco, shall we?" Draco's face twitches, but he follows after Harry.


"Never thought I'd see you so obviously manipulate someone, Golden Boy," Draco tells him once they have walked away, "Doesn't seem very Gryffindor-y to me."

"Gryffindor-y? Is that the technical term?" Draco rolls his eyes, Harry snickers, "Manipulation or no, I do need your opinion on something."

"And why would I give you this?"

"You've never hesitated to give it before." Draco snorts, somehow managing to do so majestically, Harry gives up on Draco following the laws of physics.

"What is it, then?" Harry stops walking, looking at the other boy for a long moment.

"I don't want to compete in this tournament." Draco looks genuinely surprised by that, "We have had some warning on every other task and we've done our best to get me prepared and still I have barely survived. But this? We have no idea what's coming and I don't even remember how I got through the first one. I do not want to die, not today."

"Now that really isn't very Gryffindor-y." Harry smiles slightly.

"That's why I'm here for the opinion of a Slytherin. You're all about slyness and self-preservation. So tell me, please. How do I get out of this alive?" Draco crosses his arms, looking Harry over.

"You really didn't enter this tournament yourself, did you?" Harry shakes his head. Draco bites on his lower lip for a moment before he sighs, "Bunch of Gryffindors, I'm not surprised you didn't come up with the simplest solution."

"Which is?" Draco chuckles.

"Forfeit." Harry looks confused, "They have never denied the chance to give up, to fail a challenge. The second it starts, quit. Nothing will have the chance to kill you," He tells him, Harry frowns, then nods.

"I…am not surprised but rather disappointed that that did not occur to any of us," Harry tells him, "Thank you, Malfoy." Draco nods at him, then grabs his arm as Harry tries to walk away, "Draco?"

"For anyone else it doesn't matter, but you are not anyone else." Harry frowns in confusion, "You are The Boy Who Lived, Harry. You have a destiny, a destiny to lead people, to save them. If you quit, you lose all their faith in you, and that could lead to far worse than your own death."

"I never asked to be The Boy Who Lived. I don't want to be anyone's saviour." Draco scoffs.

"Do you really think that matters? My father and the others, they don't continue following the beliefs of a dead man because they think he will stay gone. They are afraid of him coming back and finding they have done otherwise. You really think that he'll care if you wanted this? That any of them will? We are talking about the most powerful Dark Wizard to ever exist. It doesn't matter if you want to do this or not, it will happen to you either way. But whether or not have the wizarding world backing you? That you can decide." Harry and Draco lock eyes for a moment, then Draco releases him, "Besides, who am I going to torment if the rest of the world is tormenting you?" Harry smiles lightly, "Stay close to another contestant. If something happens, throw them into it, continue on, don't look back."

"Just imagine they are you, then? Throw them into fiendfyre?" Draco smirks.

"Oh please, you'd never leave me to burn."

"Keep telling yourself that, Draco."


Sirius startles awake when he hears a thump, he looks up to see a crumpled form and Wormtail's retreating figure, then the door shuts again.

"Ow," the crumpled form moans. Sirius grabs his un-drunk water from his breakfast and gently rolls the form over. She jerks away.

"I'm trying to help, I have water."

"Pa'foo?" Sirius pushes the hair out of her face.

"Ginny?" She blinks a few times before her eyes cooperate and remain open.

"They were right," She whispers as she looks at him, he seems confused, "Harry and the others, they said you hadn't run away."

"Ginny, why are you here?" Sirius asks.

"I stumbled upon the real Moody, got trapped in a trunk for a few months, now I'm here."

"Sorry-the real Moody?" Ginny seems surprised.

"Wow, you just…have no idea what is going on here, do you?"

"Only that they've got a plan to make Voldemort whole again and it's got something to do with Harry's blood." Ginny frowns.

"His…blood? Why haven't they just taken it?"

"Hell if I know. Maybe it has to be under certain circumstances? Just catch me up on what I don't know." She nods and then does.

Ten minutes later…

"Okay, I still don't understand the point of putting Harry through the tournament," Sirius tells her, Ginny sighs.

"Neither do I, but I can't help thinking the point isn't to kill him."

"What do you mean?" Sirius asks, she scrunches her forehead in thought.

"I think he is supposed to make it through, I think he is supposed to win. I think there's something waiting for him at the finishing line, and it's not a bag of galleons and the cup." The two stare at each other unhappily for a moment.

Neither have any snarky comments left to give.