It was November 24th, the day of the first task.
Harry's plan was risky. It never worked before, and if it did, he'd be exposing himself. But, he might have no other choice.
"What's your plan for tomorrow?" Hermione asked him the night before. He simply shrugged. What he has planned for today will surprise her. Big time.
Draco too. He, too, has no idea.
Remus gave him the idea, a year ago. Whether intentionally or not, Harry didn't know, he did. He started working on it then, but ever since he found about the dragons, he has been working even harder on it, determined to succeed before the first task. However, he has only succeeded partially so far.
Today, he was in the champions tent, waiting for the task to begin. He could hear the crowds making their way through the bleachers outside in the quidditch pitch, which was adjusted to fit the task at hand: retrieving an egg from a dragon.
"Harry!" Harry heard a voice calling him, whispering. Harry turned around to see Draco's head peeping from outside the tent. He beamed at the sight of him.
"Draco!" He called, also whispering, as he ran across the tent to where Draco was.
"I came to wish you good luck!" Draco said, before hesitantly adding, "and another thing."
Harry waited for Draco to say something, and Draco did the same.
"Yes?"
"I…" Draco started saying, but he couldn't say whatever he wanted to say.
"You what?" Harry urged him to finish his sentence.
"I have feelings," Draco said, "for you."
It seemed Harry wasn't the only one taking risks today.
A few minutes, which felt like eternity, passed without any of them saying anything.
"Say something?" Draco couldn't take the silence for much longer.
"I…" Harry started, but was interrupted.
"Alright! Champions gather around!" A voice came from behind Harry.
"Let's talk about this later…"
"Okay," Draco said, feeling a little guilty and a little nervous, "good luck!"
Harry simply nodded.
Draco headed back to the bleachers where he left Hermione and all the snacks he bought for the task. They watched as one champion after another battled a dragon for their egg.
Then, it was finally Harry's turn. He came out of the tent to a mixture of cheers and 'boo's.
First thing he tried was summoning the egg. That did not work. The egg was under anti-summoning spells.
"Let's hope his backup plan is a better one," Hermione said. Draco was too nervous and invested to respond. The laughter from the crowd did not help.
The dragon tried to hit Harry with his tail, but he dodged it, last minute, rolling over. He stopped, looked around him, at the crowd. He then stood up, ran to an area out of the dragon's reach, closed his eyes, and seemed to be trying really hard to focus.
"What is he doing?" Draco asked, impatiently.
What happened next, shocked the entire stadium. Harry turned into a ferret. Fully.
"Holy shit! He's an Animagus!" Draco said, astonished. Why would Harry keep something this big from him?
"Aren't Animagi supposed to be registered though?" Michael Corner, a fourth-year Ravenclaw, who was sitting next to Hermione and Draco, turned to them, trying to make conversation. "I think I would've noticed Harry Potter's name in the ministry's registry."
"Actually, he only needs to register once he turns 17." Hermione said. Of course she would know that.
"She knows everything, huh?" Corner benevolently joked.
"Did you know about this?" Draco turned to Hermione, pointing at the arena.
"About Harry? No." She answered, before asking: "did you?"
Draco simply shook his head.
"I guess not everything…" Corner, jokingly, countered his previous joke. Draco was too invested in watching Harry to respond, and Hermione simply gave him a polite, yet insincere, smile.
They all watched as Harry, in his Animagus form, weaseled through to the dragon's nest, snatched the egg, and snuck out of there.