Chapter 04 :

The Golden Trio of Gryffindor was reluctantly going toward their Potion class, Harry and Ronald professionally diverting Hermione's course so she could continue her reading without crashing in anything.

"The Triwizards Tournament is an aberration !" She cursed as they arrived, turning a page of her book on the subject. "It makes a tradition of killing it's participants ! Why, for Merlin's sake, did they decide to reinstate it ? Is the Ministry really filled with that many crazy and foolish psychopathic ignoramuses ? It makes no sense !"

Her two friends sighed in exasperation. Since the Starting Feast, where the Headmaster had announced the return of the tournament this year, Hermione had been lost in an unending diatribe expressing her disagreement. Harry, for his part, was pretty sure he would get involved with it against his wish one way or another, so hearing her talking about the tournament's many flaws and dangers non-stop made him more than a little queasy. To distract himself from his growing nausea, he tried to find the eyes of his newest friend.

The Slyhterins were already waiting near the door of the class, threateningly standing together like a wild pack of annoyingly smug pomeranians. Hearing the Gryffindors coming, Nott turned toward them and nodded to Harry with a tiny somewhat cheerful smirk that made everyone not the Golden Boy shudder in terror. The young Potter suddenly turned bashful, hiding his own grin. It was still a little weird for him to have a friend that wasn't Hermione or a Weasley. He had yet to get used to it.

Standing to the side, Malfoy was poleaxed by this interaction, dumbstruck as his eyes widened in horror.

"Potter ?!" He choked silently. "P-Pott-er ?!"

He couldn't even try to deny what he witnessed, he could still see it on Theodore's face : that scary, terrifying, horrifying, nightmares inducing small smile the boy reserved for his friends.

"Draco ?" Worried Pansy at his arm. "Are you okay ? You're turning pale..."

"They're friends..." He whispered in despair.

"What ? Who are friends ?"

"Potter... Nott... They are-... They. Are. Friends !"

"Now, Draco-dearest" she giggled at him, "you are talking nonsense. Don't worry Sugar, there is no way these two would ever get along."

Malfoy took a step back, extracting himself from his girlfriend's clutches.

"You don't understand,Pansy" he said with a palpable distress. "I saw it. I saw it !"

"Draco, Sweetheart..." Tried Pansy.

But the young Malfoy couldn't listen to her platitudes anymore. Couldn't she see Nott and Potter sharing conniving looks ? Couldn't she see them talking by signs, that they thought were inconspicuous but weren't ? Couldn't anyone see ?! Sadly, given how every Slytherin in the vicinity was aborsbed in their usual shenanigans, Draco seemed to be the only one not blinded by a sudden attack of denial.

On Gryffindor's side, Hermione was still spewing vitriol about the tournament, not noticing that her best friends had started to ignore her a long time ago. Near her, a Ronald white as chalk pulled a bitter face as he stared at Harry and Theodore's silent discussion. Catching Malfoy's own distraught look, he sent him a commiserating glance.

Understanding that Weasley, of all people, was the sole other person to see this disaster for what it was, the young Malfoy felt like fainting : the world was Doomed.

I'm kinda miffed today. I barely managed to write a new chapter for this story and Muse-sama is already gone! So unfair~