Chapter 30 :
Harry sat on a random rock between the lake and the forest and sighed. Dragons... He already knew, because of Hermione's research, that he would have to face a dangerous creature for the First Task, but still... Dragons... He remembered having joked about them with Theo once. He laughed bitterly : it seemed he had accidentally raised a flag for his own demise. He wanted to weep.
"Potter." Softly greeted a Durmstrang student behind him.
It was Viktor Krum, looking all around in suspicion. After making sure that none of his numerous groupies had followed him to this little nook near the shore, he silently sat beside the younger boy and let out a breath of relief.
"Fangirls/boys ?" Asked Harry with an understanding look.
"Yes." Nodded the Bulgarian. "You know my pain."
"They call me the « Boy-who-lived »." Confirmed the Gryffindor with disgust. "Like there is any glory to having lost my parents..."
Krum gently patted his shoulder in sympathy.
"They are rabid beasts." He said gravely. "They have no souls. They selfishy want us to be what we aren't."
The two shared a commiserating glance, before turning toward the Lake and watching it in a comfortable silence.
Krum was a man of few words. He was too used to have his intention misunderstood or even transformed by the media. It broke many of his friendships in the past. Shallow people may call him a lone wolf, but they didn't understand that it was not a choice... that lone wolves were bound to die alone sooner or later. He shook his head, not wanting to go down this particular spiral.
"Why so sad ?" He asked the younger boy.
Harry raised empty eyes toward him, his green somehow losing even more of its shine.
"You deserve to know, I guess." He sighed. "You're in the same boat after all..."
"Yeah ?"
"Dragons." Said the Gryffindor like it explained everything. "The First Task is dragons."
Krum closed in eyes in tangible pain. If his manager hadn't brokered a deal with his school, he would never have put his name in the Goblet of Fire. He was a famous professional athlete, what did he have to gain from risking his life in a deadly tournament ? He knew the survivors of the previous iterations all ended up maimed and cripplingly traumatised at best... He cursed under his breath. If only he hadn't foolishly signed his contract with his manager with a blood quill when he was younger... This was nearly as bad as swearing on his magic !
"We'll need to warn the others too." Whispered the younger boy, interrupting his rumbling thoughts. "Just because they are willing paricipants doesn't mean that they deserve to die from the organizing committee's foolishness."
"Hn." Grunted the Bulgarian. "With everyone's life at stake, we should help each others as much as we can."
"Well said !" Agreed Harry before hesitating. "Though... Could you please warn Diggory for me, please ? I'll take care of Fleur."
Krum raised a brow in askance, making him blush in embarrassement.
"Diggory and I have somewhat of a baggage." He still explained, abashed. "It makes things really awkward between us..."
"Hn." Snorted the older boy. "That he didn't stop his people from bullying you didn't help, eh ?"
"Yeah... I still have a grudge about that actually..."
"I will do it, but I will tell him that the idea comes from you. I don't care about him or what he thinks, but all the Champions owe you for this warning. It may not seems as much, but it might also be what allows us to survive this madness."
This very night, Draco walked with resolve toward the astronomy tower. He had sent a letter earlier, so he knew that Weasley would be waiting for him there despite the late hour. Normally at this time, he should be singing lullabies to the Slytherin first years and Head Boy, losing his sleep in the hope that they could find theirs. But this was far more important. It couldn't go on like this anymore. When Nott had smiled at him earlier he... He had...
It seemed that after sacrificing his rest for a few months, it was time to greet the consequences : he couldn't bear the slightest smirk of his friend anymore. He feared that if he ever dared to push himself more than that, he would die for real. And then, far from protecting the foolish Slytherins or finding what happened to Pucey -well, he had given up on that one actually-, he too would end like Perks. He needed an urgent solution and alas, there was only one in sight. He sighed.
"Malfoy." Called out Weasley when he arrived at the summit of the tower.
He grinded his teeth. That Weasley was his last and only hope said a lot about how desperate the situation was. He grunted in greeting.
"Why did you call me here ?" Asked the red-haired boy, raising a scornful brow.
Draco took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He reminded himself that he had no other choice and started :
"Let's face it Weasley, we're both in over our heads." He said with a tightened fist. "I could deal with it when it was just me and you trying to protect the World from Nott and Potter colluding. I could deal with it when those wusses of Slytherin refused to believe it and trapped me in a House-wide trial. I could deal with it when it was just singing those snot-nosed assholes to sleep because of nightmares induced by Nott grinning. Even when the tiredness became to much and his smiles started affecting my sleep, I could still deal with it !"
The Slytherin was left breathless by his tirade, bitter tears shining at the corner of his eyes that he quickly dried with his sleeve.
"But it's become too much." He growled. "For me, for you, for the World... it's way too much..."
Exhausted beyond measure, Draco Malfoy finally capitulated :
"You were right. After centuries of feud and political war, the Malfoy and the Weasley need to unite once again... We need to form an Alliance."
There. It was said. He couldn't take it back.
It was a relief in a way, to admit his weakness aloud. Weasley was staring at him in an unsettling silence, most probably trying to gauge him. He looked right back at him, not willing to bow down now that he had finally manned up enough to ask for help. He was going to snipe at him, but the Gryffindor sighed tiredly and let himself fall on the floor.
"It's dragons." He stated plainly.
"What... ?"
Draco feared to understand this sentence.
"The First Task is with dragons." Repeated Weasley without pity.
The Slytherin gasped in horror.
"Holy tits of Morgana !" He shouted out in disbelief. "They're crazy ! Dragons are an endangered species ! Don't they know what Nott will do if Potter is injured !? It'll be a total genocide !"
AN : As a cunning Slytherin, Draco always has the right priorities LMAO. Anyway, three more chapters and we'll be done for while !