Lazuli - Harry Potter Fan Fiction (Draco Malfoy)

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

"Welcome to the Slytherin party!"

Everyone stops chattering and turns to look up at me. I blink a few times, smoothing my skirt down as Draco swaggers up beside me. "Hey, be quiet" he shouts at a group of fourth years who are still giggling rudely in the corner. They instantly stop, going red with embarrassment as everyone turns to look at them.

"Thanks." I smile up at my boyfriend who gives me a smile back that I know means 'don't mention it.'

"So it's nearly time for what you've all been waiting for, I hope that you've been practicing!" I chuckle nervously, I've never been good at public speaking. Thankfully Draco seems to sense the awkwardness that I'm creating and steps in. "No point really, because nobody is going to beat me."

The rest of the house laugh easily at Draco's joke, myself included. "Don't be cocky, Malfoy!" I hear Blaise heckle from the crowd. Everyone laughs along with him, and the volume increases even more when Draco wittily replies "at least I can actually do a spell, Zabini. Does the exploding teapot sound familiar? Who was it that you put in hospital, Professor Trelawney?"

I cackle as I recall the incident from our third year, when Blaise had tried to conjure more tea into his teapot during Divination and had accidentally caused to tea pot to explode and hit Professor Trelawney in the head. Needless to say, she hadn't been his biggest fan ever since.

Blaise laughs too and I pull my own wand from my pocket. "Everyone who wanted to suggest an idea should have put them in the cauldron at the back. If you didn't, then tough luck." Draco's carefree attitude easily wins the crowd over and I listen as one boy swears loudly, obviously having forgotten to put his 'brilliant' idea in. I shrug my shoulders helplessly in his direction. "Let's go then!"

Draco jumps down from the stage and I point my wand towards the twirling disco ball above everyone's heads. "Lumos Maxima!" I say lightly, a jet of light shoots from my wand and collides with the ball, illuminating the common room and making a few of the younger students gasp with delight. Draco helps me down from the stage and everyone moves backwards, allowing a large space for the spell-off to take place. Someone pushes the heavy cauldron into the centre and everybody cranes their neck to see what they first category will be.

I dip my hand into the cauldron - as the hosts Draco and I will have the honour of going first - and emerald green smoke swirls out, making it look extra magical. My fingers enclose around a small slip of paper and I pull it out, holding it high up into the air for everyone to see. There's a sharp intake of breathe throughout the room.

I slowly unfold the paper, peering along with everyone else to read what it says.

Lift a fellow student into the air, using only one spell.

A gasp radiates through the room, it's fairly difficult for the first go. But you can't pick another one out of the cauldron, you either have to do it or give up, therefore losing the whole competition.

I know a spell that I'd seen Harry use in one of the DA meetings, but I hadn't actually got to try it myself. Nigel, the second year that had allowed everybody else to practice on him, had been so tired of zooming around the room by the time that it got to me that I let him off, his skin having turn a shade of deep, sickly green. But if Harry could do it, why couldn't I?

A nervous looking third year steps forward, volunteering to be my student. I apologise quietly in case it should go wrong, but the boy just nods cautiously. Draco's volunteer looks even worse than mine, they're probably regretting ever signing up for this. "Don't worry, I'll go easy on you" Draco says, although I'm not sure whether it's to me or the third year that looks like they're about to faint.