Green Eyed Monster | Draco Malfoy

18. The Second Task

"Hopefully I'll be doing Astral projection," I said quietly.

"What?" The expression on his face was difficult to read. It was either that I had been too quiet for him to hear me so he thought I'd said something I didn't, or possibly that what I had said to him really did sound as outrageous as his face suggested it did. I had a sneaking suspicion it was the latter.

"Astral projection – it's the ability for one's body to separate the-"

"I know what Astral projection is, Audrey." He shook his head. "And you can do it?"

"I have done it, I'm not sure if 'can do it' would be the proper term..." I mumbled. "Either way, it's all I have."

"And you didn't want to consider anything easy like the bubble-head charm?" He asked me skeptically, bringing his hands out of his pockets so that he could rub them against each other; it seemed he was beginning to feel the cold as much as I was.

"That still requires me getting into the water," I explained. "I took your idea of practicing in the pool, and I can stand getting in a pool now – but the idea of being surrounded by a lake that has no side to grab onto and is who knows how deep? I can't explain to you how–I, well, you see, it's..."

"Hey," he said quietly, noticing that I was getting myself worked up just at the thought of it. He made my eyes turn back to him before he spoke again. "Astral projection is a really good idea, Audrey. It's very impressive. If you can do it, I think that it's brilliant. You'll get full points."

"I hope I can do it," I corrected. "Just because I've done it twice doesn't mean that I can do it again – it takes so much energy and concentration. I just hope I'll be able to pull through."

"I'm sure you can," he smiled. "If it helps when Dad was teaching me Occlumency, that's the ability to block your mind, I was told to picture a piece of parchment tacked up to block my vision. I would visualize the tacks just at the edge of where I was able to look and picture parchment so close in front of my face it was all I could see – that's how I ended up being able to clear my mind. When he would start rooting around for memories, I used to almost..." he paused as he thought about his words. "I would imagine that I was drawing the scene I wanted him to see instead of the scene that he wanted to see. I could change it at will."

"Wow," I blinked. "Cedric, that's brilliant."

"Thanks," he chuckled. "Hopefully it will help you. From what I've read on Astral projection it's all about concentration or maybe imagination, isn't it?"

"Visualization," I corrected. "But yes, concentration needs to be reached so that you only visualize what you want to happen instead of something that could make everything go wrong."

"If something goes wrong," he told her. "You need to pull out of the competition. I'm not saying that as your opponent, I'm saying it as your friend."

"We're friends?" I couldn't help the sly grin that was creeping its way onto my lips as my face reddened. He smiled at me.

"I certainly hope so," he said with a chuckle. I smiled, it was the brightest smile I'd been able to pull all week, before I shook my head at him.

"I can't just give up, it's in my nature but it's not in my pride." I explained.

"But if it's going to get you seriously hurt-"

"Would it make any sense," I interrupted, "if I told you that I have something to prove?"

He nodded his head for a second, sticking his hands back in his pocket before he looked at me. "Would it happen to be against your brother?"

"Against everyone who pins me against my brother," I corrected. "But yes."