"Why does Potter always get the special shoutouts?" Draco hissed as we left the DADA classroom. "The boy who lived. Doesn't even make sense! I'm the boy who lived, too! Remember when that bird tried to kill me last year?! Don't see me bragging about that!" Draco complained as I laughed. "Did you hear what that git, Moody, said about the imperius curse?! Some people claim it was used on them to do their deeds for you know who. Obviously a jab at my father," Draco continued to go on an angry tangent. "Wait until he hears about it. He'll be furious." He spat, causing me to chuckle lowly and shake my head.
"I don't like that guy either," I sighed. Draco spun around to look at me.
"Who? Potter?" He quizzed, causing me to crinkle my nose and laugh.
"No. Moody," I chuckled. Blaise wrapped his arm around my shoulder and walked with us, trying to get in on the conversation. Ahhh, the third wheel at his finest.
"Mmm, so you like Potter." Draco accused. I let out a forced laugh as I looked at him.
"You are on one today," I mumbled, shaking my head slightly and looking forward instead of meeting his eyes.
"Why didn't I hear a 'no'?" Draco whispered in my ear, so close that I could feel his breath on my neck. I shivered once and pushed him away with a smile.
"You need help." I laughed. Blaise didn't move his arm and continued guiding me along the way to our next class. "Um, not that I don't get enough of your friendliness, Blaise, but what are you doing?" I chuckled. He glanced at me innocently and pointed to himself as if to ask if that's who I was talking to.
"Oh, nothing. Just heard some Durmstrang boys talking about how much they liked you this morning at breakfast. I'd prefer it if they didn't try storing you away in a broom closet to shag during the school day, so I'm trying get a message across. I figured this position screams 'Back off! She's taken!,' right?" He said confidently, keeping his arm draped over me. I burst out into laughter, thinking of the idea of Blaise being my 'boyfriend'.
"Then let me do it." Draco hissed, throwing down Blaise's arm and replacing it with his own rather quickly.
"Okay, but that will never work seeing that everyone knows you two are just friends." Blaise responded like it was an obvious answer, this time throwing down Draco's arm and putting his back where it was. "You two walking like this is too normal, it doesn't scare anyone." He laughed. My smile dropped slight, but I tried my best to maintain it.
Just friends.
"Oh, and I'm sure all the buff 7th years from Durmstrang are buckling in knees at the sight of you, string bean." Draco spat. I let out a loud laugh before I covered it with my hand and looked at Blaise's face.
"I'm so sorry." I mumbled, letting another giggle slip. He put on a fake frown before he spoke up.
"Is that anyway to stick up for your boyfriend?" He asked me dramatically, making his voice break on purpose like I had truly hurt his feelings.
"You're letting this go to your head already." Draco mumbled, pushing Blaise's arm off and pulling me into his side once more. Merlin, make it end.
•
"I heard the Weasley twins tried putting their names in the Goblet." I giggled as I cut apart my steak dinner. "Those two are hilarious. I had a class with them in the Spring term, and they were constantly finding ways to ruin the lesson for Professor Flitwick." I chuckled, thinking back on the memory.
"Oh, yes. They're terribly funny. So funny that their entire family sympathizes with mudbloods and muggles!" Draco said sarcastically as he kept his eyes on his plate. "Bunch of blood traitors. They are a laughing stalk to the pure blood dynasty, that's the only comedy they have." He mumbled. I poked his side with my finger, causing his angry face to meet my amused one. His eyes softened as he saw my grin, and his face returned to its normal look.
"Why have you been so moody recently?" I giggled. He let out a long sigh before he answered the question.
"I need a distraction, but you won't let me find one." He glared at me slightly, though his eyes couldn't stay narrowed and his anger couldn't linger for long.
"I distract you every day." I teased, knowing it was true. So far Draco had been a good boy. He hadn't been running around with any others, and was coming to me each night when he wanted to make out with someone and get their attention— and other affections.
"But it's nice to just have something meaningless every once in a while. I care about you too much to just fling you to the side when I'm done. That's what's nice about having others." He whispered, not allowing anyone else to hear the conversation. I didn't say anything else as I continued eating, pretending I didn't hear any of that.
Our meals disappeared when everyone was finished and we turned our attention to the front of the room. Draco rubbed his thumb across my thigh as his hand rested on my leg. All of the lights shut off quickly, causing me to jump in my seat.
"Still scared of the dark, sunshine?" Draco teased in my ear, but I only moved my hand to his under the table and interlocked our fingers tightly. The blue light of the goblet appeared suddenly, giving the room more light. Draco still didn't release my hand, twiddling with my fingers every few seconds.
"The moment we've all been waiting for! The champion selection!" Dumbledore announced with enthusiasm. He dramatically put his hands on the side of the large cup, and a piece of paper shot out as the flame turned red. "The Durmstrang champion is Viktor Krum." He announced while everyone cheered and clapped.
"Not surprised," Blaise leaned back on me and mumbled. "Heard he's like bred for this kind of stuff. Must have really good genes." He whispered. I kept my eyes forward as my knee brushed against Draco's under the table. A glimmer of anxiety crossed my chest as I felt it. Merlin, why does he make me so nervous?
"The champion from Beauxbatons," Dumbledore fiddled with the parchment, "Fleur Delacour." He read. More cheers and applause. Blah, blah, blah...
The last piece of parchment flew out of the cup. Dumbledore caught it in midair and twisted it around to read the writing.
"The Hogwarts champion— Cedric Diggory!" He cheered. The Great Hall erupted into cheers while me and my friends clapped casually.
"We don't stand a chance in beating these other schools. Look at the git." Draco mumbled, eyeing the Hufflepuff down. Blaise chuckled once in amusement.
"Unless it's a beauty contest, the only thing he has going for him is his looks." Blaise mocked. When I finished clapping I placed my hands back in my lap, where Draco's fingers found mine again.
"Excellent! We now have our three champions!" Dumbledore screamed, causing everyone's cheers to get louder.
"I can't wait to lay with you after this," Draco teased in my ear as everyone else was distracted by Dumbledore's speech. I gave him a warm smile and nodded my head in agreement while I ignored everyone around us.
"Wow," Blaise breathed, causing both of us to turn towards the front again. "Almost as beautiful as you," he whispered out of the corner of his mouth while we all stared at the Triwizard cup. Draco slapped his hand across the back of Blaise's head behind my back. "Ow! Git." He muttered, rubbing the spot tenderly. He was right. The cup was beautiful.
The goblet started going crazy, gaining the attention of Snape and Dumbledore. The flame spun around and zapped in different directions before it turned a red color once again. Pieces of parchment flew into the air and Dumbledore caught them with ease.
The Hall was silent. Dumbledore didn't speak for a moment as he stared at his hands in disbelief.
"Harry Potter. Harry Potter!" He yelled furiously. My eyes widened as they moved to Harry, just like everyone's did.
"Cheating mother fucke-"
"Shhh!" I cut Draco's complaints off as I stared at Harry. Draco squeezed my hand a little tighter to gain my attention.
"You know he cheated! He has to be the center of attention all the time! It's absurd!" He whisper shouted. Dumbledore still stared at a second paper, raising the suspense in the room while Harry slowly walked forward.
"Emelia Prince!" He yelled, more angry than he had been five seconds ago. My entire body froze under me and I felt like my eyes had popped out of my head. My heart stopped beating, and I stared at the Professor with a blank face. An absolutely horrified expression.
I think I just died.
"Emelia!" He shouted, scanning the room before our eyes met. Draco grabbed my shoulders and turned me towards him, obviously angry as well.
"What did you do?" He asked through gritted teeth. His fingers were digging into my shoulder blades, causing me to wince lightly as I looked into his eyes. They were darker than they had ever looked at me, feeling like they were ripping my soul to shreds.
I think someone petrified me. I cannot move. My wide eyes can't blink. My jaw was dropped slightly like it wanted to speak, but I couldn't even think of any words. I feel nothing. "You are un-fucking-believable." Draco spat shoving me backwards slightly into Blaise's body.
"Em, go." Blaise shoved me off the bench slightly, trying to help me out. I walked to the front of the room as slow as molasses— my horrified expression not leaving my face as I stood beside Potter.
Harry looked just as scared as me. No one cheered. No one spoke, except for the whispers breaking out amongst the other students. I could feel the glares and anger radiating from the others, causing my heart to pang against my rib cage. Two fourth years get selected despite the age restriction? Of course they think we're cheaters.
Dumbledore was furious. No, scratch that. He was more than furious. I could feel the anxiety in my stomach rising as I stared at the floor. I could feel my breathing growing as my tears started streaming down my face. I'm panicking. I'm having a panic attack.
Harry grabbed my wrist out of no where and led me away with the other champions while I started sobbing. If anyone had assumed I wanted any part of this before, they could clearly tell now that I didn't.
•
"Did you put your name in the goblet of fire?!" Dumbledore asked so quickly the words almost blurred together. Harry and I stood side by side in the trophy room, neither of us giving a response. "Did you?!" He shouted once again.
"No, sir." Harry panicked. I shook my head out of fear.
"Did you ask an older student to enter you?!" Dumbledore asked angrily. I shook my head once again while Harry tried his best to convince the headmaster.
"They're lying!" Madame Olympe Maxime told the other professors.
"They are not! The Goblet is an extremely powerful magical object, only a serious confundus charm could have hoodwinked it!" Moody argued. "Nothing that these two fourth years could've pulled off!" He shouted, waving his hand between the two of us. My head was pounding from all of the crying and shouting that had happened within the last hour.
I couldn't even listen to the rest of the conversation as my mind wandered elsewhere. I just stood in silence as they all argued with one another. All I want is to go to Draco's dorm and sob.
"They have no choice." The minister announced. "As of tonight they are triwizard champions." He said hollowly, staring at Harry and I like we were roadkill. I felt the aching in my stomach once again. I picked up one of the nearest trophies and let the contents of my dinner fill the chalice.
"Well, I suppose Filch will have fun with that." Snape mumbled as they watched me throw up.
•
I pounded on the door and wasted no time to push my way in when Gregory opened it. I threw myself down on Draco's empty bed and started sobbing uncontrollably into his pillows.
"What the hell happened?!" Vincent asked as he was astonished. "How did you do it?!" He proceeded with his questions. Blaise was currently knocking on their bathroom door, begging Draco to come out to help. Gregory awkwardly sat on the edge of the bed and patted my shaking back like I was a pet dog.
"I didn't!" I cried, my sobs only getting louder as I had my face buried in his pillow. It smelled like Draco— mahogany apple and amber wood filling my airways as I gasped for air. "I didn't do it! I don't want to do it!" I yelled into the expensive fabric of his pillowcases. I heard the door to the bathroom throw itself open.
"Blaise, enough!" Draco shouted, tired of the knocking and banging on the wooden door. It was like a mad house in here. My screaming and crying, the two boys throwing a million questions at me, Draco and Blaise fighting. "Emelia, get out. I don't want to see you." Draco hissed, obviously angry with me.
"That's not fair, mate. It's obvious she didn't want to do it— just have a look at her!" Blaise protested as he pointed to my shaking figure sprawled out on the bed. Draco stormed over to his small bed and hovered over me.
"What don't you understand?! Get out of my bed. Get out of my room. I cannot believe you! You're a filthy liar!" He spat. I didn't move a muscle— just let myself lay on my stomach on the bed and cry even harder as he screamed at me.
"Alright, you might want to try and be a bit more comforting here. She's a wee bit sensitive when it comes to you," Blaise lectured him, sitting next to my head on the top of the bed and stroking my hair slowly.
"I don't care! Why should I comfort her?! She's a bloody liar!" Draco yelled. "She knew we wanted to do it and she found a way to put herself in after she made fun of us doing it! No wonder she thought the Weasley twins sneaking in was so funny. She's always going on about how much boys like her— she probably found a 7th year to throw her name in!" I cried harder now as his words cut through me like a knife.
"I would've told you if I did something this stupid! You're my best friend!" I screamed into the pillow. Blaise shushed me as he continued rubbing the back of my hair. Gregory was still patting my back and Vincent was just standing there awkwardly.
"Draco, just relax. You're making this worse." Blaise sighed, running his free hand over his tired face. After a minute or two of silence, Draco plopped himself down on the opposite side of Blaise, his leg nearly missing my head as he sat next to me.
"What am I supposed to do if something happens to you?!" Draco yelled at me. "Did you not hear them say that this tournament can kill people?! Why would you enter?!" Draco continued fighting with me. "How did you enter?! You made fun of me for wanting to do it, and you managed to weasel yourself in to the situation." He scoffed.
"For the last time, I don't think she did!" Blaise yelled back for me with more aggression in his voice as he stood up for me.
"That statement seems a bit extreme," Vincent chuckled. "She's a great witch, she's awesome at quidditch, she's fit— I'm sure she won't die." He tried making it better.
"She's a little girl, you imbecile!" Draco yelled at him. "Have you seen her?! She's 14, barely over 5'4", and she's hardly got any muscle! Merlin, you three act like it's not a big deal, but you aren't the ones who take care of her day in and day out! How do you think I feel?!" He shouted while his voice finally broke. I stayed out of it while I cried into his pillow.
"Not to take away your spotlight here, hotshot," Blaise hissed, "but if you think you're scared, just think about how Emelia feels!" He spat at his friend. His fingers were still running through my hair gently, bringing me some comfort.
"Emmy, are you lying to me?!" Draco asked again, his voice still harsh, but not holding near as much aggression as it had moment ago when he was screaming at me. "Tell me right now because I swear to Merlin that I will never speak to you again. Did you find a way to enter the competition?" He asked. I barely shook my head against Blaise's fingers.
Draco's hand brushed against the side of my face to move some of my hair, causing me to turn towards him to feel more of his touch.
"I'm sorry, Drake" I sobbed. "I didn't do it, I don't want you to hate me." I muttered. Draco scooted closer and moved my head so that it laid in his lap. He didn't say anything as his fingers replaced Blaise's, stroking my hair gently.
"Shhh- I don't hate you." He sighed defeatedly. "Maybe give her some space." Draco mumbled to the other boys, clearly still agitated. "Just go to the common room until she calms down." He sighed. The door shut a few moments later and Draco scooted himself on to the bed so that we laid face to face.
"You know I hate it when you cry." He whispered, using his hand to wipe my tears. I buried my face into his shoulder and let my tears continue. "You're going to be fine. I'll make sure that you are." He mumbled into my hair.
"I don't want to do it." I cried as Draco draped one of his arms over my upper body to hug me. "I don't understand. How did this happen? I don't want to." I sobbed, my tired lungs coughing from all the screaming and crying they had done.
"I don't want you to, either." He sighed tiredly. I moved my face to look at Draco's, and for the first time in years I saw streaks falling down his face just like mine. "That's why I'm so fucking angry. I don't want something to happen to you," he croaked out. He leaned closer to me and pecked my lips gently. I sniffled once as wrapped my arms around his neck tightly.
"I don't know what to do." I cried.