Chapter Text
Draco Malfoy strolled through the corridors, on his way to deliver a stack of books to Professor Snape. As he turned a corner, a small group of Gryffindor girls caught his attention. He paused, and tuned into their conversation.
“Did you hear? Ron and Harry don’t have dates to the Yule Ball yet!” a girl in Draco's year said excitedly. Draco rolled his eyes, but a small lurch in his stomach made him uneasy. He walked towards the group and brushed past them, feigning annoyance that the girls were blocking his path.
“Harry’s going to ask someone, though!”
Draco leaned in closer.
“Who?!” a third year asked.
“Cho Chang,” a girl said. Draco was leaning so far towards the group that, upon hearing this, he startled and fell over. Professor Snape’s books hit the ground with a loud ‘THUMP’. The Gryffindors laughed as an embarrassed Draco gathered the books and scurried down the hall.
Turning the corner, a flood of unease washed over Draco as he imagined Potter at the Yule Ball with Cho Chang. His pace quickened as he attempted to run from the thoughts in his own mind. He approached Professor Snape’s office, but heard the Professor arguing with someone in the nearby potions pantry. Draco opened the door and Igor Karkaroff sped past him, clearly flustered. Snape glared at Draco from inside.
“Out of breath, are we?” Snape spat, his enunciation frightening Draco slightly. Draco looked at his own shoes.
“I’m just in a hurry, sir.”
“To go where?” Snape prodded.
“Anywhere,” Draco said, merely above a whisper. Professor Snape seemed to nod understandingly, and let Draco leave without any more questions.
*
Pansy Parkinson suggested making anti-Potter badges soon after Harry became the second Hogwarts student in the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Draco didn’t really care enough to make them then, but now he needed to distract himself and other Slytherins from his unusually passive behavior. After only a few prototypes, he created Potter Stinks badges that showed support of Cedric Diggory. Draco didn’t particularly care about Cedric, but it made sense to support him while denouncing Potter. The badges were quickly distributed, and, much to the dismay of Harry Potter himself, became the preferred accessory for Slytherins and Hufflepuffs alike.
Draco was in the courtyard after class one day, enjoying the peaceful environment and light breeze. Feeling more confident than usual, he made a show of levitating into a tree. Harry came upon the scene and quickly regretted it, noticing that everyone around was decked out in Potter Stinks pins. Draco took the opportunity to deliver some insults and prove to everyone that he still edge, that he could still take Potter. He may have been trying to convince himself more than anything, though.
“You know, Potter,” he said, still perched in the tree, “My father and I have a bet, you see. I said you won’t last ten minutes in this tournament, but he disagrees. He doesn’t think you’ll last five.” Draco had made all of this up, but it sounded real enough. Harry rushed forward to Malfoy, who had jumped out of the tree. Soon, they were face to face. Draco felt extremely uncomfortable.
“I don’t care what you or your father thinks, Malfoy! He’s vile and cruel, and you’re just pathetic.” Harry turned and stormed away.
Pathetic. That hurt more than Draco cared to admit.
A bit taken aback and noticing expectant looks from his peers, Malfoy raised his wand. Completely unsure of what he was about to do, it nearly came as a relief when his wand dropped from his hand. Harry turned around briskly as Professor Moody came into view, levitating a mortified ferret in the air with his wand. Draco squeaked and wriggled, desperately trying to drop to the ground and run, but Moody had other ideas. He bounced Draco up and down, up and down, while the Slytherins attempted to control their laughter and other students bent over cackling. The only face Draco saw, though, was Harry’s. Harry seemed to be the only one not enjoying the scene; his eyes remained fixed on Draco’s the entire time, his face a mix of shock and unease. Professor McGonagall suddenly came upon the scene, horrified when she realized the helpless ferret was, indeed, a student. Moody’s grip on Draco loosened, and he flung himself sideways. Draco was absolutely mortified. After being transfigured by Professor McGonagall, he dashed to the nearest bathroom. Draco curled up in a stall, his robes encircling him, and cried until his eyes would not let him cry anymore. If they had, he would've. Draco did not talk of or to Harry Potter for the rest of the week. Not even when he saw him with Hagrid in the forbidden forest, clearly gathering illegal information on the approaching first task.
*
Draco attended the First Task. When Harry came out of the tent and laid eyes on his assigned dragon, his eyes widened in fear. After successfully summoning his broom, he zoomed around the Hungarian Horntail, angering it. As Harry dipped out of its reach, the dragon broke free of its chains, alarming everyone in the stands. Harry sped towards the castle, the dragon flying closely behind. Draco felt a lump in his throat as Harry went nearly out of view, and quietly performed a Supersensory charm on himself. Now able to see the chase easily, Draco averted his eyes several times as Harry nearly met a fiery demise. His breathing quickened as Professor Snape looked at him curiously, clearly confused as to why Draco was so invested in the show and how he could even see what was going on.
“Some eyesight you’ve got there, Draco.” Snape said disapprovingly. Harry soon returned to the stands, his robes torn and his breath heavy, snatching the golden egg from where the Hungarian Horntail was supposed to be guarding it and finished the task. Draco was slightly surprised by his relief when the dragon was locked up and Harry’s feet were firmly planted on the ground.