Theo frowned, "she doesn't belong at this table."

After the Astronomy Tower incident, the first thing I did was tell Draco. He needed to know. Not just because I felt like half of my heart was being split to pieces, but because he needed to know the truth before anyone else found out. It was supposed to be a good thing, right? Now that Harry knew, we could stop hiding and live our lives.

But I hated that by choosing Draco, I lost my best friend.

And...I don't know if I was entirely the good person in the fight. Harry had his reasons, but I had mine too.

"No one asked for your opinion, Nott," Draco hissed, sliding into his spot at the Slytherin table, "and besides, I invited her here."

So yeah...I was avoiding my friends (plus ex-friend Harry) to alleviate the tension. I knew Ron would side with him anyways, and Hermione would try to stay out of the situation as best she could. That's why I was invited to sit with my—now public, yet still unaccepted—boyfriend.

Theodore Nott, who was glaring daggers at me, frowned, "she's a Gryffindor."

Blaise interrupted, "she's his girlfriend."

"Since when?!"

As the two Slytherin boys got into a heated debate, I felt Draco turn his head towards me, handing me a bread roll from the basket in front of him. He was keeping himself busy by picking out my breakfast.

"This is really good," he whispered, placing a tart onto my plate, "I used to eat these every day in second year."

I smiled weakly, "really?"

"Come on, take a bite."

I nodded, ignoring the bewildered looks thrown my way by people of all Houses. Some Ravenclaws were trying to analyze the situation from the table behind us, some Hufflepuffs were gossiping giddily, and the Gryffindor table....well, they just looked betrayed.

Whatever.

Nott's voice rang clear again, almost making me spit out my tart, which in turn, made Draco instinctively place his hand on my back to stop me from choking.

"I thought she was with Potter!" Theo exclaimed, "when did this happen?"

Blaise rolled his eyes, "I found out this morning."

"Well, his father certainly isn't going to hear about this."

"And why not?"

"She's a muggle-born! And a Gryffindor! How did we just find this out?"

"Speak for yourself, I've known since we came back from break," Pansy yawned, pitching into the conversation for the first time, "Draco kept doodling hearts around her name in Transfigurations like some sort of lovesick puppy."

Now it was Draco's turn to choke, "I did not."

"Show us your textbook then, hm?" Pansy crooned.

"No."

"Why not?"

"I burned it."

"Sure, Dray," the girl giggled, before stopping herself. She turned towards me, her short black hair bobbing at her shoulders, and leaned over the table with a smile. She winked, "anyways, tell us why you're here."

I blinked nervously, "what do you mean?"

"Are you mad at lil' ol' Potter?"

I glanced at my boyfriend, and he gave me an understanding look. He already knew, and now that the truth was out, I suppose I could talk about it.

"Yeah, I am," I sighed, narrowing my eyes, "mad is an understatement."

That seemed to gather everyone's attention.

"So you've become one of us?" Pansy smirked, wiggling her brows, "welcome to the Anti-Potter club, [y/n]."

I crinkle my nose, "the what?"

"The Anti-Potter club," she restated, "a club that everyone, except for Potter, can join."

"So just a regular club?"

"With a No-Potter Policy."

"Oh..." I nodded, staring at my plate sheepishly, "but what exactly do you do?"

"Nothing," she said, "literally nothing. We just made the name in a game of Truth-or-dare in first year because Draco was jealous his friendship request was denied, blocked, and left on read."

"To be fair, you did insult Ron," I smiled, turning to look at the boy beside me.

He smirked, "and I'll do it again."

"He still hasn't forgiven you for telling him the Slytherins chant his name in a circle in the middle of the night, you know."

Blaise let out a wheeze, almost falling off of the bench, "you said what, mate?"

Draco smirked, "I told the Weasel we hold a ceremony in his honor every night."

"And he believed it?"

I nodded, "for the most part yeah."

"Well, I don't know about you two," Pansy grinned, "but that statement is completely true."

I snapped my head back at the girl in complete surprise, trying to read her expression for sarcasm. Either she was really good at keeping a straight face, or she was telling the truth—I hoped it wasn't the latter.

But that hope faded once a song broke out amongst the boys in front of me.

"Ron Weasley, Ron Weasley," Theo sang, hosting his glass in the air, "Ron Weasley..."

"Hair like fire, and fingers greasy," Blaise jumped in, "who do we call when we're feeling queasy?"

"Forget about Pomfrey, we all call Ron Weasley!"

"Lives in the Burrow and steals flying cars!"

"Friends with a bookworm and boy with a scar!"

"House full of dust, that makes him feel sneezy."

"What is his name?"

"RON WEASLEY! RON WEASLEY!"

"Oi, shut it," Draco snapped, rolling his eyes, "have a little respect for [y/n]'s friends, especially in her presence."

Theo gasped in offense.

"Big words coming from you, Malfoy," he jeered, "considering you were the one who wrote the song."

The blond gasped even louder, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do!"

"Don't make me hex you, Nott!"

"Don't make me hex you!"

"Oh, please, we all know you can't hex for the life of you! Want me to bring up the Snape story?"

"Not the Snape story!"

"Yes, the Snape story!"

"Boys, zip it," Pansy hissed, whacking Theo upside the head, "we have to get going, anyways."

Blaise, who was already getting out of his chair, cocked a brow, "why?"

While we waited for Pansy to respond, I felt Draco grab my hand, gently raising me onto my feet. Other students were already starting to make their way out of the Great Hall, swallowing the space up into loud conversation. I kept my focus on my new friends (although they were proving to be just as cunning as their house was described as).

"We're off to see Potter fail miserably," Pansy smirked, "third task starts in an hour."

Oh.

I forgot about that.

Grabbing Draco's hand, I ignored the glares sent our way as I dragged him out towards the hallway. I didn't care if people hated the thought of us together. I didn't care if people thought I was a cheater. I didn't care for anything except him.

And it was going to stay that way.

∞ ϟ

"I'll save you a spot, alright?"

I looked up at the blond, patting my pockets for my wand. Since the meeting at breakfast, I found that no one from my house was willing to talk to me, so I spent the entire day with Pansy, Blaise, Theo, and Draco. They were a new change from my usual trio.

"Thanks," I smiled, "I think I dropped my wand over by the stands..."

"Let me know if you find it."

"I will."

Leaning down to plant a kiss on my cheek, Draco winked, disappearing into the crowd of students heading towards the field. The giant structure of the maze had already been set up, and the sky was beginning to darken with rain clouds.

The third task was starting soon.

"Where the hell is my wand?" I muttered under my breath, pushing through the scattering of people, "this is bloody inconvenient."

I swear I had it in my pocket just a few seconds ago, but in my haste to avoid Hermione and Ron (who were escorting Harry to the maze) I may have dropped it. As my eyes scanned the grassy ground for the familiar weaponry, I bit my lip. This was a pain.

This was a definite pain.

"Miss [l/n]," a voice said from behind me, "looking for this?"

I nearly jumped out of my boots when I heard the voice, but I spun around to see Professor Moody staring at me with a glint in his eye. He was leaning against his cane, but had my wand outstretched towards me in his left hand.

How did he know it was mine?

"Thank you, professor," I said, taking it from his hands, "I must have dropped it."

He nodded his head, "you should be more responsible."

"I try to be."

"Good," he muttered, beginning to slink off. Before he could make it into the crowd, I heard him mutter something under his breath. Something I didn't understand. "You never know how quickly you lose something."

I would have thought nothing of it, but then felt myself take a step back. I was supposed to be doing research on him, was I not? I must have forgotten after my fight with Harry yesterday night.

What was he up to?

Furrowing my brows, I weaved in and out of the crowd, passing through the stands until I spotted the familiar sight of my boyfriend a few seats up. He was wearing his black coat, a sign in his hand, and was cheering wildly.

"Hey," I said, plopping down beside him, "we need to talk."

I heard his breath hitch, "about what, love?"

"Moody."

"Him again? I thought we already figured it out. Polyjuice Potion, or whatever you said."

"Yes, but I still can't figure out why he's using it," I muttered, "or why 'whoever they are' is using it for."

"Are you sure it was Polyjuice Potion?"

"I'm sure. Not to mention, he's been acting incredibly strange lately."

Draco exhaled, his arm snaking around my back and pulling me closer to his chest. Resting his chin on the top of my head, I felt him tap his fingers against my skin in boredom. I knew he never found this task interesting, but I was so close to solving it.

"Relax, love," he sighed, "being creepy is just in his nature, don't read too much into it."

I nuzzled my head into the crook of his neck, "I have to read into it."

"Well, he's a dark arts teacher, so it's explainable," he noted "that's why he's always teaching us curses and keeping portkey textbooks hidden under his desk."

"I know."

The warmth of Draco's touch was too exhilarating, that I almost lost track of what I was thinking about. I could finally hold him in public. Talk to him in public. Be unashamed to love him in public, despite the whispers thrown our way. It made me happy, and it made him happy, and we were—

Wait.

Wait.

"Did you say portkey?" I mumbled, leaning back to look the boy in the eyes.

A portkey was a key to another place, a usual object made into a mode of transportation for the everyday Wizard. It was common, but it was rare to find someone in possession of a book about it. Books were for advanced magic, preferably casting spells on objects that were of some sort of power. But why does someone need to pretend to be Moody in order to put a portkey on something?

Unless they needed to be inconspicuous. Unless they needed to be someone who could get places without suspicion, someone who could get into Hogwarts, or someone who could sneak into places and tamper with things like....

"Earlier today," Dumbledore's voice rang out into the space, the crowd hushing to a silent, "Professor Moody placed the TriWizards cup deep within the Maze."

Oh my god.

"Only he knows its exact position."

Dammit.

"The cup," I hissed under my breath, leaping onto my feet, "it's a portkey!"

I could barely see straight as my mind began to fill with possible outcomes to that explanation. It was all coming together, and it was all proving to be dangerous. I didn't have much time to think either, because at that exact moment, the crowd erupted into cheers as everyone went running inside the maze.

"I have to stop them," I exclaimed, my voice starting to panic, "Draco, we have to do something!"

The boy stood up to match my height, worry already streaked along his face.

"Darling, what are you talking about?"

"The cup is a portkey," I explained, "I don't know where it's set to, but whoever reaches it first will be in danger."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! Draco, I need you to find Dumbledore and tell him what's happening."

Nodding his head in understand, he spun on his heels and began to head down the stairs, but stopped himself. Turning around, he grabbed my hand, squeezing it tightly in worry. He had fear in his eyes.

"What about you?" He asked, "what will you do?"

Something risky.

"I have to stop them from getting to the portkey," I said, my cheeks beginning to flush, "I need to find it before any of them do."

"But what if you get hurt? That maze is dangerous, love, and you could get lost, or hurt, or—."

"Trust me, Draco," I said, cutting him off, "trust me."

And then I let go of his hand.

Grabbing my wand from the pocket of my robes, I brushed past him, running towards the maze with a fire in my step. I knew this was reckless, but it was the only way. By the time Draco told Dumbledore about the portkey, one of the champions were bound to find it, and then it would be to late.

And...Harry.

As much as I was angry at him, the thought of him getting hurt was still too unbearable to think about.

I heard gasps erupt from the crowd as they watched me run, my wand outstretched in front of me. Taking a deep breath, I braced for impact, closing my eyes tightly.

"Bombarda!" I yelled, watching as a small explosion erupted out of the tip of my wand and into the side of the maze.

The thorny leaves blew a path for me, a hole big enough for me to run through, and as soon as I stepped inside, I felt it close itself back up again.

And then I was swallowed into darkness.

_