It was dinner time, and the entire school was buzzing. Harry Potter had fainted in divination. Could it have been a vision? A premonition? Was just as Rita Skeeter had said: he was an attention seeking prat with a love for publicity?

Draco didn't actually care in the least because he was too busy worrying about Harry. It seemed he was spending more and more time doing that these days, but that evening it seemed he was going positively mad. Harry was nowhere to be seen in the Great Hall - though Granger and Weasley conversed in low whispers at the Gryffindor table - and according to the Slytherins sitting opposite from him at the dining table, no one had even glimpsed him since Divination. To make matters worse, Draco had to act like he was happy about the whole thing, to keep his 'friends' under his carefully constructed spell. Only Blaise knew anything otherwise (though, thankfully, he was more concerned about Draco's safety than he was about Draco's choice in partner), and, at any rate, there was very little he could do about anything. Blaise had his own status to uphold, even if it was less pronounced than Draco's.

Usually, it was at this point, in the run-up to the Summer Holidays, that Draco would almost double the amount of food he ate. He had started doing this during second year when he realised that he could make his Summer much more bearable by putting on a few extra pounds in the month beforehand, and thus avoid looking quite so emaciated by the time he came back to school. However, tonight he couldn't bring himself to touch a morsel of food, worry making him feel sick and causing a dull ache to resonate in his temples and behind his eyes. His lips were painfully dry and chapped. He chewed at them and forced a laugh between his teeth as Theo made a joke. Time was passing unbearably slowly and the meal dragged out longer and longer until... finally... the food disappeared from the plates and the students began, as one, to push towards the exit. Draco's headache had become all consumingly painful. He stumbled out of the hall with the rest of the group, nerves the only thing in his stomach.

Through the dull pounding in his mind, Draco wondered if he should go back to the dorm or go and look for Harry. Luckily, the decision was made for him when Blaise grabbed his arm and led him firmly to the dorm, saying words Draco didn't quite catch to the other Slytherins before pulling Draco into the fourth-year's shared bathroom and locking the door. Wincing at the brightness of the bathroom lights, Draco felt himself sitting numbly on the closed lid of the toilet and peering at Blaise.

"What do you want, Zabini?"

"Draco, you've gone very pale. Are you alright?"

"These lights are too fucking bright," Draco slurred, grimacing unevenly, "My head hurts."

"Where do we keep the headache potions?"

"Check my cupboard. Bottom shelf."

The boys all had their own bathroom cupboards within the large washroom, and it took Blaise only a moment to locate and search through Draco's cabinet (which was mostly filled with potions of his own creation, all in coloured phials) and locate the milky headache potion. He handed it to Draco, who took the phial and downed it in three large gulps, almost doubling the recommended dosage. The effect was instantaneous: a feeling like cold water splashed through his brain and the aching loosened. Without the pain, Draco's worry intensified.

"Harry. I need to know if he's okay. I'll go and-"

"No, you won't." Blaise caught Draco's arm again and Draco allowed himself to be pulled unceremoniously back onto the toilet seat from where he'd started making to the door. Blaise continued. "You're in no fit state to look for him. Even without that headache, you've quite clearly made yourself ill with worry. Honestly, you are so impulsive! He's probably with Dumbledore or something, and he'll be fine, okay? Just stop for a minute and think before you act."

Draco breathed air heavily out of his nose and rubbed his face with his hand. At length, he said in a tired, resigned voice: "Okay. I know you're right." Blaise watched him as he stood up from the toilet seat and walked across to a sink, bending and splashing some water on his face. Blaise took Draco's place on the toilet seat.

"How did you get like this?" He gestured at Draco. "You're a wreck. You care so much about this guy - Harry freaking Potter - I mean, could your choices actually be any worse?"

Draco leant against the sink. "I know. Don't you think I'm terrified? I hate that he has this much control over me. I hate that he can both make my day, and make me incredibly unhappy just by being unable to meet me after dinner. But I love him. I really do love him, Blaise. And he loves me, too. He told me so."

"You've been together for three weeks!"

"No, we've been official for three weeks. We've liked each other for much longer than that."

Blaise groaned. "You are seriously out of whack, you two. You're both stupid and I hate the both of you."

"No you don't," Draco smiled, "You don't even mind Potter that much. You just pretend you do."

"I want to hate you right now." Blaise ran a hand through his dark, curly hair and stood up. "Right. Let's get back to the others or they'll get suspicious."

0o0oHarry0o0o

"Draco, I'm fine! Really," Harry laughed into Draco's shoulder as he hugged him, "You have to stop worrying about me so much."

"I can't!" Draco grinned, looking embarrassedly down at the ground as he pulled away from Harry. "You try stopping getting yourself into trouble instead."

"That's impossible." Harry took a seat at the desk in the centre of the guest room and slouched down, feeling the exhaustion from a day spent both in classes and practicing spells to use in the Maze. "I don't look for trouble. It finds me."

"Clearly," Draco took the seat opposite Harry and, seemingly without thinking, pulled several sheets of paper towards him and grabbed the quill from the inkwell. He began to draw. "How's everything going with all the... Maze stuff?"

"Don't even get me started. I've learned more spells practicing with Ron and Hermione than I have all year in defence against the dark arts. And that's with Mad Eye bloody Moody teaching us!"

"Well, at least you'll be prepared this time. It's not like the first and second tasks. This time you know, at least vaguely, what you need to do to prepare."

"I guess so," Harry leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms above him, yawning.

"How long do you have until the big day?

"A week and a bit. But it's going really fast,"

Draco looked at Harry worriedly across the table, and reached his hand across to hold his. "You're really worried about this, aren't you?"

Harry gave a sad attempt at a reassuring smile. "I'll be fine. I always am."

"Yeah, you'll get through this. You're doing plenty, and I'm sure there'll be safety rules. You won't be completely on your own."

Harry nodded quietly. Then said with a much lighter tone: "We've been talking about me too much. Let's talk about you."

0o0oDraco0o0o

Trumpets blared and happy anticipation rolled off the crowd in waves as the stands waited for the third task to start. It felt different to the other tasks. The sick feeling wasn't there and for once, people were going a little easier on Harry - at least, the other houses were. Draco got the feeling that this task was going to turn out well as he sat and chatted easily with the group of Slytherins surrounding him, as they waited impatiently for things to kick off.

Finally, the four champions stood out onto the grass in front the Maze to a roar of noise. Draco easily spotted Harry, the smallest of contestants, and gave an extra loud whoop just as Bagman took his place in front of the champions and began to talk.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me remind you how the points currently stand! Tied in first place, with eighty-five points each - Mr. Cedric Diggory and Mr. Harry Potter, both of Hogwarts School!" The cheers and applause sent birds from the Forbidden Forest fluttering into the darkening sky. "In second place, with eighty points - Mr. Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang Institute!" More applause. "And in third place - Miss Fleur Delacour, of Beauxbatons Academy!"

As the clapping began to reside, Bagman turned to Harry and Cedric. "Ready, boys? On my whistle. One, Two," A shrill sound echoed through the stands, which had become very silent. The boys turned and ran down the entrance to the Maze. Draco chewed at one of his nails as he watched Harry's figure, dwarfed next to Cedric's, retreating down the dark passage and into the Maze.

"Hey, you alright?" Blaise asked quietly.

"Fine, fine." Draco nodded brusquely. "He'll be fine."

After a short wait, Bagman blew his whistle again and Krum vanished into the maze. Now only Fleur remained. Even from a distance, she looked scared.

Bagman blew his whistle a third and final time, and Fleur ran into the Maze. The crowd waited. Nothing happened.

"Well, this is all a little anticlimactic, don't you think?" Pansy asked, pretending to yawn.

"I wonder what's going on in there..." Blaise was looking out over the vast maze stretching in front of them.

They only had to wait about ten minutes before something happened. A scream echoed out from the dense hedges, accompanied by a shower of red sparks, and someone on a broom - Madam Hooch? - sped out over the maze. Draco wasn't worried about Harry - that scream was clearly Fleur's voice - but still watched intently as she was brought from the maze and dropped next to a medical tent that had been set up near the Maze's entrance. She looked very shaken.

It wasn't long before red sparks appeared once again over the Maze. This time it was Krum who was rescued, suspended between two brooms. He was clearly knocked out, though there was no way of knowing what had downed him.

The waiting continued, and now the students were becoming restless. An hour had passed since Harry had entered the Maze. An hour and a half. The judges began to whisper and, for the first time that evening, worry began niggling its way into Draco's mind.

An hour and three quarters.

Blaise wordlessly put a reassuring hand on Draco's shoulder. He looked over at his best friend. Blaise gave a nod and looked back out over the vast maze.

Two hours.

Madam Hooch whizzed over the Maze again, seemingly to search for the two Hogwarts Champions. The sky had darkened to a sombre twilight and, by the time she returned,the last orange traces of sunset were dissipating into the blackening sky. As she landed, she shook her head at Dumbledore, who's hands were clasped tightly in front of his sombre face. It began to get cool. Then cold. Breath rose like a mist over the shivering students as time ticked on. Draco became aware of pins and needles in both his legs, but made no effort to move. His hands were shaking - but then again, it was cold. Then, quite suddenly, a loud bang reverberated over the stands and a flash of light of electric blue light illuminated the front of the Maze. A figure was sprawled across the grass - Draco looked closer, making out the figure in the near darkness... It was Harry!

Applause shook the stadium and Draco gave a whoop of delight as the Brass Band began to play out a happy tune. Everything was okay! Harry was fine...

Wasn't he?

Quite suddenly, as the applause died way, Dumbledore ran over to Harry and crouched. Draco was beginning to hear yelling, Harry's yelling, over the dying noise of the crowd. It was as though someone had flicked a switch. Chaos erupted in the stands and Draco found himself running, running to Harry. He wasn't the only student moving; a swarm of bodies propelled him forward. Draco could now see that Harry was not only clutching the Cup, but a body too. Cedric Diggory's body.

"Harry!" Draco yelled in panic, and was almost at the base of the stands when he felt a strong hand grab his collar.

"No, Draco!" Blaise yelled, wrapping an arm around Draco and pulling him back, "Don't! You'll get yourself killed if the others see this- Draco, stop!"

"I don't care! He's hurt!"

"He'll be more hurt if you get involved! Draco-" Blaise grunted and gave a massive tug, effectively wrestling Draco into one of the spare seats by the walkway down the stands. Draco had tears running down his face.

"Please, Blaise! I have to!"

"Draco, stop talking right now. The others have probably seen everything, and they are going to want answers. You need to calm down. Dumbledore is dealing with this."

Draco felt himself go limp and leant against Blaise, staring down at the Grass where Harry was sobbing, blood smeared over his skin. A throng of teenagers were being held back by mediwizards and teachers. Every molecule in him pleaded to go and comfort the Harry, to tell him it would be alright...

"What's Moody doing?" Blaise asked suddenly, and Draco realised Harry was being pulled to his feet and escorted by Mad-Eye through the mass of students.

"Follow him," Draco began, but Blaise's grip tightened on his shoulders.

"You're going nowhere except Slytherin tower."

A scream rose above the noise of the crowd, and the two boys whipped their heads up to see Amos Diggory keening over the body of Cedric, his wife sobbing on the ground next to him, holding Cedric's head in her lap. Bile rose in Draco's throat and he swallowed hard, blinking salty tears out of his eyes. Dumbledore rose from where he had knelt next to the Diggorys and pointed his wand at his throat, muttering what was surely a sonorous charm, as his then voice sounded loudly over the din.

"Everyone will, please, not panic!" He yelled over the chaos. "Heads of houses, and the Head Teachers of Beuxbatons and Durmstrang, will please escort students back to their dormitories or their respective sleeping quarters in an orderly and calm manner."

Dumbledore looked around motioned to McGonagall. The pair began to stride towards the castle, following Mad-Eye and Harry's path.

The next few hours passed in a blur as the Slytherins were led by Snape, almost at a march, to the dungeons, and he began to get ready for bed. As it turned out, by some miracle, none of the Slytherins had seen Draco's scene at the base of the stands because the crowd around them had provided an effective shield for both sight and sound. They began to get ready for bed, back in the dorms. Draco felt numb. It was completely surreal, after what he had seen, to be doing something as mundane as brushing his teeth.

As he sat in bed, having filled Manimi in on the whole thing, he had an idea. There was no way he could go and check if Harry was in the hospital wing, and especially not Gryffindor Tower. But he was a human. A snake, on the other hand...

"Manimi, I need you to go to the hospital wing and see if Harry is there or not. Find some way to tell my if he is. I don't care how. Just go. Quick."

He only had to wait fifteen minutes before Manimi returned, and rose up to face Draco before giving a jerk of her head that looked exactly like a nod. Draco had no way of knowing what state Harry was in but at least he knew where he was and with that knowledge, he relaxed a little.

That wasn't to say he slept one wink.