PART 7

ROARS of the audience seated in stalls that rose higher into the air, in a circle echoed around the stadium. The sky was a dazzling shade of blue – with wisps of grey clouds here and there – and though a chilly feeling hung in the air , a reminiscent of the previous night's wind storm – it certainly was a beautiful day for those not about to die. Their cheers , and applauds , their faces flushed with excitement and fear for their fellow schoolmates – was all that Evanna saw and heard before she took her place inside the champion's tent. In an act of faux nervousness , Evanna scrunched her handkerchief , as though seeking comfort in the old silken piece she had held onto as the last thing that associated her to her mother's love - something she had lost long ago – alongside tapping her right foot to an unknown melody.

A boy wearing gold and black robes , his honey coloured hair in a mess , paced the length of the tent which had been assigned to the champions. Cedric Diggory. Evanna hadn't really talked to him , except for the time when she had bribed him to give up the information regarding the first task. Fleur sat on a chair , twirling her rosewood wand in one hand as she appeared to be deep in thought , and Krum was pacing as well. And as for Harry , he was nowhere in sight.

Evanna sighed , as Cedric took a place beside her.

"Good luck", Cedric said to her in a good-natured way , and Evanna smiled at him faintly. "Thanks , and good luck to you too as well."

She turned away , closing her eyes and concentrating on the spells she had learnt. She had said to Draco that she could produce a Patronus , but it had been an extravagant lie. She could only produce , a minute , incandescent version of the same – and instead of conjuring her animal protector in a silver-blue hue , her patronus would be deformed and dark.

The thing that had baffled her the most was that , the night after their escapade and her catching a bewildered blonde Slytherin who had heard too much than necessary , she had found herself capable of producing a Patronus. Two memories. Both consisting a boy with pearly , mercury eyes. The first one being the night on which she had been chosen as the fifth champion , when Draco had held her in an embrace that had been more comforting than anything she had ever experienced , and the second being of the time they had ran from Filch after curfew.

How could a few days with someone she had once known as her best friend almost a decade ago , change so much inside of herself ? She didn't have the answer to the question , frankly. But all she knew that whenever she concentrated on those two memories , her innards would be filled with a rush of happiness – something she hadn't felt in a long , long time. And that , she could produce a beautiful , silver-blue Patronus. She was brought out of her reverie when she felt Cedric nudge her gently , and she watched Harry suddenly appear out of the blue , making a beeline for her.

"What is it Harry ?", Evanna asked , an undertone of frustration lying in her voice. Ever since they had been elected as champions , Harry had always come up to Evanna to express his anxiety , his grief at everything , at how his friends had thought he had committed the act purposefully – as though , she were some therapist. As much as she had concealed her irritation behind a mask of interest and kindness , now that she would be up against a dragon – Evanna was too irate to give him a pep talk , when her own nerves were full of weariness , only wishing for the task to get over as soon as possible.

But to her surprise , Harry mumbled quickly ,"There's someone here to see you."

Raising a brow , she quickly followed Harry across the tent , towards the opening of it. Harry leaned close towards the curtains of the tent , moving it slightly to reveal a worrisome girl with bushy brown hair , whom Evanna recognised as Hermione Granger. Hermione quickly came forward , holding Evanna's hands as she said ,"I know we haven't really ever acquainted ourselves to each other , there's really no time for it , but I wanted you to know I want you safe as much as Harry – because you both are only fourteen. Children compared to the other champions. I wish you the best of luck. I know you will ace the task."

"Granger ! How many more centuries will it take for you to move out of the way ?", an exasperated voice called. Hermione turned around , a nasty scowl fixated on her pleasant face as she moved out of the way to reveal Draco , dressed all in formals , strands of ashen hair escaping from his fur cap.

Evanna's face broke out into a wide grin , as Draco stepped forward to wrap his arms around his friend. Evanna reciprocated the gesture , burying her face in the crook of his neck. Draco's lips curled upwards as he inhaled the scent of Evanna's hair.

Peaches and honey.

As soon as they pulled back , a blinding flash went off in front of them - making them cower slightly as a woman with short , blonde curls made an appearance.

"Ah .... young love", The woman said , - twirling her quill in one hand , a man with a camera trailing behind her.

"How stirring", She completed , her green eyes flitting from a frustrated Hermione holding hands with a bewildered Harry , and between Draco and Evanna - both of whom were already disliking the lady.

"If things go unfortunately today , you might even make front page", She said , grinning from ear to ear. Evanna recognised the woman as Rita Skeeter , the editor and author of the Daily Prophet's 'poison-pen' articles. Her disgusted expression solidified further upon seeing the woman's smug expression fall on Evanna. Evanna had skillfully avoided her when she had asked to interview Harry and herself. Poor Harry had had to answer her questions , while Evanna had slipped away. But as of now , there was no avoiding being the topic of her falsehoods.

"What are you doing here ? This tent is for champions and friends", Viktor intervened. Rita turned to face him momentarily , before facing the champions again with a sickly sweet smile.

"No matter. We've got what we wanted", She said , before leaving the tent. Draco's grip on Evanna's hand tightened , not enough to hurt her , but enough to be comforting. She looked up to face him , his eyes swimming with worry - but his nose scrunched in disgust as he spoke ,"Evanna , please be careful. Please. I wanted to tell you something more , but that vile skunk of a woman made an appearance. I will have to leave , Dumbledore and the others..."

Before he could complete his sentence , the aged Headmaster opened the curtains to the tent , Barty Crouch in tow.

"Circle around champions. Gather around", Crouch said , as Dumbledore's gaze fell upon Draco and Hermione.

Raising an eyebrow , he asked ,"What are you doing here Miss Granger ? Mr. Malfoy ?"

Both flushed , before mumbling something incoherent. Hermione swiftly made her way out , but Draco held Evanna by the sleeve of her robe , and whispered into her ear.

"Be careful. Remember to camouflage as soon as you enter the arena. And do score more points that Potter , I don't want to lose my bet."

Evanna playfully shoved him , as he made his way out of the tent - secretly touched by how worried he was for her safety. She turned to look at the rest of the champions , who had circled in an ordered manner around the slouching Ministry man , who held a ragged pouch.

"Miss Delacour , if you may", He said softly , as Fleur reached forward into the earth-coloured bag , her pale hand dropping inside , before bringing out a miniature dragon , covered in emerald scales and breathing fire.

"The Common Welsh Green", Crouch said , before moving on towards Krum. A dragon with blood red scales and a round head sat atop his palm. The Chinese Fireball. Then it was Cedric's turn , who got the Swedish Short-Snout.

Harry's hands dug at the bag , before producing a ferocious looking dragon.

"The .... Hungarian Horntail", Crouch said , a sympathetic expression , and a look of fear on his face. It was easily observed that the dragon Harry had chosen was quite easily one of the most ferocious dragons to have been selected for the champions. But it was nothing compared to what Evanna was going to get.

Crouch turned to face her , the dismal expression on his face becoming clearer as he spoke in a tone that trembled with slight terror ,"Which leaves the Peruvian Vipertooth."

Evanna raised an eyebrow , dropping her hand inside the bag - immediately feeling a sharp pin dig onto her finger pad. When she lifted it back up , she found the 'pin' to be the teeth of a copper-coloured dragon. It had short wings , bright blue eyes and crooked , sharp teeth. It was easily the smallest dragon , but as she she shook it off from her fingers and noticed the drops of crimson blood fall onto her cerulean robes - her lips curled upwards very slightly.

This dragon would provide an entertaining match.

"Well then , champions , I wish you the best of luck. Mr. Diggory , at the sound of a cannon please -", Dumbledore began , but couldn't continue as a loud thrum broke out his words , the ground beneath them rumbling and the wooden poles of the tent almost stumbling due to the after effects.

Cedric , having known well what he was about to say , made his way out of the tent as the audience went off with cheers in the distance - the entire stadium echoing of his name.

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Evanna sat leaning against a wooden frame , awaiting her turn. Cedric had transfigured a rock into a dog , following the same method of distracting the dragon , while he sneaked off and got the golden egg - efficiently , and escaping with minor burns.

Fleur had used a sleep enchantment on the dragon , but her skirt had been burned with the embers emitted from the dragon's nose as he had snored - while Krum had used a Conjunctivitis Curse.

Harry , had used his firebolt to get away from the dragon , flown around the castle that rose high into the circles of mist , but was yet to get the egg.

Just then , Evanna heard a loud rumble of a cannon going off in the distance , indicating Harry's victory. Her eyes shot up from the floor , as she gathered her wand into the pocket of her robes. Walking out , she heard the audience break out into cheers of her name. The loudest being probably from a certain platinum blonde , whose eye Evanna caught - before she skillfully used a disillusionment charm to camouflage herself to her surroundings. 

Her feet found ground between tiny pebbles and stones strewn around amidst boulders. Behind the enormous black rocks , a copper coloured dragon , not quite as tall as others , stood rooted to it's place by an iron chain strung around it's neck. The ground beneath Evanna's feet shook tremendously as the dragon let out a tumultous roar , breathing fire through it's nostrils a few feet in front of Evanna's current position , making the soil burn to ash. Evanna ducked , rolling away from her position as she quickly concealed her scent with a Fragrance Charm. The entire stadium stood confused as to where Evanna was , but some caught onto the shimmer of silver indicating a charm , behind one of the larger boulders. 

The dragon was equally confused as half the throng  looking around. It's perplexity must have fueled it's anger , as it began breathing more fire , gasps ringing all around as it flapped it's wings with rage - spreading the flames further , the ashes licking up the rocky terrain , burning it down slowly. Evanna dodged and ducked , not finding a moment's peace to conjure a patronus. Time was slipping through her fingers like grains of sand , and she let out a deep breath - her chest heaving as she dodged the fire for what seemed like the seventh time.

As another burst of orange flames came forward , this time directly towards the rock behind which she hid , Evanna rolled away from it , the embers licking at her ankles and shards of sharp rock pieces piercing her right shoulder. She stood up swiftly , holding her bone white wand upright as she yelled.

"Expecto Patronum !"

A wisp of silver blue light was produced from the end of her wand , which morphed into a brilliant bird - an Albatross. The Patronus bounded around the stadium , the dragon following it, trying to break free from it's chains. Gasps of awe echoed around , thundering applause coming from every corner of the stadium.

Evanna took the chance to leap out , running straight for the flat rock upon which sat the forbidden golden egg. Just as her fingers curled around it , firmly grasping it to her torso - she noticed the hem of her robe was visible. She realised her camouflage was coming undone.

"Shit", She muttered under her breath , fleeing to take cover - but to no avail. The dragon , having incessantly sharp eyes , spotted her - turning away from the bounding patronus. Flames erupted from it's throat , slashing away anything in it's path. Evanna ran , being around the borders as shocked whispers went around everywhere - the Professors looking particularly worried. She leapt , and rolled to a side , not noticing that the dragon had broken free of it's chains and was now flying towards her.

As another bout of hot fire came pouring towards her , she narrowly escaped , but the hem of her robe got caught underneath a small rock. Before she could move away , the dragon had dug it's sharp nails into her hair , clawing slightly at her neck.

Now she couldn't move.

The audience panicked , many teachers rushing towards Barty Crouch and Dumbledore , who watched on calmly while Karkaroff cackled.

The dragon brought down it's snout close to her body , baring it's crooked yellow teeth - strings of saliva extending in between.

Her wand had rolled a few inches away from her. Her hand crept towards it - maintaining eye contact with the dragon. Just as the dragon's fire breath was hitting her face , Evanna did a non-verbal 'avis'. Thousands of hundreds of birds floated out from her wand , puncturing their claws into the dragon's rugged scales.

 The dragon let out a growl , moving away to swat the birds with it's tail. It's heavy tail created a brontide across the terrain , Evanna rolling away with agility as she proceeded to use the Leg-Locker Curse on the dragon's short feet. The dragon stumbled - screaming with agony as it fell harshly onto a sharp boulder - it's neck getting ruptured by the shard - spewing blood across as it lay limp. A few drops spluttered onto her face and blue robes , Evanna not caring as the ache in her shoulders and ankles intensified. 

The stadium roared with applause , cheers - the Professors looking relieved beyond measure as Professor McGonagall glared daggers at Dumbledore. Evanna waved her arms , basking in the acclamation of the crowd.

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Draco pushed his way through the crowd that lingered in the corridors , making his way as quickly as possible towards the infirmary. For some reason , instead of being taken to the tent for champions , Evanna had been brought to the medical wing of Hogwarts itself.

It was an understatement to say that Draco had been worried. He had been screaming , threatening Dumbledore that he would bring his father onto the matter , that they were friends with Lyra Frey.

Apparently the match hadn't been stopped , and tears had started forming on his face when the dragon had Evanna in it's clutches. But the smart Ravenclaw outmaneuvered the great winged beast.

His silver gaze fell upon the arched gold doors to the infirmary , his eyes squinting upon finding a throng gathered there - blocking the doorway. The crowd parted upon seeing the fourth year , his sneering face reminding others that in front of a Malfoy , they had absolutely no authority.

Draco's eyes widened , tears brimming again as he saw Evanna. Her gaze was directed upwards , towards the ceiling with it's crystal chandelier. Her face , he noticed , was still stained with the dragon's blood - the wine red dots shining against her pale skin. She hadn't bothered to wipe them. Her shoulder was wrapped in white bandages , her ankles in a small plaster. Opposite her lay Harry , who had broken his fingers and a bone - Madame Pomfrey fussing over him.

He rushed forward towards Evanna , the sound of his footsteps alerting her , and her face broke out into a wide , victorious smile.

But before she could say a single word , Draco had held her in a tight embrace , careful not to squeeze her too much.

"Draco ?", She questioned softly , her brows furrowing.

"I was so ... scared", He said , his voice trembling slightly. "I thought ...."

He didn't complete the sentence.

"But I survived. Have faith on me , will you ? I am fine and now I am here", Evanna said , returning his gesture and inhaling his minty scent - a smile on her lips.