Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

The first thing you'll probably realise is that this sounds a lot like the Tri-Wizard tournament and the Hunger Games. It's neither of them, but it is similar! I'm not a big fan of the Hunger Games, but I admit that parts of it inspired me. It was more the Tri-Wizard tournament that gave me ideas, though. I watched it the other day and I've always felt like it's the most magical of the eight films. I have no idea why.

Okay, I'm also very nervous about starting this fic because the chapters are going to be much longer than I usually write and because I'm trying out a new writing sytle... it's going to be a lot more descriptive and... metaphor-y. You know what I mean? I hope you do...

For anyone who's wondering, I deleted my story Blaze because, as much as I wanted to post that whole story, it isn't very... developed yet, and this idea is much more developed and it's closer to being finished than Blaze, so, in case you wondered where that's gone, that's why and where.

So, without further ado, I hope you enjoy the story!

Soundtrack: Radioactive by Imagine Dragons.

3rd June.

"I wonder what Dumbledore's going to announce today," Harry said thoughtfully, his gaze rising to the ceiling. Hermione nodded eagerly beside him, voicing her thoughts.

"Perhaps it's just about the confusion surrounding seventh years," She said. Ron looked a little excited- he thought it was going to be something exciting and totally cool, but she didn't want to get her hopes up. Plus, unless he was going to announce that they could take more classes and that there would be more exams, nothing would be considered 'cool' to her.

Harry shook his head, frowning as his spoon stopped in mid-air on the way to his mouth. His red jelly wobbled slightly. "I don't think so. He already cleared that up last week, and plus, he looks… kind of excited," Harry said in a worried tone. They all took a moment to look up at their head teacher, who had that glint in his eye beneath half-moon spectacles.

Ron shuddered a little. "I don't like it when he's got that look in his eye,"

The other two nodded in agreement.

"What if he's going to give us into trouble for something?" Hermione asked in horror, biting her lip. Her brown eyes were wide.

Ron piped up. "What if he's gonna give out medals for the war or something?"

Harry and Hermione both shook their heads, giving him a funny look.

"He'd have to give everyone a medal then," Hermione said, looking between them. Harry swallowed his jelly with a painful expression before replying again. "Plus, that was ages ago. If he'd wanted to give out some sort of medal- wouldn't he have done it sooner?"

Ron's bottom lip vibrated as he sighed with his lips touching slightly. It made a funny 'brrrr' noise. "I got no idea then,"

Hermione's eyebrows rose and she nodded once to the teachers tables. "We might find out now, look, he's getting up," Her gaze locked onto Dumbledore and she followed his every move until he set both of his hands on the outspread eagle in front of him and bellowed for everyone to be quiet. He'd told all of the students the previous morning that he had an extremely important announcement to make and that everyone should make sure to be present during dinner.

Hermione strained her ears as the noise quietened, but didn't fully go away until a full minute afterwards. She caught the end of someone's conversation and realised that her, Harry and Ron weren't the only ones confused about what Dumbledore was going to announce. Everyone was probably confused, actually. He hadn't given any notion of what it could be about.

"First of all," He began in a happy tone. "I'd like to welcome and congratulate all of the new seventh years who have decided to continue your education. I gave you a month to elect whether or not you wanted to remain in education and now I believe we have our final year, therefore, I welcome you,"

There was clapping for a moment before Dumbledore continued. Hermione looked around to see exactly who had come back- she recognised all of the faces, but was saddened to see that there were only a handful of them that had returned.

"The seventh floor is out of bounds and the main staircase is still under reconstruction, so we ask that you take care of yourself and others if you take that route. We'll also start a countdown today for the fifth year exams that will be held in October. We are aware it is quite some time until autumn, but this is in case anyone wishes to begin a study plan right now."

Hermione fidgeted in her seat. Her weakness was her curiosity and Dumbledore must've known that because damn, he was taking a long time to get to the point. Taking a glance to her right, she realised that Harry was also eager to find out the news- his hand was curled up into a fist on the table. She calmed down, momentarily, to put a hand on his wrist. He looked up at her, snapping out of some sort of gaze and noticeably relaxed, thanking her with a grin.

That was Hermione- always helping others, never helping herself. She felt a little better though, to know that at least Harry was relaxed now.

"Now, for the rather large announcement," –At this, Hermione stiffened in her seat and rubbed her lips together. Good God, what was going on?! - "I am ecstatic to announce that Hogwarts has been chosen to host a magical challenge that has been around for centuries. Due to our redecoration of the castle, the ministry thought it best to show off the work we've done to patch the castle back together. Now, I bet you all are wondering what this magical challenge is," Dumbledore teased.

"It is similar to the Tri-Wizard tournament, however, it is not nearly as dangerous and although similar, it is not the same. From each school, two students will be chosen to represent their school, classmates, and houses. The students must be of the same age and from different houses. No exceptions. These two students must work together to eliminate their opponents, but as simple as that sounds, it will not be easy. There will be more than just rivals that stand in your way. You need not enter yourself- every student has equal chance of being chosen. However, if you do not wish to participate, see me after this evening, and your name will be withdrawn. Similar to the Tri-Wizard tournament, this challenge is not for the fainthearted and will require every piece of focus, intelligence and common sense that you hold. You must work together, if you are chosen. If you choose to work apart, one of you risks being eliminated, which means Hogwarts will not win. If your partner is eliminated, then so are you, so take care of your partner as you would take care of yourself,"

Hermione turned to Harry with wide eyes. "I wasn't expecting this," She finally admitted in a rushed breath. For once, Ron was correct. It was something exciting and cool. Harry nodded absentmindedly beside her, only hearing half of what she'd said. He was focused on Dumbledore's words.

"The two students will be chosen tomorrow morning. If your name is chosen and you decide that you no longer wish to take part, you may step aside, and someone else will replace you. You will have to fend for yourselves, but we will keep in contact with you and wish you the very best of luck. Is there any questions?" He asked, his gaze travelling from Slytherin to Ravenclaw.

Someone's hand thrust into the air and he nodded towards them, granting them permission to speak.

"So, sir," The boy began, sounding a little unsure. "What exactly is the challenge?"

Dumbledore's eyes glinted. "It is a challenge of survival. Unfortunately, this opportunity is only open to sixth and seventh years. There was some… debate about offering it to fifth years, but they have exams to focus on and fourth years are simply too young," His eyes seemed to travel to Harry. "We certainly don't want a repeat of the Tri-Wizard tournament, so if you are too young and are chosen, you will simply be removed," His voice turned a little stern.

"You'll be given more information tomorrow morning when the other schools arrive. Now, pip, pip," He finished, moving back to his seat.

Hermione's stomach turned a little uneasily. She really wasn't sure about this and was close to going up after him and asking for her name to be removed. Her course of thought was interrupted, however, when she looked at her favourite teacher –McGonagall- and saw that she was smiling. If this was going to be a disaster, surely McGonagall would've looked worried, right? Plus, there were hundreds of sixth and seventh years. The chances that her name was chosen was… unlikely. It would probably be Harry again, in fact. He seemed to be chosen for everything. Or maybe it would be Ron…

But it certainly wouldn't be her.

The next morning, Hermione couldn't walk by a group of people without being reminded about this mysterious challenge.

It was everywhere. People were talking about it, other students were arriving, and there was even a banner up on the wall that declared it.

Not only was the description of the challenge extremely vague, but Dumbledore had also failed to mention just how many schools were taking part of this. For the Tri-Wizard tournament, only three people were supposed to be chosen, but there had to be more than three schools sitting in the hall now.

Hermione knew the uniform of Beauxbatons Academy and she also knew what the boys from Durmstrang looked like. They were there, of course, but there were more uniforms than that. One group of people were enveloped in silky green robes with the hoods pulled up. They looked like an extremely emerald version of the grim reaper.

Another group of people –mostly girls- wore a pink coloured uniform and their faces were so perfect that Hermione immediately thought of dolls. Not just any doll, though. The ones that were made by people who took extra time and care into making sure they looked as presentable and real as possible. Looking at them for too long made Hermione feel like shuddering.

Then there was a group of boys and girls who wore a completely black uniform. The only thing that was colourful about them was their ties and they all wore sullen, dark expressions. She briefly heard Ron mutter something to Harry about how they could at least look happy that they were magic and she nodded distractedly at him, her mouth closed in a tight line as she took in the rest of the students that had gathered in Hogwarts.

They took a seat near the back of the hall. Some students had to stand because there weren't many seats, but they managed to find some that Neville had saved for them. Hermione smiled her thanks and sat on the table instead; letting Harry sit on her feet as there wasn't much room. He tried not to squish her, but she insisted that he wasn't heavy at all. They all sat and chatted whilst waiting on Dumbledore announce the chosen students.

"I bet it'll be Harry," Neville grinned jokingly as they discussed who might be chosen. Harry shook his head and smiled.

"I don't think it'll be me," He said unsurely, squinting. He shifted himself on Hermione's feet slightly. "I don't have that feeling,"

Neville nodded understandingly, but he was still smiling. He nodded to Ron, who had been excited about everything all morning. "Maybe it'll be Ron then. Finally his time to shine or somethin',"

Seamus laughed beside him. "He doesn't need to shine with hair tha' colour,"

Everyone chuckled, but Ron puffed out his chest. "I hope it is me,"

Hermione smiled at him slightly. "I hope it's you as well, Ron," She said. He wanted to do it, and nobody else had voiced their desire to take part, so she genuinely hoped it would be him.

Ron beamed at her. "If it is me, I'll make sure I win," He said, a determined expression on his face.

"You'll have to take good care of your partner then," Ginny reminded with a grin.

Ron nodded. "I will," He said. "As long as it isn't someone horrible, like…" He looked around the hall. "Crabbe," He said with a disgusted expression. Everyone around their table laughed, but Luna looked dreamy.

"No, no, it isn't Crabbe that'll be chosen," She said. They promptly shut up, looking at her as if she already knew who was going to be chosen.

"How do you know that, Luna?" Harry asked carefully. Luna shrugged, smiling in a daze.

"The teachers didn't explain how one was chosen, but even if it's random, I doubt Crabbe's name will be picked out," She replied.

Hermione nodded in agreement, her brown eyes hardening. "Luna's right. If the teachers get to choose which two students go to the challenges then they'll choose someone smart and fast and… and someone with common sense," said Hermione, thinking back to Dumbledore's words yesterday. Everyone around her seemed to think for a moment before quietly agreeing.

A teasing grin came over Seamus's face. "Hey maybe it'll be-"

"SILENCE!" Dumbledore roared. It wasn't clear how loud the hall was until you heard everyone be quiet at the sound of his voice. After the last person spoke and the hall was filled with a wave of quietness, he smiled.

"Firstly- welcome to Hogwarts!" He said, holding his arms out. "I assume you are all quite impatient to find out who will be representing your school, and if we've all heard the terms and conditions, then we can begin now," said Dumbledore, almost in a questioning tone. He was silent for a few moments, as if waiting for someone to disagree.

When nobody did, he carried on. "Brilliant," He smiled. It was clear he himself was excited about this. "From the Academy of Wiltcheshire: Nora Montez and Harold Bailey! Well done. Yes, yes, come out to the front," He beckoned with his hand as they looked unsure of what to do. Once they were standing behind him, everyone clapped and they bowed, waiting awkwardly for the clapping to stop. The girl had long, curly brown hair and the boy was tall with side-swept brown hair. They both looked extremely beautiful, but shy.

"From Durmstrang: Jack Georgia and Aleksandar Richmond!"

There was more clapping, and Hermione leaned down an inch to reach Harry's ear so that she could speak to him underneath the noise of everyone else.

"Are you going to resign if you get chosen?" She asked wearily. He turned to look at her and shook his head.

"No. Are you?"

Hermione bit her lip. She had to confess- whilst Dumbledore had been speaking, she had not listened and was worrying over the challenge instead. Dumbledore had said that it wasn't dangerous, but it wasn't for the fainthearted either. That made her cautious and a little frightened. She scrunched up her nose at Harry.

"I might," She said in a terrified tone. He smiled and rubbed her knee through her thick, woollen navy tights.

"You went through a war- you have nothing to be afraid of," said Harry, taking in her scared face and voice. She smiled at him back, but wasn't completely reassured. Her stomach was in knots and she wrapped her hands around each other. She had an incredibly bad feeling, but didn't want to back out if she was chosen. Plus, there was a prize at the end and the teachers wouldn't choose her unless they were absolutely certain that she could do it, right?

Still, she was afraid.

"And finally, from Hogwarts," Dumbledore began. Hermione's heart pounded so loud she could hear it in her ears and she found herself reciting: please not me. Please not me. Please not me. Please not me.

"Draco Malfoy!" Dumbledore announced. Hermione's eyes involuntarily searched for the blonde and she found his pleasantly surprised face quickly –that hair of his- he got up and wandered to the front whilst everyone clapped for him as well. Hermione grumbled at the happy looking people from other schools- clearly they were unaware of how foul he was.

"And Hermione Granger!"

At her thoughts of Draco, she had become momentarily distracted. Her heart jumped and her stomach flipped- she was chosen. That was why she had felt bad all morning, because she'd had a weird feeling that it was her. Everyone was silent until she reluctantly got up once Harry had moved from her feet. Once she was making her way down to the front, everyone clapped for her as well. She took a place between Draco and a dirty-blonde haired boy and clasped her hands tightly in front of her, trying to smile.

"Now," Dumbledore turned away from the other students and faced the ten students. "If there are any of you who would prefer not to participate, I ask you to speak up now," He looked at them seriously.

Quick, Hermione! Now's your chance! Tell him you don't agree and everything will be alright!

"Fantastic!" exclaimed Dumbledore with a grin. "And remember: trust no one."

After announcing the names of the chosen students once more, they were ordered to enter the trophy room whilst Dumbledore announced some things to the remaining students. They walked in quietly and everyone had someone to talk to except from Hermione.

They all wandered off in their pairs, speaking and gazing at the trophies in the room. They seemed excited and a little proud, making Hermione feel extremely out of place. She glanced at Draco, hovering near the door with his eyes closed and his head rested back against the wall. She frowned- what was he thinking about? It unnerved her that he looked so calm.

She sighed, the knots returning in her stomach. They got so bad that she actually felt the urge to cry. It was Harry that was cut out for this kind of stuff- not her. She preferred to be on the side-lines, behind the scenes. It was safer there.

"Hi!" A dark-skinned boy stood in front of her with his hand outstretched. She took it politely and smiled, returning his greeting.

"Nervous, eh?" He asked, showing off pearly white teeth as he noticed her shaky hands. She nodded, letting out a breath. Finally, someone she could talk to!

"Petrified," She admitted. "You?"

"I am nervous too, but more excited," He said, and he looked excited. He had a bounce in his step that she envied. How could he be excited? They could be hurt in this challenge!

The boy turned slightly and gestured to a girl behind him with long, vibrant red hair. "This is my partner, Abigail, and my name is Rufus," He bowed to her. Hermione grinned at his refreshing manners and curtseyed back, finding it the appropriate thing to do.

"I'm Hermione," She smiled. The boy looked a little surprised.

"That's a nice name, so complicated to say," He looked away for a second, as if memorising it in his head.

"It is nice to meet you, Hermione," He attempted. She nodded at him eagerly, her caramel curls bouncing around her shoulders.

She realised she was missing something. "Oh! That's my partner," She pointed, with her index finger, over to Draco, who still had his eyes closed. "His name is Draco Malfoy,"

"Draco," Rufus tested, letting the name roll off of his tongue.

Grimacing, Hermione realised that the challenge wasn't her worst predicament, having to work with him would prove to be worse. There was no way she would work with him, and he wouldn't want to work with her either, that was a fact. Dumbledore must've been crazy to pair them up.

Then again, they were the smartest…

Okay, she admitted, she could see why Dumbledore had chosen them, but he still must've been absolutely mad. They were already enemies- there was no need to even put them in a team.

Hermione was snapped out of her thoughts as Draco strolled towards her and Rufus, a hard, cold stare on his face. Hermione almost whimpered inside- oh God, he was starting to become a prat already. She could just see that look on his face.

"Granger, stop fraternizing with our opponents," He said in a disappointed and disgusted tone. When she stared back at him, dumbfounded, he rolled his grey eyes and grabbed the fabric of her jumper, pulling her away from the boy. She protested until he dragged her over to the door –where he previously stood- and was even close to punching him again. When he let go of her, he cringed and wiped his hand on his trousers, as if her muggle-born-ness coated his long, pale fingers.

He leaned against the door again and closed his eyes as if he had done nothing wrong.

"Uh, excuse me!" Hermione exclaimed. "You cannot just drag me away from a conversation like some- some child!"

"I didn't drag you away from a conversation, I dragged you away from someone who was trying to find your weaknesses," He said lazily, not even bothering to look at her. Hermione frowned- that was absurd! The boy had been so nice, and Malfoy hadn't uttered a word to him, so how would he know anyways?

"You're mistaken-"

"Am I?" interrupted Draco in a calm voice. "Think about it," He offered.

She most certainly would not think about it- and especially not under his command.

"I have thought about it, thank you very much and I've come to the conclusion that he wasn't trying to find out my weaknesses!" She growled, her brown eyes glinting with a fiery cinnamon.

In a flash, Draco snarled and grabbed her shoulder painfully. He leaned down so that his face was level with hers spat:

"Listen here, you treacherous little Mudblood. If he finds out your weaknesses, then he finds out mine and then we're both fucked and we don't win. Do you want that? Could you deal with that?" he began to taunt. "Losing? Not winning? Coming last, or maybe even fourth? Could you live with it?" He smirked, knowing that now he'd gotten her attention. She noticeably looked away in thought and then frowned, shoving his hand away from her shoulder.

After a moment, she looked up at him with raised eyebrows and folded her arms over her chest. "You know, Malfoy," began Hermione in a smooth tone. "You really should learn some social skills," She said, before walking off with a swing of her hips. His smirk dropped from his face and his nostrils flared angrily. That stupid little girl was going to end up getting herself killed.

He knew for a fact that the boy was up to nothing good- he'd overheard him muttering about how they should analyse their opponents to see which ones were the toughest and then take them out first. He rolled his eyes to that as well- that was not how you won something. You didn't 'take out' the toughest, you had to trick them, play them at their own game and make them taste their own medicine. It wasn't as simple as 'taking them out.'

And now, because his idiotic partner had fucked off with some good actor of a boy –or maybe it was the fact that she couldn't read through façade's- he would lose. He would lose, and he would look like a fucking idiot, all because of her.

If he didn't need her to win, he would've let her fuck off with some other guy, but he did need her, and the way she was going, she would be eliminated in the first round, also eliminating him. He shook his head at her nonsense- she, like always, saw this as an opportunity to make friends. She'd even forgotten, or just ignored, Dumbledore's advice to not trust anybody.

She couldn't trust him on a regular day, true, but she could trust him around people that she didn't even fucking know.

As he quietly stewed in his own anger, he watched as she shook hand after hand, smiling and tucking her stupid mousy brown hair behind her ear. She didn't even realise that most of the girls looked her up and down –most likely noting her height- and then licked their teeth as if to say that she'd be 'an easy one.'

And, as long as they were partners, he fucking had to take care of her, didn't he? And clearly she was the stupid one in their team, so he also had to think for her as well.

Before he even knew what he was doing, he walked up behind her, pressing his body right against hers and smiled sweetly to the blonde haired girl who'd just looked her up and down. He held his hand out to the girl, giving her his most dazzling smile. He felt Hermione take a step away from him- she probably found the closeness uncomfortable.

"Hi, I'm Draco Malfoy," He began. The girl raised an eyebrow seductively and shook his hand. Inside, mentally, he grinned. She'd already fallen for his charm.

Suddenly, the grin dropped off of his face. "And I don't like it when people wear masks," He said in a dark tone, squeezing her hand harder than necessary. She hissed and looked down, ripping her hand away from his. He dared her, with his eyes, to deny it, but she didn't. She smiled at Hermione and then walked away, rubbing her hand.

Hermione whipped around to face him. "Just what do you think you're doing? She was nice!"

Draco rolled his eyes. Was this bitch so stupid that she didn't even notice the look that other girl had given her? "She looked at you like you were a piece of meat, Granger, fucking get that mind of yours into gear. Don't you remember what Dumbledore said? Trust no one. Treat the lot of them like you treat me until they prove that they're worthy of a handshake. You're bloody lucky I even came over here before you started gossiping and dishing out information," He angrily said.

Hermione's eyes popped out of her head at how fast he was speaking. "You don't even know them! You didn't speak to one of them, how the hell would you know if they were mean or not?"

"Because I fucking am them! I listen to all the shit everybody says and keep it hidden in a box in my mind until I find a good use for it. You tell them nothing about yourself, you hear me? They can analyse anything you say and before you know it, they're able read you like a fucking book!"

Hermione folded her arms across her chest, looking into his stormy molten eyes. "So you admit that you analyse everything people say to you and then use it against them?" She asked, giving her own little victory smirk when he realised that he'd told her his secret, his eyes widening a little.

He ran a hand through his blonde tresses out of stress, messing it up. "I'm a Slytherin," was his only excuse. "It's what I do," was his second one. None of them seemed good enough, so he scrunched up his nose in a sneer. "And it'll fucking save our lives out here, so just remember that," He finished, finding that he'd given her enough excuses.

Hermione rolled her eyes and was about to heatedly retort before Dumbledore walked in. He skipped down the steps –something that weirdly, didn't seem to break one of his old, fragile bones- and gestured for all of the students to come closer. Everyone formed a sort of semi-circle around him.

Dumbledore's eyes glinted. "I hope you're all ready,"

I done a poll on my profile asking what Draco personality you guys enjoyed the most. So far, Romantic Draco and Stubborn Draco are in the lead. Extremely clever Draco and angry Draco also have a lot of votes, so this is what Draco's character will be like in this story. He'll be stubborn, angry, annoying, cunning, clever and absolutely bloody brilliant, but he'll be a romantic as well. In later chapters, at least...

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

-FallenForTheDraco