Harry was growing increasingly less anxious as the First Task approached. He suspected he should feel otherwise - especially considering it was only a day away - but he didn't. He and Draco had now been publicly establishing their not-hatred of one another for almost an entire month, and Harry was already reaping the weight off his shoulders that came with not having to disguise his newfound affection for his 'reluctant' companion.

Draco was still as surly as ever, but Harry couldn't find it within himself to care. Now that Hermione had readily accepted that Draco was no longer an 'arrogant prejudiced airhead'; after Draco had written her a long winded apology for his treatment of her, accompanied by a pristine set of Newt Scamander's 'Fantastic Beasts' novels, Harry was spending time with him far more frequently.

The time he normally would have spent fooling around with Ron, was now spent in the Library with Draco, figuring out ways to fix the timeline before everything fell apart. Once Harry had finally decided to ignore his misgivings about him and had given into his desires to tell Draco absolutely everything about the first timeline, they'd both agreed it would be wise to go about destroying the Horcruxes they currently had access to before the battle of Hogwarts.

There was no need for them to wait around for seventh year to rid themselves of Ravenclaw's Diadem. The locket, the cup and particularly Nagini were not quite so simple. But they could wait. They were still only in fourth year, they had enough time to figure out what to do with the rest before the situation became too dire.

They planned to enter the Chamber of Secrets once again, retrieve an ample supply of fangs and then destroy the diadem in the Room of Requirement. It was decided they would attempt this after the First Task and the Yule Ball, that way they'd have plenty of time before the next stress inducing event would take place.

Despite all Draco's complaints, and intense denial that he felt anything other than a complete tolerance of Harry, Harry knew better. Draco liked hanging out with him. And Harry found that he also liked hanging out with Draco.

He was far more interesting than anyone else he knew. Perhaps this was due to the maturity difference between the two of them and the others in their year, it wasn't as if anyone else was secretly a deeply traumatised seventeen-year-old, but it felt like more than that.

Draco understood him, he treated him differently than everyone else did.

Draco never revered him, or pitied him, or treated him like he was an abandoned bag in a train station emitting a ticking noise. He was just normal around him.

It felt slightly surreal, to have someone who knew him, who actually knew him and all his emotional baggage and trauma and history and panic attacks and just simply didn't care for any of it.

Someone who didn't treat him any different for it.

It was wonderful. Really, Harry wished he and Draco had gotten past all their political, familial, war-related differences seven years earlier, because then they could've just been friends right from the start. They were exceptionally different, but also astoundingly similar all at the same time. They had so much to talk about. They spent an obscene amount of time together doing nothing but talking and yet they still would fill sheets and sheets of parchment sending owls back and forth.

That wasn't even the extent of their friendship either, sure, talking was fun, but Draco could also make Harry laugh. Like, actually, seriously laugh. For all his slightly unpleasant, judgemental tendencies, Draco's humour was not at all at the expense of others. He would make jokes about anything, usually sarcastic and snide; but never cruel- and they were always just hilarious.

Being around Draco was exhilarating in a way Harry had never felt before. Even fighting with him was exciting- although, in fairness it always had been. They would argue back and forth, sometimes over things neither of them could even remember in the end, both too stubborn to admit defeat, until one of them would say something too unserious to keep going and they'd both collapse in fits of laughter. Madam Pince had even thrown them out of the Library for it once, and that had only made it that much funnier.

He was even better than Ron. Harry felt bad for saying that at first, he'd only known Draco this way for a few months, and he'd known Ron for years. But eventually, he'd realised that ultimately the time meant nothing, he loved Ron - of course he did, and he would be relieved when Ron would start being his friend again - but his friendship with Ron was different to his friendship with Draco. Draco could comfort him without even saying anything. He understood the weight of what they'd both been through, he knew that sometimes no advice could rid you of a feeling. He could make him laugh so hard he couldn't breathe, he could set his veins on fire with adrenaline every time they argued, he could make him feel.

Ron had never given him that. Nobody had ever given him that.

That was, until now.

—-

Strawberry,

I hope you've done sufficient planning for tomorrow. I trust you will do well, you need only repeat the actions you took the first time around and you are now far more adept at the Summoning Charm.

Still, I hope you've practiced. If you went and died tomorrow because of a faulty Accio that would be extremely embarrassing for you. By the way, the news of our company has not escaped public knowledge- 'public' being the press. Not sure if you knew, I'm aware you prefer not to read articles about yourself.

If not, I've sent you the article, I think you should try this one.

Interesting, don't you think? I must say I am reasonably glad to finally be in the news for something non-Death-Eater related, despite any speculation that is now occurring. That's a refreshing change.

My Mother and Father are now aware of us. My Mother is glad, she only really cares that I'm happy, my Father however is not particularly pleased. I think we both know why.

But that doesn't matter to me, I've long since stopped caring what he thinks of my decisions. I don't plan on changing my behaviour anytime soon.

Mother sent me some raspberry tarts. She's an excellent baker, so I've gifted some to you. I expect enormous thanks in your next letter.

In other news, I think Ulysses is in love with Hedwig. Not sure how to feel.

Green.

Harry couldn't keep the grin off his face. 'I don't plan on changing my behaviour anytime soon', that was definitely Draco-speak for 'I'm glad we're friends'.

He removed the neatly wrapped parcel from Ulysses leg, watching with vague interest as he then immediately proceeded to join Hedwig where she sat on the windowsill. Hm. Perhaps Draco was right about that.

He then opened the box delicately, and was overcome with a divine smell of caramelised sugar and fresh berries. An excellent way to prepare himself for tomorrow's events. It was probably not the best idea to eat them right before bed, but he couldn't bring himself to be bothered. If he didn't sleep then he didn't sleep.

Carefully, he unfolded the clipping of Newspaper that was stuffed in the envelope. He was unsurprised at the headline gracing the page, 'Harry Potter befriends Malfoy Heir, an unlikely bond blooms', it was characteristic of the media to twist things to sound more exciting than they were. He was however, surprised at the picture underlining the article. It was an image of him and Draco in the grounds of Hogwarts. A large tome lay open in the grass beside them and Draco's Slytherin cloak was spread across the floor beneath them, in the picture Draco said something unintelligible and Harry next to him laughed lightly, leaning against his shoulder with an easy smile.

They looked remarkably affectionate.

Harry remembered the day well, it had been warm for October, and so they'd decided to plan their Horcrux hunting outside instead of in the Library. The book next to Draco was one detailing the aftermath of the First Wizarding War- they'd been reading it in hopes of finding Nagini's possible whereabouts. Harry couldn't remember what had been funny, and it didn't really matter anyways, they laughed together all the time. The surprising part about the photograph was their demeanour.

Draco was looking at Harry with something disconcertingly close to love.

Even more alarming, Harry was gazing right back.

Perhaps it was only him who had come to that conclusion, as the headline of the article gave no insinuation of anything inherently romantic between them, but now he'd thought of it, Harry couldn't unsee the infatuated way they stared at eachother.

He folded the the letter back into the envelope, incinerating it with his wand immediately- as was necessary when discussing time-related issues. Instead of throwing away the article though, he placed it gently on his bedside, lying back against his pillows to write Draco a lengthy response.

—-

The next day, Draco was unreasonably nervous. He knew in his head that Harry was an accomplished wizard, who had managed this without complications when he was only fourteen so he'd obviously have no issue with it now, but he still couldn't help but worry.

What if something went wrong?

He'd written in his letter yesterday that if something went wrong then it would be embarrassing for Harry, but realistically if anything went wrong it would be far more embarrassing for Draco, who would undoubtedly loose his mind over it and consequently reveal his less than platonic feelings to the entire school.

Nope, that definitely could not be allowed to happen.

Draco tried fruitlessly to make eye contact with Harry across the Great Hall, to receive a bit of comfort from his reassuring smile, but Harry was too consumed by all his Gryffindor buddies. He looked extremely disturbed by something Granger was saying rather resolutely in his ear, and Draco had to suppress a snigger.

He found that now they were coming to accept each other, he actually rather liked her. For all her desperate need to be the best in everything, she was actually extremely intelligent - more so than Harry - and he found himself enjoying any intellectual discussions they'd had.

As he watched the Gryffindor party gather themselves to escort Harry to the Task, he decided it was time to leave. He followed behind them at a steady pace, arm in arm with Pansy and Blaise, constantly keeping Harry in his sight as they descended.

—-

Harry waited anxiously in the tent as the announcements he'd already heard before blared from the stands. Soon Dumbledore would be entering, giving them all their dragons. He'd get the Horntail again, as he was unfortunately still last. Cedric was casting some charm or other over and over again in the corner of the tent, Krum was pacing back and forth. Fleur stood in the corner mumbling to herself and Harry found himself wringing his hands together to give himself something to do.

The noise from outside was drowning out anything nearby, so when Draco crashed into the tent and enveloped Harry in a fierce hug Harry was wholly unprepared.

"Wh- Draco?!"

Draco didn't release him. Harry was slightly surprised at the intensity of his hug, Draco was usually rather averse to physical touch.

"Sorry. I know last time Granger came to speak to you before the Task but I couldn't just wait and do nothing, I had to speak to you this morning. She agreed to let me come instead of her."

Harry smiled at the panic in Draco's voice, "Don't worry, I'll be fine." He leaned in close to Draco's ear, "remember, I've done this before."

It was a tribute to how scared Draco was that he didn't deny that he was worrying.

He pulled back, looking Harry over in concern.

"You're sure you know what you're doing?"

"Yes. I'm completely sure."

Draco looked unconvinced.

"And you have a plan for how to get the egg without doing a whole song and dance this time?"

He didn't, actually. Harry had been planning to do the exact same thing he'd done originally, but judging by the whiteness of Draco's face, that was not the correct answer.

"Yep. I've got a plan. Seriously, you don't need to worry about me."

Draco nodded, seemingly satisfied by his answers, before pulling Harry into another bone-crushing hug. He leaned down to whisper in Harry's ear.

"Don't die. If you die in this I'll kill you. I'll find the pissing resurrection stone and bring you back so I can do it myself."

Harry knew this was Draco-speak for 'be safe', and wrapped his own arms around Draco in response.

Snap.

A camera sounded, accompanied by a flash of light. The pair broke apart to stare at the source. Harry glared, a tall woman with blonde curls and a pointy face was smiling unpleasantly at them.

"Well, well, well! What a nice surprise!"

Before either Draco or Harry could say anything, Fleur stepped between them and her.

"'Zis eez a tent for Champions. You 'ave no business 'ere."

Krum moved to stand beside her defiantly, and Cedric looked up from his casting.

Rita Skeeter seemed to sense she was unwelcome and began to retreat, "No matter boys," she said nastily, "we've got what we need."

She fled the tent in a twirl of snakeskin green.

Krum turned, nodding once to Harry and Draco before resuming his pacing.

Harry back turned to Draco, "You should go now, Dumbledore and Crouch will be here soon and you don't want to get caught up when they arrive."

Draco nodded, placing a last reassuring hand on Harry's shoulder and leaving the tent.

—-

The stands were deafening. Three champions were now done, only one to go. Only Harry.

Draco was practically sick with nerves by this point, he couldn't even find it in himself to cheer for the others. He simply stayed sat stoically as the three other champions defeated their beast.

All too soon, Ludo Bagman's voice rung loud and clear in the arena.

"And finally, our youngest champion, Harry Potter against the Hungarian Horntail!"

The dragon was enormous. Draco had forgotten how large it really was, and suddenly a figure emerged from the tent below.

Harry.

He was completely dwarfed by the Horntail. He looked minuscule in comparison, like a fly to an deadly, vicious spider. All of a sudden Draco felt an intense need to do something, so he rose from his seat and screamed with the crowd.

"YOUR WAND, POTTER! USE YOUR WAND!"

He doubted Harry even heard him, but it certainly made him feel better.

Harry slipped behind a rock, staying hidden from the Horntail. Draco saw the tip of his wand emerge from the other side, spark once and then lower.

Perfect. He had cast the charm.

Now they just had to wait.

Harry snuck around the side of the rocks, scrambling up the edge of one to give himself a platform. So far he'd managed to avoid being seen by the Dragon at all, a far cry from the brutal slamming he'd endured at this point the first time around.

He slipped around the edge of a rock, stepping straight into the line of sight of the Horntail. Draco nearly fainted. A tremendous blast of fire exploded from the Dragon, Harry leapt to the side, where the Horntail's namesake came crashing down right next to him.

So much for remaining unseen.

As the Horntail moved towards him again, Harry gathered himself. Draco yelled at him to 'MOVE OUT THE WAY!' as it geared up for another monumental blast straight in his direction, when Harry leapt off the ledge where he stood. For a split second Draco thought he'd misjudged the jump. Fire consumed the area where he'd been standing and nothing was visible anywhere near him, when Harry streaked out from behind a boulder.

"YEAHHHH!" Draco cried, he could have burst into tears of relief, he really thought that Harry had been burned to death.

Harry swept around the arena, ducking behind rocks and dodging blasts of fire. It was obvious how much he'd improved since the first time he'd done this. It was as if he was made to fly, he cleared every blast like it was effortless, gliding around the arena like a hawk. He lured the Dragon to the opposite side from the nest, then zoomed through its legs to reach for the egg.

He grasped it right as the nest was engulfed by the Horntail's flames, scooping it to safety in the nick of time.

The crowd erupted in cheers. It seemed to be even wilder than it had been for the first three.

Well, Draco thought, Harry certainly knew how to put on a show.

He leapt from the stands, not caring how many people were watching, and ran to the judges board where Harry was now stood.

"YOU DID IT!" He bellowed.

Harry turned at his voice, face lighting up.

"I DID!"

Draco swept him into another hug, slightly lifting him off the ground in his excitement. A bubble of laughter escaped Harry, "I can't believe you actually did it!" Draco said, placing him back on his feet.

"Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence." Harry snorted playfully.

Draco punched his arm, "You know what I meant. I was sure something would happen, I don't know why."

"Yeah, me too, honestly. I'm just glad it's over."

Draco smiled, moving to whisper so that only Harry could hear.

"Now you just have to worry about the Yule Ball instead." He said with a smirk.

"Ugh, don't remind me. I'd rather fight the Horntail again than go to that."

Draco laughed, delirious at the events which had just taken place.

"Well, maybe that's something that could change this time too."