THE MAZE

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Crowds of students pushed past each other to get the first rows of the game. Theo and Ethaline of course sat front row to watch, their hands locked as she watched the champions pace in the middle.

Not looking at anyone in particular she caught Harry's eye, her head beginning to hurt again as she tried to smile at him only to fail. Harry looked away, not really in the mood to see her as he looked over and saw Mrs. Weasley and Bill sitting front row.


He waved at them, a nervous smile on his lips as Bagman began to announce the rules. "The game is quite simple, get through the maze and squire the shinning trophy." He stated, "There will be obstacles, but our champions have chosen to practice before hand"

"Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory are tied for first place and therefore will be given a head start followed by Viktor Krum and Fleur Delacour." He then said as Ethaline inched closer.

"Please not another dragon." She whispered, her eyes wide as Bill glanced over and did a double take on the younger girl. "You're the Malfoy girl." He said as Ethaline turned.

"I am, yes." She said politely and looked at his hair, a small smile formed on her face, "You must be a Weasley—"

"Weasley." He said at the same time as her and smiled, "Yeah. My brother Charlie won't shut up about you, he thinks you should book a ticket to Romania and help him with the dragons."

Ethaline's eyes widened as she scooted closer, "Do you know anything about them?" She asked, her tone hopeful.

He nodded, "Only that they're well behaved thanks to you." He said as she let out a sigh of relief before the trumpets blared through the evening sky.

Theo called for Ethaline and she moved back closer to him without a thought, glancing at Bill and smiling before paying attention. In that moment, she had managed to recover half a percentage of herself and smiled at Harry.

He felt his heart ache at the gesture and looked away, smiling as he gripped his wand and the game started. He ran in without another thought.




It was an hour or so that passed, the crowd waited eagerly as they spoke and placed bets. Theo, Blaise and Draco were in a heated conversation about who would win which Ethaline took this as her opportunity to inch closer to her new friend.

"So what exactly does Charlie do in Romania?" She asked, her voice laced with enthusiasm as Mrs. Weasley took it as an opportunity to brag and rambled on and on about how he tamed them and cared for them.

Ethaline smiled, hearing the countless stories of the dragons Charlie had told her before they all heard the loud trumpets again.

They all stood, waiting when they heard a cry from below. Everyone inched closer, confused as they tried to look past the barrier or people. It was then they heard the cries of Amos Diggory.

"That's my son!"

"That's my boy!"

The color drained from her face as Theo rushed to her side, fearing something would occur before they heard through the chaos as Harry cried out. "He's back! Voldemort is back!"

Ethaline instantly turned to Draco who carried the same look on his face, this is what their mother meant. Everything was about to change, the night the death eaters invaded the games was the night her father reconciled his alliance with the Dark Lord.

It was the night they laid their twins at an altar, ready to be offered to the Dark Lord.

Ethaline felt Theo's hand tug her closer, "It's alright. Nothing is going to happen to us—"

She whipped her face around, her eyes wide as she pulled away from him. It was as if she was seeing him for the first time very clearly. His face hardened, "Here have something to drink." He pushed.

Ethaline shook her head, "I'm not thirsty." She muttered, grabbing Draco's hand before they pushed their way downstairs to speak.

Pansy and Theo followed.

Once they reached a place far from them, Draco looked at his twin, his face unreadable as she stared at the ground. Their hands shook but neither of them dared to speak.

Their minds were flooded with thoughts as their bodies filled with fear, question and worry. Had this been the end of their childhood? Their happy moments in Hogwarts? If what Harry was saying was true, that changed everything in their household.

Lucius would no doubt return to be a faithful servant, dragging his mother and kids in. Theo's father was a rough man, known to be associated with The Dark Lord as well. Pansy shared the ideals, everyone in her house did.

But did she?

Did Ethaline follow along with them? She had avoided that question all her life, nodding when she needed to, disagreeing to avoid conflict whenever she needed to. She was always told what to do.

But now, she was at a crossroads.

One side was telling her to just follow along, be the good little girl she had always been and to be a Malfoy. To carry the name and do what was told of her.

The other side of her, the compassionate and hidden side said otherwise. She wanted to care for people, everyone and everything. She wanted to spend time out in the meadows and not care about blood status. She wanted to walk into a place and not be feared, but to be understood, respected and loved. She just wanted to feel true love, unconditional love that didn't come with a price, the kind of love a proper mother gave and a father who didn't look down on her. She wanted to make friends with muggles, explore their world and have fun. Experience adventures and sorrows. She wanted to think for herself, dress herself, she wanted to be free. She wanted to be an equal

Not a superior.

Not the second choice.

Not the unknown Malfoy. 


Just herself. 

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