The Root of All Evil
"Mr. Malfoy, MR. GOYLE, will you please stop kicking Mr. Longbottom? Just leave him there and l will tend to him later. Now off with you, into greenhouse number 5 with the others. Get on with it gentleman, I will be there shortly."
In an attempt to tidy herself up, Professor Sprout brushed back several unruly strands of hair from her forehead. Having used her fertilizer encrusted gloved hands; however, all she managed to do was leave a clump of dragon dung sticking to her hair, which hung limply from beneath her pointed hat.
"What she should have done is ground "Lard Bottom" up and used him as fertilizer. That way he would actually be serving a useful purpose here at Hogwarts." Laughed Draco; pleased with his own "clever" remarks. Obediently, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle joined in; snickering and laughing along with their "leader".
As the trio approached the entrance to greenhouse number 5, the noticeable lack of light and extreme humidity made it feel as if the walls were closing in around them.
"Draco, this place stinks like the back end of a Dragon." Goyle protested.
"Yeah, stinks like the back end of a Dragon on a hot day." chimed in Crabbe, whose words were almost unintelligible. He always sounded far more as if he were speaking Mountain Troll than any known human language.
"Shut it you two, if you think I am going to go in there and make believe that I give a rats behind about any of this stupid dirt digging and plant killing, you have another thing coming to you. Now get on with it and get in there; just let me know if there is anything that I need to be aware of." Draco demanded of his cohorts. With that he roughly shoved the much larger Gregory Goyle through the darkened doorway.
As Crabbe and Goyle disappeared into the gloomy interior, Draco glanced at the door behind him when a quick flash caught his eye; there in the corner. The bit of light that filtered in through the filthy ceiling panes of greenhouse number 4 danced across the outstretched leaves of what appeared a GOLD PLANT. He vaguely remembered his father mentioning the existence of such things when he was younger, but now, could the rumors be true? Did they actually exist?
If so, it was best not to let anyone else know about it. If he was foolish enough to share this discovery with those two "imbeciles", Crabbe and Goyle, they would surely blurt it out to the first person who showed them the slightest attention. He shuddered to think of how quickly word would spread throughout the entire school.
"Mr. Malfoy, did I not make myself perfectly clear? I believe I directed you to join your classmates in greenhouse number 5; this is greenhouse number 4 and if I am not mistaken, you are capable of counting to higher than the number 4, are you not?" Professor Sprout sarcastically chided the young blonde wizard.
Malfoy shot Professor Sprout an evil glare just as she turned her back to him. He instinctively reached into his robes, running his fingers over the wand concealed there. "Lucky for you Sprout; one more word out of you and I would have permanently separated your pistil from your stamen!" The words remained unspoken but reverberated loudly and angrily in Draco's head.
Once again the golden plant caught Draco's attention. It was mostly obscured by mature Venomous Tentacula plants whose blood red vines and leaves appeared to guard their fabled treasure. It seemed obvious to Draco that these vicious, Wizard Eating plants were not accidentally placed in this fashion; no, not an accident at all…
As Draco pondered this last thought, his reverie was disrupted by loud guttural noises; "Draco, come on, you have to see this! You're not gonna believe what is in here!" The voice shouted.
"It was that fool Crabbe!" "Keep your shorts on Crabbe, I will be there when I get there, do you understand me?" Realizing that his absence might create suspicion and thereby threaten his secret, Draco reluctantly headed towards greenhouse number 5.
"Look, LOOK at this Draco; what the heck is this thing?" Crabbe pointed down at the furiously writhing figure of a girl. The second year Ravenclaw student had come in contact with a vine that was now inexplicably wrapping itself around her with great speed.
"Out of my way, OUT OF MY WAY!" Professor Sprout shouted in an obviously agitated state. With a quick swish and flick of her wrist, a bolt of light shot from the tip of the professor's wand, hitting the attacking vine near its base. The vine retreated quickly, leaving a hysterical and sobbing young girl in its wake.
Harry Potter and Professor Sprout arrived alongside the girl at about the same moment and tried to provide comfort.
"Thank you Mr. Potter but I can handle this from here. Now please take Mr. Malfoy and the rest of your fellow students and get them to move those piles of Dragon Dung from the back of the greenhouse to the pots I have provided for each of you".
Professor Sprout reached into her shabby soil stained cloak to once again retrieve her wand. Having pointed it toward the frosted glass ceiling of the darkened greenhouse, red sparks started to shoot out in small intervals. These tiny sparks grew into large glowing balls of light that rose high into the air outside and above the confines of the greenhouse.
Within moments, Hagrid rushed into the greenhouse and stopped alongside the sobbing Ravenclaw.
"On with you, I will not repeat myself, do you hear me?" admonished Professor Sprout". If I catch any of you not busying yourselves with your set task then I will be forced to take twenty points from each and every offender's house; now get on with it, no dawdling!"
As Draco, Goyle, Crabbe and Harry hurried off towards the rear of dimly lit greenhouse number 5; Draco could not resist looking back one last time. What he saw made his throat constrict with alarm. Professor Sprout and Hagrid were whispering to each other while she pointed in the direction of greenhouse number 4; home of the golden plant. Fear that their conversation involved his discovery caused the small hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end and sent a small chill running down his spine.
Later that evening, long after the dinner feast had ended, most Slytherin students left their common room to retire to the comforts of their own beds. In one dimly lit corner, however, three exceptions remained.
"But Draco, why can't I go to bed? I'm tired and we have Transfiguration first thing in the morning. I don't even have my homework half done. Blast that McGonagall, if she had half a brain she would know I don't give a Skrewt's blast about turning stupid Gold fish into gold coins." Goyle grumbled in agitation.
"Yeah, who gives a Blast?" Crabbe repeated.
Draco looked nervously first at Goyle then towards Crabbe. Had either of them seen the Golden Plant in greenhouse number 4? Why would they mention GOLD FISH and GOLD COINS? Those two never finished their homework and paid even less attention to what was going on in class.
Assuring himself that the mention of gold in their conversation was mere coincidence, Draco brushed off the comments; he considered it just more of the same dumb, idle chatter that habitually flowed from those two" idiots".
"I want the both of you to offer to do some extra credit by shoveling and potting for Professor Sprout on Thursday. I need the two of you to provide cover so that I can get into the other greenhouses without anyone else suspecting that I want to be alone back there. Do you understand me? You are not to mention this to anyone, NOT TO ANYONE less you want my father to have a little sit down chat with your fathers. Get my drift?"
Both Crabbe and Goyle stared blankly at Draco as if they were honestly trying to figure out the instructions they had just been given.
"No problem Draco, I don't care anyway, just wanna get out of having to spend any more time with those goody-goody Gryffindors. " Goyle assured Malfoy.
"Yeah, goody-goodies?" Crabbe babbled.
"Just do it and everything will be fine, mess up and you know what will happen." Draco threatened.
It pained Draco to have to wait for Thursday to come. He had been so absorbed in his plot to get into greenhouse number 4 undetected that he had neglected to do any of his class assignments. He had even drawn the ire of Professor Snape, his favorite teacher at Hogwarts, for creating a cauldron of fowl smelling goo instead of the crystal clear, freezing draught that had been the object of the class assignment.
Malfoy barely took notice of the fact that he was to be spending detention with the likes of Ron Weasley, Seamus Finnegan and Neville Longbottom, all of whom likewise failed to successfully complete the task.
By the time Thursday morning finally came, Draco's nervous anticipation was palpable.
His plan started off without a hitch when he, Crabbe and Goyle were all given the chance to improve their grades by helping out at the greenhouses after class. They were to shovel heaping mounds of freshly composted Dragon Dung, rotted Pumpkin and other organic materials in specified areas behind the greenhouses.
"Why aren't you shoveling with us Draco? This was your idea to begin with. Just can't figure out why you suddenly think we need to get better grades in Herbology. Not as if I am going to grow up and become some sort of Tilden Toots yah know." Goyle complained as sweat dripped down his forehead.
"Yeah, no Tilden Toots." repeated Crabbe.
"Shut it you two. Keep shoveling and do it quietly. I don't want anyone knowing what is going on." Draco instructed his fellow Slytherin.
With that Draco walked the length of the structure, to the end, where a door connected greenhouses number 4 and 5.
Draco had always prided himself on his sly and stealthy manner; he had always been able to creep into the smallest and most innocuous places without being detected. Self-absorbed, he was oblivious to the fact that others considered these to be the traits of a sneak.
Careful to avoid making any noise that might give him away, Draco opened the door and entered the darkened interior of number 4. Once inside, he securely closed and locked the door before cautiously proceeding further.
As he did so, the stench of fresh Dragon Dung burned his nostrils. He swallowed hard, holding back a bit of sick that had risen in his throat. "Those oafs had better keep shoveling. If they give me away I am going to curse them and their offspring for centuries to come," Draco vowed silently before proceeding forward.
Suddenly, there it was; just a glimpse from behind the blood red vines and leaves whose illusion of continuous movement attempted to trick the eye and keep the shimmering gold from view.
Draco steadied himself before scanning his surroundings to make sure that nobody else was nearby. Proceeding toward his goal, he reached deep within his robes and withdrew a pair of Dragon Hide gloves. As he slid them on, he knelt in front of the bed of plants that concealed his "prize".
Without warning Draco felt a sudden sense of strangulation as his airway was constricted. Without knowing how it had come about, he realized that something had bound his arms to his torso. They were now firmly pinned to his sides, leaving him virtually unable to move. As the breath was slowly squeezed out of him, he fell to his side in a fetal position, just inches from the plant he so coveted.
Attempting to break free of his attacker, Draco rolled on his side only to realize that he was in the full grip of a massive Devil's Snare plant. Its long tentacle like vines grabbed wildly at his limbs. At the same time he became aware of yet another attacker; the Venomous Tentacula. It was as if thousands of tiny daggers were pricking his hands, the only body part over which he still maintained some control.
Stunned at how suddenly he had been immobilized by the Devils Snare plant, Draco looked on helplessly as the sharp bites of the Venomous Tentacula intensified in an onslaught that became more ferocious by the second.
As Draco felt himself slipping into a semi-conscious state, the already darkened greenhouse became fuzzy and out of focus. He could not breathe, he could not yell, he believed that he was going to die. In fact, he was sure of it…
"Malfoy! MALFOY!" the voice momentarily cut through his mental fog before everything went black.
Brilliant white light flooded his mind as he slowly became aware of his surroundings.
Draco found himself lying in a bed in the infirmary, surrounded by several figures whose details he was still incapable of discerning. Attempting to sit up, he quickly discovered that he had neither the strength nor the ability to do so.
"Ah, I see our Mr. Malfoy has come back to the world of the living. Thank you Mr. Malfoy for joining us."
The voice rumbled around Draco's semi-conscious mind until he finally concluded that it belonged to none other than Headmaster Albus Dumbledore.
"Madam Pomfrey, if you would, please bring the others here; I have a few questions for Mr. Malfoy that I believe he will finally be capable of answering " Dumbledore instructed the Medi Witch.
A group of figures drew closer to Draco's bedside as his vision became a bit more focused. There, standing alongside the others, were the pained faces of Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. The sight of Professor Dumbledore's Gold half-moon shaped glasses inspired a sudden sense of panic in the young ailing wizard.
"Pro, Pro, Professor, what happened? Why am I being held here against my will?" Draco's attempt to sound strong and defiant emerged as nothing more than a hoarse whisper.
"Ah, Mr. Malfoy, let me assure you that you are no longer being held anywhere against your will. You have though been subjected to a very severe attack and poisoning from the Venomous Tentacula plant that, for some reason, you decided to befriend. Why? I do not know, but I can assure you that the entire planting bed, in which that particular creature resided, has now been removed from the greenhouse for the safety of all concerned. Our caretaker Mr. Hagrid has assured me that it is in safe hands and that we do not have to worry about any students coming in contact with it in the future." The subtly admonishing tone, in which these "reassuring" words of Headmaster Dumbledore were delivered, carried with it an implied warning.
"Buh, buh, buh, but where?" Draco croaked.
"Never you mind Mr. Malfoy. I can assure you that neither you nor anyone else will accidently stumble upon its whereabouts. "Chided Professor Sprout.
"Yes, and you might wish to give a round of Thanks to your fellow student here for saving your life. "Dumbledore suggested.
A figure moved forward into Draco's line of vision.
"YOU?"
Draco suddenly found enough strength to sit up and point directly at his savior, whose face wore a sheepish grin and who stood with a slightly bowed head; hands firmly thrust into the outer pockets of his cloak.
"Yes you see Mr. Malfoy, if it was not for the fact that Mr. Longbottom had also been given extra credit by Professor Sprout, your life may well have been squeezed out of you by the Devils Snare plant. That or you may have succumbed to the poisonous bites of the Venomous Tentacula. Dangerous things that they both are, the utmost care should always be taken when one ventures across their paths." Dumbledore firmly informed everyone.
Stunned into silence, Draco thought to himself "Longbottom saved my life?" and then without a trace of irony; when I get out of here I'll deal with him, by the time I'm finished HE'll WISH HE HADN'T!"