Dragon's Clue

Her dad never liked her? How could he? She was so nice—O that's why he didn't like her. But he was there for her all those times she nearly died. He was the one to encourage her to learn magic and grow to be powerful. Bella cried in a corner. She wished she never knew. Thankfully her mother came back…

Bella was curled in a corner when she heard the main door open. She debated whether or not to go investigate. Was it her mum?

"Where's my Bella?" she heard Anwen call. Bella hopped up and ran to her. Anwen swayed a bit with the impact, and cuddled her daughter close. She realized Bella was sobbing. "O cutie, what's wrong?" Anwen cooed.

Sniffling, Bella managed, "D-Draco's b-being MEAN."

"Poor thing," Anwen said in sympathy, planting several kisses on Bella's head. "Is he bullying you?"

"Yea," Bella whimpered.

"Ohhh baby," Anwen said softly. "Look—he probably just wants to be mean, ok? Act like it doesn't bother you, and he'll go away. Even if you have to pretend, but he'll still go away. If you have to pretend, then come to me after, ok?"

Sniffling, Bella nodded.

After her mum settled back in the hospital wing and Bella helped her unpack like a good little girl, she felt better. Then her mum had to fix up some broken bones (that was a bunch of Gryffindor boys). Bella ventured out and was later spending time in the main hall at the Gryffindor table with Harry, and being as far away from Draco as she could. Even more happily, Neville, Ron, and Hermione were there too.

"The final exams are coming up," Bella said cheerfully. "Anyone excited?"

"Nope," Ron groaned as Hermione shuffled frantically through her papers.

Neville finally set down a half-eaten pasty he had been picking at, white in the face. "Don't mention it," he whimpered.

"I'll help," Bella said breezily.

After helping Neville locate all his papers, and telling him (along with everyone else) not to be so scared about the exams, Harry took her aside.

"Hagrid was looking up dragons in the library," Harry whispered. "I saw him."

Bella gasped. "What if—what if he had the note?"

"I don't think so," Harry murmured, "but we have to find out!"

"Let's go tonight!"

"Oi, Bella. What you planning?" Draco drawled. Everybody jumped.

"Nothing!" Harry said quickly. Draco stared at him.

"O yea?" he sneered.

"Oi, d-don't bother Harry," Neville squeaked softly.

"O no," Draco smirked. "Potter can't take care of himself now? So lookie, little trippy scatterbrain is standing up now!"

"That's not nice!" Harry growled at Draco as Neville turned red and stared at the floor in shame.

"Pretend it doesn't hurt and he'll go away," Bella whispered to Neville. He nodded slowly.

"Y-yea," Neville stuttered. "I—Um, yea. I forget stuff—sometimes—b-but who doesn't?"

"Bet you'd be pretty funny on an ice skating rink," Draco sneered, laughing softly. "Imagine: you'd be sliding all over the place!"

"I bet he'd get better than you," Bella piped up. She and Draco stared at each other. Bella gasped. She had just stood up to her first bully! On her own! "Yea," she continued confidently. "He's so determined to do well, he'd totally end up better than you, 'cause you would just stand there, too busy making fun of him."

"Yea, you'd get behind everybody else," Harry said, chipping in. He put a hand up to cover his grin.

Draco glared at them while Neville nodded, relieved. McGonagall turned a corner.

"Let's go," Draco muttered, then realized his cronies weren't behind him. He slipped out while Ron and Harry laughed at him and Neville hugged Bella.

The sun had almost set the same day. Harry had his invisibility cloak in his school bag. He loitered by a dark corner, waiting for Bella. He knew she liked those. And he had a feeling he was near the Hufflepuff common room, too. This particular section of the castle seemed to be mostly dominated by them. They sent him odd looks. He figured they were confused that a Slytherin would be in their area. But oh well—oi, there was Bella.

He stepped forward, getting her attention. "Come on," he whispered.

"Yay!" Bella whispered back, now bouncing excited. Quickly, they hurried off.

"Oi," Nix called. "Where you going with her?"

"She's my sister, silly!" Harry shouted over his shoulder. "I can go places with her if I want!"

"She's not your sister!" Nix howled.

"That's nice!" Grinning, Harry put his arm around Bella's shoulder. They then glanced behind them and dove into a shadowy corridor.

"How we going to get down to Hagrid's?" Bella said softly. "Snape didn't confiscate your cloak, did he?"

Still grinning, Harry threw the invisibility cloak over them.

Swiftly and silently, they made their way to the grounds without being detected. They were skimming the wet grass, Harry trying to keep poor Bella quiet about the cold, assuring her that it wasn't likely she would get sick. They very suddenly came up to a fight between Mae—and Draco.

Mae said threateningly, "If Uncle knew you were out here—"

"I know," Draco wailed. "But I have to see Hagrid."

Bella and Harry stopped. Why did he want to see Hagrid?

"I saw him look up dragons in the library," Draco whined. Bella stifled a gasp.

Mae sighed. "Does this have anything to do with that note? Which Uncle still can't find, by the way. Where is it?"

Draco's hands curled into fists. "Doesn't matter," he spat. "Anyway, it's cold out. Let me go!"

Mae's look clearly said 'no.' "What about Filch?" she taunted. "Maybe he'd like to know!" Draco shook his head rigorously. "Because if you don't back off, I might tell him, boy. Something like: I saw that Malfoy boy on the grounds outside a window—"

"Ok I get it," Draco drawled. "Blame me for investigating my father's business, but don't admit you were out of bounds too."

"Your father's business?" Mae glowered. "So is it about that note?"

Draco looked nervous. Mae smirked. "So it is about that note. What does it say?"

"Stop prying!" Draco snapped. "You know what? I'll go back now. You're annoying!"

"Good," Mae said, grinning. "You too!"

Harry and Bella quickly scooted out of the way so Draco didn't storm into them. Mae flounced after him, poking him. They broke into a run. Draco suddenly stopped. Mae managed to stop in time.

"Wait a sec," he said suspiciously. "I bet Potter and Midget are out here too. Yea, Midget goes to the library all the time. She knows Hagrid was looking up dragons for sure." He scanned the area. "Did Midget make them both invisible?" he muttered. He walked back, shouting for them.

"We can't stay," Bella whispered. She and Harry quickly caught up to the doors and quietly slipped in Hogwarts when Mae did.

The next day, Harry went down between classes and found out Hagrid did indeed have a dragon's egg. Since he knew Bella would have the better questions to ask, he went back for her. He didn't know where she was.

"Oi Ron, Hermione," Harry said softly to his friends sitting at the Gryffindor table after classes. "Have you seen Bella?" Ron shook his head.

"She should be studying," Hermione said. Ron groaned softly.

"Hagrid has a dragon egg—I have to tell Bella," Harry said seriously. Hermione gasped.

"He shouldn't have one!" she whispered furiously. "It's not allowed."

"Do you think it has to do with the note you told us about?" Ron gulped.

"Maybe she's—" Harry started, roving the main hall with his eyes—and stopped short to see Draco not too far from him, ducking. He caught a smirk on his face.

"He knows," Hermione whispered. "He heard us…"

"What do we do?" Ron said quietly as Draco confidently made his way down the main hall to the doors.

"Ask Bella, and go out to Hagrid's before Draco does!" Harry said urgently. "Did anyone see her?"

"Um, I just remembered," Neville said tentatively, "that she's sick. In the hospital wing with a bad cold."

Harry reeled. "Now what?" he gasped.

"Take us," Hermione said swiftly. Ron looked elated.

"That means, we'll have to put off our studying a bit?" he asked hopefully.

Hermione sighed. "Yes."

"Tonight, then," Harry decided.

Unfortunately, 'tonight' did not go…well. In fact, 'tonight' went horribly.

First, the egg hatched. Second, it was too distracting for Hagrid, so they got nothing out of him about the note and egg, even though Harry told Hermione what he knew so she could ask the right things.

Third, they might have gotten there first, but Draco lurked.

Harry got himself detention. Draco, with the excuse 'I saw him out a window, professor!' evaded the grueling hour of sorting potion ingredients the two Griffindors and one Slytherin shared. (Yes, Draco appealed to Professor Snape.)

Harry grumbled to Bella about it when it was finally over. Feeling sorry for him, she hugged him.

The crew of Bella and friends couldn't do anything. Not yet. Not while Draco was on the lookout. He appeared to be waiting for them to make the first move. He would sometimes sit there, watching one of them silently, waiting, calculating…

No one was counting the weeks. Draco would suddenly descend as doom if he saw even two of Bella's friends together. He would make up excuses to get them detentions or extra homework. He would mess up his projects in class and pin it on them. He tried to prevent them from planning, keeping them far away so they couldn't do anything to interfere in his father's plot.

Bella told her friends they had to be secret. They had to gather when Draco wasn't looking.

One night, when Draco was in the Slytherin common room, Harry and Bella stole out again. They had to be swift and silent. They had to be back before Draco noticed and went looking for them. They had Falda as a guard, spying on Draco to be sure he didn't go anywhere outside. They were only two of them; the others were stationed at certain places in Hogwarts to keep Draco inside.

They went down and knocked on Hagrid's door. He opened it after a second, shushing Fang.

"What?" he said softly. "Who's there?"

"Hagrid!" Harry cried, taking off the invisibility cloak.

He let them shuffle in, and they got to the point.

"We have to be quick," Harry said swiftly. "We have to ask about that egg."

"Don't give me away," Hagrid gulped. "Norbert tis only a baby! What'll he do without me?"

"Who gave him to you?" Bella said softly. "Was it Da—Mr. Malfoy?"

Hagrid frowned, absently patting out a fire in his beard. "What? No! I wouldn't take some'at from that lot! No one gave 'im to me, I just found 'im all alone in the forest."

"So Eustace didn't give him to you?" Harry interjected.

Hagrid looked confused. "Who's that?"

"Holey pants, funny scarf, messy black hair?" Bella offered hopefully.

"No, I ain't seen a bloke like that," Hagrid said, picking up Norbert the dragon to keep him away from the wooden table, cuddling and cooing to him.

"So he's not involved," Harry whispered. Nodding slightly, she mouthed 'we have to be sure.'

"Do you know anything about a plot including a dragon egg or anything?" Bella asked.

Hagrid stared at her strangely. "'Course not! I wouldn't do anythin' of that sort, if it were evil and stuff, ya know. I'm not involved and I got no idea what ya talkin' about, if that's what cher askin'. O Norbert—don't start that on fire—"

Harry and Bella stared at each other while Hagrid chased Norbert around the table, a wooden mug in the dragon's maw.

"Sir?" Harry asked quietly. "We really must get going, we can't stay long."

Bella put in politely, "Thank you of course."

"Sure," Hagrid grunted, one hand on Norbert's tail. "Jus' make sure no one's followin' ya!"

"See you!" Harry called as he and Bella went out. Carefully glancing around, they made sure no one was looking. Slowly, they donned the invisibility cloak and stole across the grounds. Once they got in the castle, (and snuck past Crabbe in the entry hall) they knew they were safe.

Harry woke slowly the next morning. He was light of heart that his little trip had succeeded, much better than it had last time, too. They could rule Hagrid out of being involved in the plot. Harry had thought that perhaps Eustace got the egg and gave it to Hagrid for safekeeping, but knew now that wasn't true. He cheerfully greeted his friends. He got ready for the day, humming, planning ideas for the next move. They really weren't doing so badly. Things would be great now.

They had gotten to Hagrid before Draco, and hopefully they were now a step ahead. Draco had in fact shown no signs of knowing any of the new information. The stationed friends worked brilliantly. Man, taking things in his own hands (with help of course) was so fun.

"Oi, the others are here," Ron said. "Outside, actually. In the nearest classroom."

"Hii!" Caly squealed, hopping in. She backed out when she noticed Harry was still brushing his teeth.

Minutes later when he joined them in the boy's dorm (boys couldn't get into the girl's dorm) the others were hugging joyously.

"I'm glad Hagrid isn't involved," Caly said. "I like him."

"He too," Falda said. "but he does have…interesting tastes in pets."

"Yea, good job by the common room!" Bella cheered. Falda nodded, grinning.

"I knew Hagrid wasn't involved," Hermione said briskly. "But I do think it was a good idea to investigate."

"And Draco didn't get past us," Ron said cheerfully. "What a brilliant idea placing me by the kitchens, by the way."

"What do we do next?" Bella said. "Get Mae to join us? There are six of us—Harry and his two friends, me and my two friends, but I bet we could use another person. Mae would tell Snape things if we need him. That way he's kind of on our side."

"Mae also already knows," Harry said.

"Also, Draco is using Snape against us. I can't believe he would do that—Snape is not like that! I bet he'd join whatever side he wishes," Caly said stubbornly.

"Then let's ask Mae if her uncle wants to help us," Bella said.

"Yea!" the rest cheered.

"What do we do after that?" Hermione said.

"Eat?" Ron suggested hopefully.

"Uhh," Neville squeaked. "How about we…ask Snape if he has any idea?"

"We don't want Eustace to know we're on his trail," Hermione said. "What if he's somehow involved?"

"He's not a villain," Caly said indignantly. "It's not likely!"

"I like how we're a big group," Harry said, grinning. "We could totally do this!"

Happily, they opened the door to go out to breakfast, chatting. They left the class room as a group. (Ron had seen Draco leave for the main hall not to long ago after all.)

Caly squealed, "I can't wait to—" but stopped short.

"Well well," Draco drawled, legs wider than one would normally stand, taking up space in the middle of the corridor. "Lookie, it's the group who's trying to take down my father. All in one place." He turned his cold eyes to Harry and Bella. "And guess who was UP and OUT on the grounds last night."

Author's question: Blimey! How did he know? Any guesses?