Alexander gasped at the little town that lay before him

A/N: Whatever you do recognize is JK Rowling. Whatever you don't recognize is mine, especially Alexander.

The Second Realm

Chapter Five: The Moonlight Sceptre

Alexander gasped at the little town that lay before him. It was breath taking, and what was even more incredible, he was alone with a stunningly beautiful girl who was very close to him.

"It's exactly how I remembered it," Katie breathed, and became extremely excited. "We're here! We're going to see all the fairies! I can't believe it!" She jumped up and down, bouncing cutely. She was so excited that she gave Alexander a tight hug and leaned her head against his chest. Alexander's heart beat quickly; he had never been this close to a girl before.

"Er, I can't wait," he said hesitantly, not sure what to with his hands.

"I hope they're friendly, though," Katie remarked, moving herself away from him. Alexander felt sad, but did not know why.

"I'm sure they will be. I mean, they're fairies," Alexander managed to say.

"Yes, of course," Katie agreed and turned her head to look at the sunset. "Look at that sunset! Isn't it fascinating?"

"Yeah, beautiful," Alexander murmured, but he wasn't talking about the sunset. Katie turned to him suddenly.

"Alexander, I know this will sound random, but do you like adventures?" Katie asked. Alexander was slightly confused with the question. Adventures? He had never had one.

"Yeah, I suppose, although I haven't ever been on one," he replied. Katie then looked thoughtful, and did not say anything for a few minutes.

"I guess we should proceed, then," Katie said softly. "It's getting darker."

"Right. Maybe we should," Alexander replied, and started to walk toward the elegant fairy town, Katie right behind him.

"Ow," Julian whined. "My muscles have all seized up."

"I ache all over," Nave complained.

"Weaklings," Draco scoffed, but he was aching as well and winced very noticeably. Julian and Nave chuckled, angering Draco slightly. He hated people laughing at him. The three boys walked to their tents, having completed their day of training. Julian and Draco said goodnight to Nave, and trudged to their very small tent. Julian sighed.

"One day down, another five thousand more," he said glumly. Draco had to agree. Soon afterwards, Moss the little dragonfly zipped quickly into their tent. Draco gasped in spite of himself.

"The dragonfly is back," Draco breathed.

"See? Pansy was probably so taken with your letter that she wrote as quickly as possible," Julian grinned, earning him a cold look from his friend. Draco carefully unfolded the letter, not knowing what to expect. He read it to himself

Draco,

Have you completely lost it? Honestly, you've never acted this way before…are you feeling all right? I'm very sorry you have to fight, so good luck. You'll need it. These people are so primitive. Dragonflies, heh. It took me five minutes just to catch the stupid thing. I have to go soon, we're having a late meal and my parents are expecting guests. Too bad you aren't here to keep me company. Two old men…I don't think I can stand it.

Pansy

"Draco, put the letter away!" Julian hissed. "Vole is coming!" Draco quickly stuffed the letter into his pocket and lay on his sleeping mat as if he was tired. Just then, Nas T. Vole stuck his brutish head inside the tent to check on them.

"Stop talking and go to sleep!" Vole barked. "Otherwise, you will be doing push-ups until dawn! We have to shape you wimps into soldiers."

"Yes, sir," Julian muttered, and Vole, apparently satisfied with his meek reply, pulled his head from inside the tent and walked away. Julian sighed in relief. "I hate him," Julian breathed and got into his sleeping bag. "Good night."

"Yeah. Night," Draco mumbled, and covered himself with a blanket. He was so weary that he fell asleep almost instantly…

Draco was running. Where he was or from whom he was running he didn't know, but he had to travel as quickly as possible. He could hear curses being shouted and footsteps crunching behind him. Run! Run! Draco's mind was pounding as he ran. Suddenly, he tripped over a tree root and sprawled on the forest floor. It hurt badly, and he yelled in anguish. He could hear voices in front of him.

"What happened?" a distinctly familiar voice asked anxiously. "Julian, where are you?" Draco suddenly realised that this was rather like the night after the Quidditch World Cup. Weasley had been on the ground, while Draco was watching besides a tree, laughing quietly at his stupidity. Sure enough, he heard another voice, but it was not Weasley's.

"No, no, no, not him. Not this way," a girl sobbed. Draco got to his feet, feeling the pain that was coursing through his right foot.

"Who?" the first voice wondered. "Who are you talking about?"

"Alexander…he's been killed, Julian," the girl cried. Draco froze. No…it couldn't be.

"Oh no," Julian gasped. "But…how?"

"Killed…by Him," the girl said shakily.

"I can't believe it," Julian murmured. "He was my best friend…it must be hard for you too, Katie."

"He's gone…forever," Katie said tearfully. "I…loved him." Draco wondered who had killed Alexander, and why. What was the meaning of this? His thoughts were interrupted by a shock of pain in his lower back. He groaned.

"Run, Katie! They're coming!" Julian yelled, and disappeared into the dark green foliage. Katie didn't run, however, but leaned closer to Draco.

"You killed him," she hissed. Draco tried to open his mouth to retort something back, but blood dripped out instead of words.

"No…no…" Draco whispered.

"You killed him," Katie repeated. "How could you? Killing your friend! Evil wizard…"

"NO! NO!" Draco yelled to her, but blackness was filling his eyes- the pain was getting stronger-

"You bastard!" Katie screamed, and her face was becoming disfigured, like a snake, cold and harsh.

"NO! STOP! NOOOOO!" Draco screamed. There seemed to be a voice in his ear calling to him. 'Draco…Draco….' "I DIDN'T DO IT! NO! GO AWAY!" Draco yelled.

Draco woke up in a cold sweat, staring into the concerned face of Julian. He groaned and fell back on the ground.

"You all right?" Julian asked. "You kept screaming and twisting…I thought something was wrong." Draco muttered something into his pillow. Julian grabbed his shoulder and twisted it so that Draco's head was out of the pillow.

"What did you say?" Julian continued.

"Nothing. It was a bad dream," Draco retorted. "Shut up and let me go back to sleep."

"If that's so, why are you grimacing?" Julian wondered. Draco shrugged, coughing slightly. However, the light cough brought Draco immense pain. His shirt seemed to be quite damp. Draco touched the skin of his lower back under his shirt, and stared at his fingers. They were soaked in blood.

Lucius Malfoy awoke with a start, gasping like a fish out of water. 'Lousy nightmare,' Lucius thought as he got out of bed to pour himself a drink. He hated nightmares because they were so childish. This nightmare had been different, though. He had dreamed that he was soaked in blood, trembling with pain, and staring at his son, Draco, who was smirking evilly at him. 'Good bye Father,' Draco had hissed. 'See you in Hell.' Lucius did not like the sound of those words. They seemed too foreboding. To add to his discomfort, his upper arm had started to ache severely again. That meant that Voldemort wished to speak to all of the Death Eaters, or he was furiously mad. Lucius sighed deeply. Couldn't Voldemort contact him earlier than two am in the morning? He gulped down a shot of vodka and grimaced at the strong, bitter taste. However, the tart taste of the alcohol did nothing to placate his worry about Draco. His entire future depended on his son, whether he liked it or not.

"Too much depends on him," Lucius sighed. What was disturbing was that Draco had only sent him one letter in a week, unlike when he was at Hogwarts, sending a letter every three days. Draco's only letter remarked that the camp was horrible, but that he had made friends. Draco? Having friends? The very idea made Lucius cringe. He hoped that they were at least Dark wizards. The last bit of his son's letter was written by another boy, Julian Earlingston his name was. Lucius thought hard, trying to remember any bit of information about the Earlingstons, but could not think of anything. This 'Julian' character wanted to visit for a few days. Lucius did not recall a time when Draco had ever brought friends over, not even Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. He supposed Earlingston could stay, as it would probably make Draco happy, and more willing to follow his orders…

"Lucius?" a sickeningly sweet voice called. 'Narcissa,' Lucius thought. 'Probably wondering why I'm awake.'

"Yes?" he replied, straining to be pleasant.

"Are you all right?" his wife asked.

"Yes, of course," Lucius sighed. "Coming." Ignoring the stabbing pain in his arm, which had steadily increased each minute, he walked back to his bedchamber to fall asleep troubled.

Draco awoke that morning to sounds of yelling and pandemonium. Groaning, he got up and changed slowly into his clothes. As he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, he noticed that Julian was asleep. I'll wake him afterwards, Draco thought, pulling on his pants. He had just finished when he heard a crackling sound. That's odd, Draco mused. Why does it smell like smoke? He felt very hot, and, not knowing why he felt so warm, looked at the roof of the tent. It was burning!

"Oh no," Draco moaned. "Julian!" His friend did not awaken. "JULIAN, WAKE UP!" Julian opened his eyes and stared upwards only to see blazing hot flames. He yelled and hastily scrambled out of bed, gathered his clothes, and yanked Draco out of the tent with him.

"Crap," Julian swore as he watched their tent fall. "Why did someone burn our tent?"

"I don't know," Draco admitted. "Probably 'cause we are humans." Julian did not have time to respond because just then, out of the forest, several hundred large, ugly, and hairy trolls stampeded towards the military fortress.

"You know, this might be a good time to run," Julian commented, Draco nodded, and so they sprinted in the other direction. The Traskin Trolls smashed the soldiers' tents to bits, which, unfortunately for them, were completely empty. After a while, the trolls concluded that the tents might actually be vacant and continued their rampage by walking toward the fairy tent.

"HURRY! GRAB YOUR WEAPONS AND FIGHT!" a general bellowed, attracting the attention of the fairy males and the trolls. The men rushed to grab their spears, slingshots, and wands, and turned around to meet their destiny. Draco really did not want to fight; in fact, he just wanted to get as far away as possible from the trolls. Julian snatched two swords, handed one to Draco, and prepared to fight. The Traskins were getting closer, some capturing fairies and ripping apart their skin to shreds, and some crushed fairies' head with their fists. All this bloodshed was starting to affect Draco, as he could never stand the stench of carcasses.

"Watch out!" Julian yelled, breaking Draco's thoughts. He turned around with his sword in his hand, accidentally stabbing a troll who was about to attack him.

"Oops," Draco muttered, but Julian slapped him on the back cheerfully, unaware that a rather hairy troll was running furiously towards him. Draco acted quickly and stabbed it. The troll groaned and fell to the ground with its blood staining the grass. You enjoy killing, you know it, a nasty voice sneered in his head. NO! Draco thought back fiercely.

"Ugh," Julian moaned, having just smacked a short troll on the face. Draco noticed that several trolls were stomping toward him at once. Soon, some trolls had surrounded them. They were trapped. A troll with a nose ring stared at them evilly and grabbed them by their shirts.

"Two boys will make food

When we're in the mood.

Oh, we gnash and tear

Enemies, beware!" the troll growled, and Julian gulped.

The trolls surrounding them took them to a rather large tree, and tied them to it. Julian looked frightened as the trolls drooled, smacking their lips loudly. Draco tried not to scream curses at their captors who were binding their arms and legs tightly with rope.

"I can't believe we've been kidnapped," Julian whispered.

"We're screwed," Draco groaned. "God, why did this have to happen to me?"

"I'll never see Mum or Dad again," Julian said. "I never got to say goodbye."

"Shut up," Draco murmured as the troll with the nose ring stomped closer.

"Now we are hungry

For a bloody snack.

If you try to flee,

We will eat your back," the nose-ring troll snarled. What a stupid rhyme, Draco thought.

"Eat dung, trolls!" he yelled bravely. Many Traskin trolls were startled and some chuckled grotesquely at his foolishness.

"Oh?" the trolls chorused, coming closer to their tree.

"Go to hell, you hairy fools!" Draco exclaimed angrily. The trolls' amused looks turned into angry ones, frightening Julian.

"Idiot," Julian whispered, "you weren't supposed to insult them. Now they're mad."

"I know, I know," Draco said.

"Meat. Meat. MEAT!" the trolls growled, but stopped when the nose-ring troll rose his paw.

"Take them from the tree

On the count of three.

Throw them in the pot

They have to be hot," the leader commanded fiercely, and before Draco and Julian could make a run for it, the trolls had untied them from the tree and stripped them of their clothing. Draco could see them drooling at the sight of young, healthy flesh. Julian's face was pale as he looked at his captors, and struggled weakly, which had no affect whatsoever. Then, the trolls led the two boys to a huge pot of scorching water. Oh no, Draco thought, They're going to boil me to death.

"Mum," Julian whispered, tears running down his cheeks, "don't let me die." Draco ignored Julian's plea for help, and instead, he focused on a plan of escape. As soon as the Traskin trolls threw them into the pot of water, he could quickly get out, pulling Julian out and running away as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, I don't know how fast they run, Draco mused. This is pointless. I am going to die. He stepped closer to the pot, quietly accepting his fate. Julian had stopped crying, but his face was white as he stared at the bubbling water. He stood right by Draco silently and Draco could only assume that Julian's life was flashing by his eyes. Two husky trolls lifted them up, waiting for the signal to drop them in the pot. Draco's heart was beating very quickly now and he looked up towards the clear blue sky for what would probably be his last time. Bye Father, Draco thought miserably.

"Throw them in, throw them in!" the trolls chanted deeply. Draco felt the troll's arms lower, getting ready to toss him. The other troll did the same.

"Now," the leader said, and Draco felt himself fly for a moment before he hit the scalding water. He screwed his eyelids tightly as he plunged deeper. The water tore at his skin so viciously that he doubled up in pain. The need for oxygen was now strong, and so with his feet touching the bottom of the pot, Draco pushed himself up to the surface. He quickly grabbed the edge of the pot, which he found was like touching fire, and hoisted himself out of the hot water. As soon as he was out, he turned and saw that Julian was right behind him, very burnt and sore. Draco gave a fast nod, which Julian returned, and they stampeded past the trolls into the forest.

"They're getting away!" a troll screamed, making the whole tribe run after them. Draco's body stung all over and his hands were bleeding. He dodged numerous branches, stones, and animals as he continued to sprint through the forest. Julian was right behind him, breathing heavily and cursing the trolls. The trolls weren't far behind them now…Draco could hear their breath as they clomped on the mossy ground. He knew it wouldn't be long now before they caught and killed Julian and himself. Unfortunately, he was running out of breath and it was becoming harder to take a step.

"AH!" Draco shouted as he tripped over a tree root. Julian stopped to pull him up, but Draco could not run any more.

"Come on, Draco. We have to run," Julian urged him. Draco wiped his hair away from his sweaty forehead, smearing some blood across it with his hands. With a considerable effort, he got to his feet and started to run again. Julian was ahead of him now, running easily. Then, suddenly, Draco could no longer see his friend. It must be my eyes, Draco thought.

"Julian, where are you?" he pleaded tiredly. "Juli--eh!" Draco screamed as he plunged through the grass and fell down a concealed hole. He fell for a short while, then plopped on a pile of leaves. Breathing deeply, he looked around to see where he was, and saw Julian lying next to him with his eyes closed. "Wake up," Draco ordered, but Julian did not stir. In fact, his face was rather pale and he didn't seem to be breathing. "Wake up, Earlingston," Draco said again, shaking his friend's shoulders. Julian continued to be still.

"No," Draco whispered and cradled his head with his hands. You killed him, you disgusting little boy, his inner voice told him. You made him die. "No," Draco said aloud. You killed him, the voice in his head repeated. How could you? Killing your friend! Evil wizard… Seems like you're ready to join Voldemort, now.

"NO! I DIDN'T DO IT! GO AWAY!" Draco screamed to the voice, and fell on his back, shaking. Dead…I'm dying, Draco thought before he lost consciousness.

Lord Voldemort glared at the pale figure of Lucius Malfoy.

"Where's your son, now, Lucius?" he asked coldly. "That boy will be my next great servant, one who will bend to my every will and make me the most powerful wizard in the world." Lucius willed his hands to stop shaking, and tried to breathe normally.

"What do you mean, my Lord?" Lucius choked. "What makes my son so worthy to you?"

"Don't tell me you don't know, Lucius," Voldemort said silkily. "Your son has a gift, a very special gift, but one he cannot use unless he provokes it."

"Gift? I-- I was not aware of any such thing, my Lord," Lucius lied. "If you will, please explain." Voldemort paced back and forth as he spoke.

"I found that there was a powerful wizard via a spell Wormtail performed…The spell told me that power, much power, was located in Harry Potter (Voldemort and Lucius both cringed with disgust), and your son, Draco. However, he is the only one who has the power of Mind. If he's on my side, as my follower, I can 'persuade' him to control my victims…even better than the Imperious curse, I might add. It's more powerful," Voldemort finished softly. Lucius's heart was racing, his breathing was shallow, and his eyes were watering. 'Voldemort knows,' Lucius thought.

"I cannot let you do that," Lucius said shakily. Voldemort glared at him viciously.

"Why not? Are you not my loyal servant, whose only thought is to follow my orders?" Voldemort bellowed. "I think you're afraid, Lucius. Afraid of what will become of your son. Pitiful. Purely pitiful."

"My Lord, I did not mean to imply that I was unfaithful," Lucius said.

"Really? I believe you did," Voldemort spat sourly. "You shall regret ever saying 'no' to Lord Voldemort. Crucio!" A silvery light burst out of Voldemort's wand and hit the tall blond man. Lucius fell to the ground, screaming and quivering under the curse. Voldemort looked down at him in distaste.

"You will bring him to me," he whispered. "He will become one of us." The curse had dissipated, but Lucius was still shivering.

Draco awoke cold and dazed. What happened? he thought, feeling leaves underneath his fingers. He then saw Julian's stiff body. Oh, right. Julian. He turned away to look at the dirt walls of the hole he was in, silently cursing himself again. His one good friend, gone. Dead…gone.

"Urgh," a voice said. Draco couldn't tell if that was his voice or not, but who cared? He sighed and wondered if the trolls had completely passed them. He hoped so. "Eurgh," the voice repeated, making him wonder if he was sharing his hole with a bog monster rather than a dead body.

"Go away," he muttered sourly. He had enough strange things happening to him to last a while.

"I can't exactly do that when I'm stuck in a hole," the voice retorted, sounding very familiar. Draco was puzzled and turned to see who was talking.

"Julian," he gasped. "But you're dead!"

"Of course I'm not," Julian said. "I was unconscious, though." Draco felt like an idiot.

"Unconscious?" he wondered, staring at his still pale friend.

"Yeah. Now get up so we can climb out of this hell hole," Julian ordered sternly. Draco stood; Julian knelt. Draco placed one of his sore feet on Julian's shoulders and put his other foot on the empty shoulder as Julian stood up slowly. Standing on Julian's shoulders, Draco was able to reach the top of the hole with his hands. He grabbed the edge of the earth and pulled himself up and out of the hole. He swiveled around and took Julian by the hands to get him out of the hole as well. When they were both out, Draco was relieved but became embarrassed as he noticed he wasn't wearing anything.

"I'll be back," he mumbled and rushed to the safety of a tree in order to make some crude clothing. Unfortunately, he didn't know how to make any sort of clothing, since he considered sewing to be beneath him, it being a Muggle skill. He finally decided on awkwardly weaving leaves together to make a pair of shorts. When he had finished, he was not pleased with the results, but it would have to do. At least, Draco thought, I'm not going to go around nude anymore. He walked around the tree and looked for Julian. He couldn't believe what he saw. Julian was completely clothed in dark blue robes, and was sitting on a rock, twiddling his thumbs.

"What took you?" he asked, grinning cheekily. Draco's jaw dropped in indignation.

"How'd you do that?" Draco said.

"Do what?" Julian replied.

"Conjure some robes to wear," Draco said.

"It's my special talent," Julian smirked. "Nice shorts." Draco frowned.

"I demand that you give me some robes," he ordered. This time, it was Julian's turn to frown.

"Shame, leaves really did suit you," Julian said. "All right, if you insist." Draco couldn't help but smirk as Julian squinted his eyes and pressed his fingers to his forehead. Two seconds later, Draco felt himself being weighed down by something that made him warm. He glanced down at himself and saw that he was wearing light grey robes.

"Marvellous," Draco said, smirking. He then noticed that his friend was staring off into space with his head in his hand. What had made him change moods so quickly? "What's wrong now, Julian?" he added, crossing his arms and glared at Julian.

"Nothing. It's just that-- never mind, you don't want to know," Julian stammered and blushed, embarrassed. Draco saw his look and decided not to probe further.

"We still have to run. Those bloody trolls aren't going to give up," Draco sighed. Julian nodded, and they continued, having no idea where they were headed.

After an hour of walking, it started to rain heavily, making Draco groan and Julian sigh. The dark grey clouds were pouring rain as if their lives depended on it. The wind decided that it wanted some action, too, so it began to blow fiercely. Branches from various trees fell to the ground, making it rather dangerous to walk through the forest. Draco dodged a large branch that fell dreadfully close to him.

"Bloody branch," Draco cursed and kicked it, hurting his toe. He bit his lip and tried to ignore the sharp pangs in his toe as he walked forward. The wind was blustering intensely now and making Draco bend his head to keep his eyes protected.

"I think I see something!" Julian yelled over the howling of the wind and the whistling of the rain.

"What is it?" Draco called back. Julian opened his mouth to reply, but before he could say anything, a large branch cracked and fell on his head. Julian fell to the ground with a thud and it was all Draco could do not to yell. He bent over the fallen figure of his friend, shook his shoulders, and screamed "Wake up!" to Julian, but the wind carried the sound away. Draco heard a sharp snapping above him, got to his feet, and a second later, the world turned black and he knew no more.

Pansy Parkinson knew she should not be outside in the dark and stormy weather, but sometimes she liked to walk in the rain to ease her mind and stir her emotions. She was strolling in the forest near her house, admiring the scenery and enjoying the wind blowing through her hair. Just then, she hit her foot on something soft and looked down to see what it was. It was a figure of a boy who looked pale and nearly dead. Pansy jumped back in disgust. Gross! Pansy thought, and shivered. Then she saw another figure on the ground. On closer inspection, she saw that it was none other than Draco Malfoy. Pansy shrieked. What is he doing here? She could not believe it. She knelt and noticed he was bleeding on the forehead, face, and other places as well. Seeing Draco again brought back painful memories of rejection and tragedy.

"Oh, Draco," Pansy murmured as she wiped the trickle of blood from his forehead. He didn't stir, but still bled terribly. She had to get him (and, she supposed, his companion as well) inside before he froze to death. With a surge of strength she didn't know she had, Pansy lifted Draco and carried him to her porch. She decided to set him down on the porch swing and turned to get Julian (she didn't know his name, of course). As soon as the two boys were safely resting on the bench, she ran inside to get her mother. Mrs. Parkinson was brushing her hair in front of a mirror and was considerably taken back when her daughter rushed in, breathing heavily.

"What ever is the matter, darling?" Mrs. Parkinson said stiffly. "You're so…out of breath."

"I apologize," Pansy said quickly. "You must listen, though. Draco Malfoy is outside on our porch." Mrs. Parkinson's eyes widened.

"Not the Draco Malfoy?" she asked. "The one who's been sending you love letters?"

"You've read my letters?" Pansy shrieked. Mrs. Parkinson sighed.

"Silly, immature child," she said simply while Pansy gaped at her.

"I can't believe you would do a thing like that!" Pansy exclaimed. "Invading my privacy like that…forget it. Draco is outside and he's bleeding, Mother."

"I shall send Erin to help you," Mrs. Parkinson said. "Run along now." Pansy nodded and ran down to the porch again, afraid Draco had left. Draco was still lying on the porch bench, his body slack and his mouth hanging slightly open. Pansy had to admit to herself that Draco looked extremely cute (even in the state he was in now), as he always was. Erin came a while later and helped her carry the two unconscious boys to her room as well as healing their cuts and wounds. Pansy nodded in thanks as he left the room; Erin tipped his hat. A groan escaped one of the boys, Pansy didn't know which, and so she rushed to their sides.

"Oh no," she murmured. The healing charm had removed all of Draco's cuts (and had fixed his concussion), but she didn't know if he was having nightmares or something like that. She stared worriedly at the blond boy, hoping he was all right. Draco's eyelids flickered and he awoke suddenly.

"What the--?" Draco gasped. "Ugh…"

"Hi Draco," Pansy said, blushing.

"I…ah…how…where…" Draco hesitated, looking flustered. He sat up and noticed that Julian was right by him.

"I found you in the forest near my house," Pansy explained. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be fighting? What happened? Why are--"

"Be quiet, Pansy," Draco interrupted her, finding his voice at last. "My head's hurting." Pansy became silent, and clenched her teeth in order to barricade her tears from flowing. Draco would never like her. The love of her life looked at her as though she had sprouted wings. He shook his head. "Look, some trolls came into the military fortress where we were. We tried to fight but were captured. And then somehow we managed to escape, and landed here." That being said, Draco dropped his arms flimsily and sighed.

"I see," Pansy chose as her intelligent reply. Draco crossed his arms and leaned against the pillows of her bed.

"Why did you bring me here?" Draco asked.

"Unless you wanted to be left outside in the freezing rain to die, I say I did the right thing," Pansy snapped. "I was only trying to save your life. What do you want from me?"

"I don't want anything from you," Draco said fiercely. "So I'll go now." Pansy stared at him with narrow eyes and her face crimson. Draco got off the bed and stood to face her, but before he could move any farther, she had slapped him hard on the cheek.

"How dare you," Pansy said. "You would have been dead if I hadn't found you."

"I don't want to hear anymore of your insolent chatter," Draco replied angrily, his cheek still stinging. "Just shut up."

"Shut up? Shut up?" Pansy shrieked and tears began to fall down her face. She looked at Draco incredulously and began to sob. "I can't shut up, Draco," she said sadly.

"Why can't you?" Draco replied nastily.

"I…I just can't," Pansy said, hurriedly wiping the tears from her face only to have more drip down. Draco stared at her.

"That's a stupid reason," he said and Pansy glared at him.

"Stupid…ha, you shouldn't be talking," Pansy said.

"Why not?" Draco snapped.

"Because if you weren't so stupid, you'd know how much I like you!" Pansy exclaimed and then clapped her hand to her mouth. Draco was stunned.

"What?" Draco gasped. Pansy wouldn't answer, but continued to clasp her hand to her mouth in disbelief, turned, and flew out the door. Draco watched her leave. Julian took this moment to awaken groggily.

"Whazzamatter, Drake?" he asked sleepily. Draco jumped, startled, but hardly gave a glance to acknowledge his friend's presence.

"I don't believe it," he muttered.

"Believe what?" Julian asked suspiciously.

"Nothing," Draco replied quickly. Julian raised an eyebrow at his quick reply, but said nothing for a while. Draco's mind was working at full speed to comprehend what Pansy meant. In his first year, she had lent him her Transfiguration book… She always seemed to want to talk to him… In his second year, she told her dislike of Potter to him… She sat near him in History of Magic… She asked how his arm had hurt after he had been 'attacked' by a Hippogriff… She accompanied him to the Yule Ball as well. It was amazing how an annoying person like that could somehow like him… Pansy really did like him. Isn't that lovely, Draco thought dryly, since she hates me right now. Oh well. It's not as if I care.

"Draco, snap out of it," Julian said, breaking his thoughts. Draco turned to look at him. "How did we get in here?" Julian wanted to know.

"Pansy took us in," Draco said simply. He didn't want to say any more right now. Julian's eyes widened.

"Pansy Parkinson? Did she kiss you?" Julian asked. When Draco didn't respond, Julian chuckled. "I see she did," Julian added, grinning.

"She did not," Draco replied grumpily. "Keep your comments to yourself." Julian grinned and looked around the room.

"Where is she?" he wondered aloud. "I don't see her hiding anywhere here. I'll go look in the other rooms," he walked out of Pansy's room, clattering down the stairs. Draco groaned and went after him.

Draco followed Julian into a room that could only be the parlor. To his surprise, Pansy was sitting on the window seat. Draco, feeling self-conscious, moved himself behind a bookcase, hiding from the view of Pansy.

"Hello there," Julian said cheerfully, walking up to Pansy. She was startled at the interruption and stared at Julian curiously.

"What's your name?" she asked, getting to her feet.

"Julian Earlingston," Julian replied, grinning. Pansy ignored his grin and frowned.

"Why did you come with Draco?" she said suspiciously. Julian sighed.

"Long story. Basically, I came along with him because he's my friend," Julian said. Pansy raised an eyebrow at this.

"Really?" she muttered. "Hum." Julian took this moment to change the subject.

"Nice house you've got here," he said politely. Pansy shrugged.

"It's nothing really," she replied and glanced over in Draco's direction. He stiffened, hoping she wouldn't notice. Apparently, she didn't. "Would you like to see my favorite room?"

"Sure," Julian said. Pansy smiled widely, grabbed his arm, and pulled him to a door on the left. She opened it slowly.

"I call it the Cloud Chamber, even though I really don't know its name or why it's here," Pansy remarked and stepped inside. Julian followed her and the door shut behind them. Draco's jaw dropped. The nerves of that girl, sucking up to Julian like that! He burned with rage as he heard laughter inside the room. I'm going in there, he thought, and turned the doorknob to the room quickly, stepping inside. Pansy saw him come in and nervously stared as he came closer to her.

"Hey, Drake," Julian said. "Cool room, isn't it?" Draco frowned.

"I don't know what you're talking abo--" he stopped speaking as he saw the inside of the room for the first time. The walls, ceiling, and floor were painted magically to look like moving clouds. He saw light, fluffy clouds floating past him at knee height, and glanced up to see a perfectly blue sky. "Wow," he breathed.

"Draco," Julian interrupted his thoughts. "I think there's a door opening right there." Draco looked down to see what Julian was talking about. Indeed, there was a door, about his height, opening right in front of him. He didn't know whether to be scared or curious, although he inspected it closely.

"Maybe one of us should go in to see what it leads to," Pansy said quietly. "I vote Julian goes."

"And why exactly would he go?" Draco asked suspiciously. Pansy sighed as if it was obvious, resting her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, why?" Julian said.

"Because you're the bravest," she said, pushing him towards the door. Julian refused to go any farther and placed his feet firmly on the ground.

"I won't do it," Julian said loudly. "I won't."

"Oh, come on Julian," Draco sighed. "You can do it. There is nothing in there."

"Fine," Julian gave up, shaking his head; "I'll do it. You two have fun."

"Bye," Pansy waved as Julian walked into the room and giggled after the door closed behind him.

"Why did you want Julian to go?" Draco asked sharply. Pansy turned around nervously.

"You don't know?" she said. "You mean you haven't noticed?"

"Of course I have," Draco retorted.

"Oh, sure," Pansy said sarcastically, crossing her arms.

"Don't do that," Draco said angrily.

"Do what?" Pansy wondered, staring at him again. "Be sarcastic?"

"Yes, idiot," Draco snapped. "It's so bloody annoying." He was shocked to see that Pansy was smiling widely; he glared furiously at her, but she kept smiling. "What?" he asked.

"You're insulting me," Pansy said, brushing back a strand of hair. "Normal behavior for you. I thought you had lost it."

"Of course I didn't," Draco replied. "Honestly, I don't know where you got that idea."

"Shut up, Draco," Pansy murmured and kissed him fiercely. Draco staggered. Yuck! he thought, wiping his mouth with his sleeve as soon as she let go of him.

"So that's why you wanted me to go!" a voice exclaimed. Draco and Pansy jumped apart from each other quickly and guiltily, and stared at Julian, who was standing in the doorway. "Come on, you have to see the room." Julian turned and went back into it. Pansy blushed, but did not follow him yet.

"Let's go," Draco said and brushed past her into the hallway that led to the secret room. Pansy kept up with his stride, though, and walked by his side. He glanced at her; her face was a bright crimson and he could nearly feel the heat coming off her. She's so embarrassed, Draco thought and grinned cruelly. He was about to say something to her when he got a glimpse of the secret room.

"Look," Julian whispered, pointing to a large pedestal. A silver sceptre had sparkling diamonds in its handle with a large moonstone on the end. It seemed to be shimmering in magic and Draco could feel its power coming off it in waves.

"Oh, it's wonderful," Pansy breathed and reached out to touch it. She pulled her hand back with a shriek. "It shocked me," she said angrily. "Stupid thing."

"It obviously doesn't like you," Draco rolled his eyes, and grabbed the sceptre, which, to his relief, did not shock him as it had done to Pansy. "See?" he held the sceptre up and waved it proudly in the air.

"How did you do that?" Julian asked incredulously.

"I just picked it up," Draco said, inspiring Julian to touch the large moonstone on the sceptre. He too drew his hand back quickly.

"It burned my skin!" Julian exclaimed, gingerly touching his tender skin and wincing. Draco shrugged and examined the sceptre curiously. It seemed to glow even more when he held it with both hands, Draco noticed with pleasure. Pansy looked on with interest as he rotated the sceptre in his hands, making him uncomfortable as he could feel her breath near his arms. He suddenly felt a surge of power coursing through his arms and a silver beam burst out of the sceptre, smacking Pansy. She screeched and bent over with pain.

"What did you…do?" Pansy wheezed.

"I don't know," Draco replied. "I was just going to tell you to stop breathing down my neck when the sceptre reacted like that." Julian goggled at the sceptre.

"I wouldn't try to hurt anyone with that," he said quietly.

"And why not?" Draco said.

"Do you really want to become a cold-blooded killer?" Julian retorted. Draco scoffed.

"I'm not like that," he replied simply. Pansy made a derisive sound and Draco glared at her. She stopped, but still shook her head sadly.

"Of course you're not," she replied dully. "You could be, though, easily."

"I did not ask for your opinion!" Draco snapped.

"I know you didn't. And don't shout at me," Pansy said fiercely. Draco sighed exasperatedly. He could never figure out women. Julian snickered.

"Bickering like a couple," he remarked. "What's next, Draco? Wedding bells?"

"No," Draco said so savagely that Julian looked shocked.

"Okay, okay," Julian muttered.

"AAAAAIIEEEEEEEARRRRGH!" something screamed. The three of them looked at each other in shock.

"What was that?" wondered Pansy. They wasted no time before they began to run out of the room, into the hallway and outside. There, coming through the woods and pouring rain, were the Traskin trolls riding on things that looked like winged scorpions.

"Oh my…" Pansy gasped.

"Come on, we have to run," Julian said. "Pansy! Do you have horses? Steeds? Floo Powder?" Pansy paled and thought quickly.

"Yes, I do. Follow me!" she screamed and ran towards a building that looked like it was a stable. Julian and Draco ran after her quickly. Pansy got into a carriage with huge rocs attached to it. "Get inside! Hurry!" she added. Climbing into the carriage, Draco noticed that the seats were lined with velvet and the walls were made of a shiny, liquid-like fabric. 'Excellent,' he thought eagerly and sat down. As soon as Julian shut the door behind him, Pansy whipped the reins and the rocs took to the sky. Draco marvelled at how fast the rocs were flying. Then it occurred to him how odd it was for Pansy to have tamed rocs at her house.

"Why do you have tamed rocs in your stable?" he asked, drawling. Pansy stared at him incredulously.

"What? We're being chased by some ugly trolls and you are asking why I have tamed rocs in my stable?" Pansy shrieked, very confused.

"Yes, because they happen to be extremely dangerous, Parkinson," Draco replied, rolling his eyes. Pansy sighed.

"My father had special permission," she said. "He-" a gigantic arrow shot through and hit the opposite carriage wall. Pansy's eyes widened. Julian threw himself on the carriage floor.

"Duck!" he yelled. Draco got off the seat and hid himself in a corner, very low down to the ground. "It's not going to hold much longer!" Julian screamed and the carriage gave a shudder as if to visually demonstrate his meaning. Draco was disgusted to admit to himself that he was actually nervous.

"We've got to fight back!" Draco insisted. Both Julian and Pansy looked at him curiously.

"How?" Pansy yelled. "We've got no weapons!"

"Your wand, idiot!" Draco snapped. "Use your bloody wand!" Julian, as if on cue, pulled out two wands and handed one to Draco, who looked at it incredulously. It was his, Draco's very own wand. How did Julian retain it?

"Yep, that's your wand," Julian grinned, reading his mind.

"But…how?" Draco stuttered. Julian waved it off with his hand.

"Shush and spew as many curses as you can," Julian ordered. Draco grinned. Curses were his speciality.

"Encanhea!" he shouted, waving his wand dramatically. The jet of light hit one of the trolls and he screamed because his blood had begun to boil. Draco racked his brain for another good curse.

"Simil acque," he said again. Two trolls began to twitch at the same time and fell off their winged scorpions. Draco cheered. Two down, five hundred and fifty five to go!

"Vesceris," Draco said immediately after he had cast his second spell. The Feeding spell ricocheted off one particularly ugly troll and hit his companion, who was flying near him. Both shrieked and slapped at their arms, which suddenly had thousands of leeches on them, sucking out some of their blood. Julian shivered at the sight of the leeches.

"Parun," Julian muttered, making one of the trolls fall off his winged scorpion with no eyesight whatsoever. The two boys continued to shout curses at the trolls, making quite a few of them fall of their scorpions. After a few more minutes, the Traskin trolls suddenly swerved around their scorpions and flew away from the three teenagers' carriage. Draco was perplexed. It wasn't natural for the attacker to flee for no particular reason…unless of course, it was planning an ambush. He had learnt all of this from his manners master, who had been a fighting expert (or so he said) and had taught Draco all of the basics.

"They are leaving!" Pansy gasped. "I don't believe it! You did it." Pansy was so surprised that she flopped on the carriage seats in disbelief. Julian sat down next to her, grinning widely.

"Yep, we did," Julian said. "But I've done more exciting things than fighting off trolls." He reconsidered. "Actually, no." Pansy smiled at Julian's cheesy joke and leaned closer to him. Draco stared out the window to keep guard for any more trolls that should appear. His eyelids drooped and closed, sending him into a calm blackness.

Draco was standing in the middle of a mossy green forest. Someone was calling his name, cutting through the thick air like a herd of elephants. He swivelled around to see Narcissa, his mother, standing before him.

"Mother? Why are you here?" Draco said anxiously. It made him extremely nervous to see his mother looking pensive, which she never had been until now.

"To tell you something which has been hidden for so long," Narcissa replied. "You have the gift of Mind."

"The Gift of Mind? What's that supposed to mean?" Draco asked.

"It means, my dear, that you have telekinetic powers which can be magnified with the Moonshadow Sceptre," Narcissa said. Draco smirked. That stupid sceptre. That's why it had zapped Pansy…it was controlled by his mind!

"Excellent," Draco said. The air seemed to be filled with tiny dots of light now and the trees were slowly becoming white. Directly above Draco was a bright, sparkling pearl. He reached out to touch it and…Draco opened his eyes quickly and immediately stifled a huge yawn. What a peculiar dream he had had…Reaching into his pocket, he noticed that he still had the Moonshadow Sceptre, the very one which the trolls were fighting to get it. He examined it while holding it in his hands. It was a simple, slender sceptre, but the moonstone on top was dazzling to behold, shimmering with greens, pinks, and purples. All of a sudden, the moonstone turned a deep shade of yellow, making Draco slightly frightened.

"Julian, get a load of this," he said. His friend did not reply. Draco looked up from the sceptre in his hands and found Julian and Pansy extremely preoccupied; it was sickening to watch for more than ten seconds. Draco cleared his throat and tried not to cringe.

"Julian! Pansy!" he called. Both of his companions seemed to be completely deaf. Draco had no other choice but to try out the sceptre. He channelled his annoyance into the staff, thinking that he had to make them stop before he vomited. A dark blue ray of light bolted out of the sceptre and struck Julian and Pansy. Both of them froze and stayed still, looking as if they were in a trance. I wish they'd look at me, Draco thought bitterly and was surprised to see four eyes staring blankly back at him. Draco was startled. He could do that? He tried again. Stand up, he thought. Instantly Julian and Pansy got to their feet. Draco could not suppress an evil grin. He was powerful! He could control people! Oh, Harry Potter wouldn't annoy him now; he'd get the better of him. Draco started to laugh, delighted with his discovery and at the two blank faces of his companions. After a few minutes of experimenting, he thought it would be best to return them to their normal minds and consciousness. Be yourselves, he thought strongly to the two. The blank haze covering Julian and Pansy's minds faded, and they woke up confused.

"What the--?" Julian wondered as he looked around with blurry eyes. "What happened?"

"Oh, nothing," Draco said smiling to himself. Pansy looked at Julian with a dreamy smile, which was returned twice as large.

"Are any trolls following us still?" Julian asked half-heartedly.

"No, there aren't," Draco said, "which I'm sure you would have noticed if you hadn't been so preoccupied." Julian shrugged.

"Yes, I suppose," Julian replied. "It's unusual, quite unusual."

"I know. I wanted to show you something," Draco said. "Do you remember the sceptre we found in Pansy's house?"

"Yes," Pansy and Julian said.

"It is powerful. Very powerful, indeed," Draco held out the Moonshadow sceptre proudly. To his surprise, Julian and Pansy were not that impressed as he thought they would be.

"What can it do, then?" Julian asked.

"You must explain properly," Pansy added. Draco sighed.

"As I was holding it, it turned yellow and shot a dark blue light at you two," Draco said. "I was trying to make you stop exchanging saliva, or, should I say, snogging." Julian automatically blushed. "I found out that I could control you with my mind and you would do everything I thought," he continued. Pansy gasped.

"You controlled us? How utterly horrible!" Pansy shrieked.

"I was just having some fun!" Draco shot back. "I don't get to very often."

"Don't do it again," Pansy glared at him. "It's not nice to control your friends." Draco put his hands on his hips, not planning to obey what Pansy commanded.

"I don't think you should fool around with that," Julian said. "You should only use it in times of need, since it likes to zap things," he added dryly, glancing at Pansy with a look of pity. Draco let his arms drop to his sides. Julian was right, although he hated to admit it, and Draco knew he would just use the Moonshadow sceptre in dire need. Dire need included zapping Harry Potter for all he was worth…Draco smiled slightly and sat back down on his seat to think about how much fun he would have when he got home.