Chapter seventeen
Events at one dawn
/
The following morning, breakfast time in the Great Hall was unusually quiet. The Gryffindors and their fans were disappointed and glum at the first ever House´s loss at Quidditch ever since Harry had been on the team. The others, who were of course the Slytherin students, were quiet because their mouths kept falling open as they yawned widely. They could barely keep their eyes open, so they did not have much energy to mock their Gryffindor classmates. The trio heard that the Slytherins had been celebrating their victory late into the night, and of course, the slimy head of their dorm was pretending not to know anything about it.
Harry was constantly being told that losing by ten points did not mean losing the cup as well, which of course he knew, but it did not help to improve his bitter mood much. He did not want to admit it, but what bothered him the most was that Angela was playing against him, and that it was only thanks to her the Slytherins had defeated them.
At least Ron was cool, thankfully, and did not look like he was taking the blame for their defeat all on himself.
Harry? a very hesitant voice came into his mind.
He raised his head and searched for Angela's eyes, but did not answer.
I hope you're not mad at me about yesterday, she said after a moment.
Harry was silent.
Or perhaps you are? she asked and Harry could sense the cold undertone in her voice.
No, of course not... I have no reason to. It was a game after all. You played for your team and I did my best for mine, he answered finally.
Angela seemed a bit relieved: I'm glad you take it that way.
But you could´ve told me you joined the Quidditch team, said Harry a little reproachfully.
Angela was silent this time.
"Who do you keep staring at?" Ron asked him curiously.
"What? Nobody, just thinking," Harry muttered as he leant over his breakfast.
It helped me to relax… But I was afraid how you would react, his girlfriend spoke up again.
You didn't have to, Harry replied, shooting her a look. Thanks for not believing in me.
Angela looked away from him cheerlessly.
A few minutes later, when Hermione and Ron were busy with the Prophet, Harry could not help it and looked for Angela again.
I didn't want to be rude, he sent to her.
Draco was just sitting right across from Angela, so she looked up very slowly.
It's not so nice outside anymore, so how about we meet again in our special Room for once? Harry asked, waiting tensely.
Angela waited until sleepy Draco fully occupied himself with breakfast before she answered.
Today at nine?
Great. I'll be looking forward to it.
Angela smiled a little and quickly turned away.
"Harry, you keep staring at someone! And don't deny it!" persistent Ron observed him.
"Even if, then what?!" he retorted, not exactly in the mood for inquisitive questions.
Ron was about to take a breath for an indignant reply, but Hermione placed a hand on his arm.
"Ron, stop it. If Harry wanted to, he would tell us."
"Thanks, Hermione," Harry said gratefully. "You're absolutely right."
/
As it was Sunday, Draco was in no rush to eat and he was almost the last one to leave the Hall. A few meters before the stairs to the underground, a slender, dark-haired girl stepped into his path. Annoyed, he focused his gaze and was surprised to recognize Daria, who was watching him with a slightly nervous smile.
"Um, hello."
Draco put on a disdainful expression that was perhaps convincing enough and shoved his hands in his pockets.
"What you want?"
Daria awkwardly fidgeted, but she was undeterred.
"I wanted to thank you. For how you caught me yesterday. Who knows how it would have turned out without you," she said in a firm voice, looking into his eyes.
"I was just nearby. Anyone would do that," Draco said with an unchanged expression.
"Not everyone," Daria said quietly. "Thank you very much again."
"Anything else?" Draco sneered.
Daria pressed her lips and backed away from him.
"No, nothing anymore. I said what I wanted," she retorted coldly, turned on her heel and started up the stairs.
The smirk left Draco's face. He looked after her thoughtfully until she was out of sight and then headed for his hiding place in the north tower. He desperately needed a cigarette.
/
The following week passed peacefully.
Slytherin's euphoria was slowly waning and the members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team were finally no longer the target of taunts and insults. The only thing that broke the school stereotype was the news in Thursday's Prophet that Karkaroff was found dead somewhere far north in an old cabin. Above his roof shone, quite expectedly, the Dark Mark.
With anxious expectation, Angela gradually stopped taking pills for suppressing her dreams and began to hope that the scary period was over, since she had not dreamed of anything in over a week. Friday night was the fourth time she did not take one and went to bed. However, this unexpectedly backfired on her.
At approximately six thirty in the morning, she slowly sat up on her bed...
The brunette's eyes were wide open, but she was definitely not awake. Absentmindedly, she opened the curtains by the bed and stood up. She crossed the bedroom silently and headed for the common room.
Draco was currently sitting in the elevated part of the room that was partially built above ground level, on the windowsill by the open window, staring intently at the brightening sky in the east. Then someone walked right past him and he almost choked on cigarette smoke in surprise. However, Angela ignored him completely and kept walking toward the exit.
Draco stared in confusion at her messy hair, pyjama pants and bare feet. Immediately, he threw the butt out of the window and ran outside after her. He quickly passed her and she stopped.
"Where do you think…" Draco started, but then realized that Angela could not see him at all.
She slowly walked around him and went calmly on. He thought for a moment and followed her.
/
Harry woke up around five o'clock with a strange feeling in his stomach. After half an hour of rolling on the bed, he admitted to himself that he would not fall asleep anymore, and out of boredom, he dug Marauder´s Map out of his trunk. He lit his wand up and scanned the empty corridors with his eyes. Only somewhere on the third floor Mrs Norris was sneaking around, and he also noticed that Shiernov was not in her apartment next to the classroom. It struck him as odd, but he did not think much of it.
But then he noticed something that definitely interested him. A small dot with the name Angela Rosier was heading through the otherwise empty lower corridor toward the Entrance Hall, followed by Draco Malfoy.
Harry bit his lip and wondered what the hell they were doing there so early in the morning. He made up his mind quickly. In an instant, he hid the map under his pillow, slipped his bare feet into his shoes, pulled his sweatshirt over his head, extinguished his wand, and tiptoed out of the bedroom.
As he walked through the common room, he did not even notice the huddled, half-asleep girl in the corner. The painting of the Fat Lady closed behind him and Daria woke up with a jolt. She yelped in pain as her neck and entire back ached. She fell asleep in a rather uncomfortable position the night before.
Then she looked toward the exit, the sound of which woke her up and she slipped out of it in a flash. She managed to notice Harry, whom she recognized by his hair, turning the corner. She hesitated, but her curiosity won. She stretched a little and began to creep in his footsteps.
/
Draco assumed that enough was enough. Angela was still steadily walking toward the castle exit. If someone caught her here, she would be in real trouble. If she was asleep and sleepwalking, he knew what to do with it.
He ran to her before she could reach for the doorknob in the main gate, grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her gently.
"Angela, wake up! Come on!" he urged her.
The brunette frowned and struggled to get out of his grip.
"No… no! Let me. I have to go… They need me…" she muttered, apparently still absent minded.
Draco hesitated a bit, then let go of her with one hand and very gently patted her across both cheeks.
"Come on, wake up finally," he hummed at her impatiently and cracked his fingers by her ear.
Angela flinched and her eyes finally showed a normal reaction.
"What are you doing?" she barked upset and then looked around in astonishment. "Well… What am I doing here?" she asked in a completely different tone.
"I thought you'd explain it to me," Draco crossed his arms over his chest. "You're walking around the castle like you own it, muttering something and wanted to get out."
"What? But…" Angela's face took on a very strange expression. "Not possible. After all, I never walked in my sleep. Even if…"
"Even if what?" Draco narrowed his eyes.
"Nothing," she shook her head too quickly.
But Draco already figured it out. "They're back. Those cursed dreams of yours have returned."
"I'm just…" Angela started to protest, but he cut her off.
"Why didn't you tell me? I would look out for you more."
"I don't need any supervision!" she retorted, but it did not sound very convincing.
"And your sleepwalking today is a solid proof of that, isn't it?" Draco sneered wryly.
"Let it go, Draco, please," Angela breathed out tiredly.
"What should I let go?!" snapped Draco. "Worrying about you or what? After all, you have the pills! So why don't you take them?"
"Stop talking to her like that, Malfoy," a cold voice suddenly called from the stairs and both Angela and Draco turned sharply in that direction.
Harry had walked up to them unnoticed a moment ago and now, was piercing Malfoy with an angry glare.
"Ah, our famous Potter, poking his snotty nose into everything. I wouldn't expect you here this early in the morning," Malfoy sputtered scornfully.
"Shut up. No one here is curious about your stupid remarks," Harry sneered at him and stepped closer to Angela.
"And who do you think is about you, huh?" Draco said with a smirk.
"Stop it you two," Angela hissed. "Do you always have to..."
Her sentence was disrupted by a horrible noise at the top of the stairs that jolted everyone.
As Daria leaned in to hear as best she could, she accidentally bumped into one of the armours and it was now rolling down the stairs with a beautiful crashing sound.
The trio below waited for all the armour pieces to stop and looked up at red Daria standing above.
"What is she doing here?" Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Did you bring backup to cover your back, Potter boy?"
"Piss off, Malfoy. I didn't bring anyone. Daria, why are you here?" Harry addressed the girl.
She took a deep breath and walked down the stairs in a seemingly sovereign manner. "Nothing special. Just a morning fitness walk," she declared the first thing which came to her mind.
"You really made me laugh now," Malfoy grinned. "Does everyone learn to spy at Gryffindor? Is it some secret club, or what?"
"I'm not spying on anyone here," Daria blushed even more.
"You aren´t? And we´re supposed to believe you?"
"I don't care what you think, Malfoy!" snapped the girl.
"Leave her alone," Harry growled.
"Well, of course. Our protector of all dirty Muggles must stand up for her," Malfoy sputtered.
"How about you all just shut your unwashed mouths before anyone hears us," Angela interjected loudly before enraged Harry could reply.
At that moment, there was a loud giggle outside the gate to the school grounds. All eyes focused on them. The gate opened, and Ron and Hermione slipped in exasperated, still giggling. They slammed the door behind them, turned, and fell silent in utter shock.
"What are you doing here?" came three voices at once - Ron's, Hermione's and Harry's. Draco put on an impenetrable expression, Angela ran her hand over her forehead thoughtfully, and Daria, still red with rage, remained silent.
"Are you having a pyjama party or what?" Ron asked completely nonsensically, glancing over the crowd.
"Merlin, how could anyone make such a stupid comment," Angela muttered.
Ron grimaced and Draco chuckled.
"Hermione, you have some straw in your hair," Harry pointed out to his friend in a low voice. "Where were you?"
Hermione ruffled her hair nervously.
"Well, in front of them," Ron pointed at Draco and Angela. "We don't need to talk about that, do we?"
"Do you really think, Weasley, that no one can figure out where you were and what you were doing there?" Malfoy said mockingly.
"Shut up," the redhead snapped.
"You can't come up with any other answer, can you?"
"That is enough," Angela cut them off. "This is meaningless. It's true that we all gathered here very nicely, but each for their own reasons, which the others have nothing to do with, so..."
"So it's best if we all shut up about it," Harry finished for her and Angela nodded.
"Exactly."
"I agree. One of us will give something away and we all will be in trouble," Hermione said sensibly.
"I know we're not exactly in love with each other, but I'm sure you'll all agree that we'll just forget about it and go our separate ways," Angela added.
Everyone but Malfoy nodded decisively.
"Draco?" Angela looked at him meaningfully.
"Do I have any other option?"
"No."
"Of course I agree," he muttered grumpily.
"Fine, so now that the noble lord of Slytherin has finally made up his mind as well, we can…" but Ron didn't finish the sentence. The gate to the school grounds flew open again and Professor Shiernov, dressed all in black, entered the castle. The students froze in terror.
They were screwed after all!
Out of breath, Shiernov closed the gate behind her and widened her eyes at the six students standing in front of her.
Harry noticed that she had some large dark stains on her blouse that looked almost like blood and she was clutching something tightly in her hand. The Defence Against the Dark Arts professor finally controlled herself, shoved her clenched hand into the pocket of her coat, which she pulled tighter to her body.
"So," she began coldly. "Which one of you will explain this to me? What are you all doing here at six in the morning?"
"We can ask you the very same thing," Draco noted sharply and the others stared at him in shock.
Shiernov looked at him in a way that Harry wished she would have never used at him.
"You are incredibly insolent, Mr Malfoy. One more remark like that and I´ll keep you at detention until Christmas."
Malfoy sneered, but preferred to remain silent.
"So, again. What are you doing here?"
Everyone kept gravely silent.
"I have the exact same question," suddenly came a cold voice behind them, causing everyone to freeze in horror. "And you too, Margaret."
They all turned very slowly to face the approaching Snape who looked like he had just found out he had inherited ten million Galleons.
"What do you mean by that, Severus," Shiernov said dangerously sweetly.
"You know what. But we will better talk about that later, won't we," Snape replied meaningfully.
Shiernov clenched her fists and did not answer.
"Now – to you," he scanned all the present students with cold eyes. "I don't suppose any of you will volunteer to tell me what you´re doing here."
There was only silence…
"Well, I expected that," Snape sneered. "I'm deducting thirty points from Gryffindor´s score for each of you for huge misconduct of school rules. Potter, you´re about to enjoy another school punishment. It won't hurt you, as well as Weasley and Granger and Prescott. Now, you immediately return to your dorm. Of course, I will report this to Professor McGonagall. Get out!"
The Gryffindors made their way to the stairs, all of them upset, but quiet.
"And you two," Snape turned to Angela and Malfoy. "Come with me. Margaret, I´ll get back to you later, if you don't mind," he announced coldly through gritted teeth, turned and walked away without looking back.
Draco and Angela looked at each other and very reluctantly followed him. Shiernov gripped the hidden bottle so tightly that it threatened to crash. She glared at the disappearing black robe, the worst insults she knew coming to her mind.
/
Snape ordered Angela and Draco to sit in the hard chairs across from him and scanned them inquisitively. Draco calmly folded his arms again and watched him haughtily. Angela crossed her legs and sat comfortably. Her bare feet had to be terribly cold, but she did not move an inch to show any discomfort.
"What was that supposed to mean?" Snape asked coldly. "Mr Malfoy, explain it to me."
Angela shot Draco a look, but he remained silent. Snape took a slow breath.
"I would advise you to clarify immediately what you were doing there. Otherwise, I will draw really unpleasant consequences from it."
Neither of them said a single word. Suddenly, Snape stared into Angela's eyes.
"Excuse me, sir," Angela hissed angrily.
Snape leaned back in his chair a bit surprised.
"What do you mean, Miss?" he asked in a dangerous voice.
"Stop trying to peek inside my head," she blurted out quietly.
Draco gave her a look, but quickly hid his surprise. Snape pressed his lips in displeasure.
"All right. You both will have a week of detention," he barked a little angrily. "I won't deduct points from you. I don't want the whole House to suffer because of your stupidity. Now get out of my sight!"
Both of them got up hastily and walked out without a greeting. Angela did not forget to slam the door behind her.
/
The first rays of the sun hit the peaks of Hogwarts Castle. It looked like it would be a fine day again.
The idyll was disturbed only by a very distant pleading cry from the Forbidden Forest. But it quickly disappeared again in the peaceful morning, which after a while was once again spoiled by the muffled echo of an argument from the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom.
