Shattered Dreams (2/?)

Author: Meri

Email: Meri015@schnoogle.com

Category: Romance, action, mystery,

Keywords: Trio, Draco, Ginny, Original character

Spoilers: All books

Rating: PG-13

Last chapter: Adrianna journey's to Hogwarts, but on the way some mishaps occurred. Is turning Draco in to a popsicle really that bad?

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Also Kyuuketski Miyu characters are the property of their corresponding owners/designers.

A/N: As always thanks to my betas for their help in getting this fic. written. (Janina, Morgana, Christy, and Fefi). Translations for the Spanish dialogue are in Italics next to the corresponding phrase. (Many thanks to Mar for editing my Spanish for me, a girl can only learn so much in a few years!) I took the quote I used below from Toki ni ai wa sung by Masami Ukui.

~*~

Toki ni ai wa tsuyoku hito no kokoro o kitsuke motsure keredo

Yume o atae yuuki no naka ni itsumo hikari kagayaki hamatsu

Hitotsu no chikara ni…

The time for love is when a strong person's heart is wounded.

Dreams always given of inside courage and shining light separated.

The strength of one…

~*~

Draco watched her face tighten in pain as she tried to focus on his face.

"Adri, answer me. Adri, Adri! You have to stay awake, Adri!" he called. She didn't seem able to hear him. Draco scanned the corridor for help, but it was vacant; everyone had retired to their common rooms. He turned back to her. Adri's condition seemed to be visibly worsening. Her face was taking on an even lighter pallor than was normal for her. Also her eyelids kept trying to close, but then they'd suddenly snap open, and then close, over and over. She was obviously fighting to stay conscious. "Adri, listen to me, I'm going to take you to the Gryffindor common room. Hang in there, Adri." Draco told her desperately. She seemed to nod in response. Draco bent down gently with the utmost care picked her up. He cradled her head against his chest and tried to keep her as still as possible. He was unaware of how badly hurt she was. For that matter, he had no idea what exactly had happened to her. She had no visible injuries that he had noticed. It appeared to him that it had to be something related to magic.

Draco raced down the corridor as fast as he could without moving her too much. It never occurred to him why he was bringing her to the Gryffindors and not to Madam Pomfrey's, he just did it impulsively. Draco also failed to notice the malevolent and suspicious shadow of a person lurking around the corner. The mysterious character laughed to himself and took off in the opposite direction. His plan had been put in motion and it had been executed in perfect accordance to what his master had instructed. He smiled to himself again and continued on his way.

Draco was now thoroughly exhausted from carrying dead weight up many innumerable flights of stairs. He stopped at the entrance to yet another walkway to catch his breath. Draco also stopped to collect his thoughts on how he was going to pull this stunt off without getting in too much trouble as a result. He placed her gently on the ground and leaned her against the wall.

"How am I going to find the Gryffindor common room without Adri's help?" Draco asked out loud. He was met with silence. With a sigh, he picked her back up and trudged on down the corridor. He had been walking for maybe fifteen minutes when he came to an abrupt halt. He had heard something coming towards them. 'If it's a student this'll look really suspicious.' he thought. His eyes glanced around, fervently looking for a place to hide. All the while the voices were coming closer. Draco quickly stepped into the shadow of a near-by pillar and waited for the students to pass. He gazed out, trying to see who was coming without being seen at the same time. Suddenly, the voices stopped. Draco waited; the only sound was his raspy breathing and the sound of his beating heart ringing loud in his ears. He waited some time until he was sure it was safe to come out. Draco stepped out from his hiding place to come face to face with Harry Potter.

"Strange finding you here, Malfoy," Draco looked behind Harry. As usual his two friends, Granger and Weasley accompanied him.

"Is that Adri you're holding?" Hermione asked peering closer. Draco moved Adri away from Hermione, trying to shield her from them.

"Malfoy! What did you do to Adri you git?!" Ron yelled at him. Ron's fists were already tightly clenched shut, anticipating a fight.

"I didn't do anything to her Weasley." Draco's face contorted as he realized that he would have to ask for their help. Harry must have noticed because he began to question Draco.

"Malfoy, what did you do to Adri?" he asked in a painfully tight voice. Harry's eyes were flashing in anger, and he too looked like he was ready for a fight. Draco blanched but answered Harry truthfully enough.

"I told you Potter, I didn't do anything to her. I was just bringing her to your Gryffindor common room." he said the last bit slowly and with reluctance.

"I don't believe you, you slimy bastard." Ron started to advance on Draco as he said this.

"You can look for yourself, I have not harmed her. I have no reason to."

"Since when did you need a motive, Malfoy?" Hermione spat. However, her curiosity prevailed, and she walked up to Draco and peered at Adri. Adri's breathing was shallow and her pulse, upon inspection, was weak and erratic. She placed her hand on Adri's forehead.

"She doesn't have a fever." Hermione looked up, "Malfoy, she needs to be brought down to the infirmary for treatment right away."

"I told you already, Granger, I was bringing her up to you Gryffindors to take care of. She's in your house, therefore your responsibility." he said waspishly.

"She's sick and the only thing you can think about is that this doesn't concern you? Are you too prideful to help someone in need, Malfoy?" Ron left off, too enraged to speak. Draco looked to Harry for help, Harry met his gaze directly, albeit briefly.

"Ron take Adri from Malfoy. We'll take her to the common room until she wakes up. Then we'll find out what to do then. I have a feeling that Adri should be kept away from prying eyes at the moment." Harry concluded. Draco gave Harry an almost un-noticeable nod of thanks before he hefted Adri to the floor once again. Ron shoved Draco out of the way. Draco quickly regained his footing and barely suppressed the urge to beat Ron senseless. Ron picked Adri up, and staggered under the weight. Draco smirked.

"Not so strong, huh Weasley? Can't pick up around 115 pounds?"

"Shut up Malfoy," Ron answered through clenched teeth.

"Let's go," With that, the other two followed Harry as they headed away. As soon as they turned the corner Draco let out a sigh of relief. His mission was complete; it was now out of his hands.

~*~

It was ponderous work for Ron to concentrate on not jarring Adri at all. Her head lolled around until Hermione placed Adri's head against Ron's chest. 'I wonder what Malfoy did to her; she looks like she got hurt pretty badly. But there are no physical wounds evident. Maybe,' Ron left off.

"Hermione!" Ron called. She was up ahead walking with Harry. They both paused and waited for him to catch up. "Hermione, what are some symptoms of a curse?"

She got that far away look in her eyes, as she did when she was trying to remember something. "Well, it depends entirely on the curse. Can you make it more specific?" Ron simply pointed at Adri. Hermione uttered a simple "oh," and went over to peer at Adri more closely.

"You think she had a curse put on her Ron?"

"Yeah, she looks like she got in a fight, but yet there is no physical evidence. So it must be magic related. Also, I don't think a simple hex would cause this type of results."

"Ah, this is too hard. I can't think of anything. We'll need to do some research and narrow it down. However, I think you're right Ron, this is no simple hex. This could very well be dark magic."

"I bet that git Malfoy did this to her! If he did," Harry put a re-assuring hand on Ron's shoulder to calm him.

"We'll find out soon enough Ron. I doubt Malfoy would do something this terrible." Ron looked disbelievingly at Harry. 'I hope I'm right about this.' Harry thought to himself. It appeared to Ron that Harry didn't seem to believe his own words. They continued along until they reached the portrait hole.

"Beelzebub," They stepped inside. Hermione scanned the room quickly, it was empty. She raced up the stairs to the girl's fifth year dormitory. Ron and Harry trailed behind her nervously looking around for possible girl sightings. Hermione beckoned them in and they followed her and closed the door with extreme caution. Ron placed Adri on her bed. She moaned and moved her head to the side. Sweat was gathered on her brow and her breathing was growing steadily more ragged as her eyelids fluttered open. She stared up into the concerned face of Ron. Ron looked into her eyes, they appeared to be purple. But she blinked and they returned to their normal hazel. Ron blinked repeatedly believing it to be a trick of the light.

"How are you feeling, Adri?" inquired Ginny who had joined them when they entered the common room. She had been studying alone for the rest of the Gryffindors were outside or elsewhere.

"I feel like someone skinned me, burned me, set me in a bucket of glacier water and pounded my bones to dust. That pretty much sums it all up." she said dryly. Ron smiled.

"Glad to know you're alive. You must be hungry. Can you sit up?" Hermione asked. Adri paused then shook her head.

"It hurts to breath, let alone sit up. Sorry Hermione,"

"It's okay. You can stay here and rest. We'll all leave and get some food for you and us. We'll all eat it up here. Ron, you stay and watch her." Ron threw Hermione a murderous look.

"Why am I always stuck babysitting?" he whined. Ginny and Harry shot him identical poisonous looks.

"Grow up, Ron." With that Ginny stormed out followed closely by the rest of the gang. Ron sighed and dragged a chair over to Adri's bed. He sat down heavily. He stared at the air above her head. Too embarrassed to talk, or even look at her.

"I'm sorry that you have to stay behind with me. It was terribly unfair to you. I'm always a burden to everyone around me." she murmured softly.

"No, not at all," he reassured her quickly. She closed her eyes and Ron stared out the window. The room was immersed in thick silence. It was broken when Adri abruptly asked,

"What is your family like?" Ron was startled out of his reverie but answered her question.

"Well I have five brothers; Bill, Charlie, Percy, George and Fred and a little sister, Ginny, obviously. I'm the second to youngest so my brothers picked on me a lot. But, it was nice having so many siblings sometimes. We used to play quidditch in the yard almost every day in the summer." Adri smiled warmly at that comment. "My parents are loving I guess, but my father is often not at home. He works for the Ministry so he's busy there, and when he does come home, he's too tired to do much. My mother is always doing something. She cooks, cleans, you name it, she does it. She also gets excited easily, to say the least. She was so excited when Ginny left for Hogwarts for the first time. She was eccentric that morning, running around gathering clothes to do last minute packing, worried that Ginny might need them. She cried the rest of the morning, all worked up that her last child was leaving to go to school." Ron paused and thought for a moment. "Adri, where did you get the last name Kaitou?" He was startled when Adri began to laugh, but quickly stopped as she winced in pain.

"Dumbledore thinks it wise not to reveal my real last name. He fears that people may want to harm me, the people behind my disappearance, that is. I actually picked the name, it means "thief" which is what I am." She stopped talking and her face scrunched up in pain.

"You're not a thief! How can you say that? You're honest and you haven't given anyone any reason to doubt you! Everyone likes you, including my sister who can be picky about people!" Ron stopped; he realized too late that he had been rambling.

"Forget about what I said. Please go on talking about your family. It's nice to hear of some happy memories. Your mother sounds like the perfect mother." her eyes clouded over and she fell silent. 'She must miss her parents very much.' Ron reflected for a moment.

"You'll have to meet her sometime," Ron suggested absent-mindedly.

"I'd like that." They both fell silent. Ron guessed that Adri was silent only because of the pain, rather than embarrassment, unlike him. The door banged open and in walked Harry, Hermione, and Ginny trailing behind. They gathered around her bed and Hermione placed Adri's dinner on the nightstand.

"How is she?"

"She hasn't gotten any worse." Hermione shrugged and went over to see if Adri needed help eating.

~*~

"Please Harry! I need a tour before tomorrow! I won't know my way around!" Adri begged. Harry looked down at her. She was still in bed. Adri was gradually improving steadily every hour. She claimed that it didn't hurt her to move that much anymore. Harry did not believe her one bit, however.

"No, you're still too faint to even try and walk around a whole castle. And who knows what will be waiting for us? If Filch suddenly finds us, you can't exactly run and hide. Besides, we can't fit everyone under the invisibility cloak."

"You have an invisibility cloak?" Adri gasped. Harry cringed; he hadn't meant to let that tidbit of information out. Harry opened his mouth to reply but was cut short. "I won't tell anyone." Harry closed his mouth and leaned back in his chair.

"Adri, seriously now, you're hurt. Harry's right, you're in no condition to walk around at all." Hermione reasoned.

"But there has to be a way I can tour the castle without walking!" she protested. That gave Harry an idea.

"Why don't we summon a wheelchair and spell it to float above the ground that way you could go up stairs and you'd be able to get away if we are chased." Harry suggested.

"That's a brilliant idea! Thanks Harry!" she smiled warmly at Harry from her spot on the bed.

"What is a wheelchair anyway, Harry?" Ron's comment was ignored in the midst of the excitement as he noticed owing to the fact that Harry never answered him.

"How are we going to get a wheelchair without raising un-needed attention? I mean Madam Pomfrey would wonder why we needed a wheelchair. And if we lie about Adri's condition she might want to see her anyway, and then what?" Hermione said rationally.

"I would prefer it if Madam Pomfrey didn't see me in this condition." Adri responded quietly. It went unsaid, but they all knew what she was talking about. There was something about Adri, which she didn't want anyone to discover. They respected her need for privacy and didn't press her for information. 'I wonder what she could be hiding behind that blank, expressionless face.' Harry shook his head to clear his mind.

"Why don't we summon one from a near-by hospital?" Ginny suggested.

"The nearest hospital is pretty far away. There's no way we could get it to come here."

"We'll leave school grounds, summon it and return here to the common room."

"Or what if we transfigure something?" peeped Ginny. Everyone stared at her in silence.

"That could work," Harry finally said.

They argued among themselves for some time until they agreed on a plan. Ron and Harry would transfigure an armchair from the common room. They would proceed to use a shrinking spell to transport it back to the observatory where they were going to meet up with the rest of the gang. Ginny and Hermione were going to help Adri get to the observatory. Their excuse if caught was that she was exhausted and had lost something that she needed for class up in the observatory. A half-hour later Ron and Harry arrived.

"Thank you so much Harry!" Adri thanked him over and over.

'She seems so transformed now, it's uncanny.' Harry mused thoughtfully. Ron released the spell and the wheelchair expanded to its original size. Adri wobbled in and sat down, beaming. Ginny performed the simple spell to levitate it when needed and they were off to explore the school.

~*~

Adri's point of view:

It was hard work to figure out how to maneuver in the wheel chair at first. I eventually got a handle on it and I was able to move with ease. It was getting dark outside and the visibility dimmed. It was freaky, but exhilarating at the same time. I loved the unease of not knowing what would happen next, what we could meet here in the dungeons.

"What is that?" I asked pointing to an unlit corridor that was immersed in darkness.

"That?" Harry looked nervous. "It just leads to a dead end," he finally said. I gazed at him, unbelieving. 'What are you hiding now Harry? I guess I'm not the only one with buried secrets.' I smiled a knowing smile at him and dropped the subject, but I made sure to put the incident to memory.

"I feel like someone is following us," Ron said hesitantly.

"Don't be such a sissy Ron." Ginny retorted.

"I feel it too, Ginny. This place is making me nervous." Hermione said, scanning the corridor with fear filled eyes. Fear spread through the group like wild fire. Even I got worked up a little bit. We walked on, keeping a close eye on our backs.

"I hear muffled footsteps."

"I don't think someone would be following this close to us. You must be hearing things." Ginny brushed aside my fear. I still felt uneasy but listened to her voice of reason.

"It's probably Malfoy and his thugs coming to cause even more trouble." Ron hissed. Ginny hit him in the arm. Harry put a hand over Ron's mouth before he could make a noise.

"I heard something that time. Adri isn't lying. Walk a little faster. Don't look back." Harry instructed us. We picked up our pace and so did our pursuer. I saw Harry unpocket his wand, turn around and whisper a spell. Blinding light filled the corridor, there was no one there.

"I-I saw someone's foot disappear behind that bend. Some one really is following us." Hermione whispered fearfully. Harry's light was fading fast.

"They'll be on us as soon as that light disappears. They must realize by now that we have figured out that they're there." Ron said.

"I'll cast a light spell," I began.

"NO! You're too drained to do any magic tonight. Save your strength." Ginny said forcefully. I complied and we started walking even faster. We suddenly heard footsteps coming towards us, no longer muffled. They took off at a run. I poured all my strength into spinning the wheels of my wheelchair. I felt warm breath on my neck.

" Corre, mi amor." (Run, my love) the voice whispered in my ear. I felt a shadow touch my cheek and then the demon presence was gone. I shuddered and stopped wheeling. No one noticed my absence as they sped off into the distance. I felt the alien blood surging in my veins, bubbling to the surface. I embraced the darkness and felt it sweep over me. "Volves a mi, me amor." (Return to me, my love) it whispered right by my ear.

" Lo siento, no puedo volver. ¿Quién eres tú?" (I am sorry, I am not able to return. Who are you?) I responded. The mysterious stranger simply laughed. I felt something touch my cheek once more. I couldn't see anything in the darkness but I tried to discern who was talking to me.

"Hasta manana," (See you tomorrow) I felt misty lips brush my forehead as the apparition disappeared.

"No! No, sales!" (No! Do not go!) But from the silence filling the corridor I could tell he was gone. "Who are you?" I whispered futilely, not expecting an answer. I stood up, filled with energy. I spelled the wheelchair and pocketed it. I headed back to the common room with a swagger in my step; I was back to normal, for the moment.

~*~

"What is your class schedule today?" Ginny asked, leaning over my shoulder to see my schedule while we ate breakfast.

"1st and 2nd periods, transfiguration, lunch, 3rd is study with Slytherin and last period is charms with Ravenclaw." she laughed merrily at the look on my face.

"Don't worry about anything. Your first day will go fine."

"I'll see you at dinner and prove you wrong. Where is Hermione anyway?"

"She's in the library studying." Ginny rolled her eyes and I covered my mouth with the back of my hand to prevent myself from laughing out loud.

"I had better go now and find my way to my first period class." I stood up avoiding the combined gazes of Harry and Ron. No one had asked me why I had come back to the common room late. And walking on my own two feet for that matter. They had simply looked at me, questions burning in their eyes. I had shook my head, bid them good night and left. I had sat up thinking till one in the morning that night. I still had no idea who the person was who had talked to me last night. If anything, I was left with more questions and even fewer answers. I smiled tightly at them and left the room.

~*~

I was the first one in the classroom and I sat down in the far back. I threw my books on top of the desk and sat down heavily in my seat. I looked around me, the classroom was sparse with the exception of Professor McGonagall's desk. It was cluttered with papers and equipment. Other than that the room was clean and strict in appearance, just like the professor who had just walked in. She appeared startled to see me there.

"Good day Ms. Kaitou. I do not believe class starts this early."

"Good morning to you Professor. I just wanted to make sure that I found my class okay. I didn't wish to be late to my very first class here. That wouldn't have given you a very good impression. If you beg my pardon." She simply nodded and went over to her desk to unload her bag and prepare. The rest of the students arrived and Ron, Harry and Hermione sat down by me.

"Adri? Remember our little chat we had?" Hermione asked menacingly.

"Yes, Hermione. I'm sorry, but I wanted to find my way here on my own so that way I'll learn and won't rely on you to help me all the time." She heaved a heavy sigh.

"I forgive you. Have you finished Hogwarts a History yet?" she asked eagerly.

"As a matter of fact, yes. Ron, have you read it yet?"

"No way! I have no reason to!"

"Ron!" Hermione was about to say more, but just then Professor McGonagall started class.

"Now class, I hope you all managed to complete your homework over the break. Now, can anyone tell me the spell to transfigure a slipper into a rabbit?"

And so class continued un-eventfully. That was until we were told to do the spell she had just taught us.

"Crepida Cuniculus!" I yelled. The slipper hopped and fell off the desk. "Hermione, this just isn't working! I've done this what, five hundred times already?" I whined to her.

"It's all because you're not moving your wand properly! You can learn the spells by heart and still not be able to cast them until you master this!"

"I guess my great learning spree has come to an end." I muttered.

"Ms. Kaitou, why aren't you working on this spell? It appears to me that you are talking instead of working. Let us see how far you are with this spell. Please step up here and demonstrate it for us all." Like a doomed man walking to the gallows, I walked up to the front of the class. I felt all their eyes on me as I stood before Professor McGonagall. "Go to that far table and perform the spell." She indicated a worktable to the side of the class where a slipper sat innocently. I stared at it in loathing. 'Please, let this work!' I silently prayed.

"Crepida Cuniculus!" the slippers turned into a furry blue rabbit. He wiggled his nose at me and hopped off the table and disappeared under the desks. Students scuttled under their desks trying to catch the run-away rabbit. I laughed. 'I guess someone up there still likes me.'

~*~

Study was a whole different story all together. We had Study with the Slytherin's in the library. Ron grumbled the whole way there about having to have study with Slytherin. Harry eventually drew his attention away from that and to Quidditch, which they were both obsessed about.

"Do they always talk about Quidditch?"

"Oh, all the time," Hermione rolled her eyes and I giggled. We walked into the library and sat down in a secluded corner. The rest of the people filled in soon enough and then Madam Pince called for attention.

"This is a study and that is all that will happen here. You are to all to do your homework or something equally productive. If you have to talk with someone than you must do so in a whisper. No one is allowed to do any magic in here and any fighting will result in a week's worth of detention for all people involved. I will be in my office and around here, watching you today. Now get to work!" The class was silent and uneventful for it appeared that there was quite a large amount of homework to do. However, Draco of course, managed to stir up some trouble.

"Lavender, you insufferable git, I'm trying to talk here, so just shut up!" Draco whispered harshly to her.

"I'm not going to stop talking just because you told me to. Besides, you shouldn't be one to talk!" she turned her back on him and went back to hurried whisperings with Dean Thomas not even bothering to lower her voice If anything, she raised it. I watched as Draco whispered something, and suddenly everyone in the room could hear what Lavender was talking about. She and Dean didn't seam to even notice what was happening on top of that.

"Yeah, I saw Harry leave with Ron last night. I wonder where they went off to?" said Dean.

"Probably to the Astronomy Tower to snog each other silly." replied Lavender. The whole class burst out laughing and Harry and Ron turned scarlet. Hermione whispered a spell and the one Draco had cast stopped.

"Harry, Ron, are you both okay?" I asked hurriedly.

"Yes," choked Harry.

"Oh is Malfoy going to pay for this." Ron seethed in rage, "How dare he? And Lavender, her too." Hermione put a hand on Ron's shoulder to stop him from getting up and starting a brawl.

"Ron, it's not worth it. Detentions for a week, Ron."

"Yeah, Ron. Look, she's just jealous of you being best friends with Harry. Also, she's known for gossiping about things that are lies, isn't she? So let it go. We'll all get Draco back for it later."

"Ron let it go. He's not worth it. Please Ron, there more you get angry the more they will believe it to be true." Harry pleaded. Ron sat down but he was still furious and kept sending baleful looks at Malfoy who smirked at him in response. Charms with Ravenclaw went smoothly, compared to the horror that study had been.

~*~

I flopped down beside Ginny, exhausted.

"I take it you had fun today?"

"Oh yeah, loads." She pushed a cup of water into my hands. She gazed at me intently, waiting for me to spill. "It's so weird being around all these people at once. I didn't know anyone besides Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and they teamed together. I don't know anyone and its un nerving me."

"You're scared of them aren't you?" I looked up at her with haunted eyes.

"Yes," I whispered. "So many people, it's so over whelming!"

"First days are always the worst. Tomorrow will be much better. What classes do you have tomorrow?" I handed her a grubby piece of creased and torn paper. She unfolded it and read off the list. "1st period-History with Hufflepuff. 2nd period, Charms, then lunch, and 3rd and 4th period, Care of Magical Creatures with Slytherin."

"Slytherin," Ginny shivered. "Ron is always telling me how terrible they are during that class. Just stick with Ron, Hermione, and Harry okay?" I nodded.

~*~

Draco looked across to the Gryffindor table. Adri was there sitting beside the Weasley girl. Adri looked terrible; she was paper white, a stark contrast to her dark locks. All throughout dinner she had eaten nothing, only sipped at a glass of water. Draco wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was worried about her. Draco turned away from her, embarrassed. He then proceeded to engage in conversation with a fellow Slytherin about the upcoming Hogsmead outing, trying desperately to banish all thoughts of Adri from his mind and failing miserably.

~*~

Draco glanced at the sky, fearing that more snow would fall. The snow was already eight inches deep and it was freezing cold outside in the Care of Magical Creature's class. Slytherin unfortunately had it with Gryffindor and it caused every class to be underlaced with tension. Especially where Harry Potter was concerned. Draco usually found some way to stir up trouble in this class. However, today would hopefully be different. Adri was now with them. Draco stopped scanning the sky for falling flakes and centered his steady gaze back on Hagrid.

"The harpies, unicorns, and centaurs are all gathered for observation today. Please step forward and gather the sheets for the creature you wish to observe." Hagrid instructed them all. He watched as Adri walked up to Hagrid briskly. Hagrid's eyes widened in surprise, this much was evident even though he was far away. Adri simply smiled at Hagrid and took her papers from his large hand. The rest of the students soon rushed up to get their papers. Draco reluctantly followed their example and got a paper to go observe the centaurs. He had been taking notes for several minutes when he happened to glance over at Adri. She was in front of the Harpy enclosure, hazardly close to the wide bars. If a Harpy so desired, she could grab Adri and rake her with her sharp claws. Draco ran over but stopped short; Adri appeared to be conversing with a Harpy! She finished her talk and turned around, and met Draco's gaze. Her eyes were glazed over and cold as she looked at him. The irises where dilated and her normal hazel eyes appeared to be a stormy, piercing violet.

~*~

A/N continued: I know, I know, not a great cliffhanger ending. This chapter was longer but I was urged to chop it in two, so this is the result. I want anyone who read this to PLEASE make an effort to comment/review my fic. either here or by email. It's the comments that make me want to write more. Many thanks to Sujin, Red Griffin, Clepsydra Delphinus, Morgana, "Cassey", Byrn, Theurmaynoria,

and Miss Miaka for reviewing! Thank you all!!!

Oh, and here's something worth checking out: http://hometown.aol.com/adelphie86/adelphieshogwartsschool.html

It's Adelphie's and Cathyn's very own Hogwarts school community where me and some of my friends are enrolled. I like being part of the community there and it is a nice webysite to visit. Check it out if you'd like!

~End of Chapter~

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