Chapter Nine: Monsters

As October drew to an end, the wind blew colder and sharper. Flying Class became a real challenge in blustery weather, but it was still preferable to any of my other classes (mainly because Madam Hooch never assigned homework). I had finally figured out how to make my Befuddled Broom fly, and just in time; the next day, we started learning how to play Quidditch.

"Listen up!" shouted Madam Hooch. "I don't expect you to become pro players, and I'm not grading on talent, but I want everyone to learn the basic rules and techniques of Quidditch. I am dividing you into two teams, for small competitions. To motivate you to do your best, the teams will be Gryffindor and Slytherin." A murmur of excitement ran through the group.

Draco grinned at me. "I've been playing Quidditch for years, and Gryffindor's missing two players. This'll be better than Potions Class!" I was happy to note that for once, he wasn't dwelling on the fact that Potter had been chosen for a House team, not to mention Chloe Simmons being trained as a reserve. Of course, Potter and Simmons were the two missing players; they didn't go to Flying Lessons anymore, now that they had been chosen for House teams.

Madam Hooch led the class out to the Quidditch field, where she briefly explained the difference between the Quaffle, Snitch, and Bludgers, for the pitiable few who didn't already know. Then she started pairing us up to practice handling the Quaffle. I instinctively edged closer to Draco.

The yellow-eyed professor looked skeptically at me. "I'll keep everyone working within their own team, don't worry. Let's see...Weasley with Granger..." Hermione rolled her eyes, and Ron sneered. It seemed that they were no longer on speaking terms.

"...Brown with Longbottom..." I stifled a snicker as Lavender put on a brave face.

"...Adett with Goyle..." Carol's mouth quirked with disgust.

"...Malfoy with Parkinson..." Pansy smiled saccharinely, but Draco fought not to look extremely disappointed. My expression probably mirrored his. After several more pairs, Madam Hooch came to the last two students.

"...and Zænidh with Hatter. Everyone, get a Quaffle and start practicing!" She blew her whistle, and people started lifting off the ground to claim a part of the field as their own. I glanced at Troy Hatter. We were both still on the ground.

"Well?" I asked. "Aren't you going to get a Quaffle for us?" He started in surprise.

"Why do I have to do it?" he asked, whining.

I rolled my eyes. "Because it's gentlemanly." Having grown up in a mansion, I had always expected a certain amount of courtesy from boys, whether I received it or not. Troy was baffled.

"Gentleman nothing! Dude, if I wanted to be some kind of gentleman, I would wear a tie." Then he realized he was wearing a tie. "I mean, like, I would...uh...," he cast about hopelessly for a good comeback.

Going very red in the face, he finally shouted, "If I wanted to be a gentleman, I would hold doors open all the time!"

I shrugged. "Have it your way." Then, with a jab of my wand, I said, "Accio Quaffle!" The red ball quivered for a moment, then floated slowly into my hands. Troy scowled, mounted his broomstick, and took off. I followed close behind.

When class finally ended, Madam Hooch announced that Slytherin and Gryffindor had each gained ten points for hard work. After putting away the brooms, everyone headed straight for the Great Hall to eat lunch. Draco sought me out immediately.

"Who does that woman think she is, pairing me with Pansy?" he said caustically. "That freaky little girl! Why does she have to talk to me at all, much less ask me for Quidditch tips? I swear, she's always trying to suck up to me, just because I'm a Malfoy."

"Why would Madam Hooch...Quidditch...Malfoys...?" I stammered, bewildered.

Draco groaned. "No, not her! I mean Pansy. But, I have to be polite around her, because, well, it just wouldn't do to treat another Slytherin as an enemy. Still, I'd rather gouge my eyes out than look at her syrupy smile once more today!"

"Awful." I said, nodding, trying to look serious, and then changed the topic. "Hey, I just remembered, tomorrow's Halloween! All the third years and up will be in Hogsmeade, so the castle will be practically empty!"

Draco grinned. "Great, now we can go looking for that terrible death Dumbledore promised us if we wandered around on the third floor too much. Sounds brilliant."

"Death?" I echoed.

"Come on, weren't you listening at the start of term feast? Dumbledore said that the left corridor on the third floor was forbidden, for anyone who valued their lives. Or something like that. Logically, something valuable is hidden there, but the protections surrounding it are bloody dangerous. Why they put it in a school, of all places, I don't know..." Draco trailed off.

* * *

Halloween found the Great Hall decorated in orange. Jack-o-lanterns and gourds floated in the air, and festive banners hung from the walls. Breakfast was a light meal, because no one wanted to be full for the feast that night. Soon, the older students left Hogwarts to visit the nearby wizard town, and Draco and I decided to explore a bit.

Heading straight for the left-hand corridor on the third floor, all we found was a strong, locked door. I sighed heavily. "Of course. We can't even get past this door to see what the challenge might be."

Draco smirked mischievously, brandishing his wand at the massive lock. "Oh, yeah? Alohomora!" The lock clicked and unlatched itself. Cautiously pulling the door open, Draco peered inside. His grey eyes suddenly widened, and he frantically motioned me to look. I strained my eyes against the darkness and saw three enormous dogs, sleeping on the floor. No, wait, it was one dog, with three heads! Its ears pricked, and I heard a soft growl. Gasping in shock, I shut the door as quickly as I could, re-latching the lock.

Before I could say anything, Draco grabbed my arm and pulled me through the halls, all the way to the library.

"Why...are we...going to the...library? Why not...Slytherin House?" I asked, gasping for breath.

"Because! Who would want to be in a library on their day off? I bet the rest of the Slytherins are in the common room, and I don't know if we want to tell them about what we saw. And besides, maybe we can find out what that monster is...it has to be in one of these books."

Arriving red-faced under the close scrutiny of Madam Pince, we retreated to a deserted corner of the library to talk. It was then that we bumped into Crabbe and Goyle...literally.

Draco scowled. "What are two doing here? I thought I told you two not to follow me around today, because I didn't want to be bothered."

Goyle bit his lip. "Ur, yes, I remember that now, but we're not following you..."

"Look at you!" Draco added in surprise. "You've got...books!" It was true; they were each carrying a tall stack of books.

Goyle paled. "We...we weren't going to read them..."

"Then what are you doing in a library?" I scoffed disdainfully.

Crabbe suddenly spoke up. "They're for Draco. To help him in class. We knew he didn't want to fall behind Granger, so we thought we'd just go ahead and check out these extra books for him."

"Not that he needs them," amended Goyle. "He's still better than a Muggle-born, any day." Draco nodded warily, and we left the duo to check out Draco's books in peace.

"Now, to the topic of this three-headed dog," I began in a low voice. "It's definitely not the treasure, so it's got to be a protection. The door is also a protection. The dog is harder to get past than the door. So, if there are any more defenses, they are even harder to get past than the dog. None of them are Dark Magic, since this is a school. The treasure is not Dark Magic either, for the same reason. But it's something that a Dark Wizard would want to have, which is why it's here, close to Dumbledore."

Draco blinked. "How do you know all this?"

"I don't. In fact, I made it all up, just now." I shrugged away Draco's scowl. "Hey, it could be true!"

"Right. But you know, now that I think of it, I bet there is no treasure," Draco chuckled. "I bet someone had a dangerous, three-headed dog, and they didn't know what to do with it, so they sent it to Hogwarts. Dumbledore locked it in little room, told everyone not to go there, and waited. Any day now, the Ministry for the Disposal of Dangerous Magical Creatures is going to show up, put the beast on trial, and execute it. The only reason they haven't done so already is that they're just plain busy."

"Hmm," I said, "your story sounds better. Even if you did make it all up, just now." We agreed that the three-headed dog was no concern of ours, and headed back to the common room. We didn't tell any of the other Slytherins; though it would have been fun to see their faces when we casually mentioned a vicious canine that could tear them limb from limb, and oh-by-the-way, it's sleeping restlessly on the third floor. Yes, it would have been quite amusing...but then again, it would have caused mass chaos, which Professor Snape absolutely despised.

* * *

That evening, the upperclassmen returned from Hogsmeade and the feast began. Pumpkin pies, leg of lamb, potato soup, and many other enticing dishes appeared on the table. Everyone started eating happily, while Carol rambled on about the many ways witches had been persecuted in the Middle Ages, mostly due to their raucous Halloween parties.

"I mean, it was only once a year!" she said around a mouthful of apple tart. "Those illiterate peasant slobs were just overreacting. Never, ever, did a witch harm someone without good reason. Now, some of those dangerous magical creatures, for example---"

"TROLL!!! TROLL IN THE DUNGEON!" Professor Quirrell shrieked, running into the Great Hall, robes flapping and turban coming loose. All eyes turned towards him in shock. I saw Carol start to nod in agreement, then realize with horror that he meant there actually was a troll, in the dungeon.

"Thought you ought to know," the professor added weakly, and collapsed to the stone floor. Instantly, everyone started screaming and pushing toward the doors in panic.

Dumbledore's voice stopped the pandemonium. "Everyone, please remain calm. Students will follow their prefects back to their Houses. Teachers will follow me to the dungeon." Draco and I fell into the line of Slytherins leaving the Great Hall. Bram and Trikkit led the group through a number of unfamiliar halls and stairways, amidst unsettled murmurs. Finally, Troy spoke up.

"Dude, why are we going this way?" he asked Bram indignantly. "Didn't Dumbledore, like, just tell us to go back to Slytherin Dun...geon. Oh. Dungeon. Ha ha. The troll is in the dungeon. Right. Never mind." Bram's eyes twinkled with shy humor.

"Troy has brought up an interesting point. We are not," Bram said, spreading his hands before him, "in the dungeon, for obvious safety reasons. We're heading for Professor Trelawney's classroom, actually." Again a murmur ran through the group. From the younger students, it was "who is Professor Trelawney?" and from the older ones, it was "why in the world?" Both questions were soon answered.

"I'm a favorite student of the Divination Master," Bram said. "It's mostly because I'm a seer." ("A seer!" I thought. "How cool! He must be so talented!") "It also helps that I don't mock her."

"Not to her face," Flint said, winking. Bram ignored him.

"I'm sure she's there; she hardly ever comes down from her tower. It's just a little further now...sorry, but I took you the long way to avoid Sir Cadogan." Apparently, Cadogan was a wizard painting of a knight, who couldn't tell an enemy from a sea anemone.

We turned one last corner and found ourselves confronted by a ladder that rose into a hole in the ceiling. Strange lights and smells oozed out of the doorway. A woman's voice called down to us.

"I knew you were coming, Bram. I saw it." Bram silently cast his eyes skyward, shaking his head. "Do come in. Bring your friends, I want to meet them. Perhaps I may...tell their futures." Many of the older students were on the verge of either breaking into tears or breaking into fits of laughter.

Draco and I exchanged a quizzical glance, then looked toward the ladder. Well, it's not going to climb itself...

To Be Continued...

Disclaimer: I own Andromeda, Troy, Trikkit, Bram, and Carol. Chloe Simmons belongs to WildMage42, whose story has unfortunately been removed from fanfiction.net by someone who did not read her disclaimer. A new and better version will be coming soon!! Anything that can be found in the Harry Potter books or movies DOES NOT BELONG TO ME!! All original dialogue and events (i.e. those that are NOT in the book) belong to either me or WildMage42, who is kind enough to grant me permission to use them. Thank you WildMage42! Also, questions/comments/compliments are VERY welcome. Please review!!