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Chapter 6 - The Flamma Spaera
Hermione and Draco continued up the spiral staircase that ascended into Dumbledore's private study. Pictures of former headmasters snoozed peacefully in their frames, only stirring as the two passed them. They arrived at a very large wooden door. Hermione reached out and knocked; when no one answered they let themselves in. They were followed moments later by Dumbledore. He was carrying a very old wooden box. It looked like something very important.

"Mr. Malfoy, Miss Granger," he acknowledged their presence as he noticed them standing there. "Please sit," Dumbledore said as he waved toward the two armchairs by the fire. "As I said before, the Head Boy and Girl will have to face many challenges, and here is your first," he gestured toward the wooden box which he had set on his desk. "Now it may not seem like much at first," he continued noticing Draco's smirk, "but inside this box is the Flamma Spaera." Hermione's and Draco's eyes widened, they both knew of this object. "As you probably already know, the Flamma Spaera is a very powerful object. It contributed to the downfall of many great witches and wizards. Although extremely powerful the sphere is very mysterious; precious little is known about its true powers. Your job is to keep it safe and try to learn as much as you can about it until the end of the year." Dumbledore suddenly looked stern, "I cannot express to you how vitally important it is to keep this a secret. If the Flamma Spaera falls into the wrong hands, the results could be catastrophic." Dumbledore handed the box to Draco and bade them to bed.

Back in the common room, they sat. The box was resting in Draco's lap, who looked as if he was itching to open it.

"Well open it!" Hermione said impatiently.

Draco flipped the clasps on the box, and the hinges creaked. It obviously hadn't been open in years. Inside the box rested a jet black about the size of a golden snitch. When Draco held it up, they noticed that red hot flames were dancing on the inside of the orb.

"So this is the legendary Flamma Spaera," Draco mused.

For once, Hermione didn't know much about the subject at hand. She knew enough to know it was an extremely dangerous Dark object, but nothing more.

"Draco, what is the Flamma Spaera?"

Draco looked at her sternly, "You seemed to know what it was when Dumbledore gave us the assignment."

"Well I knew enough to be shocked. I know it is a dangerous Dark object, but what does it do exactly?"

"Dumbledore told us that already, no one knows much about it. It is a mystery to the wizard world."

"Oh, come on Draco, you must know something. It's no secret that your family is involved in the Dark Arts."

Draco looked hesitant.

"Please, you can tell me," she gave him her best puppy dog eyes.

"Alright," he complied, "the Flamma Spaera has many unknown powers, however many are known. It was believed that it was forged a thousand years after Hogwarts was built, but now it is believed to have been made a millennium before Hogwarts. Its founder, a wizard named Andullus, wanted to make a way to bring the dead back. He had just lost his wife and daughter. He failed in his intentions, but succeeded in producing what I now hold in my hands. This orb was lost for many years, until it came into what I am assuming is Dumbledore's possession. It is believed to be a divination object; a sort of crystal ball, only the viewer doesn't actually see anything. They just have to concentrate and use their mind. These are only legends of course. For all we know, it could just be a useless ball of glass."

Hermione examined the orb closely. How could a tiny little ball do all these things? How could it be so evil? What dark powers could it contain? Questions were running through her mind. The Flamma Spaera looked harmless enough.

There was an uneasy silence filling the room. Hermione was very surprised Draco actually told her all he knew about the sphere, or all he was willing to tell her. Hermione decided since it was already late she would get ready for bed. She left the room and quickly showered and completed her "nightly bathroom ritual." She climbed under the covers of her big four-poster bed and once her head touched the pillow, she fell asleep.

Suddenly Hermione found herself on a barren island amidst a sea of red, blood. The waves of the blood sea broke upon the shores of her island. Vivid images flashed across her mind as if they were burned into the murky sky. The first thing she became aware of was a woman. This woman was cowering against the wall groping frantically for her wand. Hermione was struck by how closely she resembled Draco. All of a sudden Hermione heard a deep, masculine voice shouting "Avada Kadavra." A blinding flash of green light pierced through the sky as the woman's scream stabbed the air. In an instant her corpse slumped to the floor. As suddenly as the images came, they fled, and Hermione found herself back on the island. Almost immediately she realized, to her horror, the island was sinking. Already the blood sea lapped only a few centimeters from her feet. Then she was sinking, but was relieved to find that her shoulders were still above the blood. Before she could think, fresh terror seized her heart. Right before her there was a great disturbance in the sea, and a body appeared above the surface, the body of the woman. The woman's eyes opened, white and blank. A shriek of terror escaped Hermione's lips, but seemed to fall silent in the vast emptiness. Then a woman's voice began to cry on the wind.

"Beware of the Flamma Spaera. It holds greater powers than you can ever imagine. It has the power to bring life, but its greatest powers lie in death and destruction. It was because of this that I met my destruction. Let no other suffers the same fate."

Hermione finally gathered enough courage to ask one question that was plaguing her mind. "Who are you?" she managed, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I am closer to you than you may know," the voice replied.

"Who are you?" Hermione repeated, slightly louder.

"Narcissa Malfoy."

With those words a great wave overcame Hermione and she fell into darkness.

Hermione sat up screaming, totally oblivious to the fact that she was no longer submerged in the sea of blood. Draco ran into the room, thinking someone was about to murder her. He only found Hermione alone and unharmed.
"What happened?" he asked relief obvious in his voice.

"The Flamma Spaera.. It killed..," Hermione stuttered, still shaken. Draco sat on the bed next to her and wrapped his arms around her, in an effort to calm her down.

"It was just a bad dream, why don't you try going back to sleep?" Draco asked in the most soothing voice he could muster.

"I can't. That wasn't a normal dream. It was a warning!"

Draco looked disbelieving. Hermione sighed; she didn't want to ask this. "I know this isn't any of my business, but you have to tell me. It is very important."

Hermione was rambling on and on until Draco became exasperated and practically yelled, "Just ask the question already!"

"Draco, how did your mother die?"

The expression on Draco's face quickly changed from exasperation and slight amusement to shock. "How did you know my mother died? Only Dumbledore, my father, the people investigating her death, and myself know," Draco gave her a calculating look. "If it is really important for you to know, she was murdered," he paused and Hermione saw the sadness in his eyes, "by my father."

Hermione could distinctly hear the loathsome tone he used every time he said "father," and now she knew why.

"I am so sorry," she said as she reached for her hand.

"How did you know she died?" he asked quietly.

"I don't think this is the best time," she started until she saw the pleading look in his eyes. Then she said simply, "It was the dream."

Hermione began to tell Draco about her dream. He listened quietly without interrupting, but she could tell what he was feeling by watching his eyes. She remembered when all she could see in them was coldness. Now she could see tiny shreds of emotion flying through their silvery depth. Hermione didn't know whether she had become more skilled at seeing through Draco's mask or he was opening up to her. She knew she would never be able to answer that question, or at least right then. Draco noticed her eyes on him and finally decided to end the silence.

"My mother could have given you that dream," he said simply.

"Why?" she asked sounding quite dumb.

"My mother was a seer," he caught the look on Hermione's face, "a real seer."

It was common knowledge that Hermione thought Divination was just guesswork, and never took it seriously.

"As to how she managed to do it," he continued, "I doubt we will never know."

"So what should we do? Should we go to Dumbledore?"

Draco shook his head, "This is a very Dark object we are talking about, Dumbledore would know next to nothing on the matter."

"So what do you suggest," Hermione threw back at him.

"I think we should start at the source."

"How can we do that? That man died over a millennium ago!" Hermione asked looking slightly amused.

"That, I'll tell you in the morning," he answered smiling at her ignorance.

Hermione stifled a yawn; she was getting very tired. She looked at her alarm clock, which was charmed to work at Hogwarts. It was 3am. She got up to refill her glass of water. When she returned, Draco was sound asleep on her bed. She smiled; he always looked so cute when he slept. She got under the covers and snuggled into her chest, as she was still shaken from the dream. To her surprise, she felt his strong arms wrap around her and pull her closer to him. She tucked her head under his chin, and soon his rhythmic heartbeat had lulled her to sleep. If she had stayed awake a second longer, she might have felt a light kiss on her cheek.

Kim ~ (Now you actually get to hear from me) Thank you to Starfleet Hobbit, who helped us with the dream sequence. Thanks to all our recent reviewers. Go Sarah for writing this chapter!!! You rock!