~Draika~
Chapter Eight: Alone
It was about six-thirty when Draika woke the next morning. Words from yesterday echoed in her mind, but she shook them off. They were absolutely preposterous…but there had seemed to be something that held truth about that weird conversation. Sitting up, she saw someone had laid out her uniform--probably Madam Pomfrey. She got dressed quickly, mostly rid of the previous day's shakiness. She left after slinging her heavy bag over her shoulder, wondering what she was going to do with her two free periods.
It seemed like an eternity before she was in the Great Hall, but time has a funny way of playing tricks on your brain when larger issues are about. A few strips of bacon were all Draika could manage; she wasn't really all that hungry to begin with. A few more students came in, most of them, like normal, were students she didn't know.
"So. Back, are we?" A familiar voice drawled. Draika looked up.
"Good morning, Malfoy." She said, not looking up from her long since emptied plate.
"You sound so dreary." He laughed. "What's your secret?"
"Sleeping for three days straight, then doing all three days' worth of homework in merely hours." She said dryly. Malfoy didn't laugh. She hadn't meant for him to.
"I see." He had brought a huge bowl of something or other and was eating it ravenously, somehow still managing to talk as if he wasn't shoving food down his throat.
"Yeah."
Other than that brief and extremely uninteresting conversation, Draika talked to no one for the rest of the day. She was too busy trying to catch up in what she had missed. Not that she was able to concentrate, anyways. Why had those lousy centaurs come running in? Serves them right that they got killed. No one could mess with a dragon, even one that was no true dragon, and not suffer. She clenched her fists, oblivious to the fact that her claws were cutting into her palms; drawing little drops of blood.
In Charms, she was absolutely horrible. Instead of shrinking her beetle to something the size of a flea, it sprouted little blue hairs all over its abdomen. Divination was extremely annoying, with Trelawney constantly hovering over her shoulder to read her cards.
~Stupid Tarot.~ Draika thought as she tried to remember the meaning of the nine of wands. ~Oh well…~
The bell rang, letting her finally escape that musty old tower. Lunch! Of course, not alone…Linwe's father, Steppenwolf, was escorting her everywhere. He never said anything, which just made it worse. Steppenwolf was the gryphon she'd seen with Snape on the first day, and he was just as austere as she remembered him. His golden eyes went straight through her, so Draika often avoided his gaze. She thought it might be impolite to read into someone of such importance.
Draika's appetite had noticeably decreased, even to her. She picked at her lunch, and then went to the library, still wishing her Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures lessons hadn't been cancelled. Setting her bag down on a table in the back, she picked up a few books on animals: Gryphon's Eyrie, a factual book all about gryphons; Dragons of the World, which was exactly what its title said, and an old, titleless book bound in cracked leather that she thought might be interesting. Opening Gryphon's Eyrie, she began to read.
'Gryphons are one of the most intelligent beasts in this world, possessing every memory in their life. They never forget. Their feathers are lightweight but VERY durable, able to repel extreme temperatures and mild curses. Many possess magic; the most common abilities one might see in a gryphon would be weak healing or invisibility, although a rare few venture forth to learn more advanced magic. With wisdom they gain through the ages, they have developed the ability to see though masks to a person's true self. Never lie to a gryphon, for they are quick to anger and may seriously harm you. Each generation of these magnificent creatures grows smarter, as the parents pass down all their knowledge to the newly hatched chick. Only trained professionals should ever approach a gryphon.' At this, Draika snorted, causing Steppenwolf to jerk his head in surprise at the sudden noise. She closed the book solemnly, not interested in reading the entire volume.
Instead of picking up any of the other books she had chosen, Draika simply stared out the library's gigantic windows, looking longingly down at the glass-walled greenhouses and the little paddock where she would've met with Linwe. She watched the other students move from the greenhouses to the paddock, unable to tear her eyes away. Linwe was not there. She looked back questioningly at Steppenwolf, who said nothing but told her plenty. Wild magic, of course…
The rest of the day passed in a sort of haze. Draika would later remember her assignments from the depths of her mind, but at the moment everything was foggy. Even though her shadow (as Draika had come to call Steppenwolf in her mind) ignored everyone for the most part, she was still given a wide berth by the other students. She didn't really care. Alone was good. Alone was darkness and evil. She shuddered, walking out of her last class and down towards the dungeons. Steppenwolf went off down the gryphon's tunnel without a word…Draika marveled at how one so large and incongruous with most of the castle could move so quietly. Then she had a thought. Several thoughts. She had an instinct for mischief, and something told her this would be profitable in the future. Snape should be in the teacher's lounge after a long day of teaching, leaving his office unoccupied…
Making sure no one could see, she crept back up to the corridors. Draika would have to be a fool to take the open halls…she had found out about a few passageways through the mill, and was ready to try one. On the second floor there was a large plant of some kind. Its pot was nearly five feet across. Reaching out to it, Draika tugged on one of its orange leaves.
"Hey. Can you move?" She asked it, careful to be polite. The plant nodded, scooting over to reveal a hole about four feet in diameter. The passage sloped down sharply, like a nightmarish slide. Draika hesitated, but knew she couldn't waste any more time.
"Thank you! I'll bring you some nice plant food next time I see you." Draika smiled, letting go. It was all she could do to keep from screaming giddily. It really was a slide, twisting and turning, heading to the bowels of the castle.
Then all of a sudden it was over. With a crash, Draika was deposited on hard stone after a drop of nearly ten feet from a jagged hole in the ceiling.
"He should really get that fixed." She mumbled. "Wouldn't want any students breaking in, now would he?" She giggled, searching….there! A pile of beakers, each filled with an ominous-looking black potion…except one, which was green. Draika laughed again, carefully searching through the pile. Finding the one marked 'Draika V'tana' she pocketed it, but only after making sure Snape had graded them all. She was pleased to see Longbottom had a zero, and she had a ten. Feeling oh so smug, she walked out of the office. Never once did she stop to consider there should've been powerful spells protecting the office…and that they could only be broken by a very powerful wizard. Had the circumstances been different, she might have remembered that, and gone once more out of the castle in search of Sraelyth and Domar.
But she had other things on her mind. Her brain was chipping away at itself like a sharp knife whittles away at a stick. Chipping away to make room. So much more room was needed for what fate had in store for the girl. When she finally fell asleep in the early hours of the morning, she could feel it. She knew.
And there was nothing she could do.
Nothing she could do.
-----------
I might revise this chapter later--but for now I think it's pretty good. I'm sorry it took so long--I've been REALLY busy.
Chapter Eight: Alone
It was about six-thirty when Draika woke the next morning. Words from yesterday echoed in her mind, but she shook them off. They were absolutely preposterous…but there had seemed to be something that held truth about that weird conversation. Sitting up, she saw someone had laid out her uniform--probably Madam Pomfrey. She got dressed quickly, mostly rid of the previous day's shakiness. She left after slinging her heavy bag over her shoulder, wondering what she was going to do with her two free periods.
It seemed like an eternity before she was in the Great Hall, but time has a funny way of playing tricks on your brain when larger issues are about. A few strips of bacon were all Draika could manage; she wasn't really all that hungry to begin with. A few more students came in, most of them, like normal, were students she didn't know.
"So. Back, are we?" A familiar voice drawled. Draika looked up.
"Good morning, Malfoy." She said, not looking up from her long since emptied plate.
"You sound so dreary." He laughed. "What's your secret?"
"Sleeping for three days straight, then doing all three days' worth of homework in merely hours." She said dryly. Malfoy didn't laugh. She hadn't meant for him to.
"I see." He had brought a huge bowl of something or other and was eating it ravenously, somehow still managing to talk as if he wasn't shoving food down his throat.
"Yeah."
Other than that brief and extremely uninteresting conversation, Draika talked to no one for the rest of the day. She was too busy trying to catch up in what she had missed. Not that she was able to concentrate, anyways. Why had those lousy centaurs come running in? Serves them right that they got killed. No one could mess with a dragon, even one that was no true dragon, and not suffer. She clenched her fists, oblivious to the fact that her claws were cutting into her palms; drawing little drops of blood.
In Charms, she was absolutely horrible. Instead of shrinking her beetle to something the size of a flea, it sprouted little blue hairs all over its abdomen. Divination was extremely annoying, with Trelawney constantly hovering over her shoulder to read her cards.
~Stupid Tarot.~ Draika thought as she tried to remember the meaning of the nine of wands. ~Oh well…~
The bell rang, letting her finally escape that musty old tower. Lunch! Of course, not alone…Linwe's father, Steppenwolf, was escorting her everywhere. He never said anything, which just made it worse. Steppenwolf was the gryphon she'd seen with Snape on the first day, and he was just as austere as she remembered him. His golden eyes went straight through her, so Draika often avoided his gaze. She thought it might be impolite to read into someone of such importance.
Draika's appetite had noticeably decreased, even to her. She picked at her lunch, and then went to the library, still wishing her Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures lessons hadn't been cancelled. Setting her bag down on a table in the back, she picked up a few books on animals: Gryphon's Eyrie, a factual book all about gryphons; Dragons of the World, which was exactly what its title said, and an old, titleless book bound in cracked leather that she thought might be interesting. Opening Gryphon's Eyrie, she began to read.
'Gryphons are one of the most intelligent beasts in this world, possessing every memory in their life. They never forget. Their feathers are lightweight but VERY durable, able to repel extreme temperatures and mild curses. Many possess magic; the most common abilities one might see in a gryphon would be weak healing or invisibility, although a rare few venture forth to learn more advanced magic. With wisdom they gain through the ages, they have developed the ability to see though masks to a person's true self. Never lie to a gryphon, for they are quick to anger and may seriously harm you. Each generation of these magnificent creatures grows smarter, as the parents pass down all their knowledge to the newly hatched chick. Only trained professionals should ever approach a gryphon.' At this, Draika snorted, causing Steppenwolf to jerk his head in surprise at the sudden noise. She closed the book solemnly, not interested in reading the entire volume.
Instead of picking up any of the other books she had chosen, Draika simply stared out the library's gigantic windows, looking longingly down at the glass-walled greenhouses and the little paddock where she would've met with Linwe. She watched the other students move from the greenhouses to the paddock, unable to tear her eyes away. Linwe was not there. She looked back questioningly at Steppenwolf, who said nothing but told her plenty. Wild magic, of course…
The rest of the day passed in a sort of haze. Draika would later remember her assignments from the depths of her mind, but at the moment everything was foggy. Even though her shadow (as Draika had come to call Steppenwolf in her mind) ignored everyone for the most part, she was still given a wide berth by the other students. She didn't really care. Alone was good. Alone was darkness and evil. She shuddered, walking out of her last class and down towards the dungeons. Steppenwolf went off down the gryphon's tunnel without a word…Draika marveled at how one so large and incongruous with most of the castle could move so quietly. Then she had a thought. Several thoughts. She had an instinct for mischief, and something told her this would be profitable in the future. Snape should be in the teacher's lounge after a long day of teaching, leaving his office unoccupied…
Making sure no one could see, she crept back up to the corridors. Draika would have to be a fool to take the open halls…she had found out about a few passageways through the mill, and was ready to try one. On the second floor there was a large plant of some kind. Its pot was nearly five feet across. Reaching out to it, Draika tugged on one of its orange leaves.
"Hey. Can you move?" She asked it, careful to be polite. The plant nodded, scooting over to reveal a hole about four feet in diameter. The passage sloped down sharply, like a nightmarish slide. Draika hesitated, but knew she couldn't waste any more time.
"Thank you! I'll bring you some nice plant food next time I see you." Draika smiled, letting go. It was all she could do to keep from screaming giddily. It really was a slide, twisting and turning, heading to the bowels of the castle.
Then all of a sudden it was over. With a crash, Draika was deposited on hard stone after a drop of nearly ten feet from a jagged hole in the ceiling.
"He should really get that fixed." She mumbled. "Wouldn't want any students breaking in, now would he?" She giggled, searching….there! A pile of beakers, each filled with an ominous-looking black potion…except one, which was green. Draika laughed again, carefully searching through the pile. Finding the one marked 'Draika V'tana' she pocketed it, but only after making sure Snape had graded them all. She was pleased to see Longbottom had a zero, and she had a ten. Feeling oh so smug, she walked out of the office. Never once did she stop to consider there should've been powerful spells protecting the office…and that they could only be broken by a very powerful wizard. Had the circumstances been different, she might have remembered that, and gone once more out of the castle in search of Sraelyth and Domar.
But she had other things on her mind. Her brain was chipping away at itself like a sharp knife whittles away at a stick. Chipping away to make room. So much more room was needed for what fate had in store for the girl. When she finally fell asleep in the early hours of the morning, she could feel it. She knew.
And there was nothing she could do.
Nothing she could do.
-----------
I might revise this chapter later--but for now I think it's pretty good. I'm sorry it took so long--I've been REALLY busy.