Author's note: Right, since no-one reviewed, I've taken the liberty
of giving Malfoy a new name which even I don't particularly like.
If you want to read the disclaimer, go back to chapter one.
Author's note: I know, Malfoy's a bit out of character here, deciding to be nice to Harry and his friends. But, I'm not the first person to write one of these 'sudden change of heart' fics...
NEW Author's note: Thanks to the suggestions made by the reviewer who calls herself Visitor, I've changed Malfoy's name to something more sensible.
Halfheart by Chris Atola
The rest of Chapter 3
Malfoy looked at her, then picked up the rock she was looking at, and transfigured it into a Nimbus-like broom. Kirsti looked up at Malfoy with an obvious question in her eyes: why? Malfoy read her expression and announced to the group, "My name isn't Draco Malfoy anymore. I denounce my family, and my name is now... "
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
"...Arlen Dermot," he finished.
Harry turned and mounted his broom. The others followed suit.
"So, what caused this sudden change?" Kirsti asked Arlen as they flew, pursuing Draco and Bowen.
"I just don't feel like doing as my Death Eater of a father wants me to. He wants me to sign up in Voldemort's ranks, but I'm tired of getting yelled at for not getting the highest marks possible. I know it's probably a bit late to hope for a full fresh start in everything, but I want to try. Besides, last night your dragon friend - Draco was his name? - and I had a bit of a chat. He told me to stop being such a prat - in slightly nicer terms."
They flew in silence for a while, until Hermione spotted Draco in a meadow, currently trying to hit a prone Bowen with his long, spade-tipped tail. Bowen dodged at the last second, rolling over, which resulted in Draco's tail getting caught in a nearby fallen tree. Draco worked his tail free, then rushed forward and stood over Bowen, who was still flat on his back. He then started to work his jaw in a sideways motion, his mouth wide open. Bowen realised what this meant and started shouting.
Moments later, Draco moved his head down and caught Bowen in his mouth. Bowen then drew his sword and drove it right into the roof of Draco's mouth.
"If your teeth come down, my sword goes up, right into your brain!" Bowen announced.
Kirsti wanted to intervene, but Draco sent her a look which plainly said, 'Don't interfere.'
Night fell, and the two were still in the same position.
"If your sword goes up, my teeth come down!" Draco countered.
"Into the moonlit night the titans dueled, in mortal combat bound. Oh, who'd the fatal false step make? Whose blood would stain the ground?" Brother Gilbert muttered, reverently watching them. He then yawned.
"Oh, good Lord. Sir Eglamore," Bowen exclaimed, having just dislodged a half-rotten hand wearing a signet ring from between Draco's teeth.
"Ohhh, thank you very much. It's been stuck down there for months!" Draco paused, then said, "Can you get your buttocks off my tongue?"
"Why should _you_ be comfortable? My armor is rusting in your drool, and your breath is absolutely foul," Bowen protested.
"Well, what do you expect, with old knights rotting between my molars?" Draco asked, then paused yet again. "Oh, God, my mouth is _so_ dry..."
"No, no, no! Stop! No! No!" Bowen exclaimed. With which Draco proceeded to hack up a ball of saliva, which hit Bowen right in the face.
"Sorry about that." Draco paused yet _again_, then mused, "It seems we're in a bit of a stalemate, wouldn't you say?"
"Yuck! But I can go three days without sleep," Bowen muttered.
"I can go three _weeks_." Draco countered.
"Ooh! I'll stab you before I nod off," Bowen swore.
"And I'll chomp _you_!" Draco stated. He then gave a short, ironic laugh. "Marvelous, we'll kill each other!"
Bowen paused, then asked, "What do you suggest?"
"A truce! Get out of my mouth, and let's talk face-to-face," Draco suggested.
"How do I know I can trust you?" Bowen asked, now suspicious.
"I give you my word," Draco stated.
"The word of a dragon! It's worthless!" Bowen commented derisively.
Draco pushed Bowen out with his tongue while exclaiming, "Stubborn lout!"
Bowen landed heavily on the ground, then cried, "Ohhh, I should have known! Go on! Kill me!"
Draco paused while readjusting his lower jaw, then said, "I don't want to kill you! I never did! And I don't want you to kill me! How do we gain? If you win, you lose a trade. If I win, I wait around for the next sword slinger thirsting to carve a reputation out of my hide. I'm _tired_ of lurking in holes and skulking in darkness." He paused, then said, "I'm gonna let you up now. And if you insist, we can pursue this fracas to its final stupidity. _Or_, you can listen to my alternative."
Bowen got up, seeming to ready his sword.
"_Hmmm_?" Draco persisted.
"What's the alternative?" Bowen asked after a moment.
Kirsti chose that moment to step up and start yelling at Draco. "Why'd you leave us at the waterfall like that?" She turned to Bowen and started yelling at him. "And you! Why don't you get yourself a better job, instead of killing those who haven't done anything to deserve it!" Her pale grey eyes flashed as she glared at both in turn. Draco looked away momentarily, hoping she'd calm down and forget.
Hermione drew Draco's attention, asking him if he thought it would be safe to spend the night there. At Draco's nod, the boys set off into the dense forest off to one side, to look for firewood. They came back a few minutes later laden with dead branches, and in Arlen's case, chopped logs. Upon seeing the logs, Hermione knew Arlen had used magic instead of his hands. She sighed in frustration, and directed the boys to put down the wood in a pile.
Hermione was just about to draw her wand to start the fire when Draco beat her to it. He let out a short blast of fire, which caught the wood and lit it.
Bowen went off to find something to cook over the fire, and Hermione took the opportunity to cast a spell which created food out of thin air, a spell she'd learned from Dobby the house-elf. With a flick of her wand and a muttered word, a dead rabbit appeared next to the fire.
When none of the boys appeared to know how to skin the rabbit, Hermione cast yet another spell, which skinned and gutted it. She then started looking for something she could use as a spit, in order to roast the rabbit. That's when Arlen made himself useful by picking up two forked sticks and a long, thin one from the edge of the forest. He handed them to Hermione, who headed to the fire and set about setting up a spit for the rabbit.
When Bowen came back, in a few minutes, he was surprised to see the already-roasting rabbit, and the teenagers sitting around the fire, who gave him innocent looks when he asked them where the rabbit came from.
My thanks for reviewing and helping me get the dialogue for the truce scene between Draco and Bowen goes to Visitor, who was kind enough to send me the scene in question. Thanks a lot!!
_No_ thanks go to M2 1-kins who refused to co-operate. You're a pain in my tailbone, täystuho!! Ja mä sanoin sulle siitä nii monta kertaa...!
If you want to read the disclaimer, go back to chapter one.
Author's note: I know, Malfoy's a bit out of character here, deciding to be nice to Harry and his friends. But, I'm not the first person to write one of these 'sudden change of heart' fics...
NEW Author's note: Thanks to the suggestions made by the reviewer who calls herself Visitor, I've changed Malfoy's name to something more sensible.
Halfheart by Chris Atola
The rest of Chapter 3
Malfoy looked at her, then picked up the rock she was looking at, and transfigured it into a Nimbus-like broom. Kirsti looked up at Malfoy with an obvious question in her eyes: why? Malfoy read her expression and announced to the group, "My name isn't Draco Malfoy anymore. I denounce my family, and my name is now... "
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
"...Arlen Dermot," he finished.
Harry turned and mounted his broom. The others followed suit.
"So, what caused this sudden change?" Kirsti asked Arlen as they flew, pursuing Draco and Bowen.
"I just don't feel like doing as my Death Eater of a father wants me to. He wants me to sign up in Voldemort's ranks, but I'm tired of getting yelled at for not getting the highest marks possible. I know it's probably a bit late to hope for a full fresh start in everything, but I want to try. Besides, last night your dragon friend - Draco was his name? - and I had a bit of a chat. He told me to stop being such a prat - in slightly nicer terms."
They flew in silence for a while, until Hermione spotted Draco in a meadow, currently trying to hit a prone Bowen with his long, spade-tipped tail. Bowen dodged at the last second, rolling over, which resulted in Draco's tail getting caught in a nearby fallen tree. Draco worked his tail free, then rushed forward and stood over Bowen, who was still flat on his back. He then started to work his jaw in a sideways motion, his mouth wide open. Bowen realised what this meant and started shouting.
Moments later, Draco moved his head down and caught Bowen in his mouth. Bowen then drew his sword and drove it right into the roof of Draco's mouth.
"If your teeth come down, my sword goes up, right into your brain!" Bowen announced.
Kirsti wanted to intervene, but Draco sent her a look which plainly said, 'Don't interfere.'
Night fell, and the two were still in the same position.
"If your sword goes up, my teeth come down!" Draco countered.
"Into the moonlit night the titans dueled, in mortal combat bound. Oh, who'd the fatal false step make? Whose blood would stain the ground?" Brother Gilbert muttered, reverently watching them. He then yawned.
"Oh, good Lord. Sir Eglamore," Bowen exclaimed, having just dislodged a half-rotten hand wearing a signet ring from between Draco's teeth.
"Ohhh, thank you very much. It's been stuck down there for months!" Draco paused, then said, "Can you get your buttocks off my tongue?"
"Why should _you_ be comfortable? My armor is rusting in your drool, and your breath is absolutely foul," Bowen protested.
"Well, what do you expect, with old knights rotting between my molars?" Draco asked, then paused yet again. "Oh, God, my mouth is _so_ dry..."
"No, no, no! Stop! No! No!" Bowen exclaimed. With which Draco proceeded to hack up a ball of saliva, which hit Bowen right in the face.
"Sorry about that." Draco paused yet _again_, then mused, "It seems we're in a bit of a stalemate, wouldn't you say?"
"Yuck! But I can go three days without sleep," Bowen muttered.
"I can go three _weeks_." Draco countered.
"Ooh! I'll stab you before I nod off," Bowen swore.
"And I'll chomp _you_!" Draco stated. He then gave a short, ironic laugh. "Marvelous, we'll kill each other!"
Bowen paused, then asked, "What do you suggest?"
"A truce! Get out of my mouth, and let's talk face-to-face," Draco suggested.
"How do I know I can trust you?" Bowen asked, now suspicious.
"I give you my word," Draco stated.
"The word of a dragon! It's worthless!" Bowen commented derisively.
Draco pushed Bowen out with his tongue while exclaiming, "Stubborn lout!"
Bowen landed heavily on the ground, then cried, "Ohhh, I should have known! Go on! Kill me!"
Draco paused while readjusting his lower jaw, then said, "I don't want to kill you! I never did! And I don't want you to kill me! How do we gain? If you win, you lose a trade. If I win, I wait around for the next sword slinger thirsting to carve a reputation out of my hide. I'm _tired_ of lurking in holes and skulking in darkness." He paused, then said, "I'm gonna let you up now. And if you insist, we can pursue this fracas to its final stupidity. _Or_, you can listen to my alternative."
Bowen got up, seeming to ready his sword.
"_Hmmm_?" Draco persisted.
"What's the alternative?" Bowen asked after a moment.
Kirsti chose that moment to step up and start yelling at Draco. "Why'd you leave us at the waterfall like that?" She turned to Bowen and started yelling at him. "And you! Why don't you get yourself a better job, instead of killing those who haven't done anything to deserve it!" Her pale grey eyes flashed as she glared at both in turn. Draco looked away momentarily, hoping she'd calm down and forget.
Hermione drew Draco's attention, asking him if he thought it would be safe to spend the night there. At Draco's nod, the boys set off into the dense forest off to one side, to look for firewood. They came back a few minutes later laden with dead branches, and in Arlen's case, chopped logs. Upon seeing the logs, Hermione knew Arlen had used magic instead of his hands. She sighed in frustration, and directed the boys to put down the wood in a pile.
Hermione was just about to draw her wand to start the fire when Draco beat her to it. He let out a short blast of fire, which caught the wood and lit it.
Bowen went off to find something to cook over the fire, and Hermione took the opportunity to cast a spell which created food out of thin air, a spell she'd learned from Dobby the house-elf. With a flick of her wand and a muttered word, a dead rabbit appeared next to the fire.
When none of the boys appeared to know how to skin the rabbit, Hermione cast yet another spell, which skinned and gutted it. She then started looking for something she could use as a spit, in order to roast the rabbit. That's when Arlen made himself useful by picking up two forked sticks and a long, thin one from the edge of the forest. He handed them to Hermione, who headed to the fire and set about setting up a spit for the rabbit.
When Bowen came back, in a few minutes, he was surprised to see the already-roasting rabbit, and the teenagers sitting around the fire, who gave him innocent looks when he asked them where the rabbit came from.
My thanks for reviewing and helping me get the dialogue for the truce scene between Draco and Bowen goes to Visitor, who was kind enough to send me the scene in question. Thanks a lot!!
_No_ thanks go to M2 1-kins who refused to co-operate. You're a pain in my tailbone, täystuho!! Ja mä sanoin sulle siitä nii monta kertaa...!