Without the rest of the class between them and Professor Summers the four students were feeling her presence much more intensely. It was not a feeling of being watched but rather a lovely feeling, it comforted and reassure but it also seemed to dull the senses. All four of them were fighting this feeling of delicious drowsiness that threatened to sweep over them.
Hermione was feeling it less than the boys but she still felt it. However she felt her resistance was weakening over time. Summers spoke again now as she reached out for another biscuit.
"Why have you two boys chosen to be enemies? I see no viable reason for your dislike of each other." Harry and Draco just looked at each other while Hermione and Ron became increasingly uncomfortable.
"Unless..." Professor Summers eyes wandered towards Hermione, "it's over a girl?" Hermione blushed slightly but both Harry and Draco shook there heads. Draco was half tempted to say something spiteful but bit his tough as Professor Summers' powerful eyes fell upon him.
Draco glared at the DADA Professor, "What would you know? You're a stranger here." "Sometimes it takes an outside observer to see the truth in a situation." She answered firmly while placing her hands on her hips and leaning back against the desk.
"You haven't answered my question." There was silence still, Dawn sighed, "Ok, why don't you like each other?" "Famous Mr Potter is an arrogant Gryffindor!" Draco hissed and Harry scowled. "Well he's Sytherin you can't get worse than that!"
Their Professor rolled her eyes skyward and sighed. "School Houses; Foolish, segregating nonsense!" she waved their answer away dismissively before her warm brown eyes hit Harry's vivid green ones and she gave a slightly sly smile, "Besides I do believe our Harry is hiding something!"
A jolt of astonishment went through Harry at this, could Professor Summers read minds? Did she know what House the sorting hat had originally tried to put him in? If she did she didn't say.
Dawn was silent for a while, "So none of you have ever asked yourself what it would be like if, instead of becoming enemies, you had met under different circumstances and became allies, even friends? You are powerful young wizards, separately you are strong, and together you could be among the greatest warriors of Earth." Summers' voice had become 'far-away' and misty as she spoke.
Professor Summers moved back behind her desk and continued writing in the open journal. Harry watched with scepticism before he began to speak again, "When I look into your eyes I want to believe everything you say but why would you care who I'm friends or enemies with?" Dawn shook her head at the children regretfully, "It's not just you personally. I am sure that unless the Wizarding Realm stops segregating itself on this foolish rivalry it will never defeat the beast it has created. From what I have gathered Lord Voldemort will eventually destroy himself but not before the entire Realm has perished before him. Unless I succeed in my current mission the Magical Sub-species of Human will be extinct within a centaury."
"Sub-species?" Draco fumed. Dawn's expression was ever calm, "Yes Draco, you may not like it but as a whole non-magical humans or 'Muggles' are the stronger and, at present, will eventually be the only humans on the Earth. Your only hope is to integrate." "Integrate?" Ron repeated. "Mix and learn from each other within the next hundred years." "What could we possible learn from muggles?" Draco asked heatedly. "Much Draco, much."
Dawn paused and just looked at the four students, "I think you would all do well to remember that everyone has the capacity for evil. Know that, for denial will give it the chance to escape."
Hermione was hypothesising, she was already sure Dawn Summers wasn't a Witch and in such a case she couldn't be Human but from what she had heard during detention she was starting to have even wilder ideas, an uncommon occurrence for the sensible young Witch. Her impression of Summers was getting stranger and stranger, was she a Prophet too? She had the way her Professor talked made her sound as though she didn't quite … belong.