A/N: Yet another story of mine that I haven't worked on in a while. Trying to change that, lol. Here's a update for anyone that actually reads this story. It's a bit on the brief side compared to the other chapters. I'm trying to get back into the feel of it. Hope you enjoy.
Chapter Five
Lessons in Hidden Creatures
Morning had come in a hurry. Or perhaps it only seemed that way to Harry. Sleep hadn't found him nearly as easily as it had his companions in the dorm. He sat in bed, staring at the drapes of it while listening to the "serene" sounds of sleep.
He'd been a jerk. Now that he'd had time to stew in his mistake overnight, he felt compelled to apologize. Harry had planned to do just that before breakfast, but when he reached the common room, others told him that Ginny had already left.
Wanting to catch up to her at breakfast before Ron, Hermione, or anyone else joined them, Harry made his way to the Great Hall at a fast pace, but not to fast as to look suspicious. A few minutes later, he stood in the doorway to the hall, searching the Gryffindor table with his eyes. As soon as he spotted long red hair, he moved closer while trying to think of the right things to say. Nothing really came to mind. For some reason he was a little too nervous to think.
At six people away from Ginny's slightly turned body, someone sat in the empty seat beside her. Dean Thomas place his open palm against her back as he took his spot next to the redhead. Her face looked up to her companion with a sweet smile that made Harry swallow hard. A bitter taste had risen in his throat as he watched them for some reason. It was like something fell into his stomach, too, or that it fell straight away.
Harry started backing before the pair could notice him staring. Suddenly, an arm wrapped around his shoulders. He froze.
"Hey, Harry, heard you ran off." Ron said loud enough to get the attention of people nearby.
Ginny turned to the sound of her brother's voice. She gave her brother a brief smile. Harry got only a mildly dismissive look before turning back to Dean, all smiles. Again, Harry felt an unexplainably dull ache in his gut.
"Morning, Ron." He sighed while the redheaded young man dragged her to a trio of empty seats, "Where's Hermione?"
Ron turned red around the ears as he shrugged. For some reason, he couldn't look in Harry's eyes. Instead, Ron began grabbing food around him, piling up quite a plate of eggs and sausage. Confused green eyes stared confusedly at the boy before accidentally darting attention to Ginny again. The girl hadn't seen, but Dean raised a brow at him. Harry quickly turned away and started gathering breakfast for himself.
Harry and Ron ate their breakfast silently, both staring off in the distance blankly as though lost in thought. The oddly stunned silence was shaken as Hermione came up behind them. Both boys jumped then turned to her, which caused her an equal look as she clutched the pile of books in her arms.
"Morning." Harry said
It seemed lost on her. Her attention focused on Ron. For some reason, her face looked paler than usual. Ron, in turn, resembled a fish-out-of-water look.
Breaking free from each other, Ron turned to his meal while Hermione took her place at the table. She started to take the empty spot beside Ron, but hesitated at the last moment. Standing again, she gestured for Harry to slide down the bench. He obliged, of course, though he didn't see the point.
"Morning." She mumbled finally, after setting the books on the table
"What's with all the books?" Ron asked as a piece of toast shoved into his mouth.
"Research." She slid the books away so she could place some breakfast foods on her plate, "Trying to figure out what it is about that new teacher. I know it's something."
"You know, I was thinking about that last night before I fell asleep." Ron said leaning over Harry slightly
Harry smirked, "You mean, the three minutes between the time your head hit the pillow and you began snoring loud enough to wake the dead?"
Ron shot Harry an astounded, annoyed look.
"Bugger off!" he said sounding just as annoyed as he looked, "Anyway, I was thinking about it and I've come up with something."
It was Hermione's turn to smirk, "Oh?"
Ignoring all the disbelief, Ron pressed on. "Drageni."
Harry, of course, had never heard of anything by that name. Hermione had. She scoffed at the thought.
"Really, Ron," she started dismissively, "That's daft. First of all, Drageni stay out of the wizarding world now because of how dangerous they are."
"What's a Drageni?" Harry asked, looking between the pair.
Hermione searched her pile of books. In the end, she plucked "Hidden Creatures of History" from them.
"They're not a 'what', Harry, they're a 'who.'" she said as she turned the pages hurriedly
Ron decided that she was taking far too long to find the information in the book. He caught Harry's attention away from her.
"Drageni, well, they're a curse race, I reckon. Half-human, half-dragon, all deadly. They just have a feel about them, I heard. Like they give off weird energies. And they're some of the most powerful creatures out there."
"Deadly, though?" Harry asked, "Why would Dumbledore allow a dangerous creature to become a teacher here?"
Ron shrugged. Dumbledore always had reasons for his actions, but sometimes he baffled everyone around him.
Hermione pushed the book closer to Harry, placing it in the middle of the three of them. Harry shuddered as he looked at the picture of the creature beneath the Drageni heading. Something about it reminded him of Voldemort which naturally made him uncomfortable. As Hermione read the text following the picture, he managed to tear himself away from the sketch.
"Drageni are a cursed race of humans. Over 1,000 years ago a powerful wizard resided in a small, unknown village of the Misty Mountains. The villagers hunted the dragons of the mountain to near extinction out of fear and for entertainment, which angered the wizard as he was a dragon tamer. During a festivity surrounding the death of a dragon, the wizard placed them under a curse, forever bounding them with the soul of dragons. The curse forced their bodies to change into something similar to a humanized dragon: scales the length of their bodies, sharp teeth, and eyes that no human can mistake for human. "
Harry frowned, "But she doesn't look like a dragon."
"No, mate," Ron spoke up, "They stopped looking like dragons once they learned to use the other part of the curse."
Hermione, cross from being cut off, cleared her throat. Once the pair quieted down, she continued reading.
"The curse had another side to it, however. Though they looked like dragons, they had gained a piece of power from the creatures they became. In time, they gained the ability to harness their powers. Instead of forever appearing as dragons, they learned to manipulate their features so that they shape shift between human and Drageni form. However, the transformation is not perfect. Often the Drageni cannot hide their finger or toe nails which remain black at all times."
"So why are there not more of them?" Harry asked, staring between the two experts on the subject.
As Hermione began to answer, Ron jumped in to do the same. "The Drageni are really powerful physically and magically. Their blood used in spells heightens a spell at least tenfold."
"Here it says one hundred times." Hermione, still annoyed, pointed out in the book
"Well, one hundred times then--it doesn't matter. A wizard with Drageni blood at their disposal is unstoppable. So, a long time ago, the Drageni hid themselves from the wizarding world and hid out in the human world."
"Yes, they did. Right here it says that the Drageni are highly adaptable to their surroundings. It's nearly impossible to distinguish them between someone who is a tourist and a local. They learn that quickly."
"That's why there aren't any Drageni around here, then." Harry said more to himself than to the others.
"Yeah. Wicked that we probably have one at our school!"
"We can't tell anyone though. If the Slytherins tell V-Voldemort–come on, Ron, you have to stop wincing like that–Ms. Knight is as good as dead . . . and so are the rest of us."
Harry sighed heavily. That made sense why Dumbledore allowed the woman here, but he didn't feel any safer. In fact, it seemed so dangerous. Yes, Hogwarts is probably the best place to be . . . the securest place, but . . .
"But, that's if that's what she is." Hermione added quickly, "I'll continue looking into it."
Ron gapped at her, "You know that's what she is! You're just upset because I figured it out first."
She huffed, standing up. She gathered her books in her arms.
"I can't research in these conditions. I'll catch up to you guys later."
Before either boy could stop her, Hermione stormed out of the Great Hall in a blur of bushy hair. Harry looked to Ron, who suddenly looked pleased with himself. And again, Harry found himself looking over Ron's shoulder to Ginny. That annoying dullness overwhelmed him for a moment.
Ginny and Dean stood up together, both smiling and laughing. Harry had half a mind to stop them, but they managed to slip out before he could gain the courage.
"Isn't it almost time for classes?" Harry asked dully
"Mhm" Ron pulled his schedule from his pocket, "What's this? Double Muggle Studies?" he frowned, "When did they start offering that?"
Harry shrugged, still facing in the direction Ginny and Dean exited the Hall. In honesty, he hadn't even heard his friend.
"Where are you off to, Harry?" Ron asked, then gave Harry a good shove, "Hey, are you alright?"
Harry jumped slightly, turning back to Ron, "Hm? Yeah, I'm alright."
"Well, where are you off too then?"
"Oh. Uh, double Defense Against the Dark Arts."
That livened Harry a tiny bit. His OWLs results were wonderful enough that he could begin his Auror training. When he discovered this, his summer brightened briefly. Then he thought of how proud Siris would have been and the minor victory became hollow.
"Alright then, mate, I'll see you when we change classes." Ron said, patting Harry on the back, then left for class.
Harry sat in his spot a few moments longer. Part of him figured he was just worried about this "Drageni" situation and the reasoning behind it. But a little part of him was more concerned with the fact that Ginny Weasely wouldn't talk to him and the sinking feeling that gave him.