(Thank you to all my reviews. You guys rock. Now those of you who have stayed with the story will find out why they got sent to Hogwarts a month early.)
Chapter 4 - Instigation part III
The rolling hills of Hogwarts were a sigh to behold. The lake and the fields of grass where like heaven to Harry, who had spent the last two weeks in the presence of brown, dry grass in the Dursley's front lawn. The drought had affected most of England but the flora of Hogwarts was still perfect, no doubt affected by all the spare magic floating around from the school itself.
The school sat in the middle of all the perfection. The enormous castle, probably belonging to some king in the middle ages, now held the most prestigious magical academy in all of Europe. And in the tower where Albus Dumbledore had made his home sat two very grouchy people.
Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter were summoned to the headmasters' office first thing in the morning after having spent the night in their respective House towers. It was eight and Draco was fuming at the thought of waking up at this ungodly hour on his summer vacation. The headmaster wasn't even here yet. He was about to take out his anger on the Griffindor who sat beside him when the sound of the escalator stairway made a loud grinding noise and moments later the two young wizards were joined by none other that Albus Dumbledore.
Harry tore his gaze away from Fawkes, the enormous golden Phoenix that belonged to the headmaster, and looked at the man with a question in his gaze. Draco, of course, being the impatient brat that he is, decided that he wanted answers now.
"OK, headmaster, you took us away from our respective vacations and brought us back to school a month and a half early with no explanation whatsoever. I would greatly appreciate to know why I am here with Harry Potter of all people." Draco said impatiently.
"Yes, Mr. Malfoy, you must be very antsy to find out why I have dragged you here during your holiday. Let me explain. I have been corresponding with a school called The Montague academy of Training Arts. They have an exchange program with many European schools. I heard many good things about Montague from Madame Maxime. She has said that students at Montague learn discipline, combative art, all infused with magical learning.
"The headmistress of Montague has generously agreed to let two of my highest ranking Defense against the Dark Arts students exchange with two of her best magical learning students. Training to get into the grade one class of her school is very difficult. Montague leans more towards physical combat.
"If you agree your training starts immediately, if you refuse, I will have to go with my second best choice. Your decisions are needed by the end of the day. Do you have any questions?" Dumbledore said calmly.
"I've heard of this school from a family friend. They say that to get in you have to pass all sorts of exams and inquiries. Are you saying that we get a free pass into this school without the scrutiny?" Draco said disbelievingly.
"You have to pass the entry exam but if you train hard for the next month you will, without doubt, get in." Dumbledore said.
"Wait a minute. So we leave for the next year?" Harry asked incredulously. The prospect of going to a different school to learn how to fight was appealing, to say the least, but Hogwarts was his home. He didn't want to leave his friends and the only place he ever felt safe at.
Dumbledore sighed, "Yes Harry, the whole year, although you are more than welcome to stay at Hogwarts for the winter break." Dumbledore gave a small smile. Harry always tried not to complain about the Dursley's but the headmaster knew that they hardly treated him like a human being. But their house was the only place safe for Harry to go to when he was away from Hogwarts. The blood of his relatives kept Voldemort at bay, during the summer at least.
"So, where is this school anyway? I know they're secretive and all but at least tell us the country." Draco said. Dumbledore's attention went back to Draco. If it was his choice he would have never chosen the boy to go to Montague's, but he was the second to top student in his year, right after Harry, and he, too, was having a less than pleasant time at home. Dumbledore knew that his father was a Death Eater and he knew that Lucius would pursue Draco to become one as well. Maybe it would be good for the young Malfoy to be away from home for a while. Dumbledore tried to salvage what he could, and Draco Malfoy was not a lost cause yet.
"The school is on an island in southern Canada, Mr. Malfoy, on the West coast." Dumbledore replied.
"You're sending us to America?" Draco said with disgust. It was said that all the outcasts and squibs of the European Wizarding world were sent to America.
"Canada, actually, Mr. Malfoy." stated a loud female voice calmly from above. "If you called anybody at Monty American they would probably feed you your favorite body part." The voice came from a tall woman standing on the landing, leading up to Dumbledore's private chambers. She had shoulder length black hair tied in a high ponytail, an oval face, and striking ice blue eyes. She was wearing what appeared to be a black tank top and black leather pants; she had protective bands around her wrists, and wore knee high black boots. No heel, of course.
Harry's opinion was that she looked like someone not to mess with, a fighter or warrior. Or course, Malfoy just didn't know when to keep his mouth shut.
"Who are you?" He said rudely. "I am Asha Reign, headmistress of Montague's" The woman said, still in a calm voice. "and I'm not sure I want such rude people in my school." Draco, finally realizing his mistake, mumbled a sorry.
Harry did not want the headmistress of a famous school to get the wrong impression.
"You'll have to excuse Draco. He hasn't taken his usual shot of caffeine this morning." Harry said with a look at the accursed Slitherin. Draco glared right back.
Asha Reign gave a small smile. "You'll have to get used to waking us early in the morning, most classes at Montague's start at eight thirty. That's not including breakfast." Draco gave the woman a horrified expression.
Dumbledore decided that it was time to intervene.
"Professor Reign is here to teach you the basics to pass your admission exam." He said calmly.
"You said we have until the end of the day to tell you if we want to do this?" Draco asked.
"Yes Mr. Malfoy." Dumbledore replied.
"Where are we staying until then? The Slitherin Dorms fell weird without everybody there." Draco asked.
Harry had felt the same way. It was odd to wake up without the usual prattle of the four boys he shared his dorm with.
"You will be staying in the north tower, below the Divination class room. That way you won't have that much walking to do to get to the training room. You will have separate bedrooms but the bathroom, I'm afraid, will have to be shared." Dumbledore informed them. He was expecting an outburst of rage from the blonde, the prospect of sharing anything was a foreign concept to the Malfoy, having been an only child. He was not disappointed.
"What! I have to share a bathroom with the likes of that? He's going to give me a brain aneurysm!" Draco ranted.
"Oh don't get your knickers in a twist. What's the worst I'm going to do? Steal your toothbrush and hide it in the vegetable patch?" Harry replied. Draco just looked at him incredulously.
Harry stood up and with a "Good bye, Professor, it was nice meeting you." and walked out the door. Malfoy can rival Snape with his snarkiness, Harry thought. All he does is whine and complain.
It took a while for him to find the room Dumbledore was talking about. It was a modest sized bedroom with the customary four poster bed, a nightstand, a dresser, an old grandfather clock in the corner, a desk and a door on the other side of the room. The door must lead to the bathroom. There was a small window overlooking the grounds and a bit of the lake.
With a sigh Harry fell ungracefully on the red and gold four poster. It was his choice, either stay here and continue life as it is or go to Canada to spend a year with Malfoy. Harry knew why Dumbledore picked him for this exchange, he was endangering the students. Dumbledore wanted Harry to go because that way it would take longer for Voldemort to find him. And this was the perfect opportunity for him to learn to fight.
If it was a choice between endangering his friends or staying with his friends he would definitely go to Montague's.
Harry sighed and got up off the bed. He walked over to his unpacked trunk and started to jam his clothes into the dresser. He looked at his reflection in the mirror that was hung on the inside of the door. He hadn't cut his hair for a whole entire year, so now it was long enough to tie in a very short ponytail. Funny, but he never even noticed how fast it grew. His eyes were the color of fresh grass, his only inheritance from his dead mother. They were framed by his usual round glasses. Otherwise he was identical to his father. He was short, only five foot three. My growth must be stunted from all the times Voldemort has tried to kill me, Harry though moodily. Ron was already fast approaching six foot tall, compared to him Harry was a midget.
He abandoned the task of putting his clothes away and collapsed on the bed again. He was tired from having to wake up so early. It was only nine, but the night before Harry had stayed up until midnight reading a paperback book. His eyes drooped sleepily. I'll take a nap until lunchtime, Harry thought.
After a long discussion with Dumbledore about how they were going to convince his mother to let him go to another country, Draco was incredibly tired. Potter might have a point, he thought sourly, a morning without coffee was not good for his mood.
He walked to the room Dumbledore has given him. It had very Slitherin décor. Everything was green and silver; otherwise it was identical to Harry's room except that the door was on the other side.
Draco sat down on his bed and looked at the aforementioned door. That door is the only connection I have with Harry, Draco thought sadly. The blonde had had a crush on the Griffindor for the past two years and it took all of his self control not to act upon his attraction. It's hard to insult somebody that you like, Draco had told his good friend Blaise one time. Contrary to popular belief, he did have real friends, and it would be hard to leave for a year and not see them.
Although a year without Pansy would be a relief, Draco mused, that girl is the most annoying harpy ever. She clings to me like some kind of parasite. And there was no spray for that kind of disease. Draco almost laughed at the mental picture of a can of Pansicide.
As for the decision whether he was going to go to Montague's, he had already told the headmaster that he was going. He would do anything to put a few oceans in between himself and his father.
TBC
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Teaser for chapter 5: "I'm sick and tired of people judging me because I 'defeated the dark lord'. This is my chance to start over. Nobody has to know who I am. To them I'm your average teenager, and that's what I want to be." Harry replied to the blonde.