Chapter 18

The Dragon

As time passed, I thought of the mirror less and less. I guess I just have to accept that if that man I saw and I are meant to be then one day I will meet him. With exams just around the corner, the last thing I need to do is waste my time woolgathering over something that far in my future. I do hope the mirror is right. It would be cool to have Lenora as Head Girl our seventh year. I must admit, though, I did feel a twinge of jealousy when she first told me. I guess better her than Pansy or someone in Gryffindor. The only thing that does not make sense is that Lenora gets into just as much trouble as I do, if not more. There's no way this school would even consider her with her detention record. Who knows? Maybe she will make a vast improvement sometime between now and then. I hope she is still fun to be around if that happens. Or perhaps Mr. Lane will end up bribing the school for Lenora to be Head Girl. Actually, come to think of it, I could see that happening with Draco. I heard Mr. Malfoy had a long conversation with the school about Draco not being on the Quidditch team even though obviously first years could be seeing as Potter currently is on Gryffindor's. Its too late for this year of course but I have a feeling Draco will somehow weasel him way in next year. I'll bet anything the Dursleys would have done the same for Dudley in this situation. And of course, if either of them gets into trouble it is the school's fault. In my case, the fault always lies with me.

Like right now, for instance, I got into trouble for talking out during Transfiguration. Both Draco and Lenora dared me to try to whisper something in Parseltongue behind Longbottom's back to freak him out and Professor McGonagall caught me. Now, I'm stuck in her classroom writing lines, the most miserable boring detention ever. It seems as though I had been here for hours but in reality one has not even gone by.

I looked down at my parchment staring at the words I will not cause disruption to my classmates in learning. Do they honestly believe that writing something over and over like this will make us act as so?

Finally, after the long hour passed, I was permitted to leave. Seeing as it was beginning to get dark, McGonagall ordered me to head straight to my corridor. However, the moment I stepped outside her room I knew that would not happen. Draco stood there, waiting by the corner where the transfiguration teacher could not see him.

"I thought you'd never get out," Draco commented in an ashy tone.

"You should have actually been in there," I grumbled in reply.

Ignoring my tone, Draco turned around tilting his head in a motion beckoning me to follow.

"Where are we going?" I asked, apprehensively. "I think you and Lenora have gotten me into enough trouble for one day."

Draco smirked, keeping his foot pace rapid. "We won't be the ones that get into trouble this time."

"What do you mean?" I inquired as my frustration began to evaporate.

Draco tilted his chin up in that same way he always did when he thought he had something important to say. "While you were still in detention, I spotted Potter and his friends heading down to visit that oaf, Hagrid. We are going to go down there and bust them for it. After all, they are breaking the rules for being outside the castle after hours."

I frowned, turning my head to him as we continued to walk. "Won't we get into trouble too? Lenora and I got into trouble again just last week for trying to sneak into the Dark Forest."

Draco's voice remained confident. "We won't if we are the ones to turn them in."

I sighed hoping he was right. I guess I may as well risk it. There is nothing else to do now anyway. I think Lenora said her detention started around this time. She uttered a questionable word in Charms class today, a word that would have transformed my mother's face into a ghastly white color. Overall, it seems she gets into much more trouble than I do. I know her dad has been informed but Mr. Lane never sends word back to the school or Lenora. Meanwhile, its feels like once at week, Aunt Becky sends me letters containing lectures of proper behavior for school. She even threatened that if I keep up this behavior she will send me a howler. I never asked anyone what that was.

I followed Draco down the hill towards Hagrid's place. Seeing as the sun had just set, we lit up our wands, but immediately put them out as we reached close enough to the hut. We tiptoed around the side so we could peer into the tiny window. It was not all that bright in the room, but I could still easily see Hagrid, Potter, Weasley and Granger sitting at the table. Across the table, a small fire burned in the fireplace. There was a large egg sitting on the table. Hagrid watched it, his eyes growing bigger and bigger by the second.

"Alright," Draco, whispered slyly. "We got the evidence. Now all we need to do is find a teacher and report them."

He began to stand up, turning his body back to the castle. I kept my eyes on the table. The egg suddenly began to move on its own.

"Wait!" I snatched his arm, my eyes widening. "Look at the egg."

The egg cracked open and this small reptile creature popped out.

"What is that?" I asked in an awed tone.

Before Draco had the chance, the creature's next action answered my question for me. It let out a breath of flames burning Hagrid's beard.

"Oh, cool, it's a dragon!" I squealed as my bones shivered with excitement.

Draco's skin seemed to turn to a paler tint, but his smirk did not fade. "I think we've found ourselves something better to report." He grabbed my arm and started pulling me up. "Come on."

"Wait," I protested. "I just want to look at it some more."

"We don't have time, Melanie," Draco urged, glancing a horrified look back at the window. "I think he saw us! Let's move!"

Reluctantly, I followed Draco back up the hill. A part of me wanted to go inside the hut to get a closer look at the baby dragon, but of course, Draco would never agree to that. Not to mention, I'm sure Potter has told his giant friend enough about us to make Hagrid not welcoming if we decided to invite ourselves in. I wonder what will happen once Draco reports the dragon. Maybe the school will let Hagrid keep it and we can study it for one of our classes. I would very much enjoy that!

Upon re-entering the castle, the first teacher we stumbled across just happened to be Professor McGonagall. Now, I really do not like this plan. The first thing she'll probably notice is that I disobeyed her seeing as I am not in the Slytherin common room.

"Professor!" Draco called out in a panicked voice. "I have something important I must tell you."

She looked down at us sternly, as though prepared for lecture, but asked, "Yes, Mr. Malfoy, what is so important that you and Miss Chamberson are out and about after hours?" She turned her head to me. "Miss Chamberson, by now you should be well aware of the rules this school has, are you not? Lately, you have given me reason to doubt."

"Its not her fault," Draco said quickly. "We were, um, worried about Potter."

Professor McGonagall raised her brow. I tried to appear sure though Draco's last comment through me off just as much as her.

"Mr. Potter should be in bed by now," she pointed out. "Is he not?"

Draco shook his head desperately. "No. We saw him and his friends sneak off to Hagrid's hut. We followed then to warn then not to be out after hours, but then we saw…"

His voice trailed off as Draco tilted his head downward looking at his feet.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy," McGonagall persisted. "What did you see?"

"That gamekeeper's got a dragon in there," Draco croaked out. "We were too scarred to go in there so that's why we came straight to you instead."

I had to work hard to suppress that eye roll. After all, it was only a baby dragon. It was not that scary.

McGonagall then gave Draco an approving nod. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Mr. Malfoy and Miss Chamberson. I want to two to wait here while I go get them."

As she stormed off, Draco turned his head to me and smirked. "See, I told you it would work."

"I must admit, that was genius," I admitted. "I can't wait to see the look on their faces when McGonagall brings them back here."

The lecture McGonagall gave to Potter and his friends turned out to be quite satisfying for Draco and I to watch. We exchanged sly smiles during most of it. Potter had a great look of gloom upon his face.

"And because of your actions this evening the five of you will all serve detention," McGonagall finished.

Wait, did she just say five? I glanced over to Draco. Seeing that his face had fallen, I must have heard her right.

"Excuse me, Professor," Draco interjected walking closer to her. "I must have misheard you. I thought you said the five of us."

McGonagall shook her head firmly. "No, you heard correctly, Mr. Malfoy. As good as your intentions were, you and Miss Chamberson were also out of bed after hours. You both will join your classmates in detention."

I let out a huff, giving Draco a frustrated glance. Now, it became Potter's turn to smirk.