A/N: This is one of those rare chapters for me. I have the chance to lecture everyone. And hopefully to entertain all of you while I'm doing it. The last time I wrote a chapter like this was for a story where I made Malcolm (from Malcolm in the Middle) a Professor at Hogwarts. A chapter like this makes everyone think: It seems like he knows what he's talking about.
On that cheerful note, good reading.
Chapter 19: Cabbages and Kings
Hermione was upset by what she had heard. She felt only slightly better when Professor Lestrange reminded her that both he and his godson were not well liked. That neither side would do anything to them if they thought they could gain something with their help.
It did not help when they ran into Rita Skeeter outside the main doors. She was glaring at Draco. She began by denouncing his parentage and continued by saying he almost ruined her.
"Phineas Flyspeck, that useless excuse of a reporter filed his story before I could finish rewriting mine. You WERE supposed to be thrown out. And what's worse, He claimed the Minister discovered that little flaw in his plan and asked, ASKED, the students to let you stay. He even quoted the bastard as saying, 'I may detest the boy but I will not take an innocent life'."
"That's a lie," Hermione said hotly.
"I ain't innocent," Draco added needlessly.
"Who cares," Rita retorted. "He stole my byline. MY FRONT PAGE!" She glared at Draco. "The next time you get into trouble, STAY IN TROUBLE. At least until after the morning edition." Her anger subsided. "I need a story, and it had better be good. And don't expect me to be nice to you when I write it. No one wants to read about poor innocent Draco right now."
Draco smiled. Rita frowned, causing Draco's smile to grow larger. "Do you know that spider? He's an old friend of Hagrid, the groundskeeper. He introduced everyone to him at class today."
Rita smiled as Hermione frowned. "A set-up? You did mention that you 'exchanged pleasantries' with the monster? Having rigged the First Task would be a good reason to explain why the Minister demanded you be expelled." She was still smiling when she told Draco he was a horrid young man.
"Glad I could help."
Hermione was angry, now. As they entered the castle, she pointed out that Hagrid could get into trouble. Draco shrugged his shoulders. The Minister already thought Hagrid was simple. He'd blame somebody in Gryffindor instead.
"'mione, you do know that the Minister goofed. I'd wager it's better to be on his bad side, right now."
"At least you listened when Justin explained that to you." Just before she stormed off, she added, "Hagrid will still get into trouble because of YOU."
Friday morning. The owls had arrived to deliver the mail. Hermione asked Ron Weasley if she could see his copy of the Daily Prophet. He did it because she called him Ronald. That meant she was mad about something and he didn't want to be on the receiving end for something trivial like wanting to read his own paper before anyone else.
"What an interesting title," Hermione said coldly. Glaring at Draco. "HOGWARTS STAFF INVOLVED IN FRAUD."
"Whoever could that be?" Draco asked innocently. "Oh, who wrote the piece, by the way."
"You know who wrote it," Hermione said angrily. She pointed at the byline, "Ri . . . Phineas Flywheel?"
Hermione looked at Draco. Smiling Draco. "What . . . Did . . . You . . . Do . . . Now?"
Draco didn't tell her. He didn't tell her that Rita Skeeter was an illegal animagus. He didn't tell her that she came back to get details so her story would be that much more convincing. He didn't tell her that she had a devious plan to sink the now promising career of a fellow journalist. Lastly, he didn't tell her that he had, technically, another private interview with an up and coming reporter who had just been personally thanked by the Minister for Magic for his honesty and integrity. He did tell her she should read the article.
Ron Weasley said that since she had his newspaper, she should read it out loud.
HOGWARTS STAFF INVOLVED IN FRAUD by Phineas Flywheel.
In yesterday's newspaper, this intrepid reporter revealed the efforts to expel a student. One Draco Malfoy. I also revealed that the Minister himself realized the catastrophic results of his intent and quickly put an end to this effort. What we did not know at the time was that all of this was planned by unscrupulous members of the staff at Hogwarts.
Most of what I am about to tell you comes directly from the mouth of Draco Malfoy, himself, who came to me (by ways that shall remain secret) to tell a fearful tale, one that was surely meant to end in his death.
"Keep reading, 'mione," Draco encouraged.
"As soon as," snort, "I stop laughing."
"What's funny," Ron asked, "about a (snicker) fearful tale?"
Hermione gave the newspaper back to Ron. "You read it, if you think you can keep a straight face."
Ron gave her his best Weasley grin and told her it was not a problem. "Now, where'd you stop? Oh yeah . . . surely meant to end in his death."
He now sleeps soundly in a safe and secret place while I relate to all of you the facts that I have manages to confirm.
"I didn't know our dorm was a secret," Dean Thomas said.
"It gets better," Draco assured Hermione.
Young Malfoy, by the time you read this, will be appearing before the Wizengamot to repeat everything and more that he has said to me.
It was Remus Lupin, the Professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts that he first accused. The man had successfully managed to lull the boy into a false sense of security by telling him he was a former house mate of his mother. What he held in secret was that he was also a spurn lover and jealous, in this reporter's opinion, to the point of insanity. He deliberately altered the posted rules of the First Task before young Malfoy could read them, guaranteeing that the boy would fail. He covered up his tracks with the help of Sirius Black, Head of Security for the games, Malfoy's legal guardian and, alas, another former classmate of Lily Malfoy nee Evans who had unsuccessfully vied for her love.
Had both of these men succeeded in their plan, all we would have known was that an unpopular boy had died under unfortunate circumstances. But here is where their plan failed.
"MALFOY," Harry Potter yelled from down the table, "WHAT IS THIS BLOODY NONSENSE?"
"He reads faster than you do," Draco explained to Ron. Potter came storming up to where they were all sitting, his copy of the Prophet crumpled in his hand. Dean Thomas told him to be quiet. "We're still trying to find out what the bloody nonsense is."
"Just ask him," Potter answered.
Draco sounded hurt. "How should I know? I haven't read the article. All I know is that I'm talking to the Wizengamot at this very moment."
Hermione tried to say something but started laughing. She stopped, tried to look serious, then started laughing again. It didn't help that everyone else was laughing as well. Ron tried to look annoyed. "I lost my place again, here it is, here is where their plan failed."
They attempted to enlist one more person into their schemes, the alleged Death Eater Rodolphus Lestrange. They believed he would aid them because the Malfoys were enemies of his former employer whom we will not name. And that was a significant mistake. Rodolphus Lestrange had already proven he had foresworn his old allegiances by revealing the escape of his own brother, Rabastan Lestrange, who is still at large. Also, he had been placed at Hogwarts, by the Minister himself, specifically to safeguard the young Draco Malfoy. The obvious co-conspirator became the spy within their midst. He could not stop their plan to sabotage the task, but he did manage to send a message to one of Malfoy's friends, and his own son, Casper Lestrange, who asked the Minister for the Rite of Inclusion (See the companion article on page four).
Thus, we come to the next chapter of our tale. Casper Lestrange, curiously, has a close friend by the name of William Potter. The two families had hated each other for generations. But this had not stopped the two boys. And this friendship guaranteed that the plan of the jealous lovers would fail. As we all know, James Potter is a powerful Auror and the right hand of the Ministry. When his son revealed the plot, he was at once believed.
Now we have the epilogue. The happy ending. As I have said, a grateful Draco Malfoy will, by this time, be revealing everything. His godfather will be there as well, to provide written documentation.
Everyone paused at this point to look at the teacher's table where Professor Lestrange was listening intently to Professor Flitwick who was also reading the Daily Prophet.
Lastly, I have confirmation that both Black and Lupin are being held in protective custody. Their trials will most likely be short and their sentences long, which is no more than they deserved.
The only question remaining is why did the boy choose to speak with me when other, more experienced reporters were prepared to take up the task? Because he read in this very newspaper that the Minister respected my work. Draco Malfoy, whom many accused of wanting to be the next Dark Lord, wanted to talk to me, because of his personal respect for Bartemius Crouch. Perhaps we should think more kindly of this boy, Draco Malfoy, in the future.
Ron Weasley looked up at Draco when he was done reading. "Is it true? You respect the Minister?"
"Like a fly loves ****," Draco acknowledged.
No one was surprised when Sirius Black stopped by the table. Nor was anyone surprised when the man announced that Dumbledore was having a special meeting in the headmaster's office immediately after breakfast. There was a further lack of surprise when he announced that Draco was told to attend.
It was a merry crew that was gathered in Hagrid's hut for tea after the classes ended. Fred and George Weasley invited themselves so they would not have to wait with everyone else to find out what happened.
"Well," Draco began, "I was nervous at first, because I didn't know exactly what to expect. I mean, I did have plenty of witnesses that I was in the dorm all night. And everyone was there that I expected. Sirius Black, he immediately demanded to know why he was in protective custody. Professor Lupin, He looked like he wanted to laugh but was waiting to hear the end of the joke. Dumbledore, it was his office after all. McGonagall, our head of house. And Professor Lestrange, apparently he was back early from the Wizengamot.
"Dumbledore first off asked me how I managed to be in two places at once. I told him, honestly, that I didn't know. He asked if I had talked to anyone last night. I admitted that Rita Skeeter had asked for an interview. She was trying to find a story after her last one failed to make the paper."
Sirius Black ended up laughing. "I heard about that. Albus, she had already written her article about Draco being expelled. She was very upset."
Albus nodded. "I also heard that Draco suggested she write about the spider in the first task being a close friend of Rubeus Hagrid."
"She decided not to," Draco said quickly. "She thought it would sound too weird." He paused as a Lupin and Lestrange looked at him. The rest glared. "That's, uh, why she wanted to talk to me again. She said she was trying to write a background piece on me. On how I felt about staying. And how the other students felt."
"Really?" Dumbledore asked.
"Really. And she was very nice. She even picked a stray hair off my robes." Draco managed not to smile as he said this prepared line. She had actually plucked a couple of hairs from his head, after first asking permission and promising he would be amused at the results.
Rodolphus Lestrange laughed. "THAT WOMAN! BRILLIANT!"
McGonagall frowned, but Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were also grinning. Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling as he said, "Minerva, it was Polyjuice Potion. The hair the woman took from Draco."
When Draco asked, he was told that it was a changing potion. You added a part of the person you wanted to become, such as a hair, and when you drank the potion you became that person for a short period of time, about an hour.
Draco nodded as he understood the joke. Rita Skeeter had torpedoed the career of her most likely replacement.
Draco paused in his retelling as Hermione chose to explain what Polyjuice Potion was. She had read about it in a book. It was very complicated and needed quite a few ingredients that were hard to find.
Fred and George assured her that they could find them and asked her for a list. She refused, for the present.
"And you didn't get into any trouble?" Justin asked.
"I am forbidden to talk to any reporter without my head of house or my legal guardian being present."
"Good," Hermione told him.
Draco did not tell anyone two things that Rita told him. Thursday morning, the Minister has called a session of the Wizengamot. It was supposed to be a formality. He made two proposals. The first was that the legal guardianship of Draco Malfoy should be put in someone else's hands. The second was that Sirius Black should be removed from his position at Hogwarts. In a rare show of defiance, the Wizengamot rejected both proposals. Rita not only gained her revenge on an upstart reporter, she also took a long awaited swipe at the Minister.
Saturday. After breakfast. Rodolphus Lestrange walked up to Draco and asked to speak with him in private. A simple subterfuge to keep anyone from asking where he was going. Draco was also surprised when he suggested Hermione join them, for the sake of appearances.
The three left the hall and made their way up the stairs. When they reached the second floor the three walked past the empty classrooms toward where the teacher's offices were. Rodolphus led them into a room and told them to sit with their friend.
"Sirius Black brought me," Justin told them. He looked at Draco. "He doesn't want to risk your being overheard when you tell us what happened."
Draco nodded. He noted that Fred and George weren't invited. Sirius Black gave a short laugh. He said that the twins could be trusted to make sure they weren't overheard. And inviting them to join the group would have made too many people suspicious. Professor Lestrange also noted that they didn't know what this meeting was about, only that it was important. The American witches were going to explain themselves.
A few minutes later, Doctor McCudgeon walked in with her two associates. She questioned at once why Hermione and Justin were present. Sirius repeated his remark that Draco was going to tell them anyway, especially if he was ordered not to. McCudgeon scowled as she sat down in a chair. Professor Adrem couldn't help but grin, both at Sirius Black's explanation and her superior's reaction. Professor Duracam took the last chair and suggested that "the Granger girl is a smart one. She might help to keep the boy in line."
Thus, less than an hour after breakfast, eight people were sitting around a large round table. Seven were drinking tea. The three American witches were drinking coffee.
Doctor McCudgeon laid down the ground rules of the discussion. They were here to talk to Draco Malfoy. Everyone else was here to listen. Questions during the discussion should be for clarification purposes only. Hermione told Draco he'd be asking a lot of questions. Draco told her she was wrong. He was going to have her explain it afterwards.
"Are you done?" the doctor asked.
"Mildred," Professor Adrem added with a laugh, "He hasn't even started."
"Minnie, don't encourage them."
"Perhaps if we began?" Professor Duracam suggested.
Doctor McCudgeon nodded. She turned to Draco. "Mister Malfoy, what do you know about prophecies?"
"Dropped Divination class after five minutes."
"The Liar Prophecy," Hermione pointed out.
McCudgeon nodded. "And, of course, that boy, Jack Andrews." Her look told Draco she would keep his secret, the one about seizing the cups. That was something that didn't need to be spread around. "Professor Adrem is our specialist when it comes to prophecies. She has done a great deal of research in the field. And that is the reason she came with us. It is also the reason we are having this meeting. Minnie, do you want to explain?"
Professor Adrem smiled at Draco and asked if he had ever heard of Michel de Nostradamus. Draco admitted that he heard the name, and that the man had predicted just about everything. Justin said that he knew about him and even read a book about him and the ten 'centuries' of quatrains that he wrote. He then explained to Draco that a century was a group of 100 quatrains. Draco asked the professor if the man had actually made 1,000 prophecies. Adrem noted that the man made over 6,300 of them, most of them published in pamphlets of the time. One of them struck her as curious when she heard about Hogwarts. And Draco.
"The bumblebee hovers / as the dragon languishes / The leader seeks to banish the dragon / He banishes himself instead." She smiled. "It sounds better in the original French." The professor added that the quatrain was now obvious. It referred to the Rite that took place a few days ago.
"So, I'm the dragon. Me name makes that obvious. The leader is the Minister. What's the bumblebee?"
"Who is the bumblebee, Mister Malfoy." Professor Adrem was smiling at him. "An old English term for a bumblebee is dumbledore."
"Bloody 'ell." Draco looked at Professor Adrem. "An' you knew it was 'im an' me?"
The history professor nodded. "The bumblebee and the dragon go hand in hand"
"They wept like anything," Justin said, "to see such quantities of sand."
Hermione was grinning, as was Minerva Adrem. The others were giving Justin a confused look.
"It's from a poem. The Walrus and the Carpenter were walking hand in hand. They wept like anything to see such quantities of sand. Lewis Carroll."
Professor Lestrange nodded. "I will have to look him up. It sounds interesting."
Professor Adrem smiled. "Well then: the time has come the dragon said to speak of many things. Of shoes and ships and sealing wax. Of cabbages and kings. Of why the sea is boiling hot, and whether pigs have wings." She made it a point to look around the table. "We need to explain why we refuse to let Draco come to our school. As we learned more about him, Dolores and I began reviewing everything prophecy I've catalogued and indexed. It turned out that was not the only one."
It was Sirius Black who interrupted. "Are you telling me that the Americans have a prophecy about . . ." he decided not to use his first choice of words, ". . . him?"
Professor Duracam decided to answer him. "To date, we have found twenty-three." As everyone fell silent, she added, "Minnie, I told you we should have brought a camera."
"Before we go any further," Professor Adrem said, "I think we should explain about the different kinds of prophecies." She smiled at Draco. "If you had stayed in Divination, it would have helped."
"No, it wouldn't," Hermione said. "You saw Professor Trelawney during the Rite. She always talks about the inner eye and the positions of the planets." She looked at Draco. "Lavender Brown thinks she's a wonderful teacher."
"I concede the pont," Professor Adrem admitted, "but we should get on with the explanations. First, the prophecy of knowledge. It isn't a prediction, more of a revelation."
Draco smiled. "Like having pizza for lunch."
"Exactly," Professor Adrem said with a laugh.
Doctor McCudgeon scowled. "That boy could be another Nostradamus."
"You must be joking." That was Sirius Black. "By predicting the menu?"
McCudgeon snorted. "You've never read Nostradamus, have you? Did you ever hear of this prophecy? In the year 1999 and seven months / The great king of terror will come from the skies / He will resurrect Genghis Khan / before and after war rules happily. It was a very popular prediction about World War III."
"I do," Hermione said cautiously. "You're going to tell us what it was really about?"
"In July of 1999, a cable television station in France broadcast a movie about Marco Polo. Before and after it were shown two popular war movies." The Professor was smiling. "Would you like another example?" After an amused pause she continued. "This is also a prophecy that was fulfilled in recent years. In the year very near, not far from Venus / The two greatest of Asia and Africa / From the Rhine to the lower Danube said to have come / Cries, tears, at Malta and the Ligurian coast." She smiled at everyone. "Any guesses? It was supposed to be about the Second World War."
Professor Lestrange decided to try his hand. "Venus. That would mean love? Or a time when it was clearly visible in the skies? I would think it means love, not war."
"That was very good. It's about the Miss Universe pageant, the year it was held in Austria. Two of the contestants, one from South Africa and another from Japan. Both flew into Bonn and transferred planes to Vienna. Apparently there were problems with the weather. The contestants from Malta and Italy both arrived late."
"But," Hermione was perplexed, "how is that significant?"
"It isn't," Doctor McCudgeon told her. "But that is what most of the man's prophecies are about. There's one that a lot of Christian fanatics claim predicts their antichrist. It actually a prediction that came true in the 17th century. A prince of Malta was served a salad on his birthday and he liked it."
"A salad?" Draco asked.
"With tomatoes. The man did have perhaps a dozen meaningful predictions, but most of them were simple nonsense that no one cared about. And, Mister Malfoy, your friend Jack appears to have the same ability, except he uses limericks instead of quatrains."
"I told you he was creepy," Hermione whispered to Draco.
"Anyway," Professor Adrem said, "back to business. Prophecies of knowledge are fairly common. And we did have a few concerning Draco. Such as 'the dragon speaks with a confusing rhyme'. Draco is a Cockney, for all practical purposes. 'The golden dragon has bad faith'. Draco Malfoy has blond hair."
"That is impressive," Professor Lestrange said. He then yawned.
"It was useful," Professor Adrem replied. "We recognized him at once when we saw him at the station, but enough of that. There is the second kind of prophecy. The Prophecy of Intent." She was looking at Draco again. "This is one step removed from the first kind. It tells us what someone is thinking of doing."
"But not what they do?" Hermione asked.
Professor Adrem nodded. "In my opinion these are the most useful prophecies. They are often warnings. One prophecy in particular warned of a conspiracy. The wizard who heard it related the prophecy to a friend named William Parker, who was known as Lord Monteagle. This led to the arrest of a man who'd name should be familiar to you. Guy Fawkes."
"Of course," Hermione said in understanding. "That was before the Statute of Secrecy. Wizards were still associating with muggles."
"Would you like to hear one about Draco? It was given to us by Cassandra Trelawney. I believe she was the great-great grandmother of your Divination professor. She said, and I quote, 'the prisoned one will do or die to protect the dragon. Do you mind if I'm a bit cryptic? This has nothing to do with you. Not directly'." Professor Adrem paused to let out a laugh. "I love that quote."
Draco noticed that even Doctor McCudgeon smiled slightly. It was she who decided to explain. "With all due respect, it is obvious, Draco, that Cassandra was talking about your godfather. And from what I have heard, he has already risked his life to help you. Sirius Black told us what happened when the Minister brought dementors onto the school grounds."
"It was not that dangerous," Professor Lestrange insisted. "They were not attacking me."
"Still, Sir, your quick action shows deep regard for the boy, and that is what the prophecy tells us."
Professor Lestrange conceded the point, and Professor Adrem continued.
"The next kind of prophecy is the Prophecy of Action. It doesn't tell us what someone is planning. It tells us what they are doing or will do. An old one, which even then was considered to be more of an educated guess than a real prophecy was that the Duke of Normandy would claim the throne of England. That obviously referred to William the Conqueror. A more modern prediction would be, to quote Nostradamus again, Century two, Quatrain 51. 'The blood of the just will be demanded by London, burned by the fire in the year sixty-six'."
"The Fire of London?" Justin asked.
Adrem nodded. "It was one of the few predictions that were of any importance. And we have another one. It tells us of something that happened to Draco. 'The orphaned one, homeless, forsaken, will struggle against himself in the house of his enemy. The house will become his home, freely given to the dragon.' Does that sound familiar?"
Draco was staring. The meaning was clear to him. Alastor Moody's house. But it also brought back the memory of how it became his. As he wiped away a sudden tear, Hermione told the professor that it was a painful memory. Adrem nodded. She changed the subject at once.
"The last kind of prophecy is the Prophecy of Event. It isn't a prediction, per se. It usually deals with something of great import and what will happen if someone takes a certain action. For example, there was a prophecy that Richard the Lionhearted would never return from Chaluz. He died there. Had he heeded the warning and never gone there, he would not have died when he did. You history, and ours, could have been very different. In another example, it was predicted that Christopher Columbus would give up on his quest after being rejected by the Spanish Crown and he would become nothing. Columbus acted against this prophecy and dared to approach Queen Isabella a second time. She decided to support his expedition and he discovered the New World."
Professor Adrem paused. She was looking specifically at Draco. "The significance of a Prophecy of Event is that if you recognize what it is you can either accept it or refuse it. In both of these examples, the person involved knew what the prophecy meant. Richard chose to disregard it, and died. Columbus chose to accept the prophecy, and work against it. He continued pressing his case. And every year they hold a parade in New York to celebrate his discovery."
"And you have one about me?" Draco asked.
"A big one. The dragon comes to the new land. The danger he leaves behind overwhelms the land, then crosses the ocean to destroy the world."
Sirius Black was the first to overcome his shock. "You're talking about . . . Voldemort. Do you mean that if Draco leaves England . . ."
"Exactly," Doctor McCudgeon said. "If we were to accept Mister Malfoy into our school, the man would not only be victorious here, he would reek havoc on the entire world. I agreed with Professor Adrem's analysis. If that would happen anyway, there would have been no need for a prediction. Therefore, he must stay at Hogwarts. Mister Malfoy will do something, we have no idea what, that could cause the man to fail."
"And you did this, openly?" Professor Lestrange asked. "You could have kept to your original plan and rejected him at the end of the school year. Why now?"
"Politics." This was Professor Duracam. "Now that we're involved in this tournament, people back home are starting to take notice. The press likes a bad boy and several newspapers were already suggesting that it would be a good thing to have him in an American school. If we waited, and he continued to become popular, we might be forced by the board to give him a place."
"And that," Professor Adrem pointed out, "would fulfill the prophecy. I think All Y'all agree, this is one prophecy we want to refuse."
Draco was stunned. He would do something, or cause something to happen, to defeat the Dark Lord. And he had no idea what. There was another prophecy, one that he knew about but didn't know. It involved either Potter or Longbottom. Voldemort wanted one or both of them dead because of it. In the back of his mind was the idea that he would be the unintended target because he got in the way. He unconsciously rubbed his scar as he remembered that it had happened once before.
Sunday. At breakfast. The best word that Draco could think of was the word numb. It described how he was feeling, or not feeling in this case. The proof was that he had finished eating fifteen minutes earlier and was still sitting there staring at his plate. Nor was he the only one. Hermione wasn't talking either, at least not to him.
A hand tapped him on the shoulder. It was Doctor McCudgeon. She said three words. "Walk with me."
Draco stood up and followed her from the hall. She was opening the main doors when he caught up to her. She gave him her best fake smile and said it was a beautiful day. Draco looked at the grey clouds threatening rain, and agreed.
"We goin' anywhere," Draco asked as they started walking down the road that led to the entrance.
"I'm going home. And you are such an enchanting and endearing boy that you asked to escort me to the train station."
"Yeah, I'm usin' it as an excuse to sneak into town. What's wiff all this?"
Doctor McCudgeon gave an honest smile. "I must truly make you nervous. I haven't heard your accent that thick since you introduced me to your dragon. Did you like the lecture on the different kinds of prophecies? We left one out. Prophecies of choice. And don't worry. I put a silencing spell around us, just in case."
Draco nodded his head. The Weasleys had Ears. "Any advice?"
"That was a quick mood change. Mister Malfoy, it appears that your personal confidence is liked to your knowledge of the situation. You were nervous because you didn't know what this conversation was about. You are now calm because you do. My first piece of advice is to remain calm. Your enemies know how you act and react. Staying calm may cause them to make mistakes. Also, remain calm about the prophecies. They are all meaningless in the end except those few that can help us. If you worry about prophecies you can cause them to happen. If you don't believe me, read Macbeth."
"Wouldn't that have happened anyway?"
"Becoming King? His best friend's son becoming King and the father of Kings? It could have. Fortunes of war have Banquo killed in action. The childless Macbeth adopts the orphaned Fleance. Through ill fortune, King Duncan's sons also die. It could be in battle or an illness or accident. Duncan makes Macbeth, his most loyal servant, his heir. King Macbeth makes his beloved son, Fleance, his heir. The prophecy comes true without all the bloodshed. Do you see my point? Don't try to force the issue. It will happen of it's own accord."
"Right, remain calm. Don't worry about the small stuff. What else
"My second piece of advice is to win this contest at all cost. We all know what the result will be if you do. You must be there to make that choice, whatever it is. I have no idea what choice you will be asked to make, but to not make the choice would be worse than if we took you to the States with us."
"Worse?" Draco laughed. "What could be worse than total world destruction?"
"Not living long enough to see it happen." Doctor McCudgeon did not laugh. "I was talking on a much smaller scale. My questions is this. Is there anything I can do to ensure that you win this tournament?"
Draco gave her his best smile. Truth was the only option. He had another co-conspirator and she didn't know it yet. "It's not a problem. The fix is on." He frowned. "Is in?"
No smile. No surprise. Only a Hrmph followed by the remark. "I should have guessed the contest was rigged from the beginning. Is THAT MAN involved?"
"Naw? Not really. He's planning on kidnaping the champion. Ludo Bagman made this bet, and I've got a piece of it. And the Minister's son is part of it because he hates Daddy."
McCudgeon nodded. "And he could be . . ."
"They're called Death Eaters. Truth is, he really hates Daddy."
As they approached the gates, Doctor McCudgeon stopped. She took a close look at Draco Malfoy as though trying to memorize every feature. "You know everything? And you are still going through with this?"
"I even have a plan. All I need to do is win."
"And the points?"
"It means I get a late start on the third task. But it won't matter who starts first. All that matters is who finishes first. I grab the cup, I win."
"Let me guess. The third task is already planned out."
Draco's smile answered that question.
Doctor McCudgeon gave Draco another smile, almost motherly, as she reflected on the fact that she was leaving.
"There is one thing I do need to thank you for. Because of you, I saw my first real dragon." She turned to go and turned back. "About coming to the States. Wait until all this is over. Then, you can go anywhere you want."
Draco smirked, "Don't you know? I'm going to rule the world."
He stood at the gates and watched her walking away. For all he knew, they would never meet again.
