Chapter Forty-Three
Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts, Scotland, 7 January, 1991
"Ah, Mister and Mister Malfoy!" Dumbledore boomed merrily. "Do come in."
The brothers sat in front of the large mahogany desk and watched their aging headmaster warily.
"You wanted to see us, sir?" Adrian asked, polite and more than a little impatient.
"Yes, I did. I understand you have broken one of the most basic rules of the school. Though I am quite fond of the creatures myself, dogs are not permitted at Hogwarts," Dumbledore said gravely.
"I understand that, but-"
"Only cats, owls, and toads are allowed to be owned by students," the professor continued.
"Yes, but Loki is his familiar," Draco said loudly.
Dumbledore cocked his head to the side, studying the boys before him. Neither brother was lying, and both looked much too burdened for their eleven years. "It is most unusual that a first year bonds with an animal enough that it becomes a familiar," he speculated.
Adrian squirmed. He hated when people looked at him like that, like he was some kind of experimental transfiguration attempt gone wrong. It always gave him a headache. "I'm not sure if Loki is really my familiar, but he follows me everywhere I go, Professor."
"It is not uncommon for a dog to follow its master," the headmaster pointed out.
"No, you don't understand, sir. I've tried leaving him alone, but he always comes after me. I locked him in the attic once, he was driving me so crazy, even used coloportus on it, and he was out not two minutes later. The door to the attic was broken in half and burned, Professor!" Adrian explained. "He howls like a banshee whenever I'm not with him."
"This is odd behavior indeed, Mister Malfoy, but I'm afraid-"
"He stops my… episodes. I've had a few over the holidays, and whenever Loki touched me, I was fine," Adrian said quietly. "I always woke up fine, not crying or bleeding."
"That," Dumbledore whispered under his breath, "is most fascinating. Where is the dog?"
Draco reached between his and Adrian's chairs and pulled an invisibility cloak off of a huge black dog with sparkling blue-gray eyes.
The dog woofed cheerfully at him and almost seemed to… smirk.
"I think I should examine him," Dumbledore said, rolling up the sleeves of his robes and readying his wand.
"No!" Draco shouted at the same moment Loki yelped and ducked behind his master's chair.
Dumbledore frowned slightly at the elder Malfoy twin. "Is there something wrong, Mister Malfoy?"
Draco flushed and his gaze darted to his shoes. "No, it's just that I'm sure my parents wouldn't have taken in an animal that they hadn't examined already. Besides, Loki is the most easy-going dog I've ever seen. My baby sister pulls his ears, steps on his tail, bites him, even rides around on his back, and he's never even growled at her, Professor."
"I wouldn't hurt the dog, Draco," Dumbledore said softly.
"I know that, but…" Draco looked pleadingly at his brother.
"…why put him through another batch of tests? It'd be a waste of time," Adrian finished.
Dumbledore sighed. "I suppose you are right. Forgive an old man his suspicions. Too many years in too short a time, I'm afraid."
The boys looked thoroughly confused. "What do you mean, Professor?" Adrian asked.
Dumbledore smiled sadly at them. "You might understand when you are older, Mister Malfoy, though I hope you do not."
"Was that all, Professor?" Draco asked.
"Yes, unless you would care for a cup of peppermint tea?"
Adrian nodded eagerly. "Yes, peppermint is my favorite, though everyone else in my family hates it."
Dumbledore chuckled. "Yes, most people do not care for it. It is one of my favorites as well." He handed Adrian a cup, and Draco wrinkled his nose in disgust, inching his chair away from his brother as though to avoid the smell.
"This is quite good, Professor," Adrian said, gulping his tea.
"Thank you. I make it myself," Dumbledore smiled.
Adrian finished his tea quickly. "Thank you for the tea, Professor."
"Any time, dear boy."
"Professor, where could we find Hagrid?" Draco asked.
"He lives in a hut at the edge of the Forbidden Forest," Dumbledore replied. "Why?"
"Oh, we, ah, we wanted to see if he knew any, ah, tricks to teach Loki," Adrian said quickly. Draco nodded in agreement, grinning ridiculously.
Both boys- and one dog- scrambled out of the room.
Dumbledore continued to sip his tea. There was something decidedly odd about the Malfoy brothers. They rarely- if ever- fought, they were popular, even among the older students, and they didn't seem to lie. Ever. If anything, they were brutally honest, even if it meant that they could get into trouble.
They had a tight circle of friends, the professors adored them, and they promoted inter-House unity. All seemingly without effort.
The only odd thing about their group was Neville Longbottom. He was a kind boy, of course, but he did not appear to have any extraordinary thing about him; ordinary power levels, average grades, average appearance.
What did they see that he did not?
And what were they doing, that they needed to see Hagrid?
Hagrid's Hut, Hogwarts
"Hullo there! Wot are you lot doin' on me stoop?" Hagrid asked, blinking blearily at them.
It was plain to see he was drunk.
Ushered forward by the other Firebrands, Draco stepped forward, shivering slightly.
"Hello, Mister Hagrid," he said politely, hiding a sneer at the sight of the hut.
It looked like a brown, homey tumor against the white landscape.
"Wot d'you want, Malfoy?" Hagrid asked, voice becoming hard.
"We wanted to know if you could teach some tricks to our dog," Adrian said, stepping forward and smiling pleasantly.
"Hello, Hagrid!" Henry called cheerfully, waving at him.
"'lo 'enry! I 'aven't seen yeh since autum!" Hagrid boomed, smiling at the raven-haired boy. "'ow 'ave yeh been?"
"These are my friends, Hagrid. Neville Longbottom, Hermione Granger, Daphne Greengrass, Blaise Zabini, and Adrian and Draco Malfoy," Henry said, smiling.
"Alrigh' then. Come on," Hagrid groused, heading back into the hut.
Loki trotted after him, tail wagging.
The eight first-years trailed behind, looking about curiously. The hut was cozy, for Hagrid, anyway. To them, everything was twice as big as normal. They all fit through the doorway at the same time with room to spare.
"This place was built for giants," Ron whispered, awed at the huge house.
The other nodded in silent agreement.
"So, why d'you lot think I can train a dog?" Hagrid asked.
"I dunno. We just thought that someone who keeps the creatures in the Forbidden Forest at bay could train a dog. But, if you can't, we can always go," Ron shrugged.
"I can train a bloody dog! Trained a Cerberus meself over the summer," he chuckled fondly. "Fluffy weren't no reg'ler dog, either."
"Fluffy?" Neville squeaked. "You named a Cerberus Fluffy?!"
"What else was I gonna call 'im?" Hagrid asked seriously.
"How about Fang?" Neville asked.
"Can't do tha'. Already got a dog called Fang," Hagrid laughed.
Sure enough, a gray dog even bigger than Loki bounded into the room at the sound of his name, wagging his tail eagerly. Loki trotted up to the other dog at barked cheerfully. Fang barked back, and the two dogs trotted out the back door.
"Well, I guess Loki doesn't want to learn any tricks," Adrian laughed, seemingly at ease.
"I guess not," Hagrid mumbled.
"Is Fluffy on the the third floor, by any chance?" Henry asked.
"Shore is," Hagrid said, swelling with pride. "Dumbledore said I'd trained 'im so good tha' he could be used for protecshun."
"Protection for what? The Philosopher's Stone?" Henry asked.
"You lot aren't supposed to know 'bout tha'," Hagrid said suspiciously.
"We do, though," Daphne chimed in, smirking slightly.
"Do you really think a dog is enough to protect something as valuable and powerful as the Philosopher's Stone?" Draco scoffed.
"'course not. The professors did all sorts of enchantments an' spells," Hagrid snorted.
"Which professors, Hagrid?" Hermione asked.
"McGonagall, Flitwick, Quirrel, an' Snape," Hagrid replied. "Why?"
They were already out the door.
"Uncle does know where it is," Adrian said as they ran. "Why didn't he tell us?"
"I dunno, same reason you've never explained why you leave classes for hours at a time?" Ron said glibly.
"Because it's none of our business?" Daphne said, slapping Ron soundly across the back of his head.
"Oi! That was uncalled for!" he yelped, rubbing his scalp furiously.
"I was only answering your question, Ron. No need to cry about it," she teased, skipping ahead of him.
"I wasn't crying!" he yelled, racing after her.
Draco rolled his eyes as Ron tackled the tiny brunette into the snow. Adrian and Hermione were stony faced.
"I'm sorry, Ade, I shouldn't've said that, but we've all been wondering," Ron said softly when the others caught up to him and Daphne.
"It's really none of your business, is it?" Adrian whispered harshly.
"No, I guess it isn't," Ron replied, flushing scarlet and hurrying ahead.
Adrian scowled at his friend's retreating back. Why did Ron have to care so bloody much? It's not like concerned him, so why pry? Why couldn't they just pretend he was normal, like they did Henry? What made him so bloody special? Why was he such a freak? Why did they make him feel this way, so full of self-pity and anger and... fear?
He loathed himself when he felt like a bloody martyr, which only made it worse.
Draco saw his brother's shoulders stiffen and begin quaking violently. "Oh, shit," he muttered, surprising Neville who was walking beside him.
The wind swirled around Adrian, the powdery snow obscuring him from their view.
"Ade? Ade, calm down!" Draco yelled, shoving through his friends and stumbling toward his brother.
Ron turned back, running toward his friends. He looked to be shouting something, but the roaring storm carried his voice away.
He watched with fascination and horror as the wind picked up, a shrieking gale amidst the calm breeze that blew on his own face. The evergreens seemed drawn to the storm, creaking and groaning as they inched toward the swirling, howling blizzard. The furious storm pulsated with a strange white light so bright it burned his eyes to look at it.
"Draco, what's happening to him?" Hermione cried. He looked back to tell her to go get help when he saw something he did not expect; Henry was lying motionless in the snow, shrouded completely by dark, sinister looking shadows. He looked as though he were screaming, and his hazel eyes had turned to pure white glowing orbs.
Draco was horrified. "Loki!" he screamed desperately.
The black dog bounded out of the forest, looking wary and alert.
"Help Adrian!" he shouted at his brother's familiar. "Help him now!"
The dog ran toward his master as Draco turned back to his friends. "Help me levitate him!"
They lifted him off of the ground and hurried to where Adrian was still consumed by the storm.
"What's happening, Drake?" Ron panted as he came upon them. "What's going on?"
"He's having an attack," Draco panted.
"Of what, exactly?" Hermione yelled over the wind.
"Vox Tempestas Disorder," Draco yelled.
"What is that?"
"No time, Hermione!" he yelled. "Get down!"
There was a thrumming bass noise that slowly escalated into a deafening roar. At the crescendo, there was a great squealing crack!, followed by a noise like a Muggle bomb going off.
The air went calm and silent.
"Adrian!" Draco yelled.
Adrian was lying spread-eagle in the snow, Loki lying next to him. He sat up groggily, glasses missing, and squinted at his brother. "What happened?"
"That is what I would like to know, Mister Malfoy."
The six conscious children looked up….
and into the eyes of Headmaster Dumbledore.
!!!!!!!!
I am so evil!
What is going on?
Why am I doing this?
Where am I going with it all?
I haven't a bloody clue…
Heh, just kidding.
