Chapter 15:

A/N - Hey, it's been a while I know but if anyone is still reading, I'm still writing. Let me know what you think...

It had been over a week since he had been attacked by the Gryffindor's and Harrison and the other first years were still being accompanied everywhere by a Slytherin prefect or older student. They were beginning to get fed up of it.

'Come on' Draco moaned to his friends whilst waiting to be collected from their History of Magic lesson.

'No Gryffindor has even so much as looked at us for days, why can't we at least walk to lessons on our own?'

'Ever think they haven't tried anything because we aren't on our own?' Daphne added helpfully.

'Even so' Draco glared at her 'Give us a little room to breathe.'

Harrison had to agree with Draco on that one. They were unlikely to be attacked in the middle of the day when so many people were about the castle anyway. He'd also noticed his brother whispering a lot more to Granger and Weasley lately and he really wanted to know what they were up to.

'Maybe we should suggest it to Flint later' Blaise added 'That we could at least go to classes in a group perhaps'

'I'll mention it to him' Harrison volunteered to the relief of the others. The Slytherin prefect, whilst protective of the First years, was still a very intimidating guy.

'Come on you lot, you don't want to be late' Flint called to them to follow as he rounded the corner.

'Yeah, of course it was him waiting for us' Draco muttered

'What was that, Malfoy?'

'Nothing' he answered, going slightly pink in the face.

They followed along in silence after that, arriving quickly at the entrance for the Defence against the dark arts classroom. Harrison allowed his friends to go in ahead of him, Blaise looking pointedly at him.
Well, here goes nothing, he thought.

'Um, Flint?' he began, catching the attention of the Prefect who had just turned to leave.

'Yes Potter?' he asked, raising an eyebrow.

'Well, we were thinking' gesturing back towards where his friends had been a moment before 'that we are hardly likely to be attacked in a group and in the middle of the day, least of all on the way to a classroom amongst so many other students'

He paused; Flint was watching him carefully but allowed him to continue.

'So, we wondered if we would be able to walk just us, even just during the day' He finished.

The prefect didn't say anything for a moment or two.

'Fine. But only to classes and to the great hall. And you in particular, are not to be alone. Ever.'

'Ever?' he scoffed

'Not until Professor Snape deems it safe, no. And if you don't like it, I'll accompany you myself to every lesson, every bathroom visit, every trip to the library.' He threatened.

'That won't be necessary, of course.' Harrison assured him, not having meant to annoy the boy. 'We appreciate all the efforts to keep us safe' he added for good measure.

Flint nodded.

'If I don't see you at dinner where you are supposed to be...' he left the threat to Harrison's imagination, which was worse than anything Flint could have said to him.

'You're going to be late' he nodded towards the DADA classroom and with that, turned on his heel and left Harrison to scramble his way into the classroom, muttering his apologies to Professor Quirrell as he took his seat.

'Well?' Draco whispered

'We can walk in groups during the day' he said to the sighs of relief from his friends and the other Slytherin's listening in. It seemed none of them liked being followed and watched every step of their day.

'Good' Draco grinned 'Now we can find out what the terrible trio have been up to' Harrison rolled his eyes but agreed. It wouldn't do anyone any good to allow his brother to be running about the school causing trouble.

'M-mister P-p-potter, stay be-behind' Quirrell called as they all began to leave.
Harrison looked, up, he was looking directly at him. He sighed.

'Wait for me outside?' His friends nodded and made their way out.

'I'm very sorry I was late, Sir. I was speaking with Mr Flint just outside the classroom regarding an important matter. It won't happen again.' He spoke quickly, making his way down to the front of the class.

'That's q-quite alright Mr P-potter.' Harrison frowned. Was that not the reason he had been called to stay behind.

'I h-hear you wish to learn how- how to duel' Harrison eyed him uneasily, had Professor Flitwick mentioned something perhaps?

'Um, yes, Sir. I had mentioned to Professor Flitwick about learning a few spells'

'I could always help you out with that' Quirrell remarked 'I am the d-defence against the d-d-dark arts teacher after all'

In all honesty, Harrison hadn't even considered Professor Quirrell. He had chosen Flitwick to ask purely based on his Duelling history and he had decided the charms Professor would be the easiest to win over. The stuttering DADA teacher had never been one to particularly impress Harrison, but he supposed, he had to get the job somehow, and any teacher was better than what he had now, wasn't it?

'You'd be willing to, Sir?' he asked hopefully

'Of course, Mr Potter. What kind of a teacher would I be if I didn't encourage the extra-curricular activities of my students?'

'That would be brilliant then sir. When could we begin?' eager to learn how to protect himself.

'Friday evening, come to my office at 6pm. In the mean-time read through the first chapters of this' he turned his back briefly to retrieve a book from his desk. Harrison felt the familiar sharp pain shoot across his chest.

'Are you okay?' Quirrell asked, frowning as he passed the book to Harrison. The pain had gone.

'Yes, sir. Thank you. I'll see you Friday evening then.'

He hurried out of the classroom to meet his friends. In all his excitement, he hadn't noticed the lack of stuttering from the defence professor who watched him leave with great interest.

'So, you're going to have duelling lessons, with professor Quirrell?' Draco asked in disbelief 'Why? You could learn more from Crabbe.' He gestured to the boy who was currently stuffing his face with cake from pudding and hadn't heard the comment.

Harrison rolled his eyes

'He's a wizard is he not? And a professor, he's got to know something, and if he doesn't, I'll just stop going.'

Draco shrugged 'Waste of an evening if you ask me, but please yourself.'

Harrison managed to get through the rest of the week without incident and before he knew it, it was Friday evening and he was on his way to meet Quirrell. Pucey walked him there, Harrison having asked the older boy earlier that day.

'Didn't think you'd be one to need extra lessons, Potter' he remarked as they made their way through the corridor.

'I figured it can't hurt to learn a thing or two about duelling' he replied, musing over the first few chapters of the book Quirrell had assigned him.

It had been an interesting book so far. Only the basics of duelling, how to stand and move your feet and the like, but interesting none the less, and Harrison was very much looking forward to his first lesson.

He left the older boy at the door, promising that he would ask the professor to return him to the common room after their session.

He knocked twice and entered the office. It was the first time he'd been inside this room, not having managed to receive a detention in DADA yet. It was a small room, a crackling fire in the corner being the only light source and the desk overflowing with parchment and books.

'Good evening, Mr Potter.' This time, Harrison noticed it. The man hadn't stuttered. The teacher was stood in front of his desk, watching him carefully. Harrison noted that he looked more confident than usual, collected and standing tall.

'Good evening, Professor.' He replied calmly, deciding not to comment on the man's speech, perhaps it was only in crowds he was nervous.

'Come through here' he gestured towards a door behind him, allowing Harrison to walk ahead 'might I call you Harrison?'

'Of course, Sir' he walked through the door to find a larger room. There were lamps along each wall, lighting the room up clearly. Several training dummies were positioned at one end of the room and a small bookshelf at the other.

He was about to turn around to face the professor when a light flashed towards him and a stinging sensation hit his hand. Hissing in pain, he turned quickly to see Quirrell stood at the doorway, wand in hand and a blank expression.

'What was that for?' he glared at the man

'Lesson one, never turn your back to the enemy'

'I thought you were my teacher, not my enemy' he replied hotly

'In this room, I am both. If you do not learn from your enemies, then they will always win.'

Harrison couldn't help but agree with the sentiment, however, he was still rather annoyed that the man had just jumped straight in without even an introduction. He rubbed the last of the sting from his fingers and drew his own wand.

'Better' the man smiled slightly

'But I don't know how to block spells yet, Sir. I know the theory behind the shield charm but I can't get it to work for me'

'Do you know the easiest way to defend yourself from an unfriendly spell Harrison?' the man queried; he hadn't left his spot by the door yet.

'Protego?'

'Don't get hit' he replied, well, obviously, Harrison thought, but that's what the shield charm did

'And the easiest way to do that is to move'

Oh. Harrison thought, feeling a little stupid.

'In duelling, be it competitively, or out in the real world, you should always be quick on your feet. Be aware of your surroundings at all times.' he nodded at the professor.

'So, today's lesson. Is to move' Quirrell smirked slightly, Harrison felt a little uneasy at that.

'You will move about the room; I will send stinging hexes towards you. I want you to avoid them, but do not use your wand.'

Harrison nodded and put his wand away, not wanting to be tempted. This certainly wasn't how he expected the evening to go. He looked towards Quirrell ready to begin, but the man was gone from where he had stood.

Harrison spun around, scanning the room but not seeing him anywhere.

'Professor?' he called 'Ouch' he jumped; another stinging hex had hit him in the leg.

He turned to where the light had come from but still saw no sign of the man.

'Professor, what's going on?' he called again

'Focusss' he spun to where the hissed voice had come from, only to be hit from behind again.

'Oww' he moaned, rubbing his back to rid it of the sting.

Right. Harrison thought. Focus.

He stood still, waiting for a flash of light to appear. It came from his right, he ducked just in time and leapt up again, cheering.

He'd celebrated too soon however as another flash of light quickly followed, hitting him square on the forehead.

And on it went for what felt like hours. By the time Professor Quirrell finally reappeared, Harrison was doubled over panting and numb from almost his entire body having been stung at some point that evening.

'You did well, Harrison' Quirrell remarked, passing him a bottle of pumpkin juice.

'Thank you, sir. I didn't manage to avoid many though'

'You'll get there, you did much better than I expected. You have some sharp reflexes there.'

Harrison smiled, wiping the sweat from his face and downing the juice in a few gulps.

'Come along, I'll walk you back to your common room.'

He followed the man down the corridor in silence, not knowing what to say.

'Thank you, Sir' he said simply as they reached the entrance to the Slytherin common room.

'I'll look forward to our next lesson, Harrison. I will send you an owl with the time and date' And with that, the man turned to leave. He felt a slight pain in his chest again as he glanced at the back of the large turban on Quirrell's head.

Well, that had been different, he thought. He wondered if teachers were even allowed to put their students through that much pain, or even hex them at all.
Probably not, Harrison concluded, but he wasn't about to report the only person willing to teach him how to defend himself.

Harrison waited for Quirrell to be out of sight before he pulled the invisibility cloak out of his bag, intending to read up about shield charms in the library before bed.

He moved quietly back along the dungeon corridors. He couldn't be seen under the cloak, but they would still hear him if he wasn't careful.

He'd just reached the entrance hall when he heard hushed voices coming from the main staircase. He paused, pushing himself against a wall to ensure no one bumped into him.

'Be quiet, we'll get caught' Harrison bit his tongue to hold back a groan, that was Nick's voice.

The next moment, Nick, Weasley, and Granger came into view at the bottom of the stairs. Granger looked worried and kept glancing all around her as if expecting a Prefect or Professor to catch them at any moment.

'Why couldn't we just wait until the morning' Granger whispered

'I'm not missing this. You can go back to bed if you want to' Nick replied quickly, looking all around before ushering the other two towards the front door.

'Come on Hermione, how often is it that you can see an actual dragon hatch?' Ron asked her, slightly too loud it seemed, causing Nick to look sharply at him.

Wait, did he say dragon?

Harrison followed them, slipping through the door just as it was closing and walking through the grounds a few paces behind but still within earshot. The trio had stopped whispering now they were outside.

'This is ridiculous' Hermione began 'Does Hagrid even know what he's doing. Dragons are illegal for a reason you know'

'It'll be fine' Nick replied 'Hagrid knows his stuff. And besides, how cool would it be to see a dragon every day. We'll help him look after it'

Harrison raised his eyebrows. How on earth had Hagrid managed to get a real dragon egg? That is, if it was real. He probably paid a fortune for it and it'll hatch into a lizard or something.

He watched as his brother and friends knocked on the door to the small hut in the grounds and after a few gruff words, were allowed in. Harrison took a spot by the window and looked inside.

Hagrid's hut was all one room. A large bed with a sunken mattress took over most of the space. Two large armchairs and a table sat in front of a roaring fire. It looked warm inside and Harrison pulled his cloak tighter around himself in an attempt to bat away the chill of the evening air.

A large, slobbering boar hound jumped up, greeting Ron happily and nearly knocking the boy over. Harrison sniggered.

His eyes were drawn to the fire. A large pot hung above and Harrison could see the top of what appeared to be a very large egg poking out. His eyes widened. It certainly looked like a dragon egg. Or, it looked very much like the pictures of them he'd seen in books.

He couldn't hear what they were saying inside and wished he knew some kind of listening charm or that the window was open. Instead, he watched as the trio squashed themselves into one of the armchairs, Hagrid pouring tea into bucket sized teacups and passing them around.

Harrison wondered just how long he had been stood there for already. The small group were chatting, sometimes he would catch the odd word or two from reading their lips. His name was mentioned, and Snape, and the third-floor.

All of a sudden, Hagrid leapt from his seat, making Harrison jump and nearly drop the cloak. He grabbed the pot from over the stove and lay the egg carefully on the table.

It was moving.

Harrison pushed his face up against the glass to be able to see better. A large crack had appeared down the length of the egg, the others had all gathered around it, watching intently.

A few seconds later, a small piece of shell peeled away, then another, then another, until, finally, a small head poked out of the hole.

A dragon. An actual, real life baby dragon was sat on the table in front of them.

Harrison was fascinated, he watched as the small creature took its first few steps of life, looking all around itself. Hagrid was crying and scooped it up in his large hands. The dragon sneezed, sparks flew from its face, hitting Hagrid who couldn't look prouder if he tried.

He didn't know what to think. Torn between fascination at the creature and the horror of the fact there was a dragon at Hogwarts. They grew very fast and it hadn't escaped Harrison's notice that the gamekeeper lived in a wooden hut.

He pulled his eyes away from the scene and made his way back up to the castle. His hands and face had gone numb and he wasn't sure if it was an after effect of the stinging hexes or the cold night.

It had been a very long and eventful evening, Harrison mused as he settled into bed. So many thoughts ran through his head, he didn't think he'd be able to sleep for a while. Why didn't Professor Quirrell stutter that night? What would he teach him next? What would Snape say if he found out about the lessons? Moreover, what would Snape say if he found out about the dragon?

And what to do about his brother and his friends? Could he find a way to anonymously tell a teacher so they would find out about the secret creature in the hut? Or could he use it as blackmail material instead?

With those thoughts running through his mind, Harrison eventually slipped into a restless sleep.

'A dragon!' Draco all but shouted at breakfast the next morning.

Harrison hit him on the shoulder and glared at the boy who looked around sheepishly.

'Sorry' he said, much quieter this time.

'But an actual, real dragon?'

'Yes, Draco, a real dragon.'

Draco grinned.

'We have to find a way to get them in trouble. They'll get expelled for this' he said excitedly.

Harrison scoffed.

'My brother could ride a dragon through the school, and he still wouldn't be expelled' he paused thoughtfully 'but hopefully Gryffindor will lose enough points to guarantee that Slytherin will win the house cup this year'

'Leave it to me' Draco said, nodding, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

'Just don't get caught' Harrison warned.

.

.

Over the next few days Harrison met frequently with Professor Quirrell, who continued his assault of stinging hexes as Harrison dodged, jumped and dove out of the way. Each session it became a little easier. He'd been made to complete obstacle courses and sprint up and down the extended classroom all whilst under attack.

He lay on the floor, panting, having just finished a rather brutal training session.

'Professor, when will I get to use spells myself?' he asked

'Soon.' Quirrell responded.

'Here' he handed the boy a scroll of parchment, on it, a list of defensive and offensive spells

'I want you to read up on each spell and write a list of all the uses you can think for each one and how that use would change the way you cast them.'

Harrison looked up at him, confused.

'It's all about intention, Potter. Don't forget that. The way you approach a cutting charm for example will be different if you're cutting an apple or a throat.'

Harrison looked up at him, alarmed. He didn't intend to cut anyone's throat.

Almost reading his mind, the Professor sighed 'It was just an example, I'm not going to have you decapitating people in our next session.'

Oh, right. Of course. Harrison blushed, feeling stupid for having even thought that might have been on the table.

'Thank you, Professor. I'll start right away'

He headed to the common room, mulling over the list of spells, they were all simple, simple shields, stunners, jinxes. Harrison's mind was already reeling with multiple uses of each one of them.

'Harrison!' Draco ran over to him, looking as if Christmas had come early.

'Yes, Draco?'

'I was in the hospital wing, visiting Weasley-' Harrison rolled his eyes, knowing Draco had only gone there to tease the boy, who had almost collapsed earlier in the day.

'- and you'll never guess what I found' He pulled a letter out of the pocket of his robes and handed it to Harrison.

'Charlie, is that one of Weasley's brothers?' Draco nodded happily

'Yes, and do you know what he does for a living?' Harrison frowned and shook his head

'He works with dragons in Romania. He's flying over to take that dragon of Hagrid's in the middle of the night'

Harrison paused. So, they were now not only harbouring an illegal animal on the school grounds but were planning on smuggling said deadly creature to another country. How stupid could they get.

'I'm going to make sure they get caught in the act' Draco said

'I'll tell Professor Snape, or McGonagall even!' Harrison grinned; the head of Gryffindor house would be appalled to find three of her own students doing such a thing.

'Brilliant Draco. They'll be in detention for sure.'

'I wish I could see the dragon myself though' Draco said longingly 'I've been begging Father for years to take me to see a dragon compound.'

'You'll go one day Draco, it's not worth getting caught to see this one' Harrison assured him.

He was worried his friend might do something stupid and end up getting caught himself. It wouldn't do for Draco to be losing house points as well as the trio.

Draco nodded before leaving the common room to continue with whatever plan he had in mind, Harrison watched him go, wondering if he should follow the boy under the cloak.

'Hey, Harrison. I bet I can beat you at chess now!' Blaise shouted from across the room, drawing Harrison away from his thoughts.

He grinned and made his way over to the rest of the first years

'Prepare to lose then'

Harrison was one of the few still awake when Draco returned, red in the face, hours later.

He raised a questioning eyebrow

'What happened?' Harrison discarded the duelling book as Draco slumped into the armchair next to him.

Draco explained the events of the evening. How he'd gone to Professor McGonagall, who hadn't believed him but was rather upset that he was out of bed after curfew. He was being scolded by her in her office when Filch dragged in not only Nick and Hermione, but Neville as well, who had been seen leaving the astronomy tower.

'They've lost 150 points between them!' Draco announced proudly 'And got detention'

'You know you've got detention and lost us 50 points at the same time, right?' Harrison asked.

'And Professor Snape will skin you for that.' Draco looked nervous for a moment before brushing it off.

'I'll speak to my father, get him to smooth things over.'

Harrison shook his head, wondering when Draco would realise that his father wouldn't be able to rescue him from every situation that he got himself into.

'They smuggled the dragon out then?' Harrison asked

'Yes' Draco muttered, dejectedly 'Even though they were caught out of bed, McGonagall still didn't believe there had ever been a dragon involved.'

Harrison sighed and leaned back into the chair. So, his brother had gotten away with it after all. Oh well, at least there was no way Gryffindor would catch up on house points now. That had to put a dampener on Nick's mood.

A/N - I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you think so far and any predictions you have for the future.