The odds were never in my favour

by Antony444

Ten years of life at the Dursleys have healed Alexandra Potter of any good feelings she might have towards her aunt, uncle and cousin, leaving her friendless and sarcastic about life. On her eleventh birthday, a letter sent by a school of magic may give her a providential escape. Except, of course, things may not be that simple for a girl fan of the Lord of the Rings...

16. Hogwarts welcomes a Dragon

Chapter 16

Hogwarts welcomes a Dragon

April 26 1992, Hogwarts, Scotland

In the end, Alexandra's subterfuge had worked. The vanquished Ravenclaws refused to reveal anything concerning the events of this Saturday afternoon. The Slytherins, with one notable exception, followed this politic of silence. Her plan of using spells of magic painting on them had worked beautifully, especially as she had used gold and red bright colours and drawled a magnificent lion on the wall above the unconscious and immobilised Ravens and Snakes.

The Hufflepuffs third-years who had discovered the scene had laughed all the way from the corridor to the Great Hall to inform the professors of these news. As Alexandra had used nothing more dangerous than the overpowered Lumos, the ten boys and girls she had just made a laughing stock of had recuperated completely by the next morning and were in the first lines to be witness of their humiliation. The added point of Flitwick owning their wands and having the true version of the battle (minus the fact Blaise Zabini had warned her of the ambush) had forced the Ravenclaws and the Slytherins to shut their mouth and adopt a low profile. Being pranked by a band of Gryffindors was one thing. Openly announcing this was not a prank from the Lions but the result of a failed attack where they had outnumbered their opponent ten-to-one and been totally defeated would have been the equivalent of a political suicide in the castle. Too bad one of the ten vanquished students was too stupid to understand it.

For the ten thousandth time of the year, Alexandra had asked herself the question why Draco Malfoy had been sorted in Slytherin. The Malfoy heir only ambition was to rival Neville Longbottom. There were honestly worse things to thrive for.

However, Draco Malfoy had proved once more he was an insult to the qualities of cunning and ambition by going immediately to Snape at the hour of breakfast and spouting an adventure where Alexandra herself and Neville Longbottom, along with two dozens of Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, had trapped the courageous and valiant Slytherins on the sixth floor. Outnumbered five-to-one, the Slytherins had still managed to stun three Ravenclaws before falling under the weight of the numbers. In term of faked history, it was a piece of art. Unfortunately, Malfoy had once more miscalculated. None of his followers or the Ravenclaws present had wanted to confirm his version of events; in fact it had alienated his former allies inside the Ravens ranks. Alexandra personally denied his story having happened in reality (which was true: Malfoy had lied and told another version of the battle). Neville Longbottom had been assigned a detention with Sprout for running out in the corridors after curfew at the very moment the attack was supposed to take place, as a result the Boy-Who-Lived had an alibi. Consequently, it was the words of Draco Malfoy against all the students who had been accused, and while Professor Snape had appeared ready to punish everyone on such flimsy evidence, Professor McGonagall had disagreed and had given a week of detentions Draco for lying to a professor and provoking fights in the corridors. The Transfiguration mistress had also removed fifty points from Slytherin.

"Wait until my father hears of this..." Had been of course Malfoy's too predictable answer, which had only convinced McGonagall to remove twenty more points and assign him a week of detentions for disrespect of a professor.

Draco Malfoy reputation at Hogwarts outside Slytherin House had not survived the incident in the week which followed. Moreover, no one outside the House of Snakes knew what had happened in their common room on Sunday evening, but by Monday House Slytherin had proceeded to cease all support for the heir of the Malfoy family and those who followed him. Not that the number of the latter was huge. In his fratricidal war with Theodore Nott in January, the blonde pureblood had been forced to recall and use too many favours for petty reasons. Now anyone older than a third-year turned his back and proceeded to ignore him. On April 19, Daphne Greengrass, Tracey Davis and Blaise Zabini openly broke their remaining ties with Malfoy, choosing to side at the other extremity of the table rather than sit with Draco. This massive affront to Draco 's leadership (for Slytherins anyway) had apparently no consequences whatsoever and the day after it was the turn of Byron Vaisey, the Carrow twins and Theodore Nott to leave his side. After that, Draco Malfoy had for the first time of his time at school (and probably his life) made a low profile. The first-year boy circle had been drastically reduced in size, now only including Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bulstrode.

"What did my housemates did promise the Slytherins in return for the ambush against me?" Alexandra asked one evening before her duel session with Flitwick. "It must have been good for Malfoy and his bodyguards to take such a risk."

"As they refused to acknowledge their culpability," replied her Head of House, "I can only make guesses. I would say they promised Mr Malfoy help in his feud against Mr Longbottom should they succeed, but it could be something else."

"If it was the favour, it was stupid for Malfoy to accept." Affirmed Alexandra. "The Ravenclaws are not going to charge into a fight against the Boy-Who-Lived. Not many of them are good fighters, and most of the Ravens don't want to get involved in the Gryffindor-Slytherin issues. Too much potential problems on the horizon."

"Perhaps," acknowledged Flitwick. "But remember you don't have many clues of what was involved in the deal."

Her Head of House had had a very good point as always. Her knowledge of the attack she had been the target on April 11 was missing everything besides the students who participated in it. Alas, Alexandra hadn't been able to know more. Headmaster Dumbledore had declared once again it was " a prank which went a bit overboard" once he returned from an ICW convention and promptly pressed the rest of the staff to forget such insignificant matters, as the precious Longbottom had been involved, if only in the periphery of the affair. Flitwick and Snape had had no choice but to obey. The Slytherins and the Ravenclaws had not even got detentions, being seen by Dumbledore as the victims of an odious prank.

"Is the man senile or taking drugs?" Alexandra had asked Nigel in one of her most exasperated moments after recounting him the details of the aggression.

"He's powerful. Very powerful." Had answered her Gryffindor friend. "My father says he has stayed in power so long he's convinced his views have to be the best ones for Britain and the Light."

That was not a very comforting thought in Alexandra's opinion. But as days passed and no further major incident happened to break the rhythm of Hogwarts classes, the ambush faded from the students' memory. With Malfoy staying quiet and isolated, even the battles between Lions and Snakes grew even less frequent.

In the end, this attack had allowed Alexandra, Nigel and Hermione to reveal their secrets and settle their differences.

"I forgive you, Alexandra." Had affirmed the brown-haired witch, the morning after the Ravenclaw-Slytherin debacle. "But don't you dare breaking the rules like entering the Forbidden Corridor without informing us first!"

"We forgive you..." Had mumbled Nigel, a deep change in his behaviour, where months ago the timid Gryffindor would not have had the courage to speak for or against her.

Today was bright and sunny. The sky was entirely blue and every person in the castle could feel summer was coming to Hogwarts. Very early this morning, Alexandra had been able to do an hour or so of jogging near the Black Lake in her sport clothes without having the need to take a cloak or some warm equipment to feel warm. If she had had the time, she would gladly have stayed on the shore of the Lake to take the sun and profit from this excellent spring weather.

Unfortunately, the green-eyed Ravenclaw had not the time to stay outside and do nothing. The Easter holidays were over, and now the exams of the end of the year were approaching. Homework and classes assignments were increasing at an impressive speed, and Alexandra had difficulties to stay ahead of the storm of work the teachers ordered them to work on while at the same time helping Nigel practising magic and explaining him the theory. Hermione helped when she could, but the bushy-haired girl passed a lot of time in the library, more than Alexandra and Nigel combined to be exact. Transfiguration, for example had moved on to copper and bronze magical manipulations, guaranteeing long hours of study and unsuccessful practise. Right now, Alexandra had to go to Professor Sinistra's office to give back her assignment on the different types of eclipses, a three-foot essay Hermione had already given to Sinistra three days ago.

"How does she manage that?" The Potter Heiress muttered under her breath, walking in the direction of the Astronomy tower. The affirmations of the Gryffindors that Hermione was a Ravenclaw in disguise were gaining more and more credibility as the end of the year approached.

Passing before two Hufflepuffs, she heard the third-years discuss about the next Quidditch match who was about to take place next week: Slytherin versus Hufflepuff. With Slytherin having narrowly defeated Ravenclaw 210 to 190 on the fourth week of March, this match was not the most discussed or debated but students were beginning to bet and predict strategies and scores all the same. To the member of Slytherin House's shame, however, there was really little chance for Slytherin right now to win the Quidditch Cup this year. Right now, Ravenclaw was first with 480 points, Gryffindor was second with 320 points, Slytherin was third with 280 points and Hufflepuff came last with 140 points. Therefore, unless Slytherin crushed largely Hufflepuff and the Ravenclaw-Gryffindor match ended more or less in a draw, the Slytherins would not raise the Cup for the fifth consecutive year. A fact the Golden trio led by Neville Longbottom and supported by the rest of Gryffindor House were simply delighted to repeat whenever a Slytherin was present in proximity.

Continuing her walk in the direction of the Astronomy tower, she began to sweat. Groaning, she realised she would have to use the shower again today. The Ravenclaw common room in the tower was too far away from the other towers by conventional means; much like the rest of the classes except Charms, walking took really too much time in Hogwarts. Watching around her, she still found curious the sudden warmth. The corridor she was now walking on had no window on the southern side to let enter the sun at this hour.

"CATCH HIM!"

Alexandra sighed. Of course, even on Sunday morning, there was going to be an ambush waiting between the Snakes and the Lions. Getting her wand out of her pocket, she tried to see where the improvise duellists were. A few seconds passed. Nothing materialised. Alexandra frowned. And then another shout:

"NO! DON'T LET HIM ESCAPE BY THE STAIRS!"

RRROOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAARRRRRR!

The roar of a beast shook the corridor. Passing an embranchment from a corridor leading to the second floor, Alexandra looked around and then paled when she saw the source of the noise arriving in front of her in mid-air.

Two skinny brown wings. Large nostrils. Elongated claws. Orange eyes. Large, sharp fangs. Black ridges on the back. And of course, a maw where flames were coming out. A description all her sources of lecture, whether magical or non-magical agreed on. Dragon. Suddenly, the temperature anomaly in the corridor made a lot more sense.

Rolling against the wall on her left, Alexandra narrowly avoided the big ball of flames the dragon had just sent in her direction.

"On Halloween a troll. In the Forbidden Corridor a Cerberus. And now a dragon! Hogwarts is really becoming a menagerie of dangerous creatures!" Alexandra groaned.

The dragon was not discouraged by his failure to burn her on its first try, forcing her to dodge again the flames a second time. And a third. Determined to not end as a smoking corpse, she threw a first spell at the fire-breathing lizard coming to her mind.

"FLIPENDO!"

Only to be shocked as nothing happened. The brown skin of the dragon just absorbed the ray of magic like she had just sent a ray of sun at her target, a feat not even the mountain troll had been able of. Alexandra was forced to jump and dodge again the new ball of flames coming in her direction. Avoiding the attacks, she tried to think of the best means to get rid of this flying monstrosity but she couldn't think of anything. Throwing an overpowered Lumos didn't make him blind. The rest of her spells, curses, hexes and jinxes repertory proved utterly useless. Just as the dragon prepared another attack, sounds of people running came to her ears. Relieved, she breathed loudly. Like the eagles at the Battle of Five Armies, help was on the way. Now, she had only to hold for a bit longer.

"NORBERT IS HERE!" Shouted Neville Longbottom, running out from an adjacent corridor and throwing new spells at the dragon, which completely missed or revealed to be as useless as Alexandra efforts. "I FOUND HIM!"

On the instant, Alexandra's mind nearly shut down and she had a strong compulsion to take her head in her hands and sob at the unfairness of the world. The Boy-Who-Lived knew the name of the dragon. Longbottom shouted at the dragon. Longbottom was without doubt the person which had introduced the dragon in the castle. For a moment, she was awed by the arrogance of the Boy-Who-Lived, who had evidently an ego so large inviting a young dragon inside the castle was a natural thing. But only for a moment. The brown dragon threw a ball of fire at him again, forcing Neville to duck.

"Longbottom! What are his weaknesses?" The Potter Heiress shouted to the Gryffindor, hoping against all odds the boy had a spell to control the flying lizard.

"How I am supposed to know?" Replied in an angry tone Neville Longbottom. "I'm not a dragon specialist!"

"Just the one who brought it there I bet." The green-eyed Ravenclaw grumbled in an angry snarl. Formidable. She was caught in a corridor with Longbottom and a dragon, and her wand was next to useless. Much like with the troll. What sort of bad luck and angry deities made her ago against creatures which could stop the effects of her magic?

"NORBERT STOP IT!" Vociferated Longbottom as one fireball missed him by an inch and his counterattack of three spells finished in the wall. One more second, and the Boy-Who-Lived would have been roasted. Screaming and shouting at the dragon did not seem the way to deal with it.

"Now I know how Bilbo felt facing Smaug... "The raven-haired girl said throwing another Flipendo at the dragon to distract him. It was not an apt comparison, Alexandra had to admit: Smaug was a full grown dragon bigger than a gold mountain and able to devastate entire armies. This Norbert hadn't managed to kill Alexandra despite several attempts. For now.

"Too bad I have not a black arrow to deal with him. Oh, here goes nothing." Alexandra was forced to dodge another fireball by hiding behind one of the armours which were present by the dozens in Hogwarts. Regaining her breath, her eyes laid on the sword between the gauntlets of the armour. No, she had no black arrow to slay a dragon. But surely a big two-handed sword was going to be enough for a small lizard?

"HEY DRAGON!" She shouted at the creature which was on its way to hunt a shaking Neville Longbottom lying breathless against the corridor wall.

"WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA!"

Alexandra had badly judged the strength she had put in her Levitation charm. The spell levitated the sword and the armour together, before propelling them in a surprised dragon which in spite of its swiftness didn't manage to escape all the mass of metal coming its way. Oooops. Seeing the look of fear on Longbottom's face, perhaps the expression on her face had been a bit too gleeful.

Small noises of pain interrupted her watching the Boy-Who-Lived still sweating in fear against the wall. The dragon had managed to avoid the sword she had sent its way, but not the armour. As these Middle Ages protections were traditionally large and heavy, the dragon had half of its body blocked under it, the tails and the wings if she was not mistaken. That said, it did not forbid him to use its fire-breath to send a fireball to the ceiling. Fortunately, seeing there was no fire outbreak in the corridor, she was forced to conclude there was some kind of magical protection or fire repellent on Hogwarts walls. That was not to say she intended to see how long the dragon was going to take to break the protections in question. Casting a Wingardium Leviosa spell again on the sword, this time without the armour, she levitated it over the dragon. The reptile ceased instantly his attempts at creating a barbecue, having received the message.

"What do you think you're doing?" Screamed Longbottom, who seemed to have recovered his voice at the worst moment possible.

"The dragon tried to kill me, Longbottom." Alexandra did not grit her teeth but it was hard not to. "It failed. I will ensure it will not try again. Permanently, before it becomes bigger than a house and tries to transform me in a roasted marshmallow. Again." Alexandra said in a slow explanation like she was speaking to an idiot. Seriously, did Neville Longbottom have not realised the threat this thing represented? If one fireball had touched one of them, the kind of burns she or Neville would have received could have been potentially deadly. The beast had the potential to become a dangerous cousin of Smaug if left one or two years to grow. And then there would be an uncontrollable wizard-killer in the nature. Better to avoid this scenario now.

"That will not be necessary Miss Potter." The black-haired Ravenclaw heard a voice behind her said. Alexandra turned her head and sighed. The eleven-year old had the impulse to say an insult or two, but it would surely speak poorly of her.

Headmaster Dumbledore was there, and he was not the only person present. Next to him were Leo Black and Seamus Finnigan, looking really stupid with their mouths wide open. Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were right behind them, although looking at McGonagall you could see she had struggled to keep the rhythm of the other member of her group. In front of so many witnesses, killing something in cold blood was not a good idea, no matter how much this beast had been keen on murdering her. Moving the sword still in levitation she let it fall ten feet away from the dragon which had remained silent in the last seconds. With a large CLANG the sword clashed in a metallic noise on the floor.

"What the name in Merlin were you doing here?" Asked Professor McGonagall, again in that cold tone of voice which came when you were caught doing something at the wrong place and the wrong time. "You could have been killed!"

"I realise that Professor" Alexandra replied. "On the other hand, I am not responsible of this. I was on my way to the Astronomy tower to give back my assignment to Professor Sinistra when someone-" at this she glanced at Neville Longbottom who was paling remarkably quickly "-decided to smuggle a dragon in the castle and place it in the same corridor where I was walking. If I was paranoid, I would say it was an assassination attempt on me. "

Alexandra turned the rest of her voice in her best ironic tone. "Though I must give points of originality for the method chosen. A dragon is really not the common method to get rid of someone."

The sarcasm apparently went over the head of Professor McGonagall, who turned with eyes blazing fury in direction of the Boy-Who-Lived.

"Mr Longbottom?" Drawled the Head of House Gryffindor.

All arrogance seemed to have deserted the leader of the Golden trio, who was at a loss to give a credible explanation why he was running after a young XXXXX creature in the corridors of Hogwarts.

"Now, now. Minerva. I'm sure there is a simple explanation for what Mr Longbottom did. Why don't we go back to my office to discuss what really happened?"

Dumbledore was perfect in his wise grandfather-Merlin-Gandalf persona, Alexandra had to give it to him. With his gold and blue wizard robes, his long white beard and his silver-like hairs, the head master was perhaps the closest think available of the old and wise wizard full of knowledge and proud to advise the younger generations of the mysteries and wonders of magic. Seeing Neville regaining colours and Professor McGonagall's anger dissipate, the performance was a great success. Leo Black and Seamus Finnigan were also looking at him with fascination and awe. She was sure that the two boys at this moment were ready to swear Dumbledore had vanquished the dragon himself with a single spell under their very eyes. Only Flitwick and herself seemed unaffected by the 'Merlin' persona. Alexandra was ready to bet both her and her head of House and herself were not going to set a foot inside the headmaster's office today. Their participation would not help the discussion go towards the 'proper path'.

Five seconds later, her suspicions were confirmed.

"I trust I can leave you to deal with dragon, Filius?" Said Dumbledore to Flitwick, staying behind as McGonagall left Longbottom, Black and Finnegan out of the corridor." The dragon handlers from the Norwegian reserve are due to arrive by eleven o'clock to recuperate Norbert and take him with them."

Well that answered the question if Dumbledore had known of the dragon existence beforehand. No matter the speed of the fastest magical transport, Alexandra had serious doubts dragon handlers from Norway dropped in the middle of Northern Scotland by coincidence at the end of April.

"Miss Potter will be happy to assist you, I do not doubt it," Added Dumbledore without even bothering to demand her point of view concerning the lizard. "But I would advise you my dear girl to not resort to death sentences as soon as you're under threat. Every life is precious in the grand scheme of existence."

"Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends." Alexandra whispered softly.

Dumbledore looked curiously indeed appreciative at that and walked away in a satisfied pace.

"Of course the next passage of The Lord of the Rings is advising to be careful of traitors and unintended actions." Alexandra absently added to Professor Flitwick, who nodded in return.

Her teacher looked at the corridor in which Dumbledore had disappeared with a discouraged face. Personally, Alexandra was disgusted. The passage from Tolkien's book she had just quoted was an appeal of mercy, true. It was not a blank check for every beast with murderous intents to go away with violence and devastation. Else Gandalf and the rest of the Company would never have defeated thousands of Orks, a Balrog and some other monsters inhabiting the fantastic world of Middle Earth. By this sort of twisted logic, Alexandra would have to feel guilty and sad for the Dursleys because they were an evil family and tortured her. And this man was her magical guardian and the most powerful man of Britain? It certainly explained the deleterious state of the country, no?

"I don't really want to save the dragon, Professor. Can I go to the Astronomy tower and-"

Alexandra had no time to finish her question to the tiny teacher.

An exclamation "IT'S HERE!" came from the opposite corridor Dumbledore and his groups had arrived from. Alexandra found the voice familiar and she was right: ten seconds later, Draco Malfoy came in full view, quickly followed by Professor Snape, as well as Crabbe and Goyle.

"It is as I told you Professor!" Draco Malfoy seemed to be ready to dance, such was his excitement. "Scarhead and his band of blood-traitors have introduced a dragon at Hogwarts with the help of the stupid oaf!"

"Ten points from Slytherin for the inappropriate language, Mr Malfoy!" Said Flitwick in a disapproving tone.

Malfoy jumped in shock. It was evident he had not even bothered to take in consideration the presence of Flitwick and Alexandra, just the dragon. Terrible case of tunnel vision and a huge disadvantage for any duelling action. Not that his insults towards Hagrid and the Gryffindor were a novelty, although she had never heard the 'Scarhead' one before. Draco Malfoy had in all probability taken a long time to come with this insult. As for 'blood-traitors' it gave Alexandra the confirmation the Slytherin convictions in blood purity were well and truly kicking.

"Where are Longbottom and his group, Filius?" Asked Snape, a raw expression of triumph in his black eyes.

"The headmaster took them to his office, Severus." replied courteously the tiny professor.

"I see. Excellent. "Said Snape, barely containing himself to do his dark equivalent of gloating."Fifty points for Ravenclaw for intervening and discovering the rule-breaking. Fifty points from Gryffindor for the sheer stupidity of letting a baby dragon enter the grounds of Hogwarts. Now, if you excuse me, I am going to demand the expulsion of Longbottom and all those involved in this mess."

Snape left on that speech, his walk with his black billowing robes making him as usual look like a gigantic bat, with a blonde pureblood and two brutes on his heels following like well-trained dogs.

"Do you think he will manage to expulse Neville and his friends from Hogwarts, professor?" She asked in a hopeful voice.

"No." answered Flitwick in a firm tone, casting at the same time a series of spells. The dragon was liberated by the first charm from the weight of the armour and tried to escape but to no avail. The second spell tied the animal up with magical ropes, making it unable to use his wings, his fire breath and his claws. Then a sort of violet magical bubble appeared and trapped the animal inside. A silver magical cage then surrounded the prison making it fully secure. Impressive display of Charms, she had not even recognised one of the spells used.

Flitwick had noticed her interest, and laughed.

"Most of these spells are not that complicated for me, Miss Potter, but each of them is not taught before sixth-year. It's quite normal you haven't seen them before." Flitwick chuckled again then turned serious. "Mr Longbottom has committed a serious felony, there's no doubt about it. Dragon eggs and baby dragons are considered Class A non-tradable materials by the Ministry of magic. But Albus controls every punishment here at Hogwarts."

"Not the crimes?" Alexandra asked for confirmation, filing away the information for further inquiries and searches.

"Not the crimes. But it doesn't matter." Flitwick didn't elaborate, but he didn't need to.

Dumbledore was the only way for important news to get out off the castle. According to Hogwarts: a History (and Hermione who communicated the information), the headmaster had an absolute control over the ancient wards of the castle and could choose at his leisure what type of information got out of Hogwarts and what stayed here. He was also the only one with direct access to the supreme authorities of the Ministry of Magic, including the Minister himself. Even cases like the dragon didn't change anything: with the professors having signed a contract to obey Dumbledore in school matters and the Golden Trio firmly on the 'Light side', it would be the words of Draco Malfoy and she against the Chief Warlock. Alexandra didn't need to see the future to know how it would end.

Thanking her Head of House, she continued her own way to the Astronomy tower, wondering what sort of idiocy had pushed the Gryffindors to try this stunt. Alexandra had not to wait long for the answer. The rumour mill of Hogwarts, as efficient as ever, spread truth and rumours at an impressive speed around the school. Discounting the most impossible ones like those pretending the Gryffindors had wanted to use a dragon to kill Snape or that Wood wanted the animal to 'motivate' his players for the next Quidditch match, a picture had begun to emerge in front of her eyes by dinner. If the most realistic version of events was right, the Keeper of Keys Hagrid had tried to breed a dragon. Neville Longbottom and his friends had tried to smuggle it on Saturday night for a party of dragon handlers from a Romanian reserve to take it away, but the plan had taken too much delay, as Ron Weasley had been bitten by the ferocious reptile. Norwegian Ridgebacks, this species of brown-skin dragon, had poisonous fangs and Weasley was confined to the Hospital Wing for the rest of the wing. After that, Longbottom, Black and Finnegan had been ambushed by Malfoy and his two gorillas, waking up the sleeping dragon and allowing it to escape in the maze of corridors. The end of the story, Alexandra knew it. She was one of the only ones, though, as Gryffindors and Slytherins did their best to darken the other House's reputation.

Malfoy and Longbottom reputation were literally inexistent by the end of the day. Between his accusations and his insults, Draco lost fifty House points again. The group of first-years Gryffindors had lost fifty too. Each participant save Alexandra in this little disaster had two weeks of detention. Slytherin and Gryffindor hourglasses in the entrance were now slightly ahead of zero. Barring divine intervention, Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff were about to win the House Cup this year. So why wasn't she able to shake off this bad feeling that something horrible was about to happen?

30 April 1992, Hogsmeade, Scotland

Summer had not yet arrived to this far-away part of Scotland, but on this warm day one could always believe the contrary. A few white cumuli were seen in the distance, but there was no sign of the grey and dark clouds of rain which had sent torrent of waters in March and early April on Scottish soil and made the levels of the Black Lake rose by several feet.

The fauna and flora had not been slow in adapting to these signs, and the hills around the wizarding town of Hogsmeade were bristling with the small noises of animals emerging from their slumbers and the choreography of thousands of flowers blooming at sunlight.

The two characters hidden under large and cumbersome robes did not give even a glance at this entertaining spectacle of renewal.

"The affair with the dragon could have gone better." Told in a conversational voice the figure dissimulated under black robes. The sentence had not the time to be finished, being quite rudely interrupted by the other figure present. "I was hoping-"

"It doesn't matter. The oaf told me what I needed to know."

Light red flashes coming from the violet robes punctuated the words where mercy and humour were totally absent. After a brief period of silence, a new affirmation came in an affirmation which tolerated no discussion.

"It's time we start our preparations for the Forbidden Corridor."

"I find your enthusiasm a bit too rapid for my taste." His interlocutor protested. "We have not a clue of what Dumbledore did to-"

The second interruption came, as dismissive and rude as the first.

"Do not question Lord Voldemort. Weakling." The tone of voice coming like a guttural rasp out of the violet robes was enough threatening to simulate a new Ice Age in the middle of the Sahara.

A twirl and the being hidden behind the violet robes disappeared magically from his position, leaving the other figure alone.

In the air, a laugh where little joy was present resonated in the spring sun.

"And I'm supposed trusting this thing to rob a Philosopher's Stone?"