The Dark Prophecy

Bloody Troll

TW - violence and blood

By the next morning, Harry and Ron considered the meeting of the three-headed dog had been an excellent adventure, and they were quite keen to have another one, whereas Draco, on the other hand, had called them idiots and insisted that they couldn't bring him back to that corridor if they dragged him there.

In the meantime, Harry filled Draco and Ron in about the package that seemed to have been moved from Gringotts to Hogwarts, and they spent a lot of time wondering what could possibly need such heavy protection. 

"It's either really valuable or really dangerous," said Ron. 

"Or both," said Harry. 

"Or neither," Draco said, deciding to be the pessimistic one, per usual. 

But as all they knew for sure about the mysterious object was that it was about two inches long, they didn't have much chance of guessing what it was without further clues. 

Hermione seemed to show not the slightest interest in what lay underneath the dog and the trapdoor, even less than Draco, if possible. All Draco cared about was never going near the dog again. 

Hermione was now refusing to speak to Harry, Draco and Ron, but she was such a bossy know-it-all that they saw this as an added bonus. 

Perhaps it was because he was now so busy, what with Quidditch practice three evenings a week now he had gotten a broom from Snape on top of all his homework, but Harry could hardly believe it when he realized that he'd already been at Hogwarts two months. The castle felt more like home than Privet Drive ever had. 

His lessons, too, were as interesting as ever, and he started to go to the library more, read more high-level books, with more, perhaps, dangerous spells, his presence always seeming to annoy Hermione who was there during all her free time.

On Halloween morning they woke to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors. Even better, Professor Flitwick announced in Charms that he thought they were ready to start making objects fly,something they had all been dying to try since they'd seen him make that lump Neville's toad zoom around the classroom. 

Professor Flitwick put the class into pairs to practice. Harry's partner was Draco, which Harry found glee in as he was excited to show off to Draco his aptitude for charms. Ron, however, was to be working with Hermione Granger. It was hard to tell whether Ron or Hermione was angrier about this. She hadn't spoken to any of them since the day Harry's broomstick had arrived. 

"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" squeaked Professor Flitwick, perched on top of his pile of books as usual, looking as stupid as ever. "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too -- never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest." 

Harry quite soon found himself getting the hang of the spell, watching with pride as his feather rose four or so feet into the air. Soon copying this, Draco looked immensely smug, and the two of them found themselves looking over at how Ron was doing, and having to suppress cruel laughter.  

"Wingardium Leviosa!" he shouted, waving his long arms like a windmill, face turning red with frustration as it stayed completely still. 

"You're saying it wrong," Harry heard Hermione snap. "It's Wing-gar-diumLevi-o-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long." 

"You do it, then, if you're so clever," Ron snarled. 

"I will!" Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her cloak, flicked her wand, and said,"Wingardium Leviosa!" Her feather rose off the desk and hovered about four feet above theirheads.