Drarry One Shots

2. Once upon a Time...

Harry knew he had been ignoring the obvious about the identity of the dragon. Mostly because he did not want to face that Draco, yet again, was facing more trauma through no fault of his own, but because others were projecting their ideas upon him and turning him into the villain that he really was not. Once more, he was trapped, this time quite literally.

Still, he needed to be certain.

He found all the ghosts in the Great Hall; it seemed that they liked to hang around there and lament the loss of the staff and students without doing anything about it. They looked at him wide-eyed as he pushed open the doors. Especially as Nula appeared and clambered up onto his shoulder again.

He announced to the expectant listeners. 'Can you rally together and find out if any students or teachers are missing from their beds? I know where Luna is. There's obviously me. Romilda Vane isn't in her own bed, so we actually need to locate her. And we need to ensure everyone else is where they should be. Pobby is caring for everyone, but I'm not sure if he knows who should be where, especially as not everyone came back after the war.' He frowned. 'I'll try to find a student register.'

'A good idea,' boomed the Bloody Baron.

The Fat Friar said, 'Minerva keeps the register in her office. I can show you where.'

'But how will we tick off the students from the list,' said Helena, 'when you can only enter the Gryffindor common room?'

Harry smiled. 'You only need to tell me which beds are empty in which year, then I can work out who is missing.'

'How?'

'Leave that one with me. We need the registers.'

There was a problem. They couldn't get past the Griffin. The Griffin was stoic in his immovability without a password.

'We're non-corporeal; we can get in,' suggested Professor Binns.

'And how do you intend to pick up the registers and bring them to me. You never took a register in class. You never used a textbook.'

He frowned beneath his bushy eyebrows.

'Why don't you fly, Harry Potter?' said Nula.

'Or,' he said, far too sensibly, 'why don't we ask Pobby. I'll meet you in the Great Hall as soon as you've checked the dormitories.'

He summoned the House Elf, who immediately disappeared to retrieve the school register for the year starting September 1998.

He raced up to his tower and dug out the Marauder's Map. Then he headed back to the Great Hall and spread the Map out on a table. Pobby appeared beside him and reverently handed him the book.

'Pobby,' he asked the House Elf. 'Why didn't you fall asleep with everyone else?'

'Pobby is being busy on an errand for Headmistress McGonagall and away overnight buying special cheese in Holland. Pobby is coming back and finding everyone asleep, and then the big thorn hedge is growing very quickly and Pobby is not able to escape to get help.'

Harry nodded. 'I think the Enchantress made a potion and put it in the food, maybe the water. What have you been eating?'

'Pobby is suspecting the food too, so Pobby is researching how to test the breakfast food. It is being in the bacon, the cereal, milk, bread, and butter. And the pumpkin juice, tea, and coffee were all bad. Everything that everyone might eat. Pobby is only eating the cheese and looking after everyone. Pobby is hoping the Headmistress McGonagall is not being angry with Pobby for eating her cheese.'

'I'm sure she won't be because you're very clever to guess so quickly.

'Thank you, Master Harry. But Pobby is not clever. Pobby did not check the water because Pobby is only drinking ginger ale from bottles because it is Poppy's favourite and no one is telling Pobby not to. Pobby will check the water tanks now. But what is Master Harry doing if the potion is in the water tanks?'