In My Dreams [Draco Malfoy]

chapter twelve: the second task

INDIGO

The first thing I did on the morning after the Ball was go to Colin Crevey, ask for the pictures he had taken of us and write a letter to Mum. I told her about the First Task, making our dresses for the Yule Ball, and going with Nikolai. I purposely didn't mention, however, my dream about Voldemort killing that old man, nor the conversation I'd had with Dumbledore in the hours that followed.

The impending end of term and all of the preparation for the Ball had been an excellent distraction from it at the time. But now that it was over, I was left with little to keep me from thinking about Voldemort and what He was planning. Not to mention, how Harry had gotten into the Triwizard Tournament in the first place.

It didn't make sense. In my dream, He had been very clear in saying that He was still planning on pursuing Harry, and that He had some sort of master plan in the works, despite His feeble condition. I didn't have any proof, but I had begun to suspect that He was, in fact, involved in Harry's entry into the Tournament, that this somehow tied into his plan. And I hadn't told Mum about any of it because I didn't want her to be roped in as well.

Dreaming of a murder and asking her to give an anonymous tip to local police was one thing; dreaming of the most infamous Dark Lord of our time and asking her to harbor information that could potentially get her killed was another...

In the meantime, the week that followed the Yule Ball was quiet. The Ball had resulted in the making of numerous couples, as well as multiple broken hearts, and the awkward mix of excitement and melancholy showed. With no dresses due any time soon and a week remaining before term started up again, I, on the other hand, had little to occupy myself.

As promised, I had started lengthening the hem on all of Aria's robes the next day. And finished them that same day. Then, I finished all of my homework, and went onto embroidering bees and flowers into the butt-pockets of my jeans. Eventually, I ran out of suitable butt-pockets to embroider and settled on practicing Bulgarian with Nikolai.

Perhaps, now he understood that his company was enough for me because he had slowly begun opening up more since we had attended the Yule Ball together. He was doing more than explaining a new vocabulary word or grammar structure, he was being conversational. It was all in Bulgarian, of course, which added another level of difficulty for me to participate, but it was perfect for us to introduce more talking in a gradual manner. However he felt about me—romantically interested or not—he had become someone I wouldn't mind being with in either way.

A week later, term began again, and we started off the morning with a bang as usual.

London, Monday, January 4th, 1995

DUMBLEDORE'S GIANT MISTAKE

Albus Dumbledore, eccentric headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, has never been afraid to make controversial staff appointments, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. In September of this year, he hired Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, the notoriously jinx-happy ex-Auror, to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, a decision that caused many raised eyebrows at the Ministry of Magic, given Moody's well-known habit of attacking anybody who makes a sudden movement in his presence. Mad-Eye Moody, however, looks responsible and kindly when set beside the part-human Dumbledore employs to teach Care of Magical Creatures.

Rubeus Hagrid, who admits to being expelled from Hogwarts in his third year, has enjoyed the position of gamekeeper at the school ever since, a job secured for him by Dumbledore. Last year, however, Hagrid used his mysterious influence over the headmaster to secure the additional post of Care of Magical Creatures teacher, over the heads of many better-qualified candidates.