Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon

Chapter 1

When Godric Gryffindor was 25, he had a son. The boy was named Evan, and he was a good boy. He was brave, like his father, and he was a little slow like his father.... By ten he even looked like his father. They had the same brown hair, the same blue eyes, and the same grin. However, in all these things they shared, there was one thing Godric had that Evan did not inherit. Godric was a wizard, and Evan was not. Godric was a very great wizard, and in his body contained more magic than could be believed, and it hurt him that his son had not received any magic at birth. Evan's mother had been a great witch also, but she died delivering her only child. Godric didn't want his son to go through life branded a squib, so he was always coming up with schemes to create magic... in fact the only route he never tried was prayer to the Gods.

As I have already said, Evan and Godric were both a little foolish, though brave and kind. Evan was just as saddened about his lack of magic as his father, and in his heart of hearts, he believed there was something wrong with him and he deserved to be a squib. One day, at twelve years of age, he was strolling through a local village, by the name of Hogsmeade. As he walked through the town, he passed a group of children reenacting the fairy tale of Arthur and Gwenyfhar, Merlyn and Lancelet, and the brave Morgaine La Faye. It was an old wizard's tale of magic conquering worlds, and losing it to greed. Evan had always loved the part about the brave knight riding through the forest of danger to save the woman he loved from the dragon. He listened as the children played as the good people, and laughed as one little boy got to his knees to be the dragon, growling and snorting. Evan remembered playing such games as a child, and grinned at what came next. The dragon boy snuck up on a grimy little red- haired girl, and grabbed her by the waist. The boy was supposed to carry her as she hollered, 'Help me, Arthur! Help me!' This little girl looked shocked and frightened at being captured however, and yelled out in her lilting Irish accent,

"Mam! Mam... help me... Jemmy, help!" She quickly elbowed the dragon boy in the nose, and ran away from the children to the Forbidden Forest.

"Stupid little Red, doesn't even know the story."

"Yeah, see if we ever play with her again!"

Evan watched, horrified, as the children went back to their game with a new Gwenyfhar. He knew the dangers of the forbidden Forest, as did every child who lived around Hogsmeade, but little Red, as the others had called her, was new to Scotland, and didn't know the legend. It was said that a big mean Scottish Sickletail lived in the forest, and would eat anyone who woke it from its thousand-year rest. Evan jumped to his feet from where he had been sitting, which startled the children who hadn't seen him watching.

"Look it's squibby Evan... how's yer Daddy, ya squib!" jeered the children. Evan, who was too shocked to be really insulted, replied,

"At least I didn't send a poor girl off to the forest. You'll be lucky if I don't tell yer mothers, you ought to be ashamed." With that, he ran into the forest, heart pounding.

Evan would never tell anybody, especially not his father, but he was terrified of the dark. He walked through the forest, knees trembling, heart pounding. He was truly frightened, but he knew he had to find the little girl. He remembered the terrified look on her face, and it chilled him to the core. 'What could have frightened that girl so much that she ran into a dark forest?' he asked himself confusedly. He began to call out to her, as much to hear a human voice as to retrieve the child.

"Red! Little girl..." Evan heard a crunching from behind himself, and screamed.

"Silly boy, It's only me!" The little girl with red hair giggled.

"You scared me! What in the name of Merlin were you thinking running into this forest?" Evan gasped.

"The other kids don't like me... it made me scared when that boy came up to me... don't hate me!" she implored, with great big sad eyes.

"I don't hate you, but we should get out of the forest before..." Evan trailed off, his eyes widening in horror as he realized where they were. Evan and the little red-haired girl had walked right into the Dragon of Hogsmeade's clearing, and were trapped.

Neville stared at the ground, chewing his lip. He knew it had to be done, but it didn't make the hurt any less. Neville Longbottom was about use all the courage he had. (Which was a considerable amount, really.) Neville was going to tell Hannah Abbot that their relationship was over. He looked up quickly, and glared at Ernie, who had the good grace to look ashamed. It was all Ernie's fault, and Neville felt a sick fluttery feeling in the pit of his stomach. He walked slowly to where Hannah sat, giggling with her friends as she ate her cold cereal.

"Hannah-" he croaked, and blushed as all the girls at the Hufflepuff table turned to stare at him. "Hannah, we need to talk."

"Sure Neville, but what's wrong, you look positively sick!" Hannah exclaimed in her high pitched voice.

"Hannah, Ernie... well, Ernie says he wants to break up with you," Neville said in a great rush, hoping that if it were said quickly, it would hurt Hannah less. He didn't expect her to burst into laughter.

"Oh Neville, how on earth did Ernie rope you into this... poor Neville. Don't worry, I'm not angry, I just wish you wouldn't let other people push you around so... ooh, the nerve of that Macmillan... just you wait until I get my hands on him!" Hannah exclaimed, and jumped to her feet, her considerable... her considerable frame swaying. Neville blushed again, and went back to the Gryffindor table, the sick feeling still making his stomach hurt. Ginny was sitting there, a concerned look on her face.

"Neville, what were you doing at the Hufflepuff table? Are you alright?" Ginny looked fondly at her closest companion. It was the second day of term, and already someone had put Neville into a position that as a generous and kind person, he felt he couldn't extricate himself from. Ginny and Colin Creevey, the third of their trio, usually made it their business to save him from such moments of chivalry. Ginny, Colin and Neville had become the new troublemakers of Hogwarts, much to the pride of the twins, and the chagrin of Neville. Ginny had a head for mischief; Colin had the wits to make it flow, and poor Neville was the one who managed to save the two from certain expulsion. With his innocent demeanor and his gentle attitude, Neville could make even Minerva McGonagall take pity.

"With that face, he would have been a great muggle barrister." She was often heard muttering after doling out the trio's semi-weekly punishments.

Ginny grinned at Neville's obvious discomfort, and was about to make a joke, when a sneering voice said from behind her,

"Well, well, what do we have here, Nott? The weaselette, the squib, and the queer. What a group!" Draco Malfoy laughed at his own witticism, and Theodore Nott smirked weakly from his right. To the other side stood Blaise Zabini, graceful as a panther, a serious expression on his face.

"Now, Draco, don't be so rough on Creevey, You know that he can't help himself. With attractive blokes like us around, it's enough to turn any Gryffindor gay, if they weren't already!" Blaise grinned at Colin. Blaise had always been on neutral terms with the trio, to Draco's utter disgust, but at moments like these, Blaise could never contain his frequently too-sharp tongue. He was a nice guy, but had a streak of smartass a mile wide.

"Go get stuffed, the lot of you." Ginny said coldly. "We don't need your type around."

"And what type would that be, Weasley?" Draco said in an equally frigid tone.

"Death Eater training camp takes place about now, shouldn't you be there? I mean, you wouldn't want to disappoint your Father, now would you?" She inquired in a placid tone. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes glowing.

"You damned-" Draco's words were cut short as Harry, Ron and Hermione stood up and glared at him. "Well, I don't know why I even bother trying to help such unfortunates as you lot. I declare, you would think muggle bait such as this would appreciate their good fortune in being graced with my presence," he drawled, and swept away with flourish. Harry and Hermione sat, but Ron continued to stand until Draco and his crew was back at the Slytherin table.

"Ginny, stop trying to get in trouble! I swear, you want to get thrown out!" Ron cried in an exasperated tone. Since Fred and George's brilliant escape the previous year, Ginny had been in trouble nearly as much as the twins would have themselves. Ron was tired of the lectures he had frequently garnered from his Mother over the summer break. Ginny glared up at him, and looked about to make a reply, when Hermione spoke up quietly from her seat at the table.

"That was odd... I swear, as soon as we three come around, he leaves all quickly... It's like this year he has no desire to provoke us."

"His face provokes me," Ron muttered, but he sat down after that, and Harry, Ron and Hermione quickly began a deep discussion in their own little world, as Ginny was wont to think of it.

"I wonder what that was all about," Ginny said, and shortly thereafter, went to the Ravenclaw table to have a discussion with Luna, leaving Colin and Neville to themselves.

"I know he's a total arse, but that Malfoy sure is attractive," Colin murmured quietly to Neville. Colin wasn't completely out of the closet, but Ginny and Neville knew his secret. Neville blushed and turned back to his food with a glowing face.

"Damn him!" Draco growled to his friends. "I hate him and I will until the day I die, but I can't even say anything anymore!" Draco had been given orders from his mother at the start of the term. He was not to so much as speak to Harry Potter, Ron Weasley or Hermione Granger, or face the wrath of Lucius upon his return from Azkaban. Draco had decided that it was wise to listen to his mother, but it irritated him to no end to see the three sitting quietly with no rebukes from anyone for anything. Draco had taken to hanging about with Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini over the holidays, and now vented quietly to them about his disgust with Harry, Gryffindors in general and the world as it was. Theo, as his friends knew him, nodded quietly. He wasn't ever known to say much as it was since his fathers capture, but he knew never to interrupt Draco in one of his tirades. Blaise, however, lived to see the pale pointy face flush in frustration, and provoked Draco as often as he could. This time however, he sat quietly, his attention tuned to his best friend, Millicent Bulstrode.

Millicent was a heavy-set girl with thick black hair and amazing blue eyes. She was often thought to be trollishly stupid, but was actually very clever, along the lines of Crabbe and Goyle. All three were quite cunning, and knew that at times being assumed unintelligent could be a blessing. Blaise, who also had black hair (although his was very curly) and vibrant blue eyes, was commonly assumed to be her younger brother. He was very slender, and quick to smile. Millicent never smiled.

At the present, the two were deeply involved in a conversation about Millie's chances of dating certain Slytherin boys. It was decided that she could quite easily have a go with Theo Nott if it weren't for his dating Daphne Greengrass, Vic Crabbe if he weren't in love with Goyle, and Greg Goyle if it weren't for the fact that he was thick when it came to girls. They joked that he was almost as thick as Weasley, who had the mudblood practically drooling over him at all times and still was single. It was also decided that she didn't want to have a go with others in Slytherin at any rate. Most had girlfriends, or were decidedly too concerned with their own affairs to be interesting. The conversation soon turned to other houses, and Theo, who was tired of listening to Draco, joined in. After a few moments, Draco lost his steam, as they all knew he would, and sat quietly listening to the conversation. It was well known throughout the Slytherin Common Room that Blaise was on a mission to get Millie a boyfriend. Most veered away from the four when Blaise had that look in his eye, the "love look". Blaise was a flirt, and had dated most of the girls in his year, and the two years following. He was also a school renowned matchmaker, and nobody wanted to be dragged into that sort of situation.

"Alright, Hufflepuffs. Who out of that lot?" Theo asked.

"Not a lot to go with there... Macmillan is a git, and nobody else even as a semblance of date-ability," Blaise said decisively. "Ravenclaws?" He queried in a caustic tone. Everyone knew that Blaise had had a bad go with the Ravenclaw ladies, as most had spent the duration of their relationships with Blaise trying to psychoanalyze his apparent "need for love".

"Well, I would consider a go with-" Millie was cut off abruptly by Draco who said in a smirking tone;

"What about the Gryffindors? Eh, Millie? I know you had that thing for Dean Thomas while Weaselette was dating him over the holiday." Draco loved to tease Millicent over her crush on the usually oblivious Gryffindors. He called it her "need to save the deaf, dumb, and terminally stupid" syndrome.

"Well, I'd shag Ron Weasley until he couldn't walk, I'd love to take Finnegan out for a week and teach him what real Irish girls are like, and I'd make Thomas draw me nude like he did after the Yule Ball two years ago," Millie said in a conversational tone.

"Gods, I'd forgotten about the Yule Ball... it was you who had spiked the punch, right Theo?" Blaise gasped in laughter, tears streaming down his cheeks. "I remember his face the next morning when he woke up with a hangover on the common room floor... he begged to be able to sell those drawings. Do you still have those Millie?"

"Actually, it was Snape who spiked the punch, and no, Daphne told me Draco had bought those pictures off Millie," Theo said, with a smirking look at Draco. He knew Draco had done no such thing, but since Millie had said Weasley's name, Draco had been muttering under his breath. Then, to break the rising tension, he said, "What about Potter? I hear he's hung like a..." Draco's snorting, Blaise's sputtering and Millie's interested look were all the reward Theo needed. Sometimes it paid to be the nice one.