Heart Of A Dragon

Heart of a dragon

Chapter 1 - Red-as-fire

Sitting on the last compartment of the train were Ron, Hermione, and Harry. Hermione, who sat by the window, had a sleepy look about her. As for Ron- his left eye was half closed; but with Harry, it was another matter - he was asleep as soon as they took their seats on the train!

The Hogwarts Express led the way, passing through the many dales and valleys, through the mountains, through green fields and fields not so green. It passed with such lightness as if it made no effort. Already few hours gone by, before the three had boarded the train. Time did seem to go quicker!

Another two hours have passed, and when it darkened outside, the calls of the prefects sounded that it was almost time to the arrival.

"Almost there," yawned Ron. His eyes were wide-awake, following the dark outlines of trees outside his window.

Harry stretched and rubbed his eyes. "That was fast." Hermione, who seemed like she had fallen into deep sleep, opened half an eyelid.

A prefect's voice sounded again. "Get ready, everyone; we only have quarter of an hour left to go! Put on your robes as fast as you can, chop chop!"

"I hate when they do that," sulked Ron as he began rummaging through his belonging, hoping to find his robes. "They always think they are the kings and queens of the herd, don't they?"

Hermione didn't reply. In less then a few seconds, she had dug out a neat pile of the Hogwarts uniform while Harry weakly searched for his.

By the time the threesome were all dressed up in their Hogwarts uniforms, the train had halted to a stop. The skies were sullen, enveloped by darkness. It was so gloomy that neither Ron, Hermione nor Harry could see each other as they stepped out of the train. From farther away, a single light glowed - Hagrid's glass lamp. Harry recognized it straight away, for he remembered that in his first year, also, Hagrid had welcomed the first years and that same lamp glowed in his hand. Now he was in fifth year- it was a different matter.

After spending a while in the cold breeze and the darkness, the threesome was relieved to finally reach the castle. It was a different feeling- something of welcoming warmness- when they entered Hogwarts. Harry felt it, and he was sure the others did too, but there were no words to describe it.

"Through here please, first years," the sharp restricted tone of Professor McGonagall sounded in the distance. Harry, Ron and Hermione stopped to take a glimpse at the first years, who moved about in a scurried manner. Some of them looked so scarred, that they clung on to the others, not letting them go.

"They do look nervous, poor things, It reminds me how I felt when I first saw this illustrious place of-" pointed out Hermione.

"We don't want to know, Hermione. I will never forget that Fluffy," shuddered Ron.

"Come on, fifth years! We can not be late for the Sorting Hat in the Great Hall!" called out one of the prefects. He had black spiked hair and emerald eyes.

The hall was magnificent that night with the unpredictable ever-changing ceilings and candles hanging in mid-air. This time, they could see a colour of violet and black intermingled with the yellow of the candles. The walls, too, were decorated with glowing ribbons and sparkly little stars.

As Harry and his friends took a sit at the Gryffindor table, Harry's eyes automatically scanned the staff table- where the teachers sat upfront. Professor Sprout, alongside Professor Trelawney, Professor Flitwick, Rubeus Hagrid, Professor Dumbledore, a new teacher Harry did not recognize, and a very grubby looking Professor Snape, were all waiting for the commencement of the ceremony. All the students in the hall whispered amongst themselves as the first years, directed by McGonagall, straightened up in a line.

"As I call your names, take your place on the stool and put the Sorting Hat on your head," She said in her usual stern tone.

When Professor McGonagall read out the first name on the list, a girl with brown curly hair stepped forward, looking very scared indeed. After sorting her into Hufflepuff, the next first-year stepped forward and the next.

Watching the ceremony, Ron started to feel bored and quite hungry- after sleeping throughout the day, with no food in between. Harry too felt his stomach grumble aggressively and started to groan, but Hermione didn't complain. She looked rather interested and counted her fingers each time a new first-year joined Gryffindor.

So it went, until the last boy was asked to come forward. From where Harry was sitting, he could only see one side of his face, because his black shoulder-length straight hair blocked the other side. He had pale white skin, bony cheekbones, and a slightly hawk-like nose. From far away, Harry could see one of his eyes - concentrated, cold. He knew where this boy was going.

"Selznick, Vlad!" McGonagall called from the list. "Take your sit please, and put the Sorting Hat on your head." The boy did so. The hat suddenly came to life, looking rather thoughtful.

"Mmm, interesting indeed. Quite unusual- I can see great talent, cleverness, power, and something else...now, where shall I put you? Difficult decision, I worry I might be wrong; no. I will be right, I am always right. The house makes the wizard, although the trouble is, I cannot find the right house for you. Where should you be? Hmm. Lets see, lets see..."

Harry was going to die with starvation. If the Hat didn't make its decision soon, Harry didn't know what he'd do. His prayers must have been heard, because soon after, a loud applause sounded and the first-year made his way to his house. Harry wanted to see which house he got into, and his mouth dropped open when he saw the boy nearing the Gryffindor one.

"No, can't be," he murmured in such a way that both Ron and Hermione looked curiously at him.

"What are you talking about, Harry? Do you know that boy?" said Hermione, a rather surprised but curious look crossing her face.

"I thought..." Harry wanted to say, but his eyes distracted his thoughts as he saw the boy taking his sit in the far end of the table with a few of the first years.

"What in the Muggle world's wrong with you, Harry? Honestly, just because he's a bit funny looking-" Ron began.

"Shut up, Ron," Hermione snapped. "Harry, you aren't making any sense."

Harry shook his head. "It's stupid really. I just thought that he was one of them," and his head nodded to the Slytherin table.

"Oh," said Ron, but for a moment, he looked confused. Harry still looked to the far end of the table.

"Didn't you say you are starving, Harry?" inquired Hermione, already tucking in to her vegetable pie.

"Yum! Finally what I've been looking forward to the whole day," cried Ron excitedly and licked his lips. Before them, hundreds of dishes piled next each other - teasing them with the nice aroma. There were jugs full of pumpkin juice, plates of chicken, beef, pork and lamb, sausages, vegetables, a rice dish, mashed potatoes with gravy and a strange looking drink with different colours of the rainbow.

"Huh?" Harry asked and came back to focus when he saw Hermione eating.

"Are you okay, Harry?" called Hermione, seeing that Harry was still looking far away from this world.

"Sorry. I just got lost in thought."

"Where did you go? To visit an unknown girl, perhaps?" chuckled Ron.

"Not in your dreams, I must say," replied Harry and struck Ron with a piece of bread.

"Ron! Harry! Do you want to get us all into trouble on our first day back?" Hermione called angrily. Her face flushed pink. Both Ron and Harry began piling up their plates.

"Honestly," Hermione crossed her arms reminding Harry of the ever-strict Professor McGonagall. "Both of you act like children. You ought to remember you are in your fifth year now," she said disapprovingly.

"Sorry, Professor Granger," mocked Ron.

After Ron and Hermione tucked gaily into the delicious food, looking happier than ever, Harry suddenly did not feel so hungry. A shudder ran through his spine as he looked to the end of the table where the first-years sat and all the time he couldn't help but wonder if the hat had made a mistake. Something was wrong - very wrong.

"Have you noticed that new boy?" Draco smirked, accenting the word 'new' as if it was a curse. Both Goyle and Crabbe starred gawkily at him.

"What's his name, again, Vlad Sleaze, is it?" Draco sneered. Goyle kept starring but Crabbe had already started laughing trollishly. Draco, frustrated, knocked on Goyle's forehead. "Anybody home? Gosh, if you'd have been any slower, you'd have grown backwards!" Crabbe smirked.

"Funny," chuckled Goyle. Draco wasn't sure whether he laughed at the way Crabbe smirked of whether he found Draco funny.

"What am I doing? I don't know why I have you two as my friends. I can't even have a civilized conversation." Draco snapped angrily and leaned forward to call another Slytherin. He wanted to ask Pansy Parkinson, for he too felt that there'd been a horrible mistake.

After dinner, Ron, Hermione and Harry all made their way out of the hall, barely dragging themselves along. They were so tired and full that they could hardly talk, so they walked back in silence.

On the way though, Harry turned his head to see how the first-years were doing, when he spotted the boy- Vlad- again. Vlad noticed him, too, and both looked at one another with horror and confusion. (The horror look came from Harry). Harry turned away quickly and his face- a few minutes ago flushed and pink- now looked as though he saw a ghost.

"I wonder if the Fat Lady is still ours." Ron asked suddenly. "She is so annoying, always having mood swings. It'd be good to have change for once. I'm sick of hearing that croaky voice of hers. Honestly, maybe there's something wrong with her voice". Hermione smiled when they came to the portrait hole.

"No, same one."

"Password?" croaked the Lady, who just woke up from a quiet nap. She did look rather annoyed.

"Slime ball!" uttered Hermione in the same croaky manner. Ron almost burst out laughing. The portrait gave a small growl and opened; she didn't like being mocked. Before Hermione left them to the girls' dormitory, she noticed the sudden pale look on Harry's face.

"Harry, you look like you've seen a ghost!"

"I think I saw something worse than that," he whispered. Harry's voice sounded shaky.

"Are you ok, Harry? You really seem out of it this evening," cried Ron looking just as concerned as Hermione, but less alarmed.

"I don't know. Forget it," he said and waved his hand.

"Okay, well, I am off, so goodnight to both of you and I'll see you for our first class tomorrow," called Hermione. But before she turned away, "Don't get yourself into trouble on our first night, you two. I want to finish my fifth year." And quickly she walked away.

When Ron and Harry reached their dormitory, each sitting on their usual four -poster bed, Ron whispered, "Do you think Hermione's becoming ever more similar to Professor McGonagall? It's really starting to bug me". Then he noticed the panic-stricken look on Harry's face. "What's up, Harry?"

"I don't know Ron. I just saw that boy - Vlad- and something about him horrified me."

Ron could only boggle. "A first year dismays you? Since when have you become horrified of a first-year- a joke, right? If it was a boggart turning into You-Know-Who, I'd understand, but a first year?"

Harry looked angry now. "I am not a wimp like you think, but how would you react if you'd seen a boy with red eyes?"

Ron swallowed hard. "Well...that's a different matter," he murmured and a guilty look crossed his face. "You sure you saw a boy with...with red eyes?"

"Positive," Harry exclaimed, and he sure looked like he meant it.

Ron had that look that said you-are-going-loony-Harry on his face.

"Ron, believe me alright, I saw it with my own eyes, and I was walking not far away from where he was sitting. I know what I saw!"

"So...how did his eyes look like exactly?" Ron looked disbelieving.

"Kind of scarlet, but it looked like there were two small flames dancing, where there should have been pupils." Harry's lips shock. Ron looked slighter paler too.

"Wicked! A boy with fire eyes - a devil in a child form, perhaps?" Ron grinned but it was quickly wiped from his lips at the site of anger in Harry's face.

"I just don't understand one thing; why no one else saw what I saw. If his eyes were truly that colour, wouldn't it be easily to spot, Ron?"

"I don't know...but I am glad I am not the one who saw it, and frankly, I don't think I'd like to either. I am getting goose bumps already," Ron said. "Better go to sleep, Harry. It will be better in the morning," and off he hopped to bed.

Could it have been possible that Harry saw what he thought he saw? Before he considered of thinking up some solution to the mystery, the sleep engulfed him and he drifted off until not even red-as-fire eyes could distract him.