Fortune's Fool

Fortune's Fool

Chapter One

Neither Draco nor Harry went home for the summer vacation of their sixth year of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the slightest of a happy mood. The two had, as they had on many occasions prior, gotten into argument. But this time, instead of ending in their usual verbal battle, they had begun to fistfight and ended up in a duel. They had been in duels before, and usually they only threw the most embarrassing but particularly harmless spells at one another. They had gone further this time, much further. They had dropped the bomb into the volcano. They blew up the Potions lab.

This had set off a chain reaction throughout the emotions of the Hogwarts professors, beginning with Snape. While most of the other professors were merely shocked and disgusted with the two sixteen-year-olds' behavior, Snape was in a complete fury. He had stumbled into his ruined lab amidst the dust and broken glass, shocked at the scene that surrounded him. Then his eyes fell upon Draco and Harry. He was even more enraged to see that his favorite student had been directly involved in the destruction of his potions lab. He was ready to tear both of their heads off, but was restrained from doing so by McGonagall and Dumbledore.

Dumbledore had led the boys out of the dungeon classroom, ignoring Snape's furious yells, and to his office where he sat down and listened to each of their storied, separately; he had tried to listen to them with them both in the room at the same time, but he had only achieved another yelling match between the boys that threatened to accumulate into an encore performance. After hearing their stories and sending them off to their dorms and into confinement, prohibiting them from leaving their dorms for any reason under the sun and commanding that their meals be brought up to them, he found himself agreeing with the other professors that Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy were completely and totally incompatible.

Now he sat behind his desk pondering their punishment. It had been three days since the fight and Snape had cooled off a bit, but there was only a week left in the term. He had to think of some punishment that would be so horrid that Draco and Harry would end their eternal strife once and for all. But what to do? Dumbledore felt a weight on his knee that caused him to look up. Fawkes had flown down off his perch and had nestled himself on Dumbledore's knee. The beautiful bird slanted it reddish-gold head upwards and looked his master in his sapphire-blue eyes and giving him an inquiring look.

Dumbledore smiled down at his pet. "I know what you must be thinking," he said softly to the phoenix, stroking its fiery plumage. "The same as me? What am I going to do with those two? What can be done?" Fawkes made a strange noise that sounded like the air being let out of a bagpipe. Dumbledore smiled. "I wish I knew the answers to my questions. But, then, if I did, I would not be asking them if I did, now would I?"

"Most certainly not," said a quiet voice from the door. Dumbledore looked up to see Snape leaning against the doorframe, his arms folded over his chest. He had a pouting look on his face, much like the one Dumbledore was used to seeing when Snape was a student. There was only one difference, beside the fact that he was older and defiantly not a student anymore. That difference was that, when he was still a boy, he had only had that pouting, angry face when he had been beaten up by Sirius Black and his pout was usually accompanied by several bruises and scratches.

"There must be some terrible punishment that you could inflict upon them," Snape said, sauntering into the office and sitting down in a chair opposite Dumbledore.

"I'm open to suggestions, Severus," Dumbledore said.

The edges of Snape's mouth twitched. Dumbledore was relieved to se the faint ghost of his smile. His eyes were shadowed with fatigue and his eyelids were beginning to droop, making him look as if he weren't sober. He had been rummaging through the piles of rubble in his lab as he looked for potion ingredients that may have survived the blast of the colliding spells that Draco and Harry had sent at each other and a place to start cleaning up. "Why don't you chain them together and not let them apart until they end their fighting?" he suggested.

Dumbledore shook his head. "No, they need to work together, not just sit there pouting about being stuck with one another everywhere they go. It probably wouldn't work."

"You could go medieval on them!" Snape sounded hopeful. "You could hang them from the ceiling by their thumbnails! Or- or you could chain them up in a damp, rat infested dungeon and hope that the bubonic plague starts up again!"

"Severus, would you really want a plague to start up just because two boys can't stop fighting?"

Snape said nothing for a moment. He sat deep in thought, and then shook his head. "No." He sat silent for another moment, which he drew out longer than his first pause, and then he continued. "What if we stretch them out on a rock and tied them down with strips of wet leather, then whip them, then flick vinegar and lemon juice on them, then burn them just enough so that their skin is raw, then more lemon--"

"Severus!" Dumbledore exclaimed. "Don't you think that that is a bit far-fetched? Besides, would you really want to do that to Draco? Harry, I can understand. You've made it quite eminent over the past few years that you hold a great disliking for him, but Draco?"

Snape nodded. "You're right, as always." He hung his head, and then rested it on his fist. "But, you must admit, it would be fun, wouldn't it?"

Dumbledore smiled softly in amusement. "You've got a strange sense of humor," he laughed. 'Any others, less gruesome, I hope?"

Snape nodded. "There's always the Muggle way," he said.

Dumbledore cocked an eyebrow. "Hmm?"

"What is it they call it?" Snape mused, drumming his fingers on the desk. "Oh yeah! Boo kimp!"

"Boot camp, Severus," Dumbledore corrected, thoughtlessly, then, "Boot camp, Severus?" Snape nodded. "Severus, that's it! You're a genius!" he cried, jumping up and throwing his arms out. A startled Fawkes let out a cry and flew off Dumbledore's knee and back to his perch.

"I am?" Snape asked, startled as well. "I mean, of course I am!" he corrected himself, getting a scoff from Dumbledore.

"Severus, I want you to go to their dorms and summon them to my office. I'm going to go and make a couple house calls," he said happily. Snape gave him a questioning look when he said 'house calls'. "I need to get some papers and permission from their guardians to ship them overseas," he added, answering Snape's silent question.

Snape nodded and stood up. He bowed slightly in respect and then hurried out of the office. Dumbledore stood up, patted Fawkes on the head, who pecked his hand for startling him like that, and grabbed his traveling cloak. He took a deep breath and, feeling as if he had suddenly stumbled upon the answers to the universe, hurried out of his office as well to gather his supplies.

*****

Draco impatiently laid sprawled on his dorm room floor and staring at the ceiling. He was bored. He hated being cooped up in one place like this for so long, especially with nothing to do. Outside, he could hear the voices of his fellow students chatting and shouting and laughing. If ever he wanted to join them, it was now. Usually, he wouldn't have dreamed of joining his peers unless in class, but now, he was just so bored. He turned over onto his stomach and started to kick his legs in the air. He rested his head on his arms, not bothering to push his silvery-blonde hair out of his eyes when it fell.

I wonder what they're going to do...he thought glumly. What if they expel us? Oh no...Draco closed his eyes. He could feel himself trembling. Just the thought of being expelled brought terrible images to his mind and angry voices to his ears. He desperately shook them from his head. No. I won't think of that. I won't let fear control me...I won't...But it was no use. He was shaking and couldn't get the angry voice out of his head. Suddenly, he was jerked back to reality by the sound of the door swinging open. Draco's head jerked upward and he caught sight of Snape. He let out a sigh. The voices and images were gone and the shaking had stopped.

"We're ready for you," Snape said. Draco felt his heart drop. Oh no... Snape beckoned for him to get up, and he obeyed, rising to his feet and silently following Snape out of the room and down the stairs to the Slytherin Common Room. It was a long, low underground room with greenish lights hanging from chains and a load of high-backed chairs. Draco was glad to see it was empty. He didn't want people to see him being led off to his doom, as he was beginning to think of it as. He hated when people talked about him behind his back, which he knew was going on outside without having to hear of it. He followed Snape out of the Common Room and through the halls. He wanted desperately to ask where they were going, as he didn't recognize any of the corridors that they were now passing through. All he knew was that they were not headed for Dumbledore's office.

Snape finally stopped in front of a portrait of a fat lady in a pink dress. She narrowed her eyes at him, and then said in a monotone voice, "Password?"

"Norwegian Ridgeback," Snape said. The fat lady nodded and the portrait swung open to reveal a hole in the wall. Draco didn't need to be told where he was now. Snape beckoned him to follow him into the Gryffindor Tower as he stepped trough the hole. Draco hesitated for a moment, not wanting to be seen in the Gryffindor Common Room by anyone, and then stepped through the hole.

*****

Harry sat in his dorm with Hermione and Ron. Even though they were told to leave him alone, they just couldn't do that to their best friend. The three sat around in a circle on the dorm room floor playing Exploding Snap and talking happily. Harry was glad that Hermione and Ron were around; it kept his mind off the possibilities of the punishments that could be dealt out by Dumbledore.

They heard the knob on the door turn and all three of their heads snapped up as the door opened and Snape and Draco stepped into the room. Harry groaned and turned his gaze away from Draco. He never could stand him, but now, he felt it even harder to resist the urge to punch his Slytherin rival in the face. Ron and Hermione stood up and backed out of Snape's way. Snape narrowed his eyes at them, but didn't tell them off for being in the room with Harry; instead, he paid very little attention to them. He was grinning at Harry. "We're ready for you. Come with me." He spun around and beckoned Harry to follow him and Draco. Harry glanced back at Ron and Hermione, almost pleading for them to help him out, but there was nothing they could do beside give him encouraging nods and a thumbs up.

Snape closed the door after them. Ron and Hermione exchanged worried glances. "I don't like the look he was giving Harry," Ron said.

Hermione nodded in agreement. "I just wish we could go with Harry," she said almost wistfully. "For emotional support," she added at the questioning look Ron gave her.

Ron nodded. "Me, too."

*****

Draco waited patiently, although not calmly, across the office from Harry, leaning against the wall with his arms folded over his chest, his head down and his silvery hair hanging down and covering his face. Harry, on the other hand, was not so patient. He sat in a chair beside Dumbledore's desk, squirming nervously and causing the chair to squeak annoyingly. Snape had hurried out of the office to fetch Dumbledore just after they arrived. He only stayed long enough to tell them not to fight or else. Draco felt extremely uneasy because of the incredibly cheerful look on Snape's face as he left. What ever could make him so happy was definitely not a good sign.

Draco frowned. The room was unnervingly silent. In fact, the only sounds in the room were the squeaking of Harry's chair and the soft tick-tock of the clock on the wall behind Dumbledore's desk. Draco squeezed his eyes shut to try to calm himself by shutting the world out, as he had often done as a child, and take himself to a riverside hut surrounded by tall grass and wildflowers and a few scattered trees.

It didn't work.

Draco opened his eyes slowly and reluctantly, swearing softly to himself. After another few minutes of silence, Draco tried the next best thing to keep himself from sliding into panic. He started humming the tune of "Beethoven's 05^th Symphony".

"Will you stop that?" Harry snapped a few minutes later. "There's nothing to be singing about! We'll probably be expelled!"

Draco stopped and growled angrily at Harry. "Will you just lighten up? Some of us don't want to think of that!"

"I don't want to think about it, either, but face it! Look at the dilemma we're in!" Harry said hotly.

"You know," Draco said sourly, "if it weren't for you, we wouldn't even be in this mess!"

"Because of me?" Harry asked, his voice rising with anger. "You started it all! This is your fault! Just because you had to attack me!"

"My fault?" Draco said with surprise, his voice rising as well. "My fault?! I would have never even attacked you if you hadn't tried to hex me!"

"I wouldn't have tried to hex you if you had just kept your big mouth shut!"

"You started the argument in the first place!"

"I did not!" Harry jumped up from his seat and was now standing face to face with Draco.

"You did, too! Admit it!"

"I have nothing to admit! I didn't start this mess! You did!"

Draco growled at Harry, narrowing his eyes in fury. After a moment, his face went back behind its calm mask and he stepped away from Harry. "I don't have time for another argument with you." He turned his back on Harry and walked back to the wall he had previously been leaning on and went back to his original position. Harry said nothing back and, muttering something that Draco couldn't make out, sat back down.

The room fell back into its eerie silence. Draco frowned. He started humming again.

*****

Dumbledore arrived at the Dursley's house and knocked on the door. He had quickly changed before he left Hogwarts and was now wearing a gray, pinstriped suit and a gray hat. He had left his heeled belt-buckle boots on, though, for he never wore anything but them and refused to. He tapped his foot and hummed a happy little tune as he waited for the door to be answered. No one came. Growing impatient, Dumbledore stopped humming and knocked on the door again. "Hello! Is anyone home?" he called.

No one answered.

Dumbledore rang the doorbell and called out again. Finally, the door swung slowly open. An angry, yet frightened, Vernon Dursley stood in the doorway. "May I help you, sir?" he asked, a bit reluctantly.

Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling as the often did. "Yes, Mr. Dursley. You can," he said cheerfully. "You see, I'm here to talk to you about your nephew, Harry Potter."

"I know who my nephew is," Vernon snapped irritably, ushering Dumbledore into his house, looking around wildly to make sure that no one had seen him. Vernon led him into the living room and let him sit down, a scowl on his face. His eyes flashed down Dumbledore, taking in the ordinary gray suit and the belt-buckle boots in disgust. "What about him?"

Dumbledore's smile flickered. Maybe McGonagall had been right about what she had said about the Dursley's fifteen years before. "Yes, about Harry," Dumbledore started. "You see, we've had a bit of trouble with him and another student this year."

"So," Vernon sneered, sitting down in an armchair opposite from Dumbledore, "you're finally throwing him out?"

"Um... no," Dumbledore frowned. "In fact, we only wish to try and get the two boys to... stop fighting," he finished. He had almost said 'become friends', but he knew that that was only wishful thinking. He doubted greatly that Harry and Draco would ever even tolerate each other.

"And what does this have to do with me?" Vernon asked.

"Well, we wish to send them off for the summer to a boot camp," Dumbledore said.

At this, Vernon burst into laughter. "Boot camp!?" he bellowed. "Oh, how rich!"

"What's so funny?" Dumbledore asked.

Vernon's laughter died down. He cleared his throat, but a smile still lingered on his lips. "It's just, I never thought you... wizards would use our methods of punishment."

"It was the best idea we could think of," Dumbledore explained.

"Does this mean that my nephew won't be coming home this summer?" Vernon asked, his tone hopeful.

Dumbledore shook his head, causing Vernon's smile to evaporate. "We can't send them off until the third week of summer vacation and he will be coming home with two weeks left before the next term begins."

"Oh," Vernon said. "Well, at least he'll be gone most of the summer."

Dumbledore didn't comment on this, only pulled out a few sheets of paper. "I'll need you to sign these forms. We need your permission to send them."

Vernon eyed the forms as if he were being asked to sign the Devil's book. After a few moments, he picked a pen out of a cup on a desk next to the window and pulled the forms towards him. He scanned them, checking for small print, as if there were some catch to getting rid of his least favorite, and only, nephew. Finally, he placed the papers down onto the tabled before him and quickly signed the forms. He handed them back to Dumbledore and stood up. "I believe that you will be leaving now?"

Dumbledore nodded, folding the paper twice and tucking them into and inner pocket in his jacket. He stood up, dipped his head in a respectful bow and bid Vernon Dursley good day before Apparating to the Malfoy Manor.

*****

Lucius Malfoy sat in the drawing room of the Malfoy Manor in a fancy, high-backed chair across an elaborately carved coffee table from Cornelius Fudge. Fudge had a smile on his face as he sipped his green tea from a blue china teacup. He glanced up at Lucius, who was watching him contentedly over his own teacup. "Lucius, I must say. You've out done yourself!" Fudge said cheerfully. "Ten thousand galleons, Lucius! Ten thousand! The researchers at St. Mungo's will be calling you a saint!"

Lucius waved a dismissive hand at Fudge. "You flatter me, Cornelius, and I must say, it was nothing." A smile crept onto Lucius' face. "My heart goes out to those poor souls whom have been subjected to such... unspeakable curses," he said, a tint of fake sorrow and concern in his voice. "And with no proper counter curses to cure them."

"Yes, yes! Of course!" said Fudge. Lucius frowned. Fudge's cheerful tone was starting to grate his nerves. Luckily, Fudge didn't notice his annoyed look. "Now, if I could talk to you about, possible, funding--"

Fudge didn't finish his sentence, for just at that moment, a French maid came into the room and curtsied. "Sirs, please pardon my intrusion. Master, Mr. Albus Dumbledore is 'ere and wishes to speak with you," she said.

Lucius frowned and narrowed his eyes, but nodded. "Bring him in, Mandoline," Lucius said sourly. Mandoline nodded and hurried out of the room. She was back only half a minute later, leading Dumbledore in proudly. Dumbledore now wore a gleaming scarlet robe, cloak and pointed hat. Mandoline took Dumbledore's cloak and hat, bowed and hurried out of the room once more.

Fudge's face lit up when he saw Dumbledore. "Albus! What a pleasant surprise!" he said, he voice still cheerful. "What in heaven's name brings you here?"

Dumbledore returned Fudge's smile warmly. "I'm here to speak with Master Malfoy," he said, turning towards Lucius, who was now standing with one hand resting on the back of his chair. "I'm sorry to intrude, Mr. Malfoy. May I speak with you in private?"

Lucius raised an eyebrow in curiosity and nodded. He turned to Fudge and inclined his head in respect. "Please excuse us Cornelius."

Fudge nodded. "I'd best be off, anyway. Thank you again for your very generous donation, Lucius! I hope to be seeing you soon!" With that, he Apparated. Lucius turned to Dumbledore and frowned. "May I help you, Professor?"

Dumbledore's smile faded slightly and his face took on a more serious look. "Yes. This is about your son," he said sternly.

"My son?" Lucius asked, arcing an eyebrow. "What about him?"

Lucius ushered Dumbledore into the chair that had previously seated Fudge and took his own seat. Dumbledore pulled a few pieces of parchment out of an inner pocket in his robes. Lucius cast a weary eye onto the papers, as if they were deadly snakes poised to attack. Dumbledore saw this and smiled. "No need to look so worried, Mr. Malfoy. It's nothing horribly bad, I can assure you."

"What is this about, Dumbledore?" Lucius asked, his tone dripping with a poisonous hatred and suspicion.

"You see, Mr. Malfoy, your son and Mr. Harry Potter got into quite a quarrel. In fact, they started fighting and the next thing we all know, Severus' Potion lab was reduced to a smoldering pile of ruble."

Lucius' eyes widened. "And?" he asked, leaning forward.

"We have decided that, this summer, we will try our best to put an end to these brawls. We wish to send your son, along with Mr. Potter, to a Muggle boot camp."

"What!?" Lucius exclaimed, gripping the arms of his chair. "Do you really believe that I will allow my son, a respectful Malfoy, to be subjected to such a punishment? Muggle, nonetheless! There are--"

Dumbledore broke him off with a deadly glare. "Mr. Malfoy, I will inform you that this is our last resort. And, if you or young Master Malfoy fail to corporate, I will be force to permanently suspend him from Hogwarts."

At this, Lucius remained quiet. Then, after several moments of silence, he nodded in agreement. Dumbledore smiled. "I will need your signature, Mr. Malfoy." He pushed the forms across the coffee table towards Lucius, who snatched them up and quickly scanned them. He never signed anything before reading it. For all he knew, this could be the deed to one of his estates! But, it wasn't. Just a permission slip. So, reluctantly, he summoned up a quill with a flick of his wand and signed the papers. He handed them back to Dumbledore, who folded them and tucked them back into the inner pocket of his robes. He stood up, inclined his head in a respectful bow, and Apparated, leaving a grumbling Lucius to sit and stew in a rising temper.

*****

Draco finally looked up as he heard the door to the office swing open. Snape walked in, followed by Dumbledore. Draco pushed himself lightly off the wall and watched as Dumbledore walked around the desk and sat down in a high-backed black leather chair, Snape standing next to him. The room was silent. Dumbledore motioned for Draco to take a seat. He nodded and did so.

Harry had started to wriggle nervously again, earning him strange looks from both Dumbledore and Snape. He saw these and froze, clenching onto the arms of his chair. Draco sighed and shook his head in mild amusement, glad that Snape and Dumbledore didn't notice.

Dumbledore finally spoke, breaking the uneasy silence. "Well, all's done and prepared for. I believe it's time that you know what's going to be done with you." Draco felt a shiver of fear run up his spine. "After much consideration, we, being me and the other professors and your guardians, have decided that the best idea was to send you both to boot camp."

There was another uneasy silence. Draco couldn't help but look utterly bewildered. He turned to look at Harry. He was shocked to see the slide show of emotions that flashed over his face. The shock, the horror, and finally the pure and utter revulsion, then, "BOOT CAMP!" Harry bellowed it out in disgust. Dumbledore and Snape looked a little taken aback Draco still felt confused.

"What's boot camp?" he asked.

Dumbledore and Harry looked at him with shocked expressions on their face, but Snape didn't look surprised in the least. "It's natural that he doesn't know, Albus," Snape said softly. "I'd have been surprised if he had reacted the way that... Mr. Potter reacted."

It was Draco's turn to be taken aback, but still bewildered as to how this was so awful; he didn't say anything and simply waited for an explanation. It didn't come. "Umm... Could someone tell me what is going on?" he asked, annoyed at being talked about as if he weren't there.

Harry grinned evilly, which startled Draco; he had never even imagined such a look on Harry's face. Then again, he didn't know the boy that well, did he? Harry leaned over and whispered into Draco's ear. Draco flinched from the how close Harry was. It made him feel uneasy. "Boot camp is this little hell on earth where they torture you and make you do manual labor and sleep in bunkers with dozens of other guys who are all military-like," he said in a light voice. Draco remained unfazed. "And they make you shave your head."

At this, Draco gasped and nearly fell from his chair. "You've got to be kidding me!" He cried. "That- that's cruel and unusual punishment! It's against the U.S. Constitution!"

"That's why I'm so glad we live in England, Mr. Malfoy," Snape said silkily.

"That's not the point!" Draco said, his face flushed with a hint of embarrassment. He shook his head. "Never mind." He sighed and glared at Harry, who was giggling. "You know, you sound like a first year when you do that," he said irritably.

Dumbledore glared at him over the top of his half moon spectacles. Draco crossed his arms and slumped pouting in his chair. "Sorry," he growled under his breath. Dumbledore wasn't satisfied but he didn't say anything about it.

"You will be going home for the three weeks of summer. We will come to pick you two up and drop you off at the airport. You'll be surrounded by Muggles, so don't you dare try to sneak any magic in," he said this last part while looking at Draco in particular. "You shouldn't be using magic in the first place, but I just thought you could use reminding. You'll be taking Muggle transport and at the end of the summer, you will board a plane back. You'll have two weeks before the next term starts."

"Airport?" Harry repeated slowly after Dumbledore had finished. "Where are we going?"

"The United States" Dumbledore said calmly.

"America?" Draco exclaimed. His eyes widened. Dumbledore nodded. Draco looked at him as if he were crazy, which he was thinking at the moment.

Snape spoke up for the first time since entering the room. "And, one more thing. If we receive a bad report from the commandant about either of you, you will both be expelled."

"What?" Draco and Harry cried out in unison.

"Exactly what Professor Snape said. If either of you get into trouble, you will both feel the consequences." Dumbledore said, the usual twinkle in his eyes gone.

Draco felt his throat go dry. It was so tight and it was hard to speak, but he squeezed the words out. "But, Professor, that- how can you do that? Don't you need probable cause to expel a student?"

"Both of your probable causes came when you destroyed the Potion lab. You should be out of here by now," said Dumbledore seriously. "You are lucky to be getting this second chance."

At this, Draco fell silent and slumped in his chair, want to disappear. He knew the only reason he was getting the 'chance' to stay in school was because Harry was getting it too. Dumbledore didn't care what happened to him if he got expelled. He didn't care what Lucius would do to him. Nobody cared.

"Now, there are several rules you are to abide by while you are..." Dumbledore began, but Draco didn't hear what he was saying. He heard his father's voice in his head. It'll be a sad day for you, indeed, the day that you disgrace this family. Cold and cruel, snapping at him like a whip. He heard other things, as well. Other voices. Voices he couldn't make out. Tortured, blood choked voices, screaming and pleading for the pain to end, cries for mercy, and the cold voice that had drove fear into his heart from the very first moment he had heard it. Broken bodies lying on the floor of a cold, damp dungeon, their hair and skin stained red. The voices, the screams! They began to rise, growing louder and more distinct.

Another voice cut into his consciousness. "Mr. Malfoy?" It was so distant that Draco could barely make it out. But, the screams had begun to drift away, becoming quieter but they were still quite clear. The images began to fade into a black nothingness where only the sounds still existed. He heard the voice again, closer and clearer now. "Draco!" it cried. His vision swirled back into focus for a moment, just long enough for him to see Snape and Dumbledore leaning over him, before growing fuzzy again. He felt himself falling, falling, and his world went black.

*****

Hermione and Ron sat on the floor in Harry's dorm room, feeling as worried as Harry had looked when he had left with Snape close to an hour before. They had stopped playing exploding snap and were just worried now. Hermione looked over at Ron and sighed. "I wish they'd hurry up! I want to know that they're ok!"

"I don't care so about Malfoy, but if they do anything bad to Harry--" Ron started.

"There will be nothing you, or I, could do about it!" Hermione finished, cutting him off.

Ron sighed but nodded in agreement. "You're right, Hermione, as always. I just hope they don't expel him."

"Knowing Dumbledore, he'll do everything possible to avoid that."

"I know, but... what if they can't avoid it. What if the school governors vote that he should be expelled?"

"They won't, Ron!" Hermione said. She stood up and walked to the door. "Now, I'm going to go for a walk. Are you going to stay in here and wait for Harry?"

Ron shook his head. "No. I'll go with you. No need to wait for him. I'll write him a note telling him we've just gone out for a stroll."

Hermione nodded and waited by the door as Ron hurriedly grabbed a piece of parchment, a quill and ink well out of his desk drawer and quickly scribbled a note to Harry. He folded it neatly, which had always surprise Hermione, him being so neat, since he always seemed to be so disorganized, and left it on Harry's pillow. He hurried back over to the desk, placed the quill and ink well back in its proper place, and walked out of the room, Hermione by his side.

The walked quickly down the stares and into the deserted Common Room, which they crosses swiftly, But, just as they reached the portrait hole and were about to walk through it, it opened and Harry stepped into the room.

*****

Harry gasped as he watched Draco fall from his chair. Snape reflexively caught him, his eyes as wide as dinner plates. "Draco!" he cried, trying to shake the blonde boy back into consciousness. Dumbledore placed a hand on Snape's arm to stop him from shaking Draco's unconscious form. "You wouldn't want to snap his neck, would you?" he asked firmly. Snape shook his head and picked the Draco's limp body up and carried him over to a light blue sofa in the corner. He carefully laid him down, and then looked back up at Dumbledore.

"What happened?" he asked, his voice a bit shaky from the shock of Draco so suddenly collapsing.

"I don't know," said Dumbledore softly. He turned to Harry. "I think you should go," he said to Harry. The twinkle that was usually present in his eyes was gone and it was replaced with a worried look.

Harry didn't move. He glanced at Draco, who was paper-white and looked as if he were having a nightmare, then back at Dumbledore. He couldn't help feeling worried, though why he was worried about Draco Malfoy, no one could be certain. "Is he going to be alright?" Harry asked.

"I'm sure he will," Dumbledore said softly. "Just a faint, that's all. It is a bit hot in here." Dumbledore smiled at Harry. "I'm sure it's just heat stroke and he'll be fine. Now run along."

"Do you want me to stay in my--" Harry started.

Dumbledore shook his head. "No need for that now. I assume you know the consequences if you do get into any more trouble?" Harry nodded. "Good, then. Run along and have a bit of fun. I assure you that your summer won't have much."

Harry grimaced but nodded, hurrying out of the room. He hurried down the stair and out into the corridor in which the entrance to Dumbledore's office. He looked back, curious to know what had happened with Draco, but he shrugged it off. He hurried through the corridors and finally reached the entrance to the Gryffindor Tower. The Fat Lady smiled at him. "Norwegian Ridgeback," he said. She nodded and the portrait swung open. He practically skipped through the portrait hole but stopped halfway through. Hermione and Ron stood right in front of him.

"Hey!" Ron said cheerfully, a smile forming on his face. "You look happy. Did they expel Malfoy or something?" Ron received a sharp elbow in the ribs from Hermione for that remark. Harry just laughed and shook his head.

"No," he said.

Hermione glared at Ron as he sighed. "Expulsion is not something to joke about!" she said hotly. "If Malfoy got expelled, they would have expelled Harry as well!"

Ron looked down at his feet. "Well, a guy can dream, can't he?"

Harry laughed. Hermione smiled up at him, then asked, "So, what happened?"

Harry explained about the boot camp thing, having to explain boot camp as well to Ron, and then about Draco fainting. "He fainted?" Ron said with surprise. "And I wasn't there to see it? Oi! I bet you that was a once and a lifetime thing, Harry! You should have taken a picture!"

Harry smiled and laughed. "No," he said lightly. "I don't want to frighten myself with photos of Malfoy."

"Unless it's one with him as a ferret!" Hermione put in. They all laughed and walked out of the Common Room together.

*****

Dumbledore looked down at Snape expectantly. He was kneeling beside the sofa that Draco lay unconscious on, checking his temperature with a magic thermometer, 'never wrong and can't be fooled!' He looked down at it and he cocked an eyebrow. "His temperature is normal. I can't see why he would have fainted..."

Dumbledore knelt down next to him. "I don't know for sure... but... look at him. He looks as if he's stuck in a nightmare." And Dumbledore was right. Draco's eyes were screwed shut and his hands were balled into fist and were clutching the sides of the sofa.

"Whatever could he be dreaming of?" Snape asked with concern. "Whatever could have made him have a fit like he had earlier?"

"I don't know, Severus," Dumbledore said softly. "Hopefully it was just a scare on his part."

"A scare? That just brings up another question. What could have scared him so badly?"