The Dragon Games

Ron and Ginny met in the common room early in the morning.

"Ready for this, Ron?" Ginny asked.

"I think so." Ron nodded.

"Just remember your promise," Ginny reminded. "No matter what Percy says."

"What exactly do you think he's going to say?" Ron asked as they headed out.

Ginny didn't answer, and Ron didn't push her. They made their way down to the entrance hall and found Percy standing there, waiting for them. He had his arms folded across his chest, an ugly look on his face.

"Morning, Percy," Ginny said brightly.

"Yeah, morning." Ron nodded.

"Morning indeed," Percy muttered. "Which one of you has it?"

"Has what?" Ginny asked.

Ron screwed up his face to look confused, but ended up looking like he had swallowed a lemon.

"You know perfectly well what," Percy snapped. "Now tell me."

"What are you talking about, Percy?" Ginny asked innocently. "Honestly, I don't have any idea what you're accusing us of having. Do you Ron?"

"Erm, no, no, what are you talking about, Perce?"

"I could get fired from my job!" Percy screeched. "I need to return it before the prophecy is reported missing!"

"Fired?" Ron blurted out.

"You've misplaced the prophecy?" Ginny gasped. "Percy! Why would you go and do something like that?"

Ron gave Ginny a look as if to say she was being a bit much, but Percy, who was so frantic, didn't realize.

"I've not misplaced anything! You had to have taken it!" Percy said quickly. "I have to get it back!"

"Percy, if I do recall," Ginny started, "I believe you left the prophecy in Charlie's hands when you left, and he felt obligated to bring it somewhere safe. Ask him about it. I think he left it somewhere at Harry's," she finished, nudging Ron to agree.

"Oh, yeah, I think Charlie took it," Ron consented quickly.

"If that book got lost! Don't you two understand? You should have gotten it to me immediately," Percy said, aggravated.

"What would happen if it got lost?" Ron asked apprehensively.

"If it was lost and picked up by the wrong people, then our lives would be in danger! If any one of You-Know-Who's supporters got a hold of it, they would either kill us or turn us against our allies!"

"What?" Ron sputtered.

Ginny quickly sensed trouble coming. "It's safe where it is, I'm sure."

"You can't know that, Ginny," Percy said. "I better go talk to Charlie."

"Wait!" Ron suddenly said. He looked from Ginny to Percy, giving Ginny an apologetic look. "I think I know who has it."

Percy groaned. "Ron, I don't have time for your games."

"I'm not joking. I-I-I..." Ron trailed off, as Ginny was giving him a look of death. Ron sighed, gulped and changed his mind. "Never mind, Percy. Go talk to Charlie. I was just kidding."

Ginny gave him a small smile, and Ron couldn't help but feel relieved that he hadn't betrayed his sister's trust, but nervous about the consequences the prophecy could cause them all.

---

Harry tried all afternoon to find Draco Malfoy, but with little luck. The one time he had managed to see him at all, they both were running late to their next class. So finally, right before dinner, Harry tapped Malfoy's shoulder and told him they needed to talk.

Draco followed him back up to their dormitory, which was empty because Dean and Keifer were down at dinner.

"Well?" Draco asked. "Decided, have you?"

"Not quite, Malfoy," Harry said. "I have a question for you. What makes you think I would risk my own neck to work side by side with you?"

Malfoy shrugged before replying, "I guess because of the thing I'm going to offer you next."

"What's that?" Harry asked.

"Well, I said I wouldn't tell you what it was until you agreed on the games, but I guess it seems in order for you to accept into the games, I'll have to offer it to you."

Harry watched closely as Draco pulled something out from his robes.

"What I have here is a Mortuus Sermo; a device that connects directly from this world to the after world." Draco stared at him sternly. "Given the right words and the right thoughts, it can summon up the dead for short amounts of time."

Harry stared at him, getting pale in the face.

"I think you know exactly what this is intended for in your case, Potter," Draco said, his eyes boring into Harry's.

Harry opened his mouth to speak, but words escaped him.

"It's not Dark magic; it's just a device that's really rare," Draco explained, knowing that Harry wasn't fully hearing him. "And the only way you're getting it, or the spell to use it, is if you agree to the game."

Harry still didn't say anything, his mind racing.

"I'll give you the device once you agree, and I'll give you the spell once you have won the game with me."

"I could see my parents and Sirius?" Harry finally managed in a hoarse whisper.

"Yes," Draco answered, his cold eyes seeming closed off. "You can speak to anyone you wish- well, only the dead, strictly speaking."

Harry tried to lick his lips, but his mouth had gone dry as well. "Why, Malfoy?"

"Because I need this, Potter." Draco closed his eyes. "This is a game of trust. You'll be finding out if I'm telling the truth in no time at all."

"A game of trust?" Harry said, ignoring the Mortuus Sermo for a moment.

"Yes. You've read a bit, I'd hope."

"Yeah, last night." Harry nodded.

"Well, that's mostly what the game was created for. But I'm not in it for the trust; I'm in it for the prize. Just as I'm sure you are now."

Harry gulped. "What if I agree? When does this happen? What exactly happens when we summon it?"

"This happens whenever you're ready. And as for what happens, I couldn't tell you. I've never done it before."

"Alright then." Harry nodded nervously.

"You accept?" Draco asked with a note Harry detected as hope.

Harry paused for a moment, and then said, "I accept."

Draco nodded, and no expression was seen on his face. "Good. What day? We have to have a good few hours to devote to the Summoning and the first level of the game."

"Hogsmeade weekend?" Harry asked. "A lot of people will be out of the castle then."

"Sounds good to me, Potter." Draco nodded. "Well, if that's all, I'm going down to dinner."

"All right." Harry nodded. "Draco?" Harry asked suddenly, surprising himself.

"It's Malfoy to you, Potter," Draco glared. "We're not suddenly on good terms; I still very much hate you."

"Right," Harry said apologetically. "Malfoy, are you sure this Mortuus Sermo works?"

Draco grinned. "I wouldn't bribe you with anything that didn't, Potter. That's not my style."

Harry nodded. "Well, go away, then."

"You're a git," Draco said as he left the room.

Harry sighed, lying down on his bed. Everything was crashing down in his mind, and he didn't know what to settle on first.

---

The very next day, Harry went up to the Astronomy Tower, pulled out the loose stone, and found a parcel just as the Angel of Reason had said.

Harry brought it back down to his dormitory and opened it behind the closed curtains of his bed. Inside the parcel, he found a golden pendant in the shape of a key, a sapphire blue set of robes, a spell on a rolled up piece of parchment in a language Harry couldn't understand, and another letter. Harry hid the cloak and spell underneath his invisibility cloak and pulled the pendant over his head, tucking it underneath his shirt along with the dragon pendant.

Dear Mr. H. Potter,

From here on out, Draco Malfoy is your guide through the games. I will be here for questions if you need a trusting hand, but I will not be writing to you again until you have reached the middle level of the games.

Good luck to you, and do not fail.

Trust in me,

The Angel of Reason

---

For the next couple of days, Ron and Hermione had practically disappeared from Harry's life. This was partly because he was avoiding them, and partly because they were always whispering, lost in each other. The weekend drew nearer, and Harry was frantically getting his homework done so that his mind would be clear when the time came.

The Hogsmeade Saturday finally arrived. Harry had become extremely nervous, and had wrapped himself so fully in his school studies that when Hermione noticed how hard he was working, even she was surprised.

"You're taking a break this weekend, right?" Hermione asked him.

"Yeah." he nodded. "I just wanted to finish everything so I could be free to think about, erm, the DA meeting."

"Right." Hermione nodded. "And that's happening at eight o'clock tonight, remember."

"Did you manage to find a date, mate?" Ron asked.

"No, but I did plan on working on something here at school," Harry assured him.

"Not more school work?" Hermione asked, causing him to chuckle.

"No, it's nothing of the sort. It's sort of a game," he said. At least I'm not lying. I'm just not telling.

"Well, good for you, mate!" Ron said happily.

"Yeah, good for me," Harry muttered.

By the time Harry saw Ron and Hermione off, it was nine o'clock in the morning. He hurried back to his room and found Draco there, waiting for him. Malfoy was already in a similar set of sapphire robes, and his eyes held a silvery-blue glow in reflection to them.

"'bout time you showed up," Draco growled. "Do you have blue robes?"

"Yeah." Harry nodded.

"Good. Did you read the list on what was needed, then?" Draco asked.

Harry thought for a moment before he replied, "Yeah. I got the pendants and spell and everything."

"Then hurry up, you twit! Get dressed!" Draco rushed him.

Harry quickly threw off his clothes and put on the cloak, grabbed the spell, and put his hand towards his neck to make sure the pendants were still there.

"Where are we going, Malfoy?" Harry asked.

"To the room you followed me to," Draco said as they went.

"Why?" Harry asked. "Does it have magical powers or something?"

"Sort of." Draco shrugged. "It's just one of the most enchanted rooms at Hogwarts, which makes it good for spell work. Also, it's sealed off. No one will be able to tell what sort of magic we use there."

"How hard will this spell be?"

"Well, just think of it this way," Draco muttered. "That spell you did on me last year will be nothing compared to how we'll feel after we're done with this one."

Harry went silent remembering last year's events, when he'd thought he had killed Draco with that spell.

"What if it doesn't work?" Harry asked.

"I personally don't want to think about that," Draco said dryly. "But mostly, we'd probably end up dead, and then you could talk to any old dead person you wished." Raising an eyebrow at Harry, he opened the door to the room.

"This room is the Værelse Tryllestav. In Norwegian that roughly, and I mean roughly, translates to Room of Magic," Draco said as they entered. He started to light a few candles around the room. "Shut the door."

Harry did, and the room glowed fiery orange as Draco lit more candles.

"How do you know all this stuff, Malfoy?" Harry asked, slightly amazed. He had never considered Malfoy dumb before, but he had also never thought of him as bright.

"I study it, Potter," Draco sneered. "Because, unlike you, I actually put forth a bit of effort into learning more then just the skills I'm naturally gifted at."

"Whatever, Malfoy," Harry responded with a roll of his eyes. "What happens now?

Draco didn't answer. Instead, he started shuffling around the back of the room. When he came back, it was with a cauldron that was filled with a neon blue liquid.

"What's that?"

"A potion," Draco answered. "We have to drink it."

"Then what?"

Draco sighed and then pointed to the center of the room. "We sit there and recite the spell. And no matter what happens to you, you can't break out of the circle."

"What's the potion for?" Harry asked.

"It's to help us through the incantation. Without it, we could get really messed up."

Harry watched as Draco set the cauldron over a candle and set out two golden goblets.

"It has to get warm," Draco explained. "So in the meantime, I'm going to tell you briefly about the game."

"All right."

"Firstly, I'm not your friend or your ally. I am, however, your partner in this, which means I am not your enemy either. We have to be able to trust each other to get through this. Secondly, after each level we pass, we can come back here and take a break if you wish, but we have to finish the level in order to get back. Thirdly, before each level, we'll be put into a chamber. The chamber only opens after six questions have been asked and answered truthfully. We each get three questions, as you can imagine. And finally, don't invoke the Dragon in the game without my consent. The Dragon is going to try and help us, but it's also going to try and trick us, and we must not call upon it unless we're completely lost. Got it?"

"I guess."

"Oh, and one more thing. If one of us dies, Potter, go on without them. No matter what. You only have to start the game with a partner, but you don't have to finish it with one."

Harry sighed. Cryptic as always.

"Even if you think I could still be alive, leave me," Draco said impatiently. "You have to, okay?"

"All right, I promise if you croak, I'll go on without you," Harry muttered.

Draco gave him a glare. "Then let's drink." And with that, he started filling the goblets with the blue liquid.

Harry took a goblet and stared at it.

"Cheers," Draco said before tilting his head back, swallowing it in one gulp.

Harry braced himself and quickly drained the liquid. It was like fire in his mouth, but the taste was undetectable.

Draco took the goblet from Harry, peering into it to make sure it was empty. "Take a seat," he said as he put the cups down.

Harry sat in the middle of the floor and pulled out the spell. Draco joined him on the ground.

"Okay, Potter, begin the spell after I start to read mine. We don't have to be in sync for this to work. But just remember, no matter how uncomfortable you feel, don't stop the spell and don't move."

Harry didn't trust himself to answer, so he just nodded, and Draco began to recite the spell. Harry took a deep breath, and then started his own.

The first line into the spell, the room's candles began to flicker out. Everything was turning black. The two boys kept reading.

The room was shaking uncontrollably, filling with a gray smoke, choking up their voices, but they kept on.

Then Harry and Draco were not in the room at all any more, nor were they on the ground. They were suspended cross-legged in the air, in a black abyss. They kept reading.

A screech of an angry dragon was heard, and Harry felt the air beneath him become hot. Soon, it was scorching, and he could feel it burning his skin.

The heat continued rising up, now engulfing his body. He was surrounded in flames. Harry's hands started to shake, and his body was trembling. Was this how he was going to go? Just as this thought raced through his mind, the fire stopped. The pain remained, but the smoke cleared and all he could see was a blinding white.

Harry blinked. The spell was done. His body was numbing, and he heard Draco sigh next to him. But everything was still blurry.

"Don't move," Draco's voice called to him.

Everything was slowly coming into focus. They were in a room with pure white floors, walls and ceiling. He turned to speak to Draco, and saw that the boy was fiercely closing his eyes, preparing himself for something.

"What are you-" Harry was interrupted by a sudden slash of pain across his chest. He cried out and heard Draco grunt in pain.

Another slash across the other side of his chest, and Harry looked down, surprised to see his robes were still whole, but blood was seeping down them. He pulled his robes out to see a giant bleeding X across his chest.

"M-Malfoy?" Harry asked, trembling.

Draco grunted in response.

"We're not dead, are we?" Harry asked.

"No, Potter, we're not dead." Draco now had his eyes open, and he was standing up. Harry stood as well, looking around.

There was another loud screech of a dragon, and Harry held his breath, turning and expecting to see something other then white, but nothing was there.

"Welcome strangers, to the Game of the Dragon," a deep dark voice echoed across the room. "You begin here, in the Chamber of Truth. Before you may continue, you must ask the questions you seek, and uncover the answers from each other. The game begins now."

Draco turned to Harry. "Let's just dive in, Potter."

Harry nodded.

"Do you trust me?" Draco asked.

Harry stared at him for a moment. "No."

He thought about what he should ask Malfoy, and finally decided on the question he was most anxious to know. "Can I trust you?"

Draco stared at him blankly. "No."

Harry sighed, knowing that was probably the case.

"Do you hate me?" Draco asked.

Harry tilted his head in surprise. He was about to ask Draco why he asked, but then thought better of it. He didn't know if every question asked counted to the question total.

"Surprisingly, no," Harry said, surprising even himself with his answer. He paused. "Do you want to be here, or are you only here because you're forced to be?"

"I don't know," Draco said quickly. "Aren't you going to ask me if I hate you?"

"No."

Draco suddenly looked disgruntled. "Hey! That wasn't a real question."

Harry grinned. "What are you getting out of all of this?"

Draco sighed, aggravated by his own stupidity. Then he looked Harry in the eye. "My freedom."