Dragon Heartstring

Dragon Heartstring, Chapter Four

"Malfoy? You sure Harry?" Ron asked as he, Harry, Hermione and Ginny walked towards the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom after dinner, "I mean, I'd have thought Malfoy would have been the first one out the door, you know? Running to save his own arse, and pushing some Ravenclaw into the firing line."

"He was the only one missing," Harry answered certainly.

"Well in that case, it couldn't have happened to a more deserving bloke, that's all I can say," Ron replied.

"Careful Weasley," a sly voice said from behind them, "You're starting to sound like a Slytherin. Well," he added with a snort, "a badly dressed, lower class, very poor Slytherin anyway."

The four Gryffindors were now standing face to face with a very battered looking Draco Malfoy. However, it seemed that even the horrendous burn across the right side of his face couldn't wipe away that infamous Malfoy smirk.

"Oh. You're still alive. Shame," Ron shot back.

"Ouch, that almost hurt my feelings Weasley. In fact, just for that, I think I'll go and inform Professor Snape of your wanderings around, when you should be back in your common room."

"We've got permission to be out, not that its any of your business Malfoy," Hermione said coldly.

"Really," Malfoy said interestedly, "and what might you Gryffin-dolts be up to then?"

"Like we'd tell you," Ginny spat at him, leaving out the fact that in actuality, they didn't know what they were up to.

"Whatever, I'm getting a headache from being around all this group morality. Seriously, don't Gryffindors ever do anything selfish, wait, no, don't answer that. Of course you don't, that would go against all that is good and true," Draco went on, scoffing at his last comment.

"What are you doing here Malfoy?" said Harry clearly bored with this conversation, forgetting that a few minutes ago he was actually worried about this persons well being.

"Nothing," said Draco a little too quickly, his arms clutching his cloak tightly around his lean form.

Harry was puzzled. Why wasn't Malfoy milking the fact that he was clearly injured?

"Ron?" Kari's voice called from down the corridor, "Are you coming?"

Harry noticed a slightly panicked look cross briefly over Malfoy's face at the sound of Kari's voice, and before he knew it, Malfoy had disappeared down the adjacent corridor and out of sight, his cloak billowing out dramatically behind him.

The four Gryffindors exchange quizzical glances, and then hurried down to where Kari and Charlie were waiting.

Kari beckoned the group up the stairs to her office. Harry smiled slightly to himself as he climbed the spiral steps; it looked like he was going to find out how the office looked after all.

Harry had to refrain from gasping when he stepped through the oak wood door. The whole room seemed to glow somehow, and he found himself having to pause to take the whole scene in.

The room was lit by hundreds of candles of all different shapes and styles, some magically hovering above their heads, others placed along several shelves affixed to the stone walls. The flames were all a dull orange, creating a soft light throughout the room, matching that of the crackling fire opposite the door. Harry could smell incense burning lightly. The smell of incenses usually reminded Harry of the hot and stuffy confines of Professor Trelawney's Divination room, but this was different. This room was so warm, so inviting.

Drapes hung from the ceiling made of thick material in rich colours of red, orange and purple. A couch sat at one end of the room while a desk was the prominent feature at the other. Upon the desk Harry noticed a crystal ball and a deck of cards, visible in front of a pile of paperwork.

There were books all over the room, some neatly placed on shelves, others randomly spread on tables, desks, and even a few piles on the floor. Harry was also glad to see that the large bay window behind Kari's desk was visible. Curtains that matched the drapes on the walls hung on either side of the glass. One of the panes of glass had a stained pattern in its centre, and when examined closely, Harry saw that the pattern was actually a dragon. The right window was open half way, almost like an open door, inviting visitors to enter.

The most fascinating thing in this room however, was in front of the fireplace on a thick grey rug. A wolf. The creature was curled up peacefully in front of the flames, revelling in the comfortable warmth that surrounded it. The wolf was covered in grey and patchy white fur, and two black eyes could be seen matching its black nose. Harry was reminded of the husky dogs seen on television that pulled sleds through the snow in colder parts of the world.

"Illumen," said Kari, causing all the candles to brighten.

The wolf looked up and the increase in light. It stretched and then walked over to Kari, who squatted down and ruffled the wolf behind the ears.

"Hello Pahana," she said to the creature, smiling as she received a cheek rub from the wolf's nose.

"Soppy mutt," said Charlie laughing from behind Harry.

"Pahana?" Hermione asked interestedly.

"It's Native American," Kari explained, "It means 'Lost White Brother'. Pahana has been my friend since I was a little girl, he even came to Hogwarts with me when I was a student."

"She was the only student allowed to have anything other than an owl, a cat, a toad or a rat. I was so jealous, I put a sleeping potion in her Butterbeer so she was asleep during the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin Quidditch final which she was meant to be commentating," Charlie said.

"That was you!" Kari exclaimed.

Charlie immediately realised his mistake, and started stammering, but was saved by the hysterical laughter that had spread throughout the room.

"He's lovely," said Hermione who was now stoking Pahana's soft coat, "I though wolves were vicious?"

"Oh, he can be," said Charlie, speaking from experience, "You don't want to get on the wrong side of Kari, or her menagerie of animals will be after your blood."

Kari flashed a grin over to Charlie as she proceeded to tie her hair back in a knot.

"Menagerie? How many pets do you have Kari?" Harry asked.

"None," she replied simply.

Harry's confused look was mirrored in the faces of the other three students.

"Pahana and any other creatures in my care are not my pets. They stay with me because they choose too, but they are all free to come and go as they wish. They're intelligent enough to decide their fates for themselves, so you see, they're not my pets, they're my friends."

The speech ended with an agreeing bark from Pahana, who was sharing a toothy grin with his human companions whilst panting happily.

"Besides," Kari continued, "It's not my animal friends you should watch out for, it's his." Kari nodded towards Charlie.

"Speaking of, here he comes now," Charlie said, who was staring out of the window, "and I think he's brought a friend with him."

At that moment, two birds flew gracefully in through the open window. One headed straight for Charlie, landing on his outstretched arm, and the other landed on Kari's desk, dropping a letter on top of the paperwork. The bird on Charlie's arm was black and brown with a white crest, and donned a bright yellow beak that matched perfectly with two clawed feet. Harry thought it looked like a bird of prey, a Kestrel maybe, or a Hawk. Harry didn't know much about birds.

Charlie stoked the bird gently on the head, and in response the creature sat up proudly, its chest puffed out importantly. Harry couldn't help but smile at the resemblance between this bird and Ron and Charlie's brother Percy. The pompous air of dignity radiated of the bird, just as it did the third Weasley.

The bird's companion, still on Kari's desk, was another matter entirely. This creature was coy in comparison, yet beautiful in appearance. It had bright blue plumage and yellow circles round its eyes and beak, both of which were a beautiful shiny black. This bird was exotic, and reminded Harry of the ones that Sirius often sent him over the Summer Holidays when he was on the run. Harry hadn't seen Sirius for a long time now, and only received the odd note letting him know that he was fine. Harry knew that Sirius was working for Dumbledore, and that over the summer had had to work in close confines with Professor Snape. Harry smiled at the remembrance of the number of times Sirius had written to him purely to moan about what bad company the potions master was. Now, however, Harry had no idea what job Sirius was doing, or even where he was. Snape was back at work, terrorizing the first years, and all Harry knew was that Sirius was with Professor Lupin. He had been in Romania a few weeks ago, but could be anywhere in the world by now.

"Malachi!" Kari exclaimed at the sight of the bird on her desk.

The bird looked up at Kari, spread its wings, and flew over to sit on her shoulder.

"So, menagerie?" Ron said, prompting an explanation.

Malachi it turned out was a female Hyacinth Macaw, and acted as Kari's substitute for a postal owl. Charlie's companion was called Eadoin, and was an Aplomado Falcon.

"Why do give them such unusual names?" Ginny asked as she stroked Eadoin, who was still perched on Charlie's arm.

"I like to give them names than mean things. Our names can reveal some very interesting things about our personalities," Kari explained.

"What do Malachi and Eadoin mean then?" Ron asked, who had now joined Hermione in stoking Pahana's tummy.

"Malachi is Hebrew, and means 'My Messenger'. Appropriate don't you think? Charlie named Eadoin, and it is a Celtic or Gaelic name, which means 'Blessed With Many Friends'."

"That's really interesting," said Harry, "Do you know what our names mean?"

"I do," said Kari, "But if you want to find out you're going to have to work for it. Come on, we've got training to do."

"Training?" said Ginny, a little worried, "What are we training for?"

"Defence," said Charlie, and with that Eadoin and Malachi flew over to a perch (that Harry had failed to notice earlier) over by the window through which they had entered.

Kari picked up the letter that Malachi had brought her earlier, and on looking at the seal on the pack, quickly filed it underneath a pile of star charts. Harry thought he saw a glimpse of surprise on her face, but it passed as quickly as it came, and Kari walked over to a red drape on the other side of the room.

She pulled out her wand from inside the left sleeve of her thin brown cloak and pointed it at the fabric.

"Revealae aerobium," she said, and the drape rustled slightly, then transformed into a panelled wood door.

"Ready when you are," said Kari to four astonished faces and one amused.

She twisted the handle on the newly formed door, and swung it inwards. Harry followed her inside, Ron, Ginny, Hermione and Charlie close behind. If possible, the room behind this door was even more amazing than the room in front of it. The secret space was huge. If Harry had had trouble taking in the last room, then there was not hope with this one.

The room seemed to stretch on forever. The walls were made of red brick from the floor to about waist height, and then became a cream coloured plaster. Symbols were painted on the top half of the wall and cabinets were randomly placed around the room. The floor was stone, but it was covered except for around the edges, in a rich red rug. In the centre of the room, the floor changed into a square matted area.

Various gymnastic and exercise equipment could be seen around the edge of the room, along with several magical objects that Harry had never seen before. A large, freestanding cabinet was against the left wall. It had draws at the bottom, and two big glass cupboard doors. The room was lit in all corners by magical spotlights, similar to the style of a popular Muggle electrical light, but of course, no electrical equipment could be used inside the Hogwarts Grounds. Harry could tell these lights were magical due to the fact that they moved around to provide the best light to all, and they brightened when Kari began to go round the room whilst explaining various areas.

It was a training room, somewhere that physical combat could be safely practiced and magical defence could be improved.

"Dumbledore wants you to be safe Harry," Charlie was saying, "it's no secret that you get yourself into the most dangerous situations imaginable."

Harry began to protest that he didn't go looking for trouble, that it just seemed to come to him, but was cut off by a look of amusement from Hermione.

"What?" Harry said impatiently to her.

"Well, Harry," she began to reply carefully, "I know it isn't your fault that all these things keep happening to you, but you know, if you just went to Dumbledore to begin with, then you probably wouldn't end up, you know..." she trailed off as Harry's stare hardened, "Never mind."

"Basically," Kari explained, "Dumbledore wants you to take some extra Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson, some more practical lessons, all of you. I'm not going to pretend that what we all know is happening isn't, Lord Voldemort is back, and you in particular Harry, are going to need to defend yourself."

"You said his name," Harry noticed.

"Well what kind of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher would I be if I were afraid of the mere name of the greatest Dark Arts wizard of all?"

Harry smiled. Finally, a normal DatDA teacher he thought to himself. Not a self obsessed fraud; not a werewolf; not one of Lord Voldemort's servants; and of course, not Lord Voldemort himself. Harry shuddered slightly at the memory of Voldemort's face in the rear of Professor Quirrel's head, and this thought immediately led to the image of how Lord Voldemort looked now. Fully revived by Harry's own blood.

A hand touched Harry gently on the arm waking him from his thoughts. He looked up to see Kari standing beside him. She looked down on him (though only by a few inches due to Harry's sudden growth spurt over the summer) with warm amber eyes and a small understanding smile.

Harry looked over to see that Charlie and the other three were standing round a cabinet, Ron gawping at whatever was inside.

"Harry, I want to tell you something," Kari said, and Harry returned his gaze to her face. "Come over here."

They sat down on an exquisitely carved willow bench, Harry facing the young woman who was looking at her hands as if gathering her thoughts, then she spoke softly to him.

"Harry, I know we've only just met, and I don't expect you to trust me just yet, but I want you to know that I am here for you. No matter what the problem is, I'm here to help you. Don't tell the others this, but..." she paused and looked into Harry's deep emerald green eyes.

Harry could see pain in her eyes, pain and something else...worry. Kari was worried about him. She cared about him. She continued to speak.

"Harry, Dumbledore hired me for a reason, other than the fact that I've got an advanced N.E.W.T for Defence Against the Dark Arts. He hired me to protect you, and to teach you to protect yourself."

Harry felt that there was something more to her story than this. Why did he get the feeling that she had a more personal reason for wanting Harry to be able to defend himself, a reason other than the fact that he was the most likely candidate for the 'saviour of the world' award?

"Why you?" Harry asked, "Not that I mind it being you or anything," he added quickly.

Kari smiled. "Lots of reasons, one of which I'm going to show you now. Come on."

The conversation was over. They rose from the bench and walked over to the others, who were still standing around the mysterious, yet obviously fascinating object inside the cabinet.

"So, he just gave you this?" Ron was saying whilst gawping at his older brother.

"Well I did save his house from incineration," Charlie replied.

"What're you all looking at?" Harry asked coming up from behind Ron, who stepped aside so that Harry could look inside the cabinet.

Behind the glass door resided one of the most beautiful swords Harry had ever seen. It was bright polished silver, with an engraved intricate leaf like pattern that ran from the hilt to the tip, starting as a mesh, and ending in a delicate point. The handle was wrapped perfectly in brown leather, a small dragon printed in yellow clearly visible on top. The dragon must have been magically added as it moved gracefully over the leather. The sword was so simple, yet so astounding.

"This is yours?" Harry asked Charlie in amazement.

Charlie nodded, "Got off this old warlock in Prague. A sort of, 'Thank you' gift for stopping a Russian Braze-neck burning down his house. Well, I say house, Palace is more accurate, but you wouldn't know to look at him."

"You thought he was a hermit if I remember correctly," Kari said.

"Hey!" Charlie said in mock offence, "You weren't exactly falling head over heels to disagree with me you know."

"I guess not," she said with a grin, "We should get started don't you think, it's getting late."

"Sure. What first? A quick demonstration?" Charlie said winking at Kari.

"Okay then. You four go and stand by that wall," Kari said pointing towards a large window with an indoor ledge that looked onto the matted area of the room.

They obeyed and Harry watched curiously as Kari and Charlie on the other side of the room pulled off their cloaks, got rid off any flowing garments and Kari tied her hair back into a simple ponytail. They then each put on a pair of fingerless black leather gloves and picked up a sword from a closed cupboard at the back of the room.

These swords were thinner than the one in the cabinet and were no-where near as decorative, but they still looked sharp and deadly, and neither of the pair were wearing any protective garments. Even in sport-fencing vests and masks were worn.

Kari and Charlie took up position in the centre of the floor and faced each other. No stance position was made; they just looked into each other's eyes, swords held relaxed in one hand. Then, without any warning as far as Harry could see, Charlie swung his blade above his head and brought it down towards Kari's shoulder blade.

Harry felt Ron jump in shock beside him and heard Hermione and Ginny's shrieks, but there was no need. In a flash, Kari had her blade in the air and block Charlie's swing. The clash of metal on metal echoed against the walls. They never lost eye contact.

The pause was brief, yet seemed to last forever, and before Harry had any idea of what was happened, the swords were in motion again.

The display was fantastic, and got more and more exhilarating the longer it went on. Kari swung an attack at Charlie's legs and he leaped into the air above her sword, whist at the same time made a move towards her right arm, which she in turn made a spectacular roll to avoid.

The pace constantly sped up and Harry couldn't keep track of what was going on. Eventually he just gave up and watched open mouthed like the other three.

Kari blocked every one of Charlie's advances, and he every one of hers. It was as if they moved as one. Their blades were locked between them above their heads and they looked into each other's eyes. An unspoken message seemed to pass between them, and they lowered their swords to their sides.

Harry thought this seemed like a bit of an anticlimax to such an amazing display, but no sooner had the thought passed through his head, that Kari swung around and sliced through the air where Charlie had been standing milliseconds before. Charlie had leapt a good twenty feet into the air and landed in a crouching position behind Kari, who adjusted her stance and brought her sword down on his shoulder.

It would have been a killing blow, had she not stopped inches above the skin.