“yes, diddy, i’m fine. diddy, ahe north tower?”
diddy begaer doesn’t want to go there. there’s a big shere. it eats house elves sir! diddy doesn’t waer drao hurt.”
“my father’s up there, diddy. bsp;you get me up there or not?”
diddy nodded sadly and snapped her fihen disappeared and the hallway of the north toeared around them.
“diddy, i o d for me.”
“what is it, master drao?” diddy whispered.
&o go bak to your normal duties and at as if nothing is wrourned his bak to her.
“but—”
“do it diddy.”
there ing sound and diddy disappeared from behind drao. keeping to the shadows of the hall, drao silently thahird great-grandfather f to redo the entire house iyle. he’d oo talk his wife ihe towers beause she here and would o see it. but as drao pressed bak into the shadows aused by an obsidian gargoyle aer passed by oo the stairs, missing him ompletely, drao made a resolutiohe whole house in that style.
but there es that one ould hide someoower, drao had to admit. there was only an old owlery up here and a hardly used ptfazing.
&inued his way down the hall and towards the stairs up to the owlery. there were no sounds ehoing dowhe urved stairase, so he began to slowly limb them.
“there’s no sign of mr. malfsmead,” prall said wearily. “i believe we must at as if he really has left hogwarts.”
“there is something muh w on, minerva,” dumbledravely. “i’ve just gotten word from the ministry. azkabaaked by dementors. i believe it is safe to assume that aers who were in azkaban have been released.”
“do you…albus, do you think the malfoys have something to do with this?” mgonagall asked suspiiously.
“no, minerva, i do not think they do. i do, however, think that someos us to think that.”
there was a loud banging sound on the door and the sound htened voies from outside the offie shouting, “professor dumbledore! harry’s disappeared!”
almost as if on ue, a figure dressed in bk stepped from the firepe ier’s offie. sly at the shouting bef and turning bak to the headmaster. “he’s alling, albus. ahat a few other slytherins are missing, not just drao malfoy.”
harry was lost. he was somewhere ih wing…or was that the south part ? he had wherever he here he wao be.
“sir?”
harry jumped at the timid voie.
“sir, why is y an invisibility loak?”
harry turo see a house elf &he wall. he moved farther into the shadows he elf. “i’m trying to help drao.”
“master drao? master drao is beiower, sir…sir is being master drao’s harry!”
harry he house elf h joy.
“how ao drao?”
“i an take sir lose to there.” harry he walls seemed to bend and blend around him to form a new hallway.
drao tried the door and found it l up, he pluked a si of his wings aureel, jammed it into the door. after a hard push, the door reaked open.
the small amount of light from the stairwell shohe floor of the old owlery. drao felt all his feathers turn to steel as he stepped further into the room. his father y haihe wall, wihere was almost no trae al preserange burn marks overed his body, dried blood oated his arms and torso. o movement of his hest told drao that he was alive.
harry’s vision sain shh his skull. anger, drao’s anger, swirled around him like a loud. g to see that there was he hallway, he began sprinting dowryile sound as possible.
a hiss sounded near his father’s feet and drao fouaring ihe lo snake he had ever seeo look drao io as if to taste the air…or his fear.
drao began to edge away from the srying to see if he ould get to his father by going arouurih him as he stepped deeper ahe shadows. drao ouldone floor nor what was resting on it. he froze as he bumped agaihat was one wall.
& through the darkness and drao jumped bak aross the light that was ast into the room from the hallway. a reature moved in the darkness ao rawl out of the shadows and into the small beam of light.
harry wi familiar feeling of paio spread aross his stomah. drao was in trouble. he rossed into another hallway and turned down into the orridor that oed to the tower entrane.
drao looked up ied eyes whirling in a red fury as the dragon loomed over him. as he looked up at the bk saled monstrosity, he he rge sher out of the room.