Thursday, August 04, 2005
Chapter 4
Agathos Daimon
That night, after the start of term feast in the hall, Harry lay awake in his dorm, coming up with various theories as to what those packages were... However, each was as unlikely as the next... Harry peered out of the window... The Hogwarts grounds was tranquil... the cool night breeze caressed Harry's face and at that moment... Harry pulled out his father's invisibility cloak from under his bed and unfolded the Marauder's Map which was safely tuck underneath the cloak... he carefully tiptoed out of the dorm.. where Neville, Seamus, Dean as well as Ron were fast asleep... he crept out into the Gryffindor common room and out through the Fat Lady's portrait hole... "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good" Harry said under his breath as he pulled over the cloak. He carefully examined the Marauder's Map to check if the coast was clear... Snape was in his room... so was Professor Mcgonagall and the other teachers... Filch and Mrs Norris were out of Harry's range in the trophy room... and next to them, Fred and George's bubble appeared... Harry chuckled as he remembered the stunt the Weasley twins pulled on Peeves at the start of term feast... having obtained detention on the first night of their stay at Hogwarts by none other than Professor Snape himself... the two mischief makers were now serving their detentions in the trophy room under the watchful eyes of Filch (the Hogwarts caretaker) and Mrs Norris... Without further adue, Harry inched his way out of the castle...and into the Dragon Stables... where Agathos, the Hogwarts Guardian Dragon, stood watch over the castle grounds... Hagrid had found Agathos Daimon when he was a hatchling and had traded his entire Firewhisky collection for Agathos...Hagrid had a soft spot for dangerous Magical Beasts...He had smuggled Agathos into England 5 years ago, and had asked Professor Dumbledore if Agathos could be trained to be the official Hogwarts Dragon, which would gaurd the School gates... Most other headmasters would have said no at the idea of having Dragons standing watch over the school grounds... firstly, Dragons were hard to train and they have a nasty temper as well... Dumbledore, on the other hand, was a wizard who'd place his trust where not many would... and he had faith in Hagrid's skills for rearing Magical Beasts and had given him the 'go ahead' in Agathos' case...Having come across some of the beasts Hagrid had carefully bred in their first two years, Harry, Ron and Hermione knew that it was a lost cause to convince Hagrid otherwise of rearing Dragons in the school grounds... but Harry didn't mind Agathos at all...in fact, he would creep out of the castle almost everytime he had a terrible feeling about something or when he just simply needed to sort his thoughts out, and would seek the advice of Agathos... Agathos could not speak but Harry could communicate to Agathos through his thoughts. He didn't know if this was a normal trait... if everyone could communicate to Dragons like he could... but seeing how his talent as a Parselmouth had such a negative effect on the student body, Harry thought it wise to keep this as a secret... Harry loved coming over to Agathos' den... He had been able to communicate to Agathos since his first year in Hogwarts... and ever since then... Agathos would be the very first one whom Harry would turn to if he had problems to think over...
"Ah... Harry...You've come again to see me... and at great risk of being caught... to what do i owe this late but most welcome visit?" Agathos greeted Harry as he waltzed into Agathos' den... "Oh.. nothing much... you know... the same old mysteries surrounding Malfoy and his watchdog Iman... I saw them today... at the Feast.. and they were exchanging packages... and well... I have a bad feeling about those two..." Harry trailed off... Agathos' magnificent black hide shimmered in the moonlight... Agathos was a Norwegian Ridgeback... which made him less aggressive than his counterpart, the Hungarian Horntail... but he was dangerous nonetheless... Harry knew that nothing could get past Agathos Daimon.. and if something or someone dangerous was lurking in the Hogwarts grounds...needless to say, Agathos would take care of the problem almost instantaneoulsy... Agathos was special... he was one of the most intelligent of his species... after a long pause... He shifted his gaze towards the stars.. his purple eyes glittering like jewels in the moonlight..."Harry... my father used to tell me... before he died... to give people a chance to be who they really are... judging others by what you see may not always be the right thing to do... for a person whom you think is evil actually resembles a dirty window... one which does not let in all the light into his heart... that is all.. there is goodness in everyone and we must learn to see beyond what is visible and obvious..." Without realising himself, Harry cut-off Agathos' explanation, "But.. he's Malfoy!! I tried giving him many chances... he just doesn't give me any room to believe otherwise.. that despicable creature... the way he treats Muggleborns and the insults he hurls at them... " At this Agathos turned his gaze upon Harry once more... and for a slight moment.. Harry thought he was dreaming.. he saw a faint smile flicker on Agathos' scaly face, as he interrupted Harry... "Suspicion is a very dangerous tool Harry... one which can backfire on you at anytime when you least expect it and one which leads many relationships to crumble... I'm not saying you should trust that Malfoy boy Harry... all I'm saying is that things may not be what they seem to be at first... so you shouldn't go theorising things without solid proof... It's best to keep your nose out of others' business... and as we all know Harry... you have quite a huge responsibility yourself... protecting your friends and loved ones from the Dark Lord... seeing that he has quite an affinity for wanting you dead." Harry could not imagine Draco being good... and he still had a nagging feeling about those packages, but thought it was best to leave it as it is... sensing the finality in Agathos' tone.. Harry simply nodded at the Hogwarts Guardian and watched the stars for a lil longer before heading up to the Gryffindor tower...
[Tonks was grooving to Frankie J's Obsession | 
~ happy]
~Nymphadora~
~ happy]