Weakness

Though word had been circulating through Slytherin for a while that Pansy Parkinson had been planning Ellietta Widdersham's undoing, no action had actually been taken. Pansy, and her loyal followers Tracey, Daphne and Millicent, ignored Ellietta except to make fun of her which was in vain, really, because Ellie didn't care at all. Nobody took much stock in anything Pansy had to say anyway and as long as she was standing next to Draco, Ellietta felt a bit invincible. No one would dare to insult Malfoy's best friend. No one that didn't want to end up in a full body bind anyway.

She had begun to believe when Draco called her his best friend. Her skepticism vanished as their bond grew. There was something about Hogwarts, or maybe just one particular pale blonde student, that enabled Ellietta to open up her tightly sealed off heart just a little. The first thing she'd ever felt, after all, had been Draco's happiness when his wand had chosen him. She had thought about their odd connection when she had been alone and lonely in her room over the winter holidays, but she'd come up empty. Despite the fact that it didn't make any sense at all, she liked it.

She liked that there was nowhere he could hide. They'd discovered over the past few weeks that Ellietta had a strange knack for picking up on Draco's precise location. She could feel where he was. Draco wasn't so fond of this new ability because it meant that he had absolutely no chance of ever taking her by surprise. Ellie also liked that she, and she alone, could see through his facades. No matter how stoic Draco appeared, she could always tell what was bubbling just beneath the surface whether it was excitement or disappointment or anything else. It seemed the more time she and Draco spent together, the more in tune with emotions Ellietta became. Her mother's words of warning were long forgotten.

It was not just with Draco that Ellietta had formed a sort of bond. For the first time in her life, she had real friends. It was nice to be a part of something, even if that something was just a rather odd assortment of preteen boys. Theodore Nott, whom Ellie had taken to simply calling Theo, found her dry sense of humor equal parts entertaining and endearing and the two could often be found bantering back and forth in the common room. Blaise Zabini held Ellietta in great respect ever since she'd stood up to a group of third years who'd been giving him a hard time. He admired her courage and had begun to grace her with his companionship even in Draco's absence. Most surprising, Ellietta found, were Crabbe and Goyle. Crabbe wasn't a half bad conversationalist at times and his and Goyle's unswerving loyalty to Draco seemed to have extended to Eliietta a bit. Anyone caught giving Pansy's ridiculous rumors a second thought would get an earful, at the very least, from the frightening duo.

One uneventful morning Draco and Ellietta were traversing the Great Hall in an effort to get to the Slytherin table, which the rest of their little group was already seated at. They were nearing halfway there, just by the Gryffindor table, when Draco stopped dead in his tracks. He'd heard something worth listening to.

"Hermione, how many times in our lives are we going to see a dragon hatch?" Ron was asking, a whining tone in his voice.

Ellietta tugged on Draco's hand to try and get him moving again but it was no use. He was firmly planted in the spot in which he stood.

"We've got lessons, we'll get into trouble," Hermione nagged, "and that's nothing to what Hagrid's going to be in when someone finds out what he's doing."

"Shut up!" Harry whisper-yelled, his eyes locked on Draco's.

A grin appeared on Draco's lips, but not the pleasant type that made Ellietta want to smile too. This grin was darker, twisted. This time when she tugged on his hand he didn't protest. He sauntered triumphantly to the Slytherin table and settled into his seat, the same look still pasted to his face.

"Ellie and I overheard a most interesting conversation," Draco said as he buttered a slice of toast.

"Oh?" Crabbe grabbed another slice of toast for himself, "What about?"

"That oaf, Hagrid," Draco laughed, "he's got a dragon."

"A dragon?" Goyle parroted.

"Yes, you idiot," Draco hissed, "A dragon. That's what I said. Seems like the perfect opportunity to get Potter and Weasley kicked out of Hogwarts for good. And the mudblood. And Hagrid. This is going to be good."

"Count me out," Blaise called as he stood up to leave, his plate empty.

"Good luck Malfoy," Theo chuckled, "but you'll have to count me out as well."

"No fun at all," Draco mumbled as Blaise walked away.

"Will you join me in the library, Ell?" Theo held out his hand, "Could use some help in Transfiguration."

"Thanks for the invite but I think I'll stay here," Ellietta replied quietly.

"Of course," Theo smiled sadly and started for the library on his own.

"Ell?" Draco spluttered, once Theo was safely (hopefully) out of earshot, "Since when does he call you Ell?"

"It's just a nickname," Ellietta's hand found it's way to Draco's under the table and gave it a light squeeze, "You've got nothing to be jealous of."

"I'm not jealous," he insisted, "I'm not."

"I'll do you a favor and pretend I believe you," Ellietta laughed, "So what's your grand plan to get rid of Potter and his friends, anyway?"

"I'm not entirely sure yet," Draco admitted, "but I'll figure it out."

"Sounds good," Goyle gave Draco a thumbs up.

They finished up breakfast without much incident and made their way outside for Herbology. The class was boring, as it usually was. Ellietta already knew almost everything Professor Sprout was teaching. Draco often joked that the only difference between she and Hermione (or "The Mudblood" as he liked to call her) was that Ellietta never raised her hand. She didn't see a point. She already knew the answers, why did everyone else have to know she knew? By the end of the lesson, Ellietta was ready for a nap but a tap on the shoulder from Draco caught her attention. He was pointing to three figures in the distance, nearing Hagrid's hut.

"Come on," he urged, "Let's follow them."

Ellie had to run as fast as she could to keep up with Draco. He was a lot taller than her which made him a lot faster as well. He was already perched atop an old wooden crate, peering through the window curiously, by the time Ellietta arrived huffing and puffing. He helped her up on to the crate so she could see too. Through the curtains a large ivory colored egg was visible on the table and Hagrid, Hermione, Ron, and Harry were all circled around it, waiting. After a minute or two there was a cracking sound and the egg split into jagged pieces. There in the middle of it lay the baby dragon.

It sneezed, sparks flew out of it's nose, and Ellietta felt Draco quiver beside her. Hagrid began to talk but since the window was shut, it was hard to hear what he was saying. His head snapped in the direction of the window and the two spies froze. Suddenly Hagrid was taking huge strides toward the window. They'd been caught. Draco grabbed Ellie's hand and pulled her off the crate and across the rippling grass. They heard the door of the hut creak open but they didn't dare stop to turn and see who was watching. Draco didn't stop running until they were safely back inside the castle. He didn't let go of Ellietta's hand until they were back in the common room, and only because Crabbe poked fun at them.

"Out of breath and holding hands?" He giggled, "What've you two been up to?"

"Formulating a plan," Draco glared, taking a seat on the sofa, "And what've you been up to? Reaching new levels of stupid?"

"Stupid has levels?" Goyle scratched his head.

"What is the plan?" Ellietta asked, ignoring Goyle, "Are you going to tell Dumbledore?"

"Not yet," Draco stated thoughtfully, "If I tell him now only Hagrid will get in trouble. Potter won't be able to resist helping him though, and if I wait until he does then I can get rid of them all."

And wait he did. A week dragged by slowly with Draco following the trio of Gryffindors like a lost puppy, waiting for them to slip up. They had gone to Hagrid's hut a few more times but nothing very eventful happened. Ellietta tried only once to talk Draco out of his plan. Only once, because she knew almost immediately that she'd get nowhere. She could feel his anger seeping out from within. He wanted to get even with Ron for punching him in the face and with Harry, well, for being The Chosen One, Ellietta supposed. It seemed as though Draco's revenge plot was never going to come to fruition, and Ellie was growing tired of hearing about it.

She'd gone to the room of requirement for a moment's peace and gotten lost in a book. She had been there a while, though the exact amount of time escaped her. She had no idea what time it was when she heard a scuffling noise by the door. Ellietta took a few steps closer, but she could see nothing. Nobody was there. Then, suddenly, Ron Weasley was there tucking some sort of glittering cape under his arm. His other arm he held close to his chest. It was dotted with teeth marks and fresh red blood oozed from within them.

"Thank Merlin you're here!" he cried out upon seeing Ellietta, "It bit me! Stupid dragon bit me!"

"Dragon?" Ellie pretended not to know what he was talking about.

"I saw you outside Hagrid's with Malfoy," he glowered, "The purple hair gave you away."

"Was it purple that day?" she turned a page in her book.

"Enough clowning around," Ron whined, "I came to find you so you could fix it. I know you fixed the black eye I gave your boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend," Ellietta put her book down, "And a black eye is quite different from a dragon bite. I'm afraid you'll have to go see Madam Pomfrey. Tell her a dog bit you or something."

Ron groaned, in annoyance or discomfort Ellietta wasn't sure. She withdrew a small white handkerchief from the pocket of her robes and wrapped it gently around Ron's bloodied hand.

"That's the best I can do," she said softly.

"Well, come on then," Ron moved toward the door, "I'll get you back to your common room. It's almost midnight. Filch'll have a ball if he sees you."

"Is it really that late?" she mumbled, following him.

"Yes, it is," he replied, "Now get under the cloak."

"Merlin's beard!" Ellietta exclaimed, "Where on earth did you get an invisibility cloak?"

"It's Harry's," Ron explained, "Stop asking questions and get over here or I'll leave you to try your luck with Filch."

She obliged and Ron threw the cloak over them with his good hand. They had to walk closer together than they normally would in order for the cloak to cover the both of them completely. Ellie was pretty sure Ron was even closer than necessary, the way his face was practically buried in her hair. As they made their way down the empty corridor, she realized he smelled like death. Her nose crinkled.

"Rats," he whispered, by way of explanation.

They arrived in front of the blank wall in the dungeons just a few minutes later. Ellietta said the password and the wall slid aside, the empty common room visible through the opening. Ron tossed the cloak off and Ellietta took a step forward, but abruptly stopped, and turned around to face him.

"Thanks for walking me back, Ron," she smiled at him.

"No problem," he grinned nervously, "You smell good. Er, I mean, that's not what I meant."

"It's okay," she shrugged, and the wall slid shut between them.

She yawned as she shuffled to her dormitory, oblivious to the fact that she was not alone.