Chapitre 17: Malfoy becomes a stalker, and Oleandra runs across the main plot
Much to Oleandra and Daphne's chagrin, the holidays wouldn't last forever, and so they once again returned to Hogwarts. This also meant that Oleandra had to endure gruelling training sessions with the Slytherin Quidditch team again.
In February, Oleandra won her first ever Quidditch match, which was against Ravenclaw. A month later, Flint made every member of the team come watch Gryffindor's match against Hufflepuff, to "learn their strategies", Flint had said. Snape was refereeing the match and Dumbledore was also in attendance.
The Gryffindors seemed to be in a hurry to end the match, and they soon did when Potter caught the Snitch a mere five minutes after it had begun.
"Their bloody seeker is too good!" Flint raged. "Greengrass, we're doubling your training!"
"Hold on," said Oleandra. At this point, she was ready to say anything to get out of training. "Isn't this a good thing? The match ended 180-20."
"So?"
"Well, whoever has the most points in total wins the Inter-House Cup, right?"
"Yeah, and the Gryffindors just got another 180!"
"Did this guy really have Troll blood," Oleandra wondered.
"The point is, it's really not in their best interest to have short matches, since their Chasers can't score that many points. Potter and I are the best seekers in school, which means the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw don't stand a chance against Slytherin and Gryffindor, since they can't bridge the 150-point gap from catching the Snitch. Since we're the only real competitors, wouldn't it make much more sense to stretch the game out and get as many points as we could possibly get?"
"I get it," said Flint with a sly smile. "But you still need more training, so that you can prevent the enemy seeker from getting the Snitch!"
Oleandra groaned.
Oleandra was very annoyed. Malfoy had become even more irritating as of late, if such a thing were possible, filling the ears of anyone who'd listen about how he'd get back at Weasley and his friends for giving him a black eye. He had even taken up stalking, following the Gryffindor gang everywhere, trying to catch them doing something against the rules.
At any rate, Oleandra had other things to do, such as the piles and piles of homework she had been putting off, rationalizing that it wouldn't take long to finish them after using Ingwaz. She was considering leaving the common room to do her homework in the library, since even Malfoy would have to keep his voice down there.
"I just know they're up to something," Malfoy said. "Recently Potter and his hangers-on met up with that great big oaf."
If Oleandra's eyes could roll back any further, then she would have certainly done so.
"They kept talking very loudly about stones, dogs and dragons," Malfoy continued. "It might be code for something. Then, I checked the books they had taken out, and they were all about dragons. I mean, nobody would be dumb enough to raise a dragon on the castle grounds, right? It has to be a code."
Oleandra was about to grab her things and leave, when she heard the word 'dog' associated with the Gryffindor trio. She stopped dead in her tracks, remembering what Neville had said about the three-headed dog guarding something. And now, a dragon had apparently been added to the ranks of the protectors? Now she absolutely had to know what they were guarding! Perhaps that mysterious stone?
"Hey Malfoy," she greeted him in a sweet voice. "I've been watching those three as well, and I'm sure they're up to no good. Would you mind telling me if you find out anything?"
Malfoy immediately accepted. It seemed as if he were glad that he had finally found someone genuinely interested in his stories about stalking.
Oleandra hoped Malfoy wouldn't make a habit of coming to her whenever the Gryffindor trio did something. This is a one-time only deal, all right! Go bother someone else next time!
At any rate, Oleandra wouldn't have to wait long, because a few days later Malfoy would come to her, looking as excited as a puppy.
"They were talking about hatching a dragon!" he said. "So, I followed them after classes to the gamekeeper's hut, and there really was a baby dragon! They saw me though, so they might try to hide or get rid of it."
"That's great!" Oleandra him. "Individuals aren't allowed to keep dragons, it's against the law!"
A week passed as Oleandra was trying to figure out how she could use this information to blackmail the Gryffindor trio into revealing what the three-headed dog was guarding, but she wouldn't have to think about it too hard, seeing as Granger came up to her on her own.
At this point, the three of them had been worried out of their minds about Malfoy knowing about Norbert the dragon. What's more, Malfoy had learned of their plans to send Norbert away, but there was no more time to change them! But before they did anything drastic, Hermione had an idea. What if they asked somebody they knew in Slytherin to talk to Malfoy on their behalf?
There was only one Slytherin Hermione would be considered to be on speaking terms with, and it was Oleandra, seeing as she had saved her life. Thus, on Thursday after Defence Against the Dark Arts, Hermione and Potter approached Oleandra.
"Do you have a moment?" Granger asked. "I'd like to ask you a favour. Could you keep Malfoy occupied Saturday night? I'm not asking you to do this for free. I've noticed you're struggling with Transfiguration, and I could help —"
"Everyone in Slytherin already knows about the dragon," said Oleandra coolly. "I've got a counterproposal."
"Oh," said Granger quietly.
"They've heard Malfoy talking about the dragon, but they don't believe him," Oleandra continued. "I can help you keep it that way, and misdirect Malfoy the night you're taking it away."
"Then, what do you want?"
"I also know about the stone," Oleandra said confidently. She actually didn't know what this referred to. It might have been another guardian, or even the prize itself. "I want to exchange information. You guys go first."
By saying this, she implied that she was also privy to the secret, making them more likely to let slip information they thought was common knowledge! And right on cue…
"How did you find out about the Philosopher's stone?" Potter asked in amazement, ignoring Granger's angry stare.
"It was rather easy," Oleandra said, trying to buy time to think. "Ingwazzz…"
Oleandra's mind raced, and she remembered the Nicolas Flamel card she had got from a chocolate frog, and how she had thought it might come in handy.
"What else but a gold-generating, elixir of immortality dispensing stone could it have been, with such a guardian?" Oleandra said offhandedly. "Who else but the greatest wizard of our time would the great alchemist Nicolas Flamel entrust the stone to?"
Even Hermione was convinced that Oleandra knew more than them at this point, she knew the subject matter too well! It had taken the three Gryffindors a lot of trials and tribulations, as well as lucky coincidences to make it this far.
"Do you know what Snape's trial is?" she asked tentatively.
Aha! So, the professors were all on it, it seemed.
"Not so fast," Oleandra said. "You haven't given me any information worth my time yet."
She didn't want to seem too eager to share information, or it might have seemed suspicious.
Unfortunately, it seemed as if the pair had either run out of information, or were unwilling to reveal it.
"What exactly do you want the stone for," asked Harry suspiciously.
"It's my little sister," Oleandra said sadly. "She's got a blood curse, and she's going to die young. I wanted to cure her, or at least make it so she can live a little longer."
Harry's expression softened. He didn't know what it was like to lose someone, but he had a very good idea. But unfortunately, too much was at stake. He couldn't let anyone take the stone, for any reason. If Snape got his hands on it, Harry had a feeling that nothing good would come of it. In the end, he got Oleandra to agree to help them keep Malfoy off their backs, in exchange for Transfiguration tutoring.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone