Nobody Cared Enough !

Cʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 3

7 Sept 1991

The prefect Gordon Billock, in charge of the boys dorms, was met by a gentle fog of goose feathers and down as he opened the door to Harry and Draco's dorm. He'd been sent by their Head of House to check on the two boys who had not made it to breakfast.

"Up! Up!" snarled Gordon. Taking out his wand, he splashed each boy with a chilling Aguamenti Charm.

Draco and Harry shot awake, both screeching from the chill water. They scrambled from their beds, wiping the sleep from their eyes.

"It's Saturday!" Draco snapped angrily. "I always sleep in late on Saturdays!"

"Not any more you don't, Malfoy. Breakfast is at 9am on Saturdays and you know the rule: No meals are to be skipped and you both missed breakfast." He looked around at all the feathers. "The professor wanted you, Potter, to meet him at 10am in the Entrance Hall. I don't think that's..."

"Yes it will be!" Harry interrupted. "We can get this clean!" Harry glanced worriedly at Draco who just shrugged.

"Tempus," Gordon said as he waved his wand. He studied the glowing numbers that appeared just in front of him. "You both have a half hour. Get to it!"

Harry started scooping up the feathers the second Gordon had left their dorm. For several minutes Draco watched with a slight puzzled sneer.

"He didn't say we had to do it the Muggle way, Harry," Draco finally declared.

Harry stood up. "What? How else are we going to clean this?"

"Summon a house elf."

Harry's eyes widened. "We're not s'posed to do that, Draco!"

"Like anyone's gonna know," Draco huffed. "House elf!"

To Harry's astonishment, a short, brown-skinned little being with a large head and skinny arms and legs wearing a tea towel embroidered with the Hogwarts crest popped into their dorm.

"Young Masters summon Girty?" the house elf smiled and bobbed his head.

Draco ordered, "Clean this mess up."

"No! Don't!" Harry cried out. The house elf was about to snap his fingers, but stopped at Harry's order.

"Harry!" groused Draco.

"It's against the rules!" Harry's voice broke as he shouted back.

"It's a stupid rule!" Draco shouted right back.

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

Draco's temper went through the dungeon roof and he leapt upon Harry and started punching him. There was thumping on the stairs as Gordon slammed into the dorm. He grabbed the nearest boy, Draco, and pulled him off of Harry who was curled up into a ball, protecting his head. Knowing without seeing that his attacker was gone, Harry, still retaining his rolled up hedgehog shape, scrambled between the side of his bed and the night table.

"Corner, Malfoy!" snapped Gordon. When it looked like Draco was going to protest, Gordon glared, "NOW!"

Draco stomped over to the corner by his bed and faced it with his arms crossed over his chest and a dark frown upon his face.

Gordon bent over Harry who was whispering so rapidly that Gordon couldn't understand what the little boy was saying. He crouched down. "Potter? You okay?"

"P-please don't hit me!" he whimpered.

Gordon stood and backed away. He saw the house elf who was still awaiting orders. "Go get Professor Snape. Tell him that there's something wrong with Potter."