HARRY POTTER AND THE JADE DRAGON

By Kim

Part One

I

Dragon Post

I had a visitor tonight

With tidings from a distant land.

Those far-off shores are calling me;

Should I respond? Or stay my hand?

 

It was a still and quiet night in early August. Harry Potter turned around in his bed, and tried to go to sleep. He had just managed to doze off, and was dreaming he was zooming around on his Firebolt, for some reason with Professor Severus Snape in hot pursuit of him, when a sharp tapping at his bedroom window jerked him awake again.

He sat up, half-asleep, and looked at the window. Instead of the owl he'd expected to see, there, peering at him through the glass was the strangest little creature. It had a slim, scaly, snakelike body, that glittered silver in the moonlight, and a wedge-shaped head with two gleaming eyes. It looked, in fact, exactly like a miniature dragon.

Harry, now wide awake, got out of bed and went over to the window. He looked out cautiously, to determine whether the creature was friendly or not. Tied to its back was a letter, and what looked like two rolls of parchment, one smaller than the other.

Harry opened the window, and the dragon flew in and landed on the bed. Turning its head, it opened its jaws and blew a small tendril of flame at the string tying the bundle to its back, so that the string broke and the letter and parchment fell onto the bed. Then, with a pleased chirp, it flew over to Aunt Petunia's discarded dressing-table nearby and landed on it, and then sat there, gazing into the cracked mirror and admiring itself.

Hedwig, Harry's snowy owl, had been sitting nearby watching all the while, and gave a rather sarcastic hoot. Harry went over to the bed and quickly unrolled the bigger piece of parchment. He was unable to read it; it was covered with Chinese characters, executed in beautiful, flowing brush-strokes. He unrolled the smaller parchment. It, too, was covered with Chinese characters, but there was also a horizontal line drawn at the bottom that looked as if one might place a signature there. He then opened the letter, which turned out to be in English.

TIAN-LONG ACADEMY OF THE MAGICAL ARTS

Dear Mr Potter,

This letter is the English translation of the notice in Chinese which you have just received. We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected to participate in an exchange programme between Tian-Long Academy of the Magical Arts, in Long-Shan, China, and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The programme will be carried out over a period of four months, with students from Hogwarts attending classes at Tian-Long from October - November, and students from Tian-Long attending Hogwarts during the period December - January.

The classes you will be attending at Tian-Long include :

Basic Chinese Divination

Chinese Potions

Care of Magical Creatures of China

Protection Against the Black Way

As all the necessary spellbooks will be provided, you are not required to purchase any. However, you will need to bring the equipment you are currently using for your Potions classes at Hogwarts.

If you are interested in taking part in the programme, please sign the acceptance form (smaller roll of parchment) and return it to us. We await your dragon no later than 20 August.

Yours sincerely,

Lady Hsu Wen-Li,

Headmistress

Harry read through the letter twice, trying to get over his surprise. An exchange programme in China! He'd never imagined such a thing was possible. China seemed far away, on the other side of the world. Would he have to learn Chinese? What would the students there be like? Who else from Hogwarts would be going?

At this moment, two owls soared in through the open bedroom window. One was a minute, fluffy, grey one, which Harry recognised as Pigwidgeon, Ron Weasley's owl. The other was a tawny owl, bearing two letters, one with the Hogwarts crest on it.

Harry opened the Hogwarts letter first.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Dear Mr Potter,

Please note that the new school year will begin on September the first. Attached is the usual list of books and equipment that you will require this year.

You have also been selected to participate in an exchange programme between our school and Tian-Long Academy of the Magical Arts, in Long-Shan, China. As the Chinese Magical Community has been isolated from the outside world for many years, we are hoping that this exchange will be able to contribute in some small way to the gradual opening up of its borders. You are therefore strongly encouraged to take part. Please note, however, that this will not exempt you from completing the usual coursework at Hogwarts. You will be given extra classes during the course of the year, and are expected to spend some of your time in China completing assignments which will be handed out to you.

If you wish to participate in the programme, kindly sign the acceptance form which Tian-Long Academy will be sending to you.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

Deputy Headmistress

Harry opened the second letter which the tawny owl had brought. It was from Jeanne, who was assistant to Hagrid, the gamekeeper at Hogwarts.

Dear Harry,

Remus and I send you our regards. This is a quick note because things are quite busy at the moment. How have your holidays been? I hope everything is going well with you.

You must have read Professor McGonagall's letter by now. I hope you'll take part in the exchange programme. To encourage you to attend, I thought I'd let you know that Hermione and Ron have also been selected. I may be going as well, tell you more about it when school starts.

love from Jeanne

Finally, Harry opened Pigwidgeon's letter, which of course was from Ron. It looked as if it had been scribbled in a hurry.

Dear Harry,

Exciting news, this small dragon just popped into the living room and gave Mum a fright. Seems that Hogwarts is having an exchange programme with a wizarding school in China and I've been selected to attend. Sounds interesting, doesn't it? I've decided to go. I really hope you're going too. Am writing to Hermione as well, I guess she should have been selected, she did so well in the exams last year. I'll be getting the usual school stuff in London the week before term starts, shall we meet up then? Send a reply with Pig as soon as you can.

Ron

Harry laid all the letters and the rolls of parchment before him on the bed, and looked at them. Then, he did the only thing he felt he could possibly do: taking his quill and ink, he signed the acceptance form, and tied it to the little dragon's back. He then brought the dragon to the window (with some difficulty, because it seemed to want to continue gazing raptly at itself in the mirror) and threw it out. He stood at the window, watching it as it flew off, high into the night sky, and eventually disappeared.

 

 

II

The Magic of The Orient

 

The Magic of the Orient

Lies hidden in a quiet street.

We never knew that it was there,

A place where East and West may meet.

 

 

 

 

On the last Thursday before school reopened, Harry found himself together with Ron and Hermione, weaving through the crowded streets of Diagon Alley. Their arms were filled with new spellbooks, and Ron was having a heated argument with Hermione.

Harry had had no trouble in getting down to London. The Dursleys had gone away on vacation, and had parked Harry with old Mrs Figg before they'd left. Mrs Figg did not voice any objection when Harry had requested he make a day trip down to London, and Harry was so relieved that for once he didn't even mind enduring the cabbage-smelling house or the endless photographs of cats he was forced to look at.

Ron had sent him a small packet of Floo Powder, via Pigwidgeon, and on the appointed day, Harry waited till Mrs Figg had left the house for her weekly visit to the pet shop (to replenish her supply of cat food), and then threw a handful of powder into the fireplace, and set off.

Ron was cross because Hermione wanted to look for a bookstore where she could buy some Chinese spellbooks.

"We're only going to be in China for two months, Hermione," Ron said impatiently. "It's not worth it, buying any books. Besides, all the spellbooks are probably written in Chinese. You can't possibly learn Chinese in one month - it's a horribly difficult language."

"There have to be some English translations," said Hermione firmly. "I've seen references to a few in some of the library books at Hogwarts."

"That's it - you can just borrow the books from the library, instead of buying them," said Ron, pouncing on this. "That'll make more sense. If you buy the books, you'll just end up using them for two months and then never touch them again."

"There aren't any Chinese books in the Hogwarts library," said Hermione. "I would know if there were."

Harry grinned at Ron.

"Don't forget, Ron, Hermione probably knows every book in the library by now," he said.

"She's nutters," grumbled Ron irritably. "The weather's sweltering today, and we could be sitting at Florean Fortescue's now, having ice cream. But no, she's got to go on this wild-goose chase. Look at all the books she's holding, she can't possibly carry any more."

Hermione, however, ignored this, and continued marching determinedly down the street, looking at the shops.

 

They were just passing Ollivander's when the door opened, and who should come out, but Professor Lupin and Jeanne. Lupin was looking amused, and Jeanne was holding a new wand, and looking absolutely thrilled. She caught sight of Harry, Ron and Hermione, and waved the wand at them in greeting, sending sparks shooting out of it.

"I've got my own wand, at last," she said gleefully.

Lupin smiled at them.

"I heard about the exchange programme," he said, his eyes twinkling, "Congratulations."

Ron was still glowering at Hermione, but Harry grinned and said, "thanks," while Hermione beamed at them.

"How did the wedding - " Harry began, but Hermione suddenly cut in eagerly, "Harry says you'll be coming with us to China, Jeanne. Is it true? But, surely you won't be attending classes with us?"

"It's not confirmed that I'm going, yet," said Jeanne, smiling, and then, noticing Lupin glancing at his watch, added, "I'll tell you about it when school starts. We have to rush off somewhere now."

"Just a second, Jeanne," called Hermione, as they were leaving, "Do you know of any place where I can have a look at some Chinese spellbooks?"

Ron, standing behind Hermione, gazed imploringly at Jeanne and shook his head vigorously, but Lupin was already replying, "there's a bookshop a few streets down, at the corner on the left. It's called 'The Magic of the Orient'."

Hermione beamed at them, and then stood there, watching as they disappeared into the crowd.

"I think it's so romantic, that they're finally together, even after all that happened last term," she said sentimentally.

"Hermione, you're making my skin crawl," said Ron. "And forget about the Chinese books. Let's go to Florean Fortescue's, I saw he's got several new flavours out…"

"We didn't ask them how the wedding went," added Hermione pensively, ignoring Ron, and then she turned and started off down the street in the direction Lupin had indicated.

Ron gave Harry a look of despair, as they turned and followed her.

"The Magic of the Orient" proved to be a small, decrepit-looking shop, run by a diminutive, bespectacled Indian man with bright eyes and a neat little moustache. He was sitting behind the cash register, wearing an untidily-wound turban, holding a snake-charmer's pipe, and playing to a very tired-looking cobra located in a basket in front of him. At intervals, he would solemnly refer to a tattered book lying open at his side, which Harry saw was entitled "Charming Your First Snake".

The shop did not only sell books. It also contained several cages of snakes, and a selection of snake-charmer's pipes of different sizes. Another large cage contained five little brown dragons, similar to the one that had delivered the letters to Harry. The cage was marked - Trained postal dragons - 30 galleons each. On one long shelf was an array of ancient-looking oil-lamps, gleaming dully in the light, with a sign stuck next to it :

"Experienced genies for sale. Please do not rub; ask for assistance first." In a corner was a pile of rather mouldy-looking carpets, all with intricate and colourful patterns on them. Here, the sign said, "Licensed dealer for Genuine Flying Carpets. We only stock Persian, Indian, and Arabian. Dry-clean only." Next to the sign was a framed certificate, issued by the Ministry of Magic.

Ron looked suspiciously at the certificate. "I must get Dad to check on this," he muttered to Harry.

Hermione had wandered off to look at the books. Going up to join her, Harry glanced at some of the titles : A Beginner's Guide to Levitation; the Development of the Magical Arts in India; Fake, Fact, and Fiction : A Fakir's Autobiography. On the next shelf : Training Your First Genie - a Step-by-Step Guidebook; How To Take Proper Care of your Flying Carpet.

"Here's the China shelf!" said Hermione, stopping at the very last shelf. "Oh," - her face fell a bit - "Most of them are all in Chinese."

Ron, however, had been distracted by something.

"Look," he said, "they've got games and puzzles here…they've got Chinese Chess!"

He pushed aside a small, cubical box labelled "Chinese Magic Box" in large letters, and in smaller letters "Impossible to open, yet simple", and took a larger, rectangular box out from underneath. It was marked "Xiang-Qi, Chinese Chess" and as he picked it up, the pieces inside all rattled excitedly.

Hermione gave him a withering look, as if dismissing any games as frivolous, and then turned back to the books. Harry went over to join her.

"There are some second-hand books in English," he said, bending down.

Hermione, however, was examining a large Chinese - English dictionary. She flipped through it, then stopped at one page.

"Look, I've found the Chinese word for swallow, as in the bird," she said, looking at the small illustration of a swallow flying around the page in fascination. She pressed the Chinese character with her index finger, and the book suddenly said, "yàn!" in a high-pitched lady's voice.

Hermione was so surprised that she almost dropped the book. She pressed the character again, and the book said, "yàn!" again.

"It's a talking book!" she said excitedly. "That would solve the problem of learning the intonation of the words." She flipped to another section, and pressed another character.

"Shàn," said the dictionary.

"That means good and kind," read Hermione, getting more excited. Harry could see from her face that the dictionary was as good as sold.

He stooped down, and randomly took one of the second-hand books out. It was old and faded; the title went "Diary of an English Wizard in China During the Years 1900 - 1907, by Septimus Snufflegint".

Harry flipped through the book, and on one page, the word "shape-shifter" caught his eye.

"During my stay at the Imperial Court, I met several interesting people, but none more so than a certain warrior named Wang-Mang. He was known for his outstanding bravery, but what was unusual about him was that he had mastered the Animagus Transformation to such an extent that he could transform into virtually any animal that he wished. On having further speech with him, I learned to my astonishment that he had not achieved this state with the same effort that we seem to require in the west. The ability had come naturally to him, even as a child. Moreover, although this talent added to the respect that the other Chinese accorded him, no one else seemed as surprised as I that one should possess such an ability. It seems that most of the Chinese believe, from tradition, that such shape-shifters have existed, through the centuries, although very rare.

Intrigued by this, I sought permission to examine the Imperial Library, and after a long and intensive search, discovered that a record of such shape-shifters does indeed exist, although not common, whether in historical archives or in folklore. I also later found another piece of information in a book on Chinese mythology which was rather interesting :

'For centuries, the people of China have revered the dragon, believing themselves in fact to have been descended from that race. The dragon is a creature of good who has the power of transformation and brings life-giving rains. It was a supernatural creature able to accept any type of form, capable of morphing from one form into another within a few seconds…' "

"Look at this," said Harry to Hermione, rather excited. Ron, who was still reading the instructions on the Xiang-Qi box, also came over to look.

"It's interesting, isn't it?" said Harry, as the two of them read the passage. "It makes sense, then, why Jeanne is a shape-shifter."

"Well, yeah, but that stuff about the Chinese being descended from dragons, that's only a myth," pointed out Ron.

"It's still interesting, though," said Hermione, her eyes shining. "Oh, I think we're so lucky, travelling to China is going to be such an adventure!"

"We've still got to get through all our usual work at Hogwarts, though," said Ron gloomily. "And we've got to take Divination in China as well. You can't possibly be excited about that, Hermione."

"Chinese Divination is probably different from ours," said Hermione primly. "And we'll have another teacher. That can make a lot of difference."

She turned back to the books, and Ron wandered back to the chess-set. Harry, not finding any other books of particular interest to look at, went over to watch the Indian shopkeeper and his cobra.

The cobra, still swaying to the music of the snake-charmer's pipe, was looking very disgruntled by now. As it swayed, it hissed something to a small python which was coiled up in a cage nearby. Harry found, to his surprise, that he knew what it was saying, before he remembered that he understood Parseltongue.

"My back is killing me," the cobra hissed fretfully to the python.

"Bite him, then," replied the python, looking unperturbed.

"I can't," groaned the cobra. "He removed all my venom this morning."

At this moment, Hermione came up to the counter with a pile of books in her arms.

"I'll take all these," she said, smiling brightly at the little shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper put his pipe aside, and put a hand up to reposition his turban, which had become slightly askew.

"Ah, you are interested in China?" he said, looking at the pile of books.

"We're going there on an exchange programme," said Hermione importantly. Ron had reluctantly concluded that he couldn't afford the Chinese Chess set, and had come over to join them.

Hermione paid up, and as she gathered up her books, the shopkeeper said, "Next time, you must visit India as well - "

There was suddenly a loud, cracking sound coming from the python's cage, succeeded by a ripping noise. The shopkeeper broke off in mid-speech, looked over at the cage, and gave a falsetto screech of horror.

The cobra had managed to nudge the snake-charmer's pipe over to the python's cage, and the python had crushed the pipe in its coils. It lay there, humming cheerfully to itself, ripping the pipe into small pieces, and throwing them out one by one with flicks of its tail. The cobra, in the meantime, was grimly shredding 'Charming Your First Snake' into small strips of paper.

The little Indian man promptly went into a fit of hysterics, and started screeching at the two snakes in rage. Ron and Hermione, leaving the shop after Harry, were wondering why Harry was doubling over in a fit of helpless laughter.

 

 

 

 

III

A New Term Begins

 

There's always a price to pay, my dear

You can't go to China for free.

There are lots of assignments for you to clear,

Plus books to be read : volumes one, two, three

And you'd better some Chinese culture learn

So you won't appear quite so ignorant.

 

 

 

 

 

"Potter! Weasley! Granger! I want a word with you!"

Harry, Ron and Hermione turned to look in the direction of the voice. Professor McGonagall, tall and beady-eyed, was standing at the entrance of the Great Hall. The start of term feast had ended, and the three of them had just left the Hall together with the other Gryffindors.

They turned to follow her, wondering what trouble they could have got into when the term had barely started. Professor McGonagall led them swiftly to her office, sat down at her desk, and waved her wand. Three stools appeared out of nowhere, and positioned themselves in front of the desk.

"Sit," she said briskly.

They sat down, and looked at her.

Professor McGonagall took out three sheets of parchment, and laid them on her desk.

"Right," she said in a businesslike tone. "The three of you have decided to take part in the exchange programme. That will mean some additional effort on your part. These are the assignments you will be missing here while you are in China from October to November. We will be giving you extra lessons, but there is no harm if you start reading up on them earlier." She handed one sheet of parchment to each of them.

Hermione looked pleased, but Ron and Harry's faces fell when they saw the long list. Ron involuntarily gave a small groan.

Professor McGonagall regarded him steadily.

"You were informed earlier that you would have to do extra work, Weasley," she said tartly. "You were aware of it when you signed the acceptance form. I am expecting you to perform better than you did last year."

Ron gloomily nodded, and rolled up the piece of parchment.

"I would like to remind the three of you that while you are in China, you also represent our school," continued Professor McGonagall. "You should be on your best behaviour at all times. I shall be most displeased if anyone from Gryffindor embarrasses the school in any way."

"Please, Professor, who else is going, besides us?" asked Hermione, voicing what Ron and Harry had also been wondering.

"The number is small, as this is the first time we are trying out such a programme," replied Professor McGonagall. "There will be twelve students in your class altogether : six from Tian-Long, and six from Hogwarts. The other Hogwarts students are from Slytherin : Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle."

She saw the looks of horror on their faces, and said in a very final tone, "Remember that all of you represent Hogwarts while you are there. I expect you to put aside any existing animosity and to give a good impression of our school during your stay there."

Ron couldn't seem to accept the news.

"But - why them?" he burst out. "Who did the choosing? It must have been Snape!"

Professor McGonagall glared at him.

"Professor Snape, Weasley," she said sharply. "And it was not Severus Snape, nor I, who selected all of you. The Sorting Hat was asked to make the choice. You should be happy that the three of you are together. We asked the Sorting Hat to choose students who are already familiar with one another, to minimise the chances of homesickness while you are there."

Ron and Harry's faces looked mutinous, indicating they had no desire to be familiar with Draco Malfoy.

"Professor," said Hermione, "Will the classes be in English?"

"They certainly will," replied Professor McGonagall. "The Headmistress there, Lady Wen-Li, has been planning this exchange programme for some time. She has been encouraging her staff to learn English."

She looked speculatively at them, then continued.

"Chinese culture is quite different from ours," she remarked. "I suggest you find out a little about it before you go there. You might, at least, learn how to use a pair of chopsticks. No doubt Jeanne will be able to help you."

She waved a hand, indicating that they could go.

"Remember," she said warningly, as they were leaving the room, "any news of mischief on your part while you are there will result in deduction of points from Gryffindor here."

 

 

 

 

With all the extra lessons, in addition to their usual ones, Harry, Ron and Hermione found the next few weeks flying by. Before they knew it, the last day had arrived, before they left for China.

"I'll never finish all this," moaned Ron, that afternoon in the Gryffindor common room. Books were stacked all about the three of them, and sheets of parchment lay all over the floor.

Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas were sitting a short distance away, and looked up when they heard Ron.

"At first we were pretty jealous when we heard you were going," said Dean, grinning, "but now I think we'd rather stay."

Harry closed his spellbook with a snap. His mind felt too tired to continue. He looked at Hermione, who seemed to have finished all her homework, and was reading Septimus Snufflegint's Diary Of An English Wizard in China.

"I can't believe you actually bought that book," he said.

"She bought up every English book she could find in that shop," said Ron sourly.

Hermione turned a page.

"This is an interesting book," she said. "I wonder why we aren't having any Internal Magic classes while we're there?"

Ron had taken Hermione's completed History of Magic essay, and was reading through it, scowling.

"Internal Magic?" said Harry. "What's that?"

"It's a way of doing spells, without your wand," said Hermione, her eyes still fixed on the book. "Snufflegint says the Chinese have been using it for years. He says they believe magic exists inside yourself, and you can learn to use it, without the help of a wand."

Dean Thomas, who was still listening, looked interested.

"Is that like what they do in all those Kung Fu shows?" he asked. Dean came from a family of Muggles.

Ron was still reading Hermione's essay. "What's Kung Fu?" he asked absently.

Harry had gone over to Hermione, and was reading over her shoulder.

"No wonder," he said.

Hermione looked back at him. "No wonder what?"

"Jeanne," said Harry. "She's always doing stuff without a wand. She said there were a lot of Chinese people, where she was living in Russia. She must have picked it up from them."

"Perform spells without a wand?" said Seamus. "But - that would make the Chinese more powerful than the rest of us, wouldn't it?"

"Not really," said Hermione, her eyes returning to the book. "Most of what they do with Internal Magic, any qualified wizard here can match with a wand. It seems that most of them there just use it for mundane things, anyway, like summoning something if they're too lazy to get it. To use it for duelling, that's difficult to learn; one has to go to a special school for Pugilists."

She looked up and saw Ron copying some points from her essay, and took the essay away.

"Haven't you finished yet?" she asked. "Hagrid wants us to go over this afternoon. We haven't been there for tea since term started, with all the extra classes, and if we don't go today, we won't be able to till we come back from China."

"I'll finish soon, if you lend me that," said Ron, trying to take the essay back. They started arguing, and Harry, feeling he couldn't do any more work, left them at it, and went to look for Jeanne.

Harry hadn't had a chance to talk to Jeanne since term started, although he saw her during Hagrid's Care of Magical Creatures classes, which she still helped out with, occasionally. He had noticed that she did not seem to be wearing her sullen expression any more, but tended to look more thoughtful instead.

He spotted her along the corridor, talking to, of all people, Professor Snape. She stopped when she saw Harry, excused herself, and came over to him.

"I'm off to Hagrid's now, Harry," she said. "Are you coming for tea? He's been missing all of you."

"I am," he assured her. "I was just going to look for you there. Ron and Hermione will be coming later."

They made their way out of the castle. Harry looked curiously at her.

"Are you still helping Snape with Potions?" he asked.

She grimaced, and shook her head firmly.

"I've had quite enough of Potions, for a while at least, after last year," she said, smiling rather ruefully. "The most I'm doing is helping Severus gather ingredients I happen to come across when I'm doing my rounds."

"Are you and Snape still on good terms?" Harry was thinking of some of the things he'd heard Snape say the previous term.

She looked surprised.

"I value Severus' regard more, now, actually," she said thoughtfully. "I misjudged him last year. He still seems willing to talk to me, though I know he still dislikes Remus."

Harry looked at her.

"Married life seems to agree with you," he remarked. "You look happier now. More - well, at peace."

She smiled. "Not so moody any more, you mean?" She paused, as if thinking. "I like being married," she admitted candidly. "But it's more than that. The past doesn't haunt me so much any more…it's as if what I did last term - you know, sort of made up for it."

Harry felt this was still a sensitive topic, so he decided to change the subject.

"Will you be coming with us to China?" he asked.

She nodded, looking serious.

"Dumbledore has arranged for me to learn some Internal Magic there," she said. "It will help me prevent Deorg from possessing me, if our paths meet again."

They had reached Hagrid's now, and were about to go in, when they heard someone calling from behind. Turning, they saw Ron and Hermione running to catch up with them.

Hagrid looked pleased to see them.

"Wish I could go ter China wi' all of yer," he said wistfully. "Yeh're sure ter see dragons there. Awf'ly fond o' dragons, the Chinese."

"There won't be any in the school, surely," pointed out Ron. "They're probably not allowed there, just like here."

"You're wrong, Ron," said Jeanne, smiling. "Remus and I followed Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall to Tian-Long during the school holidays, to look at the school and see the Headmistress about the programme. They do have dragons there."

"You've been there?" said Hermione eagerly. "What is it like?"

Jeanne had a teasing smile on her face.

"You'll see," she said. "I don't want to spoil the surprise for you."

"How come you and Professor Lupin are involved in the exchange programme?" asked Harry curiously.

"We're not," Jeanne replied. "Dumbledore has been training me to build up defences in my mind, so that I can fend off Deorg's attacks, and he wanted Remus to help as well. Then we heard that Internal Magic might be a better way to do it, so Dumbledore asked us to go along with them, and talk to the Internal Magic master there."

"What did he say?" asked Harry, interested.

"It turned out he wasn't there, at the time," said Jeanne, looking rather rueful. "We went there for nothing. We had a good look around the school, though. I had to go over again, last week, to meet Master Kung."

Her eyes twinkled as she looked at them.

"I met some of the students who will be your classmates, there," she said.

"You did!" said Ron. "What are they like? Do they speak English?"

Jeanne looked mischievously at them, as if considering whether to keep them in suspense, then gave in.

"Most of them are from overseas, actually," she said. "Only two are from mainland China. One is from Hong Kong, one from Taiwan, and two from Singapore."

She saw that they were going to ask more, and said firmly, "That's all I'm telling you. We shall have some food now. Professor McGonagall said I should teach you how to use chopsticks."

She took her wand out, and pointed it at the table. Three small bowls of noodles appeared, with three sets of chopsticks, together with three similar bowls of rice. Another wave of the wand, and a platter of meat and round dumplings also appeared.

"All right," said Jeanne cheerfully, demonstrating, "you hold the chopsticks, like this, and take some meat from the main platter, and you pick the noodles up, like this."

Hermione had obviously eaten Chinese before, because she was perfectly comfortable with the chopsticks. The Dursleys, of course, had never brought Harry to a Chinese restaurant, so he was all at sea. Ron appeared no better off.

"You hold the bottom stick still, and just move the top one," said Jeanne helpfully, as Harry dropped meat all over the table.

Hagrid sat by, watching and enjoying himself hugely.

"You don't expect me to pick the rice up with these, do you?" said Ron, sounding aggrieved, and glaring at his chopsticks in an affronted manner. He tried picking up one of the dumplings, which looked like round, pearly balls, and it slipped out and rolled off the table onto the floor.

"Oh, I've lost my ball," he said, peering under the table for the dumpling.

Hermione looked disapprovingly at him.

"Really," she said, as Fang, Hagrid's boarhound, came over and sniffed interestedly at the dumpling, "you're going to disgrace our school if you don't even know how to eat properly."

Hagrid chuckled.

"Yeh're not bein' fair, Hermione," he said. "It's the firs' time fer them."

By the end of the meal, Harry felt he'd more or less got the hang of the chopsticks, but Ron was still struggling. He was in a very bad mood by the time they were leaving.

"I've spent the whole day on that stupid essay, and I thought we'd get some relaxation at Hagrid's, instead of being tortured like this," he muttered to Harry.

"Oh, another thing," Jeanne called anxiously from the window as they were walking off, "Professor McGonagall said not to forget to pack your dress robes, in case there are any special events there."

Ron's face went even blacker.

"Dress robes!" he snarled, "This is just the moment I need to be reminded of those!" He took his chopsticks out - Jeanne had said they could bring them back to practise with - and flung them angrily into some nearby bushes. Then, he stomped off, fuming.

Harry and Hermione looked at each other and sighed, and then hurried to catch up with him.

 

 

 

 

IV

Tian-Long Academy of the Magical Arts

 

Above the clouds lies a hidden land

With mountains and valleys fair.

The cities there are old and grand,

And dragons fly through the air.

Our school, with five pagodas tall,

Lies on the highest mountain of all.

 

 

 

 

The Portkey was a slim, upright stone pillar which had been placed just outside the Entrance Hall. Harry, Ron and Hermione were standing near it, together with their fellow Gryffindors who had come to see them off. Jeanne was standing nearby with Professor Lupin. She was wearing green robes, which had an oriental look to them, perhaps because of the narrow mandarin-style collar, and long, full sleeves. Harry had not been able to recognise her at first; she looked very Chinese in them.

Presently Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle came down the Entrance Hall steps, followed by the Slytherins in their class. Malfoy smiled slyly when he saw them.

"Stroke of luck for you, eh, Weasley," he drawled. "Getting a holiday abroad for free. Your father'd probably have to work an extra year or two to pay for a trip like this."

Ron started forward, but Harry and Hermione each grabbed one of his arms and held him back, because Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape were coming down the Entrance Hall steps.

"Eat dung, Malfoy," hissed Ron, in an undertone, shaking Harry and Hermione's hands off. Jeanne had come over, as well. As they gathered around, hands on the Portkey, Harry noticed that she was still looking at Lupin.

Dumbledore looked at them and said cheerfully, "I need not remind you to uphold the name of Hogwarts while you are there. And, don't forget to enjoy yourselves."

It was time. Parvati, Lavendar and the others were smiling and waving, while Neville, looking as if he wished he was going, called out, "Don't forget to write!" His hand on the Portkey, Harry felt that familiar jerking feeling somewhere behind his navel, and then they were all speeding forward in a howl of wind and swirling colour.

He felt his feet slam into the ground. They had arrived. Letting go of the stone pillar, he and the others looked around with interest.

Evening was coming on, and they were standing on the slope of a high mountain. To their right, far down, they could see a city, rooftops shining golden in the setting sun. After the city, the land came to an end, and beyond that was a sea of swirling clouds in all sorts of fantastic shapes, stretching away in all directions, seemingly to the ends of the earth.

Hermione was the first to speak.

"We - we seem to be above the clouds!" she said, looking amazed.

"And you are," said an amused voice.

They turned around. A Chinese witch and wizard were standing nearby, watching them. The witch was dressed in yellow silk robes, with a pattern of phoenix in flight embroidered all over. Looking at her face, she seemed to Harry to be old, and yet young, at the same time. The wizard was old, with a sweeping white beard; his robes were a severe black, and unadorned. A long, slender sword was fastened to his belt.

Jeanne turned to the others.

"This is Lady Hsu Wen-Li, the Headmistress of Tian-Long," she said, "and Master Kung Xian-Wen, her deputy, and Master of Internal Magic."

The witch and wizard came forward, smiling. Jeanne proceeded to introduce each of the students.

"I welcome all of you to China," said Lady Wen-Li, kindly. "I hope that your experience at Tian-Long will be an interesting one, and that you will have an enjoyable time while you are here." She smiled. "Please follow me. It is a short walk to the school, which is at the summit of the mountain."

She, Jeanne and Master Kung began leading the way. Harry and the others let the Slytherins go first, and then followed, looking around.

Although they seemed quite high up, it was not cold, and a gentle breeze was blowing. Harry had that still and peaceful feeling that was associated with high places, as if one were removed from the ordinary world. As they climbed higher, the ground levelled out, and they saw the school in the distance for the first time.

It looked like a Chinese Palace. The buildings were white, with deep, overhanging curved roofs, concave in shape, the ridges of which carried figurines of various magical creatures, mostly dragons. The roof of the main palace, which was golden in colour, seemed on fire in the light of the setting sun. Five pagodas rose high up into the air. Their roofs were of glazed tiles, each of a different colour : green, red, dull yellow, black and white.

They had reached the school gates, which were circular in shape, like a full moon. What caught Harry's attention, though, was not the gate, but what was guarding it.

It was a large dragon, sitting to one side, eyes staring balefully at them. It was brown in colour, with a fringe of fine spikes around its face. The scales on its long, snakelike body glittered in the sunlight.

Lady Wen-Li and Master Kung merely nodded at the dragon, but Jeanne looked at it and smiled. The dragon gave her a regal nod, then turned its head to regard the nervous students who were following. Malfoy had put Crabbe and Goyle between him and the dragon. Ron's hand seemed to be hovering near his belt, as if he wanted to take his wand out.

The doors opened, and they entered the Moon-Gate, and made their way through the grounds. They reached a stream, and crossed the stone bridge spanning it. Willows lined the stream, and small pavilions were scattered here and there.

A handful of students were gathered outside the school entrance. Lady Wen-Li, on seeing them, turned to the Hogwarts students and smiled.

"Your classmates are here to greet you," she said. "They will show you to your dormitory, and to the Hall, where we will be having dinner."

Jeanne said, "I'll leave you people here, as well, I need to discuss something with Master Kung." She smiled, and went off, waving at the Chinese students, who waved back at her.

The Chinese students had come up to them. The two groups regarded each other bashfully for a moment, and then a wiry boy in black robes with a bushy shock of hair came forward.

"I am Wong Chee-Chong," he announced in careful English. "I am pleased to meet all of you."

He shook hands all round, and then the others came forward.

"I am Cheung Wing-Fatt," said a chubby, round-faced boy in white robes, with a slim sword in a white scabbard at his waist. He had a sing-song way of speaking, and his eyes were very small, and twinkled. "You can just call me Fatty," he added. He gave a jolly smile, and his eyes disappeared into two little slits.

The next student was a stunningly pretty girl in crimson robes. She had long hair, which had been curled, and which had a brown tint to it. Her eyelashes were very long, and when she smiled, two charming dimples appeared. She did not appear to be shy at all.

"I am Pik Hsiao-Yan," she announced, shaking their hands. "You can call me Pixie." She stopped when she came to Ron, and looked appreciatively at him.

"I always find men with red hair very interesting," she said, lowering her eyelashes and peeking at Ron through them. She then giggled.

Ron went as red as his hair, and Hermione looked rather outraged. Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle sniggered.

Chee Chong said something in Chinese to Pixie, and pushed her aside. He turned to the others.

"Don't worry about her," he said to them. "She's the schoo flirt. Half the boys in the schoo are in love with her." Chee Chong had a curious way of dropping the 'l' from the end of some of his words.

Pixie didn't seem to mind this, and giggled again.

The next girl came forward. She was tall and haughty, and dressed in pale yellow silk robes. A phoenix sat on her shoulder, its leg attached to her belt with a golden cord. It did not look particularly happy.

"I am Feng Yu-Lin," she said coolly, shaking their hands. She stopped when she came to Harry, and looked at his scar. "I am pleased to meet you, Harry Potter," she remarked. "I have heard a lot about you."

"Um," said Harry, not knowing quite what to say. He didn't think he particularly liked Yu-Lin.

Yu-Lin shook hands with him, as if conferring an honour, and then turned to Malfoy.

"You are Draco Malfoy," she said, shaking his hand. "My father knows your father. He informed me you were coming."

Malfoy gave the others a sly smile. "Yes, I know," he drawled.

Hermione turned to Fatty.

"Is everyone here?" she asked. "I thought there were supposed to be twelve of us altogether."

"Yes, yes," said Fatty. "The other two are late. Oh, they're here…"

A boy and girl, both in green robes, were hurrying up to them. Harry had an odd feeling when he saw the girl, as if he ought to know her. Then, he realised why; she reminded him of Cho Chang. She was taller and not as pretty as Cho, with short, wavy hair and spectacles, but in build and manner they were similar.

"Sorry we're late," she said, sounding out of breath. "We had Jousting practice."

She pushed her spectacles up, as they were slipping off her nose. Harry noticed that everything about her seemed to be green; besides her robes, her bag was also green, and she wore a green jade dragon pendant at her throat. A little bright green snake, with eyes like black dewdrops, peeked out of one her pockets.

"I am Lin Li-Shan," she said. "But everyone just calls me Shan. And this is my cousin, Robert Mo."

Robert was tiny. He was more than a head shorter than Shan, and his robes were as shabby and patched as Professor Lupin's had once been. The most distinctive thing about him, though, was that his spectacles seemed to reflect the surroundings, so that one could not quite see his eyes, or tell what his expression was.

Shan and Robert shook hands with the others, and then they all stood around, looking at each other.

"We will show you to your dormitory," said Chee Chong suddenly, gesturing with one long arm toward one of the pagodas nearby, and whacking Fatty in the face by accident.

"Ouch!" said Fatty, rubbing his eyes. Yu-Lin gave a little titter.

"Sorry, Fatt," said Chee Chong apologetically. Yu-Lin turned to Malfoy.

"You and your friends don't have to stay in the Green Dragon dormitory," she said coolly. "My father has written to ask Lady Wen-Li for permission for you to have better quarters in Yellow Dragon." She looked at Harry. "You may join us, if you like."

"I'll stay with the rest, thanks," said Harry shortly. He was beginning to like Yu-Lin less and less.

Yu-Lin raised her eyebrows haughtily, then turned and languidly led Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle toward another pagoda.

 

"Good riddance to her," remarked Pixie, looking after them. "Come on," she said breezily, catching Ron by the arm. "We're all too shy here. Let me show you the dormitory!"

She led the way to the green-roofed pagoda, propelling Ron by the elbow. The others followed, Hermione looking very disapproving.

"You tell your flend to watch out," said Chee Chong. He seemed to be losing his English, and was beginning to mix his 'l's and 'r's up. "Xiao-Yan has bloken many boys' hearts."

"Serves him right if she does," snapped Hermione. She was about to continue, when three postal dragons suddenly flew over to them, flying low over their heads, and startling them.

The dragons landed on Fatty, one on each shoulder and the third on his head. "Excuse me," he said to the others. He took their letters, read them, and then took a lacquer box out from inside his robes, still walking forward all the while.

Harry was surprised.

"Do all three dragons belong to him?" he asked Shan, who was next to him, Robert at her side like a little shadow.

Shan grinned, and nodded.

"Fatty is from Hong Kong," she said. "His father is a rich businessman. He's always cutting some deal of his own, watch him."

Fatty had taken a crystal globe out of the lacquer box, and taking his sword from his waist, transformed it swiftly into a wand. He tapped the globe with the wand; another wizard's face appeared in the globe, and the two started having an animated conversation.

"How did he do that to the sword?" said Harry in surprise, looking at the wand, which Fatty had now stuck into his belt.

"All our wands transform naturally into swords, and staffs," said Shan. She took her wand from her belt, and swiftly transformed it into a large sword, then into a long wooden staff. "Dueling with the sword and staff is an old tradition here. But most of the time, it's more convenient to keep them as wands." She twirled the staff several times, then transformed it back into a wand, and stuck it back into her belt.

Chee Chong had transformed his wand into a sword as well, and handed it to Harry for inspection. The scabbard was old and worn, but the blade inside gleamed as if new from the forge. Harry saw that it was made of peritin, the same material from which Starlight jewellery was usually made.

"Our swords cannot harm physically," said Shan, seeing their interest in the sword. To Harry and Hermione's horror, she took Chee Chong's sword and sliced it completely through her arm, then held her arm up to show them that it was unharmed. "They're used mostly to deflect curses, or disrupt arcane spells."

She handed Chee Chong's sword back to him. Fatty had finished with the wizard, and tapped the globe with his wand again. Another wizard appeared, and Fatty began to talk excitedly to him.

"What is he saying?" asked Hermione, listening with interest.

"We don't know," said Chee Chong. "He is speaking Cantonese. That is the dialect they use in Hong Kong. Most of us only speak Mandarin."

"He shouldn't be doing that," remarked Shan. "We've been given strict orders to speak only English while we're with you. But nothing stops Fatty from doing business, I guess."

Hermione looked curiously at Shan and Chee Chong's robes. The Chinese students' robes were like Jeanne's, with narrow collars and long, full sleeves.

"Why are all your robes of different colours?" she asked. "Isn't there a standard uniform?"

"We wear the colours of our Houses," explained Shan. "I'm in Green Dragon, with Robert. Chee Chong is in Black Tortoise, Fatty is in White Tiger, and Pixie is in Crimson Phoenix. Yu-Lin is in Yellow Dragon."

"That must be the equivalent of Slytherin, here," muttered Harry to Hermione. Shan looked interested.

"Is that the House Draco Malfoy is in?" she asked. "Yellow Dragon is not all bad, but most of the nobility are in it, and most of the rich people too." Robert was still by her side, keeping silent and looking straight ahead. Harry found him slightly unnerving.

Fatty had finished with the second wizard and was now talking to a third.

"Brack Tortoise is the House with the not-so-smart people," said Chee Chong gloomily. "That is why I am there."

Shan patted him on the shoulder.

"That's not true, Chong," she said.

"How do you get sorted into your Houses?" asked Harry curiously.

Shan pushed her spectacles up her nose again, and looked at him.

"We have five magical House animals," she said. "They do the choosing. All the first-years line up in a row, and the animals go up to the ones who should be in their House. The Tortoise always takes the longest, so they usually let him start first."

"How interesting," said Hermione, looking enthusiastic. "What a pity we won't get to see that."

"You can see each House animal at the entrance to the House Pagodas," said Shan. "There's mine, now."

She pointed at a green dragon which was perched over the large entrance of the green-roofed pagoda. Ron hesitated, as if loath to enter underneath the dragon, but Pixie was already dragging him in.

"Honestly," Hermione hissed in Harry's ear, "The way Ron is behaving!"

Fatty had finished with the third wizard. He dropped the globe back into the lacquer box, and took a large seal out instead. Taking his three letters, he stamped each of them with the seal, and then tied one to each dragon, which then flew off. He then tucked both seal and lacquer box away in his robes, and came to join them as they entered the Pagoda, humming and looking pleased with himself.

There were two large spiral staircases in the foyer inside. The stairs in one seemed to be moving upward all the time, while those in the other were moving downward, vanishing into the floor as they touched it.

"We're on the top floor," said Shan, stepping onto the upward-moving stairs behind Robert, who was going up first. "Fatty and Chee Chong will be sleeping in your dorm for these two months, instead of with their own Houses."

When they reached the top, they found Pixie and Ron admiring the view.

"That's the Celestial City," said Pixie, as they came up to join them. She pointed at the city below. The light was fading now, and the city was full of twinkling lights.

"Each student gets a night out, once a month, if his net number of demerits is zero," Pixie added, dimpling at them. "We can show you around the city, then." Her eyes fell on Ron as she said this. Hermione frowned.

Robert, Chee Chong and Fatty had gone inside the boys' dormitory. Harry, noticing this, turned to Shan. The little green snake in her pocket was peeking out at him.

"This is LeafSong, my pet snake," she said, smiling, when she saw him looking at it. "Don't worry, she's not poisonous."

LeafSong looked at him with bright eyes, before disappearing back inside the pocket. Harry looked at Shan.

"Is Robert all right?" he whispered, so that the others wouldn't hear. "I mean, he doesn't have anything against us, does he?"

Shan laughed.

"No, no, it's just Robert," she said. "He's just very quiet. He never says a word unless he has to."

Pixie heard her, and came over.

"Your cousin frightens me, Shan," she said, dimpling. "Why don't you ask him to change his glasses? Then we can tell what he's thinking."

"He's fine as he is, Xiao-Yan," said Shan, bristling and glaring at her.

Pixie giggled.

"Shan is very protective of Robert," she said to Harry. "But you can't always let him stick to you," she added, to Shan, "otherwise, how are you going to find a boyfriend?"

Shan, obviously used to Pixie's nonsense, didn't bother to reply to this. Harry privately thought he preferred Robert to Pixie, who was beginning to irritate him.

Hermione looked disapprovingly at Pixie, then cleared her throat and said, "Let's have a look at the dorms."

Harry went into the boys' dormitory together with Ron. His trunk had arrived earlier, and Hedwig was there, in her cage. Pigwidgeon was twittering away on top of Ron's trunk.

He had a Chinese-style, canopied bed, with six narrow posts and inlaid with marble. The bed was made of rosewood, intricately carved, and had cushions upholstered in Chinese silk. Chinese lanterns lit the room. Large windows ran along the entire room, giving a good view of the surrounding mountains and the sea of fantastically-shaped, swirling clouds.

Fatty was fixing a string of coins to the foot of his bed.

"For good feng-shui," he told Harry.

Harry was going to ask what feng-shui was, when Pixie breezed into the room. "Dinnertime!" she announced. "We have to go to the Hall!"

"Xiao-Yan, you cannot come in here!" exclaimed Chee Chong, looking scandalized. He started pushing her out of the room, almost knocking Pigwidgeon's cage over in the process. Pixie giggled.

"Chee Chong is always so proper," she called, as she disappeared out the door.

They joined the girls, who were already waiting outside, and started down the downward-moving spiral staircase. Corridors branched off the stairs at each floor, and Shan, who was near the back, suddenly called out, "Next floor! We're getting off here!"

Fatty and Chee Chong, who were right in front, had missed the floor. Fortunately, the stairs were moving fairly slowly, so they managed to run back up again.

"Fatt and I have not been in Gleen Dragon Pagoda before," panted Chee Chong, almost tripping as he scrambled off the stairs. Shan and Robert were now in front, leading the way.

"Er…are we using chopsticks during dinner?" asked Ron, looking rather apprehensive.

Pixie giggled.

"Don't you know how to use chopsticks?" she asked. "Don't worry," she dimpled at him, "I'll help you!"

She said this so suggestively that Harry had a sudden image of Pixie feeding Ron with a pair of chopsticks. Ron had obviously thought of the same thing, because he went red again.

They went through richly furnished corridors; the floors were carpeted in deep red, and the walls were lined with large paintings on scrolls, and silk tapestries. Harry and Hermione looked curiously at them. One painting was of a thickly forested mountain. The tiny figures of three people and a mule were at the foot of the mountain, slowly moving along a footpath.

Another painting, done on silk, showed three Chinese maidens washing clothes in a river. They stopped when they saw Harry and Hermione, and started giggling and talking excitedly, pointing at them.

"Guess they haven't seen any non-Chinese people before," murmured Hermione.

"There's the Hall," said Pixie, in front with Ron, pointing at a brightly-lit entrance in the distance, at the end of the corridor. "The Hall of a Thousand Dragons."

Other corridors branched out to the left and right of them. Chee Chong, looking down one, suddenly called, "Watch out!"

Before they could react, a blast of air swept out into the corridor, slamming into them. Ron and Pixie overbalanced, and fell to the floor. Harry could feel himself being blown away. He grabbed at a nearby table, and it fell over. There was a crashing sound in his ears, and he found himself lying on the ground, feeling slightly stunned, and too dazed to get up.

 

 

V

 

The Hall of A Thousand Dragons

...The dragon, floating in watery vapours, like a dense mist,

with thunder-roll and lightning-flash, high aloft he races;

Mounting the void, treading the dark sky,

Racing the wind, driving the rain, he wanders without end.

~ Ch'u Tzu,

The Songs of the South

 

 

 

Harry lay where he was for a few seconds, then sat up. A mischievous-looking ghost was swooping out of the side corridor. He had a sack in his hand, which he suddenly pulled open. Another blast of air came out of it, pushing the students in front of him back down the corridor.

Harry, feeling himself being blown away again, held on to the thick carpet under him, which fortunately seemed firmly attached to the floor. The broken pieces of a blue and white vase that had been on the table lay all about him. The pieces were being blown away in the wind, and he desperately stuck a leg out to block them from doing so.

The ghost swooped around, laughing nastily. He seemed about to pull his sack of wind open again, when another ghost came flying down the corridor. He was carrying a bow and wore a quiver of arrows, and he had a fiery object like a small burning sun in his hand. Aiming quickly, he threw the fiery ball at the mischievous ghost.

The Wind Ghost swore in Chinese, and dodged the ball. Clutching his sack of wind, he tore away down the corridor in the direction of the Pagoda. The fiery ball swung around and came back to rest in the hand of the Archer, who then hurtled down the corridor after the other ghost.

Shan and the others, who had been in front and beyond the reach of the wind, now came back to help Chee Chong, Ron, Pixie and Hermione up.

"The naughty ghost was Fei Lian," said Shan, brushing dust off Hermione's robes, "and the archer is Shen Yi. He is the only one who can keep Fei Lian in check."

"We have a ghost like that at Hogwarts," said Ron. "You'll get to meet him."

Harry had returned the overturned table to its original position, and was looking at the broken vase in dismay. Robert, however, had come over to him. Taking his wand out, he pointed it at the pieces, and muttered something in Chinese. The pieces flew back up onto the table and together into one vase again, looking as good as new.

Harry looked at Robert with dawning respect.

"Thanks," he said.

Robert just gave a small smile, and then went back to Shan's side.

They started off toward the Hall again. The door they were approaching appeared to be a side door, for on going in they saw groups of students, in their robes of green, yellow, white, black and red, entering through the larger main entrance to the left.

Hermione grabbed Harry's arm.

"Look at the walls and ceiling!" she exclaimed.

Harry looked up. The ceiling and upper walls were alive with movement. They were covered with frescoes of hundreds of glittering golden dragons and phoenix, all flying and swooping around in an endless dance. He watched them for a while, then felt dizzy, and looked down again.

Pixie giggled. "Pretty, aren't they?"

The Hall of Dragons was almost as large as the Great Hall at Hogwarts. It was filled with round tables, in five groups, each group having tablecloths in the colour of its respective House. Shan was leading them to their table which was with Green Dragon House, and had a forest green tablecloth. To Harry's dismay, Yu-Lin, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were already seated there, not looking too pleased. Yu-Lin obviously hadn't been able to get a separate table for the four of them.

The boy students sitting at the other tables all turned to look at Pixie as she passed them. She gave them a beaming, coquettish smile, leaving them all looking rather weak in the knees, and joined the others at the green table.

"Your friend Chien-Mei is coming," she said to Ron, as they sat down.

Ron looked puzzled.

"Chien-Mei?" he said. "Who's that?"

Pixie giggled.

"Don't you know her Chinese name?" she asked. "I mean, Jeanne."

Harry turned around. He couldn't see Jeanne at first, until she had almost come right up to them. In Hogwarts, she had always stood out because she looked Chinese, but here she blended in with the crowd.

"How are you all getting along?" she asked, smiling.

"Wonderfully," purred Pixie, giving Ron a sidelong glance. Hermione looked disgusted.

"I didn't know your name was Chien-Mei," said Harry, looking at Jeanne in surprise.

"The Chinese gave me that name, in Russia," explained Jeanne. "It's easier for them to use that, here."

Shan looked up at her and smiled.

"Are you sitting with us?" she asked hopefully.

Jeanne shook her head.

"Lady Wen-Li told me to join her table," she said. She noticed little Robert, next to Shan, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"How are you, Robert?" she asked, looking at him fondly.

Robert looked up at her, his glasses reflecting the surroundings.

"OK," he replied mildly.

Jeanne noticed Lady Wen-Li going over to the teacher's table.

"I'd better go," she said. "I'll see you later."

"Join us for Jousting again!" called Shan, as Jeanne turned to go.

Malfoy smiled slyly as he watched Jeanne walking off.

"She obviously has a thing for wizards in shabby robes," he drawled, looking insolently at Robert.

Robert looked as deadpan as ever, but Shan flushed, and looked angry. However, she obviously considered Malfoy to be a guest in her school, and said nothing.

Harry wasn't so restrained. Malfoy was giving Hogwarts a bad name.

"Shut up, Malfoy," he said angrily.

Hermione hurriedly tried to smooth things over.

"What is all this about Jousting?" she quickly asked Shan.

Fatty chuckled.

"It's one of our sports," he said. "Shan and Robert are Jousting Queen and King of Tian-Long. They are why Green Dragon have won the Golden Dragon the last four years in a row."

Shan went rather pink, but Robert looked as expressionless as ever.

Malfoy looked disbelievingly at tiny Robert. He obviously didn't think Robert capable of performing a useful role in any sport.

"Right, but what is Jousting?" asked Ron, looking rather bewildered.

Pixie gave her customary giggle.

"It's duelling in the air," she said. "On dragons. One student controls the dragon, and the other student tries to unseat their opponent."

Malfoy looked disbelieving.

"On dragons?" he said. "How can anyone sit on a dragon?"

"We use the Common Bronzebacks for that," said Shan, ignoring Malfoy, and looking at Hermione. "The wild ones are dangerous, of course, but those reared by the school are tame. If you feed them a certain herb, they won't be able to produce fire for a while, so they're quite safe."

Lady Wen-Li had stood up at her table. She raised a hand for silence, then began speaking to the students in Chinese.

"She is announcing your arrival here," whispered Fatty to the Hogwarts students. "You must stand up and bow."

The students in the Hall were all looking at them now. Lady Wen-Li smiled and nodded at them.

Feeling rather embarrassed, Harry and the others got to their feet and bowed. The students all clapped enthusiastically.

Lady Wen-Li now pointed her wand at a huge gong nearby, and a bolt of light flew toward it, hitting it and producing a deep, resonant sound.

Dishes of food appeared on the circular tray in the middle of the table, and bowls of rice appeared in front of each person with a small pop! To Harry's relief, Pixie was behaving herself, and was filling Ron's plate with food. A Chinese soup spoon came along with the chopsticks, and Ron was managing to survive by shovelling his rice onto the spoon and then eating from that.

"You will not win the Jousting this year," said Yu-Lin in a superior tone, looking at Robert, who was sitting next to her. "Yellow Dragon has two excellent new Jousters whom you will find hard to beat."

Fatty chuckled, his small eyes disappearing into two slits.

"I've seen them, Yu-Lin," he said in his sing-song voice. "They are good, but they still cannot beat Lin Li-Shan and Robert Mo. That's why we call Robert Mighty Mo. Right, Robert?"

Robert looked as impassive as ever, and didn't reply. He didn't seem to be very hungry, and was just picking at his food.

Yu-Lin gave a disdainful smirk.

"Midget Mo, I would rather say," she said, in a sneering tone. Then she looked at Robert and said something in Chinese, so that Harry and the other Hogwarts students couldn't understand, but which sounded insulting enough, in tone.

Harry expected Shan to rush to Robert's defence, as usual, but to his surprise, the Chinese students all seemed to be looking at Robert and holding their breath. Shan's lips twitched, as if she was trying not to laugh.

Robert looked impassively at Yu-Lin. Then, he lowered his gaze, and looked at Yu-Lin's plate, which was covered with vegetables.

Yu-Lin also looked down at her plate, and then she suddenly leapt up in fright, screaming for all she was worth. The phoenix on her shoulder gave a startled squawk, and tried flying away, but was unable to, because of the golden cord binding its leg.

There was a sudden silence in the Hall. Everyone had turned to look at Yu-Lin. One of the teachers came over from the teacher's table. She was not very tall, but she had a very firm mouth and a direct gaze. She was dressed in dark blue robes, and a small, sparkling crystal ball hung on a chain round her neck.

She snapped something at Yu-Lin in Chinese. Yu-Lin, still trembling, started talking shrilly and pointed at Robert, and then at her plate of vegetables.

The dark blue witch fingered her crystal ball, and looked at it. Little lights appeared in the ball, shimmering for a while, then disappeared. The witch then said something coolly to Yu-Lin, who went rather red, and was silent.

The witch stared coldly at Yu-Lin for a moment, then went back to the teacher's table. Yu-Lin returned to her seat. She seemed frightened of Robert now, refusing to look at him, and sitting as far away from him as she could, at the edge of her seat. She would not touch her vegetables, either.

The Hogwarts students all looked mystified. Malfoy looked at Robert with narrowed eyes, but refrained from making any more insulting comments.

Robert looked as calm as ever, and continued picking at his food. Shan winked at Harry and whispered, "Tell you about it later." Pixie's eyes were dancing; Fatty whispered something to Chee Chong, and the two of them dissolved into laughter.

Yu-Lin looked at them angrily, but said nothing. Harry noticed a rather revengeful gleam in her eyes, however.

Pixie's eyes suddenly twinkled naughtily. She looked at Crabbe and Goyle, who were wolfing their food down, like two starving trolls.

"Do you know what you are eating?" she asked brightly. "Let me tell you." She started pointing at the different dishes. "This is snake meat; this is monkey's brains. And this… is steamed crocodile."

Crabbe and Goyle spat out their mouthfuls of food, and started gulping down Chinese tea. Malfoy choked and started coughing. Harry, Ron and Hermione stopped chewing, and were looking at Pixie in dismay. Pixie, looking at their faces, promptly dissolved into helpless laughter.

"Xiao-Yan!" said Shan, looking at her crossly. She turned to the three Slytherins.

"Don't believe her," she said quickly. "I apologise on her behalf. The food is just common stuff - the dishes were chicken, minced pork, and fish."

Malfoy looked livid, but said nothing. After what Robert had done, he obviously didn't dare make himself unpopular at the table. He, Crabbe and Goyle tried to continue eating, but they seemed to have lost their appetites now, and merely picked at the food, as Robert was doing.

The meal progressed in silence for a while. Pixie was eating demurely, while the other Chinese students, obviously feeling she had embarrassed all of them, were directing cross looks at her. Finally, Hermione tried to start the conversation going again.

"How were all of you selected for the exchange programme?" she asked.

Pixie giggled maddeningly.

"All those interested in applying had to take an English test," she said. "The top six students got in."

"We will be attending classes with you," said Fatty, looking relieved that the conversation was going again, "but we still have to attend our regular classes."

"Our classes with you will be basic ones," Shan added, "things we already learned in first or second year."

Harry was pleased to hear this. He hoped this meant their workload would not be too bad, especially as a lot of his Hogwarts assignments still remained unfinished. Hermione, however, looked disappointed.

"I suppose there's no time for us to learn anything very advanced in two months," she said.

"Lady Wen-Li actually meant the exchange to be more cultural than anything," explained Shan, pushing her glasses up her nose again. "She's anxious for the Chinese students to interact with people from outside China. Too bad, though," - she grinned - "of the top six who passed the English test, only two are from mainland China."

Ron looked interested.

"Which ones?" he asked.

"Me and Yu-Lin," said Chee Chong gloomily. "Pixie is flom Taiwan. Fatty is flom Hong Kong. Shan and Robert are flom Singapore."

Dinner had ended. The gong boomed again, and students began filing out of the Hall. Pixie sat where she was, smiling and fluttering her eyelashes at the various boys who were trying to catch her attention as they went past. Ron scowled.

Yu-Lin got up and marched out, head held high, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle quickly following. Harry was just going to ask Shan for an explanation for what had happened earlier, when a crowd of young Chinese students suddenly descended upon their table, surrounding him.

They were crowding around Harry, chattering away in Chinese like a flock of excited birds, and holding out pieces of parchment and what looked like long, slim paintbrushes to him. He could see Hermione and the others outside the circle of students, looking at him in a bewildered fashion.

Harry tried to get out of his seat and push his way out of the crowd, but the students wouldn't let him out. They were pushing the pieces of parchment into his face, and he felt several brushes being stuffed into his hand.

Shan spoke to one of the students, and then managed to wriggle her way in, and looked at him with a twinkle in her eye.

"Harry," she said, looking as if she was trying not to laugh, "I think they want your autograph!"

Harry was stunned. "What?"

The students seemed very young, no more than first-year. The majority seemed to be little girls, rosy-cheeked and with their hair braided into long pigtails. They were all chattering and laughing and peering at his scar, and prodding him curiously with their fingers.

"Just sign, Harry," he heard Hermione calling impatiently from outside the wall of students. "Then we can get out of here."

Harry looked at the brushes in his hand.

"I don't know how to use these," he said to the students, irritably pushing away the ones who were still curiously prodding him.

"Hang on," he heard Fatty's voice saying. Through a gap in the crowd, he saw Fatty pull a quill out of his lacquer box, and push it through the wall of students at him.

Harry signed until his hand ached. He noticed that some of the students he'd already signed autographs for were now pushing second and third pieces of parchment at him, and pushed them crossly away.

"That's enough!" he said, getting to his feet. They crowded round him again, laughing and chattering, and he shouted over their heads.

"Shan! Can't you tell them to back off?"

Shan and the others seemed to be trying to talk to the students, who just giggled and shook their heads. Finally, Harry saw Shan appealing to Robert.

Robert took his wand out, and pointed it at the students. The signed autographs all flew into the air, and started floating out of the Hall. The students all squealed in dismay, and started chasing after them, eventually disappearing through the main entrance.

Fatty looked rather worried.

"Was that wise?" he asked Robert. "If they lose the autographs, they will just come back and pester Harry for more."

Robert looked unperturbed.

"Don't worry," he said. "They'll stop floating once they reach the end of the corridor." And then he lapsed into silence again.

Harry, feeling rather ruffled and red in the face and still surprised at what had just happened, started hurrying out of the Hall before any of the first-years could come back. He could hear Ron behind him, telling a giggling Pixie about Ginny and Colin Creevey, and he turned around and glared at him.

Hermione, taking pity on him, tried changing the subject.

"What did Robert do to Yu-Lin?" she asked Fatty.

Fatty started laughing again.

"Yu-Lin said Robert turned her vegetables into a big, hairy spider," he said. "It seems that that is what she fears most."

Ron, who was also afraid of spiders, turned rather pale.

"But, I only saw vegetables on her plate," he said.

"We do not know how Mighty Mo does it," said Fatty, looking at Robert who was walking at Shan's side as usual, like a little green shadow. "We only know no one in the school dares to bully him, even though he is so small."

"Tell us what you did, Yuan-Ming," said Pixie coaxingly.

Harry wondered who Yuan-Ming was, but he guessed it must be Robert's Chinese name.

Robert just continued walking.

"No," he said mildly.

"Shan should know," said Chee Chong, looking at Shan.

"I don't," she said, glancing at Robert. "He won't tell me. I think it's because he's so good at Internal Magic. He seems to know how to draw out an image of the thing that frightens a person the most."

"But - who was that teacher who came over?" asked Hermione, "And what was that crystal thing around her neck?"

Pixie giggled.

"That was Lady Han-Yin, the Discipline Mistress," she said. "You'll get to meet her again…she'll be teaching us Potions."

"Oh," said Ron, not very enthusiastically.

"Lady Han-Yin is all right, Ron," Shan assured him. "She's strict, but fair."

"But what was that crystal thing?" Harry wanted to know.

"The Discipline Master or Mistress normally uses it," said Shan. "We are not allowed to do magic outside class, unless it is practice for homework. However we can perform spells in self-defence if someone wrongly provokes or bullies us. The crystal can judge who is in the right and who is wrong."

Pixie looked pleased.

"She gave Yu-Lin five demerits, just now," she said smugly.

Later, before going to bed, Harry found himself at one of the large dormitory windows, looking out at the school grounds and the surrounding mountains, and thinking about the day's events. They had hardly arrived, and a lot seemed to have happened already.

Ron, seeing him, also came over.

"Well, how d'you find it?" he asked, resting his arms on the window sill, and looking out.

"OK," said Harry. He looked at the swirling clouds in the distance, dimly visible in the pale moonlight.

"Everything here looks so different from Hogwarts," he said. "The scenery, the palace, the grounds, the students' robes. Even the food's different. But the people…I guess you find all types, wherever you go. Yu-Lin's nasty, like Malfoy. Chee Chong's accident prone, like Neville. Pixie's not as wicked as Fred and George, but she looks as if she could be, if she wanted to. Except for Yu-Lin, they're OK. I like them, actually."

"So do I," said Ron absently, resting his face in his hands, and looking out of the window. Harry suspected he was thinking of Pixie.

They stood there, talking quietly for a while, and wondering what was happening back at Hogwarts. Then, Fatty cheerfully called, "Lights out!" They hurried over to their beds, and got in. Robert pointed his wand at the Chinese lanterns, and the room plunged into darkness.

Harry lay in bed for a while, unused to the feeling of silk on his skin. His eyes soon adjusted to the dim light, and looking out of the nearest window, he could see stars shining brightly, up in the sky. They were the same constellations that he was used to seeing, back home, and this was oddly comforting, as if he were looking at an old friend. He lay there, watching the stars twinkling and sparkling up in the sky, and then before he knew it, he was asleep.

 

VI

The Bouncing Pandas

I spied a hawk above one day,

It came from far away.

It brought me gifts, and said to me,

"Your heart is sad, but do not fear;

The one you loved is coming back,

Though you will not be here.

Guard well the gifts, and there will come

A day when justice will be done."

 

 

Harry woke up the next morning to the loud ringing of a bell. He sat up, and saw Ron also sitting up in bed, bleary-eyed and half-asleep. A quick look out the window showed that the sun had just risen over the mountains.

Robert and Chee Chong were already up, but Fatty, almost invisible under his blankets, was still fast asleep and snoring.

After several ineffectual pokes and prods, Robert finally took his wand out and pointed it at Fatty's inert form. A bright spark of light shot out and hit the round lump under the blankets. Fatty gave a loud grunt of protest, and shot out of bed, blankets and all, landing with a loud thump on the floor.

They hurried off to the Hall, joined by a crowd of students, all dressed in green robes. Yu-Lin and the Slytherins werealready there, but seemed to be ignoring the rest of them. Breakfast consisted of steaming bowls of rice porridge. Harry was fervently hoping no one else was going to ask him for an autograph, but the minute the gong sounded, another flock of chattering first-years came over and surrounded him again.

Fatty fished the quill out of his lacquer box, and Harry, looking things not lawful to be uttered, started signing as fast as he could. He felt sure some of the students were the same ones he'd seen the previous evening.

"Hurry up, Harry," Hermione's voice came floating over the wall of pink-cheeked little girls, "we've got to go for Potions soon."

Harry scribbled his name on another three pieces of parchment, then stood up and indicated he was leaving.

The little girls all smiled and giggled at him, refusing to make way. He was just going to call Robert for assistance, when a large, dark figure approaching from the teacher's table caught his eye.

The first-years noticed it too. Uttering little squeaks of fright, they turned and hurried out of the Hall, still clutching their precious pieces of parchment, like a flock of startled birds.

Harry looked at the dark figure. It was a wizard, whom he had not noticed before. As Harry looked at him, the first word that came to mind was 'warrior'.

He was broad-shouldered and very tall, and was dressed in sweeping black robes with a long, flowing black cloak. His long, black hair cascaded down onto his shoulders, and his beard partially hid a fierce, cruel face. A long sabre hung at his side, and a black onyx tiger hung on a chain around his neck.

He did not look at them, but strode swiftly past, vanishing out the main entrance, his cloak billowing behind him.

Ron looked startled.

"Who's that?" he asked Pixie, who was next to him.

She did not giggle as usual, but grinned rather nervously.

"That's Master Yang-Kang," she said. "He teaches Protection Against The Black Way."

Ron looked puzzled. Hermione, noticing this, said rather impatiently, "That's the equivalent of Defence Against The Dark Arts here, Ron."

"That means he'll be teaching us, won't he?" said Harry, as they hurried off to the Potions classroom.

Shan nodded.

"He's only been here for two weeks," she said. "The previous master, Master Wei, left to join Shao-Lin Academy - that's a school for Pugilists. It's a pity, though, he was a very good teacher."

Harry wanted to ask what sort of teacher Master Yang-Kang was, but they had reached the Potions classroom.

The room was a great deal more cheerful than the Potions dungeon at Hogwarts. The morning sun came in the open door, and the surrounding mountains could be seen through the large windows.

Lady Han-Yin, in her dark blue robes and with crystal ball hanging round her neck, was already there. She looked less fierce now, and surveyed them as they took their seats, a smile playing about her lips.

"Good morning to all of you," she said briskly. "Lady Wen-Li has informed me that this exchange is to be more of a cultural one than anything, and so we shall do something less serious today."

She paused, and looked at them, her eyes twinkling, before continuing.

"First of all, I am going to split you up. No sticking to people from the same school today. I want each Hogwarts student to sit with a Tian-Long student."

Ron and Harry, who were sitting together, looked at each other. Pixie hissed, "Over here!" at Ron, and pointed at the empty seat beside her. Robert, who was of course sitting next to Shan, got up and went and sat with Goyle, who inched away from him to the edge of his seat.

Yu-Lin was sitting with Malfoy. Shan came over and sat with Harry, while Chee Chong moved over to Hermione. Fatty placidly went over to sit with Crabbe. As he took his seat, a loud ringing sound suddenly emerged from the depths of his robes.

Lady Han-Yin's eyes flashed.

"Wing-Fatt!" she said sharply, "Did I not tell you to switch that thing off in my class?"

Fatty, his face going red, hurriedly brought his lacquer box out, and took the crystal globe, which was ringing shrilly, out of it. He tapped it with his wand, and the ringing stopped abruptly.

Lady Han-Yin snapped her fingers.

"Bring it here," she said. "You can have it back at the end of the class."

"But I'm waiting for an important call!" Fatty protested.

She made a quick movement with her hand, and the globe sailed into the air and over to her desk.

"It can be put on hold, for now," she said, tapping it with her wand. The light in the globe dimmed, and went out. "You can make your calls later."

Fatty looked rather sulky, but sat down without saying anything further.

Lady Han-Yin then announced that they would prepare what was called a Token of Friendship Potion that day, and proceeded to identify the various ingredients they would be using, which were already lying in a small pile at each of their tables. Harry looked at them with interest. Most of them were unfamiliar to him.

"All right, you may start work," Lady Han-Yin clapped her hands smartly. She then proceeded from table to table, checking that they were preparing the ingredients properly.

"Cut the ganoderma into pieces of equal size, Mr Potter," she said to Harry. She looked at Shan, who was trying to break deer antler into small pieces. "Those are to be ground, Li-Shan; use the mortar and pestle."

Shan went pink, but grinned at Harry, and began pounding the deer antler with her pestle.

Pixie was looking serious for once, frowning and clumsily chopping her piece of ginseng into small, irregular slices.

"I like Lady Han-Yin, but I hate Potions," she whispered to Ron.

Lady Han-Yin came over and stopped in front of her.

"Yes, Miss Xiao-Yan!" she said with mock severity, hands on her hips, her eyes flashing with good humour. "Are you in my class again? Do not tell me that you are going to ask me for an anti-Love Potion again, today!"

Pixie dimpled at her, and cast a sidelong glance at Ron through her long eyelashes.

"No ma'am," she said demurely, "Certainly, not anti-Love, this time."

Ron went beet red, and his knife slipped, almost cutting his fingers.

Lady Han-Yin looked amused.

"So she has attached herself to you, Mr Weasley," she said. "Well, I need not tell you : do not take any nonsense from her!"

She then told Pixie to stop cutting the ginseng, because it could be stewed, whole, and went off to check on Malfoy and Yu-Lin.

Pixie, muttering to herself, dropped the ginseng into her cauldron with a splash. "I'm horrible at this. All that cutting for nothing."

When everyone's solution was ready, Lady Han-Yin told each student to obtain a piece of something, like a hair, from the student next to him or her.

Harry jerked one of his unruly hairs out and gave it to Shan, who did likewise. He could hear Pixie giggling from behind, but decided not to see what she and Ron were doing.

"All right," said Lady Han-Yin, smiling, "Now, as you have all met each other for the first time yesterday, you are going to seal your new friendship by giving something to the person next to you. Drop the hair into your solution, and it will change into an object that your partner would like to receive, as a gift."

Harry dropped Shan's hair into his cauldron. The solution bubbled and fizzed, and then began to glow. The liquid seemed to transform into little sparkling lights, swirling and shimmering inside the cauldron. The lights gradually arranged themselves into a curved, irregular shape, and Harry saw something dark and green forming within the sparkles. Eventually the lights disappeared altogether, and the green object was left lying in the cauldron. Harry fished it out and looked at it. It was a paperweight in the shape of a small dragon, made of dark green jade.

He turned to Shan, and saw that she was holding a book, entitled, "The Most Exciting Quidditch Events of the Century."

They grinned at each other, and exchanged the gifts. Harry turned around to look at Ron and Pixie. Ron had a Chudley Cannons' poster, while Pixie was looking at a small golden pendant, in the shape of a swallow, on a gold chain.

Shan saw Harry looking at the pendant.

" 'Pixie' is actually just a nickname," she explained to him. "Her real name means 'Little Swallow' - 'Xiao' means 'small', and 'yan' means 'swallow'."

She turned back to look at the paperweight. There was a curious expression on her face, as she fingered it.

"I guess that suits you, because you're in Green Dragon House," said Harry, looking at it.

Shan hesitated, before replying.

"Partly," she said, and stroked the dragon with her finger again. She stared at it for a few seconds, then said in a rather odd voice, "It has another meaning as well. When I was small, my father had a nickname for me…he used to call me 'Little Jade Dragon'… because my favourite colour was green, and because I liked dragons."

Harry was interested. That made the paperweight doubly relevant, he thought, as a gift for her.

"Does he still call you that?" he asked.

Shan's face was expressionless.

"No," she said flatly. "Everything is different now."

Harry had a feeling he'd said the wrong thing, but Lady Han-Yin was now dismissing the class, and the others were leaving.

Shan abruptly gathered up her things, and went to look for Robert. Ron and Pixie came up to Harry. The Chudley Cannons were flying around the poster as usual, but something seemed a bit odd about their clothing. Instead of orange, their Quidditch garments were almost red.

"I guess my solution wasn't a very good one," said Pixie mournfully, looking at the red figures zooming around. "Sorry, Ronniekins."

Harry was startled.

"Ronniekins?" he said, looking at Ron, who was blushing even redder than his hair.

Pixie giggled.

"Isn't that a nice name?" she said. "He told me his mother used to call him that."

Harry was saved from replying by Hermione, who was coming up with Shan and the others. She was holding a book entitled, "The Tao of Chinese Internal Magic."

"That was a good Potions lesson, wasn't it?" she said, looking pleased, and not really noticing Pixie and Ron together, for a change. "If only our Potions classes at Hogwarts could be as pleasant."

"Lady Han-Yin is only standing in as Potions Mistress, though," said Shan. She seemed to have recovered from her strange mood, and was looking her usual cheerful self. "She is actually the Transfiguration Mistress. Our Potions teacher, Master Liu Pei, mysteriously disappeared two weeks ago."

The Hogwarts students looked curiously at her when they heard this. Pixie giggled again.

"We think that Master Liu Pei has run away, because of Master Yang-Kang," she said, her dimples showing. "From what we have heard, there is an old family feud between the two of them, and Master Yang-Kang has been trying to gain access to Tian-Long for a long time, in order to confront Master Liu Pei."

Ron looked intrigued.

"But then, how come Master Yang-Kang isn't trying to track him down?" he asked.

Shan looked amused.

"We think Master Yang-Kang is waiting for Master Liu Pei to return," she said. "You see, the onyx tiger that Yang-Kang is wearing looks just like one that Liu Pei always used to wear. We think that it is an old family heirloom, and that Yang-Kang must have confronted Liu Pei, and managed to steal it from him, although Liu Pei got away. But the heirloom is so precious that he will definitely try to get it back."

"All those are only rumours, Shan," remarked Fatty, from behind. He had taken his crystal globe back, and had just finished making all his business calls. "We don't know if they are true. For all we know, Yang Kang could have killed Liu Pei already."

"I don't think so," said Shan. "When he goes into one of his fits he still talks about 'finishing off the scoundrel, Liu Pei'. I'm also positive that the onyx tiger is a Devil's Curse. He has been talking about nothing except that during our lessons, and fingering the tiger all the while."

"What's a Devil's Curse?" asked Harry.

Shan chuckled.

"You'll find out," she said. "Master Yang-Kang is sure to bring it up during our Black Way class." She turned, and started going off with Robert. "We have Geomancy now," she called back, "We'll see you during lunch."

 

 

 

 

Lunch was in the Hall of Dragons, as usual, after which the others had to wait for Harry again as he tried to fend off another crowd of autograph-hungry students. They then proceeded outdoors for Care of Magical Creatures. Shan and the other Tian-Long students led them through the grounds to the Caverns, some distance from the school, where the dragons were housed.

"You'll be looking at a number of different species throughout your stay here," said Shan, looking enthusiastic. "Today it's supposed to be the Imperial Flamethrowers."

The Caverns were a series of large caves, hewn into the side of a huge cliff. Each dragon had its own cave. The Tian-Long students brought them to the Keeper of the Dragons, a wizard by the name of Chen-Kang. He was a handsome, muscular young man in coarse brown robes, with long, black hair that was tied back. He spoke very little English, so Shan did the translating.

"The Flamethrowers occupy the caves near the top of the cliff," she said, as Chen-Kang brought them around. "The Fireballs occupy the next level. The Diamondbacks live in the third level, and the Common Bronzebacks - we have twenty of those - stay near the ground."

There were only three Imperial Flamethrowers. Chen-Kang explained, through Shan, that they were five-clawed, while the other Chinese species only had four, and that in olden times only royalty had been allowed to keep them.

"Don't you chain them up?" asked Ron, looking nervously at the Flamethrowers. Each was sitting at the mouth of its cave, golden scales glittering in the afternoon sun, surveying their surroundings with a regal air.

Shan looked surprised.

"Chain them up?" she said, sounding rather shocked, "Of course not! The poor things…they'd be miserable if we did. They're free to go, if they want to, but most of them are so tame, and we give them a good home, and feed them here, that they usually stay."

"I was thinking more in terms of, chain them up, so they won't get near us and burn us to a crisp," Ron muttered to Harry, as Shan went over to talk to Chen-Kang.

Yu-Lin and the Slytherins were looking rather jumpy, and were keeping a safe distance from the dragons. Pixie and Fatty didn't seem as keen as Shan about the Flamethrowers, either. Shan and Chen-Kang, however, surprised them by walking right up to one of the Flamethrowers, and examining its hide.

"Won't the dragons harm them?" asked Harry, looking at Chee Chong.

Chee Chong shook his head.

"No," he said. "Chen-Kang can talk to the dragons. They treat him rike one of their own kind. Some people say that he used to be a dragon, himself."

Shan and Chen-Kang came back.

"Imperial Flamethrowers like being pampered," said Shan, "so we are going to oil their hides."

"Are you joking?" said Ron, looking a bit wild-eyed. "You mean, walk right up to them and rub them on the back?"

"No, no," she said, smiling. "Chen-Kang will do a Twinning spell for you."

Chen-Kang had taken a large piece of rough jade out of his pocket. He placed it on a large, flat rock nearby, covered it with his hands, and muttered something. When he took his hands away, the jade had become a miniature model of a Flamethrower, and there was a small scrap of cloth next to it.

"This is a miniature of the first Flamethrower," said Shan. "A larger twin of this small scrap of cloth has been created next to the actual dragon. Watch."

She picked up the scrap of cloth, added some fragrant oil from a bottle to it, and began applying it to the model. The larger cloth that had appeared next to the real dragon also became soaked with oil, and it also jumped up and began applying itself to the Flamethrower.

"See?" said Shan. "You don't need to go near the real dragon at all."

She beckoned to the Slytherins to take the scrap of cloth, while Chen-Kang transformed another piece of jade into a second Flamethrower for Ron, Harry and Hermione. Instead of transforming a third piece of jade, however, Chen-Kang went over to the third Flamethrower and began to oil its hide, himself. Shan watched him for a few seconds, then went over to join him.

Harry looked at Robert, who was still with them, watching.

"They don't hurt her either, do they?" he asked.

Robert gave a small smile, and shook his head.

"Shan has always been able to get along with dragons," he said quietly, before lapsing into silence again.

It took some time to oil the Flamethrowers, because they were so large. Harry, Ron and Hermione took turns rubbing at their miniature, replenishing the oil when it ran out. When they had finished, the lesson was over, and Chen-Kang transformed the miniatures back into jade again. The Slytherins disappeared with Yu-Lin, while Fatty and Chee Chong had to rush off for another class. Shan suggested that the rest of them have a look around the grounds.

"We can take a look at the Pandas," she said. "There are two who live in the bamboo grove nearby."

The grove was an extensive one, almost a small forest, the bamboos making a pleasant rustling noise in the wind. They were tall, reaching to the sky, some several storeys high. Harry was just going to ask where the Pandas were, when he heard Ron give a sharp exclamation from behind, followed by a burst of giggles from Pixie, and a sound like someone bouncing a basketball on the ground.

He turned around, and saw Ron rubbing his head, looking rather startled. Next to him was what looked like a furry black and white ball, about the size of a watermelon. It was bouncing up and down, and finally came to rest on the grass nearby.

"What happened?" asked Harry, peering at the ball with interest.

"That thing fell out of the trees and hit me on the head!" said Ron, indignantly.

He was about to nudge the ball with his foot, when it suddenly moved and uncurled, revealing itself to be a small, sad-faced black and white bear, with a pink collar around its neck.

There was another bouncing sound from behind, and looking around, they saw another black and white ball rolling on the grass. It presently came to a stop, and uncurled into another little Panda, wearing a pale blue collar.

Hermione was delighted.

"Aren't they sweet," she said, kneeling down and stroking the pink-collared one, who surveyed her sadly for a moment, then began to burrow itself into her robes.

"The pink-collared one is the female, called Ping-Ping," said Shan, grinning, "and the male is Pong-Pong. But we just call them Ping and Pong, for short."

Pixie picked Pong up, and he immediately curled into a ball again. Squealing happily, she began throwing him up in the air and catching him, as a child might play with a ball.

"Xiao-Yan, stop it," said Shan, taking Pong away, "you'll make him dizzy."

She placed Pong on the ground, next to Ping, who was still trying to bulldoze her way into Hermione.

"She's looking for edibles," explained Shan. "Here," - she took a small jar of honey from inside her robes - "give them this. They absolutely adore it."

Sure enough, both Pandas immediately went crazy over the honey, jostling with each other to get near the jar, dipping their noses into it and giving little snorts of pleasure.

Hermione cuddled the Pandas for a while, then allowed Harry and Ron to take the jar of honey. Harry put Ping on his knee. She looked gravely at him for a moment, licking some honey from her front paws, and then Harry suddenly thought he heard her say something - at least, it sounded like a furry, little voice, speaking Chinese, in his head.

He looked at her, startled, and almost knocked the jar of honey over.

"She said something!" he exclaimed.

Ron and Hermione stared at him in astonishment. Pixie giggled. Shan and Robert, who had been standing a short distance away, discussing something, heard him and came over.

"Are you sure, Harry?" said Ron, looking doubtful. "I didn't hear anything."

"What's happening?" asked Shan, looking interested.

"Ping-Ping said something!" said Harry, looking at Ping who had just pushed Pong aside and was now licking the last bits of honey from the jar. "I heard her say it in my head!"

They watched Ping for a while. She examined the jar a while longer, to make sure there wasn't any honey left, then sat back and stared gravely back at them.

"Well, what did she say?" asked Hermione, looking curious.

Harry tried to remember what the Chinese words had sounded like, but couldn't.

"I'm not sure," he said. "It was something in Chinese."

Pong was now looking rather bored. He curled himself into a ball, and then began rolling forward, stopping at the foot of a tall bamboo. He then uncurled, and began climbing up the bamboo, until he had reached the leaves, and began nibbling some of them.

Pixie leaned forward, and patted Ping on the head.

"Talk to us, Pingsy," she cooed. Ping merely ignored her, and clambered off Harry's knee onto the grass. She then curled herself into a ball, and rolled over to Shan.

Shan bent down and picked Ping up, and looked at her fondly. LeafSong, her pet snake, peeked out of her pocket and gave a rather jealous little hiss.

"She's never said anything to me, and I've known her for years," she said, smiling. She turned to them.

"Robert wants to visit Sang Nila, his pet Merlion," she said. "Would you like to come along and have a look at him?"

The others got up, Harry still looking at Ping, hoping she'd say something again; but she didn't.

"What's a Merlion?" asked Hermione, as they started following Robert, who was making his way down a path through the bamboo grove.

"It's a sort of half-lion, half-fish," said Shan, cuddling Ping. "Robert found it stranded on the beach when it was a cub. He tried to return it to the sea, but it followed him home, and he's kept it, ever since."

"It's a vicious brute!" exclaimed Pixie, shuddering. "The last time I went near it, it almost took my hand off!"

Shan was looking at Ping, while walking, and began talking softly and affectionately to her. Ping sat quietly in her arms, and looked at her, as if listening.

Ron looked as though he thought Shan was slightly mad, and Pixie, as usual, giggled, but Hermione seemed amused. Harry, looking at Shan, thought there was something childlike about her, like a little girl holding her doll, and talking to it.

Robert turned around, and, seeing Harry's expression, gave a small smile. He took his glasses off, and started cleaning them on his shabby robes. Harry saw that his eyes were large and dark, making him look like a wide-eyed little boy.

"Shan likes doing that," he said quietly, to Harry. "If she meets an animal she feels comfortable with, she'll talk to it for hours, without stopping."

Harry looked at Shan, who was now planting a kiss on Ping's head, before continuing her monologue.

"What does she tell them?" he asked.

"All kinds of things," said Robert. "How her day was, what she's planning to do, whether anyone has upset her."

He paused, looking at the others, who were now in front.

"It's a kind of outlet for her," he said. "Shan has lots of friends, but she never tells them anything personal. She keeps a lot of things to herself."

He put his glasses on again, and lapsed back into silence. Harry was unable to get another word out of him, after that.

The path they were following presently left the bamboo grove, and they came to a swiftly-running river, which was tumbling over a cliff into a waterfall, feeding into a lake. Steep stone steps led them down the side of the cliff, and down to the shore of the lake.

Robert went to the water's edge and whistled. Presently, a series of ripples was seen, and a large animal emerged from the water. It had a tawny lion's head, with a shaggy mane, and the powerful front legs of a lion; but the rest of its body was fishlike, and covered with silvery - blue scales.

Pixie was keeping as far from the water's edge as she could.

"Don't go near it," she whispered, "unless you want your leg or arm amputated."

The Merlion swam over to Robert, and hoisted itself onto the shore with its front legs. It growled when it saw Harry and the others, but stopped when Robert spoke to it. It then settled itself on the ground, at Robert's feet. Robert took a book out of his bag, sat down next to the Merlion, and leaning his back against it, began to read.

Shan, still cuddling Ping, turned to them.

"Robert and I will stay here for a while," she said. "He normally likes to keep Sang Nila company for an hour or so, every day. You can stay, too, if you want."

Hermione looked at the others.

"I think we should go back," she said, rather regretfully, "We still have a lot of assignments, from Hogwarts, that we haven't finished."

Pixie started leading them back up the cliff. Before they entered the bamboo grove, Harry turned back to look down at the lake.

He could see Robert far below, still leaning against the Merlion and reading his book. Shan was sitting next to him, still talking to Ping-Ping. Harry looked at them for a few moments, then turned and entered the dim twilight world of the bamboo grove. The lake was lost from sight, and soon the restless murmur of the river faded away as well. All he could hear was the musical creak of the bamboos in the wind, above him, and the rustling of hundreds of leaves, high up, like the patter of raindrops, or the flutter of a thousand tiny dragons' wings.

 

VII

The Celestial City

 

Long avenues fringed with narrow alleys,

The many mansions of princes and peers.

The palaces face each other from afar,

Paired towers over a hundred feet tall.

Let the feast last forever, delight the heart -

Then what grief or gloom can weigh us down?

~ Unknown poet, Eastern Han Dynasty

 

 

 

 

Harry had just drifted off to sleep that night, in his canopied rosewood bed, when a loud yell from Ron's bed suddenly startled him wide awake.

He sat up quickly, and saw Ron picking something up off his blankets and throwing it away from his bed. He got out of bed, and promptly tripped over something soft and furry, on the floor.

He heard a bouncing sound that seemed vaguely familiar. The lanterns in the dormitory suddenly came on, and Harry found himself lying on his stomach, looking at a small, sad black and white face. He heard a furry voice in his head, speaking in Chinese, in a reproving tone this time. It was Ping-Ping, the Panda.

Pong-Pong was lying some distance away, near the dormitory wall, where Ron had thrown him. Fatty was still fast asleep, but Chee Chong and Robert had come over to see what was happening.

The dormitory door burst open, and Hermione and Pixie came in together with Shan, who had LeafSong coiled around her wrist like a bright green bracelet. Hermione was carrying Crookshanks, her cat.

"What's happening?" she demanded. "We heard someone shouting."

"It is Ping-Ping and Pong-Pong," said Chee Chong, as Robert went over to Pong and picked him up. "They have come into our dormitory."

"He came crawling into my bed," said Ron, looking distinctly ruffled. "Stuffed something into my ear. Scared me out of a sound sleep."

"Oh, is that all," said Hermione, looking rather disgusted. She turned and went out, back to the girls' dormitory, Crookshanks still in her arms.

Pixie giggled. She went over to Ron's bed, and watched him brushing a pile of leaves and other small objects off the bed onto the floor.

Harry looked around to see where Ping had gone, and realised that she had climbed up onto his bed, and was stuffing several objects down his pillowcase. He took hold of her and placed her firmly on the floor, and then took the pillowcase out and shook it. A host of small things fell out : bamboo leaves, twigs, pebbles, a small jade earring, and an ivory comb.

Shan had come over to have a look.

"They're always collecting all sorts of rubbish," she said, sounding rather apologetic. "I don't know where they find half of it."

"How did they get up here?" asked Harry, brushing the leaves off the bed. "The bamboo grove is miles away."

Pixie giggled.

"They get around," she said, coming over and looking at the ivory comb with interest. "They seem to rotate around the school. They spent one term coming to my dorm in Crimson Phoenix, and after that they went over to White Tiger."

"You mean, they're going to keep coming back here?" said Ron, not looking too thrilled at the idea.

Shan laughed, as Pong wriggled out of Robert's arms and fell onto Ron's bed.

"I think they have taken a liking to you," she said.

Harry had to spend the rest of the night with Ping on his bed, curled up somewhere near his feet. Ron similarly had to put up with Pong, who thankfully had run out of objects with which to stuff his ear with. Both Pandas were gone, however, by the time morning arrived.

The morning started off pretty much the same way as the previous day, with Robert routing Fatty out of bed, and all of them hurrying to the Hall for breakfast. This time, to evade the autograph-hunters, Harry brought his Invisibility Cloak along. He excused himself from the table just before the gong sounded to signal the end of breakfast, and waited outside the side door of the Hall, wearing the Cloak, until the others came out.

"That's the downside of fame," said Ron, grinning, as Harry gloomily removed the Cloak, wondering if he was going to have to do this every day, three times a day, for the next eight weeks.

They were to have their first Protection Against the Black Way class that morning. Shan and the others refused to tell them what it would be like, mysteriously saying, "Wait and see." Harry noticed, however, that all the Tian-Long students seemed rather tense, and that they had all taken seats as near to the back of the classroom as possible, with the exception of Robert, who, instead of sitting with Shan as he usually did, went up to one of the front seats with a resigned air.

Harry immediately knew when Master Yang-Kang was coming, because the air suddenly seemed to grow colder. He strode in, tall and forbidding, slammed his books onto the desk, and glared at the students with his deep-set eyes.

"Today, we shall focus on the DEVIL'S CURSE," he said, in a deep, booming voice. "The Chinese students should already be familiar with it."

He looked around at them, his eyes glinting, and then suddenly pointed at Fatty.

"You, there," he growled, "Tell me what a Devil's Curse is."

Fatty looked rather pale.

"It is a stone or precious metal that can magnify one's magical powers," he said.

"Close enough," said Yang-Kang, frowning at him. He looked around again, and then picked on Shan.

"Tell me," he barked, "how a Devil's Curse is destroyed."

Shan pushed her glasses up her nose, nervously.

"Only by using Internal Magic," she said. Then, when Yang-Kang continued glaring at her, added lamely, "but the effort required, er, makes one very weak, after that."

"CORRECT!" boomed Yang-Kang, his eyes glinting. "NEVER forget that! Do not EVER try to destroy the Devil's Curse when your enemy is present, or he will be able to DESTROY you!!"

Then he turned to look at Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, who were sitting with Yu-Lin. They turned pale, when Yang-Kang came over to them, and seemed to shrink in their seats.

Yang-Kang singled out Yu-Lin, and barked a question at her in Chinese.

Yu-Lin tremulously answered, and then Yang-Kang, obviously forgetting he was supposed to be speaking English, began talking rapidly in Chinese, occasionally singling out a student for questioning. Fortunately, he left all the Hogwarts students alone.

After a while, his questions appeared to be getting more difficult, because none of the Tian-Long students seemed to know the answers any more, except for Robert. Yang-Kang, fingering the onyx tiger around his throat, would boom a question out, and glare at the cowering students, his eyes flashing. Then, when no one replied, Robert would placidly raise his hand and give him the answer.

Finally, the bell rang. Yang-Kang gathered up his books, and then stood there, towering over them, and looking quite terrifying.

"Now you know about the DEVIL'S CURSE," he boomed. "It means DEATH! DEATH to all when wielded by one who has the POWER to control it!!"

Then he turned, and strode out of the room, black cloak billowing behind him, leaving the entire class rather breathless in his wake.

The Chinese students all seemed to relax, and heaved sighs of relief. Fatty stretched his chubby arms, and then tiredly rested his head on his desk.

"Wow, is he always like that?" asked Ron, his eyes rather large.

Shan nodded, and looked sympathetically at Robert, who had gathered up his things, and was now coming to the back of the class to join them.

"My classmates always make Robert sit in front, and answer all the difficult questions," she said.

"You're lucky you have Robert," said Fatty, grumpily. "When no one knows the answer in my class, Yang-Kang simply explodes."

They packed their bags, and started off to their next class, which was Divination.

"Who's the teacher for this?" Hermione asked Chee Chong, who was next to her.

"It is Madam Tang," said Chee Chong, looking respectful. "She is a very good teacher."

Shan didn't seem to agree.

"I don't really like Divination," she said, rather reluctantly, "but there's no escaping it, in this school. Everyone has to start learning it, from second year."

The Divination classroom was not as unusual as Professor Trelawney's room back at Hogwarts. It was also lit by a dim, red light, but it still contained the usual desks and chairs. Instead of perfume, the room was permeated by the choking smell of incense, emanating from a forest of joss-sticks arranged on a table in one corner. A host of eight-sided mirrors hung on the wall facing the door, while several large urns lined another wall. One was filled with bronze coins, another with yarrow sticks, and a third with small tortoiseshells.

Hermione was looking puzzled.

"Why do you refer to some of the teachers as 'Lady', while you call others 'Madam'?" she asked Shan.

"'Lady' is used for nobility," explained Shan. "For commoners, we use 'Madam'. Lady Wen-Li is a distant cousin of the Emperor. Her family owns the land around here - when she inherited it, she started this school."

"You mean, there's still an Emperor?" said Harry, surprised.

Shan nodded.

"In the Magical World, there is," she said, then gave a small shrug, "He's only a figurehead, though. The nobility don't really run anything, but they're all pretty rich." She lowered her voice, so that Yu-Lin and the Slytherins wouldn't hear, "Yu-Lin's one of them, sort of. Her father is a nobleman who has done business abroad - that's probably why he knows

Draco Malfoy's father. Yu-Lin's mother is her father's favourite concubine - that's how she managed to get hold of that Phoenix. But she has to keep it tied with the gold cord, otherwise it won't stay with her."

She stopped talking, because the Divination teacher, Madam Tang, had just come in.

Madam Tang looked like a big black cockroach to Harry. She was short and stout, and her robes were black. Her hair was tied severely back into a bun at the top of her head.

"Today, we shall practise the ancient art of plastromancy," she croaked, peering short-sightedly at them through her black-rimmed spectacles. "Each of you may take one candle and one tortoise-shell."

They spent the lesson heating their tortoiseshells in their candle flames, until fine cracks appeared in the shell, and then trying to decipher the meaning of the patterns made by the cracks, using the manual provided. Harry decided it made about as much sense to him as Professor Trelawney's tea-leaves had during his third year.

"Next week, we shall start on the I Ching," announced Madam Tang, when the lesson was ending and they had deposited their used tortoise shells in another urn. "We shall concentrate on I Ching for the next few weeks. You may each bring a copy of The Book of Changes back and familiarise yourselves with it."

Shan and Robert were looking rather bored, but Yu-Lin, Fatty and Chee Chong were gazing at her almost with adoration, and hanging on to her every word.

"As I Ching is important, we shall have a short demonstration today, so that you shall be more familiar with it," Madam Tang continued. She looked at Fatty. "Wing-Fatt, take six bronze coins from the urn."

Fatty jumped up, and did as she said. He thought of a question he'd like answered - "Will my business prosper?" - tossed the coins, and worked out which Hexagram he should read from the book.

"It is Hexagram number two, 'The Receptive'," croaked Madam Tang, shuffling over to Fatty. She took up her copy of The Book of Changes, and began to read from it in a sepulchral tone of voice.

"'It is favourable to find friends in the west and south…quiet perseverance brings good fortune.'"

She paused, and to Harry's dismay, came over to where he was sitting, just opposite the aisle from Fatty.

"It is clear to me what this means!" she barked suddenly in a loud voice, making all of them jump. She stared balefully at Harry. "Friends in the west…good fortune…" She turned, and looked at Fatty.

"There lies your friend from the west, Wing-Fatt," she intoned loudly, pointing at Harry, and jabbing a gnarled finger into his shoulder.

Fatty gaped at Harry, then turned to look at Madam Tang.

"Yes, Madam Tang," he said, almost reverently.

"He shall be your source of good luck, of good fortune," Madam Tang intoned, still poking Harry in the shoulder. Harry groaned inwardly, and wished she would stop. Ron, next to him, was sniggering, while Shan and Pixie were looking at him and giggling. Hermione, sitting in front, looked resigned to the fact that the Divination here was obviously not going to be any more precise than what they'd learnt at Hogwarts.

To Harry's relief, Madam Tang dismissed them soon after that.

"Good thing the light in the room was red," said Ron, as they went back to their Pagoda, "so that we couldn't see how much you were blushing."

"Harry, you are going to bring me good luck!" said Fatty, looking rather excited. Chee Chong was with him, also nodding earnestly.

"I don't think - " began Harry.

"That is good news!" said Fatty, looking cheerful. "I tell you what - tonight, to celebrate, we shall go down to the City. Lady Wen-Li has given permission. I shall treat all of you to dinner."

"Ooo, good idea," said Pixie, looking delighted. "Ronniekins, I can show you around!"

So, that evening, all of them went down to the Caverns, and Shan introduced them to WindStar, the Common Bronzeback she and Robert usually rode for Jousting.

"I think all of us can fit on top of her," said Shan, bringing some saddles out, and fastening them to WindStar's back. The Bronzebacks were smaller than the other dragons, and were a rather nondescript brown, except for a pattern of scales that curved down their backs, which glittered bronze when they caught the light.

Harry had been on a Hippogriff before, but never on a dragon. He could feel the powerful thrust of muscles as WindStar launched herself into the air, and Hermione, behind him, gave a small gasp. Then they were airborne, the school and grounds becoming smaller and smaller, below them.

Flying a dragon turned out to be much smoother than flying a Hippogriff, because WindStar was so much larger. It took about ten minutes to reach the City. Shan landed WindStar in a large square, where several other dragons were also tethered. Chee Chong looked rather green as he dismounted together with the others.

"Frying a dragon always makes me a bit airsick," he said.

"We need to change money," said Hermione, looking slightly anxious. "We forgot to do it at Gringotts."

Fatty's eyes gleamed.

"I'll do it for you!" he said. "There's a money-changer nearby. Don't worry, I'll get a good rate for you."

The square was full of people on bicycles, zipping in and out, but the cyclists were not bothering to look where they were going. Some were reading books, others newspapers, while one lady was busily applying her makeup. The bicycles seemed to know where to go anyway, turning here and there, and making their way around corners.

They left the square, Fatty leading the way. Harry, Ron and Hermione looked around curiously. Most of the people around them seemed to favour neutral grey or pale brown robes, but there were also groups of wizards who were dressed in more striking colours - deep green, navy blue, or black. Stern-faced, they had a rather militant air about them, and the inhabitants of the city seemed to regard them with some respect, making way for them as they passed.

The surrounding buildings all had the same type of concave, overhanging curved roofs as the school had, and figurines of various creatures could be seen on many of them. They passed gardens and parks, and broad, imposing avenues lined with towering stone statues, some of dragons, others of stylized Chinese lions. Several driverless rickshaws went past, their passengers, like those on the bicycles, not paying attention to where they were going, allowing the rickshaws to decide which route to take.

Pixie had replaced her usual school robes with red silk ones, and had applied matching lipstick to her lips. Gold earrings dangled from her ears, and bracelets jangled on her wrists. She still looked very pretty, if a bit made-up, and Ron, walking next to her, seemed to be in a daze.

Hermione was looking disapprovingly at them, and Shan, seeing this, chuckled.

"This is nothing," she told Hermione, "Pixie used to be a lot wilder…I've had combined classes together with her since third year. She once dyed her hair blonde, and painted her nails, and used to wear six or seven pairs of earstuds at one go. Lady Han-Yin was very angry with her."

Hermione looked even more disapproving. Pixie, however, seemed blissfully unaware of this, and was asking Fatty where they would be having dinner.

"Grand Pagoda," said Fatty, jingling the bags of coins that Hermione and the others had handed to him. "I've invited some of my other friends along, too."

"But - that is a very expensive restaurant!" said Chee Chong, looking shocked.

Fatty shrugged.

"When you do business, you have to entertain," was all he said.

"We'll have to fly WindStar there," said Shan, "The Grand Pagoda is on the outskirts of the City."

They had reached a crowded alley, lined with shophouses. Fatty made his way to the money-changer.

"Come on, Ronniekins, there's a nice shop that sells silk robes just here," said Pixie, taking Ron by the arm. "We can browse there while Fatty does his bargaining."

Harry expected Hermione to look disapproving, but she seemed interested in the silk robes as well, and was following them.

Robert was moving toward a bookshop.

"I'll meet you back where WindStar is tethered," he said to Shan, before disappearing inside.

Shan sighed, and looked at Harry.

"Robert doesn't like shopping," she said to him, as they entered the Silk Shop.

The shop looked much larger inside than it had on the outside. Bolts of Chinese silk lined the walls, while the rest of the shop was filled with rows and rows of shimmering silk robes in all colours and sizes. Harry and Chee Chong hung around, feeling rather out of place, while the girls browsed, Pixie with Ron in tow. Fortunately, Fatty soon came in, jingling the bags of coins, and looking pleased with himself.

"We don't have much time, so we'll look around elsewhere while the girls are busy here," he said, giving Harry his money. Harry looked curiously at the Chinese coins. They were round, and came in gold and bronze. Each coin had several Chinese characters on it, arranged around a square hole in the middle.

Fatty gave Hermione and Ron their money, then pulled Ron away from Pixie and led them out of the Silk Shop. As they made their way down the street, two groups of the militant wizards passed them, one in dark grey and yellow robes, the other in black. Long, sinister-looking swords hung from their belts.

"Funny," said Fatty, as they turned to watch the wizards pass, "these wizards are definitely from some Pugilistic sect. We don't see them here very often, not at this time of the year, anyway. They usually come at the end of the school year, to test those students who want entry into one of the Internal Magic Schools."

"Maybe there is going to be a Dueling Tournament," suggested Chee Chong, his eyes lighting up at the idea.

"That would be something to watch," said Ron enthusiastically, as the Pugilists disappeared into the crowd.

Fatty brought them to a large store that sold a variety of things, from dried herbs to sweets, to toys and trinkets and fireworks. The store was crowded, and they had to push their way in. Harry was following Fatty, and presently found himself looking at a huge array of glossy, circular cakes, which were slowly changing colour : from dark to golden brown, then pale brown, pale green, and cream.

Fatty ordered several bags of the cakes, which he said were moon-cakes. Then, after he had finished haggling over the price, they went to look for Ron and Chee Chong.

The girls had now also joined them. Hermione's cheeks were slightly pink, and a bulge in her bag showed that she had not come away from the Silk Shop empty-handed. Pixie's arms were filled with packages; spotting Ron, she promptly unloaded all her packages onto him, and then went over to look at a counter filled with trinkets and jewellery.

Harry went over to Ron, and relieved him of some of the packages.

"She really knows how to spend money," said Ron, looking rather shaken. Chee Chong now appeared as well, a large package under his arm, which he said contained fireworks.

"We need to go," said Fatty, looking impatiently at the girls, who were examining the trinkets.

"Just five minutes, Fatt," said Pixie, dimpling at him. She turned back to the jewelry. There were all types of rings and bracelets and earrings, in ivory and gold and silver, and of course, jade. Harry thought he had never seen so much jade in his life. It came in all colours, from pale to dark green to pale rose-pink and lilac. There were jade bangles and brooches, and a whole host of jade pendants, most of them jade dragons, but there were also plenty of fish, and fruit, and flowers.

Fatty finally put his foot down, and herded them out of the store, saying he had to greet all his guests at the restaurant. Back at the square, they found Robert sitting next to WindStar, reading. A pile of books, in both Chinese and English, lay at his side. Harry looked at them. The English books were a queer mix : The Sorceress of Alcandoro; Vorg the Vampire; The Goblin Rebellions in Europe; and even some Muggle books : The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and The Snow Goose.

They mounted WindStar, and rose high above the City. After about a minute, Harry saw a lake in front of them with a small island in its centre. On the island was a dark green pagoda, red glazed roof glowing in the evening sun.

Shan landed WindStar on the island, and they entered the pagoda. The restaurant was at the top, and when they entered they found most of Fatty's friends already there, taking up about half the tables in the restaurant. To Harry's dismay, Fatty dragged him over to the main table where his friends were, claiming he would bring him good luck, while Ron and the others sat at another table nearby.

Fatty and his friends spoke English at first, but after a while they seemed to forget that Harry was there and began chattering away in Chinese. Harry had a gloomy evening, watching Ron and the others who seemed to be having a very good time at their table. Halfway through the meal, he noticed something small and green slithering over the floor toward him.

Harry bent down, and looked at it.

"LeafSong?" he said.

The little snake looked up at him.

"Harry Potter can sspeak Parsseltongue!" she hissed in surprise, her forked tongue flickering in and out.

"What do you want?" said Harry.

"Shan has ssent me to keep you company," she hissed.

Harry picked her up and put her in his pocket. LeafSong, pleased that she had found a human who could speak her language, tried to strike up a conversation with him.

"Fatty's friendss are mosstly from Hong Kong," she hissed. "Their parentss are all important business people there."

"Um," said Harry, not knowing what else to say. LeafSong, seeing he wasn't very interested, began hissing a snake-song to him, obviously thinking he would find it entertaining.

Toward the end of the evening, Fatty's friends all came over to say good-bye. They seemed quite interested in meeting Harry, and queued up to shake his hand and look at his scar. The queue became so long that Harry suddenly realised, to his dismay, that it did not consist only of Fatty's friends, but almost everyone in the restaurant.

Ron and the others came over as he stood there, red-faced and embarrassed, shaking hands. At last, the queue came to an end. The last person in it was, to his surprise, a distinguished - looking English wizard, tall and grey-haired, with a Roman nose.

"Mr Potter?" he said, shaking Harry's hand. "A pleasure to meet you, far from home. My name is Douglas Dimbleby, representative of the British Ministry of Magic in Hong Kong."

He turned to look at Ron, smiling. "Aren't you Arthur Weasley's son?"

Ron looked rather startled.

"Uh, yeah," he said.

Harry had been relieved that no one, so far, had asked him for an autograph, but at this moment, several of Fatty's friends came running back with a piece of parchment in their hands, and a quill, and shoved them into Harry's hand.

Harry's heart sank. Fatty, however, looked very indignant, and let forth a torrent of Cantonese at them. He removed the parchment from Harry's hand, and tossed it back at them. They grinned at him, but took the parchment and left the restaurant, waving good-naturedly at them.

Harry was relieved.

"Thanks," he said to Fatty.

Mr Dimbleby looked amused.

"Does that happen very often?" he asked.

Pixie gave an idiotic giggle.

"All the time," she said. "He hasn't stopped signing autographs since he came to Tian-Long."

"I really think we should go," said Harry loudly, wishing Pixie wouldn't keep giggling, and feeling that he'd had quite enough.

"Do you know this Dimbleby person?" Hermione asked Ron, as they went down the pagoda's staircase.

"I've heard Dad mention him," said Ron. "He's something like the Ministry's ambassador, in Hong Kong."

"Wonder what he's doing here," said Harry, taking LeafSong out of his pocket and handing her back to Shan.

Ron looked thoughtful.

"Probably snooping around," he said. "He's had a shady past, from what I hear…some people think he used to be a spy for the British, here in China. But it could just be a rumour."

They reached the pagoda entrance, where Fatty was examining Chee Chong's fireworks.

"We cannot let them off in the school," he said. "It's against the rules. We might as well let them off here."

So they sat by the water's edge, and Fatty took the moon-cakes out as well. These proved to be very sweet and sticky, and kept changing flavour, each corresponding to a different colour. The first bite Harry took tasted like lotus seed, but the next bite tasted more like sweetened hard-boiled egg.

Chee Chong arranged the fireworks in a row. They all looked identical : slender, narrow sticks, each with a string attached. Then Robert snapped his fingers, and a small flame appeared at the tip of his thumb. Reaching out, he lit one stick.

The stick burst into flame and soared up into the sky, leaving a trail of fire behind it. It exploded high above them, and became a huge, shimmering silver tree. Then the lights changed colour, and rearranged themselves, to become a glittering gold and red dragon, which danced around, chasing what seemed to be a large pearl. After a minute or so, the dragon soared higher into the air, and changed into a flock of glittering birds, which twittered and swooped around, and then suddenly dove downward toward the lake, disappearing just before they touched the water.

Robert lit a second stick. This time, it soared into the air and became two glittering Chinese lions, facing each other and prancing around, jerking their heads up and down. After several minutes, they transformed into a flock of golden phoenix, which swooped around in a complicated dance, and finally flew inward toward one another, colliding in a burst of light right above the students. A host of small white flowers floated downward, landing on their heads and shoulders, and filling the air with sweet perfume.

Robert lit a few more sticks, each changing into something different. Then Shan said they must go back, because WindStar was tired. They finished the remainder of the moon-cakes, and Chee Chong packed the remaining fireworks into his carrier bag.

As they rose up into the air, WindStar suddenly sneezed, and flames shot out of her mouth and nostrils, startling all of them.

"The effects of the herb has run out," Shan called from the front, turning to look at them. "But don't worry, WindStar's very gentle. She won't hurt any of us."

At this moment, WindStar sneezed again, flames pouring out of her jaws. Chee Chong, who was sitting behind Shan with his eyes closed, trying not to feel airsick, accidentally dropped the bag of fireworks. A gust of wind blew it in front, so that it flew in front of WindStar just as she sneezed a third time.

The bag caught fire, and the fireworks ignited and flew up into the air, high above them, leaving a huge trail of fire in their wake, and exploded in a deafening burst of noise.

For a few seconds, the air all around them was full of sparkling light and fire. Then Shan directed WindStar away from the lake, and back toward the school.

They all turned back to watch. It was a fantastic sight: the sky above the City was alive with light, shimmering flowers and trees and fish and birds and dragons, in a myriad of colours, some just hanging in the air, others swooping around in a graceful dance, the trembling lights reflected in the surface of the lake below.

Then all at once the lights flared brightly, and raced toward each other, to meet at a point just above the Grand Pagoda. They exploded when they met, in a brilliant burst of light, into a thousand green-gold stars, filling the night sky. The stars sparkled and twinkled, and then began to fall, one by one, to the dark surface of the water below. Each sank into the water's

depths, leaving a trail of golden-green phosphorescence behind it, and was gone.

 

 

 

VIII

The Caretaker's Wife

 

She lives where the forest ends,

The woodland folk her only friends.

 

After the first few days at Tian-Long, Harry and the others gradually became accustomed to their daily routine of hurrying to the Hall for breakfast in the mornings, followed by the day's lessons. Lady Han-Yin usually gave them something amusing to do during Potions, while Master Yang-Kang was still ranting and raving about the Devil's Curse. Divination classes were spent tossing coins and then checking up on the relevant Hexagrams using the Book of Changes, and trying to interpret their meanings. For Care of Magical Creatures, they had some respite from the dragons, and had a look at kylins, which were a type of Chinese unicorn; each had a slender deer-like body, and a tail that looked curiously like a cow's.

To Harry and the others' relief, Malfoy, after seeing what Robert had done to Yu-Lin that first evening, had ceased to annoy them and was keeping to himself. He, Crabbe and Goyle always sat at one side with Yu-Lin, away from the others, and would disappear as soon as the class was over. Harry sometimes saw him and Yu-Lin looking at the rest of them, whispering and smiling slyly, and wondered if they were up to anything.

Most of their free time was spent catching up with their assignments, which they either did in the Green Dragon common room together with the other Green Dragon students, or out of doors if the weather was good. The days seemed to fly, and they were so busy that there was no time to feel homesick, although they were getting rather tired of eating Chinese food every day.

Even this was solved, when one day Yu-Lin and the Slytherins did not turn up at the Hall for breakfast.

"Good news for you!" said Fatty, coming back from the teacher's table where he had been talking to Lady Wen-Li, "Draco Malfoy has requested that he and his friends be given some western-style food for a change, and so Lady Wen-Li has also appointed a house-elf to us, who will prepare whatever food you wish to have."

Ron and Harry's faces brightened, but Hermione, on hearing the word 'house-elf', arranged her features into a disapproving frown.

"Slave labour," she muttered, pushing her bowl of porridge away from her so that some of it slopped out of her bowl, "Even here, miles from home, we have - slave labour!"

"What's that?" said Shan, looking startled, and pushing her glasses up her nose.

Ron sniggered.

"Hermione strongly believes in protecting the rights of house-elves," he said to Shan. "Including giving them salaries, pensions, and sick leave."

The Tian-Long students all looked surprised.

"You mean, you don't pay your house-elves?" said Pixie, giggling.

"House-elves here are paid," said Fatty, grimacing. "They even expect a bonus at the end of the year. Of course, it's not so bad here in China," he added. "In Hong Kong, besides the bonus, they want a paid vacation every year, even though we bring them along whenever we go on holiday."

Hermione looked astonished.

"Really?" she said, her eyes widening, "they're - they're paid? With - with bonuses - and everything?"

Fatty nodded glumly.

"They don't like doing the more menial tasks either, like cleaning the toilets," he said. "My father thought of employing some from England, because the English ones are a lot more docile, but the tax on foreign labour is so high that it wasn't worth it. Plus, they don't understand Cantonese."

Hermione was still looking astonished. Pixie, noticing this, giggled again.

"Don't forget, they are Chinese," she said, dimpling at Hermione. "Chinese all know how to make money."

They met their house-elf later that day, at lunchtime. Fatty brought them to a small room in Green Dragon Pagoda, one level below their dormitories. A table with chairs arranged around it was there, and a small bronze bell hung from a string in a corner. Fatty shook the string, and the bell produced a loud, jangling noise.

There was a loud Pop! and a small house-elf appeared, holding a pile of menus. Her eyes were small and slanted, and she had long, bat-like ears and a nose shaped like a small kumquat.

"Ting-Ting at your service," she squeaked, bowing to them. Instead of the tea-towel that the British house-elves wore, she was wearing a plain white blouse together with tiny black trousers.

She distributed the menus to them, and then stood ready, Chinese brush and parchment in hand, waiting to take their orders.

The others started flipping through the menus, but Hermione couldn't seem to take her eyes off Ting-Ting.

"Do…do you like working here, Ting-Ting?" she asked.

Ting-Ting's small eyes widened slightly, and then, looking at Hermione, nodded.

"Ting-Ting like, Madam," she squeaked, her head bobbing up and down. "Ting-Ting is best house-elf here in Tian-Long. Ting-Ting spend two months in Chinese restaurant in Engrand, Madam. Learn speak Engrish flom Engrish house-elves. Ting-Ting's performance bonus this year will be higher than other house-elves here."

Hermione seemed too astonished to ask anything further, so the tiny creature hopped around the table, taking their orders, and then came back to Hermione, who, still looking surprised, weakly ordered some lamb chops.

Ting-Ting disappeared with a Pop! and then reappeared almost immediately, carrying a stack of plates and cutlery. She rapidly set the table, and then their food materialised on the plates almost straight away. She stood, at attention, watching them throughout the meal. When they had finished, she cleared the plates and placed a little wooden tray on the table, and then looked expectantly at them.

Fatty and the other Tian-Long students started feeling around inside their pockets.

"She expects us to tip her," explained Shan, placing a bronze coin on the tray, "because this service is in addition to her normal work."

Hermione seemed speechless, but she mechanically added a bronze coin to the tray. Ting-Ting beamed at them, and then bowing to them, took the tray and disappeared with a pop!

Shan grinned at Hermione, as they rose from the table.

"You can choose to eat here, or in the Hall of Dragons, from now on," she told Harry and the others. "Just jangle the bell and Ting-Ting will come."

She gathered up her things, and together with Robert and the others, made for her next class. Hermione, leaving the room together with Harry and Ron, was fast recovering from her surprise. Harry, looking at her, could almost see her mind clicking as she considered all the new directives she could now add to her S.P.E.W. manifesto.

They had a free afternoon that day, and brought their assignments to the grounds, sitting near White Tiger Pagoda, and watching the Green Dragon students practicing for an Internal Magic test which they were going to take that day.

Shan had explained a bit about Internal Magic to them.

"We only learn very basic things at this level," she said. "To learn more advanced Magic, you have to go to one of the Internal Magic schools. The skill we work on most is Shielding; that's something like projecting a force field from within yourself. If you raise a strong enough Shield, you can block out spells that your enemy is throwing at you, even physically prevent someone from coming near you."

They were watching the group of green-robed students who were practising nearby. They were working in groups of five, four students throwing balls at the fifth one, who then tried to deflect the balls without letting them touch him.

"I guess if nothing outside the Shield can penetrate it, then nothing from inside can exit it, either," said Hermione, watching in fascination.

Shan shook her head.

"That's the strange thing about Shields," she said. "No matter how strong the Shield is, anyone from within can always leave it. Anything that passes through the Shield tends to weaken it, though."

"Is it only the Chinese who have the ability to learn Internal Magic?" asked Harry.

Shan laughed, and shook her head again.

"Anyone can learn it. After all, you sometimes find yourself spontaneously doing things without a wand, don't you?"

Ron gave a snort of laughter.

"Harry blew his aunt up, once," he said.

Shan looked curious, but Hermione said sharply, "That wasn't a good thing for him to do, Ron - the Ministry could well have arrested him for that!"

Shan gave a small sigh, and got up.

"I have to practise," she said, and went over to join the group of green-robed students.

Chee Chong was sitting with them, rewriting an essay which he must have accidentally spilt ink on, for the original was all covered with black stains. He was also watching the Green Dragon students.

"We start with a small Shield, in first year," he told Harry, "then by sixth year we should be able to cleate a Shield big enough to shield our whole body."

Harry could see Shan's Shield, a faint glow surrounding her body. Three of the balls hit it and bounced off, but the fourth, thrown from the back, broke through the Shield and hit her. She gave a startled exclamation, and the Shield dissolved and vanished.

"Shan's back Shield is always weak," said Chee Chong, watching, "She must work on it a bit more."

Master Kung, the Internal Magic master, had come out. He motioned to the students to queue up near a maze surrounded by a high hedge, just next to White Tiger Pagoda. Then he went into the Pagoda, and presently appeared on the balcony of the third story, and signaled to the students to enter the maze, one by one.

"There are several tests inside the maze," explained Chee Chong. "You will be given marks, depending how well you pass each test."

Shrieks and yells could be heard from the students inside the maze. After a while several of them emerged, some covered with red and yellow chalk, some rubbing bruises on their arms. Shan was the fourth to appear. The front of her green robes was soaking wet, while the back was covered with chalk.

"There was a five-headed bird in there," she said. "I had to conjure an apple for it to eat, or it wouldn't let me pass. I weakened the Shield when I stuck my hand through it to give the apple to the bird, and someone threw a load of chalk dust at me."

She signalled to Robert who had been sitting nearby all the while, reading a comic book, Vorg the Vampire.

"You'd better go in," she said. "Nearly everyone else has gone."

Robert put Vorg the Vampire down, and went off toward the maze.

Harry had noticed that Shan and Robert, unlike the other Chinese students, often conversed in English as well as Chinese, and seemed equally at home in either language. Curiously enough, Shan also hardly ever called Robert by his Chinese name. Harry glanced at the pile of books which were sticking out of Robert's bag. He must have finished The Sorceress of Alcandoro, because its wrapping had been removed, and it looked rather dog-eared. The rest of the books, including Sherlock Holmes and The Snow Goose, were still in their transparent wrappings.

Harry looked curiously at Shan.

"How come Robert reads Muggle books?" he asked.

Shan smiled, and shrugged.

"He picked it up from a Muggle neighbour, back in Singapore," she said. "But he only likes detective and adventure stories." She glanced at The Snow Goose. "I gave him that for his fifteenth birthday, and he still hasn't read it. He just carries it around in his bag because he doesn't want to hurt my feelings, and he's always telling me he's going to read it next."

Hermione had been listening.

"You and Robert are pretty close, aren't you?" she said.

Shan nodded.

 

 

"Robert was sick for some time, so he started school late, and we ended up in the same class. He's almost nineteen."

Ron looked disbelieving.

"He doesn't even look thirteen," he said.

"Robert always did well in school, even though he started late," said Shan mournfully. "My parents are very ambitious. They're always nagging me about trying to do better than him. Before they found out I was a witch, they wanted me to be a doctor or a lawyer."

She sighed, and started brushing chalk off the back of her robes.

"But my schoolwork is just mediocre," she said, rather sulkily. "The only thing I'm good at is flying dragons."

"It doesn't matter," said Harry. "The only thing I'm good at is Quidditch."

Robert came strolling out of the maze, looking just as he had before going in. He picked Vorg the Vampire up, and stuffed it into his bag.

"I'm going to see Sang Nila," he said to Shan.

"Oh, let's go along," said Ron, throwing down his parchment and quill. "I've had all I can take, of History of Magic, today."

Hermione looked reluctant, but seeing that everyone else was leaving, started packing her things as well.

They made their way from White Tiger Pagoda toward the river. It had rained the night before, and the river was swollen. Chee Chong looked at the swiftly-moving water, then gave an exclamation, reached his hand out, and muttered something in Chinese. Something small and black shot out of the water, and into his hand.

"What is it?" The rest of them crowded around to look.

It was a large black cricket. It lay in Chee Chong's hand, half-drowned, feebly waving its antennae at them.

"It is a clicket," Chee Chong said, looking pleased. "He must have fallen in. I am going to keep him as a pet." He looked at Hermione. "I will give him an Engrish name, since all of you are here. Prease help me think of one."

"Oh, er, let's see," said Hermione, looking slightly flustered. "Well - how about Chester?"

So the cricket was christened Chester, and Chee Chong started back toward the palace first, saying he must prepare a dry place for it to stay.

They continued on. The bamboo grove was now visible in the distance, and Harry saw a hut near the edge of it, which he hadn't noticed before. A small, bent figure had come out of the hut, and was making its way toward the river.

He was going to ask Shan who it was, when he heard someone calling from behind. Turning around, they saw that it was Jeanne.

Harry hadn't spoken with Jeanne much since they'd come to Tian-Long. He saw her in the Hall during meals, but they usually had to rush off for classes after that. She had a room in Green Dragon Pagoda, near their dormitory, but she was seldom there. She came toward them now, smiling, but there were shadows under her eyes, and she looked tired.

"Haven't seen you around, lately," remarked Ron, as she came up to them.

She sighed, and nodded.

"I've been busy with Master Kung," she said. "The Internal Magic is proving a lot more difficult than I thought."

"It's much harder to learn when you're starting late," said Shan, consolingly. "Most of us consider it the most difficult subject in the school."

Jeanne was about to reply, but then her eyes widened, looking at something behind them. She gave an exclamation, then swiftly transformed herself into a large eagle, and launched herself into the air.

They turned around, startled. Then, Harry saw why. Someone was in the river. It must have been the person who had come out of the hut just now, he thought. It had looked like an old woman. She must have slipped and fallen in.

"She'll go over," exclaimed Shan, a hint of panic in her voice. As one, they all began running in the direction of the waterfall.

The eagle swooped down, low, and tried to pull the woman out of the water with its talons. The woman cried out in pain, and twisted away. With a cry, the eagle soared upward, then turned and plunged downward. Before it hit the water, it had changed into a sea-serpent.

Shan's eyes were large.

"How did she do that?" she asked.

"They've almost reached the waterfall," said Hermione, looking tense.

The serpent had reached the old woman. Throwing its coils around her, it turned and began pulling her back to shore.

"Jeanne is a shape-shifter," explained Harry to Shan. "She can transform into any animal."

The serpent clambered onto land, the woman still in its coils. It then shrank and changed shape, and Jeanne was there again.

The old woman was weeping hysterically and clinging to Jeanne. Shan was watching with a curious expression on her face. She dropped to the rear, as the rest of them hurried up to help. Robert had taken his wand out, and was conjuring a stretcher.

Jeanne was trying to calm the old woman, who was still weeping and clinging to her. She looked relieved to see the stretcher.

"She doesn't seem to be hurt, just frightened," she said to them, over the woman's sobs. "I think she stays at the hut; let's bring her back there."

They helped the woman, still weeping, onto the stretcher. Robert waved his wand, and the stretcher rose into the air and started off in the direction of the hut, Jeanne beside it, the woman clutching her hand.

Harry turned to look for Shan, but she had fallen behind and was pushing LeafSong back into her pocket, so he turned to Robert and asked, "who is she?"

Robert shifted his wand from one hand to the other, before replying.

"She's the wife of the wizard who used to be caretaker of the grounds," he said. "He died some years ago, but Lady Wen-Li allowed her to stay on, because she had nowhere to go. She stays alone in the hut; the only company she has are the wild animals around, which she feeds daily."

They had reached the hut. Harry was surprised to see several deer in front of it, and, a distance away, some wild-looking wolves. A few rabbits hopped away from them to the back of the hut, while a flock of sparrows were busily feeding at a bird-feeder placed under a tree.

The animals drew back when they came up, although several looked at Jeanne with interest. Shan took a liking to one of the deer, and hung around outside talking to it, while the rest went in.

The hut was sparsely furnished, with a crude fireplace at one end and a bed at the other. It had a simple mud floor. Jeanne began helping the old woman into dry clothing. Some of the animals had come inside the hut as well; a squirrel was by the fireplace, eating nuts, and two rabbits were next to it, nibbling at some turnips. Then one of the wolves came in, and they scurried out.

"They don't really seem to be afraid of the wolves," said Hermione, watching in fascination.

Ron shrugged.

"Guess they know the wolves aren't hungry," he said.

The wolf lay down by the fireplace, and looked at them. It was a mountain wolf, leaner and more sinister-looking than those Harry had seen back home.

Jeanne was talking to the old woman, who, it seemed, could only speak Chinese.

"She says her name is Mrs Chen," she said to the others. "She wants to thank us for saving her."

Mrs Chen seemed to have recovered. She suddenly got up and hobbled over to a cabinet, and took a box out. She opened it, to reveal a number of trinkets inside. She took a pendant out, and offered it to Jeanne.

Jeanne looked embarrassed, and quickly declined. Mrs Chen turned, and hobbled over to Harry and the others. She smiled when she saw little Robert, and caught hold of him and kissed him on both cheeks.

Robert seemed quite unembarrassed, and submitted to the kissing calmly. Mrs Chen then turned to Hermione and held the box out to her, indicating she should choose one trinket.

Hermione blushed and shook her head. Mrs Chen, seeing this, smiled, then seized a jade flower and pressed it into Hermione's hand.

"Just take it," said Robert, quietly. "It's not real jade anyway, and she'll be offended if you refuse."

Hermione pocketed the flower and nodded her thanks. Harry and Ron, fearing to be kissed in the same way as Robert, quickly took a trinket each and mumbled their thanks. Then Mrs Chen went back to Jeanne, and began talking earnestly to her.

Robert, seeing that Shan was outside, interpreted for them.

"She's thanking Jeanne for saving her," he said. "She wants us to come and visit her again. She wants to know whether Jeanne is married."

Mrs Chen was searching inside the box for something. She found it, and took it out. It was a pale pink jade brooch, in the shape of a pomegranate.

"She wants Jeanne to take the brooch," said Robert. "She says it will bring her good fortune."

Jeanne looked upset. She said something to Mrs Chen, and shook her head.

Mrs Chen looked at her and smiled, then suddenly pulled Jeanne to her and kissed her on both cheeks. She then fastened the brooch to the front of Jeanne's robes.

The wolf at the fireplace looked bored, and got up and slinked out of the hut.

Ron turned to follow. "Let's go outside, before she decides to give us another round of trinkets, or starts kissing us," he muttered to Harry and Hermione.

Hermione followed him out, but Harry was still watching Jeanne. Something didn't seem quite right. He turned to Robert.

"Does it mean anything, when you give someone a pomegranate?" he whispered.

Robert was watching Jeanne, and hesitated before replying.

"It's a symbol of fertility," he said softly. "It's usually given during weddings."

Jeanne had come over to them. There was a rather set expression on her face.

"Mrs Chen says she's all right now," she said. "She wants to take a rest."

They left the hut, leaving Mrs Chen at the door, smiling and nodding at them.

"Shan went to visit the Pandas," said Hermione, when they came out. "We can catch up with her. You haven't met them yet, have you, Jeanne?"

Jeanne seemed rather distracted.

"No, not yet," she said, rather absently. She remained silent a while, as they made their way beneath the creaking bamboos. Then, she suddenly stopped. She looked at the others, who were in front, then turned to Harry who was next to her.

"You go ahead, Harry," she said. "I'll catch up in a while."

Harry nodded and went on. However, after a few steps, he turned around and looked back.

Jeanne had taken the brooch off and thrown it on the ground. She took her wand out, her face expressionless, and pointed it at the brooch. A bright jet of light shot out of it and smashed into the brooch, shattering most of it into fine powder.

Jeanne tucked her wand back inside her robes. She stood for a while, looking at the shattered brooch, then raised her head and calmly looked at Harry. She then turned, and without a backward glance, walked off in the direction of the river.

A gentle breeze blew, and the fine powder on the ground was blown swiftly away. Then the wind blew even more strongly, and caught up the few larger pieces of the brooch that were still left. They spun around, and were whisked away. In a twinkling, all traces that the brooch had been there were gone. Nothing was left, except grass, and pebbles, and sand.

IX

The Translator

 

If you place me round your neck

Then you will understand

The Chinese language, spoken word,

Said by any man.

 

 

Shan seemed rather subdued over the next few days. Harry thought of asking her if anything was wrong, but with Robert sticking next to her all the time, this was impossible to do. His puzzlement over the matter was soon forgotten, anyway, by another more momentous event.

One day before dinner, Pixie breezed into the room where they took their meals, and announced dramatically, "Master Liu Pei is back!"

"What?" exclaimed Fatty, looking startled. "Are you sure?"

"Of course!" she said. "I just had Potions" - she made a face - "and it was Liu Pei, not Lady Han-Yin, who conducted the lesson."

"But, does Master Yang-Kang know?" asked Hermione, looking rather excited.

Pixie giggled.

"That's just it!" she said, a curious gleam in her eyes, "No one knows where he is. The teachers have been searching high and low for him - he seems to have disappeared!"

There was a split second of silence, as they absorbed this piece of news, and then everyone started talking.

" - Liu Pei must have finished him off," said Fatty.

" - No more yelling during Black Way," Ron was looking relieved.

" - was Liu Pei wearing his onyx tiger?" asked Shan.

"Who will conduct our Black Way class?" Hermione looked worried.

They could talk of little else during dinner; after all, it wasn't every day that one of your teachers killed another in a duel. Pixie said that Liu Pei was indeed wearing his onyx tiger, and that she was sure he had killed Yang-Kang, because one of her classmates had overheard Lady Wen-Li asking him if he knew where Yang-Kang was, and the expression on his face had been very smug, although he said "no".

They were still talking about it when dinner ended, and were so absorbed that they forgot to tip Ting-Ting, until she gave a very loud and indignant squeak, and stood there, glaring at them, while they filled her little tray with coins.

Harry and Ron found Ping and Pong on their beds when they reached their dormitory. The two Pandas had become regular visitors, and the boys had become used to seeing their sad little faces suddenly appear at the window, like two masked bandits. Ping had attached herself to Harry, and would regularly hide various pieces of junk in different parts of his bed. Once, Harry woke up and found her trying to stuff an apple core down his neck, while on another occasion she stuck an old and broken comb in his hair.

The Pandas were not the only creatures that interrupted their sleep. Chee Chong had installed Chester, his cricket, in a little bamboo cage by his bed, and Chester had rewarded him by routinely chirping a loud and tuneful song every night.

On this night, Chester's chirping had just lulled Harry to sleep when he heard a familiar furry voice in his head again. He turned, and lay on his back. The voice went on. Something seemed rather odd about it. It wasn't speaking Chinese this time…

Harry woke up. Ping was on his chest, tugging at something. He looked down, and found she had somehow managed to put a pendant around his neck.

I would like some honey. The furry voice was speaking English!

Harry blinked. He picked Ping up, and looked at her.

"What did you say, Ping?" he whispered.

She looked at him for a moment, then batted at the pendant round his neck.

Now you can understand me. The furry voice had a satisfied tone to it.

Harry looked at the pendant, then took it off.

Ping looked reprovingly at him. She batted her paws at the pendant, and the furry voice came again, but in Chinese this time.

Harry put the pendant on again. Ping looked gravely at him, then yawned.

I am going to sleep. She turned her back on him, then curled up near his feet and went to sleep.

Harry took his wand out, muttered "Lumos!" so that light flared from it, then took the pendant off and held it near the wand. It looked like one of the dragon trinkets that he had seen in the Celestial City, made of green jade.

At this moment Fatty, who was a few beds away, sat up, looked at Chee Chong next to him, and hissed something at him in Chinese.

Harry extinguished his wand, and put the pendant on. All at once, he found that he knew what they were saying.

"Can't you tell your cricket to shut up?"

"He likes to sing till midnight…it shows he's happy!"

"He's keeping all of us up…look, Mighty Mo's awake as well!"

"It's all right," said Robert, "I always have insomnia…I usually don't sleep till the early hours."

Harry took the pendant off. The voices went back to speaking Chinese again.

He held the pendant tightly in his hand, feeling excited. There must be some magic in it, which made the wearer able to understand Chinese! But where had it come from?

After a while, Fatty and the others stopped talking. Chester also finally stopped chirping. Harry was wide awake. He was too excited to go back to sleep. Now he would be able to understand everything that was said around him!

He got out of bed and wandered over to one of the windows, wondering if he should take his Invisibility Cloak and roam around the palace a bit. Looking out at the grounds, he was surprised to see a figure walking toward the Pagoda from the direction of the bamboo grove. It looked like Jeanne.

Jeanne! She could talk to any animal, thought Harry. She could ask Ping-Ping where the pendant had come from.

He picked Ping up, still fast asleep, quietly carried her out of the dormitory, and waited at the top of the spiral staircase for Jeanne.

She had a troubled look on her face when she appeared; but her expression became one of surprise when she saw Harry.

Harry hurriedly told her about the pendant. Jeanne looked thoughtfully at it, but could give no explanation. Harry then shook Ping-Ping awake.

Jeanne said something to Ping, who looked grumpily back at her. Jeanne sighed, then turned to Harry and shook her head.

"She's in a bad mood, Harry. She's cross that you woke her up. She won't say anything."

Ping wriggled out of her arms and curling herself into a ball, fell to the floor. She bounced up and down a bit, then rolled back into the boys' dormitory.

They stood watching her as she disappeared inside, and then Harry turned to Jeanne.

"Are you practising your Internal Magic this late at night?" he asked.

She shook her head, and the troubled look was back on her face.

"I just went to see Mrs Chen again," she said, in a low voice. "I…didn't want to, at first, but she seemed so keen for us to visit her again that day, and I kept thinking of her, all alone there…"

She was silent a while, a frown on her face.

"What's the matter?" Harry asked.

She looked soberly at him, for a moment.

"Harry, that old lady is dying," she said quietly. "I thought something wasn't quite right about her the first time we saw her, but I thought maybe it was because she'd just fallen into the river. But just now…she looked worse. She seems to be thinner, and she's getting weaker. It's as if something is sucking the life out of her, slowly."

Harry stared at her.

"Hasn't she asked anyone for help?" he asked.

"She says she went to see the school Healer, but nothing could be done," said Jeanne. "She says she doesn't know why it's happening either. She refuses to come and stay in the palace. She wants to stay in her hut, where she feels she belongs."

She sighed, and went to one of the nearby windows and looked out. Harry followed her.

"She's lonely," said Jeanne. "She wants us to visit her, especially Shan. She knows Shan because Shan often goes there to visit the Pandas, and she's taken a liking to her."

The door of the girls' dormitory, which was next to them, suddenly opened, and who should come out but Shan, with LeafSong coiled around her wrist.

"I heard voices. What - ?" and then she saw Jeanne. To Harry's surprise, her expression hardened.

Jeanne looked rather anxiously at her.

"I've just been to see Mrs Chen, Shan," she said softly, going over to Shan, "She's sick. She wants us to visit her, expecially you."

Shan looked at her, her face expressionless.

"Maybe," she said coolly. "I'll think about it." And then, to Harry's astonishment, she turned around and went back into the dormitory, and shut the door.

Jeanne stood there, staring after her. Harry looked at the closed door, then turned to Jeanne.

"She's been looking queer these past few days," he whispered, in case Shan could hear them from inside. "I don't know what's the matter with her."

Jeanne sighed, and bit her lip. She looked at Harry.

"Mrs Chen will be gone before we leave Tian-Long, Harry," she said quietly. "I can't just let her die there, all alone. I'm going to move my things there, and stay with her."

Harry felt rather worried.

"Can't we do anything?" he asked.

She hesitated, then shrugged.

"I'll ask around," she said, but her tone was uncertain. She gently put a hand on his shoulder.

"Go back to bed, Harry. Don't worry too much about it. Maybe it's just her time to go."

Harry went back into his dormitory, still feeling puzzled over Shan's behaviour. Jeanne was still standing at the window, looking out, when he closed the door.

Shan seemed her usual cheerful self when Harry saw her the next day, and he decided to let the matter rest for the moment. Only Fatty, Chee Chong and Pixie had lessons that morning, so he waited till they had left, and then showed Shan and Robert the dragon pendant. Ron and Hermione were also there, watching curiously.

Shan shook her head when she saw it, then handed it to Robert.

"It just looks like a normal pendant to me," she said.

"Say, Harry, d'you think I could borrow it?" asked Ron hopefully. His face was rather red, and he added hurriedly, "Pixie asked me to go out with her and her friends, sometime," - Hermione looked most disapproving - "and that pendant would save me. I know they'll all be talking away in Chinese."

Harry grinned at him and said, "Sure."

Robert was taking his time to look at the pendant. He turned it around in his hands, brought it to the window, held it up to the light, then came back.

"It's a Chinese Translator," he said. "Translators are usually used in the Intelligence Service - for spying."

He handed it back to Harry, and the rest all crowded around, peering curiously at it.

"Pretty cool," said Ron, looking fascinated. "No one would guess…it looks just like a common trinket. Who d'you reckon Ping stole it from - Dimbleby?"

Harry couldn't tell him.

"What a pity all of us can't have one," said Hermione, looking longingly at it. "Then we can attend all of the classes here."

They met Master Liu Pei for the first time that day, during their Potions lesson. He was not as impressive-looking as Yang-Kang. He was old and stooped, with long greying hair and a wispy, ragged beard. His robes were grey as well, rather faded, and he had a mean and cunning expression on his face.

He gave them a complicated potion to prepare. Harry wasn't even sure what the potion was supposed to be used for, because Liu Pei had a tendency to mumble. Fortunately, they were given written instructions, and simply followed those. Pixie looked bad-tempered, as she tried to grind dragon's bones, which were extremely hard, into fine powder.

"This is the second time I'm doing this," she whispered to Ron. "He gave us the same potion to prepare the other day."

Harry was glad when the lesson ended. He wished Lady Han-Yin was still conducting the class. Many of Liu Pei's ingredients reminded him of the horrible slimy things he'd seen in Snape's office, and his arm ached from all the grinding; he hoped he'd never see another dragon bone again in his life.

"Too bad he and Yang-Kang didn't finish each other off," said Pixie dolefully, as they left the classroom.

Harry found Shan in the Green Dragon common room later that evening, holding a set of Robert's shabby robes, and trying to mend them with her wand.

"I'm no good at sewing," she said, as she ran her wand over a rip, and an untidy row of stitches appeared.

"Can't Robert mend them himself?" asked Harry. "He seems to be able to do most things."

She shook her head, and glanced at Robert who was sitting nearby, his face buried in a book. "His sewing is even worse than mine."

Ron came over to join them, looking rather distraught.

"Pixie got permission from Lady Wen-Li to go out tomorrow night," he said to Harry. "And I know she'll dress up; but I only have those horrible maroon robes. They look worse than ever - Mum fixed on the lace and frills again during the holidays."

"I tell you what," said Harry. "We'll get Jeanne to alter them. She's good at this sort of thing."

He looked at Shan. This will be a good opportunity to make her go down and visit Mrs Chen, he thought.

"She'll be at Mrs Chen's now," he said. "Shan, you'll have to show us the way there. It's dark, and we're still not that familiar with the grounds."

Shan looked reluctant, but Ron looked so anxious that she couldn't refuse.

They left Robert reading, and set off. The moon was out, but it became dark once they entered the bamboo grove, and they had to light their wands. The bamboo grove seemed a lot spookier at night, the branches creaking mournfully in the wind. A few rabbits scampered out of their way as they approached the hut, and several of the mountain wolves were lurking there, their eyes gleaming eerily in the light from the wands.

To Harry's annoyance, Shan refused to go into the hut, and stayed outside instead to talk to one of the wolves, pretending (so Harry thought) that she taken a fancy to it.

Mrs Chen was sleeping when they went in. Jeanne was sitting next to the fireplace, surrounded by herbs, quietly preparing some potions. She looked surprised to see them. She chuckled, though, when she heard of Ron's predicament, and looked at his dress robes.

"I'll see what I can do," she said.

Harry and Ron, not wanting to disturb Mrs Chen, went outside. Shan was sitting next to the wolf, talking cosily to it. Ron looked at her.

"She's a bit balmy, isn't she?" he whispered to Harry.

Jeanne didn't take long to alter the robes. She removed all the lace and frills, and changed them to a navy blue colour. They even looked rather elegant, and Ron was elated.

"Now, that's more like it!" he said, looking jubilantly at the robes as they walked back to the Pagoda. "She really knows how to do clothes. Shan, you should let her mend Robert's robes."

Shan remained silent. Harry felt even more puzzled than ever. Was it Mrs Chen Shan didn't want to see, or did she have something against Jeanne? She had been perfectly fine until that day by the river, when she'd discovered Jeanne was a shape-shifter. But why should she have a problem with that?

Pixie was positively glowing the following day, looking forward to that night's excursion. Ron, however, was a bundle of nerves.

"She's bringing ten of her friends along," he said to Harry. "I'll be the only male there. And I still can't use chopsticks properly."

"You can borrow Chee Chong's," suggested Shan. "He has a special pair, because he's so accident prone. They've been charmed so that they won't drop anything."

Pixie, noticing that Ron was looking edgy, cornered Shan and tried persuading her to come along.

"Ron already knows you," she said coaxingly. "He'll feel better if more of the people he knows comes along."

"Well, ask Harry and the others as well, then," said Shan, not looking enthusiastic at all.

Harry, however, had no desire to go out with Pixie's friends; and neither had Fatty, or Chee Chong.

"I have a mah-jong session," said Fatty.

"I must crean Chester's cage," said Chee Chong.

And they both disappeared.

Shan knew it would be useless to ask Hermione to go, so she said, "I'll only go if Robert goes."

Robert was sitting nearby, reading Vorg the Vampire.

"No," he said.

"Come on, Shan," Pixie begged. "It's for Ron. You don't want this to spoil the whole exchange programme for him, do you?"

"Well, who asked you to bring your friends along!" said Shan, exasperated. "All right," she said grudgingly, "I'll go."

She turned to Robert, and said grimly, "And you're coming too. I don't see why I have to suffer alone."

Robert looked at her, his expression unreadable because of his glasses.

"Hm," was all he said. And then he retreated behind Vorg the Vampire again.

 

* * *

Harry lay awake in bed. He didn't think Ron would be back early, but he intended to stay up and find out how the night's happenings had gone.

Finally, he heard voices outside the dormitory, coming up the spiral staircase. He sat up in bed, and saw Fatty and Chee

Chong also sitting up, wide awake.

"Couldn't sleep," said Fatty, nonchalantly. "Cricket kept chirping."

The door opened, and to Harry's astonishment, a stretcher floated in; Ron was lying on it, looking very green. Robert was next to the stretcher, guiding it with his wand, followed by Shan and Pixie. Hermione, who had obviously waited up for them as well, brought up the rear, and was hissing at them like an angry goose.

"What happened?" said Harry, watching, transfixed, as Robert guided the stretcher over to Ron's bed and slid him off onto it.

Ron moaned, and then retched. Robert obligingly conjured a paper bag for him.

"No need," he groaned, "there's nothing left to come out."

Pixie stood next to Ron's bed and looked sadly at him.

"Poor Ronniekins," she said, sorrowfully.

"Well, what happened?" demanded Fatty, impatiently.

Hermione glared at Ron.

"He's drunk, that's what," she snapped. "He should have more sense. It serves him right."

She turned around, and marched out of the room.

Shan, although she looked as if she felt sorry for Ron, also seemed to be trying not to laugh.

"We had some rice wine," she explained. "We didn't know that Ron can't drink. He had two small glasses, and they just knocked him out."

Ron seemed slightly better when he got up the next morning, but he had a terrible headache.

"It was awful," he told Harry. "There were twenty girls there, and I was the only guy - you can't count Robert. And I had the Translator on, but they were chattering so fast I didn't know what they were saying anyway. They kept looking at me and giggling. After dinner, we went to some kind of nightclub, and they ordered drinks. That's when I passed out."

Pixie looked penitent during breakfast.

"Ronniekins, I'll bring you to see the school Healer," she said.

"No!" said Ron. "I'd rather have the headache. I've heard of Chinese medical practices - they stick you full of needles."

Lady Han-Yin, however, noticed Ron looking indisposed, and was very angry with Pixie when she found out what had happened. She relegated Pixie to one corner of the Potions classroom, and made her prepare a complicated tonic for Ron, which tasted terrible, and didn't seem to make him feel any better.

Ron had given Harry the Translator back. Harry found himself looking at it throughout the day, and feeling restless. Since they had started taking their meals in the Pagoda, the autograph - hungry students had not been able to waylay him in the Hall of Dragons, but they had somehow managed to get hold of his timetable, and the minute he stepped out of class they would pounce on him. The first-years had stopped bothering him, but now the second and third-year students seemed to have jumped onto the bandwagon. They even seemed to know when a class had been cancelled, and when and where the makeup class would be held. Every time he tried exploring the school, whether alone or with the others, a crowd of ardent fans would come after him. It was already their fourth week at Tian-Long, and he still hadn't had a chance to have a good look around the palace.

Harry turned the jade pendant around in his hand, and made up his mind. That night, he was going to put his Invisibility Cloak on, and explore the palace properly.

 

 

 

X

The Lady in the Scroll

 

Dust and smoke surged from the nine-fold city walls,

A thousand chariots, ten thousand horsemen…

The Lady knit her brows and was killed in front of the horses.

Flowery hairpins fell to the ground, no one picked them up,

And a jade hair-tassel.

And later when he turned to look, the place of blood and tears

Was hidden in a yellow dust blown by a cold wind.

~ Song of Unending Sorrow

Bai Ju-Yi, Tang Dynasty

 

 

 

 

Harry waited until the others were asleep, then quietly wrapped himself in the Invisibility Cloak and made for the door. He would have asked Ron to come along, except that he still looked as though he was suffering from the after-effects of the rice wine.

As Harry went past Robert's bed, he saw that Robert was still awake, lying on his back and staring into space. He turned his head and looked at Harry, as he passed.

Harry stopped and looked back at him in astonishment. He tugged at the Cloak, to make sure it was really covering him. Robert, however, merely gave him a small smile, then turned around and faced the other way, and closed his eyes.

Feeling rather nonplussed, Harry quietly opened the door and went out. He made his way down the spiral staircase, and almost stepped on something slender and green, which was slithering down the steps.

"LeafSong?" he whispered, pulling the Cloak off his head.

LeafSong turned her head and looked up at him, her forked tongue tasting the air. She looked about as astonished as a snake could look.

Harry picked her up, and put her in his pocket.

"Where iss your body?" she hissed.

"I'm wearing an Invisibility Cloak," he explained to her, in Parseltongue. "Where are you going?"

"Shan hass gone to visit the dragonss, and left me behind," she hissed.

"At this hour?" Harry was surprised.

"LeafSsong planned to follow her, but she doessn't mind following Harry Potter, insstead," added LeafSong. "Where iss Harry Potter going?"

Harry figured there wouldn't be any harm in bringing her along; she was probably more familiar with the palace than he was, and could lead him back if he got lost.

"Just looking around the school," he said.

He made his way down the corridor that led to the Hall of Dragons. Passing the scroll painting of the thickly-forested mountain, he saw that the three tiny figures and the mule must have made it to the top, because they were now descending the mountain instead.

The three young maidens had stopped washing their clothes in the river, and were fast asleep. Harry tiptoed past them, then turned and went down the corridor that Fei Lian the Wind Ghost had come out of, that first evening.

He passed through corridors furnished with carved rosewood side-tables, on which delicate blue-and-white porcelain vases reclined. He came to a large courtyard, open to the sky, enclosing a garden filled with brilliant peonies and chrysanthemums, all whispering to themselves in the pale moonlight. There was a small pond there as well, covered with lotus blooms.

Harry wandered around the garden for a while, then went back into the palace. He went down another corridor, and came upon two ghosts armed with long wooden staffs, sparring with each other.

One ghost looked like a large monkey, standing upright, and tall as a man. It was extremely agile, leaping around and twirling its staff expertly. The other ghost, which was much shorter and had the head of a pig, was whimpering and looking rather tired and sulky. He dropped his staff, and the monkey promptly stopped and waited for him to pick it up, before continuing.

Harry went past the two, and turned down another corridor. He came to another Hall, as large as the Hall of Dragons, but it was dark inside and he couldn't see anything.

He went down another corridor.

"Do you know where we are?" he whispered to LeafSong.

He felt her move inside his pocket, and guessed that she was still peeking out.

"The teacherss have their officess here," she hissed.

The corridor was very dim, and Harry saw someone moving in front of him. The person went to a door and opened it, and moonlight fell onto him before he went in and closed the door. Harry recognised the slightly stooped figure and the grey robes; it was Master Liu Pei.

He went quietly forward, and was approaching Liu Pei's office when he saw another figure standing against the wall, opposite the office, waiting.

He stopped, wondering whether to proceed. The person looked like a lady. He couldn't be sure, but it looked as if she was standing several inches off the ground.

Harry waited a while, but the lady didn't move. There was something rather odd and two-dimensional about her. Finally, he went closer, and saw that it was not a person at all, but a life-size painting on a scroll, hanging right opposite Liu Pei's office.

Harry went right up to the painting. In the dim light, she really looked real. Perhaps he was imagining it, but she seemed to be watching Liu Pei's office.

At this moment, Harry heard a slight noise behind him. Turning around, he saw the Wind Ghost, Fei Lian, opening hissack of wind.

A blast of air hit him, catching the Cloak and almost blowing it away. He grabbed at it, overbalanced, and fell against Liu Pei's door. It burst open, and Harry found himself falling into the office.

Fei Lian swooped past, with Shen Yi the Archer in hot pursuit, holding his ball of fire. They dashed around a corner, and disappeared.

Harry looked around, expecting Liu Pei to come up, scolding him; but to his surprise, the office was empty. The office walls were lined with jars of Potions ingredients, and pale moonlight was spilling in through a window.

A soft sound from the corridor caught his attention. The lady had stepped out of her painting. She came over to Harry, who was still lying on the floor, and looked at him, and then around at the office. Harry saw that her skin was very fair, and that she was wearing robes of rose - coloured silk. Going back to the scroll which was now empty, she took it down off the wall, and rolled it up. She then beckoned to Harry, holding out a hand, and said something in Chinese.

Harry stood up, and took the Translator out and put it on. She looked gravely at him and said, "Come with me."

She closed the office door, then went over to the window. Gazing at the floor, she muttered something under her breath.

The outline of a stone trapdoor suddenly appeared in the floor at her feet. There was a scraping noise, and the trapdoor slowly slid open, revealing a flight of stone steps leading downward.

She smiled at him, then started to descend the steps. Harry hesitated, but LeafSong seemed enthusiastic.

"Let'ss go!" she hissed excitedly. Harry felt the rose-coloured witch didn't seem to mean him any harm, and his curiosity got the better of him, so he followed her down. He heard the stone trapdoor slide shut again, behind him.

He wanted to ask the witch who she was, but there was something confident and self-assured about her that made him feel she would have told him, if she wanted him to know. They reached the bottom of the steps, and she began leading him through a maze of broad corridors. At one point, Harry heard footsteps approaching. The lady said swiftly to him, "Put your Cloak on, and do not move." She quickly unrolled her scroll and hung it on the wall, and stepped up into it, becoming part of the painting again.

Harry put the Cloak on and waited. What looked like a patrol of six sentries went past, armoured and rather frightening to look at, with the heads of rats. When they had gone, the lady stepped out of her scroll again, and took it down. Harry took the Cloak off, so that she could see him, and they proceeded on their way.

Finally, she stopped in front of the entrance of a large tunnel, and turned to Harry.

"I can go no further," she said. "I am forbidden to enter here. Listen to me; you must put your Cloak on, and go down the tunnel, to the end. Eighteen doorways line the sides of the tunnel; do not go into any of them. The end of the tunnel opens out to a large cavern, where there is an underground lake. A bridge leads out to an island in the lake. There you will find a large bronze bell. Turn the lion's head on the bell, and the task will be done."

Harry hesitated. Was she trying to trick him?

"But - what task is this?" he said. "Why should I do it?"

She looked at him, then smiled and shook her head.

"She doess not undersstand English," hissed LeafSong. "You musst sspeak to her in Chinese."

"I can't," pointed out Harry. "Can't you speak to her?"

"She will not undersstand Parsseltongue," hissed LeafSong. "I can read and undersstand Chinese, but I cannot sspeak it."

The lady looked at him and said quietly, "I cannot tell you more. But this task must be done."

"We have to do as she ssayss," said LeafSong, "or she will not lead uss out of here. We will be trapped."

Harry didn't feel happy about the whole thing at all, but there was no choice. Turning, he put the Cloak on and went into the tunnel. It was dimly lit, and there was something very oppressive about the air in there. The horrible sounds of weeping and wailing, like tortured souls, could be heard emanating from the doorways lining the tunnel, and Harry would not have entered any of them for anything. At one point, a large ghost came drifting past them, dressed in sweeping robes, with a dark face, long beard and staring eyes.

After about ten minutes, they reached the cavern and the lake. The water had a curious reddish colour. At first Harry thought it was a trick of the dim light, but then he realised, to his horror, that it was blood.

LeafSong seemed unnerved too.

"Let uss do it quick, and get out of here," she hissed.

Harry made his way over the bridge. He could see the island in the distance, and a large silhouette on it which must be the bell. It was much taller than a man. Another figure could be seen next to it.

"There's someone there," he whispered.

He could feel LeafSong peeking out of his pocket.

"It iss Masster Liu Pei," she hissed.

As they came nearer, Harry could hear a muffled voice shouting. It sounded familiar, and it was coming from underneath the bronze bell.

LeafSong was listening too.

"It iss Masster Yang-Kang," she hissed. "Masster Liu Pei hass trapped him insside the bell."

They had reached the island. Harry pulled the Cloak more tightly around himself. Liu Pei had finished gloating over Yang-Kang, and came past them, making his way back across the bridge, looking extremely pleased with himself. Harry could hear Yang-Kang shouting and cursing from under the bell.

The bell was covered with strange bronze studs, and stylized gargoyles. They were all so hideous that Harry couldn't tell which was supposed to be a lion. Chinese characters ran underneath the row of gargoyles.

"LeafSong, you'll have to read the words," he whispered, taking her out of his pocket.

LeafSong gazed attentively as Harry slowly walked around the bell, holding her in his hand. At last, under the ugliest gargoyle, she hissed, "Thiss one."

Harry peered at the Chinese characters. The gargoyle didn't look the faintest bit like a lion.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yess," she hissed. "Quick, turn it, and let uss get out of here!"

Harry took hold of the ugly thing, and turned. It was very stiff, and he had to try three times before it finally moved.

There was a rumbling noise, and the island started to tremble. LeafSong, who had coiled herself around his wrist, hissed excitedly, "Quick! Run!"

Harry threw her back into his pocket, and began sprinting back across the bridge. He heard a loud, scraping noise, like metal shifting against metal, and turning back, saw the bronze bell slowly rising from the surface of the island.

The entire cavern seemed to be shaking now, and rocks were falling from the ceiling, falling into the dark blood with loud splashes.

Harry could hear Yang-Kang roaring in wrath as he emerged from under the bell. Turning as he reached the tunnel, Harry saw Yang-Kang bounding across the bridge. He had created a glowing Shield around himself, and rocks and stones from the ceiling of the cavern were bouncing off it.

Harry ran down the tunnel back to the entrance. There was no one there; the rose-coloured witch had vanished.

Yang-Kang came thundering down the tunnel and past them, his eyes blazing.

"LIU PEI!!" he roared, "I AM COMING TO GET YOU!!"

"Follow him," LeafSong hissed urgently, "or we will never get out of here!"

Harry turned and sprinted after Yang-Kang. He could hear the tunnel collapsing behind him.

He followed Yang-Kang back down the maze of corridors. By the time he reached the flight of stone steps, Yang-Kang had disappeared. Gasping for breath, Harry dashed up the steps, praying that the stone trapdoor had not sealed them in.

He reached the top, and found that Yang-Kang had burst the trapdoor into fragments. There was now a gaping hole in the floor.

Harry could hear sounds of fighting in the corridor outside, and he could see flashes of light through the door. He hesitated, wondering if it was safe to go to the door and look out; but then, something lying on Liu Pei's desk caught his eye.

He went over to have a look. It was a scroll, so old that it almost seemed to be falling to pieces. It was very dirty too, but Harry could roughly make out that half the scroll was covered with Chinese characters, while the other half had what looked like a star-map on it, except that he couldn't recognise any of the constellations there at all.

 

 

A piece of dark yellow silk also lay on the table, which must have been used to wrap the scroll. The seal on the silk had been broken. Harry turned it over to have a better look; there was an image of an animal on it, which looked like a five-clawed dragon, golden in colour.

He looked around the rest of the office. Liu Pei certainly seemed to possess a lot of things. Besides numerous bottles and jars of potions, there were also many bronze vessels scattered around the room, with complicated designs carved on them. A pile of dragon bones lay on a straw mat on the floor, and several boxes of rhinoceros' horns sat on a small table in a corner.

At this moment, he heard something hard falling to the floor of the corridor outside, followed by the sounds of someone fleeing. He went over to the door and cautiously peered out. Yang-Kang was standing at a window at the far end of the corridor, looking out. He then smashed his large fist onto the window sill, cursing. Liu Pei must have got away again.

He came stalking back down the corridor, and Harry, who had come out of the office, flattened himself against the wall. Yang-Kang stopped halfway, and picked something up off the floor. He held it up, a triumphant gleam in his eyes. It was the onyx tiger.

He placed it round his neck, then strode back to Liu Pei's office, Harry following curiously. He stood at the door of the office, and peeked in.

Yang-Kang pointed a finger at the hole in the floor, and it closed up immediately. He then strode out of the office, slammed the door shut, and disappeared down the corridor.

Harry stood where he was for a moment, wondering what to do next. He supposed he should go back to the dormitory; he'd had quite enough excitement for one night. LeafSong, however, thought otherwise; she wriggled out of his pocket and fell to the floor, and slithered over to the nearest window.

"Farewell, Harry Potter," she hissed, coiling herself up the leg of a table, and disappearing out the window, "LeafSsong iss going to look for Shan!"

Harry went over to the window and looked out, but the little snake had vanished. He stood there for a moment, wondering why Shan would want to visit the dragons in the middle of the night.

A slight noise in the corridor behind him made him turn around, and his blood froze. There in the distance, moving toward a door at end of the corridor, was a tall, hooded figure in black. It looked like a Dementor.

Harry stood still, his heart beating fast, watching as the figure disappeared through the door. What was a Dementor doing in Tian-Long? Was it a Dementor?

He waited for a minute or two, but nothing further happened. He started making his way down the corridor. As he passed Liu Pei's office, he paused. The scroll on the desk intrigued him. He felt sure Liu Pei had been looking at it when Yang-Kang had come bursting in. He decided to have one more look at it…

He opened the door, and saw immediately that there was now nothing lying on the desk; the scroll was gone.

Harry went over and looked around, in case the scroll had fallen to the floor. He got down on all fours and looked under the table. Nothing. The scroll had vanished, together with its silk wrapping.

Puzzled, he stood up, and after one last look around, turned and left the office. This was turning out to be an extremely queer night. Could Yang-Kang have taken the scroll without Harry noticing? Or had the hooded figure taken it?

He was halfway back to the Pagoda when he remembered Shan. Had she really gone to see the dragons? He stopped in mid-stride, wondering about it, and then his curiosity got the better of him again. Pulling the Cloak tightly around him, he made his way out of the palace and into the grounds, and headed toward the Caverns.

All seemed quiet when he reached the caves; the dragons were all asleep. Harry wandered around a bit, looking out for Shan. He had just decided that she must have returned to the Pagoda and was about to turn back himself, when he saw her at the far end of the cliff.

He took the Cloak off and made his way over. The ground in front of him was level, but to his right it fell away into a steep gorge. As he came nearer and saw her up close, he had that odd, familiar feeling again, and impatiently tried to push thoughts of Cho Chang away. After all, he now knew Shan better than he knew Cho.

"Harry!" she said, looking surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I met LeafSong in the Pagoda, and she said you were here."

They were standing below the entrance of a cave, some distance from the main caves where the dragons were housed. Shan, seeing that Harry was looking curiously at her, began to explain.

"The caves at this end of the cliff are empty, most of the time," she said. "But sometimes wild dragons will come to roost here. They're attracted by the herds of cattle that we rear to feed the tame ones, you see. They normally stay for a few days, then leave."

Harry was still puzzled.

"But - why d'you have to come looking for them in the middle of the night?"

Shan looked rather guilty.

"Because I want to fly them," she said, "and it's against school rules, to fly a wild dragon."

"Are you joking?" Harry stared at her. "That's crazy - it's downright dangerous!"

She looked serious.

"It's not, for me, Harry," she said. "I always do it. Don't go telling on me."

She started climbing up the slope toward the entrance of the cave. Harry hesitated for a moment, then followed.

"I'm always hoping that a Silverwing will come to roost," she said. "The school doesn't have any, and I've only managed to fly one once, long ago."

"What's so special about them?" asked Harry.

Her eyes took on a faraway look.

"They're the most intelligent of the dragons," she said. "They can blend perfectly with their surroundings - if you look up at them from below, they just look like part of the sky. And they're the only dragons who can Apparate."

They had reached the mouth of the cave. Harry stopped short.

"It may be safe for you to go in, but it won't be for me."

Shan laughed, and said, "Put your Invisibility Cloak on, and they won't know you're there."

Harry stared at her in surprise. He hadn't shown any of the Tian-Long students the Cloak; he'd always waited for them to go off first, before removing it.

"How d'you know about the Cloak?"

Shan went pink, and hesitated before replying.

"I hope you don't mind," she said. "I saw you taking it off, from a distance, once. I didn't tell anyone," she added quickly.

She continued climbing into the cave.

"Tell you what, I'll go in and have a look first. There should be a wild Bronzeback inside - I saw it fly in earlier."

She disappeared inside the cave, leaving Harry waiting at the entrance. After a few minutes, she came back, looking puzzled.

"The Bronzeback's in there," she said. "It's an old male. It seems to be unwell."

At this moment, the Bronzeback suddenly appeared, some distance behind her. It certainly looked unwell; it was lurching unsteadily from side to side, and flames were spewing randomly from its nostrils.

Harry took a step back, startled. Shan turned around and stared at it for a few seconds, then grabbed Harry by the arm and said, "I think we'd better leave."

They started scrambling down the slope.

"I can usually tell what a dragon is thinking," Shan said tensely, as they hurried down. "This male…it seems to think that we're going to attack it."

The Bronzeback was coming after them, its movements jerky and erratic. As they turned back to look, it suddenly lifted its head, and opened its jaws.

Harry found himself looking through a faint haze of light. Shan had raised a Shield in front of them. Fire issued from the Bronzeback's jaws; it was still some distance away, but Shan's Shield wasn't very strong, and Harry could feel the intense heat of the flames.

The haze of light dissolved and vanished.

"I can't hold it," she said, "Run!"

Harry took his wand out, and pointed it at the Bronzeback.

"Impedimenta!" he shouted. Then, he turned and ran down the slope after Shan. He knew the Jinx would not last long.

They had just reached the narrow stretch of level ground, next to the gorge, when they heard the Bronzeback coming after them again. Shan raised another Shield, just as another jet of flame came bursting out at them.

Shan swiftly unsheathed her sword, and held it in front of them so that it caught the flames and deflected them away. Harry flung another Impediment Jinx at the Bronzeback, sticking his hand through the Shield. Shan took a step back, and then lost her balance. The Shield dissolved, and Harry, turning, saw her fall and slide over the edge of the cliff. She grabbed at some bushes, and hung there, her body dangling over the gorge.

Harry got down on all fours, and leaning forward, tried to pull her back up. She looked up at him, her face pale.

"Get yourself out of here, Harry," she whispered. "I can feel the Bronzeback recovering. It's coming."

Harry heard the dragon roar from behind him. Instinctively, he rolled aside, and a jet of flames shot past him, shriveling the grass where he had just been lying.

He snatched his wand out. He hadn't really practised stunning spells before, but he had to try.

"Stupefy!" he shouted, pointing his wand at the Bronzeback. Then he turned to look for Shan, and saw that the branches she had been holding on to had snapped. She was sliding over the edge of the cliff, and out of sight.

Harry ran toward her in a panic. What spells were there to stop someone falling in midair? He had almost reached the edge when he heard the Bronzeback scream. It had recovered.

Harry flung another stunning spell at it, but not before another jet of flame narrowly missed him. He lost his balance, and almost fell over the edge of the cliff as well.

He found himself lying on the ground. His stunning spell had missed the Bronzeback, and it was coming toward him at an alarming speed.

An ear-splitting scream suddenly rent the air. Another Bronzeback was hurtling through the air, making straight for the old male on the ground.

The old male retreated a few steps; flames shot out of its jaws, but seemed to have no effect on the tough hide of the second Bronzeback. It smashed into the old male, then began striking at it with its jaws.

Harry lay on the ground, watching as the two dragons fought. Finally, the old Bronzeback spread its wings, and took flight. The second Bronzeback screamed again, then launched itself into the air as well, in pursuit of the old male.

Harry lay there for a few seconds, then got up slowly. He found himself shaking slightly. He looked up at the sky, expecting to see more Bronzebacks appearing out of nowhere, but everything was still.

He suddenly heard a scrabbling sound coming from behind him. Turning, he saw Shan hoisting herself over the side of the cliff, her glasses slipping off her nose, and her robes all torn and muddy.

Harry hurried over to her. "Are you all right?"

She nodded and sat up, pushing her glasses up her nose.

"The ground levels out slightly, further down," she said. "I managed to climb up again."

She got to her feet, looking rather shaken. "What happened to the Bronzeback?"

"Another Bronzeback came," said Harry. "It chased the old male away."

Shan looked surprised. She saw her sword, which was lying on the ground a short distance away, and went over and picked it up. They then started making their way back to the palace. They walked in silence for a while, still trying to recover from what had just happened. Then, Shan turned to Harry.

"What were you doing, that you managed to meet LeafSong?" she asked curiously.

Harry told her about Yang-Kang and Liu Pei. He decided not to mention the scroll or the Dementor, though, for the time being, until he'd had more time to wonder about it.

Shan looked amazed, then grinned.

"Wish I'd been there," she said, looking rather enviously at him. "So…Yang-Kang is back. And he managed to get the onyx tiger back as well! Liu Pei will probably show up again."

"Do you have any idea who the lady in the scroll could have been?" asked Harry.

She thought a while.

"She could be one of Yang-Kang's ancestors," she said. "People say that's how the feud started. There was a war, and someone from Liu Pei's family killed her in one of the battles."

They had reached Green Dragon Pagoda. Shan gave Harry a grin and went into her dormitory, still brushing mud off her robes. Harry, feeling tired, went into his, wondering what Ron and Hermione would say when he told them of the night's happenings.

He told them the following morning, but didn't mention the dragons because Shan had asked him not to. Ron was indignant, of course, that Harry hadn't asked him along.

"You were still feeling sick because of the rice wine," Harry pointed out.

Hermione looked both anxious and disapproving.

"You might have been killed," she said, "And if anyone had caught you wandering around, you would have got into trouble, and would probably have been sent back to Hogwarts."

However, both she and Ron were interested in seeing the lady in the scroll, so later that day they went back to Liu Pei's office to see if the painting was hanging outside; but it wasn't. They searched through the palace, but found no trace of the lady. It seemed that she had fulfilled her task, and had gone for good. Harry never saw the witch in the rose-coloured robes again.

 

 

 

XI

The Jousting Tournament

The dragons quenched their thirst beside the lake

Where bathed the sun, whilst I upon the brake

Fastened my reins; a golden bough I sought

To brush the sun, and tarred there in sport.

~ the Book of Songs,

Spring and Autumn period

 

A few days after that eventful night, Harry noticed Shan looking rather upset.

"A wild Bronzeback has been found dead, some distance from the Caverns," she told him. "I went to have a look at it; it was the old male."

Harry was surprised.

"The second Bronzeback must have killed it," he said.

Shan looked even more upset.

"I don't think so," she said. "It wasn't physically wounded at all. It was just lying there, as if it had died in its sleep. Chen-Kang couldn't figure out what killed it."

"Old age," suggested Harry.

Shan looked distracted. She took a few seconds to register what Harry had said, then shook her head.

"Well, it was sick, anyway," Harry reminded her.

She looked rather impatient.

"No one just finds a dead dragon lying out in the open, Harry," she said. "Even if it's sick, or dying, it'll go to a place where no one can find it, and die there."

She gave a small sigh, then picked her bag up and went off, still looking upset.

Harry stood staring after her. Robert, who had been standing by listening, looked at him.

"She blames herself for the dragon's death," Robert explained, in his quiet voice. "She thinks that something or someone must have killed it, after it flew off, that night. She thinks that if she hadn't gone there that night, it wouldn't have come out of the cave, and would still be alive."

He looked after Shan, as if thinking about something, then went to catch up with her. Harry watched him leave, feeling rather surprised. So Robert knew about Shan's night-flying activities. It seemed that there wasn't anything that Shan didn't tell Robert.

 

However, that wasn't the end of the matter. A few days later, another dragon was found dead.

"It was a Fireball, this time," Shan told Harry. "A wild one. No wounds again. Chen-Kang is getting worried; he's getting sentries to keep watch over the tame dragons."

The news of the dead dragons had traveled around the school. Even Fatty and Pixie were looking concerned.

"Chen-Kang thinks someone killed those dragons," said Fatty. "There are no marks on them. It's possible that someone killed them using magic."

Ron didn't seem too concerned that dragons were dying.

"What's all the fuss about?" he said to Pixie.

Pixie, for once, didn't giggle.

"To the Chinese, dragons are sacred, Ron," she told him, rather impatiently. "It's a terrible crime to kill a dragon."

Early the next morning, another wild Fireball was found dead.

"That is not good," said Chee Chong, later that morning in the Green Dragon common room. He was busily cleaning Chester's little bamboo cage. "The Jousting Tournament is tomorrow. We hope that no one will harm our tame dragons before that."

Hermione was watching Chester, who was crawling up Chee Chong's back.

"I never knew crickets were popular pets, in China," she said.

Fatty was sitting nearby, rewriting an essay. He seemed to have caught some of Chee Chong's accident-prone-ness, because someone had obviously knocked a bottle of ink onto his original essay.

"Crickets aren't usually kept as pets," he told Hermione, "They're usually reared for cricket-fights."

Ron looked intrigued. "Cricket-fights?"

Fatty nodded.

"Put two of these crickets together, and they're sure to start fighting. If you want, we can have a demonstration. I've got a friend who has a female cricket. I can ask her to bring it over, if you want."

Chee Chong looked indignant.

"Chester does not want to fight," he said, "He will get hurt."

"Nonsense," said Fatty. "It'll do him good. Maybe he'll stop singing at night."

Harry and Ron were keen, so Fatty sent one of his postal dragons off with a message, asking his friend to bring her cricket over. She came over presently, a hefty-looking girl also from White Tiger, carrying her cricket in a similar bamboo cage.

"Everyone, this is my friend Mui-Sing," said Fatty, "also from Hong Kong. We've had a number of joint ventures together."

Mui-Sing's cricket was called Mu-Lan. She looked almost identical to Chester, except that she was slightly bigger.

"That is not fair," protested Chee Chong. "She is bigger than Chester."

"Nonsense, only a bit, and besides, she's a female," said Fatty, a gleam in his eye. He looked at Mui-Sing. "I wager five gold pieces that Mu-Lan will not be able to fight Chester."

Mui-Sing's eyes flashed.

"Accepted!" she said.

Everyone, including all the other Green Dragon students in the room, crowded around to watch. The two bamboo cages were placed on a table, facing each other, and the respective owners, at a signal from Fatty, slid the doors open.

Chester came crawling out, his antennae waving excitedly. He hopped over to Mu-Lan, who was now sitting just outside her cage, and enthusiastically tried to make friends with her.

"Come on, Chester!" said Fatty, his eyes gleaming, "Go get her!"

Mu-Lan looked at Chester in a rather horrified manner, then retreated a few steps.

"Fight him, Mu-Lan!" cried Mui-Sing, slamming her large fist down on the table, and making the two contestants bounce up in the air. "Finish him off!"

Chester was still making friendly overtures to Mu-Lan, who was still retreating in dismay. Finally, she turned and leapt off the table.

"Mu-Lan! Come back and fight him!" shouted Mui-Sing. "You are going to make me lose five gold pieces!"

Mu-Lan, however, was hopping rapidly to the other end of the room, with Chester in hot pursuit, the students in the room quickly stepping out of the way, and laughing.

"You have given her the wrong name," said Chee Chong, watching Mu-Lan's desperate flight.

Fatty chortled, and looked smugly at Mui-Sing.

"Pay up, Ah-Mui," he said cheerfully.

Mui-Sing went over to the other end of the room, snatched Mu-Lan up, and put her back into her cage. Then, scowling, she threw five gold coins at Fatty, and left in a huff.

Fatty cheerfully pocketed the coins, and watched as Chee Chong returned Chester, who was looking rather lovelorn, back to his cage.

"That cricket is a good investment after all," he said, jingling his coins. "I can almost forgive his singing, now."

 

Shan and Robert didn't attend any of the exchange programme classes that day. They appeared at dinnertime, Shan looking rather tired, Robert his usual placid self.

"We've been practicing for tomorrow's tournament," Shan told the Hogwarts students. "Green Dragon is unlucky this year. Two of our Bronzebacks - there are five which belong to us - cannot be flown: one has a clutch, and the other is unwell. We have to let one of our team-mates fly WindStar. Chen-Kang and I had to go look for a wild Bronzeback this morning, and we've been spending the entire day getting to know him."

"You're going to fly a wild Bronzeback?" squeaked Pixie, looking horrified.

Shan shrugged.

"We've already flown him, today," she said. "There's no choice. We can't take part in the tournament with only three dragons."

"Where is it being housed?" asked Fatty.

"They've hewn a new cave for it, near the tame Bronzebacks," replied Shan. "Chen-Kang has placed sentries nearby. He's not taking any chances, with the tournament tomorrow."

 

The day of the tournament dawned bright and clear. Harry and the others had been looking forward to it with interest, because they hadn't seen any of the students Jousting before. The Jousting practice area was two hours' walk away, and those practicing normally flew their dragons there. Harry regretted not bringing his Firebolt along; then he could easily have flown there with Shan and Robert, during one of their practices.

There were no lessons that day, and once breakfast was over, the entire school set out for the tournament site. Chee Chong brought Chester along, saying that he was lonely and that the tournament would cheer him up. Since the match with Mu-Lan, Chester had stopped chirping at night. He would merely sit in his little cage, looking rather depressed and lovelorn. Chee Chong had suggested that Mu-Lan be brought over to visit him, but Fatty and the others, who were secretly rather pleased that the dormitory was now quieter at night, promptly squashed the idea.

"So, what happens during the tournament?" Harry asked Fatty, as they made their way toward the coast.

"Each House fields four dragons," said Fatty. "Each dragon has two riders, a guide and a spellthrower. The guide controls the dragon - the dragons are not allowed to fight each other, they're penalised if they do; the spellthrower will try to unseat his opponent. Only two dragons can make it to the final round."

"Will the spellthrowers be using Internal Magic?" asked Hermione, hopefully.

"They can, if they want to," said Fatty. "But most people at our level aren't very good at Internal Magic. You normally have to go to an Internal Magic school if you want to learn it properly. No, most of the contestants use wands, but any of those who do use Internal Magic, like Robert, gain a lot more points."

They had been going steadily downhill, and the sea of swirling cloud could now be seen in the distance.

"Is this the only sport you have?" asked Harry, wondering what they would make of Quidditch when they came to Hogwarts.

"Oh, there are other tournaments during the year," said Fatty. "There's a Dragon Boat race, and dueling contests with swords and staffs; but the Jousting is the most fun to watch."

They were walking along the coast now, and the Hogwarts students looked at the sea of swirling cloud curiously. The clouds were in constant motion, and were breaking against the shore like normal sea waves.

"Wonder what it feels like," said Ron, as the waves crashed onto the shore, producing a sound just like normal surf. He leaned over the edge, and put his hand into one of the rock pools.

"It feels just like water!" he said, sounding astonished. He took his hand out, and looked at it. "But my hand's completely dry!"

Harry and Hermione stuck their hands in as well. The clouds did indeed feel just like water.

They stood there for a while, sticking their hands in, and waiting for the next wave to crash on the shore, to recede, leaving the ground perfectly dry. Then Fatty and the rest finally said they must go, or they'd be late.

"What's the tournament site like?" asked Hermione, as they turned and followed the path inland toward what looked like a rocky plateau.

"It's just there," said Pixie, pointing. "You'll see soon enough."

The tournament site turned out to be a huge crater, just next to the coast, hemmed in by walls of rock that were nearly vertical, into which stone seats had been carved. It was like an enormous natural amphitheatre. A maze of corridors had been hewn into the interior of the walls, and Fatty led them down several flights of stone stairs until they reached a level where the seats had been carved out.

"We'll sit slightly higher up, away from the others," said Fatty, taking several pairs of omnioculars from a large basket, "because all of us will be rooting for our respective Houses, and I know you'll want to cheer for Shan and Robert."

The amphitheatre was so large that the school only filled one corner of it. They found themselves sitting above a sea of green-robed students. Looking to his left, and downward, Harry could see the White Tiger students, followed by a sea of black-robed students farther down. The Yellow Dragons and Crimson Phoenix were almost opposite them, round the curve of the amphitheatre.

The omnioculars Fatty had handed to them looked quite old, and did not provide replay. Harry saw that some of the dragons had arrived. Looking through his omnioculars, he saw that they were all Bronzebacks. Their riders would fly a few rounds, to warm up, and then land them at the summit of a sheer, vertical cliff at one end of the amphitheatre, which Fatty said was called the Lookout Point. Harry could tell, by the colour of the robes of the riders, which House each dragon belonged to.

"Look," Chee Chong suddenly said, "There's Shan!"

Shan and Robert's dragon was easily recognisable. It was a much darker brown than the others, and its flying style was a lot wilder and more aggressive. They watched as Shan flew a few rounds, and then landed it near the other dragons, whereupon it reared its head and pawed the ground, impatiently.

"That is one wild dragon," remarked Chee Chong, watching in fascination, Chester perched mournfully on top of his head.

Hermione looked rather worried. "Can she control it?"

"Hard to say," said Fatty. "When the two of them fly WindStar, there's usually not much fight. Shan and WindStar seem to be able to read each other's minds. There's no use even placing bets on them winning, because no one wants to bet any differently, except maybe the Yellow Dragons."

Several rows of seats nearby were reserved for the staff. Harry recognised Lady Han-Yin, absently fingering her crystal ball, and a bit farther down, the hulking figure of Yang-Kang. He was wearing his usual glowering expression, most likely imagining the gory things he would do to Liu Pei when he found him. Next to him was Madam Tang, who was droning on and on about something, probably predicting the outcome of the tournament. Harry doubted if Yang-Kang was really listening.

Lady Wen-Li, who was seated next to Lady Han-Yin, now stood up. She raised her wand, and five large birdcages suddenly appeared to their right, suspended in the air in front of the cliff where the dragons were. Each cage was the colour of one of the school Houses.

"What are those for?" asked Ron, looking puzzled.

Pixie dimpled at him.

"For the scoring," she said, and then giggled when Ron continued to look bewildered.

"The height at which the cages are floating indicates your points," explained Fatty. "You gain points when you win a round, and lose points when you get a penalty. The indicators are shaped like birdcages because during the final round, a flock of sea-swifts will be released into the site. The guide will try to fly his dragon near the swifts, and the spellthrower tries to catch them with a special net. The minute each swift touches the net, it will vanish and reappear inside the respective House cage. To win the tournament, you either have to catch the most birds, or catch the Queen Swift. It's something like the Snitch in your Quidditch."

Harry was imagining himself racing around on his Firebolt, trying to catch swifts with a net.

"Queen Swift?" said Hermione, removing Chester from her shoulder, where he had managed to crawl, and placing him back on Chee Chong's shoulder.

"A flock of sea-swifts always migrates here around this time of the year," said Fatty. "They always roost on one of the ledges in the Caverns. We capture them when they're sleeping, and then keep them for the tournament. Each flock always has one Queen Swift. She's slightly larger than the rest, and flies a lot faster. You can recognise her because her plumage is different from the others."

"But won't the swifts just fly away?" asked Harry.

Fatty shook his head.

"Lady Wen-Li will place an invisible barrier around the site," he said. "The swifts won't be able to escape."

"Look!" exclaimed Hermione.

Lady Wen-Li had waved her wand again, and to the Hogwarts students' astonishment, they saw that part of the sea of cloud had detached itself from the main mass and was now drifting over the edge of the crater, pouring down the sides of the amphitheatre into the valley below.

"This is weird," said Ron, as for a few seconds, nothing could be seen above them except for swirling cloud.

"What is it for?" Harry asked, as they watched the clouds settle at the bottom of the crater.

"She's charmed them to catch the students when they fall," said Fatty, grinning. "You don't expect them to fall to the crater floor when they've been unseated, do you?"

Harry was imagining students falling from the sky and bouncing up and down on the clouds like a trampoline, when Pixie gave a small squeal of excitement and tugged at Ron's arm. "They're starting!"

Someone's voice could be heard, loud and clear, giving the commentary in Chinese. Unfortunately, Harry had forgotten to bring the Translator, so he had to rely on Fatty and the others.

A pair of dragons had now flown into the centre, and hovered there, facing each other, till the signal was given. They then flew at each other, each striking viciously at its opponent, their guides trying to restrain them.

Looking through his omnioculars, Harry could see that one dragon belonged to Crimson Phoenix, while the second was from Yellow Dragon. The first student on each dragon was controlling the dragon, while the second was throwing spells at their opponent. The Yellow Dragon spellthrower was a lot more skilful than the one from Crimson Phoenix. He was Shielding himself and his dragon, so that the spells hurled at them by the Crimson Phoenix spellthrower merely bounced off, and was attacking the other aggressively.

Fatty was providing a running commentary in English, for their benefit.

"He's trying to petrify the dragon's wings - no, they've managed to Shield; now he's thrown a stunning spell at the guide - oh, their Shield isn't strong enough, the spell broke through…the guide looks dazed."

The dragons had raced to the other end of the amphitheatre now. Harry noticed that both spellthrowers were only raising partial Shields, leaving a large part of the dragon unprotected. The Shields looked quite dim, unlike the strong, bright one he had seen Yang-Kang erect after he'd emerged from the bell.

"Why don't they just Shield the entire dragon?" he asked, as the Yellow Dragon Bronzeback suddenly lunged viciously at the other dragon, striking it on the head.

"Penalty!" shouted Pixie, grabbing Ron's arm in excitement.

"No one here is capable of raising a Shield large enough for a whole dragon," said Fatty, his eyes still glued to his omnioculars. "It's already difficult enough for most of us to Shield our own bodies alone. Oh - unseated!"

As Pixie jumped up and down, screaming in dismay, Harry saw the Crimson Phoenix spellthrower falling from the dragon, down to the sea of cloud. He disappeared beneath the surface for a while, then came bobbing up. The Crimson Phoenix Bronzeback came flying down to rescue him, hovering just above the surface of the cloud while the guide let a rope down and pulled him back up.

The Yellow Dragons were all shouting in triumph, while the other Houses looked grumpy.

"We always cheer for whoever is fighting against Yellow Dragon, whether they are flom our House or not," said Chee Chong.

Another pair of dragons had now flown in, one from White Tiger, the other from Black Tortoise. Harry watched the dueling with interest. The Black Tortoise guide wasn't handling his dragon very well. It kept rearing its head, and wanting to fly off elsewhere. The spellthrower was quite skilful, though, quickly raising Shields wherever spells were being hurled. He was conjuring up small, white balls of light, and throwing them, nonstop, at the other spellthrower, who instinctively twisted around in his seat, to fend them off. The White Tiger dragon suddenly lurched, and its spellthrower lost his balance, and fell off.

"No!!" yelled Fatty, watching as his spellthrower hit the clouds with a splash, while Chee Chong lifted Chester, who was sitting glumly in his hand, and said, "look, Chester, we've won!"

The Hogwarts students watched, fascinated, as the next few pairs of dragons came out. The spellthrowers seemed to have all sorts of tricks up their sleeves. Some would let off a barrage of small objects - Fatty said they could conjure any object, so long as it would not cause hurt to the other person - at the other side; one actually managed to body-bind one of the dragon's wings, so that it almost fell to the sea of cloud before its spellthrower managed to free it. Another obscured its opponent with pink clouds, so that they couldn't see, and then flew around and attacked them from the other side.

Finally, Shan and Robert came out. The Green Dragons all started screaming in excitement.

Fatty gave a small sigh and said, "Well, this will be a short round."

"Oh, they're fighting Crimson Phoenix!" squeaked Pixie.

Fatty was right; Shan had hardly brought the wild Bronzeback near the Crimson Phoenix dragon when Robert, who had created a large Shield so that the entire half of his dragon facing the opponent was protected, merely lifted a hand and pointed it at the other spellthrower, who was hurling spells non-stop at them with his wand. Robert's Shield was glowing bright and strong, and the spells all simply bounced off. The Crimson Phoenix spellthrower flew into the air, curved in an arc above his dragon, and then dove down toward the sea of cloud.

The Green Dragons were all cheering, while Pixie was watching gloomily.

"It's not fair," she said, sulkily.

"He's pretty good, isn't he?" said Ron, watching as the wild Bronzeback flew back to the Lookout Point.

"He's not bad," admitted Fatty. "But Yellow Dragon has a spellthrower who's fairly good. If they both make it to the final round, it'll be interesting to watch."

And that was what happened. Shan and Robert made it to the final easily enough, although the next few spellthrowers were much better than the first, and it took Robert a longer time to unseat them. Harry had a feeling Robert wasn't taking the tournament very seriously, either; he sometimes seemed to be merely playing with the other spellthrower.

The wild Bronzeback, unused to the sport, was also getting restless, and Shan had her hands full, controlling it. The Yellow Dragon Jousters, whom they would meet in the final round, were very aggressive players. They didn't seem to mind playing dirty, although it lost them points.

"They don't care," said Fatty, as they walked around during the Intermission, to stretch their legs. "They think that they can catch the Queen Swift, which will make up for all the points lost."

They were looking at the birdcages. Only the green and yellow ones were left now, because the other Houses were out of the final. The green cage was suspended higher than the yellow one, partly because Yellow Dragon had incurred so many penalties.

"Every time one swift is added to it, it'll rise slightly," Pixie said, and then added with satisfaction, "At least Yellow Dragon's losing."

 

At last, the Intermission was over. The students all wandered back to their seats, looking excited.

Lady Wen-Li stood up, and pointed her wand at the sky. A faint golden haze appeared, surrounding the entire amphitheatre.

"That is to keep the swifts inside," said Chee Chong, "Now they cannot fry away."

Shan and Robert flew their dragon into the middle of the amphitheatre, as did the Yellow Dragon contestants. Harry saw that Robert was holding a slim, long-handled golden net, and so was the Yellow Dragon spellthrower.

"The other spellthrower is Li Ning," said Fatty, "biggest bully in the school."

"He's big, all right," said Ron, looking through his omnioculars, "He looks three times the size of Robert!"

"They're starting," said Hermione, looking tense, "here come the swifts!"

A flock of about a hundred little birds had entered the amphitheatre from a door below the Lookout Point. They swooped around, and tried to fly out of the tournament site, but the glowing barrier held them in.

"They're really fast," said Harry, twisting his head around to watch the birds as they swooped and dived. He had an insatiable urge to jump on his Firebolt and see whether he could catch some of them.

The final round had started. They watched as the dragons swooped around, after the swifts. The wild Bronzeback looked as fresh as ever, and was racing after the swifts at an amazing speed. Shan was leaning forward, speaking to it, while Robert was holding the net out. Whenever it hit one of the swifts, the swift would immediately vanish and re-appear in the Green Dragon birdcage.

"Where's the Queen Swift?" asked Hermione, shading her eyes and peering up at the birds.

"They'll release her later," said Fatty. "The contestants are not supposed to try unseating each other until she appears. Right now they're just supposed to catch as many birds as they can."

The Yellow Dragon Bronzeback seemed rather tired, but its guide was urging it mercilessly on. Li Ning was proving very adept at catching swifts. Robert was at a disadvantage, because he was so much smaller, and his arms were a lot shorter.

"They're catching up," moaned Pixie, as the yellow birdcage rose higher and higher. Now that the other Houses were out of the game, they were all rooting for Green Dragon, and were shouting and yelling for all they were worth.

"There she is!" shouted Fatty, thumping Chee Chong in excitement, so that Chester bounced off his shoulder and onto the floor. The Queen Swift had come out from below the Lookout Point. She was a bright electric blue, and her plumage shimmered in the sunlight. She was larger than the other swifts, but she flew a lot faster, almost nothing but a blue streak, racing around the amphitheatre.

The two dragons were both heading after the Queen. The spellthrowers had handed their nets to the guides, and were concentrating on unseating each other. Li Ning threw a bolt of light at Robert, but Robert had already raised a Shield. The bolt hit it, and didn't quite penetrate, but was strong enough to dissolve the Shield. Robert quickly raised another Shield, then began pelting Li Ning with water bombs.

Harry glanced at the birdcages. They were almost level; whoever caught the Queen would win.

The dragons swooped around, after the fleeing blue streak. They were going so fast that it was almost impossible to follow them with the omnioculars. Shan reached her net out and took a swipe at the Queen, but at the same time the Yellow Dragon Bronzeback lunged at the wild one, knocking it sideways.

The Yellow Dragons all cheered, but the other students were shouting angrily. Li Ning suddenly hurled a bolt of light at Shan, and knocked the net out of her hand.

"UNFAIR!" shouted Pixie, jumping up and down.

Robert, still pelting Li Ning, now with rubber balls, pointed a finger at the falling net, and it shot back up to Shan.

The Queen Swift was now flying near the perimeter of the site, and darted past the Green Dragons, almost brushing the tops of their heads. Everyone ducked as the two dragons came hurtling past them.

Li Ning let off a cloud of black smoke, which enveloped the wild Bronzeback. It emerged almost immediately, but the brief delay had given the Yellow Dragons a slight edge, and they were now racing after the Queen. Robert threw a bright bolt of light at them, and it tore through Li Ning's Shield and hit the dragon's wing.

The dragon gave a roar of anger, and swerved. The Queen Swift shot away.

Robert was now pelting Li Ning with bright bolts of light, aiming at his waist.

"Is Robert trying to hit below the belt?" said Ron, his eyes still glued to his omnioculars.

"The spellthrowers are now strapped down," said Fatty, also peering through his omnioculars. "It makes them harder to unseat. Oh - he got through!"

Li Ning was also hurling bolts of light at Robert, but Robert's Shield was too strong, and they bounced off. Robert's bolts of light easily pierced Li Ning's Shield, and were obliterating his saddle straps. The dragons swerved around in the air, neck to neck, still racing after the Queen. Shan and the other guide were half-standing up, taking wild swipes at her with their nets.

Robert suddenly hurled a large ball of light at Li Ning's Shield, and it shimmered and dissolved. He then pointed at Li Ning, and Li Ning's body flew up in the air; but his hands were grasping his saddle, which was firmly attached to the Bronzeback. His body went up, then fell back down again, missing the dragon's body. He hung from the dragon's side, clinging to the saddle for dear life, his legs dangling in mid-air.

His partner turned around to pull him back up, and their Bronzeback fell behind. Shan urged the wild Bronzeback forward, and it seemed to shoot through the air, after the Queen. A loud moan erupted from the Yellow Dragon students, but this was drowned out by the cheering from the others.

"She's almost got it!" yelled Pixie, jumping up and down, and screaming in excitement as the wild Bronzeback zoomed past them, its nose almost touching the Queen. Shan was standing up, clinging to her riding straps with one hand, the other with net extended.

At this moment, something unexpected happened. A beam of brilliant white light suddenly shot out from somewhere above Harry and the others, straight at the wild Bronzeback. It narrowly missed, and hit the glowing barrier above the amphitheatre. The barrier glowed brightly for a split second, then dissolved and faded away.

The Bronzeback gave a scream of anger and swerved, almost hitting the cliff below the Lookout Point. In a twinkling, all the swifts, including the Queen, flew up out of the amphitheatre, and were gone.

Everyone on the ground was silent for a moment, watching in disbelief. Another bright beam of light shot out at the circling Bronzeback. It missed again, and smashed into the birdcages. They cracked, and the swifts inside all flew out.

Shan was now rapidly guiding the Bronzeback away from Harry's end of the amphitheatre, fleeing from the source of the beam of light. Robert raised a bright Shield around the entire Bronzeback. A wave of angry murmurs was running through the students now, and they were all on their feet, looking up at the summit above Harry and the others.

Another beam of light shot out from that direction, straight at the fleeing dragon. It sliced through Robert's Shield, and smashed straight into the Bronzeback.

The Bronzeback screamed in agony, and then it was falling. Down, down it plunged, diving head first into the sea of cloud, Shan and Robert still clinging to its back.

Harry and the others were on their feet too, watching in shock. Lady Wen-Li stood up. She looked pale, and very angry. Half the teachers sitting with her had got up as well, and were swarming angrily up to the summit to look for the attacker. The other participants, who had been watching from the Lookout Point, mounted their dragons and were also flying over.

Lady Wen-Li and the rest of the teachers and students were making their way to the bottom of the amphitheatre, Harry and the others following.

"Oh, they have drowned!" wept Pixie, almost hysterical.

"Don't be idiotic, Pix," said Ron, hurrying down in front of her. "The clouds can't even make you wet. How on earth can anyone drown in them?"

To Harry's relief, as he reached the edge of the clouds, he saw Shan and Robert's heads come up in the distance, bobbing up and down.

One of the other Green Dragon riders flew her Bronzeback over to them, and pulled them out. As they came back to land, Harry saw that the Bronzeback was WindStar.

"What happened to the wild Bronzeback?" asked Hermione, looking rather worried.

They wanted to make their way to the front, where Shan was, but all the other students had pushed forward, and they couldn't get through.

Lady Wen-Li raised her wand and pointed it at the sea of cloud. The clouds rose up in the air and began drifting up the sides of the amphitheatre, back to the coast again. The floor of the crater was now visible, and the wild Bronzeback could be seen. It was lying motionless some distance from them, its head thrown to one side.

Some of the teachers were making their way toward it. The Green Dragons were now crowding around Shan and Robert, so Harry just sat to one side with the others, waiting for things to calm down.

Presently, the teachers came back, and those who had gone to the summit to look for the attacker also gathered there. Fatty pushed his way through the crowd to find out what was happening. He came back a while later, looking sober.

"Dragon's dead," he said. "No wounds on it. Not even a broken bone, because the clouds broke its fall. They couldn't find the attacker either. He or she must have Disapparated. Must be the person who's been killing all the dragons. Tournament's cancelled, as well. Lady Wen-Li is furious - she's forbidding anyone to go anywhere near the Caverns from now on."

"Are Shan and Robert all right?" asked Hermione, looking anxious.

"Shan's more upset about the dragon than anything," said Fatty. "Robert just looks like Robert."

The teachers were making their way back up, out of the amphitheatre. After a while, the students all stopped crowding around Shan and Robert as well, and went off. Harry and the others promptly went over to them.

As Fatty had said, Robert was looking as calm as ever, but Shan was rather pale. She stood up when she saw them, brushing dirt from her robes.

"Yes, yes, we're fine," she said, obviously not wanting them to make a fuss. "Let's just go back. WindStar's still around - we can hitch a ride."

There wasn't enough room on WindStar, as the other Green Dragon riders were there, so Fatty, Ron and Pixie decided to walk, while the rest mounted the dragon and flew back.

Shan was quiet all the way back to the Caverns. When they arrived there, Hermione, feeling that Shan probably wanted to be left alone, said she was going to the library - Harry assumed she must have found some books in English there - and Chee Chong decided to bring Chester for a walk, so the remaining three walked back to the Pagoda.

Robert was his usual silent self, and Shan didn't speak until they had reached the top of the spiral staircase. She then gave a small sigh, and turned to Harry.

"Sorry the tournament had to end this way, Harry," she said, looking sober. "It normally doesn't, you know. There's always a big party after that."

"But - you more or less won, anyway," said Harry. "You tied with Yellow Dragon on points, and you almost caught the Queen."

She just sighed, and shook her head, then looked gloomily at Robert.

"First time we haven't won the trophy, in four years," she said, with a rueful smile.

"That means I don't have a birthday present for you, this year," remarked Robert.

She looked at him, then laughed softly.

"I've told you countless times, there's no need - and you ought to keep the money for a change, anyway."

She turned, and went off to the girls' dormitory to change her robes.

Robert stood there, looking after her, then noticed Harry looking curiously at him.

"My family's not well off," he explained to Harry, "so I usually can't afford to get Shan a present for her birthday. I normally let her keep the prize money instead." He turned back to look at Shan's disappearing figure, then gave a small shrug. "Looks like I'll have to find something else, this year."

"You could conjure something up for her," Harry suggested.

Robert was still looking after Shan.

"Maybe," he said. He took his glasses off and cleaned them on his muddy robes, his expression thoughtful.

"What she needs, I can't conjure up, and money can't buy, anyway," he said absently, as if talking to himself.

Harry looked at him, puzzled. "What would that be?"

Robert put his glasses on again.

"Self-worth," he said. And after that he lapsed back into his usual silent self, and refused to say another word.

Shan was so fond of dragons that Harry expected to see her looking upset over the next few days, because of the killing of the Bronzeback. However, on the evening of the following day, she appeared before dinner looking rather excited, and took him to one side.

"A wild Silverwing has moved into one of the end caves," she whispered, with a conspiratorial air. "I'm going to try flying it later tonight. Want to come along?"

Harry looked at her, surprised.

"Are you still going to the Caverns?" he said. "What about Lady Wen-Li's orders? Wait a day or two, Shan. They might catch the killer. The Silverwing'll probably be around for a while."

"There's no guarantee of that!" she hissed, looking impatient. "I'm not going to let this chance slip. I've been waiting for this Silverwing for years!"

She tugged excitedly at Harry's sleeve.

"Come on, Harry!" she said, her eyes eager. "Robert won't come - he's flown with me too often. I tell you, there's nothing like flying a Silverwing! It can Apparate…there's nowhere that it can't bring us, tonight!"

Her enthusiasm was infectious, and Harry, looking at her, began to feel excited as well. Surely there was no harm in taking a short flight. The killer must know that everyone was looking for him, and was probably miles away by now. The prospect of sneaking out of the school in the middle of the night to fly a wild dragon that could Apparate seemed very inviting. So he agreed, and later that night when the rest had fallen asleep, he took his Invisibility Cloak, and met Shan outside the dormitory. They put the Cloak on, so that the green watch-dragon would not notice them leaving the Pagoda, and made their way through the grounds, and over to the Caverns.

 

 

 

XII

The Silverwing

I won't forget this special night.

My friend and I,

We touched the sky -

And saw a thousand stars aglow.

We saw the Great Wall, awesome sight

Ancient cities, Dragon's Pass,

A lake all filled with shining stars

And timeless mountains capped with snow.

 

It was dark, and Harry could hardly see where they were going, but Shan led the way confidently. They were approaching the bamboo grove when she suddenly stopped.

"Someone's coming," she whispered.

They waited where they were, holding the Cloak firmly around them. Presently, two figures came toward them, from the direction of the Moon-Gate. Their wands were lit, and Harry had a glimpse of their faces as they passed.

"It's Jeanne and Professor Lupin!" he whispered, startled.

He felt the Cloak shift as Shan leaned forward to look.

"Is that Chien-Mei's husband?" she whispered, sounding interested. "What is he doing here?"

Jeanne and Lupin disappeared into the grove, obviously making for Mrs Chen's hut.

"Well…I guess he's come to see her. After all, they haven't been married that long," said Harry, as they continued on their way. But he felt doubtful; it was the middle of the night, and Lupin's face had looked too serious for this to be a mere social visit. Harry wondered if something had happened; but he had no time to think about it, because they had reached the Caverns.

 

The Silverwing had lodged itself in a cave one level above the one where the old male Bronzeback had been. It was dark within, and Harry could hardly see anything inside; the cave appeared to be empty. He stood at the entrance, the Invisibility Cloak around him, watching as Shan went confidently to one corner, and spoke to something nestled against the wall.

He thought he could see something long and sinuous, moving slightly in the gloom. Then Shan came back, looking pleased.

"He has agreed to let us fly him," she said, "including you. You can take the Cloak off, now."

Harry, the memory of the old male Bronzeback still fresh in his mind, removed the Cloak off his head.

"Are you sure you know what it's thinking?" he said suspiciously. "Maybe it just wants to make an easy meal out of the both of us."

"Don't be silly," she said, laughing. "I tell you, I know what's in a dragon's mind. This one is really intelligent. He said he would give us a good ride."

At this moment, the sinuous figure detached itself from the wall and came over toward them. Harry instinctively pulled the Cloak back over his head, and retreated out of the cave.

The Silverwing emerged from the cave entrance. It was large, with a fringe of fine spikes around its face. Its scales were silver, and glittered in the faint moonlight. It paused just outside the entrance, and seemed to know where Harry was, its yellow reptilian eyes staring at the spot where he was standing.

Shan went over to the Silverwing, and it turned its cold stare on her.

"He says you can take the Cloak off, Harry," she called out, rather impatiently. "Do hurry up; we don't have the whole night, you know."

Harry removed the Cloak. It was embarrassing - she was a girl, and younger than him, but he was the one feeling apprehensive. He tucked the Cloak into his robes, and went over to the dragon.

Shan had mounted the Silverwing. Harry hesitated a moment, then climbed up and seated himself behind her.

"Put the Cloak over both of us," she said, "so that no Muggles will spot us. The Silverwing won't be seen by anyone - its camouflage will make it look like part of the sky. And hold on to the spike in front of you."

Harry covered both of them with the Cloak, then took hold of one of the blunt spikes that protruded from the dragon's back. As he did so, he happened to look in the direction of the school. For a brief moment, he thought he saw a figure in the distance, coming toward them; but then, the Silverwing launched itself into the air.

The school and the grounds were dropping away, getting smaller and smaller. They were soon flying over the Celestial City, and over the sea of swirling cloud. Then all at once the Silverwing dived downward, and through the clouds.

Harry blinked. They seemed to have entered another world altogether. He looked up, expecting to see a layer of swirling cloud above, but the sky was clear, and filled with stars. Harry had never seen so many stars before; there were millions of them. They hung above him, sparkling with a fire that seemed almost alive, so large and bright that he thought he might be able to reach a hand out and touch them.

He looked down. The Silverwing could hardly be seen; only a faint outline was visible. It was almost as if they were riding on the crest of a wave of moonlight. It was cold now, and far below, he could see wisps of cloud, and through that, land. He could see a large city to his right, and farmland to his left, separated by hills in between.

He couldn't see Shan in front of him, because of the Cloak, but he suddenly heard her voice.

"Hold on, he's going to Apparate!"

Harry heard a soft Pop! and for a split second, he couldn't see anything before him. He felt as if he himself had become nothing, formless and non-existent. Then another slight jerk, and the world re-appeared. He looked down. Mountains were below him: huge, snow-covered mountains, with jagged and cruel peaks. They stretched out below him, in a never-ending mass of snow and rock, the snow glowing luminous in the moonlight.

It was very cold. He drew his normal cloak closer to himself, and heard Shan's voice coming from the front.

"He says these are part of the Himalayas…we are near Tibet."

They flew over the mountains for a while, coming quite near to some of the jagged peaks, then Shan called out, "Hang on!" and the Silverwing Disapparated again.

This time, they reappeared over desert. Sand dunes stretched away in all directions. Harry looked down, and saw the beginnings of what looked like a large stone wall far below, crumbling and ruined, which snaked away before them, disappearing into the horizon.

He heard Shan's voice coming from the front.

"That is the beginning of the Great Wall of China," she said. "The Chinese built it, more than a thousand years ago."

They were flying high up, following the Wall. It snaked on and on before them, always disappearing into the horizon.

"How long is it?" Harry asked Shan.

"Very long," she answered. "Hundreds of miles. It stretches almost the entire length of China."

The Silverwing suddenly swooped lower, so that they could see the Wall more clearly. The country surrounding them was deserted; no villages or towns were visible. But on the Wall itself, Harry saw many figures moving. All along the Wall, the figures were visible, walking in an aimless manner. He wondered what so many people were doing there in the middle of the night. A great sadness seemed to emanate from them.

Shan must have been looking at them too, because Harry presently heard her voice.

"Those are the ghosts of the people who built the Wall," she said softly. "Thousands of them died, building it. They died cruelly, and cannot rest now. They are always there, every night, wandering along the Wall. But the Muggles can't see them; only we can."

Harry looked at the ghostly figures. He was glad they weren't near enough to see their faces.

As if the Silverwing read his thoughts, it suddenly climbed upward, and Disapparated again with another Pop!

They were over a deserted city, lying in a valley surrounded by mountains. Part of the city seemed to be in ruins, but there were still many graceful buildings left standing. Harry thought he was imagining it at first, but as the Silverwing flew closer, he saw that it was true : most of the city seemed to be made of jade.

The Silverwing landed in a square in front of a large palace with walls of pale green jade. Shan pulled the Invisibility Cloak off them, and turned to Harry.

"This is the City of Eternal Spring," she said, "which one of the Dragon Emperors built hundreds of years ago. The wizards who lived here left long ago - I don't know the reason why - and it lies here, forgotten. The first Silverwing I flew brought me here, some time back."

She handed the Cloak to him, and then dismounted.

"Come on," she said, grinning up at him, "let's have a look around!"

Harry dismounted, but as he followed her toward the jade palace, he glanced back at the Silverwing which was lying there in the square, beginning to doze off.

Shan seemed to read his thoughts.

"Don't worry," she said, looking amused, "he won't fly off. He'll still be sleeping when we come back, wait and see." She went up the palace steps, and went in through a large, circular door.

Harry flicked another glance at the Silverwing, then followed her.

It was quiet within, and Harry had the oddest feeling that time had stood still, in this place. They went through rooms and corridors and halls, all strangely dust-free and elegantly furnished. The floors were of polished marble, and porcelain vases and celadon bowls lay on carved tables, made of a hard, black wood inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Each room had a name, set in Chinese characters carved over their doorways.

"This is the Hall of Celestial Purity," read Shan, as they entered a large hall with floors of black marble. They had lit their wands, because it was dark inside. They wandered around the hall for a bit, looking at the ornate carvings of birds and animals on the walls, then left through a door at the opposite end; this led to a library, with thousands of scrolls neatly lodged in little alcoves.

"Hall of Quiet Thoughts," read Shan, looking at the inscription above the door, which, like most of the other doors in the palace, was of the folding kind, intricately carved and finely latticed. The scrolls were all dust-free and in good condition, but Harry, of course, couldn't read any of them.

They noticed another set of folding doors at the far end of the library, and sliding these open, found that they led out to a large garden. A stream was running through it, the water falling among rocks and stones and producing a pleasant tinkling, musical sound. A pavilion, made of white jade, stood in the middle of the garden.

"The garden is called The Garden of Cheerful Melodies," said Shan, reading from an inscription on the pavilion, "and the pavilion is The Pavilion of Tranquillity."

Harry could see why this place was called the City of Eternal Spring. Although it was already November, and some of the surrounding mountains looked as if they had snow on their peaks, it was not cold where they were. Flowers were blooming in the garden, rhododendrons and peonies, and the trees all had pale green foliage, as if it were springtime.

They stood listening to the music of the stream for a few minutes. Then, something else caught Harry's attention: he thought he could hear the faint murmur of voices, in the distance.

"Listen!" he said, "Do you hear something?"

Shan paused, frowning, then her face broke into a smile.

"I know what that is," she said, chuckling, "Come and have a look."

She started off in the direction of the voices. As they came closer, Harry saw who the speakers were : tortoises. There were at least fifty of them, scattered around one corner of the garden, some gathered in groups, others trundling about on their own. There were all sizes : large ones, measuring two feet across, and small ones the size of a teacup. They came in a variety of colours, some a rich chocolate brown, others olive green, while the little ones tended to be pale cream. And many of them were talking - in Chinese!

Shan looked amused when she saw Harry's surprised face.

"We have some of these in Tian-Long," she said, "only you haven't met them yet. They live in a peach orchard near the lake."

"What are they saying?" asked Harry, feeling in his pocket for the Translator. Two small tortoises had lumbered up to him, and were looking earnestly at him with their boot-button eyes. One began speaking, in a squeaky voice.

Harry found the Translator, and put it on.

"Why choose to live here,

in the recess of high mountains?

For an answer, a serene smile

from the depths of my heart.

Just like the flowers drifting

downstream

to remote places unknown,

Here, under another blue sky,

is a remote space of mine

Far, far away from human lives."

Harry blinked. The tortoises looked at him solemnly, and then the second one began talking as well.

"A bright moon rising

above Tian Shan Mountain,

lost in a vast ocean of clouds.

The long wind,

across thousands upon thousands of miles

blows past the Jade-gate Pass."

Shan was still laughing at Harry's astonished face.

 

"They are reciting Chinese classical poetry," she said. "They can go on and on forever. Goodness knows where they learned all of it."

"Thousands of feet high tower the Yellow Mountains

with their thirty-two magnificent peaks…"

"Don't they ever say anything else?" asked Harry, fascinated.

Shan shook her head.

"They'll sometimes sing a bit of Chinese traditional music, but I've never known any to speak normally."

"…blooming like golden lotus flowers

Amidst red crags and rock columns…"

"I wonder if they know what they're saying," said Harry.

Shan was conjuring up some strawberries with her wand. The tortoises stopped talking when they saw them, and came lumbering determinedly toward her, their small club feet thumping on the ground.

"Here, take some," she said, handing Harry several of the plump fruit. They sat there for a while, feeding the tortoises, watching them mumbling the strawberries in their mouths, the juice running down their chins. After a while, the other tortoises noticed what they were missing out on; they came converging onto Harry and Shan, who promptly decided it was time they made an exit.

To Harry's relief, the Silverwing was still sitting in the square outside, fast asleep. Shan went over to it, and gently woke it up.

"Where to, now?" asked Harry, as they mounted the dragon and covered themselves with the Invisibility Cloak.

"I don't know," Shan said. "I'm just letting him bring us wherever he wants to go."

As they soared into the air, Harry glanced down for a last look at the jade palace. He was just turning away when he thought he saw a dark figure suddenly materialising in the square below. He turned back for a closer look, but at that moment, the Silverwing Disapparated.

When they re-materialised, Harry saw that they were following the Great Wall again. Ghosts were still wandering around on top of the Wall, and watchtowers could now also be seen at intervals along it. They flew on, then the Silverwing Disapparated again, reappearing over water.

"We have reached the sea," Harry heard Shan's voice saying. "We've gone from one end of China to the other. Look, you can see where the Great Wall ends."

Harry turned back to look. He saw land behind him, and the remains of the Great Wall. The Silverwing swooped around a bit, then began flying inland. They came to a rugged, deserted stretch of country, and saw another city in a valley, deserted but not in ruins, the magnificent buildings, which had roofs of gold and silver, all perfectly preserved.

The Silverwing swooped low over the city, but did not land. Harry heard Shan speaking to the dragon.

"He says we can't land here," she called back. "This is another city of wizards, the City of Supreme Elegance. He says that it's enchanted, and death will come to anyone who sets foot on the soil here."

They flew on, the country becoming wilder and wilder. They went through a narrow gorge, a river snaking its way below. Then the gorge widened, and Harry saw that at its head, the rocky walls of the mountains had been carved into enormous dragon heads, one on either side.

"This is called Dragon's Pass," Shan's voice said. "There is a legend that two brothers lived here, both great sorcerors. Both fell in love with a princess of a nearby kingdom. But she only loved one of them, and the rejected one, in anger and out of jealousy, turned her into a dragon, and she flew away and never returned. The heartbroken sorceror killed his wicked brother, and then carved the dragon heads into the mountain, in memory of her."

They flew on, and presently came to a lake, high up in the mountains. The water was so still that its surface was like a mirror. The Silverwing flew low over the water, almost skimming it. Harry took the Cloak off, and looking down, could see their reflections clearly. Surrounding them were the images of bright, sparkling stars, reflected from the sky.

Then the Silverwing flew up and away from the lake, landed on a level stretch of mountainside, and folded its wings.

Shan dismounted.

"He wants to rest here, for a while," she told Harry. "I guess we can walk around a bit."

They left the Silverwing, which had already fallen into a doze, and walked around the side of the mountain so that they could get a view of the lake.

"I've never seen the stars so bright before," remarked Shan, looking up at the sky.

True enough, the stars were really bright. The lake lay like a sheet of glass, reflecting the clear sky and its twinkling stars.

They sat at the edge of the cliff, looking at the lake. Shan seemed to have fallen into a reverie, and was gazing unseeingly into the distance. It was extremely quiet; all seemed still, except for the sound of the wind, blowing over the mountain-tops.

Harry had been looking for an occasion to ask Shan why she didn't want to visit Mrs Chen, but seeing that her mind was elsewhere now, decided not to bring it up. He looked away from her, and tried not to think of Cho Chang. He found himself thinking that it was strange to be sitting at the edge of a cliff in the middle of nowhere, next to a girl who liked talking to dragons, and with a sleeping wild dragon lying somewhere around the corner of the hillside behind him. He felt far removed from the world of Privet Drive and his life with the Dursleys, and the comfortingly familiar world of Hogwarts. He thought of Ron and Hermione; he would have asked them to come along, but Shan had said that she wasn't sure if she could talk the Silverwing into carrying more than one non-dragon-language-speaking person.

The wind over the mountain-tops was blowing more strongly now. It sounds strangely human, thought Harry, almost like someone's voice.

Shan had noticed it as well. She started, and sat for a while, listening, then suddenly jumped to her feet.

Harry looked up at her, startled. "What's wrong?"

She was looking rather pale.

"Do you hear that?" she whispered, her eyes wide, "It's a voice! Someone's voice, calling among the mountains!"

Harry listened. The wind did, indeed sound like a man's voice.

"It's only the wind, Shan," he said, trying to calm her down.

She looked agitated.

"It's not!" she hissed fiercely, "I tell you, I've heard that voice in my dreams. It's real!"

Harry looked at her, feeling rather perplexed. She was trembling slightly.

"It's a ghost," she said. "I always hear it in my dreams. It's coming after me."

She took a few steps back, looking frightened. Harry got to his feet.

"Shan," he said, trying to think of something to calm her, "it's just the wind. What's up? You're not afraid of fire-breathing dragons. What's to fear from a dream?"

The voice of the wind was even louder now. It sounded as if it was coming toward them. Shan looked very pale. She turned, and started walking back toward the Silverwing.

"We have to get out of here," she said, not looking back, or waiting for Harry.

Harry followed her, still feeling perplexed. The wind continued to blow. Harry could hear it better now; it really sounds like a voice shouting, he thought. He could hear it, over the sound of the wind. It sounded angry. He wanted to turn around and look for its source, but with Shan so agitated, decided not to.

They found the Silverwing fast asleep. Shan leapt up onto the dragon's back, and impatiently patted its neck, to wake it up.

Harry hurriedly mounted, in case the dragon took off without him. He wondered if Shan had gone slightly mad. The Silverwing stirred, then settled back again; it didn't seem to want to wake up.

The voice was coming loud and clear now. It didn't sound like the wind any more. It really is someone, thought Harry. Someone who sounds angry. Someone whose voice also sounds vaguely familiar…

Shan, still trembling slightly, gave the Silverwing a slap, and said something urgently to it. The dragon shifted irritably; two plumes of smoke curled upward, out of its nostrils. It raised its head briefly, then lowered it again, obviously wanting to go back to sleep.

The owner of the voice was coming round the side of the mountain. A tall, dark figure appeared. Harry started; he knew that figure.

"Shan," he whispered urgently, tugging at her sleeve. "It's not a ghost, Shan. It's Yang-Kang!"

Shan turned her head to look, an astonished expression on her face. Yang-Kang, on seeing them, let forth a roar of wrath. All at once, the Silverwing stirred. It raised its head, and turned to look at him.

At the same time, Yang-Kang, who was now about twenty feet away from them, took hold of the onyx tiger. To Harry's alarm, he raised it high in his fist. A beam of brilliant white light shot out of it, directly at him and Shan.

"Get off, Shan!" he shouted, grabbing hold of her and pushing her off the Silverwing, so that the dragon was between her and Yang-Kang. He then jumped off himself, and found himself rolling in the dust.

The beam of light smashed into the Silverwing. It let off a bellow of rage, and a stream of fire erupted from its jaws, heading straight for Yang-Kang.

Harry threw the Invisibility Cloak over Shan and himself, so that Yang-Kang wouldn't be able to see them, and they retreated a distance away. Yang-Kang had lowered the onyx tiger, and had erected a glowing Shield around himself in time; the flames engulfed him, but could not penetrate the Shield.

Yang-Kang raised the tiger again. Another beam of light shot out of it, through the Shield, and smashed once more into the Silverwing.

"He's not after us," said Harry, startled. "He's after the Silverwing!"

He couldn't see Shan, but he could feel her leaning forward to watch.

"Look at the beam of light," she whispered. "The onyx tiger really is a Devil's Curse. That's what hit our wild Bronzeback during the tournament. It was Yang-Kang - he's the one who's been killing the dragons!"

The Silverwing was screaming in agony, the beam of light still burning itself into it. It released another stream of fire at Yang-Kang, who still had his Shield up.

"He's killing the Silverwing!" said Shan, sounding agonized. "We've got to stop him!" She started forward.

Harry held her back.

"You're crazy, Shan," he said. "Look at Yang-Kang. He's gone completely mad…he'll kill us before we take two steps forward."

The Silverwing, writhing in agony, tried to take flight, but the beam of light from the onyx tiger was still driving into it. It gave an ear-splitting shriek, and thrashed about, fire pouring out of its jaws and shooting in all directions. Harry and Shan hurriedly backed away, out of range of the flames.

"That's one tough dragon," said Harry, remembering how the wild Bronzeback had died almost immediately.

"But why? Why go after the dragons?" said Shan hopelessly, and then, even as Harry himself realised the answer, he heard her catch her breath, and knew she had realised it too.

They watched as the Silverwing writhed in agony, flames still pouring from its jaws, setting the grass and bushes around it alight. Yang-Kang, an almost maniacal light in his eyes, was still holding the onyx tiger aloft, concentrating the bright beam of light onto the dragon. But the effort was taking its toll on him : his shoulders were beginning to sag; his Shield was starting to dim and weaken.

"Yang-Kang's putting too much of himself into the Devil's Curse," murmured Shan. "It's sucking all his power out of him."

All at once, the Silverwing let forth one last, wailing scream, and then slumped onto its side, its head hitting the ground, which seemed to shake at the impact. It lay there, motionless.

Abruptly, the beam of light vanished. Yang-Kang had lowered the onyx tiger. He stood there, watching the Silverwing, as if waiting for something to happen.

Harry and Shan stood where they were, holding their breath. The dragon lay there, unmoving. Then, it started to shrink. It was changing shape; its wings were growing smaller and smaller…its scales were disappearing…

Yang-Kang, swaying unsteadily on his feet, gave a roar of triumph. The Silverwing was gone; Master Liu-Pei, in his pale grey robes, lay there instead, his eyes wide open and staring, an agonized expression on his face.

"Liu Pei must have transformed into a dragon that night, when he escaped through the window," Harry said quietly. "Only he flew away too fast, and Yang-Kang couldn't tell what type of dragon it was. That's why he went after all the different types."

"And only the wild ones," murmured Shan. She sounded rather sick. "The tame ones we've had for years, and they were all accounted for. He knew Liu Pei would come back, to get the onyx tiger."

Yang-Kang lurched forward suddenly, dropping the onyx tiger. He sank to his knees, then fell to the ground and lay still.

Harry took the Invisibility Cloak off himself and Shan, and saw that she was looking worriedly at Yang-Kang.

"He has put too much energy into the Devil's Curse," she said. She went forward, knelt next to him, and felt his pulse. "I think he's dead."

Harry looked around. The landscape, which had seemed so beautiful a short while before, now suddenly looked grim and forbidding.

"What are we going to do now?" he said.

"We must bring both of them back to Tian-Long, and tell Lady Wen-Li what happened," said Shan, with a dutiful air, looking at the two bodies on the ground.

"Oh, right, Shan," said Harry, a bit distraught, and feeling rather exasperated at her obtuseness, "and how are we going to do that? In case you haven't noticed, the Silverwing's gone, and we're in the middle of nowhere, miles away from Tian-Long!"

Shan did not reply immediately. She continued kneeling next to Yang-Kang, staring at his body, a rather odd expression on her face. Then she stood up, and looked at Harry. She seemed to be considering something, trying to make up her mind. Finally, she spoke.

"There is a way," she said, looking directly at him, "but if I tell you, you must promise never to tell anyone."

Harry stared at her.

"What is it?" he said. "Don't tell me you know how to Apparate."

She returned his gaze, frowning.

"Promise me, first!" she said insistently. "Swear you won't tell anyone!"

Harry looked at her, feeling rather perplexed again.

"All right, I promise."

She took a few steps back, still looking at him. Then, slowly, she began to change shape.

Harry watched her, startled. She was growing bigger and bigger, and her body was lengthening. Scales were appearing on it…wings were sprouting…

Harry took a step back himself, and stared in amazement. Shan had disappeared; instead, a large green dragon stood in her place, wings extended, head raised, eyes staring balefully at him.

 

 

 

XIII

The Truth About Shan

You said you would come, but you did not…

I cry for you forever gone, I cannot waken yet,

Far beyond my reach is the Enchanted Mountain

And you are on the other side, ten thousand peaks away.

Li Shang-Yin, Tang Dynasty

 

 

The dragon stood there for a few moments, gazing at Harry. Then all at once it lowered its head, and began to change shape and shrink. Before long, Shan was standing there again, looking rather anxiously at him.

Harry found his voice.

"You're an Animagus!"

She continued looking at him for a moment, then gave a small sigh. Turning, she went over to the edge of the cliff and sat down, letting her legs dangle over the edge.

Harry went over, and stood looking down at her. "What's the matter?"

She was silent for a moment, then looked up at him.

"I didn't want anyone to know about this," she said, sounding rather depressed. "To the Chinese, the dragon is a sacred creature. They consider it presumptuous, for someone to transform into one. That must be why Liu Pei never told anyone about it."

Harry looked at her. Was this why she had been so cold to Jeanne lately?

"Are you a shape-shifter too, like Jeanne?" he asked.

She was staring down into the gorge. "Not really."

Harry was thinking. Dragons usually sleep at night. That night, when the old male Bronzeback came after them…why had the second Bronzeback appeared? It should have been fast asleep.

"That was you, that night, wasn't it?" he said. "You were the second Bronzeback…you chased the old male away!"

She looked at him solemnly, then nodded.

"Then you are a shape-shifter," Harry said, trying to get things clear. "You can transform into more than one type of dragon!"

She shook her head.

"Not really," she said, looking down into the gorge again. "I'm only a partial shape-shifter…I can only change into a few types of animal."

Harry was surprised. "Which ones?"

She hesitated, before replying.

"Well… any type of dragon," she said, not looking at him, "And…" she gave him a quick glance, then stopped.

Harry was beginning to feel very puzzled.

"And - ?" he prompted.

She fidgeted a bit, tugging at the right sleeve of her robes.

"And, any type of snake," she said in a small voice.

Harry glanced at her pocket, from which LeafSong normally peeked. He looked down at his Invisibility Cloak, which was still in his hands.

"Shan," he said, "That night, when I met LeafSong on the stairs, she said you went to see the dragons."

She turned to look at him, her face expressionless.

"But I only went over to the Caverns much later," Harry continued. "You should have flown whatever wild dragons there were, roosting in those caves, by then."

Her face was still expressionless. Her lips, however, twitched slightly.

Harry sat down next to her, and looked at her.

"But you were still standing at the entrance when I got there," he said.

Her eyes were twinkling now.

Harry frowned at her.

"Tell me," he said, in an ominous tone of voice, "that night, when I let Yang-Kang out from under the bell, that was LeafSong in my pocket, wasn't it?"

Shan's lips twitched again, and then, she couldn't control herself. She looked at him, and grinned.

Harry glared at her.

"Do you mean to tell me," he spluttered, "that I was carrying you in my pocket, all the time?"

Shan chuckled, and patted his shoulder affectionately.

"Don't be angry, Harry," she said. "I helped you, didn't I? You wouldn't have known which gargoyle was the lion, if I hadn't been there."

Harry regarded her grumpily.

"Why didn't you just tell me who you were?" he said crossly.

She became serious again.

"I told you, I didn't want anyone to know that I can transform," she said, looking shamefaced.

Harry stared at her.

"Well, I won't tell anyone," he said. "Besides, it's fair and square now, isn't it? After all, you know about my Invisibility Cloak."

She nodded, then sighed and got up, brushing sand off her robes.

"We have to go back," she said. "The sky's already beginning to brighten. I'll change into a Silverwing, and Apparate us back. You'll have to tie Yang-Kang and Liu Pei's bodies to my back."

Harry looked at her suspiciously. "Are you sure you know how to Apparate?"

"Of course," she said airily, looking mischievously at him, "When I'm a Silverwing, that is."

They went back to where Yang-Kang's body was lying. Harry saw the onyx tiger on the ground, and he bent down and gingerly picked it up, and put it into his pocket.

"What are we going to tell Lady Wen-Li?" he said.

Shan sighed.

"The truth, I guess," she said. "Lady Wen-Li already knows that I can transform - she's the only one, besides you and Robert, and Chen-Kang. She'll probably give me a lot of demerits, but I'm sure she'll let you off - she's really keen for the exchange programme to be a success."

 

It felt strange to be riding a dragon alone, especially when Harry knew that the dragon was actually Shan. They arrived at Tian-Long soon enough, and placed the bodies in one of the empty caves. They then went to look for Lady Wen-Li.

The students were having breakfast in the Hall, but Lady Wen-Li wasn't there. They found her in her office, together with Master Kung and, to their surprise, Chen-Kang. Chen-Kang lived near the Caverns, and he very seldom came to the palace. Harry guessed he had probably come to discuss the killing of the dragons.

Shan was right. Lady Wen-Li did indeed let Harry off, because she was so relieved that the mystery of the dying dragons had been solved. Master Kung was very interested in the onyx tiger; he examined it for a while, then calmly put it in his pocket.

"I will keep this, for now," he said to Harry, "It will not do for it to fall into the wrong hands." He paused, and looked at Shan, who was talking to Lady Wen-Li at the other end of the room. "It is better that no one knows Li-Shan can transform, so the official story shall be that Yang-Kang killed the Silverwing here in the school grounds, and that Chen-Kang saw it happening, and witnessed both their deaths."

Shan looked rather subdued as she and Harry left the office.

"While you were talking to Master Kung, she gave me fifty demerits," she said. "I guess it could have been worse. She also told me that the Potion that we prepared for Liu Pei - the one with dragon bones in it - is supposed to help one to counteract an attack by the Devil's Curse. That's why the Silverwing took so long to die. They found a large supply of the Potion in Liu Pei's office - he's been making all the students in the school prepare it for him, and he must have been drinking a bit every day."

The others had been wondering where the two of them had gone, of course. Harry decided he wouldn't tell Ron and Hermione about the Silverwing. Ron would be cross that he hadn't been asked to come along, and Hermione would be disapproving. Besides, it would give away the secret of Shan's night-flying. The two of them split up, and appeared in class separately. Harry gave the excuse that he'd tried exploring the palace again, and had overheard Master Kung and Chen-Kang talking about Yang-Kang killing Liu Pei. This story successfully distracted all of them.

"You mean - Yang-Kang killed all the dragons?" said Ron, looking startled. "But - we saw him sitting with the teachers that day!"

"Yes, but he disappeared before the final round," said Hermione. "I noticed, but I thought he just went to sit elsewhere, to get away from Madam Tang. And he appeared later…he was one of the teachers who went to have a look at the dead Bronzeback."

Pixie looked cheerful.

"That means we won't have Liu Pei for Potions any more," she said happily.

 

 

Harry now knew a bit more about Shan, but he still hadn't solved the puzzle about her behaviour toward Jeanne, whom she continued to be cool to. She also refused to go and see Mrs Chen.

"I don't think she's aware that Mrs Chen is dying," Jeanne worriedly told him a few days later, when he went down to the hut to see how things were. "I've tried telling her, but she doesn't seem to want to listen to me."

Mrs Chen was looking worse. She had become very thin and pale, and didn't seem to recognise Harry when he went to sit by her bed, as she used to. Jeanne was spending nearly all her time at the hut now. She had even stopped attending her Internal Magic classes.

"I told Master Kung what's happening," she said. "He was quite sympathetic … he even said I could Portkey back here every week for lessons, after I return to Hogwarts, if I don't finish learning all that I'm supposed to."

Harry left, feeling sorry for Mrs Chen. She didn't look like she would last another week.

 

He was right. The following day, Ron was busy with Pixie, Hermione was in the library, and Robert was buried in a book, so Shan brought Harry to the peach orchard near the lake to see the school's Talking Tortoises. It seemed that winter did not come to Tian-Long either : though it was November, the peach trees were in full bloom, as if it were spring. The ground was covered with fallen peach flowers, and it felt as if they were walking on a pale pink carpet.

There were thirteen tortoises altogether, all of them small and engaging, the largest about the size of a large teapot. The two of them had brought their homework along, and had just settled down near two tortoises who were singing Chinese opera to each other, when a postal dragon appeared and flew over to Shan with a note.

Shan read the note, and a frown came over her face. She placed it in her pocket, and dismissed the dragon.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"Nothing," she mumbled, and turned back to the tortoises. However, Harry noticed that she wasn't really listening to them. She was staring at them unseeingly, as if her mind was elsewhere.

Ten minutes later, another postal dragon appeared. Shan looked impatiently at it, then took the note and dismissed it. She dropped it in her pocket without even reading it.

Harry was puzzled, but Shan's face was like a thundercloud, and he knew he wasn't going to get anything out of her. They sat in silence for a while, concentrating on their assignments.

Finally, half an hour later, a third dragon arrived with a note.

Shan lost her temper. She shouted something at the dragon, then stormed off to the other end of the orchard.

The dragon gave a quizzical chirp, then looked at Harry. It came over to him, dropped the note in his lap, and flew off.

Harry unfolded the note. It contained only one line.

Shan, she's gone. Why didn't you come?

Harry folded the note, feeling sick. He recognised the handwriting; it was Jeanne's. Mrs Chen was dead. She must have wanted to see Shan, and Jeanne had sent the dragons to call her, but she hadn't gone. What was the matter with her?

He went over to Shan, who was sitting in a corner of the orchard, scowling at a horn-coloured tortoise who was singing what sounded like a Chinese folksong.

"Shan," he said, looking down at her, "Mrs Chen is dead."

She looked pale.

"I'm not going," she said, not looking at Harry. "You can go, if you want. I'm staying here."

Harry stared at her for a moment. He felt an urge to grab her by the shoulders, and shake some sense into her. If Mrs Chen had still been alive, he might have dragged her down to the hut, but it was too late now. Shan was staring at the ground, ignoring him, so after a while he turned and left the garden, and made his way to the bamboo grove.

 

There were no animals outside the hut when he got there. He went in. Jeanne was there, head bowed, sitting next to Mrs Chen's still body. To his surprise, Professor Lupin was there as well, standing next to Jeanne, a hand on her shoulder.

Jeanne jumped up when she saw Harry, an angry expression on her face.

"Where is Shan?" she burst out. "Why didn't you make her come? The dragons told me you were there with her!"

Lupin put an arm around her, and said quietly, "You can't blame Harry, Jeanne; he couldn't have made her come if she didn't want to."

Jeanne gave a long, shuddering sigh, and covered her face with her hands for a moment, then lowered them. She looked very tired.

"I have to inform Lady Wen-Li," she murmured. She gently removed Lupin's arm from her shoulders, and made her way toward the door. She stopped when she came to Harry.

"I'm sorry I shouted at you, Harry," she said, not looking at him, "but she was asking for Shan all day. You don't know what it was like…"

She stopped; Harry could see traces of tears on her face. She sighed, then placed her hand on his arm and gave it a squeeze, and turned and left the hut.

Harry watched her go. Lupin came over and stood next to him, also watching.

"She - she looks pretty upset," said Harry.

Lupin's face was sober.

"She has reason to be, Harry," he said quietly. "It isn't only the old lady's death. Something else has happened : Deorg has disappeared."

Harry turned to look at Lupin in surprise.

"I only told her last night," Lupin said. "About a week after all of you left for China, Professor Bubcek sent us a letter. He's had people trailing Deorg over the last few years. Deorg has been wandering around Siberia for most of that time, but he has now vanished without a trace. No one knows where he is."

Harry felt a chill in his heart. That Dementor he'd seen in the corridor…it could have been Deorg instead. It had been too dark to see clearly, but Deorg, as Harry remembered, was tall, and hooded and robed in black too…

He looked at Lupin. He couldn't tell him about the hooded figure without giving away the fact that he had been wandering around the palace at night.

"Is that why you're here?" he asked.

Lupin nodded.

"Tian-Long should actually be quite safe, it's so remote, and almost as well-protected as Hogwarts," he said, "but even so, I've come down whenever I could, to keep an eye on her."

Jeanne had now disappeared from sight. Lupin turned, and looked at Harry.

"Never mind that, Harry," he said, "there's something else I need to talk to you about. For the rest of your stay here, I want you to be very kind to Shan."

Harry looked at him in surprise again. "Why?"

Lupin was looking seriously at him.

"Harry," he said quietly, "Mrs Chen is Shan's mother."

Harry was dumbfounded. He wondered if he had heard rightly.

"Shan's mother?" he repeated. "But - Shan's parents are in Singapore!"

Lupin shook his head.

"Mrs Chen told Jeanne that when Shan was seven, she brought her to Singapore to be adopted, because she would have a better life there," he said.

Harry took a moment to digest this, and then a great anger flooded through him. How could Shan treat her mother like this? Harry would have given anything to have a mother still living, and here she was, refusing to visit her mother even when she was dying.

Lupin saw his expression, and looked sternly at him.

"Don't be so quick to judge her, Harry," he said. "A lot of things have happened that you don't know about. Mrs Chen admitted herself that she hasn't always treated Shan well. It's too late now, anyway, and she's gone. Shan needs someone to give her support now, and not reproof. You'll have to provide it, because none of the others knows about this, and it would be better for Shan if they didn't."

Harry bit his lip. "I suppose I'd better go look for her now."

Lupin nodded, and Harry took his leave of him and left the hut.

 

He began making his way back to the peach orchard, although he felt sure Shan wasn't there any more. He had no idea what to say to her. Should he just pretend he didn't know her secret? What had Mrs Chen done to her, to have alienated her so much?

He thought about the hooded figure again, and decided that it couldn't have been Deorg. Lupin had just said that Tian-Long was as well-protected as Hogwarts. Besides, if it had been Deorg, he would surely have tried harming Jeanne by now.

Harry had just reached the edge of the bamboo grove when he saw a small figure coming toward him : it was Robert.

"Have you seen Shan?" Robert sounded slightly out of breath. "She missed Western Magic - " Then he stopped, and looked at Harry's face.

"Something has happened," he said.

Harry looked at Robert. He felt sure Robert knew all about Shan.

"Mrs Chen is dead," he said.

Robert managed to look startled, even with his glasses on. He stood, looking at Harry for a moment, then turned and started off toward the lake in a hurry. Harry ran to catch up with him.

"That's bad," said Robert. "Shan wasn't there when she died, was she?"

Harry shook his head. "Jeanne sent her a message, but she refused to go."

They were scrambling down the steep steps that led down to the lake. Harry looked down, and saw Shan far below, sitting at the water's edge.

They reached the bottom, and hurried over to her. Although Harry was sure she could hear them coming, she continued staring out over the water till Robert was standing right next to her, then looked up at him.

"Are you all right?" asked Robert.

She looked away, out over the lake, then glanced at Harry.

"So, does the whole school know about it, as well?" she said, sounding rather bitter.

Robert hesitated, then sat down next to her, but she immediately got up.

"I'd rather be alone," she said, turning and walking off, "I don't want to talk, I don't want company, I don't want to see anyone."

Robert's lips tightened, and he started off after her.

"Stop it, Shan," he said firmly. "You're just running away. You can't - "

"Get away from me!" she suddenly shouted, turning around. "Especially you - I know, you know everything about me!"

"Shan," began Robert - but she was now transforming. In a twinkling, a large green dragon had taken her place. With an angry roar, it launched itself into the air, and flew off.

Robert stood there, watching as it disappeared, then made a small gesture of frustration with his hand. He turned and sat down, by the water's edge.

Harry stood there for a few moments, watching him uncertainly, then came over and sat down next to him.

Robert was staring out across the lake. After several seconds, ripples appeared on the surface of the water, and Sang Nila's large head appeared.

"It's all right," Robert said, as Harry got up in a hurry, "he won't hurt you while I'm here."

Sang Nila swam over and came up to Robert, and laid his tawny head at his feet.

Harry sat down again. Robert scratched Sang Nila's head a while, but Harry had a feeling his mind was elsewhere.

After several minutes of silence, Harry finally spoke.

"I don't understand," he said. "Why? Why didn't she want to see her mother?"

Robert continued stroking the Merlion's head a while longer, then turned and looked at Harry. Harry wished, for the umpteenth time, that Robert would get a normal pair of glasses.

Robert seemed to read his mind, and took his glasses off. He laid them in his lap and looked hesitantly at Harry, as if he wasn't sure where to start.

"Mrs Chen was very strict with Shan when she was a child," he began. "She never showed her any affection whatsoever. Shan felt that everything she did would somehow displease her."

But that isn't enough reason for her to treat her mother like that, thought Harry.

"Mrs Chen wasn't always fond of animals either, as she has been, lately," continued Robert. "She disliked all wildlife. In particular, she has always hated snakes, partly because she was afraid of them. If any happened to come near their home, she would kill them without any mercy."

Sang Nila shifted his head, and Robert absently stroked him.

"Shan likes snakes as much as dragons," said Robert, "because she can transform into one. She considers herself one of them. She spent her childhood watching her mother beating creatures whom she considered her friends to death. She wondered, if she transformed into a snake, whether her mother would kill her too."

"Didn't Mrs Chen know?" asked Harry, "that Shan could transform into a snake?"

Robert shook his head.

"You don't know what Mrs Chen was like in the past, Harry," he said. "She wasn't always the kind old lady you have seen. She never wanted to have children. She didn't want Shan when she was born. I know, because my mother was close to Mrs Chen, although they were only distant cousins. When Shan's father found out Shan could transform, he told her never to let her mother know. Mrs Chen's dislike of snakes was so great that he felt sure his wife would disown Shan if she found out she could turn into a snake."

"But - did she know that Shan could transform into a dragon?" asked Harry.

"No," said Robert. "Mrs Chen didn't like animals then, even dragons. Shan's father felt it would be better for Shan, if her mother didn't know."

He shifted his position, and leaned himself against Sang Nila's back, looking up at the sky.

"Shan was very close to her father," he said. "She loved him more than anyone else. He was the one who gave her that jade dragon pendant, the one she always wears. She was his 'little jade dragon'."

Harry was listening. He still felt that Shan was lucky, to at least have had a chance to have known her father, unlike himself.

Robert's expression became sober.

"The family was very poor, so when Shan was seven, Mrs Chen decided to bring her to Singapore to be adopted. She said Shan would have a better life there. But Shan didn't want to go. She felt her mother was trying to get rid of her, and she didn't want to leave her father.

"Mr Chen himself was against it; he didn't want to lose Shan. But one night when he happened to be away, Mrs Chen packed all their things, and dragged Shan, kicking and screaming, to the nearest Portkey. She had already pre-arranged everything. She brought Shan to Singapore, to my home, and I remember Shan refusing to eat anything for three days. She had to be force-fed. She was crying for her father, all the time.

"My parents would have liked to adopt Shan, but we were too poor. I was always ill, and we already couldn't afford the medical fees. So we asked my father's cousin and his wife to adopt her, which they did.

"Shan had a hard time adjusting to life there. She couldn't speak English, which she needed to attend school. My uncle and aunt didn't believe us when we told them she was a witch, because she never transformed in front of them, or showed any magical abilities whatsoever. They were Muggles themselves, and they sent her to a Muggle school. When they found out she really was a witch, they regretted adopting her. She felt, all the time, that no one wanted her."

Harry was beginning to feel sorry for Shan now.

"That wasn't the worst of it," said Robert, looking at Harry. "When Mrs Chen returned to China, she discovered that Mr Chen had gone mad from grief. He couldn't recognise his wife any more. He kept asking where Shan was. He would wander outdoors at night, calling for her. Mrs Chen wrote to my mother, telling us that her husband would wander up into the mountains at night, looking for his daughter. The people in the village below could hear his voice every night, echoing among the hills, calling her name."

Harry was silent. No wonder she had been so terrified that night, when they had heard Yang-Kang shouting.

"Finally, one night Mr Chen went out and never came back," said Robert. "There was a storm that night, and people think that he must have fallen into a ravine. For a long time, we didn't dare let Shan know what had happened. She was already upset because her father never wrote to her. My home was near hers, and she was always at my place because she hated staying with my aunt and uncle. She somehow came across her mother's letters one day, and discovered the truth."

Harry was feeling quite dreadful now. I shouldn't have asked her about her father, that time during Potions, he thought.

Robert gave a small sigh. He sat up, and looked out over the lake again.

"I found her sitting in a corner of my mother's bedroom, looking very pale, with the letters in her lap. She never said a word about it, or cried a single tear. She went home soon after that, and we later heard that she had fallen ill. She was ill for several weeks, and after she recovered she never did well in school. I tried to help her, because we were in the same class, but she failed everything."

Harry was still feeling bad.

"I'd never have guessed it," he said. "She always seems cheerful."

Robert nodded, then shrugged.

"It was a relief when the letters from Tian-Long arrived, and we came to China," he said. "Her schoolwork picked up, and she managed to make friends. But she never forgave her mother for what she did. She blamed her for everything, and she refused to go and see her, even though she knew her mother was staying in the school grounds."

Harry had never thought Robert capable of talking so much, and for such a long time.

"Mrs Chen, by then, regretted the way she'd treated Shan. She must have found out from my mother that Shan could transform, and she tried to mend her ways…that's why she started feeding the animals, to show Shan that she didn't mind them any more.

"But Shan couldn't forgive her mother, for a long time. It was only lately that she told me that she had decided to put the past behind her, and make it up with her mother. The day before our Internal Magic test, she told me she was going to speak to her mother soon. Things might just have worked out, if only Mrs Chen hadn't fallen into the river."

Harry looked at Robert, startled. Robert, seeing his expression, nodded.

"Shan felt she was a coward, that she should have been the one to transform and save her mother, instead of letting Chien-Mei do it. But she had always felt ashamed of her ability to transform, and she couldn't bring herself to let anyone know. After that she tried to visit her mother, but she found that Mrs Chen could now talk of no one except Chien-Mei. She thought Chien-Mei was wonderful, because she had saved her life. Shan felt Chien-Mei had taken her place, and that there was no room for her any more."

Harry was beginning to understand, now.

"I see," he said, slowly.

"Shan was very upset," said Robert. "She felt that fate was punishing her. She already blames herself for her father's death, because if he hadn't been so fond of her, he might not have gone mad. She felt that she had lost her mother now, as well. She felt that no matter what she did or how hard she tried, she would always fail. She hasn't wanted to face the fact that her mother was dying. She couldn't bear the thought of going to her mother's bedside, with Chien-Mei there, and hearing her talk about how wonderful Chien-Mei was."

Robert was silent for a moment, looking out over the lake, then sighed and got up. Sang Nila, who had fallen into a doze, stirred and looked up at him. He then turned and made his way back into the water, and disappeared beneath its surface with scarcely a ripple.

"We should go back," Robert said. "Our next class will be starting soon."

He waited till Harry had stood up, and they were making their way up the stone steps, before continuing.

"I know Shan doesn't want to face up to the fact that her mother's really gone. She's afraid of seeing her mother dead, and knowing that she's caused her mother nothing but trouble all her life, and that it's now too late to make up for any of it."

"Guess there's nothing I can do," said Harry, after a few moments.

Robert hesitated.

"You could give her some company," he said. "She won't be talking to me for a while now. She's got her pride, and I'm too close to her. She doesn't like to think anyone's pitying her, and sometimes she resents the fact that I know everything about her past."

"Me?" Harry was startled. "I don't even know what to say to her!"

Robert shrugged.

"No need to say anything," he said. "Just treat her as you usually do. She likes your company; she's already told you more about herself than she's told any of her other friends."

They had reached the top of the cliff.

"I've never seen her cry a tear, ever since that day she found her mother's letters," said Robert. "She keeps everything bottled up inside. If she could confide in someone else besides me, it would do her good."

He put his glasses on again, signaling the end of the conversation. They walked in silence, all the way back to the school.

 

XIV

Yu-Lin's Revenge

An early cricket chirps, then pauses;

The dying lamp gutters…

Outside my window it is raining

The leaves of the willow

First know its drumming

~Bai Ju-Yu, Tang Dynasty

 

Shan was very quiet and subdued over the next few days. Robert was right; she didn't seem to want to talk to him; they sat at separate places in class, and would go their own ways after that. Ron and Hermione, of course, were wondering what had happened, but the others didn't seem surprised.

"It happens," said Fatty placidly. "When you spend so much time together, you're bound to have some disagreement. They'll patch up in a day or two, wait and see. I've seen it happen before."

Shan seemed depressed and rather lost, without Robert around. She was used to doing her homework with him, and asking him for help whenever she didn't understand something. Harry tried to keep her company as Robert had suggested, though he could hardly think of anything comforting to say. She didn't seem to mind him being around, anyway, and he would sometimes do his homework together with her, or accompany her to the Caverns, staying outside while she went in to talk to the dragons.

One day after Care of Magical Creatures, he stayed to wait for her, because she wanted to talk to Chen-Kang about something. Ron stayed back as well, since Pixie had gone off for one of her classes. To Harry's annoyance, Malfoy, instead of disappearing with Yu-Lin as he usually did, saw them and came over to bother them, an annoying smile on his pointed face.

"So … Potty and the Weasel have both found girlfriends," he said softly, looking at them, his pale eyes narrowing. He glanced at Shan, in the distance. "But she's a plain Jane, isn't she, Potter - compared to the previous one."

Harry glared at him. "What are you talking about?"

Malfoy smirked.

"Your previous crush, Potter," he drawled, a sly gleam in his eyes, "remember - the one who turned you down for the Ball?" He flicked another glance at Shan. "She's a poor second, isn't she, Potter? But I suppose that's the best that you can do."

Harry was furious. How had Malfoy found out about Cho? Cho's friends must have seen Harry asking her to the Yule Ball, and blabbed about it to everyone.

"Shut up, Malfoy," said Ron, seeing that Harry was too angry to speak, "Speak for yourself - no one'd ever look at you. How much did you bribe Pug-nosed Parkinson, to get her to go with you?"

"She's better than that cheap little piece of trash that you're with, Weasley," retorted Malfoy coolly. "Better send her for a check-up before you do anything serious with her, in case you catch something from her - I hear she's had countless other flings before."

Harry held Ron back, because Chen-Kang could see them, and Crabbe and Goyle were coming toward them together with Yu-Lin. Shan had also finished with Chen-Kang, and was coming over. Malfoy, aware that she could probably set the dragons on him if she wanted to, gave one last smirk and left.

"Is something wrong?" asked Shan, coming up to them.

Harry felt his face going red.

"It's nothing," he mumbled, finding himself unable to meet her eyes, "Just Malfoy being his usual nauseating self."

Ron was fuming, and his face was even redder than Harry's.

"Piece of trash, indeed," he spluttered, "That Parkinson - not that they're together, anyway - is always reading all those porn periodicals - " He saw Shan looking at him, startled, and broke off. He stomped off, muttering angrily to himself, leaving the other two to catch up with him.

Harry looked at Ron, rather worried, as they started to follow him.

"Was Malfoy talking about Xiao-Yan?" asked Shan, also watching Ron. She looked at Harry's face. "You're not worried about him, are you?"

"Well…" Harry was reluctant to say it, "Pixie does have a lot of admirers. And she plays up to them as well. They're always giving her flowers and gifts - Hermione says your dorm is full of them. I can't help wondering if she isn't just leading Ron on."

Shan looked thoughtfully at Ron's back.

"I don't think so, Harry," she said. "I've known Pixie longer than you. She can't help being a bit wild. She doesn't get much attention at home...her parents are very conservative, old-fashioned Chinese. Her four sisters were all matchmade with their husbands - all of them are married now. Pixie's a bit thoughtless and giddy and she likes the attention she gets, but she's not serious about it. She's never stayed with any of her past boyfriends for more than a week, but she's been hanging out with Ron for more than a month now. I think she really does like him."

They soon caught up with Ron, and walked on in silence for a while. As they passed the bamboo grove, Harry saw a small figure heading in the direction of the lake. It was Robert, obviously going to visit Sang Nila.

Shan had seen him as well. Harry, glancing at her face, could tell that she missed him.

"We don't have any classes now," he said casually, "why don't we go to the lake?"

Shan wasn't fooled. She glared at Harry for a moment, then looked at Robert's disappearing figure rather sadly, and shook her head.

"I think I'll go to the library," she said quietly, "I'll see all of you later." She turned and made her way toward the palace, without waiting for them.

Ron, who hadn't noticed that anything was wrong, watched Shan going off.

"So…how are you and she getting along?" he asked.

Harry looked at him in surprise. Ron grinned at him.

"C'mon, Harry," he said, "you do like her, don't you? I get the impression the two of you would get along fine, if only Robert wouldn't keep sticking next to her."

Harry felt rather irritated.

"There isn't anything," he said.

Ron looked disbelieving. "Don't tell me you don't like her, at least a bit."

Harry hesitated. To tell the truth, he wasn't sure how he felt about Shan. He liked her very much as a friend, of course. The fact that she sometimes made him think of Cho Chang confused him. Harry wasn't sure why she reminded him of Cho. After that initial odd feeling whenever he saw her, he would often look at her and decide that she didn't look like Cho, after all. Besides, he wasn't sure how Shan felt about him. Then, there was Robert, whom Harry couldn't help liking. Robert didn't seem to have any close friends; he and Shan were used to being together, and Harry didn't want to break them up in any way.

"There really isn't anything, Ron," he said. "Not like you and Pixie. How are the two of you getting along, anyway?"

Ron went red, as he usually did whenever anyone brought Pixie's name up.

"I know you people think she's a bit of a flirt," he mumbled, looking at the ground, "but she's not always like that. When you talk to her one-to-one, she's quite different…" He broke off, looking embarrassed. Harry grinned at him.

"C'mon, let's go back to the Pagoda," he said, deciding not pursue the matter any further.

 

Harry had noticed that Shan was not the only one feeling down. Hermione, too, had been looking moody. She had been spending a lot of her time in the library, reading whatever English books she could find there, and would snap at Harry whenever he asked her if anything was wrong.

That evening in the Green Dragon common room, Chee Chong, at Ron's request, brought his Chinese Chess set out, and began explaining about the different pieces. Harry was sitting to one side listening, while Hermione was some distance away, searching around in her bag for one of her books. She took some sheets of parchment out, and then gave an exclamation of dismay.

Harry looked at her. The sheets of parchment were almost completely black in colour, as if someone had dipped them in a bucket of ink.

He went over to have a look. "What happened?"

Hermione was staring at the parchment as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"This can't have happened," she said numbly. "Someone's done this to me. Someone's poured ink all over my essays."

Robert, who had been sitting in a corner reading, had also come over.

"Give them to me," he said, "I think I can fix them."

He took the assignments from her, and tapped them with his wand. The inkstains all turned a bright, translucent red. Under the red layer, Hermione's original neat writing was visible, in black.

Harry was fascinated. "What did you do?"

"Separated the new layer of ink from the old," said Robert. "The black letters have set into the parchment for a longer time." He began to rub the parchment with the tip of his wand, using it like an eraser, rubbing the red layer of ink off.

"It'll take a bit of time," he said to Hermione, "I'll give them back to you later."

Hermione nodded, still looking rather stunned. Robert went back to his corner, and continued erasing the ink stains. Hermione went and sat against the wall, looking glum. She took a book out of her bag, and began to read.

Harry, seeing that Hermione looked as if she didn't want to be disturbed, went back to Ron and Chee Chong, still wondering about the inkstains. First Chee Chong, then Fatty, and now Hermione. He wondered if Malfoy had anything to do with it. He and Yu-Lin were still giving them sly looks in class, and looking pleased with themselves.

At this moment, Jeanne came into the room, looking thoughtful. She spotted Robert in his corner, and went over to him.

"Robert, bring me your robes," she said quietly, "I'd like to mend them."

Robert obediently put the parchment down, and went off to his dormitory.

Jeanne came over and sat down next to Harry. Chee Chong was now explaining the rules of the game to Ron. The Chinese Chessboard looked rather similar to the English one, but all the pieces were flat and circular. Like the English chess pieces, they were also talking and giving instructions, but in polite, gentle voices, and in Chinese.

"So, we have two armies," Chee Chong was saying. "You must checkmate the King of the opposing army. This strip in the middle" - he pointed at a silver strip of metal that divided the board in two - "is a liver."

"Liv -? Oh, river, right," said Ron, with a straight face.

They started playing. Ron had difficulty recognising the pieces because they all looked similar, and could only be identified by a Chinese character etched on their tops. Finally, Chee Chong scribbled the names on pieces of parchment and stuck it to each piece.

"It's a pity you don't understand Chinese, Ron," said Jeanne, watching with interest, "the pieces are actually thinking their tactics through quite well. They're giving fairly good advice."

"That's easily solved," said Harry. He took the Translator out of his pocket, and handed it to Ron.

Robert had come back with his shabby robes. Jeanne took her wand out, and began to mend them. Harry turned to look at Hermione, who was still staring glumly at her book. He felt sure she wasn't really reading.

He went over to her. "How's everything?"

She didn't look up. "Fine."

Harry was silent for a moment.

"You're looking a bit down, Hermione," he said quietly, so that the others wouldn't hear. "Anything wrong?"

Hermione suddenly lowered her book, and glared at him.

"I'm fine," she snapped. "Just fine. Leave me alone, will you?"

She threw her book down, and stormed out of the room, tears in her eyes.

Harry sat where he was, staring after her. Ron and Chee Chong were still absorbed in their game, but Jeanne and Robert had heard, and came over.

"What happened?" Jeanne looked rather anxious.

"Dunno," said Harry, still feeling surprised. "I just asked her if everything was OK, that's all. She's been looking gloomy lately."

Robert glanced at Hermione's bag. Four library books were sticking out of it.

"She's homesick, Harry," he said. "Ron's been busy with Pixie, and you've made pretty good friends with Shan. But Hermione's not really close to any of us. She's been by herself, in the library, most of the time."

Harry felt bad. He hadn't meant to neglect Hermione, just that so many things had been happening that he hadn't noticed her feeling left out.

Jeanne got up.

"I'll go have a talk with her," she said, and left the room.

Robert went back to his corner, and continued cleaning Hermione's essays. After about half an hour, Hermione came back in. There was a rather odd look on her face. She picked her bag up, went over to Robert, and sat down next to him.

Harry watched her, feeling rather nonplussed. Hermione didn't look upset any more. He wondered what Jeanne had said to her. Perhaps, to distract her, she'd asked Hermione to keep Robert company, until he and Shan patched up.

Robert looked rather surprised (even with his glasses on) but he gave Hermione a small smile, then went back to cleaning the parchment. Hermione quietly read her library book for a few minutes, then tried to start a conversation. As far as Harry could tell, they were talking about books. Robert took his usual collection of books out of his bag, and Hermione began examining them.

After a while, Shan came in. She looked surprised to see Hermione sitting with Robert, but came over to Harry and sat down next to him, pretending to watch the chess game. She occasionally glanced at Robert, though, and Harry knew she was missing him badly. He felt rather impatient with Hermione. Shan looked as if she was finally ready to patch up with Robert; why on earth must Hermione start trying to make friends with him now?

Shan watched the game for a while, then got up with a small sigh.

"I'm a bit tired," she said, to no one in particular. "I think I'll go to bed." And she left the room, pointedly not looking at the corner where Robert was sitting.

 

Fortunately, things sorted themselves out the next day, before their Divination class.

Harry and Shan found Yu-Lin and the Slytherins already in the classroom when they got there. Harry noticed that Crabbe and Goyle, over the last few weeks, had become enormously fat. They had been having a field day with all the good food at Tian-Long, and must have been working their house-elf to the bone. They could often be seen choffing away on various sweet things in between meals, like the moon-cakes, and wintermelon sweets. They looked almost as bad as Dudley - as wide as they were tall, which was ten times worse because they were a lot taller than Dudley. Harry wondered what Snape would say when he saw them, back at Hogwarts.

Robert was also there, sitting alone near the back. He had been taking his meals in the Hall of Dragons, because he knew the others would feel uncomfortable if both he and Shan were at the table together, and not speaking to each other. Shan hesitated when she saw him there, and Harry knew she wanted to patch up with him.

Unsure what to do, she stalled for time by plonking her bag down on a side table, and pretending to take her Divination homework out. She pulled out several sheets of parchment, then gave an exclamation of dismay.

Harry, suspecting what had happened, went over to her. Sure enough, the homework was all covered with black ink.

"What happened," moaned Shan. "I spent ages on this stupid thing. And I hate Divination. Now I've got to do it all over again, and she'll give me demerits for handing it in late."

Robert had overheard, and had come over.

"I'll fix it," he said quietly.

Shan looked at him, then handed him the parchment. Robert took it, went back to his seat, and started working on it.

Shan picked up her bag and looked at him, hesitating. Harry dumped his own bag on the seat next to him, so that she couldn't sit there, and pretended he was absorbed in his Book of Changes. Shan stood there for a moment or two, then went over and sat down next to Robert.

Robert gave her his usual quiet smile, then bent over the ink-stained parchment again. Shan watched him for a while, then stared at the top of the desk in front of her, and said in a small voice, "Sorry I've been an idiot."

Robert was still looking at the parchment, but he smiled again.

"It's OK," he said placidly. And after that, everything was just as it had been, before.

 

 

Malfoy had been watching Robert cleaning the parchment, and was now smiling in delight.

"People've been pretty careless in this class lately, haven't they, Potter," he said softly, so that Robert wouldn't hear. "Lucky for you that you've escaped, so far."

Harry glared at him. "What do you mean?"

Malfoy smiled maliciously, but at this moment, Ron, Pixie and all the others came in, together with Madam Tang.

Ron slid into the seat next to Harry, looking agitated.

"Look at this," he whispered, opening his bag. The entire interior of the bag was swimming in black ink, and Ron's Divination homework had been completely destroyed.

"Malfoy did it," Harry muttered. "Don't know how, but he more or less hinted it, just now."

"Good thing I only had my Divination homework in there," Ron said in an undertone, so that Madam Tang, who had gone to a corner of the room to replenish her joss-sticks, wouldn't hear, "but the old cockroach is going to explode. She hates anyone handing in late work."

"Don't worry, Ronniekins," whispered Pixie from behind, "Leave it to me." She held out a roll of parchment. "Here, take this, and just read what's on it when she calls you."

Ron took the parchment she handed to him, and unrolled it.

"It's blank," he whispered back at Pixie.

"Not for long," she said, "Watch."

She began writing on another blank piece of parchment in front of her. Words began appearing on Ron's piece of parchment, as well.

Ron goggled at it, then turned around again.

"That wasn't the question I chose," he hissed.

Pixie dimpled at him.

"No, Ronniekins," she said tenderly, "I've chosen it."

Harry looked at the parchment. The first line went : "Question: Should I one day get married?"

Ron was looking at it with an agonized expression. He turned around and hissed, "Choose another question! I refuse to read this in front of Malfoy!"

Pixie, however, merely giggled, and continued writing. Madam Tang cleared her throat, indicating the class was about to start. Unfortunately for Ron, she saw him turning around and whispering to Pixie, and singling him out first, asked him to read out his homework.

Pixie hadn't finished writing yet; she was flipping through her Book of Changes, looking for something. Ron, going red, said, "I haven't finished it yet."

Madam Tang, peering short-sightedly at him from where she was standing, said severely, "I see parchment in front of you, with words on it. It is clear, then, that you have done your homework. Read it out, Mr Weasley!"

Ron groaned under his breath. Pixie, behind him, was now writing as fast as she could. He stood up, face still red, and mumbled the first line.

"Question: Should I one day get married?"

Chee Chong, with Chester perched gloomily on top of his head, looked startled that Ron would have chosen such a question, as did Fatty and the others. Yu-Lin gave a sarcastic smile, while Malfoy sniggered, and Crabbe and Goyle gave stupid guffaws.

Madam Tang frowned at them, then curtly nodded at Ron to continue.

Ron, anxious to get it over with, began to rattle off the rest.

"I came up with Hexagram number thirty-one : Influence (Wooing)" - he choked a bit on this - " 'Influence. Success. Perseverance furthers. To take a maiden to wife brings good fortune.' "

He stopped, because Pixie hadn't finished writing the next line yet. He looked at Madam Tang, and saw that she was still looking expectantly at him.

"Continue, Mr Weasley!" she said, sharply.

Ron glanced at his parchment, and saw to his relief that Pixie had finished the next few lines. He took a breath, and without reading through them first, rattled them off.

" 'The Image : 'the superior man encourages people to approach him, by his readiness to receive them.' Interpretation : Marriage is favourable. This - means - Pixie - and - I - are - meant - to - be - together - and- we - will - one- day - get - mar -" He suddenly realised what he was reading, and broke off in horror. Pixie, behind him, went into a fit of giggles.

Madam Tang frowned fiercely, and shuffled forward. She snatched Ron's parchment out of his hand, and looked at it. Then she went to Pixie, and took her piece of parchment away as well.

"So," she said in her hoarse voice, "twin parchments."

She glared angrily at Ron, who was still red in the face, then turned to look at Pixie, who was well known for not being serious in class. "Your idea of a joke, Xiao-Yan, I presume." She paused, and then frowning even more fiercely, said, "And where is your homework?"

Pixie, who was famous for never handing anything in on time, said with a martyred expression on her face, "I meant to do it yesterday, but something came up -"

"Enough!" snapped Madam Tang. "You will do it now, in front of us. Choose a question!"

She took some bronze coins out of her pocket, and handed them to Pixie.

Pixie seemed quite unabashed. She thought for a while, then said demurely, "My question is : will I ever find a man that I cannot conquer?" She then giggled idiotically.

Madam Tang's eyes narrowed. She made an impatient movement with her hand, indicating Pixie should toss the coins.

Pixie did so. She came up with Hexagram number four : Youthful Folly.

"Ha!" croaked Madam Tang, her eyes gleaming. "Let us see the meaning of this!"

She picked up her Book of Changes, flipped to the correct page, and began reading triumphantly, " 'The Judgement : It is not I who seek the young fool; the young fool seeks me. If he asks two or three times, it is importunity. If he importunes, I give him no information.' "

Madam Tang's eyes narrowed again, and she glared at Pixie, her eyes glinting.

"Brazen girl," she hissed, "You will get what you deserve. Here is what fate foretells : A man will conquer you. He will have dominion over you, and much as you want to flee, you cannot. You will do as he tells you to."

Pixie stood there, an innocent expression on her face. She flicked a glance at Ron, and Madam Tang's description contrasted so ludicrously with him that she couldn't control herself, and broke into giggles again.

Madam Tang seemed incensed.

"Ten demerits for late work!" she snapped. "And five demerits for being bold! You and Ronald will stay back here after class, and do twice the homework! I want it handed in by the end of the next period!"

She was in a very bad mood after that, and the class was glad when the lesson was over.

Shan and Robert had to leave for their next class, but the others were free for that period, so they stayed back to keep Pixie and Ron company while they finished their Divination homework.

"It's a good thing the demerits here only go to the individual," said Fatty, taking a small abacus out of his lacquer box, and absently sliding the beads on it to and fro. "And not to the entire House, as in Hogwarts, or Xiao-Yan would be a real liability to Crimson Phoenix. She probably incurs more demerits in this school than anyone else."

"She makes it up by gaining melits," said Chee Chong, looking around for Chester, who had disappeared. "The Herborogy Master has a clush on her. He spends most of his time in crass giving her melits when she smiles at him."

Pixie, obviously thinking this was a compliment, dimpled at him.

Crabbe and Goyle had disappeared, probably in search of more food, but Malfoy and Yu-Lin, seeing that Robert wasn't around, had stayed back.

"Your bag looks even shabbier than usual, Weasley," said Malfoy, watching in delight as Ron tried to remove the ink from his bag with an evaporating spell. "Perhaps you should buy a new one - oh, I forgot, you probably wouldn't be able to afford it."

"Drink ink, Malfoy," snapped Ron. He pointed his wand at Malfoy, and a jet of ink shot out of it, staining Malfoy's pale hair black.

Malfoy stood up and snatched his own wand out, but Chee Chong hurriedly said, "Lady Han-Yin is coming!"

Malfoy sat down again, as Lady Han-Yin went past the classroom. She looked in and saw them there, and smiled at them, then continued on her way.

Yu-Lin looked disdainfully at Chee Chong.

"So, our goody-two-shoes little country bumpkin has saved the day," she sneered.

Chee Chong went red, but said nothing.

"Keep quiet, Yu-Lin," said Fatty, "Chong leads a far more useful life working on his parents' farm, during the holidays, than some good-for-nothing persons who only know how to sit around in their father's house, giving other people orders."

Yu-Lin looked at Fatty with a curious gleam in her eyes.

"Speaking of fathers, Wing-Fatt," she said softly and sweetly, "I just received a most interesting letter from mine, before the class started. There was some information in it regarding your father."

She took a letter out, and tossed it at Fatty.

Fatty scowled, and picked the letter up. He looked rather pale after reading it.

"This is some fabricated story," he snapped, throwing the letter back at Yu-Lin. "Which can easily be disproved by a call home."

He started taking his crystal globe out. Pixie, however, had seen something. She tugged at Ron's sleeve, and giggling, nodded at Yu-Lin.

Harry, Ron and Hermione turned to look. Chester had been crawling up Yu-Lin's back all the while. He had now reached her neck, and was disappearing inside her collar.

"We've got to stop him," hissed Hermione, but it was too late. Yu-Lin, feeling something crawling down her back, jumped up and started screaming, probably thinking it was a spider. The long-suffering Phoenix on her shoulder gave a startled squawk, and spread its wings to keep its balance. Still screaming, Yu-Lin began hitting at her back, and pushed her hand down the back of her collar, writhing in horror.

Malfoy looked up at her, startled. Fatty and Chee Chong looked surprised, while Pixie, Ron and Harry were in stitches.

Yu-Lin managed to get hold of Chester, and pulled him out and flung him on the floor. Then, her face white and angry, she pulled out her wand, and before anyone could stop her, pointed it at Chester. A jet of light shot out and hit Chester, and he burst into flames.

"No!" shouted Chee Chong, jumping forward. But it was too late; Chester was now nothing but a small pile of ashes.

Pixie and Fatty jumped up, and started shouting at Yu-Lin in Chinese. Ron and Hermione were watching in confusion. Only Harry, who had the Translator on, could understand what was happening.

Fatty jabbed at his abacus with his wand, and the beads all came off their wires and changed into a swarm of bees. They flew at Yu-Lin, buzzing angrily.

Yu-Lin screamed, and raised her arms to protect her face. Malfoy took his wand out, pointed it at the bees, and muttered something. The bees changed back into beads and dropped to the floor, bouncing around in all directions.

Pixie, still yelling, also pulled her wand out and pointed it at Yu-Lin. A bolt of light shot out of it. Yu-Lin dodged, but the bolt of light sliced through the gold cord binding the Phoenix to her. The Phoenix gave a call of triumph, and launched itself into the air. It flew swiftly once around the room, its feathers shimmering in the morning sunlight, then darted out the door, and was gone.

Yu-Lin gave a cry of dismay, her face pale as she watched the Phoenix disappear.

"You little slut!" she screamed at Pixie. "Look what you've done!"

"Don't you call me a slut!" screeched Pixie. "How dare you! When your own mother is a whore!"

This was too much for Yu-Lin. She took her wand, pointed it at Pixie, and snapped out a command.

There was a flash of light, and then Pixie's arms were gone : two feathery wings had taken their place. Pixie looked at them in horror for a moment, then continued screaming at Yu-Lin, flapping her wings angrily. Fatty had now conjured up some balls of light, and was throwing them at Yu-Lin.

A deafening explosion at the door suddenly made all of them jump. Lady Han-Yin was standing there, smoking wand in hand, her face furious, her eyes flashing dangerously. Fatty hurriedly dissolved his balls of light. Pixie stopped screeching, and lowered her wings. Yu-Lin was looking at Lady Han-Yin, her face ashen. Only Chee Chong was still kneeling next to what was left of Chester, his head in his hands.

Lady Han-Yin pointed her wand at Pixie, and her wings transformed back into arms again. She then picked up her crystal ball, and looked at the shimmering lights within it.

"I see," she said coldly. She pointed a finger at Yu-Lin's letter, which was lying on the floor, and it flew into the air and over to her hand.

"The three of you will follow me," she snapped. Fatty, not daring to use magic to reassemble his abacus, went and collected the beads by hand. He, Pixie and Yu-Lin gathered up their things, and went to the door in silence. Yu-Lin was trembling slightly, looking at the letter in Lady Han-Yin's hand.

Lady Han-Yin was about to leave, when the crystal ball started shimmering again. She touched it with her fingertips, then turned and looked at Malfoy.

"My crystal tells me something most interesting, Mr Malfoy," she said quietly, coming over to him. She gestured with one hand, and a jar came flying out of Malfoy's bag and into her hand. Inside were several small, black, squirming blobs.

Lady Han-Yin fixed Malfoy with a stern eye.

"This cannot be obtained anywhere except at the Black Magic shops in the Forbidden area of the City," she said. "And I recall expressly telling you that no one is allowed to go there."

Her crystal shimmered again, and Lady Han-Yin consulted it briefly.

"Quite a number of victims in this class, I see," she said. She glanced at the letter in her hand. "And your father's name is mentioned here, too." She looked at Malfoy, a dangerous glint in her eyes.

"You, too, will come with me, Mr Malfoy," she said. "Professor Dumbledore will be most interested to know of today's happenings."

Malfoy shot a resentful look at her, but gathered up his things and did as she said.

Lady Han-Yin led them from the room. Harry and the others waited till they had disappeared out the door, then went over to Chee Chong.

"Don't feel bad, Chee Chong," said Hermione, looking at him worriedly, "Chester's gone to a better place now. You can get another cricket."

Chee Chong's face was rather red, and he looked close to tears.

"I do not want another clicket," he said, his voice shaking slightly. With trembling hands, he conjured up a tiny little urn, and swept Chester's ashes into it.

"I would like to be alone for a while," he said, looking extremely upset. He picked his bag up and left the room, still clutching the urn.

Ron turned to Harry.

"What happened?" he said. "I didn't understand half of what was going on."

Harry told them.

"Wonder what those blobs in the jar were," he added, at the end of it.

"And what happened to Fatty's father," Ron said.

"Yu-Lin is in big trouble," said Hermione, looking thoughtful. "I've read the school rules in the English translation of A Brief History of Tian-Long Academy…you can be expelled if you're caught trying to transfigure another student in a fight."

Still feeling sorry for Chester and Chee Chong, they gathered their bags and headed back to the Green Dragon common room to wait for Shan. This would be their last week at Tian-Long, and they had obtained permission to make one last trip down to the Celestial City that day.

After about half an hour, Shan and Robert came in. They looked concerned when the others told them what had happened.

"I hope Fatty is all right," said Shan anxiously, "I felt sure after the spider incident that Yu-Lin would try to get her own back on us. I've heard that she's like that - she's her father's favourite, and she often gets him to help her in her petty affairs. She hasn't got the guts to face up to Robert, so she must have tried to do something to Fatty instead."

They headed for the Caverns. On the way, they noticed quite a number of postal dragons flying past, coming in and out of the school.

"Is something happening?" asked Hermione, looking curiously at the dragons.

Shan looked thoughtful.

"I'm not sure," she said. "Lady Wen-Li has been receiving a lot of mail lately. From what I've heard, the various Pugilistic Sects want to visit the school earlier this year, and stay around for a longer time to select students who intend to join one of the Internal Magic schools when they graduate. Lady Wen-Li has refused them entry so far, saying it isn't necessary, but even so some of the Sect members have already come down, and are staying down in the City."

They soon reached the Caverns. Shan saddled WindStar, and they mounted her. Harry was so used to dragons by now that he had lost the initial wary feeling he'd had in the beginning whenever he saw any of them. Of course, most of the dragons he'd encountered were tame, or if they had been wild, Shan had been around to control them. He wondered what the dragons in Romania were like, remembering the burns and calluses he'd seen on Charlie Weasley's arms.

WindStar extended her large, batlike wings. Harry felt the familiar thrust of her powerful muscles, and then they were airborne, rising rapidly up into a clear, blue, cloudless sky.

 

 

XV

Final Week

That is my home of love; if I have ranged,

Like him that travels, I return again

~ W. Shakespeare

 

Shan was right; there were all manner of strange people in the City. There were tall wizards, their heads shaven except for a long pigtail at the back, armed with long willow staffs. There were witches in white robes, with deadly-looking daggers in their belts, each with a jade amulet at her throat. There were also many men in colourful silk robes, with tigers and cranes and dragons embroidered on them, and a square of cloth in front of their robes, signifying rank. These, Shan said, looked like officials from the Imperial Court.

"It's really odd," said Shan, looking around as they made their way out of the square where the dragons were tethered. "I've never seen a crowd like this in Long-Shan before, it's usually quite an isolated place. And I haven't even seen some of these Sects before - they're not the ones who usually come to Tian-Long to conduct trials. I can't imagine why the Court officials are here, either. I'd heard some were here, and have been trying to visit the school, but for some reason Lady Wen-Li won't let them in. They've been leaving a large pile of gifts outside the school gates for her, every day."

"Maybe it's her birthday," said Ron, looking with interest as a group of wizards in brown robes went past.

Shan laughed, but Hermione dismissed his suggestion with a scornful look.

"It's strange, seeing so many Pugilists here," Shan repeated. "It's as if there's going to be some meeting of the clans here, or something."

Ron and Harry looked interested.

"Maybe there'll be a Dueling Tournament," said Ron hopefully. "Fatty's mentioned that all the Pugilists sometimes meet, to see which Sect has the most skilled fighters. That would be something to watch, huh, Harry?"

Robert had seen someone.

"Look, Shan," he said quietly, "Master Wei."

They all turned to look. A wizard in black robes was striding up to them, smiling. The long sabre at his side was sheathed in black and silver, and a silver kylin hung round his neck.

Shan and Robert greeted him, and they started conversing in Chinese. Harry fumbled around in his pocket for the Translator, while Ron and Hermione watched with interest.

Before Harry could bring the Translator out, the wizard had taken a few steps back and unsheathed his sword. The others watched, startled, as he hurled it straight at Robert.

Robert didn't bother to take his wand out. He made a small gesture with his hand, and the sword suddenly slowed down, swung around, and went flying back toward the wizard.

Master Wei caught the sword deftly, and transformed it back to a wand. He waved it, and small, bright bolts of light began shooting from it at Robert, so fast that they could hardly be followed with the eye. Robert, however, didn't move. He calmly stood there, looking at the bolts of light, and they fizzled out and faded away when they were just inches from him.

Master Wei smiled, and transformed his wand back to sword form. Sliding it back into its sheath, he came forward and ruffled Robert's hair, and said something to him. He then smiled and nodded at the others, and took his leave of them.

Harry had been watching, transfixed, the Translator lying forgotten in his pocket. Ron's eyes were popping out of his head.

"What was all that about?" he asked.

Shan gave a small sigh, as they continued making their way into the City.

"He has been pestering Robert about joining Shao-Lin Academy for ages," she said. "He says he should go there after graduating from Tian-Long, and that he expects to see him there next autumn."

"Shao-Lin Academy?" said Hermione. "I read about it in A Survey of the Pugilistic Arts in China. That's one of the oldest and most well-known Dueling schools."

Shan nodded, not looking too happy.

"Robert ought to go, then," said Harry, wondering at her expression. "I should think he wouldn't have any trouble getting in."

Robert was walking next to Shan, almost hidden from view.

"Probably not," he said, sounding noncommital. "I'm too small to be a Pugilist."

"What?" said Ron, "We just saw - "

"What is Master Wei doing back here, Shan?" said Hermione, interrupting, "He used to teach at Tian-Long, didn't he?"

Shan nodded, pushing her glasses up her nose, and looking rather puzzled.

"He taught us Protection Against the Black Way," she said. "I asked him why he was in the City, but he was tight-lipped about it. He just smiled and said he had some personal business here."

The Pugilists and the Court Officials were not the only ones around. There were also a fair number of people who looked like they were from the Press. Harry's heart sank when he saw them; although they must have come to the City for another purpose, he felt sure Ron and Hermione were not going to go unnoticed. It was easier for Harry, with his black hair, to blend into the crowd here, but Hermione's hair was brown and bushy, and Ron's red hair was very obvious, especially as their heads were bare; they had stopped wearing their hats when they had come to China, because hats were not part of the Tian-Long uniform.

He was right. He had the Translator on now, and before long, heard a voice saying from behind,

"Look, there are some foreigners here as well. We can try interviewing them too."

Harry started walking faster.

"The press are coming after us," he muttered to Ron and Hermione. "Get Shan and Robert, and let's get out of here."

They wriggled their way through the crowd and extricated Shan and Robert from a shop where they had been buying moon-cakes, but not before someone shouted,

"Look! Isn't it Harry Potter?"

"Better run," said Robert, looking back. "There's quite a crowd of them gathering."

He disappeared swiftly down one of the narrow alleys, the rest following. They could hear sounds of pursuit behind, and several camera flashes going off.

"You go ahead," said Robert, stopping suddenly. The rest dashed past, but Harry, running behind Ron, turned back to look. Robert had conjured up a large, thick spider web across the alley. The reporters in front of the pack, hot on their heels, ran straight in and became thoroughly entangled in it.

Gasping for breath and laughing at the same time, Harry and the others ran on through the maze of alleys. Robert conjured up an illusion of fire next, then turned and followed them, leaving a trail of obstacles in his wake, including a grand piano and a large purple gorilla.

The fire stopped the reporters for a while, till they realised it wasn't producing any smoke. Taking out their wands, they ran through the imaginary fire and continued the chase, obliterating the obstacles with spells of their own.

Robert was now resorting to conjuring banana peels and puddles of oil. Finally, they reached the square. Shan quickly untethered WindStar, while the rest mounted her. The press, in the meantime, had formed a solid wall around them, and were firing questions at Harry in Chinese.

"Mr Potter, a few words with you."

"Mr Potter, have you learned to speak Chinese?"

"Mr Potter, what are you doing in Long-Shan?"

"Are you attending Tian-Long Academy? Is that why Tian-Long students are with you?"

"Are you here for the same reason as the great Pugilistic Sects? Can you tell us why they are here? What is the great secret?"

"Even the Emperor has sent his envoys to the Celestial City. Mr Potter, have you plans to visit the Imperial Court?"

"He doesn't understand Chinese," shouted Shan, waving her sword threateningly at them, and mounting WindStar.

A strapping reporter with a face like a bulldog pushed his way to the front.

"No problem at all," he said in English, in a sing-song voice like Fatty's, "I'm from the South China Wizard's Post. Mr Potter, a few questions, please."

WindStar, annoyed by the camera flashes, gave a snort and raised her head, glaring at them. She unfurled her batlike wings, and the crowd of reporters fell back slightly. Shan took hold of the reins, and WindStar promptly launched herself into the air, leaving the horde of reporters and cameramen still shouting and gesticulating at them. A few more camera flashes went off as they rose up in the air and headed back toward the school.

"Barking," said Ron, shaking his head, and looking back at them.

"Looks like even the press don't know why the Sects are assembling here," said Shan, looking intrigued, as the school and its grounds came into sight. "It's really curious. They can't just be here to select those students who are graduating - there aren't that many such students, not so that it would take several months to set trials for, anyway."

Fatty and Chee Chong didn't turn up for dinner. Pixie, however, appeared just as Ting-Ting was taking their orders.

"Fatt's father's business has failed very badly," she said, in answer to all their queries. "Yu-Lin and Draco Malfoy's fathers must somehow have managed to bring it about, but how we don't know. The family is almost bankrupt. Chong's parents' farm has also been destroyed by a freak storm. Yu-Lin's father must have got someone to magic it up, of course, but there's no proof either."

She sat down on a chair, looking dejected, and most unlike her usual gay self.

"I guess Taiwan and Singapore are too far away for Yu-Lin's father to have done anything to the rest of us," said Shan, looking at Pixie, and then at Robert.

"What - what happened to Chester's ashes?" asked Hermione delicately.

"Chong scattered them in the river," said Pixie, with a sigh. "He and Fatt have sneaked down to the City to get drunk. Lady Wen-Li let Fatt off lightly - she just gave him ten demerits. She gave me detention, though…I spent the whole afternoon at the Caverns, cleaning the yard there of dragon dung."

She looked mournful as she said this, but then remembered something else, and her face brightened slightly.

"Yu-Lin has been suspended from school," she said with gloomy satisfaction. "She deserved to be expelled, only her father is too influential. She left the office weeping copiously. Your Draco Malfoy has also been suspended from the exchange programme, he should be returning to Hogwarts tomorrow. He's the one who's been flooding our bags with ink. He managed to destroy the letter from Yu-Lin's father - Lady Wen-Li left it on her desk for just a minute, and he burnt it to ashes, said his wand 'slipped by mistake'. Now there's no proof left, and even if there was, it's unlikely Yu-Lin's father would be taken in - he has cronies in the Chinese Magical Administration … they're all a corrupt lot."

Harry knew he should feel pleased Malfoy was being punished, but he felt too sorry for Fatty and Chee Chong to rejoice much. He knew how obsessed with money Fatty was, and besides, Fatty had seemed convinced that Harry was going to bring him good luck. Although he knew Madam Tang's prediction had been a load of rubbish, Harry couldn't help feeling slightly guilty, as if he hadn't done his duty.

"What was in that jar that Lady Han-Yin pulled out of Malfoy's bag?" asked Hermione.

Pixie shuddered.

"Those were ink-slugs," she said, looking revolted. "They're attracted to parchment, and they secrete ink from their bodies, after which they completely dissolve and disappear. Draco Malfoy must have got them from one of the Black Magic trick shops in the City - that's in a seedy area, where all the brothels and opium dens are…we're forbidden to go there. He's been getting his owl to bring them to our dorms at night, and dropping them in through the window when everyone's asleep."

Dinner proceeded quietly after that; everyone seemed to be feeling subdued. Harry felt rather glum; their stay at Tian-Long had been fairly pleasant so far, and it seemed a pity that the exchange programme should end like this.

"Are we still going to the lake?" Shan asked, after a while. Pixie had suggested, some time ago, that they buy some moon-cakes and walk down to the lake, as the Tian-Long students always did during the Mid-Autumn Festival which had already taken place in September, and they had planned to do it that night.

"But Fatty and Chee Chong aren't here," objected Hermione.

"It's full moon tonight, though," said Pixie, looking sentimentally at Ron. "I asked Lady Wen-Li, and for your sakes she said we could go, though she told me I didn't deserve to. She doubled the length of my detention, to make up for it."

"We might as well go," said Shan. "Fatt and Chong will be feeling down the entire week; I doubt if they'd go anyway. And the Mid-Autumn Festival is always celebrated when the moon is full."

So, armed with the moon-cakes they had bought that afternoon, they started to make their way down to the lake. Pixie had also brought a collection of pretty little lanterns along, which she had made herself. These were very colourful, and came in the shape of various animals.

"Pixie made those," said Shan to Hermione and Harry, as Robert lit the lanterns with his thumb, and Pixie tapped them with her wand, so that they floated up and hung in mid-air. "Her father is a folk craftsman, carving ivory and jade and all that sort of thing."

The lanterns were floating in the air in front of them, bobbing up and down, as they walked through the grounds. After a while the Moon-Gate came into sight, in the distance. They saw that the doors were open, and a large group of people were entering the grounds. The students stopped in surprise, and looked at them.

"Those are the Emperor's envoys," said Shan, watching the procession of wizards in their embroidered silk robes. "It looks as if Lady Wen-Li has finally allowed them to come into the school."

Some of the press appeared to be trying to get in as well, but to Harry's satisfaction, he saw the brown watch dragon driving them off with a jet of flame, just before the doors of the Moon - Gate swung shut.

They proceeded on their way. At the lake, they got into one of the Chinese junks moored there. Robert seated himself in front, and tapped the bow with his wand; the junk started to move out into the middle of the lake, the lanterns still bobbing up and down in front of them.

"Ooo, this is nice and romantic," breathed Pixie, sitting close to Ron, and looking up at the moon in satisfaction. "The Mid-Autumn Festival is a time for romance, you know."

"Yes, but this isn't the real Mid-Autumn Festival," Hermione began tartly. She was cut short by a loud squeal from Pixie, who had been trailing her hand over the side of the junk. Something large had emerged from the water, and there was a snapping of jaws before the creature vanished under the surface again.

Pixie had snatched her hand back, still intact, and retreated some distance from the side of the junk. Robert peered over the side, then whistled. After a few moments, Sang Nila's large head appeared out of the water.

"That Merlion's got it in for me!" said Pixie shrilly, looking accusingly at Robert. "This is the second time he's almost taken my hand off!"

"He's only playing with you," said Robert placidly, before turning and facing the front again.

Pixie contented herself with another glare at Sang Nila, then sat down next to Ron again, keeping herself well away from the water. Hermione said nothing, but looked at the Merlion with approval.

Robert guided the junk toward the end of the lake where the peach orchard was, because Hermione and Ron had heard about the Talking Tortoises, and wanted to meet them. However, when they reached there, there was not a tortoise in sight. They searched high and low, but found no trace of them.

"I guess they've gone somewhere to sleep," said Shan apologetically, "although I would have thought they'd still be awake. Those we saw that time - " she broke off, remembering that the flight with the Silverwing was still a secret, and gave Harry a guilty grin.

Ron and Hermione looked rather disappointed. Even the peach trees had let them down. Their green foliage was now devoid of flowers, and the carpet of blossoms on the ground had disappeared.

They contented themselves with sitting on the shore of the lake, eating the moon-cakes, and watching the lanterns bobbing up and down.

"Wonder what the Emperor's envoys are doing here," said Pixie thoughtfully, watching a peacock lantern bobbing up and down above her. "Probably wants to ask Lady Wen-Li a favour; they say ever since someone broke into the Imperial Archives a few months back, he's become paranoid, keeps an escort of guards around him wherever he goes."

Hermione looked interested.

"Someone broke into the Archives?" she said. "What did they steal?"

"No one knows," said Pixie. "The Imperial Spokesman wouldn't say, just said it's the fact that someone managed to break in that's important. Even so," she added, "a huge search has been mounted for the culprit. I'm willing to bet that something important was stolen. Maybe that's why the Officials are in Long-Shan…the thief might have taken refuge in this area."

"There are all those Pugilists in town too," pointed out Shan. "I'm sure they're not just here to select students."

They discussed it a while, but couldn't come up with anything. Harry and Ron were still hoping that a Dueling Tournament would be held, but with only one week left at Tian-Long, it seemed unlikely they would be able to watch it, anyway.

"Well, if there's one, you can tell us about it when you come to Hogwarts," said Ron gloomily, as they got up to go.

"We won't be able to watch it either," Shan reminded him, "We'll be coming to Hogwarts the day after you leave here."

They boarded the junk and headed back to the other end of the lake, Sang Nila following them all the way. As they disembarked, Robert said he would stay with Sang Nila a while longer, so the others left him and made their way up the steep steps leading to the bamboo grove, stumbling a bit in the dark. As they were leaving the grove and heading back to the school, Shan suddenly pulled at Harry's sleeve and said quietly, "There's a light in the hut."

The others were in front, and didn't hear. Harry turned to look. The windows of Mrs Chen's small hut, visible in the distance, were lit.

Shan stared at the hut for a while, then started off toward it. Harry hesitated; he looked at the others. Hermione was far in front, with Ron and Pixie trailing some distance behind her, looking quite absorbed in each other. He watched them for a moment, then turned and followed Shan.

"Look, the animals are still there," said Shan, in an odd voice. Several mountain wolves were sitting outside the hut. A few deer vanished into the darkness of the surrounding trees.

They came up to the doorway, and looked in. The walls of the hut were flickering with light from the fireplace, and Jeanne was seated at a table. She must have been clearing Mrs Chen's belongings away, because the hut looked bare now, and some boxes were stacked neatly near the door.

Jeanne looked up, surprised, when they came in. Shan did not look pleased to see her. She hesitated a second, and did not greet Jeanne. Then she looked over at the fireplace, and her face brightened. Harry, turning, saw that one of the wolves was lying by the fire.

"Look, it's my wolf, the one I was talking to a month ago," Shan said softly. Ignoring Jeanne, she went over to the wolf, and sat down next to it.

 

Harry watched her, feeling rather exasperated, then went over to where Jeanne was sitting.

"Hullo," he said, as she looked at him and smiled, "Are you tidying up here?"

"Not exactly," she replied, looking around the hut. "I cleared most of Mrs Chen's things several days ago. I just came by tonight to look for a set of jade cups which she said she wanted me to have, to thank me for looking after her. She said they were hidden in a box in a corner of her cupboard, but when I cleared everything out I couldn't find them anywhere."

Harry looked at the table at which she was sitting. The leftovers of the herbs that he'd seen the night Ron had brought his robes to be altered lay scattered there. He glanced at the fireplace; a cauldron was bubbling over the fire.

He looked at Jeanne again; she was now putting the herbs back into a box, and was taking a goblet out.

"What are you - ?" he began, and then he suddenly turned and looked at the wolf by the fire.

The hut was dark, and Harry couldn't see the wolf clearly. Shan was curled up next to it, talking cosily. It lay there quietly, as if listening to her, then turned and looked enigmatically at Harry.

Harry went over to the door and looked out. The sky was clear of clouds, and the bamboos were silhouetted blackly against a moon that looked decidedly full and bright.

He went back to Jeanne, who had been watching him with a small smile on her face. He looked at her a moment, then bent down and whispered, "Is that wolf who I think it is?"

Her smile grew broader, and she nodded.

Harry turned to look at the wolf again. Shan was lying down now, using the wolf's back as a pillow, and gazing into the fire.

"Let her be, Harry," said Jeanne quietly, glancing at them. "Remus doesn't mind her talking to him, and he's been very discreet. He's refused to tell me anything that she's told him."

Harry looked at the goblet and herbs.

"Does he still need the tonic?" he said. "I thought…"

She gave a small sigh.

"He still falls ill whenever he transforms. We don't know why. Curing him of being a werewolf hasn't solved everything, you know…"

She paused and looked at the wolf, and seeing that it was looking at her, smiled at it. She then turned back to Harry.

"Because the cure is a secret, he can't publicly clear his name. There'll still be difficulty if we were to decide to leave Hogwarts and find work elsewhere. People still shun him."

She looked over at the fireplace again. Shan, tired out by the day's activities, seemed to have fallen asleep. She was still using the wolf's back as a pillow, her face half-hidden in its fur, one arm around its neck.

Jeanne looked thoughtfully at her.

"You can leave her here, Harry," she said quietly, "I'll wait till she wakes up. There's something I need to talk to her about…her mother left a message for her, the day she died."

Harry looked at her in surprise, then nodded. He stood for a few moments, looking at the wolf and sleeping girl, then said good night to Jeanne, and left the hut.

 

Shan looked her usual self the next day, and Harry couldn't tell whether Jeanne had succeeded in talking to her or not. They had Geomancy that morning. Now that both the Potions and Black Way Masters had gone, Lady Han-Yin had taken over Potions again, and Lady Wen-Li had substituted the Black Way class with Geomancy, which was also taught by Madam Tang. She would, however, often replace teaching them feng-shui with her other, more beloved Divination topics, like I Ching. Today, she was droning on about the Ten Heavenly Stems and the Twelve Earthly Branches.

The students were in no mood to listen. The incense in the room was making them all feel sleepy, and there was an end-of-term feel in the air, because this was their last week.

Fatty and Chee Chong had not appeared in the dormitory the previous night, but they turned up at breakfast, looking tired and red-eyed. Chee Chong seemed more depressed about Chester than his parents' farm, for he said the rice had already been harvested, and they only had to rebuild their small house.

Fatty was looking resigned.

"I've got some business projects of my own," he said. "They're small affairs, but I'm going to try helping my father start over again. There's a project Mui Sing and I are working on that may turn out quite well." He looked earnestly at Harry. "Don't worry, Harry. Madam Tang said you are going to bring me good luck."

Harry groaned inwardly. He felt like telling Fatty that Madam Tang was probably as much a fraud as Professor Trelawney.

Crabbe and Goyle were looking insecure without Malfoy around, and they were also looking rather ill. After the class, Crabbe went over to Shan as she was handing in her homework to Madam Tang, and mumbled something to her. She looked surprised, then nodded.

"He and Goyle are not feeling well," she said, coming back and picking up her bag, "I'm going to bring them to see the school healer."

Ron's eyes gleamed.

"Let's follow along," he said, as Shan and Robert disappeared out the door with Crabbe and Goyle, "This is too good a chance to miss…imagine seeing Crabbe and Goyle being stuck full of needles."

Pixie and the others had gone for their other classes, so only Ron, Harry and Hermione were left. They followed at a distance. Crabbe and Goyle looked like two blimps, waddling along behind Shan and Robert.

They waited outside the sickroom. After about half an hour, Shan came out, together with Robert.

"Master Yao is doing acupuncture on them," she said, giggling a bit. "They have been eating too many wintermelon sweets. They bought the sweets from an unlicensed shop in the forbidden district - Master Yao is going to report them to Lady Han-Yin, because they know they weren't supposed to go there. Anyway, the sweets have been doctored so that the more you eat, the hungrier you get. It's a ploy, to get customers addicted to the sweets. And there were warnings on the wrapper that the sweets can cause obesity, but Crabbe and Goyle couldn't read them because they were in Chinese."

A series of loud groans came from the interior of the sickroom.

"Can we go in and watch?" asked Ron, looking as though this news had made his day.

Shan grinned, but shook her head.

"'Fraid not," she said. "They've had to undress. You'll have to content yourselves with listening."

 

The remainder of the week flew by. It was a queer week; the school now seemed to be full of visitors all the time. Lady Wen-Li had now also allowed the Pugilists entry into the school, and Harry and the others could see them wandering around the grounds at times. It appeared, though, that they were not being allowed to stay in the palace, for most of them seemed to be making camp in the grounds, by the lake or on the cliff overlooking it.

On the morning of the last day, Jeanne came looking for Harry, and found him with Ron, just about to enter the Green Dragon common room.

"I'm leaving a bit earlier," she told them, lowering a large box she was carrying to the floor. "First of all, Lady Wen-Li has managed to obtain the loan of some scrolls from the Imperial Archives, which Professor Sinistra has requested to study." She pointed at the large box, which had the seal of a golden dragon stamped on it.

Harry stared at the seal, startled. "Is that the Emperor's seal?"

Jeanne nodded.

"The scrolls are too precious to send together with our usual luggage," she went on, "so I'm bringing them back with me. Professor Dumbledore said it'd be better to get them into Hogwarts as soon as possible."

Harry looked at the Imperial Seal again. That scroll on Liu Pei's desk…it had borne a similar seal…

"I also need to bring Crabbe and Goyle back to Hogwarts," said Jeanne, looking resigned. "Severus has heard about what happened to them here, and they're in disgrace now. Lady Han-Yin sent someone down to the City to ask around and find out how often they have been seen around the Forbidden Area, and it seems they have been sneaking out illegally and going there almost every weekend. They're to return a bit earlier, and let Madam Pomfrey shrink them back to normal size."

"Oh," said Ron, trying not to look too pleased.

Jeanne looked at the expression on his face, and her eyes twinkled.

"See you all back at Hogwarts, then," she said.

Harry was still thinking about the scroll.

"Jeanne," he said casually, as she bent down to pick the box up, "do you happen to know why the Emperor's officials are all hanging around the school?"

Jeanne's expression didn't change, but Harry fancied she tightened her hold slightly on the box.

"I can't say, Harry," she said, giving a small shrug, and returning his gaze calmly, "You would have to ask Lady Wen-Li; she's the one who's allowed them into the school."

She smiled, then turned and left.

Harry went into the common room with Ron, thinking.

"What's up, Harry?" asked Ron curiously. "Why'd you ask her that?"

Shan was sitting in a corner of the room doing her homework, with Robert and Hermione next to her, discussing books. Hermione had discovered that the one way to draw Robert out of his customary silence was to talk to him about schoolwork or about books, and she had struck up a sort of friendship with him, since the time he had erased the ink from her essays.

Harry looked at them. He didn't want to tell everyone about Liu Pei's scroll - he hated to admit it, but he didn't really care for Pixie to know - but he didn't mind telling Shan and Robert. If the scroll turned out to be important he would definitely have to tell one of the Tian-Long students anyway, because the scroll was in Chinese, and there was no way he or Ron or Hermione were going to be able to figure out what was on it.

"What did Jeanne want, Harry?" asked Hermione, who had seen Jeanne through the door.

Ron, for some reason, looked displeased that she was discussing books with Robert, but said nothing as he and Harry sat down next to them.

"She's going back to Hogwarts a bit earlier," said Harry. "Lady Wen-Li borrowed some scrolls for Professor Sinistra from the Imperial Archives, and Dumbledore wants them in Hogwarts as soon as possible."

He looked at Ron, who was still looking quizzically at him.

"The night I let Yang-Kang out from under the bell," he said to Ron, "I saw a scroll in Liu Pei's office, on his desk. It had the Imperial Seal on it."

The others were also listening.

"The scroll had a star chart on it," Harry went on. "And those scrolls Jeanne is bringing back must have something to do with astronomy, they're for Professor Sinistra. I was just wondering if there's any connection."

Ron shrugged. "Well, what if there is?"

"There's more," said Harry. "After Yang-Kang left, I was at the end of the corridor outside the office, looking out of the window. When I turned around, I saw someone leaving through a door at the other end of the corridor, and after that when I went to look for the scroll again, it was gone."

They stared at him.

"Someone stole an Imperial scroll?" said Shan. "Did you see who it was?"

The words "Dementor" and "Deorg" came into Harry's mind, but he dismissed both of them as ridiculous.

"It was dark," he said. "I only know that the person was tall, and hooded, and robed in black."

The others looked intrigued.

"What's in your mind, Harry?" said Hermione. "D'you think one of the scrolls Jeanne is bringing back is Liu Pei's scroll?"

"I'm not sure," said Harry. "But those envoys…they've been hanging around for days. They've been snooping all around the palace and the grounds, as if they're looking for something."

Shan glanced at Robert, then looked at Harry.

"Harry," she said, "are you saying that those scrolls were the articles stolen from the Imperial Archives?"

"I don't know," admitted Harry. "I mean, I definitely don't think Lady Wen-Li could have stolen them, of course. But something odd is going on."

The rest were looking excited now.

"This is interesting," said Shan, always glad of an excuse to look for an adventure, "It's good that we're going to Hogwarts. Since the scrolls will be there, we can try peeking at them if we have a chance."

Hermione frowned at this idea, obviously thinking it would be a violation of rules.

Ron was looking doubtful.

"It isn't likely that the scrolls were stolen," he said. "If they were, the thief wouldn't let them get out of his hands."

"Maybe the thief's trying to get them out of the country, since the Emperor's men are all hot on his heels," said Shan, stubbornly. "The thief must have influenced Lady Wen-Li not to allow any of the visitors to stay in the palace, so that they can't get near the scrolls. That's why they're all camping in the grounds."

"All of you aren't thinking clearly," announced Hermione, "Professor Sinistra specifically requested those scrolls; they can't have been stolen."

"Maybe Liu Pei's scroll was the article that was stolen," suggested Shan, "and the thief has slipped it in among the other scrolls."

Robert had been remaining silent, as usual, but he now looked at Harry.

"You said you looked at Liu Pei's scroll, Harry," he said, "What was on it?"

"Well…" Harry hesitated, trying to remember, "Besides the star chart, there were a lot of Chinese words; but it was so old and dirty, it was hard to make out anything. I couldn't recognise any of the constellations."

"You wouldn't be able to," said Robert. "The ancient Chinese astronomers had a different way of mapping the sky from those in the west."

"Really?" said Hermione, "How interesting! I'd love to - "

But at this moment, Pixie came over to join them. Harry didn't have the heart to tell Ron to keep Liu Pei's scroll a secret from her, but to his relief, when Ron started telling her about it, she didn't seem interested at all. She started chattering about some other matter instead, until Ron finally gave up.

They were to leave after lunch. Lady Wen-Li had arranged for the stone pillar Portkey to be placed just outside the entrance of Green Dragon Pagoda, and once they had finished lunch - they had taken it in the Hall of Dragons, since it was their last day - they left through the main entrance of the Hall, and started off toward the Pagoda.

Harry fell behind a bit, because two first-years stopped him for an autograph. He obliged them cheerfully enough, since he was leaving anyway, then hurried to catch up with the others. He was passing one of the classrooms when he suddenly heard a familiar chirping noise.

Harry turned around sharply. The sound was coming from a group of students, standing near the door of the classroom. He knew that sound; he had been listening to it almost every night, for several weeks.

He went up to the group, tugging at the Translator to make sure it was around his neck.

"It's a very good specimen, Yin-Ling, I can vouch for it."

"One gold piece is too much. Anyway, how can I take your word? I've got to see it in action first."

Mui Sing, Fatty's friend from White Tiger, was standing there, talking animatedly to a girl from Crimson Phoenix. Two other girls were standing by, watching. Mui-Sing was holding a little bamboo cage, with her cricket Mu-Lan inside. Or was it Mu-Lan?

"It's too noisy," added the Crimson Phoenix girl, looking at the cage. "Listen to it! Lai-Fong tells me it has been keeping all the White Tiger students up every night with its chirping."

The cricket chirped again. Harry, too excited to listen any more, hurried forward.

"I'll buy that cricket!" he said, feeling around in his pocket. "How much are you asking for it?"

The girls turned to look at him, surprised. Mui Sing looked startled, and then a cunning expression came over her face.

"Three gold pieces," she lied.

"What?" said Yin-Ling in Chinese, her eyes widening, "You only asked me for one gold piece, just now!"

Harry, however, was in no mood to bargain. He took out three gold pieces and gave them to Mui Sing, who began to look sorry she hadn't asked for five.

Harry took the bamboo cage from her, and then, clutching it tightly, dashed excitedly after the others. He reached the top of the stairs leading to the entranceway, and saw them just about to leave the palace.

"Chee Chong!" he shouted. "Hi, Chee Chong, wait up! Chester's alive!"

The group at the door turned to look at him. Harry sprinted down the stairs, waving the bamboo cage in excitement.

"It's Chester!" he panted, stopping in front of them. "Mui Sing had him all the time. That wasn't Chester Yu-Lin killed, Chee Chong - it was Mu-Lan!"

Chee Chong, his eyes wide, had come forward, and was staring at the cricket as if he was afraid to believe his eyes. The cricket looked perkily back at him, its antennae waving slightly, and then let out a couple of quizzical chirps.

"That's Chester, all right!" exclaimed Fatty, in a strangled voice. "I'd recognise that chirping anywhere!"

Chee Chong took the cage, his hands shaking slightly. The rest all stood around watching him, and grinning.

"Chester!" he said, as he slid the door open, and Chester came crawling out, his antennae waving enthusiastically. He hopped onto Chee Chong's shoulder, and sat there, looking pleased; he gave off a few happy chirps.

Chee Chong's face was very red.

"Thank you, Hally," he said, getting his English mixed up in the emotion of the moment.

Harry just grinned, and felt extremely pleased with himself. Fatty looked at him.

"I know she's been trying to sell her cricket," he said, obviously referring to Mui Sing. "How much did you pay her for it?"

Harry told him. Fatty looked outraged.

"That's daylight robbery!" he said, scowling. "Let me talk to her. This won't do… she can't - "

"Drop it, Fatt," said Shan, in an undertone. "Look at Chee Chong's face; those three gold pieces were worth it."

Lady Wen-Li and Lady Han-Yin were now coming down the stairs from the Hall of Dragons, to see them off, so they all turned and went out of the palace, and made their way to the Pagoda, where the Portkey was.

Harry, Ron and Hermione gathered round the pillar, and turned to have a last look at the school. The green House dragon was perched over the entrance of the Pagoda as usual, watching them. The five House Pagodas rose high up into the blue sky, and the golden roofs of the palace were shining in the afternoon sun, against a backdrop of mountains. The bamboo grove could be seen in the distance, and behind that, the Caverns were just visible.

Hermione gave a small sigh.

"Time really flew, didn't it?" she said. "I lost track of it, because they've been following the Lunar calendar here."

Lady Wen-Li and Lady Han-Yin were smiling, and nodded at them. Shan, with LeafSong peeking out of her pocket, grinned and said, "See you at Hogwarts tomorrow evening."

Robert, next to her, just gave them his usual quiet smile. Chee Chong and Fatty were waving and smiling, the latter's eyes disappearing into two small slits, and the former with Chester on his head, who seemed to be waggling his antennae at them in farewell too. Pixie was squealing tearfully, "See you soon!" She looked as if she wanted to kiss Ron good-bye, but with Lady Wen-Li and Lady Han-Yin there, didn't dare to.

Harry, Ron and Hermione grinned and nodded at all of them, and then they placed their hands on the Portkey. Harry felt that familiar jerking feeling behind his navel, and then they were leaving China, speeding back to Hogwarts in a howl of wind and swirling colour.

 

END OF PART ONE