sigh of relief. ‘I can’t remember the last time I had a proper sleep. Ugh...’ The blacksmith grumbled, though he didn’t seem to be suffering quite as much as he made out. ‘By the way, Darius has it too easy. Peace and quiet and paperwork.’ He shook his head, pretending to ponder something. ‘I must shatter that peace and pay him an unannounced visit.’
‘That might be difficult.’ Draco made an apologetic face. ‘This morning Master was summoned to the Palace, and later he left on the orders of the Marshal and the Grand Master.’
‘It seems I’m not the only one with problems, then.’ The blacksmith took a deep breath. ‘What’s put off isn’t lost.’ He shrugged his massive shoulders. ‘Come in, Draco.’ The man set off down the corridor, and the elf and the dragon had to make an effort to catch up with him. ‘Unfortunately, it’s just us; everyone else is running errands in town,’ Matheo continued. ‘Fiora would be pleased you’ve come. She’s been saying lately that because of your exam preparations, you’re always busy and can’t even spare a word for her.’
‘I'll have to apologise to her,’ the dragon muttered. He knew he’d been thinking constantly about the exams fast approaching, but he hadn’t realised it was that obvious. The only moments when he felt at peace were during training, so perhaps he really was worrying too much. Now, once again, he couldn’t shake the intrusive thoughts circling around his test results and couldn’t settle down.
‘Don’t worry, we both know how important it was to you.’ The blacksmith patted the boy on the back sympathetically. Draco nearly toppled over.
‘We all know,’ added James. ‘Though I must admit, your muttering of spells under your breath was a bit worrying.’
The dragon shot his friend a reproachful look, but seeing the expression on his face, he almost burst out laughing.
‘I admit, I might have gone a bit over the top.’ Draco had nothing to say in his defence; he had to give in and admit his mistakes. 'Master kept telling me I knew
