Upon entering the changing room, Draco quickly scanned the stone-walled room. The long, windowless room was divided into sections by six large metal lockers, which looked as though they were intended for storing armour and other equipment needed for training exercises. A small bench was attached to the wall beside each one to make it easier to put on certain pieces of armour. Above the seats hung dwarven lamps casting a steady, slightly yellowish light. On the wall opposite the entrance, practically right up against the ceiling, were air vents providing ventilation for the room.
The dragon flinched when something moved within his field of vision and instinctively caught it. In his hand, he felt a cold key with some sort of keyring attached. He looked in the direction from which the object had come. Parthir nodded at him and pointed to the locker at the far end of the room.
‘The one on the left is yours.’ The rough voice didn’t quite match the boy’s appearance.
‘Thanks.’ The reptile smiled sincerely, but parthir had already turned towards his locker and started taking off his uniform. He went about his business, just like the others.
Cedric walked over to the first locker to the right of the door; opposite him, a troll from their class was listlessly getting ready, and right next to him stood an elf with earrings in his ears. The dragon stifled a sigh of frustration, realising there was no point in hoping his team-mates would be talkative. Although the fact that, apart from Cedric, none of them had introduced themselves did border on the absurd.
‘Don’t dawdle; we’re not going to wait around for you,’ grumbled the young Retfield, seeing the reptile’s sluggishness.
Draco shot the Scion’s brother a brief and somewhat unfriendly glance, but nevertheless set off. On the way, he glanced at the key he was still holding, though the tag attached to it, bearing the inscription:
D. Ignis
III-2/45-5
It seemed the place had been assigned to him beforehand, and the decision to place him in this particular team hadn’t been made on the
