A/N : Written for the Houses Competition year 3
House : Ravenclaw
Year : 2
Prompt : [Event] Hogwarts is attacked by Dragons
Category : Short
Word Count : 1785
This is definitely an AU as the events never happened in the original story. I do not own any part of the HP universe and make no money from this story.
Dragons are Awesome!
The snow fell on the quiet landscape around the castle. Coating the grounds and buildings in a soft, white blanket. Everything was eerily quiet; even the birds felt that something was about to happen.
The residents of the castle were engrossed in their studies. Witches and wizards studying different subjects of magic attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They were all preparing for the end of term exams before the Christmas holiday and paid no mind to the snow blanketing the castle and grounds, or to the Black Lake being frozen. No one realized the chaos that would soon break out and interrupt their day.
Far to the east, a man wrestled with the chains holding the enormous Norwegian Ridgeback. The big dragon had dark green scales and was straining to be let loose from the chain around her neck. She wanted to be free to fly as she pleased. The man's muscles strained as he tugged on the chain holding the dragon in place and he yelled for assistance from the other dragon handlers. Little did he know, the other handlers were having their own problems holding on to other dragons at the reserve.
For some reason unknown to the dragon handlers at the Dragon Reserve, the dragons were on a mission to get free. All the dragons were struggling to break their chains and fly away. The Norwegian Ridgeback seemed to be the leader. She was almost free - one more sharp pull of her long neck and her chain would snap. She yanked her head hard in the direction opposite of the handler and heard the loud SNAP that she was longing to hear.
The handler yelled a warning to everyone on the reserve and began firing spells at the dragon who had just gotten loose. The other handlers abandoned their fight with the other dragons and joined him in trying to bring the dragon down before she flew off to some unknown destination and caused tons of destruction in her path.
The other dragons saw that the Norwegian Ridgeback was free. This gave them a new resolve to yank their own chains free and fly with her. Before long the Norwegian Ridgeback was joined by more of her kind as well as Chinese Fireball dragons and Hungarian Horntail dragons. Common Welsh dragons soon followed.
The sky darkened with the enormous dragons taking flight and abandoning their prison.
At Hogwarts, the students were concentrating on their studies while the quiet outside became even more eerie. Professor Dumbledore rose from his desk and stepped to the window. He felt that something wasn't right. "Hmmm… It's too quiet out there," he said to the portraits of Headmasters in the room.
"The air feels odd," stated a portly man from his portrait about halfway down the wall.
"Yes, indeed it does," Dumbledore replied.
The door to his office opened and two professors stepped into the room. A stern-looking woman with a green, conical hat on spoke, "Albus, something is amiss."
Albus Dumbledore turned to her, "And what would that be, Minerva?"
Minerva McGonagall stepped to the window that Albus had just vacated. "I'm not sure. It just feels like something is going to happen. Something horrific."
Dumbledore sighed, "Yes, I feel it too. I just don't know what to do about it."
The other professor cleared his throat, "If I may, I would suggest fortifying the wards on the castle to protect the students and professors, just in case."
Albus nodded slowly, "Yes, that would be the best course for now. Until we know, we can't do much else. Will you see to the Severus?"
Severus Snape sneered, "Of course. I will get the other professors and we will be on the task at once."
The sky was bright as the students broke their studies for lunch. The Great Hall filled with voices as the students made their way to their house tables and began eating. The castle kept them warm and shielded from the snow falling outside.
Suddenly, a strange sound began. It sounded like the flapping of wings, but they couldn't be sure. Charlie Weasley looked over at his brother Bill quizzically. Bill shrugged his shoulders and looked up at the ceiling, as that's where the sound seemed to be coming from.
A hush fell over the Great Hall as the sound became louder. The headmaster and professor stood and held their wands at the ready to take on whatever was coming.
A roar sounded outside. "Dragons!" Charlie shouted, causing the other students to begin screaming and clamoring to get out of the castle.
"Silence!" Dumbledore roared to the students. Everyone immediately quieted and listened. "Remain where you are. You are perfectly safe here."
Charlie's eyes were bright with excitement. "I gotta see this," he said to his brother.
The professors headed outside, leaving Professor Sprout in charge of keeping the children inside. Just as they made it to the door, another roar sounded and a whoosh of fire scorched the earth, melting the snow. The flames diminished as the melting snow extinguished them.
Professor Dumbledore opened the outer doors and led the way outside. Several students followed, disregarding the orders to stay put. Charlie Weasley was the first one behind the professors. He loved dragons and was hoping he could get a glimpse of them in action.
"A Norwegian Ridgeback," he whispered as he saw the lead dragon begin a steep dive towards the castle. "Why are they attacking Hogwarts?" he wondered aloud as the dragon reared back and blasted the castle with a flame. Parts of the castle began falling after being hit with the fire from the dragon. Charlie watched in awe at the amazing beasts flying through the air.
"Mr. Weasley, get back!" bellowed Snape with a sneer as he shot a spell at the dragon.
The dragons, there were dozens of them, flew around the castle, each one blasting the building from all angles with many colored flames.
"What do we do, Albus?" McGonagall asked, firing a spell at a Welsh Green.
Dumbledore looked around, thinking. He had no experience dealing with dragons, so he really had no clue what to do. All he could think of was keeping the students safe. Why these dragons were attacking the castle, he didn't know. They should be at the reserve chained up.
Charlie ventured out further onto the grounds, despite the shouts of the professors. "I think I know what to do," he stated. "Accio broom," he called out, pointing his wand off to the side. After a few moments, an old broomstick sailed into his hand. He mounted it and took off into the air.
The dragons continued to dive at the castle and shoot flames, trying to destroy it. Charlie studied them for a few moments, hovering nearby, deciding what to do.
After several moments, the Norwegian Ridgeback noticed him sitting there on his broom and seemed to be perplexed. How was this human flying? She stopped her steep dive at the castle and turned to face him. Charlie stayed still, his eyes trained on the dragon slowly flying toward him.
She stopped a few feet from Charlie and stared at him. Charlie raised both his hands in the air in front of him. "I don't want to hurt you," he said. "I want to help. Why are you attacking Hogwarts? It's just a bunch of kids taking classes to learn about magic. Did we do something to you?" To be honest, Charlie felt a little silly talking to a dragon, but something told him that this was the best course of action.
The other dragons were still shooting flames at the castle around them as they hovered face to face, just staring at each other.
The Norwegian Ridgeback shook her head. 'This human can't possibly understand. We dragons have been held captive for hundreds of years. All we want is to fly free. We don't want to hurt anyone, but the humans hurt us. We don't want to be imprisoned on a reserve. We like humans, but they only want to hurt us and keep us from being dragons.'
Charlie inhaled sharply. Did he really just hear this dragon's thoughts? That was impossible. "What if I came up with a reserve that you could fly free on and not be chained up? Would you remain there?"
The dragon stared at him and snorted, 'You understood me? How is that possible? You are but a child.'
Charlie shrugged, "I really don't know. This is strange for me too. I've never talked with a dragon before. Although, you do fascinate me beyond measure."
The dragon turned her head to look over at the castle. By some silent signal, she let the other dragons know to stop attacking the castle. 'If you can understand me, then maybe there are other humans who can as well. If you develop a reserve for us that will allow us to roam free and not be chained, we will stay there and make our homes,' she promised.
"I promise to devote myself to making the dragon reserve a place that you can make a home and raise your young. I will make it a place where you can live in peace and harmony with each other and with humans," Charlie vowed. He wasn't sure if it was possible, but he would make it his life's mission. Dragons were amazing beasts and only wanted to make a home for themselves. "What's your name?" he asked.
The Norwegian Ridgeback looked over at him, 'My name? No one has ever asked my name before. I am Tatiana,' she answered.
"Hello, Tatiana. My name is Charlie. It is very nice to meet you," the young wizard said.
'Thank you, Charlie, for listening to me. I do hope we see you soon at the reserve.' Tatiana then led her dragon family away from the castle.
The professor stood on the grounds, flabbergasted at what they had just witnessed. Charlie landed in front of them and was quickly bombarded with questions from the other students who had ventured out.
"They only want a home and not to be chained up somewhere. They want to be able to fly free. I am going to create a reserve for them to have what they want. Dragons shouldn't be chained up and not allowed to be dragons," Charlie told them all. He looked over the crowd and found his brother's eyes. Bill smiled at him and gave him a thumbs-up to show that he was proud of how Charlie handled himself with the dragons.
Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Everyone back inside while the professors and I repair the damage to the castle."