for an eleven-year-old, a summer with no friends or adventure seemed to stretch into an eternity. Harry exhaled and wiped the sweat from his brow; he was working in the garden while his cousin and friends screamed with glee in the house. It was safe to assume that they would soon grow bored of whatever was amusing them at the moment and come to torture him for some fun.

He sighed and behind closed eyes could clearly see an alternate world in which he could spend the day in the park with no care in the world, climbing over the slides from the wrong side, swinging as high as he could, jumping in all the puddles, and feeling like he was the king ruling over his kingdom. In a moment, his mind was made up to do just that. The picture was too inviting.

It was a rare opportunity where his uncle wasn't home and his aunt was busy taking a long bath with specific instructions to not disturb her, and at the chance of being grounded later for his disappearance, he decided to head to the nearby park instead of sitting and anxiously awaiting his fate at the hands of Dudley and his gang.

He was sweaty and his hand-me-down clothes were covered in dirt, but no one was out on this hot summer day to goggle at a messy looking boy heading to the park on his own. Harry wouldn't have normally abandoned his daily chores to risk being seen in this state by the neighbours, not wishing to anger his relatives anymore than his existence seemed to already do, but there was this urge to visit the park that he gave into as it was inexplicable.

Sitting on the swing which felt hot under the unrelenting sun, he looked around his empty surroundings. It was a slightly disappointing kingdom at the moment, and his skin was already burning from the contact with the hot metal. He was adamant to make something of this adventure however; he wasn't about to get grounded without even managing to have some fun. He'd rely solely on his imagination, he told himself, as he tried to bear the heat of the metal underneath him.

He tilted his head to the side; there was a faint piano tune that must have been coming from one of the nearby houses. As he looked at them quizzically, it seemed to grow louder. It was a fast and powerful piece, and Harry felt enchanted. He jumped when it grew loud enough that it seemed it was coming from right behind him, and turned for inspection. He had to blink a few times to make sure what he was seeing was really there and not a trick of the light, or his imagination.

There was a lazy blue pool of vertical water a foot away from him. The material wasn't exactly like water, it was more dense and jelly-like, and it wasn't in any way transparent. Ripples were going through it every few seconds, from the center to the edges, and the entire thing was no bigger than Harry himself, who stood there with his mouth open.

He looked around again, but there was still no one else present to share his amazement. He raised a tentative hand towards the alien thing, the melody of the piano still surrounding him, and gasped as his hand passed through the material as if it was a doorway. Before he could rationally think about it, his curiosity overcame him and he stepped through to the unknown.

His heart was beating with the excitement of the sudden adventure that had appeared before him, and half convinced of it entirely being a dream, he stared at the trees that now surrounded him. The cool air that had replaced the heat felt refreshing, and he didn't hesitate to take a few steps forward in wonder. It felt like a different world. He'd never felt such a crisp air; he'd never seen such green trees.

He looked up as a strong wind blew past him; some sort of creature with large wings had passed over him. It was gone before Harry could have a good look, and he followed in suit, a strange suspicion swirling in his stomach. The trees around him gave sufficient way for him to move around comfortably, and the undergrowth wasn't too wild, so he could keep up a quick jog without worrying about tripping. Although he was jogging after the mysterious creature, he was still appreciating his surroundings while keeping an eye on the sky overhead.

Everything was a burst of colour, as if the clean air brought them into focus. There was a clarity that the sudden change of air was bringing him, and Harry was instantaneously sure that this could not be a dream. It felt as real as he had ever felt. He slowed in his tracks when he heard inhuman sounds coming from further ahead. For the first time, his excitement gave way to some worry. He looked back at the way he had come. Could he find his way back home? Had he gotten lost? What if these creatures that he was trying to find were dangerous predators?

Once again, his curiosity overcame him and he pushed away his fears, stepping forward to peek around the tree. He gasped at what he saw there, quickly clapping a hand over his mouth to stop it from being heard. He did indeed have a name for these creatures: Dragons. Another one flew over him and this time Harry looked up in time to see its huge size, sharp talons, pointed wings, and hard scales. It was a magnificent silver dragon, and with each flap of its wings, the trees underneath it swayed around in the wind that was created. As it disappeared from his view, Harry turned his attention back to the dragons that were on the other side of his tree.

They were also exclusively silver, but they were much smaller than the one that had flown overhead. Although they were still larger than Harry, they were evidently still children. They were wobbling around on their short feet, trying to bite each other playfully, or flapping their wings, trying to take off. Some of them had puffs of smoke coming out of their mouths; Harry supposed they were trying to breathe fire. At this revelation, he felt the fear truly grip him. This wasn't his world. He needed to get back, or he would surely get eaten alive.

Before he could step back, one of the dragons locked it's green eyes with his. Harry stumbled backwards, hoping that he'd been mistaken. However, a set of footsteps were coming in his direction with their thumping sounds. He froze in place, in complete panic mode, not knowing whether to turn his back on the dragon and run, climb a tree, or find something to use as a weapon. He was still rooted to the spot when the dragon peeked around the tree, his eyes filled with intelligence and curiosity.

'Hello,' a voice sounded in Harry's head, making him shiver with fear. 'Who are you?'

"H-Harry," he whispered, terrified to the bone. "Please don't eat me."

'Eat you?' The voice said in his head. 'Why would I eat you?'

Harry swallowed as the dragon tilted his head in confusion.

"I don't know," he whispered. "Don't dragons eat people?"

The dragon looked at him with amusement.

'I don't know of any such dragons,' the voice reassured him in his mind. 'We treasure Travellers. I have always heard of Travellers, but the last one came to our world before I was born, more than eleven years ago.'

"You're eleven?" Asked Harry in a hushed voice, unable to stop himself. "I'm eleven!"

'Really?' Asked the dragon, looking as excited as him. 'Maybe you came through to be my friend!'

"Wait, you mean other people have 'come through'?" Asked Harry, still keeping his voice down.

'Yeah,' the voice in his head replied. 'Travellers come through to our world occasionally. The tribe believes that they come because we need their help, so they are always treated with respect. Don't worry, no one's going to eat you.'

"I don't think anyone needs my help," said Harry, frowning, "Unless you need gardening or something, in which case I'm out of my depth; I only know how to deal with small plants and weeds, not anything like a whole jungle."

The dragon looked at him with amusement.

'We don't need any gardening,' the voice in his head informed him. 'I'm Draco, by the way. I'm so glad that I found you first, I doubt they would let us kids meet someone as important as a Traveller. Say, how did you get here anyway?'

"Through some sort of portal, I think," said Harry, not so worried about keeping his voice down anymore. "How are you speaking in my head? Can I reply the same way?"

'I don't know. This is how we communicate,' said Draco in his head, clearly more interested in asking his own questions than answering Harry's. 'Can you show me the portal?'

"Okay," said Harry reluctantly. Now that he knew he wasn't in a fatal situation, the concept of going back to his own world seemed so… dull. Not to mention what awaited him on the other side was Dudley's gang and a scolding coming from his aunt for abandoning his chores to wander off. "You won't make me go back, right?"

'Not if you don't want to go back,' said Draco's voice happily. 'Let's go. Do you remember which direction you came from?'

"Just a straight line in that direction, I think," said Harry, pointing behind him.

He watched in amusement as the dragon puffed its chest in importance and took the lead. He was still wary of the large size of the dragon, but it was hard to mistrust the innocent tone he'd heard in his head. The voice in his head did sound like any other eleven-year-old boy. Although in a dragon form, Draco, like him, was anxious to have a new friend and go on an important adventure.

"Won't your friends wonder where you went off to?" He asked, still a little worried at meeting any other dragons who might not turn out to be as nice as Draco.

'There's nothing to do on this island but go exploring,' Draco's voice said in his head. 'We wander off all the time. It's no big deal. We come back with exciting stories to share. Of course, mine are always true.'

"Of course," said Harry with a small smile. To think that there had been this parallel world here all along, with dragons instead of humans, made his head spin.

Once they had walked long enough that Harry was sure they should have passed where the portal was ages ago, he finally voiced his suspicions.

"Do you think the portal might have closed?" He asked, jogging to catch up with Draco who was still in the lead.

'I suppose that would make sense,' said Draco, stopping beside him. 'Otherwise Travellers would come through all the time.'

"Or dragons would come to our world," said Harry, looking down. Although he hadn't wanted to go back, it was the only home he'd ever known. He felt an incredible sense of loneliness go through him. "I'm staying here until it reappears."

'That's a good idea,' said Draco. 'We can camp here, and be on the portal watch. It will surely appear again, and then you can go back. Wait, I thought you didn't want to go back.'

"I didn't," said Harry, not wanting to admit to being scared and homesick already. "I don't. But let's do this portal watch. It sounds like fun. And it'll be a good story to tell your friends later. Come to think of it, how do the Travellers usually go back to their world? Are you saying that they stay in this world for the rest of their lives?"

'No, no,' said Draco's voice. 'I told you, I've never met a Traveller before. The last one came through eleven years ago, or maybe went back eleven years ago, I'm not too sure.'

"Well is there any way to find out?" Asked Harry impatiently. "As fun of an adventure this is, I'd like to know that I could go back to my own world some time."

'I could ask an elder about it,' said Draco doubtfully. 'They usually don't like being bothered by us, but it's our only chance. I'll help you set up camp here and go find someone to ask.'

"Okay. That sounds good," said Harry, nodding. "Sorry for troubling you."

'It's no problem,' said Draco's voice gleefully. 'I will have the most amazing adventure story to tell the others after this.'

Harry helped Draco gather tall branches and they haphazardly made a shelter for him by aligning them this way and that. It didn't look very safe or stable, but they did have fun building it. By the end of it, Harry's stomach was growling in hunger.

'Hungry?' Asked Draco, sounding tired but still excited. 'Wait here. I'll get you something right away.'

Harry gulped and sat down as Draco wobbled away. It felt like more than half an hour before Draco came back, and Harry was dozing off by then. The cool air, the shade provided by the shelter, and the exhaustion of his mental and physical state had united to put him in a relaxed and happy mood. He was woken by the strong scent of seafood and looked in shock as Draco came towards him with dead fish in his open mouth.

'I caught you some fish,' his voice informed him. 'There's a river not too far from here.'

"Thanks," said Harry uncertainly, looking at the saliva-covered fish. They didn't look too appetizing.

Draco dumped them on the grass some distance away from the shelter and told Harry to stay back. He opened his mouth, staring at the fish in concentration, and Harry watched in amazement as a stream of fire blew out of Draco's mouth. It wasn't controlled or timed right and the fish were scorched in a matter of seconds, the scent of burned meat filling the air. Draco looked at Harry with pride and satisfaction.

"I think you burned it," pointed out Harry.

'That's how we eat it,' said Draco, confused. 'Sorry. I'll go get more fish and try again.'

"No, that's alright," said Harry, feeling guilty. Here was this strange dragon, trying to help him build shelter and find food to eat, and he was being rude and ungrateful. "I'll eat it."

He moved towards the fish which were still giving off immense heat.

"When it cools down a little," he amended.

'Any luck with the portal?' Asked Draco, excited once more.

"Didn't see anything," said Harry. "But I'll be on diligent watch while you go ask someone about Travellers going back to their own world."

'Right,' said Draco, looking put out. 'I'll go do that, then.'

"Thanks," Harry called after him as Draco wobbled away.

Once again, he wondered if this was all a dream. It was too absurd to be reality, and yet, somehow it was.