Written for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry forum: Astronomy Class, Assignment #3
Word count: 421
Norberta, mistakenly named Norbert by her lovely yet clueless owner Rubeus Hagrid, was depressed. If dragons get depressed.
She was sure she was so sad because she missed Hagrid. Charlie Weasley, the red-head who had taken her from the Astronomy Tower, was a lovely soul. He clearly understood dragons and they had established a bond. But Charlie wasn't Hagrid.
Norberta sighed and cast her large eyes down into the depths of the river. She sighed and wished, for the thousandth time, she could see Hagrid again.
Her ears perked up when she heard Charlie talking about the Tri-Wizard Tournament taking place this year. The first task would be dragons. Eager to listen, Norberta crept forward, but was disappointed when the gossipers moved away.
Huddling down in her cage again, Norberta tried to go to sleep.
She dreamed in colours and roughly sketched images. She saw Hagrid clearly and faintly remembered three very small people. Hagrid had called them children. Of course, to Norberta, Hagrid was a normal-sized person, as giants and dragons are relatively close in size. Dragons are about one and a half times the size of giants, unless the giant is very large or the dragon is very small. Like Norberta used to be.
Dreaming of happy memories, Norberta elicited a kitten-like purr.
And then the nightmares took over.
Hagrid was taken prisoner. He was thrown into a cold jail cell and left to rot.
Norberta was subdued and brought far away from Hagrid. Not even the three small children could help her.
Charlie was a tormented man. He had become evil and he was laughing at her. All of this was her fault, because she missed Hagrid, Charlie said. It was all her fault that he had to burn her wings and torture her, causing immeasurable pain.
Norberta cried out in her sleep, scratching the ground with her rough claws.
In the morning when she woke, Norberta reassured herself that Charlie was a good man. It was all a dream, an imaginative, hurtful dream.
She looked up at the skies and wished she could go back to Hagrid and Hogwarts. To go back home, where she belonged.
Sadness drawn over her like a veil, Norberta stiffly got up, shook out her back legs and wandered through the dragon reservation in an attempt to cheer herself up. Needless to say, the limited open space did nothing but depress her further. No children, no Hagrid, no Fang.
Norberta laid down by the river and wept.