Dragons on the Isle of Skye I

If you are a Muggle, you would probably believe that the sound coming from above the clouds was the rumbling of nothing more than a small aircraft. If you are a wizard however, you could see that it was, in fact, a flying motorbike, followed by a large group of students on broomsticks soaring through the sky.

Hagrid raised his pink umbrella above his head and shot a green spark through the air.

'That's the sign!' Harry yelled over to Ron. 'Time to make our way down!'

Hermione, who was holding onto her broomstick for dear life, squeaked in delight. 'Finally! I thought we'd never make it.'

The group followed Hagrid as he started to descend. Beneath the clouds, they could see the Sound of Raasay flowing over into Loch Portree.

'There it is, I think,' Ron called out, and pointed to the West. 'That's got to be Portree.'

Hagrid's motorbike touched down in a secluded area of the city, followed closely by his group of students. 'Tap yer broomsticks with yer wands, and shrink 'em so they can fit in yer pockets,' he said. 'Don't want any Muggles seeing us carrying broomsticks now, do we.'

With a gentle tap of his umbrella, Hagrid's motorbike shrunk to the size of a football and shoved it into his pocket. 'We'll be staying at the Portree Hotel. It's a short walk that way over there,' he said with a nod to the left. 'Follow me.'

The students shrunk their broomsticks and followed Hagrid's massive footsteps into town. 'This is such a lovely place,' said Hermione. 'There's so much history on this island, and magic, too.'

Ron shrugged. 'I'm just here because I want to see the Pride of Portree play against the Montrose Magpies. Who cares about some old buildings?'

'You've got absolutely no sense of culture, Ronald!' said Hermione, and slapped him against his shoulder. 'This island's got so much more to offer than just some famous quidditch team.'

'Who cares about quidditch when we're going to hunt dragons!' said Seamus. 'I mean, the quidditch match will be great but...dragons!'

'Can't wait to catch a glimpse o' a Hebridean Black,' said Hagrid excitedly. 'It's said they're much more vicious than the Common Welsh Green.'

'Just what we needed!' said Draco dramatically. 'Searching for dragons that are even more dangerous than the one you tried to raise.'

Hagrid stopped walking and shot Draco an angry glare. 'No one forced ye te come on this trip, Malfoy. Either try te behave or ye'll have te stay at the hotel until the trip's over.'

Draco raised his hands in the air and walked back to the end of the line, but it didn't keep him from muttering something about danger and Hogwarts going to the dogs.

'Don't listen to him, Hagrid,' said Harry in an attempt to sound reassuring. 'I think you organised an incredible school trip for us.'

'Thank you, Harry,' said Hagrid with a bearded smile. 'I think we found the hotel.'

The name "Portree Hotel" was written in large golden letters above the entrance, and below it was a sign that read "Antlers Bar & Grill". It was located on the corner of the street, and a warm glow was welcoming them from the inside.

'I rented two large rooms with bunk beds in 'em,' said Hagrid as he ushered the group of students inside. 'One for the boys te share, and one for the girls.'

'Feasgar math!' said a lady behind a counter and recoiled a bit at the sight of Hagrid's enormous physique.

'Faesgar math,' Hagrid repeated. 'A bheil Beurla agaibh? My students, you know; they don't speak Gàidhlig.'

The lady was clearly relieved that Hagrid didn't sound as brutal as his presence made him appear. 'No problem,' she said. 'Just write down their names and I'll give ye the keys.'

Hagrid took a moment to write down all of their names and received three keys from the hotel manager. 'Hermione, I'll give ye the key to the girls room, and mister Finch-Fletchley, you'll get the one for the boys room. I know I can trust ye both to take good care o' it.'

Hermione and Justin obliged, and took the keys from Hagrid's hands. 'I want to see all of ye down here in an hour for dinner. After that we'll go out for the...ye now...match.'

Within the next hour, the group had split up and left their belongings inside their designated hotel rooms. They had been warned to dress warmly for the evening, as the autumn weather, combined with the harsh wind rolling in from the sea, was bound to chill them on the quidditch pitch.

'What do you think, Harry, who'll win?' asked Ron as he royally started piling up jacket potatoes onto his plate. 'My bet is on the Montrose Magpies.'

'I honestly don't know,' said Harry with a shrug. 'Since we're in Portree it only seems fair I'll be cheering for their team.'

'The Montrose Magpies are the most successful team in the British and Irish Quidditch League, though,' said Hermione as she waved around with her copy of Quidditch Through the Ages. 'In here it says they've won the League Cup thirty-two times, and the European cup twice.'

'That is impressive,' said Ron with a nod. 'But the Prides have one incredible keeper, Meaghan McCormack, not to mention they've also got Dougal McBride. He likes to play it dirty.'

'McBride is the seeker, right?' asked Harry. 'It would be neat to observe his tactics and see if I can apply some to my own game.'

'I just want to look at McCormack,' said Ron with a grin. 'From what I've heard, she's quite the catch.'

'Got some good news,' said Hagrid as he joined them at the table. 'We got a clear sky tonight.'

'Does that mean we can see the players better out on the field?' asked Hermione with a raised eyebrow.

'Not only that,' said Hagrid, 'but it also means we might get te see the northern lights tonight.'

The journey to the Pride of Portree's Quidditch Pitch was an interesting one. Heavily guarded from the prying eyes of Muggles, they had to walk quite a distance until they had reached the edge of what appeared to be a small forest.

Once the first Wiggentrees came in sight, it was clear the group had truly entered a magical place.

'We just passed a magical boundary,' Hagrid explained to the group. 'If I'm not mistaken, a bit further up ahead is a Whomping Willow, who should've been put te rest while there're spectators on the pitch.'

Hagrid was right. The group did pass a Whomping Willow along the way and were suddenly blinded by thousands of golden stars that were floating around an enormous Quidditch pitch.

Hundreds of supporters were already cheering loudly from the top of the watchtowers. Most of them were wearing purple shirts with a golden star in the middle, and some others were wearing black and white shirts with a magpie embroidered on their chests.

'This way!' said Hagrid as he pointed at a watchtower on the right side of the field. 'I got yer tickets.'

The moment Hagrid had handed in everyone's tickets, the entire group rushed up to the top of the tower to claim a good seat. The excitement of the match was prominent in the air. Everyone, even Draco and the rest of his Slytherin gang, quickly fell into a cheerful mood.

The lights of the floating stars had suddenly dimmed. The sun had nearly set, and the first stars in the night sky had started to appear.

A loud voice suddenly boomed through the air. 'WELCOME TO THE IRISH AND BRITISH QUIDDITCH LEAGUE! GIVE A WARM APPLAUSE TO OUR GUESTS, THE MONTROSE MAGPIES!'

'I wish I had a pair of binoculars so I could see better,' said Harry as the presenter started listing off the player's names.

'Me too,' said Ron. 'Or better yet, omnioculars!'

Harry was about to ask what omnioculars are, when the presenter's voice started booming again. 'THE CAPTAINS OF EACH TEAM HAVE SHAKEN HANDS AND TAKEN POSITION. LET THE GAME, BEGIN!'

With the speed of light, the players of both teams sped off. The Magpies had quickly managed to snatch the quaffle, but were prevented from scoring by a beautiful safe from Meaghan McCormack.

'She's brilliant,' said Ron. 'You think she might be single?'

Hermione let out a loud sigh and rolled her eyes. 'I'm sure she's a bit too old for you, Ronald.'

In the meantime, Harry had been searching the air for the snitch in vain. Just like many other supporters on the field, he got distracted by the sudden flashes of green light in the darkening sky. The northern lights had come.

A chaser from the Prides had managed to score a goal now that the attention from the game was drawn away, but the presenter didn't even make a mention of it. Something in the sky had caught everyone's attention, and it wasn't good.

Ron's face had started to look paler than usual. 'What do you think that shadow is?' he whimpered.

A black shadow darkened the pitch from the northern lights above, followed by a screech so loud and rusty, everyone clapped their hands to their ears for protection.

Malfoy was the first to start screaming. 'It's a dragon! IT'S A BLOODY DRAGON!'


A/N Sound of Raasay is the name of the waters between the isle of Raasay and the isle of Skye.

A/N Feasgar math!: Good evening!

A bheil Beurla agaibh?: Do you speak English?

Gàidhlig: Scottish Gaelic