The idea for this story struck me pretty hard and pretty fast one day, and I've finally gotten the time to type out my initial idea for it. That being said, I should warn anyone reading this that I update slow, and though I'll try and keep them coming at a steady pace, I can't promise anything. Just keep an eye out Tuesdays and Thursdays, which happen to be my days off from work. This is also my first story in a very long time. Please review to let me know what you think. That'd be greatly appreciated.
Warnings- This story will contain love between two consenting adult females. If that isn't something that interests you, I'm sorry. This story isn't for you.
Disclaimer- I don't own anything that has to do with the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
Dragons' Fire.
Hermione appariated with a small pop, and the hot air instantly felt suffocating to her. She wasn't a desert person, the heat and wind not agreeing with her tangled mop of hair. Though her personal opinions on the location weren't what brought her to southern India—rather it was the extraordinary discovery that was made only a few short nights ago.
The brunette quickly scanned the mounding heaps of golden sand that were in front of her looking for any sort of sign of civilization. There was nothing. Just the sun, the sky, some few scraggily looking trees, and mountains made of sand. She sighed deeply, holding a hand over her face to shield herself from a particularly strong gust of dry wind. Maybe she had gotten the location wrong. Running her fingers through her mane of curls, she once again looked intently for anything that would either confirm or deny her suspicions of not being where she was supposed to be.
She almost missed it; the glint of sun against something shiny in the distance. It was small, and Hermione couldn't see where it was coming from, but after coming all this way she decided it didn't hurt to check it out. Trudging onward, she silently cursed as she felt what seemed to be rivers of sand make their way into her shoes. She noted that this had better be as spectacular as everyone had made it seem, or proverbial heads would roll.
As she approached, slowly but surely she could see large tents and make shift structures rise in the nearing distance. She would've smiled if not for the disgusting heat as she watched many witches and wizards scurrying about in the sand, many of them clothed in what seemed to be the bare-minimum. At least she could assume she had indeed made it to the proper place. The closer she got, the louder the uproar among the folk became as they rushed to and fro, shouting at one another to hurry up—before the sun had set.
Hermione stopped in front of the biggest structure, obviously towering over the other tents, which looked to be a heavily fortified circus tent. The brown cloth walls were covered in written charms, the sides held up by reinforced metal and chains. There was a witch or wizard stationed at every corner, each muttering spells and incantations under their breath, a nervous twitch on each one's brow. Her heart leapt into her throat for a moment, and began to pound very loudly in her ears. So it was true. Inside here… She couldn't even form words in her mind to properly describe her awe at the situation. Tentatively, she reached out her hand to touch the cloth door.
"Ah! You must be Miss Granger!" A loud, manly voice boomed behind her, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin. Retracting her outstretched hand quickly to her chest, she whirled around to meet her greeter. In front of her stood a tall, tan man with rusty brown hair and smiling green eyes. He had his hands placed on his very toned hips, and a smile on his very handsome face. Hermione near about swooned. "The name's Scamander. Rolf Scamander. I'm the head Wizard here at the Lunar site. I was told to be expecting you." He out stretched his hand with an even larger smile, showing nearly perfect white teeth.
"Hermione Granger. It's a pleasure." She managed, hoping the slight shakiness she felt in her voice wasn't audible as she took his hand gingerly. He shook her hand firmly before flashing her a brilliant smile and turning on his heels, motioning for her to follow.
"Welcome, and I assure you the pleasure is all ours! We were over the moon when we heard the Ministry was sending the finest witch of our age to examine our find! Makes it more official." He tossed her back a wink as he plowed forward through the sand. Hermione felt a little awkward, as her movements reflected such as she stumbled through the uneven and unstable ground beneath her. She really wasn't a desert person. "We made the discovery early this week. By we, I mean my fiancée. Boy, were we shocked though! I mean, who could've imagined! All these years she'd been going on about it, and I only humored her because I thought it was cute… but who would've even thought to imagine she'd be right!" He laughed and shook his head.
"I'm sorry, but would you mind explaining what exactly you found?" Hermione breathed, feeling a little out of breath already from the fast pace and difficult footing.
He shot her a confused look. "You came all this way, and no one bothered to even tell you what for?" The Gryffindor shook her head.
"It's not that I wasn't told. However, I feel it's best to gather information from direct sources, rather than from rumors told thousands of miles away." She stated matter of factly, as her guide chuckled.
"Then you should probably talk to the most direct source around. Though, I warn you. My fiancée can be a little… airy at times. She means well, though." Rolf pushed open the flap to one of the larger tents at the site. "But, I'm sure you already know that." He chuckled and gently nudged a puzzled Hermione inside, letting the flap close behind her as he left to manage something else.
The inside didn't resemble the outside by any standards. It was dark, and dimly lit by a few candles placed haphazardly on large columns of books. The floor was tiled instead of cloth or dirt, and the air instead felt crisp and cool. Hermione gave a little thanks to the wonders of magic. She moved farther inside, moving carefully around some precariously leaning piles of loose paper and notebooks. There were odd trinkets laying around, some tables even covered in objects and statues that Hermione never even imagine could exist, or have a functional purpose. All she knew was that the farther she moved into this seemly never ending tent, the more curious she became as to who could possibly be at the end of it.
The answer came rather suddenly, and the shock of it caused Hermione to stop in her tracks. Sitting at a small desk in the middle of an equally small clearing, sat a slender woman with long, flowing, blonde hair. The woman had petite features and pale skin (how she managed to stay pale with this sun was beyond Hermione), and though she was definitely older, Hermione knew this beautiful woman the instant she laid eyes on her. "Luna."
The woman at the desk looked up, and large, curious blue eyes met Hermione's. There was a short silence as the two stared at each other, before Luna's pink lips turned up into a small, lazy smile. "Hermione." She breathed back, her head tilting to one side, allowing silvery gold locks to tumble over a toned shoulder. The blonde stood up, and skipped towards her old friend. Seizing Hermione's hands in her own, Luna smiled brilliantly. "How good it is to see you."
Now that Luna was standing in front of her, Hermione was able to get a better view of her old classmate. The years had been kind to the younger girl, of that the brunette was certain. Luna looked very fit and toned, yet still managed to keep some very feminine curves. Said curves were accentuated by her black, form fitting pants and tight tank top. From her waist lazily hung what seemed to Hermione to be a sort of utility belt—potions, rope, and a holster for her wand all decorated the chunky strap of leather. Luna was stunning. That was the conclusion that Hermione came to, and it was sort of disheartening.
Hermione herself hadn't much changed since her years at Hogwarts. Her hair was still a wild mess, and though she had grown up, her figure remained that of her school-girl self. Lacking, was the word that came to mind. Her choice of clothing never really made up for that, either, having always chosen to dress smartly during every occasion. If Hermione had to describe her appearance in one word, she'd have to go with 'Average'.
The younger girl gave a small hum in their silence, her wide eyes scanning over the woman she hadn't seen in ages. "You've grown to be very beautiful." She murmured off-handedly, as if she hadn't even thought of saying it before it tumbled from her lips. "Though you always were."
The statement, though a little random and caught her off guard, made Hermione smile. "Same goes for you, Luna." The pair smiled at each other for a moment, before Hermione cleared her throat. "I met your… Fiancée? I think that's what he had said. He said that you were the one best to talk to about why I am here, and about this discovery."
Luna hummed and bobbed her head, making her way back to her tiny desk and carefully sat down on her tiny chair. Picking her wand up from the top of a stack of papers, she neatly tucked it behind her ear. "The Lunar Dragon. I found it, you know. Not that anyone had believed me that it was real." The girl gave a slight shrug, and a dreamy sigh, and Hermione wondered how she never seemed to be on earth.
"And what is a Lunar Dragon?" She pried, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, trying not to seem anxious, though that's certainly what she was. If the rumors were true, history was about to be made in the field of Magizoology. She wondered how Luna could be so collected during a time like this.
"It's a dragon that can only be seen by the light of the moon." She said dreamily, leaning back in her chair and running her fingers over her thighs in a languid motion. "It's really quite beautiful. I hope you'll accompany me tonight to see her."
"Her?" Hermione parroted, not quite sure what the blonde had meant. Luna hummed and nodded her head slowly.
"Rolf is keeping her in the tent… Though I think she should be free. He says we need to study her, though." Luna mused, her fingers coming to a halt on her thighs as she stared at the space just above Hermione's head. "She is really quite stunning to see, however. I do quite enjoy getting to see her every night. Would you like to see?"
Hermione nodded, and took a step back towards the entrance of Luna's dwellings. "That is why I came all the way here, isn't it?" She hoped the statement came out in a joking manner, but had the distinct feeling it sound more snappish than anything. She inwardly cringed and hoped Luna took no mind. And she didn't. She never seemed to.
Luna bobbed her head once again, and rose to her feet. Grabbing a ribbon from on top of her desk, she pulled her long hair into a loose pony tail. Plucking her wand from behind her ear, she carefully replaced it in its holster, and almost like fluid, walked gracefully past Hermione, and out of the tent. Hermione couldn't help but let her eyes follow the younger woman out, before her feet decided to do the same.
The sun was setting, yet the light was still bright compared to inside the tent, and it stun Hermione's eyes. Shielding herself with her hand, she was mildly surprised to see Rolf standing next to Luna, a muscular arm around the blonde's slender shoulders. They were facing her, Rolf wearing an award winning smile, and Luna with half of one. Rolf was the one to speak. "Luna seems very happy that you're here. Happier than I've seen her in a long while. She needs a familiar face or two every now and then. Thank you for coming." The man said sincerely, his arm tightening around Luna in an affectionate embrace. Luna leaned into him, her hand coming to rest on his abdomen and her slender fingers played with the cloth of his tank top.
"I'm very happy to be here." Hermione replied, her eyes flickering down to the blonde as she spoke to the man. "It was a pleasant surprise to run into an old friend like this, when history is about to be made." She watched Luna's lips turn up in an approving smile.
Luna turned her head up towards her fiancée, her eyes glowing. "She called me a friend, Rolf." She all but whispered, and the older man ruffled her hair and smiled down with a nod. The small exchange didn't go unnoticed by the brunette, and it was strangely heartbreaking to her.
"Well now!" Rolf boomed, looking back at Hermione with a smile in his eyes. "You didn't come all this way just to say hi! Let's get down to business!"
Almost on cue, the sun completely set on the horizon, and the moon began to make it's bring ascent into the sky. The large tent in the middle of the site began to rustle, and the witches and wizards surrounding it gave each other nervous and reassuring glances. Pointing their wands at the tent on alert, their jaws clenched as each of them prepared for what would possibly be a long and hard night.
Luna smiled warmly at Hermione as she tugged herself away from Rolf and grabbed Hermione's hand. Giving it a squeeze, the strange girl drew close to her old classmate and whispered excitedly. "It's time for you to meet her…" And with that, Rolf stepped forward and drew open the tent's door.