Chapter 2
The two dragons broke open the eggs and stood shaking the last remnants from various places. The emerald dragon was slightly bulkier than the purple but both were aerodynamic and sturdy.
"You know they are much cuter than when Hagrid hatched that Horntail last year." Harry said musingly, while Sam nodded in agreement.
"The emerald is male and the purple is female, you must touch them with the hand opposite of your wand hands." Hilara said as the four older dragons examined the two newborns.
"Why opposite our wand hands?" Sam asked.
"It is so that you can use both your wizard magic and your rider magic without hindrance." Oceanus said speaking for the first time.
Harry and Sam nodded in understanding and reached out with their left hands to touch the dragons. a feeling of cold fire ran through the two, and when they pulled their hands from the dragons backs they saw on their palms circular scars.
"Those are the Gedway Ignasia the mark of the Dragon Riders." Hilara said as she gently nosed the twins palms. The two dragonettes stumbled to their feet looking up curiously at the thousands old dragon and their human their minds Sam and Harry felt their dragons.
"They will need names Hatchlings." Sisith said sounding amused.
Sam reached out and took her purple dragon into her arms examining her with gentle hands.
The dragon had midnight purple scales on her back, on her underside she was a slightly lighter while her talons and fangs were ivory and the spikes along her back were deep black. Her eyes were a dark amethyst, her wings were a lighter shade of purple.
Then she looked into the dragons eyes.
"Nyx." Sam whispered and smiled as the baby dragon sort of chirped in agreement.
Harry smiled as his dragon tried to rear back onto his hind legs. The male dragon was an emerald green that nearly matched Harry and Sams eyes his underside was lighter and his spikes were forest green. His eyes were forest green as well and his talons and fangs were ivory.
"How about Zümrüt its Turkish for emerald i looked it up once."
The little Dragon nodded and hopped-glided onto Harry's shoulder.
"They are well named Young ones, it is getting late and you have lessons in the morning." the twins and dragons pouted a little not wanting to leave.
"Zümrüt and Nyx will remain here, this weekend you may visit and be sure to bring you schoolwork with you." Hilari said sounding like an amused and wslightly stern mother. The four sighed and Harry and Sam reluctantly left after being assured they would be able to find their way again.
The next morning.
Morning dawned brightly and Harry sat up straight in his bed his heart hammering had last night been a dream? He checked his left hand and grinned it hadn't been a dream at all. He got out of bed and raced through getting dressed then ran to the common room. A few minutes later Sam raced down a wide grin on her own face.
"It was real! it wasnt a dream we're really dragon riders!" Sam squealed quietly. Harry laughed and shushed her. They weren't allowed to tell anyone without permission from the Founder Dragons.
Together the two waited for their friends Ron and Hermione.
Hermione was the first down.
"You two are acting oddly what's going on?" Before either of them could say anything they heard Oceanus in their minds.
"You may bring her this weekend Young ones she is one who will receive an egg."
"Yes Erbrithil." They answered together the dragons had told them to call them Erbrithil it was Elvish for master.
The two looked at each other their eye sparkling with secret excitement.
"We have something to show you this weekend but for now be patient ok?" Harry said Hermione frowned a little, bit nodded as Ron came down rubbing his eyes sleepily.
Throughout the week Hermione noticed that the twins often got blank looks on their faces and sometimes rubbed the palms of their left hands.
Now it was Friday night and Hermione was fed up with her friends evasiveness.
"Now what is going on?" Hermione hissed as they walked beneath the invisibility cloak.
"Shh Hermione you'll find out in a few minutes." Sam muttered as they came upon the dragon door.
The walked into the domed room and looked around Zümrüt, Nyx and the Founder Dragons were nowhere to be seen but on a pedestal was a pretty light brown dragon egg that reminded one of milk chocolate.
"Harry Sam what in the world is that?" Hermione didn't recognize it as a dragon egg as the only egg she had ever seen had been a Hungarian Horntails and that had been slate grey not the jewel tone of a Riders dragon.
"That is a dragon egg." Sam said smiling faintly.
"WHAT! dragon eggs are ILLEGAL!" Hermione shrieked her voice echoing off the walls painfully.
"Hermione calm down this dragon egg is different." Harry said calmly.
"How? It's still a dragon egg." Hermione replied hysterically.
"The reason we brought you here is because you are to train with us and seven others to be dragon riders."
Hermione stared at her friends then a disappointed and hurt look flashed across her face.
"That isn't funny everyone knows dragon riders don't exist." Together Sam and Harry lifted their hands and said the counter-spell to the glamour spell on their palms. The Gedway Ignasia were silvery marks on their palms and Hermione gasped.
No one could replicate the Gedway Ignasia those who had tried had lost their magic and in some cases their lives.
"It...It's true? You really are dragon riders?" Hermione asked a faint hopeful look on her face.
They both nodded and suddenly their dragons came out.
"Hermione this is Nyx and Zümrüt our dragons." Hermione's mouth dropped open.
"Wow…" Was all she could utter as her friends chuckled at her.
"so are you going to touch the egg or not?" Sam asked as she cuddled Nyx.
Hermione nodded distractedly and walked over to the brown egg. Her hand trembling she laid it on the egg and gasped as it began to rock and peeping noises came from within. Suddenly the egg broke to reveal a brown dragon who was the same color as the egg as it shook itself it looked up at Hermione with warm intelligent brown eyes.
"He's so much cuter than that dragon Hagrid hatched last year...What?" Hermione demanded as her friends laughed uproariously.
"They said the same thing when Nyx and Zümrüt hatched." The deep rumbling voice of Ares sounded in Hermione's mind and she looked around wildly her eyes wide.
"Do not fear young one." Hilara said gently and Hermione eeped in fright.
"It's okay 'Mione that was two of our training masters." Harry reassured her.
"Where are they?" Hermione asked.
"Look up." Sam said bluntly.
Hermione slowly looked up and gave the same sort of scream that Sam had when confronted by the great dragons.
"Wh...who are they?" Hermione asked whimpering slightly.
"We are the Dragons of the Founders Young One."
Hermione began to calm under Hilaras gentle voice.
"The Founders Dragons! there's not much information about you in the library were you here when Hogwarts was built or after? What was it like then? can you…" Hermione was stopped when Sam placed her hand over the girl's mouth. The older dragons were chuckling to themselves especially Oceanus this hatchling reminded them strongly of Rowena Oceanus remembered his Rider fondly he had been the one to help temper Rowena's ramblings.
"Your dragon is a female Young one." Sisith said and Hermione started to be reminded of the brown dragon waiting patiently on the pedestal. She reached out with her left hand only to have her wrist gently grabbed by Harry.
"Other hand." He murmured and Hermione looked at him quizically until Ares explained.
"You must use the hand opposite of the one you wield your wand so that your wizard magic and your rider magic do not interfere with each other and you have a greater advantage of wielding both at the same time." Hermione nodded and held out her right hand to the dragon and touched her back the same cold fiery feeling flashed through Hermione and she pulled her hand back to see the Gedway Ignasia. Suddenly this was all too real, she really was a dragon rider now. The brown dragon was a light chocolate on his back her spikes were a darker chocolate, her talons and fangs were ivory. Her eyes matched Hermione's exactly.
Hermione bit her lip as she took in the appearance of her new companion.
"Sif, she's the goddess of earth in Norse mythology."
The newly christened Sif flared her wings and nodded in agreement with her new name.
"I must say you have come up with some very creative names you should have heard Godric trying to come up with names before he settled on Ares." Hilari said laughing gently.
"I don't think the Hatchlings need to hear this 'Lari." Ares grumbled if Ares had been human he would have been blushing as bright as Ron's hair.
"What sort of names Erbrithil Hilari?" Sam Oceanus and Sisith snickered as Ares grumbled.
"Oh I think there was Sparky, Big Red, and another I can't quite remember." Hilari said as she searched her memory.
"It was Rosie, Godric tried that one before he knew Ares was a male." Sisith said leaning her head on Hilaris neck like people did when they were trying to catch their breath for laughing.
The three trainee riders laughed and their dragons made noises of amusement as well.
"Yes well that was a long time ago Hatchlings." Though Ares grumbled there was an undercurrent of fond amusement in his voice.
The rest of the time was spent catching Hermione up on what Harry and Sam already knew and letting the new riders and dragons get acquainted with each other.
"Tomorrow you will bring your friend Ronald and his brothers Frederic and George and your friend Neville. They will be the next four to gain a dragon after them will be Draco Malfoy Blaise Zabini Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot and Luna Lovegood." Oceanus told them as the kids were getting ready to leave.
"Wait Erbrithil Blaise Zabini and Draco Malfoy? but...but…"
"There is more than meets the eye with those two you will learn once they have become Riders." Hilari said simply.
The three Gryffindors decided not to press the issue and do as their training masters told them.
Returning to their common room they were trying to figure out a way to get the two Slytherins alone.