The dragons sat, cloaks hanging loosely, at the end of the table sitting beneath blue banners, the head table just a few steps away. The morning sun was already shining through the windows of the Great Hall when they had entered, most of the tables still empty. The few students that were present when they arrived had struggled, not sure whether to gape at them in lingering wonder or to duck their heads and try to meld with the tables below them. The dragons had stood for a bit, unsure of where to go, when Haley had broken the tension.

"Ooohhh," Jake heard her coo, walking quickly down the middle isle and stopping by a girl with silver blonde hair who had been reading something while wearing the most ridiculous glasses Jake had ever seen. "You've got a pair of Spectrespecs too?" she asked the girl.

The two started chatting and the rest of them, still unsure of what to do, simply followed and sat at the vacant far end of the same table. Spaced along it were platters of various breakfast delights, and they all reached for the nearest plate and started tucking in. Before long, the hall was close to full with students all chatting about what they hoped their first classes would be and what professors they liked or hated. Jake was stuffing his face with sausages and looking around the room, noticing that many of those attending were giving him funny looks.

"Young dragon, you could at least try to act civilized," Lao Shi scolded, nodding to his greasy claws and untouched silverware.

"C'mon, G, cut the Am-Drag some slack," he snatched a bowl of oatmeal from the center of the table and began daintily scooping it up with a dramatic show of effort, earning an eye roll from his Dragon Master. Nerk snickered from across the table, having finished his third or fourth buttered crumpet, until hundreds of owls flew in through the rafters and began hailing letters and packages all over the students below. The dragons all reflexively jumped in surprise, but quickly regained their composure when they realized it was nothing more than mail time. A few students at the green table had noticed and snickered quietly, though everyone else was either too kind or terrified of the dragons to make any comment.

There was still a decent amount of bench space between the dragons and the nearest students in black and blue robes (which meant they belonged to the house with the raven on it, if Jake recalled correctly). Haley and Luna seemed to be emanating their own little bubble of student repulsion as well, empty seats surrounding their magazine reading session. Most of the students were preparing to leave when professors began handing out slips of paper, which Jake soon discovered were their class schedules.

"Y'know, mates, we haven't talked about how we're gonna divvy up which classes we watch," Nerk asked the four other dragons. "Are we staying together, splitting up…?"

"Way ahead of you, kid," Dominic replied, handing Nerk his own slip that looked just like the ones the students were receiving. "You and I will tail the sixth-year students, Jake and Lao Shi have the fifth-years, and Haley and Sun get the first-years. Dumbledore suggested that we stayed close to your age groups." Sun suddenly remembered the forms and beckoned Haley to return so that she could give one to her, while Lao Shi dug Jake's out of his cloak.

"I really like Luna, she's very sweet but people kept whispering jokes about her," Haley said as she sat down by Sun and began looking through her list. Jake was looking over his own, the subjects giving him mixed feelings of excitement and concern. Potions seemed interesting, but what even was Defense Against the Dark Arts?

"Potter and Weasley, where are you two…" Jake heard the woman that had been guiding the first-years the night before asking aloud over the table across the aisle from them. His head snapped up in recognition, as did those of some of the dragons beside him. They watched as she found the two students and handed them their slips, one a tall and lanky boy with flaming red hair and freckles, the other a short boy with messy, jet black hair, green eyes, and wiry, round glasses resting on his nose.

"Mr. Potter is the shorter of the two," Lao Shi clarified. Jake nodded, noticing that the boy seemed to be upset about something, his shoulders slumped and his cheek resting on his hand as he toyed with his food. His friend seemed much more distressed about the schedule he had received, though Potter only considered his own for a moment before returning to his half eaten meal.

"Well someone's not having a good day," Nerk joked, also turning back to finish his oatmeal. Jake kept looking at the boy, searching for something, when Potter looked up and saw that the red dragon sitting at Ravenclaw table was staring at him. Their eyes met for a few seconds before he looked down and began packing up his things, quickly leaving the hall with the Weasley boy and a girl with frizzy brown hair trailing after him.

"You know that staring is impolite," Lao Shi chided, having noticed the exchange. "He must already receive unwanted attention from his peers; he does not need it from us."

"Looks like Jakeroo's got a boyfriend," Nerk teased. Jake wrapped his tail around Nerk's bench and flipped it out from under him, sending him sprawling to the floor. Nearby students gasped in terror until they saw Jake trying, and failing, to contain his laughter between clenched teeth. None of them yet knew what the students of Hogwarts had expected of the now famous Dragons of Draco Isle, but they could tell that it certainly wasn't, well, this.

The clock tower began to toll as Nerk got back to his feet, everyone quickly rushing off to their first lessons. The dragons went their separate ways, Lao Shi leading the way for Jake with a set of written directions that Dumbledore had provided them. Though he and his friends were long gone, Jake couldn't take his mind off of the Potter boy, hoping that he'd somehow cross paths with him later on.


"What was that all about?" Hermione asked as she sat next to Harry, everyone filing into the room for History of Magic. Ron plopped down on his other side, a look of intense boredom already creeping through his face.

"If it's about Seamus, Harry, you know everyone thinks he's buck out of order," Ron said dismissively. Seamus had dashed out of their dorm that morning, clearly not wanting to stay in the vicinity of Harry any longer than he had to. Even now, he had found the seat farthest from Harry in the room, right next to the desk of Professor Binns.

"It's not just him," Harry explained, "Everyone's looking at me like I've got the plague, whispering and pointing when I walk by. Even the bloody dragons think I'm a freak." He tossed his quill down on his parchment, knowing full well he probably wouldn't take any notes.

"Harry, the Dragons of Draco Isle haven't even been here for a day, when did they ever act like that?" Hermione asked. Harry found her defensive tone over the dragons was rather annoying.

"What, you didn't see the way they gawked at me when McGonagall handed us our schedules? The red one looked like he was ready to attack me, the way he stared."

"Harry…" Hermione started comforting, before Binns began droning his lecture. She quickly sighed and began scribbling her notes, Harry attempting to do so as well before losing focus after the first five minutes. Playing games with Ron helped pass the time; though he had a feeling he'd be begging Hermione for her notes when it came time for their first exam.

His day did not seem to be getting better, either. They had run into Cho Chang on their way to potions, only to have Harry get flustered with awkward speech and Ron assault her with questions about her favorite Quidditch team. Hermione looked about ready to strangle Ron by the time they'd reached the dungeons.

Snape appeared to be having just as bad a day as Harry, judging by the malice in his eyes as he gave everyone the usual welcoming speech about having to deal with them for one less year. Once he thought about it, Harry couldn't think of a day when Snape had actually seemed happy, though he had little time to consider it before the professor had set them about their obscenely difficult brewing assignment. One hour and a dungeon filled with reeking fumes later, Harry thought that his potion, though not looking as it should, was at least relatively decent.

"Potter, what is this supposed to be?" he heard his least favorite professor ask over his shoulder.

Wonderful, he thought before answering, "The Draught of Living Death, sir." He knew from experience that retorting with Snape would get him nowhere, though that didn't make taking his blatantly targeted hatred any more enjoyable. After humoring his questions for a minute, Harry had realized his mistake (forgetting to add syrup of hellebore at the right time) and now stood humiliated by an empty cauldron, Snape waltzing away and demanding samples from the rest of the class.

Having packed up earlier than the others, Harry had managed to reach the Great Hall and begin eating his lunch before Hermione and Ron arrived to join him. Hermione had tried to comfort him again, though Harry was too lost in self-pity to appreciate it. It only took her and Ron bickering like they usually did for Harry to lash out at them. They stared in shock as he quickly rose, gathered his things, and headed to leave the hall. He wasn't hungry anymore and just wanted to get this terrible day over with.

He'd been so focused on the satisfaction of seeing Ron and Hermione's surprised faces that he turned the corner out of the Hall and slammed right into the scaled chest of the large teal dragon. The dragon, of course, barely flinched, the recoil sending Harry reeling backwards on his heels.

"Whoa there," the dragon said, managing to catch the front of Harry's robes in one of its claws before he completely lost balance. He'd regained his footing and looked up at its face as it asked with concern, "Are you alright?"

"Yah, I'm…uh…sorry, that was my fault," he trailed off, acting like a confused child for the second time that day.

"It's alright," she laughed soothingly, Harry now noticing the feminine sound to her voice. She must have been able to see how stressed he was because she gently smiled and placed the clawed hand that had caught his clothes on his shoulder. "Sometimes, we all need to stop and take a deep breath." She breathed in deeply and then exhaled, smiling once more before letting go and heading into the hall.

He felt a little dumbfounded but listened to the dragon's advice, taking in a long, deep breath. It felt nice, actually, so he went and took another, and then a third. Then he turned, walked back into the hall, and found his friends right where he'd left them.

Hermione saw him coming and was halfway through saying, "Listen, Harry, I know it's been a rough day for you, but…" before Harry cut her off mid-sentence.

"I know, and I'm sorry, Hermione, honest."

Hermione looked even more surprised than before, a tinge of red sneaking into her cheeks. "Well, it's quite alright," she replied.

"No, it's not. I got angry at you when you were only trying to help and it wasn't fair."

"Harry, honestly, it's okay. We're all a little on edge. It's only halfway through the day and we've already got two essays to write. They weren't kidding when they said that O.W.L.s were torture," she finished with a teetering laugh. Harry was thankful for her forgiveness. He already had the rest of the school breathing down his neck and he really didn't need Hermione or Ron to join them any time soon.

Divination, Ron and Harry's next period, was as disappointing and annoying as Harry had come to expect, the trip back down Professor Trelawney's silver ladder affording him a sigh of relief. Harry pulled out his list to see what was next as they descended the spiral staircase, seeing Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Umbridge woman. Considering that he knew nothing about her, he'd decided to give her one chance, even though she was Fudge's lapdog. For all he knew, she could turn out entirely tolerable, even if her choice in clothing hurt his eyes.

The two crossed the threshold into the classroom, finding Hermione already seated and waiting. Harry dropped his bag by his desk and turned to ask Hermione about her last class, when he noticed that she was watching the back of the room. He turned to see two dragons, the dark blue one and the red one that had stared him down that morning, seated in oversized chairs in the back of the room and whispering to one another. The red one noticed Harry watching and returned his gaze. It looked like he was searching for something in Harry's eyes, until he shifted his focus to something near the front of the room.

Umbridge had just entered from her office and was asking for everyone to be seated. Harry sat down and took out his utensils and wand. Umbridge had already demanded everyone wish her a good afternoon, which Harry thought was a bit trivial. It was when she asked them to put away their wands that he started to think about the one chance she had flying straight out the window.


Before Jake realized it, he was back in school like nothing had ever changed. The first class he sat in on was Potions down in the dungeons of the castle, which frankly had frightened Jake to the point where Lao Shi almost had to drag him into the dark corridors. Professor Snape was even more terrifying. When the two had entered the room, they had approached him, cloaks drawn, for the typical introductions.

"Good afternoon, Professor Snape," Lao Shi had begun, both him and Jake bowing gently to the slick, imposing man. "Thank you for allowing us to join your lesson, we will make sure not to interfere. Where would you like us to watch?"

He had remained silent for a moment, examining the both of them with extremely shrewd glances, before replying slowly with a slight sneer, "It is my pleasure, and you may remain in the far corner by the door. Do not touch anything. Do not distract the students." He gestured to two seats already set beside the entrance.

The harsh tone caught Jake off guard, but Lao Shi humbly nodded once more. "Very well," he answered, leading Jake to their seats. The students were already filling the room, many so worried that they didn't even notice the dragons. Jake soon learned what was giving them such distress, watching as Snape carried out his lesson while constantly harassing the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students on their techniques and attention to detail. One girl broke down in tears after being reprimanded for forgetting an ingredient, the neon green fumes from her cauldron making animal shaped clouds that danced around her head.

Thankfully he had paid no mind to the dragons, who simply observed from the back of the room as the witches and wizards went about their difficult task. Jake was surprised to find that he was familiar with much of the work they were conducting, having helped their own resident guardian and alchemist, Fu Dog, carry out several similar, if not more complex, brewing sessions over the years. He had wanted to step in and help one Hufflepuff boy when he saw him completely misinterpreting a crucial step, but the threat of retaliation from Snape, and his dragon master in turn, was more convincing. By the time class had ended, everyone was covered in filth and sweat, grateful to be out of that classroom.

The same could be said for the next subject, one that never failed to make Jake shudder in distaste. History. It seemed even magical teenagers had to sit through the most boring class ever conceived, and the ghost who taught it was determined to reach new lows in student attention. The Hufflepuffs and Slytherins in the room had made it five, maybe ten minutes before mass doodling and paper games ensued. Jake oddly enough was genuinely interested in this kind of history. Sure, the endless dates and names swam right through his ears, but the events themselves between wizards and magical creatures were rather intriguing. The bell was suddenly ringing, and Jake left the room with his master, actually disappointed that it had ended so soon.

The layout of the castle, though still daunting, was beginning to sink in as the two found their way back to the great hall for lunch. They passed Sun on the way in, who said she wanted to run and grab something from their cave during the break and informed them the others were already inside. Haley, once again, was sitting beside "Luna" at the Ravenclaw table, though they were joined by a couple first-years that Haley must have met in her classes. Nerk was sitting at the Hufflepuff table with Dominic, speaking quietly with a couple of the yellow and black sixth-years.

"Aw man," Jake mumbled. He wasn't used to being the least social person in a group, yet here he was without a place to sit. He was tired of being an outcast at Ravenclaw table, certainly wasn't impressed with what he'd seen of the Slytherins, and didn't know any of the Gryffindors (or at least none of them knew him). Nodding to Nerk as he walked by, he and Lao Shi found an empty table a bit away and grabbed some food. It didn't matter that he was on a different continent or in an ancient castle brimming with magic, Jake was feeling just like a normal transfer student; no friends and alone in a giant cafeteria.

"You seem troubled, Jake," Lao Shi commented after swallowing a bite of food.

"What, are you kidding Gramps? I've never been better," he answered with fake confidence. The raised eyebrow from Lao Shi told him he wasn't fooling anyone. "It's nothing! Really, G, I'm just getting used to the place, that's all. Listen, we've got a free period next and I know where the class after is, how about I meet you there?"

Lao Shi wasn't convinced, but nodded in agreement. Jake stood and briskly left the hall, unraveling his cloak and spreading his wings. He took to the air through the open doors to the grounds at a running start, nearly knocking a couple of Ravenclaw students to the floor by accident, and soared upwards into the sky. He wheeled under the stone bridges, circled the towers, and dove through the trenches around the school, reveling in the freedom of flight. When he got the feeling his time was up, he landed on a balcony in the corridor the next class was in, doubled his cloak, and found his master waiting by the door for him.

The two entered well before the hour was to begin and knocked on the door to the professor's office, assuming they would find her there. The stout little woman, once again adorned in copious amounts of pink, answered the door, a look of shock and barely concealed disgust quickly flashing across her face.

"Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge…" Lao Shi began with their usual bows before Umbridge interrupted him.

"Yes, yes, it is a pleasure to meet you. You will find your seats against the back wall. Observe if you will, but I will not tolerate any interruptions. Is that understood?" she briskly finished, the pasty little grin of hers returned and flashing wide.

To his credit, Lao Shi did not react to her rude behavior, simply nodding again with a monotone, "Very well." The two turned around, descending her office stairs and finding their seats.

"Well, looks like we found the Rotwood of Hogwarts," Jake remarked. "We walk through the door and she's already talking down to us."

"Fred and Dominic were the first to meet her this morning, I believe. It would appear they did not make a good impression." Lao Shi explained. Jake rolled his eyes as the door to the room opened and a girl with frizzy brown hair strode in.

"Well I don't blame them for whatever happened, that lady's got some serious issues." Jake retorted quietly.

"Who's got issues?" Jake and Lao Shi turned to see the girl looking intently at Jake, clearly thinking very hard about something. Well, she's nosy, Jake thought, as the corner of her mouth perked up into a smirk. "If you're talking about Umbridge, don't mind her. She's just the Minister's little servant, I doubt she's ever been a professor a day in her life. Hogwarts has a reputation of having trouble finding good instructors for Defense Against the Dark Arts, it's a bit of a curse actually." She set her bag down in her chair and walked up to the two dragons. Jake stood as she neared, the look in her eye that of a child on Christmas morning.

"My name is Hermione Granger, it's a pleasure to meet you," she said politely, her hand extended towards Jake. He looked at it and then her before his own hand slipped out from underneath the grey cloak to clasp hers. It felt absolutely tiny in comparison and he took extra care when cradling the dainty little thing as they shook.

"I'm Jake," he flashed back with a toothy smile. Her eyes narrowed, trying to decide if he was joking while Lao Shi stood to shake her hand as well.

"And I am Lao Shi," he said with tilt of his large head. She seemed much more satisfied with that name. "It is an honor."

Umbridge's office door creaked open, Hermione giving a small start at the sound. Her disapproving face was just visible through the gap, and Hermione quickly waved goodbye before returning to her things. Other students were entering now and finding their seats.

"It's so weird just having people walk up to you as a dragon," Jake whispered to his master as the room filled. "The Granger girl just came up and shook our hands like it was nothing. Can you imagine someone in New York doing that?"

"The Gryffindor students, I have heard, are sorted for their bravery and courage. They are admirable traits to possess, but also dangerous if not controlled," Lao Shi whispered in return, the knowing stare he was giving Jake implying the advice was not directed at the girl.

He turned back to see the Potter boy next to Granger, staring right at him. Jake could see his almost panicked look, his insecurity plain on his face. Brave, huh? Jake thought as he held the stare. Nope, not seeing it. Umbridge's door opening distracted him, the sight of the pudgy woman bringing back his indignation from earlier.

The room called to order and her class goals etched onto the chalk board, Umbridge was leading the students like they were in preschool before assigning them a reading for the period. Jake soon realized the lack of anything to, well, observe, and looked to his master for advice. Unfortunately, Lao Shi seemed equally perplexed.

The Granger girl, however, hadn't touched the textbook and sat with her hand raised. A solid five minutes passed before Umbridge, with half the class distracted by Hermione, begrudgingly approached her.

Umbridge asked her name, which she supplied before pointing out, "There's nothing in your course goals about using magic."

"Using defensive spells?" she asked as though the idea were absurd. "Why, I can't imagine any situation requiring you to use any defensive spells in my classroom." Jake was somewhat taken aback by that. Why have a class about spells if you weren't going to use them? He obviously wasn't alone as the class quickly fell into a heated interrogation of Umbridge. After the first few students, she wore her most insincere smile and stood her ground, wand gripped tightly between her tiny clenched hands.

"In the past, your instruction in this course has been distracted and uneven. You have been exposed to some very irresponsible wizards in this class, not to mention extremely dangerous half-breeds," she trilled with a cruel laugh.

He wasn't aware of standing, or really the whole truth behind what Umbridge had said, but Jake was on his feet, his chair on its side and his maw contorted into a furious growl. He could see the sudden terror in the eyes of the students (one girl had let out a squeak of fear), even Umbridge looking startled with her wand gripped tightly. Lao Shi put his hand on Jake's shoulder, urging him to sit. The heat of the moment gone, Jake felt a little embarrassed and righted his chair, retaking his seat. The students began turning back to Umbridge, just as Jake threw a quick wink at Hermione, a small grin appearing on her face.

Unfortunately, Umbridge picked up right where she left off (leaving out the half-breed comments this time), sparking another round of questioning for the woman. Before long, Potter was having a one-on-one with her; he asking about defending against dangers in the real world, her in turn asking what there was to defend against.

"Oh, I don't know," he started sarcastically (which Jake appreciated), "how about…Lord Voldemort?"

Lao Shi stiffened at his words, the rest of the room adopting a much more serious atmosphere. The students were again looking terrified, and Umbridge seemed to be relishing the fight. She stoutly denied his accusations, egging Harry on to the point where he was shouting on his feet.

"So, according to you, Cedric Diggory dropped dead of his own accord, did he?" the desperation leaking into Harry's voice. He was shaking visibly, looking like he was on the verge of attacking the short woman. "It was murder. Voldemort killed him, and you know it."

Jake wanted to intervene somehow, do something to stop this argument. They'd both gone too far, but Lao Shi saw the desire in his eyes and slowly shook his head. Thankfully, Umbridge had decided the same as she beckoned Potter up to her desk. After a brief moment, Jake watched Harry as, pink frilly note written by Umbridge clenched in his hand, he strode out of the room, locking eyes with Jake for a split second as he passed.

Order was regained and the students read until the hour finished, Potter not returning before then. Their observations finished for the day, the two returned to the lakeside cave to meet up with the others. Down the first rocky, torch lit hallway, they came to the domed central chamber, where a large wooden table sat with six chairs arranged around it, corridors dotting the edge of the room that branched off and lead to their private chambers, bathrooms, and the like. Haley and Sun were already seated when they arrived, appearing to be in the middle of their own discussion.

"I know, Sun, but I can't take it! All they talk about is how to move a wand, or what the fundamentals of spells are, things I either already know or can't even use!" Haley begged. Sun looked tired and let out a low sigh.

"I understand, Haley, and while I still believe the first-year courses are worth your time, I will ask the Headmaster his opinion at dinner if you feel this strongly."

Haley beamed, noticing Jake and Lao Shi had joined them and that Nerk and Dominic could be heard approaching from the entrance.

"So, what do you all think so far?" Lao Shi inquired while the last two found their seats. "It is only the first day, but much has happened already."

"I told you the Umbridge lady was a basket case," Dominic said. "But man, Professor McGonagall is quite the woman…" Nerk shivered in disgust, dropping his head in his hands.

"The school is wonderful and the students are very intriguing. I think this trip will prove to be even better than we had hoped," Sun chimed, her constant optimism as strong as ever.

"I've got a bad feeling, though," Jake confided. The others looked at him for clarification. "The Potter kid, he's just asking for trouble. He won't need to worry about Volde-whatever if he keeps trippin' like he did with Umbridge."

"I agree, Jake," Lao Shi added, a gentle smile spreading beneath his whiskers. "That is why you must get to know him and do what you can to help him through this. You share many of his classes, and you already know one of his closest friends. However, you must also control your temper. It does not matter what Umbridge or anyone else says, you cannot act out like you did today. Understood?"

Jake was about to argue before Lao Shi cut him off. "It is time for you to retrieve your schoolwork and finish your assignments before dinner. I will not let you fall behind in your education, even if we are halfway around the world."

The red dragon dropped his muzzle in defeat and slunk off down his hallway. Lao Shi had to admit, it was a bit satisfying to hear his grandson's usual Aw man echo down the corridor.


Harry couldn't bring himself to lift his head from his dinner plate. Umbridge was still flying through his mind and the obscene amount of whispering about him from everyone in the hall was driving him mad. Hermione was next to him and Ron across the table, neither appearing to enjoy their meals either. He was picking apart his shepherd's pie when he vaguely noticed that it had become much quieter. Finally, he thought.

"Yo, Hermione," said an unfamiliar voice. He looked up to once again see the red dragon, standing right next to them looking at Hermione with what he thought was a smile, though dragon facial expressions were a little hard to read.

"Oh! Hello Jake," she replied, quickly swallowing a bite of food. "Forget everything I said about Umbridge, she's nothing but an awful toad."

The dragon chuckled softly at that. Several of the other Gryffindors that were in Harry's year were nearby, staring at the red beast in latent horror and leaning away defensively. He seemed to notice and ran a clawed hand through the green tipped black hair that topped his head in a show of what Harry guessed was embarrassment.

"I just…uh…wanted to apologize. About freaking out with Umbridge, I mean. It was so whack, what she was sayin', but I shouldn't have…you know…" he laughed halfheartedly.

"Don't be ridiculous, she was completely out of line. Honestly, how a bigot like her is even allowed to teach here…" she trailed off, the rage obvious in her expression. Suddenly, she snapped up like she'd just remembered she'd left the oven on. "I'm such an idiot! Jake, these are my two friends, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter."

Ron currently had both hands busy with his food, but managed to stare at the dragon, unmoving, with enormous eyes. Jake pulled a large scaled hand out from under his massive cloak and offered it to Harry, who sat looking at Jake stunned, mouth hanging open, until the dragon thought that maybe shaking was out of the question. Harry shook his head and recovered, carefully clasping the vicious looking hand.

"P-Pleasure," he managed, wondering what a moron he must look like.

"That was pretty cool of you all to stand up to her like that," Jake complimented them, nudging Hermione in the shoulder and nodding to Harry and Ron. "Though, for your sake, you may want to make this a one-time-wonder, if you catch my drift," he added sincerely, looking at Harry.

"You sound just like McGonagall," Harry said with a sigh. The few people that supported him were trying to stop him from standing up to Umbridge. Why was it so hard for them to understand what it meant to have someone like her denouncing Dumbledore and ruining Cedric's memory?

"Listen, I've got to get back, but I'll catch y'all later," Jake waved, heading back to the table where the dragons were clustered together.

"He's not at all what I expected," Hermione said smiling, turning back to finish her meal.

"I know, since when do dragons have American accents?" Ron joked.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "He just seems so…normal. I don't get it." She really was at a loss for words, which was rare for Hermione, the discomfort from it plain on her face.

"They're definitely not like the ones Charlie works with, or the ones we saw last year," Ron commented through a mouthful of food.

"He's alright for a dragon, I suppose…" Harry mumbled. "What kind of a name for a dragon is 'Jake', though?"

"The blue one said his name was Lao Shi," Hermione added, remembering how she had thought the same thing when she had met Jake. "Though if Jake isn't good enough for you, we can always call him Norbert Jr."

The whispers were picking up again around them, however, except now they were about Harry lying about Voldemort and Cedric, yelling at Umbridge, and talking to dragons, immediately throwing him back into his stupor. Hermione, finished with her food, threw her cutlery down and suggested they return to the common room. Harry gladly obliged, and the three left the hall, hoping to maybe get through at least part of their mountain of homework.


As always, if you have any opinions or advice (positive or negative), PLEASE review and comment! Any feedback is great feedback, and it lets me know you at least cared enough to respond! This is my first fanfic, so I'll take what I can get.