ACT ONE: Of Dark Lords and Orphans
CHAPTER NINE: I GOT A DRAGON ON MY BACK
"Uh . . . didn't really think it through," Ron offered weakly.
"Just like Ron," Harry laughed. "Comes up with a course of action and damn the details."
Old Soldiers Never Die, Rorschach's Blot
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Tuesday 24th December, 1991
"There he is! Ron, get him!"
"Should'a clipped his wings when we had the chance, 'Mione!"
"He shouldn't be able to fly, though," Hermione shouted, "He's only a baby!"
"A baby?!" Ron yelled, "He just burnt my arm!"
"Grab him! Petrificus Totalis!" Hermione muttered. The spell hit the airborne baby dragon head-on, but rebounded off the thick hide and hit the girl right in the chest, freezing her limbs together and sending her toppling to the floor, her wand spinning off down the spiral staircase. Ron cursed loudly.
"We'll need better than that!" Fay shouted up to Ron, "Don't try to cast jinxes at Norbert, silly! Dragons resist magic cast directly on them! Fuex Cordem!"
The lasso that shot out of her wand wrapped around the dragon and squeezed tightly, but the dragon just threw the cord off with ease, and twirled around, shooting off a burst of fire from its mouth in triumph. Fay dashed up the staircase of the Astronomy tower, casting a quick reversal spell on Hermione as she went. Mandy kept waiting nearby, keeping her wand ready to cast a Flame-Freezing Charm in case of what Fay referred to as "Dragon-Keeper Occupational Hazards."
"Impedi-" Ron began.
"Oh yes, cast Impedimenta at him, that'll help when it rebounds off and hits you in the face! What did I tell you about jinxes?!" Fay shouted, "'Mione, what's that windy spell of yours?"
"Soplavento, and oh no, he's gone out through that window!"
"I think not," Harry grinned as he soared past with a baby dragon contained in a reinforced, giant butterfly net, on his broomstick, "You ladies and gentleman should really leave this to the professionals, y'know."
"We'd better take him up to the top, and hope Charlie comes by soon," Ron said, "I think everyone heard us failing to catch the little git."
"It's the Christmas holidays, the castle's empty. Meet you up top," Harry winked as he rose upwards to land on the turret with a smile, victoriously brandishing the dragon-filled net. Some silhouettes on the sunset horizon showed that Ron's older brother was en route with some friends, to collect the illegal Norwegian Ridgeback dragon, and to take it to their Dragon Sanctuary in Romania...
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Friday 15th November, 1991
"Hagrid, what's that?"
Hagrid grinned a huge, beaming grin before replying, "I'm glad you asked. That, Hermione, is a very rare thin' that I've been wanting to show you all, called a dragon egg..."
Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville and Mandy were sat around the round table in Hagrid's hut on the grounds, drinking tea and politely avoiding the rock cakes – which were indeed quite rocky and hard. It was quite late, and the fire in the hearth sent shadows flickering across the hut, which was otherwise lit by a few mere candles. Hagrid was sat on a stool next to the fireplace, occasionally glancing at a large object that looked quite like a chicken egg, save the fact that it was about ten times the size, and a mottled brown colour.
Hermione raised an eyebrow in response, "Hagrid, you kn- nevermind, just how?"
"I won it in a game of poker off a guy in the Hog's Head Inn, in Hogsmeade. He says it were a Norwegian Ridgeback egg, I've always wanted one of them..."
Hermione sighed, "Hagrid, your hut is made of wood, and Norwegian Ridgebacks are the fieriest dragons you can find... have you even read Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, or at least the sections referring to what kind of creature you shouldn't keep in your wooden hut?!"
"I hate to agree with Hermione, but you really shouldn't keep a dragon egg," Ron added, "Asides from fire, Norwegian Ridgebacks can grow to be twice the size of this hut, and are impossible to control unless you have a large supply of meat covered with Scotch Bonnet chillies." The students all stared at Ron, who shrugged before continuing, "My brother Charlie works at a Dragon Sanctuary in Romania, where they look after and study dragons."
"Nice," Neville replied.
Of course, the students were far too intrigued to let the whole thing slide. They followed the process of incubation amidst a constant, hot fire – which made Hagrid's hut about as hot as a volcano – for about a month until the egg finally hatched with a resounding crack, as they sat drinking tea and wondering about whether Hagrid's rock cakes could be used as paperweights.
"Cor, isn't he cute!" Hagrid cooed as the dragon's first breath set his beard on fire, "We'll call him Norbert, Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback." He then realised his problem with immolation of facial hair, and patted it out as fast as he could.
Harry glanced upwards to the windows by the door to the hut to spot a face looking through. As he was about to shout out in alarm, there came a knock on the door, and it burst open suddenly to reveal a Gryffindor First-year girl, who they all recognised save Mandy, but that none of them knew. The first thing that they all noticed was that her long, black hair was held into a bun by two well-placed wooden rods which looked quite like chopsticks. The second thing they noticed was her hyperactivity.
"Hi, couldn't help but notice that you have a dragon, you should really be more discreet about this you know! Norwegian Ridgeback, nice, their heartstrings are apparently very volatile when used in wands and one has to be careful when using them particularly bonded with cherrywood, at least that's what I was told..."
Harry took the advantage of her pausing to take a deep breath to interject. "Hey, wha-"
"... I'm Fay, Fay Dunbar, Fay is actually a shortening of Falbala, and I really hate my parents for that, which is why I kept on rearranging their clothes in the wardrobe to get my revenge, but I don't think they noticed, which is why I'm going to find a way to use magic to do something more inventive, hopefully before I start my future career as a wandmaker and won't have time to come back and pull silly, childish pranks on my parents but that won't stop me from being childish anyway, I have an excuse, I'm only eleven but then again I'm waffling – ooh, I like waffles, particularly when drizzled with maple syrup, that makes them delicious, and I end up eating at least twenty, which probably explains my hyperactivity – so we were talking about a dragon weren't we, and I'm sure that he'll grow up to provide some very nice heartstrings once we've passed the minor problem of a flammable hut but I guess tha-"
Hermione lowered her wand, her Silencing Charm successfully cast. The whole room sighed in relief whilst the new arrival's mouth kept opening and shutting, as she clearly hadn't noticed her new predicament, the silence only broken by the crackle of the fire and a single word uttered by Mandy.
"What."
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It didn't take too long – only about a week or so – to persuade Hagrid that Norbert had to go. A dragon was not something that could be kept in a hut, particularly when the dragon smashed apart most of the inside. At least Norbert hadn't burnt it to the ground, which was a small mercy. And thus was devised the plan to smuggle Norbert out of the castle on Christmas Eve, whilst no-one was in the castle. Ron had contacted Charlie and set as a rendezvous point the top of the Astronomy tower.
"So, how're we gonna do this?" Hermione murmured.
"Get Norbert inside a box, then haul him up there," Mandy suggested.
They were sat in a small, discreet alcove of the Library – the only location that they could all get together in, as the Hogwarts grounds were now far too cold to even consider sitting outside, and each House Common Room was forbidden to members of the other Houses. There were rumours of a long lost Hogwarts Common Room available to all Houses, but it had escaped discovery for more than a hundred years. Of course, the disadvantage of the Library was that conversations had to be kept to a minimum, as the silence made it easy to overhear conversations. Oh, and people that Madam Pince, the librarian, caught talking would be subjected to a myriad of medieval tortures.
Harry sighed, "Good luck keeping him in there. I guess Hagrid must have some kind of butterfly net; if we reinforce it, it could be useful. What do you suggest, Fay?"
Fay grinned, "Drug him with some sleep potion, and take him up as quickly as possible, before it wears off, because you've got to be careful with dragons, they resist magic..."
Fay had quickly become a new addition to the group, and they were slowly training her to not go into a speedy, incomprehensible monologue whenever she spoke. She proved to be a mine of information when it came to wands and magical creatures, surprisingly, as she was born to Muggle parents. As she continuously reminded her four friends, she wanted to become a wandmaker when she grew up – sorry, wanted to become? Would become.
"... best plan is to get Hagrid to procure some Sleeping Draught and deal with it, so we can take Norbert up under cover of the Invisibility Cloak, and the rest should be tickety-boo."
"I could probably make a Sleeping Draught, it's not ridiculously difficult, and I've got everything needed except Flobberworms. We'll have to find a way of getting some," Hermione rubbed her head thoughtfully.
Fay was now grinning ear to ear, "I have some Flobberworms, if you want any."
Hermione raised an eyebrow, and opened her mouth to ask some question of some form, but decided against it. She opened her mouth again, but was saved further embarrassment by Neville's sudden arrival. Their classmate slipped onto the bench beside Harry.
"Hey guys, what're you working on?"
"Smuggling a baby dragon out of the school. Any ideas?" Harry asked, before looking Neville up and down. "Mate, your robes are really dirty, and... is that a cut on your arm?"
Neville shrugged, and drew his wand, "Yeah, looks like it, gimme a sec. Episkey, Scourgify," he murmured, and the thin, red cut sealed itself up, leaving no trace of it ever having happened, whilst the brown slime on his robes faded away to nothingness. Hermione's eyes widened, and Neville sighed, cutting her off before she could open her mouth.
"Episkey is the Minor Sealing Sortilege, it's a healing spell that my gran taught me. The wand movement is simple enough, but the spell only works on small wounds, it can make bigger things worse. Scourgify is the Cleaning Charm, really useful. Remind me to show you when I can be bothered, for now I'd just like to sit around and relax."
"It's Sunday, so no worries about that, and the Christmas holidays are coming up. Fay, Fay Dunbar," Fay smiled.
Neville glanced at the most recent addition to the group and smiled back, "The name's Longbottom, Neville Longbottom. Shaken, not stirred. Are those chopsticks in your hair? Suits you."
Harry, Hermione and Fay laughed whilst Ron and Mandy raised an eyebrow, Harry eventually asking, "I've always wondered, since we first met... How come you know James Bond?"
In response, Neville hummed the theme music as he slipped away into the stacks of books, Ron and Mandy now gaping in lack of understanding. Harry winked, "We'll explain some time. Now, let's get on with this plan."
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Tuesday 24th December, 1991
"Come on, faster! We'll help you carry it, Ron!"
"You can't, the crate's not big enough!"
"Are you a wizard or aren't you? Wingardium Leviosa!" The crate suddenly lightened in Ron's hands, not enough to make it hover, but removing nonetheless most of the weight.
"Why are you so clever, Hermione?"
"To raise the average IQ again after you lowered it. Now, let's guide him gently up the spiral staircase."
The crate rumbled in Ron's hands, and suddenly erupted into flames. Mandy rushed forwards to cast a Flame-Freezing Charm, but it wasn't needed. The remnants of the crate had vaporised, leaving Ron almost unharmed – he'd dropped it the instant his hands got hot – and now Norbert was flying upwards, escaping their grasp as he ducked into the shadows.
"Bugger, we were almost there, and the little git torched my arm!"
"Language, Ronald!"
"How are we going to find him again?" Mandy asked.
Ron replied, "We'll just have to keep our eyes open, and if you can smell fire, then you're com-"
"There he is! Ron, get him!"
"Should'a clipped his wings when we had the chance, 'Mione!"
"He shouldn't be able to fly, though," Hermione shouted, "He's only a baby!"
"A baby?!" Ron yelled, "He just burnt my arm!"
"Grab him! Petrificus Totalis!" Hermione muttered. The spell hit the airborne baby dragon head-on, but rebounded off the thick hide and hit the girl right in the chest, freezing her limbs together and sending her toppling to the floor, her wand spinning off down the spiral staircase. Ron cursed loudly.
"We'll need better than that!" Fay shouted up to Ron, "Don't try to cast jinxes at Norbert, silly! Dragons resist magic cast directly on them! Fuex Cordem!"
The lasso that shot out of her wand wrapped around the dragon and squeezed tightly, but the dragon just threw the cord off with ease, and twirled around, shooting off a burst of fire from its mouth in triumph. Fay dashed up the staircase of the Astronomy tower, casting a quick reversal spell on Hermione as she went. Mandy kept waiting nearby, ready to cast that Flame-Freezing Charm.
"Impedi-" Ron began.
"Oh yes, cast Impedimenta at him, that'll help when it rebounds off and hits you in the face! What did I tell you about jinxes?! 'Mione, what's that windy spell of yours?"
"Soplavento, and oh no, he's gone out through that window!"
"I think not," Harry grinned as he soared past with a baby dragon contained in a reinforced, giant butterfly net, on his broomstick, "You ladies and gentleman should really leave this to the professionals, y'know."
"We'd better take him up to the top, and hope Charlie comes by soon," Ron said, "I think everyone heard us failing to catch the little git."
"It's the Christmas holidays, the castle's empty. Meet you up top," Harry winked as he rose upwards to land on the turret with a smile, victoriously brandishing the dragon-filled net. Some silhouettes on the sunset horizon showed that Ron's older brother was en route with some friends, to collect the illegal Norwegian Ridgeback dragon, and to take it to their Dragon Sanctuary in Romania. Norbert struggled, but the butterfly net was clearly enchanted to keep him pretty tightly inside. If only they'd used it from the very beginning.
Ron, Mandy, Fay and Hermione soon arrived on top. They weren't wearing their robes, due to the driving wind, and they could feel the cold seeping into them.
"Bloody Scotland."
"Language, Ronald!"
Ron grumbled something that sounded like "bugger off, Hermione", as five figures on broomsticks swooped down to land on the tower roof. They all wore dark robes covered with reflective breastplates, looking like they were made of the same substance as Norbert's hide. One of them pulled down a hood to reveal himself as a tall – well, at least, that's how he appeared to the eleven year-old students – ginger-haired young man, with the exact same complexion as Ron.
"Hey Ron," Charlie grinned as he nodded at the five of them, "Where's this Norwegian Ridgeback?"
"Here," Harry handed the net to the dragon handler.
"This is a really good net," he commented, looking it over, "It looks like you've got a standard butterfly net and reinforced it, seems to work perfectly. Nice idea."
"Charlie," one of the silhouettes murmured, "Să mergem."
"Looks like we're off, guys," Charlie waved, "See you around, and try to stay out of trouble."
Dragon net in hand, they took off onto the horizon, leaving the five students behind in the howling wind.
"Let's head back to bed. Best we don't get caught out here," Hermione said, as they headed down the spiral staircase. However, approaching footsteps drew their attention. A quick peek round a corner revealed the creeper to be Professor McGonagall.
"Bugger!"
"Language, Hermione!" sniggered Ron in a fake, girly voice.
"Shush, before she hears us!"
"She already has! Run!"
The students could thank Hogwarts for its winding passages, as they very quickly came across a junction with two other corridors, almost running clear into Neville, and they quickly split up. Harry found himself sprinting hell for leather down a thin passageway, followed by Hermione and Fay. Of course, that's when they learnt that the Professors knew Hogwarts much more than they ever could, and they ran straight into a wall, turning round with horror to see the scowl on their Head of House's face.
"Detention tomorrow night for creeping around the school after curfew, all three of you and Mr. Malfoy. With Hagrid, you'll be going into the Forbidden Forest. 8PM sharpish, at his hut."
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AN: This is the bit where I whinge about not having the time to keep writing this fanfic. I'm honestly trying. Anyhoo, here's the latest chapter.
