Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor do I make any profits from posting this fanfiction.
Summary: Non-Epilogue compliant. A depressed, lonely Harry literally stumbles into a man who seduces him with answers to Harry's problems, hands him the promise of happiness…and an invisible shackle to a gilded prison. With answers he hates in his hand will Harry be able to find the elusive happiness he deserves?
Pairings: HP/GW. HP/OMC. HP/OFC. HP/TH (Terrence Higgs). HP/Other Rowling Characters.
Dragonette Debacle – Chapter 10 – Trials and Tribulations
6th January 2008
Harry sat in the stadium of this huge underground arena where Saladin's fate would be decided, and the fate of all Destined in the mateship would be decided.
Harry had learned during his three day stay at the Ta'la't Musa Imperial Dragon Council and Dragonette Council that the council had decided to do an old ritual whereby people previously marked as Destined would stand before Dragons who would decide whether they should still be a Destined or not, and if not then the Dragons would remove the dragon magic that marked them as Destined. It was a ritual not undertaken in the last two decades because there had been no need for it. Now however, with the huge amount of people to find homes for because of a mateship gone wrong, there was a need for the ritual. It was so that the Dragons and Dragonette council could decide if they were responsible or whether the people's home magical governments were responsible.
"Sheikh Saladin Abd-al-Malik Qamar Yusri, the Dragon and Dragonette Council have herewith decided your fate." The man at the front of a podium, a young man with brown hair, declared. The twelve other members of the council, a Dragonette of each dragon species, nodded their heads and glared down at Saladin who stood in chains and gagged in the middle of the arena.
"MMnnnffffflaffff…" Saladin shouted unintelligibly through the gag, an irate look on his face as he struggled against the bindings and tried futilely to transform.
Harry almost felt sorry for the hateful man.
Almost.
"By unanimous vote, for your crimes against the most honoured Destined selected by our grand ancestors, we hereby declare you guilty. For your crimes of murdering the most honoured Destined and the most honoured offspring you have been found guilty. For the crime of torturing and raping the most honoured Destined you have been found guilty. For the crime of unlawful imprisonment of the most honoured Destined and most honoured offspring, we find you guilty. For your crimes against this council, we find you guilty. You, Saladin Abd-al-Malik Qamar Yusri, are a disgrace to your race and an abomination upon this earth. With the approval of the council, of your family and of all of your mates, for your many horrific crimes, it is my duty and my pleasure to order justice against you for your crimes. I therefore sentence you, Saladin Abd-al-Malik Qamar Yusri, to face the Imperial council of Dragons who will decide and carry out your ultimate punishment. I, and my fellow councilmen, have no doubts as to what your sentence by their power shall be."
"Wards up to protect the Destined!" The man declared and, from about twelve different columns around the arena, men stood up with their wands or staffs held high and they brought up the wards protected all the people who had turned out to see Saladin's demise. All Harry's mateship had been made to come and bear witness. Many others had come to see out of curiosity and out of links to the councilmen, dragons and Dragonettes. A few had just come to see it for the sake of seeing it.
"Bring out the Imperial Dragon council!" The man declared once more.
Twelve huge doors into the arena opened and in raced twelve dragons.
Harry didn't remember all the names of the species however the Chinese Fireball he knew, the Common Welsh Green, Swedish Short-Snout, Ukranian Ironbelly and, of course, the massive and ferocious Hungarian Horntail.
The Hungarian Horntail that was released into the arena, lashed his tail and raced around the arena circling the chained Saladin with its bright yellow eyes pinned on him. The Horntail looped around the other Dragons with the unmistakable yowling, screeching scream. The Horntail snapped at the other Dragons when they got in its way. Its long horned tail swished and thwacked from side to side, crashing into the stonework of the arena and sending stones from it tumbling to the ground.
Saladin had gone very pale and was struggling more to escape his chains. The Dragons continued to hiss and snarl at him and each other for a moment before they all got into a circle around him. The Hungarian Horntail was the last to settle in the circle, he kept pacing around the edge for a while hissing and spitting small flames, completely ablaze with maniacal fury. When it finally settled, it continued to lash its head from side to side, spitting at its companions and black smoke with the smallest hints of flame creeping from its mouth.
After only a moment, all Dragons launched up on their hind legs, rearing their heads and roaring. Some spread their wings wide, others stretched their tail and made their bodies massive. They were all rising up and calling.
"The Imperial Dragon Council have declared his fate is death in Dragon Form. Sentencing will commence in one minute. Those of you not wishing to see the sentencing, please leave immediately through the doors at the back edges of the theatre. I will advise that for Saladin's mateship, it is recommended that you view his sentencing to put closure upon your past and torment. However, as previously stated, it is your choice whether to stay and watch or to leave through the back doors. You have thirty-five seconds remaining to make your choice."
"Are you leaving?" Blaise asked, nudging Harry briefly with his leg.
Harry considered the question. He wanted to but at the same time didn't really want to witness such a horror. He noticed some people hurriedly leaving; among them was Mischa, Jurgen and Eshan. Nabih, Harry noticed, stayed stubbornly in her seat. From Harry's seat he could just about see Sydney, cuddled into Sayyid's side but avidly watching the scene before him.
"No. I best stay. I think, despite everything, it will do me good to see the end of it all."
"Good. Because if you left, I would have dragged you back anyway." Blaise was pale and shaking slightly but turned his eyes back to Saladin in the middle of the arena.
Harry looked back too but kept his eyes pinned on the Hungarian Horntail. It was one thing to bear witness to the death of his tormentor, but quite another to watch it completely head on. Harry didn't know what was going to happen but he didn't want to look at Saladin and potentially see something on Saladin's face that would haunt his dreams. The terror on a man's face when they knew they were going to die within seconds was a look that could haunt you till your grave. Harry didn't want to see that.
"Sentencing will commence now." The brown haired man announced then sat.
No sooner had he sat, then the chains around Saladin disappeared and Saladin transformed into his Ukranian Ironbelly form. The Ironbelly member of the Imperial Dragon Council roared, livid and loud, then reared its head back. As one, all the dragons attacked Saladin. Fire, brilliant blue flames, narrow fire jets, a purple to yellow flame, mushroom shaped flames and vivid red flames launched at Saladin. The Norwegian Ridgeback, known for its viciously venomous bite, dived for Saladin and sunk its teeth into any part of Saladin that it could find, mostly decimating Saladin's tail and therefore avoiding the killer flames headed for Saladin. Another dragon with long horns, charged and started bludgeoning and stabbing Saladin with its horns.
Within moments the whole thing was ended and the dragons pulled back with snorts of disgust. The Ridgeback spat out blood and globs of flesh in revulsion. Saladin still in dragon form lay completely still on the ground in the middle of the arena. There were no signs of breath from the once white creature. He was now blackened and raw, blood pouring from gaping wounds, acid leaving its own burn on the bite marks on his tail from the Ridgeback. He was dead, stabbed, poisoned, bludgeoned and roasted to death.
His reign was over.
They only had to worry about the shadows he left behind.
10th January 2008
"Harry Potter, the council will see you now. Please go on through. Walk straight forwards until you meet the small stage in the centre of the arena. Stand on top of the stage and listen to further instructions."
Harry silently did as he was told. He was off to face both the Imperial Dragon Council and the Dragonette Council, who would both decide whether he would stay as a Destined or not and what should be done with him once that was decided. He was one of the last few to go through. They had broken the mateship down by category and then by alphabetical order. Carriers had been decided upon first, then submissives and now the dominants.
Harry, heart thumping wildly in his chest, made his way out into the arena and towards the small stage in the middle. Around him and above him, were the massive Dragons with glistening scales and horns and spikes. Harry felt like bait walking out unprotected into the arena. The only reason he knew he wasn't walking to his death is that he had seen others walk out and walk back again with their fates decided.
Harry walked up onto the stage almost trembling with both fear and tiredness. He was so tired. There was so much stress now, only a little of it relieved because Saladin was dead. There was the stress and worry of what to do next, not to mention the exhausting wait and the draining fury when it was announced that anyone remaining a Destined after the ritual would have to be slotted in to a mateship as soon as possible to best protect the Destined. Harry shoved that thought away. He had been raging and lashing out because of that news for the last few days and he was completely tired, emotionally, physically and mentally drained. He did not want to be in this situation any longer. He wanted to go home, to see his friends, to go back to work and his loved ones.
But here he was. In an arena of Dragons and Dragonettes. Tired prey on a stage.
Food on a podium.
"Ah, Harry Potter. Allow me to explain again what you are facing now. The Dragons beside me will be able to detect whether you are worthy of being a Destined still. I shall ask you some questions and relay some information to both you and them to clarify your strengths and character so they can decide if you are worthy or not. They shall communicate their verdict on to the Dragonettes and myself. We shall then tell you what will happen next alright? Now, just hold still while the Dragons sense you."
Harry thought the Dragons would be able to sense him well enough when he walked in. However, he sighed and nodded, rubbing his forehead briefly and yawning.
"Oh dear, are you tired out?"
Harry knew that voice. He looked to his left and met the bright orange eyes of Councilman Benedek. Harry smiled a wan smile. "Yeah. It's been a busy time." Somebody snorted but Benedek shot them a glare.
The huge Hungarian Horntail behind and above Benedek darted low, placed its forefeet forwards on the ground and screeched at whoever had made the rude snort.
Harry blinked for a moment, shocked, then laughed a little and shook his head. A Dragon just defended him. How strange.
"I can imagine it has been. There has been a lot going on recently, a lot of stress. You should take better care of yourself though Harry. You deserve a rest after what you did for the mateship. Sending a talking patronus, out of whose eyes you could see and out of whose ears you could hear, was not an easy task. Then I have heard tales of you helping others in the mateship and not resting as you should."
"There was stuff to do. Those people relied upon me for their safety in the temple, just because we are out of the temple now, does not mean that my responsibility towards them has dwindled. I may not be responsible for their protection as much, but I can help them protect their sanity and help them recover." Harry counter argued.
Benedek smiled that wide, tooth filled smile and crossed his arms over his chest.
The Hungarian Horntail spun its head around and Harry found the massive spike and horn filled head and face staring at him mere feet away. Harry nearly took a step back but managed to stop himself. He wasn't so quick with the instinct to turn his head to the side and bare his neck. He had done that before he was even conscious of what was happening. Once he realised what he'd done, he pulled up the collar of his shirt so it covered his neck and righted his head, giving the Horntail a small glare.
The Horntail hissed a few times in short succession, giving Harry the distinct impression that it was laughing at him. Then the Dragon breathed out and brought its head closer still giving a long sniff before pulling back and screaming to the high heavens.
Harry put his hands over his ears to block the sound. When the dragon finally stopped screaming, it dropped back to all fours and started crooning and offering nattering clicks and hisses. Benedek had his head tilted to the side listening. The man who had spoken to Harry when Harry first walked out onto the arena started speaking again.
"Right then Harry. I have quite a lot of information upon you dating back many years. Please could you clarify for us your role in…"
"Ah, no need for the questioning Councillor. Imperial Dragon Sárkány has deduced that Harry is of a more than worthy character. He recognised the Dragon magic upon Harry here, as a relative's doing and from the hint of information I gave, Imperial Dragon Sárkány has declared Harry's worth."
"Ah, very well then. That was nice and quick. Good. Good, good, good. Now then, I have several mateships for you to meet. I shall arrange a meeting with each of the Dragonettes from the mateships within the next few days for you to get acquainted and…oh! No, it seems that you have a child on the way with a carrier called Nabih. I shall put you in that mateship then Harry. One should never separate a carrier with the father of the child. Okay so…off you go then. I shall inform Rafaele Lucertola that he has another Dominant in his mateship."
"Hang on a minute! I don't want another bloody mateship! I don't want to be a Destined anymore either; it's given me enough grief and torment. I want rid of everything! Doesn't my choice matter in this at all?!" Harry demanded glaring around at all the Dragonettes and even daring a glare at the Horntail who so called declared him still worthy of being a Destined. The Horntail lowered itself to Harry's eyelevel and pressed in really close staring hard at Harry who stared hard back, anger overtaking common sense. Harry narrowed his eyes at the Dragon. "Who are you to decide my worth and my future. If you are right then it was one of your kind that subjected me to this mess in the first place!"
"Now Harry…" Benedek said in a grandfatherly, placating voice.
Harry glared at him. "Don't!" Harry snarled. "Don't try to dismiss that. It's the truth, let's face it. According to you, it was a Horntail who made me a Destined, that's what you just said. If it wasn't for the fact that I was forced to face a Horntail when I was fourteen all because somebody wanted to kill me, then I would never have been chosen to be a Destined. If I hadn't been chosen to be a destined then Saladin would never have been interested in me, I would never have been raped and beaten and imprisoned for months on end and I wouldn't have had to call for help. So in the end it is all your fault and I don't want to do this anymore! I don't want to be a Destined so take it away and take it off of me!"
The Horntail screeched and slashed its tail.
"Harry, do not anger him! Have you got a death wish?!" Benedek shouted crossly.
Harry couldn't care less. "No I don't. Nor do I want my life condemned to another prison!" Harry countered and stared at the man. The Horntail reared up then stomped back down onto its forelegs screeching and hissing. Harry glared and met the yellow eyed stare mutinously. The dragon glared back.
Harry was furious! He hated this! They couldn't just declare him something he didn't want to be! It was becoming a Destined which had caused every mess in his adult life! He couldn't be with the woman he had loved, he had been lonely and over worked for several long years then he had been mated, raped and imprisoned by a Dragonette. There was no way he wanted to be a Destined anymore and that Dragon in front of him had better unmake him a Destined or so help him he'd…
"SSSSsssscreeeeeeeee." The Dragon didn't screech it this time. It was barely more than a high pitched chirrup. The Dragon made air brush past his face and rustle his hair.
That one noise took all the fight from him and with a shuddering intake of breath Harry groaned in pain and bent over to grab his thighs. "Urgh…I don't want this…" Harry whispered as he panted harshly clutching his knees and thighs dangerously tightly. Tears welled up in his eyes, angry and hot but also bitter and cold.
"Screeeeeeey." The Dragon breathed again and this time moved away.
Benedek spoke instead, with a soft voice and a kind compassionate smile. "I am sorry Harry. He will not remove the Dragon magic. You are a bright jewel in a desert of ash and slate. Even if it weren't for your past accomplishments, Imperial Dragon Sárkány says you need the protection, love, care and leadership having a Dragonette will provide. Go and rest submissive, rest and know that Sárkány knows what you need and promises you shall get everything very soon."
Harry didn't remember leaving the arena, didn't remember much except those bright yellow eyes before blackness swept across his vision.
Submissive. Benedek called him a submissive. He was a submissive and he was still a Destined.
Life had just become ten times worse.