This is a work of fiction, with characters, situations and ideas loosely inspired by J. K. Rowling Harry Potter series. It is more of a fairytale AU (Alternate Universe)
Princess and The Dragon
"In dreams may thee discov'r und'rstanding beyond reality. "
At the beginning of time, when no clear distinction between reality and fantasy existed. Hidden from view and surrounded by a dense sea of trees, wisely named the Forbidden Forest, lived a group of sorcerers whose skills in both magic and war allowed them to establish a kingdom where everyone lived in fairness and justice. Less known is that the great wizard Merlin settled his dynasty not as an act of courage but by the means of a pact with Morgana, the ruler of the fae folk that inhabited the ancient place.
Wise and with a gift for clairvoyance, the fairy queen feared for the future. On profound meditation during a trance, she had envisioned darkness. In forthcoming days, the scepticism among non-magical people, the muggles, would lead to the Forbidden Forest entire destruction. Most of the magical creatures of Hogwarts, as they called their land, would need to fight for survival.
In terms of the agreement, Merlin and his descendants would be granted a portion of the territory to live. But, in retribution they vowed to help protect the boundaries from muggle attacks. Since then, many centuries have passed and the four families who rule Hogwarts have long forgotten about their promise. Blinded by greed, the Heir of Slytherin, a dark wizard called Lord Voldemort strives for power by attempting to convince the other three noble families of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw to proclaim war against the magical creatures and, by doing so, conquering full sovereignty.
In spite of all his efforts, the current ruler of the House of Gryffindor, Dumbledore, has kept control over the council and prevented a confrontation. Nonetheless, up from the murder of his nephew, the crown prince James Potter, and his fiancée Lady Lily Evans by what was believed to be an attack of centaurs, the population have forced him to take an action and claim justice.
At least this was the truth the majority of the Lords agreed, but Dumbledore knew better. The king suspected both his nephew and his betrothed, the Duchess of Granger, had been killed by a mercenary following the orders of Voldemort. Such an infamous man, a half-blood called Peter Pettigrew, was part fae and it allowed him to assume the form of a rat enabling a safe way to escape from the crime scene.
Unfortunately, despite the many efforts of the royal healers, Lady Lily who was found barely alive could not be saved. By then, it was found out she was pregnant with twins, a boy and a girl. Their existence was occulted for years until a few weeks before the king announced his successor, Lord Harry Potter.
As for the baby girl, named Hermione, many would admire her for a singular cleverness and an unusual beauty, with riotous brown curls, fine skin and hazel eyes. Raised by the proud House of Ravenclaw since a young age, the next Duchess of Granger grew to learn the importance of being both wise and intelligent.
In the years to come, the tutelage of Minerva McGonagall, the main counsellor of the king, and the Lovegoods, the last descendants of Rowena Ravenclaw, resulted in a straightforward and self-assured personality that contrasted a lot with what was expected of a lady. Time passed fast for the little child and, when Hermione was only ten, her uncle Dumbledore sent for a viscount, who escorted the young prince Harry to live with the clan of the Weasley's, where he would commence his training in preparation for the moment to assume the crown.
That night, Hermione escaped the Ravenclaw manor and ventured into the Forbidden Forest for the first time. As an infant, the girl had been told stories of how the place was inhabited by demons who fed on human flesh and that they were responsible for her parents' death. Yet, she was too sad to be even a little bit scared. Upon wandering through the tall trees for what seemed like hours, the Duchess of Granger found a meadow where she was forced to stop for a little pause, her feet were aching too much to keep walking.
Unable to perform magic with a wand, as it was only taught to witches at the age of eleven, Hermione concentrated her best and conjured a few fire lights of what she called bluebell flames. No one but her preceptor Madam McGonagall knew about her skills with nonverbal magic, a forgotten art only deemed possible to the fae.
As the hours passed, the child got more tired. She had cried a lot, thus ended up falling asleep. It was almost daybreak, when she was suddenly startled by what seemed to be heavy steps. With no means of protection, the girl feigned being passed out. Still, the unknown stranger proudly stated: "Who are you, outsider? These lands are under my responsibility and you have trespassed. "
Surprised and a little scared with such a harsh speech, the young lady opened her eyes and was faced with what could only be described as an angel, those muggles creatures portrayed in a book called the Bible. With an almost ethereal beauty, the boy had silver eyes, almost white hair and skin even paler than hers. The only blemish to his features was his pointed face and disdainful smirk.
After a few seconds on which she couldn't avoid staring at him, Hermione finally joined enough courage to respond mechanically: " My name is Lady Hermione Potter, Duchess of Granger and Princess of Hogwarts. " To this, the young boy began to laugh almost losing control while she got really angry and annoyed. After all, her answer was a common response taught to her by preceptor McGonagall.
Noticing her lack of a proper explanation, the stranger continued to speak proudly: "I am Draconis, the heir to the daemonic clan of the Malfoy's and my father is the ruler of the lands your kind call the Forbidden Forest. Don't you know it is not allowed for you to wander here? " Not understand what he was talking about, Hermione asked: " When you say 'my kind' to what are you referring? Are you not a wizard? " Still smiling, but this time, a lot softer he stated: "I am no wizard, but I cannot reveal to you my true nature. It is part of the agreement you call Statute of Secrecy that our mysteries would remain concealed. "
Exhausted of his monologue, the Duchess said politely: "According to what is left of Merlin Diaries, it was also clear that you should never attack. But, creatures called centaurs broke the treaty by murdering both of my parents. " This time, she started to cry because she remembered that even her brother had been forced to leave her.
As proud as Draconis wanted to remain, he was not his father and could not stand there stoically seeing a lady cry, his mother, the late fairy queen Narcissa would be ashamed. This way, he changed his strategy and instead of arguing, he sat down by her side and tried to comfort her as his aunt Andromeda would do when he was a small kid, with a kind embrace. Feeling his presence and kindness, Hermione ended up telling him her story, how her parents had been killed and the decision of her great uncle, king Dumbledore, of separating her from her twin brother.
By listening to her, the young prince was reminded of his tough childhood. At the age of four, his mother Narcissa had been mysteriously found dead in the same meadow they were now. Only a couple of months later, this gave a reason to his father marry her older sister Bellatrix Black, a fallen fairy whose passion for the dark arts had her banned from the Seelie court. Since his marriage, King Lucius Malfoy, lord of the sky daemons, turned into a mad man with a thirst for blood and destruction. His aunt, the ruler of the Champs de Nuage, the moon fairy Andromeda Tonks, had been banned from the court along with her husband and young daughter, both metamorphimagi, fae with the skill of changing their appearance at will.
In an act of rebellion, Draconis continued to meet with his aunt through the years. It had been almost an hour and, lost in his thoughts, the young boy did not notice when Hermione stopped crying and sugested that it was best for her to leave before anyone found out about her missing. Forced to bid farewell, the two infants promised to meet again the next day and he taught her the way back to the Ravenclaw Manor.
As the days passed, the two friends found ways to meet several times a week. It kept happening until the eve of Beltane night, when Draconis invited the little princess to see the austral lights. This was a special occasion for the fae, a renovation of their bond with the land. Hermione arrived happily and began looking for the prince who kept hidden in the thick forest. "Draco, why don't you show up? I can't stay long today. Madam McGonagall has started to notice my disappearance at night. " A little nervous, Draconis, now only Draco, decided to make his presence known. He too had a nickname for her. "Mia, I've been by your side for a few minutes. Tonight is the time of my coming of age hence my powers are finally fully available for my control. "
Astonished, the young lady looked face to face with her new best friend. He had already talked about this strange ritual. Apparently, on the night of his tenth Beltane, Draco finally received full rule over his powers and, thus, starts his training as a sky daemon. Unfortunately, it also meant they could never meet again as he would travel to the distant north lands, near the mountains. The prince couldn't reveal more to her but she had researched what little information she could find about sky daemons.
In the records of a renowned wizard called Newt Scamander, mostly from his book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the sky daemons are reported as descendents of a tribe of dragon shapeshifters whose power over the natural environment and magic were both great and never fully explained. Sad but also happy for her friend, the girl hugged him tightly. They didn't notice, but a golden light surrounded them and, as fast it appeared, mysteriously vanished.
That same night, when she arrived at Ravenclaw Manor, her preceptor was there and she received a hard talk. From then on, a spell was placed that forbade Hermione from leaving the manor grounds. Twelve years later and it was finally the day of her brothers' coronation. He had recently married Lady Ginevra Weasley, the daughter of the viscount. Their marriage was widely criticized due to the lack of a higher nobility status by the Weasley family. Those were dark times, when most of the council elders had succumbed to the lies of Voldemort.
Now self proclaimed the Dark Lord, he was the bastard son of Lady Merope Gaunt who had fallen in love with a muggle and had a son using a illegal love potion called Amortentia. In the end, her parents had banned her and the young boy named Tom Riddle Jr., one of the last Slytherin descendants, was raised as a ward of the Snape family, whose heir had killed king Dumbledore. By the end of the coronation, Voldemort attacked and the Duchess of Granger was hit by a spell while trying to save her brother. Amidst ultimate chaos, a loud noise was heard from the sky. A colossal white dragon appeared and, upon kidnapping the unconscious princess, left in the direction of the Forbidden Forest.
This was the beginning of a war against the dark magic. The next day, Lord Voldemort used his power and influence to take full control of the council. Those who still remained faithful to King Potter created the Order of the Phoenix, a group of witches and wizards who tried to put an end to Voldemort's rule. Now, the Dark Lord had forged an alliance with the fallen fae Bellatrix. The crazy woman had murdered her husband King Lucius and, then, was banned by the creatures of magic from entering the Forbidden Forest.
In the meantime, Lady Hermione was being taken to a castle in the middle of the mountains of the north. It was a magical fortification, home of the ruler of the sky daemons. There, she was locked in the highest tower surrounded by all forms of treasures. Time seemed to pass slowly and she only felt courageous enough to investigate the place on the second day since she was strong enough to stand. This moment, she finally understood why dragons were known for keeping treasures.
The epic beast had an infinitude of things from gold coins, silver and jewels to books and silk. All was kept together in intricate designs. The most peculiar object was a tall mirror on whose frame was carved the inscription: "erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi. " What read backwards revealed the hidden meaning : "I show not your face but your heart's desire. " Every time she looked upon the mirror, the Lady would see herself as a kid alongside a blond silver-eyed boy who stood by her side and smiled kindly.
It was after almost a week, when she finally understood what had happened. The white dragon and the little boy were the same person. That night when the dragon arrived with her food she didn't run away but kindly touched the top of his head. Two silver eyes observed her, the beast was huge, with fierce talons a serpentine body covered by opalescent scales and a white mane. In the blink of an eye, the dragon vanished and was replaced by a tall man with the same features of the boy in the mirror, just older and more defined. Gone were the pointed looks and now he had an aristocratic face. Suddenly she felt the pull to hug him and the both of them never felt so complete. He looked in her eyes and calmly stated: "My Mia, I couldn't live a day more away from you. That Beltane night, at my coming of age, we were bonded and I almost witnessed you die in that battle. " To this, Hermione passed out.
From what she knew dragons had mates, but they were generally powerful fae, like summer queen fairy Narcissa. The young woman also didn't remember quite clearly the identity of the boy in the mirror. In her memories, he resembled a village kid she had met in her childhood, who read so many fairy tales to the point of believing to be a sky daemon.
Noticing her fear, Draco got really sad and told her that he would only return when she truly remembered him. From that day on she continued to be attended by two little creatures, house-elves. The one with bright bluish eyes was called Dobby and provided for her food, the other one with large ears was Twinky and guided her to bath through the apparition and always kept her dressed in the finest of the silk robes. Weeks passed, she got sadder and more nervous.
The kind elves summarised her coming to the castle every night. When the princess arrived, she had been attacked by a course and the dragon man had saved her from death using his own blood to seal a healing spell. It was during a heavy storm, the sky was grey and the sound of heavy rain intense, when Hermione finally recovered her memories of him. Afraid of the thunders, a childish panic never overcome, she called for him and he arrived. That night, the Lady slept involved in his arms and they talked a lot about their past together and the horrible war current status.
In the morning, when she woke up he agreed to her request of joining forces with the Order of the Phoenix to fight Voldemort and his dark wizards called Death Eaters. On a calm day, several months later, they finally met with king Harry and the other members of the Order. It took Hermione a lot of time to be able to send a successful Patronus to them and receive an answer. Despite the presence of the dragon, they agreed to join forces.
Overwhelmed by power and ambition, Voldemort no longer wanted the extermination of magical creatures but of everyone who opposed him. The final battle happened in the abandoned castle of Lord Salazar Slytherin. The Death Eaters were combated with the help of both the fae under Draco's jurisdiction and the wizards loyal to Harry. Many were killed while others kept rebelling in a colossal fight. In the end, the Dark Lord was destroyed by his own spell.
It happens that Voldemort had possession of the Elder Wand, offered to Merlin by Morgana. While trying to cast a killing curse on Harry, the spell was repelled by the powerful sword of Griffindor, another ancient weapon forged by goblins and with a powerful healing aura. This way, the attack rebounded killing the caster. Since then, peace has once more returned to Hogwarts. King Harry expected Hermione to remain in the court and be his counsellor but she politely declined his offer.
On a bright summer day, a white dragon could be seen in the sky once more. He had fought both the Dark Lord and his aunt Bellatrix to recover the alliance among the magical creatures. So, when everything was settled, he returned to take his mate back to his castle in the mountains.
The story of a brave princess who fell in love with a dragon and left the magic Kingdom of Hogwarts has been told and retold in many forms through the ages. Nowadays, a world of wizards, witches and magic beasts may be considered only fantastic and the result of dreams. However, while stories like this are kept alive, there will always be those who find in their hearts the necessary courage to simply believe in fairies.
Hope you had a good time reading! It is one of my first fanfic and English is not my first language. So, sorry for any grammar mistakes.