Chapter eight
The Brains, the Red-Head, and the Legend
It was a few weeks later when the dragons met even more new people, three people to be exact. It was in the evening when Hagrid looked out of his window and started in shock,
"GULPING GARGOYLES!" He exclaimed as he rushed around the hut, to the surprise of both dragons, who at that moment were relaxing near the warmth of the fireplace, "I didn't expect them to come here all of a sudden!" Hagrid exclaimed in worry as he picked up a bucket and doused the fire, removed the large spit from over the now damp grate, and gestured for Spyro and Cynder to fly up the chimney,
"What's going on?" Spyro asked as the half-giant quickly picked up a few purple and indigo scales from the floor (Yes, they do shed their scales every now and again, it can't be helped thanks to Mother Nature), and quickly whispered,
"Three friends are visiting me, and I don't think you want to be found here!" This got the dragons attention, who immediately flew up the flue, not a moment too soon, because as Cynder had just gotten out of sight, there came a loud knock at the door. Cynder and Spyro could hear voices coming from the room, and could tell that they were talking to Hagrid about this Tri-Wizard Tournament.
Harry had to admit that Hagrid seemed a bit nervous today, sure they had dropped by unannounced, but he was only this nervous when something bad was about to happen or he was guilty of something or other.
"So, I see you two have made up at long last." Hagrid gestured to Harry and Ron at this, causing them both to smile,
"Yeah, it was just a huge misunderstanding," the red head chuckled, "it was actually Hermione who was the sanest of us both before we made up," resulting in a gasp from the only girl in their group, and Hermione whipped out her wand and pointed it at Ron before muttering an unknown word under her breath, and it only took Ron a couple seconds to notice his cloak was now on fire! It took him a couple more seconds of flapping about, trying to extinguish the flames, for him to realise that these flames were just Hermione's Bluebell Flames that were harmless. He gave her a deadpan look at this, causing the group to burst out laughing, and Harry could have sworn he heard some feint sniggering coming from somewhere else, but he put it to the side as Hermione pulled out a jam jar and carefully scooped the blue flames into it.
"That was uncalled for, Hermione," Ron told her, he then also noticed how nervous Hagrid was, "is something wrong Hagrid?" he asked, resulting in Hagrid shaking his head vigorously,
"No, no, no, nothing wrong a-a-at all!" But Hermione looked to the fireplace, noticing it was put out and it was getting colder by the day, she pointed out,
"Hagrid, why is your fire out?" She walked towards it and pointed her wand at the grate, "I'll light it for you, incendio!"
"NO!" Hagrid exclaimed, but it was too late, the fire was now roaring, filling the room with heat. But what the trio of friends didn't expect was a scream of panic to echo through the house, and no one would have expected to see two dragons the size of Labradors burst out of the fire!
Spyro and Cynder hadn't expected the fire to be lit like that! So as they flew out, they didn't think about what they were getting themselves into!
"Bloody Hell, Hagrid!" The boy who got set on fire exclaimed, "more dragons!?"
"I hate to say it," the only girl there pointed out, "but Ron is right Hagrid, we know you love dragons, but they are dangerous beasts and you live in a wooden house!" And there was one more newcomer, and Spyro and Cynder were not expecting to see him! The boys face was in such shock that he looked slightly like a codfish! The first boy had stepped back now and whispered to the second,
"Harry, aren't those the dragons you faced in the challenge?" And it was the one and only Harry Potter who the dragons had run into again! And now that the other boy had stepped into the light, they could see he had a mop of ginger hair and a face full of freckles!
"You're a Weasley!" Cynder exclaimed, much to the girl's surprise! Spyro facepalmed at this, so far it was Cynder who kept revealing that they can talk. The girl had bushy brown hair and a kind face, but Cynder was braced for any move on her or Spyro,
"Hagrid!" The girl seemed to be freaking out now, "what did you do to them?!" She then looked around the room, "whatever you enchanted those dragons with, undo it now!"
"EVERYONE CHILL OUT!" Spyro shouted with such power that the girl stopped talking and the Weasley and Harry shut their mouths that had been hanging open this whole time. "Thank you," Spyro sighed, "now, first things first, we were hatched being able to talk, and Hagrid is just giving us shelter for the time we stay here. He hasn't enchanted us at all so get that out of your heads!" He looked over at the girl before continuing, "now, introductions I guess, my name is Spyro,"
"And I am Cynder," Cynder finished, looking happy that she didn't have to explain the whole talking thing again,
"How did you know I was a Weasley?" The Weasley boy asked, looking at the dragons suspiciously, but it then clearly hit him! "You are the dragons my brother Charlie found!" He exclaimed, "is it true that you two have four breaths each?" Spyro nodded,
"Fire, Ice, Earth and Lightning are mine,"
"And mine are…" Cynder started but faltered, she didn't want anyone to piece together her past, "a bit arcane," she could see that Hagrid was nodding,
"Ya can tell them, Cynder" he told her, "anyway, you showed some of ya powers in the challenge," this was true, and Cynder sighed,
"Poison, Fear, Wind and Shadow," she confessed, "but it was just because of where I grew up!" She added, she then noticed the girl eyeing her jewellery,
"Did the place you grew up weld those to you?" She asked, now sounding concerned for Cynder,
"No, my father did." Cynder confessed, resulting in a gasp of shock from the girl, "But to understand, you will need to hear the whole story."
"Well, we do have time," the Weasley boy pointed out, "and who knows, maybe your story can help Harry understand his clue?"
"Ok," Cynder looked at Spyro, who nodded for her to start, "it all started with a dragon named Malefor…" and so the storytelling went on for almost three hours. The dragons took turns to relay certain parts, resulting in gasps of shock from their audience, even Hagrid hadn't heard this story yet; they explained how Cynder was kidnapped as an egg, how Spyro was raised by dragonflies, how they had once been enemies and it was Spyro's mercy that was the reason Cynder was alive today. They explained the whole story, and it even brought up a few tears, although Cynder didn't admit it at first, claiming that she just had something in her eye. As the two friends finished the story, they saw that they had definitely surprised the humans.
"I can't believe that you two had to go through that at your age!" The girl exclaimed as they finished the tale, but the Weasley boy cut her off,
"Hermione, we faced a troll and killer plants and a living chess set when we were only 11, Harry faced a basilisk when he was 12, and last year we faced hordes of Dementors and a Werewolf!" He took a breath before continuing, "not to mention what happened at the Quidditch World Cup! So we have all had our fair share of crazy adventures before we even finished school!"
"Hold up!" Cynder cut them off before the list could grow, "Did you say that you faced off against all these creatures on your own?!" She looked at each one of them with a look that stared into their souls! "And who are you two anyway, we have met Harry before, but who are you?" She pointed at the girl and the Weasley boy,
"Oh! Um, right!" The girl said in a nervous tone, "Hermione Granger,"
"And Ron Weasley," the Weasley boy finished, "but I guess you recognised me as a Weasley because you met my brother?" Spyro nodded, and smiled at the group, he could tell that they were like him and Cynder, they had that sense of adventure around them, and he knew that they were safe.
"So," He said, looking around the room, "do you three want to explain your adventures? Or is it best left unmentioned?" Harry started at this, he was clearly not used to having to explain things like that, but with a small nod from his friends, he cleared his throat before starting,
"Ok, it all started when Voldemort came after my parents and me when I was just one year old." Spyro noticed that Harry's friends and Hagrid cringed as he said Voldemort's name, though Cynder was trying her hardest to keep a straight face, she was clearly dying to roll about on the floor laughing at the man's stupid name, Harry continued as it nothing had happened, "even though he killed my parents, somehow when he tried to kill me, he couldn't!" And the story went on, with Harry and his friends taking turns to explain the events, from stopping Voldemort from stealing the Philosophers Stone, to discovering the Chamber of Secrets, to finding out Harry's godfather was a wanted criminal for a crime he didn't commit. It was Cynder who first pointed out the fact that nobody had mentioned yet,
"This schools Defence Against The Dark Arts teachers seem to all leave after one year," she exclaimed, "coincidence? I think NOT!"
"Yeah," Ron agreed, "some students believe that the job is jinxed to get rid of the person who has it by the end of the year, but that can't happen this year" this resulted in Cynder looking at him with disbelief, she knew curses and the curse on the Defence Against the Dark Arts job sounded unbeatable,
"Why?" She asked, resulting in Hermione explaining,
"Because this year, Alastor Moody has the job" and because the dragons looked confused, she added "he is a dark wizard catcher, an Auror."
"Yeah, I bet my scales that he will be gone," Cynder challenged, "I know my curses, and by the sound of how strong this one is, it can't be bested until the caster removes it, like this one!" She then gestured for Spyro to go to one end of the hut, whilst Cynder went over to the other end, only to be stopped by the enchanted chain once again, "my father put this on us, and it is rather irritating!" Hermione looked at the chain and then at the snakes around the dragons necks.
"I'm sure there is a spell…" she started, before both Spyro and Cynder screamed,
"NO!" Before Spyro explained,
"Charlie tried every spell he could, and almost blew up the room we were in with spells bouncing off it!, "only Malefor can remove it."
"Too bad he's dead, right?" Ron checked, seeming rather nervous,
"Um…" Cynder stumbled with her words, "yes, of course he's dead." And just before the Weasley could probe further, Hermione pulled out a pocket watch and jumped at the time shown!
"Guys!" She exclaimed, "we should be getting back to the school! Harry, you still need to work out that egg!"
"Well, you should get going then!" Hagrid told them, holding the door open for them. The trio bid farewell to Spyro and Cynder, before heading back towards the castle.