Chapter 3

Enter The Dragon

Hermione was waiting with Clem in the large yard area that she had a view of from her window. It all felt slightly strained as Clem stuck to purely functional conversation and was still calling her Miss Granger.

"Are you coming with us today?" Hermione asked, noticing his work clothes.

He nodded. "Yes, it's always best to have at least two trainers when we are approaching the dragons."

"You're a trainer as well?"

For the first time since she'd met him, Hermione saw him smile and it was charming.

"Don't look like one, do I?" he offered and waved his hands up and down himself. "Even in these leather overalls, I look like a banker!" He gave a deep chuckle.

Hermione also laughed, glad for the very human response after all the frostiness. "I'm not sure what the criteria is for looking like a dragon trainer," she pointed out.

"Mr Malfoy pretty much fits the bill," he answered and then his face changed, his eyes looking over Hermione's shoulder. "Here he is."

Hermione spun round and saw Draco, along with a young, blonde women approaching. They were both dressed in the same leather overalls as Clem and were carrying leather gloves and something that looked like a hooked stick. The way they were all dressed made Hermione realised that getting close to a dragon was a serious business.

"Mr Malfoy," Clem approached his boss, "Pippa."

"Hi Clem," Pippa acknowledged him and then came over to Hermione and shook her hand warmly. "Very pleased to meet you Miss Granger, I'm Pippa Curtis, Head Trainer."

Hermione liked her immediately and was glad that someone had eventually greeted her without a touch of frostiness.

"Lovely to meet you Pippa."

"Morning," Draco spoke from behind them. "We're already late so let's get going, shall we?"

Hermione glanced at him, wondering at his brusque attitude again but neither Clem nor Pippa seemed in the least bit bothered so she obediently climbed on the small, open carriage that was waiting for them.

The track away from the yard was winding and quite steeply uphill but it gave them lovely views over a small river and surrounding forest and fields. In front of them were some low mountains with a large rocky area to their right.

Pippa and Draco were engaged in conversation, most of which sounded like a foreign language to Hermione as she caught words like 'ironbelly' 'vipertooth' and 'scorchtest'. It suddenly hit her that she was about to get up close and personal to these terrifying creatures and was expected to capture them on canvas.

As Clem seemed to have used up all his friendliness for today and didn't seem to be about to make any sort of conversation with Hermione, she found herself glancing at Draco as he chatted to Pippa.

It was strange seeing him again because it truly felt like he was another person to the boy who she had spent seven years at school with. The Draco from school was obnoxious, mean and antagonistic but at least he had personality. This Draco was cold and seemingly unfeeling. He seemed entirely focused on his business and the dragons. She'd been expecting her visit here to be a fiery one (she smiled to herself at the pun) with them unable to spend anytime together without a disagreement. She expected sarcasm and sneering.

This cold, unresponsive man who seemed entirely indifferent to her presence here and the history they had together, was unnerving her. At least she knew how to deal with the meanness and sarcasm. She had no idea how to engage with this Draco and she knew she needed to because if he was to be part of the paintings, they needed some sort of emotion, some sort of relationship.

The carriage came to a stop by a tall and ornate metal fence which was obviously a dragon enclosure. It was a huge space, with a rocky wall and caves at the back. Hermione peered into the enclosure but couldn't see any sign of the creature.

"Miss Granger?"

She turned to find Draco standing at the back of the carriage, his hand outstretched to help her down from it. She noticed that Clem was already offloading some boxes of equipment and that Pippa had simply jumped off from her place at the front of the carriage. Hermione wished she had done the same, instead of looking like she needed babysitting. However, it was too late for that now, her chance to show how outdoorsy and capable she was had passed, so she took Draco's outstretched, leather clad hand and allowed him to help her down.

Draco took some long strides over to the enclosure and Hermione trotted along to keep up with him. "This is our only Vipertooth – they are notoriously difficult to keep – they aren't particularly keen on us wizards, except for their lunch."

Hermione glanced over at him, surprised at his sudden humorous comment. He was still staring into the enclosure but his lips were curving at the corners.

"This isn't one of the dragons I will be painting?" Hermione examined her list.

Draco shook his head. "No, she's too difficult to approach and too volatile. Which is a pity because she's beautiful." There was an awe in his voice as he spoke showing that he actually loved what he did and the creatures he was looking after. "We need to give her a treatment for an infected claw, hence you're getting to meet her as a bonus."

Clem approached with a large tube in his hand. "When did Betty last feed?"

"First thing," Draco peered into the enclosure. "She's not being very friendly for our visitor, is she?"

Hermione was staring at them both open mouthed. "Betty? You named her Betty?"

Pippa, Clem and Draco all turned to look at her. She noticed Clem was grinning again.

"We found that 'oi!' didn't work well," Draco's reply was quick and he looked amused. Pippa and Clem chuckled.

Hermione held her hands up defensively. "I mean I expected 'Strong-tooth' or 'Fire-eyes' – Dragon names! Not Betty!"

"Wait until you meet Hermione!" Draco folded his arms across his chest and faced her, his eyebrows raised.

Hermione's eyes widened in her face. "Hermione!? You named one of them Hermione?!"

Draco's serious face broke into a huge grin and he laughed. "No, we didn't really."

Hermione rolled her eyes but couldn't help but join in with their laughter. So, they did have a sense of humour then!

"Very amusing," Hermione shook her head, feigning irritation but she was still laughing.

Pippa handed her a set of gloves, a leather apron and one of the hooked poles. "Do you fancy coming into the enclosure?"

Hermione's humour popped like a balloon and she stared at the equipment as if it might explode if she touched it.

"Oh…I don't know," she glanced at Draco. "Dra…..Mr Malfoy said that this one….."

"Betty," Draco interrupted her.

Hermione glanced at him before continuing. "Mr Malfoy said that Betty," she emphasised the name, "was volatile and that this breed isn't friendly to wizards," she stopped speaking, feeling foolish.

Pippa nodded. "All true but you won't be approaching her – you can stay at the edge of the enclosure with Clem." She thrust the equipment at Hermione. "I promise you will be safe Miss Granger."

"Hermione," Hermione corrected her automatically. "And I guess I should get used to being close to them as I have to paint them." She took the equipment and began putting it on but it was difficult and her hands were shaking.

"Here, let me help you," Clem took the gloves from her and helped her slide them on and tie them at the wrist. He then reached around her and tied the apron and handed her the stick. She looked up at him, feeling like a five-year-old child but his face was kind, his eyes encouraging. "Don't feel bad, we are all so familiar with them that we take it for granted. Your reaction is completely normal," he reassured her with a pat on the shoulder and immediately Hermione felt a bit better.

"Your reaction is exactly the one we need you to have," Draco's voice made her jump as she hadn't realised that he was standing right behind her. She felt him re-tie her apron without asking her permission and tried to not look surprised. "These creatures need our respect. That's how we stay safe around them – never forget they are wild animals."

Hermione looked at all three of them and nodded. "Thank you," she said. "I'm not usually such a wimp, honestly."

Pippa put her hand on Hermione's shoulder. "You of all people don't need to tell us that, Hermione. We know full well you're anything but a wimp."

Pippa's words, them all suddenly being kind to her and her nerves suddenly made Hermione feel emotional and she gulped, willing herself to keep in control.

"Pippa and I will approach the cave," Draco had taken her arm and was leading her inside the enclosure. "You stay close to Clem, keep quiet and no sudden movements." He squeezed her arm reassuringly, surprising her again.

Hermione and Clem crouched near the perimeter fence and watched as Pippa and Draco went over to the cave. Pippa had a large, metal bucket which Hermione presumed contained food and she suddenly started to hit it with her stick, making Hermione jump out of her skin. Draco clapped his hands above his head, making whooping sounds.

"It's okay, they are just attracting her attention," Clem explained quietly.

Before Hermione could reply, the dragon suddenly appeared, her huge head poking out of the cave. She sniffed and opened her jaws wide, exposing rows of deadly teeth. Hermione moved slightly closer to Clem, not caring what he thought.

"Good morning Betty," Pippa said loudly. "We need you be a good girl today." She walked backwards slowly, still hitting the bucket.

Betty emerged fully from the cave and took a few steps towards Pippa, who looked tiny in comparison to the huge creature in front of her.

"Good girl," Pippa said encouragingly. She put the bucket down and took out her stick. "Treats for you."

Draco had become silent and had approached the dragon quietly and was now right next to her foot. He was holding the tube that Hermione had seen Clem with earlier.

"Pippa is distracting her, so that Draco can treat her claw," Clem whispered.

"They're so brave!" she whispered back and Clem nodded.

"Yes, but they know how to stay safe and Betty trusts them."

Before Hermione could reply, Betty decided she needed a stretch and she rose up to her full height and extended her huge, scaly wings, each one of the scales a metallic copper colour that reflected the light. Hermione now understood why Draco had called her beautiful. Terrifying, but beautiful.

As if to prove Hermione right, Betty let out a roar and Hermione jumped again.

"It's okay," she felt rather than heard Clem chuckle as he whispered his reassurance.

Hermione really wanted to stand up and yell to Pippa and particularly Draco, who was right next to the dragon to run for their lives but she knew she couldn't.

"This is normal?" she whispered her question to Clem who nodded.

"Yes, she's just waking up and having a stretch just like we do," he joked and Hermione smiled at him.

"I'm being ridiculous, I know I am," she said.

"No, you are not," he reassured her firmly. "Most people would not be even near to the enclosure when they first encounter a dragon, let alone inside it." He gave her another taste of his dazzling smile and Hermione found herself grinning back at him. How on earth had Harry fought one of these creatures in the Tri Wizard cup?

She turned back to the scene in front of her and found Pippa slowly backing away from Betty who had her large snout in the bucket of food. Draco was applying something from the tube to her foot and as Betty raised her head again Hermione sincerely wished he would hurry up! Her nerves couldn't take much more.

Pippa had a pair of Omnioculars and was now standing close to Hermione and Clem, looking at Betty through them.

"She looks good around her head scales," she said.

"Horns?" Clem answered her.

"Yeah, all good," Pippa replied.

Draco was sprinting back across the enclosure towards them as he got near, he skidded to a stop.

"Claw is healing well – I think we can apply tomorrow and then maybe every other day," he said.

"Great," Pippa nodded. "So, we'll meet you at Mavis in about half an hour?"

He nodded then bent down and grabbed Hermione's hand, helping her to stand. She let him but must have looked bewildered because he then explained. "Pip and Clem are going to check Betty's cave while she's out here, they'll meet us at the next enclosure."

They had left the enclosure now, Draco still holding Hermione's hand, which slightly amused her.

"Mavis?" she asked, her expression telling him exactly what she thought of the silly names they had given the dragons.

"Actually, her real name is Fire Tongue." He folded his arms and looked at her indignantly as he said this. "Mavis is our nickname for her."

"Really?" Hermione narrowed her eyes at him.

He unfolded his arms and sighed, leaning closer to her. "No! Of course not! Her name is Mavis and I'm going to tell her she can have a witch dinner unless you start treating her with some respect!" He wasn't smiling but she could tell he was joking.

"Believe me, both you and the dragons have entirely earned my respect after what I've just seen!" she said and she saw a look of surprise flash across his face.

"Thank you," he stared directly at her as he said this.

"However, you won't convince me that they don't have the most ridiculous names ever…Mavis, Betty? Really?!" Hermione grinned at him and was pleased to see him smile back before he started towards the next enclosure.