IWSC Round 1 - School: Mahoutokoro, Year: 1, Theme: Friendship, Special rule: Create a creature., Main prompt: (plot point) illegal dragon breeding, Additional prompts: (emotion) nervous, (Setting) A farm

Word count: 2658

Knock knock.

Charlie Weasley, startled, leapt up from his bed. Glancing at the clock perched on his bedside table, he could just about make out the time.

3.04 am, the flashing numbers read.

Charlie murmured a subtle curse under his breath as he waddled towards the wooden entrance of his hut. Who the hell was knocking on his door at this godforsaken time?

The door creaked open and Charlie's wild red mane just about peeked out. It was windy, he noted. Outside the door stood a girl. She had dishevelled blonde hair, and she was holding a book of some sorts. The most striking thing about her, though, was her attire. Although Charlie could not make out the colours in the limited dawn lighting, he noted that the girl was wearing what appeared to be… a onesie?

For a few seconds, the redhead kept staring ahead, trying to process the sight. Then, he remembered.

"Luna Lovegood?" he asked. The girl, with a smile on her face, nodded. "What are you doing here?"

"I need your help," she replied as if it was the most natural thing ever.

"At this time of the hour?" Charlie raised an eyebrow. "Can't it wait until the morning?"

"You have to take care of the dragons during the day," Luna explained. "You're not taking care of them now, so it's a good time to talk."

"I need sleep too, you know," Charlie remarked. Luna, unfazed, kept her gaze on him, with the same sweet smile. "Ah, bloody hell. Come in, you're gonna freeze in this wind."

The pair stepped into the hut. Charlie mumbled a quick Lumos, revealing a scarcely furnished living area with a small kitchenette. He gestured to the ragged, brown sofa standing in the middle of the room, and Luna sat, flipping through her book until she stopped on a page towards the end with a soft, "A-ha!"

"The dragons are allergic to tea, so I can't keep any here. I hope you don't mind," Charlie said, plopping down next to the blonde. Luna did not make a remark. Instead, with one of her neatly-painted index fingers, she pointed at a drawing that looked like a dragon, but not a breed he recognised.

"Lebanese Longtails," Luna said. "They are one of the rarest dragon breeds, known for the acidic fire they breathe. I have been looking for one, and I think I may have finally found the place, but… I need a little help."

"I've never heard of them," Charlie said. "Are you sure it's not just a Ukrainian Ironbelly? It looks somewhat similar to one." Luna shook her head with so much fervour, for a moment, Charlie was afraid she was going to strain her neck.

"No! This is not an officially recognised breed," Luna said. "It is said to be a cross-bred type. The first ones originated in Lebanon, hence the name, but nowadays, they are only found in Eurasia. There have not been any official sightings in the past 200 years, but I believe they are still out there, in captivity. I have evidence to suggest that they are still being bred and used as guard dragons."

Charlie considered the girl for a moment. He had heard, from his siblings, about Luna's quirky nature and all the seemingly made-up magical creatures she would talk about. He hadn't really had the chance to talk to the girl in person, though. Now that he had exchanged a few words with her, despite the… peculiar timing of her visit and her mind-boggling outfit, Charlie decided that Luna was a likeable person. He could see a fire in her eyes that he was all too familiar with, a dedication for magical creatures that anybody else would have frowned upon.

He sighed, his hands ruffling through his fiery locks. "And what is this place? The one where you think the Lebanese Longtails may be."

"It's an illegal dragon breeding syndicate. They operate out of Kazakhstan, but they apparently have a branch in Romania. I would go there by myself, but I don't have a lot of experience with dragons, and I thought you might be able to help in getting them to safety," Luna explained.

For a few seconds, she remained silent, before adding, "Also, it's always good to have company." The last sentence was barely audible, almost a whisper, and Luna's gaze fell away from the book, staring at nothing in particular.

"Oh, of course." Charlie nodded, feeling inexplicably out of place. "How do you know all this?"

Luna shrugged but said nothing.

"Okay, well," Charlie continued, "I suppose I could help. Is it any urgent, or would it be possible to get some sleep beforehand?"

"Oh!" Luna perked up, snapping out of her strange, daydream-like state. "We should head there at dusk; that's when the Lebanese Longtails are the most active."

"So, we will even have time to pack up properly. Lovely," Charlie remarked. "Well, I can offer you this sofa as a means to sleep, if that's agreeable." Luna nodded, to which Charlie swished his wand to conjure a set of bedding that landed, neatly folded, on the girl's lap. "In that case, I'll be off for the night, if you don't mind."

He stood and took a few steps in the direction of the bedroom before spinning around on his heel, his eyes looking straight at Luna. "By the way," the redhead began, gesturing at the blonde, "what's with the onesie?"

"Oh," Luna said. "It's a nargle repellent. They hate neon colours."

Despite his best efforts to hide it, Charlie felt a nervous tingle as he zipped up his backpack, shuddering for a moment in spite of his warm surroundings. Taking care of dragons and escorting them to the reserve? Sure, he had done that many times before. Sneaking into a place that, according to Luna, was rumoured to be a syndicate of illegal dragon breeders? Not so much. He wasn't entirely sure whether he felt afraid or excited; perhaps, it was a mixture of both.

And then, there was the fact that he had not been out on an assignment in years.

"Are you ready?" came the chime of Luna's voice from behind the man.

"Yes, just finishing up," Charlie replied as he flung the backpack across his shoulders. He noticed his fingers were shaking, although the vibrations were barely visible. A drop of sweat rolled down his forehead.

Luna, narrowing her eyes, crossed the room and put a hand on the redhead's shoulder, her silver eyes boring into Charlie's brown irises.

"Don't worry," she said. "Nothing bad will happen. I have everything packed."

"Ah, no," Charlie stammered, trying to find his way around his words. It was odd, being comforted by the younger girl. "Just a…"

"A bit nervous," Luna finished for him. "I understand. But don't worry," she said, smiling at Charlie with a glint in her eyes. "Ready?"

Charlie nodded and grabbed the blonde's forearm. A second later, accompanied by a loud pop, the pair landed in the middle of… a field?

Charlie turned around to scan their surroundings. There was nothing but farmland as far as the eye could see, and the setting sun painted the rye field around them in all sorts of yellows, oranges and reds, the plants' shadows swaying from side to side as a light breeze rushed over them. Luna, in the meantime, took out a mechanical contraption of sorts from her backpack and brought it to her eyes, appearing to look for something.

Another few seconds passed before she lowered the contraption and pointed in… whatever direction she was pointing at. Charlie had lost his sense of orientation, so he was not entirely sure where.

"There!" Luna said. "There is a farmhouse over there. That's probably where the hideout is." Without any further ado, she grabbed Charlie's arm and began dragging him towards where she had seen the building. Charlie, out of caution, reached into his pockets and drew his wand as he followed the girl's lead.

For what felt like an eternity, the two kept walking, careful not to make too much noise. Charlie found that it was particularly difficult to hide his steps in the constant shuffling of the rye plants, but for the most part, nothing happened, so he assumed they had done a relatively good job at staying unnoticed. Until…

CRACK!

Something snapped under Charlie's feet. Looking down, he saw nothing more than a stray twig. For a second, he stayed still, hoping it would go unnoticed. His heart raced and he took a big gulp, his forehead once again breaking out in a sweat. He felt the shakes return to his fingers. Then, there was a whoosh behind him, and the next thing he knew, he was lying face down, a few metres to the left of where he had been, a place that was now covered in something… smoking? Luna was standing to his right, her wand pointed at a large, black creature, hovering in the sky. A dragon.

...A Lebanese Longtail?

"Thanks," Charlie muttered. Luna furrowed her eyebrows.

"They're coming. We need to get out of here," she said. "We have to try getting on the dragon; this is too deep into the No-Apparition Zone to be safe." The dragon, having recovered from its initial attack, swooped down again, opening its mouth for yet another screech.

"Protego!" Luna cried only a second before a splash of fiery acid hit her magical shield. Charlie hopped onto his feet, scrambling to get his backpack off his shoulders. He unzipped the bag in a hurry and plunged his hand in it, grabbing onto the hempen rope he had packed.

"Cover for me," he said, breaking out into a sprint, making his way to flank the dragon.

It was nothing like he had seen before. The Longtail had black scales, like a Hungarian Horntail, but it was shining with a metallic glint, like a Ukrainian Ironbelly. Not to mention, the fire it breathed was no normal fire. It scorched the earth, yes, but Charlie noticed that wherever the fire landed, the ground began bubbling, oozing some sort of sickly green liquid.

As he ran a semi-circle, the dragon kept battering Luna with its attacks, swinging its tail over the girl, who had to duck, lest she be swept away.

"Luna! Watch out!" Charlie shouted before sending a soundless Stupefy behind the girl. As Luna whipped around, she just about caught sight of a hooded figure falling onto the ground. In the distance, Charlie spotted a group of around a dozen individuals, all rushing towards the dragon.

"Shit," he muttered as his deft fingers worked around the rope to tie a strong enough knot. He fumbled, cursing at himself for letting his nerves take the better of him. That would not do! He had done this so many times, for Merlin's sake, so why now? Why was he letting his unsettlement take over him?

He had really gotten out of practice, he thought. Only now did he realise that for the past years, he had gone… soft, perhaps, that he had lost his adventurous edge without meaning to.

"Charlie!" he heard a shout from beside him. Luna locked her intent gaze on him, motioning to the rope. Charlie, flustered the realisation that he had stopped tying the knot halfway through when he got preoccupied with his emotions, continued.

The shouts in the distance got louder; the group of figures—members of the syndicate, Charlie assumed—were getting closer.

Finally, satisfied with his knot, Charlie raised his wand, guiding the rope in the air until it tightened around the dragon's tail. He gave it a tug, and the dragon twitched. It did not, however, lower to the ground, as he had expected; instead, it turned around, eyeing Luna with unbridled rage as it prepared for another attack.

With a sigh and the rope in one hand, he reached into the bag again, taking out a large, spiky ball of some sort. Slinging the backpack over his shoulder again, he shook the ball. The dragon stopped in its tracks, fixating on the spiky ball. Charlie kept shaking the ball as he tugged on the rope again.

The dragon, as if in a trance, landed on the ground with a loud thud, its eyes opaque.

"Quick, get on!" Charlie nudged the girl, who made a run for it. Charlie, however, noticed something, and before he could stop himself, dropped the ball and took out his wand, sending another Stupefy near where Luna stood. A jet of bright blue light barely missed the girl as she jumped on the dragon's tail, made her way up and sat on its back.

The Longtail, having been roused from its trance, shook itself, almost managing to sweep Luna off, and stared at Charlie, fire returning to its eyes.

"Ah, for fuck's sake," Charlie said, gripping the rope in one hand and wand in the other. With a fell swoop, he grabbed the spiky ball from where he had dropped it in his wand hand and sprinted across the field. As he ran, he noted the acidic smoke trail that appeared to follow him. Finally, he reached the dragon's tail and mounted its back, settling in for the bumpy ride he knew would be ahead of them.

"Hold this," he pushed the ball to Luna, who had just fired off another spell at a cloaked figure. They were now only a couple hundred metres from the dragon and closing in quickly, so Charlie knew they had to act fast. He took out a syringe from his backpack and pushed it in between the dragon's scales.

"Up," he said. Luna let out a small yelp as the dragon obliged, swooping up into the dusk sky. "Take us back to the reserve," Charlie continued. He felt a rumble beneath where he injected the syringe, but the dragon ruffled itself and took off, away from the setting sun.

As they took off, Charlie looked back on the rye field. There was a noticeable trail of destruction, along with the remainder of the cloaked figures, who had stopped in their tracks as the dragon made its way further and further away.

Charlie let out a sigh of relief, his shoulder sagging. As he bagged the spiky ball, the shaking in his fingers returned, and he shuddered. He had not felt anything like this since his first dragon-taming assignment.

He couldn't bring himself to say anything. Instead, he occupied himself with trying to calm down for the rest of the journey.

"We did it!" Luna exclaimed as she and Charlie entered the wooden hut.

"Yeah." Charlie nodded. "Thanks for saving me, you know, from that first acid breath."

Luna shrugged. "Think nothing of it. Thank you for helping me."

"You're welcome." The redhead contemplated for a moment. "It will take some time to rehabilitate her. I noticed a fair few scars on her back while we were en route here. Do you think there are…?"

"Others, being treated like this?" Luna continued. "Yes, I think so. I would like to try getting them all to safety."

"That'll be difficult." Charlie shot a pained glance at the blonde.

"I think we can do it," Luna declared, the fire Charlie had first noticed the night before returning to her silver eyes.

"Heh." Charlie smiled, shaking his head. "Maybe. If we work together."

"If we work together," Luna affirmed.

Charlie let out a laugh. It was unbelievable, really, how the blonde in front of him turned his life upside down in the span of less than 24 hours. But, he thought, he was looking forward to saving more Lebanese Longtails. It was different from tending to dragons at the reserve, sure, but he decided he liked the idea.

Of all the ways to make a friend, he supposed this must have been the strangest, yet most life-changing one.