Chapter one: Defeating the Dragon
Author's Note: Please forgive me for taking so long to post! I swear it was not my intention to keep everyone waiting, especially when I let everyone know what my plan was. I had to move into a new apartment and my roommate does not seem to believe in living life while working. I'm also trying to translate three different versions of this story into one, which is quite a job, haha. Reminders:
There will be select Weasley bashing, not sure if I'll restrict it to Ron or if I'm extending it to Ginny as well. There will be Dumbledore Bashing. Harry and Hermione will become animagi, so if you're not into that, please find something else to read or give it a chance and see if I can change your mind, haha. Also, I plan on changing the animals that they will be turning into.
Anyway, I hope this first chapter brings some enjoyment!
*I do not own Harry Potter*
*Acknowledgement at end of chapter. Please Read!*
Chapter One: Defeating the Dragon
Terror rushed through Harry's veins and he felt the rapid thunderous beating of his heart in his ears. He was about to face the Hungarian Horntail, the one dragon that Hagrid didn't call cute and cuddly. Hagrid had a tendency to adopt creatures like three-headed dogs, baby dragons, and much more. He also called an enormous, man-eating acromantula his oldest, dearest friend! Harry had believed for the last three years of his life that it was impossible for the dangerous creature obsessed Hagrid to consider any creature anything worse than misunderstood, yet even he admitted that the Horntail was a menace!
Harry was still shaking in fear when the flap to his personal tent opened and Hermione Granger stepped inside with her expression barely disguising her own worry for him. "H-Hermione?" Harry asked with his voice trembling.
"Shh," Hermione responded softly with a finger to her lips. "I'm not supposed to be here Harry, you'll need to be quiet," the young witch whispered and walked up to Harry quickly, taking a seat beside him without hesitation. Taking note of his trembling, she took hold of his hands and caught his eyes with her own. "I'm sorry, I had to see you before you go up against your dragon," she admitted. "Please tell me how you're feeling."
Harry shook his head. "I'm going to die, Hermione! I'm stuck with the Horntail!" He was about to ramble about how the horntail was a monster of epic proportions even as far as Hagrid was concerned when Hermione suddenly kissed him.
It was a tentative kiss at first, a simple attempt from Hermione to snap Harry out of his panicked state of mind. But the moment their lips touched, it was as if everything around them stopped existing and they wrapped their arms around each other as their kiss deepened considerably. What felt like days, but was more accurately just a minute or two went by and they finally let go of each other. The moment they released each other the pair of teens were very much aware of the genuine shift in their friendship. "Well," Hermione began and licked her lips. "Now you can't die, no matter how bad the dragon you're facing is."
Harry couldn't help smiling at Hermione's confidence, although he may have still been lost in after-kiss bliss. "What makes you so sure about that?" He asked softly as he wrapped one of her curls around his index finger.
Hermione smirked at Harry. "You need to come back to me so you can tell me how that made you feel," she explained before standing back up and leaning forward to give Harry a final kiss goodbye on his cheek, then she walked away to exit the tent. Harry didn't hear her final whispered plea, "please come back to me, Harry." The cannon went off for the final time almost a minute after Hermione's departure, and Harry took a deep breath as he stepped out of the tent to face the Hungarian Horntail.
Harry's terror came back full force as the dragon turned to him, baring her countless fangs at the teenage wizard. Harry quickly ducked behind one of the large boulders in the arena and summoned his broom. Seconds passed by as he waited for his prized broom to reach him, and as he waited he stayed moving by ducking and dodging every strike and blast of dragon fire sent his way by the enraged Horntail. The moment Harry caught sight of his beloved firebolt soaring toward him, he ran out from behind the boulder he was hiding behind.
The dragon roared out her rage at Harry's presence and lunged forward to attack Harry again, just as he was leaping onto his summoned broom. He failed to escape the dragon's talons as he transitioned from the ground to his broom, but despite the three deep claw marks across Harry's torso, the young wizard found that he could still easily fall into his instincts on a broom. What he did not expect as he taunted the dragon, criss-crossing through the air in an effort to keep her distracted, was that the enraged nesting mother would turn on the the crowd watching the event.
With her fury building, the dragon spat her fire straight out at the crowd, which led to the most powerful move Harry had made with his magic since he banished over a hundred dementors with a single patronus charm. It was instinctual for Harry to point his wand at the stands and cast a shield charm Hermione had taught him merely weeks earlier. Harry wasn't sure how he did it, but the charm was strong enough to not only hold the dragonfire back from the innocent bystanders, but also to send the flames back at the ferocious beast.
It turned out that her own dragonfire rebounding against her was the dragon's breaking point, and she managed to barely break through Harry's charm with her talons, which terrified the already panicked crowd. Harry's next reactionary move against his fire-breathing opponent would label him Gryffindor's golden boy for the rest of his days at Hogwarts. He rushed forward on instinct, desperate to protect the innocent crowd, and kicked the dragon directly in her eye. "-Leave them-" he hissed. Even partially blinded and filled with immeasurable fury, she recognized parseltongue.
She turned to face the human foolish enough to attack her and make demands of her, and hissed back at him. "-Serpent tongued human, you have earned your end!-"
Harry went back to dodging the dragon's attacks biding his time as another object he summoned without anyone noticing came rushing over to him. The dragon noticed Harry landing on a large boulder and rushed forward to eat him. In her rage, she failed to take notice of a new object which he was gripping in his hands. With one final dodge and a single swing made with the sword of Gryffindor, the Hungarian Horntail's head was freed from its body, and Harry had won the battle, proving to everyone that he was a true Gryffindor.
With the dangerous beast slain, Harry stumbled over to the nest and picked up the golden egg that he had been tasked with retrieving. Every step he took was applauded by the students gathered to watch him risk his life, and as he lifted the egg up above his head, the entire crowd roared and cheered. Unfortunately for Harry, the adrenaline rush that had helped him ignore his wounds faded rapidly and he collapsed backwards before he knew what was happening.
Within moments, Harry was gathered up and being moved to a medic tent. Hermione, terrified for Harry and desperate to be sure he would survive, shoved her way through the crowd and ran after Harry without hesitation. She was an unstoppable force as she forced her way into the tent, and once she heard Harry's pained scream she lost all sense of the world beyond her singular goal of finding Harry and staying by his side no matter what. The sight that met Hermione's eyes was enough to shatter her heart to bits.
Harry was lying on a hospital bed shirtless with three deep claw marks slashed angrily across his torso from his right shoulder to his left leg. It hit Hermione suddenly that the dragon had gotten to him with her talons. Harry's face was contorted in agony as his body shook from the venom he'd been exposed to. Madam Pomfrey was working feverishly over Harry, rubbing a green salve of some kind into his wounds.
The moment Harry let out out another agonized scream, Hermione rushed forward and took hold of his hand with both of hers. "H-Harry," She cried as tears began to well up in her eyes. "Please don't leave me, Harry."
The obvious pain in Hermione's voice tore through Harry's heart and he opened his eyes, turning to face Hermione and give her a soft reassuring smile that quickly had him staring back up at the ceiling and letting out yet another scream as the blood from his wounds began bubbling. Madam Pomfrey was moved by the subtle interaction between them and placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder. "Mr. Potter is in good hands Miss Hermione, I promise you he will survive."
Hermione gave the mediwitch a nod before refocusing her attention on Harry. She barely acknowledged Madam Pomfrey explaining that she could not properly heal him until she had pulled the venom out of his system with the salve she had coated his wounds in, and that she would know the venom was gone once the bubbling stopped.
For Harry, nothing existed beyond Hermione. The young witch holding on to him was a miracle in Harry's eyes. She had stood by him through thick and thin, even as his so-called best mate had turned away and called him a cheat. Hermione never once questioned whether or not he had actually entered himself into the tournament, she had tutored him in an effort to keep him safe, supported him when he needed encouragement, and she had even given him a perfect first kiss that hadn't left his mind for a moment while he was fighting for his life, and she had done it all without a single request for herself beyond asking that he stay safe and return to her in one piece. As far as Harry was concerned, Hermione was his guardian angel, and perhaps it was the pain, maybe it was the extensive blood loss, but for whatever reason, when he turned to look at her again, he was met with a brilliant image that burned itself into his memory. Hermione seemed to shimmer with splendid light unlike anything he had ever witnessed before as she wept golden tears that splashed onto his skin and glasses like glittering raindrops. In that moment, Hermione became Harry's everything.
Madam Pomfrey returned to her feverish pace in her haste to heal Harry, having taken notice of the fact that the blood had stopped bubbling. The venom had been cleaned out of his system. Despite his best efforts, she was unable to fully close the claw marks due to their severity and the resistance to magic that dragons themselves held. There were dragon tamers by the hundreds that were left with scars that could never be fixed completely. What the mediwitch was unable to fully heal, she tended to with another healing salve and then wrapped up with charmed bandages.
Once Poppy was finally able to to get a blood replenishing potion into Harry's system and had applied burn paste to a couple small burns on his arms, Harry ended up falling asleep. He couldn't fight off his physical exhaustion any longer. It didn't take long for Dumbledore to walk into the tent with Remus Lupin and a large black dog accompanying him. "Miss Ganger," Dumbledore greeted her with the briefest bow of his head. Hermione ignored the respectful greeting, too angry with the elderly headmaster for knowingly endangering her Harry to appreciate any gesture Dumbledore made, no matter how polite or remorseful. "Poppy informed me that you had taken up guard watch over our young Harry. Your former professor and his four-legged companion would very much like to check on Mr. Potter, as long as you are not troubled by that of course."
Hermione finally looked up at Dumbledore, and her eyes were a hateful blizzard that could have given the ninth ring of hell a run for its money. "Padfoot and Moony are welcome," she stated a bit forcefully. "You are not." Though her voice was low in volume and her tone very calm, everyone present knew that her final three words on the subject carried a deadly threat if Dumbledore fought her declaration. The headmaster made the decision to not challenge her dismissal and walked out after bowing his head ever so slightly once more. He was smart enough to know he simply had to take it in stride, she was simply the third woman today to glare at him with hatred. Surely they would all realize eventually that he was not to blame, or so he thought.
As for Hermione, she sneered at his retreating form until he was finally gone, beard and all. "Hermione, is there a reason for how you just spoke to the headmaster?" Remus asked as Padfoot bounded over to Harry. The werewolf knew it was odd for him to feel fear in the presence of one of his ex-students, but there was something about her that had his inner wolf on edge. She had an indescribable and undeniable strength.
Hermione's response came out sounding remarkably similar to a growl. "He put my Harry in danger. If that man wants to keep his head attached to his shoulders, he had better not come near either of us for a long while," she stated matter-of-factly. Then she turned her icy eyes on Remus. "And if you argue with me about that in any way, I'll kick you out right behind him."
The werewolf tensed in fear for a short moment before nodding slowly with his hands up in surrender. "No need for that miss Granger, I was merely curious. How is our pup now?" He asked her softly as he stood on the opposite side of the slumbering Hogwarts Champion. Padfoot sat down with Hermione, resting his canine head on her lap as he let out a soft whine. Hermione had yet to let go of Harry's hand.
She sighed and brushed Harry's bangs off his eyes gently. "He isn't screaming anymore, or nearly breaking my hand anymore. I assume that means he's at least a bit better."
Lupin nodded. "Well then, how are you feeling, Hermione?" He asked of her, taking notice of her tear-streaked face. It was clear to Remus in that moment that Hermione had a deep devotion to Harry and it must still be paining her to see the last surviving Potter so drastically wounded. From the looks of things from the stands, he could have died if he wasn't tended to in time.
Hermione shrugged her shoulders and wiped at her eyes, not sure whether or not she was still crying. "I don't really know for sure…" She admitted. "I almost… I almost lost him… I don't know if I could survive that…"
The werewolf gave another slow nod before turning his attention to his feet. As for Padfoot, he lifted his head from Hermione's lap, changed back into his human form, and placed a gentle hand on Hermione's shoulder. "Thank you for taking care of our pup, Hermione. You're an angel."
She couldn't help blushing at Sirius' grateful compliments. The animagus and werewolf were easily reminded of why they assumed the pair would be a delightful match as Harry began to mutter in his sleep and turned over onto his side, facing Hermione. Hermione responded without hesitation, brushing the tips of her fingers across his forehead and cheek in an effort to comfort him. "Hush now Harry," she nearly purred in his ear. "You're safe Harry, you are perfectly cared for, I promise."
Harry was genuinely soothed by Hermione's touch. His body quickly relaxed and he slowly opened his eyes, smiling the moment he caught sight of Hermione. "Mione?" He asked softly. Hermione nodded and gave him a joyful smile as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. "You stayed," he whispered as he searched his eyes for… anything. He wasn't sure what, but he just needed to see her. Hermione knew instinctively that his comment was meant only for her ears, so she didn't say anything. Harry shook himself mentally and took a breath. "How long was I out?" he asked her, bringing himself back to reality.
"Not too long," she answered softly. "Padfoot and Moony came to see you," Hermione added and kissed his forehead. She began to back away so Harry would have some space with his "uncles," but he was still firmly gripping Hermione's hand, so she ended up staying put.
Although Harry had yet to release Hermione's hand, his attention had moved to Sirius. "Padfoot!" He exclaimed quietly and wrapped his free arm around Sirius as they embraced one another. "Please tell me you've been alright."
"Of course I've been okay, Moony and I have been staying in a safe place together, we even have Buckbeak with us," Sirius explained quickly and let go of Harry so his godson could see the pride in his smile. "Are you okay?" The animagus asked.
Harry shrugged at first. "I'm sure it sounds weird, but I feel fine. The worst of it is soreness, and I have to admit that I'm still insanely tired."
Remus ended up shaking his head at that with a huge grin. "You just fought against a dragon, how does it feel to come out on top in a challenge like that?" The animagus couldn't help asking.
The smile on Harry's face was a reaction he couldn't stop. "I don't really know how to feel about it to be honest," he admitted and gripped Hermione's hand tighter. "Padfoot, Moony," he began and took a deep breath. "It's great seeing you both… but could I maybe have a couple minutes alone?" He asked, and his eyes moved to Hermione.
Remus and Sirius caught on automatically and were out of the tent (Sirius as Padfoot) in less than a minute. Hermione caught on too, she wasn't called the brightest witch of her age for no reason. But her lack of confidence in anything other than her intellect made Hermione panic and in an effort to delay the inevitable discussion with Harry about their shared kiss, she did the only thing she could think of and hugged him before losing herself in her old habit of rambling. "You're going to be perfectly fine in a few days, according to Madam Pomfrey. She can't stop the marks scarring, but a day or so of bedrest will work wonders for you. You'll need it anyway so that your magical core can recuperate," she added as an afterthought when she saw the frustration in Harry's eyes.
After about three and a half years of friendship with Harry, Hermione had figured out that Harry hated bedrest, but she had yet to learn the reason behind it. It was one of his most closely guarded secrets. Before Harry came to Hogwarts, and during every summer spent with the Dursleys, Harry's daily life was spent in constant movement. He devoted hours at a time to cooking pretty much every meal, cleaning the entire house twice a week, gardening daily for Petunia, and running away from Dudley's gang on the few days when he had time to himself. While Harry may not have liked what his muggle relatives demanded of him on a constant basis, he had grown accustomed to non-stop movement. Lying about and waiting to recover was likely going to drive Harry as mad as a Hatter. He didn't complain though, the look on Hermione's face told Harry that she knew how frustrated he was going to be and that all she really cared about was Harry's recovery.
Instead of complaining about how he did not want to deal with an annoying recovery process, Harry attempted to change the subject to their shared kiss. "Hermione,' He began softly and took a deep breath. "Can we talk about-"
"Later," Hermione cut him off quickly, panic taking over. She was terrified of what he was going to say, she was convinced beyond reasoning that he would never view her in a romantic light. Hermione had no idea that what Harry wanted to say was actually exactly what she wanted to hear.
Before Harry could press the issue and tell Hermione how he was beginning to feel, Madam Pomfrey showed up in the tent with professor McGonagall. "Mr. Potter, Poppy and I have decided that you're stable enough to be moved to the hospital wing. I take it miss Ganger will be accompanying you?" The head of Gryffindor house asked softly with the slightest of smiles on her face.
Harry shared a look and a quick nod with Hermione. "Apparently she's up for it, and I wouldn't dream of denying Hermione the opportunity to learn something new." Hermione couldn't stop the blush from rising to her cheeks. McGonagall couldn't help letting out a brief chuckle at the image.
"Merlin forbid anyone should ever be unfortunate enough to come between miss Granger and knowledge."
Author's Closing Words: Again, I apologize big-time for the long wait! Also, I'd love to hear your thoughts on what I've put together so far. I wanna hear from everybody! Tell me what you liked, what you didn't like, what you think can be improved, what you're anticipating, anything and everything! Just please do me a favor and keep it constructive, there's no room for negative vibes here, haha!
*Update* It has recently come to my attention that a couple of early moments in my fic strongly resemble "Harry Potter and the Last Chance" by LeQuin. This was not intentional and all I can say is that apparently when I read it I was heavily inspired and forgot where I got my ideas for how Harry handles his dragon, the corpses of both the dragon and the Basilisk, and Ron's betrayal. I apologize for not acknowledging the similarities sooner, it was wrong of me. However, I can honestly say that the rest of my story is completely mine and I will not be altering what I borrowed because it would take far too much time to change everything and I would rather just move forward. I highly recommend "Harry Potter and the Last Chance" to Harmony lovers, it's an amazing fic!