I've finally come up with a semi-sort-of plot for this fanfic!

Before this I was making it up as I went along, but now I have a ghost of a plan.

(I feel like a proper writer now lol)

Apologies for not updating sooner - you can blame school

I've also done 'Aithusa's part' in present tense just cos i thought it suited her character better - it's my first time doing it so let me know if some sentences sound wrong!

Hope this provides a bit of escapism for you

Aithusa's part

She hadn't meant to be here.

Honestly, she hadn't.

But it all starts one day in early august, as London lies on the cusp of dusk. The sun only just starts to share its goldenness – it spreads on the pavement, the buses, the leaves, just like partially-melted butter. Everything seems so magical – even the pigeons – who usually had even less magic in them than muggles.

She flies above the city, tingling as freedom gushes through her scales with the wind. She spots a small boy looking up at her in shock – she isn't surprised. Children always seem to be the ones to spot her.

She didn't mind at all– they were harmless really.

She hovers in the sky for a moment, then, almost routinely, proceeds to twist, pirouette, flip, somersault, until the boy starts pointing at her excitedly, giggling uncontrollably. Then, as it always goes, he runs to his mother, grabbing her by the hand, gesturing wildly at the clouds. A dragon Mummy! A dancing dragon!

Said 'Mummy' shakes her head laughs fondly – children have marvellous imagination.

Come along Jasper, we need to go now,

But Mummy! You see the dancing dragon? You see it?

Yes sweetie, that's a very nice dragon, come along now.

It was white Mummy! Whiter than the whitest white! Look! Over-

Where's it gone Mummy? Where's my dragon?

My dragon! It's gone Mummy, it's gone!

Aithusa flies higher into the clouds,

higher, higher, higher.

Until all the birds fade into nothingness. Take that you weaklings! I can fly higher than you!

And when the air gets heavier, she tucks her wings and legs into her body, catapulting down to Earth as if she's never heard of such a thing as the ground. I'm free, I'm alive, I'm –

Then it hits her.

A sudden, formidable feeling of…ewwness.

She knows immediately what had feels so foul – an imperius curse.

It's a feeling impossible to forget – that nauseating pull, that throttling grip, (she's never been under an imperius curse before due to being a dragon, but that doesn't mean she doesn't despise it).

She halts her descent instantly, grimacing as if the very air tasted bitter. This was a strong imperius – a very strong one. One that had been in control for a good while.

She glides down a little lower to the source, shrinking herself small enough to pass as a bird. Yes, I know- a very strange bird, but a bird nonetheless.

Her eyes lock on the source – a bunch of suspicious weirdos. One – a gaunt, harsh-eyed, wallowing man. He's under an invisibility cloak, which is pointless really – but no one ever seems to care dragons can see through them. The man is fighting the imperius curse…but he is weak…and the curse is strong.

To his left side, walks a grey-haired man, dressed as if he works in the ministry. His face is stone – ruthless and hard, yet look deeper, and you will the hidden layers of grief and guilt. Aithusa senses he is the one who utilised the curse.

To the other side of the invisibility-cloaked man is a house elf – one far too caring and loyal for her own good.

"But…but – Master crouch!" The house elf is saying, "Mr Barty has been good sir – Winky knows it, Winky knows it!"

"Winky!" 'Master Crouch' snaps. "He's already going to the Quidditch World Cup, he's not getting another reward!"

"Yes, Mr Crouch sir. Bad Winky. Bad Winky!"

Aithusa's stare follows them long after they walk out of earshot. They are strange. And strange means trouble.

After a split second of contemplation on whether or not she should follow the three weirdos, she takes off to the skies, grumbling combinations of

Oh, fuck it.

Can't be bothered

Don't feel like stalking today

I'll figure it out next year

And so she surrenders herself to the clouds once more, soaring higher and faster until the weirdos diminish to just another mere speck beneath her.

She sees the weirdos again a few days later – except there isn't three of them – it's just one. It's the gaunt one who was under the imperius curse – except he isn't now. How did he escape it? Aithusa ponders.

The ex-imperius man, who, if Aithusa remembers correctly, is the one Winky referred to as 'Mr Crouch' is walking briskly, muttering something about Hogwarts, and Dumbledore, and Potters, and stupid bulging eyeballs?

How interesting.

Aithusa huffs, perching behind one of the buildings. She doesn't have time for this today! A man's mental stability is certainly not something she wants to get involved in!

But alas, her eyes betray her, and she finds herself studying the 'Mr Crouch' intensely as he strolls down the street. Something is very wrong with him.

It almost doesn't come as a surprise when the guy pulls out a flask of very-obviously-Polyjuice-potion and downs it all in one go. Almost greedily.

And, might I add, he does this all in an alleyway. When anyone can walk past. Stupid humans – not an ounce of common sense in them!

Aithusa focus – look who he's changing into…

And sure enough, her two bright blue eyes exasperatingly witness 'Mr Crouch' morph into a one-eyed chunk of a man. His magical eye spirals around wildly, as if it's having trouble finding something to focus on. Multiple scars are littered all over his skin, the most noticeable being a deep valley of a scar that runs from his forehead, through his creepy fake eye, to half-way down his cheek. He looks as if he has lives and breathes war, for longer than he has even lived.

Well, that goes for the real magic-eyed dude. Not this poor excuse of a Mr Crouch guy who is rudely pretending to be him. Why? Aithusa had not the slightest idea.

Why do humans always have to make their so-called 'plans' so complicated!

Aithusa is too old for this nonsense.

And just to add to it all, Mr Now-Magic-Eyed Crouch's fake eye swivels round and locks onto her.

Ok. That's it. I'm out. An eye that can see through things? Now that's just too far.

Aithusa gives the man her signature glare, then takes off into the blue.

I mean, just because she wanted to work out the dude's deal, didn't mean she was actually going to!

It isn't until a handful of weeks later that the weirdo rudely charges into her thoughts again.

To be completely honest with you, Aithusa completely forgets about the guy until now – she has had more exciting things to do. She has since roasted Kilgarrah's left thigh in frustration at his stupid lizarding antics, gotten consequently kicked out of the caves by the seething dragon, flown to Iceland to stare at volcanoes, befriended a Goblin called Gibwimp, seen Gibwimp get rudely poked by a wizard's twig, followed said wizard into The Three Broomsticks, fired little half-inch-sized fireballs at him, realised it was fun – and fired some more at other people, gotten kidnapped by a certain angry warlock who had apparently seen the whole thing, and is now staring at the spot where Merlin disapparated, with a dangerous smile on her face.

"Why have you got a stick in your pocket?" Aithusa had asked. "You only get one when you are doing something interesting…"

"Hogwarts," Merlin had said. "I'm going to teach there."

"Can I come?"

"No."

Well, of course Aithusa was going to come! One, to annoy Merlin, and two, because the Mr-Magic-Eyed-Crouch had mentioned something about Hogwarts in his senseless muttering.

Now, you have to understand – Aithusa likes to win. She is naturally competitive, and whilst she is perhaps not the sharpest pencil in the pot, and whilst her methods do seem a little...unconventional at times…she is sly and sneaky, and can not

absolutely can not

allow that poor excuse of a warlock to fathom out this grouchy one-eyed enigma before her.

Absolutely. can. not.

She can't bear the thought of Merlin solving the mystery before her.

You see, she and Merlin have a sort-of...unsaid competition on 'who can solve it first' – their previous mysteries being things like the organisation behind a bombing, or the physics of lightning, or the name of the Queen's dogs.

And now that Aithusa has found a mystery, that she has (hopefully) got a head start on, she simply can not afford to waste this magnificent opportunity to solve it before Merlin.

Get ready Hogwarts... Aithusa the Great incoming!

hope that gave you a little insight on why Aithusa is at hogwarts! have a nice day