Author's Note: You are welcome to join the Harry/Fleur Discord, a lively and inspiring place: discord.gg/CpzggZbfyU
I'd like to thank The Lone VA and Erik for beta reading.
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"Flight leathers?" Ron asked him, squinting at a piece of paper and nibbling on the backpoint of a quill.
"Check." Harry nodded.
"Alright." Ron ticked an item on the list. "Padded doublet?"
Harry looked to the side, to check his gear laid out on the floor. "Check."
They had been at it for some time, checking and rechecking everything.
"Goggles?"
"Check."
"Coif?"
"And check." Harry patted the coif next to the doublet.
"Well, captain, I'd say you have everything that's on the list." Ron nodded to himself and handed Harry the list. Indeed, every point was ticked. "You're ready for your first flight."
'How go the preparations?' He still found this mode of communication somewhat strange, but it was getting easier.
'You will get used to it.' Hildostra's thoughts sounded amused to him. Could thoughts even have a sound? 'Your underlings are just about done.'
"Done talking to your better half?" Ron was grinning. "You get that faraway look in your eyes when you do that."
"Like Seamus dreaming of more stuff to blow up?"
"Nah." Ron waved the question away. "Nothing gets that bad."
"Fine." Harry took a deep breath. "Give me a few minutes, and then we'll go to Hildostra to check the straps and saddle."
"Nervous?"
"Don't tell me you wouldn't be. I've lived my life firmly on the ground."
"Don't worry." Ron put his hand on Harry's shoulder. "We'll strap you in nice and firm. No chance of falling there."
'And I will not allow you to fall. Who do you think I am? Some clumsy yearling?'
'No, no, I trust you. But I will be leaving the solid ground for the first time.'
'You will not be alone. I will be with you. Now hurry up.'
Ron left with a knowing smile, giving Harry some privacy.
A few minutes later, Harry emerged from the shed he had used as a dressing room. He was tightly wrapped in several thick layers of fabric and leather, from his riding boots, over the reinforced riding leather trousers, to the thick overcoat. Over that, he wore a sturdy belt supporting the weight of his sheathed sword and several pouches. Only his face remained uncovered for now, and he wore the goggles on his forehead.
They were near the capital, at a training fort, and he was heading to where a large area had been prepared for his dragon and crew. His men were now swarming around Hildostra, inspecting the various straps that held a saddle on her back and making sure they were tight enough. He did not fancy sitting on her bare back. Hildostra's scales were rough and sharp, not to mention her spines.
'Thank you for noticing. You look formidable yourself in your riding gear.'
The men noticed Hildostra watching him, and welcomed him with a cheer, while one of the instructors, a hawk-eyed woman named Hooch, also in riding gear, approached him and looked him over.
"Hm, good, it appears everything is in order." She gave an approving nod. "Before you go up in the air, I suggest also wrapping a scarf around your face."
Harry rummaged around his pouches and brought out a thick folded scarf. "This one?"
"Yes. Eventually, you'll be flying very fast and at great altitude." She pointed up. "It's cold up there, and you'll want to protect your face."
Harry nodded, and carefully wrapped the scarf around his head.
"Now come, it is time to inspect the saddle, and then you will get to fly."
Harry nodded, trying to suppress his nerves.
Hooch beckoned to him and led him close to Hildostra.
'Your men scurried all over me like ants.' Hildostra gave off a snort that left a cloud of smoke slowly rising in the air.
Harry came closer to her and awkwardly patted the side of her head, avoiding the sharp horns lining the back of her jaws. 'Were you uncomfortable?'
'No, they were appropriately careful.' She bent her neck to look at the sturdy leather strips and brass buckles holding the saddle onto her back. Harry could see her powerful muscles coiling as she moved in place. 'It is an unusual feeling, but the straps do not limit my movement.'
Hooch touched his shoulder with a knowing smile. "It's good to check on your dragon, but now take a look at the saddle. It will keep you alive." She tried the strap going down Hildostra's side. "Good and tight, but too much. Check the front straps."
He went to his dragon's front, where two thick leather straps went over her shoulders, and met at the centre of her chest, where they were tied to a large buckle. Another strap went down her body, meeting the ones at her side.
"All good?" Hooch asked him. "Fine, then check the saddle itself. You can see the straps for your legs, and on the back, you can see the straps that will go around your waist." She pointed at each of them as she spoke. "Always make sure they are tied properly. You wouldn't want to lose your belt, but you certainly wouldn't want those straps to come loose when you're a mile up in the air."
Harry gulped, but Hildostra released smoke again. 'As if I would let you fall.'
Hooch noticed the dragon's irritation and patted her side. "I'm not saying you would let your rider fall, but accidents happen, even to dragons and their riders. Better to be careful."
Hildostra moved her foreleg to help Harry climb onto her back, where he neatly fit into the saddle. It had required some measurements, but the resulting product was worth it. The new saddle was comfortable and helped keep him upright.
"Strap your legs in first, then your waist," Hooch instructed him. "Make sure it's not too loose."
Harry struggled a bit with the buckles, but eventually he was firmly strapped in and Hooch gave an approving nod.
'Ready, my rider?' There was an eagerness in Hildostra's thoughts, an unusual glee. 'Prepare yourself to see the world as dragons do.'
As he sat on her, he felt her powerful muscles stretching and coiling, she moved side to side a bit, and when she was sure she had enough space around her, she snapped her powerful wings open with the crack of thunder. Then her back moved as she seemed to almost fold over herself. Her claws dug into the ground, and Harry felt the tension in her muscles growing.
'HOLD ON TO ME!' Her voice rumbled in his mind with the strength of an earthquake.
And then she exploded into motion. She sprang into the air, her muscles unleashing their power explosively. Then came the beat of her wings, fast, regular, and powerful enough to send gusts of wind that knocked most people around to the ground.
They were flying! Ever higher they rose, and the people on the ground shrank to the size of ants in Harry's eyes.
'This is just the beginning. Look up from the ground.' Her voice came again. 'Feel the wind and look at the horizon. All of heaven's expanse is our domain!'
It took him several moments, but he was able to tear his eyes off the now rapidly passing ground. On the horizon to their left he could see distant mountains rise, while to their right ran the silvery line of seashore.
'Look, look, nobody dares challenge us!' Her voice roared in his mind. 'The skies are ours!'
He patted the side of her neck. 'I don't think anybody would be stupid enough to challenge you.'
He had to remember to keep breathing, and tears stung in his eyes when he looked up from her and truly around the horizon. 'With this view, why do you ever come back on the ground?'
'Silly human, dragons have to eat and sleep.' He knew that if dragons could laugh, she would right then. 'Hold firm now, I will bank to the left.'
They changed direction then, and even with the warning, Harry found himself startled at suddenly sitting in a saddle that was nearly vertical.
Hildostra righted herself and he could feel her amusement. 'I did warn you.'
'Oh, and I'm sure your first ever flight went without problems.'
'I will have you know I mastered flight the moment I took to the air.'
'You do know I can feel you were lying, yes?'
She snorted in answer. 'Careful now.' And then she rolled in the air, flying upside down for a bit.
'Hey! You enjoyed that!'
'Yes.' He could definitely feel how smug her thoughts were. But he couldn't stay angry at her. They were now heading into a cloud, and he wondered at the feeling.
How could he stay angry at someone that allowed him to touch the clouds? Laugh bubbled within his chest as he reached out and failed to keep a bit of cloud in his grasp.
'Flying is amazing.'
Her answer came with amusement. 'Of course it is.'
They changed direction again, this time ascending much higher.
'Prepare yourself for a dive.'
'Prepare how?' Before Harry could finish his thought, Hildostra tucked her wings closer to her body, carefully folded. He swallowed his startled scream as they hurtled toward the ground, and pressed himself to her neck.
When it looked to him they were about to bury themselves into the top of a hill, Hildostra snapped her wings open. Were it not for the straps, Harry would have fallen out of the saddle as they suddenly changed direction. Suddenly, they were leisurely floating on an air current, and he had to gather himself for a moment.
'That was…'
'Yes?' She somehow managed to sound innocent in her thoughts.
'That was amazing!' He was patting her neck, and if they were on the ground, he would have been babbling.
'That it was. But remember you need to keep your wits about you.'
'I promise not to behave like a child every time we fly together.'
'Good. We have some calm wind at our backs now. Enjoy the smooth flight.'
He took a deep breath and nodded, soon, his wildly beating heart also slowed. Tentatively, he took a look around himself again, and marvelled at the view. It was better than any lookout tower he had even been on.
With the now peaceful flight, Harry's mind turned to other thoughts. 'Hildostra? Why did we meet on that field?'
'Because I was going to burn that filth, but you were there. So very loud.'
'No, I mean, why were you there? Why were you a Solitaire?'
'What do you mean?'
'From what I've seen, combat dragons find their riders very early, often at their hatching ceremonies.'
'I can feel even what you do not want to tell me. You were at a ceremony, a guard instead of an honoured guest. Overlooked, but hoping to impress a hatchling. But even the hatchlings spared you nary a glance.'
Harry blinked slowly. He thought he could feel it when she went through his thoughts, but no. She could see right through him with no trouble. He laid a hand on her back, feeling the rhythmic movement of her muscles.
'Well, yes. So why did you not have a rider and instead lived in the mountains?'
She snorted out smoke, which he had come to learn meant she was agitated. 'The shell of my egg was especially hard. It took me a long time, but I struggled and fought my way through. Sunlight welcomed me, and hushed voices. But I was curious and touched their minds. Runt. Sickly. Weakling. Such was the welcome I received to the world I fought my way into.'
He felt a pang of familiar pain, and leaned against her neck, doing his best to embrace her. 'You are anything but a weakling.'
'Indeed. And what is more, when I touched their minds, I felt it. They were dull. They dared judge a hatchling while they lacked in wit and talent. They dressed as warriors, yet were more fit to graze on a hillside. So I stayed alone, cared for by servants who looked at me in contempt. And so when I was strong enough, I left, flew away from the scorn and the judging looks, the poorly hidden insults.'
Her thoughts calmed down and surprised him with their warmth. 'Forget the hatchlings overlooking you. They lost out on a fine rider indeed.'
'I am just learning how to be one.'
'And learn you shall. But do you think it was by chance I chose you? When I descended on that day, I saw you display more valour and skill than the dullards at my own hatching could have even dreamed of. I felt your mind, at that moment so open and shining brilliantly. When I touched your mind, I knew I found the one for me. And your mind responded,'
'Oh, it did indeed.' Harry smiled, recalling the moment after the battle. 'I almost didn't feel it at first, but then. Everything felt different. You changed the world for me.'
'And when I felt your mind intertwine with my own, the world itself shifted.' She angled her wings to compensate for a gust of wind. 'Nothing but perhaps death can part us.'
They flew for a moment in silence, each busy with their own thoughts, acutely aware of the weight of the other mind where their own ended.
'So why were you there on the field?' Her thoughts interrupted his rumination.
'I was sent there by my superiors. Orders are orders. A soldier's lot is to obey.'
'And why were you a soldier?'
He took a breath and felt a pang at her words. 'Were, hm? I guess so.'
'Yes. So why were you a soldier?'
He chuckled at her insistence. 'A pushy one, aren't you? Should I call you "my dear" as if you were my wife?'
'Your dear? I like that. But don't change the topic.'
'Fine, my dear.' He chuckled again. 'I enlisted as a soldier simply because I wasn't wanted anywhere else.'
'What?' Her outrage was almost palpable.
'My parents died when I was young. For a time, I was taken in by the folks in our village, but when it came to learning a craft, they either preferred their own children, or accepted only apprentices that were recommended and backed by their families.'
'You were barely out of your nest and left on your own?'
He patted her neck. 'It can happen. There are so many people that they focus on helping their own.'
'Well, you are my own now.' A growl accompanied that particular thought.
'As you are mine. So since nobody wanted me, I went to seek my luck in a bigger city. I thought there would be more opportunities. But no, no guild wanted a dirty orphan. I had some magical talent, but it wasn't enough to join the Order of Battlemages. Eventually, I had only two options. Either join a street gang and eventually end up swinging from a gallows, or enlist. I wasn't rich enough to join the cavalry, so into the infantry I went.'
'And you thrived.' There was a sense of fierce possessiveness to her thoughts. 'You proved them wrong. And now you are mine.'
'Of course, my dear. But it wasn't all bad. I made many good friends. And who knows? If our lives went differently, we might not have met at all.'
'Do not even say that. We met.'
'That we did, and I'm happy we did. I wouldn't change anything.'
'Good.' Her mind was aglow with satisfaction.
He did his best to project as much affection as he could to her and laid a hand on the side of her neck. 'I'm afraid we have to head back now.'
'But why?' She sounded confused. 'I thought you were happy in the air. With me.'
'Of course I am, my dear. But we have our orders. And like soldiers, our lot is to obey. But don't worry, we will fly together again.'
She breathed out a cloud of smoke, making sure it wouldn't hit him. 'We certainly will.'
With a deft turn, they were now heading towards the training grounds.
'Yes,' Harry thought, 'we certainly will.'
