Arabella shivered a little as she walked onto the field. It was late at
night, much to late to be walking across the grounds. If a student saw her
she would be hard pressed to come up with an alibi. Perhaps she was
checking on the bindings around the dementor? She was on the wrong end of
Hogwarts entirely for that. Oh well, professor's authority would have to
suffice if it came to that.
She chuckled absentmindedly. When she had been a student here, if a professor had ever said that... she and Lily and Hazel and the Marauders would have hounded that teacher day and night until they learned the truth. Even if they shouldn't have found out something, they always did, by hook or by crook. She wondered abstractly to herself, do any of the students now have it in them to act like that...
Finally, she was at the lake. Charlie was already there, leaning against the base of the nearest tree. "About time!" he said with a chuckle. Arabella laughed for the second time in the span of a few minutes, and again it sounded hollow to her ears. He smiled a little, handed her a piece of slick, greenish-black substance. Gillyweed, she realized as she opened her mouth and popped it in. It immediately became difficult to breathe, so she quickly dunked her head and then began to swim.
Charlie noticed immediately that Arabella was a strong swimmer with good muscle tone, considering how thin she was. Throughout the swim, she never seemed to get winded or eased her pace. Her white robes did not behave like they should have underwater, instead remaining totally opaque and fitting exactly the way they would if she was just walking on land. Charlie saw her smile at him, realized he was staring, and began to kick harder, breezing past her. He couldn't hear her, but he knew she was laughing, and she quickened her pace as well. It became a friendly race, to which they tied. Both finished slightly winded and having the feeling that the other person could have won if they wanted to.
They finally reached the pen. Max was there to greet them, his wavy blonde hair flying everywhere. He held out a gillyweed spitting bucket as Charlie made introductions. The two men began to show Arabella around the pens. She was more than startled by the dragons, in part because they had so many and in part because she had never seen most species of dragons in person. All the dragons had bracelets on their left foreleg, and a few pens had pieces of colored paper tacked to the doors.
Charlie nodded. "The dragons in those pens have riders already. We have them marked off mostly so our trainers know which dragons are where. That English arrowhead, Hazel, is Remus's, for example," he said, pointing at one earthy green specimen with beautiful horns.
Ara just stared at the dragon for a moment. "Who named her?"
"I named her," Maxfield said quietly. "Why?"
Arabella whistled softly, sweetly, a long low note in the still damp air. "When did he find out her name?"
"Remus could have heard us talking, but we didn't tell him until after he seemed to favor Hazel. Why?"
"Nothing important, I'm just curious." Gods, Ara thought to herself. Hazel had loved dragons, even talked about studying them while she was at Hogwarts. She would have loved to be involved in this...
Charlie's voice seemed to synthesize her scattered thoughts into something cohesive. "Do you see any that catch your eye?" he asked quietly, gesturing at the dragons around them.
Arabella looked. Everywhere she turned, there was a new breed of dragon she had only read about. One caught her eye by virtue of size alone. A huge beast, scales the color of freshly drawn blood. A Russian red, she realized dimly. They usually hid out in the mountain ranges of Northern Russia these days, extremely difficult to find, let alone capture. His entire body seemed to be made of pure muscle, and his wingspan seemed like it could have blotted out the sun if he stood over her on dry land. His pen was marked. She instinctively thought, 'Sirius', and kept walking. Who else would have dared claim that dragon for his mount?
Finally, just past the pens for the Russian dragons, there was something that caught her eye. This dragon's multicolored beauty stood out immediately. She was graceful and lithe, able to fly without wings. Ara vaguely recalled reading about dragons who could fly because of some sort of inner magic, which was why dragon heart strings made wonderful cores in wands. She was red, but a bright and exotic red, not the color of blood or bricks. This was a candy apple red, a beautifully intense shade. Her mane was bright cerulean and new leaf green, with a few strands of shocking white. She looked like a cross between a horse, a komodo dragon, and a lion. It took no thought at all to realize what she was staring at, Arabella knew instinctively. She could only murmur softly, "A Chinese fireball..."
Though she didn't see it, Charlie and Max were standing behind Arabella, smiling like proud papas. Another one of their babies had found a human companion, and the moment seemed holy somehow.
She chuckled absentmindedly. When she had been a student here, if a professor had ever said that... she and Lily and Hazel and the Marauders would have hounded that teacher day and night until they learned the truth. Even if they shouldn't have found out something, they always did, by hook or by crook. She wondered abstractly to herself, do any of the students now have it in them to act like that...
Finally, she was at the lake. Charlie was already there, leaning against the base of the nearest tree. "About time!" he said with a chuckle. Arabella laughed for the second time in the span of a few minutes, and again it sounded hollow to her ears. He smiled a little, handed her a piece of slick, greenish-black substance. Gillyweed, she realized as she opened her mouth and popped it in. It immediately became difficult to breathe, so she quickly dunked her head and then began to swim.
Charlie noticed immediately that Arabella was a strong swimmer with good muscle tone, considering how thin she was. Throughout the swim, she never seemed to get winded or eased her pace. Her white robes did not behave like they should have underwater, instead remaining totally opaque and fitting exactly the way they would if she was just walking on land. Charlie saw her smile at him, realized he was staring, and began to kick harder, breezing past her. He couldn't hear her, but he knew she was laughing, and she quickened her pace as well. It became a friendly race, to which they tied. Both finished slightly winded and having the feeling that the other person could have won if they wanted to.
They finally reached the pen. Max was there to greet them, his wavy blonde hair flying everywhere. He held out a gillyweed spitting bucket as Charlie made introductions. The two men began to show Arabella around the pens. She was more than startled by the dragons, in part because they had so many and in part because she had never seen most species of dragons in person. All the dragons had bracelets on their left foreleg, and a few pens had pieces of colored paper tacked to the doors.
Charlie nodded. "The dragons in those pens have riders already. We have them marked off mostly so our trainers know which dragons are where. That English arrowhead, Hazel, is Remus's, for example," he said, pointing at one earthy green specimen with beautiful horns.
Ara just stared at the dragon for a moment. "Who named her?"
"I named her," Maxfield said quietly. "Why?"
Arabella whistled softly, sweetly, a long low note in the still damp air. "When did he find out her name?"
"Remus could have heard us talking, but we didn't tell him until after he seemed to favor Hazel. Why?"
"Nothing important, I'm just curious." Gods, Ara thought to herself. Hazel had loved dragons, even talked about studying them while she was at Hogwarts. She would have loved to be involved in this...
Charlie's voice seemed to synthesize her scattered thoughts into something cohesive. "Do you see any that catch your eye?" he asked quietly, gesturing at the dragons around them.
Arabella looked. Everywhere she turned, there was a new breed of dragon she had only read about. One caught her eye by virtue of size alone. A huge beast, scales the color of freshly drawn blood. A Russian red, she realized dimly. They usually hid out in the mountain ranges of Northern Russia these days, extremely difficult to find, let alone capture. His entire body seemed to be made of pure muscle, and his wingspan seemed like it could have blotted out the sun if he stood over her on dry land. His pen was marked. She instinctively thought, 'Sirius', and kept walking. Who else would have dared claim that dragon for his mount?
Finally, just past the pens for the Russian dragons, there was something that caught her eye. This dragon's multicolored beauty stood out immediately. She was graceful and lithe, able to fly without wings. Ara vaguely recalled reading about dragons who could fly because of some sort of inner magic, which was why dragon heart strings made wonderful cores in wands. She was red, but a bright and exotic red, not the color of blood or bricks. This was a candy apple red, a beautifully intense shade. Her mane was bright cerulean and new leaf green, with a few strands of shocking white. She looked like a cross between a horse, a komodo dragon, and a lion. It took no thought at all to realize what she was staring at, Arabella knew instinctively. She could only murmur softly, "A Chinese fireball..."
Though she didn't see it, Charlie and Max were standing behind Arabella, smiling like proud papas. Another one of their babies had found a human companion, and the moment seemed holy somehow.