APOV
Mud splashed violently on either side of the jeep as the enormous tires ripped through the off road terrain. The engine roared like some feral beast as Charlie sent us soaring over rocky ravines and fallen trees. Twigs and bark snapped and cracked in the cool mountain air as the chained rubber crunched down with biting force into the ground.
He engaged the stick and clutch artfully, shifting into turns with such precision and control that I knew he'd been at this for years. A strange skill for a wizard to have mastered.
"That's some interesting stuff. So you're telling me the Dragons are reproducing with greater frequency? Despite how much land the muggles have taken over?" I asked over the sound of the engine. We had had to yell almost the entire time.
"Yes! While some parts of the world are proving a little difficult to sustain them, overall dragon populations and sitings have skyrocketed! These new statutes the Minister put into place have done wonders. Luna Scamander has been incredible at keeping peace and stability for all magical wildlife. She's coming to inspect the hatchlings today actually!"
We hit a bump then and i had to brace myself against one of the metal handles to keep from flying out of the open rover and away down into the gorge.
Uncle Charlie laughed and leaned over towards me, pointing out a narrow ridge that led to a small leveled plateau nestled higher up the mountain side.
"Thats where we're going! Its the reserve's primary base! Perfect location to obverse a large swath of the canyon below! And see there," He offered tracing a line with his finger along the jagged crags. "That rockface provides excellent cover from the elements and shelter against the dragons when they get too cross with us."
"Wow... that's incredible! So that's where you spent the last five years studying?"
"I've been up here a lot longer than that Al! I know most of these forests like the back of my hand!"
"Amazing! Tell me, are we anywhere near Baciu Woods?" I inquired excitedly, thinking suddenly about how cool a trip there might be. Syl mentioned that it hid an entrance into one of the Svaltalfar's major cities.
"Baciu? Not a chance, even the dragons avoid that place. They know better than to get anywhere near it. Besides, Baciu's far enough away that its not an issue. Why do you ask?"
"Oh you know... general curiosity."
"Al... those woods are some of the most haunted in the world. Dark energy flows through them like blood. Disappearances, murders, occult phenomena even by wizarding standards. It has been the source of evil since before the dark ages. Rumor has it that the inn where Antioch Peverell was murdered and the elder wand first stolen was in the heart of Baciu Tarn."
"Hmm... all the more reason to check it out. Thats what i really want to be you know. An explorer. The muggles think they've found everything that's to be found. But i wager magicians and magical creatures have hidden all sorts of wonders around the world. Scorpius and I used to talk all the time about going off on wild adventures and discovering secrets buried in time and space. He used to promise we'd..." I stopped myself in mid sentence, realizing what i'd started to say.
"What did he used to promise you?" My uncle pressed, trying to get me to open up.
"Nothing. Its not important."
"You know he really is adorable. Not as cute my ex but hey you can't all be me." Charlie teased, tossing me a copy of Wizarding Monthly. Scorpius was on the cover for his heroic acts at the battle of Azkaban. He looked so dashing. "How did that even start? You and Malfoy i mean?"
I blushed as my uncle turned to look over at me, his gaze unyielding. I could feel my cheeks reddening at the attention. "Uncle Charlie! Watch the road or you're going to drive us off the mountain!" I shouted angrily as we nearly missed the last turn on a tight corner.
"I thought you wanted to discuss your boy trouble?"
"No, I wanted to go see the dragons to distract me from it."
"Fat chance of that. I'm going to poke and pry at you until you give me all the juicy details."
I rolled my eyes heavily at that, trying not to fidget with my clothes.
"Why don't we discuss your boy trouble instead?" I deflected, trying to distract him from the subject.
"Because I don't have any trouble with boys."
"Ugh! You infuriate me!"
"That may well be but you should talk about it anyway. I saw how much he affected you the other day. Obviously there's something going on between you two."
"Malfoy and I... weren't together... not really. He's straight you know."
"Hmm... is that so? I'm not too sure about that. Not if the way he looks at you is anything to go by."
"He... does... look at me rather funny though doesn't he?" I mused aloud, thinking about the odd way Scor's eyes seemed to scan and devour every detail of me. It was all the time too. He doesn't even realized he's doing it.
"Hmmm you say he's straight... but what exactly are you if i might ask?"
"Adorable thats what i am."
"Hahahahahah."
"You're definitely adorable! An adorable alien from outer space!"
He laughed for a good deal longer than i thought appropriate. That was until he noticed how the word alien affected me. We both grew silent for a moment, the weight of my thoughts permeating the air. I didn't know how to discuss the intimacy Scor and I shared. It seemed wrong... to invite someone else into our small little world. Even if he was family. Louis and Rory and Rose and the others all saw some of it. But even they couldn't guess at the level of our bond.
"People don't understand what its like... they just make all of these assumptions and place their expectations right out there. Even my sister sometimes doesn't fully know me. It's like Scorpius is the only person who can grasp and appreciate me and the burden i carry. At least I thought so."
"You know you remind me rather of a young dragon we raised here. He was an exceptionally rare breed. Strong and proud, an exceptional flyer at barely a year old. He was uniquely suited to almost everything. His flames were stronger than any i'd seen before, and his scales and eyes more vibrant than jewels. Yet he never seemed capable of..." He stopped at that, as though unsure whether or not to continue. "Anyway do you know what you mean to Malfoy?" Charlie finished changing subjects.
I didn't know what to make of the story he had started to tell. I simply turned my thoughts to the blue eyed idiot.
"I'm his brother and his best friend at least. I know he's been uniquely upset by my absence." Charlie frowned at that.
"You sound too grown up sometimes. 'Uniquely upset by your absence'. You mean he misses you, you dope."
"Yeah... Let's go with that. Except for the small fact that we start to die when we're apart for too long."
"Yeah right. Sounds like love to me."
"That wasn't a metaphor Charlie. We literally start to decay when we're apart for too long. Our dual-mimetic bluescale is a class Alpha secret." I offered somberly.
"Bluescale in this century? Wow... what on earth kind of spell did that?" He inquired, starting to piece things together about my absence from school and all the traveling.
"I haven't told my parents about it. I'm only telling you because you're magically bound to keep my secrets, forever. I think though... that falling into the fountain of pure Amortentia in the DoM created a soul bond between Scorpius and I. Or... at least intensified the effects of the one created when we were born."
That must have surprised him because he mishandled the stick during a gear shift, causing the engine to stall. Had he not engaged the emergency brake and resorted to some fancy maneuvering we might have flipped sideways into the upcoming ditch.
"You must be joking... Albus... when did that happen? I mean I know your memories of your childhood with him have returned but..."
"The first time we met after our obliviation... was in the department of mysteries. We heard footsteps and I tried to hide him under the cloak... but we tripped into the fountain instead. However it happened... I'm bound to him. We're marked with each other's soul prints. There's enough fuss with my parents and aunt Mione about my premonition to worry them about this too. Some of this i'm sure isn't news to you."
Charlie restarted the engine, taking a long pause to think about what i'd said.
"That's intense. I know next to nothing about soul bonds or foundational magic. I do know that if its anything like the bonds dragons form with their mates... that it lasts forever. You shouldn't worry though. Your parents have no idea that you share that level of connection."
We both grew quiet for the rest of the trip, merely letting the sound of the tires and engine reign. It took fifteen more minutes of driving up and around steep inclines before we finally skidded to a stop in front of a large campsite near the top of the mountains.
"Why drive all the way up?" I asked curiously as we exited the jeep, starting up on another topic. There were tents and tables set up everywhere with maps and glass vials splayed about them. Throughout the enclosure wizards ran about, discussing flight patterns and territory ranges. Some were testing dragon saliva while others looked to be inspecting strange brown piles of what was probably... well... dragon shit. There were brooms and smaller rovers, weather instruments of varying sizes and six greenhouses set up on the southwest side of the plateau.
"The Minister has done an amazing job getting us the extra funds to improve the reserve as well as the research that goes on here. In exchange we try and cut corners where we can for her. Surprisingly it costs less money to set up muggle transport for moving all the supplies. Slower and less convenient, but cheaper." Charlie explained, popping the trunk and heaving out two large drums of purple slime.
"Aunt Luna really is something else." I whispered to myself, lifting more of the supplies from the vehicle and carrying them over one by one to the nearest cluster of tents.
"What time is your friend getting here? Malfoy's cousin. You asked me if it was alright for him to come right?"
"Raven should be getting in around 2:00. He's just received his early apparition license so he's gonna come by himself."
"Al the player, all your boys huh. This ones old enough to apparate too."
"He's sixteen Charlie! I'll be fifteen in like a month. Besides you have no idea what you're on about." I scoffed, helping to unload the final magically enhanced trunks. They were all undoubtedly much bigger on the inside than on the out. I still didn't understand why they couldn't just apparate them here. These stupid regulations and interference patterns.
When that was done I found Charlie by the largest of the structures, standing hands outstretched over the corners of a map table. He was intently examining the different colored and numbered flags pinned into it, arguing heatedly with a south african wizard.
"See here, old Bert's being forced farther north by some of the younger males. He's having trouble maintaining his weight with the lower quantity of food available up there. We think it could be Typhoon's lot that pushed him out." the wizard explained to charlie in his thick accent.
"Well you'll have to get that trio in line then. Get a deer up to old Bertie in the meantime and see that his injuries aren't too bad. He trusts you. He'll let you close enough."
"Right'O boss man."
"I'm not your boss anymore. I'll be in London working at the Ministry again for a year or two at the least. Oh and i'd nearly forgotten. Danny, this is my nephew Albus. He's actually my boss." Charlie offered motioning to me with his thumb. The wizard seemed to be around twenty five, blond and blue eyed with a small layer of stubble along his strong jaw. He had a muscular build as though accustomed to carrying a lot of heavy equipment. Altogether the man was quite handsome.
"Albus Potter." I offered extending my hand in greeting. He shook it with such force that I feared my bones might snap. The man whistled at me playfully.
"Potter eh? You Harry's boy then? The golden child?" Danny asked, eyeing me up and down. There was an odd glint in his eyes that i couldn't quite place. "I'm Danny, Danny Archer."
"Golden child? Well I guess... I am i suppose." I answered awkwardly, a little surprised at his observation. "Pleasure to meet you."
It had been a while since anyone had called me that. Although a recent article in the prophet had supposedly revived my childhood title.
"Well let me be the first to welcome you to Thunder Ridge. You'd do well to be careful here my boy, a dragon doesn't care who your daddy might be. They'll snap you up as soon as you make a wrong move. And boy'o trust that we've got some nasty, grumpy tenants here. They'll burn you to a crisp if you're not careful."
"Don't scare him too soon Danny."
"Ha! I had to try." The man chuckled reaching out to ruffle my hair.
"I'm not eight..." I whispered almost to myself.
"You haven't told me who's coming down from the mountain for the minister yet. Inspections today you know."
"Shit, is it really today boss? Can they reschedule it?" The south african asked worriedly, his mood shifting almost immediately.
"Why? Whats happened?" Charlie asked with trepidation, anticipating bad news.
"Well... Illyria and Dorian the Gold were spotted flying through reserve territory this morning, which means most likely Ancalagon the Black is with them."
"Fuck, what piss luck. Tell the minister's staff to double her security. If those three smell the hormones and meat in the enclosure they'll be sure to come up here and scare the others off. Not to mention we could have a huge problem if something spooks them."
"Who are they?" I squeaked timidly, beginning to worry for my safety. I'd never seen Charlie this nervous before. He was a red guard for Merlin's sake.
"Some of the rarest and largest wild dragons in the world. They heed nobody and travel wherever they please whenever they please. Dorian is a Gilded Helios and Illyria is the most beautiful Antipodean Opaleye you'll ever see."
Mr. Archer explained passionately. He seemed to respect them greatly.
"And Ancalagon?"
Charlie and Danny exchanged a shy glance.
"We're... not quite sure about that one. He has jet black scales like liquid metal but with red eyes like blood rubies... and while he's more immense than the Ukranian Ironbellies they currently have over at camp Patscha he's as agile and lithe and streamlined as a falcon. These traits have never before been witnessed in one species before. Some say he may be a fabled gloom dragon but i rather doubt it."
"Hmm... How many dragons actually live in this reserve? Not counting the trespassers." I asked, eager to learn more about the workings of Thunder Ridge. Some amazing studies had been done up here over the last ten years.
"We have three welsh greens, a couple of Chinese fireballs, a Vipertooth, an Arctic Frostfaang but she's not too happy here. Let's see, theres also a pair of Bulgarian browns, another pair of Oceanic indras, five young Swedish short snouts, three Hungarian horntails and six Romanian longhorns."
"Wow. That's incredible!"
"But sometimes we swap with other reserves if there are any issues with feeding or temperament." Mr. Archer added, tossing a knowing grim expression at Uncle Charlie as he did.
"Now that I think about it though. There's a mountain of work that needs doing before the Minister gets here. Have Albus help you with some of the easier tasks. Inform me when the preparations are done." Charlie ordered, entrusting me to the young blond.
My eyes narrowed and my nostrils flared indignantly at the order, until I remembered that he was still my uncle. "But I wanted to review Claire O'Brian's research with her and chat with Melissa Nibbets a little about the role of cell surface dracoprotein structures in enzymatic catabolism of magi-protons."
Mr. Archer eyed me skeptically for a moment before handing me a pair of gloves and a bucket of slime.
"Maybe once you get through Danny's errands. Oh and no magic unless he says so. Your dad let you keep your wand just in case of an emergency but you're still on thin ice." Uncle Charlie offered humorously as he went over to discuss something with a white robed witch who was eyeing a microscope at her sample table.
"You have got to be kidding me." I grumbled angrily. "For this I took a day off of potions experiments?"
The south african blond stared at me again before moving off towards the dragon enclosure. "You're certainly the strangest boy i've ever met. Come on then. Lets put you to work. I'll let you use magic as a reward if you get through enough of my list."
"Oh goody." I retorted sourly.
I had helped with a series of miscellaneous tasks not noticing the time slip by. Raven had appeared at ten to two but had merely watched quietly as I continued to shift the enormous boulders in the enclosure. I had been so focused on my work that i'd completely ignored his arrival.
"Those five go in a semicircle around the food pit." Mr. Archer explained, pointing to a series of tall column like rocks. I rolled my eyes. The blond had barely given me time to arrange the six previous metal cross structures he'd asked me to place. In my irritation i snapped my fingers and began to dance them slowly, lifting all of the items at once. I was suddenly manipulating eleven massive pieces of landscape, surprised by how much strain the continuous movement of heavy objects took on me after severals hours at it.
Finally Raven whistled and i spun around to catch him staring. I'd taken my shirt and robes off to keep from sullying them with sweat while I worked, and now the slender muscles of my upper body were covered in a bright shimmery sheen as they contracted beneath the strain.
"Wandlessly and wordlessly. Remind me not to get on your bad side. Not that you have a bad side. You look great from every angle."
I blushed, unable to contain my reaction. I could secretly feel Scorpius rolling his eyes at the comment, as though he were present. Somehow that made me feel guilty.
"When did you get here?" I asked dumbstruck, putting the objects down to turn and address him.
"Ten minutes ago. I've just been watching in awe at how advanced some of that magic is. You've even worked up a sweat." He noticed, coming in front of me to brush my damp hair away from my face. I blushed harder this time, watching as his eyes trailed down my face towards my chest and abdomen.
"Oh come on then. If you have time for nonsense you have time to help out. We have to get this done soon. They're starting to spray the hormones. So just take off whatever you don't want to ruin and help me set up."
"I'm sorry, was that just an invitation to get half naked with you?" Raven inquired cheekily, tracing the line of my clavicle with his finger. I stepped back with a half audible gasp, as though i'd been struck. "D-do wh-whatever you want. Help or don't help. I h-have to get this done." I offered turning away from him out of embarrassment.
"Do whatever I want? Are you quite sure about that one too?"
I gulped as he stepped closer to me, trying not to react as i sensed his arms wrap around me from behind.
"Because i very much want to do to you all kinds of things." He whispered in my ear before biting down gently on my lobe. My whole body tensed and shivered at the contact. In fact it unnerved me so much that I unwittingly sent a shockwave of energy emanating from my core. It was so strong that it knock him flat off me and over.
"Merlin! Raven, I'm so sorry! i didn't mean to—" i couldn't finish my sentence because as i came to kneel by his side the black haired boy burst out laughing.
"I did say to remind me not to get on your bad side." He chuckled, grabbing my outstretched hand as i made to help him up. He held onto me, staring for a good deal longer than I was comfortable with. He looked around to make sure nobody was close by before he leaned in to kiss me. I was surprised I hadn't stopped him.
"What was that for?" I asked, slightly annoyed and slightly confused.
"For knocking me over. That really hurt you know." He offered smiling.
"Ugh, wipe that grin off your face and just help me get these settled."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~)◊(~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
At about two thirty in the afternoon, the meat had been spiced and roasted and placed at the center of the dragon pit, near the rearranged rocks that had been sprayed with hormones. It took no longer than a half hour for two of the Welsh Greens and an Oceanic Indra to descend into the pit. The latter eyed the greens suspiciously as they tore at the haunches of meat. While the turquoise beast was larger, and its counterparts more docile, there were still two of them. It snaked its long neck back and forth experimentally, flicking its tongue as though to taste the air, testing whether the welsh pair would let it approach without incident. It seemed there was enough food to circulate because with a reluctant shove from the female, the larger green moved aside to accommodate the new arrival.
Twenty minutes later, three much smaller brown dragons came plodding along. They appeared too boulder like to be great flyers. They were less angular and more sturdy, with short stocky limbs and thick muscled arms. They appeared more lizard like than dragon really. They flitted in and out from under the legs of the larger reptiles, who barely paid attention to them.
Raven and I stood at the edge of the ring with half a dozen other witches and wizards, watching with awe and wonder at the incredible spectacle unfolding before us.
Suddenly there were a dozen quiet snaps, pops and cracks of varying volume as a troupe of ministry personal apparated into the camp. The last four to arrive were a red robed guard in a venetian rabbit mask, two twin teenage boys as adorable as sin, followed by a middle aged blonde witch with long wavy hair and light blue dress robes—which she wore casually open to reveal a silky white blouse and black dress trousers.
"Aunt Luna! Lorcan, Lysander!" I called ecstatically when i realized who they were. The twins raced over to me, grabbing me in a fierce three way hug, silly smiles plastered on their faces.
"Merlin's beard Al? What are you doing here? Mom says the nargles are particularly annoying up here this time of year." Lysander said in the absent minded way his family tended to speak in. His brother was wearing an odd pair of pink spectacles with finger like protrusions on either side of their round frames.
"SHhhhh!" A wizard hissed, putting his fingers up to his lips to silence us. The apparitions had startled the dragons momentarily from their buffet and the talking didn't seem to help calm them.
"I came to see the dragons of course." I whispered excitedly. "Oh i nearly forgot. Raven, these are Lorcan and Lysander Scamander and their mum Luna. Everyone, this is Alexander Greengrass." I finished, making the introductions. The twins gave each other a weird look before examining how closely Alex and I were standing.
"We can all get acquainted later. Lys and I want to see these beauties." Lorcan had barely given Alex the time of day before brushing past him, pulling his brother along. They're so odd sometimes.
"You think he likes me?" Alex inquired with a smile, thumbing at the blond as he strode past. "They are kind of cute though." He offered staring at the twins backsides as they walked away.
"Oh for Merlin's sake. Do you ever quit?" I asked leaving the black haired boy's side to return to the viewing stations where Charlie and the Scamanders had found themselves. He turned and followed me, snaking his arm around me from behind after a moment.
"No i don't."
I was about to roll my eyes at the statement when each and every single greater and lesser wyrms all stopped eating, their heads rising swiftly from the ground. Then came the first 'Thud', reverberating through the air like a far off impact. It was so faint that it seemed almost as though i'd imagined it.
I would have dismissed the sound as my imagination playing tricks on me but the expression on Charlie's face grew so startling that I couldn't. All the color had drained from his skin, turning it a deathly white. He looked like he'd seen a ghost.
All the dragons stood equally motionless.
*Thud, THUD* I heard again, louder this time. Then a second set of *Whooshes* followed by more impacts against the air.
One of the Welsh Greens screeched to its mate as they both shuffled to the side of the enclosure to take off. The other dragons stayed but most of the smaller ones dragged pieces of their food to the edges of the enclosure, where the rocks half concealed them from above.
The noises grew louder and louder until finally the air itself hummed with the intensity of the wing strokes. That's when I saw it. An enormous behemoth of a creature cleared the tree line, sending rocks and foliage flying with the force of its gale. Its massive outline snaked through the air as it circled overhead. Two slightly smaller yet no less impressive monsters came soaring into view. Another male, this one as gold as galleons and a third, clearly female, with iridescent mercury-opaline scales and beautiful ivory horns.
Ancalagon the black made one more pass before it finally landed at the far end of the enclosure, his weight sending cracks through the cold hard stone as he deposited himself in the clearing. His extraordinary muscles rippled beneath him, as though straining to displace his massive girth.
The dragons still at the center of the pit all seemed to bow and step back deferentially. The smaller ones actually took off and fled as the Welsh Greens had done earlier.
"Wow, have you ever seen anything like that before?" Luna's secretary asked bewildered. Her guards instinctively herded Lorcan and Lysander farther back towards the camp and away from the enclosure, much to their obvious disappointment.
"He is one of the greatest Dragons to ever live. Only the ancient dragon songs tell of dragons his equal. Thousands of years without a sighting of such beasts." Charlie whispered.
We watched as The imposing creature made its way towards the pile of food, beginning to dine at his pleasure. The other two approached carefully almost awaiting his approval for them to begin. Reluctantly he grumbled his consent. We all watched and marveled at the sight until without warning, catastrophe.
It happened so fast that my brain hardly had time to process what i was seeing. A wizard with a silver skull shaped mask, drew his wand from behind a tree and cast a powerful stinging hex at the backside of Ancalagon. There was a sharp crack like a whip as the magic impacted the beast's scaly hide and then an explosion of sound as the dragon emitted a roar from its maw that rivaled the deafening sound of a thunderclap.
Ancalagon snapped his tail furiously, felling trees and flattening an enormous swath of the ground around him with one powerful swipe. He spun back in the direction of its assailant but found instead Luna and her staff who had moved off to the side to examine the beasts. The younger wizards and staff scattered immediately, not waiting for the inevitable horror they knew was about to unfold.
Fire and frenzy and screaming.
"Antiapparition matrix! We can't get away!" Someone shouted just before the fire cloud smothered him. Bursts of spellwork errupted from the trees, glints of silver skull masks slipped in and out of view as their owners peered around and sent spells flinging from behind the trees.
"Death Eaters!"
"Purists!"
"Rebels!"
All the while the confusion from the dragons fury eclipsed it all. The three monsters struck with their viper like necks, burying their teeth into innocent wizards and scientists caught in the crossfire. All the while the flames burned and shot with fury in every direction. I saw Ancalagon's keen eyes spot Luna, writhing angrily in a charge towards her. I knew she wasn't strong enough to stop it. I knew it was too late.
"Sàtwë! (Stop!)" I cried in Faeric, leaping out in front of Luna to block Ancalagon's access to her.
What am I doing? What am I doing! Albus what are you thinking!
The Dragon froze, snapping its jaw shut a hairs breadth from my face. It paused, narrowing its eyes in curious confusion. it was still furious, but i had momentarily peaked its curiosity. I wasn't even sure it could understand me, but i'm sure in that moment it was wondering which of us to eat first.
"Al! Get out of there!" Alex yelled in a panic. I couldn't even break my concentration long enough to give him a reassuring smile. "Albus! What are you doing? Please get out of there! Its her he wants!"
"Stella drucan rimdari! Rimdar" (She's a friend of dragons. Friend.)
Ancalagon growled, its attention shifting back and forth from me to Luna who had herself backed up as far against the rocks as she could possibly get, nearly clawing at them as though she might somehow dig herself further inwards. I'd never seen her so afraid before. It was as though she had ceased to be a person, as if she'd merely been reduced to the base impulse of fear. The dragon attempted to bypass me, its rage fixated on Luna, but again I blocked its path.
"Hjëta! Anwé nin-eth! fthurist nan Drucan" (Hey! I am NOT finished with you yet dragon!) I shouted angrily, moving my head back in front of his to block the view of Luna. That got its attention. Thinking back on it, i don't know why i thought being rude to a dragon was a particularly good idea in that moment but somehow my reason had abandoned me. I stared it directly in its huge red eyes, watching as they squinted their fury on me.
I realized in my shock that I had begun whispering to myself, primal awe overtaking. "Wow... Nin so-wenath nardu heth... nineth yurna jet?" (What absolute splendor... you're incredible... you know that right?)
He had opened his mouth, seemingly as though he was about to strike until the words reached him.
Its features softened slightly, muscles relaxing as he continued to examine me. The majority of the wizards had ceased their frantic screaming and running, watching the scene unfold from a distance with shock and delirium. Still nobody thought it a good idea to come to our aide nor was anyone probably brave enough to try.
Something about the creature made me smile then. I must have been mad, but somehow he seemed so expressive and intelligent that I knew he must have been able to understand me. At least in part.
"Ancalagon du Grath" I whispered, (Ancalagon the great) seamed a more appropriate name. "Anwe Albus-Kthurst, vanethiri anwien thel i-nen" (I am Prince Albus, It is my honor to meet you.) I offered, raising my hand close to its snout.
The Dragon nearly recoiled in shock, examining my outstretched palm with suspicion and then mild irritation. After a moment his expression shifted and just when it seemed he would allow the contact one of the death eaters that the guards had missed, shot off a detonation charm in an attempt to slip past the perimeter. The noise jolted the calmed dragon back into its state of fury and again the din of chaos rang out. The other death eaters took that opportunity to attempt to break free of their captors, igniting the frenzy of the earlier attack. Luna in her panic had taken that moment to try and run, slipping into a crevice where the rocks must have split long ago.
The enormous black dragon reared itself upwards, pulling back its whole neck as it drew in breath. It was planning to bake the whole mountain side... to literally cook Luna if it had to.
I braced myself then, channeling energy through my nightfyre crystal with intense speed. I was too familiar with fire to need to review the spell framework in my head so i focused all my efforts on energy transmission. I waited simply for the Black dread to unleash its flame. I had no time to do anything else but draw both my wands.
Finally it erupted, a jet like an inferno of molten amber, heating the very air until it ignited around us. It took every ounce of my strength to bifurcate the stream to either side, using my hands as half shield and half rudder. To my shock the glowing maelstrom split right in two, bathing the surrounding rocks and trees in dancing tongues of hot death. It licked and lapped at the stones until the surface of the boulders glowed and bubbled white. The trees had burst into flame like so many matches sparking to life. Both wands trembled in my hands as they assisted me. I gasped at the sheer magnitude of the attack as waves of fatigue followed the fire.
Finally though his lungs had emptied and we'd survived. I don't know how i took action so quickly or what even possessed me to think it was a sane plan, but i drew in the blazing air, taking a long deep sup on the taste and feel of fire all around us. The smell of charred bark filling my nostrils as my diaphragm contracted. The nightfyre crystal shimmered and i could sense the enormous quantity of magic at work in my lungs. I'd done this countless times before, it would work this time too. It had too.
Ancalagon still seemed too shocked that his breath had left us unscathed to think much about what i was doing. So i bellowed. I bellowed and roared and blew a torrent of dragon fire to match his own. It struck Ancalagon in the side of his face, the impact propelling him backwards onto his back like a tree uprooted by the grip of a hurricane's might. The heat was of no consequence to a dragon but I had hoped that I could figure out a plan while it lay there stunned.
Luna chose that moment to dash from her hiding place, grabbing at me to try and get me to leave with her.
"Now Albus, we have to go!"
"No! You leave, it thinks you were the one to attack it, its curious about me. I can distract it! Don't worry i have the ring!"
"Are you insane? Your parents will murder me if I don't get you out of here. You must leave with me!"
I motioned my head towards the group of wizards, concentrating as hard as I could on the image in my head. Half a heartbeat later I sent her flying with a flick of my wrist, watching as she cleared the space in the blink of an eye, colliding awkwardly into her secretary at the far end of the camp. The red Guard flew to her side immediately to get her farther away from the conflict.
"Al get out of there!" Alex roared from the far tents. He had subdued a death eater who now lay motionless at his feet, while Charlie struggled to fend off three. "Now you idiot!"
Unfortunately for me the dragon recovered too quickly for my brain to come up with any useful ideas. It rearranged its limbs so that its forearms were righted again, shaking itself from its daze with an awkward nod of its head. Ancalagon's instincts drove it to swat his enormous tail behind him like a whip, smashing it against the mountainside in anger. The blow landed so powerfully that the force of it sent a fracture up the length of the wall.
We all stared with wide eyed fear as the sound of cracking rent the summer air. A moment of intense calm followed before suddenly, sheets of mountainside began to collapse from above, dislodging boulders the size of cars from the cliff.
It was apparent even to Ancalagon as the debris tumbled that the impact would crush him. I watched in horror as the creature attempted to dive out of the way. Unfortunately the beast was too slow and emitted a sharp shrieking roar as the stones rained down on top of him.
Without thinking I rushed forward, extending both my hands upwards as though to hold up the heavens. Immediately the wind was knocked from my lungs as the weight of the mountain struck me. My vision blackened and swirled as my spine and muscles engaged. Never in my life had I felt the physical effects of a spell hit me so powerfully. Five seconds? Ten? I knew it would be but moments before my strength failed me and i'd be crushed.
I shifted my head to behold the beast that had just tried to kill me. He watched in visible awe at the sight of rock curtain suspended in mid air.
"Anwe kthurst! A Prince! understand? I am not some dull ape thing for you to roast and skewer. Now go you overgrown lizard! Before I change my mind!" I ground out angrily.
I didn't really understand what happened next. Couldn't process amidst the frantic chaos. Only immense waves of movement and the flickering of energy in my bones as my power blinked out like a burnt lightbulb.
The last thing i remember were shouts, people calling my name, then a pressure engulfing my frame, as though someone were hugging me. That sensation was followed by lightness, the ground giving way... flapping... wings. Then my head rolled and I could spy nothing but black scales and blue sky, followed by nothingness.
Sorry for the super late update, don't worry i'm not done with this story guys, i just have been very busy lately.
Your reviews and feedback definitely push me to move faster though so if you're still reading say hi or check in.
best Mercury.
