Chapter nine – The Dragon and the Goblet
Torsten trotted quickly through the forest searching for a special plant. He was about three miles from the forest's border when he saw it. A bright red plant that looked to be engulfed in flames. It was called Dragon's Fire and it was very rare. It was said the plant was an indicator of a special gem, commonly known as the Dragon's Claw. It was a bright silver flaked with gold, purple, green and blue. One would probably be worth an approximate value of forty million Galleons, about two hundred million in muggle money. Needless to say they were very expensive, and highly prized. To wolves though, they were just pretty stones. Torsten himself had about twenty of them, usually he gave one to new friends, but Wolf's Peak, where the stones were stored, was too far away. He quickly dug where the plant was and found three of the stones, two smallish and one quite large. He held the large one up to the moonlight and was rewarded when the stone lit up in a multitude of colours. It was beautiful, and he loved the sight. He quickly stored the gems in a leaf-bag along with the flower itself, which he had been very careful not to damage. He felt he was a bit harsh with the Potions Master, and decided he would give the flower to him. Terje had told him that the plants were needed for several very complicated potions, and he was sure that Professor Snape would appreciate it. He quickly moved on arriving a few minutes later at a Wolf Oak, the tree of the Ancients. He quickly explained why he needed some wood and the tree willingly gave it up. If it would keep someone from the darkness, then the Wolf Oak was happy to help. Now came the tricky part – shaping the gift. Torsten called on the magic every Ancient had – no matter the circumstances of their birth. He concentrated and when he opened his eyes he grinned proudly at the smallish statue that was in front of him. The statue was a perfect representation of a Hungarian Horntail dragon. Torsten concentrated again and colours rippled over the surface of his gift. The mouth of the dragon was open and he gently placed the bigger stone into it. He stepped back and concentrated so that the mouth of the dragon closed around the gem. He grinned again and gently picked the statue up in his teeth, being careful not to dent it with his teeth and quickly started back for Hogwarts.
The next morning at breakfast he brought the two gifts in the leaf-bag. He had gotten in late and immediately fell into bed, exhausted with the work he had done. When he woke the next morning he expanded the bag and added the statue to it, then started out for breakfast. He entered the Great Hall with his pack following, immediately spotting Draco at the Slytherin table. He motioned for Terje to follow and the rest to go to their table. He trotted up to the Slytherin table and stopped in front of Draco. He politely barked and the boy turned around. He let out a string of barks and growls, waiting at the end for Terje to translate. "Blade would like to formally apologise to Draco Malfoy for what happened in the Slytherin common-rooms last night, and though he won't say what it was happened, he would like to offer a gift in exchange for his forgiveness." Draco looked intrigued, he thought about it and said, "I, Draco Malfoy, will offer my forgiveness on completion of the terms, depending on the suitability of the gift." Torsten nodded and barked a few more times.
"Blade would like to say that the gift is a bit unconventional, but he believes you will enjoy it." Torsten barked more again. Terje looked startled before translating, "He would like to ask you not to abuse this gift as it has been made with wood from the Wolf Oak, and the Gifts of the Ancients."
"I, Draco Malfoy, swear not to abuse the gift in anyway, including selling, changing or defacing the gift in any way." Torsten nodded, satisfied, and reached into the bag to carefully pull out the gift. He heard a sharp intake of breath as the boy laid eyes on the small statue. The pure white dragon shimmered in the light, and the Dragon's Claw shone with an unnatural light. He took it reverently, as if it were more precious than life itself. The entire hall was speechless, the statue was beautiful. The boy looked at the proud wolf in front of him and, voice filled with awe, said, "Ancient Blade, this gift goes beyond what I expected and I forgive you a thousand times over at receiving this gift. I have heard of the sacred Wolf Oak, and I know the lengths you must have had to go through for this. I apologise for my harsh words, and would like to extend the hand of friendship to you." Torsten nodded and held up a paw. Draco took it and shook it firmly. Torsten barked and bowed his head a few inches, enough to convey respect, but little enough that the boy knew he was still Alpha. Draco gave a half-bow from his waist and the two parted ways. Torsten the trotted up to the Potions Master and handed the bag to him, a small apology. Snape opened the bag and gaped at the flower and gems he found there, both powerful potions ingredients. He nodded faintly to the wolf and Torsten nodded back the joined his friends.
The wolves were staring at Torsten, Terje looked faintly amused at their expressions. Torsten just cocked his head in a 'what?' expression and started to eat. Eventually the hall returned to normal, if you didn't count the numerous heads craning to see the statue. At the end of the meal Dumbledore stood up and the hall fell silent. "I would like to remind the students that the candidates from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving tomorrow after classes, and I remind you all to be on your best behaviour, thank you," with that he sat down and the hall erupted into whispers. Torsten stared at the Headmaster and abruptly got up and walked up to the head table. He growled at Dumbledore, turned and left the hall. Dumbledore followed with Terje close behind. They soon reached the wolves' rooms and Torsten barked out the password. They made themselves comfortable and then Torsten immediately started to throw questions at the Headmaster until Terje impatiently exclaimed, "Slow down, Blade, I can't translate that fast!" Torsten took a deep breath and then repeated his most important question – 'Why weren't we informed of this?' Dumbledore looked uncomfortable for a moment before simply stating that it had slipped his mind. This, in turn, set Torsten off into another rant. The Headmaster seemed to shrink under the fierce barks and growls that erupted from the smallish wolf. Eventually thought Torsten calmed and Dumbledore informed them of everything that would be involved in the Triwizard Tournament.
After Dumbledore left Terje immediately sat down and started making up a schedule for each of the three events while Torsten flopped down onto the couch. Torsten let out a huge sigh as he thought back over the past few days, it was hard to believe that this was only their third day here, it had been so hectic. Terje looked over at him and sighed. "Tor?" he asked, "I have to tell you something." Torsten looked up, intrigued despite his exhaustion.
What is it Ter? You sound kinda sad.
"I am in a way, but I have to say this. Tor, I knew your parents, your real parents."
What? Really? What were they like, were they nice, what did they look like? Terje laughed at the eager expression on Torsten's face. He had been afraid asking might have sent Torsten into another round of flashbacks. "Don't worry, Tor, your parents were great people. James, your father, was funny and charming, though he had a rather large head when he was younger. Your mother, on the other hand, was as sweet as could be. Lily was so kind, she'd help anyone who'd needed it, though getting her mad was a very bad idea. She had one hell of a temper."
She wouldn't… In a rage… Torsten hesitated. It suddenly came to Terje what he was thinking, "No! Lily would never, ever hurt a child. She adored you Tor, loved you more than anything. She always said that the day you were born was the best day of her life." Torsten smiled. His birth mother sounded like Hunter. Hunter always told him that the day she found him was one of the greatest of her life, and she'd never forget it. I'm glad, replied Torsten, I'd like to hear more about them later, if you don't mind, but for now I got very little sleep last night and I'm going to go for a nap.
"Of course, Tor, sleep well."
Thanks, Ter, you'll tell the others about this new development, won't you?
" 'course Tor, now go sleep."
Yes, mother.
"Brat." Terje shook his head as he watched Torsten go for his nap. It would be a long, hard few months.
Hey people, yawns please READ THIS!
Kk, I'm not very happy with this chapter, so if your going to review, please tell me what you honestly think about, and don't spare any thought to my feelings. I can't become a better writer if I don't get criticised once in a while, I'll get a big head lol. So tell me what I can do to improve it and I'll love you all to bits, not that I don't already, 'cause you people are all great, not one flame yet. I must say I was surprised at that and I'm rambling and I'll stop. So people, reviews, lets see:-
Evergreen – Yay, I really look forward to hearing from you, boosts my ego, ya know, lol. Anyway, the mind-speech is an Ancient talent, not just Tor's and he can talk to all animals as a wolf, it sort of universal in this fic, all animals understand each other. The portrait was picked so he could wolf-speak the password to it to get in. Thankies for review.
Delta – I just had to say something here. That was so sweet, thankies. I like you, you're nice, then again all my reviewers seem to be nice. I'm so thankful.
Greg - Umm, maybe that would be going a bit far, though it would be funny, but since Hogwarts isn't Tor's territory, he wouldn't mark it.
Aqua – Tor does know how to change back, I've got a little surprise later on, but he doesn't want to change to a human, it would be too emotionally painful for him.
Ok, everyone else, thanks for all the reviews, and like I said, don't be scared to point out if I do something you don't like, especially in chapters like this one, where I don't like it. Oh and I'd like to mention for all those who like Hunter,I put up a short story about her.