Legal Disclaimer: I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

Warning: This work may be offensive to some readers. Also, while Lily is not suicidal, Remus & SIrius believe that she is and she did deliberately put herself in danger. Feel free to back out if need be.

Author's Note: I'm sort of chasing both a pinata for sapphic ships and crossing off several prompts for one of my favorite poly ships. So have some dragon!Lily as well as Celestial Petal.

Submitting Info:
Stacked with: Hogwarts (Term 12); MC4A
Individual Challenges: Uncharted Waters; Aya Bribes You; Shadow HP Bribery (Y); Gryffindor MC (x3) (Y); Magical MC (x3) (Y); Neurodivergent; Rian-Russo Inversion (x3) (Y); Ethnic & Present; The 3rd Rule; Lovely Triangle; Setting Sail; Hold the Mayo; Gender Bender (x2); Lunar Era; Old Shoes (Y); Feathers & Such; Short Jog; Bucket Listing (Y); Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Green RIbbon
House: Slytherin
Assignment No.: Term 12 – Assignment 8
Subject (Task No.): Geology (Task#2: Write about a dragon.)
Other Hogwarts Challenges: Insane Prompt Challenge [826](The Astronomy Tower); Words [148](House); Cat Collecting [13](Write about going through a change in appearance.); Foolish Fish Tanks [Decoration](Persistent)(Marauders); Days of the Year [April 4th](Someone getting caught out in a lie); Spring Challenge [13](Cardigan); Color Prompts [06](Scarlet); Birthstones [04]("Darling, don't try that. You know it'll never work."); Earth Element [09](Rooted); Hufflepuff Themed Prompts [T06](Tolerant)
Other MC4A Challenges: SpB [3A](Fire); TrB [1B](Blatant Lies); Hunt [Sp Settings](Castle); Ship [Sp Micro 2](Dragon AU); Chim [Doug] (Family/Friendship; "Human" by Rag'n'Bone Man)
Representation(s): Lily Evans Potter/Remus Lupin/Sirius Black; Italian Remus Lupin; Dragon Lily Evans; fem Remus Lupin & Sirius Black
Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: Found Family; Nontraditional; Zucchini Bread; Peddling Pots; Second Verse (Bechdel Test; Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Persistence Still); Chorus (Wabi Sabi)
Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges: T3 (Terrarium); SN (Rail; Ameliorate)
Word Count: 1333

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Somewhere Higher
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The concept had always intrigued Lily. Her favorite fairy tales as a child had always involved someone being transformed into some kind of creature. When the strange boy had burst out of the bushes to declare that not only was magic real but that she was a witch, Lily had felt like her heart would burst from her chest from the hope swelling within her.

She could handle all of Petunia's sneers finally. She could deal with her stepfather's distracted distance as well as her mother's backhanded compliments. She could even handle the weird obsession that Severus seemed to have with her.

And it was all bearable because for the first time in her short life, the thing hidden in her didn't feel like it was going to tear her apart to get free. It had settled into a patient simmer, as if now that she knew transformation was possible, it was willing to wait.

Lily had never been good at waiting. She didn't want to walk when she could run. She didn't want to run when she could fly. God, how many times had she climbed as high as she could just for the glorious freedom she found in the moments before she landed? It freaked out Petunia and after Severus had revealed his spying, his eyes gleamed every time he watched her do it.

She craved wings the same way that someone dying of thirst wanted water. She could feel the ache of needing to stretch them in the same way she did if she sat in one position for too long. If she could only figure out the logistics of it, she would have claimed that her father had been some kind of winged creature rather than human. Severus said such a thing was impossible, but something with Lily disagreed. The desire to just fly was rooted in her soul as strongly as any ditchweed.

The Hat debated viciously against itself on where to sort her. She had barely been able to keep from laughing at it seemed to have four separate personalities, all with the same voice and arguing four different conclusions. The effect was hilarious, even as the murmur of the Great Hall grew in volume as it continued.

The thing within her seemed to roar in triumph when the Sorting Hat finally sent her to Gryffindor. When Rhea Lupin was sorted into the same House (despite how nervous she had been on the train), Lily easily made room for her to sit next to her. The thing within her purred at the nearness of the other girl. It also purred whenever Zeta Black was close.

The three of them quickly became close friends, even though both Rhea and Zeta seemed to have adopted two boys in their year that Lily could barely stand any more than Rhea and Zeta could stand Severus. All three of the boys quickly became annoying in that unique way that boys always did. The way they jealously sniped at each other over any attention from the girls made the thing within Lily want to snarl and snap at them.

Some days it grew so bad that the only thing which would allow her to relax was a cuddle pile in front of the Gryffindor fireplace. Both Rhea and Zeta seemed to enjoy that just as much as Lily did. Zeta was like an overly large poodle, even down to demanding belly rubs from Lily and Rhea. Meanwhile, Rhea loved nothing better than tucking her face against a side or shoulder as if soaking in the scent of whoever was cuddling her. Lily was more than willing to provide comfort however they desired, just for the chance to hold them for a bit.

Lily had found the mention as a footnote in a book on magical creatures in their fifth year. Most books on the topic didn't acknowledge that many magical creatures had sentience. Even the ones known for breeding with humans or which were made from humans were treated as if they were beastial and not worth the same consideration as humans. Finding a book that didn't do that had been difficult but worth it.

All for a single line about how certain dragons had the ability to take human form.

The information settled on her soul with all the titanic weight of an entire drove of dragons. Yet instead of feeling like she was being crushed, Lily felt like she always did when she jumped off of things. How much of those stolen moments of freedom had been her magic controlling her falls? How much had been her true form bleeding through?

What would it take to fully transform?

"You're making me nervous," Rhea told her. Lily turned away from the impressive view that the Astronomy Tower offered. Rhea looked pale, despite the golden brown of her natural skin color. Her scarlet cardigan fluttered in the wind that whipped through the observatory room. Zeta looked as if she was calculating how to yank Lily back to the relative safety of the tower's floor instead of the window's edge where she was standing. "Come back to us? Please, love?"

"Do you ever feel like you fly if you were just brave enough to take the first step?"

"Darling," Zeta said as she crept closer, "don't try that. You know it'll never work."

"Actually," Lily corrected, turning back towards the sky, "I think it would."

"Please tell me that you're not planning on jumping," Rhea begged. Hearing the desperation in the voice of someone she loved so much was nearly enough to have Lily abandoning her idea. Two equally powerful forces warred with her: the desire to take flight and her protective love of her favorite people. Rhea's voice cracked as she continued and Lily's heart echoed it. "Don't go where we can't follow, love."

"I don't plan on jumping," Lily said. Even over the howling wind, she heard Zeta draw in a sudden breath. Lily twisted to look at the other girl. Zeta looked faintly ill.

"You're lying," Zeta accused. "Why would you lie about something like that? Are we not enough for you?"

"I'm not lying," Lily stated, steeling herself against both Rhea and Zeta's pain. She looked out over the trees to the setting sun that had turned the entire sky to a rapidly darkening scarlet. "I don't plan on jumping."

I plan on flying.

She stepped off of the ledge into the open air. Zeta's fingers barely missed grabbing hold of her bare arm. For one terrifying moment, Lily feared that she had miscalculated and was going to break the unspoken promise of what had been growing between her, Rhea, and Zeta. For one terrifying moment, she thought that not even her magic, so used to catching her in freefalls, wouldn't be enough to stop the death rushing towards her.

Then the transformation rolled over her with all the force of an inferno. She stretched into it, like relaxing into an exhale after holding one's breath. Her wings snapped open to catch her as her newly acquired tail whipped through the wind behind her.

'I am fire. I am death.'

Lily circled the grounds three times before landing delicately on the top of the Astronomy Tower. To stake her claim over the territory, she released a spout of flames into the air. A flock of thestrals burst out of the Forbidden Forest like startled birds. She let out a roar that shook the windows of the castle.

Eventually, she returned to the observatory room, where Rhea and Zeta were huddled together. As soon as she slid through the window, they both lunged at her. Their tight grips were going to leave bruises, which she deserved for worrying her mates like she had. Lily pressed first one forehead and then the other.

She was more than willing to do whatever they deemed necessary to comfort them and reassure them that she would never go where they could not follow again.