The Rabbit Hole

I awoke to a hollowed whistling noise. At first, I couldn't figure out what it was I was hearing, the strange whooshing sound muted in our little cave. I shimmied over to the tunnel, gently nudging the sleeping Snape aside before I pulled myself up the incline. My fingers were numb by the time I made it to the other side, and I paused to cast a quick heating charm before I realized I had left the robes behind.

Snape had been correct when he said I would need them. The enchantments woven into the fabric were astounding and after he had shown me the spell to make them visible, I kept recasting it just to watch the colors light up. The threads seemed to glow with magic and if I looked closely enough, I could see the runes stitched in each layer. It was beautiful, but more importantly…it was warm.

He had insulted my childish wonder at the spell-weaving, but I could feel that he was more amused than annoyed – so I ignored his smug little face as I studied each layer of magic and tried to mentally pick it apart. Snape had even looked mildly surprised when I was able to locate the overlapping heating runes that ran through the entire length of fabric. Although, I suppose that was cheating really. I should be able to recognize a heating rune in my sleep now with how often I was forced to cast it upon the eggs.

I gasped as I pulled myself out of the tunnel and the sting of the wind hit my face, shattering my spell. The sudden cold shocked me and I quickly recast it even as I crawled out into the storm. It must have rolled in during the night.

All I could see was white. Kneeling upon the ground at the entrance of the cave, I could perceive nothing but the blinding snow that whipped around me with a fury. Even the dead horntail was obscured by the blizzard.

I stumbled to my feet and then immediately dropped back to my knees when the wind threatened to carry me off. It was strong enough that I wondered if it really was possible. I decided not to take the risk and crawled forward a few paces – towards where I knew the eggs and the horntail lay – when a voice stopped me.

"Potter!" Snape shouted and I turned around as best I could, shielding my face from the stinging snow. I could almost feel it cutting into my skin as the heating spell broke once more.

"Professor?" I called out, my numb fingers gripping the wand and I cast it again. I couldn't see him; couldn't see the hole I had just crawled out from even though I had only gone a few feet.

"What are you doing, you imbecile?" He screeched, but even still I could barely hear him over the wind. My hair was whipped around and yanked with each gust, obscuring my vision one moment and then being pulled away the next.

"The eggs…they'll freeze!" I replied, already turning back in the direction I thought lay the nest. If I gave him the chance, he would stop me. Snape cared nothing for the eggs and wouldn't dare risk himself nor would he let me risk myself to retrieve them.

"Get back here, Potter! It's too dangerous," but already his voice was starting to fade and all I could hear was my heartbeat and the wind. "Potter?"

The wind forced me into my stomach, and I battle crawled across the snow. Snape's voice disappeared behind me and I prayed he stayed in the cave. With his size and coloring, I wouldn't be able to find him in the snow if he got lost.

My spell shattered again as a gust of wind managed to slide me across the ground. I gripped my fingers into the loose snow until my nails hit ice and I held on until it passed. It was a long few seconds before I was able to reach for my wand and cast the spell again.

The eggs, I just needed to make it to the eggs. They had a heating rune, much stronger than a simple charm and if I was lucky perhaps it hadn't yet been broken, but I knew I had to hurry. I pulled myself forward, my arms straining with the effort as I fought against the wind. My fingers trembled with each heave, but I couldn't even feel them anymore.

This was taking too long…had I somehow passed them? Or did the storm mess up my directional compass so badly I was going the wrong direction? Was the cave even still behind me? I couldn't tell, that last gust had pulled my off track and I didn't know which direction I was moving anymore. The only thing I knew for certain was that I had to keep going, so I did.

My hands hit something hard and I stared at the dark grey mass in front of me before I realized I was looking directly at the nest. I nearly cried in relief but forced myself to wait. This was only the first half of the trip after all, I still had to make it back.

I used the lip of the stone to pull myself up, bracing against the wind as I looked inside. All the eggs were still there, but I couldn't tell if the rune was still in place. The ice and wind made it too hard to see.

With trembling fingers, I reached forward and touched the egg nearest to me. I felt nothing, no heat came from it and I cried out in disbelief. "No!" I shouted, desperate as tears froze on my cheeks as I pulled the egg towards me. I pressed my face to it, my lips moving in a sort of prayer though no words came out.

I was too late.

I cried against the grey shell, my nose scraping against the rough texture and I could finally feel my fingers again. They ached fiercely, the sudden warmth leaving behind the sensation of pins and needles as I gasped in pain. I nearly dropped the egg then, pulling it from me and staring at it in astonishment. Was it not cold just a moment ago?

But no, it hadn't been cold…it had been me. My fingers must have been too numb to feel anything, but the egg had heated them. They were still alive. I gasped as I quickly put it back in the nest, afraid that by pulling it out of the rune and into the elements I might have somehow damaged it…but I knew nothing about hatching dragons and just hoped that I hadn't done any permanent harm.

My fingers were already starting to go numb again and I quickly recast the heating spell as I pulled myself up and over the eggs. I used my body to shield them as I touched each one. They were all still warm, but I could tell the were growing colder by the second. I needed to get them inside, quickly.

I turned back the way I came, but I could see nothing. Before me I could barely make out the horntail even though I knew it was perhaps only a few feet away at most. I needed to get the eggs to the cave…but now I was lost on to how I was supposed to accomplish this.

The bag had been left with the robe, in the alcove I had been using to sleep in. There was absolutely no way I was going to be able to make it back to the cave to retrieve it, and then once more to the nest, only to return again to the cave. Aside from my fatigue which I could feel with every second that passed – and the sheer cold that kept undoing my heating charm – Snape would never let me leave the cave again until the storm blew over.

Which meant I had to bring all the eggs back with me in one go, or risk leaving them to die. And as I had no bag…well. I sat there for a long time, huddling over the eggs to protect them and soak up the little remaining heat from the rune as I went through my options. It seemed there was only one left to me.

Oh, Snape was going to be pissed when he saw me next. I would have to apologize to my House when we were rescued. The sheer number of points he would deduct would keep Gryffindor in the negatives until well after I graduated.

I pulled off my outer coat…and instantly regretted it. Even with the heating charm, I could feel the ice and snow raking my bare skin. Not even the tank top I was wearing could help me, and I desperately wished I had thought to wear a bra when I had gone to fight the dragon. To be fair, I had never really needed one before, with me being just bigger than a bug bite and all. But now I might as well have been naked.

I spread the coat open on the ground and quickly piled the eggs in the center before I cast a heating charm over them. The spell couldn't stick to the cloth as it was a specialty made anti-magic fabric, but it could settle onto the eggs.

They appeared bigger, pressed together in my smaller coat as I tried to button it up around them…the eggs barely fit. Now I just had to worry about them falling out of the top and bottom openings. I tore the lowest part of my shirt off, before using the several holes made by smoldering rock shards and dragon fire to thread the fabric through and tie it shut. It wasn't pretty, and I ended up using way more of my top than I was comfortable with, but it would hopefully hold long enough for me to make it to the cave.

I grabbed both of the torn sleeves and carefully pulled the makeshift egg carrier onto my back, tying it across my chest like a sash as I pressed myself facedown into the snow once more. The shock of the cold on my exposed stomach left me too stunned to even breathe for a long moment. I bit my lip savagely to distract from the pain as I flicked my wand out into numb fingers and cast another heating charm…but not even the charm could hold up to direct contact with the ice.

Every inch I dragged myself forward was agony, the ice cutting into my bare arms and stomach with each pull. I cast and recast the heating spell, but my movements were sluggish, and I didn't think the last few spells actually took at all. After a while though, it didn't matter. I couldn't even feel the cold any more, just the endless need to haul myself ever forward. But even that left me.

I was just so tired, the weight of the eggs pressing heavily on back and the exhaustion in every muscle was too much. So, I stopped. Perhaps if I just rested for a moment, then I would have enough energy to continue. I lay my head down, I think I set it on my arms, but I wasn't quite sure…I suppose that didn't matter either, not really.

I'll just take a quick break.

A sharp, needle like sensation in my upper forearm made me grunt in annoyance. Was someone pinching me? I ignored it, I just needed to rest. Another sharp sensation, this time deeper, made me blink my eyes open. What was pinching me?

All I saw was white, everything was so white…except, no…there was red. What was red? My arm…why was my arm red?

The white moved, and I could see bright green and purple eyes suddenly filling my vision. Oh, a tiny face was speaking to me. I blinked again, just for a moment, but then the pinching was back, and I opened my eyes to glare at the tiny white face. Except now there was red on it too. How odd.

"–ening to me? Get up!" The face was speaking words, but I couldn't understand them, it was difficult to hear over the rushing noise. "Get up, Potter!"

Why was a tiny face yelling at me? I blinked at it again before I turned my head to look at it properly. The face was attached to…oh, I knew this face. "Get up!" It shrieked and I wondered why. I was up, couldn't it tell.

How did I know this face? Except it wasn't just a face. This was…a dragon? There was something about dragons…no dragon eggs. I was doing something, with the dragon eggs. What was I doing? "Look at me, Potter!" The face snapped, no the dragon…that's right, the dragon that was talking to me. Except, dragons don't talk. Perhaps this was a special dragon…or maybe it wasn't a dragon at all.

"Harielle!" The dragon screeched a name…my name. Although people really don't call me that, people called me…but which people? "Hari, look at me," I tried to focus on the dragon. I needed to, it used the name people call me, the ones I trusted. Not Potter, I don't like it when people call me that, I like when they use my name. "Alright," the dragon replied. "I'll use your name if you can focus on me. Hari, just focus on me."

Oh, could dragons read minds too?

"Stop that, just focus," the dragon spoke, and I tried to do as it told. It had used my name after all. "I need you to follow me."

But I was so tired, I didn't want to go anywhere. "I know, but if you follow me you can rest and get warm."

That sounded nice. I wanted to be warm…it was so cold here. I pulled my arms beneath me, the white one and the red one, but the weight on my back forced me down again. The dragon tugged at the thing tied to me with his little teeth and I giggled at the sight. It was much to big for it to carry.

"Untie it, Hari. You need to leave it," it spoke again, and I stopped giggling. That sounded…wrong somehow. My fingers followed the line of fabric across my chest to the knot. "Untie it!"

I tugged at the knot, but my fingers wouldn't cooperate…and it didn't feel…it felt not right. "Is wrong," I mumbled at the dragon. I needed the thing on my back, there was something…I needed it.

The dragon bit at the fabric again and I shoved it away with an arm that didn't move quite how I expected. The dragon went flying back a few feet, pushed away much harder than I intended, and immediately righted itself before crawling back over. It waddled oddly, kind of like a bird. I giggled again as my arm flopped uselessly in the snow, a trail of red following it. It looked kind of pretty.

"No, focus!" The dragon snapped again. I eyed it warily, but it didn't try to take the fabric away again. Good, it was mine anyways. The dragon couldn't have it. Besides, it was much too small. "Fine, keep the blasted things!"

Hah, I giggled again. Didn't the dragon know how to count. It was one thing, not things…one fabric thing. And it was mine, so I would keep it.

"Focus, Hari. You have to get inside." That's right, the dragon was going to take me inside. It promised that there would be a place to rest, and heat. Merlin, it was so cold. Why was it cold? "Come on," it urged, waddling in front of me. I followed it with my eyes, watching the tail sway back and forth with each shake of its hips. "Get up, Hari. Come on!"

Oh, I suppose I needed to move too.

I pulled my arms beneath me and tried again…or was it the first time? I couldn't remember. "That's not important, just follow me." I didn't like it when the dragon read my mind. "I'm not, you're speaking out loud."

I blinked again, confused. Was I speaking? I couldn't remember. "Were we…talking 'bout somethin'? Havin' convsation?" My words felt wrong, but I couldn't figure out why.

"No," the dragon replied. "You were just following me."

Oh, that's right. I'm following it. "Where…goin'?"

"Inside, where it's warm and you can rest."

That sounded nice. I was quite cold…why was it so cold?

"We're almost there, just a little further," the dragon urged, and I giggled at it. How odd, didn't the dragon know we've been moving forever. We've just got to keep going forward, always forward. It doesn't end. "Yes, it does. It ends when we're inside, where it's nice and warm."

Warm…that did sound quite nice. I was very cold.

"Just here, Hari," the dragon pointed to a hole in the ground with its nose. But this was wrong…shouldn't it have been a rabbit. But the rabbit was late. Are we late to something? "Just go down the tunnel, I'll follow behind."

I don't remember being late to something. But perhaps I was. I pulled myself forward and down into the hole.

The dragon was right…it was much warmer in here. I crawled further into the cave, frowning at the lack of rabbits…but I suppose that was to be expected. The rabbit was late after all, there was no reason for him to wait here. "Over there," the dragon appeared next to me and I blinked at it slowly. I didn't know dragons could teleport.

"I didn't," the dragon snapped at me. Who knew reading minds would make it so grumpy? Perhaps if it stopped reading my mind, it wouldn't be so mean all the time. Was it my mind that was making I that way? Or was it all minds? Could dragons even read minds? "Focus, Hari. Look at me."

I tried too, but there was two of them now…no, there was one. Was the other one outside still? It made a frustrated noise, probably because of all the mind reading, before it waddled over to a dark bundle. Like a duck…a duck waddle.

"Over here," it sounded…not happy, as it nudged the dark thing. Was there something wrong with it? Dark things did have a tendency to make people not happy. "No, this is for you."

Oh, it wanted me to take the dark thing and make me not happy. "That isn't –" it shrieked. It really wasn't happy at all. Maybe I should take the dark, not happy thing from it. "Yes," it agreed. "Take the sling off and take this…not happy thing." It stressed the words oddly as if it hurt it to say them.

My hand went to the knot on my chest, the red hand. Oh, that was pretty…why was it red? "Take the sling off," it urged. But I wasn't supposed too. I remember I needed it, I had to keep it close and take it…where was I taking it? "You were taking it here, where it is warm. Now you can take it off."

I guess that was okay then. I mean, if I was taking it here, and here we were. Except the knot wouldn't come undone. "You need to untie it."

I blinked at him. "I am," I replied, using my outside words. I was tired of it reading my inside words. They made it grumpy.

"All your words are outside words," it snapped before sighing again. It looked like a cat now, like a big puffy, duck waddling cat. I giggled, but it didn't find it funny at all. Perhaps because it was still standing next to the not happy thing. "You need to untie the knot, not just poke it."

Its voice was odd…the kind when an adult was talking to a really slow child. But there were no children here. Who was it talking too? "Hari, I need you to untie the knot." It was talking to me…but I wasn't a child. Or, at least I don't think I am. "Untie it, Hari."

My fingers returned to the knot and I pulled at it, concentrating really hard. After a while, I felt the heavy weight shift from my back and the little dragon made a purring noise, like a duck…no, that's not right either. Ducks don't purr, they bark.

"Focus, Hari," it spoke again and stared at it really hard. What were we focusing on? Was this a test? I hate tests. "No, this isn't a test. I just need you to come over here."

What was wrong with where I was? I'm tired and didn't want to go anywhere else. "I know, but it's warmer over here." Oh, I suppose I really should then. I wanted to get warm. Why was I so cold? Maybe I should just crawl into a fire and pull the flames over me. That sounded nice. But I didn't see any fire. Maybe I could make some, I know how to do that.

"Over here, Hari," it admonished again, and I forced myself to crawl into the smaller alcove where the not happy thing was. Once I was close enough, it urged me to lay down which I was more than happy to do. I suppose the not happy thing didn't affect me like it did it. The dragon pulled the dark, not happy thing over me and then curled against my chest.

It was right, it was much warmer over here. "Go to sleep." That sounded nice. I blinked, but my eyes didn't open again.