A/N: I don't own Harry Potter

This is for Quidditch League

Season 8 round 4

Puddlemere United

Seeker

Prompt: SEEKER: [quest] An expedition or trip undertaken by one or more characters in order to achieve a particular goal – genre adventure

Word Count" 1034

The cold mountain air bit at Luna's nose. She reached up and rubbed it gently with her gloved hand. Yes, she knew she could use warming charms, but how could she possibly explain to any Muggles she happened across why she wasn't wearing a heavy coat, mittens, hat, and other warm clothing. She looked up towards the summit of the mountain she was currently working on climbing.

Her hand reached towards the next out jutting rock. It was firm and didn't shift as she pulled herself upward. The snow crunched beneath her lavender boots. When she had decided to go on this quest, she had no idea just how cold the mountain would be, just how dangerous things could become. She shuddered remembering the avalanche she'd been lucky to avoid the day before. She still could hear the snow crashing down around her, could still feel the way the Earth trembled beneath her.

"I won't let that happen again," she muttered, taking another step up the side of the mountain. The quest itself wasn't too dangerous. All she had to do was climb the mountain and see if there was still a dragon nest in the caves near the top.

Luna had been thrilled when Charlie Weasley had written her asking for her to accompany him on this quest. She'd agreed immediately. Unfortunately, Charlie had fallen ill and the whole thing fell into her more than capable hands. She wiped a snowflake from her eyes.

She'd made it halfway up already. The map showed that it should be getting slightly easier to climb, since the mountain leveled out some. She smiled as she took another few steps. The map had been right. Luna could tell the incline wasn't as steep as it had been before.

"Don't get too confident," she reminded herself. A loud sound caused her to freeze. Another avalanche? She waited, listening carefully. When she realized the Earth was not moving under her feet and the sound was coming from above her, she looked up towards the hazy grey sky. Her mouth nearly fell open when she spotted it.

There, barely more than a tiny speck, was a dragon. She couldn't tell from this distance if it was one of the type she was here to see. She watched it soar in a circle, searching for prey. She quickly managed to grab her camera and snap a photograph.

Charlie would love to see this. She felt horrible that he wasn't here, but it wasn't as if she could have put this quest off. There was a small window when the weather was predictable enough for her to climb the mountain. If she waited too long, it would be monsoon season and the torrential rains would make climbing next to impossible.

"Amazing," she whispered, watching until the dragon had flown completely out of sight. More resolved than ever, Luna moved onward up the mountain. She paused only for a few minutes to eat a quick sandwich and drink some water. While it was cold, dehydration would still be bad. While she ate, she cast a warming charm. So far, she hadn't seen anyone else on this mountain, but that didn't mean she was alone.

"Time to get back to it," she whispered, rising. She ended the warming charm and set back on her path. She looked up, hoping to see another dragon. Instead, all she saw was the empty sky. She shivered. It looked as though it might snow. She could handle a small snow, a few little flurries, but if things got bad enough, became a blizzard, she wasn't sure what she'd do.

Focusing on putting one foot in front of the other and not thinking about the weather, or the cold, Luna trudged onward. She had nearly reached the summit when her foot found a patch of ice. Her leg slid out from beneath her, sending her crashing to the ground. Fear filled her heart as she prayed to anyone who might be listening that she didn't fall further.

She rolled down a bit, but managed to catch herself on an outcropping rock. Luna grasped the rock, her fingers not even able to feel it because of the gloves. She hung there for a minute, her legs swinging in the air. Taking a deep breath, she managed to pull herself back to the ledge. She looked up and smiled.

She hadn't fallen too far, maybe only about five feet. She could make up that time quick enough. This time, she discretely cast an anti slip charm on her boots and pushed herself to make up the time, and distance, she had lost.

Luna reached the summit just as the air had started to chill further. She found a small clearing and sat, watching as large white snowflakes started dancing in the air around her. The caves she was investigating where near enough for her to see them through her binoculars.

She drew them from her bag. The right lens was cracked, but she could see well enough. Between the snowflakes, she peered into the caves. A flash of silvery light caught her attention. A smile filled her face. The dragons were indeed still in the caves, and judging by the silvery coloration, had bred. This breed was silver as adolescence and only became gold after they reached adulthood.

With a smile on her face, Luna set up camp there for the night. She pitched the small tent, made sure to set a handful of warming charms, and wards just in case. Tonight, she'd accomplished the first part of the quest. She'd made it to the caves and seen that the dragons were still there.

Tomorrow, she would get a closer look at the caves, get a semi-accurate count of how many dragons there were, and take enough photographs to make Charlie feel as though he'd seen them himself. She hummed softly to herself as she lit a fire and set the kettle on, glad that she'd agreed to this quest. There as nothing quite as majestic as seeing a family of dragons, well, maybe riding one, but she had a feeling that particular thrill would have to wait for another day.