Disclaimer – I solemnly swear that JKR owns everything Harry Potter. Whether or not I am up to no good with her characters is for you to decide.
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A/N –I would like to remind everyone that while I update weekly, I am currently alternately updates between 'Dragon Whisperer' and 'Heroes Assemble!'. I am also in the process of writing original stories. If you want to find out more about that or where I'm up to with my fanfiction writing, I update my Facebook page (which you can find through my profile here) very regularly.
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Harry Potter: Dragon Whisperer
Chapter 10 – The Speaker Has Spoken!
2:34am
Monday, 8 August 1995
Romanian Dragon Reserve, Romania
.
Harry raced through the door of the hut, his feet skidding on the dirt as he changed direction.
"Harry! Wait!"
He heard Sirius' voice, but ignored it. Waiting wasn't an option. The dragons needed him. Even now he could hear their roars echoing from the valley or was that inside his head? Viciously, he shook his head. It didn't matter. All that mattered was getting to them as quickly as he could.
A sharp stone dug into the ball of his foot and he hopped a couple of steps, glaring daggers at the ground itself. He hoped that he didn't step on anything else that he couldn't see.
And then it hit him. What in the world was he doing running in the first place? He was a wizard with a flying broom and everything.
Harry thrust out his hand behind him even as he kept running forwards, willing his magic to summon his broom to him.
The darkness was something else that a wizard shouldn't have to put up with either. A flick of the wrist of his off-hand conjured a ball of light; a push-flick of his fingers sent it sailing ahead of him.
A whistling of wind behind him had Harry twisting about to see his broom shooting straight at him from behind. Unerringly, he snagged it straight out of the air even as he jumped and threw a leg over it. Even before his feet found the stirrups, he was laying low over the Nimbus Two Thousand and willing it to speeds even faster than he'd ever flown before.
He raced at the trees that forested the mountainside. Flying through that, especially at this speed, at night, he knew, was akin to suicide. Harry did the only thing that made sense, he pulled back on the shaft and soared straight up. Even at that angle, his feet still clipped a few high branches, sending a rain of leaves falling to the forest floor below, not that Harry even noticed.
His ball of light may have been moving fast but with the speed that Harry was urging his broom to, it meant that he nearly overtook it.
And then the end of the trees was directly below him and Harry dived. The wind whipped at his hair and pants and his bare chest and he was forced to squeeze his eyes into slits. He passed the edge of the cliff and kept going, shooting straight down the side of the canyon.
Even with the light from his light ball, it was near-impossible to tell exactly where the floor of the canyon was. Harry strained his eyes, searching for it. And then it appeared as if out of nowhere at the very edge of the light and Harry pulled up sharply. The nose of the broom barely cleared the ground, as did his toes and a whirlwind of dust was kicked up in his wake behind him.
§SPEAKER!§
§SPEAKER! WE NEED YOU!§
The roar of the dragons was almost overwhelming from down here and, with the echoes that reverberated up and down the canyon, impossible to tell exactly where it was coming from. But it wasn't just dragon roars heard through his ears, he was sure of it. It also sounded as though the voices were coming from inside his own head.
Whatever it was, all it did was increase Harry's sense of urgency.
He knew this canyon. He'd flown down it every day since he'd been here. Multiple times. Now he used that knowledge.
It was all but pitch black, only the light from his ball that was now at his shoulder was allowing him to see anything and at that, only what was in its circle of influence. Everything outside was pitch black, hidden from him even with the small amount of light that the moon was providing.
His night vision, he realised. The ball had destroyed his night vision.
The barest of thoughts banished his ball and Harry blinked rapidly, struggling to right his vision.
Still, he flew on, faster and faster.
Left. Left. Straight and right. Down and under the rock bridge that spanned the canyon. Another left and a sharp curve to the right.
§SPEAKER! WE NEED YOU!§
§SPEAKER!§
The roars this time were so close that the sound was almost tangible. Harry had no idea how many dragons were calling for him but it sure felt and sounded like all of them.
And without question, he knew that whatever had the dragons upset, angry, furious was right around the next corner.
Harry mentally overlaid a copy of the canyon with where he thought he was.
Ramaranth's cave! He was certain of it.
Rounding the corner Harry knew that the canyon walls were covered in dragons. Whirling eyes of red and orange stared down from all around like the fallen stars come to Earth to burn it to a crisp.
Many of those eyes were turned in his direction; most, though, were focussed on Ramaranth's cave.
A great, dark lump on the canyon floor lay where it shouldn't and it took Harry a moment to realise that it was a dragon.
§Who is that§? he demanded.
§Ramaranth, Speaker§.
Harry froze, staring at the body on the ground.
§What happened? Is she alive§? he asked.
§Two-legs, Speaker! There are many two-legs here§.
§They snuck in when we slept. Attacked Ramaranth§.
Harry's jaw set and his eyes narrowed; a rage roared in his ears. How dare some people come here and harm the dragons, hurt Ramaranth! He was so focussed on the body of Ramaranth and what he was being told that he wasn't even taking the time to work out who was speaking to him.
§The fledglings§? Harry asked quickly.
§They remain inside the cave. Where the two-legs are§.
§We dare not flame for fear of harming the fledglings§.
§I will get them§! Harry snarled.
Instantly, he shot forward on his broom, directly for the cave. His body was low to give him not only extra speed but also to reduce his profile.
§Fledglings! On your bellies§! Harry yelled.
As he raced towards the cave, Harry made out a dim light inside. Obviously, the two-legs, the humans had either lit a fire or lit their wands. Which was all to the good as far as Harry was concerned – they wouldn't see him coming out of the dark straight at them.
Harry knew Ramaranth's cave well, better than any other and he used that to his advantage.
Just before he flew inside, he lifted one hand and sent a stream of bright balls of light sailing inside. His magic held them for a second, two and then extinguished them. The confused yells from the men inside had Harry grinning.
And then he was in.
Instantly, he flung himself off his broom to the left. He landed on a mass of flesh. The fact that it was not much bigger than himself told him that it was a human and he let loose with a blast of pure red, a stunner just as Sirius had shown him.
An 'oof' and a grunt of pain told him that his broom had hit another.
Harry scrambled to his feet and instantly took in the situation. Two men down; another dozen or so still standing, all with their hands over their eyes or doubled over as they rubbed their faces.
But even while glancing about, Harry wasn't being idle.
His hands were shooting out one after the other, his magic obeying every intent, every thought that he had. Anything that he'd ever learnt, was used, no matter how obscure.
A shrinking charm hit a shirt, constricting a man, making him drop his wand.
An enlarging charm hit a hat, making it fall down over a pair of eyes that now couldn't see to aim.
A jet of intense fire hit a pair of men, setting their clothes on fire.
A tangle of ropes and fishing line engulfed three separate wizards.
Jets of red stunning spells impacted another two.
Streams of water, strong enough to knock a witch off her feet was combined with a freezing charm to encase her in ice.
A summoning charm sent a wizard flying towards Harry, only for him to simply sidestep him and allow him to impact the rock wall behind him.
A whirlwind so strong that it lifted two wizards straight up, spinning them too fast for the eye to see only stopped when the men hit the roof, dropping them straight to the floor.
More stunning spells took out a pair that had their shoelaces tied together, toppling them over each other.
When Harry finally, straightened, panting heavily, it was to see that the cave was full of witches and wizards, either unconscious or moaning in pain. He blinked at them, assessed them as no longer being a danger and giving a single, satisfied nod.
§Speaker§?
This time, Harry instantly recognised the voice.
§Yes, Painzz? Are you four okay? You're not hurt§? he asked.
§We are, Speaker. Can we get up now§? she asked.
§You can§, Harry replied. §Just wait here for a moment, I want to check on something outside the cave§.
§What of the two-legs§? Potteth asked.
Harry glanced around the cave once more. The fledglings shouldn't be in any danger if he ducked outside for just a minute.
§If they look like being a problem, flame them§, he instructed.
§But our flames are not hot enough yet to do any harm. We're too young§, Spekith complained.
§True. But they don't know that§, Harry replied.
With that, Harry quickly ducked back outside.
§Speaker? Are the fledglings unharmed§?
This time, Harry was calm enough to recognise who had spoken to him.
§Yes, Grouleth, they are. And the two-legs won't bother you again§, he said. §How is Ramaranth§?
§Ramaranth lives, Speaker§, Memzath declared and instantly the Weyr bugled in celebration.
Harry, though, wasn't quite ready to join them. His closest dragon friend had still not moved from where she'd been lying when he first saw her.
§I'm guessing that she needs to be looked at by a doctor, er Healer, er one of the dragon keepers. If I summon them, you can assure them safe passage§? he asked.
§Of course, Speaker§, Memzath said, inclining his great head. §You have spoken and have our word§.
That was more than enough for Harry.
He took a deep breath. He'd never actually successfully tried this before but with how his magic was currently pumping, he was going to give it a go. Summoning his magic, he concentrated on the broom ride that he'd shared with Daphne, well, yesterday morning now and cast.
"Expecto patronum!"
Instantly, his magic burst forth from his outstretched hand in a cloud of bright silver. He watched as his magic condensed, pulling in on itself and forming into a very familiar shape. A dragon! His patronus was a dragon! That was … well, he wasn't sure if it was expected, unexpected or something in between.
Either way, he watched, wide-eyed, his jaw slack as the silver, ethereal dragon soared out and around before returning to 'land', its eyes on him, watching, waiting.
"Go to Charlie. Tell him that Ramaranth has been hurt and that there's a bunch of unconscious witches and wizards in her cave," he instructed.
At once, his dragon patronus nodded and flew away, its wings beating once, twice, thrice before it simply soared out of sight even as the 'real' dragons bugled in delight at the sight.
§I'm going to send the fledglings out here§, Harry said. §You will watch over them until Ramaranth is better§?
§It is as you say, Speaker§, Memzath replied.
Harry nodded to the Weyr Leader, turned and strode back into the cave. The small fire that had been lit in the centre of it that had been providing the light had dwindled. That didn't stop Harry from freezing at the sight before him.
One of the wizards was currently half missing, only his legs were waving about from underneath Harreth where he sat on him. Spekith had her rear end and tail in the air, her front down on her paws, her snout mere inches from another wizard who had managed to free himself from the ropes that had bound him. As for Potteth, he was currently sitting happily in the corner munching away, bits of wood clattering to the floor with every chew.
§The two-leg wanted to use his stick on us, Speaker§, Painzz defended her brother.
§Works for me§, Harry shrugged.
A number of quick accios had a pile of wands speeding towards him.
§Come along, you four§, Harry said. §But before you go out there, you need to know that Ramaranth was injured by the two-legs. She'll be alright but she is currently sleeping§.
§We trust you, Speaker§, Spekith stated.
As the four dragons trotted past, Harry swept the witches and wizards in the cave a hard look.
"In case you lot are getting any silly ideas. Just remember, you have no wands and there are about a hundred dragons just outside that door who will roast you alive if you put so much as a nose past that entrance," he stated.
"Who … who are you?" one of the wizards asked.
"I'm Harry Potter, Speaker of Dragons," he stated.
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3:10am
Monday, 8 August 1995
Romanian Dragon Reserve, Romania
.
"You're sure that this is a good idea?" Sirius asked, not for the first time.
Charlie, on his broom and leading the group of six dragon handlers plus Alexander, Sirius and Remus, looked back and grinned at him.
"You heard Harry's message just as I did," he said. "And you also know as well as I do that Harry wouldn't tell us to come unless he'd already warned the rest of the dragons first."
"Dragon! A dragon patronus!" Remus crowed. "I told you, didn't I?"
"Yeah, yeah," Sirius grouched. "And I've already given you your gold so you don't have to keep going on about it."
Charlie's grin only grew as he remembered the ethereal dragon that had flown down to him. Everyone, every dragon handler in the entire Reserve had seen it. And none had seen its like before. It was a marvel and it was actually miraculous that Charlie'd caught Harry's message when it began speaking to him.
But then the import of what that message was had hit home. One dragon was down and there were poachers in the Reserve itself. A lot of them by the sound of it. Naturally, everyone there had volunteered to go; in the end Alexander had chosen the six with the most healing knowledge along with himself and Charlie. Sirius and Remus had flatly refused to be left behind, what with Harry still down there, in his pyjamas no less., facing who knew what.
"Right, wands lit and held high," Alexander commanded as they approached the last corner before Ramaranth's cave.
Charlie didn't want any ambiguity with who they were, not when they were approaching what was sure to be a whole mess of angry dragons. He slowed the group right down, his wand arm held high and his other arm ready to pull his broom around at a moment's notice.
What he wasn't expecting was to find six bright orbs of light hovering a couple of metres above the canyon floor with a downed dragon right in the centre of them. The fact that there were easily six or eight dozen dragons perched everywhere – on the canyon floor, ledges on the walls, even up on the clifftops, completely surrounding them was also expected.
And extremely disconcerting.
"Hi guys!" Harry called, stepping out from behind a large Horntail that Charlie didn't immediately recognise. "Glad you finally got here."
"Harry? You're okay?" Sirius asked.
"Sure! Why wouldn't I be?" Harry replied, then, "don't worry, the dragons know you're here to help, they won't get in your way."
"That's good to know," Alexander said, landing and instantly placing his broom on the ground. "Where's these poachers you mentioned?"
"In Ramaranth's cave but don't worry about them. They're not going anywhere," Harry replied.
"Not going anywhere," Remus repeated. "What do you mean, Harry?"
Harry shrugged. "They had the fledglings in there, so I went in and … well, I managed to surprise them you see and used some spells to take them down. Here's all their wands."
Charlie blinked at the wad of wands being handed to him.
"They're still in there?" he asked, nodded towards Ramaranth's cave.
"Yep," Harry grinned. "And that's where they're staying. I've told them that if they come out, the dragons will flame them."
"Will they?" Sirius asked, looked around at the dragons surrounding them.
"I did say that they could if they wanted to and after what they did to Ramaranth, I'm betting that they'd want to," Harry replied. "How is she?"
Derryn, one of the other dragon handlers, looked up from where he and his fellow handlers were clustered around her.
"She's just stunned. She'll be okay by morning, I'd guess," he said.
Charlie started as Harry looked up at the big Horntail and began hissing at him. As often as he heard Harry speaking parseltongue, every single time it still got to him.
"Now that we know she'll be alright; would the dragons allow us to take those poachers away?" Alexander asked.
"Just a sec," Harry replied before once again looking up at the Horntail.
After another conversation that none of the humans could understand, Harry turned to them.
"Memzath doesn't mind if you take them away, as long as they don't return. If they do, then he won't be so lenient again."
"Lenient?" Charlie asked, half afraid of the answer.
"Yeah," Harry replied and his green eyes were as hard has flint, something that Charlie had never seen before. "He's only allowing it because I asked him to. He'd much prefer that they face dragon justice, not only for hurting Ramaranth but also for threatening the fledglings."
"Dragon justice?" Sirius asked.
"Roasted to death by dragon flame and then eaten," Harry replied casually.
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6:10am
Monday, 8 August 1995
Romanian Dragon Reserve, Romania
.
Alexander rubbed his hands over his face, hiding the yawn from any who could see. His eyes felt raw and his chin scratchy, not exactly unexpected when he'd been up most of the night. As unobtrusively as he could, he gave his head a little shake and arched his back, getting some of the kinks out. Hopefully he could manage to catch a couple of hour's sleep later, but right now, there was still a job to do.
With the letter that he'd just finished writing in hand, he stepped through the open door of his office, his eyes instantly sweeping over their 'guests'.
Fourteen. How in Merlin's great saggy balls the kid had got the drop on fourteen adult witches and wizards and taken them all down, he had no idea. And the magic that he used? Basic charms that any kid still in school could use, just in a way that wasn't even out-of-the-box but out-of-the-bloody-building kind of thing.
And what's more, Harry didn't even have his wand with him. Forgot to take it with him, if one could believe that! Wandless! The kid was powerful, of that there was no doubt. Scarily so. That patronus of his proved that.
"Elise!" he called, seeing one of the other handlers sitting, watching the prisoners, her wand in her hand and across her knees.
"Yeah, Boss?" she asked.
"Can you take this and get it sent out, please?" he asked, holding out the letter. "The sooner the aurors get here, the better. I want this scum off the Reserve."
"No worries, Boss," she nodded, taking the letter and instantly turning and striding off towards the owlery.
"You're giving us to the aurors, are ya?" one of the poachers, a man with long, stringy hair and a nose that looked like it's been broken at least half a dozen times sneered.
"It's better than the alternative," Alexander retorted.
The man – the ringleader, Alexander guessed him to be – didn't move a muscle. His compatriots, though, did, shifting about uncomfortably but whether that was because they were trying to imagine what the alternative was or because they found the muggle zip ties around their ankles and binding their hands behind their backs uncomfortable was hard to tell
"And what's this alternative, huh? Was ya thinking you could mete out yer own justice?" the man sneered. "You'd never do that, too much a goody goody; why else would ya be here, caring for the beasts when you could be earning millions of galleons from harvesting them?"
Alexander stared hard at the man, his eyes narrowed.
"If I was you, I'd curb that tongue of yours," he growled.
"Why? Ain't like you're going to do anything? And don't bother threatening us with throwing us to the dragons. Never gonna happen, we both know that, don't we?" the man replied with a half-laugh.
Alexander couldn't help himself. He laughed at the poor, deluded sod. It burst forth, fully formed and was so hard that he felt tears at the corner of his eyes. Whether it was because of the absurdity of the man's statement or because Alexander was tired or a combination of the two, he couldn't tell and didn't care.
"What? What's so funny?" the poacher asked.
Wiping away the moisture from his eyes, Alexander grinned down at the man.
"You being alive right now's got absolutely nothing to do with me," he told him. "If things'd gone any differently last night, you would never have left that cave alive. In fact, if you'd harmed one scale on any of those fledglings, you'd be dead. And you can thank your lucky stars that Ramaranth survived or nothing in this world would have saved you."
"Ramaranth?" one of the other poachers asked.
"The dragon that you stunned. That's her name," Alexander told him. "She's particularly close to young Harry and his wrath would have been terrible."
"The kid who beat us last night? He got lucky, that's all, caught us by surprise. He wouldn'ta killed us neither. He ain't a killer, one look at him's enough for anyone to see that," the ringleader mocked.
Alexander snorted. "Try harming one of his dragons and look again."
"His dragons?" the ringleader asked incredulously.
"You heard him last night, Luka," one of the others said. "He was talking to them. Like he was one himself. And they was listening to him."
"They do more than listen," Alexander stated. "Harry's the Speaker to the Dragons. Every dragon. In. The. Entire. World. Every one of them will listen to him. He bears their Mark. And when he Speaks, they don't just listen, they obey!"
Strictly speaking, that last part wasn't true. Alexander knew that. But the poachers didn't. And if putting the fear of Merlin, or in this case Harry Potter into this lot managed to spread to the rest of the scum like them, then Alexander had no quibbles with bending the truth just a little.
"Harry's the only reason you're still alive right now," Alexander continued. "He asked the dragons to not flame you, telling them that we'd make sure that you received the punishment that you deserved. Human punishment, that is. And as I said, when the Speaker speaks, the dragons obey. You just think about that while you're waiting for the aurors to arrive."
Alexander swept his gaze over the fourteen of them. The fear in most of their eyes, the extreme gulping, the sweat breaking out on foreheads almost almost made him smile. But that could wait until later. For now, he was content to know that his message had been well and truly received and understood.