Disclaimer: Don't own anything except Draconis and the plot. Do we even have to go over this?
Previously: Are they creating trouble for you again? Draco asked as she entered the room.
Sadly yes, today Draco. I have made new friends, and new enemies.
Ch. 3- Eragon's Arrival
Eragon loved the feeling of the wind rushing through his hair. At the moment, he was flying with Saphira. They were on they're way to a place called Hogwarts to train the newest rider, a girl named Hermione Granger. Nasuada had shown Saphira a map that showed exactly how to get there. Glaedr's endurance training on Saphira really paid off. Now they were going take what they learned from Oromis and Glaedr, their mentors, and show it to Hermione and Draconis. What an interesting name, Draconis.
What are you thinking about Eragon?
Oh, just the new rider and her dragon. Aren't you excited that now we get to be the teacher instead of the student.
Oh yes, ecstatic. I'd be jumping for joy if I wasn't flying.
Must you be so sarcastic?
Um… let me think about it.
…
I wouldn't have it any other way little one.
It was now night time and they stopped to sleep in a dark forest.
Only one more day Saphira. And with that Eragon fell into a deep sleep.
Hermione woke up to a loud squeaking sound. She groaned.
Today was Sunday, which meant they were taking a trip to Hogsmeade. She could finally let Draconis out in the forest for a little while when everyone was busy shopping. The only other person who knew she was a rider besides Dumbledore was McGonagall. Draconis was getting pretty big, in about 2 weeks he'd be taller than her. He was at her knee height at the moment.
I'm hungry.
Yes, I know. That's why I'm taking you to get something to eat. Come on, in the book bag you go.
But I almost got crushed in there last time!!!
That's ok, you'll live.
Hermione took him to the kitchens where he ate about a pound of sausage and bacon. He really liked that stuff. Hermione had a bagel and some toast. It was 10 am, and the carriages for Hogsmeade were to leave at 12 pm. Hermione and Draconis went back to the dorm and Hermione got dressed in green tanktop with a white button up shirt over that, some jeans, and her Nikes. Hermione killed some time by reading a book about dragons that she picked up in the library. Everything she read in there did not pertain to Draconis at all. By the time she was finished, it was 11:30.
Come on Draco, the carriages will leave in half an hour. You ready?
Do I really have to be in the book bag?
Yup.
Hermione saw the dragon glare at her and giggled. He was so adorable!! She walked down to the carriages and sat in an empty one. Soon the carriages were moving, and in a matter of minutes they had arrived at Hogsmeade. Hermione headed toward the Shrieking Shack where it was pure forest after that. She went about half a mile into the forest before checking to make sure it was safe, then pulling Draconis out of her bag. Draconis stretched his wings readily. In this light, his blue scales glittered beautifully catching the sun's rays. Hermione smiled at the small dragon.
"Can you fly?"
I dunno.
"Are you going to try?"
Yup.
And with that Draco flapped his wings and rose into the air. Hermione cheered him on, happy for his accomplishment. Hermione hadn't been this happy in a long time. Draco and she seemed to be establishing a stronger bond; they could feel each other's connection no matter where they were in the castle.
Can you believe it? Saphira and Eragon arrive tomorrow!!
Yes, I know. But my training doesn't start until I grow taller than you.
Yes but my training on Tuesday, once Eragon has had a good rest after that flight!!
Don't gloat.
Hehe.
Draco stuck his forked tongue out at Hermione and she giggled. She stopped as soon as she heard rustling in the bushes. Her eyes widened and she quickly crouched behind a tree.
He's behind that big tree.
Before the person could react, Hermione pinned them up against the tree…her arm pressing against their neck, choking them.
"What the hell are you doing?" She hissed.
"Hermione?" Draco strangled out.
"Draco?" Hermione looked confused, but did not release his grip on him. "You better not tell anyone about this…including your little death eater pals," she threatened.
"I won't, and I'm not a death eater… but does Dumbledore know?" Draco asked rubbing his sore neck as Hermione released her vice-like grip on him.
"Yes."
"Oh, ok. What is it?"
"It's a dragon you idiot." Hermione said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"What's its name?" Hermione smirked.
"Draco."
"What?"
"Draco."
"Huh? What's his name?"
"Draco!!"
"What?!"
"The dragon's name is Draco!!" Hermione said between giggles at Draco's stupidity. She had already forgiven him for his previous crime.
"Oh," Draco said, then smirked. "Did you name it after me?"
"You wish. His real name is Draconis, after the dragon constellation. Draco for short."
"Oh," Draco seemed disappointed.
His attraction for you is obvious.
He doesn't' like me.
Does too.
Does not.
Does too.
Does not.
Does too.
Does not.
You like him too don't you.
Don't even go there Draco. Draconis looked at her knowingly with those dark blue orbs of his.
"Promise not to tell Draco, please."
"I promise. Where'd you get him?"
"I found his egg in the Forbidden Forest. Then he hatched."
"Oh."
"Well, I have to go now, I guess I'll be off then."
"Wait, Hermione. What are you gonna do when he gets bigger?"
"Train him."
"To what?"
"To kill." Draco winced.
"Why?" he asked hesitantly.
"Because there is a country at war, and apparently they need our help."
"Oh. What country?"
"You've never heard of it."
"Try me."
"Ok, fine then.Alagaësia" Hermione smirked as she saw Draco's face become puzzled.
"Told you you've never heard of it."
"Whatever, do you want to spend the rest of the day with me?"
"Um, well…" Hermione looked at Draconis apprehensively.
He likes you, just admit it.
Shut up.
Touchy, touchy.
You sound like him, did ya know that?
Looks like all Dracos think alike then. And Hermione sweared that if he could've, he probably would've cackled. Hermione twitched at the thought. She stuffed him back into her bag, making sure he was concealed.
"Sure." She smiled at Draco. With that, she and Draco walked back to Hogsmeade.
Eragon could almost swear he saw the castle at a far distance. Ever since his training with Oromis and the gift of the dragons, he could see for miles and miles. He and Saphira decided they wouldn't stop for the night, since just a couple more hours and they would be there. In just a little while, Eragon and Saphira had arrived at the castle. It was around 10pm at night, and they were both exhausted. They walked up to the entrance of the castle, as they were about to knock, an old man opened the door.
"Welcome to Hogwarts! I am Albus Dumbledore, headmaster here. I presume you are Eragon and Saphira." Eragon nodded his head and Saphira grunted. This guy seemed way too happy for an old man.
"Come, I have a room especially prepared for the both of you." They walked through endless halls and staircases until they arrived at a portrait of a dragon. How ironic.
"The password is gillyweed. I hope you have a good night's rest." As Dumbledore said gillyweed, the portrait opened and expanded to Saphira's size so both of them could fit. They walked into the room and found it absolutely massive. There was a rug for Saphira to curl up on and a bed for Eragon to sleep on. There was a large bookcase filled with… wouldn't ya know it, books. There was also a desk for him to write notes.
"Now, by tomorrow, we will probably have Hermione and Draconis move in too. With that I bid you good night." Dumbledore nodded and left. Eragon collapsed onto the bed and died (not literally).
Hermione woke up and dressed quickly, she somehow knew that they had arrived. She grabbed Draco without bothering to put him in her book bag and stuffed him in her robes. He squawked in protest. She ran to Dumbledore's office and burst in.
"They've arrived haven't they?" Hermione said excitedly.
"Yes Miss Granger, but they are exhausted from the past few days of flying, so give them about 5 hours more of sleep. In the meantime, I would like you to pack you trunk, for you will be moving into they're room.
"Yes sir."
Five more hours? I can't wait that long.
Wow, and I thought I was impatient.
You have the talent of getting on people's nerves, did you know that?
I'm hungry.
Hermione twitched. She redirected her path from the Gryffindor tower to the kitchens. Might as well get used to this, this is gonna be her routine for the next couple of days until Saphira teaches him how to hunt. Hermione got Draco his usual 5 pounds of meat and then headed toward her dorm to start packing. Two hours later, she had everything ready to go waiting in the Great Hall. She had left all her belongings in one corner of the gigantic room.
"Oh crap, we have classes today!!" Hermione moaned. Now she wouldn't get to meet Eragon and Saphira until lunch later on that day. Hermione pouted at no one in particular. It was 8am in the morning and classes started at 10am. It had been 3 hours since she had seen Dumbledore. Who knows maybe they would wake up earlier, hopefully, maybe?
"Ms. Granger? I presume you have your belongings ready?" Dumbledore smiled.
"Yes sir," Hermione nodded obediently.
"Well good news for you, they're awake and are currently awaiting our arrival. Now, if you would please follow me." Hermione levitated her things with one hand while carrying Draco under her robes in another. They arrived at the portrait of the dragon and Dumbledore said the password (gillyweed). There curled up on the floor was Saphira, and on the couch was Eragon. Eragon stood up as they walked in. He looked at Hermione and then at Draco. Eragon looked too beautiful to be human, but to rugged to be elf. Saphira was a sapphire colored dragon with piercing eyes just like Draconis. Hermione sucked in a breath. She was absolutely elated, and she was having a VERY hard time containing her excitement.
"This is Eragon and this is Saphira, I will leave you to get to know each other better. Ms. Granger, you will not be having classes today."
"Thank you Professor," and with that Dumbledore left.
"Hello, you must be Hermione, and that must be Draconis."
I prefer Draco, thank you.
Eragon smiled at the dragon. "This is Saphira."
Hello.
Hi. Hermione greeted.
Pleased to meet you. Draco said.
"So Hermione, what have you learned about your dragon?"
"I know that we have a bond and we can talk to each other wherever we are in the castle."
"When did your bond form?" Eragon asked curiously.
"Um… a little after he hatched." Hermione scratched her head.
"That's unnaturally fast…" Eragon mumbled to no one in particular. "Tell me a little bit about yourself."
"Um ok. Well, I'm 16, I'm the smartest witch in Hogwarts, um… I have a really short temper, and I guess that's the really general part. What about you?"
"My name is Eragon. I am 17 years old. I was raised on a farm where I learned how to hunt and found Saphira. I've been with her helping the Varden, a group that oppose the government and Galbatorix, the king, ever since."
"When will we begin our training?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Right now. We will go outside, and Saphira will stay with Draco and teach him the history of the dragons." Hermione nodded in approval. Hermione and Eragon walked through the corridors and down many staircases.
"How do you find you're way through this place?"
"You get used to it after 6 years." Hermione shrugged. Many girls whom they had passed by followed them marveling at Eragon. Hermione resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She passed Ron, Harry, and Ginny who stared in confusion. She also passed Draco who just cocked his eyebrow at her. She and Eragon walked into a clearing next to the great lake, where they sat down across from each other.
"We are going to start with the ancient language. What do you know about it?" Eragon asked.
"Um, nothing." Hermione avoided his eyes. Eragon let out a laugh.
"Well we'll start from the beginning then. The ancient language is used for magic and making oaths. The elves use it as their native language. If you promise something in the ancient language, there is a bind that makes you keep that promise. King Galbatorix, the ruler we are fighting against, uses it to his advantage. He makes riders swear their allegiance to him in the ancient language." Eragon preached about the ancient language. Hermione listened intently. "I have some scrolls for you back in the room. Take some time to read them so you can learn to read, write, and speak the language without even having to think about it. There will be an elf arriving soon, Arya. Now, one of the most important things in the elvish race is the manners. So we'll learn about that first. When one elf meets another, they stop and touch their first 2 fingers to their lips to indicate that "we shall not distort the truth during our conversation." This is followed by the phrase 'Atra esterni ono thelduin' to which one replies 'Atra du evarinya ono varda.' And if you are being especially formal, a third response is made: 'Un atra mor'ranr lifa unin hjarta onr.' These mean 'May good fortune rule over you, peace live in your heart, and the stars watch over you.' If you greet someone with greater status than yourself or if you wish to honor a subordinate, then speak first. If you greet someone with less status than yourself, speak last. But if you are uncertain of your position, give your counterpart a chance to speak, and if they are silent, speak first. That is the rule."
"How interesting," Hermione blinked.
"The scrolls I am going to give you were given to me by my mentor, Oromis. They will teach you much about the elven culture, the riders, and the ancient language. Take some time to read over them in your spare time." Eragon explained.
"Yes Eragon," Hermione nodded. Eragon went over manners, and the general concept of the ancient language for the rest of the day.
"Ok, we're done for today." Eragon stood up and helped Hermione up.
"Well, that's perfect. It's just about time for dinner," Hermione said. She led him to the Great Hall and they sat down at the Gryffindor table. They made small talk with each other while everyone else just stared.
Dumbledore stood up and caught everyone's attention by tapping his glass.
"Everyone!! I would like to welcome a guest that will be staying with us for the next few weeks. Eragon? Would you please stand up?" Eragon stood up and the girls who hadn't already seen him gasped. "He will be helping Ms. Granger on special training that she will be going through." Eragon sat down. All the female population in the Great Hall looked at Hermione enviously. "You may continue eating, that is all."
"What'll she be training fer Professor Dumbledore?" Hagrid asked curiously at what one of his favorite students could be doing.
"Hagrid, we have found our next rider, and Eragon will be training her." Hagrid's eyes widened.
The next day, Hermione and Eragon went outside bright and early to train. They sat down in the soft grass near Hagrid's hut.
"Do you know anything about scrying a person?" Eragon asked to test her knowledge.
"Um, no sir."
"Well, when you scry someone, or someone scrys you. They enter your mind and can see anything they want to. You must learn to retaliate this. The most simple method is to put barriers around your mind. Now I'm going to scry you right now, try to stop me." Hermione felt him enter her mind, and it was not a good feeling. She tried to push him out but failed.
"So it's kind of like Legilimency and Occlumency." Hermione muttered.
"That was very good for your first try. You will only get better through experience. Once you learn to do that, you will learn to open your mind to everything around you." Eragon went over their training.
"But isn't that the opposite of what I just did?" Hermione asked.
"Yes, it is. But you will learn the meaning of that later. Since this is our first day, you are free to ask questions about me." Eragon said as he looked at her.
"Ok. Well, when I saw you I was wondering, what are you? Because you don't look like a human, but you don't look like an elf either." Hermione wondered.
"I am human. The bond of riders was created for elves and dragons, but later on, dragons picked humans as their riders too. If you are a human rider, as you progress in your training you're features will become more elf like. Your ears will become pointy, your skin will become fairer, and your face will become smooth and angled as an elf. But you will still have human traits. Another advantage you get when you become a rider is that your senses sharpen, and you get physically stronger than any human being." Eragon explained.
"That's unbelievable!!" Hermione said. "Is ancient magic different from our magic?"
"Very. You're magic requires a wand and ours doesn't, but ours requires energy. Our magic drains your energy so you have to find spell you may use that will not drain your energy as much as other spells that do the same thing."
"Was Saphira always hungry when she had just hatched?" Eragon laughed.
"Yes she was. Oh, and one more thing. Once you learn the ancient language, that is the language I will want you to speak to me in. No other language." Eragon said sternly.
"Yes, Eragon."
"Good, what time is it? I'm hungry."
"Its time for dinner." Hermione said, and chuckled at his uncanny likeness to Draco. They walked back up to the Great Hall, eager for food after five hours of training. Eragon sat with Hermione at the empty side of the Gryffindor table. Many girls looked at her in jealousy. Eragon stuffed his plate with food and, Hermione noticed, there was no meat.
"Why don't you eat any meat?" Hermione asked curiously.
"In time you will understand, but until then, I don't want you eating any meat." Eragon said. Hermione nodded but looked at him in disapproval. "So who are your friends here?" he asked starting up a conversation.
"Um, they (she pointed at Harry, Ginny, and Ron) used to be my friends, but until they apologize I'm not talking to them. He's my friend, his name is Draco Malfoy. And there are a few other people.
"Oh."
Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore were watching them from afar.
"Do you think she'll be ready in time Albus?"
"I hope so." Dumbledore replied. "She and Eragon are our only hope for defeating Voldemort and Galbatorix. Lady Nasuada, of the Varden, suspects that it is a matter of time before they join forces."