Chapter 3: It's called what?

His mother woke him up early, earlier than usual. Earlier than he wanted to.

"No, wait!" Shal said, still dreaming, "Come back! I didn't get my teddy bears!"

"Wake up, Shal," Calohexitharas whispered, nudging her son. "We have a big day ahead of us, and we need to leave early."

"Teddy bears?" Shal asked, confused. He remembered last night. "Wait, why do we have to leave now?"

"To sign you up at boarding school," his mom replied. "Hurry up."

"You didn't sign me up yet? You just tell me that I'm going to boarding school and not let the school itself know that I plan to attend?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Okay."

Everyone else in the lair was fast asleep. Quietly, they crept into the main chamber, grabbed a small piece of last nights' cattle, and headed out.

It was still dark out when Calohexitharas moved the boulder aside. But that didn't matter. It would be light enough when they reached their destination. Shal jumped on his mother's back, and she ran towards the hills around the house. Moments later, the pair soared high into the air, catching several updrafts as they flew high up into the clouds. The clouds were patchy that day, so they had a clear view, yet were barely visible due to their altitude. When she reached an adequate height, she turned gracefully and headed south. It was going to be a long flight.

The pair continued at this height for almost four hours. Shal had fallen fast asleep on his mother's back. Even in sleep, he managed to maintain enough of a hold on her back that he would not fall. Calohexitharas turned her head around and, poking him with her chin, woke him up. He sat up with a start, and almost fell. He looked to his mother.

"We're here," she said.

Quickly they began their descent, spiraling downward in wide turns, and then straightening out over what appeared to be a very, very large lake. Abruptly, the lake became a field of short, green grass. Shal looked up, and was awed by what met his eyes. Ahead, beyond the field, was a beautiful castle, standing tall against the forest of green around it. It was made of what appeared to be many different types of stone, including granite, limestone, and marble. There were several towers, some with parapets, others topped with tilting, slated roofs. A long, dirt path led up to the castle, and the path curved off to the left, leading along the forest and out of sight. At the other side of the field, he saw what appeared to be a small, wooden hut. Its windows were dark.

They flew along the ground for a while until they came close to the castle, where Shal could see how incredibly large this awesome building was. They landed softly in front of it, about fifty feet from the main entrance. Shal jumped off his mother's back and landed on the cool grass.

"Is this it?" he asked excitedly.

"Yes," his mother replied. "Welcome, Shal, to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Shal stifled a giggle. "You're kidding, right?"

"No. That's what it's called. I don't know why."

Shal could not help himself. He fell to the ground and burst out laughing. He rolled around, clutching his sides.

"Hogwarts?! That's so stupid! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

He could not stop. The name just sounded so amusing to him. His mother tried to calm him down, but he just could not stop laughing. His laughter attracted the attention of a man walking up the path, towards the castle. The man was short, about 5'5" tall, and wore long, flowing robes. He looked to be in his late thirties or early forties, and, strangely, a turban sat perched atop his head. He seemed kind of squirrelly and skittish. He heard Shal's unending laughter and went to investigate, yet froze in his tracks, paralyzed with fear, when he saw who had arrived at the school that day.

"Excuse me, sir," Calohexitharas asked. "I wish to speak with the headmaster of this school. Could you please get him for me?"

The man, still shaking with fright, slowly nodded, and began to back away from the two dragons. After cautiously retreating for a few paces, he turned around and ran full tilt into the castle.

The air whistled past him as he ran through the corridors in the school. About halfway to the headmaster's office, he ran into an elderly woman wearing dark robes. She had her brownish red hair tied back in a bun, and a pair of spectacles adorned her wrinkled face.

"Professor MacGonagal," the turban man said, winded, "There is an… important…um…visitor here to see P-Professor Dumbledore."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" said Professor MacGonagal. "Go tell him."

"Well, you see, they're…dragons," turban head said.

"What? Dragons? You must be mad!" said Professor MacGonagal.

"N-No, I'm n-not. If you j-just look out the w-window…"

Conveniently, there was a large window in the corridor near where they spoke. Professor MacGonagal peered out the window at the front lawn. She gasped when she saw them standing there.

"This is unexpected. We must inform Professor Dumbledore immediately."

The pair continued up to a large gargoyle statue ensconced into one of the walls. Professor MacGonagal stood in front of it, quickly recited a password, and the statue began to rotate. With a loud rumbling sound, the statue rotated to the side and a spiral staircase slid into view. They both proceeded upwards. At the top of the stairs was a large wooden door. Professor MacGonagal hastily opened the door.

"There is an urgent visitor for you, sir," she said.

Shal, after his torrent of laughter subsided, began to grow impatient.

"Where is he?" he whined to his mother.

"Shush," she replied, "We don't want to look foolish in front of these people. They'll be here soon."

She was correct. Not thirty seconds after she said those words, a trio of humans walked out the door to meet them. One was the turban-headed man they had seen earlier. The second was an elderly woman in dark robes. The third was flanked by the other two. Based on the way he carried himself, he was obviously the headmaster. He was very old, but his age could not be estimated due to the waist-length, white beard obscuring most of his face. He wore a pair of half-moon spectacles and a blue robe embroidered with white stars and crescent moons. A short, pointed had, with its tip bent towards the back, sat atop his head.

"Greetings," said the elderly man. His voice was slightly raspy, yet very powerful and confident. "I am Professor Dumbledore. I am the headmaster of this school. This is Professor MacGonagal…" He motioned to the woman. She nodded. "…And this is Professor Quirrel." He motioned to the turban-headed man, who was still very afraid.

"Hello, Professor Dumbledore," Shal's mother began, in english. "I am Calohexitharas, and this is my son, Shaloxeroligon." She nodded to her son, who smiled at the humans.

"You wished to speak to me about something?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

"Indeed, yes," said Calohexitharas. "I wish for my son to be enrolled at your school of magic."

Dumbledore nodded, concerned. "I think we'd better go inside."

The three humans turned around and headed toward the doors of the school. The two dragons followed close behind, but when they reached the door, Calohexitharas motioned for her son to stop.

"I'll be with you in a moment," she said to the three. They nodded and continued onward, slowly.

Shal was confused. "What's the matter?"

"Look into that hallway," his mother said. "Do you think I can fit into there?"

Shal did not respond, yet he understood.

"Close your eyes for until I tell you to open them," she said.

Nervously, he acquiesced. He heard his mother begin to chant in a strange tongue. Right then he knew she was casting a spell. Immediately after he thought that, she stopped chanting, and he could hear a strange, squishing sound, which made him shudder. Almost immediately as it began, it ended.

"Okay," said a voice that wasn't his mother's, "you can open them."

Shal opened his eyes. Where his mother stood was a human woman, wearing a flowing green dress, her flame red hair falling over her shoulders and down her back to about her shoulder blades. Shal knew what had happened: his mother had polymorphed into a human.

"Let's go," his mother said.

I'll never get used to this, Shal thought. Still slightly nervous, he followed his mother into the castle, and met up with the three other humans.

They continued through the corridors of the school. Shal marveled at the craftsmanship that went into the castle. It was so beautiful, and so large. The high, vaulted ceilings, the arching corridors, the intricately carved statues, they all made Shal smile. He was especially impressed by the realistically carved gargoyle statue. Professor Dumbledore spoke the command word, and the statue moved aside, making room for a spiral staircase. Shal was not used to spiral stairs, so he cautiously ambled up them after the others. They opened the door and entered into Dumbledore's office.

It was an amazing place. There were book everywhere along the walls, and potions were neatly stacked alongside many of the shelves. Many other items lay on shelves or tables or in cabinets, and Shal had a feeling that almost all of them had magical properties. Sitting in a cage above Dumbledore's desk was a beautiful bird. It was about the size of an eagle, and was covered in feathers of red, orange, and yellow. It looked casually at Shal, and he thought he saw a glimmer of intelligence in its eyes. Dumbledore sat and encouraged Calohexitharas and her son to do the same. He then motioned for the other two humans to leave.

"Now, you wish for your son to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?" Professor Dumbledore inquired.

Shal giggled to himself, but a quick glance from his mother shut him up fast.

"That is correct," she replied.

"You do realize that it is not entirely customary for dragons to attend this school, or any school for that matter? In fact, this is the first time I have encountered a dragon that was intelligent enough to talk to."

Calohexitharas leered at him, but then quickly changed her expression to mild amusement. "I guess the ones you have met were not true dragons, then? But no matter. My request remains the same."

Dumbledore thought for a moment. "Well, there are no rules forbidding dragons from attending this school."

Shal smiled. "I guess I'll see you in September, then?" he said.

His mother glared at him, and he sat in silence.

"The tuition is not a small amount," said Dumbledore. "Will you be able to pay for it?"

Calohexitharas chuckled to herself. "Of course. That should be the least of our concerns."

"I would be more than happy to let him attend, especially because his…non-human upbringing would be a welcome addition to the learning experience. But then again, he would be one dragon in a school of humans. Are you sure that he is willing to attend a school in which he is the only one of his kind?"

Shal nodded to his mother, obviously more concerned with learning to use magic.

"I assume he can read and write in English?" Dumbledore asked.

"Indeed. In fact, we make it a point to teach our children how to understand and speak different languages. And Shal is one of the few dragons blessed with the manual dexterity to write."

Dumbledore smiled. "There is one small matter," he said. "We have a dress code here. Every student has to wear school-provided attire."

Calohexitharas thought for a second. "Well… you could waive that policy in this one instance, out of convenience? I mean, it would be too costly to specifically tailor several school uniforms for the body of a dragon. The manufacturers would have to draw up a whole new design to follow. And besides, it's not like he goes streaking or anything foolish like that. But let's not delve into the physiology of each species here."

Dumbledore blushed. "Well, in that case… I guess there is no other reason why he cannot attend this school. You will be receiving your acceptance letters in the mail, along with a list of classes and supplies to purchase. I hope to see your son in the fall. Good day."

They shook hands, and the two dragons left. Shal smiled to himself, anxious to obtain the magical ability he had been longing for.