Chapter 2: Introducing a Ferret to the Thu'um.

The whole school was buzzing over the announcement of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, something, Aelan found, annoyed him greatly.

I swear to Akatosh, the next person to say anything about that damn tournament, I am going to light them on fire! Aelan growled lightly at the bacon on his plate.

Since Aelan had not been to Diagon Alley, he did not have the robes required to look the part of a Hogwarts student, so he only wore the clothes he had that could not be considered dangerous, which was only a black shirt, black pants, his dragon scale boots, and his equipment pouches.

He'd killed Alduin, the World-Eater, so he wouldn't have to worry about dragons anymore, right?

Riiight.

Hermione sat down next to Aelan and smiled at him, pulling a plate of toast towards herself. "Good morning, Aelan. Did you sleep well?"

He nodded and said, "The beds here are very comfortable. How about you?"

She just waved it off and tucked into her breakfast, while, at the same time, opening a book and propping it against a pitcher. Aelan leaned in, trying to get a closer look at the pages.

They read through three chapters of the book, Aelan being confused by most of the words, occasionally asking Hermione to define a word or two. They were interrupted by Professor McGonagall, who cleared her throat and handed them their schedules, giving Aelan an appraising look as she did.

Aelan looked over the schedule, confused by the words on the paper. He only recognized the House names, but everything else just made no sense.

First, he had Transfiguration, Herbology, Potions, History of Magic, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, and then, Ancient Runes and Arthimancy, Muggle Studies, Care of Magical Creatures, with Astronomy on Fridays.

"Wow, you have the same schedule that I do!" Aelan turned his head sharply to the right where the voice had come from, only to see Hermione peering over his shoulder. She jumped back at the quickness of his movement, blushing and apologizing.

"Sorry, sorry!" He smiled reassuringly at her, letting her know that it was alright. "Well," he said, "We have to get to Transfiguration in about ten minutes, so…if you don't mind, can you show me around the castle?" He asked hopefully.

Hermione smiled and nodded, finishing up her toast and juice, and then walking out of the Great Hall, with Aelan by her side.

…

Transfiguration was a class that Aelan found he liked, very much. The concepts were easy to grasp, and he had Hermione to help him when they weren't. The only hitch in that class was the insults people would throw at Hermione. After a particularly vicious insult about her hair, Hermione looked about to cry.

Aelan had reached under the table they shared and grasped her hand. She started, but settled back down when she realized who was holding her hand.

Things settled down some what in Herbology. When Aelan had seen the greenhouses and all they contained, he practically shouted, "Look at all those INGREDIENTS!" Professor Sprout actually had to threaten to restrain him when he ran around the greenhouse, poking different plants with various instruments he seemed to pull out of nowhere, asking, 'What does this do?'

It was during Potions that Aelan got a real shock.

Firstly, they used cauldrons to make potions! They didn't use Retorts, Alembics, or Calcinators, nor did they use an Alchemy Table! What kind of mages were they?

When he brought this up in class, Snape blinked confusedly at him, and then asked, 'What's an Alchemy Table?'

Aelan nearly fainted.

After explaining what he was talking about, he pulled his Alchemy instruments from his pouches, showing the Potions professor what he was talking about. When Snape realized that Aelan would refuse to use a cauldron, after several back and forth arguments (Mainly consisting of, 'Stop being such a child!' and, 'No, you are!'), he allowed Aelan to use his methods of brewing Potions, just as long as his potions actually worked.

It was after a very succesful Potions, however, that Aelan ran into a certain blonde-haired Slytherin, who did something very unwise.

He insulted Hermione.

…

"So, mudblood, you make a friend with Scarhead over here?" Draco Malfoy sneered. "I doubt it'll last once he finds out about you being know-it-all muggleborn trash!"

Hermione seemed to shrink in on herself, muttering, "Leave me alone, Malfoy."

Malfoy laughed snidely, glancing at his troll-like compatriots. "You hear that boys? She wants us to leave her alone!"

Aelan did not like this guy, not one bit. He frowned and stepped forward, in front of Hermione. "I think you should do as she says and leave her alone, whoever you are."

Malfoy's lips curled in derision as he looked Aelan up and down. "And what do you care, Nobody? I'm not going to listen to her, what makes you think I'll listen to you?"

Aelan's eyes narrowed on Malfoy, glaring. "If you don't leave my friend alone, I will Thu'um you through a wall."

The blonde blinked. And then, he and his friends began to laugh uproariously. "Sounds real scary, this 'Thum' stuff!"

Of course a crowd began to gather around them, trying to see what was so funny.

Malfoy wiped a tear from eye, and motioned his goons forward, saying, "Show him something really threatening, Crabbe, Goyle."

The two thugs moved forward, ill intent obvious in their eyes.

Aelan narrowed his eyes, a small knife dropping into his hand from his sleeve. "Two on one?" He shook his head mockingly. "Now that's just unfair. How about I even up the odds?"

Twirling the knife in his fingers, he sent it hurtling through the air at Crabbe, where it lodged into his shoulder.

"Gah!" Crabbe cried out in pain, clutching his shoulder.

"WULD!"

Goyle found himself flying backwards from a massive punch from Aelan, who appeared in front of him in a burst of speed and crack, like thunder.

Aelan ducked under a punch from Crabbe, spinning around and kicking the thug in the stomach, followed up by a knee to the face, shattering his nose and sending him reeling. Aelan jump-kick Crabbe into the wall, pushing off and using his momentum for a descending punch into Goyle's face.

He flurried punches into the thugs face and upper body, catching a punch aimed at his face and twisted the offending limb beyond its' radius with a sickening crack.

Aelan pulled Goyle forward and twisted him around, kicking him into Crabbe. He darted forward, one punch cracking across both of their faces. He plucked out the knife from Crabbe's shoulder and spun it so he was holding the blade. He then rapped the two troll look-a-likes on the temple sharply with the handle of the knife, sending them into unconsciousness.

Aelan turned to the pale(er) Malfoy, wiping the blood from the knife off on his pants. "You might want to get your friends some treatment. After all, they fought, and you're just a coward who bullies others."

The knife disappeared up his sleeve, and he turned his back on Malfoy and his two thugs, who were just regaining lucid thought.

"Oh, and it's pronounced 'Thu'um', not 'Thum', jackass." Aelan spun on his heel and faced down Malfoy, who had pulled his wand from his robes. "And this is why you should be threatened by it."

Aelan took a deep gulp of air, closing his eyes. The air seemed to radiate power, and Hermione swore she could hear chanting in the background. His eyes snapped open as Malfoy cried out a hex.

"FUS…ROH!"

The jet of light that was the hex was obliterated by the massive light purple-colored shockwave that hammered into Malfoy and his trolls, sending them flying down the hall, carried by the current that had been unleashed by Aelan's mouth.

Turning back to the crowd, who were gaping in absolute shock (not that they had any reason to, or nothin'…), Aelan strode past Hermione, grabbing her hand and gently pulling her away from the gaping looky-loo's.

"A-Aelan…" Hermione began, her mind still trying to catch up from what had happened. "What was that?"

"That? That was a 'Thu'um', or 'Shout' in Dragon-tongue. That was one of the first ones I learned." Aelan said, smiling at Hermione. "I assume you have questions? Like, 'what's 'Dragon-tongue'?' and, 'how can you speak it?' correct?"

She blushed and nodded.

"Well…it's a private conversation, so let's hold off on that for while, okay? Let's just say it involves dragons and their souls. And the Dragon alphabet." Aelan and Hermione made plans to meet in the Common Room at midnight, so they could discuss the Dragons.

Hermione couldn't wait. This would involve some research, she could just tell.

…

The rest of the day passed without incident, and midnight came quickly, though, nowhere near fast enough for Hermione. There was something new to be learned, and it seemed like only Aelan knew about it.

She descended the staircase stealthily, glancing around the room, noting that no one was there. As Hermione stepped off the stairs, someone whispered in her ear, "Took you long enough." She jumped back, almost shrieking, if not for the calloused hand clamped gently over her mouth.

Aelan's eyes glimmered in silent amusement, and a small, embarrassed grin formed on his face. "Sorry about that. I've been waiting down here for ten minutes, and I thought you fell asleep." He removed his hand from her mouth, noticing the small blush present on her cheeks.

"J-just don't sneak up on me, okay?" She hissed quietly. Aelan nodded, and motioned for her to sit down at one of the cushy chairs by the fire.

Hermione sat, with Aelan sitting across from her. The fire flickered over his face, throwing the corners and lines into sharp relief.

"I suppose I owe you an explanation." Hermione nodded. "Well, I guess it began in the back of a wooden wagon, pulled by a single horse, four strangers bound tightly in leather cords. One, a horse thief in the wrong place, a proud soldier, a deposed king, and me, a simple warrior who refused to join the wrong side…"

…

It was five o'clock in the morning when Aelan's story came to a close. After they said goodnight, Hermione lay in her bed, staring at her pillow in disbelief.

A human born with the soul of a dragon? Able to pull the knowledge and experience from any dragon he kills? Shouting words in the Dragon language to throw people, freeze people, or change the weather? How is all of this possible? Then, she remembered the words Aelan had spoken in the hall, the way they had reverberated in her mind, the sound of chanting in her head, and the feeling of power that saturated the air.

She concentrated on that feeling, that power, turned her head towards the curtains and whispered, "Fus…"

The curtains flapped against the poles of her four-post bed wildly as a small, light purple wave flew from her mouth.

Hermione bolted up, eyes wide and unbelieving. "Oh my God…"

I need to talk to Aelan. Now!

…

A/N: What a twist! Who saw that coming, huh?

So, read, review, and enjoy!

Keep Being Awesome!

-Soleneus