If Rose had thought she was busy before the list went up, it was nothing compared to the immediate aftermath. Giovanni and Maria were waiting for her by the forest wearing matching grins when she headed down after breakfast. Tethered to one of the trees was Contessa.

"Congratulations," said Giovanni warmly. "I look forward to working with you more."

"I've heard good things," said Maria mildly, "but I believe nothing I don't see for myself. Are you ready to ride, girl?"

Rose nodded eagerly.

"The others will come later, and tomorrow," said Giovanni as Rose placed her bag at the base of one of the trees. "The rest of the lessons have been cancelled. We're only going to be focusing on the four of you."

As Rose approached, Contessa began pawing at the ground. Rose froze, then took a few slow steps backwards.

"Stay there," said Maria, her voice no longer casual but dangerously precise. "Keep looking at her, girl. Vanni, bring Contessa back to the others."

Giovanni nodded, a sour expression on his face. Rose, still frozen where she stood, maintained eye contact with the scarlet dragon. Contessa's eyelids drooped slightly, obscuring the usually bright blue orbs. Her nostrils flared as Giovanni undid her tether and began leading her away. Rose did not look away until they had vanished into the woods.

"At least you follow orders," huffed Maria, her hands balled into fists. "We had this imbecile a few weeks back who lost his sense when he thought something was wrong with Isla. I hate working with fools."

"What happened?" asked Rose.

"They haven't adjusted well to being here," said Maria automatically. She hadn't even taken a moment to consider the question. Rose could tell that it was what she was supposed to say, not what was true.

"Alright," said Rose carefully, "should I come back later?"

Maria sighed again and kneaded at her temples. "I'm sure Giovanni will let you know when to come back," she said. "I should go help him deal with this."

Without waiting for a reply, Maria turned and strode into the forest. Resisting the urge to follow her, Rose grabbed her bag from the ground and returned to the castle.

She had expected to hear from Giovanni immediately, but word had begun to spread around the castle that something was wrong with the dragons.

"I hear they're all getting sick," said Kara Welsh one night in their dormitory. "It must be something that they're eating here that they're not used to."

"I hear they've been turning on their riders," said Loren Nicosa, something close to excitement in her voice. "They are dragons, remember. They're really dangerous."

"I hear they're not actually dragons," said Tia, her eyes wide. Rose looked at her incredulously, but her friend continued. "I hear that the riders only charmed them to look like dragons, and actually they're winged horses."

Kara, Loren, and Mary Deverill stared at Tia, their jaws open comically. Tia maintained her straight face until the three continued their chatter. Tia then turned to Rose, a small smile dancing across her lips.

"You're terrible," said Rose half-heartedly. "You know that'll be tomorrow's big rumor now."

"I know," said Tia smugly. "Someone has to keep things interesting around here.

Rose began to notice more and more students giving her odd looks in the corridors and in the Great Hall. When she had begun her first year, she had gone through a period where people were interested in her because of who her parents were, but their attention was always more focused on Albus. After a few months, their classmates had gotten used to their presence. Now it was as if someone was shining a spotlight on Rose wherever she went.

"Do you think you'll keep flying with them?" a boy asked her in the library one afternoon. Rose didn't recognize him, but two of the others he was with were in Hufflepuff.

"I'm sorry?" said Rose.

"The dragons, I mean," clarified the boy. "I hear they're really dangerous."

"And I hear it's not polite to stick your nose in other people's business," she snapped, getting to her feet. She abandoned Centuries of Centaurs on the table, silently apologizing to Madam Abbott for not returning it to its shelf. She stalked back to the Gryffindor common room, hoping that she could at least get some peace and quiet there.

Rose met the other Race participants at the oddest of times. Herbert Chornell, the representative of Hufflepuff, introduced himself Rose in the Great Hall during lunch one day. He was a chubby boy with beady eyes that were a bit too close together.

"I'm Herbert Chornell," he said. Rose looked up from her cereal, startled. "My brother was Head Boy last year with your cousin."

"I'm Rose," she said, though it was obvious he knew who she was. "Would you like to... er... sit?"

Herbert's sneered slightly. "Actually, I just came over to tell you that Contessa's done for today. I went down this morning and they were having trouble restraining her. Giovanni asked me to tell you."

Without another word, Herbert Chornell walked away.

"Not one for quite conversation," assessed Lysander.

Rose didn't get that feeling from Deasia Barnes, whom she met two days later. Rose had finally found a time where the dragons were not having any kinds of issues. After Contessa had been thoroughly inspected, Giovanni and Maria had helped Rose into the saddle and sent her into the sky. It had been as wonderful as her first flight, though she was aware of Maria evaluating her from below. When she landed, she found Maria and Giovanni standing with a girl Rose didn't recognize.

"You must be Rose!" she cried as Giovanni helped Rose dismount. "Gosh, but you're so tiny! Oh, I'm Deasia, by the way. Did I mention that?"

Rose was taken slightly aback. "Er... hello, Deasia, "she said. "Have you been waiting long?"

"Oh, not at all," chirped Deasia. "Maria was just getting Vido for me to do a round on."

Rose took a closer look at Deasia. She had long dark hair pulled back into a sloppy ponytail and murky blue eyes. Now that she was looking closely, there was something vaguely familiar about the Ravenclaw competitor.

"Mindel and Riss send their regards, by the way," continued Deasia. That sparked Rose's memory- she must have seen Deasia with the group at Enchanting Enhancements at the beginning of the year.

"I'll have to visit sometime," murmured Rose thoughtfully.

In fact, Rose had forgotten about Enchanting Enhancements entirely. She had had a lot on her mind, and visiting a group of girls brewing potions in a bathroom wasn't at the top of her to-do list.

Flying made her legs ache, but Rose refused to complain. The only person she admitted the pain to was Madam Chang after a particularly long flight had left her with terrible muscle cramps. Madam Chang gave her some lotion to rub on the muscles, and it provided Rose with instant relief.

When she returned to the common room, there was an owl perched on the arm of the chair she typically occupied by the fire. The letter in its beak was addressed to her. When Rose took the parchment, the owl gave a soft hoot before gliding out of the open window.

Wearily, Rose unfolded the note.

Rose, it read.

We hope this letter finds you in at least a bearable condition. Congratulations on the Race! You have a lot of work ahead of you. Hopefully the dragons are doing better. Keep an eye on them, just in case.

We'll be seeing you shortly! (We hope.)

Gemma and Genna.

Rose carefully refolded the note, put it inside her Astronomy book, then snapped it closed.

"I'm going to bed," she said to Tia, who was playing Wizard's Chess with Liam O'Grady. "Wake me up if the castle's on fire."

The next morning came, and Rose, with an utterly inadequate amount of sleep, stumbled her way to the Great Hall. She sat across from Albus and James and had just begun to pour herself some water when someone tapped her shoulder.

"Good morning, Rosaline," said Marco quietly. He was leaning on his wooden staff, oblivious to the students staring at him. "If you wish to practice today, you must come down now. The dragons are... We should work now, while it's sunny."

If it had been someone else, Rose might have explained that it would be sunny for most of the day, and that the sun had nothing to do with how the dragons behaved, but she did not say this to Marco. Instead, she grabbed a piece of toast and began to eat as she followed Marco out of the castle.

"How have they been doing?" she asked once they were away from everyone else.

Marco did not respond for a long time. Rose had finally accepted that he was not going to answer her, but then he spoke.

"Not well," he said, his voice soft and sad. "We are doing all that we can, but they grow restless, agitated. We have traveled together before but they have never reacted this way. It does not bode well for us."

"Is the Ministry trying to send you away?" asked Rose. She hadn't seen Uncle Charlie with the riders recently, but she knew that he was keeping a close eye on their group.

"Not yet," said Marco, "but they may. And if your Ministry says that it is too dangerous... It has been decades of work to get to this point. We cannot lose it all now."

Rose had to hold in a gasp when they reached the dragons. Each one was now in a separate pen, held in the center by various chains. Schunverri was in the center of the clearing, helping a boy off of Contessa.

"How is she?" called Giovanni, staying a good distance away with Maria.

"Good for another few rounds," replied Schunverri. "Tobias here says she flew just fine."

Tobias - so this was the Slytherin contender in the Race. Rose hadn't run into him until now. He was built strong with broad shoulders and limbs. Something about his face was vaguely familiar, but Rose did not actively recognize him until he spoke.

"I didn't have any problems with her today," he said, "though if anything, she was a bit slow."

Tobias - Tobias Krimp, the boy Scorpius had avoided in the Apothecary before the start of the year. From his relaxed grin and friendly tone, Rose couldn't imagine why.

When Tobias was closer, Giovanni introduced him. "Rose," he said, "this is Tobias Krimp. Tobias, Rose Weasley, our Gryffindor competitor."

Tobias held his hand out, and Rose shook it automatically. "It's good to finally meet you," he said with a grin. "Deasia keeps talking to me about you- her sister's in my year."

"I've only ever seen her a few times," said Rose, surprised. "She's very... friendly."

Chuckling, Tobias nodded. "I understand what you mean," he said. "She's sweet, though. I'm really looking forward to the exhibition."

"I'm just thankful we have until June," Rose admitted. "I feel like I still have so much work to do."

"Sorry to interrupt," said Marco politely, "but Rose should get started. And you don't want to miss breakfast, Tobias."

From high in the air, Rose watched Tobias return to the Castle. He was right about Contessa- she was slower than usual, but Rose didn't mind. In fact, it was relaxing to sail slowly around the grounds.

After she had landed, Rose hurried back to the Great Hall, but breakfast had already been cleared away. She was about to resign herself to an empty stomach and a morning in the library when she found Albus waiting for her by the Grand Staircase.

"James has food for you upstairs," he said with a grin. "Can't let you go hungry, can we?"

"Thank goodness I have you two," sighed Rose. "The dragons seemed to be doing well today."

"Good," said Albus, "we have another mixed lesson tomorrow, remember?"

"With Hagrid," said Rose, "yes, I do. You don't think it'll be with the dragons, do you?"

Albus gave her a look as if she had gone mad.

"It's Hagrid," he said slowly, "of course it's going to be about dragons."

Hagrid grinned widely as Rose and Albus approached.

"Albus and Rosie," he said, his voice sounding like how he would talk to a baby. "Do yeh know what's comin' down terday?"

"One of the dragons, we heard," said Albus.

"Vido," sighed Hagrid fondly. "He's a beauty, that one is. I went out teh see 'im an' the others a few days ago." His eyes glazed over in fond memories.

The rest of the first and second year Gryffindors arrived and took their seats on benches Hagrid had set up. Patiently – well, some more patiently than others - they waited for Vido to arrive.

"I heard he's the huge green one," said James eagerly. "Is that true, Rose?"

Rose had to remember that most of these people had never seen one of the dragons up close.

"Yes," she said, "Vido's the large emerald one. He's a bit too fiery for me, though. I've only ridden him once or twice."

But when Giovanni and Schunverri emerged from the forest, they were leading Contessa. Rose immediately noticed the difference between the day before and now. The Dragon dragged her claws through the dirt almost lazily. Her eyelids drooped, and her head was lowered sleepily. Perhaps the rumors were true and the dragons really were coming down with some kind of illness. She certainly looked out of sorts.

"Sorry about the change of plans," said Giovanni, addressing the group at large. "Vido wasn't feeling up to coming this morning, so we brought Contessa instead."

Contessa didn't look up to it either. As Hagrid began the lesson, Contessa lowered herself to the ground. Moments later, she appeared to be asleep.

"So - er - this 'ere is Contessa," said Hagrid, "and she's an Italian Red Snapper, ain't she?"

"That's right," said Giovanni.

"So then, the Italian Reds were firs' bred over in Italy," said Hagrid. A few people snickered. "That may seem obvious ter some, but it's a new breed, only seen in the past, say, fifty years."

The lesson read more like a review of what Rose had learned during riding lessons. She propped her chin on her palms and watched Contessa, letting Hagrid's words wash over her. She had been certain that Contessa had fallen asleep, but as Hagrid spoke, her bright eyes began to peel back open. They rolled around, taking in the scene. They were fiery and lively, not at all how they had looked mere minutes earlier.

Heat spread across Rose's chest. Startled, she grabbed her locket, which scalded her hand. She shot her arm into the air.

"One minute, Rosie," said Hagrid, "I want ter tell yeh about the scale patterns."

"Hagrid," she said urgently, trying to keep her voice low as to not raise a scene.

Hagrid frowned at her but kept speaking. "Yeh see, the scales on the neck here, they're made t' keep all the heat insde-"

"Hagrid," said Rose again, this time louder.

Contessa lifted her head, looking at the half-giant standing before her.

"Rosie, yeh've gotta-"

A loud roar cut him off. Contessa lunged to her feet, her magnificent head tilted back in anger. Before anyone had a chance to react, she took a large paw and slammed it into Hagrid.

Someone screeched shrilly. Rose lunged forward, one hand still clutching her locket, but strong hands caught her and slammed her back to the bench. She struggled to break free, but the hands held her in place.

Contessa took another massive paw and slammed it into Hagrid, who was struggling to get to his feet. She tilted her head back again and let loose a plume of scarlet fire.

Giovanni tackled Contessa, wrangling with the dragon until he was on her back. Marco was digging through his bag - would use one of his sharp glassblowing tools to regain control of the situation?

But Marco pulled out a simple set of wooden pipes. They bore small carvings that looked to be of dragons. As Giovanni wrapped his arms around Contessa's neck, Marco began to play.

The hands holding Rose back released her, and she's popped off the bench, ready to do something, anything. However, Contessa had frozen at the sound of the pipes. Her claws dug into the soft dirt, ripping up chunks of grass, but her shoulders slumped in relaxation. Giovanni released her neck to grab his wand. Thick cords sprung from the tip, wrapping around the great creature.

Without a word to the class, Giovanni turned Contessa towards the Castle and kicked her into motion. Her large wings unfurled, and moments later, both dragon and Rider were airborne.

Marco dropped his pipes and rushed to where Hagrid lay still on the grass. The limp was less noticeable when he was moving quickly.

Tim Marsh was already by Hagrid's side. She had removed her school robe and was using it to try and stop some of the bleeding. The other students surrounding Hagrid scattered as Marco arrived, but Tia remained.

"Lacerations across the chest and one leg," she said as soon as Marco knelt down. "One across the left side of his head, bleeding heavily. I covered the chest, but his head looks pretty bad."

Marco yanked on a cord that fell below the neck of his shirt. It was connected to a whistle, which he blew immediately. There was silence for a moment, then another whistle echoed out of the forest. Seconds later, an answering whistle came to the Castle.

"Help is on the way," he said quietly. "Continue applying pressure. I need another robe."

Before Albus and James could stop her again, Rose rushed over to Hagrid side, pulling off her robe as she went. Marco took it with a nod.

"Press this against his head," he ordered. "I need my wand."

Albus appeared, holding Marco's bag. Marco reached inside and pulled out his wand.

"Move back, you two," he said, a determined look on his face.

Rosa and Tia fell back, though Tia looked reluctant to leave her post. Her hands were covered in blood, as were Rose's own.

Marco tapped his wand on Hagrid's chest. "Enivda Immobilla," he said softly.

Hagrid took one last labored breath, and then - nothing.

Loren Nicosa screamed again.

"He's dead!" she cried, tears running down her cheeks. "He's dead, he's dead, he's dead!"

The students began to murmur, and a shiver ran down Roses spine. Hagrid couldn't possibly be dead.

"He's not dead!" shouted Marco. It was the first time Rose had heard him raise his voice. "I have frozen him in his current state until he can be transported to a healing facility."

With a loud pop, Professor McGonagall appeared next to Marco.

"I have removed the enchantments on the forest and this area," she said quietly. Rose could only hear her because she into she was standing so close. "Your Riders will be able to Apparate here, as will the Healers from St. Mungo's. Have you -"

Before she could finish, three loud pops went off in quick succession. Maria, Rodolfo, and Schunverri went to Marco's side, all three looking down at Hagrid.

"Contessa is secured," said Maria. "Giovanni is staying. Healers?"

"On their way," said McGonagall. "Marco have you - why isn't he breathing?"

Another pop, and Charlie Weasley appeared. He assessed the situation quickly, then clapped Marco on the shoulder.

"Good call," said Charlie, "it looks like you froze him just in time."

"It was part of your emergency plan," said Marco softly, not looking away from Hagrid. "I cannot take the credit."

A group of witches and wizards appeared simultaneously. They were all dressed in the blue robes of St. Mungo's emergency response team. They swarmed Hagrid and, without a word, disappeared.

"I will be there as soon as I secure the castle," said McGonagall. "You four, go ahead. Marco, you will have to unfreeze him."

With a grim nod, Marco disapparated. Maria, Rodolfo, and Schunverri followed a moment later.

Professor McGonagall took a deep breath, then turn to the students. "I am going to escort you all back your common room," she said softly. The students were silent. "The rest of your day's classes will be canceled."

Rose stuck next to Tia, who was quite pale. Her hands, still covered in blood, began to tremble.

"My aunt's a healer," Tia told Rose suddenly. "She works at St. Mungo's. I've gone in with her before - to learn..."

The walk back to the Castle was silent. Rose and Tia peeled away from the others and headed for the hospital wing. Albus, James, and Lysander followed without a moment's hesitation.

Madam Chang was subdued as she cleaned the blood off of Rose and Tia. She hugged each girl tightly before sending them on their way.

"Victor the Valiant," Lysander told the Fat Lady. She nodded glumly and swung open to reveal the portrait hole.

The common room was as silent as the corridors. Rose bypassed Albus, James, and Lysander, who fell in together. The fifth bed in the girl's dormitory was calling her name.