"I heard you went to a party, Jake," Haley piped. She had taken the seat next to him at their meeting table after seeing him alone in the central room. Books were strewn around him, Jake centered in the hurricane of paper. His intuition had unfortunately again been correct, Lao Shi instructing him to work late into the night until he couldn't move from fatigue, and then keep working. The cave distorted his sense of time, and Jake wasn't sure when exactly he'd gone to bed, only that by the time he'd awakened breakfast had come and gone. His stomach ached in hunger, his eyes burned from endless reading, yet here he was desperately trying to finish the last of this nuisance around him.
"What I don't get," he said, ignoring Haley's directed comment, "is why the classes they're all taking seem so easy, but I can barely do this stupid muggle school work."
"You're starting to talk like them, kid," Dominic chuckled as he joined them at the table. "And it's because their classes interest you. This," he waved his hand at the mess of papers, "clearly doesn't."
Jake already knew that. He could care less about math and chemistry, but Transfiguration? Charms? How so many of the students could complain about their classes when they were learning such amazing things was beyond him.
"Give them a class filled with this boring stuff and they'll be begging to go back to Potions," Jake suggested.
"They already have one, it's called Muggle Studies," Haley corrected. "It's only an elective, though, so no one takes it."
Nerk now joined them, tilting back in his own chair. "Can't say I blame them. Was the party a ripper?"
"It wasn't even a party," Jake dismissed, tired of them constantly bringing last night up. "A little drinking, a little singing, that's all."
"Drinking?" Dominic questioned. Despite Jake's expectations, he actually seemed intrigued, not upset.
"Jake, how could you!" Haley accused as though he had betrayed them.
"No no no! Not drinking drinking, just butterbeers! Sheesh, y'all need to chill," Jake finished with a mumble. So much for trusting me, he thought. "I didn't hang out for long; I probably shouldn't have gone at all."
"But you got to see their common room!" Jake just shrugged in response. "That's a huge deal! Luna wouldn't even show me hers," Haley said longingly.
"The Hufflepuffs probably wouldn't show me, even if I asked," Nerk added, though he seemed indifferent to the fact.
"You're so lucky, Jake, the way the Gryffindors all love you. It's not fair," she pouted, dark pink dragon arms crossed in displeasure.
Jake stood abruptly, stirring up another storm of papers. He wanted to shout at her, tell her about how they all thought he was a freak, that they were terrified just to be in the same room as him, but his jaws remained clenched shut. Haley knew when she managed to truly upset her brother and shame was welling up inside of her. "What did I say?"
Her brother had most of the papers thrown together into a rough pile and cradled them with the books in his arms. "Just drop it," he said flatly. "When's lunch?"
"Soon," his grandfather's voice answered, the blue dragon arriving from his own room. "And how have your studies been going?"
Jake had disappeared behind a door down his tunnel, a loud thud echoing through the hallway as he dropped the load of papers. "If I hear the words studies, assignments, or schoolwork one more time, I'm gonna hurl." Coming back into view, he saw his dragon master's expectant stare and answered with a sigh, "I'm caught up, G."
"Very good. Now we'll have plenty of time for your dragon training after lunch."
Jake knew he wouldn't be off the hook, but at least they'd be doing something other than trigonometry for the rest of the weekend. He gratefully left the cave with the others and flew off to the castle courtyard, the sight of students leaving a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"Hermione, you should have seen him," Harry boasted while tearing into his meal. "Ron caught nearly every Quaffle I threw at him, and he never let a single one through. It was like Wood had never left." Ron didn't say anything to Harry's praise, though the tips of his ears were turning a deep red at the attention.
"That's all well and good, but neither of you have made any progress on your homework. Honestly, you're going to be drowning in it soon," Hermione reminded them. She had thought their morning was a splendid time to catch up on their piling assignments. They, however, had kindly disagreed and instead warmed up for their Quidditch practice that afternoon, much to her chagrin.
"We were already drowning, Hermione, except now Ron's practically ready to join the Hollyhead Harpies at their next tryouts."
"Oh shut it, Harry, I'm not that good. If it weren't for all the help I'd gotten…"
"You mean from the dragon?" Harry clarified.
"The dragon has a name you know," Hermione said, disappointed at Harry's rudeness. She drifted off in thought at the mention of their new friend. "I hope Jake's alright. He wasn't here with the others for breakfast this morning…"
"Maybe Lao wasn't happy about him coming to the dorm last night," Ron considered. "He really didn't stay that late, though."
"I still don't get why you brought the dragon (Jake, Hermione shot) to the common room to begin with," Harry questioned. Hermione and Ron both looked offended, but neither spoke right away.
"Why wouldn't we? He's our friend, Harry!" Hermione said defensively.
"Yah, and we've known loads of students in the other houses for years, you don't see them in our common room, do you?" Harry retorted. "The dragons have been here for a week, Hermione. What makes them any different?"
Again, the two found difficulty forming arguments to Harry's questions. The loss of words had Hermione flustered, but Ron was the first to speak this time.
"At least other students have their own houses. The dragons only have themselves and a cave. It's probably driving them mental!" he explained, thinking of the end of their first night of practice and what Jake had confided in him. "And you don't know him, Harry, he's just like us. What if you were shipped off to Durmstrang and had to live with complete strangers?"
Between the scar-induced headache and recently carved hand, Harry didn't have much attention to spare for the Dragons of Draco Isle, who were now entering the Great Hall to join the meal. Most of the students had stopped jumping when they walked into the room, but the usual round of whispers flew around when they came into view.
"You don't think it'll come back again tonight, do you?" a third-year Gryffindor not far from them whispered to her neighbors.
"I heard it tried to strangle one of the Weasleys when they gave it a drink."
"What if it tells the other dragons where the common room is, too?"
The commentary around the table was getting to Hermione. She kept looking at Jake, who entered the hall last in the line of dragons, hoping that he'd see and join them. He stood for a moment at the doorway, noticing her watching him and turning slightly in their direction before he suddenly stopped. His ears twitched and he swept his eyes along the length of the table.
"Oh dear…" Hermione whispered as he swiftly turned away toward the Hufflepuff table, sitting at the empty bench on the far end claimed by the rest of the dragons. She huffed in rage and turned to Harry, saying, "I'm sure you know what that feels like."
Harry didn't answer but stood up hurriedly, grabbing up his broom as he went. "C'mon, let's get down to the pitch and meet up with the others." Ron nodded, distracted as Hermione was, and followed his friend out of the hall. Hermione gave the third-years a long, cold glare before getting up from her own place.
She knew that the other dragons had seen her coming, and the shifting in his posture told Hermione that Jake was listening to her approach as well. The fact that he was acting oblivious anyway made her hesitate as she neared the Hufflepuff table, but her determination got the better of her and she pressed forward.
"Hello, Jake." The red dragon had been leaning over a bowl of minced meat soup, his silverware untouched. Hermione's greeting made him tense, slowly turning his large head toward her, his nearest eye watching her warily.
"Oh…hey Hermione," he said, the deadpan tone very unlike him. The other dragons were making efforts to look away and act disinterested, though the pink one couldn't take her eyes off of Hermione.
"We were worried when we didn't see you this morning at breakfast. Are you alright?" she asked, hoping maybe she was misunderstanding the situation, though she was fairly certain that wasn't the case.
"Yah, I'm good, I was just…busy…with, uh, dragon stuff…" Jake said, reverting to his time tested excuse for his parents, rolling his eyes and putting a hand against his head in embarrassment after realizing how stupid he must sound. Hermione fought hard against the laugh bubbling out of her, but couldn't conceal her smile.
She sobered when Jake didn't share in the humor. "Jake, I," she paused, not entirely sure what was right to say. "I'm sorry if last night was…hard for you. We only wanted…" she stumbled, and then shook her head, deciding apologies wouldn't do much here. She had originally planned to spend the afternoon going through her homework, but inspiration had struck and she was quickly thinking of new plans. "I'm off to watch the Gryffindor team practice, it's a beautiful day out for Quidditch. See you around?"
The red dragon looked at her briefly and nodded. Hermione would take what she could get and left the dragons at their table, heading for the grounds outside. Just before she passed out of the Great Hall, she turned and saw Jake watching her leave, bits of his toothy grin showing once again. She had a feeling they'd be meeting again in no time at all.
"You know, you used to be a lot smoother with the ladies," Haley called as they flew over the grounds. Jake stuttered mid-flight, glaring at his sister over his shoulder.
"And who said I was trying to be smooth? Haley, they think we're giant lizards," Jake reminded her. "Besides," he added in a sullen tone, "I'm pretty sure her and Ron are…well…a thing."
"Must we all attend this event?" Sun complained, flying just behind them. "I had planned a meditation session with Haley for the afternoon."
"And I a training session in your Old Magic, young one," Lao Shi added.
"Guys, c'mon, how can you say that you're learning about the wizarding community if you don't even know about their most popular sport?"
"Couldn't agree more, mate," Nerk chimed. "It looks like fun, too. All we ever do for competition is race, a new game will spice things up." Jake felt like reminding Nerk that they wouldn't actually be playing, but it seemed unwise to depress his only support in the matter.
They were nearing the pitch, the observation towers defying the flat landscape and connecting into a giant oval with the continuous deck of spectator benches. The Gryffindor team were just walking out onto the field, brooms in hand and looking around at their audience. A few people from various houses were scattered around the benches, along with the large group of green and silver students clustered together on bleachers near the midline of the pitch. The Slytherins were already acting obnoxious and disrespectful to the practicing team, but to their credit the Gryffindors appeared to be successfully ignoring them.
Jake led the group, circling once high above the pitch while scanning the faces of the people observing. He finally found Hermione and descended towards the bleachers she was seated at. The others followed him and soon they were landing softly on top of the wooden seating area, which thankfully was sparse but for Granger. She turned at hearing a sound behind her and beamed with happiness as Jake walked up to join her at the railing, the rest of the dragons at his heels.
"So, did we win yet?" Jake asked, leaning over the rail to see the players in a ring talking. Ron had seen them land and gave a short wave to Jake before getting yelled at by the loud girl with braids to pay attention.
Hermione gave a short laugh. "Not quite, though I may just hex Parkinson if she keeps opening her fat mouth," she threatened, looking over at the howling group of Slytherins.
"It almost looks like a football field with the tall goal posts. Missing one, though," Nerk commented.
"Missing?" said Haley. "Don't you mean there's one too many?"
"Two different kinds of football, kid," Dominic answered. "American and Australian rules have slight differences. If anything ours is closer to rugby."
"Wait, so is this 'Quidditch' more like football or rugby?" Sun asked.
"Neither! It's like…well…" Jake struggled. Hermione was thoroughly entertained by their lesson, and below them the players had mounted their brooms and took up positions in the air to make a giant circle, passing the dimpled, maroon ball from one player to the next.
"Okay, just listen," Jake began, drawing their attention. "That ball there is called the Quaffle; it's what everyone passes around."
"Told you it was like football…" Nerk interjected.
"Whatever, fine, it's like football. Each team has seven players: three Chasers, two Beaters, one Keeper, and one Seeker. The chasers try and score points by throwing the Quaffle through the other team's hoops, and every goal is worth ten points."
"Why are there three hoops? Why not just one big one, like in football?" Haley questioned.
Nerk sighed. "Football does have three goals-"
"This isn't football!" Jake shouted in frustration. A couple of the Gryffindor players looked over in worry at the outburst.
"Actually, before hoops were standardized, wizards played in orchards and used tree branches for the goals, so naturally there were multiple pairs of branches to aim for," Hermione explained. The dragons all looked at her as though suddenly remembering she were there. Their stares made her shrink away when Lao Shi asked the next question.
"What is the responsibility of the Keeper?"
"They try to keep the Quaffle from going through their own team's hoops. They're kind of like the goalies in soccer - which this isn't," he added, cutting off a remark from Nerk. The players at this point had finished passing the Quaffle around, both while motionless and while flying in erratic formations, without a single fumble. The twins and Harry flew down to the chest on the field and opened it, two bullet-like balls shooting out and beginning to zip around the field.
"Crikey, what are those?" Nerk asked as Ron barely skimmed away from one of the streaking black masses.
"Those are the Bludgers, and they fly around trying to knock the players off of their brooms. The two Beaters on the team have bats that they use to hit the Bludgers at the other team."
"Well, that's…violent." Sun remarked.
"I like it," Dominic said with fervor.
"And what about the last person, this Seeker?" Lao Shi asked.
"They're the ones who end the game. Each team's Seeker tries to catch this tiny little golden ball called a Snitch, and whoever catches it first ends the game and gets 150 points for their team." Jake finished.
"150 points?!" Nerk shouted incredulously, again drawing some stares. "Don't even try to explain how that's fair, mate. You might as well just have everyone on the team chasing after the little thing!"
"It's very difficult to catch, and games can go on for hours before it's even seen," Hermione explained. "Also, if anyone but the Seeker tries to catch it, it's a penalty."
"There are penalties? Ron never explained that," Jake asked.
"Oh yes, about 700 different penalties all told," Hermione said, her wrinkled face suggesting she was trying to recall each and every one. Shaking out of her trance, she sat on the bench behind her, pulling a textbook out of her bag after having lost interest in the flying wizards. Ron was blocking the shots of the chasers, Harry zooming around after what must have been the Golden Snitch (though Jake couldn't see it), and the twins batting the two Bludgers to each other in a hypnotizing juggle.
"Leave it to wizards to make a game so unnecessarily complex," Sun giggled.
"It still looks like fun, minus the flying bowling balls," Haley argued.
Lao Shi turned to Jake. "Alright, young dragon, we've indulged this cultural adventure long enough. It's time we returned to…"
"BLUDGER!" came the screams of the Quidditch players. A strange garbling sound was growing louder as the dragons all snapped their heads into the air. Lao Shi, quicker than the others, leapt up off of the wooden platform, his cloak left behind in the maneuver. He twisted his long serpentine body, his tail colliding solidly with the charmed ball that had been streaking towards them. The resulting WHACK sent it soaring toward the posts Ron was guarding. He ducked with a high pitched squeal, the Bludger flying perfectly through the center hoop.
"Hah!" the blue serpent cheered, coughing gently at the looks of the other dragons.
"Wicked!" the twins shouted in unison. The entire Gryffindor team had flown over at the call for the rogue Bludger, fearing for the worst. Even the Slytherins at the opposite end of the pitch had watched with bated breath.
"Please, I'm…it was an accident, we…they'll be getting a stern…" Angelina flustered, hovering near Lao Shi, though still at what most would consider a safe distance.
"It is alright, young one, no one was harmed." Lao Shi assured her, which did little to ease her frantic search for an acceptable apology.
"Of course," Dominic called, taking flight to hover in place next to Lao Shi, "you'll still have to make it up to us. It was pretty close, but I think that nifty little red ball will make up for it," he sneered, pointing a claw at the Quaffle clenched in the hands of one of the female Chasers. Her eyes flew open in fear as the forest green dragon turned to her expectantly.
"What on Earth…" Sun began asking Dominic, confused by his seemingly childish display of intimidation.
"Ah ah ah, Sun, this is a learning experience. These students must understand that their carelessness will have repercussions," Dominic interrupted her, looking back to the Chaser and beckoning to her for the ball with his hand. She gently tossed it underhanded to Dominic, who caught it and tucked it beneath his arm, giving an approving nod in return. Angelina was positively livid at this point, her reproaching gaze at the twins causing them to shrink in their clothes. Harry's eyes were squinted, watching Jake below as if to blame him for the catastrophe.
"Very good, and of course if you can demonstrate that you've all sincerely come to regret your mistake, you may have it back," Dominic finished with a grin.
"What is he doing?" Jake whispered to the yellow dragon beside him.
"Haven't got a clue, mate. Maybe he ate some bad roast for lunch."
Lao Shi had a knowing look as he watched Dominic, who was now spinning the Quaffle on the tip of one of his claws. "And what do you think, Dragon Master, is a fitting punishment for their irresponsible behavior?" he asked.
"Oh, it's nothing too painful," Dominic paused, enjoying the terrified expressions of the Gryffindor team members, many of whom were likely reevaluating their commitment to the sport. "I think beating the Dragons of Draco Isle in a friendly game of Quidditch will suffice."
That took everyone by surprise. The terror in the faces of the Gryffindor team was replaced with deep confusion, except for the twins, who of course found the proposition to be a splendid idea.
"You've got to be joking," Hermione groaned, only to be reaffirmed as Jake, Nerk, and Haley all streaked into the air, abandoning their thick grey cloaks on the bleachers with the others.
"Now wait just a minute!" a bemused Sun shouted as she joined them all in the sky. "You can't all possibly be serious; we can't play Quidditch against them!"
"She has a point, G," Jake said, earning a hopeful look from the teal dragon until he continued, "we only have six people. Even if we are dragons, we're outnumbered."
"Not a problem at all!" one of the twins chimed in. "I'll sit this one out. You don't really need two beaters, and George here can play well enough for both of us."
"Besides," George added, looking at his brother, "we'll need a ref, won't we?" Fred excitedly pulled out his wand and an old woolen hat from within his robes. A tap of his wand made the fabric shimmer and change into a black and white striped cap, which he proudly slapped on his head.
Jake turned to face the other dragons. "Gramps, you can be our Beater, you put the pounding on that last Bludger. Sun, you can be the Keeper so you won't have to get violent." The notion didn't seem to comfort her. "Nerk, you're the fastest, so you can be the Seeker." He puffed his chest out at Jake's compliment. "So that leaves Dominic, Haley, and the Am-Drag as the Chasers, sound good?" Lao Shi merely chuckled to himself with crossed arms, the others looking eager to get started. Sun seemed resigned to her fate and let out one last defeated sigh.
"How about it, Johnson?" Fred asked their captain, who up until this point never lost her expression of utter disbelief.
She eyed Dominic warily, her fear of him warring with her desire to retrieve their hostage Quaffle. "We win, you give it back, yeh?"
"A dragon never lies, my dear," Dominic promised with an over-the-top bow.
She brushed her braided hair out of her face before turning to their referee with a smirk. "Ready the chest, Fred."
"It's a match!" he shouted triumphantly, waving his wand into the air and producing a flurry of blinding sparks. Overhead and aligned with the long side of the pitch away from the school, a magical outline formed into the shape of a scoreboard, showing a tied game of zero points between Gryffindor and Dragons. The few spectators below were clapping excitedly, not counting the Slytherins, who were disappointed at the lack of the dragons devouring a few Gryffindors, and Hermione, who still had a look of immense disapproval on her face.
"Form up!" Angelina called, her team clumping together at the bottom center of the field. The dragons imitated their movements and came together for a last minute discussion. Fred was still summoning back one of the Bludgers and the Snitch as both teams huddled up.
"Dominic, we have no idea what we're doing!" Sun scolded him.
"Relax, Sun, this is just for fun. All you have to worry about is guarding the hoops. We all have a general idea of our roles, just do what they do, except better," he finished with a wink.
"To your positions!" the referee called. The dragons mirrored the places of their Gryffindor counterparts as they hovered around the center of the pitch, Dominic and Angelina standing below on the field facing one another.
"Captains will politely shake claws," Fred ordered. Angelina hesitated for a moment before stiffly gripping the monstrous hand of Dominic, giving it a curt squeeze and shake.
"On my mark then!" Fred, without a whistle, aimed his wand at the sky again. "Three, two,…" he shot a red flare straight up, exploding like a firework with a lout CRACK. The Quaffle launched skyward from the chest below, along with the two Bludgers and the Golden Snitch. The Quaffle seemed to hang in the air at its apex for just a moment before all hell broke loose.
Jake had shot forward and snatched the Quaffle, barreling through the opposing team towards Ron's hoops. Though the two had practiced this very same routine several times before, Jake was no longer in it for the sake of training his friend. He was here to win. He dove and careened, faking to every side he could while dodging a Bludger before finally hurling the Quaffle to the far goal. To his credit, Ron had brushed the tips of his fingers against the ball, but it still managed to slip through the ring.
"The Dragons score!" Fred's voice boomed, somehow magically amplified. Yellow flares flew from his wand and the scoreboard above sparked to life, a dazzling 10 now visible beneath their moniker.
"Better step up your game, Ron!" Jake taunted as he flew to retrieve the Quaffle.
"That's the last shot you'll ever make, scales-for-brains!" Ron shot back with a grin. The Gryffindor chasers had been in a lazy stupor at the start, fleeing in surprise when the red dragon had launched itself at the Quaffle, but the quick score against them had given them renewed focus. Angelina flew to Jake and caught the Quaffle as he passed it to her to bring back into the game.
"This is mad," she laughed, reversing and flying toward the opposite end of the pitch. The other two girls closed ranks beside her in formation. "Alicia, take the forward position! Katie and I will run the…" They reflexively dispersed, the pink dragon having dived right into them and making a grab for the Quaffle beneath Angelina's arm. She found Katie and passed her the ball while Haley was hounding her, though Katie was forced away by a Bludger from Lao Shi. The Quaffle fell a ways until Dominic swooped in and plucked it from the air.
"Thank you kindly!" he shouted, bolting back towards Ron. He wound back his arm for the throw before being slammed in the back by George's own Bludger, the strike making the Quaffle fly off target. Ron easily caught it and passed it off to Alicia. She made a break down the pitch for the Dragons' goals, swerving from Jake's assault and passing to Angelina, who dove in as close to Sun as she dared before chucking it at the right ring. Jake had considered the goal made as soon as Angelina had mad it that close, and was dumbstruck when Sun gracefully intercepted the Quaffle and thumped it with her elbow into Haley's awaiting hands.
"I…I did it! That was wonderful!" she cheered, not seeing the rogue Bludger until it collided with her side, injuring her ego more than anything. The three dragon Chasers hurried back towards Ron, Dominic whispering directions as they went. Ron could only watch as all three approached, constantly tossing the Quaffle between them until they all dispersed and mimicked a throwing motion at the last instant. Ron swept up to defend the center goal, hoping that Dominic would end up with the Quaffle. He met with disappointment as Haley's shot made it through the left hoop with a loud Ding.
"Another for the Dragons!" Fred boomed to more yellow sparks, the scoreboard now reading nil to twenty. "C'mon you lot, at least try to put up a fight!"
"CAN IT, WEASLEY!" Angelina shouted back to their impromptu ref as she charged down the pitch once more.
"Crikey, how are we supposed to find the little devil?!" Nerk yelled over the wind roaring in his ears as he and Harry circled high above the pitch, searching for the yet to be found Golden Snitch.
"No idea, but if you figure it out let me know!" Potter called back.
"Gryffindor score!" came another booming announcement, followed by red flares. Nerk could hear cheering from below, but was too focused on finding this impossibly small speck to pay much attention to anything else. The game went on for what felt like hours, all the while Nerk and Potter searching frantically for the Snitch. At one point he'd thought he'd seen it and immediately entered into a dive with Harry hot on his trail, only to find the glimmering remnants of one of Fred's yellow sparks. After continuing his search for a while longer, Nerk's focus waned with exhaustion, and he was distracted by what he had failed to notice building up during their entire game.
"Another Bludger from Blue catches Alicia in the back and she fumbles, shake it off Spinnet! Green recovers the Quaffle, George's Bludger misses, he passes to Red, Red rolls into range of the Gryffindor hoops, he shoots, NICE SAVE by Weasley!" the crowd below roared in applause for the Gryffindor keeper. Who was announcing the match, and when had the bleachers filled with students? The professors, even the headmaster himself, had also seen fit to join, huddled together at the top of an observation tower. Professor McGonagall in particular was on her feet and howling words of encouragement for her house's team. Nerk looked up at the scoreboard, which showed the Gryffindors in a slight lead, 200 to 180.
"Bell's got the Quaffle and she's out for blood! Pink swoops in, Bell passes to Johnson, Green and Red are almost on her, look at that reversal! Johnson passes to Spinnet, Spinnet looks to score, it's all up to the Dragon Keeper, and Teal blocks the shot!" Again, the crowd below burst into an uproar of cheers. Nerk was enthralled by the spectacle before a shine out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. In a split-second he was gone, flying with every ounce of strength he could muster. Harry had seen his change of course, the fear of being too late shining behind his shaking glasses as he rushed to catch up.
"Green's soaring down the pitch, Red intercepts a Bludger from the Gryffindor Beater, nice shot Weasley! Wait…it looks like the Seekers have found something, and Yellow is in the lead!" The crowd was beside itself now, watching avidly as the two streaked around the pitch. "Green passes to Pink, Pink and Red swerve together for another feint, can Weasley stop the point? They fan out and shoot, Weasley guesses right, BRILLIANT catch Ron!Wait, where on Earth are they going?!"
Everyone, even the players, stopped to look straight up. Nerk and Harry were nearly vertical, climbing at an astonishing rate into the sky and away from the pitch, both with extended arms. Lao Shi and George both found their targets and simultaneously hit a Bludger each up at the other team's Seeker.
"The Bludgers are off! Will they get the Snitch in time or will the Bludgers get to them first? They're going to get nosebleeds if they go any further, hold on, they've stopped! Have they got the Snitch?" The two figures had halted their ascent and floated in the air apart, tiny specks against the vast, unending sky. Fred summoned a pair of binoculars from a spectator and aimed them at the Seekers before touching the tip of his wand to his neck.
"YELLOW HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH!" he echoed across the castle grounds. A shower of yellow sparks exploded into the air, the scoreboard flaring to a blinding state, showing Gryffindor – 200, Dragons – 330. "THE DRAGONS OF DRACO ISLE WIN!"
The audience below was beyond containment. Chants of Dra-gons! Dra-gons! reverberated throughout the stands as the five dragons still below all came together in a celebratory circle.
"Aw yah! That's how we do! Dragons of Draco Isle REPRESENT!" Jake cheered, shooting a pillar of flame into the sky, the others joining in his excitement. The Gryffindor team was gathering as well and approaching them, when a sickening crack sounded through the air.
They all looked up to see Harry plummeting to the Earth, his limp body tumbling through the air with his broom lazily gliding down behind him. Nerk was streaking after him, trying to reach the unconscious wizard. He soon realized that he would never catch up in time. In a stroke of inspiration from Jake, he tucked his body in close and roared a blast of fire behind him, rocketing forward at an alarming speed toward the ground below.
"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Dominic commanded everyone, wizards and dragons alike quickly retreating to the edge of the pitch. Nerk zeroed in on Harry's form. Just as he leveled with the boy, he unfurled his body and snatched Potter in both arms like an oversized, misshapen Quaffle. Dominic was nearby, closing in to try and catch the two, when Nerk tossed the boy upwards at him. The green dragon was completely unprepared but managed to catch Harry safely. His approach having come to a grinding halt, Dominic helplessly watched in distress as Nerk continued on his course.
"FRED!" Jake roared while flying in his direction, desperately trying to reach him. The yellow dragon aligned himself and extended his wings, but one collapsed under the sudden strain. He twisted in the air, unable to stop himself, until he smashed into the ground belly-up with a gut wrenching impact.
The onlookers could only watch in horror, the pitch so quiet only the breeze could be heard, as the cloud of dust settled. The red dragon landed swiftly beside his unmoving friend, his gaze finding the bent wings, twisted limbs, and bleeding muzzle of the Australian Dragon. Jake was terrified, frozen in place.
"No…"
Nerk's body suddenly trembled and heaved with labored coughing. One eye slowly cracked open, focusing on Jake with difficulty. His next words made Jake want to mutilate and embrace his friend all at once.
"Did…" another fit of bloody coughing overtook him, "…did we win?"
As always, if you have any opinions or advice (positive or negative), PLEASE review and comment! Any feedback is great feedback, and it lets me know you at least cared enough to respond! This is my first fanfic, so I'll take what I can get.