Here is another chapter for all of you to read. It's nice to see that some of you actually like the first chapter on its own enough to follow it already, and I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as you enjoyed the first.
I don't really have much more to say, so I will just get to the story.
"Speech"
"Parseltongue"
'Thoughts'
"Oh look, he knows his Mummy!" Hagrid appeared to be restraining himself from bouncing up and down on the chair while looking at the newly hatched dragon Norbert.
"HOW dare YOU! I am a lady!" A chirping hiss like sound permeated the cabin just before Norbert shot a tongue of flame into Hagrid's beard.
"What was that?" Harry looked around, swivelling his head from side to side while Hermione turned to him with a curious expression.
"That was Hagrid referring to himself as the dra- Norbert's, Mummy." Hermione replied, a little worried that Harry appeared not to hear the loud voice of the larger than average man sitting across the table from them.
"No, not that, after that!" Harry said, turning to face Hagrid again, looking at Norbert in the process, "Hagrid had already called himself Norbert's Mummy," The surprised looks of everyone, EVERYONE, in the room, worried Harry a little, "What?" Harry asked in response to the looks.
"You just hissed!" Hermione yelled out, eyes wide as she stared at Harry.
"YOU SPEAK THE NOBLE TONGUE!" Came a shout from the table, this time however, Harry was looking directly at Norbert while trying to figure out what Hermione meant by him hissing, therefore catching the baby dragon's mouth opening as the hissing began.
"YOU CAN TALK!" Harry leapt to his feet, pointing at the baby dragon in front of him.
"Harry, are you- were you, just talking to Norbert?" Hermione asked, a glint in her eyes showing to Harry that she appeared to be piecing information together based on what she had observed.
"Would you two-legs stop calling me that? I am a lady, not a boy, a lady." Norbert hissed, quite clearly annoyed with the lot of them.
"I uh, yeah, I think I was talking to her,"
"Finally thank you!"
"Why, is that, is that important?" Harry asked, choosing to ignore the snarky reply from the dragon, "Also, you just hatched, how are you talking like this? How do you know what speaking even is?"
"Ancient magic." Harry assumed the slight shuffle of wings was meant to be a draconic shrug.
"Harry, we need to go talk to Professor McGonagall. Don't worry Hagrid," Hermione began, seeing Hagrid appear nervous at the idea, "We won't mention you, I just think we should go see if she knows anything about this." Hermione finished, placating Hagrid as the trio rose to leave.
"A couple things before we go," Harry began, looking towards Hargid, "Hagrid, the dragon is a girl, she needs a girl's name."
"Oh well uh," Hagrid began to think, a bright smile stretching across his face as he came up with a name, "Kareena, her name is Kareena."
"I approve, I will refrain from lighting your beard on fire anymore. It's still open season on your eyebrows though." Kareena huffed out a small cloud of smoke towards Hagrid's eyebrows.
"She approves. Which brings me to my second point. Kareena, please don't light Hagrid, Fang, their house, or their possessions on fire while we are gone." Harry intended on putting a stern tone of voice, which, while not working due to him being a smaller than average eleven year old, also sounded kind of freaky to the people in the hut that couldn't understand what he was saying.
"If I must. Only because you asked me speaker of the Noble Tongue." Kareena let out a long drawn out sigh as she finished the first sentence.
"Do you want to come with us Ron?" Hermione asked, knowing Ron's dislike for spending time with teachers.
"Nah, I'm good, don't want to spend any time with McGonagall than I have to, she kind of scares me a bit," Ron muttered, "I'm going to go and play chess with Seamus and Dean."
Considering it was still before curfew, Hermione and Harry began walking into the castle, splitting up from Ron with a goodbye in the main hall. After heading up the stairs, they began the trek throughout the massive castle to go and see the Deputy Headmistress and Head of Gryffindor House, Minerva McGonagall.
Knocking on the door snapped Minerva McGonagall out of her marking induced trance, the last of the assignments in front of her. Quickly marking it off and putting it away, she cleaned up her desk before informing the person knocking that the door was open. Upon seeing two of her Gryffindors, Minerva let a small smile grace her face.
"Mr Potter, Ms Granger, what can I do for you today?" Minerva waved her hand towards the chairs in front of her, watching as the two sat down.
"Well Professor, we had a question about something strange," At McGonagall's nod, Hermione continued, "Well, we were wondering if you know anything about someone being able to talk to dragons? I mean, just hypothe-"
"I take it Mr Potter that YOU can speak to a dragon? No doubt Hagrid got his hands on an egg somehow." McGonagall began rubbing the bridge of her nose.
"Professor, how did you know?" Harry blurted out, a little worried about what might happen to Hagrid.
"About Hagrid, or you talking to the dragon? Hagrid has always desired a dragon, and the two of you are his friends, no doubt if Mr Potter spoke to a dragon, he spoke to one Hagrid got his hands on."
"And how did you know it was Harry that spoke to a dragon?"
"Mr Potter, have you really not looked up any information on the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter upon entering the Wizarding World?" Minerva's face showed that she was upset that he would not do such a thing.
"My family was important enough that there was information about them?" Harry asked, his wide open eyes showing his shock.
"Hagrid didn't tell you?"
"He told me about my parents, he didn't mention them being important." Minerva sighed after hearing this.
"Hagrid most likely forgot to mention it, he has never been one to remember such things."
"So my family can talk to dragons?"
"Yes Mr Potter, however the last person to have such an ability was generations ago. I guess you are the same as your cousin Nym-"
"I HAVE A COUSIN!?" Harry had leapt to his feet, the excitement at the possibility of having family made Harry a little less polite to his Professor.
"Um, yes, you have several. There's Ms Nymphadora Tonks, a 7th year Hufflepuff, and Mr Draco Malfoy, I'm aware you know him."
"M-Malfoy is FAMILY?!"
"Well yes, his mother, just as Ms Tonks' mother, are, were in Ms Tonks' mother's case I guess, a Black. To be specific, the two were part of the trio known as the Black Sisters. However, back to what I was saying, Ms Tonks has a familial ability of the Black Family, known as the Metamorphagus power, which allows them to change their form."
"She can shapeshift?" Hermione's silence ended with that little burst.
"Yes Ms Granger that is another name for what she can do. Ms Tonks' mother was disowned from the Black family because she, like your father, married a Muggleborn. There is a theory that such family powers, a basis of the pureblood supremacy claims, dilute with the inbreeding between purebloods, and that the addition of Muggleborn's into families is actually capable of bringing these diluted powers back. You and Ms Tonks are demonstrations of this."
"So, how am I related to them exactly?" Harry asked in a timid tone.
"Through your grandmother, Dorea Potter Nee Black, she married your grandfather Charlus Potter. Dorea was the aunt of their mothers."
"So they aren't cousins, but, first or second cousins?" Hermione clarified.
"Yes, however, people don't usually still consider people cousins past that point. Whereas in the Muggle World, familial relationships are looked down upon, if Harry had a child, and Ms Tonks had a child, the public would not look down upon the two children having a relationship. At the same time, the only people who WOULD have a problem with Harry and Ms Tonks having a child for instance, are what's known as the Light families, such as the Weasleys. The Neutral families, such as Longbottom, Black, Bones and Potter, vary generation to generation on their opinions on such acts, the primary thing for them though is that if the two are in love, than it is fine."
"I take it there are Dark families then?" Harry was listening with rapt attention, the same as Hermione, Hermione due to her desire to know more about the world they now inhabited, and Harry due to his desire to know his family as well as find a way to not return to the Dursley's home.
"Yes, the Dark families, such as Nott and Lestrange, typically would be fine with people as closely related as Mr Potter and Ms Tonks being in a relationship." Smiling to herself at the immense blush spreading over Harry's face at the prospect, Minerva continued. "Now, the ability for which you came here to talk about is an ability that earned the Potter family their Noble title. Gaining it due to calming and taming dragons that had gone berserk for whatever reason. It is actually a boon granted by the Ministry of Magic to your family, is the right for any Potter to own property and raise dragons, as long as they are able to keep them under control."
"I'm allowed to raise dragons?" Harry and Hermione's jaws had dropped at the prospect.
"If you were to claim Hagrid's dragon, not only would he be unable to be punished, but it would allow for you to become an emancipated adult. However, due to your age and you raising such a creature, you would need supervision, such as, say, Hagrid, moving into whatever property you live in, in order to help care for the dragon, and any other dragons or animals that you were to look after, given that the permit is a Level 5 Dangerous Animal Ownership, animals such as Hagrid's pet cerberus," Hermione's eyes bugged out at the information that an animal such as a cerberus is real, "Now, if you want, I can write a letter to get the process started, and the two of you can go and speak to Hagrid on the matter."
"I-I would like that Professor." Harry stuttered out, tears beginning to show in his eyes.
"Now now Mr Po-Harry, I was your parent's teacher and was even there the night you were born, please, call me Minerva, or, as your father insister, Minny, when we aren't in class. That goes for you too Ms Granger," The look upon Hermione's face brought a smile to Minerva's face, "I know you have the utmost respect for teachers and authority figures Hermione, but we are just normal people outside of the classroom, so, may I suggest toning it down just a little."
"Yes Prof-Minerva." Hermione managed to get out.
"Thank you Minny, we'll go speak with Hagrid and Kareena right now." Harry bowed as they began walking out of the office.
"Well, let's go." Hermione muttered as she began walking in a kind of trance, clearly not feeling all that well after having an authority figure tell her that her respect for authority figures needed to be toned down. The two began walking down to go and see Hagrid.
"Hello Harry, Hermione, did you find out what you wanted to find out?" Hagrid beckoned them in to where they could see Kareena eating out of a bucket that smelled of alcohol and blood.
"Yes, apparently it is a family ability that hadn't awoken in a while." Hermione began, Harry sitting on the other side of the table waiting for Kareena to lift her head out of the bucket.
"Are you just going to sit there, or are you going to say something speaker?" Kareena's hissing voice came from inside of the bucket.
"Oh, um, we found out that my ability to speak to you is a family ability."
"I could have told you that."
"Well, we also found out that um, it's illegal for Hagrid to raise you. However, if I, um, McGonagall said that if I claim you, than I can be emancipated, you won't have to go to a dragon reserve, and I can have Hagrid move onto my property with me to look after you."
"… I approve speaker. Tell the large man and have him agree, also, tell him I would prefer more blood in this mix he made for me to drink." Kareena nodded in Hagrid's direction as she finished speaking. Seeing Hermione finish explaining Harry's relation to Malfoy Harry slid over to a closer seat in order to speak with Hagrid about the permit.
"Hagrid, Professor McGonagall also told me about something else my family had." Harry began, waiting to make sure he had Hagrid's attention.
"And what would that be?" One of Hagrid's eyebrows raised in a curious motion.
"Well, apparently, as a result of my family being able to speak with dragons, my family was given a hereditary Level 5 Dangerous Animal Ownership Permit."
"Wow, those are hard to get." Hagrid managed to get out even with his jaw hanging as low as was.
"And, if I tell the Ministry that I encountered a dragon and claim it as mine, then they won't punish whoever hatched it. They will also have to emancipate me and allow me to own my own property, as well as have access to my family's vaults."
"So, you would have to take Kareena away?" Hagrid asked, beginning to tear up.
"Yes. However, I would need someone to move in, an adult, someone capable of caring for Dangerous Creatures, such as a dragon, or a cerberus, someone like say, you." Hagrid perked up when he realized what Harry was suggesting.
"You want me to do that?"
"Of course Hagrid," Harry smiled a huge smile at his large friend, "Who else would I trust to look after Kareena, it also means that you could legally have other Level 5 or lower creatures as long as I take ownership of them."
"That's a wonderful idea!"
"I'll find out if there are any Potter properties during the next few weeks, and if so, you can move in and begin looking after Kareena there," The sound of a dragon clearing it's throat let Harry know he had forgotten something, "Oh yeah, Kareena says she prefers more blood in her mix."
So there we go, another bunny captured out of my head. I blame this one on a mix of Skyrim and Fairy Tail, made me consider how cool it would be if Harry wasn't a Parseltongue, but could speak to dragons, which the snakes were just able to understand as well.
So challenge time:
Summary: When Norbert is born, Harry finds out he can speak to dragons! After a discussion with Professor McGonagall, Harry finds out he has family and is the first Potter in generations to speak the Dragon Tongue. This allows Harry to own dragons and makes him emancipated. Harry also has Hagrid move into/onto his property so as Hagrid can care for Norbert and any other dangerous animals Harry or Hagrid want.
Requirements:
Harry finds out that he can speak the Dragon Tongue, a Potter ability, when Norbert is born.
Norbert can speak it as well as speak fluently due to 'Ancient Magic', what the dragons call the magical life force that permeates their eggs, teaching the baby all it needs to know to survive and live once it hatches.
Harry becomes emancipated as a result of claiming Norbert, making him head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter. The Potter's are an old family and became a Noble family by calming and taming dragons that attacked England.
Harry finds out all this information from McGonagall, where he also learns about Nymphadora and Draco being his cousins. Due to his desire for family, Harry introduces himself to Nymphadora, and attempts to patch things up with Draco, whether or not he succeeds with Draco is writer's choice.
Hagrid is not punished for hatching Norbert, changing Norbert's name to something feminine after Harry points out Norbert is angry at the male name. Hagrid moves onto/into whatever property Harry inherits/purchases in order to care for Norbert, also taking Fluffy.
Harry either ends up with Hermione, Luna, or Nymphadora. Which one or a combination of the lot is writer's choice.
Harry is at least wealthy, not obscenely wealthy, but rich enough that living a moderate lifestyle would mean he would not need to work and would still have money left over for his kids. It's up to you to decide how much money that is. He can be obscenely wealthy if it is your desire.
The Dragon Tongue is considered an advanced form of Parseltongue, however, due to the heroic uses of it by the Potter's in the past, Dragon Tongue is considered a neutral-light power, and Harry is not looked down upon for having it. By advanced form I mean, not be offensive to anyone or anything, Parseltongue is your average run of the mill English, while Dragon Tongue is more the sophisticated form. Someone who speaks Parseltongue gets the rough idea of what someone speaking the Dragon Tongue says, and vice versa. However, all serpents respond to the Dragon Tongue over Parseltongue.
Harry is neutral, neither a light side nor dark side supporter.
Optional:
Dumbledore not being happy that Harry refuses to return to the Dursley's.
Harry having a strong relationship with the Tonks family.
Harry having access to unique powers to complement the Dragon Tongue. For reference, something like Fairy Tail's dragonslayer magic or the Thu'um from Skyrim. Special dragon based abilities basically.
Hagrid obtains a large slew of animals, potentially including things like Manticores or a Hydra.
Harry enters the war completely for one side after someone from one side attempts to kill him.
So yeah, there we go, that's the challenge that goes with this story.
Now, onto a small update about my first multi-chapter continuous story, I should hopefully be uploading that within the next two weeks, I just want to have at least the 4th chapter started before I upload it, that way I have a little bit of fall back room, considering the uni semester starts again for me, well, it started yesterday, which will impact the amount of time I have for writing.