A REASON TO FLY
Wendy let out a frightened squeak and backed off, stumbling on the small table.
The dragon leaped backward too, folding his ears.
- "A-A... Al?" stammered the girl.
The creature looked around. He swept his spade-shaped tail – knocked off a shelf of books that fell noiselessly on the thick carpet - then stretched its neck, sniffing something with interest. Fabius Macmillan's cat was staring at it, hair bristling and tail erect. A log collapsed in the fireplace and a cloud of ashes billowed over the embers.
- "S-so tha-a-at's wha-a-at y-y-you w-we-e-ere hi-ding…"
Terrence and Scorpius giggling stupidly. Whispers and secrets. The anxiety showing on the director's face. The new professor of Care of Magical Creatures who could not give a single class without talking about saurians... Harry Potter coming to Hogwarts. Inpredictable mood swings and detention for a week given to the most disciplined student of Hogwarts. And that last sentence...
She felt like crying.
- "Al? Is it you ? You're a... a..."
The dragon had finally decided that the girl who was pointing her finger at him was not dangerous. He was now crawling towards the sardines, wiggling his black fur rump, anticipation ruffling his wings.
Wendy let go of a strangled laughter.
- "It's you. It's really you…"
Tears were streaming down her cheeks and she did not even know why.
"You, someone ordinary? Surely not…
So that's why your father tried to kill you?
I don't care, Al, it doesn't matter..."
She gathered her slightly trembling legs and got up. The dragon had dropped a can of tinned sardines and was warbling in frustration, not able to open it. He froze a few seconds when he felt the girl coming to him, then snorted as if it did not matter, probing his metal caparisoned booty.
Wendy leaned over slowly, offering her hand.
It was not more complicated than any of the classes she had attended for four years. They were asked all the time to touch things that might bite, to approach things that might blow up, to trust mad reasonings.
It was Albus.
Looking just a bit different.
And Al never would have hurt her. Never EVER.
The dragon's muzzle, warm and soft as satin, touched her palm. She ran her fingers through the thick black fur, slipped her hand behind a fluffy ear.
- "Hey..." she whispered.
The nose wrinkled and the animal blinked happy big green eyes.
- "I smell of sardines, isn't it?" Wendy chuckled. She picked up the can and rolled the opening. "Here, enjoy. D'you want a toast with it? A cuppa?"
The dragon was slurping up the fish scraps greedily and his throat was emitting a sort of thanking-purr.
"Terrence, I'm so going to kill you. Why did not you tell me?
How long, Al?
Since your fall during Quidditch workouts? Since birth?
And why?
Are you some sort of an animagus?"
The dragon raised his head, licking his lips and stared at her hopefully, all ears pointing up, obviously waiting for her to open another can.
She giggled.
"Nope. Not an animagus. You're not really conscious, are you? Please don't tell me this is your true personality!"
Something fell on the floor above with a thud, and both their gazes went to the ceiling before sharing the same interrogative glance.
- "We can't stay here", Wendy muttered. "Turn back into a human before someone comes down!"
In response, the dragon crept towards the stairs crooning curiously.
- "Al!" hissed the girl rushing behind him. "Not that way, you nutter! What are you doing? Change back, hurry!"
The dragon chewed his gums, golden split green eyes puzzled. He nuzzled her lightly and she nearly lost her balance.
There really was someone awake upstairs. They could hear steps cracking on the old wooden floor.
- "Come oooon", she squeaked, pleading.
She looked around, nibbling her thumbnail.
The outlet passage? Letting a dragon roam free in Hogwarts' hallways?
Hiding behind the tapestries?
Crawling up in the fireplace? Nonsense.
The dragon hustled her, trotting towards the back of the room, and she followed him, literally pulling on her hair.
- "Al, for mud sake ... why did not you show me the user manual if you didn't know how to morph back? How am I supposed to go get your dad and tell him we were snogging when you suddenly turned into a dragon? When you're back to a human again, I'm so going to kill you..."
She paused, her eyes on the window.
- "Ah."
She came closer, opened it, glanced outside - the rocks far below on the shores of the Black Lake, the stars high above the water, the moon sinking into a pale mist on the horizon between the two...
- "Tell me you're not thinking of jumping out."
The dragon clearly gave a wry shrug.
- "Al, have you lost your mind?"
She stepped back and heard the door open at the top of the spiral staircase.
Ohnonononono…
Black wings unfurled at her side and the spade-shaped tail swept from left to right as if to test its balance.
- "No", Wendy uttered as firmly as she could.
Next thing she knew, the dragon was holding her by her bunny ears hoody and was diving to the lake.
oOoOoOo
Once his rival's throat was slayed, the huge dragon covered with shining scales, stood waving his long powerful neck, fangs dripping with blood. His empty eyes looking like slits had a cruel red glow and he opened his mouth, spilling a torrent of flames that consumed the trees.
Terrence jerked awake, gasping for air, his arms crossed in front of his face to protect him from the heat.
Ah. He was in his dorm at Hogwarts.
The plain covered with ashes, the blackened trees and the monstrous creature had disappeared.
So had the fur dragon with gaping wounds.
Terrence forced himself to breathe in and out slowly. His heart was pounding in his chest. Sweat was dripping down his face. The small of his back and the inside of his palms were clammy.
Everything was quiet. He was alive.
He kicked off the covers and got up to check on Albus.
- "Terrence?"
Great, now Scorpius was awake too.
Craig Finnigan was snoring at full throttle, one foot outside the quilt, the last issue of Blue Laces raising and falling regularly on his belly.
Terrence opened the four-poster bed curtains and his bad feeling proved true.
- "He's gone", he said.
Scorpius probably wanted to jump out of bed, but in the rush he got entangled in his blankets and fell heavily to the floor.
- "They're going to kill us!" he hissed, getting up, rubbing his elbow with a wince.
Terrence's brain was working at full speed.
- "Maybe he's just downstairs... still in his Al form…"
- "Maybe he just got tired of us playing babysitters, and he went to sleep in the common room", Scorpius nodded, hopeful. "You never should have suggested putting detection spells around his bed. Charlie said that besides being under a really strong emotion, he would not morph randomly. Except if he had a nightmare..."
He looked at Terrence from head to toes and something suddenly clicked in his brain.
- "Let's go check!"
They grabbed their wands and ran downstairs, but it was too late.
The window was open and the night breeze was playing in the scarlet curtains.
There was nobody in the room, except for Fabius Macmillan's cat which looked like she had seen the devil.
Terrence rushed to the window.
- "He jumped? Don't tell me he jumped, HE DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO FLY!" Scorpius stuttered on his heels.
He leaned out the window at the risk of falling outside, desperately scanning the cliffs beaten by the black waves.
- "Al!"
Terrence slammed his shoulder.
- "Don't be so noisy", he said with a strange grin.
Scorpius pulled away and shot him a fulminating glance.
- "What's if he's DEAD?" he snarled. "We should go look for him, he might be hurt or lost somewhere, I can't see him-"
- "Do you remember what Charlie told us about dragons' first flight?" Terrence cut in.
Oh yes, Scorpius remembered.
Like every moment of those nights, it was vivid in his memory.
Albus was making new progress from hour to hour. He had quickly managed to master morphing from human to dragon (he was not as good at doing the opposite: the dragon loved to frolic and he proved to be much more mischevious and adventurous than his alter ego).
While doing his Transfiguration homework, Terrence had found a paragraph explaining how Animagi were managing to turn back into humans with their clothes still on and Mrs McGonagall had been kind enough to teach Albus to do that. She had finished her lesson with a stern warning to the two other boys who were not ready to forget their promise.
Then, they had clearly seen the few times when the two minds were communicating. The dragon suddenly became very docile, as if he understood the essence of their words, not just the ton of their voices. He started to change back into Albus much more easily too. Charlie Weasley was exulting and the boys believed he would be the one to start flying soon. Harry Potter was torn between guilt and wonder. He never said much and only stepped in when he thought his son was too exhausted to keep on training.
Finally, just the day before, they had dealt with the first blasts of flames. The dragon had first seemed about to regurgitate a piece of fish and a blue spark had cracked under his glottis. A moment later, Terrence and Scorpius, who were standing a little too close, had almost lost their eyebrows. After that, the so-called-detention-training-cram-schooling had turned into a game and, for the first time since he had discovered what was hidden inside him, Albus had looked happy and carefree.
Forgetting that Hogsmeade was not that far away and the castle towers stood well above the Forbidden Forest, Charlie and Harry had allowed them to flare up everything that could be burned in the area, then had gathered them in the clearing where the Thestrals were usually grazing - when the dragon was not nearby.
- "When will I fly?" Albus had asked shyly.
There was something shining in his eyes – something scared and excited at the same time.
- "Yes, boss, come on, tell us!" Terrence had exclaimed. He was sitting cross-legged with his hands on his thighs, just like Charlie who was in front of him. "What do we need to do to trigger it?"
Scorpius had nodded vigorously. He was sitting with his fists clenched on his bent knees. His pale hair was tangled with pine needles and leaves, and his gray eyes were sparkling.
Charlie took the time for a long sip in his wineskin, while Harry was fumbling in the embers with a branch, producing more smoke than light and making them cough. The stars were very high above the trees, shimmering in the vastness of dark blue.
- "The dragon from before didn't show any ability to fly for a long time", Harry finally said. "It was almost as big as you – I mean, as he is now, but it was content to run and climb all over the place, never using its wings to something other than carrying a little boy. And then one night ... I don't know... well, I'm not sure, maybe that spurt of growth was normal for a dragon..."
- "It was not", strongly countered Charlie.
His brother-in-law sighed.
- "Anyway. One night he jumped out the window and took off to the sky. I'm pretty sure he did it because Albus wanted him to fly so much. He kept repeating "fly, Toothless, fly."
The plush toy's name was no longer making anyone smirk. In fact, they were beginning to consider calling the dragon Toothless to differentiate him from Albus. The latter did not agree.
"He has a name. A proper name, a name of his own.
He'll tell me - someday, when it's time."
Terrence prudently touched the fatty taffeta bits that covered the blisters on his forehead. He was glad Hannah Abbot had provided them with several first aids kits.
- "When the mother dragon feels it's time, it takes the cub high above and drops it, Charlie explained with his usual strong and enthusiastic voice. "The baby dragon has no other choice than spreading its wings and fight for survival. It is a beautiful sight to witness when a dragon finally manages to fly up to its mother."
Harry glowered at him.
- "Don't you dare thinking for one second that I'll let you throw my son off a tower..."
- "I'd never do that!" the redhead protested, raising his hands in sign of peace - but the boys had the sure feeling he had thought about it, though. "I was just saying that the dragon won't fly unless he has a good reason to do so."
Albus had nodded silently. The flames were glinting in his pensive green eyes and he wasn't listening to Terrence's ravings on about how they could bring the dragon to fly.
Scorpius had found it logical. He was much less confident now that he was convinced Albus had crashed down from the tower and sunk into the lake.
- "We have to go save him!" he repeated imploringly.
Terrence grabbed him by his collar and pressed his nose on the scrolls and books left on the table. Then he dragged him to the fireplace and pointed at the tray, the overturned cups, the bread crumbs and the remains of sardines on the carpet.
- "What does this tell you?"
- "That the house elves gave up on cleaning our common room? I know, I know... Ouch!"
Terrence had given him a flick on the head.
- "Scorpius Malfoy, thou shalt not career as a detective", he sneered. "Look with your eyes. Wendy's homework, two cups of tea, sardines, a mess worthy of a big cat... there's your good reason. They must have heard us. And now they're probably somewhere in the stars... "
The other teenager furrowed his dark eyebrows, still rubbing the sore spot under his blond hair.
- "Why, do you mean... WHAT? Albus is in love - with this girl?"
Terrence took off his glasses, pinched the bridge of his nose and heaved a big sigh.
- "The world is a place crowded with blind dimwits..."
He chuckled and turned back to the window while Scorpius tried to clear something from his throat, as if he had almost choked on his tongue.
"A good reason, eh?
Welcome to the gang, Wendy..."
In the night sky, the butter-colored moon was swimming in cotton-like clouds.
TBC
Next chapter: MOON RABBIT