OK Full disclosure: I've been sitting on these chapters for some time now, debating on how to best post them. But yes, I've got quite a few chapters already done and will be posted quickly in succession until I get to where I'm at in the story so far.

TQ out!

First Ride

"Well, that was fun."

"You could say that again."

I looked up from where I was seated on the floor and looked at Dragon Handler, who was grinning like a lunatic. She had her glasses on her forehead, which were glowing green, and her face was streaked with blood, which I didn't think belonged to her.

"How can you tell what's wrong with her?" I asked, "It's all... glowy."

"I have an Augury spell, dummkopff." Dragon Handler replied. Oh yeah! I learnt that she was German! "And it's not all glowy. The glasses are just enchanted to let me see inside her body."

"Well, that makes sense."

The potion had been administered to Astrid, as I now knew was the Swedish Short Snout's name, as specified earlier. Dragon Handler had told me that I did well for a first timer. Most, apparently, shat themselves.

"Well, I did learn something important today."

"And what would that be?"

"I need to learn more spells."

"That's the spirit!"

"Oh, fuck you!" I groused.

"Oh, I'm wounded!"

"Shut up!"

"Make me, kleiner Junge."

"Little boy? Little boy?! I'm sixteen! I'm not a little boy anymore!"

"Could've fooled me. You're short and scrawny. You look like you have the muscle mass of a chicken. You're no Harry Potter. He was buff as shit. And you're definitely no Charlie Weasley. The old man could easily outwrestle me."

"Yeah, well, you're like 9 feet tall! How am I supposed to compare to that? And I'm 5'3". Not a shorty."

"Keep telling yourself that, kid."

"Fuck off!"

"No, seriously, kid. You have to grow. You'll have to if you want to survive this business." She now sounded far more serious than she was moments ago. So this was another lesson.

"Why's that?"

"Dragons aren't gentle creatures. One 'boop' from Astrid can feel like a punch to the face from a troll. And a full-blown attack can leave you with shattered bones and second-degree burns."

"How bad can that be?"

"Ever heard of the American Muggle-born named Charlie Jackson? He was the one that discovered the healing properties of dragon venom. He was killed when a Hungarian Horntail attacked his team and left him in a coma. He died a month later."

"Oh."

"And that's not even getting into the fact that dragons are notoriously difficult to transport. The average dragon is about the size of a small house, and the bigger ones are larger than an olympic swimming pool."

"Damn."

"That's right. And the thing is, you have to transport them."

"Wait, what?"

"They have to go places."

"And we have to move them?" I finished for her, realizing the monumentality of the task.

"Yup. And it's not a one-person job, either. There's usually at least two of us. The rest is just extra help. You might not need it, though. But it's good to have extra hands around."

"Why's that?"

"In the event of an attack, the more people that are helping, the less chance that the dragon will escape."

"That... actually makes a lot of sense."

"It should. I'm an experienced professional, after all."

"I'm going to ignore that."

"Suit yourself."

"So, what now?"

"Now? You learn how to ride a dragon." There was that maniacal grin again. Uh oh.

"WHAT?!"

"What's the matter? You're scared?"

"Well, duh!"

"Why's that?"

"Didn't you just say that a dragon could kill me by accident? That's plenty reason for me to be scared."

"Oh, it's perfectly safe."

"You said they were dangerous."

"Not if you know what you're doing. Come on. It'll be fun."

"But what if I fall?"

"Don't worry about that."

"But-"

"Look. If you fall, I'll catch you."

"How are you going to do that?"

"Well, you'll see. But, in order for you to fall, you have to climb up the dragon."

"Ok..."

"And in order to climb up the dragon, you have to have the right equipment. TO THE SHED!" She pointed to the shed heroically. Oh. I had to get the equipment. Bollocks.

"Fine, fine, I'm going." I groused, walking towards the shed.

"Good boy!"

I walked into the shed and, immediately, was hit by a wave of smells. It was the smell of dragon, metal, oil, leather and other such things. I was immediately assaulted by memories of my Grandfather, the one that took care of me, and the things he showed me Jurassic Park when I was a kid. I used to live with him until fourth year when Hogwarts became my summer home. He was very much a man that worked with metal oil and leather. A mechanic. He had a shop down the road from where we lived and I would visit him every weekend to hang out. I had a great relationship with him and, sadly, he died two years ago. I missed him.

Shaking my head, I continued looking around, and found a rack full of various dragonhide armor and clothing, complete with an assortment of weapons and a variety of harnesses.

"You find the stuff, boy? You'll see a harness and a saddle. I want you to levitate it out!" She called out to me.

"Why levitate?!" I yelled back.

"You try carrying that thing! Go on, scrawny shit!" She replied goodnaturedly.

I chuckled and shook my head.

"Alright."

I found the saddle and the harness, and began to levitate them out. As soon as I did, I could immediately tell that this was no ordinary saddle. There were all kinds of straps and buckles attached to the sides and the top, and the saddle itself was massive. And then, as I was looking, I realized something.

"Hey, Dragon Handler?" I called.

"Yeah?" She called back.

"There are no reins!"

"No, there are not."

"Then how do we steer them?"

"With your magic, you dummkopf!"

"Oh."

"Come on, stop dilly-dallying and come out here."

"Alright, alright, I'm coming!"

"Good. Hurry up."

"Yes, ma'am."

I levitated the saddle and harness out and made my way towards where Dragon Handler was waiting, a grin on her face.

"Now, let's get started. You'll have to learn how to properly harness a dragon, because, trust me, if you don't do it right, you will fall. And I won't always be there to catch you. In the field, you can't afford to make a mistake. If you're a little loose, the dragon could buck you off. If you're too tight, the dragon could get mad. It's a delicate balance and a lot of trial and error. And the sooner you learn, the better. Now, this is what I'm looking for."

She then proceeded to show me the proper technique and, after a few tries, I was able to get the hang of it. Not too lose. Nor too tight. Astrid was no worse for the ware, if a bit miffed. The harness wound around her wings without biting into them, before securing over her cavernous chest with a simply enormous buckle.

"Now, you've got it, but you have to make sure that it's not going to fall off during flight. The saddle needs to stay put and the straps have to be secure. Otherwise, you might lose your mount. You might have noticed your Handler Robes come with extra buckles and straps. These will attach to the saddle and harness, keeping you in place. Now, watch closely, because I'm only gonna do this once. I'll have to show you how to do it later."

She then proceeded to demonstrate the technique after sitting on the saddle on Astrid's back, and I could only watch as the straps and buckles magically flew out from the sides and attached themselves to the saddle and harness, securing her there. She then undid the whole thing and got off.

"Now, it's your turn."

"Alright."

I was now sitting on the saddle and harness, and watched as the straps and buckles flew out. But instead of securing themselves, they fell onto the ground, much to my surprise.

"Well, fuck."

"That's a good way to describe it." Dragon Handler quipped.

"Hey!"

"You didn't pour enough magic into it. These items are imbued with a heavy amount of magic. To get them to do absolutely anything, including securing your scrawny arse, you are going to need to pour a lot of magic into them."

"But I'm already low on reserves."

"That's the thing. It'll take some time, but the more you use it, the more your reserves will expand. So, don't be afraid to use the magic. And eat well. You need to up your strength both physically and magically. And don't forget to sleep and exercise." And she then proceeded to actually flex on me. Like physically flex. Like she was about to fucking bench press the weight of a semi truck. I had to stare. I had no choice. This was insane.

"Um, yeah, thanks. That's cool and all, but how do I do it?"

"Like this."

And with that, she proceeded to levitate the buckles and straps and secured them around the saddle.

"And then, once they're done, you give them a quick little tap with your wand, and they will release and reattach when necessary. Easy peasy lemon squeezy, ja? Now, you try."

"Ok. So I just focus and do the same thing, right?"

"Precisely."

"Alright, here goes nothing."

I focused my magic, and, to my surprise, the straps and buckles shot up from the robes and attached themselves to the saddle, securing it in place.

"Hey, look! I did it!" I crowed.

"I can see that."

"So, what's next?"

"The fun part."

"The what now?"

"Oh yeah, you're gonna love this." And she smacked Astrid hard with a rather overpowered stinging spell on the dragon's arse. Astrid let out a roar and launched herself into the air, much to my surprise.

"Whoa!"

"Hang on!"

"What?!"

"You heard me!"

"This is madness! I'm gonna die!"

"If you don't shut the hell up, you will! Now hang on, dummkopf!"

"Oh Merlin's saggy bollocks!"

"Don't swear!"

And we were off. Flying at incredible speeds and, suddenly, we were in the clouds. We were flying. This was absolutely insane. Imagine a jet plane and the wind that buffets you if for some suicidal reason you decide to open the door to it while it's flying. Now imagine that wind ALL around you.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIIIIIIIIT!"

"HANG ON!"

"I'M TRYING!"

"I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO FLY, YOU DUMMKOPF! WELL HERE'S YOUR CHANCE!"

"HOW DID YOU EVEN KNOW THAT? DID PROFESSOR TERN TELL YOU?" I yelled back at her. How she was managing to even hear me was beyond me considering I was a good fifty feet off the ground soaring through the air, while she just stood there next to the shed.

"Nope, but it's not hard to figure out. Most boys who want to fly don't want to become a wizard. They just want to be a part of the magical world. Being a wizard ends up being a bit of a byproduct."

"WHAT?"

"You'll understand when you're older."

"WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?"

"I'll explain later. Now, hold on."

"WHAT ARE YOU-"

And then, all of a sudden, I was upside down. The harness was still attached and holding me tight and I was hanging upside down, my head now a good hundred feet in the air.

"Oh, shit!"

"Language." I rolled my eyes irritably. It was a bit hard worrying about my language when upside down in the air attached to a dragon that looked like it was preparing to plummet all the way to the ground.

"What are you doing?"

"Giving you a taste of the real thing. Now, listen to me. You will NOT die."

"YOU KNOW THAT'S REALLY REASSURING!" I called out to her from the air.

"JUST WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT LET GO OF YOUR SADDLE!" And then Astrid dropped.

"OH MY GODS!"

And the ride ended.