Chapter 47 The Dragon

On the day of the match, Senna stood at the back of the arena, heart pounding in her chest. The crowd roared around her, but she felt like she was in a bubble, completely cut off from the world.

Severus Snape led her in silence to the tent. Senna broke the silence. "Has Viola arrived yet?" Senna asked anxiously. Senna had hoped Viola would come a day early, but something was holding her up. If she didn't appear soon, she would have to face the dragon alone.

"I am not sure," Snape said, opening the flap of the tent for her. "You're to go in here with the other champions. Mr. Bagman is in there. He'll be telling you what the procedure is."

"Thanks," said Senna, in an unreadable voice.

Before leaving, Snape took Senna by the elbow and said in a low voice, "Be careful." His words were reluctant, but they conveyed a sense of concern. Senna nodded once. They were not on the best terms right now, but she knew that Snape was not one to offer kind words easily, so his gesture meant a lot to her.

She took a deep breath and tried to calm her racing heart.

Senna went inside. Fleur Delacour was standing in a corner. She didn't look as composed as she usually did. Her partner stood next to her, hand on her shoulders, whispering encouraging words in her ear.

Viktor Krum and his partner were discussing with each other in low voices.

Cedric was pacing up and down while his female counterpart followed. Bagman beamed happily, looking around at them. "Welcome, welcome! It's so great to have you all here. Come on in, make yourself at home, and get ready for a wonderful time." Bagman looked like an overblown cartoon figure, standing among all the nervous champions. "Well, now we're all here. Time to fill you in!" he said brightly. "When the audience has settled, I'm going to be handing each of you this bag," he held up a small purple sack, "from which you will select a small model of the creature you are about to face! And your task is to collect the golden egg!"

Senna glanced around. She could sense the nervousness that surrounded the other champions. Fleur Delacour, Viktor Krum, Cedric Diggory, and their peers who had already joined them were all trying to hide their nerves in their own ways.

"Ladies first," he said, offering the purple bag to Fleur Delacour. Senna knew that Bagman either didn't consider her a lady or simply preferred to pretend she didn't exist. She put a shaking hand inside the bag and drew out a tiny Welsh Green dragon with a number two around its neck.

Krum pulled out the scarlet Chinese Fireball with a number three around its neck.

Cedric pulled a blueish-gray Swedish Short-Snout with the number one tied around its neck.

Not knowing what was left, Senna put her hand into the bag and pulled out a Hungarian Horntail, the number four tied around its neck.

"Well, there you are!" said Bagman triumphantly. "You have each pulled out the dragon you will face, and the numbers refer to the order in which you are to take on the dragons. Now, I'm going to have to leave you all in a moment because I'm the commentator. But, Mr. Diggory, you're first to go out into the enclosure when you hear a whistle, all right?" He smiled excitedly at Cedric, who did not smile back.

As Bagman opened the tent to leave, he ran into a girl with large busts and a mountain of curly red hair—Viola. She stepped away from Bagman, completely ignoring him, and rushed over to Senna. Her heart leaped with relief as she saw Viola nearly running towards her. Without a second thought, she embraced her tightly. The two of them hugged each other for a few seconds. The noise of the crowd and the tension of the upcoming task faded away for just a moment.

The whistle blew, signaling to Cedric that it was his time to enter the arena. He gulped and met the gaze of his female companion. She nodded at him. "Ready?" She asked him.

The Hogwarts champion left the tent to face their dragon.

The crowd roared with excitement. Senna tuned this all out, focusing on Viola. Senna's impatience was evident as she crossed her arms, "Took you long enough! Where were you?" Now that the relief of her safety had faded, she couldn't help but feel annoyed. The weight of the upcoming task had been crushing, and the thought of facing the dragon alone had been eating through her for days.

"Not only had my parents tried to stop me from leaving home, but my Portkey had malfunctioned, and then I was stranded in a stupid Muggle airport for several hours... I had to improvise to get to Hogwarts." Viola was out of breath.

Senna was just glad to have her by her side. She leaned into her, inhaling her scent. To her pleasure, Viola blushed.

"Senna!" Viola said in an embarrassed whisper. "We're in public. Stop it," Viola objected.

Senna gestured to the oblivious champions. "Who cares? They won't notice," she dismissed.

The crowds roared again, and then Bagman's booming voice echoed. "There you have it, folks! Cedric Diggory and Cho Chang have gotten their golden egg!"

Senna couldn't help but fixate on Viola's presence, completely ignoring the next round of champions. She had been alone for weeks and had missed Viola terribly. She was completely consumed by thoughts of her, from her mesmerizing green eyes to her soft curves, preventing her from focusing on anything else. It was as if she was the only thing in this room. She placed a kiss on her cheek and then moved down to her neck. She knew Viola was very sensitive there and was rewarded by another moan—and then a slap.

"Ouch!"

"Senna! Seriously, get your head in the game!"

When Senna met her green eyes, she saw both arousal and a silent plea.

Senna bit her lip. It was difficult to stop now, especially since she had missed the girl so much. But she gathered her strength and resisted.

"How about this?" Senna wrapped one arm around Viola's perfect waist and held her close.

Viola, still blushing, nodded. "Only if you can behave yourself."

"I'll try." She chuckled.

With Viola nestled in her arms, time seemed to fly by all too quickly. She savored the sensation of holding her close, taking in every detail she could. Uncertain of how much longer they would have together, she was determined to make the most of every moment, absorbing all she could of her essence.

Viola was unusually quiet.

Much too soon, the whistle blew again, and it was time to face the match. Reluctantly, she pulled away, and Viola looked at her with concern in her eyes. "Are you ready for this?" she asked.

Senna nodded.

Upon entering the arena, Senna was struck by the overwhelming noise of the crowd. Her heart pounded in her chest with nerves. She tried her best to calm herself down, taking deep breaths to slow her racing heart, but she caught the eye of the enormous Hungarian Horntail. She could now feel her legs shaking beneath her.

The dragon's scales glinted in the sunlight, its eyes fixed on them, ready to attack at any moment.

Viola stood by her side and took her hand in hers. She met Viola's eyes for just a moment. There was so much in her fierce green eyes. Viola was scared—very scared, and yet she stood there, hand-in-hand with her, to face the dragon.

Senna's heart seemed to make a decision then—If they made it through this, she vowed to be the best tutor and girlfriend she could ever ask for.

The dragon roared, sending a shockwave through the arena. She could feel the heat emanating from its nostrils as it prepared to breathe fire.

And then the dragon let out a stream of flame from its mouth.

They dodged to the right, narrowly avoiding the flames, and scrambled up the side of the rocky landscape.

"We need that egg!" Viola yelled over the noise of the crowd.

Senna's eyes locked on the dragon's feet, where the golden egg lay, protected by the fierce Horntail.

"I'll get it." Senna vowed.

Without hesitation, she charged forward, brandishing her wand, though she was unsure that she could even do magic.

"I'll be right behind you," Viola called.

The dragon roared, unleashing a stream of flames, but she was quick and agile, dodging each blast. With a powerful leap, Senna climbed onto the dragon's back, distracting it, while Viola seized the opportunity to cast a spell that made chains burst from the air and wrap around the beast. The beast flailed and tried to escape the chains, but the length of the chain kept coming until the creature was bound. Senna dodged the chains and landed elegantly onto rocks below.

With another wave of her wand, the chains dragged the enormous creature to the other side of the arena. The sound of its scales digging through the stone floor shook the arena. In seconds, the egg was exposed.

Senna came to a stop, her eyes widening in surprise. For Viola to have moved a creature that heavy with just magic seemed impossible. Viola was powerful, more powerful than Senna realized. She was struck with awe for her power as a witch. Tonks had been right. Viola was truly a formidable opponent. She found herself completely transfixed by the feeling of amazement.

"Senna, the egg!" Viola's voice broke through her reverie.

She shook her head to clear her trance, and they both ran from the monstrous Hungarian Horntail towards the egg. A rush of triumph began to rise in her as they neared the golden egg.

It was just twenty feet away from them.

The dragon roared in fury, and they stumbled when the shockwave shook the ground. Flames gushed past them.

Fifteen feet to go.

The dragon writhed, and the deafening noise of metal snapping filled the air as the chains began to uncoil.

Ten feet to go.

The dragon shook off the last chain and charged at them.

Six feet.

A wave of flame whipped around them—directly on their path. With a flick of her wand, Viola put out the raging flame. They didn't stop to catch their breath. They just kept running.

Four feet.

Two feet.

Senna was abruptly halted by a loud scream, which she immediately recognized as Viola's. Upon turning around, she was horrified to see that Viola had tripped and gotten her leg stuck in the rocks. Senna rushed to her aid, but before she could free her, the dragon appeared and charged towards Viola.

Things happened far too quickly for her to process. The golden egg... She was so close to victory now. All she had to do was reach for it—the win was within her grasp.

But her instinct kicked in. All that mattered was Viola's life. She had lost so many people in her life. Losing just one more would be unbearable.

She quickly stepped in front of Viola. She grabbed her and, with all her strength, pushed her to safety behind a nearby boulder.

And then the dragon's massive clawed arm made contact with her—hard. She felt all the air whoosh out of her lungs and a very sharp pain in her side. Screams erupted from the crowd, but it was drowned out by the sickening crunch of her own body. And then there was the ripping noise as the claw dug into her.

Before she lost consciousness, she heard the dragon roar triumphantly.

Her body tumbled down through the vast, open space, the wind whistling in her ears. She watched in terror as the blackness slowly crept toward her, its chilling embrace closing in around her like a sinister cloak. The darkness was so thick that she couldn't breathe. Her lungs burned. She plummeted helplessly into its abyss...

An angry hissing filled her ears.

'Nooooo!" Malos whispered in Parseltongue. He writhed to get away from her as if Senna was suddenly a very dangerous host.

The cursed mark on her neck burned and tugged at her as she descended deeper into the darkness.

Malos' hissing gradually grew fainter as he slithered away...