I do not own nor possess any right over Harry Potter, all rights belongs to J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 16
Shimmer's morning hunt hadn't gone as smoothly as usual, it had taken him longer than usual to find prey, and he was now heading to the Great Hall.
Two weeks had passed since his awakening, and things were going pretty well for the little dragon. The income for his hoard was smaller than before, but he still got a Knut from Hermione every now and then, with the surprising addition of the human called Neville who sometimes managed to give him one too. Apparently, Ron wanted to but couldn't and was a little saddened about it, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Whenever Hermione had to go to DADA class, Shimmer would give her a warning growl, not directed at her of course, and stubbornly refused to go with her. He liked his human friend, but he wouldn't be able to stand the stench of the evil human for the whole class.
This surprised a bit Hermione and her friends, since professor Dumbledore had apparently done nothing to stop Quirrell from teaching or simply investigating what they brought up. He never came back to them either, so the three humans felt a bit lost about what to do. Shimmer had suggested, thanks to Hermione giving him the right words, to get rid of him for good with fire, but his idea wasn't welcomed by the three. He was still wondering why.
And, speaking of words, Hermione used much of the time they spent together to teach him more words. Everything was fine at first, and he enjoyed these learning sessions, but now he was starting to mix up some words. There were just so many of them, that he wondered how humans did to remember them all. He was even more shocked when Hermione told him he was barely coming up to the level of a human hatchling, which he took as an insult and it motivated him to learn even harder.
Now, he was ready for another day in the human hive called school.
Going in by the window left open for him, he went to the Great Hall first but as he expected, it was mostly empty. He was later than normal, so he went in another direction, flying through the mostly empty corridors as most student were in their classes. The worst was, even after spending quite some time around Hermione, he was still not capable to remember where she was supposed to be at each moment of the day. This wasn't help by the fact that he didn't know anything about hours, only the time of the day thanks to the sun.
Flying in one way, then in another, only to take some stairs to another level, he went through a large portion of the castle, frustrated that he could neither find Hermione nor anything even remotely interesting to do. He couldn't steal coins anymore, so he had to find something else to do.
His flight took him down toward the lower parts of the castle, where the air was moist and the light rarer. He found himself standing in front of the potions classroom with the door closed, and wondered if Hermione was there. She told him many times that he simply couldn't come in whenever he wanted, and that seemed truer with the oily human of this specific classroom. This human didn't like to be interrupted.
"Hey! You abhorrent lizard!" Suddenly came a voice from another corridor.
Shimmer barely got the time to turn his head that something smashed him in the face. He squeaked and growled in surprise, not hurt but not having expected an attack, and turned his head toward a group of three human boys, laughing at him with large smiles. He recognised the main one, the loud one of the train with pale hairs, surrounded by two fat humans.
He was about to attack, taking a big breath, only to cough violently at the horrid smell. It wasn't like the horrible scent of death that was wrong. No, this smell was just an awfully strong, pestilent and acidique smell, that it hurt his nostrils and his lungs at each breath he took, trying to get rid of it. And then a small liquid started running on his face, doubling the strength of the stench. It really, really didn't took long for him to understand that this slightly yellow liquid was the source of the stench, and that it came from the three boys still laughing.
Now, one thing about dragons that Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle didn't know but should have been wary of, was that dragons didn't reacted the same ways than humans. They only knew one answer to aggression, and that was to counterattack even harder. No mercy, no excuses, only fighting back.
This, combined with the thing they threw at him that still burned his nostrils, made for a very, very, angry dragon.
What came out of Shimmer's throat was not a simple growl. He usually growled to warn, to deter his ennemies from attacking or scare a prey into a run where it would be easier to catch. This time, it was a terrible snarl, promising death and blood.
At that sound, the three boys stopped laughing even if the smiles didn't fade from their face completely.
"Oh, is the little dragon angry?" Mocked Drago.
"He's all stinky." Added Goyle.
Showing his teeth, growling louder by the second and with smoke coming out of his nostrils, Shimmer suddenly made one thing happened for the first time in history.
Vincent Crabbe understood something without explanations.
"Hum... he looks very angry." He said.
"Of course he would be, he's-" Started Drago before stopping, realising the threat before them.
"Maybe we should go." Added Crabbe.
They didn't got more time to think about what to do, because Shimmer shrieked loudly and took off, flying straight at them, teeth and talons out.
Screaming in fear, they ran around the corridor, hoping to escape the danger coming at them. But, Shimmer was flying, far faster than them and catching on extremely fast, snarling with only one idea in mind. Kill.
In just a couple of seconds he was behind the three students screaming like headless chickens, desperately trying to go away from him, only to lose more ground between them.
Shimmer was about to breath fire on them, smoke rising from his throat, that a large open chest suddenly materialised out of nothing, right in his path, leaving him no room to avoid it. He rammed the chest head on, caught inside it, and let out a spear of flamme for a second before the lid closed, removing all exterior light as his fire burned the wood without breaking it. Even more angry, he trashed around, scrapping, biting and trying to burn the cursed thing to get out of here and have his revenge on those humans.
"You can stop running now!" Called a strong, controlled, dark voice from behind.
Malfoy and his two bodyguards turned around to face a very stern, very angry professor Snape, wand out and pointed at the chest on the ground. Said chest, that was being shaken by the fury of the dragon inside it.
"What, were you dunderheads thinking?!" He spat at the three.
"It's not us sir, that-" Started Malfoy, sweating profusely both from the fear of the dragon, and from their head of house.
"Don't even try to lie your way out of this, Malfoy." Shut him up Snape with a terrible glare. "I could hear you laughing from my classroom. Tell-me, how stupid are you to go anger a dragon?"
The three, for once, wisely kept silent and started at their shoes, with a few glances at the chest where snarls were still coming from.
"Isn't the motto of our school simple? Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus. Which means, 'never tickle a sleeping dragon', if you idiots didn't know. How did you thought that throwing a stink bomb at a dragon, no matter its size, was a good idea, shall forever remain unknown, for their is no good reason."
"Sir, we were just pranking him." Tried Goyle.
"Silence! There is no pranking a dragon, you fools! Be glad that I was there to stop him, or there wouldn't be much to remember you beside blood and ashes." Nearly growled Snape before the three cowering Slytherins. "I would expect such a brash, foolish action from Gryffindor, not from my snakes renowned for their cunning. I'll take ten points from each of you, and I hope it will be enough for you to remember to never do such a thing ever again."
"Yes, sir." Agreed in chorus the three.
"Go back to your dormitory. And I better not hear a word about you before the end of the week."
No waiting for anymore punishment to come, they quickly walked around him, leaving the professor with a hissing and thrashing chest. With a very loud, very exasperated sigh, he waved his wand at the chest, raising it in the air as he turned around, the chest following behind him.
Thought of more punishments ran wild in Snape's head, but he kept them to himself, hoping that his godson would finally grow and try to put an end to his own life every month by angering someone or something he shouldn't. A particularly violent knock from the chest prompted him to go faster, and he soon arrived before the Transfiguration class, knocking briefly on the door before coming in.
"Professor McGonagall, I require Miss Granger's presence immediately." He announced, taking everyone by surprise. Especially the named girl.
"I suppose this is urgent. Very well. Miss Granger, if you please." Replied the stern woman, giving a look at her students to remain silent.
"Do not bother with your belongings Miss Granger, it won't be long." Added Snape.
A bit taken aback, even if she had an idea about why she was being called, Hermione quickly followed Snape outside the classroom before closing the door behind her. But, out of everything she might have expected, a furious chest resting on the ground wasn't it.
"Miss Granger, if you would be so kind as to calm your friend." Snape said, pointing at the chest just as it shook again.
A bit worried, Hermione lowered herself before the chest.
"Shimmer? Is that you?" She called.
A small snarl was her reply, right before the chest stopped moving.
"Hermione." Came the angry, darker voice of Shimmer from the chest.
"Are you okay?" She asked.
"No!" Instantly shouted Shimmer.
"Professor, what happened?" Asked Hermione, looking up to Snape.
"Mister Malfoy, Goyle and Crabbe found it funny to throw a stink bomb at Shimmer. He would most certainly have killed them had I not intervened." Explained the teacher, keeping an eye on the chest.
Hermione did a double take at that, briefly wondering how someone could be stupid enough to do that, before focusing again on Shimmer.
"Could you let him out please?"
Nodding, Snape waved his wand and the chest opened, letting out a gasping Shimmer, trying desperately to catch some fresh air. He took many big breaths, just as Hermione waved a hand before her, trying to ignore the disgusting smell.
"Let's get rid of this." Muttered Snape, a sleeve on his nose. "Scourgify."
In a second, the putrid liquid on Shimmer's neck and face vanished, relieving him of the constant assault on his nostrils.
"Shimmer? Are you alright?" Asked Hermione again.
"No! Bad boys! Kill! Meat!" Spat Shimmer, teeth showing and growling again as he got out of the chest. His point couldn't be clearer.
Hermione stood, mouth agape, as she realised what he just said. She never imagined that he could be so mad to the point of killing. Not after being here for so long. She thought that she had stopped this side of him, this aggressivity, but with hindsight it was a foolish assumption.
"Let me remind you, Miss Granger, that it is extremely important our young dragon learns not to do anything... regrettable." Cut off Snape, glaring at the dragon who didn't even noticed, too busy growling and taking heavy breaths to clean his lungs.
"Shimmer, you can't kill them. They are bad boys, yes, but you can't kill them." Tried Hermione, shocked by the aggressiveness of her friend.
"Why?" Asked Shimmer, not understanding why he couldn't take his revenge. They would think him weak otherwise.
"We don't kill others. Even if they are annoying or attacking you, its wrong to kill." She attempted.
"No." He refused.
"Shimmer, you can't attack anyone. You understand? Attacking is wrong."
"No. Attaack bad boys. Kill."
"It's 'attack'." She couldn't stop herself from correcting. "And if you attack humans, then you are a bad dragon."
That stopped him for a second, before he turned to glare at her, even if the glare wasn't directed at her.
"Human attack human, bad human?" He asked.
"Yes." Agreed Hermione, feeling like she was starting to succeed.
"Human attack dragon, bad human?"
"Yes." She said it, but was well aware that with the exception of Shimmer, there was no 'good' dragon.
"Shimmer attack human, bad Shimmer?" He finally asked.
"Yes."
"No! Shimmer kill bad boys. Shimmer good dragon." He said with absolute certainty.
"No Shimmer." She hardened herself, her brain working overtime to find a way to calm him down. "Do you want to be a bad dragon?"
"Shimmer good dragon! Not- not- smell! Kill bad boys!" He said, even though his speech was starting to deteriorate with his emotions.
"I'm afraid that if Shimmer cannot control himself, I will have to put him aside for the students safety." Said Snape who had remained silent until now, seeing that Hermione's method wasn't working.
"I- yes sir." She agreed, gulping in worry. "Shimmer. If you kill the bad boys, its bye-bye for you. You won't come back here."
That stopped his rage a little bit, as if water had been poured over a bonfire. Not extinguishing it, but dimming its flames. How could he leave when he was merely defending himself?
"Why Shimmer bye-bye?" He asked, frowning.
"Its the same for humans. If a human kills another human, then they are sent to prison or executed."
"Pris-on? Exxecuted?"
"When you are in prison, you can't leave." She looked briefly at the chest. "Like that. Stuck in a room. And executed means killed."
He turned to the chest, not liking the idea. Plus, he was aware that he probably didn't understood everything that it meant, but he got the main idea. And executed? Why would they kill him for defending himself? That didn't make any sense.
"Hermione kill bad Shimmer?" He asked saddened, wondering if she was the one who would do it.
"No!" She shouted, horrified at the very idea. "No, I'll never do that to you. You're my friend. But if you attack humans, someone, another human, will kill you."
"Shimmer friend. Shimmer... kill bad. Human attack Shimmer. Shimmer kill." He tried to say that he wanted to defend himself, but didn't know the words.
"You can't kill humans." Hermione said in the strictest of voice.
"Bad human? Dead smell human?" He still asked.
"If Dumbledore say so. But no, you can't kill humans." She repeated.
"Shimmer." Said Snape, getting both his and Hermione's attention. "I can assure you that they won't attack you again. They are young and stupid, and I'll make sure that they learn their lesson. But, if you cannot control yourself, you will be put down."
The little dragon tilted his head a bit, understanding the first part but less of the rest.
"You understand Shimmer? You can't kill anyone, or we will never see each other again." She sadly simplified.
"Shimmer not kill. Shimmer attack?" He asked.
"No. But if a bad human try to kill you, you can attack. But never kill anyone." She said just as Snape frowned a bit at her words.
"Bad boys. Not kill. Bad boy attack again. Kill." Shimmer replied slowly. He wouldn't kill them. Not unless they tried again.
"That will suffice, for now." Said Snape, placing his wand back in robes. "Miss Granger, I believe it would be in everyone's interests if Shimmer doesn't interact anymore with Mister Malfoy."
"Yes, sir. But, I can't always watch him." Agreed Hermione.
"Indeed. I will emphasise on Malfoy and his friends the importance of leaving Shimmer alone in the future. If Shimmer ever cross that line, there will be no saving him. The ministry will want his head." Replied Snape, looking down at Shimmer who was trying hard to understand everything.
"I understand, sir." She said.
"Good. Go back to your class and keep your eyes on him at all times today." He said, vanishing the chest before quickly making his way back to the dungeon.
Letting out a very loud sigh, Hermione sat down for a second, still processing everything that just happened. She could hardly believe that Shimmer tried to kill Malfoy, even if she hated him too. But now, an old fear, one that she hadn't felt in a few months, came back. The fear of losing Shimmer, for good this time. It wouldn't take much to anger the dragon, who had no degrees of restreint whatsoever, and have Shimmer do the irreparable, condemning him to be hunted and killed. She couldn't imagine herself having to ever see that.
"Hermione okay?" Asked Shimmer, noticing her shaken face.
"Don't scare me like that again, Shimmer." She sighed again, pushing herself up. "Come on, classes aren't over yet."
She made her way to the classroom's door, eyeing Shimmer who was following her closely.
Lunchtime came not long after, and she and Shimmer were the talk of the Gryffindor table. Hermione shared what happened, and while most of the Gryffindors agreed that Malfoy was a prick, they too were a bit taken aback by the extreme reaction of Shimmer. Though, after a few minutes of talking about it, most found the reaction somewhat expectable from a dragon. They were renowned for their ferocity after all. So, many concluded that Malfoy got a good scare and that he would be truly stupid to ever do that again.
Especially with the way Shimmer kept growling toward the Slytherin table for most of lunch. Hermione spent a lot of time coddling him, petting him and trying to divert his attention away from the Slytherins, only managing to get a few minutes of peace when he started eating, only to have him glare at Malfoy again. For once, the Slytherin table was particularly silent, with Malfoy and his two bodyguards keeping a low profile.
The afternoon classes went by quickly, with them only having an hour of Charms and Herbology.
With their free time, Hermione chose to go outside so that Shimmer could relax a bit. She, Ron and Neville got to watch as Shimmer flew around, enjoying the outdoor for a few dozen of minutes while the three humans sat down in the grass and talked about their classes and Shimmer's dangerousness, with Hermione defending him fervently against a sceptical Ron and a undecided Neville.
"He wasn't trying to defend himself." Said Ron. "Everyone saw how badly he wanted to hurt Malfoy."
"Maybe but he didn't do it. He understands that he'll be killed if he tries again." Countered Hermione.
"Didn't you say that he would kill them if they tried again?" He reminded her.
"I know he said that, but as long as we do everything so that it doesn't happen, he'll be safe."
"Hermione, do you think Shimmer would really kill someone?" Asked Neville, looking at said dragon that was currently flying in circles around the lake, apparently intrigued by it or whatever was inside it.
"Before today, I would have said no. But... he was really, really angry. I think, that he simply doesn't understand the situation like we do. I believe that he thought himself attacked, which he was, and he counter-attacked like he must have done before, trying to kill its attacker. Its hard to say, I'm only guessing, but he probably never felt pity. Why would he? He's a predator." She detailed, shrugging at the end.
"A very dangerous predator. What if he gets as big as a normal dragon? He'll be even harder to control." Continued Ron.
"Then we have to teach him before he gets there. If he even becomes that big."
Shimmer landed next to them, reaching their eye level with them sitting down, which was quite the change of point of view. Being at the same level, it was easy to not see a dragon of half their size, but a very dangerous creature that could kill them extremely quickly. But Hermione didn't felt that, she already saw Shimmer at eye level before.
"Hermione. Hagrid. Meat." He said.
"Hagrid?" Wondered Hermione.
She and the boys turned around to see Hagrid, entering his large hut with a large package on his shoulder. And considering Shimmer's words, they could guess what it was.
"Should we go see him?" Asked Neville.
"Why not? We don't have anything else to do." Shrugged Ron, standing up.
Following him, the group of four reached the hut's door and Ron knocked a few times.
"Hagrid? Can we come in?" He asked.
"Yes, yes. Come in!" Came the voice of Hogwarts' groundkeeper.
Pushing the door open, Ron was the first to enter, followed closely by Hermione and Neville with Shimmer flying above their head.
Hagrid turned toward them, a large butcher knife in his hands that was closer to a short sword for the young humans, busy chopping down large pieces of meats before putting them in buckets. His face brightened at Shimmer's sight, putting down his knife.
"Shimmer! Am I glad to see you. How have you been?" He asked as Shimmer landed on the table, eyeing the meat.
"Shimmer okay. Hagrid okay?"
"I am, thanks for asking. Here, take a bite." Said Hagrid, putting a small slice of meat in front of Shimmer that instantly started eating it.
"Hum, excuse-me Hagrid, but why do you have so much meat?" Asked Neville, slightly uncomfortable with the very large amount of flesh.
When they saw Hagrid entering his hut, they guessed that there was meat in his bag. They weren't wrong, but there was also four more bags opened on his kitchen table.
"It's for Fluffy. Eating a lot that one, I prefer to feed him myself." He answered, going back to his chopping.
"Who's Fluffy?" Asked Hermione.
"Fluffy's my Cerberus. Huge dog with three heads, kinder than a kitten."
The three students stood there flabbergasted, looking at each other before looking at Hagrid again.
"You have a Cerberus?" Asked Ron.
"How come we haven't seen it?" Asked Hermione.
"Dumbledore asked me to put him in the room on the third corridor, has been guarding it since the beginning of school. He's a bit lonely there so I try to go see him everyday, even if Dumbledore said I shouldn't." Simply replied Hagrid, invested in his work.
"The third corridor? Isn't that where Dumbledore told us not to go?" Whispered hurriedly Neville.
"It is." Realised Hermione, looking at Hagrid with a sharper look but without changing her voice. "What is Fluffy doing there? Wouldn't he prefer to be outside?"
"Guarding the entrance to-" Hagrid stopped himself right before saying anymore, frowning and looking down at his meat. "Shouldn't have said that."
"So there's something in there?" Guessed Ron.
"And whatever it is, Quirrell is very interested by it." Added Hermione, already starting to put some pieces of the puzzle together.
"Quirrell?" Stopped Hagrid, a bit surprised. "Why would he be interested in Fluffy? Man's frightened enough already by me walking around."
"Shimmer told us that he was smelling of death."
"Now, listen you three." Warned Hagrid, lowering himself without being threatening. "You're meddling with something that you shouldn't meddle with. Forget about all this."
"Dead. Bad human." Suddenly cut in Shimmer, getting closer to a large piece of meat.
"Hey, that's for Fluffy." Stopped him Hagrid, gently pushing Shimmer back with his hand. Many wouldn't have dared to put themselves between a dragon and its meal, but Hagrid was completely unbothered by Shimmer's small growl.
With Hagrid busy, the three students huddled close to each other.
"Whatever's in that room, it must be very important to guard it with a Cerberus." Whispered Hermione.
"Why don't we listen to Hagrid? It doesn't concern us." Countered Neville, already quite worried just at the idea of seeing Fluffy.
"How could someone name a Cerberus 'Fluffy'? Its not threatening at all." Said Ron.
"Boys, it's important. We know that Quirrell is spending a lot of time around that room. Dumbledore knows it too. So why isn't he doing anything?" Hermione tried to refocus the conversation on what was really important.
"Maybe because Quirrell is just barmy? Or maybe Dumbledore was right and he simply do too much dark magic." Suggested Ron, not really convinced.
"I don't think Shimmer is wrong. He doesn't know a lot, but he clearly feels like professor Quirrell is dangerous." Assured Hermione.
"Hermione." Startled them Shimmer, taking them by surprise as he was standing right next to them.
"Yes?"
"Shimmer sleep. Bye-bye." He told her, satiated and ready for a good nap.
"Oh. Hum, see you tomorrow. Have a good night." She said, not really having expected him to go away that early.
She went to the door and opened it for him, moving aside to let him pass, and he took to the air. With Ron and Neville still talking with Hagrid, she was the only one to watch Shimmer fly high toward the castle, toward the Gryffindor tower, vanishing right as he turned around the top.
Hermione had for quite a time now guessed that he was living directly in Hogwarts' castle, but it was the first time that she saw him go to his nest. She couldn't help but wonder what it looked like, and how to reach it.
Suddenly reminded of what was happening behind her, her mind shifted toward Quirrell and the room on the third corridor. What could be precious enough to protect it with a Cerberus? And why put it in the middle of a school, with hundreds of students around?
AN:
Hi! Valexto at the Keyboard!
So as promised, here's the new chapter.
My festival went very well, so much so that I got a tattoo on a whim, first one I ever got. I had been thinking about one for a while, three years in fact, but I saw one of those displayed and just had to get it. So I now have a tattoo on my forearm. Of a Dragon. Predicable I guess.
Back to the story, our team is getting closer to the truth. There are a few things to go through before coming to the end, especially Norbert which will be quite the interesting experience for Shimmer, to see another dragon for the first time in his life. Then there will be the detention following that. I think that's it for the cannon events, unless I'm forgetting any and if so you're welcome to remind me. I may also put some originals events, so we will see.
Malfoy didn't get the lesson the first time it seems.
I want to finish the first year before the 23rd of March, as I'll be too busy after that to write for many months. I think the first year should be finished by next week or maybe the next one.
See you soon!