I do not own nor possess any right over Harry Potter, all rights belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Chapter 21

A few days passed since Norberta was sent to the dragon reserve.

A few things happened to Shimmer. No one seemed to be upset with him anymore, and Hermione even started to give him coins again!

Hagrid had been very helpful to better understand humans. It took some time, especially since Shimmer still wasn't capable of understanding all the words humans used, and he was starting to wonder if there was an end to the numerous words humans had. The half-giant mainly told him that respecting human words was important. Not only did humans value words a lot, this he simply couldn't understand, even if he kind of got the point of communicating with them being easier. But apparently, using the right words and following what the humans said would be better for him.

He didn't understand why until Hagrid mentioned that using bad words and not obeying words could have Shimmer sent to prison. That wasn't that bad, but when he learned that there was also a fine with it, and after Hagrid explained what a fine was, he really didn't want to not follow words anymore. Just the thought of losing coins for mere words was frightening enough.

Hermione had been a bit annoying though, always bothering him as soon as he was near her, a book in hand, and trying to find something about him and magic. Even the greasy man came once, looked at him with a weird expression that Shimmer didn't understand, and left. Apparently, other dragons not only couldn't eat magic, but they also couldn't vomit magic. He truly was superior to all other dragons.

Right now though, he was munching on some bird that he caught in its nest, finishing his breakfast as he flew back toward the great hall. He reached it quickly, the winds being favorable to him, and flew in by the window that was usually left open for him. It was a bit later than usual, though, so he wasn't surprised to see more of the young humans gathered in the big room.

And just like usual, Hermione was sitting at the same place she always did, with Ron in front of her and the shy boy Neville at her right. They appeared to have finished their breakfast, and were in the process of reading letters. That was another difficulty that he learned of recently, and it physically pained his brain to figure out that words could not only be said but also written. The fact that the humans could communicate with these weird symbols confused him a lot, but Hermione told him not to worry about this yet, so he didn't.

Slowing down a bit, he reached the Gryffindor table and landed on the table, right as Hermione moved away a few things to give him some space.

"Good morning, Shimmer." She greeted him.

"Good morning Hermione. Good morning Ron. Good morning Nevilllle." He replied.

"Huh, it's Neville." Corrected the shy boy, who was surprisingly not that shy anymore around Shimmer.

"And you don't have to greet everyone, even if it's very nice of you." Added Hermione.

"Shimmer understand. Hermione paper?"Asked Shimmer.

"Yes, it's a letter from my parents. They say that they're thinking about me a lot, and they're excited to see me again." She replied, showing him the letter.

He gave it a very brief, uninterested look since he couldn't read anything and rather looked at the few late owls that were bringing the students their mail. He didn't really understand why these rather big birds were used to carry papers, but apparently they had some magic like him, and their magic made them very good at knowing where to bring the papers. In the end, he didn't give it much thought, thinking himself as better than a simple paper carrier.

Neville was also reading a letter, though he didn't appear as excited as Hermione but rather slightly nervous, and Ron's letter was discarded next to him, opened but apparently not very important since he pushed it aside.

"Charlie said that the dragon reserve started negotiating with Hogwarts to have a few specialists, including Charlie, come to study Shimmer." Supplied Ron.

"Shimmer not want." He growled lightly, not very enthusiastic about this since Hagrid told him what it was about.

"They won't force you to do anything, if you don't like it you just have to tell them." Explained Hermione.

"Shimmer not like. Shimmer dragon, not paper." He replied.

"Use 'is' Shimmer, I told you before." Chided Hermione lightly, still trying to get him to a higher level of speech. "And everyone knows you're not paper, they're not going to write over you. They're going to write about you."

"Is. Is. Is. Shimmer is dragon. Hermione is Human. Food is good." He said, repeating a few of the examples that Hermione gave him in their last session.

"Good. Now, we have Defense Against the Dark Arts next. Do you want to come?"

He thought about it, weighting the pros and cons. On one side, he really didn't like the smell of the classroom with all the weird plants, weird objects, and especially the horrible scent of death on the Quirrell. But on the other side, he didn't want to leave Hermione and her friends alone with him.

"Yes. Shimmer go." He agreed.

They soon made their way to their next class, along with most of the Gryffindors that were also in the hall, and quickly filled the classroom with everyone taking their seats, waiting for their stuttering teacher to arrive.

"Think he'll be scared of Shimmer again?" Asked Ron.

"Probably? He's scared by his own shadow." Agreed Neville, finding it hard to believe that there was someone even more cowardly than himself.

"Shimmer not like bad man. Smell dead, is bad." Added Shimmer, appreciating that the disgusting smelly man feared him.

Instead of staying on Hermione's table, he flew up in the rafters and remained there, glaring at the door where the teacher would come from.

He didn't have to wait long when Professor Quirrell's shivering body crossed the threshold of the class. It didn't look like he noticed Shimmer hiding in the rafters, but Shimmer certainly saw him and, most importantly, smelled his horrible scent from the moment the door opened.

But there was something slightly different this time. Where before the smell of death had been strong and imposing, it was now weakened, not assaulting his senses as strongly as before. And for someone who had such a great sense of smell as well as a knowledge of prey, Shimmer knew that all of this meant that the man below him was dying. Which was weird, because he still smelled like he was already dead for a long time, but now that he was closer to dying, the smell of death was lessened.

Maybe he wouldn't have to kill the human, perhaps he would die by himself. And Shimmer certainly wouldn't want to eat anything that smelled that bad.

Was eating humans bad? He never asked Hermione if it was a thing.

Nonetheless, he still glared at Quirrell as the man stood by his office, bringing out a very light amount of papers, before writing a few words on the board behind him. Not that Shimmer could read it.

"G-g-good morning, ch-children." He greeted them.

"Good morning." Replied the class halfheartedly.

"Morning." Added Shimmer politely, applying the rules about greeting that Hermione taugth him.

Quirrell's eyes snapped upward toward him, and he froze at the sight of the dragon hiding above them, stuttering like crazy and pointing a wavering finger at Shimmer.

"D-d-d-dragon!"

"Not again." Sighed Hermione in a whisper.

"It's bloody fun!" Cheered Ron, whispering but certainly not hiding his glee.

"G-g-g-get it ou-ou-out of here!" Ordered Quirrell, retreating behind the small cover offered by his desk.

"Come on, Shimmer." Guided him Hermione, standing up and walking to the door.

"Shimmer not like." He complained, not wanting to leave.

"You don't have a choice. Come on." She repeated, opening the door.

"Not like." He repeated too, but complying reluctantly.

He jumped from the rafters and flew right through the door, which Hermione closed right as he passed.

Left with nothing to do and a bit grumpy at being dismissed so casually, he certainly didn't want to go nap so soon. Not that he dislikes sleeping, but time spent sleeping was time spent not collecting coins.

Orienting himself a bit, he flew through the corridors as the paintings, which got slightly used to him, gave him nasty and wary looks, not that he cared, and went up the very long stairs. He went up and up and up until he reached the last floor, where the ugly monster guarding the old human's office stood.

He hovered in front of it, not knowing how to open it, as he recalled that it moved on its own after a few words. Though he couldn't remember what word it was, he also knew that it was sometimes different words. But he could try.

"Door!" He shouted.

Nothing happened.

"Dumb!"

Still nothing.

"Food!"

"Hagrid!

"Hermione!

"Dead!"

.

.

.

"Is!"

"Stupid!"

"Foolish!

"Dunderhead!"

"Shimmer!" Came a shout from behind.

He turned around, watching as the strict old female human came in, frowning heavily at him. It's a good thing that she came in right now, he was running out of words to try.

"What are you doing here? How long have you been shouting? And why are you shouting?" Professor McGonagall questioned him, stopping a small distance away from him. She might know that Shimmer was friendly, but she would never stop being careful around a potentially dangerous creature.

"Shimmer want open door. Dumb Door." He replied.

"You need a password to enter." She grumbled before muttering to herself. "And I'll be sure to have a word with Severus, teaching such language to a dragon."

"Passsword?"

"It's a secret word." She briefly explained, straightening herself as she looked at the gargoyle. "Gnomish-Gum."

And just like that, the statue started to turn around itself, almost sinking into the ground as the spiral staircase hidden behind appeared.

He didn't even get the time to enter that Professor McGonagall went in first, and he quickly followed through, staying slightly behind her until they reached the headmaster's office. And the old human was indeed there, busy writing down on some papers that he put aside the moment Shimmer and Professor McGonagall came in.

"Good morning, Shimmer. I trust that Professor McGonagall isn't accompanying you because you did something wrong." Greeted them Dumbledore.

"He was shouting insults at the stairs, trying to find the password. How is it possible that you didn't hear him?" McGonagall asked, slightly frustrated, watching as Shimmer landed on Dumbledore's desk.

"Ah, I fear that I'm finally getting old." He deflated a bit, though recovering twice as fast. "But it doesn't tell us why Shimmer was so busy."

"I don't know. If you would like to explain yourself, Shimmer."

"Smell dead man not want Shimmer in class. Shimmer come see Dumbdoor. Would like coin." Replied Shimmer, a but annoyed that he spent so much time in front of the door for nothing when he could have been trying to collect coins.

"Really? That's not surprising." Replied Dumbledore, and Shimmer didn't know if the old human was talking about the dead-not-dead man or about his request for coins.

"What's this I hear about a dead man?" Critically asked Minerva.

"Do you remember my worries about professor Quirrell?" He asked back.

"Yes."

"Shimmer here told us that he smelled of death, yet he appears to be quite alive. A fascinating fact, don't you think?"

By the way the old woman stiffened, it was clear that something bad was said by Dumbledore. But not only had Shimmer barely listened to the old man, he was still waiting for his coins.

"Coins!"

"Yes, yes. What an insatiable greed." Sighed playfully Dumbledore, opening a drawer on his left and taking out two sickles.

"Does someone knows how much money Shimmer possesses now?" Asked Minerva, appreciating Shimmer's presence but not his need for coins, which she found most infuriating.

"I know that I have a list somewhere. I'll have to remember to add two sickles to it." He replied, slightly lost in his thoughts for a moment, before focusing again on Shimmer with a more pleased gleam in his eyes. "That reminds me, I have an offer for you, Shimmer."

"Offer? Coins?" He asked excited, not understanding that the offer wasn't the same type as the ones he had previously.

"In a way. I would like you to accompany Hagrid on a little patrol in the Forbidden Forest. For the past few weeks, unicorns, magical creatures like you, have been attacked and killed, and their blood drank. Drinking a unicorn's blood is a terrible, terrible thing to do, for your life will become forfeited, with only the unicorn's blood keeping you alive from that point. Only someone at the gate of Death would dare to do something so evil." Explained Dumbledore, talking a bit slower than usual for the dragon standing before him.

Most words went a bit over Shimmer's head, but he got the main idea. Something was killing these creatures called unicorns, and Dumbledore wanted to stop that. Simple. But what he didn't like was the mention that this was in the Forbidden Forest. He always had a feeling that he shouldn't go to this place, and after hearing from Hermione and a few others what creatures were in there, he was even more determined to avoid it.

Yet Hagrid, the giant human, apparently had no issue going inside the dark forest.

"Why Shimmer?" He asked.

"Because I believe your acute awareness of magic and your greater sense of smell could help Hagird track down the one killing unicorns. And of course, you would be payed for your help."

"Coins?" He eagerly asked, already happy with the two sickles he had, but being all for getting more coins.

"Yes. What do you say about five sickles per day where you will assist Hagrid in the Forbidden Forest?" Offered Dumbledore.

"Galleon!" Countered Shimmer.

"Please do not accept, Hogwarts already have enough expenses as it is." Instantly intervened Minerva.

"Dear Minerva, you know me too well." He chuckled before turning toward Shimmer again. "Six sickles."

"More!" Replied Shimmer, wanting to see high he could go.

"Fine, seven sickles. But no more."

"More?"

"No."

"Aw. Shimmer okay. Seven sickles is good." He accepted, still wanting more but aware that seven sickles was a very, very good amount right now. He could already imagine how it would improve his collection.

"I'm glad that we agreed on your payment. Now, simply goes to Hagrid's hut tonight. He will guide you in the forest." Smiled Dumbledore.

"Okay. Bye-bye Dumb-door." Replied Shimmer, grabing his coins and flying to the window.

With a flick of his wrist, Dumbledore opened the window, and Shimmer quickly left toward his hoard, already dreaming of how the sickles in his mouth and the new ones he would get tonight would make his hoard bigger.

In Dumbledore's office, the old wizard was just closing the window when Minerva questioned him.

"Do you really think a dragon can help us catch You-Know-Who?"

"Indeed. I'm certain that his unique talents will help us track him down." Replied Dumbledore.

"It's You-Know-Who that we're talking about. As unique as he is, Shimmer is just a dragon." The scottish woman argued.

"Perhaps." Conceded Dumbledore.

"Have you found anything about Harry Potter?"

Albus let out a tired sighed at that question, well aware of all the troubles he had regarding Harry Potter. There were still no signs of Harry, and since he disappeared on the very night he let him out on the Dudley's front porch, there was no clue about where he might be. At this point, Albus Dumbledore wasn't sure if he should consider Harry Potter dead or not.

"I'm afraid not. I put Alastor and a few others on his track, but so far they have found nothing. Any magical traces that might have been left then have since long vanished, and no one has heard of him ever since." He regretfully confessed, well aware and ashamed of his faults.

"You know that I was against putting him in his relatives' place, but couldn't you at least have knocked at their door?" She replied a bit angry, also feeling a certain degree of responsibility over what happened to Harry Potter.

"Alas, I can only acknowledge my mistakes too late. I won't stop looking for him; I believe we all own him and his family far too much, but it's the least I can do." He was assured and determined.

"I hope we'll find him Albus." Minerva sadly said.

"Me too Minerva, me too." He could only agree.

That same day, a bit later in the afternoon, Shimmer was standing in front of the door where Hermione was having her class of transfiguration. He arrived too late to enter and thus decided to wait. His patience was rewarded when the door finally opened, and he let the flow of students pass until he spotted Hermione and her friends, jumping from the rafters to stop right in front of her face, hovering in the air.

"Hello Hermione."

"Ah! Please don't do this, Shimmer." Shouted Hermione, quickly realising who just scared her.

"Shimmer is sorry. Shimmer go Dumb-Door, got sickles." He replied, moving back a little as Hermione stepped forward.

"Blimey. He came out of nowhere." Commented Ron to Neville, the two also having been surprised by Shimmer's unexpected entrance.

"It's Dumbledore, Shimmer. I swear you're doing it on purpose. And did you at least thank him?" Asked Hermione.

"... Shimmer not rem-em-ber." He answered, not recalling if he did or not.

"You have to say 'thank you', Shimmer. It's important." She chided him.

"Shimmer is sorry."

"It's alright, you just have to think about it next time." Hermione smiled, both happy to see him understand and that her lessons were paying off.

"He'll be more polite than you at the end." Joked Ron.

"And what's wrong with being polite?" She questioned, a bit offended.

"Huh, nothing, it's just, it makes you sound like a pureblood." Ron babbled.

"Being polite is not a matter of blood, only of education."

"Blood? Where?" Asked Shimmer, looking to see if Hermione was injured.

"No, no, we're just talking about blood. And it's not even blood that you can see." Quickly corrected Hermione, pushing back Shimmer gently.

That left him even more confused, and it must have been quite obvious since Hermione promptly continued.

"It's not something you need to worry about."

That he understands.

"Okay." Shimmer said, before recalling what he had agreed with the old human. He felt like sharing it with Hermione. "Shimmer go night bad forest. Help Hagrid."

That instantly stopped the three children, who stared at him with wide eyes.

"You're going in the Forbidden Forest?!" Asked Hermione, horrified.

"Hagrid goes in there?" Wondered Ron, not knowing how anyone could willingly enter such a creepy place.

Neville only stood there, mouth agape and not saying a word, looking between the three others, completely terrified just at the thought of the Forbidden Forest.

"Shimmer go, help Hagrid, get seven sickles." Confirmed Shimmer.

"But why? It's very dangerous!" Exclaimed Hermione, furiously trying to figure out the reasons why the headmaster would ask Shimmer to go to such a dreadful place. Not only that, but she was starting to imagine the worst things that could happen to Shimmer in there. Especially with all the terrible stories she heard from other students about it, along with all the books she read that detailed a few of the terrifying creatures that lived there.

"Dumb-Door need Shimmer help kill bad creature. Shimmer help Hagrid. Shimmer coins." He continued, not seeing the problem.

"Shimmer, the Forbidden Forest is a very dangerous place; you could get killed!" Almost pleaded Hermione, wishing to make him understand the danger he would be in.

"Shimmer knows." He replied.

"W-what?" She stammered for a second.

"Shimmer not like bad forest. Shimmer know bad forest is danger. But Shimmer get coins!" He added at the end, wanting to make them see how profitable this was.

The three students shared another moment in silence before it was broken again.

"But, it doesn't scare you?"

"No. Shimmer kill, Shimmer is not kill." Shimmer persisted. Why would he be scared? He knew the forest was a bad and dangerous place, and he tried to avoid it, but he wasn't afraid of the creatures he might find there. He was stronger than most creatures anyway, and he could just fly away if he ever found something too dangerous.

"I think it's like he's paid to make this job." Noted Ron.

"Shimmer, you don't have to go in the Forbidden Forest to get coins." Continued Hermione.

"Shimmer want coins, Shimmer want help Hagrid." The golden dragon said, landing on the ground as he was tired of hovering for nothing.

"I—well, that's a very nice thing to do Shimmer. But I don't want you to get hurt. Or killed." She pleaded, kneeling down to be more at his level and petting his head gently.

"Shimmer is good hunt. Shimmer is good kill. Shimmer say Hermione hello tomorrow."

"It's 'hunter' and 'killer'. But... I understand what you say, I just don't want you to go."

Lunging forward, taking Shimmer by surprise, Hermione caught him in a tight hug. He hadn't been as tightly hugged since the troll attacked Hermione.

"I want to see you tomorrow morning." She said, very seriously.

"Shimmer is here tomorrow morning." He replied, trying to get out of her clutch.

"You promise?" Hermione asked, looking at him sternly.

"What is promise?" Shimmer questioned, briefly stopping his attempts to get free.

"A promise is a very, very important word. When someone ask you to promise something, it means that they want you to do something very, very important. That you must do everything to do it. Do you understand?" She explained.

"Yes. Promize is big word."

"It's 'promise'." She couldn't help but correct him.

"Promise." He repeated.

"Good. Now, do you promise me to come back?" She asked, taking his head in her hands to make sure he looked straight in her eyes.

"Yes. Shimmer promise." He agreed.

With that said, Hermione took a deep breath before slowly exhaling, standing back up, relieved to know that Shimmer at least promised to return. She was aware that he probably didn't understand yet the meaning of a promise like humans did, but it was the best she would get for now.

And as they started walking again toward their next class, she couldn't help but trying to find out what sort of dangerous creature the headmaster wanted to remove.

That evening, just like Dumbledore said, Hagrid was waiting for Shimmer in front of his hut. He had a large crossbow on his back, a decent-sized lantern in one hand, and a massive dog right next to him, kept on a tight leash by his other hand.

"Shimmer! There you are!" Happily greeted him Hagrid.

"Hello Hagrid. Shimmer help Hagrid, Shimmer get coins." Replied Shimmer, staying a little bit above Hagrid and wary of the large dog.

"Aye, aye, Dumbledore mentioned that. You'll get your coins once we're back. And don't be scared of Fang here; he's softer than a kitten and as easily scared." Hagrid continued, shaking Fang's leash as he stepped toward the Forbidden Forest.

Giving the dark woods before him a wary look, Shimmer promptly followed the half-giant and his giant dog. They followed a small path that went deeper in the forest, with only the light of the moon and the lantern lighting up their way. Even though Shimmer could see far further than Hagrid in the darkness thanks to his nocturnal eyesight.

"So, do you remember what we're doing here?" Asked Hagrid.

"Shimmer not dumb!" Instantly exclaimed Shimmer.

"I didn't say that you were!" Retorted Hagrid, a bit taken aback by Shimmer's reply.

"Shimmer smart. Shimmer and Hagrid find bad creature, save corns."

"That's about it, except it's unicorns, not corn."

"U-ni-corn. Unicorn. Shimmer knows." Tried Shimmer, very annoyed that he made a mistake. He should be better than that.

"Here ya go." Congratulated him Hagrid, right before the half-giant pulled on Fang's leash. "Come on, ya big lug, there's nothing to be scared of yet."

AN:

Hi! Valexto at the Keyboard!

I apologise for the shorter chapter, but it works better like this for the next one.

We're about to be at the confrontation between Shimmer and Voldemort/Quirrell. Want to guess how it will go?

Also, sorry about the delay, both for this story and the other one. The last few weeks have been very busy, and I just now have some time and focus to write again.

Thanks for all the support and see you soon!