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

Chapter 25


The next day, Shimmer found himself tearing up a pork's leg, courtesy of Hermione who preferred a more normal breakfast. Surprisingly, Ron wasn't here to eat with them, but Neville told Hermione that Ron managed to get a word with professor McGonagall. The teacher took the young Weasley with her and they hadn't been seen since.

But, both to his annoyance and a bit of curiosity, Shimmer was forced to wait for the humans to take him for tests. He didn't even know what he agreed to last night, and it took Hermione explaining to him what could happen for him to not be fond of the idea. Hermione did say she didn't exactly know what they would do, but the concept wasn't thrilling in the least.

"Could you make less noise when you eat, please?" Hermione asked, frowning and ticked by the disturbing sounds of chewing and cracking bones.

"Rrr." A growl was Shimmer's reply, not happy to be disturbed in his meal.

"I just want you to be a bit more quiet and polite." Hermione replied with a huff, a bit frustrated.

"Eat." Shimmer said, breaking the bone and reaching for the delicious bone marrow inside.

"I don't know if that's a good idea." Neville commented, glancing at Shimmer with a bit of worry.

"I will teach him manners." Hermione replied, determined to accomplish this.

Shimmer didn't bother with a reply and simply kept eating. That was the moment the headmaster chose to arrive.

"Good morning, Shimmer. Are you ready?" Dumbledore asked, tranquilly walking up to Shimmer, Hermione and Neville.

"Shimmer eat." Shimmer growled.

"I'm sorry, Headmaster. He is very stubborn this morning, since I told him about what tests are." Hermione apologised.

"Really? Shimmer, you don't want to do tests?" Dumbledore asked, amused.

"Shimmer not like."

"Oh? So you want to spend two weeks without coins?" The old wizard continued.

Shimmer froze as he recalled why he agreed to take part in these tests.

"Shimmer do test. Not want go no coin." Shimmer quickly replied, abandoning his bone and walking up in front of the headmaster.

"Ah, much better. If you could follow me." Dumbledore invited him.

"Okay." Shimmer replied, jumping in the air.

He took the old man by surprise, flying on his right shoulder. Dumbledore let out a huff, not expecting this nor the new weight of the golden dragon, which was a bit too much for his old shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Shimmer, but you're too heavy for me. Please, get down." Dumbledore said, gently pushing him away with his left hand.

A small growl came from Shimmer, but he didn't challenge his place on the old man's shoulder and returned to the air, his wings flying quickly as he hovered on the spot.

"Thank you. Now, please, follow me. Miss Granger, Mister Longbottom, I wish you a good day." Dumbledore said, massaging his sore shoulder.

"Thank you Headmaster." The two students replied.

Taking the lead, Dumbledore walked toward the doors of the Great hall, Shimmer following closely behind him. They crossed a few corridors and actually went a bit deeper, a path that Shimmer recognised as the one for the man in black with oily hair.

Just as he thought, they entered the potion teacher's room and went straight to his private office. There, they were met with professor Snape and the Flamel couple, already in a discussion.

"Your conclusion seems correct, Professor Snape." Nicolas said, a vial filled with blue goo in hand. "Too much magic, exposed to any quick heating element, will produce an explosion. This leaves a few uses, especially in warfare, but that's not much."

"I am aware. Smaller doses only reduce the effects, and don't change the results. The most interesting use so far is the capacity to be used as a battery for runes, even if runes are already powered by the ambiant magic. There are things I haven't tried yet, such as its influence on spells and if it's edible." Professor Snape replied, much more focused and invested than usual, revealing a more curious side to the man that wasn't often shown.

Perenelle was sipping on a cup of tea, watching the two scientists discuss with mild interest. Her eyes went to Shimmer as they walked in, and a faint smile appeared on her lips, as if she knew what was coming.

"Severus, Nicolas, Perenelle. I've brought our test subject." Dumbledore interrupted them.

"Hello." Shimmer greeted them, attempting to land on Snape's shoulder.

"No." Snape glared at him, pointing at a small perch stand. "You can stand there."

It was Shimmer's turn to glare.

"Shimmer no bird. Eat bird." He said, preferring to land on the table.

"Fascinating." Nicolas said, finding the exchange very enlightening. "And he was that smart before eating the stone, correct?"

"Indeed. That's the reason why we kept him around. Now, I must apologise, but I won't be able to stay for the tests this morning. I trust Severus to be an excellent assistant." Dumbledore said.

"I am more than a mere assistant." Snape replied coldly.

"That you are, my boy." Dumbledore acknowledged.

"Shimmer want test. Now." Shimmer said, wanting to get this over with soon.

"My, my, so eager. Very well. Since we are quite short on time, we will begin with physical, biological and magical tests of your body. We can work on the goo later on our own time." Nicolas explained.

"Stand here, Shimmer. And don't eat the spells." Snape warned.

"Okay." Shimmer replied, staying immobile.

"Have fun." Dumbledore wished them, closing the door as he left.

"Now, let's see what these scales are about." Snape said.

A small glow appeared on Shimmer's scales, giving even more shine to them, much to the dragon's pleasure.

"This is gold. His scales are made out of gold." Snape said, just as a floating quill started to write down the results.

"Indeed. The question is how much gold there is in them." Nicolas said. "But we won't know until we have one that we can do more advanced tests with."

"Not take scale. Mine." Shimmer warned.

"We're not going to take your scales, stupid lizard. Unless you behave badly." Snape replied as cold as usual.

"Now, now, we're not here to fight." Nicolas tempered, just as he flicked his wand.

Shimmer felt something around him, but there was no light, only a strong scent of magic.

"What do? Smell magic." He said, licking the magic off of him.

"He can smell our spells. I don't believe there are many other creatures capable of such things." Nicolas said, impressed. "There is nothing wrong with his body, but I can't say what's normal or not with him. There is a pouch near his stomach that is partially filled with magic, separated from the rest of his organs. And it's not what powers his fire either."

"Hmm. Shimmer, I want you to eat this spell, understand?" Snape said, aiming his wand at Shimmer.

"Okay." Shimmer agreed, mouth already open.

A light purple ball flew from the tip of the wand toward Shimmer, and he caught it flawlessly. Instantly, Nicolas used the same spell as before, getting a new diagnosis directly from Shimmer's body.

"The pouch filled up a lot, but there's still some space left. And it appears that it is where the magic he eats goes." The ancient man explained.

"Does it affect him?" Snape asked.

"Besides warming him up a little, there are no notable effects."

"Shimmer like. Good magic. Eat too much." Shimmer said just as he started to retch.

Acting quickly, Snape summoned a pan that flew from the back of his office and landed right in front of Shimmer's head. The dragon then expelled the excess of magic, vomiting red goo in the pan.

"Shimmer not like." Shimmer growled a little.

"I was expecting blue goo. Either he still has some of the Stone's magic in him, or the Stone altered the way he consumes magic." Snape replied, staring at the small quantity of goo. There was enough to fill up a glass.

"Fascinating." Nicolas whispered, staring at the goo intently. "May I?"

Snape handed him the pan, and Nicolas wasted no time using his wand to cast several spells in a row, getting all sorts of information about the goo's potency and quantity of magic. It was less than the goo Shimmer rejected directly after consuming the Stone, but definitely far more than the blue one, maybe twice as strong.

And, just like the other samples he got, Nicolas felt and recognised the magic that allowed him to live for so long. The goo itself wasn't exactly like the Stone, and Nicolas could tell the effects wouldn't be the same.

"Professor Snape, I believe this goo can produce an effect that is similar to the Stone, even if it's not perfect." He said, pouring the liquid in a vial.

"How so?" Snape replied.

"Allowing someone to live longer should be possible with this, albeit less than me and my dear Perenelle. Maybe it could be used as an extremely powerful healing balm." Nicolas explained.

Severus stared at Shimmer with a new eye, one of both wonder and worry. What if someone ill-intended learned about Shimmer's ability to produce an elixir of life? What if a certain dark lord were to hear of this? It only made Shimmer's interest and value grow exponentially, and it would require far more protection from now on.

He hoped that this ability wouldn't stay, and that Shimmer would be back to simply vomit "normal" magical goo. It would be better for his safety.

"That is concerning." The potion teacher replied.

"In a way." Nicolas agreed.

"Could you use it?" Severus asked, looking between the goo and the old man.

"Hmm?"

"The goo. Would you use it to expand your life again?"

Nicolas remained silent at that, starting down at the ground and then at Shimmer, who was busy sniffing the vial of goo. A small smile crept up on the old man's lips, and he looked back at Severus.

"I would lie if I said no. Just to get enough time to understand this marvelous, young creature. But, we already prepared ourselves, and it is time for us to retire. Even if we were to walk this year five hundred more years, we wouldn't have seen all of its magnificent creatures and wonders." Nicolas answered, brushing Shimmer's head with his wrinkly hand.

Severus nodded, understanding the man's endless curiosity.

"Shimmer smell good magic. Want eat but not eat. Too." Shimmer got their attention, still focused on the vial.

"You are insufferably hard to understand without Miss Granger, Shimmer." Severus glared lightly at the golden dragon.

"Shimmer not understand. Too hard word." Shimmer replied, leaving the vial to look at the potion teacher.

"Words are hard." Perenelle nodded, talking for the first time since Shimmer entered the room, taking him a bit by surprise. She smiled at how fast his head turned toward her, and patted the table next to her. "Come here, young Shimmer."

He obliged her, expanding his wings and, with a single jump, flew over to her, his claws scraping lightly the wooden table.

"Old human. Smell magic. Smell gold." He said.

"Thank you, it's better than saying that I smell like an old woman." She smiled a bit more, petting his head. Raising her other hand, she pointed it at the fresh vial of goo. "And, can you tell what you smell in this?"

"Thank god you're here. I seem to forget an awful lot to ask the more competent people, as I often am the most competent one." Nicolas smiled lovingly at his wife. "My beloved Perenelle saved me numerous times from dire problems by pointing out what I seem to forget so easily."

"Shimmer smell magic. Life." Shimmer replied, enjoying the hand brushing against the scales on his neck. "Not gold."

"Really?" Nicolas exclaimed, getting curious once more. "Hmm. Since he is more golden than before, could it be possible he absorbed the ability to create gold? By becoming gold himself? Hmm."

"An interesting theory, but then why isn't he completely made out of gold?" Severus pointed out.

"Dragon scales are naturally magic absorbent, it seems logical that they took it before the rest of his body did." Nicolas pointed out absentmindedly. "And if he absorbed this, he could have absorbed more."

"What do you mean?"

"The Stone extended our lives immensely, but didn't make us immortal." Nicolas explained as he focused once more on Shimmer, though with far more graveness. "We became dependent on the Stone's ability to survive. If he absorbed the Stone, his life could have been extended immensely. Perhaps indefinitely, though I doubt it. He wouldn't need to use the Stone, as it became a part of him."

"Immortality." Severus said gravely, staring at Shimmer.

"In the purest, most natural way possible. A life extended indefinitely. No dark magic, no ritual, only limited by his new biology." Nicolas said, before shaking his head. "Of course, this is only a theory, and it will be hard to prove or disprove without threatening his life."

The three humans stared at Shimmer, contemplating what may be a new lifeform that was created artificially. The dragon stared back, not really sure what was going on. Shimmer knew they were talking about the red thing he regurgitated, but he didn't know why. It smelled good, but that was it.

"It might be better that, of all creatures living on this world, it wasn't a human who got that ability." Perenelle said after a few seconds, sipping her cup of tea. "A sapient creature like Shimmer, both untamed and untainted by man's desire for exploring, conquering, or dominating, seems more fitting of such an incredible gift."

"Perhaps. But it will not protect him from humanity's desire for immortality. People will want him." Severus warned.

"Indeed." Nicolas agreed.

"Shimmer want… Shimmer want… do?" Shimmer tried to say that he wanted them to do something, but didn't know how.

"Speak, Shimmer."

"Shimmer try. Is hard." Shimmer growled in reply.

"Calm down, Shimmer. Try again." Perenelle said, attempting to calm him down with pats.

"Shimmer want… test." He said, recalling that new word.

"Well, aren't you eager to continue? Very well." Nicolas chuckled. "Do you have any suggestions, professor Snape?"

"A few. Miss Granger provided me with a satisfactory report of his diet and habits, but it was lacking on the physiological and biological aspect. Something I plan to solve with the assistance of dragonologists from the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary. Most of the tests and experiments I have left can be done without Shimmer's presence, but I would like to work on his ability to smell and taste magic." Severus went on, grabbing a small notebook with a gryffindor symbol on it.

"A fascinating trait of his. Could you help me set these up?" The old french man said as he went to pull out a metre long tube, embedded gemstones on the upper part with the flat part beneath to hold it up.

"What is that?" Severus asked as he helped the man move it on the table.

"A detectus-magicae. An antique, almost as old as me. I've seen a few curse-breakers use them to identify cursed objects, but it can be used to detect all kinds of spells and magics." Nicolas replied.

Shimmer, intrigued by the new object, quickly made his way to the other side of the table where it rested. A couple of sniffs were enough for him to smell many, many different smells of magic that were both good and bad.

"What is?" Shimmer asked.

"Something that will help us find out how your nose works." Nicolas answered, using his wand and slowly casting a spell on the detector. "Episkey."

The gemstone closest to the detector's end lit up, a light white glow coming out of it.

"Shimmer, can you tell us what this smells like?"

Approaching the stone, the golden dragon took a deep breath and was surprised by how good it smelled.

"Is magic. Magic feel good. Smell like candy." He replied, happy to know the word thanks to Hermione.

"Really? How curious."

"I see." Severus said, letting his enchanted quill write down the conclusion of this first test. "Maybe something he already tried before? Stupefy."

A red bolt flew from Severus' wand to the detector, lighting up another stone in a very light red colour. Shimmer wasted no time to smell it, and recognised it.

"Is magic. Good magic feel. Smell hard, not bad not good. Like fish."

Shimmer liked this a lot. He was learning about magic spells, which would make him better at understanding what the humans did and what spells tasted good or bad. And it was a fun game for a creature as simple as he was, not needing much to spend a nice moment.

"Good, even if I was expecting something else." Nicolas noted.

"Well, I will leave you to this. There are a few things I'd like to discuss with Madam Pomfrey." Perenelle said, leaving her tea cup on the table before standing up, walking toward the door.

"Have a good afternoon dear." Nicolas wished her, readying his wand for another spell.

With that said, Nicolas, Severus and Shimmer resumed their tests. Shimmer liked it a lot, and even if the experiments variated as time went on, he didn't notice the hours pass.


It was early in the evening, and the three just stopped. They might have continued, had Shimmer not stopped the two men. They cast so many spells that he had to smell, he got tired at the end. And then they moved on to the goo, and asked if he could produce it on demand, which they found out he couldn't.

So, to test how much he could produce, they made him eat spells after spells, good tasting ones thankfully. He regurgitated so much of it, enough to fill a whole cauldron, in many different vials and glasses. It left him tired, in a bad mood, and with an awful taste in his mouth.

"Shimmer want go! No test." He growled at the two, just as they prepared another container.

Nicolas looked up at the window, and noticed how the twilight was starting to come. Testing if he vomited different goos was inconclusive so far, as he only regurgitated the same red goo over and over again. Its properties remained the same, with equivalent potency and amount of magic. The only thing they found was that the more magic he ate, the less goo he would vomit, like if his stomach got tired.

This wasn't bidding well for Shimmer, who hadn't realised yet that there was a problem in the first place.

"Perhaps we can stop for today." Nicolas agreed, actually starting to feel how tired he was. He may have used the Stone to extend his life, he was still an extremely old man with a body that wasn't as young.

"Indeed." Professor Snape nodded as well, letting his quill rest on the page filled with notes. He looked at the many vials of red goo, aware of the potential value they had. Potential, because they weren't crazy enough to taste it. Not before cleaning it, which was something they would do another day.

"Shimmer want eat!" Shimmer almost shouted, flying up to the door.

"Stop shouting, you damn lizard." Snape growled, flicking his wand and letting the door open.

Without wasting a second, Shimmer flew out and crossed all the dungeons back to the first floor, where he went straight for the Great Hall. He had enough tests, and hoped he wouldn't have to do more tomorrow. But, even if it was uncomfortable, he learned a lot and wanted to share it with Hermione.

Reaching the Great Hall, the doors thankfully opened, he swished in and aimed for the Gryffindor table, where Hermione, Ron and Neville were already eating. With little care for the humans around, and thankfully Hermione left an open space for him to land, knowing he would just push everything aside otherwise, he landed right on the table. Even after almost a year of classes, his random arrivals could still take most of them by surprise.

"Shimmer! How are you?" Hermione asked instantly, a bright smile on her face as she was very happy to get her friend back.

"Shimmer not like test. Is hard, is bad, taste bad. Smell is fun. Shimmer no want more test." He growled, much to the Gryffindors' surprise, as he laid down on the table.

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that, but it's only for a few more days." She tried to cheer him up.

Another growl came from him, still not happy at the prospect of doing more tests.

"I get it, I don't like tests either." Ron replied a bit nonchalantly.

"Ron is?" Shimmer asked, intrigued.

"It's not the same." Hermione noted, frowning at her friend's words.

"I don't like any tests." Ron clarified.

"That's not helpful." Hermione said.

"Shimmer like Ron not like test. Shimmer want eat like Ron." Shimmer continued, staring at Neville's plate that was the only one filled with food.

"Huh, Hermione?" Neville called, a bit worried as he didn't dare to pull his plate away from Shimmer.

"You are not going to be eating like Ron. It would actually be a downgrade." She said with absolute certainty, picking up a plate and filling it with a bit of steak and a few bones.

Shimmer was most happy to get this, as he never got to eat cows before coming to Hogwarts since they were too big for him to hunt. He loved the taste of this new meat, far better than rats, and promised himself to hunt cows when he would be big enough to do so.

For now though, he was happy to get smaller bits as he teared in the meat with gusto.

"Hey!" Ron complained.

"It's true and you know it." Hermione replied, not ready to let this go.

"Hmph!" Ron harrumphed, reaching for a generous serving of beef casserole.

With everyone going back to eat, they fell in silence as the students around them had their own discussions. The meal went on for a little while, with a few more talks here and there about their classes and the upcoming holidays. They still had a few exams to take, and with Quirrell's disappearance the teachers had to improvise a few things, but they would come to an end shortly.

"Shimmer?" Hermione called him as he finished his bone, cleaned of all meat.

"Yes?" He replied.

"Would you like to take a small break with me? Maybe tomorrow morning? It's Saturday so I'm free and it's been a while." She asked, longing for a moment with her friend. It had been a while since they spent a moment together.

"Shimmer not know brek, and Shimmer like, but Shimmer test, and Shimmer not want no coin." He whined in reply.

"It's 'break', Shimmer. And a break is some time spent relaxing, not doing, well, tests. I'm sure I can ask Headmaster Dumbledore to give you a small break." Hermione assured him.

"Shimmer like. Shimmer thank you Hermione." He said.

"You're welcome." She replied as she petted his head. Hermione was quite proud of how her lessons improved Shimmer's speech. Even if there was a lot more work to do.

The dinner lasted until eight, where the students were forced to return to their dormitory for the night. Shimmer went along with the Gryffindors, something he hadn't done in a while, and remained in the common room for a few more minutes as some of the students got to talk in the couches and where others, like Hermione, focused on their notes and books in preparation for the upcoming exams.

Shimmer watched as she wrote a few things, and how it seemingly made sense for the human girl. He couldn't understand how these lines, strange shapes and things, could be used to translate something that was spoken, even if he sort of understood the interest.

He remained there, laying on the table next to Hermione, resting in silence and watching over the students in the room. As time passed, most of them returned to their bedrooms, and soon Hermione was one of the last ones there, with Neville who was also working hard on his notes. Thankfully for him, Hermione was there to help him with a few more obscure subjects.

Hermione was forced to stop herself at some point, aware that staying awake longer would risk getting a warning from Professor McGonagall for staying up too late. Again.

"Thank you for staying with me, Shimmer. That was very nice." She told him as they went to her bedroom.

"Shimmer want sleep. Is bye-bye." He replied, feeling a bit more tired than usual.

"Right."

Coming into the bedroom, where her roommates were busy removing some make-up or reading a magazine, she made a beeline for her bed and dropped her belongings next to it.

"He grew a bit." Lavender Brown noted as Shimmer flew in.

"Yes. We actually don't know how big he will get." Hermione replied.

"Really?" Parvati Patil asked, surprised.

"Yes. When the dragon handlers come back, we will try to find out how much more he will grow."

"Huh. Well I hope he won't get much bigger, otherwise he won't be able to come back to the castle." Lavender said, brushing her hairs.

"I hope not, but that's a possibility." Hermione agreed with a small frown. She actually didn't want her friend to get too big, otherwise it would be hard to have him around.

"Shimmer want big. Big is good. Big Shimmer is more danger, is more hunt." The golden dragon replied as he landed on the window.

"He's almost as smart as a Slytherin." Parvati mocked.

"He's smarter than that!" Hermione came to her friend's defence, outraged by that ridiculous comparison.

"Smarter than Draco at least." Lavender said.

"Shimmer want bye-bye." Shimmer cut them off, whipping his tail against the window, making it rattle a bit.

"Alright, alright." Hermione quickly made her way to the window, opening it quickly.

Shimmer had no trouble passing through the window, even with his slight increase in size, and he stopped right as he was outside, standing on the window sill.

"Bye-bye." He said to his friend.

"Goodnight, Shimmer. See you tomorrow." Hermione wished him a smile on her face.

Spreading his wings wide, he jumped in the air and quickly found the right air current, flying straight to his tower and his hoard.


The following morning, Shimmer went to Headmaster Dumbledore's office first thing in the morning. He wanted a break, and he would get it, but sadly for him the old man wasn't there. A bit disappointed but by no means defeated, he went to Hermione's window, and though the glass was a bit blurry, he saw that the bed was still occupied.

"Hermione." He called, landing on the window sill.

No answer came, but maybe it wasn't a surprise as it was still quite early, with the sun barely up above the forbidden forest.

Pulling his head backward, he readied himself and then smacked his head in the glass. A bit to his surprise though, the entire window broke under the impact, shattering into a hundred fragments in a loud clatter.

"Ahh!" Three voices shouted at the same time.

Sitting up in their beds, covering themselves at the same time, the three gryffindor girls looked at each other in panic, trying to find out what woke them up.

Exchanging a few words of confusion, blinking quickly to remove the sleepiness from their eyes, they soon found the source of their fear and confusion.

"Shimmer!" Hermione shouted, completely incredulous at what he did.

"That stupid lizard." Lavender groaned as she flopped back down on her bed.

"Why did you do that?!" Parvati shouted as well, quite pissed off.

"Shimmer sorry. Not want." Shimmer apologised, head down, still at the window. He wasn't bothered by the glass at all, but was conscious that he did something bad.

"You broke our window!" Parvati continued.

"Shimmer want see Hermione. Shimmer say Hermione, not wake Hermione." He tried to apologise.

"Well you should have waited for me to wake up. Come on, now." She said quite sternly, grabbing her wand.

Still head down, Shimmer walked in the bedroom and walked up to Hermione's bed, without jumping on it like usual.

"fenestra Reparo." Hermione casted her spell, allowing the pieces of broken glass to slowly rise into the air and all finding their place, completely fixing the window. "There we go."

"Thank you, Hermione." Lavender said, ready to go back to sleep.

"Get him out." Parvati spat, also wanting to get a bit more sleep.

"You heard them, Shimmer. Go wait for me downstairs." Hermione told him.

"Okay." He nodded.

Flying to the door, he opened it with his claws and then went down the stairs. He was quite happy, since apparently Hermione wouldn't take any coins from him nor give him any punishment even if he broke their window. But it wasn't broken anymore, so he couldn't be punished for it. That logic made an awful lot of sense for him.

Once in the common room, he went for the table at first, but found the cushions more inviting. With but a flap of his wings, he was on an armchair aimed toward the stairs, and made himself comfortable, pushing the cushion with his wings and head a little until he was satisfied.

It was a very nice thing, comfortable and soft, but it lacked the scent of gold and its addictive presence. He wouldn't mind getting one of these cushions in his room, as long as he could keep all of his hoard as well.

Hermione wasn't the first person to come down though, as a few students from all years came down before her. Most passed right next to him without even noticing him, but it took a fourth year student almost sitting on him to be found.

He growled as the boy came next to his chair, almost about to fall into its comfortableness, and that quickly pushed him back.

"Merlin!" He swore, almost reaching for his wand but deciding to step back instead. Since Shimmer didn't react, beside keeping his eyes on him, the boy got some assurance back. "Who forgot to let the dragon out last night?"

The sentence was ridiculous enough as it was, but none of the few students already awake had an answer to give him. It wasn't until Hermione came down that Shimmer looked up from his place.

"Hermione." He called her.

Her eyes looked through the room and fell on him, and she started to frown as she walked up to him.

"Granger, did you let him sleep here?" Asked the boy who got growled at by Shimmer.

"I- no. He broke through our window this morning and I told him to wait for me in the common room." Hermione answered, losing a bit of her confidence by the

sudden interruption.

"Really?" The fourth year said, actually more impressed by what Shimmer did rather than angry for what happened to him.

"Yes. I fixed the window, but I need to have a few more words with him." She said.

"Don't worry, it's fine. I just wasn't expecting to see him on a chair." He said before walking away, joining up with a few of his friends.

Focusing back on Shimmer, Hermione gathered her thoughts for a second before walking up to Shimmer, who was still laying on the cushion.

"Shimmer, what you did was very, very bad." She started, glaring down at him.

"Shimmer know. Not bad dragon." He replied, a bit by reflex at the end.

"You scared me, Parvati and Lavender and broke our window. I want you to promise to never do that again." Hermione said very seriously.

"Shimmer promise. Shimmer is sorry, not want scare." Shimmer apologised again. "Shimmer good dragon!"

"I know you're a good dragon, but you sometimes do bad things. From now on, I want you to wait at the window for me to wake up." She explained.

"Okay." He nodded.

"And, because you broke the window, you will have to wait one more day before getting more coins from me." Hermione said that last part more slowly, aware of what would happen next.

"What?! Hermione say Shimmer not not go no coin again! Shimmer want coins!" He shouted quite loudly, getting the attention of everyone in the room, as he stood up on his wings and legs.

"No, Shimmer. You break something, you need to pay for it." She recited a lesson she learned from her parents.

"Window not break. Hermione magic window good!" He protested, standing up on the arm of the chair.

"Yes, but only because we needed the window fixed immediately. You still broke the window, so I'm taking one more day from you." Hermione didn't give up any ground.

"No! Shimmer want coins! Shimmer- Hermione say Shimmer not go no coin again!" Shimmer wasn't ready to give up as well.

"You did something wrong, Shimmer. You need to accept that when someone does something wrong, they need to pay for that." Hermione repeated. "And it's only one more day. I'm not asking you to give me your coins to pay for the window."

Just the thought of losing coins, not just not getting any new coins, but truly seeing a coin be taken from his hoard, was enough to horrify him. It made him stop, thinking about this possible danger, and he had to relent. As much as he hated it, he would rather not get new coins rather than give up any of the coins he had.

"Shimmer not take coin?" He asked warily.

"No, but you won't get new ones." Hermione reminded him.

He growled a bit more, his tail whipping the air angrily behind him, though it was partially aimed at himself for doing something that would cost him coins.

"Shimmer okay." He let out.

"You understand that you won't get coins for one more day, right?" She clarified.

"Yes." Shimmer nodded.

"Good! Now let's go get breakfast." She replied, much more cheerful.

A bit surprised by her sudden change of emotion, Shimmer didn't lose time to follow after her. She didn't see it, but quite a lot of students were staring at her, whispering about how she definitely had her place in Gryffindor for being able to talk like that to a dragon.

Going down the stairs, Shimmer had to slow down as he had to wait for Hermione to actually walk them down where he was only flying over them. They soon reached the ground floor and made their way to the Great Hall, filled with only a small number of students, the majority still being in bed or on their way to get their breakfast as well.

Sitting down at the table, Hermione watched as Shimmer landed in front of her, on the table. She frowned as she saw him like this, not liking the fact that he was on the table and not on the benches like everyone around. Sure, he wasn't human and couldn't stand up like them, but he shouldn't walk on the table.

"Shimmer, come here, please." She called him, patting the spot right next to her.

Wondering what she had in mind, and a bit worried she wasn't done with him for breaking the window, he obeyed and used his nimble body to reach the bench with the claws on his wings before bringing the rest of his body.

"Good. Now, what would you like to eat?" Hermione asked as she prepared herself some black pudding with bread and bacon.

"Meat."

"You need to say the nice words if you want something, Shimmer." She told him, really intending to work harder on his education.

"Thank you?" He risked it.

"No, the other one." She corrected him.

"Meat please?" He tried again.

"Very good. Here." Hermione congratulated him, putting some slices of ham on a plate. She was about to hand it to him, and stopped as she watched him lay down on the bench. "Shimmer, have you grown fatter?"

"Shimmer not understand. Is big. Big is strong." He replied, looking at himself and wondering what she was talking about.

"Hmm. I didn't realise that feeding you directly would impact your diet so much. You should hunt more." She said, taking away one slice of ham from the plate before giving it to him.

Shimmed hadn't even noticed the missing slice, focused on himself, and simply tore in the meat when it was placed in front of him.

The breakfast was well on its way, they finished quickly and didn't wait for Ron and Neville. While Neville should already be up by now, he wouldn't come down without Ron, and the Weasley boy wouldn't be awake for a little while longer.

"Let's go see Headmaster Dumbledore." Hermione said when they were done, wanting to negotiate some free time for Shimmer.

Walking up between the tables, they stopped in front of the table where only the headmaster, professor McGonagall and professor Sprout resided.

"Ah, Miss Granger, Shimmer. Good morning." Dumbledore greeted them, a smile on his lips.

"Good morning, Headmaster, Professor." Hermione greeted them back politely.

"Hello Dumb Door." Shimmer replied, focused on the old human as he hovered in the air.

"Shimmer, stop saying that!" Hermione harshly scolded him.

"Now, now, Miss Granger. I believe we could excuse Shimmer for not being fully capable of speaking correctly yet. Now, what can we do for you on this nice morning?" Dumbledore calmed her down, a hand in the air.

"Yes, professor. I wanted to ask if Shimmer could be exempted from doing any test this morning." Hermione asked, collecting herself.

"Hmm, I suppose that, as long as he comes back this afternoon, it shouldn't be a problem. Professor Snape and Nicolas already made quite a few interesting discoveries yesterday, and I believe they also found something last night. But I digress, don't let me stop you from enjoying some time together." Dumbledore answered.

"As long as this doesn't impact your studies, Miss Granger." Professor McGonagall added with a very light stare, not wanting to see her prized student wander too much.

"It won't, professor. Thank you very much." Hermione swore, nodding her head in gratitude.

"Thank you." Shimmer repeated.

"Now, get on your day, Miss Granger." Dumbledore waved them off.

Leaving the table, Hermione and Shimmer exited the Great Hall and continued in the corridor, even as more students were coming in for breakfast.

"Shimmer, there's something really important I want to talk about with you." She said, navigating in the other direction as most students.

"What say?" Shimmer asked, distracted by the flow of students.

"Let's go to my room." She replied instead of repeating herself, wanting some privacy about this.

"Okay." He nodded.

It took them a moment to go back to the Gryffindor tower and then go up to her bedroom, where there were no more signs of Lavender and Parvati. Hermione sat down on her bed, and Shimmer joined her there, laying down on the neatly folded covers.

"So, Shimmer, do you know what is going to happen soon?" She asked first.

Was there something important? He couldn't remember much about what was going on right now, except on a day to day basis, so if it was something he was told long ago, he certainly wouldn't be able to remember today.

"No? Shimmer do test." Shimmer finally said.

"Yes, but after that?" She pressed on.

"Shimmer not know. Not remember." He replied.

"Do you remember what happened when you went to hibernate last time? When do you go to sleep because it's too cold?" She tried to give him enough hints to find out what she was looking for.

"Shimmer sleep long cold." He nodded, knowing what this was about.

"Good. Now, while you slept, I was not here. Do you remember that?" Hermione continued.

"Little." He acknowledged, barely remembering Hermione telling him that she was with her family far from Hogwarts.

"Perfect. Now, listen carefully. Me, and all the other students here, are going back home for the summer. Only the teachers will remain here, and not all of them." She slowly explained.

"Dumb Door, Snape, stay. Not Hermione?" He asked, a bit unsure.

"Yes, that's it. I'm going back to my family for the summer, so I won't see you for a long time." She went on.

"Many day?"

"It's… quite long, three months at least. That's about ninety days." She answered.

"Shimmer cold sleep. Many days?" Shimmer tried to compare the two.

"It's actually about the same, I suppose. I'll be away a bit more." Hermione nodded.

Well, Shimmer didn't really know how long he actually slept during his long sleeps, since he wasn't awake to count the days, but he knew it was long. And, as he thought about this, he realised what Hermione was saying, much to his horror.

"Hermione not here many days?!" He exclaimed.

"Don't shout!" Hermione complained a hand on each ear, taken aback by his sudden cry. "And yes, I won't be here for at least three months."

"Why?"

"I told you, students go back to their families in the summer." She answered.

He thought about this, and he only had one logical question in mind.

"Shimmer not here summer?" He kept asking.

"I don't know. That's what I wanted to ask you: is there something you do in the summer? Somewhere you stay?"

"Shimmer kill, eat, sleep. Not move." He shook his head vigorously.

"Well, I was wondering, if the teachers agree, that maybe you could come to my house this summer?" Hermione suggested with an hopeful look.

"Shimmer not here? Why?" Shimmer said, confused.

"No, no. Hmm, how to say this. Do you want to stay here without me? Just Shimmer, no Hermione." She reformulated.

"Shimmer like Hermione. Is good friend. Shimmer like go Hermione." He replied.

"Aww, thank you Shimmer." Hermione reached for him, ready to hug him as she felt overjoyed at his acceptance.

"Shimmer not want go no coin." He added right as she hugged him.

"What?" She said startled, pulling back a little.

"Shimmer want coins. Shimmer not go Hermione Shimmer no coin."

I- I don't understand." Hermione replied, confused and slightly disappointed.

Shimmer whipped his tail on the bed in frustration, wanting to say that he wouldn't leave without his hoard. He didn't mind going with Hermione to her house, in fact he was very curious and spending more time with Hermione meant more coins for him. But at the same time, he simply couldn't leave his hoard behind, unattended and alone against all kinds of thieves. Well, he was never stolen, but it was something he feared more than anything else.

But, maybe there was a way to show Hermione what he meant?

"Hermione fly." He said, staring at her.

"What?" She said, surprised.

"Hermione come." Shimmer kept going, reaching for Hermione's sleeve and pulling it with his teeth.

"Shimmer! Stop that, you'll tear it!" Hermione shouted, pushing his head away.

"Hermione fly!" He repeated, still pulling.

"Alright, I'll follow you, just stop!" She agreed.

Letting go of her sleeve, Shimmer turned around and went toward the stairs. Hermione grumbled as she looked at her sleeve, relieved to see the damages were very minor, before going after Shimmer. They quickly went down the stairs, Hermione reaching the ground flour completely winded, barely keeping up with the flying dragon.

"Shimmer… slow down." Hermione begged as they went outside.

Turning around, Shimmer looked at her and then continued on his way, flying to the shed where the brooms were kept and landing right on top of it.

"Hermione fly." He repeated again.

Still catching her breath, Hermione managed to get paler despite her red cheeks.

"What? No. I can't fly." She instantly denied.

"Shimmer want go Hermione, Shimmer go coin. Shimmer no coin no go." He once again repeated, getting annoyed by this.

"I told you, I don't understand." Hermione also repeated.

"Hermione fly. Hermione no fly, Shimmer fly Hermione."

"Please don't. Shimmer, I'm scared of flying, I just can't do that." She argued.

Angry, Shimmer jumped from his perch and landed right in front of Hermione, who took a small step back in surprise.

"Shimmer coins, yes?" He asked.

"You have coins?" Hermione guessed.

"Yes. Shimmer go Hermione, not want mine coins here." Shimmer went on, doing his best to put the words in the right order.

"You want to come and- Oh! Ooh. You don't want to leave your coins here!" Hermione jumped as she understood, an excited gleam in her eyes.

"Yes." Shimmer nodded several times.

"And… you wanted to show me your coins?" Hermione realised, calming down a little, aware of the opportunity that was given to her.

"Yes."

"Mmm." Hermione glanced at the shed, thinking about the tools inside. But, as much as she wanted to witness where Shimmer lived, going on a broom and fly atop the Gryffindor tower, she couldn't do that. "No, I can't break in, I need to ask a teacher first. And I haven't told my parents anything yet."

Shimmer stared at her, wondering what she was talking about.

"Alright. I'll need to ask my parents first if they would be ready with you coming, and then ask Headmaster Dumbledore. Or maybe it would be better to ask the teachers first?" She wondered aloud. "Yes, definitely ask the teachers first. Come, Shimmer."

A bit lost, Shimmer still followed after her as they went to the Great Hall. Many students were still there, including Ron and Neville, but there was no sign of Dumbledore nor Professor McGonagall. There was professor Snape though, and Hermione was ready to try her luck.

"Miss Granger." Snape welcomed them as they reached the teacher's table.

"Shimmer here, Snape." Shimmer growled, not liking being ignored.

Professor Snape only glared at Shimmer, which had absolutely no effect, and Hermione mustered her courage to defuse the situation.

"Good morning, Professor Snape. We were looking for the Headmaster." She explained a bit weakly.

"The Headmaster is currently in a meeting in his office."

"Oh." Hermione simply let out, a bit disappointed.

"Was this everything, Miss Granger?" Professor Snape curtly asked.

"Yes, thank you, Professor. Come, Shimmer. We're going to see Headmaster Dumbledore." She said as she turned around.

"Miss Granger, I would advise that you do not take Shimmer to the Headmaster's office. Shimmer's presence would be incredibly detrimental to himself." Professor Snape stopped them before Hermione even took two steps.

"Really?" She asked, surprised.

Shimmed, who remained in the air until now, and went back and forth a few times, had enough and landed on the table right next to Professor Snape's place.

"The people he's meeting with could be dangerous for Shimmer. It would be wiser to have him stay here until they leave." Professor Snape warned. "In fact, since we will resume our tests soon, Shimmer should come with me."

Hermione was a bit saddened by the request, but there wasn't much she could do about it. She wanted to spend more time with Shimmer, and even if they did a few things together, it wasn't nearly as much as she hoped, especially since the case of Shimmer's place during the summer hadn't been discussed with Dumbledore yet.

"Shimmer not like test." Shimmer growled.

"Like every student here. With perhaps the exception of Miss Granger." Professor Snape replied with a glance at said student. "And I assure you that it will be nothing like yesterday."

"It's okay, Shimmer. We can still see Professor Dumbledore later. The Flamel won't be there too long, so you should spend more time with them until then." Hermione told Shimmer, a sad look on her face.

Intrigued, Shimmer looked at her.

"Why?"

"Why indeed, Miss Granger." Professor Snape repeated after Shimmer.

"I looked up their name in the library, and the history of the Stone. I know what is going to happen to them soon without it." Hermione answered sadly.

Professor Snape stared at her with his usual frown, though there was something slightly different this time.

"Glad to see that there are some Gryffindors capable of thinking. The smartest one from your house died years ago." He replied, staring into Shimmer's eyes, his face relaxing slightly and letting out some hidden feelings of longing and grief.

Hermione dared not speak up, because she recognised the professor was thinking heavily about something very important to him, and didn't want to get his attention. Shimmer had no troubles doing so, though.

"Shimmer test?" He asked, blinking.

That was enough to pull Professor Snape out of his trance, and he instantly resumed his normal appearance.

"Tests, yes. Miss Granger, I'll take care of Shimmer. You're free to enjoy your day." Professor Snape said.

"Very well, Professor. See you later, Shimmer." Hermione smiled at the golden dragon, already starting to think of the arguments she would need to convince Headmaster Dumbledore that her idea was the best.

"Bye bye." Shimmer said.

Hermione waved in reply, and Shimmer started at her some more as she joined Ron and Neville, before looking again at professor Snape.

"Snape smell. Fish and plant." He stated emotionless.

"I can already tell this is going to be a long day." Severus sighed with a frown as he stood up. "Follow me, stupid lizard. We have much to do."

"Shimmer smart! Snape dumb like dumb door." Shimmer growled in answer even as he jumped in the air, going after the teacher.

"I resent that."


Hi! Valexto at the keyboard!

First of all, I would like to thank you all for your very kind comments and your understanding.

I'm very glad to have such an understanding community, and thank you all for this.

My new schedule is starting to get a bit more stable, so I should be able to write occasionally, as you can see with the chapter above. I left university behind me two years ago, so going back is a bit of a hassle, but important nonetheless.

It doesn't mean I'll be releasing new chapters as much as I used to, but at least once every now and then.

IMPORTANT! Do you think Shimmer going to Hermione's place for the summer is a good idea? Should I have him stay at Hogwarts instead? Tell me what you think.

I read all of your comments and it really drove me to write this chapter faster in some of my spare time, as I really wanted to show that I wasn't abandoning the story in any way.

Thanks for all the support and see you soon!


Also, Rest In Peace to Maggie Smith, who passed away yesterday. I may not have watched all the Harry Potter movies, but she was incredible as Minerva McGonagall.