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dragon
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Гарри Поттер
Сохранять
Дракон Хогвартса
Автор:
valexto
Гарри стал драконом вскоре после того, как его оставили на двери
Дурслей благодаря магии. После десятилетия жизни между дикой
природой и Лондоном, не взаимодействуя ни с одним человеком в
своей жизни, он испытывает удачу и садится в поезд,
отправляющийся с платформы 9 3/4.
Рейтинг:
Художественная литература T
- Английский - Фэнтези/Приключения - Гарри П., Гермиона Г. -
Главы: 25 - Слов: 123 351 - Отзывов:
227
- Избранных: 781 - Подписчиков: 1 040 - Обновлено:
29.09.2024, 00:39:26
- Опубликовано:
23.01.2022, 23:43:42
- id: 14027500
1. Chapter 1
I do not own nor possess any right over Harry Potter, all rights belongs to
J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 1
In Surrey, England, at the front door of the number 4 Privet Drive, a little
bundle had just been placed on the ground. Inside, gently placed between
a few small sheets and with a letter, a small baby with black hair was
asleep.
"Good luck… Harry." The old wizard Albus Dumbledor said, looking at
the baby one last time before turning around.
He suddenly vanished in the night as the street lights turned on again,
waking up the little Harry. Too young to understand what was happening
now or what happened a few hours ago, he stirred in his little basket.
The small covers did little to warm him up in the cold of the night and he
started to cry silently, wishing from the warmth of his mother. Sadly his
mother would not come again, not now, never again.
But one who did come was one that had never been seen by regular
mortals and not much by the wizards of the world. A flow of blue magic,
like a small breeze in the wind, flew around Harry Potter who suddenly
dried his tears before the beautiful light. This wasn't a spell or a curse,
this was the essence of magic, replying to the call of this little one who
possessed a magic that no other wizard in this world would ever possess.
It came because of its fear, attracted by the lightning scar on his forehead
which was full of magic too.
The baby was scared so the magic gave him what he needed to defend
himself. The baby was cold so the magic gave him the fire to warm
himself. The baby was hungry so the magic gave him what he needed to
hunt.
Slowly, the flow of magic flew around the baby like a small mist,
changing his body for one more suitable to survive. His tiny arms and
hands grew longer, taking the form of long and thin wings similar to a
bat. His entire body grew tiny yellow scales as his neck got longer, his
head stretched as sharp fangs appeared and he also grew a thin but long
tail. His little feet grew sharp claws and suddenly the magic vanished.
The only thing that remained from his old body was a scar with the form
of lightning, made out of white scales instead of gold.
The blue light disappeared as quickly as they came, leaving a little yellow
dragon no longer than a meter long in the basket that was now a bit too
tight for his large wings and his long tail and neck. His body was thin
and slender but in no way lacking of muscle, perfectly balanced to fly
and take to the skies.
Raising his neck to look around, his deep green eyes searching for
anything of interest, the instincts given to him by magic took over. Very
carefully, the little dragon got out of his basket using his wing-arms to
climb out before choosing a direction. With only a few powerful flaps of
his wings, he rose above the silent street and used his good eyes to fly
toward the closest forest, where his instincts told him he could find easy
prey.
It had already been four years since little Harry had become a dragon and
his life was a simple one. Now living on a forest not too far from London,
he was asleep and waiting for the night to go hunt. He learned that the
tall white creatures around him were humans and he did his best to avoid
them at all cost, after he almost got caught while someone screamed
about giant bats. His nocturnal hunts allowed him to go around humans
and learned a bit from them, observing how they lived and reacted while
he could feed on pigeons, small woodland critters and rats. He didn't
grew much in all these years and was now barely a meter long from head
to tail, nested in a small hole in a tall tree that had become his since two
years now.
All around him were small bones, a few leaves and shiny objects that
human called gold or something like that. He didn't had many of those
but for some reason he couldn't stop himself when he saw one of these
coins, necklace or watch made out of this magnificent colour that always
called to him. But of course he remained careful, not taking any chances
if there was a risk to get caught.
The sun went down that he woke up, stretching with a yawn and getting
his head out of his little nest to look around for a tasty prey. His eyes
locked on a deer but that was far too big for him, he could burn the prey
but what was the point if he couldn't pull it up in his nest. Opening his
large wings, he jumped in the air before flapping toward the sky, going
higher and moving toward the city to find a juicy rat or two.
Humans were fascinating creatures that he couldn't really understand.
They had so many weird tools and contraptions that he couldn't get what
they would be used for. Their decisions were not really good when
coming to survive even if he never saw one hunt, they all seemed to
always have food and exchanged it for some coins. They had no claws, no
sharp teeth and couldn't fly; to him they were completely unfit to their
environment and he felt superior for that. What was interesting was how
they communicate, not by simple sounds like other animals but with a
whole number of words that he could sometime understand when they
were simple and repeated many times, like a car.
A move on a roof suddenly got his attention, a small rat running away
from a cat that was chasing him. Cats were prey too but they were
sometimes too big and too dangerous for him so he tended to leave them
alone. But right now that didn't meant that the prey couldn't be taken.
Diving at high speed, he opened his mouth as he guessed the path
followed by the rat. In a single snap, the rat was caught between his teeth
as he pulled up in the air, the taste of blood spreading in his mouth as the
cat watched them fly away, annoyed to have to find another meal. The
little rodent tried to get away, trashing in all directions with his body and
squeaking loudly but incapable to remove the powerful jaw that trapped
him.
Harry flew back to his tree and landed quickly before he trapped the rat
with his claws and killed him with a bite on the neck, blood covering his
teeth and lips as he got ready for his dinner.
Seven years later, Harry had unconsciously passed his eleventh birthday.
His routine didn't change much between eating, sleeping and observing
humans. He had a near fascination for them, for their intelligence and
tools even if he couldn't understand everything they said or did. While
they didn't change and he saw the time pass, a small pair of black horns
going backward covered his head, his body grew to reach one meter and
a half long, allowing him the choice of new preys as his hunting tactics
evolved and improved.
The years gave him the opportunity to travel, using the roof of trains and
buses to go further but always coming back after a few days. He learned
how humans got their meat, that his forest was only a little part of the
world and that he couldn't see its end. Things should have continued like
this for a while but it wouldn't happened.
Harry woke up startled by a loud bang and quickly looked pass his hole
to see a group of humans with rifles, hunting a prey that got away
between the bushes. Annoyed as he knew he wouldn't have the chance to
sleep before long and hungry as last night didn't gave him any rat or cat
to satisfy his hunger, he opened his wings wide and jumped in the air.
Time and experience taught him that humans almost never thought to
look above them so as long as he was careful he could hide between the
roofs and try to look for an easy meal.
His flight brought him high above the sky of London, using the warm
winds to go higher, both to look and to hide. Never stopping to flap his
wings, he continued until he saw the weird train station. For some reason
some humans couldn't see it and some could but it wasn't impossible for
him and it was something he discovered a two years ago. He never took
this train before as it was a bit different and apparently always full of
smoke but the people taking this specific train always looked funny and
more than once did he wondered where it lead.
But something between this sea of humans caught his attention, a family
of red hair humans was moving around the train with big trails full of
stuff and some very looking tasting owls. Hard preys with their beaks and
claws but always tasty if he managed to catch one. Once he even got a
letter with it that he promptly burned as he couldn't read what was
written.
Since this train wasn't here all year, almost never actually, and having
nothing else to do, he was about to go for it when a small bird appeared
not too far from him, flying without care in the air. Such an easy prey
would not escape him and he took more speed before catching the small
bird and eating it in the air, enjoying the flesh and blood like always.
A sudden whistle forced him to look down and he saw the smoky train
starting to move. He didn't made a sound but internally his mind was
boiling about if he should go or not. On one wing he could go, explore
something new and discover who were these weird humans, on the other
he could stay here and keep his usual routine. Staying wasn't bad but it
had been a long time since he last moved and he still wished to see more.
So just like that, he flew toward the train that was slowly starting to
leave and take speed, ready to try his luck.
2. Chapter 2
I do not own nor possess any right over Harry Potter, all rights belongs to
J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 2
Flying as fast as he could, it didn't took long for Harry to land on the roof
of the train. And it was surprisingly comfortable as this train was quite
slower than the other ones he took before, quite different in appearance
and made out of wood rather than steel, something hard to understand as
every creature knew that it wouldn't resist fire. But he put that aside, he
saw humans make stupid decisions all the time so he wasn't surprised
anymore.
Clutching tight to the roof with his claws, he moved away from the
smoky part of the train and jumped from one car to the other, before
stopping as he heard something, a voice from the train that went above
the winds.
"-what house you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in
Gryffindor." Said the voice of a young human female.
'Gryffindor?' Harry wondered before he walked toward the side of the car
from which he heard the voice
"M-me too." Said a smaller voice that he barely heard, a boy if he was
right.
"Yeah, all my brothers got in Gryffindor so I'll probably go there too."
Another boy said.
Curious, Harry got closer to the edge of the roof and, using his claws to
not be blown away, slowly got closer to a window slightly ajar.
"I wouldn't mind going in Ravenclaw, apparently they are the only ones
to have a private library." Continued the girl from earlier.
"Everything but Slytherin." Said the boy who wasn't shy.
Even more curious with all those words he never heard of before, Harry
continued to get closer but stopped when he heard a new noise,
something rolling on the floor of the car.
"Anything off the cart, dears?" Said a definitely old woman.
"All I have are my mom's sandwiches."
"May I have Chocolate Frogs, please?" Asked the shy boy.
"Of course, dear." Replied the older voice.
Harry didn't heard the rest as the very distinguishable sound of coins
rolled in his ears like the sweetest of melodies. It took him a few seconds
to focus again but this time he had a new goal in mind: if those humans
had more shiny coins, then it was for him to take. They were apparently
young ones too, so it would be even easier. The sound of tearing paper
came from the car as he got closer to the window and finally got a look
at who was inside.
A boy with ginger hair was sitting, eating a weird looking bread without
much appetite, in the middle of the left bench. Across him another boy
with black hair and a baby face was looking at a card and holding a real
frog in one hand with another one made out of chocolate resting on the
couch and looking around, jumping everywhere. Next to him was a girl
with bushy brown hair and eating a little chocolate that was the
definition of normal.
"Careful with your frog!" Said the ginger haired boy.
Harry, who had his head hanging above the window, noticed the
chocolate frog climbing the window and coming directly toward him.
The fake animal barely got the time to reach the edge of the window that
Harry lunged forward, extending his neck and opening his jaw to gobble
the frog in a single bite.
The taste was nothing like he ever tasted before, very surprised by how
sweet it was, and it took a few seconds for him to notice that everyone in
the car was looking at him, perfectly immobile with wide eyes, doing
their best impression of a trio of paralyzed owls.
"Shite it's a baby dragon!" Said the ginger haired boy, instantly getting
the attention of Harry who looked at him.
The girl looked to be about to speak but something seemed to have
stopped her. The other boy was completely paralyzed and didn't even
blinked once.
Jumping from his position, Harry landed on the window and slowly got
inside, looking at every human and at the little pieces of food on the
couch.
"Don't move." Said the same boy as before now as white as snow.
Harry just looked at him and landed on the couch, looking at the food
and smelling everything in search of something edible as well as the
coins he heard earlier. His eyes landed on the rat held in the hands of the
ginger haired boy, who quickly saw the danger and teared up a part of
his sandwich, before giving it to him with a very shaky hand.
"Okay d-don't bite me and just g-go away." He said slowly.
With a quick move that got a yelp from the boy, Harry got the small
piece of bread and meat and ate it in a few bites before sniffing the air.
There were many scents around but one bot his attention, one that he
couldn't ignore.
Moving forward, he got closer to the boy and sniffed him as he looked to
be about to pass out before turning away, not smelling the distinct smell
of coin. Going toward the other boy, Harry stopped and got closer. His
eyes darted to the frog for a second but it wasn't his objective and his
nostrils guided him toward the pockets of the boy. Wary, Harry looked at
the boy and jumped next to his legs, getting a frightened squeak from the
child, and dived his head in a small pocket sewed in the pant.
"He smells your coins." Guessed the girl, her eyes fixed on the little
dragon.
"Don't move, m-maybe he'll go away." Said the other boy.
Harry didn't listened as he put his head in the pocket as the boy
whimpered. But finally he got his prize, and bit down on a few coins
before taking them out, jumping on the couch before spreading them.
There were coins but not the golden ones, his favorites. Not satisfied, he
turned toward the girl who quickly understood and pull out a few coins
in her hands. He got closer and she tensed in reply but sadly there were
no golden ones again. Still he grabbed two of the most shiny ones and
placed them near the other coins to select which ones would be the best
for his nest.
"S-should we call a prefect?" Asked the ginger boy holding his rat closely.
"No. No sudden move." Instantly replied the girl.
As they spoke Harry made his choice, and looked outside before realizing
that he wouldn't be able to take the coins back with him, already too far
from his nest and now stuck with a small pile of coins. He didn't really
had a choice if he wanted to keep his coins rightfully taken, so he took all
of them in his mouth to the apparent relief on the humans.
"Okay now just -just go away." Said the boy.
'Why would I do that? It's my coins now.' Thought Harry before putting the
coins in the corner of the couch, near the door, and resting right on top
of it, keeping his eyes on the humans.
A near perfect silence followed as the children seemed to realize the
problem of a small dragon resting in their car, almost blocking the way to
the door. None of them moved but they all kept their eyes on him.
"What do we do?" Whispered the boy not relaxed at all with the dragon
right next to him.
"I don't know! There's nothing about that in my books." Replied the girl
as silently.
"What if someone pass and he gets angry?" Continued the boy getting
more scared by the second.
"Is there a spell against dragons?"
"I don't know!".
"My grandma told me about one but I don't know it." Whispered the boy
with black hair who hadn't spoke since Harry's arrival.
"Bloody brilliant."
"Ron! Language!" Said the girl a bit louder.
"Come on Hermione it's a dragon! Who cares about language!"
'These humans are so loud.' Harry thought before letting out a small growl
which immediately got him the silence he was looking for.
Several minutes passed before the boy next to him put his rat in a small
box, the animal apparently very happy to remain out of sight of the small
dragon. The girl in front of Harry, Hermione if he understood correctly,
slowly moved her hand toward a long stick and pulled it out.
"What are you doing?!" Asked the boy whispering loudly and panicking.
"I read about a spell to stupefy people."
"Yeah! People! And most spells don't work against dragons!"
"I-I don't know! We're not supposed to study how to deal with magical
creatures before a while and certainly not dragons!" The girl panicked.
Suddenly steps came from outside their cabin and a few people walked
right next to them. Harry looked up warily as no-one seemed to see him
as they were going in the other way, much to the children greatest
disappointment. More steps followed and suddenly the door opened on a
blond boy with pale skin followed by two other fatter boys.
"Weasley, I smelled your lack of soap from the other side of the train."
The boy said without even looking at Harry who sank in the corner of the
couch, looking straight at this intruder who was talking loudly.
"Shut up Malfoy! There's a -" Started the boy with ginger hair before
being interrupted.
"Who do you think you are to tell me to shut up Weasley? I am Draco
Malfoy and no one tells me to shut up!" The now named Malfoy almost
screamed pointing a finger at Ron who paled at the view of Harry.
Indeed, Harry was starting to have enough. Not only was he disturbed
many times in his nap but this loud human was just too much for his
ears. Slowly raising his neck and opening his wings to appear bigger, he
got ready to strike, eyeing the fleshy limbs pointed at the other human.
"Malfoy for the love of Merlin please shut up!" Repeated Ron in a loud
whisper.
"I said-" Started Malfoy getting closer.
He didn't got the time to finish. A maw of sharp teeth came down on his
hand and bit him hard, blood coming out as Malfoy let out a scream of
pain. Shacking his arm, he quickly got rid of the dragon who remained
on his very small pile of gold and starring at the boy with his mouth wide
open, small drops of blood dripping around. All the children in the cart
instantly screamed loudly, the two fat humans accompanying Malfoy
turning around and leaving without their leader who was too busy
clutching his bloody hand.
This excess of noise was not to Harry's taste, ready to strike again shall
the human want retaliation.
"Who brought a stupid dragon?! I'm going to report you and my father
will have you all expelled!" He yelled as he grabbed his injured hand
close to his chest.
"It's a wild dragon! Go get a prefect!" Ron screamed while looking at
Harry.
Harry prepared his fire and a bit of smoke came out of his mouth. At this
sight Malfoy quickly ran away after his goons, the door closing right
behind him and trapping the children with the dragon again. The three
kept screaming for a few seconds, trying to put as much distance between
themselves and the dragon, but quickly shut up when the dragon turned
toward them. Satisfied with this, the golden danger stood down and
stopped breathing smoke to their greatest relief, laying down on his
coins.
A near minute passed before one of them dared to speak again, and in a
tone no higher than a whisper.
"I hope they won't be dumb enough to not get a prefect!" Said Hermione,
keeping her eyes on the dragon.
Barely a minute passed in absolute silence, as Harry started to relax a bit,
before a loud set of steps came down toward them and a tall man opened
the door.
"Is it true that you have a dragon on board?" Asked the guy wearing a red
dress, with the same red hairs as Ron.
"Percy! Right here!" Said Ron pointing frantically at Harry.
"Bloody hell!" Exclaimed Percy before taking out his wand. "Stand back,
dragons are naturally resistant to magic so it needs to be done quickly
and precisely."
"Just hurry up!"
Feeling the danger, Harry stood up and bared his teeth at the new threat,
this substantially taller human, ready to face him directly.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Percy cast.
A shock of magic travelled through the air and ended-up inside the
dragon's mouth. Harry gave a little choke of surprise, not having
expected anything to come out of the stick, but found himself surprised
that it was actually good. Very heavy on his stomach, but good. All eyes
widened even more than they were already when nothing seemed to
happen and Harry was merely licking his lips, enjoying the taste of this
weird blue thing that he never saw before.
"That's impossible." Slowly said Percy as he moved backward.
"Percy?" Ron asked afraid.
"Don't move. I'll try again. Petrificus Totalus!"
Whatever this stuff was, Harry was happy to have another one and this
time aimed for it and ate it exactly like the previous one.
"He is eating magic." Percy concluded dumbfounded, realising that the
problem might be even bigger than he thought.
"What do we do?"Asked Neville, completely terrified.
"He looks calm for now so don't do any sudden movement. There's
nothing to contain him right now, just stand up slowly and get out of the
cabin."
Hermione was the first to act, being the closest to the door, and stood up
very slowly as Harry kept his eyes on her. She moved one foot after the
other and got out of the cabin to release a big sigh that she had been
keeping since Harry's arrival. Neville was the next one and stood up like
Hermione but rushed outside, making all those outside the cabin gasp.
Thankfully Harry didn't react. It was obvious that the boy posed no threat
to him.
Things got harder for Ron as he was right next to Harry and wasn't
decided to move.
"Come on Ron." Encouraged him Percy.
"But Charlie said that dragons-" Ron said panicking again.
"Everything will be fine Ron. Get up slowly, go around him and get out."
Trembling, Ron grabbed his rat and got up, staring right at Harry who
was doing the same, still giving a glance towards Percy right next to him.
Preferring Neville's method, Ron ran outside and Percy instantly closed
the door behind him while glaring at Harry. But Harry didn't really cared
about them, he was finally alone and even if the humans were still
making a lot of noise outside at least the door blocked the majority of it.
"Tell me everything." Asked Percy with a harsh but caring voice.
"We were eating when the dragon came in by the window. He looked
around and I gave him a bit of my sandwich, he left me alone and took
some coins from Neville and Hermione before seating down on the
couch." Ron quickly explained.
"That's when Malfoy arrived." Said Hermione.
"Yes! The dragon bit him after Malfoy started yelling."
"I understand, he came to me with his hand covered in blood. Were it not
for the blood I wouldn't have believed him." Replied Percy.
"He looks very different from the dragons that Charlie talked about."
"Tell me about it. I don't think I ever heard of a dragon capable to eat
magic." Said Percy as he looked through the window, looking at the
dragon that one could have believed asleep. But he would bet anything
on earth that the fire breathing lizard was awake.
"What do we do about him?" Asked Hermione.
"We leave him here for now. I'll keep watch until we arrive and then I
will ask Hagrid to come help me, he have his ways with magical
creatures."
"It's only a baby." Added Neville.
"I'm not sure. The size would suggest so but his reactions are those of an
near adult dragon, the hatchlings are normally not very agressive and not
territorial, and at that point they are already starting to be bigger than
that. I wouldn't be surprised if this is either a new species of dragon or
just a very small one." Explained Percy. "Anyway, you'll have to go find
another cabin. Go see the prefect room and tell them that I'm keeping an
eye on the dragon, stay there until we arrive."
"Okay." Said Ron turning around.
"You're coming Hermione?" Asked Neville.
"Yes." She replied after giving a last look at the napping dragon.
3. Chapter 3
I do not own nor possess any right over Harry Potter, all rights belongs to
J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 3
Harry was happy. He finally got the peace he wanted. It didn't meant that
he was completely relaxed, he was in a dangerous territory full of
humans and one was watching him since the younger ones left. Not that
he minded much but they had more coins, he was sure of that. At least
they left the food so he took a bite of the weird food that humans ate, not
bad but definitely not worth the meat he grown accustomed to.
At some point many other humans came outside his temporary nest,
looking from behind the glass door and chattering loudly. They only
reacted when he opened an eye to look at them, seeing them grow pale
before the taller human that was guarding the entry chase them away to
his greatest pleasure.
The train kept moving for a few hours where he managed to get a very
short nap, certain that no human would come take his coins. The night
was starting to fall when the train slowed down and he knew that it
would be time for him to leave, the humans left him alone for now but he
wouldn't give them the chance to trap him or to take his coins.
Opening his eyes and stretching, he saw that the human that kept the
door had left. Taking this opportunity, he stood up and took a mouthful
of the shiniest coins before jumping to the window with a little flap of his
wings. Harry was about to leave when the door opened and he looked
behind him to see the man with red hairs back with two other people of
the same age, all of them with their weird sticks in hands.
He didn't gave them the chance to do anything and flew away in the dark
of the night.
Percy looked at the dragon flapping his wings, too far to try any spell
now. He only got the time to go require the help of two other prefects
before coming back to see the dragon leaving with the stolen coins.
"What do we do?" Asked a brown hair Ravenclaw prefect.
"I'll go report the dragon to Hagrid and Professor McGonagall. Even if it
is a small one its still a dragon, we can't let one free so close to the
school." Replied Percy.
"He could even hide right here, in Hogsmeade." Added the third prefect, a
girl from Hufflepuff.
"Possibly. At least it's out of the train now, we should go back inform the
professors."
Staying high in the sky, Harry watched the humans leave the train to
embark small boats. However, he was a bit lost. Never did he travelled so
far and the surroundings were very different than the London he grew up
in. There were no loud cars, many humans who almost all wore dark
dresses and going through old streets. For a moment he pondered the
idea to remain in this small town but it was clear it wouldn't do, there
wasn't a single tree suitable to his needs and there were no high place
above the ground for him to hide.
Making his mind, he looked around before following the boats. It was
easy thanks to the torches carried on each one. His eyes darted for the
surroundings, looking at the forest located far to the left. Harry didn't
know why but his instincts screamed danger at the view of these dark
woods, there was some kind of aura that repulsed him by a single look.
Quickly looking away, his eyes landed on the lake that the boats were on,
a massive amount of water but it wasn't as impressive as the dark castle
coming out of the night, revealed by dozens of windows sharing light and
clearing the silhouette of the stone giant.
To him it seemed like the perfect place to hide. Even if all the humans
were going there, he could fly to the top of the massive towers and make
his new nest there. Humans were a danger that was a fact. He saw them
hunt and kill other animals with ease, he saw them make nests that
seemed indestructible and they were always grouped in massive packs.
But they were an easy source of food, Harry could easily find to eat
around them. And if all of them had the same coins as the two children of
the train then it meant that he was potentially looking at a massive
reserve of coins and maybe gold.
That argument alone was enough for him to choose this place as his new
nest.
Of course his instincts took him toward the highest tower, where he
would be able to dominate the skies and be out of reach of most humans.
He already saw some climbing trees and they could be fierce climbers, he
almost got caught once by one of them. But it was better than resting in a
hole like rabbits. Preys really were stupid to prefer the ground to hide, it
was so easy to kill them once stuck in a hole. That was the exact reason
why he was superior, he could fly and hide anywhere, out of reach of any
creature as long as it didn't had wings.
Pushing his wings harder and taking advantage of the air currents, he
climbed high in the sky until he made his way to the highest tower.
There were no apparent entrance at first, he looked on the roof for any
holes but couldn't find a single one. He then flew right beneath, arriving
at the small window of a very dark room, full of seats and tables with a
collection of cups of tea in one cupboard. There was even one female
human moving objects that he didn't recognize inside. It was annoying
but he couldn't select this room as his new nest.
Flying down, he looked at two other towers that shared the same
attributes before finding a suitable one. Sure, it wasn't the tallest and it
wasn't the most impressive looking one but at least it would hide him
well. The room on top of the tower was empty of all contents except a
few spiderwebs that seemed to have been here for a long time already.
All he had to do was break the very small window that was barely tall
enough for him, a good protection against climbing humans and
predators even if didn't knew of any.
He rammed the window with his head once and the glass cracked, still
standing in his way. Not shocked or anything, he repeated his attack and
flew right in the attic as a few shards of glass fell on the ground. He
would have to clean that later.
Harry stood in the air for a few seconds, taking in the appearance of the
room before landing on the wooden floor, breaking a few webs on his
way. The floor only had one distinctive feature, a sort of square in the
wood with a handle attached to it, but he didn't paid it much mind.
Harry went to one side of the room and put down the coins he gathered,
finally relieving his mouth of the little weight and stretching his jaw a
bit.
It wasn't a proper nest yet. There was much to do between gathering
more gold, clean the webs and the shattered glass and find where he
could feed himself.
Harry returned to the now fractured window and jumped in the air
before opening his wings wide, trying to find what the humans called
kitchen and where there was always all kinds of food. He flew down and
let his nose guide him and he quickly got the smell of food, lots of food
even judging by the incredible number of scents. This led him to a
window where he looked at the biggest room he ever saw, full of humans
but more importantly with tables loaded with food.
His mouth watered at the first sight of the many pieces of meat and he
knew that this place was really the best of he could have ever wished for.
He went from one window to another to find an entry but all were closed
and it would be too noisy to break one. Sadly he would need to be
patient. There were too many humans in the room for him to steal
anything. Happy with this new discovery, he flew back to his new nest in
order to get back the sleep he missed in the train.
In the great hall, the old headmaster Albus Dumbledore was looking at
the new group of students fondly but with a touch of sadness. He learned
a month ago that the young Harry Potter was nowhere to be found, that
the Dursley never saw him and that no owls would reach him as there
were no address in his magic book that displayed the addresses of all
future students of Hogwarts. However he did noticed that one of the owls
never returned and that the ones sent after this one refused to deliver the
letters.
He was looking at the Gryffindor table when a tap on his right got his
attention. Minerva McGonagall, usually happy to see the sorting the
ceremony and the new students, wore a slightly nervous expression that
didn't escaped the old wise eyes of Albus.
"Yes Minerva?" He asked softly.
"I received a few concerning news from three prefects who were on the
train. There was a dragon on board, in a cabin!" She explained quickly.
"Really? That is most curious."
"Albus this is serious! There is a dragon looming around the school, it
isn't safe for the children."
"If he fit in a cabin he must not have been too big. But you are right, it
wouldn't do to leave such a dangerous creature grow around us." Albus
conceded while brushing his his long white beard with a hand.
"So what do we do? Should we contact the dragon reserve?" Suggested
Minerva.
"That would be the preferable option, I will contact them shortly. Is there
any news about Harry Potter?"
"No, no one saw him in the train. I knew we shouldn't have left him with
those muggles."
"Now, now Minerva, we know that they wouldn't have lied to us about
him. It appears he vanished the very night we left him in front of their
door."
"Which was a terrible idea." Commented Minerva with a scowl.
"I realise that this might not have been my brightest moment. But we
know he is alive, my book is simply incapable to tell us where he lives
and owls don't seem to arrive to him."
Albus was about to continue until he noticed a shadow where there
should be none, right next to a high window. He had to squint his eyes a
bit to see but the creature quickly revealed itself to be a small golden
dragon looking hungrily at the food displayed and shared between the
students and the staff. A faint smile covered his face as he watched the
dragon move from one window to another before giving up and
disappearing in the night.
"You know Minerva, I think this year will be a very interesting one." Said
the old headmaster before returning to his dinner.
4. Chapter 4
I do not own nor possess any right over Harry Potter, all rights belongs to
J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 4
The sun had already been up for a few hours when Harry woke up on his
little pile of coins. He fell asleep shortly after coming back and it was a
long rest well needed, but now he was ready for this new day.
Stretching his wings, he looked at his little treasure, observing with great
attention the tiniest details on each coin, learning their differences to
recognize them later. It took him a few minutes but he was satisfied,
there wasn't many coins or gold yet but it shouldn't be too hard to find
more inside this giant hive of young humans. Turning toward the
window, the feeling of hunger made him change his mind, feeling like
eating one or two rats.
Getting close to the humans would be risky, he hadn't found an entry yet
and where the food was prepared. That would a problem for later, right
now a rat or two would be enough and there was plenty of fields and
nature around for him to hunt.
Jumping on the window frame, he looked at the lake and the dark forest
that was on the other side. Harry knew he wouldn't go there, not even for
all the gold in the world. He jumped in the air and went toward the
opposite direction, where green grass and more regular forests stood in
the landscape where prey was certain to be abundant.
Hermione was sitting with Ron in the Transfiguration class, taught by the
severe looking Professor McGonagall. Hermione was having a lot of fun,
managing to cast her spells with ease like changing a match into a needle
where her red haired friend had a few difficulties, not helped by his bad
looking wand.
The bell rang the end of the class and only Hermione managed to change
her match into a needle. Almost all children were already starting to
leave the classroom that Hermione gathered her books to go toward the
desk of the professor. She had a question in mind that remained since
yesterday night, more precisely about a dangerous encounter in the train.
"Yes, Miss Granger?" Asked Professor McGonagall turning toward the
studious girl in front of her.
"Professor, I wanted to know if you have heard anything about the
dragon that was in the train yesterday." Stated Hermione.
The old woman let out a sigh, clearly annoyed about this issue.
"I'm afraid not Miss Granger. The entirety of the staff have been made
aware and is actively looking for this threat but it might take a while to
find him. Rest assured that there is no reason to be scared, we are all
perfectly safe in here."
"But that's what has been troubling me. The dragon wasn't aggressive
besides with Malfoy, he even went into Neville's pockets to take his coins.
Not once did he made any attempt to attack against us." Explained
Hermione.
"Miss Granger. I understand that seeing a dragon for the first time might
be very impressive but I assure you that they can be terrible creatures. I
ask of you to not try any attempt to befriend it should you find yourself
in its presence. We're very lucky that the only injury was a bite on Mr.
Malfoy's arm and Madam Pomfrey has already fixed his wound." Said
Professor McGonagall with a strict voice.
"Yes Professor."
"Good, now you should hurry up if you wish to be on schedule for your
next class."
It's a bit disappointed that Hermione left the Transfiguration class for the
Potions lesson. Even if she was scared when she found herself in front of
the small dragon, she couldn't admit that it looked beautiful with its
golden scales and it never did any aggressive move against her. Sure he
bit Malfoy but the rude and obnoxious Slytherin was clearly too loud and
too stupid to not notice the golden dragon had been right next to him.
"What were you doing?" Suddenly asked Ron coming to her right.
"Asking something to Professor McGonagall." She replied.
"Such an egghead, you're the only one who would do that." He said
before going forward, not realizing that his comment hurt Hermione
deeply.
Harry was flying back from his hunt, a bird in his stomach and a small
rat in his mouth that he was finishing. As he expected, prey was indeed
abundant and it was reassuring to know that he could feed without the
need to go close to the humans, that was one less problem to think about.
But his hunt also taught him a lot as he saw many small creatures that he
never saw before, some looking like tiny humans with wings, others
complete mysteries that he was in no hurry to meet again.
He returned to his nest briefly, just to make sure that no one took his
coins. Thankfully no one did and he spent a few minutes to pick up the
broken glass and throwing it out the window, not even thinking about
what was beneath and he also took care to remove the rest of the
spiderwebs, burning them with a small flame that cleared the attic.
Satisfied with the look of his new nest, Harry returned to the window for
the second most important task of the day: acquire new coins and
potentially gold.
Flying in circles to slowly get closer to the ground, he flew to a smaller
tower and looked around many windows except when he saw humans
behind. His flight took him across the large castle and he found a few
transparent buildings, sadly filled with plants instead of any precious
minerals. He continued and went toward a bigger tower, looking through
the window of a medium size room with an impressive desk and many
books sprayed all around with dozen of objects that he couldn't even
guess the use.
But what got his attention were the many small golden rings, coins and
diverse tools that shone under the light of the room. Harry was almost
paralyzed, incapable to look away from the golden treasures that were
only a few meters away, separated by a sturdy window.
Such beauties could only be his, no one else could ever appreciate their
value more than him. Landing on the window sill, he looked at the glass
that dared to be in his way and recoiled his head, ready to smash the
glass to pieces.
TUNK
Needless to say, such treasures were well protected. He felt like he hit the
ground at full speed and ended up with a little bit of pain on his skull,
nothing big but quite annoying. He glared at the glass to see that not a
crack had appeared, not a single dent or even a scratch. But nothing
would keep him away from the gold and certainly not an insulting
window made out of fragile glass.
TUNK
TUNK
TUNK
Now his head was starting to spin a bit and was quite painful. His
opponent on the other hand was perfectly fine and ready for another
round. Harry was disappointed, never before was he ever stopped by a
window and now there was one just in front of him that kept the precious
gold out of his reach. He was ready to try again when the old white
bearded man he saw in the large room yesterday suddenly appeared in
front of him, staring right at him through the window.
Harry was so startled that he let out a little yelp of surprise before falling
backward. He quickly stabilized himself but he wouldn't go back near
that window today, the gold stocked in this room would become his later.
Albus Dumbledore looked at the little dragon until it disappeared out of
view. A small smile was stuck on his face as he recalled what just
happened. He was on his way back to his office when the distinct sound
of something hitting a window came out and he slowly got in, resting out
of sight for a few seconds until he found the culprit.
Never did he imagined a dragon to come up to his office but he was
agreeably surprised to recognize the dragon as the same one that was
spying on the students in the Great Hall last night. It didn't took long for
him to find what was the creature looking at and he amused himself at
seeing the annoyed look of the dragon, clearly pissed to not have access
to the objects of his desire. Albus had chuckled at the thought that the
dragon could try all day long for nothing as the windows of his office
were enchanted to resist the strongest assaults.
He put an end to the dragon attacks on his window by jumping out of the
shadow right in front of him and a new smile grew on his face when the
dragon, obviously startled, fell backward.
Even if he had to agree with Minerva that dragons were dangerous
creatures, he couldn't help but find this one amusing. In no case was he a
specialist but he learned quite a bit about dragons in his long life and
never did he read or heard about a dragon either this small or so
obsessed by gold and precious materials. It was even a myth in most
cases, an ancient story spread by muggles centuries ago and that stuck in
most minds.
In a better mood, he sat on his chair and took a pile of letters that
required his attention, the dragon turning in a thought in the back of his
mind.
Annoyed to have been denied his gold and to have spent so long looking
for more, Harry wasn't about to stop. He would not return to his nest
before getting at least a coin. Flying around the tower where his nest
was, he went to each window to find rooms full of beds and stuff without
any humans. He didn't know if the windows would be like the one who
stood up to him but he wasn't about to try his luck now.
And speaking about luck, his eyes caught the sight of an open window
leading to a room almost identical to the ones he just saw. Hovering in
front of it, he looked and didn't found a single human but beds with red
and golden covers along with clothes and stuff. Something that got his
attention though was the smell of the room, the same one than the
human girl in the train even if there was other smells mixed in the room.
This was a good lead, this girl gave him coins last time so there was
probably more hidden around. Harry looked around one more time
before landing on the window sill and entering the room, his small claws
clinking on the stone. He jumped on the bed and instantly started to sniff
everything around, trying to catch even the smallest scent of gold or
precious material. His nostrils lead him toward a small wooden construct
slightly ajar and he opened it up fully before sticking his head inside.
It was full of clothes of all sorts, perfectly stored in order and sharing the
same scent as the girl from the train. Some were long black robes, some
clothes that humans put on their feet and some small pink ones that he
couldn't guess the use for. But he was certain that some coins were here
or at the very least were here not long ago. He was reaching the end of
the drawer when a small scream almost startled him for the second time
today.
"Who touched my stuff?!" Said an offended voice behind him.
It had been a long day for Hermione. She hadn't been able to forget the
little dragon and her conversation with Professor McGonagall but the
Potions class had been horrible, not only was the professor obviously
against Gryffindor but she had been shushed after she gave too much
good answers. And to make things worse, they had this class along with
the Slytherin who were making all Gryffindor students feel horrible, she
even heard a few whispers talking about her.
Hermione just entered her room in the dormitory only to see that a few
of her clothes were scattered on the ground and that someone clearly
went through her personal belongings.
"Who touched my stuff?!" She asked both feeling angry and sad that
someone would do this to her just a day after she arrived.
Her outrage turned short when a move in the open drawer got her
attention and she stopped when the head of the golden dragon from the
train appeared. Hermione blushed a bit at the idea that the dragon was
between her panties and socks before palling as the dragon got out and
approached her, barely tall enough to reach her stomach as he used the
small claws at the elbows of his wings to come toward her.
She stood perfectly still as the dragon sniffed her and quickly turned
toward the pocket where she kept a few Knuts. The creature used her
robes as a support and tried to pass his head in the pockets.
"No!" She yelled suddenly, slapping the dragon on the head like she did
with her cat, looking with wide eyes at the dragon and afraid that he
would attack her.
He moved backward with a growl, apparently not taking well her sudden
cry of fear and her little slap. Reacting quickly, Hermione took out the
first coins that she could grab in her pocket and handed them to the
dragon who instantly calmed down, his eyes fixed on the small pieces of
bronze. His deep green eyes locked on her for a second, apparently
looking for a sign of threat or danger before he grabbed them in his
mouth and moved backward as his target was secured.
Watching with a strange fascination, Hermione dared not to move and
looked at the dragon jump to the window with a flap of his wings and
stood on the window sill for a few seconds before leaving her alone. Not
losing an instant, she ran after the fire breathing lizard and saw him fly
around the Gryffindor tower for a second only to lose sight of him.
Taking a big breath, Hermione turned around to look at the mess left
behind, puzzled on what to do now and trying to put some order in her
mind. It looked like the dragon took the open window as an opportunity
and searched her belongings for coins.
Mechanically, she started to arrange back her clothes that had been
thrown out of the drawer, taking a few minutes to do so before leaving
the dormitory to go find her favourite professor. She went through the
long corridors and the moving stairs for a few minutes, the big castle
being hard to travel quickly, and reached the office of Professor
McGonagall where she knocked on the door.
"Come in." Replied the old woman's voice from the inside.
Hermione did as she was invited and opened the door to quickly close it
behind her, a gesture that didn't escaped the professor that rose her head
and caught the slightly lost look in Hermione's eyes.
"Is everything alright, Miss Granger?" Professor McGonagall asked.
"I saw the dragon from the train, he was in my room." Flatly said
Hermione.
"Oh dear, he didn't hurt you right?" Asked the professor concerned
standing up.
"No. He was looking through my drawers, he was looking for more coins
or gold I think. I didn't saw him at first but he came out and started to
sniff my pockets as I have a few Knuts inside." Started to explain the
brunette girl with bushy hair.
"What happened next?" Professor McGonagall said looking at her student
for any sign of injury.
"I...slapped him on the head when he tried to reach my pocket."
"You- Miss Granger I hope this is a joke, what could possibly make you
slap a dragon?" Asked Professor McGonagall as her stern face returned.
"He acted like my cat, it was a reflex." Hermione confessed lowering her
head.
Professor McGonagall was about to reply but didn't got the time.
"I quickly gave him some of my coins. He grabbed them and left right
after that."
Minerva McGonagall was at a loss for words, not knowing if she should
take points away from her student for her recklessness or give her some
for her quick thinking. It took her a few seconds as she put some sense
behind Hermione's words before she could reply.
"Miss Granger, I would ask you to never do such a thing again. If you do
see the dragon again, please don't stay close to him and call either a
prefect or a teacher based on the most convenient. I'm going to have to
take five points from Gryffindor for reckless behavior, please note that I
never did such a thing only a day after the beginning of the classes." She
stated without mentioning the Weasley twins who had their own set of
records.
Hermione could only lower her head in shame, conscious of her mistake
that, when looking at it from an outside perspective, was completely
crazy.
"I'm also giving five points to Gryffindor for your good reaction after your
mistake which might have saved your life."
She almost broke her neck when she looked at her teacher, eyes wide
with a gobsmacked expression on her face.
"Please be careful, Miss Granger. It seems this dragon is closer than we
thought. I will notify the rest of the professors of this concerning news
and please try not to talk about this to the other students, it wouldn't do
well to panic now. You're allowed to return to your activities." Said
Professor McGonagall lifting her stern face a bit.
"Thank you." Simply replied Hermione before leaving the office, having a
hard time to believe what just happened.
She closed the door behind her and returned to her room where the
invasion and robbery of the little dragon, which was already in all minds
anyway since most first years saw him in the train, was once more shared
and quickly went through the whole castle.
Back in his nest, Harry gazed at his small pile of coins now bigger by five
bronze coins. He returned as soon as he left the human, happy to finally
having been able to find some precious and shiny for his growing hoard.
The girl had the audacity to attack him for some reason but then she
offered him some coins, probably as a token of peace for her aggressive
behaviour.
It took him a long time to find this window and get his teeth on more
coins and he pondered if this human would give him more since she
seemed to always have some.
5. Chapter 5
I do not own nor possess any right over Harry Potter, all rights belongs to
J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 5
The last week in Hogwarts went very normally for everyone in the school
of magic. Well almost everyone. The past few days, many students and
even a few teachers reported the disappearance of some of their personal
belongings, more specifically their money and jewellery with an estimate
of one or two robberies per day. Annoyance and suspicion quickly grew
in the school and everyone was very careful not to let their precious
valuables in sight, but even then coins and even a precious collar
belonging to a Hufflepuff girl still disappeared.
High in his tower, sat in his office, Albus Dumbledore already had a good
idea of who was behind this thefts but what he didn't came up yet was
what to do about it. Certainly, he could contact the Romanian dragon
reserve and have the dragon removed by professionals, but something
told him that it wasn't the right solution. After all the little dragon had
done no harm, except a bite on the young Malfoy, and kept to gathering
more for his hoard. But Minerval McGonagall wasn't sharing his views
and repetitively asked him to act and make sure that the little threat
wasn't around their students anymore.
Should he try to catch the dragon? Should he let him be free?
It didn't really matter in the end, but he already knew he would had to
address this issue soon as too many students had already complained and
he couldn't let the suspicion and fear take over his school.
But then a small idea came to his mind, a very simple one that wouldn't
require to capture the dragon but would explain everything. It wouldn't
only require the presence of one particular guest.
Hermione had just finished her last class today and was heading back to
her room. Many other students asked her why she returned there so early
everyday and she always replied that she just wanted to see something,
which was absolutely true.
The little dragon came back everyday, staying at the window for a few
minutes at the same time like a clock before flying away when he
understood that he would not be allowed to enter. Hermione saw him
twice do it and remained hidden, observing the small dragon from afar
with a great fascination for the mythical creature. She would be lying if
she said that she was not scared by his fangs and claws but after a bit of
reasoning she thought that her cat had the same characteristic but he
wasn't attacking her either.
She spent a lot of time in the library to read and learn more about
dragons. She found out a lot about them but, to her growing
disappointment, nothing on this species of dragon. The books said that
the smallest dragons were around three meters long when the one that
kept coming to her window was clearly not a young one since it already
had its horns and yet it was half the size, far less aggressive that other
dragons and not displaying the same behaviour.
After building up some courage, she even asked Professor McGonagall
about it and she said not knowing much about dragons as well as trying
to discourage her to get closer to the dragon.
But Hermione wasn't in Gryffindor for nothing, she would persevere and
find out this dragon's mysteries.
She already had her plan and had started to gather the equipment
required, being a pair of thick gloves and a brown apron from Pomona
Sprout, the teacher of Herbology, that would protect her should the
dragon reveal itself to be aggressive. Along with that she also prepared
some coins and even a slice of bacon that she kept from today's breakfast.
But for that she needed him to come back and that's why she was quickly
making her way toward her room to arrive before the creature.
Once there she immediately opened the window, not without a certain
apprehension, and readied herself in wait for the dragon.
Harry was just returning from his morning hunt. His past days passed
fairly quickly and simply but he was very happy with the growing size of
his hoard, managing to get on average five to ten coins everyday by
entering open rooms and he even got a collar and a pair of earrings.
Every morning he would go hunt, come back check on his hoard and
then hunt the school grounds in search for anything suitable for his
hoard. Thanks to those flights, he managed to get a rough map of the
castle and he found a few small passages that were big enough for him to
enter but too small for the humans to follow.
What he also did everyday was returning to the brown hair girl that gave
him coins twice already but he always ended up in front of a closed
window.
Today was no different and so he headed for the window and was
happily surprised to see it opened. Flying around lazily, he landed on the
window sill and retracted his wings to fit inside before looking around.
His eyes landed on the girl that was sat on her bed, looking straight at
him with a heavy pair of gloves, an apron and a plate that smelled really
nice behind her.
"Hello." Shyly greeted Hermione not moving. She read that the best way
to interact with a dragon was to remain calm at all times and to avoid
any sudden movements. But that was true for dangerous, very big
dragons, so she could only speculate on what reactions this dragon would
have.
Wary, Harry jumped on the floor and got closer. Hermione moved to grab
a Knut and offered it to him, extending her hand covered by the
dragonhide glove. Still careful, Harry walked to her and quickly caught
the coin before moving backward already thinking to go back to his
hoard.
"Wait." Gently called Hermione.
Turning around, not at the word for he didn't know it, but rather at the
simple fact that she spoke, he saw that she had another coin in her hand.
Curious, and mostly attracted by the coin, he dropped the one that he
already had behind him and moved to grab the new coin offered to him.
But before he could reach it Hermione closed her hand and he looked at
her with an expecting look.
"No." She simply said.
'Give it to me!' He asked frustrated in a little cry.
"No. I heard how you stole everyone else and you need to learn that this
is not got good." She explained like if she understood what he said.
Annoyed, Harry got closer and tried to force her hand by pressing his
muzzle inside but Hermione simply retracted her hand while giving him
the sternest look she could master before repeating herself.
"No."
Now Harry was starting to get angry. She kept denying him of this coin
even after she showed it to him, he didn't understood everything she said
as his knowledge of humans words was very limited, but he understood
the message. He saw many times humans use this word to refuse each
others. He just didn't felt concerned and he let out a little growl to make
it known.
"No." Steeled herself Hermione, trying to remain stern even if she was
starting to panic when he growled. Even if he was small, the dragon in
front of her was still a dangerous predator that could either bite or burn
her.
'Ugh, fine!' Conceded Harry retreating, ready to pick up the single coin he
got and leave the annoying girl alone.
"Yes, that's good." Happily sighed Hermione, letting the anxiousness go
down. She opened her hand and showed the coin to the little dragon.
Eyeing the coin, Harry stopped and looked straight into Hermione's eyes
looking for any form of trickery or malice.
"Go on." She encouraged him with a smile.
Slowly, Harry made his way back to her and carefully grabbed the coin,
giving a quick glance at Hermione and looking for her approval before
taking the coin as she did nothing else but smile.
"Good. Now, we're going to do that again and if you're a good dragon I'll
give you a treat at the end."
Hermione grabbed a Sickle, a coin made out of silver that got the interest
of Harry in less than a second. He knew this was more valuable than the
other ones, he didn't know how or why but he knew it was rarer. Putting
the Knut in his mouth with the first one, he went to grab the coin and
eyed Hermione who shifted quickly but didn't closed her hand.
"No." She said.
'I want it!' He whined getting closer.
"No." Repeated Hermione sternly, not giving any ground to the dragon.
Knowing he wouldn't get the coin otherwise, he stopped and waited for
her. Hermione was delighted and extended her arm, shoving the coin
right in front of him. She couldn't believe that she was doing it! She was
teaching the dragon how to behave and it was working! It also meant
that he was understanding her at some degree, something that wasn't
possible according to her books.
"Good." She complemented him.
Reacting quickly, Harry grabbed the Sickle and placed it with the two
Knuts before turning toward Hermione, expecting more from her.
Understanding, she grabbed another Knut and placed it in her hand.
"Yes, you can take it."
He took the coin and turned toward her again.
"One more time? Okay. No." Said Hermione handing him a second Sickle.
Harry stared at the coin but didn't made any movement, waiting for her
approval as he now knew this was the way to get the coins. A few
seconds passed before Hermione's smile widened and she gave him the
authorization he was eagerly waiting.
"Good dragon."
It didn't took long for him to get the coin and he turned toward her
again. This was awesome from his perspective, he was getting more coins
and learning how to get them from humans, a double win!
"Sorry but I don't have anymore coins for you, I don't want to end up
broke before the end of the month. But since you have been such a good
student I have a little reward for you." Hermione congratulated him
before reaching for the plate behind her and grasped the piece of bacon
to hand it to the little dragon.
The invasive and divine smell quickly got to him and he walked closer,
staring at it and already starting to open his mouth. But he suddenly
remembered what he just did with the girl and looked at her in the eye,
frozen barely a few centimeters from her.
"Yes." She simply said.
Not waiting for another second, he grabbed it and ate the small slice in
two clean bites. Hermione couldn't help but see her cat, maybe a bit
smarter than her cat, in the little dragon and she moved her hand by
reflex and stroked him on the head for a few seconds and taking care not
to touch his horns.
Harry froze for a second, eyeing her carefully and ready to attack at any
moment. Never did any creature touched him like this before. In fact, the
only creatures he ever entered in contact with ended up in his stomach.
Expecting a threat, he did not react at first but relaxed after a short
moment, appreciating the calming motion on his head.
Hermione was stuck in the motion, not only appreciating it herself but
also aware that she was taming a wild dragon. All her books said that it
was pure madness to even attempt approaching a dragon but she did it
and managed to have its trust!
"You're a nice dragon. Would you mind coming back later?" She asked.
'Hmmm.' He thought in bliss as he was starting to completely melt in the
stroke.
Pulling her hand back, Hermione looked at him for a few seconds before
he managed to gather his spirits. Harry walked to the small pile of coins
and took them all in his mouth before walking back to the window and
he climbed the wall before giving Hermione a last glance and he jumped
in the air, extending his wings and flying back to his hoard.
Still sitting on her bed, Hermione was overjoyed as she removed the
gloves and the apron to place them next to her. She was replaying the
whole interaction in her head when she wondered if she should share
what she just did with Professor McGonagall. On one hand she did
managed to successfully tame the dragon, at least to a certain degree, but
on the other hand there was a high probability that she would be
punished for her rather dangerous decision.
In the end she settled to not reveal anything, not yet. She wanted to try
other things with the little dragon and understand why he was so
different from the others described in the books she read, she already
thought about the possibility that this was a brand new species of dragon.
6. Chapter 6
I do not own nor possess any right over Harry Potter, all rights belongs to
J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 6
The sun was already high when Harry woke up and he quickly
disappeared in the sky, flying high to avoid being seen and going to hunt
his daily meal over the forests and fields. His accurate eyes quickly
sighted a little mouse near a tree, close to a burrow that was too small for
him to fit in. Patient, he waited for the mouse to walk away from the
burrow before closing his wings and diving at high speed toward his
unsuspecting prey.
He slowed down only a few meters above the mouse that looked up at
the sound of his wings and make a run for the burrow. But it was already
too late for his sharp claws grabbed the animal in a swift move before
Harry rose into the hair. He kept the mouse in his claws, letting the
mouse struggle for nothing before it was too exhausted to fight the small
dragon who moved in the air to bit the mouse and ending its life.
Not really satisfied with such a small meal, Harry continued his hunt for
an hour but either no other prey showed up or the ones he was looking at
hid from him before he could strike.
So it's a bit hungry that he flew back to his hoard and like usual, checked
that nothing had even moved. He was a dragon, he would know if a
single coin would have been moved during his absence, he learned the
shape and details of each one to make sure to know if a thief thought he
could take away his treasure without him noticing.
Leaving his hoard again, he flew around the tower for a while before
flying toward the massive tower with the indestructible window where
many precious and shiny trinkets made out of gold where displayed.
Even if he couldn't access it, Harry couldn't help himself to go gaze upon
the beautiful pieces of gold that he wished to add to his hoard. He landed
on the window to see that the old human who kept the gold away was
here, sitting at his desk with a quill in one hand and the other holding a
parchment on the table, sometimes dipping the tip of the feather into a
ink bottle.
Harry's arrival didn't went unnoticed and Albus looked up to see the
golden dragon. He didn't managed to see him often but he knew that the
dragon was coming regularly at his window, with the only difference was
that now he wasn't trying anymore to break the window, apparently
content to stay and look at the various tools and jewels displayed in his
office.
"Good morning." Greeted the old man with a small smile adorning his
face.
Harry stopped looking at the treasures to stare at the man for no more
than a few seconds before his gaze returned on what really interested
him.
"I'm sure you would like to look at me if I was made out of gold."
Chuckled the old headmaster.
Albus was not quite sure of what to do with the dragon since he wasn't
really bothering anyone except stealing from everyone around the castle.
But the issue still had to be addressed and Minerva was pressing him to
do something and now even Snape was also getting annoyed at him from
the moment the dragon had took a single Knut from the stiff man.
Looking at his little visitor, Albus grabbed a Galleon and moved closer to
the window, instantly attracting the attention of the golden dragon. In a
swift move, he unlocked the window and couldn't help but smile as the
little creature seemed puzzle to see the unbreakable glass give way that
easily.
"Here you go, my little friend. Please do keep this between us, I'm not
sure dear Minerva appreciates my liking to you."
Cautious, Harry who couldn't believe that he was finally able to have a
golden coin, looked at the old man before stretching his neck and was
about to take the coin when he remembered the lesson of the human girl
named Hermione and the proper way to get coins from humans. So he
looked at Albus, barely controlling his envy to simply take the coin right
now.
"Yes my little friend, it is for you." Encouraged him Albus, surprised to
see the dragon seemingly waiting for his approval.
Not wasting another second, Harry took the coin with his teeth and
extended his wings to jump in the air and fly away from the old
headmaster who couldn't erase the small smile on his face. Harry quickly
went to his hoard and entered the window to directly go to his pile of
treasures and with the utmost carefulness placed the golden coin on top
of his pile, a stark difference of the many Knuts and few Sickles he
already managed to get.
Today was Saturday and Hermione was enjoying her day, patiently
waiting for the little dragon to come as she knew not a day passed
without his visit. He probably didn't even know about the concept of
weekend and the fact that Hermione would be waiting for him the whole
day.
But her behaviour was starting to attract questions from Ron, Neville and
also Parvati who she shared her room with. All had noticed how much
she remained in the dormitory and at first the two boys thoughts she was
there studying but they could only wonder what she was really doing
once Parvati told them that she wasn't studying anything. A strange fact
in itself knowing how much the girl loved to study.
Even if she heard much and was grateful for her friends worries, she
wouldn't tell them the truth no matter how much they asked. Ask they
did and every time they got the same answer as she felt that the little
dragon was her secret and she knew the reactions wouldn't be very
positive should it be revealed. Just seeing how Professor McGonagall was
asking her about the dragon and her obvious view on how the dragon
should be dealt with didn't helped Hermione to decide.
And right now she was thinking about the little coin collector. He was
coming everyday and she felt like she couldn't keep calling him dragon,
he was already starting to appear as a pet, no a friend to her. Even if the
dragon was only coming for the coins, she did managed to teach him to
accept being refused his desire and even petted him, a most unusual feet
according to the many books on dragons she read.
Hermione was about to start thinking about a name when something got
her out of her thoughts.
TUNK
She instantly stood up from her bed to see the dragon at the window,
obviously the one who made the noise, and she quickly walked to the
window to let the dragon in, just after giving one last glance behind her
to make sure no one else was coming.
Opening the window, she smiled as the dragon entered without even a
doubt and she moved back to her bed, sitting down on it as the dragon
remained in front of her, his emerald eyes staring right at her.
Harry didn't thought the human girl would be here already as he came
earlier than usual, but he was happy to see her nonetheless. He had to get
her attention by attacking the window and she did let him in, and now
he was waiting for his daily collect.
"Hello, how are you?" Asked Hermione putting on the gloves of Professor
Sprout, a simple safety even if she didn't felt threatened in any way.
Harry didn't replied as he barely understood what she said, merely
observing her. He did frown when she got her hand closer and thought
about moving away but stood still until the protected hand landed on his
head and started to stroke him nicely as he remembered the same feeling
a few days ago.
With a wide smile on her face, Hermione saw the dragon lean in her
stroke and she continued for a little minute, the two sharing a perfect
silence until she thought to hear a growl only to understand that it was
something close to a purr yet slightly different.
"You know, I've been thinking about a few names for you. Do you mind if
I give you one?" She asked gently turning the dragon's head toward her.
'Name?' Harry wondered. He knew what names were as he saw all
humans share different ones but he didn't know he could have one, it
never really seemed very important to him as he never really got into any
sort of conversation before.
"Since your obviously a male based on your spikes,"she said thinking
about the books she read, "we need a suitable name and luckily for you,
I've already got a few."
"First, I was thinking of Goldy seeing how much you like coins and how
your scales looks like."
'Goldy? It doesn't seem good. Humans have such weird names.' He thought
giving her a small hiss.
"Okay so not Goldy. Hmm... what about Precious? No, no, too cliché and
it doesn't suit a dragon." She interrupted herself.
'Do I need a name?... I am unique. A unique name.' He hissed in agreement
even if she couldn't understand.
"I know you wouldn't like it. What about Emerald? That's what your eyes
remind me of."
'I don't understand.' He hissed, having heard too many words too quickly.
"Tough to decide huh. Then what do you think about Shimmer? I know
it's not a scary name or very impressive, but you are really beautiful with
your golden scales so it would be a shame to not give you a name based
on them."
'Shimmer?' Thought Harry, stopped as he examined the name. He couldn't
understand the meaning but the sound of it pleased his ego and he knew
he would enjoy that name. Moving his head, he leaned into Hermione's
hand to purr lightly.
"I'm glad you like it, Shimmer." Widely smiled Hermione, stroking the
newly named dragon affectionately. Happy to have named him, they
remained like this with her stroking his head and him purring softly.
Suddenly Hermione got an idea. Since the dragon understood the concept
of yes and no, it might be possible to teach him his name and hers.
"Shimmer." She called and he turned to her for her greatest joy, and quite
a deal of shock at how fast Shimmer understood that this was his name.
But now came the hard part and she pointed a finger toward her.
"Hermione. My name is Hermione."
'What does she want me to do? Say it?' He pondered, understanding her
name but not the whole intention behind. He never spoke before, not
seeing the point of even learning about it.
"Your name is Shimmer. My name is Hermione." She repeated pointing at
him then at herself.
"Ion." He managed to said, frowning at how difficult it was, in a voice
that seemed to be between a real slightly squeaky voice and a feral
growl.
Hermione's eyes opened wide and her mouth fell agape, not capable to
process that the dragon was trying to speak. It took her a few seconds
before she recovered and even then she still had a hard time to accept
what she just saw and heard.
"You... speak. Say it again! Hermione." She repeated slowly.
"Ion." He said.
" .On.E." She repeated again and giving great care to separate the
syllables.
"Her. " He attempted, dissatisfied with himself for not being capable to do
something that these humans could achieve with ease.
"We're getting there. .On.E." She approuved.
"Herione."
"Almost! Hermione."
"Hermione." The now named Shimmer managed to say, looking at
Hermione who instantly grew a wider smile.
"Yes! You did it. One more time, Hermione!" She cheered, bringing a
hand to pet his head.
Of course he succeeded, what kind of dragon would he be if he could
hunt a mouse but be incapable to speak with humans. It wasn't as hard
since the mouse could ran away but speaking was just moving his mouth
and tongue and make noises to form words. But, he had to concede that
it was harder than he expected.
"Hermione."
"Perfect, still a bit hoarse but I suppose dragons don't have the same
vocal cords. Now let's try yours: Shimmer."
"Sheemer." Shimmer said.
"Almost on your first try! Come on, Shimmer." Hermione encouraged
him.
"Shimmer."
"Perfect! You're a very smart dragon Shimmer!" She said before handing
him two Sickles, not forgetting to reward him for his efforts and to use
his name as much as possible to get him used to it.
Shimmer's eyes glinted for a second before he moved forward to grab the
coins but stopped right before, looking at Hermione for her approval.
"Go on, you deserve them". She said with a smile.
He didn't understood the word 'deserve', but the intent was clear both in
her eyes and in her voice, so he grabbed the two coins before walking
away toward the window. Using the small claws on his wings, he climbed
the little wall beneath the window and used his small but strong legs to
push himself on the window sill. He looked behind him and saw
Hermione looking at him from her bed with her usual smile. He wanted
to thank her, a first for him but he had no idea on either how to do that
or to how he could say it.
"Have a good day." She said.
"Hermione." He replied before leaving her.
Hermione kept a small smile for the next few minutes before she stood up
and closed the window, still thinking about what she had just done
before it finally sunk in. She made a dragon talk! Sure it was only two
words but the dragon understood the meaning of the words, that it was
their names, and managed to speak them, something that wasn't even
said in books as dragons were never thought to be able to speak at all. It
was supposed to be impossible and yet she succeeded. The more she
reflected on this the more she believed that this dragon was either unique
or from a species that was completely new.
This dragon was a mystery that only grew bigger and she would be the
one to uncover it.
7. Chapter 7
I do not own nor possess any right over Harry Potter, all rights belongs to
J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 7
Shimmer woke up as usual, stretched a bit and took off for his morning
hunt, flying through a very grey sky that looked ready to make rain fall
upon the castle. His wings quickly took him above the forest where he
often found mouses and other little prey. He remained high, keeping the
advantage of surprise and observing everything around with his excellent
sight for half an hour before he spotted a prey of the best quality.
A hare, a fine meal indeed. Not that it was rare but catching one was
always a bit tricky due to their speed on the ground. Of course he was
faster but he couldn't manoeuvre as fast as them so a bit of stealth was
always required when trying to catch one.
Settling on eating this prey, he positioned himself to be in the right
direction, observed for a few more seconds and waiting for the right
timing before diving at full speed with his wings closed. Shimmer was so
fast that the hare didn't got more than a few seconds to raise its head
before getting violently pushed on the ground, sharp claws keeping it
stuck. Sticking like lightning, a large number of fangs ended it's life
almost as fast as the attack happened and in less than a minute Shimmer
had his meal. His sharp and powerful fangs made it a child's play to eat
the hare and almost nothing remained in short time, a meal that he didn't
had in quite a while and would let him satiated for two days.
Returning to the air with a powerful flap of his wings, Shimmer returned
to the castle to see a little rain falling on the numerous roof tiles before
sliding on the ground. It wasn't the best feeling to be wet but Shimmer
didn't really mind as he didn't had the choice if he wanted to go back to
his lair. Going faster, he reached the window of his lair quickly and
shook himself a bit before resting on his hoard, the feeling and scent of
gold instantly making him forget about the water outside and it didn't
took long before he fell asleep.
He awoke only an hour latter from his digestive nap and looked outside
to see that the grey clouds were still there but at least it had stopped
raining. Satisfied so far with his morning, Shimmer reached the window
and jumped to go see his favorite human friend and flew down around
the tower to reach the room where she usually was.
But to his disappointment Hermione wasn't here today, he did knocked
on the window a few times in an attempt to get her attention but it was
all in vain as after ten minutes no one showed up. And that wouldn't do,
how would he get his daily coins if Hermione wasn't even present to gave
it to him?
'Hermione.' He thought briefly, thinking about how the use of name could
make it easier for him to get coins. It was indeed easier if he could call
the human so he gave it a try.
"Hermione!" He screeched loudly, looking through the window in another
attempt to see her but that was for naught as no one replied.
A bit grumpy, he jumped in the air and flew toward the tower of the old
man only to see that he was too absent. Even if Shimmer did like to stare
at the gold displayed in the office, it wasn't very interesting if he couldn't
access it. So it's an even grumpier dragon that left the headmaster's
window to fly down toward the other building of the castle, reaching for
a small hole in the wall that allowed him to enter the school unseen.
Looking around, he saw that the corridors were almost completely
empty, quite a luck for him. Staying close to the high ceiling, he moved
around and was as stunned as always when he passed near the many
paintings hanging on the walls. Not only were there people and creatures
moving inside them like if they weren't trapped but they also didn't
smelled like living creatures, an anomaly that he couldn't understand.
"The little burner is back!" Screamed one lady in a painting on the
opposite wall, quickly moving in other paintings as fear spread among
the paintings, all afraid of the flames of the dragon.
"Fear not! This one is no match for me, Sir Gallen Strongfeet!" Said
another painting, a man in armour rushing toward him with a sword in
hand.
Shimmer watched with amusement the man come in the painting right
beneath him and trying to force him to go away, even if he was just a
painting. He understood perfectly well why they were afraid but he didn't
felt threatened in any way, after all they were just moving colours to
him.
"Shoo! Shoo! Go away!" Firmly said the probable knight.
Knowing that staying here would only be bad, he left and flew in another
part of the castle where the paintings were not aware yet of his presence
and just lazily moved around in the empty corridors. He did so until he
heard a voice that he recognized beyond a large wooden door and
stopped right above it to listen.
"It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long." Said the
obvious voice of Hermione.
"You do it, then, if you're so clever," Another voice that he barely
recognized said with a snarky tone.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" Hermione said.
"Oh, well done!" cried a cherry person, clapping. "Everyone see here, Miss
Granger's done it!"
Curious, Shimmer remained above the door for a few more minutes
before the classes apparently stopped and a flow of students entered the
corridors. Climbing slightly higher to remain unseen, he stood there until
the unmistakable hairs of Hermione appeared and he followed them,
keeping his eyes on her before leaving his spot and passing well above
the students, too taken in their own discussions to notice the golden
dragon flying above them.
As Hermione entered a new room with several students, he took
opportunity of a small gap in the door and entered in a flash before it
closed and he quickly reached the ceiling to hide and wait. Observing the
room, he was quite surprise to see a cat on the table and wondered if he
could eat it and saw that the animal was looking straight at him.
Little did he know, Minerva McGonagall was trying to remain calm. Her
students knew by now that she was the cat but by remaining in her
animagus form she could hide her fears a bit as she was starring at the
dragon who entered her class with her students. Thankfully the dragon
didn't seem to be hostile but she wouldn't take any risk and attacking it
was one of those risks. The first thing to do was to make sure that none
would even notice him in the first place and hope for the best, she was
good with spells and catching a dragon as small as this one wasn't outside
her capabilities but doing so with a full class of first years was too
dangerous. Transforming back to her human form, she made sure to keep
her eyes on her students.
"Hello children, today we will continue to transfigure a match into a
needle for those who didn't succeeded last time, that is everyone except
Miss Granger for whom I have prepared something different." Started
Professor McGonagall with a stern voice, making sure that no student
would even dare to think looking around in this class.
The whole lot of students remained silent and they all drew their wands
and notes as she gave each of them a match before addressing to
Hermione, placing a little mouse locked in a glass box before her.
"Miss Granger, I want you to try the Mice to Snuffboxes spell. This spell is
a bit trickier than the needle one as you will be changing a living
creature into a box. The prettier the box the better, I'm sure you can do it
but take your time reading these notes first." Advised Professor
McGonagall to her favorite student.
"Yes mam."
The Deputy Headmistress turned around and gave a subtle look toward
the dragon to see that he thankfully hadn't moved and seemed very
captivated by the mouse. She hoped it wouldn't gave him any idea and
made sure to keep an eye on him at all times.
Perched high near the ceiling, Shimmer was only looking at Hermione
and the strange woman who somehow managed to appear as a cat
before. Even five minutes after she did it he simply couldn't understand
how it was possible and wondered if all the other animals were human
disguised, it started to hurt his head just by thinking about it so he
focused on Hermione and the little snack before her, wondering what she
was waiting for to eat it. Since the mouse didn't changed into a human he
supposed that not all animals were humans, a reassuring feeling as he
didn't want to know if he ate one disguised as a hare.
But his eyes widened and he recoiled a bit when the mouse in front of
Hermione transformed into a golden box in an instant, right after a flick
of her wand.
Minerva couldn't help but let out a chuckle when she saw the face of the
dragon at Hermione's success, attracting the attention of her students for
a second before she managed to get back her straight face.
"Very good Miss Granger, five points for Gryffindor." She congratulated
her student with a smile. "Now change it back and keep practicing if you
please."
Shimmer watched with fascination for an hour, seeing the mouse being
changed into a box before being returned to normal. He also gave a look
at the other humans who were changing a stick into a thinner and silvery
stick, even if he couldn't even understand why anyone would ever do
anything like this.
Soon the class ended and he moved to leave when he saw the eyes of the
professor on him, eyeing him with narrowed eyes that promised
something. But what he could only wonder. So he simply left and
remained in the corridor only to find out that Hermione had disappeared
and he now had nothing left to do beside going back to his hoard.
Minerva got out of her class quickly after the dragon and saw him fly
around the corridors for a bit before going inside a little hole that lead
outside judging by the dragon flying by a window ten seconds later. Even
if she didn't wanted to admit it, mainly to Dumbledore as he would not
stop to annoy her afterward, the little dragon was indeed a cute little
one. Plus, she never saw a dragon as calm and inquisitive as this one. He
was still stealing coins though.
Back in his lair, Shimmer remained there for only a short time before
feeling that it was time to meet with Hermione.
Making his way through the air, he arrived to see the window opened
this time for his greatest pleasure and landed right on the window sill.
His arrival didn't went unnoticed as Hermione quickly made her presence
know.
"Shimmer! How are you today?" She asked cheerily.
"Hermione." He replied with his slightly raspy voice, jumping on the
ground with the help of his wing/arms to land.
"Right, we probably won't have a proper conversation before a while."
Hermione said more for herself than him as he didn't understood the
meaning of her statement.
"Hermione." He repeated as he got closer to the bed she was sat upon.
"Yes, yes. You want your coins but I want to try something new today."
The bushy brown hair girl replied, taking a sickle in her hand.
Shimmer stopped right in front of her, waiting patiently even if the
simple sight of the coin was enough to get his patience cut in half, and
extended his head to catch the coin under the watchful eyes of Hermione.
"Go on." She encouraged him.
He took the coin as usual and started to turn when he was stopped.
"Shimmer."
Turning around, he saw that she had her hand opened in front of him but
completely empty. Surprised and a bit confused, he looked at both her
empty hand and her head, trying to understand what she wanted.
"Give me the coin back please." She asked, making a motion with her
hand to go toward her.
'Why should I give you my coin?' He hissed angrily. If there was one thing
he never did before was to give a coin, he always took them but never
did he even thought about giving one. This was an absurd idea!
"Shimmer. Give me the coin please." She repeated with a strangely
authoritarian voice, one that he would not have expected from her.
A bit confused, he looked at her eyes to see that Hermione was frowning
at her and it made her look almost intimidating. He never considered the
young human as a danger but right now he realized that she towered
over him like any other human and that was one of the reasons he was
wary of them. Still, he wouldn't give the coin back since it was his now
and he had to bring it back to the hoard.
"Shimmer." She said again, her frown deepening even more.
Now he really felt like it would be a bad idea to disobey her. He briefly
wondered if she would stop giving him coins if he didn't obeyed, which
was troublesome. And more worrying, he also remembered seeing her
change a mouse into a box not even twenty minutes ago and he feared
that she might do the same to him if he made her angry.
Going against his most natural instincts, he slowly crossed the short
distance between the two of them, pondering at each step if he was doing
the right thing, and opened his mouth to place the coin in Hermione's
hand. As soon as he did so, he watched with surprise as her frown
vanished to be replaced with a wide smile and a little glint in her eyes.
"Very good Shimmer, I knew you could do it!" She cheered before giving
him not one but two coins.
More than shocked, he moved to take the coins and after a quick nod of
approval from Hermione grabbed them only to look at her, afraid that
she would take his coins again.
"Don't worry Shimmer, these ones are yours now." She said with a smile.
He placed the coins on the ground near the window and returned next to
her, placing his head on her lap as she let out a little coo of surprise.
"You're almost like my parent's cat you know?" Hermione said fondly,
stroking his head for a few seconds before he started to purr slowly,
remembering her even more of said cat.
They remained like that for a few minutes before footsteps and voice
came from the other side of the closed door and Hermione quickly
figured out that it would do her no good to be seen with Shimmer.
Standing up and ignoring the small indignant cry from the little dragon,
she took the coins on the ground and handed them to him as she pointed
the window.
"You need to leave Shimmer, nobody can know that you're here!" She
quickly whispered as Shimmer caught the coins.
A bit confused but understanding what she meant, he reached the
window and jumped barely a second before Parvati entered while waving
at another Gryffindor of second year.
"Hermione? What are you doing here? I swear you're deliberately trying
to stay here as much as you can." Said Parvati not really surprised at this
point.
"I just like to be here." Replied Hermione very naturally.
"With the window wide open? It's starting to get cold you know."
"I like to watch the sky."
"Sure." Concluded Parvati before sitting on her own bed.
Focusing on Shimmer, Hermione wondered what she would be teaching
the dragon next time. Even if it might have not seem very important, she
managed to force the dragon to willingly give back the coin and this
meant that he could learn what was right and what was wrong. He would
need to know that if she wanted to teach him how to speak, the bases of
social and moral interactions would have to come later.
8. Chapter 8
I do not own nor possess any right over Harry Potter, all rights belongs to
J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 8
Another couple of nights had passed nicely that Shimmer woke up early
in the morning, yawning and stretching for a few seconds before
checking his ever growing hoard of coins and precious jewellery. He did
that every morning to be sure to find the same number than the day
before, a safety to make sure that no thief were coming at night while he
was asleep.
Satisfied with his hoard, he jumped on the window sill and looked at the
blue sky slightly covered with some white clouds, promising a beautiful
day ahead even if he wasn't very concerned by the weather as long as it
didn't stopped him to fly. He jumped in the void before opening his long
wings wide as he stared to glide down toward the fields to find his daily
meal. He flew above a few fields, a small forest and quite a few different
places but didn't managed to find anything even remotely interesting, the
only good prey he saw being a squirrel than ran away as soon as
Shimmer arrived.
After a whole hour trying to find food, he turned around quite hungry
and grumpy as he saw the castle grow taller as he picked up speed. His
flight took him above the school grounds and he noticed the giant man
that he saw a few times already, carrying a large axe in one hand and an
impressive quantity of logs on his shoulder, kept in place by his other
arm. Shimmer tried to remain far from him as much as possible, he didn't
know if the man was dangerous or not but his size made him quite
intimidating and Shimmer was already wary of regular humans. His
curiosity stirred by the giant bearded man, he started to follow him from
above until they reached a very large hut that was actually not that big
for the giant of a man that had his head almost reaching the top of the
door.
But then he thought about something that could change everything about
this giant. 'Do taller humans have more gold?' He wondered as until now all
adults humans had more money than their youngsters, it actually made
sense to him. And following this theory this giant could possibly have the
most impressive hoard of the school. For what other reason could force
him to live so far from other humans if not to protect his gold.
Flying around to lose altitude, Shimmer gently landed on the window sill
of a closed window and started to look through it. Inside the hut the
giant had carried the logs near a fireplace and was now starting to
grossly cut down vegetables before putting them in a large bowl, making
a big mix for a few minutes until he took the bowl and crushed
everything inside with a large spoon. But even if it was interesting to see
the giant cook it wasn't why Shimmer was here and he gazed through the
whole room in search of coins or anything that could be precious only to
be disappointed. There wasn't a single object even remotely interesting
and not a single coin. Either the giant was the poorest human he ever
saw or he hid his hoard with greater skills than him.
His eyes fixed again of the giant that was now preparing some large piece
of meat, instantly reviving the hunger that he managed to forgot in his
search for gold. There was so much meat being processed, either into a
black cauldron over a fire or being cut in slices by the giant and the very
crude but very sharp knife in his hand, the sight of all of this being
enough for Shimmer to start drooling on the window as he had stuck his
face closer in an attempt to reach for the meat.
But his presence didn't went unnoticed as the giant finally caught sight of
him at his window and reacted in a way that the little dragon didn't
expected.
"Aren't you a little cutie?" Said the giant with a smile almost as wide as
his face, dropping the knife on the table before walking toward the
window that he quickly opened.
Shimmer remained there, wary and cautious at this giant man even if the
smile and happiness of the giant did great work to ease some of his fears.
The opened giant's right hand before him did puzzled him a bit and he
gave it a big sniff, looking for either coins or meat, only to be
disappointed to find nothing.
"Come on, I won't hurt you." The giant said, insisting with his hand.
As there was literally no other place for him to walk around, he hopped
on and tried to stand still, his tail circling the thick wrist for stability as
his talons dug lightly in the giant's skin who didn't seemed to mind, as
the massive hand moved backward and the giant's smile seemed to grow
even more than what Shimmer thought possible.
"You're not very big aren't you? Come on, I think I know what you were
looking at." Continued the giant as he let Shimmer get down on the table.
Without loosing a second, the giant reached for one of the slices of meat
he was preparing and handed it over to Shimmer who eyed the piece
eagerly, its size being big enough to make a good meal with only a single
portion. He lunged upward quickly as the meat dangled above his head
and bit hard into the meat, bringing it down as he started to tear it up
and chewing on it.
"Hungry aren't you? Well luckily for you I have plenty enough for the
both of us. I've been looking for you for quite a while now."
Shimmer was listening with only one ear, both focused on his meal and
not understanding the words the giant said.
"Professor Dumbledore asked me to find you but its you who found me
and I have to say that you're a bit smaller than I thought. Not a hatchling
but not much bigger, a male judging by your beautiful spikes and nothing
like that brat of a Malfoys says. He really didn't liked you biting his hand,
but you and I know that you had a good reason." Chuckled the giant as
he finished to prepare his meal and sat down in a very wide and
comfortable looking armchair, bringing the bowl on his knees as he used
a big fork to fish a big chunk of meat and a mush of vegetables.
They both continued to eat loudly, Shimmer tearing up his meat quite
loudly as the giant slurped almost as loudly every time he took some of
the liquid mush. Surprisingly, they also finished at the same time, the
giant putting the bowl back on his table and Shimmer licking his chops
as he felt fully satiated.
"Now, Minerva asked me to capture you and Snape want me to put
poisoned traps, but you don't seems like a bad dragon to me. Oy! I almost
forgot! My name's Hagrid, gatekeeper of Hogwarts. What am I going to
call you?" Smiled the now named Hagrid.
Even if he couldn't understand everything, it wasn't the first time that he
heard the word 'name' and he already knew its meaning thanks to
Hermione.
"Shimmer." He said looking at Hagrid.
The giant froze for a few seconds, mouth agape and eyes opened like if
he was crazy. His hands slowly went down and he took one extremely
careful step toward Shimmer who started to feel a bit uncomfortable in
front of the strange behaviour of the giant.
"Am I going nuts like Merlin or did you just talked?" Hagrid said very
slowly.
"Shimmer."
"...Merlin... you can talk. Can you say anything else?" Hagrid asked now
far quicker than before as almost as excited with a small smile on his
face.
"Shimmer." Shimmer repeated.
"Hmm, maybe not. But I've never heard of a dragon being capable to
speak at all. You have no idea how long I wanted to have a dragon, I'm
sure I could ask Dumbledore to let me keep you but I don't think the
other teachers would agree. Especially not Snape." Continued Hagrid who
reached for Shimmer's head with his massive hand and started to pet
him.
While he was a bit sceptical at first of the massive hand, he quickly
melted into the petting and started to purr loudly as he nuzzled the rough
skin above his head, surprising Hagrid even more than he already was.
"Well I'll have seen everything with you, a purring dragon! Ha!" Hagrid
laughed boomed into the hut.
Satisfied with both the meat and the petting, Shimmer felt like it was
time to go hunt for more coins for his hoard. He couldn't smell a single
trace of gold in the hut between the numerous strong smells of either
food or simply Hagrid's smell, meaning that there was either no gold at
all or it was the most hidden treasure in the world. Leaving the comfort
of the petting hand, he flew to the window in a flew flaps of his wings
and got ready to leave.
"Shimmer wait!" Called Hagrid using his name.
Shimmer turned around for a second to see Hagrid handing him a small
cube of meat. He looked at it a bit unsure and then at Hagrid.
"You can come back anytime." Said the giant with a smile as Shimmer
grabbed the small piece of meat before flying away.
Hagrid watched him leave with a heavy heart, he would love to keep the
little dragon in his hut but it was clear that he was too old for that and
that he most likely had a nest somewhere around. He could only hope
that the little dragon was trusting him enough to come back at some
point. What he was certain of was that Shimmer was definitely not a bad
dragon and had nothing to do with the bloodthirsty predator described
by the young Malfoy heir.
Back in the airs, Shimmer was flying around the tower where Hermione
lived in hope to get a few coins. He already passed twice in front of her
closed window in an attempt to see if she was inside but it didn't
appeared so. He finally landed on the window sill and looked through the
glass of the empty room, looking for Hermione. Only having one last
resort, he recoiled his head slightly before slamming it forward.
TUNK
He waited for a few seconds but, to his greatest displeasure, no one came.
Annoyed, he hopped from the window and flew around the school again,
looking for any open window. Sadly it seems the humans were learning
and almost all the windows were closed, the few opened having people in
their rooms.
Turning toward another direction, he was thinking about coming back
later to Hermione's window when he noticed something in one court
behind the castle. A few young humans were gathered in the grass and
listening to a older woman that was talking about brooms. His eyes went
from one human to another until his eyes stopped on the sight of one
unmistakable head covered by bushy brown hair. Happy to have found
Hermione, he remained in the sky above them as he saw the humans
lifting a hand over their brooms and suddenly a few of them went up like
pushed by an invisible wind. Sadly it appeared that Hermione couldn't
order her broom to lift in the air.
That was already quite a surprise to see flying brooms but then the
humans put the brooms between their legs and he could only wonder
about what they would do like that until the baby faced boy from the
train suddenly started to lifted up in the air. He always thought that
humans were inferior since they couldn't fly but it seems they could fly
with brooms, and he briefly wondered why he never saw any fly like
that, before focusing again on the boy. He watched in amusement as the
boy screamed as his broom took him in all directions, flying in complete
chaos until he fell down and got his life saved by the spear of a statue
that caught his robes, slowing down his fall. Shimmer had seen all sorts
of flying creatures before but he was certain that none of them ever flew
as badly as the boy before him that was being taken away by the older
woman.
He wondered what was going to happened next when two boys took to
the air with far greater skills than the first boy. He recognized them
quickly, having seen both of them in the train with the first one being the
one he bit because he was too loud and the other one was the boy with
ginger her that had an appetizing looking rat.
The boy with ginger hair chased after the other one, flying higher and
higher until Shimmer saw that they were coming directly toward him
even if none of the boys seemed to noticed. He barely had the time to
dive to his left that the first boy flew right next to him with the second
one following not too long after. But now it was clear that both of them
were well aware of his presence if the screams and scared faces were of
any indication. And he would not let two humans that barely knew how
to fly beat him into a flying skill race.
Flapping his wings as fast as possible, he dove behind the two boys that
were now trying to reach the safety of the ground as fast as possible as
the other students down there were trying to figure what was happening,
none seeing the small frame of Shimmer hidden behind the boys. Even if
he hated to admit it, the humans were very fast and he had to give his all
to keep up with them. But as they got closer to the ground he noticed
that they were going too fast and were probably going to crash painfully
at this speed.
Preferring to keep his wings whole, he slowed down and abandoned the
race. The same couldn't be said for the boys who were too focused on
him and touched the ground harshly, projected forward and rolling on
the ground until they stopped, groaning and holding themselves in a
failed attempt to contain the pain. Shimmer just flew above all the
humans, passing only a meter above their heads as almost all of them
screamed and ducked as he passed.
Taking a bit more height to be safe, he looked down to see a pair of
adults surround the two injured boys and taking them in the same
direction as the first one of earlier, as the other students looked both at
their injured friends or at him flying in circle. He remained there for a
few minutes to watch them and he noticed that Hermione was looking at
him intently and while he wasn't the best at human expressions, he
thought he recognized something like concern. But for who he had no
idea.
A bit tired after pushing himself against the boys and spending a good
part of the day in the air, he finally left to return to his hoard where he
knew he would take a good little nap. Although he didn't got any coin
today, he was happy with how it went and couldn't wait to just relax.
Back at the broomstick training grounds, it was still in a bit of chaos.
Students were loudly talking about the three injured students but mainly
about the golden dragon that chased them. Many didn't really believed
that there was really a dragon around the school but now there was no
doubts left after they all saw him chase the boys.
The teachers were quite pissed when they learned why they were in the
air in the first place. Draco Malfoy even tried to blame the dragon but
Madam Hooch quickly shut him up when she told him that if he hadn't
disobeyed her orders none of this would have happened, adding at the
same time that if the dragon had wanted his blood he would already be
covered in blood and not having a few bruised ribs because of his fall.
But in all this chaos, one didn't shared the same thoughts. Hermione
couldn't help but be worried for Shimmer, not that she feared that he
could have injured himself while flying, but because the teachers clearly
said that they wanted to get rid of him for being a danger to the school.
Permanently or not.
Thankfully she also knew that the headmaster shared her views on the
dragon and that he would prefer sending him away rather than let Snape
'hex the annoying pest'.
9. Chapter 9
I do not own nor possess any right over Harry Potter, all rights belongs to
J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 9
It had been a few days already since Shimmer got to fly with the two
human boys. He had made a good use of his time and managed to collect
23 coins, including 2 more precious and shinier than the rest but sadly no
golden ones, even with all his attempts against the old man living in his
tower. Every time he arrived to his window the man smiled and kept
writing but he didn't gave him any coins, merely giving him a glance
every now and then. But since there was a chance to maybe have a coin
he kept coming every day.
Something that surprised him a bit was how Hermione reacted when they
saw each other for the first time after the flight with the two boys. She
had been a bit too clingy to his taste and kept berating him about putting
himself in danger or something like that, personally he didn't saw any
danger other than crash to the ground and he knew very well how to fly
and avoid such silly accidents. But apparently he had to be careful about
a type of human called teachers, some of the older humans were
apparently called like that and could apparently harm him. Even if he
didn't believed it.
But worries weren't the only thing that Hermione had for him. She had
spent quite a lot of time trying to teach him how to speak human, it was
labouring and annoying but the perspective to have access to more coins
wasn't something he would reject, plus every session with the girl ended
with him getting at least one or two coins so he had to keep coming. He
had rarely felt this happy: his hoard was the biggest he ever had and it
kept growing everyday even when he couldn't see Hermione, there was
always an opened window or a hole in the wall that gave him access to
the interior of the castle.
And all of this led him to now stand in Hermione's room for his collect of
coins. And the coincidental lesson of human language. At least today's
subject was interesting as he was learning more about coins. They were
both sitting on her bed, her with a bag next to her and him listening
more or less attentively.
"Its 'This is my coin.'" Said Hermione for the second time today, showing
him the Knut hold between her fingers.
"Me coin." Shimmer said starring at the coin.
"No, no. Hmm... maybe it's still too hard so let's try something easier: 'My
coin'."
"My coin." He said applying the necessary changes.
"Much better. Now on to the next step. There isn't a single type of coin
you know?" She said rummaging through her bag.
Shimmer intently looked at her, expectantly waiting for what she would
put out of the bag and he was not disappointed when she took out not
only one of the shiny coin but also a golden one that immediately
attracted his gaze as he stood fixed on this specific coin. He was so
focused on it that he almost drooled on the cover.
Of course, none of this escaped Hermione who smiled and let out a small
sigh at the dragon's obvious desire for coins and gold. She had already
guessed beforehand what would be his reaction to seeing a Galleon and
she was not disappointed, Shimmer's eyes following the golden coin as
she moved it in the air.
"Alright I know it's a pretty coin but I'm not giving you this one, my
parents would scold me hard if they learn that I lost a Galleon." She said
clutching her hand, hiding the coin and thus taking Shimmer out of his
trance.
Shaking his head, he kept looking at her hand for a few seconds before
focusing on her face again.
"So here you have a Knut. Knut." Hermione repeated holding out the
brown coin.
'Isn't it a coin?' He wondered slightly confused, looking at her and the
piece of metal.
"Coin?" He asked.
"Yes, but not only." She replied putting the Knut on the cover and then
the Sickle right next to it, starring at Shimmer to make sure that he
wouldn't take any of the coins.
"Knut." She said putting her finger on the bronze coin and then on the
silver one. "Sickle."
He simply stared at each one, not really getting what she was trying to
say, and then stared at her.
"Coin Knut. Coin Sickle." Hermione said repeating the motion.
'Do coins have different names? Different coins like different birds?' Shimmer
pondered before placing the small claws of his right wing on the bronze
coin.
"Knut?" He asked not sure if he got the correct idea.
The big smile on Hermione's face was all he needed to see to understand
that he got it right.
"Very good Shimmer!" She praised him by petting him slowly on his
head, not giving him the coin yet as she moved her finger on the second
coin. "Now the other one."
He looked at the silvery coin and placed his little claws on top of it.
"Sickle."
"Perfect! One more time. Knut. Sickle."
"Knut. Sickle." He repeated.
"Very good! Now, I want to stay calm and focused. What am I saying, you
can't understand that yet." Hermione said to herself as she removed the
Knut and the Sickle out of Shimmer's sight only to get his full attention as
she showed him the golden Galleon in her hand.
The effects were instantaneous, his eyes widened slightly and remained
perfectly fixed upon the coin as his body unconsciously started to go
toward the golden piece of metal that represented everything in the
world for him at the moment. Hermione watched him carefully and
moved back her hand as he got closer, taking him out of his trance as he
stared at both her and the coin.
"Now that I have your attention we can talk about the Galleon. Coin
Galleon." She explained as she played with the coin in her hand.
'So that's the name of the most beautiful one...' Shimmer pondered in slight
shock and excitement, happy to have a name for the most beautiful coin
that only had a place in his hoard. He simply couldn't look away from it
and it took him a few seconds to come back to the reality as Hermione
moved the coin in front of her face to truly get his attention.
"Shimmer are you even listening to me?" She asked him a bit annoyed to
see him so distracted by the coin.
This did get a reaction as he stared directly at her, trying to forget the
coin for a few seconds. He knew that if he did what she asked from him
there was a chance for him to get the precious one.
"This is better. Shimmer this is a Galleon. Galleon." Hermione explained
quickly, wanting to use the short span of attention he had to its
maximum.
"Galleon." He said almost hypnotized by the beauty of the word that
whispered beauty and richness in his ears, the name of the most beautiful
thing in existence. And the best part was that there were lots of them, his
mind wandered for a few seconds as he imagined himself in a cave filled
to the top with Galleons, where only he could admire their true beauty
and give them the rightful place they deserved, under his scales as the
best bed a dragon could ever ask.
"Very good Shimmer, I knew you could do it...and I lost you again."
Hermione praised him again before sighing as it was clear that Shimmer
was not here for the moment.
It took him a few more second for him to leave the dream-like trance he
was in and he looked intently, looking to and fro between the human girl
and the object of his desire, making his intention very obvious that he
only wanted to have the coin.
"Hermione. Coin. Galleon." Shimmer said eagerly, surprising Hermione
that didn't really got to see the dragon express many emotions.
"Sorry Shimmer but no, this is too much money for me to just give it up
to you." She said even if she would have liked to give it to him.
'What? But...but...Coin!' He thought dumbstruck as he really expected her
to give him the coin, for there was no other reason for her to bring it. He
moved forward glaring at the coin when Hermione retraced her hand and
put it behind her back, efficiently placing the coin outside of his reach.
"No Shimmer!" She stopped him with a stern and authoritative voice,
glaring down at him to make him understand that it was wrong, despite
being afraid of what Shimmer would do if he turned violent in an
attempt to get the coin. There wasn't much that she could do against him
if it would come down to this.
A sudden rush of anger ran through him and he screeched loudly, flaring
his wings to appear bigger and more threatening. This worked far better
than he thought as Hermione screamed, crawling backward on her bed
until she reached the wall, eyes wide and filled with terror at both the
sound of him snarling at her and at the sight of him displaying his sharp
fangs. The poor girl was so afraid that she didn't realized that she was
still keeping the Galleon clutched tight in her hand as she put her arms in
front of her as a last line of defence, breathing heavily.
However, she wasn't the one that stopped the angry little dragon.
Shimmer had stopped himself and was looking at her strangely, almost
frozen in a fighting stance but all traces of aggressiveness on his face and
body had vanished, leaving him just starring at her.
'It... doesn't feel good.' Shimmer realized as he looked at Hermione still
terrified albeit slightly relaxed at seeing him not attacking her. He
couldn't comprehend why but attacking her just didn't felt like the right
thing to do and he couldn't understand why, he always took whatever he
wanted whenever he wanted, but not with Hermione. She had taught him
to restrain himself and be patient and now that he tried to go back to his
old ways, where he would have simply taken the coin and left, he
understood that he couldn't do that. He didn't really understood why but
it simply felt wrong to see her afraid of him, because he was starting to
see her as more than just a human girl.
Shimmer wouldn't learn the word before a long time, but Hermione
became her friend.
Slowly, he lowered himself and quit appearing threatening and took a
hesitant step toward Hermione that was still scared. He kept his head low
and stopped only two dozens of centimetres in front of her legs, looking
at her with what was clearly concern.
"Shimmer?" Hermione called him with clear uncertainty in her voice with
a tinge of fear left.
"Hermione." He simply said not knowing what else he could say, he felt
bad but had no way to say it. But he could show it.
He pressed his head against her legs and purred softly as an apology,
keeping his eyes on her and acting submissive to show that he meant no
harm.
It took some time but Hermione finally relaxed and carefully moved her
hand that was empty to stroke his head very lightly, afraid that he would
bite her or something. She wouldn't talk but she was truly scared of how
Shimmer reacted to being denied the Galleon, showing that he was more
than just a little dragon that she had actually barely started to tame. A
couple of minutes passed like this, her petting his head and neck with a
bit more confidence at each stroke.
"That was very... very scary Shimmer. Please never do that again." She
pleaded almost whispering.
He kept nuzzling her leg and her hand whenever it was above his head,
feeling bad for what he did while trying to control himself as he could
still smell the distinct scent of the coin in her other hand that remained
far from him.
Hermione was still a bit scared and, as the tension started to disappear,
her usual train of thought came back and she couldn't stop herself to
speak.
"You need to say that you are sorry. It means that you apologize for what
you did and that you feel bad for it. 'Sorry'." Hermione said.
Shimmer would probably have never understood what she meant had he
not heard the word before. Maybe once from Hermione but his many
flights above London gave him plenty of opportunities to hear this
specific word and he remembered that it was for when one was feeling
bad for something that this same person had done.
"Shimmer sorry." He said before licking her hand with his forked tong as
an apology and Hermione realized that it was very much like dogs when
they wanted to show empathy.
"I- I was about to say that it's okay but not really. I think I forgot that you
were a dragon, it's partially my fault for not being careful enough so I'm
sorry too." She apologized.
He didn't really understood why she was sorry since he was the one who
got too aggressive but didn't lingered on it, continuing to purr instead. He
would have continued were it not for Hermione gently moving him aside
as she reached for the little bag that stood at the other side of the bed
and he got a glimpse of the Galleon being put back in the bag as she
looked for something in particular and he could hear the distinct sound
of coins being shaken together before she pulled out her hand. The bag
remained there as she came back next to him and handed him a Sickle.
He stared at it and at her for a few seconds, not understanding why she
would give him a coin after what just happened. Was she rewarding him
for being sorry?
"It's for you, I planned to give it to you anyway but it will also be my
apology gift." She said with a small smile on her face, the first since he
scared her.
Very gently, not to scare her again, he grabbed the Sickle between his
teeth and moved back to the end of the bed, jumped on the floor and
made his way to the window that he reached with a flap of his wings
before stopping on the window sill. He turned around to look at her, still
a bit uncertain about this whole situation.
"Bye-bye Shimmer." Encouraged him Hermione waving with a smile.
Happy to see her like that instead of being scared, he jumped in the air
and opened his wings at their maximum wingspan before flapping them
hard to carry himself around the tower and toward his hoard, eager to
add this new addiction to his pile of treasure.
Hermione let out a loud sigh right after Shimmer left her room, falling on
her back and relaxing on the comfortable cover of her bed. The whole...
conversation replayed again and again in her mind as she remembered
how Shimmer reacted and mainly why he did it, understanding that she
had been too trusting in the little dragon. Not that she should be more
strict or severe with him but she had clearly expected too much from him
and she forgot that he was a wild dragon that had never been tamed, that
while he was friendly, he could still be aggressive and unpredictable.
As she kept thinking she also thought about how he reacted after, how he
expressed a very human-like feeling of empathy and apology. None of the
books specialized in dragons that she had read had any dragon that
behaved the same way as Shimmer and today's meeting proved again that
he was unique, not only by being capable to learn speech, but by
displaying a larger array of emotions that regular animals and other
dragons.
Shimmer was starting to take a bigger place in her life, not only by
visiting her regularly but also by helping her to get her mind away from
her everyday life. Not that it was bad, but quite a few other students had
been giving her a hard time recently, laughing about her long hairs but
mainly by insulting her eagerness to be a good student, shunning her at
every opportunity. Especially Ron Weasley after she tried to help him in
class.
At least Shimmer seemed to love listening to her and he apologized
quicker than any other student that insulted her.
AN:
Hi, Valexto at the keyboard!
I forgot to put an AN in the previous chapter so I shall do so here.
I wanted to apologize for the long delay between chapter 7 and 8, nearly
3 months without updates. I forgot a bit about the story even if it
remained in a part of my mind, I focused on my work and some other
projects but now I'm back into the story.
Some of you asked me by PMs about the updates and the future of the
story. While I can't promise you to release as often as you would like, it
should be more frequent than before.
When I started this story I planned to do only the first year as it has been
nearly 10 years since I read the books and didn't felt very confident to go
further than that. I wasn't sure of what Harry/Shimmer's future could be.
But now I think it is possible to go at least at the second year, I can
already try to imagine the fight against the basilisk.
I'm not promising that we will go this far but if the story pleases you then
I shall carry you there.
Thanks a lot for the many messages of appreciation and support as well
as those of you who reminded me that this story couldn't be left like this.
See you soon!
10. Chapter 10
I do not own nor possess any right over Harry Potter, all rights belongs to
J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 10
It had been almost an entire month since Shimmer learned the difference
between a Knut, a Sickle and a Galleon. During this time Hermione
helped him a lot to work on his speech but it remained quite basic, just a
few words and some basics about making sentences but it wasn't going
much further than that as he was incapable to speak either too long or
too complicated words and he simply couldn't grasp most of the human
concepts that Hermione tried to taught him. These teachings also helped
him a lot to better understand humans and how they lived and while he
agreed with the concept of a school to teach the younglings how the
world around them worked, he didn't understand why none were taught
how to hunt. How would they be able to survive once they'll be adults?
He had no answer to that question.
Of course, in all this time his hoard had kept growing even more as he
got accustomed with the school and its many shortcuts, hidden entrances
and the nightmare of a labyrinth that was the inside of the castle. Now
his hoard was big enough that he slept on a pile of coins that was larger
than his whole body, enough to not touch the planks of the floor of his
hideout.
The last days had been quite calm but he could tell that something was
bothering Hermione, she wasn't as happy as usual and she kept saying
words that he couldn't understand like this 'egghead' thing, whatever it
meant. He had tried to cheer her up by nuzzling her and purring and
while it worked every time, he always had to try even harder the next
time they met. He had never felt worry for anyone else other than
himself in his life so it was quite unsettling for him to care about
someone else and a human at that. But it didn't bothered him in the
slightest, Hermione was very nice, patient enough to teach him how to
speak human and always ended their meetings either by giving him a
coin or a little slice of meat. Or both.
Today had been quite the quiet day, spent hunting in the morning
without much success, watching the old man in his tower and his
amazing collection of precious objects and trinkets in the early afternoon.
The only thing that bothered him was when he went to see Hermione:
she wasn't at the window at the time they usually met, a bit unusual but
it happened before so he let it slide. Now he was taking a little flight in
the early hours of the night, relaxing in the air currents that allowed him
to fly without efforts for a few good long minutes.
He was however disturbed by a loud grunt followed by a few human
words that he didn't know but the tone made it clear that the human
saying them was angry. Curious, he flew down toward the direction he
heard the sounds come from and his eyes widened as they defined the
shadows going toward the castle. It was a creature that he never saw
before, walking on two legs like a human an carrying himself similarly
but that's where the similarities ended.
The creature was huge, walking clumsily on massive feet. His hands were
as big as his feet and he carried a large wooden club on his shoulder,
next to his small ugly head were a dumb expression laid between his eyes
and opened mouth that revealed large teeth. Quite surprisingly, a human
was hidden in the shadows near a door of the castle where he forced the
troll to go inside. All he could see about that human was that he
appeared to be male was wearing very long robes. The big creature
lowered himself to get in and the human gave a quick glance outside
before closing the door behind them.
Shimmer didn't really knew what to do of what just happened. He didn't
know what creature was with the human and had no idea if it was
normal or not, having never seen one before.
Perplex, he flew toward the main part of the castle and landed next to
the big windows where he could see the big room where the humans ate.
Their meals seemed to have already started, many were gorging
themselves with food, especially the red-haired boy that he saw in the
train and flew against a few weeks ago and Shimmer could only wonder
how he could eat that much food that fast. Even he wouldn't be able to
keep up.
The humans were all talking happily but he couldn't understand why the
little ones were separated by different tables, with different colours on
their clothes. He briefly remembered Hermione explained something
about that but he forgot what. His eyes went to the food displayed on the
tables and he wished so hard to at least be able to go down there at least
once to try the many plates of food that looked delicious, especially the
numerous meats that made him droll every time he got a catch of their
scent.
But what got his attention at the table of the students with red robes was
Hermione. And more especially the lack of Hermione. She was always sat
at the same spot so it wasn't hard for him to notice her absence and he
couldn't help but be worried; of all the times he watched over the dining
hall, Hermione had never been absent. He looked around the whole
place, hoping to find her at another seat but she was nowhere in sight.
Even the teachers table didn't had the girl and he noticed that another
seat was empty at their table, the one with the teacher wearing that
weird piece of rag on his head and that smelled like death, but he didn't
gave it anymore attention, focusing on finding Hermione.
He might have stayed there the whole night in a hope to see Hermione
when the great doors of the hall opened loudly and he recognized the
missing teacher coming in quickly and shouting something, a troll
apparently, before falling face first on the ground, completely exhausted
or terrorized. Frankly, Shimmer couldn't tell which one brought him
down.
But whatever the teacher had said, the effects were instantaneous. All the
children in the hall started to scream and ran around when the old man
spoke far louder than Shimmer thought him capable of, stopping all the
students in their steps and reducing them to silence. He said a few more
words and some of the older humans started to organise the evacuation.
Shimmer remained there for a few seconds and then took off, worried for
Hermione as all the humans seemed to be afraid of something, until he
heard a sound that sounded like a heavy crash, like if a tree had just
broken down.
Slowing down as he passed around a few buildings, trying to get closer to
the sound he just heard, a loud scream suddenly pierced the night in one
building a bit behind him. Turning around, he passed in front of several
windows quickly until he saw one of them being broke down by a
massive club, wood, glass and stone falling toward the ground quickly
and leaving a small hole in the wall as another scream followed, coming
from a voice he instantly recognized.
"Ahhhh! Help!"
Folding his wings, he passed through the hole and instantly recognized
the weird creature that he saw earlier, the same one that had been let in
by a human. It was even uglier under the light of the room and appeared
even more stupid than before, not noticing Shimmer's presence and
focusing only on Hermione that crawled from under a pile of crushed
wood.
The monster raised his club, ready to strike again as Hermione tried in
vain to crawl away.
Not waiting a second longer, Shimmer let out a threatening screech and
dove straight on the monster's head, all claws and fangs out. He passed a
first time, trying to dig his talons in the scalp of its head but it didn't
appeared to do much and he passed a second time only to have the same
result. He tried to dig all of his sharp weapons on the creature's head but
it was completely useless, its skin was so hard that he barely managed to
leave a scratch. During all this time Hermione kept avoiding the club,
falling left and right and missing her by only a couple of centimeters.
At least his attacks seemed to annoy the creature a bit as it raised its
empty hand to push him away like one would try to remove an annoying
fly. Another scream from Hermione was all Shimmer needed to double
his assaults and he aimed for a softer and easier part of the monster: its
ears. Opening his mouth wide, he bit down hard on the overly big left ear
of the monster that let out a roar of pain as blood started to run on the
creature's head and neck, Shimmer tasting both the blood and the
disgusting skin of the ear.
"Shimmer! Help-me!" Screamed Hermione as she jumped to her right to
avoid another strike, falling hard on her stomach.
Figuring that he wouldn't beat the monster like that, Shimmer let go of
the ear right as the massive hand of the creature rushed to its ear, almost
catching him. He had no doubt that a single strike of the massive hand
would be enough crush his body but he was far more agile and kept
flying around, making himself a very hard target for the slow and clumsy
creature.
Opening his mouth again, Shimmer unleashed a stream of fire right in
the monster's face before moving away as the monster howled in pain
and dropped its club, putting one hand on its face to protect it from the
flames while using the other in a useless attempt to catch him. It was
hard to admit for the little dragon but the creature was incredibly
resilient, barely burned with only a few scorched black spots but at least
it was impossible to tell if it ever had any eyebrows.
Flying around, always staying on the move, Shimmer let out another jet
of flames on the monster's face but it didn't do much. Even this didn't
really helped Hermione as she was trapped in a corner of the room with
the monster flailing left and right, making it impossible for her to pass
next to it.
But he wasn't the only one changing tactic. The monster grabbed his club
again and tried to crush him only to smash the weapon into the wall,
stones falling on the ground as Hermione screamed again, terrified and
afraid to see Shimmer being crushed to death.
Returning to his original strategy, Shimmer stopped right in the face of
the ugly creature and bit down on his nose as hard as he could with a
small stream of blood following. Another scream of pain came from its
big mouth, almost deafening him in the process. He had no idea of what
was going on inside the creature's head but it raised its club and, right as
Shimmer moved away to not be crushed, smashed itself in the head with
a sickening crunch. Shimmer stood in the air near the monster's head as
it wobbled a bit before falling down hard on its belly, its body going
completely limp. Only for good measure, he landed on its head and bit on
the ear again but got no reaction, meaning that this fight was over.
He had won, proving that he was stronger that this monster. He fully
opened his wings and let out a roar of victory. Or it might have been a
roar if he had been a massive dragon which he was not, his scream being
closer to a loud screech than an actual roar.
With his victory, the pressure of the battle finally dropped and he smelled
the horrible scent of the monster. It was very strong and disgusting but
also mixed with another scent, one that he didn't know but felt terribly
wrong and close to the scent of death. It was so bad that it forced him to
close his nostrils in an attempt to block the smell.
"Shimmer?"
That took him out of his musings and he turned to his left, looking at
Hermione that was still huddled in the corner of then room, looking at
him wide wide eyes and a shallow breath, covered in dust and broken
pieces of wood. Seeing the girl reminded him of the many times the
creature tried to harm her and he forgot everything about his victory,
opening his wings for a second, just the time to land in front of her. As
soon as his talons touched the ground, he started to sniff her entirely,
looking for any scent of blood as he looked at her arms, legs and head
quickly.
But before he could even finish he got trapped between a pair of arms as
a sobbing sound came from above, letting out a small squeak at the
surprise attack. He raised his head and looked at Hermione that was
crying, hugging him tightly to the point it was almost hurting his
shoulder blades but he ignored it, returning to his checking as he
searched for injuries around her neck.
"I- I'm fine Shimmer... it was... I was so scared!" She cried getting louder
at the end as tears flowed freely on her cheeks.
He replied by licking her tears, trying to cheer her up.
"I thought that I... that no one was coming to help me." Hermione sobbed
tightening her hug slightly.
"Hermione okay?" Shimmer asked before nuzzling her chin.
"Yes. I'm okay. Just... very scared."
She finally let go of her hug, keeping him on her lap and petting his
head, more to reassure herself than him, as he turned to look at the body
of the creature that was thankfully still knocked out. He let out a small
snort as he could still smell its horrible scent but remained where he was,
appreciating the strokes on his head and neck.
"Thank you Shimmer." She said with a very small smile coming on her
face.
Hermione really thought that it was over when she saw the giant troll
towering her as she exited the toilets. She had barely got the time to walk
back that the troll had tried to smash her with its club and she kept
avoiding his strikes by a few centimetres until Shimmer arrived,
defending her against the troll and ultimately vanquished it. She had
been so terrified that she didn't even thought about using her wand to
defend herself and she was certain that she would have died if not for
Shimmer's intervention. For just a second she thought about how on his
own, Shimmer was nicer than almost all of her class, excluding Lavender
and Parvati and the two other girls in her room that basically ignored her
most of the time. It wasn't much but it was better than being insulted all
the time for being a good student.
They remained in the rumbles of the bathroom for two more minutes
before the sound of voices and footsteps came from the corridor leading
here. While Hermione didn't know how she would explain everything to
the teachers, she couldn't let Shimmer be seen here or he would be in
even more troubles than he already was. Standing up, she carried him in
her arms even if he was pretty heavy for her 11 years old body and
walked toward the destroyed window.
"Shimmer you have to go now! No one must see you!" She said quickly,
pushing him toward the hole.
"Hermione?" He asked surprised to see her put him outside even if it
wasn't the first time that she said that. It took him only a few sessions
with Hermione to understand that he shouldn't be seen around her but he
didn't wanted to leave her alone after everything that just happened,
worried that another monster would come to harm her.
"Bye-bye Shimmer!" Hermione said using their usual farewell, knowing
he would understand like that.
He moved from her arms to the window and gave her a last look, a last
check to make sure that she was fine.
"Bye-bye." He said before jumping in the air and flying away from the
building, toward his hoard where he couldn't wait to fall asleep on. It had
been a very taxing evening and even if he could have kept fighting for far
longer, it had still taken a lot from him as he hadn't eaten anything since
this morning. But he would catch up later.
Now he just wanted to go to his hoard and profit of a well-deserved rest,
happy to know that Hermione was safe.
In the girl's bathroom, Hermione had just forced Shimmer to leave that
she turned around and a second later a few of the professors arrived,
including professor McGonagall followed by professor Snape, professor
Quirrell and lastly by headmaster Dumbledore. They all wore a look of
surprise and awe at seen the little girl standing next to the wall with a
hole inside, the troll knocked out between them as Quirrell sat down
apparently scared of the monster, clutching his heart.
"Miss Granger what are you doing here? Why are you not in your
dormitory?" Started Minerva McGonagall looking very strictly and sternly
at Hermione, barely hiding her fury.
"I- I'm sorry, I didn't know about that. I've been here for the last hour."
She answered lowering her head.
"And what were you doing here that stopped you to go eat with your
friends?" Continued the stern woman.
Hermione didn't replied. How could she tell them that she was crying
because said 'friends' preferred to be mean and cruel to her rather than
anything else. In shame, she kept her head down and remained silent,
avoid the stern gaze of both professor McGonagall and Snape.
"Speak girl! Why were you here?!" Harshly asked the head of the
Slytherin house.
Hermione winced under the order and she could barely contain herself
anymore, she was hiding the truth from her teachers and it went against
everything she ever did in a school.
"I- I came here b-because my classmates k-keeps laughing and insulting
me each time I'm trying to answer in class. They say that I... that I'm an
egghead and a nightmare." She said incapable to stop the small sobs.
At that the stern face of Minerva melted, replaced by empathy for a few
seconds and then again by anger but this time directed toward her own
house. She wouldn't allow this kind of behaviour to continue between the
members of her house.
"My apologies, Miss Granger, it seems that my outburst was uncalled for.
Rest assured that everything will be done to rectify this tomorrow, I only
ask of you to inform me sooner of such issues in the future." Said Minerva
putting a hand on the girl's shoulder, still a bit stern even if her eyes were
saying otherwise.
By now Hermione was breathing heavily and she nodded, incapable to
speak for now. She kept her head low until the unmistakable robes of the
headmaster appeared in front of her and she raised her head to look at
the headmaster. He was looking at her with his grandfatherly smile and
spoke with great care as she looked at him.
"It is good to know that you are safe Miss Granger. I believe it is the first
time a first year defeats a troll on her own, truly a remarkable feet.
Would you mind telling me how you managed to do that?" He asked with
a twinkle in his eyes.
Panic suddenly surged in her mind that went overcharged in an attempt
to find a solution but she wasn't good at all at lying and she had no idea
of what she could say that would not appear ridiculous or anything that
would be credible. She kept thinking for a few seconds as everyone
around her waited in a heavy silence that only made it harder for her to
come up with something.
"Well Miss Granger?" Asked professor Snape towering her with a cold
glare.
"I- I-..." No matter what she thought she had no idea of what she could
say beside the truth but she didn't wanted to put Shimmer in danger. He
had risked his life for her and she would be damned if she didn't do the
same for him.
She was however interrupted by the gentle hand falling on her shoulder
and she looked up again at Dumbledore that still had a smile plastered on
his face.
"I believe me and Miss Granger will have a little chat in my office." He
said very gently, only making it worse for Hermione that could already
see herself being expelled from the school for lying to the teachers.
She stood silent and refrained to cry as the old Headmaster took her
toward his office, fearing that she would never see Shimmer again.
The door of the headmaster closed behind her that she stood up in front
of his office, waiting for the old man to sit and invite her to do the same.
"Please take a seat, Miss Granger."
She obeyed and kept her head low, avoiding to look in his eyes.
"Now Miss Granger, can I call you Hermione?" He asked.
She replied by nodding quickly.
"Good. Sherbet lemon?" He asked showing a little bowl full of yellow
candy.
Now she shook her head even quicker.
"Hermione, I will first say that you are not in trouble. You will not be
excluded and I see no reason to contact your parents other than to tell
them that you are fine."
Her head snapped up so fast that she almost broke her neck. She stared at
him incredulously, not believing that he was saying the truth.
"I'm not? But I-" She started before stopping as Dumbledore raised his
hand.
"As I said, you're not in trouble. I believe that facing a troll is a
traumatizing enough experience for today, no need to go any further. I
promise you that nothing will happened to you, I simply want to know
what happened within the bathroom." He said smiling.
Even if she was apparently saved from any consequences, she couldn't
speak about Shimmer. It would either mean his death or him being taken
away and she didn't wanted her only friend to disappear. But she was
again stopped by the headmaster's next words.
"Now Hermione, far from me the idea of taking away the feet of taking
down a troll tonight, but we both know that you didn't do it alone. Our
little flying fire-breathing friend was there, Hermione." He continued
with a small smile.
At that her mouth dropped and it was all the old man needed to confirm
his doubts.
"The smell of dragon fire is something that I know very well, there's no
need to go around the bush. I've met him too you know? He keeps
coming at my window and spend a few minutes every day to stare at all
of this." He said pointing the many objects made out of gold lying on
shelves.
"I- Really?" She asked in disbelief.
"Yes, and I can assure you that I have no wish to take him away, I
appreciate his regular visits and I believe that he has his place at
Hogwarts. All I want to know is what happened in the bathroom."
She took a long breathe, letting go of her fears and choosing to trust the
headmaster since there was no way to hide the truth. At least not all of it.
"I was crying in the toilets after being insulted again and I saw the troll
when I came out. He tried to crush me with his club until he made a hole
in the wall and that's when... the dragon came in. He attacked the troll,
bit him even if it didn't work until he breathed fire at it. The dragon kept
annoying him until the troll got enough and smashed itself in the head
with his club in an attempt to kill the dragon. After it was over the
dragon just looked at the body and flew away by the window." She
explained, omitting only the most important details like Shimmer's name
or that she hugged him when she was terrified.
The headmaster kept thinking silently for a few seconds, eyes closed and
passing his right hand through his long beard until his eyes focused again
on Hermione.
"I see. It seems our little friend is more active than I thought, not that it's
a bad thing mind you."
Hermione let out a small sigh of relief but it didn't last long.
"Now, would you mind telling me everything you know about our little
dragon? I believe you know a little more than that. It also reminds me
that Hagrid met him too and it appears that our friend is called Shimmer,
as he told Hagrid. Any idea why?" He asked as another twinkle appeared
in his eyes.
Hermione was panicking again at the thought of telling what she had
learned from the dragon and what she had taught him. While she trusted
Dumbledore, she was worried at the idea to reveal everything about
Shimmer since it might take her only friend at Hogwarts away. But it
could also make things easier for her to see Shimmer more frequently
without the fear of getting caught by a teacher or another student if
Shimmer was allowed on the school grounds.
She took a deep breath before giving her answer.
"Can I- do I have to answer this question sir?" She asked.
This seemed to genuinely surprise the old Headmaster if the fading smile
was of any indication.
"Well, you don't have to but I would like you to." He replied.
"Sir I want to tell you the truth but... I don't want to lose my friend." She
explained with a pleading look in her eyes.
Dumbledore remained silent for a few seconds and she felt like he was
looking into her soul for a couple of seconds. And suddenly it was over
and the old man let out a long sigh before relaxing in his chair.
"Alright Hermione, I understand and will respect your concerns for
Shimmer. Let me tell you that I plan to officially introduce him to the
school very soon, nothing excessive and I will make sure that nothing
happens to him. You're free to return to your dormitory, it is getting late
after all. A good night sleep will do you the best."
Hermione would have liked to know what he meant by introducing
Shimmer but the conversation was already over. She would have to wait
and see what Dumbledore was talking about, but she dreaded to think
about how wrong it could go. She wouldn't be able to forgive herself if
Shimmer was harmed because of her lack of faith in the headmaster or,
at the contrary, if she choose to trust him only to see Shimmer be put in a
cage and taken away. Her mind told her to trust the old Headmaster but
she couldn't, not with the life of Shimmer being at stake.
"Goodnight, sir." Hermione said standing up.
"Goodnight, Miss Granger."
11. Chapter 11
I do not own nor possess any right over Harry Potter, all rights belongs to
J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 11
Shimmer woke up as a ray of light pierced through the broken window of
the little attic that he called his lair. His eyelids opened slowly as he
yawned silently before shaking his head to finish waking himself up.
Standing up, he did his everyday routine of checking his hoard, moving a
few coins to put them where their beauty would be the best reflected
before he recalled what happened yesterday night.
The panic in the school, the ugly and smelly creature, helping Hermione
and winning the fight. He recalled all of it and wondered what happened
to Hermione, a bit worried as he had left her alone since apparently no
one else was allowed to see him because those 'teachers' were dangerous
for him. He highly doubted that but since it was reassuring Hermione he
chose to follow her advices. Focusing again on Hermione, Shimmer
would have flown directly to her window if it wasn't for his very angry
stomach that reminded him that he had to feed soon, having barely eaten
anything in more than a day.
Leaving his hoard, he flew toward the fields and forests away from the
castle and did quick work of his breakfast, his hunger pushing him as he
caught a small pigeon in the air, devouring the flying snack in three
bites. It wasn't much and he kept hunting until he caught a squirrel and
only then did he felt his hunger being satiated. At least for now.
Now truly ready to start the day, the first thing Shimmer did when he
arrived in sight of Hogwarts was to fly straight to Hermione's window.
Slowing down, he landed on the window sill and peaked through the old
glass, trying to see who was inside as he stuck the left side of his face to
the window. But it appeared that he was unlucky, no one was in the
room and there wasn't a single sign of Hermione. Knowing that knocking
on the window wouldn't bring Hermione, and also because she told him
to stop, he opened his wings and was about to jump back in the sky when
the door of the bedroom flung open, startling him a bit as he lost his
balance and fell.
But there was no reason to panic. He knew very well how to fly and it
took him only a second to stabilize himself before he flapped his wings
hard to carry himself back to the window where he saw the very
recognizable hair of Hermione, the girl laying in her bed and sobbing
silently in the middle of her cover. Had she been hurt again? He didn't
know why she was like that but he decided to make himself known by
gently taping his head against the window. The reaction was
instantaneous, Hermione's head sprung upward before turning toward
him, her eyes filled with tears as she briefly brushed away the tears on
her face with her hand before opening the window.
"Good morning, Shimmer." Hermione said with a small smile even if a
slight touch of sadness was present in her voice.
"Hermione okay?" He asked as she petted him on the head.
She let out a big sigh in reply before grabbing him in her arms to carry
him on the bed where she let him go. He quickly moved around to look
at her as she sat down next to him, her legs hanging from the border of
the bed. He waited a few seconds for her to reply before letting out a
small whimper to get her attention.
"Professor McGonagall asked me to come in her office this morning. She
asked me to tell her everything, why I was crying in the bathroom
yesterday and... she asked me to list what everyone did to me." Hermione
said as small tears returned on her face.
Shimmer didn't like to see Hermione cry and he mainly didn't understand
why she was crying. He had already guessed that something was wrong
but he couldn't understand all the words that his friend said, only that a
few of the words that she spoke of in the last days were about her being
attacked by other humans even if there was no physical traces of violence
on her. Maybe words could hurt too? He never thought about it before
but since there were words like 'sorry' when you did something wrong
then there might be words that could be used to harm. That was starting
to be a bit too much for him, trying to think like a human really was too
complicated. They created so much more problems than they already had
that he couldn't follow anymore if something was wrong or bad.
But right now it was obvious that Hermione was sad and that something
bad had happened to her and that it was still upsetting her. He didn't
really know what humans did to reassure each other but he could do
what he felt was the thing to do, nuzzling against her arm as he purred
softly.
"I didn't wanted to at first but then she convinced me and I told her
everything. How almost everyone was either insulting or ignoring me.
The only one that has always been nice to me is Neville but he is also
mocked because he is terrible at magic." Said Hermione continuing, still
stroking his head.
"Not." Shimmer replied. He wanted to say something but he forgot the
word that was coming next.
"Not? Not what?" She asked genuinely interested, taking her mind out of
her dark thoughts for now.
"Shimmer not." He tried again as a flash of recognition went through
Hermione's eyes.
"Is it that you don't understand?" She suggested.
"Yes! Shimmer not un-der-stand!" He exclaimed happily, finally getting
the word even if it was a hard one to say.
"Well, it might be a bit too hard for you. It's just silly, stupid human
things. Even back in primary school it was almost the same, not as bad
but other children don't like me because I always try to answer right.
Don't worry about all of that. Besides, if what professor McGonagall said
is true then I shouldn't have any more problems with my classmates, at
least from Gryffindor." Hermione said as she dried her tears.
Preferring to stay silent, partly because he wasn't used yet to talk and
didn't like it more than that, Shimmer simply purred as he rested his
head on Hermione's lap. A few moments passed like that, in a nice and
relaxing silence that did cheered up Hermione enough for her to focus on
something else.
"I just remembered; headmaster Dumbledore took me to his office
yesterday to talk about how you defeated the troll. I told him everything
except that I know you and he said that he will try to introduce you to
the rest of the school very soon." She explained.
Shimmer listened lazily, not that he didn't wanted to listen to Hermione
but simply because he didn't understood all the words she just used. He
did recognized a few bits like this Dumbledore that was apparently some
sort of human ranked above the teachers and he wondered if it was the
old man living with all the gold stuff as who else but the richest man in
the castle to control the rest of the human pack.
His musings got interrupted by Hermione who caught his head between
her hands and forced him to look at her in the eyes, he squirmed a bit
but she had a strong enough grip to stop him to move.
"Shimmer you must be very careful; I can't believe I'm saying that about a
teacher but I'm not sure if I can trust Dumbledore. I know he is a great
wizard and the headmaster of Hogwarts but I- you're my best friend here
Shimmer. I don't want to lose you." She said releasing his head only to
hug him gently.
As much as he liked Hermione, Shimmer wasn't used to hugs and very
close contacts so it was to no surprise that he squirmed even more until
he broke away from the hug, sitting down on the bed and looking warily
at the danger that were the two arms of Hermione. His reaction got a
chuckle from the girl that settled for a simple pet on his head before she
reached for her pocket with her other hand to offer him a Knut. By now
she was so used to his desire and love for coins that she always carried a
few on herself, just so that she would always have one for Shimmer.
"I need to prepare for my next class." Hermione said as he grabbed the
coin between his teeth.
By now Shimmer knew that those classes were where young humans
learned how to be adult humans. It was still a weird concept for him,
why their parents weren't teaching their children how to be good
humans. But he didn't bother thinking more than that, humans were
weird, had weird ideas and could do weird things. He wasn't interested in
the slightest about figuring the why.
Jumping from the bed to the window sill, helped by a few flaps of his
wings, Shimmer looked at Hermione that did looked happier than when
he came in.
"Bye-bye." He said, dropping the coin just for a moment before grabbing
it again.
"Bye-bye." Replied Hermione waving at him.
Opening his wings, Shimmer flew straight to his hoard to let the new
sickle join his hoard. He didn't really know what was bothering Hermione
but from what he understood things were going to be better for her so he
didn't worry more than that, focusing instead on how he would spend his
afternoon to loot the castle for more coins and precious things to add to
his hoard.
The day went slowly for Hermione, first her talk with professor
McGonagall, her short but very relaxing conversation with Shimmer even
if she was the one to do most of the talking, her next classes and the few
snarky and horrible comments about her that still hadn't stopped. Her
head of house told her that she would take care of the problem tonight
and this only served to make Hermione more nervous, she would be glad
once it would be over but now she just hoped that she wouldn't be
thrown into the spotlight. A part of her feared that it would only make
the attacks against her more frequent.
As she reached her seat at the Gryffindor table, Hermione noticed that a
small stone pedestal had been placed in the center of the room, in front
of the teachers table and with nothing on top of it. She, like most of the
other students around her, tried to figure out why the pedestal was there,
but most quickly put it on either a speech of the teachers or chalked it up
to magic.
When the last students finally arrived in the hall and took their seats,
Dumbledore stood up and silence fell as everyone got ready to listen to
him, if only to start eating sooner as the headmaster could sometimes
speak for far too long to their taste.
But before he started Hermione caught him looking quickly at one of the
windows before a small smile made its way on the headmaster's lips and
she could only wonder what he was looking at.
"Dear students of Hogwarts, there are three announcements that I would
like to make tonight. Do not worry, I won't be long." He assured.
"I bet he will." Whispered Ron.
"First of all, and probably the most obvious, the troll that entered the
castle yesterday."
A few whispers erupted around the hall but quickly silenced themselves,
waiting for the rest of the explanation.
"While you were very right to panic yesterday, I want to assure you that
no one got injured and that the troll has been defeated into the girl's
bathroom." Announced the headmaster a bit more cheerful.
A large sigh of relief washed through the students that didn't already
know, a few having already asked the teachers in the morning about the
troll.
"Yes, yes, it is good news but I am not over with our troll. You see, it
wasn't a teacher that saved our school yesterday but a student. A first
year like many of you."
This time the voices of the students weren't silent at all, many talking
about who could have done this and even more looking around in a hope
to identify the student that achieved this. As he kept talking, Hermione
had this inner feeling that the headmaster wouldn't hide the truth from
the students and she was already dreading the reaction of those around
her, especially Ron Weasley.
"Silence please." Called Dumbledore as the hall quieted down. "Thank
you. Now I would like to thank Miss Hermione Granger for her great
victory yesterday!"
The entire hall remained silenced for just a second before cheering fused
in the air and heads swirled toward Hermione that was trying her best to
make herself look smaller. She knew it was coming but it was still too
much for her and she just stood there as all those around her stared
speaking to her.
'I haven't done anything; Shimmer defeated the troll.' Hermione thought as
she looked at her hands embarrassed by the attention.
"No way..." Said Ron standing there mouth agape.
"Well, it looks like she is more Gryffindor than Ravenclaw right Fred?"
Smugly said the twin George.
"Well, it appears that she is more of a lion than a raven right George?"
Replied Fred.
"You really did that?" Asked Neville in awe.
Quite a lot of other people were congratulating her at her table and even
a from a few other tables but no praises came from the Slytherin table. It
was more of disbelieving glares and even one that almost look like hatred
from Malfoy. At least some things didn't change.
"Quiet please!" Called Dumbledore.
It took a few moments but everyone was finally back at their seats and
either looking at the headmaster or at Hermione that did her best to
focus on the old man and ignore the looks that some were giving her.
"While it is true that Miss Granger did something that most wouldn't had
been able to do in first year, other issues are to be addressed and for this
I will let professor McGonagall continue." Announced Dumbledore before
sitting down as professor McGonagall rose from her seat.
"Thank you Albus. Now, as much as it pains me to say so, I need to
explain why Miss Granger was in the bathroom that night when she
should have been eating with us." She started keeping a stern tone,
making sure that no one dared to interrupt her.
Hermione couldn't believe that her head of house was going to do that
but she listened silently as a few students looked at her again before
focusing back on the professor.
"It appears that quite a few students of my house have taken a liking to
harass and insult Miss Granger for her involvement in class. Let me say
that I am extremely disappointed by all of my Gryffindors, never in my
career did I ever had to say such words so soon after the beginning of the
year." She continued not mentioning how quickly the Weasley twins
broke that record last year.
At that many instantly understood what she was talking about and a few
heads lowered in shame, a guilty silence weighting heavily on the
Gryffindor table as the rest of the hall listened in silence to the teacher's
remonstrance.
"I have talked in details with Miss Granger about this unacceptable
behaviour and a few of you will be called at a later date in my office so
that appropriate punishment can be given. In addition, I'm saddened to
say that I will be taking a hundred points from Gryffindor and hope that I
will never have to hear about such behaviour again." Finished professor
McGonagall, staring coldly at her students before sitting down.
Many of the Gryffindors were keeping their heads low, all those who
were mean to Hermione at some point and the rest were ashamed for not
having done anything. All of them were thinking about their behaviour
and how it costed them quite a lot of points while a few were white as
sheets and worried about what their punishment would be. Hermione
dared to look at her classmates and saw that Ron more than anyone else
was looking down at his empty plate.
"Now that this has been addressed, there is a last announcement that I
would like to make." Continued Dumbledore standing up again.
This got Hermione out of her thoughts and she listened with trepidation
as she feared what could be the last announcement.
"Hermione wasn't the only one to face the troll..."
'I knew it.' Sighed Hermione as she tensed, listening with attention the
headmaster's words.
Shimmer had been staying at the window of the great hall for a little
while now. He came to make sure that Hermione was there and was
relieved to see her in the mass of students. After that he listened to the
old man talking and he noticed that he was looking at him a few times,
even when he wasn't speaking and the other old female human talked. He
almost laughed when the young humans got agitated all of a sudden by
the old woman's word, going from quiet to excited only to do it again but
this time with all of them looking at Hermione.
He almost tried to break the window seeing how uncomfortable
Hermione was but it all calmed down when the old man talked again and
he listened to his words, not getting everything but trying to.
"Now that this has been addressed, there is a last announcement that I
would like to make." Said the old man.
That was too hard for him to understand, too many foreign words and
not having a clue of what he was talking about.
"Hermione wasn't the only one to face the troll, she had help and I would
like to introduce this other saviour to our school today for he is not a
student."
Now he got Shimmer's attention at the mention of Hermione's name and
he understood that they were talking about the creature of last night, he
quickly associated the word troll with the creature as it had only started
to be used once the monster appeared in the school.
The entire hall was plunged in silence as everyone waited for the
headmaster to continue and Shimmer looked at Hermione and saw that
she was very clearly distressed even if couldn't tell why. His eyes quickly
darted back when the old man left his chair and walked in front of a
small pedestal of stone that he never saw before, standing in the middle
of the room and he waited expectantly to see what he would do.
But these thoughts changed quickly when the old man took out a golden
coin, a Galleon, and showed it to everyone around the room, lifting his
hand at his head level to be certain that all could see it. Shimmer's eyes
never lost sight of the beautiful coin and didn't saw the look of terror that
went through Hermione's face when she understood what the headmaster
was up to. He then placed the Galleon on the pedestal and Shimmer
stared at the coin as the headmaster brought the weird stick that
Hermione called wand on top of it and then nothing happened. No light
or nothing, the coin simply remained there while the headmaster
returned to his seat.
By now the entire hall's attention was focused on the coin and everyone
wondered why the coin was there but Shimmer feared that another
human would grab it before him. He was already starting to plan how to
get the Galleon when the window that blocked his way simply vanished
before his startled eyes, leaving nothing but emptiness as he stared at the
coin that was now in his reach.
"Now I ask of you to not panic and remain calm as our friend enters. We
wouldn't want to startle him after all." The man said with a twinkle in his
eyes as he glanced very briefly at Shimmer one more time.
"Albus, what are you doing?" Asked Minerva that knew he was about to
do something that would give her a headache.
"Don't worry dear Minerva, you will understand as soon as you see him."
He simply replied.
At the Gryffindor table, Hermione was sweating out of fear as she
understood what the headmaster wanted to do and she completely
ignored those around her that tried to ask her who was this mysterious
person that helped her defeat the troll. She knew that if Shimmer was
there he wouldn't be able to stop himself to take the galleon and it was
actually very likely that he didn't even saw that at a trap.
She was of course absolutely right as Shimmer prepared himself to jump,
stretching his wings a bit as he calculated the trajectory he would follow
to grab the coin and leave the room as fast as possible to bring the
Galleon back to his hoard. He knew the concept of ambushing his prey
but he never made any trap before so he didn't even consider the
possibility of being in danger.
"Please welcome Shimmer!" The headmaster's voice boomed in the hall as
everyone waited impatiently except Hermione.
As soon as the headmaster said his name, Shimmer figured that the coin
truly was for him to take and he jumped from the window.
He dove straight for the Galleon as he ignored the screaming students
and the shouts of surprise coming from the teachers, focusing only on the
coin as he extended his talons forward to grab it in flight. Time slowed
down as he moved through the air and in a few seconds he got close to
the Galleon and he could already see it resting in the middle of his hoard
with him asleep on top of it.
Just a meter. Then only half-a-meter. Ten centimetres.
Then his claws grasped the Galleon and he gave a powerful flap of his
wings to fly upward. But as soon as he flapped his wings he knew that
something was wrong as his talons were empty when he was sure that he
had the Galleon firmly in his grasp. He let out a little cry of indignation
as he turned around and saw the coin still on the pedestal, almost
taunting him to try again and that's exactly what he did.
He tried to grab it a second time and again he felt the coin between his
claws but it simply remained on the pedestal as he flew off. He tried
again, and again and even with his teeth but the Galleon seemed to be
stuck to the pedestal, impossible to move and resting on the stone.
By now the hall was a cacophony of shouts and whispers that he simply
ignored in favour of catching the coin. Many of the students and a few of
the teachers had fearful expressions on their face but others were simply
too surprised to react or in awe when they understood that the dragon
was only focused on the coin sticking to the pedestal. But all of them
were talking loudly as they never left the dragon out of their eyesight, a
few teachers even having drawn their wands out.
"Please be quiet!" Called Dumbledore with a strong, stern, yet calm voice,
having no need to appear angry as their fearful reactions were justified.
Even if his powerful voice did silenced the majority of the students, the
little dragon was just too much for some to listen to the headmaster.
"That's the dragon that was in the train!" Recognized Ron.
"Really? It doesn't seem very dangerous." Said Parvati a bit disappointed.
"Its the one that bit me! My father will have his head!" Almost screamed
Draco even if no one listened to him.
'Oh Shimmer.' Thought Hermione as she watched her friend try his very
best to take the Galleon that had obviously been enchanted to be stuck to
the pedestal. She glanced at the headmaster that bore a very satisfied
smile, also looking at Shimmer getting upset as he couldn't grab the coin.
Looking at the rest of the teachers, it was obvious that professor
McGonagall was containing herself very hard to not shout at Albus even
if the cold glare she had for him made it obvious that she had her own
opinion about this situation. Professor Snape looked absolutely furious
and had his wand in hand and would probably have used it if not for
professor Flitwick who was bearing a huge smile on his face and
excitedly pointing at Shimmer, a hand on Snape's wrist to stop him to do
anything.
Her eyes returned to Shimmer and she saw that he had landed on the
pedestal, trying to pull the Galleon with his mouth without success. Her
eyes widened as she realized what easy target he made for the teachers
were any of them to wish harm to him.
"There is nothing to be afraid of so please quiet down." Repeated
Dumbledore until the silence returned, only broken by Shimmer's talons
scrapping against the stone and his small growls of annoyance as he tried
to pull the coin. "As I said, Shimmer is completely harmless so please
remain calm for now."
"He bit me!" Exclaimed Draco getting the attention of everyone.
"While this is true Mr. Malfoy, I am certain that there was a good reason
for that and I believe that you won't make the same mistake again."
Scolded him the headmaster, his smile vanishing for a few seconds until
he was sure that Draco wouldn't interrupt him again.
Hermione watched everything happening in silence but she could hardly
contain herself much longer, the stress of tonight starting to be too much
for her to handle. And when she saw the headmaster pull out his wand,
she couldn't stop herself from intervening.
"Shimmer!" She called him loudly, standing up as everyone in the hall
looked at her.
Their gaze didn't lingered on her as all noticed that the little dragon had
actually listened to her and was watching her intently.
"No!" She firmly told him.
He let out a little whine of sadness at that, understanding that she
wanted him to give up the coin even if it had been put out for him. He
didn't understand why the Galleon wouldn't move but he would not let
such an easy catch escape him that easily.
"No Shimmer! Come here." She said softening her tone as she showed him
a Sickle.
Shimmer looked at the Galleon laying in front of him that wouldn't move
and then at the Sickle that Hermione was giving her. One very precious
but apparently unobtainable and the other less precious but a very easy
catch. Letting out a small whine at the idea of abandoning the Galleon,
he opened his wings and panic surged through the hall before he even
took to the air.
Everyone watched in fear and awe as the dragon left the pedestal and
flew straight toward Hermione, a few teachers screaming to intervene but
stopped by Dumbledore and the whole Gryffindor table lowering
themselves as Shimmer passed above them, most screaming in fear. He
slowed down before reaching Hermione and landed on the table, pushing
aside the empty plates and cutlery as his talons scrapped the table
slightly. All those sitting near Hermione had walked away from them and
everyone watched in trepidation as Shimmer looked at Hermione
expectantly, giving a few glances at the coin.
"Good." She said petting his head and giving him the Sickle as a large
number of gasps spread through the whole hall.
He grabbed the coin between his teeth and let it down on the table,
looking at Hermione with a look that she understood very well but didn't
obliged.
"What do you say?" Hermione asked.
He knew the answer but it was still a bit annoying to say it every time he
got a coin, only the perspective that it might get him more coin forced
him to say it.
"Ank you." Shimmer said with his slightly not human voice, shocking the
entire room for the fourth time tonight/
"Almost, it's 'thank you'." She corrected him.
"Thank you."
"Very good, here you go." She said taking out a second Sickle and giving
it to him.
Adding it to the first one, he looked again at Hermione.
"Hermione. Sickle?" He asked.
"No, its enough." Hermione relied petting his head.
It had been worth asking.
Only now did Hermione remembered where she was and she looked
around to see that everyone, students and teachers included, were all
standing immobile and completely silent. They all had faces of clear
disbelief or awe and no one dared to speak until Dumbledore stood up
from his seat.
"Thank you for the introduction, Miss Granger, I knew I could count on
you." He said with his trademark smile.
Hermione groaned at first when she realized how the headmaster had set
her up until she noticed that everyone was still staring at her and she
blushed before quickly sitting down as Shimmer looked at his two
Sickles. The little dragon did so as everyone remained silent and when he
raised his head to look at the humans some flinched when his eyes passed
on them, much to his fun and stroking his ego at the sight of so many
humans cowering before him.
"Now, as you can see, Miss Granger knows very well how to handle our
little dragon neighbour and is still in the process of teaching him our
language. While I am certain that you have many questions, I will ask
you to keep them for later as I believe it is time to start our diner." The
headmaster said before clapping his hands and attending to his plate like
if everything was perfectly normal.
As soon as he had clapped, food started to appear out of nowhere and
landed on the tables. Shimmer let out a small squeak of surprise at seeing
the food appearing but quickly recovered when the many scents of meat
assaulted his nostrils and he looked with a ferocious glint in his eyes at
the nearest plate of pork that was barely half-a-meter away. He sprung
forward in an attempt to catch the food but was stopped by Hermione
who caught him by the neck with a surprising amount of strength.
"That's not how you should eat Shimmer." She scolded him.
"Not understand!" He replied loudly between two squeaks and trying to
get free without hurting her.
"Of course you don't. We haven't talked about table manners yet."
Hermione sighed.
No one had started to eat beside the headmaster and all were still staring
at them and Hermione was frankly getting fed up by all the attention.
She turned toward Neville that was sat to her right, whiter that a ghost.
"Neville, can you put some meat on a plate please?" She asked the
terrified boy.
More by mechanical reflexes than anything else, the child complied and
quickly handed her a plate with three slices of pork.
"Thank you. Here you go Shimmer." Hermione said grabbing the plate
and leaving it in front of Shimmer that she had just released.
Not waiting another second, Shimmer started to tear out the flesh from
the meat and that finally seemed to take out most of the humans in the
hall, many starting to talk in small groups but all still staring at him,
watching in slight horror at how easily his teeth cut through the meat
and the sound that it made. Hermione picked up a few vegetables and a
single slice of meat, such a normal action that took out of their stupor
many of her classmates all around.
"So Hermione..." Started George quite blankly.
"...it seems that you..." Continued Fred as expressionless.
"...found a very unique..."
"...dragon as a pet."
"He is not a pet, he is my friend." She said a bit harsher than necessary
but it was all those around needed to remember what they did to her.
That quickly put them all back into silence and they started to put food
on their plates as the rest of the hall did the same. Some now had a huge
respect for the girl who apparently tamed a dragon and who was also
teaching him speech, something that baffled both the students and the
teachers as talking dragons were completely unheard of. All only had a
single subject on their lips and it wasn't hard to guess which one. Yet one
did broke that silence.
"Can I pet him?"
Hermione turn around and looked incredulously at Neville that had just
asked this question. Him, probably the worst student between all the first
years and maybe even the whole school, was brave enough to ask such an
dangerous act barely minutes after seeing Shimmer so close to him again.
"I-I don't know, he doesn't like it when he is eating. Maybe after?" She
suggested still shocked.
"Oh okay." He agreed before turning to his own plate as he started to eat
too.
Looking at Shimmer, Hermione brought her hand closer to the dragon
and she was barely twenty centimetres away that he started to growl
dangerously at her, seemingly frozen while keeping his eyes on her hand.
"Definitely after." She said before returning to her meal.
"Was he... did you had him with you all this time? Since the train?" Asked
Ron still a bit in awe.
"No. Well almost. The next day after we arrived he was in my drawer
looking for coins, I gave him some and he left me alone. After that he
kept coming, not every day but once or twice a week at first and now he
is here almost all the time." Hermione answered even if she didn't want
to look at Ron.
"Wicked. Does he sleep in your room?"
"I hope not, I never saw it before so please don't tell me you were keeping
it somewhere in our bedroom." Stated Parvati looking at Hermione and
Shimmer.
"I can assure you that he isn't, I don't even know where he sleeps. Or
maybe I should say where is his nest?" Wondered Hermione.
"Was he..." Started George.
"...the one..." Pursued Fred.
"...who took..." Continued the first twin.
"...all our valuables?" Finished the other twin.
Hermione flinched at that, looking at every other student that heard the
twins as a look of understanding passed on most of them. She had hoped
that no one would associate the loss of coins with Shimmer but both
Dumbledore and her threw that possibility away when they used coins to
get Shimmer's attention, there was no way to hide the truth and it might
actually be better to do it now than latter.
"Yes. I've been trying to get him to stop but he doesn't want to." She
explained looking at Shimmer attacking his last slice of meat.
"So you're the one who took all of our money!?" Exclaimed Dean Thomas,
one of her fellow Gryffindor classmates.
"No I-" Started Hermione.
"Really?!" Said a Ravenclaw student that was listening to the
conversation.
"Not only does she have a dragon but she stole from everyone?" Added
another student.
"Its not me I-" Tried again Hermione getting flustered and upset, talking a
bit louder even if it didn't helped in front of the angered mass of students
around her.
"I've lost more than five Sickles!" Complained a student somewhere
behind her.
Overwhelmed, Hermione couldn't do anything else than looking down at
her plate with tears forming in her eyes. She had feared that tonight
would made things worst but now she couldn't imagine anything else
than the harsher words everyone was and would unleash on her.
A very loud growl pierced the cacophony, everyone silenced as they
looked at the dragon that a few had forgotten in their anger against
Hermione.
Shimmer didn't understood why the young humans were getting angry
and loud but he clearly saw how their words and anger was directed
toward Hermione and he didn't liked it one bit. Not only did it stopped
him to finish his meal but they were making his human friend cry.
Darting his head left and right, glaring and growling at a few students
that he judged too close to Hermione, he raised his head high and opened
his wings slightly to appear bigger, forcing almost all of them to take a
step back as Hermione looked at him with a thanking look in her eyes.
The tension was thick and many feared that the dragon would attack,
even Hermione wasn't sure how he would behave. But one voice cut
through it with a powerful tone that left no doubt nor to argument.
"Thank you, Shimmer. May I remind you that while Shimmer is quite
friendly, he remains a dragon that isn't fully tamed so please don't
antagonize him. I would also add that Shimmer is indeed the one that
took a few coins from all of us, even a Galleon from me, but Miss Granger
is in no way accountable for these thefts and is still trying to get him to
stop. Let it be clear that no one is to turn against Miss Granger for
Shimmer's actions, in fact it would partially be my fault since I allowed
him to remain here this long." Dumbledore explained, making it very
explicit that if anyone had a problem with Shimmer they would have to
talk about it with the Headmaster and not many would take the risk to
anger the most powerful magus alive.
The entire hall fell into silence as the words sunk into everyone's mind
until it was broken by Shimmer finishing his meal, the dragon not
carrying anymore about the humans since they returned to silence after
the words of their pack leader. He of course had no clue of what had
been said except that his name and Hermione's had been said a few times
and that he talked about coins.
"What about our coins?" Asked a voice from the Ravenclaw table.
"I understand your concerns but rest assured that you will get your coins
back at some point during the year. We have kept a record of every coin
and jewels stolen since the beginning of the year and if we can't take
them back from Shimmer then I shall see to it myself. Does this satisfy
your request?" Replied the Headmaster.
"Yes sir." Agreed Terry Boot, not wishing to remain the point of
everyone's attention any longer.
"Perfect! Now please continue your meal and let Miss Granger breathe a
bit, I believe that is enough questions for tonight and you will all have
the time to question her later." Said the Headmaster, no reassuring
Hermione in the slightest.
All returned to their meal except for the one who was already done,
Shimmer licking his teeth satiated. He had only smelled the meats
displayed on the tables before but now he was certain that there were
almost nothing better than that, the taste of cooked meat was simply
divine and he would have called it perfect if it had been a tad more
bloody. But he wouldn't complain since his stomach was full.
Looking around, he saw that the young humans had return to talking
even if they were now far quieter and a few were still looking at him,
probably admiring his scales or trembling in fear at the mere thought of
him being near them as many flinched or looked away when his gaze fell
on said students.
But now was the time for him to leave, it was quite late already, he was
completely satiated and getting a bit sleepy as he yawned loudly. He
glanced at Hermione, silently eating her meal and even he could see that
she wasn't perfectly fine, keeping her eyes fixed on the plate in front of
her and ignoring the few other students around her.
"Hermione." He said to get her attention.
"Yes Shimmer?" She replied instantly, looking at him as he somehow got
the attention of everyone around even if he wasn't talking to them.
"Bye-bye." Shimmer said before grasping the coins with his teeth.
"Already?" She said looking a bit sadder for a second before she let out a
sigh. "Okay, bye-bye Shimmer, have a good night."
"Hermione okay?" He still asked concerned.
"Yeah I- it should be okay." Hermione assured with a very faint smile that
barely convinced him that it was fine. But he was no human expert so he
let it go.
"Shimmer." Called the strong voice of the old human.
Shimmer turned around to see the pack leader of the school standing up
and coming close to the coin. He watched him take out his wand and tap
it on the coin before reaching for the coin and, under Shimmer's
incredulous eyes, took it away from the pedestal. Shimmer couldn't
believe how he did it but he could only suppose that it was thanks to the
weird stick that could apparently turn boxes into mouses and stick coins
everywhere, he was so surprised that he completely froze and kept
looking at the Galleon into the old man's hand.
"Come over here please, this is for you after all." Said the headmaster
handing the golden coin towards him, shocking many pupils who
couldn't believe how he was giving so much money to a simple dragon.
It was absolutely not greed that powered him to fly towards the old man
and landing right on the stone pedestal, looking expectantly at the coin.
He was so focused on the coin that he didn't noticed the twinkle shinning
into the old eyes of the human above him.
"What do you say?" Asked Dumbledore far too amused to not say it.
"Plea." Replied Shimmer still focused on the coin.
"Its 'Please', young Shimmer." Corrected Dumbledore much like Hermione
did.
"Please. Galleon." Said Shimmer even if he didn't understood the meaning
of 'young'.
"Much better." Approved the headmaster, pushing his hand and the coin
right in front of him.
Not waiting any longer, Shimmer caught the Galleon and as soon as it
was resting next to the two Sickles already there he opened his wings
wide and flew toward the window he came from, leaving the hall under
the eyes of every human inside as the glass of the window magically
reappeared right after the dragon left. As soon as he left he flew toward
his hoard to add his three new rightfully acquired coins to the many
already gathered there, leaving behind the humans who suddenly started
to be noisy and loud again. He was exalted to know that he now had a
new Galleon, his second one ever.
Hermione spent the rest of the night to answer her classmates' questions
about Shimmer, how he was, how he defeated the troll, if he was really
dangerous and all sorts of other questions. It had been very hard for her
at first but when she realized that the questions weren't about her and
that no one seemed to have any bad or angry feelings for her she relaxed,
answering as many questions as possible. She even had the surprise to see
a few of her classmates apologize to her but it was only those who were
the least insulting or those who did nothing. It seemed like it would take
at least one more day for Ron Weasley to apologize. Their talks about
Shimmer continued until the teachers had to force them to go to their
dorms.
Even on the way out, Hermione quickly caught the look in Professor
McGonagall's eyes, one that was both of disappointment but also some
sort of pride. Although she didn't had the time to talk with her head of
house, many classmates only begged to have more time to talk with her
but she was starting to feel tired herself and left the majority of the
chaotic Gryffindors behind as she finally sat on her bed, yawning already
and only asking for it to be over.
"He won't come tonight, right?" Asked her roommate Lavender Brown.
"He never did before, I don't think he will tonight." Replied Hermione
removing her robes for her much more comfortable nightwear, slipping
under the cover of her bed.
"Good. It would be creepy otherwise."
"Yeah, like a flying stalker." Agreed Parvati Patil.
"He isn't like that. Plus, he is a dragon, I'm pretty sure he don't even know
the concept of being a creep. Can we go sleep now?" Assured Hermione
starting to have enough of all these questions and only wishing to go to
bed.
"Sure, goodnight." Parvati said
"Goodnight." Continued Lavender.
"Thanks, goodnight." Whispered Hermione finally going towards the
dream realm.
AN:
Hi! Valexto at the Keyboard!
Sorry for the long wait but as you may have noticed, this is the longest
chapter yet and it carries a significant importance as the chapter
introducing Shimmer to the rest of Hogwarts. It took a long time to write,
to find the right way to write it and make it look good and even more
time spent to re-read and remove as many mistakes as possible even if I'm
certain there are a lot I must have missed. If you see any you're very
welcome to point them, it will only make the story better.
I'm a bit unsure about the next chapter, I think it will go towards the
winter break or something like this, maybe annoying a few teachers
along the way.
I just want to thank you all for the support given to this story and the
many suggestions that some of you have made.
See you next time!
12. Chapter 12
I do not own nor possess any right over Harry Potter, all rights belongs to
J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 12
The days were slowly starting to get colder, something that Shimmer
dreaded as his body wasn't made to face cold temperatures and always
had a harder time to survive through the cold winds of winter. It wasn't
snowing yet but he knew it wouldn't be long before the castle and
everything around would be covered in snow.
But it wasn't too bad yet, he could still go fly around without problem
and just had to deal with the slightly colder weather. Stretching himself
to revive his blood flow, warming up his body in a few seconds, he left
the warmth of his hoard to reach the window and he flew down from
there directly to Hermione's window, knowing that it was time for their
daily meeting.
He landed on the window sill and stopped in front of the glass
obstructing his way. Looking through it, he saw that Hermione didn't
seemed to be here but two of the other human females she shared her
room with were, sitting on their bed leisurely and looking at some kind
of book, not noticing him. He resolved this issue very quickly with his
simple yet effective solution.
THUNK
The two human girls jumped out of surprise before looking at him and
the one with curly brown hair stood up to come at the window,
muttering something that he didn't understood with a scowl on her face.
"That's the second time you're scaring us like that." She said not very
happy as she opened the window.
"Hermione?" Shimmer asked looking around.
"She is downstairs in the common room. Come on." She replied gesturing
him to get in.
He hopped down from the window and started to sniff for Hermione's
most recent scent, not understanding what this 'common room' was,
which only seemed to make the human girls even more annoyed at him
for some reason.
"I'll take him there." Said the other girl with long black hairs and a
slightly darker skin colour, standing up and walking to the door. "Come
on Shimmer."
Following the girl, Shimmer looked around curiously as he tried to
identify the numerous smells around him. It had been a few days since
his introduction to the school and apparently the human pack leader told
the rest that he was to be left alone and had access to pretty much the
whole castle. It didn't mean that everyone let him in all the time or that
he was welcome everywhere but many started to relax around him and
considered him as some kind of resident in the castle, much like the
ghosts wandering the corridors. He actually didn't get to interact with
many humans for he spent most of his time outside of the school and he
always stood with Hermione the rest of the time.
Rare where the moments like right now where he followed another
human without his human friend, most young humans still preferring to
stay far from him as long as Hermione wasn't there. Like if she could
control him! That was a funny thought that he always got when seeing
humans avoid him and treating him like the great predator that he was.
His thoughts got interrupted by the human girl starting to go down some
stairs and he followed, hopping down the steps one by one, until they
reached the big room where the young humans wearing gold and red
robes gathered sometimes. At some point Hermione must have told him
about why they wore different colours but he couldn't remember what
she said, he just figured it was because they either had different ranks in
the pack or different roles but so far he saw no differences between all
the young humans, no matter their robes. It was quite confusing to him;
all those weird things humans did make very little sense to him and he
always explained it by humans being humans.
"Here you go, Hermione is right over there." Said his guide as the girl
pointed to a corner of the room before going back toward the stairs.
Looking in that direction, he noticed Hermione in an armchair, with a big
book in hands, silently turning the pages. What he didn't noticed was
how tensed many of the Gryffindor students became when they saw him
arrive, they didn't feared him anymore as much as the first day but he
was still a dragon and thus a dangerous creature that had to be
approached with carefulness.
Walking toward her, he reached the side of her sofa and let out a little
cry as he jumped on the armrest, looking at her intensely.
Hermione jumped when she first heard and then saw him arrived. He
didn't sneak on her but she had been so engrossed in her book that she
hadn't been paying attention to anything around her, but she relaxed
when she noticed that it was Shimmer. Glancing at the clock, she saw
that it was slightly passed the time of their usual meeting time. She had
no idea how he did it but Shimmer always knew when it was time even if
he had no watch, not that it could have been useful since he couldn't read
anything.
"Hello Shimmer. I'm sorry, I didn't see the time pass." Hermione said with
a smile, noting at which page she was before placing the book on the
table.
"Hello." He said looking at her, standing on the armrest as she reached for
him and started petting his head.
"Is everything alright? Are you hungry?" She asked as Shimmer purred
under her strokes.
"Meat."
"Sure, we still have time for a late breakfast." Agreed Hermione, standing
up and picking up the book to put it back on the bookshelf.
She barely had the time to retract her arm that Shimmer jumped on her
shoulders, taking her by surprise as he was no featherweight, bending
forward for a second, before she managed to get her balance back. He
was slightly longer than she was tall and even if his body was made to be
light enough to fly, it was still quite the weight for a eleven years old girl.
Even more for a bookworm such as Hermione that had no particular
physical strength.
"Oomph! Shimmer don't do that." She scolded him as she felt him move
to be more comfortable for the both of them.
"Shimmer sorry." He replied coiling his tail around her arm for support.
But Hermione wouldn't let him do that. Even if, and that was a big if, she
was able to carry him right now, she wouldn't be able to do so all the
way up to the great hall. Moving around, she caught him as he tried to
steady himself even further and let out a small cry of indignation as she
put him back on the armrest of the sofa she was previously sat on.
"No Shimmer, you're too big for that. Plus, you have wings, you can just
fly around." She clarified as she petted his head.
"Shimmer not understand." He did understood that she didn't wanted him
on her shoulder, not the why.
"Just no, Shimmer. Now come on, we need to be quick if you want to eat
something." Hermione replied making her way for the door of the
Gryffindor dormitory.
With just a little growl of annoyance, he flapped his wings spread wide
and followed Hermione who had already opened the door. He passed
through the opening, leaving behind a lot of Gryffindor students talk
about what the two just did even if none of them had realized that the
other students were looking at them the whole time.
"Humph! That little dragon again." Grumbled the portrait of the fat lady
as Hermione closed the door.
"He is very nice you know." Commented Hermione as she walked toward
the stairs.
"He will burn all of us down!" She said as several other paintings shared
her opinion.
Shimmer didn't listened to what the weird flat-non-human said, he wasn't
sure if they were real or not as he couldn't smell any living scent from
them but they still moved and talked like other humans, really something
inexplicable that he quickly put as another weird human thing.
He followed Hermione as she got down the stairs, some moving and some
staying in place, flying slightly above her and keeping a steady flight as
he looked at the many portraits and objects displayed in the corridors.
This school was really a place unlike any other, so many things that
didn't make any sense except for humans apparently. They continued
their walk toward the great hall, a few students looking warily at him
when they noticed him passing above their heads and a few even giving a
slow berth as Hermione passed next to them. Shimmer had to admit that
while he was usually cautious of everything, most of the young humans
in this school were far shyer and more careful than him.
After a few more minutes to go down the stairs and going toward the
great hall, they finally reached their destination. Looking around,
Shimmer saw that only a few students were still there, finishing their
meal under the watchful eyes of the very little, old teacher and the
broom teacher, both of them instantly catching sight of Hermione and
Shimmer as they sat down at the Gryffindor Table, him standing directly
on the table between a few plates still there.
A few full plates appeared and Hermione quickly gathered a few slices of
meat before giving them to Shimmer who didn't lose a second to start
eating under Hermione watchful eyes, the girl having already eaten
earlier this morning. Just a few seats away, on the other side of the table,
Shimmer briefly noticed the red-haired boy that he saw a few times
already, also eating what could be considered a heavy breakfast.
They ate almost as loudly as the other, something that almost impressed
Hermione and not for any good reason. She had to remind herself that
Shimmer was a dragon and thus couldn't have the same table manners as
humans, if he could even understand what it was, and that Ron was
just... well, being Ron. And yet the boy's meal suddenly stopped and
Hermione watched him standing up, bringing his plate with him as he sat
right in front of Hermione with a uneasy expression on his face.
"Hum... there is something that I want to tell you." Started Ron glancing
at Shimmer.
"I'm listening." Replied Hermione, not really liking where this was going.
Shimmer just stood there, almost between the two, and not caring for
what they were saying as long as no one tried to take his meal away.
"So, I got punished by Professor McGonagall to clean all the damages
done by the troll and fixing all of it. Without magic. She explained to me
how wrong I was with you and how I was to never do anything like that
again... but that's not what I want to tell you." He said a bit clumsily.
"And what is it?" Asked Hermione thinking that he apparently didn't
understood the lesson.
"My brothers told me before all of this that I had been a real git with you
and I wanted to apologize but... I just didn't want to admit that I was
wrong. I knew I had to but I was too stubborn to do it. You almost got
killed because of me and I acted like a Slytherin, not doing anything
instead of being a true Gryffindor. I want to say that I'm sorry for treating
you like I did and that I was just being an idiot for insulting you when
you tried to help me." Confessed Ron as he looked at her and then down
at his plate when he was finished.
If Hermione thought she would have been surprised today, she would
have never expected it to come from Ron. She had truly thought that he
hadn't retained anything from his punishment but if what he said was the
truth then he had already understood, he simply didn't get the courage to
put his thoughts into actions and words. At least until now. She looked at
him intensely, trying to see if it was only a lie or an attempt to escape
further punishment from their head of house, but she couldn't find
anything else besides honest remorse and guilt on his face.
"I accept your apology." Decided Hermione. While she truly hated how
she had been treated by him an some of her other classmates, Hermione
had never been capable to hold grudges against anyone for long and
especially when someone presented her some truly apologetic excuses.
"Wait really?" Asked Ron lifting his head up very quickly, almost
snapping his neck in the process.
"Yes, I can see that you're really sorry so I accept your apology." Clarified
Hermione.
"Oh...hm thanks." Said Ron looking at her sheepishly.
"Sorry?" Asked Shimmer, recognising the word and wondering why the
boy apologised to Hermione. Had he done something wrong?
"Ron is sorry because of bad words. It's okay." Told him Hermione having
to use easier words for him to understand.
Looking at the boy, Ron if he understood well, Shimmer tried to find
anything on him that appeared dangerous but couldn't find anything. It
might have been true that words could be used to harm, just not by
making the skin bleed. Another weird thing only with humans.
Ron looked away from the unnerving gaze of the dragon and returned to
his breakfast, eating slightly less loudly until Shimmer returned to his
own piece of meat.
"Are you training him?" Asked Ron looking quickly at Shimmer.
"I'm teaching him how to behave and how to speak. It is a bit slow but he
needs to learn more words first before we can move to anything more
advanced, right now he still can't understand most concepts. I tried to
make him understand that he didn't needed coins but I'm starting to think
that this will never change, its like some kind of instinctual behaviour
but all the books I read said that dragon's attractiveness for gold was only
a myth." Hermione explained, getting into her lecture mode as Shimmer
tuned her out, incapable to understand the flow of words.
"Sure. Have you tried to make him blow fire on command?" Asked Ron
obviously not interested into the advancement that represented the
possibility to speak with dragons.
"I- No. I've seen him blew fire on the troll before but I never thought
about that." Admitted Hermione looking as Shimmer finished his last
slice of meat, licking his teeth.
"Do you think it would be possible?" Continued Ron even more
enthusiastic as he imagined Shimmer fighting the troll.
"Yes, but why would you do that?" Asked Hermione.
"Well, it would be pretty cool to have him light everything up on
command."
"You can work on your pyromaniac tendencies later M. Weasley, I would
advise you to go to your next class now if you don't want to lose points
for being late." Said the stern and cold voice of Severus Snape behind the
boy.
Ron didn't dare turn around and quickly finished his breakfast before
leaving, imitated soon after by Hermione who forced Shimmer to come
with her even if the dragon wanted more meat. Snape looked sharply at
the little creature with a hard glare, not liking at all that he was
forbidden by the headmaster to hex the dragon on sight and that he had
to tolerate the lizard presence for now.
At least he had the right to block the dragon to access his classroom. He
certainly didn't wanted to deal with a pestering dragon in addition to all
of those annoying Gryffindors that kept being utter fools when practicing
potion making.
Barely fifteen minutes later, Ron, Hermione and Shimmer were standing
in the transfiguration classroom, waiting for professor McGonagall that
was surprisingly not here yet. Up on the table, right in front of Hermione
and Ron that sat together for the first time in a while, Shimmer looked at
the room they were in and where the humans learned how to change
things into other things. Even in animals sometimes. He briefly wondered
if they tasted as good as the real ones.
"Shimmer you need to behave, okay? We're in class so you must be
silent." Asked Hermione.
"What behave?" Asked the golden dragon not knowing this word.
"Hum... how to explain that..." Pondered the girl aloud.
"You need to stay silent, no talking." Tried Ron.
At that moment professor McGonagall entered the classroom, instantly
reducing the chattering to perfect silence as every student took their seat
and waited for the old teacher to start her class.
"Like this." Whispered Ron right after professor McGonagall passed next
to him.
Shimmer could only admire the respect that the young had for their
elders and this one really seemed to be one not to mess with, he already
got this impression the first times he saw her but it was impressive how
her presence affected the young humans. He stood silent too and watched
her turn to the class before starting to instruct the younglings.
"Good day children. Today we shall continue our transfiguration
exercises. Everyone will start working on transfiguring a match into a
needle, those who can manage do to so without problem shall continue
onto the Mice to Snuffboxes spell." Introduced professor McGonagall.
A few students gave a few sighs of annoyance at the idea to keep working
on this spell but they were already well aware that their teacher wouldn't
let them go any further without knowing this one first. A few tens of
matches were taken out by the children that started to work on them,
wands out and pointed at the wooden sticks. Shimmer watched with
great fascination as Hermione instantly turned her match into a perfectly
thin needle, a proud smile on her face. Turning sideways Shimmer
observed Ron doing the same only to come up with a larger needle, not
as small and pointy as Hermione's.
"Very good Miss Granger and I can see that you seem to be improving too
Mr. Weasley. Please work together until you've mastered this spell and
then you can move on to the Mice to Snuffboxes spell." Congratulated
them the professor before eyeing Shimmer that was doing the same.
In fact, he didn't stop there and walked in front of the woman and started
to smell her in an attempt to figure if she did smelled like a cat. She
stiffened as he approached and he wasn't surprised to find out that she
did smell like one. He might have done it longer if not for the woman's
intervention.
"Miss Granger, could you move Shimmer away please? I don't want to
risk angering him by doing so myself."
"Of course professor. Shimmer, come here please." Hermione replied,
embarrassed by how Shimmer acted with her teacher.
Shimmer complied; his curiosity satisfied. He looked at Hermione for a
few seconds and opened his wings wide before taking out to the air,
flying toward ceiling for a few seconds until he landed on one beam, high
enough to look at the entire class that was actually doing the same. He
wondered why but didn't gave it much thoughts and the human teacher
quickly regained control.
"Quiet please! Focus on your matches." Sternly said Minerva.
The students instantly obeyed under her strict order and returned to their
magical exercises. Shimmer watched them all doing so, some better than
others but still giving a special attention to Ron and Hermione who
worked on the boy's transfiguration spell for a few minutes until he
managed to get a perfect one under the guidance of Hermione.
"You're free to start working on your Mice to Snuffboxes spell." Said
McGonagall as she noticed their progress.
Shimmer watched them go tot the side of the class where they opened a
closet and took out a mouse each, placed in a little cage that they
brought to their table. He suddenly remembered what Hermione did last
time with one of these and it was with great fascination that he observed
them do the same. Hermione managed to get her mouse changed into a
very pretty golden box while Ron's mouse turned into a wooden box with
whiskers and a tail.
"I don't get how you always manage to get it on your first try." Frowned
Ron looking at his box.
"It's because I read everything about the spell and practiced the wand
movement before coming to class." Answered Hermione a bit uncertainly,
still afraid that things would return as it was before the troll incident.
"Right." Said Ron.
Hermione waved her wand again and now the box was a mouse once
more, looking around calmly as if nothing happened. Shimmer didn't let
it out of his field of view, eyes fixed on the animal that started to walk
away as Hermione turned to help Ron transfiguring his box back into a
mouse but visibly struggling as it didn't appeared to do anything.
But Shimmer was attentive and he wouldn't let such an easy snack get
away that easily, especially one that was completely unaware of his
presence. He opened his wings slightly and aimed for the mouse that was
now on the ground, walking between the humans that were still
practicing without a clue about the fleeing rodent, his mouth ready
watering at the prospective of this meal.
He didn't noticed, too focused on the mouse, but professor McGonagall
was eyeing him very seriously, waiting to see what he would do until he
started to prepare for his attack and she could do nothing but watched as
the dragon jumped from the beam he was standing on and dived straight
for the mouse at great speed.
Shimmer remained completely focused on the mouse, forgetting
everything else around him as he slashed through the air toward his
meal. He opened his mouth as the students around took notice of him
and some started to scream as they feared that he was coming for them.
A single, yet loud, squeak was everything that came out from the mouse
as he bid down on its neck, killing it in a few seconds as blood started to
drip on its fur and on his neck. He pressed harder for a few seconds to
make sure that it was dead before stretching his wings as he flew toward
one corner of the ceiling and started to eat his meal under the disgusted
and terrified eyes of the students.
"Ew that's disgusting!" Loudly complained Pansy Parkinson, a Slytherin
student.
"It seems only pureblood's pets have manners." Added Malfoy between
the many chatters going on in the class.
"Quiet please, I will not have my classroom become a zoo." Ordered
Minerva looking warily at Shimmer that was finishing his mouse, blood
dripping from the beam he was on to the ground.
"Shimmer." Whispered Hermione ashamed that she let him eat the mouse
without even noticing it leaving.
"That was bloody deadly you mean." Cheered Ron in a half-whisper.
Shimmer for his part didn't cared about their talks, mainly because he
couldn't understand them but also because he was busy licking the blood
on his lips. Satisfied with this additional snack after the breakfast that
was a bit too light for him, he flew down and landed near Hermione that
looked him with some kind of sad expression in her eyes even if he knew
it wasn't the sadness he saw her display before.
"What am I going to do with you? It was very bad Shimmer." Hermione
tried to explain even if she didn't see how, mice were a very common
prey in nature after all and she was certain that it wasn't Shimmer's first
mouse.
"Bad? Eat good." He replied confused, much like Hermione expected.
"Ugh this is going to take a while." Sighed Hermione looking at him.
"And you shall take the time to do so later Miss Granger. Meanwhile you
shall continue working on the match to needle spell." Said professor
McGonagall as she looked sternly at Shimmer that was completely
unaware of the glare sent toward him.
After their class of transfiguration, they had to go in the dungeon for the
potion class and despite Hermione many attempts to send him away or to
make him understand that he wouldn't be welcome, Shimmer didn't
wanted to go anywhere else for now and stuck with them, flying above
the group of Gryffindors and Slytherins that did their best to ignore each
other.
They entered the classroom where professor Snape was waiting and it
didn't took more than a second for his scowl to deepened even more,
which many of the students didn't thought possible.
"What is that annoying flying lizard doing here?" He instantly asked, cold
yet slightly angry.
"He doesn't want to leave, sir." Replied Hermione very carefully.
The head of the Slytherin House looked at Shimmer that flew landed on
top of a shelf, head upside down as he looked through the glass of the
shelf he was standing on and staring at the many weird plants and animal
parts displayed there. He was already far less excited to be here than he
was originally, mainly because of the many strong smells mixed in the
room that didn't do any good to his nostrils but he found that the teacher
covered in black clothing and with very greasy hair looked like a black
tree with old, oily leaves.
"A dragon shouldn't be the one to make the rules, Miss Granger, you
should discipline him until he obeys your every command." Snape said
even if he knew very well that dragons were usually too untamed to
follow any order in the first place. He would never admit it, but he was
impressed to see that she was somehow managing to keep Shimmer in
check and even teaching him the human language.
Standing up, Snape walked in front of his shelf where Shimmer was still
looking at the ingredients for his potions, his eyes temporarily focused on
some lionfish spines. Scowling at the dragon's carelessness who could
very well poison himself if he ate the spines, he reached for it when
Shimmer's eyes turned toward him, hissing and showing his teeth in a
threatening stance at the sudden approach.
Snape froze at that and many students around believed that he was
scared of the dragon but they couldn't be more wrong.
'Lily.' Snape thought, looking into the green eyes of Shimmer who
reminded him so much of his deceased friend. Never did he thought he
would see these eyes again if not into the young Potter child that had
disappeared so long ago, the child of a man that he truly hated and of a
woman that he had loved with all his heart and that he remembered
seeing the jade like eyes. If it wasn't for the fact that the dragon
obviously had diagonal slits, it could have really be Lily's eyes. He didn't
stood frozen for long but it was enough to make him doubt and by now
Shimmer was just hissing a bit lower, keeping his green eyes on Snape's
hands.
"Shimmer will be allowed to remain as long as he behaves." Said Snape
turning around, secretly wishing to have more time to gaze into those
eyes that brought back so many memories.
The class stood silent as they watched Snape, the inflexible teacher that
only favoured his Slytherin students and hissed at everyone else all the
time, tolerate the presence of Shimmer that he had been pestering about
him since the dragon's first apparition.
After this strange interaction from their teacher, they returned to their
usual potion classes with the cold and stern teacher checking on every
student and their potion, doing his usual favouritism much to the
pleasure of the Slytherins that smirked to the Gryffindors, stuck with only
doing their best to only end up with either a negative comment about
their potion or a barely acceptable in the case of Hermione and Ron.
It was the middle of the class when Shimmer finally hopped down from
his perch and landed on the table right next to Hermione who quickly
shuffled aside the ingredients for the potion to leave him enough space
and not have any of them damaged. They had learned during the last
class that professor Snape was not kind with students using damaged or
rotten ingredients.
"Hermione." Said Shimmer as he landed, bored after watching the
humans spending so long just to change the colour of their weird waters
in what they called cauldrons.
"Shimmer. Be silent and behave." Whispered harshly Hermione who
glanced at Snape only to see him starring at them.
"Shimmer. Fly. Coin. Bye-bye." He replied not lowering his voice at all,
not that he was talking loudly but it was enough to be above the other
students talks.
"I- what?" She replied not understanding if he wanted to leave or stay for
a coin.
"Miss Granger, would you mind sharing what Shimmer is talking about
with us?" Asked Snape from his office.
"I'm sorry sir but I'm not sure of what he wants." Hermione replied
uncertain.
"Really? Now that is a surprise. What do you want Shimmer?" He asked
the dragon directly after mocking Hermione who looked down.
"Shimmer want fly... go coin. Want bye-bye." Tried to explain Shimmer,
forcing himself to remember as many words as possible which made
Hermione proud of both her friend and her successful teachings.
"Am I wrong to believe that he wishes to go steal more valuables for his
own pleasure?"
"No sir." Replied Hermione looking at Shimmer that was looking
expectantly at the door.
"Hmph, you ought to correct this habit of him soon. I don't want him to
steal from me again. Now out of my dungeon!" Said Snape as he walked
to the classroom's door and opened it fully for Shimmer to go through,
frowning and angry looking even if it wasn't really towards the dragon.
He would welcome him again if just to stare into his eyes.
Finally having his will obeyed, Shimmer flew through the door and
quickly went all the way back to the surface before finding an open
window, startling many students and paintings on his way even if he
didn't cared. They were in no danger from him as long as they didn't try
to steal his coins.
Speaking of coins, it was time to do his daily collect even if it was harder
now that everyone knew about him. All the humans were now hiding
their coins and except for Hermione and a very few teachers that gave
him a few, he wasn't getting as much as he used to.
AN:
Hi! Valexto at the keyboard!
Sorry for the wait, I'm preparing a trip before finally returning to my
home country after two years. This means that it took longer to write this
chapter and I wont have as much time as before to write the next one,
don't expect any update before a week or two but don't despair either for
I am not abandoning the story in any way.
As you've probably noticed, I've forgiven Ron for his harsh words and
behaviour. This is because he is only a 11 years old kid, not that smart
and pretty brash but ultimately with a good heart. I have read many
fictions where is completely bashed and hated and while it is not wrong,
I simply feel like his behaviour is simply because he is young and hadn't
realized until now just how wrong a few harsh words could harm.
The next chapter is already planned in my mind and will refocused a bit
on the original storyline, it needs to keep going after all.
Thanks for the support and the many comments.
See you soon!
13. Chapter 13
I do not own nor possess any right over Harry Potter, all rights belongs to
J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 13
When Shimmer woke up today, he instantly felt the cold.
He had been quite aware of how cold the last days had become, and
understood that it would soon be time for him to go sleep through the
winter. He stretched a bit, looking at his hoard of exactly 2 Galleons, 11
Sickles and 79 Knuts, along with a collar of white pearls, two pairs of
earrings and a silver bracelet. There was a bit of sadness in his eyes, as
the last week had been quite bad in his collect of valuables.
The first reason was Hermione who told him, to his great shock and
horror, that he couldn't steal any other coin or jewel. She explained that
these belonged to the humans who had them, and that he couldn't keep
taking any from anyone else. It was such a mind-blowing concept, so
absurd that he blanked out for a few seconds once Hermione finally made
him understand what she was trying to say. And the worst was, that she
used a very good argument: what if someone was to take his coins away
from him? Now, that was ridiculous because he would bite anyone
trying, but once Hermione got him to look past that, he was very
concerned for his coins and quickly told Hermione that he didn't wanted
to lose his coins. His worries skyrocketed when she told him that the
humans wanted their coins back but that they wouldn't do anything if no
more coins or jewels were being stolen.
So, very, very reluctantly, he accepted not trying to steal anymore. It
pained him to say it, but was slightly recomforted by Hermione who said
that if he found a coin on the ground, then he had the right to take it.
And then there was the second reason, that made the first one work. The
humans learned to hide their valuables in places where he couldn't take
them: horrible, evil things called chests that once closed, would be
impossible for him to open. He knew. He tried many times.
Now left to only get coins from Hermione, and rarely from some of the
teachers and even one or two students, Shimmer saw his hoard grow at a
pitiful rate. But, he was still happy with it, since he never had such a big
hoard in his entire life.
Reaching the window, he looked at the first snowflakes falling in the sky,
almost glaring at them as he hated the feeling of cold that spread through
his body whenever he had to fly through them. But he had to today, for
he absolutely had to see Hermione. He had no idea how to say it, but he
had to tell her that he was going to sleep for a long time.
Jumping in the cold sky, he quickly made his way toward an open
window in one of the lower floors of the castle, relishing in the heat that
assaulted him once he was inside. He didn't know where Hermione was,
but at this time of the day she was usually eating, so he made his way
toward the Great Hall. Soon, students, teachers and terrified paintings
noticed his presence and he quickly entered the Great Hall, where most
of the students were eating their breakfast, including Hermione who was
at her usual seat.
Flying a bit faster, he let out a small screech and landed right next to her
plate, alerting most humans of his presence even if it was quickly ignored
by most, now starting to get used to the dragon's presence. But one who
didn't ignored him was Hermione, smiling brightly at his arrival.
"Good morning, Shimmer. How are you?" She asked, picking up two
slices of bacon for him.
"Hello. Shimmer okay." He replied, happy that he was starting to
understand longer sentences and harder words. He was still very far from
understanding the human language, but he was progressing.
"This morning we have Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts." Said
Hermione, finishing her own breakfast consisting of scrambled eggs, toast
and orange juice.
Shimmer noticed that, while it wouldn't be his first class of Charms, he
never saw the other one. He was slightly curious about it, especially since
Hermione told him that they were learning about dark creatures,
dangerous spells and objects, meaning learning how to defend
themselves. At least that's how he imagined it.
His bacon didn't last long against his sharp teeth, and he soon followed
Hermione who stood up from her seat.
"Miss Granger? A moment of your time, please." Asked the recognisable
voice of the headmaster.
Both the girl and the dragon turned around, even if Shimmer was doing
so in the air. Hermione gave Shimmer a brief, slightly worried look,
wondering if he did anything wrong, before walking in front of the
teacher's table as the students around her started to whisper while
glancing in her direction.
"Yes, professor Dumbledore?" She asked once in front of him.
"How are you this morning, Miss Granger?" He replied with his usual
smile.
"Good, thank you."
"And you Shimmer?" Dumbledore turned to the flying dragon.
"Shimmer okay." He replied, landing in front of the headmaster, right in
his thankfully empty plate.
"Good, good. Now, correct me if I'm wrong Miss Granger, but you are
going back to your family for Christmas?" *
"Yes." She answered, not seeing where this was going.
"And I assume that our dear Shimmer will remain here?" He said to her
surprise.
"I've never thought about that. I expected him to still be here after the
holidays." She replied sincerely, now starting to be truly concerned for
her friend.
"Then let ask the most concerned one." Said Dumbledore as he looked
down at Shimmer. "Young Shimmer, what will you do in Hermione's
absence?"
The only thing that Shimmer understood, was that a question was being
asked to him and that it regarded Hermione.
"Shimmer not understand." He answered.
"That may be a bit too hard for him sir." Said Hermione for him.
"So I see. Hmm... how to simplify this." The headmaster started to
wonder.
"May I?" She asked. "Shimmer? I am going bye-bye."
Now Shimmer wasn't quite expecting that. Usually, he was the one going
bye-bye, so he didn't understood why she was saying it.
"Hermione bye-bye? Not understand." He said.
"Its called Holidays. .Days. Children go bye-bye to their parents."
Simplified Hermione, doing her best to recall which words Shimmer
knew.
Oh! That made some sense to him. She had explained, not without
difficulties, that her parents and the ones of all the other students, were
sending them here to learn how to be adult humans. But now that he
made that connection, he was starting to worry if she was going to come
back. He didn't want to leave her, even less abandoning his now
considerable hoard.
"Hermione. Here. Here, again?" He managed to say after a very hard time
recalling the words and placing them in the right order.
"Yes, I'll be back here again." She nodded with a smile, petting his head
as a small reward.
"Now. I'm going bye-bye. Are you bye-bye too?" She asked.
He barely managed to understand, but he did. He tried to figure a way to
answer, but he simply didn't know the words to say that he was going to
stay asleep for a long time, until the winter was over.
Looking at his claws, then Hermione, then his claws again, he tried his
best to find the way to make her understand what he meant.
"Shimmer not bye-bye. Shimmer... bye-bye?" He tried, knowing he wasn't
clear but without any way to make it better.
The confused faces he got from Hermione and the Headmaster told him
that he failed.
"You're staying here?" Tried to clarify Hermione, to which he nodded.
"I must confess, that it is harder than I thought to teach a dragon to
speak. You've done a really great job so far, Miss Granger."
Complimented Dumbledore, also trying to guess what Shimmer was
trying to say.
"Thank you professor." Glowed Hermione, happy to be praised.
Meanwhile, Shimmer was trying to figure a way to convey what he
wanted to say. He was going to sleep for a long time, but didn't know the
words for either sleeping or for a long time or winter.
"Shimmer. Not Hermione. Shimmer. Coins. Coins. Coins. Bye-bye." He
attempted, trying to convey the fact that he wouldn't see Hermione
because he'd be sleeping in his hoard.
"Huh..." Blanked Hermione. "I think we already know that you're not me
and that you like coins."
Shimmer huffed in frustration, blowing out a little bit of smoke, at his
second failed attempt. He really wasn't good enough with human words.
Why did they had to use so many words?
"It's okay Shimmer, I know that you're not fully voluble yet." Coaxed
Hermione, petting his head as she saw how much he struggled. She
realised how much work she still had to do.
Instead, going for another tactic, he lied down and took his usual
sleeping position, even going as far as giving a fake yawn.
"You're going to sleep?" Guessed Hermione.
"Ah! I remember!" Suddenly cheered the Headmaster, standing slightly
more upright with a large smile on his face. "Some species of dragon
hibernate when winter comes. Our young Shimmer is probably going to
do the same."
"Oh." Simply said Hermione, understanding what hibernating meant, but
simply not having expected that. "Will he hibernate for a long time?"
"It does usually last the whole winter. I do not know for sure, but he
might be absent until February. Maybe the early days of March."
"Will he hibernate soon?" Asked Hermione.
"Most likely. It is getting quite cold after all. Now, you probably have a
class very soon, so don't let me keep you any longer." Indicated the
Headmaster, waving at the door of the Great Hall. "Oh, before I forget,
does Shimmer knows my name?" He asked quite curious.
Dumbledore didn't expected to see Hermione's cheeks reddened for a
brief second as she looked at Shimmer in shame, just as Shimmer was
starting at her with no real intent.
"He can't say it well. It would be better to wait a little bit." Deflected
Hermione.
"Oh? Why is that?" Asked the Headmaster, amused at his student's
embarrassment.
The lack of reply told him that she really thought it would be a bad idea
for him to hear Shimmer call him, so obviously, he now really wanted to
hear that.
"Shimmer." Said the Headmaster, pointing at the little dragon before
turning toward Hermione. "Hermione." And then toward himself. "What
is my name?"
"Dumb." Replied Shimmer instantly.
Hermione's hands flew to her face, hiding herself as she couldn't bear
how Shimmer was incapable to say the Headmaster's name.
"Really now? I believe that it's the first time I'm called dumb on a first
name basis. People usually call me dumb after they learn my name."
Smiled the Headmaster, falling back a bit in his chair and staring amused
at the little dragon who didn't even understand what was wrong. Nor did
he understood much, too many words in one sentence.
"I'm really sorry professor, I tried but he has difficulties with long words."
Hermione apologised before looking at Shimmer, pointing an opened
hand at the headmaster. "Its Dumbledore. Dumbledore."
"Dumb. Dor." Said Shimmer, attempting to use the word even if his lips
had difficulties with the sound of the middle.
"Hmm, I do believe that no one called me 'dumb door' before." Mused
aloud Dumbledore. "I guess I'll have to wait before he can properly
address me. Be on your way, Miss Granger."
Not wanting to embarrass herself any longer, Hermione nudged Shimmer
toward the door and quickly left the Great Hall, Shimmer flying right
next to her.
"That was bad Shimmer, you can't call the Headmaster dumb. Out of all
the people to say this to." She admonished as he flew around her head.
"Dumb dor not Dumb dor?" He guessed, not really sure what he did
wrong.
"I'll make sure to make you a lesson on bad words." Hermione affirmed,
right before stopping as she realised her words. "Or maybe not. Giving
you the bad words now is definitely a bad idea."
Not really knowing what she was talking about, Shimmer simply
followed her as they went back to the Gryffindor tower for Hermione to
get her classroom books and feathers.
They made it in time for the Charms class, Hermione sitting next to a
slightly sleepy Ron, while she was busy opening her book the page they
stopped at during the last lesson, only to have Shimmer walk right on it.
"Shimmer! Don't walk on my books." She pushed him away gently, yet
keeping her voice stern.
"Shimmer sorry." Apologised the little dragon.
"Apology accepted." Instantly replied Hermione.
"I was wondering..." Cut them off Ron. "Don't he have a mother? He is
very, very small for a dragon."
"I thought about that, but its more likely that he simply differs from the
other dragons. I've read every book in the library about dragons, at least
the ones not in the forbidden section, and all states that a hatchling
doesn't have horns." Started to explain Hermione, entering teacher mode.
Shimmer, having grown used to her speaking like this, not capable of
following her speed or the words used, chose to fly up to the ceiling
beams where he lied down, enjoying the view he had on the whole class
from up there.
"But he isn't an adult yet. Most dragon species adults are very agressive,
and are distinguishable thanks to many details either on the horns, tail,
wings or claws. But Shimmer have none of them." Continued Hermione.
"So... he's like us? An adolescent dragon?" Understood Ron.
"Pretty much, yes." Agreed Hermione, happy to see that he followed her
until the end. She was trying to work on her tendency to speak too much,
in an effort to be more friendly with everyone else, but being heard was
quite a pleasing feeling. "He's probably going to grow a little bit more,
but I think he'll probably be among the smallest dragons species."
"Good morning children!" Came the cheerful voice of professor Flitwick,
the very small wizard barely coming to the level of the tables as he got
up the aisle, before reaching the pile of books around his desk that
allowed him to be visible by the whole class. "Today, we will continue on
the Wand-Lighting Charm, also known as the Lumos spell. I hope you all
read the last chapter as I asked you, otherwise we may have a few
surprises."
A few of the students shared uneasy glances, well aware that the jovial
nature of the little wizard meant that they sometimes had to face
unwanted consequences for badly done spells. And among these students,
were mainly those who never read the said chapter.
Shimmer watched, not without some enjoyment, as the young humans
started using their wands to cast magic spells. Even after Hermione gave
him a brief explanation of the wands and magic, he still had a very hard
time picturing how it worked, quickly giving up as he simply couldn't
follow all the concepts involved. He let out a little huff of laughter when
Ron, who apparently didn't revised the last chapter of the book, lit up his
wand. But instead of having a clear ball of light at the tip of the wand,
the wood of the wand itself was flashing between red and yellow lights,
providing quite the show.
In contrast, Hermione, who did everything asked by her teacher,
managed a perfectly cast Lumos. She wasn't the only one who managed
the spell on her first try, but it was enough for the little teacher to be
happy with his students.
"Very good! I see that some of you still require further practice. For those
who succeeded to cast the spell right, please help your neighbours until
you all are capable of casting it." Ordered professor Flitwick, coming
down from his tower of books to go help Neville who still hadn't cast any
light.
"Ron?" Tentatively reached out Hermione, not wanting to have the same
reaction where he got mad at her.
"I'm sure I spelled it right." Complained Ron, though without any bad
feelings against Hermione.
"It would be hard on a two syllable word. Can you cast it again? It's
probably your wand movements that are wrong."
"Sure. Lumos!" He said, casting the spell, only to have his wand turn into
a bright purple colour.
Amused, Shimmer jumped from the rafter he was on, flying down and
landing right before Ron, who was scowling at his wand. Shimmer looked
at the wand, feeling a continuous scent coming from it that tingled his
nostrils.
"What is he doing?" Asked Ron.
"I don't know, he never did that before." Replied Hermione as puzzled.
"Can you stop your spell?"
"Nox!" Said Ron, finally grinning as his wand successfully returned to its
usual appearance.
And just as it did, the scent that Shimmer smelled disappeared, leaving
him a bit disappointed. But he didn't got the time to do more that
professor Flitwick came to their table, his short head standing a little bit
above the table.
"So? Still having troubles with your wand, Mister Weasley?" Asked the
professor, bringing a hand toward Shimmer who gave a little growl. Only
Hermione could touch him, and Shimmer was proud to see the hand
being retracted at his threat.
"Yes, professor." Admitted Ron, looking down at the wand resting in his
hand.
"He used the correct movements professor, I don't know why it didn't
work." Added Hermione, certain of herself.
"Hmm. May I see your wand, Mister Weasley?" Asked professor Flitwick.
Ron didn't protested and handed him the wand, carefully examined by
the experienced professor who gave it back shortly after. "It is most
confusing, I can't see anything wrong with your wand. May I ask where
you got it? Perhaps it has a defect?"
"I- huh... it comes from Ollivanders sir, I don't think it has a problem."
Nervously replied Ron.
"If it really does come from his shop, then there's no chance for your
wand to not be working. Is there anything else you could tell me about
this wand?" Continued the professor.
"Well... my mom said that I shouldn't speak about it." Mumbled Ron as a
weak counter.
"Mister Weasley, I only want to help you and I cannot do that if you don't
tell me what's wrong with your wand. Wouldn't you like to be able to cast
spells like your friend here?" Asked Flitwick, pointing at Hermione.
"Yes, but... It's my brother's wand." Finally let out Ron in a big sigh.
"Ron! The books of 'Wands and Everything about them' says that you must
not use another wizard's wand or the spells won't be cast properly!"
Gasped Hermione.
"Indeed Miss Granger. Five points to Gryffindor for knowing the safety
aspects of your wand. Now, why would you use your brother's wand?"
Asked Flitwick.
"We're poor." Harshly whispered Ron, not glaring but almost, at the two.
"We couldn't afford another wand, so Charlie gave me his."
"I'm sorry to hear about this, Mister Weasley." Sympathised the little
teacher. "I don't really know how to help you, but I will note this and
bring it to the attention of the Headmaster. Perhaps, you could convince
your mother of how important it is for you to have a wand of your own?"
"I tried, but she said it wasn't important." Dejectedly replied Ron.
"Well, let's hope the Headmaster will have something to help you then.
Meanwhile, I want you to learn the wand movements and spelling as
much as possible. I will be holding on on you in the future, but as soon as
you have a wand of your own, I'll make sure that you're knowledgeable
in your spells." Demanded the little professor before walking to another
table, not without a last glance at Shimmer who was busy licking his
claws.
Sighing again, Ron fell down on his desk, looking at the wand still
clutched in his hand.
"I'm sorry Ron, I didn't know." Said Hermione, not really knowing what to
say in this situation.
"It's not the first time, you know?" Said Ron sadly, turning a bit to look at
her. "Before it was my brother's clothes, their stuff, their books. And now
Charlie's wand. I'm tired to always have their old, broken stuff.
"I wouldn't know. I'm an only child."
"Lucky."
With that said, the rest of the class went with a small, uncomfortable
silence between the two of them, until it was time to move to the next
one. The Defence Against the Dark Arts.
Shimmer started coughing as soon as he entered the DADA's room, his
nostrils assaulted by the overwhelming scent of garlic and so many other
things that it overwhelmed him a bit. But, even if this was annoying, the
worst was the scent of death that lingered in the room. And not the scent
of a dead animal, but of death, simply wrong and disgusting.
"Shimmer? Are you okay?" Asked Hermione worried, seeing the little
dragon retching as he landed.
"Is he sick?" Asked Ron.
"P-p-please, g-g-go to your s-s-seats." Said professor Quirrell as he came
in, only to jump backward at Shimmer's sight. "W-w-what is that d-d-
dragon doing here?!"
Hermione knew that their professor was easily scared, especially when
she was told that he fainted when he entered the Great Hall to warn them
about the troll in the castle, but she couldn't help but think that he was
overreacting.
"I can take him outside?" Suggested Hermione.
"Yes! T-t-that will do!" Shakingly agreed Quirrell as he took a wide berth
around Shimmer to join his desk.
As he did so, Shimmer's head snapped upward as he frowned at the man,
instantly noticing how the scent of death came from him. He started to
growl which only prompted the teacher to go away faster. He didn't
know how it was possible for a human to have this scent, but it was clear
that he was dangerous and shouldn't be anywhere near young humans.
Shimmer only felt this distinctive smell a very few times, and it always
came from either some parts of the dark forest that he did his best to
avoid, or some of the more abandoned parts of the castle. And the scent
of this teacher in particular, he remembered it well. He smelled it on the
troll, mixed with the filthy stench of the troll.
"Come on, Shimmer. You can't stay here." Said Hermione, doing quite the
effort of grabbing Shimmer as he was still glaring fiercely at the man.
And even while he was being carried away, he kept glaring until
Hermione put him down outside the classroom, huffing as he was no
light weight.
"What's going on Shimmer?" She asked curious, lowering herself to his
level, not having seen that specific behaviour before.
"Hermione not understand. Human..." He said before looking for the right
word. "...bad."
"That's not very nice." Frowned Hermione.
"Shimmer understand. Hermione not understand. Human bad." He tried
again, slightly angry.
"I'm sorry Shimmer, but I don't think I can understand what you're trying
to say." She said before standing up.
"No!" Shouted Shimmer, biting down on her robe to stop her from going
back to that death smelling human. "Human bad!" He growled through
gritted teeth.
"Don't bite me Shimmer! Bad dragon!" Hermione sternly said as she gave
him a light tap on the head.
Well, if she didn't want to understand, it was her problem. He still had
more important to do, like stuffing his belly before taking his long sleep
tonight. Letting go of her robe, he gave her a small glare as she did the
same.
"Shimmer bye-bye. Sleep." He spat, showing his teeth a bit, barely
recalling the word used by Hermione this morning.
Without leaving her the time to reply, he left her alone, frustrated at not
being understood and that Hermione couldn't see what was wrong with
staying near such a dangerous human. He flew through several corridors
before reaching the Great Hall, where there was actually nobody.
Landing on a table, he waited for a few seconds for the food to appear
but nothing did. Getting even more frustrated, he let out a small roar.
"Meat!" He shouted.
A small clatter next to him made him look to his left, where five slices of
meat had suddenly appeared. He quickly got to work and ate them all.
"Meat!" He called again.
Another plate appeared, replacing the previous one. He ate it all and
repeated the process one more time before being satiated.
Taking flight again, he flew to an open window that was usually left open
for him, and went back straight to his lair. The snow was even thicker
than earlier, and he pushed himself to go faster until he reached the
window of his lair. Getting inside, he shook himself of the snowflakes and
started working on his winter nest.
Where the coins, jewels and precious trinkets, were previously stacked in
the center of the room, he moved them all toward the side opposite the
window, as far away from the source of cold. It took a little while to
move them all, and to put them all back in the exact order he wanted,
before he turned toward the window. He had been gathering dried wood,
hay and grass for a couple of days now, and he promptly put himself to
work, using all of it to seal the hole and cut the cold wind from coming
in.
After half an hour of placing, pressing and strengthening his seal, he was
happy with the sight of a stuffed window.
Walking toward his nest, he thought about Hermione. The human that
smelled of death was bad, there was no doubt in his mind, but he had
been here since the beginning and no humans were harmed. Though
there was still the fact that he had smelled him on the troll.
For the umpteenth time, he cursed his lack of human skills. He wanted to
warn Hermione, but couldn't do it. He told himself that he would have to
learn more once his long sleep over.
Yawning, he curled around himself, laying on his comfortable pile of
coins, ready to sleep.
The end of the day had come, and Shimmer still hadn't come back.
Hermione was in tears, sobbing, sitting on her bed with Parvati trying to
cheer her up, without success. Hermione was constantly remembering her
last words to Shimmer, the little slap she gave him, and how angry he
had been.
How could she not blame herself? He even told her bye-bye. She knew he
probably went to hibernate, but she was crying over the possibility that
he may have left for good.
She didn't know what she would do without her best friend.
AN:
Hi! Valexto at the keyboard!
Its been a while, hasn't it? Yeah, two years.
Ouch.
Really, really sorry for not updating since last time. Life took its way, I
came back to my home country, had a grandfather dying, and simply
moving on. I forgot about the story for quite some time, but I've started
going back to my stories and my writings in general. So, I don't know
when the next update will be, but you won't have to wait two more years
for the next chapter, this I swear.
I hope you enjoyed this one, our little Shimmer is going for quite the nap.
While Hermione will not have the happiest of Christmas.
See you soon!
14. Chapter 14
I do not own nor possess any right over Harry Potter, all rights belongs to
J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 14
Tonight was the 20th of December, and it was the last day of class before
the holidays.
Hermione, like most of the students at Hogwarts, would be going home
in the Hogwarts Express, the train that brought them all here.
Yet, despite being happy at the thought of seeing her parents again after
so long, she couldn't find it in herself to be happy.
Nearly two weeks had passed since Shimmer disappeared, and wasn't
seen again. Hermione had felt terrible during those two weeks, blaming
herself for her harsh words to her little friend, and how they parted ways
with Shimmer clearly being angry. It took her a couple of hours of crying,
an unrestful night of sleep, and a barely touched breakfast the next day,
to realise that Shimmer had been trying to tell her something.
She had been so focused on being afraid of not seeing him again, that she
didn't thought about his reaction to professor Quirrell and how he tried
to stop her from going back to his class. Her rational mind quickly got
back to work, and she started to wonder why Shimmer reacted like that,
when he had never been openly hostile to anyone. Even stranger, why
did he saw the stuttering, easy to afraid professor Quirrell as a threat?
Hermione didn't had the answers to this, but, after an excruciatingly long
day of class, which was definitely normal for her, she rushed outside the
class of Transfiguration and made her way to the library, the only place
that she could feel slightly more relaxed at the time.
There, she read for the second time everything she could on dragons. It
took her three days, and being chased out by the librarian after staying
too long, but she finally could put an answer on Shimmer's behaviour.
Dragons were quite mysterious creatures and a lot was still unknown
about them, but it had been observed several times in the past, that their
instincts might be slightly stronger than for other animals. Some dragons
escaped wizards' traps when they shouldn't have been able to see, hear
and smell said wizards. It was still subject to debate in the wizard
community, but it was the best explanation Hermione could find for
Shimmer's wariness against professor Quirrell.
She was still putting the blame of his disparition on herself, and even
Ron's attempts of recomfort didn't do much to alleviate the guilt.
Hermione might have been the reason why Shimmer left, even if she kept
the hope that he went to hibernate, but she would be ready for the next
time they meet. She would do her best to know why Shimmer reacted
like he did, so that she could both apologise and try to understand what
he was trying to say.
Hermione spent the return trip to her parents in a cabin shared with
Neville Longbottom. Said trip was mostly done in silence, even if Neville
and her did got to discuss their Christmas plans and even talk a bit about
Shimmer. Neville may have been a very shy boy, but he was surprisingly
forward when asking about the little dragon, quite curious himself and
not particularly liking how depressed Hermione had been in the last
couple of days.
But finally, the train entered the terminus in London. Picking up her
trunk, she said her farewells and good wishes to Neville and his
grandmother, before heading out of the magical station to join the
normal one, where her parents were waiting on the other side.
"Hermione! How's our little girl?" Greeted her father, Edward Granger, as
he gave her a tight hug.
"Good. I'm happy to see you again." She returned the hug, but even then,
her parents could feel the lack of happiness that was usually around their
daughter. Even if she was truly happy to see her mom and dad again.
"Come on, let's go home." Nudged her Susan Granger, her mother.
With her dad carrying her trunk, Hermione followed them to the car
before they headed to their home.
"So sweet tooth, how was your first term at Hogwarts?" Asked her
mother.
"Very surprising. Wizards are very different from muggles, even the
children are. There are so many strange objects, so many spells and
creatures, its amazing." Replied Hermione, her happiness finally starting
to cut through her melancholy. "Its only been four months and it feels
like I've learned more there than in the rest of my life."
"Well, it was expected. I mean, wizards." Laughed Edward a bit as he took
a turn toward the middle class neighbourhoods.
"And did you make any friends?" Asked Susan, finally going to the point
that was worrying both parents the most.
The lack of response prompted her to turn around in her seat, looking at
her daughter who was looking down at her hands, smile gone. Susan
instantly reached out, placing a hand on her daughter's knee.
"Oh sweety, I'm so sorry that it didn't worked out." She said, assuming
that it was the same as in her previous school.
Even Edward, as busy as he was with driving, was looking in the rear-
view mirror with a concerned look, worried that his daughter might be
ostracised even in that apparently wonderful magical school.
"No, it's not like that." She replied weakly, not really knowing how to
explain that she became friend with a dragon. "I had a friend but... I'm
not sure if he wants to see me again."
"What happened? I can't see what you could have done wrong." Tried to
comfort her mother.
"Wait a little, we'll be home in five minutes. We'll talk then." Cut off
Edward.
These five minutes went by quickly, and the three of them soon found
themselves in the living room of the Granger home, with both parents
slightly worried and facing their daughter who was coming up with a
way to explain everything.
"When I took the train to Hogwarts, I ended up in a cabin with two boys
named Ron Weasley and Neville Longbottom. We were talking about our
future classes and in which House we wanted to go, when a little dragon
came in by the window." She started.
"A dragon?! You saw a dragon before you even arrived at Hogwarts?"
Gasped Susan in horror.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Asked Edward, thinking about all the letters
they exchanged.
"I'm sorry, it was a secret at first and by the time it got out, I forgot to tell
you." Explained Hermione ashamed.
"Never mind that, what happened with that dragon?" Pressed her mother.
"He was small, around a meter long, and not aggressive against us. We
gave him coins to leave him alone and then..."
It took half-an-hour for Hermione to tell all her story and encounter with
Shimmer, and she was nearing the end, the part that she was worried to
tell her parents. Thankfully, they had calmed down after she went into
more detail about how she started taming and teaching the dragon, not
without a few apprehensions when Hermione mentioned the part where
Shimmer brought down a troll.
"But three weeks ago, we got into an argument. He was trying to stop me
from going in the Defence Against the Dark Arts class, and I called him a
bad dragon before slapping him on the head. He got angry and then he
left. I haven't seen him since." Concluded Hermione, small tears coming
out of her eyes as her parents were staying next to her, her mom
massaging her back to appease her.
"Oh, Hermione. You couldn't know he'd react like that." Said Susan.
"I should have." Sobbed Hermione, brushing a sleeve against her eyes to
get rid of the moisture. "I'm a horrible friend."
"You're not sweetheart. You may have been a bit harsh, but friends are
not friends all the time. Sometime they fight, and then they get back
together." Tried Edward.
"But how can I try if he never comes back?"
"Don't think like that. You told us he was going to hibernate, right? Then
he's probably sleeping right now, he he would be sleeping no matter if
you fought or not."
Hermione mulled over his words, having already told herself similar
things, but it felt good to hear it from someone else. Especially her
parents.
"I just, I want to see him again." She dried her tears again, starting to
calm down from her emotional roller-coaster.
"You will sweety, I know it." Assured Susan before giving her a short kiss
on her forehead.
"What should I do?" Hermione asked.
"Well, I am no expert on dragons, but an apology would be a good start.
After that... you said that he wasn't very smart so-" Started Edward.
"He is smart!" Interrupted him Hermione. "All the books said that dragons
aren't even supposed to understand humans."
"My bad, sorry. As I was about to say, he probably don't understand
humans very well yet. I was thinking of a gift, but I'm sure he wouldn't
understand the concept."
"I would have to teach him first. It's not too hard, Shimmer is smart
enough to draw conclusions himself. But I'm not sure if a gift is a good
idea, he only likes precious things and meat." Said Hermione, starting to
think about how she could make Shimmer understand what a gift was.
She already gave him coins and meat before, but these were either
rewards or to feed him, not as proper gifts.
"I'm sure you'll figure it out, you're our smart baby girl after all." Susan
tightened her hug a little, smiling at her daughter's resourcefulness.
"As your mother say, you'll have something for him by the time he wakes
up. Maybe it won't be a gift, but you know we're here for you if you
need." Added Edward.
"I know dad. Thank you." She sighed in release, hugging them both
tightly back.
Christmas was unusually long for Hermione.
She was very happy with her Christmas, the feast shared with her parents
and her maternal grandparents went very well, she got a few gifts that
truly made her day. These gifts were mostly books, which were very
welcome, but another one that was given to her in private, was a
Galleon. She tried to tell her parents that she didn't need more money at
school, but they replied that if she wanted to, she could use this one as
an apology gift for Shimmer. Her dad even said, in extreme seriousness,
that 'if you can't get your friend back with an apology, then buy him.' to
which she proceeded to give him a small push before hugging both her
parents, thanking them profusely for their generosity.
And once Christmas was over, she had to be patient and wait until the
return to school, where she was hoping to find a waiting Shimmer
expecting her. She wouldn't know before going back though, so waiting
for school was both a pleasure to be alongside her parents, and a torture
of having to wait to see her friend again.
Among her talks with her parents, she also came to realise, that while he
hadn't been nice on several occasions, Ron was becoming someone that
she could start to think of as a friend. Not like Shimmer, but close.
So when her parents dropped her at the 9 3/4 station on the 12th of
January, she was a bit sad to leave her parents again, but overjoyed at
the idea of seeing Shimmer again.
He wasn't here.
Hermione arrived in Hogwarts in the early night, so she didn't expected
to see Shimmer that day. It damaged her confidence and hope a bit, but
didn't let it fall.
The next day though, she had waited for him at breakfast, only for him to
not show up. She went to the see professor Dumbledore, who sadly
replied that he had not seen the little dragon of the holidays, but that it
was still early for hibernating creatures to wake up and that she should
wait a little bit more.
Much to her regret and guilt, she found it very hard to keep hoping for
Shimmer. Hermione waited the whole day, hoping to see Shimmer fly in
a classroom or appear at the window of her bedroom, but there were no
signs of the dragon.
And none the next day.
And the next.
And again.
AN:
Hi! Valexto at the Keyboard!
Little chapter about Hermione's holidays. I thought at first to jump
straight to Shimmer waking up and meeting with Hermione again, but
thought it'd be better and more interesting to see how Hermione deals
with Shimmer's absence and her guilt over their last meeting.
So you can probably guess what's going to happen in the next chapter.
Told you I wouldn't take 2 years to update again!
The only problem I have right now, is how Harry/Shimmer is going to
have to face Quirrell and Voldemort at the end of the year. I have a
beginning of a plan to get there, but it needs a lot more work and
thoughts on how to pull it right. And I somehow need to have Hermione
do most of the work, since our beloved Shimmer isn't capable of
understanding much of what's going to happen.
I wrote all of this today, thanks to a more opened schedule, but I'll be
busy this weekend, so maybe the next chapter will come next week.
See you soon!
15. Chapter 15
I do not own nor possess any right over Harry Potter, all rights belongs to
J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 15
The sound of a beating heart was the first thing Shimmer felt.
Very slowly, over the course of thirty minutes, his heart started beating
faster as his stiff muscles were being reinvigorated. Everything was numb
for quite a time before his consciousness woke up too, the little dragon
opening his eyes slowly. Every move was stiff, being nearly paralysed
after spending so long in the same position, but it was coming back to
normal quickly.
For Shimmer, since it was his eleventh great sleep, it was perfectly fine
and he gave himself the time to properly wake up, first moving his head
and neck as he yawned, then this arms and legs as his body warmed up.
Stretching his slightly sore body, he moved around for a few seconds,
finishing to wake up completely, before going back to his hoard to count
if all of it was still there. It wouldn't do to have anyone thinking that him
being asleep would make for a good excuse to take his hoard.
Remembering perfectly the location of every coin and jewel, it didn't took
him long before being satisfied to count the same numbers than before he
went to sleep.
And now that the important things were done, he turned toward the still
blocked window with a single objective: filling his screaming stomach.
Because after all this time sleeping, his body consuming his strengths to
keep him alive, he had to go eat now.
Using his fire, he burned down the seal of wood and grass, not caring in
the least if it fell on anything below. As soon as the path was clear, he
hopped on the windowsill and looked down at the castle, the lake and
the surrounding forests, thankfully all empty of snow.
Stretching his wings one more time, he jumped in the air and made his
way toward the forests, now a little bit green again in the early spring,
ready to start his hunt. His absence made the animals who normally hid
from him overconfident, and he had no trouble finding two unsuspecting
squirrels and a small rabbit. Both of these were usually a normal meal
each, but he was quite hungry, and only felt satiated once the last bit of
the rabbit eaten.
Only then, as he took to the air again, did he started to recall what
happened before his long sleep. Hermione being stubborn and refusing to
listen to him, even if he was aware that he couldn't be clearer than saying
'Human bad'.
It didn't matter to him. He may have found the girl annoying for not
listening to him, he didn't really had any notion of grudge. For him, she
refused to listen, called him a bad dragon when she was wrong, and he
left her to do whatever she wanted. He cared for her, that much he
already had difficulties admitting it, because he was a dragon and she
was human, but she could do whatever she wanted. He was angry with
her on the moment for not listening, but he went to sleep without ever
thinking of Hermione as anything different than a good human.
Now sated and his mind clear, he flew down toward the Great Hall,
despite the hour being later than usual when he went to find Hermione
for breakfast. His entrance in one of the corridors spooked a couple of
students who were walking there, but he didn't gave them any attention,
going straight for the room with lots of food.
Thankfully the large doors were still opened and he flew in, only to
notice that a really low number of students were chatting around,
waiting for lunch time, and Hermione was not among them. Most, if not
all the students, looked up at him in slight surprise, not having seen him
since before the holidays. And one who recognised the little dragon
instantly was the headmaster, sitting at the teacher's table along with the
oily human, still dressed in black.
"Oh! Shimmer! Please, come here." Called him the headmaster, happy to
finally see the golden dragon again.
Responding to the call, Shimmer flew toward them and landed on the
empty table.
"Hello. Dumb." Greeted Shimmer.
"Ah yes, you probably haven't got the time to work on that." Chuckled the
old teacher.
"If that is how he calls you, then I'm worried how he calls everyone else."
Said professor Snape, looking at the curious little dragon.
"Hermione. Here?" Shimmer asked, wanting to see her.
"Yes, Hermione is here. In... Charm class, I believe." Answered
Dumbledore, recalling the first year's planning.
"Here?" He asked, wanting to know where it was. He may have know the
name of the class, he couldn't recall where it was.
"I believe it might be better for you to wait Hermione here. It wouldn't do
to disturb the class after all."
"Shimmer not understand."
"I can't believe that this little Gryffindor actually managed to teach
anything to a dragon. Being capable to learn a lot is one thing, teaching,
is another." Commented Snape, impressed with the little dragon's
growing capabilities.
"Yes, I believe this is the first time anyone has tried to teach a dragon
how to talk. But, back to you." Replied Dumbledore as he tried to come
up with a way to make Shimmer understand that he had to wait. But
then, he got another idea, rising from his chair. "Would you mind coming
with me, Shimmer? There are a few things that I'd like to show you."
Shimmer tilted his head, not understanding what the old human said.
"What about this: Do you want a coin?"
"Shimmer. Coin. Galleon!" Exclaimed Shimmer, jumping in front of the
wizard.
"I didn't think it was possible to see greedier than the goblins." Said
Snape as he stood up, a very faint smile at the corner of his lips.
"Perhaps not greed per say, but you may be correct. Come on Shimmer, I
have coins to show you." Offered Dumbledore as he offered his arm to
Shimmer.
Not sure why he did that, especially since Hermione kept telling him not
to climb on her shoulders, he sniffed his arm looking for anything. Very
gently, Dumbledore moved his hand beneath Shimmer's claws, slowly
placing him on his arm, not without a warning growl from the little
dragon.
"Now, now, I am an old man Shimmer. Would you mind going on my
shoulder instead?" Asked Dumbledore, patting his shoulder and pushing
Shimmer with a hand.
Another long growl followed, but the Headmaster gently kept pushing
Shimmer until he was on his shoulder, where his weight was the most
bearable for the old wizard.
"Much better. Thank you, Shimmer."
With that said, Dumbledore started walking around the Great Hall, much
to the surprise of the few students not in class, who couldn't believe the
sight of their old professor with a dragon on his shoulder. Shimmer, at
first annoyed by the touches of the old human, quickly grew calmer as
the old man walked, enjoying the sensation of being moved around by
someone else. This definitely was less exhausting that flying!
"How are you, Shimmer?" Asked Dumbledore.
"Okay. Dumb okay?" Replied Shimmer, recalling that he should ask back
if someone asked him first.
"I'm perfectly fine, thank you." Said Dumbledore satisfied. "You may not
know this, but your absence has been weighting quite heavily on
Hermione's shoulders. She hasn't been quite as happy since you left."
"Hermione okay?" Wondered Shimmer, understanding from Dumbledore's
tone that something wasn't okay with Hermione.
"Its my hope that she will be, once she saw you. Yes, Hermione will be
okay." He simplified.
Dumbledore took them through a long part of the castle, before moving
up a lot of stairs to finally reach a ugly statue that took Shimmer by
surprise, snarling and growling at it.
"Nothing to worry about, young Shimmer. This old gargoyle won't hurt
you." Chuckled the Headmaster. "Ahem, Tender Gum."
The statue started to turn on itself, revealing a staircase that the
headmaster climbed up, entering his office.
This gave quite the shock to Shimmer, to finally find himself on the other
side of the window from which he spent so much time staring at all the
golden and precious objects scattered in the office. So shocked he was,
that he barely felt Dumbledore move forward as he turned his head left
and right to find all the valuables in the room.
"I know, I know. It must be quite the pretty sight to you, but please
refrain from taking my instruments, I still need them." Said Dumbledore
as he came to his desk.
A melodious thrill suddenly came from a corner in the room, prompting
Shimmer to turn his head toward it, expecting an attack. He got another
surprise at seeing the most colourful bird he ever saw, but he soon found
himself relaxing at the chant of the bird, almost entranced.
"Now, Fawkes. No need to be jealous. I was only bringing our new friend
for a visit, I am not replacing you." Smiled Dumbledore as he sat down in
his chair.
Fawkes, both curious and indeed slightly jealous at seeing another
creature on his friend's shoulder, flew down from his perch to land on
Dumbledore's other shoulder, effectively trapping the headmaster
between the two. An almost purring dragon at the left and an intrigued
phoenix on the right.
"Shimmer, may I present you Fawkes, my phoenix. Fawkes, this is
Shimmer, the dragon I told you about." Introduced them Dumbledore.
Fawkes squawked in response, taking Shimmer out of his reverie. He
shook his head for a second, before examining the bird before him. It was
slightly old, that much was true with the dark feathers, a number of these
a bit damaged, but there was still quite a lot of life in its eyes. Shimmer
had never seen such a bird before, and wondered if the taste was
different than other birds.
"Faaw?" He tried.
"Fawkes." Corrected Dumbledore.
"Fawks".
"Almost there."
"Fawkes."
Said phoenix sang in agreement.
"Well done, Shimmer. Now, would you be interested in this?" Asked
Dumbledore, placing a Sickle on the desk.
His first coin since his long sleep! Shimmer quickly, and without care for
how his claws dug into the old wizard's arms, went down on the desk,
taking the Sickle and putting it away from the two who were watching
him.
"Sickle. Shimmer." He stated, wanting to make his point clear.
"Yes, indeed. Feel free to look around, I believe Hermione should be free
in fifteen minutes." Invited Dumbledore as he took a small stack of papers
that he started to fill in with a long feather.
Understanding that Hermione was coming, not that he had any notion of
minutes, Shimmer took the Sickle in his mouth and flew on a shelf filled
with many instruments. Most were uninteresting to him, despite moving
on their own and making small noises. What got his interest was
something that he never saw before. It was gold, which was good, but he
had no idea what the rest was. Shaped like a small tower, getting thinner
at the top, was a bloc of pure gold with many veins of crystal mixed
inside it, giving the object quite the original appearance.
"Ah, you found my old Tremoron. This used to detect tremors in the
ground, mainly earthquakes, but it sadly stopped working a few decades
ago. It's only a memory now, a souvenir from an old friend." Explained
Dumbledore, watching from the corner of his eyes the little dragon.
Not having a clue what he just spoke about, Shimmer got closer, dropped
his Sickle, and started sniffing the thing. The smell of gold, that he knew
very well, but the other thing mixed in it, was eluding his senses and
knowledge. But he faintly recognised the smell, similar to the one red
headed human's wand, when he kept it alight.
"Magic?" Asked Shimmer, recalling the particular word Hermione used to
describe how the sticks worked.
"Yes, but I'm afraid there isn't any left in it. Tremorons are quite rare
today, and sadly no one knows how to recharge them. I believe there are
only eleven left in the world, with maybe four still working." Replied
Dumbledore.
What Shimmer got, was that there was magic in it.
He suddenly made a connection. Back on the train, another red headed
human sent magic at him, and it tasted good. He hadn't thought about it
since, but maybe wands and other magic objects were tasty too. Ready to
prove his theory, he bit down on the tower, his teeth surrounding it as he
started to feel some taste alongside the gold.
"Shimmer, no!" Sternly said Dumbledore, standing up as Fawkes flew
back to his perch, coming to move Shimmer away from the Tremoron.
The taste was good, but very faint. Shimmer guessed that there must not
have much magic left. He let go of the thing just as Dumbledore arrived
next to him.
"Not magic." Explained Shimmer.
"As I said, it is empty." Grumbled a bit the old wizard, taking a look at
the Tremoron, sighing in relief when he saw only some very small
scratches where Shimmer bit it. "You are quite the handful, you know?"
"Not understand."
The next ten minutes were tough for the old Headmaster. He may be a
very strong wizard, even considered the strongest alive by many, but his
body wasn't made to keep watch on a curious little dragon that kept
flying from one side of his office to the other.
Thankfully, nothing got permanently damaged, but he did had to use his
wand to pick up a couple of things that fell down. And meanwhile,
Fawkes kept laughing at his master, very amused to see him running
around like that when the old man usually preferred the comfort of his
chair.
"No Shimmer, you can't have it." Repeated Dumbledore for the sixth time,
looking at a Galleon that he stuck to the table with a charm, with
Shimmer standing right above it and trying to move the coin with his
claws and teeth.
"Shimmer. Galleon." Stubbornly repeated the golden dragon.
"Would you want me to take the Sickle back?" Warned the Headmaster.
Shimmer's reply was a furious hiss as he moved back to his Sickle,
standing on it to make sure that it wouldn't be stolen.
"As I thought. I believe that Hermione's should be over now, why don't
you go see her?" Suggested Dumbledore, now wishing to get rid of the
little dragon. He liked Shimmer, don't get him wrong, but he was too old
for this.
"Hermione?" Asked Shimmer.
"Yes. Come with me, it is time for lunch." Invited Dumbledore, patting his
shoulder.
Recognising the gesture, Shimmer took his Sickle in his mouth and flew
on his shoulder, digging his claws slightly in the thick robe of the wizard
and using his long tail to wrap it around his arm for more stability.
Satisfied with his grasp, he looked at Dumbledore who nodded before
starting his descent toward the Great Hall.
Many students were now starting to fill the corridors, all eager to go for
lunch, and all those who caught sight of their Headmaster walking
around with the little dragon on his shoulder were either shocked, in
awe, or trying to avoid the little dragon who was trying to look at every
faces passing by. Dumbledore, who was smiling brightly, nodding at the
students as he took the last stairs toward the ground floor.
They soon reached the Great Hall among the other students, and
Dumbledore instantly noticed Hermione sitting with Ron Weasley and
Neville Longbottom, all three looking to be in some kind of conversation.
Making his way there, not seen by Ron and Hermione who had their back
toward him, only Neville saw him and didn't dare speak up.
"My apologies, Miss Granger, Mister Weasley, but I believe there is
someone that wish to see you." Grinned Dumbledore behind his thick
beard, knowingly waiting a reaction.
Both pupils instantly turned around at the Headmaster's voice, and he
wasn't surprised to see Hermione's eyes widening comically, as if a dying
spark had been reignited.
"Shimmer!" Exclaimed Hermione, standing up on the second and reaching
for him, not aware of how everyone's attention was on one. "You came
back!"
Not wanting to interfere any longer, Dumbledore lowered himself a bit
and let Shimmer jump from his shoulder to the table, before quickly
making his way toward the teacher's table.
"Hello." Greeted Shimmer, placing his Sickle on the table, happy to see
Hermione too. Even if he didn't know why she was that excited.
"I missed you so much! I thought that you left." She said, a bright smile
on her face as she started petting him extensively. "You've grown! Not a
lot, but I can tell. Maybe ten centimeters longer?"
"Shimmer not understand. Shimmer okay. Hermione okay?" He asked as
he purred, enjoying the hand stroking his neck, saying one of the longest
sentence he ever said yet.
"I am okay. And I'm happy that you're not mad at me." She continued her
smile dimming just a little.
"Mad?" He questioned.
"Angry at me." She tried, even if Shimmer's face showed that it didn't
helped. She started to frown exaggeratedly, glaring at him as she pointed
her face. "Angry. When you don't like something or someone."
Oh, so that was the word to describe how she was when he left, he
realised. Was she still angry?
"Hermione angry?"
"No, no. I'm sorry Shimmer, I was too harsh on you. I don't think you can
understand yet, but I missed you a lot. I thought that you didn't want to
see me again. I was very sad." Hermione explained, even if she was aware
that it was a bit too much for Shimmer, as she wanted to let it all out.
"Hermione sorry?" Asked Shimmer, surprised that she apologised. He
hadn't thought about that.
"I was bad to you. I am sorry." She simplified.
"Hermione not bad. Good human. Not bad human." He replied, not
thinking that she was bad. Wrong, perhaps, but he didn't know how to
say that. "Shimmer not sorry."
"I... thank you Shimmer. You don't know what this means for me." She
said, bringing him in a hug as he screeched slightly in surprise, before
trying to squirm out of her arms. Laughing a bit, she let him go and
focused on the last thing he said. "But why are you not sorry?"
Looking at the bad human she was mentioning, he growled at the death-
smelling human sitting at the teachers table, not understanding how they
could stand being near something with such a horrible smell. Yes, it
smelled like a human but there was something more, another scent of
death that shouldn't belong with anyone.
"Bad human." He added, growling even harder, making Hermione, Ron
and Neville look at where the professors were eating, with only Neville
not knowing who Shimmer was talking about.
"I know. I read that dragons have such good instincts, that they can see
and smell things a wizard never could. I'll never doubt your instincts
again." She assured, going back to petting him, enjoying his presence as
much as she could. She needed this.
"We don't even know why he dislikes Quirrell so much." Commented Ron,
breaking the moment between the two.
"Quirrell? Why? He don't really look that bad." Said Neville a bit
surprised.
"Yes. I don't know why Shimmers reacted like he did, but I'm certain that
its because he must see Quirrell as a danger. Don't you find it strange
how, out of all the other teachers who are scarier like professor Snape or
powerful like professor Dumbledore, Shimmer is wary of Quirrell?"
Pushed Hermione, who spent a lot of time to research Shimmer's
reaction.
"Well, yeah. Snape is way scarier." Agreed Ron. "Plus, I know that he is
scared of his own shadow, but some students swear they heard him
talking to himself a few times. When he thought he was alone."
"Dean also said that he spends a lot of time on the third-floor corridor."
Added Neville.
"I think he's completely barmy." Said Ron just as his meal appeared.
"The third-floor? Isn't that where the headmaster said it was out of
bounds?" Suddenly realised Hermione.
"Yes?" Tentatively said Neville.
"Maybe he was just looking for students." Shrugged Ron.
"That's Filch's job. You're right Neville, there's something wrong with that
corridor."
"Thank you?" Agreed Neville even if he didn't know why.
"Dumbledore did say that we'd die if we go there. Looks quite wrong to
me." Said Ron as he attacked, not ate, attacked his lunch.
Shimmer, who had spent the last minute turning his head toward each
speaking human, let out a small whine at the sight of Ron eating, still
having some place for more even with his heavier than usual breakfast.
"Oh, there you go Shimmer." Corrected Hermione, putting a small prime
rib in a plate for him. "And I know what Dumbledore said. But then, why
would Quirrell be there catching students if he is so easy to scare?
Anybody could just scare him off and enter the room. It doesn't' make
sense."
Shimmer started to tear into the rib, and to the slight disgust of some of
the surrounding students, started loudly crunching the bones. But one
look at Ron and they decided that somehow, the dragon was the less
messy eater between the two.
"Do you want to go see what's in that room?" Asked Ron surprised by
Hermione's dedication to break a rule.
"I- well- it is forbidden." She denied quite weakly.
"But what if what's inside is the reason why Shimmer don't like Quirrell?"
Suggested the boy with red hair, really wanting to know what was in that
room.
"I don't know. Its not a good idea."
"What if be bring Shimmer in front of it?" Said Neville.
The two turned toward him in slight surprise, having almost forgotten
about it.
"What?" The two asked.
"Well, if Shimmer smells what's in that room, maybe he'll know if what's
inside is the reason why he doesn't like Quirrell." Explained Neville.
Knowing they were talking about him, Shimmer looked up at them,
wondering what they were talking about.
"If, and I mean it, if we do this, we must do it at night, when no one can
see us." Started to plan Hermione.
"How?" Bluntly said Hermione. "We're not invisible and the fat lady will
see us leave. She'll either refuse to open or she'll tell a prefect."
"I... give-me some time, I'll think of something."
They started to eat their own plates in silence, except for Ron and
Shimmer, who had no notions of manners. It took longer than usual for
Shimmer to finish, starting to feel quite full, but they all finished around
the same time.
"Should we warn Dumbledore, about Quirrell?" Asked Neville.
That was a good question, thought Hermione. But should they warn the
old professor? Would he deny their claims? Tell them that it was
perfectly normal for Quirrell to anger dragons? Sharing their concerns
was maybe taking a risk, but having the Headmaster's confirmation, or
warning him of something he wasn't aware of, wasn't a bad idea.
"He's going to think we're as barmy as Quirrell." Quickly replied Ron.
"Its not a bad idea. At worst, he'll think we're exaggerating, but he
wouldn't punish us for so little." Pushed Hermione.
"How do you know?"
"I don't, but its improbable." She replied.
"Sure." Mumbled Ron.
"Then let's wait for the end of lunch, we'll tell him once Quirrell is gone."
Patiently, the saw that their suspect was actually trying to eat as fast as
possible, even though he was stuck next to the very talkative Flitwick.
Thus, they didn't had to wait long before the DADA professor stood up,
leaving the table first. Hermione then tried to go immediately, but was
stopped by Ron who wanted to wait for Snape to leave too. And only
once the extremely strict teacher left, did Hermione, Ron, Neville and a
flying Shimmer went to the table.
"Excuse-me Minerva." Politely said Dumbledore before turning to the
four. "Yes?"
"Professor, could we speak with you in private? Its very important."
Asked Hermione.
"Is it now? Does this have anything to do with Shimmer?"
"Partially." Agreed Hermione.
"Very well. I won't be long." Dumbledore said to Minerva before standing
up, taking the four away from the racket that was the Great Hall.
Once in a smaller corridor, empty of all presence but their own, did they
shared their concerns. Shimmer, not wanting to fly on the spot, landed on
the ground, barely reaching the student's midsection.
"We have reasons to believe that professor Quirrell is either doing
something bad, or is a bad person." She started, well aware how bad it
sounded.
"That is quite the serious accusation, Miss Granger." Dumbledore replied,
all traces of his cherry attitude replaced with a strict and serious face.
"Shimmer is the one who told me."
"Really?" Wondered Dumbledore with a new look for the dragon, eyes
filled with curiosity.
"Shimmer? What was it about the DADA teacher?" Asked Hermione,
looking down at Shimmer.
"Bad human." He growled.
The headmaster looked at Shimmer for a few seconds before asking a
new question.
"Tell me, young Shimmer. Why is he a bad human?"
Not knowing how to say this, Shimmer sniffed the air several times.
"He smells?" Guessed Hermione, mimicking the gesture. "Smelling."
"Yes! Human smell bad. Not okay." Agreed Shimmer, his tail wagging a
bit, happy that he got understood.
"Hmm." Hummed Dumbledore, looking down at the little dragon.
"Professor?" Asked Hermione.
"As much as I trust Shimmer, this is a rather poor evidence. He is a
professor of Dark Arts, which sometimes cling to the wizard who uses
them. I don't really see how this would make professor Quirrell a bad
person." Replied Dumbledore, turning his gaze on the three students.
"Could it be because of the third corridor?" Asked Ron before he could
stop himself.
"What do you mean, Mister Weasley?"
"Well, many students say that he spends a lot of time around the third
floor." Said Ron even if he was slightly uncomfortable.
"Ah. That is indeed concerning, but not in the way you believe. May I
take the opportunity to remind you that the right room on the third
corridor is out of bounds under risk of a most painful death?" Reminded
Dumbledore.
Feeling that his point wasn't being clear, or not really knowing if he
wasn't understood correctly, Shimmer came right to the foot of
Dumbledore's robe, looking up at him.
"Bad smell. Bad. Not Human." Tried to explain Shimmer, suddenly
knowing what to say. "Not human! Not human!"
"Not human? Now that is more interesting. What was this smell like?"
Asked Dumbledore, lowering himself to Shimmer's level.
Shimmer looked at Hermione, not knowing what word to use to answer.
"The smell, Shimmer. What smell?" She tried to help him.
Relying on mimicking, since it worked quite well up until now, Shimmer
suddenly fell down on the ground, completely limp and immobile.
"Whoa!" Exclaimed Ron, taking a step back.
"If I'm correct, Mister Weasley, there is nothing to worry about.
Shimmer?" Assured the Headmaster.
Moving his eyes again, Shimmer moved his head toward the old human,
still on the ground.
"Does professor Quirrell smells like death?" He asked the little dragon.
"More like garlic." Whispered Ron to Neville.
"Human bad smell." Said Shimmer.
"Hmm, a moment please." Replied Dumbledore as he took out his wand.
"Accio, painting 'The old hunter.'"
A small gust of air blew out in the corridor and in seconds a painting
came flying at great speed, much to the surprise of the children and
Shimmer who jumped away, sending a blast of fire that missed the
painting by only a few seconds.
"No fire in the school! Bad Shimmer!" Shot out Hermione by reflex, her
and everyone else taking a step back in fear of the long spear of flame.
There was no reply from Shimmer, who was glaring at the painting in
Dumbledore's hands.
"He is quite the handful, isn't he?" Smiled Dumbledore, much to
Hermione's nerves, happy to see the Headmaster not taking it too badly.
"But, is this what you meant, Shimmer?"
Dumbledore moved the painting before Shimmer, who growled at it
before realising that it was one of those things were creatures and people
not alive but alive were moving in. In this one, a burly man with a large
riffle on the should, was crying over a large dead dog, a long gash in the
animal's side. What made the image more striking, was that everything
but the dog was moving. And Dumbledore was placing a finger right on
the dog.
"Yes. Smell bad." Agreed Shimmer.
"Death, young Shimmer. You smelled death, on professor Quirrell."
Concluded Dumbledore.
"How could he smell that? We'd know if he smelled like a dead animal."
Wondered Ron.
"Maybe that's why he wears garlic?" Suggested Neville with a shrug.
"You understand Shimmer? That's a dead dog. Dead." Pointed Hermione,
taking the opportunity to teach him. She had missed that.
"Shimmer understand. Bad human smell dead." Confirmed Shimmer.
"I must thank you for bringing this to my attention." Said Dumbledore as
he waved his wand at the painting, sending it back where it was.
"However, there are still reasons that explain why professor Quirrell may
have such a unique scent. I'm going to ask you to not speak of any of
these to your classmates and to not mention any of this to professor
Quirrell. I will do an investigation on my side, but I insist for your to not
take any further action."
"Yes professor." Nodded Hermione.
"Yes sir." Added Ron and then Neville.
"Good. Now, go along. I'm sure you have classes to attend to." Smiled the
Headmaster.
With that said, Dumbledore made his way back to the Great Hall, leaving
the three students and one dragon to go in the other way, toward the
classrooms.
"Do you think he believed us?" Asked Neville.
"I think he did. Thanks to Shimmer."
"But how can Shimmer smell death on professor Quirrell? He reeks of
garlic!" Exclaimed Ron, looking at Shimmer who flew before them,
arriving at an intersection and scaring a few unsuspecting students.
"Like dogs. They have a much better sense of smell than humans. It's the
same for Shimmer." Explained Hermione, laughing at Shimmer and the
fleeing student, even if the dragon was waiting for their little group to
arrive.
"Oh. What class do we have now?"
"Potions with the Slytherins." Replied Ron.
"Bloody hell." He grumbled.
"Ron! Language!"
The end of the day came after two more classes, but finally Hermione
was able to return to her room with Shimmer. She asked Parvati and
Lavender if she could be alone with Shimmer for a bit, and with only a
little bit of teasing from the other girls, was she allowed her private time.
Shimmer, for once, didn't really want to be here anymore. He was still a
bit tired, and the afternoon had been exceptionally boring. More than
once he tried to leave, but Hermione told him to wait, saying that she
had a surprise for him. Whatever a surprise was.
"Shimmer?" Called Hermione to get his attention. "I wanted to apologise
again. I refused to listen to you when you were only trying to protect me,
and that was wrong."
"Hermione sorry?" He asked.
"Yes. I shouldn't have slapped you, and I shouldn't have called you a bad
dragon." She explained.
Shimmer's brain was starting to overheat with all the foreign words and
simply not getting what she meant. She was sorry, that he understood, he
knew why, but didn't understand why she had to justify herself and say it
again.
"Shimmer not bad. Hermione not bad. Bad human bad." He replied.
"I know. But I don't want to talk about professor Quirrell. My parents told
me, that you may not understand what this is, but I'll try to explain as
best as I can." She wanted to apologise a bit more, but felt like Shimmer
simply wasn't like humans and didn't know about grudges. Not that she
didn't like it, she preferred him to think of her as a good person.
Hermione turned around and caught a small cubic shape, wrapped in a
bright red paper, putting it before Shimmer who could only stare at it
confused.
"This is my surprise. It's a gift. Gift." She repeated.
"Gift?" He asked.
"Yes. A gift, is what a friend give to another. This one is both a Christmas
and an apology gift. You're my friend Shimmer, and I want you to know
that."
"Gift? Friend?"
"Right. A friend. A good human and a good human are friends. A good
human and a good dragon are friends." She said pointing at a picture of
her parents that served as good illustration, before pointing both at
herself and at him.
"Shimmer Hermione friend?" He started to understand.
"Yes." She eagerly nodded. "And friends share gifts. Come on, open it."
He simply started at it, even when Hermione pointed at the gift and
pushed it toward him. It took a little bit more before he obliged her,
getting closer to the box and taking a sniff at it. His pupils and nostrils
opened wide at the very, very recognisable smell of gold. Looking up, he
looked at Hermione with a questioning look.
"Go on." She invited him with an excited smile, pushing the gift toward
him again.
Not waiting any longer, he tore appart the paper, exposing the Galleon
within. His eyes remained stuck on it for a few seconds, before looking
up at Hermione.
"Hermione good friend." He said, getting closer and giving her a small
nuzzle on the leg. For the first time, he was starting to understand that
coins may not only be obtainable as rewards or from stealing,
"Thank you Shimmer, you're a good friend too." She whispered, delighted
for so many reasons that she found it hard to speak.
Shimmer was back. He wasn't angry at her. He was still her friend. What
more could she ask?
She would do her best to work on his speech though, that was quickly
becoming an issue as it looked like Shimmer would need to speak more
in the future. But, she had to be realistic and knew that it would take a
long, long time before Shimmer would be able to perfectly speak English.
And at that thought, she wondered how he would take the news that not
all humans spoke the same language. She'd tell him later.
These were thoughts for later indeed. For now, she would enjoy his
dearly missed presence until he left, knowing that he would return
tomorrow.
AN:
Hi! Valexto at the Keyboard!
Whoo! I'm on a rush! I didn't thought I'd have this chapter finished before
the week-end, but I did it.
First, a huge, huge thanks to your many positive reviews and all the great
ideas that have been shared. I've read them all, and can definitely said
that I'll be implementing some of them with a few modifications to fit the
story.
I was asked in PM if the story would be as long as the Harry Potter
books. I hope not. Don't get me wrong, I like writing, but I don't think the
story will be that long. Year 2, year 3, and year 4 are a must, I want to
have them.
But for the latter two to work, if I'm correct (and correct me if I'm wrong,
I haven't read these books in ten years, even if I keep looking up on the
internet to not make mistakes in the lore), Harry Potter has to be known
to work. Sirius Black would probably still come to Hogwarts, expecting
his godson to be there, but what will happen when he will learn that
Harry has been missing for thirteen years?
And for year 4, with the goblet of fire, where Barty Crouch Junior takes
the opportunity to slip Harry's name in the goblet, which requires him to
know of Harry, cannot happen right now. I'm mainly saying that, because
I want to do a Shimmer against Hungarian Horntail fight scene. If the
story ends, it's probably going to be in year 4.
In these two years, Shimmer will either remain a dragon and no one will
ever suspect anything else until the end, or he his found out earlier with
one way or another. In that case, it would probably be kept secret. After
all, who would believe that the Boy-who-lived spent his entire life as a
dragon?
I think year 3 can happen with Shimmer being Shimmer and not Harry
Potter, but year 4 somewhat requires him to be known as Harry to work.
Or I could just not care about that, and have Shimmer be himself at the
tournament, maybe not liking the presence of other dragons, maybe one
of said dragons could see him as a hatchling if he doesn't grow too much.
Also need to consider the horcruxes, can't forget about those. Can they be
destroyed with dragon fire?
As you can see, there's much to consider.
Sadly, don't expect anything more this week, I have a train tomorrow
afternoon and won't have access to my computer before Monday, so the
next chapter will come after that.
See you soon!
16. Chapter 16
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!
17. Chapter 17
I do not own nor possess any right over Harry Potter, all rights belongs to
J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 17
April came five days ago, and Spring was everywhere. The air was
warmer, not too much but enough to be felt, the nature around Hogwarts
was taking a more healthy green and the end of the cold days brought
back some warmth in the hearts of Hogwarts' inhabitants.
Nothing much happened since they went to see Hagrid, just a few things
that Shimmer didn't really understood. Hermione, Ron and Neville spent
a lot of time looking around, researching what could be in the room on
the third corridor, but so far they didn't found anything interesting. Yet
as time passed, they noticed that professor Quirrell started to look
unhealthy, pale and quite weaker than before. Again, they speculated and
tried to find out why, but they had nothing truly concluding so far.
That morning, Shimmer was flying outside, not really wanting to stay in
a classroom today, and simply looked for things to do or if, per chance,
someone lost a coin that was free for taking. He spent a long time, flying
around the whole school, before returning towards Hagrid's hut.
The giant human wasn't in sight, and so he didn't thought about getting
closer, but when he flew close to the smoke coming out of the chimney,
he nearly dropped one meter in the air. What he smelled, was a very
distinctive smell, instantly getting all his attention. This was strange,
because the scent mixed in the smoke was familiar, as if he had an idea
of it's origin without being able to recall where he could have smell such
a scent. And then, there was a taint, a very, very faint trace of a very bad
smell that he also recalled.
A bit perplexed, he went to the hut's window, wanting to find out what
this was about, but was surprised by the curtains that stopped him from
looking in. He went to each window, and was surprised to see that all the
curtains were closed. With a small huff of annoyance, he took off, still
trying to remember about the two smells. The second one, the bad one,
was easier, he knew he faced it not long ago. The first and familiar one,
he was quite certain that he never had the chance to smell it before, yet
it still appeared familiar to him.
He entered the school and went to the classroom where Hermione was
supposed to be, with the very small human teacher. Then he had to wait,
perched on the ceiling beams of the corridor, until the door opened.
Thankfully, his wait was quickly over when the door was opened and a
small flow of students poured out, all going to the right. Taking his
chance as soon as he saw Hermione, he dropped from his perch,
surprising a few students, before flying straight in Hermione's face,
hovering on the spot.
"Oh, you're back already?" Happily asked Hermione, since they already
saw each other at breakfast.
"Hagrid. Smell good. Smell bad. Not know." He replied.
"What's he saying?" Wondered Ron.
"I don't know. We still have Potion class to go before lunch. We'll have to
go later, Shimmer." She told him.
Satisfied with that, Shimmer went after them to the Potion classroom,
where Snape frowned very slightly at the sight of Shimmer, since the
Slytherins, hence, Malfoy, were there too. He was concerned about how
the small dragon was around his godson, but since nothing happened
since their last interaction he pushed it aside. That didn't stop Shimmer
of reminding Malfoy that he wasn't liked by the dragon, who gave him a
small growl before he went next to Hermione, laying down on the ground
as he started cleaning his scales.
Busy as Shimmer was, he didn't gave any attention to the class except
when professor Snape came walking around Hermione's table, glancing at
the man but not doing more.
"Miss Granger." Said the strict professor.
"Yes, sir?"
"The Headmaster told me that your presence would soon be required in
his office, along with Shimmer. Do so at your earliest convenience." He
told her.
"Yes, sir." She agreed.
Their interactions went no further except for grading Hermione's potion,
and they soon found themselves in the Great Hall for lunch, which they
rushed a bit to have the time to go see Hagrid. She, Ron, Neville and
Shimmer came to Hagrid's hut and knocked on the door, only to be very
surprised by the unusual reply they got.
"Busy! Go away!" Shouted Hagrid from the inside.
"Hagrid? It's Hermione, Ron, Neville and Shimmer. Can we come in
please?" She asked, giving a small concerned look to her friends who only
shrugged in reply, not having a clue about what was going on.
"Shimmer?"
The large footsteps of Hagrid echoed before he opened the door, his eyes
going straight to Shimmer who was tilting his head, already feeling the
scent double with the opened door.
"Come in, come in." He ushered them in, closing the door tightly behind
him.
"Hagrid? What's going on?" Asked Ron.
Shimmer wasn't interested by the words. In the hut, the scent was quite
strong and he appreciated the far warmer temperatures than usual.
Walking around the group, he went to the chimney and started sniffing
around the fire, certain that the smell was coming from there, until he
looked up at a small thing attached over the fire. Not caring for the heat,
not bothering him in the slightest, he placed the small claws of his wings
on the edge of the perched thing and saw a small, oval thing.
The three students, as well as Hagrid, all watched him look around until
he stopped over the fire. The very smooth appearance of the thing and its
black colour was a bit surprising, but it was quite obviously an egg.
"What kind of egg is that?" Asked Neville.
"I know what it is." Affirmed Ron, amazed by the egg as he looked at
Hagrid. "But, how did you get one? It's illegal."
"Won it at a bar last night. It's previous owner wasn't interested." He
mumbled as he added coal on the fire.
"I think I saw one in my books about dragons." Said Hermione, starting to
recognise the egg.
"Not just any dragon. Its a Norwegian Ridgeback." Said Ron, still awed to
see such a rare breed of dragon.
"That it is." Confirmed Hagrid.
"Is?" Asked Shimmer, fervently sniffing around the egg as the smell was
so strong that he could only wonder why it was familiar. All the eggs he
ate before never had such a scent.
"It's a dragon egg." Replied Hermione with a small smile.
"Dragon? Shimmer?" He tried to confirm, eyes wide open as he started to
realise what it was.
"Yes, not like you, but another type of dragon. Which reminds me that we
still don't know what species you are." Answered Hermione before
mumbling to herself.
Eyes filled with wonder, Shimmer explored every side of the egg, trying
to memorise it. He couldn't ever remember seeing another dragon egg,
even any other dragon at all, but he was excited at the idea of meeting
another dragon.
But then, there was the bad scent. That close, it was unmistakable.
"Hermione." He called his friend.
"Yes?"
"Smell. Bad human." He said, looking at the egg.
This instantly got Hermione's attention and, after making sure Hagrid
wouldn't hear her, lowered herself next to Shimmer.
"Are you talking about professor Quirrell?" She asked.
"Yes. Bad human. Quirrell."
She frowned heavily, wanting to discuss this more with Ron and Neville,
but couldn't do so with Hagrid standing right there. But that wouldn't
stop her to ask some questions.
"Hagrid? Why would someone have a dragon egg if its illegal?" She
asked.
"Don't know. That man was actually very interested in Cerberuses,
wanted to adopt one he said. So I told him I had Fluffy." Proudly
explained Hagrid, much to Hermione's consternation as she realised what
happened then.
"And what did you tell him about Fluffy?"
"Sorry, I can't tell you that." He stopped her.
"No, I'm not interested by what's in that room. Just Fluffy. Is he
dangerous? What does he like?" Hermione said, aware that she was
probably using the same tactic than Quirrell to get information out of
Hagrid.
"Oh! Then it's alright, I guess. Fluffy's a bit boy, but he's all bark and no
bite. Sure, he could hurt you, but he's just like any dog." He answered.
"A dog with three heads." Said Ron to Neville, who nodded.
"Really? And, let's imagine, that he was angry with me. Is there
something that calms him down?" Continued Hermione.
"Well... lots of meat of course, makes him lazy. Or music. I've been
putting him to bed with a music-box since he was a cub, the big loaf falls
asleep with just that." Added Hagrid, using a large bellows.
"And you've said all of that to that man last night?"
"Sure did! The poor man knew some things, but he was no expert. He did
well to come to me." Said Hagrid, please of himself.
Hermione could only shake her head as she realised what happened, how
easily professor Quirrell bought Hagrid's informations on Fluffy with a
dragon egg. The large man's love for exotic creatures being well know in
the school.
She turned to Shimmer, still busy examining the dragon egg, wondering
if Quirrell would be able to go around Fluffy with what Hagrid told him.
She was also wondering if there might be something more to protect
whatever was in that room. A dog, no matter how many heads or how
big it is, must not be a hard challenge for a professor knowledgeable in
the Dark Arts.
"When will it hatch?" Asked Ron.
"Shouldn't be long. Need to be kept warm at all times. I'll sent you an owl
whenever it's ready." Replied Hagrid.
"Alright. Come on boys, we still have the afternoon classes."
With a small groan from Ron, they left the hut, with many, many things
to talk about.
"So Quirrell knows how to avoid Fluffy? But why would he be barmy
enough to even get close to one?" Wondered Ron.
"I don't know, but it has to be because of what's Fluffy keeping." Replied
Hermione, slightly frustrated that after so long, they still didn't know
what was inside that room.
"But Quirrell is the most scared professor of the whole school. I really
can't see him getting even close to that thing." Said Neville.
"It could be acting." Assured Hermione. "Though, now that I recall,
Dumbledore really didn't do anything since we talk with him. He said
that he would investigate."
"Yeah? Well he isn't doing anything at all. I'm pretty sure he just
dismissed us as soon as we were done." Replied Ron.
"That's not very wise." Said Hermione concerned.
"Dumbledore is a magical genius, but like Percy says, he's quite mad too."
"Arhheugh."
The three stopped at that, turning around to see Shimmer retching
something half-digested in a small bush.
"Shimmer! That's disgusting!" Recoiled Hermione, trying to forget what
she just saw.
"Maybe he ate something in Hagrid's hut?" Suggested Neville, also not
comfortable at the sight.
"Bad meat." Said Shimmer once he was done, flying away with the
intention to find a better meal than the last one. He had wondered if
some of the weird creatures filled with magic had good taste. So that
morning, for breakfast, he found some magical, flying, small humanish
creature with blue skin, and ate it as the rest of these blue things fled in
terror. The magic part was delicious, the flesh, not so much.
"I never want to see that again." Muttered Hermione as the three students
walked back to the castle for their afternoon classes.
The next day was a Saturday, so Hermione was free to go see the
Headmaster early in the morning, accompanied by Shimmer. They
reached the stairs to Dumbledore's office, which were thankfully opened,
and they arrived in front of his office. The old Headmaster was busy
reading a letter when they came in and he quickly put it aside as he saw
who entered, a smile on his face.
"Ah! Miss Granger, Shimmer. Good to see you." He welcomed them.
"Good morning, sir." Politely greeted Hermione.
"Dumb door." Said Shimmer, landing on his office.
"Not quite there yet?" Dumbledore asked with a chuckle.
"Not yet." Agreed Hermione with a small sigh.
"I'm sure you'll have corrected him in no time. But he calling me names
isn't why I asked for you. You see, there is still one unsolved problem
around our dear Shimmer, this being all the coins and precious jewels he
took." Said Dumbledore.
"What should we do?" Asked Hermione, not really having considered that
problem. Honestly though? She had mostly forgotten about it.
"I wanted to ask if Shimmer could give the coins he took back to their
original owners."
Shimmer may not be the smartest dragon, nor the most well versed in
human speech, not knowing he actually was, but he understood what the
old man said. And he could only disagree with him. How mad could he
be? To ask for him to give away his hoard? That was madness!
"No! Shimmer coins!" He hissed at the Headmaster.
"Shimmer." Sighed Dumbledore. "I think Hermione told you already, that
taking coins is bad, right?"
"Yes." He said firmly, not seeing what was wrong with the coins he
already have.
"Except for the coins that someone gave to you, or that you found on the
ground, you need to give the rest back. It's bad to steal from others."
Continued Dumbledore.
"But. Shimmer sleep coins. Shimmer want coins. Need coins." He whined
and growled at the same time.
"Shimmer, professor Dumbledore is right. You need to give the coins
back." Gently said Hermione.
He mulled over the idea, but no matter how many times or how he
thought about it, the answer was still the same. He wouldn't give up his
coins, they were his and his only.
"No."
"Professor, what's going to happen if Shimmer doesn't give the coins
back?" Asked Hermione worried.
"I could take some of my personal funds to replace the money lost, but
I'm afraid this wouldn't be considered either fair or legal for the ministry.
Same for Hogwarts' funds. We do have a policy of reimbursing destroyed
items, and stolen ones can be recovered with magic, but I'm afraid that it
wouldn't work in Shimmer's case since he took so many from different
students." Explained Dumbledore who looked a bit more tired. "If they
can't be recovered, and the student's parents ask for a refund, I'll have no
choice but call the ministry, who will call the dragon reserve to take
Shimmer away and recover the stolen properties."
Hermione froze for a second, before realising that they couldn't let that
happen. Her brain went into overcharge as she tried to come up with a
way to convince Shimmer to give the money back. But she was
interrupted by Shimmer himself. He had to nearly burn his brain to recall
so many different words, but defending his hoard was worth it.
"If Shimmer no coins. No more coins. Shimmer go bye-bye. Go coins not
here."
It felt like another stone dropped in Hermione's stomach. She wasn't
certain if Shimmer was bluffing or not, simply because he wasn't even
supposed to know that concept yet, but she knew he liked coins very
much. She could see him leaving if he had to lose his hoard. And that
was something she couldn't agree with.
"Professor Dumbledore! We can't-" She started to panic.
"Calm down, Miss Granger." Waved Dumbledore with a hand, silencing
the young student. "I do not want to see Shimmer leave too."
Taking a deep breath, Hermione looked at Shimmer who looked even
more adamant than usual. And that was with him having a dragon face,
not extremely expressive compared to humans.
"Shimmer." Continued Dumbledore. "All the coins that I gave you, that
Hermione gave you, you can keep them. They are yours. The Galleons are
yours. But the rest must be returned to the other students."
Knowing that he could keep the Galleons helped Shimmer calm down a
bit, but he was still very unsure about giving up the other coins. Even if
they were less interesting than the Galleons, he still wanted to keep
them.
"Shimmer want coins." He whined.
"I know, young Shimmer, I know. But you must learn to do the right
thing. What you did, stealing from my students and staff, would normally
have you arrested and in prison." Explained Dumbledore.
"Prison?" He said, recalling what it was. He didn't like it. He still wanted
to keep his coins though. He made an effort to come up with a suitable
idea, something that wouldn't leave him losing. "Shimmer back coins.
Shimmer Galleon?"
"Negotiating now? Well I suppose it fits you." Laughed a bit Dumbledore
before taking a letter from a drawer. "Let me see... hmm, that would be
more beneficial for us."
"Professor?" Asked Hermione.
"Shimmer. If I give you one Galleon, will you give back the coins that you
stole?" Offered Dumbledore.
"Two Galleon." Instantly shot out Shimmer.
"From my list, what you stole doesn't equal to two Galleons. One Galleon
is already a lot you know."
Shimmer was partially convinced already. He didn't wanted to lose so
many coins. They made for a nice bed after all. But having one more
Galleon would be worth it. He would only have the Galleons, three
Sickles and some Knuts from Hermione. It wouldn't be that bad. Horrible,
sad and devastating, but still with one more Galleon.
"Shimmer okay." He nodded hardly, forcing himself to agree and keeping
the Galleon in mind.
"Perfect! Thank you Shimmer, you're taking a thorn out of my side."
Thanked Dumbledore happily.
"Excuse-me professor, but will the Galleon be coming from you?" Asked
Hermione.
"Don't worry, Miss Granger. I have plenty more to spare that are
currently useless to me. Not to brag, but being Hogwarts' Headmaster
pays well." He said with a smile.
"Oh. I understand."
"Shimmer? I will give you this Galleon once all the objects on my list
have been returned. Do you think you could do this today?"
"Yes!" Agreed Shimmer as he ran to the window, waiting for someone to
open it.
He spent the morning going back and forth a few times from his lair to
the old human, but at the end he was free to leave with a new Galleon.
His fourth one. He was saddened by the horrible sight of his hoard, his
bed, his everything, being almost naked against the ground, four
Galleons, three Sickles and thirty Knuts. Not enough for him to sleep on
entirely without touching the ground, but he would remake it. He would
be patient. No matter if he had to stay perched on the roofs of Hogwarts
waiting for someone to lose a coin, but he would get his hoard back.
The month of April went by quietly, with not much happening except a
few visits to see if the dragon in Hagrid's hut had hatched, but no success
yet. This did nothing to deter Hagrid, and the end of the month was
coming without sign of a small dragon. Smaller than Shimmer that is.
But finally, at lunch, they got an owl from Hagrid with only two words:
It's hatching.
The rest of the day was long, as they excitedly whispered between them
about the little dragon, with Shimmer being the most excited as soon as
Hermione got him to understand what was happening. Sadly, in their joy
and trepidation, they saw that one Drago Malfoy had heard nearly
everything being said.
That night, right after lunch, the four ran, or flew, outside toward
Hagrid's hut who opened it quickly, giving a small look behind them to
see if anyone else was coming before closing the door.
"Where is it?" Asked Ron ecstatic.
"Right on the table." Replied Hagrid, as they could all see the egg shaking
on the table.
Spreading out around it, they watched with excitement as the egg was
about to hatch. Shimmer was right next to it, taking a good space around
the egg with only Hagrid being the other one right next to it. It didn't
took much longer for a crack to appear on the egg, and withing a few
more seconds, it fell appart to reveal the creature inside it.
Awe, joy and a little bit of fear went through the three students. Hagrid
was in heaven, already cooing at the little dragon who was slipping a bit
on the shells of its egg.
And Shimmer was... surprised. Almost disappointed even. He expected to
see a dragon much like himself, and even if Hermione repeated many
times that it was another breed of dragon, he thought it would still look
like him. But no. This dragon had dark green scales that looked too
fleshy, a much rounder snout, and was perhaps three times smaller than
him.
"Isn't he beautiful." Sighed Hagrid just as the dragon turned toward him.
"Bless him, look, he knows his mommy!"
The dragon's head snapped at him, curious. Hagrid brought one of his
large hands toward the small Norwegian Ridgeback but had to retreat it
promptly as it snapped at his fingers.
"Isn't it a bit dangerous?" Cautiously said Ron.
"Of course it is! His bite's poisonous and he can already breath fire. But
he would never hurt his mommy." Said Hagrid, trying again to pet the
little dragon.
The answer he got was a little puff of flames that burned part of his
beard.
That didn't made Shimmer happy at all. This young dragon wasn't being
taught anything but bad manners. He would have to fix that.
While Hagrid was busy extinguishing his beard, Shimmer stood next to
the small dragon and gave her a warning growl. He got one back in reply
but wasn't impressed by this hatching still covered by egg shells.
"What are they doing?" Asked Neville confused.
"Don't know. Shimmer, leaves Norbert alone. He's just a little baby."
Hagrid tried to shoo Shimmer away.
"Not boy. Girl." Replied Shimmer, having a staring, or rather glaring,
contest with the Norwegian Ridgeback.
"A girl? Oh well. Norberta it is then." Cheered Hagrid.
"He's lost his marbles." Whispered Ron to Neville, both admiring and
truly surprised by how Hagrid could sometime be so simple.
Shimmer didn't listen. He was busy making this hatchling understand
who was the strongest dragon around. He suddenly jumped in front of
Norberta and growled harshly. The newborn cowed before her elder,
taking a step back and retracting her neck as she let out a small whine,
submitting. Satisfied, he walked back to his spot on the side of the table,
content with watching from afar.
It all happened in front of the three students and Hagrid, who were a bit
tensed as they watched Shimmer seemingly attack, only to move back as
soon as Norberta submitted.
"Its a bit like dogs." Noted Ron. "Show who the boss is."
"It's actually a bit strange. I read that dragons didn't do well with
hatchlings that aren't their own." Added Hermione, glancing at Shimmer.
"What do you mean?" Asked Neville.
"It ends up with the hatchling killed. Sometimes eaten." She didn't said it,
but she was glad that Shimmer didn't do that. It would have been a
nightmare to make him understand how wrong it was.
"Bloody hell." Gasped Ron a bit green at the thought.
"Language." Said Hermione by reflex.
Hagrid was picking up a small slice of bacon and was about to give it to
her that she jumped toward the piece of bacon, nearly biting Hagrid as
she missed, not quite used to move around yet. No one got the time to
say anything that Shimmer was standing right above Norberta, snarling
and showing his teeth. That quickly brought Norberta to a perfect state of
immobility, waiting as Shimmer glared at her a little bit more before
moving back to let her stand up.
"He's gonna be a better parent then you." Joked Ron toward Hagrid.
"Well, he is a dragon. But I'm his mommy. You hear that Shimmer? I'm
his mommy." Hagrid tried to validate his point to Shimmer, who didn't
understand.
"What mommy?" He asked, looking around.
"Shimmer? We got that covered already." Said Hermione, knowing that
he should know what it meant.
"Hagrid. Not mommy. Mommy girl. Hagrid boy. Hagrid daddy." Surmised
Shimmer, quite certain of himself.
"I- that's very good Shimmer!" Praised him Hermione, petting his head,
happy to see he was remembering well as well as being capable more
complex reasoning.
"It's a figure of speech. I'm his daddy." Nodded Hagrid, understanding the
little dragon's mistake.
Purring under Hermione's hand, Shimmer turned to look at her, and just
as he did so, his eyes passed on an opened window. And the boy behind
it.
Screeching loudly, scaring everyone, he leapt from his place on the table
to the window, making the boy fall.
"There's someone outside!" Realised Neville.
Rushing to the door, Ron and Hermione got the time to see the shape of
another student running away in the night, quickly vanishing in the
shadows of the night. But even that far away, it was impossible not to
recognise the very unique blond hair on the student's head. Closing the
door again, they looked at Hagrid that was positively ashen.
"Oh dear." He said, letting discouragement colour his voice.
Malfoy had seen the dragon.
"It was Malfoy." Sombrely said Ron.
"Do you think he'll tell a teacher?" Wondered Neville.
"Maybe?" Tentatively said Hermione. "Hagrid?"
"I- it's just, I don't want to lose Norberta." He said with a small tear in his
eye.
"He's already crazy about her." Said Ron impressed.
Shimmer was growling in his corner. He recognised both the face and the
name of the human boy, and was starting to be really angry at him. His
tail was lashing out angrily behind him, and in the middle of it all
Norberta was devouring her bacon without a care in the world, only
wary of those who might steal her bacon. At least, Shimmer thought, she
had the good reaction about keeping her food.
"What should we do?" Asked Neville.
"You've already done enough. It's already late, you should be in your
dormitory. Here, I'll give you a note." Firmly said Hagrid, standing up
and taking a large feather to write down a few words on a bit of
perchment.
"Are you going to be okay?" Asked Hermione.
"Ay. I'll be fine. I'll see you tomorrow." He said, handing Hermione the
note.
A bit forced out of the hut, the four friends made their way back to their
beds. Three humans toward the dormitory, one dragon to his hoard.
Shimmer was wondering if this new dragon, Norberta if he heard
correctly, would need to be shown how to get a proper hoard. He
wouldn't give her a single coin, not even to demonstrate anything, yet he
would happily go coin hunting with her. But there was one thing that
worried him a lot.
Hermione gave him coins almost everyday. She would do well not to do
the same with Norberta. He wouldn't share coins with her.
AN:
Hi! Valexto at the Keyboard!
Thanks a lot for the great reviews, as always! It's good to see the story
being appreciated.
Some of the ideas I see in the reviews are quite interesting. Some, like
Hoodedgenius98 's idea, are similar to some of the possibilities I have
either thought of or read. I hadn't thought yet of having Shimmer
guarding the stone, it would probably be efficient as no one would know
where to look at or even know that he has the stone, but getting it back
would indeed be a pain.
I should probably gather all the ideas I saw in the reviews, to not forget
about them. I could pass next to some great possibilities otherwise.
Today's chapter was supposed to be longer, but it's because I want to take
a bit more time for Shimmer and Norberta to interact with each other, so
this chapter is more about the birth of Norberta. And how Shimmer
reacted to her. Like this, I'll be free to make another chapter or two with
Norberta.
See you soon!
18. Chapter 18
I do not own nor possess any right over Harry Potter, all rights belongs to
J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 18
The next day, Shimmer came earlier than usual to Hermione's window.
"Good morning Shimmer." She welcomed him, putting on her robes.
"Hello. Shimmer. Hagrid. Dragon." He told her.
"I know, I know. But you can't talk about that, okay?" She whispered,
quickly looking at the door where Patil just left.
"Why?"
"It's a secret." She said as if it solved everything.
"What secret?"
"A secret means that you can't say it to anyone. Only me, Ron, Neville
and Hagrid. It's something that can't be shared with everyone." She
answered.
Oh! That was something new! Words only for some people! He found the
idea incredibly fun.
"Shimmer understand." He affirmed. "Shimmer bye-bye. Shimmer
Hagrid."
"Alright, see you later." She said, pushing him gently in the air, closing
the window behind him.
Letting out a squeak of indignation, he flew down toward Hagrid's hut,
thinking about the little hatchling.
He had quite a lot to think about, and was still quite divided about it.
First, it was good that it was a female. Another male and he would have
had to defend his territory. It didn't meant that females didn't had
territories of their own, but he preferred not to have to share it with a
male.
Second, Hagrid being the one to take care of the hatchling. While
Shimmer didn't know much about hatchlings, he thought the idea of
Hagrid trying to take care of it quite ridiculous. He himself survived on
his own for quite literally forever, so he couldn't see any upside to this.
Even worse, the hatchling wouldn't learn much with Hagrid feeding her
and coddling her. She needed to learn how to catch her own prey, how to
survive, how to be a dragon. How could she become any of this with a
giant human? He simply couldn't see it.
Third, what would this leave him? Having another dragon around meant
sharing the food, the territory, the humans, but worse, the coins. If
Norberta remained, then he would not get as many coins as before. This
he knew, and he couldn't accept it. If she wanted coins, she would have
to do it on her own. He wouldn't teach her how to get any and would...
dissuade the humans from giving her any.
Landing near one of the large house's windows, he knocked a few times
with his head until he saw movement inside.
"Shimmer! Come in." Welcomed him Hagrid, opening the window for
him.
"Hello. Shimmer. Dragon. Norberta." He replied.
"Ay, ay. She's resting right here." Pointed the giant.
Indeed, Norberta was currently resting between a few rocks disposed like
a bed, right next to the fire that kept her warm. She was awake, looking
at Shimmer with a slightly wary look. That was good, thought Shimmer,
happy to see that she wasn't too coddled yet and still mindful of her
surroundings.
Walking closer, he stopped right in front of Norberta, who shrank slightly
in submission, all under the supervision of Hagrid. The giant was indeed
careful of Shimmer, the books he read were quite clear that adult dragons
often attacked hatchlings that weren't their. Even if it went rather well
yesterday, he was still cautious.
"I'll get you something to eat." He said, turning around and getting one of
the bags of meat, starting to cut some small slices with his knife.
Bending down, Shimmer gave a few curious sniffs at Norberta, who did
the same, both getting used to the smell of the other. It was quite
surprising for Shimmer, because he recognised her smell as one of a
dragon, like his, but at the same time it was different of a few levels. First
was the fact that she was female, then that she was a hatchling, and
lastly that her smell of being a dragon wasn't like his. He was quite
curious, since she was the first other dragon that he met.
Norberta was a bit better than last night, cleaned of the eggshells and the
flew fluids that covered her back then. But he still found her appearance
slightly unsettling, so different that his own. He wasn't quite sure what to
think about that.
"Come here." Called Hagrid.
Turning around, Shimmer used his wing to jump on the table, ready to
have his meat. Norberta stood up, following him before trying to jump
too, only to barely leave the ground for a few centimeters. Shimmer
knew she was young, but it was truly pitiful to see this hatchling fail. He
doubted she would survive on her own.
He was interrupted by the slice of meat placed before him and he dug in
with gusto, while keeping an eye on Norberta. She was still trying, but
clearly wouldn't succeed anytime soon.
Hagrid had just cut another slice for Norberta, and was about to pick her
up, that Shimmer jumped between them, growling at Hagrid.
"Now, now Shimmer. I don't want to hurt her." Tried to reassure Hagrid.
"No. Norberta. Learn." He refused.
"Learn? She's too young to do anything. That's why I'm here to take care
of her." Happily replied Hagrid, trying to go around Shimmer.
"No! Norberta learn! Norberta not learn, Norberta bad dragon." He
countered, still growling, placing himself before Hagrid again.
"She's too young. And you're quite special yourself." Sighed the half-giant.
"Special?" Stopped Shimmer, not knowing that word.
"Different? Unique? Other dragons are not like you. For one, they don't
talk." Explained Hagrid.
Was it true? Was he so much better than the rest of dragons? He was
divided between preening before the praise, and being ashamed of the
idiocy of the rest of his kind. But the biggest thing, was that he was
apparently the only one to talk. He didn't understand why, talking wasn't
easy, but he managed to learn it quite quickly. This also brought another
question.
"Why?"
"Don't know. You're different Shimmer, that's all I know. But Norberta
needs someone to take care of her. Do you think she could catch a rabbit
like that?" Asked Hagrid, pointing at Norberta who was trying to go
around Shimmer too, only to be pushed back by his tail.
"No." He conceded, seeing that the size difference wouldn't let her catch a
prey as small as a rabbit easily. But there were others. "Bird?"
"She can't fly yet. Give her a few days, she'll get there. Now, please move
aside." Waved Hagrid.
Reluctantly, Shimmer jumped back on the table as Hagrid finally gave his
slice of meat to Norberta, who caught it between her sharp teeth and
quickly getting started on her meal. Shimmer really had a hard time
understanding why Norberta was so different. Why couldn't she fly now?
Why was she so weak? Was she a bad hatchling, unfit to survive?
Why was he so different?
He didn't know, and he had no idea what to do to find out the answer.
"Hagrid. Shimmer good. Kill, eat good. Norberta not kill, Norberta bad?"
He asked.
"No. She's too young. Doesn't mean she's bad. You know all the students
who eat in the castle?" Replied Hagrid, sitting in his large chair.
"Yes." He understood even if he had to process all the words for a few
seconds to figure it out.
"They don't kill. Hermione don't kill and she's not bad." Tried to explain
Hagrid, aware of the dragon's difficulties in language.
"Hermione not bad." Agreed Shimmer. But he always wondered where
the food came from. "Where meat?" He asked.
"This one?" Asked Hagrid, pointing at the bags near the table.
"No. Who kill meat humans?"
"Ah. Other humans, far away. They take care of fields, orchards, herds of
cows. Human can kill, but not all of them do. Young humans don't."
Huh. So the meat was still coming from preys killed by humans. Weird
how he never thought much about it before. Hermione always said that
the food came by magic, so he believed her. After all, he thought that the
meat was coming out of nowhere.
Norberta walked around a little bit before biting down on Hagrid's shoes,
which were thankfully not of the feet of their owner.
"Hey! Norberta, come here." Called Hagrid, not harshly at all. If anything,
he sounded a bit proud of her even if he was trying to reprimand her.
He obviously got no reaction, and Shimmer had anticipated that. If the
other dragons were really as stupid as he thought, then there was only
one way that Norberta would understand.
Quickly descending from the table, he rushed at the little hatchling who
tried to get away but Norberta wasn't even fast enough to try. He opened
his jaw and bit down on her neck, not hard enough to seriously hurt her,
but enough to make her understand that she wasn't allowed to do that.
He growled at her hard as she started to squeal and trash around, and
applied slightly more pressure until she stopped.
"Shimmer! Let her go!" Commanded Hagrid who had jumped after them,
standing right next to Shimmer with a very concerned frown on his head,
hands reaching toward them but getting any closer. He didn't want to risk
Norberta's life.
Not listening to Hagrid, even though he clearly understood him, Shimmer
kept his position a few more seconds before releasing Norberta. She
slowly turned around and gave him a few licks on the chest and
shoulders, attempting to appease him and submitting to the stronger
dragon.
Letting out a very, very loud sigh, Hagrid bent down, which was
apparently a bit hard for him to do, and gave a look at Shimmer just as
Norberta turned toward him.
"That wasn't nice, Shimmer. Norberta is just a baby, she's just discovering
the world. It's okay if she wants to gnaw on my shoes." Tried to explain
Hagrid, checking over Norberta and relieved to find no wounds on her
neck.
"Not good. Bad learn." Started Shimmer, obviously more knowledgeable
on dragons than the big human before him. "Shimmer good dragon. Good
learn. Shimmer learn Norberta."
"I get it, Shimmer. But, as much as I appreciate you helping, I'm not sure
if that's the right way to do this. And you teaching Norberta is good, but
attacking her is not."
Shimmer frowned, not really liking Hagrid's way to handle the hatchling.
But who was he to judge? He didn't really care for Norberta. He had been
curious about learning about other dragons, but found himself
disappointed. And if Hagrid wanted to teach Norberta how to be a
dragon himself, no matter how much Shimmer thought it was a terrible
idea that would result in a weak, unfit for survival Norberta, he would let
the half-giant have his ways.
He flew to the window, wanting to go eat on his own and find coins. This
appeared to sadden Hagrid, even if Shimmer didn't know why.
"I didn't mean to insult you, Shimmer. Sorry if I made you angry." Said
Hagrid, opening the window.
"Shimmer not angry." He replied, even if it didn't convinced Hagrid.
Free to go, he went high in the sky, flying over Hogwarts and going
toward the greener forest where he knew easy preys were hiding.
Hermione had lectured him once she heard what he did to Norberta, but
he adamantly refused to apologised. After all, he knew better than
humans how to take care of a hatchling. Hermione, noticing how he
wasn't bulging on that, gave up and instead tried to explain how human
children were raised.
It was quite interesting. He learned that Humans aged slowly, that most
would never kill anything in their life even if they ate meat, that humans
spent years learning about how to be adult, like Hermione was doing
right now, and that once they were adult, they would find a job for the
rest of their life. Until they were too old to work.
Shimmer was very happy to complete his knowledge of humans, and
delighted that he could understand his friend a bit more, but was still
confused by a few of the things she said. For exemple, he simply couldn't
understand the concept of jobs. In his mind, he just had to go find food,
eat, find coins, sleep and then start again. But humans? They apparently
found or created these things called 'jobs', working for themselves or
other humans. The reason why made sense, since they got coins for
working. He vaguely compared them to bees and ants, doing something
together, with each specialised for some jobs, to earn something at the
end while perpetuating their race.
Another thing he couldn't really get his head around the fact that humans
needed to learn how to be adults. And that it took years. He thought that
showing a hatchling how to survive was enough, since he himself
managed to survive on his own with no one showing him how to do
anything, and couldn't comprehend that humans needed so long to
become adults.
On the contrary, he was completely amazed by how humans managed to
capture preys, gather them in once place, teach them to be docile and
used to their presence, to better eat them later. How cunning! He knew
he couldn't do that, and despite being reluctant to admit it, humans were
far better than him at keeping food for them.
Back to Norberta's education, if Hagrid and Hermione said his methods
and ideas were wrong, then he wouldn't interfere.
Not much.
He was still quite curious about the hatchling.
So he went to see her, visiting Norberta the next three days, before he
noticed something. Norberta was growing.
Since it took so long for him to reach his actual size, he hadn't expected
her to start growing so soon. It wasn't an impressive growth, but enough
to be noticeable. He asked Hagrid, who answered that Norberta would
grow very quickly for the first few weeks of her life, before stabilising for
a few months. And then she would grow again.
"Big?" He repeated what Hagrid had said when he confronted the half-
giant about Norberta's growth.
"Very big. Once adult, she should grow to ten meters long." Jovially
replied Hagrid.
To reach around ten meters long.
TEN! METERS!
Once Shimmer understood how long she would be, because he didn't
know what a meter was and Hagrid had to explain, mainly by measuring
with his hands, it shocked him so much that he froze for a little while,
and then flew straight to see Hermione in panic. He didn't know exactly
where to find her, so he barged in a couple of classes, angering a few
human teachers, especially the tall one covered in black who threatened
to turn him into a coat if he didn't leave, before finally finding Hermione
and the other two humans males in the room all the young humans
wearing red gathered. He barged in by a window, breaking it, making
everyone jump in fright.
"What the-!"
"Ahh!"
"Bloody hell!"
"Shimmer!" Screamed Hermione amongst all the shouts, sitting on one of
the sofas.
"Hermione! Why Shimmer not big?!" He nearly screeched in her face,
landing right before her.
"Shimmer! Not so loud!" She complained, bringing her hands to cover her
ears.
"Why Shimmer not big?!" He repeated at a slightly lower volume.
"Some dragons are small, some are big." She sort of shrugged, not
understanding why he was so unnerved. "What's going on?"
"Norberta small. Shimmer not small, Big. Hagrid... Hagrid speak,
Norberta later, big! Shimmer not big! Why?!" He continued, much to the
confusion of Hermione, and every other student in the room that was
trying to understand.
A small mix of shock and worry washed over Hermione's face, right
before she lowered herself to his level, whispering.
"It's a secret Shimmer! You can't speak of Norberta." She reminded him.
"Shimmer not big! Why?!"
"You understand something?" Asked Ron, standing next to Hermione.
"Not at all." She replied. "Shimmer, you were with Hagrid, right?"
"Hagrid speak! Norberta later big. Shimmer not later. Not big!" Replied
the dragon, not helping her much.
"Should we go see Hagrid?" Suggested Neville, as confused as everyone
else.
"I don't think we have a choice." Sighed Hermione, standing up.
Almost pushed by Shimmer, the three students were led outside by a
frantic dragon, much to the surprise of the other students, before they
reached Hagrid's hut.
"Hagrid? Are you there?" Asked Ron as he knocked on the door.
"Come in!" Came the gruff reply.
They entered to see Norberta, maybe two centimeters taller than when
she hatched, happily munching on a bone with some meat left on it.
Shimmer flew right next to them, landing on the table and frantically
moving his head between Hagrid and Norberta.
"Hagrid speak. Norberta big later. Shimmer not big. Why? Not
understand?" He said quickly.
"Hmm, Hagrid? Do you know what he's talking about?" Asked Hermione.
"I sure do. He came earlier this morning, noticed how Norberta was
bigger than before. I explained that she was growing, and he ran away
right after that." He explained.
"How big will she get?" Asked Neville.
"Should be around ten meters long." He shrugged, giving a look of
parental love to Norberta.
"Ten meters?!" Shrieked Neville.
"Hagrid, how are you going to hide a ten meter long dragon?" Calmly
asked Hermione, even as she was trying to figure out if Hagrid wasn't a
little bit insane.
"She won't be that long before a year. She may be two or three meters
long in a week, maybe two." Hagrid tried to reassure them.
That did nothing to comfort the three students, and Shimmer still had no
answer to his question.
"Hermione! Why Shimmer not big?"
"I- well, dragons can grow up to different sizes, depending on the species.
Do you know how old you are?" She asked, suddenly realising that she
didn't know how old he was.
"Shimmer... one... two... three...four...five...six...seven...eight...nine...ten...
Shimmer is ten long sleep." He answered after taking a long time to recall
the numbers.
"Ten years old? My, you should be grown up already." Said Hagrid
surprised.
"Should be?" Asked Ron.
"Aye. Shimmer's growth isn't over yet. See his horns? If he was an adult,
they would be twice as long. And his body would probably be a bit
bulkier too." Explained the half-giant, pointing at the nervous dragon.
"Right." Considered Hermione as she started to piece together Shimmer's
worries. "Shimmer, you... are worried that Norberta will be bigger than
you?"
"Yes! Shimmer not big. Not good." He stated as a fact, a little big angry
and frustrated.
"Oh, Shimmer." She cooed with a small smile, petting his head gently.
"It's not important. It doesn't matter if you're big or not."
"Shimmer want big!" He sternly replied, even if he was starting to be
mollified by the movements of her hand.
"You're not an adult. You still-"
"Shimmer not small Norberta!" He spat.
"Let me finish. I'm not saying you're an hatchling, but you can still grow
up." She said patiently, knowing how hard it was to teach him some
things.
He mulled over what she just said for a few seconds, before coming up
with a comforting conclusion.
"Shimmer big later?" He asked.
"Yes. I don't know how much, but I'm sure you will grow up a bit more."
She smiled at him.
"So all of this was because he didn't wanted to be small?" Said Ron a bit
incredulous.
"Looks like." Mumbled Neville.
Pointing her little head from where she was, Norberta reached Hagrid's
feet, and she was just about to pounce on them that a loud, dangerous
growl echoed in the hut. Everyone froze, especially Hermione who was
next to Shimmer as he snarled toward the hatchling, not expecting that.
"Calm down, Shimmer. What's wrong with you today?" Asked Hermione,
retreating her hand away from Shimmer. She knew he didn't wanted to
hurt her, but she was still prudent.
"He did that a few days ago." Grumbled Hagrid, not happy to see how
Shimmer was intimidating Norberta, before sternly addressing the golden
dragon. "Stop that Shimmer."
Looking at the big man for a second, barely acknowledging him,
Shimmer growled a little more to make his point clear, waiting until
Norberta walked away from Hagrid's shoes before relenting.
"That's scary." Noted Neville, cowed by the intensity of the growl. Even if
it hadn't be directed toward him.
"Awesome you mean!" Instantly replied Ron in a whisper of awe.
"You shouldn't do that Shimmer. Norberta needs to learn, but there is no
need for violence. We already talked about that." Reminded Hermione to
her draconic friend, a little scowl on her forehead.
"Shimmer dragon. Understand dragon. Know dragon. Hermione not
dragon. Not know dragon." He simply replied, still keeping an eye on
Norberta who went around the table and intrigued by the warmth of the
fireplace.
"Use 'is', Shimmer. Hermione is not a dragon. And yes, we are not
dragons, that much is true-" Agreed Hermione.
"That would be awesome though." Cut her Ron.
"-but we know a lot about dragons." She finished with a small glare at
Ron who completely missed it.
"No. Hermione is human. Know human. Shimmer is dragon. Know
dragon." He persisted.
"It's endless." Sighed Hermione. "No matter what I say, he isn't listening."
"He has a point." Said Neville, blushing as everyone looked at him. "I
mean, he is a dragon, so, it makes sense that he knows how to raise a
dragon. No?"
"We have many books about dragons. We know them better than they
know themselves." Pushed Hermione, feeling slightly insulted that her
knowledge was being disregarded so easily.
"Now, I wouldn't say that, Hermione." Said Hagrid. "Even today, dragons
remain quite mysterious creatures. I know that they're still studied a lot,
despite many wizards saying that we already know enough to control
them."
"Hermione know dragon good. Shimmer know dragon good good." Said
Shimmer, starting to get a bit confused by all the humans were saying.
"Listen, Shimmer. I understand that you want to do good. But please, let
us do this." Asked Hagrid.
Just as he always thought, Shimmer had no problems with that. He could
already see that the cuddling Hagrid gave the hatchling would make her
unbearable very soon. She was growing and didn't show any sign of
starvation, so he knew that she would survive as long as Hagrid fed her,
but without the strict watch and intransigent attitude of an adult dragon,
it was clear that Norberta wouldn't listen to the humans soon. Maybe
even him, if she kept growing until the day where she would challenge
him.
They wanted to raise a weak and turbulent hatchling? Then it was their
problem.
Snorting a bit in frustration, he turned to his friend.
"Hermione, coin." He demanded.
"I- sure." Hermione replied, reaching for a Knut in her pockets, a bit
surprised by the sudden change of attitude of her friend.
Taking his due, he went to the door and waited for Hermione to open it.
She did so with a worried expression on her face, sharing a glance with
her friends and Hagrid beforehand. Hermione was slightly concerned that
she may have offended him, even if she truly thought that his method of
being agressive with Norberta was wrong. She wanted to listen to him,
but when she thought about what the books about dragon said, she knew
that Shimmer couldn't know that much about dragons.
Not waiting any longer for the nightmare that would become that
hatchling, he flew up to his hoard, slightly happy to at least have a coin
for his troubles, leaving behind a small group of four humans and a little
dark green dragon who found it interesting to tear through one of the
bags of meat.
AN:
Hi! Valexto at the Keyboard!
That was a tough chapter to write, mainly because I spent so much time
reading other stories, and because I have to think about the next
chapters.
Just a little clarification, Shimmer thinks he's ten years old, when he's
actually eleven, because he doesn't remember that he was already one
year old when he became a dragon.
I have three ideas for the next chapter.
It can follows the canon story, with Ron being bitten by Norberta and
having to send Norberta to the dragon reserve.
Or, Norberta is revealed to the teachers, who come to the conclusion to
send Norberta to the reserve too, but with this there is no reason to have
Hermione, Ron, Neville, Shimmer and Draco go into the forbidden forest.
Or, Norberta gets to stay, most likely in the forbidden forest.
Realistically, it would be very hard for Norberta to stay in Hogwarts, as
Norwegian Ridgebacks are very agressive even against their own kind, so
Humans would be easy preys.
Still thinking about how I'm going to do this, I'll take more time than I
thought to make the next chapter.
What do you think? Which idea sounds best? Or do you have your own
ideas?
I need to check the last reviews, I think someone said something
interesting about Norberta.
See you soon!
19. Chapter 19
I do not own nor possess any right over Harry Potter, all rights belongs to
J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 19
It was two days later, with a happy Hagrid and a slightly bigger Norberta
busy trying to flap her wings, that Shimmer finally heard a great news!
"Dragons don't collect coins, tis a myth." Nonchalantly said Hagrid.
"You're the only one doing that."
"Norberta no coin?" He asked, flabbergasted.
"No. She might be curious about it, but she wouldn't try to collect coins."
...
If other dragons truly couldn't see the beauty of coins, gold and jewels,
then Shimmer didn't want to be associated with them. Other dragons
were truly dumb.
"Shimmer... not understand." Sighed Shimmer, not quite sure what to feel
about all of this. At least he wouldn't have to share coins with Norberta.
"Don't think too much about it, you're- hey! Norberta. No, no, no." Started
Hagrid until he saw Norberta using her claws to climb on a chair,
spreading her wings and ready to jump.
"Is good." Said Shimmer, a bit satisfied to see Norberta do things on her
own.
"She could hurt herself!" Countered Hagrid, stepping toward Norberta.
The hatchling jumped from her chair, wings opened wide, and barely got
the time to fall down before Hagrid's large hands caught her. Sighing in
relief, Hagrid brought her close to his chest where she started attacking
his beard.
"Aouch! No, Norberta. Don't pull!" He said as he kept her in his hands,
bringing her back down on the ground.
Shimmer watched it happen with a disappointed look. Why couldn't
Hagrid and Hermione listen to him, he didn't know, but it was plainly
obvious to him that Norberta was barely listening to Hagrid. Shimmer
wasn't even sure if she knew her own name.
Stupid thing.
But, she was growing, quickly, just like Hagrid said, and with all the food
being gifted to her Shimmer had doubts she would become a good
huntress. Again, not his problem, but he didn't want to see her die so
young.
So he got an idea. He watched for a few times Hagrid leave the hut or
open his windows, careful of how he did it, and once he was sure of his
plan, waited for Hagrid to leave. Which didn't take long, as Hagrid was
the gamekeeper of the school and was understandably busy with many
chores through the day.
And as soon as he left him and Norberta alone, Shimmer flew at one of
the windows and unlatched it, leaving it open for him and Norberta. He
tried to have her follow him by commands, growling and hissing, but he
was starting to consider her really stupid since she didn't do anything
except be wary of him. Exasperated, he caught her in his claws and,
despite her thrashing around and even attempting to bite him, lifted her
in the air and took her outside.
She wasn't big enough that he couldn't carry her, but she was already
quite heavy and her frenetic attempts of getting away from him forced
Shimmer to fly as fast as possible to the safe forest, not the dangerous
one. As soon as he landed, feeling his wings being a bit sore, Norberta
lunged at him.
He let out a small growl at her attack, having expected something like
that, and quickly used his larger size and more developed body to force
her to submit. They rolled around in the grass a bit, trying to bite and
claw at each other's throat and head as they growled and hissed. But he
was the older one, stronger and more experienced, and he managed to
tackled her on her stomach, effectively rendering her incapable of
sticking back.
As soon as she saw her defeat coming, Norberta let out panicked
whimpers, accepting the victory of Shimmer. Taking a few seconds to
catch his breath, he bit down again on her neck along with a warning
growl to not start again, and he stood up to let her go.
He was already starting to regret getting involved.
They walked up for a little while, Norberta quite curious about this brand
new world and stopping at nearly anything that caught her interest,
much to Shimmer's exasperation. But he froze on the spot when he heard
what he was looking for, Norberta imitating him instantly.
Crawling on the ground, he slowly made his way through the bushes as
silently as possible, Norberta right on his tail, until a small opening in the
foliage revealed his target. A small rabbit, young and inexperienced, just
like Norberta. He waited for her to see it too, and then he let her go. He
wouldn't show her how to hunt, she should already know, but he was
willing to at least bring her to a prey that she should be able to catch
without problem.
And Norberta required no prodding to act, silently and slowly walking
around the bushes to get closer to the rabbit who was still unaware of the
danger lurking around it. Shimmer had to concede it, Norberta was doing
a good job at being stealthy.
She soon reached another bush and stopped there, having closed the
distance between the rabbit and her at its maximum. From there, she
would only have to be quick and efficient, go for the throat in a single
rush and kill the rabbit before it even had a chance to flee. Easy and
simple, so he wasn't worried.
Yet, Norberta still ended up disappointing him.
She rushed out of the bush with a quick jump of her legs, and spat a
small stream of fire that completely missed the rabbit. Now quite aware
of the threat, it wasted no time and with only a couple of very quick
jumps and bursts, disappeared in the forest, leaving behind a Norberta
blinded by her the fire before her. The fire didn't touch anything, so at
least they wouldn't have to worry about that, but it blocked her view of
the rabbit. And once she stopped, she was surprised to see her prey gone.
Norberta started to go after it, but it was already too late. Getting out of
his hideout, he growled at her in frustration. How could she have thought
that fire would be a good idea, he didn't know, but he was frustrated and
disappointed. He walked up next to her and nipped her on the neck.
"Bad Norberta. No fire." He growled.
She cowed a bit, but it was very clear she failed to understand what he
said.
He was quite angry at her for missing such an easy kill. Sure, it would
have been easier in-
Shimmer nearly smacked his head in the ground as he realised that he
forgot the most important aspect of hunting for a dragon: attacking from
above. He knew that Norberta wasn't flying yet, but she had been trying
for a few days now, stopped only by Hagrid. She was probably ready to
learn. And once she would know how to fly, diving down on a rabbit
would be as easy as taking a coin from a human baby.
Since Norberta was not as brilliant and great as him, incapable of talking,
and apparently not experienced enough to hunt on her own, he had to
growl at her for her to follow. Once she got it, he went to a relatively
small tree and used his claws to quickly climb on its trunk, reaching the
closest branch and sitting there. Norberta watched him go up and he
nodded for her to do the same. She thankfully didn't need more
commands and she got close to the base of the tree, looking at the trunk
for a couple of seconds before jumping like he did.
It didn't went as well, but he couldn't expect a hatchling to succeed at
everything, especially on her first attempt. She fell down after planting
the claws of her back legs in the trunk, not using her fore-claws as well.
She quickly collected herself and tried again, this time managing to
actually climb the trunk only to fall down again at its middle.
Shimmer patiently watched her go, trying to remember if he was ever
that bad at climbing trees, but his memories weren't very clear about this.
He mainly did the same thing every day for nearly ten years after all.
But after a couple of minutes, Norberta finally managed to reached the
branch he was resting on. She did looked a bit tired already, and he
thought that perhaps Hagrid was trying to make her fat like he was, but
he didn't gave it much attention. Norberta walked up next to him and, as
soon as she was within reach, he pushed her off the branch.
She growled at his move but it quickly became a scream as she fell.
He watched, with no hate, no animosity, no curiosity, as she fell,
expecting her to open her wings at any seconds she got closer to the
ground. He was only doing what was right, helping her learning how to
fly. After all, if she wasn't good enough to fly, then she wouldn't be a real
dragon.
She was flailing around, not opening her wings as she was supposed to,
and still letting out a shrill of fear as the distance between her and the
hard dirt beneath shrank.
And yet, she ended up hitting the ground hard, her scream momentarily
cut as her lungs were forced to exhale all the air the had, before she
started to whimper and cry, not moving much.
Sighing at the poor instincts of the hatchling, yet sympathetic to her pain,
Shimmer jumped from the branch and flew down to land right next to
Norberta. It didn't took more than a glance at her left wing to see a most
unnatural bent, along with a few drops of blood that made it very clear
she was no longer capable to fly.
"Norberta bad. Fall. No fly." He said, disappointed in her flying
capabilities. But he wasn't about to abandon her like he probably should,
since having a broken wing was pretty much a death sentence. No, he
would bring her back to Hagrid, since she was his. Or maybe Hermione
knew better? She was better with dragons than Hagrid, that was for sure.
In his opinion, that was.
Not caring much about her suffering, he picked her up in his claws again,
ignoring the short, pained shrill and the bite that she tried to gave him,
and took off toward Hogwarts. He had to stabilize himself several times,
as Norberta never stopped thrashing and trying to bit him, but since she
wasn't doing much damages he simply kept going until he reached
Hagrid's hut.
He stopped before the window, hovering in front of it, and quickly
concluded that Hagrid hadn't returned yet. Ir maybe he was searching for
them somewhere else. It didn't matter much, and Shimmer simply went
to Hogwarts to find Hermione. More than one head turned toward him as
he flew in the corridors, the students used to see him, but far less
accustomed to the angry dark green dragon in his claws, and gave him a
wide berth as he went from the empty great hall to the Gryffindor tower
before going back down.
It was just as he took a turn toward one of the classrooms, that he
noticed Hermione and her friends walking away with their backs looking
at him.
"Hermione!" He called.
She turned around, slightly surprised, but that soon changed to horror as
she saw who he had between his claws.
"Shimmer?! What is Norberta doing here?!" She whispered harshly, not
really doing a good job of hiding Norberta as many other Gryffindor
students stared at the second dragon.
"Norberta not fly. Shimmer help. Norberta fly bad." He replied, dropping
Norberta before them as she screamed again, curling up around herself.
"I- what?" Hermione stopped herself, looking for a few seconds at
Norberta and noticing the blood and obviously broken wing. "What have
you done Shimmer?"
"Shimmer help." He simply replied, not seeing the problem.
"If that's him helping, then I don't want to see him attacking."
Commented Ron, giving Shimmer a slightly worried look.
"Oh Shimmer, what am I doing to do with you?" Lamented Hermione.
"Maybe we should bring Norberta to Madam Pomfrey? She really doesn't
look good." Said Neville, more concerned for Norberta.
"But... what should we tell her? She'll know we hid the truth!" Started to
panic Ron.
"Then we tell her the truth. That Norberta is Hagrid's dragon. I'm sure we
won't get in trouble for bringing Hagrid's dragon to the infirmary."
Suggested Hermione, ever the more thoughtful one.
"But she will ask why she never heard of Norberta before, and then she'll
know that we lied to hide her!" Ron continued.
"That's not true. We never lied, since no one ever asked us about
Norberta." Corrected Hermione.
"That's true." He conceded, slowly calming down.
"We should hurry up, I don't think Norberta likes being hurt." Said
Neville.
"Oh! Right. Let's go. Neville, could you carry her?" Hermione said,
turning toward the infirmary.
"W-what? No! She'll bite me!" He fearfully replied.
"Ron?"
"Nah, I have to agree with Neville, I'm not carrying to dangerous, injured
dragon." He adamantly refused.
Sighing at their unwillingness, and herself not wanting to carry the
clearly angry Norberta, Hermione turned to the only one who could do it.
Even if it wasn't a great idea.
"Shimmer, can you take her please?" She asked her draconic friend.
"Yes." He instantly replied, picking up Norberta who instantly tried to
bite him.
"See what I mean?" Added Ron.
"Yes, yes. Let's go."
The trip to the hospital wing was short, but punctuated by the many
growls and pained whimpers of Norberta, clearly not being carried well
by Shimmer who didn't really thought about it. But as soon as they came
in the infirmary, they were met with a stern look from Madam Pomfrey
who was busy taking a look at a bandaged arm of an older Ravenclaw
student.
"Don't run in my infirmary! Why are you here?" She asked sternly,
flicking her wand around the students arm that moved a little in reaction.
"Sorry to bother you Madam Pomfrey, but Hagrid's dragon is hurt. She
broke her wing." Started Hermione with an apology.
That was enough to make the old woman blank for a second, but she
recovered surprisingly quickly.
"Excuse-me, what did you say?"
"Shimmer, put Norberta here please." Instructed Hermione, putting a
hand on a nearby bed. Shimmer obeyed and soon Norberta was freed
from his grasp, once again busy trying to lick her wounded wing. "This is
Hagrid's dragon Norberta. Her wing is broken and we wanted to know if
you could help her."
The old healer gave Norberta a quite distrustful look, as well as a short
one toward Shimmer, before focusing on the older student still standing
before her.
"You're good to go, so get back in class. I have a lot to do." She ordered,
and the Ravenclaw didn't stay a second longer, before she focused on
Norberta. "I will need Professor Snape's help with this, healing dragons is
far different from humans and magic is often inefficient on them. You, go
get professor Snape, tell him that I want him here with a Wound-
Cleaning potion, a potion of Dreamless Sleep, some Essence of Dittany
and a Skelegrow potion." She said, pointing at Neville.
The poor boy quickly looked between his friends and the old matron, and
with a small whimper, not wanting to get even close to the Potion
teacher, turned toward the dungeons where he knew he would be hashed
out for interrupting Professor Snape's class.
"Now, tell me what happened." Madam Pomfrey asked in a no-nonsense
warning.
"Well, we don't really know, Shimmer brought her like that." Squirmed
Hermione under the matron's gaze. "Shimmer, can you tell us what
happened?"
"Shimmer take Norberta. Norberta not fly. Take Norberta fly. Norberta no
fly. Fall." He tried to explain.
"What is this gibberish?" Asked Madam Pomfrey.
"I think, he went to teach her to fly? And then she fell? I'm not sure, he
doesn't know that many words yet." Apologised Hermione.
"Hmph! Then she's probably lucky to be alive, she looks quite young. And
you said she was Hagrid's?"
"Yes." Nodded Ron.
"Then maybe you should go find him. He knows more than me about
magical creatures."
Not waiting to get another mission, Ron ran out of the infirmary in hopes
to find Hagrid.
"Well, at least she isn't chocking or coughing, which is good." Noted
Madam Pomfrey.
"She's just a few weeks old, mam."
"And you know this how?" Asked Madam Pomfrey with a raised eyebrow.
"...Hagrid invited us to see her hatch." Hermione shylily replied.
"I see." She said before sighing. "That man's carelessness will be the death
of me. Please keep an eye on her, I have a message to send."
Hermione and Shimmer watched as Madam Pomfrey went into her office,
followed by a small flash of green light.
Now alone, Hermione turned toward her friend, intending to know
exactly what happened.
"Shimmer, you must tell me what happened." She sternly said.
"Norberta fly bad. Shimmer take Norberta, hunt, fly. Norberta bad hunt.
Shimmer want Norberta fly. Shimmer help, take Norberta..." He
struggled, trying to find a word for the branch he took her to, not
knowing what it was called.
"Continue." Pressed Hermione.
"Shimmer take Norberta fly. Norberta not fly. Fall." He finished.
Despite his attempt to clarify things, it didn't help Hermione much to
understand how Norberta got hurt. But it was clear that whatever
happened, it was Shimmer's fault.
"Shimmer, me and Hagrid told you that you shouldn't try to help
Norberta. What you did was bad. Very bad. Look how hurt she is now."
She said, pointing at the injured hatchling.
"Norberta bad. Not fly. Shimmer help, Shimmer good." He tried.
"No Shimmer, not this time. You're a bad dragon." She sternly countered,
not backing down.
"Shimmer not bad!" He nearly screeched. He hated being called bad.
"Yes! Yes you are! You injured Norberta! That's bad!" Hermione
continued, shouting at him for the first time in a very, very long time.
He growled but didn't spoke again, glaring at the hatchling for a moment,
not liking how her poor instincts and incapability to hunt and fly were
making Hermione call him bad.
They were interrupted by a small 'woosh' sound coming from Madam
Pomfrey's office, and then both her and Dumbledore came out, stopping a
bit as they noticed the tension in the air.
"Is everything alright, miss Granger?" Asked Dumbledore.
"Shimmer got Norberta injured, and I was trying to explain how that
made him a bad dragon.
"Shimmer not bad!" He screamed again.
"Yes you are!" She shouted back.
"Now, now, no need to shout. Miss Granger, if you could step outside for
a moment, I would like to speak with our young friend." Dumbledore
asked calmly.
With a small glare at Shimmer, Hermione gave a small bow to the
headmaster and left the room, closing the door behind her.
"Now, Shimmer, I've come to understand that you and... Norberta?" He
stopped, looking at Madam Pomfrey for a second who nodded. "That you
and Norberta had an accident."
Shimmer gave a small growl, tired of repeating himself, but still
answered.
"Norberta not fly. Shimmer help Norberta, but Norberta not fly. Fall. Not
okay."
"Yes, I can see that. Far from me to insult you, but what you did was bad,
Shimmer." He continued with a slightly sterner tone.
"Shimmer not bad." Growled Shimmer again.
"I know. You're not a bad dragon, but what you did was bad. I don't know
exactly how Norberta got injured, but I know that much."
Still growling, Shimmer tried to understand what was so bad about
helping a hatchling try to fly. She got hurt in the end, sure, but that
wasn't his fault. Norberta was the one dumb enough to not open her
wings.
"How did you help Norberta fly?" Asked Dumbledore.
"Take Norberta..." He still didn't know the word. Looking around, he
looked at the tree visible through the windows and flew right in front of
them. "Here. Shimmer take Norberta here."
"In the forest? Would it be-" Started Dumbledore before stopping as the
sound of rushing, very heavy steps, echoed from the corridors before the
doors opened in a bang, Hagrid standing right there, the breath short and
looking exhausted. A far more tired Ron arrived just a couple seconds
later, stopping to put his hands on his legs as he tried to catch his breath.
"Norberta!" Shouted Hagrid, running to the dragon's side and, thankfully
for the little dragon, stopped right before picking her up, shaky hands
hovering over her as he tried to figure out what to do. "Look at your
wing. Don't worry, mama's here for you." He cooed gently.
"I'm sorry for what happened, Hagrid." Sincerely said Dumbledore. "Could
you tell us if you know what happened?"
"Ah'm sorry sir, I don't. I- I left her at home with Shimmer, thought she
was safe there." The half-giant slowly replied, looking at the wing under
the careful watch of Madam Pomfrey, ready to intervene at any second.
"She probably was. But I'm afraid our friend Shimmer tried to help her
flying in the forest, and got hurt there. A fall if I understood correctly."
Explained Dumbledore.
"Shimmer?" Said Hagrid as he turned toward the little golden dragon that
was sitting on the bed next to Norberta's. "Why would you do this?"
"Shimmer want help Norberta fly." He explained, not seeing the danger
that Hagrid could be for him should the giant want to take revenge for
his little protege.
"I... Shimmer, I told you that I didn't wanted you to help. You shouldn't
have done that." Hagrid replied, slightly angry at the dragon but more
concerned for Norberta. Hagrid would never hurt Shimmer, but that
didn't mean he couldn't be disappointed by him.
"Shimmer help! Shimmer good!" Angrily said Shimmer, having enough of
this.
"No. Not this time. I don't want you to come next to my house again, not
as long as you'll be a danger to Norberta."
"Come with me, Shimmer. This isn't the place to settle this." Said
Dumbledore, waving to the door where a wheezing Ron and a slightly
anxious Hermione were waiting. "Before I go, Hagrid, could you please
tell me since when has Norberta been in your possession?"
"Barely a week sir. I'm sorry for not telling you, thought you'd want me to
get rid of her." Mumbled the gentle giant.
"I know, my friend, I know. Don't worry, I won't do anything to get rid of
Norberta now, but we will have to speak about her soon. I'm sure you'll
understand why she can't stay in Hogwarts." Said Dumbledore, patting
Hagrid's back.
"But sir, she's just a baby."
"I'm aware, and that's why I haven't called the dragon reserve yet. Don't
worry, we'll talk about this later."
Standing up, Dumbledore walked to the door and was nearly bowled over
by a rushing Professor Snape and a tired Neville both carrying a handful
of potions in their arms.
"Headmaster. I've been told that we have another flying monstrosity."
Snape blankly said. "An injured one."
"That we do, my boy. Hagrid's dragon is in dear need of your skills."
Answered Dumbledore as he exited.
"Hagrid's- what am I not surprised." Muttered darkly Snape as he went in,
followed by Neville who gave a glance at Ron and Hermione, silently
begging for help but unable to leave without incurring the Potion
teacher's wrath.
"Now, would you three please give me a moment?" Asked Dumbledore,
addressing Ron, Hermione and Shimmer.
"Yes sir." Replied Hermione.
"Y-yes, sir." Let out Ron, finally managing to gather his breath.
"Dumb Door." Grumbled Shimmer.
"Moody I see." Noted the old headmaster with a small smile.
"He's being difficult." Sighed Hermione.
"I've noticed, Miss Granger. Would you perchance have an idea of what
we should do concerning Shimmer's actions?"
"Me?" She asked a bit surprised.
"You are his friend and the one who understands him best, I believe that
you should know best how to handle this." Kindly smiled Dumbledore.
"Well, um, Shimmer was wrong, and Norberta was hurt because of him,
so... I really don't know how to punish him, sir. I don't want him to hate
me." Pleaded Hermione, not wanting a repeat of what happened last
Christmas, when she thought Shimmer left because of her.
"I understand Miss Granger. But, let me ask you this. Was he wrong?"
"I- yes, Norberta was hurt because of him." She frowned, not
understanding how the headmaster couldn't see how what Shimmer did
was wrong.
"Yes, that much is true. His actions resulted in the consequence of
Norberta being hurt. Yet I don't believe he wanted to do wrong." He
explained.
"How?"
"Shimmer, you wanted to help Norberta fly, right?" Asked Dumbledore.
"Yes. Norberta not fly, Shimmer help Norberta fly. Shimmer not bad
dragon!" He added ferociously at the end.
"No, you are not. Miss Granger, would you blame someone for helping
you standing up, only to fall and break your leg?"
"I- no, sir." She admitted, before quickly recomposing herself. "But we
don't know what exactly happened. Shimmer isn't capable of explaining
himself yet."
"That much is true. I'm afraid that we will probably not know before
quite a long time, but this isn't really important. What I'm getting from
this, Miss Granger, is that Shimmer wanted to help, which is a
commendable trait that everyone should pursue, but his methods were
most likely wrong, as it ended up with Norberta being injured." Explained
Dumbledore, to which both Hermione and Ron nodded.
"I understand, sir." Said Hermione, seeing how things might have
happened. "But, how can we make Shimmer understand that? He
shouldn't be left unpunished or he will do it again."
"That is the tricky part. And Shimmer must indeed not repeat what he
did." Agreed Dumbledore before turning toward Shimmer. "Would you
like to try, Miss Granger?"
Looking at Shimmer, who was clearly angry as his tail was moving to and
fro faster than usual, frowning and glaring at the three humans before
him, ready to defend himself against being called a bad dragon.
"I'll try." Said Hermione. She didn't think it was her responsibility, as
Shimmer was still a wild dragon despite being quite used to human
contact, and she was rather motivated by a want to see him improve. To
see her work on him paying up. "Shimmer, I'm sorry for calling you a bad
dragon." She started.
That caught him a bit off-guard, as he understood most of what had been
said but thought Hermione would still be angry with him.
"Shimmer not bad?" He asked to confirm.
"No, you're not bad."
"Good." He nodded, happy to see they had finally come to reason.
"But!" Hermione quickly added. "What you did, was wrong."
He frowned again, starring at her and trying to see what he did that was
so wrong.
"Why?"
"You wanted to help Norberta, right?" She asked, even if the Headmaster
asked him this very question barely a minute ago.
"Yes."
"That's good. But do you remember what me and Hagrid told you about
helping Norberta?"
And now that she said it, he did recalled the many times where they told
him that Hagrid would be the one deciding how to raise Norberta, with
Shimmer even agreeing to let them do as they pleased. And he was fine
with that, truly, but he thought that Norberta could use some help to get
better at surviving on her own.
"Yes." He conceded, calming down some more.
"Listen, Shimmer. We're happy with you wanting to help Norberta grow
up, but it's how you did it that is wrong. If you want to help Norberta the
next time, I want you to tell me or Hagrid before, okay?"
Well that wasn't a big deal, if he just had to talk with them before. He
could do that.
"Okay."
Sighing in relief, Hermione closed her eyes for a long second before
turning toward the headmaster.
"Should we give him a punishment, sir? I don't know what punishment
would work on him."
"We must, else he'll do it again. But I don't think making him copy a few
hundred lines would work with him. In addition, his mind is slightly
different than ours, and require a slightly different approach." Said
Dumbledore.
"Well...besides not giving him any coins for a while, I don't really see
what to do." She suggested.
"A simple idea, but one that I believe will be most effective. Shimmer,
since your actions got Norberta injured, I forbid anyone to give you any
coins until the next week." Announced Dumbledore.
Shimmer may not know the word 'forbid', but he understood that
something was wrong. Very, very wrong, since it was about his coins.
"Not understand. Forbid?" He asked.
"It means no coins for you. Until the next week." Explained Hermione.
"What?!" He screeched, his head snapping back in shock.
"Keep it quiet!" Shouted back Snape's voice from the infirmary, which still
had its doors opened.
"It is as I said, Shimmer. No coins for you until next week." Repeated
Dumbledore.
"What? What? Week?"
"It means four days without coins, Shimmer." Simplified Hermione.
"One... Two... Three... Four... Four!" He shouted, outraged as soon as he
understood how long it would be.
"Yes. And it will happen every time you do something bad or wrong."
Added Hermione, wanting to really make sure he understood the threat.
"Shimmer sorry!" He whined, not ready to spend so long without getting
a single coin.
"No means no Shimmer. No coins until next week." Adamantly refused
Hermione.
Shimmer was starting to understand the danger he was in, and how he
was powerless in that matter. He could still go try to find coins laying on
the ground, but those were rare. Hermione was by far the biggest source
of coins he had, with her giving him a coin on average twice or thrice a
week. And he only got one coin this week, meaning that he would miss
out two coins. Not much, but it still mattered a lot to him.
Defeated, lowered his head, understanding that he wouldn't get coins.
"Now that this matter is settled, I will have a lot to talk about with our
gamekeeper. Please go back to your class." Waved them Dumbledore as
he went back to the infirmary.
"We're late for charms!" Suddenly realised Hermione, having forgotten
about their lessons in the rush to bring Norberta to the healing wing.
"Oh boy." Sighed Ron, knowing what was about to happen as Hermione
grabbed him by the sleeve.
"We're so late!" She said, starting to pull Ron with her.
Shimmer was left alone, the infirmary behind him where he could hear
the humans talking, and a few whimpers of Norberta here and there, and
the fading footsteps of Ron and Hermione in front of him. He didn't
wanted to be surrounded by humans right now.
Taking flight, he went to the nearest open window and went back to his
tower, saddened over the thought of at least two precious coins lost.
He was still blaming Norberta for all of this. He was the one who knew
best how to train another dragon, since he was one himself. How could
the humans not see that, he didn't know, but he wouldn't interfere
anymore with Norberta's training, seeing where it got him today. She
should have known how to open her wings!
AN:
Hi! Valexto at the Keyboard!
That chapter... that chapter was a pain to write.
Sorry for taking so long, not only am I back to full time work, I spent a
really, really long time to decide how to decide Norberta's fate.
To me, it's only logical to have her being revealed to the headmaster and
the rest of the school as it would have become impossible to hide her
forever since she would have become huge very quickly. Next chapter,
you'll see what will happen to Norberta.
I had many ideas and several suggestions of yours to think about, all
were interesting but some simply didn't fit in the story or couldn't be
worked in the way this story is going. Some of your ideas could work as
Omakes or one-shots, but I don't plan to do any of this now.
As for Shimmer, well, he is a dragon. Don't expect him to completely
understand human concepts and views of the world. I like him this way,
slightly confused about the why of human things and simply being of a
slightly grey side of morality. He's not really moral, just thinking about
survival of the fittest, and thus clashes with Hermione's views of having
him being a proper, well mannered dragon. It doesn't mean he can't
learn, but no one should expect him to simply accept everything she says
as truth. He's also quite prideful, as you've probably noticed, and doesn't
take well a certain duo of words.
Well I'm off to bed. I made some notes for the next chapters, so I should
be able to work something faster than for this chapter.
See you soon!
20. Chapter 20
I do not own nor possess any right over Harry Potter, all rights belongs to
J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 20
Only a day passed before Dumbledore called for Hermione and Hagrid to
visit his office to discuss Norberta's future. Shimmer was here too, of
course, but Dumbledore wasn't able to call him in any way, and Shimmer
simply followed Hermione when she told him where they were going.
"Thank you for coming." Started Dumbledore, sitting behind his large
desk as Hagrid and Hermione stood before him, with Shimmer resting
next to Fawkes' perch, void of the phoenix's presence. "Before we begin,
Hagrid, how is Norberta doing?"
"She's well sir, thanks for asking. It's been a bit harder to heal since
dragons are magic resistant, but both Professor Snape and Madam
Pomfrey says that she won't have any after-effects." Replied Hagrid with
a small smile.
"Good, good. Now, Miss Granger, have you managed to explain our little
friend what he did wrong?"
"I'm sorry sir, but I can't." Sighed Hermione, both a bit disappointed at
Shimmer and at herself for not succeeding. "No matter what I say, he
doesn't want to accept he's wrong."
"Hmm... that is slightly troublesome." Hummed Dumbledore. "Shimmer,
can you tell me what you did that was wrong?"
"Shimmer good dragon! Not bad." Instantly replied Shimmer,
understanding where this might be going.
"We know, Shimmer. You're not a bad dragon, far from it. But, do you
understand why we are upset with you?"
"Upset?"
"Not happy." Briefly explained Hermione.
Shimmer stopped for a few seconds at he understood. And he truly did.
He should have left Norberta alone, left her to the care of Hagrid even if
he found his methods lacking and not efficient for the hatchling. But he
was certain that what he did, meaning trying to teach her how to hunt
and fly, was the right thing to do.
"Shimmer understand. Norberta is Hagrid dragon. Shimmer not help
Norberta. Again." He concluded.
"Now, now, Shimmer, we are not saying that we don't appreciate your
help. Only that what you did was wrong." Continued Dumbledore.
"No! Shimmer help Norberta fly. Good. Norberta not fly. Bad Norberta."
He countered.
"You hurt her, Shimmer." Hagrid replied in a slow tone, missing some of
his usual jolliness. "That was bad."
"Shimmer sorry Norberta hurt. But Shimmer want help, help Norberta.
Shimmer understand not help Norberta." Explained Shimmer, agreeing
again to not help Norberta. He would never do it again since it was
costing him precious coins.
"I don't think we are going to get much more from him." Dumbledore said
as he shook his head.
"Professor Dumbledore, what's going to happen to Norberta?" Asked
Hermione, giving a small annoyed glance at Shimmer.
"Ah, excellent question miss Granger!" Cheered the old man a bit.
"Sir, you're not going to send her away. Right, sir?" Pleaded Hagrid.
"I'm sorry, Hagrid, but even without taking into account what happened
with Shimmer, Norberta can't stay at Hogwarts. She will soon be too
dangerous to be around humans and the Hospital Wing is no place for a
dragon." Replied Dumbledore with a saddened voice. As much as he
would like to have another dragon in the school, Norberta wasn't docile
and unique like Shimmer. He knew that she would soon become a very
serious problem and wanted to avoid any regrettable incident.
"But, sir, she's just a baby. I can't let her go now." Continued the half-
giant, ready to say anything to keep his precious dragon.
"I understand how much she means to you, Hagrid. You've told me so
many times how much you wanted to own a dragon that I can see how
hard it is for you. But it sadly has to be done. I contacted the Romanian
dragon reserve; they will send some of their handlers tomorrow morning
and take Norberta with them."
"Sir... I- please." Begged Hagrid.
"It has to be done, Hagrid. And truthfully, I'm certain that she will prefer
staying in the dragon reserve. She will have plenty of space, other
dragons to be with and many handlers to take care of her." Tried
Dumbledore with a soft smile.
"Yes, Hagrid. I'm sure Norberta will love it there. And I'm sure Professor
Dumbledore could help you see her again." Added Hermione with her
own smile.
"Could I?" Asked Hagrid, unsure yet a bit calmer.
"Of course, my old friend. I don't see any reason why you shouldn't be
allowed to go see her again. As long you don't try to bring her back here."
Playfully assured Dumbledore.
"Norberta?" Asked Shimmer, not sure if he understood what they were
saying.
"Ah, another challenge. Young Shimmer, Norberta cannot stay at
Hogwarts. She will leave tomorrow morning."
"Norberta bye-bye? Why?" He asked, surprised, not getting why she
couldn't stay.
"Norberta is dangerous, she could bite and injure anyone. And if that
happens, she will be put down by the ministry." Added Dumbledore.
That made Shimmer think a bit more than usual. Norberta was
dangerous, as she should since she was a dragon, but so was he. He was
even more dangerous than her, so did it meant that he would have to
leave too?
"Shimmer dangerous. Shimmer bye-bye?" The golden dragon asked,
jumping from his perch to land on Dumbledore's office.
"There is a difference between you and Norberta, Shimmer. She is not
sapient like you, not capable to be taught what is right and what is
wrong. I'm sure that with time, it could be possible to make sure she
would never attack anyone, but it won't be before a long time."
Continued Dumbledore.
"Shimmer smart, Shimmer not bye-bye?"
"That is one way to say it, yes."
He wasn't sure what to think about that. It meant that, should he try to
attack someone, he would have to leave. He had already been told such a
thing not too long ago, but it was a reminder that humans apparently
didn't like to have dragons around them. Perhaps Hagrid was an
exception then.
"Norberta where?" He wished to know.
"May I?" Asked Hermione.
"Of course, go ahead miss Granger." Welcomed Dumbledore with a wave
of his hand.
"Thank you. Shimmer, Norberta is going to a dragon reserve. It's a place
where all dragons are being taken care of, fed, healed, where they can fly
and live freely." Explained Hermione.
That didn't sound bad at all to the ears of Shimmer. A place with free
food? Perfect! Though the idea of being around other dragons bothered
him a bit, it meant sharing coins and food, and that's something that he
had absolutely no interest in. Though it did bring one question.
"Re-zer-ve. Coins?"
"Reserve. And no, I don't think they have any coins there." Replied
Hermione with a slightly pensive look.
That one sentence crushed all the will he might have had to go there. No
coins? He'd rather leave on his own.
"No! No coins not good! Shimmer not go." He warned.
"We're not going to send you there, that's silly." Smiled Hermione as she
petted his head, much to his pleasure.
"Sir?" Interrupted them Hagrid.
"Yes?" Replied Dumbledore.
"I understand that Shimmer and Norberta are different dragons, that he's
the only dragon like him that we know of, but do you think there might
be others like him? I mean, a dragon that I could keep?" He asked
hopefully.
"That is a question which bears no answers for now." Sighed Dumbledore,
sharing a similar desire.
"Shimmer, do you know other dragons like you? Smart? That like coins?"
Asked Hermione.
"No. Shimmer one dragon. Not know. Only Norberta." He answered while
he kept purring.
"I see. May I go see Norberta?" Requested Hagrid.
"You're free to go, my friend. I believe that we are done for today."
Assured Dumbledore.
"Thank you, sir." Said Hagrid as he turned to leave.
"Can I go too, Professor?" Asked Hermione.
"Of course. I just would like you to bring Shimmer tomorrow morning, at
Hagrid's hut around nine AM if that's alright." Agreed Dumbledore with a
smile.
"Thank you. Have a good day."
"You too, miss Granger."
"Dumb Door." Added Shimmer as he jumped in the air to follow
Hermione out of the headmaster's office.
"You need to stop saying that, Shimmer, that's very rude." Hermione
scolded him.
"Shimmer like Dumb Door!" He protested.
"His name is Dumbledore. You know this." Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Shimmer like." He replied stuborn.
"Urgh."
"Hermione?"
The young girl turned around at Hagrid's voice, seeing the gamekeeper
who had apparently waited for them.
"Yes Hagrid?"
"I just wanted to say a few things to Shimmer."
Oh." Said Hermione as she let Shimmer hover on the spot, right in front
of Hagrid's face.
"Hagrid? Shimmer sorry Norberta hurt." Said Shimmer, knowing that his
actions didn't please the giant human.
"I understand Shimmer, I know you wanted to help. And whatever you
did that injured Norberta, I know you did it with good intentions. But
you disobeyed me when I asked you to not help me with Norberta."
Explained Hagrid before taking a big breath. "That's to say, I'm not mad
at you. I know you're a good dragon, but I don't want you to come to my
hut for some time. I need time for myself."
Before even giving time for Shimmer to reply, Hagrid turned around and
left him and Hermione standing in the corridor. Shimmer wasn't quite
sure of what just happened, but he got that Hagrid didn't want him at his
nest. Which was fine with him, he wouldn't have many reasons to go
there anymore since Norberta was leaving.
"Hermione?" He asked.
"Yes?"
"Shimmer understand Hagrid not happy. Shimmer understand Norberta
hurt not good. Shimmer not understand why help not good." He was still
slightly stuck on that.
"I- helping others is a very good thing to do Shimmer, but sometimes,
people don't want help. For example, Ron doesn't like me helping him
with magic because he wants to do it himself, even if he is terrible at it.
Hagrid wanted to raise Norberta himself, without your help. I know it's
not easy to understand, but sometimes, help is bad. That's why you
should ask before helping, so that you know if your help can be
appreciated or not." Hermione tried to say, understanding that the
concept of help being bad could be hard to grasp.
"Help bad. Help good. Shimmer ask?" He continued.
"Yes. It will help you understand people." She said as she started walking
toward the Gryffindor tower to get her class books.
Shimmer was stuck for a few seconds, trying to get his head around what
Hermione just explained, with some difficulties.
"Shimmer? Are you coming?" She called for him after a few seconds.
"Humans hard understand." He said this to himself before flying after her.
"So we won't see Norberta again?" Asked Neville as he took a plate full of
mash potato and a slice of ham.
"No, she will leave tomorrow for a dragon reserve, in Romania,
apparently." Replied Hermione.
"Really?! My brother works there!" Exclaimed Ron, devouring a steak
with terrifying efficiency.
"Please don't speak while you're eating, it's disgusting." Said Hermione as
she looked away, only to see Shimmer crunching on a bone. And once
again, she was surprised to see that Shimmer was the less messy eater of
the two.
"What about Shimmer? They won't take him, right?" Asked Neville.
"No! Shimmer not go no coins!" Shimmer snarled, scaring a few of the
other students sitting around.
"Huh... what did he say?"
"He doesn't want to leave because there are no coins in the dragon
reserve. And no, Professor Dumbledore said that Shimmer didn't have to
go since he can be reasoned with." Translated Hermione as she planted
her fork into a slice of potato.
"Oh."
A loud snarl from Shimmer interrupted them, and they were surprised to
see Shimmer snarling at Hermione and Neville. And Ron, who was sitting
on the other side of the table, looked up before scowling.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" He asked.
Turning around so fast that they might have broken their neck, Hermione
and Neville finally noticed Draco and his two bodyguards standing right
there, with the blond boy wearing a satisfied smirk on his lips.
"I just wanted to see your dear dragon for the last time, since it will be
removed soon." Draco said, his voice filled with mirth.
"What are you talking about?" Asked Hermione.
"Silence, mudblood. I am not talking to you." He sneered for a moment,
glaring at Hermione who looked about to burst into tears, before focusing
on Ron. "And I'm saying that I sent a letter to my father about what
you're doing here. He will be calling for the removing of this illegal
dragon breeding grounds."
"Breeding grounds?" Repeated Ron incredulous.
"Indeed, Weasley. I saw how you and Hagrid started hatching dragon
eggs, which is highly illegal. My father will soon have both the aurors
and the Department of Magical Creature Regulation on you." He added in
his very pompous way, gathering many glares from the Gryffindors
around the table. The other students may not know what this was all
about, but they weren't happy to have the Slytherin boy parade like this
so close to them.
But no matter who might have answered him, or the words that might
have been spoken, the very loud growl that Shimmer gave at him made it
extremely clear that he wasn't appreciating his presence.
"Rein your dragon, mudblood. Or else he might have to be removed
definitely." Sneered Draco, even though it was clear from his posture and
tone that he wasn't as sure of himself as he had been barely a few
seconds ago.
Hermione's sob broke through the tension in the air and from the way
that Shimmer was standing up, read to pounce, it was clear that Draco
wouldn't escape unarmed.
"Shimmer kill bad boy." Growled Shimmer ever harder.
Draco took a sudden step back, finally understanding the danger he was
in.
But before anything could happen, a boom echoed in the hall, taking
everyone by surprise, with many students shouting in fear and ducking at
the sound that was similar to thunder. Shimmer too was taken by
surprise, and he whirled around only to find Professor Snape standing
close to their table, wand out.
"What is going on here?" Asked a very irate Snape coldly.
"Professor Snape, I was just reminding them that their dragon would be-"
Started Draco.
"This wouldn't have angered Shimmer that much. And I recall telling you
to never antagonise him again. Was I not clear the first time?" Towered
Snape as he walked up to them.
"No- I- yes, sir." Stammered Draco.
"I see. Go back to your seat, mister Malfoy."
With but a glance at the Gryffindor, Draco turned around and went back
to the Slytherin table, silent and ignoring the glares from his own table.
"Now, I trust Shimmer wasn't about to act on his words?" Asked Snape
toward the golden dragon.
"Bad boys!" Snarled Shimmer, glaring at Draco.
"Mister Malfoy has indeed been a rather constant source of worry
recently, but calling someone names isn't worth death." Snape glared at
Shimmer, which didn't do anything to him.
"Sir, m-may I?" Asked Hermione, still a bit emotive but not wanting to
see Shimmer reprimanded or punished.
"Go ahead, miss Granger."
"Thank you for standing up to me, Shimmer, but I don't want you to harm
them." Told Hermione after taking a big breath.
Shimmer only growled in reply, before lying down again, still glaring at
Draco.
"That will be enough. Now, would you please explain what prompted all
of this?" Asked Snape, satisfied with not having to humiliate his own
house further and stopping the probable rampage that would have
ensued if he hadn't intervened to stop Shimmer.
"Draco came to us, saying that Norberta and Shimmer would be removed
from the school by his father." Replied Hermione, trying to avoid the
teacher's gaze.
"Did he now? Well, I suppose a rectification is in order." Replied Snape
before walking to the teacher's table, only to turn toward the students.
"Children, since the Headmaster decided not to disclose it, it is my duty
to inform you that a second dragon has been found on Hogwarts's
grounds. Unlike Shimmer, it is unable to talk and hasn't shown any
unusual behaviour. The Romanian Dragon Reserve has been called, and
they will take away this dragon tomorrow morning. However, the
Headmaster also decided to keep Shimmer around as he can be reasoned
with, in addition to Shimmer's own displeasure of leaving." Explained
Snape as he glared at everyone in the room, before focusing a little bit
longer on Draco. "I would also like to recall you all to not anger
Shimmer, for only a teacher could save you from him."
With that said, Snape took his seat at the teacher's table, keeping an eye
on the students in the hall, who all went into furious whispers.
"What say?" Asked Shimmer, having heard too many words for him to
process everything.
"Nothing bad Shimmer, only good things." Assured Hermione calmly,
petting his head.
That's all that mattered to Shimmer right now. In addition to glaring at
the bad boys.
"I hope nothing bad will happen with Draco's dad." Mumbled Neville.
"Why?" Asked Hermione.
"His father, Lucius Malfoy, used to be a follower of You-Know-Who, and
he still has a lot of power at the Wizengamot. And he'll use anything to
take down Dumbledore. Like a dragon inside his precious son's school."
Replied Ron, frowning. "I actually thought we would hear about him
when Draco was bitten on the train."
"Is he dangerous for Shimmer?" Continued Hermione, now looking
worriedly at Shimmer.
"Very. I'm sure he'll at least try something to get Shimmer out of
Hogwarts. Or, he could just say that Shimmer is too dangerous, ask his
supporters to agree with him, and have him condemned to death on the
grounds of being a dangerous dark creature." Explained Ron.
"That's horrible!"
By now, Hermione was almost hugging Shimmer, much to the dragon's
dismay.
"Yeah." Simply added Ron.
Their talks continued on the same track for a few minutes before they
had to go to their afternoon's classes.
The next morning, Hermione was up early and quickly prepared herself
for what would take place soon. Norberta would be given to the dragon
handler's, who would bring her to the reserve. She knew that Hagrid
would most certainly cry heavy tears, but she knew it was too dangerous
to have her around any longer.
In a way, she felt lucky that Shimmer was so smart and sapient, since it
was saving him the same fate. But now she was also aware that he was in
danger of suffering the same fate, or worse. It was a very concerning
thought for the small, bushy brown hair girl, to know that her best friend
might be taken away or killed if Draco's father decided to act against
Shimmer. She was hoping that Dumbledore wouldn't let that happen.
But right now, she was making her way to the common room of the
Gryffindor tower and found only Neville waiting for her.
"Good morning Neville." She greeted him.
"Good morning." He replied with a yawn.
"Where's Ron?"
"I tried to wake him up, but he says it's too early." Shrugged
apologetically Neville.
"Oh." She simply replied, quickly putting it aside. "Well, we should go.
The dragon handlers won't wait for us otherwise."
They started to leave, opening the fat lady's door, that they were stopped
by a small, quick shout.
"Wait!"
They both turned around to find Ron, precipitately putting on his robes,
rushing toward them.
"I forgot that Charlie would be here today." Ron said as he reached them.
"That's all it took to get you out of bed?" Asked Neville surprised.
"Well, yeah, he's my brother. We don't get to see him often, since he's in
Romania most of the time."
"Thanks for joining us, Ron, but could we please go now? I don't want to
be late." Interrupted then Hermione, frowning slightly.
"Sure." Shrugged Ron.
The trio reunited, they quickly made their way to the Great Hall, quite
empty that early in the morning. A couple of older students were already
there, along with Professor Pomona Sprout watching over them all.
Pressed by Hermione, breakfast was a quick affair much to Ron's dismay,
all three of them talking about what might happen to Norberta and how
the dragon handlers would react to Shimmer, and she took the two boys
with her to go to Hagrid's hut.
They reached the half-giant's hut not long after and knocked on the door,
only to be greeted by a Hagrid with slightly red eyes.
"Good morning, please, come in." He welcomed them, missing some of his
usual jolliness.
"Thank you, Hagrid." "Hi." Politely replied Neville and Hermione, Ron
only giving a smaller, shorter greeting.
"How are you doing?" Asked Neville.
"Am' alright. I know it's better for her this way, but... I still want to keep
her with me." Replied Hagrid as he sank into his large couch.
"Where is Norberta?" Asked Hermione.
"Asleep in my shed. Professor Dumbledore said it would be safer that
way." He explained, not without pain.
"I'm sorry Hagrid." Sympathized Hermione.
"We know that you like Norberta a lot." Continued Neville.
"At least Shimmer will still be here." Added Ron, instantly getting a glare
from Hermione and making Hagrid frown a bit.
"Ron!" Hermione admonished him.
"What? It's true." Replied the young boy, not getting what he said that
angered her so much.
"Shimmer is why Norberta has to leave." She explained curtly.
"Ts'alright, Hermione. Even if I don't like what Shimmer did, I can't hate
the little guy. He thought he was doing the right thing." Stopped her
Hagrid, gently placing his large hand on her shoulder.
"I-" She started.
THUNK!
All four of them turned toward the windows, with one of them having a
golden dragon waiting on the other side.
"Speaking of the dragon." Sighed Hermione as she made her way toward
him.
Opening the window, Hermione stepped aside for Shimmer to come in.
"Hello." Greeted them Shimmer, stopping to give a brief nuzzle to
Hermione's hand.
"Good morning Shimmer." She still welcomed him warmly, not managing
to stay mad at him.
"Coin?" Asked Shimmer.
"No. We told you that you wouldn't get any coins before next week."
Reminded him Hermione.
He let out a small whine at that. At least he tried.
"Shimmer? Could you come here, please?" Asked Hagrid.
Not seeing any reason to refuse, Shimmer briefly flapped his wings and
landed on the armrest of Hagrid's chair, looking at the troubled giant.
"Do you know what's happening today?" Continued Hagrid.
"Norberta bye-bye?" He guessed, recalling what they told him yesterday.
"Yes, because of you. I'm not saying that it's what you wanted, but it's still
your fault. Do you understand what I'm saying?" Hagrid really tried to
press, wanting to make sure Shimmer understood his mistake.
"Shimmer not help. Ask." Shimmer replied with confidently.
"What? No, no." Stopped him Hagrid.
"Sorry Hagrid, what Shimmer means is that he'll ask before helping, right,
Shimmer?" Intervened Hermione, seeing the misunderstanding.
"Yes. Shimmer ask. Shimmer help." Replied the little dragon, not knowing
what he said that was unclear.
"Oh. That's good." Sighed Hagrid before focusing again on Hermione.
"That's probably the best we'll get, ain't it?"
"Yes." Agreed Hermione
A few knocks on the door stopped them from restarting the conversation.
Hagrid stood up, letting Shimmer jump from the armrest to the table, and
went to open the door, which revealed a happy Professor Dumbledore
and an ever stern-looking Professor Snape.
"Good morning Hagrid. And you as well, children. I wasn't expecting you
to be ready so soon." Greeted Dumbledore.
"Dumb door! Shimmer is!" Squawked angrily Shimmer.
"My bad, dear Shimmer. Good morning to you, too." Continued
Dumbledore, still smiling, not disturbed in the least by Shimmer's small
outburst.
"Good morning, Professor Dumbledore. Good morning, professor Snape."
Said all three children dutifully.
"Good morning Professors. Please, come in." Waved them Hagrid.
"Thank you, old friend." Replied Dumbledore as he and Professor Snape
stepped in, with the potion teacher closing the door behind him.
"Now, I trust that Norberta is ready to leave?" Continued the old
headmaster.
"She's sleeping in my shed, just like you said." Assured Hagrid, losing a
bit of his happiness.
"Again, I'm sorry for you. I know how much she means to you."
"I brought a few Sleeping Draughts, in case the handlers needs it." Added
Snape.
"I- thank you, Severus." Said Hagrid as he returned to his sofa chair.
"Good, good. Then we only have to wait." Cheerfully said Dumbledore as
he sat on one of the chairs available for guests.
They made small talks for a few minutes, the three students a little less
than the adults as they were careful of what they said in front of
Professor Snape, that looked like he would scowl at them for any reason.
Hermione kept close to Shimmer, petting him gently as he simply
enjoyed it.
Soon though, Dumbledore's head stood up sharply as a smile returned to
his lips.
"I can feel Hogwarts' wards warning me of an incoming group. It appears
that our handlers have arrived." He explained.
They quickly filled out the small cottage, with Hagrid grabbing his large
coat before leaving, and watched as a team of four wizards flew in the
air, flying above their heads at high speed before landing right in front of
the small group.
Three of them were completely unknown to them, but one with very
recognizable red hair was instantly called out.
"Charlie!" Shouted Ron.
"Hey, Ron!" Grinned the now identified Charlie, who was coming toward
them quickly before stopping at the sight of Shimmer hovering above the
little group. "Is that the dragon you want us to take?" He asked more
seriously.
The angry squawk of indignation that Shimmer gave him instantly
prompted him to take out his wand. Shimmer would never go to a place
where there were no coins.
The other dragon handlers were on their guards as well, wands out,
which was quite normal since dragons were not known to be the friendly
type.
"Ah, mister Weasley! Good to see you again." Welcomed them
Dumbledore, a hand in the air as a sign to be peaceful, wanting to disarm
the situation quickly. "And I'm afraid there is a small confusion. This
dragon is Shimmer, and he will be staying at Hogwarts in the foreseeable
future."
"Really?" Asked Charlie, eyebrows raised high at the headmaster's
declaration. The surprise of allowing a dragon on Hogwarts' grounds was
something he would have liked to have years ago. "Could you tell us
what kind of dragon he is? I don't recall ever seeing this species of
dragon before."
"That can wait. We're here to secure a dragon, aren't we?" Intervened
another dragon handler, who spoke with a heavy Romanian accent.
"Oh, sorry. Headmaster, Professor Snape, Hagrid, let me introduce you to
my colleagues. This is Anton Nedelcu," He started, pointing at the man
who just spoke. "Next you have Doina Silaghi and finally Liviu Enescu.
Both of them only speaks Romanian." He finished, pointing at the only
female handler and then to another man slightly older than the rest.
The three either nodded or waved as they recognised their names, before
Charlie turned toward Dumbledore again.
"And Anton's right. We'd rather secure the other dragon first if that's not
an issue."
"Of course. Hagrid?" Called Dumbledore.
"Yes sir." Sighed Hagrid as he started to walk toward his shed. "She's
sleeping right there."
"Sedated?" Asked Charlie as he and his team followed the half-giant.
"No, I just put her to bed last night."
"And it's a female Norwegian Ridgeback, not a month old yet, correct?"
Continued Charlie.
"That she is." Hagrid stopped right before the door. "You won't hurt her,
right?" He asked.
"Of course not. We're here to take care of her. You have my word that
she'll fit right in at the reserve. Plenty of other dragons, food and
territory in abundance." Smiled Charlie as he tried to cheer up Hagrid.
"Alright. Ya ready?"
"A moment." Stopped Charlie, turning to his teammates. "Ești Gata?" He
asked, getting three nods in return as well as raised wands. "We're ready."
With a last small sigh, stopping a moment in doubt with the handle in
hand, Hagrid finally made his decision and opened the shed.
A small squeak came out, and the four dragon handlers stood ready,
watching Norberta slowly coming out of the shed, giving careful glances
at all the surrounding humans. Shimmer could understand her wariness,
he would be quite angry should any human come to wake him up in his
nest.
With just a flick of their wands, ropes gathered in a flash around
Norberta and immobilised her in a matter of seconds, bounding her
wings to her back and her legs together. A third rope took care of her
muzzle just as she had started to open it, and lastly a blindfold covered
her eyes, cutting out her sight.
It left for a very angry dragon furiously shacking on the ground, trashing
around and growling loudly despite the rope tightened around her
muzzle.
"Perfect!" Exclaimed Charlie, happily lowering his wand as his teammates
walked to stand next to Norberta, casting a few other spells on her.
On the other hand, Hagrid was watching with a heavy heart as he took a
small step toward Norberta, only to force himself to stop. As sad and
guilty as he was, he knew it was better like this.
"What are they doing?" Asked Hermione, watching the spells flying from
the handler's wands to Norberta.
"Casting a few scanning spells, to give us an idea of her health and a few
other information like that." He replied. A few words spoken by Doina
distracted him for a second before he looked again at Hagrid, translating
his colleague's question. "Was she hurt? Her right wing show signs of
being mended recently."
"A most unfortunate incident, of which we sadly do not have much
information." Started Dumbledore. "Our young friend Shimmer took her
to the nearby woods, wanting to help her learn how to fly. It somehow
ended up with her breaking her wing, and Shimmer carrying her back to
us."
"That's a lot of information. How do you know so much? Was someone
watching over them?" Anton asked impressed.
"No, Shimmer went against Hagrid's wishes of letting Norberta grow by
herself." Added the old wizard.
"I can't help but wonder what species of dragon he belongs to, I can't
recall ever seeing one like him before." Continued Charlie, staring at
Shimmer in an attempt to identify what species he belonged to.
"We were hoping that you knew." Said Hermione, a bit disappointed as
she had been quite eager to know too.
"There is something about Shimmer that makes him quite different from
any other breed of dragon." Added Dumbledore, who's eyes were
twinkling as a mirthful smile appeared on his lips.
"And that is?" Asked Charlie, recognising the face the old headmaster had
whenever he knew something that you didn't and was definitely amused
of what your reaction would be.
"Miss Granger? If you could do us the honour?" Asked Dumbledore.
"I- of course." Assured Hermione, briefly taken by surprise but recovering
quickly. "Shimmer? Can you say hello?"
"Hello." He repeated.
Four gobsmacked expression, a dropped wand, and a gapping Charlie
were the result of that simple word. Shimmer didn't know how saying
hello could have them react like that, but he found it funny.
"I- did he?" Stammered Charlie.
"Dragonul a vorbit!" Nearly shouted Anton, switching back to his native
language.
"Indeed." Confirmed Dumbledore. "And make no mistake, Shimmer is no
parrot. He is completely sapient and can answer various questions, even
if miss Granger is still teaching him how to talk."
"Y-you taught him how to talk?!" Charlie asked, incredulous.
"I- it took some time, and he still makes lots of mistakes, but he is starting
to be good enough for small conversations." She explained, blushing a bit
as she was the centre of attention.
"Shimmer good dragon." Confirmed Shimmer, further impressing and
shocking the dragon handlers.
"Merlin..."
"We wanted to profit of you being here to confirm a few things about
Shimmer. That is, if you have the time?" Said Dumbledore, still smiling
brightly.
"If- of course! I have so many questions!" He exclaimed just as the
Romanian handlers started to talk between themselves, just as frantically
as Charlie. They said a few things, and seeing how Charlie frowned, it
wasn't what he wanted to hear. "Ugh, right. We can stay a couple of
minutes, but we will have to leave soon. Picking up Norberta is already
messing up a bit with our schedule, and we have other dragons that
needs to be checked on."
"You are welcome to come back anytime to study him. As long as miss
Granger doesn't have to miss classes." Quickly added Dumbledore.
"Of course." Promptly swore Charlie.
"Perfect! Then, perhaps you can guess how Norberta ended up injured? I
have the feeling you have a few ideas of your own."
"You said he took her out to teach her how to fly? Correct?" Asked
Charlie, giving a brief glance at Norberta who was still under the careful
watch of two of the handlers.
"That's what he said." Replied Hermione.
"It does match some dragon's behaviour, though, not exactly like this.
First, Shimmer is a male, right?"
"Yes."
"Then it doesn't fit most dragon species. The female is the one to take
care of the hatchlings, including teaching them how to fly."
"What does that mean?" Asked Ron.
"Not much, just that he has different instincts than most dragons. The
Peruvian Vipertooth is a good example. It's actually a pretty small breed
of dragon, like Shimmer. Does he have venom?" Continued Charlie,
summoning a feather and a quill that started to take notes by itself.
"Huh... no, I don't think so." Replied Hermione, unsure, as she never tried
to find out if Shimmer had venom.
"May I have a look at his teeth?"
"You need to ask Shimmer." She replied, pointing at Shimmer who was
still hovering in the air and watching the humans speak with curiosity,
wondering what this was all about as well as being confused by the
unknown words being used.
"I- right. That's going to take some time to get used to." Started Charlie
before looking straight at Shimmer, a bit confused about what to do.
"Shimmer, could I have a look at your teeth?"
Shimmer simply looked back at him, a bit confused about the question.
He knew what teeth were, but he didn't understand why that human that
looked a lot like the smaller red-headed one wanted to look at his teeth.
Why would you look at teeth? Was he wishing to be bitten?
"Shimmer not understand. Why?" He asked, flying to Hermione and about
to land on her shoulder.
"No, Shimmer, you can't sit on my shoulders. You're too heavy. And
Charlie only wants to see if you have venom." Said Hermione as she
pushed him away.
With a bit of frustration, he left Hermione alone and took everyone by
surprise by attempting to sit on Professor Snape's shoulder, who glared at
the little dragon. And cast a small Flipendo that sent Shimmer backward,
squawking angrily.
"I am not a piece of furniture for you to stay on." Coldly warned Snape.
"Come here, Shimmer." Invited him Dumbledore, patting his own
shoulder.
Finally being offered a perch, Shimmer flew to the headmaster and dug
his talons a little in the thick robes, not harming the old man but
definitely adding quite a weight on his back.
"What venom?" Shimmer asked as soon as he was comfortably resting on
Dumbledore's shoulders, much to the continuous shock of the dragon
handlers.
"Venom is something that snakes have, it kills their preys quickly and is
located in their fangs." Explained Dumbledore.
"Shimmer venom?" He asked in surprise.
"That's what mister Weasley wants to find out."
"Okay." Agreed Shimmer, opening his maw wide, eager to know if he
could have a new way to kill prey.
"Good." Said Charlie, both for Shimmer and for himself.
Stepping closer, Charlie warily got in reach of Shimmer's teeth and
started looking at the teeth. And it barely took a few seconds for him to
recognise the teeth, or rather, recognising if these teeth were poisonous
or not.
"No risk of being poisoned here." Declared Charlie slightly relieved.
"Shimmer no venom?" Asked Shimmer disappointed.
"No. May I have a look at you? I don't think I've ever seen a dragon
smaller than you before. Are you an adult?" Charlie continued his
interrogation, even as he kept writing more details about Shimmer's
appearance.
"Shimmer ten." Proudly replied Shimmer.
"Strange. Most dragons of that age are already adult since a couple of
years already. He still has a young body, the way his horns grow
indicates that he hasn't finished growing, his body mass isn't fully
developed either. That's both very confusing and very exciting."
"Can you guess how much bigger he will get?" Asked Dumbledore.
"Hard to estimate without any scale of time, but not that much. Perhaps
he'll gain another meter in length." Vaguely replied Charlie.
"How does he talk? Why is he so smart?" Asked Anton, far more
preoccupied with this aspect of Shimmer than his biology.
"Shimmer smart!" Affirmed Shimmer.
"Yes you are." Instantly replied Hermione. "And I don't think we've found
an explanation of why he's so smart, but I'm still teaching him how to
speak."
"Right. And where does he come from?" Continued Charlie.
"I don't know." Realised Hermione. "Shimmer, where do you come from?"
Shimmer frowned a bit, not understanding what she was talking about.
"Not understand."
"Hmm... You live here now, where were you living before?" She tried to
explain.
"Shimmer live big human nest. Many, many humans. Many car." He
replied, recalling his life in the small forest in the heart of London.
"In a muggle city?" Guessed Dumbledore.
"Then it's a miracle he's never been discovered before. Most dragons have
a passive magic that makes them hard to detect by muggles, but it isn't
perfect." Stated Charlie.
"Ah!" Recalled Hermione, shouting for a moment before quickly calming
down. "Shimmer also reacts strangely to magic. Do you know why?"
"Dragons are naturally resistant to magic. Some spells simply do not work
on them. It doesn't help that the bigger and older they are, the more
resistant they'll get." Expertly explained Anton.
"Indeed, but miss Granger was referring to another unique ability of our
dear Shimmer. Have you ever heard of a dragon capable of eating
magic?" Asked Dumbledore, who was genuinely without answer on this
particular point.
"Eating magic?" Frowned Charlie, staring again at Shimmer, who was
trying to follow the conversation. "How so?"
"If someone cast a direct spell at him, he sometimes eats it." Described
Hermione.
"It doesn't ring a bell." Mumbled Charlie, looking at Anton who shook his
head in answer, lost too. "Can he show us how he does it?"
"We never tried, but it shouldn't be too hard." She almost shrugged.
"Shimmer, could you please stand over there?" Asked Dumbledore,
pointing at the grass next to him.
"No." Instantly replied Shimmer, taking them all by surprise.
"No? Why?" Questioned Hermione.
"Shimmer not go no coin." He replied, glaring at Hermione and
Dumbledore, even if he was on the latter's shoulder.
"Is there a problem?" Asked Anton.
"Urgh! You're still stuck on that." Groaned Hermione. "It's only until next
week, Shimmer. You will get coins after."
"What's this about coins?"
"He likes everything precious, much like dragons in muggles books."
Answered Dumbledore.
"Really? Do you want coins now?" Asked Charlie, amused by the
comparison and how ludicrous it sounded. Sure, a few dragons liked
shiny things, but it was always an unusual behaviour not repeated by the
rest of their species.
"Yes! No! Shimmer want coins. Reserve no coins. Shimmer not want go
reserve." Angrily replied Shimmer, glaring at the dragon handlers.
"You're not going with them, we just want to make you eat magic."
Chided Hermione.
"Shimmer not go no coin?" He truly wanted to be certain.
"No."
"Good. Shimmer like eat magic." Shimmer added, jumping from
Dumbledore's shoulder to gently land on the ground.
"May I?" Asked Charlie, taking his wand out.
"Go ahead, mister Weasley. A simple stupefy charm would probably be
enough and won't harm him should it affect him." Agreed Dumbledore,
taking a step away from Shimmer.
Wand raised, Charlie stared at Shimmer who was expectantly waiting for
the magic, licking his chops. Shimmer really liked its taste, strong and
slightly sweet with some slight variations that he couldn't explain. Some
magic tasted different from others.
"Stupefy!" Cast Charlie, waving his wand with the correct motions,
sending a red wine coloured shot of magic straight at Shimmer.
Reacting with lots of skills and instincts, Shimmer almost instantly placed
his head in the path of the spell and opened his mouth, eating the spell in
but a moment. Appreciating the tingle that ran in his mouth, a light taste
of something akin to spices but not too strong. It also filled him up a bit,
not in a hungry way, but something slightly different. He stared at
Charlie some more, waiting for another.
At the same time, Charlie and most of those who watched this happen,
were processing this nearly unbelievable sight. It made Shimmer appear
even more dangerous to some, as it would make it far harder to cast
spells on him if he could simply eat them in mid-air. But to others, it also
made him an incredible creature that they couldn't wait to figure out.
"Is good. Again." Asked Shimmer.
"Stupefy." Cast again Charlie, not really knowing what to do beside trying
to please the dragon.
With as much dexterity, he gobbled the red spell with a snap of his jaw,
happily absorbing the magic. It also filled him up further, so much so
that he felt the magic coursing through him and an undesired sensation
of being too full.
"Stupefy." Unexpectedly continued Charlie, taking Shimmer by surprise.
He still had the same reaction, and ate it all the same, but it was a bit too
much magic for him. Where he felt full just a few seconds ago, he felt
almost bloated and about to explode, along with a small sensation of
lightheadedness. He didn't understand why though, feeling a bit sick.
Tilting his head to the side, he felt his stomach rebel and started retching,
gagging for a few seconds before vomiting on the grass.
"Eww! Shimmer, that's disgusting!" She complained, looking away from
the gross gooey mess.
"What's that?" Asked Ron, far less disturbed and rather curious of the
shiny, slimy pile of blue goo that Shimmer just threw up.
"Do not. Touch that. Mister Weasley." Instantly warned Snape, already
using his wand to gather the liquid in a flask. He even had to take a
second one to get everything, but once it was safely gathered inside the
vials, he gave it a good look.
"How strange." Mused Dumbledore.
"Do you know what this is, headmaster?" Asked the potion teacher.
"Not at all. I'm afraid that I've never seen such a thing before. And yet, I
can feel some powerful magic in this."
"Ruugh." Groaned Shimmer, shacking his head before focusing on what
just happened. And the first thing he noticed was that the feeling of being
full vanished, leaving him just as he had been before eating the magic,
with a slightly upset stomach in addition. "Where magic?" He asked.
"Headmaster." Called Snape, flicking his wand at the blue stuff. "I believe
that your statement is incorrect about magic being in this goo. This is
magic, only that it isn't around us like usual but rather somewhat
solidified."
This brought down an absolute silence on the group, most simply
freezing at this revelation. Only Ron, Shimmer, and the two handlers who
didn't speak English didn't understand what this was about or didn't
understand the implications.
"That's impossible!" Nearly shouted Hermione, frantically looking
between the vials of blue magic and Shimmer. "The book of Magic,
Environments, and Planes states that magic cannot take a physical form."
She recited perfectly.
"Magic?" Asked Shimmer, looking at the vials.
"Another mystery to add to Shimmer's unique nature." Sighed
Dumbledore with a soft smile. "How are you feeling, Shimmer?"
"Shimmer good. Good magic. Like. Big big magic, not like." He tried to
explain, not really disgusted by what just happened. He could feel just
how much magic was gathered in the greasy human's hands, and it made
him hungry again. Even though he now knew he couldn't eat as much
magic as he wanted.
"That's relieving to hear." Agreed Hermione.
"I'm so confused." Said Charlie, just as lost as the other dragon handlers,
who couldn't understand how the little dragon before them did so many
incredible or even impossible things.
"You're not the only one." Added Ron.
"Charlie, we have to go. We're already starting to be a little late." Called
Anton.
"Ah bollocks." Swore Charlie, shacking his head for a second. "Sorry, but
it looks like we have to go. I'd love to give Shimmer a full examination,
but it will have to wait."
"As I said earlier, you're more than welcome to come back to talk with
Shimmer." Reminded the headmaster.
"Thank you. We'll be sure to come back with a whole team. This is
ground-breaking, it might change how we understand dragons as a
whole!" He got excited again.
"That it is."
The other dragon handlers used their wands together and summoned a
rather large metallic box, in which they levitated Norberta inside. The
green dragon was still angrily trying to get out of her bonds, but there
was nothing she could have done as the lid of the box closed above her.
"My sweet Norberta." Cried a bit Hagrid, reminding the others that it
wasn't a happy moment for everyone.
"We'll take good care of her, Hagrid. As soon as she will be settled in, I'll
send you an owl so that you can come see her. Alright?" Offered Charlie.
"You're a good lad." Replied Hagrid as he stepped forward and trapped
Charlie in a near literal bear-hug, with the Weasley boy tapping his back
in reply as he endured the hug until he was released.
"Bye-bye Norberta." Added Shimmer, understanding that it was the thing
to say.
"Before we leave, would it be safe to pet Shimmer? We don't really get
the chance to pet dragons when they're not sedated." Asked Charlie
hopeful.
"Shimmer like. Good." Said Shimmer before anyone else could reply.
"Well, here I go."
Crouching down to be at Shimmer's height, Charlie very cautiously
brought his hand above Shimmer's head, who was waiting for it. Then it
made contact, and the hand slowly brushed against his scales. A small
smile graced Charlie's lips, aware of the chance he had right now, and he
gave a brief look at the other dragon handlers.
In a few seconds, it wasn't just one but four hands that fought to pet
Shimmer's head and back. And while Shimmer preened at being the
centre of attention, he didn't really like being touched so much.
"Stop." He warned, not ready to attack but a bit wary.
And then the four hands simply pulled back, giving him the space needed
to take flight. He almost went for Dumbledore but since Hagrid was
closer, in addition to having broader shoulders, he settled for the half-
giant. Perched there, he had a very nice view of everyone.
He didn't notice, but Hagrid wasn't frowning at him any more. Instead, he
was pleased to know the little dragon trusted him enough to think of him
as a suitable perch.
"I guess we will be on our way. I will have a formal request sent to you as
soon as possible." Continued Charlie, looking at the headmaster.
"Very well." Agreed the headmaster.
"And I will make sure to have a report for you about this... magic goo."
Added Snape, very interested in the blue stuff and all the possible tests
and uses that came to his mind.
"That would be nice, Professor Snape." Respectfully replied Charlie,
before turning to the rest of the group. "Thank you all for your warm
welcome, we will send news of Norberta shortly."
With that said, the four dragon handlers climbed on their brooms and
used their wands once more to summon ropes that tied themselves
around the box and linked to their brooms. With a small, coordinated
jump, the box was smoothly lifted in the air.
"Bye Charlie!" Waved Ron with a big smile.
"Goodbye Norberta! Daddy will come see you soon!" Shouted Hagrid,
bringing his large hands to his mouth, too loudly for Shimmer's taste who
gave an angry squawk, using his wings so stabilise himself.
Above the waving hands of the children, Hagrid and Dumbledore, the
four dragon handlers started to fly in formation, doing a large turn in the
air with the box barely shacking thanks to their coordination. In a few
seconds, the handlers and their charge disappeared above the tree line,
on their way back to Romania.
Hagrid kept looking at the sky a little longer, with sorrowful eyes, as he
was already missing Norberta's presence. He was still seeing her being
gagged and roped, taken away from him. He had wanted a dragon for so
very long, he had one for a few days, and now she was already gone.
A little shift from Shimmer brought Hagrid back to the present, and a
small smile appeared on his lips, simply happy to have Shimmer standing
so close to him. He was no Norberta, he couldn't replace her, but he
would never be able to stay mad at such a wonderful creature. He also
knew that, despite being far smarter than other dragons, Shimmer wasn't
wise or capable of thinking like a human. Shimmer thought he was doing
the right thing, not that he was wrong, but he went against Hagrid's
command of leaving Norberta's education to him. That was something he
could work on, help the dragon grow and understand that other's wishes
and needs had to be respected.
It made sense, after all, since Shimmer appeared to have lived his whole
life alone. How could he know how to respect others, when he simply
followed his instincts of being a predator. He never had any reason to
care about anyone else before.
"Shimmer." Called Hagrid.
"Yes?" Replied Shimmer, angling his long neck toward Hagrid's face.
"I would like you to stay with me today. I think there are a few things
that I could teach you." Offered Hagrid.
"Meat?" Asked Shimmer.
"Of course." Grinned Hagrid.
"Then I believe we all have activities to resume. Miss Granger, mister
Weasley, I believe your next class should begin shortly." Gently nudged
Dumbledore.
"Of course, Professor." Nodded Hermione, walking up to Hagrid and then
looking up at Shimmer. "Have a good day, Shimmer. Be nice with
Hagrid."
"Shimmer good dragon." Reminded her Shimmer.
"That you are." She fondly agreed, trying to reach up to him but falling
up short. Much to Shimmer's amusement.
"Thank you, Hermione. You're a very special girl." Thanked Hagrid,
bending down so that she could pet Shimmer's head, which she quickly
did.
With a last look at the half-giant and the dragon on his shoulder,
Hermione, Ron, and Neville, that remained silent during the whole
encounter, returned to the school to get their books for their first class of
the day.
Snape pocketed the vials into his robes, eager to experiment with them.
"I have students that await for me, too." Said Snape.
"I'm coming Severus. Are you alright, old friend?" Asked Dumbledore,
turning to face Hagrid.
"Still hurts a bit, but I think I'll be alright. And I have a few ideas for our
little friend." Smiled brightly Hagrid in reply.
"Good. Then I'll see you for lunch. Have a good day."
Dumbledore and Snape walked back to toward the castle, starting a new
conversation about the vials filled with magic, leaving Shimmer and
Hagrid alone in front of the man's hut.
"So? Want to have a second breakfast?" Invited Hagrid.
"Meat!" Agreed Shimmer.
"I hear ya, I hear ya. And I have a few things to teach you." Smiled
Hagrid, walking back to his house.
"Meat first?" Still asked Shimmer, enjoying the balancing movement on
Hagrid's shoulder.
"Yes."
AN:
Hi! Valexto at the Keyboard!
Thank you for waiting. As you can see, that chapter is quite heavier than
usual and took me more time to write. It sort of closes the Norberta
phase, and we will be going back to the Voldemort issues shortly.
Shimmer don't know it yet, but I'm certain that he won't enjoy the
examination the dragon handlers will give him in the future.
Just a little question: I've noticed far fewer views/reviews in the last
weeks. I, for some reason, can't see any notifications on my email despite
trying to reconnect Fanfiction with it, meaning that I don't know when
new chapters are out. Are you having the same issues?
I also found a spell checking app, so this chapter should be cleaner than
the previous ones. Tell me if it worked.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
See you soon!
21. Chapter 21
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!
22. Chapter 22
I do not own nor possess any right over Harry Potter, all rights belongs to
J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 22
Well, that night proved to be both enlightening and boring.
Shimmer and Hagrid, plus Fang, who kept whimpering the whole time
and tried to turn back at every sound, spent the night patrolling the
forest in search of the creature killing unicorns.
The night was boring because pretty much nothing happened. They
walked around, Hagrid kept telling Shimmer a few things about the forest
and the creatures within. Some of these, like the centaurs, confused
Shimmer quite a lot, but others simply made him raise a non-existent
eyebrow, like some sort of nasty human butterfly called fairy. They
walked around for hours, stopped whenever they heard a sound,
investigated, and continued when it proved to either be nothing or not
what they were looking for.
But at the same time, and for the same reasons, that night proved to be
very interesting. Shimmer spent a long time avoiding this forest, and the
many, many scents he got only confirmed his will to keep avoiding it.
Some scents were evil and dark, others had the distinct smell of a
predator and some others of preys. It almost overloaded his nose at first,
and it took him a little while to get used to it, but now he could
somewhat tell what scent to ignore and which ones should be pursued.
A few of the creatures they encountered were large wolves, extremely
malnourished horses called thestrals that strangely registered as
predators instead of preys. A very, very large amount of variation of the
same scent, that being of spiders. He wasn't scared of spiders, but the
number of scents told him that there were far more spiders than he
would be willing to go against.
And in the end, when Hagrid called off their patrol, they returned to
Hogwarts with no new information of the creature killing unicorns. And
Hagrid also explained what unicorns were, so at least he would be able to
recognise them later.
It was past midnight when they returned to Hagrid's hut, and Shimmer
got his pay.
Seven sickles for basically nothing? One of the best deal he ever had, and
he only wished for this to go on. Seven sickles per night? He could
already picture what his hoard would look like at this rate.
The next morning, Shimmer arrived in the Great Hall and, as soon as he
landed next to Hermione, realised his mistake.
"Shimmer!" Almost shouted Hermione, grabbing him in a very tight hug,
much to the surprise of those around them.
"No hug! Shimmer not like! Not want no hug!" He struggled, his wings
caught by Hermione and incapable of freeing himself without attacking.
And he didn't want to attack Hermione.
"I was so worried, I almost didn't sleep." She continued.
"Shimmer okay! Hermione Shimmer go!"
"Alright, calm down." Hermione relented, freeing him from her grasp.
Shimmer kept his distances with her arms, glaring at them warily.
"So? How was the Forbidden Forest? Did you see monsters in there?"
Asked Ron.
"Montser?" Repeated Shimmer.
"Monsters. It's very, very bad creatures." Supplied Hermione.
"Oh! Shimmer see horse. Meat hungry horse. Hagrid say horse is the-
stral." Replied Shimmer, trying his best to repeat the new word correctly.
"Thestrals? I read that they could eat humans." Shivered Hermione.
"Bloody hell." Whispered Ron, both amazed and a bit scared. "And they
didn't attack you?"
"No. Thestral know Hagrid. Shimmer and Hagrid look unicorn bad
creature. No see." Continued Shimmer.
"Are you going back there tonight?" Asked Hermione, turning a little
pale.
"Yes!" Exclaimed Shimmer happily. "Hagrid give seven sickles Shimmer.
Shimmer want more. Go again."
"I- well, if everything went well last night, I suppose it would be alright
to continue." Replied Hermione a bit unsure, not wanting Shimmer to put
himself at risk.
"It's great! They'll see more creatures. Did you see something else last
night?" Kept asking Ron.
"Shimmer not see, scent. Bad creature. Many, many, many, many-"
Started Shimmer.
"We get it Shimmer, there was a lot of bad creatures. Do you know which
ones?" Stopped him Hermione, knowing he might go on forever
otherwise.
"Not know name. Many legs. Dangerous."
"Many legs? Like the centaurs?" Tried Neville, who gathered enough
courage to ask his question.
"No. More legs."
"What can have more legs than a centaur?" Wondered Ron aloud.
"I think I know what it is. Acromantulas." Said Hermione, disgusted and
terrified just at the thought.
"A what?" Asked Ron.
"Acromantulas are giant spiders, and I read that there's a whole colony in
the Forbidden Forest."
That left Ron completely terrified, his mouth a bit agape, and looking at
his plate deep in thoughts.
"Giant spiders." Whispered Neville.
"What spider? Many legs?" Asked Shimmer, not at all bothered by the
reactions of the children before him.
"Yes, Shimmer. Spiders are creatures that have eight legs, and there are
many of them in the forest." Replied Hermione, now not really wanting
to let Shimmer go back.
"Shimmer not like many legs. Taste bad."
"These spiders are very big Shimmer. Bigger than Hagrid."
"Big big spider? Shimmer not like." He replied, determined to avoid
following the scent of spiders.
"Good. Do you plan to do anything today?" Asked Hermione.
"Shimmer sleep. Want go forest, sickles."
"I swear, you can make him do anything as long as you have coins."
Nonchalantly said Ron.
"Ron." Said Hermione, mustering some authority in her voice.
"Hey, I wasn't going to do anything." Complained Ron.
"But we can!" Interrupted them a duo of voices behind them.
"They turned around and looked at the two Weasley twins, who stood
right there with a massive grin on their face.
"Can you see it, George?"
"Of course, Fred."
"A dragon that you can recruit?"
"Perhaps to send a package or light a few candles?"
"Or rather create a masterpiece of a prank?"
"To scare a teacher? Or a student?"
"I don't want you to do that with Shimmer, you'll give him bad ideas."
Interrupted them Hermione, frowning at them.
"Ow! It seems our reputation is doing us harm, wouldn't you say,
George?" The one apparently called Fred said.
"Certainly. And we would never do something to harm our dear
Shimmer, simply teach him that there's more to life than words." Replied
George.
Shimmer was a bit unsure about these two humans. He wasn't disturbed
by the idea of a creature existing in many variations, but he never saw
two humans looking exactly the same, and that seemed strange to him.
They also behaved a bit differently, so he was not sure what to expect
from them, but he was a bit wary seeing how Hermione was frowning at
them.
"Cor, can you picture it? My brothers with a dragon." A very pale Ron
said, looking at his brothers.
"Now, now, dear brother. We take a great care to preserve futur partners
in crime, isn't that right George?" Said Fred, not seeing how the three
children before them, as well as many other Gryffindors, suddenly looked
in their direction in silence.
"Absolutely, Fred. A dragon firing above the toilets or perhaps having
him drop stinky bombs in the stairs. The possibilities are endless!"
"I hope for you, Weasleys, that you are not discussing how to weaponise
Shimmer, correct?" Asked a cold voice right behind them.
The two twins exchanged a worried look, before turning around to face
the towering frame of Snape, glaring down at them coldly.
"Professor Snape, you mistake our intentions." Instantly said Fred in a
completely sincere voice.
"Indeed! We were only thinking of teaching Shimmer new things,
different ways to enjoy life." Added George in the exact same voice.
"Would you two appreciate staying with me one hour Saturday morning?
I'm certain that I can find a new way for you to enjoy life." Continued
Snape, glaring down ever more.
"Not at all, professor!" Assured Fred happily.
"We would be delighted." Nodded George.
"My office, Saturday morning. Go back to your seats."
"Yes sir." The two instantly agreed, walking back to their plates.
"And you." Started Snape, turning toward the three children and
Shimmer.
"Hello, Dunderhead." Replied Shimmer.
The whole table, and all those who heard him speak, stood either
completely silent or mouth wide open. None could believe what came out
of Shimmer's mouth. The only ones smiling were the two Weasley twins,
as well as some teachers, including Dumbledore and Minerva, who had a
feeling that Snape should have seen this coming.
"What, did you just say?" Glared Snape, lowering himself just a bit
toward Shimmer.
"Dunderhead? Is name?" Wondered Shimmer, confused.
"Shimmer! You can't say that!" Hermione hurriedly said, having finally
recovered from her shock, embarrassed beyond belief that Shimmer just
called a teacher like that.
"A moment, miss Granger. I'll let you the care of correcting Shimmer
later. My name, Shimmer, is not dunderhead. My name is Severus Snape,
and you would do well to remember it." Strongly said Snape.
"What name is? Severus? Snape?" Continued Shimmer, still confused.
"If you need to use one, call me Professor Snape."
"Shimmer understand. Human name is Snape. Hello Snape." Said
Shimmer, happy to have it right this time.
"Much better." Nodded the stiff professor, right before turning toward
Hermione again. "That will be five points from Gryffindor, miss Granger.
I'd advise you to correct his vocabulary soon, unless you wish to lose
more points."
He didn't let Hermione have the time to reply, turning around and
walking back to the teacher's table, where he was welcomed with many
smirks that he completely ignored. Shimmer looked at him take his seat,
and gave a quick glance at Quirrell, who looked a little weak and sick.
Perhaps his state would finally match his scent?
The poor Hermione, though, stood perfectly still, shocked that she lost
points for this, when it was clearly Professor Snape's fault. And she also
couldn't believe that Shimmer insulted him so casually.
"Shimmer..." She started, looking angrily at the little dragon.
"Shimmer go sleep. Goodbye!" He promptly took off, recognising the look
on her face.
"Shimmer! Come back here, right now!" She almost shouted.
"Bye-bye!" He replied, quickly flying up toward the windows and making
his way to his hoard. He had to rest, after all, he couldn't stay here with
Hermione all day long. It definitely wasn't at all because he didn't want
to hear the many words she would tell him as a lesson.
And, as he flew away, he didn't hear Professor Snape's words.
"Two points for shouting in the hall, miss Granger."
Shimmer was once again flying alongside Hagrid, having just entered the
Forbidden Forest.
Fang, as scared as he was and ready to run away as soon as possible, was
at least helpful in pointing out the direction of the school, doing his best
to turn around. Yet, the large dog could do nothing as Hagrid's grip on
his leash stopped him from leaving.
"Ah swear that a Blast-Ended Skrewt would be enough to scare you."
Grumbled Hagrid a little as he forced Fang to keep going deeper in the
forest.
Shimmer didn't even try to understand what he said, and to be fair the
giant humans often said a lot of weirds words. Which apparently was a
bit of a normal for him.
Tonight the moon was quite bright, and it made their way in the forest
far easier, along with the small lantern that Hagrid carried. Even more
for Shimmer who didn't even had to touch the ground and the many
roots that only waited to trip someone. Hagrid, with his large feet, wasn't
too bothered either.
Their progression was steady, and just like the first night, there was not
that much to do. There were a few dangerous creatures, but they
apparently knew to stay far away from Hagrid. Shimmer mainly watched
them, learned what they were and how dangerous they could be from
Hagrid, and kept looking for their target. And even if they didn't find
anything tonight, he would still get seven sickles. That was the best deal
he ever got.
Their little trek in the forest lasted for a couple of hours, with nothing
fascinating. They had reached a quite deep part of the woods, where the
fog was deeper and the trees closer to each other, reducing their
visibility. With still no sign of the creatures they were tracking, Hagrid
said they would turn back soon, when the sound of cracking branches
and quick, heavy footsteps reached them.
Instantly turning to the right, where he heard the sounds coming from,
Shimmer's eyes quickly scanned the whole area, looking for the source of
the noise. Hagrid stood ready too, crossbow in hands and aiming it
toward the danger. Only Fang reacted badly, scraping at the ground
fiercely, trying to get away as fast as possible. The fog hid whatever it
was, but by the footsteps getting louder, they knew it was coming in their
direction.
In a few seconds, a unicorn appeared through the fog. It would have been
tall and majestic, if not for the fact that it was breathing heavily and
running at full speed, with a bit of shiny silver liquid running down it's
left hind leg. Shimmer, already in the air, had no issue evading it, while
Hagrid was forced to take a few steps back to avoid being hit by the
charging animal. He only got a few seconds to look at it, but Shimmer
knew a terrified and wounded prey when he sees one.
The fleeing unicorn quickly disappeared in the other way, and what was
chasing it followed. A shadow, swirling darkness hiding whatever it was,
pierced through the fog, and promptly stopped upon seeing them.
Shimmer wasted no time, already recognising the shape of the shadow as
being nearly human, meaning it was an easy target. At that moment, he
wasn't thinking like a human, but like wild predator, pouncing first to
take the advantage and looking for the best way to put an end to the
fight as soon as possible.
Rushing toward it, pushing himself with his wings, Shimmer got close
enough to unleash his flames upon their foe.
What was his surprise, when the creature before him raised a hand,
hidden beneath shadow too with a wand in it, and a shield appeared
around it, protecting it from the fire. That brief moment of shock was just
what the shadow needed, and a sudden, invisible push of magic, sent
Shimmer fumbling in the air, before he felt something grab him. He
looked and tried to bite it by reflex, only there was nothing to bite.
Shimmer was dangling in the air, held by his tail by an invisible grasp.
Trapped in the air, there was nothing he could do beside screeching and
trying to get free by shacking himself as much as he could, snarling and
growling at the shadow. It raised its wand again, ready to unleash
another spell, when a massive bolt almost hit the shadow's head, forcing
it to focus on Hagrid, who glared at it with another bolt already in hand.
"Get away from Shimmer!" He shouted, readying his crossbow again.
Free from the magical clutch, Shimmer fell a little in the air before
stabilising himself. Furious at being played like that, he used the
opportunity given by Hagrid, shooting another bolt at the shadow that
was forced to quickly dodge, to rush at it. Taking it by surprise, Shimmer
got in reach of his target and bit as strongly as he could the creature
around where it's arm appeared to be.
It screamed in pain, in a very human way, but also with another voice,
acute and a near screech of pain that didn't felt human. And as he bit it,
Shimmer also got its taste. And what a foul, horrible taste it was. It was a
taste of rotten blood, that belonged in a dead creature, mixed with the
taste of death. There was only one person that he knew with that smell,
and he didn't like him much.
Yet, even though it smelled and tasted like it was dead, the human was
clearly in great pain as he shook his arm, trying to free himself.
"Blast him away! Fool!" Came another voice, angry and raspy.
The wand was aimed at him again, and Shimmer had to let go, flying
away just as a first spell almost hit him.
Another followed, a dark purple one, that Shimmer couldn't dodge.
Opening his mouth, he used his only option available, and ate it. Unlike
the other spells he ate before, this one tasted very, very bad, and the
strength behind it sent Shimmer flying in the air and tumbling on the
ground. He heaved, retched and vomited violently, trying to purge
himself of the horrible spell, letting out a stinky dark goop. Down on the
ground, there wasn't much he could do as he was still trying to remove
all the dark spell, and Hagrid rescued him again from the shadow that
started to advance threateningly toward him.
Not having the time to reload, he threw one of the bolts at the shadow,
hitting it with the shaft of the bolt. And since the bolt was rather large, it
was enough to send the man stumbling a little backward. Shacking his
head a little bit more, and taking a deep breath to both get rid of the
smell in his lungs and to prepare himself, Shimmer jumped in the air and
flew very close to the shadow once more.
That close, the man probably expected him to bite, and he moved his
arms back in precaution. Yet, Shimmer had another idea in mind, and he
blasted the man with his fire at a very close range. The screams and
screech of suffering were terrible. The man waved his arms around in an
attempt to remove the fire from himself, even as his cloak of shadow
started to burn away, revealing a singed red turban and a burned wizard
robes beneath. What looked worse, though, was that the flesh beneath it
looked like ashes, around his stomach, with parts of it already flying
away in the air.
"Quirrell? What are you doing here?" Asked Hagrid, confused, as he
recognised the clothes.
"The stone! We don't have the time! Get... the stone!" Roared the weak
and raspy voice in rage.
With a flick of his wand, water surged from its tip, extinguishing the
flames. Another flick, and both Harry and Shimmer were sent backward.
With another spell fired at them, this one raising a small wall of fire
between them, the man quickly left, stumbling a little and clutching at
his burned chest, toward the castle. He took a few steps before turning
into shadows, moving at great speeds.
Shimmer stared at the shadow for a second, before bolting right after it,
using his wings to push himself as fast as possible after it.
"Shimmer! Come back! Don't go alone!" Shouted Hagrid in vain.
After all that human did to him, and the fact that he was the one paid to
kill, Shimmer wouldn't let him get away. Not when his prey was
weakened and wounded. He went after Quirrell as fast as possible, but
the shadow was still far ahead and even going faster than him, flying
between the trees with an agility that equalled his own. He lost track of
him as he reached the castle grounds, but the scent of death was heavy,
and he knew he would have no trouble finding it. Shimmer wondered for
a few seconds if he should wait for Hagrid, but decided against it,
preferring not to let Quirrell get more time to get away.
But there were others that could help. Without loosing a second, he flew
to Hermione's window, and bashed against it far harder than he ever did.
"Ah!" Came three shouts of fear from the room.
Hermione, Parvati and Lavender all shrieked in fear at the sound,
clutching their bedsheets tightly. They looked at each other for a second,
before another loud bash of Shimmer against the window got their
attention.
"What's he doing here? It's way too late." Growled Lavender as she
realised who just woke them up.
"I don't know." Replied Hermione, tired but forced awake by Shimmer, as
she walked to the window and opened it. "What is it Shimmer? It's late."
"Shimmer bad bad man! Smell dead! Attack Hagrid! Quick!" He loudly
said, stepping inside the dormitory.
"What are you talking about?" She mumbled.
"What bad man?" Asked Parvati, rubbing her eyes.
"Shimmer forest. Bad creature is dead smell man. Quirrell. Danger! Kill!"
He desperately tried to warn them, once more regretting that he didn't
know how to speak well enough with humans. His speech even started to
degrade a little as excitement and worry ran through him.
"Quirrell? He's the one who attacked unicorns?" Managed to understand
Hermione.
"Yes! Quirrell here! Kill! Quick!" He continued, nodding at the same time.
"I- it's-" Fumbled a little Hermione, her brain finally completely waking
up, as she thought about what was the best thing to do. Obviously the
first thing was to warn the teachers. "Go wake up Ron and Neville, I'll
join you in a minute." She told him, picking up some clothes and starting
to dress up.
"What's this all about?" Asked Lavender just as Shimmer left the room.
He flew down the stairs, crossed the common room, and went straight to
Ron and Neville's bedroom. As soon as he came in, he jumped on the first
of the two that he found, that being Neville.
The poor boy screamed in terror, woke up by a weight on his stomach
and a dragon's face only a few centimetres away, even if he knew that
dragon.
"Hermione say you wake! Go! Up!" Shimmer shouted, much to Neville's
terror and confusion.
"Ah! Dragon!" He screamed, completely terrified, waking up all his
roommates.
"Bloody hell!" Shouted Ron, fumbling with his cover for a second.
"What was that?!" Also said Dean Thomas.
"Hermione say wake up. Quirrell. Kill!" Tried to explain Shimmer.
"What?" Mumbled Ron.
"I- I think he's talking about p-professor Quirrell." Said Neville, not daring
to move with Shimmer on top of him.
"Get down, Shimmer." Assisted Ron. "And why do we need to wake up in
the middle of the night?"
"Quirrell bad! Kill!" Repeated Shimmer, jumping from the bed to the
floor.
"I think we should go see Hermione." Said Neville.
"Right, right. Just, let me wake up." Reluctantly agreed Ron, slowly
getting out of bed.
"No! Quick!" Pressed Shimmer.
"At least give us the time to wake up."
"No! Ron not move, Shimmer attack Ron!" Threatened Shimmer.
"What? Why?" Questioned Ron, taking a step back.
"Ron quick!" Said Shimmer, getting closer and opening his mouth,
showing his teeth.
"Okay, okay! I'm coming!" Quickly squeaked Ron, rushing to grab his
clothes.
"Do I need to do anything?" Asked Dean, still in his bed and warrily
watching Shimmer.
"I don't think so." Replied Neville, not sure of himself.
Happy to see that the two boys were moving, Shimmer jumped in the air
and returned to the common room, where Hermione was already waiting,
simply wearing her robes on top of her pyjamas.
"Are they awake?" She asked.
"Yes." He simply replied. "Quick! Go kill Quirrell!" He pressed her,
grabbing her robes by the sleeve and pulling her toward the door.
"Wait Shimmer! We need to wait for Ron and Neville!" She pulled
backward, barely managing to slow him down.
A rumble in the stairs preceded the two boys, who entered to see
Shimmer still pulling Hermione.
"What's he doing now?" Asked Ron.
"I think Professor Quirrell is the one who attacked unicorns in the
Forbbiden Forest, and now he's back in the school. We need to tell the
teachers." She said, stopping to resist and letting Shimmer take her
toward the door.
"No time. Go now!" Ordered Shimmer, promptly taking Hermione toward
the scent. It was so strong now, that he had no problem following it.
Maybe Quirrell hid his smell before, but now that he was wounded, there
was no need.
"What?! No! Shimmer we can't do that! It's too dangerous!" Cried
Hermione, once more stopping in her tracks.
"Shimmer want go kill Quirrell now!" He said.
"And we need to wait. And stop pulling me! Help me!" She called to her
two friends.
Exchanging a glance, the boys caught up with her and grabbed her by the
shoulders and robes, pulling too and completely stopping Shimmer.
"Human don't understand! Shimmer need go now!" Shimmer tried to
make them see reason.
"And Quirrell is an adult wizard that is far too dangerous for us. We need
to go see a professor!" Countered Hermione.
He growled at them, mad that they couldn't see why it was so important
to not lose time. And if they didn't want to wait, then he would go alone.
He lost enough time here already, he wouldn't allow himself to let
Quirrell get away alive.
"Shimmer go kill Quirrell!" He shouted, letting go of Hermione.
"Wait!" Called Hermione as she fell on the two boys, caught in their
momentum. "Shimmer! Come back!" Screamed Hermione.
He couldn't wait any more. Pushing himself as fast as possible, he rushed
toward the stairs and went up, following the scent. He could still hear
Hermione, Ron and Neville, not very far behind him as they appeared to
be following him. He caught a glance of them at the bottom of the stairs,
but kept going.
Soon, he smelled and noticed blood on the ground, leaving a perfect trail
to track. Only having to follow the trace, he quickly reached the door
where the big dog was staying, only that it was open. And, inside, the big
three-headed dog was lying against the wall, covered in blood and
unconscious, as it was still breathing. The trap that it had been guarding
was wide open, and Shimmer jumped in without waiting a second.
His eyes provided him the necessary vision, and he had no issue avoiding
the ground, covered by the burned crisps of a large plant. Diving further
in the tunnel that continued, he reached a large room, where a large
flock of flying keys were erratically moving around, with a door on the
other side, with a small pool of blood at its foot. Shimmer's first reaction
was to go for the door, and he did so without problem, but once there, he
realised that it was closed.
Even by pulling down on the handle with all his weight, it did nothing to
open the door. But by now, he knew that humans used keys to open and
close doors. Looking at the keys, he couldn't know which one was the
right one, so he attacked the first one in range. He caught it in his teeth,
removed the wings, and tried to insert it in the lock, but even when he
did, he didn't know how to manipulate the key.
Growling in anger and frustration, he jumped at the nearest key and
removed its wings as well. He repeated it, attacking all keys until they
were all on the ground, twitching and trying to fly but simply stuck
there. Yet, it did nothing to help Shimmer to get past the door.
A few sounds from the tunnel got his attention, and he watched as Ron,
Hermione and then Neville, came out of the tunnel, out of breath and
exhausted by this late run.
"Shimmer! You're... alright." Panted Hermione, relieved beyond belief
that her friend was fine.
"Why did we have to jump." Complained Neville, massaging his bum.
"Shimmer... door! Dumb!" He complained in answer.
"Bloody... hell. Look at all these wings." Said Ron, picking one of the
wingless keys.
"Let's get to it." Interrupted Hermione, reaching the door and trying to
twist the key, before pulling it out and observing the door. "That key is
too recent for a door like that. Look for an old one."
They all tried to find a matching key, and Neville pulled one of them,
that didn't exactly appear to be that old, but it was the only one that had
blue feathers.
"Maybe this one?" He suggested.
The rest of the keys started to angry twitch on the ground, and Hermione
wasted no time, grabbing the key and inserting it in the lock, that
thankfully twisted and opened the door.
"Let's go!" Hermione encouraged them.
"Hermione? No teacher?" Asked Shimmer as they left the room behind.
"No, and that's your fault!" She glared at him, fear and concern clearly
displayed on her face.
"Hermione not know! Shimmer know kill!" He countered.
"I- of course, I don't know how to kill." She replied, horrified.
"Hermione listen Shimmer. Shimmer go, kill Quirrell! Shimmer coin,
Shimmer good dragon!" He summed up.
"This is so, so wrong." Commented Neville meekly.
"We'll work on that later, look!" Shouted Ron as they reached the next
room.
This room was filled with chess pieces, larger than the humans, and
facing each other. The room looked fairly normal, if one ignored the
blood trail and the destroyed pieces. Professor Quirrell really wasn't
loosing time with this.
"Cor, he completely wrecked it." Whispered Ron, a bit pale.
"Shimmer go!" Said Shimmer, flying above the board and landing near
the door.
As soon as he was on the other side, the pieces suddenly moved and
started to rebuild themselves. In a few seconds, the board and the pieces
were back to a pristine state, with the three children stuck on the other
side.
"I guess, that we have to play, to reach the other side." Hermione said,
looking warily at the chess pieces.
"I'll do it!" Jumped forward Ron. "Pawn E4."
"Shimmer go!" Repeated Shimmer, still not wanting to wait. His prey was
close, he could smell it, but there was still a chance that Quirrell might
run away.
"What? No! You're going to wait for us!" Ordered Hermione, shouting
from the other side.
"Shimmer not want. Need kill Quirrell." He countered.
"Why would you even need to kill him? We can capture him, and let the
teachers deal with him." She tried, sparing but a glance at Ron, who kept
playing against the magic chess board.
"No. Quirrell is bad, bad man. Shimmer want kill bad man." Shimmer
replied, grabbing the handle of the door with his talons and pushing
down, opening the door.
"Shimmer please! Professor Quirrell could kill you, it's too dangerous!"
She kept going, wanting to cross the board and catch Shimmer, barely
refraining herself from going after him.
"It won't be long, this board isn't that good." Commented Ron.
"Why did I have to come?" Whispered Neville to himself, looking between
the other three.
Shimmer was just about to cross the door, having managed to open it,
that Hermione resorted to her last option.
"Shimmer! If you wait, I'll give you a Galleon!" She offered, showing a
golden coin in her right hand.
That stopped Shimmer dead in his tracks. He turned around, looking at
the Galleon with envy and greed, his brain was working overtime, trying
to decide what was best. On one hand, he really, really wanted the
Galleon, already capable to see it being added to his hoard. On the other
hand, he really, really didn't want Quirrell to get away, as he never
before gave up such a hunt. Shimmer remained there for a few seconds,
his eyes darting between the doorway and the Galleon, not quite sure of
what was best, much to Hermione's dismay.
She had hoped that the Galleon would have been enough to stop him, but
it looked like even one wasn't enough to deter him from going after their
teacher. Not wanting to risk seeing him leave again, as she didn't think
she could take seeing him disappear like that one more time, she reached
into her pocket.
"I'll give you a Galleon and three Sickles if you stay." She said, showing
him the coins.
Shimmer whined, almost painfully, at the hard choice before him. The
Sickles were less interesting than the Galleon, but it was still more coins
to add to his hoard, and that was a very good reason to stay with them.
And he hoped he would still get his other seven Sickles for finding
Quirrell, back in the forest. That would make a lot of coins...
"Shimmer stay." He finally relented, flying up above the board and
landing right before Hermione. Apparently, the chess board didn't care
for him going in the other direction, as it didn't attack him.
She instantly came down on him, grabbing him in a tight hug, just as he
tried to grab the coins with his mouth.
"Please stop making me worry like that, Shimmer. You're my best friend."
Hermione sighed, relieving a little the pressure that she had been under.
"Hey! What about us?" Complained Ron. "Queen H5."
"You're great friends, too." She replied, petting Shimmer's head. "I'll keep
your coins for now, alright? I don't think you'd like to keep them while
fighting."
He was just about to say that he still wanted them, that he started to
process her words, and he found himself agreeing with her, albeit a little
reluctantly.
"Hermione promize." He remembered the word.
"It's 'promise'. And I promise to give you the coins, don't worry." She
reassured him.
"Checkmate!" Cheered Ron.
They turned around, looking at the red haired boy, who was grinning,
himself looking at a destroyed black king.
"We can continue."
"Thank you, Ron." Said Hermione.
"You're really good at chess." Praised Neville.
"I am." Ron preened under the compliments.
"Go! Go!" Shimmer pressed them.
"Right." Agreed Hermione.
They walked over the chess board, reaching the other side and entering
the doorway. They kept walking for a moment before a strong smell
assaulted their noses. One that both Hermione and Shimmer recognised
instantly.
"Troll." Warned Shimmer.
"There's a troll?!" Neville whispered, eyes bulging in fear as he almost
stopped on the spot.
"Bloody hell." Groaned Ron.
"Can we turn around?" Begged the other boy.
"It might be better." Agreed Hermione, really not wanting to get even
close to a troll again.
"Smell blood." Added Shimmer, smelling more scents as they came closer.
A small door met them at the end of the corridor. Very carefully, and as
silently as possible, Ron, with a small look at his friends, gulped, and
pushed down on the handle. The door opened, thankfully in complete
silence, and he dared to look in the gap. He could only gasp loudly at the
sight.
There was indeed a troll, though it wouldn't harm them. Lying on the
floor on the left side of the room, the troll was immobile, eyes wide open
with a frozen expression of pain on his face. Dead.
"Oh. He's dead." Simply said Ron, opening the door fully.
"You're sure?" Tentatively asked Neville, daring to look at the troll.
Shimmer flew at the troll, hovered around its head for a few seconds, and
viciously bit down on its nose.
"That's gross." Complained Ron.
"Troll dead." Confirmed Shimmer, as the creature didn't even react.
"That's one less problem for us. We should continue, Professor Quirrell
can't be far." Advised Hermione, though she was getting very, very
worried about this. Seeing the dead troll, it meant that their stuttering
professor was strong enough to kill without issue.
All three children took a wide berth from the troll, staying as far away as
possible, even if it was dead. Shimmer went after them as they reached
the door, and entered the next room. This one looked relatively simple, in
comparison to the last ones. There was only bottles, seven of them, of
different sizes, shapes and colours, with a little note placed in front of
them. And at the other side of the room, another corridor.
As soon as all four entered the room, flames appeared at both entrances,
taking them by surprise. Purple ones at the doorway they came in, and
black ones at the one they needed to cross.
"Bloody hell!" Jumped Ron.
"We're trapped." Whispered Neville, looking at the two walls of flames.
"Children. They're sending children after me." Came a voice from their
left.
One more time, they jumped in fear, and Shimmer was instantly growling
at the direction, before noticing the man who hid himself in a corner.
Quirrell came out of his hiding spot, wand in right hand and the other
hand holding his stomach, even as blood flowed down his hand.
"Accio wands!" He shouted. In a single second, the three children's wands
flew out of their pockets, and flew behind Quirrell, far out of their reach.
"Bloody..." Ron couldn't even finish, eyes stuck on the teacher's stomach.
It was clear that his life was near his end. Sweat was running down his
face, his eyes lacked the sparkle of life that all living beings have, and the
wound on his stomach was more than strange. Blood was flowing out,
but there was also a mix of ashes with it.
"And how could I forget Shimmer. That stupid, useless creature." Spat
Quirrell.
"Bad man, smell dead. Shimmer kill." Warned Shimmer, flying higher to
have the advantage.
"Hmph. At least, you don't hesitate to kill." Acknowledged Quirrell,
before scrunching his face in pain.
"We don't... have time... to waste. Release me." Suddenly returned the
raspy voice, sounding far weaker than before. Shimmer looked around
but still couldn't see who was talking.
"Who?" Dared to say Neville, looking around as well, just like Ron and
Hermione.
"Master, you're too weak." Pleaded Quirrell.
"We won't have time... to get the stone. I want to see... that dragon...
before killing him."
"Be glad, dragon, for you will witness the dark lord himself." Preened
Quirrell, turning around and removing the turban that had partially
burned away.
Shimmer was more than surprised, when the last bit of the turban was
removed, revealing a face, cold, inhuman and glaring at Shimmer with
angry red eyes. It was something that Shimmer could have never
imagined, and he couldn't understand what he saw.
For the three children, though, this was a face straight out of a
nightmare. The lack of nose, the skin colour looking just like ashes, the
eyes were something evil, and they tried to look everywhere but at them.
Yet, the worse was seeing a face at the back of somebody else's head. The
sight was just horrible, and they either took a step back or tried to,
rooted by fear.
"See... what you did to me... puny lizard. To think that I... was so close to
complete... a year's work." Sneered the face, focusing on Shimmer, even
though it was clearly obvious that pain was restraining him.
"What is you? Not know. Quirrell?" Asked Shimmer, still having no idea
what he was looking at.
"I am Lord Voldemort!" Tried to scream the creature, offended that this
thing didn't know of him.
Three loud gasps came from the children, recognising the name and the
monster that was before them. None could utter a word, too shocked and
terrified to act.
"Not know. Shimmer kill Voldemort and kill Quirrell." Shimmer replied,
not impressed at all by a name.
"Such confidence. I'll enjoy watching you die. All of you." Said
Voldemort, raising Quirrell's wand. "Kill them!"
Shimmer didn't even wait for the two-man creature to speak, and rushed
at it, letting a stream of flame toward them, forcing them to create a
shield to protect themselves. That took the three students out of their
shocked state, and they ran away, hiding behind the table where the
potions were resting, shouting and crying in terror. They might have
been brave enough to face the challenges before coming here, but the
monster that was before them wasn't something they wanted to face.
Even more when they didn't have their wands, not that it could have
helped them much against a wizard like Quirrell. They knew only a spell
or two, after all.
Still breathing fire, Shimmer was forced to stop when a stream of water
pierced through the shield, sending him backward and spitting water.
Angrily, he tried to reach for Quirrell, but was once again thrown away
by a wave of his wand.
"Incarcerous!" Shouted Quirrell, wand aimed straight at Shimmer.
There was no magic light, nothing that he could see, but the golden
dragon was taken by surprise, when ropes suddenly appeared around
him. He tried, for the two seconds where he was free, to get away, but it
was in vain. The ropes tightened around his wings, and he fell to the
ground harshly. Trapped, he moved around and tried to free himself,
only for the rope to reach his muzzle and stop him from opening his
mouth.
"There you go. Down and at our mercy." Said Quirrell, keeping his wand
aimed at Shimmer.
"Kill him." Ordered Voldemort, snarling in delight.
Snarling and glaring, Shimmer kept trashing around, but there was
nothing he could do.
Quirrell raised his wand, and was just about to cast another spell, ready
to end Shimmer's life.
"Leave him alone!" Shouted Hermione.
Quirrell turned to look at her, but didn't get the time to react, as two
bottles were already in the air and aimed at him, courtesy of Ron and
Hermione. One bounced against him, hurting him a little, but the second
exploded on his robes. A second later, he screamed in pain, clutching
himself as nettle wine ran down on his open wounds, with also a few
pieces of glass stuck in his skin.
Surprised at their own attack and its efficacy, the two threw more bottles
at him, taking advantage of the fact that he was too subjugated by pain
to react.
"Neville! Go free Shimmer!" Said Ron, throwing a third bottle.
"How?!" Asked the chubby boy, clutching his head between his hands and
not daring to look up.
"Take a piece of glass! Cut his ropes!" Completed Hermione.
Neville dared a look, and seeing that all the glass was near Quirrell,
quickly backed down again.
"I can't do this!" He said, crying.
"Merlin's-! I'll do it!" Resolved himself Ron, taking a big breath, before
rushing out to the left, taking a wide turn around Quirrell. The man was
still in extreme pain, resting on his knees, and Ron used the opportunity
to grab Shimmer by the tail, pulling him away. As soon as he got him, he
reached for a piece of broken glass that was of adequate size, and got to
work on cutting the ropes, starting by the muzzle.
"Get up you fool! Kill them!" Screeched Voldemort, looking at Ron from
the back of Quirrell's head, much to the red-haired boy horror, who tried
to cut the ropes faster.
"Master! We need to leave!" Begged Quirrell, even as his arms twisted
against his will. Voldemort took over his body, with his arms raised in
the opposite direction in a way that was extremely disturbing to the
children.
"Silence! I'll do it... myself!" Growled Voldemort, aiming his wand at Ron.
Another flying bottle, narrowly missing him, got his attention for a few
seconds.
"Too bad that a witch... as smart as you... can't see the power of that
dragon. Harnessed, it would be an incredible asset." Said Voldemort,
glaring at Hermione, his breath short and heavy. "I have a new spell for
you: Expulso!"
Right as he finished his incantation, Hermione was blasted away by the
spell, as well as Neville who had been hiding right next to her. The two
screamed as they flew in the air, right before hitting the walls. They fell
to the ground harshly, groaning in pain and slowly twisting on the
ground, reaching for their head and back.
"Hermione!" Snarled Shimmer, just as Ron was removing the last layer of
rope that was bounding his wings to his body.
Free, and completely enraged, Shimmer jumped in the air and in a
second, was right in Voldemort's face. A second later, fire bathed the two-
human creature, who let out a duo of screams, one human and one that
only belonged to a monster. Trashing around, waving them in an attempt
to dissipate the flames or reach for him, he didn't know. But, at the
moment, his hand holding the wand was left exposed, and Shimmer
reached forward, biting on hit and taking his wand away.
Ron, the only one capable of watching beside Shimmer, witnessed with
horror as fire burned Quirrell's body. Yet, it didn't burn like it should
have. Shimmer's flames attacked his body far faster than it should have,
and grey ashes flew right after it burned him. Another inhuman scream
echoed in the room, right as the man's body starting to completely turn
to ashes, falling on the ground as his legs couldn't hold him any more.
Through the fire, Shimmer saw the red eyes of Voldemort glaring at him
despite the pain, even as the body he was occupying crumbled to ashes.
Quirrell fell to the ground, and only a pile of ashes, ruined clothes and
blood remaining behind.
Yet, they didn't have the time to do anything, that a dark cloud rose from
the ashes. It took the form of Voldemort's face, right before it unleashed
an unholy scream, a roar of anger and suffering, and dashed right out of
the room, passing through the purple flames and disappearing.
Shimmer didn't know if he won, because on one side Quirrell was
definitely dead, but on the other, Voldemort appeared to have fly away.
But, right now, he had more pressing problems. Dropping from the air, he
landed right next to Hermione, and nuzzled her, trying to push her on
her back even as she kept her eyes closed.
"Hermione okay? Hermione? Hermione?" He asked, concerned for her
well-being.
She groaned in response, clutching her head a bit more for a few seconds,
before letting out a sob as she opened her eyes.
"My head hurts a lot." She said through clenched teeth, even as tears
rolled on her cheeks. "I hope I don't have a concussion."
"Me too." Replied Neville, still down, too. "What's a concussion?"
"I'll tell you, later." Hermione replied, not feeling like talking much, her
head being far too heavy for that.
"Shimmer kill Quirrell and Voldemort." Shimmer told them.
"What?" She asked, looking up a little at the room.
The pile of ashes was still there, with Quirrell's clothes resting in it. She
looked at it, horrified for a second, before falling unconscious.
"Hermione?! Hermione! Hermione wake! Shimmer bite Hermione!"
Repeated Shimmer, nuzzling her even more frenetically, even going as far
as threatening her.
A sudden swoosh coming from behind him got all his attention, expecting
Voldemort to come back through the fire. To his surprise, the purple
flames extinguished themselves, right before many humans came in,
wands out. He recognised Dumb Door, Snape, old human female and very
small old human. Their eyes quickly brushed out the whole room, right
before focusing on the snarling dragon resting next to Hermione's
unconscious body, Neville still moaning in pain, and Ron still shell
shocked.
"Shimmer, what happened?" Asked Dumb Door.
AN:
Hi! Valexto at the Keyboard!
Sorry for the delay, but I was more focused on my other story for a while.
This chapter took a lot of time, because I had to rewrite it a few times
before coming up with something satisfactory.
But, finally, Voldemort is revealed and put down, by Shimmer and his
friends. What will follow though? What will be the aftermath of all this?
Give me your thoughts, if it's good or terrible.
Thanks for all the support and see you soon!
23. Chapter 23
I do not own nor possess any right over Harry Potter, all rights belongs to
J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 23
"Shimmer, what happened?" Asked Dumbledore gravely, as he walked up
to him.
Staring at the old human, Shimmer didn't really know what to say. Shall
he say in which order everything happened? Absolutely everything?
"Shimmer Hagrid, bad creature want kill unicorn. Shimmer want kill bad
creature, smell dead, is Quirrell. Shimmer speak Hermione help, not want
stay is want go. Shimmer blood, is go blood. Shimmer go not go, eat wing
Dumb Door! Ron do. Troll dead. Quirrell bad, attack Shimmer. Shimmer
attack. Kill Quirrell."
"Thank you Shimmer." Interrupted him Dumbledore, who felt that it
would perhaps be better to ask someone else for details, even if he
thought to have the most important ones.
"That can wait, Albus. There are two injured students here!" Scolded
Minerva as she went in, reaching Hermione and kneeling beside her. She
brought a hand before her face, before sighing in relief. "She's alive."
"Mister Longbottom, how are you feeling?" Said Flitwick, walking up to
the boy.
"My head and my back hurts." Moaned Neville, still clutching his head.
"Take them to the infirmary. Mr. Weasley, are you with us?" Replied
Dumbledore, noticing how shocked Ron was.
"I- there- there was- it-" He mumbled weakly, looking back at what
remained of Quirrell's body before turning away, closing his eyes and
taking a deep breath.
"Calm down, everything will be alright. Minerva, Filius, would you mind
taking them all back to the infirmary? Severus, with me." Commanded
Dumbledore, a brief look of pain in his eyes as he looked at the pile of
ashes, keeping his wand in hand as they went toward the corridor of
flames.
"Tsk. They destroyed everything." Said Snape, looking at the broken
potions littering on the ground. "Reparo."
With a flick of his wand, the vials fixed themselves and returned to their
original place, albeit empty of their content. Taking two small vials from
his robes, Snape shared one with Dumbledore and they drank it in one
go, before going into the flames, unbothered by their heat.
Shimmer watched them go, but remained close to Hermione. Minerva
flicked her wand and Hermione's body rose in the air, levitating a metre
off the ground. Neville had tried to stand up, only to be stopped by
professor Flitwick, who told him to drink a potion and wait. He did so,
and instantly fell limply on the ground. He was soon levitated too,
following behind Hermione.
"Mr. Weasley, can you stand up?" Kindly asked Minerva.
"I- yes, professor." He managed to reply, pushing himself up.
"Good. Now, everyone goes to the infirmary. Poppy will be having a fit
over you three." She muttered at the end.
Not waiting for the two men that went into the fire, Shimmer took off
and flew next to Hermione, flying slightly above her.
"Hermione okay?" He asked.
"That's what we are going to find out, Shimmer." Replied Minerva as they
walked past the dead troll.
"Children! How could they be that stupid to put themselves in such
danger!" Raged Poppy Pomfrey as she frantically walked between the
three students in the infirmary. She had already taken care of Hermione
and Neville's concussions, eased the pain in their back, and ensured they
remained asleep as the treatments took place. Ron was both in a better
and a worse case, having no health issues but also being forced to endure
all of the matron's rant.
"I'm sure they'll be able to explain themselves when the Headmaster
comes back, Poppy." Tried to appease her Flitwick.
"Oh, they better explain themselves. Going alone at night after a
dangerous creature!" She kept going. No one told her who the creature in
question was.
Shimmer was kept aside, lying down at the end of Hermione's bed. He
tried to stay closer, but the human taking care of Hermione forbade him
to, not even scared when he threatened her. She had to explain that
Hermione had to sleep to get better before he was allowed to stay at the
end of her bed.
"Shimmer, can you come here?" Asked Ron, sitting on the bed next to
Hermione.
A bit surprised, Shimmer didn't ask himself any question, and used his
wings to make a long jump between the two beds, landing right next to
Ron.
"Ron okay?" He asked.
"Yeah, I think." Answered Ron, staying silent for a few seconds. "Did we-
did I kill him?"
"Shimmer kill." Instantly confirmed Shimmer, not seeing the problem.
"I know, but, I freed you, and we were all trying to get away. It's- we
killed him." He continued, horrified both by what they did and what they
witnessed.
"Shimmer kill Quirrell." Repeated Shimmer, not wanting to have his kill
stolen.
"But we helped you. We're criminals!" He whispered harshly.
"Is everything alright, Mister Weasley?" Asked professor Flitwick, who
had come up silently.
"I- professor- '' Started Ron, stopping as the tiny professor raised his hand.
"I understand, Mister Weasley. What you've seen and what happened, was
most certainly horrifying. However, I can assure you that you're not in
trouble." Said Filius.
"How?" Simply asked Ron, baffled.
"We may not know yet what exactly happened, but from what we knew
beforehand and what we saw down there, I believe that you did your best
to stay alive. No one can fault you for this." Assured Filius with a smile.
"Professor Quirrell-" Ron started again.
"Tried to kill you." Finished Filius. "Everything will be alright, Mister
Weasley. Let us take care of this."
A series of footsteps came from outside the infirmary and the door
opened, revealing Dumbledore, Snape and Hagrid, who looked quite
exhausted.
"Albus! There you are! Could you please explain how these children
ended up like this?" Instantly asked Poppy, glaring at the old man.
"Now, now, Poppy, I can assure you that I had no part in this." He tried to
defend himself, smiling lightly at her.
"I do not know if that's a good or a bad thing." She replied angrily.
Dumbledore lost his smile, looking a bit stumped at her comment, before
focusing on more pressing matters.
"Ah, Mister Weasley. I was hoping you could tell us what happened?" The
headmaster said, walking up next to his bed and giving a small glance at
the other two students lying in the other beds.
"Headmaster, it was Quirrell, he was trying to-" Ron went on quickly.
"A moment, please. Tell us from the beginning. How did you end up
following Quirrell?" He asked the boy, raising his right hand in an
appeasing gesture.
"Shimmer came up in the dormitory, saying that Professor Quirrell was
the bad creature killing unicorns." He restarted.
"That matches what Hagrid said. Continue please." Acknowledged
Dumbledore, sharing a small look with the half giant that was sitting on
another bed, almost crushing it beneath him.
"Hermione wanted to go tell a teacher, but Shimmer didn't want to wait,
so we followed him. He went into the room you forbade us to go in, and
there was so much blood everywhere." Ron looked a bit pale at that.
"Aye. He hurt Fluffy real good, but he's alive. Thanks to Snape." Said
Hagrid, sounding quite tired.
"Indeed." Nodded Snape.
"Continue." Nodded Dumbledore at Ron.
"Well, after that, we jumped in the hole and almost broke our back on
impact."
"You-" Poppy got mad again.
"Not now, Poppy." Interrupted her Dumbledore.
"We found Shimmer stuck at that first door, with lots of keys. We found
one key with blue wings and went through."
"Dumb Door!" Growled Shimmer, recalling the door.
"For once, he's not wrong." Laughed a little Filius.
"Yes, yes. I presume you did the chess task? You are most knowledgeable
at chess, if I recall." Said Dumbledore, doing his best to keep Ron
focused.
"I- yes." Agreed Ron, briefly asking himself how the headmaster knew
this, but instead deciding to keep going with his tale. "After, we saw the
dead troll and came up to the room where there were a lot of potions. We
didn't get the time to do anything when Quirrell came out from where he
was hiding and took our wands."
"I see. Did he attack you instantly?"
"No. He- professor, he looked so bad. There was blood and ashes mixed
together all over his stomach." Explained Ron, shivering as the picture of
what he saw came back.
"From his fight in the forest, against Shimmer." Supplied Hagrid.
"Ah, thank you Hagrid. And did Quirrell attack you?" Repeated
Dumbledore.
"No, but there was a voice. And- and Quirrell talked back to it. And then
he removed his turban. On his head. It was him." At that point, Ron was
white as a ghost, recalling the red, evil eyes glaring at him. The face that
looked like a demon more than a human.
"Who was it?" Pressed Dumbledore, suddenly far more serious.
"Him. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." He whispered in fear.
The intake of breath that all the adults took surprised Shimmer. He tried
to follow what Ron was saying, and he got most of it, but there were a
few things that escaped him. Just like what Ron just said that appeared
to have scared the humans, even if he couldn't understand how.
"Are you certain?" Asked Dumbledore, sighing loudly and tiredly.
"Yes. He was terrifying. He said it himself, and Quirrell even said it was
his master. He tried to kill us, but Shimmer attacked first, trying to burn
him down."
The eyes of the adults turned to Shimmer, and he didn't like it.
"What is?" He asked, frowning at them.
"As much as I would like to ask Shimmer, without Hermione, it would
take too long to translate his words. Mister Weasley, would you mind
continuing." Said Dumbledore, looking at Shimmer with interest.
"Quirrell used his wand to protect himself, and we hid behind the table
with the potions, and Quirrell immobilised Shimmer with ropes. He was
about to kill him, so we grabbed the potions and threw them on Quirrell."
Ron tried to do his best to recall everything correctly.
"I recognise here the talents of Gryffindor. Some of these vials contained
precious poisons and potions." Sneered Snape at the Weasley boy.
"They did what they had to do to stay alive, Severus." Chidded
Dumbledore, letting Snape grumble a little.
"Shimmer kill bad man." Intervened Shimmer.
"Did he now?"
"Yes professor. I went to free him from the ropes, and Y- You-Know-Who
blasted Hermione and Neville. They hit the wall hard, and he was about
to hurt them more, but then I freed Shimmer and he attacked Quirrell
and... him. They screamed. He burned them alive and they… they
screamed so much." Ron stopped after that, a horrified expression in his
eyes.
Once again, the eyes of everyone returned to Shimmer, some with fear of
the dragon.
"What? Shimmer kill bad man." He reminded them.
"You did, Shimmer. That you did. I believe that you saved their lives."
Replied Dumbledore, patting Shimmer's head.
"Sickles." Added Shimmer.
"Hmm?"
"Shimmer go forest. Seven Sickles. Shimmer kill bad creature. Sickles?
Galleon?" He stared at the old human, waiting for his payment.
"Right. You have quite the memory for such things, Shimmer. You will
get your money, seven Sickles for the night and a Galleon for hunting
down Voldemort." Agreed Dumbledore, even as the teachers stood stiffly
at the dark lord's name.
"Albus!" Minerva scoffed.
"Let me deal with this quickly Minerva, so that we may focus on what
matters." Dumbledore took note of her indignation, but didn't give it any
more attention.
"Shimmer want coins." Shimmer said, not wanting to wait.
"Later, Shimmer. I promise to give you your coins later."
Well at least the old human promised.
"So, what happens now?" Asked Ron, a bit lost.
"Well, Mister Weasley, I'm afraid that tonight means dark times ahead for
Great Britain. Hopefully, Voldemort was vanquished for good tonight by
Shimmer, but I have doubts. I will also ask you to not speak about all
that happened tonight to anyone." Dumbledore added.
"What? Why?"
"Because the world isn't ready to face such dark news. Even the ministry
of magic would rather ignore this than face the reality. It would also send
a message to his followers that he is still alive. We can't allow this. Can I
count on you, mister Weasley?"
"I- can I talk to my family about this?" He hopefully asked.
"I will warn them about what happened myself, but until I do so, I will
ask you to be patient." Offered Dumbledore, stroking his beard.
"Alright." Ron begrudgingly accepted.
"So, back to you, Shimmer."
"Dumb Door." Nodded Shimmer.
"It's Dumbledore." Tried to correct the headmaster, finally starting to get
a bit annoyed by the name. Much to the amusement of the other
teachers.
"Hard. Dumb Door. Shimmer like." He replied.
"Another time then. Shimmer, do you know why Quirrell and Voldemort
were together? Why did your fire hurt him so much?" Asked Dumbledore,
talking just a touch slower to be sure that the dragon understood his
words.
"Shimmer not know. Quirrell smell dead dead. Blood. Shimmer fire
Quirrell and fire Voldemort. Shimmer Kill. Voldemort not dead." He said,
much to the shock of the teachers.
"How do you know?" Asked Minerva.
"Shimmer saw Voldemort. Not human. Fly. Shimmer not know word." As
much as Shimmer wanted to explain, he simply didn't know how to say
what he knew.
"It's alright. But you're certain that he's not dead, correct?" Dumbledore
got closer to Shimmer's face.
"Shimmer not know. Quirrell dead. See Voldemort fly. Shimmer not think
Voldemort dead." He tried.
"That is quite helpful already."
"Are you done? I have patients that need to rest. And I need to check for
any signs of possession now." Briskly said Poppy, tapping her foot.
"I believe so, yes. The rest can wait until tomorrow morning. Rest well,
children. And you, too, Shimmer." Agreed Dumbledore, both having the
information he wanted and not wanting to be in the matron's way any
longer than necessary.
He waved at his colleagues to follow him outside, but they were
interrupted before they even reached the door.
"Coins!" Jumped Shimmer, taking to the air and ready to follow the
headmaster until he could get his precious coins.
"Not now, Shimmer. Besides, wouldn't you prefer to stay with your
friends?" Dumbledore pointed at Hermione and the two boys.
Shimmed looked back at Hermione, Ron, and Neville. He really, really
wanted to get his coins, but at the same time he didn't want to leave
them here. Especially Hermione. And then he remembered that she
promised him coins too. Would she remember that if she remained
asleep? He didn't know, but it would be better to be sure.
"Shimmer stay." He flew back to Hermione's bed, laying down close to
her feet.
"Good. Then I wish you a good night in Poppy's care." Dumbledore
replied.
"Good. Now, out!" Almost pushed them out Poppy, more than fed up that
her work had been interrupted so long.
The teachers played the game, knowing how the matron was with her
patients, and left the room.
With only the grumbling matron left, Shimmer looked at Ron who was
still quite pale, and soon taken care of by the woman who gave him a
sleeping draught that promptly sent him to sleep. With only Shimmer left
awake, he looked at the room a little longer, watching the matron move a
few things and prepare some more potions, until she gave him a stern
look and turned off the lights.
Alone, Shimmer thought back to what happened in the last few hours.
First the hunt in the forest, which had been boring at first and then more
exciting once they found Quirrell. His tracking skills were still excellent,
and he was quite proud of that, even if he got stuck a few times with
stupid things, like that stupid door. Except for the old human, he really
didn't like doors.
And his fight against Quirrell was certainly shocking. A face behind a
head? He couldn't even understand how this worked, but he was certain
that this Voldemort was why Quirrell reeked of death, even when being
alive. It also revealed some very unfair things that wizards could do, like
shouting water in his mouth which he really didn't like, or the way ropes
caught him and made it impossible to defend himself. He would have to
be more careful in fights with wizards from now on.
Also, that was the first time his fire ever burned someone like it did with
Quirrell. Sure, with time, he could burn things to ashes, but not that
quickly and not before leaving bones and other things. Was it because of
Voldemort? Being dead but not dead? Shimmer didn't know, but he had a
feeling this Voldemort creature wasn't dead.
Finally, after thinking this much after such a long night where he usually
slept, Shimmer tightened his wings closer to his body and promptly fell
asleep, thinking of the future coins waiting for him.
Hermione woke up exhausted. She wasn't tired, but her body was a bit
sore and her mind was slowly starting to come back to its usual speed.
She blinked a few times, just as memories from last night came back.
Following Shimmer, being caught by Professor Quirrell, him removing
his-
She choked as she recalled the face, a sob leaving her lips as her
breathing accelerated. She could still see so, so many horrible things.
Their professor, bloody with his stomach burned. The monster at the
back of the professor's head. Its red eyes, its sneer, its dark skin, and an
evil, a will to hurt others so great that it still made her tremble now.
She could feel a hand on her shoulder and hear a voice somewhere, but
they were so far away for her that she ignored them.
After that, came the memory of Shimmer fighting Quirrell who dealt with
him quite easily, along with herself and Ron and Neville, throwing
bottles at the amalgamation. And then she remembered being blasted
away, sent into a wall, and the pain in her body almost seemed to surge
as she recalled.
But then, after all this, she heard once more the screams of terror of the
two beings merged in one, as a brief image of fire flashed in her mind.
"Miss Granger!"
Hermione jumped, looking around for a second, startled, before her eyes
locked with the matron next to her bed, who was shaking her shoulders.
"I- professor." She said, feeling small tears running down her cheeks.
"Ah, glad to see back, Miss Granger." Said Madame Pomfrey.
"What happened?" Hermione asked, her memory being quite blurry
toward the end.
"Well, after you and your friends decided to go after a possessed teacher,
without telling anyone, you should simply be lucky to be alive! Do you
know how stupid this was? That could almost be called suicide!" Madame
Pomfrey glared at her, admonishing her harshly.
The realisation of what they did, and their consequences, instantly surged
in her mind, and Hermione started hyperventilating.
'Oh my god! We were outside during the curfew! We didn't warn any
teacher about where we went! We went into the forbidden room! And we
killed a teacher! I'm a criminal! I'm a murderer! I'm going to be expelled!'
She thought quickly.
"Miss Granger!" Called her again Madame Pomfrey, strongly, but also
much kinder than before. "Calm down, Miss Granger! Everything is going
to be alright."
"No it won't! We killed a teacher! I'll never see my parents again, and I'll
be expelled!" She cried loudly.
"Drink this Miss Granger, it will make things better." Madame Pomfrey
said, handing the terrified girl a calming draught.
Reacting more than reflex than anything else, Hermione grabbed the
glass and drank it in one go. Almost instantly, her hands relaxed and the
glass fell on the cover of her bed. She eased herself back into her bed,
looking at the matron a bit slowly.
"Now, are you calm enough to listen to me, Miss Granger?" Asked the
Matron.
Hermione could only nod in reply.
"Good. Now, as I was saying everything is going to be alright. You're not
injured, even if your body may feel a bit sore. How is your head?"
"A bit heavy." Slowly said Hermione.
"Good. What about your back?" Continued Madame Pomfrey, taking
notes at the same time.
"A bit painful, but it's okay." She replied.
"Perfect! Then you'll recover. Now, about what's going to happen to you."
Madame Pomfrey clapped her hands. "First, based on what happened last
night, the Headmaster and your head of house believe that you have
suffered enough and that points shouldn't be taken for this. Although
there might be something involving Shimmer."
"Is he alright?" Asked Hermione, wondering what happened to him.
"Oh, more than alright I would say. He wouldn't leave your bed this
morning, saying something about a promise, but I forced him to go
outside. His place isn't in the infirmary." Sternly said the matron.
"Oh. And what happened last night? I don't remember very well."
Continued Hermione, reassured that Shimmer was alright.
"You and your friends went after a possessed teacher, and if it wasn't for
that dragon, you would probably be dead. Yet at the same time, without
him, you wouldn't have been there, so he put you in danger." Mused the
woman for a few seconds. "Anyway, to calm your fears, you are not going
to be expelled."
"I'm not?" Hermione couldn't say how reassuring that was to hear.
"No. You may have disobeyed a few rules, but not enough to warrant
that. And you did what you had to to survive, so they won't be too hard
on you for what happened to Professor Quirrell. Shimmer on the other
hand..." She trailed off.
"What? What do you mean?" Hermione asked a bit faster.
"He killed a human. It was in self defence, against a possessed teacher,
but still a human. Should the department of magical creatures hear of
this, they will put him down." Madame Pomfrey explained.
"But he was saving us." Hermione tried to explain, feeling a bit of panic
come back.
"And he did. Don't worry, I'm certain the Headmaster won't let anything
happen to him. Now, I want you to rest a little, alright? The Headmaster
will want to talk with you and I'm sure your friends will too."
With her piece said, the matron walked back to her office and kept the
door open, in case there was an emergency.
Hermione leaned back into her bed, thoughts swirling in her head
quickly despising the calming draught. Between all the problems she
thought she would have by killing a teacher, and being told that
Shimmer might be in trouble for killing a human, she didn't really know
what to think about. He did everything to save them, so they couldn't
ignore that. Right? As much as she hated it, she was more than aware
that sometimes dangerous animals had to be put down, and most of the
magicals in England would probably agree that Shimmer is exactly that,
regardless of his unique abilities.
And what could she even do about this? Sure, she is an eyewitness and
could testify for Shimmer. But would they take her words into account?
She didn't know. And not knowing scared her.
Stuck in a loop of worrying thoughts, Hermione didn't know how long
she remained there, but a loud noise coming from the windows got her
attention.
THUNK
"Hermione!" Called Shimmer, standing right behind the glass of one of
the infirmary's windows.
"Shimmer." She calmly called back, still under the effect of the calming
draught.
"What in the- oh, you flying pest." Madame Pomfrey rushed out of her
office, wand in hand, only to groan at the sight of the golden dragon.
With a flick of her wrist, the window opened and Shimmer instantly
came in, landing right on Hermione's bed, beside her left hand.
"I'm glad to see that you're alright, Shimmer. What's on your lips?" She
asked, seeing red around his mouth.
"Lips?" He asked, not knowing that word.
"Your mouth." Hermione clarified.
"Is squeerel." Shimmer replied, licking his lips.
"Hold on a second." Stopped them the matron, using her wand to send a
quick scourgify at the dragon's mouth. "Much better, and much more
sanitary."
"Not like." Grumbled Shimmer, angrily licking his lips in an attempt to
remove the mildly annoying sensation.
"I decide who likes what in my infirmary. Now, miss Granger, I trust you
to make sure he behaves well." Warned Madame Pomfrey.
"Yes, Madame Pomfrey." She replied seriously.
"Shimmer not like." Stubbornly said Shimmer even as the matron walked
away returning to her office.
"She's not bad. How are you Shimmer? And it's Squirrel, by the way."
Hermione couldn't even stop herself from correcting him.
"Squirrel. Squirrel. Shimmer eat squirrel. Shimmer okay." He repeated the
word to get it right.
"I'm glad to hear it." She sighed in relief.
"Hermione coins? Promise." He told her, wanting to deal with the
important things first.
"Coins? What coins?" Hermione honestly couldn't remember.
"Hermione promise! Hermione give Shimmer coins! One Galleon and
three Sickles!" He screeched in indignation.
"I- I don't remember that." She weakly replied.
"Hermione promise!" Shimmer whined and growled at the same time.
"You did." A sleepy voice came from their right.
Hermione and Shimmer looked in the direction the voice came from and
saw Ron, still in his bed and looking at them. They had completely forgot
about him, and from the look on his face, they probably woke him up. Or
he simply tried to remain asleep. Hermione didn't know.
"I did?" Asked Hermione.
"Yeah. Shimmer was about to go on without us, and you said you would
give him coins if he stayed. And he did." Explained Ron.
"Oh. I'm sorry, Shimmer, I didn't remember that." Hermione apologised.
"Shimmer want coins." Continued the golden dragon, adamant about
getting his money.
"Alright. Let me look." She replied, standing up a little and reaching into
her pockets.
"Hermione give one Galleon and three Sickles." Repeated Shimmer.
"Give me a moment, please." She said as she dug into her pockets, taking
out the sickles and then the galleon, realising that the amount that
Shimmer said was the exact amount she had on her. "Here you go. One
Galleon and three Sickles."
Quickly reaching with his neck, he carefully grabbed the coins with his
mouth and put them at the end of the bed, where Hermione's feet were
beneath the cover, and counted them. He also admired them, knowing
very well exactly where he planned to put them in his hoard.
"And what happened to V- to You-Know-Who?" Hermione asked, realising
that she completely forgot about this quite important detail. She would
have freaked out at that realisation, but she was still under the effect of
the calming draught.
"Don't know. Shimmer killed Quirrell and then he... flew away. It was
like a ball of smoke, with his face screaming. It was horrible." Ron
replied, a haunting look in his eyes as he recalled what he saw.
"Shimmer kill bad man and Voldemort. Voldemort dead not dead. Not
know. Fly not wing. Not fire, smoke. Shimmer not know word not know
creature. Not wizard but wizard. " Confirmed Shimmer, though his words
became confusing toward the end.
"I see." Nodded Hermione, even though she only got parts of what he
said. Something about You-Know-Who not being completely dead, if the
little dragon was right.
A knock on the doors of the infirmary got their attention and they turned
to look at it. Madame Pomfrey came out of her office with a small frown
on her face and opened the door, revealing a smiling Dumbledore as well
as the ever strict looking Minerva McGonagall.
"I got your message, Poppy. I also asked Minerva to accompany me, if
that's not a problem." The old headmaster said.
"It's alright. Come in."
The two walked in and Madame Pomfrey closed the door behind them.
The three adults then made their way toward Hermione's bed, stopping a
bit more than a metre away when Shimmer growled at them, wary of
losing his coins.
"Ah, young Shimmer, good to see you back. I see that you were already
paid." Chuckled the headmaster.
"Hermione promise. Dumb Door promise. One Galleon, seven sickles."
Shimmer said, looking up at the headmaster greedily, his tail wagging a
little behind him at the idea of getting more coins.
"Yes, yes. You know that you're starting to cost me a lot, don't you?"
Dumbledore said as he grabbed all the coins in one of the pockets of his
robes, that he had prepared before coming.
"I'm sorry, Headmaster. I'll try to make him stop." Hermione calmly
apologised.
"On the contrary my dear, I find that quite amusing. He's the only dragon
that corresponds to the ones seen in muggles' books if I'm correct." The
headmaster laughed lightly.
Shimmer was purring as he grabbed the new coins, adding them to the
small pile that was forming before him. He then lay on it, moving them a
little until they were all covered by him and out of reach from the
humans around him. When he looked up, he saw that everyone was
looking at him with either amusement, annoyance, or curiosity.
"What? No take back. Shimmer coins." He warned them, pressing himself
down on the coins.
"They are all yours, Shimmer. Don't mind us." Chuckled Dumbledore,
right before looking at Hermione. "And how are you feeling, Miss
Granger?"
"A bit tired, but good, Headmaster." The student replied.
"Good, good. Ron already told us much of what happened, and I'm aware
you were knocked out during your confrontation with Professor Quirrell.
But, is there anything that you remember that might be of importance?"
Asked the headmaster.
Hermione remained silent for a few seconds, recalling everything she
could about the previous night, but didn't find anything that important. If
Ron already told them all that happened, then there wasn't much more
that she could add.
"No, Headmaster. Though, I do have a few questions." She replied.
"Ah, of course. Go ahead, Miss Granger, I'll try to answer them."
Dumbledore smiled at her, appreciating how smart the young witch was.
"Did you know that Quirrell was hidding You-Know-Who?" She asked.
"I had doubts, yes. But no proof. I knew, thanks to Shimmer's nose, that
Quirrell's situation was far worse than I expected. It made me a little
more wary of him, but I didn't want to confront him directly until I had
the absolute proof that he had fallen under Voldemort's lies." Explained
the old wizard.
"Nose?" Asked Shimmer, knowing they were talking about him and last
night. Though he couldn't remember why his nose might have been
important last night.
"Yes, Shimmer. Your nose and your description of Quirrell smelling of
death while being alive."
"Dead not dead." Instantly said Shimmer.
"Yes. Back to you, Miss Granger. Do you have any other question?"
"Yes, Headmaster. Everything we found down there, they were trials,
made to stop someone to go in. What was Quirrell looking for? What
could have made him rush there while he was about to die?" She asked, a
slight note of fear colouring her voice as she spoke.
The heavy sigh from the headmaster and his slightly tired expression
stopped the young girl to continue. It was clear the answer wouldn't be
an easy one, and with a glance at the deputy headmistress, Hermione
knew that she too knew what this was about.
"I will answer this question, but only once we're back to my office. Does
this satisfies you?" He answered.
"Yes, Headmaster. I only have one more question. What will happen to
Shimmer? He killed Professor Quirrell, so isn't he in big trouble?"
Hermione asked.
"An excellent question, my dear. You see, were this a normal situation, I
would agree that Shimmer would have to be put down by the
Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. But,
this situation is more than unique on several points." Dumbledore started
to explain, with a small smile on his face and slighly more fervent in his
speech. "First, Shimmer acted in self defense. He saved all of you from
lethal danger, and thus cannot be condemned as a rabid and dangerous
creature. Secondly, Shimmer's sapience makes him capable of analysing
the situation more than a regular dragon, meaning that he didn't act out
of cruelty or as a feral beast, but as a creature acting to defend itself and
its friends. And lastly, only your friends, Shimmer and Hogwart's staff
knows what truly happened down there. And I plan for the truth to
remain hidden as long as possible."
Hermione listened, and as the headmaster finished, she wasn't quite sure
of what to think about. He would lie to the whole world? To protect
Shimmer? She understood and agreed with him, but she knew that she
would never be able to lie like this. Was this normal for someone like the
headmaster? This only made her ask herself more questions.
But one took the upper hand.
"So Shimmer will be fine?" She asked.
"As long as no one knows what truly happened, then yes. I will explain
that Professor Quirrell unfortunately died fighting a troll. There might be
questions from DMLE, but I'm certain I will be able to explain myself
with their director, Amelia Bones. Don't worry about Shimmer, Miss
Granger, he will be perfectly safe as long as none of us speaks about what
happened last night." Dumbledore finished, smiling at Hermione and
Shimmer.
"Shimmer okay? Shimmer good dragon?" Asked the golden dragon,
understanding that he did something right.
"That's not exactly what I was saying, but it's close enough. Though, it
does remind me of something. Miss Granger, Mr Wealsey, I believe that
your head of house has something to tell you." He said, steping aside to
let her get all their attention.
"Thank you, Albus. For your reckless actions last night, and disregard of
all safety rules and comon sense, I will be taking thirty points from
Gryffindor. For each student." Minerva McGonagall sternly said, glaring
at her students but also at Shimmer.
"What?! Why? We were only trying to help!" Protested Ron, standing up
in his bed.
"And that is the only reason why you're not losing fifty points each, in
addition of returning alive." She glared at him, cowing him into silence,
before turning back toward Hermione. "And I thought that you, of all my
students, Miss Granger, would have been smart enough to alert a teacher
of what was going on. I don't believe I need to say how disapointed I am
by your lack of cautiousness."
"We didn't have the time. Shimmer left us, and I couldn't let him go
alone." Simply said Hermione, still calm thanks to the draught.
"I understand, but Shimmer is a dragon. Not a student. He can defend
himself, and as much as I hate saying it, he managed to do so remarkably
well until now. Not only were you not even supposed to leave your
dormitory, but you recklessly went after a wizard that you knew to be
dangerous."
"Shimmer dragon. Not human." Confirmed Shimmer, even though he
didn't even understand what the last part was about.
"I know, Professor. I'm sorry for what happened and how we acted, but
we didn't have the time. I panicked, and thought that helping Shimmer
was more important." Hermione poorly justified herself.
"That is no excuse. You could have told another student or even a portrait
to go and warn me. Your behaviour last night is truly terrible compared
to your usual exemplary attitude." Minerva shook her head.
"I'm sorry." Was all Hermione could say, even as tears rolled down her
cheecks and her voice wavered a little.
A growl interrupted them, and all eyes turned toward Shimmer who was
growling at Minerva. The witch took out her wand by reflex, but didn't
do anything, standing ready to defend herself.
"Hermione cry not good. Not make Hermione cry." Her growled harder.
"Shimmer, stand down." Dumbledore warned, all traces of amusement
replaced by a rigid seriousness.
"Apologise." Asked Shimmer.
"Shimmer." Hermione called her, making him look at her. She smiled a
little, even as she cried. "Everything's all right. I'm sad, but it's because I
did bad things. Not because of Professor McGonagall."
"No." Shimmer replied, much to her surprise, Ron's and the teacher's.
"You no cry. Old woman speak, Hermione cry."
"Old woman." Indignantly repeated McGonagall, more than offended by
the dragon's words. She knew them to be true, but to hear it from
Shimmer was quite annoying.
"Now, now Shimmer. Minerva may have been a bit hard, but it's because
we care for Hermione's wellness." Tried to temper Dumbledore.
"Old woman apo-" Started again Shimmer.
"It's not a nice way to adress someone, Shimmer. You should call her
Professor McGonagall or Minerva." Dumbledore interrupted him, keeping
control of the conversation and trying to divert the dragon's anger. He
too was wary. Shimmer may have acted nicely compared to any other
dragon, but he was still a dragon and still a wild one.
"Minerva not nice Hermione. Apologise." Shimmer said.
"Shimmer, it's okay." Hermione tried to calm him down.
"Apologise!" Growled Shimmer, standing up and glaring at Minerva.
The witch almost unleashed a spell, and Poppy was also pointing her
wand at him, but Minerva refrained herslef just in time. She looked at
Dumbledore, looking for confirmation, but he only shook his head.
"I believe that Miss Granger and her friends learned their lesson and
won't be doing anything of the sort. Am I right, Miss Granger?" Asked
Dumbledore, looking at the young girl, while also keeping an eye on
Shimmer.
"Yes Headmaster, I promise." Hermione said, her eyes fixed on Shimmer
and worried about what was happening.
"Stop talk! Apologise!" Demanded Shimmer, smoke coming out of his
nostrils.
"Minerva. Would you mind apologising before our young friend become
too agitated?" Asked Dumbledore, keeping an eye on Shimmer.
"Very well." Huffed Minerva, both feeling angry and defeated at the same
time. And she was also agreeing with Shimmer, she was hard with
Hermione even though she didn't like it, but it was for the young witch's
good. "I'm sorry for being so harsh with you, Miss Granger. Please,
believe me when I say that I do not enjoy saying such things."
Shimmer's angry gaze turned to Hermione,
"I- It's alright Professor. I accept your apology." Hermione replied
politely.
"Good." With a satisfied hum, Shimmer sat down again, the smoke
coming out of his nose stopping and scattering in the air.
Everyone let out a sigh of relief as the situation de-escalated. Though the
adults remained wary of the little dragon, reminded that the creature
before them, despite being nice and calm most of the time, was still a
partially tamed dangerous creature.
"Are you certain I shouldn't throw him out, Albus?" Asked Poppy.
"No, it's alright. I believe that it might be beneficial for him to stay with
us for now. Minerva, is there anything else you would like to add?" Asked
Dumbledore.
"Not while some ears are here, no." The stern headmistress replied,
glancing at Shimmer with a bit of anger.
"Alright. Poppy, would you mind if I took Mister Weasley and Miss
Granger to my office?"
"They should be capable of handling this much, but I want them back for
tonight." The matron ordered more than asked.
"Perfect. Would you mind following me?" Dumbledore said, looking at
the two students and the dragon.
"Shimmer take coins. Fly Dumb Door." Shimmer replied, already starting
to pick up the coins between his teeth. In a rare moment, as in he never
had this problem before, he almost couldn't pick up all the coins in his
mouth. Yet, not wanting to leave a single one behind, he managed to get
them all. He tried to talk, but didn't even realised that having so many
coins in his mouth would make it way harder. "Shaaer o. Ay."
"We can't understand what you're saying, Shimmer. Even less than usual."
Hermione told him.
A bit angry at being told his vocal capabilities were bad, he flew to the
window and waited for the wizards to open it. Poppy was all too eager to
see him go, and promptly opened the window where he flew away. The
little dragon was
"Finally. I was afraid we would have to contain him." The matron said,
sighing in relief.
"Between the three of us, I have no doubt it would have been possible.
Snape did it with a simple chest, after all. But, that would have been a
most detrimental outcome. Now, if we're done here, I'd like to move to
my office." Replied Dumbledore.
A grumble got their attention and all eyes were aimed at a bed on the
other side of the room, where a black haired Gryffindor was waking up.
The boy blinked his eyes a few times to remove the effects of sleep, and
was more than surprised to see all the people in the room.
"What did I miss?" Asked Neville as he stood up.
It took a little while to explain what happened to Neville, but they did so
on the way to the Headmaster's office. They climbed up the stairs behind
the gargoyle and before they even put a foot in the office, they knew that
someone was waiting for them.
THUNK
THUNK
"Well, he is certainly as quick as he is stubborn." Dumbledore chuckled,
reaching his office and flicking his wand in the air.
He, the students following him, and Minerva, all got to see Shimmer walk
in by the window, looking as if everything was perfectly normal.
"Hello." Greeted them Shimmer, more by reflex than anything else.
"Good to see you too, Shimmer. Now, please take a seat." Said
Dumbledore as three chairs flew from behind a shelf and landed in a half
circle before his desk.
The three students did just as they were told, and Minerva walked around
the desk to stand tall next to Albus who sat down in his comfortable
chair. Shimmer flew up to the perch where he met Fawkes, though he
looked slightly less bright than before, with some of his feathers being a
bit darker. He sniffed around the phoenix, and was surprised to smell a
little bit of death on him, though it looked like the phoenix was filled
with more life than other creatures. How could that even be possible?
"Now, before I go any further, I would like you to know that what I'm
about to say must not leave this room. Am I clear?" Asked Dumbledore.
"Yes, Headmaster, I promise." Swore Hermione.
"Yes, Professor Dumbledore." Agreed Neville.
"Yes, sir." Said Ron a bit more casually.
"Shimmer promise." Also said Shimmer, before adding something else.
"Promise what?"
"It's a secret. You must not tell anyone else." Clarified Hermione.
"Shimmer promise secret word." Nodded Shimmer.
"Good. Now, I do not know how or when Quirrell was possessed by
Voldemort, but it was definitely some time before the start of the year. I
had... suspicions that Voldemort was still alive, and I created a plan to
capture him. By making sure the right rumour reached the right ears, I
got him to fall on a chase for a mystical object that could bring him back
to life." Dumbledore Explained, a grave look on his face and a hand
running through his beard. "That's what he was doing in Gringotts, as I
hid that very object there for a while. A chance that I had Hagrid retrieve
it before he acted."
"And then you decided to hide it in Hogwarts? Isn't that dangerous?"
Questioned Hermione, a bit sceptical at the plan of the headmaster.
"It wasn't without risks, I'll admit it." Conceded Dumbledore. "But
Hogwarts is the safest place on Earth behind Gringotts. Plus, Voldemort
knows that I would personally guard the school, making his attempts to
get the stone even harder."
"Not without risks." Scoffed Minerva. "I told you from day one that this
was a ridiculous idea, one that would put our dear students' lives in
danger. And he almost killed some of them!"
"I'm aware, Minerva, and I would have never forgiven myself if that ever
happened." Sighed Dumbledore, knowing that his deputy-headmistress
was right.
"Professor?" Neville asked, raising his hand.
"Yes, Mister Longbottom?" Dumbledore replied.
"What was You-Know-Who looking for?" The boy asked.
"Yeah. What could have made him do... this." Added Ron, still thinking of
Quirrell's body and his death.
"The answer is right here." Said Dumbledore, reaching for one of his
drawers.
His hand came out with a small cloth bag, one that he opened and gently
reached inside to pull out a shiny ruby-red stone, almost oval in shape
and with smooth curves. The students' eyes were stuck on the jewel
before them, not believing that there was a real ruby before them.
But one specific pair of eyes looked at the stone with more than awe.
Shimmer couldn't help but be overwhelmed by the scent of magic that
came from such a tiny rock. And what a rock it was. The smell of magic,
life and gold, all combined it one, making a most unique cocktail of
scents. He never saw one like this before, so beautiful and so enticing. He
was already salivating at the thought of owning it, but couldn't decide if
it would be better to either keep it in his hoard or to eat it to enjoy its
taste.
Fawkes looked at him with concern, wondering what was happening in
the young dragon's mind.
"A ruby?" Questioned Ron, confused that Voldemort would have been
after a single stone. Sure, such a stone could allow his family to live
comfortably for a while, but it was just a ruby.
"No, not a ruby. This, my young students, is the renowned Philosopher's
Stone, created by my old friend Nicholas Flamel. Capable of turning
metals into gold, and of extending one's life. With this, Voldemort would
have been able to get a new body." Dumbledore revealed.
"Woah." Let out Ron.
"Does it really work?" Wondered Neville.
"It certainly does. Nicholas Flamel and his wife are both more than six
hundred years old." Nodded Dumbledore.
Fawkes squeaked lightly, trying to get Shimmer's attention, but it did
nothing to remove the gaze of the dragon from the stone.
How could he? Shimmer leaned forward a little, the extremely powerful
scent of magic entering his nostrils and filling him with an absolute need
to get this stone for himself, no matter the consequences.
"What are you going to do with it?" Asked Hermione.
"Well, me and Nicholas talked about it, and perhaps it's time for the stone
to disappear. The chance that Voldemort or any other dark wizard tries
to take it for themselves is too great, and its power is sincerely too much
for humans." Dumbledore sighed, knowing that his friend's choice was
the right one, as sad and painful as it was.
"Oh. Does that mean that-" Started Hermione again.
She didn't get the time to finish, as Shimmer had jumped from his perch.
Fawkes squawked in warning, but couldn't do anything as the dragon
dived straight at the stone. Taking everyone by surprise, he caught the
stone between his teeth and flew away with it.
"Shimmer!" Squeaked Hermione, startled by his rush.
"Shimmer, give me back the stone." Dumbledore strongly yet calmly
demanded, his wand in hand. He only realised now that the dragon, who
could smell magic and liked to eat it, was a risk for the stone.
He heard the words, and normally he would give back whatever he took,
even coins if needed. But not that rock. Now that it was in his mouth, he
could taste how the gold and the magic mixed together in a wonderful
flavour. Flying higher and closer to the ceiling, trying to put some
distance between him and the wizards, he looked for an exit. He also
found himself forced to avoid Fawkes, the phoenix trying to catch him
with his claws. Though, even if Fawkes was older and more experienced,
Shimmer was currently the faster one, and he managed to avoid each of
Fawkes attempts to catch him.
"Shimmer! Give the stone back, right now!" Ordered Hermione.
"Shimmer like! Gold! Magic!" He managed to say even as his eyes aimed
at the stairs. He clutched the stone harder between his teeth, and felt the
taste of magic become even stronger. Even though he didn't know about
drugs, the effect was roughly the same, the more he kept it in his mouth,
the more addicted he was to the stone's magic.
Dumbledore saw where he might be going, and before Shimmer was able
to escape, used his wand to move a shelf in the way of the stairs,
effectively stopping Shimmer from leaving the room. Growling in
frustration, Shimmer turned around and frantically flew in the air, trying
to find another way out.
"Shimmer, I really don't want to do this. Please, give me back the stone."
Dumbledore warned, aiming his wand at the dragon.
"Shimmer!" Hermione shouted once more, now very worried about her
friend's safety. Would the headmaster really shoot down Shimmer? She
could barely imagine this and simply kept her eyes on Shimmer, trying to
force him to come down. "Wingardium Leviosa!"
Hermione's spell was rightly cast, of course, but the power behind it
wasn't enough to affect a being capable of resisting magic like a dragon.
Even if Shimmer was focusing on keeping the stone, he saw and felt
Hermione's spell on him. It did nothing physically, but knowing that his
friend shot magic at him hurt him in another way.
"No! Shimmer like like! Good! Shimmer take!" He countered.
"Albus! Do something!" Minerva called, also aiming at Shimmer, but
afraid of what the dragon's reaction would be.
"Accio Philosopher's Stone!" Dumbledore unleashed his spell.
The effect was instant, and Shimmer could feel the stone in mouth being
pulled toward the headmaster. It briefly stopped him in his flight before
he stabilised himself, and then he pulled as hard as possible to keep the
stone, growling at the same time.
"Let go, Shimmer! That's an order!" The headmaster said, putting more
power in his spell.
"No!" Refused Shimmer between gritted teeth. The stone was stuck
between his teeth, and he bit down hard to keep it. Where his teeth met
the surface of the stone, small holes and cracks appeared, leaking an
incredible amount of magic that fueled Shimmer to not let go. It felt too
good to give it up.
He couldn't let them have it.
"You too Minerva!" Called Dumbledore.
"Accio Philosopher's Stone!" The deputy-headmistress shouted, standing
next to Dumbledore.
Shimmer grunted under the effort, feeling the stone starting to be pulled
toward the two wizards along with the stone. He hadn't used all his
strength yet, not wanting to damage the stone, but he didn't have the
choice anymore. Biting down with everything he had, larger cracks
appeared on all sides of the stone, much to the teachers' horror.
"Stop casting! The stone is going to-" Hurriedly ordered Dumbledore,
horrified at what was happening, lowering his wand.
It was too late though. Shimmer's sharp teeth broke through the stone,
and almost all of its pieces went down his throat. The taste was
incredible, by far the best thing he ever ate, and he barely registered as
he flew backward, no longer being pulled by the magic of the wizard and
the witch.
An awed and horrified silence took over the room, everyone looking at
Shimmer as the dragon landed on one of the shelves. They couldn't
believe that what happened before them truly happened, but the few
broken pieces of the stone on the ground proved that this was real.
"What have you done?" Dumbledore asked in a near whisper, watching as
Shimmer started to retch.
Indeed, Shimmer felt bloated. Or even more than bloated, if that was
even possible. The magic of the stone instantly filled him, and it was too
much. He tried to expel the magic, but it was for naught, as nothing came
out of his mouth. A sudden wave of energy washed over him, and then
his whole body felt far too heavy, completely exhausted. His vision was
tainted with red as he felt like a specific spot on his forehead was
burning, making him briefly shriek in pain as he experienced a pain
unlike anything he ever had before.
He quickly lost consciousness, his claws released the shelf he was holding
on and he fell forward.
"Shimmer!" Called Hermione, too slow to catch the falling dragon.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" Dumbledore casted, stopping Shimmer's body just
a couple of centimetres above the ground, completely limp.
"Shimmer! Wake up! Please!" Begged Hermione, taking his head in her
hands and trying to shake him so that he would wake up.
"Let me look, Miss Granger." Dumbledore said, putting Shimmer's body
on the ground and using his wand to cast a diagnosis spell.
The young dragon was burning, as if he was on fire, and a small line on
his scaled forehead was quite literally as red as hot iron. But, as much as
Dumbledore wanted to find out about this, if it was an effect of the stone
or not, they didn't have time to focus on that.
"Is he alright?" Asked Ron.
"It appears so, he looks to be merely unconscious. But, there's something
wrong within him. We better take him to the infirmary, now." Ordered
Dumbledore, picking up Shimmer with his magic. "Minerva, send a
message to Severus. I fear that we might need his expertise."
"Is he going to be okay?" Asked Hermione, crying rivers of tears.
"I'm afraid this is a unique situation, Miss Granger. I have no idea what
eating the Philosopher's Stone could do, we will have to find out."
Dumbledore replied, quickly going down the stairs with Shimmer flying
in the air right before him.
As Minerva used her wand to cast a spell summoning a cat made out of
pure light, something that escaped the three students too preoccupied
with Shimmer's health, Dumbledore and said students rushed toward the
infirmary, hoping that the little dragon would be alright.
Dumbledore also couldn't help but think about the consequences of this.
Not only for the health of Shimmer, but the consequences for Nicholas
and his wife, as well as how he would explain this to the couple of
alchemists.
Bur for now, he had a dragon to save.
Hi! Valexto at the keyboard!
Sorry for not releasing anything sooner, my last week was very, very
busy, and I didn't have my computer with me. I'm back to normal now.
Though I got many problems with Fanfiction, as I suddenly got hundreds
of old notifications, doubles if you prefer, that polluted my email.
Yeah, I made Shimmer eat the Philosopher's Stone.
Were any of you expecting this with the Philosopher's Stone? Tell me
what you think.
And what do you think will happen to Shimmer next? I'm curious to
know what you think or expect.
Also, as you can see, Voldemort isn't dead yet. This promises more
challenges ahead for our young dragon and potentatially a Voldemort
quite mad at a 'mere beast' for taking away his vessel and his chance at
coming back to life.
Thanks for all the support and see you soon!
24. Chapter 24
I do not own nor possess any right over Harry Potter, all rights belongs to
J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 24
The infirmary was buzzing with activity, even if the patient was not one
usually seen in that sort of place, as Snape, Madam Pomfrey and
Dumbledore discussed what the best course of action would be. Their
initial diagnosis was rather simple, both concerning and reassuring.
Shimmer appeared to be fine, despite being unconscious, but eating the
Philosopher's Stone was still having unknown effects on him.
Both Snape and Dumbledore were unanimous: an evil tried or managed
to possess Shimmer, before being banished and destroyed by the
overcharge of magic from the Stone. They would have to wait for the
dragon to wake up to see if that possession had any effects on him. Yet,
what was most concerning at the moment was the amount of magic they
could feel in Shimmer's body. It was slowly going down, either
dissipating or being absorbed by Shimmer, but they simply couldn't guess
what the consequences would be in the future.
Madam Pomfrey used some of Snape's potions to force Shimmer's body to
expel the surplus of magic, and a small bucket filled with red goo, itself
overcharged with magic, was vomited by Shimmer.
Should he awake, they expected him to be either lethargic or completely
out of control, so for everyone's safety they tied his wings, feet, and neck
to the bed. Not too tightly, of course, but enough to hold him down.
They didn't say it, but they didn't even know if Shimmer would survive
and wake up. He was fine now, but absorbing so much magic, and one so
unique and unknown, left them wondering what it would do.
"I suppose there's nothing else we can do now." Dumbledore shighed,
putting his wand down, looking at the unconscious dragon resting on the
bed.
"Is he going to be alright?" Hermione asked, who had remained at the
dragon's side at all times, with tears rolling down her cheeks from her red
eyes.
She, Ron and Neville remained in the infirmary, both because they were
worried about Shimmer and also because Madam Pomfrey wanted to
keep an eye on Hermione and Neville for one more night.
"I cannot say, Miss Granger. Eating the Philosopher's Stone is a first in
history, and we can only wait for his condition to stabilise." The
Headmaster regretfully answered.
"Alright." Hermione accepted, even if that was very hard to hear.
"I will send a message to the Flamels, both to tell them about the
regrettable loss of the Stone and to ask if they could give us some insight
about this delicate situation. For now, I want all of you to rest and be
patient." He told the students.
"Yes, Professor." All three replied.
"Good. Severus, can I count on you to help Poppy take care of our guest?"
"I will ensure the stupid animal lives." Coldly said the potion master,
glaring at the dragon. The idea of what just happened was so ridiculous
that it seemed impossible, yet the golden menace managed to do it.
"He's not stupid." Hermione couldn't help but mutter.
"While I don't doubt his mental capabilities, what he did was careless and
far too dangerous. We will have to be more mindful of such problems in
the future." Dumbledore replied, a small smile on his face. "Now, please
go rest."
Having much to do, Dumbledore left, alongside Minerva who remained
silent during the whole debacle, and Snape, who had a few potions in
mind he wanted to prepare. The potion teacher also took two vials of red
goo with him, most curious about its particularities and effects, as well as
wanting to compare them with the blue goo he got from Shimmer a little
while ago.
"You heard the Headmaster. I know all of you are worried about
Shimmer, but I believe he will be fine. If you're hungry, I can ask for a
late lunch to be delivered here, since we're still in the early afternoon."
Madam Pomfrey said, looking sternly at the students and the dragon,
though her voice showed that she was somewhat concerned about them.
"That would be very nice, thank you." Replied Hermione while Neville
nodded.
"Oh, and Mister Weasley? You're more than capable of going back to
class." Glared the matron.
The boy sighed, knowing there was no arguing with the matron, and
turned toward his friends.
"Guess I have to go. I'll try to take some notes for you two." He said,
which was most unusual for him.
So unusual, that Hermione looked at him with wide eyes, not believing
her ears. Even Neville was looking at him in surprise.
"Really?" She asked, flabbergasted.
"Yeah. I just- yeah." Ron replied a bit awkwardly.
The two watched him leave, still barely believing what they just
witnessed.
"Why do so many strange things happen today?" Neville asked, sitting on
his bed.
"I don't know." Hermione slowly replied, looking at the infirmary's door
and then at Shimmer.
She remained silent, feeling tired and worried, thinking about what
would happen to Shimmer. The effects of the Calming Draught she drank
had disappeared, and she was once more in control of her emotions, but
she was so tired that she couldn't express most of them. There was a
single question in her mind: why would Shimmer do that? She knew he
liked precious things and magic, but she could never have imagined that
he would go steal something like the Stone in front of everyone.
Of course, he was a creature that, while sapient and intelligent, wasn't
thinking like a human. Depending on the moment, Hermione could either
know what he would do before he knew him himself, or he would take
her completely by surprise. That's what happened this time, and she was
trying to find an explanation. What worried her as well was how
Shimmer refused to give back the Stone, saying that he liked it and its
magic. He normally would obey their orders.
Was the Stone so magical and precious that her friend couldn't help but
take it? That's the conclusion she was reaching, and she didn't know what
to think about it.
But most of all, she was worried about him. His body wasn't burning hot
anymore, even it was warmer than usual, maybe akin to a fever, but the
fact that the teachers found traces of dark magic and possession on him
was the worst news so far. Did Voldemort tried to take over Shimmer?
Did it work? Would her friend still be himself when he'll wake up? She
didn't know.
And that was without mentioning the fact that he was still unconscious
and that the Stone's magic was still affecting him with unknown effects.
They didn't know how long it would take for him to wake up, if it would
impact him in a positive or negative way. The teachers remained hopeful,
so Hermione managed to hold on to that thought to remain confident as
well.
With her exhaustion catching up, Hermione laid back down in her bed.
Even as she fell asleep for a restful nap, her thoughts remained focused
on her friend.
And Ron. A small part of her was almost concerned with the strange
behaviour of the boy with ginger hair.
To Hermione's worry, Shimmer didn't wake up that day. She and Neville
were allowed to return to class the next day, still having to remain silent
about that part with Professor Quirrell. There was no news from the
teachers on that side, which may have been a good thing, but that wasn't
what preoccupied Hermione most.
And, just like he said, much to Hermione and Neville utter shock, Ron
brought back some notes from their classes. It wasn't much, nowhere
near the level of detailed notes that Hermione used to take, but the fact
that he willingly took some was concerning. It's not to say that he never
took notes, but his assiduity in class wasn't exceptional, and he mostly
listened to the teachers without writing down much. What he brought to
his two friends summed up what happened in class, which was the
minimum needed for them to follow what happened in the courses.
They asked Ron what prompted this most unusual behaviour of his, but
he replied that he would tell them later. That he required some time.
Ron's return to class also gave them some insight about their fellow
students. Dumbledore announced that Quirrell left most suddenly, citing
a panic attack as the reason, and most students brought it. Some rumours
came, though, that Hermione, Ron, and Neville did a prank on the
teacher with Shimmer as their weapon. This was why the three had been
missing, and also the reason Gryffindor lost some points since last night.
So when all three of them arrived in the Great Hall the next morning,
they were promptly asked by the members of their house what truly
happened.
"Is it true that you scared Quirrell so much that he left?" Asked George.
"What? No!" Hermione replied, scandalised.
"Or did you scare him so much that he died?" Fred asked next.
"Come on, I already told you we didn't do anything like this." Ron
groaned, taking his head between his hands.
"Well, was what Dumbledore said true?" Asked Parvati.
"Yeah. We haven't seen Shimmer since Quirrell left. Was he taken by the
ministry?" Dean continued.
"Shimmer ate something bad and the teachers are keeping him in the
infirmary." Hermione replied, hoping that giving them some truth would
get the other students from their back.
"It's not a surprise, really." A haughty voice came from behind them.
Nearly the whole of the first year's Gryffindor table groaned as they
looked behind them, finding without surprise Malfoy and his two
bodyguards. The boy with blond hair was looking down at them, a smirk
on his face.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" Ron asked in a tone of exasperation, as if
he really didn't want to deal with the Slytherin boy.
"You will speak to me with manners, Weasley." Sneered Malfoy for a
second, stopping when he noticed that it had no effect on his rival. "And
about your lizard, well, eating poison is exactly what a stupid creature
like him would do."
"He didn't eat poison. Just something bad." Countered Hermione.
"You do not speak back to me, Granger." Malfoy spat at her, before
smirking once more. "And now that I think about it, your pet isn't here to
take care of you anymore. You should be careful of what you say."
"Is that a threat? God, you're boring. Only a Slytherin could make threats
without actual meaning." Ron retorted.
"What happened to you, Weasley? Lost your courage with Professor
Quirrell? Did you get special classes with him?" Draco taunted while his
goons snickered.
"Now, now, dear little boy of bad faith." Smiled Fred as he walked up
next to Draco, instantly putting him and the two other boys on their
guards. "You don't want to go down that road, now, would you?"
"That would be dangerous, dear brother. Insulting and teasing Ickle
Ronnie is for us only, and there's no sharing." George continued, joining
up his brother. "Unless, you would like to enjoy the same treatment?"
Draco looked like he wanted to retort, but he bit his tongue and backed
off, returning to his table with a frown and a glare as only rewards from
his taunting. Hermione let out a sigh of relief, really not wanting to listen
anymore to the arrogant Slytherin.
"Back to you!" Fred cheered. "What happened to Shimmer?"
"We already told you. He ate something bad and has been sick ever
since." Ron said.
"He can't even wake up." Neville added.
"My, my! That must be something really, really awful, to put down a
dragon." Noted George.
"And we know a lot about bad ingredients. Perhaps you could share what
put this poor Shimmer in the infirmary?" Fred followed.
"Sorry, but Madam Pomfrey was adamant that we don't say what it was."
Hermione politely refused.
"Ah! And here we thought to get the final ingredient to put Snape in a
century long coma!" George complained.
"A most noble plan, put down for such a simple reason!" Fred added.
"I have a plan for you, Weasleys." Professor Snape said, almost coming
out of nowhere and appearing behind the twins.
The two looked at each other with worry for a second, before sharing a
smile and turning toward the potion teacher, who wasn't fooled and
glaring at them.
"Professor Snape, you just happen to hear about a most fascinating tale."
Fred started.
"About a ridiculous yet amusing idea." George added.
"Then you won't mind joining me to write down a tale about how you
shouldn't put your nose where it doesn't belong." Sneered the professor.
"Of course not! We love spending time with you."
"Only if our relationship remains of students and teacher, of course." Fred
added.
"Saturday morning, in my office." Snape said, not amused at all by their
antics.
"Of course!" The twins replied.
With a last glare at them, the potion teacher turned around, flicking his
cape as he did so, and returned to the teacher's table.
The Gryffindor students let out a sigh of relief as the tension broke, and
only the twins kept smiling all along.
"How can you two even say something like that?" Hermione asked,
horrified.
"It's a skill." Fred revealed.
"A talent." George divulged.
"You have to admit, Snape has one hell of a patience for these two. To
not snap at them after that…" Dean trailed off.
"Yeah, but he knows that they can actually be serious with their pranks.
He won't back down, but so will they." Ron explained.
"Right you are, dear brother." Both twins confirmed at the same time,
creeping out most of the table. Except Ron, who was used to it.
"Can we actually take our breakfast now?! I don't want to go to class
hungry." Hermione complained, shutting down most of the questions that
the others wanted to ask them.
Their talks had to be stopped shortly after, though, as classes were about
to start for the day. Knowing that they wouldn't be able to go see
Shimmer until their classes were over, Hermione resolved to be patient
and try to think only about the good outcomes. Like Shimmer waking up.
It was the middle of the afternoon, in the Hospital Wing, and Shimmer
was still lying unconscious in his bed. Madam Pomfrey was in her office,
and regularly checked upon the dragon, noting that his temperature was
almost completely back to normal. At least, while her skills in dark arts
weren't the best, the effects of the possession looked to have been quite
lessened.
But, at that moment, when she wasn't looking, she didn't watch as
Shimmer's body changed, finally stabilising the effects of the
Philosopher's Stone. His golden scales, pristine and beautiful, took on an
even better aspect, almost shining under the light and taking the look of
real gold. Slowly, so slowly that it was unnoticeable unless you were to
keep watching for several minutes straight, he grew a little. He got about
five centimetres taller and maybe a bit more than double in length and
width, which didn't make him into an impressive dragon, but still bigger
than he previously was.
That was it for the apparent physical changes, but a few more happened,
especially on his magic. While Shimmer had magic before, it had been
one slightly better than a regular dragon. Now, though, his magic rose
up, not tremendously, but enough to make a change.
And then, very suddenly, his eyes opened.
Shimmer didn't know what happened to him, but he felt tied down to
something, and his panic exploded as he thought himself in danger.
Snarling and growling furiously, he twisted around in an attempt to free
himself. The noise instantly got the attention of the matron, who saw
from her office the dragon awake and in a very, very dangerous mood.
Not taking any risk, she acted quickly.
"Fidi!" She called.
A house elf appeared next to her.
"Yes Ma'am?" Asked the female house elf.
"Go tell Dumbledore that the dragon woke up and that I need help to
contain him. Quickly!"
"Yes Ma'am!" Fidi squeaked, vanishing.
Stepping out of her office, Madam Pomfrey saw that Shimmer already
managed to free his neck, a piece of rope still around it, and was
currently in the process of removing the ropes on his wings.
"Shimmer!" She called out strongly, keeping her wand in hand.
Recognising his name, he turned toward her and calmed down a little,
right before the feeling of the ropes on his body got his attention again,
and he attacked them once more. He was thrashing around so quickly
and furiously that getting closer would have been far too dangerous.
"Not like! Human let Shimmer go!" He warned her, glaring at her and at
the ropes.
"Shimmer, listen to me! You need to calm down!" Madam Pomfrey
continued, walking around Shimmer while keeping a good distance
between them.
Shimmer's sudden moves made his stomach turn, and a feeling of
sickness washed over him. He suddenly spat a few globs of red goo,
coughing dryly as he was forced to stop thrashing around for a couple of
seconds.
"Shimmer not like!" He growled, smoke coming out of his nostrils and the
light of a powerful fire shining through his chest.
"Stop that!" Madam Pomfrey shouted, panicking and raising her wand.
She had experience with annoying children putting themselves in
dangerous situations, but taking care of a dragon was something she was
never taught.
Opening his jaws wide, Shimmer unleashed his fire on the ropes. Aiming
at his right wing first, the fire didn't hurt him as usual, but the flame
seemed stronger and warmer than before. It burned the rope all the same,
though, so he attacked all the others ropes.
Madam Pomfrey, who had taken a step back, didn't know what to do and
was expecting the dragon to attack her next.
Shimmer finished burning away the last rope holding his leg, that the
door of the Hospital Wing was busted open by Dumbledore, instantly
pointing his wand at Shimmer. He noticed how brighter and shinier the
dragon was, but didn't focus on it right now.
"Shimmer!" He called out, walking up to the distraught matron and
stepping in front of her. "Calm down, Shimmer!
"Dumb Door. Shimmer not like." Acknowledged Shimmer for a moment,
trying to remove the rope around his neck with his hind legs' claws,
unsuccessfully.
"Let me take care of this." With a flick of the headmaster's wand, the
hanging piece of rope was untied and removed.
"Good! Shimmer not like. Want fly." Shimmer snarled, wanting to get out
of here. He needed to check if his coins didn't move, as he couldn't
remember very well what happened after he brought the last ones to his
hoard.
"A moment, Shimmer. We need to check a few things with you."
Dumbledore stopped him. "How do you feel, Shimmer? Are you tired?
Anything with your head?"
"Shimmer is okay. Not bad. Why head?" He asked angrily.
"A little problem that we had. Can I use my magic to check on you?"
Dumbledore asked, knowing Shimmer might eat any of his spells.
"Yes. Quick. Shimmer want bye-bye. Want go see coin." Shimmer replied,
tail whipping in the air as a sign of his annoyance.
"I'm sure Miss Granger would like to see you. Perhaps you could wait for
her?" Dumbledore tempted him.
"No! Shimmer want go coin!" Shimmer adamantly refused.
Knowing he didn't have much time against the dragon's patience,
Dumbledore began casting the appropriate spells, and he went from the
most concerning issues they had to the smaller ones. First, and to his
greatest relief, there was no more sign of possession. If Voldemort really
tried to possess Shimmer, he was purged out of him by the incredible
magic stored in the Philosopher's Stone. Secondly, the magic inside
Shimmer was stabilised, and it seemed far less chaotic than Dumbledore
thought it would be. The Flamels were due to arrive soon, as they were
aware of the urgency of the situation, and he was really counting on their
expertise. What the magic in Shimmer was, however, surprised him. It
felt similar to the Stone, but also different.
Were the effects of the Stone transferred to Shimmer? Or did his body
alter them? They would have to test this, but it would have to wait.
Shimmer was clearly in no mood to listen to them, and Dumbledore
didn't want to antagonise him even more.
"You appear to be fine, young Shimmer. You're free to go, but please
come back to see us soon, for we have a lot to discuss. I'm certain Miss
Granger and your other friends would be delighted to see you."
Dumbledore asked, flicking his wand and opening a window for the
dragon to fly in.
Without waiting, Shimmer took to the air and went straight to the
window. Focused on securing his hoard, not knowing if something or if
another dragon found his precious pile of coins, he went straight up to
the window of the little attic where he lived. And, surprisingly, he had to
break a bit of glass to fit in. Not that he couldn't have entered without
doing it, but his body was slightly bigger.
Thankfully, as soon as he came in, his sharp eyes and mind caught the
sight of his hoard, apparently left untouched. But even then, he still went
right in it and started to inspect every coin he had, counting them and
checking if they were at the right places. It took a couple of minutes, but
he quickly managed to determine that all of his precious possessions were
here.
Letting out a sigh of relief, he now addressed a new problem. One that
wasn't exactly one, but that messed up with his nose, tongue, and brain.
There was more gold around him, and he couldn't find it. He went to
every corner of the room, checked everywhere, but no matter where he
went, the scent of gold was just as strong. It wasn't a perfect smell either,
as there was definitely the scent of gold, but it was lessened and
somewhat diluted with something he couldn't identify.
It only frustrated him more, and he kept searching. The whole day.
Meanwhile.
"I don't want to ever see that blasted animal here ever again!" Madam
Pomfrey screamed at Albus, still on her high of panic.
"I understand, Poppy, and you don't have to worry about this. I will work
with Hagrid so that we may have a spare room allocated to taking care of
Shimmer, should something like this happen again." Dumbledore assured,
wanting to reassure their dear matron, who remained quite shaken by
this most frightening moment. It took him quite a few minutes to
reassure his best nurse, and even now she remained adamant in her wish
to never see Shimmer again.
"And- and don't ever ask me again to take care of a dragon!" She added
quickly.
"I won't, Poppy. Take a break and relax, alright? I'm sorry I have to leave
you, but there's much I need to prepare for."
"Get out!"
Not waiting to be told twice, Hogwarts' headmaster quickly fled the
hospital wing, closing the doors behind him.
Alone, he sighed in relief. Shimmer was safe and looked to be fine, even
though there were some apparent changes that happened to him, like his
slight increase in size and the scales that looked different. He would have
to perform some more precise spells later to establish a proper diagnosis,
but the most important was that the dragon wasn't possessed and
appeared to be fine, if only very moody for now.
Now he would have to find Miss Granger to give her the good news, as
well as warning her and her friends that Shimmer may be a bit hard to
approach for now. And perhaps that they would have to keep the young
dragon calm so they could cast their spells on him. They would also have
to explain to him that what he did was wrong, incredibly dangerous, and
that there would be a punishment for this.
He would have to convince Miss Granger first, but knew he wouldn't
have any issue, as the young witch was more than eager to teach
Shimmer how to behave properly and wasn't afraid to punish him if
necessary. Forbidding him to have new coins for a week or two should be
enough.
A little vibration in Hogwarts' magic wards told him that visitors were at
the gates, and he smiled knowing reinforcements just arrived.
Since he was at the hospital wing, he didn't have to walk down the stairs
from his tower, and made his way toward the entrance while authorising
the access to the newcomers. Letting the castle guide him, he quickly
reached his objective and saw two figures walking on the long bridge
leading to the castle's grounds.
The first was a man of old age, with clean white hair and wearing white
robes beneath a white coat. His face was sunken, and his eyes held a
powerful weight that silently spoke of a life filled with experience.
The second, a woman just as old, wearing a darker outfit yet just as clean
as her partner. Her hair reached her shoulders in a ponytail, just as white
as the man's hair, and she had a kind air to her that was contrasted by
her eyes as well.
"Nicolas. Pernelle. It's a pleasure to see you again, despite the
circumstances." Albus greeted them warmly.
"Albus Dumbledore. It hasn't been long since our last meeting." Nicolas
Flamel replied in kind, raising his hand toward the headmaster who
shook it.
"A moment, one could say." Pernelle added.
"For people like you, perhaps. But, I'm afraid time is running out. There
has been some new development since my last letter, good ones as far as
I could tell." Albus replied.
"Really? This is truly fascinating. The dragon is still here, correct?"
Nicolas mused aloud, a feeling of excitement in his voice that didn't quite
match his old age.
"He is, but I'm afraid he woke up quite moody and should be back later.
If you would like to follow me, we can get you settled." Albus offered,
starting to walk toward Hogwarts.
"That would be most appreciated." Pernelle nodded.
"Good. Excuse my curiosity, but have you managed to put your affairs in
order, as you said?"
"We were taken by surprise by your news, but we were aware of the
risks. A few more owls to send, and we should be ready." Nicolas smiled.
Albus didn't reply, and simply led them toward some rooms left for the
occasional guests that the castle had.
"What happened to that trace of possession you found?"
"Cleansed by the Stone, it appears. The traces of dark magic are almost
gone, and I couldn't find anything wrong when I checked this morning.
Your help would be most appreciated on his body and magic, since there
seems to have been some changes." Albus replied.
"Of course. By the way, did your potion master find anything interesting
about your dragon's magical rejects?" Nicolas continued.
"He confirmed that it was indeed magic in a somewhat solidified state.
While we haven't found any uses for them yet, tests showed that we
could either solidify the goo which doesn't really affect its nature, or we
could try to burn it and then the effects are rather… explosive, to say the
least." Albus said, recalling Severus' report about the goo. He witnessed
one use of the goo placed on a plate above a fire, and the drop seized
sample was enough to blew up the entire plate as well as knocking out
several objects in the room.
"Is it now? Fascinating. And that was before he ate the Stone, correct?"
"Indeed. This new goo he spat out, we don't know if he'll ever be able to
create it again. The original one was created, for lack of a better term, by
the use of regular magic spells. Since there is almost nothing left of the
Stone, I'm afraid we don't know if Shimmer will be able to produce this
goo at will or if it's going to be completely unique." Albus went into
detail. "As for the first vials of goo, we can use them as powerful
explosives for now, but we're hoping that further experimentation will
reveal other properties. One theory could be to manage to use the magic
stored in the goo to power spells, runes, and wards. This may strengthen
the effects of the basic spells, drawing the magic from the goo rather than
the surroundings. Or maybe, in addition to the surroundings."
"I cannot wait to experiment with this. A brand-new form of magic, after
so long spent working on a magical system that barely changed in ten
centuries, sounds exhilarating." Nicolas replied with an excited smile. "I
almost want to stay alive a little longer to work on this."
"May I ask how much time you have left?" Albus asked with a slightly
pained look.
"About a week. It may be short, but I believe we can do great work in so
little time." Nicolas assured.
Reaching the guest rooms, Albus let them in and gave them the keys.
"Would you like to join us for dinner? I'm sure our young dragon will
show up then. He likes to spend time with Miss Granger." The
headmaster invited them.
"Certainly. It will be nice to be around the sound of dozens of children
once more. I find this a particularly pleasing way to go, leaving the world
for the younger generations to take care of." Pernelle happily agreed.
"Do you remember the way to the Great Hall?"
"We are old, Albus. Not senile." Nicolas grinned. "We will see you there."
"Then I bid you good afternoon. Dinner is between 6 PM and 8 PM."
Albus said, closing the door behind him.
Taking a pocket watch out of his coat, he looked at the time. The hands
of the watch showed three thirty-seven pm, meaning that students were
still in class until four. As he started walking, Albus thought about how
he could approach the situation with Miss Granger and the need to teach
Shimmer to never steal again. He would prefer to speak of all of this
privately, so he would wait for her and her friend's class with Flitwick to
be over and take them to his office to devise a plan of action. Something
else that he would prefer to do privately was to admonish the dragon, but
he was quite sure that Shimmer wouldn't show up until dinner, which
would take place in the Great Hall as usual.
This would require planning and a very, very careful wording to the
young dragon. As smart as Shimmer was, some words and especially
expressions and meanings could go over his head, which would defeat
the purpose of the scolding.
That evening, Shimmer was both tired and frustrated. He spent the whole
afternoon looking for the scent of new gold, only to never find it. He
looked in his room, checked his entire hoard twice, and even went
outside to hunt. At all times the scent of gold remained, and he never
managed to find it. Even in the forest, he could smell gold!
He recalled half-way in the afternoon that he ate the shiny rock, and was
very, very disappointed that he could barely remember its taste. He
recalled eating it, but the taste and magic had been so much that he just
couldn't remember what happened next.
So it's a frustrated dragon that gave up after hours of searching, and who
went to see Hermione at dinner. He was still hungry, a bit more than
usual actually, and he wanted to know how his friends were doing.
His usual window was opened, and he went right in. Stopping briefly on
the rafters, looking at the room with more attention than usual, he
noticed that there were two new humans at the old humans table, and
somehow these two looked even older than the rest. But it didn't really
matter, and he looked down toward the Gryffindor table, quickly finding
Hermione and her friends already seated.
A bit strange, though, was that the surrounding seats had been left
mostly empty, leaving plenty of space for him to land on the table with
Hermione and Neville on one side and Ron on the other.
Just as he was about to jump, Shimmer noticed how Dumb Door pointed
at him and old humans all looked at him, some with curiosity and others
with wariness. Not caring, Shimmer jumped in the air and glided down
toward Hermione's table, landing almost right in front of her. A few
students shouted in surprise, but quickly calmed down once they realised
it was their neighbouring dragon.
"Shimmer!" Hermione exclaimed at his landing, brightening up instantly
and reaching for a hug, only to stop at the last second. "Wow, you grew
up."
"Hello." Shimmer greeted rather casually.
"Come here!" She said, opening her arms for a hug.
"No. Shimmer not like hug. Is prison." He replied, staying slightly out of
reach and eyeing her arms warily.
"Please? I was so scared, I thought you were dying." Hermione pleaded.
"Shimmer strong. Not dead." He countered.
"Please?"
Looking at her, and then at Neville who ducked a little under his gaze,
before looking at Ron who wasn't eating his plate like a savage.
"Ron not hungry?" He asked, a bit surprised by this change of behaviour.
"No. Not really. You better let her hug you, though, because she will
catch you one day." Ron advised him, lightly poking his piece of ham
with his fork.
Turning back toward Hermione, he saw that she had small tears in her
eyes, despite her smile and her still open arms. A bit annoyed, Shimmer
choose to accept it and reluctantly got close to her. Humans and their
high maintenance cost.
"You have no idea how happy I am to see you." Hermione let out a breath
of relief, catching him in a tight hug.
"Shimmer happy not happy." He replied, annoyed.
A bit to his surprise, and Hermione's, the hug didn't feel the same as
usual. Shimmer's scales had always been rather tough, but they were also
somewhat soft underneath. Now, though, Hermione could feel that his
scales seemed tougher and harder. Poking at them with her finger, she
marvelled at the change that took place over most of his body. Some
places, like beneath his jaw and neck, were still quite soft and flexible.
"What happened to you, Shimmer? Was it the Stone?" She asked, petting
his head calmly.
"Shimmer not know. Shimmer like. Shiny like gold." He replied, using his
teeth to bite on his tail's scales and indeed finding them tougher. And
also something far, far more interesting. He tasted gold.
Seeing how he stopped, still biting his tail, Hermione nudged him.
"Shimmer? Are you alright?" She asked, a bit concerned.
"What's going on?" Neville also asked, looking at the golden dragon.
"Shimmer is gold." Shimmer replied, letting go of his tail, confused.
He was gold. He liked gold and it was precious and shiny. Now he too
was precious and shiny. And Shimmer liked to collect gold. Should he
collect this gold too? Could he collect himself?
Taking everyone by surprise, Shimmer attacked his own tail once more,
though this time with far more strength and ferocity.
"Shimmer?! What are you doing?" Hermione screamed, almost daring to
reach him.
"Shimmer want gold." Shimmer said through gritted teeth.
He was trying, but his teeth were barely managing to pierce his own
hide. He didn't remember it to be so tough. A few people were starting to
watch the strange show taking place, and that included some teachers as
well.
"My, my. You keep surprising us every day, Shimmer." Dumbledore said,
chuckling as he watched the dragon attempting to remove his own scales.
"Though, removing your own scales does seem like a strange idea."
"Professor Dumbledore." Hermione, Ron, and Neville greeted the
headmaster.
"Dumb Door. Shimmer not know. Want gold. Can't get gold. Shimmer is
gold." Shimmer said, letting go of his tail in frustration.
"Indeed. A most fascinating development. I don't think I asked before, but
do you shed scales, Shimmer?" Dumbledore asked.
"Shed? Not know word." Shimmer said.
"Ah, do you sometimes lose some of your scales?" Dumbledore
reformulated.
"Scale is strong. Scale… is dead, fall. More scale, is long." Shimmer tried
to reply, not certain he had the right words to answer.
"I don't think he sheds, professor. He just regrows the broken ones."
Hermione translated.
"Right. Then perhaps one day, we will be able to examine these new
scales of his." Dumbledore said, quite amused but not losing sight of his
objective. "But I'm afraid this is a problem for another day. Miss Granger,
could you please remind Shimmer of what he should and shouldn't do?"
"Oh, right, of course, professor." Hermione quickly said, turning back
toward Shimmer. Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself for the
upcoming storm that she was about to unleash. "Shimmer, you've been a
very, very bad dragon."
Shimmer's reaction was instant, growling lightly at her works. Even if he
didn't move, that was enough to scare most students, a few shuffling
away as far as possible.
"Shimmer is good dragon. Is not bad. Bad is Quirrell. Shimmer not bad
like Quirrell." He growled, glaring a little at Hermione.
"Now, now Shimmer, that's not what I said. You are not an evil dragon,
but your latest act of defiance was definitely bad." Dumbledore tripped to
tamper the young dragon.
"Professor Dumbledore is right, Shimmer. You shouldn't have stolen the
Stone. We told you to give it back, and you didn't, which makes you a
bad dragon." Hermione sternly said, frowning a little at the dragon.
"Shimmer want nice stone. Smell very good. Smell gold. Smell magic.
Shimmer like, like more." Shimmer replied angrily, justifying his actions.
"And it wasn't your stone, Shimmer. It belonged to my good friends,
Nicolas and Pernelle." Dumbledore said, pointing a hand toward the two
very old humans that followed behind him. "You stole their stone,
Shimmer. That was very, very bad."
Shimmer observed the two old humans, and found himself growing
curious at their smell. Letting go of his anger a little, he got close to them
and started to identify different smells, but two were far different from
the rest.
"Shimmer sorry stone. Shimmer want smell." He told the two old humans.
"It was time for it to disappear anyway. And, well, who am I to refuse?"
Nicolas smiled, very amused, and reached toward Shimmer with his right
hand.
Taking in more of the smells, Shimmer could only open his jaw and
salivate a little. These two humans smelled like the stone, shared its
specific scent of magic, but fainter and more diluted. Yet, they were filled
with it and the scent was both young and old. Lastly, they had the scent
of death, not like Quirrell but like something that should be dead for a
long time but isn't. He was confused by that last one.
"Smell like stone. Shimmer like. Smell small gold. Smell lot magic. Alive
magic. Smell old dead." Shimmer told them, wanting to eat the hand
before him to see if the taste was good but refraining himself because he
knew Hermione said he shouldn't do something like that. He already had
enough problems as it was.
"What a good nose. I indeed have many reason to smell like the stone.
And look at what it did to you." Nicolas admired Shimmer's body, gently
brushing his gold scales with his hand.
"He is quite pretty like this. I believe this is the first time I'm seeing a
creature that is quite literally made out of gold and that isn't a golem."
Pernelle added, also petting Shimmer with a hand.
"Right. Shimmer, there are a few spells that we would like to cast on you,
as well as a few tests that we have in mind. Would you mind coming to
see me tomorrow?" Dumbledore asked the young dragon.
"Coin?" Shimmer eagerly asked.
"No, Shimmer." Hermione intervened, instantly getting his attention and
a small frown. "Since you stole the stone and destroyed it, you won't be
getting any coins for two weeks."
It took a few seconds for Shimmer to calculate how long it was, mainly
counting the days one by one twice, before his eyes widened a little, and
he glared at Hermione with horror.
"No! Shimmer good dragon. Shimmer sorry stone. Really want stone,
stone is good smell good." He countered, not wanting to go so long
without new coins.
"You still destroyed it. If you can't stop when we tell you to stop, just like
with the stone, you will never get any new coins." Hermione remained
strong.
Whining in despair, Shimmer quickly did a few turns around himself,
trying to find words to change Hermione's mind. His movements forced
everyone to move back a little, but only Hermione stood motionless, and
he didn't have any idea of how he could get out of this.
"One week?" He offered.
"I suppose that if Shimmer can help us with our tests, one week will be
enough." Dumbledore mused aloud, amusing the Flamels and Hermione
who watched Shimmer fall in the trap head first.
"One week! Shimmer no coin one week, Shimmer help magic. Help test."
Shimmer eagerly agreed, happy to see his loss of coins being cut in half.
"Very good! Then we will see you tomorrow. Before we leave you in Miss
Granger's care, can you tell us if you felt anything wrong this afternoon?"
"Shimmer okay. Like new fire. Shimmer big, shimmer strong." The golden
dragon boasted, standing proudly and spreading his wings/arms a little
to display his new size.
"Good. We will see about this new fire tomorrow. Have a good evening,
Miss Granger, Mister Weasley, Mister Longbottom." Dumbledore said as
he and the Flamels returned to the teacher's table.
Many of the whispers that took place during the exchange blew out in
loud conversations, everyone wondering what happened and trying to
guess what changed the appearance of the dragon. Only a few knew the
truth, though, and they planned for it to stay that way.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Hermione looked at Shimmer who was now
more interested in Ron's plate, still half full. Frowning a little, she
watched as her friend gave up his plate to Shimmer, who happily started
to tear into it with gusto.
"What's wrong, Ron? You usually never stop eating." She asked, pointing
at his abandoned plate.
"She is right, you know." Neville added, a bit shy but not cowed by
Shimmer's presence like some other Gryffindors. "You don't even speak as
much as before."
Ron looked up from his plate that was almost completely cleaned by
now, with Shimmer licking it until not a crumb remained. He still had a
lot on his heart and on his mind, and between what happened with the
stone and what they learned about the Flamels, his thoughts were
growing more concerning.
"It's- do you recall what happened with Quirrell?" Ron asked quietly, his
eyes appearing to look at something out of reach.
"Yes." Hermione said, not seeing his point.
"Did you see him die?" Ron continued.
"I- no. I don't think so." She conceded.
"I know I didn't." Neville admitted.
"It was horrible. I can't help it, I still see him die. How Shimmer burned
them alive, how they screamed and then how he- how You-Know-Who
escaped." Ron quickly whispered, looking far more shaken in only a few
seconds. The worst were the screams of absolute pain, terrible and still
echoing in his head. It had been a few days and the nightmares he had
hadn't abated.
Processing his words, Hermione realised that she didn't know what to
answer. What Ron saw, she never saw it and hoped to never have to see
it. She could barely imagine what it must have been like, and she didn't
want to try.
"Did you tell anyone?" Neville asked, concerned.
"No. I mean, I can't speak about this to my family yet." Ron replied,
slumping down on the bench.
"Well, maybe you could talk about this to Madam Pomfrey? I know that
she can contact Saint Mungo, and they have some doctors who you can
talk to who help to heal with… problems like this." Neville suggested.
"I'm not crazy." Ron protested with a bit more energy.
"I'm not saying you are crazy. What you have, I think a lot of people from
the last war have it too. If you tell professor Dumbledore, he will know
what it is."
"I- I'm sorry, Ron, but I don't know how to help you." Hermione
conceded, a bit defeated.
"Why sad? Bad?" Shimmer asked, noticing how sadder and gloomy it got.
He didn't understand how words could make them feel like that.
"I don't think you'll ever understand, Shimmer." Hermione tried to
reassure him.
"Shimmer smart! Not dumb!" He growled.
"I didn't say that! I said that it wasn't something you could understand."
She replied, offended.
"It's okay, Shimmer. It's not about you. Here." Ron said, taking his empty
plate and filling it again with more cooked ham.
With that offer, Shimmer hungrily abandoned the subject and went back
to devour more meat. Sighing, Hermione gave Ron a thankful look.
"He can be a bit much sometimes." She said with a small smile, looking at
the dragon, right before looking back at Ron. "But don't think we'll forget
about you."
"Yeah, yeah. I suppose I can tell McGonagall." He relented.
The three went back to their meals, listening to some of the whispers and
talks going on around them. Most were about what just happened, some
still focused on Shimmer's new appearance, and a few more still stuck on
Quirrell's disappearance and how it must be tied to Shimmer.
Hermione was mulling over the conversation that took place a couple of
minutes ago. She was slightly unsatisfied, and would work harder with
Shimmer to teach him a few more things and remind him how important
it was to follow the rules and to not steal things. Seeing him comforted
her tremendously, but she couldn't forget seeing Shimmer lying down
unconscious and uncertain of his survival. She would have to work twice
harder with him to make sure he understood the lesson.
Ron's words, though, gave her a lot to think about. She was worried
about him and noticed how he had become a bit recluse, silent, and
overall less active the past few days, and it somehow didn't occur to her
that he could be stuck thinking about You-Know-Who. In a way, she was
thankful to have been knocked out that day, as it spared her that sight
that traumatised Ron.
Neville was still silent and shy, and while he only asked to turn around
and kept saying it was a bad idea to go after Quirrell, he wasn't shocked.
Hermione could only guess why, and wondered if it had anything to do
with his parents being in a hospital. He didn't speak a lot about them, so
Hermione didn't know a lot, but something terrible happened during the
last war and his parents were now taken care of in a magic hospital.
Looking at Shimmer who was licking his plate clean with his tongue,
which wasn't forked by the way, Hermione could only be glad that
everything turned out to be fine in the end. Sure, Shimmer would still
have to go through a few tests to see if he was really fine, but it wasn't as
scary anymore.
"Hermione. Shimmer bye-bye. Want go sleep." Shimmer told her, licking
his lips clean.
"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow. Be careful, okay?" She replied, using a
hand to pet his head.
"Okay." He purred in reply.
Retracting his head, Shimmer opened his wings and jumped in the air,
surprising some students who weren't paying attention. His departure
took place under the eyes of everyone in the hall, and he quickly flew to
the window before making his way toward his hoard. There was some
wind tonight, and he could feel that a storm would arrive soon.
Reaching the ledge of the broken window giving access to his lair, he
wished that he would have the time to fix it before the storm, but it was
too late. And then, before his confused eyes, the broken window shifted
and transformed. The shape remained roughly the same, but instead of a
full glass window, it became a protected hole, aimed slightly outward
and toward the ground to stop the rain from coming in. Amazed,
Shimmer wondered how this happened, if it was really that simple, and if
all human houses were like that.
Using the new window, he got it without problem and went straight to
his hoard, happily lying down on it. Knowing he was himself a precious
part of his hoard pleased him immensely, and it also meant that he would
be transporting a part of his hoard with him at all times. A bit risky, but
he could defend his golden scales very easily. Easier than a piece of gold
stuck in his mouth or claws.
Suddenly, he looked at the window, and wondered if this change could
apply to other things. Imagining the biggest pile of gold ever, his
disappointment was great when no golden coins appeared. He would
have to try something else, since he was persuaded there was a way to
convince the human home to give him gold or precious things.
Closing his eyes, sleep came to him easily, ignoring the conflict that took
place in some wizards and witches' minds as they wondered what could
be done about the dragon and what the future had in store for them.
Hi! Valexto at the keyboard!
Almost two weeks to write that chapter, but it's done.
A wild shiny Shimmer appeared!
Looks like Shimmer's going to be fine, even if he's partially made out of
gold now, but there's more to find out about the changes that affected
him.
Also, Ron may have been slightly traumatised by Quirrell's death. Who
could have imagined that an eleven year old seeing someone burn alive
to ash could be traumatised? Not me.
I really appreciate all the positive comments, so thanks a lot and keep
them coming!
Thanks for all the support and see you soon!
25. Chapter 25
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.
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