Warm But Tainted Blood (Drarry)

chapter one

It is almost midnight when the first dragon appears.

He is saddled, but no one had ever dared to sit upon him, nor had be encountered anyone yet as a dragon, so it remains eeriely empty. He is an Antipodean Opaleye dragon. They are native to New Zealand, and occasionally known to migrate to Australia.

Why it is Britain, then, is a mystery.

He moves toward Hogwarts at a slowly and steady pace, his beautiful scales glistening in the moonlight. He is gorgeous, but dangerous, as all dragons are. Later, he will be catagorized as Patient Zero, but for now he is just a dragon.

He has memories from Before- when he was not a dragon, but a human. He was cursed by an old wizard, a white beard tucked into his belt. He was cursed and now he's a dragon. Simple as that. He does not mind being a dragon, because it is both easier and cooler than being a human.

He wants to go to Hogwarts. It is an undeniable want, one that he cannot place the origins of. He does not know it, not yet, but he is one of many dragons moving that night, slowly toward Hogwarts. Others will not arrive until days later, but all will arrive.

He will be the first and only to arrive that night.

The lake is very easy for him to reach, and once he does, he stops his journey, taking large gulps of water. It is nighttime. There should be no students out.

And yet.

The dragon spots a young, blonde boy, in green and silver robes who is running toward the castle. He is short, young, and there is pure fear in his frantic movements. He had spotted the dragon before the dragon spotted him, apperantly. He cannot remember ever wanting to hurt anyone as a human, but as a dragon, it is all he wants to do.

He moves forward quickly. The boy had a large headstart, but the dragon is larger and faster. He is too slow.

He holds the boy down with one large claw, basking in his fear. He opens his mouth, moving to incase the boy. But before he manages, he is hit with three stinging hexes, one after another, only a small pause in between.

He roars in pain, reeling back, accidentally releasing the blonde boy. He scrambles up, grabbing his wand, and runs to stand beside the dragon's attacker.

He is a boy in red robes, brown unruly hair atop his head. His wand is held out in front of him, and it is clear to all involved that he was the one to hex the beast. He is shorter than the blonde boy.

The two boys recognize each other. "Potter!" the blonde one had yelled. The dragon had a vague sense that he should recognize the name, but cannot; his memories of Before, as a human, are all blurred and dulled. The boy is nothing to him now except future scrap meat.

He lunges toward the two boys, who send a variety of hexes toward him, keeping him at bay. The smaller one grabs something that he cannot see off the ground, thrusts it at the blonde one, and yelled, "Go! Get out of here, Malfoy! Get a teacher!"

The blond hesitates, but it is only a moment, and he throws something over himself that made him entirely invisible. The dragon can hear his footsteps but not him, his legs pounding againist the dirt as he runs toward the castle.

The dragon roars in frustration. His body aches from the spells so mercilessly thrown at him, but he will not let up; he wants this boy to pay in his blood.

The boy takes off in a sprint toward the lake, the dragon follows closely. He is faster than the other boy, and his movements caught the dragon by surprise. The boy is not as easily caught as his counterpart. He is perhaps twenty feet from the lake when he yells, "Accio broomstick!" A few seconds later, a window crashes and a broomstick flies out of it. It is old, in poor condition. Likely a school broom. It lands into the outstretched hand. Just before he is about to run straight into the lake, the boy mounts the broomstick, not even touching the water. The broomstick flys weakly, hovering only a few feet above the lake, but a few feet in enough.

The dragon is not so lucky.

He is too large to stop himself, the momentum carrying him over even as he tries to anchor his claw in the dirt. He shoots himself into the lake with a large splash! He struggles for only ten seconds in the water before he gets his bearings.

It is ten seconds too late.

He can feel large tentacles grasp his body, pulling him deeper and deeper into the water. He struggles, but even though he is larger he is not larger than the squid. His claws lash out, his full focus now being survival instead of violence. His efforts were not enough. Water soon begins to fill his lungs and he can feel only a cold and painful sensation as his life exits the body. He, unlike humans or normal dragons, leaves his magic in his corpse.

When his body is recovered, aurors will discover a strange marking on his chest. An ancient rune, it looks like, but it will take extensive research and time for anyone to recognize it. As of then, it remains a mystery. Shortly thereafter the first discovery, dragons all over the country will be found having this same marking. These dragons seemingly appeared out of nowhere, and that will
be the only thing known about them for the first week. It will later be deemed the Dragon Epidemic.

Harry Potter, that morning, will be praised as the youngest dragon slayer in recorded history.

Draco Malfoy, that same morning, will begin to experince a warmth he never has before, and an unrealized crush will begin to blossom.