The Return

38| Well Hi There Little One

Claudia POV

It wasn't just Charlie and I that sprinted for the cave. When we reached the doors to the castle, all eight of the dragon tamers were pouring out and we ran together. Where the strength for that sprint came from, I don't know, but we reached the eggs just in time to see that my dragon-Ember, I had decided to call her-sticking her wings out of the sides of the egg. 

Carefully, I grabbed the lose pieces of shell from around the egg, giving Ember more room and a less likely change of being cut on the sharp pieces. 

My head jerks toward Hagrid as he begins speaking. "Each o' yeh should know tha' these eggs, don' contain real dragons." He says, and I look at Charlie confused. They sure as hell look real. "All o' 'em were created by a wizard in the ministry an' are made ter be like a test.

"If yeh didn' take enough care o' your egg, 'n it will appear ter die when it hatches, or it jus won' hatch. The same can be said 'bout not taking care o' your dragon after it hatches as well. If yeh neglect it, yeh will come an' find it lyin' dead the nex' morning." He looks at each one of us. 

"This is your test. If your dragon dies, your license is revoked an' yeh come back nex' year. If yeh pass, 'n yeh are free ter take wha' ever job comes your way. Bes' o' luck ter all o' yeh."

I nearly laugh aloud. I have kept countless dragon alive during the hatching stage, and throughout their lives. I've got this in the bag. 

I look around the cave and see that one tamer has already failed. Her dragon lies on it's side on the cavern floor. I wince and look back at Ember. She screeches and pushes her head through the top of the egg. I glance over at Charlie and see that his dragon is doing well, too. 

"Charlie?" I ask, picking off the newest pieces of loose shell. "Yes, love?" 

"I hear that the Tri-wizard tournament is happening again next year. It would have been five years since the last one." 

"I think I heard something about that." He agrees. 

"Well, my aunt offered me a position as a trainer for the dragons that they are going to be bringing in next year. She has two open spots and was hoping that you would fill the second." 

He nods, seemingly busying himself with his dragon. "And what did you tell her?" 

"I said that I would think about it."

"I see. What is there to think about?" 

I sigh. "Well, I don't want to take it if you aren't going to." Charlie looks at me half surprised. "Oh," He says. "I thought-" sighs. "I'm sorry. It doesn't matter what I though, because I was clearly wrong." His brown eyes pierce my green ones. "I would love to. What happens after the tournament though?" 

"She has set up a meeting to talk about that later today." Suddenly, Ember bursts through the rest of the egg and looks up at me with her large eyes, glowing violet. In one flap of her oversized wings she perches up on my shoulder, and I shift my weight to accommodate her. "Well, hi there, little one." 

"An' the firs' ter hatch is Claudia Snape! Two hundred points ter her!"

"Wait!" One of the dragon tamers says standing to her full height. "It's a competition?" 

"Yes. Did i forget ter mention this?" Everyone nods. "Righ', well. The top two tamer with the most points at the end o' the year will be rewarded a prize o' however many gallons tha' their points are equal ter."

And I already have Two Hundred points. Two Hundred gallons. 

"What happens to the tamers that don't win?" Charlie asks, casting a brief glance to his own dragon as it burst from it's shell. 

"Nothin'. Aside from losing prize money o' course. Those o' yeh tha' leave at the end o' the term will lose all points anyway. All o' yeh still keep your current licenses, aside from one small detail. If your dragon dies 'n yeh are on'y eligible ter be an assistant. Yeh will have ter come back nex' year ter reinstate your full title." 

Charlie and I look at each other, and some of the weight drops off of our shoulders. "Oh, an' tha''s one hundred points mr. Weasley fer bein' the second ter hatch." 

"This isn't fair!" A girl shriek's. I look around and see that it's the same one who's dragon died. 

"Wha' abou' this ain' fair, miss Gable"

"I worked hard to get where I am today, and because You-know-who decided to take over the world I have to redo my education! The those two walk in here and clear the board, their cheating and I'm going to figure out how!" She glares at Charlie and I. 

"It is impossible ter cheat at this, miss gable. Claudia an' Charlie are doin' so well because they know the meaning o' team work. They come in here an' tend ter the dragons even on the weekends. Unlike some o' yeh, they don' jus care abou' their jobs, they care abou' the dragon as well." 

I feel a puff of pride make it's way into my chest. Charlie and I are doing so good that even Hagrid has noticed it. Granted, I learned a long time ago, that their isn't much at Hogwarts that he doesn't notice. 

We departed from the cave feeling quite good about ourselves. Charlie and I had agreed that we would continue to work the hardest and earn the top two prizes. It didn't matter which of use came in first, as long as we both go the prize. So far, between the two of us we have collected three hundred gallons. 

"So." I said, walking back to the castle. "What's up?" Charlie replied. "I was thinking that when Olivia comes this weekend, I'll leave her with you on Sunday and go to Madam Pomphrey to see if I am pregnant." It's times like these that I thank Merlin that I'm not a muggle. If I were I would have to wait a bit longer to find out. "Unless you want to come with me, then we can bring her as well." 

"I'm coming with you." He says, before stopping in front of me and placing his hands on my arms. "We are in this together. You go to an appointment, So do I. You go through morning sickness, I hold your hair back. I may not be a women, and I may not be able to carry a child, but I can do my best to make sure that I'm here too." The urge to tell him that I love him comes again, but I suppress it. It isn't the time. Not yet.

"Okay." I say full of emotion before we continue on our walk.