The Final Keeper | Sebastian Sallow Love Story

Horntail Hall

The tent was a dark blue with a myriad of faded squares. Nothing about it was special, but Adelaide found it odd that for so many poachers outside, there was a small tent that looked like it could fit at most-ten people.

Poppy went in first, pushing the curtain back to reveal a much larger area. Adelaide should have guessed this would be the case after experiencing the same sort of tent when she rescued Archie. Horror flashed across her face. Not that anyone could see her with the Disillusionment charm. The floor was wooden indicating that that there were multiple levels to this tent. Ripped drapery could be seen and they all saw a large chandelier a ways ahed of them that appeared to be in the center of an area. They could see large wings from where they stood at the entrance to the tent.

"What in Merlin's name-" Poppy began

Sebastian's voice was full of awe. "Are those dragons?"

One flew up as they edged closer. It was a lean, emerald green dragon with spikes along its head. Around its neck, there was a black metal collar Adelaide had seen before that glowed red periodically. The green dragon fell to the ground with a thunderous thump and it roared towards another dragon that squared off against it.

This dragon was almost black, but a lot spikier than its counterpart with two horns up front. Whereas the green dragon had a smooth leathery appearance, this one was rough with old claw mark wounds raked down its side.

They bit and lunged towards each other, reminding Adelaide of the chicken fights she'd see sometimes in the henhouse. But with such colossal beasts, she felt a tinge of fear. She knew Sebastian was next to her by the way his hand was placed on her lower back and she edged closer to him as the beasts clashed against each other.

"Over here." She heard Poppy angrily snip, and they headed towards a secluded area of the tent where crates blocked their views from all angles. All three students waved their wands, no longer invisible to the naked eye. Poppy was fuming as she hissed out, "It's a dragon fighting ring. This is Horntail Hall."

Adelaide nodded, agreeing. "The name makes sense now. And the secrecy."

"No wonder the poachers were in Hogsmeade so much." Sebastian pointed out, sticking his head above the crates to watch the fight. "Likely taking bets and spreading the word, given how crowded it is here."

Poppy glared at the back of Sebastian's head, "How could they possibly enjoy this? The Centaurs have every right to be disgusted at Wizardkind."

Sebastian stopped watching, sending them a sheepish grin.

The furious Hufflepuff continued, "There must be more dragons here. The poachers are far too greedy to run a fighting ring with only two dragons." Her lips thinned as she pressed them together, plotting. "We should take advantage of most eyes being on the fight and look around. But be discreet. You especially can't afford to be spotted."

Adelaide nodded and they casted the charm again to hide from the poachers. There was a Poacher Duelist standing in front of a metal gate. Immediately behind him on the gate it had a brown sign with white lettering: ENTRY WITH ADMISSION ONLY.

Next to it was a large sign reading HORNTAIL HALL with a picture of two dragons. A small scripture in red font read BATTLE ROYALE CHAMPIONSHIP: UNPARALLELED SPECTACLE.

"Floor 1 Knut. Gallery 6 Knuts. Private: 1 galleon." Sebastian quietly read the sign, "This is a rip-off."

She elbowed him hard in the ribs, "Will you shut up?"

"Who goes there?" She heard a deep voice growl out. It was the duelist.

Adelaide did a basic cast, making a crate collapse to his right. As he turned his back towards them, it was Sebastian who beat her to it, whispering "Petrificus Totalus." The duelist fell to the ground frozen, causing her to sigh in relief.