The Shadow of Slytherin

Seekers off course

"Garreth!" you warn, but in that moment smoke blows against you both, causing you to lose sight when a giant dragon appears out of the clouds beside Garreth, the terrible roar resulting in him losing grip of his broom and fall out of the skies towards the ground.

Just like you, the dragon dives farther down, the gaping mouth wide open, its long teeth reaching out to grab Garreth.

The body shaking, you dash forward. "Come on, come on" You yell out, diving below the dragon as it snaps forward, the teeth missing your broom by a mere hair length. "Garreth!" Your hand gets a hold of him, the weight pulling you down. As something hits your chest, the left hand snatches it, keeping it held tight as your fingers wrap around the wood of your broom, clutching tight as you manage to pull Garreth behind you and dash off, higher into the sky, the dragon breathing its fire below you. Fighting to get out of the range of the fire, you dash forward, Garreth holding on to you as you lean down, zig-zag, past the dragon and over, then under the wing, the wind blowing against you, causing you to struggle as your eyes begin to tear up.

The goggles pulled over your eyes, you yell for Garreth to hang on while flying farther off the Quidditch field, the dragon on your tail as it flies closer.

"Look out" Garreth yells behind you, the dragon's fire close enough to warm your feet.

The head turned back, you watch as the giant creature comes closer. "We are too heavy, it's slowing us down" You mutter.

"Hey, speak for yourself" Garreth presses himself closer to you as the wing of the dragon flies over your head, the broom turning mid flight, in direction of lower Hogsfield.

"Can't you summon your broom?"

"What, no, how?"

Rolling your eyes, you let out a sigh and close your eyes. Focussed on the variety f brooms you have gathered over the last year, you pick out the fastest two and summon them, through the RoR, through the entire castle, up the Astronomy tower and over the observatory deck in direction of the Quidditch field. Guided by your thought alone the swoosh of brooms comes closer, but the brooms themselves do not come to sight as you fly through another cloud that blurs your vision, leaving you blind in the sky.

As a last resort, you wave your hand, mumbling a clearing spell, then dash upward when a tree line comes to sight before you, the scream of Garreth in your ear as the highest branches brush against your legs, some leaves ripping off, stuck to your boots, and gear. Just as the dragon blows more fire at you, the broom drops, with both of you on it, then spins around to face the dragon. "There" Your frozen fingers point in direction of a broom coming near you. "Can you grab it?"

"I'll try" Garreth utters as you dash forward, close enough to take the broom and hold it for Garreth to jump onto. Side by side you fly off, still chased by the dragon that comes closer the higher you fly.

The eyes on the horizon, you stare in terror at the realisation of where you fly to. "The hamlet, we have to get the dragon away from the hamlet, Garreth!"

Shaking on his broom, Garreth still flies beside you, his face turned to you as he opens his mouth, "Are you serious? Can't you just kill it with your magic?"

"I cannot use any magic, Black has created a shield around Hogwarts grounds up to Hogsmead, we would have to fly much farther for me to be ab-" A sharp sting rushes through your chest. "Not now"

"Salem, what's wrong, hey, Salem. Look out!" Garreth yells out as your broom turns for the trees, your body hanging to the side as you clutch your chest and manage to pull up, the first branch cutting your face as you rush by, dash through the crown of the tree, dodging the next branches and lift into the sky, parallel to Garreth, "your nose, Salem"