"𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙮"
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IN WHICH ~ Jupiter Cassiopeia Lestrange thought she could escape her family's dark legacy at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but in her second year, Tom Riddle's diar...
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"If you expect nothing from nobody, you will never be disappointed."
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Jupiter's fingers ached as she clung to the dragon's jagged scales, her knuckles white with tension. Every muscle in her body protested against the relentless grip she maintained, and yet she didn't dare loosen her hold. The wind stung her face, and her hair whipped around wildly, but it wasn't the speed that unsettled her—it was the dizzying expanse below. She tried not to look down, but the cities and towns far beneath them seemed to draw her eyes, mocking her with their vastness.
She bit her lip, willing herself to focus on anything but the nauseating height.
"Is it my imagination," Ron shouted, breaking the silence, "or are we losing height?"
Jupiter's heart thudded painfully. She forced herself to glance around and saw the landscape below growing sharper and closer, the distant green of mountains and the glint of coppery lakes.
Harry leaned forward slightly, peering over the dragon's side. "It's heading for water," he said, almost to himself. "Maybe it's thirsty."
Lower and lower the dragon spiraled, its massive shadow stretching and shrinking as it moved closer to one of the smaller lakes below.
Jupiter swallowed hard, her throat dry despite the cool air rushing past her. "Are we supposed to just—what? Wait until it lands?!" Her voice cracked slightly, betraying her nerves.
Harry twisted to look back at them. "I say we jump when it gets low enough!" he called. "Straight into the water before it realizes we're here!"
Jupiter's stomach flipped. Jumping from this height? Into water? Her grip tightened instinctively. "You've got to be kidding me!" she shouted back, panic creeping into her voice.
"Do you have a better idea?" Harry's tone was sharp but not unkind.
She couldn't argue with that. She bit her lip, her fear battling with the knowledge that they didn't have any other option. The dragon's enormous yellow underbelly rippled in the lake's surface as it swooped lower.
"NOW!" Harry yelled.
Jupiter's heart plummeted as she let go, sliding off the dragon's back. The fall was longer than she'd expected, the wind screaming in her ears. She hit the water feet-first, and it felt like she'd slammed into a solid wall. Icy cold surrounded her, stealing the breath from her lungs, and she kicked frantically, trying to find the surface.
When she broke through, she gasped for air, her chest heaving. She saw Harry and Ron nearby, sputtering and flailing as they surfaced. The dragon, oblivious to their escape, was already flying farther down the lake, scooping up water in its scarred snout.
