Caught Ablaze

Dragon

Katerina longed for the year to end; the endless trials, although they proved to be extremely easy, they had begun to wear her down. Running a hand through her hair she sighed, she felt like she needed time to breath before the next trial began. 

Making her way across the school grounds Katerina's eyes trailed up and down the walls was the walked. The hallways were fairly illuminated and crowded, the great mass of students made Katerina want to sprint away, she did not want to go through the spotlight again.

The younger wizards scurried away from her as they stared in wonder. Words of gossip reached her ears as Katerina made her way through the crowd; fame was something she never longed for, in fact, the very thought of endless crowds surrounding her made her feel sick, sadly there was nothing she could do about it...She was the daughter of the notorious Sirius Black, granddaughter of the great Albus Dumbledore and to top it all off she was a very skilled and powerful Dramir.

Why was she the way she was? She knew for a fact she wasn't adopted, she shared far too many features with his father to know that, but who was her mother? was she the same?

Shrugging the lingering questions away from her mind her shoulders slouched as she entered her dormitory. Overwhelmed by her own emotions she felt exhausted, plopping onto her own bed she soon felt Marfil's body weight over her back, the comforting sensation of her dragon eased her stress. 

With Marfil pressed flush against her body the loud pounding at the door nearly made Katerina throw the small creature off "come in" she mumbled as the small dragon landed on her lap, its sharp teeth nipping at her fingers. 

The doorknob jiggled and a woman in dark clothing entered the room "a letter for you" she stated as she handed Katerina the envelope, looking down at the object in the woman's hand her eyebrows quirked. The writing on the paper was soft and elegant, it was a letter from Albus.

Thanking the woman she dismissed her before turning her attention back to the sealed envelope. Ripping it open she unfolded the sheet of paper and began to read.

Dearest Katerina, news of your excellence during the trials have reached me and I could not be more proud, yet I must be forced to encourage you not to take these challenges for granted. These are very dangerous times and one must always be on your guard.

Be safe and cautious, Albus Dumbledore.

Igniting the letter with her powers, Katerina she gathered the ashes and threw them into the fireplace, no matter how simple and uninteresting the subjects of her letters with Albus seemed to be, she felt as if she could not risk any type of information to fall on to the wrong hands.

Looking out one of the large windows she felt her eyes morph, there was something beyond the forest. Focusing her eyes on the dark spot she felt her eyes widen at the sight of a dragon, running towards the edge of the window she felt her instincts take over her body. Slamming the glass panes open she felt a weird noise emit from her throat. The sound was unnatural and animalistic, the strange vibrations that echoed across her vocal chords created a sound much like the calls Marfil made.

It was a dragon call, a small smile spread upon her face as she saw the large dragon return her call and approach the window. The magnificent creature possessed dark green opaque scales, it looked majestic with each bat of its wings. Katerina was in awe as the creatures head squeezed through the window, placing her hand on its snout a large smile spread upon her face, it was a euphoric feeling to touch a wild dragon. The fire within its golden orbs caught her in a trance "Hello" a loud deep voice echoed in her head, its undertones held an animalistic nature, it was the dragon...the dragon was speaking in her head. 

Staring at the large dragon in surprise a gasp escaped her lips "hello" she whispered, a wide smirk spread upon her face "how am I speaking to you? " she asked "it's part of your abilities" the dragon explained, his eyes fixated upon the now sleeping Marfil. Following the dragons gaze she couldn't help but to smile at the tiny dragon in her bed, it amazed her that in a few years this dragon will be the size of the one by her window, perhaps even bigger.

"She has the makings of an extremely powerful dragon" looking back at the dragon Katerina smiled as a question suddenly popped into her head "are there more of you in this area?" she asked as she tried to peek back into the forest "yes, would you like me to take you there?" as soon as those words reached her mind a large smile spread upon her face "really?" her voice resonated with excitement "yes"  the dragon opened his jaw in what seemed to be a grin.

Flapping his wings the dragon allowed Katerina to jump into his back. Gripping the dragon's scales in a way that she would not hurt him, a feeling of euphoria coursed through her veins as she looked at the ground below "are you ready?" the dragon questioned as he turned to face her, nodding her head she watched his long ornate neck shift back as he took flight.

The cool evening air surrounded her, adrenalin filled her system, she had never felt more alive. As the dragon flew higher and higher Katerina felt her eyesight become sharper and sharper, all of her senses were on overdrive as the dragon picked up speed. Everything about that moment made her body change in ways far more dramatic manner, almost as if she were evolving into a more refined creature.