𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐑

the one with the episkey

“I didn't get to have
a choice then. So I'm
making it now.”

•

"THEY FOUND ONE," Hagrid said the second I entered his hut. It had been a week of tremendous workload but when I got the owl from Hagrid, the ground under my feet was rattled. I had run all the way down to his hut first thing in the morning, when the Gryffindor tryouts where going on. And all the while I thought, it cant be true. It cannot be true.

But I gasped, despite being unable to breathe, when I saw the letter in his hands and the basket on his table.

"Oh,my God," I laughed loudly, holding my hands together so as to not disturb what's in the basket.

"Charlie reckons, though," Hagrid said, looking lovingly at the basket. "He reckons it's a hybrid. With an occamy."

I blinked. "An occamy!"

"Yes," Hagrid sighed. "He's still a baby though."

I stepped closer to see the startling blue birdlike creature in the basket. It looked like Buckbeak, but blue with purplish scales. His eyes were very human like and he was very small.

"Oh,"I said, putting a hand forward, as it leaned into my hand,purring lowly like a cat. "He's beautiful!"

He was so tiny, it almost hurt to think how this small a thing could survive in this world.

"Charlie asked me to raise it her. I have Dumbledore's permission-"

"What do you mean raise? It's a dragon!"

"Also an occamy," Hagrid pointed out. "It shrunk to the size of this basket when I put it here. Look," Hagrid picked the baby in his hand, and it, almost animatedly, shrunk to the size of his palms.

"Oh," I gasped again. "So you can keep him here, without threatening exposure!"

"Yes," Hagrid said lovingly.

"I'm going to be visiting a lot," I said. "I'll help you raise him. He is after all, an Alaskan Shadow Swimmer," I said. "Everyone thought they were a myth!"

"Yes," Hagrid said distractedly. "Charlie said Pinodore and his dragoneers also found a colony of Horntails. Hundreds of eggs, hatching on the eve of Halloween-"

"Hungarian Horntails," I remembered.

"-and also Welsh Greens, they're pretty tame compared to the Horntails but fierce nonetheless."

"Hagrid," I said. "This has changed my life completely Hagrid! This is what I wanted!"

"Yes," he said, suddenly dark, "The Order informed me about your desires to recruit magical creatures into the War."

"I don't want to," I said. "But the Death Eaters are trying to parry with the Giants. If they get the support of Magical Creatures, then we're doomed Hagrid. And Dragons are something that can only be won with love and care," I stroked the baby. "Not some agreement or law. Dragon's are afterall loyal creatures Hagrid. If you treat them right-"

"They give their all for you," he smiled.

"But I do deeply home it doesn't come down to harm these creatures. It is afterall,a manmade calamity."

-

I had barely spoken to Draco since that incident. No. I hadn't spoken to Draco since that incident. I had left the Room of Requirements, in tears, without explaining to him anything about Astoria Greengrass. He obviously didn't understand why my deepest fear had anything to do with the second year sister of Daphne Greengrass. But I couldn't bring myself to explain it.