Innocence | Severus Snape x Reader

31 - Dragons (Severus POV)

Dragons.

Fucking Dragons.

Her time with Hagrid likely helped her learn a lot about a lot of creatures, dragons being one of them. But frankly, I was not prepared for this.

"There has to be a way you can back out," I said, flipping vigorously through a book.

"There isn't. Mad-Eye said it himself. And I'll be fine. They won't let me die, you won't let me die."

"Which is why I would prefer we avoid this altogether." I was frantic. Desperate, even.

"Severus." She stood beside me and placed her hand on mine. She held it as she slid the book away and closed it. I sighed. "I will be okay. I think you underestimate me." She smiled lightly, but I shook my head.

I stood and embraced her. Embraced her like she would disintegrate if I didn't. With my face buried into her neck, one hand in her hair, and the other wrapped tightly around her waist.

"If anything were to happen to you... I couldn't live with myself. It would be my fault." I said, almost so quietly that I didn't hear.

"Trust me, that's all I ask." She said softly, and I knew I had no choice. 

"What is your plan?" I asked her. 

She sighed and pulled away from the embrace and dragged her hand down her face. 

"I don't know. I've never been good at making plans, Severus. Everything I've done for the past four years has been on impulse caused by external forces." She said, rambling a bit. 

"You may not be good at making plans but you are good at taking action, and now is the time to do that," I explained to her. 

She paused and thought for a moment. I could tell she was thinking at least, and as much as I wanted to read them, I wouldn't for the time being. 

"I don't know what kind of Dragon I'm up against, all I know is that I'm allowed my wand." She spoke, I could still see the gears turning. "I might have an idea." 

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The Diggory boy was the first to go. Then Fleur, then Viktor, and then Harry. Naturally, I had concern for Harry as well, but no one would let him die. 

However, unsurprisingly, the boy did not go without making a mess of things. To the point where the dragon broke loose and broke part of the stands and parts of the school. 

Then afterward was Y/N. Her dragon was a Hebridean Black. 

The dragon was perched in the corner when she had stepped out. A hush fell over all of the crowd. I already knew that many of the students and our guests did not like her for the fact that she was a champion. 

I still have no idea why her name was put in or drawn out. 

She looked between the golden egg and the dragon. Already gripping her wand, she took a step forwards. It was short-lived when the dragon roared at her. She kept her focus on that dragon. 

She paused for quite some time. I don't think she knew what to do. She never told me her idea, and this wasn't part of it. 

I watched her take a deep breath and straighten her posture. She was making herself appear larger.

Walking towards the dragon, she seemed fearless, though she did look down to avoid falling on the rocks. She didn't take many steps before the dragon lept towards her, swinging its tail and knocking into her, sending her backward. It roared at her again. She lay on her back, clutching her stomach as she got up again, then started walking towards it once more. 

She now tried running towards it. The beast swung its tail and she dodged it this time. She held her wand up as she got close to it, and it tried biting at her, making her jump back, though simultaneously, she said something, which none of us could hear, and the spell came out her wand and hit the dragon. 

She slipped and fell, falling between the rock crevices, and the dragon loomed over her, sticking its head down, and no one could see what was happening. '

It was hard for me not to react. Not only did I have my own reputation to uphold, but I also had to keep her in mind. The judgment she would receive, I didn't even want to imagine her in that situation. 

I just had to do as she asked and trust her. 

I could see Y/N stand, and back away from the dragon. It held still and just stared at her. She seemed to be looking at it and then step forward. It bore its teeth at her, but besides that didn't react. 

She lifted her hand and help her palm out towards the creature, then stepped forwards. Slowly, she placed her hand on the snout of it, and its eyes closed. 

She smiled and the beast's tail moved back and forth slightly as if it was happy. As she did this, numerous gasps could be heard throughout the crowd. 

She brought her other hand up and pet it, leaning her head in and putting her forehead at the apex of its nose, still smiling. 

She was absolutely crazy and insanely brilliant, and it was the most arousing thing I had ever seen that woman do. 

She backed away from the dragon, not turning her back on it until she was a few feet away, then she turned and just walked up to the egg. The dragon followed her but did nothing. She took the egg in her grasp and held it in the air in her gloved hand. 

The crowd cheered her, and even I myself could not hold my smile back. 

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The two of us sat in my classroom. She just kept staring at the egg while I graded papers. It was a comfortable silence, one I never minded when I was near her. 

"Are you going to open it?" I asked her. 

"I mean I have to at some point." She pulled the egg towards her and placed her hand at the latch on the top, then looked at me. "Ready?" 

I placed my quill down and nodded. 

She braced herself and opened it. Almost immediately we were met with an ear-splitting screeching noise, and she closed the egg. 

"Fuck." She exploited. 

"Language."