Purpose

~ Chapter 47: The Flight of the Wyrms ~

Dumbledore was now wishing that he had kept his hair at a more manageable length and wished that he had not been wearing his sophisticated dark sorcerer robe. He secretly envied Michelle and Madam Maxime who had simply tied their hair up into a bun. Well if I had been wiser, I should have listened to their advice hours ago.

The Headmaster was riding on Charlie's dragon, strapped with numerous, invisible safety bonds. He shook his head and tucked his long white hair back behind his ears in irritation. It was long past sunset, already close to the midnight hour. And his irritation grew worse when it started drizzling. He and some of the rest ignored the steady rain, not bothering protecting themselves with water-repellent charms, just in case Voldemort managed to catch up with them. Except for Julian, who had volunteered to ride on Reef's Hebride and who was also guarding the wounded Aberforth. His consciousness was continuously fading in and out and that worried the ancient wizard. Julian was half-settled against the Dumbledore in an attempt to keep the man warm, and also to protect the vulnerable wizard from the harsh wind and the drizzle that had turned into torrential rain.

The weather continued to worsen and the Headmaster gave up at his flying, sodden, whipping strands of hair and pressed himself against the dragon's backbone to become 'one' with the flying dragon. Doing that made the ride more tolerable and it was certainly easier on his aching body. A gasp coming from the dragon's keeper made the Headmaster to quickly get up from his position, to ask if the Rider if he was all right. In his haste, Dumbledore obtained a nasty deep scratch on his chest by the sudden friction against the dragon's scales.

The Headmaster winced in pain as rainwater hit his exposed chest, stinging the wound. He controlled his urge to swear and checked his ex-student carefully. A sudden flash of lightning startled him briefly and in that moment of light, he saw that Charlie was clutching his side, panting heavily with agony. "CHARLIE!" Dumbledore yelled against the wind, hoping that the Weasley could hear him.

"YESSIR! I'M FINE!"

the ex-Gryffindor answered, taking a sharp breath as the shout made his chest ache more painfully. Then the Weasley gave a strangled scream when his dragon suddenly took a plunge downwards. The dragon growled in pain as it felt claws slashing across its belly and sides. The sudden loss of the altitude caused Dumbledore to hit the dragon's backbone hard, and he was momentarily dazed.

The Horntail flying below the Romanian Longhorn braked and jumped out of the dragon's way as it plummeted toward the dark, unfriendly body of water. At the last possible moment, Charlie's dragon placed all of its strength on its hind legs and managed to skim across the icy water. Dumbledore shook his head to clear his visions, then cursed when he realized that Charlie was knocked to unconsciousness by the tremendous impact.

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Draco twitched in his sleep, shivered then groped around for the blanket. : Green-eyes... : he complained sleepily, tugging Harry feebly for the shared blanket. His oathbrother mumbled a protest and the Slytherin managed to grab hold of a corner of the warm fabric.

: Bloody hell... we're just doing some traveling, but why do I still feel cold even when you're with me? :

Harry groaned and his oathbrother chided him to keep silent.

: Because it's raining... they're in a great deal of trouble though. :

Draco turned over and sighed deeply.

: I distantly remember someone telling me that I'm not about to go astral ever... I don't remember that same person urging me to take him with me when he tells me to... :

The Slytherin snorted, and Harry grinned crookedly when his oathbrother swore and called him names. The oathbrothers took flight again.

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The Fire Master cracked an eye open, feeling very much amused by the behavior of the two youths. It's time for them to make their moves as a pair. What an interesting night it has become. But hell... I hope Charlie is all right... I thought that the area where Voldemort is, isn't that far from here. She sighed, turned and buried her face against her partner's chest and promptly fell asleep.

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Charlie's dragon took to the air again, and once it reached a comfortable height, it swung its muzzle around to look at its keeper, who sat slumped on the dragon's neck. There was a keening sound coming from the dragon's throat.

High-pitched bat-like sounds filled the air and it amazed Dumbledore that he could hear them over the howling wind and the crashes of thunder overhead. He groped for his wand and turned to look over his shoulder and flyaway hair. Through the mist of rain, Dumbledore was able to see, huge, gleaming, sickly yellow eyes coming at them at a fast rate.

The Hungarian Horntail, spurred by its keeper, sprang into action and a great roar ripped through the air. Jets of hot fire spilled over the dragon's mouth and the Headmaster saw the flock of creatures and wished that he had not seen their grotesque facial features. The flock scattered and the other dragons joined the Horntail to form a rank.

"DUMBLEDORE!"

Michelle shouted in a clear voice, as she targeted the bat-like creatures with Blasting Curses. 'TAKE THE DRAGON OFF TO HOGWARTS! JER! REEF! FOLLOW DUMBLEDORE!"

"BUT!"

Julian protested.

"DON'T BE AN IDIOT! THOSE FOUR NEED MEDICAL ATTENTION QUICKLY! I THINK CHARLIE'S INJURY IS MUCH MORE SERIOUS THAN WE HAD THOUGHT! CURSE YOU! JUST GO!"

the witch continued to yell.

"WE'LL COVER YOU!"

the Horntail's keeper shouted in agreement and steadied himself as his dragon lurched forward to grab one of the creatures in its claws and killed it before it stuffed the dead creature into its mouth.

Reef's Hebride flew alongside Charlie's dragon and the latter quickly moved with the Hebride, flying away from the site of the skirmish and was joined by another Longhorn to head for Hogwarts at top speed.

Back to the rest of the dragons, the mighty creatures were beginning to tire and Michelle screamed in frustration. "BLAST OFF YOU, INSANE, EVIL BATS! BY MERLIN! WHY DO THESE THINGS KEEP COMING?" she cursed vehemently. "DARN, MISERABLE, UGLY, FLAB--" her shouts trailed off, when wings of black fire spread out across the sky, blocking her vision completely.

The Horntail growled in triumph as its yellow eyes watched the Black Dragon. Then, as if reacting to an unspoken command, the rest of the dragons turned and resumed their flight back to Hogwarts.

"What the hell..." Michelle said softly, as the dragon she was riding on took off. She twisted her body to get a clearer look at the surreal, massive creature. The Black Dragon was almost as big as the Ukrainian Ironbelly, although the Black Dragon's tail was much thicker and longer, adorned with fiery black-and-green spikes. Somehow, I'm having the same feeling that I had at that time when the blue, fiery Phoenix made its appearance known to the wizarding world, a few months ago... Dear Merlin... More nonsense about the Ancients again? She bit her lip, wiping off the trickles of water on her face, firmly refusing to believe her colleague's foresight.

The dragons quickly caught up with the rest and Dumbledore looked at them in surprise. The witch was about to explain when the Horntail's keeper beat her to it. "Someone else has taken care of them!" he shouted, pointing at the Black Dragon with his arm.

The Headmaster craned his neck and squinted at the darkness. Lightning flashed, and Dumbledore saw Draco's other magnificent form hovering in the air, puffs of steam trickling out of its nostrils. It had effectively blocked the flock from following the Headmaster. The Dragon's eyes flared and exhaled a huge volume of hot black and white fire, quickly reducing the flock to ashes. There were more of the creatures however, and the Black Dragon quickly rushed off to meet the new enemies. Dumbledore stared in amazement at the Dragon's agility and his throat suddenly went dry. Are they acting with Fenix's and Snape's supervision? Dear Merlin... He took a deep breath, knowing the answer from the bottom of his heart.

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The Black Dragon was quickly burning off the enemy ranks in seconds and the rest of the creatures took flight, finally aware that they were at great disadvantage compared to the ancient creature.

: We're not done yet, Drake, :

Harry informed his oathbrother as he directed the Slytherin to fly over to an area not far from the ruined mansion.

: What do they have in there, Green-Eyes? :

his oathbrother asked, his dragon-brows furrowing closer, his fiery silverish-green dragon eyes narrowing as he spotted an area pulsing with red, angry haze.

: His energy reserves that he kept locked in crystals, :

Harry replied shortly. : It's underneath that pile of quicksand. :

: And how do you suggest we get to the crystals? :

Draco asked in a sarcastic voice. : I may be a dragon but I am absolutely not going to take a chance in the risk of getting stuck in that sand. :

Harry's amusement carried over through their oathbond in great waves. : For shame, Drake. Both of us are sorcerers. Surely you have not forgotten Flitwick's summoning lessons! : he stated, imitating Fenix's way of speaking flawlessly. That lightened up his far-too-serious oathbrother a little.

**********

Voldemort and Lucius limped to get to their hidden treasure. The Dark Lord reached out a restraining hand as he felt a great source of power coming toward their area.

"Master... what... is... it?" Lucius asked, panting heavily, trying to ignore the agony of his pounding head. Voldemort was strangely silent and the Death Eater looked up to where his Master was gazing, blinking his eye often as droplets of water fell onto his face. Then they saw it. A massive body of black and green fire that felt so familiar to them.

They were somehow hypnotized by the black fire emanating from the dragon's wings. No one knew how Voldemort arrived to the conclusion that the Dragon had come to submit itself to the Dark Lord as it hovered above the quicksand.

**********

Harry rolled over in his sleep, muffling his mouth with his upper arm, trying to smother his chuckles, while his oathbrother beside him half-muttered curses. He gave the silently chuckling boy a light punch on his side in his agitation.

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: WHAT?! :

Draco screamed and Harry's over-amused feeling exploded, making the Slytherin fume harder. : I? I? To serve that... that... : the Slytherin could not find the words to express himself and was contemplating blowing off his cover by making some serious insults via mindspeech to the Dark Lord and the man who had loved him for most of his childhood. Luckily, Harry was able to restrain him, saying that it would not be good if Voldemort was to know too much about the Ancients.

The Dragon took a deep breath and carefully landed right at the brim of the pale, wet, mucky quicksand. Its catlike eyes watched the slow movements of the two figures, walking warily toward the quicksand. Both the Slytherin and the Gryffindor used their Gifts to find their targets and summoned the stones out of their hidden places.

"Yeessss..."

Voldemort hissed, still thinking that the Dragon was there to help him, since his magical powers were drained to its maximum. The Dark Lord's face was peculiarly serpent-like, now that his dark hair was damp, and looked strangely attractive to the Dragon. That made Draco squirm and disgust began to surface. Voldemort's expression of glee changed when the Dragon's mouth curled into a disdainful snarl.

: I am a dragon! Not a goddamn bloody serpent! :

the Slytherin fumed, concentrating intensely on calling up the gems while Harry saw to make a barrier that would prevent Voldemort from coming closer to them.

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Alarm rose as the Dark Lord watched the Dragon quickly unearth his precious energy stones. "Lucius," his voice was almost strangled. "Get the stones quickly!" The pale haired Malfoy did as his Master instructed but faltered when his hands smacked solidly against an invisible wall. By the time they realized that the Dragon was not an ally, and the Dragon's intent was to destroy the articles, it was already too late for them to do anything about the stones or the Dragon.

The stones danced in a spiral-like manner while the Dragon studied them calmly. Then it stretched its back, inhaling a gigantic volume of air and threw out a stream of black fire from its snout.

Voldemort's face was so contorted with fury that it was barely recognizable, as he watched his harvested source of power turned into a useless pile of ashes. The Black Dragon snapped its jaws close with a loud crunch. Its nostrils let out puffs of white, smoky steam and it snarled at Voldemort before launching up to the air. Its broad, spiky tail nearly pierced the Dark Lord on the face if his servant had not launched himself onto his master and both fell onto the ground, unharmed. The Dark Lord's upturned face was exposed to the rainwater, and with unblinking eyes, he watched the greatest source of power flew away and disappeared into the black, night sky.

His hands gripped the turf of grass and clenched his fists tightly, with Malfoy half-lying against him. His eyes turned black, anger broiling within its depths. Lucius flushed at the close proximity with his Master and hastily got up. Voldemort's hand suddenly grabbed his servant's arm, but it seemed that the Dark Lord was not aware of his own movement, so overwhelmed with rage.

"DUMBLEDORRRRRRR!!!"

Voldemort roared out in fury.

**********

: Mission accomplished.

: Harry smiled in his sleep as both found their way back to their respective bodies.

: Finally, :

Draco said, sighing wearily. : I can look forward to getting a real sleep. : Harry agreed and both boys fell into the real realms of slumber, jet-black hair touching each other, both youths tucked under the same blanket.

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Dumbledore had taken off the straps and carefully made his way to the dragon's neck and rearranged the safety bonds as they flew. Charlie was really pale, and he was losing heat. Dumbledore fastened the safety straps again, but this time, he was supporting the limp Weasley. The Headmaster was shivering with cold and his teeth chattered strongly and prayed that they would be within sight of the castle shortly. He suppressed the urge to scratch at his chest and closed his weary eyes. And he did what he should not have done while flying. The Headmaster fell into an exhausted sleep.

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Fenix stirred from her sleep, her sides aching, and she wondered why she was breathing shallowly. Her eyes blurred and she shook her head slightly then slowly got up. Her head was pounding slightly and she looked about the Hall. The two boys were asleep and she slowly placed Remus's arm against the soft bedding and stood up. Aldren came in and seeing that she was awake, he gave her a slight nod and she began to make her way out to the elf.

She shivered as a cold wind blew into the Hall and walked briskly over to the tall elf. : They're reaching soon. I wonder what's wrong with Charlie, : she said, and her eyes went out of focus again as she was filled with pain. Aldren drew her into his arms and steadied her as she took deep breaths. : Aelwyn, do you know where the dragons will make their landing? :

: Hagrid has sort of built a beacon to point the dragons where they should land, assuming that at least some of the dragon riders are awake to herd the dragons to the located area. :

Fenix and Aldren walked unhurriedly out of the castle, taking sheltered shortcuts as the Elementals led them to where Hagrid was waiting for the creatures' appearance with McGonagall and Moody. They went into the Forest and saw the shining red beacon sheltered with magical spells against the rain. Fenix exchanged a silent greeting with the ex-Auror and waited with a dozen house-elves all prepared with stretchers and warm cloaks.

Soon enough, Fenix heard the strange acoustics of beating wings, and heard the painful gasps of a dragon. Hagrid frowned as he assessed the noise. Fenix was the first to spot a struggling Longhorn to keep its wing-beats steady and its strength suddenly seeped away. The dragon was losing consciousness and was going to crash into the Forest. The Phoenix emerged, flying like an arrow and wrapped its wings about the unconscious dragon and its riders. The Phoenix reappeared with the wounded, safely back onto the wet, slippery ground.

Some of the elves had arrived and began to cut off the straps holding the unconscious Headmaster and Ron's brother. The Phoenix stepped back, watching the activities of the elves with her aquiline, blue fiery eyes. They had finally freed the Headmaster and the Phoenix watched McGonagall's face carefully. If she was in a human form, Fenix would have sniggered, watching the yearning and concern of the Transfigurations teacher. Hagrid was pacing impatiently for them to load off the humans; he was worried about the deep slashes along the Longhorn's belly. The immense man looked uncertainly at the Phoenix and she tilted her head, and he sighed with relief and pointed to an area that was protected and dry. The Phoenix transported the injured dragon into the warm 'tent' and Hagrid hurried forward to quickly begin the dragon's treatment.

The elves quickly laid the Weasley onto a stretcher and it was rather alarming that they had made a Jump, instead of walking back into the castle. The Hebride dragon was next to land and Fenix was surprised to see that Aberforth was totally alert and was already cursing about, trying to get off from the dragon to see his brother. The oldest wizard slowly slid off from the Hebridean Black and watched Aberforth with dissatisfaction but froze when he finally caught sight of the blue fiery Phoenix. The witch named Michelle, and the others who had landed, stared at the ancient creature almost rudely.

Fenix regained her human form and just lifted an eyebrow at their incredulous looks. She walked slowly towards where Dumbledore was relieved of his robe and was being wrapped quickly in a dry and warm cloak. "What happened to the thrashing?" Fenix asked the Transfigurations teacher in a mild voice.

McGonagall smiled faintly, not blushing as the look that the Fire Master gave her was rather significant. "Don't be disappointed, Fenix. He'll receive it when he is well enough to stand it."

"Good. Don't let him run away free from punishment."

"What is this?" Aberforth looked at the Transfiguration teacher in mild amusement. He looked around in the rain, and seeing that the others were just too far away to overhear him, he whispered, "Don't tell me you just realized that you care for my brother?"

"Oh shut up," McGonagall replied in irritation and followed the elves carrying Dumbledore briskly.

"How's your head, Aberforth?" Fenix asked the man in concern.

"I have a slight headache, and just a mild concussion, I think," he answered as he accepted a warm cloak from the Fire Master.

Fenix pitched her voice loudly, "Let's go into where it's warm, unless if you wish to oversee to your dragons' comforts first," she said as she looked at the keepers thoughtfully. Reef nodded and she smiled as the Hebride dragon snorted and left his rider for the tent that was created solely for the dragons, waddling just like a crocodile on land. Fenix went off to the castle on her own, lost in her own thoughts and worries. What is wrong with Charlie?

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