For Love of Dragons

For Love of Dragons
Harry Potter Fanfiction
Written by Yen

"Ten galleons."

"… Ten galleons? Are you daft? That's a common green. I'm not paying you more than three galleons."

Godric glanced aside to see a wizard in dark blue robes arguing with the shopkeeper. He couldn't help but agree silently that ten galleons was far too much for an egg of a Welsh Green dragon. Now if it was a Horntail's egg...

It really didn't matter. Godric wasn't about to squander his family's fortune on dragon eggs. Gryffindor estate was modest at best and certainly wasn't profitable enough to allow its young lord free leeway when it came to monetary concerns.

Besides, Rowena controlled the gold that came from his family's lands. Her father, the late Lord Regius Ravenclaw, had been Godric's guardian. His will clearly stated that his daughter would manage the Gryffindor estate until Godric was twenty years old. He would be twenty next month. He was actually older than Rowena by nearly a year.

However, Godric wasn't the least bit uncomfortable that his cousin was handling his family's affairs. He was certain he couldn't handle estate matters as efficient and as organized as Rowena, who true to her bloodline, lived up to what was expected of a Ravenclaw.

"I will never forgive you if you start thinking of me as Wise old Ravenclaw," said a familiar teasing voice behind him. Godric grinned and turned to see Rowena, smiling at him. Helga was with her, and she didn't look pleased to find Godric here.

"Godric," said Helga with a frown, "I do wish you would stop visiting this place." This place she was referring to was Distral's Dragon's Den, which specializes mostly in dragon eggs. The main feature of the shop was the six levels of shelves made out of stone running around the walls. At three feet wide intervals were magical fires, each nestling and warming a dragon egg within its flames.

"He's just looking, Helga," said Rowena reassuringly, then a corner of her mouth twitched. "He only has one galleon with him. Not enough for an egg."

Godric's smile vanished, and he glared at Rowena, wishing she would stop reading his mind.

"I don't read, Godric," Rowena corrected him. "I hear. I don't read- Minds, Helga. Not books."

"Oh," said Helga then she shrugged slightly and suggested they return to the manor. Wanting to look around some more, Godric told them to go ahead. Rowena smiled at him warmly before saying good-bye while Helga gave him a look of warning that clearly stated he better not bring home a dragon egg. Helga hated dragons. Godric really couldn't see why. Dragons were such wonderful creatures.

As soon as the girls left the shop, Godric went over to the right wall, where there were more than six-dozen dragon eggs. His eyes were immediately caught by a trio of eggs whose shells were bright crimson with speckles of gold. He had never seen this variety before and quickly looked at the small plague in front of the middle egg. It read:

Recent Acquisition
Liondragon: Scarlet golden dragon from the Far East

There was an engraved illustration of the dragon. Godric noted the spikes around the dragon's face and its unusually large eyes. Suddenly, he became utterly tempted to ask Distral how much one Liondragon egg would cost.

"Trust me. Distral will not make it worth your while."

Godric started then whirled around to see Slytherin. He was so surprised to see the Dark wizard; he stepped back automatically and bumped against the shelves behind him. Unexpectedly, the shelves moved back and suddenly jerked forward. The eggs wobbled in their hearths, and one of the Liondragon eggs rolled off its fire and off the shelf.

***

Salazar winced, then slowly opened one eye to access the damage. He blinked, and both his eyes snapped open in surprise to see Gryffindor on his stomach and on the floor in a very awkward position. The Light wizard had somehow managed to catch the dragon egg before it hit the floor.

"Whazzis?! Whazzis?!" Distral was hobbling towards them and waving his staff. He was a wizened old wizard with shrewd green eyes. Upon reaching Gryffindor, he poked the young Light wizard in the small of his back.

"Ye crack it. Ye buy it," cackled Distral. "That will be thirty galleons."

"... What?!" Gryffindor scrambled to his feet while clutching the dragon egg closely against his stomach. His brown eyes were alarmed. "Thirty galleons?! No dragon egg is that expensive!"

"Zis one is." Distral poked his staff at the Liondragon egg in Gryffindor's arms. Salazar's eyes narrowed as Distral's staff twitched aside and left a scratch on the dragon egg's smooth surface. Gryffindor didn't notice.

A short while later, Salazar was leading a dazed Light wizard out of the store. Distral followed them out, saying that it was a pleasure doing business with them. Then the old wizard laughed gleefully before going back inside his shop.

"Tricky old coot," said Salazar under his breath. He glanced at Gryffindor, who was walking a step behind and beside him. The young wizard's eyes were locked on the dragon egg in his arms. Salazar had paid Distral fifteen galleons for the Liondragon egg Gryffindor supposedly scratched.

When the Light wizard remained quiet, Salazar decided to talk. "You have to watch your step around Distral's shop. He charmed the shelves to give way at the slightest push and then snap back into position an instant later. They only look solid. You're fortunate only one egg fell. I've heard that there was a very unlucky fellow who had to sell everything he owned to pay for more than a dozen broken eggs, and he's still paying even after six years."

"He should be stopped." Salazar looked at Gryffindor, who had finally raised his head. Angrily, he declared, "What he is doing is wrong, and he also overprices the dragon eggs he sells."

Salazar shrugged. "True, but he is also one of the wealthiest wizards around. You'll only get trouble if you go up against him."

Gryffindor frowned at his words then said in a barely discernible voice, "You seem to get along with him." He was referring to the fact that Salazar had managed to whittle down the cost of the Liondragon egg from thirty galleons to fifteen galleons, which was a fair price for an egg of a newly discovered species. Distral never sold at fair prices.

Salazar smiled slightly. "Let's just say I know how to deal with people like him," he told Gryffindor in a tone of voice, which suggested he was telling the younger wizard a secret.

Gryffindor's eyes darkened. "You mean you're just like him, a Dark wizard."

Salazar's brow lifted at the dislike in the Light wizard's voice, then he tutted softly and corrected the other wizard, "No, Gryffindor. Distral is like me, a Dark wizard." He smirked at the surprise in the other's eyes and said honestly, "I dislike being secondary."

Gryffindor's expression turned puzzled, and Salazar knew the young wizard had expected him to be angered that he had just called him a Dark wizard. Amusement filled Salazar. Among Light wizards, being called a Dark wizard was a grave insult, which usually led to duels. These same Light wizards have automatically assumed that Dark wizards would consider being called Dark wizards an insult as well.

Then again, it would be very humorous if Light wizards started insulting Dark wizards by calling them Light wizards.

To hide his confusion, Gryffindor suddenly thrust the dragon egg at Salazar and told him to take it. Salazar blinked and glanced down at the Liondragon egg Gryffindor was presenting to him then he looked at the young wizard's face.

Gryffindor was pretending that he didn't care about the dragon egg, and Salazar almost smiled again. Instead, he also pretended not to care.

"You keep it," Salazar said and didn't miss the flash of joy in the Light wizard's eyes, which was instantly controlled and hidden away.

"Why?" said the young wizard, "You should keep this egg. You did pay for it." Salazar almost laughed then. Gryffindor was challenging him. It was clear he disliked owing something to Salazar, who had dealt with Distral on the Light wizard's behalf.

He kept his face expressionless, and in a slightly bored tone of voice, said, "Red and gold are not my colors, Gryffindor." And he walked away, leaving the Light wizard looking quite addled.

***

Godric watched speechlessly as Slytherin walked away from him. He couldn't believe that the other wizard was giving away a dragon egg just because of its coloring.

... Was he being nice? It was a thought that he found very hard to accept. Then he remembered the Liondragon egg.

... I have a dragon egg! He finally realized, and dizzy happiness rushed through him, effectively banishing his confusion at the Dark wizard's action as well as the sheer embarrassment he had to struggle with ever since Salazar paid for the dragon egg. He had been numbed when Distral pointed out the scratch on the egg and panicked at the thought of having to pay thirty galleons.

Suddenly, Godric didn't care if Slytherin was being nice or not. He felt only too fortunate that the older wizard had immediately paid Distral the gold without asking Godric for the money. He would have died on the spot if the Dark wizard had found out that Godric only had a galleon on him.

Perhaps he felt guilty that Distral tried to trick me, theorized a distracted Godric, who didn't realize he had a foolish-looking smile on his face as he held the Liondragon egg close again against his stomach. It was warm, and he immediately continued on his way. His body warmth was not enough to keep the egg at its suitable temperature. He'll have to put it in a fire at the manor. This was the first time he owned a dragon egg, but he was quite sure he could hatch it properly.

He stumbled, almost falling down when he remembered something else that made the dragon egg suddenly seem too much for him to handle.

... Helga is going to kill me.

The End