Hogwarts: Sunset's Legacy

by witegrlninja

In Which Sunset Realizes Poppy Is Rather Unhinged

The rest of the school week passed by without incident, for once. As much as I enjoyed going on crazy adventures full of peril and destruction, having a bit of a breather was a nice change of pace.

Now that I'd brought it up, Sebastian was doing his absolute best to pester me with questions about Equestria. As much as I tried to keep my ever-growing list of half-truths and white lies organized, it was becoming slightly harder to explain certain aspects of my former life in a way that didn't sound totally insane. Cutie Marks were explained as a sort of personal emblem or crest that everyone designed for themselves, brought up when he asked about the recurring yin-yang sun motifs in my Room... I did not tell him they were really called Cutie Marks, because that'd just be silly. When telling him about our military forces, I had to explain the Wonderbolts as an elite band of dragoons that rode Pegasi rather than horses (nevermind the fact they actually were Pegasi). He asked if there were any neighboring countries that knew of their existence - I wound up explaining dragons, yaks, kirin and more as those such countries, all in the guise of humans, and all protected by the enchantment that kept them hidden away. What kept the rest of the world from discovering them was simply an illusion that created a barrier of impassable mountain ranges.

To my relief he ate it all up, not doubting me for even a second. And the more I told him, the more interested he became... it was slightly amusing to think of him becoming a pony if he went through the Mirror of Erised, looking down at himself in shock and surprise. I wonder what kind of pony he'd be? ...Probably a Unicorn.

When we weren't talking about that, I pressed him in return about his sister's curse. From what he knew, it was completely random when it activated, and Anne likened the pain to an acute tearing sensation that stretched throughout her abdomen, as though a hippogriff was repeatedly slashing her with its talons and reopening her raw wounds. She'd tried to continue her life at Hogwarts, but the flare-ups were just too painful and distracting for both her and her fellow classmates, resulting in her being sent home after only a few days with a modified curriculum for Uncle Solomon to teach her. Even the strongest sleeping potions couldn't keep her unconscious through an attack, and she'd wake up in the middle of the night screaming and in tears - he could hear her all the way from his dorm room when she was still at school, and it tore at him that he couldn't rush in to help her due to the anti-opposite-sex enchantment on the girls' dormitory entrance. Strange there wasn't such an enchantment on the entrance to the boys' dorms, though...

And even without Solomon's influence, the anticipatory dread of the curse flaring up again had ruined her mental state. Where there had once been a girl who sounded like someone perhaps even more fascinating than Sebastian - always pushing he and Ominis into late-night mischief and misadventures, tricking the underclassmen into repeatedly embarrassing themselves, and being a far more accomplished potion brewer than that imbecile Garreth - there was now a feeble shell, a pale imitation. She was always exhausted from not getting enough sleep, always wary and worried about the next time the curse would hit... and always whimpering in defeat while she waited for the agony to subside.

As much as she would reassure and reaffirm to Sebastian that there was no cure, and that she had accepted her fate... he knew it to be a lie, deep down. Every time he'd approached her with a possible treatment, a possible cure, her eyes lit up and a hopeful smile spread across her face. He knew she didn't wish to live this way forever, no matter what she or Solomon tried to tell him. Who in their right mind would?

And unlike his uncle, who'd stopped when the healers at St. Mungo's told him there was nothing they could do, he had tried nearly everything he could think of: from obscure potion recipes to chains of counterspells to rare reagents; a Shrivelfig had been one of the very first things he'd offered her. In the beginning Anne even helped him with his brewing, and tried to find a treatment herself, but he suspected that even after trying her best she'd simply become too discouraged to continue. He'd even resorted to researching Muggle medicines, as Muggle medical practices were a little too risky to attempt just yet... but so far he hadn't found any success, no matter what he tried. About the only field of magic left for him to thoroughly search was Alchemy, and he had already expressed an interest in taking the class next year with Professor Sharp.

He already knew the basics, but luckily for him I already knew Alchemy inside and out. After asking him where I could procure a full supply of elements, and buying most of said elements in Hogsmeade, I set aside a workspace just for the subject. There were a few I would have to somehow fuse myself, but hopefully it wouldn't come to that and I'd find a treatment without much difficulty. Imagine the things he'd be willing to do and tell me if I even found him a cure...!

~

Saturday morning, Sebastian and I were chatting about happier subjects as we had a leisurely breakfast. Towards the end of our meal, Natty and Poppy suddenly sat down at our table, opposite of us.

"Natty told me about what the three of you did," Poppy smiled. "I can't thank you enough for saving Highwing!"

"Oh, right," I recalled. "Threw a wrench in our plans, but everything worked out just fine."

"Poppy says she has news about the poachers, and that it may have to do with you," said Natty. Sebastian and I leaned in.

"I overheard them talking in the Hog's Head, and... did you know that they have orders from Victor Rookwood to capture you on sight?" Poppy frowned. A shiver of disgust rattled down my spine at the thought of that creep's grubby hands on me.

"I did not," I grimaced. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Sebastian's face darken for a moment before returning to normal.

"Does this have anything to do with Rookwood and Harlow coming for you in the Three Broomsticks after the troll attack?" asked Natty.

"Probably does... Well, nothing I can't handle, especially with my personal bodyguard-slash-meat shield here," I smirked as I jabbed Sebastian lightly in the arm.

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm... uncertain how I feel about that statement."

"Fair enough," Poppy shrugged. "But I hope you'll let me know if I can be of help, especially after what you did for Highwing."

I nodded. "Did you hear anything else about what they're doing?"

"Does the name 'Horntail Hall' mean anything to either of you?" Sebastian and I shared a glance.

"No... should it?" he asked.

"It's the poacher's best-kept secret, apparently. The name came up twice, but they never went into detail. I also overheard one of them bragging about all the gold they're making... at the expense of innocent creatures, undoubtedly," Poppy scowled.

"I see... so I'm guessing you and Natty want to look into it and break in, eh?" I suggested.

"Absolutely," replied Natty. "If this is how the poachers are making their money, then it would be good to disrupt their operations!"

"Would you two come with us? Everyone's talking about how you both saved Adelaide's uncle from a castle keep full of goblins, so a couple of poachers should be easy to handle," pleaded Poppy, her fingers laced together and eyes sparkling.

"They are, are they?" my eyebrows raised as I casually glanced over to Sebastian. "Well, I'm always up for giving them something else to talk about, what about you?" He nodded in agreement.

"Ah, going where we shouldn't... again," he grinned. "Let's see what we can find."

"Follow me," Poppy gestured as we all stood up. "The poachers spoke of an area in the western Forbidden Forest... I thought if we searched around a bit it might give us clues as to what they're doing." The four of us jogged out into the courtyard beside the Great Hall, pulled our broomsticks out of our pocket dimensions, got on and took off. After making sure that nobody had seen us, we followed closely behind Poppy as she led us over the forest, eventually landing in a small clearing after about ten minutes.

I noticed as I glanced around that other than the noises we were making, it was completely silent. A forest like this should be teeming with life, with singing birds and skittering rodents fleeing from our presence, and other dangerous beasts stalking through the underbrush as they kept an eye on us. But there was nothing, save for the wind rustling through the trees, dead leaves falling to the ground like a gentle rain.

"This way," Poppy waved, the rest of us falling in line behind her. We walked down a well-beaten path, our heads on a swivel in case of any strange movements. The path gradually led us into a thick, dark copse.

Suddenly, I felt a pattering in the ground. If I were still a pony, my ears would've flicked in response. The pattering became audible moments later, and I stopped in my tracks just before the others did, staring at a moving shadow slinking closer and closer through the trees.

What soon came out of the forest was a creature I'd only ever heard about in myths back in Equestria - myths about half-equine beings with the body of a human, an unknown monster back home. His equine half was brown in color, the skin of his muscular torso a matching shade. He regarded us with wild, piercing eyes, one of his hooves pawing anxiously at the ground.

"A centaur," Poppy hissed, her hands gesturing downwards to keep us quiet and nonthreatening. "Tread carefully." Moments later a second centaur emerged, already reaching for the bow and arrows on his back.

"An entire castle to roam, yet you choose to wander here," the first centaur to appear growled, his voice low and dangerous. I couldn't help but let out a barely-audible whinny under my breath. To my surprise, both centaurs seemed to have noticed, and their faces grew but a touch lighter.

Perhaps my old pony instincts would serve me well in this situation.

"We do not want any trouble... we are simply passing through," said Natty, hiding a nervous swallow. The centaur let out a derisive snort.

"Do you take us for fools? That we do not notice more and more of your kind around here, in league with the poachers?" he snarled. I matched his snort with my own, drawing his attention.

"In league? If anything, we're going to take care of the problem ourselves," I glared up at him, matching my body language with the pony equivalent. The centaur regarded me coolly, and leaned back slightly.

"...I hope for your sake that is true. Our kind is swiftly losing patience with the poachers and those they work with." With that warning, the two centaurs turned around and left, disappearing into the trees as though they had been a mirage.

"Charming lot," Sebastian huffed.

"That could have gone worse," Poppy sighed as she motioned for us to continue on. "Centaurs aren't exactly fans of wizardkind, and the poachers aren't helping matters."

"But why would he think that we had anything to do with poachers?" asked Natty.

"I did notice the poachers talking with a few villagers in Hogsmeade, though I'm not sure why," said Poppy. "Perhaps that's why the centaurs are suspicious." We walked in silence for a few minutes, considering the thought. The path led us to a large clearing beside a pond, where a single deer was standing at the water's edge. Suddenly a dugbog sprang up from the depths and wrapped its tongue around one of the deer's legs. The deer squealed in a panic as it tried to pull itself away, but the dugbog was too strong. My lips thinned as I watched the creature pull its prey beneath the water like a crocodile, and a gush of red blossomed on the water's surface.

...Welp.

"It would seem that many beasts have been more aggressive than usual lately," Natty remarked, edging closer to Poppy.

"That's the third time I've seen a dugbog behave that violently," Poppy frowned. Past the pond another hundred feet, I could pick out the tops of some tents lining a short cliff, using it as a natural wall.

"There's a camp up ahead," I warned. All four of us cast Disillusionment on ourselves, and we approached with caution. However, upon entering the camp, we found that it was completely deserted. A number of cages had been left unlocked and open, a massive pile of animal pelts had been dumped onto the ground, and the remains of a fire smoldered lazily away in a rock-lined pit. Tankards and plates of mostly-eaten food had been left to sit out.

"Well... how anticlimactic," Sebastian grumbled as we canceled our charms. "Not a single poacher to be found."

"This is odd," Poppy hummed.

"We should search the area," said Natty. "If the poachers were here, then perhaps we can find out why." Taking care not to make a total mess of the place, we poked through the tents and leftover supplies. Though the camp was empty, there were definite signs that the poachers would eventually return. It wasn't long until Sebastian shouted that he'd found something leaning against a weapons rack.

We hurried over to him, and my eyes widened. Leaning against the rack was a large collar made from goblin silver, glowing a dark, violent red.

"I've seen one of these before," I breathed. "The dragon that attacked Fig and I on our way to Hogwarts was wearing a collar just like this."

"You don't think they're trying to catch more dragons, do you?" Natty blinked, alarmed.

"Let's keep searching... but carefully," Poppy swallowed. "Merlin only knows what's going on here." Just past the camp was the beginnings of a trail through tall grass, leading to a steep cliff and a blind corner around a rocky crag. Poppy led the way as we leaned against the brittle cliff face, shuffling our way past.

Suddenly though, a rock beneath her foot gave way and she lost her balance. Feeling herself falling she yelped in terror, her hands scrambling for something to hold on to. Sebastian and I both gasped as we awkwardly fumbled for our wands, while trying to keep our balance so we didn't fall, either.

I heard a grunt of exertion from Natty. We looked over to her and saw her left hand reaching out towards Poppy, fingers curled as though she was grasping something. More importantly, though, Poppy was no longer falling, but floating in midair.

"I've got you," she hissed, pulling her arm upwards with some difficulty. Slowly, Poppy floated upwards and onto solid ground about six feet away from us, where the narrow path around the crag widened up. I hesitated for a moment, unable to take my eyes off of Natty...

...She could use magic without a wand? That seemed incredibly useful! Of course I'd heard that students from Uagadou didn't use wands and never had, but she used one during all our classes together. I'd also heard wandless magic was supposed to be incredibly difficult to perform, even with saying the incantations while casting - I tried it once one afternoon, and even I found it to be challenging, only managing a Lumos as bright as a freshly-extinguished candle wick.

It'd definitely be worth it to learn... but it would definitely also take me some time to get down.

"Lucky you don't need a wand to perform magic," remarked Sebastian as we joined Poppy. Her hands were on her knees as she caught her breath.

"I'll never know why Hogwarts does not teach wandless magic," Natty shook her head with a sigh, walking over to Poppy. "Far more useful than silly wandwork. Are you alright?"

Poppy responded by suddenly wrapping her arms tight around Natty's neck. "Oh, I thought I was done for... thank you so much, Natty!" she panted into her shoulder. Natty blinked a couple times in surprise before shyly returning the hug, a slight smile on her face.

"Don't mention it," she replied. A moment later they ended their hug, and we resumed our journey down the path. Finally, I spotted something - a lone tent surrounded by trees, wagons and empty cages, situated on top of another mountain cliff. A bridge over a gap connected the cliff to another small camp below us, where a number of poachers were going about their business, likely serving as lookouts. Finally sensing some action, we lowered ourselves to the ground and hid in the grass.

"Definitely poachers," Poppy growled. "No creatures, though... so what are they doing out here?"

"They won't be happy to see us," whispered Sebastian. "How would we like to go about this, ladies? Disillusionment, or perhaps a less... discreet approach?"

"You know what I'd pick," I smirked at him. "Shock and awe."

"Sounds perfect to me..." Poppy grinned, a dark glint in her eyes. Before Natty could pipe up with her suggestion, Poppy reached behind her with her wand into her pocket dimension. She giggled as she swung her wand forward, a stream of maybe a dozen or so Chinese Chomping Cabbages soaring out from behind her and raining down on the unsuspecting poachers.

"What the-?!"

"Are those... cabbages?"

"AAAAH!"

The poachers began casting wildly at the surprisingly-agile vegetables, screaming in confused terror as they latched on wherever they could and began chewing viciously. Now that they were being used against actual combatants and not practice dummies, my eyes widened to see their teeth doing quite a frightening amount of damage. Blood splashed from their wounds as the cabbages ripped off scalps and swaths of skin and flesh, severing muscles and tendons and bones alike. Within a minute or so, every poacher was missing at least one limb, and a couple had passed out on the ground due to blood loss. Those still standing as the Chomping Cabbages rolled away sated were easily picked off with simple spells.

"Huh... they really are vicious little bastards," I chuckled, standing up once the last poacher was dead.

"Perhaps I should grow some of my own," Sebastian nodded in agreement.

"I always make sure I have a supply ready to use," shrugged Poppy. "Not only are they formidable in a fight, they're also delicious in Gran's stew."

"They are," I agreed, though a moment later I caught Sebastian shooting me a knowing smirk. "Er, I mean... they are?"

"Come, let us hurry before they notice their guards have been dispatched," said Natty. The bridge creaked under our weight as we jogged across, but no one else seemed to be around, and we stopped just in front of the entrance flap to the tent. Putting my ear up against it... I could hear many people cheering, and the roars of something huge.

"Something's going on in there... something with a lot of people and a huge beast," I warned.

"We should investigate," Poppy grimaced.

"Do you think one of us should remain out here to stand guard?" asked Natty.

"I can do that," Sebastian shrugged. "They'll never even know I'm here." A part of me hesitated at the thought, and I opened my mouth to object, but upon remembering both Poppy and Natty would be with me I closed it again. They would serve well enough as theoretical meat shields.

"Very well... let's go. In and out, twenty minute adventure," I motioned, casting Disillusionment on myself. The others vanished from sight as I pulled aside the entrance flap, hearing Natty's and Poppy's footsteps behind me as I entered.

I stopped rather quickly, though. I was entranced by what I saw.

"What in Merlin's name...?!" Poppy gasped as we stared at the tent's interior. Though it looked like it would only hold eight people at best from the outside, the inside had been charmed to become the size of a stadium. Past a short corridor directly in front of us, I could see bleachers crammed full of people, cheering wildly as something large flapped its wings in the center of the arena, followed by a burst of orange light and a roar.

A dragon flew upwards towards the ceiling and hovered before attacking its opponent. A red glow alerted me to the collar around its neck, as well as around the neck of the other dragon in the arena.

"Are those... dragons?!" Natty breathed in shock, the three of us canceling our Disillusionment charms once we were sure nobody was close by. Everyone I could see was firmly focused on the fight.

"It's a dragon fighting ring... this is Horntail Hall!" cried Poppy, a deep scowl on her face. "No wonder the poachers were in Hogsmeade so much, likely taking bets and spreading the word, given how crowded it is here!"

"Makes sense... many people enjoy illicit fight clubs, after all," I said.

"How could they possibly enjoy this...?" Poppy's fists curled and shook in anger. "The centaurs have every right to be disgusted by wizardkind."

"There must be more dragons here," said Natty. "The poachers are far too greedy to run a fighting ring with only two dragons."

"We should take advantage of most eyes being on the fight and look around," Poppy nodded, glancing towards me. "But be discreet... you especially can't afford to be spotted."

"They'll have far more to worry about than dragons if I'm caught," I shrugged as I recast Disillusionment on myself. Natty and Poppy followed suit, and we tiptoed down the corridor. The only path that didn't lead towards the arena was to our right, being watched over by a man standing guard by the entrance. I held out my arms so the two girls would knock into them, and whispered for them to remain still. Then I glanced over to the dragons with my wand trained on the man, waiting for an opportunity.

One of them roared loudly, and the crowd erupted with insatiable bloodlust. At the same time I Transfigured the man into a chicken, and I watched him cluck in confusion and scramble off towards the bleachers. The man closest to the entrance looked down for a moment while the chicken pecked at his shin, then picked it up and dropkicked it into the arena.

That obstacle out of our way, we moved forward. The path to the right snaked around and underneath the bleachers, below the corridor we had entered from. To my surprise there were a number of goblins present, some watching the fight while others were playing cards around a table, talking idly about their rebellion. Another man stood guard at the other end of the room.

"Are you going to turn them into chickens, too?" Poppy whispered behind me.

"Only seems fair," I smirked, raising my wand. "Let's see how they like being a helpless beast." She giggled softly as I Transfigured the lot of them all at once, all of them clucking and cawing at their newfound predicament. I then waved my wand to grab them all up in my magic, then levitated them all into an open cage and locked its door shut.

"Doesn't surprise me that Ranrok and the poachers are working together," Natty sighed as we pressed onward. After taking a left we soon found ourselves in the back of the tent, where supplies and three massive cages sat on the floor below us. The way forward led to our right, but I could see and hear something through a gap in the wall up ahead.

We peeked through the gap, and gasped at what we saw. A huge black dragon had been chained to a small platform in a bowing position, its wings pinned to its sides by curved spikes and its mouth covered by a solid muzzle. It roared in pain as a group of poachers and goblins together beat it into submission with spells - large, bloody gashes had been carved into its head, neck and barrel, the center of its chest burned raw by a curse.

Seeing the poor creature like this... something so majestic being tortured by such fools... I felt a roiling sensation burning deep within my gut, growing in tandem with my anger.

"They must've only just captured her," Poppy remarked grimly. "She's putting up quite the fight."

"...Not for long, though, with her chained up like that," I growled.

"Let's even her odds, shall we?"

"I do hope you two know what you are doing," Natty hissed. "This is a dragon we are talking about! And a very angry one, at that!"

"You forget I faced one of these before, I know exactly what I'm doing," I replied, headed towards the door to the lower level. Opening it revealed a sort of office, perhaps where all the winnings were stored. Besides an open coffer full of Galleons, sitting in an open cage on a pedestal on the desk was a large, purple egg, glowing faintly in the dim light of the room and radiating heat like a campfire.

"Look, they've got a dragon egg!" Poppy whisper-shouted. "Hebridean, from the looks of it... we can't leave it here, not with the plans they likely have for it!"

"But what in Merlin's name are we going to do with it?!" Natty tried to argue, but Poppy had already taken the egg and spirited it away to her pocket dimension. With that resolved for the moment, we crept down some stairs and stopped just behind the corner that led straight to the dragon. Its roars, even louder than before, were growing strained.

That poor creature... how many had these poachers captured and forced to fight for them? The anger I felt transformed into a seething rage, foaming upwards in my soul like the head of a poured Butterbeer.

"Ready? The element of surprise will only buy us a few seconds," said Poppy.

"A few seconds is all I need," I glowered, my eyes focused on the poacher scum that kept striking the dragon. The roiling within me grew even stronger, almost overwhelming. Every nerve in my body suddenly lit up and tingled with power. My vision seemed to whiten slightly, as though the world was suddenly bathed in light.

A surge of magic began welling up like a rushing tide, drowning my very soul in its depths. My wand... my horn burned in my hand. Glancing down at it, I saw blue-white light ripple along its length.

Ancient magic.

Was it allowing me to tap into it? It was a question I would rather have answered through action.

A smile full of malice broke out on my face, and I began to stride towards the unsuspecting poachers. I raised my wand, feeling the surge within me rise into a fever pitch, threatening to bubble over like a boiling pot. My pace quickened, and soon I was charging towards them, my Disillusionment fading away, the poachers and goblins catching sight of me and recoiling in confusion.

I brought down my wand, and I screamed.

Within the blink of an eye, a brilliant blast of lightning erupted from the tip of my wand, crackling and blinding and molten. It struck the closest poacher square in the chest before chaining to the next closest one, then the goblin after that, and so on. They shrieked in pain, their bodies convulsing wildly as the lightning electrocuted the entire group.

And then, just as quickly as it had appeared, the lightning faded away. The villains all collapsed to the ground in smoking heaps.

"What was that?!" Natty shouted as she and Poppy ran towards me, their Disillusionment charms canceled. I turned back to face them, and they both skidded to a stop with a gasp.

"Your eyes...!" Poppy mouthed. "They're... glowing?"

"They are?" I blinked, the whiteness I saw fading slowly away. Poppy tilted her head in confusion.

"Well, they were," she frowned.

"I saw it too, but we don't have time to talk about this now!" yelled Natty. "We need to free her before more of them show up!" Poppy and I nodded in unison, and one Alohomora later the chain binding the dragon's head to the platform snapped into the air. Sensing its freedom, the dragon began to strain against the rest of its bonds with renewed vigor, causing not only the ground, but the entire tent to shake.

The three of us took a few steps backwards, only now fully realizing the danger we had gotten ourselves into. If and when that dragon broke free... it was going to be quite displeased to see us.

"This... might not have been the best idea," I admitted with a cringe.

"I suppose we'll find out," Poppy whimpered. More poachers began to Apparate into the room and surround us, all ignoring the raging beast just behind them... in favor of me. One in particular pointed his wand at me in a taunting gesture.

I wasn't scared, though.

Not of him or his friends, anyway.

He raised his wand to attack, just as the dragon broke free from its muzzle. Everyone turned to stare at the unchained monstrosity as it roared angrily at the ceiling, frozen in newfound terror. Then the dragon brought its face swiftly downwards, the poacher in front of me disappearing into its mouth with a scream. As if spurred into action, the other poachers began casting frantically at the dragon, who simply sat there and tanked the blasts.

Its eyes scanned the room, and for a moment our eyes met. I blinked, seeing wisdom and sentience within them.

The dragon opened its mouth, glowing orange and drooling lava. It swept its head in a wide arc as fire bellowed forth - Natty, Poppy and I enveloped ourselves in Protego shields, straining to keep them up while the poachers around us screamed in agony, their bodies blackening and shriveling. A wretched scent of charred flesh flooded my nose as their broken forms crumbled to the ground.

The air grew stiflingly hot. Glancing around, the tent had been set ablaze in every direction, flames licking upwards towards the ceiling. I looked over to my companions to see if they were okay - Natty was staring at the dragon in utter fear, but Poppy...

...Poppy was grinning like a maniac.

...

The dragon took two steps forward, looming over us. The flames were only just reaching the top of the tent, I cast a Confringo upwards to hurry it along. The explosion tore a hole above us, sunlight shining down onto the dragon, who looked up in response.

Its eyes lingered upon us for a few moments... almost as if it was thanking us.

And then, it opened its wings and flapped powerfully, nearly blowing us over as it took off out of the tent and into the sky. While Natty backed away before breaking out into a jogging run, Poppy watched the dragon disappear with reverent awe. Her reverie was soon broken by falling support beams crashing to the ground all around us.

"C'mon! We need to go!" I called out to her. We caught up to Natty, and together we raced out of the tent back the way we came, the entire place seemingly abandoned except for the straggling pops and cracks of the last to Apparate out. Sebastian was already a good distance away from the tent's entrance as we came tearing through.

"What in Merlin's name did you three do in there?!" he shouted.

"No talking, just running!" I shrieked in reply, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him along with me. We ran like mad over the bridge and down to the lookout camp before daring to stop. My hands clapped my knees as I bent over wheezing, and I glanced back up to the tent just in time to see it collapse.

We spent the next few minutes simply catching our breath. Poppy was the first to speak, her voice giddy with excitement.

"That was a Hebridean Black!" she grinned widely.

"Was that her egg, then?!" Natty gasped. Poppy only nodded as she pulled the egg from her pocket dimension.

"I don't think she knew they had her egg... she wouldn't have left without it."

"Wait a minute," Sebastian shook his head. "You three bloody lunatics not only freed a dragon, but you also pilfered her egg?!"

"Well, we weren't gonna leave it with the poachers!" I argued back. A few beats of silence followed, the gravity of the situation seemingly hitting us all at once. "Uh... what exactly are we going to do with it now?"

"I don't know," Poppy sighed. "Nothing about this day was expected, not the goblins and definitely not the fighting ring! The last thing I planned on was a dragon egg!"

"And the poachers saw us... that cannot be good," Natty frowned.

"We'll just have to keep the egg for now," said Poppy. "I'd much rather we have it than the poachers, but I don't think we should keep it indefinitely. It'll be hard hiding something like this from Professor Weasley for long."

No kidding.

"Can we discuss this at a later time? We're not exactly doing ourselves any favors by standing so close to the scene of the crime," Sebastian groused.

"You're right... if there's anything the poachers are good at, it's tracking their prey... and right now, we're it," Poppy swallowed.

"Let's get the hell out of here, then," I suggested, already hopping onto my broom. The others followed suit as I rose into the sky, and we made a beeline back to Hogwarts.

~

We didn't land until we were safely behind the castle walls, checking and double checking that we weren't followed. Once on the ground we headed inside, only stopping once we were alone in one of the many corridors. Before anyone else could speak, Poppy suddenly whipped around to face us, her face deadly serious.

"If you ever meet my Gran... this trip never happened." An innocent gaze that somehow still promised an unrelenting storm of retaliation swept over us all... I shivered as her eyes bored into my soul. "She knows how I feel about the poachers... I think she worries I'll do something... ill-advised."

"'Ill-advised'?" I repeated slowly, incredulously.

"Huh... whatever gave her that idea?" snarked Sebastian. "Well, don't be concerned on my account. I didn't see a thing."

"Neither did I," agreed Natty.

"I ain't no snitch," I shook my head. "Golden or otherwise." Poppy relaxed her glare with a relieved sigh, and giggled as she smiled happily at us.

"Good... good. Well, I'm going to find a place I can keep this egg incubated and undisturbed... I'll see you later, okay Natty?"

"Yes, of course," Natty replied, hesitating for a moment. Poppy grinned again as she turned to leave, humming to herself as she walked down the hall and disappeared around a corner. The three of us shared an uncomfortable silence for a few moments.

...

...

...

"...I didn't expect any of that out of her," I frowned, blinking. "Did you guys?"

"Not at all," Sebastian slowly shook his head.

"I am unsure whether I am impressed by her courage, or terrified of her disregard for possibly being eaten alive by a dragon," agreed Natty. "...But I do admire her conviction."

"And I think she likes you," remarked Sebastian, smirking a little. Natty caught his gaze and looked away, her cheeks gaining a tinge of red.

"...It's not a bad thing that she reminds me of a crup," she hummed. "Cute and cuddly, yet ferocious towards her enemies."

"Heh, and she's a short little thing," I chuckled. Sebastian and Natty both snorted in amusement. "...But yea, remind me to never get on her bad side."

"Goodness, no," Natty shook her head quickly, along with Sebastian.

"Absolutely not."

Comments

[Booster Spice]

Its Sooo Beautifuuuul.

[Moonlight Tome]

Poppy the Cabbage-wielding maniac! I love her so much!

[not-so-anonymous]

I had a vision of Poppy riding on Highwing while commanding an army of Chomping Cabbages to mow down a poacher camp after reading this chapter.

[Shadic Midnight Blitzer]

Every scene is written so well!

[witegrlninja]

11715862
Working on the next two chapters when I see a deluge of comments.

Thank you so much! :D

[Snowdrifter]

11657795
By the blood of Khaless, it will be GLORIOUS!

[AdverseFlower95]

I wonder what happened to the 2 dragons that were fighting. With how they were collared I assumed that the poachers would have ordered them to attack the newly freed one. Let’s hope that Poppy manages to find, free them, and wreck more havoc upon the poachers.

[witegrlninja]

11756775
Yes... whatever did happen to those dragons...?

[Teraunce]

It's always the quiet ones.