ᴏꜰ ᴏᴀ𝗄 ᴀꜱʜ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴏʀɴ || ʜᴏɢᴡᴀʀᴛꜱ ʟᴇɢᴀᴄʏ

Gwen tried to not act star-struck as the carriage leaped into the sky, flying over the streets of London and past the bundling amounts of clouds. Oddly enough, there didn't seem to be anything flying the carriage, at least not to the naked eye. Gwen could hear the squawks of something pulling them forward but what, she wasn't sure of yet. In fact, it almost reminded her of something but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She frowned, glancing out the window to her left, watching the clouds wisp by them gracefully as if they were birds in the air, light as a mere feather in the gusty wind. The sky was already darker, they were nearing the setting of the sun up there.

"Glad I caught you before you left for Scotland," George said with a cheeky smile and Gwen brought her attention back to their newest travel companion. This George was a new variable, one she wasn't sure how to handle quite yet. At least Professor Fig was genuine but she couldn't quite tell with George.

"Just barely," Professor Fig pointed out, causing George to chuckle for a moment before finally taking a good look at Gwen.

"And who is your traveling companion?"

Professor Fig turned to Gwen and smiled, "A new student."

"New?" George said, not being able to hide his shock.

Gwen could feel his gaze on her, itching for an answer. Professor Fig only knew half the reason why she was there, "Yes, sir. I'm starting school as a fifth year."

"How extraordinary," His eyes shifted back to Professor Fig as if Gwen's statement wasn't enough to prove it, and something prickled the back of her neck uncomfortably.

It was hard enough not to have Kallias accompanying her, after all, he had promised to make the introductions with the professors at the school. Now she was forced to do so herself. How much was she actually allowed to talk about? Would the Ministry come after her if she revealed too much about her reasons for arriving at the school so late? The corners of her mouth itched to frown but she held her polite smile as her head began to pound from the incoming headache. Everything felt nauseating in the air, maybe flying by carriage wasn't so comfortable after all.

"It is, indeed. None of the faculty has ever heard of anyone being admitted to Hogwarts so late." Professor Fig carried on and George nodded in agreement. "Of course, as the other fifth-years will have been honing their magical skills for four years now, the Headmaster asked if I could get our new student up to speed before the term begins." He glanced over to Gwen again but she didn't meet his eyes, guilt pricking the inside of her stomach at the thought of withholding the truth from him. He seemed just as caring as Kallias, and it felt unsettling to not tell him why exactly she had been submitted so late. But if she told him, she had a suspicion someone would get very upset. Until the Ministry gave her the okay, it was better to lay low - at least for now anyway - she figured and merely shrugged as a response. The feeling of sickness hadn't complete subsided but it wasn't has bad a few minutes earlier, she drummed her fingers to an imaginary beat as she listened to the two of them talk. 

"Well, you couldn't have asked for a better mentor." George looked at the both of them with a warm gaze before sitting back more comfortably. "Professor Fig is not only an exceptional teacher, he is also a remarkably intuitive - and gifted - wizard."

Professor Fig swatted his hand in the air bashfully. "Mr. Osric is prone to flattery. I daresay it's one of the reasons he's risen so far at the Ministry." he chuckled and Gwen felt her body freeze. He's part of the Ministry too?

She looked at George Osric with new worry. Of course, he was a part of the Ministry. There was no way they would send her alone with a mere professor from a school. Gwen wanted to kick herself in the leg for thinking they would let her go freely without some sort of stronger escort.

Suddenly George Osric seemed to turn more serious. he eyed Gwen before pulling out a Newspaper, flicking it open to the first page to reveal the title of 'Ranrok's Goblin Rebellion. Truth? Or gobbledegook?' His eyes didn't stray from the paper at first, "have you seen this?"

"I have," Professor Fig sighed. "opinions differ as to how great a threat Ranrok really is."

Gwen looked away from the paper, she didn't want to show too much interest in it, if they thought she had been some sort of wizard Demilix Desecrator, then who knows if they could try and pin her as some Goblin rebellion ralliest. Her eyes wandered to the window again as the two continued to talk and her eyes peered at a darkened shape in the clouds. It was almost as if something big was moving below the carriage. Gwen looked back at the other two.

"Although I've yet to convince my colleagues at the Ministry, I believe he is a significant threat." George Osric said seriously before continuing to fold the paper up, his fingers holding the paper in worry. "And it was your wife, Eleazar, who alerted me to his activities months ago."

Professor Fig's eyes widened as he leaned in closer. "Miriam? How?" He looked at George for more answers, his eyes pleading and Gwen raised an eyebrow, these two were obviously talking about something serious, maybe even more serious than her own problems.

George Osric sighed regrettably. "She wrote to me about Ranrok before she died - wondering what the Ministry knew about his activities." He placed the paper to his left, beside his seat, "Before I could respond, I received this. It was the last thing she sent me, Eleazar." he pulled out an odd-shaped cylinder with a wavey symbol on the front, almost as if it was to signify a flame or twisted spiral.

Gwen peered at it, the cylinder was made of light coppery metal around the edge caps, with emerald quartz along the body and silver lining the shape in intricate designs.

"It came to me via her owl - but with no correspondence. I can only assume -" George Osric looked down at it sadly, holding it out before Professor Fig as he gently took it into his arms.

"- that she had to get rid of it quickly to keep it safe." Professor Fig finished, his thumb feeling the intricate silver designs etched into the cylinder.

"Presumably from Ranrok," George nodded and lowered his voice a bit. "I cannot open it. Whatever magic protects this is powerful indeed.

Professor Fig held it up, twisting it around muttering, "It looks like goblin metal. That symbol-"

Something about the cylinder didn't sit right with Gwen. In fact, the moment George had pulled it out, a faint glow had come off the cylinder. But it was as if the others didn't even see it at all. Before she could stop herself, Gwen found herself reaching for the cylinder. "What's that glow?" She murmured

Professor Fig looked at the cylinder and back at Gwen in confusion. "I don't see a glow."

George looked at the cylinder and then back at Gwen in confusion as well. "Nor do I." his gaze leveled with Gwens and suddenly Gwen wanted to shrink back into the invisible person she had been all day. She had enough of the Ministry poking into her these past weeks, and she could already begin to feel the scrutiney that this George could be harboring.

Professor Fig gestured for her to hold the cylinder and Gwen hesitated, if she didn't reach for it, she would look suspicious, but if she did she would look just as suspicious as if she hadn't. With a shiver, she took the cylinder from Professor Fig's hands and looked at it. the faint glow had gotten brighter, its blue and white along the symbol shined just as bright as snow, and with a click, the cylinder opened up to reveal a compartment inside. A small shape in soft green pacing emerged, shaped in similarity to a key.

"MERLIN'S BEARD! How did you?! -" George exclaimed in shock.

"Wait we do not know what -" Fig hissed, taking the cylinder from her in worry, looking at it in concern. But it was too late.

The carriage shook as it broke apart in seconds as a giant creature with wings snapped the front part of the carriage straight off. Gwen's eyes widened in shock as shards of wood blistered around them in the air. The luggage and George disappeared in an instant, scattering as the creature wreaked havoc on them. Her voice seemed to disappear as she breathed in rapidly, trying to fight this feeling of fear rising through her.

"HANG ON!" Professor Fig shouted over the wind as their feet dangled over the missing part of the carriage.

The door on her left was flapping against the wind, barely hanging on by a thread as the glass shards whipped by them. Gwen winced as she realized the pain on her right cheek from the glass shards that had splintered from the windows. She could also feel cuts along her left arm as she clutched the broken window, hanging on for dear life.

But that wasn't the most terrifying part as Gwen struggled to stay in the carriage. She felt glued to her seat as the creature spread its wings and its tail snapped violently as it crunched the remains of the carriage, and George in seconds.

It was a Dragon. A live, breathing dragon. And one that was coming right for them!

Gwen looked behind them for the coachmen and immediately wished she hadn't. The creatures pulling the carriage began to fade into view, their jet black skin and bony features coming into light and her eyes felt like betraying her. Those were Threstrals! Merlin's beard, I just witnessed Mr. Osric's death! She felt bile rise up her throat, threatening to escape and she forced herself to swallow it back down. She had just feared the man moments ago! Moments that felt like a lifetime. Her breath fluttered rapidly, her heart threatening to break out of her chest as her eyes darted around. She couldn't just sit here, she had to move or she too would end up like George.

Her head swerved back at the Dragon only to her horror as its jaws opened, a swirling mass of fire bubbled from the inside as sparks grew and she grabbed the remains of the window harder, ignoring the pain as the glass cut in. I'm going to die. I'm going to die by a bloody stupid dragon! She sucked in a breath and held it.

"JUMP!" Professor Fig screamed, grabbing her right shoulder and pulling her out of her panicked state and tumbling right out of the carriage as a jet of fire streamed above their heads, practically singeing the tips of their hair off.

Gwen twisted through the air, struggling to stay upright as they tumbled through the air, the wind whipping past them. She gasped as a piece of wood hit her leg and bit back a cry of pain. Her eyes watered as she grimaced, forcing herself to ignore it as she righted herself to face the rising land below them. The container drifted in the air beside them and Professor Fig's eyes widened as the key flew out of the cylinder.

"The KEY!" he cried, moving his arms to grab it while Gwen desperately tried and failed to keep herself from twisting around. His arms waved back and forth in the air, trying to find some momentum as Fig drew closer to the key once more.

If Gwen felt like puking before, now she was sure she was going to. The grumble of a dragon's roar above her made her mind go blank as she heard its wings dive closer, its roar building up. Merlin! It was going to release another attack from its flames! Or snap my head off! It doesn't matter... She realized suddenly because there would be no carriage to jump out of again. This time it was right on top of them. And this time, there would be no dodging its fiery end.

"Give me your hand!" Professor's Figs brought Gwen's mind back into focus as he fell next to her, reaching out for her arm she flared it out and he grasped it harshly before taking his other arm and yelling a single command with his wand. "ACCIO!"

The key came flying at them just as the dragon's jaws came down to snap on them. And Gwen didn't even have a moment to scream.