Dragon Claws
Lessie’s POV
I looked up with a start, sweat dripping into my eyes as Poppy let out a triumph yell. She had just taken down the last of the remaining poachers. As much as she refused to admit it, she was a damn fine duelist, taking to new spells like a frog to water. The bodies lay strewn about in various positions, some intact, some less so. We had all learned, throughout our various upbringings, to view casualties like this as objects. It made it easier on the conscious not to look at the corpses as human. It was something I still struggled with, but I had to push it down, there was a time and place for everything.
Sebastian jumped down from the top of the carriage he was on, landing gracefully with a thud. There were some wayward splatters of what appeared to be blood peppering the bottom of his pant legs. His fighting style, compared to Poppy’s, was more reckless. He didn’t care necessarily for an easy win, he liked to drag it out like a sport, taking pride in his ability to toy with his opponent. The dark look in his eyes vanished as they set upon our triumphant Hufflepuff. Tucking his wand into his pocket once more, he ran full kilter towards the girl, scooping her up and lifted her off her feet, swinging her in a wide circle.
“That was amazing! Where did you learn Confringo?” He set her down gently before grabbing her face in between both of his large hands laughing in his post-battle haze. It was a genuine throaty laugh, that seemed a bit out of place amongst the carnage. His eyes searched hers. Even from a distance I could tell the girl was struggling. She wouldn’t be the first to fall into the enigmatic vortex that was Sebastian Sallow. I had been there once myself, before I learned about his true nature. Poppy was breathing heavily and very red and I had a sneaking suspicion it wasn’t from the fighting.
“Lessie taught it to me.” She gulped audibly, looking down at her feet but not pulling away. It was like watching a fawn trapped in front of a wolf. Unable to run away, from curiosity or fear one could never tell. Sebastian dropped his hands and spun towards me with a wicked grin, the small brunette all but forgotten. His grimace was almost predatory. The edges of his mouth turnt up like that of the Cheshire cat, green eyes glinting with some unknown emotion.
“Ah, my pupil has finally become the teacher. I’m so proud” He mocked wiping a tear from his eyes before starting to clap alternating between both us girls.
I rolled my eyes, and walked towards them, exhausted but knowing we were only halfway done with our little venture. There were still the dragons to attend to. Wiping the sweat from my eyes with the inside of my loose undershirt I approached the pair.
“We shouldn’t be celebrating just yet; we haven’t even gone into the caverns. I would be shocked if there weren’t at least a half dozen more poachers in there.” My voice was firm and commanding as I attempted to impart how dangerous the situation really was.
Sebastian was stretching, arms in the air as his back gave a few popping sounds as he twisted side to side. His once tucked in traveling shirt had come loose from his pants and was revealing the nicely toned v-line and the beginnings of some abs. He had lost a lot of his baby weight over the summer due to his refusal to eat during his more extreme depressive episodes but had been trying to get into a routine of calisthenics to get his strength back. Poppy’s eyes were the size of a Mooncalf’s, as they raked over his form. Her face was now the color of a tomato. I couldn’t blame her, he was a handsome lad, with half the school flocking towards him regardless of his mood swings. Sebastian finally put his arms down swinging them instead in circles while looking between the two of us knowingly, choosing not to comment on our Hufflepuffs’ condition.
“Well, I don’t know about that.” He commented, beginning to tuck his shirt back in while looking at Poppy. “I forgot to mention one tiny little detail, before this one decided to ambush us.” He smirked and finally settled his arms to his side, giving Poppy a reprieve. The poor girl.
I wasn’t shocked. Sallow has a tendency to always leave bits of information he deemed ‘irrelevant’ or ‘too important’ to share out of his tales. It gave him leverage should something go awry. I would have to figure out a way to slowly break that habit out of him. There was nothing at this point that he could say that would shock me, but it was still annoying that after everything I had done for him it seemed I couldn’t be trusted with trivialities like this.
“Are you planning on telling us or are we going to stand here in the dark?” It was Poppy who broke the silence. Her composure returning once more. With all the adrenaline I hadn’t even noticed the time slip away. I mentally cursed myself for falling for another one of Sebastian’s ‘easy’ adventures. Nothing was ever easy with him. I admonished myself internally, keeping my face neutral.
I should have left Ominis a note.
“I wasn’t quite sure what they meant but, they said something about cross breeding the dragons to make a superior version or some such nonsense.” He began only for me to cut him off.
“Cross breeding? Dragons? That’s the most foolish thing I hav-“My mouth was moving before I even realized it.
“LET ME FINISH!” He let out a frustrated growl, throwing his hands in the air. One of the neuroses Sebastian had developed over the summer was having no patience for interrupting. I could understand what with all the previously unspoken words and miscommunications that had happened. However, he rarely used that tone with me, and I would be lying if I wasn’t a bit cross. Poppy seemed a bit taken aback by the outburst but said nothing. She stood hands folded in front of her waiting for him to continue.
“As I was saying….” He looked between the both of us as if waiting for another disruption. “I had mentioned the hatchling to you before, it seems that they may have been somewhat successful.”
“Meaning?” I prompted raising my eyebrow.
“Meaning, while I know for a fact, they were bringing a drakaina and her brood, I am unsure as to if they already have a breeding ring set up in this cave.” His mouth set in a thin line, and he looked at the ground. He knew he was in trouble. This wasn’t just some small thing he had left out. This was something that would have changed the course of our previous conversation completely. One where I absolutely would have gotten an adult involved with, and he knew that.
My blood pressure started to rise. This was so much bigger than he had let on, and the fact that he had not only dragged me here but Poppy as well. I was furious! My fists clenched and I thought for half a second to approach this rationally. Instead, I tossed the idea out the window.
“For fucks sake Sebastian! You didn’t think that would have been important information?!”
Poppy gasped and grabbed my arm tightly at the outburst. “But we need to rescue them, we’ve done it before!” She stammered. I shook off her protests and turned back towards Sallow.
He threw up his hands, “See, even Poppy agrees! You both have done this before, its nothing to worry about!”
“Nothing to worry about?! You weren’t there the first time; you don’t know how hard it was! How we almost died.”
“Well, you didn’t die now did you. Plus, there are three of us now.” His confidence was infuriating and only served to make me angrier. My composure finally cracked.
“Lessie, let’s calm down and talk this out rationally.” Poppy attempted to sooth the conversation.
“How ignorant can you be Sebastian?!” I spat the words at him. His face fell at the implied implication behind the history of the word I had chosen. He wasn’t stupid and I could see as his eyes started to shift that he was fighting back old memories.
“Well, answer me damn it! All this for some god damn dragon claws? TO PASS A STUPID TEST” I was so angry I was bordering on hysterics. Poppy was fretting between the both of us unsure how to handle this diatribe. Sebastian shoved his hands in his pockets and kicked at a rock on the ground, scuffing his already battered boots. He mumbled something under his breath, not even daring to look me in the eye.
“What? Speak up!”
He raised his head, eyes defiant yet soft, with a hint of tears pricking the corners. “It’s not only for the test.”
“Then what else is it for? What else could you possibly deem worthy enough to go on a potential suicide mission?” My voice was pleading. I wanted to understand. I wanted to trust him, but he made it so damn hard.
“T-they can also help with endurance as you know….” He swallowed, unable to finish the statement. He waited for me to respond, not even able to meet my eyes.
Like a string wound too tight, I felt my last thread of patience snap. All the emotions that I had bottled up came rushing to the forefront. How could he betray my trust like this again? Had I not given enough? Had I not sacrificed every scrap of myself to pull him back from the very depths of his despair, with the knowledge that should he snap, I could end up going down with him? It wasn’t fair. None of this was fair.
“Have you learned nothing Sebastian? She doesn’t want your help! She has made her choice!”
“SHE IS MY SISTER!” He growled the words, eyes wild as his chest heaved. I stood there refusing to respond. His anger dissipated changing into one of sorrow as he looked between the pained expression on my face and the look of shock on Poppys’. He slowly sank to the ground, forehead pressed into the Earth as his hands started digging into the dirt and began to sob, repeating the words over and over again.
“S-she s-s-she’s my s-s-ister!”
Seeing him like this brought me back to our shared summer in Feldcroft and I had to force myself not to run over and wrap him in my arms. I wanted nothing more than to comfort him, but I was also hurt. Lie after lie just seemed to pile up. I averted my gaze and sat down as well, fighting my own demons quietly.
Feelings of regret and guilt that I was all too familiar with festered. A mirrored wound that we both shared for different reasons. It made me slightly nauseous, yet for some reason I still felt compelled to sooth him. To be the rock he so desperately needed.
I should go to him, he needs me.
“Shhh, it’ll be okay. Just breathe for me. We’ll get the claws. That’s it, just like that. Good boy.”
I spun around to see Poppy rubbing small circles into Sebastian’s back. His sobs turned to sniffles after a few minutes of her coaxing. He slowly brought his head up. Red rimmed eyes looked up at Poppy full of hope and longing. He used the back of his dirty sleeve to wipe away the snot and tears. She looked over at me and gave me a weak smile. True to her house, she represented the best of their qualities.
“I-I am sorry you had to see that.” Sallow stuttered, clearing his throat. “Anne, is still struggling you see.”
Poppy continued her soothing passes on his back as he straightened up. “It’s okay, Sebastian. I understand. I think I would do the same, if I had a sister.”
No, you wouldn’t. Not like him.
That seemed to be the push to get his ever-changing emotions back into flux. He didn’t look in my direction but thanked Poppy and helped her to stand. Something unreadable passed between them. It looked as if the girl was building up courage as she patted off the dust and then started fixing the tall boy’s sleeves.
“I have also had my fair share of curses. I may seem bubbly and happy on the outside, but I lost my older brother when I was just 6 years old.” Sebastian stilled and stood up. I had heard her mention a brother, but it was only the once, briefly, and never brought up again.
“He was…... like…. Anne?” Sebastian croaked looking down at her.
She nodded her head and then continued, “You may have heard that my parents are poachers and that I spent the my childhood raised in different poacher camps?”
Sebastian nodded.
“Well, my brother was more in line with the way they thought and wanted to continue the family business. However, he had a tendency to run off and liberate other camps of their beasts. That’s how it happened. Some poor choices, and a series of wrong place at the wrong time. I don’t remember what he was cursed with exactly, but he wasted away before me in the span of half a year. It was all very tragic.”
I looked on as if I was peering into a private conversation. Poppy had been open with me about her past, but somehow this felt different, like the story had merged with Sallow’s. It seemed that they had more in common than either of them knew. A new feeling settled into the core of my stomach. Jealousy? Was I jealous of their shared trauma?
“I am so sorry Poppy.” He reached a shaking hand out as if going in to give her shoulder a pat, yet at the last second changed course. I was shocked when he pulled her into him. Squeezing the girl to his chest. Her hands started at her sides and then slowly rose to return to embrace. They stayed like that for a minute before he released her and then turned towards me.
“And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the whole story. I, just… I knew you wouldn’t have agreed to come otherwise.” It was a half-hearted apology, laying the blame more on me than him. Classic. Yet, for some reason I had already forgiven him.
“Then start from the beginning and leave nothing out. We’re here now, and I refuse to leave any beast left in a cage to rot. We might as well be armed with all the facts before walking into the literal dragon’s den.” I said in a sigh of resignation.
Sebastian nodded and began to tell the story over. This time, I hoped leaving nothing out. I only nodded as the new information sunk in. I was afraid of what species of dragon these maniacs had decided to forcefully breed. There was a reason the wizarding world had outlawed the practice, but at this moment my only concern was finding a way to liberate them. Two out of three in our group had firsthand knowledge on the subject and it felt like that could tip the scale in our favor. It would have to.
The entrance to the cavern was mossy and grown over with multiple types of vines and random char marks. They didn’t have the tang of fresh dragon fire.
“This camp isn’t new. It must have been here for at least a few months.”
The others nodded.
I wondered how long the poachers had been settled in this region. The last time I had scoured this area would have been about seven months prior, enough time to establish something like this undetected. Thankfully, the first cavern appeared to be empty, with only the heave and pull of air brushing against us as we made slow progress. As we got further in, darkness began to consume our trio. With an unspoken understanding it was decided that remaining in the shadows would be the best approach. The sound of water dripping echoed around us reverberating off the walls, making the place seem even more eerie than it was.
“Do you hear that?” Poppy whispering grabbing my coat sleeve to keep her balance on the moist stones. She was the only one who had chosen to remain in her school uniform. Her shoes were less than convenient for the terrain we were trekking. Amateur mistake. I strained my ears, listening intently.
“Hear what?” Sallow stopped, holding his breath. A faint rumbling sound ghosted its way past us with a smell I was all too familiar with, smoke and soot. I tensed. I was confident in many things, however the sting of dragon fire was something I had luckily avoided and here we were rushing head first into the oven, so to speak. We didn’t know for sure how many, or what species. A species that was more than likely incensed and caustic to the sight of humans.
“Hic sunt dracones.” I whispered trying to bolster my courage for the sake of my friends. It was the motto from my family’s crest. Something that tied me to the wizarding world, letting me know that regardless of my ‘mud blood’ status that it was something to be proud of. My grip on my wand tightened instinctually.
“Here there be dragons.” Sebastian’s voice was low and even in the darkness I could feel his eyes on me. Approval interlaced with his gravely tones as he easily translated the Latin. The irony of the words didn’t pass me.
“If we make it out of here you owe me butterbeers for the rest of the term.” I spoke in his direction, swallowing the apprehension I felt at our task.
“I second that!” The Hufflepuff interjected.
“When we do, it will be my pleasure. Two gorgeous women by my side? What else could I ask for?” he quipped back. His voice was even and reassuring. Even in the face of danger he always had it together. I envied him. Even after so much, I still got the jitters when faced with my own mortality. There was a gasp from Poppy, and we were soon walking again as she pulled me along. Sebastian must have grabbed her hand to propel us onward with our mission. Flirtatious even in the face of death.
“I’ll hold you to that.”
“I hope you do.” He let out a chuckled and I could tell he was grinning in the dark. I rolled my eyes, and I was sure Poppy was inwardly swooning at the implications. Just as I was about to tell him to shove off an ear-piercing bellow echoed up the cavern. We were close. The hand on my sleeve tightened its grip and I gave it a reassuring pat.
There were dim lights up ahead from what appeared to be enchanted torches. We slowed down our pace, in a silent agreement that stealth was the best approach even if it was just us and the beasts. As we entered the hazy glow of orange lights the air seemed to take on a life of its own. It was warm as one would expect, but the air was also heavy with the scent of iron and soot. It felt familiar, somewhat soothing. A false sense of security.
I looked at each of my companions, their faces mirroring my own. A grim determination. Poppy was the first to step fully into the light of the cavern. Her body confident in its stance and then running off without any indication to us. I watched unmoving as she took off and then the rumbling started, sending small shock waves through the rock under our feet. Small pebbles hit my hair and I shook them out just as quick. Losing track of the girl, I looked around desperately, wanting us all to stay together.
“They’re in the pit! I think the mother is injured!” A shout resounded. We sprinted toward our Hufflepuffs’ voice into the glow of the lanterns and found her on top of a large rickety platform not but 20 feet away, overlooking what appeared to be a deep pit. Dirty enclosures line the walls, all the doors lay open with the timid promise that nothing dwelled within.
Poppy walked closer to the edge of the platform, hands bolstered against the railing, holding on for support as a terrifying keel pierced the air. Before I could shout a warning, the rumbling increased, and the platform Poppy was standing on moments before gave a splintering crack as it began to pitch forward taking the girl with it…. into the darkness of the pit below.