Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

" What'll happen to it, do you think? Will it be alright? " Asked Hermione in concern for the Dragon in front of them, who was still drinking from the water's surface.

The trio had jumped off of the dragon and into the lake.

" You sound like Hagrid. It's a dragon, Hermione, it can look after itself. It's us we need to worry about” Said Ron confidently.

But Harriet wasn’t certain that the Dragon would be alright, with being left alone on its own. 

It had endured abuse under the goblins for give or take its whole life, you could see it from its appearance. It looked quite old, its eyes were milky pink, it was blind in one eye... Its scales as well looked sickly, they were pale and flaky. 

Harriet was not certain it could survive on its own, to be honest. And she didn’t want to leave the dragon, curse her hero complex, you may, but Harriet never left someone behind, who was clearly in need of help. 

They might have freed it (with them as well), but Harriet knew it wouldn’t be that simple afterwards. To let it go into the unknown, without helping it first, help it heal, gain its strength first.

Help it survive.

Almost as though it heard her, the dragon stopped drinking and tilted its head in her direction, its eyes now entirely focused on her.

It looked innocent at that moment, and Harriet knew that she couldn’t leave it behind. Not now, when it looked at her in that way.

‘Yes’, Harriet decided.

She would come back for it.

And with that, without the both of them realizing it, from that moment on, the both of them were bonded.

"Where are you boy…Or girl?"Hissed Harriet around the forest, having seen it fly in this part of the forest, to rest, she concluded.

Which, on some part, should have stopped her from continuing with this folly, for you should never tickle a dragon when it’s sleeping…

But then again, she never did listen to anyone. 

And she couldn’t just leave it alone, when it clearly needed help.

So here she was, some walking distance away from their tent, away from her friends.

Clearing the branches in front of her away, Harriet tries to call its attention again.

Feeling the ground vibrate, she then stops her stride.

And then the dragon was in front of her, its maw a breath away from herself.

Any normal person would have been afraid for their lives at this moment, but Harriet was anything but normal. 

She looked it straight in the eye, and she found its gaze was already focused on hers.

"Do you want to die, little fledgling?"The dragon rumbles in interest, but also in warning.

Which Harriet should have noticed, but she wasn’t too focused on its intent, for she discovered the dragon was a male.

Giving it a charming smile Harriet then replies, 

"Not for some time, no. But what I do want to do, is heal you, if you will let me of course, sir." She lastly added, because she didn’t know how to refer to him as.

Yet.

The dragon looks amused now, but more confused to be honest.

It tilts its head towards her,

"Why do you refer to me with that? And…what is it, Srr ?”

Gobsmacked, Harriet then shakes her head, because of course he wouldn’t know what it meant, seeing as dragons do not use such address to refer to another, so she tried her best to explain.

"...As I do not know your name, or how to refer to you as." She then tilts her head up at the dragon, "Might I know your name, perhaps?"

she then puts her hand to her chest,

"I’m Harriet, but you can call me Harry, or anything you’d like really…" she then trails.

The dragon looks even more amused now, but then its expression turns to stone once more.

"I do not have a name, fledgling." He rumbles.

Disheartened to hear that at first, Harriet then softly smiles to the dragon,

"Well, we can’t have that then. Everyone deserves to have a name." she then firmly said at the end.

Intrigued, the dragon then leans even closer to her.

"What do you have in mind then, fledgling?"

Thinking it through, Harriet then smiles to him.

"What do you think of the name ‘Smaug’?"

She then explains her reasoning, and tells him of the dragon from the novel she had read a long time ago, The Hobbit. 

She speaks of its strength, cunning and fearsomeness. Leaving the part out where he was the last of its kind and that he was later killed…

Harriet always liked the dragon from the story, growing up, for she felt saddened for it. 

But back to the matter at hand, will he accept?

The dragon looked to be contemplating it, and then he turned his attention back to her.

"Fine, I will accept your name for me, fledgling."

And Harriet then beamed at him.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you then, Smaug ."

Looking at the famed wand in her hands, the elder wand, but now broken to bits, Harriet sneers at it.

‘ So many lives lost, all because of greed, for this piece of wood. This stick, or as some called it ‘The Deathstick’.’ 

He had wanted to achieve true immortality, but in the end, death had come for him as well, and he died as any ordinary old man before him. 

With his age rapidly reaching him.

He had died an old man. 

And not like the most from the wizarding world, for witches and wizards could live above 100.

No, Tom had died at the age of 71.

An average age for a muggle man.

Which is laughable really.

For all he had tried to achieve, achieve true immortality that is, he had died the same age as those he despised. 

Harriet doesn’t truly know how to feel about it, for the man that had tormented her for all these years…

The one she in truth, had felt a kinship with, once upon a time.

She had thought that they were the same, two sides of the same coin you could say, but they weren’t meant to be.

Not really.

For one could not live, while the other survived.

And as the prophecy had foretold, one did die.

But Harriet isn’t certain who did.

For she feels as though she had died with him.

"Fledgling." Was the voice of her companion at the moment.

Smaug.

Looking away from the water in front of her, she turns her gaze to him.  

He had changed quite a bit from the first time she had seen him. He looks healthier, stronger now.

"What is it, Smaug?" She then asks.

He looked towards her in concern.

"You have not been resting, nor have you eaten for quite some time. You should eat, and then rest." He then turns his nose at her,

"Nor have you cleaned yourself, Fledgling."

Blinking in confusion at his last remark, Harriet then looks at herself.

At the bloodied armor and robes she has been wearing for quite some time, and to the still bloodied sword at her hip. 

Gryffindor’s sword.

Sniffing herself, she then balked in disgust.

Yes, she did stink.

After she was done, she then once more turned to the dragon, who was now resting on the ground next to her tent.

They were searching for something, or someone at the moment.

Or hunting them, you could say.

They had already found their companions, who were tightlipped about their leaders location at first, or what they were intending to do. But Harriet had gotten it out of them anyways, and had later gotten rid of them, via Smaug.

He did need to eat after all.

Some would call her a monster for her actions, but frankly, she didn’t care in the slightest. 

Not really.

For they were scum, and nothing to her.

They meant nothing to her.

As anyone who had wronged her before.

But back to the matter at hand, they were searching for something, a myth really.

For it couldn’t be true.

That was just a story.

A world that was once theirs? The world from before? One that seemed different from theirs, more ancient and dark. 

Now why did they want to go there? For what? What did they want to achieve with it? 

For if it were true, it would only lead to disaster, and either way;

Harriet couldn’t let them continue with this madness.

They were already in a precarious situation with the muggle world, and now this?

Shaking her head at the situation she found herself in, Harriet decided to rest against Smaug, instead of heading to her tent, which she had summoned back to her pouch a moment after.

Yes it could wait for a bit, for she now noticed how truly exhausted she was.

Yes, some  sleep would do her good.

Just for a moment.

But what  the both of them did not notice was the figure some ways away from them, by the trees.

He was chanting something to an ancient, large, but  also withered  tree.

And when he had thought he had accomplished what he had wanted,  he then widened his eyes in disbelief, for he felt his life force slowly fade away.

The tree, well its ancient roots really, seemed to be feeding from him.

“No. NO! THIS WASN’T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN, I DID EVERYTHING THE BOOK TOLD ME!” He screamed, until his last breath had been taken from him.

Alarmed, Harriet wakes up and turns to her companion, who was awake as well. He seemed to be searching for something, until his nose seemed to find something.

Getting up, Smaug then makes his way towards the scent.

And Harriet follows him.

The sight that greeted them was not one that they were expecting.

The one they were looking for, was laying in a pool of his own blood.

Blood, the strange tree, before the body, seemed to be feeding from. It’s eyes were leaking… blood.

But the strange thing…

Was how a mouth was forming from its trunk.

Seemingly enraptured by it, Harriet feels herself move towards the tree.

With every step she takes towards it, the mouth grows even wider. 

But she does not seem to notice, for a force is guiding her towards the tree.

And Smaug, being concerned over his charge, follows suit.

And at the last second, before her hand reached its mouth, the force seemed to engulf her wholly, and the dragon at her back with her as well.

And then it all went dark.