Chapter 25 – Don’t bother a Dragon Lady

Harry quickly followed his grandmother out of the Charms classroom and asked, “What’s wrong? Why do I need experience in battling a dragon?” He noticed that the teacher had a peculiar look on her face while she was watching him.

“Harry, a dragon is attacking the castle from outside; in fact it is attacking Hufflepuff. Can you do anything about it?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it understands Parseltongue.” He transformed into Icicle and flashed outside, where he saw that a dragon was in fact attacking one of the towers of the school. He flew over near the dragon, changed into Harry and started to talk to the dragon in Parseltongue.

“Hello, can you understand me?”

“Oh hello, yesss, who are you?”

“I’m Harry. What are you doing there?”

“People from inside here have taken my eggsss, and I want them back!”

“Wait! Don’t attack the tower. I will help you and we will get your eggsss back immediately. But don’t attack anyone.” He looked around and saw most of the professors standing in front of the main entrance doors.

“Please wait here, I’ll ask some of the teachers to get your eggsss, I’ll be back soon. Please rely on me and wait. Are you living here with Hagrid?”

“Yesss.”

“All right. Fly back in your living area, and I’ll be there in a few minutesss, all right?”

“Okay, thanks.” The dragon mother went back to her place, and Harry flashed quickly over to the teachers, who were glancing at him expectantly.

-----

“She is attacking because some Hufflepuff students seem to have taken her eggs away and are hiding them in their dormitories. She won’t attack at the mument, but we need the eggs back immediately,” he told the teachers.

Professor Sprout stormed away with Madam Hooch and Professor Flitwick in tow. Harry ran after them. “Wait! I’ll flash you; it’s faster.” He flashed them in front of the Hufflepuff common room.

Sprout said pensively, “Harry, I have no idea where to look for the eggs; please flash to Albus’ Office and tell him to make an announcement throughout the school that all Hufflepuff students have to return to their common room immediately.”

Harry flashed away. Two minutes later the announcement could be heard. Harry flashed back directly into Hufflepuff, where the professors had searched the common room in the meantime. Minutes later the first students arrived and gathered in the common room. Professor Sprout addressed the students, and the culprits – three second year girls who had thought they could care for the eggs instead of the dragon mother – went up to their dormitory to fetch the eggs.

“Put them into something I can carry please; a bag or something similar and give them to me, I’ll take them back,” Harry said and transformed into Icicle. As soon as Sprout had fixed a bag to his foot, he flashed away, directly to where the dragon was waiting, took the bag from his foot and changed back. Then he fetched the eggs out of his bag and laid them on the ground next to the dragon.

“Here are your eggsss back; I hope they are sstill all right, the studentsss didn’t do anything to them.”

Carefully he took a few steps back when the dragon mother approached. She inspected the eggs, but something seemed to be wrong. Harry could not help the feeling that he needed help – the help of his Nimbus. He concentrated and wished ‘Accio Nimbus’, and within seconds his broom arrived. ‘Oh, yes, the Hospital Wing is just above here,’ he thought gratefully.

-----

Suddenly the dragon attacked, only this time she did not attack the castle tower but went directly against Harry. He took off on his broom and tried to evade the furious dragon, but was hit by a wave of flame against his left arm and chest. A bit further away, he waved his hand and tried to stun the dragon to no effect – the dragon was flying after Harry now. While Harry was flying, he tried each possible spell he could think about and finally conjured a strong Patronus, which immediately took on the dragon. From the ground, the teachers were sending their Patroni against the dragon as well. This weakened the dragon, but she was still chasing Harry, and he was once more hit by a blast of flame.

Professor McGonagall could not stand to see her grandson like this and urged Dumbledore with a slight hint of panic in her voice, “Albus, what can we do? We can’t let him battle the dragon alone; you must think of a way to help him!” Dumbledore, who had a grave look on his face, only shook his head and pulled her into a hug, while Flitwick said softly,

“Minerva, I don’t think we can do anything to help him. He flies better than any of us, and he has much more power than any of us except Albus, who is – sorry, Albus – much too old to fight a dragon. We can only keep on sending spells from the ground and hope it will weaken her.”

Harry tried spell after spell, which was difficult, because his left arm was injured and he could hardly hold himself on the broom with his right hand, which he also needed to conjure spells. Finally, he tried his wish magic and wished the dragon stunned on the ground, sent the strongest stunning spell he could do summoning all his magic, and fell onto the ground directly after the stunned dragon.

The teachers, who had been helplessly watching everything, ran over to Harry and the dragon. McGonagall put Harry on a stretcher and levitated him to the Hospital Wing, while the other teachers sent some more strong stunning spells at the dragon. Dumbledore transformed into his phoenix form and flashed directly to the ministry in order to ask someone to take the dragon away from Hogwarts immediately. Professor Sprout went back to Hufflepuff to tell the three culprits who had caused the trouble to pack their things because they were suspended for a week and would be sent home tomorrow. And the rest of the students were still waiting patiently in their common rooms for the announcement that the castle was safe again.

-----

Pomfrey had watched the battle from the window of the Hospital Wing, alerted by Harry’s broom, which suddenly went through the – fortunately open – window. Therefore, by the time McGonagall arrived with Harry, she had already prepared everything she would probably need in Harry’s room, so that she could tend to him immediately. She shooed McGonagall out and told her she needed to tend to Harry without disturbance for at least two or three hours. Professor McGonagall climbed up to the Headmaster’s Office to announce to the students that they were allowed to move freely around the castle interior again but were not to leave the castle just yet. Afterwards she left the office and went down to the rooms of the Head Boy and Head Girl, two of her favourite students. She knocked and was invited in immediately.

“What happened?” Lily asked worried.

“Is everything okay?” Severus added.

She sighed. “Yes and no I must say, unfortunately. The dragon is stunned now and the Headmaster has gone to the ministry to ask someone to take the dragon away. However, Harry is injured badly. Poppy is currently tending to him and threw me out for two to three hours.”

Lily noticed that the strict professor was on the verge of tears. She went over to her and said calmingly, “I’m sure he will be fine. Madam Pomfrey is able to heal nearly everything. Why don’t we sit down and have a cup of tea together?”

“Yes Professor, please have a seat. We can leave our door open and open the door of the Hospital Wing, and then we can see when Madam Pomfrey leaves her office. She will probably tell us when she is finished.” Severus added.

“Twinkle,” McGonagall called the Dumbledore House elf, which arrived immediately.

“Yes Mistress McGonagall, what can I do for Mistress and the Head students?”

“Please bring us tea and some biscuits. Thank you, Twinkle, and… Twinkle, when Albus comes back from the ministry, could you please tell him that I am here.”

“Of course, Mistress McGonagall-Dumbledore.” A minute later, tea and biscuits arrived, and each of the three tried to hide their concerns about Harry by drinking tea and talking.

“Professor?” McGonagall glanced questioningly at Lily. “I’m sorry, but may I ask about what your House elf just called you?”

McGonagall sighed. At this mument, Dumbledore appeared at the door. “May I?” he asked.

On Severus’ “Of course Professor, tea?” he entered the room.

“Albus, Twinkle just called me McGonagall-Dumbledore.”

Dumbledore’s eyes twinkled. “Ah, I see. Lily, this might come a bit of a shock, but you must understand that it was too dangerous for all of us to reveal anything as long as Voldemort was alive. That is why we didn’t tell you before, alright?”

Lily looked very surprised about the repercussions of her little question but nodded eagerly.

Professor McGonagall continued, “Albus is my husband, and your mother is not a Muggle, but a Squib. In fact, she is our daughter. Moreover, she hates everything that has to do with magic. She grew up here with us of course until she was 11, then she went to a Muggle boarding school, and when she turned 18 she cut off all contact to us, which even went so far that she did not tell you and Petunia that you are our grandchildren.”

Lily was stunned. She glanced from Minerva to Albus, back again, and could not believe what she had just heard.

Albus added, “As Minerva already said we would have liked to tell you much earlier, but it was not possible because of Voldemort. You would have been in incredible danger, if he had known that you were a Dumbledore. We told Harry for some reason which I cannot explain to you at this stage and Severus heard it by chance at the same time.”

“So I am related to Harry?”

“Yes, you are related to Harry, but we cannot tell you anymore about him at the mument and he or Severus cannot either. In fact Harry knows, but Severus doesn’t know; anyway you will know about your relation to Harry sometime in the future.”

“In the future? I know what this means. Does Harry come from the future? He is my son, isn’t he? I don’t know why I know, but I know I love him, but not like you love a boyfriend or someone like that, I just… and I am very protective of him.. and I have always wondered why…But… who is the father? I cannot change anything, I have to get together with his father, is that right? Otherwise he won’t even be born later, correct?”

“Lily, calm down! You are right in Harry being your son. Severus you know that you cannot talk about this to anyone,” Dumbledore stated.

“Of course Professor. I knew anyway. It’s obvious, not only from Harry’s eyes, but from how he reacts to Lily.”

“Harry has changed the future very much. In fact, if he hadn’t, you and your future husband would be killed in three years’ time.”

Lily gasped.

Dumbledore continued, “This is probably the most important fact why he tried to change the future, to save your life. Anyway, Minerva and I worried just about the question you asked about your changing the future, so we went to see a very famous seer who can really see the future. And she told us that he would change the future very much, which he already had by now; so we believe it true what she told us. Harry will have great problems to adapt when he goes back to the future but in the end, he will be very happy. He will be your son in the future anyway, and you do not have to think about him, you can get together with the person you love; just let everything run its course. Harry will go back to the future at the end of your seventh year, and you will meet him in 19 years. Of course as a baby you will meet him in two years when he will be born.”

Minerva caught a glance of Severus secretly smiling fondly at Lily. At this mument, Poppy left her office and came over to them with a very concerned look on her face. She entered Severus and Lily’s apartment and said in an exhausted voice, “I think I healed everything. He was in quite a bad shape, burns on his left arm and his chest, a few broken ribs which caused problems with a lung, apart from that he has a bad concussion and is in a coma, but he will probably recover completely, although it might take several weeks or even months.”

Lily nearly cried. “May I see him?”

“Poppy”, Minerva said softly, “we told her.”

Pomfrey gave her a surprised look and said, “Alright, but the four of you will be the only ones allowed to see him. He is not awake anyway; as I said he is in a coma, and I don’t know when he will wake up; it might take a long time. But it might help when you talk to him; he will probably be able to hear you.”

Severus put a cool hand on Lily’s shoulder. “Harry is strong, Lily, he will be fine. Let’s go and see him.”

“Minerva”, Albus said apologizing, “I’m sorry, but I have to go down to dinner; I must make an announcement because of the three students who will be suspended, and I have to have a talk with Hagrid about keeping a dragon as a pet in a school.”

“Alright Albus, I will come down in five minutes. We can visit Harry later; I just want to see him for a few minutes,” his wife answered hesitantly.

Lily, Severus and Minerva went over to Harry’s room, and Lily sat next to Harry on the bed, took his hand and whispered, “I don’t know why, but I knew Harry, somehow I have always felt for you like a mother, and you know, I am very, very proud of you!”

“Lily, look!” Severus hissed. “He can hear you, he is smiling!”

“Wake up Harry, look Severus is here, your best friend, and Minerva, our Granny, and Poppy, who spent hours fixing you up. We are all waiting for you to wake up. You were very brave today Harry; you saved Hogwarts and its students from the dragon, as I said before, I am very proud of you. And I want to see your beautiful green eyes...” Lily could not speak further; her eyes were full of tears, and when Severus put his arm around her shoulder, she sobbed into his robes.

Harry remained in a coma for about three weeks. Lily and Severus spent every free minute at his side; they had even gone over to doing their homework in his room in order to be able to talk to him all the time. His Grandparents visited him every night after curfew as they had already done so often during the last year.

-----

Harry stirred, his mind still being somewhere between being in a coma and semi consciousness. Right away, he knew something was wrong, but he could not place it at first. He lay still for a few minutes, before he slowly tried to open his eyes in order to determine what was wrong. He blinked – Where was he? Oh, he recognized it as his own room within the Hospital Wing of Hogwarts. Someone was sitting next to him on his bed; he tried to move his head and gasped – it hurt. He tried to move only his eyes, and it worked – he looked into two brilliant green eyes. ‘My mum,’ he thought and smiled.

“Harry”, a soft voice penetrated his ear, “It’s all right, don’t move.”

“Stay with him Lily,” he could hear another voice, which he could recognize as Severus’, “I’ll get Poppy.”

After a very short time, Poppy came into view. “Hello Harry,” she said, “you gave us quite a fright.” She handed him a glass of water, which he tried to drink greedily, but could only get very small sips at one time. “Harry”, Poppy continued, “You have been asleep for three weeks and most of your wounds have already healed in the meantime. Can you tell me if anything hurts?”

“Head,” Harry mumbled tiredly.

“All right, stay awake for a mument please, let me check on you.” After two minutes, Poppy handed him a few Potions, which he drank one after another and fell asleep again.

The next time he woke up, he was a little more alert, and after a few days he was aware enough to ask, “What happened?”

Severus sighed. “Do you remember anything? You had to fight a dragon, because she was attacking the school. Do you remember that?”

“There was something, yes, but I thought it was a dream; so this really happened. Hagrid is just crazy sometimes.”

“Hagrid is in big trouble,” Severus said, “He nearly got the Headmaster’s Grandchild killed.”

The next time he woke up his grandparents were sitting with him. “Hello Harry, how are you?”

“Fine.” McGonagall looked disapprovingly at him. “Um… yes, apart from a headache, I’m fine. When can I go back to school?”

“I don’t know about that, Harry, you have to ask Poppy,” his grandmother told him.

“How much have I missed Granny? What date do we have? I mean… how long have I been here now?”

“You haven’t missed much. Do you recall the dragon?”

“In fact I didn’t, but Severus talked to me about it. What happened to her?”

“Albus went straight to the ministry, while I brought you here, and asked them to take it away; as far as I know they have brought it to Romania to a dragon reserve. Albus also had a long talk with Hagrid who should never have kept a dragon as a pet in a school of course, and the three students who caused the whole event have been suspended for a week. Now we already have the end of November, you have been here asleep for about four weeks.”

Harry groaned. “This means, that I have missed lots of classes and have lots of work to do. Are you still going to pull the thing through, you know, with the Sorting Hat and Merlin House?”

“Yes Harry, it is planned to bring the Sorting Hat down to dinner on the 1st of December and to have him announce the names of the people he suggests for Merlin House.”

“When is the 1st of December?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Oh, I must go there, I don’t care if Poppy wants me to, but this is a once-in-a-life-chance, and I want to go. Afterwards I will return here immediately and do everything she wants me to, but…”

“Wait Harry, let me get Poppy and you can beg her. I can’t imagine that she will agree, but we can try.”

“No,” was the answer. “Your concussion was so bad, it is still not completely healed, and you still have a temperature; you will only make yourself worse.”

“Oh please, I promise I will come back here immediately, I only want to hear what the Sorting Hat says. I could even flash there and back.”

“No Harry, I don’t want you to transform at the mument. About tomorrow we will talk tomorrow afternoon.”

McGonagall smiled calmingly at Harry. “Keep calm Harry, that’s the only thing you can do at the mument. By the way, did you have a chance to talk to Lily yet?”

“No, I knew she was here, but I wasn’t really awake enough to talk; why, is something wrong with her?”

His Grandmother shook her head. “No, on the contrary. She happens to know about her relationship to us and to you.”

Harry glanced at her questioningly. “You told her? Why?”

McGonagall sighed. “No. Only about her relationship to us. We had to tell her because she overheard Twinkle accidentally calling me McGonagall-Dumbledore. Afterwards she guessed that you are her son.”

“Granny, can you get her for me, now, please?!” McGonagall looked at her watch and said,

“Harry, it’s too late. She will be asleep.”

Harry began to whine. “Please Granny; I need her, only a few minutes, please.”

His Grandmother gave him a surprised glance and went to get the girl he needed so desperately.

-----

After a few minutes, she returned with Lily in tow, who proceeded to sit on Harry’s bed next to him and give him a big hug. Harry couldn’t believe it – his mother... she knew about him and was sitting there hugging him – he was so happy. Lily smiled lovingly at Harry. “You know Harry, I’ve always had motherly feelings towards you, I just didn’t know why, so when Granny told me we were related I guessed immediately that you were my son, and I can tell you I’m very proud to have a son like you.”

Harry smiled tiredly. “Thanks….mum.”

She grinned and said, “Now Harry, I know we have a lot to talk about, but it’s already late and you are tired. As it is Saturday tomorrow, I can come straight after breakfast, and we have as much time to talk, as you want. Good night, my dear.” She gave him a kiss on the forehead and left the room.

Lily kept her promise and was already sitting next to Harry when he was still asleep. Finally, Harry blinked and looked straight into his mum’s beautiful green eyes. His heart beat faster for an instant.

“Hi, Mum,” he said joyously. “Thanks… I mean… for coming to talk to me.”

“Oh Harry, I wanted to talk to you anyway. You have told me you were raised by your relatives who hated you. Was that by any chance my sister Petunia?”

Harry nodded solemnly.

“And Granny told me you killed Voldemort so save mine and your father’s life?”

“Yes.”

“So maybe this time we will be able to raise you ourselves.”

“Probably, I hope so.” Harry interrupted her.

“Anyway this time I will take precautions. Who was it to place you with Petunia?”

“Dumbledore.”

“All right. I will tell everyone – and also write a ‘final wish’ stating – that in case something happens to your father, whoever that might be, and me, you are going to be placed with Severus, James, Remus, Alice or with your Great Grandparents. Don’t worry – you will never have to see Petunia again, I promise!”

Harry was on the verge of tears, he was so happy. “Thank you mum,” he croaked.

At this stage they were interrupted by Poppy; she came to check on Harry and said to Lily with a big smile, “He is much better than yesterday – a mother’s love seems to be the best remedy!”

-----

In the evening Lily and Severus came, begged the dragon together with Harry to let him attend the ‘Sorting Hat Dinner’, and promised to take him back immediately, so Poppy very reluctantly let him go. His friends helped Harry down to the Great Hall where he sat between Lily and Remus at the Gryffindor table and was greeted happily by his other friends who had not been allowed to see him for a month.

“Hello Harry,” Remus said, “Do you know what this is about?” Harry looked at the Head Table, where the Sorting Hat was placed in the centre, and shrugged.

Dumbledore stood and started to make his announcement.

“Before we start our dinner, I would like to…”

Suddenly the Great Hall turned completely dark – like it had been on Harry’s birthday, but that had been special, hadn’t it? – And in the far corner behind the Gryffindor Table, something white like a foggy cloud appeared. A few students began to scream. Harry had too much of a headache to be afraid of anything or to even think of what could be wrong; he just leaned his head against his mother’s shoulder, who put an arm around him and said, “It’s alright Harry, calm down.” But suddenly a voice shook the hall.