*
Before long the Easter holidays were upon them. For the 5th and 7th years, it meant heavy revision. However, since Tom was a bit of a genius and Amber was in 6th year, they had loads of free time to spend with each other. Amber kept telling him that she didn’t want to get in the way of his revision. Tom assured her every time that he didn’t need much revision but she carried on telling him. Even though Tom found her frequent comments annoying, he supposed it showed how much she cared for him.
During one particularly fine afternoon, they were lying side by side next to an oak tree by the lake. Tom was planning what to teach the triple threat next when Amber cut across his chain of thought. “What do you want to do when you leave Hogwash?”
“Bit of an odd question, I’ve still got two years of school left.”
“Come on Tom, you must have thought about it with the talent you have.” He didn’t answer because he was thinking what to tell her. “I’ll go first if you like,” she said happily. “I’d ideally like to play pro Quidditch but let’s be honest, the chances of that are slim. So I think I’d like to work at the Ministry, something like the department of riddles and mysteries.”
“Sounds mysterious,” he said. Then added, “Sorry, couldn’t help myself.” They both laughed. “What is this department?” asked Tom.
“It’s this place where they experiment with all types of magic to try and discover new things. It’s meant to be really interesting… So what about you?”
“I’m not sure yet. When I was a kid, I always wanted to be minister of magic. I reckon I could run the Ministry well, much better than Conrad Toffee at any rate.”
“Minister! You’re aiming high.”
“I always have done and it’s worked so far.”
“Like what?”
“You for example.” She smiled and kissed him.
“Please don’t tell anyone about my Quidditch ambitions, they’ll laugh at me.”
“No they won’t! You’ve got a real chance. But I promise I won’t, if you promise you won’t tell people my ambition. I think I might become a target of Dumbridge’s if she knew.”
“Deal.”
They continued to lie there, soaking up the warmth. They laughed at the thought of everyone else stuck inside revising and they laughed at the occasional glimpses of the giant squid. At 5 o’clock, Amber left to write a letter to her family. Tom had asked if they wanted a phone as well but she said they wouldn’t like it. Tom continued to lie on the ground until he spotted Hogrod walking over to him, so he got up and met him half way.
“Tom! I’m glad I found you. I need your help,” there was a sense of urgency in his voice.
“What’s the problem?” Tom asked quickly.
“It’s Lyrotth. She’s becoming wild. I thought I had her under control but she’s started to rip up parts of the forest and she’s attacking animals she’s not meant to.”
“No offence Hogrod, but an out of control dragon is not a situation I’d like to be in.”
Hogrod intensified. “Please Tom. I don’t think anyone else can calm her down. The connection you have with her is stronger than I’ve ever seen before. It’s as if you were meant for each other.”
Tom deliberated in his mind for a bit before saying, “Alright, I’ll come.”
As soon as Hogrod heard it, he started to jog to the forest, which meant Tom had to run to keep up.
They went as quickly as they could to where Lyrotth normally lived. It only took them 10 minutes or so to reach her home, which had become an enclosure, surrounded by uprooted trees. Cautiously, they peered through a gap to find Lyrotth wasn’t there. They looked at each other but said nothing. Slowly, Tom walked into the enclosure. He walked right up to where Lyrotth usual sat and looked in every direction but there was no sign of her. Hogrod came after him and said, “Be on your guard. She could turn up at any moment.”
As if on que, they heard a roar coming from the skies. Sure enough, they saw Lyrotth heading straight for them. In one fluid motion, she landed, pushed Hogrod aside with her tail, grabbed Tom in her talons and took off again. Tom became properly scared and looked at the ground to see Hogrod sprawled on the floor, but unhurt.
Tom wasn’t sure what to do, but he couldn’t do much anyway because he couldn’t reach his wand due to Lyrotth’s talons being in the way. On edge, he started preparing in his mind what he’d do when he was eventually let down or, more worryingly, dropped. However, once they were above the trees, he felt the presence of Lyrotth in his mind. He couldn’t communicate with her but he could feel her emotions. She felt angry and wild. But there was also a hint of calmness about.
They rose higher and higher, far above the castle. She flew so high that if anyone spotted her from the ground, she might be able to pass for a large bird. She flew on, away from Hogwash, away from Hogswine, up into the mountains. Tom was becoming more and more uncomfortable, what with the position in which he was being held and the air temperature rapidly decreasing. After what felt like 20 minutes, they finally landed at the summit of the tallest mountain around and Lyrotth gently placed Tom on the ground.
Still shaken up, Tom quickly got to his feet and faced the dragon head on. Despite her gentle touch, he was still scared, he didn’t dare move. They stared at each other for some time before Lyrotth leaned towards him. Cautiously Tom stuck out his arm but stayed where he was. She came towards him and allowed him to stroke her as he done so many times before. He felt safer and more comfortable, the longer he stroked her for. He thought he could also feel her change in emotions from anger to peace.
Instinctively, Tom said in a soft, calm voice “Are you ok?”
Lyrotth didn’t move. Tom thought she was being stubborn but then, all of a sudden, images started flooding his mind. They mainly showed her being alone in the forest. The images were accompanied by more emotions of anger. Tom assumed that she was simply lonely. He tried to comfort her by sending his emotions back to her but it didn’t seem to work. Tom decided that it was a one way connection. But no matter. He could still speak and she seemed to understand that. “Do you miss home?”
She let out a whine which Tom assumed meant yes.
“Do you have family?”
This time, she sent another image. It showed her with another dragon, much larger than herself. They appeared to be partners but then Tom was filled with sadness. It appeared as if her partner had died.
“I’m sorry. I know what it feels like, I’ve lost my family too.” Tom couldn’t describe it but he got a sense that she already knew that, and it was one of the reasons that she had taken a liking to him.
Realising that Lyrotth had only been angry because she’d been lonely, Tom sat beside her and tried to comfort her. He felt a bit stupid, it was a dragon after all. But he persisted and Lyrotth seemed to relax. Soon however, Tom needed to get back to the castle. He nervously asked, “Can you take me back?”
She lowered her neck, allowing him to climb onto her back. Sitting on the back of a dragon filled Tom with excitement. Never in a million years would he have thought this could have happened. His excitement intensified as she took off. Despite the lack of support and the insane height above the ground that they were, Tom felt secure. He enjoyed the return trip far more than the arrival. Riding a dragon had to be something only very few people had done. It was easily the best experience of Tom’s life. However, he thought that it might spoil the fun of flying a broomstick from now on.
As they landed back in the forest, Tom could see Hogrod running towards him from a distance. Tom dismounted, patted Lyrotth on the nose and went to meet Hogrod.
Hogrod called, out of breath, “I’ve been looking for you from my hut. Are you ok?”
To Hogrod’s shock, Tom chuckled as he replied, “I’m more than ok. Words can’t describe how I am at the moment. But are you ok?”
“Course I am. She just brushed me aside, nothing to worry about. But how are you ok? What happened?”
“She was just sad about
being lonely, that’s all. I calmed her down and she let me ride her. It was surreal.”
Hogrod gaped at him. “She let you ride her!”
“Yeah, I know. Awesome!”
“That’s such a relief, I’ve been worried sick. What Dumby would do to me if he found out I let a dragon capture a student, I hate to think.”
“Well nothing to worry about. Actually, I want to ask you something. Are there any recordings of dragons being able to communicate with humans through emotions and images?”
“A few… Don’t tell me it’s happened to you!?”
“I think so,” Tom replied, grinning again.
Tom went back to Lyrotth and assured her he’d visit more often before going back to the castle with Hogrod. Once out of the forest, Tom went straight to his room without speaking to anyone. The joy of dragon flight was so strong, he’d completely forgotten that he was hungry. He also never wanted this day to end.
Tom Collivander and the Order of the Thunderbird, A Potter Parody Page 26