Lessons Learned

Isilarma

Written for the brilliant littleme36's birthday! Happy Birthday, Emma! Sorry it's so late, but I hope you enjoy it

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and am not affiliated with Bloomsbury or Scholastic Inc.

"No. Absolutely not."

"Godric-"

"I forbid it."

Rowena's eyebrow arched up. "Excuse me?"

Helga had to bite her lip to keep from giggling. Godric swallowed as he realised what he had said. "I strongly advise against it."

Helga looked away and caught Salazar's eye. There was a barely concealed smirk dancing about his mouth, one that deepened at Rowena's sniff. "Yes, you have made your point quite clear."

"I am being serious, Rowena."

"So am I," she shot back.

Godric ran a hand through his hair in clear exasperation. "It's too dangerous."

"It's only a dragon."

"Only a dragon?"

Helga raised an eyebrow. She hadn't realised Godric's voice was capable of gong that high.

"He does have a point," came Salazar's dry voice. "I'm sure you remember what happened the last time we met a dragon."

Helga glanced at him. His tone was light but there was no mistaking the tension that was suddenly present in his body. "You met a dragon?"

Salazar nodded. "It was a few months before we met." An almost imperceptible shiver wracked his body. "It did not go very well."

"Which is why we are dealing with this one properly," said Godric curtly. "We go, we create a large enough disturbance to force it to go, we leave. That is it."

Rowena folded her arms. "I am not suggesting we antagonise it, but do you realise how rare this particular breed is? We may never get the chance to see one in the wild again."

"It's a dragon!" Godric protested.

"And I've never seen one," Rowena countered. "Neither has Helga."

Helga had to fight the urge to fidget as Godric's attention turned to her. "It would be an incredible thing to see." The magical world contained so many wonders Helga knew she would never tire of searching for them. Godric's glare faltered as he glanced between the pair of them.

"Is this really so important?"

"When will we get another opportunity like this?" asked Rowena. "It's highly unlikely that we will ever be able to travel to see one in its natural environment." Seeing he still looked unconvinced she laid a hand on his arm. "We are not going to try to fight it. If anything does happen we can Apparate away as easily as you could."

Godric scowled but Salazar leaned forwards. "Will you promise to listen to us if we say that the situation is too dangerous?"

"I have read about dragons," Rowena reminded him.

"Yes, but which if us have actually met one?"

"Only one."

"Which is still one more than you."

Rowena's eyes narrowed and Helga decided it was time to step in. "We will follow your lead," she promised. She too had read about dragons, but when it came to real ones she wasn't ashamed to admit that she was completely out of her depth. Salazar smiled at her.

"Thank you." He raised a pointed eyebrow at Rowena, who sighed.

"Very well."

Salazar nodded and tilted his head at Godric. The older wizard scowled. "I still don't like it," he said. "But I suppose so, if only to keep you from going by yourselves."

Helga opened her mouth to protest such a suggestion but her protests died at the colour that rose to Rowena's cheeks. "Was it that obvious?"

Godric folded his arms. "Which of us insisted on investigating the grindylow infested lake all those years ago?"

"I think I can guess who got the blame," Salazar murmured.

Helga had to smile at the ensuing bickering. She had three of the best friends in the world and she was going to see a dragon. Life was good.

"As good as you expected?"

Helga couldn't take her eyes from the magnificent creature before her. "It's incredible."

It was simultaneously the most awe-inspiring and terrifying thing she had ever seen. The dragon was larger than she had expected, and its silver-blue scales glittered brilliantly in the sunshine. Right now it was fast asleep, but Helga could guess at the devastation it would guess were it to wake. Even as they watched, a tiny tuft of blue flame erupted from its nostrils as it shifted position.

"I suppose so," said Salazar quietly.

Helga tore her gaze from the dragon to look at him. Outwardly he appeared quiet calm, but his knuckles were white as he gripped his staff, and the expression she saw on his face was one she had seen only once before, on the very first day they had met. Instinctively she laid a hand on his arm, and had to fight to keep her concern from showing as he flinched under her touch.

"What happened?"

Salazar's eyes darkened. "I'll tell you all about it some time."

Helga looked down. His reaction was another piece of evidence towards a conclusion she had hoped would be proved false. Salazar caught her eye and managed a small smile. "It is of no consequence for the moment."

Helga resisted the urge to sigh. She knew pressing the matter would be futile, but she couldn't help but be concerned. Even though she hadn't known him long she could see how important this was to him. Reluctantly she let her hand drop. "If you say so."

Salazar's brow creased, and for a moment Helga thought he would speak, but the moment was broken by the sound of laughter. Salazar coughed and looked away. "It sounds that Godric and Rowena have seen enough."

"So it seems," said Helga quietly. She looked back. The dragon was magnificent, but it had caused too much damage already. A hand brushed her back.

"We will not harm it."

Helga knew how much he disliked physical contact. It didn't take much effort to smile back. "I know."

Salazar's expression softened, but at that moment there was a tramp of footsteps and Godric and Rowena came into view. Rowena paused, her sharp eyes flitting between the two of them, but Godric just beamed.

"Impressive, don't you think?"

"Very," Helga agreed easily. "I've never seen anything like it."

Godric grinned at her and gave a florid bow. "I am glad we were able to entertain."

Helga had to laugh at his antics. "I thank you, kind sir."

"It was our pleasure," said Salazar dryly. "However, might I suggest we proceed with the original plan before it awakens and decides it is feeling peckish?"

Godric nodded. "I suppose we should." He glanced at Helga and Rowena. "You are, of course, welcome to accompany us."

Rowena raised an eyebrow. "This is quite a change from your previous stance."

"Yes, wasn't is something along the lines of keeping us as far away from the giant fire-breathing monster as possible?" asked Helga. Rowena smirked and Helga felt her cheeks heat up when Salazar winked at her. Godric sniffed.

"Well someone has to keep you two out of trouble."

"Yes," said Rowena flatly. "That's usually how it goes."

"She has a point," Salazar murmured.

Godric rolled his eyes in mock-exasperation. "You are not supposed to admit that."

"My sincerest apologies," said Salazar, and Helga had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing.

Rowena shook her head fondly. "We thank you for the invitation, but I think that is quite enough dragons for one day."

Helga nodded. "I think I saw some interesting plants earlier which will be worth investigating."

A frown creased Salazar's brow. "Will you be all right? We will be happy to accompany you if you wait a while."

"Certainly," said Godric grimly. "We do not know what else lives in these parts."

"Godric we have not seen anything else all morning," Rowena pointed out. "Or anyone for that matter. In any case, we are both perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves."

Helga sighed as Godric and Salazar exchanged a long look. She understood their concern, and to a certain extent appreciated it, but neither of them were helpless. They were trained, powerful witches, not children. They were certainly capable of surviving on their own for a few minutes.

"We will be fine," she said quietly. "If necessary we can always Apparate away."

There was a long pause then Godric's shoulders slumped. "If anything happens just send up red sparks," he said. "We will come and find you immediately."

Rowena rolled her eyes. "Nothing is going to happen! But we will remember," she added when Godric's expression darkened.

"Be careful," said Salazar quietly. Helga looked up to find his silver eyes locked on her, and for some reason she felt her stomach twist.

"We will," she promised.

Salazar nodded. "Thank you." For a moment he looked like he wanted to say something else, but in the end he just sighed and turned to Godric. "Well, we had best be on our way."

Godric hesitated until Rowena laid a hand on his arm. "Go and deal with the dragon," she said softly. "We will still be here when you get back. Or around at least."

"That's what I'm afraid of," said Godric dryly.

Rowena shook her head as Godric and Salazar disappeared. "Honestly, you would think that we were children from the way they were fussing."

"I thought it was sweet of them," said Helga mildly.

Rowena pulled a face. "At first, yes." She sighed. "Anyway, where were these plants?"

Helga began to retrace her steps. "It was back here. It has a number of uses in potions, but Salazar has mentioned that Wulfric has had problems locating it."

"So you thought you would do him a favour," Rowena finished.

Helga glanced at her. "Well, why not?"

Rowena's eyes twinkled. "Never mind."

Helga eyed her suspiciously, but her attention was soon diverted by a familiar star-shaped herb. "Ah, there we are."

Further investigation yielded far more of the plant than she had expected, and Helga lost no time in Conjuring a bag and setting to work. Rowena knelt next to her to help. "Does this mean we can expect an inordinate amount of explosions in the not so distant future?"

Memories of the last time that had happened flashed before Helga's eyes and she shuddered. "I certainly hope not."

Rowena grimaced at the thought, but the conversation was interrupted by a low growl.

"Drop your wands and raise your hands."

Very slowly Helga turned her head. Two men stood a short distance away, their wands trained on her and Rowena. Helga swallowed, doing her best to ignore the fear that coursed through her. "What do you want?"

The taller man's lip curled. "Do as he said."

Helga saw Rowena begin to draw in breath to protest and gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head. They were currently at too much of a disadvantage to be causing trouble. Slowly, being careful to make it clear what she was doing, she drew her wand and placed it on the ground in front of her. "All right. Let's just all stay calm." To her relief, Rowena followed her lead, though her expression made it quite clear what she thought of the whole situation. The second man nodded approvingly.

"Good. Now stand up."

Helga rose to her feet, nudging Rowena to do the same. Now that the initial shock was wearing off common sense, and Godric and Salazar's teachings, were reasserting themselves. While the two men were clearly competent, the looks in their eyes were not what could be associated with great intelligence. She glanced at Rowena and saw that she had come to the same conclusion.

"Nice," remarked the taller man. "Very nice."

Twin spots of colour appeared in Rowena's cheeks. "Excuse me?"

"Shut it, Will," the other man hissed. "We need to get moving before the others get back."

"We've got time," Will drawled. "Fine things should be appreciated, don't you think?" His eyes lingered suggestively on Rowena and he licked his lips. IT wasn't necessary to be a Legilimens of Salazar's skill to know what he had in mind, and Helga felt fear be replaced with anger. They had made a mistake.

"I believe fine things of any description are beyond your comprehension," Rowena snapped. "Why not try a nice pig instead; that might be a little closer to your level."

As Helga had expected, both men could only stare at Rowena. Perfect. She closed her eyes and concentrated on her magic, just as she had done for years, since before she met Salazar and the others, before she learned what she was and what she could do.

Before she had learned to use a wand.

The magic blazed beneath her skin and Helga's eyes flashed open. "Excuse me."

The two men turned. Their eyes widened. Then the blast of magic sent them flying through the air.

"Gah!"

"What the-?"

Helga staggered, dizzy with the amount of magic she had been forced to channel so violently, but Rowena had retrieved her wand and she didn't give their attackers a chance to recover. For someone who had been trained by Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin, two barely literate thugs were no threat. Bare seconds later, two whimpering messes were all that remained of them. Rowena stood over them, practically shaking with fury.

"You disgust me," she hissed. "If you must carry a wand, at least learn how to use it."

Helga took a deep breath and straightened up. "I don't think they're listening to you, Rowena."

Rowena sniffed. "Well, that is their loss." She handed Helga back her wand and studied her. "Are you all right?"

"A little winded," Helga replied. She looked at the two men. "Salazar will approve."

Rowena smirked. "I hope so. He was the one who taught me most of those."

Helga nodded. "I thought they were a little extreme for Godric."

A faint blush stained Rowena's cheeks. "They irritated me."

Helga looked at the men, then back at her friend, and had to sit down she was laughing so hard. Rowena sat down next to her, a rare smile spreading across her face. "So what do we do with them now?"

Helga forced her laughter back under control. "Why don't we just leave them for now? They're no threat, and I'm sure Salazar and Godric will be absolutely fascinated to meet them."

When Godric and Salazar arrived back ten minutes later, it was to find two dazed ruffians moaning on the ground while Helga and Rowena picked herbs and chatted quite happily on the other side of the clearing. They were considerably less vocal in their protests from that day on.

Any feedback would be very much appreciated.