Chapter Thirty: Dragon Rider

Harry didn't think he had ever made such a difficult decision as to leave a friend while they were in danger. When Ron insisted on facing Charlie alone, Harry was tempted to refuse outright. He knew Ron's dueling abilities were nowhere near Charlie's. However, as he was about to refuse Ron, a memory stopped him.

...the living dead can neither rest in peace nor live fully.

Like Ferdinand to Harry, Harry placed his full trust in Nicolas. He respected his decisions and took in his words like a thirsty man to water. However, beyond Ferdinand's capacity, he could understand his words and take them to heart. And so, Nicolas's words were not simply memories for Harry to dwell on when he had the time - they became a part of Harry's life, a guide for how he should live.

Nicolas's observation about the "living dead" stopped Harry from refusing Ron. Harry was young enough that he didn't understand quite what it meant "to live," but he knew it meant more than surviving.

That knowledge combined with a strange instinct that urged him to do what was best for Ron and not his relatively selfish desire for Ron to simply survive pushed Harry to allow Ron to face the challenge on his own with simple words for encouragement. As Nicolas had faith in him, Harry chose to have faith in Ron.

As they approached the train, Harry could feel an excitement bubbling up within him. He couldn't wait to see all of their successes.

...

Mihai was quite irritated at this point. The dragon was intolerably loud, and as dragons were quite spell resistant, a simple Silencio couldn't shut him up. "Listen, you beast, you will stay silent if you know what's good for you," he snarled.

"Flipendo!"

Mihai found himself knocked backwards from Ferdinand's cage before Harry landed between them. "How - ?" he began in shock.

"I don't need your amazement," Harry said dryly. As he talked, Ferdinand lowered his head closer to him and let out a dragon's purr.

Mihai stood up. "Then I suppose you think you can defeat me in a duel, Mr. Potter?" To his shock, a large snake slid out from underneath Harry's robes.

"Insolent human, you are not worthy of fighting my lord. I will be your opponent!" Sasha came between Harry and Mihai and reared up to her full height, her hood open in a frightening display.

Harry turned his back to Mihai. "I don't think I'll need to," he said.

"Do you think of me as a novice, boy?" Mihai asked, chuckling as he pointed his wand at Sasha. "A snake may scare a second-year student, but it certainly does not faze me. Vipera evanesca."

Sasha's body bent around the spell effortlessly. Using a lower strike speed to avoid fatally wounding the man, she aimed for his wand hand, allowing his hand to retract. "Try again! I can see your spells! I can see your magic! And if I can see them, they cannot touch me!"

Despite himself, Harry smiled. Of course his snake would enjoy herself making a fool of a man who tried to imprison a creature against its will. He pointed his wand between the bars of Ferdinand's cage. "Relashio." The blast from his wand smoked the manacles, but they didn't release.

"If you think you can break those with simple spells like that, you're very mistaken, boy!" Mihai sneered. "Those are made from goblin wrought iron enforced with strengthening charms! Do you really think we transport dragons with normal metal chains?"

Harry stared at his wand.

"The will is the source of power for spells. Your training now will focus on strengthening your will. A strong will is like fire within your spirit. And the power it gives to your spells is like a raging inferno, burning away and breaking down everything else."

"How do I strengthen my will in spellcasting, Sir?"

Nicolas pointed to a box of rings. "These are wand handicap rings, each placing a greater handicap on your wand than the one before it. You will start at the low end and work your way up."

Harry took the specified ring curiously and put it on his wand. He gave a test swish and flick. "Wingardium leviosa." The parchment he was aiming for didn't budge. He tried again. And again. The result didn't change. "Sir, how will I be able to do magic like this?"

Nicolas smiled. "By not giving up. And if you want to speed up the process, don't remove the ring, no matter how tempted you are to do so. Keep trying. And as soon as you can perform magic with the current ring, move to the next one. And here is the key - that will be all I tell you with regards to the rings. It will be your choice as to when to move up to the next ring.

"You will be frustrated with the stifled magic you are able to perform. And you will be sorely tempted to remove the ring altogether or bask for a long time in the pleasure of finally being able to perform magic. However, that is where the strengthening of the will comes in - there is nothing more frustrating for a wizard than to not be able to perform magic to his liking. Fight the temptation - after all, all you have to do is pull off the ring, right? Simple. No one will stop you. Fight to be able to use magic. You will wonder what the point is - your magic is stifled so why bother? The will is not strengthened through passivity. It is a reward hard-earned. Fight, and the power of your magic will grow without you knowing."

"How long will going through all this take, Sir?" Harry asked anxiously. He had used magic almost nonstop since he got his wand - unlike many of his classmates, he wasn't subject to the law regarding underage magic because he lived surrounded by magic - such a law was unenforceable with regards to him. So he used magic freely out of school. The thought of going for more than a day or two without magic...

"However long it takes."

It turned out it took approximately two months to go through all the rings. The last ring, Nicolas told him to keep it on permanently. "Get well-acquainted with it until you can perform magic effortlessly with it on. Then keep it on. It will help maintain your strength of will with regards to magic - remember that the will is like a muscle. If you stop training it, it will grow steadily weaker. At the same time, your magic then would be too powerful for you to control well without further training. Remove the ring only when absolutely necessary. And even then, avoid dangerous use of magic."

Until that day, Harry still didn't know what his magic was like without the ring on. He had been often curious, but he held himself in check, believing in Nicolas's words on how to train his will. Now though, he knew it was an occasion that warranted removal of the ring.

He pulled off the ring and felt a rush similar to the first time he held his wand at Ollivander's. And the rush...it felt wonderful. Like the first taste of water after wandering a hot desert for a day. Like seeing a close friend after a year of separation. It was exhilarating. He pointed his wand at the collar around Ferdinand's neck. "Relashio," he said calmly, just knowing that his command would be carried out successfully.

Rather than a thin stream of magic, wind gathered around the tip of his wand, and the spiraling column of purple sparks, pure power, that came forth from his wand nearly knocked Harry off his feet and off the moving train. It hit the collar around Ferdinand's neck, which began to smoke and sizzle. There was a sound like something cracking before the thick metal cracked in half and fell off the dragon. His will surpassed the magic of the strengthening charms.

"NO!" Mihai pointed his wand at Harry. "Incar - !" Fangs near his hand appeared in his vision, and he instinctively retracted his hand.

"Come, human, show me what cowards like you can do! Show me how you tame nature!" Sasha chortled, dancing around him in mesmerizing loops.

Harry casted a few more spells, and Ferdinand was free. "Aurora, take him out of there."

Aurora swooped into the cage, Ferdinand tilting his head for her to land on him, and in a burst of fire, they disappeared only to reappear in flames above the train. He let out a cry of freedom before spreading his wings, blocking out the sun above them.

Harry watched Mihai let out a cry of outrage even as he struggled against Sasha, who continued to taunt him in a language he didn't understand. "Come, Sasha. I don't intend to stay here much longer."

Sasha slithered up Harry's arm as Aurora swooped down and apparated them above Ferdinand. With practiced ease, Harry swung his leg over his dragon's shoulders, and it was as though a spark had gone off between them, the joy of being reunited with each other.

"I AM YOUR MASTER, YOU BEAST!"

Harry's eyes narrowed. "Let's show him the difference between his 'mastery' over you and mine. Incarcerous." Rope wrapped itself around Ferdinand's neck as well as his wing tips, but the dragon didn't struggle. "Ready?"

Ferdinand closed his eyes, submitting himself to Harry's direction.

Harry grabbed the loose ends of the rope in his hands. Then he began to use it like reins, Ferdinand responding at the lightest tug, human and dragon in perfect sync. As a spell shot towards them, he pulled back on his dragon's right wing, and Ferdinand dipped to the left out of the way. Like that, they wove and dived around the spells shot at them, a spectacular aerial dance.

Harry frowned when Ferdinand flew straight into a rock. The dragon was clumsy, too clumsy. As to be expected - dragons learned to fly from their mothers. An orphan dragon had to struggle harder to learn how to fly. Playing a note to call his dragon to him, Harry could see the frustration in his eyes. "You're clumsy," he said lightly. "But that's not your fault. It's mine. I'm not teaching you the right way - how your mother would have taught you. You're a dragon, not a bird, and you have to learn the dragon's way."

Unlike a bird, a dragon mother would teach her sons and daughters to fly by demonstration and correction. Due to their size and shape, as well as the terrain in which they lived, learning how to fly through positive reinforcement was too dangerous, too difficult. Instead, a mother would fly her child out and physically position their wings. If they fall, she would catch them and reposition their wings again. It was a time consuming process, but it contributed to why dragons were sometimes called the masters of flight, on par with griffins in grace and agility in the air and in a league of their own in terms of strength and power.

Harry turned to the journals lying open behind him, detailing the muscle structure of dragon wings. Brushing his fingers over one diagram of how a dragon positioned itself to land vertically, he smiled at Ferdinand. "Today, we'll do this a bit differently. I will show you how to fly."

A few minutes later, Ferdinand was shifting nervously, rope around his wing tips, Harry on his shoulders. They were on a hill so that falls wouldn't mean death, but it still unnerved him.

"Now for the hard part..."

Leather flaps flipped over Ferdinand's eyes, and Harry had to keep talking to him soothingly to avoid him going into panic mode.

The first few flights were a struggle, Ferdinand having trouble letting Harry having complete control over his wings and Harry not used to the amount of things he had to pay attention to. However, over time, the dragon learned to relinquish his control, and Harry learned how to communicate to him what to do. In the process, Ferdinand learned to use his wings in ways most dragons never knew...

...

"Do you think they're angry?" Hermione asked as she and Draco hid from the guards.

Draco snorted. "They're furious. Good thing they're Romanian guards, or else, my father would definitely hear about this."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Malfoy, look," she breathed.

Draco looked where she was pointing, and his heart began to race. There was nothing to describe it. Harry was riding a dragon. And he wasn't simply riding. He was showing Mihai his full mastery over Ferdinand. Harry was making him dance in the sky around the spells being cast at them. A dive here, a spin there, a backwards swoop...And Ferdinand was responding perfectly.

...

Ron ducked behind a tree as he tried to catch his breath. Charlie had years of experience on him and was able to shield against any spell Ron could throw at him with a simple wave. And working with dragons certainly kept him on his feet.

It took every bit of agility Ron possessed to dodge the spells thrown his way. And whenever Charlie made to follow Harry, Ron would distract him with a stinging spell or the like. He didn't know any powerful spells, but the weak spells he did know were enough to draw Charlie's attention to him. He knew he couldn't defeat his brother in a proper duel, but he was good at being a nuisance. It was after all the full-time responsibility of younger brothers.

It was only time before Charlie realized that to get to Harry, he would have to get Ron out of the way. Ron no longer needed to get his attention - the man was attacking him with the intent to be rid of him permanently.

Ron never thought that he would be put into this situation, where he was in danger of being killed by his own brother. "Charlie, it's me! I'm your brother for Merlin's sake!" he cried to no avail. Part of him wondered what crazy side of him thought taking on his brother by himself a good idea. Having some of Harry's brain right then would be nice. What spells did Harry always have up his arsenal? Ron wracked his brain for spells, but this was Draco and Hermione's realm - they were always the ones to engage Harry in intellectual exchange. They were always the ones who paid attention to the spells he used, the theories he had, the projects he worked on... It was simply not Ron's thing. School was more than enough work - he'd rather have the rest of his life to himself, thank you very much. Instead, he'd be showing Harry how to play Exploding Snap or the like, which funnily enough the other wizard had never played before. Besides Quidditch, one would think Harry had never had any real fun in his life.

Charlie flicked his wand, and Ron's flew out of his hand. A stream of swear words that Ron would never dare say in front of his mother came out of his mouth.

As Charlie advanced towards him, as emotionless as an enchanted suit of armor, Ron stepped backwards, trying to keep his distance. There was nowhere he could run - Charlie could easily make him immobile, and he had no way of defending himself even a little bit. As Charlie closed in, for some strange reason, his panic began to subside, as though his mind was resigned to his fate. Part of him began to think of Harry - he had repaid his debt to his friend. And even if he died here, he knew that Harry would not, for his sake, leave Charlie at the mercy of the curse.

Stand your ground.

Ron blinked. There it was again. A voice from within him that sounded suspiciously like Harry. Stand his ground? For what?

Charlie stepped closer. However, his movements were becoming slower, more sluggish. And his eyes were fixated on Ron.

Ron stared. Was he imagining things, or did a flash of recognition flicker across Charlie's face?

Charlie stopped a few feet in front of Ron. Then he slowly raised his wand to point at his brother's face. No spell came out.

Ron swallowed. He wasn't imagining it - his brother was actively fighting the curse. But it was clear that he was losing. Harry said something about will...Was there anything he could do to give his brother the push he needed?

Fight! Give it everything you have! Go for his wand!

And Ron obeyed without questioning. Like a compressed spring released, he tackled Charlie with all his strength, his brother who was so much bigger than he was. However, his momentum combined with catching Charlie off guard resulted in him successfully taking Charlie down. The older boy fell beneath him, and Ron immediately wrestled his wand out of his hand.

Before Ron could celebrate his triumph, Charlie threw him off and flipped their positions, holding Ron's wrists above his head.

Ron struggled underneath his brother. "Charlie, let me go!"

Charlie's other hand reached forward to wrap around Ron's neck.

Ron froze, his eyes locking with Charlie's, pleading for him to recognize him. The hand at his neck squeezed. As it squeezed harder, Ron could feel his heart beat faster, louder. Finally all of his air was cut off, and his eyes rolled backwards into darkness.

Ron was on his back. His ribs hurt so much... They were going to die here, and it was all his fault.

Harry's face floated above him...

Ron wanted to call out to him, but he couldn't.

"Episkey."

And the pain was gone.

"RON!"

Who was that calling him? His mother? Ron wondered if his mother was making breakfast. He was starving.

"RON! Oh god, no!"

Why was his mother sounding so worried? Ron tried to call out to her, but his throat hurt too badly.

"Oh god, what have I done? Ron! Please, please..."

Ron blinked. The world looked rather blurry, but he didn't think he was in his room at the Burrow. As his vision cleared, he turned his head to see Charlie on his knees beside him, sobbing into his robes. The memories slowly came back to him. How did Charlie break free?

Go for his wand!

Ron's eyes widened in understanding. Charlie attacked him with abandon when he still had a way of defending himself - his wand. When Ron lost his wand, the possibility of him dying became more real, and Charlie fought harder against the curse. The final push was when Charlie tried to kill Ron with his bare hands instead of a spell. Feeling his brother's heart beat beneath his fingertips gave him what he needed to break free. Ron had gotten his brother back. "Char-lie..." he rasped out.

Charlie's head jerked up. "Ron..." he whispered.

They stared at each other for a moment before Charlie wrapped his arms around Ron and sobbed into his shoulder. "I'm so sorry...I'm so sorry..."

Ron awkwardly patted his brother on the back, not knowing what else to do. He looked up to the sky, and his breath hitched at the sight before him.

...

The train had come to a screeching halt as the battle between Mihai and Harry and Ferdinand raged on. Finally, deciding that he had had enough, Harry pulled on the ropes connecting to the rear tips of Ferdinand's wings, and the dragon turned into a dive. Once close to the train, Harry directed him into a swoop that would take them along the entire length of the train. He pulled the ropes attached near Ferdinand's head. "Ferdinand, breathe."

The dragon sent a torrent of flames up the train, parts of which melted or exploded under the heat.

Mihai jumped off the train and behind several trees to avoid the explosions. However, his face was still twisted with fury. "THAT DRAGON IS MINE! DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU KNOW HOW TO USE HIM BEST?" He pointed his wand at them. "YOU HAD THE CURES TO SAVE HUNDREDS OF DRAGONS AROUND THE WORLD, AND YOU DIDN'T SHARE THEM! AND NOW YOU COME AND TAKE AWAY A PRIZED SPECIMEN!"

"They were cures developed by my family! Ferdinand was the product of centuries of work we have pulled together! What is it to you how we use our findings?" Harry called back. "You had no right! If you really were an upright man, you would have asked me to publish those findings! How am I supposed to know how to get our findings out? I'm not a researcher! Instead, you published them without a word to me, without giving me or my family an ounce of credit!" Finally, he threw Mihai's words back at him, "If you want the dragon, you'll have to come get him!" He led Ferdinand to descend between Mihai and the train.

When Mihai shot a curse at them, Ferdinand swooped upwards, and the spell hit the train, which was already unstable from the flames. The shot was the last straw. The train exploded.

When the smoke cleared, Ferdinand landed where Mihai was seen last. Harry got off of him and walked over to where Mihai was sitting against a tree, his right leg missing below the knee, and the skin of the right half of his face and his right arm burned completely off. "Was it worth it, Professor Mihai?" Harry asked softly.

The man could only croak a painful, angry reply. "You...will pay...Potter...the courts..."

Harry turned towards the cliff where they had left Colin. It did seem rather far way...he wondered if the younger boy had gotten his shots in...He heard footsteps and turned around to see Colin walking tentatively towards him from behind a few trees. "Colin?" he said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I promised that I would get you the evidence to hold up in court," Colin said, speaking fast. "I-I can't get good shots from there. So I snuck onto the train before it left."

Harry stared. "You could have gotten yourself killed," he said softly. "I didn't know you were on the train. I thought Draco told you to stay where you were."

Colin stuck out his chin defiantly. "I never agreed. I promised you evidence, and I wasn't going to go back on it." He looked down at his camera. "Besides...isn't that what friends do?"

After a silence, Ferdinand lowered his head to Colin, who stared in awe before immediately clicking away. Harry watched them for a few seconds before saying with a tired smile, "Yeah, I s'pose so."

"Avada..."

Harry spun around, Aurora already leaving her perch on his shoulder to fly in between him and Mihai. However, to his horror, Mihai's wand wasn't pointing at him.

It was directed at Colin, the younger wizard still distracted in taking pictures of Ferdinand.

"...kedavra..."

"COLIN! MOVE!" Harry's cry sounded foreign upon his own ears. No, no...it was for his sake that Colin was there...he can't die...

Suddenly the ground in front of Colin moved up between him and the curse and absorbed the terrible spell.

"Seriously, give up." Supporting Ron on one side, Charlie approached them, his wand out. With a flick of Charlie's wand, Mihai's flew out of his hand. "After a year or two around dragons, you learn a thing or two about pulling up shields on reflex." He turned to Harry and Colin. "Are you alright, you two?"

Harry didn't answer him. His eyes were still wide, and he was shaking from head to toe. He had been so sure that he would lose Colin there. His mind had frozen in shock and horror. He couldn't think of a counter.

"Harry, mate, are you alright? We got him," Ron rasped uncertainly, his voice still weak from his near strangulation.

Harry felt a surge of red-hot rush through his veins. Anger, like fire, engulfed him. It was as though all his reasoning gave way to the desire to hurt. He had remained passive when Mihai had stolen credit that rightfully belonged to his family. He had already reined in his anger at his dragon being stolen. He had suppressed his rage when seeing Mihai abused his power. The attempt on Colin's life, after it was clear that Harry won and that he had no intention of continuing the battle further, pushed him over the edge. He leaped onto the man, ignoring his wand. His fist connected with Mihai's eye before he unleashed a barrage of punches, his anger clouding his perception of pain. A fist to the throat crushed the man's windpipe. To the nose bent it in a different direction...

"WHY?" Harry cried. "WHY? NOTHING HERE WAS ANYONE'S FAULT EXCEPT YOUR OWN! YOU TOOK CREDIT THAT DIDN'T BELONG TO YOU! YOU STOLE FERDINAND! AND EVEN YOUR WOUNDS WERE CAUSED BY YOUR OWN SPELL! WHY THEN? AND EVEN AFTER YOU LOST! YOU LOST!"

"No!"

Harry felt someone tackle him away from Mihai. It was Colin.

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