Padfoot's Weakness - HP / Marauders time travel

16: The Dynamic Duo: Paws and Claws!

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Henrietta/Renley's PoV

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Okay, so this wasn't one of my most honorable moments.

The moment I spotted the creature right in front of me, I squeaked and stepped back into Sirius behind me. He chuckled, managing to catch me before I knocked us both down.

But really, if you saw it, you wouldn't blame me.

The creature was solid black, with very faint blue stripes around its neck and tail. There were little fin-like bumps on its back, but when I blinked, they moved faintly. The end of its tail had two little wings, somewhat resembling a mermaid. Its head was not thick like any other dragons', but thin in height and broad in length. It had fin-like ears, that narrowed at the tip. It had giant, bat-like wings folded at its sides, and legs with sharp spikes. But the thing that interested me the most happened to be the vibrant blue eyes staring into mine.

And overall, it was definitely small compared to other dragons. Its shoulders reached my head, still larger than a horse, but obviously littler than those ginormous dragons Charlie Weasley dealt with in my time.

I stuttered, unable to even form words as I stared into the dragon's vivid blue eyes.

"I—I don't even—" I stammered, nervously stepping towards the dragon.

I bit my lip, cautiously raising a hand up to the ebony dragon's snout. It didn't even stare at my hand, instead gazing into my eyes. Then, slowly, its eyes drifted to my hand as it leaned forward and sniffed it.

After a long, frightening moment, the dragon made a little crooning noise and stepped forward. I smiled in relief as my hand rested on its nose. I expected the scaly surface to be gross, but somehow, I felt... content. Like I was meant to be nearby this dragon. Like we are ONE.

Maybe it was my imagination, but it's like I could feel her heartbeat. I felt like I vaguely heard the ba-bump noises from her heart, and the movement of blood in her veins. I could feel the heat in her body, most likely from where her fire is stored. But most importantly, I felt her emotions as she stared into my own eyes.

I finally stepped closer, rubbing her head as she made a cat-like purring sound and lowered her head to rub against my hand. I smiled broadly, glancing up at my friends.

"You guys really got me a dragon?" I whispered.

"Well, I wanted to get you a grim dog, buuut...." Sirius shrugged.

I covered my mouth with my hand, completely and utterly honored and surprised. They went through all this trouble to give ME a dragon.

"I don't even... know what to say," I murmured. "Thank you so much, guys!"

Lily grinned, slowly approaching me to pat my shoulder. "You're our friend, Renley. May as well treat you like it."

I nodded gratefully to her, and then turned back to the dragon that had huffed impatiently like it wanted more attention. I began scratching under its chin, causing it rumble. I couldn't resist laughing.

"So, what's the details about... er, him or her?" I asked, glancing back over to my friends. "What kind of dragon? What name?"

James smirked, obviously waiting for a good reaction from me. "Well, first of all, she's a girl. Second, she doesn't have a name. And third...."

"She's a Devil Spawn," Remus finished, grinning excitedly.

My jaw dropped, hand growing still on the female dragon's head. "You—you're serious?" I stuttered.