𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐓 ⚯͛ 𝑫𝑹𝑨𝑪𝑶 𝑴𝑨𝑳𝑭𝑶𝒀

[5] : big day

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        it was the day of the first task of the triwizard tournament.

        hydra couldn't be any less excited even if she tried. she shoveled through her clothes and pulled out a fuzzy black turtleneck, some black pants, and a dark red trench coat. her hair was left down as she made her way out of the room with daphne, who was adorned in a pretty green and black get-up.

        "how do you feel?" the blonde girl asked, looking at her quiet friend beside her. hydra shrugged and said," okay, i think. there's nothing i can do about it without me getting expelled in the end."

        daphne smiled soft at her and grabbed her hand reassuringly, giving it a soft squeeze, making hydra smile at her. together, hand in hand, they made their way towards the stadium with all the other slytherins.

        once there, they sat in the front row of the slytherin section. hydra looked behind her for draco only to see him laughing with his friends. it was good that he felt better since the transfiguration incident. her eyes then wandered over to the gryffindor section to see both neville and ginny smiling at her. she waved at them softly, which they returned. despite the situation, hydra felt safe. at least she had daphne (and maybe draco) by her side in their section. she wasn't sure if draco would help if it came down to it, but she wanted to be optimistic.

        a cannon blast caught her attention, symbolizing the start of the first champion's attempt. handlers pulled out a dragon she recognized as a swedish short-snout and chained it up, running off before it could spot them. her heart already felt sad seeing the chained up animal that was a part of her family before her. wizards never cared much for dragons, besides those who worked at sanctuaries like ron's brother. still, dragons would always hold a special place in her heart since everytime she saw one, she saw a piece of her parents.

        the ancient dragon tongue unknown to all wizards but her family remained with her. she was the last living speaker of the language, besides the dragons themselves.

        "diggory! diggory!" the crowd chanted as he stepped out into the arena. immediately, she watched his eyes widen as the dragon noticed him. he dove behind a rock as the crowd reacted in all sorts of ways, the dragon breathing fire at him. quick thinking must've been on his side though because he used a transfiguration spell to turn a rock in the arena into a dog, temporarily distracting the dragon.

        'smart.' hydra thought.

        he dove for the golden egg as the dragon ate the dog in one swift bite. the crowd cheered as daphne laughed in shock. "poor dog." hydra shouted over the crowd, daphne still laughing.

        however as he was on his way back to the gate, the dragon turned around, no longer distracted. hydra saw as the dragon moved its head back, clearly getting ready to torch cedric.

        "no!" she shouted in the language of the dragon. it looked over in her direction, curiosity in its eyes, giving cedric enough time to make a safe escape. the crowd roared as the handlers came out to get the dragon who was still staring at hydra.

        "did you do that?" daphne asked, her eyes wide. hydra looked around to make sure no one else was listening in before she nodded. little did she know, draco was staring at her in confusion from behind her as his friends made sour comments about diggory.

        next up was delacour against the common welsh green. the second she was in the arena, she used an enchantment to put the dragon to sleep and got the egg with ease. the dragon, however woke up just as she was exiting and managed to light her cloak on fire before anyone could do anything.

        then it was krum who used a conjunctivitis curse to blind the chinese fireball he was up against. it screamed out in agony, collapsing into the wall right underneath hydra. "it's okay, brother. the pain is only temporary." hydra spoke to the dragon sadly, causing it to stop flailing so much and calm down enough for the handlers to get him out of there. daphne looked at hydra and said," what did you say to it?" hydra just shook her head.

        finally, it was harry's turn. hydra felt a profound anxiety knowing that harry had ended up with one of the most ferocious and relentless dragons - the hungarian horntail.

        the crowd began chanting for harry as soon as his head begun to pop out of the entrance. hydra gulped knowing the horntail wouldn't go down without a fight. she wouldn't interfere with the tournament but she also would not let any harm come to harry.

       as he stepped into light, the horntail was hovering in the air above him. he begun to make a break for the golden egg and the horntail slammed down its tail, knocking harry off his feet. they played a game of cat and mouse for a few moments before hermione began screaming," your wand, harry! your wand."

        he then used his wand to call for his broom while the dragon continued terrorizing him. while harry's broom was flying to him, hydra saw this as a good moment to intervene. "brother," she whispered. the dragon stopped breathing fire at harry for a moment before looking at her. "don't kill him, but give him a fight."

        the dragon's eyes locked with hers, almost nodding. it was the first time she had locked eyes with a dragon since her mother and father. suddenly, her mind flashed to a different time.

        "you don't have to be scared, honey." her mother's soft voice spoke from beside her, as a glorious beast stood in front of them in a field in the middle of nowhere. a 5 year old hydra grabbed her mother's hand, hiding behind her slightly. "where did daddy go? what is that?" she asked, scared.

        her mom chuckled," that's your father. he and i both have this ability to turn into dragons, like the ones you read about in your books. it's a very, very big secret that you have to keep. no one else in the world can do what we do." the dragon in front of her shook its head, nuzzling the ground in front of her.

        "go on." her mother had said. she cautiously took a few steps forward and placed her small hand on the giant beast's head, its piercing purple eyes shutting as it cuddled close to her. the little girl giggled and excitedly said," can i do that too?"

        though the dragon's mouth didn't move, her father's voice spoke in her head," one day, my love. it happens when you're big and strong enough."

        hydra looked between them and pouted," i'm big and strong now." her mother got close to her and kneeled down, kissing her forehead, and muttering," you absolutely are, but one day you will be bigger and stronger and it will happen. you will find until that day, there will be many advantages that you will have over other kids because of our family's abilities. you promise me you will only ever use them for good."

        the little girl nodded and hugged on tight to her mother, saying," yes, mommy."

        that was the last thing she remembered from the first part of the triwizard tournament before her legs went weak and the world went black.

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✧ NOTES ✧

- hydra's backstory is literally my favorite thing in the world and i'm so excited to dive further into it as the story progresses.

- also i'm up to 40 reads and that's 40 more than i ever expected so thank anyone who reads this. :)