Saving A Dragon

[Betelgeuse]

It was about three in the afternoon with the sun hanging brightly in the sky, there was barely a cloud and the weather was moderately warm for mid-February. An out-of-place looking boy in a knitted sweater trudged through the forest, pulling branches and brambles apart as he made his way slowly across the landscape. This was the fourth lead of the week and he was growing weary of what appeared to be false accounts of dragons in the area. The mountains of North Carolina were hardly difficult to traverse as an wizard, but there was still the possibility that he would actually stumble across what he had been searching for multiple weeks. With his first real assignment that wasn't reporting on the local kneazle competition, he would be damned if he didn't get to the bottom of these strange reports of dragon sightings.

"This is disgusting." Paul sighed to himself, lifting his shoe from a section of ankle deep mud that had entirely caught him by surprise.

There was a brief moment where he stepped to the side and pulled a simple, chipped red wand from the sleeve of his sweater and jabbed it in the direction of his boots, which happened to be the only piece of clothing that was made for hiking. With a simple scouring charm, the mud chipped and cracked off, leaving a clean pair of shoes that would only need a light polishing.

'That old hag in the pub said her nephew saw something he swore was a dragon ten miles north of Kettle Peak.' He thought to himself, mentally skimming over the information he had gathered the previous day. Since then, he had camped out overnight (as he had been doing for a week) and started bright and early on foot. By his fourth lead, Paul had a method for investigating the separate creature sightings. He would hike a circular three-mile area with the help of a simple direction-charm that pointed his wand in the desired area; after searching he would apparate to an adjacent spot and begin another circular trek. It was the smoothest method he had come up with yet and hoped that it would lead to some actual results.

A half hour after slipping into the ankle-deep mud, Paul heard something that both shocked and exhilarated him. By stepping over what must have been a muffling enchantment, the sound of a monstrous roar resonated through the forest and met the young wizard's ears. Before he knew what he was doing, his feet were already sprinting in the direction of the noise. He didn't care what branches smacked him in the face or the thorns that tried to pull him back, just a moment later he came skidding to a stop at the top of an eighty foot ride that sat jutting over a simple, lightly forested valley. The valley was circular and held a deep ridge around the entire edge with a small lake in the very center. Holding up his omniocular that had been stuffed away in his pocket, he peered across the landscape, his heart skipping at the sight of a pearly white dragon sitting on a small island in the lake.

"The story's true..." Paul gasped to himself, taking a small snap-shot with the omnioculars and visually surveying the area for the poachers that had to be near.

[thedookienut]

"Point me." A brown wand span for a second before pointing away from the slowly setting sun. The owner of such a wand was a girl, more of a woman now, someone who was on a quest. She was a taller woman than average, by only a fraction, but her stature wasn't of importance, neither was her Pure Blood descent. It was her quest that was important. She was hunting, searching for poachers. She'd heard rumours and she knew they were true. Now she was searching for the beast they had captured. She would rescue the creature before they killed it. Charlotte, the Pure Blood witch, ran through the forest, apparently well adapted to such pursuits. She was running quickly, sure footed and swift.


About her person was a simple muggle outfit but not to the ordinary wizard. She carried an enchanted bag, a simple spell to cast and inside it was everything she would need. She tucked her wand back up into the strap at the side of her thigh and continued to run. Soon she stopped, hearing noises from afar. She looked about the trees, watching the scold marks become clear to her. She was a Carer of Magical Creatures by trade, a vet muggles would call her. She'd spent many months now training and increasing her ability. Straight out of school, she'd flown to the north of Canada where she'd gained all she knew. Had she been lucky enough, she could have been taken to Romania, but she had heard nothing of an apprenticeship.


Running again, Charlotte travelled along the forest floor. She searched for the dragons home. She'd need to know if the creature was hurt, she'd need to get there fast if it was. So she continued to run. She wasn't as surefooted as she often claimed to be and such truth was soon found out when she found the incline into the ravine and valley. Her foot fell forwards and her hands grabbed for the nearest tree. She screamed a little and managed to hang onto the branch she'd trusted her life with. Silently, she pulled herself up and looked out into the valley. She could almost hear it ringing when she began her descent down the small but steep path down. In the air hung a heavy muggle repellant spell, indicating a clear nesting ground for dragons, if not, a preserve. Poaching here was clearly illegal.


She frowned and hurried forwards, running at a great pace. She hugged the wall as she ran, determined to find the beast before the poachers killed it. She wasn't bad at offensive magic, she could easily look after herself. Thus, she carried on, heading deep into the reserve. She followed the natural signs and seeked the lake she had already seen from the top of the valley.