Harry Potter: I Am a Dragon

"I regret giving birth to such a monster!" - Lily said, looking at me with contempt.

"Monster! Beast!" - Daphne and Astoria shouted in my face.

 Unable to bear it, I fell to my knees and lost consciousness... 

 Seeing its unconscious victim, the boggart turned into a faceless ghost and began to suck the energy out of me... These boggarts are unpleasant.

 Everything around me was grey: the students, Daphne and Lupin seemed like mere pieces of furniture. For the Boggart, that was all there was, as long as it was consumed by my presence. 

 Opening my mind to the ghost, I gained access to his. Now the boggart was forming a plan in his mind. Using fear, they would drive their victim into a faint, then devour his life force.

 I stepped out of the shadows in the corner, watching the ghost latch onto my doppelganger, a pitiful sight. But if I were an ordinary person or a wizard, this setup might have worked. Dragons, however, can see through illusions, and I couldn't help but recognise that this was all unreal; I saw its true nature. Light outlines resembling a human silhouette emerged from the black mist. The face was contorted in a scream, the eyes covered in black mist, as were the mouth and nose.

"What a pitiful sight," I said, stepping out of the ghost's mind, which was already ready to begin the performance.

 The colours of the world became vivid again, and the students stirred, waiting to see my fear.

 The boggart in my image, holding a bouquet of flowers, smiled and dissolved into a mist. A thin, graceful girl's hand appeared from the darkness. But with a wave of my wand, I banished the ghost from this world in a white flash.

 Smiling smugly, I looked at the crowd of students behind me. It was amusing to see the disappointed face of Ron, who had not recognised my fear. But turning my head to Lupin, I said contemptuously,

"Why turn a boggart into some kind of nonsense when you can just dispel it? Professor Lupin, this is a Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson, not a comedy club. You must understand that when faced with their worst nightmare, few people in real life would be able to view their fears in a humorous light.

"I... I just wanted you to overcome your fear.

"Well, I did, by destroying it, isn't that an option? Besides, why did you have to do that in front of the whole class? The theme that the boggart touches on is 'personal'.

"Hmm, you're probably right, I didn't think that through," the teacher said, looking sheepish.

 When the bell rang, we left the classroom. I thought about my fear. The betrayal of the man I considered my father hit me hard. I am afraid of being betrayed again by those close to me, by those I trust and accept. 

 Daphne, seeing my anxiety, squeezed my hand in hers, chasing away the bad thoughts. I smiled gratefully at her.

 It was the weekend, and all the students who had permission to visit Hogsmeade were getting ready to leave the castle. Lily, without asking any questions, gave me a signed note, saying that she would wait for us and Daphne at home. Luna and Astoria would not be allowed to leave the castle grounds until next year.

 Daphne grabbed my hand and led me to the wizarding village. As we left, I could see a strange dog in the distance that looked familiar. Black, quite strong, albeit thin, the dog was running towards Hogwarts.

 In the distance, I saw Dementors flying by, which made me think of going after their souls. 

 Daphne took me to shops that sold magical gadgets and other junk. We went into a café, which I realised was a place where couples went to spend time together. Daphne's reaction and mood confirmed my thoughts.

 Finally, after walking around, we headed towards Lily's house. On the way, I sensed someone else's presence. When we were far from the village but still a long way from home, Malfoy and his henchmen emerged from behind the trees.

"Potter..." he spat.

"Having fun? Out for a walk with a blood traitor?"

"Where did you learn such words, our gifted one?" I asked him, no, I was genuinely interested in his logic.

"What else can I call her? Your mother is a mudblood! Your father married her, betraying the honour of wizards and branding your family as blood traitors. Now you've got Green-Eyes joining you! You're like a disease that needs to be burned out." The blond finished, while his friends surrounded us.

 Unable to bear it any longer, I struck them with an icy blast. The protective spell did not protect them from the physical effects of the cold and ice, freezing and blowing the trio away. Casting a paralysis spell, I picked up a branch and transformed it into a brand used to mark livestock by burning. 

 Exhaling the flame, I heated the brand until it was white hot. With a spell, I closed the teenagers' mouths, lifted the blond boy's jacket and branded him with the Dov coat of arms.

"How does it feel to be stupid animals? Now listen to me. I'm tired of this game. If you cross my path again, I'll do what they do to careless animals: I'll simply slaughter you.Seeing Malfoy trying to say something through his tears, I cancelled the spell.

"My father won't let this go!" the blond shouted.

 Kicking him in the ribs with my metal-tipped boot, I heard a crack. It was high time to deal with this family. Edward had introduced them to me as one of the obstacles to the merging of worlds. Listening and remembering all Malfoy's words, I agreed with my priest.

"You know, Draco, I'm going to wait for your father. Let's see what he can do to me.

 To my surprise, the musclemen remained silent, watching what was happening. Apparently, they weren't so stupid after all.

"I've gone soft on you guys. Before, I would have just killed them and taken their souls as an appetiser..." I said, holding the pensive girl by the hand as we walked home.

"Al, I know you're no saint, but tell me, what were you like before?

 I thought about it. I'll tell her the truth, but how should I put it? I'll tell her how it is.

"You have to understand that the world I grew up in was no paradise. But I liked it: battles, wars, fights and adventures. That feeling when an entire army of mages and warriors is coming at you, when you burn that army with a single breath. That feeling when you sit on a mountain watching tiny ants running in fear of the next attack. It's indescribable. Of course, I didn't become like that right away. Akatosh, whom I considered my father, made me a scarecrow from birth, asking me to sow fear among the people. 

 Pausing, I continued.

"The gods don't like it when people don't believe in them. Every hero needs a villain, and that's what they made me. But that doesn't mean I can't do good.

 Putting my arm around Daphne's waist, I walked on.

 Lily greeted us with a smile when we got home. We sat down at the table and began discussing the news from the magical world.

 The Muggle newspapers reported on miracles performed by unknown people. Two people in cloaks and metal masks. They went to hospitals, healing the sick. They were said to have been seen in places of natural disasters, helping people. Lovegood and Edward began to bring magicians out of the shadows.

 There was also news about the start of filming for a number of films dedicated to mysticism. Writers appeared who wrote books about great wizards and their deeds.

 This was happening all over the world. Of course, the magicians began to worry, especially those who were afraid to leave their castles. Over time, ordinary wizards would have to start helping ordinary people, following the example of my priests.

 It turned out that the governments of other countries had long known about the existence of the world of magic. Edward visited them and left bookmarks that would help us reach an agreement.

 In the evening, we returned to the school, where rumours were circulating about Sirius Black infiltrating the school. There was whispering about attempts to break into the Gryffindor common room. No one knew why he would do such a thing.

 The rest of the school year went smoothly, except for the Dementors' attack on the Quidditch players, angry letters from Malfoy senior, and panic in the magical world over unknown wizards.

 Christmas was approaching, and Lily began to complain about the excessive attention she was receiving from Snape, who was increasingly asking her to go for walks with him. As long as he doesn't cross the line, I won't touch him. I won't, but I'll ask the headmaster to call Snape to his office more often for lessons in love and forgiveness.

 The day before the Christmas holidays, the potions master ran out of the school in a panic, forgetting his things. From Dumbledore's upset look at breakfast, I realised that the memory charm had stopped working on Snape. I don't even want to imagine what it's like to know what they did to you while you were bound and immobilised by spells, with someone lecturing you on the power of love behind your back...

 We decided to spend the holidays in Hogsmeade. Astoria and Daphne decided to stay with us. At the festive dinner, Lily took out a bottle of wine, which was poured into four glasses. When we picked up the glasses, the amulets I had made began to sound the alarm.

"Lily, where did you get this wonderful wine?" I asked the girl, taking a sip.

"Snape gave it to me a week before he ran away," the girl hissed maliciously.

 Astoria and Daphne, hearing about the potion maker, laughed, remembering my story about why the teacher had run away.

 "I'm sorry, dear, but he'll die soon. Once, I forgave him for the Amortentia he brewed at the headmaster's request, but now I can't forgive him for this.

 Lily just smiled and nodded, coming up behind me and biting my ear. Astoria and Daphne looked on with envy. 

 After a pleasant half of the night, I couldn't sleep. After thinking about it, I got out of Lily's embrace and moved to London.

 Following the silver trail to my destination, I remembered a certain cat who had decided to serve me after I destroyed the city and the prison. This cat was serving time for murdering his wife's admirer. Now I understood him well. 

"I'm a Kagita, I've been sitting here for five years, 

And my whiskers have turned grey, 

I didn't see it myself, but that's what they told me.

I'm a Kaji, and all I have are my underwear, 

The rest was taken by bandits. 

Yo-yo-yo, the guard is shouting, 

The guard from Bruma is speeding up, 

He drank too much skum... 

Shouting and noise, pirates from the hold 

It's all rum!

I am Khadit, an illegal immigrant from Elsweyr, 

Kajit, mother, bring me moon sugar. 

I am Khadit, from a country forgotten by God, 

I am a "pusher, a little ball of happiness with a jar of skum. 

 Singing a song about that rascal who brought me so much joy, I walked towards Zelevar's house.

 When I got there, I knocked. The door was opened by Snape, who was clearly trying to replace the spell of oblivion with alcohol.

"Potter? What are you doing here?" asked the potion maker, raising an eyebrow.

"I have a message for you. 

"What is it?" Snape perked up, apparently thinking that I had brought a message from Lily, who was in love with him.

 Without a word, I punched him in the chest, squeezing his heart. The soul of my former teacher began to flow into me, filling me with strength. In good spirits, I returned to Lily.

***

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