Chapter 34

Sat at the bank of the Black Lake, Atlas stared out at the giant squid, face content and a soft smile forming on her lips. She waved toward the beast that called the depths it’s home – only coming up to wave at passers-by on rare occasions – earning a greeting in return before it dived back down to its cove, leaving Atlas alone on dry land.

She prodded at the ground with a rotten stick, the middle splintering off into different directions at a particularly harsh stab, she regarded it for a second before tossing it behind her shoulder. Listening to it tumble across the ground as she closed her eyes and fell backwards, gentle to not disturb her sides but heavy enough to illicit a soft grunt when her bare-back met the stones of the bank.

The days, weeks and months since she’d graduated third-year with her exam results at the top of the board – only just beneath Hermione who scored higher in Herbology – had been long. Dragging on like a particularly slow dance that produced no enjoyment to either party, the two participants just idly flitting across the dance floor as Atlas did throughout the Summer.

A slither of excitement would always fly by when an Owl came and went with a letter, managing to put a smile on her face no matter the mood. Atlas had the pleasure of meeting ‘Pig’ or rather ‘Pigwidgeon’, as Ginny had so eloquently named him, on a few occasions, always arriving with a particularly small letter and leaving many days later for he would always need to rest.

During those spouts, Atlas would take care and pamper him, so it was no surprise the little bird picked up on her care and ended up dragging out his recoveries for as long as he could. Kalo would get jealous in the beginning but had grown to see e the little owl as more of a pest than competition, much to Atas’s amusement.

There had been other letter’s of course, all memorable in their own ways. Luna had sent her pictures of her mum standing beside her own mother, Pandora Lovegood, she seemed to find them quite interesting and asked if Atlas had any of her own. Of course, Atlas got to looking as soon as she could, digging up old boxes hidden in a secret room of her and Minerva’s cottage. She’d found some, copied them and sent them to Luna, doing the same to the ones the girl had sent as well before tucking them in the envelope too, in case she wanted them back.

Neville had sent her a few short congratulations on her Herbology score, rambling in most letters about how his grandmother was a big fan of Amaya Magianima and couldn’t believe her own grandson was a tutor for the famous Auror’s daughter. He’d thanked her continuously which Atlas hadn’t quite seen the point in but responded anyway, sneaking in an old signed autograph of her mother as Grandma Longbottom seemed to be quite obsessed with her late mother, who had apparently worked beside her own son and daughter in law.

Ginny continuously talked about all of her interests, asking Atlas for tips on Quidditch and telling her all about certain Charms she wanted to learn and try when she got back to Hogwarts. Atlas would always write back with more spells she could attempt when she got back, a lot of them being harmless little pranks she could use for a laugh. Her letter would always come with Ron’s, the boy only sending her few-worded passages, keeping her up with the bigger things while Ginny took on the responsibility of echoing the little things. It worked and sometimes Atlas just analysed the differences in their writing for fun.

Cedric was just a goof, honestly, his letters consisted of poorly written jokes, cheesy get-well-soon’s and horrendous poems he insisted were book-worthy. Occasionally, he’d ask how she was doing and in the beginning that’s all they had been, him checking up on her, asking about how she was recovering from the ‘rabid wolf’ bite and such. But otherwise, he just did his usual, ending it each time with poorly drawn hearts.

Bella had gone absolutely mental in her first letter of the Summer, scolding her for fighting an, as she put it, ‘GODDAMN BLOODY WEREWOLF FOR MERLIN’S SAKE!’. Atlas had immediately put the letter down to read it another day, only to end up burning it halfway through because all it was was her chiding her for getting herself hurt even after she had so explicitly warned her not to in the Howler she had sent. The Howler that still haunted her every time she saw a red piece of parchment. 

It wasn’t her fault she’d been attacked, granted she ran into the werewolf and engaged in a fight but that was to save Hermione and Harry. So in reality, ok, yes, it was her fault to some extent but she was bound to get hurt anyway, Professor Trelawney prophesied it after all and who was Atlas to challenge fate?

On rare occasions, she’d get letter’s from her dad but they were few and far between, always curt whenever he did send one. The first letter he’d sent contained consent to go on Hogsmeade weekends and his future plans to draw the Dementors away from the school but after that, he would only report on the little things. Reports on Buckbeak, reports on himself and reports of what was going on around him as well as constant reassurance of how much he loved her. It seemed he still thought back to the time’s Atlas would rant to him in Animagus form.

Harry’s letters were even scarcer and when he had eventually written, it was a request for food because his cousin had been forced to diet, a diet which had extended to the whole family. So, in response, she sent him a whole hamper of Honeyduke’s sweets and a case of Butterbeer. His response had been three words.

‘YOU’RE A SAINT!’

She had snorted and tucked the letter away in her steadily filling box of keepsakes. It contained all sorts of things, like every letter she’d ever received, the odd photo here or there, clothes Minerva had salvaged from the wreck of her home when it had burned down, old drawings she’d done when she was younger and a broken necklace that belonged to her mother.

Sometimes it worried her to have all of her precious items in one place but other times she would nod at the practicality of being able to just pick up the box and run without searching every nook and cranny for each individual treasure.

Then there had been Hermione’s letters and Atlas was sure she’d memorised the girls handwriting, the way she dotted her i’s and curved her L’s, the way she wrote Atlas’s name so fully and beautifully. Atlas never knew she would ever find a person attractive by their handwriting alone. But, of course, Hermione had gone and done it. Her best friend was just amazing like that.

Atlas knocked herself out of her daze and held her hand up to the sky, eyes trailing a lone magpie flitting through the air. “One for sorrow…” she muttered, closing her eyes and taking in the sounds and scents of her surroundings.

A flutter of wings here, a splash of water there, the smell and feel of new beginnings holding stagnant in the air as the new year rolled in. Quick to others but slow to Atlas who’d been left on her own most of the Summer, Minerva having been sent off to France by Dumbledore to deliver something. Odd really, considering post by owl was a thing. The only person she’d seen was Bella, and she’d arrived the night previous.

Speaking of, it was approaching dusk now and soon the Butcher’s daughter would come and whisk her away to the Quidditch Cup. They were going to be guests to the Minister, personally invited by him after he’d heard of Bella’s talents in ‘dragon taming’ as he had so uneducatedly put it. 

Dragon’s couldn’t be tamed the way the Minister thought, couldn’t be conditioned to bend to every whim a witch or wizard would throw at it; but they could be tamed in a way that would allow a person to get close enough to touch their hide. Dragon-keepers like Bella created bonds with their dragons, blooming mutual respect and sometimes a fondness from the dragon to their keeper, meaning the dragon would see the human as a pet of sorts.

Now, the only reason the invite had been extended to Atlas was because Ludo Bagman – Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports – had personally requested she come after relaying that he and her mother would occasionally fly together in his Quidditch days. 

It seemed Atlas already had a lot of connections because of her mother but she wasn’t complaining. Having to sit many floors beneath Bella, alone, knowing no one would not have been nice to sit through.

A twig snapped behind her and Atlas sat up with a start, wand drawn in an instant, pointing directly where she’d heard it. Her reaction time and reflexes had increased ten-fold over the holidays. She’d been living in fear and minor hope Pettigrew would show up the entire time, just so she could do what she should have done in the Shrieking Shack those months ago. A figure moved out of the treeline, a figure that wasn’t Pettigrew, nor was it anyone that would pose a threat. 

There Bella stood, hands raised and draped in her dragon-keeper uniform, a sheepish smile on her face as the iron-hided leather flitted slightly in the wind and the metal scales of various dragons scraped together with a satisfying ‘shing’. “I’m unarmed.”

“Merlin Bella, don’t do that,” Atlas sighed, tucking her wand in her back pocket and running a shaky hand through her still-damp hair. She got herself to her feet and brushed her pants down, picking up her discarded shirt from the floor.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to sneak up on you…honest,” Bella said and Atlas waved her off. She gulped down the last of her medicine and tossed the soluble container into the lake, watching as it disintegrated and produced a patch of pretty lily-pads. “Were you…swimming?”

“There’s a pool at the bottom of the lake that has healing properties,” Atlas told as she pulled her shirt on and dried herself clean, a heat rushing over her torso as the water logged in the fabric of her shirt dispersed. “It’s apparently quite good with cursed wounds.”

“Is that so? Why don’t they bottle the stuff?” Bella asked, crossing her arms and leaning up against a tree, watching as Atlas gathered her things and put on her shoes.

“It won’t work out of its pool,” Atlas muttered as she stood, looking over at Bella, “is it time to go?”

“Yeah, I’ve just come from the site, already set up our tent and stuff,” Bella smiled and then it broke out into a grin as Atlas walked over to her, “Oh! I met Cedric!”

“You did?” Atlas smiled back, the twigs and leaves in her path crunching underfoot, “How is he?”

“Very worried, he wouldn’t stop asking about you and Merlin’s beard he’s grown quite handsome! Has he asked out that Ravenclaw yet?” Bella asked as they walked, her gaze set firmly on Atlas who was watching where she put her feet.

“Did you not ask him?” Atlas huffed.

“No, I was in a hurry so just tell me!”

“He hasn’t but I suspect he will sometime this year,” Atlas mused, blowing a strand of hair out of her face as she trudged over an overgrown root.

“And will you be asking out Granger? You’re Summer glow-up did you good, there’s no way she’d say no,” Bella said excitedly and Atlas rolled her eyes, casting Bella an unamused look.

“No, I’ve told everyone time and time again, I don’t have a crush on her and I haven’t changed over the Summer, what are you talking about?”

“You’re taller now and you look leaner, lost your little puppy fat, your eyes aren’t as cold either, making friends did you well, Las,” Bella hummed softly and Atlas flushed, buttoning and unbuttoning the top button of her Henley shirt – something Bella had given her when the girl’s other clothes were found to be too small. Its origins were unknown but Atlas had a sneaky suspicion Bella had gotten it from her co-worker, Charlie Weasley. “Oh, here’s your ticket, I forgot to give it to you.”

“Right,” Atlas took it and safely tucked it in the pocket with her wand, “We’re going straight to the game?”

“Yeah, sorry Atlas, I had other things to take care of so you probably won’t be able to meet your friends,” Bella looked apologetic so Atlas shrugged and shook her head with a soft smile.

“It’s alright, I understand they sprung the meeting on you last second.”

“It’s not though, I wanted to take you to the Quidditch Cup so we could experience it together and I mean fully experience it, wandering around, buying stuff from the salesmen and all,” She huffed, looking dejected. Atlas regarded the shorter woman for a second before she smiled and ruffled her hair.

“Don’t worry about it, I had some fun with Lyra while you were gone, her pups are basically full grown now, it’ll take another year until they’re full-fledged adults though,” Atlas informed, trying to cheer the woman up. “I ran into Leo while hunting, he came and said hello but left shortly after.”

“Still can’t believe Lyra’s the only one who consistently sees you,” Bella smiled.

“Yeah, I have a feeling she’ll continue to be the only one. I wasn’t a constant thing in the pups lives so they’ll know me but won’t actively seek me out, I don’t think. Maybe the runt but she’s only been hovering because she knows me as a connection to Hermione,” Atlas mumbled. Now she was the one downtrodden.

“Hey, you’ll still be a part of their pack,” Bella eased, nudging her shoulder lightly, “I think they just know you’ve found a pack of your own, Lyra definitely knows, she’s always been intuitive.”

“Yeah, I think she figured it out when I showed her Hermione,” Atlas smiled, thinking back to the memory of Hermione playing around with Lyra’s runt. “I guess it’s best to let them go off and live their own lives.”

“You sound like my dad when I told him I was moving to Romania,” Bella smirked and Atlas scoffed, pushing her away as she laughed. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Come on, we should hurry to the portkey.”

“It’s been forever since I’ve used one,” Atlas mused as they continued onward. It had been around four years in actuality since she last used one, the only two times she’d ever used a portkey being in the same month on a trip to create connections between Hogwarts and two other schools. One in Southern France and the other in Bulgaria, both places she had made friends in. They’d probably forgotten her already but she still remembered them, granted, it was vaguely but she’d never forgotten them entirely. They were the first people she’d ever given Heartstones too after all. A hairpin and a chain.

“I can never get used to them,” Bella confessed with a sigh and a nervous smile, “I’m deathly afraid of heights.”

“You ride dragons.”

“You’re not free-falling on a dragons hide, Atlas,” Bella said, rolling her eyes.

“So you’re afraid of free-falling, not heights you twat,” Atlas grinned and Bella smacked her upside the head, grumbling indignantly as the girl laughed amusedly and jogged after her. “Why are you even wearing your dragon-keeper uniform? Shouldn’t you be blending in?”

“It’s not like I’m going to be around any Muggles,” Bella said, “We’re going to the stadium first-thing and I doubt any of them will be up and about by the time it ends.”

“That’s true, I suppose,” Atlas nodded and noticed a crusty old bucket hat sat atop a log, vibrant in colour and totally out of place. Which was strange because portkeys were supposed to be inconspicuous, everyday items in places they should be. “Who placed this portkey?”

“Dunno, they did a terrible job though, don’t you agree?” Bella grinned, eyeing the hat incredulously. Atlas nodded as Bella pulled out her pocket watch, “we’ve got a couple of minutes till it activates.”

Just to be safe, Atlas placed her hand on the hat, in case it left early. Bella followed suit with a smile, sliding down to sit on the log beside it as Atlas remained hunched over. Eventually, her back began to ache so she sat down as well, the two of them connected by a hat as they looked around in silence.

It was exceptionally pretty during nightfall, the dying sunlight bathing the forest in a final golden glow before it would fully diminish and the moon would rise. It was very poetic and throughout the Summer Atlas had stayed up until it fell just to watch the green flash that sometimes came with it.

“Peaceful, isn’t it?” Bella murmured and Atlas nodded with a soft smile. “There’s a place near where I work, it’s sat atop a cliff, overlooking this massive forest, it’s where the drakes learn to fly but it’s also so breathtaking I go there on my breaks. I’ll take you there one day; When you’ve graduated or something. It’s not open to underage wizards you see, I’ll take you and Cedric…”

“I’d like that,” Atlas smiled, leaning backwards and letting out a sigh of content when the sun vanished in a flash of green. “How long have we got left until we–!” A weird gurgled noise came from Atlas before she could finish her sentence, her teeth clamping down sharply onto her tongue as a strange lurching feeling pulled her out of her words.

The world was spinning fast around her as her surroundings switched from the green of the Forbidden Forest and instead turned into the darkness of an open field. A plain of grass met her as she looked down and as a late reaction she yelled out in terror, Bella doing the same beside her. Her voice grew hoarse from the screams and they soon died out, leaving her open-mouthed and breathless.

She collided with the ground with a loud grunt and groaned as she rolled onto her back, winded by the collision. Bella was beside her in a similar predicament, only worse as it seemed she’d landed funny on an armoured plate of hers.

“That was terrible,” Atlas managed as she sat up, the ache in her sides steadily returning. Bella only grumbled in response, turning her head to the side as she threw up her breakfast, lunch and dinner. “You alright?”

“What does it look like you swine?” she replied with a whine. Atlas rolled her eyes and got to her feet, brushing herself down as best she could, retrieving her fallen wand and ticket when she did. Bella remained on the floor, recovering from the unwanted adventure. “Just — just leave me here…”

“You’re not leaving me to fend off the Minister alone, get up,” Atlas ordered, holding her hand out. Bella looked at her, green like, but eventually slapped her hand into Atlas’s, pulling herself up with little to no effort, which led to Atlas basically doing all the work. “How long until it starts?”

“Ah, there you are Miss Magianima!” Came a booming, bright and cheerful voice. Atlas looked over to it as Bella got to her feet, still looking as green as the grass around them. It was Ludovic Bagman, the man responsible for Atlas’s ticket, “I was wondering when you might come and you Miss Krase. A squib dragon-keeper, who would have thought it!?”

“It’s nice to meet you Mr Bagman,” Atlas greeted, holding out her hand but Ludo disregarded it and pulled her into a hearty hug, Bella just standing forgotten at her side, watching the amusing scene unfold. “Oh ok, we’re hugging now…”

“Couldn’t help myself, you look so much like your mother, disregarding the scars mind,” He grinned and Atlas blinked in surprise, mechanically bringing her hand up to brush against across her scars. “We were good friends, good friends indeed, taught me a few broom tricks. Amazing at Quidditch she was, if she were alive I’d–“

“The Match, Mr Bagman…shouldn’t we go?” Bella interrupted as Atlas had steadily begun going pale at the mention of her late mother.

“Right! Right! The match, come on then you two. I’ll be escorting you to the Top Box, no need for the tickets,” He roared, merrily walking away and singing at the top of his lungs. Atlas and Bella exchanged a look, the two of them glancing down at their respective tickets and sighing, tucking them away. “Either of you fancy placing a bet?”

“Oh, I don’t have any money on me,” Bella excused and Atlas knew full well that wasn’t true, she could see the money pouch dangling just beneath her dragonhide robes.

“That’s alright and you Atlas?”

“I’m a bit young don’t you think, Mr Bagman?”

“Nonsense! And call me Ludo, everyone else does!” He exclaimed his boyish face pulled into a broad grin.

“Alright…Ludo, sir, but uh…I don’t think I’ll be placing any bets,” Atlas smiled apologetically and the man waved it off, continuing forward with not even a stutter in his cheer.

“That’s alright! That’s alright! Off we go then!”