Change the Future

DH 23

Crouching low over the beast's neck, Harry clung tight to the metallic scales, and the cool breeze was soothing on his burned and blistered skin, the dragon's wings beating the air like the sails of a windmill. Behind him, whether from delight or fear he could not tell. Ron kept swearing at the top of his voice, and Hermione seemed to be sobbing. Harry glanced around constantly. The dragon seemed to crave cooler and fresher air. It climbed steadily until they were flying through wisps of chilly cloud. On and on they flew, over countryside parcelled out in patches of green and brown, over roads and rivers winding through the landscape like strips of matte and glossy ribbon. 

"What do you reckon it's looking for?" Ron yelled as they flew farther and farther north. 

"No idea," Harry bellowed back. The sun slipped lower in the sky, which was turning indigo and still the dragon flew, cities and towns gliding out of sight beneath them, its enormous shadow sliding over the earth like a giant dark cloud. Every part of Harry ached with the effort of holding on to the dragon's back. 

"Is it my imagination," shouted Ron after a considerable stretch of silence, "or are we losing height?" Harry looked down and saw deep green mountains and lakes, coppery in the sunset. The landscape seemed to grow larger and more detailed as he squinted over the side of the dragon, and he wondered whether it had divined the presence of fresh water by the flashes of reflected sunlight. Lower and lower the dragon flew, in great spiralling circles, honing in, it seemed, upon one of the smaller lakes. 

"I say we jump when it gets low enough!" Harry called back to the others. "Straight into the water before it realises we're here!" They agreed, Hermione a little faintly, and now Harry could see the dragon's wide yellow underbelly rippling in the surface of the water. "NOW!" He slithered over the side of the dragon and plummeted feetfirst toward the surface of the lake, the drop was greater than he had estimated and he hit the water hard, plunging like a stone into a freezing, green, reed-filled world. 

"You guys are going to be grey before we're even born at this rate" Rory said laughing at the look on her parents faces.

He kicked toward the surface and emerged, panting, to see enormous ripples emanating in circles from the places where Ron and Hermione had fallen. The dragon did not seem to have noticed anything it was already fifty feet away, swooping low over the lake to scoop up water in its scarred snout. As Ron and Hermione emerged, spluttering and gasping, from the depths of the lake, the dragon flew on, its wings beating hard, and landed at last on a distant bank. Harry, Ron and Hermione struck out for the opposite shore. The lake did not seem to be deep. Soon it was more a question of fighting their way through reeds and mud than swimming, and at last they flopped, sodden, panting, and exhausted, onto slippery grass. Hermione collapsed, coughing and shuddering. Though Harry could have happily lain down and slept, he staggered to his feet, drew out his wand, and started casting the usual protective spells around them. When he had finished, he joined the others. It was the first time that he had seen them properly since escaping from the vault. Both had angry red burns all over their faces and arms, and their clothing was singed away in places. They were wincing as they dabbed essence of dittany onto their many injuries. Hermione handed Harry the bottle, then pulled out three bottles of pumpkin juice she had brought from Shell Cottage and clean, dry robes for all of them. They changes and then gulped down the juice.

"Well, on the upside," Ron said finally, who was sitting watching the skin on his hands regrow, "we got the Horcrux. On the downside"

"no sword," Harry said through gritted teeth, as he dripped dittany through the singed hole in his jeans onto the angry burn beneath.