The End of the Beginning

Draco's body hit the ground hard as his rapid metabolism processed the sacred herbs and opiates.

His first awareness was of being held inside the coiled body of a pure white dragon. He rubbed his eyes, gently climbing down from his resting place. He was unaware of the dragon's eye as it followed him into the dreamscape.

Draco passed through the steaming exhalation from the dragon's nearest nostril. Everything was green, as if paint had been spilled across the entire backdrop. Draco longed to go explore the new place, but every which way he turned, something kept him within arm's reach of the motionless beast.

He was trapped. Draco walked around and around, trailing his fingers on the perimeter's barrier. Draco knew it was an illusion; he needed only to figure a way out of the cage.

After thirty-eight laps around the green wall, Draco's fingers detected a snag. He stopped suddenly, turning to look at the spot. There seemed to be a handle hanging from the mouth of a Chimaera on one side and in the bent arms of a siren in the other. Draco pulled with all the might he could muster, and the green scenery uncoiled along the circumference of whatever was keeping Draco and the dragon wherever they were.

What appeared on the other side stopped the man in his tracks. Draco had come upon a grand estate in shambles. He knew instantaneously that it was Malfoy Manor. Bending down to pick up a piece of the entrance way, Draco knew what it was. He wiped off the dust from the copper plaque and read the too-familiar words.

Malfoi...Toujours Pur

Draco lost himself looking at the shining surface. He could see his face in it, and then his father's face, then his grandfather's face. Each face was just a variation of the last, as Draco saw countless generations of pale men pass before his eyes. At the very last face of his very earliest ancestor, the plaque began to dissolve and crumble like sand from his hand. A wind had come up behind him; it blew away all of the rubble of what had been.

The ruins of the grand estate remained, broken walls jutting up and marking its three-dimensional blueprint. Draco stood silently for a moment before moving to investigate again. Before he could make even three steps into the ruins, they seemed to burst into flames. Draco leapt back, blocking the heat from his face with his arm.

He watched the ruins burn and burn, unaware of even the concept of time, let alone how much was passing. Finally the flames receded to embers. Once the embers turned black, Draco dropped to his knees and wept. Everything was gone; it was all over. Once his tears were spent, he caught his breath and once again made his way to stand where his ancestral home had once been.

His progress was immediately halted as the earth below him began to shake. With every second it grew more violent, and Draco soon found that he could not retreat fast enough. The ground was falling out from under his feet, and Draco was sure it would be his end.

His panicking lasted as long as his weeping had. However, a familiar burst of steam brought Draco's mind back to the forefront, and Draco realised that although there was no dirt under his feet, he was not falling to his inevitable end. Instead, where Malfoy Manor had been just moments or hours ago, there was just falling earth. Draco stared out and wondered. His thoughts were simultaneously specific and abstract. He felt in that moment that he understood nothing, and he was surprisingly pleased by that.

Draco was pulled from his stoic observation by the gentle pressure of the dragon's skull on his back. He turned, the last flows of dirt forgotten, and looked up at the dragon who now stood at its full height. Draco could tell now that it wasn't pure white, but that some of the scales were shades of blue. Draco reached out a trembling hand to touch it.

The beast was hot and smooth. Draco was lost again; this time it was in wonderment of what was before him. The dragon was large enough that Draco was sure he could be swallowed whole in one go, and the tail seemed to curl around for metres and metres. The dragon pushed the flat of his skull against Draco's shoulder and pulled back to eye Draco from one side. Draco couldn't help but think that the dragon was trying to play with him.

With that in mind, Draco extended one arm and pressed the dragon's snout away, a timid smile playing on its lips. A shot of steam came out of the dragon, and it blinked slowly at Draco. It hesitated just long enough to cause Draco some concern. However, a gentle shoving match ensued, and before he knew it, Draco was laughing riotously, something he'd never done in his entire life.

Draco was unaware when water seemed to rush up from where the earth had just fallen, and his playing continued as he and the dragon were fully submerged in what could only be classified as a water lift.

Hermione was surprised when laughter filled the temple. The mages had gathered to the main pavilion to receive Draco after his quest. The saunas where many left their bodies as their souls went abroad were below the pavilion. Millions of years ago, the elements had dug out the precursors to the rooms, and little had been needed to incorporate them into the temple.

Hermione looked up, and her breath caught as she watched Draco being led into the main rise where the council was standing. A small dragon was circling his head, occasionally landing on either shoulder as it called out. Everything about Draco's posture was changed, a fluidity marking every movement.

"My son," Isova said and smiled when Draco knelt before her. Even though he was kneeling, the top of his head came to her shoulder. She took his face in her hands and began chanting. Draco's voice soon joined, as did those of all the Water Mages present. After the initial chorus, the other mages began to sing as well.

After the processional out of the temple and back to the main part of the colony had finished, there was a great feast. As was customary, Draco was surrounded by fellow Water Mages for the first part. Hermione had seen Lucius go off with Maank. Since Lucius was not a mage, he couldn't enter the temple, but Maank had agreed to allow Lucius to use Legilimens on him afterward. Hermione was sitting with Ariulo, Paruin, and their new baby, gently stroking Acara and feeling the peace she always did after a great ceremony.

Hermione couldn't help but watch her betrothed. She imagined that this is what it must have been like in the Slytherin common room all those years. Everyone was sitting around, seeming lithe and glamorous. There were no bold or brash movements. When she'd come out of her quest, every Fire Mage had rushed upon her. Some had swept her up in great hugs; other gesticulated broadly in their excitement. Her matriculation had resulted in a ruckus.

Hermione had seen initiates move into each of the elements over her time there. The Earths were the most understated, but their good-humour tended to last the longest. Air Mages seemed to have some of the Waters' fluidity, but also the excitement of Fires. Sometimes, Hermione was covetous. When Ariulo noticed, he would flick little balls of fire at her, and Hermione would give her mind back to her spirit and enjoy the fire.

Paruin was leaning against Hermione's shoulder, facing away slightly when Hermione heard her speak. "The Dragon has begun staring."

"He has," Hermione confirmed. Now that someone had voiced what she had been trying not to acknowledge, she began to panic. Hermione had met his gaze a handful of times, but it was too much for her. The sound of his laughter rang in her ears, and she was truly at a loss.

"He has," Paruin parroted smugly.

"What? Paruin, you are such a ninny sometimes!" Hermione turned her head toward the other woman. It was a convenient excuse to not have to look at Draco for a moment.

"You need a ninny in your life, Hermione! Look at how he stares at you! This night should be his, and yet his thoughts already turn to you." Paruin leaned forward to put the now fussing baby to her breast beneath her robes.

Hermione tried to subtly turn her head towards Draco. His father had just clapped him on the back. Hermione was shocked at the sight. Lucius was beaming with pride unlike anything she'd ever seen before. Draco looked at his father with unbridled appreciation. Hermione was nearly positive it was the first time she'd ever witnessed such a thing out of either of them.

Paruin began speaking again. "He will be good for the village, I think. Occasionally, we need some new ways." Hermione watched in silence, neither confirming nor denying. Draco was now holding the tiny dragon securely in one arm as his other arm swept out over his head. It looked as though he was trying to recount his quest to his father. Draco caught her looking at him again, and his eyes widened before he turned away, showing the dragon to his father again.

The festival was to carry on for a few more hours, but Hermione made her excuses shortly thereafter. She slipped away with Acara for one more solitary night in her cottage. Since Draco had finished his Mage training, they would be heading for Britain the next day.