xxi. Hatchling
Chaeyoung Gets a DragonA/n: It's been a while, enjoy x
Disclaimer: I do not own any parts of the Pottermore Universe, including but not limited to: settings, characters, the mechanics of magic, etc. All of this belongs to the author of Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, and Warner Bros. respectively. Idol characters are purely fictional and have no affiliation with the actual person and/or group. The author additionally does not support any of J.K. Rowling's views of transphobia.
PART II: Raising a Dragon
When Jeongyeon woke up, her body was incredibly sore: her muscles were stiff and aching; her face was tender; and her head throbbed like she had been stung by a thousand bees. Gingerly, she touched her forehead and felt an enormous swollen lump at the very center.
“What the hell?” she groaned. “What happened?” Though it took a little effort (and a lot of pain), Jeongyeon managed to sit up, slowly drinking in her unfamiliar surroundings.
The room was small, worn and cramped. The walls were dressed in peeling floral wallpaper, dozens of crosses, and chipped picture frames: some photographs of a smiling family, and many others of cows. Books were scattered aimlessly on tall wooden shelves, their spines creased and tattered. The windows were dirty and cracked with ice fractals creeping in like an uninvited guest. A fire danced under a stone mantel. Jeongyeon shifted on the couch – her bum a bit sore – now noticing how uncomfortable the mustard yellow cushions were, it was like lying on a rock.
Where am I? Jeongyeon thought.
A savory scent trickled into the room from the nearby hallway. It reminded Jeongyeon of her father’s homecooked meals warming her plate at their dinner table. Her stomach cried out at the memory. The thought of food demanded the presence of food.
“Ah, ye’re awake, lass.” A large woman hobbled in, her wooden cane tapping against the floor with each step. She had a gruff appearance: her skin was tan and leathery, her gray-streaked hair was pulled back tightly in a bun, and on her arms were faint scratch marks and bruises like she had gotten into a fight. In her free hand, she held an ice pack poorly wrapped in rags. “I was wonderin’ if ye was ever goin’ to regain consciousness. Ye looked like a frozen lamb passed out in the snow. Here, this is for yer head.”
“I’m sorry, but how exactly did I end up . . . here?” asked Jeongyeon as she graciously accepted the ice pack. She still wasn’t sure where here was.
“How’d ye think? I carried ye me self – all the way from Hogsmeade to me humble abode,” boasted the woman.
Jeongyeon’s eyes drifted to the woman’s right leg which was wrapped in a metal brace from ankle to mid-thigh. Immediately, she caught herself and blushed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to imply . . .”
“Don’t ye worry, lass. Me leg is a lot sturdier than ye think. Once I carried Miss O’Daly on my back for three whole hours when I had to take her to the town healer. She wandered off and got lost, hurtin’ herself. That ole calf, wanderin’ in places she shouldn’t.” The woman bellowed a deep, guttural laugh. “Anyway, ye must be starvin’! Let me go get ye somethin’ to eat and warm ye up.”
As the woman shuffled away, Jeongyeon lied back down, hoping the ice would make her throbbing pain go away.
You ask what have I done? I made my choice.
Jeongyeon’s heart dropped to her stomach when she remembered what had happened. The venomous stare. The smug smile. The ice cold snow seeping through her clothes and into her bones.
Nabongs . . .
That wasn’t Nayeon. Not her Nayeon. It couldn’t be. Her Nayeon would never hurt her like that.
But she did, a small voice echoed in the back of Jeongyeon’s mind. She left you in the middle of Hogsmeade, completely paralyzed. Her Nayeon or not, it was the truth.
Jeongyeon felt like screaming. She felt like cursing. She felt like flinging the small coffee table near her feet, throwing books off of the shelves, and punching dozens of holes in the aging walls. But mostly, she felt weary and wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. Her heart sighed. “Idiot,” she muttered under her breath. She wasn’t sure to whom she meant.
Suddenly a burly man with fiery red hair and tattoos marched in, pulling Jeongyeon out of her thoughts. He seemed alarmed by Jeongyeon’s presence. “GODDAMNIT, HENRIETTA. I TOLD YOU NO MORE CHILDREN. STOP TAKING IN EVERY STRAY KID WANDERING THE STREETS.”
“I ONLY DID THAT ONE OTHER TIME, CLIFFORD,” Henrietta retorted back from the kitchen.
“YEAH BUT THERE WERE EIGHT OF THEM!”
“And what about ye? What are ye doin’ home so late? I was worried sick!”
The man, Clifford, groaned as he collapsed into a nearby armchair. He kicked his feet up on a small foot stool, his boots soaking it with melted snow. “Late night business,” Clifford huffed.
“Business? That’s all ye have to say for yerself?” snapped Henrietta as she came back into the room with a bowl of soup on a tray. She set it down on Jeongyeon’s lap and handed her a spoon. “Here, lassie, eat up.”
The soup did not look like much – a watery broth with lumps of unidentifiable vegetables and questionable looking meat floating around – but after tasting a spoonful, Jeongyeon’s eyes lit up. The soup warmed her up immediately. She eagerly wolfed down bite after bite.
“You don’t understand, Hen, he was at the pub tonight,” said Clifford, lowly.
Henrietta’s face paled and her hand flew to her chest. “Oh, Merlin’s beard! Don’t tell me . . .”
Jeongyeon’s eating slowed down as she eavesdropped in on the couple’s conversation. Pub? Didn’t the kid and Mina go to a pub earlier that night?
“Whole place was empty tonight because word got around he’d be there. I swear, no one likes being around that purple-eyed freak. Bloody awful for business.”
“’Course not! He’s bad trouble.”
Clifford rested his head in his hands, a quiet snarl edged his voice. “We should’ve never gotten involved with him in the first place.”
“We did what we had to do,” replied Henrietta with strain and something else that Jeongyeon couldn’t quite pinpoint.
Thud! Clifford knocked his chair over as he abruptly stood up, startling Jeongyeon. “No. We had a choice,” he growled, “and we made the wrong one.” His eyes were dark, and his body was taut like a bow.
Jeongyeon watched as Henrietta and Clifford entered a staring match: their intense gazes seemed to carry a million words between them. She was almost positive now that the couple was talking about Eads – she recalled how Chaeyoung and Mina had once described in detail his diva-like appearance: with his pale blonde hair, a shimmery outfit, and sharp lavender eyes. If it was true, that meant Clifford had seen Chaeyoung and Mina earlier that night.
It also meant . . .
Clifford finally broke the silence, spitting out some excuse about being tired and needing rest. He stomped out of the room without another word.
Henrietta caught Jeongyeon’s curious eye and shook her head. “Sorry, lass, he isn’t usually like this. Work has just made him moody.”
“Is it because of Eads?”
The woman inhaled sharply. “How do ye know that name?” she hissed. Before Jeongyeon could answer, she added, “Nuthin’ good comes from him. Nuthin.’”
Jeongyeon gulped. “Why?”
Henrietta pursed her lips. Her jaw tight. “There’s sumthin’ utterly rotten beneath his skin,” she said in a hushed tone. “I’m tellin’ ye now, do not get involved with that man. He’s dangerous. Much too dangerous.”
The hairs on the back of Jeongyeon’s neck stood up with Henrietta’s every word. Chaeyoung and Mina were finished with their quest with Eads but . . . Nayeon flashed in her mind again. The angry red mark on her wrist, indubitably the same one that both Ravenclaw students had engraved on their own bodies, meant only one thing. “When you say dangerous . . .” she started.
Henrietta pursed her lips. “Several years ago, we was blessed with God’s gift to us: a son of our own, Merrick.” She hobbled over to the fireplace mantel and took a photograph from it, a deep sigh leaving her chest, and handed it to Jeongyeon. A happy family of three smiled back at the Gryffindor girl. In the back were a younger version of Henrietta and Clifford, their hair less gray and their faces much more light-hearted and content. The moving picture showed Clifford leaning in to peck his wife on the check as she giggled. In the center was a young boy – most likely no older than five – with crooked grin. He had several teeth missing and bright red hair. Dozens of freckles decorated his flushed cheeks. The young boy waved enthusiastically. “However, tragedy struck our family and our boy was taken away from us too soon. Clifford and I was devastated. Oh, how we wanted more than anythun’ to have our Merrick back. We was young, and we was desperate. So desperate we searched everywhere for someone who could perform a miracle. And one day, we did. A man with purple eyes.”
“Eads,” Jeongyeon whispered. The fire crackled. Her soup now set aside.
“We made a deal immediately, not thinkin’ any of it through. It seemed simple, he only wanted to use Clifford’s pub for occassional business. We should’ve known, oh Lord! We should’ve known better. When Eads brought our son back, it was not our son who stood in front of us. In flesh, perhaps, but nuthin’ more. In front of us was a monster. An inferius.”
Jeongyeon’s blood chilled. She had only heard about the inferi in the childhood ghost stories her older sisters used to tell her. Only wizards with immense power could raise an inferius: a reanimated corpse controlled by dark magic. They were said to be grotesque, with sunken cloudy eyes and gaunt limbs; the decayed unearthed. As a kid, the inferi haunted her nightmares so much that her sisters regretted telling her about them in the first place.
Henrietta grew quiet, her gaze now glassy and distant. “‘As promised,’ he had said. ‘A son returned.’ But an inferius is not alive, not in the sense that we define as ‘livin’.’ It has no free will, no thoughts of its own nor the ability to love. It is merely a puppet of the necromancer.
“We was horrified, naturally. We demanded immediately for Eads put our son back to rest, but he just laughed. He told us that he did what we asked. Our deal was ov’r.” Henrietta closed her eyes, her face shrouded by painful memories brought back. “Our deal was ov’r. He did his part. Our deal was ov’r . . .” Her voice tightened. “Clifford could not bear it. He lunged at Eads, but our boy . . . oh, our dear boy . . . an inferius is merely a puppet, just a servant to his master . . . But we had to free him. We couldn’t let him be that thing. He burned right in front of me eyes. It’s the only way, ye know – the only way to get rid of an inferius is to set them on fire.”
Jeongyeon imagined a young boy being engulfed by angry flames, every inch of his body swallowed by heat; his body melting to the sound of fading shrieks. She folded her arms across her chest and shuddered.
“Clifford was right. We did have a choice, and sometimes ye make the wrong one and it’ll live with ye for the rest of ye life.” Henrietta turned her wrist towards Jeongyeon revealing Eads’s mark. “Do not get involved with that man, lass. Ye will never be free of him once ye do.” The woman stood up and shook her head. “I’ll let ye rest for tonight and then tomorrow we’ll get ye back to where ye came from.” She hobbled out of the room, the shadows growing longer over her somber face.
A cold fear rose within Jeongyeon as she mulled over Henrietta’s story. Chaeyoung and Mina . . . were they free of Eads? They must’ve returned the heirloom to him by now so Eads probably wouldn’t be looming over them like he had the last few months.
But it was neither the kid nor Mina whom worried Jeongyeon the most. Suddenly Jeongyeon wanted to run out of the house and back to the castle to confront Nayeon. So what if her best friend had been a bit mean and snippy lately? So what if her friend had left her immobile in the snow? Jeongyeon didn’t care. Not when Nayeon’s life was at risk. Jeongyeon saw the mark, she now knew that it meant Nayeon had made a deal with Eads. She wasn’t sure what kind of deal it was, but she had to warn Nayeon about the man before it was too late.
“You idiot,” Jeongyeon repeated quietly, tears stinging her eyes. “What did you get yourself into?”
///
After December’s new moon, the following weeks passed by quickly, and soon, the winter holidays arrived.
It was the morning before Christmas Eve and students bustled about on the train platform with their small luggage cases as they prepared to board the Hogwarts Express and return home. Chatter and excitement filled the cold winter air. Everyone was looking forward to a much needed break, and Mina was no exception.
Mina could not wait to be with her family for the holidays. Although she loved school, her fifth-year studies and O.W.L. prep were quite tiring – plus, she had spent most of the term chasing after a stupid heirloom for a stupid dragon which turned out to be the biggest energy er of all. Mina was completely drained. She craved her home life: cooking with her mother, late night talks with her father, beating her older brother’s at the wizarding card game: Exploding Snap, and of course, cuddling with her beloved dog, Ray!
Geez, why couldn’t Chaeyoung have wanted a dog instead of a dragon?
The intrusive thought of Chaeyoung sent a jolt through Mina. Stop it! Mina bit her lip; she promised herself not to think of the third-year, but over the last several days she had failed miserably. She tried her best to push Chaeyoung out of her head, she really did. Mina drowned herself in readings and essays; she accepted every single offer from Jihyo and the other prefects to hang out – she even started working on her Ministry internship application, although it was not due for several weeks. She just wanted to forget about Chaeyoung and her dumb baby dragon.
“Thank goodness it’s over,” she muttered to herself.
“What’s over?” asked Jihyo as she approached Mina, causing the latter to scream in surprise. The Gryffindor prefect had on a large maroon parka jacket with a pair of earmuffs hanging around her neck; a black backpack was slung around her right shoulder and in her left hand was a single bag of luggage.
“Uh . . . the term! Thank goodness the first term is over,” stammered Mina.
“Yeah. They weren’t kidding when they said fifth-year would kick your arse. I feel like I’ll have to spend my some of my break revising to stay on top of my classes. Not to mention prefect duties. But by any means necessary to get into the Ministry, right?” Jihyo’s measured gaze fell upon Mina as if she was daring the Ravenclaw girl to answer otherwise.
“Of course,” squeaked Mina.
Jihyo studied Mina, and for a moment, she feared her friend would interrogate her about Chaeyoung yet again. But Jihyo just gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder. “Don’t stress yourself out too much over the holidays, Myoui. Remember this is supposed to be a break from school.”
Mina smiled weakly. “Thanks, you too, Park.”
“C’mon, let’s find a good compartment. I don’t want to be stuck with Chan and his lads again – they’re too much of a handful when they get on a sugar high,” said Jihyo as she grabbed Mina’s hand and led her onto the train.
It didn’t take long for Mina and Jihyo to find an empty compartment. They settled in quickly, storing their luggage overhead and shedding off their coats. Mina checked her coin purse to see how much she had, eager to buy as many snacks as she could from the food trolley. Though she had breakfast earlier, the train ride was long and you really couldn’t say no to the delicious calling of pumpkin pasties and chocolate cauldron cakes.
“It’s my Christmas and my early birthday present, but I think it’s well worth the sacrifice,” Jihyo continued as she explained to Mina her upcoming trip to Thailand. Originally, Jihyo’s parents were going alone as a nice getaway whilst Jihyo’s aunt looked after the kids, but after some hard negotiations, Jihyo convinced her mum to bring her and her sister along for the ride.
Mina whistled, impressed. “Are you sure you don’t want to become a fancy lawyer instead of our next Minister of Magic? You definitely have the skillset for it.”
Jihyo grinned. “Why can’t I do both? I actually talked to Professor McGonagall and she thinks it’d be smart for me to get a job in Magical Law in order to build a solid reputation before campaigning my run as minister. The main question is what kind of law, but that’ll probably depend on my O.W.L and N.E.W.T results.”
“I’m sure you’ll get outstanding on all of them.”
“Pfft, if Transfiguration suddenly gets easy then sure. I think next year I’m going to –”
“Oi, Jihyo! Myoui! Can I crash here?” Both girls yelped when a brawny Gryffindor boy suddenly slammed open their compartment door. He was breathing heavily like he had just sprinted; his clothes were crumpled and his dark hair was matted with a gooey pink substance. Before either Mina or Jihyo could reply, the boy collapsed dramatically next to Mina.
“What are you doing here, Bang Chan?” asked Jihyo with a hint of annoyance, clearly not enjoying the interruption.
“Sorry, but I’m hiding from the kids,” said Chan. The ‘kids’ were a group of seven boys Chan hung out with, all from different Houses. Mina vaguely knew of Chan and his friends; one of the youngest members of the group was a second-year in Ravenclaw, Kim Seungmin. He was a sweet-looking boy, but he had a savage tongue and maybe too many IQ points for a twelve year old; he often got into arguments with the other boys due to this.
Chan sat up and peered out into the train aisle. “Great, looks like I’m safe.” He pulled out a copy of the Daily Prophet from his back pocket and waved it around. “This became a point of contention between them so I had to take it away. Unfortunately, the kids didn’t like that and things got a bit out of hand.” Mina and Jihyo eyed his hair, but the Gryffindor boy didn’t elaborate any further.
“So you’re gonna just hide out here until we reach King’s Cross?”
Chan gave a shy small. “If you ladies will allow it.”
“Let him be, Jihyo,” said Mina. “You know how the boys are. It’s like you said, the holidays are meant to be a break.”
Jihyo leaned back in her seat and pouted. “Fine, but you owe us some chocolate frogs,” she relented.
Mina and Chan cheered.
Minutes after Chan settled in, Jihyo left the compartment to find the snack trolley woman (all three of them were starving), and both Mina and Chan fell into a comfortable silence. The boy thumbed through the newspaper, picking at the pink goo in his hair, whilst Mina turned her attention to the outside view. The train sped past snow-covered fields and hills with a bright, sunny sky hanging up above. You could hear the wheels clatter against the railroad in a steady rhythm that felt almost musical.
Leaning her head against the window, Mina’s gaze shifted down to her right wrist. She carefully pushed back her sweater sleeve to reveal Eads’s mark. Mina pursed her lips. It had been a couple of weeks since she and Chaeyoung returned the heirloom to Eads; she thought that once he had his treasure, the mark would vanish – unfortunately that wasn’t the case. The mark still remained engraved in her skin, angry and red like the day she got it.
Mina initially tried concealing spells or regular makeup concealer to hide the mark, but it was to no avail. At least it was winter so she could wear oversized sweaters to cover it up. It would be just her luck if Jihyo saw it. Mina was amazed she was able to keep it hidden from her friend for so long.
Her finger softly traced the lines and circles. The etching of the moon stared back at her; it was nearly a full moon. It seemed like Eads’s mark still dutifully kept track of the moon’s phases. Lovely. It was always Mina’s lifelong dream to become a human lunar calendar.
We shall meet again when the moon rises! Eads’s ominous closing words from their last meeting suddenly jumped into her thoughts. Mina frowned. She didn’t want to meet Eads ever again. However, ‘the moon rises’ . . . It sounded so familiar. Where had she heard it before?
She didn’t dwell on the phrase for long, Chan let out a string of curse words, snapping Mina’s attention over to the Gryffindor boy. Poor Chan, his hair was in a worse state than earlier: it was spiked up like he had been zapped with an electricity spell and now more pink than black covered his whole head. Mina noticed that his fingers were also tinged pink and coated in the goo.
“Do you need help with that?” she asked as he huffed miserably.
“Yes, please,” Chan replied with a bashful smile.
She moved closer, carefully examining Chan’s head. “Well, if you wait a few more hours, I think your mum could probably fix this with a wave of a wand. Otherwise, I’m afraid you’re going to have to cut your hair if you want the goo out any sooner. It’s really stuck in there.”
“Ugh, it would be so much easier if we could use magic outside of school.” Chan tried and failed again to run his fingers through his locks, instead they got stuck. Another spitball of swear words spilled from his lips as he accidentally yanked out a clump of hair. “I can’t let my mum or siblings see this!” he cried out. “You know what? Blast it, you wouldn’t happen to have a pair of scissors, would you, Myoui?”
As a matter of fact, Mina did. They were from her crochet toolkit – a hobby she and Jihyo took up a few years ago as an escape from the grueling schoolwork. She planned on spending her free time during the term to work on some ambitious projects, but a certain quest had taken precedence over creating cozy hats and scarves. She pulled the scissors out of her luggage and a penguin embroidered tea towel.
“Go ahead and snip away whatever you can,” directed Chan. “I’ll clean it up later, I just need this stupid stuff out of my hair.”
And so, Mina began cutting off chunks of Chan’s dark locks. She wasn’t doing a very pretty job – heck, it was hardly even – but at least Chan’s hair had less pink in it now.
“So this is all because of the Daily Prophet?” Mina bit her lip as she carefully edged the scissors near his right ear.
Chan was about to nod, but then remembered there were sharp blades next to his head. “Yeah. Minho and Seungmin were fighting over who got to read the paper first and then things escalated as the kids took sides. Somehow Jisung got ahold of explosive bubble gum bombs and well –” The boy gestured to himself. “I think he must’ve used some enhancement spell on them because this doesn’t feel like regular gum, this stuff is extra sticky. If anyone asks, Myoui, the kids are not alright. The younger years are such a handful.”
Oh, trust me. I know, thought Mina.
“Don’t get me wrong though, the kids may be a headache, but I wouldn’t have it any other way: they’re the best mates a lad could find. I don’t know what I’d do or even who’d I be without them.” A fond smile drifted across Chan’s lips.
“You don’t worry that they might be getting in the way?”
“In the way of what?”
“Like, school . . . or your future. Aren’t the kids a bit of a distraction?”
Chan chuckled. “They’re a good lot at the end of the day, no matter the shenanigans they get into. And they’re children – what can you expect from them? I think sometimes us higher years get too caught up in hectic demands of our future, but we all need a group to anchor us. We too are still kids after all; there’s no need to rush anything. If your eyes are only fixed on the horizon, you’ll forget where your feet are.”
Mina was silent. A faint ache cradled her heart as she drank in Chan’s words.
“Phew, took me forever to find the food trolley, but I think I got enough to last us the rest of the trip – as long as neither of you gorges down everything in the first five minutes. I call dibs on the salt-water toffee by the way,” interrupted Jihyo as she opened the compartment door. She returned with an armful of snacks stacked up to her chin and a wide smile on her face – which quickly was replaced by a look of confusion when she noticed what was going on. “Uh Mina, why are you giving Chan a haircut?”
Mina and Chan glanced at each other and then burst into laughter.
“Actually, I’m done. You’re bubble gum free now, Bang Chan.” She didn’t do a shabby job. Sure, there uneven parts specifically on the right side of his head, but overall it was passable. No one would really notice. Hopefully. Okay, maybe everyone would. Chan was good looking though so he could pull it off.
The boy ran his hand through his hair and heaved a sigh of relief. “Ah, thank you so much, Myoui. I owe you one.”
“Say, Chan, could I see the copy of the Daily Prophet?” asked Jihyo as she sat down. Chan handed over the paper and immediately Jihyo flipped through it, brows furrowed in concentration.
“Everything okay, Jihyo?”
“I overhead some girls in another compartment say the Body Snatcher has struck again. Who was that annoying girl at the internship meeting? One of your housemates, Mina, the rude blonde one with the pinched face.”
“Oh, Lovette?”
“Yeah, her. She was blabbing about it and the insider info she has thanks to her mum – her mum works at the Ministry,” Jihyo informed Chan. “Ah, here it is.” She angled the Prophet towards the two other students. A large, bold headline reading ‘Body Snatcher Strikes Another Cemetery’ stared back at them.
“Whoa, another one?” Chan grimaced. “What the hell does this bloke need with all of these dead bodies?
“What’s worse is that they found a pool of blood near one of the graves this time. Here it’s speculating that the blood is from the missing groundskeeper,” Jihyo added as she skimmed the article.
Mina’s stomach churned at the thought. “This is the first time that there’s been some sort of evidence left at the scene of the crime, right?”
“Yeah. According to Lovette, since there is a suspected murder now, the Ministry is sending out their best aurors to take over the cases. This possibly is the work of some rogue dark wizard.”
Aurors were highly trained government officials whose primary job was to hunt down and apprehend dark witches and wizards. They were reliable and incredibly skilled. The job itself never appealed to Mina, but she did admire their work and capabilities to keep the country safe. If Chaeyoung had a better sense of responsibility and grades, she could make a good auror, Mina thought briefly, before realizing Chaeyoung had waltzed into her mind yet again. She quickly shoved that thought down.
“Well, hopefully they can catch the guy soon,” said Chan.
“Or girl,” Jihyo pointed out. “Or person, really.”
Chan nodded thoughtfully. “True. Maybe we’re not even dealing with a person. Who knows? This Body Snatcher could be some weird mystical beast or somethin’.”
Mina didn’t like the sound of that. In Mina’s personal experience, mystical beasts made everything worse.
“I’m sure now that the aurors are on top of the job, the Body Snatcher will be captured soon enough,” said Jihyo matter-of-factly. Her confidence eased Mina. If her friend wasn’t worried then she shouldn’t be either.
The three students continued to talk and snack the rest of the train ride. Mina’s heart relaxed; this was normal, this was fun. Hanging out and chatting with friends. She could get used to this again. No quest. No dragons. No annoying third-year with that infectious laugh and dimpled smile and weirdly imaginative brain . . .
No. No more Chaeyoung, and that was that.
A couple hours later, the Hogwarts Express pulled into Platform 9 ¾ at King’s Cross. Students gathered their luggage and hopped off the train, rushing towards their families waving them down. Chan bid Mina and Jihyo a hearty farewell and wished them happy holidays. Eventually, Mina said good-bye to Jihyo too once the latter spotted her parents at the far end of the platform.
“Remember not to spend too much time on schoolwork. Relax a little,” said Jihyo as the two embraced.
Mina rolled her eyes. “What you don’t know will not hurt you.”
Truly an understatement of the year.
“What am I going to do with you, Myoui?” Jihyo hugged Mina tighter before pulling back with a grin. “See you next year. Tell your family I say ‘hi.’” And with that Park Jihyo took off to start her winter break.
Mina strolled with her luggage as she surveyed the platform, trying to find her family. She wondered if her dad got caught up with one of the local pastry shops near the station, or if her mother saw someone she knew and lost track of time whilst chatting. There was a very high probability that both could’ve happened.
“If it isn’t Miss Perfect,” a shrilly voiced called out.
Oh, great.
Mina turned around and saw Lovette saunter up to her, adorned in a tacky teal parka, a cream colored knit hat, and a pale pink scarf. It was a pastel disaster. Bennett was behind her hauling her luggage with his own; he didn’t seem too pleased to be Lovette’s baggage boy, but he didn’t utter a complaint. Bennett eyed Mina with distain.
“Hello, Lovette. Bennett.”
Her Housemates ignored her greeting. “My uncle was quite tickled with you, you know; he stated multiple times that you have incredible ‘Ministry potential.’” As Lovette emphasized the last part, her nose scrunched in disgust.
“Your uncle?”
“Uncle Nik,” the blonde replied, “Or I guess you would only know him as Mr. Searle.”
Mina remembered running into Mr. Searle with Chaeyoung a few weeks ago. Initially, Lovette had been with him, and she recalled how casual their relationship was. It made sense now. “What’s it to you if your uncle thinks I’m good enough for the Ministry? Me aiming to work there doesn’t affect you, I don’t even think we’re interested in the same department. Where is this coming from? Lovette, we never had any issues before.”
“You have no idea, do you,” sneered Lovette.
“No, I don’t.” Mina crossed her arms across her chest. “I don’t see how my career ambitions have anything to do with you. Besides, it looks like your family already is giving you an automatic in.”
Lovette flinched, her scowl deepening. “It must be nice to be oh-so perfect, right, Myoui? Perfect grades, perfect looks, perfect status – students fawn over you, professors adore you, the freaking Ministry is practically begging you to join them at this moment. Don’t even pretend like this isn’t how it is.”
Mina flushed a deep red. “What do you want?” she snapped.
The Ravenclaw sixth-year took a step towards Mina and leaned in close, jabbing an index finger at Mina’s chest. “Your perfect image has its cracks. I’ve seen you hang around Son and her idiot friends, and I know nothing good ever comes from those dunces. So I’m going to make sure that the whole school – and my uncle – sees that you aren’t as perfect as they say you are. I will make sure that your dream of working at the Ministry of Magic is shattered.”
Lovette then stepped back and blew a kiss. “Enjoy your holidays, Myoui. You can think of some new career options during your time off. Maybe you and Son can replace old Filch when he finally croaks, I hear rubbish always attracts rubbish.” She cackled at her joke.
Bennett joined in, laughing obnoxiously. “Good one, babe!”
Mina watched as Lovette and Bennett walked away, stunned. But she quickly brushed off her Housemate’s words. It was the start of the holidays, she would not be bothered by the sourness of Lovette. Besides, Mina wasn’t involved with Chaeyoung anymore, there was nothing Lovette could possibly do. It was simply an empty threat.
She soon heard her father call out to her and she whirled around to see him and her mother standing with grins from ear to ear. Of course, there was a pastry bag in her father’s hand. Mina hoped that he got her her favorite truffle cakes. The Ravenclaw prefect smiled and ran to her family, ignoring that faint ache still in her heart.
///
Chaeyoung was happy. Mostly. In fact, she desperately told herself that she had no right to not be happy: she had achieved her dream of possessing a dragon egg. This was all she ever wanted!
Yet somehow, there were still cracks in her victory.
Her friend group was scattered for one thing: she hadn’t seen Jeongyeon since Hogsmeade when the Gryffindor Captain went after Nayeon; Dahyun seemed to have ditched her in favor of making progress with Sana; she had absolutely no idea what Tzuyu was up to these days; and Mina . . . well, Mina kept her word when she said she didn’t want anything to do with Chaeyoung ever again. The Ravenclaw prefect wouldn’t even spare her a glance at meals or in the hallways.
The only person who remained was Momo. Chaeyoung was thankful someone else was around and enjoyed the girl’s company a lot even though she had never spent this much alone time with the sixth-year. Momo wasn’t a heavy talker, rather she was an excellent listener. She would nod intently at everything Chaeyoung said, a thoughtful expression always on her face. Chaeyoung appreciated Momo’s input every now and then too, even if she didn’t always understand what her friend was saying or why she said it.
The two worked together in the following weeks prepare for the baby dragon’s arrival. Despite what one might expect, dragon hatching was not a complex process – it just required a lot of heat and a lot of raw meat. Chaeyoung had been reading a handguide she bought the summer before: Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit. It was a bit outdated (the book stopped being published after the Ministry of Magic cracked down on illegal dragon breeding) but the information was still good and relevant.
First, Chaeyoung and Momo decided on the dragon egg’s new home. Unfortunately, there weren’t many options to hide the egg since almost every space in the school was a communal area. Dormitories were too risky, classrooms were too public, and the outdoors was too cold to sustain a heat-loving creature. Eventually, the two begged Fig to let them use the kitchen pantry closet again; it was secluded in the back area of the kitchen and not many house elves were nosy enough to sift through the unused pantries. It wasn’t the best option, but as of right now, it was the only option.
Next on their pre-hatching preparations was the food situation. According the handguide, baby dragons needed a monstrous amount of meat to maintain a steady growth rate. And frequently too. Once again Fig came to the rescue; the two confided to the house elf what they had in their possession and he didn’t even bat an eye. He was eager to help out in any way he could, stating that a baby dragon was far more excitement than he had ever experienced in his several years at Hogwarts. Chaeyoung was a little dubious at first because the house elves did have close ties to the headmaster, however she remembered Fig helped them several times before on Eads’s quest and he never snitched. For some reason, he remained quite loyal to Momo – and now by proxy, her friends. Chaeyoung wondered if there was a story behind him and Momo’s close friendship. Thankfully, Fig promised he would sneak them as much raw chicken as he could for at least the next month. After that they’d be on their own, but Chaeyoung had a month until she had to worry about that issue.
Hours turned into days. Days turned into weeks. Chaeyoung visited kitchen pantry as much as she possibly could. She diligently kept the egg at a proper temperature, wrapping it securely within the coal blanket, and placing it in a soft basket for comfort. Every night, she’d talk to the dragon; the drakoscope in her hand, the egg and blanket in her lap. She wasn’t sure if it really did anything, but she liked to believe that the dragon could hear her. It was probably very lonely to be confined inside the delicate shell.
Once the winter break began, she and Momo camped out in the pantry closet every day. Since many students had returned home and there were no lessons during the day, the two were able to sneak to the kitchens easily. None of the professors inquired their whereabouts. None of the house elves cared. And none of the remaining students noticed that they were missing majority of the day, not even during mealtime (Fig brought them their meals to eat inside of the closet). Everything was perfect.
And then one day, Chaeyoung noticed that the egg was pulsating rapidly: flashes of metallic rainbows shimmered across the eggshell to the rhythm of her excited heartbeat. She recalled Eads telling her that the more often the egg pulsated, the closer it was to hatching.
A rush of anticipation electrified Chaeyoung’s body. “Momo! I think it’s time!” she exclaimed. “I think the egg is going to hatch today!”
Chaeyoung carefully adjusted the coal blanket around the egg. Initially she thought they’d need a fire for the hatching process (the book said they did), but as the days went by, the blanket’s seams began to glimmer with a reddish-orange glow, like lava streaming through the fabric. Chaeyoung suspected this was the blanket accommodating to the egg’s high heat demands. The egg seemed okay, so Chaeyoung didn’t worry about the heat situation too much. In any case, it wasn’t like she and Momo had access to a fire without prying eyes surrounding them, and they had already returned the portable burner they used for the visibility potion back to the Potions classroom.
The two girls watched intently as the pulsations picked up speed and then abruptly stop. Craaack. The first break appeared. Chaeyoung drew in a sharp breath as the fragile shell suddenly split into several tiny fissures, a web zigzagging all across the shiny surface. Then, slowly, a tiny snout poked out from underneath the eggshell.
“It really is a dragon,” murmured Momo as the creature’s head came into full view.
Chaeyoung didn’t respond, she was too in awe. The dragon skittered ungracefully out of the broken shell, stumbling over its legs and tail, and landing flat on its stomach. It shook its head as if it was disgusted with its own klutziness.
The dragon wasn’t very big; even from the tip of its tail and slightly long neck, the creature stretched out no longer than Chaeyoung’s wand. It had four legs, each with four toes and a white claw to go with each toe. On its back were a pair of wings, folded and frail. Its scales were the same design as its eggshell: jet black with dozens of tiny silver freckles. In certain angles under the ceiling light, it had the metallic sheen with faint greens and pinks like the aurora borealis. The dragon yawned, showing its pointed pearly white, barely poking out from its pink gums; its tongue was, as expected, forked. A pair of ivory horns sat on top of its head with several smaller black spikes framing its face and more adorning the back of its spine all the way down to the tip of the tail. The most peculiar feature though was its ruby-red eyes which were a stark contrast to rest of it.
“Aww, it’s so cute,” cooed Momo, “and to think that it will grow up to be a fire-breathing monster.”
“You won’t grow up to be like that, will you?” Chaeyoung said, raising her voice pitch several octaves higher. She cautiously reached out her hand, palm-side up, towards the dragon.
The dragon gazed curiously at Chaeyoung’s hand, stretching its neck to sniff her fingers. When it decided that Chaeyoung wasn’t a threat, it instead determined that her hand was its meal, and the dragon eagerly chomped down on her middle fingertip.
“Ouch!” Chaeyoung exclaimed, instantly retracting her hand. The dragon, surprised at the sudden movement, recoiled. It fanned open its wings and hissed.
Momo laughed. “I stand corrected: it will grow up to be a biting monster.”
“Ha-ha.” The dragon had drawn a drop of blood from Chaeyoung’s finger, and though it didn’t hurt, her pride certainly did. In Chaeyoung’s mind, raising a dragon would be as easy as raising a puppy: you give it food, water, a little bit of training, and a heart full of love – and voila! The only difference was that a dragon could fly and breathe fire.
It began to dawn on Chaeyoung that raising a dragon might be a tad harder than she originally thought.
“I think it’s hungry,” she said. “Let’s give it the food we prepared.” Together, Chaeyoung and Momo lugged a small metal bucket of raw meat toward the dragon. The dragon perked up – the brief scare long forgotten – and cautiously inched closer. Chaeyoung pulled on plastic hand gloves and picked up a diced cube of chicken . “Here, buddy – you hungry?” The dragon’s red eyes flickered back and forth between Chaeyoung and the meat, finally flitting out its tongue as if to reply an eager yes. “Eat up.”
As soon as Chaeyoung placed the down in front of the dragon, it pounced. The dragon greedily picked and tore the pink flesh apart, devouring the chicken in seconds.
Chaeyoung and Momo exchanged turns, giving bits of meat to the baby dragon until the bucket was empty. After its meal, Chaeyoung thought the dragon would be tired and want to rest, but it seemed like the dragon had other plans. Interested in exploring its new home, the dragon awkwardly walked around the pantry room, not yet use to the weight of its wings or length of its tail. Every now and then it would stagger, let out a squeal, and then desperately flap its wings, hoping to regain balance. After the first couple of falls, Chaeyoung decided it was best to follow around the dragon to make sure it was okay.
“Aw, you’re doing great!” Chaeyoung praised as the dragon picked itself back up once more.
“So, what are you going to name the dragon?” asked Momo as she watched the two.
“Er, I’m not sure yet . . . I had a list of names but when I ran them past Mina . . .” Chaeyoung faltered. She tried really hard not to think about Mina. Although she wouldn’t say it out loud, she dearly missed the prefect’s company; it was like when Mina had disappeared for a few days after falling through the floor with Hadubert. Except, now was worse because Mina had chosen to part ways with Chaeyoung. There was no giant spider to blame.
“She’ll come back.”
“What?”
“Mina. She’ll be back; I’m sure of it.” Momo smiled kindly at Chaeyoung, but the latter only turned away and scoffed.
“Whatever. I don’t care if she doesn’t come back. She chose the stupid Ministry anyway,” grumbled Chaeyoung, ignoring the pull on her heart. I don’t need Mina.
Sometimes lying came so easy to her.
“About the name,” the third-year continued loudly, pushing past the subject of the Ravenclaw prefect. If Momo noticed, she didn’t say anything. “I was thinking . . .” The dragon finally wore itself out from exploring the cramped room for the fifth time; it yawned and stretched out its wings before settling next to Chaeyoung’s legs. Its tiny body rose up and down as it left to a land of slumber. “I was thinking of naming my dragon, Hero.”
“Hero?” An amused glint flashed in Momo’s eyes.
Chaeyoung grinned. “Yeah, why not? Dragons are seen as villains in every story. I want my dragon to be the hero of mine.”
Then, Chaeyoung crouched down and bravely reached for the dragon’s head. Her palm lightly touched the small crown, pricked a little by the horns and spikes. The baby dragon stirred but did not awaken. Chaeyoung gasped when it leaned into her touch. Tears prickled the corners of her eyes. A trail of wispy smoke exhaled from its nostrils as the dragon began to snore.
That’s right, this is what she wanted. This is what she needed. Right now in this moment, school, her placement in Ravenclaw, Mina . . . none of that mattered. Chaeyoung had her dragon.
“My Hero,” she whispered. “You’ll be my hero.”
A/N: Hello, I think it has been quite a while since I've updated this story, hasn't it? Originally, I was going to wait until I finished all of Part II until I updated, but then I thought, it's been over a year since I posted a legitimate chapter so I should probably post something before the end of 2023. I know I had semi-promised to be more active here this year, but unfortunately I think that will have to be a 2024 goal. I am making really good progress with this story now that I've been able to find the time to write. Ideally, I would like to finish Chaeng's Dragon sooner rather than later.
Anyway, I hope everyone's 2023 finishes strong. Happy Holidays to those who celebrate, and to those who don't, I still hope you're able to have an enjoyable time this season. I feel like I have so much to say, but it's probably better for me to get back to writing and posting than blabbing here. There's a lot planned for Part II, and I hope to bring a much darker tone this time around hehehe. It might be a while until I post again, so I'll hint that the next chapter starts with Dahyun's POV, let your imagination run wild!
Thank you as always for the support! If you can, please comment as it is actually great motivation to get me to write. I literally keep a folder with a screenshot of every single comment here and reread them when I feel bad about my writing hahaha. I do truly hope to post more next year both with Chaeng's Dragon and other stories. Also, I'm looking forward to see what Twice brings to the table. Cannot wait for their next new album release! Until then~
P.S. I know I said I'd move everything over to AO3, but I gave up because the formatting was too difficult. If anyone would ever like to help me figure that stuff out, I will switch over. But for now, Chaeng's Dragon is AFF exclusive!
EDIT: Oh my god, I am now just realizing I named the pub owner: Clifford Redman . . . like Clifford . . . the Big Red Dog LMAO
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