Cassius waited until the house had settled into its usual post-holiday rhythm—Sirius arguing with Severus, Remus pretending to referee, the girls plotting some kind of fashion-based revenge—before he quietly slipped away.
He checked the hallway.
Empty.
Perfect.
He drew a pinch of emerald Floo powder from the jar, stepped into the fireplace, and murmured:
"Hogshead Inn."
Green fire engulfed him.
A heartbeat later he stepped out into the dim, dusty hearth of the Hogshead, brushing a wisp of soot from his sleeve.
Aberforth Dumbledore glanced up from behind the bar.
He squinted.
Grunted.
Went back to polishing a glass.
Cassius nodded in polite acknowledgment—
—and walked straight out the back door into the cold winter air of Hogsmeade.
He did not go toward the school.
Instead, he crossed the snowy main path, slipped into the alley behind Zonko's, and followed an unmarked trail toward the woods.
Just as planned.
Just as he'd promised—silently, secretly.
To her.
The Forbidden Forest loomed ahead, ancient branches shivering under frost.
Most would have hesitated.
Cassius did not.
He had someone to see.
Someone he'd left waiting too long.
~
The shadows swallowed him the moment he crossed the boundary.
The forest itself was usually oppresive, but compared to the spider wars of his second school year, the forest felt like it had fresh air breathed into it.
The presence of a dragon within its bounds should have made the place feel more oppresive but following in her masters whims, Serepha clearly was not ruling the forest with tyranny.
Cassius pulled his cloak tighter.
One month.
One long month since he'd last come.
He tried to come more often but even with a time turner his days were spent with a schedule utterly full beyond measure.
She was bound to him in a way unlike the girls of his house, she was bound in blood.
And although they were of seperate species, Serepha was closer to him than those of the girls he'd been with for years.
He stepped over a gnarled root—
—when a familiar pulse of draconic mana reverberated through the air.
Not hostile.
Just… alert.
And then—
A soft, rumbling growl.
Cassius smiled.
"Serepha," he called quietly. "I'm home."
Snow drifted from the branches as something massive shifted in the dark.
A gleaming pair of eyes—emerald and burning with intelligence—opened.
A serpentine neck unfurled from between two ancient pines.
And then—
Serepha emerged.
Six months had turned the once true dragon hatchling into something strikingly powerful:
Her scales shone like carved gemstones, deep green shot through with silver veins.
Her wings—still not full size—were broad enough to rustle half the clearing.
Her horns curved elegantly, tipped with moonlight.
And her chest glowed faintly with inner fire, simmering and beautiful.
Cassius felt his breath catch.
"Merlin," he whispered, "you're magnificent."
The young emerald dragon blinked, then gave a pleased, distinctly smug rumble.
Her telepathic voice was warm silk, amused and affectionate.
Cassius stepped forward and placed a hand against her snout.
The warmth beneath his palm was like touching living sunlight.
"I've missed you," he murmured.
Serepha lowered her head, pressing gently into his hand.
Cassius smiled faintly.
"I had obligations. School. Training. Keeping Sirius alive through his own stupidity. Not to mention playing Quidditch both for the nation and for school."
Serepha snorted, sending a puff of warm air through his hair.
"That would be the girls."
He choked slightly.
"They're not— Serepha, they're not a hoard."
"Serepha—"
He sighed.
She might be six months old, but she had already perfected the art of draconic smugness, not doubt evolving as well from her time as a basilisk.
~
Cassius adjusted his satchel.
"I brought you something. A late Christmas gift."
Serepha lifted her head proudly.
"No."
"…No."
Her tail flicked.
"No! Serepha—what—no!"
She looked disappointed.
Cassius hesitated.
"What do you want? Truly?"
The dragon paused, surprised.
Her eyes softened.
She lowered her massive head until it rested near his shoulder.
Cassius blinked.
Cassius's chest tightened in a way he didn't expect.
"Serepha…"
Her wings shifted.
Cassius didn't hesitate.
"Then let's fly."
Serepha's pupils widened with joy.
The clearing roared with her excited growl.
~
Cassius climbed onto her back smoothly—no saddle, no tack, no gear.
Just trust.
And connection.
Serepha crouched low.
One breath.
Two.
"Ready?" he asked softly.
She launched upward with a thunderous beat of her wings.
Snow exploded beneath them.
The trees fell away.
The forest shrank.
And the winter sky opened its arms.
Cassius laughed as the cold air whipped across his face, exhilarating and sharp.
Serepha spiraled higher, her scales reflecting starlight and moonshine, a streak of emerald cutting through the frozen clouds.
For the first time in months—
They were not student and secret.
Not boy and monster.
Not duty and burden.
They were rider and dragon.
Magic twined between them, a steady pulse:
You are mine.
I am yours.
We fly.
Serepha leveled out above the treetops, her voice a soft purr in his mind.
Cassius felt something warm in his chest.
"Then we'll do it more often," he promised. "No more long gaps."
She hummed contentedly.
The two soared over the Forbidden Forest, over the frozen lake, over the mountains where the wind sang ancient songs.
Below, the world slept.
Above, they carved their path in the sky.
Together.
Flying high over the forest that Serepha had claimed as her own kingdom.
The acromantulas had been pushed back to the main colony now serving simply as a nigh inexhaustible supply of protein for the dragons feed.
The centaur colonies had all but submitted themselves to her rule routinely providing offerings though she repeated numerous time that they need not do so.
Unicorns, Trolls, Goblinks... every creature within the forest wherever she went they all saw here as something effectively in line with a divine beast and were quick to offer up whatever they could to prevent the dragons wrath but also to possibly earn her favor.