Hogwarts slept under a blanket of clouded moonlight.
The corridors had emptied hours ago.Candles had burned down to stubs.Prefects finished their last patrols.The castle breathed in long, slow, ancient rhythms.
And Cassius slipped from his bed without a sound.
He moved like a shadow, employing ever last spell he knew to cover his sounds, scent and even mask how he looked.
Perfect.
He checked once—twice—for anyone lurking.
No Hermione sitting in wait.No Daphne feigning sleep on the sofa.No Luna sleepwalking the corridorsNo Ginny perched in the rafters.No tiny Astoria spying from the staircase.
No girls. At all. Period.
Good.
He pressed a hand to his chest, summoning Serepha's dormant warmth in a silent command through their blood oath.
"Let's go."
And the castle opened to swallow him into the night.
Cassius reached the courtyard first—the air crisp, the moon half-shrouded behind drifting clouds.
A faint wind tugged at his robes, carrying the scent of frostbitten pine.
He waited only a few seconds before Sirius emerged from the shadows with all the stealth of a man physically incapable of subtlety.
"Pup." Sirius's voice was a rumbling whisper. "Ready?"
"Obviously."
Remus appeared next, steps soft, wand already in hand as if anticipating disaster.
"You're taking a big risk yknow if they notice?" he asked.
"No," Cassius admitted. "But I'm hoping they're asleep."
Remus sighed. "You're a dreamer. Ladies find everything out, just be prepared for it when we return."
Severus arrived last—gliding out of the darkness like a wraith, robes trailing, expression unreadable.
"Let us be done with this," he muttered. "I'd prefer to return before sunrise."
"Before sunrise, before curfew checks, before McGonagall ascends to godhood—yes, yes, we all have motives," Sirius said breezily.
Cassius didn't waste time. "Follow me."
The four slipped into formation: Cassius leading, Snape silent behind him, Remus scanning the perimeter, Sirius walking backward to watch their rear.
None of them noticed the faintest flicker of motion far behind—a small shadow darting between courtyard pillars, heart beating fast enough to burst.
A Slytherin third-year.
One who dreamed of glory.
One who'd seen Cassius Sneaking Out, after his own wandering of the castle using his father's invisibility cloak to do so with impunity and decided that if he followed the right person at the right moment, fame would finally be his.
He grinned, breath steaming as he scrambled after them.
"Wait till they see what I discover…"
~
The Forbidden Forest opened its jaws the moment they stepped beneath its boughs.
Dark.Ancient.Alive.
Tree trunks twisted like iron.Branches stretched overhead like skeletal hands.The forest floor swallowed sound whole.
Remus tensed immediately—his heightened senses prickling.
Sirius muttered, "I hate this place."
"We all do," Snape said.
Cassius continued forward unfazed.
After ten minutes of weaving through gnarled roots and misted clearings, Remus finally asked as the party reached a clearing deep into the forest:
"Cassius. Why are we stopping here?"
Cassius however did not respond, instead he remained dead still.
He stared into the open clearing ahead, his breath coiling with a strange heat, the faint exhale of steam from his breath looked evermore now like he was a dragon breathing smoke.
Sirius stepped forward. "Pup?"
Cassius still didn't answer instead he was focused intensely on what he was about to do.
He opened his mouth—
And growled.
Not human.Not magical.Not natural.
A deep, resonant, guttural sound that vibrated the ground and reverberated through marrow—a sound so primal all three men jerked backward instinctively.
Their wands snapped up.Their bodies tensed.Their instincts screamed predator.
Even Remus felt his inner-wolf rear up and whimper, while Sirius's other form had him wanting to lay down and roll over in submission.
The forest itself went silent.
Leaves stilled.Wind halted.Somewhere far off, a colony of centaurs paused mid-step, ears tilting toward the distant rumble.
Sirius swallowed. "Cassius… what exactly—"
Then the sky darkened.
Something massive blotted out the moon—a shape of ancient power hurtling through the clouds.
A beat of wings like thunder.
A hiss of violet flames.
And then—
THOOM.
A fifty-foot dragon landed in the clearing.
Emerald as shattered gemstones.Scales glowing faintly.Eyes ancient.Presence overwhelming.
The ground trembled beneath her.
Remus staggered backward, staring up in shock. "Merlin's beard…"
Sirius's jaw dropped. "That—that's—how—WHAT—"
Snape just froze, every possible emotion collapsing into a single, stunned expression.
Each professor was taking stances prepared to join forces to fight off the new arrival, only to be stunned enough that their collective jaws hit the forest floor.
The dragon lowered her massive head—bowing before Cassius.
Not slightly.Not reluctantly.
A full, reverent bow.
Cassius stepped forward calmly, unbothered by the heat eminating from her maw, or the razar sharp talons digging into the forest earth.
"Serepha," he murmured.
Cassius climbed onto her back with fluid ease—like he'd done it a thousand times.
Sirius stared up at him, slack-jawed. "YOU RIDE A DRAGON?!"
Cassius arched an eyebrow. "You didn't think I was walking through the entire forest, did you?"
"YES!" Sirius yelled.
Remus sputtered. "Cassius—there are laws! Ancient, terrifying laws about this!"
Snape simply buried his face in his hand. "I should have known. Of course you bonded with a dragon. Why not? Why not add that to the list of catastrophes?"
Serepha rumbled with laughter.
Cassius looked down at them, expression firm.
"Come on. We're wasting time."
They stared.
He gestured sharply.
"Well? Get up here."
Snape deadpanned. "Absolutely not."
Sirius shoved him from behind. "Too late!"
"DON'T—"
Snape was launched onto the dragon's back with a startled snarl.
Sirius leapt up beside him, laughing like a madman.
Remus climbed up reluctantly, muttering prayers to any higher power listening.
Cassius settled at the front, hand gripping tightly to the spines on her back.
"Hold on."
"TO WHAT?!" Remus yelped.
Serepha crouched.
The air vibrated.
Magic shimmered.
Then—
FWOOOOM—
She launched into the sky with a burst speed unseen save for when riding an Aeriusbolt broom.
Trees bent beneath the force.Wind roared like a hurricane.The ground shrank out of sight.
And far below,
A tiny speck of a Slytherin burst into the clearing—
Just in time to see the dragon's tail vanish into the clouds.
He stood frozen.Eyes wide.Mouth gaping.
Then he whispered in awe and terror:
"…I am absolutely telling everyone."