Summary: "I have never seen you this happy." She says in wonder between peals of laughter. And he knows that in all his seventeen years, he has never been this happy.
The second time Felix Rosier sneaks from the castle to visit an illegal dragon in the Forbidden Forest, he's prepared. He's wearing the most casual clothes he owns (still never intended for hikes through wild and thorny undergrowth) and brings his dragon hide gloves. He's alight with excitement and determination as they trek back through the densely clumped trees to the dragon's valley, and the wealth of good feeling makes him garrulous.
"You keep referring to the dragon as 'it'. Do you not know if it's male or female?" Felix asks Juniper as they push through the trees.
He can't see her face but her voice reveals amusement as she answers, "I haven't been able to ascertain that yet, no."
"It shouldn't be that difficult," Felix argues, keeping pace with her this time and assisting her in pushing past thicker clumps of branches, "there are some rather obvious markers."
He can hear Juniper's wide smile in her words even if he can't see it, "I'm aware. But it's harder than you think to get a good view of that area."
Felix rolls his eyes and adopts his most grown-up tone. "There's more than just genitalia. Females are larger and more aggressive than males, usually."
"Yes," Juniper responds, "but as I don't know exactly how old this one is I can't really compare its size to other dragons its age. And this being my first dragon I also have no baseline from which to measure its relative aggression."
Felix smiles, something that's been happening to his face a lot the past few days and his cheekbones have started to feel sore. There's something about the way she uses technical vocabulary and precise wording when defending herself from perceived slights that he appreciates fondly. And he finds the combination of a favorite subject and friendly banter to be exceptionally pleasant. All in all, Felix is in the best mood he's been in since before the summer holidays.
When they reach the gargantuan tree where Juniper has hidden the bag of animal carcasses, she shows him the boulder she's pushed up against the hole in the trunk. Behind it is a narrow, dark passage leading to a small cave hidden underneath the tree roots.
"This looks like it used to be a Red Cap's cave." Felix tells her as he lowers himself in after her.
"I wondered if that's what it was. I've read about them but I've never seen one before." Juniper bends down to heft the sack over her shoulder. "I don't think it can still be using it though. I was worried at first that animals might smell the meat and try to get in but I've nev- come off it!" She breaks off as Felix wrests the bag from her grip. "You know, I carried it just fine for a month before you were ever here. And it was heavier."
"Not the point." Felix says brusquely, turning his back on her. He reaches his free hand up, and using the tree roots as leverage, pulls himself and the bag out of the cave.
"The point is," Juniper grumbles as she climbs out behind him, "that you don't think I'm capable enough to do anything by myself." She stands up and faces him, hands on hips, eyes flashing, face twisted in a grimace. She might have cut an intimidating figure if she'd been a bit taller, he thinks. "What do I have to do to prove to you I can do stuff on my own? Save the school from cursed ice? Tame a dragon? Beat you in a duel?"
The second isn't strictly accurate and the last is a bit below the belt. But she's obviously irked, which he rarely sees, so Felix ignores the bait and opts to soothe her bruised ego.
"You know I don't think that. You proven yourself to be exceptionally capable at everything, except perhaps making rational decisions." She makes a feral sort of sound and he hurries on. "The point," he explains patiently "is that a gentleman does not allow a lady to carry heavy baggage, whether it is full of shopping or animal corpses."
The face Juniper makes at him reveals both what she thinks about rules concerning gentleman and ladies, and that no matter how hard she may try she cannot physically raise her eyebrows. She turns and walks off muttering something under her breath of which only the phrase "toffee-nosed" is readily distinguishable. Felix follows, secretly appreciating the reduced weight of the bag from their previous excursion.
As he reaches the makeshift gateway created by the two enormous intertwined trees, Felix hears her start to hum that same song as the last time and his heart begins to pound. Any second now, he'll hear the dragon again...
It isn't until he's been sitting at the lip of the ledge for ten or so minutes, drinking in the sight of the dragon while Juniper tosses it rabbits, that Felix clears his head enough to ask, "Why do you sing to it? I've never read of music having any particular effect on dragons."
She's just below him, close enough that her voice carries in spite of the soft, gentle tone she uses around the dragon. "It's a trick I picked up when I trained a Thestral last year. Creatures that live in the forest are generally alarmed by the sound of something moving toward them. It's best if they know it's you before they hear your footsteps."
Felix looks away from the dragon for the first time to stare down at the top of her head. "You trained a Thestral?"
"Yeah. Hagrid needed one docile enough to take to the International Confederation of Wizards for a demonstration. He didn't have the time it takes to really socialize a wild Thestral so I helped out. It ended up going really well. I still visit him whenever I can. The Thestral, I mean"
Again, Felix finds himself more impressed with Juniper than he ever thought he could be of a thirteen year old. If she would just dedicate her talent and energy to the things that really matter, like her studies, he thinks, she'd be a shoe-in for Head Girl one day.
"So, you can see Thestrals?" he asks.
"Obviously. It's hard to train something you can't see."
"Who have you seen die?" It isn't until this question is out of his mouth and hanging in the air that he realizes how ridiculously personal and tactless it is. His cheeks flush brick red.
Before he can figure out how to undo his faux pas Juniper answers, "My mother". She offers no further elaboration, and he casts around for a way to sweep the subject behind them.
"You're sure I can't come down and help?" Felix asks, standing up, but as soon as he does the dragon's fierce eyes snap to him in suspicion. It growls that dangerous, warning song and bares it elongated teeth.
"I think Sparky's made himself clear. Or herself." Juniper responds, amusement coloring her sing-song lilt. "You need to give it time. It doesn't know you yet."
Which reminds him of another question.
"Why do you call it "Sparky"?" Felix asks, as they walk back a few hours later, pronouncing the moniker with distaste.
"It's a sort of joke." Juniper answers haltingly, whether from their brisk pace or embarrassment at her nickname for the dragon he isn't sure.
"I don't get it."
"Well," She says, picking through branches as quickly as she can (Felix is determined to be a step in front of her now that he knows the way a bit better), "Sparky is a sort of common name muggles give their dogs. In like books and films and things."
Felix stops, staring at her, his expressionless face just visible in the early light.
"And then, you know, spark? fire?...it's a dragon?"
He continues to stare. Juniper shrugs, not meeting his eyes.
"It's not funny when you have to explain it." she mutters, pushing past him.
Felix follows, less concerned now with his speed and more concerned with wondering whether it's all thirteen year old's whose brains work so strangely, or just her.
"Maybe it just likes girls better, like unicorns." Felix says in a huff as they make their way to the dragon's little valley for what will be his fifth visit. Felix prides himself on his patient, relentless approach to his studies, but he's becoming frustrated with the way the dragon continues to aggressively oppose his presence after nearly three weeks.
"I don't think so. None of the books mention anything like that." Juniper says consolingly as they enter the forest, the sky only just beginning to darken. Now that she no longer has to sneak out of the dormitory to avoid him, they're able to leave much earlier in the evening. When he doesn't have prefect duties and she doesn't have quidditch practice.
"Maybe no one's discovered that yet. There aren't a lot of female dragonologists, you know." Felix says, shooting an accusatory glance at her in the nearly faded light as if it's somehow her fault that the dragon hasn't taken to him. He wonders if she might not actually be the reason. Perhaps the dragon considers her its mother, or its mate, and is territorial over her.
"Why's that, do you think?" Juniper asks, trying to keep the conversation light as they move through the tightly clustered trees. Felix knows the path as well as she does by now and she lets him lead, although he's sure it's just an attempt to soothe his rumpled feathers.
"It takes a lot of physical strength working with dragons. Your spells have to be forceful not just accurate and often they don't work at all and you have to be able to physically subdue or escape one. Some dragonologists still swear by swords and spears as the best method for defending against dragons and almost don't bother using magic on them at all." Felix pushes expertly past the close tree branches, "Not to mention it's a rough sort of profession. Dragonologists are often out in the wilderness for long periods of time. Can't worry about things like their hair or their clothes."
Juniper laughs out loud at this, "Well, you know how much I care about my hair and clothes." She has a point. While Felix makes sure to mend and clean his clothes after every excursion into the forest, he often finds Juniper the next day in the same clothes she was wearing the night before, complete with grass and blood stains. More than once he's mumbled a quiet charm to sew up rips on the back of her trousers or coat that she hasn't even noticed.
"But," she draws the word out slowly as they near their destination, "I had an idea about that, and all." Juniper doesn't explain until they're at the red cap's old tree when she suddenly grabs his arm to halt his movement. Felix turns to face her, startled, but she's focused on removing her green and silver Slytherin scarf and wrapping it around his own neck.
"What-" He begins.
"My scent." She explains before he can finish. "I'm thinking maybe if you smell more like me, it might trust you more."
Juniper mistakes his expression for skepticism at her idea, rather than the fact that Felix isn't sure he's ever had a girl's hands quite so close to his neck and face before and the sensation is surprisingly overwhelming. "It's just a theory. Can't hurt anything, can it?" She shrugs and moves off to the tree to retrieve the now dangerously light bag of animal carcasses.
Felix finds he's a little too shaky on his feet to follow.
Felix is waiting at the edge of the ridge separating him from the dragon, while Juniper strokes the side of its neck softly. It hasn't paid him any attention the whole time they've been here, even when he's standing up. Which is actually a marked improvement from its usual open hostility.
"What do you reckon?" Felix asks, a little embarrassed at soliciting her opinion. However, now that the time has come to attempt the next step, he finds he needs some reassurance.
"Maybe rub my scarf along your face and hands first? Make sure you smell like me." Juniper calls back up, her voice even and gentle.
Felix eyes the edges of the scarf warily as if they might spring to life and strangle him at any second. Carefully, he runs the end of the scarf along his face and hair. It smells lightly of lavender and something else he can't identify.
"Alright." he says, his voice coming out more tremulous than he would prefer.
"Come on down then." Juniper says, and he wonders if she's really as confident as she sounds.
Felix regards the dragon before him, stealing himself to take action. Why is it so hard to finally do the thing he's been dreaming of for weeks now? He stands frozen, wondering if he'll ever be able to make himself move or if he might just stand here for the next few hours, when Juniper's voice shakes him from his torpor.
"It's alright, Rosier. You can do it." It's an invitation and a challenge. Before he can overthink anymore, his legs are moving, stepping forward cautiously, trying and failing to find a footing in the wall surrounding the valley and skidding gracelessly down to the earth below. Felix gathers himself up quickly, eyes fixed on the dragon before him. It's turned its head toward him at the sounds of his fall. It bristles at the sight of him so close, but it hasn't moved to strike, hasn't changed its position. Juniper calls to it and throws another dead animal treat and it turns away.
Felix breathes out slowly, taking in the sight of the dragon, somehow completely new when viewed from this close proximity. He's now near enough to count the individual scales on its hide and see flecks of dirt and earth marring its gleaming curved talons.
He hears Juniper call to him, "You alright?" from a few steps away. Felix nods. Then, remembering her eyes are always on the dragon and it's unlikely she's seen his motion, says out-loud, "I'm fine." The dragon glances at him again, its glittering eyes a mere metre and a half away from his face, then turns back to Juniper, now stroking its neck.
"Better than fine." he breathes and his smile is so broad he feels his cheeks might burst.
"Come stand by me", Juniper instructs him. It's Felix's second night climbing down into the valley after her, again wearing her scarf, and the dragon is still steadfastly ignoring him. He glances over to where she's standing directly in front of the dragon's face. Cautiously, Felix makes his way to her, keeping his back against the edge of the earthen ravine wall, until he's standing just a few steps behind her. The dragon turns its steady, suspicious gaze on him but makes no other movement. Felix realizes he's been holding in a breath and releases it with more noise than he intends.
Juniper gently removes her hand from the dragon's elegant, scaly neck and walks backward toward him. She bends down and picks up a dead ferret and a dead bird (they've nearly run out of rabbits and have to distribute them cautiously now as they are by far the dragon's favorite). She tosses the bird by the limp legs across to the dragon. It catches the bird out of the side of its mouth and swallows it without chewing. It fixes her with a reproachful look as if it expects better treats from her.
Without turning, Juniper reaches behind her to where Felix is waiting and fumbles for his wrist, pulling him lightly forward to stand beside her. He doesn't resist. His heart is pounding with that mad excitement he feels every time he approaches a new milestone with the dragon. He finds he has begun to look forward to the sensation. Juniper raises the ferret in front of her, making sure the dragon's eyes are on it, then deliberately passes it across to Felix.
"Go on," she says when he fails to take it from her right away, "toss it up slowly." Felix grasps the ferret's tail in two fingers, wrinkling his nose slightly at the smell of the rotting animal corpse. As he draws his arm back he suddenly wonders when was the last time he's thrown anything by hand. He can't bring up a memory. His wild lob is far to the left of the dragon's head, but the dragon contorts its snake-like neck at a angle and manages to snatch the animal up before it hits the ground. It keeps its eyes on Felix as it chews twice, and he fancies they might look a shade less suspicious as it gulps the morsel down. Felix's grin is so wide it shows teeth and causes Juniper to giggle softly and turn her gaze toward him and away from the dragon for the first time.
It's a week after this that Felix finally touches the dragon, and if he has any remaining qualms about what he's doing they're driven from his mind entirely. He's just tossed a particularly large rabbit (they've replenished their stock of dead animals courtesy of an unwitting Professor Kettleburn) directly to the dragon's waiting jaws, his aim greatly improved. He reaches behind him for another treat, having mastered the art of finding what he's looking for while maintaining eye contact with the dragon. Juniper steps forward and reaches up to stroke the side of the dragon's face, a contact it's only recently permitted her.
As her hands move deliberately down the dragon's head toward it's neck, she calls out softly, "Come here," and reaches her free hand to gesture behind her toward where Felix is standing. Felix's eyes flick from the dragon to Juniper, wondering if he's heard her correctly and if she can possibly mean what he thinks she means. She makes a waving gesture with her outstretched hand, and he steels himself against the sudden, wonderful hammering of his heart against his chest as he walks toward her cautiously. He approaches at a slight angle, moving to stand just behind and slightly to the left of Juniper, putting her in between the dragon and himself. It lets out a short sound, perhaps of warning, like a single chord being played on a piano, but does not move to strike.
Felix stops just behind Juniper. He's close enough to her that he can smell her hair (the same gentle scent as on her scarf), and close enough to the dragon that he can see the delicate swirling lines that exist in each scale. The sight is mesmerizing. Juniper lowers the arm she's used to stroke the dragon and reaches behind her and across his body to grasp Felix's left hand. She lifts it slowly until his palm rests against the dragon's sparkling neck. It's warm, Felix is surprised to find, and incredibly smooth. The scales are joined so seamlessly together it's difficult to feel the end of one and beginning of another. He can feel the muscles in the dragon's neck stiffen as it senses this new touch. Felix keeps his hand very still, wondering if the dragon can feel his wild heartbeat through his fingers.
Juniper's hand guides the back of his, "Stroke down, then lift your hand. Don't stroke back up, it doesn't like that." Felix follows her instructions, caressing the dragon's powerful neck, and the feeling of exultant joy is so intense he has to fight the urge to laugh or sing or dance around like a fool. He's reminded forcefully of a time in his fourth year when a boy three years ahead of him returned to the common room after his first date with a girl he fancied, actually skipping down the stone stairs from the entrance wall and spinning around the room like a mad fairy. At the time, Felix had joined in with the rest of the Slytherins in taking the absolute mickey out of him. Now, has a good idea how the boy had felt.
Felix tries to keep his high spirits contained as they're leaving the dragon behind and walking back to the tree to deposit their bag, but he can't quite keep a bounce from his step nor a grin from tugging up the corners of his mouth. He's in such a good mood, he isn't even embarrassed when Juniper teases him about this. Instead, Felix laughs, really laughs; not a derisive snort but a full bellied sound of pure good feeling so infectious she can't help but join in.
"I have never seen you this happy." She says in wonder between peals of laughter. And Felix knows that in all his seventeen years, he has never been this happy.