Thomas and the Dragon by Air Elemental
Summary: Hi, I'm Thomas Diggory, and this is the tale of what happened when a great big dragon landed on my house. After I get that apple on top of the tree, of course!
Categories: Historical Characters: None
Warnings: None
Challenges:
Series: None
Chapters: 1 Completed: Yes Word count: 1285 Read: 1813 Published: 02/12/06 Updated: 02/12/06

1. Thomas and the Dragon by Air Elemental

Thomas and the Dragon by Air Elemental
Name: Air Elemental
House: Gryffindor
Challenge: February Monologue Challenge

Thomas and the Dragon

It’s a warm, sunny day. I can feel the heat tickle my back and I can hear the birds sing. The sweet smell of flowers hover around me and a faint buzzing can be heard from Will’s garden where the beehives are kept. In front of me stands a gnarled old apple tree. I brush my hand across the rough bark, tracing the patterns marked by nature.

Did you like my description? I hope so! I plan on being a poet one day. Dad says it’s too soft for a boy my age. ‘You’re already ten!’ he’d cry in disgust. All the same, I wouldn’t mind being a Knight. My uncle’s a Knight you know!

Oh, how rude of me! My name’s Thomas Diggory and I’m ten years old. My mum’s a witch but my dad’s a Muggle. I love playing with my friends, telling stories and eating fruit! My friends say I must be mad to like fruit, but I disagree. There’s nothing like a mouth-watering apple on a warm day to explore the senses. That’s what I’m doing now; getting an apple! I spied the topmost one earlier. It was a deep, juicy red one. I’d have to climb the tree to get it, but never mind. I’m Thomas Diggory: Master Climber and Adventurer!

I look up at the tree and smile. It’s twisting branches reach out for me; begging me to come closer. Its leaves are bright green, like leaves should be in the height of summer. The apples shine like rubies in the sunlight, and the bark is deep terracotta. This is no ordinary apple tree. This is my apple tree.

Near the base of the tree, just between the roots, is my hidey-hole. Pretty impressive, eh? Me and my friend Will used to hide in there when we were smaller. We’d play Knights and the hole would be the dragon’s den. I was always the dragon, while Will was always the Knight. It was fun! These days I’m too big to fit into the hole. I tried to get back in it last week, but I got stuck. My mum had to use her wand to get me out. It’s very dangerous to use a wand here. Everyone’s so suspicious! Seriously, I mean it. My aunt was a witch, and she got hanged last year after someone spotted her flying a broomstick by her house.

Anyway, we’d better leave my hole now; we’ve got to get that apple before a bird steals it or something. I’ve got quite a tale to tell you about that hole, but I’ll tell it to you once we climb up the tree.

I wrap my arms around the trunk, breathing in the familiar musty smell. I love my tree! I reach and grab the nearest branch. Quickly, I leap up and hoist myself onto it. Edging myself upright, I balance on the branch carefully. Wobbling slightly, I clutch hold of the next one.

I’ll continue like this for a while. It’s a skill, see, climbing up a tree. Watch out for the nest here. Mr Bird and Mrs Bird will be very angry if you steal their eggs. When I was little, I tried to take one, but Mrs Bird saw me and flew around chasing me for a whole week. I couldn’t even go into the garden!

Finally, I stop and check where I am. The apple was floating above my head. In excitement, I lean forward and grasp it in my left hand. Feeling its waxy skin against my palm, I pull sharply. The stem snaps and I stare at the apple in my hand. Finally! Quickly, I open my mouth and press my teeth through the skin.

Yummy! This apple’s delicious! It’s a pity there’s only one left, or I’d give you one too. It’s kind of sweet yet sour, and very crunchy! I can feel the ripe juice in my mouth and the fresh spice in my blood. Oh how I love apples!

Oh yes, I promised you a story, didn’t I? Well, it’s quite a tale. Get comfy and I’ll explain.

It was 1326… or 1327, I can’t remember. Anyway, me and Will were playing Knights again, and it was my special bit when I came out of the cave in my roaring fury! So I clambered into my hidey-hole and got ready.

Then, all of a sudden, there was this huge whooshing sound and a horrible roaring! It was terrifying! It shook my bones and hurt my ears, and this huge heat wave engulfed me, like I was on a fire being cooked. Luckily, I was in the hole, so it didn’t affect me that much. Then there was the roar again. It vibrated through my ribcage and my eyes started to water. I’d never been so scared in my life! Building up my courage, I snuck a look.

It was amazing! A real dragon was flying above the village. I dunno what it was doing flying on its own, but it was magnificent! It was a deep purple with flecks of pink. Its horns stuck out of its head and the scales on that thing were huge! Still, the best thing about it was its wings. They were smooth and shiny, and they made this big thwap noise, like a gust of wind. It made my hair blow about.

I remember the dragon snorting a lot, and then a huge flame burst out of its mouth! I screamed at that point. Terrified I was, of that thing in the sky. Then it swooped down and – POW! It crashed into our house. Luckily Dad was at the fields and Mum wasn’t in the house. I was scared all right, shaking in my boots I was! I didn’t know what to do.

Will arrived and dragged me out of the hole. My dad arrived, and he thought I’d burnt the house down or something! Then he saw the dragon. It took him several hours to recover while Mum Apparated to the King to inform him of the dragon. She was gone several hours and eventually me and dad had to eat at Will’s parents’ house. They weren’t pleased. We munched our way through half their stock.

Luckily, Mum wasn’t gone too long. Poor Dad was getting very worked up! It must’ve been tough on him, being a Muggle and all. He wasn’t the only one either. Will’s Dad had to keep casting spells on it to stop the Muggles noticing and several neighbours got really scared. Apparently, if an escaped dragon lands on your house, a curse is brought upon your family for generations to come. Personally, I think that’s a lot of muck! Nothing bad has happened to my family in ages! Anyway, the King’s Dragon Squad arrived and cleaned it all up, and the dragon was sent back into the wild.

That was apparently the first in several dragon escapes across the country. Fancy that! Our house was the first! My mum told me they called it ‘The Great Dragon Escape of 1320-something’ and we were a part of history! So there, that was my story, so how about we have a game of Knights, eh?
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