Mioha was sitting on the thick roots of a huge oak tree whose branches were rustling softly in the wind. Letting her gaze travel across the clearing, she saw that the damage the dragoness had done to the trees was greater than she had realized.

She would have to come back and heal them when the dragons were gone, no doubt the dragon keepers would notice if the sliced trees would suddenly stand tall again.

Raising her glass to her lips, Mioha took another sip of the water, enjoying the sensation of the refreshing liquid running down her parched throat.

The other dragon-keepers had left, now only Hagrid, Professor McGonagall and Mr. Weasley were with her in the clearing,  standing close to the cage to watch the dozing Swedish Short-Snout.

"Five minutes!", Mr. Weasley called over and walked up near the spot that bore the red X, although patches of dirt and deep claw marks had let it lose its vibrant color.

Setting down the glass onto the root next to her, Mioha stood up and stretched her back, feeling the bones crack loudly.

It was 7:55 a.m.

The Slytherin joined Mr. Weasley at his side, the two Professors walking over as well.

Anxiety started to bubble up in Mioha as she stared at the X. Would the Chinese Fireball be more aggressive? Or less?

"Jess", Hagrid suddenly said, "watch out for the-"

Whatever he had wanted to say, it was lost under the loud roar that slap-bang resounded across the clearing.

The dragon that had appeared was covered in scarlet-red scales that gleamed in the sunlight. Its body was long and slim, the wings pressed to its body with thick, iron chains just like with the silvery-blue dragon. It had a fringe of golden spikes around its face, which explained why the dragon was also called the 'Liondragon'. There were golden spikes also running down its back, but the tail ended in a tuft of fur.

Silver chains were wrapped around the dragon's snout, gleaming red from the great body heat of the beast.

The ends of the chains were again held by a dozen witches and wizards, this time different people than before.

Mioha swallowed.
Here we go again, she thought.

In the end, the Chinese Fireball was much more tolerant than the Swedish Short-Snout, although Mioha quickly discovered what Hagrid had wanted to say.

The dragoness could also spew fire out of her nostrils, which looked like two fiery cannonballs flying through the air.

Luckily, the dragoness listened to Mioha much quicker than Caerinn had, which resulted in only Hagrid catching on fire.

He had jumped and thrown his burning coat off before stomping on it to extinguish the flames, the Swedish Short-Snout watching curiously as the half-giant swore loudly into his smoking beard.

Mioha got a death threat from the Chinese Fireball since the dragon mother was also worried about her eggs.

But finally, after half an hour and some light burns, Mioha had gotten the dragoness into her cage, feeling even more exhausted due to the emotion bridge draining her energy.

What is your name, if I may ask?, said Mioha dizzily, steading herself at the open iron gate.

Leona, the dragoness hissed, a puff of smoke escaping her red nostrils.

Bowing one last time, Mioha closed the gate and cut the emotion bridge between her and Leona. She swayed over to her tree roots and sat down with a sigh, vaguely hearing the dragon-keepers disappear via Portkey.

"Miss Lince", she heard the distorted voice of Professor McGonagall, a loud ringing filling her ears. She looked up tiredly, her hand shakily clutching her glass.

"Are you alright?", the older witch asked, her eyes looking slightly worried.

Mioha smiled weakly.

"I'm fine", she reassured her teacher and emptied her glass, her hand shaking noticeably.

"Will you manage the two dragons that are left?", Professor McGonagall inquired and refilled Mioha's glass with a flick of her wand.

"Thank you", Mioha mumbled and gulped the water down, feeling slightly better afterwards. At least her hands stopped shaking.
"I can manage", she finally said, her voice stronger now. She could feel Professor McGonagall's eyes boring into her head, but she was determined to finish her job.

Clearing her throat loudly, Mioha asked: "Which dragon is next?"

"The Wyvern", Mr. Weasley answered, sitting down next to Mioha on a thick root. It was, once again, only him, Professor McGonagall, Hagrid and Mioha in the clearing.

"The Wyvern is a bipedal dragon", the redhead explained, his eyes glowing excitedly.

Mioha smirked.
He and Hagrid would have a lot of fun discussing dragons.

"What you have to be aware of is the poisonous barb at the end of its tail", Mr. Weasley said, looking at her seriously. "That poison is so strong, it can kill a grown man in a matter of minutes. The tail will be secured, but be warned, the Wyvern will try to get it free."

Mioha breathed in shakily and looked up, Professor McGonagall appeared like she was going to have a heart attack.
"Are you alright, Professor?", asked the Slytherin softly.

Professor McGonagall barked a short laugh.

"Am I alright? I am more concerned about four dangerous dragons being held right next to Hogwarts."

The older witch shook her head and muttered something that sounded like 'Albus' and 'mad', before she straightened her back, her eyes looking at Mr. Weasley sharply.

"I assume that some of your colleagues will spend the nights here with the dragons?", asked the Professor curtly.

"Yes, ma'am", Mr. Weasley replied politely. "We have four groups with a dozen dragon-keepers each, they will alternate each night."

Professor McGonagall nodded, waving her wand through the air to cast a non-verbal Tempus charm.

The golden digits showed it was 8:58.

"Oh, dragon droppings!", Mr. Weasley cursed, not noticing Professor McGonagall raising an eyebrow at his choice of words, and jumped up hurriedly. The wizard walked over to the X quickly, his wand drawn and ready.

Mioha set her glass aside and took a deep breath before getting up on her feet.

She could do this.

Professor McGonagall joined her at one side and Hagrid at the other as she stepped closer to the red X, barely visible now.

"Any second...", whispered Mr. Weasley, his eyes fixed on the spot where the dragon would appear. 

And then a loud crack broke the silence. There were about a dozen dragon-keepers, holding long, slim iron chains wrapped around a brown-scaled dragon with green wings. It only had two hind legs, and since its wings it needed for standing up were pressed into its side, the Wyvern kept toppling over and losing its balance.

It growled furiously, lashing out with its tail. The tip of it was encased in a large, metal box, which already had many dents in it. The Wvern was smaller compared to the other two, yet its movements were extremely fast. It whipped its head around and tried to slither across the ground in snake-like movements, making it harder for the dragon-keepers to keep their hold on the chains without getting squashed.

Breathing in deeply, Mioha felt, for the third time, for her magic, noticing that its glow inside her had grown weaker.

She would need a long nap after the last dragon.

Mioha let her magic flow through the air into the Wyvern, creating an invisible connection between them.

She gasped, her knees almost buckling beneath her as she was overwhelmed by angry emotions.

Fury, hate, blinding rage.

The dragoness basically saw red, she couldn't form any comprehensive thought anymore.

Mioha struggled internally as she fought to keep control over her own emotions, trying not to get consumed by hate. She felt the dragoness' feelings creep into her own skin, letting her own anger against the Death Eaters blaze up. Mioha felt her control slipping, the emotion bridge was breaking.

No!, Mioha shouted at herself, clenching her fingers so tightly that her nails almost drew blood from the palm of her hands.
She forced herself to feel calm and happy emotions, to remember the good times she had with her herd and her friends, and slowly regained control over herself.

Mioha breathed in deeply, feeling her heartbeat finally slow down.

Sending those emotions down the connections, Mioha closed her eyes, trying to feel and hear the dragoness at the same time.

It was partially working, the hate and anger was subsiding slowly. The dragoness' heart was still beating heavily, but its fast pace reduced after a few moments, letting the red haze in front of the Wyvern's eyes clear.

Mioha continued to calm down the dragoness, feeling extremely relieved when she heard her growl: I will kill you.

Alright, she was not relieved about that, more over the fact that the dragoness could think clearly again.

Please don't.
Now came the next step.