Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Hogwarts Arc

Chapter Four : Prehnite

Green prehnite is a gem with a mystical aura. Prehnite is said to be the stone of remembered dreams, meditation and prophecy.

Clover Town, Fiore, Earthland; Year X784

"N-no way...!"

"Sting?" Lapis frowned in confusion as his friend staggered to a stop, and the green eyed mage shared a look with an equally confused Rogue. He shoved the jewels the three had just made through helping a kind old lady with a wolf problem on her farm, and they had been on their way to the closest market for fresh fruits when the only blond in their group had frozen, eyes drawn to something to their left.

Sting shot away from them, scooping a newspaper off of an abandoned bench, and the other two boys followed.

Lapis glanced at Sting worriedly, and said worry grew even more potent as he watched tears begin to well in his blue eyes. "Sting?!"

The blond's hands shook, and Rogue's red eyes shifted to the papers in his fellow Dragon Slayer's white-knuckled fists, where his face immediately paled.

"They- they're gone?!" Sting whispered coarsely, finally tearing tear-filled cornflower blue eyes away from the paper in his hands to meet Lapis' single green one. "How - this is - N-Natsu-san... I don't understand...? How?" His lips wobbled, and the tears finally began to fall.

And that was when Lapis finally got a good look at the paper, at the image of an empty sea next to another of a group of smiling mages; Fairy Tail's most powerful and well-known magic users.

Fairy Tail Mages Annihilated By Dragon - Sacred Island Destroyed

"Gajeel-san?" Rogue murmured in stunned shock, tears of his own gathering in stunned red eyes, and a small part of Lapis was glad Frosch and Lector weren't there to see their Dragon Slayers break down at the loss of their heroes and idols.

"W-why? How?!" Sting's voice shook violently as his shoulders heaved with miserable, muffled sobs. "Natsu-san lost to a dragon? He was stronger than me!"

Lapis moved forward, gently prying the newspaper from Sting's shaking hands and placing it back onto the bench so that he could turn to get her his two larger friends into a tight hug. Rogue went still and quiet, but Lapis could feel one of his hands knot into the fabric of his shirt, while, on the other hand, Sting hiccuped tearfully and buried his damp face in Lapis' shoulder.

The fruit could wait.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Scotland, Earth; 31 October 1994

It had started with Lapis' frantic, terrified screaming.

Sting and Rogue had been seated by the small stream by their camp, effectively skinning the rabbits they had caught earlier in the day while their God Slayer was closer to their tent with Lector and Frosch preparing to make a stew from their day's catch. The two Dragon Slayers were talking, excitedly and cheerfully in Sting's case, and reserved but amused for Rogue, about their day's training.

And then their sensitive ears picked up on their final human companion's screams.

The rabbits had fallen into the water with a splash, and the two Dragon Slayers bolted back towards the camp.

Lapis had been crouched, wild-eyed and horrified, his arms shielding his head, in the center of a ring of golden flames. The Exceeds had been huddled into the terrified God Slayer's side, scared eyes flickering between the pulsing ring of fire that was steadily becoming a dome, and Lapis' curled-up form. Sting had moved immediately, Rogue hot on his heels, bursting through the golden blaze, absently noting that the fire did not burn him, to roll up next to Lapis, Lector, and Frosch.

And in that moment the dome had closed, the flames pulsed one last time, and the sudden, tugging feeling in Sting's navel preceeded the startling explosion of light that overtook the group of five.

It had started with Lapis' screams, and now they found themselves in front of an old man with a stupidly long beard, in a strange stone room filled with other people, all of whom were whispering about the name 'Harry Potter'.

Sting bristled even further as the old man's eyes flicked from Sting, to Rogue, and finally to Lapis, who's screams had tapered off to a traumatized silence, and who Sting could smell the fear wafting off of.

From the looks of it, Sting could blame the old man for his God Slayer's terror. Part of him wanted nothing more than to throw himself at the old bastard and tear out his throat to present to Lapis for the man's actions, an instinct very much that of a dragon, but the other part, the part that was more human than anything else, wanted to curl around the smaller boy and comfort him, and it was the immense difference between the two instincts that was making the blond Dragon Slayer so much more irratable than he would have been.

"Oy! Who the fuck are you, you stupid old fart?!" Sting snapped harshly, baring his teeth furiously at the old man, and he knew Rogue was already prepping himself in case they had to fight their way out of where ever they had been transported to. "Was that stupid fire dome your spell?!"

The old man smiled kindly, in a way that made Sting's spine prickle in unease, spreading his hands in what was probably supposed to be a welcoming manner, but only succeeded in making Sting and Rogue tense, their magic bubbling beneath the surface. "Ah, my apologies, my name is Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts. It would seem you were pulled in alongside Mister Potter in the summoning done by the Goblet of Fire for the Triwizard Tournament."

"We don't know no Mister Potter!" Sting spat, "But I do know that you hurt my friend, you sunnovabitch!" A growl tore itself from the White Dragon Slayer's throat, one that was echoed by his Shadow counterpart as his agitation affected his Pridemate, and even both Lector and Frosch were affected, hissing quietly as they pressed closer to the too-silent Lapis.

The old man - Dumbledore or whatever - looked slightly unsettled by the steadily more animalistic qualities of the aggravated teenagers. "Mayhaps we should move to an adjoining chamber, my boy, to talk more privately? Our matron, Madam Pomfrey, can help your young friend."

Rogue growled in disquiet at the suggestion, but his red eyes shifted to Sting, the more aggressive of the two in that moment, for the decision; their small Pride may not have had an Alpha, but Sting was the one most affected of the two, which meant the choice was his, and as much as Sting did not want to move to another confined space, he also had Lapis' mental state to think of. Sting's head swiveled towards Lapis' still form, and he shifted nervously.

But his mind was made up; his God Slayer came first.

He moved, scooping the smaller boy into his arms, and shot the old man one more displeased snarl as he hugged Lapis to his chest. He saw the flash of displeased recognition in the man's eyes, and knew the old fart had gotten the message and understood the threat.

If he tried anything, Sting would not hesitate to allow his dragon instincts to take over, and the man would not be pleased with the outcome.