The Ridiculously Awesome Scary Adventurous Adventures of Fantasioso St. Catchpole-Sa16+

Author's Note: It's been a while but I hope that people still read fanfiction. Particularly mine. I hope everyone likes this . . . it will probably be novel length and definitely be full of adventure. And maybe some Teddy and Otty.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to anything HP, I may only borrow them. All hail the Queen that is J.K. Rowling.


"He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad." Raphael Sabatini, Scaramouche

Dragons are beautiful creatures, from a xenozoological stand point or even from a distance but up close and personal is an entirely different matter altogether, Marius thought to himself. Still, faint heart never won fair maiden, and there was no fairer maiden than the prize for which he sought this particular dragon's egg. Though his brain insisted on reminding him that a dead heart was no improvement on a faint heart. But whatever voice was reason's anti-thesis, it too was the greater and the stronger of the two.
He walked into the cave slowly, wand in hand for all the good it might do him. Surely 14 years was not a long time to have any great and true measure of life, but what good would 60 bland years be compared to 30 good adventurous ones? He sighed. Standing at the mouth of the cave he would have to decide. Do you dare or do you scare?



"It truly was a horrid thing sending him to do that Arsène. You're such a . . . such a . . . "

The man looked up from the book he was glancing through to say, "Having trouble finding the right word, dear?"

"You basilisk! You cur! Swine! I swear there aren't enough despicable words to describe your utter villainy," she ended with a huff and sitting down in the chair in the darkened study.

"Yet you just came out with three. Amusing. But seriously Amelia, we don't have time for these silly little shenanigans. I'm expecting a very important guest. Do you want to make tea?" He asked with the utmost sincerity.

The man was not trying to be difficult. He was not trying to be smart, quite honestly, and Amelia well knew this, it was just that Arsène could not help but be a total self-involved git. It came of dealing with genius, Amelia knew, and sighed. Genius or not someday his capricious nature would cost him her help. It wasn't a lot of people who could handle correspondence, some of which was cursed, and potentially lethal, as well as the occasional errand that sent her to dangerous places, and then outright felony which had resulted in breaking and entering, stealing and other assorted criminal acts all in the name of capturing the bad guy. Arsène was hardly a hero, but that didn't preclude him doing heroic things.

Amelia stood up, and walked out of the study. The slamming door left Arsène without the certainty of tea. But then again, what was magic for if not for the little things.

"You're going to frighten that girl away, Monsieur. You should have a care," came a soft purring voice from what one could have mistaken for a bookend, in the shape of a grey tabby.

"She's a secretary, Ollie, don't get so misty eyed." He slammed the book he was holding and put it down on his desk. It did not contain any mention of the sacred stones of amarais. "She's easily replaced--"

The door opened just then. Amelia stood there flabbergasted. At a loss for words, yet again. Not for any silly romantic notion, clearly. Not in the girlish way she wished she could have a man leave her. No. In the usual way, sadly. The way Arsène always left her . . . wondering which of a plethora of foul words to use to scream at the man.

"Dumbledore," was the only word that came out. She slammed the door again.

"You seriously are pushing it," the cat replied.

*has read* I can really say I never have forgotten what a great writer you are, Ottery! *waits patiently for more*

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

*has read* I can really say I never have forgotten what a great writer you are, Ottery! *waits patiently for more*

Here's hoping you forget what a really slow writer I am too, Oh Fearless Leader.

Here's another go . . . the first post didn't have enough action I imagine for some people. Gotta sell it better. *rolls up sleeves*



WolfSangue Academy of Magical and Martial Arts, Great Britain c. 1914


The grumblings and stirrings of anger and violence stir through Europe. The assassination of the Archduke has people calling for war, in the muggle world, the reasoned voices calling for calm and thought drowned out by impassioned fools. Meanwhile in the magical world a sense of great peace and ease settles into complacency allowing for apathy which always leads to abuses of power.

Luka Berliner Rosenthal was the professor of Defensive Arts at the WolfSangue Academy. What was of particular interest to lexicographers might be the lack of the word magic as a descriptor for Professor Luka's class. This had been no happy accident. The professors of old who had founded WolfSangue wanting to differentiate themselves from the four who had founded Hogwarts had felt the desire, as well as need, to teach their students how to defend themselves in every way, in what had then been a more violent world, in particular towards those who practiced magic. Hogwarts taught Defense Against The Dark Arts, Durmstrang entertained the Dark Arts within their halls but WolfSangue alone prided itself with preparing their students to be soldiers for magic in the muggle world. And there was no stronger proponent to that lesson than the esteemed Professor Luka, which his students well understood, much to their chagrin.

"Again!" He barked.

"Professor," whined a young girl. The other students gave her dirty stares and threatening looks. "I can't . . . I just . . . I'm tired."

"That's nice Ms. Dalton. I don't know that the wraith seems to care. He still looks as if he wants your blood."

The young girl screamed as . . .



AN: Oh bother, look at the time . . . gotta go. Busy, busy, busy. Its the holiday season you all understand. I will have to come back to this again, tomorrow one hopes. You may all think you know where this is going, but I swear, you do not. I should add a poll too. Hmm.

~Otty!!!! Welcome back! Missed ya bunches! I just got my laptop for the first time today as it has been on loan to my son's friend visiting. It has already seen many hours today of League of Legends and other countless hours of some fantasy game they enjoy playing. Please don't turn me into the SPAM guards; I aim to make my point... starting with this.... WELCOME BACK OTTERY ST. CATCHPOLE!!!! Oh I said that already, sorry, I'm just excited. Here we go to your ff... :choochoo: I LOVE dragons! And your last sentence ^ makes me want to make sure I have my wand at all times while reading your ff. I am anxious to find out who the fair maiden is and what is so special about this dragon egg that is being searched for.... Of course I do not expect any answer; I just like to think out loud. I love your opening to the story and I have read the whole thing 3 times already while commenting. I am already on the train ride and excited for the journey. (I must be careful because the last train ride I was observing a story from had a horrendous accident if you can call an all out attack on it an accident; but you can call it horrendous) Anyway back to the highlight, I'm thrilled to see you still have your brilliant wit and sense of humor. Don't you hate it when that happens? But still, the more you hate it the more of a challenge the power seekers rise to. This sounds very interesting in so many ways and I can't wait to find out more. wraith? I will of course keep an open mind throughout your ff and I try to give people a chance, but right now at this first meeting; I do not like Professor Luka Berliner Rosentha.

Please don't leave us waiting for someone to pull that wraith away from sucking that poor young girls blood!

So great getting to read another Ottery St. Catchpole ff again, and I love that you have; Hope that this tabby has some more storyline. I'll be watching for your next post.

You're too sweet Connie. I'm glad I have readers. Its nice. I'm feeling much loved. You had a lot to say about my story . . . I'm trying to read other people's stories because its so sad that no one seems to be reading anymore . . . I feel so sad. I remember when I had to go posts to posts to post to find my last post so I could update. Now, I'm seeing a lot of author's double post . . .

So sad.

♥'s

The young girl screamed as the dark blood wraith advanced on her. Her hand was outstretched blasting the creature with a steady spell of banishment, but being that she was trying to look away from the creature's hideously cold features the spell was not working.

"You have to stare into its cold eyes, Ms. Dalton. You must concentrate and banish the beast, or it will get you and freeze your blood. Allow me to explain. Death by blood freezing is a horrendous way to go. It slowly coagulates within your veins, and you slowly asphyxiate if your organs do not first . . ."

The young Ms. Dalton would have followed that thought to its logical conclusion but she had had enough. A room full of Blood Wraiths felt like a meat locker, everyone's breath misting. A soft thin ice formed on the windows and on some of the students desks. The cold, the fear, the screaming and terror from the other students, who like her, battled their tormentors had pushed her to her limits. She screamed and dropped her wand and started running.

The wraith's claws were upon her and its hands were chilling her blood.

"Foolish girl!" Professor Luka exclaimed. His wand was up and banishing the creature. It turned to face him. Its long icicle nails slashed at him but with a wave of his wand he exploded the creature into a shower of icicles and snowflakes.

He turned to the class. Pulled a box from his robes opened it and with another wave of his wand and a silent spell he summoned all the wraiths into the box.

"Giovanni! Take Ms. Dalton to the nursery, immediately. He cursed, as the students collapsed to the floor, or onto each other. Some of the girls and a boy or two broke down crying. "Class is dismissed!"

He walked out with a clatter of his boots on the floor completely disgusted at the weakness of his students. They were not doing as well as last year's first years.



Also Connie, there will be many dragons and also . . . about Luka. Don't judge him too quickly . . . my characters aren't simple and obvious and also don't forget :simm:

~Otty, I read this between 1-2:00 this morning but thought I'd wait for a little bit to let others see a different name on the posts. It is sad and rather depressing that there are so few people who post comments on these ff's. Ah the good ole days, I remember them well. But of course Monsieur. I know the secret of reading an Ottery St. Catchpole ff is to read between the lines, and think ahead of what could be. But can you blame her?!?!?!?!?!? She should buck up though and learn what she is being taught. :arg: How do they expect to eat their pudding if they don't eat their meat? And I am keeping an open mind on Professor Luka like I said, so I won't judge him at all. But I have to tell you, he is not on getting a Christmas present from me this year.

Short but wonderful post, I love it. On another note; Do you think Santa Clause delivers presents to the Space Station? How else do they get their Christmas? They are in need of a new space suit. The one they have fills up with water when it is put on. Don't know how that could happen (unless one of those wraiths from your ff shows up unexpectedly ). Hope to see another post soon ~Otty.

Firstly, you should go to bed early Connie. Early to bed, early to rise. And well, we don't write for praise. Though it would be nice at least to know people out there really existed. Whatever. Their loss. Its more fun to play, than just to watch.

That said, let's play shall we?

And I haven't even gotten really that far in the story yet, but yes. There will be many mysteries . . . and unanswered questions ahead.

*fires the cannons*

Marius wanted a long life, but dragon's eggs are worth a mint and a half and a long poor life was simply not in the cards for him, he decided in that instant. He took out his wand and with a magical incantation and a flick of his wrist it transformed into a blade in his hand. It would glow if there were danger nearby. It was a trick a friend of his had taught him. He wondered where Fantasioso was. After all, five posts in and he hadn't bothered to make an appearance in his own story.

He tried to calm his breathing. Marius' heart was a whole 'nother matter. It beast as fast as a rabbits legs running from a fox. It was likelier the rabbit had better odds against the fox than he did against the dragon. Last he had checked foxes could not project fire at their prey.

"Seriously. Stop it!" he silently told his brain. "Yes it was difficult breathing in the noxious smell of sulfur, and dragon spoor. There were no beasts in the cave either, but there were bones and rotted carcasses of beasts that the dragon had eaten. The smell of decay was faintly present, under the foul stench of dragon. Marius didn't know if that was a mercy or not.

The cave was long and winding like a snake. It was an old dragon trick to catch their prey when they became too old and not so sprightly. Their flames would flood the passages easily, then they could simply slither or saunter in the direction of their roasted feast. It was hot and muggy too. Somewhere deep in the inner caverns there was bound to be a source of water. The steam in the air was being created by something.

Marius would not be lucky enough to find an empty cave.



"Professor Dumbledore," Arsène remarked kindly putting out his hand to shake the young man's, when his smile faded. There was another gentleman behind him, a dark haired young man who lacked the warm smile that the young blonde gentleman seemed to radiate so kindly and quietly. "And company I see. My name is . . . "

"Arsène Montserrat, yes I know. You have it plastered everywhere it seems. You're a procurer, you say?"

"I pride myself on that little fact."

"Good. Well, we're here to test the veracity of that occupation. We are in need of a certain object."



AN: Okay so . . . this is hard to write at the office when everyone is being weird. My apologies . . . I will add more laters . . . aaargh, wretched Mondays.

EDIT: Expect Hermione . . . and maybe Ron. What? Yes, I know this takes place in 1916, so? and Otty and Teddy but we were always there . . .

I'm smiling ear to ear as I am reading your first posts. That's my Ottery! I love how you've refined your writing style. You get better and better. Love it. You grab me in the first post, great job setting a tone and I want to know more! I am not so good at quoting specifics on my tablet, but give me time.

All I can say is this will get me to visit SS more often..... Novel length fic! WOOT!!

~Otty, You know how you're driving down the road and pass a bread plant; your mouth waters for the taste of the freshly baked bread and you go in to the onsite store where you can buy the bread, but you can have a small sample right there and then? Yeah, same thing with reading your ff love the bites but can't wait for more later; and later just doesn't come often enough. A very handy blade! I once read about a Hobbit who had one as well. Super cool! I'm sure he's on his way. Grand entrances must be pulled off in style or else it's just a waist of time travel and universe jumping. He is able to get what he went in for though right? And he's able to get out ok? Who is this guy? ??? He reminds me of a cross between Snape and Lucius Malfoy. I'm anxious to find out what they are wanting. And I can't wait to see if Marius makes it out of the dragon cave ok. Is he ... never mind. I don't want to take a chance on spoiling the milk. I will figure it out my own self. (most likely after you write it. Yes, but they are friends with ... others there ... who knows how to time travel.
Can't wait to get more to read ~Otty. Hope the people at work quit being wierd so you can write more soon. Love your ff pal.

Where to begin? You're super sweet Lissylove. I'm glad you're back on SS. I wish you were still modding or something (cuz you'd be here more often) but being grown ups we don't have the luxury of time.

Thank you . . . I have been writing a lot off SS since I left. Its nice to see I've gotten better with age.

Yay. Its always fun on SS, but its better with friends.

You're too cute Connie. I was hoping we could chat. I saw you signed on but . . . I guess you're not here. Neways, I'm going to try reading your fic soon. But it will probably be after the holidays. *sighs* So busy. I will be off the computer from this Saturday until probably next Friday. My home internet doesn't work and I won't be at work. So . . . this may be my last post for a while. Or I might sneak on from my Aunt's House. We shall see.

If I'm not on, I hope you all (my readers, real and imagined, invisible, and posting) have a seriously awesome Christmas, Festivus or just a swell holiday with your families, friends, and anyone you love and adore as I love and adore y'all.

Merry Christmas *fires the cannons* and Happy Holidays!

*has caught up on the posts* Ottery, I just love your siggie! And this FF has got me so curious! Ron & Hermione? Can't wait to find out what's gonna happen there

Hope you come back soon Happy holidays to you too!

Thanks Fearless. You have a good holiday, and lets see if I can actually put up a post this time. Thank you for reading too.


The sound of rumbling, like rocks tumbling over one another echoed slowly and softly at first down the long winding tunnels. Marius cursed. The dragon was awake.

He took a deep breath and kept on. If he was going to work with Arsène he would have to be able to procure for the gentlemanly wizard that which he desired. The master adventurer's reputation was renowned and infamous. Marius Triton was not a name anyone knew, nor would they if he didn't make something of it, which is what had led to him skipping out of Hogwarts and going on this little quest despite his friends advice. But it was the start of term, and things were boring at the school right now. This, this here. Now this, was excitement.

Perhaps a little too much excitement.

"What little thief skulks through my lair?" came a voice like tiny rocks tumbling on down a mountain. "Who dareth encroach upon my domain?" The creature ended it with a rasping sound not unlike a laugh.

"There's two ways to play this," thought Marius to himself, as he stood with his back uncomfortably against a rounded wall of the cave. "I can be brave and scream out who I am, and play it bold, like a hero. Or . . . I can quietly skulk in like a thief."

"Or you could do everything I say, and, perhaps walk out of here with a little treasure, what you want and your life. I think that last one in particular, might be of some interest to you," came a voice, as if from an angel on high.

Marius looked up to see . . .



AN: I am that mean

Okay, I'm not.

"Or you could do everything I say, and, perhaps walk out of here with a little treasure, what you want and your life. I think that last one in particular, might be of some interest to you," came a voice, as if from an angel on high.

Marius looked up to see a cat flying in the air. He was a black cat wearing a top hat and a monocle, which in the wizarding world is not entirely out of the ordinary. No. It was not the gentleman cat's attire that so surprised him but rather that behind him a pair of white wings flapped and kept him in the air. Wings attached to the cat's back, and not by a harness.

"How . . . you're a bird?"

"I'm a plane, I'm supercat. Honey, I'm anything you need me to be. And right now what you need me to be is your best friend and your saviour, because honestly, you've bitten off a lot more than you can chew. Now shut up and listen carefully. If you're really smart, you just might get out of here alive."



AN: I'm sure everyone saw the cat coming . . . but did you think he would fly? Also, as with all my stories, I should warn everyone that I am fudging the events and things that are canonical for the sake of an interesting story. I.e. Gellert and Albus are still friends way into their adult lives . . . the tragic events at the Hollow will happen much later in the timeline of this story.

Arsène sat back in his chair. He wasn't taken aback too much by Dumbledore's companion. He knew people of money and he knew how they behaved. Wealth gave some the misimpression that they could simply treat everyone who had less as another instrument for their vanity and self-serving natures. But he was accustomed to it. Simply because someone thought they were better than you did not make it so. Besides which, they came to him. He never went looking for work. It was his clients who came looking for his particular skill set, and if they grew too ornery to deal with, they were welcome to exit through the door they came and settle for a lesser abled individual. If they could find someone in his particular expertise.

"Monsieur Grindelwald, the object you seek is not the one you need, and the object you want is not one I wish to procure for you. Or anyone for that matter."

"Didn't I tell you Albus that this man's talents were exaggerated?" Gellert remarked to his companion having turned his back on Arsène.

"Perhaps you should hear what it is we want you to find first, no?" Asked the young gentleman.

"I know what it is you two are looking for. The Gifts of the Ancients. And allow me to inform you gentlemen that while it is true that I was able to acquire one of them, it was at great personal loss, and to any who quest to find them I will not wish a successful journey. For those objects are dangerous, and any quest to find them is cursed from the start. They will come when they are needed to those who need them. Not to those who seek for them."

The cat in the bookcase yawned.

"Those sound like the words of a coward," Gellert said, with his back still to Arsène.

"That may be your interpretation Monsieur Grindelwald. Yes, I know who you are. You esteemed gentlemen are on a quest to change the wizarding world. I applaud you for that. I don't know what, or how you hope to achieve that, though if you think you're going to do it with the Gifts of the Ancients, allow me to tell you, that is not going to happen."

"I think we've wasted enough time here Dumbledore," Gellert said, putting his hat back on, he flicked his wrist and opened the door to the study. He made to walk out dramatically but Amelia was standing there with a tea tray.

"I . . . I will write you, Monsieur Arsène." Dumbledore replied, putting on his muggle hat and following his friend, now that Amelia had entered the room.

"But won't you stay for tea at least gentlemen?" she asked. She turned to look at her employer. What the devil had he done now to upset those nice, young gentlemen?

Hey ~Otty! Hope you and your family had a Merry Christmas. I have been trying to comment all week on SS, but the site is just crawling! And then I finally did get to and it didn't post it. :arg: Anyway, I'll try again since I posted on my ff and everything went fine, except for being so slow. I loved this post and can't wait until you post more. Maybe that might be today right? I love the way your posts, even though some might be short, they have so much information in them that could easily be overlooked. Very tricky of you. Sad that kids think they have to make a name for themselves. Why couldn't Marius just be sitting bored in his class at Hogwarts with his friends daydreaming of adventures? Now I will worry about him. Love, love, love the cat. Not just any old cat either. I read this (Marius looked up to see . . .) and thought, would my pal be mean and hide clues in white so we have to highlight to see his brilliance? So I did... nothing there. And then I read what you wrote next; LOL ROTFL As you can see, my smilies won't pull up, so I'm just making due with text lingo, which I'm not good at. Anyway, love your brilliance. On with more favorites... Again, I love the cat and his lines; he seems to be very intelligent and brave. And I am thrilled he can fly! My imagination is going wild with the possibilities. I'm so glad you did this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!! I always thought that Dumbledore was way too wise, powerful, and experienced for not being able to travel in his youth because of the tragedies that befell his family. Yes, I love what you have done, and I am not belittling our beloved JK for the way she wrote her story. I just like your way better sometimes. Oh yea! My smilies work again. So very true! I'm still not sure if I like Arsène, but I do like how intelligent he is and how well he can wield his words. For another instance; And with that, I'm going to quit until you post some more. I hope you are able to post soon, I must read more!

Sooooo, I may have come back to SS after many years away just so I could give this little masterpiece of yours some love... I've missed your writing, loves! I've been wanting to get back into mine for ages but haven't seemed to have the time. *sigh* Maybe now I'm not studying anymore... ❤️

Random Facts: The link to this story on my office computer is filed in a folder I affectionately titled Shenanigans.


Hello Conners. I'm still uhm, surprised you like Bleach. *cough*Naruto'sbetter*cough* but hey, we all love anime here. I especially am enamored of Card Captor Sakura . . . for obvious reasons.

To answer that well . . . imagine, fifteen chapters of this:

padfoot_88 you came to my story Oh Shan-Shan. I've missed you. I'm still working on your silly birthday card . . . I'm double sad now . . .

Onto the story!

"Wait, cats don't have wings," Marius remarked. "I mean . . ."

The cat flew down gently landing in front of the boy. He put a paw to his face, which is the cat's way of saying, "shushers."

The boy continued to mouth something which the cat politely smiled and ignored. With a leap and a flutter of wings the cat jumped onto the boy's shoulder where he perched himself and began whispering something in his ear.

Marius started walking towards the lair of the dragon. His steps cautious and stumbling a little as the weight of his foolish attempt suddenly came crashing through his chest like a madman bursting down a doorway. The ground beneath him seemed to disappear and it took all the oxygen with it because he was finding it very hard to breathe all of a sudden.



AN: This story needs moar grrlz!

There was Angelica, and wherever you found the black haired little vixen her brown haired, shy companion Amelie was sure to follow. Mostly because Angelica was holding her hand dragging her into trouble.

"I don't know if we should be doing this," Amelie said quietly. They were walking down the darkened passageways of the castle after hours.

Angelica rolled her eyes in response. Seriously. This was so predictable. "Of course you don't want to be doing this. One, its fun and two, it could get us in trouble. Also three, we could get in serious trouble. Stealing food from the kitchens could get us into a lot of hot water. But the food is just going to sit there . . . and its not like its not for the students."

"I know Angie but still . . ." The darkness seemed to swallow the light of the tiny candle her friend carried. There was no going back. Not without her friend. The castle hallways were enchanted to be pitch black so that anyone trying to invade the school would get lost, hurt and plain confounded. Grown men had been found on their knees, crying and begging for mercy come morning.

"Cupcakes! Candy. Cakes! You know the quickest way to a boy's heart is through his stomach," Angelica explained. "It's a very simple formula." Her smile evinced a profound, long, careful study of the subject.

Amelie nodded, blushing.

Angelica continued. "Well, it's not like I'm looking for a boy. Well not for romance anyways. Aren't you even a little bit curious about what happened to Marius? He's been out for a couple of days now. I know his mates have to know something."

"Then why aren't we just sneaking into the infirmary? He's likely there. Dragon pox or something, maybe a quidditch injury."

"But he's not. I'm telling you. I heard the boys whispering about something. I know they know about Marius."

Amelie gave her friend a look. She knew Angelica was keeping back something.

"When I said I was going to the loo in Professor Aristophanes class, I actually sneaked over to the infirmary and he wasn't there."

It was Amelie's turn to roll her eyes. "You could just hex them. It wouldn't be the first time." Amelie replied.

"I'm trying something new. You get more bees with honey, Ottery always says."

Amelie blushed at the mention of the boy's name. Angelica rolled her eyes. Love was for the birds. And birds were for eating like duck a l'orange, or chicken soup.

AN: Not much, but I swear I will make time. I'm sorry I didn't have more female characters . . . and this seems directionless . . . it isn't . . . but the prologue needs to end. So . . . DEATH! BLOOD! GORE! As I'm about to start reading Game of Thrones and what I read tends to inspire my writing. I love you all. I will be back. SOON!

EDIT ADDITION:

"So you're here after my treasure, boy?" the great beast remarked as he saw the boy walk in to his lair. He could smell the fear coming from him, well before he had noticed the sweat dripping down his neck, and the tips of his hair matted with moisture against his head. Oh but they were delicious afraid for their lives. The meat was firm and tense from fear, but ever so delectable to a dragon's palate.

"What? No. Of course, not." Marius replied. God but his acting was horrible. He wasn't a drama student he was a wizard. Wizard Theater was not his calling and he knew he was blowing this. But as the cat had explained, his motivation being his continued existence then perhaps that would lend some credibility to his acting. "I c-came t-to, to see you, oh great one."

"You did now, did you?" the great beast stood up, a clinking shower of coins falling from his underbelly as he stretched his large, muscled legs. "But, why? It isn't often I get callers you know. It isn't polite to call, either, without you know, sending a notice ahead. Very, very rude. You understand."

"M-My sincerest apologies," Marius replied, bowing. And this would be when the great monster ate him. When he wasn't looking at the beast. A sharp snap and he'd be inside the creatures mouth. Well part of him anyways. "I-I . . . I needed to see you. I needed to see if what he'd said was true."

"How quaint. One of your little chums says something cute, or coy and you hurry along trying to find out if its true. Just had to see for yourself." The dragon walked around behind Marius as the boy walked farther into the cave. Everything glittered marvelously. There were piles and piles of gold and diamonds, jewels of every kind and all manner of weapons and armor and all manner of jewelry. It was impressive. What he imagined Gringott's looked like inside.

And this was where the clincher came in to play. If he didn't sell this next line, even the cat couldn't save him from that one.

And the cat. A yes, he was watching, safely perched in a crevice across from the boy and the cave entrance. He could hear and see everything. The boy's acting needed a little help but the dragon was drooling in delight at his next morsel. It was highly unlikely the beast could tell for savoring his next meal.

"We don't have time for those nice gentlemen, Amelia. Get me the powder, I have to make a call." He snapped his fingers at her.

Amelia politely set down the train and straightening her skirts walked out.

"I saw that look. Now you've done it, Arsène old boy," the tabby cat remarked from the bookcase.

"Done what? Can't you see this is urgent, cat? We don't have time for womanly, sensitivity. Amy is a sweet girl. She's a good chap. She doesn't go in for that sort of silly nonsense. She's got a head on her shoulders, a good one. Sometimes I think, she thinks like a man."

The door opened in that instant and a pouch came flying through the door, slamming into Arsene's face. It exploded in a shower of powder.

The cat said nothing.

Hey ~Otty, So happy you have a little more to read and thankful for whatever you have the time to write and post.
So often I sit and wonder during Professor Binns's class why Hogwarts doesn't replace him. Now I have the answer thanks to you. They offer this class so the students can have a place to go and write fantastic stories of adventure laced with a ribbon of romance intertwining the mind of the student with the adventure to the readers.

One can never know what goes on in a cat's brain, but I think you got this completely right! They put their paw right on your lips, to make you stop talking and meow at you until you get up and start finding out what they want. Do they even know or are they just wanting all your attention? But your cats are different; they can speak their minds. Like this for instance; I wish I was in on this adventure because I need to know what he whispered!!!!!!!!!!!!! But I don't know because I'm not in Professor Binn's class and I'm not on this adventure with Marius. I am however; sitting here at my laptop anxiously waiting for your next post.

I love this whole scene! I love how you wrote this whole scene, and I love the names you gave them because they are so opposite of what their character perceives to be. But then I should expect this from your brilliance. I don't think you need to apologize because I trust you to bring in characters that fit perfectly and at the right time. And I don't care about how many male, female characters there are, unless well if a ribbon of romance appears now and again. And as far as direction goes, that's exactly what makes adventures interesting; we don't know what direction is right or wrong. I trust your writing skills to lead us through all the entanglement and mystery but still keep us on the right path in the direction we need to go.

hehehehe Are children allowed in Gringott's? Hermione's parents go there for exchange of currency, but nothing is said about her going I don't think. (I could easily be wrong because of my memory) but none of the kids ever talk about it. Harry went of course since he is the only living member of the family. He loves the ride to the vaults. It seems like every kid would want to go for the magic cart ride and beg to go with their parents. Sorry, you just mentioned something I've always been curious about. :arg: Just when I think I'm about to find out the meaning of what was whispered into Marius's ear and what his drama acting he's being coached in delivers you end the post!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sometime your genius is annoying. (But it has me hooked and I cannot nor want to escape.)

I can't begin to tell you how much I enjoyed this little bit. Perfectly written! Not the first time he should have listened to the cat. LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL (smilie page refuses to accommodate me again.)

Well ~Otty, I have been on this post for three hours. LOL I keep getting interrupted. But I think I have covered everything. Just saying the posts are great just doesn't do justice. I want to make sure you know how much I love your ff, and the effort you take to post when you can. Can't wait for your next post.

Lean with it, rock with it,
When we gonna stop with it,
Lyrics that mean nothing, we were gifted with thought,
Is it time to move our feet to an introspective beat,
It ain't the speakers that bump hearts, it's our hearts that make the beat.

"Well, you see . . . my friend, Sombra said . . . w-well he said you weren't as powerful as a Swedish Short Snout . . . " Marius stopped.

The dragon's eyes colored a blazing orange, his massive jaw shut more tightly than the vault's at Gringott's, the creature let out a long breath through his nostrils. A wave of hot air sent the boy falling back.

"Aaaaaargh!" Screamed the beast, slamming her paw against the wall of the cave, causing a cascade of gold coins and jewels, armor and weapons. "WHO?!"

Marius felt the sweat beading on his face. His shirt stuck to his body. His breath too came out raggedly, for a different reason than the great beast's. Before the boy could rise to his feet and run as quickly as his heart was beating, the great dragon had stomped and slithered so that the boy suddenly felt his body pressed down by the great weight of the giant beast.

Marius could not face the beast, but he felt the monster's chin push down on him as he spoke, "Who did you say?" The question though voiced more softly held more threat than the surprised scream from before.

"Sombra, my . . . my friend Sombra," the boy said, trying to move out from under the beast's chin, unable to speak.

The dragon moved her head, and Marius sucked in a great breath of air. He clutched his chest and took out the vial from his pocket.

"No, no, no! What the hell is that boy doing?" the cat whispered to himself.

"What? You're not alone, boy. Who else is here?" the dragon asked slamming her feet down and turning back to the boy.

Using the wall behind him the boy dragged himself to his feet ready this time for the great beasts anger. He opened the vial and covering his mouth threw the powder at the dragon's eyes. The creature screamed as she threw her head back and Marius jumped out of the way. The dragon spat fire.

"Stupid, stupid boy!" the cat yelled, crouching down before it leapt into the air and flapped his wings.

The dragon turned and blinded by the green dust belched fire in the direction of the cat's voice.

"Sombra! Is that you? You damned cursed man!"

"You remembered me. After all this time? How sweet of you." The cat soared through the air. All the while searching. If only that boy had kept to the plan. But such was the danger of working with amateurs and wildcards.

Marius for his part scrambled ready to run. He slipped on the gold, yelped in pain as his chin struck the ground. He looked up as the beast stepped a hair's breath from his face. The stomp caused the gold to jump and fall and the boy's eye caught it. The crashing and thrashings of the beast had dislodged the gold from the creature's nest. In her anger and violence she'd revealed her golden nest. The boy got up, ran, grabbed an egg and fled for the door. He had done his part. Besides, a flying cat had a better chance than he at escaping the dragon.

Sombra the cat watched the boy fleeing. "Rank amateeeeeeeuuuuuur!" he yelled after him as the blind dragon tried to snatch him out of the air. He swooped and ducked under the creature's claws.

The cat landed on the treasure. "I didn't want to do this, Maylen!"

"You've never wanted to do anything that you've done, regardless of how violent, I'm sure. That's the excuse of so many tyrants!" The dragon slammed her tail down.

"Maylen, please!" Pleaded the cat.

"Death to you Sombra!" she screamed and released a blast of fire.

"I'm so sorry . . ." the cat said as he cast the enchantment.

Deep in his heart he felt sorrow. He would pay for this as he paid already all his past transgressions.

The dragon fell down. With her out of the way he could now find what he was looking for. The boy he would find later. He'd made sure to cast a subtle finding spell when he had first entered the cave. Either the boy was incredibly brave, which would make him an asset, or someone had sent him with the purpose of seeking out a dragon's egg and that in itself bore further investigating. But for now he had other thoughts on his mind. He was here for a reason too.



Professor Luka picked up the muggle telephone sitting on his desk. The cord was tied in a nice little knot that led nowhere as it was not connected to any phone lines, a spell had made it useful, what with his aversion to floo powder.

"Hello. Yes, Arsène old boy, how goes it? Yes. I've been good myself. No, I can't say I've heard from Amelia, I was going to ask . . . yes. No, not at all. Yes . . . of course, we can talk. Come by the school whenever you like."

There was a sudden explosion in the professor's fireplace and there stood a dusty and somewhat disheveled Arsène and next to him Oliver the cat.

"Why even right now would be fine," Luka said, as he tied the belt around his night robes. "Never mind that its midnight."

Prologue END!

AN: Things will, I promise, get more interesting.


Why dear Conners, you're making me blush but I do know cats. I think I was one in another life. One of those cats that doesn't like cats . . . I'm very territorial. Maybe I thought I was a dog, because I do love dogs.

You really do give me too much credit Conners, I admit, I did consciously do that to Angelica. Amelie, well, in her case it was pure luck.

It means a lot to me, Conners. As a father with a cute baby girl, I am daily confronted with the horror of either, not enough girls in stories, not any girls in any other roles than romantic ones, or worse, girls who are supposed to be empowering but are really just made up boy dreams of what a nice girl should be. Young girls need real role models, more human girl characters, which is why, I hate to pop this balloon but neither Amelie or Angelica will be romantically involved with any of the boys in the story.

Of course, I never said ANYTHING, about there not being any romance. Or that they were the only girls.

After all, girls do fall in love. So, not showing girls in the throes of romance is just as ludicrous as only ever showing girls in romantic situations.

I've got it all covered Conners, just leave the drivin' to me.

Hey ~Otty, I'm glad I got to post before you posted anymore. Sorry it took me so long to do this. I'm loving your ff more with every new post you make, and I check everyday for another post on it. I'm being patient though. You know how when you watch a movie or TV show and your all into the suspense and you're saying to the character, 'Don't go in there! or Don't set with your back to the window! or You're making too much noise, take off your shoes and RUN! ... Well, can you imagine when I read this what I was screaming at my laptop? I said, Are you kidding me?!?!?!?! Don't make an angry DRAGON more angry! But I love the thrill Otts, it's why I love reading your ff's so much; so don't think I want you to change anything cause I don't.

I'm trying to make this comment short because I don't want you to use up your time on my comment when you can be writing. At first I felt kind of sorry for Sombra because of Marius improvising and deviating from 'the plan' but then Sombra has his own agenda anyway it seems; so I'm going to hold out on feeling sorry for him for awhile, unless this doesn't turn out so good: I just don't know what to say or even think. What happened? Now I want to cry for him ... and the dragon.

I would love to just keep reading, but I'm thankful for what you gave us. And I must say I love this: to end the post. Great pick me up.

Great work ~Otty, I'll be watching for your next.

AN: Ending a prologue can take it out of you . . . life also, does this thing.

He petted the young boy on the head. "Always, Ottery, always remember . . . pretzels suck."

The little boy looked up with awe and wonder at the man that was his uncle, Fantasioso St. Catchpole. He stood tall, a dark haired man with wavy hair, eyes the color of soft brown bourbon, and the lightness of helium in his every other step. The man always seemed to be jumping, or rolling on the balls of his feet, and it seemed to Ottery that a swift hard wind would lift him and take him away. In fact, he had seen him do just that. He had winged shoes and he would click his heels together and the little wings would pop out and he'd take to the sky sometimes with Ottery in tow. The boy would laugh then and smile all the world growing smaller beneath him taking with it his worries and his fears and all the things that made him feel the weight of his body on a spinning sphere in the cosmos. It was in those instants that Ottery was a simple feather and his Uncle Fantasioso was the the wind.

"I don't think I like pretzels," the boy replied earnestly. "But, I was asking about muggles, Tio Fantasioso."

"They're just as bad my boy. Avoid them if you can. Weak little critters." He answered winking as he took a bite from a chocolate dipped pretzel.

...

Consider this a preview of the next chapter.

~Otty, I was really starting to worry that perhaps I was going to have to send out a search party for you. I was afraid you may have had to go to the dragon's lair to rescue Sombers and fell into the clutches of it. But you're back again and I apologize for fearing the worst. Joking aside, I'm happy to get this little snack for the next chapter. I'll hold off commenting on what you previewed for us except to say, I'm not fond of pretzels either, but I'm willing to snack on them if they're chocolate dipped like Fantasioso St. Catchpole's. I'm watching for your next chapter because I'm curious to see what is going on with little Ottery flying around in the sky with his uncle in the winged shoes.

The soft whisper of fine steel unsheathing quietly sounded in the dark. This woke Ottery with a start. He opened his eyes, the room covered in dark. A small laugh and as he made to move a hand pushed him back down on the bed. It was the touch of cold steel against his throat that kept him from crying out.

"If you try to make a sound, I swear it will be your last."

Ottery swallowed.



AN: Seriously . . . where is this going?

Hey ~Otty, please come on here and give us more story!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You know how my imagination runs wild when left alone in your ff's. I will not spill any milk or spoil it or whatever saying what I have worked out in my mind. I just can't wait to see if I'm even close to where you are taking us. It is your train ride, I'm just along for the ride. (There is no ride in the world that takes us where you take us.) :choochoo: Can't wait for more pal. Oh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I missed telling you HAPPY BIRTHDAY here on your ff. Hope your day was superfantabulous!