Emeralds at Dawn

**Hello! I’ve finally got motivated to write again. This plot bunny has been twisting
and turning in my mind for awhile now and I hope you can be as excited about it as I am.
This story will be mainly slash as will soon become apparent. Again, as with What a
Witch Needs, I have a basic idea and scenarios to be played out but I’m always open to
suggestions from readers. I consider all of them and sometimes, at first, I balk at them –
but as things stew in my mind, I sometimes incorporate those ideas. So I’ll keep my
fingers crossed that readers will fall into this created world and enjoy it:)**

**Includes Fanon Blaise (I'm just use to writing him that way from my past fictions)

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and make no money from the writing of this fiction.


Emeralds at Dawn

Chapter 1: A Day Unlike Any Other

“Honestly, Draco, this has got to be the worst summer yet,” Blaise Zabini groaned,
tossing his head to the side in order to move his dark, silky bangs off his forehead.

The two Slytherins were perched in a tree house, magically charmed to be invisible to
anyone outside, gazing out the window at the two boys flying on broomsticks and hitting
bludgers back and forth.

“If Potter and Weasley haven’t made a move all summer, I don’t think they will during
the last week before school begins,” Zabini continued, frowning and disgruntled. “I’m
tired of keeping watch over those two. Let’s go have a bit of fun ourselves before we
head back to Hogwarts.”

Draco shot a scathing look at his friend from the corner of his eye. “Sure, Blaise, you can
face the Dark Lord and explain how we abandoned our post in order to have a bit of fun.”

Blaise sighed, knowing his wishes would not come to pass. “We should have waited a
few more years before taking the mark. Where are the so-called rewards? This
assignment fucking sucks. Watching those two all summer, following them – has been a
load of shite. They’ve done nothing but play around while we watch. I thought we’d
have a bevy of witches fawning over us…”

“Shut it!” Draco hissed. “They are flying toward us.”

They held still, pulses pounding. If Potter and Weasley knocked into their tree house,
trouble could ensue.

OOO

“RON,” Harry laughed, hysterically, “what the fuck was that? It’s a bludger, not a tit.”

Ron laughed in return, holding the bludger in one hand after kissing it for luck, ready to
strike it back to Harry.

“Bill said kissing the bludger brings luck,” Ron replied, whacking the bludger. But mirth
was not conducive to good aim, and the bludger flew off course.

Harry grinned. “Looks like it was bollocks.” He yanked the handle of his broom, and
raced towards the speeding bludger. Harry’s sharp eyes followed the black ball soaring
away.

Then it disappeared. Gone.

Harry looked about. There was no thumping, no rebound, and no more bludger in sight
as he approached a clump of trees. Perhaps it became firmly lodged in the branches. He
went in for a closer look.

OOO

Draco and Blaise moved away from the window as the bludger came crashing in, striking
the wall behind them before falling and rolling toward their feet.

“Fuck,” Draco muttered. “Get your wand.”

Their hands stuck into their robes, searching for their defense, when Harry fell through
the glassless window, his broom having hit the invisible side of the sill and the
momentum propelling him in.

Harry rolled and landed on his back, broomstick left hovering at the window. The inside
of the magical tree house was clearly visible to him - as were the two wizards pointing
wands at him. “What the fuck!” Harry exclaimed, clearly at a disadvantage.

“Hello, Potter,” Draco sneered.

Blaise shifted his feet nervously, wand pointed down at Harry. He glanced at Draco.
“What do we do now?”

Harry moved to get up.

“Stay where you are,” ordered Draco.

Harry looked at their wands and froze. He needed to think fast but this situation caught
him off guard. His eyes shifted to the window as Ron flew closer.

“Keep Potter here, I’ll take care of Weasley,” Draco smirked, turning to the window.

Harry rolled quickly, grabbing Blaise’s ankle in one hand and the bludger with the other.
He tugged on Blaise’s leg quickly, sending him on his arse in surprise. Before Draco
could turn his attention to the conflict, he felt a sharp smack on the side of his head as the
bludger struck, sending him sideways trying to catch his balance.

“RON!” Harry yelled, as the two Slytherins were temporarily distracted and trying to
right themselves. “Wand out – trouble!” Harry leapt through the window and onto his
waiting broom, digging for his own wand.

“What the fuck?” Ron yelled. “You disappeared.”

“Trap!” Harry snapped. “Malfoy and Zabini!”

Ron took out his wand, flying next to Harry, anger distorting his features. “Those dirty
bastards,” Ron growled. “Come on out, you cowards!”

Inside the tree house, Draco and Blaise were on their feet again, wands pointed toward
the window.

“That went badly,” Blaise stated. “Now what? Duel?”

“The Dark Lord isn’t finished using Potter yet - we were only to watch,” Draco replied,
eyes shifting nervously, weighing the options.

They heard a bludger bat strike the side of the tree house as Weasley called out another
challenge for them to come out, threatening to burn them out if necessary.

“This is exactly why we shouldn’t have gotten our marks until we knew how to
apparate!” Blaise hissed.

“We can’t stay here, Blaise. That outhouse they call a home is filled with Weasleys.
They’ll all be piling out of there any minute to help these two,” Draco replied, looking
toward the Burrow just beyond the two hovering and angry Gryffindors. “Grab your
broom. We are making a run for it.”

The boys took their brooms from the corner, mounting them and pointed them toward the
window. Draco took aim with his wand. “Stupefy!” he called out, sending the spell
toward the two boys hovering not 10 meters away.

Harry pushed into Ron, ducking when they heard Malfoy’s words, the energy stream
from the spell crackling just past his shoulder. In the commotion, Draco and Blaise shot
from the window of the invisible tree house, becoming visible and twisting quickly in the
opposite direction.

“Get ‘em,” Ron yelled, racing off to the chase.

Harry adjusted quickly and followed, finding it difficult to deliver a stunning spell on the
two boys weaving in and out, up and down through the trees in the woods. Avoiding the
trees was tricky enough.

On they raced, knowing that it would be a question of endurance in the end. At some
point, Zabini and Malfoy would have to stop and confront them.

“Don’t lose them,” Harry called to Ron.

On and on they pursued, avoiding hills and trees. Draco looked over his shoulder, seeing
that Potter and Weasley were still behind them. They were well matched, the four of
them – all expert flyers. He realized that this couldn’t be solved in the air. The chase
would never end.

They would have to duel. He could always claim self defense. His father would use his
ties with the ministry to iron it out.

Up ahead he saw a gap in the side of a mountain, a cave – perfect. The dark would give
him and Blaise a few moments to ready themselves before Potter and Weasley landed.

“The cave,” he pointed, letting Blaise know their destination.

Blaise was smart enough to know what Draco was planning. There was really no other
option but to face Potter and Weasley.

OOO

The four boys stood facing one another in the dim light, wands out, the crunch of gravel
and their heavy breathes echoing throughout the cave.

Who would strike first?

“Don’t do anything you’ll regret,” Harry hissed. “Give yourselves up and we’ll get this
sorted out.”

“I think we should teach them a lesson, Harry,” Ron growled, not feeling charitable in the
least.

“You’re fucking mad if you think we’ll put our wands down, Potter,” Blaise sneered.

“You were spying on us. Why?” Harry questioned.

“Why do you think?” Draco replied. “Maybe you are not as smart as I thought.”

“Voldemort put you up to it,” Harry stated.

The Slytherins did not affirm or deny, but simply glowered at Harry and Ron.

Ron raised his wand arm a bit higher, ready to cast, when a quick whoosh blew past,
disarming both him and Harry.

They stood there stunned. A moment later, Draco and Blaise also found themselves
wandless, backing away and looking around for the culprit.

“What!” Ron exclaimed.

Harry stuck his arm out in front of Ron, herding him backwards against the cave wall and
saying, “Get back, Ron.”

“What is it?” Ron asked, looking about. He could see nothing in this dim light to
indicate that they were not alone with Malfoy and Zabini.

“Blaise,” Draco said, tugging his friend’s arm, “let’s go.” They turned quickly to get
their booms from the ground behind them and halted, bewildered, as they noticed those
were stolen as well.

“Goblins?” Blaise suggested.

A male voice, light with laughter, echoed off the walls. “No, definitely not Goblins,” it
replied.

“Who are you?” Harry called out.

The sharp crunch of gravel, once, twice, three times filled their ears, as three young men
seemed to fall from the ceiling of the cave, landing on their feet, and grinning at them
mischievously. Their skin looked like light copper in the cave light, their teeth white, and
their long flowing hair giving a disturbingly beautiful angelic air about them.

They were dressed strangely, a scaly material hugging the outlines of their physiques like
a diving suit and capes of an iridescent hue fluttering about.

But it was difficult to focus on their strange attire when it was their eyes that were most
compelling. The four wizards stared into the faces of the strange men, electric sensations
flowing and pulsing in their midsections. It was like the strangest of spells, descending
on them through the eyes of the shining ones.

“Who are we?” another voice replied from across the cave. They tore their gazes away
from the others to see another man now walk into their cavern from the depths of the
cave. He was more beautiful than the others and the boys were enraptured by his
perfection, his air of royalty. Harry fought the urge to drop to his knees and bow before
this man as he slowly approached.

He stopped a few feet from Harry, taking in his face and then Ron’s . “The real question
is, who are you? After all, you have come into our lair.”

Harry pressed further back against the stone and swallowed as the beautiful man reached
his hand toward his face, one finger sweeping his bangs aside and revealing his scar.

“But we already know who you are, famous Harry Potter,” the man smiled, seductively.
Harry felt the man’s gaze sweeping over his body and he grimaced, trying to fight the
feelings of lust broiling in the pit of his stomach.

What the fuck was this? Harry had never thought of blokes this way! He was able to
note, for a moment, that the man had claws instead of fingernail, putting him in some sort
of magical creature category. But which?

A light chuckle rumbled from the beautiful man’s chest as he seemed to be aware of
Harry’s every thought and feeling. He stepped closer to Harry, not losing eye contact and
whispered, “I think you are very fuckable, too.”

Harry tore his gaze away, sweating as he tried to form a coherent thought. He turned his
face to the side, shutting his eyes and whispering, “Please don’t do this.” Power radiated
off this being, making Harry’s legs feel like jelly and emphasizing how fruitless it would
be to try physically fight off this man.

The beautiful man took a step back and laughed, the sound tinkling unnaturally
throughout the cavern. “What have I done?” he asked.

But he didn’t wait for an answer as he turned his attention to Ron. “Hmmm… beautiful
red hair, the color of fire. Ronald Weasley, friend of Harry Potter, are you not?”

“Y…Yes,” stammered Ron. It just wasn’t the lack of a wand that made Ron feel
defenseless. These men, these… things, were something he had never seen before,
something he couldn’t put into a category. Oh, how he wished Hermione was here. She
would know what they were – and what their chances of getting away were.

The man turned his head, looking across at Draco and Blaise pressed against the opposite
wall. He looked them up and down with a sexy smirk. “Very nice,” the angelic man
commented. “You four should be fucking, not fighting.” His three comrades chuckled in
agreement.

“I… I like girls,” Ron squeaked, nervously.

The four beings laughed as their leader turned his attention back to Ron, grinning. “Of
course you do. They offer such tender delights.”

Ron paled, thinking the words indicated that these men ate humans. Or were they
vampire? No, Ron had seen vampires. These were something different.

Ron’s fearful face made them laugh further, only to be interrupted by Draco’s voice.
“You can have those two, but let me and my friend go. Our families are very wealthy.
We can reward you handsomely.”

One of the others stepped closer to Draco, making him inch away nervously. “We don’t
want your money, golden boy,” he stated, his black eyes filling with lust. “We have
hoards of treasure that we will never be able to spend in our long lifetimes.”

“Just give us our wands and brooms and we’ll go. We didn’t know this cave was
occupied. We are sorry for the disturbance,” Blaise said, nervously. He, too, was
sweating and his cock was hard and pulsing. These beings were casting some sort of lust
spell, he was sure of it.

The leader walked to Blaise, making him back up until he hit the wall. “I’m sorry,
angel,” he crooned to Blaise, stroking his olive cheek with one knuckle. “You wizards
have seen too much, know too much. If you were muggles, you wouldn’t be able to see
us. But you are not, are you?” he whispered, seductively.

Blaise swallowed, shaking his head. The man’s voice made his toes curl in his boots as it
washed over his senses, mesmerizing him.

“Do not worry,” the man continued, lulling him in a spell. “We will be quick and it will
be painless. After all, your discovery of us was accidental.”

“At least… tell us what you are,” Harry ground out.

The man turned and looked across the room at Harry. “The world will miss the great
Harry Potter,” he smiled. Then he shrugged. “But that is not for Ryuu to be concerned
about. We do not mingle in the affairs of wizards.”

“Ryuu…” Draco said, eyes widening. “You are Ryuu. I thought you were only legend.”

The leader turned and bowed to Draco flamboyantly. “I am Carlun of the Ryuu.”

“What are the Ryuu?” Ron asked, the words slipping out before he could stop them.

“Dragon people,” Draco replied, too amazed to take his eyes off Carlun.

“I don’t recall ever learning about dragon people,” Ron said.

Draco shot him an angry glance from across the room. “Because you are a half wit,
Weasley. Ryuu are extremely rare.”

A deep rumble sounded from the depths of the cave and the boys noticed the four Ryuu
men stir uncomfortably. The leader stiffened his back and walked toward the sound,
stopping at the mouth of the inner cave. Harry thought he could hear the leader rumble
back in answer to the first one. Another rumble came from within the deepest part of the
cave, and the leader, again, answered.

Then there was silence as they all stared at his back.

“You got a dragon in there, don’t you?” Harry asked.

Carlun spun around, glaring at Harry, his breath short and his flirty casualness gone.

The other three Ryuu moved to where Carlun stood and all four were rumbling at each
other in communication.

Draco nudged Blaise, tilting his head towards the front of the cave, thinking that they
might escape while the Ryuu were busy conversing. Harry and Ron saw Malfoy’s
movement, and decided on the same. With their backs against the walls, the four began
to slowly creep toward the exit, anticipating at any moment that they would make a run
for it and never look back.

“Now,” Harry hissed, and the four began to run for the outdoors, only to find that they
came against an invisible barrier. They smacked hard against it, groaning in pain and
fear as they realized how utterly fucked they were.

They turned and looked at their captures, whom were standing in the same spot, gazing
back at them in amusement.

“Please let us go,” Ron pleaded. “We won’t tell anyone you are here, we promise. We’ll
make an unbreakable vow, magically. Just let us live.”

The leader stepped forward. “It seems your destiny has been changed, youngling. You
will not die today.”

The four wizards breathed a sigh of relief, but the ‘today’ part was still troublesome.

“You will not die for a very long time,” Carlun continued, reading their thoughts.

“What are you saying?” Draco asked, feeling dread growing by the second.

“Our Lady has decided,” Carlun said. “You are needed.”

“Lady? Needed?” Blaise repeated, watching as Carlun took a deep breath and turned
towards a pile of old wood that was stacked haphazardly in the middle of the room.

Their eyes widened with awe as a stream of fire shot out of Carlun’s mouth, igniting the
wood into a blaze.

Another Ryuu took a pouch of herbs out from beneath his cape and tossed a handful into
the fire.

Carlun watched the fire crackle as the herbs burned, filling the cavern with fragrant
smoke. The four wizards began to feel dizzy and light as the scent of the herbs filled
their nostrils. They staggered on their feet, reaching out toward the invisible barrier for
support.

As they fell to their knees, Carlun softly said, “We must do as our Lady commands.”

And the world went black.

OOO

If anyone were to ask Harry, Ron, Draco or Blaise what had happened next, they
wouldn’t have been able to tell them.

When they regained consciousness, they were still in the cave, on the floor, and alone.
The Ryuu were nowhere in sight and the fire they had lit had completely burnt out,
leaving a pile of ashes. Slowly they opened their eyes, grimacing with the pain of stiff
muscles and soreness. It was night outside and the cave was dark except for a dim light
coming from the corner.

A candle. A single candle was lit and burning on a rock ledge. Next to it laid a
parchment.

The boys slowly sat up, eyeing one another wearily, each feeling like they had just been
hit by the Night bus. There was no more energy left in them to fight, or even to run and
pursue. Their mouths felt dry and their heads pounded. But they were alive.

Harry wondered if he would be able to stand up. As soon as he tried to roll onto his hands
and knees, he noticed Malfoy struggling to do the same.

“Fuck it, Malfoy,” Harry slurred, dizzily. “I can’t fucking chase you right now. Just go,
run. We’ll sort this out later.”

Draco fell sideways in his attempt to stand, tumbling onto the ground. Then he began to
laugh, ironically. “Run, Potter?” he managed to respond. “That’s a laugh. I can’t even
stand. What the fuck did they do to us?”

Harry staggered to the cave exit. “No more barrier,” he announced.

Blaise had now managed to stand, making his way to the candle and parchment while
Ron supported himself against one wall, looking toward the back of the cave.

“Do you think the dragon is still back there?” Ron wondered.

“Why don’t you go check, Weasley,” Draco sneered.

“I don’t understand,” Harry said. “Why’d they leave us alive, with our memories intact?”

“Maybe running off to find a new cave was what they decided,” Ron offered.

“Merlin, Blaise!” Draco exclaimed, looking at his friend standing in the candlelight
reading the parchment left behind.

Blaise looked at Draco in the darker part of the cave, already knowing what the matter
was. He had just finished reading the parchment and his arm that held the missive was
shaking.

Harry and Ron stood transfixed, looking at Blaise as well. Except… he wasn’t exactly
Blaise anymore.

Draco walked over to Blaise, using the wall for support, and everyone’s eyes widened as
Draco’s appearance was revealed in the candlelight.

“They converted us! They converted us to Ryuu!” Draco spat, holding his stomach, not
sure whether he would hurl or not as the enormity of the situation was just beginning to
dawn on him.

“No!” Harry stumbled, moving as quickly as he could into the dim light, causing Draco
and Blaise to back away slightly at his closeness. Harry snatched the letter out of
Blaise’s hand, but his gaze was caught on his own claws holding the parchment, the
coppery glow of his skin. He held up his hand and Blaise and Draco began observing
their own.

Ron stepped into the light and began examining the others and himself as well, mouth
open in shock. “Suck Merlin’s cock!” he exclaimed. “What the fuck! We’re not… we
are… aren’t we? We look like them now!”

“Very astute,” Draco replied, sarcastically. As he pulled up his sleeves to examine his
skin further and let out a startled gasp. “Blaise! Look at your arm.”

Blaise pulled up his sleeve and examined his arm before looking at Draco’s again. “It’s
gone,” he said in wonder. “Our marks are gone!”

Harry’s shoulder pressed against the wall as he read the parchment, his heart pounding in
his chest. “My Gods!” Harry groaned.

Blaise looked at the expression on Harry’s face and understood, having had just read the
same letter.

“Read it out loud, Harry,” Ron urged. “What did they say? Is it reversible?”

Harry shook his head back and forth. “No, Ron, I don’t think this is reversible.” He
swallowed and read.


Dear Newborns,

Welcome to our world. Our Lady Alesbepth has chosen to bestow on you a special
honor. As we have been guardians for our Lady these past 800 years, you will soon be
guardians of her daughter, Nerianthil, when she comes of age to leave her mother.

This is the sacred duty of all Ryuu males – to protect their Lady. You will be trained for
this special honor in coming years.

In the meantime, Lady Alesbepth intends that you finish your magical educations and
become accustomed to your new powers and abilities. She warns you to be cautious
around humans, as your strength is much more than theirs and they damage easy. You
do, however, have each other for companionship. We suggest that whatever animosity
you four had toward one another be set aside, as your future family bonds with your Lady
Nerianthil will be very close.

Trust us, trust one another, but trust no one else. Humans will never completely
understand you. But as we have had our lessons as younglings, so must you, and all these
matters will become apparent to you soon.

We apologize for not being here when you awoke. Our Lady is close to labor and we
were about to take her to the nesting grounds when you stumbled upon our cave. We will
seek you out for further education and training after we are assured of our Lady’s safety
and comfort.

Nerianthil will be cared for by us and her mother until she is of age – in about 80 years.
So you see, you will have plenty of time to hone your skills and prepare for your
important life task. You will, of course, live with us the last few decades of those years
in order to forge bonds with your Lady and learn to serve her well.

Until then, learn all you can – you will find your memorization abilities greatly enhanced.
Enjoy your new bodies and skills. Few other magical beings are as blessed as Ryuu.

Fondly,

Carlun


Draco flattened his back against the cave wall, sliding down it until he sat on the gravel
floor, unable to believe all that had happened. He was no longer human. He was Ryuu.
What would his parents say? What about the Dark Lord? Would he want to put another
mark on him, use his new abilities to win the war?

His eyes traveled to Potter, who was standing against the wall, rubbing his forehead as if
he had a migraine and frowned. Would Potter use his new abilities against the Dark
Lord? What the hell did this all mean? Family? He was supposed to form a dragon
family with Potter and Weasley? Fuck!

Harry’s eyes flicked open, meeting Draco’s penetrating gaze. They all looked different,
yet the same. All had coppery skin, long claw-like nails, dazzling eyes and soft hair.
Harry’s was brunette, Ron’s red, Draco’s blond, and Blaise’s black. He suspected the
soreness they all felt was from the conversion process. How exactly had that occurred?

And now, looking into Malfoy’s eyes he realized that the four of them only had one
another to cope with this. How would they ever do so? Carlun was mad to make
enemies into family. Absolutely stark raving mad!

Blaise looked back and forth, from Harry’s face to Draco’s face, noting the loathing for
one another, the stubborn defiance of having to deal rationally with one another over this
matter.

“Look,” Blaise began. “We’ve all had our lives turned completely upside down today.
There is a lot to sort out and think about.” He sighed running a hand through his
luxurious soft hair that seemed much longer than before. “I propose that we call a truce –
for now, while we get this all figured out.”

Ron looked like he swallowed a bucket of lemons, but nodded. “Yeah, fine with me, for
now. We need to ask around and see if this can be reversed. Maybe Dumbledore
knows.” He looked at Harry, who was still staring Draco down. “Harry?”

Harry finally shifted his eyes to Blaise’s. “Fine. But if you two start doing Voldemort’s
bidding, all bets are off.”

Draco pushed up onto his feet again. “That goes for you too, Potter. No working against
the Dark Lord.”

Harry lunged toward Draco, but was held back by Ron. “Eat shit, Malfoy,” Harry
snapped. “That fucker killed my parents. I have every right to work against him.”

“Harry!” Ron yelled, holding him tight. “For now, just for now.”

Harry shook Ron’s arms off, giving Draco a murderous glare – but making no move to
attack. He looked about at Ron and Blaise, before returning his stare on Draco. All of
them wore haunted, shocked, and pained expressions. This whole thing was like a
psychotic episode in someone’s worst nightmare.

He had so many damn questions about what they were, what it all meant. He hated
Carlun for leaving them in the dark like this, fending for a fragile identity that they no
longer had anymore.

Harry nodded, wearily. “Truce,” he said. “For now.”

“Come on,” Ron pulled on his sleeve. “Mum’s going to be freaking out that we
disappeared this long…”

Harry looked at him as if he were a stranger. Were they supposed to go waltzing back
into the Weasley home, looking like they did, and announce that they were now magical
creatures?

“Ron,” Harry began. “They’ll see we are different.”

“Yeah, of course they will,” Ron replied. “Did you think we should hide? How else are
we supposed to find help if we don’t let people know what happened?”

Harry knew Ron was right, but it didn’t make him feel better. Ron actually believed
there was help for this situation. Harry felt in his heart that it was irreversible. But he
didn’t want to say so, not when the only positive thing in this cave was the hope on Ron’s
face that the ‘problem’ could get solved.

Harry nodded. “Let’s go then.” He turned to Malfoy and Zabini. “I noticed they left us
our brooms by the exit, no wands though.”

Blaise nodded in acknowledgment and said, “All right then, we’ll see you next week at
school, if we are still alive, that is.”

He glanced knowingly at Draco, both of them realizing they would have to confront their
families as well.

The four newborn Ryuu left silently into the night.

OOOO

A/N So, there you have it – a beginning. I hope it’s piqued your interest. Please review
and let me know what you think so far.

Thanks and Happy New Year to all my readers.