{assassin's creed harry potter au}

[ladyhoneydarlinglove]

Fandom: Assassin's Creed/Harry Potter
Characters: Connor Kenway, Achilles Davenport
Rating: G
Word Count: ~1500
Summary: Very late make-up Secret Santa gift for Tanya! Connor gets a rather intriguing graduation present. Gen. Part of Endy's beautiful AC Harry Potter AU.

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Connor wasn’t entirely sure what he had expected from Achilles as his graduation gift. Truth be told, he actually hadn’t been expecting anything at all, especially not with his recent winnings from the Triwizard Tournament. After all, what more could Connor possibly need now that he had a thousand galleons to spare? Not to mention the numerous congratulatory gifts from all his friends, and kiss from Aveline that still left his cheeks burning in memory.

 

But whatever Connor had imagined that Achilles might give him, he certainly had never imagined it would involve a steady climb up a mountainside in what was, as far as he could tell, the Middle of Nowhere, Scotland.

 

“Where exactly are we going, old man?” Connor asked as he followed Achilles, who was keeping up a remarkable pace despite his cane and bad knees.

 

“You’ll see,” Achilles said. “I’m not about to waste any breath trying to explain, it’ll be easy enough to see once we get there.”

 

“Ah.” Connor frowned. “Well, why are we climbing, then? Wouldn’t it be easier to apparate?”

 

“We can’t, this is a restricted area; like Hogwarts.”

 

This only made Connor frown further, but as he opened his mouth to ask another question, Achilles shot him a look that said it would be far better to keep his mouth shut, so, despite his burning curiosity, Connor did.

 

They continued to climb for some time, stopping only when the terrain before them leveled out into a sort of plateau, and then dropped off sharply into what Connor assumed to be a valley. He couldn’t see beyond the dip in the landscape, but he could see that towards the far end of the plateau there were several buildings set up, nestled against a large, rocky outcrop. There were people here as well, milling about and talking loudly, although Connor could not pick up what they were saying.

 

“This way, Connor,” Achilles said, and Connor followed as they made their way over to the settlement. A distant roar, somewhat like thunder, boomed in the distance, and Connor looked up, expecting to see rain clouds. But the sky was cheerfully blue and sunny, and the clouds as white and fluffy as Connor had ever seen them. He frowned again, not quite sure what to make of it.

 

“Stop making that face,” Achilles scolded as they approached a group of people; all, from what Connor could tell, large, burly men. “You’ll get your answers soon enough.”

 

“I wasn’t making a face,” Connor protested, but nonetheless made an effort to smooth out his features as the largest man in the group caught sight of them and walked forward with a hand outstretched in greeting.

 

“You must be Achilles Davenport!” he said cheerfully, his voice a pleasant rumble. “I’m Jonathan Boors, your correspondent. A pleasure to finally meet you in person!”

 

“Likewise,” Achilles said shortly, taking the offered hand only for a moment before dropping it. “I trust everything is ready?”

 

“Yes, yes, everything’s all set! Got to tell you, everyone’s gotten quite excited for it as well. We haven’t had a new handler in quite some time and after hearing about how he did in the Triwizard Tournament—“

 

Boors cut off abruptly as Achilles gave him a withering look. “Er, so sorry, I seem to have overlooked the man himself!” he exclaimed, and thrust a hand out at Connor. “Connor Kenway, I presume! My, you’re much larger than you look in the newspapers. Never seen such a beefy man come straight out of Hogwarts before! Not unless he was on the Quidditch teams, anyway.”

 

Connor supposed that was meant to be a compliment, but it still made him shift awkwardly as he remembered comments from a certain French beauty about her liking of broad shoulders and strong backs. He took Boors’ hand as briefly as Achilles had, though he was polite enough to add, “Thank you.”

 

“So, are you ready to come down and meet her then?” Boors asked, and Connor frowned.

 

“Meet who?” he asked, growing even more confused when Boors laughed.

 

“Ah, right, I’d forgotten it was a surprise!” he exclaimed. “Well, follow me, then! You’ll see soon enough!”

 

Connor followed Boors as he walked off towards the dip into the valley, glancing back at Achilles once with a very confused expression. But Achilles only smiled wryly in response.

 

It was only a short walk before Connor could finally see down into the valley, and as he followed Boors down the gradual slope, he saw that there was a large creature lying where the ground began to level out. Another few steps and Connor stopped as he suddenly realized what he was looking at.

 

“That’s a dragon,” Connor said, and Boors laughed.

 

“Yes, and not just any dragon either!” he said. “Come along now, she’s probably anxious to see you again!”

 

“Again?” Connor asked. But when had he ever—

 

Oh.

 

Oh.

 

And suddenly, as everything clicked into place, Connor couldn’t get down the slope fast enough, overtaking Boors in his eagerness. He vaguely heard the man call after him with some warning, but Connor ignored it. He was not afraid.

 

He stopped several yards away from the slumbering dragon before inching closer, careful not to make too much noise or move too quickly. Her eyes began to flutter the closer he got, and by the time Connor was right in front of her, the dragon was awake, her orange eyes staring at Connor just as brightly as they had in the First Task.

 

“Hello again,” Connor said, reaching out a hand tentatively. “Do you remember me, Aquila?”

 

Aquila looked at him curiously for a moment before making a deep, crooning sound and butting her snout against the hand. Connor smiled and moved to pet her gently, and her eyes slipped closed as she rumbled happily.

 

It wasn’t for a few minutes that Connor noticed he and Boors were no longer alone, and when he turned, he found a large group of wizards and witches all hanging back, staring at him in fascination and awe as he continued to pet the dragon. “You could come closer, you know,” he said. “It’s very safe.”

 

“We’ll take your word for it,” Boors said a bit nervously. “I’ve never been able to get that close to a dragon before without it trying to eat me.”

 

Connor shrugged. “Suit yourselves,” he said, before turning back to Aquila and giving her a gentle scratch. It was lovely to see her again, Connor had to admit, especially after she had been so nice to him during the First Task, but he still wasn’t quite sure that he saw the point of it all.

 

“So, what is all this, then?” he asked, turning back to Boors, and this time, Boors grinned.

 

“Ah. Well, you see, Achilles has asked us—if you’re willing of course—to take you on for a summer as a dragon handler. You’d stay with us, here on the reserve, and you’d get a chance to see the dragons in their natural habitat and study them, as well as interact with them on occasion. Or possibly more, in your case. And then, if you like it and you’ve done well—which I don’t doubt you will, mind you—you’d be welcome to come on permanently.”

 

Connor blinked. “What—really?” he asked, torn between elation and confusion. He’d always thought of being a dragon handler, of course, but it was supposed to be impossible, right out of Hogwarts. He’d thought he’d need years of field experience with other animals first, and then of course he’d have to apply for a position through the Ministry of Magic and be accepted, and even then it would probably be several years before he got to go near the dragons themselves. “But surely I need more experience? Or at least some kind of temporary license? This can’t be Ministry approved, can it?”

 

“We’ll handle all the paperwork,” Boors explained. “And we’ve already written to the Ministry explaining the situation and asked for special permission to take you on as an… intern of sorts, I suppose. Plus, we still owe Achilles a favor for a spot of trouble he got this reserve out of many years ago.” He grinned. “Now, officially speaking, you’re only supposed to observe the dragons from afar and are not allowed to go anywhere near them, but well…” Boors winked. “We can’t keep an eye on you all of the time, now can we?”

 

Connor smiled. “No,” he said softly. “I suppose you can’t.”

 

Connor was allowed to stay with Aquila for a little while longer before she flew off, and Connor returned to the handlers’ camp. When Connor reached the top of the slope, Achilles was waiting for him; the same wry smile was still on his face.

 

“So you’ve decided to go gallivanting off after dragons, I suppose?” Achilles asked.

 

“Just like you always feared, old man,” Connor answered, not bothering to hide his smile. And then he added, in a much quieter voice, “Thank you.”

 

There was a pause, and then Achilles laid a tentative but strong hand on Connor’s shoulder. “You’ve done well,” he said in the same quiet voice, and Connor beamed.