Einar had accompanied his group of children on one of their most recent adventures while hiding in the shadows to watch over them. As always, the kids were determined to prove their bravery.
The task was simple, at least in theory: cross the nearby forest and steal something very specific from the giants. Only, as was usual with this group, things never went according to plan.
Lucía, the youngest of the group, was also the wildest. At only 11 years old, she always found a way to make noise"even when trying to be stealthy. She was so excited that she tripped over a branch within the first minute of the expedition.
"Lucía!" shouted Blaize, the group's leader, who, despite being one of the oldest, had the patience of a saint… or at least tried to.
"Sorry! I just saw something shiny!" Lucía replied, quickly getting back up while trying to fix her messy hair.
The rest of the kids, already a bit farther ahead, burst out laughing. One of the girls, Sofie, the group's "big sister," couldn't help but comment.
"Lucía, if you keep that up, the giants are going to hear us from the other side of Skyrim!" she teased, hands on her hips and a grin on her face.
"It was just a branch!" replied Lucía, raising her hands like an innocent defendant, before giving Sofie a push. "Why don't you let me be stealthy for once?"
"Because you don't even know what stealth is. You make more noise than a sled in winter!" replied a boy named Lars, the group's joker. At 14, he already had a sharp sense of humor and a contagious laugh.
And so they continued, each child performing their own version of "stealth" as they made their way through the forest. Some, like Blaize, tried to move cautiously, but others just laughed, stumbled, chatted, and argued as they went.
"What do we do if we get caught?" asked a small girl named Karin, looking nervously around with wide eyes.
"We run fast," answered Sofie, shooting a challenging look at the younger kids. "Or maybe Einar will have to come save us… again."
In the distance, heavy footsteps echoed, causing the entire group to fall silent.
"It's a giant!" shouted Lars, diving into a nearby bush to hide.
"No! It's not a giant! It's just a tree falling!" Sofie laughed, while the rest of the kids huddled together, unsure whether to keep pretending to be stealthy or just laugh it off.
And of course, the noise was inevitable. Lucía, always at the front, tripped again"this time over a rock.
"Ahhh!" she screamed, making everyone turn to look at her again. "This doesn't make any sense! I *can't* be stealthy!"
The group, already used to her antics, couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Why don't you just stay still and stop making noise?!" said Blaize, clearly annoyed"but with a smile of amusement at the same time.
"It's impossible! I'm too excited to stay quiet!" Lucía replied, looking at the others with enthusiasm.
Suddenly, one of the quieter boys, a 13-year-old named Erik, raised his hand like he was in class.
"Let's organize ourselves! How about, instead of making noise, we do it properly?" he said quietly, but with the tone of a little leader trying to be heard.
The other kids paused for a moment, looking at Erik as if they were actually considering it.
"What?" asked Karin, raising an eyebrow.
"Let's be stealthy, like the master taught us!" Erik insisted, with more determination. But of course, the rest of the group didn't take him too seriously.
"Stealthy?" repeated Lucía with a mischievous smile. "Aren't we already?" she asked, genuinely confused.
"Of course not, Lucía! We *can't* be stealthy if you keep falling!" added Lars, shaking his head in exasperation.
In the end, after many failed attempts at being "silent" and lots of laughter, they reached the giants' lair"where the entire group was left speechless at the sight before them.
"Wow!" exclaimed Sofie, staring wide-eyed at the enormous mammoth.
"That's amazing!" said Lucía, her eyes shining as they found the mammoth cheese in wooden containers.
"Let's take it!" shouted Blaize, cautiously eyeing the nearby giants.
But the moment one of them moved, the kids started screaming and running in all directions, each one making their own kind of noise. As always, it was total chaos"but in the end, they managed to escape, tripping and laughing as they fled.
A massive giant chased after them, wielding a huge wooden club, swinging it wildly as it pursued the children.
Back at the camp, they all collapsed to the ground"exhausted but happy.
"That was a total disaster!" said Sofie, laughing.
"But we did it!" replied Blaize, smiling with pride.
"Yeah, and now Einar's going to kill us!" complained Karin, rubbing her butt from a recent fall.
In the midst of the laughter and commotion, Einar"who had been watching from the shadows"couldn't help but smile.
Though he knew chaos was inevitable, he couldn't help but feel proud of his mischievous group of youngsters and a warm fondness for each one of them.
Even if, of course, the Jarl's guards eventually surrounded them and Einar had to come out, explain everything, and pay for the damages.
---
The night before the first task, Harry was nervous, but with Hermione's help, he quickly learned the necessary words.
Meanwhile, Einar taught him how to properly channel his intention into the words, a crucial step in communicating with a dragon.
Cedric didn't need much help with the stealth skills. Perhaps just a brief explanation on foot movements to mask his steps and move like mist.
After spending the entire day teaching them, Einar felt the need for some fresh air.
So, he found the tallest tower nearby to gaze at the stars while sipping a bit of mead.
Perhaps it was the days spent sharing stories of his children with Sirius and Hagrid that reminded him of the group of chicks waiting for him back in Skyrim.
Most of them were orphans who refused to leave his side. Though he helped many find good families, around ten of them stayed with him.
Einar had saved Skyrim several times, all for them. And he fought to stay alive, so he could one day return home.
"Professor Einar?" Hermione's voice broke the quiet as she gazed at Einar, surprised to find him sitting at the edge of the tower.
"Hello," Einar greeted calmly.
"What are you doing out here?" she asked quickly, a little surprised. The window he was perched near was just outside the Gryffindor common room.
"I'm just looking at the stars, remembering my children," Einar said quietly.
Hermione's eyes widened in surprise, as this was the first time she had heard that Einar had children.
"You have children?" she asked, almost hesitantly.
"Yes. About ten of them," Einar replied, as if it were no big deal.
"W-Wait, so being so young, you must have multiple wives, right? In some countries, having multiple partners is legal... though here, it's normally just one," Hermione said, a slight nervousness creeping into her voice, her chest feeling a slight weight she couldn't quite understand.
"Ha, no, I don't have multiple wives. Technically, I don't have a wife at all. Although my daughter tries to change that whenever she can," Einar said with a smile. "My kids were all children I rescued during my travels," he explained patiently.
"They were actually a lot more, but slowly, I was able to find families for many of them. The ones who stayed are the ones who refuse to leave me," he said warmly.
"I-I see, so they're adopted children…" Hermione said, feeling the weight on her chest lift.
"Well, legally, I can only adopt two. Most of them are only a few years younger than me. The oldest should be around 15 now, so they're too embarrassed to call me 'father,' and just call me 'master' instead," Einar smiled, remembering his mischievous kids and disciples.
"A year ago, Blaize, one of the oldest, and the leader of the group, took on an interesting task to prove his worth. He went to steal mammoth cheese from the nearby giants. This, of course, caused the enraged giant to chase him around the village, destroying fields and houses. The Jarl was furious and sent soldiers after me. But it was easy to fix with a bit of gold and manual labor. The houses were even better than before," Einar recounted, his face lighting up with a joyful grin, as if the happiness behind his mask could be seen.
Or perhaps Hermione imagined it. His handsome face, glowing with a smile full of happiness and memories. His beautiful face seemed bathed in moonlight, which made Hermione smile too, a warmth filling her as she listened intently.
"Sofie, the first of them I met, and my first daughter, is the one who constantly tries to find me a wife. She once made me go on a blind date with an orc, who turned out to be an assassin sent to kill me," Einar said, recalling the event with a chuckle.
Hermione didn't know what an orc was, or perhaps it was different from the ones she knew, but she kept listening without interrupting.
"She's calm, cheerful, and very picky. But when she gets angry, she can summon great storms of pure magic. I should say the enemies are lucky she's so lazy and only uses enchanted staffs to help her create magic," Einar continued.
"Your kids sound pretty powerful," Hermione said, intrigued.
"You bet. I trained them every day since they joined me. Even Lucia, the youngest at 11, could defeat all the students at Hogwarts and walk away without a scratch… well, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit," Einar said, smiling at Hermione. "Maybe just half the students," he added with a wink.
And so, Einar continued to share stories of his adorable dragon pups, while Hermione smiled occasionally with grace. Many Gryffindor students wanted to approach to listen, but the twins quickly intercepted them like royal guards.
Meanwhile, Ron, sitting in a corner of the common room, felt as though something was slipping away from him forever.
...…..
"Avento Cast Cold Resistance! The enchantment is fading!" shouted Blaise again, as the whole group climbed the seemingly endless stairs, heading toward the top of the frozen mountain.
Avento, without saying a word, cast the enchantments again in succession for everyone else, and they continued on their way.
After several hundred steps, they finally reached a large monastery. Excited, they hurried toward the great doors, which opened in anticipation.
"Oh, what strange guests. I didn't expect to see the dragon's children all together so soon," said an old man with a long beard and a grey robe, looking at them all with interest.
"Hello, Master Arngeir," greeted Avento quickly and politely.
"Hi, Grandpa Grey!" said Sophie cheerfully.
"Ha ha ha, hello to you all!" replied the elderly Arngeir, smiling kindly.
"We came looking for Master Paarthurnax," Sophie said quickly, lowering her gaze and noticing the others' hurried reactions.
"Well… I should ask…" Before Arngeir could finish, a great rumble echoed through the entire mountain. "Follow me," he said quickly, allowing them to enter the monastery.
Once inside, the young ones looked around with interest, but the place was made of stone and statues. Some elders watched them curiously, nodding in greeting.
The youths also returned the greeting before continuing. The place was very silent, except for the sound of their footsteps. However, the children didn't endure the silence for long and began chatting, making the place livelier"normally, it was so quiet it seemed lifeless.
"Even when Dad comes, he keeps quiet so as not to disturb the Masters of the Voice," commented Sophie.
"Hey, hey, is it true they can't speak because if they do, they'd make the whole mountain shake?" asked the smallest of the group.
Arngeir smiled patiently at the question and nodded.
"That's awesome!" all the children exclaimed, especially the boys.
"The Master didn't want to teach us the Thu'um. He said we have to grow up first… But we did learn Dovahzul," added Blaise with interest. "And actually, we learned the first word of *Unrelenting Force* without the Master knowing," he added mentally, glancing at the others with a smug smile that was shared among the group.
"Ha ha ha, I can understand why," said Arngeir, clearly having noticed the children's glances and smiles.
Since the kids still couldn't use the *Clear Skies* shout, Arngeir had to guide them all the way to the Throat of the World.
There, a great dragon awaited atop a wall inscribed with the words of power that protected his resting place.
"It's good to see you two again. And also a pleasure to meet the rest," said the great dragon, observing them all with interest.
All the young ones quickly showed the proper respect to the master of dragonblood on the path of the Voice.
"Hello, Master Paarthurnax. We're looking for our father. By any chance, do you know where he's gone?" asked Sophie quickly, who had met Paarthurnax before thanks to her father.
"Dovahkiin has been called by Akatosh. Though I do not know where or when," replied Paarthurnax calmly, looking up to the sky.
"Akatosh? And how do we find him?" asked Sophie, still not fully understanding.
"Silly, Akatosh is the god. How could we possibly find him that easily?" Avento replied impatiently.
"But he took the Master! We have to ask him why!" exclaimed Lucie, the youngest, not understanding why they couldn't just go find this "Akatosh" person.
"Ugh… The Master always gets into complicated things," said Blaise, bringing a hand to his forehead.
"Akatosh is the father of dragons, right?" asked one of the older kids.
"Yes," Avento answered automatically.
"Then, if we kill all the dragons, maybe he'll appear. Then we can tell him to give the Master back," he added quickly, as if he'd just come up with a brilliant plan.
There was a moment of silence as everyone considered that this might actually be the best option.
"I hold no kinship with the dragons revived by Alduin. But I would prefer you seek another way before you begin slaughtering my kind. Leave it as a last resort," said the great dragon, watching the youths while his impassive face seemed to show a faint smile at seeing the mischievous kids discuss exterminating his species.
"Ugh, fine. Then we'll go to the last place he was seen. Maybe we'll find out why Akatosh took him," Blaise said quickly.
"Can you help us, Master Paarthurnax?" asked Sophie with hopeful eyes.
"I will send one of my children to carry you," said the great dragon before roaring into the sky, causing the surroundings to tremble.
Suddenly, a blue dragon was seen approaching, soaring swiftly through the sky.
Without delay, the dragon descended toward the Throat of the World and landed in front of Paarthurnax, looking at the humans with curiosity.
"They are the children of Dovahkiin. Protect them and take them wherever they need to go to find their father," Paarthurnax ordered the blue dragon, who nodded silently before lowering his body so the youths could climb on.
"Awesome! We get to ride a dragon!" shouted Lucie happily, running toward the blue dragon without hesitation.
The other children smiled, also excited, since none of them had ever ridden a dragon before.
Sophie, however, walked up to Arngeir and handed him a gold coin as thanks before climbing onto the dragon with the others, leaving the old man a bit confused.
Although everyone knew of the dragon Odahviing, he was stingy and only allowed Einar to ride him across the skies.
After checking the map and giving the dragon the right direction, it quickly took off, flying away from the Throat of the World under the watchful eyes of Paarthurnax and Arngeir.
"You may come out now," said Arngeir calmly, glancing back.
Three shadows emerged from their hiding place, observing two of the strongest in Skyrim with formality and respect.
"We apologize for entering uninvited. We are from the assassin guild under Einar's command. He trained us specifically to watch over his children and disciples in his absence," said Shadow A quickly, speaking with eloquence and respect.
"We know. Einar is aware that, should anything happen to him, his children would go out into the world. He left orders for all factions under his control to watch over and protect them," replied Arngeir calmly and confidently.
"Then it's good to know we won't be eaten by the master of our master," said Shadow A with a grin, suddenly relaxing and dropping her formal tone so easily it was surprising.
"Hey, don't be so careless," Shadow B quickly scolded.
"Sorry, she's always like that," apologized Shadow C with a faint smile, glancing at both men.
**"Dovazul: Worry not,"** said Paarthurnax, not giving the matter much importance.
"What did he say?" asked Shadow B, confused.
"He said he doesn't care," answered Shadow A quickly, then added, "Damn, how are we supposed to catch up to a flying dragon now? Are we gonna have to run nonstop?" she muttered, watching the blue dragon disappear into the horizon.
Without saying a word, Paarthurnax took flight again, roaring into the sky and summoning a smaller, red-colored dragon. It looked somewhat aggressive and lacking in intelligence. Despite its wild nature, it answered Paarthurnax's call by instinct.
"If you can control it, it will help you," Paarthurnax said in a more human tone before disappearing once more behind the wall to rest.
"Ugh, so we have to beat up a dragon to use it as a mount," said Shadow B, realizing the implication.
"Well, it's like the graduation exam the master gave us. Reminds me of the old days," said Shadow A, unfazed, as she pulled two red daggers from her belt.
"Let me remind you that we didn't graduate with you and the other monsters," interrupted Shadow C, drawing an enchanted bow.
"I wish you luck. But remember not to hurt it too much, since it'll be your mount," said Arngeir, walking calmly back to the monastery.
The three stood in silence for a moment, realizing what lay ahead. As they thought about how to take down a dragon quickly without injuring it too badly, they prepared for the challenge.