The First Flight became much more enjoyable once the violet dragon had ceased its attempts to throw Milius off, though admittedly, the other Knights seemed to be having a great deal more fun than he was. Shakil yelled with relish as the blue dragon twisted and turned with a grace unmatched by any of its allies, and Ariana, who had been trying for so long to maintain a firm demeanour, finally gave in to screaming with glee as the green dragon soared through the air, looking almost as though it were dancing.

A streak of red suddenly zoomed into Milius’s view; the red dragon, Verdona, was now gliding beside him, roaring loudly. Its rider, Sirius, was looking over at Milius, grinning. Milius gave him a very cold look, which caused his grin to falter. Sirius looked as though he were about to say something, but didn't get the chance, as a very loud explosion suddenly went off somewhere in the distance.

The Knights all looked around. The Elder known as Demus had ignited the tubs of blasting jelly that were stocked on the left side of the platform (Milius had been too frightened to take much notice of these before now); at once all the dragons closed in on each other and began to fly in a very tight formation. They wheeled about as one and took off in the direction from which they came, leaving a tumult of applause in their wake.

Milius only managed a glance at his own house before it was nothing more than a speck on the ground behind them. They flew for several minutes, in which all the Knights noticed that the jauntiness the dragons had shown earlier had been replaced by a sudden seriousness, before the dragons landed at the mouth of a cave outside the town, in the middle of a forest. Four statues were erected around the area, each holding one of the jewel-encrusted blades and sitting atop one of the dragons, and Milius thought with a certain surety that these must have been the first generation Dragonknights.

“Wow,” Shakil said, as the four dragons bowed reverently. The blue dragon raised its head first, nodded towards the cave entrance, and gave another soft rumbling noise.

“I think she wants us to go inside,” Shakil said.

“How do you know it's a girl?” Ariana asked eagerly.

Shakil smiled. “I know a little about dragon lore. Female names end in ‘a’, while male names end in ‘us.’ So the red and blue dragons, Verdona and Aleia, are girls, and the green and purple dragons, Vrydius and Lumeus, are boys. That right?” he added to the dragons, who nodded benignly. “Anyway, I think we should get inside.” He turned and bowed to the blue dragon, then gestured for the others to do the same.

Sirius and Ariana hastily complied, but Milius stood still, staring at the first Amethyst Knight. It was only after receiving a sharp jab in his side from Shakil did he turn and say irritably, “Oh all right! But it's not like it's going to care anyway.” He bowed, and predictably, the dragon did nothing but stare at him. He made to turn, but, to collective surprise, the dragon bowed. There was no coldness in its gaze anymore, but there was no warmth either. Milius considered this an improvement, albeit a slight one. The dragons unfurled their wings and took flight again.

“Let's get inside, shall we?” Shakil said, after a little pause. He and Ariana strode off. As Milius made to do the same, another voice called out.

“That was … surprising.” Milius turned to see his cousin standing behind him. Sirius was tall, more so than Milius, and muscular, with a broad chest and a scruffy beard. He had his father's honey coloured hair and bright blue eyes, but bore a moderate resemblance to Milius, who had Minerva’s black hair and grey eyes — which were currently focused in a superbly stony gaze.

“Uh —” Sirius began awkwardly, “how are you? Must've been quite a shock, being called up there like that.”

It was a moment or two before Milius spoke, and when he did his tone was frozen. “It was. You would have known that — if you'd bothered to ask.”

“About that — well, I wanted to say something” — Milius snorted disbelievingly — “I did!” Sirius hastened to add. “But I didn't want to ruin the ceremony. I know it's a stupid reason —”

“And selfish,” Milius interjected.

“— and selfish. But I was planning to talk to you as soon as I got the chance … I'm sorry, Mil.”

Milius considered him for a while, then finally his expression softened. “Why d’you have to be so earnest!” he said irritably. “I was planning on staying mad at you for a little while longer.”

Sirius’s grin returned, wider and more mischievous than before. He flung a bulky arm around Milius’s shoulders and steered him towards the cave (Ariana was beckoning them inside impatiently). “So how did you feel about it?” he asked.

“Terrified!” Milius breathed. “Everyone was staring at me! Even the dragons —”

“Speaking of,” Sirius interrupted, now looking very serious, “that purple dragon doesn't seem to like you very much, does it?”

“No, I guess it doesn't,” Milius said quietly.

“Well, stabbing it with a sword probably wasn't the best idea,” Sirius said, though he was still grinning. And now he looked serious again. “Why did you do that, anyway?”

The voice from earlier sounded fresh in Milius’s mind again. “Hang on.” He was about to tell Sirius what had happened, when a roaring behind them announced the dragons’ return. Each one was carrying an Elder, its previous Knight. But one dragon, the statue like dragon, was carrying two people. Elder Calder, and —

“Oh dear,” Sirius said gravely, as he caught sight of Minerva Manchester.