Disclaimer: I do not own DC Comics or Harry Potter.

The Princess and the Dragon

A DC Comics/Harry Potter crossover

oOo

Dodging a fifteen foot column of flame, Diana realized that the dragon was proving to be a fiercer opponent than she'd originally expected. She flew upwards, lessening her speed to lure the dragon away from the ground below.

She'd been tracking the creature for a month and a half now, after the Watchtower had first picked up reports of random large-scale fires in rural areas of Bulgaria and Northern Greece. A massive magical signature was found alongside the embers. Diana—Princess of the Amazon Nation of Themyscira, but more commonly known as the superhero Wonder Woman—volunteered to track down the culprit. As the weeks passed, the fires had progressed from uninhabited wilderness to farmlands. The unknown arsonist was getting closer and closer to civilization. It was only a matter of time before someone was injured, or worse. She'd gotten very close to catching it once, but lost the creature's trail after having to stop and rescue a family of five from a burning farmhouse. Less than an hour ago, a tip from Oracle—the Justice League's primary intelligence agent—led her to a fire in the lowlands of Southern Bulgaria and a rampaging fifty foot dragon.

One thousand feet above the ground, Diana abruptly ceased her ascent, turning to face the surprised dragon. Punches that could pulverize rock—a left cross and a right uppercut—impacted with the animal's scaly black head. Before her third hit could land, she pulled her fist back at the last possible second, not wanting any part of her skin to come into contact with the noxious yellow foam dripping from the creature's jaws. While she might not be the World's Greatest Detective, she was pretty sure that those gleaming bronze teeth were highly poisonous.

The dragon let forth an angry roar, charging toward the woman with teeth and claws bared. Diana feinted left then flew right, letting the dragon zip by her. Avoiding the row of black spikes that ran the length of its back, she carefully positioned herself until she was hovering between the creature's massive leathery wings. She placed her open palms on the dragon's back and channeled all of her mighty powers into a steep dive, forcing the beast into a free fall toward the ground. Its wings beat erratically as it tried to regain control, but it couldn't escape the sheer force of the Amazon's downward flight.

The dragon changed tactics. It whipped its powerful tail around and a wicked bronze spike caught Diana in the side of the head, knocking her sideways and away from the animal's back. The dragon ceased its dizzying descent and barrel-rolled left, coming face to face with its attacker. It reared back and, with a primal scream, released its fiery breath. Wonder Woman was completely engulfed by the inferno of flame and smoke. Agonizingly long moments passed as the seconds seemed to drag into eons. When the smoke cleared, she emerged with hardly a scorch mark on her, but with the heat of battle blazing angrily in her blue eyes.

She bull-rushed the dragon, flying headlong toward it with her fists outstretched before her. The creature flew upwards, attempting to escape the Amazon's onslaught. But she'd expected this, and as the dragon skimmed overhead she drove her fists once, twice, three times into its vulnerable underbelly.

The dragon huffed, exhaling a cloud of black sulfurous smoke as it struggled to regain its breath. The animal's flight faltered and it plummeted fifty feet before extending its wings and catching a thermal, allowing it to glide to the ground. It landed with a clumsy thud, craning its head to stare up at her with accusing orange eyes. From the sound of its wheezing inhalations, it was clear to Diana that the creature was injured.

She was preparing for one last dive, ready to finish the creature off, when movement in her peripheral vision caught her attention. She spun in midair, fists clenched and ready to face the new threat. But she hesitated upon seeing the odd sight of fifteen or so people flying towards her on old-fashioned straw brooms.

All but one of the newcomers angled their brooms downward towards the fallen dragon, most pulling thin sticks of wood from inside their strange, robe-like clothing. These people were clearly magicians of some sort, as they shot red beams of light and conjured ropes and chains as they circled the creature.

The dragon seemed oddly docile, which puzzled Diana given that only moments ago the same creature had been trying to roast her to a cinder.

Only one of the magic users was still airborne, and he hovered to a stop a respectful distance away from the Amazon Princess. Though it was hard to get an accurate estimate due to his perch on his broom , the man seemed to be a couple of inches shorter than Diana herself. Maybe five-ten or five-eleven. He was broad-shouldered, and the freckles scattered across his tanned face and arms, not to mention his red-orange hair and bright blue eyes, gave him a rugged but amiable appearance. He reminded her a bit of the Flash, and Diana allowed herself to unclench her tightened fists.

oOo

As Charlie Weasley eased his Comet 260 to a stop several yards from the brightly-clad flying woman, he realized several things.

First, he was pretty sure that the woman hovering before him was a real, honest-to-Merlin superhero.

When dealing with beings whose powers made those of the average wizard seem like mere parlor tricks, the Ministry of Magic's standard operating procedure was to simply pretend that said beings didn't exist. In truth, it was not unlike a small child that hides under the covers, believing that if they can't see the monster in the closet, then the monster can't see them either. Therefore, it was no surprise that there was little knowledge about superheroes available in the wizarding world. But Charlie had heard stories, and even seen a picture of that famous bloke in the blue tights and red cape in the Quibbler. So, given the mystery woman's odd uniform—a mishmash of gold and silver armor and a red, white, and blue swimsuit—as well as her apparent ability to fly, Charlie was willing to wager his own wand that she was a superhero.

Second, she was easily the most beautiful woman that Charlie had ever seen. Tall and tan, with long black hair and intelligent blue eyes. He could tell just by looking at her that she was spirited, a warrior. Not even a veela's magical beauty could come close, as they were pale and fragile-looking next to this lean-muscled goddess. With her chin up and shoulders back, she looked positively regal.

She was exactly like the kind of woman that normally put the spark in his incendio, but times ten. Thousand.

Which brought him to his third observation. He didn't know this particular heroine's name or the extent of her powers, but he had just seen her shake off a Ridgeback's flame as though it were merely a warm breeze. Not to mention the fact that she'd punched a dragon. (And to be honest, Charlie was still a bit awed by that.) Now this very same warrior woman was hovering before him, fists clenched and ready for battle as she studied him through narrowed eyes.

He knew without a doubt that she could squash him like a bug, so as he prepared to address the stranger, he made damn sure to keep his eyes locked on hers and to avoid staring at her golden eagle, as tempting as it might have been, at all costs.

Charlie was proud that he kept his voice from cracking like a prepubescent schoolboy when he finally spoke.

"I'm sorry about this ma'am. I'm Charlie Weasley," he said, then pointed down at the dragon being corralled and trussed below. "And that's Norberta. She escaped from the dragon reserve in Romania. I'm a handler there. I hope she didn't cause too much trouble."

The woman eyed him cautiously. Though he could see that her hand twitched towards the golden rope that hung from her belt, she never actually uncoiled it, seeming content to run the loose end between her long, well-manicured fingers.

"My name is Diana, though many know me as Wonder Woman. I've been tracking that beast for the last month and a half as it burned its way through many acres of land, including several farms. So far there have been no deaths, but there was one instance in which it was close."

Though Charlie bristled when she called Norberta a beast, he seemed genuinely upset by the end of her comment. While it was true that he was worried about the damage caused by the runaway dragon, he was also very aware that if Wonder Woman wanted to prevent the handlers from taking the animal, they were in for one hell of a fight. And despite it being one woman against fifteen trained magic users, he wasn't entirely sure that it was a fight the wizards could win.

"I'm so sorry. Dragons are very intelligent creatures and normally avoid people when they can, but Norberta was raised in captivity and lacks a wild dragon's instincts."

"She attacked me. Is that normal?"

"Actually, well, I think you might have scared her."

"I scared her?

Charlie merely nodded. "She's less than ten years old. In dragon years, that makes her a toddler."

Diana studied the calmed creature, which now looked less like a fearsome, deadly beast and more like a wounded puppy. "She will be securely confined?"

"Oh yes ma'am. Of course. We've already found and patched the hole in our wards. She won't be getting out again."

Diana hovered closer, until there was but a foot between her body and Charlie's broom. "Very well Mr. Weasley. I leave her to your care."

She held out her hand, and Charlie dearly hoped that his palms weren't clammy and that his nervousness didn't show as he clasped it with his own. To his surprise, her hands were perfectly smooth, hardly what he'd expect from a warrior.

The handshake lasted just a little bit longer than was proper before Charlie finally pulled away. He grasped the handle of his broom, ready to dive and join his colleagues, when he addressed Diana one final time. "Thank you. She really is a good girl."

Diana smiled. "I'll have to take your word on that." But there was no malice in her words.

With a burst of speed, she flew upwards and was soon out of sight.

The dragon handlers were efficient and by the time Charlie rejoined them there was little work left to do. He helped secure Norberta's temporary cage and apply the charms that would allow them to carry it suspended from their broomsticks as they flew back to Romania.

He fell into formation and, at the flare, rose in sync with his fellow handlers. It was a long flight back to the sanctuary, and Charlie allowed his mind to wander back to blue eyes, black hair, and flawless olive skin.

oOo

From her hidden vantage point amongst the clouds, Diana followed the handlers back to Romania, unwilling to leave until she was certain that the dragon was safely contained once again. As they landed in their mountainous compound, she hovered a little closer, though still careful to stay out of sight.

She had originally thought Mr. Weasley to be a timid man, but now she watched, amused, as he boldly stood before Noberta the dragon with naught but a little stick of wood for protection. The fact that the creature towered over him didn't seem to worry him at all as he scolded her for escaping and ordered her to her paddock. Diana laughed softly as the dragon seemed to slump in defeat as it dejectedly followed the red-haired man. He gave her a consoling pat behind her bronze horns for her troubles.

At that moment, the Amazon Princess admitted to herself that she had misjudged Norberta, thinking her to be a menace when in fact she was just a lost child. Perhaps she had misjudged Charlie Weasley as well? He certainly didn't seem timid now.

Diana flew into the upper atmosphere, looking around and carefully noting the location of the dragon sanctuary. It would probably be a good idea for her to check in on Norberta, just in case, sometime in the near future. In fact, she didn't have anything planned for the coming weekend.

As she rocketed back towards the States leaving a sonic boom in her wake, Diana idly wondered whether or not dragon handlers had to work weekends.

oOo

Author's Note: I don't really know what to say about this. The original fic was less than 300 words and meant to be a joke. Then it kind of took on a life of its own and this was the result.