Lions, Tigers, and... Dragons? WIP

AN INTRODUCTION

Dragons are often accompanied by one word: dangerous. Both Muggles and wizards alike realize that dragons are creatures that are not to be messed with. So, why are many young witches and wizards drawn to them, why do they move to places like Roamina to study the very species? Well, maybe it’s because they’re so intertwined with both Muggle and magical culture, with Muggle TV shows such as The Hobbit or Game I’d Thrones advertising Dragons as elusive creatures, sugar-coating the actual danger of the beasts.
Well, wizards and witches know better then, don’t they? They’re aware of the dangers Dragons hold, but still, they flock to be close to them, to experience what it’s like to see a dragon in real life. Maybe that’s just it: maybe these witches and wizards who are so interested in dragons themselves are those who crave dangerous adventures, risk, and adrenaline. If you’re reading this, that probably includes you as well.

A HISTORY OF DRAGONS
By Maggie E. Parker


MUGGLE HISTORY

Dragons are prominent figures throughout Muggle culture both in the present and in the past. Why? Where did they come from? Who invented the very idea of dragons in the first place? Whatever culture they appear in, dragons are always reptilian. That means the Mesozoic Era is the place to start. It lasted from 252 million years ago until 66 million years ago, and is known as the "Age of Reptiles". So, we need to take a closer look at the reptiles that dragons could have been inspired by. It is important to remember, however, that dragons are viewed by Muggles in many different ways, often ways that are a combination of a few different creatures. So while any of these reptiles could be the true ancestors of dragons, it is unclear where Muggles believe they originate from.
The best theory, in my personal opinion, is that dragons originated from dinosaurs. This theory was widely accepted in old Muggle culture, with a long history in China of people identifying fossilized dinosaur bones as those of dragons. In fact, Muggle Paleontologists have playfully nodded to dragons in some of their discoveries, with the “dragon king of Hogwarts” a.k.a the Dracorex hogwartsia, a spiky-headed pachycephalosaur), which, in case you were wondering, has no association with Hogwarts’s name, which was dreamed up by Rowena Ravenclaw when she dreamed of a literal warty hog. My point is that dinosaurs have been a prevailing theory throughout history of where dragons came from, but they don’t explain some of the other forms Muggles have believed dragons to take. While we, as witches and wizards, may know what dragons actually look like, some of the forms Muggles have believed dragons to take have no connection with dinosaurs, which, unfortunately, does not help us identify where dragons originated. In fact, the two very different distinct dragon body forms hint at two alternative evolutionary scenarios.
So, let’s look at another suspect: snakes. The first dragons didn’t even have arms or legs, with the ancient lóng of China, and drakon of Ancient Greece and the Old English wyrm. Evidence suggests that snakes actually evolved from burrowing lizards, which fits with the descriptions of subterranean dragons, such as the Nidhogg of Norse legend or the Greek “earth-dragon” Python, which actually gave its name to the famous snake. The only difference between the two is size, which isn’t a problem: all we have to do is look at some truly dragon-sized snakes. The closest thing we can find is the Titanoboa, a 40ft (12m) long snake with a body as thick as a man’s waist. This is a prime candidate for the ancestor of dragons, but we as wizards know that’s not the case. The problem: wings. Among animals with backbones, wings have evolved three separate times: in birds, bats, and pterosaurs. Each time they evolved in roughly the same way: non-flying ancestors gradually transformed their forelimbs into membranous wings supported by modified fingers. This means that it’s a trade-off, you can have arms or wings, but not both. We, as wizards, know that is not true, however. So, how? That seems to be the prevailing question in this case, one that we will have to find through research and theory and testing, but for now, we need to dive deeper into the history.


http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160929-how-evolution-could-give-rise-to-real-life-dragons


WIZARDING HISTORY


The earliest recorded incident involving dragons is the Great Fire of London in 1666, which was most likely started by a young Welsh Green dragon kept in the basement of a house on Puddling Lane. It was a massive fire that ravaged across most of the medieval London,