For the Scavenger Hunt: Easter Egg Hunt at The Golden Snitch! Come and join us :)
The Hungarian Horntail was known for being one of the most dangerous species of dragons. Charlie doubted that was true even after seeing all the damage they could do. At the end of the day, the Hungarian Horntail was another species (not only of dragons but of live beings) that protected their own with fierceness.
He had worked with Horntails before. Unrestrained, wild male dragons that fought for the right of leading a colony were nothing compared to female Horntails fighting for their right to lay eggs on the greenest grass patch around. Charlie knew it. That's why he liked to be there when the females laid eggs —no other tamer in the reserve was as dauntless as him.
In fact, many called him a reckless wizard who was heading into an early grave. Charlie didn't think that was completely true. While he might be called reckless, he liked being alive quite too much. For that reason, he drank beer with his colleagues until they woke up with blinding headaches, for that reason he wasn't married to only one woman, and for that reason he liked to be there with the dragons.
Like Charlie, the dragons were free. Besides, there was nothing better than the strangely human look in the dragon's eyes as the eggs lay in their nest. The protectiveness of the mothers–to–be was something Charlie associated with his own mother. Yes, Molly Weasley could be called a mother dragon. Hens were, in Charlie's opinion, not dangerous enough.
So there he was, one wand pointed at the dragon and the other holding a portkey that would activate the second he was in danger. The Hungarian Horntail in front of him, the youngest female of the colony, a dragon Charlie called Meraxes, howled like a wolf with each of the eggs that came out of her.
Charlie would cast a protective barrier between each egg and the others, and between the dragon and them. There were too few Hungarian Horntails to allow the eggs to be crashed and scrambled, more so when they came from a mother as young and strong as Meraxes.
"Come on, baby," Charlie called to the dragon, though if Meraxes heard him she didn't react. "You have three now. Let's get out the other five."
The dragon breathed out red and orange fire then, scalding and hot even if it didn't touch Charlie at all. The nearby trees were burning, though, and Charlie's colleague, Harrold, hurried with his wand in hand and an Aguamenti on his lips.
"I thought Dante put up the barrier!" Harrold yelled, apologizing. "Don't worry, Charlie. She'll be over soon and then you can get to safety."
Harrold and Dante didn't understand. Charlie was safe. If he got burned, Charlie would brag about his scars like he had done many times before, but he'd never abandon a dragon when she was laying eggs.
Yet, Harrold was right in that Meraxes would soon be done. The last of the eggs came out of her and she sat primly on the eggs' side, covering them with her wings as if protecting them from danger. Charlie sent a few more spells towards the eggs, monitoring temperature and pressure on the 'net' that protected them. When he was satisfied, he looked up to the dragon.
Then, Meraxes looked at Charlie with the same eyes many other dragon mothers did before. The silent thank you kept him smiling throughout the day.