The Dragon Patch had been one of the many reserves openned throughout the nineteenth century throughout the Carpathians. It was, at the time, one of the smallest, but due to an unfortunate series of incidents with Muggles, which resulted in the downsizing of many other reserves, it was currently the biggest one in the Romanian mountains. Granted, not the biggest in Europe, not even in the country, but it was, at least, the best.

Of course, the territory that was assigned to the reserve overlapped the Dragomir property. If only because of family pride (and there was much of that running around at the time), no member of said wizarding family would accept that their lands had the ideal conditions to not only hide dragons from prying eyes, but sustain them indefinitely.

Poaching was in full-swing at the time, threatening with extinction not only the fabled Romanian Longhorns, but breeds of dragons all over Europe. Anybody that went against poaching would later be revered and admired. Nobody assumed that it was out of the goodness of their hearts that Theodor Dragomir I and his wife "allowed" their property to be transformed into what it was today. In turn, they requested complete control over what went on. The family would be permanent overseers of the Dragon Patch. The Ministry eagerly agreed, if only to get the scandal over with. Besides, so long as the dragons lived there happily, there was no need to interfere.

The latest brood of the Dragomir family were not, however, pleased with this duty.

Charlie was about to discover this as he stood in front of the swinging sign that read "Pogonul Dragonului". The sheer amount of paperwork he had to go through just to be allowed to come near this place demanded he be happy. Because, given the fact that this was the last reserve in Romania to hold a number of near-extinct species, the Ministry seemed to want to hinder every attempt of getting close. Some achieved this by well-placed bribes (which, much like their Muggle counterparts, Romanian wizards in the Ministry of Magic were highly susceptible to); others, like Charlie, managed through sheer stubborness. He even slept in front of the Department of Magical Creatures' office door for two days before someone would see him.

He was now waiting on the edge of a dirt road, his suitcase and broomstick a few steps away while he rested on the grass.

"Weasley?"

Charlie jumped to his feet and snapped around, shocked that someone could have sneaked behind him like that. He tried to appear unstartled as he took in this new arrival.

The young man had dark hair and even darker skin-- no, that wasn't his skin, it was soot. He gave a crooked grin while looking over his shoulder, then extended his hand. Charlie shook it relunctantly, then wiped his own hand, now covered in sweat, soot and dirt. 'He could have at least washed his hands,' the red-haired wizard thought.

"Ah, Charlie Weasley. Nice to see you. Gather your things. We're running late," the unbathed stranger spoke feverishly while giving nervous glances over his shoulder.

"Excuse me?" Charlie muttered. He was quite wary of being dragged along by some stranger that looked as if he was wanted in several countries for a long list of fellonies. And he didn't have an accent, either (as, from what Charlie had picked up, the people running the place were Romanian). It suddenly seemed like a good idea to get his wand out.

"Listen, I'm Morgan. I was supposed to come pick you up two hours ago. If Amira finds out I haven't yet, she's going to have no trouble feeding me to the dragons tonight."

Charlie's hand had been slowly inching towards his wand. However, it only made sense that the superintendant would have sent someone else after him. She had to be a busy person, right? He was almost ready to go along, when Morgan took out a wand. Charlie reached after his own wand, but Morgan just aimed it at the luggage a few steps away and muttered "Wingardium Leviosa".

Charlie figured he ought to stop being so paranoid. Then, Morgan turned around and disappeared, leaving only shimmering air behind. Charlie stared dumbfounded as his luggage followed. He testily reached a hand and a prickling sensation ran through it as it disappeared in mid-air. Well, of course. A magical barrier.

'Weasley, you better stop being so paranoid,' Charlie thought as he followed Morgan.