They Kill Dragons, Don't They?

Owls had been going back and forth for an hour now. Charlie had made all the arrangements for somebody to meet Ronnie at the International Portkey terminal and see he took the right Portkey back to London. There his dad would be waiting for him to floo him back home.

He'd left Ronnie to listen to Olaf and Chrissie, that was the witch's name, telling him about all the close calls they had with dragons on the reserve. Charlie wasn't comfortable with Chrissie's willingness to strip off and show her scars to a fascinated Ronnie, but no matter how many times he mouthed the words 'ten years old' to her, she still didn't quite get it.

McVitie had been very helpful helping to arrange Ronnie's return and had been quite a hit with Charlie's little terror of a brother. It was a shame. Here, everybody paid attention to Ronnie and wanted to show off to him, it was like a competition to see who could impress him more, and yet when Ronnie went back home it would be to a clingy overprotective mother and brothers who just wanted him out of the way.

Maybe he should spend some more time with the little runt before he had to go. As far as Ronnie knew, all Charlie had wanted since he found out he had stowed away was to be rid of him. He tramped out of his tent and snuck up beside Ronnie while Olaf was entrancing him with the story of his missing thumb. Charlie grinned and began to creep quietly as he drew nearer and, just as Olaf got to the big dragon attack part of his story, Charlie snatched Ronnie up in his arms and growled into his neck.

Ronnie squealed and then went into convulsions of laughter as Charlie blew raspberries into his skin.

"Geddoff!" Ronnie chuckled.

"Oh, so is that how we fend off ravenous attackers here then?" Charlie looked at Olaf and Chrissie before dangling Ronnie upside down by the ankles. "When I find myself being chewed up in the jaws of a Short Snout I'll just shout 'geddoff!' and I'll be free?"

Ronnie's little arms swung playfully at Charlie's legs before he squealed as his older brother righted him again and threw him over his shoulder.

"You're a bite sized snack for a dragon y'know? Maybe we should give them an early feeding."

"No!" Ronnie laughed and screamed at the same time.

Charlie slapped Ronnie on the behind and marched off towards the forest.

"Bait doesn't talk!"

"Ah, he's got a point there Ronnie," Chrissie shrugged, "try not to make too much noise as the big fella chews you up."

"It gives him indigestion," Olaf called with a grin.

"Charlie, stop it!" Ron chortled as he flailed his little fists and hit Charlie on the backside several times. "I'll tell on you."

Charlie gasped and set Ron down on the grass before him.

"You dirty snitch!"

Ronnie sniggered and got ready to run away from his brother before McVitie grabbed him from behind and hoisted him up on his shoulders.

"Now I think we've got time to show young Ron the nursery, don't you, Weasley?" the white haired man smiled.

"You're breeding?" Charlie blinked. "I didn't think that was allowed."

"It's not, and no, we aren't..." McVitie covered Ronnie's ears with his hands, "sex with dragons is frowned upon unless you're another dragon," the team leader uncovered a frowning Ronnie's ears while Charlie laughed. "Unfortunately we have a poaching problem in these parts and lots of young are being left parentless."

"We're hand rearing them but trying to keep our distance so they don't get too dependant on humans to take care of them," Chrissie said, as she approached with Olaf and Stebson.

Charlie noticed that Stebson carried a bag made from sacking that oozed something almost black.

"You remember that lesson when your spawn hatch, young 'un," Stebson grunted at Ronnie.

"Ah yes, can't let the dragon frogs depend on their mummy for too long otherwise they'll all die out without you," McVitie said before turning and setting off towards the nursery.

"What breeds have you got sir?" Charlie followed on eagerly.

"Mostly cross breeds at the moment, the dragons have to mate outside their breed in order to reproduce. We've no Norwegian blues at all...pining for the fjords I suppose."

"Pining for the fjords?" Ronnie frowned as he bobbed along on McVitie's shoulders.

"It's another way of saying dead, young'un," Stebson said bluntly.

Ronnie was gazing at the dragon eggs in amazement before Chrissie made him laugh by whispering something to him about a massive omelette.

Olaf and McVitie were talking Charlie through the nursery area and showing him the suckling machine they'd set up for the new hatchlings.

"Of course eggs go for a fortune on the black market and there's a demand for infant dragon blood, the purity of it makes it more valuable than gold."

"We lost a whole nest two weeks ago," Olaf said, sadly. "Mother slaughtered and stripped to the bone, eggs stolen and nest burned for good measure."

"Why burn the nest?" Charlie frowned.

"That was for our benefit," McVitie said with a weary sigh, "there's something of a war between us and the main gang of poachers who target this area. They burned our camp out several times too, hope you didn't bring anything of too much value Weasley, chances are you'll lose it soon enough."

Charlie looked at Ronnie as he watched Chrissie holding an egg up to the light so he could see the shadow of the baby dragon moving around inside.

"The only thing I can't afford to lose is leaving in half an hour anyway."

McVitie slapped Charlie on the back and smiled warmly.

"Lovely little lad that one, Weasley. I'd be glad to let him visit you if we were reassigned to a safer territory but as I said...with arson and sabotage all around us the risk is too high."

"Charlie," Ronnie ran over to his brother, full of excitement, "I saw a baby dragon in the egg. Right inside, Charlie!"

"Yeah?" Charlie bent down and picked Ronnie up so he could look down into the pen with the new hatchlings inside.

"Oh wow!" Ronnie gasped.

"They keep the eggs in the fire so they're as cosy as their mum would have made them and they take them out just as they begin to hatch."

"Can I hold one?" Ronnie asked eagerly.

"I'm afraid not, young Ron," McVitie said, ruffling Ronnie's hair as was now his custom to do, "one bite from these little things and you'll be sick for a week."

Ronnie frowned and Charlie mumbled into his ear.

"I know how you feel titch; I wanna play with them too."

"Don't they miss their mums and dads?" Ronnie asked as Charlie leaned over with him to get a closer look.

"I don't think they knew their mother and father before they hatched. The poachers kil... The baby dragons only know the people at the reserve who look after them."

"Like my dragon frogs will with me?" Ronnie asked.

"Exactly," Charlie nodded with a smile.

Ronnie looked very thoughtful for a moment before turning to call out to Stebson.

"So what happened to the mum and dad of my dragon frogs? Did they get poached too?"

"'S different with frogs son," Stebson said gruffly, "they lay their eggs and bugger off."

"Stebson, language!" Chrissie said as she slapped Stebson on the arm.

Ronnie was laughing and Charlie couldn't help but join in, when the ground shook and an almighty boom made them all cower. Charlie put his hand over Ronnie's head protectively while Stebson swore even more severely than before and ran out of the nursery area with his wand drawn.

"They've hit the camp!" McVitie said as he set off after his 'chef', calling over his shoulder to Charlie as he went. "Keep the boy in here. The nursery is warded; it's the safest place for him."

Charlie was about to say something when Olaf and Chrissie ran out after the others and the two redheads were left alone with the young dragons and fragile eggs incubating in the fire.

"Charlie?" Ronnie asked as he clung to his big brother tightly.

"It's okay Ronnie mate, you're with me and all these fierce dragons, nobody's gonna hurt you."

"But they want to hurt the dragons and everybody left them."

"No little man, they're messing up our tents, they're just like bullies, just like Fred and George, and Stebson and the others have gone to tell them off and shoo them away. That's all it is okay?"

Ronnie still seemed anxious and wriggled to get down.

"I wanna see."

"No!" Charlie said firmly, and tightened his grip on his squirming brother.

"But..."

"Ronnie I said no!" Charlie snapped harshly.

Ronnie's head dropped and Charlie felt like shit. Before he could open his mouth to say anything, he suddenly realised that they were going to miss Ronnie's International Portkey and that there was no way he could arrange another at such short notice.

"Look, tyke," Charlie sighed, "you're probably going to have to stay here for another night and there are some nasty people around. I didn't mean to shout at you but you have to listen to me and do as you're told, okay?"

There was another ground shaking explosion and one of the dragon eggs rolled out of the fire. Charlie could hear shouting and drew his wand.

"You stay out of sight, curl up really small like you're hiding from that bludger again, and don't come out unless it's anybody but me understand?"

"Where are you going?"

"I'm just going to guard the door to make sure they stay out, okay?"

Charlie gave Ronnie a gentle shove backwards before walking to the entrance of the nursery. He saw his little brother crawl over to the cooling egg and pick it up to roll it back into the flames. He smiled at him and gave him a nod of encouragement to go and hide.

Charlie clenched his jaw and moved away from the nursery to defend the young ones...all the young ones.