Stepping from one of the Ministry's floo-fireplaces, Raven flicked his fingers to dust off his travelling robes. He approached the information booth and waited for the wizard to finish directing the three young people, obviously students, due to their age, to office of the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad. The younger of the two girls thanked the wizard and as see did, tiny roses fell from her mouth.

'Someone's been reading muggle fairy-tales, wasn't that a variant of Diamonds and Toads by Monsieur Perrault?' Raven thought to himself.

"May I help you, sir?" The information wizard asked, with a smile.

"Yes, thank you. Could you direct me to Transportation's International Lounge?" Raven asked in his quiet voice.

The wizard blinked and his smiled grew, his eyes firmly focused on Raven's shoulder.

"Certainly, sir. Back past the floo-fireplaces and turn left at the end, it's the second door on the left. It's marked 'Global Lounge'. Blue door." The bubbly wizard advised.

"Thank you." Raven nodded and left.

It took him until he reached the appropriate door to realise that he knew the wizard, he'd been a 7th Year prefect in '91 when Harry was sorted.

'What was his name? Fleeten? Flinden? No. Flinton. That was it. Rob Flinton.' Raven mused. 'Hufflepuff, I think. Bubbly even with NEWT's looming. Scary, how happy he was about exams.'

He entered the Lounge and he was pleased that his timing was, as ever, perfect.

"2 O'Clock to Paris. Leaving in 5 minutes. Please provide Identification and passports." A bored looking witch stated as he entered the room.

Raven stepped over to her and produced his papers. The witch waved her wand over his papers and a smaller image of said papers appeared on two pieces of parchment on the desk. Another, older wizard also stepped towards them, halting beside a bare pedestal.

"Anything to declare? Animals or food?" She said as Raven retrieved his papers.

"Animals."

"Papers?"

Raven handed over the Regulation and Control permits for Opal and her eggs.

"Ooh… really?" For the first time the witch looked up and her eyes immediately found Opal as she sat on Raven's shoulder. "Oh, wow… She's… wow, she's beautiful."

"Yes, she is." Raven said fondly as Opal preened under his attention.

A buzzer sounded.

"Right. Papers." The witch waved her wand again and handed them back to Raven. "Will she be alright to travel?" She asked, slightly concerned about the delicate beauty being hurt or lost in transit.

"I'll put her in my pocket, just in case." Raven replied. "She'll be fine."

"If you're sure, sir? Alright, then. First time international portkeying?"

Raven nodded and the witch continued.

"Some basic instructions, then. This is what the British Department of Transportation use for International Portkeys." She held up what looked like a belt made of leather with eight straps attached. "The strap is wrapped around the non-wand wrist, at least twice and looped around itself, again twice and held in the hand. Unlike a domestic portkey, we do not recommend travellers release the portkey until transit is complete and the portkey is resting on the destination pedestal. Understand?"

Raven nodded.

"Wand hand?"

Raven held up his right hand.

"Put your head and left arm through the strap of your bag, please. Good. Now, the portkey strap, please." The witch watched attentively as Raven held up a hand to Opal to encourage her into a pocket on his chest.

I don't want to.≈ She grumbled. ≈I want to watch.≈

Next time my ssweet. We will be ussing a portkey from Pariss to Bucharesst, you can watch, then. Pleasse?≈ Raven responded in parseltongue.

The witch stared at him.

"That was…?"

The little dragon reluctantly slid down Raven's arm and into his hand, he lifted that hand and Opal crawled into a pocket inside his robes.

"Parseltongue? Yes, it was." Raven replied, absently.

"But…"

"It's just another language, like French or Mayan." He sighed.

"Can… just anyone learn?" There was clear interest on the witches face.

"If you have an aptitude for languages, you can." Maybe.

"Huh…"

A buzzer sounded twice.

"One minute to departure. You're lucky, there's just the two of you travelling, right now. Processing will be quick." The witch placed one of the pieces of parchment, that had the copies of the traveller's documents, into a glass jar tied with one of the portkey's straps. "Please wait until advised before leaving the Traveller's Lounge. Have a nice trip." She smiled, waving to Opal, who was peeking her head out of the edge of Raven's robes. "You'd best stay in there, little Miss, first-time portkeying can be disconcerting."

Opal cheeped at the witch, disappearing back inside the robe.

"She says, 'thank you, she will.' Thanks for the advice."

"You're welco-"

The portkey activated before she finished. It spun and spun and spun. Seeming to last ages, but Raven knew it was only a few seconds. Finally, the spinning slowed and Raven, reminded of the witch's advise, kept hold of the strap until the room settled and the portkey-belt lay looped on a pedestal.

"One moment, gentlemen, I shall retrieve the travel documents and we'll get you processed. Oui?" A wizard with a very mild French accent said. Both Raven and the other wizard nodded.

"Thank you. First, we have… Monsieur Alexander Fettleborn?" He crossed back to a desk and sat

The older wizard released the portkey's strap and approached the desk, he showed his papers and was quickly permitted to leave.

"Monsieur Raven Rowan-ash?"

Raven released the strap and made his way to the desk.

"You papers say you have a dragon? How is this possible?" The wizard asked, confused.

Opal stuck her head out and hissed to Raven.

I didn't like that. Can I come out now?≈

Sscertainly, dear one.≈

The wizard blinked as the tiny dragon emerged from her pocket.

My eggss? Are they ssafe?≈

Let me check.≈

"She is concerned for her eggs. May I check them before we continue?" Raven asked.

The wizard just nodded, unable to take his eyes off the Cherry Blossom dragon. So Raven carefully reached into his satchel and lifted out the silver and feathered nest. Opal slid down Raven's arm until she reached the nest, where she sniffed and nuzzled the eggs, a happy croon emanating from her.

They are well, guardian. I will sstay with them, the nesst iss warm and portkeyss are bad and cold.≈

Ass you wissh, Opal.≈

"Are they unharmed?" The wizard asked, curiously.

"They're fine." Raven assured him.

"Good. That's good. I am going to assume, you have papers for her, for the eggs?"

"Of course. British Regulation and Control's Dragon Bureau inspected both Opal and her eggs, yesterday. They provided documentation and certificates of health. Given the fact that she and I have bonded, as my Familiar she can travel with me and is covered by my papers, the eggs also come under that, at least until they hatch. And yes, the Familiar's certificate from the DMLE is there, too."

"Ah, very good. You have done this before?"

"No, sir. First trip together."

"Well, you are prepared, this is good. Are you staying in Paris? France? Or does your journey continue?"

"I'm heading to the Dragon sanctuary in Romania, actually."

"Really? Because of the little ones?" The wizard nodded to Opal who was curled around here eggs, crooning and whistling to them.

"No, that's just a happy coincidence. I've always been interested in them and as I speak parseltongue, it was suggested by friends that I could work with them. It was one of my friends that gave me Opal."

You mean, you were given to me.≈ Opal corrected, causing Raven to laugh.

The wizard raised an eyebrow, in inquiry.

"She says, that I was given to her, not her to me."

The wizard smiled at the affection in Raven's voice.

"Well, you've perfect timing, then. The portkey to Bucharest only leaves once a day and luckily for you, it's due to leave in less than 5 minutes. Let me check your papers and copy them for Bucharest and we'll get you on your way."

"Thank you, monsieur, that would be much appreciated."

As the wizard scanned and copied Raven's papers he continued asking questions.

"Will you be getting a licence for future breeding with Cherry Blossoms or is this a one time event?"

"Well… It was an unexpected bonus that Opal was gravid, I had not anticipated it. But there seems to be some interest, so… maybe…?"

"In that case, may I give you my details? My granddaughter was severely injured in an accident and while the healers have done a marvellous job, she will never recover completely. She is also a parseltongue and prior to the accident, had a position as reptile handler at Paris' largest animal retailer. Now, she rarely leaves the house." The wizard's sadness was all over his face. "I would dearly like to give her something that would help her regain her enthusiasm for life.

"Certainly, I'll take your details, but Opal will want to meet her before deciding if she is suitable to have one of her hatchlings."

"Oh, of course, of course." The wizard hurriedly wrote his name, Mathis and Elise Durand, address and floo address on a scrap of paper. "Thank you for at least considering it." Mathis sighed.

A soft gong sounded.

"One minute to departure, Monsieur Rowan-ash." Mathis warned.

Opal, would you like to look after thiss. It iss the contact detailss for a young woman who might make a good guardian for one of your hatchlingss.≈

Doess sshe sspeak, guardian?≈

Sshe doess.≈

Then I will keep it ssafe for you, my Raven.≈

Raven held the paper over the nest and Opal took it in her delicate claws. Then the wizard carefully returned the nest, with Opal in it, to his satchel, stepped over to stand beside a young couple and their two children. He slid the satchel strap back over his head and took hold of the strap of the portkey Mathis held, winding it around his wrist.

"Opal will keep it safe, Monsieur. When the eggs hatch, we will contact you to arrange a meeting."

"Thank you. I hope the Sanctuary all that you want it to be." Mathis let go of the portkey and stepped back.

"I hope so, too." Raven smiled.

Then the familiar spinning came, but longer this time. It went on and on. It kind of made sense, Raven mused, Paris to Bucharest was over five times as far as from London to Paris. The spin finally let up and Raven got his first look at Bucharest, the massive wall of windows showing a stunning view of the Wizarding section of the city.

"Travellers from Paris? Please remain with the portkey, your attendant will be with momentarily." A woman's voice sounded from the wall beside them.

"Monsieur? Was that a dragon? Is it real?" One of the children, a boy of about 10, asked.

Raven crouched down.

"It was. Would you like to see her?" He glanced up at the parents for permission. At their eager nod. He opened his satchel. "You cannot touch, our Romanian paperwork is not done, but you can look, alright?"

The two children nodded, their faces alight with curiosity.

Opal? There are two manss hatchlingss here who like to ssay hello. Will you come out?≈

Are we done travelling? I don't like portkeyss.≈

No, we are not done, dearesst. But from here, we will either usse a floo or apparate. You don't mind thosse, remember?≈

Floo iss better than apparating.≈ The dragon hissed as it emerged from the satchel and climbed to Raven's shoulder.

I agree.≈

"Wha che taying?" The other child, a girl, asked, her thumb firmly planted in her mouth.

"She asked if we were done travelling, she doesn't like portkeys."

"Oh, the poor dear." The children's mother cooed. "I agree portkeys are not very nice, but it is the price we must pay for travelling long distances." She sighed.

"Do you have far to go, now?" The father asked.

"Just to the Dragon Sanctuary. I have an appointment with the Head Keeper." Raven informed them.

"Are you taking her to play with the other dragons?" The little girl asked, removing her thumb. She looked to be about 5 or 6 years of age, to Raven's eyes, but he admitted to himself, he was no judge of children's ages.

Her parents laughed, gently.

"No, she's too small to play with the dragons at the sanctuary. Some of them are as big as this room. No, Opal here will stay with me, she's my familiar." Raven answered.

"Ooohh…" The children cooed.

"Travellers from Paris?" A wizard asked, walking over to them.

"Oui." The young mother replied. "La famille Perrin. Leon, Adeline, Adrien and Sofia.

"Very good." He collected the scroll from the portkey. "Do you have your papers?"

Monsieur Perrin handed them over while the children studied Opal, watching her every move. Neither were too happy when their parents gathered them up and wished Raven and Opal farewell.

"Mr Rowan-ash? Your papers, please?" The wizard asked.

Raven handed them over and they were scrutinised and finally approved.

"Did I hear that you are going to the Sanctuary, sir?"

"I am. I have an appointment there, the day after tomorrow. I was hoping to contact them and request an early arrival."

"I will have someone come and take you to our Fiara Magică office, ah... magical animals, that is. They may be able to help you." The wizard touched one of a hundred-odd buttons on the wall. "Someone will be along, shortly, please excuse me, there's a portkey from Rome due in two minutes. If you'll be seated over against the wall?"

Raven nodded and headed over to sit down.

Will we be here long, do you think?≈ Opal asked. ≈I'm hungry.≈

I doubt it, dear one. I will assk the sstaff in the magic animalss officsse for ssomething for you.≈

I will wait, then.≈

Raven leant his head back against the wall, waiting was never the easiest thing for him.

An hour later, Raven wasn't quite so calm. The head keeper at the Sanctuary was sending someone to collect him and it had just occurred to him that it might be Charlie.

'Oh Merlin, how do I get myself into these situations?' He thought to himself. 'I can't even blame Hermione for this… the first thing to pop into my head, when she asked about locations, was here with Charlie. Dammit.'

Raven didn't know whether it was good or not, but the person sent to collect him, wasn't Charlie.

"Mr Rowan-ash? Dominik Petran. You ready, we go? Sergei Popov iz overseer. He expect you. We go? Yes?" The wizard was even shorter than Harry had been and only came to Raven's chin and spoke clear but broken English.

"Yes, please, Mr Petran."

"Is good, you come. Need help. Horntails clutching un snitch no talk parsel goot."

"I will do what I can, Mr Petran."

"Am Minik. What you-"

He cut himself off in mid sentence. He'd just seen Opal.

"Iz dat…? Iz dat Cherri flower? Dey real?" His eyes almost popped out.

"Oh, yes, this is Opal, she's also my familiar."

"Dragon familiar? Dumnezeule. You stay wit us. You tell Sergei, I say, you stay wit us." Minik demanded.

"Ah… okaayy?" Raven wasn't certain what caused that but he was prepared to assume that it was a good thing.

Minik lead Raven to a loading area that was full of boxes.

"You apparate aside?"

"Aside? Yes, I've been side-along before."

"Goot." Minik collected ropes into his big fists. "You come. You hold my arm. I take boxes. I take you. We go, on t'ree. One… two… t'ree…" As he finished talking there was that horrible yank and with a crack, they were somewhere else, somewhere beside a huge shed.

"Stickler!" Minik yelled.

A young woman came running from the shed.

"You're back. You're late." She shook her head.

"Stickler. You take Raven to Sergei. You tell Sergei, I say Raven stay." Minik dropped the ropes and began pulling individual boxes around, ignoring the gaping mouth of the young woman.

"Raven? What? Minik? Minik!"

Minik pointed at Raven.

"El are un dragon de floare de cireș pentru un cunoscut." He rattled off, presumably in Romanian.

The woman turned her gape from Minik to Raven, one eyebrow raised.

"Go! Sergei, now!" Minik growled.

The woman snapped her mouth shut.

"Sorry… Raven, right?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Okay. Let's go before Minik blows his stack. Oh, people call me Stickler, on account of me being a stickler fer being on time." She grinned

She lead him around the shed and to a path that ran down the hillside. The path split, but Stickler kept going downhill, eventually reaching a large cabin and heading inside. Raven made sure to stay at her heels.

"This is the main office. All of us share smaller cabins, if you do stay, there's a couple of blokes you could share with. I'll let Sergei explain all that. Here we are." She knocked on a door with a glass panel in it.

Raven could seen Charlie in the office with two other men. Both much taller than either Raven or Charlie, one exuded calm, while the other seemed to be a bundle of energy.

"Come." The calm man waved Raven and Stickler in.

"Boss, this is Raven. Minik said to tell you, he says Raven stays."

The three men blinked.

"Did he say why?"

"He rattled off something in Romanian, but…" Stickler held her hands out to her side.

"You don't speak Romanian." The energetic man sighed.

"Nope."

"Right. Well, off you go. I'll speak Minik, later and see if I can get him to tell me." The man Stckler had called 'boss' sighed.

"Alright. Catcha later, Raven." And Stickler was gone, running off down another hallway.

"Welcome, Raven. I'm Sergei Popov and this is my partner Alexi Yenko."

"Good to meet you and good to see you again, too, Charlie." Raven couldn't help himself from grinning at the redhead.

"Again…? Do you know Charlie?" Sergei asked.

"Indeed, we meet during the Tri-Wizard Tournament at Hogwar-" Raven started.

"Wait… Raven?!" Charlie voice reached glass-shattering levels, making both Sergei and Alexi wince, before he switched to parseltongue. Harry?! You iss dead. I thinked you wass dead. What that hell wass you playing for?Charlie growled in broken parseltongue.

Harry Potter iss dead, Charlie, and he hass to sstay that way. Get me through thiss and I sswear, I'll tell you everything. There iss a reasson, Charlie. I didn't do this alone, I had help.≈ Raven replied calmly.

Charlie looked at him steadily for a few seconds.

"What the hell happened to you, Raven? You were such a tiny thing and now look at you." Charlie shook his head.

"I take it you know Raven, now, Charlie. You said earlier you didn't."

"And I didn't, boss, I never knew he was Raven Rowan-ash, the little bugger didn't tell me his name, he just fronted up at the dragon pens in the Forbidden Forest and began charming the dragons out of their foul tempers."

"That's him? He's the little scamp? But… I thought you were writing to him?" Sergei asked.

"I was! But he only signed his letters with an 'R'. No first name, no last name, nothing to trace back. I tried."

"Yeah, about that…?" Raven started.

"What? Charlie growled.

Why sso loud, Raven, I wass ssleeping.≈ A piping little voice hissed.

All three men froze, staring at Raven's satchel in shock. It sounded like a horntail hatchling.

"What was that?" Sergei asked, very carefully.

I am ssorry, dear one. We are here. Would you come out and ssay hello? Charlie can sspeak… a little, anyway.≈ Raven replied to Opal's grumbles.

Sspeak like a manss or sspeak like you?≈

He can sspeak like me. He iss sstill learning, sso ssometimess he gets the words wrong.≈Raven warned.

Oi! I iss not thiss bad.≈ Charile protested.

No iss not bad. Not perfect, but not bad, Raven.≈ Opal agreed.

No, he issn't, but I like to teasse him.≈ Raven replied.

"Brat." Charlie sighed.

Are you coming out? I would like to check the eggss, too.≈

Oh, all right, ass long ass they sstop yelling.≈

I'll tell them, my ssweet.≈

"Opal will come out as long as there's no more yelling, Charlie." Raven warned.

Charlie nodded, he really wanted to see what Harry had in his bag. His breath caught in his throat when Raven's hand emerged holding a delicate little dragon. She was tiny, he estimated that she was less than the length of his hand-span. A pale pink body that deepened to burgundy along her spine and on the edges of her wing bones and legs, with a white under belly and throat, she was a creature out of legend. At least as far as the keepers of Romanian Dragon Sanctuary were concerned.

"Is that…?" Sergei started.

"It's a…" Alexi began.

Charlie's eyes widened.

"Opal is a Cherry Blossom Dragon. She-"

"Hang on." Charlie cut in. "You said eggs, I'm sure you said eggs. Did you say eggs?"

"I did. Opal was a gift from a friend, she used a variant of serpensortia to summon Opal for me as a gift. Imagine my surprise to find that Opal was gravid." As he spoke Raven reached back into his satchel and pulled out the silver nest. "It was a nightmare to get all the paperwork through the Ministry, Regulation and Control really wanted to confiscate her, but by then we'd bonded and I had registered her as my familiar. They tried-"

"A parseltongue with a dragon familiar? That's why Minik said he has to stay." Alexi cut in. "Oh… sorry. Keep going." He winced.

"They tried to confiscate the eggs, but they had no idea how to care for them and I'd told them about my appointment here. In the end they signed the papers, she's mine and so are her eggs."

"Cherry Blossom Dragon and eggs? Bloody Nora, Raven, only you would end up with a dragon that's supposed to be extinct, as a familiar." Charlie began to laugh, leaning against the wall, trying to stay on his feet.

Sergei leant forward.

"Raven, you're hired, you'll bunk in with Charlie, seeing as how he finds you so funny. And… any chance of your friend giving you the exact wording for the charm? We could set up an area especially for Cherries, something specific for them."

Raven just blinked for a few seconds, trying to get his head around what had just happened. He wasn't expecting things to move so fast.

Charlie kept laughing, he'd slid down the wall, now, and was sitting on the floor, holding his ribs. His chest heaved and tears ran down his face. It was a combination or hilarity, shock and relief.

Iss ssomething wrong with him? He iss a sstrange colour.≈ Opal commented, which just set Charlie off again.

He iss fine, he iss jusst a sstupid idiot.≈ Raven replied.

"Did you even think about how this would look, I mean really, Raven?" Charlie groaned.

"Charlie, shut up. Sorry about him, Raven." Sergei said.

"Nah. He's just Charlie, you kind of expect it."

"That we do. Seriously, though? Any chance, any at all? Cherry Blossoms are supposed to be extinct, Raven, and have been for decades." Sergei started. "I remember my grandfather reading to me and my sister when we were small, he'd read us the Draco Varietate libri. Even then He'd tell us what dragons were extinct or were endangered. There were quite a few, even then. So if we could get enough for a breeding program? That would be amazing."

"Wouldn't it just?" Alexi said. "We have to tell dedushka. Can you imagine the look on his face?" Alexi grinned, bouncing on his seat.

"I can only ask. If I can? I'm happy to work with you. To bring them back. But we can start with Opal's babies."

What about the young woman sspeaker, the one you told me about? The one who could be a guardian for a hatchling? What about her?≈ Opal said.

We will sstill ssee her, we ssaid we would and we will keep our word, but if sshe iss not right for one of your eggss, thiss could mean that there are more hatchlingss, one of them might choosse her.≈

"She can understand us?" Charlie gasped.

"She what?" Sergei asked, his jaw dropping.

"She's a familiar, Charlie. My familiar. That means she can understand anything that I can."

"Oh, right… I forgot." Charlie winced.

Sergei sighed and shook his head.

"Okay… You send a letter to your friend, we have a Vanishing Postal Cabinet that goes to the Fiara Magică, they have links to most other European Magical Animal or Creature departments, they can forward it for you, if you want. For now? Sign this, it covers you, and us, in case of accidents, as I'm sure Charlie wants to show you his charges. We will let you settle in, for today. Tomorrow we will see to the rest of your paperwork, as today is Felicia, our administrator's, day off." Sergei waved. "Get out of here, both of you… and if you see Minik, tell him I want to see him."

Alexi just grinned and dropped an arm about his partner's shoulders.

"When we know what your friend says, we will assign duties, until then… work with Charlie. Yes?" Alexi added.

Charlie dragged Raven back up the hill, but veered around the hill instead of heading for the big shed. Down a along path and up a few rock steps, Charlie kept dragging Raven. More paths, more steps and then there was a clearing and a cabin. A simple a-frame style with a large deck out in front and a roof that extended out over it.

"Home, sweet home." Charlie said as he manhandled Raven inside and shut the door behind them.

Iss thiss our new home?≈ Opal asked, her little voice filling the sudden silence.

For ass long ass you want, little Misss.≈ Charlie answered.

My Raven? Doess he sspeak true? Can we sstay here?≈ Opal asked again.

"I think so. Certainly until after your eggs hatch, my sweet." Raven answered.

Charlie spun and flicked his wand around the main room of the cabin, before facing Raven.

"Care to explain how a dead man is standing in my cabin? Harry bloody Potter?!" Charlie demanded.

"Ah… that."

"Yes, that." Charlie snarled.

"Well… um… I don't know how much you know about what happened after Bill and Fleur's wedding."

"Not much. Best to consider I know nothing." Charlie frowned.

"Right, so… when Kingsley sent his patronus to warn us that the Ministry had fallen, we had only a few seconds before the first Death-Eaters showed up. Hermione, apparated Ron and I out, we ended up in London, some avenue. Hermione told us but… I wasn't really listening. We decided that we were on our own, so we went to Grimmauld Place, we knew we needed a plan and we couldn't talk about that in public. We… I knew that Dumbledore had been hunting Voldemort's Horcruxes, we figured we keep going. By then we knew that some of them were already destroyed. There was the diary that I destroyed in the Chamber of Secrets, the Ring that cursed Dumbledore's hand. We thought there were five in total. So that meant that we only had to find another three." Raven began.

"Only?!" Charlie screeched.

"Well, yeah. Someone had to do it and I was the only one that Dumbledore trusted. So the three of set out…" Raven spent the next two hours telling Charlie what had happened and what had caused it. It took Raven a good ten minutes to calm Charlie down and stop him from going after Ginny and his mother. The redhead ranted about them for another 15 minutes before he flopped down onto a sofa beside Raven.

"Alright… got that outta the system. Now what?" Charlie wanted to know.

"Harry Potter is dead and I've no intention of him ever being brought back to life. His Will has been read and everything passed out. Now, I'm Raven Rowan-ash. I have ministry records and Gringotts tests to prove it." He sighed. "All I want is a chance to have a life, Charlie. No one trying to kill me. No one trying to drug me. No one trying to use me. No one trying to abuse me. I just want a normal life."

Charlie snorted.

"Look Har- Raven. No matter who you are, there's nothing normal about you. Take today. You turn up here with a dragon that is thought to be extinct and then you tell us she's your familiar. With eggs, for the aforementioned extinct dragon. And you're still a parselmouth."

Raven blinked, he hadn't thought about it like that. But still…

"Maybe… but now, no one is expecting me to save the entire world by myself. And there's no psychotic maniac out to kill me."

"True. But that still doesn't make you normal… mind you normal is a bit boring." Charlie grinned.

"Isn't it, just?" Raven replied.

"So… Like I asked? What now?"

"Well… I need to write a letter to Hermione…. That's not going to go down well." Raven grimaced.

"Why not? She helped you plan all this."

"Yeah… but… she doesn't know."

"Doesn't know… what?"

"Ah… she doesn't know I'm alive." Raven whispered.

"What?! Why not?" Charlie demanded.

"After Ron re-joined us, I though about it. Our plan. What I was going to do. And something kept jumping out at me. For our plans to work… we needed people to not question it."

"Okay… How?"

"It started with bringing Ron back. Like I told Hermione, if Ron wasn't there, someone would ask why? Maybe an investigation? At the very least, people would ask questions. The more questions, the more they are likely to find gaps in our background layout."

"Right, I can see that. But Hermione?"

"Same reason. If she wasn't giving the impression of grief, then that's going to prompt people to either say she's a gold-digger or they'll begin asking why I left Hermione a Blood Adoption potion…"

"Hmm… And now?"

"It's been six weeks, but she took the potion this morning. If I tell her today, she can pay it off as a side-effect of the potion."

"That might work. If she's got back up."

"Gringotts will back her, especially if I alert Ragnok, too."

"Ragnok? The director of Gringotts in London? That Ragnok?"

"Yeah."

Charlie shook his head and began to mutter.

"He's dead, killed himself off, adopted a sister, rediscovered an extinct dragon, made her his familiar, changed his name, changed his body and is on first-name basis with the head of Gringotts. And he wants a normal life. Bloody Hell!"

"In comparison to Harry Potter, Rave Rowan-ash's life is considerably calmer. Yes, there are expectations, but they're not to save the world."

"Just a dragon species?"

"Well, they are a little smaller." Raven grinned.

Charlie laughed.

"Just a little… So, a letter for Hermione?"

"Yeah…" Raven sighed. "I don't suppose you still have the Postal Service Vanishing Cabinet?"

"Yeah, but if Hermione thinks you're dead, how can you be sure that she hasn't put it away or given it to Mum? How can we be sure that she'll check it? Does she even know where it is?"

"Um…" Raven hummed. "Um… can you cast a patronus?"

"Not one that can carry a message. You?"

"Yeah, but… she won't expect one from me so, I don't think she'll take much notice of it."

"Well, we'll just have to make the message stick… unless… you alert Gringotts and they let her know. I don't suppose you're that friendly with Gringotts…? Are you?"

Raven grinned.

"Ragnok threatened to adopt me, so…? Probably."

Charlie sighed.

"Bloody hell. Right. Let's write the letter and we can apparate to Gringotts in Bucharest and get them to forward it to London. Should get it to Hermione by morning." Charlie headed for a small desk in the corner of the room, rooting through a draw he pulled out parchment and a quill. Dropping them on the desk he kept hunting for ink.

"Dammit, Lonny!" He found the ink bottle, but it was empty, a not shoved into it.

Sorry snitch, you never use it and I didn't think you'd mind. Lon.

"We'll have to go back to the office and get some ink. I'll only-"

"I've got some, Charlie."

Raven dug into his satchel and pulled out the silver nest, placing it on the table, he dug back into the bag and this time pulled out a pair of shrunken trunks. He tapped one with his wand and watched as it swelled to full size. Popping the lid he rummaged around in the sliding compartment in the top of the trunk and wrapping his fingers around a bottle of black ink.

"Here we are." He handed it to Charlie and Charlie handed him the quill. "Oh, no. Has to be you, just in case someone else is with her when she reads it."

"Dammit. Give it here, then." Charlie snatched the quill and laid the parchment out, then he paused. "What do I say?"

"Hermione? There's a letter from Gringotts for you." Fred knocked on the doorframe of the office. He handed the letter to her and sat on the opposite side of the desk.

Hermione's hand shook slightly as she took the letter. She opened it and quickly scanned the contents. She blinked a few times and erupted into motion. Darting out of the office, through the store up and the stairs, heading for the bedroom that Fred and George had insisted she take, Fred hot on her heels.

"Freddie?" George questioned as Hermione tore passed him.

"No idea, Georgie." He kept going and George joined the chase, without a thought.

Hermione reached out and grabbed the doorframe of the bedroom using it to swing herself into the room, she dived across the bed on her stomach, just as Fred and George reached the door. They exchanged glances and paused, not sure if she was going to burst into tears or not. Hermione dug her arm into the box that held everything from before the Battle. She grunted and rolled over, seeing Fred and George she squealed in surprise.

"What the hell, 'mione?" Fred gasped for breath.

"Um…" Oh, hell, what was she supposed to the twins? "Ah… Gringotts? They notified me that they transferred Harry's Postal Service Vanishing Cabinet, into my name."

"And that warranted a mad dash through the store?"

"Um… no, but yes. It wasn't the notice that made me run, but it reminded me that Ha- Harry was writing to Charlie." Hermione stumbled over Harry's name.

"Charlie?" Fred asked.

"Our Charlie?" George asked.

"Well, yes…"

"Since when?" George asked, confused, how had they not known that?

"Since the Tri-Wizard Tournament. After the first task Har-Harry would sneak out each night. He was… he was fascinated with the dragons. He wanted to see they could understand him. If he could understand them."

The twins looked at each other, there was something Hermione wasn't telling them. But at least she was talking. Next on the list was eating. After listening to the goblins give a list of what changes she could possibly expect over the next few weeks, both Fred and George hoped that the adoption would break through her grief.

"And…?" Fred held his breath.

"Yes. Both. He would say every morning that Charlie had threatened to turn him in, to tell Dumbledore. But it never happened. The dragons were always happy to see… Harry, to talk to him. So when he was leaving, Charlie got Harry the forms for a Postal Service Vanishing cabinet. He even went and picked it up, because Harry couldn't leave Hogwarts to get it." She opened her hands and in them was a beaded drawstring bag. "It was one of the only things that Harry kept on him at all times… at least until we were leaving Bill's. He asked me to keep it safe." Her breath hiccupped.

"And that rated the dash?"

Hermione gave them a slightly mad grin.

"Yes?!"

She sat up and pulled the bag open, thrusting her hand into it, vanishing up to the shoulder. The twins could hear things bumping and knocking. Eventually Hermione growled and stood, she grasped the bag by the tassel on it's base and turned the thing upside down.

Both men were more than slightly alarmed at the sheer quantity of stuff that fell from the small bag. Book after book, after book. One, two, three, four muggle first aid kits. One, two healer's bags. So many bottles that neither of them tried to count. Blankets. Towels. A chair. Some glass jars. Two wands. A muggle radio. A tin of biscuits. Boxes of chocolate. Quills. Parchment. Three bottles of ink. Two belts. And a whole wardrobe's worth of clothes and shoes, for Harry and for Hermione.

And one strange little box. It looked a bit like a potato storage box crossed with a bread bin, about the same size as traveller's writing desk. It had Owl Post Service inside a red cartouche stamped in it, with a number, 4127 carved below that. On each side of the Post Service emblem there were two arrows, one pointed up and the other pointed down. The second arrow was lit with a blue glow.

Hermione tapped the arrow with her wand and opened the box. There was a single folded sheet of paper. Her hand was remarkably steady as she retrieved and opened it.

George took a hasty step back at the seriously pissed off expression on Hermione's face as she read the note.

Fred's eyebrows rose sharply, when Hermione began to swear.

At length.

In parseltongue.

fiara magică = Magical Beast

Dumnezeule = my god

El are un dragon de floare de cireș pentru un cunoscut = he has a cherry blossom dragon for a familiar.

Dedushka = grandpa

familia sanguine =family bloodline (rough trans)

ad iungere sanguine = join the bloodline

Cerasus flores =cherry blossoms

Prohibitos autem ibis ad silvam =to the forbidden forest you go.

mentem quatiunt = shuttered mind

obsessa mens = blocked mind

cogitations clausa =closed thoughts

incantatum finite = end incantation(spell)

Howler from Hermione is in parseltongue