While I've read some fan fiction stories I'd swear were written by J.K. Rowling, I wouldn't presume to be in that category.

Ginny spent a long day at St. Mungo's desperately trying to comfort her family without divulging the fact that Professor Snape was working on a possible cure. After Harry joined her in the afternoon, they barely left each other's side. Carefully watching his words even though he was whispering, he let her know that he was waiting to talk to Hermione before he left again. He grew more and more anxious as the afternoon wore on, wondering why it was taking her so long. Finally the galleon the potions master had given him heated up, indicating Hermione's return. Soon after he left, Hermione returned to the intensive care waiting area looking exhausted. Depressingly, a quick glance at the window showed no improvement in Ron's condition. She gave Ginny a small nod. They didn't get a chance to talk before Hermione was enveloped in family hugs.

Long after darkness fell, Harry returned.

"How'd it go?" whispered Hermione as Ginny gave her husband a hug.

Harry cast a muffliato. "Just left from dropping the seaweed off," he whispered despite the protective spell. "The base is still being prepared. The lava rock can't be added until Thursday morning, so I'm going into the office tomorrow morning to see what I can find out and then will head south tomorrow afternoon. I'll stop by your office, too, Hermione; I know everyone will be anxious to know how you're doing."

Hermione nodded gratefully. "Thank them for their concern. Did the Professor say anything? When I dropped off the amulet before returning here he said he was still refining his calculations."

"I didn't get a chance to talk with him – he was in his lab mixing and stirring things in some bubbling cauldrons and I didn't want to disturb him. He did nod when I put the seaweed on the table."

Hermione took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "The healers here seem to have given up. They say it's up to Ron now."

Laying one comforting hand on her shoulder, Harry gently brushed the hair away from her face with his other hand. He looked around to make sure no one was paying them attention. Lowering his voice even further so that the other two had to strain to hear him, he whispered, "It's OK, Hermione, it's not over yet. We have Professor Snape in our corner." Ginny nodded in support.

Long hours had passed when Ginny shook herself awake on the padded chair. Percy and Audrey were arm-in-arm at the window but the others were drowsing on various chairs and sofas. She quietly approached her brother.

"He's not going to make it, is he?" asked Percy in a whisper without taking his eyes from Ron. "The healers don't say anything, but I see them shaking their heads. I overheard one talking about how he has only a few days left at the most when they didn't realize I was listening."

Ginny rested her head on his shoulder. "He'll make it," she said fiercely. "He won't leave us." She glared at her brother through the window as if daring him to prove her right. "Perce, I need some air. I'll be back in the morning, yeah?"

Percy nodded absentmindedly, returning to his vigil. Ginny made her way out of the hospital and found a deserted location from which to leave.

Even though she was expecting a long transit via portkey, Ginny's stomach felt queasy as the swirl of colors began to resolve into a recognizable landscape. She fell to one knee before catching her breath and standing up.

"Ginny!" called a woman with long, shiny black hair and a friendly smile. "I'm so glad you contacted me!"

Ginny reached forward to embrace her friend. "Liu-Yang! How have you been? How's your son?"

The woman gave a proud smile. "Ten years old and at the top of his class. He's on the school's flying team and loves it, of course." She took Ginny's arm and began to walk towards a small house at the edge of a park. "And how are your three?"
"All three are at Hogwarts now – can you believe it? James wants to play professional quidditch; don't all boys at that age? Albus has just discovered girls. Lily is blossoming at school; I was afraid she'd be in her brothers' shadows, but she is making her own path." They reached the iron gate at the front of the house which opened for them.

Lui-Yang smiled. "Just like her mother she will not let older brothers decide her life. Your husband too is well?"
Ginny nodded, and then her smile fell. "But my brother Ron got into a serious accident at work."

Lui-Yang turned thoughtful. "Yet out of the blue you decide to come visit me to look for dragon mementos." She opened the door to the house and motioned Ginny to sit down at the table. "Somehow I don't think the two are unrelated. Have you eaten?" At Ginny's polite nod, she summoned a pot of aromatic ginger root tea, two cups, and plates of savory rice balls, laying everything on the table before sitting down.

Ginny took a sip of tea before leaning back. "Ron was attacked by dark magic," she said with a hitch in her voice. "His magical core is falling apart. One person found a possible cure, but it requires dragon eggshell fragments."

Lui-Yang looked at her sharply. "You have dragons in Briton. You are not telling me something."

"The potion specifically needs the eggshells to come from a Chinese dragon. The person creating the potion thinks it would be best if they were those of a Guilin Armortail."

Lui-Yang sighed. "Of course you would need something from one as dangerous as they come. As I told you, my friend Zhang-Min has a brother who works on a dragon preserve in the mountains. I told her I'd call as soon as you got in." She picked up a mirror that was on the table and spoke into it. "Wu Zhang-Min."

A few seconds later Lui-Yang's reflection was replaced by that of a woman with lustrous, shoulder length jet-black hair. "Hello, Lui-Yang! Has your guest arrived?"

"She's with me right now. Can you come over?"

"Give me a moment and I'll be on my way."

Five minutes later there was a small pop of apparition followed immediately by a knock on the door. After inviting her in and asking if she had eaten, Lui-Yang summoned another teacup and another plate of rice balls.

"Zhang-Min, meet my friend Ginny from Britain. We met at a quidditch training camp. Ginny's brother is seriously ill and is in need of help."
The woman smiled, lighting up her face. "You said earlier she needed something from a dragon? I'm sure Le-Wei," she glanced over at Ginny, "my brother," she explained and then turned back to Lui-Yang, "will be able to help."

"Yes, but I didn't realize it needed to be from a Guilin Armortail."

Zhang-Min winced. "You would of course want something from the most magically powerful dragon in China. We can still ask. When can you be ready to head to the preserve?"

Ginny stood up. "I'm ready now."

With a quick wave of her wand, Lui-Yang floated the tea cups and plates back to the counter. "What are we waiting for?"

Zhang-Min pulled out at battered quill and the three touched it.

ATDATDATD

When the swirling colors resolved, Ginny found herself on a narrow mountain ridge. A fine mist softened the contours of the landscape. She could see some jagged spires across the valley ahead of her. The plateau where she was standing seemed to be one of the few areas she could see clear of dense vegetation. Focused on the view, she heard more than saw Lui-Yang and Zhang-Min mutter what she assumed were protection charms against the drizzly weather and she rapidly did the same.

"Zhang-Min!" the voice behind her was hearty, but alongside it was a more tentative, "Ginny?" Surprised, she whirled around. "Charlie!" Running forward, she gave him a hug. "What are you doing here?"

Charlie laughed as he swung her around. "Hey, little sister! I could ask the same of you! Le-Wei is a dear friend of mine. It's good to see you!"

Ginny caught her breath as Charlie set her down. Her smile evaporated. "Charlie, something serious has happened."

Charlie gave her an appraising look before grabbing her arm. "Let's talk inside the caretaker's hut. It will be a lot more comfortable."

ATDATDATD

Ginny quickly explained what had happened to Ron. All four listened intently. "So you need eggshell fragments from our local Armortail since it's the closest modern relative of the Xian Raptor?" the Chinese dragon keeper summarized.

Ginny nodded, taking a sip from the now cool tea that had been summoned to the table. "And we don't have much time."

Le-Wei remorsefully glanced at Charlie and carefully avoided looking at Ginny. "I would help you if I could," he said slowly and softly, "but that is not possible."

Ginny paled while Zhang-Min looked surprised at his statement. "But you are the best dragon keeper in China! I know they are vicious and magically powerful, but surely you can get close to a nest without losing your arm!"

Le-Wei shook his head. "Getting to the nest is the easy part." He ignored Charlie's snort. "The problem is in timing. The Guilin Armortail, you must understand, lays its eggs in early summer and the wyrmlings hatch eight and a half months later. We had a small clutch hatch about eight weeks ago. Unfortunately for us, the eggshell fragments are consumed by the wyrmlings as their first meal. With this species, the few leftover remnants dissolve from exposure to the elements within a week. There won't be another opportunity to collect them until next year."

Ginny blinked rapidly to keep tears from falling. Things had been going so easily. "I don't suppose any of you have a time-turner so that we could go back two months?" she asked in desperation. No one bothered to respond.

Liu-Yang rubbed her eyes. "If we had one, we could go back to before the Xian Raptor went extinct, but what's the English saying about wishes?"

Charlie looked down into his cup as if trying to find the solution in the tea leaves. "If wishes were thestrals, none would want to be at their side."

Le-Wei suddenly leaned forward. "Dead! That may be it! Do the egg fragments have to be new?"

Ginny was bemused as the rest. "Umm, I don't think so. I'd think the magical properties would be innate, which means they shouldn't degrade much over time. Do you have some in storage?"

Le-Wei tapped the table as he thought aloud. "Not of those of the Guilin Armortail, but I remember recently reading in our Central Kingdom Journal of Magical Animals that dragon eggshells were found mixed in with the excavated artifacts at the Yangling Mausoleum of the Han Dynasty. The eggshells must be well preserved – when the muggles found them, they thought the excavation pits had been contaminated by the detritus of modern habitation. I suspect that idea was planted by agents of our Central Committee for the Preservation of Secrecy. Anyway, as a result the eggshells were of no interest to them."

Zhang-Min brushed her hair back. "Any chance some of those fragments came from the Xian Raptor?"

Le-Wei smiled. "We can hope so. That was the last region they inhabited before going extinct."

"Should we go to the excavation pits and try to find some eggshells there?" asked Charlie.

Le-Wei drummed his fingers. "I think perhaps our best bet is to first head to the Shaanxi Archaeology Institute. I seem to recall that conservation of the excavated clay figurines was being done there. We can see if the eggshell fragments are still there as well. If we're unsuccessful, we'll head to the excavation site."

Ginny jumped up. "How do we get there?"

The others also rose. Le-Wei led the way out. "Though it's too far to apparate directly there, Xian is a popular jump from here. Once we get to the city we can apparate to the Institute. Let me get a couple of portkeys."

ATDATDATD

The portkeys landed them in a large courtyard with a dirt floor. Around them, whitewashed buildings with red columns were topped with green roofs. A muted cacophony of honking horns could be heard, but the courtyard reminding Ginny and Charlie of Diagon Alley, though the cloaks many of the people wore were made of silk, cut straight rather than flared and embroidered with colorful designs. Posters showed stone soldiers in armor fidgeting as they stood in long rows while the ears of horses twitched. Westerners were obviously a common sight as no one paid them much attention.

Liu-Yang grabbed Ginny's arm and wiggled her eyebrows. "Before we head off, I know, quoting a friend of mine from England, a cute little Chinese restaurant where we can go to for a quick bite to eat …"

"You won't let me forget that, will you?" Ginny groaned.

Liu-Yang just laughed. "Never!"

ADATDATD

As they paid the bill, Le-Wei looked at Zhang-Min and Liu-Yang. "Have either of you ever been to the Archaeology Institute?" Both shook their head. "Brother, not everyone is as interested in ancient history as you," Zhang-Min replied, rolling her eyes.

Le-Wei tutted. "And you don't know what you're missing. I'll take you first, and then we'll come back for the others."

ATDATDATD

Ginny usually didn't have much trouble with apparition, but she had done so much travelling in the past few hours that it took a few minutes with her eyes closed for her stomach to settle. When she was ready, she looked up to find the others patiently waiting for her in what looked to be an otherwise vacant classroom. "I'm ready. Where to?"

Le-Wei looked at her carefully before nodding. "We're in the part of the Institute open to the public," he said softly. "The scientists have a laboratory down the hall so that visitors can watch them work. They bring in finds from the park and prepare them for display. Let's go see what they've found." He cracked open the door and looked around before motioning them to follow him.

They had just reached the large observation window overlooking the laboratory when a voice behind them asked them something in Chinese in a suspicious voice. They turned to find a stout man in a uniform appraising them with his hands on his hips.

Le-Wei held out his hands and said something before motioning to the window. He turned to Ginny and Charlie. "He wanted to know when we got here since we're obviously not with a tour. I explained you are distinguished visitors from Britain who have come to learn about the important work that is done here. I asked him if he could briefly explain the work of the scientists. I'll translate."

The guard began an obviously well-practiced spiel in a bored monotone voice. Ginny, listening with feigned interest to Le-Wei's translation, whispered to Charlie, "Do you sense anything?"

Charlie held up his hands to the glass as if peering in. "I can definitely feel something magical in there," he softly replied.

When the guard finished, Le-Wei said something to him, obviously thanking him. He then turned to the others and motioned them to follow him. "We'll come back later," he told them.

Out in the parking lot, they gathered near a random car. "Now what?" asked Liu-Yang.

"Charlie, can you apparate into the lab now?" asked Ginny.

"Of course, now that I've seen it," he replied confidently.

"I'll disillusion myself and go back in. When it's clear, I'll contact you via mirror. As soon as it is, pop in and gather as many of the magical egg fragments as you can find."

"Sounds like a plan!"

ATDATDATD

Ginny waited for ten minutes, and then, impatient, cast a muggle repelling spell on the hall to get rid of the slow stream of tourists. She then cast a spell that gave the two scientists working in the lab an urgent need to take a thirty minute break for snacks from the vending machines. After she contacted Charlie, she heard a muted pop of apparition.

Charlie had disillusioned himself too, but he was moving fast enough that the disturbed air gave him away. Inside the lab, various artifacts on the central workbenches moved around as if they suddenly became animated. Underneath, multiple drawers opened and closed in rapid succession from workstation to workstation. After a brief pause, the glass doors on the right side cabinets flew open and various clay figurines, pottery and ceramic vases, bowls, plates and cups inched aside. The lower drawers opened and closed. The process was repeated with the cabinets on the other side of the room. Bins and boxes on the far wall were opened and quickly restacked. The process was repeated for every shelf. Finally, one box on the floor in the furthest corner was opened and remained opened. Small pottery and ceramic shards were discarded and landed on the floor. From one of the workstations, a small bright red plastic bin sailed through the air and landed near the open box.

Ginny heard footsteps approaching. She recast the muggle repelling spell and held her breath until the steps paused and then faded away. "Charlie!" she whispered into the mirror. "You're running out of time! Hurry up!"

"I'm just about done," came the reply. After a minute, the shards from the floor flew back into the box before it closed and made its way back to the corner.

"Got them!" he anmnounced in a triumphant tone. She saw the red bin float into the air and it disappeared with a pop. "Clear!" said Charlie. "I'm back by the car."

Ginny apparated to the parking lot. "What did you get?" she asked with anticipation.

Charlie held out the small red container which the others could see held numerous shell fragments of various colors and thicknesses. "The muggles had no idea what they had, and to be honest I'm not sure either. These look like fragments from the eggs of a variety of dragons, but I don't know if any are from the Raptor. Le-Wei?"

The Chinese dragon keeper quickly sorted through the shell fragments and pulled out nearly two dozen of varied sizes. "I think this is what you're looking for."

Ginny closed her eyes and gave a sigh of relief. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She took the ones Le-Wei had indicated and protectively put them carefully into a conjured cloth bag. She hugged Charlie in farewell. "I have a portkey to get back, but I doubt you'd make it through the wards where it takes me. By the way, please don't mention to anyone that you saw me here, OK?"

Charlie was puzzled. "Sure, sis, but why not?"

Ginny gave a weak smile. "It's a long story, and not a very interesting one. You'll be making your way to St. Mungo's, yeah?"

Charlie squeezed her tightly. "I'll be there as soon as I can." After quick hugs all around, Ginny took out the dented candlestick holder and said, "Mission success."

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