Beneath Sovereign Skies

by Bobmin356

Harry and the dragons fight to find their place and gain acceptance amidst growing international tensions. Not all is well and good as the Weyrs threaten established powers and offer new opportunities. Follow Harry and the dragons as they try to navigate increasingly turbulent waters of international politics, terrorism and intrigue. On indefinite hiatus.

10. Chapter 10

Standard disclaimer:

Bob was busy threading the chapter into the projector when Alyx bounced onto the stage.

"I have a great idea!" she exclaimed happily.

Bob sighed and shook his head. "Is this anything like the time you wanted to open a summer camp for budding serial killers? I mean really, the bank laughed at you the moment you mentioned Camp Lizzie Borden."

Alyx blushed and glared at Bob. "Hey now, that was a great idea, I can't help if it the bank didn't think so. Besides, this idea is way better than that!"

"Better than the idea you sent to the Army about breeding billions of black widow spiders to be air dropped over Indiana as an all natural weapon. The Army had to remind you that Indiana was not our enemy."

"So I got the name wrong!" Alyx huffed. "Indiana, Iraq, they both start with I! And I just bet those Indianians are plotting against us anyway."

Bob bowed his head. "I know I'm going to regret this, but what's your idea?"

"Youtube!" Alyx proclaimed gleefully. "Everyone is posting a video on Youtube! So why not us? I mean Clell posted his glee video on youtube, and KB0 posted his skateboard into a great white's mouth fail video. Why can't we post our own fail video?"

Bob looked at the audience, his expression deeply troubled. "Go on," he said cautiously.

"It'll be great, we'll attach you to a high altitude balloon while sitting on a rocket powered bicycle. At 100,000 feet you'll fire the rockets and aim for the flaming rings I'll set up in the backyard..."

Bob cringed and started to whimper as Alyx explained how this video would culminate in an ultimate nut shot involving several bowling balls and an angry donkey.

Bob bolted for the door and Alyx finally noticed he was no longer listening to her. She frowned and turned to the audience. "He ran again didn't he? I swear that man. Well he can't get far, when he slept last night I shoved a gps tracker up his butt."

She turned and eyed the audience. "So who wants to volunteer for the ultimate nut shot fail video of all time hmmmm?"

Meanwhile three miles away, deep in the primordial forests of Northern Idaho Bob stepped out from behind a tree having completed his business. He was muttering darkly to himself. "Can't even once get a decent disclaimer. All we need is to tell people we don't own Harry Potter or the dragonriders of Pern, but no, she has to make a video. And I mean really I have got to stop watching alien documentaries, I swear that last turd looked like it had a satellite dish embedded in it! I hope it doesn't leave a scar!"

Bob pulled out his tablet and remotely activated his patented WiFi chapter projector. "Enjoy the chapter folks, I need a vacation until Alyx calms down."

---

Beneath Sovereign Skies
Chapter 10
Flexing Muscles

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The Weyrleaders Office, Campbeltown Weyr, Dec 20th 2002...

"I figured I'd find you in here," said a voice from the doorway.

Harry looked up and grimaced slightly, "I know, I know, I should be relaxing or something."

James Mills smirked at Harry. He was recovered from his bout of wizards flu, but at this point he was supposed to be preparing for tomorrow, the day he, May and Hermione would marry.

"I know the girls kicked you out of your own home for the night, so I thought I would drop in and ask if you'd like to spend the night at my place. There's little to do at this point other than wait," James offered.

Harry smiled ruefully, "I might as well, I was still wondering where we were going to sleep tonight. I even considered returning to Disko, but..."

He trailed off into silence. Disko did have people on it now, but they weren't anyone Harry knew well enough. The hotel had been built and there were always five wings from various Weyrs assigned there for two week stays. They manned the small technology and exhibition building the Weyr had built next to the hotel. Harry hadn't gone to Disko because there was a good chance he'd arrive and not really know any of those riders.

"Dobby," James called.

Dobby appeared a second later and looked around the room. James was one of the few muggles he would respond to. Hermione's parents and Remus' wife were also among the few that he would come in response to their call.

"Dobby, Harry will be spending the night at my house, would you pack a bag for him containing clothing for tonight and at least tomorrow morning?"

Dobby nodded and smirked at Harry. "Harry Potter sir's misses already asked Dobby to pack such a bag. Dobby is glad Harry Potter sir is not going to sleep in drafty old cave at Disko. Dobby thinks Cheki dragon wouldn't be comfortable there."

Chekiath cracked open an eye and moved his head to look at Dobby. "Dobby is right about that, there isn't much space for me there anymore," the dragon said.

James chuckled and moved to sit in the chair in front of Harry's desk. "Now that where you're sleeping tonight has been solved, what has you so engrossed on this, the last official day of your bachelorhood?"

Harry picked up a slip of paper and waved it at James. "This. This is a list of current problems and things that just make me leery. I'm trying to figure out if they are related somehow."

"Oh? Such as?"

Harry glanced down at his paper. "Well there was the car bombing at Joensuu. We know no dragons were injured, and the Weyr did well in helping rescue the injured, but there was no one taking responsibility for the bombing. The police confirm it was a bomb, but that's about all they know. Then there have been several problems which have delayed construction of the power plants. Direct attacks at the construction sites have stopped, but work stoppages and inexplicable shortages have slowed construction in four countries.

"And then there is the American issue," Harry added darkly.

James leaned forward in his seat. "American issue? What American issue?"

Harry leaned back in his chair and sighed. "Skip alerted me that there was a new security officer assigned to the Weyr. Ordinarily it wouldn't be a matter of concern, but the dragons are saying the man is untrustworthy. Skip complained via Jasper Brady, but despite Jasper's best efforts, they've been told that security issues for the Weyr are a military matter and not a Weyr concern. I know the Yanks are allies of yours but it's making Condron uneasy. What happened to Jared is still fresh in their mind."

James held up a hand. "Easy Harry, yes the Yanks are friends, but that doesn't mean we know what they are doing, or are in agreement with everything they do."

"I know James," Harry replied, "If I thought that we wouldn't be having this conversation. The only reason why I'm letting you know now is so you may inform the PM. If things really go sour, Condron will evacuate the Weyr. We don't want to leave America, we have nearly a quarter of a billion dollars in commercial contracts with American companies that we'd probably lose, and while the dragons and riders have no loyalty to the American government, they do consider Condron their home."

James nodded and looked thoughtful. "I don't see how all of these things can be connected Harry. I mean, yes the problems plaguing the power station construction is troubling. We know there are several different groups working in concert there, but I can't see the Americans involved in that."

Harry nodded. "I know, the only common element is that when looked at in combination, it's apparent that someone is making our life more difficult than it need be."

James grinned. "Perhaps, or its merely a coincidence lad. Besides, who said everything has to go your way?"

"True enough," Harry said, then he closed the file on his computer and straightened out some papers on his desk. He glanced at a photo on his desk of May and Hermione and chuckled, "Did you know that the girls tried to insist I skip the traditional bachelor party while they planned on one for themselves?"

James blinked in surprise, this was news to him. "No I hadn't heard that."

"Mariah and Luna were planning a party for May and Hermione until the dragons said they wanted to attend," Harry replied with a large grin. "I had told Ronan already to not plan anything for me, so I found it rather funny that the girls own dragons put the brakes on their party."

"Luna and Mariah were most put out when the dragons insisted on wanting to tag along. Eventually Comaloth admitted that if I couldn't have a bachelor party, then it wasn't fair to allow Hermione and May to have one. To be honest I wasn't looking forward to it, it seemed to me that the party was a bad idea from the start."

James shook his head. He remembered vividly the party his mates had organized for him and how much trouble he had gotten into over it.

"Its probably for the best, those kind of parties have a tendency to get out of hand," James murmured. "So what are the girls doing tonight then?"

"According to Hermione they are picking up their dresses this afternoon after a final fitting and then they are all going back to my place," Harry said and then he paused and shook his head. "Most of the female first riders will be there, and a great many other girls from the other impressions. May called it was a female bonding moment. Sirius on the other hand called it terrifying and suggested I run now."

Harry looked across his desk to James and shrugged a bit helplessly. Every time he thought he was understanding his girls, they would do something that totally confused him. James chuckled at Sirius' comments, Sirius would talk up a storm, but the fact was he was committed to Katherine totally.

A knock at his door distracted both of them. Harry looked over to see Lee Jordan standing in the door with a large wrapped package in his hands. "Harry, I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" Lee said, flashing a dazzling white smile.

"No Lee, come on in," Harry said, waving him into the office.

"Look I know tomorrow is going to be really hectic, and then Christmas is right around the corner, but I did this up and Mariah said it would look perfect in your office. She insisted that I bring it over now rather than waiting for you to come back from your honeymoon," Lee said, handing over the large package. "I'm giving these to several people, but you're the first that will see it asides from Mariah and the baby."

Harry smiled and accepted the large package, it was obviously a picture of some kind. "Should I wait until Yule?"

"No no, go ahead," Lee said a bit nervously.

Harry unwrapped the package and Chekiath craned his long neck into the room so he could see over Harry's shoulder.

"It's kinda plain," Chekiath said dubiously.

"You big lunkhead," Harry said with a chuckle, "you're looking at the back of the picture."

"Oh, good I knew Lee could draw better than that."

Harry turned the picture over and his breath caught in his throat. The image looked so real he felt he could reach through the glass and touch the strange bluish tinged plants. There was a double waterfall and an obvious volcano puffing up smoke in the background. In the image the sky was darkening and two moons could be seen casting moonlight over the river that flowed from the base of the waterfalls.

"Is that?" Harry asked breathlessly.

"Yes, both Buth and Sinnath helped a lot with it," Lee said quietly, "After I put the image together in photoshop and the dragons said it looked like their memories, I had it professionally printed, then I used the same charm that they use to animate a portrait. Obviously there's no intelligence powering the image, but the charm makes regular images look almost like you're seeing them through a window."

"That's a scene from Pern?" asked James.

Harry looked over to him and smiled. "Yes, it's breathtaking isn't it? It looks so ordinary and yet so different. When Lee was recovering from his injury he started working with Sinnath to reverse the process of giving jump images. He wanted to see if Sinnath could give him an image," Harry said, then he gestured to the photo like image. "The dragons have always had that ability, but the images have been fuzzy and not very clear. Some dragons, like Dronth and Spath could give very clear images. Lee's Sinnath had to train himself to sharpen the details. This is Pern as our dragons remember it."

Harry walked over to a blank wall and placed the image up on the wall with a sticking charm, then he turned back to Lee. "It's wonderful Lee, you have a wonderful talent and I envy your ability."

Lee shot him a dazzling smile, while he greatly enjoyed working in the Public Affairs office, art was something he was passionate about. He even had a nude of his wife, but that was something he wasn't about to share with anyone but her.

"If feels like you could open a window and feel the breeze coming from those waterfalls," James said in wonder, then he looked over to Lee. "Lee you have an incredible talent, I would love to see more of your work."

Lee's face darkened as he blushed, then he said, "Well I do have one other that I have been working on. I was going to give it to Harry so he could present it to Her Majesty someday. Harry do you mind?"

Lee gestured to Harry's computer.

Harry moved away from the keyboard, Lee's comment had him very interested. "No, help yourself."

Lee tapped in a few commands and then the monitor displayed an image of Buckingham Palace. It was perfect in detail, from the guards to the flags snapping in the breeze. Overhead a division of dragons with Chekiath in the lead hung in the cloudless sky. It was clear that Lee had melded different images together because Chekiath and Division 1 never visited the palace in that formation. Harry had gone there several times with a few dragons, but never with the entire whole division.

"I call this 'Shelter of Wings'," Lee said quietly.

"Oh lord the Queen is going to love this," James said in admiration.

Harry stared at the image for a long moment, then he looked at Lee, "Lee, let me know when you're ready to print that out. We'll get one copy specially framed, and signed by you which we'll give to the Queen. Also circulate the image via our network, I'm sure some of the riders will want a copy for themselves."

Lee nodded and Harry shot him a grateful smile.

"Harry, it's time we left here for the day," Chekiath said.

Harry blinked in surprise, then shook his head. "My dragon and my personal nag," he grumbled good naturedly.

"Well I wouldn't have to remind you of these things if you remembered them yourself. Besides tomorrow you're going to be covering Hermione and May, you need your rest," Chekiath said smugly.

Lee and James started to laugh and Harry covered his face with his hands. Dragons had a tendency to say the wrong thing at the worst possible times.

The following morning in a chilly open field not far from Lord James' manor house on the isle of Arran, Harry, Hermione and May took part in a druid service that acknowledged their commitment to each other. Harry drew on the calming influence of the many hundreds of dragons that wished to see The Weyrleader wed, while the brides had chewed their nails down to the quick.

In attendance were all of the current Weyrleaders, the extended families of both brides, a select group of the press who had promised to be discreet, most of Campbeltown Weyr and hundreds of dragons.

For Harry the hardest part of the service was the knot tying. All three had to practice tying the knots for several weeks before mastering it. The first knot, Harry to May was easy, but the second knot of Harry to Hermione was much harder and it took May's assistance since Harry and May were still both knotted.

Surprisingly both families took the unusual arrangement in stride. There was a little grumbling, but everyone now knew that being a dragon rider could result in unusual relationships. Harry's openness and the work of the Weyr press office had managed to silence all but the most radical bigots around the world.

No country officially allowed for the multiple relationships of the Weyrs, but most had quietly informed their Weyrleaders that they would look the other way due to their unusual circumstances.

During the indoor party that followed the outdoor service Lee Jordan slipped Harry a slip of paper explaining that an informal poll taken by the PM's office showed fifty seven percent of the population understanding and approving of dragon influenced relationships. The PM and Harry understood that this didn't mean they could rewrite the marriage laws, but at least for now there would be no call for their informal acknowledgment to be declared illegal.

Later that evening, Ronan sat in Harry's office. Harry, Hermione and May had left for a week at Joensuu Weyr, from there they would travel to Italy for a week long cruise before meeting up with their dragons and moving on to Sakushima Weyr for another two weeks.

Ronan quickly checked the Weyrleader's email to make sure there was nothing important, then he logged out of the account and leaned back in the chair. For the next month he would be the defacto Weyrleader of Campbeltown, although in an emergency Harry was only a dragon call away.

He sighed tiredly and glanced up at Lee's picture. It had been a long day and he had just a little too much to drink, making him slightly tipsy, but he had promised Harry he would check email twice daily.

"It is a long jump," Garanoth announced in the silence of his mind.

"I know my friend, but we are not ready to attempt it yet," Ronan replied silently.

"Someday my rider, in the meantime the Weyr is well and the dragons are happy for The Weyrleader. Chekiath, is content now. He has his consorts and now the Weyrleader has consorts for himself. I think its time for us to go home. Karen is waiting anxiously for you. Something about The Weyrleader's bonding ceremony has her wanting to be covered tonight like Hermione and May."

Ronan blinked in surprise, then hurriedly shut down the computer. "Lets not keep Karen waiting then," he said with a grin.

VIP Cottage, Joensuu Weyr, Dec 22nd 2002...

May stretched luxuriously in the bed and smiled. Hermione lifted her head and grinned at her over the sleeping form of their husband. The six of them had arrived late last night and after getting settled in place, Hermione cast the bonding spell on all six of them.

Eddie Took had suggested that Hermione cast the bonding spell because no one was really sure what would happen if Harry cast the spell. Harry was a mage and could cast spells more powerfully than anyone in the Weyr. Eddie was concerned that Harry casting the spell might cause the bond to fail, or to result in something unexpected.

As it was, there was a brief moment of concern after Hermione cast the spell. May collapsed and was unconscious for about three minutes. The only thing that prevented a total panic was the fact that none of the dragons seemed concerned at all.

When May awoke they retired for the evening.

"Good morning Mrs. Potter," May softly said to Hermione.

Hermione grinned. "Not quite, James will file the paperwork today, but it'll take at least four weeks to get a court to approve our name changes. And legally we'll only be Miss Potter."

May made a face and shook her head. "I want to be Mrs. Potter," she said with a bit of a pout.

They weren't the first triplet that used a legal name change to reflect the fact that they have gotten married. In fact Hermione spent at least one day a month processing forms for name changes to the courts.

"You are Mrs in all the ways that count," Harry said sleepily. Last night he had made love to both girls, and both had been present. Neither girl was interested in the other, but they had lost any sense of modesty between them. It didn't happen often like that, but when it did, it was something for each of them to savor.

Harry looked at May, "You scared me last night. I know Hermione couldn't have messed up her casting, but the spell isn't supposed to make you pass out either."

May gently cupped his cheek. "I'm sorry if I scared you, but it caught me by surprise also. Hermione cast her spell and suddenly I felt you, and Hermione, Comaloth, Trath and Chekiath. It wasn't like what I normally feel through Trath, this was different. It was like an intense pressure, then it suddenly stopped."

"We did merge the magic of five very magical beings last night and shared that merging with you," Hermione reminded her.

Harry reached up and gently pulled May close enough to place a kiss on her nose, then he repeated the gesture with Hermione. "You're ours now May," he said seriously. "Sharing our magic is the most intimate thing we can give a person."

He glanced towards Hermione who was smiling. "We belong to each other," she said to him.

"Us too," Chekiath added.

The three broke up in laughter, but they knew the dragon was right. Harry, May, Hermione, Chekiath, Trath and Comaloth were now a family, bonded by rider bonds and a marriage bond.

Hermione shook her head and reached under the covers to lightly stroke Harry. "I know we talked about visiting some museums in Oslo, but I think no one will mind if we wait until the afternoon. I don't know about May, but I want my husband again."

Harry grinned at his wives, he wasn't about to turn them down. For now Ronan could deal with any Weyr problems that might arise.

Luna's quarters, Campbeltown Weyr, August 5th 2002...

Luna opened the door to her cottage and slipped inside. She was trying to be quiet and not wake up Trandiath.

She carefully closed the door and stopped in her tracks. Trandiath's eyes glowed slightly with streaks of green and blue in the dim light. "I think you prefer Jack's snorkack to finding a real one. You do know that's not a real snorkack," her dragon observed.

"Well no, but if you must know, Jack's snorkack doesn't stay crumpled for long when I'm around," Luna said smugly.

"Still he does have a lot of nargles around his head. And from what I've been told the Weyrleader's snorkack is bigger than Jack's. I just don't understand why you won't become Jack's consort. He really likes you. With Jack and Glamiath it would be easier for us to find any real Snorkacks."

Luna blinked, then frowned. "Yes but the Weyrleader is taken besides I like my freedom."

Trandiath narrowed her eyes and watched her rider for a moment. "Did you know that both Meranarth and Glamiath have asked me to be their consort. I have clutched once with Glamiath and Jack has covered you almost as many times as Glamiath has covered me. Andre never has covered youand Meranarth has not covered me but Meranarth is a fine fellow. Perhaps you'd like to try Andre out for a while before I make a decision?"

Luna's pale complexion paled even further. "My heart are you sure you want to be a consort to one male when you can have your pick?"

"Many of the best males have taken consorts already. Soon I will have to settle for a yearling and I don't want one too young. Glamiath is a fine male from our impression who gives me strong eggs and his rider makes you happy. The only reason he hasn't taken a consort is because he wants me. Are you sure you don't want to be a consort my Luna? You insist on sampling what the Weyr has to offer, but I know your true heart," her dragon threw back at her.

Trandiath was stretching the truth a bit, but the fact was Luna was the only girl remaining from the first impression who hadn't settled down. Jack Bruno and his Glamiath were the only male pair from the first impression and they had been waiting on Luna.

"And what is my true heart?" she asked cautiously. She never thought she would be having this conversation!

The large dragon extended her neck into the living room so that the two were eyeball to eyeball. "You would be happier if you had Jack as your mate. You know that, but you refuse to admit it. I think you are afraid, but I know Jack would never hurt you. Jack is unhappy because you won't make a choice, his dragon is unhappy also. I've noted that humans go on a trip to celebrate the formalizing of their mating. Couldn't we use that time to search for real Snorkacks when you're not playing with Jack's Snorkack?"

Luna sat on her couch and stared at her dragon. This was the last thing she had ever expected Trandiath to say.

Trandiath settled back in her stall and looked at her rider. "I wonder if Meranarth will be free for a shagging flight tomorrow?"

"Trandi!" Luna exclaimed, then she flushed as she realized her dragon rarely had random shagging flights. Her flights were mostly confined to three dragons and the riders for two of them had recently gotten married. Only Jack remained single from the first impression and if Trandi was to be believed, he remained single, waiting for her.

Luna looked down at her hands in shame as she realized that once she had castigated Hermione for fighting against being a dragon rider and now she was guilty of the something similar.

Finally she reach over to an end table and picked up the phone and dialed a three digit number. She waited nearly a full minute before someone picked up the phone. "Jack? I'm sorry to wake you. Do you think I can come over?"

She listened for a moment, then glanced at her dragon who was watching her. "I know, but this is important. I just had a very interesting conversation with Trandiath that we need to talk about. I promise, this is good news."

Luna giggled softly at something Jack said and figured he was right in a way, he was certainly going to get lucky a second time tonight, and more. "I'll be right over."

Luna put the phone down and started towards the door, there she stopped and turned back to Trandiath. "I'll see you in the morning lovey." Luna turned and exited the cottage. She knew her dragon was right about several things and Jack was a very loving man, all it took was her dragon to nudge her in a new direction.

Trandiath nodded her large head then she turned it in the direction of Jack Bruno's cottage. "That went easier than I thought it would," she said.

"Of course it did, your rider is nearly as smart as you are," Glamiath replied, "And she makes Jack very happy."

"Flattery like that will get you another shagging flight tomorrow," Trandiath said smugly, it wasn't often that she could convince her rider to do something for her own good and she was pleased with tonight's result. "And maybe now they'll stop the sneaking around and let us sleep at night."

"With the noise they make? I doubt it, perhaps you can ask Comaloth if Hermione will cast a silencing charm on their bedroom."

Trandiath rumbled with laughter. "I can ask, but Comaloth says Hermione can get really loud also."

The Burrow, Christmas day, 2003...

The gifts were all opened and after a meal that left Arthur loosening his belt a notch, he decided to go out to his work shed for a hours.

The shed had undergone massive changes in the past few years. For one thing, the shed had an electric line running to it to power his radio and his computer. The old shed had been torn down and a newer, more modern building built, containing a office and a place for him to tinker with his muggle devices. There was even another room in the shed which was used by his Auror detail to keep watch over the Burrow.

Arthur sat down at his desk and reached over to flip a switch that heated some water for his tea, then he pulled out a printout he had been meaning to examine.

The Dumbledore plan was in full swing and running under the watchful eye of the ICW. A few countries had refused to participate, but most were. Many didn't know there was a reverse version of the Dumbledore plan thought up by Arthur that was working to bring muggle products into the Wizarding world.

It wasn't just enough to introduce magic to muggles. No the Wizarding world was only hurting itself by ignoring the vast wealth of goods available in the muggle world.

Arthur reached out and picked up a tiny model car. He turned it over and flipped the switch on the bottom then he placed it down on the desk. The little police car flashed it's lights and he pushed it along the desk for a moment with a broad smile.

"Fred and George," he whispered to himself. The ministry had just recently picked up on the fact that Weasley Wheezes was carrying a full line of toy and game products from mundane suppliers. Jokes and pranks took up a good two thirds of their product line, but the remaining one third was devoted to things like Matchbox cars and board games.

Very few businesses wanted to carry mundane products, but the Weasley twins were leading the effort. The small toy cars were extremely popular with the younger children and even Hogwarts could boast of a club dedicated to Monoply.

The other surprising business that was thriving with the new product lines were places like Madam Malkins. Robes were quickly becoming a thing of the past as the wizarding world discovered the comfort of jeans and t-shirts. Even Arthur wore a suit to work these days. The first time he came home in it Molly was stunned, then she quickly dragged him up to their bedroom.

Arthur now spent time actively helping wizarding businesses bring muggle products to the Wizarding world.

"Excuse me Mister Secretary?"

Arthur quickly turned off the lights and siren on the little car and looked up. "Yes?"

"We have picked up someone at the ward line that says he's your son," replied the auror. "He claims to be Charlie."

Arthur shook his head in surprise, then he heard a familiar voice. "Hey now, not so rough!"

Arthur rushed to the door where he spotted Charlie being held by two aurors. "Wait! That's Charlie!" he exclaimed.

Instantly the two aurors released him and stepped away. Arthur stepped forward and grasped his son in a hug. When Charlie hissed in pain Arthur released him. "Charlie? What's wrong?"

"Can we talk inside?" Charlie replied.

"Yes yes, come in," Arthur babbled as he backed into the room. He frowned when he saw the healing scar that ran down his son's face from his forehead to below his chin. It was red and raw looking and very definitely recent.

Charlie limped into the room and glanced around for a chair to sit in. Arthur motioned him to sit and then took his own desk chair. "What happened to you?"

Charlie looked down at his feet. "I've been a fool," he said quietly. "I didn't want to believe the obvious."

Charlie looked up at his father and raised one hand to touch his scar. "A hippogriff did this. It would have killed me too, but then a dragon appeared out of no where and killed the hippogriff. I thought for sure that I was dead then a second dragon appeared in the sky for a moment before vanishing again. Meanwhile the first dragon spoke to me. To me!

"It told me that it wasn't my time and help would soon be there," Charlie whispered, then his face flushed with shame. "The dragon said I had much to atone for and it wasn't right that I came from a family that The Weyrleader considered his own."

"We did try to tell you," Arthur gently reminded him. Charlie had been a dragon handler until Harry ended the time of the beasts. After that he drifted into a job working in South America, bitter about losing a job he had dreamed of for years.

"I know, but I thought I really knew the dragons. I thought that somehow Harry had pulled a trick on everyone. I mean he's a mage, he could have spelled the dragons into intelligence," Charlie protested.

"He could have, but he didn't, he didn't need to and I doubt he'd even know how. He was just a young boy when he first encountered a dragon," Arthur said. "Harry and his dragon have been back here to visit many times and I have had many enjoyable conversations with Chekiath, so has your mother. A dragon is just another type of person, like the goblins or the elves."

Charlie looked up at his father and it was impossible to miss the pain in his eyes. "I know that now. I'm sorry, I was wrong. I spent weeks recovering and during that time one single dragon, Shoth was his name, he visited me every day and talked to me. It didn't take long for me to realize just how much of a fool I've been."

Arthur stood from his chair and gently pulled Charlie from his seat. "Every one makes mistakes son. If you're lucky you realize that and work to overcome what impact it had on your life. Now come on, your mother will very happy to see you. Everyone will be happy to see you. Our family will be whole and together again."

Arthur led Charlie back to the house. His son was hurt physically and emotionally, but he was home. Perhaps now Charlie could mend some fences.

Harry's Office, Campbeltown Weyr, April 2004...

Harry sighed and pushed away from his desk. He stood and walked over to the window.

"What's bothering you Harry?"

He smiled and turned to his dragon. "Its not so much that I'm bothered mate, it's more like I feel I'm tied to this place. I guess I'm just feeling restless today."

Chekiath glanced around the room. One wall hung a huge world map with large patches of red, indicating countries where dragons shouldn't go. "I don't see any rope tying you down. Maybe we should go out for a flight?"

Harry smiled. "A flight would do us good, do you have any place in particular you want to go?"

Chekiath eyed Harry thoughtfully for a moment, his eyes streaked with shades of blue. "Minnewanka Weyr," he announced suddenly, "I think we should go visit the Starsmith and the Historian tonight."

Harry blinked in surprise. "Erm, well alright, do you want to go, just the two of us?"

Chekiath shook his head. "No, we should bring our consorts and since we're planning on arriving unannounced we should also bring dinner."

Harry nodded uncertainly, "I'll call the girls and ask Dobby to pack a dinner for five."

Hours later Harry sipped his coffee in the small cabin that Mildred and Remus shared when they were visiting Minnewanka Weyr. It was still cold in the mountains and the peaks were covered in snow. Normally they would have taken advantage of the large deck that encircled the house, but given the weather everyone was enjoying a roaring fire in the cozy livingroom.

Minnewanka would soon host a world class telescope. Construction on the scope and the building to house it was proceeding to plan. Unlike so many other Weyrs, Minnewanka didn't start out as an air strip, instead it was totally new construction funded by the Canadian government and it was a strange looking place.

The observatory with the traditional dome roof on a nearby mountain top was nearly complete. There had been some delays in the construction of the telescope, but now it was being installed and the finishing touches made to the building housing it. Four miles away, and down the mountain the Weyr had already built a research complex containing the control building for the telescope once it was operational. Near the control building were a university grade laboratory, class rooms and dormitory buildings.

Near the control building were a dozen small telescopes used by the student riders. The professional four meter reflector telescope would be the centerpiece of the installation and was expected to be operational within a few months. The lack of the main telescope didn't stop the Weyr however, they were already producing hard science by joining the effort to find Near Earth Objects using the smaller sixteen inch telescopes.

The Weyr proper had four blocks of dragon apartments and two more still under construction. Hangar sized buildings for the non-bonded dragons rounded out the unusual mix of buildings. A number of A frame and ranch style houses dotted the Weyr providing specialized housing for The Weyrleader and important guests.

Harry had appointed Mildred Lupin as the Observatory director. Officially all classes at the facility were now accredited by Cambridge University, and Mildred was listed as member of the faculty. Harry had agreed that Cambridge would be allowed to send forty under graduate students and twenty graduate students to the facility per semester with the Weyr providing transportation. A dormitory had been set up for their use.

Remus and Mildred had a small cabin near the control building. Mildred would often spend her time there, or in the nearby classrooms where she was teaching astronomy, physics and mathematics to the riders and loving every minute of it. When she was at Campbeltown she would still be able to access and monitor the telescope via the Weyr network.

Harry leaned back in his chair and patted his belly thinking that he'd need to double his morning run. Despite the meal, and many like it, thanks to Dobby, he was still rail thin. "So I take it you are finding everything to your liking here Mildred?"

Mildred looked up from her plate and smiled. "Harry, short of a posting at a major observatory, there was no way I could have this kind of access. Before being tapped to visit your Weyr as part of that NASA team I spent my days looking over data from the Hubble telescope, but I would be lucky if I could get thirty minutes of directed observations in a year. Now I can teach and do my own research without having to worry about my bosses wondering if I'm doing what I'm supposed to do."

Mildred glanced over at her husband and smiled tenderly. "The Weyr has opened a whole host of opportunities that were beyond all of my dreams," she said softly.

Harry smiled at the woman he had come to admire greatly. She had been part of a NASA team sent to investigate the dragons and the Weyr had ended up stealing her away from NASA and America. To her own surprise, she had found love and someone to share her passion for knowledge in Remus Lupin.

Remus smiled and touched her hand, he too had been changed by the dragons in ways he never dreamed about.

"How are your classes going? I remember Hogwarts holding their astronomy class in the middle of the night, but it seems like the classrooms here are all shut down," Harry said.

Mildred chuckled. "Harry, no one teaches astronomy like that anymore. The observatory is fully computerized. Even while some students man the telescopes at night, most of the observations are recorded digitally and examined during the day time. In fact, tonight will be the first time we'll be holding a Weyr wide event that should see most, if not all of our students show us."

Harry exchanged a curious glance with May and Hermione before turning back to Mildred. He didn't know anything about any event and neither did they. "What kind of event Mildred?"

"Tonight we expect the first of the Lyrid meteor showers to begin," she replied.

At Harry's confused look she realized that she had better explain what she meant. "You know what a meteor is right? A rock from outer space that usually burns up in the atmosphere, shooting stars?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, I've never seen one, but I've read about them."

"The Lyrid meteor shower is called that because it seems to come from the constellation Lyra. In truth the shower is a remnant of a comet's tail. As the comet makes it's approach, the tail extends outward from the comet containing small particles the size of grains of sand up to a basketball. Each year the Earth passes through the remnants of the tail from many comets. Tonight is expected to be the start of the shower, about one in the morning local time. I expect most of my students will be out in the field behind the control building with their personal telescopes and cameras." she explained.

Harry's brow furrowed in a gesture that both May and Hermione had come to recognize very well. He was very interested in this meteor shower, but then, so were both girls.

"Harry?" Hermione said.

He turned from Mildred and looked at her. "Why not? It's a Friday night. Neither of you have school tomorrow." Both girls were coming down to the end of their time at school.

Both girls nodded and Harry turned back to Mildred. "There, it's all settled, we'll stay and watch the shooting stars with you guys."

Remus chuckled and stood. "I'll call Arron and have him set up cabin for you three."

Harry watched Remus leave the room, then he turned back to Mildred. "Something has been puzzling me Mildred and maybe you can help me understand it."

"Oh?"

"The dragons are adamant that the red star was the source of Pern's thread, but that couldn't be possible could it? I mean wouldn't a star moving through the solar system cause more disruption than that?" he asked.

Mildred smiled. "I don't think they really meant a star in the usual sense of the term. Momnarth, Norendrath and Dronth have all showed me enough memories that I think I can safely say that the colonists on Pern quickly lost much of their technology and science. Remus and I have reviewed a great many memories and we concluded that the colonists had fallen to a pre-industrial stage similar to what we experienced at the start of the Renaissance age."

"The colonists were capable of producing iron tools and some of the simpler steels," Remus added from the doorway. "But there was no sign of any advanced technology or even a hint of understanding advanced concepts. It's one of the reasons why Issac is more confident about pregnant riders going Between. We have better ways of monitoring both the mother and the child than the colonists did."

Mildred pointed a finger skyward, "To our Earthly ancestors, Mars appeared to be a reddish star in the night sky. It wasn't until Galileo turned his telescope skyward that we discovered that some of the 'stars' in our night sky were actually planets.

"Sidraneth came from a later period where the colonists had relapsed into a feudal society with guilds, peasants and the economy was mostly agricultural in nature. That implies a lot of technology and basic science had been lost by the colonists. What would have been known by the original colonists would have faded as information became lost. Why they lost those memories is a mystery, but something obviously caused them to either abandon or lose the technology they brought with them.

"And that brings us all back to your original question Harry. In all likelihood the red star is a large body that was captured when it wandered too close to the Pern system. It's likely that it's either a planet or a dwarf planet. I really doubt it's a true star of any kind."

"But, how can a planet cause thread?" blurted May.

Mildred smiled, "That is the big question. I suppose the easiest answer would be if the red star was dragging thread from some source much like the tail of a comet. The problem is that thread is alive, for all we know it has some way of ejecting itself from the surface of the red star, or perhaps it lives in the atmosphere? Short of going there and seeing it for ourselves we'll never know. We know that life exists outside of our own planet, but besides dragons, we have never seen any. And the dragons were engineered by man."

Harry leaned back in his chair and considered her words. "So the red star, which isn't a star, might not really be the source of thread, just the agent that delivers it to Pern?"

Mildred nodded with a large smile then she glanced at her watch. "There's still two hours before the meteor shower is to begin, but I'm giving an hour long lecture in the lecture hall next to the control building. One of the things we'll be discussing is how objects can be dragged along in the wake of a larger object. Why don't you join us? I'm sure by now a great many of our students are already there waiting."

Harry looked at May and Hermione who nodded, so he stood and helped Hermione and May to stand. "Why not?" May said in reply, "It'll make a break from basic dragon anatomy."

"Or contract law," Hermione added.

Harry just shook his head and followed his wives as they left the cabin.

Condron Weyr, New Mexico, July 31st 2004...

I hate this heat, Skip Taylor thought in annoyance. He peeled out of his heavy flight jacket and looked down the the flight suit that was soaked in sweat. The Weyr had just returned from a long day helping the dragons in Washington state improve their Weyr. The temperature there had been mild and comfortable, but just the short amount of time needed to land and reach his quarters was enough to soak him to the bone.

Kat glanced over at him with a fond smile. "Someone needs a shower," she said.

He looked up and grinned. "Join me?" He replied hopefully.

Kat chuckled and shook her head. "We can't. You know we have a meeting tonight after dinner. The entire Weyr will be there."

Seeing his disappointed look she quickly added, "Hold that thought tiger and we'll have plenty of time after the meeting for that."

Skip's expression brightened and he continued to strip down. Kat watched him intently as he walked into the bathroom to take his shower. She sighed and wished duty didn't come first.

An hour later they walked into the mess hall for dinner. The Weyr would be having an extended meeting tonight as they discussed the possibility of opening the Weyr at Mt. Hood as a manned Weyr. There were a number of obstacles to overcome, including the fact that a road would have be built to connect the Weyr with the nearby towns, and buildings would have to be built.

There were two other unmanned Weyrs still in the continental United States, one in Washington state, not far from Mt. Hood and the other up in Alaska sited on the edge of a glacier called Knik glacier. Knik Glacier had been turned down by Harry as a possible manned Weyr due to it's location. Both Weyrs were very remote, but unlike the Weyr near Mt. Hood, Knik Glacier posed additional problems which Harry felt made that Weyr too inhospitable for people.

Mount Hood needed a lot of work before they could turn it into a real manned Weyr, but today's effort was focused on improving the basic dragon Weyrs and surveying the land around the Weyr itself.

Skip and Kat felt that it was time for Condron to fully contribute like Campbeltown had been doing. Condron's population currently topped over six hundred dragon riders, and like Campbeltown, Skip wanted to send a division to start another manned Weyr. Campbeltown had started two Weyrs like that, including Shetland Weyr and were considering another in the near future.

Thanks to Kat's business acumen, Condron had ample funds to start a new Weyr, even if it meant paying for a road to be built.

Skip and Kat sat with Jasper and his wife during dinner and they talked about what they needed to do. Kat offered to write up a plan which they could present to Harry for his approval.

Skip looked down at his empty plate, then he pushed his chair out from the table. "Reckon it's time to get this show on the road," he murmured with a wry grin, then he stood and walked to the front of the room where a podium had been placed for his use. The mess hall at Condron, unlike Campbeltown, was capable of seating seven hundred and fifty people, so there was ample room for everyone.

Kat hurried to join him and a number of the riders snickered. Kat practically needed three steps for every one of Skip's; so it always appeared as if she was scurrying behind him.

Skip smiled at Kat as she hurried up to stand next to him. He wasn't about to start without her, besides, she had all the notes that they needed to go over.

"Evening Riders," Skip said jovially. "Now that we're all fed and cleaned up from a busy day at Mt. Hood, it's time for us to talk about what we need to do to convert Mt. Hood to a manned Weyr. Each of you were tasked with taking notes about things that needed to be done to turn the Weyr into a manned Weyr. Over the coming days we'll be taking those ideas and consolidating it into a plan..."

The front gates of Condron Weyr were opened by the marine guards and a Condron security hummvee met the first vehicle of the convoy, neatly slotting in front of it. Vehicle lights were extinguished at the gate as they were led into the Weyr proper. The marines stepped back into their air conditioned guard shack to escape the dust thrown up by the heavy military vehicles.

Twenty Abrams tanks and another twenty armored personnel carriers slowly made their way around the Weyr. With all of the riders at the meeting and most of the dragons resting in their personal weyrs, no one noticed the small convoy entering the Weyr for several crucial minutes.

Skip nodded to Kat and stepped to one side. She stepped onto the small step behind the podium and glanced down at her notes. "Alright, starting from the top, personnel allocations. At first I thought we would send Division Six to start the new Weyr, but Skip wants to give people a choice. So while Div. Six is slated to go to Mt. Hood, you have nearly a year to make up your mind and transfer into or out of Div. Six. As a new Weyr there will be new needs and new positions that will need to be filled, some of those positions won't exist here at Condron because of our location..."

Kat paused in her talk when she suddenly realized that the dragons of the Weyr were bellowing in alarm and fear.

"Bad machines!" shouted Menth, Skip's dragon. "Bad machines!"

The door to the back of the mess hall smashed open and twenty fully armed marines surged into the room.

"Everybody freeze!" shouted one of the marines.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" shouted one of the riders near the door.

A nearby marine pointed a gun in the riders face and he shrank back. Once all of the marines had entered an officer entered with a clipboard. He looked around for a moment, then he pointed at Kat. "Her," he said.

Two marines ran forward only run into Skip who moved to protect his wife. Skip tackled one man to the ground, his fellow marine turned and hit Skip in the head with the butt of his weapon. Skip slumped to the floor in a daze and bleeding heavily from a nasty gash in his head.

"Skip!" shouted Kat, she reached for her wand when a single shot rang out in the building causing her, and many others to freeze.

The marine that hit Skip turned and pulled her wand out of her hand, then he snapped it in two. Around the room Condron's witches and wizards were disarmed and their wands destroyed.

By now all of the dragons of Condron were airborne, but they were terrified for their riders. A large number of the machines were clustered around the mess hall, keeping the riders from leaving and the dragons knew from experience that those machines could kill dragons; that meant they could kill their riders even easier than dragons. It wasn't just the machines that prevented the dragons from acting. Each dragon knew the Mess Hall was full of soldiers armed with dangerous weapons.

Kat was pushed to the ground and a pair of handcuffs was slapped on her wrists. She looked across the floor in anguish at her injured husband. Skip seemed unconscious, but the blood soaking him made him appear far worse than he actually was. She rolled over and sat up with some difficulty, then she looked around. Condron's nearly one hundred wizards had all been disarmed and handcuffed.

Colonel Peters stepped into the room and smirked. He had been working towards this moment since he was first posted to this god forsaken location. "Ladies and gentlemen, the government of the United States has decided that you are not doing your country any good by denying us the use of your dragons. Therefore we have decided to nationalize your group. You are now part of the US Military," he announced.

"Screw you asshole," someone shouted from the rear of the hall.

The officer frowned, but he didn't see who shouted that.

Kat hung her head, looking defeated. "Lokith love, take the dragons andflee to the old Weyr and contact The Weyrleader, tell him what is happening here. If humans come to the old Weyr, go to Campbeltown," she sent silently.

"Skip is hurt," complained Lokith. "This is not right, if we attack they will use their machines to kill you. Should we attack?"

"No! Do not attack, but do not let anyone other than a rider approach any dragon for now. I'm afraid Skip will have to wait for now. I don't think he's hurt too bad. Now please love, contact The Weyrleader," she pleaded.

"I will! I will tell the world!" Lokith replied. Outside a thousand dragons vanished to the consternation of the marines. What use was taking over the Weyr if the dragons disappeared?

Kat breathed a sigh of relief then she looked up, a quick message via Lokith had two riders who were not in cuffs moving to check on Skip. She watched unhappily from her spot on the floor and shivered, she didn't know what tomorrow would bring but she hoped it wouldn't bring war.

A man ran into the room and whispered something to Peters who glared at him for a moment before turning to Kat. "Where are the dragons?" he said angrily.

"Out of your reach you bastard," she muttered in reply.

Harry's Quarters, Campbeltown Weyr, August 1st 2004...

"Weyrleader, we need you! Help us!"

Harry's eyes jerked open and he peered around in the darkness. The digital wall clock read barely two in the morning and he had been asleep for only about an hour. Hermione and May had decided last night to surprise him for his birthday. Normally only one girl would be present when anything sort of sexual activity occurred, but for his birthday both girls decided to do something different.

Hermione and May had both told him in no uncertain terms that their activity would not become a regular part of their love lives.

Now, just over an hour from when he finally fell asleep, he was awake and suddenly anxious that something was seriously wrong.

"Weyrleader, we need you," repeated the voice urgently in his mind.

Harry slowly sat up and tried to shake off the sluggish feeling he had from not enough sleep. "Who's calling me?" he replied silently.

"I'm calling you Weyrleader, Lokith."

Lokith was Kat Taylor's dragon, she was Skip's wife and co-weyrleader of Condron Weyr in the state of New Mexico, USA.

Harry slid over May sliding out without disturbing his wife. Hermione had figured out he was using his magic to partially levitate himself as he got out of bed. He stood and hastily put on a pair of boxers despite the fact that the dragon calling him was more than three thousand miles away.

"Lokith, what is wrong? Where is your rider Kat?" he said aloud.

Both girls stirred in the bed and Hermione opened her eyes to look at him with a questioning expression.

"All of the riders were attending a meeting tonight, then some men came in dangerous machines and they are holding our riders prisoner. Kat told me to contact you. Menth is trying to keep the Weyr from attacking these men. Menth wants to attack, but Kat has ordered us not to. Skip is hurt and Menth isn't thinking well. Kat thinks Skip isn't hurt bad, but Menth can't hear his rider. Kat told me to not attack the machines, so far the dragons are listening to me, but Menth is confusing them. Kat ordered us to escape to the old Weyr, but Menth wants to return to Condron and attack the bad men."

Harry swore softly, then he stumbled towards a small night table and flipped on the light. He sat in a chair next to the table. "Lokith, is anyone else hurt?"

"No Weyrleader not yet, but there are a great many angry and frightened dragons. Our riders are in danger. There are many of those bad tank things here," replied Lokith.

From the other room Harry could clearly hear his dragon hissing in anger. "Menth you will calm yourself," Chekiath said in a voice that literally boomed with power and authority. Lokith was clearly having trouble reassuring her mate and controlling the dragons of her Weyr.

Chekiath's command literally shook the Weyr awake. It was impossible to miss the sounds of dragons being awoken by the largest dragon on the planet.

"Dammit," Harry muttered, Chekiath's command was heard across the globe. Weyrs around the planet were now asking what was going on. May and Hermione climbed out of the bed, they didn't know what was happening, but it was serious, whatever it was.

Harry reached with his power and his eyes glazed. "Quiet!" he commanded. His command was picked up by every dragon and rider on the planet, including Condron. Instantly the dragons settled down. "There is an emergency at Condron Weyr. All Weyrs are to report to Campbeltown immediately. We will go together to aid our brothers. Condron dragons obey Lokith and do not attack anyone unless you are defending yourselves or your riders."

Harry sighed and relaxed slightly, releasing his power so that he was only talking to one dragon, then in a calmer tone he said, "Lokith, tell everyone to remain calm and follow Kat's orders. Tell Kat that we are coming in force, but we'll try for a diplomatic solution first."

"Yes Weyrleader, thank you."

Harry reached for the phone and pressed a number that was preprogrammed into the unit. He had to let it ring eight times before someone picked up.

"Hullo?"

"James? Are you awake?"

In his house on the Isle of Arran, Lord James Mills, British government liaison to the British Weyrs sat up in his bed and glanced at his clock. "Harry, do you have any idea what time it is?" he asked.

"Babies and political crises pick their own time James," Harry replied. "I'm calling to inform you that the American government has moved troops and tanks into Condron Weyr. I have been informed that my riders are being held at gunpoint in the Weyr's main dining hall. Skip Taylor has been injured, but how bad I don't know yet. Very shortly I will be taking the dragons to America."

"What?" James exclaimed, then he sat up in his bed and glanced at his clock. It was too early in the morning for a crisis like this!

Harry nodded to May and Hermione who were quickly getting dressed.

"You heard me James, there are tanks at Condron and my people are in danger. I don't know what the Yanks think they are doing but I intend to put a stop to it. I'm only calling you as a courtesy so that you can inform your government," Harry said flatly.

"What are you planning on doing Harry?" James asked with a bit of fear.

Harry smiled evilly. "Well my first thought was to try a tried and true technique that worked so well at Lac Logipi. But instead I'm going to try the dragon version of gunboat diplomacy James and if that doesn't work, then the dragons and I will have to teach the Yanks that dragons make terrible enemies."

"Harry don't do anything stupid," James warned.

"James I have people to protect and America has for one reason or another decided, to put them in danger. All I can promise is that I will free my riders. I don't want to fight anyone, but if I have to, we will," Harry said in a hard voice, then his expression softened. "James, your government has given me some of the best training available in diplomacy. Trust that I've learned when to show the big stick as opposed to actually using it."

The line went silent for a moment, then Harry heard James sigh heavily. "Very well Harry, do be careful."

"We will James, that I can promise."

Harry hung up the phone and quickly started to get dressed. Once he was dressed he dialed another number on his phone. "Ronan, it's Harry. Look we have a big problem in America. I need a list of every Air Force base in that country as well as the nearest jump images we can get from the Jump book."

He listened for a moment longer. "Right, meet me in my office in fifteen minutes. Oh and have the watch wing leader open the armory. Tell them to get ready to issue full kits. I want everyone armed."

Harry hung up the phone and rubbed at his chin thoughtfully. Both girls exchanged a look, the Harry they knew so well was quickly vanishing as the Weyrleader put his working face on. They were the only ones that got to see the man behind the mask. They loved Harry without reservation, but both knew better to question him while he was dealing with issues like this. Neither girl was greatly worried, they were confident that Harry would solve the problem. The only real worry was that someone outside of their control would make a mistake and worsen the situation.

"Cheki, assemble the Weyr, have everyone get their kit and assemble in front of Hangar three," Harry commanded, then he resumed dressing.

"I'll tell them. The unmanned Weyrs are already arriving. I expect the manned Weyrs will be here in half hour," Cheki replied.

In his home on the Isle of Arran James tried to shake the grogginess from his head, then he paused. "Gunboat diplomacy?" he whispered. "Oh lord," he muttered, then he reached for the phone again. It was time to inform Her Majesty's government of the crisis developing in New Mexico. The US was famous for employing gunboat diplomacy against other nations, but rarely had someone pulled the same stunt back on them.

The White House, Washington DC, August 1st 2004...

The secret service agent was beyond bored. He had drawn the early morning radio shift in the command center, down the hall from the Oval Office. As jobs went, it was one of the most mind numbing jobs an agent can draw. Every thirty minutes he'd pick up his microphone and contact each of the on duty stations to get a situation report and so far the night and morning had been normal. Nothing was happening, nothing.

He glanced up at the clock then reached for his microphone. "Command center to Command One, sitrep."

Four agents normally escorted the President from the residence down to his office, but this morning the senior agent in charge of the detail had decided to join the escort.

"Oilbottom is finishing breakfast and preparing to leave the residence for the office. We'll be moving in five minutes," came the reply over his headset.

The agent smirked to himself. Each president had a nickname which the Secret Service tried to keep secret. It was rarely a complimentary name, but the names picked weren't meant to be insults either.

"Acknowledged. Gate One, Command Center, sitrep."

"Gate One, all is quiet and we're out of coffee damnit! Oh and the morning paper is late again."

The agent chuckled at the reply.

"Knock it off," Command One ordered almost instantly over the radio. As the agent in charge of this shift he wanted to make sure they remained professional in everything they did.

The agent in the center shook his head. Command One was a stickler for details and it showed in how he handled his shift.

"Skyeye One, sitrep," the agent called.

Silence. After a minute the agent removed his headphones and toggled a wall speaker, just on the off chance that his headphones had failed. He placed the headphones on the desk.

The agent frowned and re-keyed his microphone. "Skyeye One, sitrep."

Skyeye One was a rooftop position on one of the opposing buildings across the avenue. Two men were stationed there day and night, no matter the weather all year long. They were heavily armed with professional sniper rifles and handheld anti-air missiles.

The agent reached out and grabbed a joystick to slew a camera around to face Skyeye One. The monitor image slewed to match the moving camera until the corner of the building came into view. No one was visible, but that wasn't really unusual. The camera was mounted at position that would only show Skyeye One if they were standing up.

Had the camera been an infra-red camera, the agent would have clearly seen the heat sources of two dragons sitting on the roof, growling at the terrified security agents who were laying face down on the roof.

"Skyeye Two can you see Skyeye One from your position?"

Again there was only silence. The agent repeated his call twice more, then he keyed his microphone again. There was a plan for this sort of situation and he knew it by heart.

"All stations, attack warning! Skyeyes One and Two are not responding. Repeat attack warning."

He released the microphone and slammed a hand down on a large panic button mounted next to his desk. Instantly automatic messages were sent to Andrews Air Force base summoning Marine One, the presidential helicopter. The agent could hear men in the ready room shouting to each other as they raced to grab weapons from the equipment locker.

Around the White House secret service agents scrambled to cover the exits while another dozen agents joined the team led by Command One moved to escort the President to safety. The priority had suddenly shifted from escorting the president to his office to evacuating him and his family to a secure location. Regular employees and members of the White House staff moved quickly and quietly to their assigned emergency stations. A second team of secret service agents would be summoned from the Treasury Building to help evacuate the non-essential personnel.

Alarms could be heard throughout the building and outside local DC police responded in accordance to the previously conceived plans. The DC police would handle the crowds outside while the Secret Service would secure the building and evacuate the President. The ever present press immediately noted the change to the sleepy morning routine. They couldn't miss the sound of police sirens as every available police car turned and sped towards the White House.

"Command Center, Gate One, dragons! Dragons on the lawn! Dear god there are dozens of them in sight!"

The agent monitoring the radios stared up at the speaker on the wall in confusion. He didn't bother reaching for his plan book. Dragons were not included in his book and no one thought to include them. This was a situation that no one had thought of.

"Gate One repeat your last message?" the agent said nervously.

"You heard me Mark! Dragons. Three dragons have landed on the lawn and from my position I can see at least a hundred more, some airborne and some sitting on the rooftops! We have several dragons blocking the main driveway and the service driveway. A couple of dragons have crushed several DCPD patrol cars."

Dragons really didn't like automobiles and this time they had The Weyrleader's permission to flatten any car or truck that pulled up to the building. Harry had warned them to make sure the vehicles were empty, but that was his only restriction.

"What are the three on the lawn doing?"

"Their riders have dismounted and one of them is talking to a reporter through the fence. There are some TV camera crews setting up. The other two are walking this way."

"Oh shit," muttered the agent. If the press were already involved this was not going to go over well with the Boss.

"Command Center, one of the riders has just handed me a note asking to meet with POTUS concerning an issue of urgent mutual interest." the speaker blared again.

The door to the center opened and Command One entered. He looked deeply troubled. "Andrews reports a cover of dragons are preventing Marine One from taking off. The alternative at Quantico is also unable to take off. There are reports of dragons taking up positions at the capital building, the Supreme Court, the Pentagon and Andrews Air Force base. Even NAS Norfolk is reporting dragons on the runways. The Boss says that since he can't be evacuated, he might as well talk to them."

Thirty minutes later Harry and Ronan Clark were escorted into the Oval Office. Both had left their cross bows attached to their saddle harness and Harry had even left his wand in his saddle bag. Harry didn't mind disarming if it helped demonstrate that the dragons had no ill intentions, besides he always had his wandless magic to fall back on if need be.

The president looked up from his desk at the two men and his eyes narrowed. As far as he was concerned these dragon riders had committed an act of aggression against him, the leader of the free world!

The fact that he didn't stand and greet them wasn't lost on Harry. "It's customary to make an appointment, even for heads of state," President Bush said grumpily.

"It's also customary to follow due process before you arrest an entire Weyr's worth of riders using your military forces so don't act like you're the injured party here because you're not," Harry shot back. Harry placed both hands on the President's desk and leaned forward. Suddenly the president realized that by not standing up, he had allowed a shorter person to loom over him. "Now I have to ask you sir," Harry said evenly. "Is it your intention to declare war on the Weyrs? Is America prepared to go to war with dragon kind?"

President Bush blinked in surprise both at Harry's tone and at his statement. "What the blazes are you talking about?" he said, trying to stall.

"Harry, he knows what you're talking about," Chekiath announced. Bush's eyes bulged in his head as he heard Chekiath's telepathic pronouncement.

"I'm talking about the forty tanks and armored personnel carriers that entered Condron Weyr last night and confined all my riders in the Weyr to one building, claiming they were now part of the US Military. The only thing that is stopping the dragons from destroying that force to rescue their riders is my order. My dragons already have permission to attack if anyone attempts to move any of our riders from the Weyr."

Harry paused and took a deep breath. "I am going to be blunt Mr. President. Right now your skies have thousands of dragons overhead and you are only moments from us destroying every airbase in this country. After your airbases are destroyed we'll hit every army and navy base and then we'll really get mad. So far no one on your side has gotten hurt. But if anyone is going to be hurt, it's not going to be just the dragons and their riders."

Harry took a deep breath and tried to calm his anger. It was important that he didn't allow his anger to run away here. "We can settle this easily without any bloodshed sir, order your military forces to withdraw from our territory. Once your people have left I'll order our dragons out of the country. Of course that will also mean we'll cancel our commercial contracts with every American company and add America to our list of banned nations, but it is better than a war, especially since you're already involved in a un-winnable war overseas."

Harry smirked as Bush paled and shot to his feet. "Now lets not be hasty! I never ordered anyone to use tanks at the Weyr!"

"Convenient phrasing Mister President, but if you truly had no idea what your people were up to, then this has all been a terrible misunderstanding. Pick up your phone and order your forces to leave our territory and we'll be on our way," Harry said softly with a smug smirk. "Of course we'll also expect to see a very public trial of someone that clearly has usurped your authority."

Bush scowled, in truth he had known about the action which had been suggested by the head of the newly formed Department of Homeland Security. Homeland Security had pointed out that the dragons were a resource that was being denied to them and the government needed to exert their authority over the dragon riders. Bush had thought he meant to press for a change in the Weyr's treaty now that it had a home grown, American Weyrleader.

Harry moved over to a comfortable chair and sat, then he motioned for Ronan to sit also. He turned back to the president who was staring out the window. Traffic was at a stand still on Pennsylvania avenue. Besides the dragons on the lawn, there were a number of dragons and riders visible out on the street, mingling with and talking to curious citizens and press.

"In case you're wondering, the rider talking to your press is Lee Jordan, Campbeltown Weyr's Public Affairs Officer. I told him to speak with the press and explain why we were here. I have no doubt at this point that your news agencies are already sending camera crews to Condron Weyr," Harry said softly. He ignored Bush's flinch. He let the man sweat for a moment longer before continuing, "Now why don't we really discuss why there are tanks at my weyr?"

President Bush tore his gaze away from the window and faced the two riders. "It was suggested to me that the Weyr could provide more assistance in our anti-terrorism efforts by our head of Homeland Security. He never mentioned using force of any kind."

Harry leaned back in his chair and shook his head. "And so you decided to violate a brand new treaty that the United States had with the Weyr, guaranteeing the Weyr autonomy and acknowledging the Weyr's strict policy of neutrality? Not exactly an honorable action Mr. President," Harry chided. "My tutors in diplomacy used your Indian treaties as examples of nations breaking their promises and then they claimed you had grown past that. I'll have to tell my tutors that they are wrong, American hasn't grown past breaking their promises."

Bush flushed and his expression hardened. "Really Weyrleader, and yet here you are threatening me and my country."

Harry waved a hand dismissing the President's complaint. "I wouldn't be here at all, had you not listened to bad advice sir," he replied. "Let me offer you a solution that gives you a way of saving grace. Remove your forces and sack the people that brought idea to you. Admit to the press that the idea was ill conceived and you've taken steps to correct the problem."

Bush scowled, such a public admission would have serious repercussions on his administration and his reelection efforts.

"And if I refuse?"

Harry tilted his head slightly. "You are aware that I can order our dragons to attack without using any sort of phone or radio? You do understand that if I do this, dragons will leave America after turning the runways of every one of your air bases into a glowing puddle of slag. And that damage will be on top of nearly a quarter billion dollars of commercial contracts that we will be forced to cancel. My people do not have any loyalty to your government, but they do consider America to be their home and do not want to leave their home. They will however leave if I order it and right now I'm seriously considering it.

"The world press already know that you have injured one of my riders and taken an entire Weyr hostage, soon they'll be broadcasting that to the world. Soon they will be broadcasting images from Condron Weyr proving to the world that you don't take your own promises seriously. The world will know of your illegal seizure one way or the other. I daresay most countries would consider our response subdued and appropriate."

"Just the effort to remove thousands of tons of ever glowing concrete will take years and the heat will probably make most of your air bases uninhabitable," Ronan added softly.

"I don't want to take this action Mr. President, I don't like being forced to threaten you. I had hoped that America would be a stable partner like our British friends. There are any number of nations who would love to host a Weyr and enjoy the economic benefits that come from having dragons within their borders. You stand to lose more than the ability of your country to launch your planes sir. If we are forced to move from America you will go on our banned list. We will not provide Hot Rocks or partner with any American companies. We couldn't risk it because we knew you couldn't be trusted. As it stands it will take a great deal of effort on your part to regain the trust you lost by this action."

"We have enough oil to supply ourselves for years," Bush countered.

"You do," Harry replied in agreement, "But you'll also have to explain to your people why they are paying for expensive oil and ruining their natural environment with messy oil wells while your neighbors to the north and south are enjoying the benefits of cheap dragon produced power."

"And you'll have to explain to Exxon, Coleman, Ford Aerospace, Boeing and dozens of other companies why we've had to back out of our contracts with them," Ronan added making Harry grateful that he had brought Ronan along.

The phone rang and Bush picked it up and listened for a moment. "Alright, thank you," he said, then he placed the phone back into it's cradle. "That was the Chairman of our Joint Chiefs, calling to tell me that the air force is unable to get any aircraft into the air."

Harry suppressed the urge to smirk. "I wasn't kidding when I said your skies are full of dragons. There are nearly thirteen thousand dragons filling your skies at the moment. If I wanted to I could have them destroy every plane they find."

Bush sagged heavily in his chair and looked at Harry. "You have us at a disadvantage Weyrleader. I'm told that one of your dragons is currently sunning itself on top of Air Force One. So what do you want?"

Harry smiled softly, he knew Luna had mentioned wanting to see the Presidential aircraft, but he didn't expect them to relax on top of it. He turned his thoughts back to the matter at hand and then he leaned forward in his chair. "I will tell you what I don't want. I don't want to fight you or your country. If it came to that you'd lose and we'd probably take heavy losses. What I want is for you to uphold your end of the treaty we signed, respect our autonomy and neutrality and we'll be happily help your nation with what we can offer. Release my people and withdraw your forces from my Weyr. The Weyr will assume responsibility for it's own security from now on. Dragon Services Limited will also assume full control over the Condron research complex. We'll allow you to conduct your research, as long as it's not for military weapons use and monitored by people we trust.

"Sir, all we want is to be treated as equal economic partners. In return for respecting our wish to remain neutral the Weyr will continue to supply Hot Rocks and continue to work with American companies as we have been. I'll even willingly attend a press conference with you to smooth over this mess. The issue of your advisors is really your problem. As long as they keep out of the Weyr I don't care if you sack them or not."

Bush stared at Harry for a long drawn out minute. Harry stared back unflinchingly and resisted the urge to smile at the man. The dragons had clearly won this round because they had been underestimated. Bush fought to suppress a shiver, he wasn't sure now that America's military could take on the dragons, they had effectively grounded America's air force without firing a single shot. This was a political nightmare of the highest order and America's enemies would do their best to take advantage of this!

Finally Bush looked away and pressed a button on his phone.

"Sir?" said a voice from the speaker.

"Inform Scott that we'll be holding an impromptu press conference on the White House lawn in two hours, then get me the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and then call Secretary Ridge and make an appointment for him to see me this afternoon. I don't care what he has planned, he's to see me this afternoon," Bush said.

"Yes sir."

Bush released the button on the phone and looked at Harry as if to say, "What now?"

Harry smiled and relaxed for the first time in hours. "Sir, I think that we could avoid a lot of misunderstanding in the future if you would just take the time to get to know the dragons and their riders. The Weyrleaders of Condron Weyr would be eager to help you with that."

Ronan winced and knew Harry was going to have to some fast talking when they got to the Weyr. Kat Taylor probably wanted to roast the president over a low fire for hurting Skip. What Ronan overlooked was Harry's anger towards the Condron Weyrleaders. Someone at Condron had goofed and allowed an entire Weyr to be taken by surprise.

Three hours later an exhausted Campbeltown Weyr appeared in the skies over Condron Weyr. The Condron dragons had returned to the Weyr several hours earlier at an order from Harry and were all lined up waiting for the The Weyrleader. Harry had sent all the other Weyrs home with his thanks. The results of today would be the number one topic at the next Weyrleaders meeting.

The dragons below reared up on their haunches and bellowed a relieved welcome. Harry ordered the divisions to land while he circled overhead. He couldn't see any sign of the tanks, but the marks on the roads indicated some heavy equipment had moved over them.

"The machines are north Harry," Chekiath said. His eyesight was far superior to Harry's so he wasn't about to question it.

"What are they doing?"

Chekiath turned north and started a shallow descent. "I think they are leaving. There are a great many people putting the machines onto trucks."

Harry pulled out his binoculars and looked along the road until he spotted the large truck convoy loading the tanks and personnel carriers onto special flat bed trucks. "Yeah, they are leaving all right, we've seen our British Army neighbors using similar trucks to move that stuff. Let's get back to Condron," he said.

Chekiath banked hard and Harry leaned against the bank as the dragon turned away from the military convoy assembling on the highway.

A few minutes later Harry dropped to the tarmac at Condron Weyr. The Condron riders and their dragons were arrayed in division order with the Campbeltown divisions close by. A hush fell until the only sound came from the hum of nearby air conditioning units and the sound of the hot wind that blew across the wide open tarmac.

The Condron riders stood near their dragons and watched Harry with no small amount of trepidation.

Harry slowly looked around as he took off his gloves and riding cap. Many of the Condron riders noted Harry's grim expression, usually when he came to Condron he was smiling and happy, but not today. More than a few shivered in fear and wondered how things would change for Condron now.

"They are worried and shamed," Chekiath said privately, as if he was trying to explain the uneasy silence that filled the Weyr once Harry had alighted. "I think they feel like they have failed you and their Weyr."

Harry snorted to himself and shook his head, it was an attitude he was intimately familiar with. Skip and Kat stood nervously near Ronan, Lee, Sirius and Draco. Harry absently noted both Hermione and May were behind that group. He didn't mind their presence now that the primary crisis was over.

Skip had a large bandage on his forehead and one eye was visibly blackened and swollen. Harry stepped up to the pair and his eyes briefly glanced up to the bandage on Skip's forehead, then he looked at the pair. "Are you alright?" he asked Skip.

Skip relaxed slightly. "I've got a headache the size of Texas," he admitted. "I tried to stop a marine from taking Kat's wand and got a rifle butt for my effort."

Harry nodded, his lips pressed together in a thin tight line then he turned to Kat. "Skip is grounded until he's cleared for flight operations by Doctor Wilson."

"Of course Harry," Kat said immediately, it was clearly an order that she wasn't going to question.

Harry grunted softly, then he turned to look at the riders assembled nearby. He cast a wandless amplifying charm on himself. "This Weyr, and all Weyrs across the planet, have learned a valuable lesson today. Your host country thought that they could appeal to your patriotism and love of your birth country to violate your sacred duty to your dragon and the Weyr that supports you. They thought that you could be forced to do their bidding, either willingly, or under threat of harm to your fellow riders and dragons.

"Condron taught the world that each Weyr is just the tip of an iceberg. That threats to one Weyr will invoke the wrath of all Weyrs. Each of you could have been released just by agreeing to help them, but you held fast. You proved to yourselves and the world that you are dragon riders, no matter what country you were born and raised in. Your Weyrleaders did what they had to to ensure the safety of their riders and their dragons."

Harry paused and took a deep breath. "In the aftermath of this event it is easy to say what could have been done to prevent it. But blaming yourselves or each other is a waste of time. Learn from this so that it can never happen again.

"The United States came within a dragon's breath of war with dragon kind, but that didn't happen and it won't happen if we work closely with our host governments. It didn't happen because you kept your calm and let others handle the problem. Your host country doesn't understand dragons and their riders or they wouldn't have tried this stunt. Teach them what we stand for, and what we will and will not accept. Show them that you are willing to be a partner, but not a follower and never a servant."

Harry glanced over his shoulder and looked at Kat and Skip for a moment before turning back to the others. "Your Weyrleaders kept us from going to war. By keeping a tight rein on your response to this attack, it gave me time to negotiate a solution with the American Government. War was averted, this time."

Harry turned and noted the Marine Colonel in charge of the Weyr security. "You are Colonel Peters?" he asked coldly.

The Colonel nodded sourly. He had been shocked when the order came to release the riders and for the assault force to withdraw. Now he was left with just his original company of men and a handful of light vehicles to deal with thousands of dragons.

"You and your men are relieved Colonel," Harry said curtly. "The Weyr is assuming control of it's own security, you have twenty four hours to remove your men from my Weyr."

"You can't..."

"I can Colonel," Harry said coldly, overriding him. "Under article six of the Weyr's treaty with the United States we can opt to provide our own security at our discretion. Article six also defines the notice time to be no less than twenty four hours. This is your official notice and I have been assured by your President that you'll get an order confirming this within the next few hours."

Harry turned away from the Colonel and he looked over at Sirius and Draco. "We'll get things set up Harry," Sirius said.

He nodded in satisfaction then he turned back to the assembled riders. "I am certain that in the coming days many of you will consider what happened and what could have been done better. There is always room for improvement and I'm sure Skip and Kat will be willing to listen to your ideas. What I don't want is people fighting or trying to assign blame. Think hard on that. The Weyr is dismissed for the evening. Campbeltown will provide security for tonight so go to your quarters, or go get dinner."

Collectively the Weyr breathed a sigh of relief, knowing they had been very lucky this time. Harry turned and looked at Skip and Kat. "Let's go talk in your office," Harry said tightly.

Skip flinched slightly and reached for Kat's hand, then he led Harry and Ronan towards the administration building. As they walked, they picked up several other people, including Remus and Jasper Brady.

"Harry, I can't tell you how sorry," Brady said.

Harry waved him closer and said, "Jasper I know this wasn't your fault. I guess one of the problems we'll have to learn to deal with is the fact that our liaison isn't privy to everything going on in their own government. It would be unreasonable to expect you to know everything they are doing."

Jasper nodded unhappily, he had also come to that realization. He felt it was a blow to his own sense of honor that his government would take this kind of action.

Harry waited until everyone was inside the office that Skip and Kat shared, then he turned and closed the door. He took a calming breath while still facing the door, then he turned to the Condron Weyrleaders. "Explain to me how your air patrol didn't alert you when they spotted the tanks approaching the front gate," he asked in an even tone.

Skip and Kat exchanged a look, then Kat turned back to Harry. "There was no patrol yesterday. The Weyr was away and I ordered those who should have been on patrol to come with us instead," she replied meekly.

Harry turned his full attention on her. "Was that just yesterday or has this Weyr had other days without an airborne patrol?"

Kat took an involuntary step backwards, it was impossible to miss the fury in Harry's tone or the amount of magic he was radiating. "It only happens occasionally Harry," she replied hastily, "Sometimes we need to do something and we need as many people as possible. Yesterday we went up to Mt. Hood to make an in-depth survey of that Weyr. I thought we should have a full turn out and decided to include the people scheduled for Weyr patrol. We had planned this trip for the past week and needed every hand to make the in-depth survey we needed.

"It was our intent to present you with a plan that would have Condron sponsoring a Weyr, just like you've sponsored Mousa and Svartvatn Weyrs," Skip offered, trying to distract Harry away from Kat.

Harry wiped at his face tiredly and shook his head in dismay. He reached across his bond and felt the soothing presence of Chekiath. "Kat," he said in a softer tone, "Campbeltown always has a patrol overhead. Always, no matter what the Weyr is doing, no matter what the weather. I've flown in freezing rain in the blackest night, relying on my dragon's eyesight to spot any trouble. You deliberately removed your first line of protection and that Peter's guy probably noticed it right away. Since this wasn't the first time he was probably waiting for the chance to call in the armor. In the past year alone Campbeltown has had sixteen incidents of people trying to sneak into the Weyr. All of them have been harmless so far, but it only takes one person with a bomb, or a Colonel with orders. You can't afford to drop your guard, ever."

"It's not all Kat's fault Harry," Skip said in protest, "I could have ordered a patrol up when we returned home, but we were all pretty tired."

"You could have also ordered the patrol schedule to remain unchanged, those extra twenty hands wouldn't have added that much additional help when you considered you took six hundred riders to Washington," Harry snapped back. "I'm only going to say this once because it needs to be said. You. Endangered. Your. Dragons. And. Your. Weyr!"

Harry glared at the pair, then he glanced around as if daring anyone present to argue with him. Kat stepped closer to Skip and he wrapped an arm around her. Harry sighed and walked over to lean against Skip's desk. He folded his arms and said, "What are you going to do about it?" he asked.

"I'll offer to step down," Kat started to say in a whisper.

"Goddammit this is not what I meant," Harry growled. Then he straightened and walked over to where Kat and Skip stood. Kat shrank back from him. Harry was clearly angry and the magic flowing off him was making her queasy.

"Kat, Skip, this Weyr needs you both. I need you here. What I want you to do is learn from this. Security isn't a luxury, it's necessary and not something you can ever relax. Your host country took advantage of that fact and you very nearly ended up involving us in a war. There's no stepping down, it's time to step up, acknowledge you fucked up and learn from what happened.

"By this time tomorrow your marine guards will be gone and you'll be responsible for all of Condron's security, in the air and on the ground. You'll need to buy patrol vehicles, or use the dragons. Vehicles are better only because a dragon can't run all that fast and that means convincing your dragons to let your riders learn to drive. You'll need to learn how to patrol your fence line, how to handle trespassers, who to call to take them away and so on."

Harry paused and took a shaky breath, "I also promised the President that you'll make an attempt to personally educate him on dragons and our beliefs. I intend to see each Weyrleader making a similar effort. I meet with the British Prime Minister nearly once a month to discuss issues important to both of us. I had thought the other Weyrleaders were doing the same thing, but I guess I was wrong."

"A stronger understanding at the top levels of government might have prevented this incident," Jasper added softly. "But the government is in a tight spot with the war on terror and they probably felt the dragons could really help with that."

Harry started to say something, but Jasper waved him to silence. "I'm not saying that is what I believe Harry. I'm just saying that things are bogging down overseas and the government wanted an easy fix. An easy fix which they saw in dragons. Personally I think it takes a very strong character to maintain strict neutrality but the dragons need to be neutral."

Harry nodded thoughtfully, then he turned back to Skip and Kat. "You have an added problem and forgive me Jasper, but your host government has broken our trust. It was already damaged over the incident with Jared, now I do not trust the American government. Period."

Jasper winced and wanted to protest, but he could understand Harry's point of view.

"As much as I'm inclined to evacuate the Weyr, we have too many commercial contracts here and frankly I don't have a place to put a thousand dragons right now. America has a technology base that is hard to find in many other countries. We still have to work with the American government, but now we'll be viewing their actions through a lens of suspicion and I don't like that."

Harry stabbed a finger at the Condron Weyrleaders. "That's your job. Teach the Americans what we stand for and why. Treat their president with respect, but never allow yourselves to be treated as anything less than equal to him. Teach them that the Weyrs are willing to help, but are unwilling to be coerced and we will not involve ourselves in their wars. The Weyrs owe no allegiance to anyone except ourselves."

Harry smiled viciously and backed away from the pair. "It doesn't help that I privately kicked your president in the stones and only barely pretended to be friendly on camera. He knows he lost, the question is what will he learn from this?"

He walked back over to the desk and leaned against it. "I like the idea of turning Mount Hood into a manned Weyr. But on the other hand I have little trust in the American government so I'm going be very cautious about any new Weyrs in the United States for the foreseeable future. If Condron does pick up the costs for Mount Hood then at least I won't have Karen yelling at me for spending money that I shouldn't."

There were several chuckles around the room. Harry was notorious for freely spending money on new Weyrs before the host government even agreed to help pay for it. Harry walked over to a window and glanced out. It seemed that Condron was settling down to an outdoor celebration tonight. A number of riders were setting up outdoor barbecues and others were rigging lights and tables. It had been a very tense day for everyone and it looked like people needed to blow off some steam with a party.

Condron had a reputation for holding epic parties resulting in epic hangovers.

Harry turned back to Skip and Kat. "Finally if you ever get even the slightest hint that the United States government is planning something like this again, I want all three Weyrs evacuated. I do not want a repeat of one of my Weyrs being held hostage at gunpoint. You are authorized if necessary to fight your way free with lethal force. From here on Condron is to maintain a prepositioned supply depot that you can grab and go with a one hour notice. Are we clear on that?"

Skip nodded fervently and Kat echoed his sentiment. The events of the last day had shaken the American Weyrleaders to the core. And Harry's dressing down only added to the guilt they felt.

Harry cocked his head to one side and looked intently at Skip. "It looks like your riders are setting up for a celebration outside. I'm not sure what they are celebrating, but it will give them a chance to blow off some steam. Are you feeling up to it?"

"I'll get a headache potion from the infirmary," Kat said, "He'll be fine."

Harry nodded. "Good enough, then I guess it's time for a barbecue."

Harry turned and exited the room leaving the Condron Weyrleaders standing there a bit helplessly. "Why do I feel like I've just been scolded by my teacher?" Kat asked softly.

Remus snorted. "Because you have. Harry's had to learn how to be Weyrleader all by himself. You and the other Weyrleaders have him as an example to guide you."

"Makes sense in a way," Skip said, then he winced and placed a hand to his forehead.

"I'm getting you that potion," Kat announced. She knew that tonights conversation in bed wouldn't be easy or pleasant.

"Okay okay, I'll see you outside," Skip said, then he left the room.

Two hours later Skip and Kat found themselves sitting among the division leaders and others from Campbeltown, talking about how to handle the security. Draco and Sirius were setting it up for tonight, but unlike Campbeltown, Condron had no one in charge of Weyr security. It was an oversight that both Kat and Skip realized they needed to fix and fast.

While the Weyr leadership ate and talked in subdued voices, the rest of the Weyr partied, mostly celebrating the relief they felt at avoiding a war.

Skip glanced around, "Where's Harry?" he asked. His headache was gone thanks to Kat's potion.

May looked up from the paper plate in her lap. "He's decompressing."

"I'm sorry? He's what?" Kat asked in confusion.

Hermione pointed to where Chekiath lay on the hot tarmac. It wasn't easy to see, but Kat could make just about make out a form sitting between Chekiath's front paws. Chekiath had wrapped his paws protectively about Harry and he seemed to be sitting there silently with his eyes closed. From his posture Kat knew he wasn't asleep.

"He'll join us eventually," Hermione added, "that's why I made an extra plate of food. He often needs some time to center himself after some kind of major stress. We've learned to give him that time. Once he's centered, he'll be back and willing to talk about whatever caused the stress. Today was hard on everyone, but it was hardest on Harry."

May nodded. "I asked him about it once. He said that going to war is easy, all that takes is anger. Keeping the peace when you're angry is much harder. And he was very angry about what happened today."

"He'll be fine," Remus added from nearby, anger was something he knew intuitively thanks to his experiences as a werewolf. "I bet he'll be over here, eating and discussing today in a bit."

"I'm not sure I want to talk about it," Kat said softly.

May chuckled, "I can understand that."

Kat turned to May. "What do you mean?"

Hermione looked at Kat and shook her head. "The dragons are the nosiest people in the world Kat. Haven't you learned that by now? Harry might have wanted to talk to you two privately, but both Weyrs were listening in thanks to our dragons."

"My god," Kat exclaimed, then she blushed deeply.

"It could have been worse," Remus offered. "Harry respects you two immensely. If anything that was why he was so hard on you both. If he didn't respect you, I'm sure Condron would have a new Weyrleader tonight."

Skip chuckled and said, "Well I don't know about Kat, but I don't feel so respected right now. I guess we just have to learn from this and see where it takes us."

Skip stood and Kat cried out in protest. She had been leaning against him and lost that support when he stood up. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm going to find Billy and appoint him temporary security chief until we can work out a better solution. Who knows? He might want the job full time," he replied mildly.

Kat nodded to him and reached for her drink. Skip and Harry were right, they needed to learn from this and move on.

---

Author's Notes and Mockeries:

* A longer chapter than usual, but I was faced with a bit of a dilemma. A longer chapter or a short chapter leaving you with a cliff hanger. Being the nice man that I am I opted to NOT give you a cliff hanger.

* Jupimako, there are elves helping the riders out with child care. And Campbeltown has built a very large school facility that is slowly being staffed as more children need to be schooled. It is only a primary/pre-primary school as the children will be sent elsewhere for their high school education, but it's a very nice adequate place with the coolest drinking fountains and gymnasium. They were going to have a swimming pool, but after a few dragons decided to use it to soak there was no room for anyone else so they drained the pool and filled it in.

* WhiteElfelder, Bingo!

* Royslady51, that might be what you're hoping for. I'm hoping and praying you're wrong. Sorry.

* Abyssal Angel, we did lose after 9/11. That single act caused us to willingly give up more rights and freedoms than any other act in our history. So yes, we LOST the war on terror before it even began. Personally I think it's going to be funny when videos start popping up from NYC showing the cops spying on people in their bedrooms. Every security measure taken since 9/11 has the capability of being abused and no one has complained about them going into place. Hello full body scanners from the TSA. Thanks for that. :)

* Ferensai, thanks for the offer of cupcakes, but my blood sugar levels really wouldn't like that very much. I may talk about donuts, but most of the time I have to pass them by in the store.

* Old_Crow, the detail is like an author's fingerprint. Normally I can get away with less detail because a Harry Potter story doesn't need a lot and when something inexplicable happens you can say "it's magic!". That doesn't work so well then you're dealing with a story like this. Things have to happen according to rules, and no one can work on the world stage and be in a vacuum. So yeah there are a lot of details that need to be dealt with.

It was good to hear from you my friend!

* That's about it for the notes this chapter. For some reason FFN seemed to be having problems with their review system last chapter. I posted the chapter and didn't see a single review appear until Sunday when a burst of about 20 reviews appeared, then another 15 or so showed up on Wednesday. Normally reviews don't happen like that and it's quite possible if you reviewed last chapter that it might have been lost to a review black hole caused by something FFN did.

Personally I'm still not sure the review system is working right.