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Games Are Afoot Chapter 30
Emergency!
Disclaimer: JKR owns it all, I just like to play with Dragons...
Hermione stopped speaking and looked down. Charlie could tell that her face was a brilliant red, but his thoughts were racing due to her silence. Was she quiet because she didn't return his feelings? Had she been in love with someone else before? Was it Ron? He could feel his heart pounding in his chest and he couldn't tear his eyes away from the top of her head.
Mr. Granger was eyeing his daughter sideways trying to maintain a detached look on his very amused face. He knew that this would be very hard for her to say out loud on a normal day, but the fact that both Charlie and he were sitting here on either side…well, he couldn't wait to hear what she had to say.
"Well," She stammered again. She finally looked up but it was to focus on the fireplace. Charlie could see her eyes and they were turbulent with emotion. Was she torn? Confused? Unsure?
She slowly turned her head to look at him. She smiled hesitantly. When she finally spoke, her voice was low. "I love you Charlie. You are the first. No one has ever made me feel the way you do." The fingers released from the quill but the two of them didn't notice right away. They just looked at each other with silly little smiles on their faces.
Royce exaggeratedly cleared his throat. "Well now, isn't that just sweet? I think I'll be off now. Thanks for a lovely evening." He stood and offered his hand to Robert. "It was right nice to meet you, Robert. I look forward to yer help tomorrow."
"Likewise, Royce. It has been a pleasure." Mr. Granger answered standing.
"Thanks for everything Royce. See you in the morning."
"Good night Hermione. Charlie." And Royce left leaving the rest standing in front of the low crackling fire.
"I think that I would like a hot bath and then bed." Announced Mr. Granger. Charlie took him to show him where he would be sleeping and where the necessities were for his bath as Hermione snuggled into the couch hugging a red pillow with gold edging to her chest.
She felt Charlie sit next to her but she kept her eyes focused on the fire.
"That was interesting."
She nodded.
"It's unlike you to remain quiet for so long." He teased.
She shrugged, but a smile was tugging at her lips.
He reached over and tugged one of her hands away from the pillow and held it between both of his. He leaned into the back of the couch, relaxing with his legs apart and resting their hands on one of his thighs.
"Were you surprised?" He asked her finally after a few minutes of silence. Her gaze shifted from the fire to their hands. Slowly they made their way up his arm to his face.
"Yes." She whispered.
"Why?"
"I just thought…assumed…I just can't believe you've never been in love before."
"I think I must have just been waiting for you. You fascinate me, Bookworm." Charlie said looking intently into her eyes. He noticed they seemed to be searching for something.
"Were you surprised?"
Charlie broke the stillness with his loud laughter. "I have never been so relieved…I thought you were going to say Ron." Hermione relaxed again and laughed with him. She shifted so her head rested on his shoulder.
"Not Ron. Not Viktor." She snorted indelicately. "Definitely NOT Harry." She paused and lifted her head so she could look at him again. She loved his tan, freckled face. She loved the strong set of his jaw. His eyes were twinkling. "Just you."
"I love you Hermione. Although I would have told you soon without the nudge from Royce during the game, I am glad your dad knows how I feel."
"I love you Charlie. And I am not so sure I am glad my dad knows about my personal life." She chuckled. He pulled her to him and kissed her forehead. She looked up and he leaned forward. It was a soft, tender kiss. They both sat back against the couch and watched the flames dance merrily through the coals of the fire.
The next couple of days flew by. Charlie was needed with the full-grown dragons so Hermione and Mr. Granger helped Royce out with the Hatchlings as it was his week to be in charge of the hatchery and the trainees. They would help to feed them and exercise them. For Mr. Granger it was a dream come true. He and Squirmy had bonded. The Green Welsh had started to recognize him whenever he was near. Robert had received a few unintentional burns from some of Squirmy's more exuberant hellos, but he didn't mind. Royce was a fine hand with healing spells and gave him several pointers on how to avoid the worst of the steam emanating from the nostrils.
Hermione spent hours with Shadow. She loved to sit and watch her as she wiggled and twisted about in her bed. She helped move them to the open area for more exercise twice a day and would stare fondly at the growing creature. She loved how in the dim light in the evening, Shadow would look a deep red and then her scales would catch a patch of light and it looked as if she were shimmering, the gold glistening in the light.
The dragons were being taught how to be dragons. Without their mothers to teach them, there was a risk that they would be too tame, so for a couple of hours every day, and that time would increase as they grew, the dragons got dragon lessons.
The trainers used an array of spells and hexes to simulate the mother's teaching of things like using their flames and flying. Hermione was amused to realize that her very first charms lesson had such practical applications. Wingardium Leviosa was used nearly hourly with the dragons.
As the hatchlings aged, Royce had explained that it took the power of several keepers to provide the training. When they were full-grown it was not uncommon to have six to ten working with any one dragon at a time. With their scales and ability to project their flames up to fifty feet, it took multiple stunners to calm one down.
For now, it only took one and Hermione felt an odd sort of accomplishment for her part in teaching Shadow. She had been able to get Shadow to eat her own food for the first time today. She taught Shadow to use her sense of smell to find it and her snout to adjust it so she could eat without assistance. It was an important milestone in her development.
Mr. Granger had been attempting to teach Squirmy the same thing, but was not having much luck. Squirmy would find the food and nudge the food, but as soon as he took a bite, he would spit it back out. They had tried several types of food, but each was rejected. He would only eat the newborn mash. Royce was getting frustrated.
"Picky little bugger." He muttered angrily under his breath.
Mr. Granger had been observing with a keen eye. "Royce?"
"Yeah Robert?" He answered distractedly as he placed yet another type of food in front of the dragon.
"Do you suppose something might be wrong with his teeth?"
"His teeth?" Royce questioned. He had never thought about a dragon's teeth unless they were aimed at his body.
"Squirmy seems excited by the food. Its only when he tries to chew that he spits it out. If he were a person, I would check his teeth."
Royce thought hard. Robert had a point, but he had never experienced such a thing in all his years of dragon keeping.
"Yeh know Robert. Yeh jest might have sumthin there." He finally acknowledged with a grin. He pulled out his wand and sent his patronus to summon the mediwitch.
When she arrived she looked around but didn't see any emergency. "What's the trouble boys?"
Royce explained Robert's observations and conclusions. The mediwitch looked stunned.
"I have never heard such a thing. How on earth are we supposed to even check? I don't fancy putting MY fingers in that mouth."
Royce chuckled. "Not high on my priority list either."
"When you have to fix something like a broken wing, or infected cut, how do you approach them?" Robert asked with his brow furrowed in concentration.
"We stun them. One takes care of the wound while two or three others stand ready to re-stun if necessary, why?" Royce asked.
"Well, I would be able to tell in about five minutes if it were a tooth. Can you stun him for five minutes while I take a look?"
Royce looked at the mediwitch who stared right back.
"Royce, its your call. I know nothing about teeth. Mr. Granger, if it were bad how would you handle it?"
"It would depend on the tooth, I think. If it were an important one, we could try a repair. If it wasn't, I would probably pull it out." He shrugged.
The mediwitch looked deep in thought. "I haven't got a better idea. What about you?" She turned toward Royce.
"I say give it a try. Lemme go get some of the boys to come help. If Robert here is gonna try this, we need to be extra careful since he can't magic anything. We need to have someone watch him and several watch Squirmy."
Hermione had caught the last part of the conversation and had returned Shadow to her compartment. She moved over by her dad.
"Dad, are you sure? It could be quite dangerous." She whispered by his ear.
"I think it'll be fine, Sweetheart. Royce isn't gonna let me go out in a blaze of glory…"
Royce burst out laughing as he overheard the comment. "Ah Robert, yeh do make me laugh. I'll be right back."
Sure enough, Royce returned with five handlers wand ready. Robert moved Squirmy to the center of his enclosure and adjusted the light. Royce pointed his wand at the warming light and it grew brighter and brighter until Robert said that it would do.
"Ready boys?" He asked. Royce looked at the group who nodded and then Royce did the countdown. When he got to one, the wizards in unison stunned the small dragon. Robert moved quickly back to the table and gently rolled Squirmy to his back. He used a gloved finger to pry the dragon's mouth open and began a systematic check of each tooth. By the time he got to the bottom right side, he knew what the problem was.
"There she is." He stated. Royce leaned over and peered into his mouth.
"What am I supposed to be looking at?" He asked.
Robert pointed at the gum line at the back of the dragon's row of teeth. "Do you see how red and inflamed it is?" Royce looked at both sides. He could see that the one side looked bigger and redder. "He has a tooth that is not breaking through. I think if we cut the gum, it would allow the tooth to rise and then he would be fine."
The mediwitch just shrugged. Royce turned back to Robert. "A dragon is really tough to cut. We would have to use a specialized spell. Can you show us exactly where we need to do it?"
Robert reached in and explained how to make the cut and how long he thought it should be. Royce chose one of the other handlers and had Robert show him as well. The two of them looked to each other and then performed the complicated wand movement while murmuring the spell low and quietly. A spurt of priceless dragon blood signaled they had broken through the enormously tough gum.
Infection seeped out as well so the mediwitch summoned a vial of potion to heal it. Once the area was clean, Mr. Granger gingerly placed an ungloved finger over the cut and gently pressed into it. He could feel the sharp point of the waiting tooth and continued to press down on the gum. When he was satisfied that the tooth would be able to break through, he looked to Royce.
"I think he's good to go."
"That's it?" Asked one of the handlers.
Robert smiled at him. "Unless it seals over before the tooth can break through, then we would just have to repeat the process."
Royce was impressed. He never thought about muggle professions or intelligence much, but he was very pleased to see that Robert approached his work with a calm yet strong presence. He could tell he was good at what he did because of the confidence with which he worked.
Royce nodded to the handlers and they woke up the dragon. Squirmy seemed a little disoriented at first, but after a few snorts of flame and steam, he calmed down and moved his head near Robert's waiting fist.
By dinnertime, the tale of Mr. Granger's repair of the dragon's tooth had spread through the entire camp. Many keepers had come to talk to him and ask questions. He shrugged off the attention good-naturedly and answered their questions as best he could.
Charlie and Hermione sat in the background watching the evening unfold. Royce was sitting near Robert beaming like a proud father. Soon about twenty of the tamers were in Charlie's tent visiting and telling stories. A couple of them had brought butterbeer and firewhiskey so the stories were getting louder and farther fetched.
During a lull after a particularly entertaining story, there was a knock at the door. Charlie yelled, "Come in!"
In walked a tall, very blond man. He had translucent sea foam green eyes and deep dimples when he smiled. His arms and face were very tan from being outside. Hermione wondered who he was. As if he read her mind, Charlie leaned over and whispered, "That's the big boss." Then he stood up and went over to shake his hand.
As the two men moved deeper into the room, several of the handlers quickly cleared a path. It was obvious that this man commanded respect. He strode forward with Charlie in tow until he reached the chairs that held Royce and Mr. Granger. Royce leapt to his feet and extended his hand excitedly.
"Oi, Big Boss Man. What brings you down to the enclosures at such an hour?"
"Royce, you always were too big for your britches. I came to find out what the noise was down here. You lot are louder than the dragons." Royce chuckled good-naturedly.
"I suppose you want to meet the new celebrity like the rest of these chaps." Royce nodded his head toward Mr. Granger who rose to shake the hand of their new guest.
"Robert," Royce said formally. "This here is Jack. Jack Bretherton. He hails from down under. Jack this is Robert Granger."
"Pleased to meet you Mr. Bretherton."
"Likewise and please call me Jack. Everybody does." Jack said smiling. "I understand you helped out one of our young ones." Robert nodded with a grin. The group of tamers had gone quiet as they listened to what the boss would have to say.
"I think that such an act deserves a reward." His eye twinkled merrily and shouts of "Here! Here!" were followed by fists pounding and feet stomping. Jack raised his hands for quiet. The large group immediately responded, suspecting what was coming.
"The jumbucks here," he nodded toward the group of handlers who feigned offense at his words, "may need a spot of help taking the tucker bag into…" he looked to Royce for a suggestion.
"Opaleye, sir." Jack nodded.
"These boys may need help taking the tucker bag into the Opaleye enclosure."
"Tucker bag sir?" Robert asked.
"The feed bag. These little guys need to eat and I think these boys might like some help…." The cheers that erupted drowned his voice out. The handlers knew that this invitation was significant. On the reserve, feeding a full-grown dragon was the handler initiation to signify they had passed their probation. It was a sign of acceptance.
Jack raised his hand for silence again. "Well Robert, what do you say?" Robert glanced around the group.
"I say…. YES!" Deafening cheers erupted again to the amusement of Robert. He loved the feeling of belonging he felt here. The handlers had created a family atmosphere and it was warm and welcoming.
"Oi, Jack!" Royce bellowed as if it was a part of the ritual. "Ya gonna join us at the billabong after?"
"You bet. First round's on me!" And with a wave he walked out amidst the cheers and whistles.
"Gotta love a boss that takes care of his mates." Royce said fondly.
Charlie spoke quietly into Hermione's ear. "Jack just made your dad a handler." Hermione turned around with a look of surprise on her face.
"What?"
Charlie's voice was low but animated as he continued. "All the handlers start with the hatchlings and doing grunt work. Getting to help feed one of the grown ones is a sign of acceptance around here. Your dad has been accepted into the fold so to speak."
"Wow." Hermione was surprised. But she could also see the happiness in her dad's eyes as the handlers surrounded him. She watched him for a moment joking and teasing back as the handlers talked with him. It was fun to see him enjoying himself so much.
"I think these boys will keep him occupied for a bit don't you?" Charlie whispered huskily in her ear. The rumble of his voice sent pleasant little shivers down her spine. She nodded as a smile lit up her face. Charlie placed his hands on her waist and turned her to face the door. He followed close behind her out into the night. He didn't figure they would be missed any time soon and there was something he really wanted to show her.
Author's Note: Thanks to Jocat for the Australian words. I love new words. Jumbucks are sheep; tucker bag is a bag for food; and a billabong is a water hole. I applied the waterhole concept to the pub because I figured that would be the waterhole for the handlers.