Elune's Pebble

by Tendragos

HP/Warcraft crossover with no knowledge of Warcraft needed. Harry in his 5th year could have used a few friends with actual combat experience. A lot of folks on Azeroth during Cataclysm would have been better off anywhere else. If you think HP cannon needed more Dragons, this is the fic for you! Features HP/HG/? Ship and a Cursed!Dumbledore.

17. Chapter 17: Back to Normal, Sort of

I own neither franchise. Many thanks to hkurtz2013 on Fanfiction . Net for helping to edit this nearly 15k word chapter!

While off-screen, Hedwig has leveled up!

Reviews motivate me to keep writing and editing, (So much editing… I've been trying to spruce up the early chapters.) I appreciate each one!

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Chapter 17: Back to Normal, sort of

Monday, October 16th 1995 saw something of a return to normalcy for Hogwarts Castle. Most of the Professors had returned to the castle, minds scrubbed clean of both potion-based effects and purely magical ones. (Each of them had endured a thoroughly unpleasant series of purging potions and cleansing rituals. This had not endeared Albus Dumbledore to them at all.)

With the knowledge that Dumbledore had tinkered with their minds the staff voiced few, if any, complaints about the change in leadership. Even those that wanted to complain found themselves unable to find real reasons to. There ended up being surprisingly few staffing changes considering all that had been revealed.

Even if Severus Snape had not escaped Auror custody, it had been decided that because of his petty bullying of students he was no longer welcome at Hogwarts. Andromeda Tonks was slated to take over the teaching of potions, while also serving as an additional healer if the school required it.

Binns would still be teaching, but now to an empty room. For the time being history turned into a study hall, with the students being supervised in a newly cleaned classroom.

Poppy Pomfrey was not present at the Castle yet. The former Headmaster's compulsions forced on her were by necessity more stringent than most of the rest of the staff. The Healer's oath Poppy had taken and tried to hold herself to had given Dumbledore more problems than any other member of the school's staff. For the time being, Pomfrey's position was being covered by a Master Healer on loan from St. Mungo's along with his two apprentices.

Since no one had seen Delores Umbridge in several days, (And because of the way she treated others, those assigned to look for her were not exactly searching under every rock. In fact, the task force the Minister of Magic sent out to find her had found a number of delightful ways to waste time in the muggle world. Despite their best efforts, they had yet to locate Dolores Umbridge at any number of bars, cinemas, or amusement parks.) one of the decreasing host of Ministry Aurors stationed at Hogwarts was taking over the class until she returned, with Nymphadora Tonks as an understudy.

Miss Tonks, after a few days of heavy thought, had requested an extended leave from Madam Bones, citing the need to get her head straightened out. Understanding the need for her Auror to spend some time with family, not to mention a mind-healer, Madam Bones had worked out a deal with Nymphadora where she would act as a guard and teaching assistant at the school even after the rest of the Aurors left. All three members of the Tonks clan had moved into the Professor's Wing of the castle for the time being. It was worth the effort of relocating to escape the swarm of very small, very curious dragons.

As breakfast was served that morning, 'Senas Lothar' sat at the head table between Professors Grubbly-Plank and Flitwick. Last night, the new headmaster had announced that Senas would be teaching metalworking during the day and pursuing independent study in his spare time. As there was no one better to teach magical metalworking, Senas had received applause as he moved from the Gryffindor table to the staff one that night.

Ralion had been de-iced Saturday afternoon and the excess magical energy within him had been quickly channeled into Valistraza. As the students had begun eating their breakfast, he had walked into the hall to a rousing cheer from first the Hufflepuff table and then the others when Harry had loudly thanked him for weakening the Fiendfyre so he could finish snuffing it out. At the reminder that this individual played a pivotal role in everyone present not dying in an explosion of cursed flames, even the Slytherin table joined in giving sincere applause.

'Ral Elsington' earned points with the students for simply telling the school he was happy everyone came through that day alive and mostly unhurt. (At that there were a few glares at Professor Flitwick, some students with poor dodging skills were still nursing sore spots from the forks he'd turned on them.)

The only new class starting this semester was Magical Smithing, which was scheduled for the introductory class on Wednesday. Comportment, Beast Magic, and Magical Culture were all slated to be introduced in the next semester. Narcissa Malfoy was expected to be one of the co-professors of Comportment and Magical Culture. Headmaster 'Salonar' had gained points in the media when he announced that those classes would be taught jointly by one individual from each end of the political spectrum. Privately, he had announced to the Potter Dragonflight and friends much of the intention of the Culture class was to expose the follies of both the Pureblood movement and the Ministry of Magic.

In the Chamber of Secrets, the Blue drake had lamented not being able to hold up a figure from Azeroth as an example for why the Pureblood ideology was flawed. "Probably the most naturally powerful user of magic born in the last ten-thousand years is what the fools here would call a muggle-born. Lady Jaina Proudmoore can wield more magic than a hundred Albus Dumbledores, but does lacks his razor-fine control. Then again, overwhelming force does have upsides, for example using an enormous blast of fire to protect her city from a massive tidal wave during the Cataclysm."

Aurogos had spent a good deal of time on the enchanted mirror gifted to him by his Lord over the weekend. He had spent twenty years as an apprentice to Senegos, and afterwards chose to remain in the community the old wyrm had founded. Now, Senegos had offered the 'Potter Dragonflight' a deal: Allow him to verify their claims that the corrupted drakes had been freed, and he would give them tomes and materials from his private collection. Also, he wanted to meet with Harry Potter face to face.

There were some concerns, though a betrayal from the old Blue seemed unlikely. Harry had agreed to the meeting after Aurogos explained that the most likely scenario was that his old master wanted to get the measure of the Lord he had chosen to serve in addition to sending them those corrupted dragons he could. As a precaution, Harry had spent most of Sunday learning Apparition.

In this case learning the similar but both longer range and smoother (At the cost of a much greater cost of magic to cast.) Teleport spell from Azeroth would actually be less useful; in case of danger, most methods of preventing magical travel were specific to a certain type of spell. (Even on Earth, there were distinct, different spells that needed to be cast to block Apparition and portkey use.)

So after the final class today Harry was heading for Azeroth again. This time, he would be accompanied by both Stine and Caliona. Ralion had wanted to accompany his Lord but was still recovering from almost dying. When he finished healing, he would be stronger than he was before, a combination of the excess magic running through his system and the method in which he was kept alive had indeed strengthened him, at the cost of what little hard-fought control he'd gained over his magic. (Essentially, instead of simply draining off the excess magical energy, which they could do now, the Red's healing magic had simply kept his body alive, forcing him to adapt to the extra power.)

Thankfully, it would be a short journey. One of Senegos's followers would be dispatched and meet them on the road leading into the Stranglethorn Jungle, a few dozen miles from the cave containing the cross-world Earth Portal, and bring them the rest of the way with the portal spell commonly used by Azeroth's magic users. For safety's sake, and to prevent 'unpleasantness' Caliona would be under a disguise until they reached 'Azurewing Repose.'

Harry had spent nearly an hour practicing variations of a glamour spell on her to prevent any of the various militaries or 'adventurers' from seeing a member of the group currently attempting to destroy the world. All the female dragons had ended up gathered around, offering their comments on the illusions. Caliona's favorite variation had been one Harry experimented with after getting a passable illusion of a Green drake. While deep midnight blue and black, with shifting stars visible on the undersides of her wings had looked fantastic, it wasn't useful for the coming expedition.

In any case, the school had been served breakfast early today, as the new Headmaster wished to give a short lesson. Breakfast itself was rather good, and it didn't seem like anyone noticed the school's sudden abundance of eggs, fish, and various vegetables in meals, or the decrease in red meat. Everyone was eating quickly, every student in the hall eager to see what the new headmaster had in store. Even Harry's group was decidedly curious, as the Headmaster had wanted to make it a surprise.

One hour before the first class of the day was to begin 'Aurogon Salonar,' the Headmaster of Hogwarts clapped his hands together, seeing that nearly everyone was finished eating. At that, first the food disappeared, then the tables, and then the benches re-oriented themselves and shifted to face the front of the hall. Clearing his throat, the drake in human form began to speak.

"I'm glad to see all of you here so early. I am considering making this a weekly event where I'll teach something myself. Today, we're starting with a subject and approach that should be entirely new to you. One truth about those of us that wield magic as our birthright is that we are rarely good at exactly the same kinds of spells as other users of magic. What this means, and your professors would agree with me on this point, is that sometimes a student will be better at potions, or charms, or transfiguration.

"We're going to look at this a different way today. I have here on my table six spells copied to sheets of paper. Each one is a different elemental spell. I've selected spells of Fire, Frost, Earth, Air, and Water. I was also pleased to find a spell new to me in the Headmaster's library that creates Lightning. What we're going to do next is a new approach, and I'm honestly curious about the results. I suspect that many of you here have a proclivity towards one type of elemental magic, just as I have towards magic involving ice.

"Now, follow my instructions for a few moments and close your eyes. We're going to try to figure out what element 'calls' to each of you. I'm going to ask you each to visualize what I describe and decide what seems to resonate with you the most. Raise your hand when something appeals to you and when we're done you'll have a page with a new spell to learn. You can also wait until the end if nothing calls you at first."

This caused a lot of interest in the students, they had never been asked to do this. With the possibility of a type of magic that worked best for them, they were all eager to comply.

"First, imagine a forest. It's filled with old, decayed, and dying trees that are keeping new ones from growing, choking them out with their roots. Now imagine the woods have caught flame. The old, sickly growth is burning, returning to the soil as ash to nourish the seeds of new growth. Fire is destructive, but it has its place in the cycle of renewal. It cleanses what nothing else will. Keep your eyes closed, but raise your hand if you think that appealed to you and an elf will get you the spell I've chosen."

Aurogon smiled as some hands went up, some more hesitant than others. To be honest, this lesson he was teaching was thrown together from parts of a dozen lectures he remembered from Senegos. After a moment, he began again. "Now, I want you to picture a frozen plain. Nothing grows here, no grass, no trees. The purest expression of ice and winter exists here in the endless drifts of snow, cold, harsh, unfeeling. There is no succor, no comfort here, only the howling of wind on the ice and the roar of blizzards."

A few moments later, Aurogon smiled at seeing the teachers and Aurors stationed nearby joining in. "Next, I want you to imagine a mountainside. Earth exists in crags between the boulders, and trees and grass send roots everywhere the soil is. Earth is a foundation, the base on which life depends. Earth is usually slow to move, but when it does, it flattens all in its path. Imagine that on the hills above, a rock formation has come loose. It hasn't fallen until today, when there was one small disturbance too many, and now the mountain is shedding its skin in an avalanche of rock and dirt."

Unsurprisingly, many in Hufflepuff seemed to feel a connection to earth, as did their Head of House. Moving on, he began again. "Air is something different from the others. It is unsubstantial, a bit of cloud in the breeze. Air goes where it will, above anything else, it is free! It is movement! It heralds a warm summer day or a typhoon that crushes all in its path.

"Imagine now a river. Water follows the path of least resistance, going where it is pushed, where it is directed. Water is vital for all life, it renews and nourishes. If not respected however, it is dangerous as well. Picture that same river, swollen by rain, overflowing its banks and sweeping away everything in its path."

"Lastly, we come full circle. Imagine again that forest, burdened with dead and dying trees. Deep within, an enormous dead tree stands tall, defying gravity and the cycle in which it must take part. It remains there, year in, year out, stealing sunlight from new growth and refusing to part with the nutrients the forest needs. Imagine now storm clouds sweeping over the forest, and the distant rumbles of thunder. There's no rain yet, just the sky itself crackling in agitation. Imagine that dead tree, standing defiant. Nothing happens, until suddenly, everything changes. In an instant, lightning crackles in the air and the tree is struck, broken asunder on the ground. Flames, tiny at first, licking from the place it was humbled. That is the element of lightning, it is an instant of change, the point at which things will be different after."

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Harry certainly felt conflicted raising his hand for the last one. But after a moment of thought, he felt increasingly silly for it. So what if his most known feature was a lightning shaped scar? So what if this would bring him more attention? He wasn't a lonely orphan anymore, he was a leader of people who depended on him.

Harry Potter could no longer be someone thrown about by winds created by others. He knew that this would be worth an article in the Prophet tomorrow, but found himself not caring much. He barely heard the Headmaster strongly cautioning the students against using these spells on other living creatures unless their lives were at stake.

When the benches were cleared away, he found himself with two spells in his hands, an air spell that created a gust that could push, or with enough focus even cut, and a spell that created a bolt of electricity, an imitation lightning bolt. Without more thought, he put the air spell away for now and joined the relatively small group of students gathering near the wall warded to withstand the spell they all wanted to attempt.

Reading the instructions again, which were much more focused on intent than specific wand motions or pronunciation, he waited for Aurogon to finish his instructions, and invite them to begin attempting their spells, one at a time.

Focusing his will on creating an instant of change, he traced out the wand motion, a gentle curving half-circle before thrusting his wand at a target on the wall and finishing with the incantation. With a sure voice, he called out: "Mutare!"

While not powerful enough to cause permanent hearing loss or blindness, Harry's display still captured the attention of everyone present, and it took several moments to regain their normal vision and hearing. Further examination revealed that Harry Potter had punched a head-sized hole into the wall and annihilated a wooden closet on the other side.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Several moments later, Aurogon withdrew his head from the wall, a smile on his face. In a light, amused tone the Headmaster began speaking to the room at large, and to his Lord that was still looking rather shocked at the power he'd put behind what was supposedly a simple spell. "Well Mr. Potter, it seems we have found a school of magic that suits you. Everyone else, please stay far away from this area, I'll be moving the lightning group into the entrance hall in just a moment. There's a cursed item buried somewhere in this wall; it's been draining the wards for years. I'll be taking care of it after lunch."

(In reality, he would be sneaking it down into the chamber for Vespiona and Caliona to dispose of, he wasn't exactly sure how it had been made, but it carried the sickening feeling of sentient life unwillingly taken. How it had gotten here, he had no idea, but as far as cursed items went, this one was mean. On second thought, he'd take it to the Room of Requirement and bring the drakes to it. No need to have something like this near the whelps.)

For Harry, he hastily carved out a rune-set for a target that could handle a good deal of power thrown against it. Turning to a rather excited Flitwick and a somewhat more concerned McGonagall, he smiled at them both while idly spinning his wand and covering the hole with a thick sheet of ice. "That was exciting! What do you two think of this session so far?"

Flitwick smirked at the young man. He had reservations about his apparent youth, but his direct observations of the young man had been very much positive so far. This morning's lesson was something he could never have seen Albus allowing, but the half-goblin had found himself swept up in the excitement. To be honest, he found himself wanting to walk over and attempt the lightning spell himself, but on Potter's target just to be safe. "Honestly, I think we should just cancel this morning's classes. I can't see us getting any of these students to focus on anything else before lunch."

Standing next to them, Minerva sighed. "I agree. If you're going to make this a weekly event we might as well revise the schedule to plan around it."

Smiling, Aurogon acknowledged Minerva with a nod of his head. "I'll consider it and let you know by the end of the day Professor. It is good to see some positive excitement in the castle. For now, why don't you two join me in finding students that are struggling and help them out."

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

An hour later, most of the students had grasped their first spell and were either attempting a second or were helping students who were having problems. Aurogon was just finishing assisting a first year who was upset her flame-conjuring spell resembled more a candle than the flamethrower the older students had managed.

"Don't worry about it Miss. Your magic is still growing just as you are, and this spell is probably a little too ambitious for you right now. Keep practicing in safe places though, and over time you'll get stronger. Growing up will help you as well. Practice a little more, but don't work yourself too hard now, all right?"

With that, the Headmaster that was thoroughly enjoying his new job looked around the room for others that were struggling and came across Neville Longbottom covered in sweat, but still exerting himself attempting to get the provided mound of dirt to follow the movements of his wand. Wondering what could possibly be the problem, he used his ability to see magic, his eyes glowing as he accessed a gift to his Dragonflight from the Titan Norgannon and was briefly stumped at what he saw. He actually had to think for a moment before he walked over to Neville.

"Hello Mr. Longbottom. I have to ask, why are you using a wand that is fighting you? I can see the wand resisting every attempt you make." The following discussion soon called up high emotions, a lengthy explanation of how wands transferred their loyalty, and brought in several of the other Professors before it was sorted out.

Sighing at the odd argument, the young Headmaster called for an elf to bring him a case from his 'private work area.' With a flourish, he opened the case, revealing dozens of wands, each with a small tag detailing their ingredients. "Mr. Longbottom, I understand your desire to be close to your father, I really do. I would never ask you to throw away his wand, but because it remains his wand, it will never submit to you as a wand should. I will write whoever failed to procure you a properly-fitted wand, because their mistake has likely been holding you back since your first year."

As the implications of that statement sank in, he continued. "I recommend you visit Ollivander's wand shop at your earliest convenience to procure a properly-fitted wand. For now, however, please select one one these. These wands are all from the same wood, Alexstraza's Boughs. Most of the cores are simple dragon products, however I find my own wand suits me very well. Since I have no idea how to pair a wand with the correct wizard, just give each wand a wave until you find one that feels 'right' in your hand. If you don't find one, just go with the best match."

Using his own wand to call a spire of ice from the floor to attach to the case, holding it in place, Headmaster Aurogon Salonar got back to helping students. Overall, he felt good about the morning so far. Glancing around, he saw that his Lord had mastered the lightning spell and moved on the air. Hermione had mastered both her chosen fire and earth spells, and Senas and Dali had both grasped the fire-conjuring spell well enough that they were sending flaming creatures to do battle in the air above the students.

Ral had the strange problem of the flame spell manifesting not the expected orange flame, but the dark blue of the Twilight Flame. That made for a powerful, dangerous weapon for sure.

The Headmaster managed to finish correcting a second year's spell casting, expounding again on the importance of intent, when Neville found a wand that fit him. A calming tone echoed through the hall, followed by the sound of raindrops, and suddenly something began to fall onto everyone present. At first glance it appeared to be drops of rain, but what was falling was healing magic, not water. Hmm. This seems to be the druid's Tranquility spell.

Returning to Neville, Aurogon quickly removed the tag from the wand, curious about the core, discovering it was one of the newer ones crafted the day before. (Since they had all the needed ingredients, it seemed like a good idea to have a large number of spare wands lying around.) Let's see… Green whelp's fangs, wrapped in the first shed scales from several of the same, filled in with powdered claw, also from a Green dragon. Between the materials and him successfully casting that spell... You're a druid, Neville Longbottom, no doubt about that.

Aloud, the Headmaster spoke once more. "Well, though I probably lack showmanship compared to where most of your classmates bought their wands, I can still make a cryptic comment about what your new wand is suited for." There were some groans at that, apparently Ollivander was someone who made an impression.

"This is a wand suited for spells that interact with nature, with plant life and the natural world. Also, possibly handy for spells involving sleep, dreams, and the mind. I'll see about finding some spells for you to work on. Nature Magic, while useful, isn't as powerful until you become truly skilled at it. Carry on Mr. Longbottom, but do check in with Healer Tonks and Dali at some point; I'd like them to examine you for damage caused by an ill-fitted wand."

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

From there, not much of note happened for the rest of the lesson. Harry and some of the other students took it upon themselves to give pointers to those that still struggled with various spells. Neville quickly proved to the hall that his wand had indeed been holding him back, picking up the earth manipulation spell without trouble.

Lunch found the castle in high spirits. Apparently reading the mood, the house elves had provided something new, and the students found themselves enjoying hamburgers, fried zucchini and chips (french fries). It was something new to many of the pureblood students, but they generally found themselves enjoying it.

After the students filtered out of the room, Aurogon produced a shrunken trunk from a pocket and moved to the wall containing the cursed item that was disrupting the magic of the castle. Most of the remaining Aurors watched him condense water that quickly frozen into a large pile of ice from moisture in the air, then carefully manipulate it into claws that tore into the wall until a small iron box, seething with darkness was revealed. In fact, that darkness was actually seeping into the ice as the icy talons held it.

Deciding to be cautious, Aurogon simply dumped the object and all of the ice into the box to be burned. A careful check of the area revealed that there was some residual taint from the item, but when he asked the wards to shift more power there, the residue was quickly burned off. Giving a respectful nod to the Aurors, he apparated to the Room of Requirement and called Vespiona and Caliona up. The two Twilight drakes were happy to get away from the 'whelp swarm' for a short time and happily reduced the cursed item to ash.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

There was certainly a great deal of energy in the castle as classes resumed. Eventually classes ended, and Harry and his four chosen drakes were standing in front of the portal to Azeroth. While most of his oathsworn wanted Harry to visit in force, it was Aurogos who reminded them that only a few years ago Senegos had been prepared to kill the Blue Dragonflight's Aspect. (Though, admittedly at the cost of his own life.) Not to mention that there was a significant number of other dragons living in his settlement, far more than ten drakes could hope to fight and win.

If something went wrong, Stine's abilities and the Apparition lessons the three had gone through ought to be enough to see them back to Earth.

Not having had many chances to fly lately, Harry was certainly looking forward to putting his Firebolt through its paces on an entirely new world. Senastrasz and Dali would be coming through the portal with them and remaining in Stranglethorn Jungle, planning on doing some hunting after escorting Harry's group through the cave system. While they had enough meat for the next month, more food under a preservation charm couldn't hurt. Dalistraza decided to come on a whim, mentioning that she was interested in tasting some of the native animals of the region.

Giving Hermione a hug, Harry stepped back to let her join the group researching in the Room of Requirement. The researcher's two projects right now continued to be better methods of transferring excess magic from one individual to another and various familiar magics. All those heading to Azeroth were going to be keeping an eye out for interesting animals to be used as familiars. Bracing himself, Harry led the four drakes through the portal.

Over the enchanted leather armor, Harry was now wearing a hooded cloak that reached to his ankles and wrists. It was a dark green, almost black leather on the outside after the outer layer of leather had been soaked in blood gladly donated by Talion. Stine's goal in using freely given blood from a drake with a strong connection to earth had been to harden the material using a method he'd found in the Room of Requirement's library. After soaking in blood given by Aurogos, with the goal of imbuing the item with magic-strengthening properties, the inside lining had turned a dark teal.

Stine's latest work was proof the Bronze drake's skill was improving, though the materials he was working with certainly didn't hurt. This cloak was made to be worn either open or closed, and as Harry stepped out of the portal it billowed, revealing a ruby-studded hilt hanging at his side.

At Harry's waist in a heavily enchanted sheath hung the Sword Gryffindor. Oddly, the blade itself felt heavier, looked larger than the last time Harry had handled it. It turned out that it took some time to get used to carrying a sword at one's side, many normal movements had to be changed slightly in order to not appear as a clumsy fool. Since Harry simply hadn't had the practice, the current sheathe included an expansion charm: to an observer, Harry was carrying a hilt at his side with no blade attached.

Aurogos had returned Gryffindor's blade to Harry after a sleepless night spent researching and enchanting the blade to prevent accidental deaths from the highly potent poison infusing the blade. It felt strange, but apparently carrying a blade would help him to blend in on Azeroth.

Running his fingers over the hilt, Harry bit back a groan as he remembered the two training sessions he'd had so far to get used to wielding a blade and magic together. While remaining very polite, and with a smile only slightly sadistic, Senas had retrieved a sword and shield from his personal bags, his preferred weapons to fight with in his mortal form, and proceeded to beat his Lord into the ground.

The Room of Requirement again proved its worth in giving the two weapons safe to spar with, simply making blunt copies of their blades and shield. Despite the bruises and burns, Harry had to admit he had learned more in those four hours than in some entire years of Hogwarts' Defense classes.

Now that everyone was through the portal, Harry paused for a moment and breathed in the air of a different world. While his efforts to sense and control magic with the Blue Dragonflight's methods were still a work in progress, even stepping foot here once more was nearly overwhelming. Thankfully he did not pass out this time, in fact the worst that occurred was a bit of dizziness that quickly passed.

Looking to his concerned group, he nodded to them. "I'm all right. Let's get going, I haven't been able to fly in too long. Caliona, we'll get that glamour on you just before we leave the caves, some of these places look a little narrow for a drake to get through."

Twenty minutes later, Harry and the others had walked into the warm sunlight. In fact, the weather could easily be described as 'steamy.' The drakes certainly seemed to be enjoying it, so Harry just shrugged and cast a cooling charm on himself. The Firebolt gifted to him by his godfather had needed a few tweaks to perform in a high-magic environment but should now be even faster on this world.

It turned out riding on a broomstick wouldn't even be out of place, as Azeroth was nearing the harvest season and the celebration included low-quality flying brooms that many made use of before the magic animating them failed.

It was truly a glorious feeling, the warm air rushing past. The local time was about ten in the morning and the air was fresh and clean with the unfamiliar scents of a jungle. Seeing the drakes swooping and diving in the simple joy of being in the air made Harry smile. Taking a quick look at a borrowed compass, he moved his course a little to the North.

Harry knew they would arrive ahead of the agreed time, so he took a moment to join the cavorting drakes, buzzing them on his faster but less nimble broom. Flying like this reminded him that it wasn't the sport of Quidditch he loved so much as simply being in the air and flying, alone or with others.

Half an hour later they came across the main road that led South through 'Stranglethorn Vale' and north to 'Duskwood.' Harry Potter really had no desire to visit a cursed forest today, especially one infested with giant spiders, significant numbers of undead, and werewolves. (Although the local variety were called 'Worgen' and could be cured with a powerful potion. Harry had added to his 'to-do' list to acquire a sample of that and have someone smarter than him see if it would do any good for Remus.)

Following the road North, the drakes picked up speed and Harry let his broom speed up as well. As soon as they arrived at the meeting point, a rocky pass where the landscape shifted from jungle to the chaparral, the area quickly checked for traps or an ambush. (While a betrayal from Senegos was unlikely, there were brigands and worse in the area.)

Only a moment later, Senastrasz pulled Harry aside and whispered in his ear. "There's a Blue Dragonspawn in the underbrush, concealing herself with magic. She's almost certainly just observing us; I can tell you from her scent she's not hostile right now. Remember they have reasons to doubt us."

With that said, Harry nodded his understanding and in a voice pitched to be heard by their observer, replied. Ƥ: "Stay safe you two, and good hunting."

At that, Senastrasz and Dalistraza headed back south to hunt something tasty, Dalistraza eager to try one of the famous tigers of the area. (The Stranglethorn Tiger, while bearing similarities to both the tigers and extinct Saber-toothed Cat of Earth, shared one important trait with the domesticated felines of the same world: large litter sizes and the ability to have more than one litter a year. If their numbers weren't controlled in some manner, they would eventually eat all the game and begin to either starve or focus their attention on the thinking creatures that shared their range.)

Now that Harry's group of three were waiting on the ground, Stine re-took his mortal form, taking the first free time he'd had since coming to Earth to practice his archery. Harry was kind enough to transfigure a target out of a small rock formation at the side of the road before he started putting his new wand through its paces by transfiguring a series of targets and casting the spells he had learned that morning. Harry truly found himself taking to the lightning spell, it just felt right to use.

Though, all six spells Aurogos had dug up for this morning's impromptu lesson were useful in their own right. Caliona, the glamour still holding, was giving a convincing impression of being bored while still keeping a look-out from an outcropping of rock, coincidentally situated so that if she was attacked both Harry and Stine would be able to cover her. Harry had to remind himself that here, her kind were hunted, though admittedly with good reason.

All three of them simply enjoyed the warm sun, focused on their self-given tasks for roughly half an hour. At that point, three Blue drakes appeared from the north, descending towards them. Two of them bore the standard blue and white coloring, while the third bore the darker 'azure' coloration. Harry made a point of returning the area to its former state, though some rocks were still smoking from what might be his new favorite spell. That done, he replaced his wand and walked over to where Stine and Caliona still stood together, the Bronze drake still in his feline form, the bow and arrows in a holster at his sides.

The three newcomers were decidedly jumpy, not helped by Harry greeting them in Parseltongue. Their nervousness also wasn't helped by the obviously disguised drake at Harry's side, the three easily sensing the magic disguising her. The small fact that Caliona's behavior and body posture didn't fit with the usually more reserved or detached Green dragons wasn't helping either.

After another moment of a tense stand-off, Stine returned to his true form, and in a voice that implied he was both all-knowing (This was a skill the entire Bronze Dragonflight took very seriously, even giving instruction in how to maximize the effect.) and rather disappointed in the three, asked that they stop wasting time here and open a portal for the seven of them.

When the drakes argued that there were only six individuals here, Harry sighed, drew his wand and poured as much power as he could into the general counter-spell. When the spell, visible as a ball of red light, hit a suspicious clump of bushes, space seemed to ripple briefly before a reptilian creature covered in Blue scales became visible. She possessed both a quadrupedal body and a humanoid torso and wearing only a top with sleeves centered around what was obviously either a metal bra or a bra that was armored.

Normally, I'd wonder why make a bra out of metal and then not wear armor, but learning the how and why of the scale treatments all the dragons soaked in this weekend filled that in. If done correctly, almost every scale on a dragon or dragonkin can be as strong as iron. Also, I can see what my sworn meant when they said dragonspawn can look like they're slow, lumbering but creatures but really aren't.

Now revealed, the dragonspawn sighed and walked over to the group, giving Harry a considering glance before her hands began to glow. Ten seconds later, a swirling blue oval appeared inches above the road, hanging in mid-air. Giving Harry another glance, she proceeded calmly through the portal, leaving the hot, dusty road behind. Caliona and Stine returned to their mortal forms, and Harry led them through.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

A much cooler climate greeted Harry on the other side, he found himself breathing deeply of a breeze that was blowing through the clearing that smelled faintly of the sea. Instead of the jungle's endless tangle of trees, a grassland marked with occasional trees greeted them. Also, unless he was mistaken, there was a Blue wyrm, dragon, and eight drakes that had been waiting for them to arrive. Oh, and the arrival area felt saturated with magic, probably wards in case Harry's group turned out to be hostile.

With a smile, hoping to soothe both their hosts and his two sworn who had just stepped through the portal, Harry addressed his hosts. Ƥ: "Greetings, dragons. My name is Harry Potter, I'm here to pick up a few items Aurogos left with his master. Senegos asked to meet with myself and my companion. I would like to introduce Cali and Stine, the only dragon I've met so far with such a unique mortal form."

Though some of the drakes were hesitant to allow outsiders in, the wyrm overruled them. It turned out the wyrm, Jagragosa had been the mate of Senegos for nearly four-thousand years, and made a point of reminding the younger dragons around her that they followed Senegos because they trusted in his judgment even if he was sometimes a little odd. For Harry, he was glad to put a face to Senegos's younger mate. After living for nearly fifty of his sixty-two years as part of the 'Azurewing' Brood of the Blue Dragonflight, Aurogos knew almost all the individuals rather well, and Jagragosa was someone he respected and enjoyed interacting with.

(Aurogos knew most of their stories as well. For example, it had caused something of a stir when Jagragosa had arrived at Azurewing just after growing into a dragon from a drake. After getting to know Senegos over the next decade, she fell for him and spent the next hundred years wooing the ancient wyrm before she finally convinced him and his elder mate to accept her, even though she was sixteen-thousand years Senegos's junior.)

Taking her second form, Jagragosa smiled at the reactions of the visitors, especially Stine. As it turns out, he was not the first dragon to take a quadrupedal second form with a humanoid torso. In her case her form was that of a Dryad, one of 'Cenarius's Children' (A group of races with similar physical characteristics that stood as testament to a demigod's love life that would meet with approval from Zeus.) with a silver coat of fur covering her lower deer-like body, pale skin on the Night Elven torso that rose from where a deer's neck ought to be, and the dark blue hair and lightly glowing light blue eyes. Harry looked between her and Stine and chuckled, quickly followed by Jagragosa herself.

Composing herself, she looked at Stine and spoke to him. Đ: "It's good to see another dragon that understands the superior stability of four legs. I bet you've gotten a lot of teasing for your form though, Titans know my brood never quit with the jokes…"

Đ: "Indeed, but it just meant I got all the tasks that involved interacting with the Tol'vir, which made up for it. Is there any chance you'd be willing to record a lecture for dragons attempting to grasp their second form? My new friend here and the others mostly choose the usual shapes, and I had such high hopes for them…" In the last sentence, Stine's voice shifted to a decidedly playful tone.

"Mostly?"

"The other female took a Draenei's form." This brought forth laughter on the wyrm's part.

"Oh my, I bet she's had fun getting those legs to work!"

Still distinctly amused, the dragon masquerading as a dryad handed each visitor a small bracelet made of segmented blue stones. Even Harry's senses could feel the magic surging through them, something that would have given him pause if the purpose hadn't been explained to him already.

Allowing his group unrestricted access through the wards would have been out of character for Senegos; whether or not he trusted his student allowing a Twilight dragon through his defenses unhindered was madness. These bracelets would allow them to see their way through the wards and contained a powerful tracking charm. Oh, and only a Blue dragon or wyrm could remove them without removing their hands. In a show of trust, Harry looked their hostess in the eye and calmly slid the item over his hand.

When the cool stone had settled over his left forearm Harry felt something shift in the air, and looking at the hillside, he saw barren stone fade away before his very eyes. Now revealed was a collection of very large buildings built into the stone of the foothill. The giant doors and courtyards were certainly built for larger creatures than humans, and Harry took in the architecture and gardens for a moment.

Speaking in Darnassian, Harry voiced his appreciation for the feat of magic. "These protections… They're as good as a Fidelius Charm! But you must have built them out of conditional illusion spells, layered by the thousands! That's incredible that there are so many different components working together and not conflicting!"

He continued to gaze at the various structures, not minding Caliona moving very close to him now that she grasped the true size of the settlement before them. Harry was about to continue when he saw three young teens, probably 'mortals' taken in by the Azurewing, racing around in the distance on what appeared to be circular blue flying stone, or perhaps metal discs covered in runes. "What are those? They're moving so fast and they're turning even sharper than my Firebolt!"

Harry's sudden outburst managed to relieve a lot of the tensions of the hosting group. All present understood the fascination with speed many teens had, even remembering their own exploits. It was a very normal response. Stifling a chuckle, Jagragosa spoke again as she gestured for them to follow, shifting tongues to Darnassian to follow Harry. "If your meeting with Senegos goes well I'll give you the schematics. The discs aren't a simple creation, but they are versatile and can be scaled up to a truly ridiculous size if you wish."

Not long after, the three were shown in to Senegos's chamber where the ancient wyrm was laying in a (relatively) shallow pool of glowing purple liquid. Though the dragon was resting his head on his crossed forelimbs, when Harry came close he still had to look up to achieve eye contact.

Senegos certainly looked old, though if he was truly over 20,000 years old, he was in rather good shape for his age. To Harry's eyes the most interesting thing about the wyrm's physical appearance was his horns and claws; instead of the appearance Harry would have expected from the various dragons he'd seen so far those on Senegos seemed to be made of blue crystals.

And on one of the old dragon's horns, perching unruffled, Hedwig was sitting calmly. With an imperial hoot Hedwig took to the air, gliding down slowly before landing on Harry's shoulder. Azeroth had seemingly been good to her, as she was physically larger, heavier, and had gained streaks of blue feathers. Harry greeted her, gently stroking her feathers as she gently nipped at his hair. "Well girl, you're looking good, but I have to ask, what have you gotten into?"

As if to answer, Hedwig alighted from his shoulder and swooped over the glowing liquid the elder dragon was lying in. Flying close, she took a drink without landing and returned to Harry. She again alighted on his shoulder, now with a beak dripping the purple glowing liquid.

Senegos startled Harry's group rather badly when he started to speak in Darnassian, his voice deep and rumbling. "Damn bird. Never should have let my great, great, great, great, great granddaughter take care of it. Emmigosa might be one of my favorites, but she's in trouble right now.

"I left the owl with her to take care of because she's usually such a responsible whelp, but what did she do? Snuck out to the Shrine of Aviana, the avian Ancient* that's just returned to this world and then started feeding your owl a series of rare substances. Congratulations Harry Potter, your familiar is now something new. Since you didn't ask me to mutate your owl I'm going to give you a few things to continue her transformation and keep her healthy.

"Now, Twilight drake, return to your true form and let me get a good look at you. It isn't that I don't trust my apprentice, but such claims must be verified." With that, the old wyrm's eyes began to glow brightly as he called on the ability to physically see magic. For the next half hour, he peered carefully at Caliona, changing angles often.

When he ordered her to come closer so he could get a better look, Harry stepped up and stayed close to her, calming her with the reassurance of his presence. (While a 20,000 year old dragon that had spent those years studying and basking (and now apparently basting) in powerful magic was far outside his current ability to defeat, it was the thought that reassured Caliona.)

Being among so many potential enemies was difficult for Caliona, but Harry's presence at her side and a warm hand on her neck kept her calm. After a time, Senegos began asking her a long series of questions to ascertain her mental state and life history. Harry was about to cut off the questioning of his increasingly distressed sworn, when Senegos finished his interrogation with one final question. "Last question: Tell me drake, how do you feel about the time you spent fighting on Hyjal?"

Gathering herself, glad this was nearly over, Caliona answered him. "Ashamed and proud. I hate many of the things I did, but I take pride that even driven by those horrible voices I was never needlessly cruel. I regret killing so many, but even when the voices screamed at me to make their enemies suffer, I refused."

Senegos was extremely pleased at that as he turned his complete focus onto Harry. "Mortal, you have my true gratitude. I have been studying this problem since Neltharion fell, and you've given me more hope for the Black and Twilight Dragonflights than anyone sane has had in ten-thousand years. You also have my personal thanks for taking Aurogos into your care. He is… important to me. All three of you, please move to the wall by the door for the moment, I have to contact someone I rather dislike. After I get that out of the way, I will give you as much aid as I can."

Harry and his drakes moved as requested. Senegos, rising to his feet with a groan began weaving a great deal of magic once Harry was far enough away. When he finished, a glowing fog rose into being in front of him, shaping slowly into a dragon adorned with jewelry, very nearly twice the size of Senegos. Her (And after spending time around Valistraza and asking her a rather awkward question in his quest to know more about his sworn, Harry was very sure this was a female.) color was impossible to tell with the projection maintaining a simple monotone blue.

Still, from what he'd heard Harry suspected he knew who this individual was. Thinking quickly, he cast silencing and invisibility spells on the three of them. Now that the image was fully formed Harry could feel a presence from it, and he dared not draw attention to himself. Though she had not sworn loyalty to him yet, Harry refused to even indirectly expose Valistraza to danger. Harry had meant his promise to her after all.**

Across the hall, Senegos finished the spell that would limit the perception of the being he was contacting to himself and focused all his attention onto the image of Alexstrasza, the Dragonqueen, the Aspect of the Red Dragonflight, the Lifebinder.

Đ: "Alexstrasza, I must speak to you. You should have recently received a report on a task force that was lost to us in the Eastern Kingdoms. My apprentice has contacted me from the other side and given me an answer to something we've been seeking for a very long time. I have verified his claims, and can tell you that there exists a magical effect that is even now slowly bleeding off the touch of the Old Gods from at least one Black and three Twilight drakes. Dragonqueen, you don't have to order them killed anymore! If you give them the option to surrender, if you tell your forces and the mortals to take captives and spare their whelps and eggs, we can avoid more pointless slaughter!"

After Senegos finished speaking, there was a pause. Over in the shadows, hidden from the view of the communication spell Harry Potter could see Senegos's face dropping slowly as the seconds drug on and he didn't receive the response he expected. Eventually, what seemed like an eternity later, the image of Alexstrasza replied. Đ: "I am sorry Senegos. Even if what you say is true, the risks are too great. All those corrupted by the Old Gods must be laid to rest before they can spread the evil that infects them. It truly breaks my heart to sacrifice so many lives..."

With a snarl, the Blue wyrm began speaking over Alexstrasza. "I care not for your heart. Neither do I trust your judgment! You proved yourself ill-fitted to lead five-thousand years ago when you refused to sacrifice Malygos to save all his children, to save his entire Dragonflight! I warned you Malygos was dragging us down with him! Do you remember my last words to you until the Nexus war began?*** You ignored me then, listen to me now! We can save them, not all, but those that choose to surrender rather than die? Those can be saved! Will you condemn them to death just as you did the Blue Dragonflight? Will you choose to destroy both the Black and Twilight Flights when a better option exists?"

With a dejected expression, Alexstrasza spoke again to Senegos, adopting a tone one would use with a child who could not understand why they were wrong. "I am sorry. I will dispatch a wyrm and escort to… purify your test subjects."

Harry didn't need to look into Caliona's eyes to know the terror running through her, the way her body shook was cause enough to wrap his arms firmly around her neck and hold her close. In fact, he almost missed Senegos's low growl of a reply to Alexstrasza. "Do not send any forces to invade my home that you cannot spare for the war, Dragonqueen. I will try not to kill those you send against me, but you may consider any you send lost to you."

"Senegos! Our world teeters on the brink of destruction and you would choose now to betray us?"

"You are the one who has long since betrayed us with your poor leadership, Dragonqueen. Understand me, I have no wish for this world to end, neither will I attack your forces if left alone. Except, of course, if you persist in the slaughter of those who could still be saved. I will be sending my forces to secure our enemies' whelps and eggs, since they are the most easily saved. Stand in my way at your own peril."

"You forget yourself wyrm! I am the Aspect of Life! I was chosen by the Titans to lead all of our kind!"

"And what a fine job you have done. Remember that I am older than you, Aspect. Do not forget that I was also once a Proto-Dragon. I have studied more magic than all save the Titan Norgannon himself! When I refused to join the Nexus War, and kept my brood, at least, from dying pointless deaths, Malygos himself refused to storm my home by force. My claim of ending that war personally if he came for those I love was no idle threat. Consider that, Dragonqueen." With that, Senegos slashed the air that held the projection with crystalline claws, violently shattering the spell.

As the magic dissipated, a new bit of magic flew through the air. Suddenly, the voice of Senegos could be heard from every room and hall. The echoing was nearly deafening. "Everyone! Begin preparing Azurewing for a siege! We need food collected and preserved, but I want hunting parties no smaller than five drakes or mortals! Field agents report to me after getting your equipment ready, I'm sending you out in less than an hour! Alexstrasza has proven herself a fool one time too many, I want everyone to work together in case she dares attack us here when even the Mad Aspect was wise enough to let us be!"

Harry Potter, while not sure of the full impact of the last hour's events, could tell something truly important had just taken place. He canceled the charms on his group just in time for Stine to begin shaking. It took a moment to recognize what was happening as a panic attack, or shock setting in. Not hesitating for a second, Harry quickly remembered what had worked with the Ralion's group that first night.

Moments later found Harry soaked, holding his Bronze dragon in as strong a bear hug as he could, rubbing his drake's head while using his wand to run as much steaming water over Stine as possible. It took almost twenty minutes during which he was focused completely on his task before Stine's breathing began to calm. Not stopping what he was doing, Harry spoke gently when Stine seemed a little more lucid. "Stine, are you alright? Tell me what's going on."

"I'd say the timeline just took a sharp curve." Harry jolted harshly, he had been so focused on Stine that he had missed the rather large dragon walking up behind him. "He should be fine in time. Your presence has changed the path the future may take, for good or ill.

"Here is the chest you sent me, I've reconstructed the 'expansion charm' and modified it a little. I no longer have doubts about leaving my apprentice in your care mortal. More, there is something I would ask of you. You know that this world is in danger of destruction? Then you will understand my request: If Azeroth falls, save as many as you can. I don't care if you have to drag them kicking and screaming, act if it saves their lives. Especially my family."

Senegos glanced down at the Blue drake now at his side. "No matter how stubborn they might be. This is my granddaughter, Stellagosa. She will guide you to my study, I am giving you a full copy of the Blue Dragonflight's archive in addition to any manuscripts you desire to copy. In addition, there are some useful items and a number of creatures already sleeping within your chest. Though I would prefer to be a gracious host, I have much to do, Harry Potter.

"Do not linger too long here, this place may not be safe for your sworn much longer. I doubt Alexstrasza would be willing to pay the butcher's bill needed to storm my home, but then again I don't have much faith in her judgment. Is there anything we need to discuss?"

"There is a spell called the Fidelius Charm on my world. I don't know if it would be useful to you or not, but it can hide locations from sight. You might find it useful."

Senegos responded in a patient tone without patronizing Harry. "It is an impressive piece of magic, however it is of limited use for me. Aurogos told me enough about the spell for us to attempt it, and we found it is ineffective on our kind that are more than several millennia old. Additionally, it would interfere with many of the defenses here. Do not worry mortal, I have been carving runes and placing wardstones in the area for a very long time. My home will not fall easily. Is there anything else?"

Harry thought for a moment, considering what he should say before he spoke. "There is a magical essence within you. For you to truly think clearly, you need a way to disrupt it. A competing essence seems to work, but I only know for sure how to achieve that with a female dragon."

There was a common joke around the Azurewing settlement: 'There's old, and then there's Senegos.' Despite his truly advanced age, the wyrm's reaction to Harry's statement proved the dragon still had fire in his veins. Everything went still for a moment, and then Harry and those around him were struggling very hard to even remain on their knees. A torrent of magic flooded the room, laced to the brim with such betrayal and righteous fury that Harry and the four drakes could feel it burning at them, very nearly a physical sensation of skin flaking away under the assault. This was a poignant reminder for Harry, that as powerful as he'd become recently, he remained a large fish in a small pond, and that Azeroth was an entirely different ocean.

In a voice that was terrifying in its complete lack of emotion, Senegos spoke again. "Are you suggesting that our highest law… The reason our children have been murdered since the Dragonflights were created..." the old creature spoke, unable to verbally finish his thoughts, as if the horror was too great.

Struggling to breath in the face of such a creature's wrath, Harry choked out the words as best as he was able. "I don't know if there's other reasons, but the Broodmother under my protection seems to be the only dragon I've met not suffering some form of mental control."

Seeming to reel in his emotions for a moment, Senegos turned to his granddaughter. "Starlight, go with them to the archive, but on your way tell the others that I need half an hour to calm myself. See that this group gets a copy of every manuscript they desire. Then take them to my private artifact vault, and give them anything within reason that won't weaken our defense.

"Harry, you will send me a sworn oath from that Broodmother in Common, Draconic, and whatever other languages she speaks with the recording devices Stella provides. And know, Harry Potter, that I have been tapping the ley-lines for millennia to prolong my life until I see my people prosper once more, and that has granted a similar effect to what you described. Now Go."

At the last word, Harry saw a flash of light and when it faded the four of them were in a new corridor, some distance away from where they'd been. Every one of them was more than a little shaky. Harry and his sworn because they did not expect a show of such force, and Stellagosa because she had never, in all her thirty-eight years, seen her grandfather in a rage like that.

Now that Harry could move again, he tried to calmly stroke the agitated ball of feathers and sharp claws on his shoulder while drawing his wand and levitating both of his rather shell-shocked sworn. Harry gestured to the Blue drake that was fighting off the shock, and after a moment spent composing herself she began to lead Harry through the massive corridors.

Very soon, Harry, the three drakes and a slowly calming Hedwig reached the archive. Stellagosa had flagged down several messengers, one of them a mortal riding one of those interesting blue discs. Once in the relative safety with the doors to the archive sealed behind them, Harry took out a spare expanded trunk (The last week having shown the value of the items in spades, many of the old trunks stored in the Room of Lost Things had now been enchanted.) and levitated both his dragons inside after a series of water-proofing spells and adding a foot of nearly scalding hot water. Leaving both his drakes to relax and arranging them so they wouldn't drown should they fall asleep, Harry got a good look around before he found himself with an angry Blue dragon in his face.

"What did you imply that set my grandfather off? I've never seen him angry like that, hell, it's almost impossible to upset him at all!"

Taking a deep breath to steady his own rather frayed nerves, Harry smiled when Hedwig finally detached her claws from his shoulder and gave a threatening hoot to the dragon. "I implied that the Dragonflights have been betrayed, and I probably confirmed something he has suspected himself for a long time. I find myself very relieved that anger wasn't directed at us. Whatever comes, I think you can trust your grandfather. I can see why Aurogos is so fond of him.

"Now, let's get started. I have almost a thousand blank tomes ready for my copying spell, if you'd be willing to help me I'd appreciate it." Reaching into an expanded pocket Harry withdrew a case and canceled the shrinking spell on it. Showing the collection of various wands to the Blue drake, Harry continued.

"Aurogos wanted me to give this to you, or rather for you to pick out which one you and others found fit best. They're magic foci that a Blue, Green, and Red drake crafted together. When you find the best one for you I'll teach you the spell I'm using. But first, can you point me to the instructions to craft something called a 'Quel'Serrar?' Senastrasz wasn't very clear on what it was, only that we need to know how to forge it."

Calming, the Blue drake snorted. "You speak perfect Darnassian but you don't speak Thalassian at all, do you?"

Glad to see the drake relax a little, Harry responded with a smile as they moved to the desired section. "Hey, a week ago Elune shoved the language into my head. I'll have you know I can now speak the native tongue of my people, Darnassian, and Parseltongue, a magical language that means I can talk to snakes and apparently dragons with a bit of effort."

From there Harry and soon after Stellagosa, now in a shape of a pale elf with blue hair and eyes, spent the next four hours copying tome after tome to the blank ones Harry had been sent from Sirius of all people. (After Sirius promised Harry they weren't stolen from anyone that might be on their side of the coming war, and that a Marauder 'had his ways,' Harry let the matter drop. Hurrah for plausible deniability!) After an hour, Caliona joined them, still shaky from stress but capable of making use of her fancy-looking wand with blue and green swirls in the wood to speed up the process. An hour after that, Stine came up and began to help with his orange and white wand.

Not long after Stine joined them, Jagragosa entered the archive and allowed the visitors to copy a tome that detailed the creation and maintenance of the discs that had impressed Harry so much. Her own duties finished for the moment, the wyrm picked out a wand and joined their efforts. Harry was rather impressed as he watched a dozen tomes at once fly off shelves under a levitation charm and settle next to the blank tomes at the feet of the dragon in the shape of a dryad. Then he watched that same creature copy a dozen texts at once and return the originals to their shelves with the barest flicks of her new wand. Harry was truly impressed.

During the time spent working, Harry had contacted Senastrasz and his sister, along with Aurogos. Aurogos provided a short list of items he knew were in his master's collection that would prove useful, and Senastrasz and Dalistraza promised to have a fire and some roasted meat waiting for him just inside the cave when he was ready to return. Harry also gave a communication mirror to Stellagosa and took the time to show both her and Jagragosa the Patronus spell and its communication variation even though he had yet to check that the spell could traverse the world-bridging portal. Something to test before I step through.

Eventually, after a short stop at Senegos's vault which netted among other things: a number of rather powerful ward-stones, a partially ruined but still impressive 'arcane protector' golem, (large enough to box with Valistraza if it was functional) and several 'unfired blades' of different shapes, Harry headed for home. It had been a long haul, and Harry was happy to be heading back.

Jagragosa and Stellagosa walked Harry past the plethora of magics now denying any magical travel that did not originate from Senegos himself, Caliona at Harry's side in her mortal form and Stine sleeping off the jolt he received safe in a dry trunk covered in warming charms. The sun had set, and the night was cool as Harry paused before he left the protective area. Turning to his two hosts, he gave his last words for now as they removed the three stone bands that allowed Harry and his drakes to enter the wards unhindered.

"Good luck Jagragosa, Stellagosa. If things go badly here, use the mirror and we'll help you as much as we can. Even if it's just a place to run to. Stay safe." And with that, Harry gathered his magic and apparated to the cave's entrance with his familiar on his shoulder and Caliona clinging to him. Upon arriving, Caliona wrapped her arms and legs around Harry, clinging to his chest and burrowing her head into his neck on the side not occupied by Hedwig even as she began to tremble as the day's stress caught up to her.

Harry accepted a side of some kind of meat on a metal skewer from the Red drakes before telling them to leave no trace that they were ever here. Hedwig made her own way to the portal after accepting a tribute of the greasy meat seasoned with spices. Actually, as Harry offered Caliona half the skewer while he chewed on the other, he decided it was pretty good, but nothing he'd eaten before, both the meat itself and the herbs it was seasoned with.

Just before they reached the final cavern, it seemed Senegos completed a truly massive work of magic, and Harry's group saw the final result manifest near Caliona's head. It was Harry's guess, and he was right, that the message they saw was sent to every Black and Twilight Dragon on Azeroth. An elf, a High Elf, appeared and began speaking in what was now a recognizable voice:

Đ: "I am Senegos, the eldest dragon still alive. I send this message to every Black and Twilight Dragon on Azeroth: Those dragons who surrender to me will be allowed to live. You have never been given a choice in who you serve, I am giving you one now. Find me in Azsuna on the Broken Isles, offer your honest surrender to an honorable mortal, or surrender to one of my agents, and I will ensure you live past this war! You have my oath that no matter what happens, I will never be cruel to you or allow others to be cruel to those that choose to leave this war.

"You may think me mad for my offer, since the current war has no victor. But Azeroth has fought off Demons, the Dead, and foul gods before, and I would bet our world accomplishes the impossible once again. When the war turns against you, when your armies are shattered, come to me and live! Bring your eggs, your whelps, any others you can find with you, and flee to my home! Come to me if you decide you simply want to live without fighting a pointless war! Come to me if you decide you want to live on this flawed world!

"I have stood in defiance of my Aspect before, and I stand now in defiance of the Queen of all Dragons! Alexstrasza believes there is no hope for you, but I Name her Fool once again!

"To Deathwing, who I once knew as Neltharion, come for me directly if you wish. But know that even when you struck down your brother with madness and he waged war against the entire world, Malygos feared to assault my sanctum. Perhaps you would fare better, but I prepared to strike down Malygos if necessary for ten-thousand years; if you think I abandoned those preparations when he fell you are truly mad! Even the mortals know the danger of bearding a dragon or wizard in their lairs, and I am among the most powerful of both."

Neither Harry or the drakes knew what to say, so they simply hastened through the portal, glad to reach home.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

After the day they'd had, reaching Hogwarts again was a relief. Thankfully Harry had some muscle on his frame from summer yard work and the truly massive number of stairs he climbed every day at school, because he had yet to convince Caliona to let go of him. Harry had arranged for his group of drakes to meet along with Hermione, Valistraza, and the Tonks family. On a new, larger mirror situated at one end of the table in the Room of Requirement, the Grangers and Sirius were visible.

Thankfully the whelps were asleep right now with Dobby, Winky, (Unhappy with being a free house elf, Winky was happy to bond with Valistraza and help take care of the whelps. In the two days since bonding, the house elf already stood several inches taller and looked markedly healthier.) and all of the otherwise idle house elves watching over them. Apparently, when a Green Broodmother (even one still in training) says it is time for bed, they have any number of safe methods of enforcing their decree with an iron fist.

Harry slumped down in a very comfortable chair, more than a little sweaty after carefully peeling off his cloak. It warmed Harry's heart to see both Ralion and Bavaku joining them at the table, Bavaku being the only dragon in his natural form. Getting the meeting started, Harry carefully ran his hand up and down Caliona's spine as he gathered his thoughts. "As far as I know, we're all okay. Caliona is just very stressed out right now, and I think Stine is suffering from shock."

The currently feline Bronze drake attempted to rebuff Dalistraza as she promptly descended on him, while Caliona simply snuggled in closer as Valistraza stepped up and rubbed a small amount of warm, soothing healing magic into her back. It only took a few moments for Caliona to fall asleep completely, though she remained locked around Harry. "Senegos seems like an honest, reliable dragon. I order everyone to never cross him. While I was there he discovered a betrayal against his species, and his anger was rather breathtaking."

Harry looked to Aurogos who seemed shocked. "Yeah, Stellagosa said she'd never seen him angry before, but when he figured out the truth about the Titan law Vali's fleeing? He forcibly reminded me that there are much more powerful creatures out there than myself."

Turning his attention to Valistraza, Harry dug out the three recording devices given to him. Ƥ: "Vali, I need you to record a sworn oath in Draconic, Darnassian, and Common on these regarding what you've told me about the Law and the effects breaking it had on you. I'm going to send them back as soon as you're done. Everyone else, take the chest and start going through it. Senegos gave us quite a bit. And someone take a look at Hedwig please, I have no idea what happened to her, but she seems fine with it."

Pausing to take a deep breath and then release it, Harry addressed his bronze drake. "Stine, I almost hate to ask, but please tell me everything you can about what happened."

Seemingly unsure as to be thankful or angry, Stine replied to his Lord. "There's a good chance the timeline the Bronze Dragonflight has been safe-guarding since their creation has been irreparably changed."

That got everyone's attention, well those who had some idea what was going on anyway. Suddenly feeling very nervous, the months spent in the Dream had given Harry some idea of the magnitude of that statement and the possible repercussions. "Stine, give me as specific an answer as you can. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Also, did I just bring the wrath of the Bronze Flight down on our heads?"

Chuckling, Stine rolled his feline shoulders. "It could be good or bad my Lord. I really don't know yet. As for us being attacked by my old Flight? Probably not yet. I think the moment with Senegos and Alexstrasza was the center of the shift, now it's going to spread outwards like ripples on a pond. It won't even be noticed for some time likely, not until a Bronze dragon slips out of the Timeways and finds events haven't played out like they should.

"In free moments, I've added a few Bronze runic defenses to the cave with the portal, specifically keyed to make it almost impossible for other Bronze Dragons to find; it's something we've developed in case we don't want to be noticed by our past selves. So long as we don't attract attention to that place, it will be nearly impossible for them to find."

Looking around the table, Harry groaned and just played the whole conversation from a Memory Viewing Device that one of the drakes asked the room to provide. (In the debate over which was better, the Memory Viewing Device from Azeroth, which was literally the item's name in Draconic, or Earth's Pensieve, neither was exactly superior to the other. Each was, however, better at different things: the MVD was somewhat easier to use, and made possible the addition of subtitles.)

Once everyone had seen what he had, including the message from Senegos as they left Azeroth, Harry spoke up again. "Okay, I may have just sparked a dragon civil war, this time it will be everyone against Senegos. Headmaster, send them anything that they might find useful. Senegos asked me to save as many as I could, what are our options for taking in a large number of refugees if we need to?"

Ideas were tossed in and out for a while, until Dan Granger spoke up. "What, exactly, are the limits on expanded spaces, and can they be kept stable permanently?"

Sirius was the one to answer him. "Different methods have different limits, but it doesn't take much ambient magic to maintain an expansion if it's done well. Hogwarts castle has been around for a thousand years now, and it is most certainly larger inside. With the ley-lines getting a boost from that portal, I don't think that there's anywhere on Earth that would fail to sustain moderate expansion charms. Here at the Potter Estate, we could sustain a very significant expansion but would need to make allowances for the extra dirt and water. Harry, we could have miles of farmland here with some careful work."

The Blue drake nodded. "I'll get my Dragonsworn on it tomorrow. Together we'll figure out the best way to get as much growing area as possible. Anything else we should start researching? I admit to having a lot on my plate right now, but Minerva is proving a capable administrator and I'm glad to have her back in the castle. Dora Tonks, would you be willing to learn from her and start helping with keeping this castle running? I don't want to shove more work on you, but complicated magic is something I've been learning to work with for my entire life, and there's simply too much to do."

In the last few days, Nymphadora Tonks, as she spent time with the Potter Dragonflight and the others under the school, found herself doubting her decision to be an Auror. The others she was staying with forced her to confront the corruption and cruelty of her government, and she had decided she couldn't serve it and keep her conscience clean. She honestly wasn't sure what to do with her life now. For the time being, she found herself oddly comfortable around the dragons, even if one of the little whelps had latched onto her fingers unexpectedly.

Being a Metamorphmagus had dominated her life in one way or another as long as she could remember, so she found it… pleasant, being around creatures who honestly didn't care one way or another. It turned out her scent never changed no matter her shape, so it would be very difficult to fool them anyway. Watching Senas give Harry combat lessons had been entertaining, until he invited her to spar with him after Harry was exhausted physically. She had also gotten her butt thrashed, though some of her environment-alternating spells had phased the Red drake.

Speaking of the drakes, Dora had watched them de-ice Ralion, and heard him immediately scream upon being defrosted, subdued to pained groans as the excess magic was drained out of him. Having watched a pensieve memory of the battle with Albus, she didn't want to think of how painful it must have been to absorb so much extra magic. While she lacked the perspective to understand the scope, they apparently took enough out of him for the big Red dragon to get dizzy. It took her overhearing a quiet conversation Harry had with Ralion where he gently admonished the drake for being too eager to die that she realized the drake had expected to perish in agony when he acted on Wednesday.

As she learned more about these dragons that, far from being dumb beasts were actually leagues smarter than some of her fellow Aurors, she found herself intrigued. Their culture in general fascinated her, even more so when she learned that humans and others were welcome in their societies. Hell, half-dragons were apparently something common. And Ralion himself was incredibly interesting. Dora had spent much time with him, talking about his life, what little of it there was. Stolen as an egg, warped by dark magic, tortured into accepting mental slavery, forcibly aged, and forced to fight or die but still ending up on the side of the heroes in the end? Poor Ralion had lived such a tragic life.

So, if she was being asked to take on more responsibilities, to further join herself to Harry Potter, not the Ministry's corruption or Dumbledore's web of lies? How could she turn that down? "I'll help however I can. I've decided to throw my lot in with Harry, no way I'm returning to the Ministry that sends Dementors into residential neighborhoods and throws innocent men into Azkaban. Some of the magic you've been working on is far beyond me, so I don't mind freeing up your time to work with it."

Taking control of the meeting again, something he was getting better at, Harry spoke once more. "In the box is an 'Arcane Protector' big enough to grapple with Vali, I'd like that repaired and improved. I want more built, in whatever shape you choose, the important part is that they can take spell fire for my oathsworn. Senas, do you have any ideas on that front?"

Smiling, Senastrasz nodded to his Lord. "Yes, I'm planning on having a competition run through April to design and build a better sentry to replace the enchanted suits of armor. Winning team gets to stay on at Hogwarts a year past their graduation to study for their Masteries and free room and board for that time in exchange for some work at the forge.

"If the students can come up with a better shape or work out a spell or rune set that we can incorporate into our new line of guardians, it will be worth their room and board for a year. I do want students we can trust on every team that seems to be doing well, just to make sure any improvements don't end up in the wrong hands."

"Good idea Senas, go ahead. Fred and George Weasley along with Jason Atreides would probably be good candidates for eyes and ears. Anything else we need to worry about tonight? No? Good, I'm about bushed. Hermione, could you help me for a bit? Caliona doesn't seem to want to let go, and I'm about to pass out."

With that, the meeting broke up. Harry briefly soaked in warm water, not able to really clean himself with Caliona still clinging to his chest, but at least he got the stress induced sweat off himself. Alira offered to help get Caliona clean as well, and Harry was rather shocked when Hermione joined him in the bath as well, explaining she had helped bathe him when he passed out the other night, and would see everything regardless through the mental link with Alira. Privately, both Alira and Hermione were impressed that Caliona refused to budge even while unconscious in warm water in what could only be an impressive feat of accidental magic.

Thankfully for Harry, the Room of Requirement provided a bed that was comfortable even while the drake in human form remained latched to his chest. Harry slept soundly again, never even knowing of the increasingly irritated Dark Lord that once again failed to overcome a Green drake hiding inside an increasingly-complex Gryphon battle-suit.

At this point, Alira's mental war machine was looking more like a mecha-gryphon than one of flesh. Hermione and the drake had prepared for further adaptations of this idea by watching various giant robot centered television shows Sunday afternoon at Potter Estate, (After rigging a rather slapdash collection of magic that generated a small amount of electric power constantly.) amusing Hermione's parents when they admitted they were getting ideas for magic constructs.

That night was the first time Hermione joined Alira in defending her best friend's mind from what had, after an afternoon spent bonding over television, come to resemble a two-pilot cockpit of either a 'Gundam' or 'Zoid.' Sadly, the Dark Lord had stepped up his game from approaching Harry's mind as a formless black cloud: the defenders had to put in a good deal of effort to drive him off. But as Hermione, her body sound asleep with this battle her dream, controlled the magical weapon platforms and energy defenses and Alira moved the construct as an extension of her own body, Lord Voldemort was denied access to Harry Potter's mind once again.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

*Aviana is an Ancient, a subset of a group of creatures native to Azeroth called 'Wild Gods.' Essentially, they're powerful creatures, mostly based around animals. They're powerful but not omnipotent, and can be killed, though not easily. (And even if you manage to kill them, eventually they 'get better.') Malorne, the father of Cenarius, is one of the more prominent ones alongside Aviana.

**Excerpt from Chapter 15:

{ (Harry speaking to Valistraza after letting her out of the stasis device.) Ƥ: "Valistraza, you are safe here! Your charges are safe here! Your clutch is safe here, mixed blood or not! The eggs you carry will be subject to the Titan's laws only over my charred, smoking corpse!"}

***Excerpt from Chapter 5:

{Alexstrasza had sent him (Senegos) away empty handed that day, unwilling to tear the power of the Titans from her brother, killing him in the process. Feeling especially bitter, Senegos had shouted at her, as her guards shoved him away that if she left their Flight to wallow in despair she would come to regret it eventually, that all that suffering wouldn't be confined to the Blues forever!}

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A/N: In this fic, Senegos is older than the Aspects, (though only by 10-50 years) and the only other living dragon that was changed from his natural form into what they are now. The cannon lore doesn't explicitly state that any proto-dragons other than the five Dragon Aspects were changed, but it's a logical assumption that a large number were changed along with Alexstrasza, Malygos, Neltharion, Nozdormu, and Ysera. I mean, the rest of their respective dragonflights had to come from somewhere, right?

You know, before the Titans changed the five Aspects, the race of proto-dragons were intelligent, thinking creatures. Yes, their race was very young, but they had crossed the line from 'animals' to 'people.' Yet, in modern Azeroth, proto-dragons no longer have their intelligence, and are nothing but dumb beasts that can be domesticated by the brave or foolhardy. Only the dragons that served the Titans retained their intelligence. I wonder what happened there?