Chapter 8: Learning to Listen
Diagon Alley, Sept 23, 2022...
Harry had made a special trip to Earth to pick up the earrings he had ordered. He was anxious to see how they turned out and get started on enchanting them with the translation spell. While here, he might as well drop by to see Minerva and remind her that it was nearing the time when potential bonding candidates would be pulled out of class for their trip to Pern.
"Good morning, Mr. Potter," said Ted Joyero. "I see you got my message."
"I did at that, Ted," replied Harry. "I'm anxious to get started. If I can get this to work, I will be placing a much larger order."
"Oh," said Ted interestedly. "How many do you expect to need?"
"Probably 10,000 to start," said Harry, calmly. "Once the initial purchase has been made, I don't imagine we will need many more for a while."
"10,000!" exclaimed a shocked Jeweler. "How soon would you need them after the order is placed?"
"Well, that depends," said Harry. "Let me see the finished product."
Ted brought out a small jewelry box and, opening it, set it on the counter for Harry to see. Harry picked it up and started examining the details.
"This is excellent quality, Mr. Joyero!" exclaimed Harry. "Would you be able to create more of the same quality?"
"Well, that depends," replied the jeweler. "Examine each of the earrings and tell me if you see any differences."
Harry picked up the case again and, using magic this time, examined each one looking for any kind of difference.
"Well," said Harry, "the top left looks like it was initially created by a mold and then hand finished. The other three have traces of magic about them. When I examine them very closely, I can tell that they were subjected to some kind of a magical duplication process. They look too perfectly like the first to be created by hand."
"Is that a problem, Mr. Potter?" asked Ted.
"Not really, as long as they don't turn into lead weights sometime in the future," said Harry.
Ted Joyero looked at Harry with a startled look and then laughed. "Believe me, Mr. Potter, they will never turn into anything other than what they are, I have a reputation to maintain."
"I take it that most of the time this order took was to create the unique original and then you used magic to somehow create the duplicates?" asked Harry.
"Yes," said the surprised jeweler. "Not one of my past customers has ever been able to even detect the magic on any of our designs, much less that similar designs are exact duplicates! Again, is that a problem?"
"Again, I will say, no, it isn't a problem. Do you perform the duplication yourself or do you employ others to help?"
"I have a small staff of five employees who help out with larger orders, but I always check their finished work carefully. It takes about 2 hours to create such an intricate piece and each of us could do at least six a day. We could have the entire order of 10,000 in a little less than a year."
"And how much would it cost per pair?" asked Harry.
"Let me calculate. Given the size of the order, I can sell them to you for 40 Galleons a pair. We could make partial deliveries of a little over 1,300 earrings, every four weeks and would require payment for all delivered merchandise when it is received."
"If I were not placing such a large order, how much would you charge for one pair?"
"That's easy," said Ted. "These are 100 galleon earrings, special order or not."
"Can you hire additional employees to speed up the work if I pay more?" asked Harry.
"Not really," said Mr. Joyero. "It simply takes too long to teach the process to new people."
"How about this," suggested Harry. "I don't want you to give up your other customers but I would like a certain level of exclusivity. I will accept only 600 pairs a month, on the 28th of each month starting in October, which means you will not have to be involved personally in creating the earrings but can run your shop. I will pay you 100 Galleons a pair, half now and half when you start delivering the second half of the order. In addition, I must insist that this design, using any Blue stones for eyes, is never made for anyone else but myself or one of my heirs."
Mr. Joyero looked quite shocked at the generosity of the proposal. Most customers wanted their order 'yesterday', they wanted it completely perfect, they wanted any order to be absolutely exclusive, and they wanted to haggle the price down, not up!
"I believe I can accept that deal, Mr. Potter," said Ted. "Does that mean I can make the same earrings with a different colored stone for eyes? And, is it permissible for me to know the use for such a large number of earrings?"
"Yes, you might find red, black, or yellow to be appropriate colors. The colors equate to a dragon's eye color when they are feeling certain emotions. I am willing to tell you the reason if you are willing to take a magically binding oath never to reveal this to anyone, under any circumstances."
"I would be willing to take such an oath, as long as there is no illegality involved."
"No illegality whatsoever, I assure you. I am planning on enchanting them to enable my Dragonriders to understand any language in the world and allow other language speakers to hear them as if they had spoken in the listener's native tongue. I want the blue to be exclusive to Dragonriders only. You may also list in your accomplishments that you are the preferred Jeweler for the Dragon Nation.
"In exchange for performing the work for us, I am willing to enchant a pair of different style earrings for your personal use. But that will have to be after the entire order has been completed. You would also need to keep their abilities a secret under your oath."
"That I will be most happy to agree to," said the surprised Jeweler.
Harry and Ted performed the ceremony for the magically binding oath, Ted wrote up the contract and they both signed it.
"Now", suggested Harry, "here are 200 Galleons for this first two pair. Why don't we go next door to Gringotts so I can transfer your first payment for the rest?"
"Of course," agreed a suddenly very rich, very dazed Jeweler.
Ted closed his shop for the short transaction. The Goblins were a bit surprised about the amount of the transaction but, given Harry's reputation with them, they were extremely polite and quick in expediting the transfer of 500,000 Galleons.
While there, Harry discussed a recent muggle innovation he had learned about, credit cards. Both the Goblins and Ted Joyero were interested in the concept. The Goblins agreed to research the idea and eventually 'issue' a Gringotts Credit Card. Ted agreed to be the first business to accept one on a trial basis. At Harry's suggestion, they limited the interest due to 10% per month on the unpaid balance. It would be marketed as a small personal loan of no more than 5,000 Galleons until the customer had demonstrated they were willing and able to pay the minimum balance due on time. The minimum balance due would be 15% of the current balance.
After a dazed Ted Joyero left, Harry asked for a piece of parchment and a pen. He wrote a quick note to Ragnok, folded it over, and sealed it to be delivered to Ragnok only.
Ragnok, Lord Holder for the Goblin Nation,
I am working on a special project you will be interested in. I know this may sound strange but, if you trust me enough, this will be of immeasurable worth to you.
Have created, for yourself, a pair of earrings and bring them to me on Pern.
Once you arrive, I will tell you the rest. Once you know, I will allow you to set a value on it.
Harry Potter, Weyrleader to the Dragon Nation.
Spath's Weyr, Harry's Inner Office, Oct 28, 2022...
Harry had cheated a little. When he had visited Ted Joyero about placing his order, he already had a translation spell ready or he would not have placed the order. He had first attempted to enchant an amulet but that hadn't worked unless he held it somewhere on his head. That lead him to believe that the earrings supplied to them by the Japanese were probably the optimum vehicle for the spell.
The translation spell itself was rather tricky until he realized he had a ready-made translator in his dragon. From then on, instead of trying to create a vocal translation, he worked on some way to transfer the information mind-to-mind. After that it became easy.
The next part of his spell involved security. If the wearer of the earrings wasn't a Dragonrider they would not work without being activated by a Dragonrider. He had initially thought of having the earring heat up until it melted but didn't want to risk hurting someone who got a pair innocently. He did insert a tracking charm in every pair though. If a Dragonrider were kidnapped, he wanted to be able to find them easily. With that in mind, he added a special form of the Protego Defens spell that protected the area immediately around where the earrings were being worn. This would keep the earrings from being removed by someone else and give additional protection to the ears.
Then he added the ability to turn off the outgoing portion of the translation, at the wearer's discretion. It might come in handy if people didn't know they were able to translate languages and being able to 'talk' in someone else's language would kind of give that away.
Ragnok had shown up with his earrings the previous week. Harry had taken the gruesome-looking battleaxes covered in streaks of red paint, at least he hoped it was paint, to his quarters and enchanted them. Then he came back and returned them to Ragnok. Ragnok put them on but didn't yet realize what he had been given. When Harry told him about the requirement for the binding magical oath, Ragnok was a little hesitant but finally agreed. Then Harry had explained their abilities. He called in one of their Ethiopian residents, recording his conversation with Ragnok, and played it back for Ragnok to hear afterward. Suddenly Ragnok understood the great value of these items. He reluctantly allowed Harry to bargain him down to only an honorary Goblin citizenship.
The first two pairs of earrings Harry got from Joyero's went to May and Hermione. He'd had a wild couple of nights after that, not that he was complaining.
"Incoming Courier," yelled Jeofrey through the door as a Dragonrider strode in.
"Hi, Milly!" said Harry Jovially. "What have you got for me today?"
"A velvet bag from Joyero's Fine Jewelry, Jewelers for the Dragon Nation!" Milly Tyson, rider of Hearth, exclaimed. "Since when do we have an official Jeweler?"
"Since I ordered these," said Harry opening the bag and pulling out a small jewelry case. He opened it to show her the earrings resting in the fine velvet lining.
"They're beautiful!" exclaimed Milly. "The eyes make me think of a happy dragon. Who are they for?"
"You will find out in due course. There will be a fairly involved ceremony associated with getting a pair of these. I'm sure you will find out soon enough," said Harry teasingly. "Our Couriers will probably be amongst the first to get a pair."
"Who do I have to kill?" she asked, half teasingly.
"No one," laughed Harry reassuringly. "Just continue as before. There is a limited number available right now but we will be getting more each month. You will get yours as soon as a pair become available, which should be in less than 2 years."
"I won't hold my breath, but will still be waiting anxiously! See you later, Harry!"
"Bye, Milly, and thanks!"
Hogwarts Main Entrance, Nov 15, 2022...
Minerva, Daniel, and Mary stood on the front steps of Hogwarts waiting for Harry Potter to arrive. She had received a message via special courier last week reminding her that the two children would be pulled out of class for possibly the next three months and that they needed to get ahead in their classwork as much as possible.
Just then, with a surge of displaced air, three dragons appeared overhead. Chekiath and two unbonded dragons landed gently not far from the entrance. Harry quickly dismounted, thumped Cheki affectionately on the side of his jaw, put his flight gloves and helmet into his bottomless pouch, and walked forward to meet the three waiting for his arrival.
"Thank you for having them ready, Minerva," said Harry. "Things are starting to get a bit hectic back on Pern with the upcoming hatching. We have suddenly had to go out on search to get more candidates. After many years of only 40 eggs per hatching, suddenly we have 120! If I was a betting man, I would say the dragons had been holding off to give my two children a good selection."
"Surely that is a good thing, isn't it?" asked Minerva. "Your two children have been most diligent and have worked ahead in their studies. When they return, they shouldn't have much catching up to do."
"Thank you, Minerva," said Harry. "That is one less thing to worry about. Daniel, Mary, sorry your mothers couldn't be here, but you will be seeing them in a few minutes anyway. May has a particularly nasty dragon injury she is attending and Hermione is neck-deep in ensuring the handbooks get updated and extra copies printed.
"I have brought two unbonded dragons for your use in returning to Pern. The eggs have already been laid and the mothers are anxiously waiting for candidates to arrive so they can pick one or two to try to pre-impress by helping with the eggs.
"Thanks again, Minerva," said Harry. "We'll have them back as soon as we can."
The three Potters climbed onto their dragons and rose into the sky to disappear Between.
Spath's Weyr Hatching Grounds, Nov 15, 2022...
Three dragons flared out over the hatching grounds and settled gently to the hot sands. Daniel and Mary quickly jumped down, thanked the dragons who had given them rides, and ran over to visit with Momnarth who had two eggs on the sands. Harry just sat on Chekiath for a while, watching his oldest children. Finally, he climbed down.
"What do you think, Cheki?" asked Harry.
"They have a lot of energy," said Chekiath. "Perhaps they are the next source of energy for the Weyr."
Harry laughed. "Cheki, you made a joke!"
"I did?" said Cheki, confusedly. "I was just repeating what you say to your mates when your children are running around. Why is it a joke when I say it and not when you say it?"
"It's a joke when I say it, too," explained Harry. "It's just something parents say about their children."
"So it's a human thing?" asked Cheki.
"Yes," replied Harry, "it's a human thing."
Harry watched as Daniel and Mary made their way to the candidate barracks to claim a place to stay while waiting for the eggs to hatch. It would have been nice to have them in his quarters with the family, they had the room, but he understood wanting to be near in case the hatching started unexpectedly. At least the candidate apparel included heavily insulated, slip-on shoes now.
Harry also knew for sure why there had only been 40 eggs for several previous hatchings. The dragons had been holding off, hoping one of their dragonettes would be the one to choose one of his children.
Spath's Weyr Hatching Grounds, Nov 22, 2022...
Golonth had already hatched and impressed Lodi, a young girl from Benden Weyr. All the hatchings for all the Weyrs took place at Spath's Weyr now, simply because the facilities were so much better and Harry had shown he was very careful about ensuring each Weyr got a fair share of any Weyrlings. Even now, Weyrling Masters from all the Weyrs and their designated assistants were making sure everything was prepared for the new Weyrlings.
Spath's Weyr had its full complement of four Weyrs right now, 2,400 dragons and riders. If his children impressed, he would need to either transfer two riders out somewhere else or allow Spath's to go over staffed. One of his children was probably going to be his replacement and he wanted to at least start their training at Spath's.
Harry watched as Mary walked over to one of Momnarth's eggs and touched the shell. Then she conjured a hammer like the one May had him create for the Weyrhealers and started pounding on the shell. Harry hurried over and touched Mary on the shoulder.
"Want some help?" asked Harry, when she looked up at him.
She just nodded her head, so Harry conjured his own hammer and started chipping away at the shell going in a line away from the direction Mary was working. Finally, when they had extended the crack far enough, Harry put his hammer into his belt pouch and grabbed the edges of the two halves. He exerted just enough force to move the two halves of the thick shell apart.
Out popped a pure black dragon, just like the one that had hatched for Filan during the November hatching last year.
"She says her name is Linoth!" exclaimed Mary as she bonded with the tiny black dragon. Harry helped the two of them up and walked with them off the main hatching grounds over to where Hagrid and May waited.
Harry looked at May and she nodded back at him. This was the second dragon of a new type. When Filan had visited Earth, they had discovered that her dragon could go Between using planetary coordinates as a target jump destination. She had been assigned to the Minnewanka Weyr in Canada where she would be able to make a first-in jump to coordinates and then send a jump image to the rest of the rescue team. Their time from notification of a problem to being on-scene, ready to start the rescue, had dropped from sometimes hours to a few minutes. Since Filan had started helping, they hadn't lost a single life due to delayed rescues.
If Mary wanted to teach, it might mean that she could eventually be stationed at the Hogwarts Weyr where she would be available to help. As May started checking over the young dragon, Harry turned back to the hatching grounds. There were still quite a few eggs and candidates on the sands, including his son.
Spath's Weyr Hatching Grounds, 3 hours later...
Momnarth's other egg started rocking and shaking and eventually almost exploded. The Bronze that stepped away from the shell fragments was huge for a hatchling, almost larger than Chekiath had been. It immediately started heading for Daniel, who started closing the distance between them. In its haste to reach Daniel, the bronze tripped and started to fall, Daniel cast a wandless levitation spell that righted the dragon and kept it from digging its muzzle into the sand.
When they reached each other, Daniel hugged the bronze around the neck and said, mentally, "His name is Gemioth!" There was a startled response from every dragon on the planet. They, along with their riders, had all heard him quite clearly. It was quite apparent that Daniel could also talk to any dragon. What Harry didn't know until the next courier from Earth arrived was that every dragon and rider on Earth had also heard him!
The hatching ran on for three more hours when the last egg hatched and the dragonet, Zunuth, impressed Aaron Morgan. Harry gave his conciliatory talk to the disappointed candidates and, as they wandered over to their Weyrling Masters, he headed for the Weyrling apartments.
Spath's Weyr, Weyrling Apartments...
Harry was pleased when he arrived to see his two children, who could probably have successfully taught the class, lined up with the other new riders listening to Hagrid talk about the basics of dragon care. He had taught them the same thing, but now it took on a new meaning when they had their own dragons to take care of.
He wasn't surprised to see Sirius and Remus there ahead of him. They had probably been here waiting for Mary and Daniel to show up. May and Hermione were standing with Sirius and Remus. What surprised him was to see Aberforth also standing with them. It gave him a little start because Albus' brother looked so much like him.
As Hagrid finished, he turned to Harry, who stepped up to the front of the assembled Weyrlings.
"Your dragonettes have all been fed, you've received your new flight suits and just received a reminder about how to take care of your new dragon," said Harry. "There are a number of things that you will have to do today but it will not require your dragon's participation. On the end of the table here, you will find placards with your name on them. Please grab yours and make your way over to the Weyrling apartments. Find an apartment without a placard and slip yours into the slot by the door, get your dragons settled so they can sleep, and come back here. You've got 10 minutes!"
The new riders rushed to the table and the five adults there helped by calling out names and handing out the placards. In three minutes they were all gone, in nine they were all back, without their dragons.
Gapsit stood behind a large table that had been set up for him and started calling out names. As the confused new Dragonriders went over to the table, Gapsit directed them to one of his four assistants to sign paperwork for their personal Gringotts accounts. Daniel and Mary wouldn't have to go through that, they already had their own accounts. Harry had instituted an initial deposit of 100 Galleons for each new rider so they wouldn't have to wait for their first 'payday' before they could draw on funds. Many of the older riders referred to this as the "Impression Bonus".
For many of the new riders, this was an entirely foreign idea. For a Goblin, Gapsit was extremely patient with his new charges. He told them about the series of classes that were scheduled to be given in one of the Weyr classrooms explaining what a bank account was and how to handle their money properly. Each of them received a new Bank Card with their name on it that Gapsit personally bound to each rider as they came to him with it. Gapsit stressed the dire circumstances involved if they ever lost their cards. All the riders immediately placed it in the bottomless, reduced-weight belt pouch on their new flight suits.
When Gapsit was finished, Harry thanked him and his assistants as they left the area, then he turned back to the new riders. "Good morning, Dragonriders," Harry called.
A grin swept through the group and they all stood a little taller and prouder.
"By now, your dragon has been fed and I'm sure you learned that dragons seem to have missed the lesson on table manners. Your dragon will not need to eat again until the day after tomorrow. An adult dragon will eat once a week, but depending on size, will usually consume four or five sheep at one time, or perhaps two cows. Your dragon will eat far less than an adult, but if the pair of you have been working hard, your dragon may need to eat more frequently.
"Before you impressed, you worked for a few hours a day on a dragon. Now you're going to be living with one. It's a big difference. For the rest of your lives, you will have a constant companion in your mind and in your life. Each of you has a mental connection to your dragon. You can hear him, and no matter where you are in the world in relation to your dragon, he can hear you. According to Remus, the Pern Standard dragon would rarely speak to any person other than their rider, or their rider's mate. He thinks, and mind you, this is only his theory and not proven, but he thinks that when I woke the dragon's abilities, they became so talkative because of the novelty of it.
"I think another reason why they are so talkative is the dragons realize that they need to prove they are thinking beings. It's easy for us riders to say so, but look at it from the perspective of a non-rider and you'll see there is a real need for them to speak up.
"The ability to speak to any dragon and be heard is unusual, but it did happen on Pern before we arrived. One of the reasons why I was chosen by the dragons to be Weyrleader is because I can speak to any dragon, individually or collectively, anywhere they may be. You, even as riders, when it comes to dragons other than your own, must be in a dragon's proximity for them to hear you speak. Today, I heard a new rider who can talk to all dragons," Harry said.
"Who was that? I didn't notice anything!" asked Aaron Morgan.
"I'm not surprised," responded Harry. "You were all concentrating on your dragons as the bond was starting to form. It's easy to miss anything else during that time. Daniel shouted out mentally and every dragon on the planet responded. I heard him and I'm sure every other rider will confirm they also heard him. Look to him for help and leadership, it's entirely possible he may be The Weyrleader one day."
Daniel looked dazed at this new piece of information and determined that he would do everything in his power to make his dragon, his father, his mothers, and the Dragon Nation proud of him. He planned on earning their respect.
"You will find," continued Harry, "that your dragons are able to pass on messages from you, through other dragons, to other riders. You will also find that they are extremely curious about you and everything you do. It can be extremely embarrassing sometimes. Just remember, in certain ways, your dragon knows you better than you know yourself. If they suggest something, at least consider it. They only want what is best for you.
"You've all been through a lot today. Go get some rest with your dragons. Just be ready, starting early tomorrow morning, to start exercising both you and your dragon. Now. Go get some rest!"
As the new riders rushed off to join their new life partners, he turned to his wives and drew them into a three-way hug.
"Do you think Mary will be able to talk with all dragons?" asked Hermione.
"It wouldn't surprise me," responded Harry. "She's just a bit more reserved. Give her a chance. I think you will see great things from both of them."
Spath's Weyr, The Weyrleaders Inner Office, Nov 28, 2022...
"Courier, Harry," yelled Jeofrey, as a rider strode into Harry's office.
Harry looked up and asked, "Hey Fred! How are you? How's Rokth?"
"We're great!" exclaimed Fred Russell, one of the original Campbeltown riders. "I've got a bag from Joyero's Jewelry and a letter from the PM's office."
"Anxious to go see your girlfriend, are you?" asked Harry, with an understanding smile.
"Yeah", said Fred. "I picked up a ring while on Earth. I hope she likes it!"
"I don't think the ring will matter all that much," said Harry. "She likes you and the ring is secondary."
"I sure hope so!" exclaimed Fred. "Wish me luck!"
"You don't need any luck," said Harry, "but good luck anyway."
As Fred almost ran out his office door, Harry pulled the letter out of the pouch and opened it:
Harry Potter, The Weyrleader
Spath's Weyr, Pern
Harry,
We know you have been keeping an eye on the King's Cross Station, so thought you might like to know that a wanted International terrorist is supposed to be trying to attack once again on Dec 5, 2022.
I know you keep saying you must stay neutral, but we want to capture unharmed as many of them as we can for questioning. We're hoping that their leader will know enough to lead us up the ladder to the person who provided their financing.
The name of the terrorist is Guntaal Ayax. We got the information from a Syrian informant.
Mary Gordon
Prime Minister, UK
Harry almost tossed the letter in the trash but something about it stopped him. He looked again. "Ayax." Where had he heard that name before?
"Cheki, where have we heard the name 'Ayax' before?" asked Harry.
"Filan Ayax, rider of Lanolth," replied Cheki.
"Hmm," mused Harry He pulled a sheet of Dragon Nation letterhead out of a desk drawer, and started the first of several letters.
King's Cross Station, London, Dec 5, 2022...
Filan sat on Lanolth's back in the dead of the night. She couldn't understand why her brother would pick this night of all nights to try to attack. The moon was almost full! Perhaps he thought his people would be able to see any problems that came up before they ran into them. It didn't really matter, she had a full Division of crack Stealth enabled dragons and riders with Auror backup.
If she knew her brother, he would try to find someplace safe to watch what happened after the attack was started. She had told everyone that no one was to engage the terrorists until she had found her brother.
There! On that roof. Typical of her brother. For all his big talk, he was a coward. How else could you explain what he had tried to do to her? It appeared there were a full 30 attackers, all equipped with military-grade stealth gear. It wouldn't help them in the end, they didn't have Dragon Nation level equipment. It was so bright that her HUD kept switching between day and night mode. She finally changed it to an HD, full color, digital simulation so it would steady up. This seemed to give her the best image and she passed the information on to the others in her team.
She was so glad that The Weyrleader had given her this opportunity. She had to catch everyone alive if possible, but Harry hadn't said she couldn't do a little damage during the capture. As soon as Lanolth settled silently down on the roof ledge behind her brother, she gave the order to engage the others.
In the bright light, it was easy to see shadows flowing through the air and across the ground towards the terrorists. She watched as her brother suddenly realized something was wrong and reached for his radio. She stopped him by the simple expedient of having Lanolth step on it. Too bad he hadn't been holding it!
"Hello, brother dear," she said into the quiet night. He stiffened at the sound of her voice, turning towards her. She and her dragon were stealthed to the max and invisible, so she didn't think he would be able to see anything. She knew she was right when he faced the small dummy she had placed on the roof earlier. It had been heated to almost 90 degrees Fahrenheit, so would counterfeit a human body, at least for a few critical moments.
"How did you get here, Filan?" asked her brother. "I thought you were dead. I never thought you would return to where I could send you to the next world."
"I've come to capture you, brother so that we can find out who your bosses are."
"As long as we are all armed with this, there is nothing you can do to us," he said, as he raised his right hand to show her the deadman's switch he held in it.
Filan had Lanolth send a warning to all her team about the suicide vests their targets wore and told Lanolth to fuse the wires together. As long as the circuit did not open, there was no way the vest would explode. There was a sudden blast of flame, as fine as from a blow torch, that shot past her brother's face, melting the tip of his nose as it took off the end of his arm, fusing the wires together and fusing them to the flesh of his arm at the same time.
Her brother managed to get off a single high-pitched scream before she shot him with a stun bolt. She thought to herself, "You scream just like a girl!"
Dragon Isle, Dec 5, 2022...
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we didn't invite you here to give you a chance to deter us," said Harry to the gathering of international leaders who had accepted his invitation to view the interrogation. He wasn't going to say where they got the information from, because he knew it would get the PM into trouble. Instead, he opted for the truth, but not all the truth. "We received Intelligence of tonight's attempted attack and stressed to our operatives that they were to take them all alive and capable of being questioned. We captured all 31 individuals with no injury to our people and only one injury to theirs, the man you see before you, their leader.
"He was going to explode a suicide vest to deny us any knowledge he might possess. Fortunately for us, his opponent acted quickly. The dragon was instructed to fuse the wires so the vest wouldn't explode when he released the deadman's switch. Unfortunately, to do that, the dragon was required to vaporize his hand. When we got him here, we deactivated and removed his vest and cut the wires to it, leaving only the short length you see fuzed to his arm. Shortly, it won't matter. This man has attacked us before and we are not going to release him to try to attack us again."
As Harry had been talking, a doctor had entered the room and given Guntaal three injections. A shot for pain relief, so he would be coherent, a shot of veritaserum, so he would talk freely, and a shot to waken him from his stunned condition. Guntaal started to look around groggily as the doctor left the room. He left the door open but they weren't afraid their almost naked prisoner would escape, he was shackled to his chair in the brightly lit room.
Suddenly a featureless human-sized shadow detached itself from the back wall and moved over to confront the prisoner. The assembled guests gasped. They had never before seen the level of the Weyr's stealth technology.
"The shadow you see inside is our prisoner's own sister, who was responsible for his capture," explained Harry. "She will be the one questioning him."
"What is she wearing!" asked one of the military leaders present.
"That is our standard flight suit liner," said Harry. It is almost 100% non-reflective. That's why you cannot see any features or anything but what appears to be a hole in the air. We wear a thin outer covering over it to appear normal to most observers.
"The prisoner and everything he is asked and his replies are being videoed with an HD digital camera," said Harry. "You will all be given copies before you return home. The cameras and questioner are strategically placed so she will not appear in any video. Our Dragonrider will not appear in any of the videos because we do not want anyone else to know of our current capabilities. We are showing you as a courtesy, so you will know we are capable of handling almost any attack."
Harry looked up at Filan, nodded, and said, "It begins."
"Hello, Guntaal, do you know me?" asked Filan.
"Yes," said the drugged prisoner. "You are my sister, Filan."
"You seem surprised to hear my voice. Why is that?" Filan had been carefully coached by Harry about the questions she was to ask. If she had any doubts or needed help, he was as near as her connection with Lanolth.
"I strapped a suicide vest on you and forced you to go to the King's Cross Station Platform so we could blow it up! You should be dead!"
"Well, obviously, I'm not. Why do you want to blow up the King's Cross Station?"
"It will disrupt the entire nation's rail service and, if we blow it during rush hour, it will take a tremendous toll of life as well."
"Where did you get so many soldiers to help you?"
"We just went to the nearest refugee camp. Many of the young Muslims in the country are here specifically to help overthrow the Infidels in any way we can."
"How do you infiltrate so many soldiers into a country?"
"We travel with real refugees, driving them ahead of us. When the bleeding-heart liberals open their borders to the refugees, they let us in too."
"Thank you for that, you are being very helpful. Why do you wish to kill people?"
"They are not Muslims, they deserve to die."
"What is going to happen to you when you die?"
"I am a faithful Muslim, I will go to paradise and be waited on, hand and foot by 72 virgins!"
"Actually, that will never happen. When you arrived and we removed all your clothes, we spread bacon grease all over your body," said Filan. She was lying, but he would never know.
"I'm not going to paradise?" asked Guntaal, calmly. The drugs in his system wouldn't allow him to do anything else.
"No, you're not and neither are any of your followers. Doesn't this make you angry?"
"Yes, it does. Imam Ja'qub Al-Bahrani assured us that we would go to paradise if we died during this raid."
"Thank you, we will bring him here to explain to you why you are not going to heaven. Can you tell us where to find him?"
"He is located in a small Mosque in Damascus, Syria. It is in the easternmost portion of the city near an old well."
As soon as he said that, Harry sent word to some of his riders who were standing by. Within minutes, Imam Ja'qub Al-Bahrani was seated next to Guntaal. He was also shackled to his chair and groggy from the Veritaserum. His interrogation garnered the identities of several cell leaders, their locations, and what they had been tasked to do. It also gained the Dragon Nation the name of his boss.
From his boss, they gained even more information which was duly recorded leading them on to his boss, Ayatollah Miswar Ibn Muhammad, also in Damascus but in much more luxurious accommodations. They were interrogating almost all night. After they had reached a point where they were starting to get a lot of repetitive information, Harry called a halt to the operations.
He turned to his frightened guests and said, "We are going to take care of these 40 prisoners. What you do with the information you have now, is up to you. The Dragon Nation does not wish to get involved. The only reason we were involved tonight, is because one of ours was attacked and we will not allow that to happen. If you choose to ignore the implicit warning, you may soon find yourselves overrun. If not, you may yet survive. In any case, we cannot get involved unless directly attacked. Good morning, and may you find the courage to do what must be done."
Earth, Dec 20, 2022...
Every Dragonrider and unbonded dragon was still in a state of mild alert. Harry felt that they had made enough of an impact that the terrorists wouldn't be able to recover soon. Also, his riders and dragons were protected probably far better than the terrorists' ability to harm them. Now, any time a group of dragons went to a museum, it went in force. The minimum group was a full Flight but usually it was an entire Wing of 60 dragons. There was also always an Air Cap to warn of impending danger.
Spath's Weyr, Dec 22, 2022...
It had been an interesting and entertaining month as the new Dragonriders and their dragons learned about, and became closer to, each other. Chekiath had seen how Harry's four children interacted but he himself had never had a true brother or sister, until now.
Harry knew that both Gemioth and Linoth looked up to Chekiath as a senior mentor rather than as a brother. He was hoping he could change that. It could be the turning point in getting the dragons to understand what family was all about. He had watched Gemioth and Cheki, both from the ground and while on Cheki, flying at breakneck speed or just doing mock aerial combat, just like a big dragon and a bigger dragon. Linoth didn't seem to need to show any dominance. It might have been because she was smaller than her egg brother, though still large, but Harry thought it was because she was more mature somehow. In other words, typical family behavior. Why couldn't he get his dragons to understand that they had not only human members in their families but dragon members as well? Dragons were just as much a part of a family as humans.
Harry turned to Daniel and Mary. They were all ready to leave on their 'World Tour' and he was oh, so proud of them. Perhaps he should just hope that what he had started, his children could continue.
"Just remember, you two," said Harry, softly. "Family is important, then the larger group of friends and acquaintances, and on to the most important of Nation. But none of it means anything until you have family first!"
"We know, Dad," said Daniel and Mary, almost in unison. "You keep telling us over and over."
"I know YOU know," said Harry. "What I want your help with is getting your dragons to understand. They are so indoctrinated into the whole 'go Between if your bonded partner dies' doctrine that they can't understand that they need to try to stay no matter how much it hurts because there is always someone else who depends upon them physically or emotionally."
Daniel and Mary looked thoughtful. "We will try, Dad," said Daniel. "Now we need to go or we'll never get back!"
"Good-bye, I love you both!"
"'Bye for now, Dad."
Harry watched proudly as his children mounted their dragons and each gave the signal to fly to their own wings. Their mothers had already had their own tearful good-byes earlier and weren't in the central cavern right now. They were, however, watching from the Inner Office window. Three-hundred and sixty dragons jumped off the cavern floor and disappeared into Between in unison.
Diagon Alley, Joyero's Fine Jewelry, Dec 27, 2022...
When the door opened, Ted didn't even bother to look up. "Here to pick up your delivery?" he asked, assuming it was the standard Dragon Nation Courier.
"Well, I thought I might also talk to you about the Dragon pendant first," said Harry, looking around the newly expanded shop.
"Weyrleader!" exclaimed Ted Joyero, happily. "I wasn't expecting you personally! Welcome to Joyero's!"
"Thank you, Ted," said Harry. "Just call me Harry, please. Now, you mentioned Dragon Pendants in your letter. Do you have any made already?"
"Yes, let me go get a sample," said Ted, hurrying out of the room.
When he returned, he was carrying a small sample case with three different designs of dragon pendants on it. He set it on the counter for Harry to examine.
"I like this first one," said Harry, appreciatively. "It looks almost exactly like the earrings."
"I thought you would like that one. Would you like to set up an exclusive production run like you did for the earrings? Unfortunately, I won't be able to start until we finish with the earrings."
"Yes ...," Harry began when he was interrupted by Chekiath.
"Harry, three suspiciously acting men are about to enter the shop. There is another at the door, just watching the Alley."
"Thank you, Cheki," replied Harry. "Mr. Joyero, Cheki just let me know about some suspicious men about to enter your shop. You might want to get down on the floor behind your counter. It appears you are about to be robbed."
The startled jeweler looked at the front door and then did as Harry suggested, so he was out of sight of anyone entering the shop.
A tough-looking bruiser entered the shop, followed by 2 others, just like him. They all carried their wands drawn in a belligerent manner.
"Ah, I see our little Courier has arrived to pick up his monthly package," growled Charlie Bates. "I think we'll just relieve you of your jewelry and the money you were going to give Joyero."
Harry turned slowly to face the thugs. "I think you are under a slight misapprehension here," said Harry. "Why would I just give you something that does not belong to you, even if I had it?"
"Whadya mean you don't have any money!" yelled Bates. "I seen ya come in now twice before and nobody gets anything out of here without paying a lot for it."
"Ah, I see part of your problem," began Harry.
"Shaddup, wise guy. Just hand over everything you got if you want to live."
"I don't think so," said Harry calmly.
"Teach him some manners, boys!" yelled Bates as he raised his wand to fire off a spell. Two Avada Kedavra spells and a heavy stun spell bounced off Harry's wards, killing the two underlings and stunning their leader.
"Cheki, would you please detain the gentleman at the door?" requested Harry calmly. "Ted, you can get up now, they are incapable of doing any further damage."
Ted pulled his wand and cast a spell which caused a loud alarm to sound outside his shop.
"You might wish to go outside to meet the Aurors, Weyrleader," said Ted, "so they can get past your dragon."
"Good idea," said Harry, moving towards the door.
When he got outside, Cheki was sitting calmly near the front door with a trembling would-be thief under one of his front claws. Just then two Aurors ran up with their wands drawn, ready for anything … well, almost anything.
"Greetings, gentlemen," said Harry. "I would appreciate you taking custody of this person who was acting as a lookout for an attempted robbery. We can leave him where he is for now, though. Mr. Joyero probably wants to tell you what happened. If you would follow me inside?"
With that, Harry turned and lead the way inside. After calling for backup, the two bemused Aurors followed. Inside, they saw three bodies. Upon a cursory examination, they found one was only heavily stunned, but otherwise unharmed. They quickly applied binding spells to him so he would be unable to move if he recovered before they were ready for him.
Ted quickly explained what had happened, at least from his point of view. When their additional help arrived, they cleared the three bodies out of Joyero's Jewelry and took custody of the fourth after Harry told Cheki to lift his paw. The Aurors knew all about the Protego Defens spell, so knew what had happened to the two dead thieves. They thanked Harry for his help and left.
"That was amazing!" exclaimed Ted. "I never even saw you move!"
"There were only three of them," said Harry, regretfully. "I thought they were all going to shoot stunners. If I had thought they were going to try something more lethal, I would have stunned them first. What you saw was a special spell I've worked up.
"I think before we do anything else, I need to make sure you are a little better protected than you are. If you would bring me a simple necklace, one for each of your employees you need to protect, I will enchant them with the spell."
Ted brought out seven necklaces, for him, his wife, and his five employees. Harry quickly cast a series of wandless spells on the necklaces while silently saying the proper enchantment. When he was through, he explained about the Protego Defens amulets and had Ted put his on immediately. The rest would be given to the proper recipient along with an explanation when he saw them next.
"Do you have any other form of protection?" asked Harry.
"No, we've never needed it!"
"In that case," mused Harry, "I think we need to beef up your defenses. If you are going to be the Official Jeweler for the Dragon Nation, I can't allow anyone to rob you, it would reflect poorly on us. If you don't mind, since they are right next door, I am going to contract with the Goblins for some extra security. I am also going to ward your shop against offensive spell casting within its confines."
Harry went quickly to work and soon had the additional protections in place. The Goblins appreciated the extra protection because they wouldn't have to worry as much about someone trying to break into the bank through the adjoining wall. He then asked a wing of unbonded dragons to take shifts unobtrusively guarding Diagon Alley and especially Joyero's shop. The last thing he did was enchant a small corner of the street window to show a circular decal showing a Dragon-in-Flight with red eyes. The words "Protected by Dragon Security" showed around it.
"I think that should be more than enough," said Harry. "The decal and the Goblin guard at your front door would probably be enough to deter most with thoughts of petty larceny. The other defenses should protect you from the rest.
"Now, back to our original business!" said Harry with a reassuring smile.
Harry soon had a new contract drawn up for the new pendants. The dragon pendants would look like a larger version of the earrings but with red eyes formed by ruby chips. Delivery to start when all the earrings had been completed. The payment as before, half at the beginning, and the rest midway through. The pendants were to be a lot cheaper, at only 50 Galleons each, for a total cost to Harry of half a million Galleons.
Before he left, he went ahead and enchanted a pair of earrings for Ted. It made no sense to Harry to wait since he had already invested so much in Ted's business.
Spath's Weyr, Hatching Grounds, Feb 15, 2023...
The dragons were back to 40 eggs each hatching. Right now they had 9,160 bonded Dragons and Riders total between the two planets, with about another 7,000 unbonded Dragons. "Probably waiting for our younger children to reach impression age," pondered Harry. "I wonder what will happen when the maximum population of 9,600 is reached, will they voluntarily just stop laying eggs except for replacements? Probably, if I ask them to."
A more immediate problem was the distribution of the enchanted earrings Harry was giving out. He had wanted to give them out in pairs but by the end of the month, he would only have received 3,000 pairs which was less than a third of the total number of Dragonriders. Right now, the senior leadership of the Dragon Nation all had received their earrings, including his Staff. After that, he had been prioritizing the Riders whose native language was not English. Lobsang's entire Weyr, including all the villagers, had a pair.
"Ah, well, too much to worry about for too little return," thought Harry. "Until I ordered them, we were doing without. It won't be that long until everyone has their own. I will just continue giving them out to those I think need them most."
Hogwarts Lake Shore opposite the Castle, June 30, 2023...
May was enchanted. She, Harry, and Hermione had been attending a huge graduation feast for all the 7th year students and their parents and various invited guests. After the banquet, the graduating students had been given their diplomas and they were now on their way to the train station over the lake in the enchanted boats. They were leaving as graduates the same way they had arrived as new students. It was so poetic and beautiful.
May thought this particular graduation would be even more memorable; the shore opposite the castle was lined with hundreds of dragons, their luminescent eyes softly glowing blue and green in the dark.
As soon as their two children reached the shore, they mounted their dragons, who jumped up and went Between for Pern.
Benden Weyr, Threadfall, July 8, 2023...
The last remaining Pern-Standard dragons flew low over Benden Weyr, watching the dragons and riders from the Dragon Nation protect their home. There were only 120 Pern dragons left now and their riders had finally agreed to allow the Earth-standard, scaled dragons to take on all Threadfalls before their dragon type became extinct. There were three queens, 12 bronzes, and the rest were Brown, Green, and Blue. Little enough to repopulate a planet, but enough to, hopefully, keep the original strain going. There were 480 Earth-standard dragons that were assigned to Benden Weyr. They were all dancing with the rest in the air above the Weyr.
The Pern riders and their dragons watched in awe as thousands of dragons wove a fantastic ballet of death with the grey strings and clumps of thread. What most impressed the Pernese was the fact that sometimes these dragons didn't even bother to flame the thread. If they were fresh to the battle, they would just fly through large clumps and destroy them using their protective wards, destroying much more than they could have using flame alone. The other thing that impressed the watchers was that none of the dragons ever needed firestone. And the third was that even the queens were able to fight thread without an HNO3 canister.
Normally, only the dragons assigned to a particular Weyr would fly thread when it fell in their area. But, since Benden had been chosen as the home of all the remaining Pern dragons, every dragon in the world wanted to honor their predecessors by joining in this aerial display of agility, beauty, and death. The only reason the Pern dragons were airborne at all was habit. They just couldn't stay on the ground when thread fell in their area.
Walt Disney World, Florida, Oct 16, 2023...
This was going to be a vacation to remember! Over two years ago, Harry had made reservations to Disney World for 1,032 Dragonrider and Dragon Nation employees and their families. This included 3,099 children. They would all have an entire week, until the evening of the 23rd, to enjoy the world-renowned family amusement park with their friends. Everyone had received one-week premium "park hopper" passes, so they were free to go where they wanted when they wanted. They weren't reserving the park only for their group, so they would be mixing in with a multitude of other guests.
Harry had saved back enough of the dragon earrings so that every child going would have one. The parents that didn't already have one were also given one if they were employees or a pair if they were riders. The earrings were given out for the simple reason that they could be easily tracked if any problems occurred. He had also arranged for special 'dragon landing zones' where they could have visible dragons ready to respond if needed. Anyone in the group could also approach any dragon and request a ride to any other landing zone, just in case the Disney transportation system became overcrowded. With a park capacity of 100,000 and being slightly off-season, they hoped there wouldn't be too much of a problem.
All the children going had also been provided with a full flight suit which they were required to wear if they wanted to go. The outer covering was composed of bright, easily visible colors and readily identified them as being a part of the Dragon Nation entourage. The back showed Mickey and Minnie Mouse riding on the back of a dragon. The adult flight suits had the dragon on the back without the mice. While the children wouldn't be able to keep the special flight suits, Harry was planning on replacing them with a self-sizing denim jacket showing the same image on the back with the year of their visit underneath. The child's name tag from the flight suit would be placed on the front of the jacket and their arm patch on the right shoulder.
Each age group had voted for their favorite colors to be used and for special identifying patches for shoulders and name tags for their left chest. The gloves would split and retract into the sleeves when not in use and the helmet was more of a hood that could be opened and pulled back off the head when not in use. When closed, there was a built-in HUD that would provide up-to-date information about all the park attractions, as well as current ride occupancy.
All the displays were connected via a special server and Wi-Fi access point in the D36 they had arrived in. With the help of Disney Management, they had placed Wi-Fi repeaters throughout the park. Some of the information they offered was made available from the Disney PAO. In exchange, the Dragon Nation was going to allow others access to the network, with a password that the Disney Information desk would hand out, and they were going to leave the repeaters behind so Disney could offer the Wi-Fi service in the future.
If this went well, Harry was considering doing something similar every few years for the Weyr's children. They were grateful that Harry had helped plan the entire trip and made sure to include video viewings for all going so they could make plans before they even left.
May and Hermione felt a bit sad, as this was the last year they would be able to enjoy it with their younger children before they became of magical age. Both their birthdays had just occurred, so they were both now ten, just right to thoroughly enjoy Disney World. They had celebrated subdued birthdays this year in anticipation of really celebrating when they got here.
As May stepped out of the specially refitted D36 into the bright Florida sunshine, she could see the entrance to the park across the lagoon from the parking area where they had been told to set down. Somehow she didn't think they had ever had a 'bus' quite as large as the D36 that they'd arrived in. Normally a 3,000-ton cargo only Egg, this one had been specially refitted for passengers only. A D5 would be arriving soon with all their baggage for the week-long stay. Thanks to Harry, everyone knew exactly where they were staying, so their baggage was already marked with their room numbers. A special crew of house-elves would come with the baggage and would put all the bags in the proper rooms without anyone seeing them. The D36 would relocate to a private area for the duration, yet still close enough to continue providing their special UHD Wi-Fi 10 THz signal, but the D5 would stay, in a little-used area of the parking lot, in case someone needed access quickly. It would remain powered up and house-elves would periodically cycle through, so it was always occupied.
As they stepped off the loading ramp, several Disney employees were arrayed behind tables with signs indicating which families should go where. Park maps, tickets, and information packets were handed out with their room access passes, which all promptly disappeared inside the belt pouches of the adults' flight suits. After getting their tickets the families split into pre-arranged groups and waited until everyone in their group was present before entering the park together. Where young children were concerned, Harry felt there was safety in numbers. Harry had even provided, in cooperation with the Disney manager, for extra unobtrusive security. There were 50 Auror teams dressed in full Shadow Suits with normal clothing covering them. They were paired male/female, so they would appear to be visiting muggle parents. Harry had paid for their park fees as well and expected them to enjoy the park while they followed the different groups around. Harry wasn't taking any chances!
Once inside the park, each group went directly to a pre-arranged area of the park to meet up with their assigned security detail and start their visit. Harry had rented one of the park's storage buildings for the duration of the visit and had it outfitted as a huge buffet area where his large group could gather for the main meals if they wished. It was convenient to two of the 'dragon landing zones' and two different forms of Disney-provided transportation, so they could all get there easily enough. As far as May knew, everyone was planning on meeting every day for a late breakfast, would have lunch throughout the park, and meet again for dinner. There were a few times when special shows had been scheduled for those interested, including dinner.
It was the perfect vacation!
Walt Disney World, Florida, Aug 30, 2023...
It was getting dark and the Dragon Nation visitors were slowly going to different vantage points in preparation to watching the nightly firework display, when the Amber Alert was broadcast over the special radio frequency Disney had assigned their group. All the Aurors and many of the Dragonriders closed their helmets and looked at their HUD as the image of a small girl being grabbed appeared there.
The invisible dragons perched all over the park were quickly able to pinpoint exactly where the kidnapper was and four of the security team ducked into dark areas between buildings and went full stealth mode. Carefully they converged on the tall thin man carrying the struggling young girl through the shadows. He was going slowly because he couldn't see very well and didn't want to attract attention. His pursuers could see perfectly with their night vision enabled and their HUD gave them the best route to get to their target as fast as possible.
Soon, they converged on their target. He had just stopped and was getting ready to use a chloroformed cloth on the girl when he was grabbed by three shadows. The fourth, a young woman Auror, opened her helmet so the girl could see her and smiled.
"Don't worry, Dear," said Lexi Bennett, a young witch with the security detail. "We are here to take you back to your parents. What's your name?"
"Alice," whispered the 8-year old trembling girl, looking at Lexi's face floating in front of her. "Are you a ghost?"
"No," said Lexi, with a reassuring smile. "I'm wearing really dark clothes so it's hard to see me. If you reach out, you can touch my arm."
Alice gingerly reached out and came into contact with Lexi's arm that she had moved into the path of the questing hand.
"I think you must be a ghost," said Alice, with assurance. "I can feel you but can't see you!"
"Now what kind of ghost would I be if you could feel me?" asked Lexi, reasonably. "Let me put my outer clothes on and you will be able to see me better."
The rest of the team had already subdued their captive and appeared normally dressed. One of them had radioed in the contact report and location, so they were just waiting for the Disney Security to show up. Lexi quickly got dressed, got down on her knee, and looked across at Alice.
"There, is that better?" asked Lexi. The Disney people will be here soon and then we will take you back to your parents."
Just then Harry and Hermione ported silently in behind the girl, just before the Disney Security showed up. Four of them took custody of the prisoner and took the video recording that the Aurors had made as they tracked down and apprehended the man. It clearly showed he was carrying the struggling girl and was about to chloroform her when he was stopped.
"Thank you so much for your help," Henry Hopkins, the Disney Security Chief, said quietly to Harry. "We would never have been able to find the kidnapped girl so quickly without the help of your dragons and Security Team. We had just gotten organized to start looking when we got the call that you had already captured him and rescued the girl!"
"No problem," said Harry, quietly. "We brought our own security and couldn't ignore the situation. Children are important and must be protected from predators."
Harry then turned to Lexi and the small girl, said, "Think she and her parents might like to meet Chornurth?"
"We can only ask," replied Lexi. "If Chief Hopkins will lead the way, we can go ask them."
Lexi looked down at Alice. "Would you like me to carry you, so we can get back to your parents faster?"
"Please," said Alice, plaintively. "My legs don't move very fast today."
Lexi gently picked up the young girl and they all made their way back to one of the Hospitality Stations with a Security Office attached. Once inside, there was a tearful reunion between the girl's parents and Alice. Once things settled down a bit, Chief Hopkins addressed the parents.
"Mr. and Mrs. Grant, I'd like to introduce you to Harry Potter, Weyrleader of the Dragon Nation, who is visiting our park today but who was also instrumental in recovering your daughter so quickly. In fact, they recorded the entire evolution and there will be no problem getting a conviction, even without your daughter's testimony."
Mrs. Grant turned to Harry, threw her arms around his neck in a fierce hug, and said tearfully, "Oh, thank you! I would have died if my little girl were taken from me!"
"I understand how you feel," said Harry, bashfully. "I have children of my own that I would protect with my life. I feel fortunate that I was able to help tonight. May I introduce Lexi Bennett, the young lady who was part of the team who effected the rescue."
At that, Mrs. Grant hugged Lexi as Mr. Grant shook Harry's hand.
"It has been a scary night for all," began Harry. "Would you like to meet someone special that might make it not so scary? He is one of the reasons we were able to find Alice so quickly."
"We would love to meet this man who helped rescue our daughter," said Mr. Grant. "Where is he?"
"He is a little ways away from here, but it's not a man," explained Harry, "he's a dragon."
"A dragon!" exclaimed Alice, wide-eyed at the thought. "Can I really see a real, live dragon!"
"You may if your parents allow it," said Harry. "He is a lot bigger than you, but he's very gentle and loves children."
Alice's parents were a little more hesitant but finally agreed, after Alice started pestering them about it. They strolled over to the nearest dragon landing zone where Chornurth had moved so they wouldn't have to walk so far.
When they arrived, Alice looked around and said, "Where's the dragon? I don't see anyone here!"
"Chornurth, would you allow our friends here to see you?" asked Harry.
Alice gasped excitedly when a huge head appeared almost in front of her. Chornurth was lying on the ground so he wouldn't loom so much over the small girl. Even so, she had to look up to see his eyes looking at her. Her mother also gasped at the fearsome visage and moved closer to her husband who put a protective arm around her.
Harry casually walked over to Chornurth and gently stroked his eye ridges.
"You can't really reach this high on your own," said Harry, "but Chornurth also likes to have his lower jaw scratched."
Alice ran over and started petting the dragon enthusiastically.
"Wow, he's really hard!" exclaimed the little girl, surprised at the tough scales. "Daddy, come pick me up so I can reach higher!" she commanded her father.
Her father cautiously moved forward and picked his daughter up so she could reach higher. Chornurth huffed air out of his nostrils, stirring the ground in front of him.
'Thank you, Alice, that feels nice,' said Chornurth to all present. 'I was worried when I felt your angry and frightened thoughts. I'm glad we were able to help you.'
Both Alice's parents looked startled, but Alice just took it in stride. Everybody knew dragons were different!
"Dragons cannot talk like we do," explained Harry, "because their mouths aren't shaped for human speech. Instead, they can hear what you say to them and respond telepathically. Unless you address them directly, the most they can sense is your surface emotions, like when he sensed your daughter was in trouble."
Alice's father looked thoughtfully at Chornurth. "Thank you very much … Chornurth?" he said. "I am most grateful to you for your help."
'It is what dragons are for, to help humans,' replied Chornurth. 'May you find peace and shelter under our wings.'
Harry had crafted a number of Dragon-in-Flight pendants and enchanted them with the Protego Defens spell before leaving Pern. They didn't look as good as Ted's amazingly lifelike-looking pendants, but he had wanted something to be able to give people who were especially helpful. He unobtrusively ported one from his baggage into his pocket.
"Alice," said Harry, as he pulled the pendant out of his pocket. "I would like to give you a special remembrance of dragons. It has dragon magic on it and will protect you almost as well as they do."
She looked eagerly at the tiny dragon and nodded her head, yes. Harry hung the chain about her neck. Unfortunately, it was sized for an adult, but she would grow into it. He knew her parents would believe he was just humoring the girl when he mentioned magic, but knew that the child's mind would simply accept and believe. She wouldn't understand for many years, but she would never even suffer through another mosquito bite ever again.
Harry turned to Alice's parents and said, "There is a Dragon Museum and Visitor's Center at Condron AAF in New Mexico if you would like to learn more about dragons or the Dragon Nation. We routinely rotate new groups of dragons and riders through there to answer questions. I haven't visited since we moved our American Weyr out, but I understand there are enough exhibits and interactive displays there to keep even young children actively engaged and interested for more than a day."
"Thank you," responded her father. "Actually, we live near Albuquerque, so we'll check into it as soon as we get back."
It was getting late and even a dragon couldn't help keep Alice's eyes open much longer. Everyone said their good-byes and went their separate ways.
Spath's Weyr, Harry's Quarters, Sept 4, 2023...
After dropping off the Dragon Isle employees, the rest of their 'Disney Party' had returned to Pern, exhausted but happy. Harry and the Security Team had been requested to attend the trial of Tommy Howard on the 11th, so they had returned to Earth via a D2 Egg for the trial. It turned out that the man had used a stolen driver's license to gain entry to Disney World as he was a registered pedophile. His previous infractions could never be proved sufficiently bad to warrant jail time. This time, with the video Harry's Security Team had taken, Tommy Howard was going to jail for a very long time. Given the way most prisoners felt about child molesters, it could very well be for the rest of his life.
The judge seemed most impressed by the video and requested to see how they had made it. Harry asked for the room to be darkened and had one of his security detail go Full Shadow, i.e., remove his outer clothing, leaving just his Shadow Suit on, and not use his invisibility cloak. He then moved over to what would become a dark corner when the lights were brought back up, crouched down, and went very still.
When the lights came back up one of Harry's party had seemingly disappeared. Harry then had video from the man's integrated helmet camera transmitted wirelessly to a video monitor in the courtroom.
"Where is this coming from?" asked the judge, looking puzzled.
"From there," indicated Harry, as his Security Auror stood and walked to the middle of the room. There were gasps of surprise and some fear at what appeared to be a walking shadow suddenly came into view. After some explanation and further discussion, the judge thanked them for their assistance and dismissed them. Before they left, Harry gave him a flash drive containing a video one of his other men had made during the demonstration. He didn't want there to be any chance that this ruling would be overturned.
Spath's Weyr, Hatching Grounds, Nov 22, 2023...
Another 40 dragons impressed. Harry knew his dragons were consciously holding off, waiting for his younger children to come of age. There were now 9,200 bonded dragons on two planets and, after a quick census for confirmation, 7,010 unbonded dragons between the two planets. By the end of February of next year, all Dragon riders would have the translation earrings and he would have a small surplus for future Dragonriders. He could start replacing the amulets he had originally given out with the new Dragon-in-Flight pendant starting the end of March.
Unbonded dragons were another problem he needed to address. At the November 2015 hatching there had been 6,943 unbonded dragons. Now, there were 7,010 unbonded dragons. That was an increase of only 67 dragons in 8 years. They had 67 more dragons than they had before, but there had also been many deaths. He needed to talk to Remus and ask to see the Book of Remembrances, which contained the names of all their dragon dead. He needed to talk with May about how many dragons were required to maintain a viable population. He also needed to talk with the dragons about their life desires, what they felt would be useful occupations for them so they felt appreciated and useful. He pulled out his book and added a note.
Since their trip to Disney World, all the riders had asked to have the large Dragon-in-Flight patch added to the back of their flight suit coveralls. Harry didn't mind, it was an additional way to identify a Dragonrider and added to their cohesion as a nation.
Spath's Weyr, Hatching Grounds, Jan 5, 2024...
Harry sat on the stands while a group of 100 unbonded dragons lay comfortably in the heated sands of the Hatching Grounds.
"I have asked you all to meet with me today to help me understand what is needed to help you feel happier in your life. I cannot give you a bonded rider, but I should be able to do almost anything else," explained Harry, carefully, projecting his voice with a sonorus spell. "You are the 20th group I have met with so far and, unless you have some very different answers to my questions, will probably also be the last. That being the case, I would appreciate you sharing your memories of our meeting with anyone interested. If they have new information, please ask them to get in touch with me directly.
"My entire staff is here in case you have any questions I cannot answer or if they have ideas that the rest of us haven't thought of."
"I have heard much about this idea you are trying to spread, something about 'Family'. Can you explain that, please, Weyrleader?" asked Nifleth, Senior dragon of the old Cheeseman Weyr.
"Family is better experienced than discussed," explained Harry. "Humans seem to understand the concept immediately, probably because it takes them so long to mature, they need a group of other humans to provide protection, food, and shelter while they are growing up. Since dragons are able to take complete care of themselves within a month of their hatching, they don't feel the same needs.
"Family is generally composed of a male parent, a female parent, and any number of hatchlings of various ages, up to about 18 years old. After 18, a hatchling is considered old enough to leave the nest and make it on his or her own. Some leave earlier, some leave later, and some families have different compositions, but that is the basis of 'Family'. I think any of the bonded dragons who are now an intimate part of a human family can probably explain it better."
"Thank you, Weyrleader," said Nifleth. "I think that makes it as clear as it is possible to be without actually experiencing it for myself. I can ask Chekiath to share his memories later but would it be possible for those of us most interested to be able to somehow join a human family?"
"I think that might be arranged," said Harry. "We have many Dragonrider families that would welcome additional dragons. I could probably find many non-rider families that would be just as interested in your views on the subject and would be willing to try having a dragon added to their family. Any of you interested, please let Chekiath know and I will find suitable families to 'foster' you into their family."
"We wish to be able to find food for ourselves again," said Copath, originally from Lac Logipi Weyr. "I still remember when we lived on Earth. We had to find our own food. Sometimes we didn't get enough to eat, other times we had more than enough, but it kept us busy. Here, if we are hungry, we just grab a food beast from the ready pen and eat. Where is the challenge in that?"
"There are certain problems with free-range feeding," said Harry, thoughtfully. "If we just release the cattle and you and the Cheetahs hunt indiscriminately, the food beasts will not last long. Would you be willing to learn what it requires to take care of your own food animals?"
"I have learned much since I was hatched. I have even learned how to read and use the Weyr dragon computers, surely Learning about how to take care of animals would be no harder."
"In that case, we will put together a limited experiment to see if it's possible," said Harry. "If it works out, we will expand it until you are taking care of most of your own food beasts. Would you like to be one of the ones learning this new skill, Copath?"
"Yes, please, Weyrleader!" exclaimed Copath, excitedly. "It is fun to find your own food!"
Little did anyone know, but this little "experiment" would lead to vast herds of various animals on the plains of the southern continent. Bison, biologically modified to thrive on the Pern vegetation, would once again roam free in vast numbers along with the more familiar cows, sheep, llamas, and pigs that had also been so modified. With dragons and cheetahs the only real predators, the rise in population would be almost explosive. Once a permanent flea repellent was developed, the future of the herds were assured. The cheetahs had become so used to the other intelligent species by now that they willingly agreed to honor their oath, even once the flea problem was eliminated. They even learned animal husbandry alongside their dragon counterparts and became willing partners in helping to control their own fate.
"Weyrleader, our days used to be full just hunting to survive. Now we have our intelligence back but find we grow bored much more easily. Is there something we could be assigned that would require our abilities and intelligence to help others?" asked Smath. "I enjoyed working with the humans learning about dragon fire. I wouldn't mind helping humans do something again."
"Good suggestion, Smath," said Harry. "We still have research projects going on that need help from dragons. We also have humans performing other tasks that would benefit from dragons helping. If you are interested in helping humans with their work, please contact Comaloth and leave your names and try to give her some idea what you might find interesting to do."
This meeting, like all the others, lasted for almost two hours but none of the questions raised or answers provided differed much from the other groups. Harry was also fairly certain that he now had most of the information he needed to help the unbonded dragons. He was fairly certain that new problems would develop in the future, but they would work on those when they arose.
Trath was helping May set up classes for dragons and, surprisingly, cheetahs in animal husbandry.
Comaloth was helping Hermione coordinate the initial assignment of unbonded dragons to the different Auror teams and teaching the initial teams how to coordinate their actions for the best results.
Millicent Bulstrode and Tarianth were coordinating between any dragons interested in helping with research and those who needed research performed, both on Pern and on Earth.
Lee Jordan and Soranth were coordinating the rotation of bonded and unbonded dragons through the different Dragon Weyr Museums and Technology Centers back on Earth.
Luna Lovegood and Trandieth still coordinated Search but she started incorporating more unbonded dragons to help.
Lisa Turpin and Zinth were teaching dragons, mostly bonded female dragons, about the human reproductive cycle and that their riders would feel pain when giving birth to their young. Most dragons understood after the first time, but when they first encountered it, they almost always needed a group of dragons around them to help keep them in control as they were so distressed at their rider's pain.
Lisa and May were also working on Harry's pet project that, he hoped, would eventually eliminate the impulse to suicide that resulted when one of a bonded pair died. They were approaching the problem from the idea that there were still those that needed a surviving partner to live for their well-being. With that in mind, they actively searched out families, including both those with and without bonded dragons, to foster unbonded dragons as additional 'family' members.
Remus Lupin and Cnordth were maintaining several books: the Book of Remembrance, which recorded the names and facts about all dragons who had died since the 're-awakening', the history of the Weyrs on Earth and Pern, and the Book of Families, which recorded family groups of bonded and unbonded dragons and the names of the humans involved.
Sirius Black, Norendrath, and Katherine were still coordinating dragon and Weyr Security for all of Pern and Earth.
Rubeus Hagrid and Selanth were coordinating all Weyrling Masters, as well as ensuring that all hatchings had not only enough prospective candidates but enough Weyrling Masters and additional helpers.
Susan Bones and Nimonth were the main points of contact if any Weyr headwoman needed any kind of supplies. Now that would include unbonded dragons if needed.
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