The Dragons Return

by viningc

Harry had a war with Earth but he had been given the gift of a lifetime, a place where his dragons and riders would be unconditionally safe. This story continues the trilogy by Bobmin356 and Alyx started at: /s/7591040/18/The-Queen-who-fell-to-Earth

15. Chapter 15: Dragons' Resolutions

Chapter 15: Dragons' Resolutions
Dragon Isle, Earth, Mar 1, 2028...
Harry had left his Staff on Pern to handle things there for him but had brought Hermione and May along. After so many years of marriage, he knew there was no sense in telling them he would be OK, they just had to be there. They had left Tegan with her delighted grandmother and reassured her they would be back soon. The separation had been tearful, but Andrea assured them it was a necessary part of Tegan's growing up.

The return letter he'd received from Ismo Sippola was even better than he'd hoped for:

Harry Potter
The Weyrleader, Pern

Harry,

I finally received word from our contact in the UK. The United Nations voted unanimously to allow us full autonomy in the handling of the Pirate situation. It was brilliant referring to it as a 'Police action'!

The United States and the UK will both have small task forces in the area but only their Commanding Officers and their immediate aides have requested access to Dragon Isle for coordination purposes. They even agreed to use our personnel to maintain the inter-ship radio coordination, instead of bringing in their own teams. They are going out of their way to ensure we don't feel like they are going to try to take over.

Now we only have to wait for the next attack.

Ismo Sippola
Current Weyrleader, Dragon Isle, Earth

When they came out of Between over Dragon Isle, they were greeted immediately by the watch dragon, who passed their presence along to the Duty Dragonrider. Harry ordered him not to wake the current Weyrleader, as he would need all the sleep he could get once they started operations. So far, they had identified 14 villages that were "at-risk" and Harry wanted to make sure no one got hurt because he was allowing the Dragon Nation to conduct a "police operation". It was time to start Operation East Africa.

As Harry walked into the Duty Office, the Duty Rider rose to his feet, unsure of the protocol when The Weyrleader came into the room.

"Sir, Dragonrider Kuba Koyo on duty, Sir!"

"Relax, Dragonrider," said Harry, casually. "Unless we are involved with world leaders in a diplomatic setting, I am simply 'Harry'. If you don't mind, I would like to use one of your computers here while waiting for your Weyrleader to come in for his morning brief."

"They are all at your disposal, Sir. I can waken him now, if you wish."

"No, that won't be necessary," said Harry. "There is nothing urgent that needs to be taken care of right now and I want to do a little research on Earth's Internet while I wait."

"Yes, Sir," said Kuba, sitting down again, still not sure what he was supposed to be doing.

Harry logged into the computer and immediately started looking up information on artificial limbs and replacement body parts. He knew of at least two of his riders that could benefit if the technology had advanced far enough.

About three hours later, the first report of a pirate attack came about an hour before dawn, Dragon Isle time. The Duty Rider looked at Harry to find out what he was supposed to do.

"What are your standing orders?" asked Harry, calmly.

"Wake the Weyrleader for any circumstance out of the ordinary, Sir"

"Again, call me Harry, we aren't a military organization. I am just the one who was in the right place at the right time to start this all off. Secondly, I'm not an 'out of the ordinary' circumstance. I come and go all the time and I specifically instructed you not to wake him. What does that leave?"

"The attack on the container ship?" asked the frightened new rider.

"That sounds like an 'out of the ordinary' circumstance to me," replied Harry with a smile. "Better wake him or he'll start asking why you didn't wake him sooner."

The young rider started to leave the room, but Harry stopped him. "Use your dragon," suggested Harry, firmly.

"Oh," said the now thoroughly embarrassed Rider. He then asked his dragon to pass on a wake-up call to the Weyrleader's dragon, who replied that the Weyrleader was already awake and on his way up.

"You might want to contact the dragon on the scene to find out the latest information before he gets here," suggested Harry.

"Yes, Sir, will do that," said the rider, so confused and demoralized that he didn't really know what he was doing.

"Stop," said Harry, forcefully, shocking the rider into stillness as his dragon looked on amused at his rider for fearing The Weyrleader. "Take a deep breath and let it out fully. Calm down. When you start breathing again, just be yourself and do what you think should be done. Right now you are so rattled that you can't think. When you are like this, you are a danger to yourself and others. Reach out and rely on your dragon bond for stability. He loves you like no other and wants only what is best for you. He knows I am not someone to be afraid of, none of your brother or sister Dragonriders are. You may be new, but we all were once. You wouldn't be standing this watch if your Weyrleader didn't trust you. Earn that trust. Calm yourself and be a Dragonrider, not a frightened teen!"

The young man looked gratefully at Harry and started talking with his dragon, getting the necessary information his dragon had already been collecting. He allowed himself to fully immerse himself into the dragon bond and calmed even further as his dragon's stability filled him with the confidence he so desperately needed. When his Weyrleader entered the room, he was again a Dragonrider, not a frightened teen, recently impressed.

"Report, Dragonrider!" ordered Ismo Sippola as he walked through the door. He glanced at Harry with a faint smile on his face. They both knew he had witnessed everything that had happened but neither would mention it. One of their own had just crossed an important threshold.

"Sir, my dragon has the latest images of the attack which started 5 minutes ago," said Kuba Koyo, with confidence.

"Very well," said Sippola, after a few seconds to review Pandolth's memories. "Call both duty Wings to the ready. We may as well go for overkill on our first action.

"Good morning, Harry," Sippola added casually, to further help calm Koyo. "I see you are right in the middle of things, where you like to be. Will both of your wives be flying with us? If so, I can provide an extra wingman."

"Good morning, Sippola," said Harry returning the greeting. "That won't be necessary. Hermione will be flying with me as she is a powerful witch capable of casting the necessary spells. May will be helping set up in the hospital in case of need. We will fly well back with the watch dragons and do our best to observe and stay out of your way. Please feel free to call on us if you need our help, though."

Indian Ocean 200 NM East of Somalia, Mar 1, 2028...
The huge container ship, the CSCL Jupiter, was fast approaching the Gulf of Aden in the early hours of the morning. This would lead to the Red Sea and eventually to the Suez Canal, which they must traverse on their way to western ports from their departure port of Hong Kong. Soon they would be in that troubling area of the world where they would be forced to run the gauntlet of international restrictions, national interests, and pirates. The pirates were more like fleas bothering a dog, painful if there were too many, but not necessarily fatal. They had immense water cannons mounted on the weather deck behind barbed wire barriers which they had used many times before to repel this particular brand of fleas. They were preparing to make their run when the pirates came at them early, in the dark hours before dawn.

They were now within 200 NM of the northeastern tip of Somalia. Once in the Canal, they would be relatively safe. They had to get inside first. So far there had been no fatalities on either side, though not from lack of trying. The seas were just rough enough to make accurate rifle fire from the container ship problematic and the automatic rifles used by the pirates didn't have the range of those on the ship. The spotlights they had initially used to make their targets visible had just turned out to be targets of choice for the pirates, so the Captain had them shut off. What the pirates did seem to have was an overwhelming amount of ammunition. They started firing when well out of range and continued as they closed until wild bullets were flying everywhere. It was just a matter of time before an unlucky shot wounded or killed one of his crew and the Captain was not a happy man.

There were two large inflatable boats circling his much larger ship at what must have been at least 60 knots. Since his ship's maximum speed was 25.7 knots, there was no way he could outrun them, he just had to pray no one was seriously hurt or killed before he reached the relative safety of the Canal Zone. He was watching the one on his port beam as it was making its way aft when suddenly it was no longer there!

"XO, did you see that! It just vanished!"

"I saw it, Captain, but I don't believe it."

The other boat eventually got far enough ahead of them to cross their course and start aft, just as the first boat had. When abeam their position, it also vanished! Suddenly, a huge shape appeared near where the two inflatables had disappeared, visible as a dark, dragon-like shape against the brightening sky. Incredibly, there was a human figure forward of the great creature's shoulders, sitting on its neck and waving to them! The Captain and his XO bemusedly waved back and the flying creature disappeared.

The Captain and XO looked at each other, shrugged, and continued about their business.

Dragon Isle, Holding Cells, Mar 1, 2028...
"There were 10 pirates in total," said Sippola to Harry. "As you saw, we managed to capture them when they were out of sight from each other. They are in individual, soundproof cells, so there will be no interaction between them. Who do you want to start with first?"

"Let's start with the youngest first. I'm hoping he won't have been brainwashed as bad as any of the older ones," said Harry. There were at least 20 stealthed riders in the room that Harry could call on through Cheki to present various effects if he wanted to. He and Sippola were wearing their flight suits without gloves or helmets, so were visible. Hermione and May were seated on the floor nearby in just their Shadow Suits. As long as they remained still, they probably wouldn't be noticed against the dark background. The guest Commanders from the US and UK forces had earlier been invited to sit in on the interrogations and were seated nearby, behind an invisibility screen.

Two riders grabbed the indicated prisoner as gently as they could and seated him on a chair that had been bolted to the floor many years ago for just this reason. It said something about the Dragon Nation that this was the first time it was being used. Once seated, one of the riders cast a sticking spell so the prisoner couldn't get up. Everything they'd done so far had been in total silence.

Harry walked forward and cast a light legilimens spell to get what quick information he could from the prisoner's surface mind.

"Hello, Qaasin," said Harry, offering the prisoner a clear plastic bottle of water. "Would you like something to drink?"

Qaasin took the bottle but looked at Harry suspiciously. "You speak Somali! How do you know my name?"

"I know a lot about you, Qaasin," said Harry. "I know you didn't want to get on that boat but you are afraid the people in your village will get hurt if you don't comply. I know you are worried about your sister because one of the men with guns saw her. I know you are all hungry because these men keep coming and stealing what little food you have. Do you wish me to continue?"

Qaasin looked very frightened and, in his fear, he absent-mindedly opened the bottle and took a long drink. Harry just smiled as Qaasin's eyes took on a glassy stare.

"Now, Qaasin, I will be truthful and honest with you if you are truthful and honest with me. Can you agree to that?"

"I can," said Qaasin, vacantly.

"Were any of the men who captured your village in either of the two boats that attacked the container ship?"

"Yes," said Qaasin. "Three went in each boat."

"And the others?" asked Harry.

"All from my village."

"How did they arrive in your village and how many were there?"

"They came in two trucks, four of them to each truck with the boats loaded on behind."

"Did the others stay in your village when you left?"

"I saw the trucks leave as we sailed away, but I didn't see how many were in the trucks."

"How many people in your village? Please include everyone, men, women, children, and babies."

"There were 65 in the village when we left. Duda's baby died last night."

Harry heard a sharp gasp of pain behind his right shoulder, where May sat. "Cheki, send a Wing to this boy's village to recapture it if necessary and keep anyone else out. Have any captured hostiles brought back here. Have the riders take enough food to last the villagers for two days. Let them know we will be back with more, soon. Have them take a doctor and as many magicals as possible who know healing."

"They are gathering now and will be on their way soon," responded Cheki, sadly. Harry knew the statement about the baby had bothered Cheki because it bothered him.

"Qaasin, we would like to be your friends. If we can keep the bad men away, do you think your people would be our friends?"

"They will act friendly to anyone who comes that has power over them. They can do no less or they will die. It is our way of life."

"Well, we are going to try to change 'your way of life', Qaasin. You are going to feel very sleepy soon and fall into a deep sleep. When you wake, you will be given a chance to wash and then be given food and clean clothing. You will have to stay in your cell for a short time but, after you've eaten, you will be allowed to join the others from your village if you wish."

Harry cast an episkey spell on Qaasin, to heal his relatively minor injuries, and then gave him a sleeping potion to drink. When Qaasin dropped off to sleep, they gently moved him into a nearby apartment whose door had been hidden from the inside by a fidelius charm. A house-elf was tasked to discreetly keep an eye on him and let someone know as soon as he awoke.

They quickly separated the other three boys from Qaasin's village, learned much the same information from them as they had from Qaasin, and moved them into the same apartment as Qaasin. Then they geared up for some more serious interrogation.

The five youngest of the remaining prisoners were similar to Qaasin in that they were forcibly recruited from various villages in the area but they had been under the pirate's influence for far longer. They would require a lot of careful mental healing before they could be reintegrated into their own society, but Harry felt it would be worth the effort. The oldest one turned out to be a real gold mine of information.

As with all the interrogations before, Harry started out with a light legilimens spell to get what quick information he could from the prisoner's surface mind.

"Hello, Cabaas," said Harry, offering the prisoner a clear plastic bottle of water. "Would you like something to drink?"

Cabaas took the bottle but looked at Harry suspiciously. "You speak Somali! How do you know my name?"

"I know a lot about you, Cabaas," said Harry. "I know you fought among a group of similar-minded soldiers for the honor of leading this attack. You want to impress the Warlord so he will make you one of his Lieutenants. You were planning on grounding the container ship and demanding a stiff ransom for each of the crew members as well as the cargo and ship. Shall I continue?"

"I don't have to talk to you," said Cabaas, belligerently. "The Warlord will find us and set us free."

This prisoner was more leery of Harry and just held the water bottle as if he had forgotten it. He was also the only one of them all who seemed to be constantly trying to rise from the chair, despite the sticking charm. Harry took a sip of his water to get the pirate thinking about what he held in his hand. Then he cast a mild Imperio spell and had the prisoner think he was really thirsty. Finally, Cabaas took a drink from the bottle. Soon after his eyes glazed over.

"It's time for us to have a friendly talk, Cabaas," said Harry. "Who is your Warlord and where may I find him?"

"Warlord Husni Al-Baytar lives in an old apartment building northeast of Mogadishu."

"Why does he live in an apartment building and not in a military compound?"

"He is afraid of attack and uses the civilians to protect him from anyone not wanting to harm those who are innocent."

Harry cast a stronger legilimens and got a very clear image of the Warlord from Cabaas mind. He shared this with all dragons and through their dragons with all riders. He sent a message through Cheki for someone to create a drawing of the memory to pass out to the world's Military and Law Enforcement organizations.

During the hours Harry spent "debriefing" Cabaas, he received five different requests for specific questions from their guests. Usually, they were simple clarification questions, but one was definitely not. They wanted to know who was financing the 'pirates'. The answer: The Islamic Courts Union, which had been thought to have been ejected from the area a long time ago.

Somali Village of Najojo, South of Breeda, Mar 8, 2028...
Qaasin and the other three young men had been safely returned to their village shortly after they were captured by Sippola's riders. All they ever saw of their liberators were figures so dark they were easily overlooked, even in bright daylight. At first, they had been terrified that this was some new torture their previous captors had dreamed up. Then they were allowed to watch a remote feed of Cabaas' interrogation, and they knew they were in the hands of someone who they might be able to trust. Among the other shadowy figures in the room, the interrogator wasn't the tallest, but he somehow seemed the most imposing. He didn't often move, but when he did, it was with a speed and economy of motion that was frightening.

Even more frightening was their memory of their own interrogation. They all agreed that none of them had planned on telling them anything when they were sat down on that chair. Soon after, though, they all told basically the same story and answered every question absolutely truthfully!

The day they had been returned to their village, everyone there had cheered and swarmed over them, happy the four had been returned safely but also mystified by the strange figures who seemed to appear and disappear around their village. The one thing they agreed on was that the strangers were polite and brought much-needed food and medical aid. One of the young girls and two young boys, who had horribly inflamed wounds from being viciously kicked by some of the pirates, were now walking around as if there had been nothing wrong with them at all.

Today, they had all been asked to gather at the gate to a five-foot wooden fence the strangers had built surrounding the village. It included enough area that, if they had cattle, there would be room enough to graze them. About 6 ft. beyond the fence, all around the village, was a line drawn in the dirt that wasn't there but somehow they could all see. Everything was most puzzling.

Harry looked at the other wizards working with him on this show. Even though what they were going to show these villagers was an illusion, it could mean the difference between life and death for them if they believed it was real. Ward stones had been carefully positioned around the village after Millicent Bulstrode calculated the optimum placement. The ward stones were then attached to long pipes buried deep into the ground to stop them from being moved. After their placement, Harry and several of the most powerful wizards among them had overcharged the ward stones and the accumulators. Once done, they had hidden them behind fidelius charms to look like small rocks.

The ward stones themselves contained many-layered spells, the primary one being the Repello Inimicum Spell. A particularly nasty spell that keeps anyone away from the target object, in this case, the village, that the spell is cast upon. It was designed to disintegrate any person entering the charm that wasn't identified as a friend. Other spells on the ward stones reacted to spells they had cast on the village that would permeate the villagers, making them automatically "friendly". Another spell, a wide area fidelius charm, was one that made the entire area guarded by the stones invisible unless you knew the "password".

Now it was time to put on the show.

Harry stood beyond the gate and outside the line in the sand. Basically, he was outside the warded area. Anyone standing where he was would not be able to see the village at all unless they knew the keyword for the ward. Hermione stood just outside the gate but inside the line. From where she was, anyone should be able to see the village.

Suddenly one of the men who had 'recruited' Qaasin and his friends appeared behind Harry and started running towards the villagers, yelling and screaming at them. The villagers instantly dropped to their knees in terror, but the strangers seemed curiously unaffected. After the man passed Harry, he crossed the line in the sand and screamed as he swiftly disintegrated in front of their eyes! What none of the villagers realized was that the man was actually an illusion.

"Qaasin, please step up to stand beside me," called Hermione, using a sonorus spell so everyone could hear her equally well. Qaasin got up and walked over to her, unsure what was going on, but he had learned to trust these people with his life. So many strange things had happened that he wasn't 100% sure they were actually people!

"Qaasin, look out in front of you and tell me what you see," ordered Hermione.

"I see my people and my village," replied Qaasin, unsure of what was being asked of him.

"Very good," replied Hermione, calmly, pointing to Harry. "Please turn and walk to the next rider you see outside the gate."

Qaasin did as he was told, still not sure what was happening.

"Do you agree that we have not harmed any of your people?" asked Harry, politely.

"No, you have been most kind to us, bringing us food and medicine which we were ready to die without," replied Qaasin, still unsure, and now feeling a bit uneasy as well, especially after seeing a man apparently die so soon before.

"Just remember that we mean you no harm," instructed Harry. "Please turn around and look at your village."

Qaasin turned and only saw the bleak scrub of an empty landscape. He started running towards where he thought he had come from, but somehow he ran off at an angle instead. He could only see one of the shadowy figures now, instead of two like before. Where was his village!

"Qaasin, come back," ordered Harry, firmly but calmly.

Trembling, Qaasin walked back to the dark figure with no features, trembling. This had to be a God! Nothing else could explain how his people and village had disappeared so quickly!

"Qaasin, your village and people are right in front of your eyes, but you cannot see them," said Harry, as he turned Qaasin slightly. "We have set this protection about your village so you will not be bothered again as long as you stay inside the fence. I am going to tell you a secret phrase which will allow you to always see your village. Once you say it, even just in the quiet of your mind, you will always be able to see it."

With that statement, Harry whispered the words to Qaasin, "Dragonriders Protect" and told him not to say it aloud. It was as the God had said! As soon as he thought the phrase, his village had sprung back into view! He would have collapsed from relief if Harry had not supported him.

"Qaasin," said Harry, gently, "what we have done for you may seem strange, but we did it for your protection. I have done this for you first because you were the first we talked to and learned about your village. Right now, I would appreciate it if you would just go back to your friends and send them out to us one at a time, so we may show them what you've seen and give them the same phrase. Once everyone can see the village from outside the fence, we will have more to share with you."

Qaasin quickly went back inside the fence to his friends. He dared not anger the Gods by doing anything other than what they asked for, so he sent the villagers out one at a time, starting with the Headman, Macoow. They finally got the process down to two minutes a person, but it still took over two hours to reveal the village's new protection to them all. When they had all seen this marvelous gift from the Gods, they were again called to join in a group with the head God in front of them.

"We have given your village protection, but that means nothing if you cannot feed yourselves," said Harry, as he removed the illusion charm from the greenhouse they had erected last night. "We are giving you this means to grow your own food. Inside we have dug a well that goes deep enough it should never go dry. All you need do is turn a faucet and cool clean water will flow from the pipe. You may drink the water, feed it to your animals, or use it to water the plants you grow in this house. There is also a power source which your village may use for anything they desire. We will leave a broadband radio that you can use to receive world news and you may eventually decide to build better houses and run water and power to them. One of us is going to stay behind and teach the four young men we first found how to take care of everything here.

"Inside are special containers that are very cold inside. They are designed to store food for a long time. Right now they are loaded with enough food to last your village for the next six months. By then you should have your first harvest from this house and be able to feed yourselves. We will supply the seed and teach you how to plant, care for, harvest, and gather seed for replanting. We will provide cattle and goats for milk and meat. We want only for you to be safe and content.

"We will be working to free your neighbors to the south from the Warlord's aggression. As we free those villages, the area in which you will all be safe will expand and you will be able to trade peacefully with the other villages, who will be given slightly different food to grow.

"Until we have freed all the villages and delivered you from fear of enslavement, we will provide for your protection. Look now upon one of your twelve guardians!"

With that, the Wingleader of the Flight of unbonded dragons that was going to protect this village shimmered into view. Here was a creature out of their worst nightmares that was standing docilely behind a group of the shadowy figures. It was bigger than their largest house!

"This," said Harry, calmly, "is Soketh. He is the leader of 11 more, just like him. They will protect you with their lives, but it will never come to that because if they need help, they can call on the Dragonriders of the Dragon Nation to help them and the skies will be filled with thousands of dragons to help you."

"Greetings, villagers of Najojo," said Soketh into the minds of all there. "It is our honor to help protect you from those that would do you harm. May you find peace and shelter under our wings."

"Qaasin, we would be honored if you would be the contact between your villagers and your protection detail," said Harry. "They are intelligent beings just as are you and your friends and greatly desire to make friends and talk with you. It is my hope that you can all grow closer as friends while they are here."

Qaasin was shaken by this request. Here was something that could eat him in a single bite and he was supposed to be friends with it!? The God had requested, so it must be done. He just wished it had fallen to someone else.

"Harry," commented Cheki. "I think Qaasin is a bit intimidated of our friend here. I also think he has the wrong idea about you and your riders. He seems to have a feeling of not just awe, but worship."

Qaasin and the others looked startled at this new voice in their heads. Most of them were still seated on the ground where they'd fallen when the first dragon appeared. Harry walked up to the frightened young Somali, placed his hands on either side of Qaasin's head, and picked his surface thoughts from him as if he were an easily read book.

"Qaasin," said a very chagrined Harry, as he removed his helmet and gloves and added a glamour of a flight suit over his Shadow Suit. "Please forgive me. We are not gods. If you must think of us as anything, then think of us as powerful Shamans who want the world to be a better place for everyone to live in. We do not want to be worshiped, we just wish to live in peace with everyone else. To do that, we sometimes are forced to do things we would rather not, like fight this Warlord, but, as you can see, we have an advantage he doesn't."

Harry waved his hand and they all looked up into the air to see hundreds of dragons flying in close formation above the village. The villagers were awed at the show of force but were very relieved that they were only dealing with Shaman and not Gods. While Harry had been talking, the rest of the riders had donned their flight suits and removed their helmets and gloves, so that they could all be seen as merely human.

"But, Honorable Shaman, why do you call yourselves Dragonriders!?" asked Qaasin, confused.

"Let me show you why," said Harry, amused. "Cheki, call the others down, please."

At that, all the dragons for the riders in the village landed in formation, and the riders, except for the one who was staying behind, mounted their dragons. Qaasin's eyes again showed more white than they usually did. These new dragons made the original ones seem like children!

Harry pointed to the rider that was going to stay behind to help the villagers. "Qaasin, let me introduce you to Suuban and her dragon Zamonth. She will be staying here until you are able to fend for yourselves. She was born near Somalia. Most of your villagers are too old to bond with a dragon, but your children who are aged from 15 to 18 may, one day, be able to have a dragon of their own."

"But, Honorable Shaman, none of us are Shaman!" exclaimed Qaasin, worriedly. "How can we become Dragonriders?"

"Not all of us are Shaman, Qaasin," said Harry. "The most important distinction for us all is that we are bonded to our dragons, not whether or not we are Shaman."

Harry turned to look at Suuban and asked, "Please work on that 'Shaman' business, will you?"

"I'll do my best, Harry," she said, laughing at his dislike of titles.

Harry climbed aboard Cheki, gave the signal, and they all leapt into the air and went Between to Dragon Isle.

The CSCL Jupiter, Mar 8, 2028...
They were finally through the Suez Canal and into the Mediterranean Sea bound for Greece. They had been hearing reports of other pirate inflatables disappearing as theirs had. As yet, no one had any idea what was going on, they were simply pleased that they had been spared a major irritation and possible disaster. It wouldn't be for several more weeks that they got the news that the Dragon Nation was behind their timely rescue.

Spath's Weyr, Level 1, Mar 10, 2028...
Harry and his wives had returned to the Weyr because today was a special day. It was Tegan's sixth birthday, her second since she had joined her new family. As Harry, Hermione, and May walked out of the Spoke 0 tunnel, they saw a mass of children swirling around the central cavern floor; human, house-elf, goblin, and centaur, it didn't seem to matter to the children who they played with, they were only interested in having fun. They had embraced 'Children's Day' this year with a vengeance!

"Cheki, please ask the reserve Wing Riders to come down and space themselves evenly throughout the cavern floor," said Harry. "The children look like they are having so much fun they aren't paying attention to those around them. I'm afraid someone may get hurt."

"They are gathering now, Harry. One has asked if they should wear anything special to indicate they are watchers and not participants."

"I will create enough child-free areas that their dragons can land. They should remain mounted and wear their full Shadow Suits." With that, Harry levitated up until he could see the entire cavern floor and then started casting impervius spells layered with cushioning spells at set areas around the cavern floor. He slowly expanded the areas until they were large enough for a dragon to land in and set them to allow a dragon and rider to enter.

"They will arrive shortly," replied Cheki.

Harry watched as the reserve wing carefully landed inside their assigned areas. While adults were supposed to help children if asked, dragons had never been specifically included, so he hoped that the children would ignore the dragons now on the floor with them. There were two dragons and riders for each sector and Harry and Hermione would watch Sector 0 themselves.

Harry and Hermione, in their Shadow Suits, stood on the protective grid over the hospital entrance rather than sit on their dragons and take up space on the floor below. May and some of her medical personnel were already busy with a slew of minor scrapes and scratches. With so many children there would always be a few who weren't watchful enough and got hurt. Nothing serious had happened so far, though. The children were treated, cautioned to please be more careful, and released to continue enjoying "their" day.

After watching for some time, Harry saw 6-year-old Tegan running along, laughing joyously, holding the hand of a house-elf about the same height as she was. As they came closer, Harry watched as two young centaur foals came gamboling along from behind them. As the two foals passed by the small house-elf, one swatted his friend on his rump, causing his friend to kick out. Unfortunately, because the area was so crowded, his hooves ended up going towards the house-elf with Tegan. She screamed, grabbed the house-elf, and pulled him out of the way, almost in time to avert the impact. Unfortunately, she, herself, moved into the impact zone. It all happened so fast that the only thing Harry could do was apparate down to where the children were now standing in shocked silence, looking at the two small figures lying on the ground. The house-elf was sitting on the ground, holding his arm, and Tegan was lying silently on the ground with blood flowing freely from a cut on her forehead.

The two were small enough that Harry picked up the house-elf and handed him to Hermione as she picked up Tegan. She immediately apparated into the hospital ER to hand them over to one of the waiting teams there. Harry removed his helmet and gloves and cast a glamor of a flight suit over his Shadow Suit, so he would be recognizable. He moved up to the young centaur, who had kicked the children, who was now shivering in shock and looked like he was going to start crying.

"I'm so sorry," said the centaur, regretfully. "I didn't see them until after the girl screamed!"

Harry walked up and held the young centaur in his arms, doing what he could to comfort him. He cast a sonorus on his throat and announced, "We have just had an accident because there are too many of you in one place not paying attention to those around you. Please, we all want today to be fun for everyone, but those of you who are older or stronger must remember there are many who are much smaller and weaker all around you. You are never so small that there won't be someone even smaller that might get hurt. Please try to remember that and protect those around you."

Harry cast a quietus and turned to the young centaur, "Are you OK? What's your name?"

"Yes, Sir, I think I pulled a muscle when I twisted around at the scream, but it will be alright soon. My name is Cifan of Bane's herd."

"Well, Cifan of Bane's herd, let's go to the ER, so the doctors can make sure you didn't do any permanent damage to yourself."

Harry and Cifan slowly made their way through the subdued children until they were in the ER and Cifan could be handed off. His friend followed Cifan as Harry turned to find Hermione. He found her with Dobby and Tisky between two beds that held two small figures who were looking very displeased at not being allowed to leave to go back out and continue having fun.

"Hi, Harry," said Hermione. "Tegan will have a small scar, but fortunately it was only a glancing blow. She will be fine. The doctors just want her to rest for another hour until the pain potion wears off.

"This is Joddy, the 14-year-old son of Dobby and Tisky. He has a bruised arm and is in shock from Tegan getting hurt to save him. The doctors want him to rest for another hour as well."

Harry looked down at Dobby and Tisky who looked frightened and worried at the same time.

Harry kneeled down and hugged Dobby and Tisky, "It will be ok. He just got a bruise. He probably won't even notice it in a couple of days."

"But, Harry Potter, Sir," said Dobby, weepingly, "a human was hurt trying to save a house-elf!"

"Yes, she was," said Harry, proudly, smiling at the two house-elves, "and I couldn't be more proud of her. She did what anyone should do and tried to protect her friend from injury. I can see that I need to teach her how to do that while keeping herself safe at the same time."

"Harry Potter, Sir, isn't mad at Joddy?" asked Dobby, worriedly, as his wife looked on fearfully.

"Dobby, we are not on Earth and none of us are like those bad wizards who used to punish house-elves for the most trivial slight. You and your family are a part of mine. As I used to tell Cheki, 'Friends don't eat friends', now I'm telling you, 'Family doesn't punish family for accidents'!"

"We is family?" asked Dobby, unsurely, as Tisky looked on, hopefully.

"Dobby, I have been trying to treat you like a part of my family ever since we first met. I considered you a friend first and soon came to value you as a member of my family," said Harry, affectionately. "Maybe this, as bad as it was, will help you finally understand. We are both intelligent beings and deserve mutual respect and kindness. You are free to be and do whatever you want. Be as proud to be an elf as I am to have you a friend and a part of my family."

Dobby and Tisky cautiously moved up to Harry to give him a tearful hug and he grabbed them both gently in a return hug. As they hugged, Hermione knelt down and hugged them all from the other side. Then, just before they broke from the hug, May walked up and joined in, saying, "Hey, hugs are meant for everyone, aren't they!"

Harry then stood and turned to face the two children on the bed. He turned to Joddy first.

"As your Weyrleader, I am very disturbed that you were hurt. As part of your family, I am very happy that it wasn't worse. If there is any way that I can be of service to you, please let me know."

Joddy, Dobby, and Tisky all looked at Harry wide-eyed with shock. No wizard had ever offered to perform a service for a house-elf, ever! Harry turned to Tegan.

"As your Weyrleader, I am upset that you were hurt. As your father, I am happy it wasn't worse but I couldn't be prouder of what you did to save Joddy from a possibly fatal accident!"

He took both their little hands in his and smiled down at them, two of the Weyr's children. He gave their hands a gentle squeeze and let go. Then, getting Hermione's attention so she would follow, he went over to where Cifan was resting on a centaur couch.

"How are you feeling, Cifan?" asked Harry. "Have the doctors been able to help any?"

"I am just a little sore, Weyrleader," said Cifan, fearfully. "But it will pass soon enough."

"Where does it hurt?" asked Harry, as the doctor attending Cifan looked on.

Cifan indicated an area of his upper right, rear leg. Harry didn't want to try using a wizard healing spell, as he wasn't sure how that would interact with centaur magic, but he knew from personal experience that heat helped him when he pulled a muscle. He cast a warming spell on his hands and placed them on Cifan's leg. After a short, sharp intake of breath, Cifan moaned softly as the heat from Harry's hands slowly penetrated the muscles in his leg and helped them to relax.

The doctor left and came back almost immediately with an electric heating pad which he plugged into an outlet on the side of the couch. Once it was ready, Harry removed his hands from Cifan's leg and the doctor placed the heating pad there.

"Hermione, would you please let Bane know that one of his herd members was slightly injured here today but he is now OK and we will make sure he gets back to Bane's Hold safely as soon as the doctors clear him and he wants to leave."

"Will do, Harry," said Hermione. She realized that Harry could have done it but wanted Cifan to know what was being done on his behalf.

"I'm really sorry, Weyrleader ...," started Cifan, apologetically.

"That's enough, Cifan," said Harry, firmly with a smile. "You are someone's foal. I will do my best for you, no matter what happened or who caused it. I would hope that others would extend the same courtesy to any young person in distress they encounter. Besides, I saw everything. You. Were. Not. To. Blame. It just happened. Everyone, including Tegan and Joddy, needs to learn to be more careful and watch out for others as well as themselves. I would be willing to bet that they don't forget today's lesson any time soon.

"When you are ready to leave the Weyr, please check in here and I will make sure you get taken back to Bane's Hold in style. Take this heating pad with you when you go, so you can continue to treat the sore area when you get back home."

Harry reached out and shook hands with the young centaur and his friend, turned and walked out with Hermione. As they exited the ER and walked further into the main cavern floor, they could see hundreds of children silently watching from where they had taken the three injured children.

Harry cast a sonorus on himself and announced, "All three of them are fine. They should be back out here in about an hour ready to run and play with the rest of you. Please do your best not to kill anyone before the day is out!"

With a huge cheer and laughter all around, the children went back to their fun … almost as if nothing had happened. Every one of them now took care to watch out for the others.

Ruza, Somalia, Mar 22, 2028...
Harry looked down at the small village below as Cheki lazily circled above it. It was about 30 miles southwest of Najojo and about half again as large. From his vantage point, he could see three large military-looking trucks as well as five beat-up pickup trucks. The military trucks were all parked near a newish-looking wooden building while the pickups were scattered around the village in various places. This would be a lot trickier than taking over Najojo had been. This village looked like it had a standing contingent of the Warlords militia living with the natives.

While briefing for the strike tonight, he had learned one pleasant piece of information. The magical/non-magical mix of Dragonriders was now 66/34, almost two-thirds of his riders were now magical. It seemed that, given enough security, magical partners wanted to have larger families and many of those children grew up being able to impress a dragon. It wouldn't be long before they would be able to supply the Hatching Grounds from the Weyrs and Holds of Pern and the Weyrs of Earth. They would still search and accept candidates from outside, but the urgency was no longer there.

"Outer guard ring, to positions," murmured Harry. Cheki instantly passed on the word to the dragons and riders who would form a protective ring around the village at about two miles out to keep any external force from interfering. Once they were all down and reported no contact, he initiated the next step in their plan.

"Barracks, go," said Harry.

The group assigned to take out the barracks silently landed and, in their full stealth mode, the magical riders approached the building. Since it was thin wood, their HUD allowed them to see all the bodies asleep inside and didn't interfere with the insomniárium spell they cast on its occupants. A smaller group spread out and took out the already sleepy guards.

"Barracks down."

"Trucks, go," said Harry.

As with the barracks, those magical riders assigned to take out anyone in the huts near the trucks settled softly and silently to earth. Moments later, Harry received the word, "Trucks, down."

So far, there had been not a single sound to mar a perfect operation. There had been a couple of dogs near the barracks, but they went to sleep as easily as the humans.

"Villagers, go," said Harry.

Now, the rest of the team landed and started putting the rest of the village to sleep. Harry couldn't take any chances. It was possible that one of the militia was sleeping in one of the huts. The spell they were using wouldn't hurt anyone, especially as they weren't going to be under it for long, but it would keep everyone inactive until they could all be checked for their status. Those found friendly to the Warlord were transported to the Dragon Isle while those who simply feared for their lives would be placed in a newly cleaned barracks and awakened to be told of their rescue.

They were going to have to create a larger holding area soon, Over the past three weeks, they had captured 30 inflatable boats with their 5-man crews. After releasing those wrongly impressed into the Warlord's service and innocent of any atrocities, they still had 120 prisoners.

Somalia, Apr 30, 2028...
Cheki and Harry flew slowly northeast along the Somali coastline towards the Gulf of Aden. He was justifiably proud of his riders and his dragons. Over the past two months, they had liberated a total of 16 villages stretching along the entire length of the Somali shoreline and inland by as much as 30 miles in a few cases. There had not been a single fatality during the entire operation! Soon he would be able to return to Pern and leave 'Operation East Africa' to the Weyrleaders stationed at Dragon Isle. It was his hope that the Somali people would accept his nation's Protectorate offer for their entire country. His only plan for them was to be there to protect them from aggression if needed, he had enough to do, running the Dragon Nation. He didn't need the added complexity of trying to run someone else's country as well!

Now they needed to ramp up their operation. He didn't want to kill anyone if he could avoid it, but he didn't want any more attacks on 'his' protectorate either. He had a feeling he was about to find out just how terrifying they could make their Shadow Suits appear to the uninitiated.

South of Balcad, Somalia, May 4, 2028...
It had taken several days but Husni Al-Baytar had finally been located in a residential apartment complex north of Mogadishu and south of Balcad. Now Harry set a constant watch on him and his entourage to determine exactly what they did during the day, where they went, in fact, as much as they could find out. Harry's plan was to frighten him and those with him so badly that they ran, screaming from the country. Harry wanted him so frightened that he passed his feelings on to anyone above him. Before he left, however, Harry planned on knowing just who his superiors were so they could be watched as well.

So far, Harry's riders had determined that Husni traveled almost daily to Mogadishu, the commercial and financial center for Somalia. Because there was no government, trade was without taxes or any regulatory costs. The downside was that local businesses were forced to hire armed militias for security. This at least had the effect of reducing violence in the city. The main industries in the city seemed to be restaurants and small textile outlets, mainly cotton. In the market, many different types of goods were available from food to electronics.

The biggest reason that such a large, concentrated population was being supported was probably due to it being a major seaport. It had the most port traffic of any port in Somalia. However, with as much piracy around Somalia's coastal areas as there was, trade was risky, at least it used to be.

During their observation of Husni, he seemed to conduct a fairly regular tour of the city at least once a week. The first place he invariably went when he entered the city was the Hadful Mosque. After an hour there, he would move on to the Bakaara Market followed by a visit to either the Somali National University or the Banadir Hospital. From there, he would go to the Medina Market, the Mogadishu International Airport, and the Mogadishu New Port. Upon leaving the Port, he would usually return directly to his apartment.

As near as they could determine, he met with a courier at the airport, though why the courier didn't go to see him was, as yet, to be resolved. For a Warlord, he seemed very 'hands-on', i.e., he made the rounds of his contacts personally rather than trust one of his Lieutenants to do the legwork for him. Either he was very insecure in his position or he was very new to the area or both.

Mogadishu, Somalia, Friday, May 12, 2028...
For their first active operation against Husni Al-Baytar, Harry had carefully chosen three different groups from among his Dragonriders. The first group was chosen mainly for their appearance. The men were physically similar to the inhabitants of Mogadishu so they could blend in with the everyday crowds. They had gone so far as to come into the same area of town every day, so their movements would become familiar to the long-time residents. The women were chosen for their familiarity with the way the local women wore their clothes and moved through the marketplace. None of them were expected to go inside any buildings. They would move amongst the residents while their dragons watched closely from atop any convenient structures.

The second and third groups were chosen for their experience with full stealth operations. The second group would be in full stealth mode, full Shadow Suits only, covered with an invisibility coverall. They would be generally stationary on the surface but could move carefully if required and the opportunity presented itself. All of them were wizards or witches, capable of casting the spells Harry had chosen to intimidate and terrify Husni.

The third group, also in full Stealth mode, would remain mounted on their dragons waiting on the rooftops. Their purpose was purely backup. In case of an emergency, they could create a diversion by becoming visible or effect a rescue while remaining invisible. Almost all of this group were non-magical. Harry had Husni's entire route covered with his operatives. No one would have to move very far, if at all, from their initial position for someone in the group to be in contact with their target.

Today, they were laying the basic groundwork. As Husni moved along the path of his daily route, select operatives would un-stealth and become visible shadows. When he could conceivably see them, they would make some kind of motion to attract his attention and then return to full stealth mode. All the active operatives were situated such that they were not readily visible to the rest of the people in the area.

As Husni's entourage drove through the area, he and his guards were constantly bombarded with odd sightings just at the corner of their eyes. Nothing overt, just … odd. Odd enough that by the time they were halfway through, they were commenting to each other about 'seeing things that aren't there'. All Harry wanted to do today was make them hyper-alert and jumpy. By the time Husni was ready to leave the Mogadishu New Port, he and his guards were visibly agitated.

Mogadishu, Somalia, Monday, May 15, 2028...
Harry had given their quarry the weekend to rest and convince themselves that they were just suffering from nerves. Now, his operatives were again in place as Husni's retinue moved through the area. Today, the dragons got to play a part. They whispered quietly to Husni and his followers as they moved through their routine. Most whispered so quietly that it was hard to make out any words. Others, like Chekiath, had specific information they whispered loudly enough to be understood. Phrases like "We are unhappy with you", "You have angered us", "We will be there soon", and "It is almost time" were repeated over and over, just above the threshold of understanding. This, coupled with 'corner-of-the-eye' sightings like the previous Friday, made them even more nervous and jumpy. One guard actually drew and raised his gun, but was forced to replace it when he couldn't find a ready target.

Mogadishu, Somalia, Wednesday, May 17, 2028...
Harry was disappointed. Susan had fashioned a special costume for Harry and he hadn't had a chance to use it yet. Harry now had carbon-nanotube bat wings attached to the back of his Shadow Suit. He could even extend or retract them at will. He had worked with one of the techs at Dragon Isle and he and all his operatives now sported large Hi-Def LED cat's eyes with vertical pupils which would 'blink' sideways in conjunction with the occupants' real eyes. They were mounted inside the carbon nanotube protective layer but were bright enough that they were still visible when turned on. Unfortunately, their quarry had remained almost in hiding the previous day, they were so jumpy. Evidently, after a day of rest, they were again brave enough to venture out.

Today, Harry levitated above and behind their quarry as they moved through the city. Periodically, he would make himself visible to anyone on the ground, and eventually, one of their planted operatives shouted in panic and pointed towards Harry. Harry waited until Husni had seen him and turned invisible again, moving quickly off to one side in case anyone tried to shoot in his direction.

Now, in addition to the previous whispers, the dragons added, "Now we know where you are" to their repertoire. Husni urged his guards to move along faster than normal. Unfortunately, Cheki had other ideas and was using his telekinesis to slow the vehicles down to their normal speed. No matter how hard the drivers tried to go faster, they couldn't.

While they were out of their apartment, Harry had some of his group two operatives infiltrate Husni's apartment suite. Since they were all wizards, they could levitate onto the ceiling and, as a group, cause the ceiling to become totally black when their invisibility was removed. They replaced all the light bulbs with slightly lower wattage bulbs to make the environment slightly darker and some stayed on the floor in only their Shadow Suit to emulate dark corners, sometimes in places where there shouldn't be any shadows. When Husni and his guards returned to their apartment, it was no longer the haven they had gotten used to.

During the night, one by one, they were all stunned, questioned under veritaserum, and obliviated before being returned. Harry's operatives started moving around on the ceiling, hiding and revealing different areas of the ceiling, making it appear that there was one enormous shadow that was seething above their victim's heads. After the last of their victims was interrogated, all the operatives left.

Mogadishu, Somalia, Thursday, May 18, 2028...
Today, there was no whispering or sightings until Husni and his guards were in the Medina Market. All of Harry's group one and group two operatives were present, on the ground, and ready for their performance.

As Husni and his guard nervously moved around, they eventually arrived in an area that had been completely filled with Harry's operatives. Today, everyone had a powerful, external magic accumulator adding to the protections afforded them by their Dragon Amulets, Harry felt they would probably need it. At first, everything appeared normal to Husni and his followers. Then, suddenly, there were absolutely black human-shaped figures among the crowd in the market that apparently only Husni and his group could see, as there was no reaction from anyone else.

Once Harry felt he had milked the situation for all the dread and horror it was worth, he levitated to just above head height, extended his 'wings', turned on his 'eyes', and removed his invisibility. As soon as he became visible, his group one operatives started screaming and yelling as they moved in a carefully orchestrated line out from Husni and his group so they could sweep any innocent bystanders out of the area. Anyone seeing Harry was already inclined to leave anyway, they were just there for insurance. Harry still didn't want anyone to get hurt. In the briefing this morning, he had stressed that, if there was any gunfire, he and all his group two operatives on the ground would go invisible and apparate to a safe location.

When Harry became visible, he had Cheki relay his thoughts directly to Husni and anyone nearby, which happened to be all his guards, now terrified for their lives. Harry cast a grava nebule which created an innocent-looking mist hovering above the ground. Husni and his guards immediately found that up and down had reversed and they were suddenly hanging from the ground over the endless sky.

"Husni Al-Baytar, you have angered us again with your aggression against our people. Enough is enough," growled Harry, as he slowly moved towards Husni. "If you continue, you and all those associated with you will suffer. Your bosses, your underlings, anyone who does your bidding will feel our wrath! Your barbaric practices have no place in heaven or on earth. If you continue, we will see if they work in hell."

One of Husni's guards, perhaps less terrified than his fellows, shakily pulled his handgun and fired, point-blank at Harry. Harry felt the impact and was pushed back slightly before he went invisible and canceled the grava nebile spell. The last thing he did before he left was to cast a Calvario spell on Husni Al-Baytar and all his guards and a belated 'Accio guns'. Unfortunately, Husni's guard fell to the ground with a bullet hole between his eyes.

Husni looked wildly around. All he could see was an expanding circle of apparently terrified locals and a dead guard at his feet. As one, the group bolted for their vehicles, not even having the presence of mind to take their fallen comrade with them. They piled into their vehicles, slammed the doors and the drivers turned as quickly as they could and peeled out of the market … or tried to.

"Cheki, grab the lead SUV and lift it above the local roofs. Make it invisible, so the locals aren't frightened. Someone else grab the second SUV. I don't want them running over anyone in their haste to leave. We will take them safely back to their apartment and deposit them where they normally park."

As the vehicles rose in the air, more than one occupant lost bladder or bowel function or both. Once they were set back down, neatly in their normal parking spaces, no one moved for many long minutes. The first thing Husni did, once he got back inside, even before he cleaned himself up, was call the airport and make reservations to return to Syria.

Dragon Isle, May 19, 2028...
Fortunately, during the planning phase of Operation East Africa, one of the requirements was the video recording of all phases. When Harry had gotten back last night, he had helped create voice-overs for all those areas where only mental communications were employed. He even had the riders of the dragons who were whispering to the Warlord and his gang to do their dragon's voice-overs. It hadn't taken long and soon they had a finished video disk with over 5 hours of video from the operation. Fortunately for the magical community, none of the magic they had used was readily apparent in the videos. The only questionable portion of the videos was when Harry levitated at the end and that could be attributed to the dragons' telekinesis. Harry had just played the final ten minutes for the observing Force Commanders and gave them copies to take away with them. There were also reams of intelligence from the interrogation of Husni and his gang.

"Gentlemen, I am more than willing to allow the UN to follow up on our findings," said Harry, politely. "For us, this is our first encounter with these people. Their organization will not survive a second aggressive encounter with the Dragon Nation. Because of them, we now have a new protectorate on the northeast coast of Africa. The people there are enjoying unprecedented freedom and prosperity and will continue to do so regardless of the status of the surrounding area.

"We will not go to war with anyone ever again. Russia and Saudi Arabia were a stain on our reputation, even given the provocation. In the future, we will gather intelligence and follow where it leads. If that ends up causing another entire nation to disappear, so be it. I have a feeling though, that only the guilty will suffer while the innocent will be left behind to continue on.

"What started this entire operation was a pirate incursion into our territorial waters. We have purposely limited our operation to only the initial source of the conflict. We will not do that in the future. We want to live in peace with all nations but, if we must, we will be a force for peaceful coexistence. If you do not want to suffer for your subordinates' actions, do not allow any conflict to impinge upon our sovereign territory.

"We enjoy peace and prosperity on Pern because everyone enjoys 'Dragon Justice'. I am willing to share that with Earth or keep it limited to Dragon Isle, it is your decision. Once unleashed, you would find you would be forced to live in peace with your neighbors, because we will know who is guilty and who is innocent and the guilty will be removed, one way or another."

No one knew it at the time, but eventually, the Dragon Nation's protectorate in Somalia would eventually grow to encompass not only all of Somalia but, in the decades to come, all of Africa. With freedom from slavery, hunger, and threats from their neighbors, the African people turned to the arts and science with a passion and became one of the Superpowers of the world in the coming centuries. During their national growth, the only way the Dragon Nation's influence was felt was when crime reared its ugly head and they were called upon to act as a police force, once again.

Spath's Weyr, The Weyrleader's Inner Office, June 12, 2028...
"Good morning, Jeofrey," greeted Harry, as he walked in the door to his office. "Anything for me this morning?"

"I've already managed to file everything you finished this morning," replied Jeofrey, "and Eddie Took is waiting in your office to see you."

"Hope she has some good news," said Harry, as he quickly walked over to his office door and entered. "Hi, Eddie, have you and your Druids managed to find anything yet?"

"I think we have," said Eddie, uncertainly, "but we need someone with more power than we can exert here to find out."

"Oh?" asked Harry, curiously.

"Yes, remember when I said we found two weak Ley Lines near Spath's Weyr?"

"Yes."

"Well, since we couldn't find a stronger presence anywhere else, we decided to investigate where those two lines had originally crossed, north and west of Spath's Weyr," said Eddie. "After months of careful investigation and earnest prayer to the Pern Mother, we finally seemed to get a weak indication coming from deep below the plain."

"Interesting," said Harry, thoughtfully. "I suppose the best ones to investigate would be the Goblins. They must have some means of determining if there is an open area underground at that location."

"Oh, my," said Eddie. "I have grown to like the Goblins because I find them honest and refreshing, but I'm not sure how the Pern Mother would react to an invasion of her space by someone not familiar with a planetary consciousness."

"Why don't I ask Ragnok and Brusk, his Master Tunneler, to Dragon's Mast at 1500 today," suggested Harry. "After the regular business of the day, we can get together and discuss how we might be able to approach this with minimal detrimental impact on the Pern Mother. I'm sure we will be able to come up with some kind of solution that will satisfy everyone."

"That would be fine with me," said Eddie, relieved that Harry thought they might be able to find a solution. "We will be there."

Spath's Weyr, Level 20 Conference Room, Dragon's Mast, 1500...
The Aurors and the Auror-assigned dragons filed out of the Conference Room and Jeofrey allowed the Dragon's Mast attendees to enter. Harry didn't often attend their meetings anymore unless they let him know his presence was requested. The Aurors liked the idea that they had a set place they could always rely on to meet together and plan operations or smooth any wrinkles in their coordination across Pern. The Level 20 Conference Room was the only convenient place they could meet that was comfortable for both Aurors and dragons. Harry was pleased to see his unbonded dragons taking such an interest and getting so closely involved. It gave them another reason to continue.

Harry sat back in one of the comfortable chairs in the front row. He was just here to observe today, so had disillusioned himself so no one but his son knew he was there. His son, Daniel, was presiding over the Mast today, as he had for the last two months. This was one way Harry was giving his son more experience and at the same time ease some of his own workload. One day Daniel would be completely responsible for the Dragon Nation. Harry and Daniel had already announced this to all the dragons. Harry was going to include Mary Rose, his oldest daughter as well, but she was more interested in teaching right now. He still dragged her in so she could attend some of his staff meetings. It never hurt to have more capable people lined up to take over, just in case. He would probably start including Emma Lily as well, once she graduated from Hogwarts. At least three of his four children could talk to all dragons. What really amazed him was that Daniel could talk to all dragons of both planets … at the same time, no matter where he was!

Daniel seemed to be in almost a dream state when he announced his resolution to some of the problems presented to him. When questioned previously about it, he had told Harry that he drew heavily on his dragon bond and tried to draw on the wisdom of as many dragons, bonded and unbonded, as he could when he presided. He felt, and Harry agreed, that this was yet another way to get all the dragons involved in improving the Dragon Nation. Daniel was always very careful to identify where the resolution came from. If he decided that the dragon solution was the best, he always said, "The Dragons declare ..." when pronouncing his judgment. No one had dared even think about trying to get one of those decisions overturned!

Harry perked up and paid a little more attention to the process when he recognized the two petitioners for the next case. Sally, of Sally's Sweet Spot, and Ned, the Printer. Surely, they weren't here to complain again. He had watched their two shops on his daily walks and they seemed to be doing very well.

"Weyrleader," began Ned, politely.

"That's an improvement, already," thought Harry, with approval.

"We have not come here today with a complaint," continued Ned. "Since that day, back in January, when we first appeared with our piteous little complaint that was so wisely adjudicated by The Weyrleader, I have been paying more attention to what happens during Dragon's Mast. I have yet to hear anyone offering their thanks for a resolution to any of the presented problems. We would like to change that trend today.

"During the first days of our imposed cooperation, I was unhappy and a bit distrustful that the solution, as presented, would work. After all, it was not my solution. Fairly soon though, as it was apparent that our problems had now turned into extra opportunities for both of us, a friendship blossomed. I have come to think of Sally almost as if she were my daughter, even though I am a widower with no remaining family of my own.

"Eventually I met her widowed mother and friendship and then more than friendship blossomed. We are now making plans to get married and Sally will, in fact, become my daughter. None of this would have happened without the wise counsel of The Weyrleader and we would like to publicly thank him for hearing and judging our initial protest. Because of him, more lives have been improved. If ours is an example, I believe there is not a person on Pern who would be better off without Harry Potter in their lives! Thank you for listening to our humble, public thanks."

"Seems like someone approves of your actions after all," said Daniel, privately to Harry via Cheki.

"I thank you for your words of thanks, Ned and Sally," said Daniel, to Ned, including Sally in his gaze. "It is ever the desire of the Weyr's leadership to provide the minimum of leadership. When we must or are asked to step in, we do our best to present a solution that is beneficial for all sides involved. In your case, there were three sides. The two who appeared for mediation and the rest of the Weyr. I am pleased to hear that everything worked out even better than any of us could have imagined. As the dragons say, 'May you find peace and shelter under our wings.' I hope your lives continue to improve, both for you and for all those who interact with you. As your lives improve, so does the life of the Weyr."

Harry sat back satisfied that Daniel had done an excellent job as Ned and Sally sat and the next petitioner stood, Bane! What could he want in such a public forum?

"Hearing the last petitioner," said Bane, "makes my purpose here both harder and easier. I am also here to honor The Weyrleader. He and I have had our problems in the past, not because of anything he has done, but because of a long-time distrust of anything to do with the wizarding world. The Centaurs have always tried to be a power unto themselves and have ever distrusted the wizards, for many good reasons, until Harry Potter came along.

"Recently, I just found out about an occurrence that involved one of my foals here in this very Weyr. Two young children here were injured by my foal. In the past, on Earth, such an incident would have been a justification for the wizards to demand blood retribution. Here, it was almost as if it never happened, because Harry Potter treated my foal as he would one of his own children. I am here to admit that I am ashamed that it has taken me so long to finally see what was before my eyes. Harry Potter is not any other wizard, he is an honorable human and the just leader of our colony on this new planet.

"Even the fact that he is already grooming his replacement in these meetings is not lost on me. He knows he cannot live forever and is making sure that what he has so ably started will continue to be fair and impartial to all who live here.

"I only just found out, because the foal involved in the incident never reported it to me, and those to whom it was reported neglected to pass on word of the incident. Those adults involved have been told, in no uncertain terms, that I must always be informed when there is any interaction between centaurs and any other species that could reflect on us, poorly or otherwise. The foal involved, one Cifan by name, is to receive his 'punishment' by being assigned as one of the centaurs assigned to attend meetings here at Spath's Weyr. It is actually more of an educational opportunity because I am hoping that he can learn honor and common sense better under the tutelage of The Weyrleader and his Staff than he seems to be able to learn from his own sire.

"Please give The Weyrleader my apologies for allowing this to go on for so long and my assurances that, as good as our cooperation and coordination have been in the recent past, they are about to get a lot better. Thank you for this opportunity to address our fellow inhabitants of Pern."

Bane retired and Harry looked in awe at the person who, at one time, was ready to kill him and his friends for entering their territory uninvited. He wasn't sure if he deserved the credit for anything that had happened, but if it improved relations on Pern, then he would take it!

As Bane retired and Daniel thanked him for his endorsement, the meeting came to an end because there were no further supplicants. Harry waited until everyone else had gone, leaving only Daniel, a puzzled-looking Eddie Took, her husband, and two fierce-looking goblins. Harry removed the disillusionment from himself and stood, walking over to where the four were seated together, waiting to talk with him.

"I hope you don't mind that I asked my son to join us," began Harry. "I always prefer to have more options than less. I find it usually makes for a better final solution."

"Of course not, Harry," said a relieved Eddie Took. "I have already tried to explain the problem to Ragnok here, but he doesn't seem to understand our concerns."

"Eddie," began Harry, with certainty, "it seems to me that your main fear is that the Pern Mother is weak and may be easily damaged by us if we blunder into her presence unexpectedly."

Eddie indicated this was true.

"Ragnok, you have heard from Eddie what she wishes to accomplish," said Harry, plainly. "What do you consider to be the best approach?"

"First, we must determine if there is some kind of chamber under the surface which we may enter. Then we must dig down and enter it if there is such a space."

"And if there is no space?" asked Harry, calmly.

"Then we dig until we have created a space which corresponds to where this creature resides that the Druid Priestess senses."

Eddie started to interrupt but settled back at a calming look from Harry.

"How would you determine if there is, in fact, some kind of chamber near where Eddie senses the Pern Mother?"

"Just like we did when we measured the Lava Tube under Disko Island, using goblin magic," said Ragnok, irritably.

"I apologize if I'm being annoying, Ragnok," said Harry, placatingly. "I'm just trying to clarify everything for myself and everyone else here, not annoy you. Is there any way you know of for any life form to detect your spell?"

"We can test the spells before we use them to verify," said Ragnok, a bit calmer, "but, as far as I know, no one has ever indicated they have detected them." At this point, Ragnok turned and talked to Brusk quietly and Brusk hurried from the room.

"I take it you are about to test your assertion on this room," said Daniel, calmly.

"Yes," said a surprised Ragnok, "how did you know?"

"It is the logical thing to do," replied Harry. Smiling. "If none of us can detect the spells, then it should be safe to use them for Eddie's discovery."

Harry turned to Eddie and asked, "If we cannot detect the spells, would that part of your concern be alleviated?"

Eddie looked at the other druids and turned to Harry. "Yes, but the detection phase only."

"That is why we are having this discussion," said Harry, "to make sure we all feel comfortable doing whatever it is that we end up doing. Assuming that an open chamber is discovered, does anyone have a plan on how to reach it?"

Again Ragnok spoke up, "We would carefully dig a shallow spiral down to the level of the chamber, create a similar chamber at the same level, and then carefully dig a tunnel connecting the two."

"That seems to me to be one way to do it," said Harry. "How would we know it would be safe for us to connect the two chambers?"

"With our spells," said Ragnok, "we can detect spaces filled with solid rock, lava, or open spaces and what they contain, whether it be water, air, or a mixture of gases. We can even determine the type of gasses and the temperature of the area."

"This is sounding better and better to me," said Harry. "Does anyone have any other ideas on how to reach any chamber that may be detected?"

"Wizards can apparate," said Eddie, hesitantly. "Could one of you apparate from one chamber to the other? I have used portkeys and ended up in places I've never seen before."

"Ah, but those portkeys were created by a witch or wizard who had actually been to the place you were going to be arriving at," said Harry. "As far as I know, there is no known way to safely apparate to an unknown location without someone having seen it previously. Besides, if it were me going there, I would want to ensure my friends could quickly come to my rescue if necessary. Without a connecting tunnel, that wouldn't be possible.

"That brings another thought to mind, Eddie. If we dig down to the same level and not too far from another chamber, could you determine if there was any magic in the chamber?"

"We should be able to tell if there is anything inimical to life in it," said Eddie, hesitantly. "Beyond that, I'm not sure. We are talking about a different planetary consciousness now, not the Earth Mother, but the Pern Mother. We don't know how different she may be from what we are familiar with."

"Could you go back to Earth and ask the Earth Mother if she can be of any help here?" asked Daniel.

"It wouldn't hurt," said Seamus, resolutely. "I can leave right now if that will help."

"Cheki, please ask the duty courier to escort Seamus to Earth and back when he is ready," said Harry. "Seamus, if you will go into my office, the duty courier will be with you shortly."

Seamus got up and left. For the next almost two hours, the group discussed several different scenarios if they gained access to any possible chamber. As they were about to break for the day, Brusk returned. He walked over to Ragnok and whispered in his ear. Ragnok grinned widely before turning to the rest of the group.

"Brusk cast his detection spells on this room. I told him that if no one came and told him differently, he was to go ahead and cast them into the area of interest. He found a large, hollow chamber that has a breathable atmosphere inside and a steady if slightly cold temperature."

Eddie looked horrified at the thought that the goblins had gone ahead and looked, but Harry said with a smile, "Calm down, Eddie. We would have eventually decided to do the same, Ragnok simply cut out all the intermediate discussion."

"I suppose you are right, Harry," said Eddie, shakily. "I'm just concerned we don't inadvertently do something to anger the Pern Mother."

"What's done is done. Let's move on while we wait for word from Seamus," said Harry. "Brusk, what can you tell us about this chamber you found?"

"It's half a mile down, three miles in diameter and about 1,000 ft high at the midpoint, though that is somewhat misleading, for two reasons," said Brusk. "First, there appears to be a large hill in the middle, and second, from the base of the hill to the outer edge of the chamber, the floor is terraced by small steps upward as you progress. Each terrace is about 10 feet deep and only about a foot in height but there is a ramp that leads directly from the base of the hill to what appears at one time to have been a tunnel that led to the surface. It is blocked with rubble near the chamber now and is almost completely hidden as you near the surface, but it was definitely there at some time in the past. There is a relatively new, only thousands of years old, lava flow that ran across the beginning of the tunnel."

"Sounds like just the sort of place you would want to set up as a survival bunker," said Daniel, thoughtfully. "I cannot imagine anything still living there though."

"After hearing all this, do you still have any objections to the Goblins at least digging down and creating a smaller chamber at the same level?" asked Harry. "It should be aligned in such a way that, if we do bore a tunnel between the two, it will come out at this old, rubble-filled tunnel."

"That, we can agree to," said Eddie. "I want to wait to hear from Seamus before we proceed further, though."

With that, they broke up until they heard further about Seamus' task.

A half-mile north of Spath's Weyr, June 26, 2028...
"You have no idea how hard it is to ask a specific question of the Earth Mother," said Seamus. "It took me almost the entire first week to make sure she understood I was talking about a different planet and planetary consciousness!

"Once I finally got that information clear, she seemed to become more interested in our conversation. I think what finally got her to understand was when I asked the dragon who delivered me to Earth to share his memories of Pern. I think that may be something we should do now on a regular basis, as we really started to connect after that."

"Well, are there any ideas she offered as ways to approach the Pern Mother?" asked Eddie.

"Nothing specific," said Seamus, thoughtfully. "I did get an impression of someone knocking on a tree, though."

"Well, that does it for me," said Harry. "I want to go down and knock on the Pern Mother's tree!"

They all laughed as they made their way to the entrance of the huge excavation the goblins had made. It had been decided that Harry and May would be the only ones to make the final approach. The goblins had driven the tunnel to within a centimeter of the old opening into the Pern Mother's chamber. The rock wall was thin enough, Harry could easily push through it on his own. They carried with them two miles of carbon nanotube reinforced rope that had been enchanted so it was almost weightless and had also been turned into the longest known portkey which would return them to Spath's Weyr central cavern, outside ER#1. It was an enchanted rope, so they were able to set it up as a voice-activated portkey that May could activate in an emergency. All she had to do was utter the specific words and they would both be ported to safety.

Once they arrived, one end of the rope would be attached to Harry's harness and the other end to May's. Harry had one of the tech riders attach a Go-Pro camera to his helmet so everyone could watch as he made the final approach. Harry and May rode down to the final chamber in a goblin cart installed so they wouldn't have to walk the entire way.

As they rode down, Harry turned to May and said, "You know, I bet this would make a great entry into Wrig-gly's."

"Wrigley's?" asked May, with a frown on her face.

"Yeah," explained Harry, "you know, Wrig-gley's Believe It or Not!"

Harry was totally mystified by the hysterical laughter from his non-magical wife. Finally, the cart arrived at the final chamber and they got out, walked over to the wall, and got the rope ready. May still occasionally snorting to herself. When pressed, May finally agreed to explain what was so funny to him after they returned to the surface. They both sealed their helmets and put on their gloves against any possible problem with unbreathable air inside the new chamber.

Finally, everything was ready and Harry walked over to the thin rock partition and hit it with his glove encased hand. The thin rock shattered with a faint crack and showered down in front of him. Beyond was a cold dark opening. Using his HUD, coupled with an infrared spotlight, Harry could faintly make out the hill Brusk had indicated would be inside.

"Lumos maxima!" yelled Harry, as he aimed his wand at the point of the cavern immediately above the hill. They both looked in awe at the vast number of Pern animals apparently sleeping spread all over the floor of the cavern. Carnivores mixed indiscriminately with Herbivores. As Harry cautiously walked the path to the hill, it even seemed like there was a light dusting of insects over everything! He was glad his camera was recording and relaying wirelessly everything to those on the surface. He didn't think he would ever be able to adequately explain it to anyone.

As he got closer to the hill, he could see that it was more a pillar than a hill, with steep, rough sides. He had never been a rock climber, but fortunately, he could just levitate himself to the top where there appeared to be a tree growing.

"Harry, be careful, please," pleaded May, behind him, still waiting at the tunnel mouth.

"I will," said Harry, calmly. "We still have a lot we want to do here."

Harry levitated up the side of the pillar, almost 100 feet above the floor of the cavern, and walked over to the tree. He studied it carefully but it seemed like a perfectly normal, healthy tree for Pern, which was odd, given that it had been underground for so long. He reached out and, as Seamus had suggested, knocked on the tree … and immediately collapsed at its base.

"Harry!" May screamed, terrified at what she had just seen through her vision-enhancing HUD. She immediately started to pull on the rope with all her might. Fortunately for Harry, she wasn't strong enough to move him from his resting place. The drop from the top of the pillar might have severely injured even a mage.

"May," called Trath to her rider, "remember you are holding a portkey."

"Oh," said May, stupidly, looking at the rope in her hand. "There's no place like home."

May, the rope, and Harry disappeared from the cavern.

Spath's Weyr, ER#1...
May watched, terrified as the Emergency Room doctors levitated Harry into the ER and placed him on a bed. He looked like he was just asleep but he had collapsed so suddenly! Doctor Sheppard stood next to Harry casting one diagnostic spell after another and finally turned, with a puzzled look on his face, to those waiting.

"There doesn't appear to be anything wrong with him except that his magical core is slowly depleting. If it doesn't slow down, even as large as his core is, he could be dead in a matter of hours! I'm not very good with legilimens, is there anyone here who can try to talk to Harry?"

May looked out the door of the ER at Harry's dragon and said the only thing she could think of, "How about Chekiath?"

Chekiath looked at her and said, "How about me what?"

"Cheki, please try to talk to Harry and find out what is happening," said May, shakily. "If you can, let us all know what is going on as well."

Chekiath concentrated on his rider and slowly felt himself being drawn into what appeared to be a dark tunnel. "Harry! Can you hear me!"

"Of course I can," said Harry, puzzled by what was happening.

"Who is this who knocks on my tree and then so rudely tries to escape my notice?" asked a strangely powerful, female voice that seemed to come out of nowhere.

"I'm sorry," said Harry, "that would be me, I suppose. I'm Harry and my dragon seems to be here now with us as well. I'm sorry if I disturbed you, but we didn't know how to get you to respond. We need your help."

"We?" asked the voice. "You and your ... dragon?"

"No," replied Harry. "All the people and creatures of your planet. We think you hid yourself when thread started to fall on you, but we are successfully fighting it and want to live here but we need you awake or we will lose our magic."

"People, magical people, on my planet!?" exclaimed the voice wistfully. "Where do you come from?"

"Can we talk about that after you release my rider?" asked Chekiath, pleadingly. "You are killing him somehow. His magical core is being drained and he will die without it!"

"I am killing him?" asked the voice, questioningly. "Ah, I see now. When he startled me awake, it must have started my suspended animation field. I was wondering where I was drawing so much power from. Here, take it back."

Harry felt a rush of power that almost overwhelmed him. Hastily he said, "Please, not quite so fast. It hurts!"

"Fine," said the voice, as the returning power slowed to a manageable flow. "So, I have a Harry and a Dragon here. Who else is now on my planet?"

"How would you like us to contact you?" asked Harry. "I can let the others know and they will all be most happy to talk to you directly. What should they call you? We have all been calling you Pern Mother because they have been calling your planet Pern."

"Pern Mother," said the voice. "That sounds like a nice name. It will do. I have a hold on your mind still but haven't yet located where you were able to move your body. Are the rest of you there?"

"We are all over your planet. Cheki, would you please share your memories of the Weyrs and Holds with the Pern Mother?"

Cheki shared his memories and, as he did, the Ley Lines all over Pern started growing in strength as the Pern Mother returned to her rightful place, in control of her planet. Right at the start, she discovered Spath's Weyr and the body lying on the bed with so many hovering anxiously around it. She saw the faithful druids sitting in meditation poses, praying to her for the safe return of their friend. She saw the dragons flying in her sky, some of them fighting the abomination that had driven her into hiding all those many long years ago. She felt renewed and full of wonder at all the changes and thankful for these creatures that had managed to revive her.

"I see you have lit my cave so you could see. Very clever. I will wait in here for those who wish to visit with me. I will also visit those who respectfully call me to them and help them with their little worries. These druids seem like they know how to contact me."

"They do, Pern Mother," explained Harry. "We all come from another planet which has a being they call Earth Mother. She must be just like you, or they would have never been able to find you. I'm sure they would love to meet with you in person and tell you all about it."

"I see you also live in a cave. It has a delightful sun at the top. Can I have one of those? I so miss the sunlight, but feel safer in my cave for now."

"We can have one just like it installed in a month," said Harry, hoping he had allowed enough time.

"In that case, I will look forward to my new sun and my visitors. Please ask them to leave my slumberers alone. If I ever need them, I want them all to be as they were when I brought them to me."

"It will be as you say," said Harry, reverently. The Pern Mother released him and he sat up on the bed. He looked at all the awed people around him who had been listening to Chekiath's thoughts.

"Let's get to work, people," said the ever-practical Harry, "we have a sun to deliver and a Pern Mother to get to know!"

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