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

18. Chapter 18: A Royal Visit, Part 2

Chapter 18: A Royal Visit, Part 2
Spath's Weyr, Kitchen 0R, Nov 21, 2029, 0700...
"I'm really sorry about yesterday afternoon," said Harry. "I just lost my temper when he started trying to bully me like that."

"It's quite alright," said the Queen, soothingly. "Considering your upbringing, I'm surprised he didn't walk away with more damage than he did. All you did was embarrass him in front of his team. I got a fairly detailed report from Admiral Moore, who happened to be close enough to hear everything. His opinion of you has certainly increased since then. He was almost laughing when he told me how you informed him there was a spy near me!"

"Well, there was!"

"Yes, but you knew he wouldn't come to the correct conclusion when you said it the way you did. I almost wish I had been there to see it. Fortunately for Major Clarke, I was enjoying myself too much to care. Thank you so much for covering for me."

"It's not my place to tell my guests what they can do or where they can go in their own time," replied Harry. "As far as Major Clarke goes, I really do understand his concern, I just knew more about the situation than he did, so I wasn't worried. It did lead to his team gaining much better proficiency with their dragons. When did you finally return to your Suite?"

"I asked Tisky to return me directly to my room so I could get ready for dinner. I didn't want my staff to get too worried about my absence. You should have seen the look on Major Clarke's face when I walked out of my room!" chortled Elizabeth. "His mouth open and closed like a fish breathing for what seemed like forever. I finally had to ask him if anything was wrong. I don't think he has come to grips with the fact that magic is real yet, despite all the evidence to the contrary."

Harry, Hermione, May, and Elizabeth talked companionably until it was time to leave for their next tour. When they got up to leave, Harry noticed that Major Clarke and his team rushed right over to their assigned dragons and were fully mounted and ready to go before Elizabeth could even reach Narth.

"Looks like some good came of yesterday," murmured Harry softly to Elizabeth.

"Yes, it does," she replied. "Now if I can just get him to realize I am safer here than in my own home ..."

Harry quickly … for elderly non-riders, got his guests mounted and airborne. Today they were going to jump directly to Sakushima Weyr and Hold.

'Cheki, I want to come out of Between about a mile south of the Weyr facing north. Then I want to fly towards the Weyr low enough that they can all see the features of the Weyr and Hold as we get closer. Circle around the left side of the Weyr just above its roof and come in for a landing on the shore end of the pier.'

'Will do, Harry'

No sooner were they airborne than they went Between to …

Sakushima Weyr, 0800...
Even though Harry had told everyone they were going Between as soon as they were airborne and formed up, he still sensed gasps and exclamations of surprise over the dragon links. Unfortunately, the only way to get used to going Between was to do it. At least they were physically comfortable thanks to the flight suits they were all wearing.

"Admiral, if you will look down and between the Weyr and Hold, you will see a long dock with a familiar shape at the end of it," said Harry. "We were able to purchase an old World War II hulk destined to be cut up for scrap and brought it to Pern. We stripped out most of its interior, strengthened its structural integrity, replaced all non-metallic surface features with metal, and generally rebuilt it from the bottom up. I don't know the prior name this proud ship carried, we call it the SPS Dronth."

"SPS?"

"Southern Pern Ship," replied Harry, to the Admiral's query. "DN for Dragon Nation sounded too much like an abbreviation for Dreadnaught. We use this ship for rescue operations, trade, and support of local populations in need."

"Is that why it's painted all white?"

"It's painted all white so it will be easier for dragons to spot it when it's at sea. Unlike your naval vessels which are painted various shades of grey or blue, we don't want them to blend into that background. The Pernese have mistaken it for all sorts of things upon first sight, but never, until they've been shown, have they thought of it as a ship. To them, it is just too big.

"Many of the places we go to trade don't even have docks large enough or deep enough for it to dock, so they must anchor offshore and send in boats. We have several modified landing craft which perform admirably as cargo haulers. We are currently doing our best to increase the original Pernese level of civilization and not impact their way of doing things any more than we have to. Some changes are inevitable, others aren't necessary, as they have developed quite efficient ways of living without modern technology and, on the whole, seem quite happy the way they are.

"It seems that after running hot and cold water in their Weyrs and Holds, the most important thing they are interested in are ways to record information. We are currently doing a 'booming' business in paper, file folders, and filing cabinets."

"That doesn't sound very profitable!"

"It was never meant to be. We are basically supporting a pre-industrial civilization, hoping that they learn enough from us to actually be our equals rather than just thinking it. As they learn new things, sometimes they ask for them and sometimes they don't see the need. Right now, we are supporting an inflated rate of exchange, so they can afford what we can provide. It is our hope that, after we have had a chance to investigate their medicinal plants and some of the more interesting aspects of their culture, we can come up with a more mutually beneficial balance of trade.

"We have been enforcing a strictly hands-off approach to their civilization except for mutual trade laws and a central place where anyone may take grievances. Right now, each Lord and Lady Holder of a major hold is like the leader of a small country. They literally hold the lives of their holders in their hands. I don't care if they want to stay backward as a civilization from our point of view, but it bothers me to see injustice, so I've tried to do something they can invest in as a means to correct at least that aspect of their culture. Until they realize their potential, we will continue to trade with them at a loss. We have enough disposable income that it is no burden on us."

As Harry finished explaining the Dragon Nation's position towards the original Pernese, the dragons came to a gentle landing at the shore end of the pier where a small group of people were awaiting their arrival. He had told the Weyr and Hold leaders they were on a tight schedule, so would rather have a quick meet at the pier rather than a long time-consuming formal dinner. After all, their guests only had 7 days total to get an idea about an entire planet.

As his guests mingled with the combined leadership of Sakushima Weyr and Hold, Daniel, his son, contacted him via Chekiath. 'Hi, dad. I have been getting reports of an acronym being used on the northern continent and I thought you would like to know about it. I haven't been able to determine exactly what it stands for, but the acronym is "AML".'

'AML,' mussed Harry. 'Let's see, it could stand for "American Medical Laboratories" or "American Mensa, Limited", but I somehow don't think those would become widely bandied about by Pernese often enough for you to hear rumors.'

'I initially thought of "Ask Me Later" and "All My Love",' said Daniel, 'but those don't seem likely either.'

'Well, if we ask all our dragons to keep alert for any future reference and try to discreetly follow anyone using the term, we may eventually learn something,' suggested Harry.

'I've already done that,' reported Daniel, 'just keeping you in the loop.' With that, Harry felt the connection terminate from Daniel's side.

Harry slowly made his way over to where the Queen was saying her final good-byes to Yuko Isikara, his wife, Kunie, and Christopher Dalsgaard and his wife Britta. Harry offered his thanks, said his own good-byes, and started leading the group down the pier towards the gangways that gave access to the SPS Dronth's hangar deck.

Elizabeth turned to him and commented, "I notice I've really felt invigorated since we arrived. Is there something in the food or air that might cause me to feel I have more energy?"

"It is probably due to the fact that Pern gravity is only about 90% that of Earth's," responded Harry. "While here, you should be able to walk longer than on Earth because your Earth-trained muscles don't have to work near as much to offset the gravity."

"Hmm, I was hoping for something I could take home with me," said Elizabeth, disappointed with Harry's explanation. "At least I can enjoy it while we're here."

As they drew up to the accommodation ladder which led to the gangway across to the Dronth, Admiral Moore caught up to Harry. "Weyrleader, I don't recognize the flag flying on the mast."

"That is the Dragon Nation flag," replied Harry. "I was told it was custom to identify ships with their national flags on Earth. While I didn't think it necessary on Pern, it made the ship's Captain feel better to have something flying, so they fly our flag since it's our ship."

"Do you have any particular ceremony for a Naval Officer from another country to come aboard?"

Harry was startled at this question, "I've never really thought about it, Admiral. We have someone standing watch at the other end of the gangway simply to keep children off the ship. They try to get on board and play hide and seek. It makes it hard to function with small children underfoot, so we do our best to keep them off. Other than that, we just walk on and walk off, no ceremony or procedure required. We are very informal here."

"Aren't you worried about security?"

"Not really, Admiral. We have enough dragons around that there would always be several in the immediate area who could sense if anyone with bad intentions were near. If even one dragon sensed such a person, there would be at least an entire Flight of dragons and riders here quickly to take care of the matter. After what we've been through on Earth, we know to keep a constant watch for those who mean us harm. You may not see them, but there are always dragons near any facility we have on Earth and even on Pern."

Harry saw the Admiral was musing on this odd turn of events, so turned his attention to the rest of the group. He cast a sonorus on himself and announced, "Before we go aboard the SPS Dronth, I have someone else I'd like you to meet. They are just at the far end of the pier." He canceled the sonorus and led the tour group to the end of the pier where a large brass bell was mounted with a bell pull dangling in the water. As they walked up to the end of the pier, Harry could see a number of dolphins frolicking in the water with two human swimmers.

"These are the intelligent dolphins of Pern," said Harry to the tour group. Just then a large dolphin splashed water over the entire group and then did a tail stand as if to laugh at them. Many of the tour group sputtered as the cold water impacted their faces, but Harry knew the flight suits they wore were waterproof, so no real damage had been done, they were just startled.

"That's an interesting way to greet someone you don't know," said Harry to the dolphin. "I'm Harry, may I know your name, please?"

"I am the Tillek," said the large female dolphin in a perfectly understandable, if a bit high-pitched voice. "You are The Weyrleader the dragons tell us about."

"Yes, that is me," responded Harry, a bit disconcerted.

"I'm sorry, Sir," said the young man who had been playing with the dolphins, "they like to play, but we cannot keep them from splashing anyone who comes to the end of the pier. I'm Ivar and I've been getting to know our dolphins quite well."

"No harm done, Ivar," said Harry, smiling reassuringly. "I just wanted to introduce our visitors to another one of Pern's intelligent species and now I've found they have taken humans into their group. It is always good to learn new things."

Ivar climbed out of the water using a handy ladder that was near the bell and grabbed a towel that was on the platform. "I enjoy working with them, but sometimes the water gets a bit too cold to stay long," Ivar said, his teeth starting to chatter.

Harry cast a warming charm on him to Ivar's surprise and appreciation. They were soon joined by his human companion, who also started to dry herself off. Harry cast the same spell on her as well.

"Weyrleader, we want Sea Hold, so we can have closer … kin … with humans," said the Tillek hesitantly. 'We cannot bond like dragons do, but we still want to have a closer association with humans than we've had. When we first arrived we were told we could have Dolphineers to work with us, but no one has done anything about it since.'

The mental sending was quite strong and, from the startled expressions on his guests' faces, he knew they had heard as well. Harry responded in kind, trusting to the dragons to interpret for his guests, 'Do you consider these two humans suitable?'

'We do, but neither they nor we know what needs be done from the human side.'

'Cheki, can you sense anything about our two young friends here?'

'They seem a bit confused, but seem open and honest.'

'That's good enough for me. I can start things now, the Tillek, and Ivar can talk with you and the Lord Holder here to determine what else needs to be done. I'm sorry, but I do not have the luxury of being able to do more at this time.'

'If you can get things started, that will help immensely.'

'Chekiath, would you ask Dobby to get two full flight suits from Susan Bones. Ask her to add name tags with dolphins above them with the names Ivar and …' Harry looked inquiringly at the young woman who had finished drying her hair, "I'm Harry, what is your name?"

"I'm Kristine, with a 'K'"

"Well, Kristine 'with a K', do you enjoy working with dolphins as much as Ivar does?"

"I do! I had hoped to impress a dragon, but have found the dolphins more fun."

'Kristine. Tell her to send the special suits we had discussed earlier with the smooth, snag-free, saltwater resistant outer covering.'

'Susan says she will send them as soon as she has the name tags attached,' responded Cheki.

Harry spent a few more minutes talking to the two teens until Dobby arrived with the two flight suits.

"Ivar, Kristine, the Tillek has nominated you to be their first Dolphineers. How do you feel about working with dolphins for the rest of your lives?"

Ivar and Kristine got so enthusiastic, they were almost jumping up and down and were quite emphatically enthusiastic about the possibility.

"This is Dobby. He is a very important member of my family and I have asked him here to bring you these suits. They will keep you warm while in the water or out and will also protect you from bloodfish. He will show you how to put them on and make sure everything fits properly. He will also show you how the different options work. Your first job will be to talk with the Tillek and determine what they feel is required for a Sea Hold. Then talk with Lord Holder Christensen about what he can do to help. After our guests leave, I will get more directly involved."

"Thank you, Sir!" exclaimed Ivar and Kristine.

As they all walked back towards the accommodation ladder to board the SPS Dronth, Admiral Moore approached Harry. "That was rather abrupt and arbitrary, wasn't it?" he asked.

"Not actually," replied Harry. "There was a lot of information that went into my decision that you probably aren't aware of. First, these dolphins are as intelligent as any human and more knowledgeable about the environment they live in. Second, dragons have been watching the interaction between the dolphins and those two teens for months, they go out of their way to help, and sometimes they are the only ones to show up when the dolphins ring the bell asking for help. And third, dragons are very good at detecting surface feelings. When my dragon tells me that these two are open and honest, that is all I need to know.

"All intelligent species are equal, but some are more equal than others. Humans have hands to help remove bloodfish while dolphins can swim longer and faster than humans. Their 'more than equal' enhances each other, I'm just making something official that should happen anyway. If I can help, then that is my role. I am tasked to enable such combinations and help all species to live in harmony and peace. I just wish Earth would learn to do the same."

As they climbed the accommodation ladder to the gangway leading to the SPS Dronth, Admiral Moore thought about what Harry had said and Queen Elizabeth watched as one of her senior staff wrestled with old ideas presented in a new way.

SPS Dronth, underway north-east of Sakushima Hold, 1000...
The SPS Dronth was making best speed on a course of 080, slightly north of east, to rendezvous with the scheduled threadfall. The guests had been given a tour of the ship before visiting the galley for tea. The Queen was impressed with the modifications made to the ship which allowed it to pursue its humanitarian mission, while Admiral Moore was more impressed with the new power plant and the dry dock area at the stern which allowed the ship's boats to be undercover before being hoisted up to the hangar deck for storage.

Several of the more senior of their guests were now on a recently expanded bridge looking at what looked like a two-story wooden house on the flight deck.

"I know you don't need the flight deck to launch or land aircraft," asked Admiral Moore, "but why build a house there when you have so much room below decks?"

"We have cameras aimed at that structure from every angle we can manage," replied Captain Christopher Vincent. "We even have some inside special metal and quartz boxes inside the house. When we enter the threadfall, we want to create a record of how quickly thread acts to devour biological material."

"What is that huge carcass next to the house?" asked Anne Garret.

"That is called a grabber," explained Captain Vincent. "This particular one had the misfortune of deciding it wanted to dine on dolphin. One of your dragons obliged us in capturing it and placing it on the flight deck after it died as an additional check on thread. We have weighed and measured it, so know how big it is at the start. The video of its demolition by thread should be … educational."

"Thread on the horizon," called one of the lookouts.

"How sturdy is that house your elves built, Mr. Potter?" asked Captain Vincent.

"It should be at least as sturdy as anything built on Earth to live in," replied Harry. "Why?"

"I would like to kick up our speed and don't wish for our experiment to blow off the flight deck."

"Ah," responded Harry. "Let me cast a quick shield in front of it, then." Harry stepped out of the room, onto a catwalk and cast a shield in front of the house that would protect it from the wind of passage, and then stepped back into the room. One of the crew members in the room made sure the hatch was dogged tight. No one wanted there to be any chance of thread making its way into the bridge.

"It should be fine for hurricane winds up to 100 miles per hour coming from the bow," said Harry.

"Thank you, Mr. Potter. Helm, make your speed 70 knots until we are one mile from the leading edge and then slow to steerage way."

The Talker made an announcement over the 1MC to the rest of the ship, "Rig for high speed, high speed imminent!"

"Seventy knots, Aye," called the coxswain, as he slowly brought up speed so no one would fall. Since the engines were driven by electrical generators, the coxswain had direct control over the speed, so the change was immediate.

"Seventy knots!" exclaimed Admiral Moore.

"Yes," replied Captain Vincent. "I didn't think you wanted to wait for hours before we crossed the leading edge. While not our top speed, it should get us there within a reasonable time."

"Not your top speed!" exclaimed Admiral Moore, shocked at the high speed they were already going. "I saw your propulsion system and it shouldn't be able to push this much mass through the water at speeds like that!"

"We have a slight advantage over Earth ships, Admiral. Our hull is protected from impacts by a magical shield, which also helps with drag and water flow past the hull. We are basically hydroplaning, with just enough of the ship in the water to maintain control. If we ever went to top speed, I imagine the ride would be quite uncomfortable as the bow rises and falls with the waves. I'm sure you've ridden in speed boats. Can you imagine that happening with a ship this size?"

Admiral Moore just glared at him as if he'd said that pigs could fly.

Captain Vincent chuckled slightly and continued, "We also have a magical field that funnels water from a wide area ahead of us into the relatively narrow space where the ship's propellers are located. This tends to compress the water and make the effects of the propulsion pronounced. The field also keeps anything other than water away from the propellers. Think of it like a jet engine only using water instead of air. Our 'theoretical' top speed is well over 100 knots, but this is the fastest we've gone so far. I think that's fairly respectable for the huge, flat-bottomed hull we have.

"I have a degree in Nautical Engineering and just wanted to tweak this configuration as much as possible. The use of magic made something possible that no ordinary ship would ever be capable of, but the overpowered engines helped a lot as well."

"An aircraft carrier going over 100 knots!" murmured Admiral Moore to himself in shock. Suddenly he absolutely knew magic was real.

Shortly after, the coxswain announced, "Slowing to steerage, Sir!" and the talker repeated the information for the rest of the ship.

"The shield spell has collapsed on its own," said Harry. "I set it to dissipate when the speed dropped."

"All cameras on and recording," announced Chief Jordan. "Wi-Fi signal 10 THz and holding steady, Ultrahigh-resolution set. In-camera storage on standby in case the Wi-Fi signal is lost."

A few moments later, the SPS Dronth entered the leading edge of the fall. Since the ship was barely making any headway, winds were light and variable. The winds were still strong enough to cause the thread to fall in clumps.

Suddenly, a clump of thread landed on the roof of the house and within minutes it was gone, as was the huge grabber carcass next to it.

"Well, that certainly didn't take long," said Captain Vincent, as his tour guests stared at the bare deck in shock.

Suddenly Chekiath appeared on the flight deck where the house had been. "What are you doing!" shouted Harry, angrily. "Get out of there!"

'I just wanted the Lady Holder to see that she would have been perfectly safe if we had flown through thread.'

"Everyone has seen you, you big lug! Now get out from under that fall. Your protection will only last about 30 minutes of constant attack! Are you trying to give me a heart attack!?"

'Sorry, Harry, I wasn't thinking.' And with that, Cheki took off and went Between.

"He definitely made me feel better about being protected," said Queen Elizabeth, "especially after seeing how quickly that house and the grabber next to it were devoured."

"He still should have let me know first," said Harry, shakily as he sat down to keep from falling down after the shock he'd just had delivered. "If he had died ..." He couldn't finish the thought and just closed his eyes, trying to make the image of his dragon without him and surrounded by thread go away.

Hermione put her hand on his shoulder. "He is your dragon, and will take risks with his life, just like you do."

Harry just shuddered, turned towards her as she hugged his head on her chest.

SPS Dronth, underway north-east of Sakushima Hold, 1100...
They were now on a reciprocal course of 260°, headed back for Sakushima Hold at a respectable 35 knots. 'Looks like using mineral oil as a base for the deck paint paid off,' thought Captain Vincent to himself. 'We won't have to repaint the entire deck this time and whatever was blocking the drain to the port deck scupper aft of the elevator had been cleared away by thread. Wonder if we could duplicate its actions as a commercial product to unclog drains?'

Harry and the Royal Tour group were on the flight deck where the house had been. Not a trace of the house remained. Inside the all glass and metal 'fish tanks' they had placed in the house was a dirty grey sludge where some of the thread had collected and died of starvation. Conkey, the house-elf in charge of the crew on the SPS Dronth, was carefully placing tight-fitting lids on the containers so they could be taken back to the RTL at Spath's Weyr for analysis.

"Conkey, please be very careful with that," said Harry. "It may look dead, but I'm sure your husband would never forgive me if I let you touch it and we found out it wasn't as dead as it looks."

"Yes, Harry Potter, Sir, Conkey bes extra careful. Thanks you for caring for lowly house-elf."

"Please, Conkey. You are a proud house-elf, a smart and powerful house-elf. You are never a lowly anything."

Conkey just smiled and blushed and signaled for one of her crew to take the containers directly to the RTL under Spath's Weyr. Once the containers were gone, the flight deck was completely empty except for Harry and the tour group.

"That was terrifying seeing how quickly such a large mass was devoured," said Alexander Spencer, in a shaky voice. "I will take our copies of the recorded video and add my commentary on what we were seeing. I'm sure the BBC viewers will be shocked to know that life here on Pern is not the bed of roses some people paint it to be."

"That would certainly make our job a lot easier, Mr. Spencer," responded Harry. "Only about a quarter of the applicants for immigrant status make it all the way through our vetting process now. When this airs, it will make those looking for the 'good life' look elsewhere. I would appreciate it if you would get a copy of the final version to Lee Jordan, our PAO. He can then incorporate it into our screening."

"I will make sure he gets a copy as soon as it's finished."

"If you need any additional information, the house-elf who volunteered to help you while you are here can get it for you, probably faster than anyone else. I just need to stress that you cannot say anything about magic because the magical world on Earth is working on a plan to bring the two worlds together, but it will still take several more years."

"Of course, Weyrleader. I will make my final cut available to Mr. Jordan for his approval before we return to Earth."

"Thank you, Mr. Spencer. That would be appreciated, especially since the British Ministry of Magic will probably want to see it before any public airing as well. Believe me, you don't want to cross them! If we see it first, Lee can point out areas where there might be problems before your Ministry even sees it."

"Thank you, Weyrleader. I hadn't even thought of that possible problem!"

SPS Dronth, Galley, 1200...
Everyone was having a relaxed luncheon. But not many were eating very much after the morning's demonstration of the primary danger to life on Pern.

"How can you possibly survive anything like what we saw this morning?" asked the Queen, earnestly. "It was horrific!"

"We do our best to ensure no thread ever reaches the planetary surface," explained Harry. "I can arrange for personal observation of Dragonriders fighting thread, but I would recommend watching any of a number of videos we have taken since we arrived. You can see what is involved and don't have to actually be there.

"We even have videos of the older Pern-standard dragons getting thread-scored while flying and the aftermath in our hospital. And before Mr. Spencer asks, yes, we would be happy to allow him to have copies of those as well."

Elizabeth shuddered. "I think I will allow Mr. Spencer to watch the videos in my stead. What I saw this morning will probably give me nightmares as it is. I'm just glad that your dragon showed me they are definitely protected from thread or I would be even more worried."

"Have you ever heard of The Royal Order of Shellbacks, Your Majesty?" asked Harry.

"Of course. We have crossed Earth's equator many times onboard ship."

"While we were out, I asked the Captain to take a quick jog north and you have crossed Pern's equator as well. I think watching the demonstration this morning can count as your initiation, especially as you are already a shellback. Before we leave, the Captain wants to present your certificates for crossing Pern's equator."

"That will be something I will treasure. When I get back, I am going to suggest that Charles come visit with my grandchildren. I think they need to see another world before they get bogged down with worldly concerns."

"It would be our pleasure to host them," said Harry.

"Weyrleader, I have noticed a distinct lack of air vents anywhere on this vessel," stated Admiral Moore. "How do you make sure fresh air is circulated to every place it is needed?"

"Just as we do with our Weyrs and Holds," replied Harry. "We use goblin magic to make sure every space gets proper ventilation with fresh air. Each space can even control its own air temperature. When we first got this hull, we noticed a few large, rectangular 'pipes' on the outside. We figured it was for some form of ventilation, but it was one of the first things we removed."

"It definitely makes the external hull and island much more streamlined," said Admiral Moore. "Do you do something similar for interior wiring and plumbing?"

"Since we don't need air vents running all over the ship, our passageways are already larger. Anywhere we have to run electrical wiring or plumbing, we space enhance the passage to be wide enough to accept everything along one side in a service tunnel. It is all covered by a thin wall with access ports in case maintenance is required. Each section of the passageway between watertight doors has sensors in the service tunnel to let us know if the moisture in the air increases. If it does, we know there is a leak that needs to be repaired. All our 'pipes' are special, thick-walled, flexible tubes that have a flexible armored covering. Replacement sections of the pipes are stored in each service tunnel in case of need."

"It definitely makes the carrier look a lot more streamlined from the outside," remarked the Admiral, "and makes it much easier to walk along the passageways inside."

SPS Dronth, Hangar Deck, 1400...
On their way back to Sakushima Hold, they had started through a weather front. Since it was raining on the flight deck, the Shellback Ceremony had been moved to the hangar deck. Harry watched as the tour members each received their Shellback certificates and cards. Lee had done a great job on these, as the certificate showed a digital image of Pern from high orbit. The equator was marked and the exact point of crossing was marked on the image. There was even a dotted line winding across the image showing the course the SPS Dronth had taken from Sakushima Hold all the way back to their return. In a wide swath across the ocean were tiny red worms in a band that crossed their course indicating threadfall. In effect, the certificate was also an "I Survived Threadfall" certificate, and stated as much. There was a DVD pocket attached to the back with an edited video taken from the cameras used to record the destruction of the house and the grabber carcass.

In deference to their ages, Queen Elizabeth and Admiral Moore were seated at the front of the group and had been awarded theirs first. Everyone else stood in loose ranks and was called individually up to get theirs. As the last of the new Shellbacks got their certificate, the massed crew who were not on watch cheered and applauded their new brothers and sisters into their ranks while the dragons present thrummed their approval. From where he stood, Harry could see that they were all pleased with the welcome.

Sakushima Weyr, 1700...
There had been a lot of discussion about where to hold this welcoming dinner for the tour group. Yuko Isikara and his wife Kunie had wanted to have the dinner in their Weyr, "because they can always have a formal dinner in some building somewhere". Christopher Dalsgaard and his wife Britta wanted to have it in the Hold, "because they need to see some of us are civilized!" After talking to Elizabeth about it, the Weyr had been chosen.

Since the ceiling in Sakushima Weyr wasn't nearly as high as the one in Spath's Weyr, there was no artificial "sun". Instead, they had a series of floodlights all aimed at a highly polished, white painted ceiling. Each of the floodlights had its own multicolored filters and it was possible to imitate any type of lighting desired, from bright, noon sun to a dark, moonless night. Right now, during the meal, the light was set to early dusk with the odd spark of other colors shooting across the expanse to make it interesting.

The Weyr didn't have its own huge forest or central lake, but they did have extensive gardens and quite a few widely spaced trees with wide paths meandering through with large rest areas suitable for groups of people to congregate. In fact, the gardens took up most of the central cavern's floor space, leaving only about 100 feet clear near the inner walls. There were over 1,000 participants in the dinner tonight but it was hard to tell how many were present from any one of the groups, as they were spread out all over the cavern floor, about 50 people to a group.

"Harry, am I mistaken or are those red lights in the bushes moving?" asked Elizabeth.

"You aren't mistaken. Those aren't ordinary lights, they are clabberts," said Isikara, leaning towards the Queen. "When we created this Weyr, my wife, who is magical, told me about them and how she used to love seeing them in the trees near her home. I had some imported from Earth so she would feel more at home. They are very popular and seem to thrive here. We have been forced to use wards to keep them in the gardens."

"What do they look like?" asked Elizabeth, curiously.

"They are a cross between a small monkey and a frog. They usually live in trees, but we don't have too many of those here, so they have started to live in the bushes too. Would you like to see one up close?"

"That would be interesting if you don't think it would scare them."

"All the red lights you see are because they are 'scared'," said Isikara. "Children run through here during the day and capture them all the time, so I don't think one more capture would be amiss."

He called his fire lizard, Noritoki, to him and gave him an image of him bringing a clabbert to him. It took a while for the fire lizard to understand but, when it finally did, it immediately flew off. He returned a few moments later with what appeared to be a small green, furry ball, which he dropped into Isikara's hand before it curled up on his shoulder.

"Here is a clabbert, Your Majesty," said Isikara, offering the tightly curled up animal to the Queen.

"I thought you said it looked like a cross between a monkey and a frog. The fur is green and very soft, but it just looks like a ball to me."

"Hold it in one hand and gently stroke it with the other," instructed Isikara.

Slowly, as the Queen stroked the small ball of green fur, it opened up and stretched out until finally, she could see bulbous eyes looking at her from above a wide mouth that appeared to have a large number of tiny, sharp teeth peeking out of its wide, frog-like mouth. As it came fully open, a prehensile tail whipped out and wrapped itself around the Queen's forearm.

"I see now," said the Queen, as she continued to gently stroke the creature's back. "I've never seen a frog with teeth or a glowing light pulsing on its forehead, though."

"We used to keep them near to warn of the approach of non-magical people. They have been outlawed now because it attracts too much attention. Non-magicals were always asking why they still had their Christmas lights up," explained Kunie, with a little laugh.

"From what I understand," said Admiral Moore, "you will be able to keep them again. They were recently 'discovered' in London by two unknown children."

"That would be our oldest two," said Hermione. "They drew a tree full of clabberts to the attention of a couple of bobbies patrolling Regent's Park back about nine years ago. They thought it great fun to help with the Dumbledore Plan."

"How much longer until they are ready to reveal the wizarding world to the rest of us?" asked the Queen. "I know I've been told but, with everything else I need to remember, it has fled my mind."

"That should happen sometime around the end of 2058 or early in 2059," said Harry, softly. "I keep track because it's important to us because of its originator, Albus Dumbledore."

"Yes," said Britta, sadly, "It's a shame he had to die so soon. If he hadn't been attacked, he still had at least another hundred years of productive life left to him. It's very sad."

"I agree," said Harry, "but I don't think he would approve of us getting all teary-eyed at this late date. He accomplished a lot during the time he had and we will all eventually meet up with him again for our 'next great adventure'.

"How has your fire lizard been enjoying your vacation to Pern, Elizabeth, since you let him know he wasn't actually required to stay on Earth?"

"He seems to be thoroughly enjoying himself. When I return to my room at night, he is invariably curled up fast asleep, so full he looks like a little brown ball. I think he has found something he really likes to eat here."

"That would probably be all the treehoppers that have infested an orchard we planted here especially to attract them. We train all the Earth fire lizards to go there periodically because they need food from Pern to be healthy."

"That would explain it then, though, I never realized he was such a glutton!"

The rest of the evening passed pleasantly for everyone. The house-elves out-did themselves by unobtrusively removing any empty plates or cups or those where the food was not the correct temperature. They kept the snack dishes on the tables full and promptly responded to any special requests. Harry wished there was something special he could do for the elves but they just wouldn't listen when told to take some time off. He would have to get Dobby and Tisky to sit down with him, Hermione, and May to try to find out what they enjoyed doing on their own time.

Spath's Weyr, Kitchen 0R, Nov 22, 2029, 0700...
Harry was glad to see the entire tour group down to breakfast early. They had a lot to see today, so much in fact, that he had asked for several volunteer witches and wizards to join them to help levitate their guests around. There was just too much walking involved for some of the older guests and even the younger ones probably weren't used to walking around an entire Weyr. He'd had a special "tour bus" created that was basically a platform with low sides and comfortable chairs. No need to explain to them the method of locomotion.

For the first part of the tour they wouldn't need to use levitation though, they were going to use the existing network of Goblin Trolleys to carry the construct as they went through the various sections of the hospital.

Level 2 ERs and Hospital...
"If you remember from your first day here, we referred to our two Level 1 Emergency Rooms as we passed between them. Today, we are going to explore the actual hospital in a little more depth," said Harry, as he led them over to the bottom of the left ramp leading up to ER2. "We have goblin trolleys that are capable of transferring a full-grown dragon anywhere in the hospital they need to go, from the Emergency Room on Level 1 all the way to any of the dragon apartments used as private recovery rooms on Level 2.

"Today, we have added a platform with seating to make your tour a little more comfortable," explained Harry, as he pulled down the boarding ladder so they could easily climb up to the top of the cart. "If you would board, we will be on our way."

After everyone was aboard, Harry continued, "For this portion of our tour, I have asked May Potter and Susan Bones to join us. May is in charge of the hospital and will be able to answer any questions about it and Susan is our Head Woman for our Weyr and will be able to answer any questions about maintenance and upkeep. At this time, I will ask May to take over."

"You will notice that the ramp we are ascending is rather steep. It is 200 ft. wide and 1,000 ft. long giving it a slope of 30%, much too steep to climb comfortably by foot. This one, and its matching ramp on the other side of Spoke Tunnel 0, is designed to allow multiple goblin carts access at the same time. Any cart can go anywhere it's needed from the bottom of the ramps on Level 1 to any place required on Level 2. As you can feel, the ride is smooth and steady, we don't want to take any chances of injuring a critically wounded dragon, or any other patient for that matter. The cart's direction and speed are controlled by an operator at either end of the cart. If I wanted to switch directions, I would simply transfer control from one end to the other and then move to the new set of active controls. It drives somewhat like an automobile in that there are pedals that control speed and braking, but steering is controlled by a joystick since your direction at any time is limited to the track you are on and the junction you are approaching. The rails are sunk into the floor so they do not impede foot traffic and the carts can either gently push any obstacle [or humans] aside, using a magical cushioning charm, or wait until the obstacles are removed.

"We are now entering the Level 2 ER#2. The even-numbered Emergency Rooms are both on Level 2 and specialize in dragon care. As in any Emergency Room in any other hospital, their primary function is emergency trauma care. Once a patient is stabilized and able to be moved, they are transferred either to another Operating Room (OR), if further surgery is required, or to a private room or group ward for recovery. Each Emergency Room has operating facilities for two dragons and five lesser-sized patients, for a total of 8 dragon operating theaters and 20 others, in the ERs alone.

"We have 24 additional, fully equipped ORs along the Ring 2 outer corridor in Sectors 0 and 15 so, in case of emergency, we can move any patient there with minimal delay if the ERs are full.

"At each intersection of Spoke Tunnel and Ring Corridor, there is a Nursing Station, responsible for the care of any patients in the apartments on either side of the stations. Each of the dragon apartments on this level has its own dragon reader with access to anything on our network from books to videos to live view cameras. The lesser-sized apartments also have suitably sized video screens with the same access and privacy charms to allow nearby patients to rest even if their neighbor is listening to music at top volume.

"We also have sealed rooms where we can care for and even operate on, fresh and saltwater species if required. Our Mers prefer fresh water and our dolphins prefer salt. In all, we have ample private rooms for over 500 dragon patients, more than twice that for human or smaller, and 100 spaces for special patients, like giants, dolphins, and mer. Larger rooms are also available for those patients who require less personal care and don't mind sharing accommodations. If both a dragon and their rider are injured, they will always share a room until both recover. Many of the rooms for dragons have been space enhanced so we can accommodate a dragon with its wings fully extended if necessary for wing injuries.

"Each ER has its own Ready Room where the duty Staff can sleep, relax, or otherwise just wait during their shift so they can be nearby in case of need. The rest of Level 2 is taken up with individual quarters and dormitories for Doctors, Nurses, and other hospital support staff who don't have alternative quarters already, e.g., Dragonriders. The operating theaters and dragon recovery rooms are stocked with every piece of equipment that could be thought of that would help dragons. The other recovery rooms are similar but most have much smaller accouterments.

"We are approaching Sector 12 now, so I will let Susan take over."

Student housing and Pern University, 0800...
"Last year Hermione Potter, our Weyr Law Smith, started exploring the possibility of having our own school for advanced magical and mundane studies," began Susan, as they started through Sector 12. "After construction began on the University of Pern, it was decided to convert Sector 11 and 12 of Level 2 into student housing for any students that didn't live in Spath's Weyr. We now have accommodations for 12,900 total students in the two Sectors adjoining Spoke Tunnel 12 which leads to the University.

"The initial cavern was carved out at the ends of Spoke Tunnel 12 reaching from Level 1 to Level 5, a total of 1,200 ft. The stone castle you see on the far wall was then constructed. Each floor of the 30 story castle was carefully designed to be an exact copy of the other floors above and/or below.

"We are still working on the final touches, so we will not actually be entering the Castle you can now see across the cavern from our current location at the end of Level 2, Spoke Tunnel 12, but you can see that it is an imposing edifice.

"Each floor is self-contained with its own classrooms, libraries, and other facilities. Twenty 'Professor Suites' composed of living and office space combined with room for a small laboratory or workroom if they need one for private experimentation gives us the capacity of 600 Professors/Instructors for a student to teacher ratio of just over 20 students per teacher.

"Each classroom will be capable of holding 30 students and has tiered, theater-style seating, looking down upon a combination lecture and demonstration area. One side of each demonstration area is composed of special spell hardened rock where spells could be demonstrated and practiced safely. There is a large demonstration table between the instructor and students that have electrical outlets on the side and a gas outlet that could be connected to a large natural gas container under the table. Behind the instructor is a large whiteboard for writing. It can be raised by pulleys to reveal a large UHD TV for group lectures where more than 30 students at a time need to receive information.

"The classrooms and lecture halls are large enough to accommodate Centaurs if they desired to attend but, due to a desire to accommodate as many students as possible, the grand structure of the rest of the Weyr was not repeated. Dragons would not be able to attend any of the classes in person. If they wished to learn something offered in one of the classes, they would have to attend remotely.

"We have already hired several of the required Professors for some of the courses we are planning to teach. Our own Harry Potter will be teaching some of our Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. Other classes we are going to offer are Master Level Spell Creation, Creating Real World Artifacts using Non-magical Means, Astronomy, Advanced Arithmancy, Advanced Wards, Advanced Charms, Dragon Physiology, Magical Dueling, Wandless Magic, Advanced Healing Magic Combined with non-magical Processes, and Medicine and Physiology of human and non-human Intelligent Magical Species.

"A successful graduate will be authorized to wear a small lapel pin on their left side, near their neck, which looks like an upward pointing arrow. The arrow will be rising from a small coin representing Pern which will be embossed with lettering to indicate the degree earned.

"We are now nearing the Turbolift to take you to your next tour. May and I will leave you here to Harry's tender mercies."

Susan and May stepped down from the platform just outside the Level 2, Spoke 12 Turbolift to the applause of the tour group. After they left, two new riders waited nearby to take their places.

"Before our conveyance enters the Turbolift, we must take a few moments to detach it from the goblin cart," explained Harry. "This is the perfect moment for us all to take a quick break, stretch our legs, and avail ourselves of the facilities before we continue on."

All the passengers of the 'tour bus' gratefully descended from the platform and followed the directions of various guides if they needed to attend to any personal needs. Within 5 minutes the 'tour bus' was ready to go, just waiting for all its former passengers to return. Fifteen minutes later everyone was back aboard, ready to resume their tour of the Weyr's sights.

RTL + Dry Dock, 0900...
After everyone had re-boarded the 'tour bus' sitting on its short metal legs, Harry stood and asked for everyone's attention, "Your Majesty, I would like to present Ronan Clark and his wife Karen. Until my oldest son came of age, he was the second in command of the Dragon Nation. He is still my second in command in Spath's Weyr. He has also always been the Department Head of our Research and Testing Laboratory, RTL for short, and is the one responsible for researching and developing the Dragon Egg transport you used to travel from Earth to Pern. He is also the one responsible for any grey hair I have since he first discovered Pern." Harry looked at his long-time friend with real affection. He knew Ronan and Karen would only be here for this part of the tour and would then have to go back to Earth to continue Ronan's therapy and eventual installation of his artificial fingers. While they were here, he would enjoy their company.

"You seem so young to be second in command to an entire Nation," commented the Queen, looking at a young man who was apparently in his late thirties or early forties. "You obviously have a close connection with The Weyrleader, did it bother you to no longer be a national leader?"

"Actually, Your Majesty, it bothered me more when I lost the fingers on my right hand and thought I would be kicked out of the Weyr. Neither my wife nor I realized at the time that, 'once a rider, always a rider'. Harry has taken very good care of all of us and made sure we have everything we could possibly need. I am only here for this part of your tour because it is my Department and Harry knew we would want to be here for this historic occasion.

"Once we are finished here, my wife and I will be going back to Earth to continue my physical therapy and testing to place artificial fingers on my right hand. As is typical of Harry, he kept looking until he found a way to help me overcome my partial disability resulting from an accident back in 2005. We are there with another rider who lost his leg during a terrorist attack at the end of 1995. We are both hopeful we will not only have state-of-the-art artificial limbs but will also have limited feeling restored to those areas when we are finished.

"Without my friend, Harry, I would have not had a useable right hand at all. Now the remaining missing two fingers will soon be replaced with neurally controlled artificial replacements. So, was I bothered? Not in the least. His son can talk to all dragons, something I cannot do, and something that the dragons themselves require for their National Leader. I was ever only meant to be a temporary substitute for Harry in case something happened to incapacitate him until someone more qualified came along. I have enough to do, keeping up with our research and my children to want to worry about the future of our nation too."

Admiral Moore looked at the smiling young man and was again struck by the apparent age difference in the two, "Are you also magical, Ronan?"

"No, Admiral," replied Ronan. "Both my wife and I are non-magical, but we are group bonded with our dragons, so apparently benefit from the longer life expectancy such a bond provides. I turned 51 in October, but Harry, while younger than me by only a little over a year, still looks young enough to be my son when he bothers to shave! As near as we have been able to determine, our apparent age is about 25% less than our real age while Harry's apparent age is about one-third his real age.

"Now, to continue on with the tour, you will notice our transport is moving into the Turbolift headed towards the back wall. Once Harry enters the coordinates for the RTL, we will come out facing into the corridor. We figured that, if we could transport people from one place to another, we may as well make sure they were facing the right direction when they arrived." As he finished this statement, Harry pressed the 'Port' button, and the front of the 'tour bus' was facing a new corridor. The 'bus' moved out of the arrival room, turned right, and was immediately at the entrance to a huge open plan work area where they could see various mysterious activities taking place across the well-lit cavern. They were rapidly moving out over the area towards a large tunnel at the far end of the cavern.

"Here we continue to explore our dragons' innate capabilities and also research new and improved ways to keep us all safe and to do our jobs better. As you can see below us, various teams of researchers, riders, and dragons are performing different experiments to expand our knowledge of our bonded partners. As we approach the far tunnel, I would like to suggest that Admiral Moore, in particular, might be interested in what is coming."

As the group passed through the opening and into the short tunnel beyond, Ronan continued, "When we finally got settled on Pern we started thinking about what else we might want to do besides just survive. One of our immigrants wanted to set up a Hold near the ocean and bring in sailing boats because he was an avid sailor on Earth. That led us to think about how we could repair and maintain any such vessels on a planet that has periodic intrusions of thread." As Ronan talked, they exited the short tunnel into a cavern 1,000 feet in diameter covered with what could only be a series of ship's dry docks. The largest, in the center, stretched almost from one wall to the opposite wall, with numerous smaller ones situated around it, some containing smaller boats being worked on.

Admiral Moore perked up and asked, "How do you get the ships in here to work on them?"

"If you will all watch, the SPS Dronth is due any second now. One of the sailors on board discovered a slow leak that resulted from an earlier accident that breached the hull. Evidently, the repair wasn't as good as everyone thought, so we are bringing her in to have that section of her hull replaced."

Just then the tour group gasped in shock as the SPS Dronth, all 27,000 plus tons, 820 feet long and 93 feet wide, appeared with a close escort of dragons who had carefully transported the huge ship into the dry dock. Everyone watched entranced as they slowly and carefully lowered the ex-aircraft carrier onto the waiting cradle blocks.

"I never would have believed it possible if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes," Admiral Moore said with awe. "Now I can finally believe all those reports we got after the Dragon War."

"Yes," said Harry, regretfully, "our dragons are capable of great harm, but they really only want to help. We prefer not to remember the terrible times we have been through in order to achieve our independence. We prefer to concentrate on the positive aspects of our capabilities. The SPS Dronth was a warship that has been repurposed to a first response vessel capable of supplying continued logistical and moral support in case of a disaster. She has been instrumental in rescuing people and vessels on Pern's oceans even during the planet's typical storms. We have minimal armament on her simply because we want to protect our investment from the worst that planet may have in store for us with their, as yet unknown, sea life.

"Now that you've seen our dry docks, it's time to move on to our foundry and heavy manufacturing area."

Heavy Manufacturing, 1000...
"We are looking out the end of Spoke Tunnel 2 at our foundry on the left and our heavy manufacturing facility on the right. Our heavy manufacturing is fairly standard," explained Ronan. "In fact, we have reached the point where we are able to create the machinery we need rather than go back to Earth to purchase more. When any of our heavy machinery wears out, we have the capability of either creating replacement parts or creating entirely new machinery.

"Our foundry, however, is quite a bit different. Initially, we relied on forges, molds, and anvils to beat our rough castings into shape. Now, instead of solid molds, we create unique invisible molds using magic to create the initial shapes we need. Since the molds are made of magical force, we can continue to heat the metal we pour into them to get an even distribution throughout the mold. If a gas bubble forms, we can remove it without affecting our end product. Consequently, many things which must be cut, shaped, and constructed on Earth, we simply create using molds. The final product is much stronger and can be welded into place by our ever-increasingly experienced craftsmen.

"We knew we were going to be creating a new hull section for the SPS Dronth, so we purchased sufficient scrap from Earth to create an entire hull section. You can see the glowing metal, seemingly floating in mid-air near the center of the cavern. Dragons will periodically breathe fire on the casting to maintain its temperature until all the metal has been added and the mold is full. Once full, it will be allowed to cool, the magical mold allowed to dissipate, and the final product will either be levitated down to a holding platform until it is needed or it will be taken by one or more dragons Between to where it is needed.

"You don't hear anything, because this entire area has some of the heaviest sound deadening charms our magical personnel could create. Since I'm not magical, I don't know how they did it, but, though you can hear muted noises of the processes that are ongoing, it is quiet enough that voices are able to be heard quite clearly. They must have selectively muted certain frequencies of sound and left those frequencies associated with speech un-affected.

"This is where my wife and I will be leaving you. I need to get back to Earth to continue the process of having my new fingers installed. I hope you have had and will continue to have an enjoyable and educational tour. I understand that you will be going back to the main Weyr from here for an early lunch. Goodbye and may you find peace and shelter under our wings."

Ronan and Karen Clark then left the group, mounted their dragons, and went Between to return to Earth.

Spath's Weyr, Kitchen 0R, 1100...
Harry watched the different members of the tour group interact with each other and his staff. Ronan wasn't here, so he couldn't answer questions directly, but his assistants were in close discussion with Admiral Moore and a few others in the tour group about the advances the Dragon Nation had made in the foundry, milling, and manufacturing processes when combined with magic. In particular, they seemed most interested in how the new hull section would be fitted into place and fastened so there were no leaks.

Harry moved over to the table where the discussion was going on and sat across from Admiral Moore.

"Admiral, if you would like to watch, they should be ready to replace the hull section before you leave," said Harry. "I'm sure we can arrange for you to be there when they bring the new hull section in and attach it."

"I would appreciate that, Weyrleader, especially if we can get close enough to actually see what they are doing."

"I'm sure the witches and wizards installing the section will allow you as close as they are, as long as you promise not to distract anyone from their jobs. Just make sure you wear your flight suits. I understand it can get quite hot, being so close to so much near molten metal."

Gringotts Pern, 1200...
"As you can see, our Goblin immigrants have really taken to mundane technology," said Harry. "On Earth, their bank exclusively uses torches and candles for lighting. Here, they have their own Hot Rock Power Generator, so have taken to using hidden electrical lighting to create an almost shadow-free area for their bank lobby. They have also embraced video recording technology to maintain a watch on their customers and employees alike.

"Instead of their ever-present goblin carts for transporting their clients down to their vaults, they built our turbolift system into their tunnels to be their main method of transportation. You still need your vault key to get down there, it's just a much easier 'ride' now.

"There isn't really much for a non-account holder to see, but I wanted you to have a frame of reference in case you ever got to visit Gringotts Earth. Now, if you'll …."

Suddenly Harry stopped and listened to something only he could hear. Then he turned to the tour group he was leading, "Everyone please follow me out of the bank as quickly as you can. Once we are in the arrival cavern, outside the main doors, everyone please call their assigned house-elf. The Dragon's eggs have started to hatch and we will miss the first hatching if we don't hurry!"

Hatching Grounds, 1203...
Harry and the Royal Tour group arrived en-mass at the top of the guest bleachers overlooking the Hatching Grounds. They could see 118 dragons on the sands, each watchfully guarding an egg. Two of the dragons present had two eggs, for a total of 120 eggs. As the group found their seats, they saw the 250 potential riders run out onto the sands as the dragons slowly withdrew. All the dragons, both on the sands, and in various places around the cavern, were thrumming loudly to the eggs, encouraging them to hatch.

"If you will excuse me," said Harry, distractedly. "I need to be down there to help. My two youngest are on the sands today, hoping to impress."

"Best of luck to you and them," said Queen Elizabeth. "We will maintain our vigil from here."

Harry quickly ported down to the sands, on the far side of the candidates. "Calm down and spread out a little more," said Harry, as calmly as he could. "If you are going to impress, your dragon will come directly toward you, so just form a single line around the eggs and try not to get in front or behind anyone else."

Suddenly one of the eggs shattered so quickly, pieces of shell were scattered for yards around. The tiny bronze dragonet struggled to its feet and started staggering towards one of the figures on the far side of the cavern from Harry. The first hatchling was a bronze, a good sign.

As the direction the hatchling was going became apparent, one of the candidates in the line started moving forward and quickly grabbed the dragonet's head to stop it from falling. He stared into the young dragon's eyes and said, "He says his name is Silinoth!" Harry instantly recognized the voice of his youngest son, Albus Orion Potter. He had impressed the first dragon!

Harry watched with pride as one of the older riders helped escort Albus and Silinoth off the grounds and over to the feeding pens. Harry turned his attention back to the remaining eggs as several started rocking and cracking at the same time.

Hatching Grounds, 1415...
Harry had already helped 15 new riders and their dragonets off the sands and was now near his daughter, Emma. Her dragon still hadn't hatched, so he was trying his best to keep an eye on her, so he could help if necessary. One of the eggs had been rocking weakly for a while when suddenly Emma made a run for it and started beating on the shell. Harry quickly conjured two of the special hatching hammers May had developed and moved up to Emma's side, handing her one of the hammers.

As they both started hammering on the too-thick shell, the egg stopped rocking. Harry hoped the dragonet inside was OK, but he kept up his efforts to break through the shell. As he worked his way around the shell, Emma started concentrating on a new area, slightly to one side of her initial line of attack. Just as she was about to hit the egg with her hammer again, a small black head forced its way out of the ruin of its shell where she had been concentrating her efforts.

Harry, now having chipped a line all the way around the shell, used his Earth muscles and a little extra magic and started pulling on the two halves. When the top finally jerked away from the bottom, the tiny black dragon was spilled onto the sands where Emma instantly cuddled its head to her chest. She looked up in wonder and exclaimed, "She says her name is Besalth!" Harry's second daughter had impressed. All his children were riders! Now, finally, he could stop worrying about "what if's". He carefully escorted Emma and Besalth over to the feeding pens and then returned to the Hatching Grounds. There were still at least 30 unhatched eggs waiting for their riders. He would concentrate on the, as yet, unhatched eggs. He knew May and her team were taking good care of the new riders.

"Dobby"

"Yes, Harry Potter?"

"Please convey my apologies to Elizabeth and ask her if she would like to go back to her rooms or visit some other part of the Weyr. Let her know I will be here until the last egg hatches and the unimpressed candidates have left the sands. If she needs me, ask Tisky to come see me."

"Yes, Harry Potter!"

Harry watched the small house-elf disappear and reappear near Queen Elizabeth. They talked for a moment and she talked to the other members of her group. Some of them left, but she stayed where she was, though Tisky did bring her a pillow. Harry smiled at her for a moment before he had to return to the task at hand.

Hatching Grounds, 1607...
The last egg had hatched! Harry was amazed it was all over so quickly. Only a little over four hours from start to finish. That had to be some kind of record, especially since they had so many eggs. Harry turned to the disappointed candidates and comforted them as best he could, repeating his offer to allow them to stand for impression in as many future impressions as it took, until either they impressed or they were too old.

When the last candidate wandered over to the feeding pens to help the new riders, Harry looked up into the stands. Queen Elizabeth was still there, though she was standing and stretching a bit. Harry quickly ported over near where she was standing.

She started a bit as he appeared and said, "I don't think I will ever get used to people just suddenly appearing."

"Sorry, Your Majesty, but I felt it important to return to my guests. I see you decided to stick it out to the bitter end. What did you think?"

"It was quite impressive, though a bit repetitious towards the end. Every new rider seemed to universally be awestruck at the act of impression. I imagine I got a small sample of that when I impressed my brown, Phillip, but it must have quite a bit more impact with a larger, more intelligent partner. Does it always take this long?"

"Impression is a once-in-a-lifetime event for every dragon and rider, and it never ends," said Harry softly. "I still find myself blessed at having bonded with such a wonderful person as Chekiath."

'I love you too,' said Cheki to him, privately.

Harry smiled and continued, "As for the length, I was surprised. I'm fairly sure this has to have been the fastest hatching we have ever had. Some have gone as long as sixteen hours with far fewer eggs. I think they all wanted to finish up so you wouldn't be forced to sit here waiting on them!"

"Goodness! Sixteen hours!" exclaimed Elizabeth, as Harry escorted her to high tea at Kitchen 0R.

Red Butte Hold and Weyr, Nov 23, 2029...
One hundred and fourteen dragons came out of Between 2,000 ft above Red Butte Weyr. The Royal Tour had arrived for their visit. Harry had Chekiath lead them slowly around the Butte, so they could see it from all sides. The desolate landscape for at least a hundred miles in any direction surrounding the entire area of the upthrust rock was a staggering contrast to the lush plains and forests of the southern continent. Truly, the only safe way to approach this spot was via dragon back.

While reaching it on foot was not impossible, the numerous steep cracks in the landscape coupled with the large, loose rocks on many of the lesser slopes would make such a trek torturous and the ever-present air patrol would see anyone approaching before they were within 50 miles of the Hold. The Butte consolidated the Weyr and Hold as no other. Here, truly, they were together while still being separate. The Weyr covered the crown of the Butte and even had external entrances along a steep cut leading south and a little west from the summit. The Weyr was dug deeply into the tough rock to create a secure and comfortable home for the Dragonriders and their bonded partners.

Outside the lowest Weyr entrance and the Hold's main entrance were large landing areas. Between the two was a wide switchback path, with carefully carved steps at appropriate locations. Harry had everyone dismount at the lower landing in front of the huge, fifty-foot brass doors leading into the Hold. As the group entered through a smaller, inset door in the center of the right-hand door, they saw a huge horseshoe-shaped chamber with a 100 ft. ceiling and doors evenly spaced along the walls. The first door on the left as they entered was labeled "Governor" while all the other doors were labeled with a species name instead of an individual's name.

As the group gathered around Harry at the entrance, a petite young Dragonrider and her dragon stepped forward and bowed deeply to Harry.

"You are most welcome, Weyrleader. We were told to expect you today. My name is Dhadul, Loliath's rider. My Wingman is Namdak, Forenth's rider. I will let the Governor know you have arrived."

"Thank you, Dhadul. You honor me with your help," replied Harry, returning her bow.

Dhadul blushed deeply to be so addressed by The Weyrleader and ran over to the Governor's door and vanished inside. A few moments later, she reappeared followed by the Red Butte Governor, Kane Bryant, a spry 52-year-old ex-International Businessman from Earth, now enjoying his second career on Pern.

"Weyrleader, so glad you were able to make it. Your Majesty, it is an honor to finally get to meet you in person," said Kane as he walked up and jovially shook hands with Harry, Elizabeth, and several of the others close by. "I would offer to take you on a guided tour of some of the suites, but all except the Visitor Suites are combined private quarters, offices, and meeting rooms for the Legislators and Justices currently assigned here."

"That's quite alright," responded Harry, with a wink. "We are only here so our guests can see our one and only Government building. If you could just give us a quick description of what we are looking at, we will leave you to your work. We still have another Hold and Weyr to visit before the day is out."

"Yes, well, it's not very grand, but it manages to perform its job quite well. If you notice, the four doors at the far end of our entry chamber are almost as large as the main doors you just came in through. They are, from left to right, General Legislative meeting and workroom, General Assembly where the Legislators gather in-person to debate and vote on proposed legislation and laws, the main entrance to the multiple courtrooms as well as the grand Court, and the Meeting and workroom for the Justices.

"All the doors on the left are assigned to the Legislature and all the doors on the right are assigned to the Justices. The first on the left is, obviously, my office, but it also contains a suite of rooms where I live with my family and have rooms for personal guests and extra room for those who help maintain our facilities.

"The second and third doors on the left as well as the first three doors on the right lead to visitor suites and barracks for those who need to visit for one reason or another that requires them to stay longer than one day.

From there up to the large doors, are where the Legislators and Judges live with their families and those they have brought with them to take care of non-government business. As with my suite, they have room for their families, offices, and guest quarters.

"We have aquatic species who live with us as well, the Dolphins and the Mer. All I know about their quarters are that they have a safe and fast way to travel between here and where their constituents live and generally attend meetings, votes, and trials remotely, though they are almost always physically present in case of need, as are we all. Eight of the Pern Intelligent species live on this level and the unbonded dragon Legislators and Justices live in the Weyr near the top of the dome. If you look up, you can see that there is a dragon-accessible shaft in the center of the ceiling so they can easily travel back and forth.

"Having completed my description of our facilities, I would be happy to answer any questions you may have. I'm sorry, but our Legislature is in session and doesn't like to be disturbed while they are working and there are no trials scheduled for today."

"How many Legislators and Justices do you have?" asked Alex Spencer, the BBC representative.

"We have nine intelligent species; Cheetahs, Pern Humans, non-magical Humans, Mer, Magical Humans, Centaurs, House-elves, and dragons. The Legislative and Judicial Branches of our new Government allow for three of each to be elected or appointed. This makes for 24 Legislators and 24 Judges. It may not seem like very many, but when combined with our Sapient Bill of Rights, the three magically binding oaths we all must take, and the fact that the use of veritaserum and legilimency are recognized means of arriving at the absolute truth of any situation, we have yet to find any situation that required more than a day to adjudicate.

"Creating laws takes a little more time, but the same requirements make all our Legislators extremely open and honest with each other. If someone asks for a specific law to be passed, every one of our Legislators knows all about it and why it was requested. No one has tried to sneak anything past any of us, probably because of the Nolan Lynch affair."

"Nolan Lynch?"

"He was one of our first Legislators and also just happened to be a wizard. I don't know if his Oaths didn't take or if he managed to get into office without one or more, but he put many of his fellow Legislators under a spell and tried to take over the planet. The Weyrleader found out about it and brought him to justice. He was executed after a fairly short trial. The evidence gathered by our Executive Branch was overwhelming."

"Executive Branch? Sounds almost like the American form of Government."

"It is similar," explained Kane. "The biggest difference is that our Law Enforcement Officers can fly. Every Dragonrider and dragon, unless otherwise employed, make up our Executive Branch. Dragons are incorruptible."

"I see," said Alex.

"Has anyone ever fallen through that great hole in your ceiling?" asked Major Bradley, eying the huge opening.

"Some of the children who live up there used to jump, probably as a dare. That stopped after our local Weyrleader had the protective ward updated to match those at Spath's Weyr. The first few days we would stand around and make fun of the children ever so slowly floating down to the floor. Haven't had anyone jump in a very long time now."

They continued to talk back and forth for another half hour before Harry took the group, via dragon back, up to the Weyr for tea and a rest break. Once everyone had a chance to relax, they were again on their way to one of the original Pern Holds ...

Half Circle Sea Hold...
The Tour Group's dragons approached the Hold from the sea. Harry could see the wide but relatively shallow indent into the shoreline with its distinctive high cliffs on either side descending to just above high tide level in the center. As they approached, Marsh Road could be seen leading off from the center to eventually meet up with Nerat Hold some 90 miles to the south.

As they got closer, the Holdway popped out from the background of the bright sands on the east side of the harbor. The wide causeway was 15 to 20 feet above the water and separated from the beach with a seawall. It connected the hold proper on the right (south) and the Dock Cave on the left (north). The Dock Cave was large enough that it protected their entire fleet from thread with room to spare and doubled as their building shelf, a primitive dry dock. The opening to the Dock Cave was easy to see. It was tall enough for a medium-sized sailing ship to enter and wide enough that several could enter at the same time if necessary.

The entrance to the Hold was harder to see, being at the base of the southern cliff. Even though the double doors are massive to Pern humans, they are small enough to get lost in the vast cliff they are set into. As the dragons turned to the right to approach the doors, smaller openings could finally be discerned; smaller doors and windows into various rooms built into the cliffside.

Obviously, a lookout had signaled their arrival for, as they approached, the double doors slowly started to open. As the dragons settled down on the Holdway in front of the Great Doors, Lord Holder Ildal and Lady Holder Tiane proudly walked out of the hold to greet them.

'Cheki, please ask the other dragons to pass on to their riders they should try not to be shocked by the cramped spaces,' Harry thought to his dragon. Harry could see some of the startled looks of the tour members as the information was passed on. As they walked into the Holds Great Hall, the warning was finally understood. While huge for a human habitation, the 35 ft. wide by 60 ft. long by 30' ceilings was barely big enough for a single dragon. When compared to the thousands of 50 ft cubed dragon apartments, it was lacking.

Still, for a group of humans lacking advanced excavation techniques, it was suitably impressive and the Tour members listened appreciatively as some of the Hold's history was recited. It appeared that most of the Hold was carved out of naturally occurring caverns. Some connecting tunnels had to be hacked out of the rock and ceilings smoothed so that any dripping water flowed down the walls into channels designed to safely remove it from the interior, but most of the current layout of the Hold followed the original structure of the existing caverns.

After a leisurely tour of the major facilities, they all returned to the Great Hall for a tasty lunch and amiable conversation. Harry discussed what would be required to bring in a generator to provide light and heat to the entire hold. Before they left, he even mentioned that their caverns could even be further improved by enlarging them, sealing them against groundwater leaks, and adding hot and cold running water to those rooms that could most use it.

After many heartfelt expressions of appreciation for the hospitality and cordial goodbyes, the Tour Group finally mounted their dragons to jump Between to go to ...

Benden Weyr...
The Royal Tour came out of Between and was greeted by the bugling of every dragon there, including all the remaining Pern-Standard dragons. They circled around the extinct volcano to get a good view of the surrounding area and then flew up and over the lip of the caldera and down into the bowl of the Weyr.

The inner Bowl of the Weyr was a little less than a mile long, but it wasn't circular, it was almost peanut-shaped with the Weyr Lake taking up almost half of one end. There was a lush growth of grass around the lake near the southwestern end of the bowl, so it wasn't surprising that they saw herd beasts penned up south of the lake.

As the group was approaching the northern end of the bowl, Harry had Cheki point out the large opening high on the northern wall which led to the Hatching Grounds. They finally landed near the northeastern end of the bowl, near the Weyrleader and Weyrwoman's quarters. As they dismounted, Weyrleader Meekun and Weyrwoman Juni came out to meet them.

"Weyrleader and honored guests, welcome to Benden Weyr," said Meekun in greeting. "Our Weyrling Master will meet us in the Hatching Grounds. He is so old now that the constant heat helps alleviate the growing pain in his joints and we try not to force him to travel too far from his comforts on the hot hatching sands."

"Your Majesty, it is my pleasure to present Lord Holder Meekun and Lady Holder Juni, the leaders of Benden Weyr and protectors of the Benden Protectorate," said Harry.

After introductions were over, the Lord and Lady Holder escorted them through the ground-level tunnels into the Hatching Grounds. They found the Grounds to be almost a circular area, flattened along the side shared with the rest of the Weyr almost as if two bubbles had formed and stuck together. The Hatching Ground stretched over 1,900 ft from the entrance tunnels and was about 1200 ft. wide with visitor's galleries built along the near right-hand walls and several ledges on the walls where dragons could perch during a hatching. They didn't venture very far out onto the sands before Juni led them back to the cooler area near the entrance.

"As you can see, our Weyrling Master is peacefully asleep in his dragon's arms," said Juni, pointing across the sands. "His bones ache and the heat from the sands helps to alleviate that pain. I saw you arrived on the new dragons and wanted to introduce you to one of our original dragons. Let us return to the main Bowl and I will call down one of our older riders instead.

"We have a unique problem here at Benden Weyr. None of the old Weyrleaders thought anything of having new riders on their new dragons join their Weyrs. Unfortunately for them, the new dragons are not only larger, but they are also much faster than our old dragons. As soon as the new dragons matured, one of them would always outfly the current queen and the new rider would then become the new Weyrleader. Most of the old Weyrleaders stayed to give advice, but eventually, they all came here. We have the largest concentration of ex-Weyrleaders of any Weyr! Sometimes, when there was a true emotional attachment between the old Weyrleader and the Weyrwoman, the older queen would allow a younger queen to take over and the Weyrwoman would then join her husband here when all the Pern dragons were moved to our Weyr."

They walked back into the main Weyr and a small dragon came down from one of the interior ledges with a rider on his back. They landed gently and the group walked over to them.

"This is G'rus and his bonded dragon Daiyanth," said Juni. "G'rus is one of our youngest 'older' riders who helped protect us from thread before Harry Potter arrived from Earth with his new ideas … and dragons."

"You don't sound like you approve," said Elizabeth. "Is there some problem?"

"No problem, Elizabeth, just the sad loss of our beautiful dragons," said Juni, with a sad look. "Harry did his best to talk our original riders into allowing him and his riders to fight thread but were soundly rebuffed. It was only after it was seen that the new dragons suffered no ill effects from thread that our remaining riders and dragons reluctantly agreed to stand down. Until that happened, we suffered appalling losses. There are now less than 300 Pern dragons left in the entire world.

"I had already lost my queen and would have died myself if Harry hadn't asked Enith to be my friend. There will never be a replacement for Moranth, but Enith helps me to cope."

"I am so sorry for your loss," said Elizabeth, as she gently hugged the Weyrwoman to her. "I have learned to understand a little of what the bond between a dragon and their rider entails. I was given a Fire Lizard and love him unconditionally. I can only think that the bond with an intelligent dragon would be so much stronger.

"You are obviously still needed here, or even Enith wouldn't be able to hold you. I just hope she brings you enough comfort to ease the ache of your loss."

Juni initially resisted the Queen's embrace but, as her words sunk into Juni's slightly numbed mind, she relaxed and started to quietly cry, mourning the loss of her beloved Moranth. The two leaders stood quietly together for a few minutes until Juni was able to regain her composure. Harry conjured a handkerchief and offered it to Juni to dry her eyes.

Elizabeth turned to G'rus and looked at his dragon behind him, "Your dragon doesn't look like the ones I've become accustomed to. How are they different?"

"If you will place your hand on his leg," said G'rus, "you will feel the main obvious difference."

Elizabeth did so and started back for an instant before again placing her hand flat on the dragon's leg.

"He is soft and warm!" exclaimed the Queen.

"Yes, our dragons do not have scales, which is why they cannot be protected from thread. There are many other differences, but I will not bore you with a talk about dragon physiology. It seems almost magical that our dragons could have been the progenitors of the dragons from Earth."

"I believe it is magic," said Harry. "We have recently found the Pern Mother and magic has started to re-infuse the planet. I have a feeling that your dragons if allowed to breed only with other Pern dragons, will start to attain the same attributes of the Earth dragons over a period of several hatching cycles."

"Hmm," pondered G'rus, "we still have a queen dragon, perhaps it would be good to try this."

As the Dragonriders thought about the new possibilities, they walked with the Tour Group as they were shown Benden Weyr. The entire time Juni never left Elizabeth's side. It seemed she drew comfort from the older woman. Though they didn't look that different from each other, Juni was 38 while the Queen was 103. A fact that, when she was told, caused much wonder for Juni.

After a grand banquet to say goodbye to their new friends, the Tour Group mounted their dragons and went Between to return to Spath's Weyr for the night.

Pern, MasterSmithHall, Nov 24, 2029...
They left after breakfast as they had been doing and came out of Between over a sprawling complex of black stone buildings, located northeast of Telgar Hold in a mountain clearing next to a stream. The largest building, the main hall, was a large, rectangular, building with steep gables backed up to the rocky hill rising behind it. It stretched 100 ft along the river, was 50 ft. wide, and appeared to be two stories due to the rows of windows on both sides. It had a large chimney at each end and three metal waterwheels turned by three consecutive falls in the river next to the building. Various smaller buildings were spread throughout the clearing with trees among them.

The group landed on the far side of the building from the waterwheels where the only entrance seemed to be a set of extra-wide double doors that spanned at least 13 ft. As they entered the building, they could see it contained just a vast single room, the extra windows on the sides were evidently used to allow extra light to enter. At each narrow end of the room stood a forge with a huge bellows powered by the nearest waterwheel. The forge at the far end was higher to allow for a raised platform.

The center waterwheel seemed to be powering a variety of machines, the only readily identifiable ones were lathes and saws used for woodworking. As they entered the noisy workspace, a muscular man wearing blacksmith leathers and having smoke-darkened features approached.

"Weyrleader! Good to see you again!"

"It's good to see you again as well, Master Grue," responded Harry, with a wide smile. "How have those special contracts worked out for you?"

"Well, the pieces are a bit fiddly and that Master Joyero is very exacting, but he pays much better than we can get for much larger pieces. He says he plans to sell them on Earth as examples of Pern craftsmanship and is only asking for a 10% share in the final price. He even showed us how to create molds that do most of the work, we only need to finish each piece off by hand to meet his requirements. We should be able to supply him with 100 units a month with the apprentices I have on hand."

"Sounds like you have managed to find your place in the new economy. I hope we aren't intruding, but I wanted to show our visitors your workshop and give them an idea of what you normally do here. It's my pleasure to introduce you to the Queen of England from Earth. It is a sovereign nation and has several associated countries that contain more people than are currently living on Pern, more than 20 times over."

"Nice to meet you, Ma'am. I don't think I'd like the responsibility for so many people. I have a hard enough time just taking care of the few we have here! I'd offer to shake your hand but I don't think you'd appreciate the soot!" exclaimed Grue, with a cheerful shout. "Sorry for shouting, but with all the machinery going in here at once, it is a mite hard to hear."

"It's quite alright, Master Grue," said Elizabeth. "I can understand the problems associated with such work as you perform here. What can you tell us about what you do here?"

Master Grue would never have heard what she said if Harry hadn't cast a surreptitious sonorous spell on her just before she started talking.

"Well, we repair old equipment as best we can, though sometimes it's hard to find the right materials, especially for some of the older items. When we can't repair something, if it's important for its use in fighting thread, we do our best to create a new item that works the same or better than the original. Sometimes someone comes up with something new they want us to do, like this Joyero fella. We then sit down with them and decide how best to create what they want and how much to charge for the finished product.

"Most of our work is with metal, but sometimes we get a really big order for something like a trader's wagon, so we also cut and finish wood and create the metal pieces needed to complete the wagon and harness.

"We are always dreaming about doing the same old things in new and improved ways. Sometimes it just remains a dream, but we've had our fair share of new improvements. The Weyrleader has offered to show us their way of doing things and even let some of our apprentices, journeymen, and masters go to this new school they are opening to learn how to do really big things. I just hope that by the time we learn how to do our jobs better we have a place we can accomplish the new ways."

Elizabeth looked pointedly at Harry. "I'm sure the Weyrleader will make sure you all have useful, productive jobs if you continue to work with him. He has been the force behind getting so many others successfully set up in their new lives here, I cannot imagine he would want to leave you out."

They toured the MasterSmithHall and some of its outbuildings for the next hour and then said their goodbyes to MasterSmith Grue.

"I hope you have plans to bring them all safely into the 21st century," Elizabeth said as they mounted their dragons.

"Believe me," said Harry, "I have worried about how to do it every night since we found the planet inhabited. They must feel like they are earning their own way or they will be destroyed as a people. They just need the tools that make the tools and we are in a position to provide that. Right now, I am subsidizing their trade through Gringotts Pern. They are getting almost a flat rate of exchange. What the Goblins aren't telling them is that I'm also investing my own money into them to make that happen."

With that, they all jumped Between to go to ...

Fort Hold, Harper Hall, and Healer Hall...
They came out of Between headed west, towards a huge peninsula jutting south between the Western Sea and the Southern Sea. As they got closer, they could see, built into the eastern side of the mountain chain running down the center of the peninsula, a Weyr near the top and a Hold and several other smaller buildings at the base of the mountain.

"Fort Hold was the first hold established in the north," explained Harry. "It is located about 75 miles south of Ruatha Hold and 150 miles north of Southern Boll Hold. Built into a palisade cliff formation, many openings can be seen dotting the cliff face where dragon weyrs used to be until the dragons got too large and had to move to the Weyr near the top of the mountain. Now they are mostly abandoned with some few being occupied by humans.

"The large, three-story, stone building in front of the main cliff entrance encloses a 300' by 175' courtyard. From the center of the building opposite the cliffs, you can see the ramp leading down to the plain where the Harper Hall is located.

"The Harper Hall is the smaller, two-story, stone building to the south of Fort Hold. Its smaller courtyard leads to the Harper Hall."

As they all landed in the courtyard, Harry saw there were quite a few people waiting for them. As they dismounted, one of the men stepped forward.

"Welcome to our Hold, Weyrleader and members of the Royal Tour. It has been some time since we last met, Weyrleader. I am Lord Holder Gron. I would like to introduce my wife Lady Holder Nella, Fort Weyrleader Shanrol, Vilanth's rider, Weyrwoman Lilne, Luralith's rider, Weyrling Master Hudor, Pumarth's rider, Masterharper Pendan who took over when Masterharper Zechun died, and Masterhealer Med."

"We hope you don't mind, Weyrleader," said Shanrol, "we know you are on a tight schedule and weren't planning on visiting our Weyr, but we wanted to meet this world leader you are showing our planet."

After the introductions had been made, the Masterharper and Masterhealer excused themselves to return to their Halls and the Lord and Lady Holder took the Tour Group on a brief tour of Fort Hold. As they went from the Great Hall over to the Kitchen and through long corridors to the dispensary and then back to the entrance, Elizabeth was constantly asking insightful questions and pushing for knowledge they found time and again they had to send for others to answer. They were most impressed with this petite ruler's intelligence and grasp of knowledge.

They watched with relief as the Tour Group walked down the ramp towards the Harper Hall.

"I swear, she made me feel almost inadequate to be a Lord Holder! I never realized there was so much about our Hold I didn't know!"

"I thought she showed a keen grasp of our limitations. I think we need to talk to someone at Spath's Weyr about installing one of those power generators they keep talking about and indoor plumbing would be so wonderful," said Lady Nella.

As Harry and the Tour Group entered the Harper Hall Courtyard, they could hear a choral group practicing. Alexander Spencer started an audio recording but turned it off a few moments later when someone stopped their singing and started yelling at the singers. "I used to have a teacher like that," he murmured, just loud enough for those nearby to hear and chuckle at their own remembered childhoods.

After passing under the outer archway, they crossed the courtyard and approached a set of double doors at the top of a short set of broad stairs. Masterharper Pendan was waiting for them there.

"Welcome visitors from Earth!," called Master Pendan, jovially. "Sorry for the discordant welcome. Master Buldin was trying to get his Choral Group to sing in key."

"It sounded fine to me," interjected Alexander Spencer. "I was recording it before their teacher started yelling at them."

"Recording?" asked the Masterharper.

Alex pulled his mobile phone out, brought up the short recording, and pressed 'play'. The music of the Choral Group came out, loud and clear, ending in the beginnings of a reprimand.

Suddenly a loud voice yelled at them from the first-floor Choir Hall window, "What madness is this! My students can't sing in tune while inside and suddenly we hear an echo of their disgrace from outside!"

"We will discuss it later," called Master Pendan, as he ushered his guests inside and to the left so they could all sit in the Dining Hall. "Now, please explain to me this wondrous device that can capture voices raised in song."

"It's called a cell phone," explained Harry. "Do you have the phone that was given to Masterharper Zechun when he went to the meeting of Pern Leaders on the Southern continent?"

"Cell phone? There was a small device that we found in his belt pouch, but we could never get it to do anything, so it was put with the rest of his things in storage."

"Hmm, the battery has probably died by now in any case," said Harry. "Can you have someone bring it here?"

"Certainly. MAFAN!"

"Yes, Masterharper, you bellowed?" smirked a young boy as he ran into the room.

"Cheeky rascal, if you aren't careful I'm going to have you doing extra work for Master Buldin! Go to storage and bring me that odd device we found in Masterharper Zechun's belt pouch."

As the boy hurried out of the room, Alex started explaining, "We use these devices to remain in contact with each other and also perform a number of additional functions. We can take still or motion images, record sounds, and even make notes. I don't know how complex the one your previous Masterharper had, but mine is fairly basic and it does everything I mentioned and more."

Pendan examined Alex's phone with awe but refused to handle it himself. "You said it can take notes. How much can you take down and how long will they stay?"

"This particular model will hold the equivalent of over 500 million standard 8 ½" by 11" typed, single-spaced pages of text."

Masterharper Pendan looked confused by the terminology and measurements used but was too embarrassed to let on he didn't know what Alex was talking about.

"Let's just say you could save everything you have written since you first learned to write until the day you died and it would have room for several more people to add their contributions as well," explained Harry. "It holds considerably fewer images or sound recordings because they take more room. If you are interested, I can ask one of our Engineers to come to talk to you about it. We have devices that can copy and store all the information from several phones. You would need someone to learn how to use the equipment and to keep the batteries charged or they will stop working."

Just then Mafan came running back into the room with Zechun's phone in his hand. Harry took it and tried to turn it on with no luck. He then put the battery from his phone into Zechun's phone and it turned on immediately. Harry looked for any audio files that may have been saved and found one. He pressed play …

Masterharper Zechun's voice came out of the phone, "I'm not sure if I'm doing this correctly. If I am, someone, possibly even me, will be able to hear my voice."

Masterharper Pendan and Mafan both stared at the phone as if it had brought the dead back to life.

"That was ...", began Mafan.

"... Masterharper Zechun!" finished Masterharper Pendan. "We must have access to this equipnent you talk of. Please ask your engenr to come talk with us!"

"That's 'equipment' and 'engineer'," said Harry, enunciating carefully. "I will ask a rider to bring an extra battery and a user's guide for the phone right away, so you can be playing with the phone while waiting for an engineer to show up. They will probably call you on the phone to determine when is a good time for you to meet with them. Let me contact someone back at the Weyr about the battery and guide and I can demonstrate about the phone at the same time."

'Cheki, would you ask Andre Liang to call Masterharper Zechun's phone please.'

'Of course, Harry.'

Within a few moments, the phone in Pendan's hand made a ringing sound and vibrated. He was so startled he dropped the phone, but Harry was able to catch it before it hit the floor. He handed the still ringing phone to Pendan and said, "Press this button and then hold it up to your ear. We normally say 'hello' when answering a call."

Pendan did as he was told and a look of wonder spread across his face as he started an animated discussion with Andre about their requirements.

While he was talking, Harry looked at the Tour Group members apologetically, "Sorry about that. You can never tell when some piece of our technology will 'click' with a need for one of the Pern natives. When it does, I try to make sure we follow through as soon as possible."

"No apology required," said Elizabeth. "I like what I am seeing. I can't think of anyone I would prefer to see in your current position. I think you and the Pernese will be on an equal footing sooner rather than later because of your pro-active stance."

"I am finished talking to Dragonrider Andre," said Masterharper Pendan. "What do I need to do now?"

"Press this red button to terminate the call," said Harry. As he was showing Pendan what to do, they heard a dragon landing in the courtyard. "That would be Andre. Can someone go to the door and show him where we are, please?"

Mafan ran out the door and was dragging a grinning Andre into the room a short while later. Andre handed the extra battery he had brought to Harry to replace in his phone.

"Andre, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to walk with us and talk with the Masterharper after we've gone," Harry said with a smile. "He is supposed to be giving us a tour of the Harper Hall."

"No problem, Weyrleader. I would be interested to see some of the Hall myself."

There followed a whirlwind tour of the Harper Hall ending with a dinner for all involved in the Dining Hall. After the dinner, Masterhealer Med took them on a quick tour of the tiny Healer Hall. Harry told him he should also talk with Andre if he had a chance before he went back to the Weyr.

After a full day, the Tour Group were happy to return to Spath's Weyr where they could rest up for their last day on Pern.

Spath's Weyr, Dry Dock, Nov 25, 2029...
Harry had brought the Tour Group members who were interested in watching the new hull section being mated to the SPS Dronth and sealed against water. The rest of the group were relaxing in their rooms or taking one last wander through the merchants in the Weyr or under the canopy.

A group of dragons were busy bathing the edges of the Dronth's hull in dragon fire to heat it to near the same temperature as the replacement part that was slowly making its way towards them. Soon, they would give a final blast to momentarily increase the temperature of the edges of the metal to the melting point. Magical limiting spells were already in place to keep any metal from actually dripping onto the floor of the dry dock, but they didn't want the metal to remain molten for long.

Another group of dragons were bringing the new hull section closer and closer to the Dronth. Most of the metal had finally cooled down to only slightly above room temperature, but now the edges were again being heated to near their melting point and the magical framework was still firmly in place. The new hull section had been magically shrunk to make it easier to move and to make it easier to insert into the opening waiting for it.

"That new piece is way too small!" exclaimed Alex Spencer, as he was busily directing his film crew to capture different angles of the process.

"Just watch," said Harry, reassuringly. "Don't forget, magic is a big part of this process. Without it, this would take weeks or months instead of hours or days. Also, don't forget that much of what you are filming will not be available for display on Earth at this time."

"Right," said Alex. "I'll let Lee Jordan see everything we've recorded and get his approval."

As they watched, the dragons assigned to the ship gave their last blast of Dragonfire and moved away from the hull. The dragons transporting the hull segment replacement using their telekinesis moved the too-small piece into position while accompanying dragons gave its edges one final blast of Dragonfire. The wizards and witches working on the installation moved forward and took over the levitation process while one of them cast the spell to return the new hull 'patch' to its original size. Suddenly molten metal in the ship's hull met molten metal all along the edges of the replacement segment and flowed together, forming a continuous surface as if they had been in the same mold all along.

Several dragons further back "jumped in place", creating a blast of cold air directed at the Dronth's new hull. They were far enough away that only an almost gentle cooling reached the hull, but it was enough to instantly bring the molten metal back to a soft but solid state. Another group of dragons took the first group's place and another cold blast of air reached the ship's hull, fully solidifying the metal hull plates. The attending wizards and witches then released the mold spells and the ship's hull was again one piece, though still way too hot to approach.

"Well, Admiral, do you think you will be using our processes in your shipbuilding or maintenance contracts any time soon?" asked Harry, with a smile.

"Unfortunately, no," replied the Admiral, "though I can imagine the wonders that will be accomplished once this becomes available on Earth. I can't even tell where the old hull ends and the new hull starts and I was watching closely!"

"By the time the wizarding world is finally revealed to the world, we should have many years of working with the process to make it even more efficient and safer," said one of Ronan's assistants. "Shrinking and restoring the patch is a relatively new part of the process. One of our Engineers thought of it when she had to repair a damaged Dragon Egg Transport. Before she came up with the idea of shrinking an exact sized patch and then enlarging it, we used to make an over-large patch and simply melt the edges of it onto the original surface. It left a slight bump, hardly noticeable, but it was there, not something you want for a hydrodynamic surface. This way, there is no bump and there is no difference in structural integrity."

Admiral Moore just grunted to himself appreciatively. He was coming to really appreciate what magic could do for the rest of the world, Earth or Pern.

Harry didn't mention any of the other additions and modifications they were adding to the old carrier.

Spath's Weyr, Farewell Banquet...
Queen Elizabeth had enjoyed her tour of Pern immensely, but today was going to be her last day. She and her tour group had been invited to a farewell banquet to be held in and near the formal gardens with any overflow towards Kitchen 0R.

Harry waved to catch everyone's attention and he nodded to Dobby who signaled the elves to make sure everyone had a full glass. The area fell silent as the elves rushed around to refill glasses.

Harry rose from his seat next to Elizabeth, cast a quick sonorous on himself, and said, "Most of you present today know of some of what Queen Elizabeth has done to help the Dragon Nation. Without her, we would still be fighting to establish ourselves as a Nation; because of her, we are now recognized as such. Because of that, she holds a special place in our hearts. Without her, we would not have managed to advance our cause nearly as fast."

Harry paused and glanced towards her. "Your Majesty, I know that you have only spent a few brief years with us compared to the rest of your life, but I am going to be biased and say that, for us, I think the years you spent working with the Weyr were the most important."

Harry turned to Remus. "Remus, if you will?"

Remus grinned and stood up. He reached under the table and pulled out a large plaque that contained a beautiful bronze casting of a dragon in flight.

"Your Majesty, in appreciation of all that you have done for us, the dragons decided that you should be enrolled on our lists as an honorary dragon rider. Your name will be entered in our rolls and we want you to know that you can call on us anytime, anywhere. You are one of us."

Remus passed the large plaque to Queen Elizabeth who was smiling. The hall broke out in cheers and Elizabeth looked around at the many riders and dragons present, moved by their response.

Elizabeth used her napkin to wipe at her eyes. She was pleased when she was told that the Weyr wanted to hold a farewell dinner in her honor, but never expected this kind of response.

Harry held up a hand and waited for the hall to quiet down again, then he raised his glass. "Elizabeth, we hate to see you go, but we hope you continue to have a long and peaceful reign.

Harry raised his glass. "To Elizabeth, rider, dragon friend, and citizen of Spath's Weyr!"

Thousands of people stood and raised their glasses. "To Elizabeth!" Around the area, throngs of dragons, both inside and outside the Weyr, trumpeted in approval for their Lady Holder.

FF_9879605_409045077 Page 32 of 32