Property of Dragons

"What do you think its supposed to be?" I questioned quietly, tilting my head to look up at the oddly shaped wood carving on top of the entryway to what I was calling the great hall. It was hunched like a gargoyle but had a body of what looked like a bear and a human face…or what I think was supposed to be a face. It looked to be carved out of the same wood that made up the white tree we had seen before being captured.

"Their god perhaps," Severus replied dryly. He was less than pleased with our situation and had made his opinion known at every opportunity he could. "Who knows with these primitive people."

"Sev," I sighed, reaching up to run my hand through my hair. My fingers caught on the braids and I grunted in annoyance. The man I was staying with, Ölduger Loboda, refused to let me leave his hut until my hair had been braided.

He seemed annoyed when I took them out every night to sleep, but he didn't say anything about it the next morning when he placed me before him on the floor and re-braided it. He had put little bronze hoops in the smaller braids along the side of my head today, pulling them back until the met the larger braid down the center with the rest of my loose hair. Severus had taken to using them as grips for his thumb claws, and though they pulled uncomfortably tight when he did so, I didn't tell him to stop.

We were both feeling a little insecure about our situation. Alone in the village with people I was struggling to communicate with and a leader who I was pretty certain wanted me dead, and some sort of oracle woman – who reminded me of a darker and possibly drunk version of Professor Trelawney – possibly uttering prophecy about me that I couldn't understand.

I missed the whelps, and I knew that Severus missed them as well though he denied it at every turn. We could see them somedays, hunting far off in the distance, and though I yearned for their presence, I didn't summon them with the red sparks for fear of what the people would do to them. Occasionally, one of them would get bold and come closer, but I sent Severus to guide them away whenever they did.

Severus would fly them off and return as soon as he could. He liked leaving me alone even less then I liked being left alone.

We had been in the village for just over a week and after a few days under Loboda's roof, I was learning that he had been assigned to watch over me…and I was beginning to suspect it was as a form of punishment. The man who had sat on the highest chair – who seemed in the one in charge of everyone, myself included now – had not approached me since that first day. I could see him every now and then from a distance, and he never looked pleased when he noticed me.

Ölduger Loboda would grab my arm and lead me away whenever he noticed the other man watching me. I don't know if he did it to protect me or him, but either way I was grateful. I didn't like the way the other man watched me.

"They don't have plumbing," he commented idly, for the second time this morning. "They don't bathe daily, the let their livestock inside their homes. And they live in huts!"

"Yes, yes," I interrupted, still gazing up at the odd carving. "So, you have said, many times. And they look more like cabins then huts. You should be more thankful; they didn't have to take us in."

"I'm fairly certain that Magnar person had planned to kill us," he replied as he shifted his weight to shuffle closer to my neck. His talons caught in the black robe, but the spellwork layered into the fabric kept him from causing any damage.

There was a lot of things I was learning about the culture of the people we found ourselves living with. Unfortunately, the hairstyling was the least of my issues.

I consented to the near hour-long hair braiding every morning, but I refused to accept more than the fur cloak that the young man had given me. My host tried to argue the point with me – which didn't do much more than sound like white noise for all I understood – but not even I could misconstrue the meaning of him shoving clothing into my arms.

I was more than comfortable with what I was wearing.

"What gave you that idea?" I asked sarcastically as I shifted to the side of the open doors to be out of the way. People were shuffling passed me into and out of the great hall, looking at Severus and I curiously, but not overly so. "Was it the angry yelling or the guards that looked like they wanted to strike us down?"

"You seem nonchalant about these barbarians wanting your death," Severus replied, bumping my chin with his head and back as he shifted to my other shoulder to get a better view of the 'barbarians' as he called them.

"Yes, well…if I got worked up every time someone wanted me dead, then I wouldn't have time for anything else," I replied, scratching my nails down his jaw and along his chest. A deep pulsating rumble left him that I could only just hear as he was tucked just below my ear. "Are we in the right spot?"

"You tell me," Severus rumbled, stretching his neck and bowing down so I would scratch along the join of his shoulder.

"Loboda said the langr salur," I answered. "I'm pretty certain that this is the building he was talking about," I gestured to the two massive doors that were opened. It was later in the day, but I could still see people eating at the tables. A hunting party had returned earlier, and they were occupying an entire corner nearest to the entryway.

Loboda had taken it upon himself to teach me the language and Arnar would occasionally stop by to participate. It was slow going, but I was beginning to recognize certain words like food, sleep, sit, eat, silence, and bathroom – though I believe it translated more to latrine. I was embarrassed to say it took me nearly a week to realize that the word Ölduger was not a part of Loboda's name but was actually a title.

Severus was the one who had pointed it out to me, when I asked why so many people had the same first name. After the fifth person was introduced as Ölduger, I started to understand that it meant something maybe like teacher or elderly man or something. Everyone who carried the title was an older person of the male gender. And every single one of them had the decorative facial scarring of an oval with pointed ends on the top of their head to below the crown of the skull.

The only one's without decorated scarring of any sort were the children, young adults, and the people with short hair that seemed to be part of the serving class. Severus used the word slave, but it didn't seem to quite fit as I had seen more than one who clearly used to be a servant but now weren't. If they were a slave, I didn't understand how they could be…well, promoted was the only word that came to mind.

Though no longer a servant, their faces remained bare.

A young woman greeted me with a little wave as she exited the great hall. "Kvethjur," I replied as was custom, raising my own hand. Most of the people seemed friendly enough, and I wished that my understanding of the language was better so I could have an actual conversation. Speaking only to Severus made me feel very isolated…though I think his situation was much worse.

It was a few days after the dead attacked when I realized that my two human companions couldn't hear Severus speaking. I started to realize that dragon speech was much like parseltongue. To me it sounded like they were speaking, but to them it must have just sounded like regular animal noises. Loboda had given me more than one odd look when I held a sustained conversation with Severus in his presence.

I sighed again as the woman moved on after the greeting. "I wish the translation spell would allow me to speak to them."

"That is not how the spell works," Severus replied distractedly as he shook his head and straightened back up to watch the people passing us. Like a cat, he only wanted to be petted for so long…and like a cat he wasn't shy about letting me know when enough was enough with his sharp little teeth.

I groaned again at the reminder. Severus had spoken to me in great length more than once on how the translation spell functioned. It was meant for the written language, not speech, and only translated what the spellcaster already understood. If one wanted a book translated from Latin to English, then the witch or wizard had to fully understand both languages or the translated text would be a conglomeration of both.

"I know," I replied in annoyance. "That doesn't stop me from wishing otherwise."

"Well, if you would practice at your Occlumency, you would be much further in your language ability," Severus replied with a dry tone.

"I do practice my Occlumency," I groaned in annoyance. "Twice a day!"

"Practice better then," he snorted derisively, and I had to fight the sudden urge to push him from my shoulder.

"Teach better then," I snapped and Loboda approached before Severus could get off his no doubt witty reply. The man was holding a pile of clothing of which he gave me half and gestured for me to follow. We passed beneath the massive entryway – larger then even the doors to Hogwarts great hall – and I had to blink at the sudden change in light.

It was darker inside, but still brightly lit with the center fire that was always burning, though at this time it burned low. The columns along the sides had metalwork just above my head that held even more fire for both heat and light. Torches lined the walls, and freestanding torches that were decorated with various skulls and bone pieces set between the tables.

Our host led us past the tables and down a side tunnel I almost missed as the thick hide that hung over it was nearly the same color as the cave wall. The moment I entered the tunnel, I gasped at the wet heat that permeated the air. The deeper Loboda led me, the hotter and more humid it became. By the time he led me into another cave room, pulling back a doubled hide stripped entirely of the fur, Severus was dozing with half lidded eyes on my shoulder.

I walked passed our host and stopped just as I realized where he had led me. The cave room was perhaps the most naturally formed that I had seen compared to the great hall and the kitchens. The walls were jutting and jagged but smoothed from the cascading water. Natural light lit the space from the various cracks in the ceiling that water fell from as well, filling the five pools at various levels in the floor.

I could see steam rising from the pools and I was hit with an absolute need for a bath. Three of the five pools were occupied. Various men and women were bathing within, and an occasional child was running naked on the rocks to launch themselves into the water. Their pealing laughter bounced off the walls and filled the room with joy.

Loboda dropped the hide that was trapping the steam and walked over to a dry area with shelves carved into the walls. Another hide kept the steam from entering the little cubby area and I could see various clothing articles lining the shelves and boots underneath. The older man gestured for me once more and I entered behind him. The space was tight, probably only meant for one at a time, but he didn't seem bothered by it.

He set his pile of clothing upon an open shelf and I followed his example, realizing that this was how he was going to get me to wear their clothing. I was more amused than annoyed by his stubbornness and chose to just follow along for now. The moment he started to pull his own clothes off though startled me.

Loboda was not shy about his nudity – as I learned from living with him – but I had never been this close to him while he was undressing. I stood there, looking away as he pulled off the last of his clothes and turned to fully face me. And then he started to speak.

"Oh Merlin," I mumbled, setting my eyes to the ceiling as he gestured to the cubicles.

"Tahka thettja af," he tugged at my robe and gestured once more to the shelves. It didn't take a linguist to understand that he wanted me to strip as well.

"Yes, yes," I replied, waving him away and trying to hide my embarrassment. My cheeks only reddened further as Loboda snorted in amusement and left with a soft laugh. The humidity hit me once more as the flap opened and closed behind him and I groaned.

"Now you are worried about your modesty?" Severus questioned in an amused and smug huff. "I don't see why with what your wearing already."

"Shut it," I snapped, shoving him off my shoulder and ignoring his indignant snarl as he fluttered in the air for a moment before settling high on one of the shelves. Mortified and trying to hide it, I yanked the robe off quickly and toed off the boots. I pulled off my dragonhide pants while Severus nosed around at the various clothing articles. But after that point I was stuck.

I stalled for more time as I folded my discarded clothes and set them on a shelf, but once that was done I was standing there, shifting my weight from leg to leg as I tried to work up the courage to remove the sea serpent leotard. Tugging at the loose neck, I glanced behind me to make certain the curtain was still closed.

"Where is that Gryffindor courage you're always going on about?" Severus questioned as he climbed atop the folded black robe and curled upon his side.

"I said shut it, okay," I hissed, trying not to be overheard as words of conversation filtered through and I was suddenly reminded just how many people were in the bathing pools.

"As I see it, you have three options," he replied, scratching at his muzzle with his hind leg like a dog as he settled for what looked like a nap. "You can either stay in here until our host retrieves us and miss out on the opportunity for a proper bath, strip and get over your embarrassment, or you can go out with what your are wearing now and bathe in it."

My nose crinkled at the listed options, but in the end, I decided to suck it up and deal with it. There was absolutely no way I would be letting the first opportunity for a proper bath since we left the cave however many months ago. Grunting in annoyance, I pulled the neck open and struggled to quickly yank it off of me. It stuck around my waist as it rolled up, but with some quick work I was able to wiggle it down my hips and off.

I stood there naked for a few long moments, holding the white hide up as if to cover myself, before I forced my hands to fold it and set it next to the black robe. Severus had turned his back to me – as was his way when I was changing – and I shifted uncertainly as I tried to decide what to do next.

"Go and bathe," Severus told me as he sensed my apprehension. "I will wait here."

"No!" I hissed quickly, trying to keep my voice down and struggling not to cover myself as he lifted his head to look at me. "Please, Sev," I begged, hands shaking. "Don't leave me alone with them."

He stared at me, purple and green eyes locked onto mine. They did not wander to my nudity, but I found myself not minding if they accidently did. I knew Severus, I understood him. A part of him was inside me, and I found that despite our history I trusted him even with this. Before, when it had just been us and the whelps, I had found it humorous at him sticking stubbornly to his modesty as I bathed with the other dragons, but that was because I trusted he would never try to take a peek.

Now I found that I didn't care.

"Very well," he sighed, pulling himself upright as I turned to face the curtain. I startled a little as he launched himself from the shelf to settle on my naked shoulder, but I lifted my hand to caress his head before he tried to retreat.

Severus was always very courteous and tried to never overstep himself in any situation that could be misconstrued…and being in the same room as a naked student could definitely be misconstrued, let alone in physical contact with said student. I was nervous of the situation and didn't want him to think my anxiety was caused by his presence.

I reached for him again, grabbing his small body and pulling him from my shoulder to tuck him into my chest, just between my breasts. I knew that what I was doing was highly inappropriate, I knew that he wasn't comfortable with what I was doing, but he still let me do it as I exited the cubby area and stepped back into the bathing room.

Gripping him tighter, I hummed in appreciation as he lifted his arms to pinch my shoulders between his thumbs. He spread the membrane of his wings, fluttering them out so as not to touch me but still covering my breasts, and he dropped his tail to hover my front where my legs met my torso. I was still exposed, each step I took towards the water making his tail sway and revealing me to prying eyes, but I gained more confidence as I realized that those still bathing only spared a glance and went back to what they had been doing.

They didn't care about my nudity and I tried to not care about it either as I climbed the few carved steps and stepped quickly into the hot pool that Loboda was occupying. I thought briefly of entering one of the few still unoccupied, but I didn't want to be alone despite also not wanting to be in company while so undressed.

The pool our host had chosen was only occupied by another two women I didn't recognize and one of the men I had seen from time to time patrolling the walls. Once fully submerged up to my collarbone, Severus released his pinching grip on my shoulders and let himself sink into the water. One of the women startled as he breached nearby and exhaled air violently from his nostrils like a whale, and then the group was laughing.

I found myself relaxing despite myself, giggling at his antics as Loboda handed me a soaked rag with some sort of soap bar. It had no scent but lathered very well and I found myself groaning in appreciation as I started to scrub myself vigorously. By the time I had finished rinsing myself off in the cold cascading water, I realized I was halfway exposed and had completely forgotten about my embarrassment to my nudity.

"Komdru hingath," Loboda gestured towards himself and I recognized the words as those of summoning. The closest translation I could work out was 'come here', and I submerged myself briefly to warm back up before swimming over to him. He grabbed my naked shoulder to turn me but released me quickly when Severus hissed at him threateningly.

I flicked water at the tiny dragon as he slithered through the water. Once close enough, I curled my hand around his stomach and pulled him back into my chest. He grumbled in annoyance and tried to make certain his limbs weren't touching anything inappropriate, but he allowed me to cuddle him. I kissed the top of his head in appreciation and let Loboda tug me more back towards him as he started to undo my braids to clean my hair.

He was sitting on one of the few naturally formed shelves and I shuffled awkwardly between his spread legs. My cheeks were no doubt flaming red as I tried desperately not to think about the fact that I had a naked man sitting inches behind me. It became easier once I started to relax, the gentle motions of his fingers in my hair easing the tension in my muscles. Severus curled his head to hook it over my shoulder and glare at Loboda, no doubt making certain he didn't do anything untoward.

The soap Loboda lathered into my hair smelled faintly medical and left my scalp tingling in a decidedly delicious sort of way. I groaned in appreciation and let him guide my head back to dip it under the water and work the suds out. Once finished, he twisted it tightly to press the water out and started to re-braid it once more.

His hands were sure, and though his plaiting was tight, he never caused any pain. I wondered if he had a daughter or wife I hadn't met yet – his cabin was certainly big enough for a family – but I hadn't seen anyone else ever come or go except the occasional messenger. Perhaps they were part of one of the hunting or scouting groups.

I was nearly pruned by the time Loboda gestured for us to get out. Three men had just entered as I stood, water sloshing loudly behind me as I hoped out of the pool. The largest man glared at me. He was pale like all the people that lived here, and his eyes were a light blue. His head was shaved, and his facial scarring was the first I had seen that wasn't symmetrical.

Most of his designs ended in sharp points, his forehead double layered with the lines wrapping around the back of his head to meet in a circle. There was a large scar on the left of his nose that connected with the scarring of his cheek, but it looked more natural then the others, less part of the design and more like someone had sliced his face with some sort of blade. Possibly in a fight.

His eyes trailed after me in a decidedly predator way and I hurried after Loboda.

Severus fluttered back to my shoulder and I tilted my head to bump him gently as Loboda ushered us back towards the shelves. I entered after him and accepted the large cloth fabric he handed me. I realized it was a towel as he used another to dry himself off and I hurried to copy him.

I tried not to stare as he wiped the water off of himself and started to dress, but although he was at least three times my senior, he was built. There was no ounce of fat on his body, the muscles bulging almost obscenely beneath his skin. It was only once he started to turn back towards me did I quickly look away and continued to dry off.

"Merlin spare me the hormones of teenage girls," Severus mumbled as he reached up to latch his thumb claws on a shelf and pull himself onto it.

"Ugh," I grunted, face already heating as Loboda sent me a questioning look while he began to pull on the clean clothes he brought. I shook my head to hide my embarrassment and reached for the serpent hide. He swatted at my hand and gestured instead to the pile he had given me.

"Notathu fötin seim ég khom medth," Loboda's tone was one of exasperation.

I rolled my eyes and pulled the white hide from the shelf. "This," I gestured to it. "I wear this."

He grunted in annoyance, his lip curling in distaste, but let me pull my own clothes on. The serpent and dragon hides did not get dirty like normal fabrics, and though I had been wearing the same thing for my entire stay, I wasn't comfortable wearing anything else. With a quick and discreet flick of my wand, it was just as if they had been washed, and I began to dress.

Once I stomped my feet into the boots, he gestured for me to follow and left. I gathered up the clothes he had brought for me and followed after him. Severus fluttered behind us, deciding to fly instead of hitching a ride, and I laughed at his attempts to glide and hover in order to keep pace with us.

It was difficult for one so fast to try and fly so slow.

Loboda led us into the great hall and seated us near the fire as he waved down a servant. Snape could say whatever he wanted about the primitiveness of the people we found ourselves with, they did make some delicious food with what they had available. It wasn't anything like what the Hogwarts elves could do, but it was better than what I had been eating since we were transported here.

We ate slowly. I was still trying to get used to the odd two-pronged fork and using my fingers for anything I couldn't stab. Severus liked to sniff everything before I ate it, and sometimes he would snatch it off my plate for himself before I could protest. Dogs roamed the hall, mangy and mean looking as they darted from beneath one table to another looking for dropped food. They avoided our section, Severus' presence more than enough to discourage them getting any closer.

Loboda used the opportunity to expand my language skills, pointing and naming things while people came and went from the hall. By the time we had finished I had learned the word for meat – or perhaps the animal it came from – plate, bowl, cup, table, and fire. When he rose from the bench and led me out, I realized that with my back to the fire, my hair had completely dried.

I recognized many of the people who had seated themselves near the fires on the other side of the hall as those I had bathed with and realized that the set up was intentional. People could go straight from the wet baths to the warm hall and dry off fully before going back out into the elements. It was simple, but ingenious in design.

Once back out in the cold, he led me towards his cabin, pointing and naming things as we passed them. He stopped a few times to speak with anyone who approached him, but it was the commotion near one of the perimeter walls that drew our attention. A woman was shouting, and people had already gathered by the time we reached them.

Loboda had to physically move aside the last few people in order to get to the center. An older woman with light scarring along her cheeks was holding a panicked goat at the end of a leash and yelling at something hunched over in the other side of the yard.

"Oh Merlin," I whispered, taking in the creature hissing back at the woman. "Is that Loki?"

The bronze dragon, twice the size of the goat the woman was yanking back, was hunched over what I realized was the goat's kid. The baby animal was bleating pitifully from beneath the dragon, one thumb claw on the kid's throat and the other scratching trenches in the ground as it shrieked at the surrounding people.

"Hari," Severus whispered lowly at me as he landed upon my shoulder. "You need to stop him, if he kills their livestock, they'll try to hurt him."

"Loki!" I shouted to be heard, shoving passed the group and whistling sharply to get the dragon's attention. His mouth was open, teeth gleaming with dripping saliva as he bent towards the goat's neck. "Loki, stop!"

The whelp looked up as I burst through the last line of people and stumbled into the clearing. He hissed a threat at me, hunching further over the bleating kid, and I flinched back as I could see fire burning at the back of his throat. Severus shrieked his own threat in reply, and though Loki didn't back down, the fire did retreat, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Mine!" Loki roared as I took another step forward, his teeth bared and spiked tail swaying aggressively behind him.

"No, Loki. No," I raised my hands and patted at the air as if I could ease his tension with the gesture. I tempted another step and then lowered myself to a crouch as he continued to growl. A flash of red had the crowd gasping behind me, and I fought not to turn as I kept staring down the bronze dragon. I knew that if I looked away, it would be a sign of submission and Loki would take this as a victory and kill the goat.

"Guinevere has landed on the roof of the adjacent hut," Severus whispered into my ear.

"Cabin," I corrected without thought, shuffling forward slowly on my knees and stopping the moment Loki became defensive again.

"Is now really the time?" Snape hissed as he fluttered his fins and perched himself into the launching position – legs bent, tail erect, one wing on my shoulder and the other on my upper arm – in case he had to take off suddenly. He was preparing himself to intervene if he had too, but I prayed it wouldn't come to that.

Loki was much larger than him now and Severus would have to use every ounce of aggression in his tiny body to force the bronze into submission. Neither would come out uninjured, and I was terrified of the thought of them hurting each other.

"Sorry, sorry," I mumbled, patting the air again and wishing desperately that the onlookers would just leave. Their presence was not making this situation any easier and I winced as Loki's thumb claw tensed and I could see blood welling up from where it dug into the baby goat's neck. "Loki," I tried again, trying to keep my voice steady as his eyes darted to the people around us. "Loki, look at me."

"Mine!" He shrieked again, eyes snapping to glare at me again. My heart was thudding so loudly in my chest I almost didn't hear the sound of crunching snow behind me. It was only when Loke rose and fire burned in his throat once more that I realized someone was approaching me from behind.

"Stop," I hissed, flapping my hand behind me to get the person to back off. "Severus, help," I whispered, still too unwary to take my eyes off the bronze dragon.

"Hvér ér meingin medth thess?" A booming voice asked in a commanding tone.

I felt Severus turn on my shoulder and shriek angrily at the person behind me, silencing them. "It's Magnar," he rumbled, his tail lashing whip-like against my chest as he roared another threat. "The idiot is going to get us all killed!"

There was another thump behind me, and a deeper roar joined Severus'. Around me the people were shouting, and it took everything I had to not turn and look.

"Severus, what's happening," I whispered, eyes still locked on Loki's orange ones.

"Romulus has landed in front of Magnar," Severus replied, voice low and his tail stopped lashing and instead wrapped loosely around my neck. "Solar, Roan, and Hera have joined Guinevere on the hut. Gemini is flying overhead. I can't see Ophelia."

"Okay, okay," I sighed, blinking slowly as I tried to map out everyone's location in my head while also trying to figure a way out of this mess. "Severus, keep the others away. I'm going to try and get Loki to release the goat."

"And how do you propose to do that?" He asked as he crawled down my arm and onto the ground.

"I don't know," I grumbled, shuffling forward a little more and stopping once again before Loki started to growl at me. "I'll just have to explain the concept of property to him."

"Good luck with that," Snape snorted behind me.

"Loki," I tried again, trusting Severus to handle everything else while I handled the most difficult of dragons. "Loki, you have to let the goat go."

"Mine," Loki roared, and I could see the crowd flinching back. "Mine, food mine!"

"Food?" Roan asked and I found myself suddenly trying not to laugh as Severus shrieked aggressively at the golden dragon.

"No, no," I replied, smiling despite myself. "Not yours, not food."

"Food, mine! Catch, mine!" Loki replied, the goat crying beneath him as his claws dug in further.

"Loki!" I snapped harshly and he flinched back at the sound of my voice, his claws retracting enough that they stopped digging into the poor baby goat. "Loki," I tried again, less loud and stern. "Not yours, the goat belongs to these people. Their food, not yours."

"Catch," Loki shrieked in reply and I struggle to find the words to explain why he couldn't eat the goat.

"I know," I replied. "But it doesn't belong to you, it's not yours. These people own it, not you."

"Own?" Guinevere asked from behind me, and I could hear the sound of her talons scraping the wooden roof as she climbed closer.

"Yes, own. Like this," I started slowly, tugging at the black robe I was wearing. "I own, this is mine." Then I pointed to my boots. "These, I own. This is mine. That," I pointed to the goat that Loki held captive. "That is theirs," I gestured to the group around us that had been growing with every moment that passed.

Loki's eyes narrowed as he tried to understand what I was trying to explain. "Theirs was," he said after a long moment of thinking. "Mine now."

"No, theirs now," I argued.

"No," Loki hissed. "Mine now, has! Mine now!"

"Loki, no," I groaned, trying to run my hand through my hair but once again forgetting about the braids. "Severus, help me!"

"How?" He asked with a snort, crawling up my hip and back to return to my shoulder. "You were the one who wanted to explain the concept of possession and property to creatures that have very little understanding of either."

"Well, what do you suggest then?" I grumbled as Loki's narrow eyes tracked from Severus to me and back.

"Just take the goat from him," Severus replied, and Loki bared his teeth once more at the suggestion.

"No, I am not going to force him to do anything," I spoke loudly enough for Loki to hear my reassurance. I just hoped he believed me. "Look, Loki," I sighed, trying to start again. "What is own?"

Loki blinked at me, his head rearing back and fins fluttering in confusion. "Harielle," Severus' voice rumbled in caution. "What are you doing?"

"Shut it," I replied. "Loki, what is own?"

"Own?" Hera and Guinevere both parroted from their perch on the roof.

"Yes, what is own?" I encouraged. I hoped that if I could get them to explain to me their understanding, I could find a way to explain to Loki why the goat didn't belong to him.

"Mine?" Romulus asked curiously and I could hear Loki repeat the word.

"Yes, own is what is mine. Own is what is yours," I answered carefully. "What is mine," I tapped my chest to let them know I was speaking about me personally.

Loki tilted his head and I could feel a puff of hot air on my neck as what I assumed was Romulus standing behind me. "What is mine?" I repeated when no answer came.

A nose poked my shoulder and a large thumb claw tugged at my clothes. "Yes," I laughed as Romulus shuffled closer and pulled his wing from my robe. "Yes, this is mine. Severus, what is Severus own?" I tried again, excited that the whelps were starting to understand.

"Own?" Romulus asked, tugging at my arm.

"No," I tugged his thumb claw from the white hide. "No, this is mine."

"Own," Romulus insisted, tugging at my black robe now. I fought the sigh of frustration and disappointment.

"No, this is mine," I tried again, struggling to find a different way to explain when Loki chirruped, and the feeling of bewilderment nearly overwhelmed me.

"No!" Severus shrieked, shaking his head. "I don't own Harielle!"

"Wait, what?" I asked, as Snape puffed up and the whelps started to chirp the word own over and over.

"They think I own you," he spluttered the word and despite the awkwardness of the situation I found myself laughing. "This is not funny!"

"It is a little," I replied, tugging him off my shoulder to cradle him to my chest, ignoring his hissed threats and snapping teeth. "Besides, that would explain your possessive behavior."

"I do not display possessive behavior!" He shrieked in denial, only to shriek a moment later in outrage at Romulus who had been up until that moment trying to crawl into my lap.

"Uh-huh," I giggled. "Try pulling another leg." Romulus retreated from reach as Severus darted up my shoulder to growl threateningly at the brown and teal dragon. "Yes," I told Loki, even as I fought the blush on my face and pulled Severus back to my chest. "Severus own."

"I do not! Stop telling them such nonsense!"

"That," I pointed at the baby goat that was now uttering quiet whines of distress as opposed to the bleating it had been doing. "That belongs to them," I gestured to the group of people. "You take, like Gemini takes food, and they hurt you…like you hurt Gemini when he takes your food."

Loki's eyes narrowed as his eyes tracked my movements. "No own, not dragon," he replied with such certainty that I was left stunned and confused.

Severus crawled into my lap and started to speak with Loki in soft rumbles, clicks, and chirrups. "He thinks only dragons can own things."

"How does that explain me then?" I asked in frustration. Around us the crowd was becoming more anxious and I could hear Loboda behind us arguing slowly louder with Magnar. "How can I own things if only dragons can own?"

"He thinks you're a dragon," Severus replied, blinking up at me with his purple and green eyes.

"Oh," I replied softly. My mind was racing, trying to decide if I should even bother with explaining that I wasn't in fact a dragon, or making him understand that ownership wasn't exclusive to a dragon…from the sound of the crowd, I doubted I had time to do both. "Like his mother?" I asked, even though I knew that wasn't the thought I should be settling on.

"Hari!" Severus hissed. "Now is really not the time."

"Yes, yes…I know. Sorry," I apologized, trying to bring my mind back to the issue at hand. But I found the thought wouldn't leave me. I honestly was conflicted about the whole thing. I had technically raised them, but it felt like a disservice to their actual mother who had fought and died for them for a stupid competition simply because her children weren't pure.

"Focus," Severus hissed, and I bit my lip and shook my head to bring myself back to the topic at hand…the urgent and declining topic at hand.

"Right, yes…" I struggled to find the words. "Humans," I decided to start simple as I gestured to the people around us. "They own too. They own that," I pointed at the building closest to us, a barn of some sort I guessed. "They own that," an abandoned bucket on the ground with goat milk spilling out of it. "They own that," I gestured to the goat Loki still held captive.

"You take from them and they react as dragons," I pulled Severus from my lap and set him on the ground as I shuffled closer until I was within reach of Loki's sharp teeth if he decided to bite. "They'll hurt you, like you hurt Gemini when he takes from you," I repeated and fought not to flinch at his sudden and deep growl.

"No hurt," he rumbled lowly. "Dragon, humans no hurt!"

"Yes, Loki," I replied, ignoring his low and continuous growl. "But humans are many, dragons are few," I gestured once more to the many people around us. When I spared a glance, I realized nearly half the village had us surrounded. "You would hurt many, but they would still hurt you."

His orange eyes turned their glare at the nervous humans, and I could see his claw tense on top of the baby goat. "Loki, look at me," I waited until his eyes settled on me. "They would try and hurt you, but you are mine too. And I would try and protect you, like with the serpent. I would fight, and they would hurt me too. All of you are mine, I protect all of you. The humans protect each other. We fight and all of us hurt. Why, Loki? For a little goat?"

Loki reared his head back, nostrils flaring as his tail waved gently behind him. He looked down at the baby goat that still struggled weakly against his unrelenting grip. "This is easy prey, easy food," I continued. "You are a very skilled hunter, the best," I flattered him, playing now to his pride and Loki preened under the compliment. "You don't need easy food. This is livestock," I said the word slowly and repeated it once more so all the whelps could hear it. "Livestock is food that belongs to humans. Livestock is easy food for lazy dragons."

"Lazy?" Loki hissed the word with a confused warble.

"Yes, lazy dragons who cannot hunt. Livestock is for lazy dragons who cannot hunt."

"Not lazy!" He shrieked, rearing his head back as if to snap at me, but when I didn't flinch or back down, he only continued to rumble in anger. "Best hunter! Best! Not lazy!"

"Then why do you hunt livestock, easy prey?" I asked with a smile even as Loki snarled at me furiously.

His bared muzzle turned into a sneer as he rocked his weight back and forth in indecision. "No hunt easy prey," Loki insisted, and after another moment of his frustrated shifting, he finally lifted his weight off of the little goat and released it.

The baby goat laid there for a long moment before it realized that it was free. Stumbling to its legs, it wobbled shakily away before tottering up to the woman who still held its mother on a short leash. Loki watched the goats as the woman hurriedly led them away with a curious expression. "Livestock," he rumbled to the word as he tilted his head.

"Yes, if prey live with humans, it is livestock. Owned food, easy prey for dragons who cannot hunt. Not for you," I insisted, standing slowly as Severus crawled back up to his perch. "Go hunt somewhere else."

"Food?" Roan asked, fluttering down from the roof and landing nearly on top of Romulus who shrieked in protest.

"Go hunt somewhere else!" I shouted, shooing the dragons away as I approached Loboda and the still arguing Magnar. The large man was gesturing angrily at myself and the dragons, most of which were still perched on building like gargoyles.

"Food?" Another voice asked and I could see people hurriedly parting around a dark tootling form. It was only once she got closer did I realize it was Ophelia who was forcing her way into the clearing, and her eyes were set on the two goats that the woman was still leading away.

"Ugh," I grunted in annoyance, realizing I would have to once again explain it to the one dragon who hadn't been present. "You know, my day had been going so splendidly. I even got a bath in."

"Bath!" Romulus and Roan shrieked and separated from where they had still been wrestling. All of the whelps started to chirrup the word and I fought the urge to pull my hair out.

"Food!" Ophelia insisted as she waddled up next to Loki who turned to her and snapped his teeth near her neck. She reared back and stumbled away from the bronze.

"No food," Loki growled, and I blinked in surprise as he chirruped and rumbled at her. "Little Sister speak, no food. Food for lazy dragon."

"Severus," I hissed, poking his puffed-up chest and not even flinching when he nipped at my fingertips. "Is he explaining property?"

"It would appear so," Snape replied, the proud tone barely smothered by his irritation at my still poking finger.

"That's amazing!" I was stunned by how much dragons actually understood…and then shamed when I remembered the first task of the tournament. It made the reality of using the dragons for the first task even more abhorrent. If they understood the concept of property and possession, just how much did the horntail understand was happening as she was chained in the arena and her nest used as a point of entertainment for her captors.

"We need to tell someone," I began in a hurried and hushed whisper. "When we get back, we need to tell someone about this…" I trailed off as I began to listen to what I was actually saying. When we get back – it had been a long time since I had even thought of home.

"We will," Severus replied just as quiet, no doubt he already figured out the reason for my distress. "When we get back, we will tell someone. Perhaps that Weasley boy, the one that works at the dragon reserve."

"Right," I mumbled near silently. When…not if. "Wait…did he just call me 'Little Sister'?"

"Disappointed he didn't call you mother?" Severus asked with a derisive snort.

"No," I replied, secretly grateful that he hadn't. I had spoken of the mother horntail on multiple occasions, insistent that the whelps understood the sacrifice she had made for them to live. But really, little sister? "Why little? I'm much bigger than they are!" I complained as the gathering crowd started to disperse after a few terse words from Magnar.

"Not for much longer," Severus reminded me, and I groaned at the realization.

"Bath!" Gemini shrieked as he landed before me and started to try and climb up my leg. He was much too big, and I found both hands occupied with trying to hold him up while Ophelia tugged at my pants.

"Bath!" They all began insisting and I turned my pleading eyes to Loboda who was watching us with cautious interest.

"At least you wont grow much bigger," I mumbled as I took a few halting steps back towards the great hall and all the whelps started to trail after, Loki included. "Looks like were taking another bath."

"Look at the bright side," Severus grumbled as he snapped at Gemini who was now trying to crawl onto my other shoulder. The red dragon ended up more half thrown over the shoulder as he was much to big for this sort of nonsense. "They might clear the bathhouse out and you could get some alone time without any people lingering about."

"I suppose there is that," I sighed, trying to shake Ophelia from my leg before she decided to climb up as well. Behind us, Loboda trailed after, keeping his distance from the energetic whelps.

"Food?" Roan asked as we entered the hall, taking in the few people that were still eating and I fought the urge to punt his rear end with the toe of my boot.

"No food!" I shouted, ignoring Severus' derisive snort and led them down the hall to the baths.