Disclaimer – I solemnly swear that JKR owns everything Harry Potter. Whether or not I am up to no good with her characters is for you to decide.
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Harry Potter: Dragon Whisperer
Chapter 16 – The Only Way Forward
7:10am
Thursday, 11 August 1995
Greengrass Manor, Cumbria, England
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Strangely enough, when breakfast was served, the entire family was in attendance. Considering that both of his daughters were on holidays from Hogwarts and that breakfast was served at, what was considered by them at least, to be the 'crack of dawn', this was indeed a rarity.
But then, Cyrus thought, perhaps this is a reflection of their holiday abroad, as brief as it turned out to be.
Romania was a mere two hours ahead of England and thus, Cyrus did not believe that a potion to adjust sleeping habits was required. Consequently, the week away with the slightly different time had been enough to ensure that both Daphne and Astoria rose at a more reasonable hour.
As much as he hoped that it would continue, Cyrus was no fool.
He turned half an ear to his youngest daughter, listening to her talking a mile a minute as she, once again, described seeing dragons and getting to touch a dragon and every little nuance that she could remember from their trip to the Dragon Reserve. And all that despite the fact that the rest of the family had been there and had experienced it alongside her.
For an instant, Cyrus wondered whether the idea of the girls joining them for breakfast was such a good one after all.
But then his eyes landed on his other daughter.
Yes, Daphne was there. In body, at least. But with the side of her face resting on her fist, elbow on the table and a morose expression on her face, he knew that she wasn't anywhere near the breakfast table nor even in the country. At least in mind and heart.
Heart. Thinking that had Cyrus frowning.
Harry Potter, the reason for their trip to Romania in the first place, had abruptly left them mid-holiday. Oh, Cyrus knew that it was business, nothing that the boy could do about it but still, anything that harmed his daughter, even in a roundabout way, he was going to take a very dim view of.
To be fair, he wasn't sure why he hated young Lord Potter more: for breaking his daughter's heart again as he raced off to another country, or for the way he swept his daughter off of her feet. And quite literally at that. Daybreak broom flights and even an afternoon on the back of a dragon!
Again, to be fair, that last might have had a touch of jealousy about it as well; very few, well, precisely two people alive in the world right then had flown on the back of a dragon. The boy could have at least offered!
A tapping at the window interrupted his thoughts and Cyrus looked over to see a bird standing at the window, tapping with its beak. What made this event most remarkable was the fact that it wasn't an owl, the normal method of sending letters about. No, this bird was much, much larger and one that wasn't seen very often at all. Albatrosses were expensive. Extremely expensive and only used to carry international post.
"Oh my!" Penelope exclaimed, her eyes fixed on the albatross.
With a bird of that size and of a type that he was unfamiliar with, there was no way that Cyrus was going to ask one of his family to retrieve the letter. No, that task was for him alone.
Rising, he strode around the table to the window. As he opened it, he could see that there was a tube tied to the albatross' leg. After glancing up at the bird, which seemed incredibly interested in what he was doing, Cyrus tentatively reached out and unwound the string that tied the top of the tube down. A rolled up envelope appeared and Cyrus plucked it out, watching as it grew in size as it emerged.
Then, with its job done, the albatross took off, soaring away.
"Who's it for, Daddy?" Astoria eagerly asked.
Cyrus had to bite his tongue. He didn't want a tongue-lashing of his own later for giving a sarcastic remark to his youngest daughter. Really, who else could it be for? An international letter? There could only be one person that it was for.
Unconsciously, he glanced at the front of the envelope even as he was walking towards his eldest daughter. In fact, his hand was already extending to give it to her when the name of the addressee registered.
Pulling back his hand, Cyrus took a second look. Him?
"The letter's for me," he told not only Astoria, but also the rest of his family.
Daphne's face, which at the appearance of the albatross had lifted, fell.
A tap of his wand unsealed the envelope and Cyrus withdrew a piece of parchment as he sat. Feeling that the envelope still felt fat, he glanced inside, only to discover a second envelope in there. This one, upon drawing it out, he found was addressed to Daphne.
"Astoria, please pass this to your sister," he said.
Instantly, Daphne's head shot up and a bright smile split her face and, once again, Cyrus was drawn into the debate of whether he liked or loathed Harry Potter.
"Who is your letter from, dear?" Penelope asked.
Cyrus glanced at the bottom of the page and blinked.
"Lord Sirius Black and Lord Harry Potter," he replied.
"Really?" Penelope asked and he looked up to see the confusion in her eyes.
"I think that I'll take this to my study and read it there," he said. "If you'll excuse me, my Ladies?"
As he rose, he heard Daphne also asking to be excused. If he knew his daughter, she'd be racing off to her room to read her letter from her boyfriend. Grimacing at that thought, he thrust it from his mind, curiosity over the letter in his hand gaining the upper hand.
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8:45am
Thursday, 11 August 1995
Australasian Dragon Preserve, Australia
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The true size of the Dragon Preserve revealed itself the further that Harry walked.
The previous afternoon, he'd had his first true look at the area that had been warded off to keep the Antipodean Opaleyes of Australia and New Zealand safe, both from magicals as well as muggles. He'd seen the way the sand hills had stretched away into the distance, all the way to the sparkling blue ocean but he simply hadn't realised.
There were dozens and dozens of hills and therefore just as many dips and hollows – far more than there were dragons that lived at the Preserve. And each sandy depression made a perfect place for a dragon to create their own nest that was perfectly warmed by the sun during the day.
With there being so many, it meant that finding one in particular was not impossible, just certainly difficult. Thankfully, Harry had a guide.
With the brightness of the sun, looking up wasn't the best idea, especially when combined with the fact that the scales of the Opaleye reflected the sun perfectly, dazzling and blinding anyone who saw them.
Their shadow, though, that was a different story. Looking ahead, Harry saw the shadow of Cantrum undulating as it passed over the uneven ground quickly getting further and further ahead.
"Next time, I'm bringing my Nimbus," he muttered.
Seeing Cantrum's shadow wheel away to the left, Harry followed along as best as he could.
His feet dug into the sand, making walking hard. His calves were already burning from the countless sandhills that he'd walked up and down. The sand was literally getting everywhere, not only from what he was kicking up as he walked, but also from the very wind itself. And a dragon landing or taking off only made it a thousand times worse. Harry was sure that his boots were full of the stuff. He definitely wasn't looking forward to finding out where else it'd found places for.
"This is ridiculous," he stated, coming to a stop. "There's got to be a better way! I'm a wizard, for Merlin's sake!"
His broom was what he really wanted but it was simply too far away to summon, not to mention that it was still locked away in his trunk. But it did give him an idea.
Flying.
He had no broom and he was no dragon. Nor was Ramaranth around to give him a lift. But surely … Harry's head searched all around, looking for inspiration.
There! Not that far away, half buried in the sand, was a stick. Trudging across to it, he pulled it free. It wasn't much to look at, barely as long as his forearm and only as thick as his little finger.
Concentrating on his magic, he washed his hand over it. Instantly, it enlarged until it was almost half as tall as he was and as thick as his fist. Better, but still no broom, not that it ever could be: it wasn't straight, it wasn't magical wood, there were no bristles or even one of the countless dozens of spells that went into the creation of a broom.
Next, he pulled off his jacket and laid it out flat on the sand; the stick he placed on the bottom of his jacket. Two quick sticking charms, one at either corner, secured it in place. Then, after folding the top of his jacket over, he secured those corners to the stick as well.
Now, he knew, came the hard part. A featherlight charm applied to himself followed by a levitation charm to the stick and jumper followed by something that he'd never tried before. To be honest, he didn't even know if it was possible. He could simply be wasting his time. Still, Harry figured that it was worth a try, especially if it worked.
Closing his eyes, he summoned up as much magic as he possessed. He felt it gather within him, pooling and swirling deep within his core, a living, breathing manifestation, straining to get loose, to be free to do his bidding.
Tentatively, he opened a 'hole' in his core, funnelling his magic out into the very air around him. It leapt, attempting to burst free in one massive eruption of magic and it took everything within him to contain it. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he struggled with it, forcing it to do his bidding.
Finally, it subsided, only 'leaking' out from his magic 'well' just as he wanted.
He felt the very air around him charging as it filled with magic. A spike of excitement almost cost him his concentration and he was forced to slow down.
Then, with his clothes beginning to be buffeted about in the wind that his magic was creating, he grabbed a tight hold of the stick, increased the levitation charm and let his magic loose in a steady, concentrated stream.
His arms strained as he felt himself lifting. He rose onto his toes with the pull of the stick which was in turn being pulled by the charged magical wind that had caught his jumper, sending it flying up and away. Finally, he lost contact with the ground, the sand dropping away below him.
Harry gave a whoop of delight that caused his jumper to flap in the loss of wind. In a panic, he concentrated on his magic, sending more out and had to hold on tight as he was jerked forwards.
Quickly, he searched the ground below, locating Cantrum's shadow far ahead and off to the left.
A thought directed his magic to a specific part of his jumper, turning him in the right direction. After that, it was simply a case of hanging on for the ride.
A bright shape swooped down before him and Harry blinked and peered through his eyelashes in an attempt to shield his eyes as the sun's rays reflected off of Cantrum's scales.
Redirecting his magic, Harry followed.
As the ground approached, he stretched out, eager for the feel of solid ground once more. Ordinarily, Harry loved flying, be it on his broom or on the back of a dragon, and, while he now knew that he could create his own method of flying, it wasn't one that he intended on recreating anytime soon: holding on like that, even with a featherlight charm, wasn't easy. Plus it hurt!
§I did not know that you could fly without wings in such a manner, Speaker§, Cantrum said as Harry pulled in his makeshift kite, cancelled the levitation charm and tucked it under his arm.
§Neither did I§, Harry grinned. §But it sure beat walking. Where are we§?
Harry looked at the depression that they were standing above. It was easily large enough for even the largest dragon to lie comfortably in. As with all of these depressions, it was completely sandy – only the tops of the hills containing any grass.
Looking up, Harry saw that they were much closer to the ocean than he'd ever been before. Indeed, only another two hills separated them from the clear blue water.
§This is where Boolym rests her wings at night§, Cantrum replied.
§I'm guessing that Boolym is one of the dragon mothers that had her clutch stolen§? Harry asked.
§Yes, Speaker§, Cantrum replied quietly.
§Is it okay with Boolym if I go into her nest and have a look? Maybe I can find a clue as to what happened to her eggs§, Harry asked.
Cantrum inclined his head. §You show respect, as you should; your Mark is truly deserved§.
§My thanks§, Harry replied.
Before going down, Harry once again took a long, slow, careful look at what he was seeing. He imagined that he'd need to paint it later as an added way of ensuring that he didn't miss anything.
The most noteworthy thing was the fact that the depression was truly a hollow. The sand rose high on all sides of the half ellipsoid shape. Anyone that wanted to enter Boolym's nest would need to start at the top of the hills and would, theoretically, be easy to see.
Theoretically. After all, Harry knew that there were ways of making oneself invisible – he himself owned an invisibility cloak, a family heirloom, not that he'd really ever used the thing.
Deciding to start his investigation up there, Harry slowly walked the circumference of the tops of the hills. Every step was slow and his eyes continually searched the ground to either side of where he was walking.
Unfortunately, when he returned to Cantrum who was patiently still sitting where he'd landed, Harry hadn't found anything. There were no footprints or vestiges of broken grass or anything. Not that he really expected to find anything, not after how long it'd been with the wind and elements there to scour anything and everything clean.
Only slightly disappointed considering his expectations, Harry descended into the bowl.
Once again, sand went everywhere and he found his feet sliding in the soft white sand. Finally, with a bit of a stumble, he reached the bottom and slightly firmer ground.
A few steps forward was enough to show Harry that he was very unlikely to find anything down there either. The bottom of the depression might be quite large but it was home to a dragon. A rather large dragon. Every time that she'd landed or walked around or laid down or taken off, the sand had been disturbed and kicked up. If there had been any footsteps, they were long gone.
From out of his peripheral vision, Harry saw Cantrum crouched low over his feet, his long head stretched out as he watched everything that Harry did. There might not be anything here to be found but that wasn't going to stop Harry from 'putting on a show' for the dragon.
As he stomped about in an attempt not to get caught up by the sand, Harry deliberately swung his head to either side.
Nothing! There was simply nothing to see! Whatever, whoever, took the clutch of eggs, was long gone, along with any evidence of how it was done. Assuming that there was any in the first place.
It was as he was looking into the far corner, not watching where he was going, that he felt the sand give way under him.
"Ahhh!" he cried, his hands flying up even as the right side of his body fell.
Harry landed hard on his side and winced at the pain in his leg. Panting, he tried to grab hold of his upper thigh, only to find that he couldn't reach it – it was buried in sand!
In a panic, Harry looked about himself. His left leg was still alright and could wholly be seen, even if it had bent up under him when he'd fallen. But of his right leg, there was nothing.
§Speaker§!
The roar of Cantrum's voice coupled with the loud thump of the Opaleye landing bare metres from him and the sand cloud that rose around him had him crying out again. And instantly spitting out the sand that had settled in his mouth.
§I'm alright§, Harry said. §Looks like I just fell into this hole§.
§Do you need assistance, Speaker§? Cantrum asked.
A shake of his head was all his reply even as he planted the palms of both hands flat on the sand and he heaved. At first, his leg felt like it didn't want to move. He pushed harder and then, all at once, Harry felt the sand give and his leg emerged.
The instant that it was free, he rolled over onto his back, panting.
§Speaker§? Cantrum asked.
Ignoring the dragon, Harry sat up and looked at his newly rediscovered leg. His trousers leg was no longer dark blue, instead it was now almost completely white from the sand that covered it. As for his shoe … it was missing.
Frowning, Harry held out his hand and concentrated.
With a plop his shoe emerged from the hole. Without even needing to think about it, Harry caught it before turning it upside down and tipping a stream of sand out of it.
§I'm okay§, Harry said. §No damage done except to my pride§.
Curious, he examined the hole. It wasn't wide. In fact, Harry was sure that he must have simply stepped in the sweet spot for his leg to fall down it like that – a few centimetres either way and he'd have simply been tripped by it. As for its depth, he had no clue. Certainly deeper than his leg.
§Please tell Boolym about this hole§, Harry said, §I'd hate for her to hurt herself by catching her claws in it§.
§It shall be as you say, Speaker§, Cantrum replied.
Pushing himself to his feet, Harry tested his leg. There was a twinge when he jumped on it but nothing too bad.
§I can't see anything here that tells me what might have happened§, Harry said, looking up at Cantrum.
§Is it time to move on to Lundsum's nest§? Cantrum asked.
§Yes, then Vestrym's§, Harry nodded. Then, after a quick internal debate, §Cantrum, can I ask a favour§?
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3:20pm
Thursday, 11 August 1995
Australasian Dragon Preserve, Australia
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Remus stared at Harry as he floated across the sky above them. He was astonished, flabbergasted, even! A few simple charms combined with one of the most obscure and more powerful pieces of magic that he'd ever read about was being demonstrated right before his very eyes.
A firm touch under his chin had him snapping his jaw shut with an audible click. Remus hadn't even realised that he'd been standing there with his mouth open! And what's more, he didn't care.
"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" he managed, still unable to tear his gave away.
"Seeing. Still working on believing," Sirius muttered.
"Weather magic," Charlie said, clearly in awe. "I knew that Harry was powerful. Merlin, we all knew that. Just look at his patronus! Wandless and a magical animal at that. At his age!"
"When you lot have done gawkin' at the lad," Andy stated, "perhaps you can explain to me what's so special."
With willpower that Remus didn't know that he possessed, he tore his gaze away from Harry and directed it at the aboriginal Head Dragon Keeper. The fact that the man beside him seemed impressed but not fazed by what Harry was doing answered the question of who'd closed his mouth for him.
"What's so special?" Remus repeated. "Harry's … Harry's harnessing elemental magic!"
He'd finished by waving his arm towards the still floating boy hanging on to his 'kite'.
"True enough," Andy nodded. "And while I'll admit that not many can do it, it's not exactly unknown, now is it?"
Something in his tone jumpstarted Remus' brain. Andy knew more about elemental magic than he was letting on.
"Have you seen this before?" he asked.
It was also enough to have Charlie shifting his attention to his fellow Dragon Keeper. Sirius, though, never once took his eyes from Harry.
Andy shrugged. "Not like this. But amongst my people, such things are not uncommon even if they are rare. My people are much more connected to the land, to nature and the world around us than most others. I guess that you could say that it's more innate in us."
"What sort of elemental magic?" Remus asked.
"All sorts," Andy replied. "But mostly Earth and Air; Fire and Water, not so much but there have been those that are more in tune with those aspects."
"How many have been able to perform elemental magic at Harry's age?" Sirius asked, proving that he was listening even if his eyes were still turned upwards.
"None that I know of," Andy replied. "In that, yes, our young Speaker is quite unusual. And powerful."
"You don't know the half of it," Remus replied. "You heard him, didn't you? He has no idea that what he's doing is so rare – it's one of those defining characteristics of Harry's magic. If he's not told that something can't be done, then he doesn't have that self-imposed limitation. Thus …"
He finished with another wave of his hand towards where Harry was now wheeling about and heading back towards them.
"Do you have any books about elemental magic? Or know of any?" Sirius asked. "Whatever you've got or can get your hands on, I'll buy off of you."
"Our people do not work the same way as your own," Andy replied. "We are an oral people, imparting wisdom from Elder to child or student as the need for knowledge is needed."
"So, no books then?" Sirius asked.
"No, no books," Andy confirmed. "However, I do have something better. There is a man that I know, one of the most knowledgeable of elemental magics within our people. His affinity is Earth with a smattering of Water, I believe, but he'll know about the other elements even if he isn't a practitioner. I'll ask him to come speak to young Harry, if you like."
"Please, that'd be great!" Sirius exclaimed, finally pulling his gaze away from Harry.
Harry heading directly towards the four men had them scattering, providing him a clear path for landing. They watched apprehensively as he landed, skidding on the dirt before the jacket that had been pulling him along went limp and dropped towards the ground.
"That was incredible, Harry!" Remus exclaimed.
"Amazing, Pup!" Sirius added, bounding up to him. "Mind you, your mother would have been having kneazles seeing you up so high with not even a broom between your legs."
"Your father, though, would be just as proud of you as we are," Remus said, laying a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"They would?" Harry asked eagerly and Remus was reminded that Harry still knew very little about James and Lily. It was something that he and Sirius needed to change.
"Without a doubt," Remus replied.
"You look exhausted, Harry. Are you sure that you're okay?" Charlie asked.
"Yeah, I'm good. Doing that just takes a fair bit out of me," Harry replied.
With a frown, Remus flicked his wand into his hand from its holster and gave a complicated little wave of its tip across Harry's abdomen. Bright red numbers flashed and his frown deepened considerably. Low. Far too low.
"No more magic for you today," Remus stated and quickly continued, talking over the protest that Harry began. "That little piece of magic that you just performed, while incredibly impressive, is also extremely advanced. And you've performed it not once but twice today. Not to mention all of the other, smaller pieces of wandless magic. All of that has added up to the fact that your magical reserves are far too low for my liking."
"Magical exhaustion?" a startled Sirius asked.
"Not quite but on the brink of it," Remus replied.
"Right, you heard your Uncle Moony. No more magic for you. Dinner, then bed," Sirius ordered.
"But I'm not even tired!" Harry protested.
"Dinner, some reading or carving or painting for an hour, then bed," Remus compromised. "You've had a huge day and tomorrow isn't likely to be much better."
For an instant, there was a flash of something in Harry's eye but it quickly disappeared with his nod.
"Okay, I guess I can agree to that," Harry replied.
"Right, come on, I'm starved," Charlie said, throwing an arm around Harry's shoulders. "You can tell me about the Opaleye's nests while we eat."
Catching Sirius' eye, Remus lifted an eyebrow and received an answering nod. With that, the two men, with Andy beside them, followed the younger two towards the Lodge and dinner.