Chapter 32
Indicants
Tracey was a bit miffed. Well, to be truthful, so was Daphne but she hid it better. That had partly been the reason Tracey was miffed. She had been looking at the dragon badges, trying to figure out what was so special about them. There hadn't been any instructions that came with them and the inquisitive part of her mind was tired of trying to winkle out the meanings behind them. Daphne's cool expression was getting on her nerves, dammit.
"Trace? Are you trying to ignite it with whatever thoughts are going through your mind?"
The dry comment from Daphne didn't really help her mood.
"No, Daph, but I wish I could find out what these do."
"What if we asked Harry?"
Tracey snorted.
"Even if he wasn't so distracted with everything going on, he wouldn't know."
Daphne had to nod at that. 'Everything' wasn't sufficient to verbalize all the changes that had occurred at Hogwarts in even the short amount of time since the First Task.
"How do you know?"
"I caught up with him and asked him. He just looked at me with that dumb Gryffindor look of his and shrugged his head."
"Hermione must not have been around at the time. How she got into Gryffindor and not Ravenclaw eludes me."
"You and many others."
"What about Luna? Have you asked her?" The look that she got in return spoke volumes. "Headache?"
"You don't know the half of it, Daph. She just smiled at me and asked if the badges conducted energy by something called plasma."
"By what?" At least her voice showed the confusion that her face didn't, and Tracey felt at least a little better.
"Plasma. I don't know what it is or how she knows about it."
A voice broke in, one that sounded amused. It wavered a bit as it spoke from behind them. They could hear the age in the sound of the considered syllables.
"Plasma is the fourth state of matter, children."
They looked up and around quickly enough that Tracey was sure that she heard her neck pop. A dragon was reclined behind them, the older Chinese Fireball that had been giving the quite popular lectures. Daphne jumped up and tugged Tracey up to stand beside her, who almost fell over again from the way her friend had jerked her up.
"Master Xiang-Zhai!"
The old dragon stood up slowly. The girls could hear his joints complaining but he didn't voice any of his own. He was too interested in teaching the unexpected lesson that had come to him during his repose.
"Walk with me, children. The journey to knowledge – such as the question you asked – starts with a single step; the beginning of wisdom is the statement I do not know."
The old dragon peered at the two young women with a visage that implied that they needed to remember that, before turning off to trudge toward his preferred perch for teaching. Daphne and Tracey looked at each other, shrugged, and followed Master Xiang-Zhai. It took a little longer to reach his intended destination, both thanks to his age and the conversation. He kept stopping to expound on this point or that, and would find little things around the Hogwarts grounds to illustrate whatever point that he was teaching about.
Later, Daphne would say to anyone that asked her that it was fascinating and opened up knowledge that she hadn't had a clue existed. She resolved to ask Hermione for suggestions on whatever this subject was called physics, and for books to read about it. She could already see some parallels between what she knew about the flow of magic and the flow of plasma, whether it was what the dragons used naturally in some breeds for their fire or what the Muggles used in their experiments. She wanted to go around and ask the other dragons how they did what they did and write down the differences for later study.
Daphne was already trying to decide which dragons would be the most helpful in this and decided that Jack would be the best place to start.
Tracey would say later she had a massive headache, and resolved to ask Madam Pomfrey for a potion to help. Her thoughts weren't as intrigued on the subject as her closest friend's thoughts on the same thing, and it took her most of that evening to realize that they still didn't know what the dragon badges were used for.
She liked the old Fireball, she really did, but the old dragon had a way of distracting everyone away from what they wanted to know.
Or what if it was for something that was something they needed to know and didn't realize that? Her eyes widened at that thought.
"Daph!"
|:-:|
Neville had thoughts of his own, although the level of headachiness wasn't as severe. Such a term would have found agreement with him even if it wasn't a real term. He was currently looking at the Yule Ball announcement with a heavy heart. This was not good. Neville had done his very best to ignore it and had spent plenty of time in the greenhouses with Professor Sprout. She had gently encouraged him to get on the ball, so to speak, and he had finally Gryffindor'd up.
The runes in his hands were glowing in support as he walked out of the Common Room. That's what he felt, anyway.
He felt that there was a lot of personal growth since the dragons had arrived but in the case of something like this, Neville still felt at times like the bumbling, forgetful first-year he'd been. There was much that had happened since then but despite all that, he still felt like nothing had changed. It was confusing, at times. Somewhat irritating, too, but Neville kept that to himself.
His steps took him outside, unconsciously listening for… well, he didn't really know but supposed that he would know when he found it.
Neville had been taught some dances earlier in his youth, although 'grace' and 'Neville Longbottom' didn't necessarily go together. It bothered him, but not the instructor. She had said that all it took was practice, practice, and some more practice. There had been some recommendations for this or that to be done, which he'd felt a bit foolish doing. It didn't register on the woman or so it seemed, but he was still grateful for her consistent encouragement. After several months, he'd been able to do a passable waltz and a few others.
That was perfectly suitable for him, to be honest. It wasn't like he wanted to be the center of attention anyway.
The little voice in the back of his mind snorted at that thought. With Harry around and the things he found himself embroiled within it was obvious; how could he not be? With some reluctance, Neville came to the conclusion that he might as well get used to it. Sooner or later, he was going to find himself pulled into whatever happened again, as sure as he'd need to water his plants again tomorrow.
Who could he trust not to make fun of him? This was one of the things that he wished he could talk to his mother about, instead of visiting her not-there form. Professor McGonagall was quite busy with all her duties in the castle, even for all the help that she'd given him in the past. Professor Sprout had her own concerns. He didn't really know the other female professors and he sure wasn't going to Professor Snape.
An idea came to him and he decided that he was going to try it. What harm could it do? This was Hogwarts – it wasn't like there wasn't anything out of the ordinary about this idea. He was sure that the Castle had seen more than a few things 'out of the ordinary,' or for that matter redefined the phrase greatly.
So, he went to talk to Rhiain.
It took a few minutes but he soon found the Welsh Green sunning herself flat on her back with her legs splayed out. It was a bit cold for him, wrapped up as he was but apparently it wasn't that big a deal for her. Neville reflected that maybe the fact that she had a constantly-burning fire within her helped in that respect.
One purple eye opened and tracked him, the iris dilating a bit. He'd known this dragon for a while now, but Neville couldn't deny the fact that the sight of that eye made him somewhat apprehensive. After all, she was an apex predator.
"Rhiain?"
The dragon rolled over on her side, tail lazily weaving through the short grass as she gathered herself up.
"What's wrong, Neville? You look… concerned? Did something happen?"
"Er, no. At least nothing's happened yet."
He looked up at her with confusion on his face and she immediately pulled him into a cuddle.
"Whatever it is, we'll figure it out."
He relaxed in the heat that her draconic body put out and nearly fell asleep. Sleeping wasn't what he'd come here for and he soon started talking.
|:-:|
Ron Weasley had a problem, and he had to decide what to do about it. As befitting his nature, he confronted it head-on.
"Harry?"
"Yes, Ron?"
"How do I get a dragon of my own to help me?"
A moment of silence. Ron looked up to see Harry squinting at him.
"You know, Ron, I wasn't expecting that particular question."
|:-:|
Rhiain heard him out without interrupting.
"So what's the problem here, Neville? Just go up and ask."
"But who?"
A purple gaze regarded him, and he suddenly felt a bit stupid.
"Well, if you were an actual dragon, I would say 'whoever is the most impressed with your fire stream,' however that's not going to work."
The runes in his hands winkled as he shifted position. Rhiain was very warm, but some of her scales had sharpish edges. Neville tried to imagine himself projecting a stream of flame like Rhiain did. He could burp (away from polite company, of course) but didn't want to think about the nasal burn that flames would create. He met her eyes.
"Well, no…"
"And I don't think creating a stone nest would send the right message. Well, unless you're thinking about having someone brood your offspring and hatch a few eggs? Is this the purpose of this Yule Ball? Facilitating a new generation?"
She was very deadpan in her question and Neville blushed. Maybe if he acted like her body heat was warming his face up, she wouldn't notice. Besides, he'd noticed a few of the upper years and Seamus treating the upcoming Yule Ball as an opportunity to be just that – facilitation.
He knew he wasn't ready for something like that!
Rhiain just smiled, knowing what was on her young friend's mind. He might not realize that, but she knew.
|:-:|
"I know you weren't, Harry, but who else could I ask?"
"Annika?" The question slipped out before he could catch it and he grimaced. "Never mind. That wasn't the best idea."
"No, I don't think it was."
Harry thought about it for a second or three and grimaced again.
"She'd help, of course. She loves younglings of any species, it seems…"
"Yeah, I got that impression too, but blimey… what kind of help would I get?"
Harry grimaced. Annika was a good sort, for a dragon, but he'd heard some of the dragon handlers remark about her ditziness. Whatever Ron was needing help with – and from a dragon, of all things – he needed someone down-to-earth.
That was kind of funny, since dragons could fly. A down to earth dragon?
"Can't ask Mum about this," he heard Ron say. "I'd never hear the end of it."
Harry very carefully hid his amusement, then a somewhat unholy inspiration stuck. He got up, hiding his thoughts from Ron as best he could. Luckily, the other boy was distracted with his thoughts and didn't notice Harry's poorly-hidden glee.
"Come on. Let's go see someone."
"Who?"
Ron was equally confused and curious.
"I can only think of one dragon to talk to about this – whatever it is."
Ron's face went pale enough that his freckles stood out.
"Tessaies?" he squeaked.
Harry looked at him, face screwed up in an odd contortion.
"What? No. I was going to look for Kirsa."
"Uh… ok…"
It wasn't until he had taken a few steps that Harry remembered some of the inventive punishments he'd seen her level on her rambunctious brood. Apparently so did Ron, because when Harry looked back, he saw that Ron hadn't moved and was gaping at him.
"Well, come on! Are you a Gryffindor or not?"
Harry set off, not looking back to see if Ron followed. It was a good thing he hadn't, since this was probably going to be a Marauder-level prank and he couldn't hide the huge grin on his face.
|:-:|
"I know who you should be asking things like this, Neville," she gently admonished.
Neville looked up at the dragon's purple eyes and saw the understanding and a glint of humor in them. He didn't think that his draconic friend was… well… up to something, but she'd been around Fred and George now. There was no telling what they'd had introduced her to. The idea of a dragon pulling pranks was a frightening one. It didn't help that he'd observed a couple of Kirsa's brood setting something up to do just that a few days ago. It seemed to Neville that the Twins needed to clue the younger dragons on how not to get caught by their mother, since it didn't take long for that to happen.
She had been looking for them since they had a previous punishment that hadn't been dealt with yet. To say she was less than pleased was like saying the castle was just a pile of pebbles. The punishment this time was something he didn't want to contemplate, and she wasn't his mother!
He shivered to himself, even as he sat up against Rhiain's warm scales. The idea of dragon versions of the Weasley Twins made him feel a bit scared.
"Neville?"
"Huh? I mean, what is it?"
The mother dragon smiled at her human friend, who was well reminded that dragons had sharp teeth.
"I think you're trying to distract yourself with something to avoid what you need to be thinking about. Do you want Luna to go to the Ball with someone else?"
Neville was shocked. How did she know? He looked up at Rhiain, who snorted in amusement. Steam billowed around them.
"Drakes. Always think females don't know what they're thinking." She eyed him as she spoke and watched him blush. "Well?"
"Well, what?"
Rhiain rolled her eyes and sighed toward the sky.
"You didn't answer my question – and stop ignoring it! Do you want Luna to go to this Ball with someone else?"
"No!"
Neville didn't notice that he'd jumped up. The runes in his hands sparkled even in the daylight.
"Surely someone would have taken the initiative by now and asked. She's quite a catch."
"But…but what if someone has?"
"One way to find out, isn't there? Go ask her."
Neville gaped at her, then jumped up and tore off. He forgot to say goodbye to Rhiain, who snorted to herself. Drakes. All the same, whether with scales or skin.
She gave a passing thought to Kirsa's drakes and snorted in amusement, since she was sure the smaller dragon couldn't hear her anyway.
|:-:|
"…and look out for the Whinging Whappersnoodles. Here – put this Alizarine Alp on your collar."
"Here?" The boy was a bit skeptical, but the quirky Ravenclaw he was talking to never treated him like a fool. That mean he wasn't a fool – he hoped.
"No, in the back, right in the middle. They prefer to sneak up and latch onto the point in the back of your skull, then drill into it at a spot just under it. It's hard to get out if it does, but this," she rattled the red beaded whatever it was that she held and continued, "will make them forget what they had been targeting. Then they'll go somewhere else and look for more viable targets."
"Viable?" The boy was a bit concerned. The use of the word target didn't sound good.
"Viable or what we would call less smart or less motivated. Age doesn't matter."
As that could have been half the school when compared to Luna, at least with her class standings in the top ten percent in the consideration, this settled the matter for the Hufflepuff. He wasn't stupid by any means. He did eye the color critically. The beads pulsated even in the sunlight.
"This isn't going to make me want to do Gryffindor things, is it? I'm not going to go off in the middle of the night to do foolhardy things and make Hufflepuff lose points, right? Or poke sleeping dragons or Snape or anything like that? Right?"
Luna stopped to consider that, momentarily arrested by the thought of the skinny boy doing just that. It was a rather amusing thought, to her at least.
"No. Should you get that desire, it'll be all your own and unaided by this. It might be that the Whappersnoodles had a chance to burrow into your cerebellum. You'll know if you start dropping things."
She smiled at him, reassuring him. His eye widened, as he was known in the Sett as being more than a bit clumsy. He grabbed it and whipped it on, feeling a sticking charm clamping onto his collar.
"Here, let me adjust it for you," she said. It took a moment but soon he was off about his business, feeling less clumsy already. The rattle of the beads could be heard from a few feet away. She smiled at his receding form and spoke to the air.
"And what about you, Neville?"
Behind her, the named boy jumped. He was pretty sure that no one had ever sneaked up behind her, especially since the last one that had taken the dare almost immediately found himself curled up on the floor, moaning piteously. It had taken Madam Pomfrey most of the day to convince the rather acute swelling to go down and another day on a secondary injury to convince the knee to knit back together.
She had sent the unfortunate a beautifully drawn 'get well' card along with some chocolates that looked like dragons – Rhiain, specifically. It had taken him three weeks to touch the chocolates, which glared at him in the same way that the Welsh Green did the first time he ventured outside the castle afterwards.
Neville considered that and wondered if Rhiain was up to something again with her 'favorite humans,' and not for the first time. Still he came here for a reason.
"Gryffindors charge forward," he muttered to himself, fairly sure that Luna didn't hear it. There was enough doubt in his mind that he wondered if she did anyway.
"Luna, I was wondering something…"
"Yes, Neville, I will. I would enjoy it, too. It would be my first time, too."
He was brought up short, thoughts arrested.
"What?" he mumbled.
"You wanted to ask me if I would like to join you? Of course, I would!" She rushed up and pecked him on the cheek. "Yellow is a happy color, don't you think? In any circumstance or activity."
"Er…"
"And I'll be sure to tell others that you got in first and that they're far too late."
His mouth snapped shut on the questions that had bubbled up, mind arrested again. Especially now that Luna was hugging him close and jumping up and down on the tips of her toes. Granted, she was somewhat short and he had a good handful of inches on her…
His mind shut down on that thought again and cautiously listened to what she was saying.
"… I like you and you like me, and we could do wonderful things together. Have so much fun!"
He considered that and thought, well maybe I was thinking of the wrong things. She had a gleam in her silvery-grey eyes that he couldn't interpret.
"And I'm sure you'll be a perfect gentleman, correct?"
The way she was looking up at him while still in the hug demanded an answer, even if she was still looking a bit distracted
"Of course, Luna." That seemed safe enough.
"Oh, goody. A perfect gentleman never ever leaves his date unsatisfied, no matter what he does. Every effort is expended to that end!"
Among his sudden choking, he barely heard Luna say "I have to check my robes. Goodbye!"
She was gone before he managed to clear up the perceived blockage.
"What just happened?"
There were no answers forthcoming when he finally managed to gasp that out, but he was fairly sure he could hear dragons laughing in the distance. One in particular.
|:-:|
Kirsa was highly amused. Her two visitors had dropped in and saved her from having to see one of the more neurotic dragons that she knew. He was very smart and very inventive, but those were qualities manifested in smaller quantities than his problems. Relatively speaking, of course. Domir had banned this dragon from being seen for a while by the simple expedient of scorching his wings. Why he wasn't now called Scorch, she didn't know, but maybe his chosen name of Barclay meant something.
Still, she'd rather see the two younglings. Kirsa couldn't deny that. The Speaker had one of the younglings that appeared to be his age nearby and appeared to be cautious.
Well. She couldn't have that, now, could she?
~~What brings you here, younglings?~~
Ron jumped. Neither he or Harry had realized that Kirsa was outside the area of effect for the Translation Charm. He looked at Harry, eyes wide. Kirsa appeared to be quite comfortable in her repose, and the redhead didn't think he could ask Harry to ask the dragon to get up and move somewhere else. He wasn't Charlie, after all.
Harry, for his part, squinted at the posts that denoted the area of the Charm. Kirsa had flopped herself down in such a way that her tail was within the area, but her head was outside by maybe four or five feet. From the very amused look in her eye, she wasn't going to move her head and was quite content to converse in Dragontongue.
Harry wondered if she was up to something – yet again.
"Um, Harry?"
"Don't worry, I'll translate. Go on, ask her."
"Ask her what?"
Harry gave him the best Potter side-eye he could come up with at the moment. Since he was keeping the other eye on Kirsa and whatever she might come up with, doing it gave him a headache. He gave Ron a shove toward Kirsa, thinking to himself that this time last year he didn't think he was going to be doing anything like this. To be fair to Ron, he doubted that Ron thought he was going to be doing this, either.
Ron swallowed. Kirsa was small what most people considered 'dragon-sized,' but she was still hefty in comparison to the two standing in front of her. She grinned at him, coincidentally – or maybe not – displaying sharp teeth.
This didn't help and Harry heard a muffled "Eep!" from the other boy, so he stepped on Ron's foot. The glare he got was shaken off.
The glimpse he took at Kirsa revealed that she was very amused.
"Hurry up, Ron! She's waiting!"
This galvanized Ron into action, of a sort.
"Er… um… well…"
Harry stepped on the other foot.
"Ouch! Harry!"
Harry gave him another side-eye, which didn't help the headache.
"Okay, okay!" Ron turned back to the little mother dragon, who was waiting patiently. One talon was idly tracing dragonic runes in the dirt that Hermione or Daphne would kill to decipher, while the other forepaw was propping up her head now.
"Um…Look, I need help."
~~Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask, youngling. Isn't that what Old Crusty and Beardy says?~~
Harry and Ron looked at each other as Harry translated, and resolved not to mention that nickname to Dumbledore. Fred and George, maybe, but not the Headmaster.
"Uh…yes, I think I've heard him say that before."
Kirsa giggled, the lack of translation making the hisses sound like a very hot rock doused in a good number of fat water drops.
~~So help with what?~~
Ron looked at the mother dragon a little more closely and saw an impish look in her eye now. Hoping that he wasn't making the same kind of mistake that usually came with asking the Twins something, he spoke.
"I need a date for the Yule Ball."
~~And you decided to ask me? Why, I'm flattered!~~
Ron choked on his own spit. Beside him, Harry wasn't doing much better, but at least he'd gotten to know what a draconic prank looked like, more or less. He couldn't say that he was proficient in that, but he had ideas.
"Ron! Breathe!"
Ron hacked up a ball of what Harry hoped was just saliva, but some of it looked like it was a bit of breakfast or maybe tea. He wasn't sure, but didn't want to ask. Unfortunately for Ron, Kirsa decided to ask.
~~Was that supposed to be a fireball? I'm… pleased to see that you care, but it was a bit underwhelming. Quianya would be a better choice for that. She spits Fireballs more than streams. Even with that, I don't see how we could mate. Isn't that what this 'Yule Ball' is for, as I understand it? Finding mates to breed with?~~
The thought of the prim and proper Chinese Fireball 'instructing' Ron was doused in the cold water of the imagery that the rest of the impish dragon had brought up. Unfortunately for the boys, she wasn't done.
~~I'd think that Lángoló haj – your own brother – would have something to say about that, too. Don't you think? Not to mention my drakes, who while they are… well, less than properly mannered sometimes still look out for their mother.~~
Now the other two had thoughts of dragons chasing them for a perceived insult to their mother. Harry had the additional problems of translating with fidelity to an increasingly troubled Ron, and squinted at Kirsa again. She ignored it. He looked at Ron, who was practically scarlet from the crown of his head to maybe his knees. Harry didn't want to guess on that or what else Kirsa was going to come up with to reach his toes.
Unfortunately for him, he found out.
Kirsa stretched out, each languid movement unhurried.
~~Of course, then there's the various things we wonder about. We have to, of course.~~
Neither Ron or Harry wanted to find out what that was, but there wasn't much choice and neither could think of a way out of the next question.
"Wonder about what?"
~~How do your females make sure the male doesn't escape the mating clutch without tails? After all, you're all skinny and scrawny and would slide out far too easily. There's not enough meat on your bones or anything else to get a good grip upon.~~
Again, neither Harry or Ron could think of something to say after Harry finally managed to get the translation out. Ron's mouth dropped open and he gaped at the dragon, who chuckled to herself yet again. Both now had the feeling that Kirsa had been bored and was in the mood to liven things up. All at their expense, of course.
Harry hoped Annika didn't get wind of this conversation. Ron hoped that he could get away, but he was standing in front of a dragon that could easily roast him. He spoke up.
"No! I didn't come to ask you to the Ball! I came to ask for your help in finding someone to ask!"
Kirsa reared up and placed a forepaw on her chest, quite dramatically. Harry narrowed his eyes at her. It was obvious to him at least, that she was hamming it up for all she was worth.
~~Oh! Oh, no! Rejected again and relegated to the trash heap! Whatever shall I do for more younglings to hatch?!~~
Ron went white so suddenly that Harry was sure he was about to pass out. At least it seemed Kirsa had managed to get the blood in the top half of his body to zoom down to his feet. He was quite pale. Harry wondered if this was something Charlie had to put up with and since he wasn't around right, Kirsa had decided to make do with the dragon handler's brother. They both had the same shade of hair, after all.
~~Oh, relax. I'm messing with you. You drakes are so easy to wind up. And close your mouth! Are you trying to catch flies? Of course I'll help you.~~
Ron had been gaping at her, but it took a moment to snap his mouth shut.
"But…but…"
"We all have one, Ron." Harry couldn't help himself, but he just had to say that. Ron didn't notice Harry's snarking.
~~Now tell me what you're looking for. You're not the first drake to need a little help.~~
She looked at Ron again, this time with a squinted eye.
~~Or maybe a lot of help.~~
As she didn't say this with as much volume as she had the other things, Harry decided to keep it to himself. Ron was still recovering from his shock to notice it or that Kirsa had eased back inside the limits of the Translation Charm after her comment.
Harry breathed a sigh of relief as she gently prodded him for answers to her questions. He wasn't too sure he could have handled any more translation along the lines of that!
|:-:|
Tessaies looked up at the sound of the announcer post being scratched.
"Come!"
Her visitor was Albus Dumbledore and a nervous woman that she hadn't met before. She was somewhat plump, as the humans termed it. They all looked lacking in body size to her but it wasn't something that she said, at least where it could be heard. It was rather obvious in any event.
Dumbledore bowed to the Mother Eminence in his way, which meant that it was stylized and a bit overdone. She thought it was somewhat flamboyant, but it was just his way. The woman hesitated for a moment but soon followed suit. It wasn't as showy as the old wizard's way, but it worked well enough. Tessaies still rolled her eyes at the wizard anyway.
"Thank you for seeing us, Mother Eminence," Dumbledore said. Regardless of how his movements had appeared to be 'too much,' his words were truthful.
"It's a pleasure to see you here, Headmaster." And it was, to the mother dragon. She didn't make it a habit of saying things she didn't mean, unless she really had to. In that case, Tessaies was of a mind to remove the reason that she had to say things she didn't mean and move on with her day.
It was something that served her well over the centuries.
As she didn't have a need to prevaricate, she cast a curious eye on the woman.
"And who's this, Headmaster? You don't bring people to see me unless you have a reason."
Unspoken was the addition, and you're not up to something at the same time.
Dumbledore heard both parts of what she mean, both spoken and unspoken. The woman elbowed the old wizard and he winced, which the mother dragon was privately amused by. Apparently, this woman had her own experience with him. Her reddish-gray hair wafted in the slight breeze that came in from the opening in the Quarters that led outside.
"Mother Eminence Tessaies, this is Molly Weasley, mother of Charles. Molly, this is Tessaies, the Mother Eminence of the Hogwarts Dragon Weyr," Dumbledore pronounced, making the introductions and ignoring the sharp elbow that had just prodded his ribs. "She oversees all dragons here, whether permanently-posted or just visiting."
Tessaies eyed the woman in interest. So this was the woman that ruled over her own large brood. She didn't know all of the younglings that Lángoló haj claimed as nestmates, as she hadn't met them all. She had observed the youngest ones somewhat but not closely, but the others had more opportunity than she did anyway. As she looked the woman over, Dumbledore continued to speak.
"Now, Molly, I have to leave you here to talk with young Tessaies..."
This was interrupted by the dragon puffing smoke at him.
"Young? I was five times your age and six times as smart, and more, before you were ever hatched."
Molly chuckled to herself, if a bit forced, to see the old wizard beside her put firmly in his place.
"Ah… yes, of course. Forgive me," Dumbledore fumbled. It had been a long time since he'd had to think about others being much older than he was, and he was still coming to terms with dragons interacting in their new ways with him. He knew a few others of his age that would have had the same issues, as little comfort as that was.
The dragon harrumphed at him and gave him another squint for good measure.
"Anyway, I will leave you to your discussion. Molly, you will be quite safe. I realize that in times past, it was hard to imagine proximity to a dragon was considered so, but it really is the truth."
He nodded to her and scarpered out before Molly could ask him a question. They watched him go before Tessaies turned to Molly and remarked, "He thinks if he leaves quickly enough, I won't remember the bet he lost."
"B-bet?"
Tessaies snorted, tendrils of steam curling around her as she shifted her weight to get comfortable.
"Oh, something he thought he could get away with, but my greater life experiences and intelligence," Tessaies chuckled, "made it a sucker's bet. Albus, however, was the sucker."
"Oh…" Molly didn't know exactly what to say to that, but wondered what exactly they would have been betting about. She didn't think Albus would tell her.
"Now, call me Tessaies, Molly. I wanted to meet you to hear about your experiences in raising such a large brood, and how they turned out. I'm particularly interested in the one that I know the most about."
"Charlie?"
"Yes. I call him Lángoló haj, for his hair. Many of we mother dragons feel protective of him, for everything he does for us. For him, specifically, I have another reason to meet with you."
Molly was quite confused, by now.
"What reason is that?"
"I want to find him a mate, if this Stefaniya Tymofiyivna Shapovalova woman doesn't fit."
Molly paused for a moment. Her confusion was of a different type, now.
"Who?"
Tessaies blinked.
"Oh? You don't know about her? Well, then. I'd say it's time for a Mother's Conclave in miniature. Just you and me, unless there are other mothers that have the information we seek. We're going to discuss this woman's suitability for our boy."
For all of Molly's confusion about this situation, this was something she was fully prepared to discuss.
"I think that's a good idea. What did you say her name was, again?"
|:-:|
In the Forbidden Forest, where he'd been looking for shed unicorn hair, Charlie shivered so hard that he startled a large flock of birds and two centaurs watching him work.