"YOU INVITED WHO?!" Mrs. Weasley yelled at her youngest son.

"Eragon, Mum. He and his dragon are going to be here in a couple of days—" Ron started.

"HIS DRAGON!?" Mrs. Weasley continued to yell.

"Mum, he's the Rider I was telling you about. He's a really nice guy, and we may need his help," Ron said.

"The Daily Prophet has said something about someone causing trouble among the Muggles, and that he had a dragon," Mrs. Weasley stated.

"That's probably the other Rider. Right now, if you include the King of the Empire, there are three Riders. Eragon is fighting to free the Empire. The other Rider works for Galbatorix, the King of the Empire," Ron explained.

Hermione and Harry were amazed. Ron usually seemed disinterested in most of what Eragon had to say. But Ron seemed to have retained some information despite his disinterest.

"What about the dragon, how will I know it will behave? You've seen the scars on Charlie—" Mrs. Weasley started.

"Saphira isn't like the dumb brutes we call dragons, Mum! She's more intelligent than even possibly Hermione! No offence, Hermione," Ron was close to shouting.

"None taken," Hermione said.

"Saphira?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Eragon's dragon. That's her name. She's different from the dragons of our world," Hermione said, coming to Ron's defense. "She's…. well, she's the last female of her kind. She doesn't want a bad reputation. She has control over her instincts."

"He must be on his way by now," Harry said. "We may need Eragon's help, and he may need ours. From the couple of weeks we've been together, we've become friends. Mrs. Weasley, this is the only place we could think of to meet him."

"Well, if he's on his way, then I suppose there's no stopping it. How is he getting here?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"By Saphira," Ron said.


When Eragon arrived at the Burrow, it was well dark, for the owls only liked to travel in the night. Saphira landed as close to the house as she could. The night flying had kept the dragon and Rider hidden from Muggle eyes, as well as all other eyes. They had encountered no problems on the trip.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione, as well as what Eragon assumed to be Ron's family, greeted him as he dismounted. The Golden Trio had no fear of Saphira, and helped Eragon untie the saddle bags, and the saddle. The members of the Weasley family, however, kept back at the entrance to the Burrow.

"Mum, Dad, this is Eragon," Ron said when the party reached the waiting family. "Eragon, you've met Ginny, right? Here's Fred and George, they run a joke shop of their own inventions, and Bill is here too. Charlie is currently in Romania, working with our world's dragons." He didn't even mention Percy, who still wasn't on speaking terms with his family.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," Eragon said, nodding his head to each in turn. "I may only be staying for a few days. The Varden and Surda want to take advantage of the confusion that still exists in the Alagaesian area, and attack the Empire."

Molly Weasley then suggested that they all go inside, where they could sit and talk. She asked if Eragon would like some stew, and Eragon politely refused.

"I only eat fruits and vegetables," Eragon explained. "It feels wrong for me to eat meat."

"So, what exactly brings you here? I mean, why did you need to meet with us?" Harry asked.

"I need to know if there is any way to break into Galbatorix's castle through arcane means and steal the last egg. The last dragon would either even or tip the odds in our favor. My magic, though powerfull, can be imprecise. Take how I got Saphira's egg for example. The elf who was ferrying it between the Varden and the elves was attacked by the Shade Durza. In desperation to protect the egg, to keep it from falling back into Galbatorix's hands, the elf, Arya, sent it to Brom in Carvahall. But, she overshot the distance, and had sent it in front of me while I was hunting, instead," Eragon explained. "I used to eat meat, but not anymore," he added.

"Wouldn't Galbatorix have some kind of magical protection on his castle?" Hermione asked.

"You must remember, for my magic, it takes the same amount of energy as doing it manually. Say I wanted to lift up a rock. Well, a pebble would be no problem to lift, manually or magically. Now say the same pebble weighed so heavy, I couldn't lift it with my own strength and energy. Should I try to do it with magic, using absolutes, I would die," Eragon explained. "He'll have a few wards about his castle, probably maintained by magicians other than himself. The wards would either have to be lifted or the magicians would die if someone tried something with more force than the magicians can handle. If I recall, the magic you use doesn't take quite as much, if any, personal energy to fuel the spell."

"What about guards?" Ron asked.

"I was hoping there'd be a way without entering the castle itself," Eragon said. "I don't want to risk anyone getting captured."

"There is a way, but it's just as risky, and unfortunately, it would be a few days to see if it worked. I mean, there is a spell we could use to call the egg to us, but what would Muggles do if they saw it whizzing past?" Hermione said.

Eragon thought for a moment. "What if you could get close enough to the castle so you don't raise Muggle suspicion? Everyone in Alagaesia knows the existence of magic, anyway."

"But wouldn't that be dangerous?" Harry asked.

"For me. But Galbatorix isn't looking for any of you three. The only problem, though, is that only one of your minds is unreadable. The other two are like open books, begging to be read," Eragon said. "That's extremely dangerous, especially if you came across an enemy magician."

"How do you know?" Harry asked.

"It's rather obvious, is it not?" Eragon asked.

"No," Ron said.

"He can read minds," Hermione sighed, exasperated.

"It's an ability that most magicians of my world share," Eragon said to the stunned faces around him. "There are many things that you must know, about me, and about my world. I've only told what I thought you needed to know. But, if we're to be working together, to fight Galbatorix and You-Know-Who, then I, at least, need to be honest with you."

"What could you want to hide?" Hermione asked, intrigued.

"Several things. One I couldn't utter even if I wanted to, for I swore an oath in the Ancient Language not to tell. Most are just secrets only very advanced and trustworthy Riders know, but one…. One is something personal that only a handful of people knows, and shouldn't be bandied about. Mrs. Weasley, may you and your family, with the exception of Ron, leave the room for a moment?" Eragon asked.

"It's not like we aren't trustworthy," Mrs. Weasley stated.

"It's not a matter of trust. The less who know, the better," Eragon said.

Mrs. Weasley nodded and ushered her family out of the room.

Eragon uttered a quick spell to make sure that no one could eavesdrop.

"I've told you the story of the Fall of the Riders, right?" Eragon asked.

"Yes, you've told us," Hermione said. "Galbatorix and the Forsworn destroyed their own order, right?"

"Yes. Dragons live for a very long time. That longevity is passed to their Riders, if the dragon has a Rider. Galbatorix slew all the remaining 'wild' dragons, dragons without Riders. Anyway, It wasn't too long ago that Brom, the storyteller, the Rider who lost his dragon to the Forsworn, killed Morzan, the last of the Forsworn, and the right hand man of Galbatorix. Now, one of Morzan's sons fills that capacity, by an oath that cannot be broken. Morzan's other son works to free the Empire of Galbatorix's grip," Eragon spoke.

"So Morzan's other son works for the Varden?" Harry asked. Eragon nodded.

"Are you sure you can trust the son of someone who helped destroyed the Riders?" Ron asked.

"You're looking at Morzan's other son," the trio gasped at this, and Eragon continued, "I'm not like my real father, and I'm not like Murtagh, my real brother. My late uncle, Garrow, raised me, and was more of a father than Morzan ever could be. I consider Roran, my cousin, my brother."

"No wonder you want as few people as possible to know about this," Hermione said. "But why tell us?"

"Because, I know you three are trustworthy. I've gathered that much from Harry's and Ron's minds. Also, I don't know if anyone besides the few people I told, Murtagh, and Galbatorix knows. I don't even know if Galbatorix knows, but knowing the loyalty oath, Murtagh may be bound to tell Galbatorix. Galbatorix will surely have told his most trusted generals and magicians if he knew. And I'm sure it's not information either side wants bandied about just yet. Galbatorix is mad, but he's no fool," Eragon explained. "There are many other things you should know. I've been adopted as a kinsman in Durgrimst Ingeitum, by the late king Hrothgar. I accidentally cursed a baby, making her a shield from misfortune, instead of being shielded from misfortune. I'm not really older than you. The first time I got drunk was in a tavern with Brom, and I had a hangover the next day. And the first time Saphira got drunk was in a celebration at Farthen Dur, and she fell over trying to bow," all three of the trio snickered at this, but Hermione was the first to sober up. "There are too many things to tell. I killed Durza only because I was lucky, and Arya had distracted him long enough for me to ram my sword through his dark heart."

"Do you think Vol—I mean You-Know-Who will join forces with Galbatorix?" Harry asked.

"There is that possibility. It really depends on how power hungry You-Know-Who is," Eragon said. "From what I've gathered, if they do join forces, it'll only be temporary. Both are too power hungry to share control. One would have to be the underling of the other. But neither would like to be the underling, right?"

"Right," Harry responded. He had encountered the Dark Lord, and knew more about him than anyone in the room.

"So, even though they may make a temporary alliance, they won't stay allies forever," Ron said, restating the obvious.

"I think the biggest problem for all of us is what will You-Know-Who do when he realizes that most of the 'Muggles' of my world already know of the existence of magic," Eragon said.

"You-Know-Who despises Muggles. He may decide to attack more openly," Hermione said.

"It would be really bad for all of us magic users if the Muggles found out about magic through mass cursings and magical killings," Eragon said. "Magic isn't exactly completely trusted in Alagaesia, with the exception of among the elves and possibly the dwarves."

"So, what do we do?" Ron asked.

"I must first teach you how to shield your mind from enemy magicians," Eragon said, and Harry groaned. "It won't be like the lessons you took before, Harry, and this is much simpler. Second, we need to find a way to get you into Uru'baen without much notice, and close enough to the castle to get the egg magically. I won't be much help there, as everyone in Alagaesia will have known my face from Wanted signs posted."

"We also need an escape plan for getting out of the city when we do get the egg," Hermione said.

"Why don't we just Apparate?" Ron asked.

"Cause non of us has a license yet," Hermione shot back.

"If we use the invisibility cloak, and Apparate to a place where no one would know, I think it'd be alright," Harry said. "Besides, we need to take action. I'm sick of waiting around."

Hermione sighed. She knew Harry and Ron were right.

"I'd also be willing to return the favor," Eragon said. "Saphira said that she would also help return the favor."

"We were about to go try to find Horcruxes," Hermione said.

"Maybe Eragon could help us with that," Harry said.

"I could, if I knew what to look for," Eragon said.

"Anything that might have been of value to the Dark Lord," Harry responded.

"Still doesn't give me much clue," Eragon said. "Well, I could make sure trouble doesn't come looking for you as you look for these Horcruxes. But, first, I'd like to teach you how to defend your minds from magicians of my world. Focus on one thing, and one thing only. That simple. But for some reason, some find this difficult to do… especially in the middle of a battle. Block out all thought except for one. That thought then becomes a wall. The thought could be of anything insignificant, such as a particular scale on Saphira, or a particular emotion," Eragon said. "It's harder to do if you're doing something, but it's possible. I fought Durza, both physically and mentally, with my own wall up."

"Just focus on a single thing," Harry repeated.

"That's the simplest way of doing it. I'm not sure about mind readers of your world, but if you can master this, and do so while doing other tasks, you'll be set against the magicians of mine," Eragon said. "Now, the three of you try it. Yes, you too, Hermione. You're natural shield may not hold against a thorough probing. I'll try to be gentle when I probe, but it will hurt if I break through your defenses. But it's necessary if you're to go into enemy territory."

Harry inhaled deeply, readying himself. I won't fail this time, he thought. Then, he started his concentration. He focused on the grain of the table in the room.

Ron focused on a button on Eragon's shirt, while Hermione focused on a fork.

Suddenly, Ron gasped, and Harry lost his concentration. Hermione looked up when Harry had gasped.

"I told you that it would hurt if I penetrated your defenses," Eragon defended himself when Ron and Harry glared at him. "Harry, you were doing so well until Ron's gasp distracted you. Hermione, you seem to have a talent for this. I tried to probe, and I even clawed at your defenses, but they wouldn't budge. Even after you looked up."

"Hermione's good at everything," Ron grumbled.

"No, I'm not. Just because I am, or was, the smartest witch in school doesn't mean that I'm good at everything," Hermione said.

"With practice, you two will be able to defend yourself against an attack in the mind. Don't worry," Eragon said. "Thankfully, there aren't too many magic users among humans of my world."

"It's getting late," Hermione said as she stifled a yawn.

"Alright, we'll quit for tonight. But at least we have a start," Eragon said.