It was several days after the theft of the egg when Galbatorix finally received the news that the Ra'zac were slain. He grew angry, and called Murtagh to his study. Murtagh appeared five minutes later, panting slightly.

"The Ra'zac are dead, ambushed in their own lair," Galbatorix informed his Rider, growling all the while.

Murtagh stood there, watching his lord prowl about the study. He knew what Galbatorix wanted, but he wasn't about to volunteer for it. Who ever stole the egg must be dangerous.

"You must track down that egg for me," Galbatorix said when five minutes had gone by.

"Of course, my lord," Murtagh said, feeling the weight of his oath of loyalty. How on earth was he going to track down an egg that could be anywhere? He wasn't an expert in hunting eggs.

"And if it hatches before you retrieve it, bring the Rider as well," Galbatorix continued, even though it should have been obvious. Ever since the first attempt of capturing Eragon "failed", Galbatorix has been careful to be precise in his instruction. "I don't care where you have to go to find it."

Murtagh stood there. His mind roiled, thinking of the last bit of instruction. So, if the egg was in Surda, Galbatorix just sent him on a suicide mission. Great.


Draco was waiting for something. For what, he did not know. He did not know how dangerous it was for him to be there. He did not know that he could not sneak up on Eragon. He did know that if he did above and beyond the bare minimum of his duty, then Voldemort might forgive him and his family for his failed attempt on Dumbledore's life.

Malfoy waited, probably for the Rider to return, for he had seen the dragon pass over him away from the city. He was in Aberon now. He wished he had someone to order around. He wished Crabbe and Goyle were there.

Then he saw the shadow. It was the dragon, and it was flying low, like it was carrying great weight. On the dragon, Draco Malfoy spotted three passengers. He'd been waiting days for the Rider to return. Now, he could plan, and find a way to kill Eragon.


"Harry, your birthday's soon, isn't it?" Ron asked suddenly, few days after their egg rescue. They preferred to call it that, for they didn't like to think of themselves as thieves.

"If it hasn't gone by already," Harry said. "Why?"

Ron was spared from answering, for at that moment, there was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Harry called.

"Eragon," came the familiar voice.

"Come in," Harry replied.

Eragon walked in. He looked just as he did before the trio had left for their mission, except he looked disheveled a bit. He had just arrived home.

"Where—" Eragon started.

"Under the bed," Harry replied quickly. "We don't know who exactly to trust."

"No, you wouldn't know who everyone is around here, either," Eragon said, smiling.

"So, I take it that your part went well?" Hermione asked.

"Better than I had hoped. Thanks to my training, I was able to heal all the wounds dealt to me, Roran, and Saphira," Eragon said.

"Now we have one less worry," Ron said.

"Yes and no," Eragon said. "Undoubtedly, Murtagh will be used to try to find the egg. At least both the Ra'zac and the Lethrblaka are gone."

"We better get back to the Burrow," Ron said, unexpectedly. "Mum will be beside herself with worry."

"We better get cracking on some research, too," Hermione said. "Those horcruxes are going to be a pain to find."

"When do you go?" Eragon asked.

"Well," Hermione said, "We can't just Apparate. We're not licensed, yet."

"You want to go back the same way you came?" Eragon asked.

"If you would be so kind," Hermione said.

"Shouldn't be that much of a problem. We'll have to keep lookout as we travel. Murtagh is bound to be about, looking for the egg," was Eragon's reply.

"He won't be too happy about that, will he?" Ron asked.

"I suspect not," Eragon replied. "I wouldn't be."

Harry looked out the window. It faced the outer courtyard, and the city. He thought he recognized someone, but it was hard to tell.

"Guys, look," He voice was just above a whisper. Ron and Hermione went over to the window, and looked.

"What are we—" Ron started after a minute of looking.

"Isn't that Malfoy?" Hermione asked, pointing.

Harry said, "I thought it was him. But he's so dirty and grimy… the Malfoy we know wouldn't stoop to such levels."

"Maybe he had no choice?" Hermione voiced. "Maybe he was sent after someone?"

"Who could he be after all the way down here? Voldemort doesn't know anyone of importance down here, does he?" Harry asked.

"Me," Eragon said. The trio looked at him. "He was sent after me. Apparently, Voldemort knows of our alliance. No doubt from Malfoy and Snape. He isn't taking any chances. Malfoy was only sent to find me, and to "detain" me until someone can come finish me off. Malfoy thinks he can do so himself, if only to put his family back into the good graces of the Dark Lord. I read his mind," Eragon offered the last as an explanation.

"Handy talent, that," Ron said.

By the time they looked out of the window again, Malfoy had gone. It would be impossible to find him right now.

"And don't worry about me or anyone important here. We have a way to detect misfortune within the castle," and Eragon grimaced, remembering what it was that they used.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"I don't want to talk about it," Eragon said.

"But, if it can help us—" Harry started.

"It was my mistake in a blessing. The girl I accidentally cursed," Eragon said.

The silence after that statement stretched on, and the room suddenly became uncomfortable. Eragon left, and the trio stared at each other, unable to do anything at the moment. It was as if the Rider had been deemed infallible before, and he had just revealed that even he made mistakes.

"Of course he makes mistakes," Hermione said. "Otherwise, he wouldn't be human."

"Did any of us say he didn't make mistakes?" Ron asked, suddenly irritable.

"No. But we were thinking it, weren't we?" Hermione defended herself.

"Hermione's right. We can't think anyone is infallible anymore. Not after what happened to Dumbledore," Harry said, cutting across any argument Ron would have had.

"We better pack up," Hermione said. "And then, I'll go find him, and tell him we're ready to go."

"Alright," Harry said. He looked out the window again. "I hope Malfoy doesn't do anything."

"How can he, without Eragon knowing?" Hermione said.

"I don't know," Harry admitted.

Hermione left after they finished packing. She soon got lost in the castle. It was nothing like Hogwarts. Everything was stationary, and ordinary. Nothing moved that shouldn't. She looked through a window to the inner courtyard. She saw that Eragon was with Saphira.

She raced down the steps, and rushed towards the entrance to the inner courtyard. He was still there, absently caressing his dragon. He didn't look up when she drew near.

"Eragon?" She asked. He was just standing there, eyes unfocused, absently stroking Saphira's muzzle.

"Yes?" He said, suddenly coming to his senses.

"We're ready to go, if you'd be so kind," Hermione said.

"Alright," Eragon said.

Hermione allowed Eragon to lead the way. She had been lost, and didn't know where to find their rooms again. She wanted to speak to Eragon, but suddenly was too shy. This was the first time they were alone together, something she wanted, but…it seemed indecent for her to spring upon him her feelings at this point. She'll just have to wait.

Harry and Ron stood up as the door opened to their room, and Eragon strode in. Hermione just snatched her own pack. Harry and Ron grabbed their packs, too, and Eragon grabbed the egg from under the bed.

"First, I must give this to Lady Nasuada," Eragon said in explanation to the unspoken question. "She'll do what's right."

They reached Nasuada's office, and Eragon tapped on the door. There was a pause before phrase "Enter" could be heard.

"Eragon!" Nasuada exclaimed when he entered. "Are these the ones who… Oh, the egg!"

Harry, Hermione, and Ron were stunned. Never had they seen anyone as pure ebony as Lady Nasuada. And they hadn't seen anyone in Alagaesia with black skin. They quickly recovered, however.

"Lady Nasuada, I'm going to take these three back home," Eragon said.

"I hope the egg hatches for a worthy Rider soon," Nasuada said. "We can't afford to wait a long time."

"But the egg must find it's rightful Rider before it can hatch," Eragon reminded her. "It took years for Saphira to hatch."

"I know," Nasuada said. "That's what I'm afraid of. Thank you, you three, for retrieving the egg. I don't think I want to know how you did it."

"Let's get going," Eragon said.

And then they went and mounted dragon and broomstick, and they were off. Hermione had cast a Disillusionment charm on Ron, Harry, and herself. They weren't taking any chances.


As soon as they touched down and the Disillusionment charms taken off, Mrs. Weasley rushed to her son and started to give him a crushing hug. Eragon looked away, to spare his friend some embarrassment.

The next thing he knew, he was being asked to dinner, for it was late in the evening.

"And you'll be spending the night, that's for sure," Molly Weasley said. "It's too late for you to go back, especially after a hard day's travel."

Eragon accepted this. It would be rude to leave tonight, anyway. With one last pat on Saphira's nose, he strode after his friends.

Eragon ate vegetables, while everyone else had roast. Everyone except Percy was there, of course. Bill and Fleur's wedding was close, and the wedding was to take place at the Burrow. In fact, the wedding was only three days from then.

"Will you stay for the wedding?" Mrs. Weasley asked out of courtesy.

"I'm afraid not. I've got to help find the one an egg will hatch for," Eragon said.

"There's quite a lot of people out there. How will you find its Rider?" Molly asked.

"The egg chooses. It'll hatch when its Rider is present," Eragon said. "No can really tell who an egg will hatch for. I would never have thought, a few years ago, that I would be a Rider."

"And now, you're an important part of a rebel group," Ron said.

"Yes," Eragon agreed.

"So, you'll be leaving in the morning, then?" Molly Weasley asked.

"Yes, I will. First light. That is, if I can rouse Saphira by then," he added with a grin.

As they were eating outside, everyone heard Saphira's snort. The little kitchen table would have been much too crowded for all of them to eat in there.

Dinner was over soon, and then everyone, except Eragon began to talk of what was to come. The wedding, Harry's birthday, and the Ministry that was undoubtedly infiltrated by the Death Eaters.

"The hardest part is not knowing all the Death Eaters. Not knowing who's been Imperiused," Bill was saying when Eragon turned his wandering thoughts back to the conversation.

"The Ministry probably already has some Imperiused members," Ron said.

"Imperiused?" Eragon asked.

"It's when someone casts an Imperius Curse on someone else, therefore gaining control of that person," Harry said.

"Oh," Eragon said. "That would cause problems."

"Yeah," Ron agreed. "It does cause a lot of problems."

"Dementors are still on the loose," Mr. Weasley said.

"What's a Dementor?" Eragon asked.

"It's a dark creature that sucks all the happiness from humans. It can take a witch or wizard's powers, if in close proximity for a period of time. Muggles can't see them, but a witch or wizard can. They're hooded figures whose hands are slimey and scabbed. Beware of the Dementor's Kiss. That's when a Dementor steals the soul of a human, leaving a living, empty shell," Mr. Weasley explained.

"Sounds just as bad, if not worse, than a Shade," Eragon said.

"The only way to protect yourself is to use a Patronus," Harry said. "It's a spell designed to repel Dementors."

"What's a Shade?" Ginny asked.

"It's a sorcerer or sorceress taken over by an evil spirit. See, there are different types of magic even in Alagaesia. Sorcerers get their magic by calling upon spirits. This itself isn't bad. It's when the sorcerer summons a spirit too powerful, and evil, for him to handle, he becomes possessed, and becomes Shade," Eragon explained.

"Enough of this talk," Mrs. Weasley said after a few moments silence. "I believe it's time for bed. Eragon, you'd best be off to bed if you're to leave at first light."

"Yes, ma'am," Eragon said, hiding a smile.