Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, receive monetary or other compensation from these works nor do I profit from them in any way other than the enjoyment I personally derive from developing these stories. All characters, locations and situations existing within the universe of Harry Potter, not existing in the real world, are the properties of their respective copyright holders. I am just borrowing them from time to time and carefully leaving the keys in the basket by the door and the petrol tank topped off. I also carefully hang up Hermione's, Luna's, Lavender's, Padma's and Parvati's (and any other ladies') robes when they have been removed to keep them from wrinkling.

WARNING: Relationships may not be what they seem. If there is something unusual going on, you will know it from the notes at the beginning of a chapter. Fair warning though, if polyamorous relationships are a squick for you, these are not the droids you're looking for.

-oOoOo-

39 miles South-Southeast of Resita, Romania; 12 miles Northwest of Orsova, Romania; 12:17 am UTC June 21, 2000

Charlie flew through the valley that was Aro'thlok's. The mist lay heavy along the jagged rocks below, hiding everything smaller than a castle. The full moon reflected brightly from the impenetrable fog below.

"She must be particularly wary this evening to put out that much fog," he thought. He peered down into the swirling morass, performing his grid search for nearly and hour but was having no luck in spotting any of her young. "Well, nothing to do for it but land and look," he thought, even though he knew it was against protocol to be in this valley.

He was familiar with the Western-most entrance to her lair and cautiously circled above to insure there was no movement below. Seeing none, he landed a kilometer south, shrunk his broom and headed north. After walking half a mile, a distinct but unspecific feeling of dread overcame him. The fog had become so thick he could barely see the ground in front of him and had to slow his pace almost to a crawl, literally feeling his footing one step at a time.

The roar caused him to fall and drop his wand. He fumbled around for it, but could not find it. He heard a reverberation in the air, looked up and saw a Horntail's talons flying just a few feet

above the ground, ripping away a line of the fog. His heart was beating even faster still but he stilled for a moment in shock, his wand forgotten. The rational part of his mind was in work mode. "There hasn't ever been a recorded sighting of a Horntail in this valley. Was a Horntail foolish enough to hunt in her valley? Really? Wait! Its hunting me!" Charlie was one of the few keepers who believed dragons to be intelligent magical creatures and not just mindless killing and eating machines.

Another roar! Impossibly loud. Louder than the Horntail's. The fog rolled back, burning off unnaturally fast. Charlie recognized the Horntail now. It was Simulid, seemingly one of the more arrogant and foolish males in the Horntail flight. He had likely come here for easy food as the valley was filled with wild game animals. Then She appeared in the sky. Simulid turned at the challenge, intending to do battle.

Simulid then saw the source of the roar and turned away again as quickly as possible, using all of his strength in a desperate attempt to get away. She was easily ten times Simulid's size and moved faster than even the eldest Horntails. She caught up to him easily, but Charlie could see she was not interested in causing Simulid any real harm, yet, as she was nipping at the end of his tail, causing Simulid to panic. Simulid turned and headed back towards where Charlie lay, watching the events in the sky unfold. She, too, turned to follow, then began overtaking him. The entire length of her body passed the Horntail and, at the last moment, she whipped his head with the triangular tip of her tail hard enough for him to go plowing into the ground. She continued her flight and turned back towards the Horntail. She flared her wings and came in for a landing. The earth trembled as she set down. She then then walked to where the smaller dragon had slid to a stop and moved just behind him. Each step shook the ground.

Charlie thought that he was going to watch a Horntail die tonight.

Using her front teeth just behind his head, she picked Simulid's head up from the ground. Although shaken by the impact with the ground, Simulid knew to the very marrow of his bones that his end was near and went limp in fear and submission. A deep growl began in her chest, resonated up her neck, out of her mouth and reverberated into Simulid's head.

"I told your kind in the last age to leave my valley in peace. I told your kind at the beginning of this age to leave the riders in peace. Yet your flight's centurions continue to disturb my solitude and contemplation as well as harass the riders. You will be my last warning messenger to your flight. This foolishness stops now or your flight ends." the man heard in his mother's voice.

"My apologies, Great Clouded One. I was told by the other centurions that there was easy food to be had here and that the flight elders had not seen you in their time so you must be no more. I wanted to come and eat my fill of easy game," Simulid said in a very frightened, boy-like voice.

As Charlie stood there in amazement at hearing dragons actually speak, the first image that popped into his head was that of his mother scolding his youngest brother.

"You will be leaving here. Before you go, I shall mark you so your elders know your tale is true when you give them my message," and with one of her talons, she drew a cut across the left side of his central back ridge and healed it, leaving a wide, white line.

She released Simulid's neck. "Go now. My appetite is strong with this night's chase and I grow weary of your presence. You are most fortunate my centurions are phased this age or you and your flight would have been their meals until there were no more of your kind. Leave, before it is you I make a morsel of."

"Phased?" Charlie thought in confusion.

Simulid bowed his head in respect. "Thank you for your mercy, Great Ice Queen," he said. He then turned and flew to the North, the shortest path out of the valley.

Aro'thlok turned and walked to where Charlie lay, the ground again trembling with each step. He tried to not move. To not breathe. He didn't know what to expect from talking dragons.

She lowered her immense head over him, turned her head and looked directly at him with one of her large, pale blue eyes. "Now as to you, Rider. What reasons exist that your kind risk my ire every rising sun and every waning moon? Few of your kind have ever proven worthy enough to speak with my flight. I told Myrddin at the beginning of this age that disturbing me was done at your kind's peril. Were your life spans longer, you would be formidable allies or worthy opponents."

As the man was about to speak, the dragon turned her head rapidly to the West, sniffing the air. She returned her attention to the man. "Rider, I will see that you leave my valley and go to a place of relative safety. Fools amongst your kind have awakened one of the elder guardians."

The white mist suddenly surrounded him and he passed into darkness.

-oOoOo-

62 miles Northeast of Resita, Romania; 12 miles East of Lugoj, Romania; 1:02 am UTC June 21, 2000

"[How in the nine basements of Hell did you get here?]" Cipriana exclaimed in Romanian to the prone figure laying on the floor. "[This is the women's dormitory! Get out! Get out now! You stupid, stupid man!]" she continued in her surprised rant. The remaining women in the room squealed and grabbed for their towels, and not entirely out of modesty. How this man had apparated through anti-apparation wards was unknown.

Charlie opened his eyes. While he certainly considered the sanctuary housing facility safe, he certainly didn't think the women's shower was a place of safety. "Aro'thlok certainly has a wry sense of humor," he mused, "or a rather skewed definition of 'safety'." He then looked at Cipriana, who was gorgeous, wet, naked, grabbing for her towel and about to kick him in the ribs. He turned his head away and yelled. "[Stop! I am awake! I am looking away! Aro'thlok somehow apparated me here!]" while scrabbling to his feet.

" [Aro'thlok? You SAW Aro'thlok?]" She asked in awe, knowing Charlie had been searching for her for three years. He turned around.

That was a mistake.

One would think catching a fleeting glimpse of a near-mythical dragon would be a stunning sight.

Actually meeting with a dragon from legends and having it talk to you would be a wonder beyond imagination.

Turning around and seeing Cipriana in her naked glory was more than his mind could deal with.

He looked into her eyes, then trailed down to her lovely lips and got stuck at her nearly-perfect breasts.

He never saw the towel until it snapped into his leg near a very sensitive piece of his anatomy, shocking him back to the here-and-now and raising a welt on his inner thigh.

"[You deceitful, toffee-nosed, lecherous British bastard! Get your lying ass out of here now before I emasculate you with my foot!]" she seethed.

He turned and ran for the door.

"[The next time you want to see me naked, you'd better ask me!]" she yelled angrily at his disappearing posterior.

He stopped at the door and turned around. "[How about later this morning in my quarters?]" he asked wryly.

He nearly fainted at her response. "[I will be there in 7 hours, after my watch. Be freshly washed and shaven. Have a hot, herbal bath drawn for me. You can teach me more of your barbaric language.]" she said with a smile, "[And no more delusional stories of meeting dragons]," and pushed him out the door, closing it behind him.

She turned around with a smile on her face and noticed he had left something behind where he had appeared.

"Oh crud! I'd better file my report!" Charlie exclaimed and rushed to the main building to speak to the head keeper.

Inside the women's shower, Cipriana walked to where the wand lay. She had seen Charlie's wand in the past and nearly fainted at the site of what she saw. The wand that lay upon the tiles was not any wand she had ever seen before. Instead of being made of wood, it appeared to be formed from solid mist or ice. Where a normal wand handle would be, was an ornately carved dragon's head. With trembling fingers, she reached down to pick the wand up. The other women in the shower looked questioningly at her. She only had eyes for the wand, however. As her fingers touched the wand, she felt a chill pass through her and closed her eyes, shivering at the passing touch. Opening her eyes once more, she gasped. In her hand was Charlie's wand as it had always been. "[Am I now hallucinating too?]", she wondered.

She straightened and stood, staring at the wand in her hand. The faintest of tremors rattled the windows in their casings. Startled, she and the other women ran to the door, opening it and looked out. Although she could see nothing, Cipriana and the rest of the women felt an unshakeable feeling of dread as a thick bank of fog obscurred the stars.