The next morning Charlie woke up on time for breakfast. That in itself was a huge accomplishment. Charlie also felt that he had made a lot of headway with Sloan during their discussion the previous night. They'd finally conversed like civil people. It was rather satisfying. Charlie thought maybe he'd gotten her to warm up to him. That too, would be a great accomplishment. Unfortunately, Charlie thought wrong.
At breakfast Sloan looked just as cold and professional as ever. When Charlie walked into the cafeteria she was already there with Chase and Jake. Her hair was pulled back into her ridiculously uptight bun and she was wearing her glasses as she scribbled away in her notebook.
"Today is not going to be a good day," Jake said walking up to Charlie.
"What makes you say that?" Charlie asked his friend. Jake just shrugged as they made their way over to the food.
"I just got a really bad feeling about today…that's all." Charlie looked out the windows at the reserve. There seemed to be clouds forming overhead and the sun was refusing to come out. Maybe Jake was right. Today was not looking so great.
After getting their food Charlie and Jake walked over to the assignment board to see where they would be working. Charlie scanned the list, looking for his name. He heard Jake swear beside him and Charlie wasn't exactly thrilled when he saw his assignment either. He was teamed up with Beatrice Whalen and they were assigned to the Horntail. There was also going to be a team of researchers trying to study something or another.
"What'd you get?" Charlie asked his friend. Jake did not seem too thrilled with his assignment.
"Jamaya with Lea and Chase," Jake sighed. That didn't seem too bad to Charlie but Jake seemed to think it was awful.
"Why is that so bad?" Charlie wanted to know.
"You know how I feel about Jamaya," Jake said shrugging his shoulders.
"Yeah but you had her yesterday and she was fine," Charlie reminded him. And it didn't make sense that Jake would be upset about having to work with Lea. He loved Lea and he loved working with her.
"It's Chase isn't it?" Charlie asked, comprehension finally dawning on him.
"He just rubs me the wrong way," Jake admitted.
"Because he gets to spend all his time with her," Charlie continued. Jake and Charlie didn't really talk about Jake's feelings for Lea. Jake never actually told Charlie up front about it. Charlie had just come to the realization on his own and confronted Jake. Jake admitted to liking her but never had the confidence to tell Lea. Jake's feelings were left unspoken and unresolved.
"I guess," Jake sighed. He clearly didn't want to talk about it so Charlie dropped the subject. Eric Wentworth and Colin Michaels had materialized at some point during the conversation.
"What'd you get?" Michaels asked them. Jake just glared at him so Charlie answered.
"Whalen and the Horntail."
"That's rough," Eric said.
"Yeah I don't know which is worse…the Horntail or Beatrice the Whale," Colin laughed derisively. Charlie frowned at him before walking away. Colin was one of the rudest people Charlie had ever worked with.
"I hate that guy," Jake muttered under his breath. Charlie agreed silently. Colin Michaels knew he had more influence and power at the reserve than other keepers and he loved it. In a moment of true cruelty he created the nickname Beatrice the Whale for poor Beatrice Whalen. While it was true that most of the girls on the reserve weren't exactly pleasing to the eye Charlie would never disrespect them that much. Beatrice wasn't even that large, she was just big boned and muscular.
"He's a jerk," Charlie said to Jake as they settled down at their table. Sloan had finished writing whatever it was that she was writing and had turned to eating her breakfast. Lea was feigning interest as Chase talked animatedly. Clearly he was warming up to her.
"Who's a jerk?" Lea asked when she heard them. She looked up at her fellow keepers, eager for a change in the topic of conversation.
"Colin Michaels," Jake growled as he sat down. Jake was a genuinely nice guy and he hated it when people acted like Colin.
"Tell me something I don't know," Lea sighed in agreement. "At least we're not working with him today." Jake nodded but didn't say anything. He was still not too pleased with Chase's company.
"He didn't seem that bad when I talked to him," Chase commented.
"That's because he has to suck up to you so you'll write a good evaluation," Lea said bluntly. Charlie laughed into his cereal as Chase considered this. Jake smirked and Sloan remained impassive.
Eventually it came time to head out to the fields to work on their assignments. Jake, Lea, and Chase went in the opposite direction from Charlie and Sloan who were going towards the more forest covered area of the reserve.
"Oi Weasley!" came a voice from behind them. Charlie turned around to see Whalen walking over to him.
"Morning Whalen," Charlie said. "Er, Beatrice, this is Jessica Sloan from the Committee. Sloan this is Beatrice Whalen."
"Pleasure," Beatrice said as she shook Sloan's hand briefly. "Listen Weasley all we have to do today is make sure this Horntail doesn't kill anyone." Sloan raised an eyebrow at that. "The research crew wants to run some tests and we have to keep her calm."
Beatrice said it as if keeping a Hungarian Horntail calm was a simple task. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Beatrice and Charlie really had their work cut out for them. This particular Horntail was named Sabra. She literally used her tail like a saber if anyone tried to get too close to her.
"They probably should have given us some of the interns," Charlie said to Beatrice as they walked to Sabra's quarters.
"Stephen Miller nearly wet himself the last time he was working with a Horntail," Beatrice said with a laugh. Stephen Miller was the least aggressive of all the interns; naturally he was Jake's favorite. "Sometimes those interns are more of a hindrance than a help." Charlie groaned inwardly. That comment did not bode well for Sloan's impression of the interns. He could just picture her describing them in her little notebook. Interns on the reserve are cowardly and incompetent. They are terrified of the dragons that they are working with. Jake was right, today was definitely not going to be a good day.
Thankfully, the Horntail was in a good mood. When Charlie and Beatrice arrived on site they realized that Sabra was acting somewhat mellow. Charlie felt instantly relieved. The researchers hadn't arrived yet so Charlie and Beatrice went over to great Sabra. Sloan hung back; she did not want to approach the dragon unless it was absolutely necessary.
"We should feed her breakfast," Beatrice suggested. Charlie agreed and went over to the storage unit to grab some fresh meat. He tossed the meat up to the dragon. Sabra ate her meal appreciatively.
"Why didn't you chain her up?" Sloan asked him curiously. Charlie was surprised to see that Sloan had approached him by the storage unit.
"Sabra's nowhere near as temperamental as Jamaya. Sabra's one of the older dragons on the reserve so she knows the drill. She knows we're not gonna hurt her or anything so she doesn't try to fight us or take our heads off," Charlie explained. "Usually." He added as an afterthought. Sloan nodded, taking all the information in.
"Morning Whalen! Morning Weasley!" a friendly voice called out. Charlie turned around to see where it was coming from. The team of researchers was making their way towards the clearing. The group was led by Dr. Bartlett, the head researcher, and the friendliest one. The researchers had a tendency to be a bit snobbish because they were more advanced in their education than the rest of the people on the reserve. Dr. Bartlett was in no way snobbish. He was one of the nicest men Charlie had ever met. He was in his fifties and seemed so at peace with himself.
"Good morning Dr. Bartlett!" Beatrice called out happily.
"How are you?" Charlie asked smiling.
"Never better. It's not every day you get to study Horntail scales," Dr. Bartlett replied grinning. Charlie saw that Sloan was watching Dr. Bartlett with interest.
"Oh, sorry Dr. Bartlett this is Jessica Sloan. She's from the Committee," Charlie remembered himself and introduced Sloan. Much to Charlie's surprise, Dr. Bartlett actually frowned at the mention of Sloan's name.
"Yes I've heard of you," Dr. Bartlett said to her. Sloan stared back at him defiantly. "You're the one who wrote that paper against the importance of creatures as a basis for medical research." Sloan nodded her head evenly.
"Co-wrote," she amended. Charlie looked at her in surprise. He didn't know she was a published anti-dragon advocate. Great, he thought to himself, just another thing that was going to make his job that much more difficult.
"Ah, yes well we all know that moron Roland couldn't have written it all by himself," Christopher Stevens, another researcher said bitterly. Sloan didn't seem to disagree. She shrugged her shoulders and sighed.
"The ideas were all his I just helped him phrase it," Sloan informed them.
"But you agree with what was written," Christopher said in a challenging tone.
"I've yet to be proved otherwise," Sloan replied evenly.
"Well I think today if everything goes as planned you might experience a change of heart," Dr. Bartlett said, interrupting their argument.
"What's the plan for today Doc?" Beatrice asked eagerly. She loved working with the researchers. It was always an experience to say the least.
"We just need you two to keep her calm enough to let us get close and take some samples," Dr. Bartlett explained.
"You don't want us to stun her?" Beatrice wondered curiously. It would make the entire job a lot easier if Charlie and Beatrice just stunned Sabra and let the researchers work while she was unconscious.
"Not yet. If that's what it comes down to I won't stop you," Dr. Bartlett said, "But we want to see how close she'll let us get."
"Isn't that a little dangerous?" Sloan asked.
"Of course," Christopher Stevens said smirking. You don't live on a dragon reserve if you don't like danger. Charlie could see the unspoken motto in Christopher's eyes. Sloan just shook her head as if to say, your funeral.
"So after you get the samples?" Charlie began.
"Ah, yes after we get the scales we wanted to see if the ones scraped off her match the ones that she sheds naturally," Dr. Bartlett continued. "And also whether or not she lets us take them will be an experiment as well."
"Well let's get started then," Beatrice said rubbing her hands together eagerly. Christopher and the other researchers looked just as excited.
"Er, Sloan, maybe you should hang back for the beginning of this one. I know you don't like dragons and I wouldn't want you getting hurt if this experiment were to get out of hand," Charlie suggested looking over at her. Sloan nodded her head and pulled out her stupid note pad to take some more notes. She was probably going to discredit every experiment ever performed on their reserve.
Charlie, Dr. Bartlett, Beatrice, Christopher, and the other researchers slowly approached Sabra. The dragon was still in her peaceful after meal state. The dragons were the easiest to approach just after they've eaten. Sabra seemed content to just sit and watch the people slowly coming towards her.
"Easy, everyone go slow!" Beatrice warned as Sabra regarded them intently. They eased their way closer to the dragon. Charlie, Christopher, and two other researchers approached Sabra by her head. The plan was to have Beatrice, Dr. Bartlett, and the other researchers go around her back and try to scrape off some scales. Charlie's group would be the distraction. Hopefully Sabra would focus her attention on them, and also feel less threatened, thus allowing Dr. Bartlett's team to collect the scales that they needed for the experiment.
So far so good. Charlie and his group were several yards away from Sabra's head and she seemed to be letting them get closer and closer. Sabra hadn't even noticed Beatrice and the others at her back. Charlie was somewhat thankful that he hadn't been assigned any interns for the day. Chances are one of the interns would have messed up and irritated Sabra. If the dragon got angry Charlie and his group would be the first to get fried.
Charlie led the group until they were only about twenty feet away from Sabra's head. He didn't want to risk them getting any closer. He motioned for them to stop the advance. Charlie hoped Beatrice was taking care of everything around Sabra's back and that dangerous tail. He really didn't feel like getting burned today. Everything seemed to be going well. After about two minutes of just standing in front of Sabra Charlie started to get nervous. He couldn't see what Beatrice and her group were doing and he didn't like standing directly in Sabra's line of fire. Thankfully, a minute later he saw Beatrice emerge giving him the signal to start retreating.
Slowly, and without turning their backs, Charlie's group started to back up away from Sabra. They eventually made it far away enough to turn their backs on the now sleeping dragon. Charlie couldn't help laughing to himself a little. They had taken all those precautions only to have Sabra fall asleep. He shook his head and ran over to Dr. Bartlett to see what his findings were.
Dr. Bartlett looked happy. He proudly opened his clenched fist to reveal several shiny black scales. The other researchers had their own collections of the scales as well. Apparently their little escapade was very successful.
"This is excellent!" Dr. Bartlett said gleefully.
"I can't wait to take these back to the lab and analyze them!" Christopher exclaimed happily.
"Actually, I was thinking we could analyze them here," Dr. Bartlett said eyeing Sloan who was still standing far off.
"Here?" Christopher wondered.
"Yes," Dr. Bartlett said lowering his voice, "I want you to show that girl just how wrong she is." Christopher followed the man's gaze over to Sloan who was watching the group talk with a look of impatience.
"I would love to prove that girl wrong," Christopher agreed eagerly.
"I want to see Sloan get proved wrong as much as the next guy but I don't know if analyzing them here on site is such a good idea," Charlie interrupted. His statement was met with several looks of surprise. "It's just, she's going to write a report and she'll think our research technique is inadequate if we don't do it in one of the labs."
"Weasley is right," Beatrice nodded in agreement. Dr. Bartlett paused to consider this. He seemed to be weighing his options.
"Alright, we'll do the research in the lab but I'll send someone to fetch you two once we have the results," Dr. Bartlett concluded.
"Sounds like a plan," Beatrice nodded. As the researchers started to walk away, Sloan approached Charlie and Beatrice.
"Well, the approach plan worked nicely," Beatrice commented.
"Yeah," Charlie agreed. To Sloan he said, "The researchers were able to get a sampling of scales. They just went back to the lab to analyze them. They're going to send someone to come get us when they have results."
"Well that's nice," Sloan said not really seeming to care. Charlie didn't even know why he bothered trying to be nice to her.
"You suppose we should feed Sabra lunch?" Beatrice wondered.
"I don't want to wake her up," Charlie said shaking his head. Beatrice checked her watch.
"It's almost noon though," she countered.
"Maybe we can just leave it out for her," Charlie suggested. Beatrice nodded and went to go fetch the meat. After leaving Sabra her meal Beatrice, Charlie, and Sloan made their way down to the cafeteria to eat their own meals.
"How did it go?" Jake asked Charlie while on line for lunch.
"Surprisingly well," Charlie told his friend as they waited for their food. "The researchers got what they needed and Sabra didn't give us any problems."
"I think she might be getting ready to lay eggs," Jake commented, "And that's why she's been so calm lately.
"That would explain a lot," Charlie agreed. "How did everything go with you?"
"Horrible," Jake sighed miserably.
"Horrible how?" Charlie asked warily.
"I can't stand that Roland guy," Jake growled. Charlie could have guess as much.
"I'm sorry you got stuck working with him," Charlie sighed.
"Me too. And the worst part is I think Lea might actually be warming up to him," Jake added sadly.
"I highly doubt that," Charlie disagreed. He was pretty sure Lea found Chase Roland to be positively repulsive. The two friends made their way over to the table to find Lea, Chase, and Sloan all having a civil conversation. That in itself was a huge surprise.
"You see what I mean?" Jake muttered angrily.
"How was Sabra?" Lea asked as Charlie sat down with Jake.
"She was so calm. It was weird but in a good way," Charlie told her.
"That Fireball we worked with was definitely not calm," Chase commented. "But you handled her so well!"
"Er, thanks," Lea mumbled. She didn't seem to know what to make of Chase's sudden burst of kindness. Jake looked like he wanted to stab Chase with his fork.
"How was Jamaya?" Charlie asked Jake and Lea.
"The usual. She tried to burn anyone that got within fifty feet of her. So she's going without lunch," Jake informed them.
"But that's only going to make her even more angry!" Charlie protested. Jake shrugged his shoulders.
"It wasn't my idea. It was Schmidt's orders. Personally, I agree with you Charlie. But Schmidt insists. And he's the boss," Jake sighed.
"We couldn't do anything about it Charlie," Lea said with a frown.
"Well you should have at least slipped her a snack," Charlie said frowning.
"Are you suggesting insubordination?" Chase asked Charlie with a glare.
"No I'm suggesting fair treatment to magical creatures," Charlie replied instantly.
"I know and I wish I did," Jake said ignoring Chase. "But I don't think like you Charlie. And it didn't occur to me until I was halfway back to the cafeteria. If I went back Schmidt would have known I was up to something." Charlie frowned. He would have gone back. He didn't care what Schmidt did. They didn't have the right to starve the dragons just because they weren't cooperating. Sloan and Chase were going to have a field day with this conflict in their reports.
"Hopefully Jamaya learns soon enough," Lea sighed.
"Starving her isn't going to teach her anything," Charlie remarked bitterly.
"Charlie I know," Jake sighed, "But there really isn't anything we can do at this point."
"Dragons are pretty intelligent. I'm sure Jamaya will learn soon enough," Lea said hopefully.
"She's a smart girl," Chase complimented Lea, "You should listen to her."
"You don't even know what you're talking about!" Jake exclaimed glaring at Chase. Charlie could tell Jake was getting irritated. Irritation and jealously are not a good combination. Charlie made a face at Jake to try and calm him down. Sloan remained silent throughout the whole exchange. She probably couldn't care less what happened to Jamaya or the keepers and the reserve.
"I know a lot more than you think Henderson," Chase growled.
"Down boy," Sloan muttered to Chase who looked positively menacing. Apparently he didn't like having his intelligence insulted. Chase and Jake glared daggers at each other. Charlie sighed and Lea looked from one to the other seeming rather distressed.
"They've been at each other's throats all day," Lea said in a hushed voice to Charlie. "I don't know what Jake's problem is. He's usually so nice to everyone but for some reason he can't stand Chase." Charlie couldn't believe that Lea didn't know.
"Well, Chase is a jerk and Jake hates jerks. You know how he gets whenever Colin Michaels walks into the room," Charlie said to her.
"Yeah but I can't help feeling like there's something else," Lea sighed. Of course there was something else. Jake was in love with her. But of course, Charlie couldn't outright tell Lea that. For as long as Charlie had known Jake Henderson, Jake had been in love with Lea. Ever since they'd first met Lea Jake had been very taken with her. Leah had come to the reserve halfway through their first year as interns.
When Charlie and Jake had been informed that a third intern was going to be added to their team of two they didn't know how to feel. They didn't like the idea of another person messing with their steady partnership. When Charlie and Jake were informed that the third member of their team was to be a girl they were angry. Female dragon keepers don't exactly have the best reputation. But when Charlie and Jake met Lea they changed their minds instantly.
Lea came to their reserve because she hated the Hungarian reserve she used to work on. Lea had been the only female keeper and it made doing her job very difficult. So she transferred to Romania. The Romanian reserve has the highest number of female keepers in the world so Lea knew she would get proper treatment. However, Lea was unlike all of the other female keepers on the reserve. With most female keepers it was hard to tell if they were girls or guys. Instead of being broad, muscular, and masculine Lea was womanly, pretty faced, and lean and athletic looking. It was a nice change.
Jake pretty much fell in love with her a first sight. There was no other way to describe it. Jake took one look at Lea with her freckles and frizzy dirty blond hair and was instantly attracted. Charlie could still remember what he'd first said upon seeing her.
"Merlin Weasley would you take a look at her. That's the prettiest girl I've ever seen," Jake had exclaimed in a whisper.
"Well then you can't have seen that many gorgeous birds," Charlie had replied jokingly. Charlie didn't really think Lea was unattractive she just wasn't his type. Which was all the better for Jake. In the first month that they knew each other Jake went out of his way to make life easier for Lea. He would do anything for her. If Lea noticed she didn't say anything about it.
As the months went by Jake only found himself liking Lea more and more. Eventually months turned into years and Jake's feelings for Lea only grew. He loved her and respected her more than anyone else but he would never get up the courage to tell her. So he went on loving her in secret.
Jake and Chase stopped talking to each other and just settled for throwing dirty looks across the table. The whole thing made Charlie feel rather uncomfortable. It was hard enough for him to talk to Sloan and now there was the added tension of Chase and Jake. Lea tried to be gracious about the whole thing but it was obvious that she was getting frustrated. Thankfully Charlie was saved the agony of sitting through the rest of the meal when Christopher Stevens came running over to his table.
"Weasley!" he yelled excitedly. "Find Whalen and come with me! We have the results!" Charlie jumped out of his chair and in his excitement almost forgot to wait for Sloan. She probably wouldn't have come if he hadn't practically pulled her out of the chair. Charlie located Beatrice's table and they were gone within moments.
"So the results are good?" Beatrice asked Christopher as they practically ran to the lab.
"You'll see when we get there," Christopher told them. But judging from the look on his face the results were definitely going to be good. Christopher slowed his pace once they were inside the lab building. They walked cautiously down the hall and entered the room on the far right.
"Ah, so glad you could make it," Dr. Bartlett said when he noticed their arrival. He was by a large silver instrument that Charlie had never seen before. He didn't get a chance to go inside the labs very often.
"So what are the results?" Beatrice asked anxiously. She was clearly very excited. Charlie too was feeling the energy in the atmosphere. Only Sloan kept an uninterested expression.
"Come take a look for yourself," Dr. Bartlett said motioning for them to join him over by the silver tool. Charlie, Beatrice, and Sloan all walked over to where Dr. Bartlett was standing. "Look through here," Dr. Bartlett showed them where to look on the instrument. Beatrice went first and examined their findings.
"I don't really understand," she said taking a step back to allow Charlie a turn. Charlie squinted through the eyepiece. All he saw was Sabra's scale magnified in the lens. But instead of the usual black color it was shining a light silver.
"You see the silver?" Dr. Bartlett asked as Charlie stepped back and motioned for Sloan to look at it. She bent down to examine the scale.
"Yes," Charlie and Beatrice said together.
"That's a special chemical produced by the dragon to help maintain her body temperature," Sloan surprised everyone by explaining it. Charlie looked at her, openly shocked by her knowledge. Christopher raised an eyebrow and Sloan just shrugged.
"Yes, yes it is," Dr. Bartlett said clapping his hands together eagerly. "And as far as we know that's all it does. But my team has been working in the lab with a rather ill sphinx."
"So you think that chemical can help heal the sphinx?" Beatrice asked.
"We know it can," Christopher said gleefully. "We just tested it out an hour ago."
"And the sphinx healed in an hour?" Sloan asked skeptically.
"Take another look at the scale," Dr. Bartlett instructed her. "Do you see the way that chemical has stuck to the underside?" Sloan nodded her head. "It has remarkable staying powers but it doesn't really enter the bloodstream of the dragon it just stays on the surface. So when applied to the surface of the sphinx the effect was minimal. But when we injected it into the bloodstream the effect was instantaneous."
"And the dragon keeps in on the surface to avoid quick body temperature changes," Sloan observed. Charlie was immensely impressed by her vast knowledge of such a topic.
"Exactly!" Dr. Bartlett exclaimed.
"What exactly was this sphinx ill with?" Sloan wanted to know.
"Some viral infection," Christopher said offhandedly. "It doesn't really matter. The point is this chemical didn't heal the sphinx it just accelerated the process." Sloan nodded as if that actually made sense to her.
"Then what was the point of collecting the scales that had fallen off?" Sloan wanted to know.
"Ah," Dr. Bartlett said motioning for Sloan to follow him. She did, and this time she looked rather interested. "We needed a control. Take a look at that scale." Sloan examined the one he was pointing to.
"It doesn't have the iotrate," she observed. The fact that Sloan knew the name of the chemical seemed to momentarily stun everyone except for Dr. Bartlett.
"Yes, and that's because that scale was taken off the ground, not off of Sabra," he explained.
"So that means you can only get the iotrate harvested off of a live dragon," Sloan muttered. "Isn't that going to cause some issues for the industry?"
"Yes, that's what I said," Dr. Bartlett began before Christopher interrupted him.
"But the iotrate can accelerate healing processes caused by non magical means. Don't you see what this means? We could potentially market this in the muggle world!"
"No," Sloan said shaking her head. "That would be catastrophic."
"That's what I said," Dr. Bartlett agreed. "We cannot under any circumstances market the iotrate to the muggles. Besides the chemical still needs more testing before we can even introduce it to the medical departments. For now we must be happy with this small amount of success." It was obvious Christopher was not happy with just that one small success but he kept his mouth shut.
"Is this iotrate thing found on all dragons or just Horntails?" Beatrice wondered.
"Just Horntails," Dr. Bartlett, Christopher, and Sloan all said at the same time.
"How do you know so much about this?" Christopher asked Sloan. She just shrugged her shoulders and brushed him off but Charlie knew there was more where that came from. Charlie was completely taken aback by the fact that Sloan knew so much about dragons. She knew more than he did in the scientific field!
"I'm so happy your tests were successful Doc," Beatrice said to Dr. Bartlett with a smile.
"Me too," Charlie added.
"But we should really getting back out to the fields and get Sabra her dinner," Beatrice sighed. Charlie nodded.
"Yes, alright," Dr. Bartlett waved goodbye to them. "I'll keep you updated." Beatrice and Charlie turned to leave the lab. Sloan followed them, albeit rather reluctantly. If Charlie had known she knew so much about the scientific aspect of dragons he would have taken her to see the labs much earlier. He probably would have known that if he'd bothered to read the packet Schmidt gave him before Sloan got here. Charlie made a mental note to find the packet and read it over.
After they'd made their visit to Sabra Charlie and Sloan checked back in on the lab. Dr. Bartlett smiled knowingly when he saw Sloan enter the room. This time she seemed about ten times happier to be there. The lab seemed to be in full on research mode. No one was standing around idly. Even Christopher was settled behind a station conducting some experiment.
"How's the sphinx?" Charlie asked.
"Even better than she was before," Dr. Bartlett told them.
"Aren't you worried that she's going to heal too well?" Sloan wondered.
"How can you heal too well?" Charlie asked. That idea didn't quite make sense to him.
"Have you ever taken too much of a pepper-up potion?" Sloan asked him. Charlie laughed. One time his mother had been extremely worried when he came down with a cold. She gave him a bit more than the required dose. He was on an energy high all day. His mom had to put a temporary sticking charm on him to get him to sit down long enough to eat dinner.
"Oh I can see why that would be bad," Charlie realized.
"I was worried about that initially but we just followed the measurement of an injection of anything else and that seemed to work," Dr. Bartlett informed them.
"What are you going to do next?" Sloan asked him interestedly.
"Test on other creatures who are ill, with their owners' permission of course. I'm rather hesitant to test on humans. We're going to wait it out and see how everything goes with the creatures first," Dr. Bartlett seemed to have a lot of excellent ideas. Charlie glanced at Sloan and he could tell how fascinated she was by all of this. At least she would write a good review about the research facilities. That was a bonus.
"If this is successful what are your plans for distribution?" Sloan asked him inquisitively.
"Well we'll have to find out exactly which diseases the iotrate helps with. And then I think we're going to stick with hospital distribution. Definitely not over the counter," Dr. Bartlett detailed his plans. Sloan nodded in agreement but Charlie wasn't satisfied.
"And what exactly do you plan to do to help preserve the rights of the Horntails? Once people find out that their scales have these properties they are going to try and get them. And since the scales have to be removed live that's going to cause a lot of problems in the illegal trafficking market. How are you going to preserve the Horntails?" Charlie demanded to know.
"We're going to have to regulate the harvesting of the scales," Dr. Bartlett mused, "Set a standard number for how many can be taken from one dragon and how many times." Charlie nodded and waited for more.
"You could set a ban on who get's to do the harvesting. Require a license," Sloan suggested. Charlie was surprised to hear her input. It didn't make sense that she would want to help protect the rights of the Horntails. She hated magical creatures.
"How do you know so much about dragons?" Charlie asked Sloan on their way back to Tent City for the night.
"I studied magical creatures in school," Sloan said with a shrug. "It was a requirement to become part of the Department."
"Yeah, but Chase doesn't know half as much as you do," Charlie pointed out. "And you two must have taken similar classes."
"Yes, well Chase is a little intellectually challenged," Sloan said as Charlie laughed lightly. He was surprised to hear her joke about him like that. He found when she wasn't being all tense and uptight Sloan was really easy to get along with.
"Seriously how come you know so much?" Charlie wanted to know. It didn't make sense that a self-professed dragon hater would know so much about the species.
"I just read a lot. I get interested in what I study. I invest a lot more time in studying than most other people," Sloan told him. "I don't really consider myself to know that much."
"I think you know a lot," Charlie mumbled more to himself.
Now that they'd sort of bonded over the research experiment Charlie half expected Sloan to warm up to him at least a little bit. But of course, she remained stubbornly cold and professional. It seemed like he was the only one having trouble breaking through with his representative. Chase was clearly warming up to Lea and Rob and Eric were on their way to becoming best friends.
"Maybe she just doesn't like you," Jake suggested when Charlie complained to him. Charlie had actually considered that but it still didn't make sense. He'd get her to open up and talk honestly to him and then an hour later it was as if their discussions had never happened.
"I don't know. I just don't understand what I'm doing wrong," Charlie sighed.
"I'm beginning to think she's not capable of relaxing. I've never even seen her without those stupid business clothes or that ridiculously tight bun," Lea observed.
"Maybe she's just really uptight," Jake added. Never the less Charlie was extremely frustrated.
Author's note: Another chapter done. I've actually written the majority of the story. I only have one chapter left to write. However, I recently realized a continuity error I made in the middle chapters so my next update might be slightly delayed.
AGRIMLIKEDOG: i totally agree that there aren't enough Charlie Weasley stories out there! He's my favorite Weasley.
yellow 14: thank you for your review as always :) haha i think Hagrid and Charlie would have made excellent friends. They both just love magical creatures, especially if they are dangerous.
Miriflowers: thank you so much! i'm so happy you mentioned that! my main focus of this story is the characterization. when i deicded to write this story i chose to really work on my character development. i realized that i had a habit of writing static characters that don't always evolve so i decided to challenge myself with this story. i hope it works out well.