AN: As stated at the beginning, this story is interleaved with chapter Revelation from "Dark Witch - The Wampire's Tale". The events leading to John's decision to reveal the existence of dragons described in that chapter are not repeated here.
Carlisle puts little Teddy in Ana's arms. They weren't sure what to expect given the child's father being a human but there was nothing out of ordinary (for hybrids) about the labor and the child went through it just fine. That's good to know because John's older daughter, who's working in a dragon colony in Europe, is dating a wizard whom she met there.
Christian has been given a preliminary clearance to join the half-vampire program. His training is going to start soon but he wants to spend some time with his son before he is changed.
Self confident as always, he talks with Ross and Taylor in anticipation of what's to come. He won't need a bodyguard any longer so Taylor is going to be promoted to a chief of security of Christian's whole empire and he is going to watch over his human family in case somebody tries to get to Christian through them. To be honest, Taylor has been fulfilling that role already anyway.
Ross will take over daily operations of GEH because the people Christian works with would notice the change. He'll retain overall control and he expects to return in micro-managing capacity later on.
Escala will remain Christian's office away from office but they'll be living in the home inherited from Mrs. Morrison. Escala will also serve as Taylor's HQ. Considering that he would be there alone during weekends, Mrs. Jones agrees to move in permanently.
"Good morning, everyone," Ana opens a meeting of editors. "I've got a homework for you."
Ana replaced Mr. Roach after he was promoted several months ago.
She carries a stack of manuscripts. She makes a round around the table and gives one to each editor.
"Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone?" one of them reads the title.
"Indeed. We'll be partnering with a British publishing on this one. Sadly, we won't have as much editing input as I would like, just bare necessities for the American market. It's not written as well as I would like but it does posses a certain seductive quality. But that's irrelevant, our task is to get this to as many people as possible. And that's where you and your children come in. I need you to read this with them - or to them, if they can't read yet."
"So it's a book for children?"
"Yes, indeed."
One of the editors opens his manuscript at a random place and closes it again. He shakes his head slightly and musingly lets out a rumbling breath through his nose.
"Look, my daughter isn't into stories this long yet. Moreover, she won't be interested in anything that contains word philosopher in its title."
"Does she know what a philosopher's stone is?"
"No, but it won't make any difference even if I tell her. She won't be interested in alchemists making something that has philosopher in its name either."
"Actually, it's a young wizard story but I won't spoil any more than that. I want you to experience the mystery yourself as you read this with your children."
"I've got an idea," says another editor. "If it's about a wizard, why don't we call it a wizard's stone? Or sorcerer's stone?"
"Because there are no such things!" exclaims Ana. "A wizard's stone would be just an ordinary stone found among possessions of a wizard. Or his kidney stone. Moreover, the Brits won't change the title. If we change it for USA, it will create confusion, possibly damage the brand, and it will make America look less intelligent than Britain. So please, just read the book with your kids, I'm quite confident that the first chapter will reel them in."
The atmosphere is much different next day. There isn't another meeting till next week but the editors seek Ana out on their own and an impromptu gathering grows before long.
"You wouldn't believe it!" rejoices the same editor who claimed that his daughter wasn't interested in any philosophers. "Our whole family was completely enthralled by the story! I thought we would try the first chapter but my daughter kept begging for another one and yet another one and so on. It was almost midnight when I told her that she needs to get some sleep. Then, at about three in the morning, I went to loo and I noticed light coming from under her door and heard her voice. She had her night lamp on and she was trying to read the manuscript on her own! They haven't even started reading such texts at school. She's completely hooked! I should be upset about her not getting enough sleep but if this is any indication, our job should be quite easy."
Others had similar experiences.
"Yes, that's all quite nice," acknowledges Ana. "However, what do you think about the writing mistakes?"
"What mistakes?"
"For example, the winking snake. It's suggested in chapter two that the snake winked at Harry and while he merely had a feeling that the snake winked, the only way how that could have been achieved was by the snake closing his eyes. However, as you know, snakes don't have eyelids. Their eyes are covered by transparent skin which can't be moved."
"Maybe it was a magical snake."
"No, it was an ordinary snake. Harry was able to converse with it because he was a Parselmouth."
"A what?"
"Parselmouth. A wizard or a witch who can speak Parseltongue. It's not a spell you can learn, you have to be born with it. And it most certainly doesn't give snakes eyelids! And you can bet that if there's a movie, they will give that snake CGI eyes!"
"I don't know," muses an editor. "I kind of liked it the way it is. Let's not fix what works."
"There's going to be a movie?" asks another editor.
Ana rolls her eyes.
Next week, when they assemble for a proper meeting, the editor with the little daughter has another story to tell. He is already laughing in advance.
"I should be cross with you," he wags his finger at Ana. "We finished the book on Friday and read it again during weekend, this time in a more leisure pace. However, that's not what I'm angry about." He makes air quotes as he says angry. "On Friday night, my wife found our daughter crying in her bed. She asks what's wrong and it turns out it's about Harry Potter! She thinks it's unfair that he has to go back to the Dursleys. So my wife asks why does she feel so strongly about the story and guess what?"
"Because she loves him?" deadpans Ana.
"Exactly!" the editor starts laughing. "She was bawling her eyes out as she said that, my wife says."
Well, Ana can't argue with him about the Dursley part - Dumbledore did send Harry back there. For multiple reasons. Bella had her own opinion about it back then but for all they know, immortality and (grand)motherhood has changed her mind. Still, Ana is not going to give up that easily.
"Look, many things written in this book aren't there because they make sense. Their purpose is to cause indignation. The stronger the reaction it gets from you, the more your brain thinks you like the book."
The others stare at her.
"Do you want to sell this book or not?" asks somebody.
"Sure. As for your daughter, she'll find a sympathetic character in book two. That is, if the author follows the story points we gave her."
Christian, now a diluted vampire, laughs when Ana tells him about the whole thing back home. Teddy smiles lightly but he himself stopped reading when he reached the part with the snake. Moreover, he has real spells to study and reading an inaccurate account about magic could be distracting.
Christian's human DNA somehow stabilized the magic in Teddy's blood which allowed him to develop a spell casting talent. He isn't a super wizard like Harry Black, what he does is closer to magic of human wizards. He can't go to a magical school yet because his growing rate would be conspicuous but perhaps he can pose as a seventh year when he stops growing. The funny thing is, he'll finish his studies before Sophie. He is already looking forward to joining Teddy Lupin in law enforcement.
The day when John (now the president of the United States) plans to reveal the existence of dragons comes. This is hardly a reason for excitement for Ana but they are all curious how is John going to handle it and how will people react. Ana and Christian, along with their daughter, meet Kate and Elliot and their kid at Escala to watch the event on TV. Taylor and Gail aren't with them, John got them "tickets" to the event.
There is a spokesman of the White House on TV who reminds everyone that if everything goes well, the British prime minister will be taking over and King Charles may even deliver a speech. The events should be concluded by a third country which prefers to remain anonymous in case things go wrong and they decide to back out. Ana is aware that they plan to reveal that there are dragon colonies in their country.
The spokesman goes on to remind the people to remain calm no matter what comes. Should they choose to leave the area, they should do so slowly and orderly.
The time finally comes. There is a big platform at the National Mall with a perimeter cordoned off around it. People present at the event are bustling but they are more uncertain and unsure about what to expect rather than excited. Only adult people with no medical issues (and clean criminal record) are admitted. There is a podium in a safe distance for children (and their guardians). Sue is with them.
The vice president is announced and people quiet down and turn to the Lincoln Memorial where a speaking place is prepared. The old man appears and reiterates that John is about to fulfill his promise.
"His message will consists of three words," he elaborates and gestures towards three big racks which are empty at the moment. "One of them is sure to confuse you. You will wonder, what does he mean by that? In this context, the word is a designation of a specie. Specie, which is considered to be long extinct by some and to never have existed by others."
He doesn't need to elaborate that he has never seen them himself, he has explained that already.
John replaces the vice president on the stage with a classical raise of his hand as he walks to greet the crowd. The people respond enthusiastically but given their tension, they don't go wild as usual.
John caries three big placards covered by cloth. He greets the nation but apart from that, he doesn't speak. He moves over to the prepared racks and places the placards. When done, he momentarily raises his eyes to the people watching him but otherwise makes no pause and uncovers the middle word - "are".
"Very well, something is something," drones a generic commentator in TV.
Christian rolls his eyes and sips his "vampire beer". It has been improved since Carlisle's initial concoction based on what passed for beer in 17th century England but it still tastes terrible.
John uncovers the last word - "real". The crowd hums, commentators are confused. John steps over to the beginning and rests his hands on the first word. Everybody is silent. John removes the cover to reveal the final word. Dragons.
Silent confusion reigns over the crowd. Commentators are just repeating "What?!" over and over. Children at Sue's station are giddy with anticipation.
John appears to be calm and confident but Ana suspects that he is feeling really uncomfortable at the moment. Not for long. He raises his hand and points to the sky. People turn, cameras turn. The crowd goes into a brief state of barely controlled panic because something big is approaching quickly.
It is "James's" dragon. He is quite young, as dragons go, and not fully grown yet. Still, his size and power are beyond intimidating, especially for people who have never seen a dragon before. Luckily, the crowd doesn't go into stampede - they all completely freeze. Maybe it is their DNA telling them to do so, maybe it is the presence of the dragon. Either way, John is glad that he doesn't have to use the sleeping gas they have prepared.
There is barely enough time to register that there is a guy sitting on the dragon before he lands. The stage doesn't hold and his foot goes through it. Seems like the construction crew didn't do a very good job. The dragon growls and tries to free himself but succeeds only in damaging the platform further. James jumps of and tries to help him. He carries a machine gun with a dual drum magazine on his back.
The feed from the cameras has been getting more and more static. Commentators don't have much to offer either. Ana and the others are wondering whether people who aren't there are going to believe the whole thing. Well, at least most of the congress is watching in person.
John, rather needlessly, tells everybody to stay still and runs to help James. The dragon, having stomped enough of the platform down, turns around and swishes his tail to clear the rubble off. John groans internally as a pipe flies off and hits a guy in the crowd. Luckily, it is lightweight and doesn't hit him in his head.
In the meantime, the parents at Sue's station are as stunned by their awe as anybody else but not as petrified as people in vicinity of the dragon. On the other hand, the children are ecstatic. Sue is in their midst, sharing their excitement.
John and James work quickly and clear the rubble the dragon is entangled in. He could have probably taken off anyway but not without raining more rubble on the crowd around. Now he spreads his wings again. James climbs on his back deftly and the dragon flies away, taking off almost vertically. Yes, there is certainly something else besides their wings which enables dragons to fly.
John returns to the memorial and observes the crowd. They start moving again but they don't run around wildly as John feared. The vice president and his wife stand in background, affected just like everybody else. John catches his eye. The vice president returns the eye contact briefly but then he returns to his thoughts again.
Seeing that there is nothing more to be done at the moment, John states dryly in the microphone that he is turning the stage over to Downing Street.
An hour later, the British PM, who is obviously more excited and more nervous than John, confirms that the events in Washington DC weren't a hoax, much to the amazement of skeptics. He explains some of the details and history concerning dragons, how they have been around since the dawn of humanity, the forming of dragon colonies to save the dragons the energy (and thus the need for extra food) of having to hunt, and finally the cover-up three centuries ago which was agreed upon by representatives of dragon colonies (he doesn't say wizards) and all major powers of that time, including the British Crown. At this point, he remarks that nations like United States or Canada, not having existed back then yet, could not have been part of that decision but agreed to follow the rules of secrecy after their founding.
He goes over a few more points, such as urging everybody not to try to search for a dragon colony, and then he gives the viewers an update of the third country situation. He reveals that this country is China, that they have just agreed to reveal that there are dragons in the area of their country, and that they will conclude the day's events.
King Charles delivers his speech at the scheduled time. His manner is reserved and as solemn as King George was when he delivered his first wartime radio broadcast in 1939. One of his opening points is his relief over fulfilling duty which his office was preparing for last three centuries. After all, it was his predecessors, not President Black's, who helped to make the existence of dragons secret.
One of the points delivered during the main body of his speech is that the dragons are a beacon of hope for humanity. After all, they have survived their own extinction and thus are a living proof that an extinction event does not need to be the end for a sentient specie. This wasn't covered by the PM and the king does not go into detail.
His speech lasts for about an half an hour and he concludes by informing his nation that having fulfilled his duty, he'll begin steps to enact abolition of monarchy.
The Chinese side publishes an information that they will continue in a few hours. Whether they want to give the world time to calm down or whether they simply aren't ready yet is anybody's guess. Through this time, media around the world keep commenting and speculating. The appearance of a dragon at the National Mall could have been CGI but an official statement by the Crown is more difficult to dismiss.
When the Chinese resume "the program", their format differs as much as the British one differed from the American one. Their approach is more matter-of-factly. A guy looking like a scientist shows the audience a crude picture of a Chinese Fireball with a human figure as a scale. He reveals the name of the breed and confirms that this is the kind of a dragon living in China. It is clear to anyone in the know that he has never seen a dragon in person and doesn't know much about them but everybody else laps every bit of information he has to offer.
Questions are asked, for example what exactly are dragons. The guy answers that they are basically dinosaurs and clarifies that the extinction mentioned by King Charles was indeed the dinosaur extinction.
Second speaker tackles a more historical-philosophical angle. He claims that dragons were with China since the dawn of the nation's history and that perhaps this is the reason why China is the oldest existing country in the world. He mentions that dung of Chinese Fireballs was used to create a precursor to black powder which in turn led to invention of black powder itself. All in all, he makes it sound like China has some kind of mandate of heaven.
Other people continue, shifting the tone towards politics. They state that China firmly supports the decision to reveal the existence of dragons, which is quite a bold statement considering that they remained anonymous until the secret was already out. However, they say what John needed them to say in the end - they are on the side of the dragon colonies and any nation who will try anything funny will have to deal with them. That's good because John doesn't know how long is he going to be a president and who will replace him.
John stands before the congress. There is a hearing and he is the witness. He specifically requested a standing position rather than the usual table and a chair. He'll be more comfortable that way and it seems more dignified to him - and at such historical times, dignity is most certainly called for.
Most of the legislators are still subdued. It is those who were not present at the event that are going to ask questions.
John starts with an opening statement.
"I come before you with an intention of answering all questions I can answer and alleviating any fears you have. Some information, I can't make public because of international treaties to which our country agreed to be subjected to at the time of its founding, because of agreements we made when we sought international support for this endeavor, and because of my own nondisclosure agreement I made when I interned in a dragon colony."
The last part garners attention. There is some low murmur from those who weren't present at the National Mall.
John elaborates, "This agreement, made out of my own free will, is no mere piece of paper. It's an oath which physically prevents me from betraying the trust given to me. Luckily, there are ways around such injunctions and exact knowledge of these details is not required for the conduct of your job. Ergo, whenever you are not satisfied with what I'm saying, pay attention to what I'm not saying. Moreover, there are those among you who were briefed on these matters years ago."
As expected, first question inquires about presence of dragons in North America.
"Obviously, there was at least one. Moreover, you need to keep in mind that dragons are airborne, do not show on radar, and know how to keep out of sight. Should they desire, they can visit any location on this planet and leave again without anybody learning about it. I can tell you, however, that they prefer to remain in place. As you can guess, keeping such a colossus in the air is highly uneconomical. But I suspect that you are more interested whether dragons are native to our region?"
The person nods.
"And that is where I must disappoint you. It was agreed that countries which do not belong in this category will not reveal this fact to public. The reason is simple. If all such countries declared themselves, any foolish sensation seekers could simply search for dragons in the remaining ones. So far, China is the only such country which is alright with being exposed in such a way. Speaking of which, it would be ill-advised for any tourists to search for dragons in China. Chinese authorities would be displeased."
Next question is as inevitable as the first one. Unlike the first one, the congress was not planning to ask it.
"Excuse me, have you said you interned in a dragon colony?"
"Yes, that's right. For a year. Along with Sue."
More questions follow and he recounts the story while avoiding revelation of any sensitive details. The bit about the green lemonade with bubbles going down isn't exactly sensitive but it constitutes a funny anecdote and John doesn't wish to tell one in a congressional hearing.
After this derailment of the prepared line of questioning, they ask another planned question. How many dragons are there on the planet?
"No one knows," John reveals. "Colonies do not share their numbers with each other and no one has ever visited all of them. I can't even give you the exact population of the one I worked in but I think I'm not breaking any rules when I tell you that it was quite small."
The congress is growing dissatisfied. They ask him whether he could arrange for James to come to testify himself. John shakes his head.
"He was with that dragon for his whole life. He is too far gone to be capable of communicating with you in any form which you would find useful. Nor would he show any interest in standing before you. That's not disrespect, that's just the way he is. Or rather, the way he is not. However, anything you wish to ask him, you can ask me."
"Is he something like an ambassador for dragons?"
"No, the dragon is the ambassador. My brother is his... attache."
John hoped to receive some deep questions but he doesn't get any throughout the whole session. He'll have to find some other way to discuss them.
Among all the excitement, few people notice or care when John initiates steps to abolish the nuclear football. Instead, most people laugh at Sue's story about lemonade with reversed bubbles.
The rest focuses on John's upcoming discussion with one of the foremost Canadian theologians. The scholar is a Jew and some people see this as favoritism (John's political and personal ties with Israel are as strong as ever).
As predicted by John, most religions around the world are experiencing a crisis. While Hindus or Buddhists aren't affected much, the Catholic church, for example, was involved in the cover-up and now they get criticism for lying to people.
"Well, Mr. President, it seems some people are failing to heed one of your warnings already. There are rumors of dragon cults springing up."
"I asked people not to do it because it's foolish. The only form of worship dragons recognize is bringing them food. And if you just prostrate yourself before one... Well, you get the idea."
They keep discussing the possibility of dragon divinity.
"Divinity, as imagined by most people, especially in western world, is absolute truth and absolute love at the same time," muses John.
"Yes, that's one way to look at it."
"Dragons, on the other hand, are only absolute truth. Ergo, they are not divine. From what we've seen so far, they've got no concept of love. They understand and value loyalty but not love."
The scholar asks him to elaborate on their relationship to truth.
"It's not a virtue, in their case. It's their nature, the way they experience the world. In this regard, dragons are an antithesis to humanity. Not just because truth is sometimes considered inappropriate in these times, but also because our entire society is built on lies."
"What do you mean?"
"For example, what the two of us are doing right now is a lie."
"I beg your pardon?"
"There's no objective connection between the sounds we make and what we mean to convey. And what's worse, all English speaking people have agreed upon this lie. The problem arises when different people understand or utilize the lie differently. Dragons have never encountered this problem. Imagine how different our society would be if there was no miscommunication or falsehood."
The scholar wants to rebuff him. Symbolic communication is what differentiates people from animals. However, given the context (dragons) and topic (theology), he refrains from doing so.
"That's one way to look at it," he repeats instead.
They discuss influence of dragons on various religions. Dragons sacrifice their flesh and blood to advance scientific progress. Christian tradition contains a similar concept. Is there a connection? Who knows?
John mentions that dragons were probably behind destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and a few other cities in that era and region. There is no clear proof of that - there are no dragon colonies in the area (John doesn't say that one aloud). However, nearby colonies did record an unusual amount of dragon traffic. Their reasons had nothing to do with morals though. It is possible that there was an outbreak of a disease in those cities. Some sort of STD, for example. People didn't have effective means of combating such a disease back then so dragons came in to contain the outbreak.
They sacrificed few to save many but no one knows why - there were no direct reasons. Maybe the outbreak would grow worse and the indirect ramifications would be direr than they would like? John tries to hint at dragons having a different perception of time than people but that is outside of the scholar's expertise.
In the end, the scholar's curiosity gets the better of him and he asks about John's stay in a dragon colony. What was it like to be among dragons for a whole year?
"Working with dragons is like having everything you want. It was difficult for us to leave but if we had stayed longer, it would have been nearly impossible."
John's State of the Union Address after his first year is boring as hell. He expresses his relief that his worst nightmares have not come to pass. He goes over crime statistics and points out that the revelation of dragon existence did not cause crime rise bigger than the usual fluctuation. In fact, there was a slight dip but John interprets it as the dip overshadowing the rise.
If anybody hoped to sate their curiosity, they are disappointed. Sue has ran out of funny stories. Chinese government has released all the information they possessed and everybody else is silent.
It is time for someone of a scientific vocation and who have not worked in a dragon colony. Harry agrees to meet a selection of scientists ranging from biology to physics. He agrees a little too easily for John's liking but that kind of enthusiasm is in Harry's nature.
To the surprise of everybody, he shows up at the discussion (showing up meaning getting there without anybody knowing how) with Fawkes on his shoulder. And in his usual attire (Gandalf-like gray cloak). With everybody else there being jaded to small and seemingly ordinary things due to having seen a dragon, it takes a moment before they realize that the bird is unlike any other bird they have ever seen. Harry drives the point home when he reveals that the bird is a phoenix and introduces him as his very good friend Fawkes.
"You mean like in Harry Potter?" asks one of the scientists sarcastically.
"Exactly like in Harry Potter!" confirms Harry, pointing a finger at the person.
Everybody takes it as Fawkes being named after Fawkes from Harry Potter. Neither Harry nor Fawkes succumb to the temptation to correct the mistake. Obviously, everybody wonders why has Harry decided to bring him along but for the moment, they've got a bigger fish to fry.
First, Harry and a biologist finish some of the points made by Chinese. Yes, dragons are basically dinosaurs, similarly to humans being mammals but far more evolved. When talking about what do dragons and people have in common physiologically, Harry rehashes that the core of primate brain shares similarities with reptilians because of shared ancestors somewhere deep in the evolution. The biologist remarks that it is more complicated than that but agrees to leave it at that for the sake of simplicity.
"Now, those are the parts of human and dragon brains which are at least a little bit similar," continues Harry. "The thing is, dragons evolved in a completely different direction from that point and way further. Think about this long and hard and you'll get some idea how different and alien they are to us."
"Yes, I understand. But it's people who learned to use tools and form societies."
"Dragons don't need any of that. It is said that no man is an island. On the other hand, every dragon is a nation. Their interactions are similar to relations between countries. At this point, my brother would be sure to say, 'Imagine a world where no one needs anything from anybody,' or something similar."
The moderator asks them to shelve biology because the physicists are itching to join the discussion.
"How do they defy gravity?"
This question hasn't been answered in satisfactory manner yet.
"That's one of the first questions people working in dragon colonies asked themselves. Many millennia ago. And answered it, in fact. And this is where you see a difference between a mundane scientist and one working with dragons. A normal scientist looks at a bird, asks how does it fly, and proposes to build an airplane. On the other hand, dragon keepers, with all they ever learned about dragons, never thought that this knowledge could be used for space exploration. Because they don't have the motivation. It's just like John said, dragons themselves are a fulfillment enough for your ambition. In some regard, these three hundred years of separation did us all good. There was an unprecedented progress in mundane science. However, playing with mathematical models has its limitations. Dragon related research, that's basically throwing science at a wall to see what sticks. Mundane science is in a seemingly dead end because of failure to reconcile relativity and quantum theory by fully explaining gravity by quantum theory in a way which would be provable experimentally."
He doesn't bother to point out loud, not even for the sake of the audience, that this was caused by gravity being too weak on the microscopic level and that dragons are an obvious anomaly. He continues right on.
"But that's where dragon keepers started - they started by the Holy Grail, the theory of everything."
That gets some of the present scientists excited - this is what they hoped for. They ask for more information.
"The only problem was, they used a different approach than people like Einstein. It would be very difficult to use their knowledge as is for industrial purposes. For example, when the first quantum theory was formulated, people who worked on it designed a transistor and gave rise to modern computers. Nothing of the sort would be possible using dragon related science. You need to translate it to ordinary mathematical models first. So, we've been quite busy in last few decades. Especially in last several years. Alas, I can't talk about that."
They keep discussing the topic and prodding him for more information and Harry hints that perhaps in several years, more information will be made public.
In the end, they circle back to dragons and to a question of their motivation.
"Well, unlike my brother, I've got only secondhand information," he gestures towards Fawkes. He doesn't clarify whether he means James or John.
"Is there a connection between this... bird and dragons?" asks the moderator.
"Biologically speaking, just like between dinosaurs and birds. A phoenix shares some traits with dragons but can afford to take a more active role in the world's events thanks to being smaller. That is, in Fawkes's case - I don't know of any other phoenix who's this involved. However, just like dragons, they almost never take direct action."
"Involved in what way?"
"The details are classified but I'll give you some idea. If it wasn't for this bird, Hitler wouldn't loose the war. Of course, it wasn't about Hitler, that was just a pleasant consequence. And it was my predecessor who got the credit."
That kind of revelation leaves the others in awkward silence. How do you react to a statement like that? Should it even be taken seriously?
"So, what exactly does the bird tell you to do?"
"Nothing any longer. Our interests are so perfectly aligned that he merely wants me to keep doing what I'm doing. The research I've talked about already. And here we come back to dragons - just like my interests are aligned with Fawkes's, his are aligned with dragons'."
There is another moment of silence.
"Space exploration?" remembers one of the physicists. "Dragons wants us to improve our space industry?"
"What else could it be? But like I've said, I can't talk about that."
"Very well, but why?" asks the biologist.
Harry shrugs.
"Maybe that's the one thing we can do and they can't. Maybe this planet has become too small for them and they need a new environment to challenge them. Most probably, they want us to do this for our own sake. Because of our overpopulation problems, for example."
"All of that seems almost too fantastical to believe," ponders the moderator but in an amazed tone, not a dismissive one.
"More fantastic than dragons themselves? However, there is one indication which is very concrete and which points out there." He lifts his eyes up. "For as far back as records of oldest dragon colonies reach, some of the dragons keepers used to get these visions when in proximity to dragons."
"Visions?"
"Dreams, for most people. But in case of more sensitive keepers, actual visions while they were awake. They were shown a planet similar to Earth populated by people and dragons. The details are unknown because the dragons on the other side focused on their night sky."
Harry makes and expectant pause. He is about to prod the others with a question when he finally gets a reaction.
"They were giving us their position!"
Harry beams and makes a period mark with his index finger at the speaker.
"Of course, the hand-drawn star charts which resulted from those visions were useless to them back then," continues Harry. "They knew only a rough distance to a few closest stars and without modern computers, it wouldn't have mattered anyway. They tried to correlate that star chart with what we see from here but it was pointless - it seems the place isn't close by."
"So, are you going to run it through a bunch of supercomputers to pinpoint the location of the planet?"
"To be honest, no one has even started to digitize the star charts. As I've said, there's a lot of going on right now and we can't spare the people or computing power."
More questions and suggestions follow. Harry doesn't have to reveal that those visions were probably instantaneous, rather than sent at the speed of light - a few centuries of delay wouldn't do anything to positions of stars. However, someone points out that Harry said "used to" at the beginning of this topic.
"The visions grew more and more sporadic in last few centuries," elaborates Harry. "Possibly because of decline of dragon population over there. The human population is flourishing though."
They ask him what could it all possibly mean, why are the dragons showing their caretakers those images? After all, their kin over there is dying out and they won't be able to reach them before they are all long gone.
"Maybe they want us to help those people instead? Though with what, I do not know. Maybe they are just telling us that there's another habitable planet similar to Earth."
Democrats and Republicans join forces against John in his bid for re-election. They should have known it wasn't a good occasion to pull such a trick. Not only do they fail but they also loose their two thirds majority in the house.
In his second inauguration speech, John reveals that his predecessor initiated an FTL research program. He doesn't name Harry or Billy but he praises the hard work of everyone in the project. He admits that recreating the effect needed to achieve superluminal flight with purely mundane means is proving to be a challenge but he hopes that one way or another, they'll conduct first test flight within next two decades.
It doesn't take long for Harry to make another public appearance - this time on a scientific conference. The topic is more specific than before. They talk about two possible ways of near and faster than light space travel.
One of them is the one which Harry has spent most of his life working on (the one which utilizes underlying principles of magical teleportation but he doesn't mention that). He favors it because because it has better potential for interstellar travel. The complication hinted upon by John is, apart from multiple minor areas still relying on magic, the need for Harry to provide the initial spark to start the effect. Harry denotes it as "jump drive" for the sake of other physicists present at the conference.
The second one is more familiar to those. It has been theorized already that high velocities could be achieved without breaking laws of relativity by bending gravity in front of and behind a space craft. This has already been dubbed as "warp drive" for the purposes of presenting this theory to layman public. Mundane scientists didn't know how to effect this bending until they learned that it is a second nature to dragons. The same problem persists - how to do this completely without magic?
Harry and Billy don't consider "warping" to be best for interstellar travel. For one, it is slower. While superluminal velocity can be theoretically achieved this way, it will be used primarily for near-light-speed travels. Another complication is that while there aren't many atoms of hydrogen in the vacuum of interstellar space (and even less dust), traveling at such a speed over such a distance would compound the problem. However, they admit that it could be useful for local flights around the solar system and a different application of the technology could be used for easier travels to the orbit. While this area of magic can't change mass of an object, it can change its weight.
John, now an "ordinary" astronaut, performs final checks. Harry is the other crew member of their little (in capacity, not so much in size) spacecraft. It has been debated whether an ordinary human should be on this test-flight. John argued that they do not know how a human, especially a non-magical one, would react to the flight. In the end, he was allowed to fly with his brother.
John reports all systems green to the mission control. He settles in his seat and watches Earth turn.
It almost feels like cheating. They have been unable to make the jump drive work without magic (the reason why Harry is there). Alas, the two decades from his promise are almost up and people need hope.
The mission control gives them a go but there is no exact countdown. A satellite equipped with a powerful laser starts sending bursts of light which will fall on a specific spot on the Moon in 1.3 seconds. Within these bursts is encoded the exact mission time at which each signal was sent.
They don't need to wait for a window to make the jump, their only concern is to slingshot around the Moon. While they are all reasonably sure that there is no reason why they shouldn't jump away from Earth, some feel a little bit of apprehension about a craft jumping towards Earth. For now, making just one jump with the prototype seems enough for one flight.
John plots a suitable course in his head and punches it in the computer. The mission control receives the numbers and they run their own simulation.
"Get ready," he tells Harry.
The hybrid wizard unscrews a heavy seal positioned next to his seat. Some kind of a handle is revealed. It doesn't turn or operate in any other way, its only purpose is for Harry to grab it. With some retuning, Dobby or any capable wizard would do as well but the same logic which led to John's selection applies here.
"You know what I want to hear," Harry replies with a grin.
John, glancing at a display, waits a little bit longer.
"Engage."