On the Wings of Dragons

by Bobmin356

The Weyr prepares for the step of going public against the backdrop of heightening international tensions and increasingly complex personal issues. And is Britain really secure now that the Ministry has been conquered? Sequel to The Queen Who Fell to Earth. Harry/Hr/OCF

11. Chapter 11

Standard Disclaimer:

Harry stepped onto the stage looking decidedly unhappy. "Alyx is still on the run from the law. She sent in an update to her Who Who epic from a motel six somewhere south of Tijuana. Bob on the other hand was caught by the naked donut delivery girls and it took eight different SWAT teams to rescue him. We still can't explain why the Miami SWAT showed up to help, but the naked donut delivery girls seemed to enjoy them."

Chekiath poked his head out from behind the curtain. "In this chapter's Who Who epic, Draco's artistically sculpted plaster Who Whos have attracted the attention of the idle rich. He has accepted a commission to build the world's largest Who Who for Dubai. It will be added to their list of tourist attractions, although there has been some speculation that Trojan has been consulted in an attempt to protect the Who who from the rain.

"Snape continues to dance for dollars, unknowing of Draco's success. He hopes to have enough money to invest in Hydraulic Who Who research for Draco. It is a safer alternative to Alyx's steam powered Who Who."

Harry sighed and looked down at the paper in his hand and shook his head. "The shit I have to do to get my story told," he muttered then he looked up and smiled. "Meanwhile the Evil Emperor Darth Dumbledore is still approaching Slobnovia. It seems that he spent all his money building the thing and can't afford any fuel. Prince Hermione aboard the Millennium Pigeon would have saved the day, but it turns out it was a homing pigeon and no one can steer the thing."

Harry looked painfully at the audience.

Up in the control room Bob raised in his glass in salute. "It's amazing what a few rumors can do. Alyx is running because she thinks she's being hunted. Harry and Chekiath are doing the disclaimers and I can relax with my girls. Oh and we don't own Harry Potter if anyone cares. I'd like to say we do own the dragons, but I've been told that making such a claim will result in dragons burning down my house so we don't own them either."

---

Eating Words has never given me indigestion.
-Winston Churchill

St. Mungos, London, March 11th...

Harry entered the building along with Albus Dumbledore, who he had personally invited to come along. The last few days had been strange. Hermione had returned to Disko to complete her duties with her Wing and had not sought him out as he'd expected. He and May continued on as usual, not speaking anymore about the possible triangle looming in their lives.

Rather than worry over it, it was Weyr business as usual, and this was special business today. Today he was going to keep a promise he had made months ago.

"Harry, stop smirking," Albus chided as they walked up the stairs. Albus was used to people pointing and whispering as he walked anywhere in the wizarding world. The reaction to Harry in his distinctive uniform was entirely different. The papers had been full of news about the dragons preventing the attack at Hogsmeade, and now stories were being picked up from the Americas of a second Weyr called Condron that also boasted magical and muggle riders. Respect for the riders was building with each story.

"Sorry, Albus, but you have to admit it's funny. They can't seem to decide if I'm dangerous or not," Harry replied. "You attract attention and many people smile and wave at you. People step back and look at me warily and whisper to each other."

Albus sighed. "We have fame, Harry. Most people go their entire lives without achieving that in any way. Some wish they were us, many admire us, some fear what we represent. All of them know we're different. The trick you must learn is that no matter what they think, you must treat them like you're no different than they are."

"Doesn't it ever bother you?" Harry asked curiously.

Albus smiled sadly. "Yes. It would be nice someday to be able to just visit friends and be treated like I was one of them. But everyone fusses so when I visit."

Harry nodded. He was beginning to understand that. "I know. The only ones who don't fuss are Sirius and Remus. And Chekiath, of course. Even my riders do it to an extent."

Albus stopped and turned to face him. "You are in a difficult position, and one far more difficult than I ever envisioned for you. You started your life as the Boy-Who-Lived and I am certain that someday that title will be a minor footnote in the history of the world's first Weyrleader. And if the gossip I hear from Remus is correct, there are at least two girls who think you're extraordinary in a very personal way."

Albus' eyes twinkled madly and he grinned as the young man blushed. He clapped a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Come! Let us get on with our visit."

"Thank you, Albus," Harry replied. He never thought he'd be able to have these kind of conversations with the old man, but the past year had changed them both in ways neither fully understood.

Albus turned and pushed open a door to the sixth floor pediatric ward. Both men exited to the main lobby and were surprised to see the staff arrayed before them, along with Mr and Mrs Kincaid and their two children, William and Connie.

The pants William wore showed obvious signs that one leg had been altered to allow for extra room.

His eyes lit up when he spotted Harry. He craned around to the window hoping to see Chekiath.

Harry laughed and walked over to him. "No, he's not here this time, William. My friend Albus and I are here to take you and your family to where he's waiting to see you."

William grinned broadly and nodded. Harry looked over at his parents. "Mr and Mrs Kincaid, I want to thank you."

"No, Weyrleader, it's we who are thankful. Willie told us what your dragon said to him, holding him here. I don't know if he was just dreaming or not, but he believes that the dragon kept him from passing over. That's good enough for me," Mr. Kincaid said firmly. "All he could talk about during this time was seeing the dragons."

"And when things were especially tough, he'd cling to that stuffed dragon the Weyr sent him," Mrs Kincaid added.

"All the children did," added a healer. "Those toys were a real blessing to the children. We try to keep some toys for them, but we don't really have a budget for it. Receiving a box of animated animals really caused quite a stir. Picked the kids right up, it did, and the timing couldn't have been better, coming just before the Yule holiday."

Harry smiled. "I'll tell Sirius Black that his gift was appreciated then," he replied. "We probably would have done the same thing, but Sirius beat us to the punch."

The healer looked stunned. Sirius had been cleared officially, but many still considered him a very shady character. The idea that he was responsible for sending toys to sick children seemed very out of character for the man.

Harry looked down at William, then over to Albus and nodded.

Albus fished a cord from his pocket. "If you will allow, I'll apparate young William to the Weyr, while everyone else can use this portkey. I daresay he might find the landing of a portkey too difficult."

The elder Kincaids exchanged a look, then they nodded. This was Albus Dumbledore, one of the greatest wizards in Britain. He'd see no harm came to William.

Albus handed the cord to Harry, who grabbed one end and passed it around. Mrs. Kincaid took Connie's hand and placed it on the rope, then she grabbed her daughter's free hand. "Hold on tightly, sweetie," she said.

Once everyone gripped the rope, Albus touched it with his wand and they vanished with a whoosh. He smiled at the small boy, who looked at him worriedly. "Not to fear, young William. We'll be joining them in a moment."

He nodded to the healers, who smiled and waved to William, pleased to see him leaving on two feet instead of in a box. Albus gripped the boy tightly by his shoulder and they vanished with a pop.

Albus and William reappeared on the tarmac in front of Hangar two, not far from where Harry was climbing to his feet. An alarm rang from the administration building and the doors on the hangars opened. The Weyr spilled out of their buildings, trumpeting welcome to William and his family.

Harry grinned, seeing the alarmed look on the parent's faces. "Don't worry, the dragons are just excited to see William and Connie. They love children and Chekiath told them all about your two children."

"It is more than that, Weyrleader," Spath said.

Harry glanced over to Spath, who stood nearby, then he looked back at the Kincaids. "Mr and Mrs Kincaid, allow me to introduce you to Spath. He's is the oldest dragon alive.

Spath moved a little closer to the pair and bobbed his head in greeting."Welcome to our Weyr. I noted the little wizard limps badly. Will that be the way he'll walk from now on?"

Mrs. Kincaid grimaced and nodded. "He lost his leg in the attack. They tried to regrow a new one using a new set of spells, but they have had only limited success. My son is alive, but his leg will always be a problem for him."

Spath glanced over at William, Connie and Albus, who were surrounded by dragons. Connie was enjoying the attention almost as much as William was, but it was impossible to miss the occasional flash of pain in the little boy's expression.

Spath turned back to Harry and the parents. "We know of injuries that make walking hard. Life will be easier for him when he joins the Weyr."

Harry looked at Spath in shock. "He's a potential rider?" he blurted.

"Both the wizard and the witch are, Weyrleader. In time, they will be found again in search."

"I don't understand," Mr. Kincaid said sourly. "What's this about Willie and Connie?"

Harry turned to the stunned parents. "It seems that both of your children can be dragon riders. When they're fifteen, they'll be asked if they would like to join the Weyr and be offered a chance to impress a dragon of their own."

Harry dropped his voice so that only the parents could hear. "The possibility of William being a rider would lessen the impact of his handicap. A dragon can do a lot for their rider. It would give him a degree of mobility that he doesn't have now."

Mrs. Kincaid looked at her children, then looked at her husband. "We don't have to decide anything today, Walt. Fifteen is still years away, but look at them," she said.

He glanced over at the children, both of who were smiling broadly.

Harry noted that Ronan was sitting astride Garanoth and Sammy Hinerman was helping lift William into position in front of Ronan. Nearby, another pair of riders were lifting Connie into place. They were only going to fly around the Weyr, so they didn't need to don the heavy riding jackets.

When the two dragons leapt into the air, both kids screamed in surprise, then quickly switched to laughter. Around the two dragons forty more joined them in escort.

When Harry turned back to the parents, he saw Sirius and Remus standing nearby, with Luna behind them.

"I'd like you to meet Sirius Black," he said, waving Sirius forward.

Mrs Kincaid gasped and rushed Sirius.

Sirius stood in shocked surprise as the woman hugged him tightly and whispered a heartfelt thank you in his ear.

"Your toys were very well received, Sirius," Harry said softly

Sirius blinked, then he grinned rakishly. "Good! I knew old Fritz only made the best toys."

Remus stepped up behind Sirius. "Why don't we get in out of the cold? The children will be fine. The riders will land in a bit and bring them to the kitchen hall, where we have plenty of hot chocolate and some of Honeydukes' finest biscuits waiting."

The parents nodded, still a bit shocked and they followed Remus and Sirius towards the kitchen hall. Harry started to follow, when Luna stopped him.

"Really, Harry," she said, sounding disappointed. "I thought it was my job to find us new riders."

He grinned. "I just wanted to show you that can I contribute, Luna," he replied. He was onto her game now and wasn't going to let her shock him anymore.

She arched an eyebrow at him, then stepped closer. Normally Harry would have backed up, but this time he didn't. He looked at her passively and waited. "I know another way you can contribute," she said, trying to sound as seductive as possible.

He smiled at her. "It's an interesting offer, but I'm afraid that first you'll have to clear that sort of thing with May, and maybe Hermione. I will admit it's tempting, but I'm not suicidal and I know May would kill me. Who knows? They might agree and the four of us in the same bed would result in interesting times, I'm sure."

She gasped and stared at him with slightly wild eyes.

He sketched a slight bow and left Luna staring after him.

She shook her head, a bit dazed. She admitted to herself that, for the first time, someone had managed to discombobulate her!

Later that evening, Harry tiredly crawled into bed, feeling much better about the day. The Kincaids had spent several hours touring the facilities, then the entire family was bundled up in warm clothing and taken home via dragonback.

That both children were potential candidates surprised the Weyr. Even when Chekiath spoke to William in the hospital, holding him to this plane, he had no idea the child could be a rider someday. May suggested that Chekiath touching William's mind altered him. Most were ready to believe that until Remus pointed out that it didn't explain Connie, or the fact that Spath and Luna were the only ones certain the two children could impress. The other dragons weren't sure.

Harry had their names entered into the book of potentials and made a note to make sure they were at least offered a chance to come to the Weyr at the appropriate time.

"The dragons really love children," May commented as he settled into bed.

He chuckled. "They love anyone who will scratch their eye ridges, but yeah. It ought to be interesting when we start having children. If they could change diapers they would be the best babysitters."

Her smiled broadened. "How many children do you want?"

He fluffed his pillow then settled down and she scooted over so that her head rested on his shoulder. "I never really thought about it," he said. "I guess a boy and a girl would be nice. Or course, a large family would mean making love more."

"You don't need a large family to have that," May countered with a chuckle.

"No, I suppose not. I guess the answer to your question would have to be whatever you're comfortable with," he said.

She smiled and cuddled into him. Two sounded about right to her, too. It was with that thought drifting through their minds that they fell asleep.

Chinese Embassy London, March 12th...

"Comrade Captain, we received a high priority coded dispatch for you," said the watch communications officer. "It's encrypted with the Ministry of State Security highest cypher."

Wei Fong glanced up and nodded to the Lieutenant. He stood and walked over to a wall safe and opened it, then he removed a special cipher pad. He walked over to a table where the communications officer joined him.

Checking the date in Beijing on his wall calendar, he flipped through the book until he found the appropriate one time pad, then he pulled two blank pads out, handing one to the communications officer. Together they each decrypted the message slowly, working through the one time pad and applying the correct substitutions. This code was one of the most secret and wasn't even trusted to be decoded by computer yet.

Finally, Wei Fong leaned back in his chair and read the decrypted message, while he waited for the communications officer to complete his decryption. The man was a reliable sort, but he rarely had to work with this particular cypher system the Ministry of State Security imposed over the normal encryption scheme used for all diplomatic messages.

Finally, the communications officer put his pencil down and the two men exchanged messages to ensure they had decrypted the message correctly.

Wei Fong glanced down and read quickly.

message start

To: Chief of Station, London Embassy.

Cease all plans to assault facility on western coast of Scotland known as Campbeltown. Colonel Jin Tan Mu's plan to attack facility is hereby canceled by order of the Committee for State Security and the Premiere. Stop.

Colonel Jin Tan Mu's has been reassigned. The matter of Campbeltown is now an issue for the Politburo. Stop.

Continue to maintain a discrete surveillance only. No one is to approach target facility under any circumstances. Stop.

Ambassador Jiang Enzhu returning to London in two days. He will provide further briefing. Stop.

Ministry of State Security 08XBJGR42

message end

Wei Fong placed the message down on the table. "It is the same as mine, Comrade Lieutenant," he said.

The communications officer nodded, then he picked up both messages and placed them in a large ashtray set up for this purpose. Using a lighter he set both messages on fire. The two men watched the paper burn to ash, then they stood.

"I will have messages to send within the hour, Comrade Lieutenant," the station chief said.

"Do you wish for me to send you a girl to take dictation?"

"Yes, do that. Also order the on duty security officer to lock down Comrade Mu's office. Later, he and I will deal with placing the materials inside into appropriate storage," Wei Fong replied.

The watch officer nodded. "Yes, Comrade Captain," he said, then he turned and exited the room.

Wei Fong turned to eye the large map of the United Kingdom that adorned his wall. The message had several astounding elements. It wasn't unusual for an operation, even one in the planning stages, to be canceled. But to be canceled from the Premiere was unprecedented. He had been with the Ambassador, posing as a aide when the man visited Campbeltown. The Ambassador had informed Wei Fong that he would personally brief the Premiere and had left for home immediately following that visit. Wei Fong's own personal report to the Ministry of State Security was transmitted several days after the Ambassador had left.

He had toured the Weyr, along with the Ambassador, but he had not been present during the negotiations. It had become abundantly clear to everyone that the Ambassador spoke perfect English and didn't need someone to translate for him. The Ambassador asked him to wait outside with the rest of the Prime Minister's security detail.

It rankled the intelligence officer that the Ambassador had left him behind while he dealt privately with the imperialist. He had even failed to take the time to explain what had taken place behind those doors. It was a violation of protocol by the Ambassador, but Wei Fong suspected that complaining to his superiors at this point might only cause problems for himself, rather than the Ambassador. Wei Fong was a meticulous individual, but he rarely felt the need to turn people in for poor performance or minor violations. In his entire career, he had arrested only three people.

Dragons were an interesting item, but hardly worthy of bringing it to the Premiere. He had heard the briefing concerning the rocks and hadn't understood the implications of that aspect.

The door opened and a petite young Chinese woman entered. "The comrade lieutenant said you needed someone to take dictation, comrade captain?" she asked in a subdued tone. She was relatively new to the embassy and was naturally wary of the man who was the official arm of the Ministry for State Security.

Wei Fong nodded and gestured to a chair in front of his desk. "Yes. I have many messages that need to be coded for field transmission. Communications knows you will be coming with messages."

She sat and placed a pad on one knee. "I'm ready, comrade captain."

Harry's office, Campbeltown Weyr, March 12th...

"Harry?"

He glanced up and sighed, then he waved Hermione into his office.

She entered and shut the door behind her. She stood by the door as if she were afraid to come any closer.

"Sit down, Hermione," he said softly. "I'm not going to talk to when you're standing by the door, looking ready to bolt. Gryffindors forward, remember?"

She smiled weakly and nodded, then she moved to sit in a chair facing his desk. He stood and walked around the desk, then he leaned against it, his arms crossed. Every muscle in his body screamed with tension and she could see it. She wasn't much better.

"May said you wanted to talk to me," he prompted. "To be honest, I expected to see you days ago."

"I expected to talk to you days ago," she admitted, "but the Gryffindor in me seems to have fled. I was afraid you wouldn't listen to me."

"I've always listened to you. I might not have followed your advice, or did what you told me to do, but I have always listened to you," he retorted gently.

She nodded, acknowledging that truth. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

He leaned slightly closer, his expression tightening. "For?"

"I hurt you. I drove you away when I shouldn't have. I thought I was right and you were just using the dragon as an excuse to have sex with a girl," she said, not meeting his eyes.

"You hurt Susan needlessly, Hermione," he said flatly. "She's a sweet, wonderful girl who helped me when I needed it most, but she wasn't the person I wanted to help me. As nice as that evening eventually turned out to be, there was no connection between us. It was a purely physical act without any emotions attached to it."

He paused and took a deep breath. "I would never tell Susan this and I'll deny I said it, but afterward I felt unfulfilled, almost like it was a let down. She wasn't the person I thought I loved and hoped would be there when I needed her. It made me feel empty and very alone."

She winced at the past tense. He straightened up and walked back around his desk to take his seat, widening the gulf between them. He looked across the desk at her and shook his head. "I'm of two minds about you now and that bothers me. I used to think you'd never hurt me and we'd always be close, but then that damn tournament came up and I learned I wasn't worth your dealing with Ron. Now this. I just don't know what to do."

He fidgeted in his chair, feeling restless, then stood suddenly and stalked to the window. He stared out blankly for a moment, then shook his head. "I know what you and May talked about. Chekiath wants it very much and I know your dragons both want it. I think May is accepting of it, or perhaps resigned is a better word," he said softly, then he turned to her. "How do I know you won't hurt me again? That's twice now that I feel like you've kicked me in the head. This last time I could have gotten past you not coming to me when Cheki rose. You could have simply said you weren't ready, but instead you attacked me and made me feel like shit. You didn't believe me or even Susan when you were told I wasn't in control. And when have I ever gave you the idea that I'd have sex with some random girl for the hell of it?"

She stood and walked over to him. She reached for a moment, then dropped her hand to her side, unwilling to touch him just yet. There was still a huge gulf between them. "When Susan went to you," she said in a near whisper. "I was angry. I was also jealous that she had the courage I lacked. I was certain you could have meditated your way through it. You are the strongest willed person I know. And when you slept with her, I was terribly hurt, so much so that I wanted to hurt you in return."

She looked away and tears started to slide down her cheeks. "When Comaloth rose, I couldn't stop myself. It was like I was suddenly watching my body move against my will. Marty entered my Weyr and he wasn't in much better shape and... and we attacked each other," she said in a gasp. She crossed her arms and she shivered violently. "I tore at his clothing and he tore at mine. There was no reasoning, no talking. We were friends only, coworkers, now driven to a frenzy by our dragons. I cried when it was over. I felt dirty. It wasn't rape, and I certainly couldn't blame Marty. I would have forced myself on any handy male. He wasn't you and I knew that you wouldn't have come to help me like you did with May. You wouldn't come because I made it clear you weren't welcome."

"I'm so sorry," she cried suddenly, then she turned around, unwilling to face him.

Suddenly his arms wrapped around her and she gave into the tears she had been bottling up for days. He pulled her close and let her cry herself out. The gulf still existed between them, but she knew then and there he still cared for her.

"We need to move past the hurt and regret, Hermione," he said gently while he held her. "So much of what happens now depends on you and what you take away from this experience."

Eventually she calmed and he led her over to a chair and pushed her into the seat. Dobby appeared with a tea service and Harry poured her a cup just the way she liked it and handed it to her, then he sat down in another chair, closing the gap a little.

"While I won't say that my experience was as bad as yours, had Susan not learned those healing charms the only thing she would have been able to do is bundle me up and take me to Doctor Sheppard," Harry said. "I was in a lot of pain and I couldn't stop myself. I honestly tried to meditate, and when it got too bad I tried to take care of the problem myself, except that I couldn't...couldn't..."

"You couldn't climax?" she asked.

He nodded his head and blushed. Leave to Hermione to find a technical term for it, he thought. "No, I just kept trying, harder and harder, until I was bleeding. Susan placed me in a partial body bind, then healed me and then she talked me out of the frenzy I had worked myself into. After that, it got better but there was no connection. It was just an act between two friends who wanted to share something."

"I know what you mean," Hermione murmured.

"So, where do we go from here? I won't hurt May," he said firmly.

"May told you about our talk?"

"Only in the briefest of terms. Chekiath was listening to your dragons, since all three dragons were intensely interested in your conversation. I'll tell you what I told May. My house is my calm place, it's the only place I have where I can be Harry and not the Weyrleader. If there is the slightest conflict between you two, I expect you to resolve it calmly, hopefully without dragging me into the fight. I won't take sides."

Hermione nodded with a slight smile, but it slipped when Harry sighed and wiped at his face.

"It's all speculation at this point. I still don't know how to get past questioning whether you'll hurt me again. There's also the fact that it's not just me, anymore. You could also hurt May, and I won't have that. I won't hurt her and won't stand for anyone else hurting her either."

Her expression fell and she silently cursed herself for her actions. Had she not spoken in anger she'd could have been the one in his bed by now and not May. She knew deep down that even if her role with May had been reversed, they'd still be having this conversation because of the dragons. "Then I'll have to work to prove myself worthy of your trust again."

He nodded and looked at her thoughtfully. He carefully considered what the dragons wanted, what May and even he wanted and what would be good for the Weyr. Finally he spoke, "I'll give you that chance. Start coming to my quarters in the evenings. May and I usually have dinner here at seven, rather than in the kitchen hall. After, we spend the evening talking or working on our classwork. Since this involves all three of us, you might as well get to know May better. If you stay too late, you can always use one of the spare bedrooms if you want," he said, then he grinned. "I promise we'll use silencing charms."

She winced slightly at his admission that he was actively sleeping with May and more. Then something he said pinged on her consciousness. "Harry," she said slowly, "did May tell you what we agreed to?"

"No, she said nothing was really decided yet."

"One thing we both did agree upon was that neither one of us is interested in girls. We agreed that the only time we'd both share a bed with you would be for sleeping only," she said. She studied his expression, looking for signs of disappointment.

Harry looked up at her sharply and she was shocked to see a relieved expression. "Thank Merlin for that," he said softly.

At her curious look, he shrugged. "I care for you both deeply and saying 'I love you' seems so inadequate. But the thought of all three of us together at one time had me scared witless. Trying to be the best lover I can is hard enough for one girl, let alone two at once. When I said get to know her better, I wasn't saying become her lover. Just get to know her as a friend, like you know me. If this is to work, we all have to be more than close friends with each other."

She nodded and looked at him a little sheepishly. He had surprised her again. It shocked her to see that she didn't know Harry as well as she thought she did. Once she considered herself an expert on all things Harry Potter, now it seemed she had some catching up to do.

"Are you two done making up now?" Chekiath suddenly asked.

"Speak of the horny horntail that's behind this little setup," Harry said dryly. He turned towards the section of the office where Chekiath had another sand bed.

Chekiath extended his long tail with the foot long horns on the end. It was a vicious looking appendage and he was capable of punching holes through three inch thick steel plate with it. "Of course, I have a very horny tail and all the females admire it," he proclaimed.

Hermione giggled and Harry groaned into his palms. There was no winning against his dragon.

"I've never met a dragon that understands sarcasm, Harry," Hermione said with a laugh.

Chinese Embassy, Athens Greece, March 13th...

In a scene eerily similar to one which occurred only a few days ago, Colonel Jin Tan Mu received his own update to orders from the Chinese government.

"Comrade Colonel, a message has arrived for you. It's coded highest priority," said the Communications Watch officer.

He nodded and walked over to the safe where the decoding pads were kept. He glanced sourly at the watch officer, who was a mere lieutenant and not very good in his opinion. If he had his way, half the staff of this embassy would be sent for reeducation.

Several minutes later, he handed over his decrypted message to the watch officer while he examined the man's work.

message start

To: Colonel Jin Tan Mu, Chief of Station, Athens Embassy.

You are commanded to assume full duties as chief of station pending assignment of a replacement. Personal effects will be shipped to your location within the week. Given the difficulty involved in finding a suitable replacement it is anticipated that you may be chief of station for a year or more. Stop

You are commanded to correct the deficiencies to the station that you noted in your report. Stop.

Cease all plans to assault facility on western coast of Scotland known as Campbeltown. The plan to neutralize the facility has been canceled by order of the Politburo. This is now a political matter and it will be handled by the appropriate departments. Stop.

Continue to investigate the conflict between unclean elements of the decadent governments in hopes of exploiting the situation to further destabilize the government. Stop.

Ministry of State Security 01HDJAG83

message end

He stared at the message in disbelief for a long moment. The Politburo has taken the issue of the Campbeltown into their hands. Fools! He thought angrily. They cannot understand the danger that facility poses to the party! Something has to be done!

"Comrade Colonel? Are you well?" asked the watch officer carefully.

The Colonel shook from his mood. He had his orders and he would carry them out. "I am fine, Comrade, just surprised. These orders were unexpected."

"If I may, Comrade Colonel, congratulations on your posting. We have long needed someone to shake out the malcontents here," the Lieutenant said.

The Colonel glanced sharply at the Lieutenant. He could recognize when a subordinate was sucking up, and the Lieutenant had plenty of practice doing just that. He coldly handed the message form to the man with a hard glare. The Lieutenant cringed slightly, then he burned the two message forms.

The Colonel stood and walked over to his desk. "Lieutenant," he said softly.

"Sir?"

"I do not appreciate officers who grovel and cower to their superiors. You are an officer in the People's Liberation Army. Act like it," the Colonel said, then he reached for a smoke.

The Lieutenant swallowed nervously and gave the Colonel a salute. When the Colonel nodded in reply, he turned and made his way to the door.

"Lieutenant?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Inform the department heads that I want a meeting with them at nine hundred tomorrow morning. Then tell records I want to see the files on all the heads within the hour," the Colonel said.

"Yes, sir."

The door closed and the Colonel took a vicious drag on his cigarette. "Stuck here for a year or more!" he swore to himself. He knew he could speak freely. This room was one of the few in the Embassy that was protected from listening devices. "Fools! They must be made to see the error of their ways."

It was just a minor comment made by a man who had been angered to discover his plan had been rejected. But it was also the start of a crack in the foundation of unswerving obedience the Colonel had had for the past twenty years of his career.

The Wand and the Dagger, Knockturn Alley, March 16th...

Tobias Bunniford took a deep breath and mustered his courage. For weeks he had accepted advice, money and hired help from Carlos the Gerbil and now he deeply regretted it. Carlos had started attending the meetings with his local people. At first he had remained disillusioned and quiet in the meetings, but then he started attending while visible.

His people had asked about him and he had been forced to explain that Carlos was a friend from the continent who wanted to help in their great cause. Carlos smiled congenially to the others at that introduction, but Tobias could see it was the start. Slowly and insidiously, Carlos made himself indispensable to the others. They started looking to Carlos for advice and suggestions, and Carlos had plenty of both.

Carlos was taking over his band of malcontents and turning them into a revolutionary force. The attack on the Hogsmeade school had been Tobias' idea and it had failed miserably. It was only through the efforts of Carlos to restructure the group that they only lost three people to the aurors. Carlos had broken the group into cells and obliviated all knowledge of the general membership from each cell.

On the other hand, Carlos had managed to orchestrate several robberies which brought their group needed funds, and Carlos had recruited a number of people from across the continent. Even Tobias didn't know all of them.

In truth, Tobias was frightened. What had started as a group of like minded friends who would gather for a few pints and the opportunity to spout off about things they didn't like had turned deadly serious. He had never intended to let the group become any more than a bunch of friends who'd get drunk and maybe get a warning for causing a public nuisance.

Before Carlos came along and filled his head with ideas of glory and power, they had confunded a few post owls and sent ink bombs in the mail to the Daily Prophet. Bunniford knew the reputation that Carlos brought with him, and in a moment of pure brilliance, he had spent some gold on some insurance.

Tobias took another deep breath. It was time to end this, he thought. They've already killed one muggle teacher and injured children! I make my living selling sweets to children! Now three of their group have been arrested and an auror had been seriously injured. No, this must end before anyone else gets hurt.

Tobias pushed the door open and entered the plush room. The Wand and the Dagger looked like one of the worst places in Knockturn Alley and the bar did boast some of the foulest denizens of the alley. But for the right price you could get room so steeped in luxury that a five star hotel owner would be hard pressed to match it.

Carlos, it seemed, preferred to live in the very best of surroundings. Tobias was surprised to see Anna sitting at a table dressed in a loosely tied dressing gown. It was obvious she was naked underneath her robe. In front of her she had arranged a deck of tarot cards.

"Right on time," she murmured to Carlos.

He sat on an plush armchair, also clad only in a robe. His attire gave Tobias courage. He could see that he held no wand and didn't appear to have one handy.

"Indeed, my sweet," Carlos said. "You are more talented than anyone suspects."

Anna smiled briefly at him. "I do know my way around the deck."

Carlos nodded and eyed her partial nudity for a moment, then he turned to Tobias. "Senor Bunniford, this is most fortuitous. I was just thinking about you and now, here you are," Carlos said. He waved the man to a chair. "Please, have a seat. You have an air about you like you have something important to say. Anna, be a dear and pour our dear friend, Senor Bunniford, a glass of that excellent sherry."

Slightly confused, Tobias sat warily while Anna stood. The belt holding the robe closed came undone and she made no move to retie it. She walked over to the room's wet bar and he watched her pour three glasses, placing them on a tray.

Anna walked over to Tobias and held the tray in front of him. His eyes tracked the gentle sway of her breasts and he blindly groped for a glass. She smirked at him, then walked over to Carlos and offered him a glass. Carlos took the glass and she returned to her seat at the table.

Tobias took a gulp of the drink to fortify himself, then he turned to Carlos. "Senor Carlos, I don't want you to think that I don't appreciate what you've done for us, but I think it's time for us to back off and take a look at what we hope to achieve here," he said.

Carlos sipped his drink and motioned for Tobias to continue. Across from him at the table, Anna chuckled and Tobias threw her a questioning glance. She was a whore, good only for sex, in his opinion. He was shocked to see her here and even more shocked to see Carlos allowing her to participate in this meeting.

"Things are happening... things which... big things... things are happening." Tobias stammered, then he frowned. He suddenly looked at his glass with utter horror as he realized he had been poisoned. Carlos and Anna watched him carefully, less than a minute later his face had gone totally slack.

Carlos glanced over to Anna. "My dear, it seems that I owe you an apology. I admit I didn't have much faith when you suggested a special potion. You are certain it's permanent?"

Anna nodded. "It's even worse than an obliviate. His mind is wiped clean. I suppose if you had the patience you could train him up to be a person again, but right now he has a mind equal to a newborn babe and nothing can be done to fix it."

Carlos nodded. "It is a most excellent potion," he said, still looking at Bunniford, who sat, blinking slowly and barely moving. "It is a pity. He managed to attract some very useful people, but he himself lacked the motivation need to be a proper revolutionary."

Carlos smiled thinly. "I'm afraid, my dear, you lost one of your regular customers."

Anna shrugged. "He wasn't a bad customer, but it wasn't like I had to rely his trade alone. Besides, I've been considering a change. I can't expect to be doing this all my life."

Carlos arched one eyebrow. "Oh? And what profession would you choose to pursue?"

Anna placed her glass down on the table and walked over to Carlos. She knelt in front of him. "It strikes me that a sufficiently powerful wizard could really shake up Britain, and such a powerful wizard would need someone to help him deal with the stress in his life," she said in a sultry tone. "I would think this little demonstration has shown that I have more talents than just warming your bed?"

Carlos reached out and ran a hand gently down her cheek. She leaned into his touch and he slid it down until it was under her chin, then he swiftly grasped her by her neck. Her eyes bulged in her head and she stared at him in surprise and fear.

"You are a dangerous woman, Anna, so much like a black widow. You entice your victims in and captivate them with the pleasures you can give them. But I am more dangerous. The first time you forget that fact will be your last. I will use your talents and your body as I see fit. If you continue to be useful, I will see you well compensated for your efforts."

He released her and she felt backwards and took a huge heaving breath. "Do you understand me, my dear?" Carlos said mildly.

Anna nodded, clearly frightened by the man. She had hoped to establish some measure of control over him and he had brushed her attempt aside with a callous contempt. It was a first for her to find a man she couldn't dominate and it made her fearful.

"Excellent. Now, get dressed and floo room three oh nine and tell Alberto I need him to come up here to dispose of Bunniford. After that, you and I will talk about how we'll grab complete control over his little band of revolutionaries."

She scrambled to her feet and rushed over to where her clothing lay and started to dress.

"Anna?"

"Yes?"

"Do not bother fully dressing," he commanded.

She smiled slightly and nodded, then picked up her robe. Her under garments would get shoved in a drawer for now.

Harry's Quarters, Campbeltown Weyr, March 16th...

Harry sat down at the table and looked at the two girls who were sitting across from him. He had returned from Disko and seeing the Weyrlings off on their Weyr tour. It had been a tiring affair, helping so many riders make their first long distance jump from Disko Island to Campbeltown. Harry was glad to be home and looking forward to a relaxing meal.

Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be. Hermione had shown up a half hour after he arrived and since then a heavy blanket of tense silence had descended in the house. Harry stabbed a chicken breast from the platter and then offered it to May. "Chicken?" he said.

The fried chicken was a recipe that Harry had stumbled upon when he went to Condron. He had Dobby bring the recipe back to their cooking elves and they made it at least once a week for Harry.

May shook her head and Harry sighed, then he put the platter down. "This isn't going to work," he said flatly. Both girls looked up at him in surprise. He looked at the pair of them and shook his head. "I made it plain that this house was the one place I go to relax, and yet right now the tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife. If this is what we have to look forward to, then I'm afraid I'm going to have disappoint Chekiath."

He stood with the intent to leave them so that they could work this out, but May reached out and grabbed him his hand. "No, Harry. Wait," she pleaded.

He turned and looked at her. He could feel Chekiath watching anxiously from his sand bed. His dragon knew that Harry would go very far to make him happy, but Cheki wouldn't allow Harry to enter into a situation that made him unhappy. There were other females he could choose from.

"I'm sorry," May said. "I guess it's one thing to talk about it between two of us. But when faced with the reality?" She shrugged.

"It becomes a lot harder," Hermione muttered, finishing for May. The two girls glanced at each other and tried to hide the glare they exchanged.

Harry ran a hand through his hair. "Maybe you two should go talk this out among yourselves? Or maybe we should just forget this altogether."

May glanced at him sharply. "Harry, you're involved in this also, you know. If there's any talking to be had, it should be between the three of us."

He reluctantly nodded and sat back down in his chair. "Well, then let me start out by saying that what I feel for you, I also feel for Hermione. Part of why I want both of you comes from Cheki, but only a part. Cheki is probably why I'm even willing to consider this. Were it not for him, I'd run for the hills before getting involved with two women at the same time."

Both girls laughed a bit at his comment.

"I care deeply for both of you and wouldn't want to hurt either of you. But this isn't the way I expected things to be when you first brought this up."

He paused and played briefly with a butter knife before looking at them again. "Chekiath is the largest dragon in the world and we aren't stupid and neither are you girls. We all know if he wanted to, he could cover virtually every female in the Weyr. And I could probably have more than a few of them myself. Susan made it patently clear that while she wasn't looking for a relationship, she wouldn't mind doing it again."

"It did cross my mind, but I didn't want to cause problems for you," Chekiath said suddenly.

Harry grinned slightly. "Thanks for that, mate."

His expression sobered again. "I don't think I have it in me to have sex just for the sake of having sex. Susan Bones caught me while I was still in the first mating frenzy. Had she come another night I would have sent her packing. She's a lovely girl and very attractive, but other than friendship and respect, I don't really feel anything for her."

Both girls stared at him in shock. They'd never heard him speak so openly or candidly before.

"Do you have a point to this, Harry?" Hermione asked a bit fearfully.

He nodded. "I do and it's a very simple one. Of all the girls in the Weyr, I only have feelings for you two. It's why I'm even considering this. But it can't happen like this. You two have to at least be friends for this to work. May and I have already talked about having a family someday. To my mind. that says a permanent relationship. But what does that make us? One husband and two wives? Shagging buddies? Because shagging buddies isn't going to cut it. And you two barely tolerating each other will fail from the get go."

He glanced over to his dragon before looking back at both girls. "If we can't be together without it feeling like we're one step shy of outright war, then we can't be together. And to be brutally honest with you both, I do not need this distraction."

May looked down at the table, suddenly ashamed with herself. "I'm sorry Hermione," she suddenly blurted. "I know we talked about this. When you showed up tonight it suddenly became real and I was frightened."

"Of what?" Harry asked.

"That sooner or later you'd discover you love her more than me," Hermione answered for her.

May looked up at Hermione, surprised, then nodded quickly. "Exactly!"

Harry sighed. "I can't speak for the future. My best friend used to claim divination was a wooly subject and it's something I agree with. I can only say that I will try as hard as I can to be the best I can, for both of you. I am willing to do this because it will make both of you – not to mention our dragons - happy. But as near as I can see, the problem lies with you two."

Hermione frowned. "What do you mean?" She didn't like being told that she was part of the problem and had she just looked, she would have seen a similar expression on May's face.

Harry reached out and snagged Hermione's hand in his, then he reached for May as well. "When it's just two of us, there's no problem. May and I spend this time enjoying being with each other. We do our homework, or sometimes watch the telly, or just talk and yes, sometimes we even snog on the couch before going to bed. Most of the things you and I used to do, Hermione. Our evenings were fun and relaxing.

"I refuse to regiment my life so that every even day is a Hermione day and every odd day is a May day just to get a bit of peace. It will be either every day is a day with my family, which includes two wonderful young women, or I'll do something I hoped I'd never do, disappoint my dragon," he said.

"You'd never disappoint me, Harry," Chekiath said fiercly from his bed.

Harry glanced at his dragon and smiled. "I hope that's always true, Cheki," he said, then he turned back to the girls. "Tonight was terrible. It seemed like you were each ready to attack the other. I asked you to join us, Hermione, so that you could learn about May and she could learn about you." He released their hands and rubbed at his temples for a moment. "I love you both, but I think the only way this can work is if you can say the same thing."

"Harry," May protested.

"No, I'm not saying you have to be intimate. Sisters love each other and don't have sex with each other," Harry said quickly, overriding her protest. "What will you do when we have children? Separate them out by mother?

"I see what he's saying, May," Hermione offered. "It has to be more than superficial. We can't just put up with each other for his sake. It will make us all miserable."

May nodded. "I do too. I need to stop thinking of you as the competition."

"There is no competition," Chekiath announced suddenly. "There never was any contest except for the one you made up in your minds. Each of you seem to see only the flaws in yourselves and you try to compare your flawed image against the other. You look at each other and feel that Harry should pick the other over you."

Both girls turned to stare at the large dragon, who rumbled with amusement. "It's not just you two, you know. Harry thinks he isn't worthy of either of you, but when he looks at you, he doesn't see any flaws. I know what he sees, and all he sees is your beauty. He looks at you and sees a person he wants to be close to."

"Cheki," Harry said in a strangled tone. He blushed and looked down at the table. All three were now blushing at the dragon's comments. Both girls knew Chekiath was right. They were hypercritical of their own flaws and both were certain Harry would find the other more attractive.

Cheki turned to regard his rider. "It's true, my rider. You look at both riders and admire their form and their minds as much as I admire their dragons. You think they are the most desirable riders in the Weyr and you think you are not worthy of such. I have tried to tell you and I'll keep on telling you, you are the Weyrleader, you could have any female you want," Cheki said fiercely.

Both girls looked at each other unhappily. Harry might be largely clueless about girls in general, but his dragon wasn't. He could easily have any number of unattached girls from the riders. Most of them knew Harry was taken and reluctantly settled for his friendship.

"Can I make a suggestion?" offered Cheki.

Harry lifted his head and eyed his dragon warily. It wouldn't be out of character for his dragon to suggest they all sit around naked just to break the ice between them.

"Comaloth and Trath are happy for each other. They know I want them as consorts and approve of the idea. Neither is upset about the other. They both know that they will have something that the other females want very much and can't have. They know that I will not breed with any other and are happy with that. Can't you do the same? A dragon wouldn't feel the way you do."

"But we're not dragons," May pointed out.

"You? I feel like I'm a side of beef being offered for sale," Harry muttered, still blushing heavily.

"You're not a piece of meat Harry," Hermione said with a roll of her eyes. "But from the dragon perspective, you are the rider of the most desirable male dragon in the world. The dragons don't understand human mating customs, so in their eyes, you having two wives seems natural to them. They don't understand why it bothers us. Like May points out, we're not dragons."

"No, you're riders and your dragons want you to be friends with each other. Your dragons want you to be happy, and I want Harry to be happy. The only way that can happen is if you consider just how lucky you are. Harry has already pointed out there are other females. The two of you are the only ones fighting against a chance to be happy."

May huffed and crossed her arms, then she leaned back in her chair and turned to Hermione. "I do believe we've just been told off by a dragon. And Cheki isn't the only one. Trath is itching to tell me off too. I can feel her poking around the back of my mind, waiting to pounce."

Hermione nodded slowly. She could feel that her dragon wanted to speak also. "I think we're forgetting something here," she offered hesitantly.

Harry looked at her. "Oh? What's that?"

"That our dragons wouldn't ask us to do something that would make us unhappy. They know us better than we know ourselves, I think. Comaloth wouldn't ask me to do this if she thought I would be miserable."

May's expression changed and her eyes widened. "So if our dragons know we can do this and be happy, what are we missing then? Why the jealousy?"

To the surprise of both girls, it was Harry that spoke. "Cultural taboos," he murmured. Both girls gaped at him and he shrugged. "Diplomatically speaking, understanding a cultural taboo can make or break the diplomatic process. Western society frowns on multiple marriages, but other cultures consider it the norm. That means it's a cultural thing rather than a real limitation. Genetically, the only pitfall would be making sure our children found mates outside of the family group."

"So, what's the answer then?" May asked.

Harry shrugged again. "If you two can get along with each other, I'm all for it. I love you May, and I have always loved Hermione. I may be greedy, but who wouldn't want the two prettiest riders in the Weyr?"

Both girls blushed deeply.

"All right, let's try this from the top, shall we?" Hermione said, then she scooted closer to the table with her chair and cast a warming charm on the now cold food. "Have either of you completed your history assignment on Prime Minister Chamberlain?" she asked, then she picked up the platter of chicken and offered it to May.

May chuckled and took the platter. "I would like to say I finished it days ago, but Harry finished it the day your mum assigned it."

When Hermione turned to him, surprised, he shrugged. "I tend to do my homework as soon as I get it these days. I can't complain to Emma that I couldn't do it because I spent the last three days researching China. She won't accept that excuse."

Hermione relaxed slightly and smiled. Being Weyrleader was forcing him to deal with things early instead of putting them off to the last minute. They discussed the assignment and other issues as the tension gradually relaxed. Before Hermione knew it, it was past eleven. Harry offered to let her stay the night in one of the spare bedrooms, but she declined. It was too soon and she and May still had issues to work out between them.

Harry surprised her when he stopped her at the door and he kissed her and held her tight for a moment before releasing her. It was his way of showing that, despite the rocky start, they had managed some progress tonight.

He shut the door behind Hermione, then he turned back to May.

"That went better than I thought it would," she offered.

He smiled at her. "It did, after we got over the initial bump. There are still a lot of hurdles, but I'm feeling more confident now."

"Are you?" she asked with a smile to match his.

He nodded. "I'm looking forward to seeing if she looks as good in one of my t-shirts as you do," he replied.

She paled for a moment, then shook her head ruefully. "I suppose I should learn to expect that," she said a bit unhappily. She stepped closer to him and he placed his hands on her hips and pulled her closer.

"If you mean that I'll be lusting after you as much as her? Yes, but the one thing I can promise you, May, is that when you have me, you'll have all of me. I won't be thinking about her when I'm with you, and I won't be thinking about you when I'm with her."

His fingers undid the buttons of her blouse and she moaned slightly when he pulled it back and kissed her bare shoulder. "She's not here now. You two made a rule, I'll add another. No talking behind the back of your sister wife," he whispered, his lips leaving a trail of fire across her skin.

She pulled him tightly to her and nodded her head against his shoulder. That was a rule she could live with. "I can do that. But two wives is your limit. Now take me to bed, Harry. Let me have all of you tonight," she whispered. He nodded and easily picked her up in his arms, then took her into the bedroom.

Chekiath watched the couple leave the room and his eyes drooped noticeably. Chekiath, Trath and Comaloth had payed very close attention to the conversation and all three dragons knew how close things had come to falling apart. Some riders were easy to influence via the bond, but these three were exceptionally strong willed and not easily influenced. For now, the three dragons were content. Their riders were one step closer to being mated like they wanted them to be.

A soft pop woke Cheki enough to open one eye. He saw Dobby clearing away the dinner dishes and banishing the clothing to the clothes hamper. Dobby saw Cheki watching him and he smiled, then he snapped his fingers twice. Instantly Chekiath found his back being scratched like someone was rubbing millions of stiff bristles over it. He whuffled in pleasure and stretched a little. "Thank you, Dobby," Cheki said.

Dobby waved. "Good night, Cheki dragon," he said, then he vanished with a pop.

Leaky Cauldron, Diagon Alley, March 17th...

Tom looked up when the door opened and he smiled at the middle aged gentleman that entered. The man carried a small overnight bag, but that meant little to a wizard. For all he knew the man could have had enough clothing in that small bag to outfit an army.

"Good morning, sir. How may I help you?" Tom said.

"Good morning," replied the stranger in a thick German accent. "I am here on business and expect to be around for a few weeks. You have rooms, yes?"

Tom smiled broadly. "Yes, sir, I do indeed."

"Gut, I take room with bath then, for two weeks, ja?"

Tom smiled, "A room with full bath? That'll be twenty galleons per week. You can either give me a deposit of fifteen galleons now the rest payable on checkout, or pay in full."

Tom pulled out his registry and opened it, then offered the man a quill. "Room 2A, sir. There's a free breakfast delivered by elf every morning at eight. Lunch and dinner can be had either here, in the alley proper, or an elf can deliver it to your room."

"I pay full now, but if I need to stay longer, I will tell you," the man said, then he counted out four ten galleon coins and handed them to Tom.

He leaned down and signed the registry using his latest alias, Werner Migartt.

Tom glanced at the registry and smiled broadly. "Welcome, Mr. Migartt. I hope you'll enjoy your stay. If you'll give me a moment, I'll show you your room."

Tom glanced around til he located his assistant. "Oi! Nob, you old fool, come watch the bar while I take our guest up to his room!"

Migartt smiled thinly and followed Tom up to one of his best rooms. Once Tom left, he dug into his overnight bag and removed a small pistol and checked it carefully. It should be an easy job. All he had to do was wait here and watch the alley for now.

The pistol was his backup weapon in case his wand was damaged. He also found it useful in startling a competent target. It was one of the reasons why he was so successful. The noise of the pistol had a tendency to surprise wizards and few knew any shield spells capable of stopping a bullet.

Placing the pistol into a shoulder holster, he buttoned up his robe and left the room. He needed to learn the layout of the alley and scout out possible positions he could use to make his hit. He had been told that his target showed up in the alley at least twice a month, so all he had to do was wait.

His instructions were surprisingly precise and included special contingency instructions which he hadn't seen since he had hired out to end an old blood feud on the continent. It made him curious, but not curious enough ask questions.

Campbeltown Weyr, March 29th...

"Harry!"

He stopped on the steps to the kitchen hall and turned around. Seeing Lee running up to him, he smiled.

"Harry, I'm about to head into Ollivanders. Do you want to tag along?" Lee asked.

Lee made weekly scale deliveries and Harry joined him at least twice month. While Lee dealt with Ollivander's nephew, he poked around Diagon Alley, picking up books and odds and ends that he thought would be useful at the Weyr.

"Not this time, Lee," he replied. "We're still good on ice cream since Dan made that comment to Emma about her waistline."

Lee laughed. Dan was still in the doghouse over that comment. He had been sitting with Emma a week ago when he noted that maybe he should join Harry on his morning jog around the Weyr. He poked at his middle and said a little exercise wouldn't kill him, then he nudged Emma and said she should join him since she was showing signs of too much Chocolate Demise.

The kitchen hall fell silent and every male in the building winced as they watched one of their own commit spousal suicide. Emma turned and gave Dan a withering look, then stood and went to sit with her daughter. Dan would have followed, but he realized that every female in the room was glaring at him.

On the other hand, Emma did cut back on her forays into Fortescue's ice cream.

"All right then, Harry, I'll see you when I get back."

Harry nodded and turned to enter the hall. He grinned when he spotted Hermione and May deep in an animated conversation. The pair had been working very hard to find common ground. Ever since that first night, they'd managed to be very cordial to each other. Both girls had pointed out to Harry that he couldn't exactly order them to be friends, or even as close as sisters. He agreed with that statement and they were working on building that friendship. May and Hermione had even gone into town one day on a shopping trip.

He didn't know what they had bought, but he suspected it wasn't something he wanted to know since the pair of them blushed and laughed every time they mentioned it. On a more personal front, Hermione had only come to dinner twice since that first awkward night. It was obvious that they were concentrating on their relationship before really trying to involve Harry again.

He sat down next to the two girls and nodded in greeting to the pair.

"Where have you been hiding?" asked May.

"I was with Remus going over what Spath and the others could tell us about fishing methods the Pern Weyr's employed. I just don't think we're going to be able to repeat it. The fish on Pern, or what passed for fish, were much larger and we're getting the impression that the seas were warmer than what we've got locally," he said. "Generally, they threw some kind of harpoon and then let the dragon hold the line to avoid being pulled free. There was another technique using a net, but apparently Sidraneth and her ancestors never saw it in action, so we have no idea how it worked."

"Hagrid fishes from the back of Selanth. Maybe he has some ideas?" Hermione offered.

May frowned. "Hermione, Hagrid is a lot stronger than a regular rider. Any technique he uses is liable to be unusable by the rest of us."

Harry nodded and swallowed a bite of his sandwich. "I think we're just going to have to bite the bullet and make arrangements with one of the local fishing fleets to supply us the dragons a couple times a month."

"What brought this about? I thought the dragons were happy with the food herd," asked Hermione.

Harry shrugged. "Sir Robert suggested that it would be healthier for the dragons if we varied their diet some. Think about it. Would you like to eat the same thing all the time? The dragons are meat eaters, so it's not like we can give them potatoes and carrots with their meals."

"Not unless the sheep has been eating them first," Hermione muttered.

Harry blinked and started to laugh and she smiled ruefully.

"I was going to take Wing One out to try out some fishing ideas, but Arnas told us there's a bad storm in the North Sea and it's even kicking up conditions in the Irish Sea. I'm not about to risk a rider going into the cold water just to try out a few ideas based on a badly remembered memory."

The Bulstrode effect meant that the dragons wouldn't be bothered by high winds, nor would their riders, but the weather and sea spray would make it a miserable experience for any rider.

"Makes sense," May said, then she sipped from her tea. She was relieved to know that they wouldn't be going anywhere today. She was a member of Wing One and had no pressing duties at the moment, so Harry would have probably insisted she come along. She glanced out the window and shivered at the gray overcast skies. It wasn't raining yet, but she was sure it would start sooner or later.

Harry cupped his mug between both hands and leaned closer to the two girls. "I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate what you've been doing. I haven't wanted to put pressure on either of you, but from where I sit, I can see that you've been both working hard to be friends."

Both girls flushed slightly.

"It wasn't easy at first," May admitted. "But it turns out we have a lot more in common than just you."

Hermione smiled shyly and reached out to touch his hand. "Although I think May would agree, you are the most important thing we have in common."

May nodded. She knew exactly how important Harry was to her personally. "We both hate shopping, for the most part," May offered, "but some parts are fun."

Hermione opened her mouth to speak, then closed it. She saw James Mills looking around a bit desperately. "I think James might be looking for you, Harry," she said.

Harry looked up and caught Jame's glance. "Excuse me a moment," he said, then stood and walked over to James.

"That doesn't look good," May said, watching the pair. Harry expression was souring quickly. Finally he held up a hand to stop James from speaking, he said something in return, and James nodded, then he turned and hurriedly left the kitchen hall.

Harry pulled his wand and twirled it. An alarm started to shriek across the Weyr and all of the riders stilled as they clearly heard Harry call in the riders and dragons for an all hands meeting in front of hangar two.

Harry put his wand away and immediately left the hall. Behind him, the riders who'd been having a relaxing lunch erupted from their chairs. The last time someone set off the alarm, they'd learned about the spies watching the Weyr.

Harry stood in front of hangar two, his eyes glazed over. Everyone recognized the signs of his speaking to dragons far away. He stood motionless for several minutes, then James ran up to him with a book under one arm and a map. Harry turned and looked at the book for a moment before nodding, then he examined the map, frowning.

The riders watched in silence as Harry spoke again to some distant dragon, then his eyes returned to normal and he looked around at his riders. They had been joined by Sirius, Remus and Doctor Sheppard.

"We have a urgent request straight from the Prime Minister's office. Right now, the Shetland Island Weyr is sending out every dragon they have. A little over two hours ago, the HMS Orkney, a Royal Navy Fisheries Protection boat, was damaged in the North Sea. She's adrift and unable to steer or run her engines. Thanks to the weather, the Navy and the Coast Guard are unable to get any helicopters out to her.

"There are thirty five men aboard the Orkney and she's in danger of sinking. Shetland Island Weyr is trying to find her. If they can, they'll relay the jump image to me. I don't know if we'll be plucking people out of the water, or trying to grab the ship."

"What?" exclaimed Remus.

Harry sighed. "You know the dragons can lift heavy objects. If we get enough dragons to latch onto it we might be able to save the crew and the ship," Harry explained.

"It could work," Ronan said aloud. "It only took two dragons to lift that cargo container Sir Robert used for his tests. That had to weigh ten tons at least."

Harry nodded, then he turned to the others. "Suit up. We're on standby until we hear from Mizloth of Shetland Weyr. Make sure you wear your warmest clothing."

He walked over to where the adults stood, while the riders scattered back to their quarters. "Issac, you may be very busy shortly," Harry said softly.

Sheppard nodded. "I'll break out what supplies I have on hand, but I'm not capable of handling thirty five hypothermia victims, Harry."

James, who had been standing nearby, looked over. "I'll call the PM's office. The weather here is still good enough that we should be able to fly in some medical help from the army."

Harry nodded and joined the others in the large central meeting room of hangar two to wait. While they waited, he studied the book James had give him. It contained a photo of the ship similar to the one in trouble. She was a big ship to Harry, fifty nine meters in length and eleven meters wide. He knew there were bigger ships, but he had never seen any up close before. One thing was certain, however. With all the protrusions there would be plenty of places for a dragon to clamp onto and her size would mean they could easily get forty or more dragons to lift her if she was still afloat when they got there.

He passed several images of the ship to Milzoth for him to share with his dragons, then he walked over to a large map on the wall and stared at it for a while.

"Harry? Something wrong?" asked Ronan.

He nodded. "We need jump imagery. The navy can give us coordinates for the ship that would put us on top of it. There must be some way we could use that."

"Maybe, but I don't see how. At least not now," Ronan replied dubiously.

Harry grunted sourly and continued to stare at the map while wracking his brain. He knew that Milzoth and his dragons would do their best, but people's lives were on the line. Frustrated, he began to pace in front of the map as he considered possibilities and quickly discarded them. Knowing what the ship looked like from a photo wasn't the same as knowing what it looked like from the air. And even if he knew that, any imagery that didn't include the current storm was likely to take a dragon to some place in the past.

"Relax, Harry," Remus said softly from nearby.

He got a sour glare for his effort.

Time slowly passed while he paced. He listened in on the chatter between the dragons out on search and resisted the impulse to throw more dragons into the search. The Shetland Island Weyr were familiar with the region, his dragons were not. Adding Campbeltown dragons to the search would require the Shetland dragons to assist them, slowing the search even more.

Nearly an hour had passed when Harry jerked to a halt. "Weyrleader?"

"Milzoth? Have you found them?"

"Most of the humans have left the boat, Weyrleader. They are floating in smaller boat things like the tents you used when you visited us. The bigger boat is slipping below the waves, but I have a wing pulling it out of the water now."

Harry received an impression of rough seas and little tented life rafts floating about a mile from where Milzoth was. He also saw the dragons of Shetland Island Weyr perched all over the Orkney, every dragon had their wings extended and the ship was slowly lifting out of the ocean.

Harry shook free from the images and raced from the room. The riders watched him leave, then bolted after him. Outside hangar two, the dragons were waiting for their riders. Harry scrambled up on Chekiath's back, then gave his dragon the image of the life rafts.

"Mount up, riders!" he roared from Chekiath's shoulders, then he clipped his suit into the flying harness. Conditions at the site were just too unpredictable to go without it.

A quick glance towards the hospital showed two army helicopters nearby, presumably parked there after bringing in more medical personnel to help Doctor Sheppard. Another helicopter was just coming over the fence line. Lord Mills had delivered on his promise.

"Milzoth, when your wing has the boat out of the water, take it someplace where it'll be safe for now. I'm bringing up my Weyr to rescue the sailors," Harry sent.

"Yes, Weyrleader," replied the senior dragon. In his haste, Harry's poorly worded instructions would turn out to have far reaching implications for the Weyr.

Harry passed the jump imagery to Chekiath, then he called to all of the dragons. "Dragons, the Orkney crew are in life rafts. We're going to grab the rafts and take them directly to our hospital. Wing pairs, one dragon grab the raft, your wing rider shall remain behind to insure no one fell out of the raft. Dragons, remember to lift gently and watch your claws."

"The Weyr knows where to go, Harry," Chekiath announced after passing the jump image to the dragons.

"Good," he replied, "let's get going then." Harry pumped his fist twice and four wings of dragons lifted off and vanished from sight.

"We best get over to the hospital," James said softly. He stood with Remus and Sirius. Sirius waved and Katherine pulled up with her Land Rover and they piled in.

The North Sea, roughly 90 miles south east of Shetland Island, March 29th...

The Weyr came out of between and almost instantly were soaked to the bone by the salt spray. The winds weren't felt by the riders, but the cold salt water spraying up from the turbulent seas was an issue. "Cheki, remind all of the dragons that their rider's harnesses will be wet when they leave. No sudden flight changes or we might discover a harness breaking," he sent.

"Garanoth just told me the same thing, Harry. I see the orange boats. They are very tiny. Are there really people inside?"

Harry wiped the water from his face. "I hope so, mate. Let's find out."

"Smaller dragons go for the rafts. Horntails and Ironbellies, remain above the waves unless you spot someone in the water. Wing pairs, if your mate has returned to the Weyr, make one low level pass checking for someone in the water, then return to the Weyr," he sent. The waves weren't huge, but he didn't want the larger dragons clipping a wing and crashing into the cold sea.

There were fifteen rafts in the water, each one bobbing crazily in the rough seas. All of them had a little strobe light blinking steadily from the peak of the little tent. Harry figured the sailors were probably all soaked and in serious trouble from the cold by now.

Kirteth and Rasiloth, a pair of vipertooth dragons swooped down to a raft and Kirteth gently gripped it in his paws. Kirteth lifted up again and had just cleared the water when they made the jump between. Rasiloth pulled up and around and made a second pass over the spot then jumped back to the Weyr. Kirteth had managed to lift the raft without spilling any passengers out.

Pandorth and Moysth next flew in low over the spots where more rafts were bobbing in the swell. Pandoth grabbed the raft and then pulled up and made their jump back to the Weyr. Moysth repeated Rasiloth's maneuver and again came up empty before returning to Campbeltown.

Another pair of dragons descended and one lifted off, clutching a life raft. Harry gasped when the partner dove down to the water and plucked a person from the surface. Some sailors had tumbled out of the raft as his partner had lifted it from the sea. With the tent like covering the dragons had no way of knowing that particular raft was overcrowded. The dragon bugled in alarm and instantly a message was passed that there was two other people still in the water.

"Hang on, Harry," Chekiath called.

Chekiath banked hard and dove for the spot. Harry signaled to Ronan to follow and then Chekiath was skimming just above the rough surface. Harry gasped when a wave crested and for a brief moment they plowed through the water, then they were up and climbing again. He was soaked up to his chest, and he could see Chekiath held someone in his paws. The sailor was still moving, but seemed to be in bad shape so Harry ordered Chekiath to jump Between.

The large dragon vanished from view just as Garanoth plucked another sailor from the water. Garanoth pulled up and vanished as another wing pair made their dive on a bobbing raft.

The Hospital, Campbeltown Weyr...

Chekiath emerged from Between much lower than usual, barely fifty feet over the pavement surrounding the hospital building. Below, a pair of uniformed men he didn't recognize beckoned the huge dragon to land. Nearby a stretcher waited on the ground for the occupant that Harry and Chekiath carried. The large dragon lightly touched down and the two men rushed forward with the stretcher to take the sailor from the dragon. Harry absently noted these men were from the same unit that they had transported to Gringault, the Goblin capital.

Ronan, on Garanoth, appeared not far away, a sailor in Garanoth's front paws. From where Harry was, he could see Ronan was only slightly less frozen than he. Another pair of medics beckoned Garanoth to land.

Harry's teeth chattered suddenly and a heavy shiver wracked his body, calling attention to the fact that his clothing was literally frozen solid.

Chekiath bellowed and turned his head to look at Harry. He was stuck, his arms frozen in place holding the riding straps.

"You need help!" exclaimed Chekiath and he bellowed again, broadcasting his alarm.

"Harry!" shouted Remus. He ran up to Chekiath and skidded to a halt. Harry shivered again.

"I'm stuck," he gasped.

Remus pulled his wand and quickly cast a strong warming charm. It took several minutes before Harry could slide down from Chekiath. He stood off to one side, still shivering, now he was just wet instead of frozen. Remus on the other hand hadn't waited. Once he realized what was happening he went around casting strong warming charms on all of the riders, Harry followed behind him casting a drying charm, but all of the riders were chilled to the bone.

Harry watched as the riders deposited the life rafts, or individual dragons landed with a person in their front paws. All around them, soldiers dashed about, getting people under blankets and moving them into the hospital where no doubt there were plenty of people treating the sailors.

Within three minutes, all of the Weyr riders were present. The dragons that hadn't found someone to pick up made several sweeps of the area but they hadn't found anyone else. For their efforts they had recovered fifteen inflatable rafts and six people had been plucked from the sea.

Harry accepted a mug of some hot drink from Dobby, then he turned to look at his riders who were all milling around, unsure what to do now. Most were like him, soaked to the bone. "Riders, all plans for this afternoon are canceled. Go to your quarters and get warm. Remember to inspect your riding harness before your next flight," he called, then he turned and trudged towards his own quarters. He had plans for taking advantage of his large bathtub that involved a lot of hot water.

Ten minutes later, Harry sighed in pleasure as he slid into his tub. The bathroom was large in comparison to what most others had. It took Lord Mills to explain that Harry had been put up in the old base commander's quarters, which explained the extra bedrooms and other amenities. The tub, however, had been charmed larger, as had the water heater. The spell work had been done by Sirius, who claimed that a hot bath in a tub big enough to swim in was life's second greatest pleasure and one of the things he missed the most while in prison.

When pressed, Sirius later admitted that life's greatest pleasure was having a willing woman joining you in that bath. Thanks to magic, Sirius' bathtub was more like a small swimming pool. Katherine called it sinfully wonderful.

Harry slid down into the hot water and relaxed. The room slowly filled with steam and he dozed lightly. It was nearly an hour later when he was jerked awake by Chekiath announcing he had a visitor.

Sighing, he climbed from the bath and cast a drying charm on himself, then put on his boxers and a robe. He stepped from the bath and walked down the short corridor to the living room, fully expecting May to be there. He was surprised to see it wasn't May, but Hermione.

"Hermione? Is there a problem?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No, no problem. I was speaking to May. She's not feeling well, but she told me that I need to spend more time with you. May and I have been so busy working through our end of this that you've been a left dangling, which isn't right either."

"May's sick? She should have said something. I would have told her to remain behind."

Hermione smiled and sat on the couch, then she patted the spot next to her and he went to sit next to her. "She's not sick that way, but are you sure you want to know?"

Harry frowned. He wanted to know if any of his riders were sick. That he cared deeply for May wasn't relevant. "Of course, I want to know. I'd want to know if you or any of the other riders wasn't feeling well."

Hermione shook her head. He'd have to learn the hard way. "Harry, she started her period today. Even with the help we witches can provide our sister riders, she still wasn't feeling her best. She would have gone on today's mission because it's just a period, she wasn't sick, but now that she's home, she wanted to curl up under a warm blanket with a good book. She knew she could have come to you and you would have helped her like the last time, but she wanted me to spend some time with you, so she told me to come here."

Harry grimaced and nodded uncomfortably. The last time this had happened he had helped as much as he could. He felt bad that he hadn't helped her enough, but she was rather happy with his efforts.

"If you don't mind me asking, what did you do? May seemed very pleased with you about it. I think she wanted to come over, but she also wanted me to spend some time with you," Hermione asked.

Harry looked uncomfortable. "She came over and told me she was on her period and not really feeling well, so I suggested a quiet night and when she crawled into bed I think the charm was starting to wear off. I spelled a pillow with a heating charm and held it over her belly. We talked, mostly about her growing up on Arran and eventually she relaxed enough to asleep. It wasn't much. The next morning I made a note in my book to learn the charm you girls know, but Luna told me it was a bad idea. She said that since I couldn't easily test it I might end up casting it too strong."

Hermione nodded in agreement. Luna had been right, but it surprised her that he would go to such lengths.

When she didn't comment, Harry looked at her sheepishly and felt the need to explain further. "Sirius took me aside when the rumors started about you, me and May. He said that if I was going to have two girls I better learn to understand them quickly or they'd gang up on me."

Hermione stared at him for a moment with her brow furrowing. Harry cringed, knowing that look. It was usually followed by her exploding, so when she laughed softly, he was shocked.

"I guess I can see why you would feel outnumbered like that. And I am pleased to discover that you took it upon yourself to learn more about what we women go through. Menstruation is not something most boys want to learn about."

Harry leaned forward and pressed his hands against his temples. "Hermione," he said with a bit of a whine, "just because I learned about it, doesn't mean I want to talk about it."

She laughed again and leaned back against the couch. "All right, then we'll talk about something else." She pulled up her legs under herself and turned to face him on the couch. Suddenly, she smiled and shook with silent laughter.

"What?"

"I was just thinking about a certain little miss know-it-all on the train looking for a toad, who met a reluctant hero. How far we've come from that point. I never would have believed it if someone had told me," she said.

"I would have called you daft if you had told me I'd end up with a huge dragon running around inside my head, egging me on to building a harem," he muttered, then he looked at her worriedly. "Honestly, Hermione, how am I supposed to do this? I want you as much as I want May, but I'm terrified of doing the wrong thing and hurting either of you."

Her expression sobered. "I don't know. A part of me is so angry with myself for letting this happen. Had I just gone to you back in December, or had I just talked to you, this wouldn't have happened."

"You're wrong, Hermione," Chekiath said from his sand bed. The huge dragon lifted his head and turned to look at the pair on the couch. His bed was situated in such a way that he could watch the television Harry had, or he could easily look at the people sitting on the couch and have a conversation with them.

She looked surprised and turned to face the dragon. "What do you mean?"

"Strong males always had a number of consorts. Before Harry, a Horntail male would have have three or four consorts in his life. The strongest male could have had a dozen. When I impressed with Harry, we both changed. I had to be the biggest because of who my rider is. If I wanted, I could have had a dozen consorts. But Harry wasn't like that. Mating for you humans is complicated by your emotions. For my rider, I limit myself. During my life I may cover many different females, but only two will have my offspring and only two will I call my own. My rider had feelings for only two riders, I am just lucky that he picked two of the best riders who had the best female dragons. I am content," Chekiath explained.

She stared at the dragon for a moment, then she shook her head and chuckled slightly. "So, in other words, it was inevitable and it could have been so much worse," she murmured, then she glanced over to Harry, who was watching her with a guarded expression. She reached out and caressed his cheek, cupping it in her hand. "And you're overwhelmed by all this still?"

He nodded, a bit intimidated by the mood of intimacy. "I don't know how to do this without hurting someone."

"And that's probably why this is going to work," she replied softly. "You'll work hard to make sure neither May or I feel like we're being left out. You haven't got it inside you to treat either of us otherwise. Someday very soon I'll come to you and ask you to make love to me and I know that I won't have time to wonder if you do this better with May or not because I know you will be the best you can for me."

She paused and took a deep breath. "May pointed out that Cheki could have wanted more, and Cheki just confirmed it. Comaloth says I should be honored to share the Weyrleader. But I don't see it that way. Neither does May. We're sharing Harry Potter, my best friend, and someday soon more than that."

Harry blushed and looked down, embarrassed.

Hermione glanced at the wall clock and then she stood. She had said what she came here to say but now it was time to move on. "Why don't you get dressed and we'll go to the kitchen hall for dinner tonight?"

He nodded and stood, then he stopped and looked at her for a moment. Next thing she knew, she was wrapped in his arms in such away that she was reminded that he was nearly naked under his robe. He kissed her deeply and her arms wrapped around him, pulling him even tighter against her. Over her bond she could feel Comaloth thrumming with approval, then, to her surprise, she could feel Trath and Chekiath in her bond, also approving. It was a stunning moment and she reluctantly broke off the kiss despite part of her wanting to peel Harry out of his boxers with her teeth.

He held her still and smiled awkwardly. "Maybe this will work. All I do know is both you and May say it will and I'd be a fool to go against the advice of two very smart women," he said, then he kissed her forehead and released her. "Let me get dressed and we'll head over to the hall."

Hermione stood still, watching his retreating back. There were still hints of the old, unsure Harry about him, but the simple fact was that he was quickly vanishing, replaced by the confident man who had nearly left her a panting pile of goo. She glanced over at the dragon, who was watching her carefully. She shook her head, knowing a smug look when she saw one, even if it belonged to a dragon.

"Don't say it," she warned him. Over her bond, she could still feel the three dragons and their amusement. She made a note to talk to May about this before asking Harry.

Ten minutes later, they left Harry's quarters. As he closed the door, he stopped and turned at a noise. Two large helicopters lifted off from the vicinity of the hospital building and one orbiting helicopter moved in to land.

"I wonder what's happening?" Hermione said softly.

"Probably moving the sailors. Our hospital only has eight beds. And as good as Issac is, he can't be expected to treat all those patients himself," Harry said. "We'll probably find out more at the kitchen hall. As much as I'd like to go over and see, we'd only be in the way."

Hermione nodded and as they passed the main administration building, Remus joined them. "You're looking thawed out," he quipped.

Harry smiled. "I am, thanks to you. I'm glad you came along. I was worried Cheki might try flaming me to thaw me out," Harry replied.

"I would never do that," Chekiath announced, "but a fart might have cracked the ice off you."

Harry winced. "I know, Cheki, and I'm glad you didn't try that either." All of the riders had discovered the terror of dragon farts. The smell alone was enough to wake the dead. And like people, they came in different volumes, from the 'sneak attack', to the 'I'm sitting at ground zero of a nuclear explosion' that was guaranteed to wake you from a sound sleep by bouncing you out of the bed. Even Harry agreed, it might be possible for one of those farts to crack the ice that had him frozen to his spot.

Harry glanced sourly at Hermione, who was tittering at him. "You laugh, but somehow we need to move three dragons into one house and imagine what it'll be like if more than one farts at a time."

Hermione stared at him in mock horror. Comaloth adopted a lot of Hermione's mannerisms, but suppressing her farts wasn't one of them.

Harry turned to Remus, "Any word from Issac?"

Remus nodded a bit unhappily. "The Weyr brought in twenty nine people. Two died of exposure at the hospital. They were just too far gone."

"Damn," Harry said softly.

"How many were on that ship, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Thirty five. She had a crew of thirty five. Somehow we left six people behind."

Remus stopped him and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "No, you saved twenty seven people who would have died without your help. Six people, for whatever reason, didn't get into the life rafts. Maybe they stayed on board the ship. Maybe their life raft sank before you arrived. You don't know anything except that you and your riders saved twenty seven people."

"As much as you might want it, you can't save everyone," Hermione offered.

Lord Mills stepped out of the kitchen hall and smiled broadly when he spotted Harry. He walked over to him briskly. "Harry, the PM's office is astounded by the number of people saved. They knew the odds were against saving any of them using helicopters and it would have taken hours to get another boat into the area."

He looked at Harry and was surprised by his grim nod. "Why so sour? This is wonderful news."

"He just found out about the eight who didn't make it," Remus offered.

James stepped up to Harry and poked him in the shoulder gently to get him to look at him. "Harry, when the PM's office called me this afternoon, they were already preparing a press statement announcing the loss of the Orkney and all hands due to a mechanical failure during a storm at sea. It was an automatic thing. North Sea storms have killed hundreds if not thousands of sailors over the years. I know the loss of people bothers you, but before your dragons helped out, we were already preparing to acknowledge the loss of all hands."

James gripped Harry lightly on the shoulder and shook him slightly. "As a former Royal Navy man, I can't help but be deeply grateful for what the Weyr did today. You spoke about doing things that can make a difference? Well, tonight twenty seven families will sleep knowing their loved ones are safe. And that, lad, is a very real, very big difference. The navy will care for the others and see to their needs."

Harry nodded slowly. "Has anyone announced it to the Weyr yet?"

James shook his head. There hadn't been any time. The sound of another helicopter lifting off caused them all to turn towards the hospital. There was still plenty of activity, but now it looked mostly like the men brought in to help were cleaning up. Issac trudged slowly from the building heading in their direction. It was impossible to miss his exhaustion. For Issac and the other medical personnel, it had been an intense couple of hours, stabilizing patients and readying them for transport to better facilities.

"You all right, Issac?" Remus called worriedly. He had come to admire the wizard turned doctor and during his participation in the Lycanthropy study, had come to know him well.

Issac smiled. "Nothing that a good hot cup and something to eat followed by several hours sleep won't fix. That was the last of our patients being sent off. One of these days, James, I need to speak to you about the chances of moving my family into the Weyr. The hour drive home tonight is going to be a bitch."

James looked at Harry, who nodded immediately. He liked the idea of the doctor living at the Weyr and if that meant bringing his family, so be it. James grinned and turned back to Issac, "I think we can arrange it. I also think we can arrange for someone to drive you home tonight and pick you up in the morning."

Harry moved to the entrance of the hall and held the door open as they all filed into the building. He turned to Hermione. "Go sit with your folks. I'll join you in a bit."

She nodded and went to join her parents who were sitting with May and Susan Bones. Harry walked up to the front of the room and waited until everyone spotted him. The room fell silent and he smiled weakly. "I hope everyone has warmed up well enough. I don't know about the rest of you, but I had ice touching parts of me that no man should have ice touching."

The room filled with laughter and he laughed along with them, then he held up a hand again. "I think we learned a lot from today's rescue mission. All in all, twenty seven people were saved, thanks to your efforts. That's something to be proud of. I know I'm proud of you and your dragons. The rescue of the crew of HMS Orkney will be entered into our history as the first of what I hope are a string of great moments."

He paused and looked around. "We have shown once again that the Weyr can be a valuable partner to society. Gordon, you and Bob scored the first rescues. Well done. I know it was a difficult thing to fly so close to the water. Chekiath was nearly swamped and I know I would have been washed off his back when the wave breached us. It was only my harness that kept me in place."

Gordon Chapman looked up in shocked surprise, then he smiled and nodded his thanks. Chapman was the Weyr's problem child, but as usual, when the Weyr needed to pull together, he held up his end. It was only afterward that he tended to mouth off and make people angry.

Harry smiled at Chapman and he hoped that his compliment might head off another episode of what Chapman would do if he were running things.

"Everyone is to make sure your harnesses are dried properly and thoroughly inspected before you use them again. If you don't think it's good, draw another from supply and turn your old one in. Finally, we all had a nasty chill today. Watch out for any signs of illness. Don't ignore any coughs, fevers or headaches. Going Between can make any illness a lot worse. I'd rather you stand down for a day or two with the sniffles than to get seriously ill."

Satisfied, Harry walked over to where Hermione and May sat. He paused behind May and kissed the top of her head, before moving slightly and kissing Hermione too, before sitting next to her.

Dan Granger stared at Harry for a moment, then he shook his head and muttered, "Lucky bastard."

"Daniel Granger!" exclaimed Emma in shocked surprise.

"Daddy!" Hermione shouted.

Harry blushed and stared down at his plate, knowing Dobby would be along in a moment with his dinner. The elf had taken it upon himself to be Harry and now Hermione and May's personal elf.

May leaned around Hermione and nudged Harry. "He's just jealous. I mean, who wouldn't want two smoking hot girls?" she said playfully.

Hermione choked on her drink and turned to glare at May. This was her father she was talking about! May shrugged. She wasn't trying to irritate Hermione and her comment did have the affect of shaking Harry from his embarrassment. He sat next to Hermione smiling slightly. In his mind they were beyond smoking hot.

Dan hunkered down to his meal under the death glares from wife and daughter and he wondered if he'd be sleeping on the couch tonight. Emma had been working on him for several months now, warning him that there was a possibility of his little princess being involved in a poly-amorous relationship and he was finally coming to grips with it enough to be accepting. Now he just needed to learn to keep his mouth shut – at least when around his wife and daughter!

---

Author's Notes and Mockeries:

- There was a lot of foreshadowing to what eventually happened to Hermione. The chances of Harry being there for her first time was zero since she had made it plain that she was still angry with him. Hermione, in canon and in our own stories, always struck me as the kind of person that needed to experience a hard lesson to get them to change their mind. Things did not go the way she had wanted them to and now she has to eat a little humble pie. I don't intend to draw out her agony, after all Harry truly does care for her as much as he cares for May, but she's not entirely out of the woods just yet.

A LOT of people want Harry to never forgive Hermione and I find that sad. First off, that isn't going to happen. It was my intent from the first word of the Queen who Fell to write Harry in a multi-relationship involving Hermione and another girl. The problem is fan fiction doesn't believe in relationships. Multi-relationships are wild bisexual orgy stories written by people that want to see how many people can wank off to their writing. They hold no resemblance to historical harems and no resemblance to real human psychology. There is no jealousy, no infighting, no angst and anger about being forced. Nope, magic makes it all possible and Hermione Granger, a muggle girl with muggle values suddenly finds she's bi and in a relationship with one man and four hundred and twelve other girls and she's fine with that. GET REAL.

In case you're wondering, yes, I believe that the crop of Harem stories being written are too far fetched to be believable let alone enjoyable. There is enough free porn on the net that people really don't need to read about underage girls being forced into adult relationships.

- Luna is a free spirit. That doesn't mean she's a slut. What it does mean is she's found love and acceptance among the riders and intends to return that love. In a way she is emulating the sexuality of the original Pern Weyrs where there were few established couples.

- Robyntalks wants to know where Trath is sleeping when May is staying overnight at Harry's. Well you see, that IS a problem that will get addressed. Right now Trath either sleeps in her own comfortable bed content in the knowledge that she's safe with the Weyrleader or she sleeps on Harry's roof. There is a scene coming up where that problem is addressed, but it's not for a few more chapters and Harry realizing that he needs to make room for two more dragons.

- A few complained that there should have seen more of the scene between Hermione and Marty. Ummm no. In case anyone hasn't realized it, this story may have a lot of sex going on behind the scenes, but you'll never see it because it isn't necessary. We're telling a story, not writing a porn novel.

- Rexnos, it's not that you didn't factor in the dragons enough, it's that you forgot that the dragons affect the riders and the riders affect the dragons. Chekiath knew how Harry felt about May and Hermione even when Harry didn't know for certain. Chekiath could have had more consorts, but he recognized that doing so meant either taking away female riders for Harry or dipping into the non-bonded pool. Instead he chose the two dragons who were bonded to riders Harry cared for. In his mind he was doing Harry a favor.

And finally a story recommendation. Considering past recommendations let me say that I think this story is good and worth your reading. That I recommend a story in no way endorses an author, but I think if you like it, you may like some of the other tales on offer.

This chapter's story is:

MISSING by Potter8668

StoryID:6371968

A one chapter, nearly 8k short that deals with the idea of how to train up a poorly trained Harry. Its an unusual take on the time travel genre and I found it very enjoyable. Ultimately its H/Hr but it's very very light. If you liked the tale, drop the author a review and tell him so.