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

12. Chapter 12

Standard disclaimer:

Alyx stepped onto the stage and smiled at the audience. "Bob managed to entice me back from my brief trip south of the border and my chance to try out my do it yourself home plastic surgery kit by asking me to read a letter from one of my raving fans."

Bob appeared in a puff of smoke and handed, her a letter. He looked at her for a moment. "Did you know that one side is lower than..."

"Thank you Bob! I'm not done with them yet," Alyx exclaimed, then she pushed him off the stage. Bob fell into the orchestra pit, landing in the kettle drum. She frowned. "Next time I better aim better."

Shaking off her disappointment she eagerly opened her fan mail. "Hmmm Monkeyspanker69, well he's off to a great start with a name like that. Anyway Monkeyspanker69 writes, Dear Alyx, I have the solution for Draco's Who Who problems. In ancient times man often resorts to all sorts of artificial Who whos that were already hard."

"He's lying!" shouted Bob from the kettle drum.

"Shaddup you!" Alyx snarled, then she went back to her letter. "Draco can use ivory, or stone, or even whale bone which would be appropriate if you ever had him talk about his boner."

Alyx winced and Bob started to cackle hysterically. "You could even have Snapiepoo carve little scrimshaw shapes of teddy bears and ponies on it!" Bob cackled.

"I swear, he just doesn't appreciate fine art," Alyx muttered.

"Harry!"

Harry sighed. "Yeah I know, they aren't telling people that they don't own Harry Potter or the Dragon riders of Pern."

Bob and Alyx turned and glared at Harry who suddenly found himself wearing a duck costume.

"Oh shit Harry, you pissed off the authors!" moaned Chekiath.

"Yeah but at least now the story can start. Quack!"

Harry pressed a wing against his bill and groaned.

"I'm not letting you ride me with that thing on," Chekiath stated. "All the other dragons would laugh at me!"

---

Morality is simply the attitude we adopt towards people whom we personally dislike.
- Oscar Wilde

Village of Leebitten, Shetland Island in the North Sea, March 30th...

PC Bainbridge had been enjoying a typical morning on the sleepy island of Shetland. So far he had dealt with a flock of sheep that had broken from their paddock and complaints of teenagers racing up and down one of the remoter roads. All in all, a typical and quiet kind of day and much better than his counterparts on the mainland. The most he had to deal with was the occasional drunk and disorderly, or lost tourist.

All that was about to change however.

He sat at a quiet table at Abbey's Tea and Biscuits, enjoying his mid-morning tea as he did most days. There weren't many businesses in Leebitten, but Abbey's was a central one, used by the scientists and historians that stopped in for hot drinks and a good solid meal before heading to the nearby historical dig sites on nearby Mousa island.

Harve Bainbridge fancied Abbey. Both were in their forties and divorced, so he felt no restraint against flirting with her every day when he came in for his cup of tea. He lifted the cup to his mouth and sipped thankfully. The heater in his patrol car was broken again and it was cold enough for him to be really chilled. And Abbey always saw that he got the best tea and sticky bun when he stopped in.

"ALIENS!" shouted a voice from the doorway and Harve spat out a mouthful of tea and dropped his cup. He turned and glared at old man McNamara, who was looking around with wild bugged out eyes. "Constable! Aliens! It's the end o' world, I tell ya!"

Abbey looked up from slicing a cake. "'Ere now, you old fool! Wot hav I told ye bout coming in here still drunk?"

Harve stood. "Now, Petey, you know there ain't such a thing as aliens. Why don't you go home and sleep off last night's bottle?"

"Constable, I'm telling you the truth! You've got to call up the army, tell them to send help quick! Them aliens are attacking and they dropped one of our ships in my field!"

Harve blinked. That was different. Usually with Pete McNamara it was the 'wee folk' causing his tractor engine to seize up or spooking his dogs.

Petey stepped forward and grabbed Harve's arm and tugged hard. "Come see! If I'm a lying, you kin put me in my grave here and now!"

Harve glanced over at Abbey, who shrugged, then wiped her hands on a dish towel. "Why not? Old fool is probably hallucinating again, but we can see his fields from out back."

Harve stood and grabbed a firm hold on the old man and dragged him to the back door with Abbey close behind. They exited the building and turned to look. Pete's farm was on the very edge of the village. Even from this distance it was impossible to ignore the huge ship lying on it's side in the field.

Harve stopped and stared, his mind absently cataloged the naval ensign hanging limply from the mast, the RN markings on the hull and, most importantly, the eerie silence from the ship. A shiver of fear slid down his spine and he had to wonder if Petey wasn't wrong. That field had to be four hundred yards from the water's edge.

"Oh, my lord," whispered Abbey in awe. She stepped closer to Harve as if seeking protection.

"Aliens!" thundered McNamara. "I told you so! I told them TV fellas too! They didn't believe me until they sent a helicopter out to see for themselves."

Bainbridge winced and glanced up. Sure enough, there were two of the island's commercial service helicopters circling over the ship and it was impossible to miss the camera man leaning out of the window of each, filming. No doubt the local office of BBC and Skynews were both filming.

What he didn't know was that both cameras weren't just filming, but the feed was going out live. Harry's command to put the ship 'someplace safe', resulted in Milzoth having his dragons deposit the ship on dry land, but not on Mousa island where the Shetland Weyr was located.

Harve released McNamara and he shoved him towards Abbey. "Look after him, will ya? Pour coffee down his throat until he sobers up and for Christ's sake, don't let him near a phone. I have to call this in."

Abbey nodded and grabbed a hold of the old man. "You be careful, Harve," she called. "Don't do anything stupid!"

He waved and rushed back through the building toward his car, and his radio to the main island dispatch. As he did, he was terrified that he'd soon be examining a ship full of dead men.

Harry's Office, Campbeltown Weyr, March 30th...

Harry carefully read the report that Wayne Hopkins had sent him. It was about the American effort to understand the abilities of dragons. Mildred O'Connor was leading that effort in the hopes that understanding the dragons abilities would offer clues about Between.

According to Wayne's report, the dragons could withstand extreme heat and cold temperatures far in excess of what a rider could safely survive. Several sample scales had been sent to NASA in the United States for further materials testing. It was looking like the dragon scales were near perfect insulators. Additionally, there was a request to try using NASA's vacuum chamber to measure the dragon's ability to hold its breath, as well as test its ability to withstand lower pressures.

He frowned and made a note to ask Wayne to come by and explain it to him. The report went on to talk about millibars and pressure indexes and he could only stare at it in bewilderment.

"Harry!"

He glanced up to see an extremely worried Lord Mills standing in the doorway. Behind him was Remus and Sirius, who seemed rather amused by Lord Mills' state.

"Come on in," he said with a wave, then he looked closer at Mills. "James, what is the matter?"

James rubbed his temples. "We have a problem. A big one. Just what did you do with the Orkney?"

Harry blinked. "Erm... well she had already been taken away by the time we arrived on the scene. I told Milzoth to put the ship someplace safe." He paused and looked unhappy. "She was sinking, James. There really wasn't any time to give it a lot of thought. Milzoth told me she was slipping underwater when they grabbed her. Besides, you didn't say we couldn't move her, or tell us where to put her."

James shook his head. He was annoyed with himself. He should have anticipated this and he really couldn't fault Harry and the Weyr. When Harry mentioned saving the ship he never really believed it would be possible for the dragons to move it. The ship weighed over a thousand tons and with it filling full of water it would have been even heavier than that.

He walked over to the small TV Harry had in the office and flipped it on, then turned it to an all news cable channel.

The image on the screen stunned Harry. It was an aerial view of the ship lying on its side in a field. The commentator seemed to be extremely excited. He could see several police officers stringing tape around the ship, and from their size, he knew the Orkney was very large.

"So far, the Admiralty is refusing to comment except to say that the HMS Orkney suffered a mechanical break down in the North Sea yesterday, resulting in the crew abandoning ship. Of the thirty five officers and crew, twenty seven are known to have survived their ordeal. The Navy and the Coast Guard are conducting an extensive search for the missing crew members, but they are feared lost.

"The Admiralty said they have no idea how the ship ended up on land nearly four hundred yards from the sea. One suggestion, that a rogue wave or even a tsunami was responsible, was quickly shot down by oceanographers and geologists.

"One of the islanders, and the owner of the field in which the ship appeared, is convinced this is the precursor to an invasion by aliens from outer space. The folks of Leebitten will undoubtedly have something to talk about for many years to come.

"Meanwhile, local authorities have cordoned off the area and are preventing anyone from approaching. It is rumored that a team from the Admiralty will arrive soon to begin their own investigation. An anonymous source at the Admiralty was quoted as saying that 'the Admiralty has deep doubts about the aliens theory, but no avenue will be ignored' in their investigation.

"The Prime Minister's office is redirecting inquiries to the Admiralty's office of Public Affairs. Officially, the PM's response to questions is that he intends to wait until the experts have delivered their report before commenting. The only official comment from the Prime Minister is heartfelt relief that so many of the crew were saved."

Harry stared at the screen in amazement for a moment, then he picked up the remote and muted the television. He scratched at the back of his head thinking. "Well damn," he muttered finally. The size of the ship astounded him. He had no clue it was as big as what he saw on the television.

James stared at him. "Well damn?" he repeated incredulously.

Harry looked at the man and shrugged. "I'm sorry, James. I know this is a problem, but we didn't exactly discuss what to do with a Royal Navy warship that was in danger of sinking. The Shetland Weyr moved it to safety. Maybe I could have given Milzoth better instructions, but who expected this to happen?" he asked, gesturing to the TV, which was still showing images of the ship. "My concern yesterday was to get those people out of the water. Saving the ship was just an added bonus."

Sirius leaned against the wall snickering and Harry shot him a dirty look. He didn't need him making this worse!

James' shoulders drooped slightly. "I know, lad. Honestly, I didn't believe the dragons would be capable of saving the ship. When the captain reported abandoning ship, he reported she was down by the stern and wouldn't stay afloat much longer."

Harry smirked at him. "Dragons can lift just about anything, and to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if they could have done it with fewer dragons. It took less than a full wing to lift that ship and Milzoth told me it was partially underwater when they grabbed a hold of it." He waved at the TV. "The real question is just what does this mean for us? Have we blown our cover?"

"No, I don't think so," James replied slowly. "The one accident investigation I participated in took nearly a year to complete. If the Navy works as usual, they will spend a lot of time looking at what caused the malfunction and what could have been done to prevent it. In the meantime, the government will say nothing.

"But I do believe the PM will consider pushing things forward. I wouldn't be surprised if he starts thinking about a June or July reveal date. We got lucky with the Orkney. There were no witnesses to the dragons placing it in that field, and the men we rescued won't tell any tales. Their oaths will ensure that. On the other hand, had it been a channel ferry, there could have been hundreds of civilians. I don't want to consider the nightmare that would have caused.

"The problem is that the PM's office will realize all this, and also realize that the next disaster they ask for help on could be a channel ferry, or something equally large. The security problem then would be unavoidable."

Harry nodded and leaned back in his chair thinking for a moment. He stared at the television, but he really wasn't seeing it. The others fell silent, watching him. There had been a few times when they had thought he was talking to a dragon but instead was considering a plan of action. Finally, he turned back to the others.

"James, I would like you to deliver a message to your government and your Queen. The Weyr is willing to push our reveal date forward, but would greatly appreciate hearing the thoughts of the Prime Minister and Her Majesty concerning such a move.

"In our haste to save lives and property, we did not adequately plan out our actions which has caused unnecessary difficulties for our host government. The Weyr regrets that deeply and we'll endeavor to ensure it doesn't happen again."

James blinked in surprise. This was another instance of Harry slipping into a more formal mode when acting as Weyrleader. He wasn't even aware he was doing it half the time.

James nodded. "I will contact the PM's office and pass along your message, Weyrleader. I'm just thankful they didn't make any announcements until after the Weyr returned with the crew."

The PM's office had announced that an accident had occurred on board the Orkney and all effort was being made to rescue the crew. Since then, no official word had come from the PM's office, but the Admiralty had released information concerning the rescue of survivors. No mention of the ship had been made in either announcement. The Navy had expected to search for the ship this morning and find evidence of its sinking that they could report.

This was a public relations nightmare for the government, but not so much for the dragons. Harry wisely refrained from offering to move the ship to a more suitable location. That would only cause more problems.

Harry looked troubled and James moved to reassure him. "Don't worry about it too much, Harry. I can't go into details because all I know of it is mere rumor and speculation, but I'm sure the government has plans for security breaches like this. I wouldn't be surprised if some of them are already being activated. We might not play up the alien angle like the Yanks do, but we still have tricks we can play to discredit a story."

Harry smiled and gave the man a nod.

James turned and Sirius and Remus moved to go with him.

"Sirius, can you stay a moment longer?" Harry asked.

Remus looked at Sirius, who shrugged and turned back to sit on the couch. Dobby appeared a moment later and handed Sirius a steaming cup of coffee, which he preferred over tea.

"What's on your mind, Harry?"

Harry stood and walked over to the window, then he turned to face Sirius. "It's this business with May and Hermione. It's fairly confusing at best. I know the muggles won't allow a legal marriage to two women, but what about wizards?"

"Marriage!" exclaimed Sirius. "When did this come about?"

"Dragons may couple as often as people, Siri, but the consorts they choose, they stay with for life," Harry answered softly.

Sirius' bunched his eyebrows in confusion. "What's the difference?"

"Comaloth and Trath will only lay eggs from me, Smelly Dog. They are my mates. They may occasionally let another male have them, but only I am allowed to fill their bellies with eggs," Chekiath offered from his stall. "Likewise, I may sometimes cover another female, but only Comaloth and Trath will bear my offspring. For dragons, there is mating for the purpose of producing eggs, and there is coupling because we enjoy it. Comaloth and Trath will be my mates and have my offspring. They are among the best dragons in the Weyr and worthy of being my consorts. I could have had many more, but that wouldn't be fair to the other riders, and Harry would be uncomfortable with more. So I chose the very best for us."

Harry nodded. "Mating for dragons isn't as tied to emotions as it is for humans. For them, it's also a recreational pastime with no real significance except during the mating seasons. The problem is we have what we know of Pern and their dragons and then we have what we know of our dragons and we're discovering that our dragons have changed in many ways from Pern. The concept of consorts didn't exist on Pern. It was developed here on Earth.

"I find myself in a position where I will have two very special women who will always be a close part of my life. If it were one woman, the right thing would be to marry her. But it's not just one woman and Muggle law won't let me marry two women. That's why I'm asking you, does wizard law allow that?"

Sirius stared at him for a moment, then he shook his head and started to laugh. "Harry, if only your parents could see you now. Your father would be preening and your mother would be pleased with the direction of your ideas, once she got over her horror of what you are suggesting."

Harry frowned at the older man and Sirius held up a hand. "But to answer your question, no the Wizarding world doesn't recognize plural marriages under any circumstances. Even contracted concubines or mistresses aren't considered spouses. Now, my question to you is a simple one. Why do you need to have some sort of recognized marriage? Katherine tells me it isn't uncommon for muggle wives to retain their last names these days, so it can't be the name issue. Regardless of who the mother might be, the child would still be a Potter.

At Harry's unhappy look he quickly added, "But if you are intent on marrying both of them, then probably the best thing to do is find yourself an Irishman."

Harry blinked and stared at Sirius. "An Irishman?" he repeated incredulously.

Sirius nodded and sipped his coffee. "The Irish have worked hard to keep the old druid traditions alive. They have a sizable minority of their population that still claim to be druids. You could find a druid high priest or priestess to perform a handfasting, if a ceremony is that important to you. The druids allow for multiple partners. It's not recognized by the ministry over there, but most of the people that do the ritual consider themselves married. It's more of a symbolic thing than a real marriage."

"Siri, it's not just important to me, but I think both May and Hermione would like some sort of gesture signifying the importance of what we have," Harry replied.

"I do understand. Have you spoken to May and Hermione about this?"

"No!" Harry said quickly, then he blushed. "I wanted to find out first what our options were, then I'd be able to explain it to them. It's hard enough when they are so much smarter than I am. Sometimes I feel outclassed by them."

Sirius nodded, it was something he could understand. Katherine was a lot smarter than he was in certain things. "Well, a handfasting isn't recognized by anyone except the druids and the people that undergo the ceremony. I think that's really your only option. I mean, you could marry one in England and then get married again in another country, but that's still illegal."

Harry walked over to his chair and sat down again. His expression was a mix of relief and disappointment. He had been hoping that the Wizarding world might offer a solution. The handfasting option would work, but it wasn't as formal as he hoped for.

"I think you're at least thinking in the right direction," Sirius offered. "You might also want to consider some rings for the girls. I know Lily put her promise ring in the family vault after James gave her an engagement ring. You could get copy made by the goblins and give them to May and Hermione. The next question is, have you talked to the girl's fathers? You know, asked permission?"

Harry stared at Sirius and the color drained from his face. That was something else he hadn't considered.

Sirius took in his expression and started to laugh again. Here he was, the Weyrleader of the dragons of Earth, with the power to topple civilization, yet ready to faint at the idea of talking to his girlfriend's fathers.

Sirius stood and waved to a shell shocked Harry and walked from the room. He couldn't wait to find Remus to tell this tale.

Kitchen Hall, Campbeltown Weyr, April 2nd...

"Can I talk to you?"

May glanced up from the textbook she was reading. It was an advanced veterinary text on anatomy. "Sure, Hermione," she replied with a smile. She motioned toward an open chair.

Hermione sat and glanced down at the book with interest. May followed her gaze and chuckled. "It's a book on animal anatomy. I thought that perhaps I could read it and maybe pick up some insights into dragons. We really don't have much of an idea about their internal makeup yet."

"What about the egg that didn't hatch?"

"Sir Robert says they aren't ready with their report yet," replied May uneasily. None of the riders liked to think about that egg. "If it happens again, I think I'm going to insist in being part of the team that dissects the remains. We haven't seen it yet, but I'm terrified we're going to come up against a ill dragon that we can't help simply because we don't understand them well enough yet."

Both girls glanced down at their book in a somber mood, then May glanced back up to Hermione. "You wanted to talk to me about something?"

Hermione nodded and she fumbled with her cup of tea for a moment. "This is a little embarrassing," she admitted.

May smiled wickedly, seeing her chance to tease Hermione a little. "Yes, he is larger than average. Not by an enormous amount, but certainly enough to notice."

Hermione looked up at May, her face flaming. "No, that wasn't what I was... really?"

May smiled and nodded a bit dreamily. "So, if that wasn't what you wanted to know, what's the problem?"

"Earlier in the week, Harry kissed me," Hermione admitted. "It was the most intense kiss, but what was surprising was my bond."

May nodded knowingly. "It expanded to include Cheki?"

"And Trath," Hermione replied.

May leaned back and smiled. "I wondered about that. I noticed that a couple weeks ago. I knew that I could feel Cheki, and to be honest, when I do feel that sort of thing, Harry's usually so busy doing... erm things, that I really don't have time to stop and analyze what I can feel over my bond. Once I really looked at it, I knew I was feeling Cheki and Comaloth too. That's why I haven't fought against including you," May replied, her blush beginning to match Hermione's.

"I wonder why Harry didn't mention this?" Hermione murmured.

"Hermione," May said reprovingly, "Harry feels so many dragons that he probably never noticed. We keep thinking that his bond with Chekiath is like ours, but I'm sure it's not. He still feels it when dragons close to him like Momnarth have a shagging flight. I've seen him touch a non-bonded dragon and put it to sleep so that I could work on an injury. You can only spell your dragon, so his bond has to be different. I can't explain it better than that. In a way, I think our bond is expanding to include the other dragons, giving us a taste of what Harry experiences all the time."

May smiled and leaned closer to Hermione. "He is an incredibly private man, but he can also be very affectionate and caring too. Part of that, I'm sure, comes from what his bond is doing and part is a result of how he was raised. He is gentle and caring and as you'll discover, very much interested in loving us the best way he can.

"If you would just give yourself a chance, I think he'll surprise you."

Hermione peered at May and wondered if she was hinting at something in particular.

Office of the Deputy Minister, Ministry of Magic, April 2nd...

The door to the office opened and a stern looking royal marine entered, following a short Japanese gentleman.

Albus looked up from the papers he was reading and blinked, then he smiled and stood. "Yoshi!" he exclaimed, "What a pleasant surprise."

"Albus, old boy!" grinned Japan's most powerful and influential mage. "I was in the neighborhood and thought I would drop by."

The odds of Yoshi 'being in the neighborhood' were slim to none. He was here for a reason, perhaps more than one. Albus grinned and turned to the marine. "Corporal, it's fine. I'll escort Mister Masabe from here."

The marine nodded and left the room. Yoshi watched silently for a moment with a single arched eyebrow, then he turned back to Albus. "You are a far distance from your little tower in Scotland, my friend."

Albus glanced around and nodded a bit regretfully. "Truly, much has changed in the past year. But I like to think it's a change for the better. Let me introduce you around," he replied.

He gestured to Croaker, "You remember Alejandro, Yoshi?"

"How could I forget the man who introduced me to the joys of Butterbeer chasers? Until that night I had never gotten drunk before. A most intriguing experience. I still remember waking up the next morning and wondering how I ended up in Edinburgh wearing a kilt," Yoshi replied with a laugh.

Croaker smiled and waved at the man. He hadn't had as much contact with Yoshi as Albus had, but they belonged to the unique fraternity of mages. He wasn't about to admit what he wore when he woke up after that night. All he remembered was apparating away before Yoshi woke, wearing a wig and several pieces of female clothing.

Albus led Yoshi over to Sir William's desk where O'Hearny stood. "William, I would like to introduce you to Yoshi Masabe, Imperial Wizard to the Chrysanthemum Throne and Japan's ICW delegate. Didn't you also do a turn as Minister for Magic, Yoshi?"

Yoshi laughed. "Yes. One of my darker periods. I dabbled in politics and rose to discover that being minister was not as much fun as I thought it would be. The advantage of being an adviser instead of leader is the leader gets blamed for everything by everyone. The adviser only has one person blaming him."

"Yoshi, Sir William O'Hearny, Deputy Minister of Magic. Sir William answers directly to the Prime Minister and Her Majesty."

Sir William offered his hand and Yoshi eagerly shook it after a slight bow. "Welcome to the Ministry of Magic, Mr. Masabe," Sir William said. "If I might inquire, what brings you to our Ministry today?"

Albus quickly conjured several chairs and Alejandro joined them. An elf appeared with a tea service and vanished as quickly as he appeared.

Yoshi shook his head in amusement. Japan didn't use elves as the British did. "I'm here for several reasons. I don't know if Albus has told you or not, but I am currently overseeing the talks between Greece and Italy. I thought that Albus might like an update on those, as well as other matters. Additionally, I have been tasked by my Prime Minister to see about arranging a meeting with your Weyrleader."

He paused and poured himself a cup of tea, then he smiled gently. "My government is very curious about some rumors we have been hearing and hoped that a conversation with your Weyrleader might clear them up."

Albus leaned forward in his chair. "Rumors?"

"There are tales of dragons with riders appearing. The riders never stay in any one location for long, and there are rumors of riders settling down in the southwestern United States. When I pressed the American delegate, he merely smiled at me. I believe another enclave of dragons has been established, perhaps more than one, but no ministry has confirmed that.

"A year ago there was one rider, now there appear to be many and the numbers seem to be increasing. While your country is truly noble, we think there is something behind the generosity you have shown the dragons. It is clear to us that they have something to offer that would interest the mundane government. My Prime Minister is curious about that. And just as importantly, he has heard about the dragons solving your dementor problem and he's asked me to inquire if they can do the same for us. You know the problem we have with those creatures."

He stopped and sipped his tea, watching his hosts closely.

Albus glanced at Sir William, who shrugged. After all, it wasn't something he'd been briefed on. The dragons were quickly becoming a very loose secret. All of Parliament had been briefed on the abilities and the opportunities they offered. There had been unconfirmed reports of the existence of an American Weyr in the papers, but no official word from anyone as yet.

"Yoshi," Albus said in a somewhat pained voice, "I am..." He stopped when Masabe started to laugh.

"Do not worry yourself, my friend. Even now our mundane Ambassador is talking to your Prime Minister. The Japanese nation has an interest in the dragons, both from a cultural perspective, as well a possible economic one. Truly, if they can help with the dementors, they will have accomplished a great service for my country."

"Why don't I call the PM's office and see what I can find out?" Sir William offered.

Yoshi nodded agreeably. "While you do that, I'll inform my friends here of the other things I have heard of late."

Sir William nodded and walked back to his desk to make his call.

Masabe turned to Albus and Alejandro. "Rumor has is that a certain ICW delegate is seeking to restore his besmirched honor. I don't have the details, except to say that one of our crime syndicates was approached about a job and they turned it down. Our inside man says that the client was pointed to a group in eastern Europe that was hungry for work."

Albus leaned forward. "And would I know this delegate?"

Yoshi nodded unhappily. "You know the Russian Ministry has been watching what your press has to say about the Weyr? I must say, keeping the Weyr unplottable was quite clever. I know several delegates who are curious as to it's location."

Albus blinked in surprise. "No, I did not know about the Russians."

Yoshi looked at the two men intently. "It is not just the Ministry of Magic. There have been rumors of the muggles becoming interested. There have been meetings between the Saudis and the Russians of late and we've heard that they are greatly interested in learning more about some purchases made by your muggle government. I don't pretend to understand it, but I do know who owns the Russian president."

The wizards nodded knowingly. It had been discovered that the Russian government was controlled by the wizards. The president of the country was kept in line via a combination of providing him entertainment in the form of young girls under the imperious curse and the constant threat of blackmail, revealing his fondness for those girls to the world press.

"You think this is related to the dragons somehow?" asked Croaker.

Yoshi shrugged. "Who can say? What I do know is Danakov is a vain and proud man who feels he has been slighted and he is close to his cousin, the Minister. He wouldn't dream of confronting the Weyrleader directly. He is not a mage, nor is he a good duelist, except in his own mind. I heard a rumor that the Weyrleader sent him fleeing in his underwear. Is the muggle interest and the magical one caused by the Weyr? I don't know, but I think caution would be prudent."

Albus nodded and quickly jotted some notes in his book, then he looked up. "How are the peace talks going?"

Yoshi sighed. "I wish I could say well, but both sides are dragging their feet. I fear that we will need to let the embargo drive them to the edge before they will talk and that worries me, my friend. Desperate people will do desperate things."

Yoshi looked at Albus slyly. "We could use your talents at the talks. All the world admires your ability to get two parties talking. I'm sure with the right nudge here and there, they will start talking, but right now they act like children fighting over the last sweet in the box."

"Yoshi," Albus replied, embarrassed by the flattery. "I couldn't get away to help there full time, but I suppose I could break away for a few days if you're deadlocked. My duties here have me busier than ever."

"In all seriousness, we could use your help, my friend. Greece and Italy have been bickering hotly since the talks started, and I've yet to get them into the same room without casting body binds on them," Yoshi said, then he grinned. "It is difficult to have a meaningful discourse when your principles are immobilized and stuck to their chairs."

Albus nodded. "I will make your request known to my government. I am certain they will allow me to assist."

Yoshi smiled broadly. "Excellent. And perhaps in your free time we can get in a game of ten pin? I have been practicing hard since you trounced me at our last match."

Albus was about to reply when Sir William approached the pair.

"I've spoken with Prime Minister Major. He has made arrangements for Ambassador Itsumi to visit the Weyr in two days time. The PM's office is contacting the Weyr to make the necessary arrangements," Sir William said. "Lord Mills will be meeting with the Prime Minister today. He'll be able to let the Weyrleader know about the meeting."

Albus looked up sharply. "Is it wise to be scheduling the meeting without first talking to Harry?"

Sir William smiled. "I asked that same question, considering the Weyrleader's attitude when I made the mistake of assuming they would help with the dementor issue. The Prime Minister told me that the Weyrleader has asked the PM to schedule any introductions to the dragons that he wants. He only asks for a few days warning."

Albus nodded thoughtfully and turned back to Yoshi, "There you go. You'll have a meeting with the Weyrleader in two days. If you can curb your curiosity until then, they have a wonderful way of introducing the dragons."

Yoshi nodded agreeably. He could wait two days and he preferred having the muggle ambassador along. He had a general idea of muggles and their abilities, but he knew he lacked a true understanding of their society.

"Yoshi," Albus said, "let me write up a quick note and then if you like I'll show you some of the changes we've made here. It is a much changed Ministry from your last visit."

Yoshi nodded and watched with amusement as Dumbledore painfully tapped out an email to the Prime Minister's office, containing the request to aid in the talks. As an after thought, he also included the information about the rumors concerning the Russians.

Diagon Alley, April 2nd...

"Excellent, Lee, these will do the trick," Nelson Ollivander said, laying one hand on the large box of scales. Next to the box was a smaller one containing twenty of the new core wands.

To Lee's embarrassment, Harry insisted on naming them 'Jordan wands'.

The wands were made to order and cost fifty galleons each. Right now, only people with a permit could purchase a Jordan wand, with the bulk of them going to aurors and hit wizards. Garrick Ollivander didn't want to get too involved in making the wands, so the Weyr did the basic assembly and Garrick finished the raw wands, turning them into something that a wizard would find attractive.

"We're going to be increasing the amount of scales again, Nelson. Can you handle that?"

Nelson grinned. "Handle it? Lee, you've seen the orders. You're currently the only source of dragon core materials and you're supplying six countries. Even once the Yanks get their own distribution up and running, you'll still have the European market locked up. You get me the scales and I'll find you buyers."

Lee flashed him a dazzling smile. He had spoken with Harry about his role in the Weyr and was thrilled to learn that Harry wanted him to be the public spokesperson for the Weyr. Lord Mills had arranged for Lee to talk several times with the director of the press office for the Prime Minister and the man had suggested several books for him to read. Once he'd begun to dig into the subject, he'd discovered that the muggles had universities that taught these topics and to his immense delight, math was not a required subject.

His wands and collecting scales would eventually be passed off to another as more riders became available. For now, he still collected the scales and delivered the wands, which were made by several riders, including two muggles. Harry had been initially shocked by the fact that two of the non-magical riders were helping make the wands, but as Lee pointed out, there was no magic involved in making them. Each of his helpers received ten galleons for each wand they made. The Weyr made fifteen galleons per wand with Ollivander marking up the price beyond that.

Lee glanced down at his paperwork. "So we have twenty custom wands and two hundred and twenty scales this go around."

Nelson jotted down the numbers. "Uncle Garrick will need a week to finalize the wands, but since they have been pre-paid, I'll be able to credit your Gringotts account right away. Iverson in the States is asking if we can supply four hundred scales. He estimates that should be sufficient to see to his needs for a full year."

Nelson looked up at Lee, who frowned slightly.

"That's a lot at one time. Would he be willing to accept it in multiple shipments? Four lots of one hundred, or even two of two hundred?"

Nelson nodded. "I don't think that will be a problem. He's just worried that he won't have enough on hand for the start of the next school year. Don't forget, he supplies wands for forty percent of the American market."

Lee nodded. "Tell him that we can supply him with two hundred next month, and another two hundred the month after that."

Nelson nodded. "Excellent! Is there anything else, Lee?"

Lee nodded. "Just one thing. Do you know if Joyero's is open this early?"

"The jeweler?"

Lee's skin tone darkened and he nodded.

"Looking for a ring, perhaps?"

Lee blinked and shook his head. "A ring?" he squeaked. "No! I mean, well... it's too soon. But it's her birthday and I thought I would find her something nice. She's not a witch, so I thought maybe a magical smokey crystal or maybe even a image-stone pendant."

Nelson nodded agreeably. "I'm sure she'd like that. Joyero's should be open this early."

Lee grinned. "Then I'm off to buy a birthday gift," he said.

Nelson watched the young rider leave his little office above his Uncle's shop and shook his head. Lee was a strong wizard and would have been a valuable member of the wizarding world. But now he was a dragon rider, and embracing the muggle world, even dating a muggle dragon rider. It was a shame, but Nelson wouldn't let personal feelings interfere with business. And the Weyr brought him a very lucrative business, even after Uncle Garrick took his cut.

Lee exited Ollivander's after giving the old wand maker a wave, then he turned and made his way to Joyero's Fine Jewelry, established in 1509. The shop specialized in crafting some of the finest magical adornments the world has ever seen outside of Gringotts. Some of Joyero's ancestors work could be seen in the current crown jewels of Britain.

"I shouldn't be long, Sor," he sent to Soranth. He glanced up to the roof of Ollivanders shop. The old man had reinforced the roof and added a stairway so that a dragon could land there without disrupting traffic in the alley.

"I'll watch from here, Lee," replied his dragon. "Do you know what you're looking for?"

Lee faltered in his stride. "No," he admitted. "I like Mariah a lot, and maybe someday, if I'm lucky, we could have something more, but it's too soon. I want to get her something magical, and not give her the wrong idea."

Soranth knew that Lee hoped they'd stay together. Mariah had come to him a month before her dragon rose for the first time and they had made love. Mariah, like so many of the other non-magical riders, was coming to understand that their magical counterparts placed a greater emphasis on the act and were deeply connected to their emotions.

That the dragons were picking and choosing consorts didn't seem to bother the wizards as much as it did the muggle riders. The wizards were more open to the idea of committing to possible long term relationships than their normal counterparts.

Mariah was first attracted to Lee by his easy going, fun loving personality. But as she learned more about him, she found there was an appeal there that was very strong. He made her feel good about herself and made her feel like she was needed for who she was and not just because she was pretty. Her first boyfriend had paraded her around like she was some sort of prize he had won. Lee treated her like a friend first, and she greatly admired him for that.

Twenty minutes later, Lee stepped from Joyero's Jewelers very pleased with his purchase. As he'd explained to Nelson, Mariah was his girlfriend for now, so the gift was something appropriate for a girlfriend. Once Mr. Joyero understood what Lee was looking for, he led him to a case full of small pendants. Lee examined them carefully before picking out a small ball shaped crystal pendant. By itself, it wasn't very impressive. But holding the ball and and staring into it would reveal an illusion of the moon rising over a small farm house. Lee wanted something that would be magical and it fit the bill exactly. He rounded out the set with a pair of silver earrings that glowed with an internal light of their own.

"Mariah will like those," Soranth said.

Lee paused in his stride. "I hope so. I wanted her to have something that she'd want to wear."

"I don't understand why people need to put adornments on themselves, but I'm sure she'll be very pretty with them."

Lee smiled. It was an old problem. They were constantly butting up against customs that the dragons didn't understand and humans found impossible to explain. He opened his mouth to explain when suddenly Soranth bellowed from the roof of Ollivanders and launched himself skyward. Lee blinked in confusion. He stared at his dragon, trying to understand why Soranth was so upset. A sharp pain in his back flared and spots filled his vision. Lee collapsed to the ground unconscious, never knowing he had inadvertently walked into the middle of an assassination attempt.

Nearby, Carlos the Gerbil ignored the teen that now lay crumpled in the street. The spellfire that came from the youth's direction continued unabated. His shoulder was bleeding heavily and it would have been much worse had the teen not walked into the line of fire.

Carlos lifted his wand and cast a series of explosive spells back at his attacker.

Enraged, Soranth landed down the street from the source of the spellfire that hit Lee. Being a Chinese Fireball, he was one of the smaller dragons of the Weyr, topping out at just under thirty three feet in length. But what he lacked in size, he made up for with agility and a unique ability to shoot balls of flame as well as steady stream.

Werner Migartt was shocked senseless when he saw how quickly his target responded to the attack. It spoke of a level of ability on par with his own, and he was one of the best in his field.

He had been hired by Tobias Bunniford as insurance. As long as Tobias contacted him every couple of weeks, he was paid to sit around Diagon Alley. The Swiss Gnomes who handled the contract had sent word that Bunniford was dead and he was free to complete the contract. It was the news that Migartt was waiting on. While he was getting paid to hang around Diagon Alley, there was a million galleons waiting for the successful completion of his contract.

He raised a shield and waited for Carlos to pause in his casting. The man was powerful, but Migartt had a huge arsenal of spells, as well as his muggle pistol.

Carlos stopped casting, shocked into silence.

Migartt had just enough time to hear the growl behind him when a massive clawed paw cut him in two. He stared dumbly down at his midsection while his legs folded underneath him and he slid to the floor in two pieces.

Recognizing a break when he saw one, Carlos stood carefully and groped with his left hand for the portkey in his right hand pocket. Thanks to his shoulder injury, his right arm was useless and bleeding heavily. He needed to escape and quickly!

Attracted by the movement, Soranth looked up from staring at Migartt and belched out a fireball the size of large watermelon. Carlos gasped and lunged out of the path and Soranth bellowed in anger. He fired off another fireball and Carlos rolled desperately out of the way. While rolling he managed to reach the portkey and pull it from his pocket. He vanished just as the skies above the Alley erupted with dragons bellowing in anger.

Chekiath dropped to the ground with Harry already dismounting as he touched down.

"Chekiath, see to Soranth," he ordered.

The Chinese fireball moaned. He stood over his rider, bobbing his head and whimpering. Harry was comforted by the fact that the dragon was still here. That meant Lee was alive, for now. He knelt by the teen and looked at him somewhat helplessly. There was a slowly spreading pool of blood and he simply didn't know what to do.

A man with gray hair suddenly shoved Harry to one side and knelt next to Lee. He pulled out his wand and started casting spells, slowing the bleeding.

Harry leaned back and looked relieved. "You're a healer?"

The man nodded. "Yes, now shut up and let me do my job."

Soranth growled and the healer glanced up at the large dragon, his face suddenly paling.

"Soranth, stop that! The healer is trying to help Lee," Harry commanded.

"Soranth, obey the Weyrleader," Chekiath commanded. He made a sharp barking sound and the Chinese fireball cringed back. The Weyr settled on the rooftops, staring down into the alley and everyone realized that the dragons were very angry.

"My rider," whimpered Soranth.

"We're trying to help him, Soranth," Harry said in a softer tone.

"I need to move him to St. Mungo's," the healer announced.

"Lee is going to be okay, isn't he?" Harry asked.

The healer frowned. "Eventually, but I need more help if we're to get him through this."

The healer pulled out a small string which he laid on Lee's chest.

"Wait, how will we find you?" Harry blurted.

The healer smiled. "Come to St. Mungo's and ask for Thor Sorenson. I'm the senior healer for the Spell Damage ward."

With that, the pair vanished. Soranth shrieked, but Chekiath barked another command, causing the distraught dragon to wince and cower back once again. Chekiath moved closer to Soranth and the ground trembled under his feet. There was no control of weight here, this was pure alpha dragon enforcing his will and Soranth huddled back from Chekiath, watching him intently.

Harry stood slowly and looked around. There was a fairly large crowd of people, riders and wizards looking on.

"May," he called. She stepped forward, Hermione on her heels, both looking deeply worried. "Return to the Weyr and inform Issac what has happened, then please ask him to accompany you to St. Mungo's. I would like him to be able to explain to us Lee's condition and what treatment he'll need. Chekiath and I will escort Soranth there. Ronan, see if you can find out what Lee was up to?"

"He had just made a purchase from me, Mister Potter," said a voice.

Harry turned to see a small man with a delicate look to him. "I'm sorry, you are?"

"Teddy Joyero of Joyero Jewelers. Your young rider had stopped in to buy a gift for his girlfriend's birthday," said Joyero.

Harry ignored the gasp and muffled sob from Mariah, who stood nearby. Hermione and several other girls moved to her side to comfort her.

"He had just left my store when someone attacked a man standing on the steps of Gringotts. I'm afraid your young man was caught in the middle of that fight. I'm certain he didn't realize what was happening," Joyero concluded. He glanced back to where Migartt lay in the street and paled. It hadn't occurred to him that someone had died.

Harry nodded, then he grimaced when he spotted two aurors approaching, pushing their way through the crowd.

"What happened here?" asked one of the Aurors. The other was staring down at the body in horror. Mr. Joyero repeated what he witnessed through the window of his store. He didn't see Soranth slice Migartt in two, but he did see the firefight that Lee got caught up in.

"One of my riders was injured when two men tried to kill each other here in the Alley. His dragon killed one of the men, and the other portkeyed away just as we arrived," Harry said angrily. He wasn't happy that these aurors had arrived so late.

"So the dragon killed a wizard?" asked one auror.

Harry looked at the man with narrowing eyes. He didn't like the tone the man was using. "It was self defense. The dragon was protecting his rider."

Chekiath turned his large head to stare at the auror. The man frowned and he looked at Soranth, who was still very upset about his rider and barely aware of what was going on around him. Lee being unconscious was affecting him deeply.

"I'll call magical animal control," the auror said. He turned and skidded to a halt when Chekiath moved to block his path. The huge dragon bared his teeth and smoke drifted from his nostrils.

"You will do no such thing," Harry said flatly. "Did I not tell you that he killed in defense of his rider?"

"But the animal killed a wizard!"

Harry went rigid and the flat, icy look in his eyes may not have been all that impressive, as he wasn't a tall man. What was impressive, however, was the amount of magic warping the air around him in response to his anger.

The auror froze, realizing that he faced someone with far more power than he had and just the raw magic bleeding off Harry was making him ill.

"Dragons are not animals. They are intelligent beings, no different than you or I. Soranth is my responsibility. If he had committed a crime, it would be my responsibility to attend to it, not yours. However, no crime has been committed. He killed in self defense. If you're smart, and your words lead me to believe that may not be the case, you will leave. Now. You've insulted the dragons and the Weyr. As you also seem to be the unobservant sort, I'll point out that you happen to be surrounded by very angry dragons. Of course, they'll only get what's left of you once I've finished with you."

The dragons lining the rooftops added to the noise as they growled along with Chekiath. The auror stared at Chekiath, who was showing off nearly a hundred needle sharp teeth. He stood motionless and his bladder let loose, then he bolted from the scene to the derisive catcalls of many of the Alley's denizens.

Harry turned to the other auror, who shrugged.

"I'll speak to Director Shacklebolt, Weyrleader." The man sighed. "To be honest, I've known for a while now that Akers really wasn't suited for the job, but I had no valid reason to complain about him. I agree the dragon was acting in defense of others, but it's likely someone will want to interview the dragon."

Harry relaxed slightly. "He's in no condition for an interview at the moment. Soranth is suffering from the fact that his bonded is injured and unconscious. I can understand your need to interview him, but we'll have to wait until his rider is awake. You can make arrangements for that interview through Albus Dumbledore, office of the Deputy Minister for Magic."

The auror nodded. He was a muggle born wizard who had been a police inspector before the Ministry takeover. The Weyrleader had impressed him, if for no other reason than he had managed to scare Akers to death. He had been putting up with that pillock for months and he was sick to death of his snide comments and vague innuendos. That the Weyrleader was a mage like the paper reported there was no doubt, and yet he hadn't used any magic to chase Akers away. Just his sheer presence and that of his dragons was enough to send the man scurrying.

The auror turned to Joyero and started his interview. He wanted to wrap this up so he could personally deliver his report to Shacklebolt and his old boss, Senior Inspector Stokes.

Harry turned away and walked over to Soranth. He reached out and gently grabbed the distraught dragon by the muzzle, pulling him until they were eye to eye. "Soranth, listen to me," he said intently. "Chekiath is going to lead you to the place of healing where Lee is. I promise you that we're going to do everything to see Lee gets better. But for now, you need to concentrate. We will take care of you until Lee can."

Soranth locked gazes with Harry. "Lee will get better?" he asked worriedly.

Harry nodded. "I hope so. But let's go see, all right?"

Harry understood that without Lee providing his side of the bond, Soranth would have a great deal of difficulty focusing. It wasn't so much that his intellect was being affected, it was the overwhelming worry Soranth was now feeling.

Harry nodded to Hermione, who stood with Mariah, Susan and Karen. Hermione nodded in understanding. They would get Mariah to the hospital and watch over her.

Satisfied, he turned and quickly scaled Chekiath to his spot and snapped his harness restraint into place. He glanced around for a moment, then he heard Chekiath ordering the Wings back to the Weyr. When the wings vanished, Cheki turned to Soranth. "Soranth, you will follow me," Chekiath said. His tone allowed for no leeway. It was unmistakably a command.

Chekiath sprang aloft, then he circled waiting for Soranth to join him. A moment later, the two dragons leapt Between, leaving a single auror to deal with the slowly dispersing crowd of wizards and dragons and one cooling corpse.

The Wand and the Dagger, Knockturn Alley, April 3rd...

Carlos woke to a searing pain and he gasped.

Someone gently lifted his head and placed a cup to his mouth. "Drink this. It's a pain relief potion."

With his shoulder hurting so badly, he eagerly drank down the foul concoction. Slowly the pain faded away, leaving a dull ache and slight numbness in his shoulder. He sighed in relief. "Anna?"

"Yes, Carlos," she replied. "You arrived here unconscious nearly ten hours ago. I had one of your men pick up some potions and I called in a healer I know and trust. You owe me two hundred galleons, by the way. The visit from the healer is cheap enough, but paying for his silence costs extra."

She pulled out her wand and deftly vanished the bandage from his shoulder, then conjured a new one to replace it. "This is going to hurt, even with the potion, but I'll try to be as fast as possible."

She reached with the bandage and Carlos captured her hand with his good arm. "Why? You could have left me to bleed to death," he gasped.

Anna tried to pull away and then she hissed in pain as he squeezed tighter. "Stop," she stammered painfully. "Yes, I know I could have let you die, but what would have that gained me? With you dead I'm sure one of your 'associates' would arrange for an accident for me. I suppose I could have slipped you a potion that allowed me to control you, but again, you probably have that little contingency covered. The simple fact is, I'm better off now, with you, than without you.

"I could have turned you over to one of your underlings for them to care for you, but I suspect you trust them even less than you trust me."

"So very true. Alberto would have enjoyed making you scream slowly," he admitted. "But I don't think you need worry much about that now. You have proven you can be loyal, even if its just self interest that motivates you. Now, put the new bandage in place."

She nodded and carefully put the new bandage on his shoulder. The gaping hole that he had arrived with was nearly closed and the Healer's spell slowing the blood loss to a trickle kept him from bleeding to death.

Carlos watched her carefully. She had proven her loyalty, but that didn't mean he was going to relax his guard around her.

"Healer Jenkins said you had destroyed your shoulder and had he not attended you, it would have been much worse. You were hit with a bone dissolving curse. Carlos," she said timidly, "what happened?"

Carlos started to shrug, then he stopped with a wince. "I have been a target before and will be again in the future. A bone dissolver suggests this was a professional hit. Most amateurs don't even know that curse exists. When will I be able to get up?"

"Tomorrow," she said softly. "But the Healer cautions against any major exertion for a week."

He nodded. "I don't intend to fight anyone, but I have someone in the Ministry who might know more about the man who attacked me. I am good, but even I knew I was in trouble. Things may have ended very differently, had it not been for that dragon. It's ironic, Anna. Here we struggle to fight against the muggles controlling the Ministry, and their dragon allies and a dragon saves me."

Anna carefully cast a sticking charm to the bandage, then she cast an alarm charm. She removed her robe and slid into the bed next to Carlos.

He looked at her, the surprise evident on his face.

She smiled at the unspoken question. "You need to have the bandage changed and take another potion in four hours. Jenkins might be a pervert, but he's really a top notch healer."

She reached over to the bed stand and picked up a small blue bottle. "Here, take a sip of this. It won't put you to sleep, but it will relax you so you can sleep naturally."

He nodded and accepted the bottle. Her attitude surprised him and he found it rather different than what he was used to. Despite her admission of self interest, there seemed to be more than that involved.

Anna took the bottle from his hands and put it back on the table. "Sleep, Carlos. Two more bandage changes and you'll be over most of this," she said, then she leaned a little closer and used her free hand to caress him.

Strangely, Carlos found the experience comforting.

Campbeltown Weyr, April 3rd...

Harry slipped into his quarters. It was very early, nearly two in the morning, and he had been ordered back to the Weyr by Doctor Sheppard. Issac was assisting Healer Sorenson in treating Lee Jordan. He wasn't a trained healer, but he was a muggle doctor and the healers, once they got over the shock of a wizard being a doctor, accepted him and his offer of help. Harry was especially glad they were willing to listen to Issac because that meant there was someone that he personally trusted that could explain Lee's condition to him.

Lee had been hit low in the back, the spell coming dangerously close to his spinal cord. Unlike the healers, Issac recognized the dangers and immediately ordered Lee be placed on muggle medications to keep the swelling to a minimum. The healers didn't understand what the danger of the swelling around Lee's spinal cord meant, but they reluctantly agreed to use Issac's 'medicine'. Between Healer Sorenson and Issac, his prognosis was guardedly optimistic.

Issac patiently explained Lee's condition to Harry, and what his recovery might entail, then he ordered Harry home. He had been sitting all day in the waiting room, hoping to hear about Lee. Harry had personally sent Mariah home hours earlier with a promise that Chekiath or one of the other dragons would bespeak Buth, her dragon, if conditions changed.

He left St. Mungo's reluctantly, but he knew he really wasn't leaving Lee alone. Soranth, Momnarth and three other dragons had taken up positions on the roof. The presence of Momnarth and the others helped ease Soranth's anxiety, although only Lee waking up would ease it completely.

He carefully stepped onto the narrow walkway next to Cheki's sand-bed and the two entered his quarters. The walkway allowed him to enter without disturbing Cheki's bed, or tracking sand into the house proper.

Chekiath turned in circles several times before settling in on his bed, as usual, facing the living room and the entrance to Harry's bedroom.

Hermione looked up from the book she was reading. He was surprised to see her sitting in his living room wearing only a robe and her pajamas.

"I was hoping they would kick you out of there. Even Mariah didn't stay at St. Mungo's as long as you did," she said.

"No," he said tiredly. "I sent her home around eight. She was exhausted."

"Susan and Callie are keeping an eye on her tonight. Is there any change in Lee's condition?"

"Issac said it's just a matter of time. The healers took care of the majority of the damage, but they didn't understand the danger to his spinal cord. Issac thinks they have that under control now. He's optimistic."

Hermione nodded. "Well, that's good. Now come have something to eat, then I think its time for you to go to bed."

"I am tired," he admitted.

Hermione nodded. She knew he was tired just by the fact that he wasn't questioning her presence.

He sat at the table and picked up a sandwich, which was probably made by Dobby. Only Dobby made sandwiches that big. "Has May gone to sleep already?"

Hermione frowned for a moment, then she realized he wasn't asking to hurt her, he just wanted to know. "Heeth has developed some kind of illness. She's sleeping in the little bedroom they have in the infirmary and keeping an eye on her. She asked me to make sure you didn't stay up all night."

He smiled slightly. They knew him too well. Without May or Hermione, he probably would have spent several more hours trying to catch up on the work he had missed out on while dealing with the Lee's injury. "Another scale problem?" No matter how many times the riders inspected their dragons, scales continued to be an ongoing problem area for the immature dragons.

"No. Cary's pretty good about those sort of things. This is something different. May says if she didn't know better, she'd say the dragon has the flu or a bad cold," Hermione replied. "Spath says he's seen this illness before. It rarely kills a dragon, but while they have it, they do feel miserable."

Cary Cayouette was a witch who'd impressed at the second impression. She'd been found at one of the smaller hedge academies and was rather popular among the riders for her open attitude towards normal people. It was rumored that she was interested in a boy from Maziang and the pair had been learning the language of the other.

Harry nodded and walked over to the table where food was laid out, still warm, thanks to Dobby and his preservation charms.

He glanced over at Hermione and again noted her attire. "I take it you've decided to move things forward a bit?"

May and Harry both knew Hermione was of mixed mind about joining them. She wanted to, but something was holding her back.

Hermione sat opposite him and poured herself a cup of tea. "Just a little bit. Does that bother you?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm just surprised that's all."

"Well, I had planned on using the bedroom next to yours at first, but then I thought that was no different than what we had at Hogwarts and we know we can handle that with no problem," she replied, then she hesitated slightly. "I thought maybe you wouldn't mind if I slept in the bed with you. Just sleeping," she added hastily.

He grinned at her. "Alright, but I'm going to tell you the same thing May told me the first time she slept in my bed. I am not responsible for what my hands do when I'm asleep."

Hermione blinked and blushed slightly. "I can live with that," she said after a moment. "My parents tell me that I was rather clingy with my teddy bear when I slept, so you might not be the only one reaching out."

Harry lifted his cup in acknowledgment, then he tried to suppress a yawn.

"I think sleep is what you need most right now," she murmured.

He nodded. "It's strange. Most of the day was spent sitting in a small room waiting for word on Lee. I'm surprised I'm this tired," he admitted. He pushed his plate away, too tired to eat, and he didn't like sleeping with a full stomach.

Hermione noted his action and made a mental note to see he had a decent breakfast. She stood and held out a hand to him. He looked up and smiled shyly, but he took her hand. In the bedroom, he quickly stripped down to his boxers.

"What side does May usually sleep on?" she asked suddenly.

He looked at the bed and frowned slightly. "Mostly on my left side. I can't recall her being on the right."

Hermione nodded and fingered the belt on her robe nervously. "Then I'll claim the right side," she announced.

Harry nodded and wondered if one day he'd come in and find the sheets bearing dotted lines marking whose side was whose. He was thankful that he rarely needed to go to the loo in the night, climbing over someone could get really tedious.

He pulled back the blanket and slid into bed, then he looked at her. "Are you going to stand there all night?"

She fingered the belt again and he chuckled, causing her to scowl at him. "Hermione, do you really think I would try to do anything you don't want me to do? You're just going to sleep and I'm not going to bite. Well, unless you want me to."

She made her decision and undid her belt, letting the robe drop to the floor, then she hurriedly climbed into bed. She froze when Harry quickly turned and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips, then he turned back, facing away from her. "G'nite, Hermione," he said. He was already starting to drift off.

Hermione lay there for quite a while, afraid to move and unsure whether she should be disappointed that Harry hadn't tried anything, or impressed. She finally drifted off without deciding.

Department of Magical Law Enforcement, April 4th...

"You looked exhausted," said a voice.

Kingsley Shacklebolt looked up from the paper he was reading and grimaced. Benjamin Stokes stood in the doorway holding a mug of tea. Stokes was a senior CID Inspector and a muggle born wizard who was Shacklebolt's co-director and chief liaison with the muggle law enforcement agencies.

"I'd look better, but I spent the night reviewing the pensieve testimonies from yesterday's attack in Diagon Alley," Kingsley replied.

Stokes sipped at his mug of tea and nodded towards the pensieve. "Oh? Have you come to any conclusions?"

Shacklebolt leaned back on his chair and idly scratched at his bald head. "Yeah, our first idea that it was an attack on a dragon rider was totally off. This was an attempt to kill the man who was standing on the steps of Gringotts. Near as I can tell, Lee Jordan walked out of the jewelry store just as the attack started and got caught in the cross fire. He was unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Stokes nodded, having similar cases of innocent bystanders before. "Any ID on the two involved yet?"

Shacklebolt picked up a piece of paper. "The corpse has been identified as Werner Migartt according to Tom Mackey, the inn keeper from the Leaky Cauldron. He checked in a while back and has been hanging around the alley, apparently waiting for his victim to show up. We haven't been able to confirm his identity, so we're not sure if it's an alias or not. He paid coin upfront instead of billing a vault, so we can't even use that to trace him."

Stoke frowned. "It probably is an alias," he muttered.

"I agree," added Shacklebolt. "Everything about the man seems to be professional. Generic wand, not a single address, letter, or note among his personal effects. Even the clothes he was wearing gave no real clue to his origin. The only thing we have for that is his Germanic sounding name and the fact that Tom said he spoke with an accent. Given his accent, we've sent snippets of the memories to the German, Austrian and Swiss Ministries in the hopes that one of them may be able to provide a concrete identification.

"The other man hasn't been identified at all. Most witnesses were too far away. I'm hoping that once the dragon rider recovers we might be able to get an image from his memory. We asked the Goblins and as much as they wanted to help, the man had paused to look around before entering the building. He hadn't done any business with the bank yet so they never got a good look at him."

"Can't you get the memory from the dragon? From what I understand, their eyesight is far better than ours." asked Stokes.

Shacklebolt blinked and looked surprised. "I never thought of that! I don't know, but I'll ask Dumbledore if that might be possible," he replied, then he jotted down a quick note.

"How is the dragon rider, anyway?"

"St. Mungo's sent over a report on his injury and his condition as of six this morning," Shacklebolt said, then he rooted around on his desk until he found a sheet. "Jordan was hit with an explosive piercing hex that narrowly missed his spinal cord. Our healers don't normally see a lot of spinal injuries, but they were able to heal most of the other damage. The Weyr sent their doctor, who's also a wizard. He put Jordan on some kind of muggle medicine. The general opinion is that the combination of treatments is working. They've upgraded his condition from guarded to fair."

"I didn't know the Weyr had a doctor," Stokes commented in surprise.

"Apparently the PM's office found him for the Weyr. He's a muggle born wizard who returned to the muggle world."

Stokes smiled. He, too, was a muggle born who'd returned to the normal world when he was refused a position among the aurors. It wasn't a uncommon tale. A lot of muggle born entered the wizarding world and left after learning that the bigotry they experienced at school was minor compared to the rest of the society. It was an attitude that the Ministry was now actively fighting. The old bigotry was not acceptable any longer.

"Jordan was delivering dragon scales for their use as wand cores. He also delivered another dozen Jordan wands for our department," Shacklebolt looked up and grinned at Stokes. "Yes, he's the one that first came up with the wands. After dealing with Ollivander, he went to buy a gift for his girlfriend's birthday. He was injured after leaving the jewelry store."

Shacklebolt didn't know that some of the Jordan wands were supposed to be delivered to the new department of Mysteries that Croaker was rebuilding.

Stokes nodded, then he decided to bring up a more delicate subject. "Kingsley, about this report from Inspector Haskell."

Shacklebolt held up his hand, stopping him. "I know, I read it, Ben. I had Akers in here last night for a bit of a dressing down. Unfortunately, we're too short handed to just let him go. I've reassigned him to the prisoner transport detail for now. He's also on probation. Why he deliberately tried to antagonize the dragon riders is a mystery. He knew that the Department of Magical Animal Control no longer dealt with sentient creatures."

Shacklebolt sighed and shook his head angrily. They really didn't need this sort of distraction! "The down side is now Haskell has to suffer with a boot auror straight from the school. Stimpson is highly rated and recommended, but he's still a rookie."

Stokes grinned. "Don't worry about it. Jimmy Haskell has broken in rookies before. He'll do just fine and you'll have a good auror when he's done with him."

"I hope so," Shacklebolt muttered, then he picked up a report from another auror team. It was going to be a long day.

Kitchen Hall, Campbeltown Weyr, April 4th...

Harry sat at the table with a slight smile on his face. Hermione had spent the night, and while he had tried his best to be a gentleman about it, sometime during the night she had curled into his shoulder and placed one hand in a rather intimate place while she slept. He woke to discover Hermione holding him and his body responding eagerly to her touch. It took every ounce of willpower he possessed to slide away from her without waking her.

What he didn't know was that Hermione had woken a few minutes before he had. At first she had been mortified to discover what she was holding. Then, since there was no sign that Harry was awake, her shock changed to intrigue. She wished she could have pulled back the cover to take a closer look.

When Harry showed signs of stirring, she quickly pretended to sleep at least long enough for him to get out of the bed and into the shower. While he'd prepared for his coming day, she'd had time to consider what she had learned. It had dawned on her that while she hadn't indulged in dorm room gossip back at Hogwarts, she had listened to it and assumed that Harry would act like the boys that Lavender and Parvati always talked about. It was a surprise to realize she had been expecting Harry to behave in a manner that was totally out of his character. It was a sobering thought for her to consider. Had she actually allowed her belief in Harry to be swayed by gossip from Lavender and Parvati?

Harry looked up and smiled in greeting when Hermione sat opposite him. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?" he asked.

She nodded and looked down at her plate for a moment, then she scowled. "I'm not going to eat all of this," she announced to his surprise, then she picked up her plate and pushed a couple eggs and some bacon off of her plate onto his own.

He looked at her in surprise and she shrugged. "You really didn't have enough to eat last night," she said, suddenly feeling silly. Since coming to Hogwarts she had always showed some concern for Harry, but this smacked of pure Mrs. Weasley.

He peered at her for a moment, then looked down at his plate with the four eggs and mound of bacon on it. "Thank you," he mumbled.

Hermione nodded and waited until he started digging in before she turned to her own breakfast.

The pair ate quietly for about ten minutes, then Dobby appeared with a small pop and offered Harry a note. He was surprised to see it was from Issac, then he remembered that all of the elves living at the Weyr responded to any of the people who lived or worked here.

He unfolded the note cautiously, almost afraid to read what Issac had to say about Lee.

Harry,

Lee is responding well to medication and potions. I expect he'll awaken later this afternoon for a brief time. The healers expect that they will keep him here at least until next Monday. As one of the physicians on the case, I must insist that any visitors today be kept to the barest minimum. Perhaps in a few days he'll be up to talking to more people. I will be back in the Weyr this afternoon for several hours before returning to hospital to check up on Lee.

Issac.

Harry nodded, then he pulled out a pen and quickly scribbled a line to the note and handed it back to Dobby. "Give this to Mariah, please," he said softly.

Dobby nodded and vanished again, only to reappear two tables over. He handed the note to Mariah, who read it, then looked up and smiled weakly at Harry. She had slept only fitfully all night and was dreadfully worried about Lee.

"Good news?" Hermione asked.

"Issac thinks Lee will awaken later today. He wants the visitors kept to a minimum, so I told Mariah to go."

Hermione leaned back and grinned. "She'll love you for that."

Harry chuckled and shook his head. "It's better if she goes. I'm sure she'll ask him what happened and I can always find out from her, or Soranth, once Lee wakes up."

"So what are you planning for today?" she asked.

Harry ran a hand through his hair. "I'm hoping to get some work done this morning. In the afternoon, I have to meet with the ICW delegate from Japan, while their regular Ambassador meets with Albert Ford. I suppose if the meeting goes well enough, Japan may become home to our fourth manned Weyr."

Hermione hadn't had much contact with Albert Ford. He had installed himself in an office near Lord Mills and spent several days talking to Mills and Sir Robert before approaching some of the riders for additional information. It was his job to oversee the introduction of dragons to the various governments and any negotiations needed. Lord Mills and Harry had worked out the basic parameters of what was needed. With that framework, Ford was able to negotiate on the behalf of the dragons.

"Do you ever get a break?" she blurted.

"Honestly, not really," he replied with a weak smile. "Why do you think I made such a big deal about what happens in my home?" he asked quietly. "I know I could get called away at anytime. It's the only place that I can relax. Take last night. I had one of the best night's rest ever. It's one of the things you two do for me that I deeply appreciate."

Hermione blushed at his words. She also had a very good nights sleep, and an even more interesting morning. Then Harry said something that shocked her so much he had to repeat it.

"I said, I'm looking forward to discovering other things to appreciate in our relationship," he said intently.

"Harry," she said hesitantly, trying to warn him to not expect too much, "I'm not as pretty as May nor do I..."

She trailed off at his thunderous scowl. He leaned closer to her. "Stop it. I told this to May and now I'll tell you the same thing. I will not discuss or compare the two of you without both of you present. When we're together, I will be with you and only you. The same applies to May. Both of you are beautiful in different ways and I'm not going to let you put yourself down by comparing yourself to May. I refuse to compare you two and I'm not going to accept it from you."

Hermione stared at him through watery eyes, shocked by his words. She reached out and gripped his hand tightly in her own. Part of her hesitation came from her own insecurity and the fact that her first time had been rather traumatic. She knew Harry wouldn't hurt her, but she was still inhibited by that first encounter. His words eased her concerns. In her mind, May was far prettier than she was, and she was certain that May wouldn't be so inhibited in bed like she was sure she'd be.

In his refusal to even consider any open comparison between the two, Harry knocked one of the reasons for her reluctance out of the picture.

"It'll be fine, Hermione," he said gently. "I don't compare you two and neither should you. Each of you are special in your own right. I see it, even May sees it. See it for yourself and believe it like we do."

She nodded and he released her hand, turning back to his meal, while she worked to master the emotions that flooded through her.

When Harry finished his breakfast, including Hermione's extra eggs and bacon, he stood and smiled at her. "Will I see you tonight?"

"Maybe," she replied honestly. "I think I'll talk to May and see what her plans are. I think it'll be certain that one of us will be there."

Chinese Embassy, Athens, Greece, April 4th...

Colonel Jin Tan Mu signed the form, then he carefully removed the money from the safe. Most embassies had a special fund of counterfeit US dollars and other real currencies which they used to pay off informers. The idea was simple. Pay off an informer using money that couldn't be traced back to the People's Republic and at the same time help destabilize the American currency.

There were two separate fund in the safe. One contained real money and was used only for informers or local communist party members who had proved their value and friendship. The counterfeit money was used for the people unknown to the station staff. During any given year, two or three people walked in off the street looking to market some secret. Such people were treated very carefully until they proved their worth. In the meantime, they were paid using some of the finest counterfeits ever made.

From the safe he pulled nearly one million pounds and over ten million counterfeit American dollars. He would need it for his plans. It was an enormous amount of money and the watch security officer didn't even blink when he accepted the form. The man was too afraid of the Colonel to question the need for so much money.

He had thought long and hard before making this decision. The politburo was wrong to ignore the danger posed by the Imperialist wizards at Campbeltown and once he had destroyed them, they would understand just what a great act of courage and service the Colonel had performed in the name of the revolution.

It would take time to assemble what he needed, but with the money, he'd be able to buy the supplies and recruit the forces necessary. He'd need to act cautiously, but now that he had removed the money from the safe, he was committed. It was an act of defiance and freedom that made him giddy. It didn't bother him in the least that the watch security officer would probably be executed for failing to stop the theft.

He'd destroy the imperials and protect the motherland and party. In his mind, he could see himself being awarded the Peoples highest honors, then they would give him a parade. He was sure of that.

#10 Downing Street, London, April 4th...

"Yes?"

"Sir, Lord Kennewick and Sir Basil are here as you requested," said the secretary.

Prime Minister Major nodded. "Send them in, then hold all calls."

The two men filed into the room and Major smiled thinly. "I apologize for disrupting your routine, but a message arrived to me from Mr. Dumbledore that I thought you would find interesting. Mind you, normally this would have gone through regular channels, but we can hardly fault the old chap for sending it to me directly. Odds are that he just doesn't know who to send this sort of stuff to."

Strangely the fact that Dumbledore had sent the email directly resulted in a delay. Major rarely checked his personal email because his chief of staff normally reviewed all messages making sure he got to see what was important. By sending it directly, Dumbledore accidentally bypassed that entire system.

Major passed each man a sheet of paper. The message was brief and had more than a fair share of typographical errors. It went on to detail the warnings passed to him by the ICW delegate from Japan.

"This is the first time I have heard about the Saudis and the Russians meeting. Why would they be interested in what happens at the...oh," exclaimed Sir Basil.

Lord Kennewick placed the message on the coffee table and turned to stare at the large wall map of the United Kingdom. In his mind, he was mentally overlaying another map on top of the one on the wall. Finally he turned back to Major. "Damn, it never occurred to us!"

Major arched an eyebrow. "Cyril?"

"The COSMOS satellite overflights! What if they weren't looking for information on military installations. What if they were looking at the Weyr?"

"Well, they can't see the dragons, can they?" asked Major.

"No. We had the Americans provide us with photos from one of their KH-11 satellites and the dragons never showed up on the film. I understand dragons have to want to appear in a photo or be totally preoccupied with something else before they're visible," Sir Basil answered. "I suppose we should have expected this. Sir Robert and his team have placed some very high priced purchases around the globe and have done little to keep the matter secret."

"Yes, I should have expected it, as well," added Major. "In fact, I warned Lord Mills about this being a potential issue months ago."

"It's worse than that, sir," Sir Basil added. "One of my boys in the Economics and Technologies department has been looking at potential hot rock applications. He's come up with a chart that suggests our oil dependency will drop significantly as certain technological hurdles are surpassed. We all know about the power generation issue, but my man seems to think that we could see a return to steam power or even an attempt to finally turn a Stirling heat engine into a useful tool, rather than a curiosity."

Sir Basil paused and looked uncomfortable. "I know I find the idea silly, returning to steam, but as it was pointed out to me. the old steam engines were a result of the then state of the art technology. Today, they can make them safer, smaller and more efficient, but no one had a reason to. Fuel sources like coal are too polluting and wood too expensive. A half hundred weight of hot rocks could power a vehicle like a city bus for years and the only thing it would need was periodic refilling of water for its tanks.

"The introduction of the hot rocks changes our energy base. Our E&T department produced a chart that basically showed our national dependency on oil gradually lowering until we reach a point where we're importing barely forty percent of our current figures. And that will be used primarily for lubrication and plastics production."

Major leaned forward in his chair. "What sort of time frame are we talking about here?"

Sir Basil blinked in surprise, "We're still talking decades, sir. E&T believe that the hot rocks will be the next century's laser."

Kennewick and Major looked at Sir Basil and he chuckled. "Don't feel bad. I had to have it explained to me, as well. Anyway, the story goes like this. In the mid 60s some bright chap invented the laser. It was an interesting experiment in high energy physics and nothing more. It took years before lasers found their way into technology. The inventor was quoted as saying they had invented a solution for problems that no one knew even existed and he was spot on with that statement.

"Hot rocks have the potential to do the same thing. Dragons are about to become a very valuable commodity on the world stage. Any country that controls their dragons will be able to write their own ticket."

Major snorted and tried to stifle a laugh, then he glanced over to Lord Kennewick, who was also smiling.

Sir Basil looked between the two and frowned. "What am I missing?"

"Basil," Major said, shaking his head, "I'm afraid you weren't given the whole story about dragons."

Basil blinked, then scowled. As senior national intelligence chief, he was decidedly unhappy that someone would withhold any information from him. "Oh?"

Major nodded. Standing, he walked over to a cabinet and unlocked it, then pulled out a folder. "What I'm about to tell you is rated so secret, less than ten people in our government know it."

He sat back down at his desk and opened the file. "Sidraneth, the first dragon to come to Earth so many years ago. The one the dragons call the Mother of all dragons," he said, then he glanced up to Sir Basil.

Sir Basil nodded. He knew the mythology of the dragons.

"She was genetically engineered by humans, from a point in time that we now estimate to be at least four thousand years in our future, possibly as much as eight thousand years. You see, Basil, dragons can not only teleport through space, they can teleport through time. We are extraordinarily blessed that our Weyrleader is an honest lad, who truly only wants to have a good life for his dragons. The Weyr has the ability to destroy civilization as we know it. Imagine Campbeltown jumping back to the seventeen hundreds and attacking London. They could own the world in a week if they wanted.

"So, no country will control dragon-kind. The Weyrs will operate independently and treat nations on the basis of who they consider to be friendly to them and help where they can. Any country that attempts to control dragons by force is liable to discover their forces destroyed even before they move against the dragons, simply because the Weyrs outside of that country will respond to an attack and jump back to a point before the attack happened. It is our position, and that of the Americans, that we will support an independent Weyr. The alternatives are too terrible to contemplate."

"My god," breathed Sir Basil, "it's worse than nuclear weapons."

"Indeed it is," Lord Kennewick added. "I don't have as much experience with the Weyrleader as John here, but I firmly believe that the Weyrleader would never do any such thing unless faced with the absolute annihilation of his dragons. The Weyrleader would prefer to be helping us rather than hindering us."

"Yes, Lord Mills told me that the Weyrleader was quite unhappy that they couldn't find all of the crew from the Orkney," Major added.

Kennewick turned to stare at Major. "You have got to be kidding. We would have lost the entire crew had it not been for the Weyr. I know the ship caused problems, but no one saw the dragons place the ship there. We'll be able to move and repair it. She'll see service again. The Weyr saved us millions since we won't have to replace her. I can understand how he feels about about our losses, but without his help, the losses would have been so much greater.

"I've kept it fairly secret, but I know the Coast Guard is going to be clamoring to employ some dragons for search and rescue operations," he said, then he paused and smiled slightly.

"And don't think we haven't noticed what Sir Robert's doing. Those hot rocks have the potential for us to replace the nuclear reactors in our submarines," Kennewick said with satisfaction. He had a working group looking at what kind of cost savings they would see if they could replace a reactor with a source of power that provided the same benefits and relieve them of the radiation hazards. The group didn't understand the task because they didn't know about the hot rocks, but they followed orders and did what they were told.

Sir Basil shot Major a look as if he were saying "I told you so." The push to find other uses for hot rocks was just beginning.

"All right, we're getting off track here," Major said after a moment. "The real question is, do we have a problem with Russia and the Saudis?"

Kennewick looked unhappy. "Russia is most likely controlled by wizards. How pervasive their control is remains to be seen, but we have clear evidence that suggests there is wizard control of several key ministries. The Saudis remain an unknown."

"I think the real danger comes from the warning that someone might make an attempt on the Weyrleader. That's likely to be the short term threat," Sir Basil added. "Can we put some security on him?"

Kennewick nodded in agreement.

"I'll ask, but it's hard to place security on someone who can teleport to anyplace on the planet," Major replied. "And let's not forget the lad does have the largest dragon in the world guarding his back."

All three men trailed off into silence. None of them wanted to think what the dragon response would be to an attempt to kill the Weyrleader.

The Weyr Theater, Campbeltown Weyr, April 4th...

Harry slid down from his position on Chekiath and smiled in greeting. The Japanese Ambassador and the Japanese ICW delegate both stared at Chekiath. Harry shot Lord Mills and Albert Ford an amused look, then he stepped forward. The two men had met with a couple dragons following the movie, but Harry had been sidetracked on Weyr business and had arrived late.

This was their first exposure to the largest dragon on the planet.

"Ambassador, delegate Masabe, allow me to introduce you to the Weyrleader, Harry Potter and his dragon Chekiath," Albert Ford said.

"The Weyr welcomes you, honored guests," Chekiath said. "May you find peace and shelter under our wings."

Harry smiled broadly at that. The dragons had debated for three days about a greeting for people they didn't know. They were slowly coming to understand that there were people who weren't Lord Holders, but should be treated as if they were. After much discussion, Spath and Chekiath had agreed on this greeting, which Harry immediately approved. It was sufficiently different from a human greeting that it would become a signature saying of the dragon community world wide.

Harry bowed slightly, recalling that the Japanese use a bow as a gesture of respect. His bow was shallow, reflecting his station as Weyrleader. The Ambassador gave Harry a deep bow, and Yoshi gave a shallower one, following in the tradition of meetings between two mages.

Yoshi turned to Chekiath and gave a much deeper bow. "On behalf of myself and of my country, thank you for your most gracious welcome, noble dragon. His Imperial Majesty has asked me to convey our deepest apologies for our mistreatment of your kind. Had we only known, we would have treated you much better," he said. The man held his bow, his face flushed with shame.

"You could not have known, sir. We didn't know ourselves until I impressed my Harry," Chekiath replied.

Harry stepped forward and placed a hand on Yoshi's shoulder. "Please, Mr. Masabe, the dragons are willing to judge a people by their actions of today, not of the actions during what they call the 'time of the beasts'. If Japan is guilty of a crime, then every nation that hosted a dragon preserve except Tibet is also guilty of the same crime. It is not easy to forget, but it is easy to forgive, when a people are willing to change their ways."

Masabe straightened up and looked at Harry inquisitively for a moment. "Your youthful appearance hides your wisdom, Harry Potter. It shall be as you say. Let Japan prove itself now by it's actions."

Harry nodded and turned to the Ambassador. "No doubt you still have questions even after viewing our film about the dragons and what they offer, Mr. Ambassador. Mr. Ford is able to detail our needs, should your country wish to have a manned Weyr like this one. Before I leave you in his capable hands, I would ask you to remember one simple fact. Dragons are people. They may look differently than we do, but they are people just like you and I."

Ambassador Itsumi nodded. "It is a strange thing, but I can see what you are saying, Weyrleader. Hopefully we'll be able to talk more later?"

"I do hope so. Japan having a Weyr of it's own would be an advantage to your great nation. Imagine a Weyr that daily receives busloads of children from schools. Imagine a Weyr that is more than just a source of economics, but eager to be part of the community. A Weyr has much to offer beyond just being a source of clean energy."

Harry turned to Ford. "Brief the Ambassador about the Orkney. Let him see that we can be a real boon to a nation that welcomes us as equals."

Albert smiled. "I'll do that, Harry."

Yoshi stepped up to stand next to Harry. "Well then, while the Ambassador and Mr. Ford talk, I'll ask the Weyrleader to show me around."

The Ambassador bowed to Masabe. He knew of the man and knew he was the personal envoy of the Emperor. While the Ambassador might wield a higher secular power, a personal envoy of his Imperial Majesty held a much higher spiritual power that he wouldn't contest.

Harry waited until Mills and Ford escorted the Ambassador to a waiting car for the short ride to the administration building, then he turned to Masabe.

"If you'll follow me, sir?" Harry said, then he turned in the direction of Hangar Two. Chekiath walked behind them, listening and watching.

"I note your little movie was surprisingly devoid of any mention of magic," Yoshi offered.

"That's right," Harry said with a nod. "We're preparing the Weyr to be revealed to the world at large, but magic isn't our secret to reveal. The dragon's magical abilities will be explained as either part of their genetically engineered makeup or as some unknown function of physics that we currently do not understand."

Yoshi nodded, "A wise precaution. I take it that the Weyr mostly utilizes muggle technology?"

"For the most part. Our Weyrhealer uses a mix of magical potions and muggle medicine and techniques. I know I've disappointed my teachers by not embracing magic more, but I'm afraid that magic will always assume a minor role in the Weyr by necessity."

Yoshi stopped and turned to Harry. "What do you mean?" he asked in surprise. He knew Harry was Britain's latest declared mage, but he hadn't heard anything about Harry not working to assume his role in society. Traditionally, mages always rose to high positions within their parent society. To find one ignoring that tradition was very unusual.

"I am the leader of a nation of dragons and riders. Although we try hard, we were barely able to insure that one third of our riders are magical. Like the rest of the world, muggles outnumber wizards and the Weyr will eventually reflect that ratio. We are lucky to maintain a one third wizard to two thirds muggle ratio, but that number will go down as the pool of suitable wizard candidates shrinks. Right now, we can keep the one third ratio, but in the near future, that number will drop to reflect the real muggle to magical ratio.

"It would be unfair to my non-magical riders if I try to capitalize on magic, so that means that everything needs to be done without it. If my wizards want to find magical ways to accomplish the same for themselves, I won't stop them, but I won't allow my non-magical riders feel left out because they don't have magic."

"I did not realize you were rejecting your heritage," Yoshi blurted.

"He is not rejecting his heritage. He does try to learn magic. What everyone seems to forget is, as the Weyrleader, he must set an example for all of his riders. It is why he doesn't use his warming charm on me very often," Chekiath said with a faint complaint in his voice.

Harry smiled and reached up to caress his dragon's muzzle. "Silly oaf. You know why I don't."

"Yes because someone like May can't cast the spell on Trath," Cheki replied with a resigned huff, then he turned to look at Yoshi. "It is not easy being the dragon of the Weyrleader. He works hard to set an example that all can follow, and I, as his dragon, must do the same."

Harry turned back to Yoshi, "I do work on my magic and try hard to continue my studies. But the Weyr and my dragons come first. I don't think it's a big deal if it takes until I'm in my mid twenties before I am ready to take my NEWTs, assuming I take them at all."

Yoshi nodded in understanding. "I believe I understand your situation and it is very unusual. Is the Weyr rejecting magic and magical societies as well?"

Harry scowled. "You misunderstand, sir. The Weyr will aid their friends. Any nation willing to agree that dragons are not mindless beasts to be harvested for potions ingredients can be counted as a friend. We have aided the British and the Americans, for example. We make no distinction between normal people and wizards."

Yoshi nodded. He had read about the dragons helping protect the schools in Britain. The bit about America wasn't a surprise either, considering how quickly they had jumped to the Weyr's support at the ICW. It was also the first real confirmation he had about an American Weyr.

Yoshi held up a hand. "I meant no offense, Weyrleader. I only ask because I had hoped we could speak about a problem we Japanese have. I hoped we could ask your dragons for help with a magical problem that has vexed us for centuries. Unlike our British cousins, we never developed spells to compel obedience. Our culture ingrains obedience into us from the day we are born. As a result of this, we have a problem with dementors that I was hoping we could ask your aid with."

"You don't have a way of compelling them?"

Yoshi managed to look embarrassed. "Sadly, we find such spells distasteful and are harder for us to learn. Oft times we need to hire western wizards to cast such spells for us. Our dementor population is small, less than one hundred and fifty for all of our islands, and they are confined by wards. The wards are unfortunately an imperfect solution. Each year as many as twenty dementors escape and we have to round them up. Unfortunately, we also must deal with the damage and mayhem they cause when they escape."

A low growl issued from Chekiath and Harry shot him a quelling glance, calming the dragon.

Yoshi eyed the huge dragon warily.

"Dragons consider dementors a threat wherever they are found, sir. I think it's safe to say that arrangements can be made to do something about them," Harry said, then he quickly sent a message to Chekiath.

"Does your Ambassador know of the dementor problem?" he asked.

Yoshi blinked, then he nodded. "I briefed him myself. It was one of the primary reason why we wanted to meet. "

Harry turned back to Cheki. "Have Narth mention the issue to Albert and ask Karen Khan to join him in his talks."

"Right away, Harry," Chekiath replied.

At Yoshi's surprised look, he shrugged. "Karen oversaw our dealing with the dementors for the British and worked with the muggles on the bounty they paid for each dementor we killed. As much as I would like to say we'd do it for free, I have had it drummed into my head time and time again that I must look for ways to help my dragons earn their way. A hundred and fifty dementors would easily pay for us to establish a manned Weyr in Japan."

Yoshi nodded. "I do not pretend to fully understand this thing with the rocks, but my colleague seemed rather excited about them. Is such a thing really valuable to muggles?"

Harry walked up to the doorway to Hanger two and paused. "It is all about power. You understand power at a deeply personal level, but muggles use a different kind of power to run their society. The dragons offer the muggles a source of clean cheap energy that doesn't harm the dragon or the environment."

He held open the door and let the older man enter. Harry stepped in behind him. "This is our main class facility for holding dragon related lessons. We also hold lessons on magic in this building. Muggle classes are held near the science complex at the far end of the Weyr."

Harry led Yoshi into the large central meeting area and he gestured towards the three members of Sir Robert's science team, who were working with Gordon Chapman and Kirteth. The small dragon seemed to be enjoying himself immensely, bouncing on a large white floor mat.

Yoshi seemed to surprised to see there was a large muggle device hanging on the wall.

"Kirteth, and his rider Gordon Chapman, have volunteered to help with the development of a computerized alphabet board. The idea is simple, really. The white mat contains all the letters in the English alphabet. By stepping on the correct letter, the dragon can reply to any question someone asks."

Harry turned to the rider. "How's the testing going?"

Gordon shrugged, "Well enough, but the dragons want the ability to save what they type. That means the whole thing needs to be redesigned."

Harry's brow furrowed. "Save what they type?"

"Like a word processor, Weyrleader," said Kirteth. "We examined the device and realized that several of us would like to try writing, like some of the riders do."

Harry was aware that most of the riders used their computers for school work, but he didn't know anyone was using them to write anything else.

"Comaloth says her rider writes some very naughty stories, many about you," Chekiath said privately. He blinked and was immensely grateful that Chekiath didn't feel the need to share that piece of information. Chekiath added publicly, "I have used this video writer, but the smaller dragons are more agile in using the keyboard."

Harry gestured towards the machine hanging on the wall. "The device will enable us to allow the dragons to communicate with others. It's one way we'll use to introduce the muggle world to dragons."

Yoshi nodded, impressed by the machine, even if the dragons were not. He knew a little about technology. His country was a leading innovator of such things, but he hadn't paid much attention to it personally.

He allowed Harry to lead him away from the machine with the dancing dragon and he quickly found himself sitting in a chair across from Harry in the adjacent class/meeting area. "Mr. Masabe," he began.

"Please, call me Yoshi," the man said with a gentle smile.

Harry nodded and returned the smile. He liked this wizened wizard. He had an openness about him that even Dumbledore lacked. "Then you must call me Harry," he replied. "If things go the way I think they will, your Ambassador will be pressing your muggle government to establish a manned Weyr within your borders."

"You are that confident?"

Harry grinned. "It boils down to power and economics, both of which the dragons represent in abundance. Only the most backward of governments would not want a Weyr within their borders. As to the dementor issue, the Weyr looks forward to working with your government and your people to destroy them."

Yoshi nodded and continued to listen as Harry explained the huge world map with all it's pins marking the locations of Weyrs. While he listened, another part of his mind pondered the enigma of the Weyrleader.

As a mage, Yoshi had managed the incredibly difficult mind split, effectively allowing him to partition his mind so that he could concentrate on multiple tasks at the same time.

With all of his intellect, he still had trouble grasping the concept of a mage who wasn't really interested in learning about magic. He liked the Weyrleader, but he was a puzzle. The man had known dozens of other mages in his life time and none were like the young man sitting before him. An interesting puzzle indeed!

---

Author's Notes and Mockeries:

- Well it's another chapter and the Hermione haters are refusing to go away. So I'll say it. Go away. This story is not going to change because you don't like Hermione. The next Hermione hater will be pubicly paraded in the mockeries wearing nothing but their dirty underwear. If you don't like what we've written we point out the fact that your computer has a little used program on it called wordpad or whatever the mac version of that program is. You are welcome to write your story your way.

- I know there has been some calls for more Draco time, and more Narcissa etc. This is one of those stories that has a huge cast. Not everyone will get equal airtime. That's just the way it shakes out. I'll also point out that the Original Dragon Rider series had the same problem and they ended up spinning off the Dragon Singer series in the same universe because they had that many characters too.

- Joyero's Jewelers was stolen from Abraxan's Time of Destiny series. I admit it, I revel in it. But just in case, I filed the serial numbers off it so it can't be proved in a court of law.

- Gemma Destiny Seer logged in long enough to leave a review stating that they were tempted to leave an unsigned review just to annoy us. Gemma, unsigned reviews don't annoy us because we just delete them. We make it a point to not even read them. So if you want to waste your time, be our guest. :)

- Yes it is true that Millicent Bulstrode's relationship has elements of slash in it. That doesn't mean you get to see it. Sorry Twinwolfsister, but we don't write slash. If you were to see any inside of that particular relationship, it would be only from the Het side.

- A lot of people worried about the ship and yeah it IS going to be a bit of an issue, but seriously, no one really thought the dragons could save the ship except for the riders. Several people complained about that, but the simple fact is, that IS Pern canon. In all the Weyrs of Pern the dragons move three massive anti-matter engines (like the size of a supersized aircraft carrier) into a giant crevasse on the Red star. (The rogue planet that brought thread in to attack Pern). Moving a 1250 ton ship would be child's play compared to the careful positioning required to move those engines. And for you Pern fanatics, before you say anything, remember that the Red star DID have gravity. Moving thousands of tons of mass from orbit to a rogue planet still took a lot of lifting power.

- The other issue that has people worried concerns that hit man. All I can say is that you'll find out, but thus far no one has guessed rightly. And some of you... sheesh. Why would anyone outside of the Dreadlock haters society put a hit on Lee? That's almost as funny as the guy who thought the hit man was really a nun in disguise, running away from her illicit lover and the rabid penguin. So not happening.

And this chapter's story recommendation is called;

Walkabout by Fringeperson

StoryID: 6915344

This tale is unique in that it turns canon on it's ear from the get go. I will caution you that the Australian accent in the beginning can sometimes be hard to understand, but I strongly urge you to stick with it. This Harry is unlike any other Harry you've seen before. If you like the tale, take the time to tell the author. I think it's worth your time and at nearly 12K words, it's a fun read.