((And so, Chapter 15 - AmandatheBookworm, your comment in the reviews about wanting longer dragon chapters actually inspired some of this. I realized that I did need to establish her experience with that communication for oncoming chapters.

Thanks, once again, for the reviews! I appreciate them all so much. ))

It was amazing how quickly the atmosphere of the reserve changed, following the news. Immediately, lines seemed to have been drawn with people on either side. Some argued that this was real, that there was no doubt about it. Some said that it was all a load of nonsense, and that everything would continue on, just as it had been. And then there were those who didn't have much of an opinion at all, preferring to stay away from the argument entirely.
Charlie and Shay, at least, were members of the first group.

It hadn't taken much to convince either of them. Cat had believed it immediately, following the final Task. And, if Cat trusted too easily, there was Charlie's entire family to back it up.

"There's no reason not to believe him," Charlie had said. "Not to mention the fact that Dumbledore believes him."

Shay, though she'd had her doubts at the beginning, had come to agree. And why in the world would someone who had nearly been killed by the dark wizard lie about his return?

Charlie and Shay had begun to spend most of their free time together, and some of their working time as well - they had jumped straight back into their work with the dragons, following Charlie's recovery. And, just as Charlie had warned her, the entire Reserve soon knew about them. Though Claire swore she'd said nothing, Shay had her suspicions that she was, in fact, the origin. And, while neither of them was anything less than professional during work hours, they could often be seen with laced fingers, or with Charlie's arm around Shay's waist. They were the subject of conversation for days after the majority of the Reserve had gotten past the tragedy of the Cup. Now, the nearly-famous couple was tucked away in the den of the Welsh Green. Or, to put it more accurately, Charlie was tucked away. Shay was working.

"You're really a help, you know," Shay huffed, glaring at Charlie. He was sitting on the floor of the tunnel, leaning against the wall and reading, for some reason, Quidditch Through the Ages.

"Yep," Charlie replied absently, turning a page. "Whatever you say."

"Oh, very funny," Shay said, uncertain whether to be amused or offended. "Who taught you that one?"

"Er...my dad, actually," Charlie said. He looked up at Shay and smiled crookedly.

"You're lucky you're cute," Shay muttered, turning back to the magic barrier. "Take this thing down, would you?"

"Don't you have a wand?"

"Charlie Weasley, stop being childish and help me!" Shay said, actually stamping her foot into the packed earth of the floor. Charlie smiled crookedly, blue eyes flashing.

"Did you actually just do that?"

Shay didn't answer, except to glare. Charlie raised his hands in surrender.

"Alright!" He said. "Alright. Here." He waved his wand and the barrier ceased to exist. Shay rolled her eyes and stepped over Charlie's legs and into the dragon's den. The Welsh Green, Dracul, had been the most successful subject of their little experiment by a long shot. Once Shay had overcome her initial shock, and with some coaxing from Charlie, the dragon had been quite amenable to their efforts.

It was mostly selfish. Shay knew this - she wasn't stupid. This particular dragon was about as curious about humans as these humans were about him. It was this curiosity that had led to his attempt at language, and this curiosity that kept him from killing Shay and Charlie whenever they entered his den.

"Hello," Shay murmured, still cautious as she approached the dragon's huge front feet. He lowered his head and blew a gust of faintly-too-hot steam into her face. Shay coughed. It was a greeting, as she had figured out, but that didn't make it any less unpleasant. In fact, it was more or less the direct opposite of walking through a Hogwarts ghost. Much the same sensation, only hot rather than cold.

Having survived the ordeal of saying hello to Dracul, Shay settled down cross-legged on a gold-tasseled velvet cushion. She'd found it in one of their previous "conferences," and Dracul had allowed her use of it. Under the condition that no harm came to it, which, of course, Shay had readily promised. With a bellowing sigh that would have sent Shay's hair flying, had it not been tightly pulled back, the dragon settled down in front of her. His head was inches from her knees, chin resting on the ground. His eyes were an odd color, predominantly gold with a cat-like slit of a pupil. But surrounding that pupil was a ringed spike of purple, shooting off into the gold like a firework.

"So," Shay murmured, watching the dragon. "Why is it that you can talk to me, and the others can't?"

Know this already, the dragon replied. You guessed.

Its English wasn't exactly the best, Shay had to admit. But it was better than nothing.

Can't speak, the dragon continued. Or don't want to.

"Well, yes," Shay said, "But is that it?"

The dragon didn't understand. It lifted a lip in a snarl that wasn't threatening, but frustrated.

"I mean," she clarified, "That some of the others can, but they don't...realize it. I can tell."

The dragon simply watched her, tilting its head to allow better view of the girl.

You're on odd one, hatchling, he said. His "voice" was almost fond.

"So I've been told. I guess what I'm asking, Dracul, is...does it matter the breed of dragon? Are Welsh Greens, like you, more liable to talk than, say, a..."

Welsh Green? The dragon looked amused. What is that?

"What do y-" Shay cut herself off, then chuckled. "Sorry. I didn't...you wouldn't really separate yourself into breeds, do you? I suppose that answers that question."

Colors, the dragon said. Place, sometimes.

"What are you, then?" Shay asked "According to dragons, I mean."

I am a green mountain dragon, he replied. The voice that spoke to Shay was cool and smooth. It reminded Shay vaguely of peppermint, if voices could have taste.

"What about...males and females?" Shay ventured. "Does that make a difference."

Yes, Dracul said without preamble. Females won't. Unless very young or very old. Before egg-time and after it, see?

"Yes," Shay said. "It makes sense, I think. And...age?"

Older dragons talk, Dracul said. Small dragons will learn. Young and middle? No.

That eliminated a substantial amount of dragons from their test. Shay sighed and leaned her head toward her shoulder, stretching her neck. Dracul raised his head, matching his gaze with the human girl's.

Your mate is worried, the dragon said, eyes flickering over Shay's shoulder. She turned and caught sight of an admittedly tense Charlie.

"Not my mate," she whispered. "Humans don't necessarily...er...work like that."

Whether or not the dragon actually understood this or simply didn't want to discuss it any further, he simply lowered his head again, resting it on elegantly crossed forefeet.

He has no trust for dragons, Dracul said. He did not seem offended, Shay was glad to observe. He was simply stating a fact.

"It's not that..."

He thinks I will eat you, The Welsh Green said. I can see. In eyes. He yawned, displaying gleaming teeth.

"I don't think you're helping," Shay noted. If dragons could chuckle, this one certainly would have. Instead, he simply looked amused.

I would never eat you, hatchling, he said. I like you.

"Well," Shay said, "That's probably because I didn't run at you, waving a wand."

Dracul snorted his agreement.

Why? he asked suddenly.

"Excuse me?"

Why do they hurt us with the wands?

Shay sighed, arranging a whisp of hair back into its knot.

"Because they're frightened," Shay said. "And, Dracul, don't be offended, but...they have every right to be. Your kind have killed many of us."

For same reason, Dracul retorted. He lifted his head and rested it on Shay's lap, looking up at her with his enormous eyes. In the background, Shay could hear Charlie stand and walk toward the door. She was sure he'd have drawn his wand.

"It's alright, Charlie," she called. "He's alright."

But her hands were still shaking when she rested one on his head. His scales were smooth as marble, and cool to the touch. Hard as any metal, too, and strong - it was evident just by touching them.

"It's all because of fear, then?"

Our fault, though, the dragon admitted. We liked being big - bigger than you, and more powerful. There were more of us, once. More than wizards. And we liked to rule. Treasure and power, dragons love.

"People, too, sometimes," Shay murmured.

Yes. But dragons...did not know boundaries. The Old Ones wanted sacrifice. Maidens. Young ones. And still wanted to take flocks, too. And then the wizards gained power. And defended with magic. And then the wars began.

"Wars?"

Not like your thought, the dragon said. He sighed and closed his eyes. Rivalry. Enmity. Are those right words? Constant battle. Things are better, now. Not right. But better.

"Do you miss it?" Shay asked tentatively. "The mountains? You didn't hatch here, did you?"

No. The word rumbled through Shay's mind, loud enough to cause a headache. But it was not anger, not toward her. It was longing. And it made Shay's throat constrict with sympathy.

"Show me," she managed to whisper. The dragon growled, lifted his head, and with all the gentleness possible of a giant magical reptile, touched his snout to Shay's forehead. She put her hands on either side of his nose, feeling the rush of warmth beneath the scales here.

And then, she was flying. Flying over mountains veined with snow. The air was crisp, and clearer than she'd ever breathed.

Home, Dracul told her. And...

They swept through the clouds and then they were skimming low over rolling green, dipping over shimmering water. Beneath them, flocks of sheep bleated with vague, unvoiced fear. But the dragon was not here to eat. They flew over, landing amongst moss-colored stones that still smelled, ever so faintly, of humans and battle and long-since-dried blood. Hidden beneath Dracul's claws were stores of gold, his own, hidden so deep and protected with so much magic that only a dragon or maybe a goblin could ever find it. They took off again, sure that the treasure was secure. Shay almost thought she could hear her name on the wind as they climbed up into the heavy grey clouds above. There was a stinging, invigorating press of cold moisture and then they were through, soaring above the clouds, now, just as rain was released onto the land below. Thunder rumbled but it sounded distant, and didn't concern them, anyway. And still, the wind was whispering Shay's name.

They circled over the clouds and dove back through, back over the mountains, and then Shay was sitting on the red velvet cushion, holding the dragon's head between her hands, and blinking. She felt as if she'd been sleepwalking, and someone had unadvisedly woken her. It took a moment to remember where she was, and another to hear someone desperately calling her name. The dragon's eyes were just in front of hers, content and understanding as he moved his head away from hers. The moment girl and dragon were no longer connected, Shay felt as if she had been attacked by a Bludger. The same force grabbed her arms and dragged her away, shouted the spell to re-establish the barrier, and shook Shay's shoulders. Charlie's eyes were caught somewhere between anger and desperation.

"What the hell was that?" Charlie demanded.

"Charlie, would you please calm down, I..."

"CALM DOWN?" Charlie bellowed. She'd never heard him so loud, so angry. Charlie's anger, frustration, always simmered. This was an explosion. "You expect me to calm down? Shay, he...it...could've...could've killed you. And I couldn't get to you, and you were...you looked...paralyzed, and I...damn it."

Charlie spun away from Shay, slamming a fist into the wall. After that he was so still that he coulld've been a statue.

"Charlie..."

However angry he was, Shay wasn't afraid of him. Wasn't afraid of his anger. He'd barely even killed flies while she'd known him,even preferring to capture and release spiders rather than swatting them to death. "Charlie, it's alright, I...I'm alright." She slipped in front of him, placing a hand on either side of his face. "I'm alright," she murmured, raising herself up onto her toes to press her forehead against his. He moved suddenly, wrapping both arms around her and holding her almost-too-tightly.

"I couldn't get to you," Charlie repeated. "There was some...some kind of shield or something, I don't know. But nothing I did could get through it. I tried every damn thing I could think of."

"But I was okay," Shay said into Charlie's shoulder, pulling away just enough to see his face. "He wasn't hurting me."

"I couldn't see that," Charlie said, his eyes steady on hers. "I couldn't tell. And I couldn't just..."

"Charlie..."

"I've never felt so powerless in my life," he said. "I thought I was going to watch him devour you, and there would be nothing I could do."

"He wouldn't."

"Shay, he's a dragon, he..."

"He's had a million chances to hurt me, Charlie, and he hasn't. I trust him. And he told me things, Charlie, about dragons...wait until you hear..."

She could see that he wasn't convinced of Dracul's trustworthiness, still hadn't quite gotten over the fright he'd had, and wasn't nearly as interested in such information as he would normally have been.

"Charlie," Shay murmured - his eyes had drifted over her shoulder, staring at the wall with a faraway expression. "Charlie, it's over. I'm fine. I'm here." It would have been amusing, if Charlie hadn't been so clearly affected by whatever had just happened. There was nothing else for it - Shay leaned forward and kissed him. "I'm alright," she whispered for what felt like the millionth time. Finally, Charlie looked at her - actually looked at her, not with some distant, thoughtful expression.

"I know," he said. He pulled her back to him and buried his face in her hair. "What did he tell you?" He asked, his voice muffled. Shay smiled, listening to Charlie's heartbeat, the sound of air going in and out of his lungs.

"That we have to eliminate about half of our test subjects," she said. Charlie groaned, seeming to return to his normal self.

"You've got to be joking."

"Nope." Shay pulled back, looking up at Charlie. "Any dragon that's young or middle-aged probably won't listen. Older ones can definitely speak, younger ones will learn, although males are more likely to listen in the middle stages than females are. Something about the eggs. And..."

"And," Charlie interrupted, taking her hand and tugging her toward the exit, "What happened at the end, there?"

"He...he took me to his home, kind of," Shay said. "It was kind of like a Penseive, really. His memory of a flight over the mountains, and then to this ruin where he kept treasure protected. All he did was..."

"Place his fangs altogether too close to your head? Yes, I saw that."

"Charlie. Let it go. I'm..."

"Alright, yes, you told me. Not so sure about my own mental health, though..."

"Oh, you big baby, you're just fine," Shay informed him, earning a small smile as they came upon the stairs Shay still hated. They emerged into a cool twilight, where they found a horned owl waiting for them in a nearby tree. It landed on the arm Charlie extended for it, holding out its leg. An envelope contained the distinctive handwriting of Albus Dumbledore.

"What's this?" He muttered. The owl took off, leaving Shay and Charlie standing alone in the middle of the darkening reserve.

"Lumos," Shay murmured as Charlie wrestled the letter from the envelope.

"Thanks," he said, scanning the letter quickly. He let out his breath in a rush. "Dumbledore," he said, though Shay had already guessed as much. "Dumbledore's bringing back the Order of the Phoenix."

She looked up at him, and her own determination was reflected in his eyes.

"I want to join, too," she said.

"Shay, I don't think..." he sighed, folded the letter and returned it to its envelope. "I mean that it'll be dangerous, and..."
"You think I don't know that? I do. Charlie, this isn't...this is You-Know-Who we're talking about. He could ruin everything, destroy everything we love, of course I'm joining. And honestly, I love you, but you can't stop me, and why in the world are you smiling like that?"

"You just said you love me."

Shay tilted her head to the side, confused.

"Of course I do, you goose, you know that."

"Well, yes, but you've...we've...never said it before."

"Oh..." Shay turned slightly pink.

"But I think," Charlie continued, "that maybe we should start." He folded the envelope and slipped it into a pocket. "Which is why I wanted to give you this." Charlie pulled a small, faded blue pouch from his pocket. He opened it and tilted something into his palm. "My father bought this for my mother while they were in Hogwarts," he said. "He gave it to her the first time he told her he loved her. I told mum about you, about us, and she sent it to me by owl." He held up a simple gold chain, from which there hung a pendant in the shape of a lion's head. Its mane was red-gold, its eyes two glinting flecks of jet. Its mouth was open in a roar.

"It's beautiful," Shay breathed, catching the pendant on her palm. She turned around, pulling her braided hair over one shoulder.

"I know you were a Ravenclaw," Charlie said, and Shay wondered why he thought he needed to sound apologetic. "But they were both in Gryffindor..."

"And I've got a lion protecting me," Shay said, smiling brightly as she turned to face Charlie again. The pendant gleamed just below the hollow of her throat. "I love it."

"And I love you," Charlie said, nearly beaming. Somewhere, thunder rumbled, causing both to jump. "Let's go," Charlie said, grabbing Shay's hand, "Before it starts raining on us. We can worry about this Order stuff, later."

It was so strong, their illusion of having all the time in the world. So they ran, laughing, hands clasped, back to Charlie's for tea and escape from the rain.