Author's Note:

I'm not so sure about giving out a warning, but that's pretty much the only thing I have to say up here.

WARNING: If you aren't okay with the idea of two boys being together in a relationship, as I'm debating having a slash pairing in this story (not necessarily between Harry and Draco), I suggest you stop reading and assume that Charlie is incorrect; Harry and Draco are just experiencing Dragon courtship displays that will stop after about a year and the books will continue as normal after that. If you are okay with the idea of two boys being together in a relationship, please continue reading.

Chapter 20

*Late January 1996*

To put it gently, Severus Snape was not in a good mood.

A Slytherin had come knocking on the door of his quarters about an hour ago because the Slytherin Common Room had nearly caught on fire. The Slytherin Head of House had brought Draco back to his quarters to explain what happened since he seemed to have the most level head of the students, meaning he wasn't screaming or running around. In fact, he seemed to be frozen to the floor beneath him.

Apparently Pansy had gotten impatient because Draco never went any further than holding hands with her, and she had kissed him.

Much like what had happened to Harry, Draco's throat began to heat up, even though he had pulled away from Pansy as soon as he could possibly get away from the witch. A tapestry on one of the walls was the recipient of the flames that erupted from Draco's mouth, and everyone in the common room stared as a piece of the burning tapestry broke off and landed on one of the rugs in the room. Draco had casted an Aguamenti on it and put the flames out, but the charred tapestry and rug showed the students that they hadn't imagined what they had just seen.

"Uncle Severus, haven't you figured out what's wrong with me yet?"

Severus shook his head as he sipped his tea. "No, I'm afraid not, Draco. I've read every book in the library that I thought might be able to provide somewhat of an answer; I've contacted a Dragon keeper, but I haven't told him that you have Dragon blood in you; and I've thought about your problem during every spare moment I've had since you told me about it back in November. I've only been able to decide the blood we used in your potions was probably from an Antipodean Opaleye, and what's happening to you probably isn't a result of Dragon courting rituals."

"You're just now figuring out what Dragon the blood you used in my potions was from? Isn't that something you should have checked up on before you fed it to me?"

"Draco, if you've ever tried to buy Dragon blood, they don't take note of the type of Dragon the blood was taken from. In most recipes, the type of blood doesn't matter, so we never thought to ask."

"The person you bought it from could hardly remember now, could he? How'd you find that out?"

Severus took a long sip of his tea. "When your hand grew talons, the skin was white. All Dragons have a different coloring to them. The scales of the Antipodean Opaleye happen to be of a pearly appearance."

"How do you know that what's happening to me isn't a… how did you phrase it?"

"A Dragon courting ritual?" Draco nodded. "When Dragons are courting one another, they're never violent towards each other. You could have sliced right through her hand with your talons, and you easily could have burned her skin off earlier this evening. Those are direct acts of violence amongst Dragons, Draco."

Draco took a last sip of his tea and stood up. "If you don't mind, I'd like to leave and think about what you've just told me."

Severus stood and hugged his godson goodbye. "I'm still trying; I'll let you know if I find out anything more substantial than what I know now." Draco nodded and left the room.

The next morning, Severus was putting apricot jam on his toast when an owl landed before him. This was peculiar; he wasn't expecting anyone to write to him. Severus gave the bird a strip of bacon and untied the letter, hiding it in his robes to be read later without any prying eyes around.

The first two classes of the day passed slowly, and Severus decided that he would take lunch in his quarters. Let the school wonder what he was doing; he didn't care. If anyone asked he would claim he had an overwhelming number of essays to grade. They'd believe him if they'd heard how he'd spent his evening the night before.

After calling a house elf to bring him a sandwich and a bowl of soup, Severus pulled the letter out of his robes and opened it.

Severus,

I've been thinking about our tânăr balaurul and his predicament since I
received your owl a few weeks ago, and I think I've figured out the problem.

I told you that the survival of the species has become extremely important
to Dragons in the past few centuries. Assuming that he would marry my
sister and have children with her, they wouldn't carry on the Dragon genes
in our tânăr balaurul, or at least that's how I understand it. I fear this may
be the reason why he is being so hostile to her, with his talons and fire.

Could the Dragon blood within our tânăr balaurul have some subconscious
control over his actions? I'm sure you would have a better understanding
of what happened to him internally than I do. It may be rejecting my sister's
touch since she is completely human and the Dragon genes wouldn't continue.

I hope my suspicions aren't correct as it's highly doubtful that an actual
Dragon would accept our tânăr balaurul as her mate, but keep me updated
with the latest information.

-Charlie

Well, Severus certainly hadn't expected the letter to be from Charlie, much less about the predicament he hadn't figured out yet. What the Dragon keeper had written made sense, though.

The house elf returned to Severus' quarters with a Pop! and left a plate with a ham sandwich and a bowl of French onion soup. Severus began eating as he thought about the possible solutions for Draco and Harry. Charlie could be wrong, of course, but he would do some experiments on the potion when he had time, and hopefully that would give him some answers, whether they proved Charlie's idea wrong or right. Hopefully Charlie was wrong; the boys would probably be destroyed if they had to court a Dragon.

*February 2, 1996*

Classes had ended about an hour ago, and Severus was in his potions lab conducting one last experiment. He'd figured out already that what Charlie had said was true. The Dragon blood had combined so completely with the human blood that they were equally dominant, and the wishes of both would have to be taken into account. Of course that meant that Draco couldn't really be expected to marry Pansy, and Harry would probably put up a fight when he told the boy that Ginny would no longer be a suitable option for a girlfriend.

Severus hoped he had found a way around pairing both of the boys up with female Dragons, though, and this experiment would be the deciding factor. If he was wrong, though, he'd probably have to contact Charlie and get his advice. Charlie would probably have to help both of the boys from that point, as Severus himself knew quite a bit about Dragons from reading the books in the library but wouldn't be able to provide much help.

As Severus poured the last few drops from a potion into the liquid already boiling in the cauldron, he held his breath and waited in fear of what was to come. The smoke settled and Severus let out a sigh as he extinguished the flames beneath the cauldron. Which of the two boys would he break the news to first?