Chapter Twenty-Six
Stewards
Tessaies watched the sun rise over the mountain in the distance as she thought about what the upcoming day was to bring. Her mind was awhirl with thoughts triggered by last night's ritual and the things that it revealed. The humans didn't really consider it a ritual as they knew it since it wasn't a part of their magic so much, but to the dragons it was very much so. Domir had led the ritual questioning, the magic he called to himself to gain the answers he quested for very visible to all of the dragons present and only a couple of the humans.
She was proud of her son. He was a strong dragon. She wasn't as proud as being told what to do health-wise by that same son, but figured she could pick her battles. Tessaies still had aches and pains that everyone, even young Harry, could see. She was still Domir's mother, but the same stubbornness she had he did too. Which was why she was doing what she was told and not overexerting herself. Domir remembered everything she did when he was unwell as a youth and she didn't like the possibility of being hoisted on her own dragon-sized petard.
Domir would do it, too. She knew that quite well. Tessaies was sure he laughed about it in private, too. He just wouldn't admit it unless he was up to something, which she knew all too well. He'd been sneaky right out of the shell. Why he'd become a healer and not something else confused her. That was more proof that he was sneaky.
Tessaies sighed to herself. The ritual had mental aspects that Domir used to good effect. He wasn't as good at the mental arts as Annika was, due to his breed, but Domir had the greatest proficiency as he could have as a Horntail. He put it to great use in his chosen profession, and the examination of Harry had revealed everything in the Weasley Family Meeting, among things. There had been things that verbal questioning hadn't revealed, but mental questioning had prompted.
|:-:|
The night before:
Domir nodded to himself as he glanced at the darkened sky over the gathering of Healers and others. He could feel the combined draconic magic in the air settle, waiting to be used. His next glance was toward the Speaker. It was understandable that the young human was nervous, but the spark of fire was there. It amused him, privately, but the healer knew that it was needed for what was soon to come.
A quick breath, a rapid settling into the healer's mind arts, and a fast-paced review of the things that he wanted answers to all came before he looked at the boy.
"Mister Potter, my name is Domir. I have questions to ask and some of these may seem invasive, but I have your best interests in mind in accordance with my Oath. Please answer them as fully as you can."
Domir waited for the nod from the Speaker. He drew himself up to his full height with his wings draped around his bulk and concentrated. Had Charlie been there, he would have been reminded of when he saw Tessaies do something similar, but the dragon wrangler wasn't there. Everyone else saw a greenish halo that defied quick categorization surround his head and arc from the horns in his skull. The halo drifted upward to link with something there that everyone else, including the other dragons except the nurse busy with something, could see without a lot of squinting.
It spread around, drifting down like fog to the edges of the little white posts. This time everyone could see the effects and shot each other nervous looks at the unfamiliar magic.
Domir exhaled, a long steady breath hot enough to roil the air in the dim light from the moon and stars. He looked at his nurse.
"Is everything ready, Klaudia?"
The nurse, Klaudia, waved her talons in a pattern that seemed to make sense to her for a minute or so. She nodded with a grunt of satisfaction.
"Yes, Domir." She settled back with something in her paws that hardly anyone could make out.
Domir looked at the others.
"I have invoked a record-keeping function of the Treaty that oversees these grounds. As you may or may not be aware, the Treaty of Shelleche Notch is what allows my mother, the Mother Eminence, and her companions to claim this area as a part of their territory in conjunction with ancient agreements with Hogwarts. We are responsible to Hogwarts for the ground we occupy, as Magic has decided that our presence here is necessary. There has been and will not be an explanation 'why,' as even our most learned scholars in Magic haven't a clue why Magic sometime does what she does."
Everyone nodded. Magic was often confusing, no matter what species one was. Domir continued a beat later.
"Speaking as a Healer now, I am required by both the Mother Eminence overseeing this child, by Hogwarts as his magical home, by the Treaty as the reason for that governance, and by my Oath as a healer, I am required to examine the patient thoroughly. Please be aware that a Draconic Healer's Oath is not precisely the same as a human healer's oath or that taken by the non-magical counterparts. As dragons we can and will destroy someone attacking our patients – without mercy, without quarter… and without regret."
Everyone could see the cold gleam in the huge dragon's eyes as he made this pronouncement and nearly missed the rest as they shivered.
"After all, if we didn't, who would we charge the fees for all our fine work?"
There was a round of sudden chuckles, although some of it sounded a bit forced.
"Correspondingly, everything said or expressed here tonight – verbally, physically, emotionally, or mentally, will be collected as part of the record. Professionalism is required, colleagues. Is that understood?"
Everyone agreed, one by one. They finally noticed that the nurse was manipulating a dragon-sized clipboard that she leaned up again a post, out of the way. Glances at it could see that there was something appearing on the surface of the board in a language that none of the humans recognized. The dragons present didn't seem to be concerned about it, especially when the surface blanked as it filled up and continued to 'write.'
"Very well. I have the patient's agreement to be comprehensive. I will address him afterward as one of these as the situation dictates: 'Harry,' 'Speaker,' or 'Mister Potter.' As you may all be aware, he has the gift of Parseltongue, which some consider to be Dark. I assure you, it is not. However, some questions may require a Parsel response, and Hogwarts' translation charm will not translate that during this session as I will need the actual Parsel response for input into the record. The Castle will keep her own records, I've been assured. Should Parsel questions occur, I will either translate as a courtesy to those who do not speak that tongue or ask the Speaker to do so. Is this understood?"
As before, everyone agreed.
"Speaking now as Healer-in-Charge, I require everyone with something to contribute to be truthful always and in all ways. Is this understood?"
No one was going to disagree with a multiple-ton dragon asking them to tell the truth. Everyone agreed, some quicker than others. Domir had that presence that make everyone think that he could sense a lie, no matter how small. Nothing in his demeanor indicated the opposite and everything in that same demeanor indicated that he despised untruths.
"Very well. We will begin now." Domir paused for a moment before his gaze shifted to one of the others in attendance. "Doctor Russell. I understand that you performed a recent examination on our patient, using both magical and non-magical methods. I would like to start there and use that as a baseline for what we have to come. Please come forth and give us your findings."
Domir watched as the man jumped in surprise and stood up. He nodded in encouragement, and watched the man reach into a pocket for a shrunken folder. There was a small pillar that he placed the folder on to unshrink it, and once it was reverted to full size, the man left it there.
"My name is Doctor Robert Russell. I am a fully qualified Healer and a Muggle surgeon, although I specialize in the oral and maxillofacial aspects of that discipline and generalize in all others at need. All qualification and training certificates I hold in either world are valid and up-to-date. I am a mandated reporter in child abuse cases. In the very recent examination that I performed on one Harry James Potter, age fourteen, of Little Whinging, Surrey, I found many troubling areas of concern that would have triggered this requirement. As members of DMLE are now here, I make that report. I have a written report for you after this procedure has concluded."
The Master Aurors in the group nodded, and he went on.
"I found a severe case of malnutrition that has stunted his growth, and I am unsure if this can be corrected to the degree that I would hope. I recommend a regimen of corrective potions to this end in the hopes that it can be caught in time."
Tiny scratches could be heard in the sudden silence as there were notes being taken by many involved.
"I also discovered many very old broken and ill-healed bones and joints throughout his body that will have long-lasting consequences if not immediately remedied. There are a good deal of similarly-aged traces of magical healing being performed aside from standard Healer practices. I refer, of course, to the magical core's attempts to maintain what in the muggle medical world is called 'homeostasis,' and in the magical world is called 'autohealing.' In other words, the patient's body tried to maintain and heal itself without outside help or guidance from a young age. As my colleagues are aware, in cases of injury, trauma, and other conditions the patient's magical core is used in the healing aspects of our art. The core itself requires intervention as soon as possible."
He went on, detailing the things that he had found and documented with all methods at his disposal. Everyone could see that the dispassionate voice that he used to make his report was taking a hit, but Robbie continued on as he knew this was being recorded in some fashion.
Harry shrunk into himself on his rock and didn't notice that Tessaies had eased over to his side. Harry jumped a bit when he felt a warm wing wrap around him. One shoulder and his head was free, and he saw that she had used her lesser injured wing. The other was still in rough shape, and there wasn't going to be any flying for a while yet but she was trying to give him comfort. She herself was not happy, but she was ignoring that to be there for him. It was helping but it was also a bit warm, too since Tessaies was not a cold-blooded dragon. He tried not to start sweating. The report from Doctor Russell continued.
"The patient's vital signs were good, if showing the signs of repeated stresses possibly attributed to the things released in news reports involving him in past years and who knows what not released. Blood pressure was within the range for his age. Pulse was strong and showed the cardiac conditioning that comes with his Quidditch playing. I've also discovered that many of those older injuries have contributed to a reduced range of motion in some of his joints. Should the damage previously spoken of be corrected or healed and a combination of healing and physiotherapy used, he should be able to regain the range of motion lost."
He looked at the others.
"I found traces of basilisk venom and phoenix tears in his bloodstream. Neither can be filtered out by his liver or removed by magical means, as both have fused together and reside in his blood as a part of him."
There was a good bit of scribbling at that and he paused for a moment to allow them to catch up.
"Vision is in need of correction, as what he presently has is greatly out of date. Patient has a high-moderate to severe case of farsightedness. I have noted the presence of a great many body scars that prompted my move toward mandated reporting, including a curse scar on his forehead that requires magical treatment. My written report details these items in greater detail, along with several courses of treatment based on my medical and Healer training."
The scribbling increased, and the dragons had a greater look of upset on their faces except for Domir and his nurse. Both had poker faces. The humans had twitches jumping in the muscles of their faces, but said nothing.
"I suspect that the patient has a need for mental health support to increase his quality of life, but I have to specify that this isn't my specialty and I don't feel competent enough in that area to make a completely informed judgment. I recommend some time with a Mind Healer to repair the damage done to him, and have recommendations on a few people that I know is very competent and caring."
There was a pause.
"That completes my report at this time. I have my written report here, which has already been copied to Madam Pomfrey's school files as an addition and will be sent to your files as well."
Domir nodded to him and Robbie sat down.
"As I have a copy of Madam Pomfrey's files on Mister Potter and the release to distribute within this group for purposes of this meeting, I will see that such is done before we leave," the dragon's deep voice rumbled. "Please see to it that care is taken to safeguard this information according to your occupational best practices."
The somewhat golden gaze took in everyone, and all nodded at this. Such would be done anyway.
"Now, I need to address a point that normally isn't in situations like these, and that point is the reason for the invocation of the Treaty. For that, I need to ask for the Mother Eminence's help."
Tessaies nodded at Domir. She remained silent, seeing that he had more to say.
"She is my nest-mother, and as such, our magics are in resonance to allow something that normally wouldn't be possible. I still need her permission for that to happen."
"Pardon me for interrupting, Domir, but for what to happen and will it have evidentiary bearing?" Monica asked.
"Possibly, Master Auror. We are not quite sure. This is a viewing of her memories and perceptions of the First Task of the somewhat oddly-named Triwizard Tournament."
Harry thought about what happened then and went very red. Tessaies snickered to herself when she looked down and saw the reaction on his face. Dan didn't notice this, but Emma did and her Mother instincts had her raise an eyebrow at Harry when she saw that he was avoiding looking at her or Dan.
Tessaies unfurled her wing from around Harry, who breathed a not completely hidden sigh of relief at the coolness this allowed. Domir nodded at his mother.
"Mother Eminence, would you be willing to share your memory of the events?"
She nodded, and assumed the same positioning that Domir did. Between them, there was another halo that coruscated for a moment before settling down into a wide field that grew to contain everyone. The area went dark for a moment but before everyone could get upset, the area lit up to show the arena from the First Task from Tessaies' point of view. It was better than a view in a pensieve.
"One moment," Domir intoned from somewhere. It felt odd to the humans that they couldn't see Domir or any of the other dragons while within this magically-boosted memory. It wasn't the most comfortable feeling, and they hoped that the huge dragon could see them. The idea of getting stepped on by mistake didn't make anyone any more relaxed.
"I will be modifying this playback so that any thought will be changed from the draconic languages that we speak into English for your benefit. Should there be any surprising thoughts, please remember that we dragons tend to speak our minds in times of stress."
Remembering what Tessaies had to say when they met, Harry snorted. She'd surely spoken her mind then! He decided to watch the faces of the others or at least the few that he could see. Their reactions would have to be hilarious.
Everyone watched and listened to Ludo Bagman's commentary. There was a moment of stifled laughter at Tessaies' mental commentary about his appearance, and everyone looked at her to see that she was ignoring them as hard as she could. The mother dragon looked as though she was cataloging constellations in the sky with much fervor.
The appearance of Harry in the arena made a few of them gasp. Harry himself was a bit shocked at his appearance – drawn, worried, and looking very much like he didn't want to be there.
To be fair, I didn't want to be there, he thought.
There was the moment of conversation after the broom was nudged to the side, and the broom-riders among them winced at the ease the mother Horntail had shown in doing it.
There was the conversation between Harry and Tessaies.
There was the tantrum and the shouts and curses that the translation charm obligingly rendered for the others. Everyone looked at Tessaies, who gave the impression that if she could blush she would be Quiangya's color instead of a Horntail's black.
Domir made a mental note to keep that memory in storage and show to his siblings. His poker face kept everyone from seeing his thoughts on the matter, but Tessaies still gave him a suspicious look. He looked back at her with all the innocence that he could muster – which was a great deal. She sighed, knowing better than most that he was up to something now.
The conversation about Hermione and the looks the Grangers were giving Harry after that made him realize that he didn't have a Horntail's black scales to hide his blush. The chuckles the men in the group and the muffled awwwws the women were teasing him with didn't help. Harry's face was so hot that he wondered if Tessaies had wrapped her wing around him again. He looked and realized that she hadn't.
She was grinning at him, which was worse. Harry watched as she tipped her head down by his ear.
"You know, maybe I should frame that memory for your Hermione. She would appreciate it," she murmured to him.
"Maybe," he muttered, still embarrassed.
"It could be worse."
"How's that?"
He really couldn't think of a way it could have been.
"It could have been Annika instead of me. Imagine if she wanted to sing to both of you."
Harry had to agree. The thought made him shiver.
The memory ended with Tessaies' thoughts on Charlie's need for a mate, which made several of the men snort. Harry guessed that Charlie was about to be on the receiving end of several gag gifts referring to the things Tessaies had mentioned. He'd been spending time with that pretty dragon handler he knew from somewhere, so maybe not?
No one said anything for a bit, as Domir was fiddling with the clipboard for a moment before handing it back to his nurse.
"Hmmm. Very interesting interaction, I see," he said, with as dry of intonations as he could pack into the sentence. Tessaies puffed smoke at him and refused to dignify his comment with a comment of her own.
Harry decided that he was going to be quite about it too, especially since he could see that Hermione's parents were giving him looks.
Domir tapped on a tooth absently as he thought.
~~ Speaker, how did you come into your Parsel ability? ~~
The hissed question made everyone jump, including Harry. He responded in the same tongue.
~~ I don't know, but I think it has to do with Voldemort in some way. My scar has burned in his presence. ~~
Domir nodded absently, as though he'd been thinking along those lines already before translating for the other what had been said. The mention of the Dark Lord's name made most of the others jump again.
"Stand up, Harry and remain still," Domir ordered. "Everyone else, I would like to refer you to Doctor Russell's examination notes on this scar and his thoughts about the Darkness of its presence."
There was paper flipped for the next few minutes and various hmms, huhs, and other sounds of consideration. Not for the first time, Harry wondered if medical schools and the Healer schools had the same classes on sounds like that. Even Domir did it sometimes, except when he did it, Harry's eyeballs vibrated in his skull. It sounded like a piano key almost all the way down the left side hooked up to an amplifier somehow.
He tried not to think about it that way, but it was hard when the dragon in question had positioned himself near Harry for the duration.
Soon the paper flipping and other noises had abated and Domir nodded.
"I am going to carry out an examination of this scar, using draconic means. Klaudia will be taking notes and those will appear in your folders as I make my observations."
Domir gently turned Harry to face him and traced his scar with a talon without touching it. Harry's eyes crossed a bit as he watched the tip of the sharp edge illuminate with Domir's magic. The keenest part of the talon was sharply outlined in his vision and he did his very best to be still. Hopefully, Domir would be finished.
There was a frown on the dragon's face.
"I am observing the facial disfigurement on the forehead of Harry James Potter. This is nominally a 'scar,' indicating the healing of a laceration in the skin of the patient's cranium. However, this scar does not follow the pattern of healing one would think would occur, given the age of the injury. Instead of the faded appearance expected of a decades-plus injury, this scar is still red and inflamed."
Domir shifted a bit to concentrate a closer look on the scar in question. Unfortunately for Harry, this mean that his eyes had an excellent view of the inside of a dragon's nostrils. Domir was concentrating on his work and didn't notice that Harry closed his eyes quickly.
"Using my natural magic, I have detected that other means have prevented the expected healing. There were signs that what is considered Dark Magic in some cultures, including the one that the patient hails from, has held sway upon this scar. The nature of the Dark Magic in this case is currently unknown. Further investigation is required. I will make a referral to a specialist and keep all of you in this meeting updated."
Domir continued on to other parts of his examination, using the glowing talon to aid him in whatever he was doing. He called out things as he found them, some things expected, some things Harry would rather have kept private, and some things that were frankly embarrassing. No one reacted to any of the information, and he would have been horrified to see them scribbling things down like mad. He couldn't see the Aurors in the group tighten up their faces and look furious.
From what he could tell from the technical language Domir was using for the benefit of the others, his scar was linked to Voldemort in some way. There was some problems in his bones, but what, he didn't know. He knew that they ached a bit during rough weather, but why that was he'd never known. It seemed to him that Domir was blaming that on the broken bones he'd gotten from Vernon Dursley.
"My uncle did this," he responded to a question from Domir, before he could think better about it. "Several times."
His eyes flew open and met Domir's somewhat golden eyes. They were bright in anger, but there was no other indication on the dragon's face about the thoughts running around behind the eyes.
"Yes, so you've said in other circumstances. Speaker, you should repeat for us the things that you've told Lángoló haj and his family. Everyone of us have your very best interests at heart and we will protect you."
Harry stared up at Domir, wonder just how he knew about the Weasley Family Meeting. His mouth fell open.
"I'm using a form of Healer mental magic and I was able to see part of it. It needs to be made part of this record. I'm aware of the magic of that ritual and respect it greatly. My draconic magic is one of the exceptions to privacy to Family Magic and not undertaken lightly. Will you allow it to be seen?"
"...You'll protect me?" Harry's voice was soft, the memory of the Meeting and the exhausted feeling the expression of all the dammed up emotion bursting forth running through his mind.
"Of course. You are a dragon-brother now."
The questions continued on throughout the examination session by others, but Harry was reassured by the words of the dragon healer.
|:-:|
It hadn't taken long after that. Using similar methods, Domir had extracted both a memory and a promise from the others to treat this information with the respect it deserved. One of the Aurors murmured that he would clear it with Arthur Weasley, and Domir nodded.
It had seemed to the humans that there was a lot more overlap in a Dragon society and the jobs that they did than they were used to, but it also seemed to get things done. They didn't know how dragons kept things straight, but a couple wondered to each other if there was a reduction in dragon bureaucracies or something. There had been open speculation among the humans that the dragons just flamed any incompetents that they didn't bother denying.
In fact, the knowing grins that some of the dragons had in regards to that question made them shiver a bit.
There was a scratching sound behind her from some distance and she turned to see Perreh. He was perched on a boulder next to the Hogwarts wall, waiting for her to notice him. She waved him over with her good wing. He approached and bowed to her.
"Mother Eminence. How are you today?"
His voice was a bit unctuous, which she knew he was piling on to be irritating. He'd done it for the last century as a joke and both had come to expect it. She grumbled, knowing that he was here for a reason and wouldn't be wasting time, even if he did do the irritating thing. She was sure by now that he allowed enough time every day just so he could do it and see her reaction.
"What, Perreh?" Her answer was a bit more sharp than she intended.
"Oh, don't be like that. I know you've had a rough time, but you're getting better."
"Yes, I know, but it doesn't help right now."
"Can't be impatient you know, or your wing won't heal."
She huffed at him, but knew he was right. He went on.
"I wanted to know if you're going to be able to attend. It'll be a few days."
"Yes, but I'll be slower to get there."
"Good. I'll let the judge know. He was hoping that you'd be able to attend. Watch for our flame, okay?"
Tessaies nodded and waved him away. He snorted in amusement at the grumpiness the other dragon's voice. He flew off, and Tessaies sighed. She would be in the air again soon, she hoped.
|:-:|
The noise in the field next to the Dragons' Lectern and the runway had been building from first light, and while Hagrid knew what some were doing already, he hadn't been given many details. The dragons working on whatever it was were all too busy to talk. Kirsa had already caught her three getting underfoot without her permission or theirs instead of doing the chores she set for them. Their punishment was to dig furrows along the whole length of the runway's edges with their talons and place heavy stones in the furrows.
She intended to wear them out if they had enough energy to mess around instead of doing their assigned chores.
"There needs to be stones that bigger than the furrow stones you three place and set under the bluebell flaming flares you see to increase their height," she told them. They could tell that she was most unhappy with them, but one wanted to complain about Kirsa's new assignment. The others quickly tried to shush him, but it was to no effect.
"If you don't like doing this, I'll send you to Tessaies for something to do, since there was plenty of things around here she needs done," Kirsa answered. "Or for that matter, she can think of other things to be done on top of my thoughts. There's a reason she's the Mother Eminence, and that's because she's very inventive when she needs to be. Want to try it and see what happens?"
There was a distinct lack of enthusiasm for that idea, since the Horntail was bigger than all of the miscreants together even if they had been full grown and three or four times over that sum, to boot. Plus, she had bigger teeth and spikes as well. Kirsa let that sink in for a moment.
"And by the way, the runway is Tessaies' property for the most part and I wouldn't be surprised if she would be inspecting the work when you finish. If she gets unhappy with the work, then she's very likely to express her disappointment with the three of you – most vocally. That would be before she puts you back to work. Imagine that. You'd be working all night on it, too."
"Uh… can we go back to our chores, instead?"
Kirsa refused and pointed to the runway.
"No. Too late now. You didn't want to do your chores, so I found something else for you to do while you're here. I've got the chores covered by someone else now. You have until sundown to finish, now get moving!"
They started to trudge in that direction. Each of them squealed when they felt their tails flamed by their mother.
"And next time I give you something to do, I expect it to be done! Now hurry up!"
They moved a lot quicker at the shout behind them, scurrying to get started.
|:-:|
Twenty feet away, Charlie stood with his mug in hand and shuddered as he overheard the whole thing. If it wasn't Tessaies sounding like his mother, now it was Kirsa, except now it was when he got himself or Bill in trouble. He'd been thinking about suggesting something to Kirsa instead of the runway, but decided that he didn't want to be assigned something to do himself. He had enough to worry about.
"Sorry, kids, but you got yourselves into that all by yourselves," he muttered. "Time to pay the piper."
Then he had the odd thought of Jack with a set of dragon-sized bagpipes and shuddered again.
|:-:|
Forty feet away, some of the other dragons paused to listen. They agreed with each other that they wasn't going to upset Kirsa either, but decided that maybe they could quietly suggest a few of the lesser-enjoyed details in what they were working on that could be assigned to the troublemakers.
They could think of a few things to do themselves. If it got them out of doing it themselves, all the better.
|:-:|
The industriousness of the dragons hadn't gone unnoticed. The noise had awakened most of the students and professors. The students were a bit put out to see notices posted that said that the Dragon Lectures had been temporarily scaled back, due to an upcoming event. The revised schedules of events were posted next to the notices, and this prompted even more questions. When queried, none of the professors knew what the event was and the Headmaster had no idea either. He hadn't been told by Tessaies or any of the others. That was something that gave him some anxiety since these were dragons after all and they did things their own way, but the Castle magic and wards were unconcerned. Dumbledore noted that Hogwarts seemed eager to see what the dragons were up to.
Everyone else did, too, but didn't want to interrupt a multiple-ton fire breather to find out. They resolved to wait and see.
There was a huge amount of ore being flown in and piled up in areas that seemed to make sense to the dragons. Several used mud, logs and other natural materials to mold the ore into shapes before others flamed them into what appeared to the watchers as benches of all sizes and shapes. The ore rendered itself down into smaller and rather metallic looking versions of the shapes.
This confused everyone as much as anything else. Hagrid didn't help matters as he muttered with some surprise in his voice, "Huh. Tha's magnetite ore."
This was enough to trigger a Ravenclaw rush to find out what magnetite ore had to do with dragons. The Slytherins went with them for the most part, admitting that they were just as curious. The Hufflepuffs stayed, wanting to see what the dragons did and the Gryffindors decided that they would find out a little later. They went to the Great Hall for breakfast, and sampled the food on the other tables before the others arrived from their self-assigned duties. No one made a comment about the Hufflepuffian behavior.
|:-:|
The construction had gone on all week, and everyone had gotten used to Snorre flying back and forth doing this and that with Oskar occasionally following him and grumbling everywhere. Jack seemed have his own job during this, but from the Scottish outbursts the students were hearing from him as he went about doing it, it seemed prudent to leave him alone. Professor McGonagall and most of the Scottish students went around with raised eyebrows whenever he uttered something, which didn't help the others in figuring out what was going on but decided it was less than polite.
Finally it was done, or so it seemed to everyone. Snorre had taken the Headmaster to the side and told him what was going on, and the old wizard looked like he couldn't decide what to think. Someone had heard the dragon utter the phrase 'Pointer of Truth,' which send a good many back to library. The search for that term was unfruitful. No one had figured out what the magnetite ore had to do with dragons, either.
Albus Dumbledore stood across the field with Minerva McGonagall. Both were staring at what the dragons had built.
"Minerva, unless my eyes deceive me, doesn't that look like…"
"… an open-air courtroom, aye. So that's what the dragons have been doing," she mused.
"I'm confused. Courtrooms are for trials, but why here? And since when did dragons hold trials?"
"I don't know, either."
There was a judge's bench, scaled for a dragon. To the side and a bit ahead was a witness stand, also scaled for a dragon, but with areas that a human could be seated comfortably. To the other side of the judge's area was a jury box. It was built in two sections, one able to accommodate a jury of four dragons or a jury of either nine or twelve human jurors. For some reason, there was a section for four more humans to be seated, but no one knew why. Runic arrays were scratched into everything that no one from Hogwarts recognized even slightly.
A shadow ghosted over the field and they saw Domir sail over the field, followed by Quiangya and Rhiain. Rhiain was slower than the others, but able to fly. She peeled off from the formation and landed next to one of the Aurors on break from guarding some 'guests' in the dragon dungeons. She said something to him that they were too far away to hear.
"I think they're planning to do something."
"Aye, Albus, but what?"
They saw the Auror send a fat largemouth bass patronus swimming somewhere. They looked at each other, wondering what the Auror did to get a fish as a patronus. There wasn't time to wonder much else, as the Auror sent another four to destinations unknown and wiped his forehead from the power drain of casting.
"Five?"
Dumbledore shrugged, then noticed with surprise that one of the bass was swimming his way. It flashed its shimmering scales in a broadside view, then turned its head to speak.
"Sir, your presence is needed at trial as witness, under Treaty of Shelleche Notch. Details to follow. Clear your schedule."
The head straightened out and the fish swam on, to disappear in a swirl of dissipating magic.
Dumbledore stared at McGonagall. She looked back, in no smaller amount of surprise.
"Well, Albus, I guess we know what's going on."
"I suppose so."
When he got back to his office, he found out that the very next day was going to be the day of the trial, but it didn't say of who. That didn't help his feeling of being totally out to sea.
"First thing in the morning? Seven AM? What?"
None of his questions were answered, so he had nothing to be able to tell his students that night at dinner, either. Most of them decided to be up early to find out what was going on. Many went to bed early that night, although some remained awake for some time discussing what they had learned today. Most wondered what was going on.
It was the most quiet night the castle had in years.
|:-:|
"All rise! The Honorable in Battle, Judge Whopnehr, now presiding!"
Everyone had been looking at an empty judge's bench. There was a hastily constructed viewers gallery where every student of Hogwarts and the professors were seated, along with a good number of Ministry employees, the press, and various other wizards and witches. The dragons had agreed that magical expansion charms would be a good idea.
At what most considered the prosecution table, Dahne waited with a thick folder and several smaller dragons to assist him.
At the other table – obviously the defense table – Perreh sat with only Sirius Black. The wizard was very still and no one could tell what was going on with him or what he was thinking. Only the occasional blink and breath showed that he was alive in the chair.
Between the witness stand and the viewers gallery, there was a larger gallery filled with dragons of all kinds and colors. It was quite warm on that side of the field, but the dragons didn't seem to mind. The humans closest to the dragons were soon wishing that they'd sat on the other side of the gallery.
Tessaies, Quiangya, Annika, and Rhiain stood with all the others. They watched as Judge Whopnehr carefully flew his aged bulk onto the heated stone that served as his seat and relaxed.
"Be seated. We are here for the trial of Sirius Black."
There was a loud mutter from many of the humans, and the judge drew his claws over a large slate. This produced a loud screech that made them shut up.
"As he never received a trial from the Ministry of Magic," here he glared at the Minister of Magic, who quailed, "he will receive one today!"
Sirius Black nearly fell over in hopeful anticipation.
Author's Note:
Yep, the trial is next chapter!
