"Cheers!" Fnord led the toast. "To dragons having misunderstandings and teenagers with no concept of personal safety!"

The dozen or so dragon keepers Harry was sitting with all laughed and held up their mugs "CHEERS!"

To be fair, Harry deserved that one. He had flown down into the valley with Director Roland and quickly gotten the two dragons' attention with the help of a sonorous charm. The great beasts were initially wary of him, but soon recognized him as a Dragon Friend. That had opened the door for communications, and after quite a bit of coaxing Harry had gotten to the root of the problem. The Welsh Green, Beefcake (whose real name was Efa, but seemed to like her human-given name as well) was upset because her ex-best friend, a Romanian Longhorn named Gertrude (actually Mara) had stolen her favorite sheepskin.

The Longhorn denied this accusation, offended that someone she called a friend would ever accuse her of such a thing. As it turns out, though, the Longhorn had stolen the skin, she just wasn't aware of it. From what Harry could figure out, it looked like the two had been taking a nap in Beefcake's lair and the aforementioned sheepskin had gotten snagged on Gertrude's main horn. It had then slid down and gotten stuck behind her smaller secondary horns, in a place where she couldn't really feel it and it was incredibly difficult to see. As a result, when Beefcake had accused her of theft, she had felt deeply wronged. This had led to bickering and a standoff that had been ongoing for nearly three months.

Harry was only able to figure out where the sheepskin had gone due to his seeker's eye. While talking with the dragons, he had spotted the sheepskin from his aerial position on the broomstick. With Gertrude's permission, he had flown down to get it unstuck. Unfortunately, Gertrude's mate, Sugarbutt (Harry hadn't caught his 'real' name), had seen the small human 'attack' his mate from a distance, and had decided to flay him alive in retaliation. Seemed reasonable.

Harry had then led Sugarbutt on a short chase throughout the valley until Gertrude caught up with them and told Sugarbutt, in no uncertain terms, to screw off.

Once everything had been resolved with the fighting dragons, they'd stopped for a quick lunch before going on a flying tour of the rest of the reserve. Director Roland had led said tour herself, and had been more than happy to answer his questions and discuss dragons with him at length.

While he was unfamiliar with most of the breeds they'd passed, Harry had been able to correctly identify a handful of them. Plus, as he had been reading about dragons quite a bit in preparation for the first task and for the hatching, he was able to ask a few semi-informed questions. While his knowledge was still far from being at the level of even the least experienced keeper, he thought Director Roland had seemed mildly pleased with his efforts.

That tour had taken most of the afternoon, and it was time for dinner by the time they arrived back at the main camp. Director Roland bade him farewell at the mess hall, where a slightly singed Harry was immediately accepted as part of the crew by the dragon keepers.

If he was being honest, it had been one of the best days of Harry's life. The keepers were from all over the world, and they accepted him with open arms. One or two of them had gaped upon spotting his nearly-faded scar, but they'd gotten over it relatively quickly after some tastefully weaponized elbows from the other keepers. Harry was being treated almost normally, like a newbie who had done a good job and was being celebrated by his team. He was in heaven.

"Alright, I can't take it anymore. Can we see it, Potter?" One of the keepers, a tall Indian woman in her mid-30s named Gitanjali, asked.

"See what?" Harry asked.

"Not what you're thinking, that's for sure, Harry!" Fnord crowed with laughter and Harry flushed.

"That's not what I meant and you know it!" The teenager said indignantly.

"The Horntail egg you've bonded with." Gitanjali ignored Fnord's prodding, "I saw a bonded egg once before, when I was starting out about 11 years ago. That one was an African Unladen egg, though, so I'm dying to see if they have the same coloration and inscriptions."

Harry reached for his satchel, "You sound just like my friend Hermione." He smiled at the thought of his favorite bookworm, "But of course you can, she's right here."

Pulling the egg out of the bag was like flipping a switch. The assembled keepers went quiet, all looking at the rare sight in awe. Harry understood the feeling. Even though he had cared for the egg every day for weeks, every time he looked at the it Harry was still struck by how beautiful it was. A typical Horntail egg was off white and roughly textured, similar to a large, leathery chicken egg, but this one was a dark silver, with a smooth surface covered in swirling black runes.

Harry rubbed the egg fondly, comforted by its familiar warmth. Monty called out sleepily from the bag, "Ugh, five more minutes."

Harry snorted, "No problem. Let me turn out the light." He responded as he flipped the bag shut and pushed it under the table. Monty was a monster when he didn't get his beauty sleep, especially during hibernation season, and he had no interest in waking the diva snake.

The egg seemed to hum next to him, most likely in response to the familiar sound of Parseltongue words.

"It's stunning," Sabina, or Bina for short, murmured. She was one of the team leads, and Harry had been impressed with her skills on a broom during the great Sugarbutt chase. "Or, I guess I should say she's stunning?" She looked at Harry questioningly, "You said she earlier, do you already know the gender?"

Harry tilted his head, "I… Huh. I guess I never really thought about it, but… I just have this feeling, you know? I guess I sort of assumed from the way she sounds when she hums?"

Bina's eye's shone with fascination, "We do have a spell that we can use to check the genders, but I've never heard of an egg humming."

"It makes sense, though," Gitanjali rubbed her chin thoughtfully, "Bond holders have a special connection with their charges, so it wouldn't surprise me at all if some form of communication started before hatching. Now that I think about it, Dele always referred to his egg as a he, and it actually was male when it hatched."

"Is she humming now?" Bina asked eagerly.

Harry nodded, "She's pretty satisfied, I think—likes being the center of attention. I reckon she might be a bit annoyed with me, though, for leaving her behind earlier." He paused, "I really hope she actually is a she, otherwise I might have an annoyed dragonet on my hands in a few months."

"Is that a request to check?" Gitanjali asked.

Harry paused. He hadn't really thought about but, but always just assumed it would be a surprise. It wasn't like he really needed to know, though. Male or female, this little dragon was his for life, and vice versa. Plus, the others weren't here to find out with him, and he could never keep this from his friends.

But… there was a part of Harry that did want to know. There was a part of him that wanted this moment, a part that wanted to know everything he possibly could about this little dragon, a part that didn't want to have to share this.

He wanted this to be his, he realized. That probably made him a little selfish, but that was okay every once in a while, wasn't it? This wasn't Luna's, or Hermione's, or Gryffindor house's, it was… Harry's.

"Yes," He breathed, his voice little more than a whisper. "Yes, I want to know." He said with a renewed sense of urgency. "Can you cast the spell now?"

"I can do you one better." Gitanjali smiled, "The incantation is reveleganire, and you rotate the tip of your wand in a small clockwise circle. It's pretty much impossible to mess up."

"I can cast magic here? Won't I get in trouble with the ministry?" He asked.

"Under these wards, I think Grindelwald himself could cast magic without any alarms going off." She responded with a laugh. "Plus, you're in Romania. UK detection wards don't have a prayer of a chance here." She paused, looking at him, "Go on, then, don't make us wait all night."

Harry took a deep breath and raised his wand, "Reveleganire!" Slowly, a a glowing white circle with a plus sign hanging below its base materialized, pulsating a few times before dissipating. Harry's breath caught.

"So? What is it?" Bina asked eagerly. Harry started, realizing he was the only one who had been able to see the symbol.

So that moment had been his, only his. And now he got to make the announcement. Grinning ear to ear, he proudly proclaimed,"It's a girl! It's a GIRL!"

The table burst into cheers and applause; the keepers on either side of Harry were thumping him on the back in congratulations. And under all the noise, Harry heard it, really heard it, for the first time; a sweet and proud melody just for him.

The egg was singing.

The next morning, Harry dismounted his broom at the entrance of a very large cave. "Hello?" He called out, "Anybody home?"

A loud whooshing noise was all the warning he got before he was promptly knocked onto his rear end. A large snout had appeared approximately two inches in front of his face, and attached to that snout was a pair of golden eyes he knew well. "Hello, Ignis. I missed you, too."

"For most humans, it would be considered extraordinarily foolish to approach a dragon's lair with no precautions."

"Sorry—I'll make a note for next time."

She snorted, "You seem in much better spirits than when we last spoke. Tell me of your Tournament."

"Well, there's actually not much for progress on that front. The next task is still seven weeks out, and I'm working to crack the golden egg. It just sounds like screeching whenever I open it, so we think it's either some sort of magical language or just a red herring to distract from the actual clue."

"My question was referring to the search for the curs who are attempting to end your life, child."

"Oh. Nothing new there, either." Harry sighed, "Actually, I have no idea. As far as I'm aware, there are no new suspects. I haven't heard a word about the 'investigation' since the initial commotion when my name came out of the goblet."

"It sounds as if these so-called 'investigators' lack incentive. I shall return with you to the Isles, if need be-"

"No, no!" Harry interrupted, "I mean, I truly appreciate it, and you are definitely capable, it's just that there are a lot of human laws about that sort of thing and I'd probably get arrested for leading a dragon uprising or something." He added hurriedly.

"Hmm." She didn't seem fully convinced.

Harry figured that a hasty change in subject would be his best shot at avoiding an international incident, "Oh! Do you want to see the egg? She's started to find her voice."

"I will allow you to redirect our conversation, Corvum, because I am eager to see my child, but know that we will be revisiting the topic of the tournament."

Harry sighed in relief. He wasn't fully out of the danger zone, but this would work for now. He pulled the egg out from its usual spot in his satchel. "She's doing well, I think." He said happily, "I've got enchantments on this bag to keep her cushioned and warm, and I put her in the fireplace almost every night. I think she likes being spoken to, or any sort of attention really, so I've been telling her stories and teaching her as much as I can. Oh! And my friend, Monty, babysits her whenever I can't be by her side. He's a snake, and she hums extra loudly when he curls up around her, so I think they're going to be really good friends. I-" Harry paused as he realized he had been babbling, "Sorry, I got a bit overexcited there, huh? Here." He held out the egg for inspection.

Ignis reached out a claw and carefully plucked the egg from his grasp. Immediately, the egg started singing. It was hard to tell due to the scales and the overall difference in their anatomy, but Harry thought Ignis was smiling. Her expression was… toothy, at least.

"She is doing well." Ignis said, "Her progress is excellent thus far. She is quite content with you." The dragon held the egg back out to Harry.

Harry was surprised, "Er, you didn't want a bit more time with her? Or to put her with her siblings for a bit?"

Ignis let out two puffs of smoke from her left nostril, "Just as your place is with her, her place is with you. The closer you remain to the egg for the duration of her incubation, the better."

Harry was still puzzled, "Oh… I guess I'd reckoned you'd want as much time with her as possible."

Ignis released another puff of smoke. "Remember, Corvum, that I am not like your species; I do not 'miss' her in the sense that a human mother might. I have done my duty by her, and she will grow to be a fierce dragon in her own right. I have fulfilled my duty and maintained my honor, thus, I am content."

Harry nodded slowly. "I'm not sure I understand, but I think I can respect that."

Meanwhile, in Bulgaria:

Krum Competing with Potter for a Harem?

Looks like ginger is the hottest spice in the isles this season…

It was only days ago that Viktor Krum shocked the world by bringing redhead George Weasley, pictured below (WARNING: picture is in full color; viewer discretion advised), to the Triwizard Tournament's Yule Ball.

As it turns out, however, this particular ginger is in high demand. Numerous sources within Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry confirm that Mr. George Weasley AND his identical twin brother, Mr. Fred Weasley, have been in public negotiations with the Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter, regarding joining his harem.

Dear readers, this will not stand. While many of us were initially shocked and perturbed at hometown hero Viktor Krum's dating preferences, I think we can all agree on one thing: he deserves twins.

This is a call to arms—Harry Potter does not get to take anything from this proud son of Bulgaria.

To learn how you can support Viktor in his love life, see page 8.

For a transcript of President Milev's recent negotiation regarding this matter with the Bulgarian Dementors' Association, see page 11.

Viktor set down the paper and stared blankly at the wall.

"Vell… shit."

A/N: Plot time, plot tiiiime. I'm a little dissatisfied with that second Bulgarian newspaper article, but I'm hungover enough to not care :)

Thank you for all the reviews! Glad you enjoyed poking fun at redheads with me. Also, it seems that most people don't have a preference between Saturday/Sunday for updates, so I think I'm going to stick to Sundays because they work in my schedule a bit better.

I know this winter break section is long, but in ~two chapters we'll be back at school and the story's pacing will pick up a ton. I can't wait to get Hermione and Luna in the same room again, and I have big plans for the second task. On that note-how should Harry crack the golden egg? Cedric? Neville? Luna? Accident? If you have any thoughts about that, or ideas that you'd like incorporated in the story, please let me know! I take your opinions into consideration when I'm writing.

Thanks for everything, and I'll see you next week. Cheers,

PW