Dragon Lessons

14th of April, 1999.

Charlie breathed in deeply and moved with his fiancé. He had improved a lot since he started training with Harry. They had been back home for a few days. The eggs were still missing, but there was nothing else they could do, at least not in the Caverns, so they had gone back home. Charlie summoned his training sword and faced Harry. A mischievous smile spread over Harry's lips as his wand turned into his sword. The clashing of swords drew attention from others around the Estate.

Draco walked outside. He needed a breather and some time to think things through without the fumes from the cauldrons in the lab. Charlie had improved a lot since he started training with Harry. He was still slow, but he was bigger than Harry and he was starting to learn how to use that to his advantage. Still, he was nowhere near able to defeat Harry. Draco grimaced as Charlie hit the ground hard with the tip of Harry's sword resting against his jugular. Draco shook his head in amusement and kept walking as Charlie got back up to try again. The sky was cloudy but it was warm enough to be pleasant especially if you were moving around. Draco considered going home but wasn't sure he wanted to run into the Dark Lord. He was protected by Kato, but the wrong move could seriously harm his parents. He wished it was all over and the Dark Lord was gone. He had asked Harry why they hadn't done anything yet and the answer had surprised him even if it probably shouldn't have. Harry was willing to risk sacrificing others so he could save Lucius and Severus. It made Draco warm inside even if it maybe wasn't morally correct. He waved over at Alice before heading into the Sanctuary. She wasn't there to see him. Fozii came flying over to him as soon as he walked through the wards. He was glad to have his own dragon companion now. He had always been a little envious of Kato's relationship with Qozul. Carrying Yolliz had been fun, but it wasn't the same as Fozii. They understood each other and Draco got the feeling that Fozii might even stay with him once he was going back home.

Harry felled Charlie once more. They were both breathing heavily. "Doing better love," Harry said.

"Yeah, I don't just collapse anymore," Charlie said. He smiled as Alice came walking up to them. "If you'll excuse me I think I need a shower."

Alice smiled as Charlie left then she turned to Harry. "Good morning Harry," she said.

"Good morning my dear Alice," Harry said while bowing with a flourish. "What can I do for you today?"

"I have a bit of a request," Alice said. "As you know I cannot return to the job I used to have before the attack… I need something to do." She paused as she looked out over the lake. "Your stories of Katla and her friends have inspired me. I wish to write about them."

"Just switch some names and go ahead," Harry said. "I mention the names enough that it might get tricky otherwise you know."

Alice laughed. "Of course dear," she said. "Though I might have some questions."

"Ask them whenever," Harry said. "I'll do my best to answer."

Alice nodded slowly. She hadn't expected Harry to say no so she already had quite a few questions she wanted to ask him. She could tell that he might want to do as his fiancé and disappear for a shower before she bombarded him with questions. He headed off and she walked around the grounds. She peeked into the Sanctuary and saw Draco sitting with the dragons caring for them and gathering scales. She could probably have entered but she chose not to. She didn't want to disturb Draco when he looked so peaceful. She turned back towards the house and walked slowly. The living room hadn't changed since their stay. Winky showed up with a cup of tea and offered it to Alice who took the saucer gratefully. "Thank you, dear," she said.

Harry walked into the room a short while later and settled down next to her. He raised an eyebrow as Charlie poked his head into the room.

"What do we have planned for let's say in the next month or so?" Charlie asked. "They want my help over in Romania."

"Zoe and Ellie finally had enough?" Harry asked while smirking. Then he sighed and closed his eyes. "Draco and I are going to Beubatoux to show off our dragons. Dudley invited me to the semifinals I think. He said it was less likely I'd run into his parents then. If he makes the finals, they are guaranteed to be there. Then I think we'll do a run over to Hogwarts with the dragons and make sure that everyone gets a chance to see them this time."

"So a semi-full schedule that you don't necessarily need me for then," Charlie said.

"Not if you rather help your friends," Harry said. "They certainly need you more than I do at least. Are you bringing Cedric?"

"Yes, I'll drag him along. Give him a proper feel for dragons so he knows for certain if he wants to work with them or not," Charlie said. "We'll be leaving right away."

Harry chuckled. "Have fun," he said as his fiancé disappeared off without another word. He didn't mind. If Zoe and Ellie wanted Charlie's help then why shouldn't he go over there and help them? "So what questions do you have for me right now or would you rather I give you memories to view in your own time?" he asked Alice. "You won't understand what anyone is saying, and I can only show the parts I was there for so the rest would be up to you."

"I… maybe memories would be better. Then I don't need to ask as many questions," Alice said.

"Winky can give you access to my pensive," Harry said. "My memories will not be leaving Ennerdale, but you are far from the only one who wishes to study them. Winky keeps track of who is allowed and who isn't." He rose and offered her his arm.

Alice smiled as she was led to the library. It was a beautiful room filled with books from many different places including the entirety of the Black Library.

Sirius had wanted to burn it all as he gutted his childhood home, but Harry had put his foot down. He was not burning books and that was final. It ended with Harry taking care of all of the books. He led Alice over to one of the heavy drapes covering a wall and pulled it aside. He pressed his hand against the door and pushed it open.

Two items rested in the room beyond the hidden door. A big heavy tome held in golden covers and a simple stone basin. Drapes could be pulled when either item was in use to create privacy.

Harry walked up to the Pensive and pulled a scroll open. "You write what you want to see and this gives you different options with short summaries," he said. He grabbed a self-inking quill and wrote 'Paarhurnax' on the page. His encounters with the dragon were laid out and the summaries were written in English.

"How specific do I need to be?" Alice asked.

"You can be general," Harry said. He erased the text with a crystal and wrote 'dragon' rather than 'Paarthurnax'. The list was much longer this time and there were so many encounters where he had fought dragons.

"Friendly dragon?" Alice asked as she looked through the list.

"Sure you can do that. It can differentiate," Harry said. "When the list gets long it gets tricky. You can also ask for a timeline and it will give you the events in order with short descriptions that you can dive deeper into."

"This is a tricky piece of magic," Alice said.

"The goblins created it," Harry said. "I can take no credit for the magic that goes into this."

"This will help me a lot. Thank you, Harry," Alice said. She touched the edge of the Pensive. "All of your memories are in here?" she asked.

"Yes," Harry said. "I have a method to dump in everything that isn't already there. It is complicated and I don't even know how all of it works so please don't ask."

"So Lily and James…"

"Their deaths are in there," Harry said. "As well as everything I remember from healing you." I would suggest keeping away from those things. Winky and Misty will be monitoring you. If they notice that you are getting upset they will force you out of here."

Alice nodded slowly. She understood. He didn't want her to just relive the past. He was giving her access to something extraordinary with these memories. She had access to every memory that made Harry who he was. A shiver went down her spine and she moved away from the Pensive. "Thank you," she said.

"You are welcome," Harry said. "Unless you wish to start now maybe we can head back to the living room."

Alice smiled. "I really should head home to Frank. He wanted to repaint the living room," she said.

"Would you like some help?" Harry asked. "Dusty and I could come with you." He led her out of the room again and down to the entrance.

"That would be lovely, Harry," Alice said. "Neville would be glad to see you again, too."

Harry called Dusty and the three of them headed over to Longbottom Mansion.

19th of April, 1999.

Kato and Draco looked over their dragons. They were bringing Qozul, Kaanaaz, Fozii as well as Suro and Dezjun two siblings who wanted to have a bit of a look around. Fozii and Kaanaaz were resting on Draco's shoulders while Kato carried the other dragons. "Deep breath," Kato said as he held out the portkey that would take them to Beubatoux. He felt the familiar pull before they were yanked from Ennerdale. They landed in the arrival building.

Kato spun calmly and smiled at the man who made his way to them. "Monsieur Barteau a pleasure to me you again," he said.

"No Miss Delacour with you this time?" Mr Barteau asked.

"Oh, no Fleur is busy taking care of her little one. She married you know two winters ago," Kato said. "Though, I expect her sister to be here with her friends learning. Instead, I bring my apprentice. This is Draco Malfoy, son of Lord Lucius Malfoy and Heir to the Malfoy Estate."

"Welcome to Beubatoux Heir Malfoy," Mr Barteau said with a bow. "Let's get the paperwork dealt with, shall we? You are here to aid the Care of Magical Creatures class with…" he looked through his papers, "dragons…" he looked up at Kato curiously.

"Qozul please show yourself," Kato said. He moved back as Qozul flew out from his robes and landed on the floor before growing to his full size. He reached to Kato's hip when fully grown. Most Crystalbacks preferred a smaller size because of their preference for small spaces. "This is a Crystalback. We carry five of them as I reported."

Mr Barteau looked through his papers again. "No, you are right everything seems to be in order here. Your apprentice just needs to sign a few papers and then you can head over to Professor Martell."

Kato motioned for Draco to move forward. He had read these papers before. He knew what they said. He didn't comment when Draco read through every single document. He signed the papers slowly before walking back to his Master.

"Very well, have a good stay gentlemen," Mr Barteau said as he opened the door for them. They stepped out on the blue brick road and Draco looked around. "It is very pretty," he said. He saw a few students out and about in their blue robes. It was a nice change from Hogwarts, but he wasn't sure he preferred Beubatoux to the big grey classical castle that was Hogwarts. His eyes gravitated towards the big white Pegasus that Madam Maxine had pull her wagon whenever she used it. He followed Kato as they walked that way. It was early in the morning so he was surprised there were students out already. "Did you warn Gabrielle that you would be here?" he asked.

"I did not," Kato said. He walked around the pen of Pegasus. A big stallion stepped up to the fence and looked at him. "Hey buddy," Kato said in Tamrielic. "All grown now, huh." The stallion huffed at him. He walked around the pen until he made it to a partially covered area with heavy desks and log benches. A man with wild brown hair and clean simple robes was slowly placing things for the day. "Professor Martell," Kato called calmly to catch the man's attention.

André Martell turned and took a deep breath of relief as he saw Kato. "You made it," he said. "I was getting nervous that you would not come. Here I have promised my students a treat and well… I'm sure you can imagine what would have happened if you hadn't come."

Kato smiled gently. "Of course Professor," he said. "We have five Crystalbacks with us. Both my apprentice and I can answer questions, and I have a curriculum planned." He introduced Draco and moved out to the tables. He placed a dragon on each table and they grew to be the size of a corgi in body. Sizable but not that scary.

"Amazing," Professor Martell said. "Their colours are so vibrant and beautiful."

"The reason for their decline in numbers, unfortunately," Kato said. "I'm glad we found as many as we did. There are enough of them to keep them alive and well."

"Please I can wait until the students arrive," André said. "And please call me André when there are no students."

"What year are we starting with?" Draco asked.

"We will have the Fifth-year students in just a moment," André said. He placed out gloves and looked at the five dragons as he moved around. He was very happy to have Kato and his dragons over.

"Do all years have Care of Magical Creatures?" Kato said. "Or just the third through seventh-year students."

"All years though you can choose not to take it once you reach your third year," André said. "We want to teach all our students about the creatures in our world. The highlight is usually a Phoenix that accompanies a colleague of mine. This year I think your dragons might beat them, we shall see."

Kato chuckled. He took a deep breath as he saw the students walk in. They headed up to the tables and sat down while glancing at the dragons lying on the tables.

"Good morning, class," Professor Martell.

"Good morning Professor Martell," the students responded.

"Today we have something a little different for you. I know we spoke some last year about one of the more dangerous magical beasts in our community and the work we do to keep the non-magical unaware of their existence. In that regard, I have Master Kato Peverell here today." He stepped back and Kato moved forward.

"Today we will be looking at a type of dragon that only recently was rediscovered. The Size-shifting Crystalback was hunted for its glorious scales. As I am sure you can all see they are quite stunning," Kato said. He walked up to a table and placed a hand on Qozul's back. "The Crystalback does not breathe fire. Instead, they can produce static that can be channelled into lightning surrounding their bodies."

Qozul rose up so he was standing and the students closest to him moved back as did many of the other students sitting close to the dragons on their tables.

"As you can see the Crystalback is quite small. They can both shrink in size and grow." He waved Kaanaaz over and she shrank down as Qozul grew. "There is a maximum and minimum size," Kato said. "They prefer to be about the size of a house cat as they like tight spaces and prefer to keep their eggs hidden away. "Qozul ahrk Kaanaaz bo," he said.

The dragons took flight and changed in size until they matched. "Crystalbacks generally mate for life but can take another mate if the first one dies. They renew their bond with frequent flights together. Qozul and Kaanazz here are a couple but they haven't had their first clutch yet so they fly together quite often to keep their bond intact." He moved over to another table. "Crystalbacks live in packs that can grow quite large. Several hundred of them lived in Dragon's Breath Cavern when we found these guys. We believe the reason they live together is that they can more easily defend themselves against predators and other dragons that way. These guys have agreed to come here to help you learn about them so they will not attack you no matter what you do, but they will let my apprentice and I know if you are hurting them. Please show them respect."

"What do you mean they'll let you know? They are dragons. They are just animals."
"Please, put your hand up if you want to ask a question," Kato said calmly. "My apprentice Draco Malfoy and I are happy to answer any questions you might have about Crystalbacks. I had hoped to bring along a dragon expert as well, but something came up and he was needed elsewhere." He walked out a little bit and called Qozul and Kaanaaz back down. He smiled at a girl as she put her hand up.

"Yes, mademoiselle," Kato said.

"How can would the dragons tell you things though?" she asked.

Kato walked up to Qozul. "Quite simply," he said. "Just like you or I dragons can speak. They have their own language. It is possible to learn that language though much like Parsletongue there are those born with the ability to speak. I was born with the ability and Mr Malfoy has learnt it from me."

"You really want us to believe that?" one of the boys said.

Draco moved forward. "I wouldn't suggest trying us," he said. "What you believe is entirely up to you we are here to teach you not to perform tricks just know that we can speak to them. They have promised not to hurt anyone and they will keep to that promise, but they also trust us to punish anyone that is causing them harm."

A girl put her hand up. "You said that these dragons were hunted for their scales. How did these ones survive?" she asked.

"They lived down in the hidden caves of Dragon's Breath Cavern," Draco answered. Humans lived down there once, but when we went down in nineteen ninety-seven no human had been alive for at least a millennia. We were the first expedition sent down by the goblins. Though proof has been found of others going down but never making it back up again."

"You went on a goblin expedition?" one of the students said. "You're pretty young to be allowed on one of those."

"I was Kato's apprentice, he had just taken me on a few months earlier and yes I was still in school when this happened, but Master Kato was adamant that I could come along."

"Goblins seldom care what humans say," a student said.

"My relationship with the goblins is not part of this class," Kato said. "There are reasons why they listen more to me than other humans. We'll leave it at that." He moved around. "Now, the Crystalbak still looks much like their bigger cousins so we can learn much about the way a dragon looks and functions from them."

Draco and Kato went on to show how joints and tails worked as well as the size of the wings in comparison to the body. They showed how to care for the scales and how to make the little dragons very happy.

By the end of class, the students seemed quite happy knowing more about the small colourful dragons. "Who is next?" Draco asked.

"Second year," André said. He raised an eyebrow as Draco snorted. "Am I missing something?" he asked.

Kato shook his head in disappointment. "You may recall that I travelled with Fleur Delacour last time I was here. Her little sister is in her second year. I may not have informed her that I would be here this week."

André rolled his eyes. Oh, he knew that the girls of the Lyulyak Clan could be quite excitable, especially around people they liked. He hoped that she could keep in her seat until the end of class though. It was still his classroom after all. He looked at Kato amused when the Master turned around so he wasn't facing the students as they entered. Qozul shrank down and flew over to Kato and Draco moved to the back of the open classroom. The other dragons joined either Kato or Draco. They were not going to start the younger students with the dragons out.

The younger students filtered in quickly short while later and sat down by the benches. André started his class much the same as he had done earlier. He didn't introduce Kato though.

"Thank you, Professor Martell," Kato said before turning around slowly. "I am Kato Peverell. His eyes moved over the room until they landed on Gabrielle. She looked to be vibrating in her seat. "Together with my apprentice Draco Malfoy, I have brought some very small dragons to see you." He raised the dragon in his arms. "Qozul bo wah, go to Viintaasdun," he said. Qozul took off and flew over to the little girl. He landed in front of her and blew a puff of air in her face. Gabrielle giggled and reached out to pet him while Kato got started on the lesson. He was calmer and less informative about the dangers both to the little dragons and from them. While they did show the students the lightning cloak he assured them that none of the dragons he had brought wished to hurt them.

Professor Martell brought out different foods and the students got to try to feed the dragons. Kato had been very clear that no one needed to eat something they didn't want. He didn't want the dragons to force themselves just to be nice.

As soon as the bell rang and the class was over Gabrielle ran over to Kato and threw herself at him. He picked her up and hugged her tightly. "How has your year been so far?" he asked.

"It has been great," Gabrielle said with a smile. "I have been learning so much and my friends are great and I am trying to be friendly with everyone, but some people just really do not like me. I don't really get why, but my older cousins say it's because of our family. I think that is kind of stupid, but I guess everyone can't like me." She took a deep breath and jumped down. "This is Yves and Claude and Pierre. They are my friends. Kato is like a bonus brother to Fleur and me, he is great." Gabrielle switched to speaking to her friends who seemed fairly used to her almost hyper nature.

"Come on let's go to lunch," Yves said. She grabbed Gabrielle's hand. "I want to eat." She smiled up at Kato. "Thank you for a great lesson, Master Peverell." She said before she started dragging Gabrielle with her.

"Well, that went better than expected," Draco said.

"Quite," Kato said.

The following few days went well with only minor mishaps as some student or another tested just how well the Master and his apprentice could understand the dragons. After the first few times they had lost points or even been given detention for messing with the dragons, the student quickly caught on and everything ran smoothly.

22nd of April, 1999.

The last class for the day had left. They only had one more day of classes and then it was time to head home. Kato and Draco were heading back to their rooms with their dragons when a Patronus passed them by.

Then Kato froze and Draco's eyes widened.

"Is that?"

"Allure," Kato said.

"I'll take the dragons. You go," Draco said. He had never felt anything like it before. He knew his Master had been shielding him a lot around Fleur and her family when they had interacted in the past. He hoped everything was alright.

Kato took a guess and threw up a clairvoyance line for Gabrielle as he ran. For her to have this kind of reaction something had to be wrong. A part of him hoped it wasn't Gabrielle, but he wasn't going to delude himself. He walked with long determined strides as he entered the dining hall.

It was chaos.

Boys were climbing over each other in an attempt to get to a group of blonde girls guarded by a heap of other girls, most likely related to them on their father's sides. The professors tried to get closer to the group of girls, but no one wanted to hurt any students.

"It usually doesn't get this bad," someone said, but Kato didn't stop to check who it was. If he had been able to lay wards then he would have been able to just neutralize this like he had at the wedding. Now he had to improvise. He gathered his essence. "Kaan Drem Ov," he shouted. Then before anyone could quite realise what was going on he moved quickly up to the girls and slid in next to Gabrielle and two of her young cousins. He wasn't sure what the girls' names were but he pulled them all closer. "I'm here Gabrielle," he said calmly. "Please relax. I know you can control this. Just listen to my voice and take a deep breath." He kept talking as his shout wore off and the boy started pushing towards them again shouting insane things and just trying to catch their attention.

"Can you make them stop?" Claudine's youngest sister asked Kato. "At the wedding, no one acted like this."

"But that was in my wards," Kato said. "I controlled that area. I have no control here… if…" he saw Draco entering the room. "Can you get my apprentice? Together he and I can project a bubble around them. At least that should make everyone calm down until we have pulled the allure down under control."

The girl nodded and took off from the group. She held her own allure in iron shackles as she weaved over to Draco and told him to come with her. She took his hand and he let a soft shield move out over her. It was harder to get back than it had been to get out but they made it.

Kato stood up the moment Draco reached him and grabbed his hands. Thankfully they didn't need to speak for these things anymore. They identified every single Veela in the room and then they pulled the allure tightly around those girls. Everything calmed down almost instantly.

The professors took over and started ordering people around. They got the Veela together with Kato and Draco out of the room and into a separate room that Kato quickly rounded and warded so they could drop the shield. Kato turned to Claudine's youngest sister. "Does the allure of one Veela trigger others?" he asked. While he knew a fair amount about Veela he hadn't come across something like what had happened in the dining hall.

"It can but it isn't common. Sometimes when several young Veela bloom at once it creates a mess. It shouldn't have happened, but Gabriell is a bit late while Marie and Amy are too early really. When all three of them lost control all at once it kind of messed with the rest of us. If it had happened anywhere but the Dining Hall, we would have been fine.

Kato nodded slowly as he moved back and sat down next to Gabrielle. She wrapped her arms around him tightly and he could feel how the shoulder of his robes got wet. He rubbed her back slowly. Now that things had calmed down he could see that it wasn't just girls in their group. He could see the look on the young boys' faces. Most people knew that if you were a straight guy you would be affected by Veela allure. The fact that there were plenty of men who were entirely immune wasn't spoken of as often outside of Veela circles. They had more than a handful of young boys who were seriously questioning their sexuality right now. "Wish Bill would have been here," Kato said as he looked over at Draco. "Fleur's husband. I mean some more immune guys would have been good."

"Yeah, it certainly wouldn't have hurt," Draco said. "I'm guessing we're waiting for parents at this point, huh?"

"Probably," Kato said. "The Professors need to get things back under control and then they need to figure out how to make sure this doesn't happen again. It isn't likely to happen, but these three need some training in how to deal with the allure. Though Gabrielle should be alright." He ruffled her hair. "I think she was taken by surprise." he looked around. Draco fit so well with the Veela cousins that it was almost scary. They had several other cousins and even some boyfriends of the older girls.

There was a knock on the door and a kind-looking woman entered. If Kato remembered correctly, she was the Ancient Runes Professor. "The parents of the youngest ones are on their way," she said. "The ones of you that feel like you can head back now are free to leave though you of course don't have to. I understand that this might have felt traumatic, but please remember that the allure makes it near impossible for a lot of people to control themselves."

"I don't see how it can be so hard," a guy said as he hugged his girlfriend closer. "Can't they just ignore it?"

Kato smiled softly. "You are immune?" he asked as he turned around with Gabrielle. The room was slowly emptying as they faced each other.

"Yeah, aren't you? I mean you didn't seem to have an issue," the guy said.

Kato shook his head. "I'm not immune," he said. "However I am the Master of my Mind and it is very hard to affect me with something like the allure. That is why Draco is doing alright as well. I have taught him how to block things like the allure. We can still feel that it is happening just so we can help. We could just block it out entirely, but I wouldn't have known what was going on if I had done that." He sighed. "It isn't easy for people to resist the Veela allure. Especially when there are so many Veela around."

"He is right," the girl said as she looked up at her boyfriend. "Kato showed Fleur and her mother what the allure was like. He can recreate it nearly perfectly. They say they understand why it is so hard for those affected to withstand."

"Okay then show me," he said.

Kato sighed. He moved Gabrielle away from him. "Are you sure?" he asked as he stood up. He brushed his robes off.

"Yeah, sure hit me," the guy said.

Draco shook his head as Kato sent out his magicka towards the guy. He knew what the allure felt like. He didn't think he would enjoy feeling that way towards a guy. It was bad enough when the one with the allure was a girl. He grimaced as the guy walked up to Kato talking about things he was glad Kato was keeping from the rest of them.

Kato dropped the magic and the guy was looking at him like he wasn't sure what to think. "No one should have that kind of power," he said. "At least they can't help it. You are a twisted man."

Kato sighed. It wasn't like he had ever used Veela allure for anything other than educational purposes. At least the guy didn't seem disgusted by his girlfriend. That was good.

"Oh, Gabrielle," Apolline exclaimed as she rushed into the room with the other parents. She smiled at Kato. "I'm so glad you were here," she said. "We can take it from here."

Kato hugged her and let her know he would be over the next day before following Draco out of the room. That had been an eventful day. Hopefully, nothing quite so explosive would happen again.

23rd of April, 1999.

"So, I'm heading back home with the dragons now," Draco said.

"Qozul is staying with me," Kato said as he looked through the things they had brought. "I'll be back either late tonight or tomorrow." He packed several things down in a bag that he handed to Draco. He didn't need any of it with him. "Let's head down to the Apparition point," he said. "I have a portkey for you."

"How convenient," Draco said. He didn't often see Kato nervous, but he seemed unusually jittery that day. He knew Chelsea's case was unique. She had been so badly hurt that Kato had been worried about releasing her from his care, but he had known he wasn't a fitting caretaker for her. As far as Draco had heard she was doing great with Apolline and Marceau. It helped that Kato trusted the couple to do a good job as well. It had allowed him to focus on other things. "Good luck," Draco said as he accepted the portkey home. He rolled his eyes when Kato just disappeared instead of responding. As he stood there waiting for the portkey to activate his eyes caught on a pile of papers. He had been very thorough in reading through the security papers before signing them. Kato had taught him he had to be. His father had certainly said the same, but Kato had been more creative in his way of teaching him just how bad an idea it was to not read something you signed in blood. It made him realise that he hadn't actually read through the contract that he had entered with Kato. As he was whisked away he came to the realisation that he needed to read that contract again.

Kato arrived outside of the Delacour home deep in thought. The last time he had visited Chelsea had barely looked at him. Apolline was convinced it would go better now, but he wasn't sure what to think. He knocked on the front door and waited. He knew he could just walk straight here, but he didn't want to just barge in. He didn't know where Chelsea was. He could scare her if she was walking around.

"Come in dear," Apolline said as she opened the door. "She is waiting for you in the living room."

Kato nodded slowly. He kept his face neutral as he stepped into the living room. "Hello Chelsea," he said while articulating his words clearly. They were theorising that Chelsea couldn't hear. There had been extensive damage to her inner ears. It had all healed, but he wasn't sure she had actually gotten her hearing back. He hadn't been able to tell how old the damage was. He sat down in an armchair close to her but not so close he could reach her. If she felt uncomfortable she had plenty of space to move away from him. "Could I run a diagnostic spell?" he asked. He held his hand out palm up and conjured a ball of light. The ball floated from his hand over towards Chelsea and stopped in the air in front of her. The ball hung there between them. Kato made no effort to get her to pick it up and Chelsea was trying her best to look anywhere but at him or the ball, but she wasn't uncomfortable. The ball jiggled and changed colour to purple catching Chelsea's attention. Physically she looked more or less healed. She was still too thin, but Kato was sure Apolline was handling that just fine. He picked a book out of his bag and folded his legs. Every once in a while the ball of light would move and change colour.

Kato wasn't sure how long they had been sitting there when Chelsea finally grabbed the ball and his diagnostic spell got a chance to check her over. Everything looked good. She had too low blood iron, but that was an easy enough fix. Kato shifted and Chelsea looked up from the ball of light and watched him as he moved. The ball wiggled free from her hand and landed on the floor before turning into a bunny.

Chelsea moved down on the floor slowly. She glanced over at Kato often as she got closer to the bunny. He didn't move or look up from his book. He acted as if he was reading but he wasn't really paying attention to the words written on the pages. He let Chelsea play around with the bunny. He wanted to see if he could communicate with her, but he wanted her more comfortable around him first. Maybe staying the night and trying the next day would be a better idea… or maybe he…

Apolline walked into the room and let them know that dinner was served. Kato waited until Chelsea had walked with Apolline out of the room before following. He moved slowly and sat down as far away from her as he could. They ate and spoke about the dragons and the wedding.

"It sounds like the two of you have a good idea of what you want," Apolline said.

"We should be sending out invitations sometime soon," Kato said. "The robes look amazing. Sue Li has outdone herself."

Apolline smiled. "I'm glad everything is working out," she said.

After dinner, Kato helped Marceau clean the dishes. The bunny had gone with Chelsea and she seemed rather happy with it. He was hoping his plan would work. "Your room stands empty," Marceau said. "I get the feeling you are not quite done with what you came here to do."

Kato shook his head. "Not quite no," he said. "I'll need something to bind that bunny too though. I don't want to just rip it away after giving it to her."

"I am certain Apolline has something you can use," Marceau said.

"Probably," Kato said. He put the last plate away and they headed to the living room. Chelsea seemed less bothered by Kato now than she had been earlier, but she was still keeping an eye on him until he sat down. The bunny bounced around the room happily and Chelsea followed it. Suddenly it shimmered as she touched it. Kato allowed his energy to flow through his spell but did nothing else. At first, Chelsea was cautious of the new development, but since nothing bad happened she was soon playing with the bunny again.

Kato slowly reached for her mind. He wasn't trying to intrude just speak to her. He did his small pokes for almost an hour before actually trying to speak to her. 'Hello,' he projected. 'I'm Harry.' He waited. He could tell that Chelsea was confused. She was looking from the bunny to him several times.

'Not bunny,' she said.

'No, but the bunny can stay with you,' Kato said. 'Unless you would rather like something else.'

That piqued her interest. Chelsea looked from the bunny to Kato several times. 'Fox,' she said.

The bunny shimmered and changed until a little Arctic fox sat in front of Chelsea. 'Pretty,' she said.

'Can you tell me your name?' Kato asked.

'Chelly,' she responded.

'Can you hear Apolline and Marceau talk Chelly?' Kato asked.

Chelsea shook her head and reached for her ears. 'Lost long ago,' she said. 'We spoke like this.'

'I see,' Kato said. 'Will you tell me who you spoke to? You don't have to.'

'Brother said that too,' Chelsea said.

'Older or younger?' Kato asked.

'Older.'

'I see,' Kato said. 'Thank you for telling me.' He looked up at Apolline as she rose from the couch. 'I think it might be time for bed,' he said.

Chelsea nodded. 'Fox can stay?' she asked.

Kato nodded. 'Fox can stay,' he told her. He smiled as she scampered off with Apolline.

"I take it that went better than you had hoped," Marceau said.

"She has an older brother," Kato said. "And she can't hear. Her name as far as she knows is Chelly though that could be a nickname."

"Quite the coincidence," Marceau said.

Kato shrugged. He smiled at Apolline as she came back. "So we were right. She can't hear," he said. "She has a brother that she cares for a lot. I have a few people in mind there. With a Death Eater father and possibly no other relation than a brother there aren't that many to pick from."

"Will you try to approach him?" Apolline asked.

"I'll see what I can do for him," Kato said. "If he followed in his father's footsteps, I need to know why before I make any lasting decisions."

"Just be careful," Apolline said.

"I will do my best," Kato said. He rose and stretched. "I really should head to bed," he said.

"Remember that you need something to bind the little animal too," Marceau reminded him.

Apolline smiled. "Let's go see what we can find for her," she said. "I'm sure I have something lying around that would suit her."

Kato settled down in his bedroom with a small silver heart on a long chain. Thankfully, binding a light animal was quite easy. It was just a modified candlelight with a basic personality. Small animals were easy to do. He had never tried magic a human avatar that way but he guessed he could if he really wanted to. He collapsed in the bed and fell asleep almost immediately. There was something comforting about being back at the Delacours.

24th of April, 1999.

It was quiet when Chelsea got up the following morning. The fox was gone and she felt sad that it was gone. The strange wizard with hidden green eyes had said that it wouldn't go away. Had he lied? She reached the kitchen and found a small box with a note. It had her name written on it and when she opened the box she found a beautiful necklace inside. As soon as she touched the shiny silver, light appeared next to her and the fox took shape. Her eyes widened. He had left her a fox just like he had promised.

Only one other person she knew had kept his promises to her. She hoped he was alright. That he wasn't hurt.