Disclaimer:
I solemnly swear that the literature and works of the Harry Potter Verse belong to JK Rowling, Bloomberg and Warner Bros. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...
Mischief Managed Damn It!
Title: The Emerald Alchemist (Working Title)
Posted Date: November 16th 2020
Tags: Parenting Flamel, Good Mentor / Grandfatherly Dumbledore, Dead Lily Evans, Bad James otter, WBWL, Possible Harry x Small Multi, Slight FMA elements, Alchemist Harry
There was a small cottage on the hills that overlooked the countryside of Bourgogne-Franche-Comte, boasting the country vibrancy of France with the surrounding farm lands and horses that scattered the area, without the overpowering scent of said animals as one would have thought. The nearby village held some of the most stunning architecture of eastern France, remnants of the Roman influence still visible with the history and design evident in the buildings. The cottage in question was a sensible one, not overly ostentatious but a very quaint two story building that had a small garden in front displaying the various flowers France had to offer in all its glory, a decent sized shack at the back, and of course the view of the countryside with hints of a vineyard in the distance, something that the owners of the cottage would insist on it being the crown jewel of the property.
It was so picturesque and peaceful; one might be forgiven for wanting to curse with very colourful language at the interruption in the form of an old man appearing suddenly with a soft pop that echoed in the early morning. Said old man was a very unusual in appearance; he was one of advanced age of roughly 70 years in appearance, boasting long white hair and a white beard that extended down to his chest. He wore robes of deep purple with speckles of gold that shone in the early morning sun, and to complete the look, he had a pointy hat on his head. He looked like a genuine sorcerer from the old literature, especially if one looked at him, they could feel the grandeur radiating from him, and possibly get the twinkling of eyes similar to that of a grandfather looking upon his favorite child.
But on this day, there was no twinkling of eyes, and there was a sense of a great weight on his shoulders as the old man made his way to the property, stopping just short of the small gate on the path and waiting. It did not take long for another pop to sound out, this time heralding the appearance of an unusual creature that barely came up to his legs with long pointy ears and a small white dress with a family crest on it.
"Good morning, Mipsy. I apologize for the suddenness, but is your master in today?" The old man asked looking down on the little being.
"Good morning, Professor. Master is inside, do you wish for Mipsy to pass a message?" The little being asked in a slightly squeaky tone.
"Thank you for the offer, but this is a matter I believe needs to be told in person." The old man briefly shook his head.
"Mipsy understands, Mipsy will alert Master on your arrival." The now named being snapped her fingers before vanishing, the small gate swinging open to allow him access at the same time. The professor proceeded to make his way to the cottage, taking a moment to look upon the garden to enjoy the scene and to briefly gain strength for the news to be delivered. He had just arrived at the door when it opened to reveal Mipsy.
"Mipsy welcomes you. Does Professor like tea?" The creature stepped aside to allow him inside.
"That would be nice, thank you." The old man nodded his thanks before continuing to the living room, having visited the property a few times in the past to become familiar with the layout. Once there, he gazed upon the visage of his old friend and mentor sitting by the fireplace. "I hope I am not intruding, Nicholas?"
"No Albus, you are not, although this is unexpected for you to come so early in the morning." The owner grinned as he slowly got up from his chair and made his way to Albus. The man in question looked a few decades younger than the old man, but thinner with long gray hair that went to his shoulders and an air of fragility that one would not have expected for one his supposed age. He still managed to give the now named Albus a firm hug before looking at him in the eye. "But then again, I don't think this is a social call."
"I am afraid not, old friend." Albus sighed while looking around him. Before he could speak, the door opened and someone called out to him.
"Dad, we are back!" Footsteps echoed lightly in the corridor before a young boy came into the living room. The boy in question was well built and tall for a supposed 14 year-old with neatly cut hair and a healthy complexion that spoke of hours under the sun, dressed in overalls and shirts that showed a few stains from working in the gardens. Despite holding up a basket filled with vegetables and a few eggs in one arm and some delivery bags in the other, he held a somewhat mature air around him that spoke of a wisdom beyond his years. On his forehead, if one looked carefully, the faint marks of an old scar shaped like a lightning bolt could be seen against his tanned skin, an oddity for any who knew him. "We just got back from the market, we got some good discounts and…" His emerald eyes fell upon Albus and a smile broke out widely on his face.
"Grandpa!" The boy barely set the basket and bags down before launching himself at Albus, earning a joyful laugh from the old man as he wrapped his arms around the boy, his worries and concerns briefly forgotten as he placed a grandfatherly smile on his own face.
"Hello young Harry. It is good to see you again." Albus lightly bent down to look at the boy with twinkling eyes. "It seems you have grown a few inches, oh where has the time gone?"
"Not as much as you think, Albus." A woman entered the living room with a gentle smile on her face as she watched the interaction between her son and the old man. She was roughly the same age as Nicholas, but one would be forgiven for thinking she was younger given her long blonde hair that went down her back, a healthy complexion, a slim figure of considerable beauty and proportions, and finally bright blue eyes that looked warmly at her son hugging the stuffing out of Albus. "You did see him during Christmas and New Year recently."
"That is true, Perenelle, but it is still quite comforting to see Harry again." Albus gave a chuckle while Harry grinned brightly.
"Now Harry, where are your manners, you should be cleaning up before greeting." The woman mildly chided Harry who grimaced at the reminder before reluctantly removing his arms from Albus and moving a bit away before bowing.
"Welcome to Flamel Cottage, my apologies for the unsightly behavior." The boy greeted the old man only for Albus to wave his head in good nature.
"The pleasure is all mine, no need to be so formal. As for the mess." Albus produced a wand and gave it a wave, removing the dirt on both of them and smoothing out the creases in no time. "There, good as new."
"I love magic." Harry beamed at that. "Would you be staying around for breakfast?"
"Well, I did have a bite earlier, but I suppose a spot of tea would do the trick." Albus answered as Harry lightly cheered. His mother rolled her eyes in good nature and prompted him to head to the kitchen to help sort the items out with Mipsy and cleaned up. With another quick hug, Harry left the room to do as she says while the woman went off to clean herself up.
"How is Harry progressing with his studies?" Albus asked with half intent to stave off the impending conversation. Nicolas definitely knew it but decided to oblige him all the same.
"Doing very good. As you know, we had granted him the accelerated course to keep up with the others, and he was able to complete his OWLs a full year ahead of the rest." Nicolas answered with a hint of pride evident in his tone. "He is already pulling ahead in Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Dark Arts Combat, and even a bit of my own brand of Battle Alchemy. He has managed to progress to the finals of the Duelling tournament and got second place on his first try!"
"That is good." Albus nodded in reply, happy that the boy was doing well. "I had heard some news of it but I missed the tournament so I was not sure of the results. I hope he is not disappointed of me not being there."
"Don't be, Albus. He knows you are a busy man, so he made sure to push as hard as he could to get to the level that would ensure that you would hear of him." Nicolas waved his hand to dismiss the wizard's worries. "If he does that well just from the idea, I would think the next time when you do have a chance to watch him, he might grab the top spot."
"Indeed." Perenelle came back in a neat sundress that gave a modest look to her despite leaving nothing to imagination. "Our son is definitely getting stronger and better. It is nice to see you again Albus." The woman turned to Albus, her smile now gone and replaced with a serious expression. "But I get the feeling this meeting is about to turn bad." Albus let out a sigh, the burden now back on his shoulders.
"My apologizes to ruining the mood, Perenelle. I am afraid that I come with some bad news." Albus went to take a seat in the chair provided for him along with a cup of tea that appeared by the coffee table.
"Don't tell me Voldemort is after the stone again." Nicolas groaned as he and Perenelle took their seats. Albus let out a very loud snort of derision at that.
"If only it were that simple. I could deal with that better than what I have right now." The old wizard shook his head before taking a sip to fortify his nerves. "I don't suppose you have gotten your morning news yet?" With them shaking their heads, Albus continued. "Then it might be best that it came from me now before you read about it. Let me give you some context so that we are on the same page. As you know, Hogwarts is currently hosting the Triwizard Tournament with Durmstrang and Beauxbatons as the guest schools."
"We heard about it being brought back, but we are still having trouble believing that they would actually accomplish it. I thought the number of deaths from the last tournament 200 years ago would have discouraged them from resurrecting the damn thing." The woman let out an annoyed humph.
"Indeed, and despite my objections, the Ministry believed that they had managed to iron out the kinks and set about enough rules and safety regulations to warrant its return. They insisted that I was being too paranoid and that I should let younger minds do the thinking while I busied myself with the non-details." The expression on his face as he said that was more or less reflected on the others, each thinking that the people involved were stupid.
"At the very least, I managed to prevail on them the dangers of the contest and as such, one of the ideas they had was to restrict the participation to only those considered of-age, mainly seventeen years and above." Albus spoke.
"That might help, but that seems to be a little open-ended, not to mention easy to bypass." Nicolas remarked. "There will be plenty trying to enter the tournament for the prestige alone, and that does not account for those under-age using potions to temporarily raise their ages to get through if there are measures to stop them."
"True, which was why the committee in charge of hosting the tournament went to find an impartial judge, combined with age restriction charms to ensure that only the oldest and worthiest candidate of each school are selected." Albus took another sip, knowing that his next set of words would be real problematic. "They have decided to use the Goblet of Fire for the choosing of the champions."
"They are using that?!" Nicolas sat up straighter in his chair as he looked at Albus in disbelief. "That goblet was meant for creating nigh-impossible contracts between nations to prevent wars, not for games."
"Yes, you can imagine my surprise when they announced that." Albus shook his head ruefully. "And they sprung that on me at the last minute after they had obtained the goblet, so I had to use it against my better judgement. I did try to enforce the rules on adult wizards entering and increased the charm-works to ensure no one below tried to enter. Normally I would be fine with just an Age Line, but recent events over the past years have made me go the extra mile to ensure that."
"But what about the older students entering names of younger students?" Perenelle asked.
"I had enlisted the help of my Runes Professor to build a system to check the person's intent on trying to submit a name, to check the age of the participant, and above all check the name of the parchment against the one submitting it. We also included two guards to check the person to ensure they only submit one parchment slip with their own name in, a good thing considering how many had tried to do so. So even an adult cannot submit a name, let alone an older student doing on behalf of the younger ones." Albus answered.
"But something happened." Nicolas prompted. "Something or someone likely breached the security, that or something else happened at your school." Albus let out a heavy sigh at that.
"Unfortunately, you are correct on that regard, Nicolas." Albus threw manners out of the window and gulped his cup of tea, the scalding heat mildly distracting him from his current headache. "Two nights ago, specifically Halloween night, the selection went forward and actually started out well in the beginning. The Goblet did what it was meant to do and select the chosen candidates for the tournament. From Durmstrang, Victor Krum was chosen."
"I thought he had already graduated last year?" Perenelle asked in confusion.
"Apparently, Igor had pulled some strings to allow the young man to participate in the tournament, and technically he was over seventeen." Albus shrugged while Nicolas snorted at the thought of the High Master trying to impress the people with the Bulgarian Seeker. "From Beauxbatons, Fleur Delacour was the champion."
"That would be interesting, not to mention a little risky if I recall the history of the tasks properly." The alchemist remarked as he leaned back in his chair. "As the daughter of Apolline, the High Mistress of the French Veela Covenant, she should be aware about the nature of some of these tasks?"
"She should even with our best attempts to keep the tasks safe." Albus nodded. "And finally from my school, Cedric Diggory. A young man who is a Hufflepuff and related to Amos Diggory, thankfully without the pompous attitude or his views on magical creatures."
"Ah yes, that man from the Ministry." The rather calm but cold manner Perenelle spoke sent chills down the spines of both males. "A very rude young man from the last time I met him, very opinionated about Veelas and the sort. I wonder if he still remembered my greeting to him?"
"So what happen after that?" Nicolas asked as an effort to distract his wife as she was about to cackle like the typical evil witch. Albus placed his fingers to his forehead as he thought back to the incident.
"I was announcing the end of the selection and telling everyone to support the champions when the Goblet lit back and two parchments came out of it."
"Two parchments? Two more names?" Nicolas shared a look with Perenelle, a sinking pit forming in the stomachs as they figured out why Albus had appeared before them. "Which ones?"
"The first name is that of a fourth-year student in Gryffindor, apparently torn off from one of his assignments." Albus took a deep breath trying to contain his emotions. "The second name…"
"It's my name, isn't it?" The three adults spun to find Harry by the corridor, his smile gone and replaced with a fearful frown. "That would be the bad news you came to talk about, Grandpa?"
"Harry, how long?" Perenelle got up from her chair. Harry shrugged while taking a few deep breaths to contain the rising panic.
"When Grandpa was speaking about the security measures. It kind of screams out that something or someone managed to get past all of that in order to submit two additional names, and since the Goblet of Fire is involved, it had to be really bad." At this point Perenelle had her arms around Harry who was now shaking from the realization. "And then there is the fact that Grandpa looked worried..."
"How did this happen, Albus?" Nicolas gripped the armrest of his chair tightly to the point it started creaking from the strain as he directed the question at his old apprentice.
"We had done all of the measures in Hogwarts, but there was the hour when the goblet was being moved from the Ministry and when it had arrived in Hogwarts in the corridor where it had been unattended aside from the few Aurors guarding it." Albus seemed to age in the chair he was in. "Based on preliminary scans, the goblet had been subjected to two powerful Confundus Charms at both the Ministry and Hogwarts, done to trick it into thinking there were additional academies attending the tournament. After that they slipped parchments with their names on them before the security measures came in. Since the settings to select the candidates was done beforehand in the Ministry, no one really considered the possibility that people could enter the names before hand."
"Wait a minute, that would mean I may not be required to attend?" Harry perked up from his spot. "After all, there should be no way for my name to be entered since I have been here this whole time, and there should be nothing tying me to Britain considering I often use my alias for whatever work I do, and I know I did not sign any contract."
"Indeed, when I got the parchment with your name, I had checked it extensively. As far as I can tell, it does not appear that you wrote it since it was not even done with your handwriting or magical signature. But it had your actual birth name including your middle name, which everyone knows that to make the contract stick, one needs to have the full name written. With the amount of attention on this, Cornelius has been pushing to find out what is going on and to find you. This is partially why I am here because I want to ask Nicolas if he would allow you to come to the French Ministry to check if there are any outstanding contract traces on you, and if so, are any of them linked to the goblet in question. I want this done quietly to keep you safe from their eyes." Albus answered to his query. "The British Ministry is dealing with the other boy, but I fear they may not go too far on this and even attempt to encourage the matter."
"Who is it?" Nicolas asked. Albus looked at Harry for a moment before shutting his eyes.
"The name drawn before you… is Damien Potter." That seemed to make the young boy want to curl himself inwards while the parents were looking troubled. Before anyone could speak, an owl came through the window carrying the morning's post and the French newspaper, the headlines blaring for all to see.
Tri-Wizard Tournament Start With A Twist
Three schools entered, Five selected
Boy-Who-Lived as Fourth Champion
Mystery Potter selected, who is he?
"Oh dear." Perenelle hugged Harry more while Nicolas grabbed the paper and gave it a quick glance before handing it to Albus who did the same.
"Almost correct, at least this is more factual. There are definite signs of Rita Skeeter's work on this." Albus lowered the paper and rubbed his forehead. "She is really testing my patience with this. Is she really wanting to put that much spotlight on us?"
"Harry cannot go into this tournament." Perenelle leveled a look at Albus. "He did not enter his name, so surely it would have to be the person submitting it to be chosen. And you know if he returns, those people would be insufferable, especially that man." She growled at the last couple of words with enough venom to make Albus shiver with dread.
"Again, we do not know whether that is the case. We need to get him to the Ministry for the officials to check whether he is bound to it." Albus repeated tiredly. Perenelle opened her mouth only for Nicolas to raise his hand.
"Dear, as much as I hate this situation, let us not lose our cool." The alchemist took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "For now, we head to the Ministry to get Harry checked out. We will decide later once we confirm about Harry." Perenelle clearly wanted to continue the argument but stayed her silence at that point.
"Okay then." The adults turned to Harry who appeared to have regained control of his emotions. "Since we can't check ourselves, let's head to the Ministry and ask the guy to check me for whatever traces there are."
"I am sorry Harry." Albus bowed his head in consternation. Harry shook his head at that.
"It is not your fault, grandpa. There was no way for you to know that this would happen, not to mention how would you know if my name were to appear, there could have been others coming out." Harry tried to placate Albus. "On a more positive note, if I do end up coming to Hogwarts, I might meet up with my pen-pals." Harry tried to joke lightly.
"Ah yes, the program is still going on." Albus thought on his words about the pen-pal program that he had started partly to help Harry connect with others his age. "I am surprised you are able to keep it up. Quite a number had dropped out of it by the end of second year."
"He has been maintaining contact with them." Perenelle smiled at the change of topic and something else that Albus recognized was the start of a prank. "Harry kept up the correspondence with the few from Hogwarts. All have a few things in common like them having favorite subjects, intelligence in different areas, how they go about wanting to change the world." Her smile then went wider with a glitter in her eye. "Oh, and the fact that they are all young ladies who seem very eager to reply to him is of course a coincidence."
"Mum~" Harry whined in a manner that all children knew when their parents decide to tease their children.
"Ah yes, all of them are quite elated to hear from you from what I gathered based on the packages that are sent to you at times." Nicolas added with a smirk. "Oh how will Miss Delacour react to that knowledge?"
"Dad~" Harry turned to face Albus with a pleading expression. "Grandpa, help me out here!"
"Now now, let's not tease poor Harry. It is his choice to talk with whoever he connects with at my academy." Albus nodded sagely with Harry sighing in relief before adding in this titbit. "Besides, the girls in question are also happy whenever he sends a reply and their presents on their birthdays, so it is just a coincidence that they would really like to meet him in person. One even tends to her hair while reading the letter." The look of betrayal was most amusing to Albus.
"Okay, time to get to the Ministry!" Harry leaped up and ran up the stairs to his room. Perenelle got up to follow him, pausing to give the other two men a meaningful look before continuing on. At once the tension returned to the room.
"Do you at least have clues as to whom did this?" Nicolas asked tersely.
"I can make a few educated guesses." Albus folded his hands as he thought back on all the information he could think of. "While there are issues trying to decipher the magical signatures, what struck me was the timing of the charms used on the goblet. That gave me some leeway to figure out the suspects. Admittedly, one of the suspects is one that I feel would use this as a chance to get back at the Potters."
"Voldemort or one of his Death Eaters." Nicolas stated as a point of fact.
"After his defeat, the Ministry wanted to wipe their hands off the mess and let the past stay there, but they did not remove the backers from their ranks, hence they stay hidden in the departments and setting their roots down. Through them, his influence has been growing in the shadows, and unless I am much mistaken, the time for it to bloom is approaching." Albus answered gravely to that statement. Nicolas lifted a hand and massaged his eyes in consternation, grabbing one of the cups to drink the tea as a way of controlling his frustration.
"And what about the other suspects? Who do you think they are?" The unusual silence drew his attention to the wizard who had evidently stood up from his chair and was now at the window with a frustrated expression, recognizing it as one that he had the answers, but he would not like it.. "Albus?" The headmaster of Hogwarts sighed deeply before answering without turning to him.
"The other magical signature I could detect… was that of James Potter."
'CRASH!'
Albus did not get startled by the sudden sound, merely turning to find a broken cup on the floor with the contents staining the rug. The handle was still in the grip of Nicolas who now sported an expression that Albus admitted terrified him greatly. It was the type of expression that came from someone desperately deploying every bit of Occlumency to contain the rage inside and barely holding it back like a dam holding back water as it cracked. In his entire lifetime and tutelage under the alchemist, Albus had only seen Nicolas this angry once when a man tried to attack Perenelle in an attempt to create his own version of the Philosopher's Stone with her blood and have his 'fun' with her.
There was barely anything left to bury the attacker when he was done with him. And now it seemed Nicolas had a new target.
"I see, so he is involved huh?" The growling he made was another example of Nicolas trying to contain the rage.
"I am not sure yet." Albus tried to calm his companion down. "He was one of the Aurors stationed to guard the goblet and helped to beef up the security. There were traces of security magic attached to the goblet."
"I admire your desire to look out for the goodness in people, but when it comes to James Potter, things are not that simple." Nicolas snapped harshly before he took a deep breath to steady himself. "You know what he has been doing the past few years, and that he has been trying to regain some control from the scandal that came up with Harry. This might be his latest attempt." Albus wanted to refute but one part of his mind did agree with Nicolas on this. He did not know when the change had occurred in James, but he did not recognize the man he had become whenever he laid eyes on him, and that part feared that James might have gone too far in regards with Harry.
"I suppose you have thought up of contingencies." Albus decided to think about the impending confrontation for later and focused on keeping Harry safe.
"As you recall, the day after you appeared with Harry, we did do a checkup with the healers along with an inheritance test with the goblins to ensure that Harry does not get short-changed by James." Nicolas crossed his arms as he recalled the day. "As one might suspect, he is related to a good many people in the Wizarding World, and in turn heir to a few houses. By the laws stated in many of our ministries and magic, Harry ends up being sole heir to them, granting him limited status once he reached his tenth birthday."
"Thus granting him emancipation to certain benefits like the right to wield magic without the trace." Albus nodded as he knew the laws on inheritance very clearly. "This in turn also ensures that no one has the right to force him unless he chooses to."
"In that manner, I am glad that he is responsible for his life." Nicolas remarked.
"Only because he has you and Perenelle to show the way." Albus spoke.
"Give yourself some credit Albus, you too helped in his development, especially in the very beginning when you saved him from the fate that his father tried to force him under." Nicolas pointed that out to the old man. "He looks up to you as well, and I think he will need your help more than ever." Albus merely stroked his beard feeling blessed and a touched unworthy for the belief that boy had in him.
"So Harry should be well protected due to the laws stated." Albus continued the conversation.
"True, since he did the inheritance earlier than most, and we got the goblins and druids to aid us in tying up the loose ends, there is little chance of James trying to take them away from Harry." Nicolas frowned at that point. "There is however one big issue with one blood in particular."
"His own family line, the Potters." Albus gravely spoke. "That would be the biggest contender. Both Harry and Damien are twins born on the same night, however as Harry came first by a few minutes, magic has selected him to be the heir. Even if James had wanted to change it later, it could only be done with magic's blessings."
"Something that definitely did not happen with what he did to Harry." Nicolas growled again. "And because of that, James is forced into a situation where he would need to hand over the Potter Lordship to Harry unless something happens, and given what he has been doing the past few years to find him…"
"Do you really believe that James would use the goblet to force Harry out?" Albus asked in a pained tone.
"The goblet's designs ensure that the person stated in the contract must fulfill the terms or lose their magic and life. That man has been trying to give his golden boy the role of his primary heir, but magic has rejected it. James has tried to lure him, and in turn, us out in the open. While he may not know that it is us taking care of Harry, he probably does not appreciate the fact that we are better parents to the boy he had abandoned for the fame of the other. Because of his act, when Harry refused to go to your school, he ends up public enemy number one for scandal." Nicolas bluntly answered Albus's query. "What you do not know is that man has even hired assassins to find Harry and bring him back alive or dead, with emphasis on the last. We had interrogated them very thoroughly."
Albus closed his eyes as his body was wrecked with shock and pain from the knowledge that his once student had turned out so wrong. He recalled Fleamont and Charles Potter, and could not help wondering where did James turned for the worse. Was it when his wife Lily perished in the war, or earlier?
How did Albus missed this?
"You can't have predicted this Albus." Nicolas spoke noting his expression.
"I could have done something to stop this." Albus gripped his hand tightly as he spoke in sadness.
"You did do something, you brought Harry to us." Nicolas placed a hand on Albus's shoulder, lightly drawing his attention to the alchemist. "In doing so, you ensured that Harry has a family and a home to be in. You granted me and Perenelle a son to be proud of, and you now have a grandson to look after. That I believe is a good thing that you brought him to us." Albus looked at his old mentor before turning to dab his eyes with his sleeves.
"Thank you, le maitre." Albus bowed his head to Nicolas "I guess I needed that."
"Well, this old set of bones still have some lessons to give out, my young apprentice." Nicolas smirked in a cheeky manner. The two men turned at the sound of feet coming down the stairs in time to see Harry dressed formally and looking at them in resigned anticipation.
"Well then, whoever did this to Harry, they had better be prepared." Nicolas gave that proclamation which Albus agreed. No matter whom did this, Albus would make sure to protect his surrogate grandson.
And if it happened to be the boy's birth father who got Harry in danger…
James really should have remembered the motto of Hogwarts from which he had once studied in.
'Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus.'
'Never tickle a sleeping dragon.'