119 [Romania] - Deterrent

It took a while for the crowd to calm down after Oz's story, especially considering how he brought the remains of one of their past expedition members back to them. They continued to question him via Charlie to which Oz replied in kind, The only information Oz withheld was the talk between him and Arauthator as well as what Arauthator 'bestowed' upon him.

"Oz, did you not ask Arauthator for anything at all?".

Charlie seemed befuddled by Oz's story as it seemed to showcase at the end that Oz received nothing in his climb, just 'information' as Oz dubbed it.

"We're talking about an ancient dragon here Charlie... The fact I was even able to see Arauthator is great in and of itself. He would never deign himself to reward me with items or a prize after reaching the peak. He praised my effort, gave me advice to improve myself and moved on...".

"Well actually I guess I did ask him for one favour which he obliged...".

Everyone's eyes seemed to lock onto Oz as he mentioned this part of his meeting with Arauthator.

"Oh? What did you ask of him?".

Oz smiled as he looked over to Norberta.

"I simply told him to keep a special eye out for Norberta whilst I wasn't here... Not that I don't trust you all but having an ancient dragon looking after someone I deem important gives me much more ease considering I'm planning on leaving her here to grow with her own kind".

Charlie translated everything Oz said to the Romanians behind him who were eager to know what Oz was talking about. After they heard what Oz had asked of Arauthator, they seemed to look at Norberta who was behind Oz with increased caution. Oz could tell that in their minds right now they were thinking they must absolutely not let this dragon get into any danger.

"Anyway... I believe that explains the majority of my little trip. Thank you all for the hospitality thus far. If you don't mind however, I'd like a couple days to recover before we head off...".

Norberta's ears propped up as she heard Oz and Alfreda weren't going to head off immediately. Her expression that was serious changed to elation as she stood behind Oz.

"You're more than welcome to stay here longer Oz... I'm sure even without asking Mihai behind me wouldn't mind".

After responding to Oz, Charlie translated Oz's request to Mihai and Mihai gave Oz a solid thumbs up. Oz thanked the both of them, heading off back to his lodging in the village. As he left the cornucopia of the sanctuary's village all of the people present started to become rowdy talking about Oz's story and how he climbed the mountain. The story of Oz's ascendance would soon become a tale told to any kid within the Sanctuary's ward...

.

"Now, let's have a little team meeting".

Currently Oz was within the lodgings the sanctuary had given to him. Opposite him was both Alfreda and Norberta who had squeezed her way into the house as well. Oz walked passed both of them closing the door and started to lay wards and charms so as to deny any prying ears from hearing the contents of what he was about to say.

After he was done completely locking the place down, he turned to Alfreda and Norberta.

"Just before we left you noticed that I can now control my usage of dragon-tongue...".

"On the mountain top Arauthator gave me information in regards to my uncontrollable blood... I obviously couldn't explain this to those sanctuary villagers, especially Charlie considering his connections so I withheld the information".

Alfreda and Norberta's eyes widened hearing the true treasure Oz had gained from his trek. They both knew how stressed Oz was over his blood activating at random times with him not being able to control it. Now he could, they could already see that his expression had eased majorly compared to prior his trip.

"Master, does that mean you can use dragon-tongued spells?".

Hearing Alfreda's question Oz grew silent. He shook his head as he started to explain what he had 'gathered' after unravelling his blood.

"Dragon-Tongue spells suck up too much power to use wilfully at the moment... I can only use them in a dire situation... That's also only when I have a wand. If I tried to use a dragon-tongue spell right now wandlessly I'd properly risk having the spell not completing, maybe even harming me in the process".

With Oz's wand Oz knew he would probably be able to cast at least one dragon-tongue spell, similar to the ones he casted back in Hogwarts. Back then however his emotions were completely out of control meaning he had no gauge on how much magic he was using. Now that he had control over this blood of his he knew how dangerous those moments truly were for him. In his excitement and as his battle spirit reached a peak he would neglect to look at how much magic he was using casting those spells willy-nilly. He was extremely lucky back then that he didn't ever disable himself.

"Regardless of whether or not I can use such spells, its a good step forward. I imagine that my magic reserves need to be much larger in order to be able to cast spells like that frequently... I'd probably need to be at that old goats level, or maybe even beyond that...".

The room grew silent as Oz fell into contemplation. Alfreda and Norberta watched him closely as he sighed to himself.

"There's no use worrying about it all now though... It'll eventually come, there's no doubt about that. Anyway, let's enjoy a couple days of break before we leave Alfreda".

Alfreda nodded towards Oz as he spoke, Oz then turned his eyes to Norberta showing her a warm grin.

"I heard you met a friend here in the sanctuary... Could I meet them?".

Norberta perked up as she heard Oz wanted to meet her friend. She nodded happily as she zoomed out the door, not even letting Oz or Alfreda get a word in before she headed out. Alfreda looked at Oz with a sly grin.

"Master... You spoil that dragon you know?".

Oz flinched slightly as he heard Alfreda's comment that hit him right in the core. Scratching his cheek sheepishly Oz thought out loud.

"I guess I do a bit...".

Looking out the door that Norberta squeezed through Oz's warm smile changed to a cold smirk. Stepping out the door he looked up through the sanctuary with a knowing smile.

'I wonder if he's relayed anything yet...'.

.

[Charlie's Lodging in the Sanctuary]

After hearing Oz's story directly from him, Charlie spent little time with Mihai and the rest of the Romanian witches and wizards. Slipping out from the crowd as soon as there was a moment he could, He headed from there directly back to his lodging.

Entering through the door he took his coat off and turned to the door he had just entered. Pressing his wand against the door he charmed it, disabling anyone from listening in or entering. Walking through the house he arrived in his room and looked towards a box on the floor. He crouched down and opened the box revealing a Mirror. He took the mirror from the box and headed towards his dining area, putting the mirror onto the table in front of him, propped against some books.

He once again took out his wand and uttered an incantation. The mirror seemed to glow slightly as activated it. After it was activated Charlie headed into his kitchen to grab something to eat. As he grabbed onto his drink he noticed his hands were shaking slightly.

Sighing deeply Charlie brought himself back into the dining room and sat in front of the mirror. 20 more minutes passed by before finally an image started to be picked up in the mirror. The image he could see included a bunch of familiar faces. All of those from the Order were present.

"Charlie my son! How is it at that sanctuary right now? Everything going well?".

Arthur Weasley who was present with his wife Molly was the first to talk to Charlie in the communication device they had prepared.

"The sanctuary's doing well! Mihai's still as high-strung as ever but working here has still been beneficial to me-".

"Can we skip the catch-up for later and get to the matter at hand!?".

Moody who was present seemed to snap as he saw the Weasley family communicate with each other. Even for Moody being this high-strung was rare so it showed that he deemed the matter at hand of utmost importance. Molly and Arthur looked upset as they stopped talking, The room the order was in grew silent as they looked at the mirror in front of them with Charlie's face in it.

Dumbledore leant forward on the table looking deep into the mirror. A warm grandfatherly smile on his face.

"It's good to see you doing well Charlie, don't mind Alastor he's been increasingly high-strung recently due to this horcrux hunt we've been on amongst other things...".

"I understand Dumbledore".

Dumbledore smiled as he sat back in his chair. He looked around the room at all the members present, a full house.

"So Charlie... Did Oz appear at the sanctuary?".

Everyone's ears in the order perked up hearing Dumbledore's question to Charlie. Tonks especially seemed interested as she leant forward in her chair hearing 'Oz's' name being mentioned.

"Yes he did... Dumbledore I have to say your advice of steering clear of his resentment was good advice indeed...".

"Oz arrived just over a week ago now... He was with a girl named Alfreda as well as the dragon Norberta. As soon as he arrived though, he decided to make the climb up the mountain...".

Everyone on the order's table stared at Charlie in shock.

"He actually tried to climb up those deadly mountains!? Does that boy have a death wish!?".

Moody seemed increasingly surprised as he knew how dangerous those mountains were. He locked eyes with Dumbledore who showed a knowing look back. The order in the past, way back when the first wizarding war occurred once attempted to reach the elder dragons on the peak for assistance. There was actually a sort of race between the Order and the Death Eaters at that time to be the first to get to the peak. Everyone they sent however either died or returned stating the climb was impossible. Considering how risky the climb was both sides stopped attempting from there on. The cold was of no issue to both sides who were proficient in spells and well prepared for the expedition, the pressure from the dragons on the peak was the true problem for them in the past.

"Yes he did climb the mountains and even succeeded in reaching the peak... he actually told me the full story as thanks for giving him information when he arrived. I'll tell you everything now...".

Charlie then went ahead relaying the full story Oz had told him and the Romanian sanctuary workers to the order. From start to finish the Order's eyes and ears were locked onto the ball in front of them, every one of the looking at it in shock. Even Dumbledore couldn't hide his shock hearing Charlie weave the tale of Oz's exploits.

"After reaching the peak, Arauthator the Ancient commanded an elder dragon to fly him down, thats where the story comes to a close".

The order all went silent. They knew of Oz's intelligence and knew he was proficient in battle yet this story that Charlie told changed their opinion yet again on the boy. Some of them still had reservations of letting him roam free considering the information bank he was, desperately wanting to reel him to their side even if they had to prepare unscrupulous means. Hearing how perverse this young boy was though, considering the willpower needed to climb in such conditions, they all felt a level of respect and even fear towards the young boy who had climbed the perilous mountains.

"He plans on leaving in a couple of days...".

"Thank you for the information Charlie... Make sure to stay in his good books".

Charlie nodded at Dumbledore's request as the mirror in front of them dimmed. Charlie's face could not be seen anymore.

"Climbing that mountain... reaching those dragons... receiving Arauthator's praise... This further solidifies my opinion on Oz, We must never aggravate him".

Compared to the last time Dumbledore gave this command, everyone this time agreed with stern nods. Tonk's was the only one to let out a slight sigh considering how everyone saw Oz as a 'dangerous' individual. To her he was interesting and especially after the story told...

"He's pretty badass if you think about it...".

"Hmm? What was that Nymphadora?".

Tonk's blushed as she looked up at Moody. Her gaze morphing soon after from embarrassment to rage.

"How many times do I have to tell you-!".

Everyone on the table let out a hearty laugh seeing the two dispute. Dumbledore sighed to himself as he thanked the stars again he wasn't too pushy back when Oz was back in school, else he could have invited a tragedy considering what the boy had achieved this time...

.

Oz had his suspicions about Charlie as soon as he arrived at the sanctuary. After all the man was an intermediary for the order off the bat. The second he arrived at the sanctuary he knew that Charlie would be relaying his movements to the order to some degree.

Climbing the mountain and meeting Arauthator was of course Oz's main goal after he learnt of the truth of the sanctuary. To him the order were just a side group who bothered him from time to time. However he still felt annoyed knowing they probably wanted to keep tabs on him even after his stance was presented back in Hogsmeade.

So when Oz arrived back down from the mountain climb, he decided to tell Charlie along with everyone else the full story knowing full well it'd be relayed to the order. With his exploits known to the order, it would further sway them from ever interfering or bothering him.

It was a deterrent so they knew that Oz was someone to steer clear of bothering anymore...