24

Chapter 24: Of Letters and Plans

It was a typical day at the Romanian Dragon Reserve, the sun was shining brightly as the various wildlife who were willing to brave the dragons frolicked about throughout the grounds.

It was truly amazing to watch the interactions between the fierce and deadly creatures that the dragons presented and the more often then not purely mundane creatures which would play with abandon. If only the Ministry could see this side of the dragons instead of the fierce and vicious monsters which they would have you believe.

Yes, the dragons were deadly and each of the handlers had their fair share of burns and scars but more often than not they were caused by the younger hatchlings or those facing grief for a lost mate, anger over territory or after being provoked.

One of these dragons which had been the cause of many burns as of recently was the currently distraught mother, Strom.

Charlie Weasley seemed to be the only handler whom she hadn't tried to roast alive and as such he had been put onto 'Mommy Watch' as it were and had taken to spending his days with the mother in an attempted to console her.

Shocking not only the others at the reserve but himself as well, Strom had allowed him close to herself and, when he had explained that they wished to check on the health of the other eggs she had even allowed him close enough to the clutch of eggs to successfully perform the check up as well as to physically examine them.

The only thing that they could think of to explain this strange and unheard of behavior was Charlie's close relationship with Harry. Whatever Harry and the newly dubbed 'Strom' had spoken about, it had undoubtedly caused some form of bond between the two and subsequently Charlie as well.

Not only had this good fortune given the handlers on the reserve an invaluable access and safeguard towards the Norwegian Ridgeback mother but had also brought about numerous breakthroughs in the study of the behavior of dragons but had also proven many theories which had been hotly contested throughout the years for lack of study. The largest of these breakthroughs being that dragons could not only understand when they were being spoken to or about but also that they could understand exactly what was being said as proven by Strom's cooperation on various aspects which Charlie would have to perform but also by her reactions to when Charlie would speak to her and tell her stories whenever he was bored or there was a lull in the day.

To put it simply, Charlie was now the victim of much teasing from his fellow handlers for having a mate that could tame an enraged mother dragon. Needless to say, Charlie was now far more reluctant to anger his little mate in the future lest he have the proverbial 'guard dragon' sicked on him.

It was during a lull in the day in which Charlie found himself seated against the wall of Strom's pen when Hedwig flew down and landed with a gust of wind in front of Charlie where she waited impatiently for him to break out of his shock and take the parchment attached to her leg.

With trembling fingers Charlie quickly untied the missive as his mind raced only to settle somewhat when he caught the color of Harry's emotions, happy and excited. Whatever this was it was good news.

With a smile and a quick stroke of Hedwig's feathers Charlie relaxed and opened the letter only to nearly drop it in shock a moment later.

Impossible.

Reading the letter again Charlie confirmed that he had in fact read the letter right and with a whoop of joy Charlie stood and ran towards the main office, the words of the letter running through his mind.

'Balaur,

The egg is at Hogwarts, it's safe, our biggest friend saved it last night.

Hope to see you soon!

Harry'

"Sef! Harry found the egg!" Charlie cried out in excitement the moment he made it through the door leading to the main keepers office. "Hagrid somehow managed to get it and Harry sent me this letter! We've found them!"

"Portkey's are not an option," Sef announced in aggravation as he pulled his head back out of the flames, "The Ministry is unwilling to supply us with an emergency portkey until we file the proper paperwork."

"That could take weeks!" Darius growled in frustration from where he was pacing by the wall.

"Yes and that hatch date is drawing nearer every day. By the time we get the portkey it could be far too late," Mary added from her spot beside the door where she stood glaring at the fireplace.

"Why not floo?" Charlie said suddenly, "We could floo to the three broomsticks, then fly onto the grounds and use a crate a harness to carry the hatchling back. Best case is that it hasn't hatched yet and we can come back through the floo."

"That would work but how would we get onto the grounds without Dumbledore knowing? The wards would alert him the second someone steps foot onto Hogwarts grounds."

"Not if the Deputy Headmistress were to grant us access to the grounds," Charlie said with a smirk as he leaned back against the wall. "All we have to do is send an owl to Professor McGonagall and have her meet us at the gate to grant us access. The wards would accept it and wouldn't alert the Headmaster."

"Set it up then. You'll head out tomorrow," Sef said with a nod before his face spread out in a grin. "I look forward to the return of that baby, the old girl down in the pens is sure to calm down. Just make sure you let her know what's going on before you leave Charlie, we wouldn't want her roasting your replacement while you're out getting her kid."

'Harry,

Everyone here are relieved to hear that the egg is safe. A group of us will be coming as soon as possible by broom. Usually we would use a portkey but the paperwork to get one would take too long and time is of the essence since the egg could hatch any day.

We will be there tomorrow night at midnight. Tell the Twins that I'm calling in a 'no questions asked' on them. Their mission: To get you, Ron, Hermione and Neville to Hagrid's and back without getting caught.

No Harry, I haven't gone crazy in asking this. I know that you wouldn't just sit back and hope everything goes right and neither would the others, at least this way I know that you won't get caught.

See you tomorrow!

Love,

Charlie'

'Professor McGonagall,

I have a rather unorthodox request to make of you and I know that it won't make much sense but I beg of you not to question it.

There is a dragon egg on school grounds, one which a close friend of ours has recently taken into custody for safe keeping until we are able to retrieve it and return it to its mother. This egg is also close to it's hatch date.

As you know, the headmaster cannot be trusted and as such my team and I need access to the grounds without his awareness. This, as you well know, can not be accomplished without your approval.

I would like to ask that you meet us at the entry gates. Once access is granted we will handle ourselves and leave the premises with the egg as soon as possible.

Regards,

Charlie Weasley.'

By the time preparations had been completed for the following day including telling a now very anxious mother dragon that she would soon have her child back and, oddly enough, having to threaten said mother dragon with his little mate to keep her from flying off, a fact which still confused them all, Charlie was exhausted.

Madam Rosmerta, after a bit of begging and a promise to take come for a drink sometime, was willing to stay up and let them use her floo after closing time, no questions asked.

Sef had managed to acquire a crate with extensive cushioning and burn proof charms laced into it specially designed for hatchlings and their brooms were now outfitted with harnesses and cloaking charms to prevent them from being seen as they transported the hatchling back to the reserve.

All in all Charlie was happy despite his tiredness, within the next day he would not only recover the egg that they had been searching for these past few months, but he would also get to see his adorable little mate again.

It was with these thoughts in mind that Charlie drifted off to sleep...

Charlie woke with a groan and looked around in confusion. What exactly had woken him up?

Looking around Charlie's gaze was caught by a soft glow coming from under his shirt. With a jolt he sat upright and drew the necklace out so that he could see exactly what it was that had woken him.

There, flickering over the soft yellow that symbolized his concern and worry, was the glowing purple which represented Harry's emotions.

Cold fury gripped at his heart causing the soft yellow to swirl with a deadly black.

Who the hell was making his Harry purple!? No one was allowed to make Harry purple but him! Why exactly was Harry purple!? Was someone taking advantage of his sweet innocent little mate? They better not be. You can't work with dragons as long as he had without picking up some tips on how to be angry.

Calm down Charlie! Think. This is Harry after all, you're just overreacting. You know this! Doesn't mean that you're not still worried though... Okay, look closely at the color. Is Harry even awake? This could just be a wet dream, he certainly had them at that age. Bill had them sooner than that as well.

There, only noticeable if you were to look closely at the flames which represented his little mate's emotions, was a thin band of silver along the outer edges.

Relief flooded through his system followed by an odd sense of smug satisfaction as he realized just what was happening.

His little Harry was having a rather pleasant dream and it was almost assuredly about him. Oh he couldn't wait to see his little one again!