This chapter is the LAST chapters written by me, Bobmin. I am posting them here since not everyone can read them from my Yahoo group. If you wish to know why these are the last chapters and why no more will be written you can see my profile for details.

Perhaps someday I'll be able to get back to finishing this, but right now I have more important matters to deal with.

Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Glasgow Scotland...

Harry arrived in Glasgow barely fifteen minutes behind Hermione. He had returned to Campbeltown to find the Weyr in a flurry of excitement. It took Harry a full ten minutes to figure out that Hermione had already left for the hospital, most of that time spent trying to find someone that knew where his wife was. Most everyone involved had already left for the hospital.

While he wasn't as flustered as Lee was when his wife gave birth, he was justifiably excited as he climbed back onto his dragon and leapt skyward. Behind him, his Weyr buzzed with excitement as dragon and rider alike waited to hear about the birth of the Weyrleader's first child.

Chekiath popped out of Between and started spiraling down to an area that had been created with dragon riders in mind. From his vantage point he could see Momnarth, Norendrath and Bronth sitting quietly. The dragon landing pad was directly across the street from the hospital's helicopter pad.

Harry slid down from his position on Chekiath and froze. The sound flapping wings and then a low threatening growl was unmistakable. Chekiath moved to position himself in front of Harry. He could barely make out Comaloth over the bulk of his dragon. Comaloth was reacting to the pain, fear and anxiety she was feeling from Hermione's labor. Her eyes were brightly glowing an angry red.

"Be silent," Chekiath commanded sharply. "You were told this would happen and you told me you understood and could control yourself."

Comaloth took a step backwards as Chekiath reared up on his hind legs and his eyes flashed a solid red, challenging her. Comaloth was among the largest dragons on the planet and still Chekiath out massed her by nearly a third.

"But my rider is in pain!" protested Comaloth and she took another step backwards, "And he caused it!"

"It is the way of the female humans, the healers will take care of her. You also know that your rider wouldn't like you hurting her mate," Chekiath retorted. "Go! Sit with Bronth and the others and be quiet."

Comaloth whined and puffed smoke from her nostrils angrily. Chekiath reared up again and made a barking sound that had Comaloth flinching backwards. Chekiath glared at her as she lowered her head and turned towards Bronth. The elder dragon watched the byplay with interest, he had long felt Chekiath allowed his consorts too many liberties.

Harry watched the interplay between the two dragons with carefully, it was unusual for Chekiath to assert himself so forcefully with one of his consorts. Comaloth was clearly reacting to her rider's distress and that made her a temporary danger, to herself and to others.

Thus far nearly every female rider that had given birth had a dragon that was most upset during the labor period. It was the primary reason why every pregnant rider came to Glasgow and why there was a trio of high ranking dragons on hand to help control the rider's dragon. Glasgow had experience in treating dragon riders, and they knew that helping manage the rider's pain was crucial to keeping their dragon calm.

Chekiath wasn't normally shy about making his authority known. He did however take a much milder approach to his two consorts, a milder approach that had Hermione and May both believing was the direct result of Harry's influence. Cheki had controlled several female dragons whose riders were in labor and he wasn't about to allow his own consorts to run amuck. That would be an insult to his honor as the Weyrleader's dragon.

Chekiath turned to look at Trath who looked back at him directly. She had landed just behind Comaloth and had watched her bondmates intently. "What? My rider isn't in pain. I have no problem with The Weyrleader."

May was absent, being too close to her own delivery, she was being driven to the hospital by car. She had told Trath to go ahead so she could be kept informed. No pregnant rider in their final trimester was allowed to go Between.

Chekiath looked at her for a moment longer, then he commanded, "Go sit with your sister consort and keep her calm. Watch her and learn from this, your own rider's time is coming."

Trath lowered her head and to Harry's surprise, meekly walked over to where Comaloth sat in an agitated state. Chekiath turned back to Harry. "Go be with Hermione, I will stay here and ensure all is well."

Harry shook his head in amusement, then he turned and trotted up to the entrance of the building. He met Sirius just inside the door. The older man grinned wildly at him and pointed towards the lift. "She's on the fourth floor. Issac slipped a suppressor on her so that she'll avoid any accidental magic. Madam Pomfrey is with Issac and she's still unhappy that she couldn't handle this delivery. Issac explained that as the Weyrleader's wife it was expected that Hermione would attend the Royal Infirmary here in Glasgow."

Harry nodded and jabbed at the lift call button. Sirius arched an eyebrow, unlike his father, Harry appeared to be calm and cool, only his repeated attacks on the lift button gave any indication of the nervousness he was feeling.

Less than three minutes later he was out of the lift and hurriedly putting on a surgical gown before entering the room. He absently noted that both Issac and Madam Pomfrey were present, but both were standing off to one side while the hospital's obstetrics resident was helping Hermione. He rushed to her side and she looked at him expectantly. "You're late," she said flatly.

Harry looked down, "I'm sorry, you know I had to visit Condron Weyr today. I had been putting it off all week because you said the baby was due any day."

"And I was right," Hermione said, then she started puffing heavily. Harry moved up by her head and wiped at her sweaty forehead with a handy cloth. He slid into a position at the top of the bed and wrapped one arm around her, then he gave her a quick kiss on her cheek which made her smile despite her discomfort.

"Can we finally get going?" asked the resident. "She's been fully dilated since she arrived."

Harry looked up from wiping Hermione's forehead. "Oh yes, you can start anytime you like," he said, not quite understanding exactly what he was saying.

Issac coughed to cover a laugh and Madam Pomfrey chuckled. Hermione looked up at her husband and glared for a moment, then another contraction hit and she pushed hard.

Officially Issac and Poppy were listed as Weyr medical personnel and only here to observe. The hospital staff weren't happy with that, but Issac had been present several times for other births and had never interfered. The hospital understood that this particular case involved some very high profile people and had accepted the inclusion of Madam Pomfrey without much grumbling. Officially both were observers from the Weyr, unofficially they were there to help if any accidental magic occurred.

Two long and tiring hours later, Daniel James Potter was born into the world with a loud cry and inexplicably, a power fluctuation that nearly shut down the entire ward. Harry and Hermione shared a proud look and Issac moved over to watch as the baby was cleaned up and weighed. He covertly cast a low powered spell that would dampen any accidental magic caused by little Daniel for the next few days.

After cleaning the infant, the nurse expertly wrapped the babe and handed him to Harry, then she gently pushed him towards Hermione with an expectant look. He looked down at the baby in his arms, then over to Hermione and realized what the nurse was trying to do. He grinned sheepishly as he walked over to the bed and gently laid the baby on her chest. Instinctively her hands came up to hold her baby. "Like everything you do, our son is perfect," Harry said with a bit of awe. He bent over and kissed her forehead, "Thank you," he whispered to her.

"Our hatchling," Chekiath's thoughts echoed through the room. "Welcome and happy birthday little Daniel. We have been eagerly waiting to meet you."

Hermione's eyes widened for a moment, then she smiled up at Harry. "Our son," she repeated tiredly.

The room seemed to still as everyone heard thousands of voices softly murmuring a welcome to the Weyrleader's first son. Harry grinned at Hermione and little Daniel opened his eyes for a brief moment and yawned. Apparently he wasn't impressed by the welcome of so many dragons.

"What was that?" exclaimed one nurse. Chekiath had made several comments during the delivery, but that was nothing compared to the sound of thousands of dragons welcoming the birth of the Weyrleader's son.

Hermione looked up from admiring her baby. "He is The Weyrleader's son. Every dragon on the planet has been waiting for him to arrive. I expect the same thing will happen again when May has her baby," she said. It was impossible to miss the pride in her voice.

Only those that knew the couple knew that Hermione's pride stemmed from her personal relationship with Harry and not because of his title or station. As far as she was concerned, her baby was perfect, like a perfect report she had spent ninth months writing.

None of the hospital staff that were present were surprised by Hermione's comment about May. May and Hermione had both come to the hospital during their pregnancies for testing. May was just shy of a month and a half behind Hermione in her due date. So the three of them had attended child birth classes at the hospitable and occasionally had been caught by local photographers.

It was common knowledge now that the Weyr didn't always practice monogamy and in Harry's case he was involved with both women. Photos of the two women appeared in several periodicals around the country. Harry was privately tickled pink when both women were listed as some of the most beautiful and influential women in the UK. Privately he thought his wives were the sexiest women on the planet.

The laws concerning marriage were still unchanged, but Parliament was now considering a change to existing laws that would apply only to dragon riders. The marriage issue only existed in those western countries that had Weyrs. Elsewhere, like Maziang and Sakushima Weyrs, conditions were much more relaxed. For now Campbeltown continued as it always had, quietly ignoring the legalities with the tacit approval from the PM's office.

Harry noted that the nurses were just about finished with Hermione. "I will be right back, your parents are outside waiting on the news. It looks like you'll be ready to receive visitors soon."

"Yes, five more minutes," the nurse said, looking up from her task. "I'll come out and let you know when she's ready to receive visitors."

Isaac took several photos of Hermione and Daniel, then he handed the digital camera to Harry who would give it to Lee.

Harry nodded and bent over the bed to gently kiss his son and his wife, then he straightened up and walked from the room towards a crowded waiting room filled with family and government officials. As much as he'd like to keep this private, he knew a great many important people were very interested hearing about his son. Lord Mills was present with Hermione's parents and Sirius and Remus, but for once he was acting as Her Majesty's personal envoy.

Harry knew that Lord Mills would be personally passing the news to Her Majesty and the Prime Minister.

Lee and Mariah were also present, awaiting to hear the news, then they would descend to the first floor where Mariah would formally announce Daniel's birth to the waiting press.

Kitchen Hall, Campbeltown Weyr, June 1st 2006...

Harry nodded amiably to Janay who was nervously setting up the tape recorders that she would use to record the session. Normally Hermione acted as official Weyr secretary for Weyrleader meetings, but she was still on maternity leave. Hermione normally would have been here for this meeting, but Isaac has insisted that every woman who had a child take a minimum two month maternity leave.

Isaac had followed up that order with a second one grounding any woman that had given birth from going Between for at least sixty days. There had been a single case of a young mother going Between a month after giving birth and then coming down with a massive infection that nearly killed her. Since then Isaac ordered a sixty day Between ban on all new mothers until they understood exactly what was involved.

The enforced leave frustrated Hermione, but Harry refused to override Isaac on any medical issue, let alone this one. Harry even used the excuse to take a few days off for himself so he could get to know his new son, and help Hermione adjust to the changes in their lives. May helped as much as she could, but she was in the final stage of her own pregnancy and anxiously waiting for the birth of her baby.

Dobby and the other elves were ecstatic to have the chance to help with little Daniel, so much so that Harry nearly had to order them to stop fighting over who would help care for the infant.

This was the first Weyrleader meeting since the birth of his son and Hermione had been banished to their house after she instructed Janay on how to take the notes and remind Harry of the agenda.

Unlike Hermione, Janay wasn't a witch and was unable to use a dicta-quill like Hermione did. Janay smiled timidly at Harry, then positioned herself at the table. She was as ready as she ever would be. The tape recorders she was using would have to suffice.

Harry stood up at the table where the senior Weyrleaders would sit. There was room for just four Weyrleaders and a seat for Harry. The four were selected by popular election from the others, but mostly the election had gone the way Harry expected it to go. Lobsang of Maziang and Skip Taylor of Condron each took a seat along with Ismo Sippola from Joensuu Weyr. The only surprise on the panel was Serge Fuentes from a newer Weyr; Caserío Puerto Limon, which replaced the old Weyr at Corales Isla Fuerte; that island had been too small to support a manned Weyr.

The panel held no authority over the other Weyrleaders, but were tasked with ensuring the decisions of the meetings were carried out. In theory that's what Harry wanted. What he got was nearly what he wanted except that as far as the dragons were concerned, he was The Weyrleader and they weren't about to let anybody override that fact.

The room filled up and the noise level increased as people mingled. There were thirteen manned Weyrs, and each Weyrleader brought their division leaders and in some cases, wing leaders with them. Nearly sixty people in all just from the Weyr leadership, then another twenty riders representing various Weyr research and commercial groups.

Harry turned to Ronan who stood beside him. "Look at this," he muttered. "Do you remember when we were barely forty people?"

Ronan shook his head. He had recently stepped down as division leader due in part to his injury and was now permanently attached to the Engineering division of Dragon Services. Ronan was still an active member of Wing One, Division Two, but no longer held the role of Divisional leader. "I remember when you were the only rider and Chekiath seemed unbelievably huge."

Harry laughed softly, "The big lug still is," he replied.

"I have to be, I am your dragon. I have to be the biggest," Chekiath interjected smugly.

The room suddenly fell silent, then everyone laughed. The second biggest dragon in the world was a full six feet shorter and a ton lighter than Chekiath. Senior dragons were highly respected, and every Weyr deferred to their Weyrleader's dragon, but not a single dragon would willingly oppose Chekiath.

Harry looked around with a smile, "And with that comment, how about we all get seated and get started?"

He glanced down at a print out that Janay had given him, then looked around. "Al? Al Ford where are you?"

"Here Harry," shouted a voice from the back of the room. Heads turned to look at the Weyr's chief diplomatic negotiator who seemed to be trying to juggle some rolled up maps and a large cup of coffee.

Harry smiled and motioned for him to relax and get himself straightened out. Albert quickly abandoned his drink and moved to the front of the room. He stood next to the main table and one of the wing leaders in the rear grabbed his drink and passed it forward.

"Yes well Harry asked me to report on what's been happening in the New Zealand and Australia areas. At most of you already know, there was a reserve on Cheeseman Island just off the northern coast of New Zealand. The island itself was really barren and short of dragon flight to get to the nearest town, there is no nearby human community capable of supporting a manned Weyr.

"The New Zealand government is very keen on having a manned Weyr of their own, so they have been very cooperative with us. Right now we've narrowed the location for the proposed Weyr to five possible locations, but we haven't selected one as yet. It's a joint process between the Weyrs and the government. I don't want them to think we're setting terms and I'm keeping a very close eye on what we're doing there. Sakushima Weyr is assisting in surveying each site and I expect that we'll have a report on those surveys by the end of the month.

"The proposed ambulance service did run into a little snag. For the first time a labor union complained that we would be interfering with the unionized rescue service. It took a bit of explaining that that was not the case and the union would be supplying the module staffing. I'm pleased to say that it looks like we'll have another manned Weyr by the February impression and probably another ambulance service even sooner."

While the first ambulance service in the UK did start out staffed by Weyr personnel, they quickly switched over to using trained paramedics from the emergency services. A rider who had been trained as a paramedic did accompany the ambulance module, but they were there mostly to ensure the dragons and the module were in tip top shape. In a few countries the rider wasn't trained as a paramedic at all and their only job was to see to the maintenance and operation of the ambulance module.

"Excellent Al, but what about Australia?" Harry asked.

Al Ford smirked in reply. "They did order twelve dragon ambulance modules and we've agreed to staff a facility with dragons possibly from Sakushima Weyr, or perhaps from the relocated Cheeseman Island Weyr. They also pressed again for a Weyr of their own, offering up two very nice pieces of land, both of which are part of the aboriginal lands. I turned them down again and told them that we would not interfere with, nor take land from the native aborigines without involving them in our talks. Then I hinted that if things continued, we might approach the aborigines directly to see if they wanted a Weyr. The government people weren't happy hearing that, but there are some serious roadblocks, including the autonomy issue that need to be resolved. It doesn't help that so far of the potential rider candidates in Australia that we've found, over sixty five percent of them come from the native population."

Al paused and frowned, looking down at his notes, then he looked at Harry. "We might want to think about talking to the Aborigine Council anyway, with so many potential riders coming from their population pool they should be involved in the talks. As to the autonomy issue, well you know how that goes..."

The room filled with a strained laughter, there was an undercurrent of seriousness behind it. Several countries had tried to renege on their promises after the dragons had established a Weyr within their borders. So far all those problems had been smoothed amicably with one exception where Harry pulled the Weyr out of the country entirely.

Bolivia thought they could 'nationalize' the Weyr barely a year after it had been established. The army rolled up to the Weyr gates with troops and tanks only to discover that the Weyr had been abandoned on Harry's order, it's wings scattered to other Weyrs just waiting for Harry to find a place where they could reform.

The overhead patrol had spotted the military convoy some five miles away from the Weyr and had informed the Weyrleader who called on Harry. Rather than suffer another Condron situation Harry ordered the Weyr evacuated. He figured they would be back in their weyrs in a few hours. It took nearly an additional day before they learned that the country had been planning on nationalizing the Weyr.

Bolivia complained to the world about the Weyr pulling out and their case was brought before the world court where it was likely to be pending for several more years. The Weyr had little proof of Bolivia's intentions, but the treaty they had signed did give the Weyr the option to relocate at The Weyrleader's discretion.

Harry waited until they settled down. "Thank you Al, please make sure Janay has a copy of your notes so she can include them in the meeting report," Harry said.

Al nodded and made a beeline for an open seat and his now cooled coffee. Since coming to the Weyr he had worked on more projects for the Weyr than he had ever did while working for the British Foreign Service and he was loving every minute of it.

Harry glanced down at his agenda then looked up again. "I have read the reports from each Weyr concerning your combat exercises and I want to say how pleased I am. No one here wants to see a repeat of what we experienced with Saudi Arabia, but I'm happy to say that if it happens, I firmly think we'll be ready for it."

"Do you really think it's necessary?" asked Kat Taylor from the front row of seats.

Harry nodded with a grim expression. "Most of you Weyrleaders are aware that Joensuu participated in an operation to assault a group of terrorists in the Ukraine. During that operation we had several injuries and we lost Neberoth and his rider, Sarni Pishkin."

Harry paused and looked around as the room fell completely silent.

"It's common knowledge that the attacks on the power plant construction sites dropped dramatically after those camps were shut down.

"What you don't know is what led to the decision to attack those camps and how they were found in the first place. A British fugitive witch was spotted in the city of Kiev; she was known to be working in close concert with an international terrorist wizard named Carlos the Gerbil. It was her presence that led to the discovery of Carlos and those two training camps. Carlos was killed in the attack, but the British witch escaped.

"Until recently she was thought to have gone to ground and no one had a clue to her whereabouts. That is, until she turned up dead in Seattle Washington in the United States. She was executed in what at first appeared to be a mafia style hit that went terribly wrong. The shooter and another man were found dead nearby."

Harry looked around the room. Everyone was hanging on his words wondering how this tied into their combat training.

"Both dead mean appeared to have killed each other. One was an assassin that had definite ties to the Russians and incredibly the second man was found to be carrying an identification card identifying himself as a member of the Russian Federal Investigative Service. The Americans believe the FIS man probably had orders to kill the trigger man, then vanish the evidence, but the assassin saw the double cross coming and shot the FIS man at the same time as the FIS man killed the assassin. Needless to say no evidence was vanished.

Harry looked directly at Kat. "Getting back to your question. Yes Kat, I do believe our combat training will be used. We have proof enough to link the Russians directly to the efforts to impede our power station construction. I can't take this to the world press, but I can say that I believe without any doubt that we have yet to see the end of Russia's plotting against the Weyrs."

Harry leaned forward on his chair and glanced around. "Make no mistake, Saudi Arabia was the last warning we give to the world. The next time someone attacks us we shall fight back with all the might and fury the Weyrs can muster."

"You've either personally listened to Abbey Rhodes' lecture on the seductive nature of dragon power, or you've seen the video tape of it. Make sure every one of your Wing leaders and seconds have seen it, then pass it around among your wings. Abbey had some good points that everyone can profit from because the next time the Weyrs are forced to fight, we'll know how and we will.

"I want everyone to fight smart and not give into the lure of the power we wield. That's why we train for a day that we pray never comes."

He glanced over to Kat who nodded appreciatively at him. She was pregnant and was becoming rather protective of her Weyr and her dragons. It was something he had noticed with both Hermione and May and he wondered it was a female thing or not, but they seemed to become rather blood thirsty. Neither Hermione or May seemed to care if the Weyr had to kill in order to protect the Weyr and their babies.

He glanced down at his agenda then looked up, "Moving along I have a request from Arnas Roberts of Campbeltown to set up a Meteorology department under the Weyrleader staff umbrella. Right now Arnas functions as our Meteorology Officer here in Campbeltown but he also handles requests from the other Weyrs in terms of forecasts and the like. Arnas cites his increasing workloads are resulting in delayed forecasts."

Arnas stood up near one wall and looked around nervously.

"I'm inclined to agree to his request, but since this is a staffing issue under the offices of The Weyrleader rather than DSL I figured I'd open it to comment. Arnas says he has at least twenty riders lined up and interested in Meteorology. In fact Condron already has one trained Meteorologist and there's another in college at Sakushima."

The Weyrleader's office was a separate entity and not part of Dragon Services Ltd. It's primary purpose was to provide services directly to the Weyrs such as security consulting, building design, shared computer facilities and so on. Adding a Meteorology department made sense to Harry, and Arnas was the perfect person to head it up.

Harry sat back and listened while several people asked questions and listened to Arnas' explanations. He had no doubt that they would agree. It only took one time to pop out of Between into a thunderstorm or a blizzard to make a rider very interested in knowing what kind of weather he was jumping into.

Harry's Quarters, Campbeltown Weyr, August 20th, 2006...

Harry carefully moved over to the kitchen table and sat down with a sigh of relief. May was working at the infirmary tonight and Hermione was down in London and wouldn't return for another three hours. Ordinarily this wouldn't be a problem, but Harry had given Dobby the day off and that left him alone with his children. Really alone.

He had plenty of alone time before, typically while one wife was away and another decided to take a long soak in their tub, but this time he had no one to rely on if something went awry. To put it simply, The Weyrleader, the man that defeated Saudi Arabia, was scared silly that he was going to do something wrong. He was learning to appreciate his wives with each passing minute, running a Weyr was a walk in the park when compared to caring for two magical infants.

Needless to say, Chekiath was quite amused by it all and kept snorting in his bed as Harry struggled to put both children down for the night. Now with the children finally asleep, he could sit and relax for the first time in two hours.

"You do know you could have called Hermione's parents, or even another elf to help you," Chekiath observed.

Harry nodded slowly, "I know, but I think this is some kind of test. I mean they're my own children, I should be able to take care of them right mate? May is nearby and I think the girls are trying to see if I can do this."

Chekiath snorted and rumbled with mirth.

"Are you laughing at me?" Harry asked incredulously.

Chekiath stretched his long neck out and looked pointedly at Harry. "Would I laugh at you? You're my rider!"

Chekiath withdrew back into the dragon area and continued to snort with mirth.

"Traitor," Harry grumbled, then he reached for the newspaper. He had a couple of hours of quiet time and he was going to enjoy it!

A soft knock at his door caused him to glance nervously towards the open door to the nursery before he recalled the silencing charm he had placed on the room. He put the paper down and quickly walked to the door.

Opening the door he was surprised to find Remus, Minerva McGonagall and Charlie Weasley standing there. "Harry," Remus said. "Minerva was visiting and asked if she could stop by to speak with you."

The presence of Charlie Weasley surprised him. The Potters had visited the Burrow on several occasions, especially around the holidays but Charlie had always been absent during those visits. Harry didn't blame the man, his limited exposure to former dragon handlers hadn't been pleasant. Most blamed him directly for the loss of their jobs. Harry had never met a single dragon handler that regretted their time are the reserves. In fact the only exception to that rule had been Maziang and that Weyr never culled their dragons.

Harry's expression lit up with a broad smile, "Minerva, Remus, Charlie, come on in."

He noted Charlie standing awkwardly and he waved him in with a smile. Charlie limped into the house, his injuries healed, but his encounter resulted in a noticeable limp and a need for a cane.

"Welcome Charlie, I had hoped we'd be able to talk but every time we visited the Burrow you were away. Come on in and have a seat, I'll put a pot of tea on."

Charlie flushed slightly, he had been avoiding meeting with Harry since he returned to England. His experience with the dragons in South America had left him with a heavy sense of guilt. It was only in conversation with his father that he came to realize that he might be able to put that guilt behind him if he could find the courage to talk with Harry, and the dragons.

Before Harry could do anything, Dobby appeared and placed a tea service on the coffee table. Harry frowned, "I'm going to have to talk to Dobby again, he just doesn't seem to understand what a day off means."

Remus laughed and clapped Harry lightly on the shoulder. "Oh he knows alright, but he's not about to shirk what he thinks are his responsibilities either. He got that from you."

Harry shook his head ruefully. The Weyr paid the elves handsomely, and they in turn placed all of the money into a single account which did little more than grow every month. The Campbeltown elves were now some of the richest elves in the world. So far no one had managed to convince them to use that money.

Minerva looked up from pouring a cup of tea with an eager expression. "Where are they?"

"Their sleeping, but you can take a peek in," Harry said, then he pointed at the open door to the nursery. Minerva got up and carefully walked into the room.

Harry turned to Charlie, "I was sorry to hear about what happened to you Charlie, but the dragons told me they arrived in time to save you. I was glad they were able to arrive in time."

Charlie nodded and nervously twirled his cane between his feet. "Harry, I want to apologize, both to you personally and to the dragons. When you freed them I was unwilling to believe it. I had spent four hard years training to be a dragon handler, it was the job I had dreamed of for years and suddenly I was out of a job."

Chekiath opened his eyes and looked pointedly at Charlie. "What was the attraction? Killing us for potion ingredients or caring for the dragons? Few wizards that worked in the reserved cared for the dragons other than a source of income and potion ingredients."

Charlie started and he suddenly noticed Chekiath in his stall. He swallowed nervously, here was a dragon that was a good thirty feet longer than any dragon he had ever encountered.

Chekiath extended his head into the living room and Harry motioned towards his dragon. "Chekiath, this is Charlie Weasley, he used to work at the same reserve in Romania that Momnarth and the others came from."

"I know, and I'm still curious. What did you prefer? The cull, or working with dragons?"

Harry turned to Charlie and shrugged. "Considering dragons saved your life and now you're looking to apologize, I think Chekiath has a right to ask," Harry admitted softly.

Charlie sighed and shook his head then he turned his gaze directly to Chekiath. "All my life I dreamed of working with dragons. When I was accepted as an apprentice I knew about the culling, but I didn't understand how extensive it was or what was involved. I didn't understand how painful and cruel it was. I didn't like it. Dragons seemed too noble to be beasts and even if they were, they deserved a more humane treatment. I was only a lowly apprentice and I wanted that job more than anything. If I complained too loudly I would have lost the job before I had even earned it."

Charlie shifted to look at Harry.

"When the dragons awoke and left the reserve I was angry. Everything I worked for was gone. I blamed you Harry, I didn't want to believe they were intelligent because that would have made me a murderer."

"You couldn't have known Charles," Minerva said from the nursery door. "Albus had been forced into asking why we didn't make heart string wands from French Wizards just to get his point across. Initially people thought he was actually suggesting we do such a thing. They couldn't make the connection he was trying to convey, that dragons were people in a different shape."

"Albus was a strong advocate for the Weyr," Harry added quietly.

Minerva moved to sit and and she looked thoughtfully at Charlie. "Perhaps our greatest failing was not discovering the dragon's intelligence sooner."

"It would have taken someone like Harry to make that happen Harper," Chekiath replied. "It is a noble regret, but one which even the Goddess cannot change. Like Harry says, 'now we must learn from our mistakes and move on'."

"He does regret his actions Harry. That makes him one of the rare wizard handlers who regret the culls and are remorseful," Chekiath said privately.

Chekiath extended his head into the room and looked directly at Charlie. His eyes streaked with a muted blue and faint tinges of yellow. "On behalf of Campbeltown and dragon-kind I accept your apology sir. May you find shelter and peace under our wings and may your path lead you to happiness."

Charlie looked down at his lap and he gasped softly.

"It is better to learn late than never," Harry said softly. His gaze was unfocused and distant.

"Harry?" Minerva pressed.

Harry shook from his mood and turned to Minerva. "Sorry about that. I was quoting a scholar from the first century BC. He said 'It is better to learn late than never'. Some lessons are harder to learn than others and can take longer to learn. I can understand where Charlie is coming from," Harry said, then he turned back to Charlie. "I will not say you shouldn't blame yourself because that would trivialize your actions. What matters now Charlie is how you move forward. Regret and remorse are useful in helping you understand, but they can also pin you in an endless cycle of grief and depression."

Remus raised an eyebrow at Harry. He suspected that Harry was actually talking about the Saudi conflict. Few knew that Harry deeply regretted having to kill those pilots and to some extent it did bother him. Harry hated when someone glorified that incident and his role in it. He would much rather be known for helping bring power to impoverished nations, or the dragons efforts to help in humanitarian efforts than his actions during wartime.

"You surprise me Harry, I never thought you would be a scholar of history," Minerva said softly.

Harry chuckled and waved to a framed diploma. "I never would have thought it either Minerva, but six months ago Lord Mills called me to a special meeting at the Prime Minister's residence. There I discovered that all the tutoring I had been given over the years, plus actual life experience, had earned a degree in International Studies," he said with some bashful pride. "It came as a great surprise to me."

Minerva smiled thinly. "From what I've read, it is well deserved. Harry, there is a reason why Charles and I are here today, we'd like to ask for your help in something."

Harry leaned back on his chair. "Oh?"

"When the dragons withdrew from the schools everyone was pleased because it signaled that we were entering a more peaceful era. The students missed the dragons greatly, but we adjusted and our twice annual field trip to the Weyr for the Care of Magical Creatures class still allowed us to maintain some contact with the dragons."

Minerva looked intently at Harry. "We also understand that dragons should not be included as part of the Care course, but at least for now we have no course designed to cover the other intelligent species other than our updated Magical History and Social Studies course. Charlie here has been putting together ideas for such a course, but we're still a year at least from being able to offer it."

Harry nodded thoughtfully, he really couldn't fault Minerva's position even if he did want them to change that.

Minerva paused and took a sip of her tea, then she gestured towards Charlie.

"Charles here has been hired to take over the care of magical creatures class, but he'd like to broaden that by also teaching magical creature healing. The board has approved of the inclusion of a new elective and we were hoping that we might find a dragon or two that would be willing to help with the two classes. Hogwarts is willing to build a special enclosure, a 'weyr' if you will, for any dragon to live in while at the school."

She stopped and looked hopefully at Harry.

"Its a really good idea Harry," Remus said. "And classes in magical healing would be a help for any potential riders you search from Hogwarts."

Harry nodded and mentally reviewed his roster in his head, then an idea came to him. "Wait a moment, let me check something," he replied.

"Trath love, how many invalid dragons are we hosting now?" he sent silently.

"There are twenty that we are housing Weyrleader. Some are quite ill, some are just unable to fly. May wants to know why you're asking?" replied the startled dragon after a moment.

Harry quickly explained to Trath the situation and then waited while she relayed the information to May. A half minute later she said, "May says there are five dragons who are unable to fly and not suffering from any additional problems. Any one of them would jump at the chance to have something useful to do."

"Thank you Trath," he replied then he turned back to his guests.

"The Weyr has a number of dragons who are unable to perform their duties for various reasons. I've been informed that we have five non-bonded dragons who are basically healthy, but have suffered permanent wing injuries making them unable to fly. Dragons, like people, need to feel like they have a purpose in life. We have a scout troop of Weyr children that try to help with these dragons, but there are only so many children, and far too many dragons at the moment.

"If I ask I am nearly certain that all five dragons would jump at the chance to help at Hogwarts. I'd also be willing to station a rider at the school to help out."

Minerva gasped. "Five dragons?" she exclaimed. "Oh my."

"Is that too many?" Harry asked.

Charlie laughed softly. "No actually. I was hoping that we could get the help of several dragons. With five I'll grab a bunch of seventh year students and we'll build them a Weyr they'll be happy in."

Minerva smiled in approval. "If that's the case I'll arrange to talk with Filius and the others about arranging their seventh year projects around the new construction."

Minerva settled in her chair and turned very serious. "Now that that is out of the way, just what magic did you use to get such adorable little babies Harry Potter?"

Harry blinked at her in shock and Remus burst into laughter. "Honestly Minerva, you can thank their mother's for their good looks. I just hang on and reverse some of their magic."

"So they are both magical then?" Minerva pressed.

Harry nodded with a broad smile. "Mary is very magical, and Daniel is only a step or two behind her. Hermione is unable to reverse any of Mary's accidental castings and she can only reverse some of Daniel's."

Minerva arched an eyebrow at him. It was unusual for a parent to be unable to reverse magic cast accidentally by their child and suggested that both children would be very powerful. Hermione was stronger than average, but not by a great amount, and Harry was a mage, their offspring would be very powerful. What really surprised her was the implication that Mary was more powerful than her brother.

Harry grinned at her and she felt a slight shiver of fear run down her back. She had not seen that grin since James Potter had pranked the entire school.

"If there is one lesson I have learned in life, it's that I will usually agree with my wife's plans. Hermione has told me that our children will be schooled here at the Weyr until they turn eleven. They they will attend Hogwarts at least until their OWLS. The dragons are undecided if they can impress, but if they can, they will be offered the chance after they turn fifteen," Harry said. "Hermione plans to ensure any magical Weyrlings will be given the chance to continue on to take their NEWTS along with the muggle A levels."

This wasn't the primary reason for Minerva's visit, but it warmed her heart to know she'd get the opportunity to teach another generation of Potters.

Harry's Quarters, Campbeltown Weyr, November 15th 2006...

Harry looked up from his position on the floor where he was blowing against the bare belly of his daughter Mary.

"I'll get it," May said, then she put her book aside and stood up. Hermione was busy typing on her laptop and glancing over at the playpen where little Daniel was gurgling at a small magical bear that kept trying to hug him.

Harry blew against Mary's belly again and she squealed in delight.

"May, just the person I need to see," exclaimed a voice.

Harry picked up Mary and turned, he saw Katherine in the doorway, in one hand she held a leash attached to Tweenie.

"Katherine?" Harry said, "Come on in."

Harry walked over to the playpen and placed Mary down next to her brother. Another animated stuffed animal came to life and caught her attention.

Katherine followed May in and Tweenie followed right behind them. The German Shepard was nearly a year old now and perfectly trained. Sirius had taken Harry's advice and showed her what to do as Padfoot. It had worked wonderfully, except that Kirstin insisted that both dogs required proper grooming and lots of pretty pink ribbons.

Remus made sure that the photos of Padfoot dressed in pink ribbons circulated in the Weyr every couple of weeks.

Both babies gurgled happily when they spotted the dog and Tweenie tugged hard on the leash wanting to go over to them.

"So what is the problem Katherine?" May asked.

"You're a veterinarian right?" Katherine pressed.

May blinked in surprise, it was true that her degree was in Veterinary science, but she wasn't a practicing veterinarian. She had used the knowledge about general anatomical systems to springboard into dragon healing. Lord Mills even told her that the Royal Veterinary College in London was considering accrediting her with a degree in teaching if she'd help them put together a curriculum for other dragon healers.

Her sole experience in real veterinary practice had been helping Hermione's Crookshanks through a particularly nasty cold. Familiars like Hermione's Crookshanks have a greatly extended lifespan equal to nearly half of their bonded witch, but that didn't prevent them from getting sick like any other animal.

"I need to get Tweenie neutered. Remus told me if it doesn't happen soon and she catches Sirius in his Padfoot form, Kirstin would end up with puppies for siblings," she exclaimed unhappily.

Harry glanced at Hermione who seemed to be trying very hard not to smile. He couldn't help himself and he burst out in laughter.

"This isn't funny Harry Potter," Katherine snapped. "It never occurred to me that my husband could cheat on me, and with the family pet no less!"

Harry's expression changed almost instantly. "Wait a second. Sirius Black is a lot of things, but a cheat isn't one of them. An animagus isn't a full dog Katherine, it's a wizard, with a human intellect in the body of a dog and while a smart animagus will allow themselves to be guided by the instincts of his form, the human intellect is still in full control. Besides, you're overlooking one important factor."

"What's that?"

"Katherine," Hermione said gently, "don't you remember why you ended up adopting Kirstin?"

Katherine looked at Hermione blankly.

"Someone cursed Sirius, probably Malfoy senior who wanted his son to inherit the Black family fortune," Harry said darkly. Sometime during Sirius' stay in Azkaban he had been tortured and cursed. It was the only incident in his past that they could think of that could have rendered him sterile. Regrettably Sirius had only vague memories of the incident which occurred shortly after he had been imprisoned.

"And Draco wants nothing to do with the Black family fortune, it took Narcissa months to convince him to not change his last name and to accept what remained of the Malfoy fortune," Hermione added.

"Sirius can't have children and I seem to recall you knocking him out when he discovered that and offered to divorce you so you could find someone that could give you children," Harry said. "That means Padfoot can't have puppies. What affects the human form also affects the animal form."

When Sirius and Katherine were having difficulties conceiving they went to Isaac for help. He sent them to a specialist where it was discovered that Sirius was effectively sterile. Normally a man might have a low sperm count and be considered unable to have children, but in Sirius' case he didn't have a measurable sperm count at all, which was why they suspected a magical cause.

"So why would Remus say that to Katherine?" May asked. "He knew about Sirius' condition."

Harry looked thoughtful for a moment, then his expression grew sly. "The Marauders strike again. Remus always enjoyed the more cerebral style of pranks. Remember that time he convinced half the wizards in the Weyr that winterizing the Weyr vehicles included putting 'winter air' in the tires?

"Sirius prefers a prank involving some disgusting noises or embarrassing public displays, if I know Remus he was just retaliating for something Sirius pulled. I'll bet Remus expected Katherine to get on Sirius' case about being unable to control himself around Tweenie."

Katherine blushed, it was obvious to everyone that Sirius had been her planned next port of call after making arrangements for Tweenie. Katherine knew from experience that the last thing she wanted to do was get involved in a prank war between Sirius and Remus.

"Still," said May, "it's not a bad idea to get Tweenie fixed if you don't want puppies. Besides you don't want to tempt Sirius do you?"

Harry blinked and turned to look at May incredulously while Hermione started to snicker.

Katherine looked at the three of them and blushed. She had been caught in a prank of Remus' and there was only one way of getting revenge on him. She'd talk to Mildred about it.

Harry chuckled softly and turned back to Katherine, "It's not too bad Katherine, at least you didn't accuse Sirius of fooling around with Tweenie in the Kitchen hall."

Katherine smiled weakly and made her excuses before leaving. She had a phone call to make.

Campbeltown Weyr Gymnasium, Dec 20th 2006...

Harry pushed the two child pram into the brightly lit Gymnasium building. It had been nearly six months since the birth of his children and Harry tried as much as he could to reduce the burden on his wives. Elves provided most of the night time care and Harry took over in the morning, taking his kids out with him while he jogged around the Weyr.

But both mothers laid down the law to him back in early October. Their children would not be exposed to the cold of outside while he ran around the Weyr. Harry didn't mind switching to running around the track in the Weyr Gym. He wasn't all that keen about running around outside either.

Harry knelt in front of the pram and carefully pulled the heavy clothing off of the two babies, stuffing them in the ever present baby bag. Once they were in lighter clothes he moved around to the back of the pram and waited for Cheki to enter the building using a door built for the dragons.

Mary was blond with emerald green eyes just like her father and her mother. Daniel was blessed with his mother's brown hair, but he also had Harry's green eyes. Fortunately neither child seemed to have inherited the Potter hair, a fact that both mothers were secretly overjoyed about.

For the most part the babies were active and happy, rarely fussing unless something was wrong. Both children were magical although Mary seemed to be a bit stronger than her brother Daniel. Shortly after they came home from the hospital, Madam Pomfrey had tested them and found them perfectly normal for magical children at their age.

Both Daniel and Mary were a joy to be around, but Harry also knew that things could have been much different had it not been for Tisky, Dobby's wife who took charge of the children at night. Both May and Hermione breast fed their babies, but Tisky insisted that they put aside some milk in bottles for night feedings so that the Weyrhealer and the Weyr Lawsmith could get their sleep.

Harry chuckled and shook his head. Hermione's expression at being called a lawsmith had been priceless. The dragons seemed to take a great deal of pride in inventing titles for people.

The gym had been in place for just over a year now, it was a completely new building, built as the Weyr removed the runway, slowly building up their capabilities by adding new additional buildings. Among the first buildings to be built was a school capable of handling one hundred primary and preschool students.

The Weyr had built the school in 2000 even though it wasn't used as a school for another two years. The school was now slowly hiring on the staff needed as the children moved from preschool to primary school grades.

In 2005 it was decided to add a gymnasium that the school could use as well as the adult riders. For the most part it was a standard gymnasium one would expect to find anywhere around the country, with one sole exception. The indoor track used for jogging was wide enough to accommodate several dragons since they seemed to enjoy running with their riders.

Harry glanced up at Cheki who had finally arrived. "Ready?"

"Of course," Cheki replied.

Harry slipped on a headphone and pressed a button on his portable MP3 player. It was a gift May had given him two Christmases ago and it was loaded with all kinds of music. Harry found that music, as long as it was either instrumental or in a language he didn't understand, helped him to relax and concentrate on current problems. Vocals in English resulted in him listening to the music instead of trying to work on current problems. May called it weird until Hermione admitted to a similar problem. She avoided it entirely by not listening to music at all while working.

Harry pushed the pram and quickly fell into a comfortable pace with Chekiath alongside. Cheki would glance down at the children every so often, but other than that, this was a typical morning jog for The Weyrleader.

With the track being barely one kilometer, Harry and Cheki needed to make eleven laps to get their ten kilometers in. The track was in Harry's opinion one of the best things at the Weyr. It was freezing outside and there was no way May or Hermione would allow him to take the babies jogging in that cold. The Gym was a very comfortable temperature.

As he ran he considered a notice he had received late last night from the PM's office. It was looking very much like a new bill was likely to be passed that would exempt dragon riders from the country's marriage restrictions. There were still problems with the bill, since it only allowed for 'certified' dragon riders to be exempt, and there was some resistance in parliament to any female/male/male marriages. The PM's office seemed to think that the bill would be passed after some modest debate, which left Harry with the problem of 'certifying' his riders.

Harry smirked at that thought. Like times past the dragon riders were more likely to poke fun at government bureaucracy than to meekly go along with something. For example Chekiath carried his own dragon passport in a pouch attached to his riding harness. The passport was nearly four foot square in size to accommodate his paw print, and at that, it was half size. All of the dragons had similar passports issued by their Weyrs and they took great delight in insisting they get stamped whenever they visit a new country.

Some countries, like Britain, Canada and the US had given the Weyrs the right to stamp passports of visiting dragons, others refused to allow it and required the dragons to arrive at a specific entry point like an international airport or a port entry point.

Certifying riders was going to end up giving someone a headache and if Harry had anything to say about it, it wasn't going to be the Weyr or his riders.

He was contemplating calling for a leadership meeting to inform everyone of the possible change to the marriage laws when he felt something across his dragon bond. It was very faint and his MP3 player was drowning out whatever he was sensing. He popped his headphones off and slowed his pace, then he noticed it, Chekiath was humming.

Harry stopped and turned to his dragon. He recognized that tune, it was from a popular children's television show that Hermione let the children watch for an hour in the evenings. Hermione was very strict about television, but even she was allowed to watch Sesame Street as a child. The babies were too young to understand the show, but there was enough bright colors and music to distract the children long enough for the three adults to eat dinner undisturbed.

Cheki turned to look at him and he stopped humming. "What? Daniel and Mary like it!"

"They like it?" he repeated stupidly.

Cheki's eyes twirled with amusement. "This is what we mean when we say you humans aren't using your bond enough. Listen carefully my rider."

Chekiath resumed his humming of the TV theme song and both babies turned to look at the dragon with innocent smiles. Harry watched and opened himself fully to his bond with his dragon. He could feel Cheki's consorts react in surprise to Harry's increased presence, but he ignored them. Nearby he could feel another presence, no two presences. It took another minute before Harry realized it was Daniel and Mary reacting in delight to Cheki's humming. This wasn't part of the dragon bond as it first seemed. As he examined what he felt he could tell it was something different that was using the dragon bond simply because it was available.

Slowly both babies became aware of Harry and they turned their attention to him. Harry was amazed. While neither child had the language skills to really communicate, he felt a deep possessiveness from the children that he could summarize in a single word, 'Mine', and he felt their happiness. They felt safe and happy to be with him and Cheki, and somehow he knew that the possessiveness he felt was the basis of what would become their love of family.

The idea staggered him and he slipped to the floor in front of his children. He sat smiling back at the babies and started to hum along with Chekiath while tears slid down his cheeks.

He was still sitting on the floor humming with his dragon and listening to his children when Hermione and May caught up with him. Both women had been alarmed at first that something might be wrong, but their dragons assured them all was well.

Harry looked up at them and grasped their hands, then gently pulled them down to the track floor. "Listen to the bond," he murmured, "Listen as hard as you can, its there, floating on top of our bond like a gentle breeze barely felt."

Both babies lit up seeing Momma and only Cheki's increased humming kept them from getting distracted.

May closed her eyes and listened to her bond. She gasped a moment later when Trath helped her hear what Harry had been listening to. The possessiveness that both babies felt extended to both women in nearly equal measures. Harry had suspected that the babies made no real distinction between May and Hermione, but now he knew it for a fact.

Hermione smiled and leaned against Harry who tried to wipe away some tears without anyone noticing. "Family," she whispered, then she reached up and turned Harry's head towards her. "Family starts here."

He smiled wanly at her and nodded. May pressed against his other side and chuckled softly. "You know when this gets out, we're going to have a lot of child psychologists wanting to come to the Weyr," she offered.

"They can want," Harry said in reply. "but I'll be damned if I'm going to let any child of our riders become subjects of someone's research."

He reached out and gently rubbed Mary's cheek with two fingers. The little girl grabbed his hand and immediately stuck one of his fingers in her mouth and chomped down hard. Harry smiled at his daughter. "I don't think I really understood what family meant until now. I love you both with all my heart, but these little babies, our babies, understand what family means better than I do."

"Then you'll just have to learn from them," Chekiath offered. "They aren't like our hatchlings who know their names when they hatch. They are so very different. In one way helpless and frail, but in another they know things that no dragon knows. They will teach you my rider, and from you, we dragons may come to understand better what family means."

Chekiath went back to his humming and both of his consorts joined in while Harry, May and Hermione sat with their little family, enjoying the music and reveling in the emotions they could feel from their children.

Harry's office, Campbeltown Weyr, Early August 2008...

Harry stood at his office window and looked out over the Weyr. From his location he could see one of the ambulance modules just waiting to be called into action. It was a boxy affair designed much like a modern ambulance, but it sat on pads instead of wheels and there were several large reinforced gripping points on top for a dragon to lift the module.

At each corner of the module was a large cylinder that contained an industrial sized gyroscope to give the module stability while in flight. Future ambulance module designs would incorporate the gyros into the main cabin so they wouldn't be so unslightly.

The module had entered trial service barely twelve months ago and already there were people around the world clamoring for the service. The module was designed to carry two patients, two paramedics and a rider as 'pilot'. The module also contained a hot rock powered generator to the module and enough medial equipment to make any major city ambulance crew green with envy.

Given that a typical dragon could sustain 200 miles per hour in straight flight, it was faster than most helicopter air ambulances in the world. Isaac had worked up a set of rules concerning transporting patients Between. Generally speaking if the patient's symptoms or injuries weren't on the list, then the dragons would straight fly the module and no modern air ambulance could match the ability of a dragon to go Between.

Normally Campbeltown Weyr had three ambulance modules, but today only one was visible. Harry frowned at that thought because it meant two were already out on emergency calls.

"Weyrleader, your ten o'clock appointment is here," said Janay from the door.

He shook from his retrospective mood and glanced towards his computer to see who he was scheduled to meet with then his smile widened. The Weyr had been trying to talk with this person for several months with no luck. The man had managed to avoid allowing anyone from the Weyr making an appointment. Ronan then proposed a plan that might result in them coming to the Weyr. Make him believe the Weyr was about to step on his toes and he would come running to talk to Harry.

Ronan's plan worked like a charm. They had allowed several of their low altitude capsule tests to be seen, but always from a distance so it wasn't quite certain what people were seeing.

Harry knew exactly why this person had asked to meet with him. "Please send him in Janay, then hold any calls."

The Weyr was about to blitz one of the most business savvy people on the planet.

Harry stood and walked around to the front of his desk. A moment later Janay showed his guest in. "Sir Richard, I'm Harry Potter," Harry said and then he offered his hand. After the two shook hands, Harry motioned for him to take a seat, then he returned to his own seat.

He looked across at a man who had his fingers in so many pies that it was hard to tell exactly what division he represented at any given moment. "I admit to being a bit confused Sir Richard," Harry began.

"Please, just Richard," Branson said softly.

Harry nodded and returned the smile, "Then please call me Harry. As I was saying Richard, I admit to being confused by your request for a meeting. Normally most companies go through our public relations office before being handed off to Dragon Services Limited."

"My second, Ronan Clark suggested that you might have heard about our new line of dragon transport modules..."

Harry trailed off when Branson shook his head. "I'm sorry Weyrleader, my executive assistant was instructed not to give away too much. We didn't want any information leaking out to the press, or to any potential competitors."

Harry leaned forward in his chair. Just as he did, the dragon doors began to lift. Chekiath strolled into the room to the shock of Harry's visitor. It was a move Harry had planned specifically to remind his guest just exactly who's home turf he was playing on.

Branson's eyes widened and his Adam's apple bobbed nervously at the site of the enormous dragon. It wasn't often that you came face to face with a being the size of a mid sized commercial jet.

"Sir Richard, may I introduce you to Chekiath, my bonded dragon," Harry said with an unconcealed tone of pride.

"Good Morning Sir, I hope you enjoy your visit with us. May you find peace and shelter under our wings."

Branson's mouth opened and closed silently for twenty seconds, then he shook himself free from his shock. "Thank you Chekiath, I am sure I will find my visit most illuminating," he replied smoothly, then he spared Harry a quick glance before continuing. "It is already turning out to be different than what I expected."

Chekiath's eyes twirled with streaks of green and he circled a few times before settling in his sand bed, watching Harry and his visitor.

Branson watched the dragon for a moment longer, then he turned back to the young man behind the desk. "Tell me Harry, what do you know of the SpaceX competition?"

Harry shook his head, "I've never heard of it before," Harry admitted truthfully. International competitions wasn't something he paid much attention to.

Branson reached into his valise and extracted a file folder. "SpaceX is an internationally sponsored competition to build a low cost, reusable, ground to low orbit transportation system. All of the competitors are still a few years off of being ready to make the attempt, but my company, like some of the others, have taken to using high altitude balloons to test subsystems."

He opened the file folder and pulled out a grainy image of a large yellow and white sphere. It was obviously one of Campbeltown's test capsules and the Dragon flag was plainly visible on the side of the sphere. Branson handed the photo to Harry.

"Strangely enough, that image is just one of a handful of frames we managed to get. That thing appeared in our cameras and then a few seconds later it vanished again. I'm told it was at least fifty thousand feet above our test platform and only the high quality of our cameras allowed for us to capture that image."

Harry looked at the image and hid a smirk. They had been specifically performing capsule tests to coincide with Branson's tests, hoping that they would eventually notice.

During each of the test flights Garanoth had released the capsule while he practiced a few jumps Between to change orientation. The capsule with the built in gyroscopes made it resistant to sudden attitude changes, and that meant the dragon had to disengage from the capsule. During the time that he wasn't holding the capsule, it became visible to Branson's cameras.

"Needless to say, I and quite a few others have a significant investment in developing reusable technology to allow easy ground to orbit capabilities. I'm sure you can see why I find myself concerned."

"Yes," Harry admitted. "I can understand that. Would it help any if I gave you my word that low Earth orbit was not something we're interested in?"

Branson looked at Harry in shock. Harry knew he was giving up a lot by giving up low Earth orbit, but there was a totally untapped market for higher orbits and beyond. It had been an issue brought up by Ronan's test flights when it was realized that dragons were capable of traveling much further than anyone dreamed possible. Up until Garanoth's moon trip it had been assumed that Sidraneth's fateful jump to Earth from Pern had been a fluke, something fueled by her extreme anguish and desire to die. Now Harry and Ronan were unconvinced and Ronan was planning a series of tests to try to establish how far a dragon could jump.

"So you're admitting that you've been sending that into space?" Branson exclaimed, pointing at the photo.

Harry shrugged, "I am not the government Sir Richard. The Weyrs have been exploring business opportunities beyond what the Hot Rocks have developed. This is just one thing we are looking into. And while we're on the subject, our new passenger modules show the potential to revolutionize air travel. That is something you might want to look into right now. Space is a years away for both of us, but our passenger modules are a thing of tomorrow."

Branson frowned and leaned forward. "Passenger modules?" he asked warily.

Harry sent off a quick message via Neruth, then he gestured to a large photo on one wall. "DT&T or Dragon Transport and Tourism is one of our older subsidiaries and it had a particularly rough start. We had no problem transporting heavy machinery to the most remote locations, but our riders often felt that dragons could do so much more. Imagine being able to bring a load of tourists to a remote lodge hundreds of miles up the Amazon, or offer aerial tours of Antarctica?"

Harry looked over at Branson and saw the man's eyes widen in interest. He smiled slightly, then pointed at the space capsule. "We quickly discovered that people didn't like being exposed to Between, it scared them. Hell, first time riders are often afraid of it themselves.

"DT&T management had been seriously considering dropping tourism from the name and just specialize in moving heavy loads when someone saw the design for a prototype capsule and started asking questions."

The door opened and Karen stepped in carrying a large folder. Harry waved her in and motioned for her to sit. "In keeping with our commitment to humanitarian efforts, the first passenger module we turned out was a small ambulance module capable of carrying a maximum of six people."

Harry waved towards the photo on the wall. "There are sixty ambulance modules in use around the world, and we have orders to manufacture two hundred more. The modules are sold with a guarantee of a dragon providing the ferry lifting service. Joensuu Weyr and Svartvatn Weyrs have combined forces to provide coverage for all of Europe."

Harry nodded to Karen and she opened her folder and pulled out a large artist sketch of a large passenger module capable of seating eighty passengers. She handed the sketch to Harry.

Harry smiled broadly, then he turned the sketch so Branson could clearly see it. "The ambulance module was really a test of concept which worked out far better than we could have ever dreamed. But it's not an integral part of their remit. They still wanted to provide tours to hard to reach areas. Now they have the vehicle for it, but they also realized that they had the possibility of something bigger than we could handle alone."

"The sketch is an artist's conception of a D5 passenger module. The number indicates the number of dragons used to lift and ferry the module to it's destination. Flight time from London to Tokyo, just shy of four minutes, most of which is taken up by coordinating the dragons and loading the passengers and baggage. Actually transit time is far less, just two point six seconds," Karen said softly. "The module itself is capable of carrying eighty passengers along with a crew of four that mainly help seat the passengers and stow away luggage. With the transit time so short, there is no need for meal services, or even a pilot. There is a lead dragon rider who coordinates the dragons, but that's the extent of the anticipated crew."

Branson stared at Karen incredulously, the artists design looked like a bus that had been stretched wide. It was a squat, squarish affair and totally unlike any aircraft design he had ever seen. There was no way the boxy shape could fly and yet, it didn't really need to fly. The dragons did the flying for it.

"Sir Richard, may I present to you Karen Clark, CFO of Dragon Services Ltd and coordinator for new business ventures," Harry said. He knew he was ambushing Branson, but this is what he wanted from the get go. He planned to drop a bomb about the low Earth orbit market, and then distract Branson with an unrelated business opportunity.

Karen passed the sketch to Branson, then handed him a photograph of a passenger module that was much smaller. "That's a D2, capable of handling forty passengers," she offered.

"Yes, the D2-1 is a prototype we built here in Campbeltown," Harry added. "It really only needs one dragon to lift it but we decided early on the all of the passenger modules will use more dragons than absolutely necessary just in case something happens to a dragon in transit. That particular module is currently being used by the Weyrs to transport Weyr employees who are not riders. For example last week DSL's network staff went to Columbia to help install our network at a new Weyr we're opening this year."

Branson looked up from examining the photograph. "This is real?"

"If you want, we can show it to you. Even take you for a ride if you wish," Harry offered.

Branson leaned back on his chair and looked at Harry. "What do you need me for?"

The Weyrs had the ability to make the passenger modules, and they had the dragons willing to take them Between, but they lacked the organization and the facilities that most major airlines had. If they could find just one airline to take advantage of the service, the Weyrs could remain behind the scenes, leasing the hardware and dragons while someone else worried about terminals and baggage handling and all the other hundreds of minor little details that an airline handled every day.

"We can make the modules Richard and supply the dragons to lift them. That isn't the problem. Our problem is all the little things that you already do and know how to do in running an airline that we know nothing about and honestly don't want to get involved in. Our idea was to pick a handful of major airlines and see if they would be willing to partner with us. We'll supply the passenger modules and the dragons, you'd supply the know how, facilities and staff, all of which you already have."

Branson looked intrigued for a moment longer, then the acute businessman kicked in. "How exclusive would this partnership be?"

Harry smiled. "At first Karen and our people at DT&T were considering offering it to one major airline per country, but I suggested making it more exclusive. Right now we're seriously considering one major carrier per continent. As one of the UK's major carriers, Virgin Atlantic would be the sole carrier for the European continent. There would be another for Asia, Africa, Australia, America and so on," Harry replied.

Branson smiled broadly and leafed through the photos. Harry sipped his tea while Karen started pulling out charts showing delivery schedules for passenger modules. Most of the manufacturing would be handled in the country with the final assembly being at Campbeltown. What no one other than a select few knew was that several of the designs had a more robust version that would be safe for space travel.

Seven hours later Branson left the Weyr, excited by an amazing business opportunity and relieved that he wouldn't be competing with the Weyrs for the space launch business.

It wouldn't be until nearly three days had passed before Branson understood exactly what had happened. The Weyrs didn't need to compete in the already crowded low Earth orbit market. They were aiming for a market that didn't even exist, and one, Branson ruefully concluded, he couldn't compete with. The technology just wasn't ready for deep space yet and probably wouldn't be for years to come.

The dragons had an advantage that no one could compete with. No matter how you looked at it, the technologies used to put stuff into orbit were dangerous. Rockets, unlike dragons, could and did explode from time to time.

Harry's Quarters, October 31st 2008...

Hermione idly stirred her tea while she read the newspaper detailing new legislation.

Harry was on the floor playing with the babies and May was bustling around in their kitchen preparing lunch for the next day since all three would be out of the Weyr for most of the day.

She glanced up and watched Harry for a moment. The last few days he had been very working hard, then he'd come home to spend most of his time playing with Mary and Daniel. It wasn't much different than his normal routine, but it was just enough off to make her notice it.

"Harry? Is something wrong?" she asked.

He looked up from tickling Daniel. Mary used the distraction to hit him with her teddy bear. He grinned and tickled her for a moment, causing her to squeal and laugh, then he turned back to Hermione. "No, there's nothing wrong, why?"

"I don't know," she admitted, "it just seems like you've been paying a lot of attention to the children lately."

Harry stood and Dobby appeared. The elf gathered the two laughing children and levitated them in to their bath.

Harry quickly gave each a kiss, then he sat at the table with Hermione who was still waiting for him to answer her question.

"I don't know if I can explain it, but last year around this time I realized that being a parent was hard work. You really had to work at it. I've watched your parents with the children, I've watched May's parents also but a grandparent isn't quite the same thing," he said slowly. "I barely remember my parents so I don't have them as a role model."

He gestured to a wall calendar and Hermione looked at it, then her eyes widened as she realized the date. "This time of year reminds me of what was taken from me," he added. "And what I have. It reminds me to work a little harder at being a husband and parent instead of being Weyrleader."

"I wondered about that," May said from the doorway. "Last year you practically kicked Dobby out of the house so you could take care of the babies. And for no reason at all, you took the both of us out to that show in London and the fancy dinner."

Harry shrugged and looked embarrassed. "And we'd be doing it again if it wasn't for the new combat drills out of Condron. I know its silly but I want to spoil my family."

"No, its rather sweet," May countered. "You have a personal day that reminds you that you have a family. More of us should do the same."

"I agree," Hermione said, "but you don't have to spoil us Harry. We have a nice house, no worries about bills. We have our health and the children are happy. I know there are problems looming, but here and now its just about perfect."

"Well maybe now," May said with an impish grin, "but ask me again when Mary turns four or five and I'm going to want another baby. I think a boy this time."

Harry looked at her in shock, then he turned to Hermione who looked thoughtful. "Five years old sounds about right," she added then she turned to Harry and smirked. "And if May is going to have a boy, you better give me a girl. Its the father that determines the sex you know."

Harry shook his head and picked up the newspaper to check the Football scores. He didn't even want to contemplate both women being pregnant at the same time again. The last time Cheki turned out to be a life saver by allowing him to pop to any place he needed to buy the food for their cravings.

Campbeltown Weyr, Dragon Design Shop #2, Late November 2008...

Ronan climbed through the hatch and closed it behind him. He winced and sighed to himself, his hand still ached enough that he had finally gone to Harry and asked to be relieved as Divisional leader for Division 2. He could mount his dragon, but if he was pressed for time, there was no way he could quickly mount Garanoth and still be pain free.

Issac had tried numerous things to help alleviate his pain, but phantom limb pain was something medical science was still trying to understand, let alone treat.

Ronan flipped on a switch and the interior of the capsule lit up. This was capsule four. From that first capsule that took Tweenie to the moon and back to this capsule, Ronan had overseen a series of capsules, each more capable than the last. Capsule four, was the largest yet and it very nearly matched the shape and size of the original Egg design.

The interior cabin could seat six and would eventually, but for now this was a solo mission.

Throwing a few more switches the interior cabin came to life and a screen lit up showing multiple camera views of the exterior. He glanced over to one side of the main console and looked at the two photographs that Harry had placed there.

Jason was a full fledged toddler now, and given his parents, quite a handful. Harry insisted on placing the photograph there saying it would remind him not to do anything stupid.

The overhead crane slowly lowered the command module assembly onto the landing assembly. The manufacturing building had two such overhead cranes capable of moving two hundred tons across the shop floor.

Ronan watched from one side while a half dozen riders and several silver haired men went to work bolting the two assemblies together. The older men were hired on by the Weyr and were usually related to a rider. Each man was hired on to provide the younger riders with experienced supervision.

Ronan reached and absently rubbed his hand.

"That's Capsule 4?"

Ronan started and then turned to Harry. Harry visited the shop floor at least once a week, it wasn't that he was checking up on anyone, but the whole process of making something from scratch fascinated him. Ronan had offered to arrange for Harry to get some lessons on the machinery, but he had to reluctantly decline. As much as he was interested, there was just no time in his schedule.

"Yes, she's almost ready to go. This is the last assembly step before we begin systems checkout."

Harry nodded and then he motioned towards the open hatch of the capsule.

Ronan grinned and he waved to the lead foreman who waved back, he turned back to Harry. "It should be fine for us to enter. The crew will take a break so we can talk in private."

Harry grinned, then he climbed up the ladder to the main hatch and entered the capsule. The interior was lit up, powered by the local plant power until the batteries could be installed.

Harry sat at the pilot's console and he swiveled his chair to face Ronan who sat at the communications station. "About your email," he began.

Ronan sucked in a breath and waited nervously.

"I spoke with Karen and Issac both before I made my decision. I don't need to tell you what Karen wanted. Issac was a little less forceful about his opinion, but both of them are worried about you. As am I Ronan. I know that giving up your division wasn't easy for you, and if you are like me, you absolutely hate being tied to a desk.

"Issac made it clear that the chronic pain you endure probably won't go away anytime soon. It was the primary reason why I reluctantly accepted your resignation from Division Two."

An icy knot formed in Ronan's stomach and his shoulders slumped slightly. He had heard this speech before and it wasn't the speech he wanted to hear.

"I gave it a lot of thought Ronan and I've decided that you can be the lead test pilot for the capsule project, but only if you promise me you will never take any unnecessary risks," Harry said softly. "We need to feel like we're doing something to contribute to the Weyr. Your engineering skills are a great contribution, but as a rider I know you feel it isn't enough. We are riders, we are expected to be doing something."

Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out a photograph and stuck it to the wall in front of the pilot's seat. It was a photo of his son Jason. "There is a permanent sticking charm on that picture. I expect you to use it as a reminder that every decision to make could result in Jason growing up without a father. I grew up without a father and I can tell you it is not pleasant."

Ronan stared at Harry in open mouthed shock for a moment. "You're going to let me be the pilot?" he exclaimed.

Harry grinned at Ronan, "One of us has to have the fun. I know Karen's going to be pissed at me, but you need this, and we need you leading this effort."

Ronan nodded eagerly and leaned back on the chair in relief. Suddenly things were looking up, he thought to himself.

"Are you okay Ronan?"

Ronan blinked and shook his head, then he glanced over to one of the ground crew members standing in the hatchway. He smiled ruefully, "Sorry, got lost reminiscing for a moment. Is there a problem?"

"No I just wanted to let you know we had just finished topping off the fuel cells."

"Very well, close her up and I'll start the prelaunch checklist," replied Ronan.

The crewman shot Ronan a thumbs up and backed out of the hatchway. A moment later the heavy door swung shut and the seals engaged.

"You were thinking very hard there Ronan," Garanoth said, "I know Karen doesn't trust us, but I know you wouldn't do anything reckless."

Ronan glanced up at the ceiling of the capsule and grinned. "I know mate, it's not like we're going to try sky diving again," he replied with a small smile. Before his accident he and several others had taken up sky diving, using their dragons as a jump platform. Needless to say Karen was most upset with his reckless behavior and let him know it. In fact Karen had been heard by most of the Weyr as she expressed her displeasure.

After his accident Ronan quickly became more cautious and more inclined to consider options before taking any risks.

Ronan opened a small case and removed a stapled booklet. "Let's start the pre-flight checklist. Primary fuel cell engaged, secondary fuel cell to standby," he muttered, then he threw two switches.

The interior of the capsule came alive with lights and sounds. A small breeze ran across his fingers on the console as dozens of fans spun up to full speed.

Outside the capsule twenty members of the ground crew watched carefully for any signs of trouble. An outdoor speaker patched into the radio circuit so they could hear Ronan even over the whine of the four gyros.

Garanoth moved into position and a minute later the capsule lifted off the ground. The capsule and dragon hung motionless for a second then vanished from sight. Capsule four was off for an extended flight test and wouldn't return for several hours.

"Alright lads, now that thats done, we still have two D5 modules to finish mating to the landing assembly," said one of the older men. The crew nodded and moved towards another area of the building. Their part of the job was done and control of the test now passed to Minnewanka Weyr who had installed a large dish for such purposes.

One hundred miles above the planet Ronan tore his gaze from the window reluctantly, he had seen it before, but it was a mesmerizing sight to behold. "Gar, lets set up to test the breath exchanger," He said aloud. He didn't have to speak aloud, but the only sound in the capsule was the soft hum from various pieces of machinery. The noise reminded him he was the only human for a hundred miles and he was surrounded by an environment that would kill him in an instant.

"I'm ready Ronan," Garanoth replied.

Ronan tapped a button on the console and the video display switched to another screen. "Okay, go ahead."

On one monitor he could see Garanoth place his head into the breathing station. When his nose bumped the pressure switch at the bottom of the station an inflatable collar expanded to seal the gap around his neck. Suddenly there was a loud whooshing noise inside the capsule as Garanoth exhaled, and then another whoosh as he inhaled.

The seal around the dragon's neck had to be as strong as possible without choking the dragon. Fortunately it only needed to be in place and active for only as long enough for the dragon to exhale and inhale.

"That worked better this time Ronan," Garanoth said.

Ronan breathed a sigh of relief. The last time they had tried this the seal had been bad and the dragon hadn't gotten any air. It caused the entire test to be aborted.

"Great! But we're not out of the woods yet Gar, we have thirty nine more tests to make on the exchanger. At least now we can continue with the other tests. Are you ready for our next jump?"

"I'm ready," replied the dragon. If anyone else were listening in, they would think the dragon was nearly as excited as the rider, and they would be right.

"Very well, let's go to the moon Gar," Ronan said.

Russian Foreign Ministry Building, Moscow Russia, December 2008...

The door opened to the opulent office and the Russian Foreign Minister looked up from his desk with a broad smile. "Ambassador Fhad, please come in, I am glad you were able to come to this meeting."

Fhad made a simple gesture of greeting, then he held out his hand to Minister Tupulov.

Tupulov shook the ambassador's hand, then gestured for him to take a seat. Rather than returning to his own seat behind his desk he sat on a comfortable chair directly across from the ambassador. The minister leaned forward and pour two cups of strong Russian tea which he knew the ambassador greatly enjoyed.

"How are you today my friend?" asked Tupulov.

Fhad gestured towards the window, "I am doing well, but I often wish your country had a capital that didn't have such harsh winters."

Tupulov chuckled, "I can see what you mean, but our hard Russian winters have worked to our advantage several times. Both Hitler and Napoleon came to regret them. Now how can we help you?"

Fhad opened his briefcase and removed a small folder. "After our last discussion I spoke personally with the King who agreed that we will help, but I'm afraid we still have a problem. Unlike you, we have a Weyr that is still hidden from everyone. This Kenyan Weyr's location is not precisely known."

Tupulov nodded gravely. "And if you knew it's location?"

Fhad's expression grew grim. "After our last encounter with these beasts our generals are convinced that only a complete surprise bombing attack will suffice. If we knew where they were, we would bomb them. Such an attack would show that British Weyrleader that we are not to be trifled with. Wiping out this den of beasts would surely give these riders pause."

Tupulov smiled, this was exactly what he wanted to hear. "Your words encourage me my friend. Together we may be able to convince these 'dragon riders' that we will not stand for them ruining our economies."

Fhad nodded grimly. "You do know we cannot kill them all?"

Tupulov waved dismissively. "Of course, but if we can hurt them badly enough they will think twice about attempting to counter attack. Our forces will fight them while at the same time we will threaten Finland, warning them to remain neutral or face consequences."

Tupulov stood and walked over to his desk and pressed a button.

"Minister?" said a voice over the intercom.

"Contact the Defense ministry and ask the Minister to contact me as soon as possible," He said, then he released the button and turned back to Ambassador Fhad.

"You looked for the Weyr but couldn't find it. I will press my government to help you find them using our best equipment and people. Then my friend, then we shall plan to teach these dragons to respect the natural balance of the world," he proclaimed.

Fhad raised his tea in salute. "To our mutual good fortune," he said.

Tupulov wished he had some vodka to do a real Russian toast, but he knew better to offer such a drink to the ambassador who was a devote Muslim.

Disko Island, Mid February 2009...

Janice McCoy stood among her fellow potentials waiting and watching nervously. Each potential wore an outfit much like a martial arts Gi, only it was adorned with the colors of her sponsoring Weyr. The heavy padded outfit helped protect the potential riders during those rare times that a newly hatched dragon would try to tear through the crowd of potentials to get to her rider. It hadn't happened often, but when it did the potentials were glad to have the heavily padded outfits.

McCoy wore the black and white stripes of Campbeltown Weyr despite being American. She had been found on search in her London school where her parents sent her while they worked at the American Embassy.

She had been offered a chance to go to Condron, but had turned down the chance. Her life long dream to attend the American Air Force academy and learn to fly was quickly altered. Even with her father's influence she a slim chance of attending the Air Force academy and getting flight training. Only a small percentage of the graduating class went on to become fighter pilots. Becoming a dragon rider would fulfill her dream of flight even better than learning to fly jets.

Staying at Campbeltown would put her at the center of the action. Condron was nice, and it was American like she was, but Campbeltown was home to The Weyrleader, and Campbeltown was the Weyr that was involved in most dragon related issues. Janice wanted to be at the center of the action and in her mind that meant Campbeltown.

A sound broke Janice from her day dreaming and she looked around, the place still astounded her. The hatching chamber had been expanded and redesigned. It was hard to believe that they were nearly three hundred feet underground. The stands had room for nearly six thousand spectators. Currently there were less than two thousand in the stands, broken into three sections of family, riders and general spectators. The general spectators were contained within plexiglass walls to prevent them from reaching the hatching sands.

There were eight hundred and forty potential riders on the field today and while it seemed like a lot, they had been drilled for the last two weeks in where to stand and what do to if a hatchling came at them. Janice glanced at her egg which was rocking slightly. Some of the other eggs were violently shaking and she had seen enough videos to know that hers would soon be shaking like the others.

Each potential had spent much of the last two weeks helping the egg mother care for the egg. Janice had been especially pleased when Comaloth had picked her to help. The Weyrleader's wives had produced some of the largest dragons. Janice hoped her dragon would be as large. It had been an unexpected honor to be picked by Comaloth.

Suddenly the crowd gasped and she heard the curious bleating bellow of a newly hatched dragonette searching for their rider. The sound was quickly repeated and the weyrling masters started waving the riders who had cared for those eggs forward.

Another gasp rippled through the crowd, but Janice was too busy watching her egg to notice.

Her egg gave a violent lurch and the top cracked neatly, then was pushed to one side.

"McCoy, you're up," shouted a glamored Hagrid. The Weyr couldn't hide Hagrid from the families and press, so they did the next best thing. Sirius came up with a glamor that made him appear two feet shorter than he actually was.

Janice stepped away from her fellow potentials with an eager grin. She took a half dozen steps while the little dragon freed itself from the egg, then she skidded to a stop in confusion. Her dragon was a standard brown in coloration, and was heavily speckled with bright orange stars.

"What?" she mumbled in shock. As far as she knew, there had never been a dragon with orange stars in their coloring!

"Don't worry about that now," said a voice over her shoulder. She glanced back to see May and several of the other Weyr healers on the hatching sands. "Go meet your mate!"

Janice stumbled forward and the little dragon approached her eagerly. Their gazes locked on each other and the world seemed to fall away for the girl. She felt a wave of dizziness wash over her and suddenly she could feel the little dragon! It was unlike any feeling she had ever felt in her life. "Janice! I'm Starth and you're my rider. We'll be together always!" announced the little dragon excitedly.

She glanced along the glistening flanks of the dragon noting the orange stars and couldn't help but laugh as she reached down to wrap her arms around the dragon's neck. "Yes you are!"

After a minute she remembered her training. "Sweetheart, you must be famished, come along with me and we'll get you something tasty to eat."

"I am very hungry," observed the little dragon.

She led the little dragon towards the exit only to be redirected by Ronan to another exit. Frowning at the unexpected change she and Starth entered a large chamber. Nearby were several of Campbeltown's Weyrhealers. House elves popped in with sheep for the hatchlings who eagerly had their first meal.

The presence of the healers had Janice so worried even her dragon picked up on it. The little Ridgeback lifted her head from her meal and looked at her rider with whirling yellow eyes. "I don't feel sick," she announced.

Harry looked up from speaking to May, then he turned to the others. "No, you're not sick Starth. Nor are you others. We're just trying to understand what's happening here," he said firmly.

Janice blinked in surprise, then she took a good look around here. There were four more hatchlings in the chamber eating and watching their riders. Janice had been so intent on her own dragon and the feelings she was experiencing that she hadn't noticed the strange markings on the other hatchlings.

Her dragon had been marked with bright orange stars and she was certain that somehow affected her dragon's name, not that she minded, Starth was a very pretty name in her opinion. Also in the chamber with her dragon were four other dragons with unusual markings.

Milly Tyson had a swedish short snout with pink hearts, Jon Able had impressed a vipertooth with yellow moons, there was another boy whose name Janice couldn't remember that had impressed a horntail with green clovers and finally Andrea Thompson who had impressed a very strange looking Norwegian Ridgeback that was striped. The poor dragon was covered in orange and black stripes, totally hiding any of her natural color.

Starth finished her meal and joined Janice watching the room. Without really considering it, Janice sat on the rock floor and her dragon curled up so she could lay her head in her rider's lap. Janice absently stroked Starth's head while she watched the healers examine the other dragons.

"So we have a starred dragon named Starth," Harry murmured, "a dragon with moons named Moonth, another with clovers named Clovth, the heart shaped markings on Hearth... Why do I feel like this is a prank by Sirius?"

"Don't forget Tigth," May added, fighting a smile. "Look Harry, as far as I can tell it's only a surface marking, like a tattoo. There's nothing wrong with the dragons."

Katie Bell approached May and May turned her attention to Katie. Katie was one of the better magical healers, but she was still struggling to learn the non-magical side. Few people understood just how much science and math was involved in learning to be a veterinarian and Katie was struggling with that aspect of the field.

"Yes Katie?" May asked.

"It's really faint, but I'm detecting a spell residue on the hatchlings. Whatever spell has been cast on them is beyond me to dispell," Katie said.

"So a spell," Harry said, "Dobby!"

Dobby appeared right next to Harry. "Yes Harry?"

Harry smiled at his friend. It had taken a number of years, but his relationship with Dobby had slowly changed from subservient house elf to something more like employer and friend. "Dobby, can you ask Sirius to join us?"

Dobby nodded and vanished with a sharp pop.

Harry leaned against the wall and relaxed for a moment while he waited. The impression had gone off without a hitch thus far.

Janice heard a soft noise and she looked up to see Emma Granger pushing a double stroller with the Weyrleader's children. Emma had been watching the children while Hermione sat with some prospective commercial partners. It had become standard Weyr practice to invite the chief officers of companies they were wooing to see an impression. Hermione and her legal department usually worked with Lee and his press office to see to the comfort of these VIPs. And that meant Emma had the opportunity to spoil her grandchildren.

Harry frowned at his mother in law when she came through the door. He wasn't sure it was safe for his children to be exposed to whatever magic was happening here.

"I'm sorry dear, but the children wanted to see the colorful dragons again," Emma said with a smile. Her grandbabies were toddlers now and just starting to talk. For the most part they were very well behaved children.

Harry slowly nodded and turned back to Sirius.

Mary slid out of stroller and she stood looking at Starth. "Pretty," she said happily. "Stars!"

"I like them, thank you," replied Starth.

Harry turned from where he had been talking to Sirius and stared incredulously at Starth. "Wait, what did you say?"

Starth turned to look at the Weyrleader. "I was just thanking the little miss."

Mary laughed and then unsteadily bent over and kissed the top of the dragon's head. Daniel seeing his sister at the center of attention decided to join the act and he climbed out of his stroller seat to kiss the hatchling.

Harry walked over to where Janice and Starth were sitting and he crouched down, then he placed a hand on the dragon and closed his eyes.

"Stars!" announced Daniel proudly.

"Tigger!" Mary replied, pointing at Tigth.

Harry opened his eyes and stifled a groan. It wasn't Sirius behind this little prank. He turned to May who was looking at him anxiously. "Do you remember when Hermione last cast the limiter charm?"

Magical children normally had