The Brotherhood of the Dragon

Chapter Two: The Dragon Enclave

The medical supplies were delivered and stored in a room with only a single access door. As Jason entered, he locked the door behind him. Everything was ready. Pulling the glass ball from his pocket he stuck his fingertip into the hole and said, "Charlie Weasley" as clear as he could. The green smoke in the ball slowly formed a picture. It was a picture of him looking into the ball. Then another picture formed. A picture of a red headed young man, wearing red and orange clothes. Funny looking clothes. A pleasant looking stocky fellow, he was grinning. With a slight pop, the young man appeared before him.

Grinning, the young man grabbed his arm and gasped Jason's elbow as Jason grasped his. An unusual way of greeting, he thought and then he felt a roughness on the inside of the young man's elbow. It felt like a lizard but not, pulling the arm of the young man up, he looked at a brand burned into the skin of the young man. It was the brand of a DRAGON. With his freckled face, flaming red hair, and ready smile, he decided he liked Charlie Weasley.

"Well Dr. Dupree you undoubtedly have a million questions. Time is short however, so I'll answer your questions later. Do you have every thing we need," he asked.

"Yes and call me Jason." He replied.

"Well let's go." He pulled out a stick and touched each of the medical supplies muttering an incantation. They disappeared. "May I?" he said taking the ball from Jason's hand. He touched the ball with his stick and mouthed a few unknown words as a blue light illuminated the ball.

"Are you an alien?" he asked.

"Not hardly," replied Charlie laughing, "I'll explain shortly. You must place your finger in the indention of the sphere. I've converted it to a portkey. It's a device that will take you to where we need you." With a serious voice he said, "We really need you."

Jason just looked at him. A minute passed. Finally, he responded, "Well I've trusted you so far!" and he stuck his finger into the sphere.

It was if there was a hook behind his navel pulling him up. The room vanished and he was traveling through the air at great speed. The wind buffeted him and the air was very cold. He looked down and he was passing over high mountains with sharp peaks. The mountains gave way to long smooth stretches of ground planted with crops. A short stretch of soft green mountains and he was over water. The water lasted a while and then he saw great cities and green pastures climbing into mountains again. Suddenly he was there, wherever there is. A little disorientated, he looked around and saw he was in a small valley in fairly high mountains. He was having a little trouble breathing. The trees and bushes were unknown to him. In the distance the sun glistened off snow capped peaks. He was somewhere, but where he wasn't sure.

Charley was already there with all the medical supplies. He was grinning widely. "Welcome to the Romanian Enclave of the International Dragon Preserve. Here's where we study dragons and keep our flock."

Jason did not say a word at this pronouncement. The whole affair had him in shock. He was invited into a building that looked like an old medieval inn. It was built of stone and timbers and looked to be a thousand years old at least.

"I think you need a spot of tea," said the red headed man.

There were at least fifty men and women in the main room of the inn. Every one of them was wearing distinctive clothes. The clothes were crimson red at the collar and bright orange at the hem. The color flowed so there was no distinct change. They wore a shirt and a jacket with long pants, and over it was a substantial robe going from neck to ankle. It appeared quite heavy as if for protection from the cold and wind. On the collar of each was a pin. The pin was in the shape of a dragon and there were different dragons. The pins seemed to move every so often and once he saw what looked like a puff of smoke come out from the nostril end. Jason was shown a chair and sat down. A small creature barely three feet high approached him. It had large pointed ears; large green luminescent eyes, and a very long nose.

"May I help you sirs?" it asked.

"Yes Cherby, Doctor Dupree would like some tea with?" looking at Jason.

"Cream and sugar," he replied hesitantly.

"Would the master like anything else?" asked the strange creature in a high squeaky voice. "We've some fine pastries, soup, or bread."

"No, just tea."

Charlie announced as he stood, "This is Doctor Jason Dupree of the San Diego Zoo reptile department. He has researched our problem with the Norwegian Ridgeback and he has a solution." Pointing his hands at Jason, Jason stood up.

The crowd clapped enthusiastically.

"I'm pretty much in the dark about all this. Charlie contacted me about a parasite problem. This is what I've found. He told the massed folks about the bug and where it came from and how they'd go about getting rid of it."

A rather grizzled gentleman close to their table rose. The room quieted. "As the doctor has brought out, the parasite appears to be specifically created to attack the Norwegian Ridgeback. The size and the unnatural teeth of the bug suggest foul play by a wizard. I can only think of two reasons that a wizard might not like the Ridgebacks. A grave injustice was done to him or his family. This is unreasonable, as the Ridgeback has not killed a human in centuries. The other reason maybe that the Ridgeback is the dominant source of dragon products in Europe due to their high level of magical protection. The Ridgeback is the primary source of our funding for this enclave and the primary source of dragon products for the European wizarding market. This may be an economic attempt to destroy our part of the market share. The other dragons we have in this enclave are primarily used for training and study. The flock of Ridgebacks is what pays for it all."

A young wizard spoke up, "Isn't there an enclave on the island of Java. It's near Indonesia. Doesn't the Java fishing dragon live there? Now that's close to where the Komodo dragon, not a true dragon lives. The Java dragon if I remember correctly, breeds every year and has large clutches of eggs. The Ridgeback only breeds every three years. A frequent harvest of the Java dragon would allow less expensive dragon products. However, they wouldn't be of the quality of our Ridgeback products. If the Ridgebacks were only sickened, a less expensive product would challenge our dominance of the market, but not destroy it. If the Ridgeback is eliminated all together, they could raise the price of their dragon products to whatever level they desired. They would've destroyed their competition."

The grizzled gent again spoke, "We must seek someone who has a grievance against the Ridgeback and who may wish to destroy its importance. There are those of you who don't care for the Ridgeback, but without it we can't care for your dragon of choice either. Let's go forth and find the truth!" A roar erupted from the men and women in the inn.

Charlie raised his hands and the crowd quieted. "Emotion won't solve the problem only hard work. So let us get to it." A cheer was raised and the men and women departed the inn.

"Charlie you must tell me what's going on?" spoke Jason. "I'm quite confused."

"I'm sure you are," he smiled. "Come with me." Going outside the inn into the bright midday sun He told him of the world, Jason was now in. "This is a world of magic. There're wizards and witches here who can do the most amazing things. Our planet has two types of people on it, those with magical powers, and those without. Those with magical powers are called wizards and witches. Those without are called Muggles. There're also a variety of magical creatures that inhabit the world. The elves such as served you tea and of course dragons. Most of the fairy tales and legends of magical creatures are based on the truth. Unfortunately, when a muggle meets magical folk there is usually a conflict. Muggles usually fear us because they don't understand us. Some wizards don't help the situation. They think they're superior when in reality they're simply different. A favorite hobby of the muggles' seems to be trying to kill the other magical creatures and us. We decided a long time ago to isolate most of the magical creatures from the muggles to alleviate possible conflict. Witches and wizards do live among the muggles but they try not to attract attention. On occasion, we require the services of a muggle who is unaware of our world. We've our own laws and we also maintain relations with all the muggle nations. We require permission to engage the services of an ordinary muggle, a muggle with no family members who are wizards or witches such as yourself."

As they were talking Jason noticed they were walking up a well-worn path paved with old stones. Cresting a hill, they looked down upon a very large stone corral with great timbers driven into the ground like tent stakes. The timbers had immense iron rings screwed into them. There were great black sooty looking marks on everything. It was if great fires had burned here.

"Due to their size, ferocity, and magical powers dragons have always drawn the imagination of both wizards and muggles," continued Charlie. "They're everything the legends speak of and more. Each enclave or dragon preserve is usually set up for only a specific species of dragon. They're usually located in the area where the dragon is naturally found. Strong magic spells form a protective wall between the dragons and the muggle world. Dragons being powerful creatures sometimes they escape. We will have to go and force them back into the enclave. This enclave is different. It's used to train the dragon handlers and dragonmasters for all the other enclaves in this part of the world. We therefore keep a variety of dragons in different areas of the enclave. Later I hope to show you our other species. If you'll look over there he pointed you'll see a black dot with some small dots around it. This is your first patient. It's the smallest Ridgeback we have and the easiest to control. You'll be able to work out your treatment a little easier with this one. His name is Norbert. He is about four years old and only half grown. Don't get me wrong he is still very dangerous."

The morning sun streamed into the window. As Jason opened his eyes, he realized he was awake and in the hospital. "Rats," he said to himself. "I was just about going to see a dragon. I wonder what my imagination is going to make it look like?" He slid off the bed turned around and sat down. His burn was still there and painful.

The nurse cheerfully greeted him with his breakfast. "Good morning Jason, I've good news. The medicine arrived early this morning. After your breakfast, the doctor will be in to apply it. He changed your menu this morning to help buoy your spirits." With a flourish, she took the covers off the breakfast and there was bacon and eggs, toast and jam, and coffee, a large mug of coffee.

"I've missed my coffee," he thought to himself. Moving to the stool, he proceeded to bless his palate with the fruits of nature, carefully so as not to pull on his burns. As he was finishing up and nursing his cup of coffee, the doctor came into the room.

They exchanged greetings. "Well," said the doctor, "The medicine is here. Since I have no experience with this treatment, let's just hope it works. I hope you're ready."

"As ready as I'll ever be."

While the doctor and nurse removed his bandages, the doctor kept up a steady conversation. "A package was on my desk in my office when I got here this morning. It was addressed to me and the return address was just A. Dumbledore. It was wrapped in plain brown paper tried with string. Someone must have put it on my desk during the night. The instructions said to wear gloves when applying apply it to your head, neck, and the back of your arms. That is where this batch will do the most good. The rest of the medicine is being prepared and will be ready in a week." He showed Jason a crystalline bottle of gray liquid with an old fashion glass stopper. "Well, here we go." The doctor unstopped the bottle. The fumes from the bottle instantly filled the room. The smell was horrendous. They gagged, coughed, and tried hard not to breathe.

"That is worse than the rotted flesh some crocks like to eat!" exclaimed Jason.

"Do you want to continue?" the doctor asked sounding funny as he held his nose shut.

"Go for it!" He also sounded funny as he held his own nose. The salve was remarkable. As soon as it touched the burns the pain drained away. It had a cooling sensation and it seemed to kind of wiggle. He sighed and slumped in the chair.

"Jason are you all right?" the doctor asked sounding worried.

"Doctor this stuff is great. I already feel something happening and the pain in my arms and on the back of my neck and head is disappearing."

"That is amazing!"

"What?"

"The blackened burned skin is turning pink. The right color for burned skin that is healing and you say the pain is dissipating."

"While my back is still killing me, my arms," as he moved them, "and my neck," as he moved it around, "is feeling much, much better. That Dumbledore knows his stuff."

"It's almost magical how well this medicine is working!" said the doctor excitedly.

"Not really, we also have miracle cures, you know."

"Did you notice that the smell of the salve changed as it was applied to the burns? Dumbledore said the two had to interact. As I watch there is an angry red line where the burn meets the good skin and it seems the burn is shrinking as we speak, but that is impossible. No one can heal that fast!"

"Well, I'm still hurting from the burn on my back and I'm tired. The salve seems to be pulling some energy from me, which makes sense. I feel I need a nap."

The doctor and nurse quickly bandaged him up, gave him his medicine, and he went back to bed. "Nurse," said the doctor as Jason fell asleep, "I understand Dumbledore's disappointment that the salve won't work with ordinary burns. It would be helpful to a lot of people if it did."

"I agree. Whether or not the burns healed it would be great that they at least didn't suffer the pain."

As the dots approached, the little dots turned red and orange. The big dot resembled a long piece of soft black paper blowing in the wind. Once in a while, the paper appeared to be blown off course to be realigned by bolts of red light from the orange dots. Charlie explained, "Norbert isn't happy to be herded! The red bolts are stunner charms from the handlers. This is the only way we can control the dragons. The handlers are keeping him on course."

Norbert was finally with in range of the corral. He'd tried to run several times, but the handlers had him under control. His great wings flapping he settled down into the enclosure. Other handlers waved sticks and chains and ropes appeared from nowhere to tie him to the rings on the great timbers in the enclosure. Motioning to Jason, Charlie started down the hill to the enclosure. "Do you like him?"

"He's incredible," stuttered Jason softly.

Charlie, all smiles replied. "I am a dragonmaster. Being a dragonmaster is not a job. It's an obsession. You just have to love dragons or you'll find other employment. All the hard work and danger is worth the first wobbly flight of a hatchling or the mating dance of a mature pair. While wizards have studied them for centuries, each dragon has its own personality and predicting what they'll do is next to impossible."

"Charlie!" said Jason with a great deal of emotion in his voice, "I've always loved dragons, but they don't exist in my world. This is a pleasure beyond your understanding. If this is reality it's heaven on earth."

"I sensed you might be one of us," he beamed. "Lately it has been little fun, but it's very rewarding." As they walked down the hill, he continued, "We must put Norbert asleep in order to treat him. The sleeping potion works on the young dragons quite well. They're still dangerous, for in their dreams they may move about as if flying or cornering prey. We must be careful."

As they approached the enclosure a middle aged man approached. Slightly balding, short, and plump he glowed with enthusiasm. "Hello Charlie, hello Doctor Dupree or may I just call you Jason? I'm the potions master for this enclave. What we call potions, you sometimes call medicine. Our methods may differ, but we generally desire the same results. I've the potion or medicine you brought and several caldrons or pots to test various concentrations for effectiveness."

"What's your name?" asked Jason.

"Uric," he replied.

"Jason is fine."

As Jason and Uric discussed various mixtures, Charlie drifted off to watch the dragon handlers at work. "This is a unique profession," he thought to himself. "The students we teach learn mostly theory and some practical things about dragons. The handlers learn how to control and care for them. They also learn how to operate as a team when moving dragons. The dragonmasters supervise and care for all of them both dragon and handlers. Each species of dragon has a dragonmaster who was trained and responsible for their specific charges at each one of the enclaves. I am fortunate enough to be the dragonmaster of the Ridgebacks at this enclave."

The number of dragonmasters for a certain kind of dragon depended on the number of fellows or ladies who liked that kind of dragon. There was plenty of work for more than one. No matter how great the wizard no single man or women could deal effectively with just one dragon. They were too big and had too much magical power. This difficulty created the Brotherhood of the Dragon. You needed a team to control a dragon and survive. There was no place for petty egos or grandstand players. Only operating as a team could a group of wizards reliably control a dragon. Inevitability someone was hurt. Each person of a team protected the others and the others them. Still accidents happened. As in most endeavors featuring humans, one individual ended up being the leader of a team. However during times when they were working with dragons, the individual who was most knowledgeable about the situation was often in charge. This floating leadership style fitted working with dragons quite well.

The distinctive colored robes made them stand out when associating with other wizards. The colors had a more mundane purpose. The robes were easily visible and made it simpler for the dragon handlers to locate each other in a rapidly changing situation. The robes were also magically treated so they wouldn't burn.

The insignia on their collars signified their dragon, and the color of the insignia identified them as student, handler, or master. The students were blue, the handlers were silver, and the masters were black. In times of crisis, it allowed the rapid evaluation of skills. All the men and women in the enclave worked with all the different kinds of dragons. Sometimes everyone was needed. Most specialized with only one kind and they'd go to enclaves featuring that species of dragons when finished training.

A student who wished to become a handler first had to be excepted into a group of handlers. Then they studied with the handlers until they became part of the team and were accepted. A handler who showed exceptional skill in supervising a dragon handling exercise could be selected to become a candidate for dragonmaster. As in other walks of life there were those who were comfortable in their place and had no ambition for greater responsibility.

Those who had the ambition and demonstrated the required handling skills were picked to become dragonmasters. A rigorous course followed. They had to learn the habits, food, magical properties, and care of their selected dragons. After training a good student could watch a dragon and tell you what it's going to do next most of the time. Dragons being thinking creatures, they were unpredictable and additional training was required for dealing rapidly and effectively with rapid change. They also studied human interaction. Team dynamics was such an important part of the job that if someone had no skills in that area there was no way they would be selected. Some promising candidates didn't make it, while others will little seeming ability blossomed with the increased responsibility. Those that failed were rarely dismissed. Usually they were given jobs in other areas with increased responsibly. There was plenty of work at an enclave. Only one out of a thousand became a dragonmaster and few were dumb enough to apply.

If the applicants passed their studies and demonstrated the required advanced skills then they would be considered for the rank of dragonmaster. Only a unanimous vote by the dragon handling teams would confirm them in their new role. Once accepted there was a solemn ceremony, where they swore an oath of service to the dragon. A symbol of the dragon they mastered was branded into the crook of their elbow. The rank of dragonmaster was both difficult and dangerous to achieve. They had every right to be cocky and proud, however the great beasts would humble them in a hurry if they became that way. While each dragonmaster retained their own personality, dour or jovial, gentle or boisterous, the thing that set them apart was their focus and dedication.

When two Dragonmasters greeted each other, they gripped each other's elbows and knew by the brand, the person they were dealing with. Respect among them was universal. If any masters were held above the rest, it was the masters of the Ridgebacks. Curiously, they were also the most humble of the masters. With their unpredictable ways, the Ridgeback could humble the most arrogant master.

"Jason," asked Charlie, "What do you need to start helping the Ridgebacks?"

"I must have samples of the parasites and also inspect the wounds they cause. This way I can determine the dosage of the medicine and how to apply it to be the most effective."

"Do you know what you ask? A mere twitch of a claw will gouge rock."

"I accept the risk if it'll help the beasts," said Jason looking Charlie in the eye with no hesitation.

"I will escort you in your work. Don't try to pick up the parasites, if they can gnaw through dragon skin they can gnaw through a man quite easily. If you must, you can pull the skin and rearrange the scales. To the dragon, you'll have less impact than a fly landing on it. Has the sleeping draught been administered?" he shouted.

A woman's voice answered, "Yes, he is ready for you."

Charlie turned to Jason, "That is Analise. She is the handler in charge. Do what she says no matter what. She is very good and will not let us be hurt."

Jason was excited. "Here I'm with my first dragon. A real dragon not a dragon in a story. They're much more than I could've imagined." He slowly walked around the dragon peering at it like a schoolboy. Charlie watched everything he did. The eyes of the dragon had vertical pupils much like a snake. There were curved horns coming back from behind the eyes. They were long enough to defend the back of the dragon's neck in a fight. The wings were leathery looking with apparently very few scales on them. The body was long. Almost snake like, not as thick as you would think. The front legs were longer than the rears. Probably to keep the great keel bone where the wing muscles attached off the ground. The rear claws were wide and thick as if for digging. The front claws were long, thin, and sharp as if for grasping prey. The great lungs caused the body to rise and fall as the dragon breathed. The smell of burnt pine issued from its nostrils. A long sinuous tail ended with a sort of spade looking growth. It appeared to help control the dragon in flight. Large scales covered the rest of the body. Each scale was almost six inches across by six inches high. There didn't appear to be much of an infestation of parasites. "Where are the bugs?" he asked.

Muttering some words and waving his stick Charlie raised a scale. The parasites were underneath where the skin was tender. There were many of them. They were munching away at the skin and fluid from the dragon was congealing around their feast. If you listened carefully, you could hear them.

"Can you send a few over to the pots of medicine?"

Charlie waved his stick and several of the bugs floated over to the pots of medicine Jason and Uric had prepared. Each pot contained a different concentration of carbolic acid and iodine. The bug dropped into the five-percent solution died immediately. The bug dropped into the three-percent solution chewed its way through the pot and was on its way back to the dragon.

"You seem to be able to do some interesting things with that stick."

"It's called a wand."

"Well I hope it can do what we need. We need to put down some plastic and place the dragon over it and spray the mixture under all its scales. The plastic is to be able to recover the medicine. The medicine is not exhausted once it had done its job so we can use it again. Otherwise we'll need a lot more than I brought."

"Uric, what if I open the scales with my wand, you use your wand to spray the medicine and Toby collects the spend medicine back into the caldrons.

"That will work Charlie. We must be sure we get every scale though."

"Jason will keep watch to see we do and none of use will have to get to close."

He waved his wand and a scale popped open. Uric directed a stream of liquid flowing like a rope to where he was pointing. The mites fell off dead. Toby would point his wand and drops would become a stream and fall back into a caldron. Jason directed the motions to ensure every inch of the dragon was cleansed. He even had them clean around the eyes and ears, which made the dragon restless for a little while.

Jason was impressed to see how well they worked as a team. Analise spotted one creature trying to escape and it was quickly dispatched. It took over four hours of backbreaking concentration before the dragon was cleansed of all the infestation.

It was growing dark. Analise peeled away as a new handler took her place. The other handlers were also replaced by their counterparts. Jobe, we'll be done in a minute," shouted Charlie. "Keep him down for the night so we can look at him tomorrow."

"Right," yelled back Jobe.

The team gathered by the pen. The fliers settling down to the ground on their brooms, walked funny until they got the kinks out of muscles they hadn't been using. All of them exchanged pleasantries with each other, some bolstering and others sly or quiet, normal people with a supernormal job.

Jason told them, "Great job ladies and gentlemen. Charlie you have a fine bunch of people here."

"Sometimes they're mine and sometimes I'm theirs," he smiled. "It depends on the dragon." The whole group laughed. "We learn the dragon the dragon doesn't learn us." They all laughed again. "Well everyone get down to the inn. If Norbert is fine in the morning we'll gather up Elvira and bring her down and cleanse her. It will be another long day."

As the crew walked down to the inn there was much conversation on the origins of the mite and who might have introduced it into their flock. There were three other dragons' enclaves in the north of Europe that was also suffering the infestation. Two more enclaves were still clean.

"How could the mite be introduced?" asked Charlie.

Jason responded as the crew got quiet. "I believe someone came into the enclave and infested the dragons. They would've had to place the mites on or near a dragon. The mites from whom these were modified can only live on a host. They spread only by physical contact between two Komodo dragons. They breed, hatch, devour, and breed again without leaving a host. The ones we're dealing with have a sort of homing instinct. Even though yards away from the dragon, they try to make their way back. They may even live awhile away from a dragon waiting for a dragon to infest. Since they don't occur naturally who knows what all they may do."

The crew started talking quickly amongst themselves as they entered the hall of the inn. Cherby greeted them. "This way masters."

"Cherby why do you keep calling us masters? We're not your masters. You and the rest of your kind here have been set free."

"That is true master Charlie. We refer to you as master, not as elves in servitude, but as a show of respect for the dangerous work, you do," squeaked Cherby. "I've the meal you suggested for our esteemed guest." Cherby waved to a table where Charlie, Analise, Jason, and Uric sat down.

Cherby brought a platter with a steaming baked potato, a salad, and a nicely sized steak. The steak had an unusual coloring. It was a dark red with green tinges. The smell was mesmerizing. Jason was starving he sliced a chunk and started eating. It was delicious. The meat was tender, juicy, strong yet smooth tasting. It was ten times better than any steak he had every tasted. As he savored the flavor he opened his eyes and saw the three other dinner partners staring at him. "What," he asked, "did I do something wrong?"

"Oh no," grinned Analise mischievously. "We were just seeing if you like the dragon steak. It's Ridgeback you know."

"It's excellent," he mumbled through a mouthful.

"I myself prefer fish."

"Yes, raw right out of the water," said Uric with a twinkle in his eye. Analise slapped him on the shoulder.

Charlie explained, "Analise's grandmother was a water nymph. They do eat their fish whole and raw. Analise at least has her cleaned and the head cut off."

"They throw away the best part," she sighed.

The three laughed as Cherby brought them their dinner. Together as they raised their forks they all intoned, "From the dragons from misty past to the mighty dragons to be and the dragons we serve this day we salute you." Forks dropped and they begin eating.

As he ate, Charlie explained the uses for dragons. "Dragons are magical creatures. They have abilities and skills, which are not ordinary to beasts. Highly intelligent they also only focus on mainly three things, breeding, eating, and protecting their territory. Basically, they're reptiles. They do have characteristics of both reptile and bird, which are closely related. The female cares and feeds the young and the male protects her. He may however have more than one female at a time. The male also performs what we call mating dances to entice the female. The males are larger and have more vibrant coloration that the female. Both the male and female Ridgebacks are black, but hers is a dark dusky black while his is a bright shiny black. The size of the dragon wouldn't normally allow it to fly, but it's immensely powerful. The magical strength of its muscles allows it to raise its great body off the ground. The magic imbues its whole body making it extremely tough. The red flashes you saw we call stunners. They're magical spells of great power used for defense or in the case of dragons', control. A single stunner can knock a bull unconscious, but it sometimes takes four or more to control a dragon. It would probably take twenty or more at one time to knock out a large dragon. Once a dragon is harvested, the parts retain magical properties. The blood alone has twelve uses. Various glands and organs are used in spells and potions. The skin is used for clothing, boots, and especially gloves. The gloves are resistant to magical potions if you happen to spill one. The rest of the meat is generally eaten. As you may have noticed we don't use many muggle devices. The reason is that the magic around us doesn't let them work. Dragon meat because it's magical takes up to six months before it starts to deteriorate. This is why there is such a good market for it in the wizarding world. It stores well. Besides it's delicious."

Telling the others good night, Jason was led up stairs with a candle for light. The facilities were explained and a door opened. A great four poster bed with curtains was inside along with a roaring fire in a fireplace. Lighting a lamp, Charlie turned to him and said, "This is your room and there is your belongings. The entire enclave appreciates your coming. Your expertise is greatly admired. Your care and skill with the dragons makes you one of us, one of the brotherhood. Sleep good as morning comes soon." He thumped Jason on the back and smiled. Jason returned his smile and piled into the bed with his clothes on. He was asleep before the door closed.