Tough As Dragon Skin

By the time Nat touched down at her hometown airport she was breathing as much fire as the female Horntail had been. The longer her flight and the more delays she encountered the more enraged she became. The foremost thought on her mind was that the moment she got her hands around Samuel Hill's neck she was going to squeeze...real...hard.

On the trans-Atlantic flight, Nat managed to get ahold of her father and discussed a plan of action regarding any blackmail from Sam. Her father, of course, had been outraged and, after a ten minute diatribe of allowing such scum into his home every Christmas and Thanksgiving, the two of them decided to find out exactly what Sam wanted before going further. Nat had hedged around the material and her father, slightly dimwitted in the common sense department like herself, didn't comment on the lack of information that was being blackmailed. Nat figured he assumed it had something to do with some possible questionable legal activities on a dig, which sometimes happened.

As Nat exited the plane onto the platform she spotted Sam right away and it took extreme effort to school her features into stony coolness. Sam approached her with a wide smile and gently took her in flight bag. "Did you have the rest of your luggage?" he asked solicitously. Nat shook her head. "Then we'll have some dinner. I'm sure you're famished. Airplane food is never any good no matter how much they try. How about some Italian?"

"I'd rather get this nonsense over with, Hill," Nat responded cooly.

Sam raised an eyebrow at her tone. "There's no need to be rude, Natty," he smiled congenially. "After all, as your fiance I insist on being treated with some respect. Just because I'm not a formerly well-respected figure in my field is not a reason to get all snobbish."

'Formerly?' thought Nat in surprise. There was no way Sam could discredit her on his word that she wanted the photos verified as real or fake. And if they were verified as fake, it would only cement her as being someone who discovered a "lost species", not a fruitcake. No one in the field of palentology would listen much to the ravings of Samuel Hill, especially if she denounced him as a jealous ex-fiance eager to get revenge. He had no credentials in the field and it was her word against his, which made it no contest.

Unless...

"You spoke with the police didn't you," she said flatly.

"Now, Natty, I wouldn't do that!" Sam protested. "I spoke instead with a friend of mine at the FBI and he assured me he was going to look into your dismissal from the university." Nat inwardly quaked. "Now how about that Italian?"

"Fine," she spat angrily, "but I'm getting the most expensive thing on the menu and you're paying!"

"As a gentleman should," Sam agreed smugly.

"You are far from being a gentleman, Sam, so can the act. You're a blackmailer, plain and simple, and you're going to get yours."

Sam only continued to grin smugly as they exited the terminal and headed toward the airport parking lot.

"Sounds like trouble for her, big brother," commented a freckle-faced red headed boy who looked uncannily like the boy next to him.

"Yes, sir," said the mirror image, "a whole lot of trouble. Blackmail, uh? He should leave that sort of thing to the professionals."

"Shut up you two and let's follow them." Charlie put the newspaper down on the chair next to him and stood up. His two brothers, Fred and George Weasley, followed suit. They were stockily built and not as tall as their brother but Charlie didn't bring them along for their physical build. He brought them along because they were sneaky, underhanded and devious. The twins were also highly intelligent and clever; their joke products were borderline spy accessories, ranging from listening devices called Extendable Ears to candies that had a variety of effects.

"She's cute though," snickered George.

"Nice swish to the hips too," added Fred.

Their older brother merely glared at them. "Shutting up now," the twins chorused with evil grins.

The three Weasley brothers followed Natalie and Samuel to the sports car that was actually Nat's. As the car pulled out of the parking spot, Charlie pointed his wand at the bumper and muttered, "Sectatoris." He pulled out a road map of the city and pointed his wand at it next. "Suppeditis."

A little red dot at the edge of the airplane symbol on the map began to move north east. The twins grinned. "So that's how you do that?" Fred asked eagerly.

"That's must be how the Marauder's Map was charmed!" exclaimed George.

"The what?" asked Charlie suspiciously.

"Nothing, Charlie," George hastily answered. "Nothing to concern yourself with."

"Anymore," Fred added under his breath.

"All right. When the dot stops, that's where they are. We'll apparate there, since you both can do it now, and see what happens next."

Charlie's plan worked as it should and soon the three of them were standing outside a very posh Italian restaurant. There was a small cafe across the street with outdoor benches so the brothers Weasley had a seat and a soda to wait for Nat and Samuel Hill to emerge. As they waited the discussed the plan.

"Okay, you're going to grab Natalie and we're going to snare this Hill guy, right?" clarified George with an evil grin on his face.

"Keep it low key. We don't want the Muggle police called. I'm in enough hot water as it is. It's a good thing Dad's got that buddy in the American ministry of magic who's also in the Muggle Federal Bureau of Intimidation or whatever they call it," sighed Charlie. "Now Fred, what I want you to do is make sure that Hill can't shout or give an alarm. George, keep him physically under control. Nat will drive back to her place, I suppose, and we'll have a nice little chat with Mr. Hill once there. I have to get those photos -"

"That was a quick dinner," commented George, staring across the street. Charlie turned in time to see Natalie storm out of the restaurant.

"You are despicable, Samuel Hill, and not only is the answer no, it's hell no!"

"Now Natty -" started Hill with an amiable smile on his face.

"Don't call me that! You know I hate being called that!" shouted Nat, her hands clenched into fists. Charlie hoped she decked him. Not only would it serve the man right but it would be easier on him. Who knows what George would have in mind for keeping Hill physically restrained.

To Charlie's pleasure, Nat did take a swing at the same time that George whispered, "Petrificus Totalus." The effect was Hill stiffening just a breath after Nat's fist connected with his chin and he fell over onto the pavement. Fred gave a low whoop and the three Weasley brothers charged across the street.

Charlie put his hands on Nat's shoulders and turned her to him. Her stunned face caused him to grin somewhat. "Don't worry, we can undo it," he reassured her.

"I thought I did that!" Nat began to laugh almost hysterically. "He was blackmailing me!" she continued her laughter turning into righteous anger.

"Fred, George, pick him up. We'll put him in the car." For the benefit of the small crowd gathering. "We'll get him to a hospital. He's just bruised a bit, I'm sure." Several people were glaring at the board stiff man and giving Natalie sympathetic looks, obviously stemming from overhearing her blackmail comments.

Nat was still shaking and Charlie hoped that she could drive but he was reassured as she smoothly pulled out the parking space and lot to head toward the street. "Where to?" she asked calmly, "because I'm damned if he's going to a hospital."

"Your place?" suggested Charlie. This couldn't be working out better.

"All right," Nat agreed amiably. "While we're there, I'll give you my copies of the photos too. I'm sick of this and just want it to be over."

The words impacted Charlie like a dragon tail hitting his solar plexis. The air whooshed out of him as a heavy sigh. Both of his brothers looked at each and raised their eyebrows. Nat missed the reaction, still muttering under her breath. "Nice peaceful life studying dead animals, but no, I get the psychopathic nutjob of a former fiance who wants money and prestige, chased by dragons and good-looking wizards instead..."

The twins grinned at the phrase "good looking wizards". "So you're saying we're good looking?" prompted George. Charlie turned around to glare at his younger sibling but the twin ignored him.

"Not as good as Charlie but you two should grow up to be fine looking young men," answered Natalie absently, still centered on her recent lot in life.

The extremely cramped car pulled into Natalie's condominium complex's parking lot and Nat turned the engine off. "Okay, drag his sorry butt into my place and we'll get this over with."

It was a bit of a struggle getting Hill into the elevator but they managed it. Once the door closed behind them in Nat's condo, Charlie reversed the body binding spell. Sam stiffly stood up and warily watched the three wizards and his irate victim as he maneuvered to Natalie's leather sofa. "So now what?" he asked.

"Easy," Charlie told him. "You're going to drink this and tell us everything you know. Then we're going to wipe your memory, again, but this time with a better memory altering spell then things will be all hunky dory for you again. Well as good as scum like you get anyway."

Fred held up a little black vial that made Sam blanche.

"I want him to remember I hate his guts and that I never want to see him again," clarified Nat, her arms folded akimbo.

"Done," agreed Charlie with a decisive nod.

"I don't want him poisoned either, what is that?" Nat reached for the vial but Fred pocketed it again.

"Its called Veritaserum, a truth serum. He won't be able to resist it." Charlie smirked at Hill, who only glared at him.

"I can defeat truth serums," boasted Hill, "and you can't make me drink it."

"Oh yes we can!" chorused the twins with nasty smiles on their faces. "As the middle brothers of seven siblings," began Fred.

"And the most evil," added George.

"We can get you to do just about anything we want," finished Fred, leering at the sitting Muggle.

"Anything," echoed George with a wicked cackle.

"No!" panicked Sam and he jumped up to attempt an escape. Nat tripped him and he sprawled face first on the floor. With one twin sitting on him and holding his nose and another twin prying his mouth open to pour the potion in, it was only a matter of moments before Samuel Hill was complacent as a baby and easily answering every question Charlie put to him. Within five minutes, Charlie knew where every scrap of evidence Samuel Hill had on the dragons were and within twenty minutes had them in his possession.

An hour later the Weasleys and Nat were alone in her condo, Sam's memory erased by American ministry wizards and he long since departed in a hazy, dejected confusion. Charlie wanted to say something to her, but with the twins eagerly listening in, he didn't have the nerve. "I'll send you the rest of your things that you left in Romania," he said lamely.

"Okay," Nat answered, looking puzzled. They were standing at the door, the twins bouncing around the outside hallway waiting for the elevator down. "Is that all then?"

Charlie remembered her words and shrugged fatalistically. "I guess so. Bye Nat."

Nat's expression was hurt and confused but Charlie ignored it. "Okay, then," she whispered. "Bye."

The door closed in his face and he turned away. "Let's go home, shall we?"

"But what about -" began Fred, looking back to Nat's closed door as the elevator door opened.

"We'll apparate to the American ministry trans-Atlantic floo fireplace and go home from there," Charlie interrupted as he stepped into the elevator. The twins looked at each other in confusion.

When the elevator doors opened on the ground level, it was empty.