look but don’t touch [Charlie]

[Aidan Evander Ó Cuinn]

31 May 2027

DRAGONS! As in, one of Aidan’s favorite magical creatures, because who didn’t love dragons? Hy-Brasil boasted a small group on the Dragon’s Tooth, a lovely prize for the adventurous druid willing to hike the mountain to observe their ways. Aidan had spent long, long days sneaking away from class to watch how the dragons would interact with each other, build their nests and take to the skies to stretch their wings. They never seemed to mind the druids, even allowing curious youngsters to run their hands over their shining scales or help trim their claws if they didn’t feel like finding a suitable tree. All in exchange for whatever fresh meat you could lug up the mountain with you. But Aidan hadn’t seen many dragons since starting his apprenticeship at Hogsmeade’s nature reserve.

Oh sure, they occasionally cared for the lone dragon or two – usually injured and sent onwards to a proper dragon reserve once they were fully recovered. Once last year, Aidan had helped with a tricky case, a dragon that seemed to have lost the ability to breathe fire. Naturally some herbal remedies and confidence-building measures did the trick there. But since then…Aidan’s life had been sadly dragon-free. So when the nature reserve received the invitation, Aidan pounced on it like a niffler in a Gringotts vault. Hatchings were becoming rarer and rarer these days, a sad fact caused by mainland wizards’ stupidity and smugglers that cared more about galleons than a dragon’s safety and wellbeing. Did the mainland even have wild dragon colonies anymore? Aidan wasn’t sure, although there probably was a handful out there. Growing smaller every year. So the opportunity to witness an egg hatching was an amazing opportunity, and not many people could brag about seeing that!

Anyway, Snowdonia mostly dealt with Welsh Greens, but they did have other kinds of dragons too. And they’d brought in a pair of Norwegian Ridgebacks last year (if you were obsessed with dragons, then you learned these kinds of things as they happened). Aidan dusted his work pants off excitedly as he wandered away from the Portkey, staff slung carelessly over his shoulders and eyes jumping everywhere as he tried to guess where the egg of honor might be. He glanced over as someone whistled to get his attention, then jogged over excitedly. “Start yet?” he asked in his heavily accented English, only to beam when the caretaker shook his head. A few minutes later, Aidan circled the clearing where the nesting mother was crouched protectively over her egg. He saw another redhead nearby and wandered over to say hi (you could blame Hy-Brasil for conditioning Aidan to see redheads as more trustworthy). “Hi. I am Aidan. Who are you?” he asked with an owlish look of curiosity. Subtlety was not his strong suit.

charles septimus weasley

[charles septimus weasley]

▲

Returning to research work again so soon after Hogwarts seemed like a no-brainer. His position as Care of Magical Creatures professor would be honored if he chose to return once the school reopened, and it seemed like that day was getting closer and closer now. An entire year had passed already, and Charlie had spent the better part of that doing book signings, continuing where he had left off in his studies of dragons, and generally relaxing. He wasn't ready for retirement yet, and Hogwarts still had his number for another couple years of they were happy with what he had to provide. Getting a good read on his teaching ability after only one term wasn't exactly the best way to gauge such a thing. So part of the last year had been used as a way to teach others about dragons. He knew them the best and there were plenty of young dragonologists and magizoologists that needed to be given proper training on dragon safety.

Today was a slightly different situation though. A Welsh Green egg was poised to hatch soon. The telltale signs of the mother getting prepared for the final stages had been seen the day before, giving Charlie and other interested parties enough time to arrive in Snowdonia. They most likely wouldn't have to step in to assist, as the egg was in good shape due to the mother's constant watch over it. Charlie had found a prime viewing spot to perch from earlier in the morning, and had maintained his vigilance there since. His journal, a mishmashed leather bound notebook with added papers of various size, was folded in one hand as he scribbled a few new observations that he had finally been able to make down into it.

A voice cut in from next to him, and Charlie looked up to see a young, red headed boy standing there. He introduced himself as Aidan. "Charlie Weasley," he responded, curious as to where this kid came from. It was easy to tell he was older than Hogwarts age, but not by much. Had Charlie not taught there, he would have assumed Aidan was on a field trip. "Here to see the egg?" he asked, moving over on the rock that he had made into a seat so the boy could join him if he wanted to.

Aidan Evander Ó Cuinn ● 391 ● song by artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[Aidan Evander Ó Cuinn]

Aidan had everything short of heart-eyes as he watched the dragon curl protectively around her nest and lower her head to nudge at the egg. It was still early, and there weren’t many people there – just a few stragglers who came in every now and then to check on the egg’s progress and then disappear again. Aidan had never had the patience to sit through class, and he’d always squirmed in his seat while boring lectures happened around him. But sitting through the night to watch over an undersized baby hippogriff and supervise its feedings every two hours? Or sitting to watch an egg hatch with the same enthusiasm that mainlander children watched their magical technology? Oh yeah, Aidan could do that happily.

He'd never needed much to be happy in life, and the fact that another quiet year had passed without too much chaos – that made him happy too. He knew Brígh was due for a visit soon, and in the meantime he and Petri were trying to grow a new strain of magical plants in their shared apartment. The gillyweed tank was close to overflowing now. But besides that, the egg was going to be the highlight of his month and he was okay with that. The other redhead who’d come to observe seemed a little skeptical as to how and why Aidan had arrived, but he cleared away a spot on his rock and Aidan cheerfully sat himself down with all the grace of a newborn mooncalf. “Yes!” Aidan responded excitedly at Charlie’s question. “But also mother,” he tacked on thoughtfully a moment later, “I want to see what she does for baby.”

It was an educational question, not only for his own curiosity. Aidan was training to be a magical veterinarian, and assisting an animal with their birth was an important part of that. He saw it happen enough times on the nature reserve and lately his master had allowed him to take the lead on some of the more routine operations. But sometimes, when something went wrong – well, the mother couldn’t be there for her baby in the way it needed. So! It was on Aidan to learn what she was supposed to do, and then do it himself if he needed to. He’d never quite gotten the chance to observe a mother dragon caring for a new hatchling, so he was quite smitten with the idea of getting to see it now. “She look hungry,” Aidan decided after a beat, watching the mother’s restless movements – but unwillingness to abandon her egg.

charles septimus weasley

[charles septimus weasley]

▲

Charlie was always interested in the characters that dragons brought in. If Aidan here had managed it, that meant he had to work for some sort of important group. So many had popped up over the last several decades, which made work infinitely easier. Back in the day it had been the wild west when it came to dragons. He had learned from those that were still alive and had enough limbs that they could climb through the mountains, and nowadays there were enough dragonologists and other magical environmentalists that such a thing wasn’t really necessary anymore. The several generations of dragons that had been born under observation since Charlie had started his career were more or less used to being observed. Humans were poor sources of food for them, and it only occasionally happened if an unruly teenager dragon decided it wanted to hunt. But there hadn’t been any fatalities in the field in close to fifteen years. Outside of research was a little different. Arrogant witches and wizards always ended up dead, especially when it came to advancing on eggs with a protective and deadly mother nearby.

Aidan had taken a seat next to him and explained that he was there to see the hatching, as well as what the mother would be doing. That was true for himself as well. Post-hatch behaviors were so incredibly important to the field yet so rare. Thankfully this mother was in a wide-open area where multiple researchers were within visual range. Every little detail was going to be meticulously recorded over the next several hours or days. “It’s an absolutely fascinating experience,” Charlie grinned at the young man. “We’re lucky she’s a Welsh Green too. Such a gentle disposition…”

A narrow stream of flame licked its way out of the dragon’s mouth as he spoke, blasting the egg with fiery tendrils of orange, yellow, and red. Charlie quickly checked his wristwatch for the time and clicked the button on the side to start its timer, noting down to the second on a fresh page in his notebook. “She’ll have to wait until the egg has hatched now. We’ve entered the final stages.” The anticipation for watching the baby to begin pipping its way out of the egg was making his fingers tingle in excitement. He had thought about bringing an enchanted quill to record everything down as he watched, but they tended to abbreviate too much for his liking. The final stretch was so exhilarating!

Aidan Evander Ó Cuinn ● 414 ● Cosmic Dissonance by The Zenith Passage

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[Aidan Evander Ó Cuinn]

It was obvious from the beginning that Aidan had stumbled upon a fellow dragon lover. Now yes, it might seem somewhat obvious given the fact that they were both here to watch an egg hatch. And Mr. Fellow Observer was a redhead, which obviously meant he must have a heart of gold and could be immediately trusted. That was one of the main takeaways from Aidan after spending most of his life on Hy-Brasil, surrounded by redhead druids (and the occasional other) that he’d known since birth. But look, he’d talked to plenty of mainlanders that clearly specialized in illusion magic. Because they weren’t what they seemed, and they were never sincere. They pretended to be interested, but they never cared about the thing itself – only what it could do for them.

But Charlie Weasley clearly had a finer appreciation of the things in life that truly mattered, and when he spoke – well, it was with the same reverence that Aidan always used. Aidan grinned widely back at Charlie as he silently agreed, because it was definitely going to be a fascinating experience and Aidan would be sure to remember it for as long as his brain allowed – at least until the memory slipped out to be replaced by some other tidbit. Maybe he would visit the sea next and see what it had to offer. Having been surrounded by ocean all his life, there was something calming about being near the water. “But still a good bite,” Aidan offered cheerfully his own knowledge on Welsh Greens. Not from personal experience, thankfully, but even a sweetheart could get irritated if unwanted animals kept poking around.

He watched with wide eyes as the dragon gently blasted the egg with fire, and as Aidan watched Charlie scribble the time down in his notebook…well, it belatedly occurred to him that maybe he should do the same. He watched the older redhead with a look of concentration on his face, then nodded and pulled a battered notebook out of his equally battered pack. He paused a moment, scribbled down a few numbers that looked quite professional to him, then turned his attention back to the other (must be) dragonologist. “How many hatchings you see before?” Aidan asked curiously, because Charlie spoke like an expert. Like this hatching wasn’t an unknown experience, but something he had lived through many times. In which case Aidan was quite cheerful at the idea that he might get to see more hatchings in the future. That made him almost vibrate with excitement.

charles septimus weasley

[charles septimus weasley]

▲

“Oh absolutely,” Charlie chuckled softly at the mention of the bite. “Though I would say that goes for most dragons, wouldn’t you agree?” The Welsh Green would normally aggressively nip before going for a full on chomp. He had witnessed that hundreds of times, when some rookie researcher got too close to a nest or while a dragon was feeding. Not every dragon was as forgiving, so thankfully they were inspecting one that wasn’t nearly as dangerous today. He preferred the Welsh Green any day over the Vipertooth. Days could be spent going over the cons of trying to watch one of their hatchings, which usually began with avoiding their venomous fangs and ended with hoping you didn’t catch Dragon Pox from them. While completely curable if caught quickly, he preferred not contracting it.

Aidan seemed to be doing a similar project as he was, adding to his own notes now that there was a brief pause in the action down below. After a few seconds, he asked Charlie how many hatchings he’d seen. Now that was an excellent question to pass the time! “Probably hundreds at this point…it’s sort of easy now that the reserves have funding and enough proper research has been done on all the different breeds,” Charlie explained. Basically everything he’d spent the last three decades working on, which culminated into the first edition of his book. There was always more work to be done though, and today was just another series of notes to be added to his binder on Welsh Greens. “Most of those have happened in the last couple of years, with the dragon population boom we’ve been having. It used to be a lot trickier locating nests…” And always hoping everyone walked away with all of their limbs and very few scorch marks.

Aidan Evander Ó Cuinn ● 301 ● Spirit by Ghost

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[Aidan Evander Ó Cuinn]

Aidan nodded eagerly at Charlie’s offered wisdom about dragon bites. Truly, it was all a matter of personality. Sure, there was something to be said about the habits of different breeds and the commonalities within a species. Aidan thought back to a common saying among druids, something he’d heard his father thoughtfully comment on from time to time after druid researchers would return from the Tooth and their studies. “Dragons of a scale, from snout to tail,” Aidan observed, trying to capture the wise tone of his da. You couldn’t really fight instinct, or the fact that young dragons learned from their parents and inherited those behaviors more often than not. But then again, personality was always a factor. Aidan had seen grumpy Welsh Greens that immediately went for their fire upon first provocation, and then there was that time that the reserve had been sent the sweetest Fireball to rehabilitate after a bad accident.

The news that Charlie had been to hundreds of hatchings was only slightly overshadowed by the apparent fact that there was a boom in the dragon population. That was fantastic news and Aidan beamed like it was his birthday. He didn’t really care to follow trends from the mainland because really, who actually cared? He knew that the dragon population on Hy-Brasil was stable, protected, happy – and that was all that had really mattered to him. But he knew other species were on the decline, the more that wizards expanded their settlements and cast their anti-creature charms to protect them, so Aidan was at thrilled to hear that at least the dragons were alright. “This my first hatching,” he stated proudly, “But I see mama dragons prepare the nest before. Ironbelly turn rocks into glass! But I do not see if this is for comfort or protection.” He added the last part thoughtfully but then shrugged. Aidan couldn’t help but laugh a little at the thought of the old-fashioned tricks wizards must have used once upon a time to find the nests. “Why?” he asked curiously, “Dragons not use same spots?”

charles septimus weasley

[charles septimus weasley]

▲

"Dragons of a scale, from snout to tail." Now that was a phrase he hadn't heard in a long time. That had come from the druid researchers, if he was recalling correctly, a unique group of magizoologists that had offered up assistance to the same groups he often times worked with when there were issues with specific dragon breeds. They simply had a better handle with creatures in general, and a good portion of his own research and approach regarding dragons came from watching how the druids worked. Charlie knew he was never going to be on even footing with a people that had a natural affinity with animals, but he did his best. Quite a few dragons had been won over by applying the methods he learned from the druids, though they were obviously naturally hesitant at first. The last thing he wanted to do was to start attempting to domesticate them or force them to be reliant on humans. That wouldn't turn out well.

Charlie decided to keep listening to Aidan speak before responding. A first hatching was important for any researcher (or any witch or wizard even). There was nothing quite like it in the magical world, and up until recently, had been exceedingly rare. The observation about Ironbellys was certainly enough to make Charlie chuckle. It had taken him almost two decades to see that occur in person, and here Aidan had seemingly already seen it at such a young age. "The Peruvian Vipertooth will nest in groups, but they'll switch up their location yearly. It all depends on if the mother decides the location is safe." He'd yet to find any correlation between it though. Every breed seemingly did different things, and sometimes it varies between dragons too. "Are you from Hy-Brasil?" Charlie finally asked after a pause. Nothing was going on with the dragon or the eggs, so they had time to chit-chat.

Aidan Evander Ó Cuinn ● 319 ● song by artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[Aidan Evander Ó Cuinn]

They made an odd juxtaposition between them – because even though they were both redheads and clearly loved dragons, their differences stood out rather starkly too. Not that Aidan wanted that, because he’d just decided that Charlie Weasley was one of the coolest dragonologists he’d ever met and that was even taking into account that he wasn’t a druid. His little comments hinted at a wide range of experience, from being present at hundreds of hatchings to knowing the different habits and identifying marks of dragons off the top of his head. Aidan was a little starstruck at the thought to be speaking to such an experienced researcher – and wow, he wasn’t even a druid!

He listened attentively to Charlie’s explanation about Peruvian Vipertooths, in a way he’d never managed during class. Then again, even having class outdoors like druids did had never been enough to keep Aidan focused and scholarly. His teachers had never spoken next to a dragon egg, though. “Mother dragon always knows best,” he said wisely, nodding his head and filing away the knowledge about Vipertooths for another day. That tidbit was also true about druid mothers, incidentally – and everyone knew who ran the family tree back home. Aidan jotted something down on his grubby piece of parchment, although he didn’t really have anything smart to say yet. Not much was happening with the egg at such an early stage, but he’d seen Charlie making notes and it just seemed like the thing to do.

“Yes!” Aidan said earnestly at the mention of his island (paradise on earth, obviously). “I chose England to learn. The magical creatures on Hy-Brasil do not fear wizards, so they act…unnatural?” He tried the strange word on his tongue, then shrugged. “So I come here to study in new conditions. I see what is true there and what is true here.” He nodded sagely again, readjusted his staff so it was tossed carelessly across his lap, then asked the questions he’d been practically buzzing to ask. “How you know so much about dragons?” If the question sounded rude, he didn’t mean it to be. No, Aidan leaned forward eagerly, curious to hear some stories about dragons.

charles septimus weasley

[charles septimus weasley]

▲

"Absolutely," he responded in turn about mother dragons. Though if he were to be completely honest, that seemed to be something that extended to motherly figures of all creatures. His mother certainly always knew best, and there was still no arguing with her even now that he had his own family. He'd learned it all from watching his parents, even if it had taken him a little longer to get there than some of his siblings. Dragons on the brain sort of got in the way for a while there.

Another astute observation about the differences in the dragons based on their location. Charlie had the pleasure of seeing those that dwelled on Hy-Brasil only twice: once while a young researcher and again only recently, after the majority of them had fled following the loss of the island's barrier. Unnatural was an interesting way to describe how the dragons of Hy-Brasil acted towards the druids. Those certainly weren't normal reactions to humans. Even dragons that were hand-raised from egg to adulthood by humans didn't have that level of trust. Supposedly this was a common trait with druids - creatures of all sorts trusting and being fine with them in general. He was sure if Aidan really wanted to, he could probably walk right up and be relatively safe with the mother dragon below. Not that Charlie was recommending the boy try that, but it was a theory he had.

"Well..." Charlie didn't really know where to start on his life story concerning dragons. From the beginning? "I began studying them around your age. Right after graduating from Hogwarts. And since then I've traveled all over the world researching as many breeds of dragons as possible." Charlie disliked saying that he was one of the forefront experts on dragons these days, but the fact was that he was. His silly little book proved it. Only prodded to do so when Newt saw the collection of papers and notes and forced him to do something about it. "But I don't know everything yet. And I don't think I ever will. But what we as researchers know now compared to when I started? It's unbelievable." They hadn't even had an accident in three months! It used to be a daily occurrence around here. If it wasn't a missing fingertip, chomped off by a baby dragon, then it was severe burns. Charlie was pretty proud of that little fact.

Aidan Evander Ó Cuinn ● 405 ● song by artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[Aidan Evander Ó Cuinn]

Aidan watched the egg with eagle eyes, even though it was almost completely motionless and didn’t seem to be doing anything that interesting. Still, it must be much hotter than what they were able to sense from a safe distance away, because the rock around was slowly turning to glass and creating the look of the iconic nests that decorated the landscape of the dragon reserve. Aidan’s attention slowly began to wander, even while he explained to Charlie why he’d left the island gone looking for mainland creatures. His eyes sometimes lingered on a particular point, whenever he thought he could pick out an inhabited cave or another sign of a nest, but his gaze always started roving again without fail.

He turned to look at the older redhead as he began to tell his story, although again his eyes began to naturally pick out the burns and scars that he could see. Aidan tilted his head thoughtfully at Charlie’s observations about his life experiences. This was a new thought to Aidan – everything outside the island had just been the ‘other side’. There wasn’t England and France and Romania, it was all just…not Hy-Brasil. It was only after moving abroad to study at the reserve in Hogsmeade that Aidan had started to meet all kinds of folks with different traditions. Like Eli’s accent and realizing that he didn’t just speak weird…no, he came from somewhere where they all spoke like that.

“People accept the dragons? They less afraid now?” Aidan poked at Charlie’s last point since he hadn’t thought about it before. He supposed there was a time when people just knew less about dragons, but in Hy-Brasil they’d already been passing their knowledge on for generations. Aidan knew what he did because there were druids before him who’d known it first. But Charlie made it sound like there’d been a time when the subject was shrouded in mystery, or maybe taboo, and it was only recently that things had begun to change. Aidan couldn’t imagine why but he approved of it. “I want to see Peru,” he said matter-of-factly. “They say…small dragons there. The smallest.” Aidan made a motion with his hands to emphasize his point.

charles septimus weasley

[charles septimus weasley]

▲

Fear, or lack of it, of dragons was hard to gauge. The average witch or wizard was not going to stumble onto a dragon without a lack of effort. Most nests that weren’t confined to specific regions or reserves were closely watched and if a dragon left for some reason, the proper authorities were told to reduce damage and potential death. It was so incredibly difficult for a dragon to just ‘appear’, despite it happening twice within the last several years. The debacle at Hogsmeade was a total oversight by multiple different governments and agencies that kept track of dragons, and the one that appeared inside of Hogwarts was an anomaly. But that didn’t change the fact that now more than ever, there were humans that had witnessed the destructive nature of the creatures.

”I wouldn’t necessarily say less afraid. It’s sort of a complicated topic…” he trailed off while trying to think of the best way to phrase his words. ”Dragons have never not been dangerous, it’s just that we have researched them well enough these last few decades that we have safer ways to approach them. Because of that, there are less accidents and deaths related to dragons. So, in a way, a lot of the stigma surrounding dragons has gone away.” Though really, that could be said about a lot of things in the magical community these last few years. The change he had seen with public perception towards werewolves in his lifetime had been drastic, even more so in the last year or two. The same with technology usage.

Charlie chuckled at the mention of Peru. ”Yes, the Vipertooth is quite small compared to the mother down there.” And that was exactly what made them so dangerous to deal with. More dragonologists were lost to Vipertooths than any other breed, at least since he had started working. ”If you ever go, you have to be extremely careful. I don’t believe being a druid matters to them at all.”

Aidan Evander Ó Cuinn ● 332 ● song by artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[Aidan Evander Ó Cuinn]

Aidan had never been the studious type. He found it tedious to sit through lectures where they demanded he sat still and focus on one person talking for a long time. He’d always fidgeted, let his attention wander, messed around with whatever he found on the ground, even sneak in the occasional small creature while he sat on the back and played. Even the druid system of teaching wasn’t quite built to his style. They had classes outside for the most part, but that just provided more distractions for Aidan. He’d always done his best learning at home. His da knew that Aidan had to be in motion, so he would explain things to his children while he did them – let them experiment with their hands and see with their eyes the very concepts they were learning about.

He couldn’t help but fidget now, even though he found Charlie Weasley’s little lessons to be incredibly interesting. His eyes picked out different parts of the scenery while the older redhead talked, but Aidan listened and nodded along. He’d heard that mainland wizards often had accidents with creatures, and it even happened occasionally to a druid. They were more in-tune with creatures and that made it easier to earn their trust – but sometimes druids could abuse that trust for their own gain, or miss the signs that the animal was uncomfortable. He’d heard the stories, even if Aidan had never seen it happen himself. “You use wands with them. To move them, or put to sleep,” Aidan observed, although his tone was open and frank. The mild criticism was laced underneath the words, even if he didn’t mean to be judgmental.

But he’d never understood the reliance that mainland wizards had on their wands, especially when it came to handling magical creatures. It seemed unnatural to rely on a conduit when your own body was made and shaped for the same purpose. He couldn’t even remember where he’d left his wand (somewhere at home, he was sure) although he used his staff occasionally when he had to work more complicated magic. Aidan tilted his head as he considered Peru. “Careful how?” he prodded, eager to start gaining the experience now. “Keep my eyes open, yes? So they do not sneak into camp to steal food?” It was just a guess, though. Aidan had only ever seen dragons on the island (who were used to the presence of druids) or on the nature reserve (and they were usually too sick to be aggressive, at least until their treatment was completed).

charles septimus weasley

[charles septimus weasley]

▲

Charlie knew that the methods of most dragonologists, and for that matter most magizoologists too, weren’t always looked upon kindly. There was a complicated history behind researchers and creatures, and only in the last century did experts really begin to handle magical animals with more care than they had previously. If they really wanted to be accurate, the last thirty years or so was a better timeline of proper handling and being as careful as possible around creatures. He had his fair share of dragons rights activists over the years, who mostly didn’t understand the danger they were inviting by trying to strip a lot of the reserves of their ability to retain and raise dragons. By doing what they did, dragonologists were able to study, protect, and improve the lives of dragons. Letting them roam free was only going to mean chaos once a stray one landed in a muggle community and burned it down. Thankfully, those groups weren’t much of an issue for him anymore, as they seemed to understand that preservation was the key goal of his group. Keeping them from being poached and allowing them to safely raise their young was incredibly important after all.

”Once there is a better way to safely move them, we will most certainly change how we do things,” Charlie said carefully to the druid. He welcomed criticism, but he knew most would be aghast by how they used to have to knock a dragon out. He still marveled about how they managed to get four of them for the 1994 Triwizard Tournament.

Charlie nervously chuckled at Aidan’s assumption that a Vipertooth would merely try to steal food. If one counted human fingers as food, then yes, that sounded about right. ”Their fangs,” he pulled on his upper lip to show a canine tooth, ”Are highly venomous. And they tend to target humans.” Then there was also the possibility of contracting Dragon Pox from working with them, as they were also carriers of the disease. Overall, they were nasty little things. Charlie disliked dealing with them the most. ”I do not typically recommend people to visit the mountains where they nest. I’ve known far too many dragonologists that have been permanently scarred from trying to study them.”

Aidan Evander Ó Cuinn ● 376

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[Aidan Evander Ó Cuinn]

Aidan had an extremely short-term memory, much to his ma’s chagrin. He could also extremely narrow his focus to whatever he was most interested in, like the blinders he’d seen on carriage horses in London (which he’d stared at aghast the first time he’d seen it). It could be good and bad, but now Aidan struggled to remember what Charlie Weasley had said about himself at the beginning of the conversation, back when Aidan had been fascinated by the egg and its imminent hatching. He said he’d been studying dragons for decades (or centuries maybe? There were druids on Hy-Brasil that were old enough to make that claim). So Aidan decided he’d ask around Hogsmeade to see what he could learn. At least before he made any more snappy judgments about the crude methods that mainland wizards were forced to use to subdue magical creatures.

In the meantime, he relied on a handy ole suggestion he’d been passing on for years. “Visit Hy-Brasil!” Aidan said enthusiastically (he hoped the island’s tour guides were proud of how he talked about the island to anyone who’d listen). “I show you around, and you will see how we work with them. Build relationship of trust.” He nodded sagely. Druid classes were fairly small, and one of Aidan’s friends had several uncles and aunts who worked on or near the Dragon’s Tooth. Aidan would use his two-way mirror soon to ask his ma to pass on the message, since he was too impatient to rely on magical birds to relay a letter. And he liked bringing outsiders to experience Hy-Brasil’s beauty, as long as they followed the rules. His grandma was always less thrilled, but he didn’t mind squirming through a lecture now and again.

He’d seen Charlie take notes several times about the egg and other such things, and the wisdom he was passing on about Peruvian Vipertooths seemed important enough to write about now. Aidan put his stubby pencil to parchment to make a few notes in Brasilic (he still preferred writing in his native language instead of English) about their fangs and tendency to target humans. “They nest in mountains? But must come down to hunt. So they sometimes do not stay close to nests.” Aidan pondered over this fact, since some dragons were incredibly possessive over their territory while others didn’t seem bothered at the thought of wandering large distances away. The dragons in Hy-Brasil were like that. They nested on the tallest mountain of the island, but came down to hunt in the open areas. He still badly wanted to see a Peruvian Vipertooth, especially since his life’s ambition was to someday ride a dragon, but he didn’t see a problem in taking baby steps. “So I will visit nest first when she is not home,” Aidan decided. As he was learning now with the egg, which must’ve reached an unbearably hot temperature based on the glass forming around it, there was a lot to see even when the dragon wasn’t around.

charles septimus weasley