The Big Dipper

Romania

Rue healed Ursula's wound as fast as she possibly could, which was preferable for both of them. Rue asked as few questions as she could, and all of Ursula's answers were clipped. Charlie's head whipped back and forth between them as if he was watching a Quidditch match.

"What was that about?" he asked, as he and Ursula left the healers' cabin. Ursula shrugged.

"We've never gotten along," she said casually. Charlie didn't press her.

Ursula was something of an idol that night, a paragon of bravery, among the dragonologists in Camp Four. Not only had she managed to subdue the Horntail without getting burnt to a crisp, which was a massive feat in itself, but the Horntail had imprinted on her, meaning she was in charge of her care. Marius informed Ursula that they had been trying to find a dragonologist whom she wouldn't instantly attack for weeks. The other dragonologists enthused over her performance, retelling it in great detail to those from other camps, particularly Genevieve.

Other than Charlie, of course, Genevieve quickly became Ursula's best friend at the sanctuary. The two shared similar interests and had complementary personalities. Genevieve was three years older than Ursula and obviously more experienced, but she was always helpful and was excited to have another French speaker around. She and Evan, who had overlapped during their time at Beauxbatons, had something of a friendly rivalry. The Frenchman was snobbish but had a good sense of humour and was as keen to get to know Ursula as anyone.

In truth, Ursula made fast friends with most of the dragonologists in her camp. It was harder, of course, with the older dragonologists, so her relationship with them was friendly but strictly professional. The rest of the dragonologists, however, were much younger, and much closer to her age, so they therefore became genuine friends much faster. Felix and Evan were the oldest of the bunch, with Felix being easily the more serious of the two, while Alexandra was Charlie's age (and easily one of the most energetic people Ursula had ever met, if perhaps just behind Blossom and Tonks). Lukas and Genevieve were both a couple years older than Flora and Ursula, but their youthful personalities meant they blended well as a group.

Life at the sanctuary was so nice that Ursula could almost forget about the war, though of course she was far too deeply involved not to. Ursula received an almost daily slew of letters from her friends, family, and allies, each detailing a different but incredibly important point of view. Cressida, Emmeline, Arabella, and Cordelia filled their letters with innocuous details about weddings or dresses or parties or whatnot, just the sort of frivolous stuff that would go unnoticed, spliced with just enough details about their husbands or boyfriends to provide Ursula with the news she needed.

Ursula took all that news and compiled it in much franker terms to Tonks and Sirius, though she sealed each envelope with a spell to prevent unwanted eyes. Her cousins proved quite helpful in her efforts, as they kept her up to date on how the Order was doing. The dragonologists certainly didn't shy away from politics themselves, and though the older adults tended to stay out of it, Ursula and the other English dragon tamers quite easily swayed Alexandra, Lukas, and the French pair to their cause.

Narcissa likewise wrote to Ursula, although her letters were almost painfully trying to ignore the fact that there was a war going on. She asked consistently about work and Ursula's relationship with Hadrian, and only mentioned the Dark Lord if Bellatrix wanted something from Ursula. Draco, on the other hand, only wrote letters related to his impossible task. Ursula was doing her best to coax him through it, but in such early stages, ideas were minimal and anxiety high. Still, she informed Dumbledore at every turn.

In addition to getting letters dedicated to news of the war, Ursula had a second job. Long after her shift for the day ended at the sanctuary, she was reading books Philippa had given her, or puzzling through problems searching for an answer. Philippa was mightily impressed with her work so far, which simply meant that she quickly moved Ursula onto more challenging tasks that took even more time.