The Brightest Sun

Chapter 21

As a reward for their good behaviour – though, truthfully Harry had been planning this for some time – they took the kids to visit the Romanian Dragon Reserve.

There was a reserve far closer to home, but the Welsh reserve only hosted the slightly more docile Welsh Greens, keeping them away from the diverse and more aggressive ones. Elia had nearly drowned him when he told her – an accident, she claimed, as Harry had picked their time attempting to learn how to harness water. The look of satisfaction she insisted came from her magical progress had left Harry wary of any potential incidents.

“Papa, are we there yet?” Aegon asked, for what had to be the third time in the last hour. They had walked across a small plain field when their portkey arrived, the sight of rolling hills there destination.

“Nearly,” Harry told him. “Just a few more minutes until we get to the top of the hill.”

Of course, the kids had decided to rush forward at his words, and Harry rolled his eyes as he and Elia trudged after them.

A silencing ward to keep people from coming too close kept the sounds of dragons quiet, and at the sudden stop the children came to Harry knew they had seen the reserve.

“Papa,” Aegon whispered in awe. “Are those…”

“Dragons,” Harry grinned, grabbing hold of Elia’s hand as he saw the slight widening of her eyes.

“You know they will be begging to take a dragon home with them,” Elia murmured, leaning lightly against his arm.

“I’m sure we can handle that,” Harry said confidently, willing the small flush away.

Roars filled the air as they crossed the sound barrier, and Harry laughed as he grabbed hold of Aegon before he could run off. Next to him, Elia was keeping a tight hold of Rhaenys, the seven-year-old princess itching to explore the reserve as much as her brother.

Teddy’s hair flashed a series of colours, the little boy mimicking the flames of the dragons, and Harry gave him a light nudge to get moving.

“Oi! Welcome to the Romanian Dragon Reserve,” a blond-haired man greeted them. He was tall and stocky, an easy smile on his face as his blue eyes lit up at the obvious delight the children showed. “Name’s Adam, I’ll be your guide for this trip. This all of you?”

“It is,” Harry answered, gaze flicking over the few dragons he could see.

“Alright, we’ll get right on it then. You’ve signed your waivers, so we can head deeper into the pens.”

Adam turned to walk them through the path to visit the dragons. “We’ll start with the Antipolodeans. We’ve got a couple Opaleyes here, fantastic to see when the sun shines on their scales. The Vipertooth is next; just got a mating pair over from Peru, and their eggs are due to hatch soon.”

“Can we see the eggs?” Rhaenys asked, leaning forward in excitement.

“Can do, kiddo,” Adam laughed. “We’ll see as many of the eggs as we can, though most have hatched by now. Next we’ll see the two Fireball species we have. Fantastically small, but they’re some of the fastest out there. We’ll make a visit to an old Ridgeback friend for your da.”

“Norberta is still here?” Harry asked in surprise. He’d not seen the small dragon since first year, but he knew Hagrid kept in touch with the reserve.

“Oh aye, she’s got hatchlings of her own now. Then it’s off to the Horntail and Ironbelly, though those two ha…”

“Norberta?” Elia questioned.

“Hagrid won a dragon and named her Norbert, though it turned out to be a female dragon.”

“I did not think they had specific genders here,” Elia said, eyes flicking to where the children were badgering Adam with questions. The guide was taking it all in stride, laughing as he told them tales of his work and stories about the dragons.