Chapter 2 - 1, 2, where was I?

Florian waited for Weasley outside his dorm while he put on the rest of the uniform. The dragon sanctuary was made out of different areas. To get there they need to use floo powder. Every fireplace in the dragon sanctuary was tied to a separate network to keep magical people from just entering, as a bonus this also made it easy to use as there were only twenty fireplaces tied to the floo network. They all had a quarter of an hour gap before and after working hours to get to the fireplaces and use the floo network. This was to keep too many people from travelling at the same time.

Weasley came running out of the dorm door. “Sorry, I couldn’t find my gloves!” He grabbed Florian’s arm as he started jogging towards the entrance hall.

Florian followed, halfway between jogging and being dragged by his fellow student. The entrance hall was a round, large room with a fire pit in the middle. Around the ceiling were carved statues of multiple dragon breeds, all of them made so precise that they looked alive. Florian had multiple times just gone to the hall just to look at them. This time he didn’t even look up. They grabbed a handful of floo powder from what looked like a birdbath at the side of the firepit before Weasley first, and then Florian threw the powder on the fire and said clearly:

“Norwegian Ridgeback section A.”

Florian had always liked floo powder. It felt warm, but not burning like a duvet at night. As he stepped out of the fireplace he saw the overviewer of the Ridgebacks waiting for them. An old woman with long braided grey hair, a long cloak over her own dark red uniform.

“There you two are.”, she proclaimed in a thick greek accent. “Welcome, welcome. I am Marina Gavras and I am the main specialist of the Norwegian Ridgebacks. Today's task you will do yourselves as you have both proven yourselves to take this job with responsibility it needs.” She looked at both of them with a nod of approval. “Norwegian Ridgebacks are territorial. They do not like strangers close to their nests, if you cannot count them all at once just stay at a distance and wait. We need to know that they all are accounted for.”

Florian nodded, this was all information they had gotten with the schedule and during the first weeks of training. Before starting to work all of the students needed to pass a test which covered the different dragon breeds and their care. He wrote back to his parents right after that test in panic as he felt he had forgotten everything, but he had passed the test. The fact that he and Weasley both were trusted to work alone after barely a month made him swell with pride and confidence.

“Now, you will take some of our brooms and fly in. If anything should happen we will be paying attention from here, but remember you have wands for a reason. I know you both are just out of school, so remember you can wave them as you want. It takes some strong spells to hurt a dragon, but you can make it go away.” She waved them along to where the brooms were and left them there after giving direction to the nesting area. Weasley had apparently stopped paying attention after coming to the broom closet, Florian noted, as he was busy checking out every broom. After Gavras left Weasley turned his head towards Florian.

“By Merlin’s beard! I have never seen so many Nimbus 2000’s in my life. They even have some of the 2001’s.” He pointed at a glossy black and silver broom. “This is not coming to market before next year.”

Florian studied the 2001’s with awe. He had never been the best at flying, but he as most people in the wizarding world paid attention to quidditch. Why the dragon sanctuary had brand new racing brooms he would ask Gavras about at a later date. Although he had a feeling that fast brooms could maybe be their saving if a dragon pursued them.

“We should try them. I mean, they are ours to use at work.” Florian grabbed one of the 2001’s. Weasley's eyes went to the broom in Florian’s hand and Florian could see the surprised look on his face before it went back to his normal smile. He grabbed his own 2001. They gave each other a nod before heading out.

The fresh summer air hit as they opened the door. Florian looked around at the mountain range that surrounded them. He wondered if he should tell Weasley that he might know the dragons, but no. No reason to tell him if it turned out to not be them. Florian copied Weasley’s movement as they mounted the brooms and set off. The broom felt quick and smooth in its movement. He could hear the sound of a joyous laugh from Weasley as they lifted over the treetops. Florian looked over at Weasley as they started flying straight. The way Weasley controlled his broom made him sure that he had played quidditch before. He had something about that when they ate breakfast, something about the house teams. He watched as the other boy flew up and down testing the limits of the broom while flying faster and stopping in mid air.

They stopped at a cliff on the mountain side. They could see a magical barrier around the nesting ground, not that these stopped the dragons, but they acted as a last barrier for both magical people and muggles. As Florian landed and turned towards Charlie to confirm today's task he heard it. A roar so familiar, the echoing of it in the mountain side and the slight vibration in his whole body. He threw his head around, but no dragons. They tighten his lips in slight disappointment.

“That was quite the sound. I get it now why people say these sound more like thunder.” Weasley had also looked in the direction of the sound, but quickly turned towards the cliff wall. “We need to find the entrance before we start the watch.”

Everyone of the dragon watch places had a form of shelter hidden from view. This to protect from the weather, but also against aggressive dragons. Florian followed Weasley over to the wall. Florian pulled out his wand. Birch, hair from a Hulder and 10 inches long. He tapped it against the wall and a door appeared. Weasley opened the door and stepped inside Florian close behind.

It was a small single room, a wood stove with a kettle and a sink stood against one of the walls. Against the wall with the door there was a table with two chairs. There was also a window looking out over the cliff. A small cupboard stood in one of the corners. Florian thought it looked empty and bare, but closed the door behind him as Weasley had started looking through the cupboard.

“There are some cups, tea and some snacks. We should bring something else if we get sent back here. Do you want a cup?” Weasley waved with a bag of loose tea leaves behind him.

“Yes please. I can get the fire going.” Florian went over to the stove. Using his wand he made a fire inside the stove before filling the kettle.

“This is probably going to be a long day. Hopefully they will start flying before dinner.” Weasley sighed as he walked over to the window. “There are supposed to be ten of them, right? The biggest herd in a long time.”

Florian nodded. “Yes.” His herd at home had been five, but they could have expanded here. He walked over to Weasley and looked out. The sky was empty of dragons. Only a few clouds gathered around some of the mountain tops further away. “You were quite skilled on the broom.”

This comment started the next story from Weasley. As they sat by the table Charlie explained that he had been a seeker on the quidditch team. How his family, teachers and friends wanted him to try out for the National Team, but went on travelling here instead.

“There is just something about dragons.” He proclaimed enthusiastically. That was when they heard it.

A new roar and then movement outside. Florian placed the cup on the table and ran outside with Weasley close behind. A dragon rising up from one of the cloudy mountain tops. It circled in larger and larger circles, soon sailing straight over their heads and Florian gasped.

The Norwegian Ridgeback had a particular look. As one of the only dragon breeds that hunted in water it had a slimmer build than most other dragons to easily dive into the ocean, but still strong enough to carry its prey in even the worst of weather conditions. They mostly had a brown colour, but Florian had noted that they often had a different shine. This one shone in a reddish tone, and the way it circled before heading out made Florian’s eyes tear up. It had to be them.

He stepped a few steps closer to the cliff edge when another dragon appeared from the same mountain. This one headed straight after the other and when it flew straight above it had more of a blue tint.

“That was two–” Weasley started before looking over at Florian who was now sobbing silently while his eyes still tried to focus on the dragons leaving. “Hey, you okay?” He placed a hand on Florian’s shoulder.

“It’s them. I never thought–” His voice broke off as he felt the hand. He still tried to look for them, but by now the two dragons had disappeared in the distance.

Florian realised how stupid this must look for Weasley. Here he was lawfully an adult wizard crying over some dragons that flew overhead. He cleared his throat before wiping his face with his sleeve. Weasley’s hand was still on his shoulder.

“I am sorry. It is just that I grew up with a herd of dragons by my home. They had to move them because of muggles.” Florian did not look at his fellow student. People had a tendency to not understand, they found it scary that he had lived so close to dragons and called him brave. What he did not expect was Weasley’s answer.

“I think I would also have cried or yelled if someone took dragons away from my home and I saw them again.” Florian raised his eyes at him as the other man continued. “No dragons around my home. I used to dress the owl up though I had a mask for him and all.” Florian made a snorting sound as Weasley laughed.

Florian realised two things at this point.One: That Weasley actually cared as much about dragons as himself. Two: That they would work great together.