Tollin

“Asterin, what did we talk about? You have teeth, you can chew.” I shook my head, sitting on the ground a few meters away from the Hebridean Black.

It’s been 3 months since I came back from Scotland.

When I read that letter, I needed to sit down and just breathe for a minute. Every second I spent with Asterin to that point rolled in front of my eyes and everything started to make sense.

The fact that she didn’t want to eat anything but chicken blood and brandy. That MacFusty’s were curious why she acted as if she didn’t have any teeth. Why she was so afraid and needed such a long time to get used to the new environment. The fact that she hurt me when I levitated a rock.

She was merely 5 months old when they found her. A dragon that young is supposed to be with its mother – barely even starting the blood and brandy diet. Their teeth are usually ready for solid food around 6-7 months and there is a law to never transport a dragon younger than 10 months if it can be avoided. They are either still too attached to their mother or they are with the other dragonlings.

A dragon that thinks it's 5 months old would still cuddle with its mother at night, eat the food she would provide, and play with its siblings. Being transported to the other side of Europe, meeting so many new people, and staying alone in a habitat suited for a 1-year-old dragon is not the right way to approach the situation.

Being in such a big enclosure with no one she knew around her was very stressful for Asterin. That’s why she ran into the forest the first night – she tried to hide.

And when we thought she attacked me, it was her trying to play. Since her mindset is stuck at 5-months-old she isn’t aware that she is 3 times the size she was back then and that trying to jump on me can be fatal and not being cute and playful.

The second I came back, we started to change her habitat. We made it dragonling friendly by putting in lots of things to chew on, some toys we use to play and train with the younger dragons, a big tire in which she can sleep and Matthew and Jim helped me made a wooden house that can house an adult Hebridean Black because baby dragons like to feel safe and have a feeling their mother is by their side, so having a house in which she can hide and feel snug seemed like the best idea.

We asked Marcus and John to come and stay with us for a week so that Asterin could be around as many people she knows to make her as comfortable as we possibly can.

After two days of sniffing around and starting to play with her toys, we could already see progress bigger than I’ve made in 2 months before we found out what happened to her. She became less fearful, she didn’t dig her claws in the ground anymore and she became playful.

She might be over a year old and is halfway to her adult size but she acts like Hephaestus – the Hebridean Black I got the chance to meet while I was staying with the MacFusty’s in Scotland. She jumps around, awkwardly tries to fly, and is fun to be around.

When I got back, I sat down with the healers that examined her. They told me that due to the damage the hit caused her, her brain will never properly develop. In her mind, Asterin will always be a 5-month-old dragon. They told me everything that is suited for a dragon her mind age and I spent the next 3 days coming up with a plan – how to train her, how to feed her, how to try and tame her, and what to do with her habitat.

We needed about a week to finish everything with the help of other dragonologists and both Marcus and John MacFusty. I asked two researchers to observe her from afar as she gets used to her newly decorated home and to see how she responds to things so they could report back to me to see if we would need to make any changes.

They were over the roof working with her because none of them ever had a case like this. None of us had, truth be told. Matthew still couldn’t believe that that can happen. Marcus and John felt bad that they missed such an important piece of evidence and on the last day of their stay went to Asterin and apologized for mistreating her.

I told them that it’s not their fault and that it was more than evident that they wanted to help her and put her in the right hands.

I have been with her every day since I came back and I can’t express how proud I am of her. She hasn’t hurt me, she hasn’t even roared in my face once since I started treating her like a dragonling. I couldn’t be happier that she was assigned to me and that I have a chance not only to work with a Hebridean Black but to work with such a special one.

She might have a sad past but since she is growing every day, is as healthy as a dragon her age can be and she is showing progress every day, I dare to say she is going to be just fine with us.

After the researchers recorded her behavior and saw that she is doing okay and as the healers gave the green light that everything else is fine, I started working with her. Of course, I am taking a completely different approach than I did before and right now I am trying to teach her how to eat anything other than the liquids we have been giving her so far.

It’s not that we can’t provide that much chicken blood and brandy for her but even though her brain doesn’t see how big she is getting, her body needs solid food to grow into a big healthy dragon. Every day after work, I go to the infirmary where I work with a healer and a researcher and we are trying our best to come up with a plan on how we could trick someone who thinks it's 5 months old to eat a steak.

14 days ago we tried mincing the meat and putting it in her liquids. Asterin was hesitant because of the smell at first but the second day she swallowed it. We did that for a week slowly adding more meat and less blood and brandy. Last week, we started giving her pieces of deer meat that are small enough for her to swallow whole since a 5-month-old dragon isn’t supposed to know how to use its teeth fully yet.

Today is the first day that I tried and gave her a proper steak. The researchers thought it would be good if she gets used to the taste and texture of the food she is supposed to eat. I have been trying for two hours and the best I got was her playing with the steak.

“Asterin, don’t play with your food. It’s not a toy. You’re supposed to eat it.” I put my hands in front of my face, expecting a steak thrown my way any second now.

She looked up at me as I spoke, the steak that was half in her mouth now fell to the ground. I couldn’t help but chuckle, she was adorable.

“What’s it going to be? Are you going to eat it or should I?” I smirked.

Saying that gave me an idea.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes, Asterin.” I got up and waved at her as I did every time I left her enclosure to let her know we will see each other again.

I went to the Sanctuary kitchen and asked one of the cooks to make me a steak. Perhaps if she would see me eat it and chew on it, she might copy my behavior. That is how she learned how to roll over and jump in the air. The latter wasn’t such a good idea because now she likes to jump all the time and sometimes shakes the ground so much that I fall backward.

I thanked the cook that made the steak for me and hurried back to Asterin’s habitat.

“I’m back. Did you miss me?” I smiled.

Asterin was sitting on the ground, her tail playfully moving around, her head tilted in curiosity about what I brought her.

“This isn’t for you. It’s lunch for me. Now let me show you how to eat a steak.” I sat back down to where I was before I left and took the steak from the plate with my hand. “And remember, Asterin, you have teeth, you can chew just like I can.”

I bit into the steak as hard as I could and tore away a piece.

“See…not…that…hard,” I said while chewing. “Now you try.” I pointed at her raw piece of meat with my steak.

Asterin stared at me for a few seconds more before looking down at her steak. She looked back up at me as I took another bite and back down. She lowered her head and sniffed the steak then did the whole routine 2 more times.

“It’s delicious, Asterin. Come on, eat with me.” I encouraged her.

If she could narrow her eyes, she would. I could see her brain being hard at work trying to figure out what she is supposed to do but I understood that she needed time because nobody sane would give a 5-month-old dragon a steak of that size.

Much to my surprise, Asterin picked the steak up with her front teeth and lifted her head abruptly. I thought the steak was going to fly out of the enclosure but she held on to it.

“That’s it. Good girl, Asterin! Now put it in your mouth and chew.” I took another bite of my meal and slowly and exaggeratedly chewed to show her how it’s done.

Asterin slowly put the entire steak inside her mouth and tried chewing on it. She shook her head as if she got confused about what was going on and let the meat fall from her mouth to the ground.

“Okay, that wasn’t bad. You did great! Now repeat the gesture. Pick it up again, Asterin.” I put my plate down and clapped a few times to let her know she is making progress.

Asterin listened to me and picked up the steak again. She threw it on the ground a few more times but every time she chewed a little longer.

After 5 tries she didn’t stop chewing on the steak and suddenly I heard a swallowing sound.

“Did you…did you just eat the steak?” I asked astonished. It’s not like I didn’t believe that she could do it but I didn’t dare to think that she was going to progress so quickly.

“You did it, Asterin!” I stood up carefully not to startle her too much even though I wanted to burst from excitement and jump around.

“I don’t even know where to begin to tell you how proud I am of you!” I walked toward her not even caring if she does something to me. I wanted to show her that what she just accomplished is a big deal and that the behavior is very much desired and encouraged.

“If you continue to eat like this, you will be able to fully transition to deer meat and admit it, it was more delicious than chicken blood and brandy.” I laughed and with a bowed head approached her.

I was now so close that if I would extend my hand I would be able to pat her. Without thinking twice about it, I offered her my hand so she could sniff it and let her know that I mean no harm. She did so immediately and huffed.

“I know. My hand smells like cooked meat which doesn’t smell as delicious to you as to me.” I giggled.

I took a deep breath knowing that Matthew would kill me if he saw me stand so close to Asterin – making progress or not – and touched her rough skin and rubbed a few circles on it.

“You ate your first steak, Asterin. I am so proud. The progress we have made in the past few weeks is admirable.” I whispered to her.

She lowered her head and what I think she wanted to do was rub her head against my side but because she is so big and so much heavier than me she pushed me to the ground.

I started laughing when I saw her confused expression. I know she didn’t expect me to fall to the ground and probably thinks that I am the weakest human not being able to handle her friendly gesture.

I got up, dusted myself, and approached her again.

“The next thing we work on is to make you realize how big you are.” I chuckled.

Asterin replied with a jump in the air and hurried to get one of her balls, indicating she wants to play.

“This is your last chance to say no.” Matthew was leaning in the doorway of my hut, watching me double-check my bag to see if I have everything I need for my journey to visit the MacFusty clan.

“And I will tell you like every day for the past 3 days that I am not changing my mind. I need to do this, Matt. I can’t sleep at night because I don’t know why Asterin is acting as she is. She couldn’t just be abandoned. The markings on her wings and head are proof of that and after being here for over 2 months she is still absolutely terrified.” I sighed. “And because you won’t allow me to see her since she hurt me, she has been completely alone – just eating and sleeping.”

I wanted to look at him and frown but I knew he was right and only wanted to keep me alive. If it was up to me I would go back to her habitat and work with her the second I could walk properly again. Matthew nearly had to glue me to the bed and make me promise 5 times that I won’t sneak out to go and see her.

Even though my back was still sore and I wasn’t completely healed, I convinced my boss to let me go and see the MacFusty’s. This injury has been by far the worse one I endured since I started working here 10 years ago but I don’t blame her for it.

Did I almost die? Yes. Do I think she did it intentionally? No.

During the two months I spent in the hospital I have been coming up with a plan for what will I say to the family when I get there. Matthew wrote to them on my behalf and they were more than happy to welcome me and give me accommodation for the time being.

“I just need a favor from you before I go.” I zipped my bag and looked up at him.

“Why do I have a feeling I will want to say no to what you’re going to ask of me but you won’t let me?” Matt raised his eyebrows.

“I want to see Asterin,” I said determinedly.

“No way. Charles, you do remember the reason why you were laying in the infirmary for the past two months, right?” Matthew furrowed his brows.

“You do remember why I am going to Scotland in the first place, right?” I playfully rolled my eyes at him.

“You and your Sagittarius adventurous spirit will be the end of you one day, Charles.” Matthew sighed but didn’t say anything else.

“Does that mean I can see her?” I almost jumped on the spot.

“You would sneak out and go and see her even if I told you not to so why did you even ask?”

“Yeah, you’re right,” I smirked and walked past him with my bag.

“Your portkey leaves in an hour though!” He shouted after me but I only waved and hurried to the dragon.

I put my bag down next to the edge of her habitat and carefully moved forward. Even though I knew that Asterin had a reason to attack me I was still a bit nervous to see her. I didn’t know how she’ll react when she catches the sight of me and I was hoping she wouldn’t want to repeat what she did 2 months ago.

“Asterin, where are you, girl?” I swallowed thickly, trying to steady my shaking voice.

The second she heard me I could feel the ground shaking with her stomps.

“Here you are! I am sorry I didn’t visit you for such a long time.”

Asterin replied with a roar straight to my face but she kept her distance.

“I know you haven’t seen me in two months. You probably didn’t miss me as much as I missed you but I hope you did – at least a little bit. I am just here to tell you something, mind if I sit down?” I asked with my head bowed, my heart drumming in my chest.

Asterin didn’t do anything. She sat as she usually does with her claws dug into the earth.

“I am going to Scotland to visit the MacFusty family. Do you remember them? They were the ones that brought you here.”

She sat still and only gave out a loud-sounding growl.

“I know that if you could speak things would be so much easier. I know that something had to happen to you, something bad, that you are so reserved and so untrusting. And I am going there to find out what it is. I am not giving up on you, alright. I promise you that, Asterin.” I looked up at her. She tilted her head to the side, looking like she was trying to figure out what I was saying.

“And when I come back, we are going to start from scratch. I hope you know I don’t blame you for what happened. I know it was your past doing the action and not you. You can trust me, Asterin.” I gave out a soft smile and stood back up.

“I will be back before you know it and then get ready to be around me all the time.” I chuckled to myself. “You’ll see how annoying I can be.”

I grabbed my bag and hurried to where the portkey was waiting for me, leaving Asterin behind howling as if she was calling for me to come back.

—

“Hi, I’m Marcus.” A tall man greeted me when I arrived in Scotland.

“Hi, I’m Charlie.” I dusted my trousers before giving him my hand to shake.

“Oh, we know who you are, Charles Weasley. We have made the right decision assigning Asterin to you. I have heard you are doing a great job.” Marcus grinned at me.

“Where did you hear that?” I raised an eyebrow at him. “I have been in the infirmary for the past 2 months because I wasn’t careful around her and I didn’t make any progress.”

“Well, Matthew told me that you have been spending every day with Asterin before she ambushed you and she didn’t snap at you or want to eat you alive so I call that progress.” He giggled.

“You call that… What exactly did she do when she was with you?”

“The attack you suffered happened here a few times. That was the reason we wanted to transfer her. We figured that perhaps being so close to where she was found didn’t suit her.” Marcus replied.

“She attacked more than one person?” My eyes widened in surprise.

“8 to be exact.” He nodded.

I didn’t know what to say, staring at him with my mouth open. I know I shouldn’t feel relief after finding out that 8 people got hurt but I couldn’t help but feel good that Asterin didn’t only do this to me. It means that I didn’t do anything wrong or scare her, she simply doesn’t trust anyone.

“I have so many questions.” I shook my head as we got to the reserve.

“And I wish I could give you all the answers, Charlie.” Marcus’ shoulders sank. “But unfortunately we told everything we know to Matthew before bringing her to you.”

“Will you at least take me to where you found her?”

“Of course! I am not going to lie we were surprised when we got the letter announcing your arrival but we were happy you decided to come here instead and not give up on her just yet.” He smiled softly at me. “I will never give up on Asterin,” I said more to myself than to him but the shining look in his eyes told me he heard me and he liked what I said.

“How are you feeling after the journey? Do you want me to show you to your room so you can get some rest or maybe offer you something to drink or eat?”

“Thank you, Marcus, you are very kind but if you don’t mind I would like to go to the forest straight away. I don’t want to lose any time.”

“Now I know why Mary was so eager to pick you after she talked to the Swedish Sanctuary.” He laughed.

“What do you mean?” I tilted my head in confusion.

“Mary and John decided to transfer her to Sweden and when Mary got their answer, them recommending you, she replied to them at once wanting to know all about you.” He started to explain. “She was very impressed with the work you’ve done in one year in Sweden – especially when she found out how young you are.” He winked at me.

“You people flatter me too much. It’s just work.” I bowed my head, trying to hide the fact that all these compliments made my blood rush to my cheeks.

“Perhaps, it’s you that has to give yourself more credit, Charlie.” He gestured with his hand for me to step inside the 3 stories high wooden house.

“Mary, there’s someone that I think you’d like to meet,” Marcus shouted.

“Oh, dear Merlin! Is he here?” A woman that reminded me of an older version of his sister-in-law Fleur, came down the stairs with sparks in her eyes.

“Hi, I’m Charlie.” I waved awkwardly, not knowing what to do as she stared at me for solid 5 seconds.

“Oh, pardon me! I didn’t mean to stare, dear. I just wanted to meet you for months now!” She jumped in the air a bit before shaking my hand. “Thank you so much for putting so much effort and trying to find out what is wrong with Asterin. She is such a sweetheart despite, well, causing some incidents.”

“Well, the good news is, in Romania, she only hurt me.” I smiled reassuringly.

“We’ve heard.” She frowned. “I am so sorry. I am happy to see you back in good health and I admire you for still wanting to help her.”

“Could someone take me to where you found her?” I cleared my throat. I didn’t come all this way to be showered with so many compliments.

“Of course! I’m busy making supper but I will ask John if he can take you. I’ll be back in a second.” She bestowed me with a wide smile and hurried back upstairs.

Not a minute later, she came down with a young man, whispering something to him.

“Charlie! So nice to finally meet you! Are you ready to head out?” He offered me his hand without introducing himself. The second I shook it, he walked toward the door and gestured for me to follow him.

“I hope they didn’t bombard you with questions.” He sniggered when we got a few meters away from the house.

“No, it was okay.” I let out a silent laugh.

“I’m John, by the way. I apologize for not introducing myself earlier. I just saw the look on your face and had a feeling you needed to be rescued from that situation.”

“Nice to meet you, John. As I said, it was fine. I just prefer dragons over people, I guess. I am less awkward with them.” I shrugged.

“Oh, I understand. If Mary would let me, I would be outside with them all the time.” We stopped at the edge of the forest.

“I truly hope you find something in there. We were very thorough with our investigation but whoever left her in there was careful not to leave any tracks behind.” John looked angry.

We were walking for about 10 minutes when the thick forest started to open up. Some of the trees in front of us were broken and the ground looked scorched.

“This is it,” John whispered as we stopped walking and turned to me. “Take as much time as you need. I’ll be right here.”

“It’s okay. I remember how we got here so if you have anything else to do, you can go. I’ll come back alone.” I smiled. “Alright. Then I will go and play with Hephaestus. He hatched 3 weeks ago and he is adorable! When you come back I can introduce you if you’d like.” He grinned at me.

“I would love that.” I waved at him and he disappeared between the trees.

I took a deep breath and turned around. I couldn’t shake the nervous feeling in my chest. What if I can’t find anything? What if I return empty-handed and I won’t know how to tame her or help her not feel so afraid? What if I fail? I would have to break my promise to her.

“No,” I whispered to myself and inhaled and exhaled deeply. “This has to work.”

I walked closer to the scorched area and lit my wand to see better. I was determined not to leave until I find something that could help me.

The darker it got the more I lost all hope that perhaps the MacFusty family did miss something. I was ready to leave, after about 3 hours of walking around and checking every tree and twig on the ground for evidence when I looked at the big boulder on my left for what seemed like the 15th time.

It looked out of place but I couldn’t wrap my head around why that was. There is nothing unusual about a big rock in the middle of a forest but not placed like that – not leaned against a tree. I made my way to it and looked at the ground around it. It looked as if it fell to the spot and wasn’t moved again.

I decided to head back and ask John and the others about it. If they moved the rock then I will go to the forest again tomorrow and search for more clues, if not then I might just have an idea about what happened!

“Charlie, you’re back. We got worried and were ready to go and find you.” Mary said the second I came through the door.

“I apologize. I didn’t want to scare anyone. I just wanted to stay for as long as I had light.”

“Which was 2 hours ago.” Marcus sniggered.

“Did you find anything?” John wanted to know.

“Well, I wanted to ask you about the rock, leaned on a tree. Was that always there or did you move it when you were doing your search?”

“A rock?” Marcus and Mary said in unison.

“Yes, about the size of a person,” I explained. The three of them looked at each other.

“We definitely didn’t move no rocks as big as a human being,” Marcus said slowly and the other two nodded.

“It looked like it fell and was just left there.”

“Where did you find it?” John asked.

“At the scorched area. I didn’t move away from it much, I thought I would do that tomorrow.”

“Can you show me?” John got up and walked to the door, ready to put on his jacket.

“You want to go now?” Marcus seemed puzzled. “Yes, uncle. Charlie might’ve found something we’ve missed!” John turned to me, nodded and we were on our way.

“Okay, show me, Charlie,” John said a bit out of breath when we got back to the area where Asterin was found. He was so excited for me to have found something they might’ve missed that we half-ran to the forest.

“This one. Do you see the ground around it? It’s not like other rocks, where it’s evident that they have been in place for a very long time.” I pointed at the boulder and moved closer to it.

“Blimey,” John said under his breath. “I can’t believe we’ve missed this. I reckon we didn’t even see it. We probably thought it was like all the rest. But you are right, Charlie. It looks like it fell and from a great height at that!”

“Exactly!” I exclaimed, not containing my excitement at all.

“So what’s your theory, Charlie?”

“I would need to write to my team to somehow do a health check-up for Asterin, before making any speculations. But my best guess would be that the rock fell off her.”

“You mean someone hit her with this bloody thing!” John gasped.

I nodded and asked if we could go back so that I could send a letter to Matthew as soon as possible.

“John, did Charlie find something?” Mary asked when we entered the house.

“Yes, I think so. He needs to write a letter to Romania. Can you bring him some paper and prepare Puff?”

“Yes, yes! Of course!” Mary hurried to the other room while John accompanied me to the kitchen.

“Charlie, if you make the connection, this might be the answer to everything!” He started biting his nails the second we sat down.

“I know.”

“Mary said to give you this!” Marcus rushed in with a quill and several pieces of parchment.

“Thank you.”

I dipped the quill into the ink and started writing as fast as my hand allowed me.

Matthew,

we have discovered a boulder in the area where Asterin was found. It looked like it fell from a great height. I speculate that Asterin was hit by it. If it was her back it would be broken, as would be her tail. The only part of her body that could endure such an injury without a broken bone is her head.

I know we said to wait longer with the check-up because we have no idea how to do it, but you have to try and put her to sleep so that the healers can take a look at her head. See if there is any chance that her behavior has to do with the damage a rock a size of a person could cause.

Send back the owl as soon as you can and good luck,

Charles

I put the letter in the envelope Mary brought along with the owl and send Puff on her way at once.

During supper, I explained my theory of what I think happened. I believe that Asterin escaped wherever she was imprisoned. Hebridean Blacks have a good sense of where to find a dragon of their breed. Her capturer followed her and when they saw how close to the reserve she has gotten they panicked and the only way they thought they could stop her was by hitting her with a big rock on the head.

They all looked at me in astonishment as if they couldn’t believe such a thing could happen.

“If I ever find the person who has done this to Asterin, I am murdering them with my own hands!” Marcus slammed his fists against the table.

“I…I can’t believe it. I don’t want to. Poor Asterin.” Mary had her hand over her mouth, her eyes glistening with tears.

“In a way, I hope Charlie is right.” Finally said John.

“John!” Mary scolded him.

“Well, if he’s right, it means that we will know what happened to her and perhaps Charlie can take a proper approach. It means we can help her, aunt Mary.” John explained himself.

“John is right, Mary. It’s not pretty but at least she might start trusting people.” Marcus looked at me.

I went to my room the second we were done with dinner. I wanted to go to sleep as soon as possible, hoping that in the morning I will receive an answer.

I was disappointed however when the owl didn’t return the next day or the two days after that.

On the fourth day of my visit, Hephaestus and I were best mates. It was wonderful to meet so many Hebridean Blacks and observe their personality. We only have one in the Sanctuary besides Asterin and he is quite old so I never had a chance to see one so lively and playful.

I liked working with John. He reminded me of myself in so many ways – especially how he likes to talk to dragons as if they were humans. I wish we could have more people like him in the Sanctuary so that I wouldn’t feel as if I am the most obsessed dragonologist in the world – then it would be two of us!

“Alright, Hephy, now roll over and then breathe fire away from us.” John gave the order to a 3-week-old Hebridean Black.

Hephaestus did as he was told and for his performance, he received a bucket of chicken blood and brandy.

“Go on, Charlie. Tell him to do a trick, he trusts you enough now.” John gave me a thumbs up and right when I stood up to walk closer to where the dragon was, I was distracted by Puff who was flying toward us.

“Thank you, Puff.” I breathed and gently took the envelope from her even though I wanted to burst from excitement. I tore it open and started reading.

Charles,

I apologize for taking so long to return the owl with our answer. You can imagine that it wasn’t easy putting Asterin to sleep. One of our potion masters made a large batch of Sleeping Draught. It was the only way to bring her down.

Three healers examined her. You were right, Charles. She had to hit her head with something. The damage on it can be hardly seen as if one side of the rock was flat but when we gathered researchers to examine her behavior when she woke up we realized that she suffered permanent damage to her brain.

There is no internal bleeding and her skull is fine but the impact with that boulder…

I don’t know how to better explain it, Charles – she thinks she’s still a dragonling. Even though she developed and she’s growing, in her mind, Asterin will always feel as if she is the age she was on the day they found her.

The healers can explain better as you return. I hope you can do something with the information, Charles. I know you are the only one who can.

See you soon,

“Asterin, we have been at it for a week, how about we make some progress today?”

I was exhausted, standing alert, waiting to see if the dragon will calm down. Nothing, in particular, happened that would startle Asterin but she decided to roar in my face 3 times in the last 10 minutes and she even snapped at me. If I wasn’t fast enough she could’ve bitten my head off.

It’s been a week since Asterin arrived here and I am sad to say that I haven’t made any progress with her. I am disappointed – disappointed in myself. Everybody was counting on me to make her feel safe and comfortable here. Three reserves were waiting to see any progress and I didn’t do anything.

I couldn’t even get her to feel so relaxed to not dig her claws in the ground beneath her. She still roars at me – less at me than anyone else but she roars nonetheless. She scratches anyone who dares to come close to her and the second she sees me in protective gear her nostrils start smoking.

The only thing that has changed since the day of her arrival is that she eats chicken blood and brandy and thus we can see progress in her growth.

My boss understands and is patient with me. He constantly reminds me that I have all the time in the world as long as she doesn’t hurt me. I know I have to take it slow and give her time but I can’t shake the feeling it would be easier if I knew what exactly happened to her.

I wish I could find a way for her to trust me, to feel safe at least, and to start eating anything else than liquids. She is growing but not at the rate she is supposed to, to reach the correct size for her age.

Every day when I come home from work I make myself some dinner and take out blank pieces of paper and start contemplating ideas what else I could try.

I tried talking to her, singing to her. I imitated roaring and rolled on the ground. I left her completely alone for a whole day, observing her from a nearby hill but she didn’t move, being a curveball for the entire day.

I brought her different types of food – venison, chicken, boar, even a wolf. I gave her bread, all kinds of fruit and vegetables but she merely sniffed anything.

I even pretended that I was a dragon – trust me it was the most awkward thing I have ever done.

When I told Matthew of the idea he needed every muscle in his body not to start laughing. He helped me make the costume I put over my protective gear. I carefully walked to her habitat and I piqued her interest the second she saw me. Matthew got a recording of roars from the researchers and when I stopped in front of her, I turned it on so that it appeared as if I was making the sounds. Then I took out my wand and cast a few fire spells so that she could see I can breathe fire.

To my surprise, she didn’t get territorial but laid on the ground observing my every move. Matt reckoned she knew it wasn’t a real dragon. I had a feeling she was playful but it didn’t make any sense. Dragons aren’t playful around other dragons at this age – they become defensive and aggressive. I could feel she was still tense and she didn’t move – not even her tail – but she looked intrigued which was the first time after I brought her the blood and brandy the first night in the forest.

I was running out of ideas. I asked other dragonologists that have more experience with dragons, Hebridean Blacks in particular, but none of them told me anything new. They indeed are the hardest to tame but none are this afraid. Being one of the mightiest dragons, Blacks usually have little reason to be scared of anything.

I understand that she had a bad experience when she was a baby dragon and who knows how long she was alone before the MacFusty family found her. None of us knows what happened to her or who did this to her – we only have her scars to tell us the story with a lot of gaps in it.

I tried putting myself in her shoes – to imagine how scared she was all alone, what she had to endure, and how I would act if I was brought to a place like the Sanctuary. I realized that a week isn’t even close to start being comfortable after being transported across the continent.

Since Hebridean Blacks are very rarely found outside Scotland and the MacFusty clan keeps track of dragons on Hebrides Islands it’s clear that someone who doesn’t have the authority to take care of a dragon brought her there.

I was still standing in front of her waiting for anything to change but it didn’t. I know I wasn’t timed on when I make some progress with her but in a week’s time she has to go through her health check-up and since I am the only one she doesn’t seem to want to kill when she gets approached, I can’t see that happening.

“We are supposed to go see the healers so they can see if you have any broken bones and check your teeth and give you an assessment and I can’t let them do that because you get all murderous with your bites and fire.” I playfully rolled my eyes at her getting nothing but a tail movement in return.

“Do you want to eat me? Or scratch me?” I raised my eyebrows. “It would be better than just standing still,” I mumbled to myself.

Asterin didn’t react to anything I said.

“I have to be here because this is my job and you have to be here because this is your home now so how about I take a seat.”

I turned around and looked at the nearby rocks. I took out my wand and levitated one closer to me so I could sit down.

Before I could finish the spell I felt a sharp pain in the middle of my back. I gasped for air before letting out a screech. I turned around as fast as I could and saw Asterin standing right in front of me. She roared with her head toward the sky, and then looked down at me with smoking nostrils.

“Asterin, please, calm down.” I took a deep breath as the pain in my back overwhelmed my entire body. “I…I didn’t mean to hurt you…with that rock.”

I could hardly stand but I bowed my head anyway and started walking backward.

“It’s okay…I…I mean you no harm.” I blinked hard a few times, starting to see black spots.

The dragon roared again, louder this time, and lifted her paw to stomp on me.

“Protego!” I shouted.

I didn’t want to use a defensive spell on her that could hurt her. The last thing I needed was to frighten her some more.

“Asterin, please, you hurt me. Let me walk away.” I took a few more steps backward but with each one, she took another step forward.

I groaned from pain, trying to keep it together. I knew that I’m a dead man if I faint in front of her. It’s true that she was on a liquid diet but I don’t think she would mind eating a human.

“Ventus!” I cast another spell. I needed to put some distance between us without hurting her so the Wind spell seemed like the best option.

“Charles, what is going on?”

I have never been so happy to hear my boss’ voice.

“She…she attacked me when I turned my back to her.” My voice barely audible.

“I told you it was foolish not to wear any protective gear!” He barked. I could hear the panic in his voice.

I looked up and saw him take out his wand.

“No, please don’t do anything to her.”

“Are you mad, Charles? She almost killed you!”

“I must’ve done…something to trigger her. I turned my back to…her before and she has never done this.”

“We can talk about this later. I have to get you to the infirmary!” Matthew kneeled next to me and helped me get up.

I clenched my teeth from the pain that lifting my body caused me but I knew I have to endure it.

“Blimey, Charles, the cut looks really bad,” Matthew said concerned.

“I’ll be fine.” I swung my hand, wanting him to stop worrying about me.

“This has gone too far. You have to start wearing your gear when you’re with her or I am assigning her to someone else.” Matthew frowned as we started walking away from the dragon.

I could hear her roar – cry almost – as we walked away and out of her sight. I couldn’t believe that the Wind spell did the trick and made her stay put. I was sure she was going to come after me again, more determined, and try to finish me off.

The second we saw the infirmary, Matt started to shout for any of the healers to hear him. Two of them came out, saw in what state I was, and helped Matt move me inside.

“What happened?” I heard one ask.

“The new Hebridean Black clawed him on the back,” Matthew answered.

“It’s pretty deep, Matt,” the other said as they laid me on the hospital bed and cut my shirt off. “Why wasn’t he wearing any protective equipment?”

“Don’t ask.” Matt sighed. “Is he going to be okay?”

That was the last thing I heard before my body finally gave in to the pain that was only getting stronger as the healers looked at my wound. I closed my eyes and all noise around me disappeared.

When I woke up, I saw Matthew sitting in front of me. The second he saw my eyes flutter he stood up and leaned over me.

“Charles, how are you feeling?” He couldn’t contain the concern in his voice.

“I’ve been better.” I tried chuckling but my back was still in too much pain. “How long have I been out?”

“3 days. The healers barely saved you. The cut was very deep. In the middle, the claw got to one of your vertebrae. It was so bad they couldn’t use magic on you, they needed to use stitches. You’re lucky to be alive!”

“Go ahead, scold me.” I made the effort to fully open my eyes so I could see the expression on his face.

“You are going to need months to fully heal and the healers said that even though they were able to mend your wound and stitch you up, the injury will leave one nasty scar. Let that be a reminder to you that dragons aren’t Crups, Charles.” He furrowed his brows at me.

“I am sorry. I might’ve taken it too far but I am getting desperate, Matt. Nothing I do works. Every idea I come up with, flops. I don’t know what to do to help her and I can’t fail this. I can’t.” I wanted to lift my arms to bury my face in my hands but I couldn’t move them that much.

“I know you can’t, Charles. Why do you think I was so strict with you not letting you work with the higher-class dragons?”

“Because I don’t have enough experience?” I guessed.

“No. I can’t even believe you fell for that. You’re one of the most talented dragonologists here. You’re more qualified to work with the most vicious dragons in this Sanctuary than some of my men that have 20+ years experience behind them.” Matthew pursed his lips. I could see it in his eyes that he never wanted to tell me this but I guess me almost dying changed his mind.

“Then why not let me?” I wanted to know.

“Because even though your burning love for dragons comes in handy in many ways, when you are dealing with a challenge you are ready to risk everything, even your life, to get it done.” He sat back down, shaking his head.

“Okay, I admit that I went a bit overboard letting my guard down with Asterin so quickly but I have never seen such a stubborn and frightened dragon.” A look of concern creased my face.

“Charles, we can’t take the right approach if we don’t know what exactly happened to the dragon.” Matthew sighed.

“How long can’t I work?”

“I told you, at least a few months. First, we have to see if your stitches are going to be okay – we can’t risk you getting an infection. Then you have to get the stitches taken out and then maybe I can let you back to work with Hel, Lasair, and Rocker.” Matthew said with his eyes narrowed, thinking of the possibilities.

“How about I do something else when they release me from the infirmary?” I was biting my lip nervously. I wanted to ask him about this for days but I wasn’t sure if he would be up for it. Now that I am laying in front of him, barely able to move, he might just think it’s the only way.

“I’m listening.” He lifted his left eyebrow, his eyes locked with mine.

“As you said we can’t take the right approach because we don’t know what happened to her. How about I go and pay a visit to the MacFusty clan, take a look around, and ask them some questions. Maybe I can learn something that could help me with Asterin.”

“They will give you the same story they told me, Charlie. There is nothing else to find out.” Matt’s lips curved down.

“Please, just let me try. I have to try and it is less dangerous than working with her.” I grinned at him as much as I could.

“You won’t take no for an answer, will you?” He shook his head playfully. “No, I will not.”

“Fine!” He sighed. “But only when your stitches are out and the healers deem you ready for such a long journey.” “You’ve got yourself a deal, boss!”

I couldn’t believe he will allow me to do this. I trust the MacFusty family but what if they missed something? What if there is something crucial for me to know to properly approach the dragon? I know that there is a low chance of succeeding. The family is known for being huge dragon lovers and enthusiasts and I doubt they would just give up on her without trying everything that comes to mind first.