Charlie wouldn't have admitted it to the four friends who had agreed to smuggle a dragon across the continent for him, but he was pleasantly surprised at how well the plan to get the Norwegian Ridgeback to the sanctuary had worked. The dragon and his friends had arrived late on Sunday morning, just as he was starting to worry that something might have gone wrong.

An hour later, he had left four humans and a Crup sleeping on sofas and camp beds in his lodge, and set off for the holding pens, where the dragon was just starting to wake up. The holding pens were a temporary accommodation for the new dragons arriving at the sanctuary, where they were kept whilst being monitored for signs of illness that could be contagious to the other dragons, or prove detrimental to the survival of the newcomer.

Watching the baby dragon — Norbert, Hagrid had named him — as it stirred, it was obvious that he was malnourished. Although he was already the size of a Shetland pony at only a few weeks old, Norbert was nowhere near as well-muscled as the juveniles Charlie was used to seeing on the reserve. In comparison to most dragons his age, Norbert was downright scrawny. No wonder the sleeping draught the others had given him had knocked him for six.

The holding pens had been designed with safety in mind, for the researchers as much as for the dragons. The walls of the enclosure were made of strong metal bars, through the gaps of which a person could easily fit, and were enchanted so that they were impermeable to fire. This meant that it was easy enough for handlers to get in if needed, and — even more importantly — to get back out again. As Charlie watched Norbert stumble back into consciousness, he quickly realised that he was going to have to make use of this design; the poor creature was disoriented, and had fallen onto his back. Without the coordination or strength to right himself, Norbert was stuck.

Charlie took his wand from his pocket and slipped through the bars of the holding pen, and slowly and quietly approached the waking dragon. He pointed his wand at Norbert, and two thick coils of rope burst forth from it, wrapping themselves around the elbow and hock furthest from Charlie, who pocketed his wand, and took one rope in each hand.

"Don't worry, pal," he said to Norbert, bracing himself. "I'm going to help you up, alright? Ready? One, two, three..."

On three, he pulled as hard as he could, every muscle in his body tensing and his teeth gritted together with the effort. As he took a strained step back, Norbert's body rolled towards him, off of his back and onto his wing. Charlie breathed deeply, relaxing slightly, before steeling himself once more. Another hard pull on the ropes, and Norbert was on his side, and then - after righting himself - on his feet. The same couldn't be said for Charlie, who had stumbled backwards, propelled by the amount of force he'd been putting through the ropes, and landed on his rump. He scrambled back up onto his feet, took out his wand to vanish the ropes, and stepped towards Norbert, trying to ascertain whether or not the baby dragon had sustained any injuries on recovery.

But Norbert apparently did not want to be examined. As Charlie moved towards him, murmuring words of reassurance under his breath, the dragon thrashed his tail, and his whole body tensed.

"I am trying to help you, I promise," Charlie said in a low voice, still inching closer to the dragon. "Now, I just want to take a quick look at where you landed, and where the ropes were. Will you let me do that?"

In response to Charlie's question, Norbert roared, and darted forward, as if he were going to bite. Charlie leapt away, his hands above his shoulders.

"That's a no, then," he muttered as he exhaled, and he walked backwards towards the bars, moving slowly, eyes on the dragon, who was watching him, warily and unwaveringly. Somehow, Charlie got the feeling that someone else was doing the exact same thing. He turned his body so that it was side-on to Norbert. In his peripheral vision, he saw the tension in the dragon's body release just a little, and felt the same happen to himself.

He could see now that he had been right, someone was indeed watching him: a very short woman his own age, who was walking around the perimeter of the enclosure with slightly springy steps, one hand unconsciously touching each bar in turn as she moved past them, her hazel eyes slowly moving from him to the dragon and back again.

"Stay where you are," he said to the newcomer, who tilted her head slightly to the right, causing her dark hair to fall down in front of the left side of her face. She made no attempt to push it back.

"I wasn't going to come in," she said, rolling her eyes. "I just wanted a closer look. At the dragon, I mean."

"I know, just hold on a minute. I'm on my way towards you anyway."

His attention still mainly on the dragon, Charlie kept moving away from Norbert at a snail's pace until he reached the bars and slipped through them, out of the enclosure, less than a metre from where his small audience stood, her left hand holding one of the metal bars, her thumb tapping against it. A small smile had crept across her face.

"Now can I go and get a closer look?" she asked, raising her eyebrows at him.

"I'd have thought the journey over here would have given you plenty of chances to look at him closely."

The girl shrugged and made a noncommittal noise as she walked past Charlie towards the dragon.

"Yeah, but it was dark, and he wasn't awake like he is now."

"I'm surprised that you're awake like you are now."

"Couldn't sleep."

"Right," Charlie frowned. "Was it the sofa? Sorry, Artemis, I didn't realise it was that uncomfortable. You can go and nap in my bed if-"

"The sofa is fine, Charlie. I'm just not sleepy, that's all."

Charlie quickly looked Artemis up and down, not really believing her. There were slightly dark circles under her eyes, and though she was moving as restlessly as usual, she was slower than she'd normally be. She'd also forgotten to put shoes on - although, knowing Artemis, that might have been a conscious choice - and the cotton shorts she was wearing looked suspiciously like pyjama bottoms.

"Really? 'Cause you look shattered."

"Thanks," Artemis looked up at him and pulled a face. Charlie shrugged, and she turned back to look at Norbert. "I didn't say I wasn't tired, I said I wasn't sleepy."

"Is there a difference?" asked Charlie, and Artemis nodded, still looking at Norbert. Inside the holding pen, Norbert was glaring at both of them with his yellow eyes. "Thank you, by the way. For bringing him here. I owe you one."

"Maybe. We might be even now. I've stopped keeping track."

"Yeah, me too," Charlie chuckled, and Artemis looked back at him over her shoulder, the expression on her face a mirror of his own. She moved a few more steps around the edge of the enclosure, closer to Norbert, who immediately lowered his body onto tense legs, wings lifted, mouth open. Any sensible person would have flinched away from a dragon getting ready to fly or breathe fire at them, but not Artemis. She took another step closer. Charlie's smile slipped from his face. "Artemis, get back."

"Are the enclosures not fire repellent?" Artemis asked. She didn't move away, instead raised herself up onto her tiptoes, exposing the bare soles of her feet, blackened and grass-stained from the walk down to the holding pens. Charlie closed his eyes and exhaled quietly before he spoke again, his eyes determinedly focused on the dragon as soon as they'd opened.

"They are, but it's not you I'm worried about. Look at him, he's terrified."

"Of me? Charlie, he's five times the size of me!"

"More. But he's still only a baby. He's never even seen the outside of Hagrid's hut before last night, when you lot bundled him into a harness and gave him a sleeping draught, and now he's just woken up in a strange place. Poor dragon doesn't have a clue what's going on, and I've just gone in and pulled him around, and for all he knows, you're about to-"

Charlie didn't get a chance to finish his sentence. Before he knew what was happening, his best friend had flown back to him, wrapped both her arms tightly around his torso and buried her face against his upper arm. He stood perfectly still, scarcely even breathing.

"What's the matter?" he asked, his voice sounding hoarser than he'd expected.

"Nothing. I just realised how much I'd missed you, that's all."

Charlie cleared his throat quietly before replying, "Yeah. You too."

"Should we have not given him the sleeping draught or used the harness?" Artemis asked, taking back her arms and folding them across her chest. Her nose wrinkled as she frowned. "It seemed like a good idea."

"It was. Especially the sleeping draught."

"Chiara thought of that. She sends her love, by the way."

"Make sure to send mine back. The harness was really well-made, as well. Andre's handiwork?"

"How did you..." Artemis' voice tailed off, and she nodded slowly. "Because the leather was embossed."

"Because the leather was embossed," Charlie agreed, a grin spreading across his face. "You've got to admire his level of attention to detail. That is some real haute couture dragonwear."

Artemis grinned, and called out over her shoulder, "Do you hear that, Norbert? You must be the best dressed dragon this side of Milan."

Charlie laughed. Norbert flicked his tail around himself, and Artemis leant against one of the bars, scuffing one foot on the ground. She was frowning again.

"I hope he's alright. I didn't know how much sleeping draught was safe to give him. He slept for a really long time."

"That's just because he's so tiny."

"Not exactly the word I'd use."

"Not compared to you, he's not. But relatively speaking, he is very small. Even for a Ridgeback his age. Godric knows what Hagrid was feeding him..."

"Rats, chicken carcasses, and brandy, mostly," Artemis told him. Charlie made a noise halfway between a groan and a growl. "He's left a list of instructions, actually. It's back at your hut."

"Lodge," Charlie corrected her, and he raised his eyes skywards and shook his head. He muttered under his breath, "Bloody Hagrid."

"Hagrid's our friend, Charlie."

"Yeah, I know," said Charlie, trying to sound diplomatic as Artemis silently admonished him with her hazel eyes. "You know I love Hagrid just as much as you do, but he's really messed up this time. Come and look," he beckoned Artemis over, and she stood next to him, her right shoulder only a hair's breadth away from his left arm. "See that bony bit on his front? That's his keel — his breastbone. You shouldn't be able to see that."

"Why not?"

"Because, at this age, baby dragons should be in a space large enough for them to play with the others in the clutch. He should have built up some decent muscle over his sternum — chest — by now. Those are the muscles he'll need to use his wings to fly."

"Can they already fly at this age?" Artemis asked, looking up at Charlie with furrowed eyebrows. Charlie shrugged.

"Not properly, but they should be able to take off and hover above the ground for a bit. The thing is, without his mother or the clutch, or enough space, and not being fed decent food, this little guy is pretty far behind where he should be, development-wise," he shook his head again. "I know Hagrid probably thought that he was doing the right thing, but honestly, poor Norbert is in a pretty bad shape."

"Will he be okay?"

"I hope so," seeing the look on Artemis' face, Charlie's resolve failed him, and he changed his answer. "Yeah. He'll be alright. I'll make sure of it."

"Don't go doing anything really stupid or dangerous, though," Artemis said, and Charlie couldn't help but laugh. Really, the amount of stupidly dangerous things he'd seen that girl do in the time he'd known her... Artemis was not impressed. "I mean it, Charlie!"

"I know, I know. Look, I promise you that by this time next year, both Norbert and I will be the picture of health."

Placated, Artemis turned back to face Norbert, nodding to herself. She yawned so widely that Charlie almost did the same, and rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands. Charlie sighed.

"You look exhausted, mate," he told her. "Why don't you go back to the lodge and get some sleep?"

"Are you trying to get rid of me?"

"Have been for the past five and a half years. Well done for finally noticing," he said, his face deadpan. She elbowed him between his ribs, and he smirked. "Go on. It's your birthday, and you know Tonks is going to want to stay up late playing drinking games. You don't want to be an easy target."

"Yeah, you're right," Artemis stretched, cat-like, and stood up straight. "Besides, I want to be wide awake when you give me my present."

"I told you, I haven't got you anything."

"That's a lie, I can tell. Are you coming back to the hut?"

"It's a lodge. But no, I don't want to disturb you lot, and I want to make sure this one doesn't injure himself."

"You and your bloody dragons," Artemis muttered, with a roll of her eyes, and she padded away, barefooted on the grass.

Charlie smiled to himself, and looked over at Norbert, who was also settling back down to sleep, the excitement of having visitors clearly having worn him out. He really was weak.

"Looks like you and I both have our work cut out for us, Norbert," murmured Charlie, and the dragon let out a single puff of smoke from his nostrils.