barbeque wizard anyone? ....

[cas]

Caspian frowned and rubbed at his back as he dug into the bag at his feet.. if you'd ever tried apparating while holding a large sack you'd be better equipped to understand why. Twisting on the spot with all that added weight flinging around? right... but there was the thing. You never really knew what you might need on any given case.. and for one like today?...best to be prepared for anything.

They'd been informed of an escape from one of the dragon preserves. A mother Swedish Short-Snout and her single off-spring had been seen crossing the apparently failed wards as she was attempting to teach it to use its wings. At some point a muggle plane had apparently clipped the infant and it had gone down somewhere just out side of a small village in the far lieing and mostly uninhabited outskirts of Norwich. The mother had connected the plane to the muggles.. or so it was assumed.. and decided that her child was in the village.. and that she was going to get it back.. Teams had already been assigned to deal with the adult.. but the task of finding..patching up.. and crating the little one so a team could take it back to her had been given to their group...singed hair all around boys and err..Fo.. yep..even the little ones, cute as they were could spout bouts of fire... and this species in-particular? Bright blue flames.. hotter and more intense that the typical tongues of red and gold.

Honestly though? He could face up to all of that. but the twist turning on the spot with that monster of a sack had given his back while apparating? Yeahhh.. that was going to suck rather brilliantly later...maybe he could talk Fo into rubbing it for him. The unlikely to happen thought brought a smirk to his lips and the twang zipping through his back a grimace shortly after. Of all the things to get hurt doing.. could there be anything less daft? .. right..luckily he hadn't said that out loud with Fo nearby to respond to it. Toting a rope over his shoulder and a box filled with some rather kick arse burn reversing potion in his hands.. his own concoction and a bloody life saver at that, Vic would kill him if Teddy came home half melted.. she seemed to enjoy looking at his ugly arse just the way it was, ..Cas set the box on a large boulder and paused to stand beside Teddy as he watched Fo in the distance. They'd found the little bugger.. the preserve in his opinion needed to do a little staff reshuffling..seeing as the report they'd gotten had claimed it was a young female they were after when the sour shake of her head as Fo walked back clearly stated that a woman's voice had had no effect on this little guy.. that's right.. guy. Glancing over at Teddy he shrugged.. " Guess we're up, eh mate? " ..looking back at the dragon, the size of a large pony, as the silvery blue creature blew out a jet of bright blue flame and stomped a nervous foot, its injured wind curled protectively to it side, he grimaced and nodded at its head. " So err... who's turn is it to get that end? "

[.THEODORE REMUS LUPIN !]

"Oh, brilliant."

Teddy gripped the notes on the case before them in his gloved hands, his eyes skimming the sheets for needed information. How long had the two dragons been out, stats and data on the Muggle village about six kilometers southeast of their current location, the details the wardens had kept on the baby dragon in their care. Only, apparently, they were going to have hire new wardens, because these guys didn't know the difference between genders. Which is a pretty amazing feat in itself, as the telltale "signs" of this baby dragon's "maleness" were obviously hangin' out there for the world to see. Teddy rolled his eyes at the line marked "female."

Honestly.

Fo shook her head and Teddy flicked his wand at the sheets, changing the mistake. "It would be a male, wouldn't it? Feisty as fuck when they're young. Worse than pregnant females, I tell you." Cas looked skeptically at the injured dragon off in the distance, insinuating it was Teddy's turn to get the dangerous end. The head. You know, they one that breathes fire about 12 meters, white-blue hot and not exactly kind to human flesh. Oh, and did he mention the shortsnout's smooth skin was an excellent spell repellent? "Brilliant," Teddy muttered again, folding the paper in half and shoving it into jacket pocket. It was cold, it was windy, it was wet, and the dragon turned out to be a rambunctious, injured male.

Why was Cas smiling so wide?

Probably for the same reason Teddy was.

"It's my turn," Teddy answered him, snapping his wand out of the easy-access sheath on the upper left arm of his jacket. "You had the Welsh Green last time, remember?" They didn't get dragons too often, so each sighting stood out. Teddy remembered last time, with the event with the Common Welsh Green, Cas had promised to give him the "fun" job at the next dragon sighting... that is, distracting the dragon from the front while simultaneously trying to calm it with words and soothing spells. Meanwhile, two or three wingmen tried for stunning or sleeping spells in the dragon's eyes or open mouth, keeping in the blindside as best they could.

Teddy got to play decoy today. Fo rolled her eyes at the immaturity of Teddy and Cas's grins, but as per usual, they ignored her. Teddy instead joined Fo and Cas in their group to decide what to do, slipping Caspian a high five on his way. Dragon? Yes. Two dragons? Better. A rampaging mother and her injured male young?

Best. Day. Ever.

"So how do we go about this? Usual? He's not going to be mobile because of his wing, but that's only going to make him scared and angry," Teddy started, knowing full well Fo was probably about to tell them this, but Teddy was too antsy to let her do her "boss" thing just yet. "And that'll make him spit fire like it's going out of style. Yeah?" He finished, jumping a little on the balls of his feet to keep his temperature up in this weather. He looked first to Fo bu let his gaze drift to Cas. Sure, he'd take orders from Fo, but when it came right down to it, Cas and Teddy had been pulling stunts and surging adrenaline together for so long they could work without thinking. Terms like "well oiled machine," "clockwork," and "shared brain" come to mind. So naturally, Teddy looked to Cas for his opinion.

Whatever it was, he just wanted to get started!

[cas]

Ahhh... right.. the Welsh Green.. fond memories that.. not as bad ass as some of its cousins, but you know, the funny thing is, Green, Red or Blue..whatever it's abilities... when a creature weighing in at over five hundred pounds decides to stomp squarely on your foot?..right.. for that brief.. pain filled, toe throbbing moment all the damn little buggers looked just alike. It had taken two healing spells to put his foot right after that little incident.

Now as Cas eyed the all to active clawed feet on the one before them he found himself reaching into an inner pocket of his cloak to retrieve a pack of cigarettes. Whoever said the muggles had never created anything of use? Nicotine in a puffable stick.. yes he and nicotine got on quite well together. He'd walked forward to meet Fo as she'd approached them, meeting his best mate in a slapping of their palms as he to joined the group. Sure high fives were trademarks of adolescent teens.. seen as immature by most.. Fo included obviously as her eyes rolled for the... how many times had she done that now? He'd kept track at first but had lost count somewhere around the two hundredth mark or so. The thing was.. he and Ted? ..yeah.. they just didn't 'care' what anyone thought of it.. they were the way they were and be damned the opinions right?

Wordlessly he drew out a cig and murmured a spell, his wand tip to its end as a flare sparked out to light it. He then tucked the pack back into his cloak. He never bothered to offer one to Ted before the later part of a case.. that was when his best mates nerves sometimes would have him give into the desire for one, and he never offered one to Fo period. He had once, on their first case.. and she'd smiled.. asked for the pack..(he'd thought shes take one or two and hand it back..some people liked to pack their own with a tap or two before pulling them out right?).. and on getting it had promptly pulled the whole of the pack out..snapped them all in two and tossed them in the lake they were working at for the bloody fish to have a field day with. Obviously, after standing with his jaw agape for a solid two minutes of starring, Cas had come to two conclusions.. don't offer cigs to Fo.. she didn't care for them..and always carry a spare pack.

Cas grinned at Teddys' questions and held up a finger to both he and Fo. Taking a drag off of his cigarette, he blew a cloud off to the side as he walked over to the box he'd placed on the boulder. Sticking the cig in his lips to free his hands he opened the box and pulled out a vile filled with violet colored liquid. Turning back to the others he pulled the cigarette from his mouth with one hand, a curl of gray smoke snaking up around his head and into the air..and held the vile up with the other. A grin crossed his lips. " Something new I've been toying with.. ruddy stuffs been a right pain in the arse to get the dosing figured out but I'm fairly confident it'll work now.. worth ten or twelve stunning and sleep spells.. "if" we can get the little bloke to drink it." Grinning at Teddy he chucked him the vile..as you said.. your turn for the head mate! " a wide smirk split his lips and he took another drag from his cigarette before glance at Fo for approval and then continuing to speak to Teddy. I'll see what I can do about holding off the flames from the rear.. and all you've got to do is get that little bit of drink down his throat without getting toasted... easy enough right?" The wide smirk on his lips clearly stated just how 'easy' he knew the feat would be.

[.THEODORE REMUS LUPIN !]

As the three of them collected in a circle for the final briefing before heading off to do battle with dragons (oh, how Saint George would have been proud), the Shortsnout bellowed in impish rage and fear. Teddy spared an impatient glance at the enormous beast, its shining blue scales reflecting off the snow and making it dazzle blindingly. But again his head turned inward towards the circle, facing Cas and Fo and blinking the smoke out of his eyes. Caspian's cigarette smoking (addiction?) was nothing new and Teddy didn't complain, known himself to take a drag or two after a dayful of rattled nerves, close calls and quick trips to the medic tent. So he remained as focused as could be expected, automatically translating Caspian's somewhat muffled speech, the cigarette clenched between his teeth.

Fo gave Cas her most withering stare, a look the two boys had since become desensitized to. It wasn't like that hadn't seen it most every day for the last couple years, and the two of them simply ignored it. Cas trekked back to a bag he left on the stone formation behind them, Teddy's eyes following his friend's back as he retreated, only to return and toss a small glass vile, filled to the brim with a thick, violet-colored liquid and corked snuggly at the top. Teddy caught it in the hand not holding his wand, picking it out of the air deftly and holding it in front of his eyes to examine it against the light.

"How the hell did you manage to liquefy a spell?" He blanched, spinning the vile between his thumb and forefinger. "That's completely brilliant," he enthused, looking up again from the vile in his hand to give Caspian a thrilling look. A toothy grin split his features, and he lifted his other hand uncork the stopped. But, thinking better of it, he instead snapped the vile on the arm band that normally held his wand, and nodded again to Cas.

But Godric, this wasn't going to be easy. "You don't suppose I could just toss the lot into the 'Snout's mouth, d'you?" He asked. "Can't imagine glass is part of their daily diet... But then again it is a dragon. Sure the little fella can handle it." Teddy's gaze again drifted to the practically glowing blue mass of dragon off to his right, considering. Glass in the stomach? Please, Teddy. That's the very least of your worries.

Because, oh right, it breathes fire. Hot fire. Blue hot fire. Doofus.

"...Eaaasy enough," Teddy said hesitantly, answering Caspian's cocky grin with a smirk of his own. The liquid sloshed a little in its tube as Teddy fidgeted in the snow, though he wasn't sure if he was itching to get started or trying to get some feeling back into his toes. "But you keep up your end of the deal and you'll make my job a lot easier. Tossing this thing into its mouth, I tell you! S'pose it'll go a right bit smoother than trying to hex its eyes, though, eh?" Teddy considered the vile again and shrugged. "Guess we'll see."

[cas]

A wide smirking grin and a shrug were the first response he had for Teddy's awe at the 'liquefied spell'. "The thing is.. its not really.. I've done a bit of research on the side right? Why most potion users shy away from muggle research.. " He shook his head. "We'er not the 'only' ones who can discover new things mate.. granted I tweaked the mix of herbs and chemicals a bit.. starts with something they call a tranqilufier or some such.. add a dash of magic.. " he shrugged as if to say and there you go.. details on the specifics of potion creation would be lost on his best mate he knew. Not that Teddy wasn't intelligent enough to grasp it.. he just point blank found it boring..or seemed to have on past occasions when Cas had tried delving into the subject with him. Of course an entire school carrier of having potions go wrong on you more often than not..yeah.. he supposed that could be a bit of a damper to your interest in it. He after all detested Transfiguration.. rubbish at the subject.. he'd once been trying to turn a tea cup to mouse in class and had somehow cast the spell on his finger instead. It has sprouted soft white hair and started feebly squeaking and it had taken a very amused Teddy to help him in changing it back to its proper state.. right,.. for saves like that Ted could use any potion he managed to come up with and he'd not bore him with the details on how exactly it came to be.

He rose a brow at Ted's question about the glass and smirked.. "With his breath? It'll be melted down before it ever hits his innards right?..tossing it in should do fine, just be sure to get it in as far back as possible, yeah? ..if he dosn't get the full dose all it will do is disorient him and make him a bit more likely to lash out..." he glanced over at the agitated blue creature..smoke pouring from its nose and flame jetting at regular intervals from its open toothy mouth, and he grinned..".. well, you know.. more than hes already doing."

Smiling he clapped his hands together.."so then!.. he shifted the rope he'd pulled from the sack moments before a bit on his shoulder where it was wound around under his arm and against his side. " Lets do this shall we? ..Teddys got a family waiting..I've got a date with my favorite seat in a back corner at the three broomsticks.. and Fo.. " he smirked and rose a brow " well she'd be welcome to share my seat.. course its a bit small, might have to pile up..I call bottom.." Promptly Fo's hand reached up with a swift smack across his cheek.. right on cue. Damn!.. one of these times his eye was going to explode.. Rubbing at it and working his jaw he never the less smirked over at Teddy .. "gotta appreciate the strength of those love taps right? ..I'm wearing her down..you'll see.. " Glancing at Fo he grinned and winked..to which she rolled her eyes. Chuckling softly he pulled his cigarette from his mouth after one last lung clogging drag..relishing the rush of nicotine to his blood..and tossed in on the ground, snuffing it with his sneaker before plucking up the butt and shoving it into his pocket. Littering was a huge pet peeve of his.

"Your up Teddy mate.. keep him distracted at a distance and I'll head around from behind and tackle him for there.. once I've got his oven doused you can get all up close and cozy personal right? " Smirking he headed off to the far side in a wide breath around the edge of the clearing.

[fo]

It was ridiculous sometimes just how stupid people could be. It was even more ridiculous how many times stupid people got hired for important jobs and then ended up mucking them up some way or another. It was obvious that the wardens hired at the Dragon reservation were a couple of those people as she stood in front of the young, injured Swedish Short-Snout. She had tried talking to it, in the calming voice she would use with any female dragon, but it was obvious that this wasn't going to work. For one, her voice had no calming effect on the poor thing, as it just stamped around in more agitation, and for another thing, she could see that it wasn't a female. For the sake of the wardens, she hoped it was just a paperwork mistake.

Backing away from the dragon, Fo turned when she was safely away from it and shook her head a little in disgust, reaching back to quickly and expertly work it up into a ponytail. She didn't even have to say anything to Cas and Teddy before they realized that they were up with the little guy (well, little as in young, not size), and were grinning broadly as if they had won the lottery. She rolled her eyes at them, but inside she was laughing, knowing exactly how they felt. The adrenaline, the thrill, the chance to take on something that could burn you to a crisp and then stomp you until you were as flat as a biscuit--maybe it was an acquired taste, but to people like them, it was this thing called 'fun'.

As they headed over, she heard the crack of their hands together and shook her head a little bit. Sometimes she wondered about her own workers and their immaturity, but it wasn't like this was a job for the serious. Sure, she could pull it off as their boss, walk around giving orders so that they didn't all get bloody killed, but it wasn't as if inside she was a stiff. Facing imminent death all the time, scaly 'monsters' and watery 'demons' and whatever else they were made to do, was not for most people. She gave a mental snort at the thought of some ministry bloke, in a set of perfectly pressed robes, trying to take on this agitated male dragon. They wouldn't stand a chance.

Blinking to bring herself back into focus with Teddy and Cas, Fo gave Caspian the sort of look she saved when he pulled out his cigarettes. Considering he was above age and a free man, she couldn't really stop him from smoking, unless she banned it in their group when on the job. The thing was, while she personally thought it was a disgusting habit, and the smoke wasn't good for anything to boot, she knew Cas, and occasionally Teddy, got their sense of nerves from the cigarettes at times when things started to get dangerous or just plain bad. This business could get a little scary, so she couldn't fault them for wanting something to still a small shake in their hands. Still, for it to be in something so disgusting...Shaking her head, Fo rolled her eyes again and opened her mouth to begin to point out things about the situation and the Swedish Short-Snout itself, but Teddy beat her to it. It didn't even faze Fo, who had long since stopped getting irritated by things. Instead, she simply nodded her head a bit, zipping up her jacket a little more against the chill of the wind whipping about them.

On this mission, there wasn't much for her to do--besides keep close watch to make sure Teddy and Cas didn't get themselves killed, and okay-ing their game plan, Fo wasn't of much use with a male dragon. So she was content to move backwards a step and lean against a large rock, watching as Caspian got his bag and brought it back, showing off the glass vial that would act as a stunning spell (or twelve) if the dragon drank it. Grinning, Fo leaned forward again to look at it, knowing that if Cas was willing to give this to a creature, it must be safe. She didn't say anything, but did give a confirming nod that they could go ahead and use it, before settling back against the rock once more. Let the blokes get at it, so she could have a rest, something rather rare in this line of work.

But of course, she couldn't be off her guard. Fo had barely been listening, watching the dragon absentmindedly, when Cas dropped a suggestive line that had her hand swinging out for a nice hard slap out of reaction. Rolling her eyes with more venom this time, Fo muttered under her breath, "Bloody git," but let it slide, knowing that it was just the way Cas was.

Watching as they began to move away, ready to tackle the dragon, Fo called out to them once softly. "Try not to get killed, yeah? This is looking like a nice mini vacation for me," she said with a smile, crossing her arms and looking relaxed. Except for the alert look in her eyes and the way her wand was clenched in hand, she might have been ready for a nice kip.

[.THEODORE REMUS LUPIN !]

[please excuse the quality of the post!]

Teddy flapped his hand impatiently at Fo, teasing of course, but itching to get started nevertheless. Certainly he'd "try not to get killed." "Not getting killed" was high on his list of priorities. It came right before eating, even, and that was definitely saying something.

He checked his armband again, assuring himself that the violet vial was secured into its makeshift holster. Teddy didn't want to get the dragon good and riled up and ready to spit fire (the perfect time for Ted to chuck the thing down its throat), only to find that the key to this entire strategy lay in a mess of broken glass somewhere. He tugged on the vial with a careful look on his face, and, satisfied that it wasn't going anywhere without help, nodded. "Alright, then," he chirped simply, adjusting his grip on the handle of his wand, "it's go time."

There was a glaringly obvious difference, Teddy had once observed, between Caspian and himself. They'd been friends since their first encounter on the Hogwarts express, sure, inseparable, attached at the hip, finishing-each-other's-sentences kind of deal, so much alike that they practically shared cognitive thought... but that wasn't to say there weren't discrepancies. For one, Caspian's upbringing had differed exponentially from his own, Cas having grown up with the lore of his grandmother's people and learning to love the land and the animals and all that wonderfully spiritual stuff. Teddy, on the other hand, was more preoccupied with trying to hide the occasional third eye that showed up in the middle of his forehead. He'd tackle philosophy and personal beliefs just as soon as he got his anatomy under control.

Animals had always been a big part of his friend's life, and Teddy felt his family was animal enough for him. So when Cas took a job training with the EMCC, Teddy wasn't surprised in the slightest. He had no intentions at the time to join Caspian, as animal protection wasn't the first job choice that came to his mind. It took Cas having to convince Ted of the incredible adrenaline rush that came with wrangling big magical baddies to get him to join EMCC, and even then it was difficult to explain away the paperwork that came with it.

But that was three years ago, back when Olivia had just been born, and Ted needed a better job then just working with Caspian's mom at Madam Puddifoot's. Since then, Teddy didn't need a reason to come to work anymore, and he could only thank Cas's differing personality for giving him the opportunity. Dragon catching? I would say yes.

It was in an instant that Teddy recalled this information, and as he and Cas trekked out haltingly closer to the dragon, he smiled. But he wasn't about to get all sappy and stupid in front of Cas or Fo, so Teddy passed it off as a grin of excitement for the coming task. He turned a bit and waved to Fo, a high sign that they were about to start and that she should get ready to assist at any moment. Though their team was tight and the three of them were expertly trained (well, Fo and Cas, anyway. Ted was still a bit of a greenhorn), accidents could still happen. And they happened a lot.

"On three, eh Cas?" Teddy murmured quietly off to his side, indicating that they should get ready to run. Teddy's grip on his wand was firm in the fingers but loose in the wrist, his arms relaxed like a drummer's beating out a roll. He was ready.

"One."

Teddy's knees were bent and he was shifting his weight to the balls of his feet, readying himself to bolt on the final count. The dragon's head swung toward them and they could see it's great eyes, wide with fear. Teddy almost felt bad for the little guy, until he remembered that that "little guy" was like twenty times the size of him and quite capable of frying him to a liquefied state of being.

"Two."

A final glance to the vial in its holster, but this was no shiny toy gun. Teddy trusted Cas to have gotten the potion to work, and it was on faith that he was running now.

"Three."

Teddy bolted, feet touching light on the ground, his movements quick and precise. Moments before he had cropped his hair closer to his head, no bangs to get in the way of his vision. He needed to be 100% if he was playing dummy to a distressed dragon, right?

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Cas run in the other direction, his feet hardly touching the ground long enough to make an impression the dragon could read through sense of touch. That was the way to go about it... Now to provoke it into almost spitting fire, and they'd be done.

Humanely, of course.

"Avifors!" Teddy shouted, transfiguring a pile of rocks near the dragon's head into sprightly blue birds (he would use transfiguration first, eh?). A distraction tactic - simple, hopefully effective. Start with the basics, and work your way up.

But for the love of Godric, don't ever stop running.

[cas]

Fo's request that they attempt not to get killed received a glance over his shoulder complete with broad smirking grin and raised brow.."Sure thing Fo..since you asked so nicely right? ..You know, for the promise of a date I'll even throw in a guarantee that I wont get singed..." The look he no doubt got in return brought forth a chuckle.."no? ..right then."

Turning back to the task at hand he picked up on Teddy's murmur of a count down and nodded his agreement. It was a smart move of course as with both of them heading in at the exact same moment the dragon would be torn, not know which of them to focus on first.

One.

....He tensed, wand in hand and the rope he'd enchanted to hold up a short while longer than normal in the intense heat of an inferno snug about his shoulder...

Two.

....Dig in your toes mate and get ready for one hell of a rush.. damn he wouldn't mind another drag, but the nicotine coursing through him from his last would suffice...

Three.

...........ground zero..the go word..and he was off, racing over the ground in the direction of the not so little tyke. He dodged a well aimed blast of fire on the part of the beast but only thanks to the distracting eruption of bright blue birds near the creatures head. 'Ted.. your are a Transfiguration god right?'.. The thought flashed through his mind as he glanced at the dragons head. As it swung around to snap unsuccessfully at the already air born cloud of twittering feathers Cas saw his opening. Thanking Merlin that fate had seen fit 'not' to have the dragon be related to same lizard family as the chameleon with their bizarre ability to look in two directions at once, he darted in and lunged forward to land across the scaly neck which was tucked low to the ground in an attempt to get a good aim at roasting one rather quick on his feet blue haired wizard.

Clinging on with every calf, thigh and other muscle at his disposal, he pulled the rope from his shoulder and made to toss a loop over the creatures head.. no go.. It fell short and he lost his seating, sliding to the side of the dragons head as his leg swung a bit to close for comfort to the snapping fangs and jets of fire trying to find there mark on his best mate. Heaving with his arms he scrambled back into place and gave it another go, this time the rope settled under the dragons upper front fangs just as it threw back its head in an attempt to unseat him. Letting out a shout he grinned.. the 'cowboys' of his grans home country had nothing on this little half indian boy..

Tugging hard on the rope he held the dragons upper jaw so that it spouted flame straight up in the air rather than being able to aim it in any particular direction...and the little tike jerked back.. damn.. he'd like his arms to stay 'in' socket thanks.. Heaving back again he swung the rope bellow the scaly neck and caught it as it swung up the other side.. leverage..that would make things a bit easier.

Holding fast to the rope he yelled out through teeth partly gritted in an effort to keep his hold.. " Catch him between gout's mate! .. Don't want it burning off before it's in him right?!

[.THEODORE REMUS LUPIN !]

There were some people who were simply made for jobs like this.

Caspian had his ancestry to rely on, ages of instincts to fall back on and tactics to execute.

Fo had been brought up around animals, and her sharp mind always kept them a step ahead of the game.

Teddy, on the other hand, was just a funny little meta who still occasionally had trouble keeping his hair one color in the morning.

No skills to fall back on, no proficiency for COMC back in Hogwarts to remind himself of the difference between regular snakes and the ones that could quite unexpectedly sprout another head. He wasn't petite and agile, either, like Fo, and he didn't have the trained muscular discipline like Caspian had, years of whatever activity he could get a good workout from under his belt. In fact, Teddy couldn't really think of a skill he had that contributed positively to this particular line of work. So it was a bit baffling to see him, in all his blue-haired glory, running around like he might have a clue what he was doing.

Because at first, you know, he didn't.

"Come on, Teddy, it'll be fun!"

"How many times have you started with those words, and how many times have they led to disaster?"

"...Besides the point, mate. This one's for real!"

"Cas, I don't know anything about magical beasts, or wrangling, or anything useful other than transfig. And I've never even heard of the EMCC!"

"But you do need the money."

"...But I do need the money..."

"Atta boy, Ted! Come on, you'll do great!"

Yeah, you'll do great... eventually.

It had taken Teddy until only about a year ago to make any decent headway in the "great" department, as he was a major contributor of all the injury reports they've filled out. If he wasn't able to morph away the scars, Teddy reckoned he'd be riddled with them by now. But maybe even that was vain of him? Worried more about scars than workmanship. Typically Teddy, he supposed. It wasn't for nothing, he'd bet, Harry thought he could be using his morphing for other purposes more suited to his skills. Catching doxies and rescuing wounded pixies didn't really have anything to do with changing the shape of your nose.

But eh. The kooks he hung around with (aka his boss and that jerk who convinced him to join up in the first place) managed to find him capable enough, and after months of practice and field work, the three of them had finally reached a level of proficiency he honestly never thought possible. Hurray, ego boost...?

What an odd introduction to... FUCK THAT FIRE IS HOT.

"Fuck!" Teddy swore loudly, running faster to keep the flame off his tail. Bird distraction work? Why yes! Bird distraction backfire? ...Why yes.

The dragon was now quite thoroughly occupied with getting those irritable birds out of his vision, chomping and breathing fire so that the birds flew away in transfigured fear. Unfortunately for Teddy, they flew in the same direction he was running. Pick up the pace pick up the pace pick up the pace...

And suddenly the fire stopped. Teddy looked quickly over his shoulder to see Cas with a rope under the dragon's neck. In between the bursts of fire? Oh sure. That sounds simple enough, but oh, the timing. "Yeah, yeah," he shouted back, scowling (yet still enjoying the rush). "Do my best."

One spout of fire was quickly cut off my Cas's handling, leaving the dragon's mouth wide open. Now, Ted! He thought to himself and reached for the holster on his arm where the potion was, but ah, too slow. The dragon closed its mouth and started thrashing its head, throwing Cas for a ride. "Sorry, mate! Gimme one more shot!" Teddy apologized, and quickly racked his brain for another useful spell.

A flick of his wand later and the remaining birds turned back into stones and plummeted to the ground. The momentary distraction enabled Teddy to get to an advantageous spot, ready to take aim again. "Alright, Cas? On your go!"

[cas]

Right.. he had to wonder if the teams that had gone after the mother were having quiet as much of a challenge as this was turning out to me. Sure they had a larger beast to deal with.. and no doubt a fair share of panicked muggles. Perhaps some ravaged live stock to be concerned over.. a smashed cottage or two... ok so 'maybe' they did have their hands full. Even with several teams at their disposal. That consideration did nothing however to dispel the fact that though it was a bright and beautiful day.. and though there was ample snow to submerge ones self in possibly avoiding a nasty body wide scar should the dragons 'hotter than your average fire' breath get out of hand, this was shaping up to be slightly more challenging than originally thought.. blame it on the male gender right? had it been a female like the paper had claimed Fo would have already successfully lulled her with speech to a state that she would be manageable. .. Maybe their was a 'tiny' foundation to the average girls claim that most blokes were temperamental and pig headed... .. ..pshh.. Nah!!..

Cas wrestled with the rope as even with the leverage he'd managed the 'little' boy he was straddling was slowly beginning to gain the upper hand..surprise there? ..heh..NO.. His heart leapt..and fell flat on its face as Ted pulled the potion free from its place on his arm only to have to draw up short on throwing in it as the dragon gave another heave, momentarily regaining power over it head and closing its mouth. Steam rolled and flames licked and when Cas again had its upper jaw pulled back, sweat abundant on his brow and spotting his shirt at the effort, he grimace at the site of the rope.

"Not to rush you or anything mate but one more bout of fire like that and the ropes done for right?!?" ..he called out to Ted before reaching forward, his attention consumed in both strengthening his grip on the rope and rolling with a sudden twist of the dragons neck. One fault with this plan.. with his whole brilliant 'straddle the fire breathing death lizard and pet his nose while you hold a muzzle on him so your mate can play broomless quidditch with a glass vial and a flame pit' idea, he'd forgotten to take into consideration that dragons have claws.. large, sharp..comparable in wizard skewering ability to the fangs claws.. and each one was attached to a leg that had a good deal of mobility in its own right.

It was one of those claws that, as Cas's eye was drawn to the suddenly restored rocks raining down from the sky, that reached up just out of his distracted vision to work together with the dragons tilted neck and allow it to scratch at the annoying 'bug' currently pestering its neck and head. Cas cringed and cursed as an ebony talon the size of a large steak knife sliced into his bicep and sent a curtain of crimson flowing down his arm, dribbling onto his clothes. Once back in Hogwarts he'd been on the receiving end of a hippogriffs talons that hadn't thought his bow quite timely or deep enough for it. That had hurt.. this? Right, even 'he' wouldn't put 'that' feeling into words with a woman in hearing distance. Damn..no time for healing spells at the moment.. and he'd actually liked this shirt to..

Wrapping the ropes around his hands he yanked back with strength that was beginning to fail, especially in his now injured arm. Wrenching the dragons head back firmly..ignoring the increase in blood flow as a result he nodded to Ted.. "Now or never mate.. this rope goes and he's going to be out for paybacks right? "