After lunch, Black and Potter apparated to Chapel Lagoon. They arrived just in time for the security barrier, which let the boy through easily, followed by his godfather. As they made their way through the dense vegetation of the rainforest, Harry spotted more and more magical creatures as they made their way along the path, including large lechurs, hippo-like hippopotamuses, goblins and many beasts he had only seen in books. Finally, after a few hours, Sirius broke through another thicket. Thick, lush grass stretched out to the horizon, punctuated by tall trees, and to the right, below the cliff, the light waves of a large lake broke against the rocks on the shore. Surely this was the lagoon James Potter had spoken of.
Sirius and his godson decided to have a look around. Black went to the cliff while Potter went down to the shore of the lake. After a few minutes, the boy noticed a series of caves chaotically carved into one of the rocks. He didn't explore them, but he peered into one and realised that even the largest dragon could fit in there. He returned to the cliff and sat down on the grass next to his godfather.
- So, what do you think of the legacy? - Black was stretched out on the grass, chewing on a blade of grass.
- I like it. I think I'll go and see the goblins tonight. I've got a contract to draw up. Here," Harry waved his hand towards the plateau, "is the perfect place for a house.
- Then there's no time to lose! - Sirius sprang to his feet. - Let's go straight to Gringotts!
There was a clap and they both disappeared.
****
Gripphoek's study was quiet. A quill creaked and a large fireplace crackled softly, the flames kept alive more for visitors than for warmth. The doors opened. Once again, Sirius Black and Harry Potter stood on the threshold.
- What can I do for you, gentlemen? - The goblin was not surprised by their appearance, as if he knew there was more to it.
- I would like a contract to build a house on inherited land. You will be granted access, but only with reasonable restrictions. - Harry didn't beat around the bush and got straight to the point.
- What kind of house do you want?
- It would be a small estate with a garden and flower beds. No more than two storeys. Ground floor: kitchen, sitting room, study. From the study there are doors to the basement: a laboratory on one side and a ritual and dueling room on the other. First floor: three bedrooms, each with its own bathroom. Large attic, two wings, large balcony over the living room. French windows throughout. Garden and flower garden standard, set of plants - complete. A set of protective charms - also complete, activated by the host's blood.
Sirius watched his godson with interest. When had he thought of a plan for the house?
Gripphoek hesitated:
- It'll cost you, Mr Potter.
- Don't worry about that. The main thing is that I can move in as soon as possible.
The parchment flew to Grippuk. He sketched out the client's basic requirements and began to spell out the points of the contract. Harry watched the goblin closely, reading every line.
Finally, the sums were read out, the contract signed, the non-disclosure clauses agreed, and a copy was placed in a sealed tube and sealed with wax. Griphook held it out to Potter.
- Good. When can we start? - The goblin, already expecting a good reward, continued with a smile:
- "We will provide the best builders for this project, rest assured.
****
A few days later, having successfully crossed the border into Mexico and sorted out the formalities, the goblins set to work. A whole tent city had sprung up on the plateau. A hundred goblins in protective suits moved in and out, altering the landscape, cutting down trees and building the walls of the future settlement. Some of the goblins tended to their gardens, marking out a plan for planting. The seeds of the fruit trees jumped out of their sacks on their own, thrusting themselves into the ground with great force, and after the first few leaves had fallen, they wiggled happily, stretching and raking the ground up to the trunk.
After the garden, the Masters moved on to the flower bed and the fountain: neat beds of magic roses, each one ringing in its own way; magic, everlasting peonies; blue orchids, braiding trees; water lilies, playing intricate pas in the water of the fountain - everything here seemed to live its own special life.
Meanwhile, on a cleared patch of land not far from the cliff, a house was being built. On the first day, the foundations for the dueling and ritual halls were poured. In the days that followed, smooth stone walls were erected, glass was put in the windows, stretched like a soap bubble over the frames, boards were thrown into the doorways and laid on the floor. The builders, squinting contentedly, watched the wizardry unfold, occasionally redirecting materials. Soon the façade of the building was covered in patterned stucco, which was quickly overgrown with ivy.
A week later, everything was finally ready to receive its hosts. The interior was finished, the storerooms overflowing with stasis charms, and the laboratory stocked with all manner of ingredients.
After paying off the goblins, Potter and his godfather, with the help of the housekeepers, gathered their belongings and apparated to the lagoon.
****
The two-storey house looked comfortable from the outside. Two floors, large floor-to-ceiling windows, ivy-covered walls, it all gave Harry a sense of calm and hope that he would finally have a home of his own. Sure, his godfather wasn't bad, but to have his own estate, a home the boy had never had before, was just wonderful. The perfect place to start a new life.
- There you are, godson, you're home! - Sirius bounced into the living room.
It was quite cosy inside too, the furniture in bright colours. He let himself in and the fireplace lit up cheerfully as if to say hello.
He summoned Dobby, who was already hard at work in the kitchen, where there was a decent supply of food under Stasis' spell.
While the elf cooked and cleaned, Harry took a look around the house. On the ground floor was the living room, with a large fireplace. The second door on the left down the hall were three bedrooms - two guest bedrooms and a master bedroom. Behind the last door was a large bathroom and toilet. Next was a door to the attic, but Harry didn't go there.
Downstairs he made his way to the living room and from there to the study, which was well furnished. Huge bookshelves, an oak table, a comfortable armchair, another fireplace and next to it a soft sofa covered in green velvet, on which Sirius was already sitting with a glass of red wine:
- Yes, Harry, the goblins did their best. I think you've got your hands full now!
The first thing he did was go down to the laboratory, which was in the basement of the house. He opened the cupboards to show the things he'd taken from Godric's Hollow, and Potter whistled at the ingredients in the crystal vials and leather boxes.
There was more: rattlesnake teeth, boltwort feathers, dried lacewort, two feet of basilisk skin, mandrake roots, powdered two-horned horn, boomslang skin, doxie eggs, and more. Snape would have strangled himself for a room like this!
Then Potter went to the second door. It led, like the door to the laboratory, to a cellar room, clearly magically enlarged, for the room was considerably larger than the whole house. There was a dueling chamber here, with weapons and targets. It came in handy - Harry was used to practising every day.
Back in the study, he enlarged the boxes and began stacking and sorting the books: Dark Magic in one cupboard, Light Magic in another, Dragons in a third. The scrolls Sirius had brought with the books were ancient manuscripts from the Ancestors, detailing dragon behaviour, basic care and inter-species communication. Harry had studied them long ago, but had placed them on a separate shelf, closer to his desk.
Over the next few days, by analysing the remaining texts written in Parse tongue, Potter finally worked out how to summon the first dragon and how to control it further.
A circle had to be drawn with runic formulae expressing equality, trust and love. The summoner would then stand in the centre of the diagram, holding the medallion in his hand, and recite the long formula until a suitable dragon responded and became the first friend and protector. Potter made a point of performing the ritual at the earliest opportunity.
****
Sirius liked it at Potter House, but at first he apparated to his house a few times a week and then stayed with Harry, remembering to compete with him every day in all the subjects they were studying.
Potter meditated regularly, merged with nature, ran along the beach. Finally, after a while, he felt ready to summon the dragon. Carefully rereading the text of the ritual, Harry sent the owl back to the goblins. The Dragon's Eye ring gave him the strength he needed for his first encounter with the lizard. In the evening, the owl returned with the ring. Harry fed it a packet of owl biscuits and it flew off into the forest with a contented grunt.
The place for the ritual had been prepared in a clearing in the mountain forest behind the house. After clearing a small area large enough for a dragon of any size, Harry began the ritual.
The first thing Potter did was to bathe and change into a long white robe, decorated with red runes on all the seams. Then, having gathered all the things he needed for the ritual, he went into the woods. Sirius stayed at home because he didn't want to be near a dragon.
He marked a circle with red chalk in a cleared clearing and began chanting incantations and runes at the same time, filling in the lines of the septagram, leaving a space for himself in the centre. The runes flashed bright blue at the end of each formula. Invocation, Trust, Equality, Love, Hope, Faith, Greatness... A beam erupted from each corner of the seven-pointed star, heading for the medallion Harry held tightly in his hand.
After three hours of ritualistic chanting, Potter lowered himself to the centre of the septagram and waited, clearing his mind. His father's writings suggested that he should be the first to summon the wisest and calmest lizard, the Chinese Fireball. The majestic red dragon became his friend and protector.
He waited all night. During that time, Potter took out the ring, put it on and hung the locket around his neck. At dawn, when the wind that had been rustling in the branches suddenly died down, a dot appeared in the sky above the clearing. It grew very quickly and took the shape of a long, flexible body with huge wings. The dragon spun into the clearing and landed gracefully outside the circle where Harry was still sitting. The runes flashed one last time and melted into the ground.
His legs were stiff, so Harry couldn't get up straight away. Eventually he got to his feet. The dragon watched him without blinking. Looking directly into its golden eyes, the boy bowed low and said:
- Welcome to the Valley of Dragons. My name is Harry Potter and I need your help, my Lord.
The dragon looked at the boy with interest, and then something unforgettable happened: images began to flash before Potter's eyes, and he almost lost consciousness as he sank to the ground. But a minute later it was over, and Harry knew now that the dragon was surprised and grateful for the polite treatment. Harry realised that dragons had a way of communicating, just as he had seen in the pit, but he hadn't thought it would be so tedious. Nevertheless, he rose and continued:
- I offer you a new home that I have no doubt you will enjoy. The Vale of Dragons is an ancient place of power where no dragon has been fed for a long time. So you began to die out, and it was easy for humans to enslave you. After the death of the last Dragonlord, the Vale was closed, and only the heir was able to restore everything and awaken the Source.
The dragon looked into Potter's eyes again, as if smiling. Harry raised his hand and showed the dragon the emerald ring that sat firmly on the index finger of his left hand.
The Chinese fireball's eyes narrowed as it exhaled clouds of thick steam and slowly bowed to its new overlord. Harry responded to the bow by reaching out and stroking the scaly face with his hand. A short time later, the boy escorted the dragon into the caves he had prepared for its arrival. He liked them.
A few more days passed like this. Now Harry was training in Fire and Air Magic right on the beach, and Yunsheng's snorting constantly annoyed him.
Every day Potter practised until he was exhausted. Then the dragon showed him his ancestors. To his pictures, Harry didn't notice how he dozed off and dreamed of the red dragons above the Great Wall of China, their life, their pain, their death... Potter awoke to find himself leaning on the dragon's back as it looked at him.
Yunshan blinked a few times and stared at Harry. Suddenly Harry's consciousness split, as if he could see himself, but at the same time he could clearly see the dragon standing right in front of him. He was there for a moment, but then everything went back to normal.
- What was that? - Potter's astonishment was boundless. How could he see himself and a dragon in the same place at the same time?
The dragon narrowed his eyes and began to show images from the past, where the Dragonlord was flying, sitting on Junshen's back and seeing everything as dragons see it.
- You mean I'm going to see through your eyes now?
The dragon shook his huge face and stared at the boy again. The images flashed again, this time showing other dragons: a huge black one, a small silver one, a bright orange one. And they were all carrying Lords.
- I got it. You should be warned, though! I might faint if I wasn't used to it. - It was only now that Harry realised that the gift of communicating with dragons was not limited to the Chinese Fireball, and that he could communicate with other reptiles as well. - He would have to practice...
****
The acquaintance of Yunshan and Sirius came unexpectedly. Not that Black was unaware of his presence, but he had never met the dragon in the past week.
Harry had been studying with his godfather in the Dueling Hall as usual since the morning. Just then, a yellow eye closed the entire window. Sirius twitched nervously but stayed where he was. Images of a white goat hunt high in the mountains flashed before Potter's eyes. It was as if the dragon wanted to fly.
- All right, Yunsheng. By the way, this is my godfather, Sirius Orion Black.
The dragon cocked his head and snorted.
Sirius didn't understand anything, but decided to bow as well. Contact was made.
Thus was born the friendship between the two men and the dragon. They often talked in the living room, where Junshen didn't fit at all and had to lie down on the thick grass, her yellow eyes staring out of the large window behind which Black and Potter sat.
Often the dragon would fly out to hunt directly from the house, and Sirius would join him in his animagic form, scurrying across the ground and barking loudly at the lizard. Harry didn't mind stretching out either, so he turned and jumped out after them, straight into the woods. So, almost every night, a dragon, a dog and a Simuran walked through the forest.