Lia paused outside Andrew's office. An enchanted doorknocker was on the oak frame, and its eyes twitched over her. She ran her fingers over one of Helena's baby scales, neatly tucked into the pocket of her brown cargo pants-- she normally preferred green, but she needed to wash her laundry.

With a sigh, she raised her hand and knocked the doorknocker, moving her hand away quickly to avoid getting bitten by its sharp teeth. It was just Andrew. All she was doing was bringing up the eggs. It was probably just wolves, she told herself. All she was doing was getting reassurance.

"Come in!"

Andrew's voice was cheery through the door, and Lia gave it a shove, stepping into the office. Unlike hers, which was only truly used when she wasn't away from the compound, Andrew's office was busy. Papers flew around the room, cataloguing and filing themselves, and Lia had to duck to avoid being smacked by a heavy book.

Andrew gestured for her to sit and she did, taking a seat on the thick leather sofa. Across the wooden desk, Andrew lounged in a spinny chair. There was a hint of lemongrass in the air-- his cologue or the open window, she didn't know.

"What's up?" He asked, leaning back in his chair. His hair was a dirty blond shade, and it curled away from his tanned face and wideset eyes. Lia didn't know what he had done before working at the compound-- he had been in charge when she had arrived fresh out of Hogwarts and running from her parents-- but a long white puckered scar slashed across his chin. He was a little pudgy now, but there was still evidence of muscle beneath the black t-shirt he wore. He was the only person at the compound who had made it out of his twenties, evident by the grey hairs that flecked his hair.

Lia pursed her lips, running her fingers over the scale again. "I wanted to ask you about something. Jason mentioned to me that some eggs have gone missing from the nursery."

A shadow crossed over his eyes, and his smile dropped. "I didn't realize that Jason had told you."

Lia waved her hand, quickly backpeddling. She didn't want to get Jason in trouble. "He mentioned over breakfast this morning. I was curious if you had more information."

Andrew shook his head and set down his quill. "No, I know nothing more than you do."

"I was thinking about it," Lia continued. "That is a huge security risk, there shouldn't be anything capable of getting into the nursery beside us. Is it possible a wild animal got in through the charms? A wolf, perhaps?"

Andrew stiffened in his chair. "Are you implying that my barriers aren't enough?"

Lia's eyes widened at his tone and she shook her head, though she maintained eye contact-- Andrew wasn't a dragon and she was still a Slytherin. "That's not what I meant, I was wondering if you wanted me to check the barriers to ensure that nothing was getting in."

Andrew's eyes were cold now, and his face was set in a scowl. Lia hadn't seen him this mad since Simon-- another rider-- and she had nearly died trying to wrangle a Hungarian Horntail. 

"That sounds like a good idea, Lia. Why don't you run and do that now, before the sun sets."

Lia had to bite her tongue to avoid protesting. Of course, she had drawn barrier duty. What a waste of bloody time. 

Not wanting to risk upsetting Andrew more, she straightened up and nodded. "I'll head out right away." 

She had reached the door, her hand resting on the brass doorknob, when Andrew spoke again.

"Lia," 

She looked back at him, tossing dark hair out of her face. She desperately needed it cut, but she kept it long because she knew it haunted her parents. 

"Be careful who you question in future. Not everyone will be as receptive to these accusations as I am."

Lia swallowed to clear the bitter taste from her throat and nodded, opening the door, and stepping out into the hallway, closing the door behind her.

Once out, she leaned against the stone wall next to his office, ignoring a cleaning cart that rattled by on its own. Lia tilted her head back, letting the cool stone seep into her head. Why was Andrew so secretive? If eggs were missing, then that meant something had taken them, which meant that there was a security concern, and potentially, someone knew what was going on here. If eggs were missing, that meant that there were baby dragons that could be hatching. 

There was a shuffling nearby and she twisted to look at the direction of the noise. Charlie had appeared down the hall. 

Lia straightened up. He had just been outside, a thin sheen of sweat on his face, and she could see his rippling muscles underneath his shirt. He had somehow managed to fill out more since Hogwarts and she hated him for it. 

She walked towards him and around him, ignoring him and his curious glance as she walked down the stairs.

~~~

Lia huffed as she shoved the saddle onto the rack and stepped back. Sweat was dripping down the back of her neck, where she had tied her dark hair up in a loose knot. The humidity was getting worse in the evenings, even after the sun had gone down. 

A mosquito buzzed at her ear and she swatted in annoyance, walking back over to Helena's enclosure, where the dragon was already stretched out like a cat in sunshine, sound asleep. Lia chuckled and left her to sleep. 

The flight to check on the barrier was fine-- if you excused the beating sun. There was nothing wrong with the spells, no creatures or wizards could get through. If anything, it left Lia unsettled to know that someone had gotten in and out of the intact barrier without being detected.

It couldn't be an insider job. She trusted the other riders and Jason, and despite Andrew's prickly attitude, she still trusted him. The recruits were new, but they wouldn't have made it this far without multiple security measures.

Lia sighed and dragged a hand down her face. Her legs and feet hurt, and she was exhausted from casting multiple spells to check the barrier. She needed a hot shower and to sleep.

Grabbing her sweatshirt from the saddle, she used it to wipe the back of her neck as she walked through the enclosures, past the now snoozing infants, and towards the egg enclosure. It wouldn't hurt to check before she went to bed. Just make sure they were all there. 

Lia popped her head into the boiling room. Fires were constantly on in the nursery, the eggs tucked inside them. Sure enough, there were still sixteen eggs as there had been earlier. Maybe it had been a one-off stealing. It could've been a bird or something, maybe another dragon ate them. 

There was no way to know. Lia turned out of the nursery and flinched. In her exhaustion, she hadn't realized that Charlie was seated at the far end of the enclosures, watching a Finnish Snowbelly pace in circles. The all-white dragon was around Helena's age-- though he hadn't developed fire yet. 

"I like your new name," He spoke, giving her a tentative smile.

Lia stiffened. "If you tell anyone--"

"I'm not going to tell anyone," Charlie laughed. It filled up the otherwise quiet stables. The Finish Snowbelly looked towards him and he turned his gaze to her. At least he was learning. "I just think it suits you better." 

Against her better judgment, she trusted him. Lia had spent a long time building herself into the person she now was, and she wasn't going to let him take that away.

Slowly, she glanced once more at Helena, watching the dragon breathe. She was getting so big. Lia would need a stool to get on soon if she kept growing at this rate.

There was shuffling at the far end and out of the corner of her eye she watched Charlie approach. The way his warm eyes gleamed reminded her again of that quidditch match and she pursed her lips, staring hard at Helena. They were coworkers, and just because they had hooked up once, didn't mean that she could forget several years of the annoying Gryffindor. 

He came to stand next to her. He still smelled like the grassy pitch and honeysuckle shampoo. 

"Can I ask you something?"

Lia looked at him again. He had always been handsome, even when they were young and fighting in care of magical creatures. His hair was mahogany red and she knew it was soft from personal experience. His eyes gleamed as he watched her. 

"It depends what it is," She responded. "You can ask, but I probably won't answer." 

Charlie chuckled-- a lighthearted sound-- and said. "What were you talking to Andrew about? I went in after you and he was in a bad mood."

Lia stiffened. She wasn't sure if she wanted to risk sharing that with him. As far as she knew, Jason had only told her, and if eggs were going missing, alerting more people could cause trouble. Not to mention Andrew had told her to drop it.

"I had questioned something that had happened recently and he didn't like that." The air was almost stifling in the dragons' stables and she fixated on tugging her shirt away from her body. She could feel Charlie's eyes on her, though if they were on her face or elsewhere, she wasn't sure she wanted to know. 

Charlie seemed as though there was more he wanted to say, but Lia didn't let him, instead brushing around him. She wasn't sure she wanted to trust him. 

She reached the edge of the stable, about to head towards the compound, and hopefully a shower, when Charlie spoke again.

"Lia?"

She turned back, watching him. In the dark shadows of the stables, he looked older then he was.

"Good night,"