When Newt was asked (through a rather headache-inducing game of charades and very poor English) to investigate a 'dangerous animal' that had taken residence in the local tribe's sacred birthing grounds, he honestly did not expect what he found.

An absolutely massive unknown breed of dragon with deep red scales curled up taking a nap.

The beast was far larger than any other breed of dragon he had ever seen in his life...and too big for him to safely put in his case. He was almost dreading the inevitable difficulty he was going to have getting it to leave, much less dealing with how cranky it was sure to be when he had to wake the thing up.

But not before he got a decent sketch of the creature. It was too magnificent not to capture for future generations to admire.

Considering how absorbed he was in properly capturing the creature on paper, he could be excused for missing the fact the dragon had woken up and in a surprising amount of stealth, had managed to sneak up on him.

He only picked up on that fact when he realized that the shadow and odd breeze hadn't been there a few minutes ago.

Newt squawked, and drew his wand in alarm.

If a dragon could pout, then this beast was making a very amusing attempt at it. Newt would have been highly amused by the sight if he wasn't so alarmed.

It dragged a large claw towards his pad, and it took Newt several moments to figure out what it wanted.

"You... you want to see my drawing?" he asked carefully.

The dragon managed to snag his pad and 'delicately' managed to drag it towards them. It squinted a bit at the picture.

Newt, mostly out of the surreal nature of what was happening, helpfully enlarged the pad so it could see the picture properly. He would almost swear the creature was purring with delight, as he had gotten most of the details correct. He couldn't help but be struck by how vibrant and alive the dragon's eyes were. They were a beautiful shade of green that was almost the same color of emeralds when hit by the light.

Now that he was able to observe the dragon closer, he could see that the scales were a deep, beautiful red color... however it wasn't a blood red. The shade was a bit off. The spikes were sharp and a deep ebony color and ran down the spine of the dragon, ending in a wickedly sharp tail that flared open to reveal several long spikes that 'folded' back into itself when the dragon realized he was properly admiring it. The talons were sharp, but it appeared that the poor thing hadn't been able to care for itself properly as Newt could see a few were cracked. The teeth had to be at least a foot long each, with the front fangs being a bit longer. Closer inspection revealed that the wings were attached to the forelimbs, rather than being a seperate pair.

Newt didn't dare to find out what gender the creature was, but the dimensions of the face and the fact it wasn't overly aggressive made him believe it was a female. He had seen many dragons, and the one before him held several similar characteristics of the females of several different breeds.

It didn't not change the fact that this creature was the largest specimen he had ever encounter, and far more intelligent than any other dragon he had come across. Most of them would have happily attempted to eat him, rather than admire his drawing or allow him close enough to observe it's form so passively.

Which was why Newt decided to try something that would have his brother very exasperated...even if he did laugh about it later when he found out the full truth.

"Excuse me, milady," said Newt carefully, praying to Merlin that the creature understood English. "But your presence is alarming the local tribes. This is their sacred grounds and they would like to have access to it. I'm afraid they will not take well to you attempting to claim it as your new den."

This time he could definitively state the dragon was pouting, and looked at the spot it had been napping with some longing.

"It's a pity I can't shrink you. I certainly wouldn't mind a beautiful specimen such as yourself napping, so long as you don't eat the rest of the creatures I've saved," said Newt with a sigh.

Unfortunately dragons were highly magic-resistent, and this was the most interesting specimen he had come across.

So you could imagine his amazement when the dragon huffed in annoyance. It seemed to curl in on itself, and much to the shock of the poor Mythozoologist, began to shrink to dimensions that were far more in line with dragons he had come across. The beast was now far closer to a rather large, full-sized female Horntail.

On an unrelated note, she would be able to fit inside his case now, since she clearly understood English.

Newt cautiously opened his case, and the dragon went inside before promptly finding a place to continue it's nap.

He would have to pinch himself several times over the next few hours whenever he went to check on the rest of his creatures, mostly to assure himself this wasn't a very strange dream.

On the plus side, the dragon clearly didn't care about the rest of the creatures in his case and was perfectly happy to sleep in the arid desert he had created.

Newt was about to attempt something very dangerous.

He was going to try and treat the odd dragon he had rescued from the misaligned scales it had on it's body. Once he had gotten a much better examination of the dragoness, he had detected several scales that had grown wrong and were on the verge of giving the poor thing a very nasty infection, or at the very least scale rot.

The thing was that most dragons could get very tetchy whenever a wizard was trying to treat it and reacted badly even if it was for their own good. Most reserves didn't even bother...they would rather put the dragon down once it got too difficult to handle.

Newt made sure to telegraph his movements. He had found the dragoness did understand English, quite well actually, when he politely inquired if she would be willing to move certain ways or to relocate briefly while he disposed of her 'leavings'.

He still hadn't found a proper name for her, and he had been trying. The problem was that she kept shooting down all his suggestions or would glare at him.

He was becoming very well versed in her expressions, even if she couldn't speak. At least he didn't think she could.

"Beg your pardon milady," Newt began. He had found that she responded best to good manners, which he found a nice surprise. A good thing his mother had raised him with impeccable manners. "But I would like to deal with the scales that are almost certainly causing you no end of frustration, if you would let me."

The dragon gave him a flat look, and huffed. She used her tail to point at one of the worst areas which was right against her spine and the spikes that lined it.

"Yes, areas such as those," he replied. He kept his distance and didn't attempt to go closer, mostly out of common sense.

The dragon lowered her tail and kept still, which Newt took as a sign to approach. He did so cautiously and so as to avoid spilling the potion he had brewed to help prevent an infection from setting in once he removed the bad scales.

She suddenly stuck her nose right above the closest bucket and sniffed suspiciously. Newt stayed perfectly still, allowing her to examine the contents, before she lowered her head again and allowed him to approach. He made very sure to keep his wand firmly in the holster, as she had shown a distinct wariness whenever he had it out and aimed anywhere near her.

Carefully, methodically he began to loosen the bad scales and add the salve on top of the recently cleaned areas. Unfortunately he couldn't bandage them, so it would have harden. He could only hope she didn't attempt to nibble at it, because it would be quite bad for her.

Once he was done, he felt tired but relieved. He had gotten the worst of the affected areas, but had run out before he could the more recent ones. He was rather glad she had stayed still long enough for him to work and didn't try to nip at him...he could tell some of it was painful as she had twitched violently during the process.

"There, there," he said gently, in a crooning tone. "That should relieve the worst of the itch."

She gave him a baleful look, and crooned quietly with such a miserable expression that Newt's heart ached to hear it. Without thinking too hard about it, he gently rubbed the scales on her face in a soothing pattern, causing her to sigh in pleasure as her eyes closed and she began to croon again. This time it was in a far happier manner as she nudged her head under his hand.

Newt wasn't about to pass up the chance to stroke a dragon much like an oversized, scaly cat. She was absolutely beautiful and he was grateful to whatever gods were listening that he had found her first. Any other wizard would have attacked her and likely butchered her for parts.

He didn't know when he fell asleep, listening to her crooning, he just remembered waking up against some rather comfortable rocks feeling pleasantly sleepy.

Though he was quite baffled as to who took care of his creatures, because when he checked to see what time it was he found out he had been napping for a solid six hours and he had spent four of them dealing with the scale problem! And yet everyone one of his creatures had been fed, watered and otherwise cared for.

Still, with the way she had crooned and tricked him into taking that nap, Newt finally had an idea of what to call her. Hopefully she would agree to it. That particular dilemma had been keeping him up at night!

Which was why, as he was bringing her some fresh meat to tide her over for the day, he brought it up.

"Would you mind terribly if I called you Melody?" he asked, somewhat hopeful.

The dragoness tilted her head curiously, and had a rather owl-like stare.

"You've rejected and dismissed every name I've come up with for the past week and a half," he reminded her.

The dragon stared him down, but he did not back down from her gaze. He knew better, mostly because he was all too aware she was a predator and such a thing was a good way to get eaten.

She slowly lumbered up, stalked over to him and stared him down with those vibrant green eyes of hers. For several moments he was locked in a stare down that made him think that he was being put through more than just a simple test of dominance.

Finally the dragoness huffed, but not in the same way she had before indicating she wasn't rejecting the name outright. He took that as a good sign.

"Is that your way of approving?" he asked.

The dragoness gave him a flat look, as if to say 'what do you think?'.

Newt was decidedly cheerful, as he finally had a proper name for the dragoness. She was a proud, regal creature with all the bearing of a queen which had made giving her a name all the more difficult.

He hummed a rather popular song from home as he went about caring for his creatures, so he could be excused for taking a few moments to register the fact that the newly dubbed Melody was humming with him. Or at least making her best effort to... a dragon's vocal cords were hardly conductive for singing, after all.

His smile widened slightly, as he realized the name Melody suited her perfectly. He didn't even know dragons could hum like that!

Newt was worried. Melody's appetite had dwindled to almost nothing and she kept looking up towards the 'ceiling' of the case with such longing. Nothing he could do would get her to eat.

It was only when he saw her attempt to fly, but had to stay ground-bound that he realized the issue.

"You want to fly?" he asked carefully.

Melody gave him a miserable look. For the most part she would eat, sleep and do her 'business' in a discreet area which he would clean and then use in his small greenhouse where he kept his plant-based potion ingredients.

Newt was torn. If he allowed Melody out, there was no guarantee she would return, and worse she might be attacked for potion ingredients. She was surprisingly friendly, and acted like a strange mix of a kneazle and a very large dog.

However the expression in her eyes and the clear longing for the sky decided the matter. He was not about to keep her caged because of his own discomfort.

Leading her to the general area where he took the larger creatures out of his case, Newt allowed her to go through. It was a clear night, with an almost full moon illuminating the African wilds.

Melody pranced this way and that, eager to take off. Newt carefully closed and latched his case, so none of the other creatures tried to make an escape attempt.

You could imagine his shock when, shortly after he finished securing his case Melody suddenly picked him up with her teeth, being careful to only latch on to the back of his coat.

Newt was quick to grab one of the spikes along her spine and conjured some rope to tie his case to the one in front of him. Once he had a good grip, he felt Melody's muscles tense, before she took off with increasingly longer strides along the ground.

As she picked up speed (which was faster than any broom he had ever flown) she began to grow in size, before her forelimbs began to beat in a thunderous manner.

Newt watched in amazement as Melody took flight, using her forward momentum to catch wind under her wings and to ease the strain of getting off the ground.

Seeing the world below dwindle until it was like looking at tiny models on the ground was breathtaking. It took him a moment to fully register he was flying on a dragon and not in a terror-filled manner of someone who had the misfortune to be caught on a dragon while it took off or someone in the process of being eaten and was being carried off while their limb was stuck in the dragon's mouth. It was almost like flying his mother's Hippogryffs, but far more scaly and much, much higher up.

And then he discovered the hard way that Melody had a mischievous streak.

He yelped in fear and surprise when she suddenly took a steep dive, before performing what could only be a text-book perfect Wronski Feint.

He would know... Charlus Potter had mastered that particular Quidditch move shortly before his fifth year and Newt had seen him perform it more than once before he was expelled.

He would swear she was laughing at him. There was a strange chortling sound and he could feel her diaphram moving in a way that indicated sound.

As the sun started to barely peek over the horizon, Newt realized with some disappointment that the fun would have to end. On an unrelated note he was actually quite warm despite the chill in the air and the late hour. Mostly because Melody demonstrated her firepower and radiated enough heat that he could have kept nice and toasty in the middle of Hogwarts during a blizzard and not require extra layers or even a pair of socks to stay warm.

Something he and no doubt countless other students would have wanted during their schooling, as the castle was very drafty and bitterly cold during the winter. The magic in the castle kept it from freezing over entirely and at a barely manageable level for the students, but it didn't make it any less cold.

Newt had thoroughly enjoyed himself and he could see Melody's appetite had definitely perked up. Watching her do a fly over of a herd of gazelle before striking down three of them and eating them was fascinating. She was a very neat eater, and the meat she didn't devour he quietly acquired for the other carnivores in the case. And for himself later, once he butchered it up.

He suspected Melody had struck down the fourth one purely for his benefit, which was surprisingly generous of her.

Seeing her shrink, he opened his case and let her back in...before quickly flying out of the area. He could hear humans and she had hardly been discreet. He didn't want anyone to equate him with having a pet dragon.

His older brother would never let him hear the end of it, and he was barely skirting on the legality of what he had in his case already. Owning a dragon was a definite "no-no" across every country he would care to visit.

Unsurprisingly, Newt dreamed of flying on dragonback, doing insane stunts and hunting. He went to bed that afternoon with a smile on his face.