A/N - Hey everyone, I've never written Charlie before, but he's my favourite Weasley brother, so I thought I'd give it a go. :)

The Dragon Keeper

Charlie Weasley gave a heavy sigh as he sat in the Leaky Cauldron nursing a Firewhiskey. It had started out as an evening out for a drink with his brothers and Harry, but gradually the others had left until he was the only one still there, the others having all gone home to their respective wives or girlfriends.

'You look like you've just lost a Galleon and found a Knut,' said a female voice from his left elbow.

Charlie turned in his seat to see an attractive young woman stood next to him. She had thick black hair which fell in waves around her shoulders, and pale creamy looking skin. She flashed a grin at him. 'Well, have you?' she asked.

Charlie had to swallow several times before he could get his voice to work. 'Nope, but why don't you come and join me?'

'Don't mind if I do,' she replied, putting her drink on the table and sitting down in the seat opposite him. 'Sasha Ballantrae,' she said, extending a hand across the table.

He couldn't take his eyes off her. 'Charlie Weasley,' he replied, taking her slim hand in his large, rough, and scarred one.

'The dragon keeper?'

'Yeah,' replied Charlie with some surprise, 'how did you know?'

Sasha took a sip of her drink. 'I was a few years below you at Hogwarts and I remember some of my friends saying you'd gone off to - where was it?'

'Romania,' supplied Charlie.

'To Romania to look after dragons,' she finished with a smile.

Charlie thought back. 'I remember you now - you were the one who-'

'Do inot/i finish that sentence if you know what's good you,' she said with a rich and full laugh. 'I don't need reminding of that…I'm not iquite/i as wild as I used to be back then.'

'Really?' asked Charlie with a smirk, enjoying the way her hair shimmered in the firelight as she shook her head.

'Yes,' she said firmly. 'Anyway, I thought you were going to tell me what you were so down about?'

'Was I?' asked Charlie, feigning surprise.

Sasha grinned and nodded. 'Yep, you definatly were.'

He already felt as though she could get him to do anything with no trouble at all. 'I was just feeling a bit left out. My brothers have all got their lives back on track after the war and have got something.' He shrugged. 'I don't.'

'Well we can't have that then, can we?' said Sasha, tossing her hair over her shoulder with a flick of her hand. Charlie's pulse jumped involuntarily. She reached out and traced the long scar on his right forearm. 'Dragon?' she asked huskily.

He tried hard to focus on his words, but the feel of her hand on his arm made it nearly impossible. 'Norwegian Ridgeback called Norberta, sent over to Romania after Hagrid hatched it in his hut.'

Sasha grinned. 'Say no more.' She leaned across the table and touched the thin, white one on his left arm which disappeared up under his shirt sleeve. 'And this one?'

'Cutting Hex during the Final Battle.'

She raised her eyes to his, and he found himself drowning in a bright blue sea. 'You were there?'

He nodded. 'Yep…it was a dark day.'

'I bet it was. I saw some of the injuries that came into St Mungos…they weren't pretty,' she finished quietly.

Charlie nodded and thought of Fred. 'You're a Healer?' he asked.

She nodded. 'Yeah, I am… the old cliché - I wanted to make a difference.'

'That's great,' said Charlie sincerely.

'So, no girlfriend back in Romania then?' asked Sasha in an attempt to lighten the mood again.

'Nope,' replied Charlie. 'How about you,' he asked casually, 'seeing anyone at all?'

She flashed him another electrifying grin. 'Nope.'

After talking a while longer he took a large gulp of his Firewhiskey and drained the glass. His throat burned from the amber liquid, but his body burned from the weight of her gaze.

Sasha mirrored his action and finished her drink. She put the glass down on the table with a sharp rap. 'Fancy getting out of here?'

'Sure,' he replied, hardly able to believe his luck.

He followed her out of the pub to the Apparition point in the backyard. As he did, his gaze slid down to watch the way her hips swayed as she walked. A smile formed on his face. 'Where are we going?' he asked.

Sasha turned into his arms and kissed him deeply. She could still taste Firewhiskey on his lips and it only served to ignite a fire deep within her. Both their lips were swollen when they separated, the need to breathe too urgent. 'My place?' she asked. 'Unless you have any objections?'

'None at all,' breathed Charlie, his arms still wrapped firmly around her.

'Hold on then,' she replied, and Disapparated them away from the Leaky Cauldron.

center***/center

Charlie woke in the unfamiliar bed the next morning to dazzling sunlight streaming through the window. It only took the barest instant for him to remember the night before, and the feeling of Sasha wrapped around him as they'd made love.

He realised she wasn't in the bed next to him and was just about to climb out when she appeared in the doorway, wearing nothing but his shirt. He struggled to make his voice work. 'Why didn't you wake me?'

'I had an owl from the hospital, I had to reply.' She lifted one shoulder and smiled. 'Besides, you looked good laid there…in my bed.'

'Oh, really,' said Charlie, 'why don't you come back over here then?'

She walked over and sat next to him on the edge of the bed. 'Maybe I will.' She leaned over and kissed him, her long black hair tickling his bare chest.

He made to pull her down onto the bed with him but she lifted a hand and stopped him in his tracks. 'Before I do, I wanted to ask you something.'

'Anything,' replied Charlie quickly.

She laughed. 'You might regret that sometime. No, I wondered if this was just a one-time thing-'

Charlie didn't let her finish. 'I hope not,' he replied seriously.

'Good,' she whispered before kissing him again, 'I'm glad.'