A/N: Deleted because I lost the follow up chapters of this, reposted because this is all I've got to show for my hard work.
Disclaimer: If I actually did own Harry Potter, I think I'd be smart enough to have a back up document. Which I don't. So, not mine.
Dragons
Charlie Weasley loves Dragons. He loves them so much that they have become his life, his purpose, his everything. Unfortunately, the things we love are never free, and Charlie had paid a hefty price.
First and foremost, he had to give up his family. Not literally, of course, he could never do that, but being in Romania meant that he could only see his family once, maybe, twice a year, if he was lucky. Many nights he will crave for his Mother's cooking and his father's hugs, his brothers' rants and his sister's laugh, but the dragons always have to come first. (And whenever he nurses a sick dragon, or tends their wounds, if he tries hard enough, he will imagine that it was one of his younger siblings he is taking care of, and he will feel better and worse at the same time.)
Then of course, there was Quidditch. He was Seeker for 5 years and he dearly misses all his former teammates, but then again, riding a dragon is much more thrilling than riding a plain, old broomstick.
But then he remembers those nights when she was riding on his broomstick with him, the wind blowing her hot pink hair and his fiery orange. Then he'd think that a broomstick wasn't so bad, especially with her voice ringing in his ears. Consequently, he finds himself going back to the place, to the time, when she was his life, his purpose, his everything, instead of those bloody dragons.
And suddenly, without warning, all of the memories he has of them together, the memories he tries so hard to keep at bay, will come flooding back—the day he finally asks her out; their first date; their first kiss; their first night together; then reluctantly, the day he breaks up with her, tells her that he is moving, pursuing his dream, and her hair turns a violent shade of red, much like his own, and she all but spits out her words to him, saying that she hopes that those dragons of his are 'good in bed, then', and then stomps out of the room—that it will be so hard to look at the dragons, to look at anything really, because they will all remind him of her.
&.&.&.
As fate would have it, years later, they meet again at an Order meeting where he learns that she has recently become an Auror. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is undoubtedly back, despite his younger brother's protests, and they bury the hatchet, for the sake of their work.
He insists that he work abroad, so as not to raise any suspicion, but over time, he realizes that he lets the dragons consume all his time and energy so that he will have none left to think of her.
One very dull morning, he receives an Owl from her, asking him how he is. His reply is very brief, but she sends him back another Owl. And another. And another. He is, then sucked into the Owl sending frenzy and they send each other Owls so frequently that they are able to make up for the years apart. Charlie cannot remember a time when he was this happy.
And then it came. On a morning, not unlike the one when he received her first Owl, she sends word that she is falling in love with Remus Lupin, someone 13 years her senior, and a werewolf. He Owls her back, telling her to take a step back, to analyze everything and to make sure of what she is feeling before she does anything drastic. She sends her reply the next day, stating that she has never been sure of anything else in her entire life, and that she has already done something about the situation.
'But he doesn't feel the same way.'
And Charlie laughs. He really laughs. He laughs so hard that tears form in his eyes for reasons he dare not speak out loud. And as much as it pains him to write them down, he says that Remus Lupin would be a downright fool to not love her back, and that he's seen the way he looks at her. He says that he's absolutely certain that Remus loves her, and that she just needs to do a bit of persuading.
'And if all else fails, I'll march up to him myself and knock some sense into him.'
He receives her reply right away, and he can almost hear her laughing. She says that he's the best and that she doesn't know what she'd do without him. He has to agree with that, and can't help but wonder why she's pining after Lupin when the best was all the way in Romania.
&.&.&.
Sometime later, Charlie receives word that she and Remus Lupin are to be wed. Ridiculous! He thinks, marrying someone much older than her, someone that she hardly knows, and someone who is clearly dangerous. He thinks, no, he knows that she deserves someone much better, someone young, and whole, who, possibly, had a liking for dragons. But then he remembers his older brother, and realizes that no one stays young and whole forever. So he wishes her the best, and thanks Godric that the wedding is small and quick and even though she wants him there to witness their wedding, he just can't for reasons other than geography.
&.&.&.
He sees her at Bill's wedding, happy and glowing and at his side. Charlie gets to dance with her later, and it's the highlight of his evening.
"I can't believe I'm married," she says with a huge smile on her face. Right at that moment she steps on his toe and he is thankful for another reason for him to wince. "Oops, sorry."
"It's okay, I've grown accustomed to it." She laughs and he laughs with her. "I'm so happy for you, Tonks." He's smiling so hard that it's literally hurting him. Their dance is cut off, then, when the patronus arrives and all hell breaks lose.
Afterwards, all he could think of is how nice it feels for her to be in his arms again.
&.&.&.
'He's left me, Charlie. And I'm pregnant.' The piece of parchment was so blotchy that he's so sure that she couldn't have made another note even if she wanted to.
'He'll come back. He has to. You're a lot to lose, Tonks.' His hand is shaking so much—from anger? from jealousy? from grief?—that his note was just as incoherent as hers was.
(Lupin does come back, and he's not at all sure how he feels about that.)
&.&.&.
'It's a boy, Charlie! A boy! We've named him Ted. After my father, you know. His hair's changing color already.'
The note is left on his bedside table and he can't bring himself to reply.
&.&.&.
He isn't sure when he decides to do it, but he mentally kicks himself. He reminds himself that this is what he had chosen—that she was tired of being second best, first to Quidditch, and then to dragons—and that he must accept the consequences.
Because Charlie Weasley loves dragons. They are his life. His purpose. His everything.
But then he sees her lying there still in the Great Hall—such a mistake, he thinks, because in all the years he's known her, he remembers no such instance wherein she could stay still—hand in hand with her just as lifeless husband. He thinks about her child, what will happen to him, and how different things could have been if he wasn't so bloody stubborn.
He can't help but wonder if the dragons were worth it.
End.
A/N: Although it doesn't start out well, and I've edited more than times than I can count, I hope you enjoyed my little oneshot.