Sun Flare

Summary: One should be careful when opening a closed door, for you never know what you might find.

She was giggling around the lip of her glass, the almost clear pink-like liquid sloshing along the sides. If she kept it up the alcohol was likely to go spilling over onto the table and then the floor. What with the way her whole body was shaking with laughter.

"It's not funny," Charlie muttered under his breath, ears tinged red at her response from his words just spoken a moment before.

"Oh, yes it is!" Nymphadora exclaimed, settling her glass down and a relieved sigh escaped him. Then she was speaking again and he regretted even telling her about it all over again. "This is too rich! Ah, I can just imagine what everyone else will say-"

"What? No!" He reached over quickly. "You can't say anything to anyone." He shouldn't have said anything. Damn whiskey. It always loosened his lips too much. The situation just seemed to be made worse with it being Nymphadora. Anyone else surely wouldn't have believed his words but she... well, she had the ability to tell when someone wasn't just talking drunkness and meant it apparently. No one had bothered to warn him either. Bloody hell.

"Aww," she groaned, pulling her hand away from his as her arms crossed over her chest, "You're no fun." Her hair changed from the color of her drink to bright red to go with her shift in emotion.

He looked down soon after, picking at the wood of the table, scratching a pattern into the surface that he had started long ago. There were in his old room at his parent's home taking a break from any Order activities. How they had gotten to this point in the conversation was still beyond him though. "A secret then." Charlie looked up, averting his gaze from her eyes that now glimmered like a rainbow. "Does that make it better?"

She was grinning as she nodded. "Much better. I will keep your secret to my grave!" Nymphadora made a show of waving her arms to emphasize the words.

He frowned, wondering why she had to be so dramatic about it. That was something everyone said about Nymphadora. She got even wilder when drunk, not even a thin filter between her mind and mouth.

Wild. "Hmm." Charlie took a sip of his drink.

It would be nice to go back to Romania when this war was over. To see the dragons again, get back to his work. Just another reason to dislike He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named along with the Death Eaters. If not for them he could still be there.

He could be watching the local Longhorns riding the wind along with other dragons, like the Ukrainian Underbelly. The air would be filled with the sounds of their wings stirring the air as they climbed higher, blocking out the sun, just a black silhouette against the sky. Black, green, blue, brown, and red zooming through white clouds away from the peering eyes of muggles. The flames when they burst from between fangs made stone and wood alike glow gold in the sunset.

Now that was a sight to be seen, and he saw it every day there.

"Honk."

Charlie jumped slightly at the sudden noise to have his ears drowning in laughter as he fought to keep his chair from slipping sideways. With all four legs back on the floor he frowned at Nymphadora as she now neighed in amusement, throwing her head back as if she were a horse. Her ears furred and pointing at the ceiling.

His annoyance slipped away soon enough. They had a similiar point, but it was soft instead of rough, fur instead of...

He took hold of his drink, downing the contents quickly letting the liquid warm his throat, his skin. No doubt he was red faced now though he didn't let his thoughts linger on that. "Tonks," he said and she glanced to him, no longer paying attention to the drink she was pouring. Charlie leaned over the table, reaching out with a hand to press his fingers to the pointed ear. "Should be more circular here."

"Hmm?" She set the mix back down but the ear curled and he traced the curve. "I know what I'm doing you know. I don't become unable to just from a couple of drinks."

He was counting on that. On his own drink continuing to burn through his veins. "Smoother," when the fur became shorter he frowned, "No, soft. Sensitive enough to feel vibrations." A few seconds passed as it changed beneath his hand until he gave a nod of satisfaction. "More."

Her skin warped becoming a dark green, slit inbetween different patches that were all unique in their own right. The violet eyes narrowed from the sides, a darker purple drawn straight down as she gleamed in the light.

He ran his fingers over the scales, similar to the design on the table. It held even on her arms and he wrapped his fingers loosely around her wrist, raising it to press his lips against the cold skin, feeling it seep into his own skin, lowering his tempature. Perhaps getting rid of that alcoholic tinge to his skin. Opening his mouth he ran his tongue along the surface experimentally.

"It's time for-"

Charlie froze, eyes opening to see his brother, Bill standing in the doorway mouth agape. Much like his own now, stuck that way, tongue still against Nymphadora's hand. "I... uh," Oh Merlin, he wanted to die. "I'll just err leave you two alone now." The door closed and he wished it would creak when it was opened. As it was Bill left as silently as he had entered, and he noticed then that her skin had changed beneath his warm tongue, that Nymphadora's face was as red as an apple.