Lune
By: Alyssa Furtado
The sun began to rise from behind the snowy mountains, and peeked its way through a glass window of the small train. There was only a handful of travelers amongst the passenger cart, which left the train almost remotely silent. Most of them were workers who reluctantly accepted the job of traveling this dangerous line, and the remaining few were just as miserable. The farthest compartment was instantly filled with warmth from the first light of dawn. A young man sat huddled in the corner snoring, and slightly grasping his tattered coat from the cold journey. As the light crawled its way into the compartment, his shaggy red hair lit up like a candle from underneath his hat. His head rolled to the back of the seat, making his jaw drop and rest completely open. Another violent snore escaped his throat, jolting him awake suddenly. He rubbed his eyes and examined the cart, trying to find anyone who might have heard him. Realizing he was completely alone, he stretched his short limbs in relief.
This was the first time Charlie had ever traveled so far from home. There were very few places Charlie had ever been. Hogwarts was by far the farthest he had ever traveled, but the true location of the wizarding school is unknown. Perhaps this is the reason why the young wizard was so keen on leaving London and England all together and spend his life in Romania. The Weasley family was stunned by his decision, especially because of everything he had left behind. Charlie was an excellent quidditch player, and was offered to be part of several teams after his schooling. But it wasn't the quidditch or London that once held him away from Romania – it was his family. Most wizards knew of the great Weasley's, and the loyalty that was so imbedded into the family. When Charlie was first offered the chance to earn his apprenticeship in Romania, he immediately shoved the letter into the bottom of his school bag without a thought. His family spent generations staying close to home, and tending to family needs, and only a few have done differently. But there was something about Romania that Charlie just could not resist.
Charlie's fascination of dragons grew from a circus show that came to the outskirts of London when he was ten. The circus proudly advertised their dragon throughout Diagon Alley, and promised the show of a life time. He spent hours tugging on his mother's robes, but was turned down every time. While his mother argued with Mr. Olivander about a broken wand, he took his brother Bill by the collar, and ran to the Circus tent. The brothers were able to crawl beneath the clothe tent, and peek through the shoes of wizards in the stands. Charlie could barely see the commotion in the center, but felt the sweltering heat from the beast. Wizards began the clear as the performance came to a close, and Charlie continued to stare in awe from beneath the seat. The young dragon was smaller than he thought it would be. It was about the size of an adult lion, and only a few horns were beginning to peak through its red spine. Before he could get a closer look, he was suddenly grabbed by the ear and dragged from the tent by Molly Weasley.
It was only two years later that Charlie would be accepted into Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, where there were countless books that fed his obsession. When he wasn't flying his broom, Charlie could be found studying the history of dragons and their caretaking. His letter of acceptance came to him only weeks before he would finish his schooling, and he was left with almost no choice but to ignore it. Charlie was only convinced to take the apprenticeship when Hagrid found the letter and cried. He spent many weeks not telling his family about the letter at all, afraid that they would turn on him. Bill was the first to find out about Charlie's plans when he found the letter rolled up into a ball in the corner of their room. His brother was angry that his best friend would be leaving him, and threw the letter at Charlie's small head as forcefully as he could.
"I can't believe you're doing this Charlie! You're leaving the family?" Bill yelled.
Charlie combed through his red locks and pulled on his roots in frustration before responding, "I don't know Billy. Maybe. I think I really want to."
"You'll be leaving all of us," the brother said silently so the other brothers couldn't hear, "What about Ron and Ginny. How do you expect mom and dad to afford this when they'll be in school soon?"
"Billy I don't know, but I need to do this- "
"No. You don't need to do this, you want it," Bill was turning red and pacing the room. He was soon disrupted by a silent knock that came from their door. It slowly opened to reveal their youngest sibling, Ginny, who looked quite flustered.
"Did one of you break my broomstick?" she said through gritted teeth, "I get that it used to be yours, but it's mine now!"
Both brothers chuckled from the relief of tension, and glanced at each other quickly.
"What did I just walk in on?" Ginny muttered as she put her hand on her hip.
"Charlie's leaving us," Bill mumbled as he shoved past his brother to grab the broom from Ginny's hands.
"Wait, why?"
The older brother waved the tiny broom in the air as he spoke, "He wants to go to Romania to play with dragons."
"Well what's wrong with that?"
With this Charlie perked up.
"Well… He won't be here anymore. We won't see him anymore." Bill began to twist the bristles of the broom, attempting to avoid eye contact with his brother.
"I think he should do it! Who wouldn't want to see dragons?" Ginny punched her brother in the arm.
"Why don't you stop being stupid! Let him go!"
Seeing that her brother was no help, she ripped the broom from his hands and marched from the room as if nothing happened.
The room was left with tension and the two brothers sat in silence before Bill sighed. He rubbed his eyes, trying to hide the redness that was beginning to form. Charlie simply sat there twiddling his faded shirt, waiting for Bill to respond.
"Okay. Maybe I'm being selfish"
"Just a bit," Charlie scoffed.
"Charlie what am I going to do without you?" Bill sighed. Instead of responding, the younger brother quickly drew Bill into a tight hug.
Charlie thought about this as he stared out of the window of the train cart. The few weeks that the brothers had left together was filled with daily visits to Diagon Alley, where they worked to pay for Charlie's train ticket. They spent almost every day, finding any work avaible. Sometimes they were lucky enough find a job fit for the both of them, but there were few times in which they could see each other. As the train traveled farther from London, Charlie began to regret these few weeks more and more. Bill supported his brother the best he could, but there was no denying his frustration with the situation. Instead of cherishing the weeks away from the Burrow, the brothers bickered often. It wasn't until they were saying goodbye at platform 9 ¾ that Charlie felt the warm relationship that they once shared.
The cart's wheels screamed as the train came to a stop, and the whistle cried soon after. The wizard collected his few belongings as quickly as possible, and made his way to the platform where he was welcomed by a slouched man covered in soot. Without a word, the old man ripped the suitcase from Charlies grasp. He began to trudge his way out of the station without a look over his shoulder to see if the young student was following.
It took another hour for their carriage to arrive at an open field, where another man was waiting for them. His blonde hair was singed to the scalp on one side of his head, while the other side revealed golden locks that grew into wild curls. He quickly nodded at the redhead, and his white teeth broke the layers of soot that covered his face.
"You must be Charles" the man yelled. "It is good to meet you! My name is Allan."
"My name is Charlie – not Charles"
The old man scoffed at this and walked past them both to make his way further into the field. Allan wiped sweat from his forehead, despite the chilling temperature.
"That's Beetle. Don't mind him. He's been pissed ever since his tongue got burned out of his big mouth," Allan chuckled. Charlie laughed along until realization hit him.
"You – You're joking right?" he stuttered.
"Sure"
They both joined Beetle in the center of field where he was holding three daggers in his hands. He tossed two to Allan, and kept one for himself. With a shake of his wand, he disappeared in midair, leaving a stream of smoke coming from the ground. Charlie stared in fascination at the burnt grass where Beetle had once been.
"It's a portkey!" Charlie said as he bent down to touch the grass.
"Of course it is. We wouldn't want any stranger to walk his way into the pasture" Allan mumbled. Charlie continued to trace his fingers along the burn marks, amazed by this magic that he had never experienced before. The warden pulled the remaining knives from his pocket and ran his finger along the edges.
"Charles."
"It's Charlie – "
He was suddenly cut off by a glimmer of light that caught his eye. The knife was almost inches from his nose before he caught it, slicing his hand in the process. His fingers trembled in pain, and he suddenly released a desperate gasp of air that was stuck in his lungs since the weapon was thrown. Allan seemed impressed by the boy with red hair, and was certain he would become an interesting student. Charlie looked frantically at Allan for an answer, but only received a nod before the wizard patted him on the back and led him to their new location.
The pasture seemed almost desolate besides a few burnt trees that were strewn throughout the rocky land. Tall mountains greeted them from all sides, and gravelly land dominated most of the area. Besides a small building about twenty yards to their right, there appeared to be no sign of life. Charlie listened for a chirp of a bird or the music of insects, but only perceived a loud rumbling of rocks falling from the mountains around him. They sounded like an avalanche of a million boulders tumbling down onto them. He looked around, afraid of anything hitting them, but Allan seemed unfazed by the sound.
"Allan, what's that noise?"
"It's the dragons sleeping in the mountains," he said in the most casual way. "Don't be too loud. You might wake them, and you do not want that."
As they came closer to the building, Beetle opened the door to lead them inside. There was a roar of laughter and enthusiastic rambling. The house was bigger on the inside, holding almost two dozen men and women that had their own room. Beetle was happy to introduce Charlie to his chamber, which was in the farthest corner of the house and was once used as an attic. It smelled of a murtlap's tank and there was a mysterious substance that stuck to the wizards boots when he first entered the room. He reminded himself of the years he had shared a room with his older brother, who's countless charm and potion experiments left the floor almost inhabitable. This helped him as he pushed through the cob webs and pixie traps to unpack his suitcase.
When the wizard was nearly finished, he pulled out his quill and a piece of parchment to write a letter to Bill. Just as the quill touched the paper, a loud banging came from the other side of his door. It took some effort to open the ancient door, but the knob eventually fell off and it squeaked open. Allan stood in the frame trembling with excitement.
"Charles your one lucky rookie!" he nearly yelled. "You get to see a hatching on your first day!"
Both wizards rushed to the bottom floor, which Charlie later learned was the nesting area. The room was bustling with other wizards who were helping with the hatching process. In the center of the room was a nest the size of Mrs. Weasley's largest cauldron, and inside rested three green eggs that were speckled with gold. Two of the eggs shook uncontrollably, causing the wizards to work more frantically. Someone shoved a pair of leather gloves into Charlie's hands and pushed him closer to the nest.
"Wait I don't know how to do this! This is my first day!"
"Just watch and learn from Allan," a girl told him. Allan was already at the nest, holding the largest egg delicately in his hands.
"Antipodean Opaleye. One of my favorite breeds. Quite sassy for my taste though."
He gestured to a scar that ran along his left knuckles. Charlie grinned at this and quickly gathered the smallest egg into his own palms. Allan and another breeder were already removing their dragons from the nest when the hatchlings began to poke their snouts out of their shells. The student eagerly held the remaining egg and waited for his chance. Around him were several other hatchers who discussed the hatching quietly. After a few more minutes, their debating grew and most of them feared the worst for the last egg.
Charlie ignored them, determined to have the baby dragon hatch. In his hands was a life of a creature that was feared and hated by most wizards throughout the world. The dragon was once a ruler of the entire realm, but was worshiped throughout history. Charlie hated the crusaders that slayed the last dragons, which caused them to come to near extinction. Unlike others, Charlie saw a beauty in the creature that very few understood. It was not until he grasped the tiny egg between his fingers that the boy felt the reality of the being he chased for so long. Two curious boys once found themselves in a circus, and now one of them was holding the life of the breathtaking beast that could only be protected by them. Charlie was desperate to hatch the dragon, and refused to have his dream die within his first day.
People began to file out of the room, and the ones who remained were helping the hatchers prepare the hatchlings for their mothers. Allan drifted over to the nest where Charlie remained. It was almost an hour since the first eggs hatched, and Charlie's egg had not moved since then.
"Charles, I'm sorry you got a bad egg on your first day."
"It's not a bad egg. I can feel her in there." Charlie rubbed his thumb against the rough surface of the shell, as if this would urge the dragon to break through.
"Do you hear that?" Charlie whispered. A silent tap was coming from inside the shell. This made Charlie sit up straight once again, and he listened attentively.
"She's in there! Allan, listen!"
The other wizard put his ear to the egg, and quickly sighed in relief. Both of them exchanged a smile as the tapping continued on.
The hatchling proved to be stubborn, because the young men waited another hour for the dragon to break the shell. When the first fracture was shot throughout the shell, Charlie gasped in amazement. The hatching was something he had never seen before. Smoke seeped from the cracks, and sparks shot out at the Weasley's face when the baby finally broke the surface. Then within seconds, the shell exploded completely. Pieces of the shell singed Charlie's freckled skin and the tips of his red hair caught fire. He acted oblivious to this, and allowed Allan to desperately pat the flames so he could observe his first dragon.
She was about the size of the wizard's palm, but appeared to have the temper of her enormous mother. The dragon coughed flames out of her mouth, burning the gloves that protected Charlie's hands every time. The hatchling flexed her opal wings, showing off her pearl white scales. With each breathe, smoke billowed from her nostrils, making Charlie gasp breathlessly. He slowly inched his fingers towards her head, and she sniffed his glove curiously. Her teeth suddenly bit the leather, making him grimace in pain. The glove was ripped from the boy's hand, exposing his flesh to her. Allan attempted to intervene, but Charlie pushed him away.
He stared deeply into the small purple eyes of the dragon. She seemed flustered by her strange surroundings in this new world. Her interest grew as she observed her hatcher more closely, finding that he was quite strange looking. The boy's hair distracted her, allowing Charlie to touch the dragon's warm body with his bare hand. Instead of biting him, she sniffed his hand again and crawled into his palm. Charlie happily chuckled and Allan patted him on the shoulder.
"How did you know it was a girl?" Allan questioned.
"I just knew."
"What are you naming her?" This took Charlie by surprise.
"You're letting me name her?"
Allan smiled at his new friend before responding, "Of course! She is your dragon!"
Charlie quickly turned his head to the baby and back to his teacher. Before a few weeks ago he never thought he would see a dragon, never mind have one of his own.
"Lune. That's going to be her name."
It was nearly dawn the next morning when Charlie finally trudged up the stairs and into his attic. His quill and ink were still hastily scattered on his desk where he was previously writing his letter. Although sleep clung to his brain, the young wizard sat before the parchment and picked up his quill. Lune crawled from Charlie's nest of red hair atop his head, and onto the cold table where she curled up around the bottle of ink. This made him chuckle as he started his letter to Bill.
Dear Billy,
It was the show of a lifetime…