For Laura. Merry Christmas, love!

A/N: A special thanks to Sam for creating Zoelie. She only gets a mention in here. But oh well.


It's hard not to laugh at the scene in the dragon nursery. Draco lays on his stomach on the floor, playing with the bronze baby dragon like he's little more than a puppy.

"It's time to go," Charlie says gently, sitting next to his boyfriend.

Draco waves a silencing hand at him. "Not now," he grumbles. "Max's spikes are coming in."

"So they are," Charlie chuckles, brushing a finger over the grey bumps that form from Max's spine. "But it takes about five days for them to grow in fully. And since Mum should have Christmas dinner ready by now, you'll have to miss a few hours of watching."

Draco scowls. He's softening, changing from the arrogant, cold boy that his brother knew in school, but Charlie is certain that Draco still doesn't like to be told what he can and can't do.

"Max will still be here when we return," Charlie assures him, climbing to his feet and gently guiding Draco to his.

"I don't want to leave him!" Draco protests. "He won't be able to be around the others until his spikes come in because he's too vulnerable. He can't be around the adult dragons. He's going to be all alone. On Christmas, Charlie! And I refuse to have that happen."

Charlie smiles to himself. "You refuse?" he teases.

Draco doesn't smile. He stands straight and rigid, and though he's a head shorter than Charlie, Draco knows how to radiate authority. "Yes, Charlie. I refuse. Surely that concept isn't too difficult for you."

Charlie scowls. "Well, I suppose we should find a compromise, then," he says, his jaw clenched.

"Uncle Char brought a dragon!" Victoire squeals, clapping her little hands together in excitement.

His mother raises her brows in question, and Charlie shrugs. "Draco didn't want to leave Max behind," he says.

"Well, let's get him by the fireplace," she says. "Keep him nice and warm."

Max croaks his approval, his tail flicking out from his cage to brush Molly's arms.

"Uncle Char! Can I play with the dragon?" Victoire calls.

"Maybe after dinner."

"Well?" Charlie asks, not at all surprised to find Draco by the fireplace long after the others have gone to bed.

"His spikes are growing," Draco reports. "The top two are fully in. More are protruding from his tail."

Charlie sits beside him, dangling his fingers in the cage long enough to distract Max. Sure enough, the spikes are coming in nicely. Charlie has seen a few cases where they didn't break the surface properly and caused the dragon great pain. But Max seems happy and healthy.

"I'm sorry," Draco says. "I implied you were too stupid to understand that I didn't want to leave him. That was wrong of me."

"You're still working on your people skills," Charlie says, wrapping an arm around him. "But next time, I will hex you."

"Got it," Draco laughs, and Charlie smirks when he hears how nervous the sound it. "I guess you would know how I felt, wouldn't you? Zoelie said you prefer dragons to people."

Charlie nods. "You want to keep every one of them, especially when they're young. They're like puppies, except dogs have been domesticated over the years. Dragons… People have tried. But at the end of the day, they will always be wild creatures. After a while, they stop letting you play with them. They start deliberately clawing and breathing fire whenever you get too close."

He wraps and arm around Draco, pulling him close and pressing a quick kiss to his forehead. "That's why we have the best job in the world. We can spend all the time we want with them."

Draco smiles as Max snaps at his own tail. "I guess that's all I can ask for."

"Come on. Let's get to bed," Charlie says gently. "Mum has mine and Bill's old room for us."

"Five more minutes," Draco insists.

Charlie kisses him quickly, ruffling his blond hair as he rises to his feet. "Five more minutes. I go on up to bed," he says, and he knows that five minutes will turn into more, and that he'll find Draco asleep by the fireplace in the morning.