Dragon Sparks Light Fires
Pansy Parkinson couldn't remember such a relaxing day, as she reclined in the warm Fjord sun, at least not in the past year. Arriving in Norway the previous evening, the young witch was desperate to get away from the grueling desk job she was forced to take up since her family's assets were seized by the Ministry. Being a peasant was hard.
Fortunately, she was granted some vacation time and she had managed to convince Draco to finance this little trip. How the Malfoys had managed to come out of the war with little more than community service dumbfounded the witch. Every day Pansy found herself regretting telling her fellow students to grab Potter more and more. That was likely the reason she was working 9 to 5 in the Department of Accidental Underage Magic.
After a few hours of basking in the summer sun, Pansy went back inside to change into something more appropriate for shopping, because of course Draco had gifted her enough money to buy whatever she wanted. An 'early birthday present' he called it. She scoffed. They both knew he would give her another gift when the day actually arrived.
She slipped on a set of lightweight green robes over a lighter shade of green sundress and charmed her hair into soft curls that fell to her shoulders. Since graduating from Hogwarts, she had grown her hair out a bit, maturing past the short bob of her youth. Applying a small amount of makeup and slipping on a pair of almost unreasonably high heels, she was out the door and making her way to the magical shopping district, Vann Gate.
The cobbled street had shops that were much higher quality than Diagon Alley, but couldn't touch the caliber of Paris. Still, Pansy took advantage of the improved shopping options and went into the first disgustingly expensive store she saw. Time to make Draco's money work for her.
~~~~0000~~~~
Over five hours, and three cushioning charms on her shoes later, Pansy was walking out of her last boutique of the day. There was nothing quite like a successful shopping trip to brighten up her mood. She even went so far as to carry her full-sized shopping bags, since carrying so much merchandise made her feel like she got a lot done. And she did so with a bright smile on her face.
Until someone knocked into her from behind.
"Excuse you!" The witch growled, picking up a bag that had been dislodged from her bundle. The shopper didn't hear her though, as he was running, sprinting really, too fast to comprehend what had even happened.
Just as Pansy had managed to readjust her purchases, another person crashed into her, sending her to the ground. She screamed in surprise when they collided, but that person, too, was gone before she could get a word in. What was wrong with these people? Before the witch could even get to her knees to stand, she realized that everyone around her was running frantically in the same direction; some were screaming.
Glancing around for signs of danger, for surely there must be some sort of threat, Pansy finally heard it. A great, terrible roar coming from the sky. Her gaze shot upwards and she saw it. A dragon.
Screaming along with all the other witches and wizards around her, Pansy tried to scramble up and run away, but the bags she had left full-sized tangled around her legs and weighed down her arms. The handles twisted around her wrists, keeping her from letting them go completely.
The fearsome creature was far now and it was spewing fire across nearly everything it encountered. She began to cry as she opted to try and find shelter in the nearest store by crawling towards it. It was too far away though, and she couldn't find her wand, which she had dropped into one of the many bags when she was searching for her money at the last shop she visited.
The dragon was practically on top of her now and she could feel the heat from the blazes it set around her. All out of options, the poor girl sat in the middle of the road, crying, certain she was about to die.
That is, until she felt large arms encircle her and she was lifted into the air. Her bags had somehow dislodged themselves from her person and all she could see when she opened her eyes was a tunic-covered chest. She glanced up and saw that her savior was a rather dashing red-haired young man who pulled her onto a broom.
Looking back down to the ground, she watched as her shopping bags went up in flames on the cobblestones, as the creature continued its rampage.
"Stay here. I'll be right back," the mysterious stranger told her once he found a relatively safe spot away from the new fires, before he took off once again on his broom. Pansy was left with no other option but to comply.
She was covered in soot from the ash that had drifted through the air of Vann Gate's fires, and she realized then that her wand had been incinerated along with her new purchases. How would she get home? Looking around, the young witch realized she didn't even recognize where the man had left her. Although, admittedly, she hadn't taken the time to explore Fjord, other than the most popular magical areas.
He had deposited her on some cliffside, not unlike the one her resort sat on, but far less populated. Still shaking from her near-death experience, Pansy sat on the grass and waited for her savior to come back for her, as promised. The longer she waited though, the less scared she was and the more irritated she became. How dare he just leave her here! Where had he even gone? Did he have other girls to rescue? Pansy was pretty sure she was the only person trapped on the street, since everyone had been minimizing their purchases and running away. So what could he have been doing?
Maybe he left her there on purpose as some sort of joke. Was it because of who she was? Since the war ended, her family had faced a lot of backlash, as had many people who had supported the Dark Lord. Not that she necessarily supported the madman, but Parkinsons liked to be winners.
After almost half an hour had passed, Pansy stood up and began walking in the direction the smoke was coming from. The shopping district hadn't been far from her hotel, so hopefully she could find her way back if she skirted the flames. The dragon was nowhere to be seen anymore, so Pansy hoped it was because the creature had been captured, and not because it was coming up behind her or something equally terrifying.
She determined that she was almost halfway back to Vann Gate when she spotted something soaring through the sky in her direction. It was far too small to be a dragon, but she still couldn't make out what it was. It wasn't until the figure was almost right in front of her that Pansy realized it was the same man who had saved her. Except, he was absolutely covered in filth. Even his shock of red hair was almost entirely obscured with ash. Still, despite the grime, pearly white teeth beamed at her as he smiled.
"Sorry about the wait. Are you alright?" The figure asked as he dismounted his Nimbus 2000. At any other time, Pansy would likely have sneered at the man and demanded she be returned to her hotel at once, but the way he was smiling at her, coupled with the white tunic clinging to his obviously sweaty, muscular chest, stole her breath away. She made an admirable attempt at speech, but the longer the pair stood in the field, the more Pansy's mouth opened and shut without effect. When she did eventually say something, she felt a flush grow on her face.
"I've been waiting!" She had so wanted to say something witty and flirty. Why couldn't anything seem to go right anymore?
"Yeah, sorry. I had to go handle that Ridgeback." Handle the Ridgeback? The dragon? Was he a dragon handler? A brief image of the muscular man wrestling the mighty dragon flashed through Pansy's mind and she shivered pleasurably. "Are you hurt? You didn't run away earlier like everyone else."
"Yes, well…" How could she make him stay with her? She still wasn't sure how to get back to her hotel, so maybe she could use that to her advantage. "Well, I was carrying a lot of very expensive items, until you came and carried me off without them. Now I need to get back to my hotel. The least you can do is escort me."
Even as the words left her mouth, Pansy internally cringed. That was likely not the best way to woo this potential suitor. Despite this, the grungy dragon tamer gave her a grin and nodded.
"Alright. Did you want to walk or fly?"
"Walk." Flying would be too quick, and Pansy had to figure out how to get this absolutely delicious looking wizard to ask her out.
"I'm Charlie, by the way," he said after they had walked a few feet.
"Hello, Charlie," Pansy responded, notably neglecting to provide her own name. "You don't sound Norwegian, Charlie. What business do you have here?" Perfect, Pansy. Get to know him!
"I'm a dragon handler. Started working with the Norwegian Preserve about a week ago. That Ridgeback got loose looking for her missing egg."
"Did she find it?"
"Yeah. It wasn't actually missing," Charlie laughed. "One of the guys at the Preserve forgot the procedure when removing it from the nest for measuring. You need to make sure the mother knows what's going on, otherwise you have stuff like today happening."
Pansy nodded in understanding. What he said made sense. If a healer were taking her baby away for a test, she'd want to know who took it.
"Usually this breed is pretty tame, but frantic mums, you know what I mean?" Charlie smiled brightly, as if remembering something special.
"What's your mother like?" Pansy didn't know what made her ask, but the man's smile made her wonder.
"She's great. A little overbearing, but aren't all mums? She'd love if I changed professions, but there's no way that's happening. I think as long as I show up for Christmas every year with all my limbs, she'll be happy enough." Pansy smiled. His mother must really love him. "How about your mum? I'm thinking you're not a dragon handler, so what d'you do?"
"Me? I…" What should Pansy tell him? How could she impress him? Being the daughter of a former Death Eater wasn't much to brag about these days, but maybe her mother was safe enough territory. Her job though wasn't very impressive.
The witch suddenly felt very small. Since the end of seventh year, she'd lost almost everything that made her who she was. Even this vacation was essentially charity from her friend.
"I'm nothing special."
"I'm sure that's not true," he smiled at her again. Merlin, was it even legal for someone's smile to be so perfect? "Do you have a job?"
"Yes."
"What is it?"
"I'm, uh," Pansy turned her face away, ashamed of what her life had become. "I'm a secretary in the Department of Accidental Underage Magic." She told him, cringing not just from her shame, but also because the cushioning charm on her heels was wearing off.
"That's not so bad! I know my parents would love if I got a Ministry job. And underage magic must be interesting, seeing what those kids come up with."
"I guess…" She'd much rather have all her money and status back.
She wasn't the only one in her family to feel the negative effects of the loss. Her mother had taken to drinking, not that they could afford it. Pansy sometimes wondered where she got her firewhiskey. Her father, too, had become depressed, often times being overcome with violent bouts of rage. Thankfully he never directed his anger at Pansy or her mother, but seeing him throw things and injure himself in the process terrified her.
"Hey now, there's no need to cry. Why're you sad?" Pansy hadn't even realized she was crying until she felt Charlie's hand on her shoulder, stopping her in her tracks. "What's wrong? Still scared or something?"
The witch could only nod. No, she wasn't scared of the dragon. She was terrified of what lay in store for her life. She didn't know what she would do for a real job. She hadn't really applied herself in school, assuming she would simply take over the family's title and live a life of leisure. The only thing she was good at was finding a husband, but no one wanted her anymore because of her family's disgrace.
She suddenly found her face pressed into the smoky aroma of Charlie's chest, where he held her close. She apologized over and over while he shushed her, assuring her that she was safe now and that it would be alright. When her sobs finally subsided, she pulled away and sniffled.
"Better?" She nodded again. Her companion brought a hand up to her face and rubbed his thumb across her cheek to banish a stray tear. "Good."
He waited while she regained her composure before taking her hand and continuing on their way. When she stumbled a few steps in, he turned back to see if she was alright.
"Yeah, I just…my cushioning charm wore off. For my feet."
"Why don't you take them off?" It was an innocent question, but suddenly all of Pansy's pureblood breeding rushed back at her.
"Take them off? And walk barefoot, like some kind of barbarian?" Charlie's face broke out in a wide grin, before he couldn't hold his laughter back any more. He couldn't help it! Her reaction was priceless! If he didn't know any better, he'd bet she was some pampered princess who never lifted a finger in her life. Then again, he didn't actually know her, so maybe she was.
"It's up to you, but I'd take them off. It can't be easy to walk in those with all this mud." Pansy frowned. He was right, it wasn't easy. But she certainly wasn't about to walk in the mud without shoes on. She seemed to be taking too long though, because the next thing she knew, Charlie was crouching down in front of her so she was facing his back.
"Go ahead and take your shoes off. I'll carry you if it's really bothering you." Once again, Pansy's jaw dropped. No one had ever offered to carry her like that. Not even Draco, and he was her best friend!
But he was offering now, and Pansy was not about to let this opportunity pass her by. As gracefully as she could manage, Pansy slipped her heels off, sighing in relief as the pain ebbed, and climbed on the dragon tamer's back. He was still absolutely covered in ash, but that was a sacrifice she was willing to make to get closer to the man. Once her hands were locked around his shoulders, he stood and began walking, her shoes softly bouncing against his chest where she held them.
"So tell me a little bit about yourself. What's your name? Or do I have to keep calling you 'Dragon Girl' in my head?" Pansy laughed. She quite liked the sound of 'Dragon Girl'.
"My name's-" Wait. Could she tell him her name? Would he know her? Would he judge her? "My name's not important."
"Sure it is. Should I try to guess it? I'm not very good with names, but I can try." Adjusting her arms more securely around him, Pansy nodded into his back.
"OK, is it…Mildred?"
"Gross!"
"Ok, ok. Not Mildred." Charlie thought for a moment. "Diane?"
Pansy shook her head.
"Rachel?"
"Where are you getting these names from? No."
"Ariel?"
"What kind of name is that?" Charlie laughed.
"My brother's friend brought something called a movie to our house." At Pansy's confused hum, he elaborated. "It's a muggle thing. Sort of like a picture, but it moves for much longer and tells a story."
"Oh. So your friend's a mud-muggleborn?" If Charlie heard her misstep, he made no indication of it.
"No, but he was raised by muggles, so he knows all about them. Actually he's about your age I think. Maybe you know him." Oh no. If she did know whomever this friend was, then she definitely couldn't tell Charlie her name!
"W-who is he?"
"Harry Potter."
"Fuck."
"What's that?"
"N-nothing! I j-just said, uh. He doesn't have a lot of LUCK." Charlie looked over his shoulder at her with that same dazzling smile.
"No, I don't think he does. Fortunately, things have calmed down a bit since school. So I take it you two know each other?"
"You could say that."
"Friends?"
"We didn't exactly hang around the same circles."
"I bet you were in different houses, weren't you."
"Yeah."
"Which one?"
"He was Gryffindor." He laughed again.
"I know that! I meant what house were you in? Hufflepuff?" Pansy made a face at him, as if to tell him to be realistic.
"Slytherin."
"Ah, well, that explains why you two weren't close."
"That's putting it rather mildly."
"Eh," he shrugged his broad shoulders, jostling the witch. "I say let bygones be bygones. The war's over and so's school. You know, his friend, Hermione, do you know her too? She once said something about muggle scientists finding that our body's cells regenerate every seven years or so. So, you're technically a completely different person than you were seven years ago. In another seven, you'll be someone completely new all over again!"
"That's…actually really comforting." The more Charlie talked, the more Pansy liked him. He seemed to have such a positive outlook on life. Maybe she needed some of that optimism for herself.
"Yeah, well anyway, we managed to charm a felly-vision and Harry brought over this movie about a mermaid. Not the sorts of mermaids at Hogwarts. This one was pretty and spoke English. But at one point her love interest is trying to guess her name because she was cursed by a sea witch, an evil one, so she couldn't speak. Those were the names he guessed for her. She didn't like Mildred either."
"What was her name?"
"The last one. Ariel."
"Oh," the young witch decided to muster up what little courage she had at that moment and just go for it. "My name's Pansy."
"Nice to meet you Pansy. Is there a last name that goes with that?"
"…Parkinson."
"Parkinson. Parkinson…It rings a bell, but I don't think I know anyone in that family."
"What's your last name?"
"Me? Mine's Weasley."
"Oh, a Weasley." She hadn't meant to say it like that, but she really should have known. The hair was a dead giveaway. But she'd never thought his younger brother would be related to someone so charming and so damn hot.
"Hey now!" He chuckled from between her arms. "We Weasleys are a proud people! Some of the oldest lines of purebloods are in our family, if that's your thing."
Pansy bit her tongue before saying "blood traitors". It really didn't matter anymore anyway. Even if the Weasleys were blood traitors, they were still in a better in societal standing than the Parkinsons. She really wasn't one to talk.
"Sorry."
"It's alright. We used to get a lot of that sort of thing. People have been much nicer to us lately though, especially Purebloods."
"Good."
"So, where're you staying anyway? I'm not sure where I'm going."
Pansy told him the name of the resort and pointed him in the right direction and nothing else was said for a while. The silence made Pansy begin to feel the excitement of her day wear on her. It wasn't often one was nearly burned to a crisp by a rampant dragon. The swaying of Charlie's walking was even more relaxing than she thought it would be. Before she knew it, her eyelids were getting heavy and the man's heartbeat beneath her ear was acting as a sort of lullaby. Softly and groggily, she breathed in his warm, smoky scent and nuzzled her cheek into the muscles of his back. He really was very comfortable.
Charlie realized Pansy had fallen asleep when her shoes nearly fell from her hand. He softly smiled in contentment and stopped for a moment, adjusting the shoes so they were looped around her wrist, no longer in danger of being lost. They were nearly at her hotel and Charlie would be lying if he said it wasn't impressive. The girl must have some very old Pureblood money, not that he cared about that sort of thing. He handled dragons after all, not exactly a glamorous lifestyle.
When he found her room, thanks to her sharing the number before she drifted off, the door opened to the girl's magical signature, and the ginger wizard stood at the foot of the bed and gently deposited her onto it. She hardly weighed anything, but he found he immediately missed her presence so close to him. She stirred awake upon landing and smiled at him.
"You're still here," she said. Her voice was slightly husky thanks to her still half-asleep state, but Charlie thought the effect made her even more appealing. The way she looked at him was so innocent and he felt his lips quirk into a dopey, Weasley smile.
If Charlie was being honest with himself, he'd found the witch incredibly attractive since he first saw her sprawled out on the cobblestones of the shopping district. It would've been indecent though to make an advance on the poor girl while she was scared out of her wits. But she seemed to have recovered, even if she was only partially awake as she openly stared at him with a silly grin on her face.
"Yes, I'm still here," he answered. His legs were painfully sore from flying all afternoon, but he refused to sit on the girl's bed for a quick rest. Besides, he was well aware that he was covered in soot. True, Pansy was almost equally filthy, but it was her bed, so she could just charm the dirt away when she woke.
Where was her wand anyway?
"Pansy, do you know where your wand is? I don't remember seeing it anywhere."
"My wand?" She had closed her eyes again, seemingly falling back asleep. "It's somewhere. I think…" her voice drifted off as her consciousness slipped away for a moment. "I think I'd like a different wand."
"You have two wands?"
"Mhmmm." From her position on the bed, the raven-haired witch extended an arm and pawed at the air in Charlie's direction. What on earth was she trying to do? "I want your wand."
"You can't have my wand, Pansy. You need your own. Do you remember where you left it?"
"Noooo!" She rubbed her face side to side into the sheets of her bed, smearing ash over the expensive linens. The wizard was finding the display incredibly adorable and he felt his heart flutter in his chest. "Show me your wand!"
How the girl could sound so forceful while still clearly delirious was beyond the wizard, especially since her eyes were still closed. Still, he unholstered his own wand and held it before her.
"There you go. See? But we still need to find yours." Faster than Charlie ever thought a sleeping woman could move, his wand was out of his hands and being fondled provocatively by the witch in front of him. That's when he realized that wasn't the wand she was talking about.
"Pleeeease Charlie?" Her eyes were slightly opened and she gazed at him coquettishly as she pleaded with him. "You're just so hot and, and… and I need a pick me up."
His eyes grew like saucers and, if the girl wasn't practically unconscious, the dragon handler might've taken her up on the offer, simply for the things she was doing to his actual wand in front of him. He felt a slight bulge begin to grow in his trousers, but refused to give in to his body's responses. His mother raised him right and he would not take advantage of this very tempting situation.
"Pansy, you're very tired. You're not thinking straight." He struggled to push her back on the bed as she grasped at his sleeves to pull him down with her. He wouldn't give in though and, when he finally got her under the covers and practically wrapped her like a burrito, he stepped back. "I'll come back in the morning, yeah? We can look for your wand then."
She didn't have a chance to respond because, before Charlie even finished speaking, she had fallen back asleep.
~~~~0000~~~~
The following morning, Pansy woke in a slight panic. She couldn't move! Her eyes snapped open and she realized that she was lying in her hotel bed, but was tightly wrapped in the sheets. How did that happen? Taking a minute to recount the events of the previous day, she realized that Charlie must have bundled her up. What for, she couldn't recall, but she somehow managed to unravel the blankets.
When she finally got a good look at herself in the mirror, she saw the absolute horror that awaited her. Her face was almost completely blackened with ash, probably from using Charlie as a packhorse, and her makeup was smeared all over her face. Her clothes and her bed sheets were in similar conditions. How had she allowed herself to be seen in this condition, especially by such a cute, charming man as Charlie! He probably never wanted to see her again, not if his only encounter with her looked like this.
Resigned to never encounter the Weasley again, Pansy took a quick but thorough shower, dressed, and left for breakfast in the resort dining room. It was actually pretty peaceful as she ate her omelet and drank her tea while reading the Prophet. Only the classiest of witches and wizards were in attendance, so aside from the clinking of china, the room was relatively quiet.
"Pansy!" The girl nearly jumped out of her skin. Her head darted around to the direction her name came from and her eyes lay on the last person she expected to see.
Charlie was just a few steps away and dressed in a very handsome outfit of dark blue trousers and a button down muggle shirt. Pansy felt her heart skip a beat at the sight of him.
"Charlie?"
"I was worried about you when you didn't answer your door. I told you I'd be back." The red-head grinned at her, clearly proud that he could be depended on to keep a promise.
"You did?" She didn't remember such a thing.
"Yeah, but I guess you might've been a bit too far gone to remember, huh? You were pretty tired last night." That might explain it. Draco had often told her she gets ridiculous when she's tired. She would often counter that at least she didn't turn into a nasty shrew, like Astoria.
"That's…really nice of you."
"I try." Damn that smile of his. If Pansy had been standing, her knees probably would've buckled just then. He was probably used to that sort of reaction. Girls probably swooned in front of him all the time. Just because of that damned perfect smile. And those dimples. Why did he have to have dimples?
"You didn't have to do that. I'm alright." Better to give him an out than let him lead you on, Pansy told herself. No way was he going to stick around for some disgraced, poor nobody.
"I wanted to." Pansy brightened a bit at those words. Sure, ok, maybe he was a Casanova, but he was so nice and there had been so little of that lately.
"Why? We hardly even know each other."
"Well, I was hoping we could, maybe, if you wanted to, maybe we could get to know each other," he said, scratching at the back of his neck and averting his eyes to the floor. "If you're not busy or anything. Or, like, if you want to. You don't have to if you don't want to. It was just a thought."
"Are you joking?" Pansy's face had lit up like a Christmas tree, not that Charlie would know, since his gaze was darting from the floor to the exit.
"Ah, you don't want to then. That's okay, I guess. I'll just-I'm glad you're okay. I'll just go then. See you around. Or not. Whatever." He was getting out of his chair! She had to stop him!
"Don't go! I'd love to go out with you!" She practically screamed, calling the attention of everyone in the room. Charlie looked back at her from where he was standing.
"Really?"
"Yes." Finally things were looking up for her for once.