A/N: Written for the Houses Competition. Thanks to Alixx, Andy and AJ for the betas!
(Italics is Flashback)
House: Ravenclaw
Category: Short
Prompt: Tonks/Charlie
Words: 551
Charlie barely writes to her anymore. The dragons take up so much of his time, and anyway, neither of them have the patience to keep in touch. So, there's a postcard twice a year for Christmas and birthdays; perfectly acceptable for old school friends.
He's almost forgotten that they used to be more than that...
XXXXXXXXXX
Tonks curls up against his shoulder, her bubblegum hair clashing violently with the scarlet of his old Gryffindor jumper.
"Charlie?" She stares up at him with wide eyes. They're blue today. He likes it.
"Yes?" The word falls slowly, lazily off his tongue. Time seems different here, less important, in this place between childhood and adulthood. School is over but life stretches endlessly out before them, not quite lived yet. Charlie wishes they could exist like this infinitely, lying in the fields behind his garden together.
"I sent in that application for you. For the internship in Romania." Tonks drawls, yawning like it is nothing, but Charlie feels his heart skip a beat. "The reply came today."
"Dora, I thought we decided that there was no point. I was never going to make it anyways. It's the most exclusive dragon reserve in Europe and they're never going to-"
"Charlie." She laughs lightly at him, the familiar sound calming him, almost instantly. "You got in."
He looks at her in shocked disbelief for a second, then whoops as loud as he can, picking her up and swinging her in the air. She yells and shrieks and hollers, hair flashing a kaleidoscope of vibrant colours. Then they laugh together, dancing through the grass barefoot until they've run out of breath and collapse in a giggling heap on the ground.
There they lie until the chill of night settles over them, pressing kisses to each other's lips and talking of futures, of bright things to come. They promise, too, that the distance means nothing and they will be together forever. Charlie says he loves her, without really knowing what it means.
XXXXXXXXXX
Charlie still has every letter. A bundle of postcards, tied together with a buttercup yellow ribbon. It's worn and frayed, with a splodge of green ink on one end, but he thinks she would like it. Although, Dora did like things shiny and new. It wasn't her fault, she was just easily bored.
Charlie found that out the hard way.
They started with long summer days and ended with a surprise trip home from Romania and someone else sleeping in Dora's bed.
Charlie rubs a hand over his forehead, banishing the bitter memories from his mind. It is not fair to her, not today. No, he is back in England to celebrate one of the only good things they've got to experience in what seems like forever. Charlie's been absent and he knows it, hasn't been there for his family, but this is where he shines. He's big brother Charlie: a cheery smile and a bear hug, steady and level-headed.
He's everyone's rock, no matter how long he stays away.
Even today, watching his first and only love get married to the love of her life, he will be strong for her. She needs him, he knows she does, because despite everything, they are still Charlie and Tonks.
To Charlie, that is all that really matters.