For Quidditch Round 8. Fluff round involving the Killing Curse, Anywhere But Here by Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors, transformation, "The marks humans leave are too often scars." – John Green
Word Count: 969
Fluff is not my forte. The ending of this made me gag. Apologies in advance.
Dreamland shifts and in a bloody transformation suddenly Katie's there again. The hammering of feet around her and the sound of spells just brushing her hair set her on edge and she clutches at the wall for support as she feels her knees grow weak. It's the Charms corridor and she knows that none of this is real. At least, not anymore. She knows it's all just a stupid nightmare, always the same one, and yet, she can't wake herself up from it.
She balls her fists and continues her way down the hall, dodging spells and debris from where the walls have begun to cave in. She hears her name in the distance above the confusion. This time it's Alicia. Last time it was Fred. Before that it was Professor Lupin. It's never the same person, but it's always someone dead, always someone taking a green jet of light to the chest.
She sees Alicia crumple to the ground, just as the scene disappears and a firm but gentle hand pulls her out of this nightmare. She impulsively reaches for it and digging in her nails to defend herself until she realizes it's only Charlie. Of course, it's only Charlie. She'd forgotten he was there.
She quickly lets go and blurts out an incoherent apology, flushing with embarrassment in the darkness. She knows it's silly. These nightmares happen all the time. He was bound to notice one of these days.
She sits up in bed and reaches for her housecoat that she keeps hanging on a chair by her bed, but he reaches out and gently turns her to face him.
"What's wrong?"
Katie shakes her head. "It was just a dream. It's nothing, really."
He gives her the sort of look that clearly says he's not buying her excuses and she's not sure what else she really expected from him to be honest. Charlie's not one to let things go. Ever.
"I heard you saying something about Alicia," he says. "Do you dream about her a lot?"
Katie shrugs. "It's never exactly the same."
He gestures for her to come closer and at first, she hesitates though she can't say for certain why. But after a moment's consideration she admits to herself that running never got her anywhere before. Besides, Charlie is the last person she wants to run from.
She settles back into the pillows and he pulls her closer and something about this just seems…right. She takes comfort in the warmth of him, which is a rare occurrence, as she tends to push him away joking that his body radiates the heat of a thousand suns and it must be from spending so much time with all those dragons. But right now, in a time when she'd normally be alone in her tiny London flat with her belongings mostly packed and ready to go wherever Quidditch takes her, she's perfectly content to listen to him breathing.
"I dream about it sometimes too," he says finally. "Mostly of Fred. I've seen some violent things in my time, but I wasn't prepared for Fred, you know?"
"Yeah, I know."
He pauses and waits for her to say something. Anything. She only buries her head further into his shoulder and traces a faint scar that runs down the side of his neck. It was a burn, she remembers him saying. A baby dragon blowing its first flames and he should have held it facing away from him. A rookie mistake.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asks.
Katie smiles. "Not really." She plants a kiss on his cheek. "But I'm really glad you don't think I'm being silly. I'm not am I?"
"'Course not."
"It's better when you're around," she says. "I wish you could have stayed a bit longer. It went by too fast." And maybe that's not the right thing to say. He's going back to Romania tomorrow and here she is going on about how she wishes he wouldn't. It's selfish, she knows. But it's also true. No sense in denying it.
He sighs, and props himself up on his elbow, leaning over her slightly. There's a contemplative look on his face and it reminds her of Fred and George a bit, though when Fred and George got that look, it usually meant trouble.
"I can't leave Romania," he says carefully. "And I couldn't ask you…" He trails off and shakes his head. "Never mind."
Katie rolls her eyes. "You couldn't ask me what?"
"I couldn't very well ask you to come live in Romania either, now could I?" he asks.
"Why not?"
"Why not?" he repeats, dumbfounded.
"Yeah," she says, and she says it like a challenge. "Why couldn't I? I don't have anything keeping me here. I'm hardly in London as it is. Hell, half of my things are already packed." She motions to her suitcase in the corner, clothes sticking halfway out of it. Her broomstick and Quidditch uniform are in their usual place by the door.
"It doesn't seem fair to you," he reasons.
"Stop trying to talk me out of it. Or don't you want me to come?" Katie asks. She sticks out her lower lip mockingly.
He shakes his head, smiling down at her in a way that makes her heart leap into her throat. "You're something else, Katie."
She tries to be indignant, but it's a difficult thing to do with Charlie Weasley in her bed. Still, she scoffs and crosses her arms dramatically. "And what is that supposed to mean?"
And whatever it is he means, he doesn't say it out loud. He only pulls her into a warm embrace and presses his lips to hers, a calloused hand buried in her hair. And what began as a nightmare turns into a blissful night's sleep.