A/N: Ah another round of the QLFC. I have a strange pairing to write (Charlie/Draco). Thankfully, it does not have to be slash, since I cannot write that to save my soul. I chose prompt 10-Boggart and prompt 14- "This isn't safe… or legal for that matter. Here it goes.
Draco Antares Malfoy was scared of dragons. Even though he had kept it to himself for the most part, some people still had figured it out.
One time in fifth year, during his tenure on the Inquisitorial Squad, Draco had run afoul of a boggart. He had been alone at the time, thankfully.
He had opened a cabinet, then a Hungarian Horntail came roaring out. While a part of him had realized that it was a boggart, Draco had just froze.
While he had not been one of the students who had faced the boggart in third year Defense Against the Dark Arts (that clown thing that Patil girl had turned her cobra into was scarier that the cobra itself), Draco still knew the spell.
But how to make a Hungarian Horntail funny? The only thing Draco could think of were those piñata things that he'd seen in a few books.
He'd shouted Riddikulus and it had promptly turned into a rather elaborate piñata. Though he'd laughed, it had been rather forced.
And why the HELL was he visiting a dragon reservation when he was so bloody scared of the very beasts that inhabited the area?
###
It was actually a part of the punishment for being a death eater. Draco had to work on a Beast reservation of the Ministry's choosing for a minimum of six months.
Draco had spent most of the night prior to his departure drinking as much firewhiskey as he could stand.
After the fourth bottle of the Ogden's, his father gave the orders to the house elves to not bring Draco any more of the stuff.
###
And to make matters worse, Draco would be working with one of the multitude of Weasleys. It was the one that seemed to get the most frequently lost in the shuffle: Charlie Weasley.
The man seemed to be taking a great deal of enjoyment of having Draco Malfoy do all sorts of menial work in the office.
###
Charlie was smirking in spite of himself. He knew he shouldn't do that; he was older and in charge, and he definitely was not allowed to... provoke the new recruits, but some prank had never hurt anybody, after all. Moreover, his inner Gred&Forge (so he had named his mischievous side) wouldn't shut up otherwise. The young Malfoy was giving him the silent treatment since the first day, and Charlie, used to his noisy home couldn't bear it. It was not like the dragons were good speakers. They certainly had a lot of virtues and were better than humans in many ways but words were not amongst them. So, Charlie's next goal in life was to make Draco speak at least a word.
Their first meeting had not gone well, he was willing to admit that, but what could people expect? Each family had taught their children to hate the other. Charlie was not proud of himself, but, when faced the young Malfoy, he hadn't kept his mouth shut as he should have. Sure, he had still still been bitter over Fred's death, and a dragon had just escaped and damaged a lot of things, but those weren't excuses for his harsh, mocking words. "No need to ask who you are. Blonde hair, icy eyes and a criminal record. You can't but be a Malfoy. Draco, if I'm not wrong." Draco still had to speak a word since then, so Charlie had quickly decided he would make him speak. He had started by having him make any sort of menial work, hoping his pride would rebel, but still no reaction from the blond pureblood.
###
"I do not want to give Charlie Weasley the satisfaction of me failing to keep up with my work!" Draco snarled to himself.
One thing Draco had noticed was that the second oldest Weasley sibling seemed to be experimenting with something involving dragons.
Draco was determined to figure out what Charlie was up to, even if it meant risking getting his hair getting burned off.
###
Draco (after he had put on Boots of Silence and Disillusionment charm on himself) set out after the older dragon keepers. He needed to know what they were doing.
He wondered if what they were doing was illegal or not in the magical world. What were they doing with dragons?
Draco was reasonably certain that they were not selling the dragon eggs. He had learned the hard way not to go near the nesting mothers.
He had sent a letter back to his mother asking for a fireproof cloak and mask a week ago.
###
"This isn't safe… or legal for that matter," was the first voice Draco had heard as he snuck up on the dragon keepers.
"It's perfectly legal," came the voice of Charlie Weasley. "We are just experimenting with how big dragons are."
Draco saw a clutch of eggs. They looked to be the eggs of a Norwegian Ridgeback, but a bit smaller than usual. The eggs must have been rejected by the mother.
He had never seen a dragon hatching. It looked like he was about to.
It truly was an experience. Draco could almost feel himself healing as he watched.
The hatchlings seemed to be small before Draco realized something. They'd bred miniature dragons!