Charlie Weasley is different from his siblings. And, he finds, that is quite the feat because all his siblings are different from each other. He's not as tall or accomplished as his older brother, Bill, who was a prefect and then Head Boy in his final year at Hogwarts. (Although, his father would fervently argue that being Quidditch Captain for Gryffindor was far more important, and therefore Charlie had exceeded his brother in that aspect.) Bill had also snagged a really good job with Gringotts upon graduation, which made Charlie's insides squirm a bit at the idea that he was going to have to live up to that expectation. He is not as concerned about rules as Percy, who has been showing great enthusiasm and doing really well. So far, his arrogant attitude toward keeping to the rules is serving him well. Charlie's not as well-humoured as his younger twin brothers, Fred and George, whom he has a sneaking suspicion will do well, despite it only being their second year. And, despite the fact that they've already spent more time in Filch's office than Charlie or Bill ever had in their entire seven years at Hogwarts combined, he does know they're very clever. He's not sure how Ron, his youngest brother, or Ginny, his only sister, will fare, and he almost feels sorry for them - all their older brothers are slowly making names for themselves and setting standards that they'll both feel pressured to follow.
His differences lie in the dangerous. His love for all magical creatures has always been obvious as he didn't have the sense to hide it when he was younger. Upon entering the halls of Hogwarts, however, he did tone down his enthusiasm, lest he find himself the unwitting scapegoat for any creature-related injuries. His two heroes had both been expelled because of their love for magical creatures, after all. Of course, if anyone was paying any particular attention, they would see that, though he excelled in many subjects, he was top of the class in Care of Magical Creatures. They would see that he spent just a little too much of his free time down with Hagrid, wandering the perimeter of the Forbidden Forest and helping him care for creatures that other students smartly shied away from. If they looked even closer still, they may wonder at the books he'd saved up for and hidden away from prying eyes to read in his down time.
But after his first Care of Magical Creatures class in his third year, he'd sworn that he'd never say a word about how happy that class made him. He'd sworn that he'd never so much as breathe the thought that he wanted to be a part of that when he graduated from Hogwarts. And he'd kept his promise. He'd kept visits to Hagrid just short enough to never draw attention. He made sure his grades in every subject were perfect, so he would never truly have to answer "What do you want to be when you grow up" based on them. All his O.W.L.S were top notch, and nothing pointed to a certain career choice. When it came times to pick extra classes to help him toward a career, he picked everything he thought might help him toward his heart's goal, and just enough of rubbish classes that no one could really say what they thought of him.
There is, of course, the downside that because he has refused to talk to anyone about how much he enjoys working with magical creatures of varying degrees of dangerous, he's not exactly sure what kind of career choices there are concerning his passion. Research has gotten him only so far, and he's not satisfied with the kind of answers he's found. They all feel like they're safe. Even the idea of working in the Ministry, in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, sounded mundane and irritating. He'd probably never get to be in the field, and, if he was, it was to control magical creatures - which sounded pitiful and makes him a little angry to think about. He wanted to help magical creatures, not squash them into extinction.
He sighs, fogging up the window briefly, until he turned away from it. He's moody as it is. The Gryffindor Quidditch team has been struggling, even with himself and their rather impressive new Keeper, Oliver Wood. His team had done well in the past, and Gryffindor even took the Quidditch Cup in his second year. His Quidditch team almost won the following year, but lost the Cup in the last game against Ravenclaw. To top it all, due to an unfortunate number of points being taken from the overall House, they didn't win the House Cup that year, either. A few of his teammates graduated and they lost last year. He'd had high hopes after both Fred and George were named the Gryffindor Quidditch team Beaters - growing up, playing Quidditch in the backyard with their brothers, they had been pretty good. But the team felt disjointed and weren't working well together. They had lost their second game this year and he's starting to fear that not only are they going to lose the Quidditch Cup, but the House Cup, too. And there's no convincing Fred and George to quit their shenanigans to gain any more ground back.
He glances across the room at the twins, who seem rather disheartened after tonight's game and are headed to bed. Scrunching his nose, he decides to head up to his dormitory for the remainder of the night as well. After changing, he lays on his stomach on his bed and pulls out a book, propping it against the pillows. He grabs his wand and mutters, "Lumos." It's just after dark and he hasn't bothered turning on any lights. Most of his bunkmates will be up later working on homework, which leaves him plenty of time to read.
"So," Hagrid mutters one evening when Charlie goes down to visit him, "have ya put much thought into what yer goin' ter be doin' after school?"
Charlie watches him hover over a large crate of creatures. The creatures have yet to be named, as Hagrid has only just breeded them a few months ago. Charlie's rather impressed by the idea that the gamekeeper has managed to cross-breed right under the Ministry's noses, but isn't stupid enough to go talking about it either - there are a few students smarmy enough to go talking to their mummies and daddies who "just so happen" to work for the Ministry. Luckily, Hagrid has seemed to be smart enough not to keep his new creature in the open as well. The redhead shifts on his feet and lets out a soft sigh. "Yes…" he admits quietly and Hagrid looks back at him.
"Well, don't go soundin' all upset about it now," he says anxiously. "Ya still got another whole term to mull over it." He closes the crate and turns to Charlie, who simply stares up at him in mild distress. "Come on, now. Let's go have a cup o' tea and talk."
Reluctantly, Charlie follows Hagrid into his hut and settles into one of the giant chairs by the table. Fang bounds over to him from a corner of the room, happily trying to lick at his face. "Hagrid, there doesn't seem to be a career out there for me," Charlie tells him, scratching the back of Fang's ear to settle him. "Nothing sounds like the right fit. I'm going to end up in Diagon Alley, waiting tables for the Leaky Cauldron or something… Just a job, not a career…"
Hagrid pours them both tea and sits down opposite him. There's a brief silence, in which Hagrid seems to be choosing the words for his answer carefully. "Charlie… Sometimes ya gotta try summat ya don't think'll work for ya first. Many o' the greatest witches an' wizards out there didn't start where they ended up." He takes in Charlie's blank stare and tries again. "Take Dumbledore, fer example. He didn't start as a headmaster. He didn't start in Wizengamot. He started as a teacher."
Charlie frowns and swirls his tea in his cup. "So, basically, suck it up and try a job that may or may not lead to other possibilities?" He took a sip. "Sounds lovely."
"Yer brother had no intention o' working fer a bank, ya know that?" Hagrid tells him with a grin. "He had no patience fer goblins. An' now look; workin' fer Gringotts, side by side with goblins." He chuckled, as though he really did find this funny. "Point is, yer not to worry about it. Everyone makes a big deal out o' this, and, unless yer not tryin', everyone ends up fine after school anyway."
"Bill still isn't a big fan of goblins…" Charlie smiles, slightly cheered by this notion. His brother has even been talking of leaving Britain to do International work for Gringotts, and Charlie wonders if he'll have to work with goblins any less if he does. "Thanks, Hagrid."
Hagrid beams and then appears to remember something. "One more thing..." He stands and goes to his fireplace, where a small crate resides. Picking it up, he sets it on the table, close to Charlie. "I got ya summat fer graduating."
"But I haven't yet!" Charlie protests as Hagrid sets a wrapped gift on top of the crate. "And this is two things..."
Hagrid grins behind his great bushy beard. "I know. But I won't get to see ya much after this with all yer testing and such. Listen, wait ter open the package until yer at home. Trust me." Curious, Charlie lifts the package - which must be a book, judging by how heavy it is - and places it into his bag. Then he turns his attention to the crate. Carefully, he pulls back the lid and stares into an empty box. He wrinkles his nose, confused, until a little lizard springs out and latches onto his nose. He crosses his eyes to see the silvery-green of his scales and comprehension dawns on his face as Hagrid explains, "It's a moke. Little guy can shrink at will."
"Thank-you so much, Hagrid." Charlie gently strokes the back of the moke, smiling when it trills softly and grabs onto his finger instead. He lets it settle on his palm as it stares around itself warily. "Can I name it?"
Hagrid scratches at his beard thoughtfully and replies, "Unless I'm mistaken, it's a boy. An' I haven't named him yet. The honor's all yers." He gives him a wide smile.
Charlie watches the moke scamper across his hand and onto his wrist, where it shrinks down and settles against his pulse. "Winks," he says decidedly and the little creature trills happily. While the moke is small and rather not dangerous at all, he is thrilled that he's been entrusted with its care.
He marches up toward the castle a little while later with Winks in his pocket and the crate in his arms and in much higher spirits than before. He's decided to focus on the last Quidditch match of the season, and see if he can't breathe some life into his team. If they could just win this game, then he would graduate a happy man.
His year could have ended on a worse note, that is true. But it didn't exactly end on a fantastic note, either. They won the last Quidditch match, which felt fantastic. But Gryffindor was so far behind in points, there was no recovery. Slytherin wiped the board, followed by Ravenclaw, and then Hufflepuff. Charlie had had an explosive row about it with Fred and George days before the final feast and they still aren't on speaking terms. Charlie has been moments away from a nervous breakdown for weeks. He's not sure that leaving school will help any because he still has to wait for the results of his N.E.W.T.s and, of course, find work.
The feast is, at that point, not as much fun this time around and he's having trouble swallowing his food. He doesn't even hear Dumbledore's final speech, which he regrets because he could have used a few good words of wisdom. He's used to feeling lighthearted at the end of term, so this new feeling of oppressive stress is very unwelcome as it builds in him.
He doesn't sleep that night, and stares forlornly out the window of the train as he heads home.
About two thirds of the trip passes before Fred and George find him to apologize. He would have been more apt to accept it if he didn't see Percy lurking in the hall. "We didn't mean to cost you the House Cup," George says, and sounds mildly convincing.
"Yeah, with it being your last year and all," Fred adds, considerably less remorseful.
"Bug off," Charlie answers, hunkering deeper into his seat by the window.
The twins look unreasonably offended as they turn back into the hall. Charlie hears Fred hiss at Percy as he walks past, "I told you he's in too much of a mood!" Percy frowns in at him, but wisely doesn't pursue the issue. He checks on Winks, who is happily curled up in the pocket of his shirt, and then settles back for the rest of the ride.
When they step off the train at Kings Cross, their dad and Bill are waiting for them. Bill claps Charlie on the shoulder, congratulating him on graduating. "It'll be nice now, not having to worry about classes anymore," Bill reassures him with a grin. Meanwhile, Charlie can hear Percy loudly telling their father about the year and how much of a sour note it ended on. Fred and George are uncharacteristically quiet as they tag along.
The ride home, however, is a bit more chaotic than the station - the twins are now protesting and correcting Percy's story as he continues to attempt to tell it. Bill looks serenely amused by all the noise. "It's certainly been quiet without Fred and George around," he tells Charlie in a conspiratorial way. Back at the Burrow, the noise amps up with everyone home again and Charlie feels more comfortable. Their mum has strung a banner to congratulate Charlie on graduating and they all indulge in a very loud family meal outside. Fred and George take up dramatically telling Ron and Ginny about the horrific Quidditch game defeat against Ravenclaw and somehow make it sound as though Charlie had come close to death at one point (which is far from true). Overall, Charlie feels his mood improve and let's his worries sink with the setting sun.
Charlie does not immediately open the package Hagrid had given him. In his first week home, he's too busy with his family and Winks to even remember it. Introducing Winks to his mother a few days after being home is not as bad as he had first expected it to be. She seems to be under the impression that as it is rather harmless, it's nothing to worry about. But Winks has given Charlie an idea, and it's one that has been ghosting around his thoughts since Hagrid had first given him the little moke. In fact, it's the reason he remembers the gift from Hagrid at all.
At one in the morning a week after being home, Charlie finds himself sitting in his bed, letting Winks scamper across his shoulders and arms as he thinks. There has always been one magical creature in particular that he has always found fascinating, though he's never dared mention it to anyone other than Hagrid - and even he only got a small idea of Charlie's enthusiasm. Thinking of Hagrid reminds him that Winks isn't the only present he had received. He flings himself off his bed and dives for his bag, Winks squawking in his ear. He pulls the package out of his bag and climbs back onto his bed. Listening for Percy's soft snoring, grabs his wand and mutters, "Lumos" before quietly pulling the paper off. Just as he suspected, it is a book. But a book that has his heart skipping a beat or two.
A green leather bound book with a dragon printed in grey across its front greets him as the paper falls away. He runs his fingers across it and then turns it so he can read its title on the spine. "From Egg to Inferno: A Dragon-Keeper's Guide" is emblazoned in deep grey. Winks climbs down his arm and onto the back of his hand, craning his neck to sniff at the book. Barely noticing his moke, Charlie flips the book back over and opens it to begin eagerly reading. Nearly an hour passes before he decides to close the book for the night. Winks has draped himself across the back of his neck and is now dozing contentedly. He reluctantly closes the book, stuffing it under his mattress. Picking up Winks and setting him by his pillow, he lays down for a very restless night's sleep in which he dreams of dragons and eggs hidden deep in mountainous caves.
He finishes the book in a week and feels a deep, insatiable longing unravelling in his chest. His N.E.W.T. results show up almost two weeks after leaving Hogwarts and he feels hopeful as he reads them over. Because he feels as though there's some sort of countdown, he frantically applies to the Ministry, showing as much interest as he can in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Within only a few days, he gets a response that he's been hired on. Unsurprisingly, his parents are extremely proud of him because of course one of their sons has to follow in Mr Weasley's footsteps and work at the Ministry.
Charlie does his best to be enthusiastic, but within the first two weeks, he knows he hates it. He wasn't wrong in thinking that he would be behind a desk for an infinite amount of time. His boss reassures him that every new-comer is desk-bound and that, in time, he might be doing field work. Charlie doesn't necessarily believe him. And so he quietly suffers through.
When his mother heads to Diagon Alley to pick up books for his siblings that are returning to Hogwarts, he tags along and gets lost in Obscurus Books. He buys two more books on dragons - "Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit" and "Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland" - and then stops into Gambols and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop for a few trinkets for Fred and George as a peace offering. His mother gives him scandalized looks when she finds out that he had bought more joke things for the twins. "Don't go encouraging them, Charlie," she scolds but he just smiles goodnaturedly.
"Fred, George!" he calls when they get home and the twins wander downstairs with wary expressions. They hadn't been talking to Charlie since their row, despite several attempts by their siblings and parents to get them to reconcile. Getting the cold shoulder from the twins isn't really as much fun as one would expect, and so he hopes that they'll forgive his bad temper. Making sure that their mother is out of earshot, he passes them the bag of tricks. "I'm sorry I was such a git… Mum reckons I shouldn't be giving these to you, but I'd rather have some sort of idea how you're spending your school year."
They pause, peering into the bag, and then identical mischievous grins spread across their faces as they look back up at him. "I suppose it must have been all that stress," Fred concedes with a hint of a laugh in his voice.
"You never have handled it well," George adds with a curt nod. "Apology accepted. We'll make good use of all these."
"Promise," Fred says, resting one hand over his heart solemnly.
Charlie rolls his eyes with a smile. "Go hide them before Mum can raid the bag." With no further encouragement needed, the twins race back up the stairs to the room they share with Ron.
Taking his own bag upstairs to his room, Charlie hides the books under his bed and then goes to help his mother sort through all the books and robes.
Days pass into weeks and Charlie is slowly feeling like he's going mad working at the Ministry. The books he's bought only feed the intense longing within him and makes him feel more restless. And then, something happens that solidifies his desire to leave the Ministry.
He's filed a number of different responses to a number of different cases, ranging anywhere from Memory Charm approvals to Relocation. The one that bothers him the most, however, comes in the form of a death sentence to a tebo - a warthog that can make itself invisible - that was illegally smuggled into the country. He doesn't sign off on it, and instead goes to his boss, Mr Buffow, with a troubled feeling in his chest. "Sir, why can't it just be relocated to Congo?" he asks, already figuring that it's a lost cause.
Mr Buffow looks up at him. He's a frazzled looking wizard with great bushy brows and a permanent frown-line creasing his forehead. "Well, the whole thing is illegal, for starters," he tells him, his tone suggesting that he's already told him this. "And it's attacked - unprovoked, might I add - no less than two Muggles and a witch."
Charlie frowns deeply. "But couldn't that be chalked up to it being out of its natural habitat?"
His boss studies him carefully, his great eyebrows bunching together, before answering, "Nonetheless, it has become a hazard and must be dealt with as such. You know, I think it would be good if you were a witness. Maybe it will help you understand how and why things work the way they do here."
Charlie heads home in a daze that night, refusing to speak to his parents and retiring early. Three days pass in a blur before he has to witness the sentence being carried out. When he gets home afterwards, he goes straight up to his room. Cupping Winks in the palms of his hands, he sits on his bed and pulls his knees up close as he hunches over and cries. Winks makes soft sounds of concern, pacing around his cupped hands and coming to a rest with his head against the pulse in Charlie's wrist. He can't do this, and now he truly knows it.
It's the week before the summer holidays end that Charlie makes his announcement, over a very loud dinner out in the garden. "I'm going to go travelling."
The entire table falls silent and eight pairs of eyes fall on him. "Travelling?" his father inquires, sounding very confused. "What do you mean?"
"I mean," Charlie says very clearly, looking between his parents on either end of the table, "I'm going to quit my job at the Ministry and travel."
He had known there would be an uproar, but watching it feels different. Fred and George give each other wide eyed, awed looks before glancing at their parents. Percy puffs out his chest and mutters something that sounds vaguely like "irresponsible" and Bill scoffs at him. It's his mother's shrill voice that sends Winks falling from his shoulder and into his shirt pocket, where he shrinks down to the size of a sunflower seed. "Quit your job!? You will do no such thing, Charles Weasley!"
Charlie stares at her and, doing his best to keep his head, asks, "And why not?"
"Travelling!" Mrs Weasley carries on, almost as if she hasn't heard him. "You are not going to leave a perfectly stable job to do some travelling! Where will you go? Why would you quit your job? Absolute nonsense!"
The twins look eagerly at Charlie for his response. "I'm not happy with my job!" he answers, somewhere very close to the yelling range. "I hate it! I want to go across Europe and find something worth my while!"
The brief pause is filled with an electricity that has everyone squirming in their seats. The twins turn curiously toward their mother for her reply. She is very red in the face, and it's very easy to imagine steam billowing from her ears. "Now look here," she begins in a dangerously low tone. "I will not allow you to destroy a perfectly fine career simply because you think you want to travel. You don't even have a plan-"
And here, Charlie finds he can no longer keep his own cool. "I do, too!" he bellows and the twins swivel. "I've saved all my money for this! Tonks has set me on a good path and I'm ready to do something different. I tried to work with the Ministry but I don't agree with how they handle things and I'm not happy working there! You've always taught us to pursue happiness over compromise of any kind and that's what I'm doing! I'm sick of being cooped up and being asked to do entirely unethical things! Let me go be happy!"
His mother stares hard at him and then turns to her husband, who looks quite alarmed by the idea that he's going to have to have some input here. "Well... He always has thrived out of doors, Molly..." he offers weakly.
"Oh, for heaven's sake!" She throws her arms up and stands. It's always an impressive moment when Mrs Weasley lets her temper fill a room. "Losing your job is a price you're willing to pay so that you can have a little fun?"
Charlie also stands, throwing his hands down onto the table. He's probably one of the only ones in the family who has inherited his mother's temper and can match it just as impressively. "I'm not losing it, I'm handing it away! My job means less to me than how I see the rest of my life playing out! I refuse to be miserable in exchange for a handful of Galleons a month! Nothing you say will change my mind! I wasn't asking for permission to go! I was simply giving you the courtesy of telling you before I left!" He throws back his chair and storms from the kitchen and out into the backyard, slamming the door behind him. He's in a rage hot enough to match the heat of the sun. He paces around the yard until his anger weakens. Going back inside, he takes off his shoes before going up to his room. He still has no desire to sit, and so he stands by the window and stares outside. Winks slowly emerges from his shirt pocket, giving him a rather disapproving sound. Charlie absentmindedly strokes the back of the moke and mutters, "Sorry about that, Winks..."
The moke climbs up his arm and drapes his full sized body across his shoulders, telling him off quite clearly in his ear. Charlie smiles despite the rush of anger still hovering around the edge of each thought. After a while longer, he decides he ought to go talk to his mother properly and apologize. Heading downstairs, he passes Percy, who is toting a few books for school upstairs. Percy gives him a deep frown that Charlie ignores. He peers into the kitchen and then the living room, catching sight of her magically knitting by the unlit fire. Ron, Ginny, the twins, and Bill can be seen out the window playing a "friendly" game of Quidditch. His father is refereeing the match quite frantically.
Mrs Weasley looks up with watery eyes and Charlie feels a pang of guilt. "Mum... I... I didn't mean to make you cry..." he says as he sits by her feet. "But you must know how I feel."
She purses her lips as she flicks her wand at the knitting and watches it settle into a basket beside her. "I don't want you hurt."
Charlie is quiet a moment, choosing his words carefully. "A few weeks ago, I had to be a witness to a death of a tebo... And that hurt immensely..." He stares up at her. "I know there are challenges and risks, but I'm willing to take them because... Well, because that's what makes me happy."
She doesn't look at him for several moments. Laughter and shouting echo from outside. Finally, she faces him and says simply, "I know. I'm being entirely selfish, being so afraid that I could lose you... You are right, that I do want you to be happy..."
"I wish I enjoyed a desk job, for your sake," Charlie tells her with a smile that she returns weakly.
On his last day at work, Mr Buffow approaches him with a few pieces of parchment clasped in his hands. "I think you would have done well, with time," he says, pausing only long enough for Charlie to look up at him. "But, as you've made your stance perfectly clear, I applaud you for standing your ground. I sent a recommendation away in advance." He passes the parchments to Charlie, who takes them cautiously and looks them over. "The pictures enclosed should be sufficient enough to get you there, but there is an attached map just in case. I think you'll do better there…" He gives him an appraising look as Charlie snaps his head back up to stare at him, nods briefly, and leaves.
Charlie leaves a day before the end of the holidays so that he can say goodbye to everyone. He doesn't pack a trunk full of things, only a backpack that he slings over his shoulders. Wink hides in his front shirt pocket, shivering in trepidation. Charlie's sure that the moke took his pep talk the night before a tad too seriously. His mother doesn't stop crying the whole time. Bill gives him curious looks, as if expecting him to back out at any moment. Fred, George, and Ron all demand that he send them cool trinkets from his journey. Ginny constantly tears up, attempts to say something, and ends up saying nothing. Percy reminds him to check rules and regulations in each country so he doesn't get himself into any unnecessary trouble. His father remains quiet for most of the goodbye, but at some point gives up and starts giving him rubbish advice. Eventually, he manages to pry himself away from his family long enough to Apparate.
He's chosen four different places, based on books and Mr Buffow's recommendation, to Apparate to along his journey, and the first one takes him to Wales. He doesn't stay very long, and heads to France next. He dabbles a little longer, but after a month he decides to follow a rumor, and the hint his former boss had dropped, and heads to Romania. The picture he'd picked lands him further than he'd expected, and he finds himself in a mountainous area. Not willing to get himself spliced because he doesn't know Romania at all, he makes the choice to travel by foot to the nearest wizarding town. The picture in the book had made the suggestion that he was only a day or two away from the town. But even with his wand, using a simple direction charm, he finds himself a little lost. On his third day, puzzled as to why he hasn't managed to come across anything and irritated by a sudden downpour, he dives into a nearby cave to consider his options.
He tosses his backpack aside and flops unceremoniously onto the cave's floor. Winks climbs out of his bag, full sized, and gives him some very grumbly sounds of irritation. Charlie just watches as the rain slowly puddles outside of the cave and seeps through the rock toward him. "Maybe this wasn't a good idea," he mutters to himself, pulling his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. He's running low on rations and there's no sign of any sort of town nearby.
After awhile, Winks slinks over to him and wraps himself around his neck. At first, Charlie thinks he's trying to comfort him. But a deep sound at the back of the cave has him on his feet and wand in hand. Unsure how wise it is to light his wand when an unknown creature is hidden in the shadows, he waits with his heart in his throat. The silence stretches, Charlie straining his eyes and ears for anything. After what feels like an hour but is probably only minutes, a growl reverberates through the cave. Throwing caution to the wind, Charlie lights his wand.
At first, the light does nothing but blind him and irritate the creature hidden in the shadows. But Charlie recovers quickly, and catches sight of a long scaly body slinking behind a boulder. Winks, if he stretches himself to his full length, is a little over a foot and a half. The creature trying to hide, is probably twice that. A long, green tail is flicking about, as though its owner hasn't quite figured out that it's not fully hidden. "A Common Green," he whispers faintly to himself. By the size of it, the dragon can be no older than a month.
Charlie feels as though he's reached an impossible impasse. On the one hand, the mother has to be nearby, probably hunting, and won't be happy to come home to find that her baby has unwelcome visitors. On the other, he's never heard of a dragon having less than three hatchlings at a time and the idea of leaving a baby alone to die is heartbreaking. Plus, there is the storm raging on outside. He feels rooted to the spot, unsure what to do. He's always thought of himself as brave and good with creatures - but what if his natural ability to befriend anything hit a limit with dragons? His life is at risk if he stays. Still, he hesitates. He could wait, and be ready to flee at even the mere hunt of a sign from the mother. He inches slowly toward his bag and hauls it over his shoulders.
The little dragon doesn't reappear for quite some time, and Charlie doesn't dare move too much as he stands alert by the cave entrance. He stands there long enough for his knees to hurt and his shoulders to begin to feel the weight of Winks, who has also refused to move. The storm seems to increase as time wears on, and Charlie begins to seriously question whether or not a mother dragon ever will return. After what feels like hours, the hatchling slinks from behind the boulder, throwing him distrusting glances over its shoulder as it moves further back. The cave is shallow enough for Charlie to see that there's not much more space for the dragon to move into. Aching, Charlie moves to sit when the dragon spins to glare at him, making growling noises in the back of its throat. "Hey, now," he says quietly but firmly. "I'm tired. I'm only going to sit. You can knock that off straight away."
Winks makes an approving sound as the dragon blinks slowly at him. Charlie lowers himself to the ground, every muscle protesting the movement. The dragon watches him carefully. It is probably one of the longest nights of his life, watching the hatchling and listening for the mother. He dozes several times, his head flopping back onto Winks, who twitches or smacks him with his tail to wake him up each time. The sun peers through the clouds weakly the following morning, chasing shadows away inside the cave. Charlie watches the dragon curiously as it hunkers down, hiding behind its wing. Another hour or two pass, and Charlie comes to a conclusion. There is no mother coming back, though he's not sure why, and he knows that he's got to do something. He gets to his feet as slowly as he dares, still absolutely stiff. The dragon doesn't move and he's sure it must be sleeping. In the new morning light, the dragon's scales shimmer and he can see that it's very small, even for a young dragon. He wonders just how long the creature has been in the cave all by itself. "I'll be back," he tells the dragon, backing out of the cave as quietly as possible. It doesn't give any acknowledgment that it heard him.
Outside of the cave, it's still drizzling as the storm clouds roll casually across the sky. Winks slinks into his backpack as he heads down the mountainside, slipping and sliding for about halfway down. He reappeared with a piece of parchment in his mouth, that he pushed into Charlie's face and caused the redhead to lose his footing and tumble down another small portion of the mountainside. "Winks! What are you doing!?" he huffs angrily, sitting up and grabbing the moke by his tail. He snatches the parchment from his mouth and, muttering under his breath, looks it over.
"Oh…" It's the map he'd been given. He glances back up the hillside and then at the map, deciding he better mark the cave so he can get back. He pulls his backpack off and fumbles for a quill and ink, marking the spot on the map as obviously as he can. Putting the quill and ink away, he yanks his backpack on again and picks up Winks, who is somewhere between fuming and smug. "Don't brag. You didn't give me the map three days ago, before we got lost." Winks huffs and climbs into his front shirt pocket as Charlie starts following the map.
It takes maybe an hour to reach town, which makes him rather peeved. But it quickly evaporates as he steps into town, marvelling at it. He's used to Hogsmeade, which is a fantastic town in and of itself. This, however, is completely different. It's extremely busy, with little street shops all over and witches and wizards Apparating all over. Flitterby moths, fairies and owls swooped and fluttered above the traffic below. Shop windows were laden with all sorts of local wizarding paraphernalia. Caravans with witches and wizards claiming to be Seers (from what Charlie can gather) are parked here and there along roads. For a moment, Charlie almost forgot why he's in town because there's so much to look at and distract him with. He moves along the streets, peering at street shops and listening to owners shout in Romanian to promote their items. It's when Winks pokes his head out of his pocket and swivels his head at the same time as Charlie that he remembers why he's in town. Food.
He walks over to a building that looks about as old as Romania itself and steps inside, his stomach growling loudly at the amazing smells. The space is warm and cozy, despite it being rather dark because of its small windows. It's about this time that he realizes he doesn't know a lick of Romanian, and he feels his face heat up as he attempts to order some sort of finger food that he can carry with him as he keeps looking through town. Eventually, he succeeds, pays, and quickly leaves with his food. His next stop is a little harder to find, but because he knows exactly what he's looking for, he doesn't get as distracted this time. He slips into a butcher's shop and is relieved to find that the owner speaks English. He buys two lambs, lightening his money-bag considerably. With them wrapped and slung over his shoulders, he starts back out of town and back up the mountain.
The Welsh Green is awake and alert, staring at him with deep brown eyes as he steps back into the cave, muddied and exhausted. Charlie drops his load and throws his backpack off. He doesn't say anything as he unwraps the first lamb and sits down behind it. The dragon stares at him, and then the meat. Charlie can see the indecision in the dragon's eyes as it weighs its hunger against its willingness to be in such a close proximity to a human. The minutes tick and Charlie is just considering moving the lamb closer when the dragon moves. It unravels itself from the back of the cave and slinks along the cavern walls toward the meat, pausing several times along the way. When they're maybe two feet apart, the dragon stops and, neck extended, narrows its eyes at Charlie. Smoke is coming in wisps from between its lips, as if threatening him. Charlie doesn't move, barely breathes. Seconds, minutes pass, and still, neither move. Then the dragon takes a few steps forward, clamps its jaws around the leg of the lamb, and drags it off to the back of the cave. Charlie doesn't dare move until it's done eating.
It's been a week, and Charlie has finally had some decent sleep. He's getting a little anxious about the situation he's found himself in. For starters, he can't afford any more meat after today. Another, he's sure it's starting to look a little odd - him toting two sheep up the mountainside every other day. On the plus side he's starting to bulk up even more, having to do all this work. He's stopped into an inn today and cleaned up because he's sick of all the grime. Running a hand through his hair as he walks through town, he feels shaky with anxiety, not really seeing anything besides his goal. The dragon, whom he's finally discovered is a female, has warmed up to him considerably and they don't lay on opposite sides of the cave anymore. He's still trying to come up with a name for her. Meanwhile, Winks is obviously furious with him and spends more time hiding, only coming out when food is involved, than doing anything else. He's tried telling the little moke that it's not one or the other, but Winks isn't having it.
His lack of attention to where he's going causes him to practically run over another person walking toward him. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" he bursts out, helping to stabilize the young woman. She's petite with short dark hair that's pulled into a tight pony, a round face, wide forest green eyes and a buzz about her that suggests that she can hold her own, despite her size. "I was so distracted… No excuse, really…" It doesn't immediately occur to him that she may not speak English.
She frowns up at him, adjusting the bag over her shoulder. "You look familiar…" she mutters in a heavy Romanian accent, which is the only way he can tell that she's not talking to herself. She gives him a once over and raises an eyebrow when she catches sight of Winks scampering up Charlie's shoulder to squawk irritably in his ear.
Charlie glances at the moke, completely unimpressed. "Oh, so you get a little flattened and now you'll talk to me, will you? A week of silence and now you have something to say? Come off it." And with that, he pulls Winks off his shoulder and unceremoniously shoves him back into his shirt pocket before turning back to the woman. "Sorry… About all that…" He sticks his hand out awkwardly and offers, "My name is Charlie Weasley."
She meets his eyes and a light bulb seems to go off above her head. "You're the one the British Ministry of Magic man said he was sending!" She snaps her fingers and, in a rush that catches Charlie off guard, she continues, "We have been waiting! Where have you been? Alexandru will be relieved to know that you did not splice yourself getting here!"
Charlie blinks at her, lowering his hand. "Sorry… I don't think I caught your name?"
The woman gives him a withering look. "Elena Vânător," she answers and sighs. "I've been looking for you."
"Me?" Charlie balks at her. "Why are you looking for me?"
"I told you - a man from the British Ministry of Magic sent a recommendation ahead of you," Elena says, calming down as she eyes his shirt pocket. "He said he was sending you to the sanctuary."
Charlie has his light bulb moment next. Not just rumors! "The Dragon Sanctuary? How far away is it from here?" He feels his excitement levels increase exponentially and then deflate almost just as fast as he remembers the dragon sitting in the cave not too far from them. "Actually… I dunno about that…"
Elena frowns up at him. "What do you mean, 'you don't know about that'? You're coming, aren't you?"
"Well, I mean, I do want to…" he starts slowly, rocking forward slightly with the desire to go to the butcher's shop and get back to his dragon. "But I found… I have a prior engagement…" Winks pokes his head out, and Charlie knows he's probably got the most smug expression on his little lizard face.
"A prior engagement?" Elena repeats skeptically, clutching her bag with one hand. "You want me to believe that?"
Charlie considers it for a moment before answering. "I'd like for you to pretend that you do. Look, I really do have to go…"
Elena snaps her fingers under his nose again, stopping him before he can take a full step forward. "Not before I can tell Alexandru when you'll be arriving." He glances at her hand quizzically, and then back at her. "The sanctuary is about six miles from here, due east."
Charlie considers this and how many leaps and bounds he's made with his dragon, and makes an educated guess. "Three more days?"
Despite her irritated facade, Elena seems to let some of her curiosity show. She hesitates, on the verge of asking something, before she firmly states, "Three days." With a hint of a smile, she adds, "Nice to finally meet you."
Charlie nods and they both start back off in their different directions. Something suddenly occurs to him and he catches Elena's arm, spinning them both into a half-turn. "Wait, what's the Romanian word for Welsh?"
Absolutely baffled, Elena replies, "Velșă."
Grinning, Charlie lets her go. "That's really pretty. Perfect. Thank you." He practically runs to the butcher shop after that.