Written for The Father's Day Competition, for the father/son pair, Arthur and Charlie.
Also written for the School of Prompts, for the words: miff, gloss and plan.
Words: 861
The Gecko
Arthur Weasley had a plan. It was a long, hot summer, and while Fred and George had each other for company, Bill had his puzzle books and Percy had his novels, Charlie was bored. The seven year old had spent most of the previous day sat moping in the living room, Molly had told him, and today was a Saturday, which meant Arthur didn't have to go to work. When Charlie finally dragged himself down the stairs, the last of the Weasley children to do so, Arthur smiled at him.
"We're going out today, Charlie," he said as his son poured himself a bowlful of cereal.
The boy looked up, perking up a little in interest. "Where are we going?" he asked.
"To the zoo," Arthur told him, unable to control his own excitement.
"What's a zoo?" Charlie asked.
"Well, it's a place muggles go to on days out," Arthur replied.
Charlie groaned. "Muggle places are boring," he complained.
"Not this one," Arthur chuckled. "Trust me, you'll enjoy it."
-o0o-
When they arrived at the zoo, Arthur had to admit it didn't look that impressive. They couldn't see any of the animals from the outside, but Arthur didn't want to spoil the surprise. He looked down at his son and saw apprehension clouding his blue eyes. He supposed that wasn't surprising when he looked up at the chipped gloss paint on the sign above the entrance reading, "Chester Zoo".
Fumbling with the muggle money, Arthur paid the woman on the turnstile and took Charlie in, only to find his son come to a dead stop as he took in the sight in front of them. The first exhibition by the entrance was the Asian elephants, and Charlie was amazed.
"Are they muggle animals?" the boy asked, curiosity piqued by the massive grey beasts idling around their enclosure, ignoring the visitors and their cameras.
"Yes, they are son. Every animal here is, and there's a lot to see," Arthur told him. Charlie looked up at his father with a grin.
"I think I like zoos," he said, before setting off to the right to see what else lay in store.
-o0o-
The last place they visited was the Reptile House, and while there wasn't an animal Charlie had seen that he didn't like, this was by far his favourite place. He'd decided the gecko was his favourite so far, mainly because the name sounded funny. When he saw a sign at the other side of the room announcing the presence of "Dragons", Charlie rushed over faster than Arthur's legs would carried him. When Charlie caught sight of the bearded dragon, however, he looked more than miffed. Another young boy beside him was staring with avid interest, and Charlie turned to look at him.
"It's a real dragon, mum," the raven haired boy announced, full of awe and excitement.
"If you want a real dragon, you should see the Hungarian Horntail. It breathes fire, and it's got a ball on its tail covered in spikes like horns that it uses to attack its victims!" Charlie announced excitedly. Arthur watched as the other's boys grin faded into an expression of horror. "One day, I'm going to ride one," Charlie announced, before walking away to see the Komodo dragon, hoping for something more impressive.
Before following him, Arthur turned to the boy's mother, a straight-backed, dark-haired woman, and said, "Sorry, he's got an overactive imagination," before rushing off.
-o0o-
"Did you enjoy it, Charlie?" Molly asked, smiling when her son broke out into a grin.
"It was amazing, mum! The elephants were massive! But the dragons weren't real dragons. My favourite was the gecko! Me and dad made a joke about them," he explained, before his brothers, Bill and Percy, fired question after question at him.
Arthur turned to Molly and smiled wearily at a job well done.
-o0o-
Many decades later, Arthur was ill. Lying in a bed at St Mungo's, he was old even by Wizarding standards. Charlie came to visit him every day, but it broke his heart to do so. Arthur was lacklustre, unresponsive. Charlie could sit by his side for hours, chatting away, and earn himself nothing more than a small smile. He knew his father was fading, and there was nothing he could do but watch. He was old himself now, at nearly a hundred. Old enough to know there was no magic in the world that could stop mortality.
"Hey, dad," he began, looking at the bedridden man with a hopeful smile. His last hope. "Do you remember when we visited the zoo when I was a child? Lizard… lizard… lizard…" he said, remembering the old joke, his voice growing quieter and more distant with every repetition of the word.
Arthur surprised him by turning towards him with a look of confusion. Charlie's heart began to beat a little faster as the confusion faded away from his father's face.
With a quiet and cracked voice, breaking with strain, Arthur asked, "Is there a gecko in the room?"
Charlie bent forward and embraced his father as tears rolled from his eyes, not knowing it would be the last time.