Hello everyone! Charlie Weasley is such an underappreciated character so I decided to give him some love.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any characters and places associated with the story. I'm only responsible for my original character Alice Reed.
Chapter 1
"Alice, we'll need you to go to Romania and speak to Charlie Weasley about joining the Order." Dumbledore's bright blue eyes gazed at her.
The name of her old friend surprised her. Alice and Charlie had been best friends during their time at Hogwarts. They met on their first ride on the Hogwarts Express and had been inseparable from that moment moving forward. One was rarely seen without the other. But that had been years ago. After leaving school Charlie went off to Romania to work with dragons and Alice went on to become an Auror. At first, they kept in touch, sending owls to each other nearly every day and occasionally speaking over the floo network, but as time went on Charlie gained more responsibilities at the dragon sanctuary and Alice moved up in ranks in the Auror department which led to their communications becoming less frequent until they finally stopped keeping in contact at all.
"Yes of course" Alice agreed.
"If he agrees to join, bring him back here. We need extra help with following possible death eaters here in England. Once we get enough information, or more members he'll be able to go back to Romania and work on recruiting foreign wizards over there. Explain to him that he won't have to leave his position permanently. This may help to get him to join. I'll explain what he'll be doing in more detail once he arrives." Dumbledore explained.
"Yes sir." Alice responded.
"You'll leave as soon as the meeting is over. And please do try to get back here as soon as possible." Dumbledore added before moving on with the rest of the meeting.
The meeting ended not long after. Alice got up and said goodbye to a few people before going up to her room.
When Dumbledore restarted the Order of the Phoenix, Sirius Black offered his childhood home, Number 12 Grimmauld Place to serve as headquarters. Dumbledore wanted there to be an Auror on hand so Alice volunteered to move in. At first, it was only her and Sirius living there but soon after she moved in Remus Lupin became a resident and so did many of the Weasley family members.
When she got up to her room, Alice grabbed a few items of clothing and threw them in a magically expanded bag. She wasn't sure if she would be back tonight or not so she decided to play it safe and pack a few outfits in case she had to stay in Romania for longer. Alice knew the old Charlie would agree to join in a heartbeat but she wasn't sure if he was still the same. It had been about three years since the two had last spoken. There was no way of knowing what his reaction to seeing her would be.
She was nervous to see him. There was no denying it. Back when they were still at Hogwarts Alice fell in love with him. There was no way she couldn't. He was always so kind and genuine. He was determined and would stop at nothing to do what is right and to protect those he cared about. He was a prefect, an amazing student, a seeker, and the captain of the Gryffindor quidditch team. He was easily the most popular person in their year, if not the entire school. Even though she was his best friend she couldn't see him loving her as more than a friend so she never said anything to him. She figured it was better to love him in secret and keep him around as a friend than telling him the truth and having it blow up in her face, losing her best friend in the process. So, she stayed quiet.
When Alice was satisfied with her packing she went back down to the kitchen. There she found Sirius nursing a glass of fire whiskey, Remus reading a newspaper, and Molly Weasley cleaning up after the meeting.
"Molly, do you happen to know the best way to get to the sanctuary Charlie works at?" Alice asked the man in question's mother.
Molly put the rag down that she was cleaning with. "Yes, I believe he mentioned a Dragon's Egg Tavern that has a fireplace you could floo too. It's Wizard owned. He said he usually floos there when he's heading back from a visit. Said it's easier to do that than trying to apparate that far. I'm sure that if you ask someone there they'll be able to give you directions to the sanctuary."
Alice nodded distractedly. "Thanks Molly."
"Are you nervous, Al?" Sirius asked, a teasing gleam in his eye.
"Weren't you nervous about seeing certain people after you escaped Azkaban? I haven't talked to Charlie in about three years and I haven't seen him in even longer."
"Well I was on the run so anyone made me nervous." Sirius pointed out. Normally Alice would have apologized for bringing up the past like that, but she saw Sirius was still joking around with her.
"Oh, you know what I mean. Anyways, I should get going. Hopefully I'll be back soon but in case it takes me longer I'll make sure to owl."
"Good luck." Sirius toasted in her direction.
Alice rolled her eyes before grabbing a handful of floo powder from the pot on the mantle. She threw it in the fire and announced, "Dragon's Egg Tavern, Romania." The green flames engulfed her. Moments later, Alice found herself stumbling into a dimly lit tavern. Looking around, she saw several tables set up around the room, some occupied, others not. There was a bar off to one side of the establishment with a few patrons nursing drinks. Everyone in the tavern looked to be on the rougher side. It was likely that most of these people worked at the sanctuary. Alice walked over to the barkeep who was wiping down the bar.
"Excuse me, sir? Could you tell me the directions to the dragon sanctuary?" Alice asked the man.
The man looked her up and down. "The dragon sanctuary? What does a little lady like you have to do at a dragon sanctuary?"
Alice stared him down. "What I will be doing at the dragon sanctuary is my business."
The man chuckled, appreciating her fire. "Head south for about twenty minutes. The sanctuary is past the trees."
"Thank you, sir."
She walked out of the tavern and started to walk in the direction the bar keep had said. At first the path led through a town but soon buildings turned to trees. Alice continued down a dirt path through some trees using her wand to light her way. About 20 minutes later, just as the man said, Alice came up to a large clearing. Even though it was already getting dark the entire place was bustling with life. There were witches and wizards walking around from one building to another and many people were coming in and out of a large enclosure on the far side of the clearing. The enclosure was made up of large wooden planks reaching up over fifty feet with an occasional watch tower standing even higher. Alice could hear the occasional roar and saw flames and smoke come up over the wall at time. She figured that that's where the dragons were kept.
The entire scene was a bit overwhelming and Alice knew she'd never be able to find Charlie on her own so she stopped the first woman who passed her. "Excuse me, I'm looking for Charlie Weasley. Do you know where he is?"
The woman nodded and pointed the enclosure Alice has just been observing. "I saw him over by the enclosures a few minutes ago."
"Thank you." Alice began to walk toward the wall. Just as she was nearing it, the redhead in question walked through the gate. Her heart stopped. Charlie somehow looked even better than the last time she had seen him. His ginger hair was longer, brushing just past his shoulders. His muscles looked even more defined than they had during the height of his quidditch career at Hogwarts. There were even more freckles covering his face making it look like he had a nice tan. His arms were covered in scars and shiny burn marks. She found herself frozen for a moment just taking his appearance in but suddenly her brain began to work again and she remembered why she was there in the first place. "Charlie?" She hesitantly called out his name.
Charlie looked over towards where he heard the familiar voice. "Alice!" His eyes widened when he saw her. "Your hair is shorter."
Alice raised an eyebrow at him. "We haven't spoken in almost three years and that's the first thing you say to me?"
He walked over and stood in front of her. "Well your hair was always ridiculously long, of course that's the first thing I'd notice."
It was true. Back when they were at Hogwarts, Alice's dark hair always reached down to her waist. However, ever since an incident during one of her cases as an Auror she's kept her hair just past shoulder length.
They stared at each other, neither really knowing what to do. "It looks good though, you look good." Charlie said sheepishly, crossing his muscular arms in front of him. The scars even more visible as his skin stretched.
A light blush tinted Alice's cheeks. "Thanks."
Charlie inhaled. "What are you doing here? It's nice to see you, but like you said, it's been a while since we've been in contact."
Alice looked around. There were still people walking around going about their work. This was no place to discuss sensitive matters like the Order or the oncoming war against Voldemort. "Is there anywhere else we can go to talk? Somewhere private?"
Charlie saw Alice's demeanor change. She meant business. "Yes, of course. Follow me." He led them through the compound to a series of huts. They were set up in rows and looked a bit like barracks. When they reached his he unlocked the door and gestured for Alice to go inside.
It was a quaint space. The door opened into a small kitchen with a living room attracted to it. There was a door that led into a crisp white bathroom and another door next to it led to another room which Alice assumed was the bedroom.
Charlie moved in front of her and began moving some parchment and books around to clear up a space at the round kitchen table for Alice to sit. "Would you like some tea? Something to eat?"
Alice shook her head as she sat down. "No, I'm fine. Thank you."
"Right." Charlie nodded before sitting down in the chair across from her. "So, what is it that you wanted to talk about?"
Alice took a steadying breath, trying to collect her thoughts. "I'm sure you've heard about what happened at the final task of the Triwizard Tournament." Alice paused, waiting to see if Charlie had in fact heard of the incident.
He nodded. "They say Harry Potter saw You Know Who come back from the dead. But the Prophet has been saying that it's all a hoax, and that Dumbledore is off his rocker."
"The Prophet is lying. Cornelius Fudge refuses to believe it's true, but it is. You Know Who is back and he's beginning to build up an army again. Which is why I'm here. Dumbledore is starting up the Order of the Phoenix again. Your parents are already a part of it, so are many of the Hogwarts professors, and a few others including myself. I was sent by Dumbledore himself to ask if you'd be willing to join. We need all the help we can get. Dumbledore said that for the immediate future you'd be helping with some things in England but later you'll be able to come back here and help with foreign recruiting. You won't have to quit your job here. You'd only be gone for a while."
When Alice finished speaking the pair sat in silence. Charlie's mind was whirling.
"It's fine if you don't want to join. It'll be dangerous and you'll have to spend less time here in Romania. No one would be angry if you said no. We'll all understand." Alice added.
"But I can't just leave you all to fight this on your own when I know I can help." Charlie was resigned. He knew he would be going back to London with Alice, at least for the time being. "I'll join the Order. I just need a few days here to settle everything before I can go."
"Of course! Take as much time as you need. Well not too much. You Know Who's army is growing larger by the day so we should get back as soon as possible." Alice got up and began moving toward the door. "I'll go find a hotel to stay at. There's one in town isn't there?"
"No that's ridiculous. You can stay here with me. We'll be able to leave as soon as I'm ready."
"A-are you sure? I wouldn't want to get in the way."
"I insist and it's getting late. Some of the men in town aren't of the best variety so it really is in your best interest to stay here at the sanctuary. You can take my bed, I'll sleep out here on the couch."
"Charlie, no. I'm not going to take your bed. I'll sleep out here." Alice put her hands on her hips to show she wasn't going to back down.
"I can't let you sleep on the couch." Charlie insisted.
Alice looked over at the couch. "If you don't want me sleeping on the couch then I'll transfigure it into a bed. It shouldn't be too difficult."
"You've always been a lot better at transfiguration than I was." Charlie admitted.
"Then it's settled." Alice smiled slightly.
There was an awkward silence. Neither one of them knew what to say. Back at Hogwarts, silences were comfortable. They didn't feel the need to be talking all the time, but if they were talking they could go on and on for hours talking about anything and everything. The times seemed to have changed them. They were no longer the inseparable best friends they used to be. Instead they were practically strangers.
Charlie was rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, not sure what to do with himself. "Um, I-I should probably go to sleep. I'll have to get up early tomorrow to figure out who will cover for me when I'm away." He finally stammered.
"Oh yes, of course. I'll work on getting a bed set up for myself. I'll see you tomorrow then?" Alice responded just as awkwardly.
"Right, goodnight." Charlie muttered before practically running into his room.
Alice groaned internally and squeezed her head between her hands. As if her current state of embarrassment wasn't enough Charlie came back out into the living room a moment later. Alice's head shot up as soon as she heard his voice.
"I forgot to mention, the bathroom is right over there and feel free to help yourself to anything in the kitchen. My mother would kill me if she found out it took me this long to tell you that." Charlie shuddered at the thought of his mother.
A small laugh came from Alice at the mention of Molly Weasley. "She definitely wouldn't be pleased with you, Char." Her old nickname for Charlie slipped out before she could stop it.
Surprisingly, some of the awkward tension went away after she said it. Charlie smiled at her slightly, his eyes seemingly glazed over as if he were remembering something from the past. He whispered another quick goodnight before retreating into his room.
Alice set to work on transfiguring the couch into a bed. After a few tries she finally managed it. Not knowing what else to do with herself Alice changed into more comfortable clothes and tried to go to sleep.