Charlie Who? - Chapter One

The festivities were still roaring and it had taken barely any time for most of the guests to become thoroughly drunk. And who could blame them? With the war and He Who Must Not Be Named looming over their happiness 24/7 it was nice to have a night off and celebrate something truly beautiful.
Bill and Fleur's wedding had been an enormous affair considering the turmoil that the wizarding world was currently in. I, Charlie Weasley had been the best man and was therefore looked upon to set an example and get into the festivities as much as everyone. This just wasn't happening.

I walked up the garden path towards the gate, away from the noise and began thinking. All the death and disaster that was bound to start spreading. All the terror that was about to engulf the world. I wanted no part in it.

Suddenly, the air was filled with a dreadful sound, something akin to the screeching of a banshee. I looked around wildly, wand out, attempting to find the source of the offending noise when a rather large blue box apparated into the garden. I walked around the box, trying the find the wizard who had apparated with it but found no person as I completed a circle back to the doors. From the doors came stumbling a man, wielding what appeared to be a very small metallic wand. Acting instinctively I quickly cast Stupefy hoping to subdue the intruder but was unlucky when the spell only managed to knock him back. Quickly picking up his device, I rounded on him, wand pointed at his chest.

'You don't look like a death eater,' I announced, 'You look more like Horace Slughorn on a diet.'
'Hey!' the man exclaimed, looking offended, 'Okay, I don't know who Horace Slughorn is but that sounded like an insult!'

I had never seen a weirder man in my life which was saying something considering I lived on a dragon reserve that mostly attracted a mad class of people. Dressed in a tweed jacket, bow tie, braces and a fez, he looked like he had been in an explosion in a clothing store.

'Mildly intelligent for a death eater,' I replied.
'A what? What's a death eater?' he exclaimed, 'They sound…unpleasant, I mean, how can you eat death?'

His tone was one of the truly perplexed, the inflexion of his upper class accent sounding out confusion perfectly. This man was either a very good liar or he truly did not know who the death eaters were.

'How can you appear within the wards of the Weasley house and not know who the death eaters are?' I replied, disbelief ringing clear in my voice, 'Unless you're a spy…'
'I'm the Doctor,' he informed me, 'And most certainly not a spy!'
'Charlie Weasley.'
'Charlie who?' he questioned.
'Weasley.'
'What an odd name.' I shot him an irritated look, 'I like odd things. Hello Charlie Weasley.'

I stared at him for what must have been a minute. I had never met a more confusing and infuriating person yet I was inclined to trust him.

'Well Charlie Weasley, I have to admit she brought me here,' he said, tapping the side of the blue box affectionately, 'Sometimes she does that. Takes me places she thinks I need to be.'

My eyes followed him as he walked in a circle around me, as if assessing a new broom or judging a beauty contest. He paused as he came around full circle, eyes staring into my own as if searching my soul.

'And here you are,' he murmured, a hint of excitement in his voice.

Ignoring the tone, I focused back onto hiss previous comment. Had he really called the big blue box a she?

'She?'

At my word, the exceedingly strange man proceeded to run over to the box before giving it what looked very much like an awkward hug.

'My TARDIS, T-A-R-D-I-S,' he exclaimed, 'Time and Relative Dimension in Space.'

'What does it do?'

'SHE can take me anywhere,' he sighed lovingly, 'Anywhere in all of Time and Space.'

'Like a portkey and a time-turner together?' I questioned.

'I'm going to say yes because I don't know what they are…'

Staring up at the box then back down at the man, I assessed the possibility that this man may really be unaware of things that were very common knowledge within the wizarding world.

'…Now what are you doing Charlie Weasley?'

'It's my brother's wedding, I guess I was just wishing I could get away,' I looked away, feeling ashamed. Of course I wanted to get away, but so did most of the people currently residing in wizarding Britain, who was I to feel more worthy of leaving than they did?

'I guess you're why I was brought here!'

I glanced up at the man, noticing a large grin had formed across his face.

'The TARDIS must have heard your distress signal and here I am!' he continued, smile still firmly in place, 'How would you like to come with me Charlie Weasley?'

I was taken aback, I'd just met this man and he was asking me to leave with him. Did he not know there was a war to fight, people to save? That I had a family willing to fight to the death for the entire world's safety? No I guess he didn't. I gaped at the mad man with his blue box, going with him certainly looked interesting...

I locked eyes with the man, giving him the smallest hint of a smile before a thought occurred.

'I don't even know your name,' I stammered, cheeks blushing slightly under the heat of his obviously excited gaze.

'I'm the Doctor.'

Before I knew it the mad man named the Doctor had grabbed my hand and was pulling me inside the box.

Throwing caution to the wind I immediately ran along behind him, I mean, what could really go wrong?