Charms, task 10: Write about someone scared
Piñata: easy
Days, Universal Children Day: Write about a child
Elemental: wings
Dessert, Peppermint Frosting: "When did you get so tall?"
Disney, courage: Write about someone being courageous despite their fear
Arcade, Silver the Hedgehog: Next Gen, white gloves, light grey
Lowdown, Iroh: dragon
Leaf Pile, orange: scared
Word Count: 1177
"When did you get so tall?" Charlie asks, grinning as his niece hugs him. "You must be about twenty now, tall as you are."
Victoire pulls away, pressing her white glove-clad hand to her mouth as she giggles. "I'm eight, Uncle Charlie!"
"Eight?" He looks at Bill. "I don't believe it."
Bill just shrugs. "For the record, I'm completely opposed to her getting bigger, but she insists on having more birthdays," he says before kneeling and ruffling his daughter's strawberry blonde hair. "Why don't you go play for a little while, Princess? Uncle Charlie and I need to catch up."
Victoire scowls, eyes rolling. Though she doesn't protest, she stamps her foot against the ground and stirs up a cloud of red dust. "You always have to catch up and do boring grown-up things!"
"We do," Charlie confirms with a grin. "That's what happens when you become a boring grown-up. But if you go play, I promise I'll take you to see Ulysses."
"Who's Ulysses?" Victoire asks, aquamarine eyes bright with curiosity.
"The baby Horntail we rescued last month," Charlie answers. "But you have to go play for a bit first."
Victoire considers this for a moment, tapping a slender finger against her chin. Finally, she nods and offers Charlie a broad grin. "Deal," she says. "But big kids don't play, Uncle Charlie. We hang out."
Charlie laughs and shakes his head. "Go hang out for a bit then."
Victoire salutes before turning on her heel and rushing off. Charlie watches his niece's retreating figure for several seconds before turning to Bill with brows raised in a silent question.
His older brother shrugs, cheeks glowing a soft pink. "I don't know where she gets that sass from," he chuckles.
"Must be the Delacour in her," Charlie agrees. "You know we Weasleys have always been poster children for good behavior."
The brothers share a knowing smile. They and their siblings—excluding Percy—had been ridiculous bundles of energy as kids. So far, all of Charlie's nieces and nephews seem to have the same fire in their veins.
"Are you sure it's safe for her to wander around the sanctuary?" Bill asks as they make their way to the little tea and coffee station.
Charlie considers. If he's honest, he isn't sure. They so rarely have children around the sanctuary. Every now and then, one of the workers will bring their kid to work, and Charlie can't remember any problems coming from it. "She'll be fine," he says with a nod. "Come on. I need a cuppa."
…
They sit outside together, cups of steaming tea in hand. Bill is tense. His posture is a little too rigid, and he keeps looking off in the distance. It makes it difficult for Charlie to focus on the conversation at hand, and he quickly gives up.
"Do you want to go find Victoire?" he asks.
Bill offers him a sheepish, apologetic smile, nodding. "Sorry. I just—"
"Nope," Charlie says, shaking his head before Bill can finish his sentence. "Don't apologize. I get it. Let's go."
Charlie sets his cup aside. He hates to be wasteful, but it's difficult to walk along while scalding tea splashes dangerously, threatening to burn him.
"She's probably nearby," Bill mutters, but the nervous twitch of his lips tells Charlie that he isn't so sure and is trying to convince himself.
Charlie hates that his brother is so nervous. Still, he guesses that's what parenthood must be like. The world may look so tame to Charlie, but Bill's eyes only see danger and potential threats.
"Hey, kid! Look out!"
The second Charlie hears his coworker call out, his blood runs cold. He and Bill don't hesitate. Within seconds, they both break into a run, and Charlie tries not to notice that there's a little girl in a light-grey cotton dress sitting on the railing of the Fireball enclosure.
"Victoire!" Bill shouts. "Get down from there!"
It's a blur of motion and noise after that. Charlie watches in horror as his niece tries to stand but loses her balance, falling into the enclosure. He isn't the only one to notice. Hephaestus, the old, grouch of a dragon within the enclosure, lets out a mighty roar as he spreads his wings. The Chinese Fireball thinks dinner has come early.
Charlie feels glued to the spot, and, for a moment, all he can do is watch with wide eyes and a slack jaw as his heart pounds painfully in his chest. If anything happens to her, it will be all his fault. He should have made sure she had a safe, fun place to hang out. How could he be so stupid?
Victoire's shrill, frightened scream brings him back to reality. Despite his fear, he springs into action; staying still isn't an option, and he knows he has to do something. "Accio broomstick!"
It doesn't matter what broomstick he has or who it belongs to. The second the handle is grasped firmly in his hand, Charlie mounts it and kicks off. As he soars through the air, in the back of his mind, he wonders if he should have pursued Quidditch instead of dragons. Would Victoire be safe now, or would he and Bill have found her dangling haphazardly from a goal?
Charlie pushes the thought from his head as he adjusts the broom and dives toward the ground. He's never tried to grab another person in a dive, and he isn't prepared for the way Victoire's weight makes the broomstick wobble. For one terrifying moment, Charlie is afraid he won't be able to get her onto the broomstick in time, and that they'll both end up a snack for Hephaestus.
By some miracle, however, it works. He slings Victoire over his shoulder and manages to distribute their weight so they don't crash. Even as he flies her over the tall wall of the enclosure, he can't bring himself to relax. Charlie's heart continues to race when his feet find the ground again.
"Victoire!"
Charlie sets the girl down. She runs to Bill, wrapping her arms around him. "I'm sorry, Daddy! I just wanted to see the dragon!"
"Don't ever scare me like that again," Bill says, lifting his daughter into his arms and holding her tightly.
"Or me," Charlie adds, dizzy from the fear and adrenaline. His stomach ties itself into knots, and he thinks he might vomit. "I was scared too. Please don't do that again."
"Can I see Ulysses now, Uncle Charlie?" Victoire asks, looking down at him with a bright smile. Now that she's out of harm's way, she doesn't seem afraid.
"I would think you'd have had enough encounters with dragons for one day," Charlie says, ruffling his windswept hair.
Victoire shakes her head. "Nope. I'm just getting started!" she says proudly.
In that moment, Charlie realizes exactly how similar Victoire is to the rest of the family. He doesn't know if his heart can take another generation of reckless daredevils, but he supposes he doesn't have a choice.
"Come on. Let's get you a baby dragon."