She needed a new world to live in after her old one crumbled to dust. Strangely enough, he found himself more than happy to oblige.
A Whole New World
By silver-nightstorm
Words: 782
XX
It was very obvious to him that she had, in essence, run away from home. Maybe not in so many words, but in the "I'm leaving, I'll be back maybe" sort of sense and at this point in time, her parents had lacked the willpower to try to bring her back. He couldn't exactly blame her. He had been there as she helplessly watched Greyback rip into her friend. He had, in a courageous move for anyone who didn't deal with dragons daily, been the one to stop the werewolf from attacking her as she stood frozen in horror, gaining another scar in the process to add to his collection of dragon burns and scratches. And strangely enough, he had been the one to comfort her and she him after the fighting, her presence distracting him from his sorrow and his presence distracting her from the fact that her parents didn't even seem to care.
Then he was back in Romania with his dragons and he didn't have much time to be distracted anymore but like fate, distraction showed up once more in the form of a petite, caramel-skinned, curly black-haired, brown-eyed witch. Parvati Patil had run away and now, in her aimless wanderings, she had attached herself to her closest comfort – the man who saved her life. Charlie Weasley. Charlie, for one, couldn't say he was too pleased.
When she first showed up on site with nothing but a tiny handbag in her hands, Charlie has nearly spouted fire from his mouth like the dragons he loved. He stormed over to her, intending to give her a piece of his mind about her silly immature recklessness when he was thrown off guard by her simple "hello" and her fake smile and her stubborn façade of bravery and suddenly, he didn't see her as a young girl eight years his junior. Suddenly, she became a woman, a woman who had been through hell and the woman that he had saved and the woman that had saved him without even knowing she had. Suddenly, in that moment, all of his objections flew out the window.
"Could I ask you a favor?" she had said confidently, or so it seemed. He could see the nervousness under the front she had put up. He couldn't understand when he had become so good at reading people, or maybe just her. He simply nodded mutely as he looked at her, noting that she had cut her hair. The curls brushed her shoulders now, barely. "I need…" her voice broke for a second and she cleared her throat, "I need to get away for a bit and I… ah, I was wondering if you could help me find a place to stay and help me hunt for a job? Maybe a job with the dragons?"
His mouth dropped open at her request. He had never taken her for a wilderness-type girl. She, from the few vague descriptions he had gotten from Ron of his late ex-girlfriend's best friend, seemed to be the indoors rather-write-an-essay-than-get-dirty type. He managed to say the most ridiculous thing he could come up with in his moment of sputtering. "You're not going to find a bed of roses out here, Parvati. Dragons are violent, and that's how it'll be. They aren't going to treat you gently because you have a new pair of dress robes. This, my life… it's a different world from what you know."
She had the audacity to laugh at him. It wasn't a giggle, like the type Ron's late ex was apparently fond of, but a full laugh with her head thrown back and her shoulders shaking and tears streaming out of her eyes. When she managed to calm herself, she smiled up at him once more, a real smile this time. "I don't expect that," she retorted. "I need… I need a change; I need a whole new world. I need something different from what I normally do. I'm tired of sitting around and feeling sorry for myself and being with my family when they just keep ordering me about like I'm a doll with no emotions. I decided to leave and I realized that I didn't want to go somewhere with no one I know. And then I thought of you. I…" she stopped suddenly, a thought occurring to her. "You don't mind, do you?"
Looking down at the tiny hopeful witch in front of him, Charlie found that no, for some strange reason, he didn't really mind. And then he saw the look of absolute fascination and joy when she saw her first dragon hatching and he knew for sure that no, he didn't mind at all.
XX
The 2012 Hogwarts Games – Men's Tennis – The Weasley Family, bed of roses
The School Subjects Competition – Care of Magical Creatures – Charlie/Parvati, dragon, hello, essay
The Greek Mythology Competition – Ares (God of war, blood lust, violence, manly courage and civil order), Artemis (Goddess of the hunt, wilderness, animals, young girls, childbirth and plague)
Pairing Diversity Boot Camp – aimlessly
Favourite Genre Boot Camp – beseech – request, ask
The Chinese Moon Festival – Sacrifice Slice
This was vaguely based on (the, in my mind, fairy tale) Aladdin and the idea that Parvati is entering a whole new world. Please R&R!