Change Your Mind
By: pengz
AN: This is post DH. Please note that I leave Fred alive and mischievous because I can't bear writing him out and leaving George cold. And the title is from the song "Change Your Mind" by The Killers; it inspired me a bit to write this.
Disclaimer: Song is owned by The Killers and the book & characters to J.K. Rowling.
Chapter One
Charlie Weasley had just come home from a long day on the Dragon Reserve when he accepted a Floo Call from none other than his cheery mother. So there he crouched on his hearth, listening to his mother's instructions about the second wedding that had helped plan.
"...and, Charlie? Do make sure you arrive early for the rehearsal, he'll have a fit if anyone's even two milliseconds late."
"Yes mum, I know how Percy is."
"And make sure you've got your robes clean and pressed. Merlin knows if you'll be able to get any of that done once you get here."
"Yes mum, I won't leave it until last moment."
"That's my boy. Oh! Will you be bringing a date?"
Charlie paused, his mother looking hopefully at him through the fire. "Er, Laura's quite large now. Don't want her stealing the show from the bride, do we?" He answered cheekily, referring to his latest flame.
"CHARLES!" His mother screamed, absolutely scandalized at her son's words.
"Only joking mum, I won't bring her. I know you can't stand the sight of her. Besides, she's too big, now, to Portkey or Floo over there anyway." Charlie chuckled, seeing his mother so flustered.
"Just be here early, Charlie, is all I ask. Never mind bringing a date, this wedding is about Percy and Penelope after all." she replied exaperatedly.
"Yes mum."
"Goodbye, Charlie. I'll see you tomorrow night."
"Yes, goodbye mum."
When his mother had disappeared from the flames, he rose and stretched before collapsing back onto a sofa before the fire with a smile. She had actually forgotten to mention his hair; a lazy mess that crept down his neck and ended in soft curls a good two inches from his shoulders. Perhaps the trim he had given himself was now proper in his mother's eyes. Shrugging he glanced toward a side table where a few picture frames sat, all of them moving. Amongst them Charlie was happy to see a recently taken picture of himself and Laura the Lithuanian Spray Scale at the reserve. (She stood at an enormous four stories tall, sufficiently dwarfing the keeper who raised her from an egg.)
Alright, it was downright lame that Charlie did not have a human girlfriend and that he considered a good companion to be fire-breathing and larger than life. But such was the life of a dragon keeper. He liked adventure, danger, and nature all mixed up together, thank you very much, and his occupation gave him all of that. And the added bonus that he, a long time single twenty-nine year-old, did not have to endure frequent long-suffering talks with his mother about settling down and having a family away from the Reserve. Though Charlie did, in fact, live away from the Reserve, Molly preferred that her son would settle in Kent or something equally closer to home or at least within the same country.
As much as he adored dragons and his occupation, Charlie did not fancy the idea of being roasted in his sleep by a stray flame caused by a yawn of one of his charges. No, instead of living on the Reserve, as more of the younger less paid keepers tended to do, Charlie owned his own home in the city of Sibiu in Transylvania. It was not flashy or expensive like he knew Percy and Penelope's was set to be after their union, but quite cozy like Bill and Fleur's Shell Cottage.
Charlie sighed again before dragging himself up and shuffling to the kitchen to make himself some supper. This was one of the setbacks of living alone (though he'd never admit to his mum for fear of being convinced to move closer to home or to look for a wife), he had to feed himself or get take away. Truth be told he'd like to settle down very much if he found the right girl. Someone who wasn't fussy about going outdoors or his job. Someone who wasn't straight-laced yet had morals enough to please his mum. Brains but not overwhelming amounts of it, good-looking, and fond of children.
'She'd definitely needed to be a great cook too,' Charlie thought, tasting his own barely passable excuse for spaghetti and meatballs.
Giving up his dinner to be a bad job, Charlie left home for a favorite eatery of his, not too far from home. The life of a bachelor was not as tasty as it looked.
The next morning dawned bright and crisp. There was a tad bit of a chill in the air assuring Charlie that this spicy autumn would soon give way to winter. After a quick shower and a spot of breakfast, he fastened a cloak over his work clothes and apparated to the Carpathian Mountains Dragon Reserve.
Upon entering, he headed to his boss's office: A small cabin at the Reserve's entrance. He greeted many of his co-keepers along his way before stopping to knock on the door.
"Come in." came a rough voice from the other side.
"Morning , Theo." Charlie said as he came in and closed the door behind himself.
Theodric Zanipolo was a man a good ten years older than Charlie. With his black hair tied back with a strap of leather, short beard, small blue eyes, and large flared nose, Theo looked very much like a dragon himself (though no one ever said so). Like Charlie, he was a terminally single man who favored a life with dragons above anything. Though he had a rough exterior, Theo was quite generous and understanding amidst the long hours on the Reserve.
"Just came in to remind you I was leaving tonight and that Remming will be watching Laura and the rest for two days after that." Charlie sat opposite of Theo with a simple desk separating them.
His boss nodded. "Wedding?"
"Yes, my brother's."
"And you'll be staying for only two days?"
Charlie pulled a look of confusion. "Er, yes sir."
"I think, considering that you don't go home very often and rarely ever take holiday from the Reserve, that you should stay a bit longer with your family."
"I see them twice a year. They understand my work." Charlie felt odd discussing his holidays with his boss but brushed it off as concern.
True, Charlie rarely fell ill enough to not care for his charges and went home for Christmases and Easter. But, in his defense, he stayed home for quite some time for Bill's wedding. Then there was that three month stretch from Easter to July three years previous. Ginny had been pulled out of her sixth year at Hogwarts because of the growing dangers there. And, feeling that he should be with his family at a time like that, Charlie returned to the Burrow as well.
Theo gave him a searching look then shrugged. "Just in case you need to stay home for a few days, know you're covered here until you're good and ready to come back."
"FRED! Stop jinxing Percy into speaking like that or so help me—!" Molly Weasley was roaring over her shoulder as she opened to door of her home, "Charlie! Oh, dear, you've just arrived on time." His mother pulled him into a bone-crushing hug.
"Just in time for what mum?" Charlie asked as he followed his mother inside and sent his bags back up to his old room with a flick of his wand.
"The twins need to remember the word respect and I'm afraid Bill can't take them on by himself anymore...they've jinxed the groom to well you'll see..." She led the way into the kitchen where he could hear Percy speaking most unPercy-like words.
"Come back here, you Goddamned twats and fucking undo this bloody jinx. "
"What the–?" Charlie muttered in surprise. Percy never swore. And here he was, spouting obscenities like water fountain.
"I'm sorry, what was that, dear bridegroom?" George said with a delighted smirk, Fred doubling over in laughter right next to him.
"Undo the pussy-eating jinx, or I'll choke you with Merlin's left ball and stuff your pale ass back up mum's ovaries!" Percy replied, trying desperately to stop the profanities from leaking out.
Bill was at the back door of the kitchen surveying the scene in the kitchen, mirth playing along his features. When they were younger, Bill and Charlie made sure the twins didn't bother Percy or Ron too much though it was seldom to need both of the eldest Weasleys at once to disperse a fray. Now that they were older, and indeed more clever, neither Bill or Charlie would take a chance of taking the twins without the other.
"Hey, Charlie!" Fred called as their mum left the kitchen not even bothering to yell as whole-heartedly as she had done in her childrens' youth.
Percy whipped about looking absolutely livid. "I have had it with these mother-fucking twins in this mother-fucking house!"
Normally he would have let the jinx wear off so the twins could have their fun, but Percy was not one to be crossed so near to such an important day in his life. So, being the good big brother he was, Charlie picked George up by the scruff while Bill did the same with Fred and both were given a fierce shake.
"Fun's over, kids, what's the counter jinx?" Charlie said routinely.
George smirked as Fred stuffed his hands into his pockets. "It wasn't a jinx." Fred said in a sing-song voice.
Bill rolled his eyes remembering one would have to ask the twins exactly what they needed if they didn't want to get the wrong results. Charlie, however, flexed his arm threateningly at George who always crumbled first.
"Alright, alright!" George yelped holding his hands up in surrender. Though Charlie was not the tallest amongst them, he surely had more muscle than Fred and George put together, making him a threat for bodily harm that didn't require a wand.
"Eat this." Fred handed Percy piece of candy shaped like a penis somewhat grudgingly.
Oddly enough, Percy swallowed it in a heartbeat then tested out his speech.
"You two, that was the most foul thing I have ever—!" Percy choked, his ears red in embarrassment.
Charlie and Bill dropped their younger brothers who were guffawing like mad.
"Oh that was brilliant, Gred!", George said approvingly.
"Thank you, Forge!" Fred said, giving a little bow as Percy continued sputtering.
"What did you give him to make him talk like that?" Charlie asked curiosity getting the better of him.
"What Penelope said he can't have until their wedding night." Fred winked.
Charlie took to the stairs after sorting out the twins to unpack before the rehearsal dinner. He was so intent on getting to his old room that he hadn't noticed Ginny coming down the stairs until she shrieked.
"Charlie! When did you get here?" She threw her arms around him, a wide smile on her face.
"Just a few minutes ago. It's chaos down there, Fred and George made Percy say some choice things with one of their products."
Ginny rolled her eyes, "They'd better not do it during the ceremony or Mum'll murder them."
Charlie gave a chuckle. "Where's Dad and Ron?"
At this his twenty-year-old sister smirked. "Dad's in the shed with Harry working on a some muggle contraption. Ron's over at Luna's probably snogging her to death."
With that she flounced down to the kitchen with a wave, leaving Charlie to enter his old room; it was good to be home.
"...then I declare you bonded for life." Minister Shacklebolt rumbled closing the ceremony with a shower of stars and bright lights from his wand falling over the newlyweds, Mr. and Mrs. Percy Weasley.
Fred and George, both of whom were surprisingly the Best Men of the groom, led the applause with wolf-whistles and cat-calling. Then with a sweep of the minister's wand, the chairs all disappeared, leaving a large dance floor.
The wedding was very much like Bill and Fleur's in it's set up. Many believed Percy would have had a much more lofty affair, but Penelope would not have it, siting a small, intimate affair would be more reasonable. Charlie believed that the other members of his family were secretly glad that Percy had chosen a sensible, level-headed witch for a wife instead of a snooty princess for the wedding might not have been as enjoyable with two bridezillas.
After the first song finished, more couples began joining in. He roamed the edges of the dancing couples with a glass of champagne before sitting down at a table. This is the part he hated about weddings, the part where he had no one to dance with. He was sure that everyone already came with a date so he felt awkward about asking. Then again that thinking was just his excuse not to ask in the first place. Truth be told, Charlie Weasley was rubbish with women: He had never truly practiced the art of wooing one. There was no time for dating in his life anyway.
At Hogwarts all he ever cared about was Care of Magical Creatures and Quidditch. After that he took up a position at the Reserve to Study dragons. Sure, there were women whom he had interest in but they would always have to make the first move and Charlie was quite shy and rarely ever free for a date. Not to mention his dangerous job scared the women who had enough sense to fill more than an eggcup (the others who found his job exhilarating were either tittering air heads or something similarly brain dead). Alright, so Charlie Weasley wasn't truly all rubbish with women, just a touches of shy, lazy, and picky: all of those qualities did not merit a relationship and he was content with that.
"Charlie?" He looked up from the dance floor to a charming young woman in a light blue dress; her inquisitive brown eyes could only place her to be-
"Hermione, hi! You look nice."
Actually, she looked better than nice; she looked lovely. When Charlie first met Hermione seven years previous, he had considered her a child and his little brother's friend; only half of that was the truth now. Now, at twenty-two, she was obviously a confident, grown-up witch. From what he heard, Hermione was a bit of an uptight workaholic and very single (he supposed working in the Ministry's Department of International Magical Cooperation did that to a person who surpassed Percy in capacity to work). She was seven years his junior and did not like the idea of "letting loose" if she could help it. Charlie rather thought that, if Professor McGonagall was Hermione's role model in life, she was well on her way to a long life of discipline, work, and spinsterhood.
"You look good yourself. Not up for dancing or revelry?" said Hermione.
"Dancing, never. Revelry, why not?" He motioned to a sea of champagne glasses littering the table were he was seated and resulted in upsetting a few in his gesture (did he have that much to drink already?).
Observant, thought she was, Hermione only noticed the evidence of Charlie's said revelry when he knocked the glasses over. Clearly he was already in an inebriated state at nine in the evening. She sniffed slightly at the sight, just barely restraining herself from turning her nose up at Charlie's like for bubbly. She was actually surprised he hadn't started drunkenly singing "Odo the Hero" like he did at Bill and Fleur's wedding three years ago or the anniversary parties of Harry's defeat Voldemort; he seemed to have enough liquid courage in him to do just that right about now.
"Well, I best be off now. I've got work tomorrow." Hermione said stiffly. "Goodnight."
"'Night!" Charlie said a little louder than normal, more evidence of inebriation.
He saw her bid the newlyweds goodbye and a happy marriage before she disapparated beyond the gate. After ordering a few shots of firewhiskey from a passing server and throwing back about three of them, he and Ron led a good number of equally drunk wedding guests into a dazzling chorus of "Weasley Is Our King".
How's my depiction of Charlie?
See you in the next chapter.
xxx
pengz
