Anaïs Fonseca landed on the ground outside the Romanian Dragon Reserve. She had finally found time to visit her cousin Adelina in late May 1996.
"Hey Ana," her cousin greeted opening the gate.
The two cousins did a traditional Spanish greeting with a kiss on each cheek and then a hug.
As they pulled apart from the hug, Ana pouted. She had never liked to feel weak or vulnerable, and being shorter than Adelina made her feel like that. It didn't help that Adelina bragged about her height when they were kids.
Adelina started leading Anaïs inside the reserve and towards the group of other Dragonologists. Anaïs was quite nervous. She wasn't really comfortable around a lot of guys unless they were her family or her best friend Deacon. It looked like her cousin didn't share in that anxiety since Adelina was the only girl in the slew of guys.
"Hey boys," Adelina greeted the group of men.
"Hey Lina." The entire group responded.
"Where's Weasley? I have someone I would like all of you guys to meet."
"He's over there with Norberta," said a blonde Dragonologist.
Adelina nodded. As they waited, they had some small talk which Ana didn't really like. A few minutes later, Adelina called over a stocky man with bright red hair and thousands of freckles.
"Finally you join us, Weasley," Adelina chuckled.
"So, who is this?" The same blond Dragonologist asked.
Adelina smiled and said, "This is my cousin Anaïs."
"It's nice to meet you," the group of boys chorused.
Ana waved shyly at the group. Her eyes were locked on the redhead since he seemed the most friendly out of the group. She didn't seem to notice the blond Dragonologist practically drooling over her.
"She'll be more talkative once she gets to know you guys," Adelina explained.
"Why don't I help you with your bags?" The redhead offered.
"That would be nice, thanks." Ana smiled at him.
He effortlessly picked up the bags and she followed him towards the cabins.
"It seems like he's a bit interested in your cousin, Nunez," Matthew Horner, the brunette Dragonoglist joked raising an eyebrow at Adelina.
"That's not what Ana is here for," Adelina said. "She's just here to visit for the summer and work on her article. Like she said."
Meanwhile, Ana followed the redhead. It was a quiet walk until he broke the silence.
"So, Adelina is your cousin?" he asked awkwardly.
"Yes, she is," Ana answered. "I know we look nothing alike. We're second cousins, that's probably why."
He nodded as they continued to walk silently until they reached the cabins and walked in.
"Thank you, Weasley."
He smirked. "You can call me Charlie, actually."
"Alright, Charlie."
Charlie left to let Ana unpack. A few minutes later, Adelina walked in to help her cousin settle in.
"So, you and Weasley seemed to hit off."
"We haven't had a real conversation yet." Ana responded. "He is attractive though. But I'm not here for romance. I don't believe in love at first sight unlike you."
"I know."
The two girls continued talking and unpacking. After they finished unpacking it was time for dinner. Ana was starving. They walked to the Mess Hall.
"So, tell us about yourself Ana," Ross, the blond Dragonologist asked.
"I'm a freelancer writer focusing on magical creatures, and I'm currently writing an article about European Dragons for the California Griffin. I'd like the Norwegian Ridgeback as the protagonist of the article."
"That's really interesting," Ross sighed.
Ana shrugged awkwardly.
"So it just happens to work out that your cousin works on a dragon reserve," Charlie smirked at her playfully. "You know I'm happy to give you a hand. I happen to work with a Norwegian Ridgeback."
"I guess it does." Ana shrugged again. "I would appreciate the help though."
After dinner the two girls went back to the cabins. They went to bed after they finished their respective routines. Ana drifted off to sleep thinking that today was a great day.
-/-/
The next morning, Ana woke up around nine am. She glanced at the bed next to her, Adelina was gone. She must've been up at dawn or so. Ana got up, shivering at the cold on her feet. She wasn't used to the cold since she grew up in California where they were known for their horribly hot summers.
Romania was quite different, it was freezing even during the summer. Ana went through her clothes and found a weather appropriate outfit. She walked out of the cabin and towards the Mess Hall.
There was nothing really left except for a few scones and half a teapot. She grabbed the scones and poured the tea. She had a fondness for tea over coffee, even though she was an American.
"Finally, you're awake," Adelina exclaimed walking in with Matthew, the brunette dragon breeder.
"How long have you been awake?" Ana asked her cousin.
"Five am."
Anna nodded as she continued eating. After breakfast, she decided to just sit out in the open air. She lived in the city so she never got to see this. It was beautiful.
"Enjoying yourself?"
She looked up to see Charlie walking towards her smiling. "Yeah, I am. It's beautiful."
"It is, I love it."
"How long have you been working with dragons?"
"For about six years now. I left school the winter of my seventh year."
Ana nodded. After a few more minutes, Charlie went back to work leaving Ana alone. After a few more minutes Ana went back inside the cabin. She only came out when it was time for dinner. She walked back to the Mess Hall and sat with Adelina.