For the Last Ship Standing comp with the prompts: emotion: hatred; quote: "Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all." – Ambrose Redmoon; and the song: "I just can't stop love you" by Michael Jackson.
For the OTP boot camp with the prompt: hatred
For Camp Potter – fireworks show, week 3.
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Charlie straightens the tie of his best dress robes in the mirror before exiting his bedroom. Sitting on the couch is Draco, being perfectly still. There's an unreadable mask across his face, which causes Charlie to frown. Draco's trying to block out his emotions; he's playing the perfect Pureblood part, the part that he learned from a young age.
Draco's head snaps up, meeting Charlie's gaze, before standing. "Morning," he says as he stuffs his hands casually into his pockets.
Charlie's eyebrows furrow. "I thought I was supposed to be meeting you there," he responds, confusion evident in his tone.
"You aren't keyed into the wards, so you won't be able to get on the grounds unless you're with me," Draco answers. But even Charlie knows that it's Draco's way of keeping him out of the Manor. He doesn't want Charlie in the place where so many bad things happened, and Charlie – as much as he hates it – respects Draco's decision.
Charlie picks up the potion that is sitting on the coffee table. He downs it quickly, grimacing at the taste, but he'd rather not have Apparation-sickness later. When he sets the vial back down, he turns toward Draco, offering his hand. "Ready?"
Draco stares at the hand proffered hesitantly. "Are you –"
Pressing his lips against Draco's, Charlie effectively cuts him off. "We've had this conversation, Dray. I'm sure. I want to be there for you, and your father being there won't stop me," he whispers when he pulls away. He sees Draco start to protest, and adds on, "Your father may hate me, but that has nothing to do with us. I love you, and I won't stop because people don't like it."
Draco can only sigh since he has no argument against it. "Love you too, Char," he says. Taking Charlie's hand in his own, he Apparates them away.
When they land, they're standing in the middle of a small graveyard. Charlie reluctantly lets go of Draco's hand, knowing that displays of affections should be kept to a minimum. He glances around. The casket already sits above the plot with a tent over it, and rows of chairs are lined up at the foot of it.
Most of the chairs are filled already, and Charlie suddenly feels out of place in a sea of dark-haired people with his unmistakable red hair. Charlie inhales deeply and reminds himself that the war is over, and that nothing will happen to him. He takes a seat in the front row, next to Andromeda.
Before Charlie can ask how Andromeda is holding up, he hears, "What is that doing here." He whips his head around, unable to figure out who the person is by their voice. He is greeted by the sight of Lucius Malfoy, and immediately knows who the comment was aimed at.
Azkaban had not been nice to Lucius. His once long hair is much shorter, greasier than before, and there are dark bags under his eyes from lack of sleep. But he stands tall in his chains, still unable to let go of his superior attitude even as several Aurors surround him.
Charlie meets his glare, thinking that if looks could kill, he'd be dead. Charlie knew that Lucius hates him, hates everything that he stands for, but the glare is harsher than Draco's worst and it takes all of his will to hold the stare. For the first time, he's thankful that the Aurors are there to keep Lucius in line.
"Father," Draco greets, stepping between Charlie and his father. He's acting as a barrier between them, and it amuses Charlie. Usually, he's the one protecting Draco from his family's glares. "He's here upon invite, just like everyone else," he continues in a low voice. Draco turns toward one of the Aurors. "I have set aside chairs for him and for all of you," he says, motioning behind him.
The Auror nods his head and Lucius is moved to his seat before he can cause any more of a scene. After taking a few moments to collect himself, Draco turns around and takes the seat next to Charlie. "I'm glad you could make it, Aunt Andromeda," Draco says respectfully.
"Thank you for the invite," Andromeda replies. "I was surprised that you actually sent one," she adds on.
Charlie smiles as Draco replies, "You are her sister. There's no reason that you shouldn't be invited." Charlie was the best of friends with Tonks growing up, so he knows that Andromeda was blasted off the family tree for marrying Ted. And Draco inviting her to his mother's funeral because he thinks of her as an Aunt shows Charlie how much Draco's views are changing.
Charlie slips his hand into Draco's, giving it a brief squeeze of reassurance as the funeral begins. Draco holds it tightly as the Preacher talks. "Narcissa was a good woman, a loving wife and mother." Through his hands, Charlie can feel Draco tremble. He turns slightly to see Draco's reaction to the Preacher's words. As earlier, Draco's face is unreadable.
He watches Draco throughout, noticing that no matter how much his hand shakes, Draco's features are always schooled. He knows that it's because there's always some of his childhood life lessons that stick with him, and schooling his features will always be one of them.
The Preacher talks for a while before allowing people to pay their final respects. Pulling out his wand, he summons flowers to place on the casket as it's lowered. One by one, the guests throw their flowers before Apparating away. Draco throws the first handful of dirt into the ground, followed by Andromeda and then Lucius. Charlie stands next to Draco as he levitates the rest of the dirt onto the casket.
"Are you alright?" Charlie whispers to Draco. When Draco doesn't answer, he wraps his arms around the blond. He can feel Lucius' glare on the back of his head, but he doesn't care. "It's hard now, but it gets easier, Dray. I promise."
Draco pulls away after a moment. Before his father can say anything about weakness and blood traitors, he commands the Aurors, "That will be all. Tell Pot–Harry I said thank you." They nod and turn toward Lucius, Disapparating quickly.
"Come on," Charlie says. "Let's get you home." He takes Draco's hand in his own and nods toward Andromeda. He sees her watery smile before they are gone completely, landing in the bedroom. "Let's go to bed."
And Draco's too tired to argue with that.