How a Badger and a Dragon Survived Christmas

In which Charlie has the pants scared off him—literally; the Tonks family learns about dragons; Andromeda resorts to bribery; and an agreement is reached.

Charlie showed up at Tonks's house at seven on New Year's Eve. He looked up into the face of the most formidable Hufflepuff he'd ever seen when the door opened. "Er…evening, Mr. Tonks."

"You must be Charles. Come in, son," he said, without smiling. Or blinking.

"Thanks. Ah, this is for you," he said, passing him the box in his hands.

"Very kind," Ted said, nodding. He set it on the table in the hall and clapped a hand on Charlie's shoulder. "Come talk with me in my office."

Charlie was guided down the hall and through the sitting room. He briefly caught a glimpse of Tonks mouthing, "Sorry," and rolling her eyes, before he found himself in a cozy study.

"Have a seat," Ted told him, nodding to a chair. "Can I interest you in a drink?"

"Water would be lovely. Please and thanks."

Once Ted had set the two glasses down on the desk, he sat on the other side and folded his hands. "So."

A long, highly uncomfortable silence stretched on for so long, Charlie was starting to get fidgety. "Er…sir?"

"You're dating my Nymphadora."

Charlie nodded. "She still makes me call her Tonks, though," he said, smiling slightly. He stopped when Ted didn't smile back.

"Persistent, my daughter. And how long have you been dating?"

"Not long, sir. We've been friends for ages though."

"And what exactly are your intentions toward her?"

Merciful Zeus… Charlie thought. "Intentions? I intend to make her as happy as I can for as long as she'll let me." That was close.

Ted smiled for the first time that night. "Good answer, Charles."

The silence stretched on again, and now Charlie was seriously considering making a run for it.

"Onto other business," Ted said. "Stand up for a moment." When Charlie complied, he got up and began circling the younger man like a vulture. "Tonks tells me you're a Quidditch player," he said, still circling.

"Y-yes."

"Wonderful sport. I was a Chaser myself. Now," he said, stopping directly in front of Charlie. "You look like an upstanding young man."

"Thanks," Charlie croaked, fighting the urge to scramble backwards.

"But those pants just won't do. We dress up for New Years. Put this on." He handed Charlie a garment bag. "We'll be in the sitting room once you've changed."


The shade of purple was, frankly, alarming. Charlie was glad, for a multitude of reasons, that neither of the twins were here. And he'd be damned if he was going to let them take pictures….

He walked into the sitting room, chin up and game face on. Tea things were already out and all eyes were immediately on him.

Tonks actually facepalmed.

"Evening, Mrs. Tonks," he said, pretending he wasn't dressed like a Muggle pimp in a 70s sitcom. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"The pleasure's all mine dear, I assure you," she said, shaking his hand. "Ted, honey, did you really have to—"

"It's all right," Charlie said, smiling. "I quite like purple."

Tonks smiled at him and patted the seat next to her. "So, what's in the box, Chuck?"

"Oh! Right, I'd forgotten." He picked up the box that Ted had brought in from the hall and handed it to Andromeda. "It's for your house," he said as she opened it."

"Oh my! How lovely!"

"Lithuanian Silverhorn dragons tend to lay a few eggs in every litter that are…er…blank, for lack of a better word. They retain the dragon's heat, though. Just put it in the fire for a bit, and it'll warm the whole house."

"That's wonderful!" Andromeda said. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Silverhorns in general are a longevity breed—meaning they get super old without looking it. Their blank eggs can last up to two hundred years, so no need to worry about it going rotten."

"Fascinating!" Ted said, picking up the egg and looking at it. "How do you know so much about dragons, son?"

"My Chuck's always been the outdoorsy type," Tonks supplied with a grin.

"She's right. Dragon's are my main interest now," he told them. "My mentor sent me a couple of these, and I thought you might like one."

"How thoughtful of you," Andromeda said, smiling brightly.

"Mentor?" Ted asked.

"I got accepted into the International Dragon Research Program," Charlie explained.

"Got one of the only five spots, he did," Tonks said, proudly.

"So…you're going to Lithuania after you graduate?" Andromeda asked in a cautious sort of voice.

"Maybe. I could stay here, or go to America, Peru or Romania. We don't decide until July."

"Ah."

Charlie knew the look she was giving him, because his mother gave it to him too, whenever he talked about the program. It clearly said, "You're not leaving England if I have anything to say about it."

"Charles, dear, come help me in the kitchen. Dora, help your father light a fire so we can try out your boyfriend's gift."

Charlie followed Andromeda into the kitchen. Somehow, he felt like this was more of a trap than his sit-down with Tonks's father. "What can I do?"

"Here are the hot mitts. Be a dear and grab the cake from the oven while I get the icing and things."

Charlie made sure to put a wire rack down before removing the cake from the oven. He looked up to see Andromeda looking impressed. "I had to help my mum in the kitchen. I know the basics."

"So it seems. So, Charles, I know a wizard that worked with Scottish Ashtails for about six years. He's in the housing business now. I know he'd be able to get you a nice little set up if you decided to stay in England."

"Oh, well…that's brilliant. I'm not sure if I'm going to take the England assignment, but it's definitely one of my top choices."

"Think it over. I'm sure your family would miss you terribly if you went overseas. I know Tonks would."

"Mum? Let me have Chuck for a moment," Tonks said, coming into the kitchen. "I need to show him where he's sleeping tonight." As she steered him down the hall, she whispered, "Had to rescue you. Another five minutes and she would've been discussing a dowry. She's terrified I'll frighten you off."

"It's lucky I don't scare easy, then."

"What about fourth year at Halloween when—"

"Besides that."

They stood in the hall outside the room, chuckling.

"This is yours," Tonks said, finally. "Dad's already moved your bag in. Ready for another dose of my parents?"

"Not remotely. But let's go anyway."


The lead up until midnight was spent arguing amicably over various Quidditch teams, and listening to the Wireless. In the last few minutes, Ted poured everyone a glass of Fairy Champagne.

"Right! Tonks family tradition time. What's everyone's new year's resolution?"

"I'm going to make time to read," Andromeda said.

"She's made that resolution every year since I was twelve," Tonks muttered.

"I'm going to make it to an Appleby Arrows game, and a Dublin Destroyers one," Ted said.

"I'm going to sort out my Patronus," Tonks said.

"No worries, I'll help you," Charlie told her. "I'm going to pass my Apparation test."

"You haven't yet?" Ted asked.

"There were some technical difficulties the first go," he admitted. "Namely, the landing."

The countdown started and Andromeda moved to sit next to Ted.

Realization took hold, and Charlie knew that he and Tonks were going to have to kiss in another six seconds.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

Never two people to do anything by halves, they made a damn convincing go of it (And for years afterward, Charlie would swear that it was Tonks who slipped him the tongue, not the other way round).

They broke away, not looking at each other and blushing furiously.