Dragon man
Chapter 3 - reflections
"So you gave them permission to come then?" Charlie spoke from behind her.
"Yes" she said simply.
"Matron wouldn't approve you know" he teased.
"What matron doesn't know won't hurt her" she smiled.
"I didn't catch your name, assistant matron"
"That's because I didn't say it" she replied, still smiling.
"Well, I could always call you ma'am" his eyes twinkled wickedly "I like it, it's kind of kinky"
"My name is Juliet White" she conceded, taking the lesser of two evils.
"Well, Juliet, as you already know I am Charlie Weasley, the host of this little party" he continued when she didn't reply "And did you say matron was away?"
"She is currently back in England, visiting family and has left me in charge in her absence"
"It seems strange that we haven't met before" he quizzed.
"Not so strange seeing as I only started a few weeks ago, and have been on permanent nights since, my predecessor left rather a lot of work unfinished, now with that completed and matron indisposed I shall be working more sociable hours" Juliet smiled at Charlie, she realised that he wasn't as drunk as she'd first thought and that actually the rumours were quite true about him. He was a very attractive man.
"Why do you talk like that?" he asked head on one side.
"Talk like what?" she took an involuntary step back as he caught her off guard.
"You remind me off a school teacher, big long words and full sentences where only a few will do the job"
"I'm sorry if my words and sentences offend you" she replied smartly.
"And there you go again, I'm only winding you up" he smiled.
"Well, I…." Charlie grinned wider as the cool mask slipped.
"The correct response would have been 'piss off Charlie'" he laughed, Juliet felt uncomfortable under his scrutiny and teasing.
"I have a job to do, as I am sure you appreciate" she began, stopping as he started to laugh outright at her "Oh, piss off Charlie!" she finished.
"There you go!" he celebrated "I knew under that icy exterior you are a normal woman, keep talking like that and you run the risk of turning into matron, and that would be a damn shame"
"She warned me about you" Juliet smiled "Seems she was right"
"Oooh, what did the old bat say? That I'm" and he put on a high pitched whine "an uncouth foul mouthed yob?!"
"Pretty much" she laughed "But she said that you can charm the birds from the sky if you choose to"
"The Weasley charm you see" he winked at her "Works every time, except on matron"
They were interrupted by a few worse for wear healers and trainees spilling from the door to the cabin, Juliet smiled at Charlie as they stumbled down the wooden steps and onto the grass.
"Lumos" she said, lighting the way for the sorry looking group to see.
One of the girls reached up and kissed Charlie on the cheek "Thanks Charlie" she said "It was a great party"
"You are very welcome" he smoozed, making the girl blush "You'll be top of the invites next time"
Juliet moved to the head of the group, taking the lead "Come on then" she commanded, the professional exterior back firmly in place.
Calls of goodnight echoed across the dark reserve as Juliet lead them back to their dorms, with warnings that she was on duty all night and would be placing wards on the dorms, so if they were thinking of rejoining the party or sneaking out, they had better think again.
Charlie returned to what was left of the party, Nelly was looking rather forlorn now the object of his affections had been whipped from under his nose. He sat down heavily next to Charlie on the sofa.
"Who was the blonde then?" he slurred.
"I'm really glad we've got the day off tomorrow" Charlie observed "Because you won't be in any fit state for working"
"Don't avoid the question" Nelly looked at him from under half closed lids.
"You could at least open your eyes when you are looking at me" Charlie moaned.
"Still avoiding boss" Nelly reminded him, Charlie took a long swing of beer, grimaced and found a space for it amongst the debris on the coffee table.
"Juliet White, the new assistant matron"
"Humph" was all Nelly could manage.
Charlie took in the devastation that was now his living room and decided to call it a night, a few people slept where they had fallen, and he left them to it, covering Nelly with a blanket he made his way to bed and slept on top of his covers fully clothed.
The next morning saw Charlie glaring into his bathroom mirror, grimacing at his reflection. He wondered what other people saw when they looked at him. He could see the basics of what others saw, unruly red hair that seemed to do what it liked despite his best efforts, blood shot blue eyes and rather unmanly long eyelashes that seemed to melt the heart of any woman over fifty five. Freckles covering fair, and at the moment green tinged skin and stubble, lighter than his hair, almost blonde, covering his chin and cheeks. He switched the shower on, stepping under the spray and allowing it to wash away the remnants of the night, and refresh his mind and body. He wasn't actually that surprised to find himself wondering about the woman he had met the night before, Juliet. She had seemed intimidating at first, but he'd seen a glimpse of someone else underneath. He liked her, and he wondered what she thought of him, and what she was doing that morning after her night shift at the reserve hospital. His musings were cut short by Nelly barging into the bathroom; he greeted Charlie without missing a beat.
"Mornin' boss" he said, lifting the toilet seat.
"Nelly, I'm taking a shower" Charlie said a little annoyed.
"Need a pee" was his reply "Callie said hurry up, she needs one too"
"You have your own bathrooms you know" he grumbled as he stepped out of the shower, trying to avoid Nelly in the minute bathroom.
"Yours is closer, hurry up, we're going for brekkie" the door banged behind Nelly as he left the room.
Juliet was actually asleep at the moment Charlie was thinking of her, she'd seen all the healers and trainees to bed and completed her shift at the hospital. Moving silently from ward to ward, checking on patients and getting to know the staff better. The reserve hospital was mainly for the workers at the reserve, however it was the only wizarding hospital in Romania that offered better facilities and they often had patients from around the country to care for that the local small healers could not deal with. Juliet relished the chance she had to prove what she could do. At thirty one she was young for a matron, or even an assistant matron but she had worked hard and was determined to show what she could do while matron was away. She had been offered the job as assistant because of her experience with burns and bites from magical creatures, attained in the field across Europe.
She had also thought of Charlie during the long night, wondering how he had managed to upset matron so. She knew that matron disapproved strongly of the healers and trainees attending parties of any kind, and that her own slightly more liberal attitude by allowing them to go to the party under conditions, may back fire. But she believed that the trainees especially needed to let their hair down now and again. She could see how Charlie's manner might offend the straight laced matron, but the woman seemed to really genuinely dislike him, even be slightly intimidated by him. Juliet was real enough to realise that she herself was intimidated by him because she found him attractive; she doubted that the matron felt the same.
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