A/N: This is my entry into the QLFC Season 6, Round 9. Beater 1 for Pride of Portree. The theme this week was I Am Woman. My woman was Nymphadora Tonks.

My optional prompts were: (word) rich and (quote) Nothing more complicated than learning lines and putting on a costume. - Morgan Freeman.

Word Count: 2988

Beta Love: Story Please, sekdaniels, and brownlark42

This is a Tonks x Charlie that could conceivably fit into canon as we don't know a lot about either of those character's backstory. Tabără de Balaur is literally Dragon Camp in Romanian courtesy of Google Translate.

Summary: Tonks first undercover assignment brings her back in contact with someone she'd thought she'd lost.


Auror Training


June 1991

"An Auror? Really, Tonks?" Charlie Weasley asked her as they walked around the lake, holding hands. She and Charlie had started out as best friends. Ever since he'd helped her pick up every book she'd dropped when a staircase switched on her unexpectedly the first week of first year. Throughout the next seven years, they had edged towards being more than friends. It was all that Tonks had really wanted. Charlie was like the sun, so bright it was hard to look at him. She knew she'd loved him from that first moment she'd seen him bending down to help her. Tonks had worn her hair orange for weeks afterward, trying to get it to the exact sun-lit shade to match Charlie's.

Tonks rolled her eyes. "That's rich, coming from you, Charlie 'Dragon-Tamer' Weasley. Yes, an Auror."

Charlie had plans to run off to Romania to some dragon sanctuary, after all. They had never discussed Tonks following him, but Tonks was sure that's what he expected of her. While she desperately did want to follow him there, she did not want to seem desperate. So she made her own plans.

"Dragon researcher," he corrected. "Anyway, aren't you a little… clumsy to become an Auror?"

Tonks ripped her hand from his and stomped ahead. She was clumsy. Everyone knew it, and while she generally played it for laughs, that didn't mean she couldn't be an Auror.

"Come on, Tonks, I was kidding," Charlie said, catching up and grasping her hand again, tugging her around to face him.

"I beat you in Defense, Charlie Weasley. Maybe I'm a little clumsy, but my spellwork is top-notch."

"You're right, I'm sorry. I just…"

"You just what? Thought I should follow you as you followed your dreams?" Tonks asked bitterly.

"I don't want to fight," Charlie said. "You don't need me to help you follow your dreams. And I certainly won't ask you to give them up for me."

Tonks huffed and looked away from him so he wouldn't see the tears pricking her eyes. Even now he wouldn't ask her to follow him. Merlin, she would. Her dreams weren't limited to being an Auror. She would follow him wherever he went if he would only ask.


August 1993

"Only two disguises?" Tonks asked her mentor, Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody, as they approached the dragon camp. He was using Polyjuice to look like someone else, but he could never hide the glint in his eyes.

"That going to be a problem? I thought three personas might be a bit much for your first assignment abroad."

Tonks took a deep breath. This wasn't just her first assignment abroad. This was Romania. Specifically Tabără de Balaur, the dragon camp where Charlie worked. She and Charlie hadn't been in touch for years, but she had done enough research to know he was stationed here.

"No problem," Tonks murmured, distracted by her thoughts about Charlie. They hadn't parted on very good terms and Tonks had thrown herself into her Auror training to distract from missing Charlie. Perhaps she wouldn't have to see Charlie at all. She certainly hoped he wasn't being bamboozled by the dragon egg smugglers that she and Moody were going out to investigate. Simply being in the proximity of the cartel was dangerous. She only had to image the threats he would be under if he actually knew about the illegal activities.

"Good," Moody said gruffly. "Should be a fairly straight-forward undercover operation. Nothing more complicated than learning lines and putting on a costume. Although I guess for you, the costume part is easier, eh?" Moody laughed and Tonks found herself cracking a small smile. Moody was tough. The toughest teacher Tonks had ever known, but she was fond of him. "If you do well, I think you'll be ready to take your qualifying examination."

Tonks smiled in response but was still lost in thought. Would Charlie want to see her again? She shook her head; it likely didn't matter. No way was Charlie involved and even if he was, Tonks would be in disguise the entire time.

"Tonks?" Moody startled her out of her reverie. "Focus now, and put on your costume."

Tonks took a deep breath before she rung the bell located outside of the camp's gate. Closing her eyes, she made her hair long and red—a habitual ode to Charlie—and added several inches to her height. It was becoming easier for her to move in her metamorphic body the more she practiced.

"Help you?" a disembodied voice asked in Romanian.

Moody responded, letting the gentleman know they were there to meet with the camp's director. Moody suspected that the egg smuggling was coming from the top, and that's why it hadn't been stopped yet. They were there to pose as buyers and attempt to sort out who else was involved.

Her breath caught when the gate opened and revealed Charlie Weasley on the other side.

"Follow me," Charlie stated in stilted Romanian. Tonks wasn't good with other languages, but the Department of Mysteries had developed a language charm which Tonks had applied that morning.

Tonks couldn't keep her eyes off of Charlie. He looked good. Apparently being a dragon-wrangler suited him. Once a skinny, scholarly boy, he was now well-muscled, with long hair and just enough scruff on his intelligent face to make him look slightly rugged. He showed them to the director's office, gesturing for them to enter before him. He gave Tonks a considering look and she felt herself blush under his gaze. He always had the ability to make her blush.

It was hard for her to focus on the meeting with the director. The director invited them to stay for a few days, to pick out which dragon they'd like to get an egg from. It was breeding season and all of the female dragons had recently laid clutches.


The following morning found Tonks in a different disguise, this time wearing a dragonologist uniform, her hair hidden under a cap as she crept through the camp. She was attempting to figure out exactly who was involved in the smuggling activity and if any of the underlings knew about it. She eavesdropped on a few conversations in the canteen and then started wandering around the enclosures.

"Can I help you?" a familiar voice asked from behind her. She whirled around to see Charlie.

"Er, I'm fine," Tonks replied hastily and tried to edge around him. He had her blocked in and there was only one way out of the feeding shed she'd stumbled into.

"Who are you?" Charlie asked as he stepped closer. "You seem so familiar."

Tonks' breath caught in her throat. Was it possible Charlie recognized her despite her disguise? She didn't think so, but the way he was looking at her now made her heart race.

"I'm checking the richness of the feed. You're putting me behind schedule," Tonks said. "Please excuse me." She brushed past him, but Charlie's hand shot out and he grasped her wrist tightly.

"The feed is fine. But that's not the point. I know everyone in this camp," he said in a low voice. "If you don't tell me who you are, right now, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Crap on toast, Tonks thought. She didn't know how to get out of this one. She could blow her cover to Charlie, but what if he was involved? Or she could stun him and Obliviate the last few minutes from his mind. The thought of doing that made her want to cry, but she shook it away. She didn't want to hurt Charlie, but until she knew more, she couldn't risk the mission. Clutching her wand tightly in her hand, Tonks muttered, "Stupefy."

Charlie collapsed behind her and Tonks whipped around to Obliviate him. Then she hurried from the shed and back to the cabin she was sharing with Moody. She would have to use a different disguise, this one was blown. Even if the Obliviation was perfect, Tonks didn't want to risk it.


"... the Opaleye only laid four. We need at least two for the preserve."

"And the Fireball only laid one. I had promised one to two different buyers," the second voice hissed. "What to do?"

"Paint an Ironbelly egg," suggested Charlie Weasley.

Bollocks, he's involved! The thought screamed through Tonks' mind and she almost couldn't breathe for the weight of it. Now was was she going to do? She would either have to extract him or arrest him and neither option was a good one. Extraction meant lying to Moody. Arresting him meant arresting the only love she'd had in her short, insignificant life.

She cast a Disillusionment charm over herself and huddled against the wall of the director's office. A swift mountain breeze picked up, but she didn't care. She buried her face into her knees as the conversation moved on to more mundane things in the open window above her.


Tonks was back in her dragon-egg-buyer disguise as Charlie was leading her and Moody around the camp, showing them the various dragons and their clutches.

"How do you retrieve the eggs?" Tonks asked.

"A team of us will go in, a few people to distract and control the dragon, and one person to take the eggs and replace them with fakes." Charlie shrugged.

"And the dragons? They don't mind?" Moody asked pointedly.

Charlie laughed. "'Course they do. But we have to remove the eggs to preserve the species. Some dragons in captivity have been known to eat their own young. It's for their best interest that we remove their eggs."

Tonks nodded, but couldn't stop the shudder that rolled through her at the sound of Charlie's laugh. She hadn't heard it in so long. And Charlie could hardly keep his eyes off her.


That night, after Tonks had eaten in the canteen, she was walking slowly around the camp, deep in thought. She was still torn over what to do about Charlie. She and Moody were close to ending the investigation and arresting the lot of them, but if they did that, there would be nobody left to work the camp. It turned out that every single employee of the camp was involved in some way or another.

"Hey." A low voice reached her ear and she turned to find Charlie standing behind her.

"Hello," Tonks said quietly. She didn't want to be around Charlie; she almost couldn't believe he was involved in something like this.

"Why do you seem so familiar to me?" Charlie asked. "Have we met before?"

"I don't think so," Tonks said stiffly and turned to continue her walk. Charlie fell into step beside her.

"I think we have…" Charlie trailed off. "I can't put my finger on it, but I know I have met you before."

Tonks tried to keep her breathing steady, but it was difficult standing this close to Charlie. She was angry with him, for a lot of things. It wasn't only his involvement in egg smuggling, but also how they left things after Hogwarts. How he had doubted her talents. How he had never trusted her enough to ask her to come with him. He had left without a word and he never replied to her letters.

"Did you go to Hogwarts?" Charlie asked.

Tonks couldn't stop the quick intake of breath that sounded suspiciously like a gasp.

"I certainly did not," she responded. "I went to Durmstrang. If you'll excuse me." She sped up her pace, but Charlie increased his pace too. Tonks wanted to break into a run, but before she could, Charlie grasped her arm, pulling her to a stop.

Tonks spun around to face him and pulled her wand at the same time, pointing it to Charlie's chin. She was half impressed she didn't fall on her bum doing that move.

"Who are you?" Charlie asked, peering at her intently and not removing his hand from her arm.

"It. Doesn't. Matter." Her voice was tense. What was she going to do? They weren't ready to arrest anyone yet, and she didn't want to start by arresting Charlie.

"Are you with the Ministry?" Charlie asked in a near whisper.

Tonks couldn't stop her eyes from widening at his guess.

"I knew it!" Charlie hissed. He looked around to make sure they were the only ones outside and began dragging her toward his cabin.

"Let go of me!" Tonks whisper-screamed at him. "I'll hex you!"

"Shhh!" Charlie insisted as he pushed her into his cabin and shut the door behind them. He twirled his wand in a complicated pattern that Tonks recognized as warding spells.

"Which Ministry?" Charlie asked, turning back toward her. "Are you able to offer amnesty? I'm obviously British, but…" he trailed off looking wistful. Tonks struggled to hold on to her disguise, despite the growing temptation to drop it.

"You are not supposed to know that information, Mr. Weasley," she spat. "Merlin, I'm going to be in trouble."

"With the British Ministry then? I'll do anything to get out of this mess! I don't want to be smuggling dragon eggs. It never should have gone this far. I've been trying to quit for a year, and they won't let me leave. They threatened my family and friends! There's this girl… I'm so afraid—" Charlie cut himself off and turned, hitting the wall with his fist.

"I can't be here," Tonks said again and slashed her wand through the air, canceling his spells. She stalked out of his cabin, glad that for once luck was on her side and nobody else was about.


Two days later, she and Moody were in a planning session, trying to determine the best way to take out the smugglers all at once. Tonks wanted to tell Moody the truth about Charlie, but she didn't want Moody to know about their prior relationship. She was afraid he'd make her recuse herself from the case, and Tonks knew she couldn't do that. Not now. Now she had to figure out a way to save Charlie. She also needed to complete the mission, but she had no idea how she would do both.

This was clearly something Charlie had been roped into and didn't agree with. Perhaps she could use that information? Was it possible that Charlie wasn't the only reluctant participant? Maybe there were more? She shook her head to focus on what Moody was saying when someone knocked on the cabin door. Tonks quickly morphed into her buyer disguise.

It was the camp director. He wanted a word with Moody alone, and Tonks nodded as the two men left the cabin. She shifted back into her dragonologist disguise and followed them in case Moody needed backup.

She somehow lost them in the busy camp and found herself wandering around the administration buildings when she was accosted by Charlie once more. This time, she followed him into a small supply room and slammed the door shut.

"Damnit, I can't help you!"

"What? I don't know who you are!" Charlie shouted back, looking surprised and confused. Tonks realized she'd Obliviated Charlie the last time she wore this disguise.

"But... you are familiar," Charlie conceded quietly.

Tonks had reached her limit. She pushed Charlie hard on the chest, shoving him to the ground and straddling his waist. "Listen here you dragon creep, you forget you ever saw me or I'll Obliviate you. Understand?"

She must have lost her concentration because the next word out of Charlie's mouth made her heart freeze in her chest.

"Tonks?"

"Now, I'm really going to have to Obliviate you," Tonks muttered and dug for her wand.

Charlie surged forward and the next thing she knew she was flat on her back, with her hands pinned above her head. His grip was tight and Tonks couldn't free herself.

"It is you," Charlie said, his voice almost impossibly soft. He hesitated, then leaned down to kiss her.

Conflicting emotions seared through Tonks. She didn't want to kiss Charlie. She especially didn't want to melt into him like she did when their lips finally met. She was angry. Angry at him for getting into this mess. Angry at him for leaving her and never asking her to come with him.

While Charlie was distracted by the kiss, Tonks flipped them once more. This time she had her wand at Charlie's throat.

"You can't tell anyone," Tonks threatened. "We're close to taking them down and I won't have you jeopardize that."

"What about me?" Charlie asked.

Tonks sighed, feeling tentative. "I need you, Charlie. I need you to help me complete this mission. I can't get you out of here and finish the mission without your help. We need to work together on this."

"Really? I never thought you'd ever need me." Charlie ignored the wand and pulled her close for another kiss. "Anyone brave and talented enough to want to be an Auror would never need the likes of me," he murmured before pressing his lips to hers. This time Tonks didn't fight him. She melted into his kiss, running a hand up his firm chest to cup his cheek.

"Of course I need you. Not just—not just for this mission. But for everything. I need to be with you, and I need to know you want to be with me too." Tonks felt familiar tears welling up.

Charlie stared at her, a combination of loss and hope crisscrossing his face. Apparently, Charlie had been waiting for her as much as she had been waiting for him.

"Together?" She asked, holding her breath.

"Together," he said, wrapping her in his arms and clutching her to his chest. "No matter what happens after this."

Tonks exhaled in relief, feeling as if she'd been holding her breath for years, not just moments.

"Okay," she said. "Let's make a plan."