Charlie left Gretchen with her friends and returned to the dormitory with his quidditch mates. Mark was already asleep when he got back. He undressed quietly and got into bed.
Although he was very tired, Charlie found it hard to go to sleep. His mind was filled with thoughts of his future. He could honestly say to himself that he would be perfectly happy not to commit to a long term relationship because, as ridiculous as it sounded if he said it out loud, he had found and lost his true love. He could live the rest of his life as a carefree bachelor. Was the muggle just an excuse not to commit?
At one time in his life, he would have been perfectly content to remain at the sanctuary, become a fellow and live the life he had always imagined for himself. Was he starting to get bored with his life? He could honestly say there was nothing he loved more than his world of dragons.
He listened for the sounds of dragons within the sanctuary. They were mournful cries, disquieting and at the same time soothing. The noises at night had a familiarity that put his mind at ease. He was at home here, even more so than the Burrow, where he grew up.
Mark rolled over on his back and began snoring. It would be nice to have my own place, Charlie thought. If he left the sanctuary he could freelance back in Britain or work for the Ministry. The thought of working inside all day disturbed him. Perhaps he'd take up his friend Hagrid's invitation to work as groundskeeper at Hogwarts after Hagrid retired.
There were plenty of options available to him. He didn't necessarily want to leave his life at the sanctuary, but as his mother would say, he was getting older and needed to settle down. When he thought of settling down, his thoughts kept returning to Andrea and the brief time they had together.
Charlie was surprised when he woke up the next morning that he had gotten any sleep at all. But obviously he had gotten some sleep because the sound of Mark stirring woke him up. His head jolted up off his pillow. Morning light streamed in from the window. Charlie yawned and stretched.
"Good morning," said Mark, dryly. He was finishing putting on his work robes.
Charlie blinked and nodded. "Morning," he said, stifling a yawn.
Charlie noticed that Mark's demeanor was rather stiff. He didn't look at him as he greeted him. "What's up?" Charlie asked, pushing the covers away from him. He got out of his bed quickly, stood up and stretched his hands over his head and bounced on the balls of his feet.
Mark just shook his head. "It's getting late. I'll meet you in the dining room." He closed the door behind him.
It took Charlie a few minutes to finish getting dressed, but, noting the time; he hurried up and soon met up with Mark in the dining hall. He was greeted by several of his friends. At least they were acting normal, he thought.
He chose his typical breakfast from the buffet line, flirted with the line servers and sat down next to Mark and a few of the other keepers from his dormitory. He was one of the few wizards who preferred hot strong coffee every morning. He drank his coffee black which disgusted most of his friends who preferred a good English tea or pumpkin juice.
Charlie had a forkful of scrambled egg headed to his mouth, when Mark suddenly spoke up.
"She doesn't want to have anything to do with me," he said unexpectedly.
"What?" Charlie put his fork down. "Who?"
Mark shot him a dark look. "You bloody well know who I'm talking about," he said, coldly. "Georgiana, of course."
Charlie shook his head stupidly and shrugged his shoulders. "Why?"
"You know perfectly well why." Mark said sharply.
"Look, I have no idea what you're talking about." Charlie was beginning to get testy himself.
"She only shagged me to get back at you. She told me last night. She told me to leave her alone."
Another sign of a great day thought Charlie and he sighed heavily. "Well, I think you're better off without her," he said honestly.
"She's totally in to you," Mark said.
"There's absolutely nothing," he emphasized, "between us. I told you that. She sounds demented. Better off without her."
They finished breakfast in silence. Mark headed off for the infirmary leaving Charlie at the table, finishing his coffee. Just as he was leaving, he ran into Georgiana, who appeared to be waiting for him in the hallway.
"We need to talk," she said, grabbing him by his sleeve and pulling him into a broom closet. Charlie followed her. The room was quite small and dark. He pointed his wand at the ceiling and said, "Lumos," causing his wand to emit a soft light. Charlie was beginning to get angry.
"Well?" he said to her. "What do we need to talk about?"
She said nothing, just staring at him.
"Will you please stay away from me? I thought you understood that I don't want anything to do with you. I enjoy working with you as a co-worker; you're an incredible keeper, but that's all. You're demented." Charlie was beginning to believe that she was completely insane.
"I'll do anything for you. I love you, Charlie Weasley." She put her hands on his chest and tried to kiss him. He pulled away. Charlie knew that he had to get away as soon as possible. He didn't think his sense of humor would work this time, or the good manners that his mother insisted upon. He thought about a good stunning charm.
Finally, he grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. "What is wrong with you?" he asked. "I'm no prize." He tried humor. "Mark Bonds would do anything for you. Go after him."
A sly smile crossed her lips. "I confunded him."
"Well, it worked." He said.
"But I don't want him, I want you. I tried a love potion, but you must be immune." She said
"I am. My mum cast a very powerful, ancient protective spell on me when I left home that protects me from minor curses, love potions, and the like. It comes in real handy sometimes." He said, conversationally.
Georgiana scowled a little. "That makes sense. I tried very hard for you to notice me."
"It wouldn't have mattered," Charlie said. "I always was impressed with your skills."
"Yes, but I knew that once we worked together wrangling that you would know that we were perfect for each other." Georgiana sighed sadly.
"But you knew that I never got involved with people I worked with."
"I didn't believe it. I was so sure…" Georgiana's voice trailed off.
Charlie looked at her curiously. "What are you saying?"
Georgiana shook her head. She turned her face away from him.
"What did you do?" Realization swept through Charlie. He forced her to look at him. Shaking her, he asked again, "What did you do?"
Georgiana began to cry. "It wasn't supposed to happen. It was in a remote area. There weren't supposed to be muggles around. No one was supposed to get hurt."
"Georgiana, no." He shook his head sadly. "Why would you risk lives? Are you insane?"
"I'm so sorry," she begged. "Please don't hate me. No one was supposed to get hurt," she repeated, crying louder now.
"You've got to turn yourself in. I'll go with you."
Georgiana shook her head. "I can't do that. Do you know what they will do to me?" Her hand shifted in her robes and she pulled out her wand and pointed it at Charlie.
Before she could utter a curse, he pulled out his wand and shouted, "Expelliamous!!" Georgiana's wand flew up in the air and she was knocked backward, hitting her head on the broom closet door. In the process, the door was blasted open, and they both fell through it and landed in the hallway floor just outside the dining room.
Stunned, Charlie landed on top of Georgiana. Curious looks came from the wizards who happened to be in the hall at the time. A few of the witches gave Charlie a disgusted look.
"Get a room," one wizard muttered.
Seconds later Georgiana regained consciousness and struggled to retrieve her wand. Charlie grabbed her arm and held it down. He was trying to get to his feet while still controlling Georgiana and holding on to his wand. She fought him with everything she had. Without her wand she was reduced to kicking, biting, and punching. She was, after all, a dragon keeper. She was very strong and landed a punch to Charlie's injured shoulder and he cried out in pain.
"Charlie Weasley's insane! Help me!" She screamed. "He tried to rape me!"
Four wizards jumped on Charlie and tried to pull him off Georgiana. Two witches grabbed Georgiana's arms and pulled her from under Charlie. Charlie pointed his wand at them and at the same time four wands were aimed at him.
"Don't let her get away," he pleaded as he lowered his wand. "It's not what you think." The wizards pulled him to his feet, their wands pointed at him.
"Don't move," the tallest wizard warned him. "Drop your wand."
Charlie let his wand drop. He was breathless and rested his hands on his knees, bending over so that he could breath. "I need to see Dragomir," he panted. He pushed his hair back from his face.
The witches helped Georgiana to her feet. "I'm okay," she said in a sadly, pathetic voice. Charlie glared at her. "I need to get to my room," she said, clutching her robes to her chest.
"Don't let her go," Charlie warned.
Georgiana retrieved her wand and pointed it at Charlie. "Cru—" she began, but Charlie's friend Michael, who had just come up to see what was going on, slapped the wand from her hand.
"You can't use an unforgiveable curse," he yelled. "What's going on here?"
"Watson said Weasley tried to rape her," the tall wizard explained. "They blasted out of the broom closet. She was disarmed and Weasley was on top of her."
"Charlie, what happened?" Michael asked, very confused.
Charlie panted, and tried to catch his breath. "The dragon," he said. "She was the one who let it loose."
"You're crazy!" Georgiana shouted. "He was mad at me because I fancied his roommate. He dragged me into the broom closet and tried to rape me." She was crying hysterically, clutching to the witches around her.
"That's not true. Get security. I need to see the director." Charlie tried to remain calm, but the reality was that there was a chance that someone might believe her. He needed Mark to verify his story. The wizards knew him and everyone liked him, surely they would believe that he was telling the truth.
Suddenly two security wizards appeared. The two wizards were friends of Charlie's from the quidditch team. He felt relieved to see them. He knew that they would be impartial.
"Weasley!" Simon Armstrong, the team's keeper said, surprised to see friend. "What's going on?"
The tall wizard spoke up. "Georgiana Watson has accused Weasley of trying to rape her."
"What?!" Bryan Dobson, the other security wizard said, incredulously.
"It's not true," Charlie said. "She admitted to me that she had set the dragon loose outside the sanctuary, and I was trying to convince her to turn herself in."
Georgiana shook her head vehemently.
"You need to get Mark Bonds," Charlie said.
Within the hour, Charlie and Georgiana were taken to the security office. Director Dragomir was called and he met them there. The security wizards, including the director of security was on hand.
Director Dragomir and the Director of Security Apollina Norville spoke together while the others watched and waited. After two more hours, Charlie was released and told to get ready for the ceremony with the Ministry of Magic. He was instructed to go to Dragomir's office after he had gotten ready.
Charlie went back to his dormitory and changed into dress robes. He was concerned about the outcome, but he was confident that the directors would see that he was telling the truth. He had nothing to hide, but still, being accused of raping was extremely disconcerting.
When he walked into Dragomir's office, he was surprised to see his mother and brother, George waiting for me. He greeted them affectionately and wept when his mother hugged him.
"I guess they told you what was going on," he said, wiping his eyes.
Molly Weasley nodded and hugged her son again. "I'm sorry your dad couldn't be here, but it was really such short notice. He couldn't get away."
"I knew that," he said. "I didn't expect you to be able to come. I'm so happy to see you."
George, as usual, cracked jokes and made him feel so much better.
Charlie told them about the incident that morning. He was still stunned that Georgiana would put that many people in mortal peril just to prove a point. He shuttered as he told them that the carnage could have been a lot worse. Molly and George looked at each other. Molly wore a grave expression and nodded in agreement.
"You could have been killed," she said, wiping her eyes.
Suddenly a green light appeared in the director's fireplace, and out stepped Kingsley Shacklebolt, the British Minister of Magic. As soon as he entered the room, he gave a warm greeting to Molly, George, and Charlie. They were Order of the Phoenix members and the last time Charlie had seen the minister was at the dedication ceremony for those who had died at the Battle of Hogwarts. Shacklebolt shook Charlie's hand and greeted him warmly.
"We're very proud of you, Charlie," the minister said. "Very proud, indeed. If you don't mind, I brought along a photographer from the Daily Prophet." He indicated a tall, lanky man holding an ancient box camera.
When Director Dragomir returned, he was accompanied by the Minister of Magic Oblansk. The minister carried a decorated box that contained the award. Minister Oblansk greeted Minister Shacklebolt and they secreted themselves in a corner of Dragomir's office. Charlie introduced the director to his mother and George. Dragomir held Molly's hand as he told her how proud he was of Charlie for his bravery in saving the muggle passengers on the bus. Charlie blushed but tried hard to conceal his embarrassment. He was never the sort who enjoyed attention.
Mark Bonds was the last to enter. He walked over to Charlie as soon as he spotted him and shook his hand.
"They explained what happened. The bitch." Mark spat.
Molly sided a glance toward Mark and drew a quick breath.
"Sorry Mrs. Weasley." Mark said, flushing slightly.
Clearly Mrs. Weasley hadn't been told about the incident in the hallway. Charlie was happy about that. He didn't want to have to explain what happened. All he did say was, "The directors found out who had let the dragon escape."
Molly and George both shuttered. "Someone from the sanctuary?" Molly asked, aghast.
Charlie nodded and was about to explain, when Minister Oblansk raised his hand to start the ceremony. Charlie stood very still as his mother sniffled while the Minister put a large medal over his head. Director Dragomir read the citation on the certificate as the minister finished. The minister also presented Mark with a much smaller medal. Clearly Mark was very proud of his medal. None of his family was able to attend, but Molly made Mark feel like family. He was grateful for the attention.
The photographer snapped pictures of the ceremony and got some snapshots afterward. Molly stood next to her son and cried through the ceremony. She was so proud of Charlie.
Unfortunately the ceremony did not last very long and soon it was time for Shacklebolt, the photographer, Molly and George to leave. Molly kissed her son warmly and she and George disappeared into the fireplace. They were soon followed by Ministers Shacklebolt and Oblansk. The photographer was the last to leave.
Once the room had cleared out, Director Dragomir asked Mark to leave so that he could talk to Charlie alone. He agreed quickly and shook the minister's hand before he left.
"Miss Bonds was on our short list of suspects. She confessed. She is clearly deranged. I recommended that she get some kind of treatment. I think she really is remorseful."
"She did fight the dragon with us," Charlie said. "I can't believe she would do such a horrible thing."
Dragomir smiled slyly. "Obsession is a very odd thing."
"I reckon," Charlie said. He shuttered.
Dragomir walked around his desk and sat down. He motioned for Charlie to sit. He waited until Charlie had seated himself before he spoke.
"You are clearly one of the bravest men I have ever met. I want you to know that we are putting you on a fast track for you to become a fellow. That is, if that is what you want." He eyed Charlie a long time.
Charlie dried his sweaty palms on his thighs. "Yes sir. That's fantastic. Thank you, sir."
"How would you like to spend a year overseas in the sanctuary in America?" He asked. "You could learn so many useful things that you could bring back with you and apply them here. The fellowship begins in six weeks. What do you say?"
Charlie didn't know what to say. He had the opportunity to study abroad. He had never seen American dragons before.
"I know a year's a long time to be so far from your family. But then, it's a long way from your family now, isn't it?"
Charlie was still stunned. He was going to study dragons in America? He thought. Me? Charlie jumped up out of his chair and shook Dragomir's hand. "Yes, sir. I would love the opportunity," he said.
Dragomir smiled and slapped his hands on his desk. "Wonderful. Can you be ready to go in six weeks?"
"Absolutely," he said, grinning broadly. "I could leave tomorrow, if you needed me to."
