~ Chapter Twenty-One ~

"CHARLIE'S NOT THE GAY ONE, I AM!"

"No you're not." No one moved or said anything for several painfully long moments after Ron spoke. His voice was disturbingly emotionless.

"Ron, just calm down—"

"No Hermione, I would know if my own best mate was a—a poof!" He laughed after this assertion, but there was no humor in it. Rather, it was a harsh, almost hysterical sound. "Tell her Harry." There was no immediate answer, and suddenly Ron had taken the three long strides necessary to put him face to face with Harry, betrayal written across his face. "TELL HER!"

"I'm gay," he whispered in response, staring at the red-head as though transfixed. He watched in horrid fascination as Ron's face twisted in disgust.

"And you never thought to mention that before now!" Harry heard the snarl in Ron's voice, but didn't notice as the other boy's hand fisted and his arm drew back. Without warning, Harry felt strong arms clamp down around him and his stomach lurched as he was hauled to the side, a sickening crack sounding next to him as Ron's fist connected with Charlie's jaw where the older man had suddenly pulled Harry safely out of the way, placing himself in the line of fire in the process.

"What the hell is going on here!" Bill's voice thundered over the shocked cries of the others, silencing the room once again as he stormed past the crowd at the top of the stairs to haul Ron away from Harry and Charlie by the back of his robes, holding him up high enough that the boy had to balance precariously on his toes. Ron, for his part, was staring down at his hand in horror, as though just now realizing what he had done. A small smear of blood across his knuckles was evidence of where he had split Charlie's lip open. "Start talking," Bill demanded dangerously, giving Ron a small shake to make sure he had his attention.

"He-he said he was g-g-gay," Ron stammered, still apparently in a state of shock. Bill's angry glare was slowly replaced by a look of mournful disappointment.

"So you hit him? Ron, I have never been more let down in my entire life. Nothing at all has changed, except that now you know he fancies blokes. Who in Merlin's name cares? He's the same person! He's still your brother!" Unfortunately, Bill missed the confused looks that this last statement prompted, and he plowed on. "Charlie told me years ago that he was gay, and it never made him act any differently than it always has, did it?"

Harry, by this time, had struggled out of Charlie's arms in order to inspect the injuries his bondmate had received in his place. Charlie watched how his eyes grew round and wide at Bill's words, but other than that there was no reaction, Harry choosing instead to continue inspecting the wounds, batting Charlie's hands aside impatiently each time he reached up to prod and poke at his own face.

"Charlie never said he was gay…" Fred began cautiously from the other side of the hall.

"…Harry did," George finished, both twins looking between Charlie and Bill with guarded expressions. Charlie's orientation was no longer news to them, but they knew that hardly meant their brother had been ready to be outed to everyone else. Bill's head snapped up at them in shock, before he whipped his face around to look at Charlie, apology bright in his eyes. Apology rapidly turned to alarm, however, when the small hands gently cradling his little brother's face began to glow, and the swelling in Charlie's lip eased down to a normal size.

"Harry, you're not supposed to be doing magic!" Charlie seemed to be just realizing what was happening himself and tried to pull back from the smaller boy, but Harry just held on tighter, eyes squeezing shut in concentration. Charlie stared at the young man in awe as he felt his lip seal back together and the fiery throbbing in his jaw slowly dissipate. Almost as soon as the last of the pain had ebbed away, the fingers on his face slipped off and Charlie lunged forward to catch Harry in his arms as his knees buckled.

"How did you do that?" He asked in wonder, too impressed to chastise the boy once he saw that Harry was more or less alright.

"You protected me when Ron tried to hit me. I just thought of that and of how I needed to protect you back and I looked at where you were hurt and—I just wanted you healed. I wanted it really badly."

"I'm going to pick you up Harry, don't be startled," he murmured for the other boy's ears alone, a lump growing in his throat as it struck him how much his little mate truly cared for him. After a small hum of acknowledgement from the exhausted young man, Charlie stooped over and hooked an arm under Harry's knees, the other looped behind his shoulders, before he carefully stood, pulling Harry up in his arms as he went.

"I am taking my bondmate back to Romania with me. Headquarters obviously isn't safe or healthy for him at the moment. If he wishes to return once his health is restored, I will bring him back then."

"You can't take him!" Molly argued, finally regaining her voice. It didn't carry nearly as much authority as it normally did, however, and Charlie merely turned slowly to her and all but growled,

"Watch me." He turned on his heal and marched down the stairs, only pausing for a moment to lean over and whisper something to the twins. Harry was glad that Charlie was so completely focused on his mission of removing Harry from Grimmauld Place, as it meant that he missed the tired smile being hidden against the red-head's broad chest.

XxXxXxXxX

Sirius growled in frustration as he dug through the pile of parchments spread out on the floor in front of him once more. He swept his hair distractedly out of his face, not noticing as a long streak of black ink was drawn across his cheek from the quill he held in the same hand. Lupin noticed, however, and chuckled from where he was propped up on a mountain of pillows on his friend's bed, resting after his full-moon transformation the night before. He carefully covered up the snicker with a slight cough, surreptitiously flicking his wand towards Black's face to remove the mark as he had several times that day already.

"Moony, why is this all so bloody complicated? I don't remember all this crap when I became legal head of the House of Black."

"Well if you remember, Padfoot, you were seventeen and spent more of your time trying to get yourself disowned than learn to run your family. Your mother had been running things for three years since your father's death, waiting for you to come of age, and really she just kept on running things after that except on paper. Dumbledore became legal caretaker when your mother passed away a few months after you were sent to Azkaban, and as you are still an outlaw in the eyes of the Ministry, you have no legal claim on any of it to this day. It's no wonder you have no memory of all the legalities involved in the power transfer." Sirius scowled at his friend.

"Rhetorical question, you bloody werewolf. Look it up." Remus simply grinned and settled more comfortably into his pillows.

"Do Harry and Charlie realize what they're in for politically now that Dumbledore can no longer stand in as temporary estate holder? They now legally hold all command and responsibility of both the Potter and Black lines."

"How can they? I didn't even realize it. If I am reading all of this correctly, they are going to have politicians clamoring for their family votes on every last proposal pushed through to the Wizengamont, and probably a few of the larger ones even before that stage. No one pestered Dumbledore too much when he was making the decisions, I'm sure, but two young kids who have no idea how any of it works… Damn it, I just want to go check on Harry! Shouldn't there be some sort of manual for these things?" Black moaned piteously and tossed his quill aside in frustration.

"Here, give me the paperwork Albus brought over on the Potter holdings." Black's face lit up and Lupin rolled his eyes at the childlike expression.

"Really? You'll help? Oh Moony, I could just kiss you!"

"I thought we established in fifth year that my preferences lay elsewhere," Lupin answered mildly, one bushy eyebrow raising delicately as he smirked at his friend. Black shuddered at the implied memory.

"Ugh, and I will never get the image of you and Marlene McKinnon going at it in the restricted section out of my head, thank you very much."

"Oh, like I enjoyed walking in on you and Caradoc Dearborn after the Quidditch final sixth year. James about murdered you when he found out you had done it on his bed!"

"We were drunk! I thought it was my bed, I swear." Black tried to look apologetic, but the mischief in his eyes gave him away. "Ah, shy little 'Doc Dearborn. Never looked at me without blushing after that day, I somehow doubt he ever would have worked up the guts to sleep with a man had he not been plied by such vast amounts of firewhisky first, but mmmm, was he ever an experience." Sirius licked his lips at the memory and Lupin threw a pillow at his head while he shuddered in mock horror.

"Spare me the details, I beg of you." The two maurauders shared a laugh, but all too soon Remus felt the smile fading from his lips. "So you really bonded Harry," he whispered quietly, though it didn't quite sound like a question. Black's face fell and his shoulders drooped from guilt.

"I didn't know how else to help him. If it wasn't for that stupid life debt… Merlin, what had I been thinking sending Snape down that tunnel…" Lupin didn't say anything, the incident having always been a point of tension between them even years after the fact. "Even before Harry was born I was letting him down. James and Lily should have kept you as godfather," he said brokenly, finally admitting his thoughts to his old friend.

"That's not true. You love Harry more than life itself Sirius, and you always have. You were an idiot in school, Merlin knows I won't argue with you about that, but Harry's birth was damn near a miracle with how much you shaped up from the day he became your godson. Even now, faced with a seemingly impossible situation, you managed to find a way to protect Harry from the worst of it. I would have caved in to Albus if I were in your shoes. I'm not proud of it, but I know it's true." Black looked ready to argue, but a knock on the door cut him off.

"Come in." He stood quickly seeing the troubled faces of Fred and George as they slipped into his room, pulling the door shut behind him. "What's wrong?"

"We need to ask you something…"

"…it's kind of personal…"

"…but we need an answer…"

"…an honest answer…"

"…before we tell you anything else." Sirius sat down on the edge of the bed near Remus, both men watching the red-heads curiously.

"Alright, what's the question?"

"How do you feel about… gay wizards?" Sirius blinked a few times, then smiled gently.

"I'm quite a fan." He smiled wider at their confused looks, and Remus laughed beside him before cutting in.

"He certainly is… I imagine most gay wizards are 'quite a fan' of other gay wizards, though." Fred and George's eye's widened slightly and then they both came and sat on the floor in front of the bed, George shaking his head in wonder.

"Blimey, is everyone gay all of a sudden?"

"I guess your godson gets it from you then," Fred added, and suddenly Black and Lupin were both sitting bolt upright.

"Harry told you he was gay?" Sirius asked quickly.

"Told half the bloody house, actually…" George began, and then he and Fred took turns sharing what they had heard of the conversation between Harry, Charlie, and Molly, and then Ron and Bill's contributions. Sirius had leapt to his feet to run out of the room and search out his godson at one point, but had reluctantly stayed after the twins told him that Charlie had taken Harry to Romania with him.

"I suppose that's the best place for him at the moment," Sirius admitted tiredly, not sounding at all pleased about the assessment. "I guess it's better for them that they can get this all out in the open now though, I had wondered how long it would take them to admit to it."

"You knew, and you didn't say anything?" Lupin asked, turning to his friend incredulously.

"I…suspected. Neither of them said anything though, so it wasn't really my place."

"You turn into a werewolf for one night and suddenly you've missed all the action," Remus said, pouting back into the pillows most uncharacteristically.

"Do you think…" Fred began uncertainly.

"…that Harry and Charlie…"

"…like each other?"

"Like, like each other?" They finished together. Sirius smirked at them and slowly the look shifted over to the rest of the men in the room as well.

"Oh, things just got so much more interesting," Lupin said through his grin.

"I know that look; reckon it's time for some good old-fashioned maurauder mischief, Moony?" Sirius asked, lighting up with excitement.

"Funny you should ask, Padfoot…"

"You're the Maruauders?!"

XxXxXxXxX

Charlie only set Harry down when absolutely necessary the entire trip back to the reserve. When he did, he kept his arms supportively around the smaller boy's shoulders, whether they were stepping through a floo or jumping between apparition points. It wasn't until they appeared at the edge of the wards that Charlie actually separated himself fully from the young man in order to charm the wards to let him enter with a guest. A faint glowing appeared, and Charlie took Harry's elbow and gently pulled him through, before gathering the boy in his arms and apparating them one last time so they now stood in the middle of his small cabin.

Somewhere in the back of Charlie's mind he knew that he was being over-protective, but watching Harry fight so fiercely, for Charlie, had melted the very last of his barriers away. No one willingly placed themselves between Molly Weasley and her target when she had herself wound up for a good shouting match. Harry had, though, and the brave little Gryffindor had even outed himself, however unintentionally, all while trying to defend Charlie.

When he had seen that Ron was about to hit Harry, he had jumped to protect the young man without even pausing to think first. His gut had twisted funny, feeling the sharp crack and warm flow of blood left by his own brother, but he was almost too busy feeling relieved that Harry hadn't been hurt to really dwell on it.

Charlie didn't have the words to describe how he was feeling. Neither wizard had spoken during the trip back to Romania, Charlie sure that the younger man was just as distracted by the day's revelations as he was. What did it mean now that he knew Harry shared his preferences? What could it mean? Just because the boy was gay did not mean he had any feelings for Charlie, and besides; Harry was only fourteen. Charlie shouldn't be trying to tie him down, he should be helping him discover his own sexuality and choose his own partner. The thought of Harry with anyone else physically hurt, but what right did he have to interfere?

He felt Harry shiver slightly in his arms as the adrenaline finally wore off, and he was suddenly slightly embarrassed by his actions over the last hour.

"Merlin Harry, I'm sorry. I asked you to bond with me so that I could stop people from making decisions about your life for you, and now I am doing the exact same thing." Harry blinked at him in bewilderment for a moment, then managed a small, tired smile.

"I would have told you if I didn't want to leave. I'm actually really glad you got me away from there… thank you."

"I know what we have isn't exactly a typical bond, but I am here for you if you need me. Or, you know, if you ever want to talk… about things…" Charlie rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably and Harry blushed brightly, knowing the red-head was referring to his emotional announcement.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before we bonded, I know I should have." Charlie couldn't help but smile at Harry's guilty admission.

"Not any more than I should have, Harry. You weren't the only one who came out today, remember?" He had to work very hard to ignore the strong stirrings of interest he felt when Harry peeked up at him through his long bangs, before tipping his head down once more, cheeks blushing even brighter due to his bashfulness.

"So you really are gay then?"

"As a rainbow," he answered confidently, and was glad to see Harry flash a bright smile in return. Here it was so much easier to feel sure of who he was. After coming out explosively to Bill years before, he had slowly begun sharing his secret with first şef and then other dragon tamers on the reserve. By now, Charlie was comfortably out at work and even had a group of friends who would switch off going to straight and gay muggle clubs with him on their nights off.

While Charlie was reminiscing, Harry was lost in his own musings. Charlie was gay. Charlie had married him, a man, and he didn't seem at all upset that Harry was gay as well and hadn't told him. Charlie had called him 'my bondmate' back at headquarters, and then literally carried Harry away from the pressure and judgment of their friends and family. Harry knew that he had nothing to offer Charlie romantically; he was just a kid with a propensity for near death experiences. Maybe, though, he and Charlie had a chance at building a family together, however strange that family may be.

Charlie saw Harry biting his lip nervously out of the corner of his eye and realized that they had been standing in silence for several moments. He quickly pulled himself from his thoughts and focused back on the young man in front of him.

"Right, if you're going to be staying here we need to introduce you to şef and possibly link your magical signature into the wards so you would be able to get in without me if you needed to. Bill's linked in, as he's my emergency contact person. It's unusual for handlers to link in more than one person besides themselves, but as you're my bondmate and not yet seventeen, this isn't exactly a usual situation."

"Şef?" Harry asked, trying to desperately not to appear as clueless as he felt. Charlie though just smiled.

"Sorry, my bad; I need to slow down. Petru Mateche is the one in charge of the reserve. Most people call him şef, it's a sign of respect. The ward around the reserve only allows a witch or wizard to enter if they are linked into the wards, arrive via an emergency portkey forged within the wards, or are brought in as a guest, as you were earlier. The problem with either of those last two, is that the second you step foot past the wards you are trapped on the outside. Dragon taming isn't exactly the safest occupation, so everyone has to designate an emergency contact person. They are given the coordinates of the reserve and linked in. That way, if something happens, they can get here and make emergency medical decisions. This is almost always a close family member or, if the tamer is bonded, their bondmate. We're bonded, so the natural course of action would be to take Bill off and put you in. Since you're not of age yet, though, you can't actually make medical decisions for either of us. That's why I'm hoping şef will make an exception and link you in."

"You're going to tell your boss we're bondmates?" Harry sounded equal parts impressed and terrified, and Charlie couldn't help but chuckle.

"When you live and work with the same small group of people in an extremely dangerous atmosphere like this, there isn't really room for lies and secrets. We put our lives in each other's hands all the time; when I say I trust these guys, I literally mean with my life." Harry thought this over for a few minutes, then squared his shoulders and nodded.

"Alright, let's go talk to him then." Charlie almost hesitated, knowing that Harry was still a little weak after yet another feat of wandless magic. He seemed determined, though, and it really did need to get taken care of as soon as possible.

"I'm trusting you to tell me if you get too tired and need lie down. Don't you dare pass out on me again, Potter." His tone was serious, but his eyes were playful, and Harry took it as the concern it was rather than a threat of any kind.

"I'll tell you." Charlie searched his eyes for any sign that he was on the verge of collapse, then finally nodded in acceptance and led Harry out the front door. He froze abruptly seeing Norbert not ten feet away from the hut, old instincts kicking in, but after only a momentary hesitation he continued walking past the dragon.

Charlie suddenly became aware of emotions that did not seem to fit his current state. There was the sense that something pleasantly unexpected had just happened, followed by concern, and then a hint of indulgence. He was about to tell Harry he thought he may be feeling unwell when he realized the other man's footsteps had grown still behind him and Harry's voice drifted towards him.

"What is it Norbert? Didn't expect to see me back so soon? No, I don't think that's all it is, huh buddy. Merlin, I've always been able to feel your magic, but never like this. It feels like if I just looked hard enough and long enough I could actually see the magic radiating off of you. I wonder if that has to do with getting my full powers. Everything feels different since then, more alive… I probably sound daft, don't I?" Charlie turned slowly, watching as his bondmate ran his hands lovingly down Norbert's neck as he spoke. He took a deep breath, trying to relax and clear his mind. As he did, the emotions grew stronger and he realized in astonishment that what he was feeling could fit between Harry's words like missing puzzle pieces to his conversation with the young dragon.

"Harry, what… what's going on?" Harry's head snapped up at the timid quality to Charlie's voice, and he gasped just as a brush of something smug touched his mind.

"You can feel it now too!" It wasn't a question, so Charlie didn't try to answer.

"This is what you meant, when you said you could sense emotions… ideas… this is what you were talking about?" Harry nodded, looking between Norbert and Charlie as a sense of patience slipped in to mix with the growing hauteur.

"But you said Norbert has always been strange, so it's not a big deal if…" he trailed off at Charlie's guilty grimace, and the flutter of annoyance that joined the previous emotions. "…It has nothing to do with Norbert, does it?"

"I doubt it," Charlie admitted softly.

"So then—" He stopped suddenly, Norbert having risen to his feet and nudged Harry ahead with his snout. Harry allowed himself to be guided forward until he was right in front of Charlie. Then there was a scaly wing lifting his wand hand, and Charlie mirrored his gasp at the warm flutter of pure power that brushed his skin where it made contact with the smooth scales. Norbert was doing the same to Charlie with his other wing, and suddenly their wand hands bumped together, palms coming to rest against each other.

"The bond," both men whispered, looking up into each other's eyes. Charlie shook himself out of the moment a minute later.

"Life is never boring with you, is it?"