Games Are Afoot Chapter 22
Charlie
Disclaimer: The characters belong to JKR, so if you recognize it it's hers. The rest of the story is from my own feeble imagination.
Author's Note: The song lyrics used here are from Foreigner, Waiting For A Girl Like You.
It was pouring down rain and the fog was so thick that Charlie could barely see his hand in front of his face. He had been working with Matilda for hours and he was chilled to the bone. He fought the shiver that was slowly working its way up his back. He chuckled as he thought that maybe Matiilda's fire had been extinguished as a snort of steam escaped her nose.
Matilda was getting old and so laying her eggs was taking more of a toll on her. So, he turned his wand on himself and tried another warming charm. The drying charm would be useless at this point because he didn't think his wand could hold all the water that filled his boots.
"Hey Charlie!" Royce called.
"Yeah?" He bellowed back.
"Here she goes!"
Charlie moved out of range just in time. In a brilliant shower of sparks, Matilda laid her egg. Then she lay down and whimpered. Whimpering is not a good sound for a dragon. She seemed weak and Charlie was worried.
"How's the egg?" Charlie yelled toward Royce.
"So far it looks okay, but it's shell is a little thin. I think we might have to take this one."
Charlie swore. Taking an egg from its mother was never pleasant as anyone who saw or participated in the Triwizard Tournament could attest to. His small consolation was that Matilda was in such a weakened condition; maybe she wouldn't put up much of a fight.
"What's your plan, Royce?" Charlie called while moving slowly in front of the weary dragon to assess her reflexes.
"If you can distract her, I can grab it. I am pretty close."
"I'm worried about Matilda. She's not responding like normal. I think they pushed her one too many."
"Me too mate. Me too." Royce's voice was filled with sadness and resignation. Charlie could imagine the expression on his friend of five years face. His own most likely mirrored it. Charlie moved cautiously toward the dragon.
"She is not even flinching." He said slowly in order to avoid startling her. He chuckled to himself as a vision of Hermione flitted through his mind with her elegant finger attached to a very white, marble like quill. A small snort of fire quickly returned his attention to the task at hand. Matilda's eyes were open and she was getting suspicious. Charlie talked to her keeping her eyes focused on him. It wouldn't do to call out to Royce, because if he was close enough to the egg, the sound of his voice responding could startle her into squishing it or releasing an adrenaline rush would could propel a blast of fire far enough to reach him. If only she would crawl forward just slightly. She didn't appear to have the strength to fly.
He didn't need to worry. All his caution was blown when a very sudden and very loud clap of thunder ripped and rolled its way through the sky. Matilda flopped in shock at the sudden noise, Royce grabbed the egg and Charlie barely escaped a brilliant arc of fire. He was sure the hair on his wand arm was singed.
"Oi, Charlie, I got it mate. Let's get this one to the hatchery. It's real thin and I don't know how fast our new little baby is going to get cold." Royce said with tenderness. Royce was a rugged bloke. He was short and stocky but extraordinarily fierce. Only those who knew him well knew how tender he was with the eggs and babies. He could frighten the most hardened of wizards with his temper, but Charlie had seen him cry at egg hatchings.
Charlie backed slowly away from Matilda. "I'll waltz with you later, Matilda. Get some rest. You did great." He could have sworn she winked at him before she rested her massive head on her out stretched legs. Charlie reached the exit of the enclosure at the same time as Royce. As he got his first glimpse of the egg, he was startled. It was the usual red and shimmering gold, but this shell was also virtually transparent. He hoped the newborn survived. It was cold and even warming charms couldn't adequately substitute for a mother's warmth. But even as he thought this, he knew that if they hadn't taken the egg, it would not have lasted. The shell was too thin and it would have been crushed.
Charlie let Royce take the egg to the hatchery and made his way to his tent. It wasn't anything grand, but he had finally moved up to a two bedroom. The living area included a fireplace and open kitchen that was the perfect size for a bachelor. He had a well stocked, if small library in the spare room. He had discovered an old plushy arm chair that reclined at a used furniture place in the village nearby and he had transfigured it to be over sized and, of course, crimson in color. In the living room, he had an extra long and extra wide sofa that he often slept on in front of the fire. His bedroom was his sanctuary. The dark walnut four poster was king size. He had been shocked the first time he had seen it. It was so big. He loved getting lost in it. It was soft yet firm and he always felt immediate relief to his sore aching muscles when he would lie down. He often wondered if it were charmed.
He took a long hot shower trying to get rid of the chill that had set in. He felt as weary as Matilda. In the month since his return, he had only heard from Hermione once. He had sent her three letters, but she hadn't answered any of them. He was worried. He was so worried that he had written to his mum asking if they had heard from any of them. The news was full of the changes at Hogwarts and the Umbridge woman seemed hell bent on taking over. What amazed him was that the ministry appeared to be encouraging it. Fudge was an idiot.
Charlie got out of the shower and put on warm socks and a thick jumper. He ate his dinner in front of the fire wondering what Hermione might be doing right now. Probably in the common room harping at the boys to do their homework. Maybe she was in the library in the dragon section. He had written to her about the small couch that he had convinced Madame Pince to put back there for more comfortable reading. That woman had always liked him. Once again his thoughts drifted to his lack of correspondence from his favorite bookworm.
Charlie wondered what he could do to reach her. He knew flooing was out as Hagrid had let him know all fires were being watched and he didn't fancy having an audience for a private floo. Hagrid! Charlie sat up knocking his plate to the floor. Why didn't he think of that before! Hagrid had set up a private owl service through Hogsmeade. He could send a letter to her through him, and maybe, just maybe he could be sure she got it.
The tiredness that plagued him fled his body as he scrambled to find a parchment and quill. He found some in the top drawer in the desk in the library and sat in his favorite armchair to write his letter. The wizarding wireless was playing quietly in the background. Again his thoughts drifted back to Hermione and how it felt to have her in his arms dancing the night he had returned to Romania. The words of the song they had swayed to were burned into his mind. At least the chorus was.
I've been waiting for a girl like you to come into my life. I've been waiting for a girl like you, your loving will survive. I've been waiting for someone new to make me feel alive. Yeah, waiting for a girl like you to come into my life.
He realized he had been waiting his whole life to meet someone like Hermione. She was smart and funny and clever and really made him feel as if her were suddenly alive in a way he hadn't even realized he was missing. He refocused on his letter.
HI Bookworm,
I haven't been sure that you are getting my letters so I am going to try to get this to you through Hagrid. By the time you get it, it will probably be Valentine's Day and I do hope you will be my Valentine. Make sure you check the back of the letter for your surprise.
So far, I have only received one letter. I don't know what happened to the letters you sent previous to that one. But you are right, I think owl post is being hijacked at some point and searched. Next thing you know, they'll be openly reading all in going and out going post.
I really miss you. I find myself having images of you pop into my mind at times. Just today when I was with Matilda, I was thinking of waltzing with you. She finally laid her egg, but it wasn't as healthy as we would have liked so we had to take it to the hatchery. She hardly even put up a fuss; I am very worried about her. This one seems to have taken a much bigger toll on her and she isn't bouncing back the way she has before. But then again, she's quite a bit older than most of our mums.
How is school going? Staying out of trouble I trust? Wink. Smile. I know how clever you are. It's really frustrating trying to talk through letters I don't know for sure that you are getting.
Mum said that she finally heard from Ginny and that so far things are tense, but stable. I cannot believe how the ministry is supporting that woman. I bet McGonagall keeps her in check. But I would worry about Flitwick too if I were her. There's a lot of wizard in that little man. One time I remember we had double charms with the Ravenclaws. By the time we were in fifth year, a fair few of them had gotten cocky over their perceived brilliance. One guy in particular, thought he knew more than Flitwick and began to challenge anything he said. So, Flitwick, completely calmly, asked him to demonstrate how he thought it should be properly done. The pompous git stood in front of that class for half an hour waving his wand and having NOTHING happen. What he didn't see was Flitwick silently performing the countercharm behind him the entire time. Ha Ha Ha Ha. I don't think he raised his hand again the rest of the year.
I love how Flitwick just calmly takes care of a problem. I try to remember that with the dragons. Speaking of which, I forgot to tell you about Matilda's egg. It was translucent it was so thin. You can see the shadow of the baby inside. I bet with the light behind it, I'll be able to see more detail, but for now, I get to rest.
The weather has been dreadful. Reminds me of that storm we had over the summer that triggered our game of Sardines. I have been meaning to ask you since then, how long have you known about the nook at the top of the stairs at the Burrow? That used to be my hiding spot. I would sneak up there to dream about dragons or to slip outside for a nighttime fly on my broom.
Please know that I think of you often and hope O.W.L. prep is going well. By the way, what is S.P.E.W.? Fred said I should be sure to ask.
Take care of yourself, Happy Valentine's Day!
--Your Dragon Tamer.
Just as Charlie finished sealing the parchment, a wet muddy body burst into his tent.
"Charlie! Matilda's down! We need ya, mate!" Royce hollered as he ran back out into the now dark stormy night. Charlie sighed wearily and put on his boots and coat. He grabbed his wand and dashed to the enclosure.
When he arrived, he saw why Royce sounded so panicked. There, lying in a puddle of mud, lay Matilda. Her eyes were shut and her scales were so pale that she looked like a ghost. He joined several of the other handlers at the gate.
"What do they think?" Charlie quietly asked Royce.
"It doesn't look good. They want to prepare to harvest just in case she goes south fast."
Charlie shook his head. Matilda had been the first dragon he ever worked with. She was very special to him. They got the okay to enter and slowly made their way towards her with wands drawn. Just because a dragon was down didn't mean it couldn't put up a fight. They created a circle around her and gradually closed it in until they were all close enough to touch her. She hadn't budged an inch. Charlie reached out and felt the scale closest to him, which was on the back of her head. Matilda sighed causing a couple of handlers to jump back in surprise. Charlie kept stroking her scale. Her head sunk lower.
It was the end. Matilda couldn't last. Charlie's heart was breaking but he just kept petting her. The others, realizing that his touch was soothing her, began the harvesting process. Charlie spoke low calming words in her ear as the others worked. The final harvest wouldn't happen until after, but for now they were scraping scales and trimming talons. She never moved. With a final snort of steam, she was gone.
The enclosure was filled with silence except for the steady downpour of rain. The handlers were grateful for the wet so as better to hide their tears at the loss of one of their favorite fireballs.
It took all night, but they wanted Matilda's memory to live on through her contributions. Charlie harvested the heart strings personally. She had been so old that her heart was huge and she had more strings than he had ever seen. He almost felt stupid for how many tears he seemed to be shedding, but he realized that he loved this dragon. He would really miss such a great lady.
As he finished up, he plucked one of her scales and tucked it in his robe pocket.
"Goodbye Matilda. You will always be for me what a dragon truly is." He whispered fondly as he left the enclosure. He wandered toward the hatchery to check on her egg. The potions had helped to strengthen the shell, but he was right. With the light behind it, you could see the distinctive outline of the baby inside. Charlie had the desire to tell this egg all about its mum. He didn't dare do it out loud for fear of the razzing he would get, but he sat next to the egg thinking about everything he wished he could say and just watched over it until morning.