Harry was gardening in the hot sun when Charlie came. It had been a week and he had all but given up. His uncle had locked Hedwig's cage so he couldn't send her to Ron to hear what, if anything, was up. Harry hadn't taken Hermione's address either, like an idiot he had thought Hedwig was all he needed. Was it 12 Crescent Drive or 24 Moon Avenue? It had something to do with a moon and hours in the day, he knew. He had thought to write to both addresses and take his chances through the post office but the awful idea that strangers might read his mail had stopped him.

Still, his summer had gone better than he feared to start with, if he did not count Hedwig being locked up—the worst thing that could happen to an owl. His aunt had a zillion tasks that she wanted Harry to do which kept him from being locked up also, and the times spent in the garden he gathered insects and mice for his snowy owl, apologising to her each time he fed her.

Ron and Hermione hadn't written to him either. He thought perhaps they were still too busy with their families and would write later; there was not a chance his best friends had forgotten him, he refused to entertain the idea, nevermind what Dudley said. A wide shadow fell over him and he set his shoulders, gripping the small trowel tight, thinking it was Dudders. Oh, not again. "What do you want?"

"Am looking for Harry Potter," a friendly voice asked. "Might I have found him?"

Heart in his throat, Harry twisted around to look up into a broad, good-natured face. With the red hair it could only be one person! "Charlie?"

"The one and only, here to save the day!" He laughed. His face was one sunburned freckle on the other and he could compete with Dudders for size, only unlike Dudley it was all muscle. Harry gaped at him. "How would you like to come spend your holiday in Romania?"

"You've come to take me away?" Harry threw the gardening tools aside and jumped up, shaking the sand off his trousers. His heart drummed an excited tattoo, and hope flared in his chest. He thought fast. "Aunt Petunia is out the back, we can sneak in and get my stuff—"

"No sneaking," Charlie said with a grin. "I'm official. Show me this aunt of yours."

His heart sank. 'Official' never took. There had been teachers and social workers before, all official in their wishes to help. He saw them once and never again. "She'll not let me go."

"Never you mind that," Charlie said, and his rough, working hand clasped Harry's shoulder, he could feel the calluses through his thin t-shirt. He pushed Harry out in front of him towards the house. "I've heard it all from Ron, I came prepared."

Charlie truly did come prepared. From his backpack he pulled a sheaf of official looking documents and set it out on the kitchen table in front of Aunt Petunia, where he had somehow charmed her into offering him a cup of tea. Harry hovered on his chair, beside Charlie, barely touching the seat from nerves, and listened agog.

"A dragon preserve…" said aunt Petunia in a faint voice, once he had finished talking, and clutched her throat. "You want my nephew to go work in a… dragon preserve for the summer?"

Harry frowned. Surely she couldn't be shocked. Maybe she was overcome with happiness at the thought of him gone? Or wait, sadness because there would be no one to do his chores. Yes, that must be it! He opened his mouth but Charlie's knee bumped his under the table.

"Yes, Mrs. Dursley," Charlie said before Harry could talk. "It's a brand new program, Harry here will be our experimental student—" he shuffled a few papers about and slid one over to her "—and you might think it's quite dangerous but I assure you, we will all be looking after the boy. Why, I have a little brother his age so I know what they can get up to! If you look there at the form I passed you, there's a place for you to sign permission." He pointed, then flipped the page to tap a second one with a thick, callused finger. "This is a life-insurance clause, covered by us, and here you'll see the amount payable to you in case of limb loss and—I assure you this had never happened in my time—loss of life."

Harry also leaned over to look and gasped with aunt Petunia over the amount. Wow. If nothing else would get them to let Harry go, it would be that. They always said he just ate up their finances and brought nothing in. It probably helped that Charlie's arm had a long shiny scar across the back, Harry was sure to lose something himself. Charlie winked at him.

"And what to we have to pay for this program?" Aunt Petunia asked.

"Pay? Well there's room and board but he will work for us so usually that would take care of half, and the parents would be responsible for the other, or if parents pay the full amount we'd be giving the students some pocket money…" Charlie paused and smiled at Harry's aunt. "None of that applies in Harry's case since this will be a trial run."

Harry thought it was a sure thing at that but to his shock Aunt Petunia said, "I'll have to talk it over with my husband."

"He'll be happy to see me go, Aunt Petunia, you know it!"

"He'll not be anything of the sort!" she snapped and he realised his mistake when a dark blush covered her cheeks. Appearances had to be kept, no matter what. He was in for a hard time if Charlie left without him, that's for sure.

"Kids." Charlie interrupted their spat with a careless shrug. "They never think we worry. Of course you need to talk it over with your husband," Charlie said with a broad smile. "Our key is booked for tonight so I'll wait for—"

"Key?" Aunt Petunia asked, looking confused, the same time as Dudders jumped out from behind the kitchen door to shout: "I want to go train dragons in Romania too! I'll be much better at it than Harry!"

The world exploded.

Well, not quite. Aunt Petunia screeched and Dudders yelled and Harry and Charlie sat back to watch them. It was not the first time Harry had seen Dudley throw a tantrum but Charlie looked fascinated. Dudders turned red, then purple, then red again trying to convince Petunia to let him go.

"You can't go, Dudley!" Harry interrupted when his shouting nearly burst their eardrums. "It's for wizards, not Muggles!"

"It's not! Dragons are for everyone!" Dudders shouted and turned to Charlie. "They are, right?! Tell them you'll let me go with you!"

And Charlie, with a weird look on his face, said, "Sure, if your mum lets you."

The world exploded a second time. This time Harry took part.

Next Ch x