The Devil in Me

Blood in the Water

A/N: For this chapter, we switch to the perspective of the Prewett branch of the Weasley family, for context (and family drama).

The chapter title comes from the song:

Blood/Water by grandson.

MEANWHILE ON

"Keeping Up With the Prewett-Weasley's."

2nd August 1997.

The air in the Burrow should have been carefree, happy even. Bill had gotten married the previous day. He and Fleur were packing up, ready to disappear to France for a week to celebrate and relax.

However, in light of the newspaper report that morning, the air was anything but light or happy. Fred and George were whispering together in the living room, no doubt planning their escape from the family home now that the wedding was over, as per Bill's terms. Ron and Ginny were playing wizards chess on the other side of the room, utterly oblivious to the twins and their mother's discontent. Hermione was trying her best to stay out of it, her nose buried in a book as usual.

Charlie was outside feeding the chickens, and Bill had just made himself a cup of coffee when all hell kicked off. His parents were standing close together in the kitchen; they whispered and glanced at each other with concern every few minutes. Bill felt a tight knot form in his stomach; he knew why. He knew what would happen next.

"What's up, Dad?" Bill asked, managing to keep his voice neutral and calm.

"The Ministry has fallen," Arthur said, loud enough for everyone else to hear.

This news drew the other kids in from the living room, "What?" Fred asked.

"Yeah, I couldn't 'ear you," George said, pointing at his bandaged head.

Molly didn't smile at George's joke; she didn't even look Fred in the eye. She hadn't been able to ever since the Battle of Privet Drive. Charlie slipped into the kitchen from the garden and looked around warily.

Arthur sighed and put the newspaper down, "Scrimgeour is dead, Pius Thicknesse has been named as Minister for Magic in his place. More news is to follow, according to the vague report in the prophet."

The room was silent. The Ministry had fallen, that was a massive blow for them and an enormous gain for Voldemort.

"Is Percy alright?" Ginny asked.

All eyes turned to look at the youngest member of the family. How was it that she was the only one to think of Percy?

Molly's eyes filled with tears, "I don't know. They didn't name the dead but…"

"He'll be fine," Bill said firmly, his eyes meeting Charlie's as he stood by the back door, "He'll probably go along with Voldemort's regime and use it to get the promotion he's always wanted."

Nobody argued, because deep down they knew that it was true.

"The Death Eaters attacked several order safe houses last night," Arthur said, and Bill's heart began to pound so hard he thought it might burst out of his chest, "Daedalus Diggle wasn't at home, but somebody burned his house down. Elphias Doge is missing, and someone burned his house down too. They attacked the Tonks's house, Ted was forced to go on the run for resisting arrest and Andromeda was tortured, but she's alive."

Molly looked around the room, "But they didn't attack us, and surely they know that this is the new headquarters for the Order?"

"Maybe they have more common curtsey than we think," George joked, "Decided it was bad form to attack a bloke on his wedding day?"

Fleur crossed her arms from where she was standing by the door into the hall, "That is not funny, George."

Molly crossed her arms too, "Fleur is right, there is nothing funny about this. We were the only household not to be touched."

"That's not entirely true," Arthur cut in, "They didn't attack Kingsley or any of the Jones residences."

"Or Remus," Ron added.

"Remus has no permanent address, they wouldn't have been able to find him," Bill said offhandedly.

"And they couldn't attack McGonagall which is good," Charlie said thoughtfully, "Means they haven't got Hogwarts yet."

Arthur nodded, "I think even Voldemort knows that attacking the Jones family is a bad idea. They are the largest and oldest wizarding family in Wales; they have huge respect. I suspect Voldemort wants them on his side."

"And Kingsley's wife was a Jones," Molly pointed out, "So we are the exception here."

"Why wouldn't they attack us?" Ron asked with a frown, "If they knew the address, that would cancel the protections on the house, wouldn't it?"

"Yes, it would," Molly said, "Which means that someone made a deal."

"A what?" Fred scoffed, "With Voldemort? Mum, are you for real?"

Molly glared at him; it was the first time she had looked at him since Greyback had bitten him, "How else do you explain the fact we were untouched? I wouldn't put it past your father to make a deal to ensure the wedding went smoothly."

"Me?" Arthur asked in disbelief, "You are the ambitious one who has always wanted to better this family. It's more likely that you made a deal."

"I would never make a deal!" Molly snapped, "He murdered my brothers!"

The room went deathly quiet for a moment until Ron broke it with a stupid comment, "It was Percy, obviously."

Hermione frowned, "Percy? Why would you automatically assume that it was Percy? Working for the Ministry doesn't automatically make him a Death Eater."

"Oh, I suppose you know who it is then, Hermione?" Ginny asked irritably, "You with your big brain?"

"Leave Hermione out of this," Fred said, "She doesn't want to be dragged into this any more than Fleur does."

Ron scoffed, "Yeah? How do we know it wasn't you who sold us out, Hermione? Everyone knows about your stupid crush on Harry. You'd follow him anywhere."

Hermione's eyes glinted dangerously, and her right hand twitched as she fought the urge to grab her wand, "Fuck you, Ronald," she hissed.

Fred and George shared an amused look. Neither of them had ever heard perfect Hermione Granger curse before.

Hermione took a step towards Ron, "I would follow Harry almost anywhere but not after he lied to me and shut me out. You are the weak link in the trio, the Pettigrew who would do whatever it took to get out of Harry's shadow."

Ron reached for his wand, but George grabbed him and yanked it out of his hand.

"She's right," He said, "I think it was you too."

"So do I," Fred echoed.

Before Ron could fly off the handle, George turned to the family's youngest member, "Who do you think it was, Ginny?"

Ginny bit her lip and looked up, "It's obvious, isn't it? Charlie."

"What?" Charlie barked.

Bill looked at their little sister in disbelief.

"You only care about Bill!" Ginny snapped, "He's the only one of us who you have ever cared about. You would do anything to protect him. You never came home to visit us, but you went to Egypt to visit Bill, and he was always in Romania with you."

"Did it ever cross your mind that I didn't come home to visit you because none of you bothered visiting me?" Charlie asked angrily, "Bill was the only one who made a damn effort, so I returned the favour. But you lot? You just made jokes about how I'd run away to Romania, how I liked dragons more than humans and do you know what? I do! You don't get this drama with dragons, if there's a weak link in the family group the others kill it and eat it."

"See?" Ginny exclaimed, "He's talking about killing us, it's obviously him!"

"Oh for fuck sakes, Ginny!" Charlie yelled, "You're nearly 16, grow the fuck up!"

"Charlie!" Molly cut in, "Don't you dare talk to your sister like that."

"I can't talk to her like that, but you're going to just stand there and let her accuse me of being a fucking Death Eater?" Charlie fumed.

"You are a grown man, you know better," Arthur pointed out.

Charlie scoffed, "Poor little Gin, right? Poor little stupid Ginny that spoke to a cursed book and let Voldemort possess her. Why is no one asking if it's Ginny? She's lovesick enough for Harry to follow him to the dark side!"

Bill felt sick. He caught Fleur's eye across the room, and she gave him a small nod.

"Enough!" Bill roared.

The outburst of anger made the windows rattle. It extinguished all of the candles, and they all felt the wave of magic that came from Bill. It shocked them all into silence.

"It was me!" Bill confessed, "I made the deal, I ensured the wedding would be protected, and as of the August moon, I will be a Death Eater."

The room remained silent. Molly looked at her firstborn in horror, and everyone else looked at Bill in disbelief.

"I didn't make a deal with Voldemort. I made it with Harry-"

"That fucking bastard," Ron began to say.

"Shut up, Ron!" Bill snapped, the windows rattling again.

Ron shut his mouth straight away.

"I did it for my family. I did it for my wife and the babies we're going to be having in six months. I did it because the world they are trying to make is a better one and I don't expect most of you to understand that but-" he looked at the twins, "I think some of you believe that too and I know that one of you does," his eyes fell on Charlie.

Charlie shook his head, "Bill-"

"It's done, Charlie," Bill ground out, "I made the Unbreakable Vow. If I don't take the mark on the August moon, I die, and I'll be damned if I don't get to meet my twin children."

Molly shook her head, "No, Bill. We can find a way around this, if Harry were to die that would break the connection-"

"Nobody is killing Harry to save me," Bill said firmly, "Fleur and I made the decision together; there's no going back now."

Molly shot Fleur a vindictive look, "So it's her fault? Of course, it is, I knew she was bad news from the moment you told me about her-"

"Shut up," Bill said, his voice low, quiet and dangerous.

"She has never been good enough for you," He continued, pointing at his mother, his blue eyes boring into hers.

"Her father is in line to be the next French Minister, and her grandmother is in control of the French Veelas. Fleur's French family have done nothing but shun her for marrying a lowly English blood traitor, but she doesn't care because she loves me so if you say one word about her, one word mum¸ I will walk out of that door and I will never come back."

"Good," Molly spat vindictively, "I don't want you too."

Bill pushed off the counter and looked at his wife, "We're going."

Fleur nodded and crossed the kitchen to join him. She took his outstretched hand and shot a hateful look at Molly as Bill pulled her towards the door.

"Bill," Arthur said, his voice harsh and rough with emotion.

Bill opened the door and nudged Fleur out of it. Then he turned to look at his father, "What?"

"Congratulations," Arthur said as tears rolled down his cheeks, "About my grandchildren."

"Thanks, Dad," Bill said, his voice a little quieter and softer than it had been for a while. He looked at his siblings, "The light isn't what it seems, and I hope you all realise that before it's too late."

He looked directly at Charlie, his eyes meeting his brother's identical blue ones, "You know where I am if you have any doubts and I…Merlin, Charlie, I hope you can see that I'm right because if I lose you," he shook his head.

Charlie cleared his throat, "You won't lose me, Bill. I just can't follow you blindly into this one. I need to make my own decision."

Bill gave him a terse nod, "I'm doing this for my family, but you know that I love you, right?"

"I know," Charlie said quietly, "And I feel the same, I just…I can't go with you."

Bill nodded one last time and left the kitchen, shutting the door with more force than he needed to.

"Disown him," Molly demand.

Arthur baulked, "What? No."

"I won't have a Death Eater in my family!" Molly seethed.

Arthur shook his head in disbelief, "We already have one in our family, Molly! Charlus is with Voldemort, not as a Death Eater but certainly, as a supporter and his eldest son, Samson, I know he's a Death Eater. I recognised him in the Battle of Privet Drive, for all we know his younger son Humphrey might be too."

"That's not our family," Molly said stiffly.

"No, he's my brother," Arthur said sternly, "And I won't disown my son for choosing to believe in something different than us."

Fred got to his feet, "If you did that, you'd have to disown me too. What's worse, Mum? Having a Death Eater for a son or having a werewolf for one?"

Molly swallowed and looked at him, "This was not your choice, Fred. Bill made a choice."

"Yeah, and if I were him, I'd have made the same damn one!" Fred snapped, "But I won't have a choice, will I? I'll never have a choice, not in what I do for a job, or in whether I have a family. Every single choice I ever had is gone apart from this one."

Molly looked up in surprise as Fred grabbed a bag and slung it over his shoulder, "I choose to leave, and I hope to hell I never have to come back. Kindly go fuck yourself, Mum."

George gripped his shoulder and grabbed his bag, "I'll come with you."

Hermione watched them walk to the door, a thought building with every step that they took. She wanted to ask, but it was bold, bolder than even she liked to be. When the twins reached the back door, Hermione jolted forward, "Can I come with you?"

Fred turned around and looked at her, incredulously, "No, of course you can't."

George nudged him, "Oi, don't say that."

"I'm a werewolf," Fred said bitterly, "You can't come with us. I won't put you in danger."

Hermione raised an eyebrow at them, "And do either of you know how to brew wolfsbane?"

From the imperceptible shift in his gaze; Fred must have answered George's unasked question.

Hermione smirked, "Didn't think so," she said, picking up a small, beaded bag.

"Might want to bring something more than a clutch," George joked.

"Expansion charm," Hermione remarked matter of factly, "Aren't you meant to be the smart ones?"

Fred grinned, the first genuine smile that anyone had seen on his face since the attack, "Yeah, apparently so. Come on then, princess."

Arthur looked at his wife in disbelief, "You aren't even going to try and stop them?"

Molly said nothing.

"She doesn't want us here, Dad," Fred said, meeting his eye, "And we don't want to be here. We'll be fine; we'll look after ourselves."

"And we'll look after Hermione," George added.

Ron shook his head in disbelief, "You're not seriously going with them? What about what we need to do?"

"I guess you'll have to do it on your own," Hermione said, her eyes flashing, "Good luck with that."

"You can't tell Fred and George about the secret!" Ron hissed.

"Oh because Harry has kept it all to himself?" Hermione shrieked, "He will have told Voldemort by now so what's the point? Wherever they were, Voldemort will have retrieved them by now, and you and I will be at the top of his hit list because Harry will have told him that we're the only two people alive who know. Do you think I'm going to saddle Fred and George with that? I would never put a price tag on their heads!"

"But you would run off with them? You hardly bloody know them!"

"I know them well enough, and right now, I fancy my chances with them more than I do with you," her last word dripped with venom.

Ron uttered a curse word under his breath, and Hermione stalked out of the house, Fred and George following her without another word.

Charlie threw down the newspaper in his hand, "I'm going back to Romania. You carry on ripping this family apart piece by piece though, Mum."

Molly opened her mouth to object, but Charlie grabbed his rucksack and stormed out, slamming the door harder than Bill had on his way out.

Arthur shook his head and looked at his wife with more anger than Ron or Ginny had ever seen on his face, "You did this, Molly," he said quietly before slipping out of the back door in the direction of his workshop.

ROMANIA

2nd August 1997

Charlie had barely gotten back to Romania when he was ambushed in his cabin. He had gotten in, punched a hole in the wall and gone for a long shower with the heat up as hot as he could take it. When he stepped out of the bathroom with only a towel around his waist and his wand on the other side of the room, he froze.

Something felt off, a shift in the wards, a new scent in the air. Working with dragons had made him cautious; it had honed his senses. He held his hand out and said, "Accio Wand!"

The wand flew into his hand, but before he had a chance to use it, strong arms gripped him from behind, and a familiar voice murmured, "Expelliarmus."

Charlie sighed, "Felix."

"Long time, no see," Felix said, letting go of the redhead and taking a step back, "How are things? How is the family?"

Charlie narrowed his eyes at Felix, "Are you under the imperius curse?"

Felix stepped into the dim light so that Charlie could look into his eyes for the tell-tale signs of mind-control. He saw nothing amiss, but he couldn't draw his eyes away from those deep, enticing brown eyes either. Felix smirked, he knew that look in Charlie's eyes well, he knew what followed it.

Charlie grabbed his left arm and yanked the sleeve of his robe up. He looked down at the flesh there and let out a breath that he hadn't realised he was holding when he saw that it was clear. He dropped Felix's arm and looked at him again, his eyes glinting playfully.

Felix's eyes flashed mischievously in response, so Charlie grabbed the taller man and kissed him hard. Felix returned the kiss with just as much enthusiasm; it was messy and quick. Charlie shrugged Felix's robes off, they fumbled with the buttons on each other's trousers, pushing them off and stepping out of them as Charlie shoved Felix back onto the bed.

Felix caught himself with remarkable grace, and Charlie loomed over him, his breath was shallow as his eyes raked over the other man's chest. His lips found a deep, red scar and Felix breathed in sharply.

"Charlie," He hissed as the redheaded man pressed his hard cock against Felix's, "Don't be a tease; it doesn't suit you."

Charlie laughed, it was a low rumble in his throat, "New scar," he said, his breath hot against Felix's flesh.

Felix's eyes fluttered shut as Charlie's mouth moved lower, "Got on the wrong side of a Peruvian Vipertooth. They have sharp," he groaned softly when Charlie took his cock in his mouth, "-claws."

He felt Charlie chuckle around his cock and a ripple of pleasure shot through him. Charlie summoned his wand silently and used speechless magic to cast a lubrication charm. Felix knew it was coming, but he still hissed involuntarily when Charlie slipped a thick, calloused finger into his arse. His back arched, lifting off of the bed, pushing into Charlie and the redheaded man hummed appreciatively on his cock.

"Fuck," Felix hissed, reaching down and tangling his hand in Charlie's thick, red hair, "It's been years Charlie, I've not seen you in years."

Charlie slipped a second finger in, and Felix let out a guttural moan, "Seriously, I've not had sex this good in years so would you quit teasing already?"

At this, Charlie pulled his mouth off of Felix's cock with a soft pop and replaced his fingers with the head of his cock, "The dragon trainers in Peru aren't as good as me then?" he asked with a grin.

Felix let out a shaky groan as he pressed himself against Charlie, "Nobody is as good as you."

Charlie's grin widened, and he leant down to kiss Felix again. It wasn't as hard or rough this time; there was a certain fondness to it. Felix broke the kiss when Charlie slid into him, he threw his head back against the pillows and gritted his teeth to avoid crying out Charlie's name too loudly.

"Fuck," He hissed. He and Charlie always had fun when they met up, but with years in-between their meetings, Felix always forgot how thick Charlie was and how much it burned when he slid into him the way he did. Charlie didn't believe in easing; he thrust in and didn't give Felix a chance to recover.

The redhead grabbed Felix by the back of the neck and pulled him up to kiss him. He kissed him hard again, with more desperation than he had before and as he kissed him, he thrust into him as hard as he dared.

"Fuck, Charlie," Felix moaned when Charlie released him. He reached down to grab his cock, which was slick with precum and made a quiet complaint about how he used to be able to last longer than this.

Charlie chuckled lowly and accused the older man of getting slow in his old age – never mind that Felix was Bill's age, therefore only a couple of years older than Charlie.

Felix didn't have much time to contemplate that. Charlie had been with him enough times to know how to get him over the age, and in general, Charlie was an excellent lover. It was why Felix always made sure to corner him at any international event that they both had to attend. The hot hotel sex was what made the political shit bearable.

Charlie pulled out slowly then thrust back in hard, and Felix threw his head back, crying out Charlie's name as he came, strings of cum coating his hand and his muscular stomach. Charlie wasn't far behind him; he made a guttural sound, born out of a feral need when Felix's arse tightened around his cock and minutes later he pulled out and spilt his cum on the older man's stomach.

Felix mumbled a weak, "Scourgify," and Charlie collapsed next to him on the single bed.

"Fuck, I needed that," Charlie said, letting out a content sigh, "I nearly killed my bitch of a mother today."

"I buried my father a few days ago," Felix said, rolling onto his side to look at Charlie.

"Sorry," Charlie said sheepishly, "I…I didn't know."

Felix sighed, "He was killed at the Battle of Privet Drive, by Kingsley Shacklebolt I think. I…I nearly didn't go to his funeral, didn't want to be near You-Know-Who."

"Call him by his real name," Charlie said irritably, "His name is-"

Felix slapped his hand over Charlie's mouth, "Don't. Your cousin is very close to developing an ancient form of magic for him. If it works, it will turn his name into a taboo; it will alert the caster of the spell every time someone says his name."

"To weed out the Order," Charlie realised, "The people brave enough to say his name."

Felix nodded.

"And how do you know that?" Charlie asked sceptically.

"Because Death Eaters surrounded me at my fathers funeral," Felix said with a sigh, "And one of them was very convincing."

"No," Charlie said quietly, "No, Felix, not you as well."

Felix's deep brown eyes looked at Charlie apologetically, "They aren't the bad guys, Char-"

"Don't call me that," Charlie snapped, standing up and pulling on a thin, dressing gown, "The only two people who I let call me that have both just told me that they're joining him!"

"Well, don't you think that we both have reasons for doing so?" Felix asked, pushing himself up in Charlie's bed, "You're acting like a blind Gryffindor right now!"

"Unlike like you and Bill," Charlie seethed, "You're acting like cowards, picking the side you think is going to win."

"I don't think they're going to win, Charlie," Felix said, standing up and pulling on his trousers, "I know they're going to win. I've seen their power, I've seen their numbers, they have the Ministry, they'll have Hogwarts by the end of the month, mark my words."

Charlie shook his head and pushed open the window of his cabin. He leant against the ledge, breathing in the warm air and shutting his eyes, "Where did it all go so wrong? When did we start losing?"

"When even the golden boy realised that the light side wasn't what it claimed to be," Felix said, he took a step closer to Charlie but didn't dare to touch him, "Harry joining the Dark Lord, that turned the tide."

Charlie sighed but said nothing.

"Look," Felix said softly, "Why does it matter what side we're on? I care about dragons, the only human I give a rats arse about is you, and what does that say about me? You're just a guy I hook up with every once in a while."

"No Felix, we're friends," Charlie said, leaning out of the window, his eyes on a sizeable Hungarian horntail flying freely in the distance.

Felix took another step and pressed himself against Charlie. The redheaded man sighed, a little more softly this time and relaxed into the taller man.

"It doesn't matter who's in government or whose in control," Felix murmured, "All that matters are the dragons and what if this regime was going to be a damn sight better to them than the old one?"

Charlie laughed humourlessly, "Yeah because Lord – You Know Who – is so considerate to beings he considers lesser, right?"

"He's not an idiot, Char," Felix said, his lips against Charlie's neck, "He's incredibly intelligent, he knows dragons aren't beneath us, he knows how important they are. More to the point, he realises that Muggles are the reason they are going extinct."

Charlie remained silent, but leant back, pressing himself against Felix.

"Your brother joined up to protect his family, and because he has seen what Muggles have done to sacred magical places – tombs, stone circles, you name it, they have defiled it. He's a powerful wizard, just like you," Felix punctuated this with a kiss against Charlie's shoulder blade and the redhead let a soft sigh.

"He can see what Muggles are doing to us, that they are engendering our magic. It has to stop Charlie; we need to protect ourselves; we can't keep running away and hiding underground like this."

Charlie swallowed and looked at the soaring dragon in the sky, "How does this help the dragons?"

"They are going to clear a group of islands and set up a reserve to breed what's left of the British dragons," Felix promised, "We can look after dragons in our own country, we don't have to spread ourselves across the globe to do the job that we love."

"And what's the price, Felix?" Charlie asked, turning around in Felix's arms, "Our souls?"

Felix shook his head, "We need to get marked, but we don't need to kill. The sacrifice at initiation is a Muggle, but we could have our dragons do the deed for us."

Charlie frowned at that.

"And after that, we are dragon riders," Felix said, his eyes searching Charlie's, "No killing, I made that one of my conditions. We hunt, we do aerial surveillance, but we don't kill."

Charlie's eyes met Felix's, "Dragon riders?" he breathed.

Felix's eyes lit up, "Dragon riders, Char. You and me, a couple of dragons and the open sky. Fuck, Char, is there any way to be more free?"

"Good Godric," Charlie muttered, resting his head against Felix's shoulder, "That's tempting."

"So do it," Felix said, his fingers finding Charlie's chin, Felix forced him to look up, "You've never gotten on with your mother, and we both know Bill is your favourite sibling so what's holding you back?"

Charlie knew the answer was his moral compass, but he didn't want to verbalise that. He loved dragons, and Felix was one of his favourite humans – Bill was the other but being his brother, he didn't have the same kind of fun with him that he had with Felix. What was better than being around the two people he loved and a creature he treated like a child?

"I could pick any dragon?" Charlie asked.

"Any dragon," Felix said with a nod, "I picked Lennox, she's outside."

"You flew here?" Charlie asked in surprise, he walked away from Felix and opened the door, "And you left her outside? Hello sweetheart."

The Peruvian Vipertooth outside bowed its head, and Charlie held his hand out, gently stroking its snout. He sighed contently; the dragon was copper-coloured with deep red wings. It was a good deal smaller than the dragons that Charlie tended to work with.

"What, you wanted me to bring her inside?"

"Course," Charlie said, "You'll be hungry, won't you Lennox? And there's a warm fire in here."

The dragon stepped forward, it was about fifteen feet long, but its looks could be deceiving because it was one of the fastest dragons known to wizard-kind and its venomous fangs could kill a human in ten seconds flat.

Felix chuckled, "Come on in then, girl."

The dragon came into the house and curled up contently in front of the fire. Charlie shut the door and smiled, "That's better, isn't it? Horrible Felix leaving you out there on your own," he reached into a sack by the door and threw a dead rat her way. It was a feeble snack, but it would keep her hunger at bay.

"I've been with her all day," Felix said, gripping Charlie's hand and pulling him towards the bed, "It was you I needed to see."

"Was the sex part of the deal?"

"No," Felix said, mouthing a kiss against Charlie's chest, "But you're more receptive to bad news when you're sated."

Charlie laughed and looked over at the open window; the horntail was still flying around in the distance.

"So," Felix said, his voice wavering for the first time, "Are you in?"

"I'm in," Charlie said, tearing his eyes away from the window to look at Lennox, "But I'm bringing Sarris."

Felix's eyebrows shot up, "Sarris?"

"Yeah, she's an albino," Charlie agreed, "But that stunted her growth. She's got all the viciousness of a horntail, all the beauty and grace, just at half the size."

Felix hummed against his neck, and the sensation sent a shiver down Charlie's spine, "True. A fully grown horntail would scare the shit out of Lennox. Sarris only has what, 10 foot on her?"

"Give or take," Charlie said, "And being white, she'll blend into the dull, grey British skies like a dream."

Felix nodded and moved to straddle him, "Then it's settled. I'll stay here with you until the August moon. We'll make sure that Lennox and Sarris are prepared, physically and mentally, then we will go to the marking ceremony."

"Just you, me and Bill," Charlie said, rolling his tongue and clicking it thoughtfully.

"Are you going to tell him?"

Charlie shook his head, "Nah, I think distance is probably what we need right now. I'm interested that you're staying though. The best part of two weeks here with me, bit relationshippy, isn't it?"

"Honestly? I don't give a fuck," Felix said bluntly, "I've got no family that I care about left and you…you're the only one who gets it, the love of dragons over humans."

Charlie nodded, "Yeah, you're the only one who gets it too, Felix," he said, his voice softer than usual, "I wouldn't hate it if you stayed."

Felix smiled, "Good because I wasn't planning on giving you a choice, you know?"

Charlie nudged him, nearly knocking him off the bed, "Sneaky shit of a Slytherin."

"Impulsive arse of a Gryffindor," Felix shot back playfully.

* TBC *