Author's Note: For Sam, an only slightly belated birthday fic. Enjoy, love!
Thanks to Bex for betaing :)
Also written for:
Hogwarts Auction 2021. Prompt: "Even miracles need a little help."
what's been missing
3,317 words
The Burrow is painfully quiet as Charlie steps out of the fireplace. It's midday on a Sunday, and as such he expects the old house to be as loud and chaotic as his youth with so many nieces and nephews able to fill it.
It takes him fifteen minutes to search the place from top to bottom, never thinking to check outside until all the rooms have been searched, at which point he heads to the back door. He spots his aging parents easily against the backdrop of the snowy garden, both of them bundled in worn winter gear and a substantial amount of knitted accessories, seemingly tending to some shrubs.
Charlie considers going out to check on them but quickly thinks better of it. Romania is certainly colder, but he's already spent enough of his week in the snow. Instead, he lights the kitchen fire and starts busying himself with making a steaming pot of tea for their return, already preparing himself for his mum's reaction to his arrival.
Sure enough, a shriek and a clatter accompanies Charlie's pouring of the tea. Prepared as he is, he manages not to spill any, carefully setting the teapot down before he turns to the door. His mum frantically steps around the basket she dropped in her shock, rushing to envelop him in a hug as his dad is left to pick up the small grey berries that have apparently escaped in the fall.
"This is such a nice surprise, dear. When did you get here?"
"Not long ago. I didn't want to bother you in the garden. But I made tea!"
"Oh, my frostberries!" Suddenly remembering her basket, she lets go of Charlie and rushes back, only to find Arthur has already picked everything up and now holds her basket with one of his own.
"Frostberries?" Charlie inquires, coming closer to inspect the lumpy grey balls, no bigger than a pearl.
"Your mother discovered them growing on the new bushes we put in over the summer," Arthur explains, setting the baskets down on the counter. "The berries only grow in the winter."
"I've taken to baking them into pies, and it seems to be a new family favorite. I need to make another up for a competition this Friday." She ushers Charlie to a seat around the dining table and quickly discards her winter gear as she speaks. "Now, come, tell us everything."
"Yes, what's happened?" Arthur asks, joining her in shedding his outer layers.
Charlie looks down into his teacup thoughtfully, shrugged. "Oh. Well. There's not really much to tell."
"That can't be true. We're lucky to see you once a year normally, and now you're here, what? Two months after your last visit?" Arthur says.
"Yes, that's right, he was here for Christmas."
Charlie scowls into his cup and takes a sip to delay the conversation. He had hoped they would be more taken with his sudden visitation than to launch right into the reason for it, but he supposes there's no getting around it now.
"There was an accident at work — everyone's fine," he's quick to assure them. "But Florin decided I should take some time off."
Molly gasps dramatically. "You've been fired?"
"No, Mum. It's a prolonged health leave. I'm a bit banged up is all, and it might take a couple weeks for the bruises to fade. Once they do, I can go back on duty."
Molly doesn't seem convinced, but Charlie thinks there's not much that could ever convince her that dragon handling isn't as dangerous as she thinks. He'd be perfectly fine if the new recruits had been on time for feedings.
"Well, we're glad to have you home, no matter how long you're here," his dad says with a smile. "We should invite everyone over for a celebratory dinner tonight, have the whole family together again."
Charlie hums at the thought. "I don't know, Dad, it's last-minute. I don't want anyone to have to cancel their plans."
It's getting harder and harder to get the whole family together in one place, as Bill has been telling him in their frequent letters. It seems there's always one or two missing members—namely Charlie, as it has become increasingly difficult to get away from the reserve. At least seven handlers have retired in the past year, and they aren't anywhere near that amount in new hopefuls. They really can't afford to lose him for even one day let alone a few weeks.
"I think I'll send them letters, maybe come around for tea over the week," he says and takes another sip. "Oh, I guess I should ask, is it alright if I stay here while I'm in the country?"
"Of course, dear. You're always welcome," Molly says."
"Good. I've already put my bags in my old room."
Molly swats his arm playfully, then rushes off to fetch some ink and parchment for his letters. He writes quick notes as his parents busy themselves with cleaning the frostberries and measuring ingredients for another pie.
He goes through his siblings in order, spending a few moments each one as he takes breaks for tea and some chocolate biscuits his mum brings him. He's just finishing with Ginny's when Bill's reply arrives, inviting Charlie over for dinner that night. So begins a frustrating hour of back-and-forth writing as Charlie sets up dates to dine with each branch of the family.
:-:
His visit to Percy's home the second night of Charlie's holiday goes as he expects for the most part. Percy greets him and offers him a drink when he steps through the fire. As soon as he disappears into the kitchen to fetch a couple beers, Charlie is tackled to the ground by two small girls in sparkly dresses.
"Uncle Charlie! Can we play dragons?" Little Molly wonders, having wrapped herself around one of his legs.
"Dwagons!" Lucy mimics as Charlie easily lifts the toddler in the air. His back protests only a little at the exertion.
Percy and Audrey emerge from the kitchen then, bringing plates to the table. Percy rolls his eyes at his children's antics.
"Girls, get off your uncle. It's time for dinner."
"Maybe later," Charlie mutters to Molly as they make their way to the table with Lucy now perched on his shoulders.
They pass by the front door, where a suitcase sits, full and waiting.
"Are you guys going away?" Charlie asks, dropping Lucy into her chair and motioning back to the foyer.
"Just Audrey. She's heading out tomorrow morning."
The brunette nodded, adjusting her purple-tinted glasses. "Yes, my brother's expecting a baby any day now. He's not a big fan of magic-"
"Blasphemy," Charlie says, scandalized.
"I agree, but I refuse to miss out on meeting my nephew, so I'm leaving Percy and the girls at home." Charlie catches the worried glance she sends in her husband's direction while he's busy ladeling pasta onto his plate. "He's assured me everything will be fine while I'm away."
Noticing the shift in conversation, Percy rolls his eyes. "Everything will be fine. I just have to ask Mum if she can take Lucy to her healer's appointment on Friday."
"Not going to happen, she has a pie competition that day," Charlie told them. "But, lucky for you, your older and wiser brother has arrived to save the day."
Percy hesitated. "I don't want to inconvenience you…"
"You wouldn't be, I'm offering! I'd be happy to take my favorite nieces to the healer."
Molly pauses in the middle of chewing a mouthful of spaghetti to smile at Charlie. "We're your favorites?"
"Of course you are! Just don't tell your cousins," he adds with a wink before turning back to her dad. "Look, you'd be doing me a favor. It's been a day and I'm already bored out of my mind at home. At least let me spend a little time with the girls."
Percy sighs, shrugging at Audrey. "I guess it's fine. I'll just need you for Friday though. They go to the Ministry daycare otherwise."
Charlie scoffs and holds his hand up. "Please, you were rather leave your children with some stranger than their own flesh and blood?"
"Miss Kelsey is weally nice," Lucy interjects, offended.
"But would you rather have Miss Kelsey, or dragons," Charlie offers.
Lucy thinks for a moment, sharing a look with her sister, before grinning at her uncle. "Dwagons."
"I don't see a problem with it," Audrey adds thoughtfully. "Better they spend time getting to know their uncle while he's here."
"Fine," Percy relents. "Be here tomorrow at eight and I'll walk you through everything before I head to work."
"Deal." Charlie grins in triumph and begins digging into his dinner at last. Belatedly, he wonders what the appointment is even for. He swallows hastily. "Is Lucy sick?"
"She had a throat infection a couple weeks ago. We just want to be sure it's safe to take her off the potions her healer prescribed."
"Easy enough. Leave it to me."
:-:
As Charlie anticipates, his days spent at Percy's go off without any trouble. Despite his infrequent visitations, he does love being an uncle, even more than he loves being a dragon handler.
The first day he babysits, he brings over a thick book he dug around in the attic to find so he can show it to the girls. It talks about dragons and has lots of pictures of the different breeds. It was the book that had piqued his interest in the creatures when he was around Molly's age, and the girls have lots of fun learning the differences between the dragons and hearing their uncle's stories of working with them.
Charlie smiles proudly as he fixes the girls' lunch while listening to Molly help her little sister try to pronounce 'viper' properly. It's the sort of thing he always expected to be doing with his own kids. But here he is, thirty-seven, unwed, childless, still chasing dragons. They're the sort of facts his mother doesn't let him easily forget when he's the only one showing up to Christmas alone these days. Even the kids have begun to notice the difference too.
"Uncle Charlie, how come you don't have kids?" Molly asks on his third day with them. It's a long answer, but she's only five, and Lucy's two, and he thinks he can get away with the bare minimum.
"I don't have anyone to have them with." He doesn't dare mention the adoption brochure he's had in his bedside drawer for years. His mum would kill him if she found out through a tattle-taling toddler.
"Why don't you get mawwied?" Lucy asks innocently.
Charlie lifts the hem of his t-shirt just enough for the girls to see the simple outline of a dragon drawn across his left ribs in black ink. The depiction lacks any real defining traits - no scales or horns, so it's hard to tell exactly what breed it's meant to be.
"Do you know what this is?" he wonders.
"Is that your soul mark?" Molly says.
"What's that?" Lucy asks, reaching out a chubby finger to trace the lines of the dragon's wings.
"It's like the writing on Mummy's and Daddy's arms."
"That's right, Molly. When a witch or wizard turns seventeen, a mark appears on their body. It can be writing, or a dot, or a picture, like mine. And somewhere in the world, there's someone else with an identical mark, and they're my soulmate. If we touched, our marks would burst into color." He runs a hand over the dark lines sadly. "But I don't know who they are."
Molly pats his arm sympathetically. "It's okay, Uncle Charlie. Even miracles take a little time. You'll find them some day."
"Maybe."
"Are you gonna marry them when you find them?" she persists, undeterred by the minor inconvenience of having to find this person.
"Maybe. Some people choose not to marry their soulmates. I won't know until I find them."
He doesn't tell them what he's come to accept since turning thirty; that his soulmate is probably dead. There's no way for him to know for sure, of course. It's not like the marks go away. But he's heard too many stories of unmatched people around his age. He can't help thinking of the war, and all of the young lives lost in it. His soulmate was probably one of them.
:-:
Friday arrives at last. Charlie eats breakfast with his folks, wishing his mum luck before they all set off. He waves goodbye to Percy, and then sits down for a lovely tea party with the girls before they have to set off for St Mungo's.
They're sent up to the second floor by the Welcome Witch, but Molly seems to know where they're going anyway, marching over to the correct door when they get off the lift. She waits patiently for Charlie and Lucy to catch up before knocking on the door.
The door opens after a moment, but to Charlie's surprise, a small child stands in the doorway. He looks to be close to Molly's age, maybe a little younger, with a mess of blond curls on his head. He wears lime green robes with the insignia of a crossed wand and bone over his chest.
"My daddy will see you now," he says with an air of authority, opening the door wide for them.
As Charlie and the girls enter, he realizes the child is a miniature copycat of the real healer waiting inside. The child quickly closes the door and hurries to his father's side, clambering up on a footstool to see over the bed.
The healer smiles fondly down at the boy before locking eyes with Charlie. "Hello, I'm Healer Malfoy. Please don't mind my assistant today. His sitter is home sick, ironically." He glances down at the clipboard in his hand. "You're not who I was expecting "
Malfoy. He's heard the name, the stories. He saw the headlines, but can't remember any faces. Never cared enough to memorize them, if he's honest. But if Audrey doesn't have any qualms with him looking at her girls, neither does Charlie.
"Uh, no. I'm Percy's brother, Charlie. Just watching the girls for a few days." Charlie carefully sets Lucy down on the bed and stretches out a hand to shake the healer's.
"Right, of course." The healer gives him a small smile and grasps his hand. It's as if Charlie's holding his hand over a flame. Heat radiates out from where their hands are joined, warming his whole arm. His fingertips begin to tingle when the healer lets go and quickly rushes on to the reason for the visit. "Well, it says here that we're taking another look at Lucy's throat."
Charlie clears his throat and tries to pretend like nothing happened. "Uh, yes. Her parents want to know if they still have to give her the potions you prescribed."
Healer Malfoy runs his wand over Lucy's form, and Charlie watches as a pulsing white light wraps itself around the girl, fading just as fast. The healer taps his wand to the clipboard and studies the results. "It seems like the infection is all cleared up. She's perfectly healthy again."
The small girl cheers and Charlie has to hurriedly return her to the floor before she tries to climb down herself. While Molly takes her sister's hand and starts leading her to the door, Charlie hesitates.
"Are you free for lunch?" he asks the healer.
"I'm afraid not," the blond denies, avoiding Charlie's gaze as he begins casting purifying charms on the exam table.
"No lunch?" his son questions, staring wide-eyed up at the healer. Charlie smirks.
"Come on, I happen to know there's a cafeteria in this place. Join us."
Malfoy squints at him. "Why? No offense, but we've just met and-"
"And you felt it too, didn't you?" He raises his hand, wiggling his fingers. "I mean, I could think of another way I'm pretty sure I could prove something happened if you didn't."
"That won't be necessary." He sighs. "Come on, Scorpius, let's go have lunch with the Weasleys."
:-:
They manage to find a table in a quiet corner of the cafeteria, though Charlie notices the stares they get from other healers across the room. He wonders if Malfoy comes down here very often, or if it's his company that's surprising.
The kids ignore the two men, as Molly makes it her mission to learn everything about the healer's child, and Lucy is easily placated by food. It gives Charlie and his apparent soulmate plenty of time to talk, if he can even get him to open up first.
"What's your name?" Charlie asks, still keeping his voice low in case the kids pick something up. "You can call me Charlie."
"Malfoy is fine," the blond says.
Charlie sighs. "Did you feel it? The warm sensation when we touched?"
Malfoy looks down at the table. "Perhaps."
"So, this is it, right? We're soulmates."
"Mr Weasley, please try not to sound so excited about this. Honestly, I would much rather we just ignore the whole thing."
"How are you so calm about this? Don't you want to know if we're…" The children's laughter cuts off Charlie's questioning. He looks over at them, at the little boy, and then back at his father. "You're married, aren't you?"
Malfoy looks at him in surprise. "No. My wife died three years ago."
"I'm sorry."
"I appreciate that." Malfoy looks over at his son sadly. "I didn't think I had a soulmate, you know.?
"Neither did I," Charlie admits. "Are you really against the idea?"
"It's not about the idea. It's a fine dream, I suppose. Who wouldn't want someone who's meant to be your perfect companion? But I can't believe it's true."
"I'd be in the same boat as you if I hadn't seen it happen for my parents, and for all my siblings. Even their dad didn't trust it," he said, nodding to his nieces. "He was perfectly fine with not meeting his soulmate, until he did meet her and they were perfect for each other."
"You think we're perfect for each other," Malfoy checked, the look on his face making it clear that he thought Charlie was insane.
"I dunno, I barely know you, but this seems to think we are." He lifted the hem of his shirt, just enough to give Malfoy a glimpse of the dragon's legs. Charlie glanced down and grinned when he saw the vibrant reds and oranges of the mark. "I've waited my whole life to see this, and I'm willing to put in a little more time and effort if it means getting to know you and your son."
"I'm surprised you're not ready to jump ship already. You know who I am."
"I do, but it's been a long time. Maybe we wouldn't have been willing to have lunch together and talk this over twelve years ago. But we didn't meet then." Something Molly said a few days ago comes back to him. "Even miracles take a little time."
Malfoy rolled his eyes at that, a smirk forming on his lips. "Am I going to have to put up with a lot of cheesy one-liners from you?"
"Probably. On the bright side, I'm only in town for about one week of the year."
"Really?"
Charlie shrugs casually. "It's something we can deal with down the line. If you give us the chance."
They fall into a mutual silence with intermittent giggles from the other end of the table. Finally, Malfoy relents.
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try, and see where this goes. My name is Draco, by the way."
Charlie grins, reaching across the table to take Draco's hand. It tingles again, but not as much as it had on their first touch. "We'll figure this out together."