Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.

Challenges listed at the bottom.

Word Count - 1125

Disease taken from A Song of Ice and Fire and changed to fit the purposes of the story.

A Comfort Shared

Theo was pottering around the little cottage he shared with his partner—he'd just put a pizza in the oven for dinner because he was feeling lazy and didn't want to cook—when the patronus arrived.

"Theo, I need you out here, I just came across a Chinese Fireball and she's injured and—"

Theo listened to Charlie's panicked rambling long enough to get his whereabouts and Apparated away from the cottage, the pizza in the oven forgotten.

…

He'd met Charlie at Hermione and Ron's wedding a few years previous.

"Can I buy you a drink?" The cheeky redhead had asked, making Theo snort.

"It's a free bar."

They'd spent hours talking that night, and when Charlie had spun Theo out onto the dancefloor, he'd felt a spark between them that had only intensified as they met for dates more and more often.

It helped, he supposed, that they both had a passion for animals. Theo had trained hard to become a magizoologist, and Charlie worked for the Dragon Reserve on the Welsh border, his passion for dragons undiminished, despite his mother begging him to move back to England following the war.

Charlie had confided in him that he still missed Romania dearly, but that in some ways, being back in his homeland was comforting. And of course, he'd settled even more when they'd bought the cottage together.

It bordered a forest, which was perfect for both of them, since they both loved being outdoors. Charlie, when he wasn't working and Theo was, often spent hours trailing through the forest, looking for creatures and just relaxing.

It worked for them, and they were happy.

…

Theo landed and looked around, noticing the humid air almost immediately. He spotted Charlie quickly, a little hard to miss when there was a dragon laid out on the forest floor beside him, it's scales gleaming in the sunlight streaming through the trees above.

"When did you find her?" he asked, stepping closer carefully. The dragon's eyes tracked him, the milky white of them eerily boring into him.

"About ten minutes before I sent you that patronus," Charlie replied, sniffing. "I have a theory… I think she has Greyscale."

Theo winced. There was no known cure for the disease, and it was fatal to dragons. Slowly, the Fireball's scales would lose their sheen and colour and would turn a dull shade of grey. Slowly, the internal organs would do the same, and eventually, the dragon would die, leaving naught but a stone statue in her place.

It was exceedingly rare, and Theo had no idea how a dragon on the British Isles could have contracted such a disease. It was usually only found in the deep rainforests of much hotter countries.

He raised his wand, keeping a careful distance between himself and the dragon. Charlie often had no self preservation when it came to dragons but Theo never forgot himself in the face of their beauty.

Dragons were and always would be dangerous, and dragons that were sick even more so.

A few diagnostic spells and Theo felt his heart sink. As he lowered his wand, he couldn't make himself look at Charlie. He'd be heartbroken, his attachment to Dragons enough that any pain caused to them hurt him personally.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," he murmured, his voice low. "You're right. She has Greyscale."

When he finally looked up, he saw that Charlie's eyes were shiny with unshed tears and he moved closer, taking Charlie's hand in his own and squeezed it comfortingly.

As though she knew something was wrong, the Fireball huffed and the two of them had to dodge the weak burst of fire that shot from her nostrils.

Charlie moved closer to her, crying silently. Theo wished he could do something, anything, to ease the pain for both of them. He hated to see Charlie upset for any reason, and seeing a creature suffering went against every instinct he had as a magizoologist.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked, voice low.

They could let it happen in the natural way, let her turn to stone, or Theo could help her along, let her die as she was. Charlie was intelligent and he knew what Theo was asking him.

"You do it," Charlie whispered.

It seemed to echo in the forest, loud to Theo's ears, and he swallowed hard because he knew how much it must have cost Charlie to say it. He nodded, and Apparated back to their cottage to get his supplies before returning to the forest.

It was getting cloudy, and with that, darker, so he had Charlie create some soft lighting. To the dragon, he administered a fatal but kind poison that would send her to sleep before attacking her heart.

As she drifted, Charlie sat down beside her, stroking her scales lightly. It was unfortunate, in a way, that Charlie had come across her. Theo hated to think of her dying alone but he knew this would affect Charlie for a while and he hated to see his partner so sad.

"Let's go home," Charlie said eventually, holding out his hand to Theo. The Apparated together, landing just outside their back door.

"I'm sorry," Theo said, pressing a kiss to the back of Charlie's shoulder blade.

They entered the kitchen and Theo gasped when he saw smoke filling the place. "Shit! I forgot I put the pizza in before I left!"

Charlie shook his head fondly as he cleared the smoke with his wand, and Theo carefully levitated the charcoal that once was pizza from the oven onto the side.

"It's fine," Charlie said, when Theo looked at him apologetically. "I'm craving chocolate and cuddles anyway."

Theo nodded. He should have expected it really. While he himself was more a savoury fan, Charlie had a massive sweet tooth, especially when he needed comfort.

"Then chocolate and cuddles you shall have."

…

Later, when they were curled on the sofa under blankets, their eyes on the fishtank in the corner where Frank, their goldfish, swam in lazy circles, Charlie pressed his lips to Theo's neck.

"Sorry about the panicked patronus call. I wish I could say that was the last time—"

"But I know you," Theo interrupted. "And you'll do it again if you need too. I don't mind, Charlie, you know that. I just… wish I could have saved her."

Sighing heavily, Charlie nodded. "I know. Next time, next time maybe it'll go better. I know it's hard for you to lose a creature too."

Theo just snuggled closer against Charlie's broad chest. Even when he'd had the worst possible day, just being this close to Charlie was enough to give him comfort.

He could only hope to always offer Charlie the same.

Written for:

Disney - C5. Someone who loves the outdoors.

Space - 12. Dragon

Book Club - Lauren - Chocolate / Pizza / Crying

Showtime - 2. "Can I buy you a drink."

Attic - 27. "I wish I could say that was the last time."

Liza Loves - 6. Wood Elf - A Forest

Arcade - Winston - Intelligent / Natural / Huffing or sniffing.

Scamander's Case - 18. Cloudy

Basement - 8. Game of Thrones - Include a dragon.

Pop Figures - Draco - 1. A slytherin / 4. Unfortunate

Mythology - 5. Echo

Around the World - 15. Wand

Funfair, North - Splash a Mod - Lo: 5. Dragon

Funfair, East - Petting Zoo - 11. Dragon - Fire / Scales / Shiny

Funfair, South - Lazy River - TheoCharlie

Days of the Year - 20. Chocolate Day - Someone craving Chocolate

Summer - 4. Humid

Colour - 3. Milk White

Element - 5. Burst

Mix it up - 4. Charlie Weasley / Emotion 2. Broken hearted

Gryffindor - 6. Charlie Weasley

365. 151. Theory