The train stopped multiple times on its way across the wizarding towns of continental Europe, and Poppy found it fascinating. It was the most magical (literally) ride she'd ever been on. Being a Muggle-born, she straddled the worlds of magic and non, and she had spent too much of her life feeling like an outsider. The train reminded her that at the end of the day, no matter what certain wizarding folk said, she was a witch.
As the train sped through the countryside she stared out of the window feeling immensely happy and emotional at the thought that this was the world which she belonged in.
Her eyelids began to droop at about one in the morning, and she was woken by the cries of a baby down the carriage as the train pulled into Bucharest just six hours later.
Poppy handed her ticket to the waiting conductor and stepped out to join the long queue of international witches and wizards who were explaining their reasons for travel and what they were bringing into the country before being sent on to their final destinations.
She chose the line which had a small sign which read, English speaking, above it and explained to the tired looking wizard why she was there, handing over her documents.
As she waited she saw a witch with a suspicious looking pigeon arguing with a guard as he took it away.
After a few minutes the customs wizard handed back her papers and pointed her to another queue, this time for the Floo.
It was only when she stepped into the green flames that she felt nervous about what was coming.
"The Romanian Dragon Sanctuary," she said clearly, and then she was spinning, flying round and round through tens... hundreds of fireplaces.
She stopped suddenly and was flung forwards into a large room.
The floor and walls seemed to be made from the same dark flagstone material and Poppy recognised it as dragonstone. Makes sense, she thought.
"Bunâ, bonjour, hola, hello?" asked the witch who stood behind a large wooden desk in the corner of the room.
She looked as though she was going to continue with the international greetings, so Poppy smiled and said, "Hi, I'm looking for Charlie Weasley?"
"You're here for the interview?" the witch asked slowly.
Poppy nodded and reached into her pocket for her confirmation letter. "Yes, I'm meant to meet him here, I'm-"
"Late!" the witch said exasperatedly, shaking her head. "The exam started thirty minutes ago."
"What?" Poppy asked, running over to the large desk while the woman rustled around, pulling open drawers. "I thought it was tomorrow!"
"No, today. Your bag. Give it to me."
Poppy handed it over immediately and the witch added it to a pile behind her desk along with Poppy's coat.
"Take this," the witch said, handing over a quill, "and this," she said, rifling through a pack until she pulled out some parchment which had 'English' written on the top of it, "and this," she added a sealed stack of parchment. "The test is through that door over there. Go in quietly, sit down, and then open the question pack. No talking, no peeking, no cheating."
Poppy nodded and rushed over, opening the door as quietly as she could. There were a few spare desks towards the back of the room and as she walked over to one, she counted at least thirty other applicants. Her nerves began take over even more then – she'd thought there wouldn't be many other people vying for the role. Though maybe that was why Rahul had spent so long in replying to her application - they'd had an influx of credible candidates since his return from Hogwarts.
Sitting down, she took a few deep breaths and glanced at the clock – she really was about half an hour late according to the timings on the board at the front, and there was only about two hours left on the clock.
Opening the question pack, she saw around 25 questions and a page filled with instructions on how to answer each one. She picked up her quill to begin, but then she heard Professor McGonagall's voice in her head saying, "Read all of the questions first, and then begin," so she scanned over the instructions, pausing on number 13 which was written in incredibly small writing. She'd almost missed it, but she'd noticed there was a question missing during her count, and had to lean in close to the parchment to try and decipher the writing.
It said; Ignore all other instructions, even those below this. On your parchment write your full name, your favourite dragon and why you like it (250 words max.), and then place your head on the table and fall asleep. Wake within one minute of the end of the exam.
Poppy weighed up her options. She read the remaining questions but none of them were out of the ordinary. Knowing that there was no way she could answer all of the questions in time, she pulled out her wand, casting a spell to make her quill vibrate when the clock reached 9.59 am.
She completed her work, explaining about her experience with Hungarian Horntails and why she thought that they were strong and capable, and then she placed her head on the table. Sleep found her after around ten minutes of trying thanks to her disturbed journey, and her quill vibrated against her hand what felt like a minute later.
She sat up and blinked. What seemed like most of the entrants were staring at her, so she whispered a quick, "Sorry," and shut up her quill.
Lots of people seemed to be finished as well, but there were a few who were still scribbling on their papers. At 10 o'clock a wizard at the front summoned every scroll and handed them to the receptionist who had run in.
"Follow me," the man said to them all once he'd finished handing over the scrolls, and Poppy joined the line of applicants who were filing out of the room one by one.
They were taken down a hall into what looked like a locker room where numerous sets of dragonhide gloves, helmets, kneepads and jackets were hung from hooks. Various coloured balaclavas (the same kind Charlie had mended during the summer), trousers with large pockets sewn into the thighs, pairs of socks, and dragonhide boots were placed in piles underneath the hooks.
"Get dressed in the order you arrived," the instructor said, "select the things you think will help you."
Poppy, who was still incredibly confused and now also very groggy, watched as forty other people changed one by one (all without flashing each other luckily), throwing their choice of clothes over what they were already wearing. A few people decided against the socks, others took everything, and others seemed as though they knew what they were doing, carefully picking through the outerwear to select all of the darker dragonhide bits.
Finally, Poppy stepped forwards. The remaining clothes weren't the best, and she didn't have much to choose.
She debated putting the clothes on top of what she was wearing, but decided against it – she was warm in the room as it was, and if a dragon spat fire near her she'd be even hotter.
With a shaking hand she used her wand to swap her leggings, jumper and t-shirt out for an all-burgundy outfit of long-sleeved t-shirt, dragonhide jacket, and a pair of trousers, since Charlie had told her how he'd gone for a similar outfit on his practical and said something about camouflaging in with the dragons.
She pulled on a matching balaclava and a pair of boots, and then remembered the time that Ginny had laughed at Charlie because he'd accidentally put his socks on over his shoes during the summer – he'd rolled his eyes and told her that they all did that at the reserve to hide their footsteps from the more ferocious dragons and he'd been on Ironbelly duty all week.
So she did the same, pulling on a pair of the socks over her boots.
Lastly, she had the choice between a pair of thick, new looking dragonhide gloves, or a pair of older, thinner ones which looked worn. She picked the older ones, thinking that they might be more pliable and make it easier to handle the ropes if dragon wrangling was a requirement.
Then she stepped back and joined the line of people, ducking her head slightly when she realised that she'd chosen the brightest outfit by far.
"You," the instructor asked the first wizard who'd changed. "Why did you choose what you're wearing?"
The wizard explained, and the instructor wrote something down before he moved to the next person in line.
Poppy's mind went blank when the instructor got to her and she said her completely honest, unfiltered opinion – "I matched everything to the jacket I chose... I... I thought the dragons might think I was fire... or a baby dragon... and leave me alone..."
There were a smattering of laughs, and Poppy gulped under the instructor's gaze. She just couldn't quite remember what Charlie said the reason should be now that she was on the end of a quill and parchment.
"What species of baby dragon?" he asked, completely straight faced.
"A Chinese Fireball?" she asked quietly.
She swore under her breath. What if he'd said not to dress as a baby dragon?
"You wanted to pretend to be a baby Fireball?" he repeated loudly. Poppy pursed her lips and nodded nervously, wishing he'd just move on. The instructor wrote something down and then turned around. "Right. We'll come back after lunch and have a go at showing you the inside of an enclosure. Good job everyone. Grab a locker and get changed. Canteen's out that door, should be well signposted. You've got half an hour."
Poppy changed with a flick of her wand and hung up her new outfit in a locker, writing, P. Jacobs. onto the little nametag on the locker door.
"A baby Fireball?" a passing wizard asked, smiling. "Never heard that one before."
"Yeah, yeah," Poppy replied, walking towards the door. She headed to the canteen alone and, embarrassed still, ate alone. She looked around for Charlie but couldn't see him (probably because 'lunch' was at 11 in the morning) and so she returned to the locker room after she'd eaten, wondering how she'd managed to get so confused about the interview process.
She'd checked the letter hundreds of times so she had no idea how she'd missed the change of date or assessment requirements.
At half past eleven the rest of the applicants traipsed back in all silent, and all friendless, and Poppy smiled at a few who sent her little encouraging nods.
A door on the other side of the locker room opened and a witch stepped in, clad from head to toe in dragonhide. Poppy could see sky behind her.
"Right," the witch said, pulling up her balaclava. "The next test will tell us how you all are under pressure. Now, some people might think these tests aren't needed but trust me, this isn't a job for the faint of heart. If you want to work here you have to know what to do in an emergency and you have to be prepared.
"It is not just putting quill to parchment and watching dragons from afar. Your job is not just to protect yourself, it is to protect these beautiful creatures, and to protect your colleagues.
"Our dragons will not make your job easy. Last year we had an enclosure breach and it took us an entire night to get the dragons back into their cages ready to do repairs. And sometimes the dragons are in bad moods. You might head into an enclosure for a routine food swap and find yourself trapped and under fire from all sides. Or you might settle in for a nice evening in and suddenly you're being called to help."
Poppy took in a deep breath and nodded. She knew this well – Rahul and Charlie had warned her already that it could be all hands on deck, and she'd already been part of that deck for half a night back in November, helping to build the dragon enclosure on the edge of the forest.
"Now get back into the outfits you picked this morning and meet me outside. We will be running a simulation and then we'll take you to your bunks to get settled in before dinner."
Poppy frowned – she'd thought she'd be staying with Charlie. But as she changed, she understood – there were too many applicants. Of course there were bunks.
Looking extremely out of place in her muted but red outfit, Poppy stepped outside and lined up.
There were three dragons on alternate sides of what looked like a long lane and holes sporadically placed along the ground which looked wide enough to hold a couple of people.
"Right," said the witch, "your aim is to get across the field and over to the other side where Rohan is waiting. If you choose not to take part that's fine, but you will receive a zero for this part of the process. Rules. Do not injure the dragons. Andersson, Zepher, Xi."
Two wizards and a witch moved forwards, and when the instructor said, they began to run across the field. There was a flash of light and they reacted quickly, shooting out protective spells, and two of them slipped into a bunker. The dragon settled down and then they went again, and Poppy realised why the woman had said that they'd be going to the bunks after this exercise – it was going to take all afternoon.
At one point a wizard was engulfed in a flame and slipped into a bunker but didn't emerge again.
"We will get him later," the instructor called as the two people running with him reached the other side and passed the finish line.
Darkness fell soon enough and before Poppy knew it, it was past four in the afternoon and freezing – Poppy was happy with her choice of gloves now, as they seemed warmer than the new ones which some of the other entrants had chosen. And her decision to change into the clothes rather than layer them on top also seemed to be good – there were a few people who had already stripped off their jackets despite the weather.
"What happens if you're burnt?" a wizard near Poppy asked when there were only four people left including Poppy.
"Take a cream from the finish line and apply it generously," the instructor answered, indicating a small table at the end of the run. "Jacobs, McKinley, Magnusson and Eduardo, you are the last ones, so you will go together."
When they were allowed to go, Poppy held back for a minute, having realised that the dragons had a mini pattern in their attack. She managed to dodge the initial fire and, true to her thought process, the dragons didn't go for her. At one point she stood stock still under the gaze of one of the dragons and waited until it looked away before she continued.
When she reached the second to last bunker she noticed that the wizard who had been injured was still down there. She knew that the instructor had said that he'd be looked at after they'd all finished the course, but she couldn't just leave him...
"Are you okay?" she asked, jumping down and crouching into a squat next to him.
He shook his head and winced. "Burnt my shoulder. I can't climb out."
Poppy nodded and looked it over. The injury looked old, as if it had already been healed, but she knew it must've been the dark light tricking her. "Can I help you get out?"
"No," he said, shaking his head. "My leg hurts too so I can't climb well, and I dropped my wand."
Poppy nodded again, and noticed that his leg looked similar to his shoulder. "Wait here," she said, and she began to climb up.
She realised her mistake – that there was nowhere the man could go and so waiting there was all he could do – when the man laughed, and she grinned back at him sheepishly. "Sorry."
She reached the finish line quickly after that but instead of stepping over it she grabbed some of the creams and bandages from the table and then ran back to the bunker.
"What're you doing?" he asked, sitting up when she jumped down again. He looked as though he'd reclined to have a nap or something.
"What does it look like?" she asked.
"Why?" he asked. "You were by the finish line."
"Honestly? I don't know if you score zero if you don't finish and I'd feel bad if I left you. Call it a selfish save," she admitted.
"Uh, thanks," he said slowly.
"May I?" she asked, and he nodded. While she scooped some foul-smelling paste onto his shoulder he tended to his leg. She then bandaged him up and helped him to stand.
"Right, I'll go second. Put your foot on my hand and I'll try and help to push you up from behind, okay?" she asked.
The man frowned. "What's your name?" he asked.
"Jacobs... Poppy Jacobs."
"Huh... Thanks for the help."
They reached the finish line just a few minutes later, and Poppy grinned at the man when they did.
"Right," the instructor said, nodding to the man that Poppy had saved. "Flek, would you like to do the honours?"
"Thanks. Well done all," the man said, stepping forwards. Poppy's eyes widened, and she heard a few people groan. She joined them, feeling incredibly embarrassed now, and cringing slightly. "We'll post your scores on the twenty third when you've completed all of the tests. Head off with Instructor Dragan now, she'll show you to your bags and then your bunks."
A few of the entrants swore at themselves as they all walked down the road, heading around the large enclosure they'd just been in, all muddy and tired.
"How did you know he was the head of the programme?" one woman asked, and Poppy frowned.
"I didn't. I just wouldn't leave someone like that," she replied, still cringing.
"But they told us to get to the other side, not help people..."
"They also said we might be needed to help in an emergency, and that our job would be to protect ourselves and our colleagues," Poppy said defensively now, unsure why she was the odd one for staying back to help.
When they reached the reception area where all of their bags were, Poppy finally saw Charlie. He was standing next to a few people who she recognised from the First Task, and was speaking to a new reception wizard who was looking through a large book and shaking his head.
"Everything alright?" Instructor Dragan asked, and Charlie shook his head.
"I've been waiting on someone all day. Thought for a bit she'd decided not to come but they counted an extra bag and I've just checked it and it's hers," he replied. "But she's not signed in."
"Name?" Dragan asked, looking at her list.
Poppy shuffled towards the front of the group, feeling even more embarrassed now, though she knew the confusion wasn't all her fault.
"Poppy Jacobs," Charlie called. "Her interview's tomorrow."
Poppy, still incredibly confused, pulled off her balaclava. "I knew this was weird!"
Charlie's eyes widened and he stood up straight, asking, "What the hell are you doing with the tamer recruits?"
Poppy laughed and waved her wand, getting changed in an instant. She placed the pile of Dragonologist clothes on the reception desk.
"I got here and got shoved in there," she said, indicating the room she'd had her exam in.
"Big day," Charlie replied with a grin.
Dragan asked, "What's going on?"
"You stole my replacement," an older gent replied, laughing.
"Oh come on," Dragan complained, shaking her head. "No way. You can't take her." She turned to Poppy. "Change tracks."
"What?" Poppy asked, glancing back at the rest of the recruits who were staring at her oddly.
"Change tracks. Join our programme. Really, Charlie," Dragan said, turning to him now, "you cannot have her for desk work, I refuse. She went back for Flek for Merlin's sake."
"No one goes back for Flek," the reception wizard said in a heavily accented voice.
"Exactly. And she chose to dress like a baby dragon without prompting."
"A Fireball?" one of the other witches asked, eyeing up the burgundy clothes Poppy had set down.
Poppy nodded, feeling her cheeks heating up. "I cheated. Charlie told me some tips this summer," she half-lied. He had told her about the clothing but not the exam.
Charlie frowned but wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side. "I think my mum would kill me if I let Pops take part in any more of this. She's already annoyed that I'm trying to get her to move to somewhere so dangerous. You know Ginny will be next! Maybe next year."
"Summer intake," Dragan replied, pointing her finger at Poppy. "And give her that job," she said to the elder Wizard standing with Charlie. "She actually reads - she fell asleep in the exam."
"Merlin, you really did do well," Charlie whispered. "Right, say bye to your friends."
Poppy awkwardly waved at the other entrants who were all standing with their bags now while Charlie grabbed her backpack and slung it over his shoulder. She got a mixture of surprised looks, subtle glares, and blank faces in response.
"Please say I'm staying with you," she whispered, shooting a glance over her shoulder as Charlie pulled her back out the front door into the dark night again. "I think I'll be too embarrassed to sleep in the bunks..."
Charlie laughed. "Then you'll be very relieved to hear that you are if you still want to. I really wasn't lying, you did really well there. You really fell asleep?"
"I was tired," she replied, shrugging.
Charlie threw his head back and laughed. "Rahul will love that. Here," he said, handing her a large dragonhide jacket. She took it gratefully as her coat was now tucked into the top of her bag, and pulled it on.
"Won't you be cold?" she asked, noticing that he was only wearing a jumper and trousers now.
"Nah, our cottages aren't too far away," he said, pointing across a large field. "They're the other side of that hill. I think I could Apparate us both if you'd like? Or I could grab a broom?"
"Broom," she replied immediately. "You forget I know about your Apparition test."
Charlie rolled his eyes. "I've been Apparating for years now, but whatever. Okay, come on, shed's just up here. When's the last time you flew solo?"
"Honestly? Those fourth year Quidditch tryouts... I was too mortified to get on a broom again," she admitted. "I keep trying, and I know I need to practice but it's hard," she complained.
Charlie let out another laugh and opened the shed, pulling out a large broomstick. "I'll steal one of these then. Should fit us both and your pack," he said, passing her the broom. He tugged the other strap of her backpack onto his shoulder. "Why're you just standing there? You haven't forgotten how to mount one too, have you?"
"I'm not steering it!" she said, staring at him as if he'd grown another head.
Charlie grinned. "I've got the backpack..."
After a brief tussle which Poppy lost, she found herself in the slightly mortifying, slightly enjoyable, but overall nervous position of main flyer. He was right, she needed the practice.
She mounted the broom and felt Charlie slide on behind her, his thighs coming to rest against the outside of hers, his chest flush to her back, his arms encompassing her sides, and his hands resting on the broom just in front of her.
"Right," he said into her ear, "straight on."
Poppy frowned into the darkness, glad that it was hiding her face from view. "How will I know if I've gone too far?" she asked, conscious that you weren't meant to fly while distracted.
"I've got you," he promised with a smile in his voice.
Ten agonisingly close minutes later, Charlie helped Poppy land, and hugged her tightly from behind. "Well done," he said proudly, and Poppy tried to keep her breathing even. "Sorry, didn't realise you'd be that scared... Your heart's racing," he said, pulling back.
Poppy smiled but otherwise ducked her head and handed him the broom. He took it gratefully and tilted his head towards a row of small terraced cottages.
"Now," he said, pulling out his wand and unlocking the red front door of one of the middle houses, "normally when I have visitors I manage to get one of the bigger places for the weekend, but they're all booked up at the moment so it's a bit of a squeeze. Let me know if you'd prefer to stay with one of my female colleagues? I know a few who'd be fine with you staying for a few nights."
"That depends," Poppy said, stepping inside. "How much of a squeeze?"
She looked around, taking in the decent sized living room. It housed a sofa and an armchair, a fireplace, and a few pieces of wooden furniture. Charlie had left his boots by the door, so Poppy did the same. There were two doors leading off the room, and a set of stairs climbing upstairs.
"Living room," he replied, putting her bag down next to the armchair. He pointed at the first door. "Kitchen, then I've got a little study."
Poppy ducked her head around the door to the kitchen and found that it was a third of the size of the living room and long. It was nice and light though, and there were pots and pans hanging from the wall closest to the door, with a large oven. She thought that it looked like a mini version of his mum's kitchen, complete with a small table and chairs tucked into the corner by the door.
Next, Charlie opened the study door for her and she thanked him. This was two thirds of the size of the living room, and had space enough for a large bookcase which ran from floor to ceiling and covered the entirety of one wall. It wasn't filled completely with books – there were replica dragons, pictures of the Weasleys and of Charlie's friends, some trophies, and some other tokens placed where the books weren't.
Instead of a desk there was a single bed propped against the opposite wall, and Poppy had the impression that Charlie had swapped it out for her benefit.
"Upstairs is my bedroom and the bathroom. You can have my room and I'll take the study if you're happy with that?" he asked when she came back into the living room.
"I can't chuck you out of your room," she said, trying to hide her excitement. "I'll take the study."
"It's really no bother," he replied, smiling.
"It's really fine, I'm a guest, I'm intruding..." she said, trying to convince him.
Charlie shook his head. He was grinning now. "You being here is saving me from having to help with selection anyway. We only have one opening and all those poor sods are vying for it. Reckon they're all happy you're not taking part anymore."
Poppy took the bait. "Nah, I would've failed if I had to keep going."
"True," he replied with a cheeky smile. "Believe it or not, solo flying's a requirement."
Poppy's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. "Was I that bad?" she asked frantically. "Shit! Charlie, it's a requirement for Auror training too! D'you think I can get up to scratch in six months?! Why are you laughing at me?!" she whined when Charlie doubled over. "Was I that bad?"
"N- no," he gasped. "I don't- I don't know why it's so funny."
"It's not funny," she said, crossing her arms.
This only made Charlie laugh more and it took her multiple shoves and lots of complaining for him to stop. "It's teachable," he told her, throwing himself onto his sofa. "But you're adorable."
Poppy wrinkled her nose, and then stood in silence for a moment while she sulked and tried to think of a way to bring up that she really did want to sleep in the study.
"Ugh," Charlie groaned. "If you really want to study, it's yours. I don't get it, but have it."
Poppy grinned and squealed slightly. "You're letting me sleep in a library... What's not to love?"
"That's why you were bouncing?" he asked, laughing. "It's hardly a library, more like a glorified shelf."
"Well thank you for letting me sleep with your glorified shelf," she replied, realising how odd that sounded only after she'd said it.
Charlie chuckled. "Dinner?" he asked, clapping his hands together, and standing. "You have to give me the blow-by-blow account of your adventures. Still can't believe you just went with it all. I'd've said something."
"Yeah, well, I was expecting the interview to be something similar," she said, following him into the kitchen. She leant against the counter and sighed. "I just panicked and thought I must've read the letter wrong. The woman was so confident when she handed me the papers..."
Poppy began to give Charlie an account of the day while he cooked them pasta bolognese, and by the time she'd finished they were sitting on the sofa, bowls of warm berry strudel and cream balanced on their laps, their bellies near filled with food.
"But Dragan though? Like that's a self fulfilling prophecy, right?" she asked, scooping up some dessert and popping it into her mouth. They'd been talking about the instructor who had asked Poppy to switch her application to the dragon tamer track.
Charlie smiled and shook his head. "Her real name's Sofija Petrović but her dad's first name is Dragan and he was one of the first handlers to work on this site. She grew up here and people used to call her Little Dragan because, well, she was so much like her dad. Name stuck. She likes it though, introduces herself as it. Her dad doesn't like it since some of the guys started calling him Sofija..." he said with a laugh. "You'll be replacing him if Rahul gives it the go ahead."
"He was the old guy?"
"I'm gonna tell him you said that," Charlie teased. "Yeah. Officially retired a few years ago but no one knows their way around the books as well as him so he couldn't leave. Think he wants to go travelling while he still can."
"One of the recruits said that Flek was the head of the programme?"
Charlie laughed and shook his head. "Flek leads the training, Dragan helps but her job's more to do with the day to day running of the place. Rahul heads up non active members of the Sanctuary, then there's Acosta who runs the whole lot at the moment. There are about a hundred and fifty of us on staff at any given time but it feels like less. If someone pulls rank then it's normally due to an organisational thing, or a life and death situation. Otherwise we just pitch in where needed, care for the dragons, do our research..."
"It sounds nice," she said, smiling. "But what if I get this offer and... well, touch wood, the Auror opening."
"That's fine, Dragan knows it's a long shot," he said, smiling. "Dragan the Elder, I mean."
"Would one of the other recruits be interested?" she asked, placing her bowl down on the coffee table and sitting cross legged facing him.
Charlie shook his head. "Most people don't see the point if they can't actually work with the creatures. The pay's not as good, the hours are rigid, you spent more time indoors, and there's still a chance you'll go home with one less limb."
"You're not really selling it to me..." Poppy said with a shocked laugh.
Charlie laughed and shook his head. "I'm really not, am I? I won't say that you'll get to see me most days then. You'd probably run for the hills."
Poppy smiled and shook her head. "Now you've saved it."
She felt her heart warm when she noticed Charlie's ears turn a slightly darker pink.