The next day, Charlie met Draco at his cottage in the morning. When Draco said he should be in the potions laboratory, Charlie said he had already ran it past Cassie. Draco had frowned and said fine and followed Charlie down the path.
Charlie brought him to meet the tamers first. The tamers centre was huge and messy. The tamers were rowdy and loud and Draco was intimidated by it. This is what he would have imagined stepping into the Gryffindor common room would have been like back at school. As if sensing his tension, Charlie placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled at Draco. They had lunch with the rowdy group of individuals. They all introduced themselves to Draco and were extremely friendly in the end. They joked about with Charlie as well, Charlie clearly knew them all well. Charlie tried to include Draco in the conversation as much as possible and Draco tried his hardest too. But Draco had never met people like this before and he thought it would take him a while to fit in.
One woman, in her thirties Draco guessed, Draco got on with immediately. Her name was Melissa. She asked if he wanted to go for a meal sometime. Draco said of course before Charlie invited himself along too. Melissa had rolled her eyes and told said if he had to. They seemed very familiar. Draco couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy.
After that, Charlie took Draco to the healers. And then to the breeders. The breeding centre was the most interesting part so far for Draco. Certain breeds of dragon didn't stay with their eggs so the breeders had to look after them instead. They tended to the eggs until they hatched and then raised them for about a year and they were ready to be released into the reserve.
"Sometimes we might need a strengthening potion. It's only once in awhile. But there can be a runt of the litter, the smaller egg," Danielle, a petite brunette trainer told Draco.
"Oh, this is a new one," Charlie said, peering over one of the gates.
Draco followed Charlie's gaze and saw a small green dragon sitting in the pen. He recognised it as a Welsh Green. He didn't know they had Welsh Greens here. Draco thought about the dragon he had seen in Hagrid's hut back in first year. Draco thought this dragon did not look that much bigger than that one so it means it couldn't be that old.
Suddenly the dragon came towards Draco, and put its forelegs up onto the gate, reaching up to Draco.
"It looks like he's taken a liking to you," Danielle said with a smile, "You can touch him if you want. His name is Hermes."
Draco reached down and Hermes nuzzled into his hand. He couldn't help but smile, and he looked up at Charlie, who was watching him with interest.
"He's beautiful," Draco whispered.
Charlie did not break his gaze and Draco became the first person to glance away.
After, Draco followed Charlie without even thinking about where they were going. He was so lost in listening to Charlie. Charlie was telling Draco about some of his experiences on the reserve. The Weasley was so animated when he spoke of his job, so passionate. He hadn't ever met anyone who loved his job so much. He admired Charlie for it. It built hope for Draco in his new job.
They reached a shed and Draco furrowed his eyebrows when he saw broomsticks lying there.
"It's the best way to see the reserve," Charlie explained, "You fly?"
Draco snorted, "Of course I fly… I haven't flown for a long time. But I can."
"When was the last time you flew?"
Draco thought for a moment and realised he couldn't even remember the last time he flew. He found the thought slightly depressing, "I don't know."
"Well, it's impossible to forget how to fly."
Draco smiled softly and picked up a broom. Charlie took one also and they headed outside.
Charlie turned back to Draco and smirked, "Try to keep up."
Draco tilted his head nonchalantly, "I'll try."
Charlie set off first and Draco took a moment to breath. He mounted the broom and zoomed off.
It was exhilarating. Draco breathed heavily as the wind rushed through his hair and he quickly began to raise further and further from the ground. He glanced around and smiled, admiring the expanses of greenery and the pale blue skies. Draco forgot how much he loved flying.
He felt young again.
"Hey! Slow down a little!"
Draco hadn't even noticed that he had overtaken Charlie. He looked back at Charlie who was grinning at him. Draco slowed down until he was flying side by side with Charlie.
They covered the whole reserve in forty minutes. They saw a dragon at a distance, resting on a cliff. Charlie said they had to keep their distance but they circled it from above. Charlie said that the dragon was a Norwegian Ridgeback and her name was Sienna.
When they land, Draco felt exhilarated and couldn't stop smiling. His hair was windswept and he couldn't stop moving.
"That was amazing," Draco said excitedly.
"You're a pretty great flier. You really don't fly regularly?" Charlie asked.
Draco's eyes were fixed on Charlie's form, his hair was ruffled in a way Draco would never have thought he would find sexy. At some point, Charlie must have rolled his sleeves up, revealing his muscular arms. Draco had to force his mouth shut, "No. I did play Quidditch in Hogwarts."
"Seeker, right? I was a seeker too. I remember Harry mentioning it, he said you gave him a run for his money."
Draco smiled ever so slightly, "He was always better."
"You should be a ranger here, I could use a partner that is an equally good flier," Charlie said cockily as he started walking side by side with Draco back to the broom shed.
Draco raised his eyebrows, "It seemed that I far surpassed you."
Charlie shoved Draco with his shoulder and they both laughed, "Shut it blondie."
"You promised."
"Okay, okay, I won't call you blondie, dragon."
~x~
Thank you JDTEA and GingerHannah for reviewing! Just a chapter to develop their characters and relationship. This isn't going to be as fast moving as Live and Let Die, it's more complicated than Albus and Scorpius' relationship and that's what I want to come across. Hope you all like this chapter! Please keep reviewing!