Charlie Weasley, the second son, has no name printed on his back. His mother weeps when he is born, and his father shudders. Only people who live long enough to meet their soulmate get one in the first place. They don't care if he never marries or gives them a single grandbaby, but in these days, a name on your baby's back is very reassuring. The only reassurance, really.
Molly fears for her little boy, who is both brave and kind hearted, just the kind of child to be lured into a werewolf's den if he was told the wolf was injured. She loves her children, and doesn't want the war to make them hard, but the war isn't ending and softness gets people killed. That doesn't mean she can bring herself to stop him from bringing home every hurt kitten and gnome that crosses his path. She lets her second son be soft, though it makes her heart tremble.
He grows up chasing after Bill, stockier than his lean big brother. Sometimes he wears a dress, but mostly he wears sturdy overalls. Charlie gets a baby brother when he is five and told that he must be his protector, and Charlie agrees. Big brothers have an awfully big responsibility. More siblings arrive, all with markings on their backs that Charlie doesn't have, and he's the only one in their whole family without a mate or mates.
He rides in the same compartment as Bill and a girl who can turn her hair different colors. The hat barely settles on his head before declaring him a lion.
Quidditch is exciting and flying is fantastic. Charlie takes the classes he needs, excels in what he needs, keeps his nose clean and waits. He doesn't have a mate. His life starts when he wants it too.
No one really gets the dragon thing. Sure kids all think they're cool when they're little, but a teenager who wants to not just study them but work with them is odd to see. Dragon handling is hard work for poor pay.
He doesn't really get why anyone would think they aren't beautiful, but then again he doesn't really get like half of human interaction. What was the big deal about dating and soulmates?
Tonks shows him how to do makeup and tells him that the boy she's got on her back has the most ridiculous name on the planet. Makeup is fun to do, and much more practical than dresses. Charlie takes to doing an eyeliner charm every morning and no one says a thing. Who would dare, with Tonks at his side and the Gryffindor quidditch team at his back and Percy a ruthless teacher's pet?
He takes off right after graduation, his Mum crying over it and his Dad telling him to write often. Charlie was hardly the first Weasley to leave home and go far.
The dragons are wonderful and he measures his labor in shiny scars and bite marks that he won't tell his mother about.
He stays as long as he can, but England can't contain the war for long and he goes home when his Dad's injured.
Charlie grew up in a world at war and now it seems that their supposed peace was only a brief reprise, like the eye of the storm. His big brother's got scars on his face that Charlie couldn't stop and Percy is gone, an ambitious traitor that Charlie was supposed to be looking out for. The twins have each other but they're light hearted and unforgettably not on the winning side in and Charlie worries for them. Ron's right at the center and he doesn't have a prophesy or a stunning intellect to keep him safe, just his heart and his will. Ginny's made herself into a soldier, a lieutenant waiting for the battlefield to make itself known. She'd been waiting for that fight since she was eleven.
Charlie plants his feet firmly and holds on.