Dragon Man
Chapter 8 – Best of both worlds
Charlie had enjoyed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with his family. The tree, the food and the company had all been excellent as usual. He'd enjoyed spending time with his family, especially his mum, he missed her a lot. He'd even admired his dad's updated collection of electrical equipment. But used to being on the go for eighteen to twenty hours a day he was starting to fidget by Boxing Day, not least because he was missing Juliet like hell.
The children had been wonderful, and it made Charlie smile to see the looks of disapproval from their parents when they opened their presents from him. Noisy and sugar filled treats had not been popular with the parents.
"Just you bloody wait!" Bill had hissed as Victiore had opened a large box of sweets and Charlie had given the go ahead to eat as many as she wanted, and Fleur's glower got darker when the child opened a doll that was bewitched to cry and laugh, and generally make a nuisance of itself.
"Thank you Charlie" she said sardonically "One crying baby in the house is not enough?"
"I tell you, when you have kids little brother, revenge will be sweet!" Bill said.
"Charlie?!" Ginny exclaimed "Have kids, blimey is it possible to get someone that drunk without killing them? I mean he'd have to be pretty wasted to forget that he's a commitment phobe!"
"And a girlfriend might help" George chimed in.
"Wife!" countered Molly, glaring at Charlie menacingly.
"Well, as it happens I have one" Charlie grinned smugly at the assembled family.
"A wife?" Arthur choked on his mince pie, as the whole room suddenly became still, no one dare look at Molly.
Charlie entertained the idea of toying with them for a while and decided that he liked his limbs unbroken "No, a girlfriend"
"You have a girlfriend?" Molly sounded more amazed than Charlie liked, was it so shocking?
"Yes, her name is Juliet and we've been together a couple of months now" he told them.
"What's she like?" Molly asked with an edge to her voice that the Weasley wives instantly recognised.
"Wonderful" Charlie replied simply "She's the assistant matron at the reserve hospital, and I can really see this one going somewhere"
"Other than your bed?" Ron chuckled.
Charlie laughed, with more than a little conceit "There's more to life than sex"
"There is for the rest of us Charlie, but you I wasn't so sure" Bill said.
"That's enough!" Molly was looking uncomfortable with the topic of conversation. She wanted for all the world some grandchildren from Charlie, but she didn't want to think about how they arrived, not her boys….oh no. She changed the subject swiftly "So, are you Weasley men going out tonight then?"
"Oh yes" Bill smiled "The Boxing day pi…"
"William!" his mother warned, as he gave her his best innocent look.
"Knees up" he finished.
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Charlie had one arm around Bill's shoulder and the other around his brother in law's, Harry Potter. He wasn't really sure who was holding who up, but so far it had been a good night. As George, Percy, Ron and Arthur entered the next pub; Charlie held Harry and Bill back slightly, hovering by the entry to a rather dank alleyway.
"You know Harry, you have been married to my sister almost a year now" he mused, his face blank. Bill turned his face away lest Harry should see him laughing.
"I know Charlie" Harry said a little bemused "I was there"
"But I only made it in the nick of time" Charlie remembered, his grip tightened on Harry's shoulder "So I didn't get to have a little chat with you before hand"
Had his eyes not been fixed on Charlie, Harry would have noticed Bill's shoulders shaking with laughter.
"Er, Charlie really its fine!" Harry spluttered "Bill had a word, and your dad, and George, and Ron, oh and Percy. So I think they had it covered"
"Percy?" Charlie looked mildly surprised "Who knew he'd grown a pair? Anyway, back to Ginny…."
At this point Bill and Charlie both towered over Harry, blocking the exit from the alley, Harry loved the Weasley's like his own family, but the picture in front of him was intimidating none the less.
"Ginny is very" Charlie spoke quietly "very important to us. I would be…"
"We" Bill corrected.
"Sorry Bill, we, would be very disappointed if she were ever hurt or upset in any way" Charlie continued.
"I know, I mean I love Ginny…." Charlie cut Harry off mid flow.
"But not as disappointed or angry as Ginny, who is more than capable of hexing you into another dimension, so our advice…." Both brothers grinned at Harry's odd expression, a mixture of confusion and relief "Keep her happy because we've been on the receiving end of her temper before, and it is not a place you want to be if you intend of fathering children"
"You bastards!" Harry laughed outright "I really thought you were going to give me 'the talk'!"
Charlie and Bill laughed "As Charlie said, Ginny is so capable of looking after herself that we wouldn't dream of interfering!"
The three men entered the pub gently shoving and teasing each other, the drinks were already in and the party continued.
Sometime later, thinking back Charlie couldn't really remember, he cornered Harry for the second time that night.
"Hey Harry, I want to ask you something"
"Oh yeah?" Harry regarded him with some suspicion "What?"
"These telephone's, how do you use them?" he missed Harry's guarded pose.
"What? Why?" Harry was a little thrown.
"My girlfriend, she works in the hospital and she has one of them on her desk, for emergencies to contact muggles I think"
"And you want to know how it works now?" Harry didn't know Charlie that well, and he was fast getting the impression he was a little weird.
"Well, yes, so I can telephone her" Charlie explained.
"Now?" Harry frowned at him again.
"Is it so shocking that I want to speak to my girl on Christmas day? I'm far too drunk to floo, and I want to hear her voice" Charlie almost whined.
"Charlie, for one it's Boxing Day and you need a number and then she might not be there, and if she is you said it's for emergencies only, you both might get into trouble"
Charlie unfolded a worn piece of paper taken from his pocket with a grin, when Harry looked it bore a telephone number "So?" Charlie prompted.
"You need to speak to Hermione, she has a mobile" Harry decided "Oh actually so has Ron, not that he knows how it works though"
Having gotten through to a rather drunk Ron what they wanted, Harry managed to work the mobile enough to connect the call and gave Charlie the handset.
"Just speak when she answers" Harry told Charlie "Simple as that"
Charlie took the phone outside quickly, the funny noise on the end stopped and his face broke into a grin as he heard Juliet's voice.
"Reserve hospital, Assistant matron speaking" she sounded nervous he thought.
"Hey gorgeous" he grinned into the receiver "Tell me you are naked under those robes"
"Charlie?!" Juliet yelped "What are you doing?"
"I'm phoning my girlfriend on Boxing Day" he replied.
"Well, I know that" she said, smiling "But how? I mean I didn't think you even knew how a phone worked"
"I don't but that doesn't matter, I just wanted to hear your voice, are you ok?"
"I'm missing you" she said "But apart from that it's been quiet, are you having a good time?"
"It's been great but I miss you, we're all out tonight, my dad, brothers a family Boxing Day tradition, and I've told them all about you, no doubt my mum will be demanding to meet you and I thought Easter, if you can get the time off"
"Well, we can discuss that when you get back" she was a little taken aback that he'd told his family about her, but pleased, very pleased "Which is soon"
"Mmmmm" he grinned "Thank Merlin, I can't wait to see you"
"Me either" she said "It was a lovely surprise, calling me like this but if I get caught on this phone we'll both be in trouble and whoever owns that phone will curse you for running their bill up"
"I know, I'd better go get drunk some more" he paused as she laughed, very strange girlfriends weren't supposed to approve of things like that, he liked it "I hope you are behaving"
"Of course, and likewise" she said.
"I am" he confirmed "Bye babe, see you soon"
"Bye Charlie" she said with tears welling, she mustn't cry! Not until he'd got off the phone at least. She was just about to replace the handset when she heard his voice again.
"Juliet?" he sounded different, it caught her attention.
"Yes?"
"I love you" he said, she identified the difference as nervousness.
"Oh Merlin Charlie!" she did start to cry now, the hours she had put in over Christmas and missing him came out.
"I'm sorry, oh shit, don't cry" he pleaded.
"Sorry" she said as clearly as she could "You took me by surprise"
"Sorry, look forget it" he suddenly felt, and sounded sober.
"No!" she almost shouted "I won't forget it, it's the best Christmas present ever, except if you were here to tell me"
"Which I will be very soon" he promised "I meant it, I do love you"
"I love you too Charlie" she said, hearing him breathe in sharply.
"Scary isn't it?" he laughed a little.
"Yeah" she agreed "But good"
"Definitely good" he agreed "Right, well I really have to go now"
"I know, see you soon" and he was gone.
Juliet stared at the phone for a long time and then decided that she'd done enough work for now, she'd never concentrate anyway. She closed her office and went back to her cabin, for a hot bath and a glass of wine with her thoughts.
Charlie smiled as he looked at the amazing contraption that had enabled him to speak to his girl, he felt like a bit of a wimp, telling her he loved her while he was drunk and over the telephone, but it was done now, and she'd said it too. Charlie headed back inside to get really drunk and celebrate in style. He noticed the men in front of him; in dark clothes as he re entered the pub, but didn't pay much heed to them. He would regret that for a long time to come.
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