Hello everyone! I just wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone who read the first chapter of this story! I really appreciate it :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any characters and places associated with the story. I'm only responsible for my original character Alice Reed.

Chapter 2

A few hours later, Alice and Charlie were startled awake by loud frantic knocking on the door. Charlie stumbled out of his bedroom and swung the door open.

"The horntail got out." The man at the door said frantically before rushing over to the next hut.

Charlie closed the door and ran into his room, quickly getting dressed.

"Charlie? What's going on?" Alice asked as she pulled on her jacket.

"The Hungarian horntail that we have here got out of its enclosure. That means all hands-on deck." Charlie explained as they walked out of the hut. "She's one of the most vicious dragons we've ever had at the sanctuary."

The pair didn't have to walk far before they saw the commotion. The giant Hungarian horntail had somehow managed to get out of the enclosure and was now making her way through the rest of the sanctuary. She was spitting fire at everything in her path and she was swiping her claws and tail at the witches and wizards who were trying to contain her. The horntail blew fire in their direction. Charlie quickly grabbed Alice by the waist and pulled her behind the nearest building.

Charlie had Alice pressed up against the wall, shielding her from the flames with his body. Thankfully the building protected them so neither of them were burned. "Alice, you shouldn't have followed me. This is too dangerous."

Alice rolled her eyes. "I get the killing curse flung at me nearly every week. I think I can handle a dragon. And it's not like it's just the two of us against this thing. There's plenty of other people around too."

"Exactly, there's other people around, people who are trained for situations like this. Please stay back, I don't want you getting hurt."

"Alright, fine. I'll stay here and I won't move unless absolutely necessary. Now go help them." Alice pushed him towards his coworkers who were trying to subdue the dragon.

For a while, Alice did as she promised. She stayed behind the building, a safe distance from the dragon. However, at one point, the dragon swiped at one of the wizards injuring him badly. Charlie turned to help the man. What he didn't realize was that the dragon had turned to face them, fully intending to roast them to a crisp. Alice saw what was about to happen and she decided she couldn't sit back and watch any longer. She ran out from her safe hideaway and threw up a shield charm just in time, saving Charlie and the man from being burned.

Charlie's eyes widened when he saw her. "Alice! What are you doing?"

"Saving your life. No need to thank me." Alice grunted as she dived out of the way to avoid the dragons tail. She turned back to where Charlie was with his injured coworker. "Get him out of here before he bleeds to death!"

Alice could feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins just as it did when she was out in the field working on a case. She threw stunning charms at the dragon just like all the others working to subdue the creature.

It took Alice and about twenty other people including Charlie to subdue the dragon and get her back into her own enclosure. By the end of it both Alice and Charlie were covered in sweat and soot. They were both exhausted by the time they got back to Charlie's hut. When they got inside Alice plopped down in the chair she had occupied earlier. Charlie rummaged through some cupboards before pulling out a bottle of fire whiskey and two glasses. He poured the brown liquid in both glasses and handed one to Alice who took it gratefully. She took a sip letting the burn of the alcohol soothe her.

After a few minutes of silence Alice spoke. "Is this what your job is usually like?"

Charlie chucked and shook his head. "Surprisingly, things like this rarely happen. I know my mother believes that this is what my job is like all the time but it's not. We usually spend our days taking care of the dragons and trying to train or rehabilitate them depending on why they were brought here. In all my years of working here only five dragons have escaped their enclosures. This was definitely the most vicious. You handled yourself really well out there. Especially for someone who's never worked with dragons before." Charlie praised.

"Keeping cool under pressure is part of my job. If I'm chasing after someone or in a fight I can't let my nerves slip at all. If I do I could get killed."

Charlie shook his head in disbelief. "I still can't believe that you became an Auror and that you work in the dark wizards division no less."

Alice shrugged. She was proud of what she had accomplished with her work so far but she never did any of it for praise or to prove that she could do it. She simply wanted to help make the world a better place. When Alice told him this, Charlie chuckled.

"You really haven't changed that much, still as humble as ever."

"What? Did you expect me to change?" Alice questioned.

"Part of me thought I would never see you again. And if we were to meet again this is definitely not the circumstance I would have expected."

"That's fair." Alice said as she tried to stifle a yawn.

"We should probably get cleaned up and go back to bed." Charlie suggested after seeing Alice yawn.

"You're probably right." Alice agreed as another yawn threatened to spill from her mouth. They each took a turn in the bathroom to clean up and soon they were both back in their respective beds and sleeping soundly.

Charlie spent the next day figuring out how to get his position covered for the time he would be away. This left Alice on her own. She was allowed to wander around the sanctuary as long as she promised not to get too close to the dragon enclosures.

At one point Alice was walking among the enclosures and she saw Charlie working with one of the dragons. She stood off to the side watching him work. He was standing in front of the dragon talking to it gently. He would occasionally point to a spot in the enclosure and the dragon would mosey over before looking at Charlie expectantly, to which Charlie would respond by giving the dragon a hunk of meat. Not long after he saw Alice out of the corner of his eye.

"Do you want to meet him?" Charlie asked her while walking closer to her.

"Meet him? I thought I was told to stay away from the dragons." Alice questioned but she couldn't help the excitement that began to rush through her at the thought of being near a dragon again.

"I think you should be fine if you're with me. Come on." Charlie waved her over.

Alice walked deeper into the enclosure and stopped by Charlie.

The dragon seemed to be intrigued by the newcomer. He started creeping closer slowly, as if he were a cat.

"Alice this is Alwyn, he's one of our common welsh greens. I've been working on rehabilitating and training him since he was brought here three months ago because of a broken leg." Charlie explained before turning to speak to Alwyn. "Alwyn, I've brought someone for you to meet today. This is my friend Alice."

Alwyn cocked his head to the side his big eyes gazing at her.

Charlie looked between the two to make sure there was no tension especially coming from Alwyn. When he saw none, he spoke again. "Would you want to touch him? He's the definition of gentle giant."

Alice glanced at him to see if he was being serious. He was, so she nodded.

"Okay, put your hand out and walk slowly towards him. Make sure not to break eye contact."

"Okay." Alice breathed out before she started moving toward the dragon. She looked deep into the large eye that was facing her. There was a kindness within it. Once she got close enough the slowly placed her hand on his snout. Alwyn breathed out hot air before nuzzling into her touch. The move made Alice smile. "Hello, Alwyn. It's very nice to meet you." Alwyn nuzzled into her again.

Charlie chuckled and came up next to her, also rubbing Alwyn's snout. "He likes you."

Alice looked up at him, a look of wonder in her eyes. "I can see why you love this so much. Even though dragons can be dangerous they can clearly be kind and curious too. This is amazing."

Charlie smiled. "I'm glad you understand. Not many people in my life do. As you know, my mum hates my job and she thinks it's too dangerous, and most of my siblings and friends from Hogwarts just think its cool that I work with dragons. They don't understand my love for these creatures." Charlie looked at Alwyn fondly.

"You're going to miss them, aren't you?" Alice asked.

A sad look came across Charlie's face for a moment before he looked at Alice. "I definitely will but I'm leaving for a good cause. And it's not like I'm leaving forever. I'll be back here as soon as I can."

Alice nodded her head in understanding. "Speaking of leaving, do you know when you'll be set to go? I sent an owl to Headquarters this morning to let them know you agreed and that you're tying up some loose ends over here but we should get going soon, I know Dumbledore has some assignments for us."

"I was able to get a lot of things settled today. I just have to talk to whoever will be continuing with Alwyn's training so we should be able to leave this evening."

"Okay. I'll leave you to it then. It was nice meeting you Alwyn." Alice rubbed Alwyn's snout once more before moving to leave the enclosure. "I'll be waiting in your hut."

"Sure. I'll see you later." Charlie acknowledged her without looking away from the dragon.

Alice took her time walking back to Charlie's hut. She let herself enjoy these last few moments for freedom before she would have to go back to London and continue her work for the Order and the Auror office.