Chapter 50 – Romania

GN

I was leaning against the door as I looked inside the room Cedric and I shared for the past seven years. Blankets were pulled from the beds, closets empty, walls bare. Only two trunks were standing next to me. Another part of our lives came to end, another chapter to close. A pair of strong arms came around me and pulled me against him. Cedric kissed my neck before he leaned his head on my shoulder.

"I never seen it so empty." He whispered. "This feels like the end of something."

"I rather see it as a beginning." I smiled as I put my hands on the ones that rested on my stomach.

"You always see the bright side of things." I smiled as I leaned my head back, against his chest. "I'm so happy you're with me for the next part." He turned me around, so I was facing him. A sweet smile on his lips as he looked at me. "I'll be there for all the parts." He stroked my cheek softly before he leaned down to place a small kiss on my lips. "Ready?"

"Yes." I smiled as he grabbed both trunks. With one last look at the empty room, I followed him down the stairs. His parents were waiting for us in the kitchen, with a steaming pot of tea in front of them. "I'm going to miss you." I said as I hugged Olive tight.

"I'm going to miss you too." She kissed the top of my head. "Will you pop by before your first stop."

"We'll stop by at the end of August before we start our travels." I said as Cedric and I switched between his parents.

"Be safe, the both of you." Amos smiled as he stepped back from our hug. I felt the key chain starting to shake and turned to Cedric.

"It's time." I spoke. He gave his parents a last kiss on the cheek, and he handed me my trunk while he held his. I took the keychain out of my pocket and held it out for Cedric to take. "Thank you for everything." I said to his parents. They smiled sweetly at me, before I felt the familiar pull behind my navel, and we disappeared out of the Diggory kitchen.

GN

We landed in the small living room of Charlie and Bash's cabin. I've never been here without Charlie or Bash, so the empty cabin felt a bit eerie as we stood there. I placed my trunk on the ground and waved my wand, lighting the room and starting a small fire in the fireplace. The walls were filled with pictures. Pictures of Bash and Charlie, one of me when I was young. Pictures of Charlie with each and every one of his family. There was only one picture of our parents. I walked closer to it as I examined the photograph. It was one when we were just kids as we had a day out in the zoo. It was the last family picture we had together, I was eight years old.

"Do you miss them?" Cedric asked as he came to stand next to me.

"Yes and no." I shrugged. "I used to miss them, but I'm used to not seeing them for a while now. I'm angry they didn't take the time to come to the wedding."

"They don't know what they are missing." He said as he intertwined our fingers. "They're missing out on two of the greatest people I know." He squeezed my hand. "Let's unpack." I nodded and guided him to the spare bedroom.

GN

Cedric and I introduced ourselves at the people at the sanctuary who were expecting us, before I gave him a tour of the grounds. We passed the large enclosures where the adult dragons were being held until they were healed and ready to get back into the wild. We stayed at the baby dragon enclosure until late that night before heading back to the cabin. We were sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace, me with my back against the couch rest and my feet on Ced's lap. I was reading Charlie and Bash's itinerary and tips and tricks to work with certain dragons, while Cedric read the book from Bill about curse breaking. I glanced over the notebook to my boyfriend, a small smile tugged on my lips. The whole day was light and fun, after the tour, we made dinner together and sat together at the kitchen table as we ate. Now we were reading together in front of a roaring fire. It was rather... domestic. And I loved it. I could see us years from now, in our own house, kids cuddled with us on the couch as we read together. Cedric was holding his book in one hand while the other was placed on my calf, rubbing small circles beneath the fabric of my trousers. With the same smile I looked back down before he would notice my staring, but from the grin that appeared on his lips, I knew I was caught. But he didn't say anything, he just kept reading as he rubbed circles on my calf.

Bash and Charlie would be gone for two weeks, and Cedric and I fell into an easy and fun pattern at the reserve. We always woke up together and after breakfast, we both went our separate ways for our daily duties. I was partnered up with Dorn, a forty-nine-year-old Romanian man who worked for the reserve for over twenty-five years. He had short salt and pepper hair, laugh wrinkles around his eyes and worry wrinkles on his forehead. He was the one who had trained Charlie, and Charlie insisted he had to train me, as he was the best. Dorn was stern but funny. And by the way he treated me, I knew Bash and Charlie had spoken to him to keep me safe and let nothing happen. A little frustrating if I'm honest.

"Come on, Dorn." I whined a little. "You can't keep me behind the fence forever."

We were standing at the encloser of a two-year-old Swedish snort-snout. The dragon was at the reserve since it was just a baby. It had a large wound on one of its wings. The dragon, Leia, had it since she was rescued, and the wound didn't seem to heal properly. Leia was a playful dragon which on one side was a positive thing, but on the other... every time she did something crazy the wound opened up again.

Dorn was putting on his padding to enter the enclosure, while I needed to wait outside, to jump in only if it was needed, when I complained.

"Your brothers-" He started.

"I'm a grown woman, Dorn. How am I supposed to learn if I don't take a risk?"

"Cedric isn't working close with the large dragons." He pointed out, but he had stopped putting on the padding.

"That's because he doesn't have experience with dragons. I, on the other hand... Besides they would let me go in if they were here and you have more experience."

I saw him thinking about it, the frown and worry lines visible on his forehead before he reluctantly nodded. He started pulling off the paddings and handed it to me. I tried to hide my excitement as I focused on putting on the protection gear.

"So, try to keep your wand hidden. Dragons don't like the look of it, most of them have bad experiences with them." Dorn said as I put on the paddings for my legs. "Take this." He handed me a large lap of meat. "And this." He handed me the ointment to apply on the wing. "Do you remember how to approach her?"

"Yes. You, Charlie and Bash had drilled it into me last summer." I smiled and walked over to the large gate. I took in a deep breath as I looked between the bars.

"I'm right here." Dorn said reassuringly.

"I know. Thank you, Dorn." I smiled over my shoulder to him. Thanking him for the opportunity and for the extra protection.

I turned back to the gate and with a wave of his wand, the gate slid open without a sound. I took a small step forward and the gate closed behind me again. I saw a silvery blue shimmer move in the shadows and took my stance. I kneeled down and let my head hang low as the dragon approached. I heard branches crack underneath its large paws as he creeped closer. I held my breath as I felt Leia's breath ghost over my hair. Then her head appeared underneath me as she laid down on the grass. The yellow eyes looked up at me, curiously. I lifted my head and took the whole dragon in. I knew it was a different dragon, but seeing the likeness, the yellow eyes, the silvery blue scales reflected in the sunlight, it made the memories of the Triwizard Tournament come flooding back. How a dragon just like this one, only bigger, had burned half of Cedric's face. But I shook my head internally, trying to get the image of Cedric in the sickbed out of my head, and focused back on the dragon in front of me. I held out my hand and the dragon sniffed it cautiously. When she rested her head back on the ground, her eyes on the lap of meat in my hand, I slowly and carefully rose from the ground. I held out my hands showing the meat and the ointment. Leia already knew why I was here and stayed still. I tossed the lap of meat in the grass in front of her, and when she started munching on the meat, I walked over to her bad wing. My fingers grazed carefully over her scales, and when Leia didn't growl or attack, I opened the tube of ointment. The wound wasn't bleeding but it was open and if I didn't put in the salve, it would get blisters. I squeezed the tube and let a thick pile of ointment fall into my hand. Carefully I started to rub it out on the wound, I saw it close in front of me. I put another thick layer on it and put a wandless protection charm over the wound before I stepped back. Leia was still chewing on the piece of meat when a scream was heard somewhere in the reserve. Leia rose up in a blink of an eye, her wing hitting me, letting me crash to the ground. But that wasn't what bothered me, the scream... it was Cedric's voice. My heart stuttered fast in my chest as I clambered back up from the ground and hurried back to the gate. Dorn let me out of the enclosure and after closing it firmly behind me, we hurried towards the shouting voices.

GN

I was sleeping with my head on a hospital bed. My hand clasped around Cedric's firmly, who laid in the bed. I was dreaming of what had happened the day before.

Louis was feeding the Hungarian Horntail from behind a secure gate. Cedric was waiting outside the enclosure as he watched Louis through the bars. Then the Horntail charged forward and rammed its thick head against the gate, breaking it. Cedric shouted for help but couldn't wait and had charged in the enclosure, wand at the ready. He dragged an unconscious Louis to safety before the Horntail blew fire at him. He ducked and rolled on the ground just in time. When he stood back up, the tail of the Horntail let him fly to against the gate with a scream before he fell unconscious, not far from Louis.

Louis had recovered quickly, but Cedric was still unconscious. I woke with a sore neck when I felt a hand on the back of my head. I blinked my eyes open and saw Cedric give me smile.

"Hi, love." His voice was hoarse. Tears started to form in my eyes as I flung myself at him. I buried my face in his neck as the tears started to roll down, wetting his shirt. "I'm okay." He said as he wrapped his arms around me.

"No." I shook my head in the crook of his neck. "You're always almost dying on me. You need to stop that, I can't lose you, I can't."

"Hey, Winnie. Look at me." I didn't move. "Please." He pleaded, and I lifted my head. Cedric's hand rested on my cheek as he wiped away the tears. "I'm sorry." He whispered. "I didn't mean to scare you. And you won't lose me, you'll never lose me." He leaned his head against mine and I closed my eyes, trying to regulate my breathing.

"I love you, so much." I said as my hand clasped his arm tightly, afraid to let him go. "You're it for me, Ced." I opened my eyes and saw his dark brown eyes look back at me. His hand on my cheek shifted to the back of my head as he guided me to his lips. The kiss was sweet, needy and full of love. When he finally pulled back, he said.

"You're it for me too, Winnie. You are the love of my life and one day... I'll marry you."

This is the end of book 2!

Book three will cover their travels and their input in the war.