Submitted for The Houses Competition Forum - Round 6
House: Ravenclaw
Subject: Potions
Category: Standard
Prompt: (sound) squeak, (speech) "One dragon was bad enough…now we have four?"
Word count: 1,330
Warnings: AU! No Voldemort
dragostatic
Hermione had been sitting in the living room with a cup of tea and a book when she looked up in confusion. The sound was faint at first, but it grew steadily louder, a high-pitched chorus of squeak, squeak, squeak that seemed to come from somewhere deep within the house.
Hermione sighed, setting her book down on the coffee table. She knew that sound. She knew it all too well. It was the unmistakable cry of baby dragons.
"Charlie," she muttered under her breath, shaking her head with a fond but exasperated smile. She loved her husband. He was brave, strong, endlessly caring—but subtle? Not so much.
The squeaking continued as Hermione followed the noise through the house, her steps sure and unhurried. She had been married to Charlie long enough (seven years) to know that his love for dragons often led to unexpected surprises. After all, it was how they had ended up with Edward, the wingless toddler dragon who was currently occupying the backyard.
The squeaks grew louder as she approached the basement door, which was slightly ajar. Smiling and chuckling to herself, Hermione pushed the door open and walked down the stairs. The sound was now almost deafening. Reaching the bottom, she followed the sound until she was standing in front of an old wardrobe that Charlie had dragged into the basement years ago. It was shaking slightly, the door rattling on its hinges with whatever was inside.
Taking a deep breath, Hermione opened the wardrobe door.
Three tiny dragons tumbled out, their scaly bodies a blur of red, green, and blue. They squeaked excitedly, flapping their small wings—well, the two that had wings did—while the third dragon, blue and wingless, tried to balance on its hind legs to look up at her. Their wide, innocent eyes blinked up at Hermione as if she hadn't just found them hiding in her own house.
"Charlie!" Hermione called, not bothering to hide the amusement in her voice.
There was a thud upstairs, which was followed by hurried footsteps. Within moments, Charlie appeared at the top of the stairs, his face red with guilt and excitement. "Hermione, love!" he said. His voice was full of forced cheerfulness. "What are you doing down here?"
Hermione crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, gesturing to the baby dragons that were now waddling around her feet, still squeaking enthusiastically. One of them nibbled on her slipper and breathed a gust of smoke. "You forgot to silence them," she said dryly.
Charlie looked sheepish as he descended the stairs, rubbing the back of his neck. "Ah, right. That must have slipped my mind."
Hermione sighed, though she wasn't angry at him. Charlie had a big heart, and she understood he felt deeply for dragons more than anyone. But sometimes, his enthusiasm led to situations like this—situations that required her to be the voice of reason.
"One dragon was bad enough… now we have four?" she said, pointing to the baby blue dragon that was now trying to climb onto her foot and failing. "And you already convinced me to let you keep Edward because you felt bad about his lack of wings!"
Charlie winced and ducked his head. Edward was a sweet creature, but he was also growing fast, and their backyard was starting to look less like a garden and more like a dragon's playground.
The flowers Charlie had planted (because it turns out Hermione didn't have a green thumb) had been completely uprooted and burnt to a crisp. The carrots and cabbages in the vegetable patch had been tossed around like chew toys, while the pumpkin patch had become Edward's personal bouncy castle. It was like a Halloween massacre, which Charlie obediently cleaned up every night.
Edward had also created a large crater in the centre of the yard—whether it was meant to be a lair, a swimming pool, or just a place to roll around in the dirt was anyone's guess. A small tree at the back of the garden, the only survivor for now, stood bravely—although it was at a strange angle, with most of its leaves now decorating the ground instead of its branches.
And then there was Edward's favourite toy: the garden shed, which had suffered the most. The poor structure had lost its door entirely, the windows were cracked, and its roof now sported a perfect dragon-shaped hole where Edward had decided to practise his takeoffs with Charlie.
Hermione thought it was amusing to see Charlie as a dragon parent, but she had an image to uphold. At least one of them needed to be a responsible adult, right?
"Look," Charlie said, crouching down to pick up the blue baby dragon, who nuzzled into his chest with a contented squeak. "These just need some care. They were abandoned by their mother, and I couldn't just leave them at the reserve. I thought… maybe we could raise them here, just for a little while, until they're strong enough to be back at the reserve."
Hermione gave him a long, measured look. Charlie would never harm a dragon, and his commitment to their care was one of the things she loved most about him. Studying dragons together was how she had fallen in love with him in the first place. But they were already dealing with the challenges of raising Edward, and adding three more dragons to the mix was…a lot.
"Charlie," she began, her tone gentle. "You know I support you and your work, but our home's not exactly designed for four dragons, even if they are babies."
Charlie nodded, looking down at the little dragon in his arms. "I know, I know. But they won't be any trouble, I promise. Just a few weeks, maybe a month or two. I'll take care of everything—I'll feed them, train them, keep them out of your way… please, Hermione?"
Hermione sighed again, resigned to their fate. She couldn't resist Charlie's hopeful eyes, and she knew that as much as she wanted to be the practical one, her heart was just as big as his when it came to caring for creatures in need.
"Alright," she said, giving up with a small smile. "But only until they're strong enough to go back to the reserve. And you're responsible for everything—feeding, cleaning, and making sure they don't burn the house down."
Charlie's face lit up with a wide grin. "Thank you, Hermione! You won't regret it, I swear."
Hermione reached out to stroke the blue dragon's head, which was now resting against Charlie's chest. It let out a contented purr-like sound, and she couldn't help but smile at its cuteness. "I'm sure I won't," she said, though she knew there would be challenges ahead. But she also knew that with Charlie by her side, they could handle anything.
As Charlie carefully lifted the other two baby dragons and carried them over to a makeshift nest he had set up in the corner of the basement, Hermione watched him with a mixture of exasperation and affection. He had such a big heart, and she loved him for it, even if it meant their home was now a temporary dragon sanctuary.
The little dragons squeaked happily as they settled into the nest, and Hermione couldn't help but laugh softly. "You're lucky I love you, Charlie Weasley," she said, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.
Charlie looked up from the nest, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "I'm the luckiest man in the world," he replied, walking over to her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "And I'll make it up to you, I promise. How about a nice, dragon-free dinner tonight?"
Hermione smiled up at him, leaning into his embrace. "That sounds perfect."
As they stood there together, the sounds of baby dragons squeaking as they settled down for a nap, Hermione realised that her life with Charlie was never going to be ordinary. But she wouldn't have it any other way.