Well, it's been a while, hasn't it? For the first time in a long time I've managed to finish one of my countless WIPs. (There are now over 50. I am not kidding.)
As with all my stories, you can find both the German and the English version on my profile. A big thank you goes to my beta reader Daisy, who proofread the English translation. Thank you so much! đź’›
Healers Have the Best Coffee
Charlie Weasley was a positive person. He rose every morning with the first rays of sunshine. Overtime hours and night shifts were no problem for him. And even when he had been badly injured by a dragon, he was still able to crack a joke or two. But on this day, a stormy Thursday in late spring, his enjoyment of life had stayed in bed.
"Shit... retreat!" he shouted, running blindly to the right to avoid a dragon's tail. His feet slipped on the muddy ground, and he nearly lost his balance. The rain from the last few days had turned all the enclosures without weather protection into tripping hazards.
"Circle formation!" yelled Emil, one of his oldest friends and colleagues. "We need to surround him!"
Charlie cursed softly and obeyed the order, knowing it was their best chance of getting the current situation under control. He certainly wasn't the only one who wished the reserve had waited until autumn to welcome its aggressive newcomer.
Silver scales that glistened like water in moonlight. Black horns that could impale a full-grown horse. And long wings, each with the wingspan of a Muggle bus.
Charlie tightened his grip on his wand, ready for action. The Swedish skullreader was an impressive creature, terrifying not only in its size and power. It was also the only dragon in the world that could read its prey's mind and react accordingly.
"Try to keep your minds as clear as possible!" Marisa screamed, her voice cracking at the end. She had started as a dragon keeper just a month ago and thus had only been able to gain little field experience so far.
In any other situation, on any other day, Charlie would have laughed and told her that doing so was easier said than done. But right now he needed all his concentration to stay alive. Unfortunately, mind-reading was not the only skill the skullreader possessed. This one was less dangerous, but all the more annoying: his stupefying phlegm.
"Weasley, watch out!"
Charlie saw the dragon's tail fly in his direction and threw himself to the ground, squeezing the air out of his lungs. Pain exploded through his torso. Coughing, he propped himself up and got to his feet. But he was too slow. A few bloody seconds too slow.
Charlie was knocked over by something heavy, not realising it was slime until he hit the ground and the sticky substance melted all over him. His reflexive inhalation was unsuccessful, which in turn caused panic to set in. Inside his chest, his heart raced as if it were trying to win a race against a Golden Snitch. It was undoubtedly the worst feeling he had ever experienced. The blackness he fell into shortly afterward was as dark as a starless night.
~x~x~x~
Absolute darkness.
It wasn't the first time Charlie had fainted. That had been in his first year Herbology class, when they were repotting mandrakes and a Slytherin had removed his earmuffs as a joke. The second fainting spell had also already happened to him: When he found out about the attack on his father by the snake Nagini, he had blacked out for a moment. The thought of losing him had been like a blow to his brain.
So Charlie was currently experiencing his third blackout. As his senses began to return, he heard various sounds, first reminding him of a swarm of bees, and then of the buzz of voices in crowded places.
"...moved. Hey, I think he's waking up," someone said next to him.
With a groan, Charlie tried to turn the words into action. As soon as he regained control of his eyelids, he lifted them sluggishly. Any other body movement, however, proved impossible.
The first face he saw was Emil's. The next one belonged to Valerie, an afro-haired healer, who waved at him with a grin. A pungent smell reached his nose. No doubt from the disinfectant the Muggle-born witch regularly used in her work.
"Hello there, sleepy head. Welcome back to the waking world," she said, circling her wand over him to check his vitals. "You gave us quite a scare. I've been toying with the idea of contacting your family. How about your mother?"
Charlie's eyes widened, and Valerie began to cackle. She loved teasing the dragon keepers under her care.
"Oh, look at that face. Just wonderful," she laughed, wiping an escaped tear from the corner of her eye. When Charlie tried to get up with a grunt, he only managed a twitch. That had to be the feeling of a dragon who had been deprived of his wings.
"Why can't I move?"
Emil moved closer to the bed.
"Aftereffect of the dragon slime. The antidote should kick in soon."
"Well, that's at least something," Charlie grumbled, squinting his eyes as his temples began to throb. Once again, an unbearable cacophony of voices assaulted his brain before thankfully fading into the background. "Val, do you have a Wiggenweld potion? I feel like my head is about to explode."
Valerie rolled her eyes and turned her back on him.
"You know the rule: no more than one potion in quick succession unless it's an emergency. Your stats look good, so you'll probably survive for a while," she said but went to get a vial of the green potion from a cupboard. Don't be so touchy.
Charlie growled indignantly, squinting as far as he could in her direction.
"Touchy?" he repeated. "Do you have any idea how horrible it is not being able to move and being plagued by a headache?"
After his reproach, Valerie turned to him, blinking frantically. She clapped a hand over her mouth.
"Oops," she snickered against her fingers. "Did I just say that out loud?"
"Loud and clear."
Emil looked back and forth between them, his brow furrowed. Confusion was written all over his face.
"What? But Val didn't say anything," he remarked, touching his right ear. Shit. Is my tinnitus getting worse? I need to increase the dosage of the healing potion.
"Tinnitus? What's that?" Charlie asked immediately. "I didn't know you were sick."
Silence fell over the room like a heavy blanket. Confused, he stared into the faces of his colleagues, who looked at him as if he had become a ghost.
No way, Valerie said, but her lips didn't move. Can he... read our minds?
"What?" Charlie shouted. "But I'm not a Legilimens!"
As soon as the exclamation had left his mouth, the healer was standing right next to him. In a flash, she bent over him and grabbed his head like a quaffle. Her long fingernails pricked him as she did so.
"Fascinating. This must be an after-effect of the slime," she breathed out in delight. "How does it feel? Do our thought voices sound exactly like our real ones? Do you only hear words, or can you see images as well? What am I thinking in this—"
"Val. Stop," Emil interrupted, touching her shoulder. "Take a breath. In and out."
He audibly demonstrated the breathing process. As Valerie restlessly followed his instructions, Charlie's antidote finally took effect. Groaning, he sat up and held his head.
"Fuck." Several thoughts flashed through his mind at once. "How long will this last?"
The answer to his question came a few minutes later when the chief healer personally inspected his condition and deemed it harmless.
"Perhaps a few hours. But no more than a day," she reassured him as she read his vitals. "The substances in the slime should have left your body by then. In the meantime, take it easy. No work that requires your full concentration."
As soon as she had left the room, he tipped his head back.
"Great," he said frustratedly. "This day just keeps getting better and better."
"Hey, swallow that British sarcasm and look on the bright side," Emil replied with a grin. For him, the glass had always been half full. Charlie still remembered their first day of training, which had ended in a hospital bed for both of them. While his friend had sung the praises of the comfortable mattress, he had been surprised by a howler from his mother. Molly Weasley's angry voice — "INJURED? ON YOUR FIRST DAY?" — made every glass, whether half empty or half full, explode.
"Normally I would agree with you. But I have no idea what's positive about my condition," Charlie said, rubbing his forehead. Shortly afterward, various answers came flooding back to him, both verbally and mentally. "Okay. Stop. Talk or think, but not both at the same time."
Valerie started to reply but then gasped instead. All of a sudden, Emil's interest was elsewhere as well. They both looked past Charlie.
"Juliet," they said as if from the same mouth. The sight of them would have been the perfect advertisement for a love potion. The only thing missing were tiny hearts in their eyes.
Charlie followed their line of sight, huffing quietly. The blonde healer had only been transferred to the reserve a couple of weeks ago but had already turned quite a few heads. A hip swing here. A fluttering of her eyes there. And everyone was behaving like dragons during mating season.
Juliet looked up from her clipboard, noticed their little group and waved to them with a smile. Emil grabbed Charlie's shoulder.
"Okay, Char, now's your chance to put me out of my misery for good," he said with a puppy-dog look. "Does she like me? Yes or no?"
Valerie crossed her arms.
"Hey, this isn't right. We should respect her privacy," she said, but Charlie was already focused on Juliet's location. It took a moment, but then he managed to filter her voice out of the swirl of noise.
...so much to do... Merlin's beard, they're still looking. Do I have something on my face?
Juliet turned her pen into a pocket mirror and checked her appearance before returning to her work. Her thoughts, however, remained on their group. More specifically, on one particular person.
Val's afro looks so fluffy. Really cute, she thought, unexpectedly imagining a puffskein with Valerie's glasses. Someday I'll tell her that. Someday.
The last word sounded half determined, half desperate. It was followed by a couple of sentences that made the corners of Charlie's mouth turn up.
"Sorry, man, but you don't seem to be her type. But she really likes you, Val," he said, chuckling as her eyes widened. Her mind was positively vibrating with euphoria.
"Really?"
"Really."
Delighted, she clapped her hands together and stared at Juliet. All of a sudden, Charlie and Emil were forgotten. As if pulled by an invisible string, she walked in Juliet's direction and struck up a conversation.
"Well, I guess that means your treatment is officially over," Emil said. His mind was heavy with disappointment. "Will I ever find a witch who is attracted to me in this lifetime?"
"Hey, don't take it so hard. Your time will come."
But Charlie had to admit that he could understand Emil's frustration. Ever since Bill and Fleur had welcomed their third child, he had been increasingly drawn to the idea of settling down. But so far he hadn't found a woman with whom he could fulfil that desire. Either there was no chemistry or their life goals didn't match. His last attempt, for instance, had failed because he wanted to stay in Romania permanently.
Charlie looked at the healer couple and felt a pang of envy in his chest. Before this feeling could boil over like a bad potion, he made a last-minute decision. He hadn't had a proper caffeine boost this week yet.
"While I'm here, I'm going to get a coffee," he announced, lifting himself out of the hospital bed. Emil raised both eyebrows.
"How many times do I have to remind you that we have our own kitchen?" he asked.
In his mind, he imagined Charlie one day drinking the last bit of coffee and experiencing the vengeance of a caffeine-addicted healer.
"Hey, it's not my fault the healers have the best coffee," he objected with a chuckle. "Besides, I'm here so often because of injuries that it might as well be my kitchen."
Emil laughed and shook his head.
"No, not really."
~x~x~x~
When Charlie entered the kitchen of the healing centre, a witch he knew very well was already there. He stopped for a moment, taking her in. Brown, shoulder-length hair. Narrow shoulders. White healer robe.
Klara Dalton was like a beautiful houseplant. At first glance, one might not notice her, but once she came into focus, it was impossible to look away. In her work as a healer, she had specialised in severe burns, making her an indispensable member of the reserve. Here, where injuries from dragon fire were commonplace, her magic saved skin and lives on an almost daily basis.
Klara, who was obviously enjoying her lunch break, had made herself comfortable at the communal table and made eye contact with him right away. Her thoughts reached him without any problems.
Thank Merlin, she sighed inwardly. I was starting to think you weren't coming this week.
Charlie paused in surprise. He waited to see if she had something to discuss with him, but instead, she greeted him with her usual smile, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. An open book lay on the table in front of her.
"Hey, you. Do you mind if I pour myself some of your coffee?" Charlie asked, gesturing towards the carafe. "I really need a cup right now."
"Of course not. Help yourself."
As he gratefully made his way to the kitchen corner, he couldn't help picking up Klara's other thoughts.
He looks tired. Has he worked another night shift? Worry fuelled her inner voice. He'd better take it easy, or he'll regret it one day.
"Um, is everything all right?" she asked hesitantly.
Charlie gave her a reassuring wave of the hand.
"Yes, everything's fine," he said, but his words lacked the necessary power of persuasion.
Right. And that's why you look like you've been eaten by a dragon and spat out afterward, Klara thought sharply, surprising him. In her head, she was much more quick-witted. One should never judge a book by its cover.
Charlie's brow furrowed as he looked at the unusually spotless area by the sink. Someone must have been on a cleaning spree.
"Do you know where my cup went?" he asked, turning to her. "The red one with the ridges?"
Top cupboard. On the left. But instead she replied, "Check under the sink."
Confused by her inconsistency, Charlie followed her verbal answer. He opened the cupboard door under the sink and crouched down. No cup. Not his or anyone else's.
Klara let out a long, drawn-out sigh, but the slight echo told him it must have been in her head.
Yes, definitely the finest butt in the whole reserve. Firm... Tight... How I'd love to... Merlin, you've got to be kidding me. Pull yourself together.
Charlie, now aware of her intention, had to smile. It wasn't every day that his body received such a direct compliment. Although, of course, he usually had no way of knowing when and how often that kind of flattery was mentally uttered.
"It's not here," he said, standing up and opening the right cupboard. "Ha, found it."
As the coffee flowed from the carafe into his cup, Charlie found himself paying more attention to Klara's thoughts. Her inner voice spoke much more clearly and didn't mince its words.
You want him, get him. Damn, Jess, that's so easy to say. How am I supposed to do that?
Several scenarios flashed through her mind that Charlie couldn't grasp quickly enough.
How about something like this? I come here every day at the same time in the silent hope of running into you. And half the week I'm working in a completely different building. What does that tell you, Charlie? That I'm out of my mind? You're so right. Well, that's settled then. There's the door. Have a nice life.
Klara turned another page, probably to keep up the pretence that she was reading. But in her mind she was fighting a battle with herself.
Or why don't I make it even easier? Plain and simple. No backing down, she thought sarcastically. Charles Weasley, here I am. Take me and be the father of my children. I'm ready.
Klara imagined him pulling her into a passionate kiss on the spot, pressing her against the nearest wall — and more. In her mind she groaned with desire. Charlie only realised that his cup was overflowing when her thoughts suddenly stopped and she let out an audible gasp.
"Charlie, your—"
"Oh fuck!"
Air hissed past his teeth as the spilled brew reached the edge of his shirt. Heat licked at his skin like a dragon's flame. Hastily, Klara leapt from her chair and drew her wand. Without batting an eyelid, she pulled at his shirt and cast a healing spell. Its effectiveness was a testament to the fact that she usually had much more serious burns to deal with.
"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked, spelling the counter clean. Don't you dare lie to me.
Charlie clutched his heated neck under her watchful gaze. His trousers suddenly felt much tighter. That came as no surprise. When had he ever seen himself in someone else's imaginary porn?
"I... Yeah, everything's fine. Today's just a... Let's just say it's a complicated day."
"Oh. Do you want to talk about it?"
"No, um, thanks, but I'd rather not."
Charlie picked up the stained part of his shirt, trying to remember how his mum's cleaning spell worked for occasions like this. But it proved difficult to think about removing stains when he was simultaneously bombarded with thoughts that wished his whole shirt would go away.
Oh dear... That's a four... No, a six-pack, Klara thought with wide eyes and turned towards the table to return to her seat. Don't stare. Just sit down and concentrate on your...
The thought ended the same way as a Quidditch player flying into a goalpost. Abrupt and unexpected. A whimper escaped her lips.
Nonchalantly, Charlie held his removed shirt in his hand and deliberately tensed his muscles before casting the cleansing spell. He knew his behaviour wasn't fair. But her interest filled him with euphoria. Only a few months ago, he had quietly hoped that there was a spark between him and the witch. But then, after an incident with a horntail, he'd learned that she was engaged — and that had been the end of it. It hadn't even occurred to him that he might have misheard. In fact, the only thing on his mind at the time had been the thought: Typical. I like a local witch, and she's going steady.
But was he truly mistaken? Maybe the engagement had broken off, or she was unhappy in her relationship, or... Charlie took a deep breath in and out. This mind-reading was causing him to lose himself in unnecessary musings. He needed to find a different approach.
Attentively, he listened to her inner monologue as he put on his shirt and then sipped from his overfilled cup of coffee.
...can't be happening. Why in Merlin's name does he have to be so handsome? If only he was physically interested in me. Then we could work our way up from there.
Klara sighed dejectedly. Not inwardly this time, but clearly audible.
Then again, I'm not exactly obvious. When do I ever have the courage to touch him? All right, during a healing process. But then my priorities are somewhere else completely. I can hardly throw myself on him after my work is done... Although...
Klara imagined herself stumbling after a successful healing, falling on top of him and being caught by his arms. But then the thought broke off abruptly and Charlie could see her face contorting at the same time.
Yes, that's how you get a man's attention, she thought with a snort. You ambush him when he was injured just a moment ago. Great, Klara. Really great.
Charlie couldn't help but shake his head at her outright rejection of the idea. He had no objection to it. Truth be told, the vision aroused him immensely as he imagined the possibilities of such a situation. As long as they didn't have an audience of other healers, of course.
Taking a deep breath, he inhaled the strong smell of coffee and leaned back against the counter, looking at her over the rim of his cup. It was time to find out if this idea could ever become a reality.
"No ring?" he asked, watching her flinch.
"What?"
He nodded his head slightly, his eyes fixed on her hand.
"You're engaged, aren't you? Is the ring getting in the way of your work?"
In a state of absolute confusion, Klara closed her book on the table. Even without mind-reading, Charlie would have noticed that her thoughts began to race.
"Engaged? I don't even have a boyfriend."
Where did he hear that? Was it... No... Or maybe...?
Her sentences rushed around like panicked sheep in front of an Antipodean opaleye. Part of it he couldn't understand, but even more so the end.
I'm so single, I couldn't be more single. Fuck, the last person who saw me naked down there was my gynaecologist!
Charlie choked on his coffee and hastily put it down. Brown drops splattered on the floor and counter. As he turned around, coughing, Klara sprang from her seat again and hurried to his side to pat him on the back.
"I didn't know my relationship status would throw you so much," she giggled obliviously. "Is it so shocking that I'm single?"
"No! Um, I mean yes! No, wait..."
His unclear answer elicited a small smile from her. Outwardly, it could have been chalked up to happiness, but Charlie heard the dejection of her inner voice.
Yeah, I really should give up on him.
One second Klara was about to turn away, the next Charlie grabbed her upper arms to keep her from leaving. Surprised, she looked up at him with her big doe eyes.
"Charlie, what—"
"Can I ask for your advice?"
Klara tilted her head and stared at his hands until he released her, apologetically. Warmth enveloped her thoughts like a blanket. The brief physical contact between them had been enough to provoke this reaction.
"Of course. Anytime," she said. "What is it about?"
Charlie took a deep breath. This couldn't go wrong.
"There is someone... a dragon keeper to be precise... who has a crush on a healer. But unfortunately, he doesn't know how to approach her."
In other words, the exact opposite of my situation, Klara thought before she answered. What an i-ro-ny.
"Has he already spoken to her and become acquainted with her? Or are we talking about a purely external attraction?"
"Both mentally and physically."
"Hmm..."
With a hand on her chin, Klara indulged in possible ideas. Charlie found it fascinating to follow her thought process. Compared to her previous thoughts, this one was much more organised. As if she had left a raging river to cross a calm lake instead.
"I'd say the most efficient solution would be for him to ask her out," she said, inwardly chiding herself for making a suggestion she hadn't taken to heart herself. "He should find out what she likes to do. Some people like it quiet, others are looking for excitement."
Charlie smiled in agreement and nudged her affectionately.
"What would work for you?"
"Oh, I'm low-maintenance," Klara giggled and immediately had a picture in her head, whose clarity suggested that it didn't occur for the first, the second or even the third time.
A meal cooked together. No fish. Not a fan of seafood anyway.
Charlie felt as if a cauldron had been fired up in his chest. She had memorised his allergy. He couldn't even remember when he'd told her about it.
Klara's thoughts lingered for a moment on food and possible recipes, then another idea came to her, which she almost immediately cut short — but too late. Charlie had seen the beginning. It had been a breakfast in bed that the two of them had enjoyed together. Sipping coffee. Smilingly. Stark-naked.
Charlie felt himself getting hard. Heat gathered in his nether regions.
"Low-maintenance, eh?" he repeated in a deeper voice. "The dragon keeper in question will be pleased to hear that. Although he'd be only too happy to plan something extraordinary to win this healer over."
"Why would he be happy that I'm low-maintenance when he's..."
Oh.
That was all Klara thought as she realised what this was all leading to. And suddenly — Charlie couldn't put it better — a deep, unexpected disappointment saturated her thoughts. Made them heavy and silent.
He wants to set me up with one of his colleagues. Do I need any more proof that he's not interested in me?
She leaned back against the counter with a sigh.
"Look, it's really nice of you to play matchmaker, but... there's already someone I'm interested in, and..."
Merlin's beard, you didn't just say that, she interrupted herself. So loudly that Charlie flinched. He is bound to misunderstand this!
Her thoughts went round and round in circles. Like dragons chasing their own tails.
"No, wait. What I'm really trying to say is..." She buried her face in her hands. "Oh no, what am I talking about? Wait. I need a moment to collect myself."
Charlie unconsciously stepped closer. All this hemming and hawing would come to an end now.
"The dragon keeper I'm talking about..." he said in a low voice, gently removing her hands so she could look at him. "...loves the way she smiles when he comes into this kitchen. It always makes his chest feel warm. Right here."
Klara's eyes widened as he guided her hands to the spot where his heart was pounding. As soon as he was sure that her fingers would stay there, he placed his arms on the kitchen counter to her left and right. Her next thought washed over him like a tidal wave.
What? Oh my...
Suddenly silence. Not a single sound echoed from her head. The blackout briefly led Charlie to believe that his time as a mind reader had come to an abrupt end. But then her inner voice returned, along with a flush to her cheeks.
He... Did he... Does he mean... Holy horntail, he's flirting with me!
Klara's breathing quickened almost imperceptibly. Excitement drenched her thoughts and apparently her underwear too, if he interpreted the movement of her legs correctly.
"This healer..." she said, trying to remain calm. "...may wonder why he is revealing his feelings just now."
"To which the dragon keeper would reply that he would have acted months ago if he had known there was no bloody fiancé."
With a blissful smile, Klara avoided his gaze and drew in a ragged breath. Charlie saw the kiss in her mind before it arrived. Quickly, she pressed her lips to his and pulled back as her overzealousness caused their heads to collide painfully. Groaning, they both clutched at their respective points of impact.
"Oh Merlin, I'm... I'm so sorry," Klara stuttered. No, no, no, no...
Snorting, Charlie leaned forward to kiss her forehead and silence her panicked thoughts. Once that was done, his lips moved on. Over the gap between her eyebrows, the slight curve of the bridge of her nose and the tip that followed. Klara's eyelids fluttered close.
"Oh, please don't let me wake up," she whispered.
Chuckling, Charlie cupped and stroked her cheeks.
"What?"
With her eyes still closed, Klara shrugged. Her thoughts were enveloped in such an all-encompassing warmth that he could hardly concentrate on their content. It was like diving through a sea of pudding.
"This is clearly a dream. Any minute my wand will vibrate and I'll wake up," she sighed. "It wouldn't be the first time."
Charlie leaned forward to start another kiss. Tenderly pressing their lips together, he thanked the Swedish skullreader who had inadvertently acted as his wingman. Klara's hand ran down his back, causing a tingling sensation. Groaning, he deepened the kiss, which tasted of the coffee they had both been drinking. There was a sweet note to it, probably from the brown sugar she always added to her cup. She was the only healer whose coffee preference he had ever memorised.
Charlie pulled away from her with a gasp, only to initiate three more quick kisses that made her giggle.
"You're not asleep," he said. "The only dream here is the view I have right now."
First, the corners of her mouth lifted, then, her eyelids did the same.
"So you're not just a sweet talker towards dragons," Klara said with a grin, not realising how much she was making his blood boil and his heart race. This feeling intensified when she added in her mind: Keep talking like that and you can have me right here in this kitchen.
For a long moment she imagined this very situation. How he would grab her, place her on the counter and pull her into a hungry, passionate kiss. Charlie had to admit that he really liked the idea. So much so that he was on the verge of turning this mental image into reality. His hands were already twitching in the direction of her hips when all of a sudden there was an audible beeping sound. Gasping for breath, Klara grabbed her wand. A bright ball shot out of the tip.
"Healer Dalton: 6 — 2 — 3," a clear voice said. "I repeat: 6 — 2 — 3."
The numerical code was a well-tried system that all the healers on the reserve had internalised. In this case, it meant that her presence was required in ward 6 for two seriously injured patients with third-degree burns.
"Damn it," Klara hissed, running for the door. "Don't forget where we left off!"
Her thoughts were a jumble of frustration, stress and the hope that the next time they met he would still be as interested as he was now. When she was gone, Charlie crossed his muscular arms, which would hopefully get another chance to grab this witch very soon.
"Forget about this?" he muttered. "Certainly not."
~x~x~x~
Four days. It took four days for them to meet again. Four days, three hours and a few minutes to be exact. But who was counting?
Charlie, who had just entered the medical centre, saw Klara talking to a colleague behind the reception desk. His upper arm hurt from a burn caused by a small horntail. It wasn't an injury he would normally have come here for, but the thought of a certain healer had driven him here.
"Charlie, what are you doing here?" Juliet came to a halt beside him. "I don't think I've ever seen you here like this before. Standing, I mean."
He shook his head with a grin.
"Nice to see you too. And I'm here because I happen to need medical attention," he said, pointing to his singed arm. "Would you be so kind as to let Klara know that I need her?"
"Oh, the man has special requests. You do realise that we're not that kind of establishment, right?"
Juliet broke into a wide grin that became even wider when Charlie cleared his throat and grabbed the back of his neck. Heat burned beneath his palm. She and Valerie didn't realise how well-suited they were to each other.
"You take everything way too seriously." She slapped her clipboard against his good arm. "Go to room 28, your private healing will soon begin." Her devilish chuckle would haunt him. "Just remember to disinfect everything thoroughly afterward."
Groaning, Charlie turned and left the waiting area without another word, heading down the corridor to the right. As he hurried through, he absorbed the normal background noise and watched the hustle and bustle of people that would have given him a headache four days ago. The side effects of the dragon slime had completely worn off. It was a blessing to be able to hear only his own thoughts. Not just for himself, but for those around him as well.
Charlie read the numbers of the rooms he passed. 28, at the end of the corridor, was quickly found. It was a simple treatment room. A stretcher. A desk. Two chairs. A large medicine cabinet.
Exhaling, he sat down on the forementioned piece of furniture and flinched as the door suddenly flew open. Klara rushed to his side as fast as a Golden Snitch in human form.
"Charlie, what have you done?" she asked, examining him from top to bottom. Her shoulders rose and fell with her deep breaths, leading him to believe she had been running.
"A burn on my arm."
He held out the affected part of his body, which was immediately grasped and inspected. At first, Klara moved her hands with eagerness, then increasingly more slowly. Finally, she looked into his eyes.
"Charlie?"
"Hm?"
"You do realise that I'm only responsible for the serious injuries, right?"
Charlie put on a disarming smile and spontaneously grabbed the area below the burn. Despite feeling only a tolerable throbbing, he grimaced.
"Oh, the pain," he complained exaggeratedly. "I don't know how I'm going to get through this without the help of a skilled healer."
Smiling, Klara pulled out her wand and ran it over his arm. Not for the first time, he noticed the warmth her magic radiated. It felt like the invisible embrace of someone close to him. Within seconds, the wound stopped burning, turned pale and finally disappeared completely.
"There you go. You're lucky we don't have any emergencies at the moment."
As Klara routinely inspected the rest of his body, Charlie wondered what thoughts were running through her mind. Now that he'd had brief access to it, he was aware that every look, every smile and every frown could have an unexpected meaning.
As soon as Klara came to the side of his strong arm, he reached out in a flash to pull her closer. She gasped loudly when the frame of the stretcher hit her thighs.
"Would you like to go out with me sometime?"
"What... you... really?"
Her voice rose an octave. He had successfully caught her off guard.
"Of course. How does dinner sound? I know a great restaurant in Bucharest," Charlie said and had to smile when he saw the answer in her eyes. He didn't need to be a mind reader to get that.
Klara's face lit up. At first just a little like a soft Lumos, then as bright as the sun itself. It was a sight that would have warmed one's heart even in the depths of winter. But then the glow faded, he noticed with concern.
"Charlie, please let go of me," she said, taking a step back as soon as he had complied. When he opened his mouth to ask a question, she immediately shook her head. "Before I give you an answer... Isn't there anything else you want to tell me?"
Charlie furrowed his brow. Pondering over her words, he searched for the answer she wanted to hear. Running his fingers restlessly through his hair, he even wished for a moment that he could still read her mind. Because then...
Charlie paused, inhaling audibly as he realised what she was getting at. As soon as their eyes met again, Klara crossed her arms and looked incredibly tired.
"My boss told me. Well, my whole team actually. So that our privacy wouldn't be violated if you needed medical attention." She sighed softly. "When were you going to tell me that you read my mind the other day?"
"I... That..."
Charlie didn't know what to say. No. That wasn't true. He knew exactly what he had to say now and what she more than deserved. Namely an apology.
"Klara, I'm sorry. I have to admit that I wasn't thinking," he said with fervour, taking her hand. "But what I'm not sorry for is what happened between us in the kitchen. That was one of the best moments of my life."
Klara took a ragged breath.
"For me, it was also..." She shook her head and withdrew her hand. "No, I can't just ignore that. The fact is that nothing would have happened between us if you hadn't read my thoughts." Groaning, she buried her face in her hands. "Dammit, you must think I'm crazy. Either that or completely wanton."
"No, I don't. Well, okay, maybe a little wanton, but—"
"Oh Merlin."
Klara threw her arms up in the air and headed for the door. But before she had a chance to leave the room, Charlie had jumped down from the stretcher and successfully cut her off.
"Please don't go. Your thoughts were harmless compared to what I've already imagined with you," he said in one breath. Klara's eyes flew open and met his own.
"You…" He saw her swallow. "Really?"
Charlie rubbed the bridge of his nose and let out a breath that seemed to hold an entire world. Various answers bounced around in his head — from a passionate yes to a long-winded retelling of one of his fantasies. But none of them seemed appropriate.
"I always say that you healers have the best coffee, but do you really think that's the only reason I visit your kitchen? Klara, I meant every word I said. If I'd known you weren't engaged, then—"
"Then why didn't you ask me before?"
Charlie's hand dropped after this interruption.
"Well, probably for the same reason you didn't say anything earlier," he replied, recognising from her expression that this tit-for-tat response had been effective. Pressing her lips together tightly, Klara hugged her torso, wrinkling the fabric of her uniform.
"Hey." He stroked her arm. "There's nothing wrong with that. We were both just scared. Full stop."
Charlie was a Gryffindor through and through. But unlike some of his housemates, he had realised early on that courage and fear were closely connected. Courage was not the absence of fear. Courage was accepting fear and moving forward despite it.
"So what do you say? Friday night? You and me?" he asked, handing her his heart as he did so. "I swear I'll do everything I can to make sure we have a great time together. And every thought will remain private until it's spoken out loud."
Klara's long-lasting silence was the greatest torture of his life. But then her lips curved into a smile that was worth every second of waiting. Half sensual. Half mysterious. Entirely arousing.
"I'll have to check my appointment calendar first," she said, stepping around him to reach the door. Charlie's jaw dropped as she left the room, leaving him standing there. But his shock was short-lived. Less than ten seconds later, she returned, the corners of her mouth twitching. The door shut behind her.
"I have time," she announced, and her soft giggle was Charlie's downfall.
After two long steps and twice as many heartbeats, his lips were hovering above hers. Gasping for breath, Klara clawed at his chest and grabbed his shirt. He was relieved that he had skipped protocol today and hadn't put on his dragon-hide jacket. But even the shirt seemed too much for him at the moment. He wanted to feel her. He wanted skin contact.
"May I..." He put his hand on hers. "...kiss you?"
Klara looked up at him, her eyes wide open. Her mouth had opened almost imperceptibly. If ever there was a moment when a pair of lips deserved a kiss, it was now. A full lower lip, a slightly thinner upper lip and a pink tongue between them, briefly moistening both.
"You may," Klara breathed, letting him into her heaven.
Charlie didn't hesitate. Determined, he captured her mouth while his hands gripped the rest of her. She was soft under his firm grip. And warm. As wonderfully warm as only another person could be.
Klara's hands were disoriented at first. Indecisive, they moved back and forth before coming to rest on his neck. For a while they did nothing but let their bodies speak, as they had wanted to do for months. Charlie felt her smile before he saw it.
"When you read my mind..." Klara said, breathing heavily. "...did you just hear words or did you see images as well?"
"Both."
In response to his answer, she covered her eyes and uttered quiet words of shame. When she had composed herself enough, she straightened her shoulders.
"All right then. At least there's one positive: you now know what I'm into."
"I may have an idea," he grinned confidently. "But ultimately what matters is what you tell me directly. So?"
Klara lowered her eyes and bit her lower lip. Charlie's heart pounded as he remembered how often that gesture had hypnotised him. She did it when she was thinking hard about something. When she felt insecure. And apparently when it came to intimate matters.
Klara looked up at him.
"I like to be dominated."
The sentence was as soft as a breath of air, and yet it felt as if a storm had hit him, shaking his insides and leaving only the most primal instinct behind. Charlie came closer to her.
"And I like to dominate."
Silence at first. Then a shared laugh. It was perfect.
Klara gasped as he grabbed her and turned. As soon as she was lying on the stretcher, he placed first her left and then her right wrist above her head. Now that her position beneath him was secure, he stole a vigorous kiss from her, making her moan. If he had still been able to read minds, he would probably have been dizzy from the pleasure and excitement she was revealing mentally.
"Klara, is that okay?" he asked breathlessly, his eyes half closed.
"Yes," she whispered, repeating the word with each successive kiss he planted on her skin. Slowly he worked his way down before her next sentence brought every movement to a halt.
"But I have one more question."
"Hm? And what's that?"
"What do you think right now?"
Charlie laughed from deep in his belly. This witch was really to his taste.
"Okay. Fair's fair," he winked. "Right now I think I'm both lucky and unlucky. Lucky because... Merlin, I think that's obvious. Just look at you." He squeezed her wrists lightly and ran his free hand over her healer's uniform. "But I'm an unlucky guy, too, because there's no real bed here for me to toss you on. And my next shift starts in half an hour if that bloody clock is right."
Klara craned her neck to look at the clock on the wall above the door. Her sullen expression confirmed that it told the correct time.
"Where do you have to go?"
"Zone B. The fireballs."
With a sigh, Klara pushed against his grip on her wrists, causing him to let go of her immediately. He knew what she had just come to realise. There wasn't enough time. At least not for the extensive lovemaking they both longed for.
"Well, you'd better go, then," she said with a sad smile, straightening up. "Fly safe."
Charlie grimaced. He loved his work. Idolatrously. His siblings often joked that in a parallel world, he would marry a dragon. But his work was only a part of who he was. Another part of him longed to kidnap this witch and barricade himself in a bedroom for the rest of the day.
Charlie watched as Klara ran her fingers through her hair. Delicate fingers that had saved lives before, but now seemed to be restless. He remembered the sexual frustration he had heard in her head just a few days ago.
I can't leave her unsatisfied again.
Determined, Charlie picked up his wand and conjured his patronus. He didn't miss the surprised smile that Klara gave the little dragon of soft, bright light. Yes. This witch deserved an earth-shattering orgasm.
"Emil, I'll be a few minutes late. Release a sheep for them to hunt. Or better two," he said and sent the patronus away. Klara's eyes went wide.
"Charlie, what—"
He dropped to his knees in front of her.
"Oh Merlin."
It was fortunate that Klara was wearing a uniform that included a skirt. He would have torn a pair of trousers off her, but at the moment, every second of extra time was a gift.
"Okay, here's the plan: In a moment, I'm going to make you come so hard that you'll never be able to walk into this room again without thinking about it." His hand found her panties and made her tremble. "And for our date on Friday, wear something that's easy to get out of. Otherwise, I'll have to use Evanesco, Diffindo or my bare hands."
Those same hands quickly undressed her below her skirt. Charlie noticed the damp centre of her panties with great satisfaction. He looked up.
"Does this plan sound good?"
Klara blinked. She blinked again. Finally, she picked up her wand and waved it frantically at the door. Her first locking spell missed. The second hit. Then she added a silencing spell.
"That... Um, good plan. Very good plan," she said shakily and giggled as he nibbled at her inner thighs. But then she suddenly pushed her skirt down. "Oh shit, we can't do this."
Charlie sat back in astonishment.
"Okay? But why?"
Slowly Klara raised her hands and pressed them to her cheeks.
"I haven't shaved," she whispered, barely audible. "My private parts, I mean."
This time it was Charlie who blinked. Something light bubbled up inside of him, travelling from head to toe until he thought he could feel it in every pore. On the surface it was amusement. At a deeper level, it was the shift from attraction and desire to something more profound.
Charlie laughed. Resoundingly. It was a good thing she had spelled the room soundproof. Otherwise someone would have noticed them now.
"Hey, that's not funny," Klara said, but the twitching corners of her mouth betrayed her words.
While he tried to control his laughter, she talked nineteen to the dozen. About how she only used a Muggle razor and had forgotten the spell. About how she had a lot of hair and it was a jungle down there. And that she couldn't believe she'd just said that out loud.
"Klara. Breathe," Charlie said as soon as he was able to do so himself. She followed his instructions, moving her hands in time with her breaths. As soon as the smile had returned to her lips, he squeezed her knee gently.
"Okay. We're running out of time, so I'll be brief." He slipped a hand up her skirt as he spoke. "I want you. Whether you are shaved or unshaved."
One last look and Charlie disappeared where he had longed to go since Klara had first treated him. It had been a poisoning caused by a Peruvian Vipertooth. Tirelessly, she had sucked the poison out of his shoulder — barely a month on the job — and put herself in danger. There hadn't been enough poison healers on-site at the time, so the team for burns had to step in. And for that, Charlie was grateful. Every day anew. Including today.
Klara gasped when he reached his destination. Gently, he kissed her lower lips and spread her legs as wide as her skirt would allow. He dared to look up to be greeted by her flushed face. Restlessly, she shifted in her seat. She was beautiful.
"Charlie, please. I need—"
He leapt forward. Without holding back, he sank into her warmth, which welcomed him immediately. There were things you forgot when you hadn't done them for a long time. But that was not the case with this kind of satisfaction — at least not for him. Charlie had known what he had to do since his broom cupboard escapades at Hogwarts.
"Yes. There." Klara gasped, guiding him perfectly. "Stronger."
Suddenly, her hand sank into his hair and lightning shot down his spine. When she released him the next second, a growl escaped him. It was often said that pets and their owners start to resemble each other at some point. Perhaps it was the same with dragons and their keepers.
"No. Grab my hair," he ordered, feeling his blood boil as she immediately complied. Her breathless voice rang out.
"Like this?"
"Yes. Perfect."
Charlie deployed his entire repertoire. Listening to the symphony of her words and breaths, he pleasured her persistently. Just imagining the sight of them right now made him incredibly hard. How he would manage to fly in a few minutes, he didn't know. It would undoubtedly be the most uncomfortable flight of his life.
"Oh... Oh Charlie," Klara moaned, gasping for air. It was intoxicating.
Charlie lost all sense of time and surrendered completely to her. When she finally collapsed on top of him, whimpering, he couldn't tell how many minutes they had been together. But he was sure that Emil was going to chop his head off.
For several seconds there was nothing to be heard but heavy breathing. Slowly, Klara sat up. When Charlie did the same, he noticed her open mouth and closed eyes. That image of contented exhaustion remained even after she lifted her eyelids.
"You don't know how much I needed this."
"Um, actually I do," he grinned. "First-hand, even."
Klara laughed and threw her head back. It was the perfect opportunity to shower her neck with kisses. So he did just that. Her sigh, rising to the sky in response, almost made him forget that time was of the essence. But only almost.
Smiling, Klara jumped down from the stretcher and pulled on her knickers. As soon as they were both presentable again, they walked towards the door, their bodies pressed close together. Every step was a kiss.
"Our date will end in a bed," Charlie promised. "Including breakfast the next morning."
"With coffee?"
"Of course. I even have brown sugar."
Klara leaned back and made eye contact with him.
"But you drink your coffee and tea straight. Why do you..."
Charlie's neck warmed as her voice faded. The heat intensified when, a moment later, she breathed his name in a way that was sweeter than any sugar whatsoever. She grabbed his collar. Their next kiss was abrupt but slower than any of their previous ones. One day, when he was old and grey, all Charlie would remember was the all-encompassing feeling of happiness that washed over him in that second. But right now, everything — taste, smell and touch — burned into his memory.
Klara sighed as they parted. Charlie put that sound on the same level as the first sound of a baby dragon. Quiet. Distinctive. Beautiful.
"You're right, by the way."
"Huh?"
She pressed her smiling lips against his ear.
"We healers really do have the best coffee."