Beauxbatons [Charlie Weasley]

Ridgeback

"I thought you might be up here."

Isabelle's startled by the voice for two reasons. One: it's extremely early in the morning and she didn't expect anyone would be up here. Two: Codrin didn't react when the person entered, and he normally at least gives a warning growl.

As soon as she turns around, however, both her reasons vanish.

It's Daniel, so of course Codrin won't get upset when he arrives. And Daniel's come bearing breakfast. It must be much later than she thought it was.

He makes his way over to her, joining her on the tree branch she's sitting on, handing Isabelle her food. She takes it gratefully, only just now realising how hungry she is.

"I heard about what happened with Charlie," Daniel says softly, gently stroking Codrin's green snout. Isabelle just looks at him.

"What do you zink about it all, zen?" she asks quietly.

Daniel takes a deep breath. "You want my honest opinion?"

Isabelle nods.

"Alright, then. I reckon both of you could have handled it better. I don't think Charlie should have gotten as easily as annoyed and jealous as he did — in fact the way he acted about you having other guy friends was way outta line. He blew it way outta proportion. However, he was talking to me about the whole thing last night, and I do think that there were several instances where you could have payed him more attention, just so he wouldn't feel shitty and like you were moving on from him or would rather hang out with other people than him."

Isabelle stays silent.

"I reckon it was just one massive miscommunication," Daniel says, swallowing his mouthful. "I say give it a break for a while, and then talk to each other about what's going on. I mean, I know it's not my business, but I know you still care about him, and he's obviously still in love with you — it's clear he regrets breaking up with you but doesn't know how to recover from it."

"Non, nor do I," Isabelle admits softly.

The two of them sit there in silence for a while, Daniel wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulders as they finish off their breakfast.

"C'mon," he says eventually, standing up, "we don't wanna miss Florin tell us all about our next task, now do we?"

Isabelle manages a weak smile, planting a soft kiss on Codrin's snout before she leaves the clearing with Daniel, the two of them heading back to their little village of huts.

"The Norwegian Ridgeback is a species of dragon native to Norway, and its typical habitat are the Northern Mountains," Florin says after all six of them have arrived; Elena and Luca have already re-started on their task with the Ukrainian Ironbelly, being the only pair that failed that task. "It's said to physically resemble a Hungarian Horntail, which is the species of dragon we will be learning about next."

Isabelle stands beside Christopher and Daniel, away from Charlie. If she's going to be honest, she doesn't want to be near him at the moment. Not because she doesn't like him, but because she has no idea how to talk to him anymore.

"Fun fact: in 1802, a Norwegian Ridgeback was reported to have carried a Whale Calf off the coast of Norway," Florin grins around at the six of them as he paces back and forth.

She glances at Charlie out of the corner of her eyes, and immediately regrets it. Her ex-boyfriend's hair has grown longer and a darker orange, and he's ran his hands through it to keep it off his face. His jaw's set, his jawline looking more chiseled than ever. His millions of freckles have darkened as well, having spent the past couple of months outdoors all the time, to the point his skin appears tanned. She can see the veins in his hands, the muscles flexed in his folded arms, where a few new scars have joined his old familiar ones. Isabelle inhales sharply, forcing her eyes away from his tense stance.