The Girl Who Saw Tomorrow III » Harry Potter

3.5 | Silver Tongue

Charlie Weasley was just as Margaret remembered: broad-shouldered, long-haired, cheerful and with a number of burns and scratches running up his arms. As soon as Charlie arrived, his voice boomed across the garden:

"Mum! Your favourite son is home!"

Mrs Weasley's smile was wide and infectious as she threw open the back door. "Oh, my boy!"

Instantly, the Weasleys had surrounded their second-oldest brother, all shouting hellos, hugging Charlie and patting him on the back. Once the crowd dispersed a little, Margaret approached to greet him.

"Ahoy!" she says, shooting him a salute.

"Margie!" says Charlie, sweeping down to greet her with a hug. "How've you been?"

"All good," she says, smiling. "How 'bout you?"

"Great! Oh, I have so much to tell you. Do you remember that thing in the Valley of No Return-?"

"Yes, yes, you can all catch up inside," interjects Mrs Weasley, now keen on herding them all back inside. "Lunch's getting cold!"

"In we go, Weasleys!" Charlie caught sight of the four Delacours standing by the back door, smiling pleasantly at the scene. "Bonjour, Monsieur et Madame Delacour. Comment allez-vous tous?"

"Trés bien!" says Madam Delacour happily. "Tu parles français?"

"Since when do you speak French?" asks George, brows raised.

"Oui, and yes," says Charlie, adding, "Which mean the same thing, by the way. I've been learning French. You see, I'm moving to France!"

There was an uproar of questions at this:

"To France?" gasps Mrs Weasley.

"Where in France?" asks Fred.

"When? Why?" adds George.

"Are you going to Paris?" asks Ginny excitedly.

"You're quitting the Dragon Sanctuary?" asks Ron, flabbergasted.

Charlie turned to Margaret with raised eyebrows as she was the only one laughing.

"One trip-" she squeaks. "One trip changed our whole lives!"

"It did indeed," Charlie grins in agreement, swinging an arm around Margaret's shoulders before turning to the rest of his family. "You all heard mum, we can chat inside!"

It turned out that the giant dragon-shaped rock that Margaret and Charlie, and their trekking group, came across was never a rock at all. As Charlie had collected several soil samples from it, he had been right in deducing that it was something more: A peculiar dragon fossil sprouted out at the side of the mountain at some point during history due to tectonic shifts.

"And so, I'm leading a team from the Sanctuary to find out more about what's in the area," Charlie narrates to them all. "It's been a long procedure - the French and Romanian Ministries were both pleased with my findings. It took a little while to convince the Muggle French President, he was worried that we might ruin an important historical and tourist site. All sorts of technicalities, you see. But we finally got the tie-up, so, after the wedding, I'll be moving to Paimpont, France for the next year!"

"Such a great opportunity, dear," says Mrs Weasley, smiling through her tears. "Oh just wait until your father comes home. He'd be so proud!"

"In Paimpont? says Margaret, beaming. "I knew you liked that place!"

"I sure did!" says Charlie. "Oh, by the way, remind me to give you Tara's book later. She's threatened me with her Ukrainian Ironbelly, Kalinga, if I forget to give it to you."