Spit Fire [Charlie Weasley]

Chapter 12: Hoia Baciu Forest

Nearly any phenomenon in this world can be explained by magic. Witchcraft and wizardry have always had its hand in the pot since the dawn of time. But there are some things, certain things that cannot be explained by a wave of a wand or sip of a potion. I came to realize this the following day after Charlie and I had our Hufflepuff/Gryffindor meltdown.

Somehow, Charlie confidently felt like he had cracked the code of the dragons. Something in my speech had triggered him and for all the galleons in the world, I could not get him to tell me. I was only informed to be up and ready by 05:00 in the morning at Tempy's office. I managed to smuggle a few hours of sleep since I spent a majority of my time worrying about everything going on with the Dark Lord, Cordelia, and watching my own back, and not to mention I wondered and fantasized a lot about Charlie. 

I had woken up at the ass crack of dawn and sluggishly got ready. However, as soon as my feet touched the frigid floor and my bare shoulders were met with the chill, early morn wintry air I wanted to dive back in.  I managed to get a canister of coffee ready in enough time as I struggled to get ready. A holey pair of boot cut jeans over my thermals and my dragon hide boots with my cozy fluffy pink and gray socks sounded good as I pulled on the tight thermal long sleeve with a red and black flannel button up. As I busied myself getting cleaned and ready for the day I lit my fireplace and set my heavy, thick olive jacket near the rolling flames so it would be warm for me to wear. 

Sniffing the black coffee I let out a relaxed sigh as I leaned against the counter in the kitchen. I charmed the creamer and sugar to pour into my canister as I stirred absentmindedly. The Carpathian Mountains were quite literally no joke. The Romanian Dragon Sanctuary had picked a great spot to nestle their organization. We were so deep into the mountain range that without magic to get through our many barriers, cameos, and illusions, any muggle trying would become lost in the meters of mountains. My little fairy tale cottage had been wrapped in a thick blanket of snow. Sometimes I'd have to blast out the path of snow with the explosion charm. Speaking of which... 

I arose from my nesting spot to go to my door to blast a path free when I caught sight of the clock on my wall composed of doodles, artwork, and nick nacks. "Oh crap," I was running late. I would have to apparate. Not that I didn't like apparating, but I was a winter person. I loved to walk outside and enjoy the outdoors carpeted in snow and the brisk air. I snatched my jacket off the rack in front of the fireplace and readied myself to apparate. "Auguamenti," A jet of water shot out of the tip of my wand and doused out the fire. With that, I apparated to the sanctuary. 

I was looking forward to seeing Charlie this morning, I couldn't wait to see what adventure he had planned for us. It felt like when I was just starting off again, the thrill of the chase was racing through me again, and I was filled with an inexplicable feeling of love for charlie. 

Arriving at the Sanctuary with a bright smile on my face and drinking my canister of coffee I waved my wand past every locked door and started up the stairwell to Tempy's office when I heard Tempy's all too familiar booming yell. 
"Absolutely not!" 
"Oh Godric, what's got him riled up now?" I groaned, leaning my head against the cold pole in the winding, dimly lit stairwell. Just then, I watched as one of the magizoologists from the dragon health and maintenance wing ascended the stairs shaking his head. 
"Last I saw, Charlie was in there talking to him. Tread carefully," He warned me, brushing by. 
"WEASLEY, YOU HAVE SOME NERVE!" Well, that's my cue. I raced the rest of the way up the stairs, perturbed to be moving so fast this early in the morning without consuming the proper amount of coffee beforehand. 

I pushed open the door to see Charlie's back to me and Tempy had arisen from his desk slamming his fists down roughly on the desk. "Easy, Tempy! Your desk is one slam away from falling apart at the seams!" I objected, walking inside. I tried to smooth my hair down awkwardly as Tempy turned his angry eyes on me. 
"You're here finally," Tempy stated as Charlie sent me a half-hearted smile, something about it seemed awkward and forced. His entire posture was rickety with nerves. 
"I was running a few minutes late, my apologies."
"Yes, well, Charlie was just telling me about the excursion you two were going to go on."
"Pardon?" I asked looking at Charlie who seemed to be trying to explain. Tempy did a strange jerk and laughed. 
"Yeh mean he hasn't even told you?!" Tempy barked a laugh. "How low, Charlie..."
"It's not low-!" Charlie verbally objected and Tempy punched a globe off of his desk and it soared across the room. I squeaked and fumbled for my wand, stopping it in midair before it could break. 
"Ye know damn well that girl will follow yeh to the depths of hell! She's got too big of a heart not to! And you are just expecting her to go straight to her grave! You're right, it's not low, it's damn near sickening and inhumane! And I won't allow it!"
"I'm standing right here, please fill me in on what's going on." I sighed, ignoring Tempy's obvious implication at my feelings. If I entertained any part of that sentence I'd turn into a pool of embarrassment on the floor. "Does it have something to do with the dragons?" Tempy nodded to Charlie to speak.