Misfits

2

  There was nothing quite like the adrenaline rush that came before an intense situation. Charlie's fingers got tingly, his heart thudded in his chest, he could feel his body struggling to remain still. Of course, there was also the fact that he wanted to throw up until there was nothing left in his system, but he tried to ignore that one.

It used to be this way before big tests in school, or the last game of the Quidditch season. Nerves would start up, but he'd be too excited to really stop and feel them. Now, the adrenaline rush was there, but so were the undertones of a panic attack. He wasn't just excited, he was clammy and sweating out of nerves. His cool head was failing him when he needed it the most. He was calm and handled all sorts of situations well; after he'd experienced them before.

The first time he'd walked on to the grounds where he currently worked, he'd been shaking and sweating just as much as he was now. He'd almost passed out the first time he was put in charge of doing anything to one of their hatchlings, and he was almost useless the first mating season he was there. Bill always told him he was an eager pleaser. When he was asked to do something, he didn't want to let anyone down, so he was anxious until he figured out he could do it.

Fortunately for Charlie there wasn't much he couldn't handle after that first phase. This did seem like it was going to be an exception, and his teammates were already expecting him to be useless.

     "I know green and red usually go pretty well together," Alex remarked from where he was sitting, "but it's not very flattering at this moment."

"Shut it," Charlie grumbled, swallowing as his stomach clenched. "I don't want to hear it right now."

"Let him alone," Pollux agreed, boxing Alex on the ears, "he's got the toughest job-"

     "And I'd like to see you hold your ground in this sort of situation," Castor finished.

     Alex glared at the two of them and rubbed his ears. "I'm just saying. He needs to fake it a little better because the message I'm taking here is that he has zero faith in this plan of his."

     "That is not what you should be taking away," Charlie argued. He looked up with a small glare, "just because I'm nervous, doesn't mean I don't have full confidence this is going to work."

     "Any sane person would argue that that is exactly what that means!"

     "Look around," Maddie scoffed from where she was sitting, "'sane person' doesn't exactly fit the description of anyone here right now. You want to know why? Because we're all here right now!" 

Alex folded is arms with a huff, grumbling to himself under his breath.

     "Nobody forced you to come, Al."

     "You forced me to come, Maddie!"

     Charlie sighed as the bickering continued. The group was literally within throwing distance of the meeting place and had been for the last hour. They kept far enough away they couldn't be spotted by anyone exiting the caravan of tents and wagons, but they were close enough he could see and hear all their occupants. The distant wails and roars of various dragons, a couple flashes of crimson indicated they were detaining a few phoenixes, the screech of what Charlie assumed was a thunderbird. Every sound and every sight made his stomach clench and the feeling of wanting to be ill return. 

     "These places give me the creeps," Leo muttered softly from where he was sitting. He was hovering over the fire, adding some last minute additions to the sedative in the cauldron over it. "Makes me wish the ministry paid more attention to their beast division...so many creatures treated like this and they can't be bothered to send a few more people out of their offices unless its to deal with a rouge." 

     Charlie nodded slightly. "Their aurors have been getting the majority of the attention, but can you blame them? With everything that's been happening it only makes sense shutting down institutions like this place makes the bottom of their priority list."

      "What, you mean things like a fruitless, year long man hunt for Sirius Black makes the top of it? That's a desperate move to get back in favor with the public after a massive screw up if I ever saw one. Fudge ought to give it a rest. Man's probably hiding out on some remote island by now." Leo gave his wand a flick over the bubbling liquid and took a step back as a could of smoke puffed out around the top. "Finished. That ought to calm her down."

     "Good...I guess all that's left is the actual transportation part." Charlie said as he stood back up.

     "Yep. After the whole transaction part." Leo looked to the deer carcass he was to lace with the potion. "You ought to head over with Castor and Alex. I need to finish up with this, so you can send one back for me when you need me in there."

     Charlie nodded and glanced at the group as they continued bickering. "Probably better to split them up now anyway. If we can hear everything happening over there, I'm sure they're aware of a certain lack of teamwork in our camp."

Leo shook his head. "Not a lack of. Just...the playful banter that accompanies it."

     "That's one way to look at it." He headed over to the rest of the group, sparing a glance away from the smuggler camp. There was one last shot at getting out of this whole thing. One last chance to avoid walking into that camp and spare himself that trauma. Then again, it was hardly like himself to go out of his way to avoid a dangerous or traumatic situation. Charlie sighed, mostly to himself before grabbing Alex and Castor and leading them away. 

     "Buck up and leave it be. Let's just get this over with."

Alex and Castor exchanged a tense glance. They followed him without another word.

     The screeches and cries of the beasts the three had been able to hear from camp amplified with every step they took. However, if Charlie had been deaf, the whole establishment would have seemed quite pleasant.  The grass under the group's feet was soft, green, and tall with spatterings of wildflowers laced into it. Colorful tents wrapped around in a circle and a breeze gently blew at the flags on top of them and fluttered the fabric hems off the ground. The backsides of wagons stood in every gap which effectively blocked the inside of the camp off from view. It wouldn't have looked that suspicious from a distance where the beasts inside couldn't be heard. That was probably the entire point. 

     "You boys lost?" A woman called to them from her spot leaning against one of the caravans. Long black hair blew in the breeze, and her smile glinted in the sun. "You look kind of far from home."

     "Stan sent us," Castor said, stepping forward, "We're supposed to be speaking with Richard Thomas?"

     The woman nodded thoughtfully. "The dragon wranglers have arrived then. You won't mind my asking for some identification, I'm sure."

Charlie pulled out a paper Stan had sent him with, verifying they were the group he had sent. "Not at all, ma'am."

     "Ma'am?" she grinned at him and took the paper. Charlie detected American in her accent. "Aren't you sweet? Amy's fine." She scanned the paper and handed it back. "Seems like everything checks out. Just follow me, boys." 

     Amy smiled and ducked past the wagon in their way. The men all swapped a look before following after her, Charlie at the head of the group. 

     "Miss we really need to-" a sudden shriek cut Charlie off as a blur of yellow feathers banged against the bars of the wagon. He cried out in surprise and jumped back away as the whole thing shook violently. A Thunderbird, a little smaller than average glared back at him with steely, panicked eyes. The chains around its neck rattled as it thrashed and snapped at the new arrivals through the bars. 

     "Oh don't mind him," Amy said breezily, pulling her wand out and delivering a sharp electric shock to its side. It shrieked again and retreated back to the corner of its cell. "He's all bark and no bite." 

The thunderbird cowered as far away from her as it could and Charlie felt bile rise in his throat as the feeling of wanting to be ill returned. Amy turned back to them and smiled pleasantly again. "Right this way, gentlemen. Mister Thomas doesn't like being kept waiting."