Vivian hadn't seen Charlie since their school days. They had been very close but work seemed to pull them apart, Charlie moving to Romania and all for the dragons, but he was back home for a short while and he'd sent her an owl asking to meet up. She sat in the small local wizard pub, the Green Dragon, which she found ironically amusing considering Charlie's work with dragons. She had arrived slightly early, as usual, so ordered herself a butterbeer and sat in a corner by the window to gaze out at all of the people passing. Winter was in full swing and there was a blizzard going on outside, making the small pub feel much more homely and it drew out Vivian's curiousity as to the reasons for everyone else being out in such bad weather. As the time they were meant to meet drew closer Vivian started to get concerned that she had got the wrong time to meet Charlie and she was about to get up to see if she could spot him elsewhere when a ginger stranger sat in front of her. He had a warm smile on his face, like he already knew her, but Vivian was struggling to recognise him.
"Hi" He greeted, shaking off his snowy coat. Vivian stared at him trying to place him in her mind.
"Charlie?" She questioned. He had grown quite a bit taller from the last time she had seen him. His hair was shorter than she expected but it suited him, and he was most definitely had more muscles than the last time she saw him.
"Don't look so surprised" He laughed looking down at her, resting his coat on the back of his chair, his hands resting on the table but he didn't sit down quite yet, "I'm just going to get a drink love, won't be long" he gave her another smile, gaze lingering somewhat before he left to get himself something from the bar. Vivian noticed his hands had a lot of scars on, presumably from working with the dragons, and wanted to know all the stories behind them. She took another sip of her butterbeer, looking around the pub; it had filled up quite considerably since the snowstorm outside had picked up, people dotted all around laughing and chatting with friends. It was loud but not uncomfortably so, you would still be able to get lost in your own conversation.
"Sorry bout that" Charlie greeted as he returned with what looked like a butterbeer too. He sat his drink down, pulling up his chair, leaning into it as if he was at home sat on the sofa, "So how've you been?" He picked up his beer as he waited for a response.
"Pretty good" Vivian nodded, she wasn't sure where to start. She hadn't seen Charlie in 9 years so when he had reached out to talk to her again she was more than a little surprised. They had little contact outside of a christmas and birthday card once a year. "Uhm, the ministry has been quiet since the fall of you-know-who". It was the most obvious thing to comment on. Vivian felt a little silly for still calling him you-know-who rather than by name, especially since he really was dead now, but there was something about saying his real name that sent chills down Vivian's spine. "I mean, it was hectic for a bit afterwards trying to sort things out, but after that it settled down again". Charlie nodded along indicating he was listening as Vivian tried to think of more things to say, "How about you Charlie? How're the dragons doing?". As soon as she mentioned dragons his expression seemed to light up and Vivian was thrown back to their old care of magial creatures lessons, his face of pure joy hadn't changed a bit.
"They're good! Fiesty as ever and we're learning more about them than ever. Glad to have got them banned from competitions like Triwizard now. Even when they give nasty injuries it doesn't mean I want them to be hurt"
"Do they hurt you a lot? The dragons I mean, you have quite a few scars" Vivian pointed them out hoping she could get an explanation behind some. Partially because it would be something to talk about but also she did want to hear the stories behind them. Watching Charlie talk about things he was truly passionate about had always been mesmorising.
