Set My Heart on Fire | Coming Eventually

Part 1 | Chapter One

Part 1

Chapter One

            Fire flashed past Charlie Weasley’s face, nearly burning his freckled cheek. “Bloody hell!” he cried, jumping back. The Chinese Fireball he was trying to feed was very angry and very protective of the crimson eggs she had her tail wrapped tenderly around-and Charlie needed to get to those eggs.

“C’mon Jemma, just eat the bloody pork rind!” the dragon blew a mushroom shaped cloud of fire, let out a tremendous roar and glared at Charlie with her protruding eyes. “Fine!” he yelled. “You bloody monster you!”

“Charlie!” Matt Lanigen motioned to him from behind the force field that rippled slightly as he moved behind it “Come here, I have someone for you to meet.” Wiping his brow, Charlie held in a sigh; his new ‘partner’ must have finally arrived from England-this was something Charlie had been dreading for a month. He didn’t want to replace Greg, his partner who’d died in the battle of Hogwarts; they’d been good chums for five years, since he was nineteen. No rookie from the city was going to replace good old Greg.

The force field rippled, allowing him to walk through. Matt stood on the other side, smiling broadly-why Charlie had no idea; Greg had been Matt’s uncle, and he, too had been dreading the new kid. But when Charlie saw who was with Matt, the last word to describe the person standing at his side was kid; instead of the gawky kid who’d never actually seen a dragon before, there was a beautiful young woman who looked totally out of place but completely comfortable.

“Who’s this?” Charlie asked, trying to make the connection.

“This,” said Matt in a tight, fake voice Charlie knew well “Is Elizabeth Gilligan.”

“But what is she doing here?” not having seen the opposite sex in a month besides his sister and mother had him a little confused; there were no girls at the reservation. Not ever! Even Matt’s own girlfriend refused to visit! The only other woman who dared pass it’s barriers was Daisy, and she was only the vet that came by every few weeks.

“Well-she’s, um-” Matt scratched his head.

“Please,” the woman said, smiling and extending her hand “Call me Liz.”

“I’m Charlie, Charlie Weasley.” He said, shaking her head “So, are you staying long?”

Liz laughed, “You don’t get it, do you?” she shook her head so her short, dark curly hair bounced “I’m your new partner.”

Charlie didn’t say anything, and didn’t know if he could-a female partner? He’d always been popular, and girls had always been attracted to him for reasons he could never explain, but could he work with the opposite sex? Again, after the last time? He had absolutely no idea. “Oh, uh, wow! That’s great; welcome to Romania!”

“I’m happy to be here, thank you.”

“So are we,” Matt said in the same tone as before “Charlie here hasn’t had a partner for two months since the war.”