For the OTP boot camp – Charlie/Draco with the prompt: enamored.
For the creatures comp – Dragons: write about a red-head. Min words: 500.
For the magic comp – charms: Alohomora: write about someone breaking into somewhere they shouldn't. Min words: 750.
For the magic comp – potions: Amortentia: write a romance! Min words: 3,000.
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Below you will find some asexuality and homosexuality. I do believe that there is one person in the world that can change someone's sexual orientation. Also, you will read about an OC and a strong friendship between a male and female that has absolutely nothing more than platonic feelings, which I also believe is possible.
This makes references to events that happens in my other stories Righting Your Wrongs and Finding A Flat.
/
It's two weeks after graduation when Charlie heads to Romania. He Apparates as close to the Reservation as he can. Once he's landed, he immediately hunches over, waiting for the nausea to subside. It takes several minutes and a couple deep breaths before he can move without having the urge to throw up.
He runs his hand through his disheveled red hair and shifts his bag further up his shoulder. Straightening up, he walks into the Reservation and follows the signs to the new Dragon Tamer recruits. He pushes the door open. Scanning the crowd of the other new Dragon Tamers, Charlie smiles brightly.
"Welcome to your first day of Dragon Taming," a man speaks. Charlie immediately stops sizing up his peers to pay attention to the speaker. "I'm Damien and I've worked here for a few years. Dragon Taming is no walk in the park, so we are required to be serious while you're on the clock."
Damien steps down from the stage. "There are seven species of dragons here. You are required to take care of one specific breed. You can choose whichever one you wish. And you may also sign up to take care of others during your off hours. It is mandatory that you work at least twenty hours a week with your chosen dragon species," he says. Motioning to the board on his left, he continues. "Here is where you are going to sign up for your main dragon species."
Charlie, of course, already knows that's his main dragon of choice is going to be: the Hungarian Horntail. But he knows that he'll also be signing up to interact with all of the dragons on the Reservation. If he plays it right, he won't have time for anything other than sleep and work; just the way he wants it.
"According to your main dragon, you will be assigned a partner. They will be you partner for the rest of the time you're here, so do try to get along," Damien lectures. "And if you don't have other arrangements, we will partner you with a dorm mate." There's a long pause before he speaks again. "I think that's all. Sign up for your main dragon before you leave. Partners will be announced before work tomorrow, which starts at eight."
Damien steps away from the stage and the sign up boards. Charlie waits patiently to sign his name before making his way toward the dorms. He knew he wouldn't have other arrangements, so he had already knew which room he would staying in, at least until he could afford his own flat. He takes the stairs up to floor four and quietly looks for dorm five.
Without hesitation, he opens the door. The room is already furnished and there's already pictures hanging on the walls. He furrows his eyebrows in confusion because he wasn't made aware that he already had a dorm mate. The dorm, though, is oddly silent for someone who has already there.
He lets his bag fall to the floor as he makes his way over to the first door he sees. Thoughtlessly, he opens the door without knocking. He hears a shriek and, "What are you doing?" He blinks twice and meets her color-changing eyes.
"I'm sorry," he says. His eyes never weaver from hers as he shuts the door firmly, not giving her a chance to say anything.
Turning on his heels, he heads towards the other door. This time he knocks and waits a heartbeat before opening it. The room is bare and obviously his. Summoning his bag towards him, he starts to unpack his thing. But he leaves his door open so that he can hear when his dorm mate leaves her room. He's nearly unpacked before she emerges.
Stopping what he is doing, he goes to meet her properly this time. She's waiting for him, siting perfectly still on the couch until he graces her with his presence. He takes a seat in the chair that's across from her. "I am sorry about earlier," he states again because he's not quite sure what else to say. "I honestly didn't know anyone was home."
She flashes him a bright smile. "It's quite alright. I really should've locked the door. I knew some new Tamers were arriving today. Time just got away from me," she explains, her voice thick with a French accent. She holds her hand out to him. "I'm Zoelie."
"I'm Charlie," he replies, shaking her hand.
"Well, Charlie. It looks like you'll be my roommate until you or I find other arrangements," she says. "I was just about to make dinner. Would you like some?"
Charlie nods politely. "That would be great."
/
Charlie wakes up before his alarm the next morning. He showers and dresses as quietly and quickly as he can. He makes breakfast and prepares coffee, because he could never go a day without caffeine, even during Hogwarts. As he makes his plate, Zoe enters the kitchen.
"So you can cook," she notes with a grin. He offers her a plate, which she takes. "Thanks."
He nods. "My mum taught me to cook. Figured that I would need to learn if I was planning on living by myself." Taking the other stool, Charlie finally breaks the silence that Zoe lets fall between them, because he always have hated silence. "How long have you been here?"
"A few days. Beauxbatons students graduate a few days before the other schools. My parents don't like the idea of a girl working with dragons, so I came down early to avoid confrontation," she explains in between bites. "Do your parents approve of you doing this?"
Charlie swallows his bite before speaking. "They always knew that I was going to work with dragons. I've had an obsession with them since I was young. Though, my mum was hoping I would go for Quidditch instead. She doesn't like the fact that I'm so far away from home. But she'll get used to it. She did when my older brother moved to Egypt two years ago."
"So do you just have an older brother?" she asks as she places her plate in the sink.
He laughs loudly. "Oh Merlin, no," he replies once he stops. "I have four younger brothers and a younger sister too." By the look on Zoe's face, Charlie can tell she doesn't have any siblings. "You're an only child." He doesn't ask; he just states it.
She nods. The clock chimes, signaling that it's nearly time to go. She pulls her long blonde locks into a messy bun. "Come on. We'll be late if we don't leave now." Before he can protest, she takes ahold of his hand and Apparates.
"Are you alright?" she asks.
Charlie is hunched over, taking deep breaths. "I get sick Apparating," he tells her, softly. Finally fighting the urge to throw up, Charlie stands up straight. "It takes me a few moments to gather myself."
Zoe nods, but doesn't apologize. Charlie, however, doesn't mind. He doesn't expect everyone to automatically know that he has Apparation-sickness. "Well, come along. Let's see who our partners are."
Holding the door open, Charlie allows Zoe to enter first because he hasn't left all his manners at home. He looks for his name on the master list, but before he spot his name, Zoe slips her arm through his. "It looks like we're partners!" she informs him.
He smiles. At least he knows what his partner is like. And he already likes her frank personality. "Why'd you choose the Hungarian Horntails?" Charlie asks.
She leads him towards the area where they get measured for their protective gear. "They seemed to be the most challenging," she says with a smirk. "You?"
"They're the first dragons I ever learned about," he replies easily. "Seemed fitting I would choose them as my main dragon."
"Did you sign up to take care of some of the other dragons?" she questions as she is turned by the measurer.
He gives her a look that clearly say are you crazy? "Some of them?" he repeats. "Please. I signed up to work with all the others. I came here to work with all the dragons I can, not just one species. Besides, I happen to have a lot of free time on my hands, being in a new country without family."
She picks up her newly fitted gear and calls over her shoulder, "Best hurry up. I'll be done before you are." She leaves before he can reply. He knows that they'll make a good team.
/
He walks through the door and throws his bag on the floor. Collapsing on the couch, Charlie is glad to be home. His week off for Christmas just seemed to fly by too quickly. And he misses the Burrow and his family already.
Zoe's bedroom door swings open and she takes the seat next to him. "I thought I heard you get back. How was it?"
"I didn't realize how much I missed home," Charlie admits. "Working so much doesn't leave much time for me to just sit and think about home. But things really haven't changed at home. Fred and George still are pulling pranks, Ginny's still crushing on Harry, Ron is still glued to his side and Percy still has his nose in a book. What about you?"
Zoe shrugs. "My parents still hate the fact that I'm a Dragon Tamer. And my aunt and cousins came over for a while, which made it worthwhile."
And then the conversation is over as Zoe flicks on the television.
/
As Zoe levitates food into a male Hungarian Horntail habitat, she strikes up a conversation. "You know, in the two years that I've known you, I haven't once seen you with a woman; with anyone for that matter," she points out. "Do you date?"
"Why?" he ask. "Do you want a date?" he adds with a smile playing at his lips.
"You know I do," she flashes him a smile before turning back to concentrate on her spell. For once, Charlie allows silence to hang between them, waiting patiently for Zoe to say something else. "But I'm serious. Do you date? Pass me the next container, please," she requests before he can answer.
As he hands her the next bucket of food, he replies. "Honestly, no. I just never felt the urge to date anyone."
She furrows her eyebrows. "Really? You've never been romantically attracted to anyone before?"
"No. And it's never struck me as odd either," he responds easily. "I've always been more focused on school and family, and now work. Don't get me wrong; I've tried to date when I was at Hogwarts and those all ended terribly."
"Were you attracted to the girls you dated?" She hands an empty bucket back to Charlie and grabs the second one. Together, they make their way towards the bay to get more food for their other dragons.
Charlie shakes his head. "No. I never felt anything towards them, besides a strong friendship. That's why I ended them. I felt guilty for not being attracted to them."
Zoe meets Charlie's blue eyes with her own color-changing ones. "You surely are something, Char."
He grins at her. He knows that he's different, that he doesn't – and doesn't think he can – love anyone romantically. But her words just prove that it doesn't matter. She's still his friend and he can't ask for anything more.
/
Charlie slides her coffee across the table as she enters his newly found favorite place. "Thanks," she says as she picks up the cup. "How much?"
"It's on me, today. You can get it next time," he informs her, before he takes a swallow of his own coffee. "How was the date?" With that question, he knows he's signed his own death sentence, because nothing good ever comes when she tells him every detail of her date.
Her face lights up at the mention. "We have another on Friday."
"That good then?" It's the first time he's heard her say that. Most guys she goes out on a date with never get a second one.
She nods. "It was picture perfect. He was such a gentleman."
Sipping his coffee, Charlie listens as Zoe chatters about how her date went. He doesn't mind it. She's his best friend and he'll always be there to listen to her, good or bad.
/
"Did you really think they'll let you work when you've been burned?" Zoe asks as she walks with him back to his flat. She shakes her head in amusement. "You should know by now that it's a mandatory day off if hurt."
Charlie grumbles in annoyance. "It's nearly healed. There's no reason why I shouldn't work. I can still move my arm, just fine." Zoe bites back laughter at Charlie as he moves his arm just to prove his point. "You know you didn't have to walk with me. I could've made it just fine."
"I know. But I had nothing else better to do. They won't let me work without a partner," she replies easily. They both know that she can ask for a temporary partner, but she wants to make sure that he allows the burn to heal properly. "Besides, a day off is nice. We've been working a lot lately."
He nods his agreement. "You can use my Floo and meet up with Jason. I'm going to actually reply to the letters that my family sent me. Merlin knows I haven't replied to any in nearly two weeks and my mum is probably freaking out."
She smiles and rolls her eyes because she knows he's just trying to get rid of her. "Don't overuse your arm. Just allow it to heal properly," she tells him. "And you can come back to work tomorrow and complain about how you were perfectly fine to work today."
"Bye Zoe," he says as she grabs a handful of Floo power.
"Bye Char." With that, he's let alone in his flat with nothing but a pile of letters that he needs to reply to.
/
Charlie's standing next to Jason as he waits eagerly for Zoe to emerge. He can hardly believe that his best friend is getting married. And some part of him wants to feel jealous at that fact, but he doesn't. He's happy that Zoe's so in love with her husband-to-be.
He knows he should want this; that he should want to be married and have children. But he doesn't really want that. Children have always made him smile, but the thought of being with someone sexually just doesn't appeal to him.
So he just grins as he watches Jason's face light up when he looks at Zoe. She looks beautiful. He can admit that. Her blonde locks are free of her usual bun she wears at work and she looks great in that white dress.
She flashes him a smile and a wink before she turns to be married to Jason. Charlie just lets himself enjoy the moment. After all, how many times does his best friend get married?
/
"No kids yet?" Charlie teases. Zoe's first year anniversary is fast approaching and Charlie knows what Jason's planning. But he has to make sure she doesn't get on the subject because he's a terrible liar, at least to her.
Zoe shakes her head. "I want to enjoy my first years of marriage before I have children running around my house." When Charlie smiles, Zoe asks. "I know that you're asexual, but would you want children?"
"I always enjoyed babysitting my younger siblings, so I think I would," he answers after a long pause.
She accepts the answer without any more questions.
/
Charlie doesn't even get a chance to collapse on his couch before Zoe is pulling him in for a hug. "I'm sorry," she whispers into his hair. And that's when he knows she's heard about Fred.
But he really doesn't feel like talking. He's been talking and comforting for the past two months. He's been strong because he should be. Someone needed to be and he really hasn't seen his family in nearly a year before the Battle so he felt the obligation to. Though, the time and distance apart didn't stop him from feeling the pain. He just put it aside because he needed to help his family piece themselves back together.
Now, in the comforts of his own flat, Charlie can fall to pieces. He can allow the pain to overwhelm him. And he doesn't have to worry about comforting anyone.
Silently, Zoe tightens her grip on Charlie as he quietly sobs. She knows him well enough to know that he put his family's well-being over his and he really just needs to let it out. So she stands there and holds him in a hug. But she doesn't whisper words of comfort because she knows he's heard them all and probably have whispered them to his family.
When Charlie's shoulders stop shaking, Zoe leads him to his bedroom. She gives him a sleeping draught, which he downs quickly. As he lies down, he doesn't apologize for crying on her shoulder nor does he thank her but she doesn't need to hear what she knows. She leans down and kisses his cheek lightly. "You have work tomorrow, but I'm sure they'll understand if you don't feel like coming in." But she knows he'll be in because he needs the distraction.
He just nods and she leaves him to sleep his fatigue away.
/
Charlie sits in his usual coffee shop, waiting for Zoe to meet him. He's feeling strange since the night before and he doesn't know what's going on. Hearing the chime of the door, he lifts up her coffee, which she takes promptly. "Thanks. Now, what was so important that you couldn't wait until today's shift to talk about?"
He is silent for several minutes, lazily tracing the lid of his coffee. Looking up to meet her color-changing eyes, Charlie gives her a puzzled look. "My stomach did flips last night." When she doesn't look surprised, he clarifies himself. "I wasn't Apparating."
He watches realization flash across her eyes before her face lights up in a grin. "You met somebody then?"
"I don't know," he admits, frustrated. "I was just talking to him because he was new here, and he looked familiar. But my heart started racing and my stomach was doing flips. And what does that even mean?"
Zoe wants to laugh at the confusion and frustration written on Charlie's face, but she doesn't because she knows that Charlie wouldn't enjoy being laughed at when he's being so serious. "That's usually what attraction feels like," she informs him. "You were romantically attracted to him."
His eyebrows furrow. "But I'm asexual. How is that even possible?"
She knows it's a rhetorical question, but she answers it anyway. "I'm not expert in sexuality, so I can't tell you why or even how. But I do believe that there is one person in this world that could change another's sexuality. And maybe he's your person."
When he stays silent, she puts her hand over his. "It isn't the end of the world, Char. Jason wants to go on a date, but if you need to talk, send me a patronus. Jason will understand that you need me." She kisses him on the cheek and leaves him to his own devices.
He sits at his table for a while, pondering what Zoe had said. Of all the people that could possibly change his sexuality, it just had to be Draco Malfoy. While Charlie has nothing again the boy – quite the opposite, evidently – some of his family does hate him and he severally doubted that the younger boy is homosexual. All Charlie knows is that he's royally screwed.
/
Zoe doesn't even bother to knock as she enters Charlie's flat. "Hey, Zoe. Are you hungry?" Charlie calls. He doesn't even need to look to know that it's Zoe; only she enters without knocking.
"Food would be great," she answers, sitting on a stool at the bar.
"You purposely left me alone with him," Charlie accuses her. He turns around and leans against the counter, his arms folded across his chest.
She just smirks. "I figured you wouldn't want me interfering. I found Jason and went out on a date." Charlie rolls his eyes at her tactics. "You can thank me by passing me a plate of the delicious smelling food."
He can't hide the smile as he passes her a plate. "He's staying in town for a while," Charlie says conversationally. "Says Romania was his favorite place he's been."
"Probably because of you," she mumbles under her breath.
"I heard that!" he claims.
They fall into silence as they eat dinner together. But before Zoe leaves to return home to Jason, she turns back towards him abruptly. "You know, it isn't much of a surprise that he's the one you're attracted to," she tells him. When he raises his eyebrow at her, she continues on. "His name does mean dragon after all."
Charlie stops in his tracks. After Zoe's proclamation sets in, Charlie finally replies. "His name may mean dragon, but I seriously doubt that he's…" he trails off for a moment, trying to find the right words, "into men."
"You'll never know unless you take the risk," Zoe says. Several heartbeats later, she adds, "Look, I know this is all new to you, especially after being asexual most of your life. But just become his friend and see where that goes. That's always the best way to start."
/
Zoe takes one look at Charlie and knows something different. "You're in a very good mood. What happened?" She wordlessly holds out her hand for the bucket of food and Charlie automatically hands it to her.
"I…he…we kissed," Charlie replies, stumbling over himself.
"And?" she demands as she drops the bucket and turns to face him.
Charlie gives her a puzzled look. "And what?"
"How was it?"
He smiles. He feels like a gossiping schoolgirl, but he knows that Zoe will always bug him until he actually tells her. "Better than any kiss I've had in my life." The girls that he had kissed during Hogwarts didn't make him feel like he did when he kissed Draco.
"It's because you were actually attracted to him," Zoe replies matter-of-factly. "But I'm glad you're happy, Char."
Charlie nods. "Thanks, Zoe."
And it's the truth. He is happy. Even though his life felt complete without Draco in it, it feels perfect with him in it. Charlie has his own dragon that he's pretty sure he loves. But Charlie's never been romantically in love before, so he doesn't know if it is love; if it's not, it's pretty damn close and that's good enough for Charlie.
/
A/n – This is definitely not what I thought I was going to write, but I like it anyways.
Please, please don't favorite without reviewing!