Fic: Have a Little Faith [G] Charlie/Hermione
Title: Have a Little Faith
Author: gfeather
Rating: G
Prompt Set: 50.2
Prompt: #1 Blind
Word Count: 1700
Summary: Charlie has an accident of overcompetence
Warnings: none
Notes: Here begins the rollercoaster ride. Please keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times.
He knew his job was risky. In fact, that was a large part of the appeal. Dragons couldn’t be tamed and were at times very unpredictable. He wasn’t scared of them, but he had a healthy respect for them. He knew this respect was essential in his profession and it was what helped him excel. Somehow, animals seemed to know the difference between cockiness, respect and fear.
No, Charlie didn’t fear dragons, what he really feared was helplessness. He didn’t need to be number one in everything, but he liked to feel competent. Living in Romania was certainly a lesson in that. The first few weeks there, he had felt at the mercy of everything and everybody, not only with respect to his job training, but also in his daily life. Not being able to communicate even the simplest things had made him feel very vulnerable and had driven him to learn the language of his new home with the same dogged determination he had learned the spells, techniques and procedures in his training.
It was likely that determination that had landed him here, flat on his back at St. Mungo’s. As any trainee keeper can tell you, the Conjunctivitis jinx is the most effective defence against a dragon if things go pear shaped and you are forced to deal with one alone. Dragons normally require upwards of seven wizards to stun and blinding them is the best hope for escape if caught out on your own. Naturally, at least to him, it made sense to try to modify the jinx to maximize its effect while minimizing its damage. The modified Conjunctivitis was intended exclusively for use with magical creatures of great size and resiliency and had only ever been published in trade journals. It wasn’t the sort of thing he wanted the general public throwing around. It just wasn’t meant for human use. Hence when he was hit with the modified jinx, the Healers here weren’t entirely certain how to deal with it.
The reason he had been hit with the jinx at all was, in all truth, due to his competency, which irked him. He had been one of the best at the Romanian reserve and had been recommended highly for site manager at the newly established facility in the Outer Hebrides. The establishment of a preserve and research facility was long overdue and Charlie had been surprised when his application for a standard keeper position was not only accepted but promoted to a management position. He still got to work with the dragons, but he was also in charge of training new staff, ordering supplies and communicating with the Ministry liaison from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Yep, in the end it was competency that had landed him here after a misfired spell during a training exercise had failed to hit the target marker, but instead backfired and blinded him completely.
The damp gauze covering his eyes was removed and a fresh cool compress took its place. Hearing the healer speaking without being able to see him was discomforting and he moved to face him, even if he couldn’t see him.
“Stop moving about, Mr. Weasley. It’s only a fresh bandage. Are you still in any pain?” the disembodied voice asked him.
“No,” Charlie admitted, “it was just unexpected.”
He could almost hear the Healer nodding. “Yes, I expect it is. Now, we still aren’t certain as to how long the effects of this jinx are going to be, but from all the tests we have run there seems to be no permanent damage. A normal Conjunctivitis usually lasts eight to ten hours before wearing off naturally. It seems likely, then, that you will be without vision for about a week given the strength of this variant. Beyond the soak we’ve been applying, there is very little else to be done. When it begins to wear off we will need to check your vision, but in the meantime there is no reason you can’t go home, so long as there is someone there to help you out.”
Charlie cringed. He had been afraid the jinx would be left to run its course. The normal Conjunctivitis jinx worked on the same principle, no counter jinx, just let it wear off. His only saving grace was that the modified jinx hurt much less than the original. The initial attack stung like hell, but after a short while the pain eased to a mild itchiness that was easy enough to ignore. He sighed. “I live alone. Let me think about how badly I want to tell my mother about this before you contact anyone. Staying here might not be a bad idea.”
A warm, feminine chuckle sounded from the door. “The big, bad dragon keeper is scared to ask his mum for help?”
He snorted at that. “You know she’s scarier than a dragon when she gets worked up about something.”
“True enough,” the voice said.
“So boss, did you give Wilkins what for? I’d love to do it myself, but it’s difficult to be intimidating enough to castigate someone properly when you can’t see them,” he commented disparagingly.
He could hear the smile in the voice. “Oh, I think he’s quite terrified of what you’ll do to him once you can see again, and beyond horrified of what will happen if you can’t see again. My little lecture isn’t much to the one he’s beating himself up with already.”
He nodded slightly at that. “Good. Let him stew on that for a while. That’ll teach him to pay closer attention.”
Charlie could hear that she had turned and was speaking to the Healer rather than to him. “So, what’s the diagnosis? Will he get his vision back?”
“There seems to be no permanent damage, but the effects will take some time to wear off. I was just telling Mr. Weasley here he was free to go home so long as he has someone to give him a hand. Once his vision starts returning he needs to come back in for some tests, but until then there is very little to do but wait.”
“Well then Charlie, if you’re too scared to tell Molly, then it looks like I’m staying with you for a while.”
Charlie moved to sit up, but the large hand of the Healer restrained him. “Your bandages are not secured. Please stay lying down. If your friend here is willing to stay with you, then we will get you bandaged for travel and show her how to replace the dressings.”
“Hermione, you really don’t have to. I can just tell Mum. She can come stay with me for a week.”
Once again, he could almost hear her motions and expression. In his mind, he saw her hands planted firmly on her hips and a determined expression on her face. “Just how many times were you hospitalized while you lived in Romania? Hmm... let me think. If memory serves, you confessed to over twenty separate incidents. I also seem to recall your mother clucking over your ‘four awful accidents at that dangerous reserve’ and how difficult dealing with Healers in a foreign country must have been those four times.”
He sighed, defeated. He knew his mother would go spare if she knew he had been jinxed with his own jinx while training staff. She hadn’t disguised her relief at him being in management and doing an ‘office’ job. It was better that she didn’t know the whole story. His mother didn’t need any more worries than she already had. “Alright, I give. Just don’t forget that you volunteered for this. I’ll have you know I’m a horrible patient.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” she responded cheekily and seemed to turn to the Healer again. “How long will it take to get him discharged?”
“Give me twenty minutes to get the paperwork in order and get a prescription for the eye soak potion filled. I’ll be back then and show you how to change the bandages,” the Healer replied.
“Sounds fine. Stay put Charlie, I’m going to pop back to my place for a few things and we’ll get you back to your place to complain in the privacy of your own home.”
Charlie muttered, listening to the clip of her shoes leaving through the door. “Not like I’m going anywhere. What a way to start a job. Blinded by my own jinx less than a week into staff training. I should have stayed in Romania.”
The sound of shoes stopped and Hermione’s voice sounded clearly across the room, “Have a little faith in yourself Charlie. Even I know accidents like these happen. I did a lot of research on reserves from all around the world before submitting my proposal to establish our own facility. A hundred years ago, I’d already be filling out paperwork for fatalities. I pressured the selection committee long and hard to choose you as site manager even though you didn’t apply for the position. I stand by my decision. This is just a bump along the road.”
He shook his head slightly and gave a half smile in her general direction . “I defer to your judgement then. If you’re going to be my eyes for the next week, I suppose I’ll have to.”
“You’d better believe it, Charlie Weasley!” she called to him and her footsteps continued to retreat out the door and down the hall.
The Healer spoke softly, saying, “I should be back shortly and we’ll get everything for your discharge in order.”
Once alone, Charlie relaxed into his pillow a bit more. A week. He had been injured worse than this in the past and would likely be in the future. He just needed to survive a week without his eyes and the assistance of his boss and friend. No problem. He could do this.
Charlie swore colourfully to himself at his next thought. What a day to have left his dirty dishes in the sink and his dirty laundry on the floor!
Author: gfeather
Rating: G
Prompt Set: 50.2
Prompt: #1 Blind
Word Count: 1700
Summary: Charlie has an accident of overcompetence
Warnings: none
Notes: Here begins the rollercoaster ride. Please keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times.
He knew his job was risky. In fact, that was a large part of the appeal. Dragons couldn’t be tamed and were at times very unpredictable. He wasn’t scared of them, but he had a healthy respect for them. He knew this respect was essential in his profession and it was what helped him excel. Somehow, animals seemed to know the difference between cockiness, respect and fear.
No, Charlie didn’t fear dragons, what he really feared was helplessness. He didn’t need to be number one in everything, but he liked to feel competent. Living in Romania was certainly a lesson in that. The first few weeks there, he had felt at the mercy of everything and everybody, not only with respect to his job training, but also in his daily life. Not being able to communicate even the simplest things had made him feel very vulnerable and had driven him to learn the language of his new home with the same dogged determination he had learned the spells, techniques and procedures in his training.
It was likely that determination that had landed him here, flat on his back at St. Mungo’s. As any trainee keeper can tell you, the Conjunctivitis jinx is the most effective defence against a dragon if things go pear shaped and you are forced to deal with one alone. Dragons normally require upwards of seven wizards to stun and blinding them is the best hope for escape if caught out on your own. Naturally, at least to him, it made sense to try to modify the jinx to maximize its effect while minimizing its damage. The modified Conjunctivitis was intended exclusively for use with magical creatures of great size and resiliency and had only ever been published in trade journals. It wasn’t the sort of thing he wanted the general public throwing around. It just wasn’t meant for human use. Hence when he was hit with the modified jinx, the Healers here weren’t entirely certain how to deal with it.
The reason he had been hit with the jinx at all was, in all truth, due to his competency, which irked him. He had been one of the best at the Romanian reserve and had been recommended highly for site manager at the newly established facility in the Outer Hebrides. The establishment of a preserve and research facility was long overdue and Charlie had been surprised when his application for a standard keeper position was not only accepted but promoted to a management position. He still got to work with the dragons, but he was also in charge of training new staff, ordering supplies and communicating with the Ministry liaison from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Yep, in the end it was competency that had landed him here after a misfired spell during a training exercise had failed to hit the target marker, but instead backfired and blinded him completely.
The damp gauze covering his eyes was removed and a fresh cool compress took its place. Hearing the healer speaking without being able to see him was discomforting and he moved to face him, even if he couldn’t see him.
“Stop moving about, Mr. Weasley. It’s only a fresh bandage. Are you still in any pain?” the disembodied voice asked him.
“No,” Charlie admitted, “it was just unexpected.”
He could almost hear the Healer nodding. “Yes, I expect it is. Now, we still aren’t certain as to how long the effects of this jinx are going to be, but from all the tests we have run there seems to be no permanent damage. A normal Conjunctivitis usually lasts eight to ten hours before wearing off naturally. It seems likely, then, that you will be without vision for about a week given the strength of this variant. Beyond the soak we’ve been applying, there is very little else to be done. When it begins to wear off we will need to check your vision, but in the meantime there is no reason you can’t go home, so long as there is someone there to help you out.”
Charlie cringed. He had been afraid the jinx would be left to run its course. The normal Conjunctivitis jinx worked on the same principle, no counter jinx, just let it wear off. His only saving grace was that the modified jinx hurt much less than the original. The initial attack stung like hell, but after a short while the pain eased to a mild itchiness that was easy enough to ignore. He sighed. “I live alone. Let me think about how badly I want to tell my mother about this before you contact anyone. Staying here might not be a bad idea.”
A warm, feminine chuckle sounded from the door. “The big, bad dragon keeper is scared to ask his mum for help?”
He snorted at that. “You know she’s scarier than a dragon when she gets worked up about something.”
“True enough,” the voice said.
“So boss, did you give Wilkins what for? I’d love to do it myself, but it’s difficult to be intimidating enough to castigate someone properly when you can’t see them,” he commented disparagingly.
He could hear the smile in the voice. “Oh, I think he’s quite terrified of what you’ll do to him once you can see again, and beyond horrified of what will happen if you can’t see again. My little lecture isn’t much to the one he’s beating himself up with already.”
He nodded slightly at that. “Good. Let him stew on that for a while. That’ll teach him to pay closer attention.”
Charlie could hear that she had turned and was speaking to the Healer rather than to him. “So, what’s the diagnosis? Will he get his vision back?”
“There seems to be no permanent damage, but the effects will take some time to wear off. I was just telling Mr. Weasley here he was free to go home so long as he has someone to give him a hand. Once his vision starts returning he needs to come back in for some tests, but until then there is very little to do but wait.”
“Well then Charlie, if you’re too scared to tell Molly, then it looks like I’m staying with you for a while.”
Charlie moved to sit up, but the large hand of the Healer restrained him. “Your bandages are not secured. Please stay lying down. If your friend here is willing to stay with you, then we will get you bandaged for travel and show her how to replace the dressings.”
“Hermione, you really don’t have to. I can just tell Mum. She can come stay with me for a week.”
Once again, he could almost hear her motions and expression. In his mind, he saw her hands planted firmly on her hips and a determined expression on her face. “Just how many times were you hospitalized while you lived in Romania? Hmm... let me think. If memory serves, you confessed to over twenty separate incidents. I also seem to recall your mother clucking over your ‘four awful accidents at that dangerous reserve’ and how difficult dealing with Healers in a foreign country must have been those four times.”
He sighed, defeated. He knew his mother would go spare if she knew he had been jinxed with his own jinx while training staff. She hadn’t disguised her relief at him being in management and doing an ‘office’ job. It was better that she didn’t know the whole story. His mother didn’t need any more worries than she already had. “Alright, I give. Just don’t forget that you volunteered for this. I’ll have you know I’m a horrible patient.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” she responded cheekily and seemed to turn to the Healer again. “How long will it take to get him discharged?”
“Give me twenty minutes to get the paperwork in order and get a prescription for the eye soak potion filled. I’ll be back then and show you how to change the bandages,” the Healer replied.
“Sounds fine. Stay put Charlie, I’m going to pop back to my place for a few things and we’ll get you back to your place to complain in the privacy of your own home.”
Charlie muttered, listening to the clip of her shoes leaving through the door. “Not like I’m going anywhere. What a way to start a job. Blinded by my own jinx less than a week into staff training. I should have stayed in Romania.”
The sound of shoes stopped and Hermione’s voice sounded clearly across the room, “Have a little faith in yourself Charlie. Even I know accidents like these happen. I did a lot of research on reserves from all around the world before submitting my proposal to establish our own facility. A hundred years ago, I’d already be filling out paperwork for fatalities. I pressured the selection committee long and hard to choose you as site manager even though you didn’t apply for the position. I stand by my decision. This is just a bump along the road.”
He shook his head slightly and gave a half smile in her general direction . “I defer to your judgement then. If you’re going to be my eyes for the next week, I suppose I’ll have to.”
“You’d better believe it, Charlie Weasley!” she called to him and her footsteps continued to retreat out the door and down the hall.
The Healer spoke softly, saying, “I should be back shortly and we’ll get everything for your discharge in order.”
Once alone, Charlie relaxed into his pillow a bit more. A week. He had been injured worse than this in the past and would likely be in the future. He just needed to survive a week without his eyes and the assistance of his boss and friend. No problem. He could do this.
Charlie swore colourfully to himself at his next thought. What a day to have left his dirty dishes in the sink and his dirty laundry on the floor!