When in Romania
Title: When in Romania
Recipient: sirikit
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: Charlie/Katie
Prompt/Request: A take on Charlie/Katie
Rating: PG
Word Count: 489
Summary: “Welcome, then.” He shakes her hand with his free one. “Any reason why you chose Romania? I reckon there’re dragons much closer to home.”
Author's Notes: for the rarepair_shorts wishlist event. Beta'd by captainpookey. Bah. By writing this, I've fallen in love with Charlie.
When in Romania
Katie leans against a tree, watching the dragon as it sleeps inside of its enclosure. Its scales, a dark green, blend in perfectly with the surrounding forest-it might disappear entirely, she thinks, were its wing not bandaged with a bright white cloth.
Katie sighs. She should be signing herself in now, or at the very least, making her way toward the lone stone building in the distance to do so. But somehow, even though she has been waiting to do this job for months, she simply wants to watch. And wait, too, perhaps, though she really has no idea what she is waiting for.
Suddenly, she hears someone calling out her name.
“Er, hello?” she responds hesitantly, startled.
A man steps out from behind a nearby tree, carrying what looks to be an enormous chunk of raw meat. His arms are large and muscled, riddled with freckles and scars, and his hair is a familiar bright red.
Katie has heard about Charlie Weasley-back at Hogwarts, Oliver Wood had raved about him endlessly-but she has never actually met him. She has seen him from time to time, of course, but never quite up close; he looks different than she remembers.
“This is your first day here, isn’t it?” he asks.
Katie nods, unconsciously eyeing the meat.
“Welcome, then.” He shakes her hand with his free one. “Any reason why you chose Romania? I reckon there’re dragons much closer to home.”
She looks sheepish. “I hear this is where you go when the Quidditch life doesn’t work out.” She pauses, then explains, “I didn’t make the Harpies. Didn’t even want me on reserve.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Though I’m not doing this job just because of that,” she adds quickly, just in case he has misunderstood. “That’s just, you know… why I’m here… instead of Britain, or something.”
“That’s good,” he nods. “Romania’s great. You’ll like it here.”
“I hope so,” she murmurs. She has only just overcome the panic that had set in upon her arrival-what is she doing, what is she thinking, et cetera, et cetera.
Charlie regards her quietly for a moment, and then he grins. “Say, d’you want to help me feed Basil over there?” He lifts the meat slightly and gestures to the dark green dragon. “I’m late giving him breakfast, and I could use a hand.”
“I haven’t signed in yet, I should really…” She trails off, looking at the dragon longingly.
“It’s alright,” he says. “You’ll be with me. Besides, it’s not every day that you get up close to a Romanian Longhorn-no matter how common you’d think they’d be here. It’s good experience.”
Katie finds herself nodding enthusiastically. “Fine, you’ve got me convinced. But if you get me in trouble on my first day-”
“I’ll say I took you against your will,” he promises, expression serious but eyes bright.
Katie laughs. Perhaps she really will enjoy Romania after all.
THE END
Recipient: sirikit
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: Charlie/Katie
Prompt/Request: A take on Charlie/Katie
Rating: PG
Word Count: 489
Summary: “Welcome, then.” He shakes her hand with his free one. “Any reason why you chose Romania? I reckon there’re dragons much closer to home.”
Author's Notes: for the rarepair_shorts wishlist event. Beta'd by captainpookey. Bah. By writing this, I've fallen in love with Charlie.
When in Romania
Katie leans against a tree, watching the dragon as it sleeps inside of its enclosure. Its scales, a dark green, blend in perfectly with the surrounding forest-it might disappear entirely, she thinks, were its wing not bandaged with a bright white cloth.
Katie sighs. She should be signing herself in now, or at the very least, making her way toward the lone stone building in the distance to do so. But somehow, even though she has been waiting to do this job for months, she simply wants to watch. And wait, too, perhaps, though she really has no idea what she is waiting for.
Suddenly, she hears someone calling out her name.
“Er, hello?” she responds hesitantly, startled.
A man steps out from behind a nearby tree, carrying what looks to be an enormous chunk of raw meat. His arms are large and muscled, riddled with freckles and scars, and his hair is a familiar bright red.
Katie has heard about Charlie Weasley-back at Hogwarts, Oliver Wood had raved about him endlessly-but she has never actually met him. She has seen him from time to time, of course, but never quite up close; he looks different than she remembers.
“This is your first day here, isn’t it?” he asks.
Katie nods, unconsciously eyeing the meat.
“Welcome, then.” He shakes her hand with his free one. “Any reason why you chose Romania? I reckon there’re dragons much closer to home.”
She looks sheepish. “I hear this is where you go when the Quidditch life doesn’t work out.” She pauses, then explains, “I didn’t make the Harpies. Didn’t even want me on reserve.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Though I’m not doing this job just because of that,” she adds quickly, just in case he has misunderstood. “That’s just, you know… why I’m here… instead of Britain, or something.”
“That’s good,” he nods. “Romania’s great. You’ll like it here.”
“I hope so,” she murmurs. She has only just overcome the panic that had set in upon her arrival-what is she doing, what is she thinking, et cetera, et cetera.
Charlie regards her quietly for a moment, and then he grins. “Say, d’you want to help me feed Basil over there?” He lifts the meat slightly and gestures to the dark green dragon. “I’m late giving him breakfast, and I could use a hand.”
“I haven’t signed in yet, I should really…” She trails off, looking at the dragon longingly.
“It’s alright,” he says. “You’ll be with me. Besides, it’s not every day that you get up close to a Romanian Longhorn-no matter how common you’d think they’d be here. It’s good experience.”
Katie finds herself nodding enthusiastically. “Fine, you’ve got me convinced. But if you get me in trouble on my first day-”
“I’ll say I took you against your will,” he promises, expression serious but eyes bright.
Katie laughs. Perhaps she really will enjoy Romania after all.
THE END