FIC: Happenstance (Charlie, Viktor, Gen)

[shiiki]

Title: Happenstance
Author: shiiki
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Charlie Weasley, Viktor Krum, Gen
Word Count: 3,937
Fandom: Harry Potter

Summary: Charlie's job gets challenging when Dark magic spooks the dragons. However, help comes from an unexpected quarter.

Notes: This was written for kcstories for weasley_fest 2008. A big thanks to my betas, the awesome queenb23more and slam_girl for being so quick and helping me out in a pinch!

Link to fic at weasley_fest


Charlie Weasley was no stranger to pain. Growing up in a house full of brothers -- especially when two of them included a pair of mischief-happy twins -- tended to inure one to it. And if that didn't do it, three years of playing Seeker for Gryffindor was bound to mean shouldering a fair share of injuries.

Added to all that, Charlie had spent years working with dragons, and he rather thought it'd be easier for him to list all the parts of his body that hadn't suffered a burn before.

No, pain was nothing new -- and a ten-foot fall into a bunch of brambles was hardly anything to get worked up over.

However, the fact that his broom had just been torched by a spooked female dragon was a cause for worry.

Charlie pushed himself to his feet, barely flinching as the thorny bush that had broken his fall scratched at his bare arms. His broom lay several metres away, charred and still glowing slightly with the embers of the flames. It'd been lucky he'd taken that leap when he had, else that might have been him lying in a pile of ashes on the ground, not the broom.

He felt a twinge of regret -- he'd favoured this particular Cleansweep Five for a while now -- but this was hardly the first broom the reserve had lost to dragon fire. Fire-proofing spells were all good and well, but nothing really stood up against a truly agitated dragon's breath.

That was what really worried him -- the sudden agitation, and how long it had lasted. It had been late last afternoon when the five dragons his team had been shepherding to the new sanctuary had suddenly reared in frustration, beating their enormous leathery wings in panic. And then they had taken off in all directions, leaving the team no choice but to split and go after the dragons.

That had been hours ago. Charlie wasn't sure what time it was any more; he'd somehow managed to lose his watch -- along with his two companions -- in the erratic flight to keep up with Norberta. It was dark now, which at this time of the year meant it was probably near midnight.

At least the Norwegian Ridgeback had finally landed, and though she'd nearly torched him when he'd tried to get closer, she was no longer paying him any attention now. She wasn't completely calm, though. The way her long neck twisted warily from side to side, her monstrous body shuddering periodically, was clear indication that she was still spooked, even if whatever had frightened her was far away enough for her to feel safe landing.

What could scare a dragon that badly? Charlie wondered uneasily.

Well, whatever it was, he had to try and calm her down.

'Norberta.' Charlie positioned himself directly in her line of sight; near enough for her to focus on him (dragons never took kindly to objects that fluttered around in their peripheral vision) but far enough to make a quick escape if she reacted badly. Norberta glared at him with her pale jewel eyes.

'It's okay,' he said soothingly. Then he hesitated as a silly idea came into his mind. If it had been any other dragon, Charlie would have scoffed at the thought, but Norberta's head keeper, Irina, had always sworn that she responded well to music. And given the dragon's background, it wasn't so hard to believe.

At any rate, Charlie didn't have a full team of Stunners to help him out here, so if singing to this dragon would work, feeling foolish would be the least of his problems. He opened his mouth and began to belt out an old lullaby.

To his relief, it actually worked. The ordinary wizard might not have thought so, as Norberta continued to fix her fierce, unblinking stare on Charlie in a way that would have made most people's legs turn to jelly. Charlie knew dragons, however, and was finely attuned to the way Norberta's twitching neck relaxed ever so slightly, even beginning to sway almost imperceptibly along with his awkward tune.

Well, I'll be. Irina was right. Hagrid probably sang her into existence.

Somehow, the image of Hagrid crooning to a dragon egg as he cradled it in his arms made him feel better.

Did you miss him when you left to come to us? he wondered as he continued to sing.

At last, as Charlie's voice was getting hoarse, Norberta lowered her head to the ground, folding her giant wings and settling into the nesting position. Her stony eyes blinked several times, then remained shut. Charlie let out a sigh of relief and raised his wand to perform the basic cleaning and maintenance charms on Norberta's scale and hide. Calm now, she subsided to it with barely a snort, not even bothering to open her eyes.

He was just completing a modified Scouring Charm when Norberta suddenly tensed, her eyes shooting open and her head lifting a fraction. Charlie stopped mid-spell, his grip on his wand tightening automatically.

Someone -- or something -- was evidently nearby; Norberta sensed it. Charlie felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle.

Maybe it's Irina and the others; they've caught up, he tried to reassure himself.

A scuffling sound and a snapping twig proved Norberta's senses right. Charlie shifted his arm in that direction, ready to cast Protego if there was any danger. For a second, all was still. And then, Norberta gave a low, rumbling growl -- a warning.

There was a shout -- a spell yelled out in a heavy accent -- and Charlie reacted. 'Protego!'

He registered the incantation as the spell deflected off his Shield Charm and thanked the stars he'd managed to repel it in time; Norberta would not have taken kindly at all to a Conjunctivitis curse flying at her. As it was, she sensed the magic flying around and reared, positioning her wings ...

Oh no ... Charlie groaned as he watched Norberta flap hard, thrice, and launch herself into the air. 'Damn it!'

'Are you all right?' On one hand, the question was a good sign -- whoever had cast the spell was probably not an enemy -- but on the other, Norberta was gone, and Charlie had no way of following now, without his broom.

There was a rustling of leaves as whoever had tried to attack Norberta came through the bushes. He straightened, and Charlie's jaw dropped as he found himself face to face with the last person he'd have expected to see.

He was the same height as Charlie, give or take a few inches, with a fairly muscular build as well. Short bristles of hair covered his head, and thick eyebrows shadowed a pair of suspicious black eyes. His gait was slightly duck-footed as he advanced.

Charlie had seen him several times in person, but never up close, not even back at Bill's wedding, when he'd been so occupied with his duties as best man and getting tackled by Weasley cousins to really mingle with the other guests. Besides, Viktor Krum had been one of Fleur's invites, not Bill's.

So the Quidditch star's first words to him were a complete surprise.

'I know you,' said Krum gruffly, the suspicion in his eyes fading into recognition. 'Charlie Veasley.'

It was like he'd stumbled into a Quidditch fan's dream -- star Seeker Viktor Krum popping out of nowhere, and calling him by name. If the situation hadn't been so dire, Charlie would probably have appreciated that. But given the circumstances, all he could do was gape.

'You vere at Fleur's wedding,' Krum explained, seeming to take his silence for confusion.

'Um, yeah,' Charlie said at last. 'Bill -- Fleur's husband ...' it still felt odd to refer to Bill as married, made him feel old, '... is my brother.'

Krum nodded. 'Yes. You haff a lot of family.'

Charlie couldn't help but grin at that. 'You bet. All the red hair out in full force.'

Krum's expression lightened, and for the moment, their exchange smacked of normalcy. Then he asked, 'Vat are you doing here?' and the awkwardness of the situation crashed down upon Charlie again.

'It's a long story,' he sighed. 'Where is here, anyway?'

The foreign name Krum rattled off was too quick for Charlie to catch. 'Ve are just on the border near Romania.'

Well, at least he hadn't chased Norberta too far past the Romanian border ... yet. Though she could well have flown to Germany by the time he caught up with her again -- if he ever did. He glared up at the dark sky. 'Which way d'you think she went?' he sighed, more to himself than anything.

'You are trying to find the dragon.' The suspicion was back in Krum's tone. 'Vy vere you vith this dragon?'

Charlie explained quickly about his work at the reserve and the transport that had run into trouble.

Krum's response to all this was a surprise. 'So it is true.'

'What do you mean?'

'There is -- how do you say ... bad feelings in the area.' That was a mild way to put it. Krum looked grave. 'In your country, there is ... darkness?'

'Yes ...' Charlie was cautious. How much did Krum know about You-Know-Who and the war back home? More importantly, if he did know, what side did he stand on? Charlie quickly considered what he knew of the Bulgarian -- Quidditch player, ex-Durmstrang student, Fleur's friend -- and he couldn't decide.

'Ve are afraid that it is spreading. There haff been ...' Krum trailed off, seeming lost for the word he wanted. His expression was troubled. 'If your dragons vere scared by something Dark, then maybe it has come.' He stared seriously at Charlie. 'You are not safe to find your dragon alone, and you vill not find her in the night. Come.'

'What?'

'You cannot stay out here alone. I haff room at my house.'

A trap? Charlie wondered. Again he thought, fast -- could he trust Krum? Instinct told him yes; if Krum had meant him harm, why bring him elsewhere? Here, where it was dark, woodsy, and secluded, was the perfect place to commit any nefarious deed.

Plus, Krum was stating facts: the alternative -- waiting alone in the dark, lost and unfamiliar with the surroundings -- presented a greater danger.

'Thank you,' Charlie accepted and followed Krum's lead.

---

Krum's home was ... unexpected. Though to be honest, Charlie didn't know exactly what he would have imagined.

It was simply designed, a house constructed of snug-fitting logs that stacked neatly up into walls. Nothing about its appearance resembled The Burrow in the slightest, but somehow it still gave Charlie a whiff of nostalgia. This, he could tell, was a home.

Then Krum unlatched the garden gates with his wand, and the wards on his home could be plainly felt. Anti-Apparition wards, Charlie guessed, and others beside that he couldn't place. There was a presence of some form of magic that gave him a sense of unease; the shield itself felt protective in nature but seemed to make use of a power he was not accustomed to.

The front door opened a crack, and a sigh of relief sounded plainly as a thin, sharp-featured woman stood framed in the doorway. She greeted Krum in a rapid foreign tongue -- Bulgarian, Charlie supposed -- and he responded in a reassuring tone. An introduction was included somewhere in there; Charlie just managed to catch his own name, spoken in a heavy accent. The woman turned to him shortly, frowning slightly.

'My mother,' Krum said to him, and Charlie nodded politely to her.

'I'm -- er -- sorry to impose.' Bloody hell, what could he say in such a situation that wouldn't sound awkward?

She gave his a hard gaze through narrowed eyes for several moments, then her expression softened, and she nodded. 'You are velcome,' she said in slow, uncertain English, then reverted to Bulgarian, speaking to Krum. He nodded in response.

'She says that she has kept dinner for me, and ve can eat, and then ve should haff sleep.'

'Great. Um, thanks.'

It was a silent meal. Krum's family, which comprised only of him and his parents -- his father turned up shortly, but said little -- was about as loquacious as he. Which was to say, not at all.

For Charlie, meals at home had always been noisy, lively, and nearly out-of-control. At Hogwarts, there'd hardly been a quiet moment in the Great Hall. And with the other dragon keepers, there was always some form of chatter. The quiet now should have felt unnerving.

Yet it didn't. There was a strange peace in the way they all sat round the table, not speaking, but comfortable with each other's presence all the same. Charlie found his keyed-up nerves relaxing with the calm, and he wondered if this was how Krum unwound after tense Quidditch matches.

Not much was said for the rest of the night. Krum showed him the bath, the guest room, and in lieu of 'good night', said, 'Tomorrow, I vill help you to find your dragon.'

Charlie slept well that night.

---

The sun was already high in the sky when they set out the next morning, Charlie explaining the steps to dragon-tracking to Krum.

'This is a tad unconventional. Usually we start out with some information. Dragons can be ... well, destructive, when they come too close to civilisation. But we're going to want to catch up with Norberta before she ravages any towns.' He thought for a while. 'In this case, it's going to be very much on instinct, I'm afraid. Do you have a map?'

Krum produced one. A little red dot winked out from it as he unrolled the parchment.

'Ve are here,' said Krum, pointing to the dot.

Charlie let out a low, impressed whistle. 'Useful.' He ran a finger north along the map, to the approximate area of the reserve in Romania. Down again, to an estimate of where they had lost the dragons yesterday afternoon. Krum's eyes followed Charlie's finger, and when it stopped moving, there was a sharp intake of breath.

'I think this is where we lost ... what's wrong?'

'It is ... a place that there vas evil. Last year. There vas a ... attack. Murder.'

The way he said it left Charlie in no doubt that there was more to it than just that. He recalled words he'd heard from his father and Bill when they'd contacted him a few years ago, looking to resurrect the Order of the Phoenix -- it's a sure sign ... mysterious disappearances, murders, evil that leaves a mark for long after the deed is committed.

And then there'd been rumours filtering out of England all year, of You-Know-Who being abroad. Had he come to Romania, then? Was he still here? Charlie shuddered.

'Your dragons vould feel the mark still. They are sensitive, I think.'

'Yeah. Dragons are the most sensitive of all creatures to residual magic and they're especially affected by Dark signatures.' Charlie gave Krum a sidewise glance. 'You know quite a bit about dragons, then?'

'I researched.' There was a hint of a smile in his eyes. 'I had to fight one, once.'

Of course -- the Triwizard Tournament. Charlie remembered now -- Krum had used the Conjunctivitis Curse, which had successfully taken the Chinese Fireball's attention off the champion.

'That vas vy they called me, ven a dragon vas spotted yesterday. I vas not going to attack, but I thought you vere in trouble.'

Charlie wasn't sure what to say to that. He turned back to the map. 'She won't have gone back in this direction -- she'll want to avoid Dark magic if possible. Is it only here that there's been ... bad stuff happening?'

Krum shook his head. He took over the map and traced out a line on it with his wand. 'I think these places vill be unfavourable to your dragon also.'

That narrowed down the search direction considerably. South was looking to be the most viable option. Charlie racked his brains, hoping to pinpoint it further. Norberta was a Norwegian Ridgeback. By nature, she'd want mountains, cliffs. He scanned the map again, looking for any indications of topographical relief south of where they were.

'There,' he said at last, pointing. 'I think it's most likely.' He threw a leg over the broom Krum had lent him -- a German make, from the label. Krum nodded and followed suit.

---

They flew just above the cover of trees, checking the map periodically to ascertain their direction. Charlie had already figured that Krum was not prone to making conversation, and so they didn't exchange many words. Occasionally, Charlie couldn't help checking in with an, 'All right, there?' to which Krum would grunt in assent or reply monosyllabically.

He couldn't help but wonder why Krum was going all this way to help him.

An hour into their search, however, Krum suddenly asked, 'Do you know Herm-own-ninny Granger?'

'Hermown ... Hermione?' The question, completely out of the blue, threw Charlie for a loop, as did the mangled pronunciation of the poor girl's name. 'Yes ...' He looked at Krum strangely. 'You know her?'

'I met her ven I vas at Hogvarts.'

Oh. Suddenly, certain cryptic remarks Ginny had made previously regarding Ron's love life rushed to the front of his mind and became clear. He almost chuckled.

'Are you still in contact?'

Krum's face took on a surly look. 'I saw her last at Fleur's vedding. I haff not had any more letters.' His brows furrowed further. 'I do not know if bad things haff happened to her. I vas vondering if you vould know.'

Charlie shook his head. 'I don't know much more than you do. News is scarce.' He did know, however, that his youngest brother had disappeared, presumably with Hermione and Harry. This news wasn't exactly comforting, and he wondered if he should share it with Krum.

'You are vorried about your family?'

'I ... yeah.' Worry was an understatement. Heaviness settled in his heart as he thought of the situation in England and the rest of his family, stuck in that mess. There were times he wondered why he hadn't insisted on staying with them. But the Order had been clear -- they needed members who could remain on the outside without suspicion.

'It is a hard enemy they are fighting. But it is to be admired.'

Silence fell again, but it was a thoughtful, introspective silence that kept Charlie's mind busy with reflection.

---

The high peaks of the mountains became visible in the late afternoon and loomed larger the closer they got. Charlie kept his eyes peeled, crossing his fingers and hoping hard. It was a chance in a million, finding Norberta right away, but maybe, just maybe ...

Luck was on his side. He and Krum had increased the distance between them as they neared the mountains, thus widening their visible search area. Krum was the one to spot the dragon, shouting out to Charlie as he veered towards her. Charlie turned sharply, and Norberta came quickly into his line of sight as he sped towards Krum.

She was perched -- precariously, it seemed -- on a craggy outlay of a cliff, firm on her haunches, her wings folded neatly on her back. Her eyes were alert, but she seemed otherwise calm and steady.

'Ve do not just fly right up to her?' said Krum warily.

'We'll have to,' said Charlie. 'Unless you're keen on mountain climbing.'

'Vill she not attack?'

Charlie grinned. 'Not if we sing.'

'Vat?' Krum looked at him incredulously.

'Come on.' He pointed his broom forward and opened his mouth to belt out a tune as he approached.

There was a moment's hesitation, and then a second voice joined Charlie's -- a little higher pitched than he would have expected, given Krum's low speaking voice -- but strong and loud, if not quite in tune.

Still, despite the quality of the singing, Norberta responded with a low, crooning call, the sound of comfort a nesting mother usually made to her eggs.

They landed safely on a space of ledge, just metres away from Norberta's scaly legs. As they dismounted their brooms, Charlie looked up ... into the faces of three astonished dragon keepers.

'Charlie?' The woman who spoke was sturdily built, with thick dark hair framing an angular face with round, surprised eyes.

'I-Irina,' Charlie spluttered, taken aback to find his fellow keepers already here. Well, of course -- they must have tracked Norberta down and found her here too -- he'd completely forgotten about them, what with running into Krum and having his company all the way.

It looked as though the other keepers had been here for a while; Norberta's gigantic body must have blocked them from view when he and Krum had arrived. He wondered if all three had seen them coming -- certainly, they would have heard their approach. His ears, he could feel, were starting to flame.

None of them seemed to know what to say now. For a while, they all stared. Charlie could feel their eyes still on him, and maybe Krum; however, he hesitated to meet their gazes.

Then suddenly, a bubble of laughter broke into the silence. Charlie turned his head -- as did Irina and the other two -- to stare at Krum, who now threw back his head and laughed heartily.

It broke the tension; there was a pretty funny side to the situation after all, and one by one, they succumbed to the infectiousness of laughter.

'Thank you,' said Krum, when he'd recovered. 'That vas a good adventure.'

Charlie glanced at him. 'Even the embarrassing bit at the end?' He ignored Irina's giggle at that.

Krum nodded. 'It vas good, to be not serious for a time. And it vas funny. There haff not been very funny things for me for now.'

'I think that goes for all of us,' Irina cut in, smiling. 'Viktor Krum, isn't it? I am honoured. Irina Klevkowski.'

The two wizards in the group made their introductions as well, but they got back to work soon after. The three keepers had already started preparing Norberta to fly with them; the harnessing spells were already in place. It seemed to Charlie that they were taking off in almost no time at all.

He let the others get on with it first, hanging back to talk with Krum.

'I vill not go vith you from here now.'

Charlie nodded. 'Well,' he said, suddenly feeling awkwardness re-descend upon them. 'I -- um -- I really should thank you ... for all your ... help.'

The words sounded small and inadequate, not enough to encompass all that Charlie felt grateful for. Companionship. Understanding. The sharing of hope. A sense of friendship and camaraderie that he wouldn't have expected could grow in such a short time.

'And -- er -- I'd like to return the favour some day, too, you know ... after ... if we ever manage to solve all this You-Know-Who business back home.'

Krum smiled at him. 'Do not vorry, Charlie.'

Their hands reached out and met in a firm shake, the unspoken promise, 'I will see you again,' passing silently between them.

Charlie grinned and kicked off the ground. With a final wave -- 'see you', not 'goodbye' -- he left his new friend.