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Harry wandered around the dragon reserve with wide eyes and a grin on his face. He was elated Charlie had invited him to visit Hagrid's dragon, Norberta. He hadn't seen the little monster since they had saved her in his first year. Harry was also looking forward to seeing Blacky, the albinos dragon they had freed from Gringotts during the Horcrux hunt. It had been such a sad creature then, but it had helped them escape certain death at the hands of the goblins so he owed her a visit at least.
The invitation had been rather unexpected since Ginny and he had broken up quite spectacularly a while back. Not to mention Charlie was the one Weasley Harry hardly knew since he was always with his dragons. But Charlie was a Weasley, just as kind as the rest of the family, and always there when they had needed him most.
Spotting the dragon tamer in question, or rather, his flaming red hair, Harry waved at him a bit maniacally, but dammit, he was as happy being there as a puppy on a walk. Charlie smiled brightly in return, then suddenly began running at him. Harry froze and before he could make sense of what was happening, Charlie had picked him up in a bear hug, twirling him around.
"Harry! I'm so happy you could make it!"
"Can't… Breathe."
Charlie must have heard him despite his face being squashed between his muscled arms and large chest, because he put him back on his feet.
"Thought a dragon would be the first thing to maul me here," Harry teased.
Charlie chortled then clapped him on the back, which send him stumbling forward a couple of steps.
"It's the dragon-tamers you gotta watch out for, Harry. It's in the job description, innit?"
Harry could see the logic in that and nodded. Besides, Charlie, with his piercings, dragon claw necklace and his leather outfit trying to contain all those muscles, did look more impressive than any of the dragons he had met before.
"We just put the little monsters to bed, so I'm afraid you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see them."
"That's fine, no hurry. What are your plans for the night?"
"Why, Harry, didn't think you'd ask me so soon on a date!"
"I...that's not… I mean…" Harry could feel his face grow hot the more he tried and failed to explain it was not what he meant.
Although… Well, Charlie was really handsome. But… No. Harry shook his head. He had broken up with his sister just over a year ago. It would not be proper to date her brother.
"Come on, Harry. Loosen up. Looks like you could use a drink or two."
Before Harry could protest that he wasn't a good drinker, not because he couldn't hold his alcohol, but because it turned him into an annoying little shit, Charlie was dragging him along anyway. One step outside the dragon reserve gate Harry had crossed just twenty minutes ago, and Charlie side-along apparated him to the seediest part of a muggle town.
"Err, nice," Harry commented flatly, nose wrinkled when the stench of stale beer and urine assaulted his nostrils.
"Yeah, doesn't look like much, but see that pub there?"
Harry squinted. Outside the dark alley they were in, was what could only be described as a dive bar, which he would have no problem believing dementors hung out in. Harry nodded. He could see it, he just couldn't believe Charlie wanted to drink there. Aberthorth's Hog's Head looked like Madam Puddifoots tea shop in comparison.
"Drinks are cheap, and there's this guy there I'm still trying to beat at arm wrestling. Maybe you can give it a go?" Charlie added with a mocking pinch of Harry's leaner arm.
Harry frowned. He had muscles. They just weren't bulging out of his clothes like Charlie's were. Or tanned. Or gleaming like he had just oiled them with liquid luck. Watching the redhead wrestle some muggle chap might actually be… interesting.
"I'll cheer you on from the sidelines," Harry offered.
The dive bar was just as Harry expected it to be, but with more knives embedded in the walls, even the concrete ones, and more blood on the floor than he thought was sanitary. It was so sticky, Harry was afraid he'd lose a boot on his way to the back. Because that was where Charlie stood, arms crossed, in front of a lone table which had a lone man sitting hunched over a drink. The stranger looked rather pitiful, with his lifeless hair hanging like an old mop over his face.
"You again? Can't take a hint?" the guy muttered as he pulled his drink closer to himself.
He sounded American. Poor guy was far away from home too.
"I brought my lucky charm tonight," Charlie said with a wide grin and a wink at Harry.
The stranger glanced at him without a word and Harry was almost struck by the pain he saw in his eyes. He'd know. He saw it himself every morning in the mirror, and Harry had to quell the urge to hug the poor man, or hide him under his cloak to protect him from the world. The stranger tore his eyes away from his and downed his drink.
"You know the price," he said when he was done.
"Only you'll be the one buying this time," Charlie replied with his usual cheer, taking the seat facing him.
The stranger presented his left arm which surprised Harry a bit, knowing Charlie was right handed. That might explain why Charlie kept losing when he had arms like tree trunks, but the dragon handler did like a challenge. Maybe he was tired of winning with his dominant arm and went after the lefties for entertainment.
Charlie's hand met the stranger's gloved one, and the battle for dominance began. Honestly, Charlie was holding up quite well at first, or his opponent had just been toying with him, because the ginger's arm was suddenly slammed against the table.
"Damn," Charlie said with a laugh. "Thought I'd have a better chance if you were already in your cups."
The stranger scoffed and pointed at the bar. Harry offered to get the first round. Charlie looked to be smarting from his defeat, if the way he rubbed at his knuckles was any indication. However, being rather short and unremarkable did not help in getting the bartender's attention, or he was just being willfully ignored on principle because he so obviously didn't belong. Harry rolled his eyes and resorted to letting his magical aura flair a little which got everyone's attention alright. Harry had seen the Lord of the Rings after Hermione nagged him about it for years, and Harry had loved the little trick Gandalf used when idiots would not listen. Harry thought Dumbledore might have used it himself a few times too.
Drinks in hand, people gave Harry a wide berth as he made his way back to the table instead of pushing and elbowing him as if he was an annoying fly. The stranger gave him a suspicious look, although he did accept his drink, cradling it like Gollum did with his precious.
"They've got snakes and scorpions in bottles," Harry said as he sat down. The sight had quite confused him.
"Yeah, they've got a dead man's toe, too."
Harry made a disgusted face.
"You didn't drink that, did you?" Harry asked.
Judging by Charlie's shit eating grin, he had.
"You better hope your mom never hears about it, or she'll wash your mouth out with soap."
"Oh, I know little Harrikins won't tells on me."
The stranger seemed to have choked on his drink.
"Everything alright, mate?" Charlie asked while Harry stopped himself from patting the man's back. He had the feeling he might lose some fingers if he tried.
"Fine," the stranger muttered before taking another swig, wincing as the strong alcohol went down. "You two… just reminded me of someone."
"Oh?" Charlie prodded, but was promptly ignored by the stranger's sullen silence.
They had three other arm wrestling duels which Charlie all lost with good humour. Harry was beginning to wonder if Charlie really wanted to win, or if he was just here to keep the man company. Maybe he saw him like Harry did: like a wild animal, lost and wounded, but fierce, dangerous… Harry bit back a laugh as Charlie probably saw him as one of his pet dragons, although Harry's people-saving-thing was kicking in just as badly as the dragon tamer's instincts.
After several rounds of challenges, conversations that were being too pointedly ignored by their sullen friend, and companionable drinking, Harry did weasel the stranger's name out of him, albeit reluctantly. Bucky. Which might not even be a real name, and it reminded him far too much of Buckbeak. Finally, after another round of drinks, Charlie's eyes were getting a bit glassy.
"You guys sure can hold your leaker… laquer… licker…" Charlie huffed and gestured at their drinks. "You guys know what I mean."
Harry was secretly still nursing his second glass, but Bucky had been drinking solidly since they joined him. It would be impressive if it wasn't so worrying. Bloke didn't even look slightly buzzed either.
"Your little friend is cheating," Bucky grumbled, throwing Harry under the bus.
"Your big friend isn't," Harry countered, eyes narrowed at Bucky. "How can you drink that much and not even be tipsy?"
Bucky didn't answer, just scowled at him, which didn't impress Harry at all, not after Voldemort's red, reptilian, eyebrowless glares. Now, th ose were terrifying.
"You know what would get'im drunk 'arry? Firewhiskey! Thass what!" Charlie slurred, but loudly enough that several muggles turned their heads towards them.
Harry shushed him and even Bucky seemed unnerved by the sudden attention.
"I think he's had enough," Harry told their twitchy drinking buddy. "I better get him home."
Bucky nodded and looked like he was trying to melt into the shadows behind him, while Harry tried to help Charlie up on his feet. Their difference in height and weight almost had him crushed under the dragon-tamer, but Bucky's arm shot out to catch Charlie's dead weight.
"You're hopeless, you know that?" Bucky muttered with a glance at Harry as he propped Charlie upright, his arm over his shoulder, but he sounded more wistful than angry.
Harry wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. If Bucky wanted to help him get Charlie back, all the better. If it involved kidnapping a muggle and breaking the Statute of Secrecy a little bit too, well, he was the Chosen One. He'd say he was drunk and get a slap on the wrist. That is, if anyone ever found out.
Chuckling to himself and wondering if maybe two drinks were already one drink too many, Harry waited for Bucky to get Charlie into the dark alley, then turned to face them.
"Well, where to?" Bucky asked, tension coming off him in waves. The guy really did need to relax.
"We're taking a shortcut." Harry announced. "Brace yourself."
And with that poor excuse for a warning, Harry touched both their arms and side-along apparated them back to the gate of the dragon reserve.
Charlie fell in a heap on the floor and vomited his guts out. Oops. To his credit, Bucky didn't even stumble, although he did adopt a defensive stance. He looked like he was about to rip him in two with his bare hands.
"Are you really a muggle?" Harry asked.
"What the fuck is this?" Bucky replied, pivoting on himself to take in their surroundings. "How the heck did we get here?"
Oh. So he was.
"I feel much better," Charlie said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
Harry snorted because he still looked a bit green around the gills.
"You're still going to bed, Charlie. I'm not letting you go to work tomorrow if your breath is flammable." The twinkle in Charlie's eyes told him he had just given the dragon-handler a very bad idea. "No. Bed. Or I'll owl your mother."
That did it. Charlie visibly deflated as he opened the gate. Only when he turned to let Harry in did he realize he had an extra guest.
"Harry? Why is my arch-nemesis here?"
"He helped me get you out of the bar," he replied innocently. "You were being conspicuous."
"And?"
"Well, look at him. I couldn't just leave him on the side of the road. Alone. In the rain."
"It's not raining."
"You know what I mean."
Charlie glanced at Bucky who was not even pretending not to be eavesdropping.
"Oh, fine. But you're gonna get me in so much trouble if we get caught."
"Nah. Well just say he's my cousin," Harry said with a shrug.
"Your muggle bully of a cousin? The one that looks like a pig in a wig?"
"No one knows that except your family."
Charlie brightened up. Always up for a bit of mischief.
"That might just work! Come on in, gentlemen."
Harry sauntered in, and they waited for Bucky, who looked in turn at them, the grandiose gate to the dragon reserve, and the dark forest behind him. Finally, he must have decided the two idiotic Brits were the lesser evil, and he walked in with slow, measured steps.
"I still want to know what the hell this place is. And what the fuck is a muggle?"
So they told him everything, breaking every rule that had ever been written about the Statute of Secrecy. Of course, he refused to believe them until they actually cast several spells and showed him the sleeping dragons, Charlie and Harry giggling like schoolgirls as they sneaked around the reserve.
The sky was already turning lighter in the West by the time they called it a night, crashing wherever they found room in Charlie's cabin.
The next morning, Harry woke with a start, wand at the ready and pointed at-
"Bucky?"
"Is that your cousin's name too?" Bucky asked.
"Uh… No. It's Dudley." Bucky grimaced. "But you don't really look like a Dudley. I'll just call you cousin, yeah? If you're still staying?"
"For now," Bucky said, trying to look nonplussed, but his frequent glances out the window were a dead giveaway.
"Go wake up Charlie, and I'll make breakfast so we can go see the dragons."
Bucky could try looking all gloom and doom like he had the first time Harry had set eyes on him, but there was definitely a new spring to his steps. It was contagious too, because Harry found himself humming while he prepared a hearty breakfast. Charlie, being a Weasley, could no doubt eat his weight in bacon, and Bucky could use a couple extra pounds.
"Someone's cheery," Charlie muttered.
"We're going to wake the dragons," Harry replied with a spring to his steps as he doled out eggs, bacon and baked beans. "I want to see how good my cousin is at ducking flames."
Very good, as it turned out. The man was uncannily fast and flexible. He made himself so useful doing menial tasks around the reserve that none very questioned his presence. After several days of feeding dragons on one end and shoveling dragon dung out the other, Harry and Bucky were properly exhausted and more content than they had been in a while. So much so they fell asleep on the couch one afternoon, napping against one another.
"That looks cosy," Charlie teased after he woke them up for dinner. "Invite me next time though. I'm feeling left out."
"I should go," Bucky said, although it didn't sound like he wanted too. "I should have left days ago."
"Nonsense," Charlie replied. "You fit right in. Honestly, if you weren't a Muggle, we'd have hired you already."
"I like it here," Bucky admitted, and it was so rare that Bucky ever shared his emotions, or what he liked, that Harry and Charlie shared a look.
"Why'd you want to leave then?" Charlie asked.
"I have enemies. Powerful enemies. Lots of them," Bucky admitted.
"Muggles?" Harry asked.
Bucky nodded.
"But they might find you, and your people and your dragons. I don't want anyone to get hurt because of me. That's why I'm hiding from Steve."
"Steve?" They both asked.
"My friend. Steve. He's been looking for me too."
Harry bit his lip. He didn't think Bucky would be missing anyone when he had kidnapped him. Learning he had a friend out there who was so worried he had been looking for him for Merlin knew how long weighed heavily in his conscience.
"You should let your friend know you're okay," Harry blurted out, but Charlie nodded in approval. "If one of my friends was missing, I'd be worried sick with worry."
"I can't face him," Bucky admitted. "I'll put him in danger."
"Wait," Harry said, far too familiar with Bucky's situation. "If these people who are after you know Steve is your friend, isn't he already in danger?"
Bucky's eyes widened as if the thought had never even crossed his mind.
"Fuck," he muttered under his breath. "I have to go," he repeated, standing up suddenly. "It's not you… it's my enemies."
Charlie nodded.
"You go get'em," the redhead said before pulling Bucky in for one of his infamous bear hugs.
Bucky was blushing when Charlie let go of him, although Harry wasn't sure if it was because he wasn't used to hugging it if it was from lack of air. Bucky shifted to look down at him with uncertainty.
"What?" Harry asked. "You think I'm gonna let my cousin go fight some bullies on his own? You won't get rid of me that easy, Buck."
If anything, Bucky looked even more at a loss of what to do or say, so Harry hugged him the way Hermione always did with him, that is, with too much enthusiasm. Bucky chuckled and patted the top of his head.
"Alright," Bucky said. "Let's go take care of the bad guys, and come back to feed the dragons."
Neither knew if Bucky meant he was going to feed his enemies to the dragons, but to be honest, the fire-breathing beasts weren't all that picky about their food.