Chapter Text
Submission for the practice round of The Houses Competition.
House: Gryffindor
Class: Ancient Runes
Category: Drabble
Prompt(s): [Creature] Dragon
Word Count: 775
The letter that changed Charlie's life had arrived two days after he'd gotten his NEWTs scores back.
He'd known ever since his third year at Hogwarts that he wanted to be a Magizoologist – should have known sooner, really, because ever since he could walk on his own he was bringing all manner of creatures in the Burrow and startling his mum with them – but he'd never encountered a dragon before, and had no idea if he'd be any good with them.
Charlie had scored the highest NEWT in Care of Magical Creatures since the Scamanders, and he'd received some other job offers as well, but none were quite as intriguing as dragons. Along with a generous salary, they'd also offered to pay for him to take the TAME (Terrifyingly Arduous Magizoology Exam) to get his official license, and he'd get a pay rise once he'd passed. Other than the risk of bodily harm, it appeared that the only downside was that he'd be very far from home, but after Bill had graduated and gone off to work in Egypt for Gringotts and Charlie was suddenly the oldest kid in the house, he'd started to realize that it might not be such a bad thing to leave.
And how could he turn down dragons?
He wrestled with the decision for two days and then finally gathered his resolve and sent in his acceptance. His mum wasn't particularly happy about it, and even his dad was cautious in his congratulations, but his siblings were all thrilled. Charlie just hoped he didn't regret it.
The following three weeks were a hectic blur of packing and contract negotiations via owl and farewells. When the morning finally came that he was to take his international Portkey to Romania, Charlie was suddenly hit by a wave of last-minute anxiety.
Had he made the right choice? Would he get along with his coworkers? Would he even like Romania? Most importantly, would he be any good at dragon taming? What if the dragons just didn't like him—or worse, liked him too much and decided he'd be a good snack?
"Oh, Charlie, quick!" His mum cried, and he nearly jumped. "The Portkey!"
There was no time for one last goodbye. Charlie frantically grabbed the Portkey — a frayed dog's collar with a broken clasp — and tried to give his family a smile as it whisked him away.
The trip was much less pleasant than traveling by a domestic Portkey, although he could hardly have called that enjoyable either. By the time he was deposited in a heap on a grassy hillside in Romania, Charlie felt a bit woozy.
"You Charles Weasley?"
Charlie carefully sat up. He could see a man approaching him as he squinted into the barely risen morning sun.
"It's Charlie," Charlie corrected.
"Good to have ya, Charlie," the man said with an easy grin. "I'm Ericks. Welcome to the Romanian dragon sanctuary."
Just as Ericks finished speaking, there was a deep, ground-shaking rumble in the distance, and then a rushing noise as a strong wind came through the trees.
Except it wasn't actually wind.
It was a dragon.
Charlie saw the wings first, rising up from above the treetops to block out the sun. The scales on the edges glittered like precious stones, and the delicate skin between the fine wing bones glowed brightly. They hovered there for a few moments, stunningly beautiful, and then the dragon's head reared up between them and bellowed up at the sky, releasing a stream of tumultuous flames. Its wings whipped sharply downwards, propelling the dragon swiftly upwards and sending another blast of wind rocketing through the trees.
As the dragon turned away and flew off to do whatever dragons did, Charlie realized he had tears in his eyes.
"You good?"
Ericks was holding out his hand, and Charlie took it, using his other to wipe at his eyes as he stood.
"Yeah," Charlie responded, his voice cracking slightly. "Just, uh, dragon." He felt a little embarrassed about his emotional reaction to seeing a dragon for the first time, but Ericks just laughed.
"You're alright, kid," he chuckled, slapping Charlie on the back so hard that his knees almost gave out. "Well, c'mon. Let's get you up close and personal with 'em, huh?"
"Yes, sir!" Charlie said eagerly.
He hitched the strap of his bag higher on his shoulder as he followed Ericks, and took a deep breath. One glimpse of a dragon had been all it took to reassure him that he'd made the right choice in coming to Romania.
Charlie was going to be a dragon tamer, and he was going to love it.