Hot Chocolate & Marshmallows: A One-Shot Collection

Taming the Dragon [Charlie Weasley]

Amandla Stenberg as Shanna.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The roar echoed through the trees, accompanied by a haze of golden light. Evergreens were silhouetted against the flames flying across the sky, tall peaks flicking against the starlight steadily disappearing behind the smoke. Charlie Weasley, red hair reflecting the firelight, let out a loud whoop of excitement as the Chinese Fireball kit he'd been training for two years finally let out a proper bellow of flame, as right as rain for a dragon of his age.

"Finally did it, Levi!" Charlie called to his friend and coworker, Levi Jordan. Levi let out a happy laugh.

"It's about time! Wasn't sure the little spit-fire would ever get around to it."

As the dragon continued spewing out large spurts of flame, Charlie stepped closer to his friend. "Well, he did, which means that you owe me a drink."

"What about the time limit?"

"You said thirty months of age. By my count, he's only at twenty-eight, so you, my friend, owe me a drink."

Levi groaned. "Fine. Let's get things cleaned up and go."

Charlie went about his business, calming down the excited Fireball, which he had named Apollo. Apollo's sister, Artemis, was in another enclosure down the way; Charlie would check on her before heading out as well. Artemis had been far more lively her first year than Apollo, but now she was settled and calm most of the time. She was still as territorial as any dragon, but she was relaxed around her handlers, and Charlie was as comfortable around her as he would be around a puffskein.

Once both siblings were fed sufficiently secured, in the most humane way possible, Charlie and Levi headed out. There was a pub not far from here; Romania offered many beautiful sights, and one of the best was the booze. There was whiskey, ale, rum, wine, beer, lager, and more, but Charlie's favorite was the Tuica, a fruity brandy offered in the area that he'd grown very fond of in the past five years that he'd been in Romania.

He reached the tavern at a quarter to eleven, earlier than usual to leave the enclosure. Levi led the way to the bar at the back and took a seat, but Charlie leaned against it so he could scan the bar. There were many Romanians, and a few travelers, and then outsiders like him and Levi, who were both from England. Then, suddenly, he spotted a familiar face.

~~~

Shanna had been having a miserable time in Romania.

After one last and final scolding from her older sister on politics and etiquette of the country, she finally gave up. Her sister, fellow Brit, had completely turned on her; she swore Tiffany was more offended at her "manners" than the native Romanians. Tiffany had spent the entire day they'd been in Romania arguing and scolding and reprimanding, and, finally, Shanna was exasperated with it.

She whipped around, curls flying around her head, and her dark eyes landed on her sister's identical ones. "Tiffany, to be frank, I don't care. I'm not a child; I've been graduated from Hogwarts for four years. Just because I don't have a husband and children and a stable job doesn't mean I'm not successful or an adult. Leave me alone about all this."

"Raising your voice in public is-"

"Highly offensive? The rudest thing I could do? Far from polite? Or were you going to use a different euphemism?"

"Shanna, honestly! How can you be like that?"

"I can be however I want, and right now, I want to be gone."

And she apparated.

Of course, she popped up two streets over, in a dark alley. Shanna strode down the alleyway and into the bright street, lit with street-lamps and door-side lanterns that filled the way with a golden glow. The buildings were colorful and stacked against each other, looking like a series of townhomes rather than businesses, bars, and boutiques. Tiffany had over-explained how, "Most locals run a business on the bottom floor of their home and live in the top floor, sometimes six or seven in the loft."