*Mature Content Ahead
XX
A few more weeks passed by and it was now the middle of November. Charlie and Natalia were passed only speaking to each other when it came to their job. They sought-after one another to strike up a conversation about something other than dragons, Natalia approaching him more than he approached her.
Natalia was sitting in her tent, filling out notes about which three dragons were in her opinion the best for the upcoming tournament when she received an owl that contained two things. One of which was instructions for dragon transportation. The Ministry had requested four species to be brought to Hogwarts to be a part of a task for the upcoming Tri-Wizard Tournament.
Natalia thought that there might've been an error as they were originally supposed to have three, but she shrugged it off and came to the conclusion that one was just for backup in case one of the dragons got hurt.
Along with the letter was a copy of the latest edition of the Daily Prophet. Natalia gasped when she saw that no one other than her ex Baron Young, and his beau on his arm, announced their engagement. Enraged, Natalia took the copy of the paper and crumpled it up, and threw it across her tent.
A heads-up would have been nice. She thought to herself. Now she was just hoping that Charlie hadn't seen it for she didn't know what he'd do. Whether it be teasing her about it, or being upset that she lied, she just wasn't ready to have that conversation with him. She was too embarrassed.
Natalia approached Charlie and the rest of the members of the sanctuary and gave them the run-down. They had two days to round up the four beasts and bring them to the school's grounds.
"You're coming, right?" Natalia asked her newly reacquainted friend. Charlie shrugged at the girl's question. "You'll get to see your brothers and Ginny." She reminded him. He seemed a bit off.
"Maybe."
"We could visit the Burrow while we're there and spend time with your mum and dad."
"Why do you want me to go so bad?"
"I—I just thought—"
"Well don't," He spat hatefully before storming off in the direction of his tent. Natalia stood there visibly confused by his sudden outburst. Had something happened? Why was he all of a sudden cross with her?
Her mind flickered to what was on the cover of the paper. She worried that he had seen it, and was enraged that she had lied to him, though in her defense, he said he didn't care if they were together or not.
Natalia never confirmed whether she and Baron were back together or not. Charlie just assumed when he saw the ring. She looked down at the glistening rock on her finger and yanked it off, and chucked it into the distance before chasing after the red-haired boy.
"What's with the sudden attitude, Weasley?" She shouted when she entered his tent.
"What are you—"
"Why are you being so mean?" She cut him off. She walked up to him and slightly shoved him. "I've tried my hardest to be nothing but nice to you, despite how rude you've been to me from the moment I got here, and you continue to treat me as though you resent me." She took a breath while locking her narrowed eyes on the freckle-faced boy. "I thought we were making progress. That we were becoming friends again.
"Ha," Charlie scoffed. "Look at you," he shook his head. "You walk in here all high and mighty, pretending as though nothing happened. Do you not understand how hard this is for me? To see you here, in my space? I came here to get away from you, Talia. But it seems that no matter what happens or where I go, you somehow manage to follow me." Natalia knew in her heart that, that wasn't true. The Romanian Dragon Sanctuary is the one place Charlie had dreamed of working at since he was a boy. He was the reason she applied as well.
"I didn't ask to come here, Charlie!" She shouted. "It was a job, and I took it!"
"Why!" He shouted back. "Why couldn't you have just said no and gone back to living off of your mother's money, or your precious Baron you love so damn much?" He scoffed rolling his eyes and looking away.
"Baron and I never got back together, Charlie." She admitted. Charlie turned back around to face the brunette. "You assumed, and I didn't didn't correct you."
"Why?"
"I thought it'd be easier on you. I figured if you thought that, you wouldn't try to make a move on me and end up getting hurt when I rejected you. I still care about you, Charlie. I—I'm—"
"Oh how considerate of you, Natalia." He clapped his hands. "Looking out for poor Charlie Weasleys feelings just like when we were younger." He scoffed. "I can take a hint, Talia. I know when I'm wanted and when I'm not. I also know you, and that you've been fighting the urge to make a move on me."
"I—" Natalia blushed at his accusation as he wasn't entirely wrong. Though, this only made her feel that it was a one-way street, and he desperately was hoping that she wouldn't. Maybe he's given me the wrong impression. She thought to herself.
"The only thing that's changed about you is your age. You're still treating me as if I were the class charity case." Natalia raised her eyebrow and watched as Charlie walked across the tent and grabbed a brand new pair of gloves off of the table and tossed them to her. "Do you think I can't afford my things now?"
"Charlie—"
"I'm almost twenty-two years old, and have a very successful job, or had you not noticed? I'm very capable of buying myself a pair of gloves."
"Will you let me speak now?"
"What!"
"I bought those for you as a thank-you gift for not leaving me stranded in the woods that day. You could have easily abandoned me and let me find my way back, which I would have eventually, but you didn't. You brought me along, and introduced me to some creatures that I've never seen before in their natural habitat."
"I told you," he groaned. "My mum would have killed me if I left you, and something happened." He reminded her of his excuse.
"Oh? So why didn't you just apparate me back to the sanctuary? Hm?"
"Why didn't you ask me to?" He retorted. "You're the intellectual Ravenclaw, remember? You're supposed to be the smart one, Talia. You're worried about me making a move on you when you're the one who's inviting me to."
Natalia was stunned by his stubbornness, but he was right. She took a breath and slowly approached the hot head in the room.
"I noticed the pair you had were weathered and worn from handling beasts like that Horntail," she said softly. "They're enchanted to never burn or tear."
Charlie suddenly felt like an intolerable sod. He was completely blinded by the hatred he had developed for her that he was too stupid to see that she genuinely did still care for him in a way that she could never care for Baron. Deep down, he always knew this, but she never gave him a reason to believe it.
Natalia was now standing within arm's reach of him. He allowed his eyes to lock onto hers, while she studied his face full of freckles, each other's weaknesses. Natalia raised her hand slowly and traced the marks on his face that constructed the dragon constellation she pointed out to him five years ago.
It all happened so fast that they didn't even realize who made the first move, but it didn't matter. Charlie consumed her lips as though they were fresh air, and he was struggling to breathe. Natalia ran her fingers through his long, wavy red hair while his hands held her steady.
Charlie picked her up, carried her to the bed, and attacked her neck with his lips while unbuckling his jeans, Natalia doing the same with hers.
They took a brief break from kissing, and couldn't seem to get their clothes off quickly enough. Natalia's bare chest was now exposed to Charlie for the first time in years, and though he'd never admit it, he was fucking nervous.
Charlie had gained plenty of experience being with other women over the years, but none of which made him as nervous as Natalia did. There was just something about her. He wasn't only worried he couldn't please her, it was that he was afraid he'd develop an emotional attachment to her and get burned. Again.
"You're so beautiful, Natalia," he whispered causing Natalia to blush. They reconnected their lips. Charlie's hands roamed her body with one on one of her breasts, the other slowly exploring the dangerous area between her thighs.
Natalia was nervous. It had been months since she had done anything remotely this exciting, or fun. She slowly separated her legs, granting him access to feel her.
Charlie hummed against her lips when his finger slipped down her dripping wet slit. It too had been a while since he kissed a girl, let alone touched one. He'd almost forgotten what it felt like. He started to fear that maybe he didn't know what he was doing.
He slipped his middle finger inside of her causing her to shudder at his touch. His mouth left her neck and slowly trailed down her body until he was met with the heat between her legs. He spread her legs as far as he could and drove his tongue between her lips.
"Oh," Natalia moaned. "That's...that's...fuck." She continued. She threw her head back visibly pleased as he consumed the juices between her legs. "Fuck, Charlie." she lifted her hips, driving herself further into his mouth. "I forgot how good you were at this." She moaned.
Charlie was the only boy who had ever gone down on her despite her pleas for Baron to do so. He was completely disgusted by the idea. He was the type to receive treatment and felt as though he didn't need to return the favor. What mattered was that he got off.
Natalia's legs tightened as she came close to her orgasm. Charlie hooked his arms around her legs and pulled her even closer to his tongue, and flicked it aggressively until she released it into his mouth.
Charlie pulled back and wiped his face, and hovered over the girl. Face to face they sat there looking into the eyes of each other. Charlie didn't expect anything in return, and Natalia knew this, but that didn't mean she thought he didn't deserve any fun too. Besides, she was longing to feel him inside of her again.
She reached forward and guided his tip into her. He let out a gasp upon entering her. "Forgive me if I don't last long." He breathed in her ear as he thrust in and out of her.
She pulled his face to hers and consumed his lips once more. She slipped her tongue into his mouth and swirled it around so she could get a taste of herself. Charlie grunted and groaned as his thrusts became more sloppy by the second until he pulled out and released all over her body.
Charlie gave her a towel to clean off before he plopped onto the bed next to Natalia and stared at the ceiling as he tried to catch his breath.
Natalia rolled onto her side and swung her arm over his muscular chest, and traced his scars with her finger. Charlie leaned forward and kissed the top of her head and held her close.
The two sat in silence, for they knew if one of them opened their big mouths, they'd probably go back to fighting, and let's be honest, neither of them wanted that.
Instead, they lay there entangled in each other's embrace, with one thing on their minds:
They each owed George Weasley twenty galleons.
XX
The following two days went by in the blink of an eye. Natalia and Charlie spent all of their free time in Charlie's tent allowing their bodies to get reacquainted with one another. If it weren't for the other trainers needing his assistance to maintain some of the dragons, the two wouldn't have left each other's side.
Today was the day that the dragons needed to be transported to Hogwarts for the first task. Charlie, the head dragonologist, was in charge of overseeing everything and making sure they were properly secure in their cages.
Despite Barty Crouch's many letters asking which breeds Natalia had selected, she opted not to tell him. Mainly because she didn't know, she let Charlie choose as he had the most experience with the beasts.
The only stipulation they requested was to bring nesting females. Crouch never disclosed why, so they went along with it anyways.
"Are you finished getting packed up?" Charlie inquired from the brunette.
"I just need to run to my place to grab my notes and something else and I'll meet you back here." Charlie nodded before kissing her on the cheek and wandering back into his tent.
Natalia rushed back to her cabin and grabbed her notebook that contained classified notes about the sanctuary, the residential creatures, and most importantly, its workers. Natalia hated that she was secretly keeping tabs on all of the trainers, but it was a part of her job.
Before she forgot, she also grabbed her necklace and put it on. It was one piece of jewelry she made sure she took everywhere with her.
When she had everything settled, she sauntered back to Charlie's tent. She stepped in without knocking (because why should she), and almost turned around and walked right back out.
"Who's she?" A petite blonde spat when Natalia seemingly interrupted her heated conversation with Charlie.
"She's a family friend." He answered. Natalia felt a sharp pain in her chest when he chose that as his response, but it was her fault for assuming that the duo was more than friends. Hell, they weren't even friends.
"I'm ready if you are—" Natalia said. "I'll just be outside waiting. Unless you want to catch up later."
"Bye then." The blonde said. Natalia turned and walked out the door feeling pained and jealous. Who was that girl and why was she yelling at him?
"Talia, wait," Charlie called from a distance. Natalia turned around to see the redhead charging towards her. "It's not what you think."
"It's alright." She told him. "I was stupid to think that there was something other than sex going on between us." She laughed.
"No, you're not stupid." He cupped her cheek, but she turned her face from him.
"Who is she?"
"Her name is Gwendolyn Harbor, she's my, was my—"
"Oh."
"I broke up with her, Talia." He confessed. "Months ago actually. She just showed up because she heard I was seeing someone and wanted to convince me to get back with her."
"I see."
"Will you stop?" He shouted. "I don't think you understand my feelings for you, Talia. I tried, for nearly five years to get over you. I've slept with other women, and even briefly dated a few but I kept comparing them to you. I tried to hate you, but I can't." He explained. "And honestly, I don't want to."
Charlie stepped close to her and grabbed her hand with his. He pulled it up and kissed the top. "I only want you, and if you don't want me back, I understand. You did just get out of a seriously long relationship, and we've only been spending time together for two days, and—"
"Charlie—" she said. Charlie stopped speaking, a frown on his lips. It happened once before. He gave her his heart and she tossed it in the mud and stomped on it. She was about to do it again except this time bury it in dragon dung. "Will you stop babbling on and kiss me?"
Charlie relaxed and did as she requested. He grabbed her waist with both hands and pulled her body to his and pressed their lips together. "Are you ready to go?" He asked. She nodded. He took her hand and apparated to Hogsmeade station.
The two arrived and immediately took a stroll through the dimly lit forest just like when they were teenagers. There was still a bit of daylight out which meant the dragons were still sleeping. They fed the dragons sleeping draught so they'd sleep during the transport. It was just easier.
"What are we going to tell people?" Natalia inquired as she grabbed his hand. He intertwined their fingers. "I mean, surely your mum will suspect something when we're sharing a bed at the Burrow."
"We'll tell them the truth." He replied flatly.
"And what might that be?" Natalia asked, anxious to hear where his thoughts were. Yes, she knew he wanted to be with her, but that didn't mean they were together.
"That you're a sex fiend and that you can't keep your hands off of me." He chuckled. Natalia playfully shoved him away. "You're not helping your case." He laughed.
"I hate you."
"You could never. You love my freckles too much."
"That I do, Charlie," she smiled as she pressed her lips against his. "That I do."
"Well, well, well," The couple was interrupted by a male voice. The two quickly broke apart only to see the entire Weasley clan minus Molly and Percy staring at them just as they were about to snog. "Looks like you lot me twenty galleons."
Everyone groaned.
"Wait a second," Charlie said as he handed his little brother his wager. "I thought it was just me and Talia who made the bet with you two." He said pointing at the twins.
"Well, we told Ron," said Fred.
"And then Bill," said George.
"And Ron told me," said Ginny.
"And Ginny told me," said Arthur.
"Dad?" Charlie said surprised. "You made a bet on my love life?"
"Don't tell your mother," Arthur said with a laugh. "She'd kill me if she knew about this."
"Actually, Dad," Ginny interrupted. "Mum got in on the action as well. She bet they'd announce they're together on Christmas Day. PREGNANT!"
Everyone burst into laughter at the thought of Molly Weasley going against one rule she tried to enforce amongst her children. Ginny and Arthur had bet the couple would be together by Valentine's Day, while Ron bet March, Natalia's birthday, and Bill bet they wouldn't get together, just shag during Natalia's first week in Romania.
There was still some time before the sunlight was completely gone, so Charlie showed his family the four beasts he had selected (per Natalia's request) to bring.
There was the Chinese Fireball, a Common Welsh Green, a Swedish Short-Snout, and the ever so terrifying Hungarian Horntail.
"I have to say, I don't envy whoever gets stuck battling that Horntail. Most dragons can shoot up to twenty feet and I've seen it reach forty." Charlie educated his family. "Vicious thing. Its back end's as dangerous as its front."
A few more minutes passed before the first dragon, a Chinese Fireball named Zara, started to wake up.
"I'm afraid I'll have to ask you all to go," Charlie instructed his family. "They're nesting, and tend to get more aggressive when they see too many unfamiliar faces."
He and Natalia bid everyone goodbye before Charlie was called to help tame the waking dragon.
"Oh, Ron," Natalia called. "Tell Hagrid to come out here. I just know he'll want to see this." Ron nodded and quickly caught up with his family.
Natalia turned around and watched as Charlie stood on top of the steel cages, and tightly pulled one of the chains to gain control of the beast. She wasn't having it. She started thrashing, and Charlie nearly fell into the line of fire inside her cage but thankfully he caught himself.
"Stunning spells on three!" Charlie ordered the five other trainers who too were trying to gain control of the beast. "One...two...three!"
"Stupify!" All of the trainers cast. The dragon blew a puff of smoke before turning around and curling into a ball in a relaxed state.
Natalia casually began to walk through the forest, watching the dragon trainers in action as they wound down the waking beasts. She watched as the creatures arose from their slumber, but her eyes caught a glimpse of a now shirtless Charlie Weasley, dripping sweat.
She wasn't paying attention to where she was going as her eyes were glued onto his perfectly chiseled body. "Natalia!" Charlie shouted as the girl was aimlessly walking into the line of fire of the suddenly angered Swedish Short-Snout. "Get back!" He yelled.
Natalia snapped out of her daze and missed getting roasted only by a couple of feet. She was dripping in sweat from the heat that radiated off of the flames. Natalia watched as Charlie effortlessly claimed off of the cage and rushed back over to her.
"Are you okay!?" He asked worried, resting his hand on her lower back. "I didn't mean to yell at you like that—"
Natalia crashed her lips onto his. "Do not hesitate to bark orders at me again," she muttered against his lips. "And put your shirt on," she pushed him away, "You're distracting me."
Charlie smirked but did as she requested, and pulled his black t-shirt over his head.
"Charlie? Natalia? S'that yew?" Hagrid the Giant's voice emitted from the trees. Natalia ran over to the large man and gave him a hug, Charlie doing the same after her. "It's good tah see yew two." He said.
"You as well, Hagrid!" Charlie said.
"How's Romania treatin ya? Well, I hope."
"It is, it is." He answered. "Gotten a lot better since the Ministry sent this one to help." He added nudging Natalia.
"Oh! Ar yew two together finally? Ya know what I always said? I always said yew two would make a fine couple ya know?"
Natalia laughed nervously as the blood took over her cheeks. She was unaware of how many people from the outside adored them as a couple. It was making her want even more from him. She decided that she needed to speak to him about where they stood, and soon.
"Let me show you around," Charlie said taking Hagrid near the relaxed dragons. "And for the record, I've got their eggs counted." He said sternly to the half-giant. Natalia chuckled.
Natalia sat back for a moment and watched the guy she was falling for all over again show their creature-loving friend around. She stepped backward and bumped into what felt like a person, but when she turned around, no one was there.
"Hello?" She said. No response.
Natalia shrugged and waited for Charlie to return when she heard a sneeze.
"Bless you," said Natalia.
"Thanks."
Natalia's eyes widened.
"Harry?"
Harry pulled the cloak off of his head and revealed himself to the girl. "Harry, you shouldn't be here. It's too dangerous!" She scolded. "It's bad enough Ron, Ginny, and the twins know."
"Ron knows?" Harry asked, suddenly furious. "That foul git."
"Wait, did something happen?"
"I—I don't want to talk about it."
"Why are you here anyway? I didn't know you were into dragons."
"He's not," Charlie chimed in. "He's the fourth champion. That's why there are four dragons."
"I thought the fourth was just an extra."
"Seriously?" Charlie narrowed his eyes at her with a stale face. "You work for the Ministry, and you didn't know that Harry somehow entered?"
Natalia shook her head no.
"Well, Harry, it was nice to see you, but we best be off. Good luck to you tomorrow." Charlie told the boy as he wrapped his arms around Natalia's waist from behind and he rested his head on her shoulder
"Any advice?" He asked. Charlie and Natalia frowned.
"I'm afraid we can't tell you much of anything. You honestly weren't supposed to know about this as it was supposed to be a surprise." Harry frowned at Natalia's response. "Although, I happen to know someone that may be able to suggest a book or two that you can use as a study guide." A faint smile reappeared on his face.
Charlie, who was too busy watching Hagrid, reassuring he didn't swipe an egg or two not listening to a word Natalia had said, was nudged by the girl.
"Ow!" He groaned. "What?"
"Natty said you might be able to suggest a book about dragons—"
"Try Men Who Love Dragons Too Much."
"Told you," Natalia said to Harry while chuckling at the title. If she didn't know any better, she says Charlie himself wrote the book.
"You two look great together by the way," Harry complimented. "And lost me twenty galleons might I add."
Charlie groaned. "If they weren't my brothers, I'd kill them."
"Bye Harry," Natalia said to the boy before he walked into the distance back towards the castle. "Men Who Love Dragons Too Much? Really, Charlie?"
"It's a good read. You should see for yourself." He nudged her playfully and grabbed her hand and apparated them back to the Burrow.