The Midnight Watch

"A werewolf?" Charlie asked. He glanced up at the waxing moon. In DADA, Professor Kessler had taught that modern werewolves gravitated to cities because they were dependant on Ministry benefits for survival. It was unsettling to learn one could be living near the research centre.

"Da." Nadia looked across the snow one last time and then dropped her arms and plummeted downward.

He changed the hover spell to free fall and held on tight as the broomstick dropped like a stone. "Whoo-hoo!" Charlie shouted. He heard Nadia laugh and laughed with her. When his feet touched the ground, however, he came down to earth mentally as well as physically. "Wait a minute," he said. "If there are no tracks, how do you know it was a werewolf?"

"Intuition."

"You have the Sight?"

"Nu. I have a long acquaintance with Yoska Vasile."

Charlie tried not to jump to conclusions. Would Nadia visit every night if she was involved with someone else? "Who is he?"

"Rom and werewolf."

"And this Vasile steals dragon scales to--what--sell them on the black market?" Dragons weren't like other reptiles. Their scales grew and renewed like human skin and nails. It took illness or physical combat for a dragon to lose scales. The rareness of such occasions made powdered dragon scale extremely valuable.

"To feed his family," she said sharply. "Wizard or Muggle, the Roma cannot work when employers will not hire dirty gypsies, and once a Rom becomes werewolf, it is worse. He must beg in the streets or find another way to survive."

"Stealing."

"In Romany, there is no word for possess, but this is the first time Yoska has taken a scale in twenty years," Nadia said. "Something must be wrong for him not to wait."

"Wait for what?" He read her face and immediately answered his own question. "You give him dragon scales."

"Da, at the beginning of each season, and in return he and his sons patrol the forest and send word to Costi if any trespassers wait for darkness to take fang, claw, scale, or hide. Dimitrie knows," she said, "As Head Keeper, it is in his interest to protect the dragons in every way."

Charlie shook his head.

"You doubt my word?" Nadia asked coolly.

"No," he said. "I can't believe I never wondered why there wasn't a night patrol, or why poachers have never been an issue. I've had blinders on."

"No more than anyone else. Dimitrie says is better that way. Less paperwork."

The corners of her lips quirked upward. Charlie found her smile as attractive as her accent. "It's better," he said absently, distracted by the way her eyes glowed scarlet to match her lips, thinking that was oddly attractive, too.

She looked at him questioningly.

He said, "You said 'is better' instead of it is or it's."

"I do this often?"

Charlie almost groaned. Merlin, what was he doing acting like Percy and correcting her English? "It's okay," he said. "I knew what you meant."

In the blink of an eye, she closed the distance between them. "Say that word again."

"What word?"

"The funny one, the--how you say--contraction?"

"Oh, 'it's'?"

"Da. Say it again. I want to watch your mouth."

The bottom dropped out of Charlie's stomach in a way it hadn't during the earlier free fall. She wanted to watch his mouth? It didn't matter that Nadia meant it in a non-sexual way. His heart still jumped into his throat. He swallowed hard. "It's."

She echoed him and then said, "It's better, yes?"

"Da."

A searching look followed Nadia's brief smile. "Do you wish to go with me to speak with Yoska?" she asked. "The dragons will wait, but I need to know why my old friend broke our agreement." Her expression tightened. "And to ensure he does not do such a thing again."

Charlie nodded. "Do we fly?"

"Apparate."

He shrank his broom to stow in a pocket and curled his fingers around her forearm. Charlie tightened his hold as everything went black. Extreme pressure on all sides forced out his breath and squeezed his body until--

He suddenly breathed cold air that burned his lungs in a way he never appreciated before Apparating in winter. Nadia hadn't been affected by their travel, but he was sucking in air like a beached fish. Charlie wiped blurry eyes and then realised that he and Nadia stood inside a forest clearing occupied by a ring of covered wagons: a gypsy camp. He released his grip on her arm and followed her toward the central campfire.

The three men who stood talking broke off their conversation when Charlie and Nadia came into sight. The leader, a man with gray hair and a thin, lined face, greeted them with a solemn nod. "Sastimos."

"Sastimos," Nadia replied. "And I hope that all is well for your family, also."

"Arvah, yes, they are in good health." He spoke in English, the way Nadia had. After a curious glance at Charlie, he gestured to one of the wagons. "I will call Simza--"

"Nu. We have a matter to discuss." Nadia gestured to Charlie. "This is Charlie Weasley, a keeper at the centre. He spotted a Longhorn scale on a low ridge this morning, and by night it was gone without a trace." She asked in a low voice, "Why have you broken our pact, Yoska?"

Charlie watched sweat break out on the man's swarthy brow. "I had to. Marko came last night. He needed the sonkai--the gold--powdered scales would bring."

"He threatened to rip them from a dragon if he had to," one of the other men said.

Yoska turned on him. "Silence, Iulian!"

"No, Father. You say everybody has to eat a loaf. What will our families eat now that Marko has taken the scales?"

"Nadia will help us," the third speaker said.

From the way his voice cracked and went squeaky, this Vasile son was at least a dozen years younger than his brother Iulian. On a hunch, Charlie asked, "Did you leave the scale on the ridge on purpose?"

"Yes." The boy turned to Nadia. "I knew it would be found and you would come."

"There is nothing she can do, Nicu," Yoska said. "Marko and the scales are gone."

Charlie said, "For now. What's to stop him from coming back?" He didn't want anyone who threatened dragons anywhere near their caves.

"Nadia will!" Nicu's face glowed with admiration. "Our martiya will hunt down the shimulo--."

Yoska's face darkened. "Do not speak of your brother that way!"

Iulian put his arm around Nicu. "He is right. Marko is marhime--impure. He should pay the consequences, not us."

Charlie saw Nadia flinch at the word "impure." She said, "You will not go hungry. If I gather no more scales before spring, Costi will bring payment in gold."

Nicu's face lit up. "Nais tuke!"

"I add my thanks," Iulian said.

"Yoska's troubled expression didn't lighten. "And Marko?"

Charlie arched a brow when Nadia glanced his way. He wanted to hear her answer, too. The safety of every dragon was of paramount concern.

Nadia held his gaze while she said, "The strigoi hold a midwinter Gathering. I will go and tell the Council what has occurred."

"The Council? Is that like the Rom court?" Nicu flinched as his father barked something harsh in Romany.

"There is no disrespect in curiosity," Nadia said. She told the boy gently, "I am unfamiliar with either, but this I know: Marko will be held accountable by a council of elders."

Nicu's wide eyes were bright with interest. "Do you think strigoi elders are as old and wrinkled as Roma?"

"I cannot say," Nadia said with a hint of a smile. "But I promise to let you know on my return."

Yoska exhaled heavily. "Will Marko be punished?"

Charlie stood close enough to notice Nadia hesitate.

"Again, I cannot say," she said.

It was clear from Yoska's dejected posture that he didn't expect Marko to escape reprisal. Tonelessly, he said, "So be it."

"Zhan le Devlesa tai sastimasa," said Nicu.

Iulian inclined his head. "Yes, go with God and in good health. Both of you."

"Thanks," said Charlie. This wasn't a "it's been nice to meet you" moment. Any pleasantry would be out of place. He placed his hand on Nadia's forearm in preparation for Side-Along Apparation.

That time, he braced for the shock and merely gulped in a few deep breaths to recover. He saw that Nadia had brought them to the area behind his house. Smooth fingertips that were cool, yet not icy, brushed his cheek.

"You are cold. You wish to go inside?"

Charlie shook his head. "Tell me about Marko Vasile."

"He is Yoska's son from his first marriage. Twenty years ago he helped his father steal scales, and then to patrol the forest."

"Is he a Dark werewolf?"

"Nu. He is impure--cast out--because he is shimulo, the walking dead."

That was why she had flinched. Charlie said, "Nicu called you martiya--"

"Spirit of the night, since I do not take the blood of humans."

"Then you didn't..."

"Turn Marko? Nu. He asked, and when I refused, he left to find a less selfish lover," she said frankly. "After that, I avoided...entanglements..."

Charlie didn't blame her. Marko accused Nadia of selfishness when he was the one using his family--his lover--for his own ends. He nodded sympathetically even as he thought, she said avoided. Past tense.

"Will you tell Dimitrie?"

It took a second for the question to register. He'd been wondering what kind of "entanglement" she considered him. Charlie said, "Not unless I have to." If Marko returns.

"I understand."

They stared at each other in the kind of silence that reminded him of the end of first dates, and the inevitable decision to make: move in for a kiss or say goodnight and try some other time. Not that he would try anything with Nadia--Charlie wasn't comfortable enough yet and she had the ex-boyfriend situation to deal with--but after the midwinter Gathering...

"Your housemate just knocked on your door," Nadia said.

He strained his ears and heard nothing. "Guess I'd better go in, then. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Charlie was climbing through the open window when he heard,

"Should--should I visit tomorrow evening?"

He almost broke his neck scrambling into the room in order to lean his head right back out the window. "Yeah!"

She smiled and Apparated.

He smiled and then groaned. He'd forgotten to return his broom to the shed! Charlie climbed over the sill and dropped to the ground, closing the window once again before taking the direct route through the cottages.

After returning the broomstick to the shed, he didn't bother trying to sneak into the house. He went in through the front door, hung up his outerwear, and headed straight for the kitchen.

Emil sat at the table, reading a book. Beside his elbow was a plate with crumbs on it. As usual, he had finished his sandwich and kept reading, too engrossed to move to a more comfortable chair in the lounge. Only the tip of his long nose was visible through the hair hanging into his face. "I thought you were asleep," he mumbled, as Charlie made a batch of hot chocolate.

"I went on a broom ride."

"How was it?"

Charlie had to laugh. "Eye-opening."

-

A/N: Ever try to write while relatives are visiting? It's a challenge--I'll say no more. :D. The side-along Apparation was patterned on Harry's experience in HBP, ch 4, and the Roma info, names and vocab I googled to find (as always, heh). For anyone who's seen An American Werewolf in London, yes, I named Professor Kessler for the lead character, David, and I'm sure at he told Charlie's class at least once, "Beware the moon."