Of Dogs and Dragons

He continued focusing on the childhood home that he had grown accustomed to. The place that was always cramped, and never lonely. The warm, delectable smell of his mother's cooking and the constant chatter of his brothers and lonesome sister. With his deepest desires, he hoped he would be able to concentrate on his exit strategy. He was burned and ready to fall towards doom, and he needed to leave. He needed to concentrate on Apparating, but he did not know if he could do it because he was so weak.

But he eventually did. He opened his eyes, moments after his fall, which had been marked with pain and bruises, staring out at a familiar setting. He glanced upward, looking at the front door of his childhood home. It was exactly like he remembered, the warm, familiar feeling looming in front of his hazy blue eyes.

His pulse decreased and he managed to resume a normal heart rate. His face was scarred and several bones in his lower limbs were broken, but they would heal, with just a bit of magic. Seeing that door made him feel instantly better.

Charlie limped over, carrying the heavy burden of his weight with him, as the chemicals inside his body slowed down his heart beat. As he knocked on the door, he felt his mother rush him inside.

"Charlie!" she screamed, her blue eyes filled with panic.

Just hearing her voice took away Charlie's remaining pain. She was a wonderful mum, and her voice reminded him of so many wonderful memories of his childhood.

Molly urged him inside, quickly and swiftly, clearing the couch off from him to lie down on. She washed off his face, with water and special anti-bacterial potion and she mended his "easy-to-fix" wounds. Meanwhile, his father, Arthur, called for a Healer to come and help out with what Molly could not fix on her own.

Two of his brothers, Ron and Percy were there as well, along with Ron's friends, Harry and Hermione. The three that had triumphed over the evil Dark Lord and finally finished him for good.

"What happened?" Mrs. Weasley finally asked her son, as soon as he was comfortably lying on the couch. The Healer came into the flat and said an assortment of spells and gave Charlie an array of Potions, while he spoke to his family.

"Dragon," Charlie simply said, realizing that it was obvious, but not wanting to further explain.

"You sure don't seem to be very good at your job," Percy teased. Charlie raised his eyes to view his mother, his father, Percy, Ron, Harry and Hermione, staring over his shoulder.

"What are you all doing here?" he suddenly asked curious. At least that would take some of the attention off of him.

"Just having lunch," Ron answered. "And discussing future plans."

"I thought you were on assignment," Arthur Weasley added in. "In some Muggle town."

"I was," Charlie answered. By then the Healer had left, and Charlie was just told to rest. "A dragon escaped from Gringotts and landed himself... erm... herself in the town. She's been attacking the dogs in the town and I'm s'pose to catch her and bring her back to the bank."

Charlie looked towards Ron, and noticed that he seemed to back away. He then focused on Harry's eyes and he did the same thing. The pattern continued with Hermione. "You three don't have anything to do with this, do you?"

Hermione and Ron both looked at Harry simultaneously. "Harry, do you have something to say?"

Charlie smiled, as Harry realized that his friends put him on the spot. "You know how we broke into Gringotts," Harry softly started to explain. Charlie nodded his head and urged him to continue. "Well... er... in order to get out." Harry paused once more. "We had to think quickly, and we let the dragon go in order to get her out. Er... sorry."

"Don't be." Charlie continued to smile, despite his injuries. He enjoyed being home sometimes. "I'm sure it was worth it."

"We can help you capture the dragon," Hermione said, hoping to redeem the trio for what they had done.

"No, I don't think so." Charlie stared into empty space, avoiding them. "I don't think I can explain to the Muggles why I feel three 18 year olds are capable of helping me. It's too dangerous anyways. You don't have enough experience with dragons, even if you rode on the back of one and made it out alive."

"Harry fought one off fourth year," Ron offered. He seemed ready for an adventure.

"He did, but this one is unpredictable. She's just laid an egg." Charlie did not want to compete. He knew the three wanted to help, but he just couldn't let them.

"Laid an egg?" Hermione questioned. "How could she be pregnant?"

"I'm not quite sure," Charlie answered. "But I saw an egg that she was protecting. It might be ready to hatch any day now. And if she was dangerous today, she will be deadly when her baby comes along."

Charlie saw a sparkle in all three sets of eyes. Somehow he realized that his words had interested them even more at that point. They wanted to come. "Seriously guys, you can't come," he declared. "I know you think that you can do anything now that you've conquered... well You-Know-Who, but you can't. Dragons are dangerous. And I can't take the responsibility of looking after you and the dragon."

"We just feel badly," Hermione spoke for the three. "It was our fault."

"Don't worry about it," Charlie stated. "I'll take care of it."

---

Several days later...

"Where is Charlie?" Emilia yelled at her boss, wanting her question to be answered, yet being unsuccessful thus far. "It's been three days and no one's seen him. Isn't he supposed to be getting rid of the threat?"

"Reynolds, calm down," Dr. Baker spoke. "I'm sure he's doing the best he can. It can't be easy."

"But shouldn't he at least check in?" Emilia fumed, finally speaking her mind. "I just don't think he's the right person for the job."

"I'll give him one more day," Baker said. "And then I'll the people I contacted before. Just give him a little time."

Emilia sighed heavily, clearly frustrated. She grabbed her purse, closed her locker, and stormed out of the hospital.

She started walking along the sidewalk in a brisk, fast pace. Over those days that Charlie was supposedly working, but missing from the action, there had been one more victim and a total of two more deaths, including the new victim.

Emilia was frustrated and annoyed. She tried her best to heal the dogs, but nothing was working. She was used to sending some dogs home, healthy, but as of late, that was not happening. Not one single dog survived.

She was spending almost every hour of her life at work, and it was starting to show. Her eyes barely stayed open and she was cranky. The cups of coffee could only do so much, before exhaustion set in. She did not want to leave, but Talia made her. And Dr. Baker backed her up.

She sorted through the parking lot to finally find her beat up green Civic, parked in the back. Though being a vet gave her a pretty hefty salary, she did not spend it on her car. She just wanted a car to bring her back and forth to work. Nothing fancy.

Emilia piled into her machine and drove the short distance to her home. It was difficult for her to keep her eyes open along the way, but she managed to. The drive not being that far admittedly helped.

As she opened the door to her home, a large yellow Labrador Retriever approached her with a furiously wagging tail. "Taffy," she said and her mood instantly brightened. "I'm sorry I left you for so long. You've been a good girl, right?"

Emilia walked into the flat and Taffy continued to show excitement, staying at the heels of her master. "She certainly has," a tall black haired woman declared. She was Emilia's roommate, Jessamine Declar.

"I'm sorry that I left her for so long," Emilia said apologetically, hoping that she would not find much anger in Jessamine's tone.

"You said that you would take care of her. " Jessamine did seem angry. "That I wouldn't have to worry about her."

"I know." Emilia felt terrible. She remembered saying that. She should be there to take care of Taffy. "I told you that I can bring her to work with me if you really want."

That quieted Jessamine. Emilia knew that she liked Taffy, but she did not like taking care of Taffy. It's not like it was very difficult though. Taffy wasn't one of those mellow Labs, but she could be if needed. If needed, she could be fine, alone in the house, most of the day. All that Jessamine needed to do was take her on two or three potty walks, and feed her breakfast and dinner. A little attention was always nice, but Taffy did not thrive on Jessamine's attention. Emilia was her human and that's who she wanted.

"It's okay," Jessamine said finally after several awkward moments of silence. "I don't want her to be locked in a cage all day." She then left the room.

When Emilia decided to move to Newberry, she looked at the classified section of the paper. Jessamine's ad was the first one she saw and when the two met, everything seemed okay. Emilia especially loved the house, so she tried to be optimistic about the roommate.

The two seemed to get along right away. And they continued to get along. They weren't really friends though. They just tolerated each other's presence. Emilia was anxious for the day that Jessamine decided to move out or the day that she could find a suitable place all to herself, but not much was ever for sale in the quaint town of Newberry.

Emilia walked further into the flat, dropping her things off on the dining room table. Taffy continued to follow her, hoping that there was a walk in her future.

Emilia noticed that look. "I'm sorry girl," she said. "I'm exhausted."

Taffy seemed to understand her words. Her ears, which were previously perked up, drooped down and her tail slowed down from a ferocious quick wag, to a light brush back and forth.

Emilia then had an idea. She knew that mental work was more exhaustive than physical work anyways, so it would be good for Taffy. She took Taffy up to her bedroom, so that she would be out of Jessamine's way. Sitting down on her bed, Taffy sat obediently in front of her, waiting for her to do something.

Taffy continued to wiggle her tail in front of Emilia as the girl just looked at the beautiful Lab. Emilia smiled weakly as she scratched Taffy's floppy ears and she began to think about the first time that she had gotten Taffy. That dog became the light of her life. Someone she could come home to and always feel confident telling her secrets to. A creature she shared so much in common with and a creature that would never let her down.

"Unlike some people," Emilia mused aloud, as she leaned down, scratching the head of the creature that she had grown to admire.

She reached into her pocket to grab a treat and she tossed it upward for Taffy to eat at her discretion. As she did so, Emilia stared out of her apartment window down at the semi-busy street of Newberry. Everything seemed so cluttered in the small town, but she knew better. The place was no larger than the point of a sharpened pencil on a globe.

As she thought about her last comment, her mind immediately drifted to Charlie. Lately, he hadn't been good for anything. He'd just been some selfish, pompous, inconsiderate jerk that came and went as he pleased while on the job. She could not trust him or his words at all.

"There are dogs to save, and he just thinks he can waltz in and out on them like some... some arrogant bastard!" Emilia said frustrated with him again as she grunted and threw a pillow over her face, falling back on the bed with it.

Emilia let out a gentle scream that was muffled by the feather filled menace, as Taffy began to nudge whatever was conquering her master's face. Taking the pillow from her face, smiling a bit, Emilia turned her head towards Taffy as the dog commenced to licking her face. Breathing in, she sat up and stroked Taffy's head once again.

"Well, I know that if you had this assignment, you wouldn't let me down would you girl?" Emilia questioned to Taffy as she rubbed her nose in her face and sighed once more. "But... you're not human, so I'm stuck with that no good, rotten red-head."

Taffy began toying around with a ball that was on Emilia's bed, as it slowly took the girl away from her demeaning thoughts about Mr. Charlie Weasley.

Eventually, Emilia grabbed hold of the ball and the two played fetch for a good fifteen minutes, before Emilia's cell rang.

Emilia grabbed the phone and Dr. Baker's voice on the other end greeted her. "Reynolds," Baker said. "Charlie's back."