Of Dogs and Dragons

The plans were all set, and Charlie was in a rush. He wanted to get Linnie and her baby away from Newberry as soon as possible... before the Ministry or his boss could even think about the situation and decide to start sending more dragon keepers to capture Linnie.

Charlie's siblings all agreed to help him, even his little sister. He tried to prevent Ginny from coming along, but she insisted. She was of age and in her last year of school. She was capable of helping even if that meant escaping from Hogwarts for a day. Harry gave up the Marauders Map for a day so that she could sneak out. She had been using the map quite frequently, little to any of the Weasley brothers' knowledge, in order to meet up with Harry. Their relationship was beginning to form again but this time, in secret.

Wanting to move as quickly as possible, they planned to move Linnie tonight. Hermione had finally found a town that was mostly made up of Muggles. It was very similar to Newberry, which put Charlie at ease. Linnie was already used to living in Newberry; she would be able to adjust to the new town relatively easily. At least that's what Charlie hoped.

Emilia wanted to help with moving the dragon as well. She told Charlie that she had experience, but he refused to acknowledge her act of rebellion as experience. In addition, she had no way to protect herself if anything went wrong, and Charlie didn't want to worry about moving the dragon and protecting Emilia at the same time. He was at enough of a disadvantage already.

Unfortunately, Emilia was stubborn about staying away from the dragon. Charlie had told her enough about the magical world that she was interested in at least watching Charlie work. It couldn't hurt to just watch. Charlie had assured her that their plan was enough to ensure their success. He said he wouldn't have gotten his family involved unless he was fairly confident in the plan. He and Hermione had worked out a way that created the least amount of risk possible. Emilia was not sure what it was, but they said something about using some Impending spell to make Linnie slower rather than using a Clanker. Charlie was planning to fly around on his broomstick since he was some great Seeker or something. He wanted to get the dragon to follow him. That didn't exactly sound like a safe plan to Emilia, but what did she know about magic?

She planned on following Charlie, Hermione, and the Weasley family to where the dragon was. She was going to lag behind, hoping that no one would notice her hiding behind the bushes. She couldn't miss the dragon moving spectacle.

There was a tap on the door and Emilia realized that Charlie's family had arrived. Emilia asked Charlie and Hermione if she could stay hidden because she wasn't prepared to meet Charlie's family yet. She was not focused on giving a first impression yet, and she would have been too nervous to talk much or to even speak coherently.

She probably would make a fool of herself. She hated meeting new people, especially when she felt it important to make a good impression. She was beginning to like Charlie, and if anything developed further, she would have to eventually make an impression with his family. She didn't want to ruin that already. She wanted to have at least a chance to get his attention before she lost the confidence of him and his family.

Emilia stayed hidden outside as she watched the family of redheads walk inside the shack. There were several of them, like Charlie had explained, along with a brunette, who walked as if he was part of the family as well, though his hair gave away that he was not. Emilia realized that was probably Harry Potter, some kind of superhero in the wizarding world. To her, he just looked like an average teenage boy. In fact, he actually looked rather dull to Emilia. The family did not stay long in the shack.

Soon, Emilia saw them walking outside. Charlie had a radiant smile on his face, one like she had never seen him display before. His face lit up, and he was happy with his family. Really happy. She had never seen him like that before. He had never laughed or smiled like that around her.

That caused her to realize why he was so unhappy that first night. He had a life... a life that involved more than what Newberry had to offer. He had a family that was more important to him than some Muggle girl who couldn't even speak properly.

She had nothing... no magic, no attractive features, not even an attractive personality. There was no reason for him to be happy in Newberry where there were mostly just cats and dogs. There was only one dragon that was causing trouble. That dragon was the only reason he was here.

Emilia felt herself growing weak at her realization. She was nothing to him, but she had let herself grow attached to him. He was probably just trying to make the most out of his situation by keeping in contact with her. It had been Hermione who had pushed him to share the secret. He wouldn't have even let her know about magic if it wasn't for Hermione.

But now that Emilia knew about magic, she couldn't let it go. She couldn't just go back to a normal life after what she had seen and heard. The most important thing in her life was still the animals she worked with, and, with magic, saving them would be a lot easier. She couldn't let Charlie leave without getting him to promise to help her use a bit of magic if an animal could be saved. That was something that she wouldn't be too shy about demanding.

She started follow the family towards the wooded forest. She kept her distance, knowing that she couldn't stay too close to them. She feared the dragon, but even worse, she feared Charlie's family finding her. No matter how much she tried to tell herself that nothing would ever happen between her and Charlie, she still was nervous about leaving a bad impression on his family, especially when they were so close.

As they dug themselves deeper into the forest, closer to the spot where Emilia remembered running into Linnie, she saw them prepare to jump onto broomsticks similar to the one Charlie had been riding on the night that he'd saved her.

So close to the actual truth of what witchcraft was actually like, she realized how odd the stories of witchcraft seemed in comparison. No wonder no one believed that magic was real. It was so evident to her now, but shouldn't it have been obvious before? Didn't anyone ever run into a dragon or see people running around with sticks in their hands? Now, it wasn't difficult for her to believe that witchcraft was all around her, but she had been so oblivious to it until Charlie and Hermione told her the facts.

Emilia watched as the family mounted their brooms, all except for Bill, the eldest of them, she believed. He stayed on the ground for some time, and he began to chant some type of spell.

It was weird to Emilia because, as Bill muttered those words under his breath, she felt like she was not where she was supposed to be. She had left Taffy in Charlie's shack by herself and, suddenly, she felt awful about it. She no longer wanted to observe the dragon relocation ceremony when Taffy was all by herself.

She scurried off into the night, forgetting much about the reason she'd come in the first place. She did not go slowly, as her thoughts were on Taffy rather than remembering that the dragon was somewhere in the forest. Her feet brushed against the sticks, and the leaves crunched quite loudly as she turned back to find her dog. But her steps were loud enough to attract that great creature of the forest.

Linnie's nose focused on the Muggle girl. She smelled much different than the wizards that she had lived around for most of her life, and realizing that she was a Muggle was an easy task, for their scent was much simpler. She also remembered the girl's scent from their earlier encounter, and she remembered how the foolish girl would have been an excellent meal if she had not been saved by the obnoxious wizard, who had a tendency to steal her meals.

All that Linnie could smell at that moment was that girl. She was cautious about leaving her egg, but that girl smelt delicious... She had not tasted human flesh for a long time, and she wanted badly to taste her.

She abandoned her post, letting her nose guide her since her vision barely focused anymore, especially at night. As she did, she heard his screaming again, through her fading hearing, "Emilia! No!"

Charlie saw the veterinarian running off towards his shack seconds after his brother muttered the Muggle-Repelling Charm. Emilia's footsteps were too loud and her scent too great for the dragon not to notice. Before his plan even started, it had to be changed. Linnie wanted to eat Emilia. Charlie would not let that happen.

He swooped down on his broomstick as the dragon aimed her fiery flame at the girl. He grabbed Emilia and held her in front of him just as the flame came out. They both felt the flame partially hitting the left side of their bodies, though Charlie received a bit more of the damage. Since he had been burned many times before, however, he did not feel the effects as much.

"Harry, grab the egg now!" Charlie said, realizing it was the perfect opportunity. Linnie was focused on Emilia, and her diversion from her egg would not last long.

"Charlie," Emilia whispered to him, as his hands pressed against her waist, keeping her steady on his broomstick. "I need to go back. Taffy needs me."

"What's wrong with Taffy?" Charlie asked, concern apparent in his voice. He didn't need another problem to deal with while he tried to think quickly about the dragon relocation.

"She's lonely," Emilia answered. "I need to get back to her."

"Taffy'll-have-to-wait," Charlie spoke quickly, anxious to continue with his plan. "Oh, dammit, it's still the Muggle-Repelling Charm, isn't it?" He quickly lifted the charm, and Emilia instantly forgot about her concerns for her dog that was locked away safely in Charlie's shack.

"I'm sorry," Emilia said, as soon as she realized what she had done.

"Shh..." Charlie whispered, wanting silence to ensue. "Let me focus."

Charlie watched as Harry triumphantly flew to the front of the pack of Weasleys with the egg in his hands. It seemed as if Linnie was starting to realize that her egg was missing, and, as soon as she was sure of it, her nose guided her to Harry.

Harry was prepared to move quickly, flying frantically forward on his Firebolt. After seeing Harry fly like that, Charlie had to admit that Harry was probably a much better Seeker than even he had been. That boy was quick, and Charlie was thankful for his speed tonight.

Soon, the Weasley family members all pointed their wands at Linnie, waving them and saying, "Impedimentum!" Linnie started to slow down a bit as Bill took his place on his broomstick to prepare for the relocation. Bill was supposed to have been the distraction for the dragon, but Emilia had proven quite useful in being the distraction.

Hermione shouted to Harry when he needed to change directions as the group of wizards, the one Muggle, and the dragon flew off into the nighttime sky. Next, Ginny, Charlie, Percy, Bill, and George all muttered the Disillusionment Charm at the same time, hoping to hide everyone. No one, Muggle or wizard, could not know about their journey. The relocation of Linnie was not exactly a legal action.

After the quintet said the spell, Emilia looked down upon her body to see that it kept changing to match the background. She lifted up her eyes to see that it was true for everyone, including Linnie. This was obviously one of the tricks that kept Muggles from knowing about magic.

They journeyed forward into the nighttime sky. Emilia realized that they were traveling pretty far at a fast-paced speed. She would have never been able to just observe everything like she planned. She did not even remember why she thought she would be able to. Curiosity was the main reason, she realized, but that was just stupid. She didn't know much about wizards, and she shouldn't have tried to find out. Each time she tried to get involved, she ended up messing it all up.

Emilia kept quiet like the rest of the family as they all flew on. At times, Charlie and the others would direct spells at Linnie, slowing her down and causing her difficulties. They kept her just far enough behind so that she could not reach Harry, even though she tried to burn him with her fiery flame. She was even successful at some points, laying her flame down on the ends of Harry's ankles. Hermione seemed to shout some type of spell that healed Harry's ankles right after Linnie reached them.

Emilia felt safe with Charlie holding onto her. She had already realized that nothing would ever happen between them, and she was also starting to figure out that that she would need to distance herself from the wizarding world. Charlie was fixing the town's problems by removing the dragon, so she would not need him after that. And once he was gone, she would not try to find anything else about magic. Not when she knew it would cause more harm.

So Emilia tried to savor the moments she had with Charlie. She could feel his tight stomach muscles rub against her back, and she felt his strong arms surround her sides at times when turns were needed. He was such a gentleman, holding onto her, making sure that she was situated on the broom okay and that she was not going to fall off. If the dragon's flame even came near the pair, he shielded her, putting his body in front of hers in every position so that she would not get hurt. She felt the comfort of his warm breath rub slightly on the back of her neck, and she wondered how she could have ever hated him.

After what seemed like a long journey, though it had probably been just a half an hour, Hermione announced to Harry that the forest up ahead was where they wanted to place Linnie. Harry started to make the descent, and Linnie and the others followed. Linnie crept closer to the group as Harry slowed down for the landing. She kept breathing her fire upon Harry, and Harry had to act quickly to move out of the way of the flame. His maneuvering reminded Emilia of a video shooting game. It wasn't quite as amusing when the target was a living person.

When they were about three meters from the bottom of the forest, Harry could not stay atop his broom any longer. All at once, Emilia saw him falling off the broomstick, the egg rushing out of his hands, ready to collapse onto the ground. She immediately acted on impulse, jumping off the broom, trying to steady herself to catch the egg. She didn't exactly land on her feet, but she landed well enough to be able to save the egg from shattering into a million different pieces.

She took a deep sigh, proud of her accomplishment, but soon looked upwards to see Linnie's milkily pink eyes staring down at her. She held out the egg in front of her own body, hoping that Linnie would see it and know that producing a flame would harm her baby.

As Emilia's heart began to race, her mind contemplating what to do next, she heard Charlie shout, "Impedimenta," and the dragon slowed down again.

"Put the egg down, quickly!" Charlie instructed to Emilia.

Emilia obeyed and moved away from the egg and the dragon, as she watched Linnie in slow motion.

Charlie lifted Emilia back onto the broomstick, and Linnie started to move more quickly now. Charlie flew rapidly up into the air, as Emilia saw Harry quickly attach a chain to keep Linnie tethered to a tree. Emilia doubted it would keep Linnie there for long, but at least it was something.

They all seemed to be able to fly away without injury, though one of Charlie's brothers had to pick up Harry because his broom had shred to pieces, as soon as it flew to the ground. But Linnie was tied to the ground, and no one was badly hurt. Emilia was amazed at how well it had all worked out in the end.

Charlie continued to rush the broomstick up into the air, higher than Harry or the others had gone. Emilia was not sure what he was doing, but she was not going to question him as her heart slowly began to ease off from the emotion of the high speed chase.

When they were over a hundred meters above the ground, Charlie finally stopped the ascent. Emilia began to wonder what Charlie was thinking as the two settled down under the star-filled sky.

Emilia felt warmth sitting so close to the man that she may have cared the most for in the entire world. His tired eyes stared softly into hers when he quickly twisted himself around to face her.

He finally spoke, aware of Emilia's speechlessness. "Thank you." He took hold of Emilia's hand, feeling her warm presence. He had grown to like her very much. "You saved the egg. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come along."

"I'm sorry," Emilia finally said, not particularly paying attention to the expressive signs Charlie was displaying or even the passion that filled his voice when he spoke. "I shouldn't have come along. You told me not to..."

"Shut up," Charlie demanded. "Just shut up." He moved his lips closer to the girl, and Emilia finally read his intention. Not far under the darkened sky and brightly-lit stars, the two pressed their lips together, their hearts connecting, their attention solely focused on one another.