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Pansy took a deep breath as she stepped out of the caravan and held it for a few moments. Fresh air. It had been a long time since her lungs had been filled with such a relaxing feeling. The last time she had felt that way was as a child playing at a small, quiet park in London. After that, her life had gone to hell in a handbasket at the choice of her parents.
After the war, she was faced with a choice - continue with the Parkinson family values or start over. The one thing Pansy had wanted more than anything in the world was a chance to start over. She wanted to walk outside and not be hated by everyone around her because of something she had no control over. So when the opportunity to join a dragon reserve in Romania had arisen, she was the first name on the list.
This was a chance for her to find herself in a way that had no ties to the choices of her family. Here, she would be Pansy Parkinson, an ancient runes explorer rather than Pansy Parkinson, a member of the Sacred 28. With one more deep breath, Pansy adjusted her bags on her shoulder and made her way onto the reserve.
Once she was inside the gate, she paused and pulled a piece of paper out of her back pocket. She was skimming over it when she heard a familiar voice call out to her as they approached.
"As I live and breathe," Charlie laughed, making his way to where Pansy was standing, holding her bags. It had been a few years since he had last seen her, but she hadn't aged a day. A smile pulled at his lips as he wrapped her up in a hug, picking her up and giving her a spin. "It's been too long, Pansy."
Pansy giggled, draping her arms around Charlie's neck, holding on tight. She didn't think he would drop her, but accidents do happen. "I know it has. Work has been crazy lately, but I'm happy to get away for a while. It's good to see you, Charlie."
As he lowered her back to the ground, Pansy kept her hands around his neck as she studied his face. His sun-kissed skin brought out the brilliance of his eyes, they practically sparkled. His red hair had grown out since their last encounter, she noted how much better he looked with the longer hair. Pushing the other thoughts of Charlie's body out of her mind, Pansy took a step back and dropped her arms from his neck.
"It's good to see you, Pansy," Charlie said, carding a hand through his hair and pushing it out of his face. He studied her for a moment, taking note of the way her dress clung to her frame. "You look good too."
Pansy blushed, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "Thanks," she murmured. "You look good too, Charlie."
"Thank you," he replied, nodding his head. He moved toward her and grabbed her bags from the ground. "Let's get you settled in your tent."
"My tent?" Pansy scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Is that a problem?" Charlie asked, glancing back over his shoulder with a raised brow and a smile on his face.
Pansy shook her head. "Nope. I'm looking forward to the things I'm going to learn while I'm here."
She watched as Charlie hoisted her bags onto his shoulder with ease. She wished it had been that easy for her to lift them like that. Pansy was certain it was comical watching her struggle through the airport with her luggage after she arrived.
The campsite was small, with only a few tents scattered around a large fire pit. There was a larger building a little ways away from the tents that Pansy assumed to be the dining hall. She had been communicating with Charlie for a few months before deciding to come to Romania to continue her research, so she was familiar with the general layout.
Charlie led them to the tent furthest away from the rest and lifted the flap to usher her inside. He smiled as she brushed past her before following her in and dropping her bags next to the bed. He carded a hand through his hair nervously as he looked around and shrugged. "Sorry it isn't much," he said.
"It's more than enough," Pansy chirped, patting his arm gently as she looked around the space. "I spent so much of my life being surrounded by things that I felt no connection with. It'll be nice to be surrounded by things, people, and creatures that I feel a connection with. Things haven't been all that great."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Charlie asked, cocking his head to the side as he studied her.
Pansy shook her head. "Not right now, but maybe in a few days after I've gotten settled in."
"Sounds like a date," Charlie said, eyes widening when he realized what he had said. "I didn't mean like a date date, I just meant.."
"I know what you meant," Pansy interjected, cutting him off before he could shove his foot even further into his mouth. "I appreciate the offer and I look forward to our date."
Charlie's cheeks flushed for a moment before flashing a smile toward her. "You're welcome. I'll let you get settled in and swing by to get you for dinner around seven."
. . . . . . . . . .
Pansy had finally settled into the reserve and after a few long trips to the dining hall, she had finally found a routine after four days. It had been nice spending time with Charlie as he walked with her wherever she needed to go, but she was ready to break out on her own and start pulling her weight. She was ready for an adventure.
That morning at breakfast she had overheard a few of the other handlers talking about some ruins they had found past the northern border of the reserve. An idea sparked in her mind as she finished her coffee and before she could hear the rest of their conversation, Pansy had taken off to find Charlie. If she was going to discover something new, then she wanted to do it with him. She was becoming more and more fond of him.
Pansy made a quick stop at her tent to grab her bag before continuing to Charlie's tent. It was just across the campsite from her own, but she was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't see him walking straight towards her. They collided with each other, startling themselves as Charlie tripped over his own two feet, falling onto his back as Pansy collapsed on top of him. She looked down at him as a rush of heat flooded her cheeks.
"I am so sorry," she said, moving to roll off him only to be stopped when she felt his hand wrap around her waist. Her heart skipped a beat as she studied his face.
"I should have been paying more attention," Charlie insisted, rolling to his side as he held her to his chest. He pushed himself up before offering her a hand which she took gratefully. "Are you okay?"
"I'm good," Pansy replied, dusting the dirt off her legs. "I was coming to find you to see if you wanted to go explore some abandoned ruins."
"You heard the guys talking about the ruins along the northern border," Charlie laughed, nodding his head slowly as he carded a hand through his hair. "I was wondering how long it would take someone to bring those up."
"You mean you've been to them before?" Pansy asked, her eyes flashing with excitement as a smile pulled at her lips. She bounced on her toes a bit as she waited for him to respond.
"I have," Charlie answered, watching her for a moment. He thought she was going to explode with excitement if he kept quiet much longer. "I need to grab my -"
He was cut off by Pansy's shrill screech of excitement as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She pressed a kiss to his cheek before pulling away with a wide smile on her face. "You are my favorite person here, Charlie Weasley."
"You aren't so bad yourself," Charlie laughed, tucking a hand in his pocket. "I'll be right back."
Pansy bounced back and forth on her toes as she watched him make his way back to his tent and then return a few moments later with his bag draped over his shoulder. He offered her an arm upon his return which she gladly took as he led her toward the northern border.
Once the ruins were in sight, Pansy let go of Charlie's arm and approached the ruins on her own. Charlie watched her carefully as she searched for a way inside the ruins. Watching her explore and be so happy brought a smile to his face.
"I'm pretty sure we shouldn't explore the abandoned ruins on our own," Charlie called, watching as Pansy climbed up onto the pile of rocks. He shook his head in defeat before running to catch up with her. "You're going to get yourself killed."
Pansy glanced back at him over her shoulder and rolled her eyes. "I am not going to get myself killed. You're here to catch me if I fall, right? Besides, if we find something cool in these ruins, we could be famous!"
Charlie gritted his teeth as he watched her reach for a handhold on the rocks, but missed and lost her footing. He lunged forward, catching her in a cradle hold just before she landed on a sharp rock. "Yes, I will catch you if you fall, but if we die on your little adventure, we will be lost and most likely forgotten. Is that what you want to happen?"
"We aren't going to die," Pansy said, shaking her head as she patted his chest. "Put me down."
Charlie obliged, lowering her to the ground, but kept his hand against the small of her back. He watched her carefully as she studied the ruins in front of them, deciding what would be the best path for her to take inside. Charlie took note of their surroundings and sighed when he noticed a small crawl space just up ahead.
"Over there," he pointed, dropping his other hand from Pansy's back. Charlie laughed at the grin that grew on Pansy's face when she spotted the entrance. A squeal escaped her lips as she took off at a run. He shook his head as followed her, cursing himself for pointing it out. "You couldn't have kept your mouth shut, could ya?"
Pansy pulled her wand out of her pocket and flicked her wrist. "Lumos."
Her smile grew wider as her wand lit up the small entryway. She ducked down to avoid bumping her head and made her way inside. Once she got past a few spider webs and some piles of rocks, the cave opened up into a large space - the space was big enough to be home to one of Charlie's dragons, but as far as she was aware, all of his dragons were back at the compound.
The thud of Charlie's boots echoed around the cave as he made his way inside. He noticed the walls of the cave reflecting the light of Pansy's wand as though it was covered in diamonds. Charlie watched as Pansy moved around the cave, shining her light on the wall. There were paintings on the wall, but he couldn't make out what they were from where he stood.
"Charlie, come over here!" Pansy chirped excitedly. She motioned for him to come quickly, so he obliged. As he got closer, the paintings on the wall became more clear.
The paintings illustrated dragons flying across the sky and a few of them had people riding on their backs. Another illustrated a small village with a dragon curled up, sleeping, surrounded by people just going about their day. After a few moments of following Pansy as she took in the pairings, Charlie pulled his own wand out and began exploring on his own.
"Did you know these were here?" Pansy asked, keeping track of Charlie as he moved around the cave out of the corner of her eye.
"No," Charlie replied, shaking his head as he continued to inspect the paintings. "I'll have to bring the others back here to see it. They'll never believe me."
"I'm not so sure they'll believe you anyways," Pansy teased, moving further into the cave. Her footsteps echoed around them as she continued on, leaving Charlie behind. There was a chill in the air that sent a shiver down Pansy's spine, and she could have sworn she heard someone breathing heavily in the distance. She pushed the thought aside however because she and Charlie were the only people in the cave.
Charlie caught sight of Pansy's light disappearing further into the cave and he let out a sigh. This witch was going to be the death of him, but he'd follow her to the ends of the earth if that's where she led. With a sigh of defeat, Charlie made his way further into the cave with the light at the end of his wand leading the way.
A low growl echoed through the cave as Charlie caught up to where Pansy was standing. She appeared to be frozen in time. With a furrowed brow, Charlie reached out and tapped her shoulder.
"Are you okay?" Charlie asked, his voice riddled with concern.
"Did you hear that growl?" Pansy asked, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.
"What gro-?" Charlie's voice was cut off as another growl echoed around them. He raised his wand with a flick of his wrist to grow the light and caught sight of a pair of eyes sparkling in the soft glow. "Pansy, you should probably take a few steps back."
Pansy turned to look back at Charlie with a smile on her face. "Or, I could take a few steps forward and check out the beautiful creature that is hidden in the darkness."
"We don't know anything about the creature hidden in the dark," Charlie growled, reaching to grab Pansy's arm. However, she was able to sideswipe him and took off at a run further into the cave. Charlie hung his head as he cursed under his breath before taking off after her. "You've got to be kidding me."
A loud growl echoed through the cave as Pansy and Charlie got closer, but their light revealed the creature's green scales and amber eyes staring down at them. Charlie thought about it for a moment, but then a smile pulled at his lips and he tucked his wand into his back pocket. "Stay still," he warned, glancing at Pansy over his shoulder.
"What are you doing?" she asked, her voice dripping with panic as she watched him step towards the creature with an outstretched hand.
"I was wondering where you disappeared to," Charlie said, rubbing his hand against the scales. Pansy watched in awe as he talked to the creature that was still mostly hidden by the darkness. With squinted eyes, Pansy tried to get a better look at what Charlie was talking to but she couldn't make it out.
After a few moments, Charlie turned and motioned for Pansy to join him. She took a few cautious steps and watched as Charlie reached down to grab her hand. He lifted it to the creature and pressed her hand to the scales, covering her hand with his own. The creature let out a low growl and lowered its head to the ground, allowing Pansy's light to illuminate its face.
"A dragon," Pansy whispered, brushing her fingers back and forth against the scales. She turned to look at Charlie. "What breed?"
Charlie pointed to the horns on the top of the dragon's head. "This is a Romanian Longhorn that escaped from the reserve. I've been looking for Lucy for a while now. I can't believe I never thought to check the ruins."
Pansy's eyes went wide. "You mean, you know this dragon?"
Pansy tucked her hand out from beneath Charlie's and moved to pet the dragon's face. The growling had stopped and she watched as the dragon, Lucy, moved her head to brush Charlie with her horn. She was a large dragon, but it appeared as though she was calm as could be.
"Thank you for taking me to the ruins," Pansy said, glancing back at Charlie over her shoulder. "And thank you for helping me feel right at home here at the reserve."
Charlie stepped forward, wrapped an arm around Pansy's waist and pressed his other hand onto Lucy's nose, giving her a pet. "Thank you for pushing me out of my comfort zone to explore the ruins. It helped me to find Lucy.'
Pansy rested her head on Charlie's shoulder and let out a sigh. She felt him take a deep breath and then hesitate, but she didn't move. She felt safe where she was and it had been a long time since she had felt safe.
"And I will always do whatever I can to make you feel right at home, Pansy," Charlie said, resting his chin on the top of her head. "I know why you left home, and I can't say that I blame you, but you aren't like them."
Pansy let out a sigh and pulled away from him. "You've always seen me for who I am and not who I was supposed to be," she said, resting a hand on his chest.
"I always will," Charlie said, leaning down and pressing his lips to hers. She froze for a moment but then leaned into the kiss. She moved her hand from his chest to drape around his neck as he found purchase against the small of her back.
Lucy let out a growl after a few moments, reminding them of her presence and they pulled apart. Charlie glanced down at Pansy as a wicked grin pulled at his lips. "Wanna take her for a ride?"