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There were things in the world that Charlie Swan wished he didn’t know about, but he dealt with them because it meant keeping Bella and Nessie close. He could do without the rest of them if he were to be honest, and the Pack kept trying to eat him out of house and home, but beggars shouldn’t be choosers.
At least, that’s what he told himself on an almost daily basis.
He also reminded himself that he didn’t actually know anything. He just observed and had inklings about such matters.
His phone rang then, the vibrations making it skitter across the table as well, and his daughter’s name flashed on the screen.
“Yeah, Bells.”
“Are you okay? Where are you?” Her voice was frantic in that melodious tone she’d taken on after – well, after.
“Fine. Fit as rain. What’s going on?”
There was a whispered conversation happening on the other side of the phone.
“Where are you, anyway? You still bringing my granddaughter to me?”
“We’re just heading into Oregon. Just – are you sure you’re okay?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
More whispering until Renesmee answered him. “Hi Papa Charlie. Are you ready to take me fishing?”
A smile fell over Charlie’s lips. Nessie, with her chocolate brown eyes that were a little too familiar , could make anyone’s day brighter. “Sure am, Ness. Anything else you –”
He was cut off by a loud roaring outside his house. It sent shockwaves through his body and years on the job had him alert and striding toward the door. His gun, still in its holster hanging in the entryway - he did, after all, live alone now and didn’t need to hide it from young children - was soon in his hand.
“Charlie! Charlie? DAD!”
Charlie flung open the door and immediately slammed it shut. His heart raced, threatened to beat out of his chest.
“DAD!”
“Bells, you remember how I’m on that need-to-know basis?” He was practically stuttering into his phone.
“Yes. Are you okay? What’s going on? Edward, go faster. ”
“Are dragons on a need-to-know basis?”
Silence.
Utter silence.
And then Edward’s annoyingly smooth and calming voice came over the line. “Charlie, did you just say dragons ?”
“Sure did,” was all he could say.
“I’m assuming we’re not talking about a lizard that children call dragons? Or a komodo dragon? Or –”
“Do not patronize me. There is a creature on my front lawn that looks like a mythological creature with giant wings and –”
Another roar, this time followed by human shouts. An orange glow filtered in through the windows.
“– and I think it might’ve just breathed fire. Shoot, Sue planted those flowers before we split.”
There was a knock, a frantic one, a pounding one. It was the knock he used on the little shits in town when he needed to talk to their parents.
“Don’t answer that!” Bella screeched over the phone. “Don’t let anyone –”
Charlie opened the door to find a tall, rugged redhead on his porch, a stick in his hand. Behind him, four men were pointing similar sticks toward the dragon - DRAGON - which was now swaying slightly. Ropes ran from the sticks to loop around the dragon’s neck and snout.
“Afternoon, sir!”
“There is a dragon on my lawn,” was what came out of Charlie’s mouth.
The redhead nodded, pursing his lips. “There is. Terrible accident, it is, was never meant to escape, but things happen, yeah?”
“Things… Happen?” His voice was somehow both bored and incredulous. He repeated, “There is a dragon on my lawn. ”
“Yes, sir, but no need to worry. We’ll be taking care of that right-quick.”
“And who, exactly, are you?”
“Oh, ‘scuse the manners. I’m Charlie. Charlie Weasley.” He held out a hand after transferring a stick to his left. “I’m from the Romanian Sanctuary where this young one escaped.”
“Romania?” Charlie - of the bird variety - asked skeptically. “When did he escape?”
“She,” Weasley corrected. “Just a few hours ago, but it took us some time to track her down. Little rascal.”
Swan ignored the fond tone in the other man’s voice for the time being. “So you’re telling me you somehow tracked down a rogue dragon and traveled from Romania to Forks, Washington , in the United States in just a few hours?”
Weasley frowned. “Well, International Portkeys can be pricey but that shouldn’t affect you. We have some for emergencies of course, which well, this was an emergency.”
As if listening, the dragon rumbled, a booming sound from its belly.
“ Crina, behave!”
“Son, are you on drugs? Part of some underground ring smuggling… is that thing even real?”
It was at that moment that Charlie Weasley realized he had a bigger problem than just the rogue dragon. He thought Crina was attracted to magic in the area but if he was reading the situation correctly…
“Mister…”
“Swan,” he replied gruffly. “ Chief Swan. I’m the police chief here.”
Charlie racked his brain for all the things he’s learned about Muggles and mumbled, “Chief. Police. Is that…” He smiled brightly. “Ah! You’re the Head Auror then?”
At that point, multiple things happened at once. A pack of four wolves appeared from the side of the house - wolves far larger than Charlie (of Romania and England) had ever seen before. Their appearance caused Crina to rear back on her hind legs and two of the handlers lost hold of their spell and the ropes around her snout fell. Additionally, a car came speeding down the street to stop in front of them and three people - two adults and a child - suddenly appeared next to him.
The young girl squealed at the sight of the dragon but one of the wolves darted forward to stop her from getting closer. As the wolf was now closer, Charlie could sense something off about it and returned his wand to his right hand. The woman caught his movement and gripped his wrist.
Hard.
“Okay, wow. Ow .”
“Bells.”
“Who are you? What are you doing here?”
“Um. I’m Charlie Weasley. I’m a dragon handler and you might want to let me go so I can, well, handle Crina and stop her from burning this house down?”
“We got her, Boss!” One of the other four handlers called out. “But we may want to call in someone from the Creatures squadron at MACUSA.”
Though he knew the answer, Charlie looked at the Head Auror and asked, “You wouldn’t happen to have a Floo, would you? Or perhaps an owl I could borrow?”
Blank faces stared at him.
“Right. Muggles,” he said under his breath. He knew his next step would take a great deal of magic but he didn’t really have a choice. So Charlie Weasley spun his wand in a tight circle - still in the woman’s right grip - and thought of sunsets on the sanctuary with a warm butterbeer.
A glowing animal that looked like a cross between a giant eagle and a Chinese dragon emerged from the tip of his wand. It ran around the people for a moment before it stopped in front of Charlie - who was now free as the woman called Bells had dropped his hand in shock.
“MACUSA Headquarters,” he instructed in a firm voice. “Creatures department. Escaped dragon found but in Mug- in No-Maj area. Will need Obliviators and possibly Aurors to sort things out. Charlie Weasley.”
Silence reigned around him.
“Well, Chief Swan, I’m sorry to have disturbed you this afternoon,” he said politely. He was raised properly. “Representatives from MACUSA should be here shortly and we’ll get this all sorted out and you can all go back to living peacefully.”
“Excuse me, Mister. Could I meet the dragon?”
Charlie looked down to see the child staring at him with a hopeful look on her face. He was about to impart upon her the dangers of dragons when she reached out and pressed her fingers to his wrist.
“Renesmee, no!”
But it was too late. Pictures upon pictures filled his head. Charlie was flabbergasted; perhaps this child was who Crina sought out. She was still young yet was doing some sort of backwards Legilimency on him without having uttered a word!
She showed him images of animals she’d saved and loved. Apparently, she owned a fish because her parents wouldn’t eat it? And then he saw massive wolves in his mind, ones that looked similar to the ones on the lawn and then —
Charlie gasped. The otherwise silent man grabbed the child and lifted her to his hip. Deep golden eyes stared at him but Charlie paid him no mind.
“I have to get Bill here,” he said to himself. He looked over to the man who first opened the door. “Sir, Chief, I wonder if I could impose on you for just a bit longer. My brother, you see, is a werewolf like -“
“Need to know,” the man interrupted.
“Excuse me?”
“I am on a need-to-know basis and don’t T need to hear terms like that.”
Charlie blinked.
The other Charlie sighed. “But if you gotta call your brother, ‘suppose I can get ya a beer or something.”
“A butterbeer?” Charlie asked hopefully. It wasn’t that he never drank, but he was still technically working.
“That sounds disgusting, so no. Wait here.”
And as the elder Charlie went into the house to grab actual beer, he resigned himself to another need-to-know element in his life. There were far too many of them lately.
And also, what the hell was an Oar-er? Sounded like it had to do with boats. Maybe the redhead was into fishing.
Wouldn’t that be something?