Stumble - A Fred Weasley Fanfiction

Chapter 5: 350 Days Before

Charlie Weasley had come home.

The second eldest son of Molly and Arthur had arrived late the night before, long after Addie had gone to bed. She had forgotten he would be staying at the Burrow until the next morning, when she had gone downstairs for breakfast and heard two voices coming from the direction of the kitchen. She poked her head in to see Molly talking animatedly with a man who very much resembled the rest of the Weasley family. His hair was the usual shade of Weasley red, his face dotted with freckles. His frame was much more built than the typical lanky frame of the other Weasley's she had met, but he was obviously one of them none the less. 

He had one arm set on the table, the sleeve rolled up, revealing a large burn that took up most of his forearm. Molly was fussing over it, rubbing layer after layer of burn salve upon it. As Addie watched, the potion began to take effect, transforming the blackened, flaky skin to a shiny pink. "You need to be more careful," Molly scolded.

"But mum, you don't know what this means," he said excitedly, his good arm flying up in emphasis. "I am one of the only researchers to get close enough to watch the flame form in the dragon's mouth. I watched its tongue catch on fire. If we could figure out how it activates the flame, we could make serious advancements on flame-proof robes." 

"Charles, I will not have you risking your life like that! Flame-proof robes will do you no good if you're dead!" 

Charlie started to argue when Molly turned and noticed Addie standing in the doorway. "We'll discuss this later," she told him firmly, and there was no arguing with Mrs. Weasley once she used that tone. "Addie, this is my son, Charlie. I believe I've told you about him." 

Addie was amazed at Mrs. Weasley's skill in changing her tone of voice from terrifying to sweet in the matter of mere seconds.

"You're the one that works with dragons, right?" Addie asked, eyes falling from his face to the healing burn on his forearm.

"That's me," Charlie said proudly. "Although mum wishes I had chosen a less dangerous career path." He shot a cheeky smile at his mother, who glared at him. 

"Just because I prefer my son alive does not make me the bad guy," she grumbled as she headed outside, flicking her wand at a bucket of chicken feed so that it trailed behind her. The door slammed loudly as she exited. 

"So why were you that close to a dragon's mouth?" Addie asked, unable to contain her curiosity. 

"Well, it's something we've been talking about for a while at the Sanctuary," Charlie explained. "We know the anatomy of a dragon, but we've only looked when the dragon's been properly stunned first. We've never gotten close while the dragon was awake, or more specifically, when it was shooting fire." 

Addie laughed. "It's odd that you'd want to stay away from that," she said sarcastically.  

Charlie smiled at her. "So I may have finally done what everyone was too afraid to do, and flown at it while it was awake. It of course got quite disgruntled about me flying around it, and tried to burn me to a crisp. When it opened its mouth to kill me, I made sure to look." 

Addie laughed again. "That sounds like quite the job."

He shrugged. "It's not for everyone, and it has its challenges, but I love every minute of it." 

Mrs. Weasley returned to the kitchen just then, the now empty bucket clanging loudly against the doorframe as it floated in behind her. "When are we leaving, mum?" Charlie asked. 

"Goodness, I almost forgot," Mrs. Weasley said, hand going to her mouth. "Addie, Charlie and I are going to Diagon Alley, we're meeting Arthur for lunch and grabbing some things. You're more than welcome to come of course," she added quickly.