Fantasy Gift For Our Watchers
As promised a few days ago, we have have special gift for all our watchers. We hope you enjoy this, and thank you all once more for helping us to have an excellent round.
The dragon plummeted and Charlie lost his grip, free-falling through the air as he watched the dragon pull up and, with a flap of its mighty wings, disappear toward the compound. The ground rose up to meet him, too fast to do anything other than flash on the faces of his family. The sudden halt he expected never came; instead, claws dug into his shoulders and his body felt weightless.
Flames burst up around him and Charlie covered his face, the sound of Phoenix song ringing in his ears. He glanced up and saw great red feathered wings instead of the leathery flaps of the dragon he'd been working with and gasped. Looking around, he noticed the territory had changed and he shouted, hiding his face once more, as a wall of stone appeared.
The Phoenix song rang out again and Charlie was let go, his stomach doing a sickening roll as he landed on the floor. He peered up into the smiling face of Albus Dumbledore.
"How good of you to drop in," Dumbledore said, twinkling obnoxiously.
"Headmaster?"
Dumbledore extended a hand, helping Charlie up. "Sorry for the exotic means of summoning you, my boy, but we have a bit of a situation, and we need your help."
~*~
Charlie exhaled and tried to tamp down his excitement. He knew this was serious business—his mother had drilled that into his head—but he couldn't help but feel some small measure of a thrill as he attended his first meeting of the Order of the Phoenix.
He'd long thought that there was such an organization, of course. His parents' furtive glances and odd silences after coming home from supposedly social outings now made sense. The pride on his father's face when he'd mentioned that he was now a member and that Dumbledore himself had asked him to join had certainly been a source of pleasure.
There were other potential sources of pleasure involved in this, however.
Charlie slanted another look over to where Kingsley Shacklebolt was sitting, straight and tall. Well, not too straight, hopefully.
~*~
Kingsley glanced around the room; Albus had informed him there would be a few new members arriving at the meetings, and noticed the newest Weasley as soon as he entered. How could he not, with that burly build and shock of ginger-coloured hair?
With the exception of the few Aurors included, these people were civilians, not trained fighters, and Albus had wanted him to keep an eye out for them. This newest Weasley had thrill seeker written all over him.
The dossier he'd received on Charles "Charlie" Weasley stated he was a dragon tamer, and Kingsley could see it by the scars on his arms as the young man wandered around the room.
Kingsley's skin crawled with the looks he was receiving from Weasley, and it took all he had not to meet the man's eyes and stare him down.
"Kingsley, it's time to start," Albus said, and Kingsley blinked, tearing his gaze from Weasley's arse.
"Of course," he said, walking over to his customary seat. To his surprise, Weasley strode over and sat directly next to him, apparently all he'd been waiting for was Kingsley to choose his seat.
Kingsley licked his lips. This could be quite the interesting meeting.
"As many of you have heard, Harry Potter has seen Voldemort," Albus said, his eyes uncharacteristically grave as he looked around the now silent room.
"He is back, ladies and gentlemen, and thus, so are we."
Muttering started up behind Kingsley and he could predict who it was before the person even spoke. "I'm all for believing the boy," rasped Moody. "But we need more than the assurances of a fourteen year old."
"If it reassures you in the slightest, my Mark has been burning incessantly for several days." The room went completely silent as Snape spoke. "I did not answer the call, but I must soon. I am hopeful that I shall survive the encounter."
"Why didn't you?" Moody blustered.
"I was instructed not to," Snape growled. "But I shall soon enough, and then you shall have all the proof you need."
"Gentlemen." Albus' voice was calm and soothing, but it held an undertone of steel that the smart listener would do well to heed. "Regardless of his age, Mr Potter holds a connection to Lord Voldemort that I trust, and with the added evidence of Severus' Mark returning, we cannot hesitate. There have already been casualties; Cedric Diggory and Bertha Jorkins are merely the first to come to our attention. Every one of you is here because I trust that you seek to destroy this threat to our world as much as I. If you feel the threat is too much, please say so now. There will be no disappointments and no recriminations.
It is a dangerous time, ladies and gentlemen. It will only grow more so."
A pin would have shattered the determined silence that followed Dumbledore's speech.
Kingsley didn't even twitch when Weasley cleared his throat and leaned forward. "Headmaster, I understand—as I'm sure everyone here does—the dangers inherent in attempting to defeat You-Know-Who. I still remember the day we buried my uncles. Hell, most of the people at this table can remember what life was like back then. So I think we're all on the same page. What I would like to know, though, is exactly what you want us to do."
"I'm pretty sure the wands-drawn approach is a bit less subtle than you're aiming for. Am I right?"
Kingsley looked across the table to see the speaker, a young Auror by the name of Tonks, casting flirtatious glances at Weasley. Watching from the corner of his eye, he was surprised to note that Weasley wasn't paying the pretty Auror a bit of attention; it was wholly on Albus. Kingsley's estimation of the man went up a few notches.
"That's correct, Nymphadora," Albus said, ignoring the way her hair changed colour from pink to a bright red. "I would prefer a more subtle approach. When he came to power before, Voldemort infiltrated the infrastructure and I suspect he still has sympathizers in the Ministry. We need those names."
"I think I can give you one," Arthur muttered. "It starts with Mal and ends with foy."
Albus smiled. "I suspect you're right, Arthur, and Lucius Malfoy shall certainly be watched closely, but what we need to know is who else is susceptible. For that I think we need the help of one of our younger members." He stared at Weasley and Kingsley stiffened.
"You are in contact with many foreign wizards as a part of your job in Romania, are you not?" Albus asked.
"Then perhaps it's time we began recruiting foreign wizards to our cause," Albus said, looking around at the people in the room. "Perhaps it's time we let others know of Voldemort's evil plans and of the likelihood of his return."
Kingsley sighed. He was clearly going to have to speak up. "Albus," he said, his deep voice cutting across several others who had immediately begun to babble. "It's an intriguing idea, Headmaster, but I'm not sure that sending an inexperienced operative in to do this is the best choice."
Albus held up a hand, staving off several people's comments, including Molly Weasley. "Oh, I agree, Kingsley," he said. "That is why I am assigning you to be his Ministry liaison."
Kingsley's mouth fell open. He was what? A soft sound made him turn to look at Weasley, who looked like the cat that had swallowed the cream.
Weasley met his gaze with a smile. "I can't wait," he murmured, and the look in his eyes made Kingsley raise an eyebrow. At that moment, Weasley didn't appear too inexperienced at all.
~*~
Charlie pushed in his chair and looked about, trying to find Kingsley's tall, dark presence in the throng of people milling around after the Headmaster had dismissed the meeting. He ignored his mother's shrill cries of his given name and made his way toward the front of the kitchen, still searching for his 'liaison'.
He licked his lips and hummed softly, contemplating all the many permutations of that word and wondering how many of them Kingsley would be willing to engage in.
Distracted by these thoughts, Charlie wasn't watching who was in front of him and ran right into someone. He reached up and pressed his hands against the firm back and stepped away, apologizing profusely, just as his mum had bludgeoned into his head, then stuttered to a halt when he realized it was his quarry.
Charlie looked up, and continued to look up, at Kingsley's handsome face. He'd not realized just how tall Kingsley was when he had been sitting. He smiled his most charming smile.
"Sorry about that, but since I am going to be partnered with you, I suppose it's not such a bad thing, eh?"
Kingsley arched one dark brow at him, and Charlie floundered, wondering just exactly what to say that wouldn't end up making him sound like his idiot twin brothers, or worse yet, Ron on a bad cracked-voice day.
"So, right, then, your office or mine?"
Charlie nearly groaned out loud.
Kingsley smiled. "I am going to pretend you did NOT just say that," he said.
Charlie grinned lopsidedly. "Perfect. That was NOT my best line."
"Weasley…" Kingsley's tone carried with it a threat.
Charlie scrubbed a hand through his hair. "Okay, so I'm not smooth—I'm a Dragon Keeper for Merlin's sake—but I am serious. And interested. VERY interested."
Kingsley's eyes narrowed on Charlie and he looked around the room for a long moment before he turned back to Charlie and said, "Come with me."
Biting back the 'I'd follow you anywhere' that immediately sprang to his tongue, Charlie allowed himself the pleasure of studying Kingsley's firm arse as he trailed behind him into the darkened hallway. He had barely taken two steps into the narrow corridor before Kingsley's body was pressing him back against the wall.
"I'm not sure how—or what—you think you know about me, Weasley, but you're a fool if you think you can get around me with such a weak lie."
Charlie, tongue frozen to the roof of his mouth as his body came to screaming life under the influence of Kingsley's voice and the hard pressure of his body, fought to gather his thoughts into something resembling coherency. Instead, he heard himself groan in an embarrassingly needy way as he gave in and ground his cock roughly against Kingsley's hip.
"What lie?" he gasped, his hands coming up to dig into Kingsley's robes. Charlie dropped his head against the wall, already hard and aching from being so close to Kingsley's hard body, surrounded by Kingsley's sheer size… completely dominated in a way that he hadn't been in so long. Unable to help himself, Charlie rolled his hips once again.
"Fuck! Weasley… you can't… we can't—" Kingsley groaned as Charlie's movements brushed their cocks together. "The entire Order is on the other side of this wall."
"I spend all my free time in a tiny dorm-type living space with five other men. I know how to be quiet."
~*~
Kingsley had no idea how he'd lost control of the situation so completely. One minute, he'd been attempting to call Weasley's bluff, the next he was growing uncomfortably hard in the hallway of Sirius Black's house as the young man he'd been assigned to work with frotted restlessly against him.
A vehicle passing in the lane outside provided enough light to show Kingsley the urgent desperation that shone in Charlie's eyes. It was a look that went straight to his groin. Giving in with a harsh expulsion of breath, he dropped his head and pressed his mouth harshly against Charlie's.
Of course Charlie fought back with lips and teeth and tongue. Kingsley groaned low in this throat as Charlie tried to swallow him whole and, after a momentary struggle, Kingsley began to give as good as he got, plundering the moist depths that were being so eagerly offered.
The sound of a distant door slamming made Kingsley start and he dragged his mouth off Charlie's and leaned their foreheads together. "This is a bad place to do this," he whispered, fighting to clear his head of the sensual fog that had enveloped him.
Charlie certainly wasn't helping. He was doing his best to thrust his erection against Kingsley, his breathy moans and fumbling making Kingsley wish he could throw caution to the wind and take what Charlie was so clearly offering.
"If we quit yapping and just do it already we'll be finished before anyone's the wiser," Charlie muttered, his hands making short work of Kingsley's trouser fastenings.
Kingsley opened his mouth to argue, but his word went flying out of his mind at the touch of Charlie's calloused fingers against his prick. A moment later, when he felt the slide of Charlie's cock against his own, Kingsley dipped his head and attacked Charlie's neck with his lips and teeth.
"Yes," Charlie moaned, his hand speeding up as Kingsley sucked welts into his skin. ""Want you to mark me."
"Deviant little dragon-keeper," Kingsley muttered around the flesh of Charlie's shoulder.
Charlie chuckled softly. "Not so little," he wheezed, thrusting his hips emphatically. His hand sped up its movements and Kingsley's hips began to push back adding to the friction.
"Soon..." Charlie gasped, and a moment later, Kingsley felt spurts of warm seed spilling over his prick. The added moisture made things deliciously slippery until, with a low cry, Kingsley thrust hard, pinning Charlie to the wall as he came shuddering.
In the seconds after they'd both come the world seemed silent, until the sound of slow clapping filled the air. Both men froze.
"Quite the riveting performance," Snape said.
Kingsley sighed. "Snape—"
"Don't worry, Shacklebolt. I shan't tell anyone what form your liaisons with young Mr Weasley here are taking. There are few enough sources of pleasure in the world, and now that the Dark Lord has returned, those few may disappear. Enjoy each other while you can."
He spun in his heel to leave, and as he reached the door, he threw over his shoulder, "although if I were you I would clean up. Your mother is on her way, Weasley."
"Fuck." Grabbing his wand, Kingsley cleaned them both up with efficient sweeps of his wand, and his hand was at the top button of his robes when Molly Weasley rounded the corner.
"There you are!" she squealed, hurrying over to a still disheveled Charlie. "You certainly were in a hurry."
"I wanted to talk to my liaison," Charlie said, smoothing down the collar of his robes so that his neck was obscured.
Molly smiled. "Of course. Well, I thought we'd have a nice dinner to celebrate. Would you like to join us, Kingsley?"
Kingsley cleared his throat and grinned at Molly, nodding slowly for a moment until he was certain that his voice wouldn't betray him. "That's a lovely idea, Molly. I'd relish the chance to spend time getting to know Charlie on a more personal level."
Charlie's eyes went wide and Kingsley winked at him.
"Great! It's almost ready then. I've Fred and George setting the table now."
As Kingsley watched Molly leave for the kitchen, he turned and pinned Charlie with a look. "I trust you can keep up, Weasley, and not give away the game."
Charlie winked at Kingsley, and then followed his mother. "Who do you think taught the twins? Come along now, can't be late or she'll really have at us."
Kingsley threw his head back and laughed, suddenly feeling more light-hearted since this entire matter began. He hoped it would last.