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Tweak says, "Hello, supposed sane person..."

hopalongcharlie (hopalongcharlie) wrote in junctusic,
@ 2018-11-05 19:28:00

Entry tags:

!thread, character: charlie weasley, character: miles bletchley

who ? Charlie Weasley, Miles Bletchley
when ? 5th November, Evening
where ? Crosshaven bonfire night display
what ? Fireworks, dog encounter, chance meetings
warnings/rating ? SFW (a bit of swearing)
status ? Complete

Even though Charlie probably could have stayed in and watched the fireworks from his cottage he liked the atmosphere around a bonfire. Plus he was pretty fond of flames that didn't come from a dragon. Actually he liked the sort out of a dragon too if they weren't directed at him.

He'd slung on his long leather coat, minus the thankfully removable fur lining. It was a relatively mild night for early November and he didn't feel the cold too badly despite acclimatising back to the UK temperatures. He had wandered along to the fireworks show with some money in his pocket and bought a snack or two. He'd endured some teasing from someone he vaguely knew from school about his hair being the same colour as the fire. As if those jabs were new.

Despite the slightly uneven ground it was at least dry and easy enough to walk. He was towards the edge of the crowd so he probably wouldn't get knocked off balance by someone craning to look at the fireworks. Only a minute or two into the show itself he felt something brushing at his calf. He looked down and was surprised to see a smaller sized dog.

"Hey, little guy, you shouldn't be out here alone," he said. "Shit, you shouldn't be out here at all really." The poor thing was clearly not enjoying the show, which was hardly surprising.

"Hey, is this someone's dog?" he called to the nearby people.

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bletched
2018-11-05 08:49 pm UTC (link)

Miles quite liked fireworks night, so he'd readily agreed to join Sam and his girlfriend at the display the Crosshaven community centre was putting on. He'd been about to leave to meet them there when Liv had written to him, saying that her and Sam wouldn't be able to make it, because Sam had had a difficult shift. After checking whether she wanted him to help (not that Miles had any fucking idea how he would), Miles had decided he might as well go out anyway, there were ought to be people there he knew, and Miles had no reservations about just joining a group he hadn't come with. Once getting there, Miles had ended up doing just that, recognising some people from debating and work.

As they all crowded to watch the bonfire, Miles heard someone ask if a dog belonged to anyone, turning around with a frown. "Most dogs are someone's dog," he pointed out but did also take a few steps closer to look at the dog. Janie had brought her dog, but this definitely wasn't it, because it looked tiny and petrified. "It doesn't really look like it wants to be here," Miles commented. He wasn't really very knowledgable when it came to dogs, but Miles did think that most (though Janie had assured everyone that her dog loved fireworks) of them were not big fans of the loud bangs.

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hopalongcharlie
2018-11-05 09:17 pm UTC (link)

"Yes, smartarse," Charlie said with exasperation. "Clearly I meant someone nearby." He was bent over trying to introduce himself to the dog who was clearly terrified. "And no, most dogs aren't fans of fireworks, I don't know if it's escaped from somewhere or some idiot brought it," he said.

He looked at the size of the dog and wondered if he could wrap it in his coat and carry it out of the way. "You don't see anyone looking do you?" he asked. Since he was bent over trying to protect the dog he couldn't look around for a distressed owner.

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bletched
2018-11-05 09:45 pm UTC (link)

It seemed likely that no one would've brought their dog to fireworks if it was this scared of fireworks. Then again, if it was a puppy (and Miles had no idea how to tell), perhaps its owner hadn't known better. Either way, the dog clearly needed help. "No, I haven't seen anyone looking," Miles said shaking his head. "Is there like a... tracking spell?" Miles honestly had no idea if dogs did come pre-equipped with some sort of a way to tell who their owners were, other than... "Oh, or a collar?" He asked taking another step closer as if it'd allow him to see better in the dark (it wouldn't it was still too far away).

"I'm sure there must be a sort of a homing charm or something we could cast on it?" Miles offered. He assumed that would work. "I've never found a lost pet before," he admitted. "Do we name it? Like for convenience, not forever." Miles had never named a dog before either, so that seemed fun.

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hopalongcharlie
2018-11-05 10:34 pm UTC (link)

"Probably not a spell," Charlie said. He wasn't the biggest expert on dogs, but he was pretty good at animals in general. "Might be a collar though, hang on," he said. He pulled out his wand and cast a gentle lumos spell to give him a better view in the dim light. The dog didn't seem to perturbed by the wand, which indicated it might belong to a magical family, but it might also mean it was too distressed to react, or was usually a laid back dog. The problem was that the dog had fairly thick fur and there might be a collar, but it wasn't visible in the fur. Charlie, who had been letting the dog get used to his presence for a minute or so, reached out carefully and his fingers slipped over the dog's head and down to its neck where he felt a collar of some sort.

"I think there's a collar," he said. "And it seems friendly, or at least not aggressive," he said. He knew that could change at any time, particularly with the dog being agitated already. "And no, homing charms don't really work on most animals. And I'm pretty sure a new name would just confuse it." He could tell the other guy didn't have a lot of experience with dogs, or possibly animals in general, but that wasn't the worst thing in the world. At least he seemed to be less of a dick than his first comment would indicate.

Suddenly there was a particularly loud boom from above, preceded minutely by the splash of light illuminating everyone, the dog suddenly plastered itself against Charlie, trying to climb up his legs. "Oh buddy, you want up?" He straightened up and started to strip of his coat. "No idea if this is going to work," he commented.

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bletched
2018-11-08 04:05 pm UTC (link)

Since all of Miles' suggestions got shot down and the guy seemed perfectly fine with the dog, Miles was half tempted to just ask if he even needed to be there. He'd stopped to be helpful, but it didn't really feel like he was helpful. Especially once the guy started talking more to the dog than to Miles anyway. "So... do you want me to help?" Miles asked, figuring that that might be the most straightforward way to establish if he could just return to the group of people he was with. "It doesn't really sound like you do," he pointed out, feeling like he had to defend his question at least a little, since Miles didn't intend to imply he wasn't willing to help.

"We can't name it and you seem to know about animals, so like... What are you going to do?" Since evidently it wasn't up to Miles. To be fair, Miles definitely would've tried a homing charm, and he still wasn't sure it wouldn't work. Especially if there was a collar, since presumably you could use a spell on that if not on the dog.

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hopalongcharlie
2018-11-08 07:17 pm UTC (link)

Charlie, who had been increasingly focused on the dog and trying to work out what he could actually helpfully do to find its owner realised he'd been a bit dismissive. "Sorry, yeah. I didn't mean to be a dick. Just tend to get a bit focused on the animals rather than people." He threw an apologetic shrug and smile at the other man.

"If I can pick it up, wrap it in my coat, well the blanket I'm about to turn it into, that might help. Have it close to a person, get it away from the fireworks." Charlie had, presented with an animal in trouble, been letting his brain run fast to run down the most logical options and had a few thoughts to share, but first he needed to make sure he could get upright again. "I could probably do it, but I might be end up falling on my arse if I can't get my balance. Could you get it up if I do the wrapping?" he asked. The bending was definitely going to end up with him at a weird place balance-wise. And moving things were always harder to deal with. Fliss he'd got used to, but a potentially wriggling dog was a different prospect.

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bletched
2018-11-12 04:17 pm UTC (link)

Miles shrugged, because it wasn't like he'd said the guy was a dick, besides, presumably no one so interested in making sure a dog was okay could be a dick. Having no real knowledge of how one looked after dogs, Miles just nodded when the other man told him that being close and in a blanket would help the dog. He didn't really get why keeping balance would be difficult, but it did give him something he could help with, so Miles stepped in closer to reach out and get the dog. It shivered against Miles' arms but didn't try to wiggle free, which Miles took as a good sign.

"I'm Miles," he offered, mostly to the other man but perhaps a little bit to the dog, too. "So what do we call it if we can't name it?" Miles asked. "Just 'the dog'?" It was a dog so that seemed fair enough. "Maybe we can transfigure something to work as noise cancelling earmuffs? I've seen babies wear those, presumably dogs, can too?" Or well, Miles didn't really see a reason why they couldn't, but again, he didn't know much about dogs and the man seemed somewhat of an expert in the matter.

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hopalongcharlie
2018-11-12 07:25 pm UTC (link)

Charlie was somewhat thankful the man didn't question his ability to stay balanced. Not that he minded explaining his leg to people, but this was a time he wanted to move quicker rather than delay with an explanation. He quickly transfigured his coat, and made a mental note to ensure he got it back, before wrapping the dog in it. Thankfully the other man seemed to secure it into his arms easily enough.

"Charlie," he said, not bothering to hand out given Miles' full arms. "Other circumstances I'd shake your hand," he added. "And I think I felt a collar, but I couldn't bend far enough to see a tag, let me look?" he approached the dog carefully and felt around the collar, finally finding something that might be a tag and bent a little to check for engraving. "That's not a a bad idea if he'll... oh, sorry she'll tolerate them," he said. "This says Billie with the spelling that's usually female," he said. He scratched her head absently. She definitely wasn't particularly happy yet, but being more enclosed seemed to be helping.

He patted down his remaining pockets for items he might be able to temporarily transfigure. "The best I've got for transfiguring is probably a scrap of parchment," he said. He'd got some money, of course, but it was generally best to avoid transfiguring that at all costs.

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bletched
2018-11-14 04:06 pm UTC (link)

Miles gave a nod when Charlie introduced himself and added how he would shake Miles' hand but. "That's fair enough," Miles nodded holding the dog so Charlie could feel it (her?) for a collar. "Billie," Miles repeated. "Not what I would've picked but I guess nice enough." Miles had never met anyone called 'Billie' so he didn't see why it couldn't be a dog's name. He held the dog closer as Charlie put the transfigured coat around it, before giving a hum. "We could use my scarf," Miles offered when Charlie commented how he didn't have anything more to transfigure. The man had sacrificed his coat, the least Miles could do was offer his somewhat generic scarf. It wasn't even one he'd gotten for Christmas or anything.

Turning slightly so Charlie could reach his scarf, Miles gave a nod. "Just take it," he suggested. The dog - Billie - seemed to be calming down a little bit now that Miles was holding her, but he assume something to keep the noise away would still be helpful. "Any address on the other side of that name badge?" Miles asked.

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hopalongcharlie
2018-11-14 09:34 pm UTC (link)

He shrugged one shoulder. "Animal names are always a bit of a gamble. Sometimes they're completely different when they're little than when they grow up," he said. Billie still didn't necessarily look fully grown, although he was fairly sure she wasn't an especially large breed anyway.

"Oh, that'll work, thanks," he agreed gratefully. He reached over and un-looped Miles' scarf. "I didn't see anything other than her name. I should double check though," he said. "Earmuffs first, I think."

Having never done anything especially close to that particular transfiguration before Charlie took a second to actually picture what he wanted to create before doing the spell. He looked at the product critically. "Shit these might be a bit big," he said, frowning. His transfiguration hadn't included an adjustable strap. He held the muffs out and then shrank them slightly before slipping them over her ears. He tapped each side in turn and added a charm to almost mute the sound. He looked at her intently, wondering how she'd react.

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bletched
2018-11-17 10:17 pm UTC (link)

Being petless, Miles wasn't even all that sure what he'd call a pet. He'd even been too young to suggest dumb names for his siblings when they were born. So honestly, he had no idea what he would've suggested had Charlie not told him he couldn't name Billie before they'd found her name out. Miles turned the dog so he could put the earmuffs on her. After the resizing charm, they seemed to fit snugly and Billie didn't seem to be too much against the idea of wearing them. That was... good. Miles felt quite pleased at how the dog, at least, wasn't rejecting his suggestions outright.

"Alright, so now she's warm and earmuffed, what do we do now?" Miles asked, hugging the dog closer, figuring she doubtfully wanted to return to the ground. He tugged the blanket around her and turned a bit more so Charlie could check the tag again.

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hopalongcharlie
2018-11-19 01:20 am UTC (link)

Once the earmuffs were on and Billie seemed to calm down even more Charlie relaxed slightly with a huge sigh. "Thank fuck for that, pretty sure some dogs would hate those," he said. He gave a head scratch, pleased to see she was mostly calm now and not wriggling.

"I'm not really sure. Dunno if she's from the magical half of the village or not," he said. He tried grabbing the tag again, but was having the difficulty of Billie apparently wanting to lick him or possibly just redirect his hand for more scratches. "I assume she's from the village. Can't see anyone bringing their dog if they didn't like fireworks," he added. "You know, unless they were utter dickbags."

He lit his wand, stuck it in his mouth and used one hand to scratch Billie's head while he looked at the tag with the other. "Ah ha!" he said. It was rather muffled by the wand secured between his teeth, but it was definitely triumphant. He deftly removed and extinguished his wand without stopping the head scratches. "Fletcher's Row, Godric's Hollow. No number, and not a fucking clue which road that is, but we've got somewhere to look."

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bletched
2018-11-20 06:01 pm UTC (link)

Once again, with no actual experience looking after dogs, Miles could only assume that Charlie was right and Billie as unusual in her enjoyment (or at least lack of objection) of the earmuffs. "They seem to be working," Miles observed, since the dog did seem much stiller in his hands now. Miles did nod because it did seem to him more likely that the dog had escaped than that someone would've brought it. Whilst Miles didn't know about dogs, he did know people who had dogs, and they tended to obsessively look after their best interests.

When Charlie found a tag, Miles smiled, because that was a good start. "Someone will recognise her," Miles said confidently before pausing. "I don't know which one's Fletchery's Row," he admitted. Miles didn't live in Godric's Hollow or even often spent time there. He did feel confident that once they found someone at home on the street they would be able to identify whose dog it was. Miles knew what dogs his neighbours had and he lived in a much less 'community based' place than Gordic's.

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hopalongcharlie
2018-11-21 02:45 pm UTC (link)

"Yeah, you'd think I'd have learned the streets by now, but I've not been paying much attention to the signs. Just knowing which way I've turned," he said. He hadn't realised that before that he hadn't been paying attention to the signs on his walks around the village. "I guess I'm so much more used to navigating by landmarks 'cause I haven't got lost yet."

He tilted his head, glanced up at the fireworks which were still going on, and looked over at the likely route to the easiest exit. "D'you wanna come with me to find her owner, or shall I take her and bring your scarf back after?" he asked. Now he was upright he was perfectly capable of carrying Billie, but he probably hadn't made that clear.

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bletched
2018-11-22 07:39 pm UTC (link)

Miles figured that the polite thing to do would be to offer to carry on helping Charlie and Billie, but he also kind of wanted to go back and hang out with his friends rather than spend his evening with a stranger and a dog that didn't belong to either of them. "I'll sacrifice the scarf," he decided, since as nice as the scarf might be, it seemed a bit unnecessary for Charlie to come back looking for Miles. "Or you can tell the owner to owl it back to me if they'd like, my surname's Bletchley," he added, since that way at least it wouldn't be an extra task for Charlie. "It would also be nice to hear if she got home safe," he admitted.

Handing the dog over to Charlie and more politely than sincerely asking if Charlie was sure he didn't want Miles to stick around, Miles bid his farewell to both before going off to find his friends and rejoin them.

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