Archive of Our Own

Your fingers tried to find the little box you were searching for in your bag. In front of you stood your best friend, her eyes hopeful and expecting and now you couldn’t find her birthday present. Instead of the small box with a necklace that you had made yourself you found a glove. You pulled said item out and inspected it closely.

The smile on your friends face fell. “You lost my present?” she asked.

“Ugh, I can offer you one glove?” you held the new item in front of her. You friend sighed and told you it wasn’t your fault, but both of you knew that she was disappointed.

You weren’t quiete sure how it worked with the lost items and those who appear with you. You tried to lose something deliberately with your name on it so your soulmate knew who you were, but you couldn’t get rid of that piece of paper. However, the birthday present you made for your best friend and took hours to made got lost so easily and in return you got something from your soulmate. “Well, we add it to the collection,” your friend sighed. Not everyone was gifted with a soulmate, it was rather special and so your friend was as curious as you who your soulmate was, because it didn’t seem as if she had one.

“There’s a Hogsmead weekend coming, I’m treating you with something nice then.” you offered.

You wondered what your soulmate would do with the necklace. Your collection consisted of one glove, some hair ties (you knew it wasn’t yours as there were red hairs stuck in it), a hastily written list (wormwood, dittany, bubotuber pus, dragon liver – REPLACEMENT?), a shirt which somehow smelled of bonfire and something you hadn’t told your friend: a plush dragon. He wasn’t new when he landed in your possession. His ear was almost falling off and his eye was hold on one last string. You repaired him and since then he slept in your bed.

A few years had passed since you found the glove and with the war almost knocking on your door you were afraid of two things: what if your soulmate was on the other side or what if he or she didn’t make it? These were things you had no influence on and were still on your mind when more pressing matters lay in front of you.

As a member of Dumbledores Army you were informed that the battle would take place in Hogwarts soon. And you would take place in it, there was no way you wouldn’t fight for the right thing. Your father was a muggle and you wanted your freedom back. You wanted to chose how you would live your life.

You apparated to the Hogs Head at the same time as Cho Chang and met a grumbling Aberforth who told you which way would lead to Hogwarts. Your old DA coin had told you that Harry would be back and you weren’t surprised to see many of the members when you finally walked into the room at the end of the tunnel.

That had been hours ago which felt like a lifetime. Not everyone had survived and you stood in the shambles of your old school that you had called home for seven years. You didn’t know what to do right now, so you sat down on the stairs to the castle and looked out onto the forest. Your mind couldn’t really wrap around everything that had happened so far.

You almost felt like throwing up and you clutched your belly rather painfully. “Are you injured? Do you need help?” you heard someone asking you. You denied, you weren’t deeply injured it was just a little bit too much for you at that moment, but you kept that to yourself.

“I’ll sit down here, if you don’t mind,” you heard the strangers voice again, but you didn’t reply. After a while you turned towards him and took in his features. The first thing you noticed were his freckles that covered his whole face and the second thing was the flaming red hair that reminded you of the one which were covered in the hair ties that had turned up. But the hair on his head was shorter than the ones you found. His hands rested on his tights and looked beaten up.

“Aren’t you that dragon boy? The one that was here at the first task of the Triwizard Tournament?” you asked suddenly.

“Yeah, I’m Charlie Weasley.”

“Weasley?” you asked. Well you shouldn’t be so surprised with that hair. “Your brothers were in my year, Fred and George,” you told him.

“Freds injured, it’s not fatal but everyone is cornering him, so I just needed a little bit of air,” he told you. You asked him, if the rest of his family is okay and he nodded in confirmation.

“I think I need to check in with some of my friends, I’ve been here too long,” you said and stood up, your knees almost buckling beyond your weight. It had been exhausting hours, but you managed to make your way to the great hall. You spotted Neville and Luna and decided to join them. You looked over to the Weasleys who stood around someone who you suspected was Fred. When George looked up and met your gaze you mouthed if he was okay and he nodded before he looked back at his brother.

“Are you okay?” Luna asked you after a while.

“I don’t know. I know we won, but it doesn’t really feel like it, does it? We’ve lost too much,” you admitted your feelings. You felt kind of bad as you were sitting next to Neville who had done something magnificent, but you couldn’t help yourself. You gaze flew to the Weasleys again and you saw Charlie now among them. He had lifted his hand and you could see something on his wrist. You weren’t sure if your imagination was playing tricks on you, but you needed to be sure.

Without a comment you stood up and walked over to the Weasleys. A few of them greeted you when they noticed who came towards them. You asked George how Fred was, but before the twin in front of you could reply Fred answered for him that it needed more than that to finish him. You couldn’t help but smile at your former classmate and replied that it was good to hear that.

You turned towards Charlie and asked him if you could see his bracelet. You didn’t wait for his reaction as you were already busy pulling his hand to your face to examinate the jewellery.

“You don’t happen to have lost a plush dragon around eight years ago, dragon boy?” you asked. You could see him blushing and you were sure that the both of you hold now the attention of the whole family. “Because I made this as a necklace for my friend and it happened to be lost when I wanted to give it to her. Instead I had to buy her many butterbeers and cauldron cakes to make up for it, so I guess you owe me.”

“Charlie has a soulmate?” you heard Ron asking flabbergasted.

“Of all the things that are now in your possession, you must comment on the plushie?” Charlie finally said to you.

“Of course, it is my favourite piece,” you answered with a big smile on your face. “I also want you to know that I’ve taken good care of him and that he just waits to be returned.”

Before anyone could say anything else Charlies mother interrupted that you were more than welcome to come over for dinner. You told her that you first had to make sure to look after your parents but you’d stop buy. When you walked back to your friends you could hear George voice: “You scored her? I just want to tell you that Fred tried to ask her out once.”

“I’m afraid they think I forced you to something you don’t want,” you admitted again when you stood in front of the burrow. That wasn’t the first time you had that conversation. To be honest you had that conversation for months now and by the time it was even too late to change anything.

“I bet they’re more than happy,” he assured you.

“Well I hope you are happy,” you said and kissed his lips. You walked around the house and into the garden where a big table stood. As there was more and more family and extended family every time it was difficult to get everyone at the table at the same time. You were the last to arrive and while you still stood as the rest of them sat at the table you choose this moment for your announcment.

“We have something to tell you,” Charlie said and got the attention of whole table.

“Are you pregnant?” asked Fred.

“Were you finally able to adopt a dragon?” George asked instead.

“No, we’re moving back.” Charlie announced. This wasn’t what anyone had expected with the exception of Bill, who was helping the two of you. Molly squealed and jumped up to throw her arms around her son.

“But Romania was what you always wanted,” said Ginny astonished.

“Yeah, but sometimes it changes what you want. She wasn’t really happy in Romania. We tried for a year, but even when she didn’t tell me that directly I noticed it. And I can’t be happy when she isn’t. She tried to do it for me, now I try it for her.” He squeezed your hand. “And I noticed that I missed a lot. We’re such a big family, but I sometimes feel like a stranger and I really want to change that. And I also want to be the uncle who is actually there instead of one who writes a letter once in a while. So, we’re both happy that we will be moving back.”

“You’re more than welcome to stay here for a while,” Arthur offered with a smile on his face.

“We might take you on that offer, dad. We found a little house, but it needs a lot of work. Might take a while for us to finish it.” His siblings promised to help the two of you with renovations and you noticed that they were more than happy that to have their brother back in their live.

“We even have a photo of the house, I’ll show you,” you said and reached for the photograph in your jacket. Instead of the paper your fingers grasped something small, metallic. You pulled the thing out and stared at it. “Charlie, do you want to explain why I have a ring in my pocket?”

He looked shocked at you and when he searched his pocket and instead of the ring he bought for you he pulled out a photograph.