1. EXPOLODING SNAP

Ginny feared her mother was about to have a heartattack.

Charlie didn't seem to notice, keeping his hand on Draco's arm and beaming. Draco wore his habitual sneer (apparently your face could stick that way) so she had no idea what he felt.

"Mrs. Weasley," Draco said. "Hap-Happy birthday." He stumbled over the words, and Ginny realised that, yes, he was definitely nervous.

Charlie wore a classy green cloak, in a stark contrast to his usual dragon taming gear. The clothes beneath cloak were tight fitting, quality cloth. Draco's touch was everywhere.

Ron is going to freak. Ginny nodded to herself, sitting down in the stairs. The other three hadn't noticed her yet, and she took the opportunity to give Draco and Charlie a more thorough once over. Draco was dressed in black and silver. Nothing new there. Short, short white blond hair, scars, that was new. and -- the silver lion earring. Ah. Maybe Charlie was leaving his mark as well. As she watched, the earring changed to a hissing snake. Or not.

Her mother seemed intent to be polite to her son's boyfriend -- "Always thought it'd be Bill," she said vaguely at one point. "The hair, you know." -- and told them to hang their cloaks up before disappearing into the kitchen.

Draco sagged into Charlie slightly. "How the fuck did you talk me into this?"

Charlie laughed, low and amused. "Your cloak, m'lord?"

"Prick." Draco shrugged out of his cloak, giving Ginny a glimpse of something silver around his neck. "By the way, isn't Bill..."

"Shh. We're not talking about that."

"Ah."

They were going to spot her in a moment anyway, so Ginny rose and asked, smiling slightly. "What's Bill doing?"

They spun around, wands at ready, war reflexes honed so fine they were among the most dangerous men she knew. Along with the rest of her family, come to think of it.

Draco relaxed, and Charlie went to hang up their cloaks, leaving them alone after a brief glance over at Draco who nodded slightly.

"Tonks and Kingsley, but we're not supposed to be talking about that, so how are you?" Draco regarded her, hands loosly at his side.

She gave him a startled look, then narrowed her eyes. "Are you taking the piss?" she asked suspiciously.

Draco shrugged, enigmatic.

"You are, aren't you? That's not nice." But she was grinning. "Who is it really?"

"Longbottom." Quick grin from Draco.

"You're not going to tell me, are you?"

"What gave you that impression?"

"I'm just clever like that."

"Gin, you're not harrassing Draco, are you?" Charlie reappeared, broad face smiling, Fred and George in tow. Both of them stopping dead when they saw Draco.

"Tell me it ain't so," Fred moaned theatrically.

"Malfoy!" George exclaimed, unexpectedly pleased.

"Weasley. And, Weasley," Draco acknowledged.

"Mom is going to have a fit," Fred pointed out.

Draco straightened. "Molly has, in fact, invited me to stay as long as I want."

"Ron is going to go mental," George predicted with far more accuracy.

Charlie and Draco exchanged a look.

"We thought maybe Pansy--" Charlie began.

"Oh, they broke up last week," Ginny slipped in. "Ron's bringing Harry."

"...I'm going to die," Draco moaned.

Charlie patted Draco's shoulder. "Of course you won't."

"Ha." Draco gave him a doubting look.

"Harry is going to go mental," George said with some relish.

"Going to go spare," Fred added, eyes twinkling.

* * *

At dinner, the silver thing around Draco's throat was revealed, and Ginny saw it was a modified version of the chain the dragon tamers used around their dragon's front paws. Apparently Bill noticed it as well, because he nudged Charlie and made a low comment about "Dragon taming". Draco obviously heard the comment, and his neck turned pinkish. He pulled at his sweater until the chain was hidden again.

Ginny was starting to think Charlie's interest in Draco may go beyond what Ron had suggested, which was "He's got to be fantastic shag. That's the only thing that makes any sense."

"Nobody's that good a shag," Harry had replied and then it had all trailed off into a discussion about shags and what would constitute a fantastic one. Sometimes Ginny suspected they'd been hanging around listening to Hermione, Tonks and herself too much.

* * *

Ron had Draco trapped between his body and the garden shed wall and they were spitting insults at each other when Charlie found them. He paused. He knew Draco could easily get free -- you couldn't ride dragons if you didn't have muscles and sharp reflexes -- and he was wondering why he didn't.

Charlie was well aware of their history, and he knew there was no love lost there. No, Draco was probably just trying to be polite, in his own very special way. Since it didn't look as though Ron had slugged him yet, Ron was showing some amazing restraint as well.

Or so he thought until Draco, saying something Charlie was too far away too hear, grabbed Ron's face and kissed him on the lips.

* * *

"This what you wanted, Weasley?" Draco pulled Ron's face towards him, clearly pissed off, and pressed their mouths together hard, flickering his tongue over Ron's lips. He nibbled and licked until Ron started responding, opening his mouth, meeting his tongue, then pushed him away with a sneer. "Maybe that's why Pansy left you. You want cock, not cunt. Your brother's not the only one with a view over a river in Egypt, eh?"

"Fuck you!" Ron clenched his hands into fists, furious.

Draco stood legs wide apart, braced. He was breathing heavily. "In your dreams."

"I don't fucking want you, and you know it." Ron stepped closer again, hand suddenly snaking down to cup Draco's erection. "But I guess you want me. Charlie tamed you for all of us, did he?" He felt a bit bad about bringing his brother into this, but when it came to Draco Malfoy, playing fair had never been in the rules.

After giving him a wide eyed stare, Draco punched him in the nose. Ron wobbled backwards, holding a hand up to his bleeding nose. Draco stalked off without a second look.

"Well." Ron said after a moment when the bleeding had died down a little. "That could certainly have gone better."

* * *

Bill was searching the attic for his old WizardChess set, when someone climbed up through the hatch and started kicking the boxes with the christmas decorations in. He blinked a little confusedly at one of his old toy hit wizard figures, wondering what was going on.

"I knew it was a bad,-" kick. "-bad-" kick. "-idea. Bad-" kick. "-idea. Bad." kick. "Bad." kick. "Bad." kick. "Idea. What the fuck was I thinking?"

"Charlie?" Bill climbed over some old winter cloaks and came face to face with his younger brother. Charlie looked angry. "Are you all right"?

Charlie glared at him. "No." Kick, kick, kick. "Sod all brothers." Kick.

"Um. Okay," Bill humoured, fairly certain Charlie wasn't pissed at him. He hadn't had time to do anything yet. "What did we do this time?"

"Ron..." Charlie began, then clammed up, glaring again.

* * *

"Alohomora," Fred muttered absently and unnecessarily, before kicking open the door to his room. To his surprise, it was occupied already. By a furiously scowling Malfoy. Malfoy might have changed over the years, and at twenty-one, he was certainly not the boy he'd been at Hogwarts, but that expression still gave Fred the urge to snap at his nose with his fingers. Fred dropped his luggage on his bed and regarded the blond. "Hey," he said to show willing, since his mother had made it very clear at dinner that she expected everyone to treat all (significant look at Ron) their guests with the upmost courtsey.

Draco growled in reply, pulling at something at his throat.

"I think you got the wrong room. Charlie's and Bill's is the one next door."

Draco turned, meeting him full on, still fingering with the necklace. Fred frowned. No, not necklace, it looked more like... and suddenly he realised what it was, and grinned. Draco saw his grin and his lips twisted. He let his hand fell by his side and bent his head slightly.

"Sorry."

"'S all right," Fred shrugged. "You might want to make sure you remember the right door at bed time, though." He grinned again. "Otherwise it can get mighty awkward."

Draco looked up again, eyebrow arched, suspicious. "Yeah. Thanks."

Fred was wondering if Malfoy had somehow lost all conversational ability during the war or if he'd always been this monosyllabic. "So. Where's Charlie?"

Draco squinted at him for a moment, did a vague gesture, then looked startled and bent his head to stare at the ceiling. "The attic. I guess."

Fred stared up at the ceiling as well. "If he's above our heads, then yeah. You're..." He searched for the correct term. Dragon flying was not among Fred's areas of expertice. "You fly together? I mean, that's how you..."

"Find him? Yeah."

They were silent for a moment, staring thoughtfully at the ceiling.

"Why aren't you yelling at me? Or something?" Draco asked finally. "I mean, your brother made it quite clear what you all think about me."

Fred gave him a bemused look. "What? George?"

"No, Ron."

"Ah. Well, frankly, he's a bit mad," Fred dismissed cheerfully before frowning at him. "What did he say?"

* * *

"You didn't think being involved with Draco Malfoy would be easy, did you?" Bill wanted to know, sitting down on a wobbly stool he'd dug out from underneath a pile of doll's clothes.

Charlie gave him a dark look. "Of course not. Why do you think I'm up here, kicking things, rather than downstairs, yelling?"

"Hell would I know?"

Charlie breathed out heavily, running a broad hand through his hair. "Didn't expect... They don't even like each other," he said helplessly.

* * *

Draco's hand flew up to his throat again, to the dragon chain.

"Oh god. It wasn't something dumbass about 'taming dragons', was it? Because that's just too easy. I'm embarrassed on his behalf, I really am." Fred collapsed down on his bed, next to the bags.

"I'm not, I'm not one of your pets," Draco spat, grey eyes steely. The anger Fred had been sensing simmering under the facade finally coming to the forefront.

"'Course not." Fred shrugged placidly. "Charlie just likes to brand what's his."

The glint of fury in his eyes was definitely back, and Draco was stalking towards him. "Fuck you!"

* * *

Bill used all the smarts he's learned from a life of curse breaking and arrived at a conclusion. "Ron? Ron and your Draco? What did they do? ...They weren't fucking, were they? Because I'm going to kill Ron if--"

"No!" Charlie tugged at his hair, hard. Quietly, "At least, not while I was watching."

"What did they..."

"Kiss. Just. Draco kissed him."

"Draco..? Something he does a lot, is it? Kissing various and sundry?" Bill did not like the sound of that. He was the oldest. It was his duty (and some times, pleasure) to hex the hell out of anyone who dared hurt any of his siblings.

"No." Charlie looked down at his boots, brow furred. "He doesn't."

* * *

"I did something stupid," Ron announced, sliding into the couch next to Harry and Ginny. George, who was lounging in the chair, gave him a look filled with a complete lack of surprise.

"What did you do to Malfoy?"

"What makes you--"

"We're not idiots," Ginny pointed out. "So what did you do and how much groveling do you have to do before Charlie forgives you?"

"He started it!"

Harry patted his back. "That's because he's Draco Malfoy, and he's an insufferable prat. Not going to work as an excuse. If I thought it would, I'd've tried it already."

"Harry!" Ginny exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, Ginny, but he is."

* * *

"When you've six siblings, having something that's just yours, is a big thing," Fred said conversationally, watching Draco. "You want to tell the world that this, this is just mine, and noone else's."

Draco paused his steps.

"And you're here. That's pretty special."

Draco hesitated. "He said... Ginny brings home someone new every year. No one would... comment."

Fred smiled a little crookedly. "Charlie's not Ginny."

"No..." Draco agreed with him there, still the look of confusion on his too pretty features.

"You're the first. He's got to be very sure about you."

Draco stared, clearly taken aback. "The first?"

"Tell me, do you two talk at all, or do you just fuck each other's brains out?"

* * *

"I didn't know his name when we first met," Charlie said, rubbing his neck in thought. "And it's a stupid joke anyway. You can't tame a dragon for more than she lets you. And he's a person."

Bill blinked. "Okay. Yeah, it was a dumb joke. ...How could you not know his name?"

Charlie waved a hand around. "The Protection Program. Just after the war. Crispian Tadfield. Took a whole year before he told me who he was. Is."

"But you were in Romania."

"He's Draco Malfoy. He was scared. He didn't trust me. It took me forever making him trust me enough to stop keeping one eye on my wand and a hand on his own whenever I was around. And you can stop grinning like that any time now."

"You just can't take the easy way, can you?" Bill said fondly.

Charlie sighed deeply. "He got under my skin, Billy. I didn't do anything."

* * *

"That's none of your fucking business."

"No, it's not," Fred agreed.

Draco eyed him, then, "We talk about the dragons mostly. International Quidditch. The important stuff."

Fred smiled, closing his eyes and laying down on his back. "I see." He could still get in an hour's nap before supper. "Tell him... Well, I think you know what you should tell him."

"How good he is at taming dragons?" Draco suggested, but Fred could hear the smile this time around.

"Something like that."

He heard Draco walk past the bed and open the door. There was a hesitation. "...Thanks." The door closed.

George is going to gloat from here on to eternity, Fred thought before he fell asleep.

* * *

"Some people do that," Bill agreed, thinking of his own lover, whom he was definitely not bringing home to the Burrow. At least not for quite a while yet. He rose and stretched. "You feel any better?"

Charlie gave him a quick grin. "Yeah. I'm still going to kill Ron, though."

"Oh absolutely. Goes without saying. Should make your dragon grovel a little too, methinks."

"I'm thinking about it." Charlie looked amused and little preoccupied.

They looked at each other for a moment, then Bill looked away, smiling. "I have to go tell Ginny I couldn't track down the chess set."

"All right. I'm just going to think a bit."

Bill nodded, looked around the attic briefly, then climbed down the ladder. He saw Draco walking towards him when he was well down and grinned. "He's up there."

Draco paused his steps and nodded. "I know."

"You may have to grovel."

Draco looked surprised. "What?"

Bill patted his shoulder as he walked past. "Good luck."

* * *

2. BERTIE BOTTS' EVERYFLAVOUR BEANS

"Your brothers seem to think you've tamed and branded me."

Charlie's eyes flickered to his collarbone. "That's your chain. From when Heike died."

Draco shrugged. "Yeah, I know."

"Why didn't you tell them?"

"Why should I? It's none of their business."

"Is it any of my business?"

Draco looked startled. "Of course. You--"

"'Cause it didn't look like it when you had your tongue down my brother's throat," Charlie continued viciously, the sharp sliver of pain returning.

"What?!"

"I saw you, Draco. You and Ron."

Draco closed his eyes, wincing. "I didn't know you were there." He opened his eyes again. "It's not what you think. It... He pissed me off."

"So you thought you'd kiss him?" Charlie was incredulous.

"Obviously I wasn't thinking. And I broke his nose two minutes later," he added absently.

"Why the hell my brothers are under the impression you're 'tamed', I really couldn't say." Charlie was staring at him.

"I didn't mean to do it! He just got on my nerves. He's _good_ at that." Draco paused. "And I think he's queer."

Charlie rubbed his temples. "Ron?"

"Yeah."

"Why do you... No. Forget I asked. I don't want to know. Just. Is this going to be a repeat thing?"

"No!"

"So the next time he pisses you off--"

"I'm going to punch his bloody lights out, what do you think?" Draco looked a little hurt.

"Well, you can't blame me for wondering!"

"I don't fuck around! You know I'd never."

"I thought I knew, yeah."

"You never said, anyway." Draco accused bafflingly.

"What? That I'd rather you didn't fuck any of my brothers? I really didn't think I'd have to!"

Draco shook his head impatiently. "That I'm the only one you've... brought home. Fred told me."

"...I didn't think you'd come, if I told you." Charlie licked his lips nervously. "It doesn't have to mean anything."

"What if I want it to?"

Charlie frowned, uncertain what Draco was meant. "What?"

Draco pointed the tip of his wand (he never went anywhere without it, and probably never would) at the chain around his neck, muttered "Alohomora" and caught the chain deftly as it opened and slid off his neck.

Charlie shook his head slightly, bemused. "What are you doing?"

He held out his hand, offering up the chain to Charlie. Charlie accepted it, still confused, staring at Draco's bared throat for the first time in years. It looked weirdly indecent.

"I thought." Draco bent his head, looking down, cheekbones flushing red. "Maybe it'd be something you'd want. Although I'd understand completely if it's not."

"I don't understand..." Charlie trailed off, looking down at the chain in his hands.

"Everybody already thinks..."

"Draco," Charlie said gently, closing his fist around the chain. He walked to the blond, caressed his chin with his thumb. "Look at me."

"No," Draco said stubbornly, arms folding over his chest.

Charlie almost laughed. "Why not?"

"'Cause you're going to say no."

"I don't know what I'm going to say, because I don't know what you're asking of me."

Draco looked up at that. "But..." He closed his hands around the fist Charlie kept the chain in. "You know what your brothers, hell, probably the rest of the family as well, think."

"I'm not my brothers."

"Yeah, thanks, I know that. I mean. I'm. I'm yours," Draco said, looking deeply uncomfortable.

Charlie exhaled, startled. "God, Draco--"

"No, listen to me." Draco released on hand from the grip around his fist and grabbed his other hand as well. His eyes intent on Charlie's face. "Listen to me. I don't think you've tamed me or something equally ridiculous. But. There's nobody else I want to be with. No one. And I thought maybe you felt the same, and isn't just putting up with me because there isn't a whole lot of options in the dragon camp. Because I am yours."

"Draco, that's--"

Draco barrelled on. "And if I am yours. If you don't mind. If you want. I want everyone to know I'm yours."

There was silence covered in their breathing as Charlie tried to understand what Draco was saying. His eyes widened as it finally got throught. Draco watched him apprehendsively.

Charlie smiled. "Yeah. I mean, I don't mind. I do want. And I am yours."

Draco smiled back a little hesitantly. "Yeah? You're sure?"

"Yeah. I'm sure." Charlie squeezed his hands, trying to convey his sincerity.

Draco's smile widened, solified, and then they were kissing, deeply, firmly, reaffirming.

"Ron's going to go mental," Draco said conversationally a little while later.

Charlie grinned. "As long as you don't kiss him again, I couldn't care less."

* * *

George was eyeing the clock with some amusement.

"What are you looking at?" Bill wanted to know.

George tilted his head. "Look."

Bill looked and smiled. "I knew it."

"What are you--" Ron turned his head to look and blanched. "Oh bloody hell!"

Charlie's hand had just disappeared from the clock. It was as good as announcing an engagement, or a marriage, really.

Ron bashed his head into the table, cursing wildly. Harry looked a little pale, but was patting Ron's back comfortingly. Ginny squeeled and ran into the kitchen to tell her parents. George cracked his neck and rose, "Being the clever twin is such a burden, really it is." He started whistling as he headed towards the stairs. Bill just sat there, feeling weirdly sentimental about it all.

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