Written for Hogwarts' Media Study Assignment: Fight Club - Write about a secret club (restriction: not using any clubs during Umbridge's reign).

Also for the Writing Club: Character Appreciation - house: Gryffindor, Disney Challenge: Sing Ho For The Life Of A Bear - Write about going on an adventure, Showtime: Summer Sequence - write a fic involving time skips, Days of the Month: Find a Rainbow Day - Only feature queer characters or pairings, Count Your Buttons: "Did anyone see you?", Lyric Alley: What if there's no stoppin' us yet?, Ami's Audio Admirations: Peas the Cat - Plot Point: Having an unusual and/or illegal pet, Lo's Lowdown: Style: write an ensemble fic (more than four major characters), Oracle Prompt - Write about a character undergoing a life-changing segment of their life, Film Festival: Plot - Write about breaking the rules/challenging authority, Scavenger Hunt: Write a gift fic for Laura, Guess the Name: Sweetpea - Charlie, the Auction Challenge: (word) shiny.

Happy (belated) birthday Laura!

Word count: 2874

never run smooth

It starts off as kind of a joke. Charlie hasn't been in Romania for long — only a couple of months, even though to him it feels like he's been here forever — but this, drinking nights with his coworkers to relax, has already become something of a habit.

He carefully avoids mentioning anything about it in his letters to his mother, who, knowing her, would worry he was on his way to developing an alcohol problem, but he says plenty about it to Bill, who confesses to enjoying a similar habit with his own friends in Egypt.

That night, they're all drunk or on their way there, the exhaustion of another long day spent at the reserve weighing them down, and someone — maybe Sloan, who's always bringing up the most random subjects of conversation at the worst times — says, "D'you know I heard that G'ingotts has, like, chained up dragons. Like slaves."

Sloan is a muggleborn from Russia. She never used Gringotts. To her, it probably sounds like the worst offense possible — not something the rest of them have grown used to. Have grown up with.

Charlie downs the last of his Firewhisky. He's not drunk enough for this.

Fire ignites in his blood, and he's only half sure it's from the alcohol. "It's true." He blurts it out before he can convince himself it's a bad idea. "My brother works for Gringotts — curse breaking," he hastens to add when Sloan's expression starts to darken, though he has a feeling his words may be a little… blurred from the alcohol. "He told me the goblins had dragons, though."

He doesn't mention what else Bill had relayed to him — those terrible torture devices they called clankers, dragons kept underground, their wings chained up and torn to pieces to keep them from flying away.

How the dragons were starved to make sure they'd attack any intruders, how they were almost blind from never having seen the sunlight.

Just thinking about him makes him furious, and he helps himself to another drink.

"We should do something." Nata's voice breaks through the red haze in Charlie's mind. She's holding Sloan's hand in hers so tight her knuckles are almost white — a feat, considering Nata's skin is actually black. It must hurt, but Sloan's not complaining, and she looks as furious as her girlfriend.

Charlie's rather pleased to see that Josh and Marvin, who had only joined the reserve a few months before him, look as horrified and incensed as the girls.

Which is how he realizes that he probably spoke out loud earlier.

He should probably do something about that, but… "You're right," he says instead, clutching his glass fervently. "We should."

Marvin nods effusively and Josh slams his fist on the table. "Let's do it then!" he shouts.

Luckily, in the crowded pub, a shout like this barely causes any raised eyebrow. Not that any of them is in any state to care much about that.

When Charlie tries to trace it all back — their not-so-quiet rebellion, the smuggling (dear Merlin, so much smuggling, what would his mother say?) — he's pretty sure it all starts there.

That night, in that pub, they start to foment a plan. In the moment, it seems ingenious and clever and very well thought out.

In the light of day, of course, it looks entirely different. Their 'notes' are blurry from being written on alcohol-soaked napkins, and they're barely legible.

But when he brings it up to the others, who all show up to work groaning and moaning until Nada, chuckling, offers them her hangover cure, they don't need those notes. The righteous energy that had flowed through them earlier sparks in the air again, and they vow, watching the dragons fly, to do everything they can to make sure all dragons can know what it is to roam the skies freely. That they will all be cared for.

Perhaps that's when it truly starts.

.

They don't have an official name. Sloan and Josh feed off each other and propose a dozen new names each day, each more ridiculous than the next and ranging from 'Charlie's Rescuing Angels' — "Isn't that a Muggle thing already?" "Just up, Nata, don't be such a spoilsport." — to 'The Dragons Smugglers' — "That makes us sound like a mix between pirates and a terribly named band." "I can play the guitar." "Nobody cares, Marvin." — but the rest of them just veto those names one after the other.

They establish their goals instead — to rescue dragons from actual smuggling, or slavery, and to bring them to sanctuaries where they'd be protected and safe. Without getting caught by the law, of course.

"I knew a few things that could help with that," Marvin offers, and that's how Charlie and Nata learn that Marvin's father has been on the run from Aurors in five different countries from before Marvin was even born.

"I picked up a few things," Marvin tells them with a slight shrug, like it's no big deal at all. "I can teach you."

And so they all learn, amongst a plethora of other things, how to cast an actual invisibility spell — a homemade variation on the Disillusionment Charm, because apparently, the actual Invisibility Spell is flawed — and how to cancel their presence entirely.

Marvin walks them through erasing their magical signature like it's an everyday thing and talks about the best Potions to erase physical evidence.

Marvin, Charlie concludes, is terrifying.

Everyone else seems to agree — except Josh, who, of course, only seems to find Marvin more interesting now. He spends their impromptu lessons alternating between getting everything done as quickly as possible to hear Marvin's quiet praise and pretending he can't do the spell and/or potion so Marvin will come and help him.

Charlie doesn't know whether to find this adorable or concerning, but since both Josh and Marvin's unsettling energies seem to be oriented toward the 'let's help free dragons' goal, he decides adorable will do.

.

Their first actual mission comes almost after a full month after they start this training. Marvin reluctantly declares them "Ready for action," and "Not a complete embarrassment anymore." and off on a mission they are.

Charlie would be proud of how well Marvin grew into his skin if it didn't also involve him snarking back at everyone.

Sloan is the one who came to him about it, her girlfriend half a step behind her. The two of them are some of the oldest employees on the reserve, and they have the scars to prove it. Even if Sloan is apparently naïve enough that she didn't know about the Gringotts dragons — then again, Charlie supposes it might be the sort of thing that seems too outlandish to be true — when she looks as determined as she does right now, Charlie can suddenly understand how she's survived so far and thrived in this field.

She looks fierce enough to be a dragon herself.

That doesn't mean he has any idea why they're coming to him about this when he's only worked here for a few months, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't as enthusiastic and motivated about doing this as they are.

She almost slams a letter against his chest, Nata sending him an apologetic look as he winces. "What's this?" he asks, taking the letter.

"Read it," Sloan replies, almost hissing. Behind her, Nata nods gravely.

Charlie swallows heavily, and reads the letter.

It's short, and it sums up to this — whoever sent Sloan this letter is letting her know that someone stole a dragon egg from a reserve further south, and that there are rumors this mystery thief is planning to sell the egg to the highest bidder.

The sale happens in three days.

Charlie can feel his hands start to shake, a mix of excitement, fear and anger coursing through his veins. "We're going after that guy," he declares.

Sloan grins. "We are? We are. Of course we are." She chuckles nervously, a sound that Charlie echoes.

"We'll get the others," Nata adds.

Charlie isn't really sure why they're deferring to him on this matter, but he nods anyway.

Nata nods back, and she and Sloan leave.

That night, they all climb on borrowed brooms, invisible and undetectable to any kind of sense, and set off into the night.

.

The thief — a pudgy balding man who flinches at shadows — never sees them coming. Sloan's intel was accurate, and they find him right before the sale takes place. Josh and Sloan secure the egg while Nata incapacitates both the buyer and the seller with a single spell (all of Charlie's coworkers are clearly terrifying).

They fly back to the egg's original reserve, and Charlie, at Nata's gentle prompting, gives it back to very concerned but very relieved workers.

And even though Charlie doesn't know it, that's how the rumor starts.

It spreads quickly in the dragon community, and soon enough, Charlie finds himself getting more requests for them to handle.

It doesn't really get them any closer to their goal of freeing the dragons trapped in Gringotts, but it gives them plenty of opportunities to practice what Marvin has taught them.

And rescuing those dragons — mostly eggs, of course — really is just as important, even if it means that they usually end up with more dragon eggs than their reserve would usually have.

Fortunately, Sloan and Nata are usually able to cover him anything suspicious with real fake paperwork - even if Charlie is pretty sure that at least half the reasons why their excuses still hold is because what they're doing is kind of an open secret in their community.

The advantage of working with dragons, apart from it simply being amazing: the people who are just here for the money or who don't truly love the dragons don't tend to last very long. As such, most everyone in the community can be trusted. Especially when it comes to rescuing dragons.

They may not want to actively participate, but they're all perfectly willing to turn a blind eye and swear to anyone who asks that 'why, yes, that egg/dragon has always belonged t this sanctuary'.

But of course, some people seem to be inspired by the rumors of their actions, and they start to do the same.

Charlie hears about these mostly through Sloan and Nata, who are the ones he's closest to at the reserve and always seem to know the latest gossip, and he's excited, proud and a tiny little bit embarrassed.

It's a little weird to know that something he blurted out while drunk months ago has somehow grown this much in such a short time.

But it's a good thing.

Charlie wouldn't have it any other way.

.

An unfamiliar snow white owl lands in front of Charlie just as he's lecturing the new interns about safety and regulations around the reserve. Josh and Marvin have unfortunately left them for a new post in the reserve in Wales after only a year, but they've promised to keep in touch and keep working for the 'Rebellion'.

That name had stuck, and it had also somewhat grown on Charlie enough that he used it too.

The trainees pause and Sloan, Charlie's partner for this exercise, snickers at him. "I think that's for you," she says.

The owl glares at him, as though she wants him to hurry up and take his letter already, and Charlie relents. He grabs the letter and leaves the class in Sloan's capable hands.

As he goes, he hears the trainees start to whisper amongst themselves before Sloan rings them back to order.

He smirks and opens his letter.

He recognizes Ron's poor handwriting and instantly frowns — while he's glad to hear from his brother, he can't imagine Ron would write him just to say hello.

Ron indeed did not write just to say hello.

Dear Charlie,

I'm writing you because I need your help.

Hypothetically, if I knew someone who might have hatched a dragon here at Hogwarts, do you think you might be able to help? Or know someone who could?

Thanks,

Ron.

There's a PS tacked on at the end, with what amounts to an I hope you're well and we see you soon, and Charlie smiles, because that is definitely Ron — even if he clearly got some help with the rest of that letter.

Even so, it doesn't take much for him to connect the dots. He knows of only one person at Hogwarts who loves dragons enough to try to raise one, and he groans.

He's also kind of jealous of his brother — Hogwarts was never this exciting when he was there.

Still, he wonders how Ron knew to send him a letter for this kind of help. Their group isn't exactly known out of certain circles, and he isn't sure he wants his little brother to know that Charlie is part of a secret 'free the dragons' group.

Knowing his luck, Ron would want to join in, and then Ginny would — and then, their mother would kill him.

Nata hears his concerns and laughs in this face. "He's what, eleven? You're his brother, and you work with dragons. He probably just assumed you'd be able to help him."

"I can't get there in time, though," he says, shoulders drooping.

"Josh and Marvin could, though," Nata replies. "You know they'll be up for this."

"I know," Charlie says. "I already sent them a letter earlier."

"Then why the long face?"

Charlie pouts. "It's just… There's a baby dragon at Hogwarts, and I won't get to see that."

Nata laughs. "Yeah, no, sorry, I can't help you there."

Charlie glares at her. "What kind of friend are you?"

"The kind who's also your boss, and needs you to go check on the Peruvian Vipertooths. So chop-chop."

Charlie laughs. "Yes, ma'am."

Nata knows him well — the Vipertooths distract him, and checking on them and their habitat takes him the better part of the afternoon, until he's sore everywhere, sweaty and slightly crispy around the edges.

Two days later, Josh and Marvin's answer arrives, and Charlie relays it back to his brother.

It takes a few weeks, but eventually, Joash and Marvin fly back into the reserve, carrying a large wooden box.

"Package delivered, sir," Josh quips as they gather around it, and Charlie isn't the only one to roll his eyes at that.

"Don't call me 'sir', we're the same age," he retorts grumpily.

Josh only laughs. "Yes, sir."

Well, apparently that hasn't changed in the last few months — Josh had started calling him sir sometime after they had started rescuing dragons, on the virtue of it being Charlie's idea first, and no matter what Charlie has tried, Josh simply won't give it up.

Sloan interrupts, rubbing her hands together as she kneels in front of the box. "Well, now what do we have here?"

"A Norwegian Ridgeback," Marvin replies with a smug smirk.

"Name's Norbert," Josh adds before dissolving into giggles.

Charlie stares, bemused. "Norbert?"

Marvin shrugs. "Apparently. Weird, right?"

Charlie agrees, but he's also heard stranger things, so he just shrugs back and joins the other men in opening the box.

Norbert exits it so quickly once it's open that Charlie only manages to see a blur of shiny dark scales before Sloan wrestles him on the ground.

"Oh, you're a feisty one, aren't you?" She asks, laughing.

Norbert gurgles at her, coughing up sparks that she puts out with another chuckle. "Did anyone see you?" she asks, turning back to Josh and Marvin.

"Of course not," Josh scoffs. "What do you think we are, amateurs?"

Charlie smothers his laughter in a coughing fit, but no one looks convinced.

Finally though, everyone recovers. "Well, then I guess we should see about getting this little guy to his new home then, shouldn't we?" Sloan coos down at the dragon in her arms. She looks at ease, like she could hold him forever — biting aside — but Charlie knows Norbert has to be heavy. Still, Sloan doesn't let it show.

"I assume you'll be staying for a little while?" she asks Josh and Marvin, who nod eagerly.

"Yeah, we're officially here on transfer for the week," Marvin replies with a slight smirk, and Charlie doesn't want to know how they managed that.

"It'll be just like old times," Josh quips, and they set back into the reserve proper.

And it does feel like old times, for all that a couple of months ago can be referred to as 'old times'.

.

A quick examination proves that Norbert is actually a Norberta.

Josh laughs himself to tears while Marvin watches him fondly, and Charlie's glad to see that these two have apparently figured their stuff out.

Charlie sends a letter to his brother telling him Norberta's safe and sound, and then they all get back to work, and to waiting for the next time someone needs their help with what Josh calls 'another crazy-ass rescue mission'.

Something tells Charlie they won't be waiting long.