Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.

Written for Hogwarts Assignment; Women's History, Task 6; Write about a healer.

Beta'd by the lovely Jenny and Amber

Word Count - 3117

For the lovely Ned, who introduces me to all the best new pairings. Hope you like it love :D

On A Blanket Under The Stars (That's Where I Fell In Love)

Theo had thought being a Healer would be exciting; enough to make his adrenaline spike without actively putting himself in danger. As he prepared a dragon pox innoculation (his fourth of the day) he wondered where he'd gone wrong with his choice in profession.

Where was the excitement, the rush of saving lives he'd felt before? During the Final Battle he'd helped Madam Pomfrey as much as he was able, even if his knowledge of healing charms had been scrappy at the time.

He'd hoped that once he finished studying for his Healers badge that he'd be able to help people. Instead, he was stuck giving innoculations and bandaging small cuts that likely could have been fixed at home.

There had to be more to life than this.

…

"Well, I mean, I expected you to be announcing your move to some foreign country to work with people in actual danger," Draco said with a shrug, picking up his glass. "I never expected you to stick around here, working for St Mungo's."

Theo blinked. The idea of moving to another country hadn't even occurred to him.

"Why didn't you ever say anything?" he asked, accepting the drink Blaise handed him as he joined their table.

Draco stared. "We're in a time of peace, Theo. I didn't think I'd have to say anything. It's… well, it's bloody common sense."

"Who ever accused Theo of having common sense though?" Blaise asked, raising his eyebrow. "He dumped me; clearly he's an idiot."

"I didn't dump you!" Theo replied, outraged. "We decided together that -" He cut himself off when he realised the two men at the table with him were practically choking on their laughter.

"You can add gullible to the list of faults," Draco chortled, shaking his head. "I do think that you should look into it though. There's got to be something better out there for you than fixing up babies and old folks."

…

"You… you're actually doing it?" Blaise asked, raising his eyebrows. Theo looked from his best friend to the rucksack he was packing and nodded slowly.

"I told you last week," he replied, his head tilting to the side. "Don't tell me you forgot?"

Blaise let out a long huff of air. "I didn't think you were serious. Who actually takes advice from Draco?"

"Well. Me. Apparently."

"But like… what if you had more… lives to save here? Then you could stay, right? So, all we really need to do is -"

"No murder," Theo sighed.

"But-"

"No. Murder."

"But if you go, you're going to die, and then I'll have to wear black for a year and mourn you, and that's all kinds of blah. Can't you just stay here with me? And you know? Be alive?"

"Merlin, you're dramatic," Theo replied with a chuckle, adding a few more books to his bag.

"Do you even have clothes in there? Or is it all books?"

"I have clothes too," Theo said with a shrug.

Growing up, it had been easier to lose himself in fantasy worlds than deal with the one he actually lived in, so he'd read a lot of books over the years. It hadn't taken long for him to become known as the bookworm of Slytherin, but he didn't hate the identity.

He could have been called much worse.

"Do you have all your toiletries? Shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, shaving gear?"

"Um…"

"I swear to Merlin, you'd lose your head if it wasn't attached to you."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll go get them in a minute. How was last night? Did you have a good time?"

Blaise rolled his eyes before he set off into a tangent about the previous night out. He'd asked Theo numerous times to go out with them, but Theo just wasn't that fussed about partying.

Honestly, that was part of the reason Theo had decided to actually follow Draco's advice. His friends were… childish. He didn't fault them for that; with the climate they'd grown up in they deserved to let loose and be young, but Theo just wasn't wired that way.

Night after night, bar after club, it wasn't for him.

He didn't even really like the taste of most alcohol, and he hated the feeling of not being in control of himself.

Still, he laughed when he was supposed too, even gasped a few times, giving Blaise the audience he wanted. He was going away for a year, after all.

"Are you really, truly, completely sure you want to leave?" Blaise asked suddenly, interrupting his own story.

"Yeah, Blaise. I'm really, truly sure."

"You forgot completely."

Shaking his head affectionately, he wrapped his arms around his friend. "I'll miss you too."

"Yeah, well. Just… don't die. Black really isn't my colour."

…

Romania was hot.

That was Theo's first observation. His second, was that he was probably going to die of heatstroke and then Blaise would have to wear black and he'd be really pissy about it.

"Hey? Are you Theo?"

Theo blinked. Then nodded. "Uh. Yeah?"

"You don't sound so sure of that."

Theo could only stare at the woman talking to him. She had muscles on her muscles and then those muscles had muscles!

"I'm Kay," she introduced herself, offering him her hand. He took it gingerly and she grinned at him. "Come on, we've already got work for you to do. Charlie was a tit and got himself burned."

"Um. Okay?"

Theo silently reprimanded himself for being an idiot and shook himself off.

"How bad is it?" he asked, as she led the way through the Dragon Facility he'd arrived at just minutes before.

"Pretty minor," she replied with a shrug. "But also not something that just anyone could heal, which is why we decided to wait for you."

He nodded, looking around, curious despite the need for his skills.

"I. Where should I put my bag?" Theo asked, when he saw the large sign that proclaimed the entrance to the infirmary.

"Oh. Right. I knew that. Just leave it by the entrance, and I'll show you where your lodgings are when you've fixed Charlie up?"

Theo nodded and dropped his bag where she showed him, before she led him into a sterile white room. It was reminiscent of the Hogwarts infirmary, and Theo felt at home immediately. Curtains were drawn around the end bed, and Kay nodded her head at it, so Theo could only assume that behind the curtain was the burnt Charlie.

Washing himself up quickly, he cast a sterilising charm on himself and pushed the curtain out of the way.

A handsome redhead lay on the bed, gripping his left forearm with his right hand, pain etched into every feature of his face. He looked oddly familiar, though Theo couldn't place where he knew him from.

"Let go of your arm," he instructed, his tone purposefully soft. He examined the burn, thankful that it wasn't as bad as it could have been, and set about fixing Charlie up.

Within minutes, the pain on his face was lessening, and the tension drained from his stiff shoulders.

"Hi, I'm Charlie," the redhead greeted.

Theo stared at him for a long moment before he snorted. "Theo."

In seconds, the two of them were laughing like hyenas. Theo already felt like he belonged here.

…

His lodgings were simple, but since he didn't spend much time in them, he wasn't overly fussed. They did the job.

After fixing Charlie up, Theo took a moment to drop his bag off before he moved out to explore the reserve better. He knew that there were definitely going to be moments where he was called out to give immediate treatments and thought that it would probably go better if he actually knew where everything was.

He didn't get much further than the hatchery though. The baby dragons were adorable. Theo wasn't stupid, and he had a healthy fear of the beasts being kept and looked after on the reserve, but he was quite sure that even tiny puppies had nothing on these little cuties.

One in particular, it's scales blood red, chirped up at him as he rested against the window, and Theo fell in love.

"He's cute, right?"

Turning, Theo saw Charlie approaching him, the white of the bandages Theo had applied stark against his tan skin.

"Adorable," he agreed, turning back to peer through the glass.

"That's Maron," Charlie murmured. "And over there," he added, pointing to a slightly smaller one with a green hue, "that's Anton. And the little purple one is Betsy."

"They're gorgeous," Theo murmured, his hand raising to rest against the glass.

Charlie grinned. "Do you want to meet them properly?"

Theo's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Of course. You can't work here and not meet the babies! It's one of the best perks of the job!"

"But, I mean… I'm not trained to handle dragons. I'm just a Healer."

"You're not 'just' anything," Charlie replied quietly. "But you wouldn't have moved out here if you didn't have an appreciation for dragons, so let's go."

Theo couldn't do anything else but follow Charlie inside.

…

Meeting the baby dragons had given Theo a new appreciation for his job and he took to it with gusto. Some days, he was left to his own devices in the infirmary, fixing up small scratches and burns, but others, he was called out into the enclosures to perform field healing.

Adrenaline spiked, Theo quickly learned to love his job again.

He also learned to love life on the reserve. He got used to hearing strange sounds at night; when the dragons were fighting or playing, it was never quiet. He found a new love of nature, of sitting outside when it was too hot to remain indoors to read his books by the small lake instead of in the comfort of his armchair.

And he gained a love for Charlie.

That had hit him unexpectedly, but it didn't take long for him to realise that everything about the redhead drew him in. He'd learned since their first meeting that the reason he'd recognised him was partially because of his family. The Weasleys were well known and recognised in the Wizarding World, and also because Theo had healed a small gash on his head during the Final Battle at Hogwarts.

That Charlie remembered that sent a frisson of warmth through Theo.

And the redhead seemed to seek him out whenever the two weren't working. He took him on mountain side picnics so he could see the more aged and grown dragons flying in the light of the sunset. He showed him around the area outside of the reserve on rare matching days off.

He spent hours at Theo's side by the lake, drawing while Theo read.

It was perfect, and Theo wouldn't change his new life for the world, which is why he decided against fumbling an attempt at asking Charlie on a date.

He'd only mess it up.

…

Theo was quite happy in his silent pining until Blaise came to visit, three months into Theo's move.

"Are you going to introduce me to your colleagues?" Blaise asked, after the two had spent an hour catching up.

Theo twisted his lips thoughtfully before he shook his head. "Nope."

Blaise raised his hand to his chest. "Why not?" he asked dramatically.

"You're prettier than I am, they might like you better."

Eyes narrowing, Blaise grinned. "You've got a crush on someone."

"No."

"You do! Oh my Merlin, who is it?"

"Nope," Theo shook his head firmly. "No crushes here, this is a crush free zone."

"You lying liar!"

Sighing, Theo picked up a cushion and bopped Blaise on the nose with it.

…

"You didn't tell us you were having a… friend visit?" Charlie asked, when the two entered the bar that night.

It was a weekly tradition, barring emergency of course, that those who worked on the reserve met in the bar that was located a five minute walk away.

Theo shrugged, blushing as Blaise looked between them, a gleeful smile on his face.

"Blaise, this is Charlie, Kay, Albert and Missy," Theo introduced him to those that were already there. "Everyone, this is Blaise, my best friend."

Blaise rolled his eyes and smiled smugly, wrapping his arm around Theo's waist. Theo noticed the moment the other's eyes widened and he barely stopped himself from facepalming.

Wanting nothing more than a diversion, Theo quickly asked Kay to tell Blaise about the dragon fight that had happened the day before. He wanted to talk to Charlie, but there was anger in the redhead's eyes and Theo didn't quite know what to make of it so he stayed silent, moving off to the bar to get himself and Blaise a drink instead.

The night passed with relative ease, though Charlie was much quieter than usual. Oddly enough, quiet as he was, he stuck around when the other's left.

"Do… you want another drink?" Theo offered, hesitant as he stood to return to the bar.

Charlie nodded silently, and Theo left, ordering a round just as the bartender was calling for last orders.

He turned to see Charlie and Blaise in what seemed to be a heated discussion, and hurried back towards the table as quickly as he could while carrying three drinks in his hands.

"As long as he remains with you, he's in danger," Blaise snapped, as Theo reached the table, putting the drinks down.

"What's going on?" he asked, frowning.

"Your 'best friend' is trying to make me convince you to go home with him because of the danger you're in here," Charlie replied darkly. "And I'm not going to do that. You're a grown man, you should be able to make your own choices."

"You're right, I am and I should," Theo replied quietly before he turned to Blaise. "Which is why I'm choosing to leave for the night, and you're coming with me, because we need to talk."

Blaise opened his mouth to protest, pointing at his glass, but the look on Theo's face made him decide otherwise and he stood without a word.

When the two arrived at Theo's lodge, Theo sat down heavily on the porch steps. "Why would you do that?" he asked, tiredly. "Why would you say that to him?"

"Because I love you and I'm scared for you," Blaise snapped. "I don't understand why you feel like you have to be here, where there are dragons that will eat you."

Theo closed his eyes. "Is that what this is really about?"

Blaise slumped down beside him. "Okay, so maybe I'm a little bit jealous of him because he has your attention now and I don't."

"Blaise…"

"Not like that, I know that we don't… we didn't work, I know. And I'm okay with that, you're my best friend. I just… When you were at home, you were always there, and now you're not and it sucks, okay?"

"Do you really love me?" Theo asked.

For once, Blaise was completely serious when he nodded.

"Then you'll be happy for me. This is my home now," Theo replied. "And you're welcome to come see me anytime, and I'm coming back to England for a week in a little over a month. Just because we don't live in each other's pockets, it doesn't change our friendship. You're still, and always will be, my best friend, Blaise. Nothing is going to change that."

A gentle wind flowed over them for a few moments as they sat in silence, before Blaise sighed. "I'll apologise to him tomorrow, okay?"

Theo nodded. "Thank you."

"Uh huh. And… for the record… He's hot, and completely gone on you. You should ask him out."

"Go to bed, you pain in the ass."

…

Blaise left, after apologising profusely and dramatically to a baffled Charlie, and life slowly went back to normal on the reserve.

So normal, in fact, that when Charlie picked Theo up from the infirmary with a smile in place, a rucksack over one shoulder and his broom under his arm, Theo didn't even question it. He just set himself on the back of the broom, wrapping his arms securely around Charlie's waist.

"What are we doing up here?" Theo asked, when Charlie landed them on an unsheltered mountain ledge.

"Having a sleepover," Charlie replied, pulling blankets from the rucksack. "The sky is going to be super clear tonight, and you should see the stars in all their glory at least once in your life."

Theo nodded thoughtfully. "Did you bring food? I'm starving."

Charlie nodded with a quiet chuckle. "Of course I did. I couldn't remember what you were last reading, but I also fetched you a few magazines."

Theo smiled at the thoughtfulness and settled himself down on the blankets. It was already starting to go dark. The magazines were quickly forgotten when Charlie handed over the food, and they ate in a companionable silence.

After eating, Theo read for a while using his wand as a light, and listening to Charlie singing quietly to himself. He had a good voice, smooth with just a hint of huskiness. It also worked like a lullaby, because the next thing Theo knew, Charlie was shaking him awake gently.

"You're almost missing the entire reason I fetched you out here," Charlie murmured, nodding up at the sky.

Theo's eyes widened when he took in the many stars, bright against the pitch of the sky. It was absolutely stunning, yet when he turned to tell Charlie as much, it was to find Charlie's gaze locked on him instead of the stars.

"It's beautiful," he murmured, suddenly feeling shy under the eyes of the man he loved.

"Uh huh," Charlie agreed, never taking his eyes of Theo. "Really is."

"Charlie-"

Charlie interrupted by pressing their lips together in a chaste kiss, his hand resting gently against Theo's neck.

When they parted, Charlie smiled and tugged Theo so he was leaning against him, and rested his chin on Theo's shoulder, raising one hand to point at the sky.

Theo let Charlie's voice wash over him, only half concentrating on the explanations about the constellations they could see. The other half of his mind was cataloging all the places the two of them were touching and calculating how long it would be before he could feel those lips against his own again.

…

When they woke up the following morning, they were wrapped up together in the blankets, Theo toasty warm due to the strong arms holding him against a strong chest.

He'd never felt happier to have followed his dream of healing. After all, that was what had led him here.

Written for;

Character Appreciation - 1. Bookworm

Disney - D4. "As long as he remains with you, he's in danger."

Trope of the Month - Sharing a bed / 5. Blanket

Dark Lady's Diabolical Lair - 9. Blood Red

Book Club - Enzo; Ex-boyfriend / "Do you really love me?" / affection / jealous

Showtime - 4. Singing

Buttons - O2. Magazine / W3. Diversion / D2. "I swear to Merlin, you'd lose your head if it wasn't attached to you."

Lyric Alley - 6. Night after night, bar after club.

Ami's Audio - 14. Hearing a strange sound at night

Sophie's Shelf - TheoCharlie

Angel's Arcade - 5. Cream the Rabbit - Soft / Laughing / Gentle winds

Lo's Lowdown - C2. A Healer

Bex's Basement - 8. Esio Trot - Pining for someone and not knowing how to ask them on a date.

Film Festival - 25. "You're prettier than I am."

Sewing 101, Step four - Gift fic - Written for Ned.

Feline Fair - 13. Persian - Write about a pure blood

Supernatural Day - Elves - Write about someone who likes nature

Slash September - TheoCharlie

Auction Prompt - Charlie Weasley