Freeverse Charlie/Fleur. Ball. Charlie's perspective.

For the freeverse competition, except that it's too late...

Thank you Schermionie for the huge help! You're awesome!

A rolling stone gathers no moss, they say

and your mother doesn't hesitate to tell you.

(Because you know, Dragons aren't a life...

...and you need a wife.)

If they only knew you already have one,

except that she's your brother's.

A delicate flower you didn't pick in time,

but instead, stole from Bill's basket.

x

A rolling stone gathers no moss, your mother says.

Again.

And it pains you, you feel something like guilt.

You stay in England, only to be with her

but you pretend it's for your parents, your brothers, your sister.

For Bill.

x

Not Fleur.

x

Except that it's in Fleur's arms you find yourself,

in your dreams,

on the beach,

near the lake,

in an empty room.

(Always when Bill is away.)

When everyone is too busy in their own thoughts to notice.

x

In the dark she says she doesn't want regrets

and you murmur that you don't want them either.

But in the daylight all is different. Regret and pain eat you

from the inside.

Your dark games, in dark places,

your furtive meetings, that mean nothing,

yet, they mean a lot.

They're killing you from the inside. Slowly, but surely.

x

A rolling stone gathers no moss, your mother repeats.

A rolling stone gathers no moss, they all chant.

They want you to stay,

(because Fred has already gone away.)

And maybe you could be happy here,

so maybe you'd want to stay.

(With her.)

x

But then Bill enters your vision and

Guilt comes with him.

Happiness is ethereal; Guilt kills it anyway.

And you make a decision.

...

You're not a rolling stone, Fleur whispers.

You're a ball. The kind which slips from her delicate hands

until it hits the floor.

x

The shock is amortised; your heavyset body is intact.

And you come back to your Dragons

but your passion is still burning your insides.

Pain is stronger when it's innermost.

There's no way to make it go away

and the world is still revolving.

You need to continue.

(For Dragons, now. Not flowers.)

x

She continues, just look at her!

And she even thanks you, in the end,

when everything is back to normal.

(except for that pain you're full of)

(that pain that doesn't want to go away.)