Hello there, I'm Zoe and thiiiiiiiis is my fanfic about Hugo Weasley. It has this rating for themes later on, and I will warn for such themes at the beginning of the chapters, but that's later on. So yeah, for whenever that is... disclaimer = don't like, don't read. Well... here it is.


Hugo

Chapter One :: Actually A Prologue

Rose Weasley was still no more than a baby when Hermione Weasley became pregnant with her second child. Hermione was immediately worried, even though her child was very young, that the young girl would soon become jealous and feel neglected, surely. Therefore, as soon as she found out for sure that she had another child on the way, Hermione was determined to make her young girl feel special.

Coming from a large family himself, Ronald Weasley was rather doubtful of this course of action. His parents had, after all, managed to treat each of their kids the same, except maybe buying the successful prefects or head boys etc, etc… something new. Older children, in his opinion, had a pretty awesome time. No expectations or anything.

Still… there was another baby coming, and he was still recovering from the first; the one that never shut up asking to be read to or whatever, when Ron was trying to sort out the paperwork for the joke shop. One time, to shut the two year old up, Ron read the invoices to his daughter who, to his utter dismay, listened with rapt attention. She was in no way interested in jokes. She was another Hermione.

Maybe the next kid might be a little more interested.

For the entire seven months of her pregnancy, Hermione practically poured attention onto her daughter. She had spent a little time wondering what kind of child she might have, as in boy or girl, but immediately felt guilty that she wasn’t giving Rose enough time, when in fact the little girl was fine on her own, pretending to read, watching TV and so on and so forth.

It was nearing the end of the summer, still two months until her due date, when Hermione was standing in the kitchen, talking to Ginny Potter and cooing over baby Lily, Ginny’s 3 month old daughter. That was the day when Hermione went into labour.

Ginny, who had gone through this process three times now, and even had her middle child prematurely, placed her young daughter back in the baby carrier and told her oldest son, three-year old James, to shut up laughing and get uncle Ron. While the small child ran up to the office, Ginny led the woman to a chair at the table.

“It’s too early, Ginny,” the pale woman told her sister-in-law. “It’s not meant to happen like this.”

Immediately, Hermione felt guilty, as if her attention all for Rose had led to this, and then told herself to stop it, straight away. To never blame herself for paying attention to her daughter. Rose should never get the blame.

Rose should never get the blame.

“Calm down, Hermione,” Ginny replied straight away and distracted the other woman with her breathing. Albus hadn’t been this early, and she was scared… but she just knew the little child inside of Hermione would be okay.

She just knew it…

She hoped it… She really did.

And then, the great red-headed baffoon that was Ron came charging into the kitchen, scaring baby Lily and frightening old Crookshanks who HAD been sleeping under the kitchen table. As Ron shouted something about tent pegs and turkeys, the old furball attacked his ankle and sent the man howling as he hopped around the room, his yells matching Lily’s as he tried to kick the creature away.

Ginny wasted no time in scolding her brother as she tugged the great, bright haired creature (that would be Crookshanks) towards herself and slapped the man around the face.

“WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!” Ron bellowed, nursing his face and trying to hide his wounded ego.

Ginny glared at him and pointed at Ron’s wife, who was, by now, panicking. Ron bit his lip childishly, and ran for the woman, standing her up and turning on the spot, Apparating them both out of the house.

When they were gone, Ginny shook her head in utter amazement. Her brother did NOT just Apparate with a woman in labour with him. Did not.

Can’t have.

Totally did.

Holding Crookshanks up to her face, Ginny ducked the half-hearted swipe the creature gave her.

“Sometimes,” she said, hearing her daughter begin to calm down. “I wonder whether she really did choose him for his mind.”


[[That night.]]


Ginny had, of course, stayed at Hermione and Ron’s house to take care of Rose. Harry had taken Albus to the Ministry that day, and was working overtime as well, seeing as Albus, who was a little younger than Rose, was having the time of his life there. Teddy was at his grandmother’s house, so he was taken care of, and now she only had Rose, James and Lily to worry about.

Glancing up at the clock on the wall, Ginny noted how Harry must be home by now, and busied herself with getting James ready for bed.

“I wanna stay up TOO!” the boy complained, pointing at his younger cousin, disdain etched clearly on his face at the thought of going to bed earlier than the girl. He stomped his foot and glared at his mother, pouting. Ginny had originally decided to let Rose wait up for as long as she could before her parents got back, and in any case, James always had to go to bed early. That little so-and-so could be cranky when he wanted to be.

But still, fair was fair.

“I’m not putting you to bed, James,” Ginny explained softly to her three-year-old, scooping him up and sitting him on the sofa beside Rose, who was playing with one of her quiet toys. James’ face lit up with the prospect of staying up later than usual, and sat watching Rose play her game.

Within five minutes, James was asleep.

Ginny smirked at the sight of the little boy, who slept so much like Harry at times, the only exception being the thumb in his mouth. Rocking her daughter in her arms, Ginny reached over and took James’ thumb out of his mouth, before stroking his hair away from his closed eyes. James immediately moved over and lay his head against his mother’s leg.

After that it was a waiting game. Ginny sat with the kids (Rose fell asleep ten minutes after James did) for another hour and was just wondering what was happening at the hospital… when the door flew open with an almighty BANG!

Oh, Zoe. I love this! Totally subscribed and stalking.

I love the bit about Ron's apparating, and the bit about Crookshanks, and oh, well all of it. <3

Zoee!!

Wow this is awsome!! more please!!!! MORE!!

XX

This is sweet!! ^^

I like how you can keep them in character though we have little information on what our cannon characters are like as mature adults. (well at least i do have little ideas on that LOL)

Waiting for more...

Awwww, thanks

I don't have too much action in this chapter xD But this is the end of the boringish prologue type thing, but hopefully I got a bit of funny in there with James and Ron *nod*

Thank you for reading and commenting!

Haha, thanks.
Here's more

Thank yarrrr. Yesh, I think it's easier writing the characters from not so far away from when the book ended. It's fun, too.

Here ya go

Chapter Two :: Introductions

BANG!

As soon as the door had flown open, Rose’s eyelids fluttered open. She was quite used to this type of entrance, and she smiled widely, jumping down from the sofa. Ginny was also used to this, and looked casually over to the door, though first she had another problem to deal with.

“AAAAAAAAAAARGGGHHH!” came the high pitched scream from right beside her. Glancing down, she saw that James, who was really not used to those type of door antics, was cowering in fright. Ginny scooped up her little boy in her arms, and immediately James began crying into her shoulder. Poor boy, he could be so sensitive at times.

“Ronald,” Ginny whispered to herself exasperatedly as she stood up and swayed to calm James down, as one would a newborn.

Speaking of which…

“Ronald, you really do need to fix that door,” came Hermione’s bossy voice from just through the door, far enough that Ginny couldn’t see. But, obviously the baby was okay, or else she wouldn’t be fussing over some door. The redheaded woman grinned and kissed her own son, who was already calming down, on the top of his head. Apparently the baby wasn’t one to be woken by such loud noises; he’d fit in around his father quite well.

Finally, Hermione became visible in the doorway holding a baby carrier, followed by Ron who was apparently nursing an aching foot. His wife was right; SOMEONE needed to fix that door, and it wasn’t going to be him. Good job they had a boy, the lad could help out around the house. When Ron thought this, he kept it to himself, despite it’s joke meaning. Hermione was weird these days, and Ron didn’t want to make any joke suggestions, lest she take them seriously.

Despite having three children, Ginny was always overcome with girlish excitement whenever there was a new baby present. She held on to James and moved in slightly, the better to see the baby. “What is it?”

“It’s a baby,” Ron said matter-of-factly, and Ginny thwacked him up the side of the head.

Laughing and shaking her head, Hermione answered. “It’s a boy.”

The moment James heard the word ‘boy’, he instantly thought of someone new to play with, and looked around the room,, searching for this mysterious new playmate. His mother seemed to understand and gently turned the boy’s head to look at this baby boy.

“Tha’ss not a boy!” he exclaimed, and the baby in the carrier turned wide, inquisitive eyes on him. “Dass what Lily is like!” James added, looking dismayed, but sounding exasperated. Adults were stupid, fancy not knowing the difference between a boy and a girl!

Ginny grinned. “Trust me, Jamesie, it’s a boy,” she said kindly, and when James looked sternly at her, she giggled slightly. James shook his head and yawned widely, making himself comfortable as he sat on his mother’s hip, laying his head on her shoulder and sticking his thumb into his mouth.

Getting the message, Ginny turned back to Hermione. “We should get going,” she said in an apologetic tone. Hermione immediately nodded, handing the baby carrier over to Ron, who look startled that he should take the responsibility right now. As Ron made absurd faces at his son in the baby carrier (who reached out for the man’s nose), Hermione bent down and scooped up her own daughter.

“It’s quite alright, Ginny,” she said, nodding and hugging Rose close to her. “Thank you so much for looking after Rose. I know you had your own children to worry about.”

“Well… not worry, really,” Ginny chuckled, looking down at James and gently taking his thumb out of his mouth. “They’ve all been total angels. What did you name him?” she added, gesturing towards the baby carrier, which Ron was now rocking gently from side to side.

Hermione watched her husband for a moment, before looking back at Ginny, a slight smile on her face. “Hugo.”

It didn’t take long for Ginny to get Lily and James ready for the car journey home. She didn’t even try to get James dressed, just stuck a coat on him, for it was chilly, despite a day full of August sun. She would have made two trips to the car, but James was reluctant to be left alone, and so Ginny, with her hands full of children, bid farewell to her brother and sister-in-law.

Later that night, when the entire Weasley household was quite, Hugo Weasley lay in his little Moses basket, his parents sleeping in the next bed with his older sister between them. He watched shapes of shadows up on the wall, and lay peaceful and still. This would be the start of quite an eventful life… one that sometimes he’d wish he never entered. But one that, like most stories, might just end with a happy ending.

And baby Hugo slept.

I... cannot quite explain to you how much I laughed.

Love it!

PAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha LOL
You make the kids so funny and cute Thats why i love your drabbles so much - they crack me UP.

This is awsome, more please

Lovely! *new stalker*

heya Zoe...new reader here...i loved the two posts...they were cute...waiting for more...

New Reader Alert!

I luff how you seem to like to get Ron hit a lot. Course, most of the time he deserves it for his snarkiness. Can't wait to read some more!

Okay, this isn't as well written as I would have liked (it's very 'this, this and this happened'), but my laptop is broke so I needed to post on my mum's laptop before she needs to keep using it for work/I lose the inspiration to write plus I find this thing HARD to write on. This is the very END of the prologue-y bit. The ACTUAL STORYLINE starts up next chapter. But of course these chapters were relevent =)

Yay, good comments from Jeremie!
That makes me very happy if YOU think its good

Thanks for reading!
Hehehe, I'm glad you liked it. I do find it particularly hard to write humour sometimes. None really in this chapter. I just wanted it posted. xD NEXT chapter though


Thanks for reading!
Aww thanks you! And awesome ^___^

Thank you for reading!

hi thurrrr. thank you very much for your comments *grins*

Thanks for reading!

Lol, in my own opinion, I don't like ron. But in this... as an ff i kind of do right now. lol. plus, ron pain is funneh xD

Thanks for reading!

Chapter Three :: Warning Signs

Baby Hugo settled into life at the Weasley household quite well. Despite Hermione’s original, unvoiced fears, the woman found she loved both of her children exactly the same. Rose didn’t feel jealous of the baby and she certainly didn’t hog any of the attention for herself.

The Weasley house was exceedingly loud by anybody’s standards, which would normally have had a profound effect on the children. In a loud house you find you must be loud yourself just to be heard. But both children were rather content. Hugo was really too young to do anything but sleep, eat and cry. At first, even when he did cry it was on very rare occasions, like the time Ron caused an explosion in the living room when he was testing a new product…

Clamping her hands tightly over her ears, Rose turned to stare wide-eyed at her mother, seeing the woman also cover her ears and roll her eyes in the process. Meanwhile, poor baby Hugo was left lying on his mother’s lap, his comfort and support gone… and it scared him. As the baby screamed and Ron hastily tried to use magic to vent the smoke, Hermione grabbed her daughter’s hand and, holding the bundle that was her son tight to her chest, she dashed out through the front door.

Not long after that, as Hermione attempted to comfort her screaming infant, Ron stepped out of the house, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. Under the fierce stare of his wife, the man flinched.

“Take the kids to Harry’s,” he told the woman, voice loud enough to be heard over Hugo’s crying. He gave the kid a puzzled look, shook his head and stared back at the house. “It’s magical damage, so I’ll have to spend the night fixing it up,” Ron added, looking disgruntled. When it looked like Hermione might protest, the man held up his hand. “I can do it myself.

And so, against her better judgement, Hermione apparated the children to the Potter household after sending word of their impending arrival. It was strange, in her opinion, that Hugo seemed to quieten as soon as he passed into the household.

Staring at her son, Hermione was perplexed. It seemed, to her, very odd that the boy who had not even lowered his voice by a few decibels on the way, totally shut up the second he was back inside. But everyone else, being a little more ignorant of the situation, found it particularly unremarkable. As usual, the first warning sign was ignored.

Even later that night, Hugo wouldn’t sleep, he just stared wide-eyed at everything… until Harry took over. The auror had always been an expert at getting his own sons to sleep, and figured it couldn’t hurt. And just like that, Hugo relaxed into his uncle’s arms, bonding quicker than he had with even his own father. Not even Hermione found it odd this time. Ron wasn’t exactly… paternal. Harry, on the other hand, was so good with his boys that it would have been odd if Hugo had NOT reacted that way.

That was the only time Hugo acted in any way that resembled ‘odd’, for the child grew up like a normal boy would, only much quieter than any of the other children in his family, though that was just Hugo. The boy was different physically too. Almost every child of Weasley decent was born with the flaming red hair (which the exception of Fleur’s children and also Harry’s sons). Oh, Hugo still had red hair, but it was a deeper red than the rest, and he disliked the fact that it made him different from everyone else, even at the tender age of three.

Still, the quiet Hugo was sometimes… interrupted by a very different little boy, the kind of boy who screamed to get what he wanted, and therefore never got it. It was like having a set of twins, each with a different temperament, where you only saw one at a time.

“Mummy,” the young lad squeaked one day, approaching his mother with single-minded determination. The boy had been playing with his toys in the family room (which had managed to survive since that last explosion) when he’d heard his parents talking, mentioning his favourite uncle; Harry. Despite having been able to walk for some time, Hugo was unsteady on his feet, and Hermione watched him with uncertainty as the child used any means of holding himself up until he got to her.

With a proud smile and a ruffle of the boys dark red hair, Hermione focused her attention on her son, gesturing she was listening. “Yes, Hugo?”

Holding his chin up high in what seemed like pride, Hugo opened his mouth to speak, to give his ingenious idea and perfect reasoning.

“I wan’ go live wiff Hawwy,” he announced, ignoring the way his mother raised an eyebrow. That made him angry, and he didn’t like being angry. “‘Cause he’s a daddy I wan’. An’ Dames and Al haff diff’ent hair, like me,” Hugo added as though as an afterthought. It seemed fair enough to him. Hugo liked Harry and Ginny more than he liked his own parents, and why should he be made to stay? Harry’s house made Hugo happy.

“I’m afraid not, Hugo. It-” Hermione started to reply, but it seemed as though Hugo wasn’t having any of it. The young boy threw himself to the floor in a fit of rage, balling his fists up and flailing about, screaming at the top of his lungs. Staring in surprise at first, Hermione soon realised that this was perfectly normal with children; even Rose had had her fair share of tantrums.

But this one was one HECK of a tantrum. It didn’t stop all day. Hugo wouldn’t eat, wouldn’t drink and wouldn’t even go down for a nap. In the end, Hermione admitted defeat and called Harry.

The doorbell ringing was the sweetest sound Hermione had ever heard in her entire life. Forget looking for horcruxes, Hugo in a tantrum was just something she couldn’t deal with. At once, the wild-haired girl flew open the door to see an amused looking Harry. “What’s so funny?” she said irritably, standing aside to let the man through.

“Ohhh, nothing,” Harry replied, stopping at the kitchen and glancing back over his shoulder at Hermione. “Except… this kid has a definite set of lungs. I could hear him from the apparition point.”

Blushing, Hermione stomped away to check on Rose, leaving Harry to enter the kitchen to see Hugo, who had shut up the second he’d heard Harry’s voice. Despite the stern look he was getting from his uncle, three year old Hugo threw himself at the man, looking for comfort as he sobbed gently. Harry wasn’t made of stone, and spent the next hour or four convincing Hugo that everything would be alright, and that he was always welcome to visit, but that the Potter house was very busy a lot of the time.

It was Harry who managed to get Hugo to have a drink of water and something to eat, Harry who persuaded the boy to go up to bed, and Harry who stayed with the boy until he fell asleep. Hermione, on the other hand, was beside herself. Ron came home and tried to comfort her, but Hermione only saw herself fail with her son. A perfectly normal day had turned into a disaster.

And it wouldn’t be the same again. Hugo had formed an attachment to Harry’s family, seeing the man himself as a dad. It wouldn’t be long before it all went pear-shaped.

Oh wow, you REALLY dislike Ron eh?

V. good post. Teddy reminds me of my cousin when he was younger, rather loud and liked spending time with his extended family more than his real family.

Cheers.

aw...good one...would want to know more...

Not really REALLY, I don't know what it is... sometimes I just want to shout right in his earlug to stop being such a kid xD Other times, he's a pretty epic best friend.

Anyways. Thank ya! Here's the next post ^___^

Thankee very much. More info will eventually be reveeeeealed.

^^

Chapter Four :: The Platform

Hugo was terrified.

It was the first of September, and they were on their way to King’s Cross to see Rose Weasley off on the train to Hogwarts for the first time ever. Hugo still had two years before this day became his own, along with Lily. Rose was starting at the same time as Albus, and James was about to start his second year. So now Hugo had to spend the full nine months at home with his parents… but that had nothing to do with his fears.

No.

Hugo was terrified… because his dad was driving them to the station.

Sitting on the back seat, with his muggle gameboy in his lap, Hugo had pushed himself all the way back, his feet pushing against the back of his mother’s seat and fingers digging into his own seat cushion.

“Hugo,” came Hermione’s voice from the front of the car. It sounded clipped and though he couldn’t see the woman, Hugo was sure she was doing roughly the same thing as he was. “What have I told you about putting your shoes on the back of the seat?” she asked, as Hugo glanced sideways at Rose, who was occupied with looking out of the window.

As the nine year-old was about to answer, the car suddenly let out a series of shuddering thumps, and Hugo pressed his lips tightly back together, tensing up his body.

Ohhhhh, this was such a BAD idea.

Apparently, Hermione wasn’t interested in hearing the answer, because her shrill voice penetrated the now tense atmosphere in an admonishment this time directed at the driver of the little car.

“RON!”

“We’re heeeere!” the oblivious red-head in the driver’s seat replied, flinging open his door… which slammed into the car that Ron had parked closely next to. Hermione sighed, and pushed her door carefully open, trying to squeeze out. Even Rose had trouble. Hugo might have been able to exit the car with ease, but he’d always wanted to try something different, and right then he stood and pushed open the sunroof, scrambling out and reaching back for his gameboy.

By the time the small boy had used the car bonnet as a slide and landed in front, turning his gameboy back on, his mother had come approached, taking the gadget from her son’s hands and pushing it into her handbag.

“Hey!” Hugo exclaimed, indignant. He looked around for his father, trying to get some support on the matter, but the man was currently trying to get Rose’s trunk from the boot of the car.

“No. It won’t work in there. And in any case, you are NOT to climb all over the car like that,” Hermione said tersely, and her tone indicated there would be no argument.

Resentfully, Hugo tried to delve into the handbag to save his game, but Hermione grabbed his hand and held it fast. She wouldn’t let go, even when they all started to walk towards the station. So, furious, Hugo found himself being led by his hand, and he knew the only means of escape would be to just chill out.

Jeez, all he did was slide down the car bonnet.

Looking down at the pavestones as they all went, Hugo did his best to not step on the cracks, which sent him leaping all over the place. Hermione didn’t complain at all, and instead just watched her son carefully, frightened that he might trip. It was all she could do not to start worrying frantically about Rose, who, they had been informed, would be staying at the castle for at least the Christmas holiday.

The young girl herself was walking beside her father, who was carrying the large new trunk which had been brought especially for the girl. An owl was inside a cage which was perched precariously on top of the trunk, and kept sliding towards Ron, hitting him smack in the face.

The fourth time this happened, Rose let out a giggle, and tapped her father on the shoulder, saying words Hermione could not hear. When her daughter began to carry the owl’s cage, Hermione beamed with pride. Such kind children they had… so considerate. Well… a look at Hugo who was ignoring everything around him save the pavestones, causing other padestrians to move and avoid him changed the young woman’s mind.

Well… he was only nine.

…

Crossing the barrier to platform 9 ¾ was a highly unexcitable affair; Hugo had heard a lot about this wall, and expected there to be some kind of… signpost or… well… something that indicated the magic or importance of the place. His mind went back to the time his uncle had told him about the time the barrier was closed for the man and Ron… and Hugo even hoped that happened today.

But still… that would be better if it happened when Hugo started his second year, in the boy’s opinion anyway.

On the upside, Hugo felt his mother let go of his hand as soon as they were through, and immediately the boy scurried off to find his favourite uncle. He made it up the platform once, leaping over trunks and dodging older kids who watched him with amused expressions, before he figured, with a slightly sinking heart, that the other family wasn’t here yet.

With the tiniest pout on his face, Hugo headed back down towards his own family, looking into the train to his right hand side, catching glimpses of animated conversations through the windows. When Hugo reached his father, who was pulling the trunk towards the train, he happily helped, grabbing the other end and lifting it so his dad got into the train with more ease. It was more so he’d get his own chance to go in there more than anything. When they’d safely stored the luggage and Rose’s owl, Ron ruffled his son’s hair and ushered the small boy out, eager to speak to his daughter before the train left and before James turned up to frighten the girl and hint that she might be a Slytherin.

Of course… Ron’s own methods were similar to James’ teasing.

As his father began to tell his sister about all the great things about Gryffindor, about how she’d miss out if she was a Slytherin, Hugo moved away to stand against the back wall, facing the train and staring at it with starry eyes. Two more years. That was all.

It wasn’t that much later that a babble of familiar voices were heard by Hugo, and Harry, Ginny and their three children were within the boy’s range of vision. At once, Hugo was delighted that he was on the platform right then, able to see his family… the best family in the world if you asked him.

It was Lily who saw Hugo first, and headed straight over as her dad and uncle sorted Albus’ trunk.

“Hey,” the red-head said softly. Hugo was her favourite cousin, and he was always the one she wanted to speak to at family get-togethers. Of course, she knew that Hugo loved Harry as a father, and she always chose to steer clear of that topic. Even then, Hugo’s eyes lingered on Lily’s family instead of snapping straight to her.

When Hugo finally did look into Lily’s light brown eyes, he gave the girl a little smile and pushed away from the wall.

“Hey,” he replied, glancing at the girl’s brothers. “What’s occurring?”

“Oh, just James teasing Al about the Sorting again,” Lily smirked, rolling her eyes. “It makes me want to know what house I’ll be in. What house will you want?”

It was still two years to go, but Hugo had decided a while back, during one of Harry’s tales about when he was at school. “Gryffindor,” he said abruptly. “For sure… What about you?”

Lily appeared to think about it for the moment, glancing back at James again. Her immediate thought was of her brothers. If Albus was a Gryffindor, and that was pretty much a dot on the cards, then if she was she’d never get away from them, and they were so protective at times. And in any case… she liked the sound of another house’s common room. “Ravenclaw sounds g-”

At that moment, Ron called over to the pair, something about Gryffindor and being disinherited. Both Hugo and Lily laughed at that, and Hugo found himself annoyed to see his sister’s face fall a little. Seriously, he would WANT that. No contact with his own family.

Moving closer to the group for the steam on the platform was getting real thick, Hugo shoved his hands into his pockets and continued staring up at the train. Some ten metres away there was a small blond girl about his age, watching him intently. Hugo didn’t see her; he was too busy lost in his own thoughts.

A little later, Hugo was shaken out of his reverie only to hear talk about Teddy maybe moving in with Harry and his family. The boy’s face darkened; that was exactly what he didn’t want. Staring down at his feet, Hugo didn’t notice his father cast a knowing look at him. And again, as if that wasn’t bad enough, Hugo looked up to see Harry speaking in private to his son. The boy rejoined the group and stared morosely as Albus hopped onto the train. Ron made a joke or something, and so Hugo laughed along with everyone else.

It was too much to watch Harry walk alongside the train. Hugo was being selfish, that much he knew; but you can stop yourself from feeling jealous or from wanting or, as Hugo thought he felt, needing something you haven’t got.

When Harry was off watching the train go away, with a hand on his scar, Hugo allowed his own hand to be taken by his mother so they could go back to the car.

“She’ll be back before you know it,” the woman said kindly, though Hugo caught a definite hint of fear in her voice. Whether that was because she was scared for Rose or because of the thought of going back in the car was too much, Hugo didn’t know. Either way, he didn’t bother telling his mother that Rose wasn’t the reason he was sad.

“Can you hold on a minute,” Ron murmured to his wife, and briskly jogged back to Harry, who was talking to Ginny and Lily. Hermione seemed to be glad for a reason to delay getting in the car, and happily waited patiently. All Hugo wanted was to get hold of his gameboy again.

However, the boy perked up when Ron turned back to the family with Harry, Ginny and Lily following on. The man crouched down to his son’s level and spoke in a low voice.

“How’d’you feel about going to stay with Ginny and Harry for a few days?” the man asked, tipping Hugo a wink. When the boy’s face lit up with a huge smile, Ron looked up at the other adults. “I think that means yes.”

And sure enough, when he looked back at his son, the boy was nodding frantically, practically bouncing up and down in excitement. Reluctantly, Hermione had let go of his hand and held out the gameboy for him, whilst glaring at her husband.

“Awesome!” Hugo exclaimed, running back to Harry and Ginny with a wide beam on his face. Meanwhile, Ron was trying to explain to his wife, without much success.

“It’ll cheer him up… a few days won’t hurt…”

Hermione kept on glaring.

…

When the large extended family finally left the platform, Hugo was trailing behind with Lily, trying to switch his game back on. His mother was right; it wasn’t working. In his distraction, Hugo accidentally bumped into the blond girl who’d been staring earlier. He muttered an apology without looking at her and hurried ahead.

He was going to the best place in the world. The place he really saw to be home.

But Ron’s decision, though nobody would realise for years, would turn out to be the worst decision for Hugo’s wellbeing.

wow...that was really cool post...i really really liked it...

this line makes me really curious of what is going to happen next...waiting for more...

This is AMAZING! It's writing like this that inspires me to work on my own sa16+ fic.
In my opinion, your writing is right up there with SenoritaMaxie's and mionegrlgwp's. <3
I also love that this is about Hugo, one of the more ignored members of the new generation. Most people focus on Rose, Albus, Teddy or Victoire, but you chose him and make him seem VERY interesting. I have a strange feeling about that little blondie.

Anywhooo, keep up the great work and, of course, PAMSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!

- Mel

what does that mean?
love the story so far
PAMS
=]

All in good time

Thanks for reading!
Thank you so much! I loved reading you comments
And yes. The blonde... well... yes xD

Thank you muchly for reading.
You shall seeeeee
Thank you!


Chapter Five :: 'Home'

Harry was driving home, and Ginny was very lucky indeed, because Harry Potter did not drive like her brother.

Stretching her legs out in front of her, Ginny grinned over her shoulder at the two kids in the back seat. Hugo was playing on his gameboy thing, and Lily was looking over his shoulder wit intent fascination at whatever game was being played. The boy looked like he was concentrating so hard that his brain might melt and pour out of his ears, and even as Ginny watched, she saw Hugo inch the game closer and closer to his face.

“Be careful,” she warned him, reaching back and gently lowering the game away from Hugo’s eyes. Her nephew looked at her confusedly for a second, but when she gestured to her own eyes, he nodded and handed the game to Lily for her turn.

When Lily played, Hugo showed less interest in her game progress, and he scooted forwards in his seat.

“Put your seatbelt on, Hugo,” Harry said suddenly, able to see the boy from one of the mirrors. Hugo, startled but eager to do was he was told, hastily slid back on the leather seats and clicked his seatbelt in. Yawning, the young boy looked out at the road, in the hopes of seeing something more exciting the tarmac and the occasional shred of rubber from some poor soul‘s worn out tyre.

“Are we there yet?” he whined, asking that question every parent hates. Harry chuckled softly and shook his head, lifting one hand from the steering wheel and running it through his hair.

“Got about three hours in the car yet,” the man commented, as he overtook another car on the motorway. Meanwhile Hugo leaned back against the squashy leather and tugged absentmindedly at the seatbelt. “What about my stuff?”

Ginny glanced over her shoulder again. Hugo looked awfully pale. “Your dad will send it on… Are you okay, Hugo?” she added, concern filling her voice. Even as she looked, the boy placed his hand on his stomach and closed his eyes. When Hugo shook his head, Ginny turned to her husband. “Pull over when you can.”

Harry nodded at this and kept an eye open for any lay-bys whilst Ginny told Lily to stop playing the game, because it had already made her cousin carsick. Within five minutes, Harry had stopped the car and Ginny was switching seats with Lily. From then on through the car ride, Hugo lay across the seats with his head in his aunt’s lap, as the woman stroked his dark red hair.

…

It was around three o’clock in the afternoon when Harry’s car finally pulled up in the driveway of the Potter’s cottage. The building was large and Edwardian, and Hugo had always loved the sight of it, but for now he was to miss out on it, being as asleep as he was.

Being careful to open and close the car door carefully, Ginny moved around to Harry’s window and bent in to talk to him, very wary of the way the gravel crunched beneath her feet.

“I’ll go and unlock,” she said, and gestured over to Lily for the young girl to exit the car too. “I’ll get some food ready, too, and sort out Albus’ room for him. I give you the task of either waking him up and getting him inside, or carrying him in.” At this, Ginny smiled and leaned in, her red hair swaying in the slight breeze. She placed a tender kiss on her husband’s lips, before turning tail and following Lily to the house, all the while taking out her keys.

Once his wife had disappeared into the house, Harry sighed and looked back over his shoulder. Hugo was still fast asleep, one hand on his tummy.

Poor lad.

Harry placed his keys in his mouth, positioning them so that the car plipper would lock his niiiice car with a bite of his teeth. He moved to the back door, stopping momentarily to rub a scuff mark off the red paintwork, and opened Hugo’s door.

It took a while, but Harry finally managed to get Hugo over his shoulder, the car closed up and locked, and the pair of them into the house. Instead of going upstairs, the man went through to the living room and lay Hugo there, placing the gameboy on the floor next to him which he‘d taken the time to pick up, and went through to the kitchen.

Best eat now. That way, when Hugo woke up and called for Harry, Harry could be there.

“Does Ron know what he’s doing?” Harry enquired of his wife, moving to stand behind her as she stood looking out of the window above the sink and placing his arms around her waist. The woman looked puzzled for a moment, before finally working it out.

“With Hugo?” she asked, placing her hands over Harry’s. “I don’t know… But it can’t really hurt the kid. He’s happy here. We should like to make him happy.”

“But it makes Hermione miserable,” Harry stated, looking uncomfortable. At this, Ginny made a sceptical face and turned to the man.

“Hermione has work. So does Ron. They’re very busy. At least here, I’m home all day, and here, Hugo gets to see you. You are his hero, after all,” she pointed out, as though that wasn’t obvious. That made Harry smile a little sheepishly.

“He just seems a little… obsessed,” he replied, looking as if he would rather be saying anything but this. Ginny gave him a cool glare.

As the sun disappeared behind a cloud, the red-head faced her husband. “He is our family. We make our family happy. He just likes you, that’s all. You’re his favourite uncle; he idolises you. Would you rather he idolise Voldemort?”

Harry winced at this, which was odd. But it wasn’t from the sound of the name, but the harshness with which his wife spoke. “I guess you’re right,” he nodded, feeling kind of bad. Ginny opened her mouth to speak but at that moment, Hugo called out from the living room.

With a smile, Harry kissed his wife on the lips and went through to see to Hugo.

…

That night, when the sky was just beginning to darken, Hugo sat in his cousin’s room as she showed him her school uniform. It was a private muggle school, and Hugo was jealous. His own parents could afford that; they just refused to splash out. So he was stuck at the school in their village.

“Wish I could go there,” the small boy murmured to himself. Lily heard him and glanced over.

“You should!” she exclaimed, excitement lighting up her features. “And then you could stay here all year ‘round.”

Now that was certainly an idea Hugo was interested in. In fact, he sat contemplating it for a long time whilst he subconsciously twirled his hair. Without a word, he stood and left the room, his feet hardly creating a sound. Lily just watched him go, bemused.

Harry’s study was where Hugo’s uncle worked when he stayed at home. As head auror, the man had that privelage. In any case, though it was getting on for nine o’clock in the evening, Hugo tried the study as the first place to look (and it also ended up being the last).

Rapping his knuckles on the wooden door three times in rapid succession, Hugo listened attentively for a sound within. There was no sound at all, but Hugo’s imagination, determined to find things that weren’t really there at the best of times, told him he could hear footsteps inside, so the nine year old push the door open anyway.

The room was empty, which both relieved and frustrated Hugo at the same time, though he couldn’t place why he felt either of those emotions, not at that moment.

Staring around at the office, furnished with dark wood furnishings and with the huuuuuge family photo up on one wall, Hugo frowned. He wanted to eventually have an office like this. Hmmmm… Maybe he would try to be an auror.

Not that he hadn’t already planned that. Harry was an auror. Hugo would be one.

Eyeing the comfy looking chair behind the desk, a smile tugged at the corners of Hugo’s mouth. He approached it confidently, hopping up onto the seat cushion.

One of the drawers was partially open, with the corner of a piece of parchment sticking out. About to be the good person and tidy this slight problem, Hugo opened up the drawer a little more, and that was when he saw the elaborately folded parchment underneath.

With no qualms, and a slight idea of what he was looking at, Hugo reached out for the parchment…

awesome post...what is Hugo going to read? i am so eager to know what's up next...pams when you can!

What?! You can't leave a cliffy that big! PAMSPAMSPAMS!

NEW READER

I love this story. Its amazing!
Want to know what happens next. PAMS!

Morag x

Thanks for reading and commenting, you guys! Sorry it's taken so long. Been a little busy xD

Sorry the chapters seem rushed and stuff. I get in the habit of writing at the last minute.



Chapter Six :: The Request

What Hugo found was very old indeed. It looked about fifty years old, and well used. But the small red-headed boy was slightly more clued up than most children; he knew for sure that this was the map that his uncle and parents used to use when they were breaking the rules at Hogwarts. His mother hadn’t been a big fan of it, but Hugo didn’t care; he was just in awe of the fabled artefact. Finding it was like stumbling on long lost treasure.

Getting carried away, Hugo unfolded the thick parchment immediately and cleared his throat, about to say the magic words to open it when-

“Oh,” the boy deflated a little; he’d need a wand to look at the map. This bit of realisation made the boy more melancholy than he’d been all day, and he slumped back in the big chair, a tiny pout on his face. As he sank back into the cool and squishy chair cushion, the doorknob rattled. It wasn’t like in the movies, when the main character has oodles of time to cover their tracks and hide, no way. The door just swung open, and Harry stood in the doorway.

For a moment, both males stood still, slight shock written across both of their features. Hugo was terrified he’d angered his uncle, terrified he’d have to go home.

“I-” he started, but as soon as Harry smiled, he visibly relaxed.

“I’d wondered if one of them decided to nab it,” Harry began, strolling over, letting the door swing shut as he waved his wand, causing the lamps to switch on. Hugo, meanwhile, looked at the parchment, then back at his uncle… then back at the parchment again.

“Can we…?” he asked quietly, looking back at his uncle again, the hopeful expression visible all over his features. Harry only ruffled the boy’s hair in response, before lifting Hugo up with ease, sitting down on his chair, and placing the boy on one knee.

Looking at his nephew, Harry gave him a wink. “Of course we can… how else are we gonna find out what houses they’re in?” he asked, and Hugo was kind of stumped for a moment, until he realised that Harry wanted to check on their first year relatives.

Harry, meanwhile, was studying the man, having already ‘unlocked’ it, his stomach up in his throat. Truth be told, he was increasingly worried about Al; the boy still didn’t seem all that convinced about whether Slytherin was such a good house.

“Ah-ha!” he announced, pointing at a tiny speck on the map. Hugo had to lean reeeeeeally close to see it, but there was, indeed, sitting at the Gryffindor house table, a speck labelled ‘Albus Potter’.

Hugo was quite content to now look at the rest of the school, but Harry had other ideas and continued studying the map. Hugo thought he might be checking up on everyone else in the family, but then there was a triumphant noise from the older man again, and he pointed to a speck, this time at the Ravenclaw table. “There’s Rose.” And there she was indeed, seated beside Victoire Weasley.

Hugo was secretly ecstatic that his sister didn’t get into Gryffindor, and Harry must have seen the smile and misinterpreted it because he then said, “Told you they’d be fine.”

Or maybe he was speaking to himself; Hugo didn’t consider that.

“Now… why exactly were you in my office?”

… Ahh.

“Ahh…” Hugo began, looking uncertain. He stayed quiet for a moment, as if hoping the question would go away, but it didn’t… and in any case, it was a good way to start this conversation. “I was… looking for you.”

Looking up at Harry, Hugo was slightly puzzled to see the man moving his hand in a circular motion, like it was following it wheel, it said ‘yes, annnnnnd…?’ but Hugo didn’t know… Still, he went on anyway.

“I wanted to ask… about…” WHY was this so hard to say?! Hugo cursed himself internally and frowned, taking a deep breath beforrrrre… “Iwanttocomeandlivewithyou.”

Harry’s hand stopped in midair.

“What?”

Hugo just bit his lip, looking down at his feet. “Can I go to bed now?”

Without thinking, Harry kissed the top of Hugo’s head and hugged him close, before standing and carrying his nephew into his youngest son’s room. The boy was already dressed for bed, and Harry wordlessly lay the boy down and tucked him in with a little smile, and an odd look on his face. He bade the boy goodnight before leaving the room. Standing just outside the door, making plans to go and phone his best friend, Harry heard the unmistakeable sounds of Hugo sobbing.

…

Late that night, Harry sat, his wife across from him, best friends either side of him. They were all discussing Hugo… his best interests, his needs… and how best to resolve the situation they were in. Hugo hated home… he wanted to be here…

Strangely, Ron was taking it rather well. He had, at first, be jealous of the adoration Hugo showed Harry, but these days he had come to accept that Hugo needed special handling.

“Okay,” the red-head said slowly, reaching across the table to take Hermione’s hand, Hermione who looked as though she might burst into tears at any moment. “We weren’t expecting to have him go away for school for another couple of years… but this is the best way. Come on, Hermione. If he stayed with us he’d be at the baby-sitter’s all the time without his sister’s company. At least this way, neither Hugo nor Lily will be lonely. We work too much to be with him all the time…”

As he trailed off, Ron’s heart gave a guilty twinge. He wished he could have gone back and done this all again.

Slowly, very slowly, Hermione nodded.

“On the condition that… when Rose is home, so is Hugo. And at this school… I want him to talk to someone. We need to stop this… this obsession he has, before it gets serious,” she sighed, using her free hand to massage her temples. “Our boy… he has issues. I want to make everything better before he gets older and hormones decide to…”

Hermione stopped. She wanted to explain how Hugo always seemed so miserable, so much so that she’d worried how far that would go when he got older. This solution, though not the most desirable, was the best they could think of.

When all the official stuff was dealt with, the four friends spent until 1am discussing things like work and neighbours and the kids and all kinds of stuff, before the older two decided to leave. Both Ron and Hermione went up to give their sleeping son a small kiss, before bidding their older relatives goodbye and leaving.

…

The next morning dawned bright and early. Too early for one particular little girl.

Lily Potter was now miserable and headachey. She had to go back to school today, and her cousin got to stay here. It looked like there would be no way of staying home after her mother came in to tell the small girl to get ready, seeing through the ‘But I don’t feel goooood’ complaints almost straight away.

Because Harry had already left for work, Ginny had the job of waking up a grouchy and tousle-haired Hugo, coaxing him into getting dressed so they could walk Lily to school.

“I’m tiiiiiiiiired,” the boy whined as he fumbled with a shirt Ginny had laid out for him; presumably his stuff had arrived. “It’s too eeeeaaarrrrlyyyyy.”

Ginny only giggled slightly and left to take care of her daughter; making sure she ate breakfast and had her uniform on, which only left Hugo to go back to bed.

Five minutes before they were due to leave, Ginny was tugging her nephew out of bed, bribing him into getting dressed. It seemed nothing would work until…

“The sooner we leave, the sooner we can get back for me to give you the good news.”

That got Hugo up straight away. He was dressed and downstairs in a flash, tugging on his cousin’s arm to get her moving. With one more smile, Ginny led the way out of the house, ushering the children with her.

Hugo was excited. What kind of good news would this be?

loved the chapter
i feel bad for hermione though

i loved this chapter...Zoe...i feel so bad for Mione and Ron...and Hugo,Hugo is just this little cute but slightly different guy...love it...waiting for more...

Hey Zoe! Pst... PSTTTTT...
You got nominated for Best Character Story. Just a heads up.