For the Character Appreciation Challenge (Hugo Weasley)


"Why are you so nervous?" Rose asks as she walks Hugo to the train.

Hugo fumbles with his trunk, his palms slick with sweat. "What if I'm not really a wizard?" he asks. "What if they've made a mistake, and Mum and Dad have to come pick me up, and I don't get to go to Hogwarts?"

"You're being ridiculous."

He guesses that he is. He wouldn't have gotten his letter if he was a Squib. But still, Hogwarts is already intimidating. He isn't cute and popular like Teddy and Victoire. He isn't funny like James and Freddy. He isn't a genius like Rose. He isn't an athlete like Roxanne and Albus. He's just Hugo. Boring, simple Hugo. Nothing special.

"You know what I think?" Rose asks. "I think you're going to go out there and be brilliant. Just you wait."

Hugo swallows dryly. "You sure."

Rose ruffles her little brother's hair. "Of course I'm sure. When have I ever been wrong, Hu?"

"Well, there was that time when we were planning a surprise party for Mum, and you-"

"We don't talk about that," Rose says sharply. "Just… Go. Be brilliant."

"Weasley, Hugo."

Hugo trembles as he approaches. From the Gryffindor table, Rose offers him a reassuring smile. He wonders if she was just as nervous when she was Sorted.

The Hat falls over his head, and he waits, his heart hammering. And then, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

Hugo steps away, a smile on his lips. Right now, he may not be something extraordinary. He hasn't had a chance to make a name for himself. But right now, as the first of the Potter-Weasley children to be Sorted into Hufflepuff, he is his own kind of special.