Show Me the Stars
They started when he was fourteen. The feelings, that is. Whenever he'd surround himself with the male friends of his cousins, he'd start to feel that tingling sensation of attraction. As though he actually liked men in the way that his cousins liked women.
It was wrong. That was the only conclusion he could possibly come to at such a young age. No one ever talked about this sort of thing, so it must be very, very wrong. So he had to bury the feelings. He had to pretend they didn't exist.
And he might have been successful, too, if it weren't for the son of an old family friend: Frank Longbottom Jr. As the child of the infamous Neville Longbottom - and their very own Herbology professor - Frank was confident, introverted, and blatantly honest, and that was why Hugo was so afraid when Frank turned his sights on him.
"Hugo! Hugo Weasley, how are you doing?" the older boy asked him one December morning as he clapped his hand on the fourth year's back.
"Fine," Hugo said, blushing slightly as he set down his goblet. "Are you looking for Matthew? Because he just left-"
"Oh, no," Frank said with a small laugh as he sat down at the Hufflepuff table in the Great Hall beside Hugo. "I don't really care where my brother is. I just came to see you."
Hugo choked. "M-me? Why?"
"I wanted to see how you were holding up. Matthew says you're feeling nervous about your end of the term Herbology final?" he asked, his head cocked to the side.
Hugo's brow furrowed. "Oh. Well, y-yeah. Yeah, I am."
"Well, geez, then! You should have asked me," Frank said with a laugh as he leaned in closer to the young Weasley. "I mean, what with my dad, and all, Herbology sort of runs in my blood. I can help you."
"Oh, no that's okay-" Hugo began to protest.
But Frank wouldn't hear of it. "Nonsense. It's no problem. Anything to help out my brother's friend," he said with a wink. Hugo was taken aback by that. Why had Frank winked at him? Before he could really contemplate it, though, the seventh year stood. "Meet me by the lake tomorrow at noon. By the time I'm done with you, you'll be an expert."
Hugo couldn't be sure, but the soft smirk on Franks' face made him believe that the older boy had another meaning behind his words...
"What's this?" Frank asked as he pointed to a colorful flower buried in the snow by the lake.
Hugo bit his lip. "Uh..."
"Think, Hugo," Frank said gently. He laid a hand on the younger boy's arm. "This will probably be on your exam. Trust me, I know my father. He loves these sorts of plants."
Hugo pulled away from him as quickly as he could before he furrowed his brow and questioned, "What sort of plants?"
"Crossbreeds," Frank explained. He knelt down beside the bright blue plant and gently ran his fingers over the petals. "He loves crossbreeds. It has something to do with the ingenuity behind making them." He looked at the younger boy. "Still don't know what it is?"
Hugo shook his head. "No."
Frank stood. "It's a Medusa Phlox. The deadly Medusa fern was bred with the North American Phlox flower in order to create a magical plant that is deadly only to dementors."
Hugo's eyes widened. "That exists?"
Frank let out a laugh. "Of course it does. Surely you've heard the stories of the Second War? With our parents? They had a big dementor problem in that final battle. And now that the dementors are no longer sequestered in Azkaban... the school wanted some extra protection. So my dad bred the Medusa Phlox."
"Oh. Wow, that's impressive."
Frank rolled his eyes. "Oh, don't let him hear you say that. He could go on for hours and hours about this sort of thing. Then he'll get you a hundred books on plants for Christmas." Frank shook his head, but a small smile was on his face. "I love my dad, but a five year old really doesn't want books on water plants for the holidays. I always just wanted a cat."
Hugo couldn't help but smile. "Did you ever get one?"
"No," Frank said with a laugh. "My mother is allergic. They bought me turtle instead."
"A turtle?"
"Yeah, well, Mum was going to get me a toad, but my dad put his foot down on that one. He apparently had some trouble finding his own back in the day. I think his rationale was that I couldn't possibly lose a turtle, what with how slowly they move."
"That's valid," Hugo said as he tilted his head to the side, considering. "I... I always wanted to see the stars on Christmas Eve. That's never happened; it's always so overcast in the winter... But just once, I'd like to be able to see the stars. Just once."
"Yeah," Frank said slowly. He looked away as his focus drifted off. "That would be nice..."
"Oh, hey! The Longbottoms are here!" Harry shouted from the entrance of Grimmauld Place. It was Christmas Eve, and the Weasley family plus the Longbottoms and the Scammanders were together to celebrate the holiday. "Come and say hello!"
He really needn't have said that, however, because as soon as he stepped into the house, Frank made a beeline for Hugo. "Hey," he said, clapping the fourth year on the back. "How did you do on the Herbology final?"
Hugo shrugged as his heart rate suddenly picked. He tried to ignore the feeling. "Pretty good, I think. You were right. The Medusa Phlox was on the test."
Frank grinned. "Told you." He nodded his head towards the front hallway, where his family had just vacated in favor of the library. "Would you mind stepping outside with me for a moment? There's something I want to show you."
"Oh." His face began to flush. "Uh..."
"Don't worry," Frank said quickly. "It will really only take a second. I promise."
"A-all right, then," he muttered with downcast eyes. He followed after Frank as the sandy-haired boy opened the front door and pulled him through it. He shut the door behind him. "W-what are-"
"I know it's cold out here," Frank said with a grin, "so I'll make it quick. Merry Christmas, Hugo," he said as he pulled out his wand. With a wave, the clouds above their heads began to part, and suddenly Hugo could see the stars.
"Oh, my..." he whispered, as he watched them shine above him. "That's... that's amazing."
"The spell will only last for a few more minutes," Frank said as he watched a grin blossom onto the younger boy's face. "Enjoy."
"That's... beautiful," he said softly. The pure brightness of the stars shone against the black night, and he couldn't help but wish that he could see them everyday. They were magnificent and full of hope, and-
All thoughts were wiped from his mind as Frank pressed his lips against his own.
The kiss was short and for that Hugo was grateful, because as Frank pulled back, all Hugo could do was sputter up at the older boy. "W-what... what the hell did you do that for?"
"Because I like you," Frank said simply with a small smile.
"I-I... I don't l-like you!" Hugo stuttered as his cheeks flushed red. "I like girls!"
But Franks just shook his head, his eyes happy, and he reached out to brush a strand of hair away from Hugo's eyes. "Yeah, I used to lie to myself too. Don't worry. It'll pass." He opened the front door and turned back to the younger boy with a wide grin. "Enjoy the rest of the stars," he said, before he winked and stepped back into the house, shutting the door behind him.
As Hugo looked back at the beautiful, twinkling beings in the sky, he could only hope that maybe, maybe Frank was right.
This was written for the Hogwarts Games: Breaststroke 1000. It was also written for the Pairing Diversity Boot Camp with the prompt "phlox," the HeadCanon Boot Camp with the prompt "geez," and for the Christmas Holiday Boot Camp with the prompt "star." Please review it and tell me what you think! I'd love some criticism. Thanks!
Cheers!
-Selene