Warning: I do not own Harry Potter nor do I make any money.
Second Place
Hugo had long ago accepted that he would never outshine any of his cousins, nor would he ever be something special amidst their ranks. For no matter what he did, there was always someone doing it first. Even Lily Luna had managed to be someone special -seeing as she had been born two days after him, making her the youngest.
And though he accepted it, he never liked it. Especially times like these, when he felt ignored by his mum who was chatting with his sister with such animation, even though they were picking him up from Kings Cross for the Christmas holidays. He stood there and just watched them, the temper he inherited from his mum starting to seethe below the surface. Hugo wanted to wave his arms at the two of them and yell -
"Look at me. I got ten OWLS too, just like Rose."
But he didn't. He never did.
He hadn't when he became the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain as a fifth year, because Al had done the same thing two years early for Slytherin. Hell, no one had even noticed when he made the Quidditch team as a second year, because James had done that before him as had Fred and Roxie. He didn't even mention his prefect letter to his family because Victoire, Louis, Al, and Rose had all been a prefect before him; nor had he whispered a word when he became Head Boy because Al and Louis had beat him to that too. Even him serving as both Head Boy and a house Quidditch Captain didn't cause his family to notice him for Al had already done that.
As he rattled through the list of accomplishments his cousins and sibling had already achieved before him, he realised that there was one person he was selling short in his family's compulsion to ignore him - his dad. The man had always managed to see him, Hugo, when the world looked through him; just like now as he tried to get a word in with his mum and sister and tell them he was going to dad's and would see them tomorrow.
He wasn't sure they noticed him as he walked to the Floo point. As he walked, his mind drifted to the whys his father was different: why his dad actually saw him; why he always mattered to his dad; why his dad never compared him to his sister or any of the other cousins; why his dad always recognised his accomplishments with praise and warmth; and why it felt like most days that all his dad ever wanted was him to be happy regardless of what he did or didn't do.
The only thing that came to Hugo's mind was that his dad understood. Just like he was surrounded by people who did it first, or faster, or better, his dad was no different: from his best friend and ex-wife to his uncles and aunts. His dad who everyone in the family depended on for his consistency and loyalty was often the first one they forget. Hugo realised that even he got more recognition from his family than his dad did.
That thought poured fuel onto his temper, threatening for it to explode just like his mum's when someone was wronged; that he was just as guilty of ignoring his dad -taking him for granted- but he couldn't figure out why it never bothered his dad. His dad never complained, never said anything, never sulked as Hugo did. If anyone had the right to scream - 'Look at me. Appreciate me.' - it was his dad.
Stepping through the Floo, his mouth already open as his dad's sitting room came into view; however, no sound came out as he realised his dad wasn't alone. For there on the sofa laid his sister's best friend Scorpius wrapped around his dad; both of them sound asleep. It wasn't the shear shock of seeing the two men curled up around each other - especially given that this was the first clue that his dad had finally started dating again after the divorce- but it hadn't hurt either. What had shocked Hugo into silence was the look on Scorpius' slumbering face as it laid tucked up next to his dad's neck -the look of complete and open adoration.
Tip-toeing towards the stairs around the back of the sofa, Hugo swore to himself that he could live with second place only if he could find someone who looked at him the way Scorpius looked at his dad. That look of adoration could erase the lifetime of hurt he had felt at the hands of his family, Hugo was sure of it.
He could see it in his dad's smile.