Author's Note: Written for…
Daily Weird Prompt Challenge. Prompt: "What, are you allergic to fun or something?" / "Yes! I'm allergic to fun!"
All About You Challenge. Prompt: Write about Ottery St. Catchpole
Fill the Calendar Challenge. Prompt: Danny Anthonsen (OC)
Next Gen Competition. Prompt: Hugo sneaks out at night.
Open Category Competition 3. Category: Next-Gen
Hibernation
"Books … check. Robes … check. Cauldron…" Hugo paused in his packing to scan his unusually messy room for the object in question.
Hugo had the reputation of being the most organized Weasley in history – a title which his Uncle Percy oddly took offence to. The only time Hugo didn't live up to his reputation was when he was in the middle of packing for school, at which point he would unload his trunk, clean the entire thing down, and then repack his trunk. It was about a three-day process and he'd never once been met with something as discouraging as a missing cauldron.
Frowning, he settled his clipboard on top of a stack of textbooks and cross the room to his closet. He vividly recalled placing his freshly-scrubbed cauldron on a shelf there after using it to help his mum brew some medicinal potions a few days before. The shelf was empty now.
It took about ten seconds to figure out who had taken it. He could remember the last time he'd seen his dad use a cauldron, and his mum definitely would have asked if she needed a spare. That only left-
"ROSE!"
Hugo ran across the hall and into his sister's bedroom, ignoring the half a dozen signs on the door that insisted he stay out. The room looked like even more of a disaster area than his, but had more to do with Rose being a slob than it did her packing.
Finding the room devoid of his sister, Hugo marched down the stairs and into the kitchen: the only logical place in the house to brew something. And there she was, her red curls flying every which way and clothes splattered with a dark, goopy substance. More importantly, the dark and goopy substance was currently bubbling over the side of his cauldron!
"What are you doing?" he demanded, snatching the ladle from her hand and taking the cauldron off the flame.
"I was trying to make something for my hair," she said grumpily, crossing her arms over her chest. "It's out of control."
Hugo snorted. "Just noticed, have you?"
"It's not funny, Hugo. Mum promised to help me brew something this summer but she's always so busy."
"And you couldn't use your own cauldron because…?"
"Yours works better."
"That's because you don't take care of yours." He headed to the tiny potion cabinet in the corner of the kitchen and retrieved two bottles: one full of a clear liquid and the other a thick grey slime that bubbled in the bottle. Rose wrinkled her nose at the foul smell he'd long grown accustomed to.
"Dump the goop, then clean the cauldron with this," he instructed, holding up the clear liquid. "The grey stuff is polish – which you will use. I want my cauldron sparkling again."
Rose looked ready to argue but one look at the dangerous glint in her brother's eyes and she sighed and accepted the bottles.
Hugo smiled to himself, heading back up to his room. As much as Rose liked to pretend she was in charge, sometimes it was almost too easy to boss her around.
The room was as he'd left it except for the petite blonde girl sprawled on his bed.
"You have the most boring summer plans ever," she told him, reading through his checklist.
He quickly closed the door to muffle their voices. His sister was easily distracted, and if she got wind of them having a guest she'd never get around to cleaning the cauldron.
"Lucy, what are you doing here?" he asked as he closed the window she climbed in through.
"I'm doing my part as your favorite cousin and trying to get you out of the house," she answered, hopping off the bed and holding the window open. "Danny's having a party tonight and we're going."
"No, we're not. Do your parents even know you're here?"
Lucy chuckled. "They're at some stupid Ministry party."
Hugo nodded knowingly. "It's for the summer solstice. Mum and Dad are at it too." He was pretty sure Uncle Harry was forced to attend as well.
"Molly's covering for me, anyway." Hugo liked Molly. She was cool in ways Rose never would be. "Now, come on. I already told Danny I was coming to get you."
"I can't. Rose is downstairs. She's not like Molly; she won't hesitate to tattle."
"Rose has had her head in the clouds ever since she started dating Scorpius. I doubt she'd notice it an erumpant trampled her room."
Hugo still held back, though his resolve was quickly fading. "I still have to pack…"
Lucy groaned loudly, sitting on the window sill and sliding her legs out. "What, are you allergic to fun or something?"
"Yes! I'm allergic to fun!"
She shook her head. "We've been home five days. You have the whole summer to do your weird little ritual."
Hugo conceded then, waiting until his cousin had expertly climbed down the tree outside his window to follow her into the darkness.
Ottery St. Catchpole was beautiful at night. By day it looked old and secluded, but at night the stars came out and if you stood on Nettle's Hill, overlooking the whole village, you could just make out the twinkling lights of the Burrow through the trees. Hugo thought it was even more beautiful than Hogwarts.
The Anthonsens lived three houses down from Lucy. Danny was fifteen, like them, but a muggle. His older brother and sister were magical but it had long been agreed upon that Danny knew more than they did about magic. Hugo liked him for being one of the few people who understood both worlds so well.
Danny greeted them at the back gate, grinning wide when he saw Hugo. "About time you came by. It shouldn't take me throwing a 'Welcome Home' party to see my best friend," he said, ruffling Hugo's reddish brown curls.
"Yeah, sorry. I've been … busy, I guess."
Lucy scoffed as she moved passed them into the house. Danny was smiling too.
"Okay, so I've been dodging you," he admitted, avoiding his friend's eyes and trying to mold his hair back into a reasonable shape. "Sorry."
Danny shrugged. He was used to being ignored, Hugo realized. Worse, he was used to pity. Hugo had been in the latter group for some time, staying cooped up at home for the first week of summer, prompting Danny to come searching for him. He hated how guilty he felt talking about Hogwarts when his best friend couldn't go.
"Whatever," Danny said, swinging an arm around Hugo's shoulders and leading him through the garden gate again and down the small hill the house sat on. "I've been exploring while I waited for you to come out of hibernation. Wanted to show you something."
He pulled a torch out of his pocket and lit the way over the uneven ground. Hugo couldn't help but wince at the harsh light after so many months of using his wand to light his way.
Danny stopped them at the foot of the hill and bent to push back the leaves of a bush, revealing the tiny, glowing berries within.
"I looked through a few of Laurie's herbology books," Danny told him excitedly as Hugo got down on his hands and knees to examine the fruit. "I think they're Summer Pearl berries. They only bloom around the summer solstice."
Hugo nodded, picking a berry and pressing it between his thumb and forefinger to test its firmness. "It looks and feels right. I've never seen one up close though. They're not supposed to grow this far south."
Danny grinned. "I knew you'd be interested. I thought you could show that professor friend of your parents."
"Neville, yeah. He'll think this is cool. Thanks, Danny. You know, you'd make one hell of a herbologist."
"Well, duh. Why do you think I hang out with you? It's not like Laurie and Greg are gonna tell me about class, and there's only so much I can learn from the books." The boy sat cross-legged on the grass by the bush, propping the torch up so it illuminated the area without blinding either of them. "So? Are you going to tell me about school or not?"
"What about the party?" Hugo asked, though he was already making himself comfy on the hard ground.
Danny rolled his eyes. "It's Greg's party. And this is more important, obviously."
Hugo agreed, explaining all the things he'd learned over the year and offering to have Danny over to go through his notebooks.