After a chat with his Uncle Charlie, Hugo begins to realize that being a "typical Weasley" isn't quite as bad as he once thought.
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He glanced down at the gold badge in his hand, knowing that he should be happy, but unable to deny the heavy feeling in his chest.
Although he had moved to solitude of the front garden he could still hear the distant chatter and laughter of his relatives as they continued their celebration in the Burrow's large backyard. A part of him wished that he could join them- he was, after all, this evening's guest of honour- but Hugo knew that his heart simply wasn't in it.
He had (he hoped) put on a good show during dinner- smiling, thanking his family for their well wishes and small tokens of congratulations- but the charade had robbed him of much of his energy, and all he wanted now was some time alone. Once the plates had been cleared, and the inevitable family Quidditch match had begun, he had slipped through the house and out onto the blissfully quiet front lawn. Surprisingly, nearly a half hour had passed without a family member coming to disturb him (something that was quite the feat when one considered the large size of Hugo's extended clan). For that, he was thankful.
A crisp breeze brushed past, ruffling his hair and soothing his nearly sunburnt skin. He had spent too much time outside today, and he knew that he was probably even more ridiculously freckled then he had been before. It was just one of the many facets of the Weasley curse and Hugo, it seemed, had received the full brunt of it.
Sighing, he looked up to watch the wind rustle the leaves of his grandparent's large oak tree; the sun was setting quickly, casting an orange glow on the tree which was now showing the first signs of autumn.
Only three days left, he thought sombrely, school was starting soon.
As always, the thought left him with mixed feelings. It wasn't that he didn't like school- he did and (much to the ire of his sister and cousins) he excelled in his classes with minimal effort- but school had always felt so...crowded...to him. At home, he could keep to himself and easily enjoy an afternoon doing whatever he pleased without anyone to watch or judge. While at Hogwarts, however, it was nearly impossible to escape the penetrating gazes of his family, professors and peers. Perhaps he was crazy, but he often felt as if he was being watched- as if everyone was waiting for him to do something extraordinary- and he doubted that he would ever be able to live up to their expectations.
He was just Hugo.
Smart, but not brilliant.
Good, but not amazing.
No matter what anyone said, he rarely felt more then mediocre and he knew that he would never set himself apart from his large and heroic family. There was nothing he could do that they hadn't done before.
The sound of a snapping twig and the rustling of leaves provided a sudden distraction and the young man looked towards the source of the noise. In the growing darkness, he could make out a male figure coming towards him but it took several seconds before he realized who it was.
"Ah, there you are." Uncle Charlie stated as he approached his nephew. "I was wondering where you had gone off to." He paused, his warm smile fading as he noticed the boy's stoic expression. "Is everything alright?"
Hugo shrugged, thankful that it had been his Uncle rather than his father that had found him (he really wasn't in the mood for one of his dads pep talks), but still disappointed that he had been located. It was only a matter of time before he was dragged back into the fray. He'd have to plaster on a smile again, and would probably be forced to join the family Quidditch match (playing keeper, of course, no matter how much he might protest).
"I'm fine."
Charlie raised a red brow, apparently unconvinced, as he sat himself on the grass next to the younger Weasley. Apparently, he had no intention of leaving his nephew alone, and the boy could see his eyes flicker towards the gold badge in Hugo's hand.
" Not happy about being made a prefect?" Charlie asked after a moment of silence had passed between them.
Hugo felt a small smile tug at the corner of his mouth. He liked that Uncle Charlie got always straight to the point.
The fifteen year old shrugged again. "Nah, I'm fine with it." He replied. "I just..." He hesitated, wondering if he really wanted to open up. If it had been anyone but Charlie, he probably would have brushed the matter off and offered to rejoin the party, but he had always found it easy to talk to his second oldest Uncle. Perhaps because Charlie had always had an uncanny ability to guess what was bothering him, and was a better listener then many of his other family members.
"I just don't see what all the fuss is about, I suppose." The young man continued. "I didn't need a party, and it isn't like getting a prefect badge is anything special. I am hardly the first Weasley to be made prefect, and I won't be the last."
There was a pause.
"I suppose that is true."
Hugo gave another small smirk. Everyone else would have told him that it was a big deal, and that he was special in his own way and should be proud. He had heard it all before (his mother and grandmother were particularly notorious for such sentimental comments).
"But you know what your grandmum is like." Charlie said, plucking a few strands of grass from the lawn and releasing them into the wind. "She loves getting everyone together, and loves a good celebration. Even if you're not too enthused about it, everyone is happy for you."
Hugo gave a small chuckle. "Yeah, I know." He agreed. "Mum was thrilled when I got the letter. She went on and on about how happy she was, and flooed dad at work right away. And of course he was thrilled too, and told me I was doing the family proud, adding to a long line of Weasley prefects and all that."
His tone darkened as he spoke, and he could feel Uncle Charlie's unwavering gaze.
There was a longer pause this time.
"This is about more than just the prefect badge, isn't it?"
Hugo hesitated, marvelling at how well his uncle could read into his words. He was right, of course, as he always was.
"I guess."
Charlie smiled knowingly and released a sigh as he leaned back against the large tree behind them. They could hear the sound of cheers in the background- probably indicating that someone had scored a goal, or even caught the snitch, in the family match. Hugo felt like he was a world away.
"You're not going to want to hear this." Charlie began, redirecting his attention to their secluded spot in the front yard. "But I think you're going through the inevitable Wesley growing pains."
Hugo gave his uncle a perplexed look.
"You feel like you're just one of many, am I right?" The older man continued with a small knowing smile. "That everyone around you has already achieved so much, and that you'll never live up to, no matter what you do."
He was spot on, and Hugo could not mask the hint of surprise on his face.
"Trust me mate, I know the feeling. We all do. I know Bill and I were both worried about starting off at Hogwarts, and living up to the family name. And Percy and the twins tried their best to distinguish themselves from the crowd in their school days, albeit in very different ways. " Charlie gave another small smile. "I remember talking to your dad after he received his Hogwarts letter, he was even more worried than the rest of us about living up to expectations, and Ginny had her share of Weasley angst as well- though to a lesser extent, I suppose, being the first girl in generations and all." He paused. "Point being, we've all been there and I don't think it is something that can be avoided when you come from a family as large as ours."
Hugo nodded slowly. It might not have been what he wanted to hear (even his fears and doubts, it seemed, did not set him apart from the rest of the Weasley clan), but he knew that his Uncle was right. Charlie was never one to sugar-coat things.
There was, however, still more to be said.
" I suppose you're right." Hugo conceded. "And dad has talked about that a few times as well. But..." He hesitated. "Well, sometimes it feels like I am the only one in my generation who is really stuck in the traditional Weasley mould."
Charlie did not reply and Hugo decided that further elaboration was necessary.
"I mean, it seems like everyone else- my sister and cousins- has managed to break away from that. Rose is in Ravenclaw, and so are Al, Lucy and Louis. And Dom is in Hufflepuff. Fred, Roxanne, Victoire, and Molly all managed to escape the Weasley hair and freckles, and Lily and James are technically Potters, so they don't get the 'upholding the Weasley name' pressure to the same degree."
He paused and glanced down at his freckled hands with distain. "Then there is me. With Weasley red hair, more freckles then anyone could possibly want, and- as I am reminded nearly every time I go out in public- I am the spitting image of my dad. And of course I had to be put in Gryffindor as well- the sorting hat took a grand total of three seconds to decide that- all it said was "Ah, a Weasley," as if that was all it needed to know, and then shouted out my fate. I mean honestly, so many of the others got sorted differently, even if they were Weasley's too. But in my case, nothing else seemed to matter. "
Hugo trailed off for a moment and drew a deep breath to steady himself. He did have great affection for his house, of course, but he had always wished that the hat had placed him there for a deeper reason. It was a sore point for him, and one which he rarely discussed. He felt a bit silly for letting his thoughts flow out of him like this, but it felt good to let out all that had been bothering him. He was the sort of person that usually kept things inside, and not even his parents knew the full extent of his worries.
"So I guess that makes me feel like I have a lot to live up to- I mean, we all want to do the family proud of course- but I feel like I am always being watched. Everyone knows right away that I'm a Weasley, and sometimes it seems like people are waiting for me to live up to my dad and my aunt and my uncles. Now I've made prefect too." He finished with another glance at the gold badge. "Like you, and dad, and Uncle Percy and Uncle Bill and grandmum and granddad. Which is lovely and all...but is also another thing I can add to my list of typical Weasley characteristics."
There was a long pause, and Hugo stole a nervous glance at his uncle, worried that he had said something to offend the older man. He loved his family dearly, and he meant no genuine disrespect, but he could not deny that things sometimes got to him. Or that he sometimes wished he could break away.
Thankfully, Charlie looked thoughtful rather than upset or annoyed. He doubted that other family members would have taken his rant so calmly.
Finally, the silence was broken.
"You're right Hugh." Charlie said with a slight nod, placing a comforting hand on his nephews shoulder. "You did seem to inherit most of the typical Weasley behaviours and traits."
Hugo felt vindicated.
"But-" His uncle began again. "I wonder if it is quite as bad as you seem to think."
"I don't mean to offend any-" the boy cut in hurriedly, but his uncle cut him off before he could finish.
"I don't mean it in that way." Charlie explained with a warm smile. "What I am hearing from you is that you feel like your sisters and cousins have set themselves apart from the older generation by being noticeably different in some way, and you feel like you have been unable to do that and thus simply blend into the crowd."
Hugo nodded.
"Well, from my perspective," the older wizard continued "You are set apart from everyone else, without even knowing or trying." He paused before elaborating. "Is being Weasleyist Weasley in your generation really such a bad claim to fame?"
The boy hesitated. "Well...I..."
That was certainly a new way of looking at things. Charlie was right- as strange as it sounded, being typical did make him stand out. More than he probably realized.
Leave it to Charlie to make such an astute observation.
"Think about it, yeah?" Charlie said with a wise glint in his brown eyes.
There was a hint of finality in his tone and, moments later, the man hoisted himself off of the grass.
The conversation, it seemed, was over as abruptly as it had begun. Hugo liked that his uncle didn't tend to dwell on things for longer than necessary, and he too felt that the time was right for a change of scenery.
He suddenly felt much better than he had a few minutes ago.
"So, what do you say- shall we join the match? I am sure Bill's team could use you as their keeper- they have Victoire doing it right now, but she was hesitant, to say the least."
Hugo smiled. His oldest cousin was certainly not the athletic type, and it was rare for her to be roped into a family match. She would be thrilled to see him, he was sure.
"Sure." The boy replied, standing up to join his uncle. He could use a good fly right now, and the thought of playing keeper didn't fill him with the hesitation it usually did. There was no denying that he was good at it- better than his dad even- and, if he was being honest, he had to admit that it was his favourite position to play. "I can't resist a good Quidditch match."
His uncle gave him a good natured slap on the back. "Good man." He said, flashing him a wide smile. "A true Weasley through and through."
Despite himself, Hugo smiled as he walked towards the back of the house with Charlie at his side. Stowing his new prefect badge safely in his pocket, Hugo held his head high as he caught sight of the rest of his family. Laughter and conversation still filled the yard, and several relatives called out to him as they approached.
"There you are Hugh!"
"The team needs you son, Vicky doesn't want to play anymore and we're down 70 points."
"...but you have to try one of Grandmum's strawberry tarts first. They're amazing."
Perhaps it was chaotic, and even a bit tiresome at times, but Hugo knew that his uncle was right; he would always be a Weasley through and through...and he wouldn't really want it any other way.
Yes, there were definitely worse claims to fame.
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A/N Just a random one shot I felt like writing. The world needs more Hugo stories. I will be thrilled to hear what you thought, good or bad!