Using the prompt 62. Flag
Also written for the Greek Mythology Competition (Perseus: write about somebody going out of their way to help others)
Summary: In a friendly, family game, Hugo reveals a secret Rose has been trying to keep for six months
Capture the Flag
"Alright, mate, so the deal is – you distract your sister, and I'll go for your mother. We'll lure them out of their secure area, and then we'll send James in to grab the flag. Right?"
Grinning, Hugo nodded. "But, how can I distract her? She'll know. She's not stupid."
Ron frowned, looking over at where the women stood, fighting off another attack from Bill, who was attempting to Accio it despite protective spells placed over the red flag. "Hm, what makes her really distracted at school?"
Hugo raised an eyebrow. "Rose, unfocused?"
"Alright, alright. Well, I've got your mother. I've got a plan for her. You'll think of something." Ron clapped his son on the back and then called James over. "Alright, we have a plan." He proceeded to explain the plan to his nephew.
"On three?" Hugo asked, and the others nodded.
"One."
"Two."
"THREE!" Ron ran forward, Hugo and James close behind. Ron ran for Hermione, who was in a friendly battle with Bill, while Hugo went at Rose, who was extremely protective of the flag she'd been given charge to guard.
"Hey, Rosie!" Hugo called. As expected, Rose ignored him. "Hey, Rosie! I have a message for you!"
Rose only glared at him, folding her arms across her chest.
Hugo glanced over at where his dad now had his mother in an embrace – that she was trying to get away from. He grinned, turning back to his sister. "The message is important."
"Nice try," Rose said. "I can see James sneaking up, by the way."
James froze.
"No, but this is important," Hugo continued. He watched from the corner of his eye as his parents drew slightly nearer to them. "I received an owl. It's from Scorpius Malfoy."
The colour drained from Rose's face immediately. Her eyes darted frantically from Hugo, to Hermione, and then to Ron. Sensing they hadn't heard, Rose lunged at her brother, grabbing a fistful of his shirt. "Shut it!" she hissed.
Hugo grinned at her, ripping himself away from her grip. "Why? Are you scared Mum and Dad will FIND OUT YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH SCOR-"
Rose's hands clamped firmly around Hugo's mouth. "Shut up!" she said.
Hugo's shouting, however, had distracted Hermione and Ron – and a few others of the Weasley clan nearby. Rose's face had gone from a milky white to a sunburn red. Hugo struggled under her hold, before finally fighting free, gasping.
"Way to suffocate me," he said, pushing her hand away entirely.
"Well, you need to learnt to shut up!" she seethed. She then looked at the others, watching her. "Hugo's just trying to distract me," she said. "Making up stories so –"
"James can capture the flag."
Everyone spun, their eyes falling on James. He held the red flag in his hands, lifting it up and grinning.
"That is so not fair!" Rose cried, but Hugo, Ron, James and Bill cheered, running over to hi-five him. "Mum! That's not fair!"
Hermione only smiled. "The rules were only we couldn't use magic to get the flag," she said. "There was nothing about using… other tactics to capture it."
Rose's eyes narrowed. "There should have been."
"Clearly Hugo knows you better than we do," Hermione then said, and Rose blushed. "In love?"
"That was… justhimbeingstupid." She turned away from her mother's raised eyebrow and shot a filthy look towards Hugo. He smiled politely back. She was going to kill him.
…
"Ah, that was a fun game." Ron leaned back in the armchair, sticking his feet up on the coffee table, only to have them batted away by Molly. "I didn't even see James sneak up there, and that's what I told him to do."
"So you're taking credit?" Bill asked.
"Well, it was my idea that gave us the win. What's that now? Five wins to us blokes, and three to the girls? I mean, Hugo did play a role in distracting his sister, but it was definitely my idea for him to do that."
Hermione and Ginny, who were sitting on the other side of the living room each shook their head in turn.
"It's like he's won the world championships," Ginny said in a mock whisper.
"Hey, if it were, I think we'd be a great team!" Ron shot back at her.
"And Rose's personal life had to suffer because you wanted to win so badly," Hermione said.
Ron waved her away. "That was Hugo just embarrassing her. Rosie's not into dating yet."
At that, no one said anything, and Ron sat straighter in the armchair. "She's not, right?"
"She's sixteen," Hermione said.
"So? I mean, you and I didn't –"
"Ron!"
"What? I was just going to say you and I didn't even kiss until we were eighteen." When Hermione said nothing, he added, "What I'm trying to say is, sixteen is so young."
"When you were sixteen, did you find it young?" Ginny asked. "From what I remember, you were pining after your now-wife like a love sick puppy, and snogging Lavender Brown as compensation."
"Was not!" Ron argued.
"Were too."
"Not the point!" Ron said. "The point is; Rosie has no love interest. If she did, I'd know about it." He folded his arms across his chest.
Everyone else in the room was highly amused by his bold statement, and this time Ginny leaned in to Hermione, really whispering, "Five Galleons it's Malfoy's kid. Five more that he'll be in denial about it all."
Hermione smiled, looking back at Ron, who was now in a conversation with Bill about the latest Quidditch round. "I have no doubt," she said.
…
"Back to school." Ron looked sceptically around Diagon Alley, stepping out of the way as two kids ran past him, shouting. "What a horrible time to be here," he grumbled.
"Let's go and get your books," Hermione said. "Always good to get those first."
"I personally enjoyed the Quiddich supplies," Ron said, and Hugo and Rose grinned.
"Can I have the money for it?" Rose then asked.
"Pretty sure we pay for it every year," Ron said.
"No, I mean –" Rose's face was pink now, " – I mean so I can get them later. I promised to meet someone at… midday." Her pink had changed to a bright red.
"Oh, really?" Ron asked. "And who?"
"Just… a friend," Rose said.
"A girl friend or a boy friend?"
"Just… a friend."
"I don't know if I like the idea of you going off and meeting someone we don't know, Rosie."
Rose turned to Hermione, seeking the support that usually came with her. This time, however, Hermione shook her head. "We're not prying, Rose," she said. "But your father is right. We'd like to know."
Sensing defeat, Rose deflated.
"I can tell them," Hugo perked up.
"Shove off." Rose pushed him, causing her brother to stumble.
"We don't have a problem with you meeting friends, Rose," Hermione said. "We just need to know where you'll be and who you'll be with."
"Alright," Rose said, becoming suddenly interested in the ground. "Alright, it's Jasmine."
"The girl you constantly tell us you hate so much?" Ron asked.
Hugo sniggered.
"Rose?" Hermione said.
"Fine!" Rose cried. "Fine! I don't want to tell you, because I know you'll hate it. But if you must know, it's Scorpius. He and I have been dating for about six months now, and I swore everyone to secrecy, because I know how much you all hate Malfoys, but he's really sweet. I like him, alright. I really like him."
A moment of silence fell over the family of four, before Hermione passed over ten Galleons. "Where will you be meeting him?" she asked.
"The ice-cream parlour," Rose mumbled.
"Well, we will be heading to the bookshop. We will come to get you when we have finished with our supplies. Make sure you buy everything afterwards."
Still not meeting their eyes, Rose nodded and then hurried off in the direction they'd come from.
"Well," Ron said. "That was unexpected."
"Was it?" Hermione asked as they set off for the Flourish and Blotts.
"I dunno. I guess."
"She'll be alright," Hermione said.
"Honestly, Malfoy's kid really isn't that bad, but still… could have picked a better one, don't you think?"
Hermione smiled at him as he threw an arm across her shoulders. "I think she's the best judge of that," she said.
"Don't you go dating anyone anytime soon," Ron said to Hugo. "I won't lose both of you to others."
Hugo only blushed, hurrying ahead of them. Ron grinned as Hermione shook her head at him.
…
"So, did you snog him?" Hugo asked Rose, keeping his voice low to avoid the ears of their parents.
"Shut up," Rose said, her face turning the traditional shade of Weasley red.
Hugo grinned. "You did, didn't you?"
"I said shut up!"
"Rose and Scorpius, sitting in a tree –"
"I will hex you!" Rose warned.
Hugo grinned. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me, Rosie." He patted her on the shoulder, which she brushed away. "If you'd like, I'll even help you have more secret meetings with him."
Rose turned to him. "Why would you help me?"
Hugo's grin broadened. "Well, while you were gone, I, for once, had Mum and Dad's attention. When you're not there being a busy-body, they don't have to worry about you and they actually think I'm cool."
This didn't seem to please Rose. "So… they weren't worried?"
Hugo shrugged.
"Not about it being a Malfoy?"
Hugo shrugged again, which appeared to disappoint his sister.
"I thought they'd be furious."
"They're not as against Malfoys as you think," Hugo said. "Dad even said he knows Scorpius is a decent bloke – he still wishes you'd pick someone else, though."
"Ha." Rose looked ahead, where their parents had stopped to peer into a magical furniture shop. "Well, there you go."
Hugo clapped his sister on the back. "Still, I'll help you sneak out and stuff. You deserve to be happy, Rosie."
Grinning, Rose gave him a playful shove. "You just want me out of the picture."
"And you want to snog your boyfriend more. It's a win-win, right?"
Rose smiled, throwing an arm across his shoulders. "You know what – times like this I'm actually glad you're my brother."
"And the other times?"
"You're an annoying little twerp."
Alright, so I loosely used the Greek mythology prompt, because Hugo didn't exactly 'go out of his way' to help Rose. He saw a gain for himself, but I also like to think he somewhat cares for her happiness! Thank you to Amber (Cheeky Slytherin Lass) for giving me the idea of the flag part. I was stuck!
Also, I want to say a big thank you to everyone who has left reviews so far. I suck at replying personally to reviews, so here is my thank you. They have been extremely encouraging and I'm glad you're all enjoying this collection :)
