Chapter four – Hugo's breakdown

He was late.

Lily was at The Burrow, one day after Hugo's letter. She was so worried. They had settled to meet at 2 p.m.

Almost an hour later, he hadn't shown up yet. Lily was at the living looking at the fireplace, just waiting for him to arrive. She was going out of her mind waiting.

"You hungry, sweetie?"

Molly was standing beside her with a piece of Cauldron Cake. Lily only shook her head. Thinking about food right now only made her nauseous.

Her grandmother eyed her sympathetically. "He will be arriving soon, dear. Don't worry about it."

"He's really late, Granny," Lily said to her. "And he said it was urgent."

She cuddled my head. "Why don't you get the cake? Get distracted. Maybe you'll feel better."

Lily didn't believe she would feel better, but she got the cake just to please Granny. She wasn't feeling well enough to eat. She felt sick only by looking at the piece of cake.

Then Uncle Ron and his son stepped out of the fireplace without warning. Lily dropped the cake. Her heart actually jumped against my chest when she stood up.

Both of them seemed miserable, especially Hugo. Lily's best friend and cousin looked pale, and he had big bags under his eyes.

Lily grabbed him for a hug immediately. To her relief, he held her right back. But not so tightly, like he didn't have the strength to do so.

"Hey, son," said Uncle Ron when Granny joined them. "Why don't you go inside with your grandmother? I want a word with your cousin here."

Hugo nodded vaguely. Molly embraced him and both of them went to the kitchen.

"Sorry we were late," Ron apologized. "Hugo didn't want to get out of bed."

Those words hurt. "Oh, uncle, what happened to him?"

He grabbed his niece's shoulder kindly. "He's just worried about his mother. We all are, really, but your cousin… well. He's more." He sighed. "Help him Lily. Hugo doesn't eat, he doesn't sleep and he doesn't talk to anybody. You're the only person who can help him. You're the only one he listens to. Please. You're his only chance."

Lily had never seen her uncle so nervous. He was a funny and relaxed person. Now, seeing him so worried about his son, made Lily see what was happening was serious.

"Don't worry, uncle," she assured with determination. "Hugo will get better. That's a promise."

He sighed in relief. "Thank you, sweetie. I hope you succeed."

And he Disapparated.

When Lily entered the kitchen of The Burrow, she saw Molly hadn't had any progress with Hugo. She had made him sit down and was now offering food to him. The table was covered with most of all food there was in the house.

"Sweetheart, I have Edible Dark Marks!" Granny said, shaking the sweets in front of him. "They're your favorite sweets. Please, take some."

Hugo simply shook his head.

Molly exchanged looks with Lily, not knowing what to do. Lily nodded, showing that she leave him to her.

She looked at her granddaughter proudly and left the kitchen.

Lily pulled a chair and sat in front of Hugo, studying his face carefully. "Hugs?"

He looked up. Although he was looking at her, his eyes blurry and unfocused, like he was seeing right through her.

"Hugs, it's me, Lils." His eyes seemed to focus bit by bit when he heard her voice. "Mate, seeing you like this hurts me. Don't shut down. Talking about your feelings is the only way you can get better. If you keep all this for yourself, we may lose you forever. Please, talk to me. Tell me everything that's wrong."

Hugo's eyes focused for the first time. Then, he did his best to give out a pained smile. "I'm a mess, aren't I?"

Lily laughed, feeling extremely relieved. She had been thinking of giving him an Elixir to Introduce Euphoria as a last resource, but he was talking. It wasn't over. She knew he'd do it. "You're not a mess, silly."

He smiled a little bit. "I'm sorry about this, Lils. I didn't want you to worry."

I smiled back. "There's nothing to be sorry about. I always worry. That's what I'm here for, right? Talk to me, mate."

She'd known Hugo for fifteen years. Lily knew he wasn't very good in explaining emotions. He was very reserved, so this explained his reaction to all of this. But he needed to talk this time.

It took him a long time to organize his thoughts. "I think when I was told about The Big Funnel was when everything started. I just collapsed. When I thought about what could've happened to Mum if she was at Diagon Alley during The Big Funnel…" He shivered. "And I couldn't stop thinking about it, so I got more and more worried. And yesterday they told us about the thing with Muggles, and I became hopeless. I could see I was making everyone worried and stressed, and I was feeling really bad about it. I wished I could just stop being sad and just come back to normal. But it's not so simple. Even if I tried hard, I couldn't get better, and I think this made me even more worried, if that is possible.

"So everyone at home was desperate, they didn't know what to do. But I knew someone who hadn't tried yet, and who definitely would make real progress. You. That was when I sent you that letter. Mum and Dad got so happy when they found out I had communicated with someone, even if it was by letter."

Lily hugged him, harder this time. He was able to really return the hug.

Granny was so happy with Hugo's progress that she cooked the greatest meal in history of meals for dinner. The best was that Hugo was really eating, probably for the first time in a long time. Lily could see how the color slowly came back to his face.

After that, they went upstairs, to where once was Hugo's father's room, to let him sleep for a few hours.

To Lily's relief, Hugo didn't complain. He seemed exhausted, as if he hadn't slept in days. He pulled his blankets all the way to his neck, until only his head was visible.

Lily sat on the edge of his bed. "How are you feeling? Are you fed up enough? Are you dizzy or anything?"

"I'm fine," Hugo said. "Thank you for everything."

"Like I said, that's what I'm here for."

He bit his lip. "Before I sleep… I need to tell you something."

Lily was surprised. He seemed serious. "Don't say anything that might upset you again."

"Don't worry about it, I have to tell you." He pulled off his blankets and sat down. "I don't think Mum and Dad were going to tell me, or Rose, about this. But I kind of overheard it. This thing with the Muggle-borns... You know my Mum works at the Ministry, at Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Well, they didn't discover her so quickly, because Dad is a pure-blood. But now some people are starting to realize it, and they are trying to ban her."

Lily gasped. "They can't."

"Now it's not so much of a threat," Hugo said. "But I think more people will discover it soon enough. And… I'm just afraid, Lily. What if they put her through things we hear about the previous Muggle-born chase? What if they lock her up in Azkaban?"

Lily was scared to death about that possibility. She didn't want to seem worried in front of Hugo, because it would make him feel worse than he already was. Instead, she decided to tranquilize him. "That's not going to happen, okay? We'll make sure your Mum is safe. I promise you that."

He nodded, yawning. He lay down again, closing his eyes. "Stay here with me until I fall asleep, will you? Please?"

Lily smiled softly. "Of course."

Even asleep, Hugo didn't let Lily rest. He wasn't as deeply asleep as she thought he was. He seemed to be agonizing, probably having a nightmare. There was so much sweat exuding from his face, Lily had to keep drying it with a towel.

Eventually he calmed down, which Lily was relieved to conclude. She still remained in the room, though.

Ron was amazingly happy when he arrived at The Burrow, at 9 p.m., and found his son talking, smiling and seeming strong. Lily wasn't sure how many times he thanked her, but she stopped counting around the twelfth.

"Lily Potter, have you ever thought about being a shrink when you grow up?" asked Uncle, while Granny set up the fireplace

"You know I will be an Auror, Uncle," Lily reminded him. "Just like you and Dad, remember?"

"And you will do it extremely well," he said proudly.

When Lily approached Hugo to say goodbye, she said, "Remember our deal?"

He smiled. "That we exchange letters constantly, telling everything that's happening, and that we visit each other as much as possible. Yes, I remember."

"Good." She punched his shoulder lightly. "Take care, mate."

"I will. Promise."

They hugged once more, and Hugo and his father disappeared into the fireplace.

Lily hadn't told anyone about what Hugo had told her. She'd rather keep it secret, otherwise Hugo would be in trouble. But she knew that was only the beginning of something way bigger.