Chapter Twenty:
Come June I was scared about a lot of things. I was scared about our upcoming Quidditch match against Slytherin. I was scared about Hagrid's deteriorating health. I was scared about Hugo.
He was going, what Mum would call 'off the rails'. The last time I'd seen him, he'd been so drunk I'd actually had to take him to bed and stay there until he got to sleep, putting up with some hurtful remarks about me, Lily, Merlin and Professor MacPhersonis. Even his gang seemed to be edging away from him slightly - not that they'd ever admit it to him, but I was pretty sure that Kurt was now leading the gang more than Hugo. In the Muggle world, at this time I would do what's called 'stage an intervention'. But this wasn't the Muggle world. And I had no idea whatsoever about what to do.
I started by hiding all his drink in the Room of Requirement, covering it well so that when prom rolled around no-one would find the single-malt whisky I'd been forced to dot around the room. Then, on the next scheduled trip to Hogsmeade, I paid a visit to both the Hogs Head and the Three Broomsticks forbidding them to sell Hugo anything stronger than pumpkin juice. And also not to his friends - just in case. After that, there was nothing left I really could do but talk to Hugo. This was the one thing I'd been postponing for ages. Being related to my brother was hard enough - having to have a conversation with him was so much worse. I'd do it on Friday. Saturday. Sunday. Sometime.
Arrangements for the prom were going smoothly. I'd alerted the seventh year to the fact that it was happening, and instructions on how to get into the Room of Requirement. I'd decided, since I hadn't worn it since it had been bought, that I'd wear the cream lace dress I'd bought in Oxford Street. Trouble was, I'd bought a pair of shoes to match - and one had been run over by a big black car. If someone sent me that shoe at Christmas, I must have been saved by someone who goes here. But who? This was a niggling thought in the back of my mind, that was slowly chewing it's way to the front. I couldn't postpone that thought forever, but I had bigger things to trouble myself with. Namely, Hugo.
I put off my chat with him as long as possible, but when Sunday afternoon came, I knew I couldn't wait any longer. I saw Hugo bumbling his way down to Hagrid's. I should have told Hagrid not to supply him with alcohol either.
By the time I caught up with him, the trees that had blurred behind me as I ran still imprinted in my vision, I was panting like a dog.
"Hugo, can I...talk...to you?" I choked, doubling over. Hugo turned around, the smiled wildly.
"Rose! My favourite sister!" he yelled squeezing me tightly in his thin arms. I could smell the stench of alcohol on his breath, and prised him off me.
"Hugo, I'm worried about you," I whispered. Hugo laughed throatily.
"Rosie, why're you worried 'bout me?" Here he poked me hard in the chest. Ouch, Hugo. Really. Ouch. "I'm fine. I've never. Been. Better," he said, solemnly, patting my shoulder with every word. Then he burst out laughing. "I mean, do I look upset 'bout anything to you?" he drawled, teetering on one foot.
Then I realised. He was upset about something. That's why he'd been acting out. Why he'd turned to the bottle.
"Yes, Hugo," I whispered, laying a hand on his shoulder and sitting him down on the ground. "You do look upset about something. It's like Hagrid - he's upset about Olympe, and his drinking's never been worse! I know you, Hugo - I know when you upset. And you're upset now. So please tell me why?" I pleaded with him, gently. Hugo blinked. Once. Twice. Three times.
"I can't stop thinking about her," he whispered, finally. I felt like throwing up. My brother is in love? In love? Eew!
I tried to handle this news as delicately as I could. "Um, who can't you stop thinking about?" I stammered, not really sure I wanted to know the answer.
Hugo looked over his shoulder, his hair tickling his armpits - really, it was nearly as long as mine!
"Katy Bluehalph," he whispered, once sure that no-one else was listening. My eyebrows went so high they probably touched the sun and caught fire - which might explain why they were so red. Katy? Katy Bluehalph?
"What do you like about her?" I asked, quietly. Hugo laughed, his breath leaching onto my freshly washed face.
"What not to like? Her hair...it's really dark and shiny...and her eyes are like mist, or smoke...and her fingernails are really nice, too..." he muttered, staring off into space. The first two remarks I could understand. Katy's hair was dark and shiny, and her eyes were a light grey - although the size of her nose more than compensated for her few attractive features. But fingernails? There's a freaky thing I didn't know about my little brother.
"Why don't you just talk to her, then?" I asked, trying to picture Hugo with Katy. I instantly saw the problem, even before Hugo voiced it.
"She's going out with George Allan. They've been going out for a year, nothing I do will break them up. Nothing!" Hugo bellowed, suddenly. I leaned back from him.
"Well, then, maybe she's bored and wants something different..." I murmured, although as soon as the words were out of my mouth I knew that, even if they did by some miracle happen to be true, Katy would never go for Hugo if George Allan was anything to go by. George was a Metamorphis, but his most favourite look was with dark purple hair, topaz coloured eyes and a nose the size of a pea. I didn't know why he liked that face so much, actually. It wasn't very attractive.
"We'll never get together..." Hugo bellowed, burying his head in his knees. I frowned. "What can I do about Katy-fricking-Bluehalph?" he murmured.
I pursed my lips. "Maybe you could stop drinking, and go and talk to her sober. I know I'd be pretty put out if a guy came up to me drunk and ordered me to be his girlfriend," I muttered, shrugging. I could kill two birds with one stone with this idea.
Hugo looked up. "But I like the way Firewhiskey tastes," he whimpered, suddenly sounding like a three-year-old. I sighed.
"Well, from now on I'm making sure you don't have any. I'm not letting Hagrid give you his stock anymore," I explained as gently as I could. Hugo snorted with derision, and then told me to do something obscene to myself. I took this as code for me to leave. Overall, I was quite pleased with how our conversation had gone - Hugo had become aware of his problem, and I now knew why.
The walk back up to the common room was dreary. I didn't see any of my friends, it started to rain heavily just as I passed by Hagrid's, and as soon as I stepped through the portrait hole I remembered the pile of homework I'd been assigned. It wouldn't take me too long, but it was still a pain. There was a crackling fire that cast a warm glow around the room, and illuminated all the face near to it eerily. Half light, half dark.
As I was writing my last piece of homework - an essay for Potions - Lily stormed into the common room, closely followed by Albus. I had never seen them both look so angry.
"We can't let him get away with it, Lily," Albus yelled. They had the full attention of the common room. Something tells me this is about the plan.
"We're not even sure he's doing something," Lily shouted back at him, whipping round so that her long hair flicked a startled first-year in the face - who looked very pleased with himself, being so close to the famous Lily Potter.
"We are sure, and you know it, Lily. We know what he's doing, but we just don't know when. We can't let him do it!" Albus yelled, "I've been pretending to be his friend again so that I can try to find out for definite when he's going to do it, but he won't tell me! Merlin, I even offered to help him so that I could get more information!" Al yelled at Lily. I've never seen someone flick a strand of hair over their shoulder with so much sass.
"Well, obviously, you don't know anything for certain. I mean, you've basically admitted it. Rose, back me up here," she shrieked, turning to look at me. Oh. I saw Albus shooting me a look that told me I had to agree with him, not Lily. Improvise.
I stood up and walked over to them calmly, and moved to stand beside Al. "Actually, Lily, I think I agree with Al. He's been acting really weird lately - I mean, I know because we share basically all our classes. And, well, in Potions the other day," I lowered my voice, then shot a look over my shoulder to stare at everyone in the common-room - all eyes on us. I turned back to face Lily. "Look, I really didn't want to tell you two about it this publicly, but I saw him looking up some pretty creepy potions...it seemed like really dark stuff, Lily," I said, quietly, shooting looks at Albus every now and again to check everything I was saying made sense. Al nodded discreetly at me.
Lily moaned. "But...look, isn't this all a total cliche? I mean, our parents practically saved the world, and his helped destroy it. It just seems too convenient," she sighed. I looked at Albus, who looked back at me. Keep going, was what he wanted to say to me.
"But it's not really, if you think about it. He would learn from his parents, we learn from ours. It makes sense, Lily. You - we - just don't want to see it," I whispered. Even though my voice was barely a vibration, I could tell that every single Gryffindor was listening fervently to it. Lily paused, before throwing her hands up in the air and storming off to her dormitory. I quickly slid all of my books into my bag, before turning back to Al.
"I think we should probably go outside for a moment, Albus," I hissed. This time I wasn't acting. If they put me on the spot like that again, I will torture them.
I heard the gasps and the whispers rising from the crowds of students. They were gossiping about what they'd just seen barely a moment after I'd turned my back. Underneath all the hisses, I could hear footsteps that were following me. Good. Albus was coming.
As soon as we were out of earshot, I flew at him.
"Why didn't you warn me you were doing that today?" I hissed, furious with him and Lily. Albus sighed.
"We weren't planning it, honest, but...I know is a really lame excuse, but we were bored, so we decided to do that, and...well, it was Lily who dragged you into it. Sorry," he muttered, keeping his voice low as a group of fourth-year boys dragged themselves through the Fat Lady.
I sighed. "Al, please make sure Lily doesn't do that again. Say something like, I don't know, 'Lily, leave Rose out of this.' Would that have been so hard to say?" I moaned. I knew I sounded like a whiny little girl, but right now I was annoyed with my cousins.
Al nodded. "Next time, we'll ask your permission before we pull a stunt like that." I nodded to, running a hand absent mindedly through my hair, combing it.
"You'd better," I muttered, then turned to walk back inside. I was meaning to leave the argument in a smooth and sophisticated manner, so as to look as if I was in control of the situation. Instead, my foot came into harsh contact with the portrait hole. I went flying forward, my robes billowing around me as I flew almost horizontally down to the ground. I landed with a smack, banging my jaw in the process. Ouch.
I spat my hair out of my mouth. I could hear everyone laughing. Nothing for it, I decided, ignoring the tears of pain blossoming in my eyes. I have to laugh to so as to not look like an idiot.
I laughed, stood up, smoothed my robes over, then huffily stalked back inside. I made a point of not listening to Albus' particularly loud chortles at my disgrace. Instead, at the last minute I whipped around to face him.
"You'd better," I repeated, then stormed off to my dormitory, furious with myself.