Page Three and a Sick Mother

Lazing about on Chip Cornfoot's bed in their dorm as they did their own things, Farley was close to finishing up a letter to his parents when a balled-up sock hit him in the face.

Scrunching his nose, he turned his head to glare at the smirking Chip. "What was that for?" he demanded.

His fellow fourteen-year-old's smile only became more impish as he told Farley, "Come here once."

"Why?" Farley asked even while he moved to sit up and scoot over to Chip's side.

Pulling out what appeared to be a magazine, the blonde asked, "How much do you know about muggle stuff?"

"Are you kidding?" Farley returned, giving Chip a truly perplexed frown.

This drew a laugh from the other boy. "That dumb of a question, huh?"

"My parents are Gregory and Millicent Goyle, you realize. My last name isn't just a coincidence," he huffed as he perched himself right beside Chip.

Shrugging as he fiddled with the tabloid that Farley could now tell was named The Sun, Chip said, "Wasn't one hundred percent sure. You are a Hufflepuff, and friends with Alexis Abbott…"

"Times are changing," Farley muttered.

Nodding, Chip remarked, "Then I guess you've never heard of The Sun, huh?"

"No."

Grinning as he flipped back the cover page, Chip explained, "Well, it's kind of infamous, in the muggle world, you see."

"Why's that?" Farley questioned, wishing that the other boy would just get to the point.

"It's because of this!" Chip declared, turning the page to reveal a smiling, topless woman.

Farley gaped.

Laughing, the blonde said, "I bet this is the first time you've seen something like this, huh?"

"Muggles let teenagers buy this kind thing?" Farley demanded as he took the tabloid from Chip, ogling the picture of the woman.

Chip shifted. "Well, not quite. A cousin of mine sent me the copy he bought a couple weeks ago for my birthday."

"You already had your birthday?" Farley cried, finally ripping his gaze away from the ample bosom printed on the page.

The boy gave a quick dip of his head. "It was the second of September, actually. Don't worry, though. I didn't really know you and Alexis then. But seeing as we're shaping up to be pretty good mates, you can just buy me two Christmas presents rather than one!" he finished with a wink.

Farley laughed. Chip was pretty brilliant, he thought. Plus, he was more clever than the rest of the Hufflepuffs he'd had the misfortune of rooming with for the last three years. The last clever person he'd had the pleasure of talking with was Ulyssa and that had been years ago.

He might not be all the sharp himself, but it didn't mean Farley couldn't appreciate it.

"How are you not in Ravenclaw?" he inquired as he handed The Sun back to Chip (though, he'd have to keep an eye out for any more he might get).

Chip shrugged. "The hat said I had the brains for it, but I told it I'd rather be in my mother's house. She's sick, you see. I knew it'd really make her happy if I went to Hufflepuff."

Farley nodded. "If you don't mind me asking, why did you go to Durmstrang at all? Surely you could have come by portkey here or something?" he questioned.

"I could have," Chip agreed. "But, I wanted to be close to my mum, because it's like I said, she's sick. We moved back to Britain due to that and the fact she's been getting worse. My dad also wants her to be close to her family in case she doesn't get better."

"You don't think she'll get better?" Farley whispered, feeling his heart give a sympathetic little squeeze.

Chip looked away. Curling his knees close to his chest, the boy laid his head on his knees and sighed. "I want her to," he confided in Farley. "Really, really badly," he mumbled. "But the healers think she could go either way at this point, so, we're preparing for the worst."

Gnawing at his lip, Farley considered what he should say. A stupid "I'm sorry" just didn't seem right. It also didn't help that Farley was out of his depth. He knew very little about sick, dying people and even much less about parents you were actually afraid to lose. However, Farley did know someone Chip could talk to about this.

"You should really talk to Alexis. I know she's a girl and all, but - don't tell her I said this - her mum's dead. I'm sure she must know at least a little better what you're feeling than I do."

Eyes puffy as he looked back at Farley, Chip mumbled, "You think?"

"I know."

Cracking a wobbly smile, the blonde dipped his head in thanks. "You're a good bloke, Farley Goyle," he said.

A warm feeling creeping up his neck, Farley turned away. "It's no trouble, Chip."

"Still, thanks a heap, mate."

Ducking his head in bashfulness, Farley looked back to the tabloid laying on the bed. "Got any more of those?" he asked Chip, hoping they could back to the lighthearted chatter of before.

Chuckling, Chip twisted around to reach under his bed. "A stack worth," he answered as he pulled out a box.

Laughing himself, Farley said, "Let's have a look see at them all, then!"

Thoughts on this chapter? I think this was the first one where I've written about Chip and Farley alone.

How do you like these two together? How about Chip in general?

Also, don't forget that all new chapters are dated in the index to ensure that you can always find the latest chapter even after it has been reordered to follow the linear timeline I have going on!

Thank you guys for reading and please review!