Figured it would be an approximate time to update due to the anniversary of the battle of hogwarts
Ben yawned as Eleanor flew by on her broomstick. It was Hufflepuff against Ravenclaw today and also Eleanor's birthday. It was unfortunate that Ben and James had no birthday present list to go off of, and were forced to get thinking about what to get the girl, but Ben thought they did fairly well.
"Are you going out to celebrate her birthday today?" Albus asked, sitting next to him.
"Of course. You know how Eleanor is." Ben replied, glancing at him. "You're more than welcomed to come, Al. It's always fun having you around. I've enjoyed your company at lunch and sometimes dinner when those two run off." He smirked at Rose and Scorpius, who both blushed and looked elsewhere. "You want to join?"
"You sure it's alright?" Albus wanted to come, of course. He enjoyed being around his brother's friends, well, they were his friends now too. "If Ellie doesn't mind, then sure, I'll join. I need a bit of a break from studying."
"You've got plenty of time to study, Al." Ben patted the younger Slytherin's back, making Albus' heart skip a beat. "You're smart, you can do anything you put your mind to."
"I know that. I'm the smartest out of my siblings." Albus smirked at him and Ben laughed loudly, catching Alice's attention. She glanced over, watching Ben and Albus talk with a curious eye. She thought of an idea, but shook her head, dismissing it entirely. It was silly and impossible anyway.
"You guys rock." Eleanor smiled happily at her friends after she opened all her gifts. The twins, Bailey, and Alice got her books, while James got her a mug that said 'Go away, I'm reading' on it and Ben got her a locket necklace that said 'Though She Be But Little She Is Fierce' on it.
"We are pretty awesome." Ben smirked, earning a look from his friends. Alice held his hand, grinning at him. His thumb was doing circles on her hand and Albus glanced away, feeling awkward now. He was started to realize he was possibly infatuated with Benjamin. He didn't want to be, because Alice was one of his best mates and Benjamin was his mate and best mates with his brother.
He was just infatuated with Benjamin because he saw how attractive he was under his 'mask'. If he hadn't seen his face, he wouldn't be feeling like this. They were shallow feelings and he just needed to push them away.
"You okay?" James popped Albus out of his thoughts and he nodded his head at his brother. "Don't go zoning out now. So, Ben, the bubble juice prank was perfection but I'm saying we go even deeper and really mess around with her. We should totally give it a go tonight!"
"Eh now." Alice said, shaking her head. "You told me you'd study with me tonight." Alice reminded her 'boyfriend'. He and James turned to whine at her, but Alice ran her fingers through the shaved parts of Ben's hair and his whining ceased. He leaned into her touch and sighed happily. "Weak spot." She smirked at James, who looked so defeated and betrayed.
"C'mon, Alice, let me hang out with my mate." He complained. "I need his help for this. Ben!"
"But I like scratches." Ben mumbled, relaxing. "Sorry, dude, but she got dibs on me first. I'd do the same for you if you and I had plans. Plus, man, I get snuggles and kisses. I love affection." Alice kissed his cheek after he said this and smiled happily.
"Mate." James muttered but Ben glanced at Eleanor and back to James. His cheeks went red and he shut up instantly. Albus chuckled at him and tried to stay calm. He would be fine.
"Don't I get birthday snuggles?" Eleanor asked with a pout. Ben smiled at her and winked.
"Of course you do, princess. We still have all day." He told her confidently.
"Can you make it all the way back to school?" Eleanor asked Ben, riding on his back.
"Of course I can! I do haul around four children on my summer breaks." He told her, making sure he didn't slip on the snow. "Especially when Clara wants to play 'princess'."
"You're the dragon, aren't you?" Albus asked and Ben nodded his head as Eleanor made sure his beanie stayed on properly.
"We don't slay dragons in my household, that's the worst thing you could do." Ben explained to the group. "We ride them, which means basically, I give them piggy back rides until dragon needs a nap. When dragon takes a nap, everyone takes a nap."
"That's cute." Eleanor smiled, hugging her best friend tightly. "You're a very good big brother, Ben. Caleb should take some lessons from you."
"It's easy when they're young. I just do what I'm supposed to do." He replied easily. "They're my siblings and I got to look out for them. When they get older they won't need me so much which will be totally heart breaking but hopefully they won't be as stupid as me. Hopefully they'll be better at magic too….I don't know though. I can sense that Clara is going to be a trouble maker. Probably a Gryffindor."
"What's so wrong with that?" James questioned, crossing his arms.
"Oh nothing, Potter. You are my best friend you know." Ben saw the castle in the distance, relieved. His back was starting to hurt. "I'll give you a piggy back ride next time if it will make you feel better."
"You two would collapse and hurt yourselves." Albus told the two, who frowned at him. "I'm being honest."
"Let them dream, Al. You know how they are." Alice smiled, hooking her arm through the younger Slytherin's. He glanced at her, a small amount of guilt pooling in his gut.
"Are you okay?" Rose asked Albus the next day at lunch. She knew her cousin had been acting strange lately. "Are you getting sick?"
"No." He mumbled, not very hungry. He glanced over at his brother's table, seeing Alice pressed against Ben with his arm around her, keeping her close. He needed to get over this puppy love infatuation stage he was in.
"You quite sure? You're looking pale." Scorpius added, tilting his head a little and eyed his best friend. Something was up with him. "Haven't seen you like this since that crush you had that one month in third year."
Rose and Scorpius looked at each other before looking at Albus, who was making it a point to look anywhere else but his best friend and cousin.
"Al." Rose and Scorpius said together and he snapped back, green eyes looking at them.
"Hm?" He mumbled, wondering what the best way to go with this was. He was an excellent liar, like many Slytherins, but Slytherins were great at knowing when others lied. "Please, you two. I don't have a crush on anyone. I'm too busy with school for that." Albus could handle a boyfriend and school work. He was great at time management.
"Oh, please, Al, we both know you." Rose muttered, eyeing him. "Come on now, spit it out. Who is it?"
"It's nothing." He told them, wishing for them to drop it. It wasn't a crush. He was just attracted to Ben. "It's not even a crush. Can't I find someone attractive?" He rolled his eyes, a quick glance to Ben as the now pink haired male stood. He pulled Alice along with him, waving goodbye to his friends. Albus tried not to stare for too long, but Rose quickly followed his gaze and he swore she would get whiplash with how fast she turned back around.
"Albus!"
"No no no!" He told her, shaking his head. "It's not what you think, Rose."
"Then what is it? Albus, he's with Alice." Rose muttered quietly, a disapproving look on her face. Scorpius caught on quickly, looking at Ben as he and Alice left the Great Hall. "Alice is your friend, isn't she?"
"I'm not pining after him, for Merlin's sake." Albus felt so embarrassed right now. "I just saw his actual face and I found it attractive. That's it!" He didn't need Rose and Scorpius getting onto him for this. He couldn't help who he found attractive. "Look, I don't have any real feelings for him." He declared and the two looked at him, both sighing at the same time.
"What are the plans for Christmas break?" James asked while balancing his quill on his nose. Eleanor looked up from her book, slowly reaching out and tapping the end of the quill, causing it to fall off the male's nose. She let out a little giggle as James pouted, his cheeks a slight pink from the adorable giggle.
"The usual." Alice replied, sitting on the couch across from the other two with Bailey leaning against her, reading her own book. Benjamin was sitting on the floor, leaning against the couch as he concentrated on his drawing. "Family dinner. I believe we were invited to the Weasley-Potter get together this year."
"That'll be fun!" James exclaimed with a smile. "You and Ben are coming as well, yeah?" James asked Eleanor, who glanced to Ben. He wasn't paying attention at all, instead he was erasing and biting his lip.
"I suppose we are, if that's alright. I doubt my siblings will miss having me for lunch Christmas. Benjamin will be happy to go, he loves Charlie and Teddy." Eleanor set her book down and quietly got off the couch, curious to see what he was drawing.
"Watching him draw always makes me want to fall asleep." Alice said as Eleanor leaned against the back of the couch, watching Ben over his shoulder. His pencil glided across the paper, then served back to erase a messy line he used to do the base of the drawing. "He's always drawing."
"He drew the squid the other day." James said, coming over to join them. He inched onto the couch, getting comfortable so he could watch Ben draw. "Awah, what a cutie." He said as he saw the drawing. "That's Clara, right?"
"Yeah." Ben replied, surprising them all.
"Have you been listening?" Alice asked and he nodded his head, before glancing at her with bright blue eyes. "Oh…" She trailed off, almost forgetting what she was going to ask next, the eyes throwing her off a bit. "Clara is so pretty."
"Thanks. She's lookin' more like ma every day. Thank god. I don't want her looking like dad or Mitchell or I." He rolled his eyes, beginning to work on the details of the eyes. "Like we need another bruting looking family member."
"You don't seem like the type to having a bruting disposition." Eleanor said and he glanced back at her for a quick second, a small smile on his face.
"It's all in the cheekbones." He chuckled and went back to drawing, the motions of his pencil soothing him. "I'm a little worried about her…honestly…I haven't gotten a letter from her in a week. Usually it's one a day." His smile faded and his movements slowed down. "I'm trying not to worry incase she's fine but just busy with school or whatever she does now in her free time….I just don't want her sick again."
"I'm sure she's alright." Bailey said with a positive voice. "If anything was wrong, your family would tell you."
"You're right." Ben said, nodding his head. "Just….it's strange."
"What kind of disease did she have? If you don't mind me asking…" Eleanor asked, hoping Ben didn't mind her question.
"Princess you don't have to be shy about it. She had cancer when she was five….it was horrible. I think that's why Mitchell is so intent on the medical field. He wants to be able to help kids like her with magic." Ben answered, looking at the drawing. "The doctor said it was all gone, but cancer can always return. Bailey's right though, if something was wrong, my family would've contacted me. They know Clara is my little angel."
"You'll get to call her soon, so no worries." James patted his shoulder, excited for Christmas. "I'm so happy to have a break. School is wearing me out and Quidditch this season is seriously rough." He had ended on the ground in his last match with Hufflepuff. His arm had been badly banged up, but it was healing well and it didn't stop him from practicing.
"You should be more careful when you play. Both of you." Eleanor chided, shaking her head. Both males left their matches with bruises and banged up bodies. Neither seemed to care about their wounds, though. Eleanor made sure to keep her eyes peeled at all times, especially after last year's incident.
"Battle scars!" Both males exclaimed at the same time, smirking at each other, happy to be so in sync.
"I don't need you covered in them." Alice muttered, leaning over and running her fingers along the top of Ben's back. He sighed, content with the scratching. "You understand? Both of you need to be more cautious when you play and stop worrying us."
"Yeahhhhhhh." Ben leaned forward so she was able to scratch more of his back. "Can't help it. I get out there and I play rough. It's so fun to slam into people."
"This game is making you more violent." Bailey muttered, shooting him a look. "I never should have allowed you to try out. Your mother will not be happy about this."
"Heh." He mumbled, going over Clara's jaw once more. "It'll be all good. I'm having fun, and that's all that matters. No one gets seriously injured."