WARNING: minor hints of sexual acts. It's hardly there, though. I swear!

Characters: Ron, Hermione, Hugo

Prompt #38 Touch


Knock Before Entering

"Hugo, I –"

"Mum! Get out! Go away, get out!"

Hermione closed the door to her son's bedroom as quickly as she could, running her hands over her eyes as if that would burn what she had just seen from her eyes. "Oh, Hugo, I'm sorry," she groaned. "Do you –"

"No, I don't want to talk about it. Just go away!" Hugo called from the other side of the door.

Hermione obliged, hurrying to her own bedroom and wishing very much that she had not opened the door to Hugo's bedroom at that moment. She had been greeted by a sight she had never wanted to see her son in and to make matters worse, Hugo would probably never speak to her again.

Why hadn't she knocked? She always knocked!

"Bloody hell, I leave for a few moments and this is what happens," Ron said, sitting beside Hermione on the bed. Her head was in her hands and she looked distraught about something. "What happened? I heard Hugo yelling and..."

"Go and talk to him, please?" Hermione asked.

"Talk to him? What did he do?"

Hermione shook her head, humiliated by what had just happened (but probably not as humiliated as Hugo was). "I didn't really think to knock on our fifteen year old son's door. I just opened it and... Well, you were a fifteen year old boy once."

Ron frowned. "I don't understand," he said. What was Hermione on about? Hugo wasn't one to get himself into trouble. But he wasn't one to yell at his parents either and Ron had certainly heard Hugo yelling.

Hermione looked up at him, her face full of despair. "He was..." She shook her head, unable to say what she had seen. "Well, he's fifteen. What did you like to do when you were fifteen?"

Ron's expression remained confused for a few moments longer, until, finally, he got it. "Oh," was all he said.

"Can you talk to him please? I don't think he wants to see me right now."

Ron laughed. "Come on, Hermione. It's not that bad. You're not mad, are you? He's a boy. It's what boys do."

Hermione glared at him. "But would you like it if your mum walked in on you...?"

Ron's face turned faintly pink and then he said, "No, but I don't think I'd appreciate Dad coming in either."

"Please, Ron? I was shocked; I'm not sure I reacted appropriately to the situation. He needs some reassurance..."

"Reassurance?" Ron questioned, now amused by the whole situation. "What am I supposed to tell him? Don't worry, mate. Your mum saw it all when you were a baby anyway?"

"This isn't funny, Ron!" Hermione cried. "He's probably mortified."

Ron laughed again, getting up from the bed. "Fine, I'll talk to him, but I doubt I'll be any help. He probably just wants to forget it ever happened." He shook his head and made his way down the hall to Hugo's room. Remembering what Hermione had said, he knocked on the door, though he doubted Hugo would have risked it again anyway. "You in there, Hu?" he asked.

Silence.

"I know what happened," he said. "Trust me; your mum's probably more embarrassed than you are."

There was more silence, so Ron took that as an invitation to enter. Hugo was lying on his own bed with a blank expression and didn't even look up when Ron approached him.

"It's not that bad, you know?" Ron told him.

Hugo scowled, but still refused to look at him. "That's easy for you to say! Mum didn't find you..." He didn't finish. By now, it was well known to everyone what had occurred. There was no need for him to restate the facts.

"Well, not this time," Ron began slowly. "But there was this one time not so long ago when –"

Hugo's hands shot to his ears. "I don't want to know!" he cried.

"Sorry. But my point is, Hu, it's not the worst thing that could have happened to you."

Hugo gave his dad an exasperated look. "What could possibly be worse than Mum walking into my room... er... at that time?" He looked away, suddenly feeling self-conscious again. He'd never be able to look his mum in the eye again.

"Your sister could have walked in," Ron answered.

"I would prefer that, I think," Hugo mumbled.

"If Rose found you, it would be all over the school before you went back in three day's time," Ron said. "At least you know your secret's safe with your mum."

Hugo went quiet again, thinking about something Ron couldn't determine. His son was a mystery; that much he knew. With Rose, she would say what she was thinking (without thinking), but Hugo was different. He was more subdued; liked to keep to himself. It was very rare Ron found himself having any form of conversation with Hugo. He didn't talk much.

"Is there anything else you'd like to tell me?" he asked carefully.

Hugo looked at him and for a moment, Ron thought Hugo really was going to tell him, but thought better of it at the last minute. "No," he said.

Ron nodded, accepting that answer. Hugo mightn't have talked much, but he also wasn't one to keep things bottled up for too long. If something was really bothering him, then he would tell them eventually.

"Well, if you'd like to talk again... I'm always here," he said, getting up from the bed.

"But I'm not," Hugo replied.

"You know how to write a letter," Ron answered simply.

"I don't think I could write it in... a letter." He stopped abruptly, realising what he had just said. His face turned beetroot red, but Ron pretended not to notice.

He merely nodded. "Well, when you're ready, I'm sure we could organise a time to meet up in Hogsmeade," he said.

Hugo nodded. "I'd like to be left alone now," he said.

Ron turned to leave, but at the very last minute, Hugo called him back.

"Dad? You're not going to tell anyone about this, are you?"

Ron frowned, confused. He thought he had made it clear that what had happened wasn't going to leave the house. "Mate, why would I tell anyone?"

Hugo shrugged. "I don't know. Like you said; Rose would?"

Ron laughed. "Well, luckily, I'm not Rose and neither is your mum. Hugo, I promise you that the last thing your mum wants to do is take this matter even further. She feels bad enough as it is for opening your door without knocking."

"She should," Hugo replied bluntly.

"And I can guarantee she won't make the same mistake again."

"So, she's not mad then?" Hugo asked.

"Of course not! Why would you think that?"

Hugo looked ashamed. "I just thought she might have seen what... never mind. As long as it's all sorted."

Ron nodded, choosing to ignore what Hugo had been about to say. "It's all sorted," he promised, closing the door to his son's bedroom.

Hermione met him in the hallway. "Everything's okay?" she asked, concern etching her voice.

"On that matter, yes," Ron assured her.

"On that matter? What does that mean? Is something else going on?"

Ron shook his head. "I don't know. I just got the feeling he wanted to tell me something, but wasn't sure how to."

"What?"

"I don't know!" Ron said. "He'll tell us when he's ready."

"What if it's something bad? What if he's in trouble?"

"Hugo? In trouble?" Ron had to refrain from laughing. "I'm sure it's just something trivial that seems important to the teenage brain. I mean, I once thought having a girlfriend was the most important thing in the world. And look what happened there? I bet he's just having girl troubles or something like that."

Hermione didn't look convinced, but let the matter pass. "As long as he's okay," she said.

Ron nodded. "He's perfectly fine. Just embarrassed. Like you. My guess is he won't try that again in his room. Or, he'll lock his door next time."

"I should have knocked," Hermione stated, shaking her head. The image of Hugo was still clear in her mind and she desperately wanted to get it out. She was just so worried their relationship wouldn't be the same now. What if he never spoke to her again because of it?

"Yeah, probably," Ron agreed. "But, he'll get over it eventually. I'm sure it's not the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to him."

"I just feel so bad," Hermione continued, this time causing Ron to laugh out loud.

"Will you stop?" he chuckled. "Seriously, it's not that big a deal. Hugo's fine. You're the one making it worse."

Hermione didn't say anything. She simply handed Ron a pile of clothes that belonged to Hugo. "Can you give those to him?" she asked and before he had a chance to reply, she walked away.

Ron shook his head, confused about Hermione's reaction. It really wasn't that bad. Even Hugo seemed more concerned about something other than his mother walking in on him. Ron just hoped both of them could move past it, because it seemed Hermione was making a bigger deal about it than was necessary. It wasn't like she hadn't known.


I... um... yeah. Review please?

Also, what do you think Hugo wanted to tell Ron? Any guesses?