Using the prompt 'spider'
Chapter Thirty-Six
The morning after the trial, Hugo felt gluggy. It was an unusual feeling, but as he went down for breakfast, he couldn't help but feel exhausted, besides sleeping for a good ten hours the night before.
He'd dreamt of many things that night, most not at all pleasant, and nothing he wanted to talk about. How could Kingsley do that to them? How could he make them wait another two whole days to find out what happened to Begonia Webb. Having to listen to his parents being killed was hard enough, but to have to face the person who did it again… that was nigh impossible.
He just wanted it to be over, and he knew that Rose did, too. Everyone probably did, actually. Coming home that evening, and being bombarded by one hundred questions at once had been what he expected, but not what he wanted.
He knew his cousins had wanted to be there, and he knew how pissed off James was at the fact that he couldn't be. Hugo had been forced to listen to his complaints for many hours, until he thought it okay to go to his room.
Didn't James realise how lucky he was? If he didn't know it was the right thing to do, Hugo wouldn't have gone either. If it had been anyone but his parents, he probably would have passed. In fact, his parents would have probably refused to let him go too, if it was anyone else.
He'd been forced to listen to his parents' last words; have the knowledge that his mother had died trying to protect his dad. His dad's words still rang true in his head. Love, bravery… how had he never realised the amazing people his parents had really been? How had he ever thought they cared more about his sister than him? How stupid he had been. So much time wasted….
"Hey, what's going on?"
After breakfast, Hugo had retreated to his room. Lily poked her head in just as he was slipping his t-shirt over his head.
"Nothing," he replied. He shrugged. "Just feeling sorry for myself, I suppose." He plonked down onto his bed, giving Lily an invitation to join him.
"Nobody will tell me what happened yesterday," she said conversationally. "James really wants to know, too. He's driving me mad, trying to find out." The way her eyes burnt into his, Hugo knew she expected him to tell her. But he didn't want to relive that experience. He had already; in his dreams.
"It was awful, Lily," he said. "Truly awful. She – well, her lawyer – tried to convince everybody that it was my dad who killed my mum."
"That's so dumb!" Lily exclaimed. "As if Uncle Ron would do that!"
"Your dad says nobody in there was convinced by it, though. She made up a really poor excuse, because she had no actual evidence to point to the fact that she didn't do it. Before that, they showed some really bad memories of my parents…."
Lily turned to him, curious. "Bad? How?"
Hugo swallowed. Why had he brought it up? He didn't want to have to repeat what he had heard. But Lily was waiting for an explanation.
"Just… well they showed a memory of Uncle Harry," he told her. "About how my mum and dad were after they found out what had happened. I wasn't allowed to watch it – my parents wouldn't let me watch it – but I heard it. Dad sounded really upset, and… he was almost crying. I've never seen my dad cry before. I've only ever seen my mum cry once, and that was because Rose said she hated her."
Lily shuffled closer to him on his bed. "That's awful," she said, her tone said.
Hugo shook his head. "I'd listen to that over and over again, compared to what the other memory was."
"What was the other memory?"
Hugo shook his head again. "I don't want to say," he said. "Ask your dad."
"Daddy won't tell us anything," Lily complained. "He said we're too young; even James."
"You don't want to know what happened in there, Lily," Hugo said. "You'll be much happier if you didn't."
With a heavy, frustrated sigh, Lily flopped back onto his bed, folding her arms across her chest. "I do want to know, though," she complained. "They were my Aunt and Uncle, you know? They were still family, and it's stupid that nobody is telling us anything. Don't we deserve to know?"
Hugo thought Lily had a fair point, but he didn't say anything. He cared about his cousin, he wasn't going to give her the gory details.
"It was a memory from Begonia Webb they had extracted – one of the morning she killed them."
Lily sat back up. "What?" she questioned, her eyes staring into his. "You had to see that?"
Hugo shook his head. "No, Mum and Dad wouldn't let me, but I had to listen to it. And it was horrible, hearing them die, you know…." He studied his hands. "Did you know my mum died before my dad?"
"No," Lily answered, shaking her head. "I didn't."
"Yeah, she died, because she took a curse that was aimed at him. She died for him. And then my dad had to stand there, knowing that she was dead, but not be able to do anything about it. But he didn't show that he was hurt by it; he remained calm the whole time until… until she killed him too."
"That's horrible!" Lily cried, tears now rolling down her cheeks. "It's horrible that you had to listen to that, but it must have been horrible for Uncle Ron too. Imagine having to stand there when somebody you love dies, but not be able to do anything about it!"
Hugo shrugged. "At least they are together," he said. "At least they're not alone."
"I'm glad I wasn't there now," Lily then said quietly. "I would have cried the whole time."
"Rosie did," Hugo answered. "She cried, and I wanted to cry. But Mum and Dad were there, comforting me."
"You keep saying that," Lily observed, "but –"
"It sounds stupid, doesn't it?" Hugo finished.
Lily hesitated, then nodded.
"Yeah, I know. It sounds strange that we were at a trial for my parents, but they were there. But they were, Lily. When they showed that memory, Rose just lost it, so Aunt Ginny was dealing with her – comforting her, not letting her watch. But nobody was there for me. Nobody was there to tell me not to look, but something wouldn't let me turn my head. Something was holding me back and… and I know it was them."
Hugo knew that it sounded stupid – hopeful – but he knew what he had felt. Rose hadn't believed him, and it was obvious Lily didn't either. He knew they had been there, though. How else could he explain the force that had been keeping him from watching the memory? It certainly wasn't Victoire – there were no hands on him. It was his parents. He didn't know how, but he knew it was them.
It brought him comfort.
Lily nodded, clearly not wanting to argue. "I hope they were there," she said. "It might mean they're here right now… like watching us, or something." Her eyes suddenly became fearful, and she looked around the room as if Hugo's parents would jump out from the wardrobe.
Hugo laughed. "I doubt it," he said. "Dad would never want to sit here and listen to people talk."
Lily smiled. "That's true," she said. "But, it'd be cool to think they are…."
"And kind of freaky…."
Lily nodded, agreeing. "Yeah, I guess."
They were silent for some time after that. Hugo sat there, playing with his hands. What else was there to say to his cousin other than what he'd already told her? Lily already knew more than he had ever intended to tell. It wasn't until she let out a loud, high-pitched cry, that his attention was back on her.
Lily lifted her feet off the ground, crawling back along the bed, so her back was pressed firmly against the wall.
"What is it?" Hugo asked, looking around. What had freaked Lily out so badly that she was whimpering?
"S-spider," Lily stammered, pointing a shaky finger to the floor.
Hugo glanced down, before retreating as well. There, in the middle of the room, was a great, big, black spider that had come from nowhere. He joined his cousin against the wall.
"Now what do we do?" Lily questioned. "We can't get down."
"Kill it?" Hugo suggested. Even that word made him shiver. No, he wasn't going to kill the spider. He'd simply have to dispose of it.
"Do you want a great, big, black mark in the middle of the floor?" Lily said. "We'll get James." Hugo's cousin sucked in a big breath and then shouted, "JAMES!"
It only took a few moments before the older boy stumbled into Hugo's bedroom, looking around frantically. He noticed the two of them up against the wall. "What is it?" he questioned. "What happened?"
For a long moment, neither of them answered, until Lily reluctantly pointed to where James' toes were. "Spider," she said.
James looked down, and without hesitation, got as far away from the big, black thing as was possible. "I'll get Al," he said. "He-he knows how to deal with these things." And before Hugo realised, James was gone.
"Some big brother he is," Lily huffed. "Leaving his little sister to fend for herself."
Hugo grinned. "James has always been a big softie… that's what Mum used to say. He just likes to pretend otherwise."
Albus appeared next, looking around the floor. The spider had now moved to the bookshelf in the room, and was slowly making its way to the top.
Without a second glance, Albus knocked it from the wall, and covered the thing with a cup. The spider was stuck, now.
"You're just going to leave it there?" Lily accused. "In Hugo's room?"
"I'm going to get Dad," Albus said. "I'm not killing it." He too, then disappeared.
Even though the spider was trapped, Hugo and Lily didn't dare move until Harry came into his room, closely followed by Rose. Harry lifted up the cup, and then chuckled. Rose did too.
"You guys are wimps," she said.
Hugo glared at her.
"What, you're scared of that little thing?" She bent down and scooped the spider up into her hand. "It's tiny."
Now that she was holding it, Hugo realised that it was a bit smaller than he remembered it to be. Still, Rose didn't have to laugh at him.
"I'll take it outside," Rose then said. "Before anyone tries to squish it." She shot Hugo a look that was rather mocking, and then left.
He and Lily climbed off the bed.
"You guys alright?" Harry asked.
Hugo and Lily nodded.
"Yeah," Hugo said, going slightly red.
Harry laughed. "You have nothing to be embarrassed about," he said. "You reminded me of your dad."
Hugo frowned.
"He would have done exactly the same thing, mate. Trust me."
"Hm." Well, his mum always had been the one to get rid of any spiders in the house, Hugo surmised. His dad had refused to touch them.
So life happened and I didn't exactly update for a while. But I'm kind of back now, determined to get the last 14 chapters beta-d and published!
Thank you once again to Sunny Lighter for beta-ing for me. Much appreciated.