Written for:

Hogwarts: 365 Prompts
Prompt - charity

Hogwarts: Aquatic Studies
Task #4 - Whale Shark: Write about someone being self-conscious about their size (either in height or weight, and not necessarily heavy or tall)

Needy for Friends

Rubeus Hagrid watched as the other students laughed together as they practiced for the upcoming Quidditch game. What Rubeus wouldn't give to be able to play with them, but with his size, he'd probably end up breaking the broom if he tried to join in on the fun.

It didn't matter, though. They'd never invite him to play the game with them anyways.

He might have been in their house, but he was just a freak. Half-giant and half-human. The giants didn't accept him, and neither did the humans. He didn't fit in with anyone.

Sometimes, he wished he hadn't begged his parents to send him to Wizarding school. His life would probably be easier if he had stayed home with them.

Rubeus sighed, looking down at his feet as they kicked the bleacher seat in front of him. It just wasn't fair!

Myrtle Warren, a Ravenclaw Rubeus didn't really know slowly approached him. "Hi," she shyly waved.

"Hello," he cautiously greeted back. Not many people actually approached him just to say 'hi.' They usually had an ulterior motive.

"Um, I'm heading over to the library to study. I'm wondering if you would maybe like to study with me. We can help each other." She giggled; there was a nervous tinge to it.

"I don't want your charity," Rubeus grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest and looking away from the nervous girl.

"Why do you think it's charity? Isn't it possible that I just want to be friendly?"

Rubeus turned back to her and glared. "You wouldn't be first. Other kids invite me to do stuff with them either because they feel bad for me or so I can be the butt of their jokes. Just because I'm a half-giant, they think I'm too stupid to understand the reason for them being nice to me. Well, I'm not. I'm not some big, dumb giant!"

Myrtle blinked, but to her credit, she didn't shy away from his anger. "I'm not like the others. I'm an outcast, too. The other kids call me weird, and they love to torture me. I thought since we don't have anyone else, we can be friends! It's better than being alone." She shrugged.

Rubeus stared at his lap, hating how big his legs looked, especially compared to a girl as small as Myrtle. "The others are scared of me because I'm so big. Aren't you scared of me?"

"Maybe a little bit," Myrtle softly admitted, "but that doesn't mean I don't want to be friends."

Rubeus wished for a friend that wasn't scared of him because of his size. He wished for a friend that didn't just want to be his friend because she had no one else. But having a fake friend was better than no friend. "Okay, Myrtle. Let's go to the library."

He tried to ignore the looks as they walked down the bleachers together. He wished he was smaller so he could just hide away and never be found.

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(word count: 500)