Enter for the International Wizarding School Competition – Summer Camp - Week 5 - Gryffindor

Task: Write about someone with a special skill

Prompts: 1. (word) show-off

Word count: 1,124

Warnings: AU Royal Muggle

Playing with the heart

"You always were a show-off," Prince Draco said to his cousin, seeing the way he was playing piano perfectly and effortlessly after just a few lessons. "How do you do it?"

Prince Theo just chuckled and shrugged, continuing to play the song that his teacher had taught him. He wasn't going to tell his cousin that he had always liked the piano, and this was what had helped him learn faster.

Crown Prince Theodore of Norway knew that his parents wanted him to learn a variety of things for him to become a better ruler when the time came, but since he was only eight, they had decided to start with small things, such as piano.

"I thought you didn't even like piano, why are you so good at it?" Draco whined, while sending daggers at his cousin. Draco was the Crown Prince of Sweden, and just like Theo, he was learning things that could help them in the future. "Why can't you be like Luna?"

"Are you jealous of Luna too? You never seemed like someone who liked to draw," Theo replied, letting his fingers travel on the piano. "And from what Aunt Cissa told me, you were better at the violin than the piano."

"I'm not jealous of my sister!" Draco practically screamed at Theo, making him miss the notes because of how much he was laughing. "Stop laughing at me! I'm not jealous of Luna!"

"Of course you aren't," Theo managed to say between chuckles. "Drake, instead of complaining how you can't do something, why don't you try, I don't know, perfecting the thing that you're good at?"

This statement made Draco stop complaining. He looked at Theo like he was seeing him for the first time. Widening his eyes, the blond boy bolted from the room, letting Theo's chuckles follow him outside the room.

Theo knew that it would be some time before Draco joined him in the music study again, and in the meantime, he went back to his piano lessons. He didn't tell his cousin, but he felt peaceful while he was playing, like he could focus on what he needed to do. His father told him that it was a good way for future monarchs to have something to help them organise their thoughts; Theo could only hope to be half of the monarch that his father is.

Every time Theo felt overwhelmed or wanted to have some time to himself, he always went to the music room and started to play the piano. The black and white keys helped him put his thoughts in order, and the way the music seemed to come alive with just a few keys being played always helped Theo calm himself.

"You're just like your father when he was your age," his grandmother, Queen Cecilie said, finding Theo in the music room again. "He too used to escape here every opportunity he got."

Theo smiled at his grandmother but didn't stop playing. When he started to play something, he only stopped when he could make sense of his thoughts again. His grandmother sat next to him on the bench and started to play alongside him.

Cecilie was the first one to teach Theo how to play piano, and she often joined him to play together. Theo appreciated the moments that he had with his grandmother, and after the loss of his grandfather, she had spent more time with him and Theo couldn't be happier.

"Why does everything become clear when I'm playing, bestemor?" Theo asked some time later, stopping playing to look at his grandmother. "It looks like I can organise my thoughts the same way that a maestro can conduct an orchestra when I play."

Cecilie smiled at Theo's analogy. "It's a nice way to see how your mind works, Kjære. This is a sign that you're going to be the king that our country needs when the time arrives, and I pray to all of the gods that I can be alive to see it."

Theo hugged his grandmother, not liking the way that she was talking; Cecilie was one of the only people that Theo could be himself without fear of people making fun of him. He hoped that his grandmother would be with him for a long time, because he didn't know if he could survive without her advice and the way they played together.

Christmas was the time that Theo and his cousins always present something to the family; Theo would play the piano, Draco the violin, and Luna would show the last painting that she did. It was a way to have the children behave and not open the presents before it was time.

"What did you paint this year, Luna?" Theo asked, seeing his cousin biting her lip in concentration.

"I painted Bestemor," Luna replied in that dreamy voice that was so characteristic of her, and Theo smiled. Luna was one year younger than him, but she had an artist's mind that he sometimes envied. "She agreed to pose for me, and I hope that she likes it."

"Of course she's going to like it," Draco replied, smiling at his sister. No matter how much he opposed the very idea, Theo knew that Draco had a soft spot for the little blonde even though he got jealous of her sometimes. "When has Bestemor not liked something that we did?"

"I can think of some things, but I think Blaise was involved," Theo replied, laughing a little. Duke Blaise Zabini was one of their best friends, and, more often than not, he had dragged the princes into some confusion—not that they needed much incentive.

"This doesn't count because it's Blaise," Draco said like that explained everything, and in a way, it did. "Besides, Bestemor always loved your paintings, Luna, the same way that she loved the pieces that Theo and I presented to her."

"Yes, but this is different from a song. You can't hear a painting," Luna replied in a matter-of-fact tone and looked at Draco with a raised eyebrow. Theo sometimes forgot how Luna was so much like her mother, but in moments like these, he can see how she looks like Aunt Cissa.

"You're being stupid on purpose, and you know it," Draco replied and started to argue with his sister.

Theo smiled at the small banter between the siblings, hoping that they never miss this. Theo loved spending time with his cousins and Blaise, as they were their best friends.

"Okay, you two, cut it off and let's go show Bestemor what we did," Theo said, running to the room where the adults were. It was Christmas time and he couldn't wait to show everyone what he had been working on.