A/N: This is the Seeker from Montrose Magpies writing for QLFC Round 4.

Prompt: "We're a clumsy family, we make mistakes." Russell Howard

Thanks to my team for looking through it!

Word Count: 1007

Disclaimer: I have no intentions of making money from this story, so all the recognisable stuff belongs to J.K. Rowling.

One more time

Crash!

What used to be a bottle of milk lay in pieces on the brick floor. Five-year-old Dennis felt his lower lip tremble, even though it had been his older brother who had caused the crash. He saw Colin bent down and reach for the broken pieces, but before he could touch a shiny, milk-stained shard of glass, their father caught him around the middle and pulled him back. Dennis felt his eyes widen; he hadn't even noticed the man arrive.

"Are you hurt somewhere, son?" Dad was kneeling down in front of Colin, and the seven-year-old shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Daddy."

Dennis shuffled his feet. "'M sorry, too."

The older man shook his head and let out a chuckle. "You both are okay, and that's all that matters. Now c'mere." He opened his arms, and both the boys ran into his embrace, and he kissed the top of their heads.

"But—" Colin started to speak, but their father shushed him.

"It's glass. It was gonna break sometime. And, we're a clumsy family, we make mistakes."

It was a line their father repeated often, because both the boys were that—immensely clumsy. They broke things too often, but their father never let them feel guilty about it, unless they had done it knowingly.

"Now, what are two little boys doing up at… hmm… seven in the morning in the cowshed?"

Dennis ducked his head, but Colin spoke again. His brother was very brave, Dennis decided. "It's Father's Day, and we wanted to help." The older boy's voice was still a bit wet, and Dennis' eyes filled with tears again, but then he felt the rumble of his father's laughter shake his little body, and he couldn't help but giggle.

"You both are too precious." The man smacked a wet kiss on each of their cheeks, and the boys ran away, giggling.

Thump!

The book fell down, and to his great horror, Dennis heard a page tear. Colin was going to kill him.

As if summoned by thoughts, his older brother came into their shared room, his eyes widening at the giant tome at Dennis' feet.

"Is that my Potions' book?"

Dennis gulped. "I-I can explain." Colin raised an eyebrow. "It's just, you-you're going to a di-different world now, and I—I just wanted to know a little bit about it?"

Colin's face softened, and he walked further into the room, coming to a stop next to where Dennis stood. He laid a hand on the younger boy's shoulder, and Dennis couldn't help but look up. "You're gonna be a wizard, too, 'kay Den? You're gonna get a letter and come to Hogwarts in two years—no, don't give me that look, I've seen you do magic. Right now, though, you can read all of my books as much as you want to."

Dennis bent down to pick the book up, and held it open to where a page was torn nearly halfway though. "I ruined it, though."

Colin took one look at it and let out a laugh. "You're fine; it's my least favourite book. And I probably will be able to fix it with a spell I read about in the Charms book!"

Dennis' eyes widened at that, wishing to ask his brother if he could see Colin's attempt at magic. He stopped, though, for why would Colin let him near his magical things when he'd already ruined one? (Despite what the other boy had just said). As if knowing what he was thinking, Colin nudged him. "It's fine, Den, I promise. We're a clumsy family, we make mistakes."

Dennis groaned. It had been bad enough with Dad saying it, but now Colin had taken to repeating Dad's sentence. "You're terrible."

Colin laughed. "Love you too! Now, what do you say to seeing some magic?"

Dennis couldn't say no to that now, could he?

Crash!

In his excitement to get up and join his brother at the Gryffindor table, he had gotten up too quickly, and the three-legged stool he had been seated on had fallen down. A laugh rose from the student body, and Dennis ducked his head, meekly walking over to the table his brother was sitting at.

He slipped into the seat Colin had saved for him—the older boy had told him Dennis would land in the lions' house, but Dennis hadn't been sure; he was not brave—and mumbled out an apology for embarrassing his brother.

"What for?" Colin nudged him and gave him a smile when Dennis finally looked up.

"I bet no one has had a more embarrassing Sorting!"

"Tell you a secret? I fell into the lake."

Dennis stared at his brother in surprise, sure he was making it up. But his brother's eyes told him Colin was not lying—he had a tick that Dennis knew all too well. He tried, he tried very hard, but he let out a snort at that. Colin shot him a betrayed look.

"Sorry, but it's so funny to picture!"

"Well, yeah." Colin gave him another smile. "We're a clumsy family, we make mistakes."

Dennis groaned. Maybe Gryffindor was a mistake. His brother was going to kill him with that sentence.

Dennis stumbled as he rose from the bar stool, a glass of firewhisky in his hand, too drunk to see where to place his foot. Two steps later, he crashed into what was presumably the leg of a table. He tried to keep his balance but failed, falling forward.

Someone caught his arm, preventing him from faceplanting on the grimy floor of Hog's Head, but the glass he had been holding wasn't that lucky. It met the floor with a crash, firewhisky already spilled on its descent down, and shattered into a thousand pieces.

Dennis stared at the broken shards in complete horror. They brought up one of the million memories he had been trying to suppress for past two months, and Dennis felt his eyes moisten. What he wouldn't give to have Colin repeat that stupid sentence his dad used to say one more time.