Rating: R (Eventual)
Character(s): Zacharias Smith, Susan Bones, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Hannah Abbott, Ernie Macmillan, and some soon to be announced!
Genre: Romance, General, Angst, Drama
Warnings: Strong language, Contains slash (same sex pairing), Contains spoilers (OotP), Scenes of a strong sexual nature (eventually)
Summary: Zacharias Smith is a complicated person, or at least he thinks so. He and his best friend Hannah have secret crushes, and both of them spend an awful lot of time talking about them! Then, on impulse, Zacharias makes a move and finds himself surprisingly welcome…
This story is not yet completed.
Currently Untitled
Chapter One
Lancaster Road was a quiet, respectable road. It wound its way harmlessly between Wiltshire Abbey and Turnkey Glen, which was just what quiet little roads did. Along its gradual curve lay several houses, most of which were very calmly decorated with nice, acceptable cars parked in the drives and a dog or cat playing happily in the yard. Everyone on Lancaster Road appreciated the silent honor of living in such a normal, happy neighborhood… with one exception.
Number seventeen had been a respectable home several years ago when it was owned by the Nicksons, a small family that had moved to Windim Hill after they tragically lost their son to a car accident. Mr. Nickson had been an Underground operator while Mrs. Nickson taught first-years at a local academy. They had thrown a neighborhood get-together every month, usually themed and quite popular. They were sorely missed.
The family who had moved into the Nickson home had apparently come from further out in the country, with rumors they'd lived in the States for some time and been corrupted by American ideals. Hyacinth Beechcroft had been told by Esther Gladwell that the wife was a professor at university, which gave everyone a sensible impression to contradict the rumors.
When the family had finally arrived, the moving truck taking up far too much of Lancaster Road for Number Fifteen's liking, many of the neighborhood wives had gathered together to bring over a bunt in welcome. Hyacinth thought it only appropriate.
The first sighting of the Smith family was awkward as none of them had been expecting a woman in her mid-thirties wearing a long, flowery skirt that was practically see-through with a halter-top so sheer that Esther nearly fainted as the woman wasn't wearing any undergarments. Mrs. Smith's hair was a knotty mess and was easily the worst hair anyone on Lancaster Road had ever seen.
Needless to say, most of the neighbors tended to smile and nod if they saw the Smiths, but they were hardly likely to say 'hullo' unless prompted. Even when, five years ago, the elder Smiths had begun wearing nineteenth-century clothes most of the neighbors politely ignored it. Esther Gladwell had simply said, "At least you can't see through them."
It wasn't until this latest travesty that the Smiths gave cause for a near up-rising in the neighborhood circles; they had put up a rainbow flag to flaunt homosexual agendas. It was enough to have an emergency meeting of the Ladies' Social Club to set to a petition to have it taken down immediately.
Had the neighbors known that inside number seventeen the youngest of the Smiths, Zacharias, a sensible and studious boy of sixteen, firmly agreed with them, they might have been spurned to an even more aggressive campaign.
"Mum! It's outrageous!"
"Why dear? I want everyone to know that I'm proud of my gay son!" She beamed at him, making hand gestures while glancing at images in a book called Stroke Your Aura: The Guide to Inner Peace.
"Maybe I don't want everyone knowing I'm gay!"
"Why wouldn't you?" She was now making gestures that seemed inappropriate and Zacharias looked away, embarrassed. "You should be proud! Women had to fight just to have the right to vote and you are growing up in an age where you can be yourself! Be happy you aren't living in the forties! They'd have just put you in a ward and been done with you!" She may have been lecturing, but even still she came off as a bit wispy.
The curly blond boy rolled his eyes and threw his arms up in despair. It was never any use talking to her about these things once her mind was made up. He wandered into the living room, his khaki pants, neatly pressed and starched, making noises as he moved and his sensible powder blue button-up hugging his thin body. His father, who wore a pair of jeans and a faded nineteenth-century tunic open to his navel, looked up at his son from the latest edition of Animal Action and gave him a stern look. "Don't even start," he said, closing the magazine. "You know she's impossible once she gets a cause started."
"But dad! I'm the gay one here! And I don't want rainbow flags on our front step!"
"Zach, there's just no point—"
"Zacharias," he hissed, tired of repeating himself. His father just gave him a look and returned to his magazine, the matter closed. Frustrated, Zacharias stomped up the stairs in a most immature way and slammed the door to his room.
Unlike the rest of the house, his room was by far the starkest and almost stripped of all personality. The most interesting thing in it was a poster hanging above the very properly made bed, hospital corners and all, of the Wimbourne Wasps, a much respected local Quidditch team that Zacharias rooted for. The poster featured the team playing a fierce game against Pride of Portree, whose deep purple robes made quite the combinations with the Wasps's black and yellows. The players were rushing around the field and as he came in, a particularly nasty blow to Pride's seeker sent the man tumbling to the ground, unnoticed by the room's occupant.
The rest of the room was mostly bare wall, a few trophies from his under-11s football team and a ribbon for a maths competition just before he left for Hogwarts. The desk was very neatly organized with pens, pencils and quills all properly stored in the drawer, paper and parchment in another, a neat stack of books atop the overhead shelf along with some other necessary school supplies. His familiar, Archimedes, was the rather prim-looking grey, black and silver tabby currently licking his paws on the bed. In greeting, the cat looked up at Zacharias expecting to be pat. When his friend did finally, Archimedes began to purr instantly and made it known he preferred his ears be scratched before he returned to his grooming.
"They're mad," Zacharias told Archimedes bitterly. "Always thinking it's alright to run off and do as they please with no mind for society." He shook his blond head, closing his eyes in despair. It had been this way since he was a child, and he remembered nearly losing his seat at Eton before getting his Hogwarts letter. The idea of not attending Hogwarts had been a huge controversy in the Smith household.
"Flower you're a wizard! It's an amazing adventure! You can't simply brush it aside and go to Eton!" His mother had been telling him for days how lucky he was to be able to go to a wizarding school, but all Zacharias, as he'd recently decided his name should be, wanted was to go to Eton with his friends and become a sensible mathematician like his mate Michael.
He stood his ground, arms folded and a sour look on his face. "I don't want to go. I'm going to be a mathematician," he said grumpily. His mum was holding the invitation letter and looking at it as if it could give her a better argument.
"But flower, you've got a gift; you shouldn't squander it."
After nearly a month fighting about it, the time came for him to board the train and, unluckily his parents had rushed off to Diagon Alley to purchase all his supplies, including Archimedes. Only this amazing cat, whom had secretly turned Zacharias's mind just a bit toward going to Hogwarts as Eton didn't allow pets, was the reason he allowed them to rush him off to King's Cross before he could say 'No' again.
That was also when they had started wearing nineteenth-century clothing, much to his despair.
"It's just brilliant! They all wear such beautiful clothes! You don't see dresses like these anymore," his mother had said, turning in her new green dress and billowing out the skirt in emphasis.
His father was now wearing a rather putrid looking purple number with frills and a rather nasty looking tie. "I love it," he'd announced, making Zacharias wonder if he had a nick of fashion sense in his head.
"Zach!" He groaned at the use of this childish nickname, rising to open the door. "Flower there's someone here to see you!"
Flushed with embarrassment that anyone visiting would hear his mother call him 'flower', far worse than 'Zach' any day, he ran down the stairs to find Hannah Abbot, his dearest friend from Hogwarts, and Ernie Macmillan, a stout young man with dark hair and a confident look. Hannah gave him an understanding look whilst Ernie had an amused grin on his face, mouthing 'flower' and making it clear Zacharias would never hear the end of it.
"Zacharias, you won't believe how many O.W.L.S. I've gotten!" Hannah was holding her Hogwarts letter in her hand, nearly bouncing on her toes and her blond hair in the ever-present pigtails that she refused to let go even after all this time. Her face was pinker than usual, the effort of not squealing with glee enough to make her flush.
"Well, let's go upstairs and see, then," he said, motioning for the two of them to follow him, preferably quickly. His mother made an anxious gesture, indicating he shouldn't rush them right away, but he ignored her and hoped she wouldn't bug them.
The first time he'd had Hannah over, his mother had sat her down and quizzed her about her use of shaving products and how young ladies should know they have a choice whether to succumb to social pressures in regards to the matter. Zacharias had felt completely embarrassed and had nearly died in embarrassment. Ernie hadn't ever been around to his home before, so he was hoping to keep his parents away from the lad.
Just as they were halfway up the stairs, his father poked his head in at the bottom and said, "Zachy? Do you and your mates want some biscuits?" He froze, mortified, and turned around to give his father death eyes for the horrid use of disgustingly sick names. When his father saw his face, he simply raised his eyebrows. "Crisps, then?"
"No, we're fine," he finally spit out through clenched teeth, avoiding Ernie's face for fear of what he'd see. His father simply shrugged, a defeated look on his face, and disappeared back to whatever it was his father did on weekends. Rushing up to his room, he waited impatiently until Hannah and Ernie were securely in and shut the door firmly, locking it for good measure.
Hannah was already on his bed, laid out in a very relaxed manner and petting Archimedes whilst the cat purred and rubbed against her hand, urging her to pay special attention to his ever-itchy ears. "Hallo," she said softly, leaning down to leave a kiss on his head.
"Nice room, mate," Ernie said with only a slight hint of skepticism. "Personality much?" He was looking around at everything when he came across of a photo of Zacharias and his parents at a hippie gathering they'd forced him to attend when he was eight. In the picture, 'Flower', as they'd called him from then on, was wearing a crown of huge daffodils that dwarfed his young head. He had an especially large grin on his face and his mum was wearing a matching crown whilst his father merely had one pinned to his jean vest. Ernie was looking close and starting to laugh as Zacharias quickly snatched it away and hid it in a drawer, cursing himself for leaving it out. "Nice photo mate! Now I know why they call you Flower. And you were smiling!" He laughed heartily, then stopped and gave a mock serious look. "Do you suppose they knew even then?"
"Oh shut up, Ern," Hannah said from the bed. "Not like I haven't seen you checking out Justin's arse," she added for good measure. Ernie went bright red and gave her a death glare. She batted her eyes tauntingly and then grinned. "O.W.L.S.!" She grabbed up her letter from where she'd dropped it and patted the bed for the two of them to join her. When Ernie made to sit on the opposite side of her from Zacharias, she quickly sat up and pushed them closer.
"Hannah!" they both exclaimed at once.
"Just because we're the only two gay blokes you know doesn't mean we're going to shack up!" Ernie looked mortified at the idea of doing anything remotely sexual with Zacharias, then hit her playfully on the arm.
"I will succeed," she said knowingly. "If you two darlings don't have boyfriends by the Halloween Feast, I'll make you go out."
"You can't make us," Zacharias said, disgusted with the idea himself.
"Well, there aren't even other gay blokes at Hogwarts, so I don't know why you don't just give in." Her tone was all-knowing, but both the boys laughed at her. She took on a hurt expression and pouted.
"Do you really believe that? Come on, Hannah, even you're not that off!" Ernie shook his head and then leaned it on her shoulder when she refused to stop pouting. "Oh come on, pet! I heard once that some muggle sighcotrist said that one in ten muggles are gay, so I bet five in ten wizards are!"
"That's preposterous," Zacharias countered, looking skeptical. "Wizards may be more open-minded, but that doesn't mean more of them are gay."
"Look at that git Malfoy; if he's not gay my Aunt's a kneazle."
"You're Aunt may just be," Hannah said playfully. "Remember how she fell and landed on all fours? Crazy!" She and Ernie shared a laugh, but Zacharias was only reminded of how much lesser a time he'd known the two of them, who'd been friends since first year.
For the first couple of years, he'd avoided his classmates with the exception of Justin, whom he'd known had almost gone to Eton as well. Justin was a bit odd, to say the least, and Zacharias had been sure Justin was gay until he'd come across the lad's stash of porn magazines that he'd nicked from his older brother. It had been awkward telling Justin that no, he wasn't interested in looking because it wasn't his style of magazine. Justin had been cool about it, though, and insisted on introducing him to Ernie, who it turned out was also gay. And so the Quest To Pair Up the Homos began, taken on by Hannah, Justin and Susan, the group of friends that adopted Zacharias with Justin's help. Aside from her constant attempts at getting him to shag Ernie, he and Hannah had got on quickly as the next best thing to a relationship.
Now, to his utter despair, they were all the best of friends and he couldn't imagine life without them. It didn't stop him from hating their guts when they made fun of him for having googly eyes at Harry Potter.
"So?" Hannah said, her voice filled with exasperation. "Are you going to keep me waiting forever?"
"Alright," Zacharias said, rolling his eyes and hiding a smile. "Here."
She handed him hers and they both opened them at the same time, going over the list.
"Potions?" Hannah exclaimed. "You're going to continue with that sod Snape?"
"He's not that bad," he defended, getting a snort from Ernie."'Not that bad'," Ernie said condescendingly. "If he got any more anti-social he'd win a prize. My mum says he was just as bad in school. Hasn't changed a bit, that one."
"Your mum knew him in school? Eurgh! I can't imagine going to school with him," Hannah said with a look like someone having just accidentally swallowed a gallon of pure lemon juice. "Well, at least I don't have him for N.E.W.T. classes. I'm done with Potions for good."
"You didn't even get an O.W.L.?"
"Oh I did, but I told Professor Sprout that I wasn't interested in continuing." She looked smug, like she'd always known she'd get the O.W.L., and Ernie threw Zacharias's pillow at her. "Hey!"
"You did no such thing!"
"I did," she insisted, holding in a laugh. "Professor Sprout said, 'I always knew you were the brightest in our house,' as well!"
"Oh you liar!"
That commenced a rather nasty pillow fight, which Zacharias even joined in when he extracted the spare pillows from his cupboard. At one point Hannah knocked over his side table, spewing its contents all around the room. Zacharias was having so much fun however; he didn't even start complaining about the mess. She was only worried for a moment – really.
A knock on the door stopped them, a concerned look on Ernie's face not knowing how Zacharias's parents might react to all the noise, Hannah just looking flushed from all the activity, her pale skin always pinkish with even the effort of breathing and Zacharias's smile gone from his face like spotted dick at a family dinner.
"Zach? Would you three like anything to eat?" His father was always insisting on eating, and it was nearly enough to make the sixteen year old go insane.
"You're so thin," he said, pinching his son's stomach through his shirt. "You need to eat more. Don't they feed you at school?"
"I eat just fine, thank you," he admonished, batting his father's hand away.
"You don't look it."
"Dad! We're fine!"
"Actually mate, I could use something to eat. My mum was off in Diagon Alley picking up some ingredients for an antidote to my Aunt Dilys's doxy bite, so I haven't eaten since yesterday." He gave a sad expression and rubbed his tummy.
"I wouldn't mind some biscuits," Hannah added.
"Oh fine," he conceded, unlocking the door to allow his father to have a proper conversation.
"Your mum's made some sandwiches and there are crisps as well." Hannah and Ernie both made to rush downstairs but Zacharias's father motioned for him to stay behind. "Your mum's concerned that you're not eating," he started.
"Dad! It's you who's always on me about food!"
"Well, I had a word with your mum and she agrees, Flower. You need to eat!"
"Dad, stop calling me that. It's Zacharias."
"You're such a hard-ass," his father said flatly. "Calm down."
He just rolled his eyes at his father and brushed past him. Just because his parents were complete loons didn't mean he had to be as well.
When he arrived in the kitchen he found his mum already seated across from Hannah and Ernie, who were both stuffing their faces with sandwiches and gulping down coca-cola.
"…Didn't even have the right to vote, but he still thinks…"
"Mum, you're not off about women again are you? Because Ernie's gay and Hannah's straight, so…" He smiled and his mum just shook her head. Ernie gave him an odd look but continued eating.
"I think it's interesting," Hannah said. "I mean, you teach whole classes on women's rights?"
"Well there's a lot to teach," Amelia said, her eyes lighting up. Zacharias knew that she was going to start, and once she started it was hard to get her to stop. As she went off, Hannah enraptured with the lecture, Edward sat down next to Ernie and dug into the sandwiches.
"What do you do, Mr. Smith?"
"I work for the R.S.P.C.A.," he said proudly. "I'm chief editor of Animal Action."
"Really? What's that?"
"You've never heard of us?"
"He's from a wizard family, dad," Zacharias added, sighing.
"Oh right." He smiled and began speaking through sandwich, something that really annoyed his son to no end. "Well you see, muggles," – he said this with an almost glee at using something he considered an 'in' word, like a club – "aren't all very good with animals. We tend to kill them off without thinking."
"That's horrible," Ernie said. "You've killed off animals?" And then his father started in on animal rights and animal testing. This went on for nearly ten minutes before he stopped. "Aren't you going to eat?" Zacharias just rolled his eyes and dropped his head on the table.