Chapter 36 - Hugo's solicitation

"Mara?", Lucy Weasley's voice sounded through the hall where Rose's best friend walked towards the Gryffindor tower. She and some other classmates had just finished their Divination class with a very grey-haired Professor Trelawney. A class Rose had vowed to never even try out after seeing the book Unfogging your future, when one of her older cousins finished his homework at their home over the holidays. She loved to read, but after just a few pages she had set it aside, complaining how magic could be so boring and unspecific.

"Hi.", Mara greeted back shyly, her brown eyes insecure. Lucy was not just two years older, but also a Ravenclaw Prefect. Her long black hair, just a tiny bit curly, and her green eyes made a striking combination. Her oblong face was small, with a nose and mouth both just a little bit too big to make her look really beautiful. Her smile was warm, but she could be harsh, if she found some students who didn't follow the rules or bullied others.

Beside her greetings towards Rose, Lucy and Mara had nothing to do with one another, so Mara was anxious about what had made the older girl want to talk to her.

"Sorry to retain you Mara. I haven't got a hold of Rose the last few days. Do you know if she's fine?"

Lucy was a lot like her dad Percy, for she was serious and very keen on her studies, but she had her mother's caring nature and sweet smile. Hearing what was going on in her family, she couldn't help but worry about Rose and Hugo, but mostly Rose. Her cousin was a temperamental teenager who wanted to look strong, so she hardly asked for help. Sometimes having someone to talk to could help and Lucy wanted to let her know that she would be there for her.

"Oh, yes, I guess? She's a bit down and emotional but she spends most of her time with Ian at the moment. They just started going out. She is happy to spend time with him so I hardly see her too."

Mara blushed when she heard what this conversation was about and scolded herself for worrying. Sometimes she wondered why the hat had put her in Gryffindor. All she ever did was worry about what could go wrong, but mostly after she rushed right into the trouble.

"Thank you Mara. Sorry again for keeping you from you next class. Now hurry up."

"I'll tell her you enquired about her once I catch her tonight. I'm sure she'll check in with you.", Mara said while she turned around and went to follow her classmates towards the tower. There was still enough time to be back before curfew without a hurry, but with a Prefect watching her Mara shook a leg anyway, her own shoulder-length straight black hair swinging behind her.

XxX

In the evening the Ravenclaw tower was full, but less noisy than any other house and small groups were sitting together at the tables of the Common Room, talking softly about their classes or the upcoming weekend.

After her two classmates had left for the dorms, Lucy was sitting alone in the sitting place not far from one of the big arched windows when the chair next to her was suddenly occupied again.

Hugo shyly smiled at her and his whole face looked hopeful.

"Sorry Hugo, I couldn't catch her again."

She could see the smile fall from his face and he started to frown before she was finished.

"But I talked to Mara earlier and she'll tell Rose that I want to talk to her. That is if she wants to.", Lucy felt like she had to remind her small cousin of that. She couldn't and wouldn't meddle in Rose's affairs if she didn't her want to. No matter how much Hugo wanted her to help Rose, she couldn't help someone who saw no need for advice.

Further it was a problem Lucy herself had never encountered and wasn't sure how to handle. There were a lot of feelings and people involved in this drama and she feared to give the wrong advice. Mainly she just wanted to offer a sympathetic ear, like she had for Hugo. He had been the one to explain the situation to her and ask for help with Rose, because she had reacted badly in his eyes. For him his mother was his mother, with or without memories. He tried to see the best in the situation and told Lucy it was funny how he retold a story for his mom and she had sat there, listened and smiled at him.

Since he was small his mother had spent most of her time working and it had always been his dad, his sister and him at home. To have his mother talking to him about her memory problems, confiding in him and having her all for himself had lessened the shock of her losing her memory for Hugo.

Lucy was just happy Aunt Hermione had stopped him from spending any more time in the library to find other solutions to her problems. She had invited Hugo to join her again, an invitation Hugo was to shy yet to take, but had told him his friends and his studies were more important. His sad little smile when he had told Lucy how important friends were in his mother's eyes had made her want to hug her little cousin.

As a relative and someone from his own house she knew and saw how hard Hugo's first year was for him. Another strange Weasley that didn't end up in Gryffindor, was what they called him, or the Minister's little nestling. Children could be spiteful if they didn't understand something or were jealous. Hugo was shy and sensitive and had a rough time. Instead of searching for other friends, who didn't care for his family he had hidden himself away in the library reading every book he had gotten his hands on. Beside her, his sister and some other cousins she hadn't seen him talk to anyone outside of lessons.

Looking over towards his classmates she noticed Elena watching them. The little girl had tried, the first few weeks, to make Hugo join her group of first years, but the others had made her stop rather fast. Lucy didn't know what happened but she didn't pressure Hugo to tell her. Things would happen in their own time.

AN:

Many of you loved Hugo so this little chapter is for you.

By now there are so many characters that the story is taking longer to unfold than I planned. I promise we'll go deeper into Hermione's misery in the future and to answer the question some of you bought up intheir comments: No, Hermione isn't likeable nor is she supposed to be at this point. She has PTSD, and if any of you ever had a personal experiance with it, you know that it twists the person. It's a mental illness that manifests in different ways and makes it hard to regognize the loved person it burries. This story is my personal way of looking at it, and the way I let her deal with it is neither right nor wrong but simple fiction. I added a warning to the first chapter now since there are so many readers in the comments that voice their problem with it. Also some changes were made to the chapters 18-20.

Since many of you voiced a problem with her behaviour I want to warn you here again, it will get worse before it gets better!