xv. this isn't a matter of weakness.
His life is a whirlwind, a mess of small smiles and fading bruises. His taps along the beat, keeping time with his foot and punching notes into the old piano just in rhythm with the punches landing on him.
But Hugo Weasley isn't weak- this isn't a matter of weakness.
...
He never did pinpoint when she caught his eye, her dark hair and dark eyes and a personality sweet as melted chocolate (or so it seems). Lily was thrilled, beyond thrilled actually, because she was Lily and she didn't half-ass things, especially emotions.
"She's just the perfect girl," she crowed gleefully, "to get you out of this 'angsty musician' thing you have going."
Hugo had frowned and shoved his cousin playfully, one of the few people who could do so without her letting loose on them.
She was only a sixth year, when he himself was in his final year at Hogwarts. And a year later, when she graduates, she moves in with him in his small flat above a muggle bakery in London, similar to the many nights she spent in his dorm. But the best part is that she doesn't have to leave.
He's a young-twenty something and the days are long with even longer nights. He works a desk-job at the Ministry, in a position his father finagled for him, because he has to. He spends hours each night writing music and tapping away on the piano he bought from an elderly muggle couple who was moving out purely because he wants to.
Each day she comes home from St. Mungo's and healing (and the poor boy has yet to realize the irony), still looking as put-together as when she walked out the door nine hours prior.
His job is stable, his girlfriend's beautiful and music flows through his veins like some wild drug singing of great days.
...
Lily knocks- bangs- on his door one night, dressed to the nines and welcomes herself into the flat.
"Hugo, my man! You coming out tonight?" she asks, pouring herself a glass of water. Hugo hesitates and quickly is relieved as Jess comes sweeping into the room, her hair thrown askew and one of his shirts draped over her tiny shoulders. She stares at Lily a moment then giggles, "Actually, Lily, me and Hugo have other plans," she says, winding her arms around her boyfriend.
Lily pauses, staring at the couple, before shrugging and taking off toward the door, "Well, your loss then." She closes the door halfway, before poking her head back in, smiling devilishly.
"By the way, Shruken Heads are playing." With a final smirk, she flitted out of the door. Hugo paused turning toward Jess, "Maybe it wouldn't hurt to go out tonight.."
He was interrupted as her nails dug sharply into his wrist, "But Hugo! We already have plans!" The nails dig deeper and her voice, though covered in a film of playfulness, is steel underneath. Hugo back steps quickly.
"You're right, they'll always be playing another time."
The first bruises form the next day.
...
They, the bruises that is, begin to adorn his arms. Pinpricks of nails, ones wide as palms and deep colored fists. When he visits home (increasingly rarely), he wears long-sleeves, even in late May.
"Aren't you hot?" his mother ask, handing him a glass of lemonade. He downs it greedily, praying that any sweat stays away from his face.
"No, mum, I'm fine."
...
He thinks the progression is slow, though granted he never dwells on it. so really, it's Lily doing the thinking, as she often does, coming around his flat whenever Jess isn't home and leaving long before she is.
"Lil, why do you hate her? She's nice enough and she's never done anything to you!" he asks his cousin one day, while they both head through the Ministry to the Auror department. Him, for work and her, to visit her dad. Lily looks taken aback.
"Jess? What the hell are you on? Of course I hate her, she's a bitch! She's a horrible girlfriend and for months now I've been trying to get that through your thick skull!"
"Lily that's not fa-"
"No! Shut up, Hugo! Honestly, when's the last time you wrote something? Banged around on that piano you insisted on dragging up to your flat, so that your muggle neighbors didn't suspect anything?"
"I play plenty-"
"Bullshit. You probably haven't in the last half-year. Why? Because of fucking Jess, who hates it. Why? Because it distracts her from healing? Does it actually? No, she's distracted because she's too busy shagging her co-"
"SHUT UP!" Hugo roars, much to the surprise of the red-head next to him and the general populace of the corridor. He winces as a fading bruise of his neck stretches. Lily stops talking abruptly, eyeing him up and down. She places her hand on the door handle of her father's office.
"I was only trying to help, Hugo."
The door shuts softly behind her and Hugo is left standing there confused, upset and not a single note pounding through his veins.
...
He leaves work early the next day, trudging home unhappily, still not speaking to his cousin. He supposes he should apologize, but it really was fair of Lily to make unfounded accusat-
His heart stops when he opens the door, as noises come from the bedroom. He's most certainly not alone.
He walks through the house quietly, hand flexing and relaxing on the handle to the bedroom door before opening it quickly. Jess swears loudly, grabbing the blanket to her chin as her workmate.. whatever the fuck his name is, falls to the floor. And in the doorway, Hugo doesn't yell or get angry at all.
He simply walks back out, apparating to the Burrow where an old decrepit piano lays silent. But not for long.
The chords start slow, but gather speed as his love for the girl with the dark hair and dark eyes and personality like viper venom shatters in a thousand pieces on ivory keys.
a/n: Only Lily is left. I'm going to miss this, I enjoyed writing it quite a bit! also, don't be surprised if there is a gap between this and the final one; Lily is a slippery character and I'm trying to figure out what to do with her. Although if you have any suggestions, I'll keep an open mind to those as well :)