10. Shyest of the Shy

As he'd expected, the last month and a half of Alastor's summer holidays was utter misery. If it hadn't been for the letters he received from his friends on a regular basis, Alastor didn't know what he would have done. He'd gone to Diagon Alley with his mother and brother, hoping to get a chance to see his friends, but Calla had kept such a close eye on him that he'd been unable to get away and seek out his friends. Alastor suspected his father had told her to.

In any case, he didn't get a chance to speak with his friends until he went to King's Cross Station to catch the Hogwarts Express. As he was towing the two trunks across the platform, the others surrounded him and somehow managed to get both trunks on the train without fuss. Once they were taken care of, he began to chat with the others, catching up with them.

"Sung 'Rule Brittania' yet, Stew?"

"No, mate," Stewart's grin was cheeky, quite the impish expression on his face. "That's reserved especially for you"

"How's your ankle, Poppy?" Alastor asked the girl, squeezing the hand that found its way into his.

She smiled brilliantly up at him, that serene light in her storm grey eyes. "It's been fine for months, Alastor, but thank you for remembering."

"You're welcome, Poppy," he answered sincerely before looking around at the others. "Read any new plays yet, Percy?"

The dapper boy smiled, cobalt blue eyes lit with mirth. "Ten more, actually."

Everyone laughed and Alastor turned to Belladonna. "Hexed anyone lately?"

"I had two targets in mind, but then I decided they were hardly worth the effort," she winked, lips forming a smirk as per usual.

"So, Ro, what's the highest you've flown now?"

"Twenty feet, Al!" Rolanda answered proudly from her perch on Griffith's shoulders.

Alastor reached up and tugged on her ponytail. "Twenty feet! Imagine that! You'll be a pro in no time."

"Stop that!" She batted his hand away.

Alastor turned his attention to Griffith. "How about you, Griff? Had anymore trouble with her?"

"No more than usual." The other boy shrugged.

"Hey!" Rolanda lightly bopped her brother over the head. "I'm still here, you know!"

Griffith rubbed his head where his sister had hit him. "See what I mean, Al?"

"Yeah, I do," Alastor replied with a grin. "Well, Rrem, how was the rest of the holiday?"

The other boy smiled his trademark smile, the expression in his eyes soft. "It was fine, but I really wished you could have stayed."

"Stewart! Poppy!" Mrs. Pomfrey's voice announced her arrival. "Oh, Alastor, how are you?"

He smiled up at Mrs. Pomfrey, wishing his own mother was as concerned about him. "I'm fine, Mrs. Pomfrey. Thank you for the letters."

"You're quite welcome, Alastor," she replied, brushing a hand over his hair, almost as if she were his mother. "Will you be joining us for Christmas, too?"

Alastor's face lit up. "I'd love to."

"Alastor." Calla's voice deflated Alastor like a balloon.

He sighed. "If Mother and Father agree."

"Thank you, Alastor," Calla told him curtly.

He nodded. "You're welcome, Mother."

There was a pause, in which Calla stared down her nose at Mrs. Pomfrey, her eyes steely, but in any case the pause was interrupted by Stewart, "Oy, mate, let's get to our compartment," he suggested, indicating the train door where Rremly had moved to stand by.

"An excellent suggestion, Stew," Alastor replied, climbing aboard without bothering to say good-bye to his mother.

Rremly followed Alastor and the two boys set off to look for an empty compartment while the others said goodbye to their families. Without warning, Rremly quietly asked, "It's because I'm a Hufflepuff and Griff, Percy, and Bella are Gryffindors, isn't it?"

"What?" Alastor was startled by the question.

Rremly stopped and turned to look at Alastor. "Your father, the way he acted when he picked you up."

"Yes, unfortunately, but please don't tell the others," Alastor requested urgently as the others approached.

Rremly nodded, patting him on the back. "My lips are sealed."

"Thank you, Rrem." Alastor turned and continued down the train.

"Bit late for that," Bella pointed out sardonically, coming up behind them. "But I already knew. Don't worry, I won't say a thing."

Alastor could feel the relief sweep through. "Thanks."

He stopped and glanced in one compartment. A boy about Rremly's height with golden hair, luminous grey eyes, and round gold rimmed antique glasses sat alone in the compartment, reading a rather large volume. Alastor rather found him familiar, but he was at a loss as for the boy's name.

"Have you found a compartment yet, Al?" Stew asked.

"Well, there's a boy in here." Alastor replied. "Not sure if we should disturb him."

The others exchanged looks and shrugged, but Rremly was the one who came to stand near to Alastor, looking into the compartment.

"Oh, that's Milo Wilkes," Rremly smiled. "We often study together in the dormitory. The common room's really too noisy for him."

"Too noisy for him?" Griffith raised an eyebrow.

Rremly shot him a look. "He's shy and doesn't like crowds."

"Shyer than you?" Stewart smiled.

"Is that really so surprising?"

"No, but it's amusing. Sweet, even," Percy mused, looking at Milo through the glass. "What?"He asked when everyone turned to look at him.

"I'll ask him if he wouldn't mind some company," said Rremly. He opened the door and a few steps inside. "Hi, Milo," he smiled. "We were wondering if perhaps you wouldn't mind some company."

Milo looked at Rremly and then at the rest of them, and though he managed a tiny smile, Alastor could tell he was a bit overwhelmed by the sight of them.

"Oh- well, yes- I mean no, I… I w-wouldn't mind some company," he stammered a bit, blushing, obviously a bit embarrassed, nearly dropping his book which Rremly caught and handed back to him and took a seat beside him.

"Lovely," Percy smiled brightly, obviously hoping to put him at ease as he took the seat on Milo's other side. This made Milo blush even more.

Alastor moved inside with the others. They all took their seats and after Rremly went around introducing them, they all asked questions and tried to get Milo comfortable with their conversation. They told him about themselves, and soon they learned a few things about him.

They learned he was the youngest of his family which consisted of his parents and two sets of twins: Cornelius and Cedric were in sixth year while Morwen and Ariadne were fourth years. They found out that just like Percy's and Alastor's families, the Wilkes' were also an old venerable family that went back many centuries. Also, they discovered that while Milo's older siblings were active and very much involved in Quidditch, he very much preferred to watch. Similarly, just as Percy's brothers and cousins were split between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, Milo's siblings where split between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor—Milo was the first of the family to be Sorted into Hufflepuff and Percy the first in two generations to be Sorted into Gryffindor.

Milo was also an avid reader who particularly loved to read and write plays, which thoroughly pleased Percy who let out such a gasp, almost as if he'd just discovered a chest filled to the brim with treasure, quite startling Milo- and, indeed, everyone else. Before they could ask what that gasp was about, Percy immediately began to pepper Milo with questions over his favourite plays and playwrights, as well as questions over what Milo liked to write about, and what other books Milo liked to read.

Poor Milo could barely get one response out before another three questions were asked. Eventually Belladonna cast a silencing charm on him. Percy wasn't at all happy about that… until he saw Milo smile, obviously relieved. It appeared Percy rather liked that smile.

"Nice chap, isn't he?" Stewart asked the others as they followed the older students to where a veritable fleet of horseless carriages waited to take them up to the castle.

Alastor nodded. "Yeah."

"Really shy, though," Griffith commented as Stewart climbed into the carriage.

"I know," Stewart agreed as Alastor climbed in after Griffith.

Belladonna climbed in next. "Percy sure took a fancy to him."

"I just hope he doesn't fluster Milo too much," voiced Alastor.

Just minutes before Milo, Rremly, and Percy had taken the previous carriage. He remembered how Milo had looked, trying very much to avoid looking at Percy directly. Venturing away from conversation about Milo, they all talked about nothing in particular as the carriage wound its way up the front drive. Still talking, they climbed out of the carriage and made their way up to the castle. Once inside, they made their way to the Great Hall, where they split up to sit at their House tables.

"Alastor!"

"Coming, Aurelius," Alastor called back, reluctantly walking over to join his brother.

"You know, it's really admirable the way you stick by your friends, they're lucky to have you," Aurelius told Alastor when he reached him. He spared a small smile, or at least the closest thing to a smile, before heading to his seat at the Slytherin table, leaving Alastor looking at his retreating back in surprise.