cheap thrills [hugo]

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Fred was meeting one of his younger cousins in Hogsmeade. He had considered asking Hugo to meet him in the carnival that had just popped up, but considering the newness of it all, Fred was worried that the crowd would be too big. Lots of people didn’t bother him – in fact, Fred thrived when he was surrounding by others – but since Hugo couldn’t touch people without unpleasantness ensuing, he figured that it would be better to do something else with his cousin. Thinking of what to do with Hugo had been a little difficult, but Fred had refused to invite his cousin to sit around and talk with him. That was all well and good, but Hugo had a lot of cousins to talk to. He only had one Fred, who was crazy enough to do just about anything… including hockey. The story of how Fred had come to know about hockey was long and complicated, and involved a hockey jersey, a soft cucumber, and far too many rogue Pygmy Puffs for anyone’s liking, but that was besides the point. Hugo wasn’t a Quidditch player, but Fred could make a hockey player of him yet. Fred had set up a makeshift hockey goal in a back alley of Hogsmeade, which was markedly less crowded now that everyone was distracted by the carnival. The two boys would be in no danger of hitting any innocent passerby with a stray puck. Fred twirled a hockey stick in his hand expectantly as he searched the crowd for a sign of Hugo.

@hugo

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When Hugo got the message from Fred asking him to come do something in Hogsmeade, he was excited. He liked spending time with his cousins and Fred was definitely a lot of fun to be with. So when the time came, Hugo made his way down to Hogsmeade. He was surprised by how empty it was there, until he remembered that there was a carnival going on. A part of him was surprised that Fred chose to meet here instead of going to the carnival, but he was glad. Carnivals were big and crowded and most people weren't careful about personal boundaries. Now realizing that Hogsmeade was bound to be emptier than usual, he sped up, excited to go there. As he walked down the main alley, Hugo grinned at the sight of his cousin wielding a ... hockey stick. "Oy, Fred!" he called, waving at the older cousin as he made his way over. His eyes narrowed a little, "What are you going to do with that today?" he asked suspiciously. Yup. This was going to be fun.

@fred

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Fred turned when he heard his name being called, and saw none other than Hugo Weasley standing in the alley near him. Fred stopped twirling his hockey stick to wave back at his younger cousin, grinning like a Cheshire when he saw Hugo’s eyes narrow at the setup that he had going. Hugo asked what he was going to be doing, and Fred shook his head. “The question is not what I am doing today, little cousin, but what we are doing today.” He told Hugo. Without warning, Fred threw a padded helmet at Hugo, followed by a second hockey stick. Hopefully the kid’s reflexes were good, otherwise their game was going to be over before it even started. “We’re going to play hockey! Apparently it’s a big thing in Canada.” It didn’t seem like a game that Candadians would like, since it was extremely violent (at least according to the brief research Fred had done on it), but hey, they could do their own thing. Fred just wanted a game to play with his cousin.

@hugo

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Fred was obviously excited about the game they were about to play and Hugo had no intention of disappointing him ... but he really had no idea what hockey was, much less how he was supposed to play hockey. He laughed, "Alright, alright. What are we doing then?" He only had a second to wait before Fred started throwing a helmet and a hockey stick at him. He caught them easily, putting the stick beside him so he could put on the helmet as his cousin explained what they would be doing. "How do you know how to play hockey?" he asked curiously. It wasn't particularly a surprise, since Fred knew a lot of things, but Hugo was still curious. Once the helmet was on, he picked up the hockey stick and looked at his cousin. "Okay. What are we supposed to do now?"

@fred

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Hugo asked the one question that Fred had hoped wouldn’t come up, and he shook his head after his cousin finished talking. “Hugo, there are some mysteries in the world that are better when they remain unsolved.” Fred said slowly, hoping that there was enough gravitas in his voice to ensure that his cousin never asked him again, ever. He didn’t want his cousin to be scarred for life. Fred took the time he needed to put on his helmet when Hugo put on his, and grinned when his younger cousin asked him what they were supposed to do now. Fred took the hockey puck out of his pocket, and dropped it on the ground. It clattered loudly against the floor of the alley, and the sound echoed a little ominously. Nothing was going to go wrong, Fred convinced himself. Things never went wrong! Mostly. “We try to get this into the net. Using these.” Fred said, gesturing with the stick, though he figured that Hugo had figured that out already. “There are rules, but I don’t like most of them, so we’re going to call this a free-for-all.” Plus rules meant that there was more explaining to do, and Fred would rather play. He kicked the puck closer to his cousin. “You can start.” He offered, like any good older cousin would.

@hugo

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Fred's response was strangely cryptic, which was weird for him. He was normally so open about everything. At least, Hugo always saw him that way. He lifted an eyebrow at his cousin. "Whatever you say," Hugo answered with a shrug. If Fred didn't want to tell him, he didn't have to, obviously. He watched as Fred dropped the puck on the ground and then nodded at his description. Well that didn't seem too hard. Use the sticks to push the puck into the net. Then again, he was playing against Fred, who he already knew was quite competitive. This was definitely going to be challenging, in one way or another. "Alright. I'm ready. You'd just better not break any bones Fred," Hugo warned, but he was teasing. Maybe the fact that the helmet was blocking his face would make it so that he didn't notice the jibe for what it was. Hugo stepped on the puck when it reached him. "Alright, here we go," he said, swinging the stick at the puck. It ... missed? No, what was this!? Hugo was not going to embarrass himself in front of his older cousin. He moved the stick again and swiped at the puck, giving a short laugh when it made contact. Good. Then Hugo was moving quickly alongside the puck, towards the goal behind Fred. Yeah, this game would definitely be interesting.

@fred

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Hugo didn’t seem too sure about what Fred was saying, so the older boy made a wacky face at the younger. He didn’t want this to be a source of anxiety. Hugo said something about breaking bones, and Fred snorted. “Hey, at least you know that neither of us are going to die this way!” He said optimistically. Hugo’s talent for being able to see people’s deaths normally seemed like a bit of a drag, but it made Fred a lot more confident that neither one of them were going to get seriously or irreparably injured. As far as Fred was considered, death was the only irreparable injury, though, so maybe that logic was flawed. The first time Hugo swung at the hockey puck, he missed, and Fred let out a loud, bright laugh. This was exactly the kind of thing that he needed – some good, old-fashioned fun. Luckily, Hugo wasn’t that much of an embarrassment to the family, and he managed to connect with the puck the second time. The younger boy began charging towards the elder, and Fred wasted no time in reaching his stick out to swipe the puck out of Hugo’s possession, already running towards the opposite goal, laughing again at how easy it had been to steal the puck from his cousin.

@hugo

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Fred made a face at Hugo, who made one right back. He may not be as crazy as his cousin was, but he was a Weasley and Hugo could definitely hold his own most of the time. Right now his goal wasn't necessarily to beat Fred, just to have fun learning to play hockey with the older kid. "Future's can change Fred," he teased even though he was positive neither of them would die now. Still, it was fun to tease people and he didn't think Fred would take him too seriously. When Fred stole the puck from him, Hugo gave a shout of dismay and then chased after his cousin. Somehow he managed to reach the net before Fred did. Hopefully he'd be able to defend the goal from his cousin, but he didn't really hold anything out for that. Fred was better at sports than he was, but he'd certainly try. "Give me your best shot," he teased, pounding his stick on the ground a little.

@fred

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Hugo said that futures could change, and Fred rolled his eyes. “Well, you’ve never even touched me, anyways.” Fred said. He hadn’t really gotten close to Hugo until they were both at Hogwarts, and by that time his younger cousin had already figured out the particulars of his ability to see the future, so touching was a no-no. “Besides, there are worse ways to go.” He was with his cousin and he was having fun, so Fred wouldn’t be too upset if he died… except for that he would be dead, and that was a little bit of a bummer. When Fred gained possession of the puck, Hugo charged back to the net, able to beat Fred because of the older boy having to control the puck while running. Hugo said something about his best shot, and Fred rolled his eyes. “My worst shot could still get past you, shrimp.” He said, deciding that smack talk wasn’t that bad, since they were family and all. With that, Fred swung his stick, and sent the puck flying towards Hugo.

@hugo

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Hugo nodded when Fred commented that Hugo hadn't touched him, so he didn't know how he died. They both knew that was true. He laughed at Fred's comment, "Yes there are. Hopefully we won't get one of those either." Really, Hugo knew how he was supposed to die- old and with Xan- but he had no idea about Fred, so he just pretended a bit. "That's what you think!" Hugo retorted confidently when Fred said that he could get past Hugo. He watched the puck as it flew towards him and lifted the stick to try and bat it away, though that idea seemed almost impossible. Of course, he missed the puck, making a mental note to try and use his hand next time, but to his great relief, the puck hit the goalpost and bounced off. With an easy laugh, Hugo took the puck, shuffling it around with his stick and charging toward the opposite goal post, too focused to smack talk Fred. He didn't want it to get stolen again.

@fred

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Fred chuckled when his cousin said that they hopefully wouldn’t get one of the worse ways to die, if only because not laughing would mean worrying about the whole thing. “Ignorance is bliss, little cousin.” Fred asserted. He’d rather not know how he was going to die… especially not if he was going to die young like his uncle and the source of his name. Fred’s shot made it past Hugo, but didn’t quite make it into the goal, and Fred blew a loud raspberry at Hugo, even though it was his own fault that he hadn’t quite calculated the shot well enough. Of course, Hugo already started chasing towards the other goal, and Fred ran alongside him. He knew he could probably outrun his cousin, but he planned on playing for quite a bit, so it was better to conserve his energy. “So what’s going on in your life?” Fred asked casually as he prepped his stick to bat away whatever shot Hugo was going to make on his goal.

@hugo

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Hugo nodded when Fred said that ignorance is bliss. It was true, but it wasn't the sort of bliss that Hu could appreciate, since he saw how people died. "Then I'll make sure not to mess that up," he told him with a small smile. He laughed when he heard Fred's annoyance at missing his shot. Fred was very competitive and it made things like this much more entertaining. Fred was running alongside him and Hugo wondered if he was just trying to be nice or if he was actually trying to beat Hugo in this game. Shortly before they made it to the goal, he pushed to the right, sped up and made his shot.

@fred

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Fred just shrugged when Hugo said that he’d try not to mess up and touch Fred. Even if the cousins did touch, Fred doubted that Hugo would be so cruel as to tell Fred what he had seen, especially since the older boy was making a point of how little he wanted to know that now. The only thing that would tip Fred off would be Hugo’s reaction to the touch… which might be kind of intense if Fred was dying in a particularly gruesome manner. He shook that thought out of his head as Hugo attempted to make a shot at Fred’s goal. Fred managed to get his stick in between the puck and the goal, and a loud clattering sound resounded as the contact was made. “Shooting a goal doesn’t justify not answering my question, little cousin.” Fred said as he tried to regain possession of the hockey puck. “I asked you how your life was going!”

@hugo

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Hugo glared at his cousin as he blocked the shot. How in the world had he blocked that big puck with that little stick? If Hugo was doing that he definitely would have failed ... at least that was what he assumed. He'd never actually tried, obviously, but Hugo thought that might take a little more hand-eye coordination than what he had. Sure, he did fine in things like Quidditch, but that did not have a tiny puck he was supposed to chase after. Just a snitch, which had never been his focus anyway. Then he laughed at Hugo's comment. "Sorry, I didn't hear you earlier," he explained. He must have been too focused on his shot. Oops. "Life is fine though. I don't really have a lot going on. Xan is out of the hospital! So that's good. What's up with you?" No doubt Fred had more interesting things going on in his life than Hugo did. He might not want to talk about them, but Hugo was sure they were there. He tried to stay with his cousin as he made his next move, but seeing as how Fred could be quite unpredictable when he wanted to be, Hugo wasn't sure how successful he would be.

@fred 

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Hugo explained that he didn’t hear Fred before, and the older boy rolled his eyes. “When did you get selective hearing? Soon you’re gonna be just like Rosie and only answer me when you can prove you’re smarter than me.” Fred teased. Rose wasn’t that rude, but there were times that Fred wondered if she only talked to people to one-up them. Not that he would ever express such a sentiment, since his mother would probably throttle him (and then point out that he wasn’t exactly dumb, either), but that didn’t really matter! He was just trying to make a damn joke. Hugo said that life was fine, and then immediately followed it up by saying his girlfriend was out of the hospital, which sounded more than fine to Fred. He snorted a little when Hugo asked how Fred’s own life had been. “I had a brief dalliance with the Durmstrang Champion, but then I realized I can’t eat rare meat my entire life.” Fred said with a shrug. He couldn’t remember ever telling Hugo that he liked boys, so… surprise for Hugo! “Other than that… just a lot of work, really.” Bo-ring. Fred was hoping that there would be something more for him to do in the near future, but he had been hoping that for a while now, so who knew? Fred had momentarily forgotten they were playing hockey in the midst of the gossip... which was probably not going to bode well for him.

@hugo