a very merry christmas | hugo

[Albus Severus Potter]

don't speak too soon.

CHRISTMAS AT THE WEASLEY'S - 2023

THERE WAS A CONSTANT NOISE OF JINGLING bells and no matter how many times Albus sought it out - to destroy it - he could not find the source. It was as if his grandparents home simply oozed the god awful noise from inside the walls. Sure, it was Christmas, but did he really have to know that while going to the bathroom? He doubted it. And so, when he couldn't find it to destroy it, he ran away from it.

Luckily, it wasn't present out in the surrounding property. Albus's grandparent's had a large plot of land out in the country, with high grass fields that were undeniably beautiful in the summer. In the winter, the land cracked and froze over. Though Albus didn't mind the look of it with a thick layer of powdery snow on top. He pulled gloves on both of his hands, wrapped his scarf around his neck twice, and began using his time to create a snowman out front.

He'd wandered far enough away from the front of the house that he was alone. Far enough that he could barely hear the raucous sounds of his family, so large they all barely fit inside, but close enough that he benefited from the warm yellow light emanating from within. Nothing but the distant sound of the odd laugh so muted it was like it was miles away, a far off thunder. He rolled a bottom segment for his snowman's body un-bothered, his breath puffing in a white cloud from his mouth. But, by the time that he'd begun working on the middle, he heard the undeniable sound of footsteps crunching in the snow.

Albus didn't turn around, but stopped rolling the oversized snowball as he tensed up. If it was James, he was going to bury him in the snow. If it was Lily, he'd bury her in to his snowman. When he peeked over his shoulder, his spine relaxed and he sighed a frosted breath. "Oh," He breathed, shaking his head with a thin smile. "It's just you." Hugo was not an unwelcome sight for Albus, he'd always liked him. It was hard not to with his infallible enthusiasm for just about everything. 

@hugo

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

Hugo loved Christmas time. First of all, he loved any excuse to get together with all his extended family. Secondly, parties were always a good idea, right? He generally enjoyed teasing people and catching up with his aunts and uncles, and even some of his cousins that he didn't get the chance to see at school. They were all so busy there and sometimes their schedules didn't mesh. It wasn't a surprise, just more of a disappointment. Hugo enjoyed spending time with all of his family, even if some of them were a little harder to get along with. 

However, today he had one goal. He wanted to talk to Albus. The two had been pretty close for as long as Hugo could remember. They were about the same age and seemed to get pushed together a bit when they were younger. It sometimes seemed a little odd, since Hugo was definitely more outgoing and charismatic than his cousin, but somehow it worked out and he enjoyed any time he got to spend with his cousin. The only problem was, they were in a different year at school and different houses, so it was hard to see one another at school. Which was why he wanted to find him today, at the party. 

Everyone else was being loud and playing games, having fun in the way the Weasleys generally did. That meant Albus was probably ... outside. Far enough away that he wouldn't have to deal with the loudness and laughter and occasional fighting that inevitably went along with games here. So Hugo made his way outside, searching for his cousin in the snow. It wasn't long before he spotted the bottom part of a snowman, and then his cousin not far off. 

Hugo approached Albus with a smile, not bothering to say anything for a minute. Even walking quietly, Albus noticed him, turning around and smiling a little at the sight of him. Hugo grinned, "Yup! Just me. Don't worry, I didn't tell anyone that you're skipping all the fun inside," he teased with a light chuckle as he stepped up to his cousin. "Mind if I join you out here? I can help you build your snowman, or build him a friend," Hugo suggested. He knew it would be easier to talk with his cousin if they were both doing something with their hands. That was just the way things worked. 

Albus Severus Potter

[Albus Severus Potter]

don't speak too soon.

THOUGH ALBUS UNDENIABLY LOVED HIS FAMILY he definitely needed a break some times. There was just so many of them, and they insisted on gathering all at once for holidays. Why couldn't they split them in to groups?, Albus reasoned. No more than ten to a house. He reckoned there were at least 30 people in his grandparent's house right then. At least. He didn't even dare to try counting in case it was double, which it certainly could be. Lily, he thought, counted for at least two. 

Outside Albus could almost pretend it was quiet. That he was alone. Nothing but the faint sound of civilisation in the distance, which Albus had almost completely blocked out when Hugo turned up. He slapped snow from his gloves hands, snorting at his cousin's promise. "Good." He muttered simply, turning his back again to continue rolling his snowman's torso. "Or... I might have... buried you in the snow." He joked, a serious expression on his face as he shot him a look, making one full rotation in the snow before Hugo offered his help.

"Uh..." Albus breathed, almost saying no just because he liked being alone. But, he liked Hugo. He was kind of funny, and he never played pranks on Albus if he said he wasn't in the mood. Even though he was famed for being the Family Menace. "Sure." After a moment of hesitation and thought, Albus shrugged. He supposed if Hugo was out there with him and not back inside, nobody would ask him why he'd left. "You can find me some rocks and sticks for his face and hands, if you want." He instructed, digging in his heels as he rolled his giant snowball around the garden until it was just a little smaller than his bottom half.

"Don't get anything near the gnome holes!" Albus called after his cousin, rolling his torso back towards the bottom half in a final bid for size. The gnomes would come and steal his snowman's face back if Hugo got the rocks from their 'land'. They were territorial like that. With a deep breath, Albus attempted to lift up his torso and place it on to its base, but it was so large that he slipped in the snow and almost crushed it entirely, gasping as he regained his footing.

Instead, Albus turned his back and began rolling the head to look busy. He didn't want Hugo to know he was waiting for his help, but he was definitely waiting for his help. The head was almost done when he spotted Hugo wandering back towards where Albus had set up camp. "Hey, uh..." Albus kicked at a heap of snow. "Wanna help me build him?" He said casually, lips pressed together in a thin and cautious line. 

@hugo

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

Hugo wasn't altogether surprised by his cousin's response to him joining him. Albus was the sarcastic type, when he was in the mood, but over the years Hugo grew used to his moods. The two of them connected, which in and of itself was quite interesting because of their vastly different personalities, but somehow it just worked. Hugo was glad that it did too. He chuckled when Albus said that he'd have buried him in the snow. "I would have brought you down with me," Hugo countered, not bothering to try and school his expression into something serious. He was a tease and Albus knew that as well as most. 

Albus almost told Hugo no. He could tell that just by reading the hesitation on his cousin's face, but also because of his hesitation when he started to answer him. Hugo waited, willing to let his cousin make his choice. Once he said yes, suggesting that Hugo look for the sticks and rocks, Hugo nodded. "Sure thing. Be back in a mo'!" He trotted off to look for some decent sticks and rocks. Maybe he'd grab a bunch and let Albus choose his favorites from what he brought. 

He waved a hand dismissively when Albus told him not to get things from the land around the gnome holes, but didn't call anything back. Following his cousin's instructions, Hugo walked around, finding twice as many sticks and rocks as they needed, putting the rocks in his pocket and carrying the sticks under his left arm. On his way back, he started to whistle. Albus was rolling another part of the snowman out and Hugo watched his cousin for a second as he approached. Albus liked quiet and solitude, and while Hugo wasn't always the type of person to be quiet, he enjoyed the time he spent with his older cousin. 

As he approached, Albus was kicking the snow and watching the ground. Hugo's eyebrows furrowed, but he didn't say anything, dropping the sticks to the snow-covered ground and then turning to face his cousin as he asked for help. Hugo smiled, "Of course!" He chuckled, "You would have to make the biggest snowman that's been here in ages, wouldn't you?" Hugo didn't mind, he just couldn't help the resist to tease a little. "Let me know when you're ready," he said, crouching down as he prepared to help Albus pick up the middle sphere of snow.

Albus Severus Potter

[Albus Severus Potter]

don't speak too soon.

THOUGH HE'D BEEN CLOSER TO HUGO MOST OF his life, it still surprised Albus when he could keep up with him. A ready remark and a smirk in place that he just couldn't argue with. He snorted in answer, rolling his eyes but letting it go because to be fair to him, it was kind of funny. Instead, he went to work finishing his snowman, occupying himself with the rest of its construction as Hugo went off to collect a face and arms. By the end, he needed help and Hugo didn't hesitate.

"Ready." He declared, bending his knees and grunting as they handled it precariously. "But, I mean," He huffed, shoulder-to-shoulder with Hugo as they hefted the weight of the torso and situated it on the base. "The kids'll just knock it down, figured I'd make it a bit hard for them." His lips thinned in to something akin to a smile, dusting snow from his gloved hands before he turned to finish the head.

"What'd you get?" He asked while rolling in a spiral of thick snow he hadn't used yet. It didn't take very long before he was happy with the head, picking it up easily and carefully placing it on top. At full height he reckoned it had to be at least 5'5", not that far off his own height when he measured with his hand. "Pretty good..." He complimented himself. "Gimme the face." He turned back and held out his hands to Hugo. 

@hugo

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

Hugo helped his cousin lift the snowman's middle when his cousin announced that he was ready for it. Man, that thing was a lot heavier than Hugo initially thought! Of course, he figured it would have to be at least a bit heavy or Albus wouldn't have asked for his help, but still! This was way more than Hugo expected. He grunted as they got the packed snow on top of the base. "This is definitely harder," Hugo joked, referring to how heavy the thing was. He stepped back for a second and gazed at it. "Wonder if there's something we could do to make it harder for them to break it ..." he mused thoughtfully before smirking at his cousin. "A snowman as good as this one will be deserves to make it more than one day, don't you think?"


As Albus started rolling some more snow, obviously intent on designing his own head for the snowman, Hugo stood wack and watched him. Then he started answering his question. "I found a variety of sticks for you to use for its arms. A bunch of pebbles for whatever we want ... I also found a few nuts that we can use." Hugo gestured to his small mound of nature items that hopefully Albus would approve of. "I was thinking nuts for the eyes and pebbles for the mouth?" Hugo added, grinning as he picked some up as his cousin ordered him to hand over the face. 

Albus Severus Potter

[Albus Severus Potter]

don't speak too soon.

THOUGH ALBUS WOULD PROBABLY NEVER ADMIT it out loud, he liked the way that Hugo thought. That his first instinct was not to criticise Al for making things difficult for the other kids. But, rather, how they might make it harder. He snorted, rubbing at his cold nose to hide his smile as he did. "I mean..." He shrugged his shoulders, wondering if he should tell his cousin. "I thought about building it around a tower of bricks." And he had, at great length. "But, mum would've killed me if somebody got hurt again." He recalled the time that somebody had spelled the snow to turn to solid, unmoved ice.

Nodding his head, Albus appreciated the effort Hugo had put into his finds. If he'd asked his brother or sister it'd have been a different story, well if they even pretended to agree he couldn't have predicted the nonsense that they would have come up with. Hugo was a prankster, but he took Al seriously. He would always like him for that. "Thanks," He muttered, a little bashful as he reached over and plucked a few pebbles from the pile Hugo had made. He weighed each in his hand carefully, taking great care to choose what he thought was best before he stood up again. When he was there, he started pressing in the beginnings of a face.

"Is it cliche to make it smile?" He asked, frowning at the nutty eyes he'd given it, and a buffed down shard of broken blue glass he'd used as a nose. "I think it's sort of cliche, isn't it?" Though if he made it too interesting it definitely wouldn't last. He looked at Hugo expectantly, before looking away in mild embarrassment.

Albus worried sometimes that he was being too serious, or thinking about things too much. Most of the time people told him that he needed to 'loosen up'. Well, James, not people. "But if I make him sad that's pathetic." He started biting down on the pad of his thumb. "And neutral is boring." After a second he gave an exasperated sigh and turned to Hugo, upending his chosen pebbles in to his hand. "Just you do it," He grumbled, kicking at the snow and stepping back to observe instead. 

@hugo

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

Hugo couldn't help but smile to himself when he heard his cousin laugh quietly. He loved making people laugh and Albus was more of a challenge than most people, which was why Hugo put a little more effort there than he did with most people. Hugo laughed outright when Albus explained his original plan for the snowman. "Oh, that would've been precious! We could have hidden somewhere and watched it," he chortled, visually imagining people's reactions when they realized. Sure, someone would get hurt, but it wouldn't be anything serious. They'd be fine. He scrunched his nose, "That's a shame. We could try something like that at Hogwarts," he suggested with a laugh of his own. There weren't many bricks there, but they could transfigure something else into bricks. 

Albus took some of the pebbles from Hugo's pi;e, seeming to choose them with great care and Hugo watched him curiously, wanting to see what his cousin's plan was for this whole thing. He'd obviously put lots of effort into it and wanted it to look cool. Hugo could respect him for that, so he stood back at let his cousin take charge. It was Albus' snowman, after all. 

At Albus' question, Hugo shrugged. He'd seen snowmen that weren't ... wait, had he? As he thought about it, he realized that it was quite normal to make snowmen smile. He couldn't remember seeing one with a different look on its face. He hesitated before agreeing. "I guess it is. I'd never thought about that before though." Now he probably wouldn't be able to look at a snowman without noticing it. 

He listened as Albus continued to explain his thought process on what kind of a mouth the snowman should be given. Hugo nodded thoughtfully as Albus explained his thoughts, though he found himself entirely surprised when the pebbles were suddenly in his hand and his cousin was stepping back. Huh. "You sure you want to give me this kind of power?" Hugo teased lightly, smirking at his cousin before looking at the snowman thoughtfully. It only took him a few seconds to get an idea and Hugo laughed. "Okay Al, close your eyes. This should be a surprise and if you don't like it we'll try something else." Hugo turned around to make sure Albus wasn't peeking before he started putting the pebbles on the snowman's face in a squiggly line, so he looked like he was confused or laughing or something. Hugo thought it looked funny, but that wasn't really a surprise. "You can look now. What d'you think?" Hugo asked, turning to watch his cousin's initial reaction to the snowman's face.

Albus Severus Potter

[Albus Severus Potter]

don't speak too soon.

THOUGH ALBUS WASN'T EXACTLY A PRANKSTER like Hugo, he still snickered and nodded casually when he suggested they do something similar at Hogwarts. It wasn't a bad idea, really. Plus, he'd be less likely to be clipped around the ear by his mum at school. He filed it away for another conversation, maybe even back at school. In the meantime, he obsessed over the arrangement of the snow-mans mouth.

Albus was a little embarrassed as he passed off the stones to Hugo. Nobody should agonise about something so small, but he hadn't been able to help himself. He was a chronic over-thinker. Luckily, he trusted Hugo to do something a bit wacky in his stead as he sighed and covered his eyes at Hugo's demand. After a moment, he opened two fingers to peek through them, catching Hugo's triumphant face first before looking at the snowman's squiggly mouth. He burst out laughing.

"Okay, you surprised me," He said, dropping his hand and shaking his head. "That's a good one." He said, stepping closer to peer at it, his head tilting. "I can relate." He often lived in a bubble of indecision and confusion. "Thanks." He said, kicking at the snow and stepping back. He'd calmed down much more since leaving the house in a hurry. "I can almost bear going back inside," He muttered, tucking his chilly gloved hands in to his pockets. 

@hugo  
possibly ending on your reply?

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

Spending time with Albus was always an interesting experience for Hugo. He liked talking to his cousin, sure, but the thing he liked most was getting through Albus' act. He liked getting his cousin to smile or laugh, like he was doing now. However, with Albus it took a different kind of teasing. He couldn't just come outright and tease him or say silly things. It took more ... thoughtful jokes to get Albus to join in. So, when Albus snickered at Hugo's comment about making a snowman at Hogwarts, he was pleased. 

Then, when Albus burst out laughing at the face Hugo put on the snowman, he definitely felt good about himself. He'd gotten right through Albus' wall, which was good. Laughter was good for the soul and sometimes Hugo thought that his cousin didn't get as much of it as he should. He'd never tell Albus that outright, he'd just try and help him smile or laugh every once in a while.

Hugo smirked in response to his cousin's laughter. "Glad you like it. I was worried I'd have to rack my brains for another idea," he teased lightly. Hugo didn't say anything when Albus thanked him, merely nodding in response. He didn't need Albus to thank him. Just seeing his cousin relax a little made it worth it to Hugo. He chuckled when Albus commented about being able to go back inside. "Don't worry, we can hang out together and avoid all the loud, annoying people. Wanna play a game of Wizard's Chess or something?" he asked as he started to lead the way back to the house. If nothing else, he'd try to stay around Albus and help him not stress out again, being around all that family. 

--- the end ---

Albus Severus Potter