An Unlikely Savior ~ (Edit) COMPLETED

Chapter 26 ~ Eileen and Hugo Go Flying

Eileen stood near the caretaker’s shack, her brown eyes searching the grounds. She was holding her Firebolt, and felt just a little apprehension as she waited for Hugo. Not a large amount, she wasn’t ready to bolt or anything, but she wasn’t used to making the first move at getting to know someone. Technically, Hugo had made the first advance, but it still felt to Eileen that she was the one taking a risk.

Presently, Hugo appeared in the distance. Eileen didn’t know him, but it seemed to her he was stomping a little bit as he walked toward her, as if he were angry about something.

Hugo was indeed angry, and looking down at the ground as he walked, thinking about how stupid Rose was acting. Now, all of the sudden she wants to know his every move when she didn’t give a dragon’s whisker before.

Hugo looked up and saw Eileen standing there with her Firebolt in her hand and immediately broke into a run. Eileen couldn’t help but smirk a little at how excited and delighted he looked as he tore towards her. He had on a ridiculous gold colored hat with a scarlet pompom on top that was bouncing along merrily. She eyed it as he stopped in front of her breathlessly. The hat had a big H embroidered on the front of it.

”That hat is ridiculous,” Eileen observed by way of greeting. “And bright. I could see you coming from miles away.”

”What? This hat?” Hugo said, touching it for a moment. “My grandmum made it. It’s warm and has gloves to match.”

Hugo held out his scarlet gloves. Each one had a gold H embroidered on the back of it.

”I bet she’ll make you a set once she finds out about you. But it wouldn’t be in this color, but Slytherin colors, with an E on them, for Eileen,” he said to her with a smile. “She makes these for everyone in the family.”

”But I’m not related on your father’s side,” Eileen said.

Hugo shrugged.

”Grandmum won’t care about that,” he told her. “You’re still family. Family isn’t always about blood, you know. It’s more about closeness than anything. You’re my sister. Grandmum and Granddad will treat you just like us.”

They began to walk a bit, their breath curling around them as they spoke to each other.

”Hugo, you make it sound like your family just accepts everything,” Eileen told him. “No one does that.”

Hugo frowned a little.

”Well, not everything, but mostly they’re pretty good. If they like you, they’ll do anything for you—but if you mess up—it’s like everybody gets you. There’s a lot of lectures in my family. Lots of them,” he said, looking a little disgusted.

”Does your mum lecture a lot?” Eileen probed.

”Yep,” Hugo replied. “She’s the worst one. But, she’s usually right about what she’s saying. Sometimes—sometimes she’ll hex.”

Both of Eileen’s eyebrows rose. Her mum hexed her kids? Dad never hexed her in his life.

”She hexes you?” Eileen asked.

”Sometimes. She might ward me in my room if I’m on punishment, because—well I sneak out. I can’t stand being on punishment. She shocked me in the bum a few times, too. She says it’s easier than spanking. And she’s Accio’d me when I wouldn’t come back on my own. Stuff like that.”

“Oh,” Eileen said with a small smirk.

It sounded like Hugo deserved those little hexes. They weren’t anything major, after all. Eileen had shocked Alsop’s bum more than once.

Hugo eyed Eileen’s broom.

”That’s a really nice Firebolt,” he said, trying to rein in his excitement.

Eileen studied it.

”My dad got it for me,” she said shortly.

”Mum and dad would never spend that kind of money on a broom. They’re very—very---“
Hugo tried to find the right word. He didn’t want to say cheap.

”Frugal. They’re frugal,” he finished.

Eileen nodded.

”Normally my dad’s frugal, too, but there were extenuating circumstances,” Eileen replied, her mouth twitching a little. “So, are you ready to go flying?”

”Oh yes!” Hugo replied, bouncing around a little in his excitement.

Eileen looked at him. This felt so weird, someone actually happy to be with her other than Alsop. She mounted the broom and slid back.

”All right. You get on in front of me and hold on to the handle tight, Hugo,” she instructed.

Hugo quickly climbed on, caressing the shiny handle admiringly before grasping it securely. Eileen wrapped her arms around him for extra security and clasped the broom behind his hands.

“Scoot back,” she told him.

All smiles, Hugo slid back until his back was resting against Eileen. As an afterthought, Eileen pulled out her wand and cast a warming spell on both of them to cut some of the coldness. She put her wand back in her pocket and grasped the handle again.

“Let’s go,” Eileen said, kicking off.

They quickly ascended, a smile plastered on Hugo’s face as the ground fell away below them. The ride was very smooth and Eileen accelerated slightly, following the perimeter of the forbidden forest.

“This is great!” Hugo cried. “Can you go any faster?”

Eileen smirked behind him.

”I can go much faster, Hugo,” she purred at her brother.

”Do it!” he cried excitedly.

”All right, hang on,” Eileen said, then poured on the speed, the world blurring as they tore through the sky, Hugo nearly losing his hat and pulling it down quickly.

”WHOOOOOOOOOO!” he shouted as the Firebolt hit one hundred and eighty, sister and brother leaning into the wind.

Eileen actually smiled. Alsop would be terrified when she let the Firebolt go full throttle, but not her brother. He was a kindred spirit.

They whipped around Hogwarts castle, scattering a few owls that were flying toward the owlery, feathers drifting over them as the birds hooted after them angrily.

”Eileen! This is great! Wow!” Hugo said happily.

”You want to steer?” Eileen asked him.

”Can I?” Hugo said in disbelief.

”I’ll still be holding on, but yes, as long as you don’t fly into the castle!” she said, easing up and letting Hugo take over. She grit her teeth as he took the broom into a near nosedive, tearing toward the ground, then pulling off and flying low over the terrain.

“WHOOO HOOO!” Hugo shouted again as Eileen took over, flying upward and doing a huge loopty-loop, then heading back towards the forbidden forest.

”Rose said you showed her some Acromantula. I’ve never seen them. Could you show them to me, too, Eileen?” he asked her plainatively. They had slowed now.

”I’m not sure that’s such a good idea, Hugo. It’s dangerous,” she replied as they headed toward the forest.

”Not for you. Rose told me how you saved her. Please, Eileen? I really want to see them.”

She looked at his pleading little face. He so wanted to see the spiders. Eileen sighed. Why was it so hard to say no to him?

”All right. But I don’t want you pissing my broom,” she said tightly.

”Oh, I won’t,” Hugo reassured her. “I promise.”

Eileen began heading for the forest when suddenly an unwelcome voice called out behind her, “What the hell do you think you’re doing, Eileen?”

Eileen stopped flying and turned the broom around to see a scowling Rose Weasley pulling up in front of her on her own broom. Rose looked at Hugo, who was seated securely between Eileen’s arms.

”I’m giving Hugo a ride,” Eileen said shortly, her face emotionless.

”Yeah,” Hugo said. “And it’s fun.”

”I saw both of you soaring around as if you’re crazy. You were going far too fast. What if you had fallen off, Hugo? You nearly nose-dived into the ground.”

She had seen Hugo steering the broom, but had no way of know it. She thought Eileen had done the reckless maneuver.

“But we didn’t,” Hugo replied angrily.

Rose looked at Eileen, who said nothing as she looked back at her sister.

”Well, you’ve done enough flying, Hugo. Come on. We’re going back to the castle,” she told her brother, reaching for him. Hugo drew back.

”No, I’m not ready to go back. Eileen was going to show me the Acromantula,” Hugo said stubbornly.

Rose’s eyes narrowed at Eileen.

”You were going to what?” she hissed. “Eileen, do you have any idea how dangerous that is?”

Eileen simply looked at her, her brown eyes glittering. Oh, she knew all right.

”Yes, I do know how dangerous it is for some of us,” the Slytherin replied. “I’ve been dodging Acromantula for four years now, and without a customized Firebolt.”

”Still, you’d be putting Hugo at risk,” Rose retorted.

“He wanted to see them,” Eileen said quietly.

”Well, he can’t always have what he wants, can he?” Rose snapped back at her.

Eileen studied Rose, then said, “Apparently not. Hugo, I’m sorry, but you’d better go with Rose. I don’t want to cause any problems.”

“What? No! I don’t want to go with her. I want to keep flying with you. I never get a chance to fly unless it’s in class and the brooms are really slow. And she never takes me flying. Please, Eileen. Don’t make me go with her!”

But Eileen lowered the broom.

”You have to go, Hugo,” she said to him softly as he looked at her with wet blue eyes. He looked so disappointed that Eileen actually felt a twinge inside.

“I’m sorry,” she said again as he climbed off the broom.

Hugo looked at her with hurt in his eyes.

”I thought having an older sister would be cool. That you wouldn’t let Rose push you around like she does me all the time. That you’d talk to me and we could do things together sometimes. But, you’re going to let Rose ruin all that, aren’t you? I guess you’re not as cool as I thought,” Hugo said to Eileen.

Normally, Eileen wouldn’t care what someone had to say, but Hugo’s words stung her. Rose just stared at her brother. What did he mean “ruin all that?” She was just protecting him.

”Come on, get on the broom,” Rose said to him.

”No. I’ll walk back. Leave me along, Rose. You ruin everything.”

Hugo started walking back toward the castle. Rose looked at Eileen.

”See what you’ve done? Now, Hugo’s upset,” she said to the Slytherin.

Eileen stared at her incredulously.

”What I did? We were having a perfectly good time before you showed up playing Big Sister,” Eileen snarled back at her. “I would have taken care of him. Nothing would have happened. You know that.”

”I don’t know anything, except I don’t want you around him, influencing him. He’s reckless enough without you encouraging him,” Rose hissed at her.

Eileen felt a tightness in her belly.

”I don’t care what you want, Rose Weasley. Hugo wants to get to know me, and—and I think he’s okay. Face the facts. He’s my brother and I have just as much a right to interact with him as you do. In fact, I think he could stand a little interaction since the only reason you’re pretending to care what he does is because of me. It’s clear you don’t pay him any attention. Let’s call it what it is, Rose. You’re jealous. You don’t want to share your brother. Probably not your mother either.”

”You’re damn right I don’t! I don’t like you, Eileen. I don’t want you around.’

”More of a reason for me to be around, then,” Eileen responded unpleasantly. “You know, I was going to wait a while to see ‘mum.’ Now I think I’ll make it a point to visit her—soon. Maybe even spend Christmas with her.”

Rose’s eyes widened in horror. Eileen at Christmas? No!

”No, you can’t,” Rose hissed.

”Yes, I can,” Eileen said with a nasty smile. “Maybe I’ll send her an owl tonight, so she has time to prepare. We can be one happy little family, exchanging gifts and sipping eggnog. I’ll be checking mine for poison of course, if you’re around.”

Rose made a frustrated noise and turned purple as Eileen flew past her, toward the walking Hugo. Suddenly, she swept out her arm and caught him, sitting him on the broom as she heard Rose’s scream of outrage.

”Hold on, Hugo. We’re going to lose Rose,” she said to the delighted first year.

They zoomed off, heading into the setting but still bright winter sun as Rose pursued them, screaming at Eileen to bring her brother back. But she was blinded by the sun and Eileen poured on the speed, turning sharply, Rose unable to see which direction they took.

Suddenly, Rose was in the skies all alone. She spun on her broom, looking for them, then flew around a while. After fifteen minutes, she gave up and sullenly flew back to Hogwarts.

Pressed behind Hagrid’s hut, both Hugo and Eileen watched Rose head back toward the castle. Hugo looked up at his sister.

”I knew you wouldn’t let Rose push you around,” he said to her with a smile.

Eileen looked down at him, then tugged on that ridiculous pompom, suddenly moved to do it.

“No. If I did, then you would have thought I was uncool,” she said to him with a half smile. “Come on, let’s go see some Acromantula.”

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A/N: Thanks for reading.