Closed A Promise to a Friend

[Natalia Novak]

Natalia had been a bit surprised to actually miss Liusaidh now that she graduated, but the older girl had become a friend to her. Merlin knew she didn’t have many of those to spare. Luisaidh had asked Natalia to look out for a family member of hers that would be sorted this year. It hadn’t been difficult to spot him at sorting. Natalia thought he was Liusaidh’s nephew, but she wasn’t entirely positive about it. She knew Liusaidh had some older brothers, so it was possible. She waited until a few days into the term to seek him out. She wasn’t sure if she would be any good at looking out for him, she hadn’t done a great job with her own sister, after all. But she’d try. She headed over to the Gryffindor table during breakfast, frowning a bit as she scanned the table. She finally spotted the boy and went over to tap his shoulder. “Fraser Fergusson?” She asked, just to make sure she had the right kid.

 

[Fraser Fergusson]

Fraser was enjoying Hogwarts a great deal. He had decided that almost everything that Liusaidh had told him about Hogwarts wasn't true, and that he should only believe what Zerrin had told him. He was getting some juice and a piece of toast, having already spent part of the morning on the pitch, and now was eating a good amount before the day got started. Fraser was tapped on the shoulder and glanced round. Being greeted by a Slytherin prefect. ”Yeah, that's me. You're Natalia, right, Auntie Liusaidh's friend?” he remembered her sister more from the wedding of his brother. ”If you're here to collect Prefect Tax, I know that's not a thing,” ​

 

[Natalia Novak]

Natalia nodded as Fraser greeted her by name, it seemed like Liusaidh had told him about her. But as he continued to speak, Natalia’s eyebrows raised. It seemed like Liusaidh had said a lot of things to this boy. “I’m not here for that.” She said, smiling a little. “Did your aunt say that was a thing?” She asked though she was pretty sure she knew the answer. “She actually asked me to look out for you, check in… things like that.” She said with a small shrug. “Though it is a bit harder with you in a different house.” This kid was nothing like Liusaidh, he seemed a lot more earnest and open. Less… chaotic, too.

 

[Fraser Fergusson]

Fraser was nodding lightly. ”Yeah, and she said that first years have to eat from first year plates and the food is always grossest,” he laughed lightly, ”But Zerrin said that wasn't true,” he told her. He had believed Zerrin, but he had also believed Liusaidh too to a degree, figuring that Zerrin had just been lucky. Fraser frowned a little, he hadn't thought anyone would do that for him. Or that Zerrin would do it. ”It's okay, you don't need to, that's an old family thing,” he assured her, ”Oldest at school, looks after youngest,” he said. They didn't need to do that, this poor girl didn't need to look out for him. ”I've got this!” he assured her, talking about the whole of Hogwarts and his education. ​

 

[Natalia Novak]

Natalia couldn’t help the slight snort that escaped her as the boy listed off ridiculous things Liusaidh had said about Hogwarts. It was just… so her. She shook her head. “Your aunt was messing with you.” She confirmed. “If I were you, I’d just classify everything she said about Hogwarts as fake.” She said. As the boy continued to talk, Natalia started to wonder if she should have been less direct. An eleven-year-old boy probably didn’t want a babysitter. “Alright, but maybe we can at least talk for a bit?” She asked with a slight shrug. “You can ask me questions about Hogwarts if you wish. I promise I won’t lie about anything.” She said though she knew the boy had no reason to believe her, really.

 

[Fraser Fergusson]

Fraser laughed lightly as Natalia confirmed that everything that his aunt had said as a lie. He had been pretty sure about it, but would trust Natalia on it. ”Sure!” he said, he'd be happy for her to sit and join him for breakfast. He grabbed an empty and clean plate and slide it to where he was making the space for Natalia to join him. ”Oh, Liusaidh said to tell you she was sorry to hear that your parents actioned the plan for Isadora to go to Durmstrang, and if you need anything to let her know, she said since she's marrying Kalif she'll probably be able to do more,” Fraser repeated thinking over all Liusaidh had told him, and hoping he had it all right. ”About Hogwarts though. I know first years aren't supposed to join the quidditch teams, but they can right in theory?” ​

 

[Natalia Novak]

Natalia sat down next to the boy, feeling odd about it. She had never sat at the Gryffindor table before, never joined her sister there. That… made her a bad sister, she was pretty sure. And now Isadora was gone. She winced as Fraser spoke about it too, giving her a message from Liusaidh. She appreciated the thought, but it was a lot to hear right now. She stared at her plate for a moment. Liusaidh marrying Kalif wasn’t a big surprise, but still a bit of a shock. She was so young, would it happen soon? Probably. Natalia just nodded, glad to move on to the boy’s question. She nodded. “In theory, yes. Mostly when there aren’t enough older players to fill up the team.” She grimaced. “Unfortunately, Gryffindor never has that problem.”

 

[Fraser Fergusson]

Fraser was a little disappointed, he wanted to be on the team, but if players filled up the team easily, that meant it was super competitive. He'd run the risk of struggling to make the team, but he so deeply wanted to make it. ”But they haven't won in ages?” he knew of the Slytherin streak. It made him feel a little bad that there were so many people who wanted on to the team and yet they couldn't or hadn't recently won. He wasn't sure he would be the guy to solve that issue, but he certainly wanted to try. ”Does Slytherin have the same problem?” he asked. ”Well, aside from the fact they do win?” ​

 

[Natalia Novak]

Natalia couldn’t help a slight smile at the boy’s comment about Gryffindor. He seemed aware of his own house history already. “Yes, Gryffindor is full of Quidditch enthusiasts but they’re not the best strategists.” She said with a slight shrug. Her smile widened a bit when the boy talked about Slytherin winning. She was sure Liusaidh had kept him informed on her victories. “Slytherin is also a fairly popular team.” She admitted. “But I think Gryffindor tryouts are generally the busiest. You could pretend to be a Ravenclaw.” She joked.

 

[Fraser Fergusson]

Fraser wondered if he wasn't able to try out for the team, if he could pitch himself as a strategist. He could do that. He had spent so much time on quidditch fields around quidditch players, he could provide good knowledge of how a team was to be. ”I'd have an easier time pretending to be slytherin,” he told her with a little laugh. He knew very little and knew that given that sometimes reading was hard, and classes were boring, that Ravenclaw was not the house for him, so he'd struggle at those try-outs. ”If only because of the family name,” he wondered if the new captain of Slytherin would let him be on the slytherin team by name recognition alone. He didn't like using his name, but he wondered if he could. ​

 

[Natalia Novak]

Natalia smiled a bit as the boy said he would have an easier time pretending to be a Slytherin. She disagreed, but wasn’t going to say that in case it sounded unkind. He just seemed way too open to be a Slytherin. Even the new first years in her own house knew to guard themselves, generally. “Maybe.” She said instead. “But we have a very strict new captain, she’s no fun.” She said, glancing around to make sure Celia wasn’t nearby. She was aware of the irony of her calling someone else no fun, though. “You should bide your time, I’m sure you’ll get a spot on the team sooner or later if you keep trying out. It took me years to get a permanent spot.”

 

[Fraser Fergusson]

Fraser was sure that Liusaidh had told her who the new captain was, but he couldn’t remember the name of her. Something with a C. ”I will, I know I’m good enough, I don’t need the family name to get me in,” he told her confidently, and he believed her, trusted that it might just take a bit of time, but he would eventually get the spot that he wanted. Of course, he did want it immediately, but he knew he could wait, he believed he was good enough. Would definitely be able to do it, and wouldn’t resort to flashing the family name or going for another team. ​

 

[Natalia Novak]

Natalia had wondered if the boy had been joking about the family name thing, but now it seemed like he had been serious. Natalia hesitated, remembering when she had been that way. “I don’t think your name is opening as many doors as you imagine.” She finally said carefully. “Even if you tried, I don’t think it’d let you on a different house team.” She remembered being shocked at how little her pureblood title mattered at Hogwarts. Fraser might have it a bit better, being from a more prominent family than hers, but still. “Celia isn’t someone who cares about blood status.” She added, a little apologetically. She wasn't sure if she should be saying this. She wasn't even sure about it, but had the feeling the only things her captain cared about was raw talent and obedience to her in all things.

 

[Fraser Fergusson]

Fraser frowned slightly. "I was talking about the Gryffindor team," he told her with a little shrug. He didn't think it would open doors either. His father had given him a bit of an advantage by allowing him to be raised around quidditch. "I'm not pureblood," Fraser said with a shrug, "And caring about blood is madness, and only ends in tears," Fraser knew how it had been pretty terrible for his father's family. He loved Liusaidh and Aonghas, but things were not always good. ​

 

[Natalia Novak]

Natalia was surprised by the boy’s words. Why would his family name matter on the Gryffindor team? But apparently, she had made a few more assumptions than she should have. She just stared at the boy as he said he wasn’t a pureblood and caring about blood purity was madness. She cleared her throat. “I see. Sorry for assuming.” She said haltingly. “It’s better to get in on talent, anyway.” She said after a moment. “A lot more satisfying.”