Dude. Just Stop.

[Reuben Pendleton]

By the time he reached the seventh floor, Reuben had decided firmly that Hogwarts needed an elevator. Some of the Professors in this castle were older than his grandfather. If he was panting and wheezing, he could only imagine the struggle the older folk must have faced when they needed to visit the Gryffindor common room or send an owl. Reuben made a mental note to visit Professor Tuuri before the end of the semester.

"Have you... seen... my brother?" he coughed out eventually to a Gryffindor near the portrait, who simply looked at him like he was a bad smell under their nose and hurried away. "Charming!" As much as Rudolf teased him for it, Reuben was pleased to be in Hufflepuff. They were always happy to point you in the right direction. The curly haired boy sighed and rested against a tapestry hung over the stone wall. After what seemed like an eternity, the portrait swung open once more and out crawled a very familiar face. "Hey," barked Reuben, lunging forward and grabbing his twin by the forearm. There was an unusually serious look in the Hufflepuff's eye. "We need to talk."

 

[Rudolf Lagowski]

To those who had known him long enough, it was quite concerning to see Rudolf still face down in bed at lunch time. It was an infrequent occurrence that usually meant he was sick. But the young Gryffindor was not ailed by any maladies today - or at least, none that the naked eye could see. Despite his physical good health, Rudolf had never felt less energised in his life. Not even the thought of maple syrup pancakes could lure him from his mattress.

Eventually, and only because the sun was blazing through the window and disrupting his sleep, Rudolf prised off the covers and rose weakly from his bed. In his despair, he'd even managed to miss Astronomy class. The Gryffindor washed and dressed before heading down to the common room. Whilst the thought of food made him feel rather queasy, his stomach was growling in protest at not being fed any breakfast. He crawled clumsily through the hole in the wall and had just dropped into the corridor when a hand grasped his arm. The unexpected contact might have made him jump a foot into the air if he hadn't been so tired. "About what?" Rudolf mumbled lazily, wondering just how long his brother had been waiting by the portrait. If his plan had been to catch him before Astronomy, then he'd been there at least three hours.

 

[Reuben Pendleton]

"About you," replied Reuben, dragging his twin along the corridor before he'd had the chance to rub the sleep from his eyes. Once they were beyond the vicinity of any loitering students, he let go of Rudolf's arm and turned to face him. This was worse than he'd anticipated. "What's gotten into you?" he said, shaking his head in disbelief. "Someone told me you're flunking Herbology. I mean, since when did you flunk classes? You're one of the top kids in your year!" Realising he had been gesturing in the air with his arms, Reuben dropped them back to his sides and sighed. Rudolf didn't make any sense. He was smart enough to pass all of his exams with his eyes closed - so why wasn't he? Perhaps there was something about Herbology that Rudolf particularly disliked. But whilst this explanation would have been an easy one, Reuben got the sinking feeling that Herbology wasn't the only class Rudolf was failing. He'd never seen him look so sad.

 

[Rudolf Lagowski]

The quick gust of wind around Rudolf's ears as he stumbled down the corridor was sufficient to bring him back to his surroundings. He hadn't the faintest idea what Reuben wanted to talk to him about, and his brashness was very perplexing. Reuben wasn't the type to get worked up about things. His laid back demeanour was enviable.

The Gryffindor's mouth opened, but nothing more than a squeak came out. He really wasn't sure whether to be pleased, confused, embarrassed, or all three at once. What did Reuben care if he flunked a class? After all, it wasn't like he was doing any better. He considered lying about his motives, but he was too exhausted to think of anything believable on the spot. Besides, something about Reuben's assertiveness told him he needed to be honest. Rudolf hung his head miserably. "I thought you'd be happy," he mumbled to his feet. "I thought that if I failed my classes, you wouldn't think I was such a loser." As rueful as he was, it felt good to admit the truth. Reuben was rarely ever serious for long enough for Rudolf to have a sensible conversation with him.

 

[Reuben Pendleton]

"Happy?!" spluttered Reuben, who couldn't have been less happy that his twin was wasting away his intellect. But before he could voice how he felt, Rudolf said something that punched him straight in the stomach. The Hufflepuff stood in silence for a moment, his mouth hung open in shock and remorse. "Is this because I kept calling you a loser?" he asked, though he hardly needed Rudolf to nod to know it was true. Reuben took a step back and bit at his thumbnail. So it was his fault. His jealousy over Rudolf's grades had gone too far. "Dude," he said eventually, taking his twin by the shoulders and sucking in a deep breath. "You are a loser. But I like you that way!" Reuben visibly winced as he thought again of what he had caused. "And it doesn't mean I want you to fail your classes. They make you happy." There was a brief pause. "I'd be happy too, if I had your brains. But hey. One of us has to have the beauty, right?" Reuben grinned, punching Rudolf lightly on the arm and hoping that it was enough. All of this soppy talk made him feel like a girl.

 

[Rudolf Lagowski]

Rudolf's brain could hardly process what his ears were telling it. He'd had no idea Reuben cared so much. Quite frankly, the Hufflepuff had never given him any reason to believe he did. Rudolf felt his cheeks burn with shame. He had a lot of explaining to do to his poor new Professors. At last Rudolf looked up and grinned impishly. "Yeah. Just a shame it isn't you," he said, and before Reuben could respond he shoved him hard. "You're it!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, tearing off down the corridor and beaming from ear to ear.

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