Closed Just Like You

[Louis Alcott]

The end of the year was fast approaching, which was kind of weird. Louis remembered how excited he had been about starting Hogwarts last year, but now it just felt normal. He wondered how Giulia's first year had been for her. A little guiltily, he reflected on how little he had actually talked to her all year. But no, that was good for her. Giulia had always been pretty shy, and she needed to learn to make her own friends at Hogwarts without his help. Besides, he was way too cool to hang out with his nerdy sister all the time. He'd make it up to her over break.

Louis was eating lunch by himself, glancing over at the other tables. Sometimes one of his friends came to join him, but today he didn't spot them. He didn't see Charlie anywhere either, though he supposed he was a bit early today. But as he looked around, he realized Sully was sitting pretty close to him. Almost exactly opposite of him. Louis grinned, immediately trying to think of a way to start a conversation with the older boy. He could hardly believe René had such a cool older brother. Louis finally just decided to say his name, it wasn't weird that he knew him. "Hey, Sully." He said. "You were really cool in the match." He offered, though mentioning the match was probably risky. It was a pretty sore spot to most of the house, as far as he could tell.

 

[Solomon Tofilau]

Sully had been having a pretty spectacular year right up until the last few weeks. First he gets into a fight with Chloë, then they lose the Quidditch cup, and now Sully was slowly being smothered under a pile of NEWT work. He glanced up from where he'd been sullenly contemplating the tomato on his sandwich, seeing René's friend sitting across from him, perking up at the compliment. "Ah yeah, managed a few goals for us at least," he said with a grin and a shrug. The loss of the match still stung, Sully hated thinking he'd lost the last proper quidditch game he'd probably get to play, but at least he'd played well on his own. "Now I just gotta hope René doesn't embarrass me after I graduate, aye," he said, shaking his head. It had double sucked to lose to his brother's team, though at least René hadn't been playing this time.

 

[Louis Alcott]

Louis was pleased that Sully didn't dismiss him. If he were a seventh year, he wasn't sure if he would want to talk to a second year, so he wouldn't even blame him. Louis nodded eagerly. "You did great! You guys definitely deserved to win." He said. He laughed softly when he mentioned René embarrassing him. "He's only an alternate," Louis said with a shrug. "Not much he can do from the bench." He paused. "Were you an alternate when you first started?" He asked, leaning forward a bit. "The Gryffindor team always seems to be packed, I tried out this year but I didn't make it." He frowned, still feeling a bit bitter about that. "Do you have any tips?"

 

[Solomon Tofilau]

Sully huffed in amusement at Louis' enthusiasm, raising his cup to him in acknowledgement. "I dunno, man, you'd be surprised at René's ability to mess stuff up," he said conspiratorially, but he shook his head fondly. "He already switched to playing beater, I dunno how much more my heart can take." Admittedly, Sully was pretty proud of his little brother for managing to get on the team so early, even if he wanted to chalk up some of that to Sully's excellent coaching over the holidays. But René's friend didn't need to hear him talking René up. Especially when he wanted to talk about how cool Sully was right now. "Ah yeah, I didn't get on the team till my third year, it's all good," Sully said with a reassuring nod. "Started as an alternate too. Gryff's a good team, we don't have room for any dead wait," he added, glancing at Louis speculatively. "You wanna play chaser? Focus on mobility then, yeah? You can throw goals all day but you need to be able to move to get around the other chasers and the keeper or you'll get blocked every time," he said sagely, happy to dole out any Quidditch advice he had, seeing as René clearly didn't need it anymore, the traitor.

 

[Louis Alcott]

Louis grinned at Sully, glad the boy was actually talking to him. He laughed at his comment about René, even if part of him thought it was perhaps a bit mean. Still, it wasn't like René was here to hear him. "I'll probably play chaser." Louis told him quickly, hoping for some sign of approval. He nodded when Sully said he didn't get on until his third year, nodding again as he spoke about the team. The Gryffindor team did seem to be very good, though they had unfairly lost the cup this year. "I'm good, I wouldn't be dead weight." He said defensively. But as Sully gave him advice, he listened closely. He almost wished he had parchment and quill ready to take some notes. He grinned. "Thanks! I bet I'll make the team next year and we'll get the cup." He said. "It was so unfair how you guys lost. You should have won." He added quickly, not wanting to sound like he thought he'd be better than Sully.

 

[Solomon Tofilau]

Sully nodded in approval when Louis confirmed he was interested in chasing. “Good choice, chaser’s fun and people forget how much of a difference it can make in the cup standings,” he said, holding up a finger knowingly to make his point. He grinned at Louis’ enthusiasm too, humming thoughtfully as he insisted he’d help the team get the cup next year. “You guys better, you got big shoes to fill and all,” he said, even though he was sure his smile faltered a little at the mention of their loss this year and the fact that he was leaving the team. “It was a close game, just wish we’d been the ones to take Slytherin down and all,” Sully said with a shrug. “But it’s anyone’s game now, I’d love to see how Hufflepuff manages to defend the cup next year,” he added with a laugh. Despite them winning this year, Sully still had a hard time envisioning Hufflepuff as the reigning champions to defeat. “If you need any more tips though, you can always ask. I've helped René train over the holidays, it's why he's so good," Sully said, lowering his voice to a mock whisper for the last part.

 

[Louis Alcott]

Louis grinned when Sully nodded at him in approval. If he had been hesitant about becoming a chaser, this just removed that hesitation. He nodded. "I know!" He said. "The seeker is totally overrated." He said though part of him could still admit that was what he wanted. He nodded again as Sully said they'd better win. The loss against Hufflepuff had been a fluke, in Louis' opinion. The other team wasn't even really good. "We will." He said quickly. "Hufflepuff can't do it, I bet." He said eagerly. He was happy to hear he could always ask for tips, feeling jealous as he heard Sully had trained René over the holidays. Not for the first time, he wished he had a cool older brother like Sully instead of just having Giulia. "Thanks, that's so cool. Could I write you?" He asked.