Of Little Brothers

[Graeme Fergusson]

The scottish man couldn't quite believe what he was doing or where he was, he couldn't believe the familiar sights and sounds that he had left behind and Graeme felt so strange to be back, out of place even, but he wasn't here because he was doing something for himself, or had a desire to be back, but he was here for Reuben, the little boy whom he'd met at the end of the year and had been writing with, losing a family member could not be easy and he just wanted to see how he was doing, do his very best to try and make the boy feel better. The former hufflepuff had a small bag on his back, and a general wind swept appearance, his time was now spent working out, exercising, practicing quidditch and he'd be able to do this without having to take breaks from classes, and it had paid off since as of last week he had officially joined the team he wanted, the Pride of Portree and the teen was so happy about it, he was so excited about it, about training with others again and managing to play properly and the best was he hadn't officially told anyone yet.

The professional quidditch player stood waiting for Reuben to turn up, at the location they'd agreed to, Graeme hadn't shaved in a few days and was lightly touching the stubble wondering if he should've, he had his glasses on, brand new ones from a few weeks before. He was pretty excited to see the boy, and Graeme just put the bag at his feet as he waited for him to turn up. The man wondered if perhaps he should send a letter to Maya while he was there, but Graeme didn't intend to be there for long, so wondered if there was any point in it, they were dating yes, and he missed her to a degree but him being there for Reuben ready to spend this day with the grieving boy seemed more important and he was to leave New Zealand once he was done, there was just no time, and he was perhaps incorrectly prioritising but it wouldn't matter, he felt she would understand if he explained it. Graeme ran a hand through his hair, bored of waiting because he had never been particularly good at it, but knowing that if he wasn't there before the young boy the young boy might think he hadn't turned up.
​

 

[Reuben Pendleton]

On the first morning of Brightstone Weekend, Reuben Lagowski woke earlier than any other boy in his dormitory. He'd finally managed to doze off around three, with thoughts of ice cream and Quidditch practice still dancing happily in his mind; and even though he'd gotten less than four hours of sleep, he had never felt so awake and alert in his entire life. He washed and dressed in a big hurry, pulling his socks on with such haste that one of them was inside out, ate as much breakfast as he could manage, and then took his permission slip straight to Professor Stark to be let out. He didn't even wait for Rudolf - and whilst he would feel guilty for it later, when he returned to the castle and found his twin sitting alone by himself in the student lounge, at that precise moment in time, he couldn't have been happier.

Once out of the castle, Reuben ran all the way to the village, slowed only by the awkwardess of running with a broom in his hand. It was an old, second hand thing, with bristles pointing in odd directions and splinters all down the handle, but it did the job OK. Reuben was used to his family only being able to afford the very minimum, and he only found himself minding when others teased him for it.

When he arrived at their arranged location, Reuben was so out of breath that he had to lean over his knees for a good minute to get it back. "Hi... Graeme!" he panted, when he could finally stand up straight enough to look at him. He grinned as their eyes met, feeling as if he were being reunited with a long lost big brother. "I ran... all the way!"

 

[Graeme Fergusson]

Graeme was stood waiting looking to the castle in the distance and then noticed the little figure approach him in a quick but what looked like an awkward fashion, which brought a small smile to his face and he grinned down at the boy who stopped as his feet. The scottish man watched him curiously as he took almost a minute to get himself together which only made him smile, "Hey Reuben," he replied with a grin to him, nodding at the words which follow, "I can see that," the thickness of his accent appeared to have returned more strongly since he'd left but he seemed to be actively toning it down for the boy in front of him. Graeme took the broom from him and held it up so he could inspect it, "Not bad, good broom to learn on," he told the small boy before beginning to walk away, "Come on, let's get started," he motioned in the direction of where he knew they aught to be so that they could practice. The teen waited until he was at the field before putting down Reuben's broom which he'd carried to this empty field. Graeme then placed down his bag and from his bag pulled out his own broom and then a t-shirt, "Here, from my new team," he threw the t-shirt at the boy which had the Pride of Portree's colours on it and the team name in bright colours, with Reuben's name on the back. Graeme had thought about it the moment he'd said he was coming, the boy wanted to help his younger counterpart feel better and less down about the obvious difficult time he was having, losing a younger sibling, so he thought this would be a good thing to do. The teen just smiled a little nervously at him, hoping he'd like the present.
​

 

[Reuben Pendleton]

Reuben grinned, and then blushed when Graeme complimented his broom. He was definitely only being polite, but the Hufflepuff appreciated his effort all the same. As they set off for the field, he began to remember just how closely he had to listen to the man, lest he have to ask him to repeat himself. Until they'd met, he'd never heard a Scottish accent before in all his life, and it took quite some getting used to. He liked it, though - it was a lot more interesting than his New York accent. Sometimes, the Hufflepuff wished he'd had a Polish accent like his Grandfather. That would have been awesome!

Reuben chatted happily about all the good things that had happened to him that week, starting with receiving that letter from Graeme. The older boy was probably relieved when they finally arrived, because it meant Reuben closed his mouth. Not having anyone to talk to all day every day disposed him to blurting everything out in one big rush when the opportunity to finally came. He balanced his broom on its bristles, which probably wasn't too healthy for it, and watched curiously as Graeme produced something from his bag. A shirt! For him! He caught the it with both hands, his broom toppling carelessly to the grass in the process, and unfolded it. "Wow! For me??" Reuben asked incredulously, turning the shirt around to look at the other side. His already wide eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He was beside himself with happiness. "It's amazing! Thank you!" Reuben pulled the shirt on over his own, admiring himself for a moment before looking up ruefully. "Oh... I didn't get you anything, Graeme!" he said sadly.

 

[Graeme Fergusson]

Graeme definitely felt nervous with what he was giving to the boy, he didn't expect him to like it much or know who the team were but he thought he might just appreciate it a little. Graeme didn't expect the boy to drop the broom to catch the shirt, and then appear so surprised and grateful to receive such a gift, the former Hufflepuff felt honestly warmed by it, by his reaction, the boy clearly liked it, he'd even gone to pull it over his shirt and Graeme just nodded at him, "Looks good on you," he replied motioning to the shirt that the boy had slipped on, and then shrugging at the admission that he didn't have anything for him, "That's alright, I didn't need anything," Graeme wasn't sure if this was the right thing to say, he didn't want Reuben to be buying him anything, at any point, but he knew he would never be able to stop him. Instead he just fished out his own broom from his bag and let it expand into it's normal size, it was a relatively new broom, bought for him with the school's allowance when he'd entered fifth year and become quidditch captain. The teen just got his broom ready and then from within his bag pulled out a quaffle, "Alright, up into the air, try to score against me," Graeme tossed him the ball playfully before rising off the ground slightly, he would go easy on him, relatively speaking knowing the need to get the boy to improve but Graeme thought going easy on him now would be good to get his confidence up and ultimately help him improve overall, Graeme had no idea how to teach someone how to fly but he'd led his house team to victory surely teaching Reuben a little wouldn't be that hard.
​