A Bit of Light Reading

[arthur weasley]

OPEN!
An Empty Hallway.
Early Saturday Afternoon.

The wind outside was howling and Arthur had tucked himself in a deep windowsill on the first floor. It was down a corridor that was rarely used these days. The only thing it led to was a staircase which decided to stop moving about a month back and has led to nothing but a stone wall ever since.

From his cosy windowsill, Arthur could see the dwarf tree that stood alone behind Greenhouse Three. In the warmer months, he loved to sit beneath that tree with his work. It was just off the path of the well traveled grounds so he was rarely disturbed.

As he watched the small tree, bent over with age, tremble in the winter conditions, a phantom draft sent a chill down Arthur's spine. He pulled the blanket he had brought with him up around his chin in protest. It was a crimson and gold blanket his mom had knit him last Christmas.

He scooted himself down until his body was flush against the large, circular recess in the wall. Then, plopping a book down on top of the large gold knit "G" he opened Muggles: Everything You Never Knew You Wanted to Know by Dempster Wiggleswade. It was one of the few muggle studies books he hadn't read cover to cover but it was only because the book was 966 pages long. Flipping to the chapter he left off at, Arthur began reading Cameras: Their's and Our's. It was going to be a nice quiet afternoon.

[max elliot]

Max was bloody cold, he had the hood to his school robe up and his scarf wound twice around his neck, yet he was still shivering slightly. He wished he was at home in his room with the nice central heating. Hogwarts was more than a little drafty when compared to his Aunt and Uncle's snug house in Wimbledon. Of course most of the time he wished he could always stay at Hogwarts. The school was his home, even more so than his Aunt's house. It was the one place where he really belonged, where his past didn't seem to matter. At home... well at the house, his Aunt would suddenly start crying and apologise to him for things her sister had done. Like it was her fault. It made Max uncomfortable, though it was even worse when his Uncle joined in. Not with the crying, but the blaming himself.

Huffing out a sigh, Max ambled along the corridor, knowing he should probably walk a little faster to get his blood pumping and his temperature a little higher. A blanket covered bundle on a windowsill caught his eye and he smiled at the familiar red head. 'Afternoon Weasley.' He paused beside the taller boy momentarily, not really intending to disturb him, but wanting to be polite. 'don't catch a chill on that window ledge.'

[arthur weasley]

Looking up from his book upon hearing his name, Arthur saw a familiar face standing next to him. It was Max Elliot, the Hufflepuff. The two weren't exactly friends. They never really hung out or anything of that sort but Arthur had always been fond of the messy haired boy. If Arthur had been the assertive type, he would have asked Max to hang out ages ago.

"I'm trying my best," Arthur laughed, "I was just trying to remind myself what the outdoors looks like. At this rate, we'll be as old as Dumbledore by the time this all melts."

[max elliot]

Max chuckled at the image of a wise old Arthur trudging about in the snow. It was one he could see quite vividly actually; he felt certain the wizard before him would make old bones. 'Maybe you'd be Headmaster then too.' He smiled again, finding the expression came naturally around the Gryffindor. Of all the lions, Max found Arthur to be the most approachable. The others -especially those Marauders- could be quite intimidating. 'I will probably be teaching the little ones how to fly or something and be even smaller than I am now!'

He leaned against the wall near Weasley's feet, gazing out across the grounds for a moment. The future seemed so far away, it was almost too difficult to imagine where he'd be even. Bringing his thoughts back to the present he glanced down at Arthur's book. 'Muggle studies? Did we have homework set that I missed?'

[arthur weasley]

Arthur laughed a bit louder than he meant to as he pictured himself with a long, silver beard, watching out the window of his headmaster office as a wrinkled, goblin sized Max zoomed around on his broom. The old Max was sure to be just as full of life as he was now and no doubt swarmed by admiring first years.

The Gryffindor really wasn't sure what he would be doing once he was finished at Hogwarts. He knew it would be something in Muggle Relations. Wherever he ended up, he knew he would be happy as long as he had family. Family that hopefully included Molly.

As the Hufflepuff brought attention to the book in his lap, Arthur's face went slightly red. He hated being thought of as "the know it all" or "the boy with books instead of friends." "Oh, this." Arthur mumbled. "No, I was just catching up on some personal reading." Slowly closing the bulky relic, he added with a sheepish smile, "Not much else to do on a day like this. "