Feeling Lowe but I got Hugh PV Finished

Was he cold? Yes.
Was the silly boy supposed to be inside doing homework anyway? Yes.
Then why was young Mr. Lowe wandering about the castle grounds? Not even the boy himself would have been able to answer that question at the time.

In fact Hugh mostly couldn't be bothered where his feet dragged him. He liked to wander, to see where it got him. It was both an adventure and a common safety. For he was not burdened with the choice of where one wished to end up at the close of their journey. The large gushes of wind caused him to loiter a bit by a half ruined shelter. A broken tree doing service as his chair, he waited. He held both ends of his coat tight and pulled his hood down. Dark hazel eyes gazing aimlessly across the vast terrain, they finally focused on a singular dot amidst the grizzled green grass.

Instinct kicked in at a moment's notice. He had to check it out, concern for safety waving in the wind like a banner he proudly raised to the skies. He ran forward, his hands clenching on to his coat as he took large paces towards the figure in the distance. As he neared his target, he would start to make out she was a student. Hufflepuff judging by the ever-so-obvious yellow and black color scheme they adorned themselves with.

By the final steps, he seemed to almost be skipping towards the girl. Curiosity and quandary growing inside him as he neared. He planned to jump to full stop a bit too late, causing his feet to slip on the cold, slightly wet grass...

To say the scruffy haired boy had been embarrassed would have been a seriosu understatement. With a bright red face he had found himself laying right next to the Hufflepuff on the ground. A pair of nervous eyes flashing towards her to witness her, most likely, a shocked expression. The thin, nervous smirk he could muster was anything but comforting for either of them, but he could not help himself.

"H-hello..." He uttered a bit sheepish. "Thought you needed some... help hehe."

The cold wind hitting her face was a little more uncomfortable than she would have liked to admit. It caused her cheeks to sting a little, turning them a shade of pink. Her usual brown nose had started to turn a little red too in the cold. It always seemed to turn red in the cold - in time to do justice to upcoming Christmas songs about a certain reindeer.

Serena sat in the quiet breeze, probably feeling the cold more so now than she did earlier due to the lack of movements and her damp cheeks. Alas, loneliness was not something she experienced for much longer. It took her a lot of self control to not shriek out an 'Eeeek' as another figure suddenly appeared next to her. Serena had been so self absorbed that she did not realise until he had already gone straight into the ground. Her body barely reacted, other than the sharp inhalation of breath and her widened eyes. She should have moved away but it did not.

She blinked at him and his scruffy head of hair. He was not someone she recognised but he did look quite young. Perhaps a new first year or a second year she had yet to meet. He could not have been much older than that. Serena blinked as the red faced boy spoke. It took her a few seconds to come to the realisation that she was just staring at this boy with a surprised expression on her face.

The Indian girl shook her head, wiping her face once more with the sleeve of her winter robes. "I'm fine," She replied promptly, as though she was programmed to say that. Her face and wet sleeves told a different story but society had taught her to always say she was fine. No one cared about your problems. At least, that was what she learnt in her house. Perhaps it was the Towers way, if not the Londoner way.

She then quirked an eyebrow at the boy, "Do you need help though?" She asked the boy, sniffing a little as she tried to calm herself down. She had the act to fulfill after all. The Towers daughter caught sobbing her eyes out would not be acceptable by her mother's standard. Of course, it happened a lot nonetheless but Serena tried to prevent damaging the so-called reputation that the family had to uphold.

Without waiting for an answer, Serena promptly rose a little and offered her hand to him. If he wanted it, she would help him up. She did not say much else, she honestly did not know what to say to him... Who even was he and why was he even here?

Wet grass and cold wind were not a fun combination in the slightest. The dirt strokes that marked his shirt and pants weren't nice either. The only thing worse to Hugh would be the red color his cheeks had gotten both in embarrassment to his fall or the girl's offer in assistance rather than vice versa. As his feet found their balance on the slippery gorunds, he brought the palm of his hand to his forehead. "I-I'm really sorry." he cleared his face. "I hope I didn't frighten you..." His face was one of pain and embarrassment as he tried to give her a nervous smile.

Only as he now focused on her, he noticed her extened hand. He figured it had been to help him up should he have need of support. Instead, now he used it to shake it. "Hugh Lowe, Gryffindor." Naming his house had started to become a badge of pride he wore on himself. An aditional bit of information that acknowledged he had grown content with his Hogwarts family.

Lovely people he had met in Gryffindor. Friends and acquaintances in number, something he would not have thought to have. If they had been succesful in at the very least, one thing. It would have been to make the tall 11 year old to have a place to belong.

The girl however... she did not seem to feel at home at all. Red marks around her eyes indicated her tears had only just now dried in the cold wind. "You are not fine though." He smiled faintly. "I saw you sitting from a bit further. Decided you needed a friend." He gave her a tiny smirk as he waited for her to respond. Hands clasped behind his back, trying to look a bit more sincere than a clumsy boy sliding into a girl's business.

The Hufflepuff blinked as she observed the boy. His face was red, his clothing was a mess from the fall and he looked very embarrassed. It was kind of sweet, in a strange way but also a little odd to see. The people she was used to hanging out with were very different. At least, back home. She had spent all of her summer at home with people that definitely did not do such a thing. Serena was certainly clumsy but her mother would kill her in her sleep if she was caught with grass stains or dirt all over her clothing. That being said, her mother was not here in Hogwarts and luckily was not privy to the sheer number of times that Serena looked exactly like the boy did right now. Though, perhaps with less red in her face because she was not one to get embarrassed all that easily. She enjoyed Quidditch after all, however and dirt stains were only natural during Quidditch practice. It was bound to happen at times.

Shaking her head, "No no, it's fine, you didn't frighten me at all," The Hufflepuff replied with a small smile on her face as she managed to gain more control over her emotions and faculty. She was looking at this boy, observing him as he managed to compose himself once more. He looked nervous for some reason as he introduced himself. She frowned a little as she heard his house. Gryffindor. For some reason, so many Gryffindor students seemed to be nervous around her. Well, the boys at least. It was weird... There were rumours about this going around, she heard the whispers go quiet as they saw her. But she had no idea why or what she did to deserve them.

Serena hesitated for a moment, unsure if she wanted to introduce herself. She half expected him to run as soon as he heard her name and whatever rumours were associated with her. But nonetheless, she attempted it. Hopefully he did not know said rumours - or believe them. Either way, she would find out soon enough, "Serena Towers," She replied, introducing herself as she shook the boy's hand. She paused for a second, waiting to see if he ran away or recognised her name. If he knew the rumours, perhaps he could tell her what they were, "Of Hufflepuff" She added.

Her house was definitely her favourite thing about Hogwarts. It was at Hufflepuff that she learnt something important: they had to stick together. They were a team. They were loyal and together they could overcome hell. They could beat everything and anything, as long as they did it together. Even death was stoppable for them, as long as the did it together. That was the key. Together, was the answer to everything. And Serena Towers knew that all too well. She had almost died here and together was the only reason she had not.

That being said, she still felt alone right now. Serena smiled at the boy, as bravely as she could, trying to push past her emotions and the desire to simply cry her eyes out, "Gryffidor is a good house, house of the brave and strong" She replied, with a nod as she could tell it was a house that he was proud to be a part of. Did she believe it? Perhaps, perhaps not. It was weird now, thinking about it. In a way, all of the houses were good in her mind. They all had something important: likeminded people, a team, a family within Hogwarts.

At least, that was what she believed until everything started to go wrong. Everyone was turning against each other, the castle was no longer the safe haven she thought it was and she was now just alone. She had no idea what to do anymore. Her clouded mind and heart were confused, full of questions and thoughts that she did not want to have right now. All she wanted was to sleep right now about. Just forget about everything and sleep. Sadly, that was not an option. Even in bed, her mind was full of thoughts and sleep was something that came rare to her. The boy claimed that she was not fine. He was right but she did not want to burden him. "Thanks, I'm okay though..." She replied, shaking her head as she tried to look less upset than she actually was.

But she knew he would not believe her so she continued to talk, "Something just happened recently but it's okay now, I don't reall-" She started, trying to explain herself. In truth, she had no idea what she was trying to say. Things had been a little rough lately, but they were not necessarily okay. She had no idea what she was even going to say and just stopped abruptly mid-sentence. It was not only her confusion that stopped her but also, his words. He claimed that she could use a friend. The truth was, she really could. But it was because she wanted friends and lacked them that she was upset. It was her loss of friends that caused her pain right now. The fact that she could not protect her friends that upset her. The fact that her friends had upset her.

All of this pain right now was because of friends or the lack thereof. Serena did not know what to say. How could she tell a random boy that friends seemed to make everything worse... Who needed enemies when your closest friends betrayed you? She was not a good friend herself. She should have noticed the pain that her friends were going through. She did not. Serena could not help anyone... She had been betrayed herself and she had betrayed others. Unknowingly, she had been a terrible friend. The Hufflepuff had been too self-absorbed in her own pain and injuries to see anyone else's. Even now, she was being selfish.

"I don't need friends." She replied, almost automatically. Her tone of voice was a little cold, all of a sudden, as though she were acting harsh and indifferent but she probably just sounded like a hurt child throwing a tantrum to be quite fair. Serena did not believe the words that came out of her mouth. Of course she needed friends, everyone did. She had a few Gryffindor friends - she had also lost some Gryffindor friends over time and it was just sad how this worked out.

The Hufflepuff looked down, sadly, recalling her lost friends and they reason why. It was all her fault, all of this happened and she couldn't do anything to stop it. She did not help Ben when she could and everything went wrong... As she thought to herself, wondering why things turned out the way that they did, she realised that there was a whole bunch of pages next to her. The pieces of parchment that had been stuck around the castle as flyers, revealing the identity of the masked man. If Hugh had seen or read any of them, he would likely recognise them in an instant. They were everywhere in the castle, it was likely that most people knew what was on the pages by now.

Her eyes widened a little as she suddenly moved her hand to grabbed a fist full of the parchment. Quickly, she crumbled them up into a ball, trying to make it harder to read them. Of course, she had drawn attention to the fact that they had been there but in a moment of panic, she did not know what else to do. Her brain did not have time to think. Her hand just moved on its own to grab them, trying to remove them from him. If he had not seen them already, hopefully he would not know. Perhaps, no one knew. She hoped that was the case but she did not know anymore. At this point in time, it was likely that everyone knew and there was nothing she could do about it to help.

Serena hated this more than anything. Sh really did hate it. It was not fair on her, them or even Ben. This was all so dumb and unfair, she could not even explain how she felt at this point in time, other than to say that she really did hate it. Her mind was just so confused. She ought to be angry at Ben, right? Why was she so busy trying to protect him?

The girl gave him a long inspecting look. To no surprise of Hugh really. He understood his entrance was kind of… direct. After she explained to him she was fine, she threw him another long look. This girl was certainly one for long musings. Or was it something he wore? He noticed he wasn't exactly presentable after that little slip up, which caused him to coughs a bit uneasy. After a bit he caught her name. Serena Towers. Hmmm. Ser-... Oh. His eyes widened a bit as he recalled Paracelus's story. He swallowed a little before talking again. "O-oh... h-hi." He peeped out. He tried to think of something. Just, something that would change the subject. "Yes, I gathered the yellow gave it away a little" He chuckled a bit awkwardly.

As he noticed the girl doze off in some other long and troubled stream of thoughts, he decided to sit himself down next to her. She eventually pointed out what his house meant. It seemed rather obvious to him, but she seemed to be trying to make a compliment. He gave her a friendly smile for that. "Why thank you, I feel quite at home there" He nodded as if to make sure she really believed him. After his own remark that she was however, not fine, she mentioned once more how "okay" she was. To which he frowned again. Really? And they tell me I'm closed off.

A faint smile cracked on his face as he noticed the similarities between him sitting here for Serena and how his father used to sit him down for a chat when he was sad. Every day he noticed something else had rubbed off on him. A thing that made him feel both comfortable and a bit uneasy at the same time. Was he really planning to turn into his father? Did he want that? Mind you, Hugh felt his father was a great man in his own right. A caring man and fiercely loyal. But there was something... lacking for Hugh's prospect.

His own train of thought was brought to an end as Serena explained something had happened a long pause was followed up by a short statement she didn't need any friends. Which was a lie. Hugh could both tell by her way of acting and by the simple truth that everyone needed friends. Her hand lashed out and grabbed some papers next to her, rapidly crumbling them before Hugh could read them clearly. Though he thought he vaguely recalled where they could have been from. Not sure what to say, he simply couldn't resist commenting on it.

"Where those... the masked man flyers?" He asked carefully. What was she doing with them? Was she ripping them down? Or putting them up? He remembered Professor Wright's plee for a ll gryffs to stand up for the Ravenclaw boy. But in truth, Hugh had no clue whatsoever what it all was about. It had seemed like a distant dream or some fairytale story some spooky slythering had told to make first years frightened. "I actually don't know that much about him. Or what happened." He felt his head getting a little warm and red as he had asked that. Things like this always tended to fly right past him. Leaving him clueless at best, if not in trouble.

Serena frowned a little, observing his reaction to her name. He suddenly seemed even more awkward than he did before. She sighed softly, lowering her hand and looking away from him. Turning to gaze towards the lake that she could see in the distance, the Hufflepuff did not reply to his comment about the yellow of her clothing or his awkward greeting. Instead, she remained quiet for a while, unsure of what to say to him.

Before asking him the question that played on her mind. He had not run away so she decided to ask him. If he knew what these rumours were, she would love to know. It was incredibly frustrating not knowing. People looked at her weirdly. She could not tell if she had something on her face or if it was the lack of her Head Girl badge or something completely different. "You've heard my name?" She asked him in a tone of voice that made the assumption that he had. It was definitely a more direct tone than she had intended for.

After grabbing the masked man flyers, she scolded herself internally as the Gryffindor boy commented on them. Of course he had seen them, it was not exactly like she was very subtle about it. Serena sighed softly. There was no point in lying. She was not one that lied for fun, anyway. In this sort of situation, it was probably better to just be honest. He would find out soon enough, to be quite honest. She held the crumpled up flyers tightly in her hands, with a look of panic on her face before sighing and relaxing a little. There was no point in getting worked up about it now... Nodding slowly, Serena decided to confirm the answer she dreaded to give, "Y- yeah, it is... I assume you've seen them?" She asked him, a little hesitantly.

The Hufflepuff sighed irritably out aloud again, before leaning back onto the tree behind her. She continued to hold the crumpled bits of papers in her hand tightly, as though she holding onto dear life with them. It gave her a little comfort, though there was no actual point in doing it anymore. Hugh already knew what was on the pages, which meant her attempts at protecting her former friend had failed. Wait... Friend? Former friend? Serena had no idea anymore. Were they even friends now? Had they ever been? She had no idea. Her mind hurt just thinking about it and her heart ached a little. Having friends seemed to hurt more than being alone, which was definitely strange. It was better not to have friends than have people who hurt you constantly in your life... Serena did not mean that deep down but in her stubborn hurt behaviour, that was what she truly believed at this moment in time. She would defend and argue that point very well right now, even though she would regret it tomorrow as she did secretly want friends.

"As a matter of fact I have y-yes." He wasn't quite sure if he should spill out that particular bit of knowledge to her. Yet he somehow felt if she needed to ask, she deserved to know. Rumors often found their way piercing in someone's back. No need for her to suffer from not knowing. "A second year told me you -ehm- well, kiss. Like, a lot. And... everyone." The words were out now. He felt terribly awkward having this information come from him. He knew her for... 2 minutes? At least I'm being honest? The boy sighed. He had hardly spoken two full sentences into the conversation and already this was turning out to be a mess.

She moved on to the posters, flyers, pamflets,... whatever they call it. Of course he had seen them. You didn't have to be a Sherlock Holmes for finding them. Scattered all across the castle. Some in full sight, others torn apart. It was rather clear not everyone was of the same opinion when it came to the masked boy. Ben was his name? Hugh was pretty sure it was a Ben.

His eyes fell onto the crumpled pieces Serena had tried to hide so desperately and quickly figured she was the cause of the torn ones. Which meant she cared. He's her friend? He stared back at her and noticed the huffle slipping into another stream of thoughts. It seemed the subject was not as easy as Hugh would've loved to tackle it. Perhaps I should let her be?

His hand found her arm and a friendly smile rose up to greet her. "I always got told the hardest stories are best told to a stranger." He smirked. No one had really told him that. But he figured she needed someone to talk to that would not judge her based on who she was or had been and who this Ben character was. Hugh had not been present last year and was barely brought up-to-date this year. He hoped she would see that. If not, then he could stay and smirk. That ought to make her smile. He was sure of it.

Dread filled her soul as Hugh spoke. He had heard her name... She hoped he just said that he recalled her being Head Girl or saw her name somewhere on a prefect notice. But sadly, that was not the case. The boy's words pierced her heart like an arrow. Serena had suspected it for a while but she did not have confirmation until now. A second year told him that she... kissed... people. Serena stared at the ground under her. Intensely, as though that was the only thing that mattered.

She heard his words but she continued to stare at the ground. She actually wanted to cry but Serena cried so hard not to break down even further. It hurt her more than she wanted to admit. Someone was making up rumours about her. False news... She hated it. "... Who was it?" Serena asked him quietly, after many moments of silence. She wanted to know who this so called second year was.

She was not important. Serena was nothing but a stain on the Hogwarts register. Why would anyone want to make up rumours about her? She did not know how to feel. Serena honestly could not comprehend it. Her fingers shook. Her heart pounded. Her eyes watered, no matter how hard she tried to stop it. "Which second year...?" She continued, her voice low(e).

Serena had fallen into thought about everything. There was these stupid rumours, the stupid behaviour of Siege that had apparently led to these rumours and the masked man that turned out to be the friend who caused the behaviour to happen. Everything was dumb. It was not their fault, right?! She wanted to blame them but she was not sure if she could. But it was not hers either. She knew that much. This could not be her fault... right? Maybe she did not know it.

She jumped slightly as something touched her. It snapped her out of her thoughts. Serena blinked a little, taken back by his actions but she calmed down after a second. He was smiling at her, attempting to be comforting... "The hardest stories are best told to a stranger?" Serena questioned. She did not believe that. But she would give it a go... It made no difference at this point. "What do you even want to know? This is all so stupid. None of it makes any sense..." The Hufflepuff ranted a little, sighing softly. She did not know what to say or where to start.

"I-... I'm not sure I should tell you his name" Hugh felt a bit uncomfortable now. This situation was uncomfortable as a whole. The hufflepuff seemed very distraught, even more so than before. It had not been Hugh's intention to worry her even further than she already seemed to be. Parcel having told him these rumours also seemed convinced of them as he told the other gryffindors. But would Hugh now really have to throw Parce under the bus for having said those things? He was not sure at all if they had any ill intent behind them, so he decided to not condemn the boy to his own presumptions.

"I don't believe you need to worry about rumours." Hugh finally said after a moment of thinking in silence. "What others say does not make them true. And we all never hear everything what people have to say about us anyway. In fact, I don't want to know these things. If they come up and talk, I reckon I can still be okay. Otherwise they'd avoid me at all costs, right?" He let the words sink in for both Serena and himself. "I'm here to talk, which means neither my entire house nor this school are doen with you. As long as one person is still willing to talk to you, you must be okay." That sounded not at all wise as Hugh spoke those last words, but he couldn't help his age. He was no professor with an entire life of adventure behind him to look back to. He was eleven and liked to draw knights.

When the conversation dropped back to the masked boy, he looked at her with a mild confusion to his eyes. "I'm not really sure. What I heard, it's all a bit surreal? A school under attack?" He bit his lip the more he started thinking about the subject. Were all magical schools in danger? Or maybe the magical world was just very dangerous in itself. Which almost made Hugh decide he wanted none of it. Perhaps he should have stayed home in Blackness and go to some private school along with the muggles. There he would have been safe. Yet he would have never met Ana, or even Alan. He would have had a different life with chances untaken. A boring path, he reckoned. And a knight should not run from adventure.