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Chapter Text

August 30, 2019

“What the fuck do you mean ‘he’s special’? Are you saying he’s mentally disabled?” Cash Buckzo asked, eyes wide and eyebrows raised as he looked up at the large man in front of him. 

Said large man sighed and leaned down to Cash’s level to speak. “I’m sayin’ that yer son’s a wizard. What’s so hard to understand, Buckzo?” 

“Pfft- Wha- Are you on fucking drugs? Steroids? What the fuck are you even saying?!” Cash yelled. “What’s fucking next?! You gonna tell me that his sister is a wizard too?!” 

“Am not gonna tell ye that cause Miss Barbie ‘ere is a witch,” The man said, gesturing to the small girl who hid behind her brother. “And ‘ve come to take both of ‘em to study at Hogwarts’.” 

Cash scoffed. “Why would I let you take my kids to someplace I never even knew of until today?!” 

“Becau-”

Before the man could continue talking, a woman in emerald green robes and a pointy hat appeared in the middle of the room with a ‘woosh’ sound. She was very tall and had a stern look on her face. 

“That is rather enough, Hagrid. I’ll take it from here.” She spoke. 

Everything was just bizarre to Blitzø. He was just a normal kid, wasn’t he? Why was this happening? How on Earth did a woman appear out of thin air? Why the heck was a large man saying that he was a wi- a what?! What even was a wi…wizart? Weezert? 

“I’m scared, Blitzø.” Barbie Buckzo, Blitzø Buckzo’s twin sister said quietly behind him. 

“Don’t be scared, Barbie. I’m here.” He said, turning his head to smile at her. 

Both twins’ heads snapped towards the direction of the woman who approached them, a warm smile replacing her stern expression just a few moments ago. 

“Hello, Mister and Miss Buckzo,” The woman spoke, crouching down to meet their eyes. Barbie hid her face into Blitzø’s back. “I am Professor Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts’ School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Do you know anything of that school?” 

The children shook their heads, to which Professor McGonagall nodded at before continuing to speak. “It is a school for special children who have magical powers.”

“Powers?” Blitzø spoke up curiously as his father argued with the large man who he now knew was Hagrid in the background. “We don’t have powers… Do we?” 

“Oh, on the contrary, you two are truly meant for the wizarding world,” She replied, kind smile never leaving her face. “What might your mother’s name be?” 

“T-Tilla.” Barbie spoke this time, eyes peeking out from behind Blitzø’s shoulder. 

This made Professor McGonagall nod. “Well, Miss Buckzo, do you know what her maiden name was?” 

“It was… It was Wright.” 

“Correct!” She praised. “But did you know that that actually wasn’t her real surname?” 

The twins looked at each other. “It wasn’t?” Blitzø asked. 

“Yes. Your mother’s real surname was Rosier. She was the daughter of Evan Rosier,” She spoke. “All you need to know is that your grandmother decided to keep your mother safe after the passing of your grandfather.” 

“But mom wasn’t a witch,” Blitzø pointed out. “Was she?” 

Professor McGonagall shook her head. “No, she wasn’t. She was what you would call a Squib—someone who is non-magical but has magical parents. But, because her parents were magical, that passed onto you.” 

Blitzø thought this was weird. How were they magical when she wasn’t? Did she even know about this so-called ‘wizarding world’? But he decided not to question it. “But how are we magic? We’ve never really…” 

“Well, Mister Buckzo, have you ever had strange things happen to you? Like things suddenly disappearing or an extra limb growing out of someone you despise?” 

This made Blitzø press his lips into a thin line. This had happened before when someone tried bullying Barbie. He made the bully’s face turn green, but he didn’t know exactly how it happened. All he knew was he felt like he wanted it to happen and it happened. But how was he magic? Him? Blitzø Buckzo? A scrawny kid who was probably stunted that had messy black hair, brown eyes, a freckled face, and tan skin? He was below ordinary, so why the heck was he magic?!

“Would you like to attend Hogwarts’?” She asked. “There, we will teach you how to channel your magic through a wand and all sorts of information you may need in the wizarding world.” 

“But… Is it far? Do we need to pay for it? We don’t have money. We just moved here from Minnesota because dad said that mom was from here.” Blitzø said with a worried expression on his face which Barbie was mirroring. 

Professor McGonagall couldn’t help but feel pity towards the children who were only ten but were already worried about money. “Hogwarts’ is free for all to attend. But, you will need to purchase school supplies in order to fulfill your educational experience. Worry not, Mister and Miss Buckzo. It shall all be taken care of. We will discuss the details on the way to Diagon Alley, so long as you agree to come.” 

Blitzø thought that this was all so insane. They were dirt poor, so how would they purchase said school supplies? And was this even real? Was this a figment of his imagination? 

“They’re not going anywhere!” Cash roared. 

Professor McGonagall looked at the twins. “The decision is all up to the two of you. It is your right to be educated so if you decide that you wish to go, your father cannot do much about it.” 

Blitzø looked back at his sister whose eyes flickered towards their father who was red in the face and was yelling all sorts of profanities. It was no secret that their father was horrible. He hit them, didn’t feed them right, was greedy for money, and barely even made ends meet. To deny an opportunity to be away from him would be choosing a life of torture. But if Barbie didn’t want to go, then he wouldn’t either. Leaving Barbie behind would be an even worse form of torture. 

“What do you say, Barbs?” He asked, tilting his head to the side as he waited for her answer. 

Barbie instantly nodded. “Let’s do it.” 

With a determined face, Blitzø turned to his soon-to-be headmistress. “We’ll go.” 

“Lovely!” Professor McGonagall exclaimed. “Hagrid, let us take our leave. These children will need to purchase their supplies and prepare for the trip in two days time.” 

“THEY WON’T BE GOING!” Cash yelled. “I WON’T ALLOW IT!” 

“I believe that that isn’t up to you, Mister Buckzo,” Professor McGonagall said with a smug smile. “If the children wish to attend, then they shall attend. If you try to prevent this, I believe the Ministry of Magic shall intervene. The Ministry has Aurors who are brilliant at casting forgetfulness charms to erase your memory.” 

This made Cash press his lips into a thin line nervously. “But how will they pay for the damn supplies you speak of?” 

“That also isn’t up to you, Mister Buckzo.”

“What- I’m their father! Of course it’s up to me!” 

“Move along, children. Hagrid will do the talking with your father whilst I have you both sorted out.” 

And so they did, shuffling out of the small studio apartment with Professor McGonagall right behind them. Little did they know that starting that day, their lives would change forever. 

-

Blitzø and Barbie collapsed on the bed at the right side of the room, faces flushed and bellies full for the first time in a long time as they giggled. Professor McGonagall had informed them both that their grandmother had left them a small fortune to help them get by. She apparently had known that her grandchildren were magical and decided to leave all her assets in the wizarding world to them so they would be able to attend Hogwarts’. In her will, she stated that she felt safe letting them attend Hogwarts’ as the wizarding war had already ended, so long as no one but the headmaster and Hagrid knew of their heritage. Professor McGonagall had told the both of them to make sure that they referred to themselves as Wright, not Rosier, when asked and ONLY when asked. Their mother was unaware of anything about the magical world as her mother had raised her as a muggle and legally had their surnames changed.

Their grandmother had left them a lot as per Hagrid—they wouldn’t know as they didn’t really grasp the concept of wizard money yet. Professor McGonagall had left them with Hagrid, saying that she had a few more houses to visit for the day and that Hagrid would assist them. He gave them a tour of Diagon Alley and was with them through the entire process. They had purchased all the supplies needed and Hagrid had allowed them both an owl each (Blitzø had gotten a barn owl and Barbie a snowy owl). He then brought them to the Leaky Cauldron and got them a room with two queen-sized beds (much to their surprise as they both only slept on a twin mattress on the floor in the living room of their studio apartment while their father slept in the only room). They were even more surprised when they found that their stuff from home was already in their room and were packed in trunks. 

He informed them that he’d be coming back in a day and a half to retrieve them and drop them off at King’s Cross station. During that time, they were allowed to roam about in Diagon Alley, but were not allowed to leave. With that, the twins made the most of their time by checking out the stores and buying some candy and weird little toys called gobstones that looked similar to marbles. 

Once Hagrid had come back for them, they were feeling rather exhilarated and couldn’t wait to get on board the train. Hagrid had taught them how to get into the platform (which was so scary because they had to run into a wall!) before disappearing to who knows where. The station was buzzing with people, most of them saying their goodbyes to their families as they began to board the train. They didn’t have anyone to say goodbye to, so they boarded onto the train straight away. They went inside the first empty booth they came across and placed their trunks inside the compartments above them. 

“I read a book last night about one of our subjects,” Barbie said. “It’s called transfiguration and it’s so cool, Blitzø! We can turn anything into anything we want if we master it!” 

“Can’t wait to learn all that stuff.” Blitzø said with a smile as Barbie marveled over her wand.

Before they could say anything else, the booth door opened and a small, pale boy with black hair and grey eyes’ head popped out. “Hi! Are you guys first years, too?”

The twins nodded. “Oh, lovely! I’m Fizzarolli. You can call me Fizz. And this is Anthony!” The boy said, opening the door further so they could see the lanky blond-haired boy with blue eyes who stood behind him, somehow even paler than the incredibly pale Fizz. 

“Heya!” Anthony greeted them. “What might your names be?” 

“I’m Blitzø and this is my twin sister Barbie.” Blitzø said with a smile. 

“Oooh, twins! I’ve got a twin sister, too! Her name’s Molly but she went off with her friends,” Anthony said. “Say, can we sit here? Everywhere else is full.” 

The twins nodded and both Fizzarolli and Anthony rushed into the booth. Anthony eyed the twins before speaking. “You two are muggle-borns, then?” 

Fizzarolli smacked Anthony on the arm. “Hey! I didn’t ask them to be mean! It’s just so obvious!” 

“Still!” Fizz scolded. “Sorry about him. He’s never really interacted with muggle-borns before—at least not up close. You lot don’t really live within wizarding communities, do you? You both aren’t from Britain, I presume?” 

“It’s alright,” Blitzø said. “And yeah, no, we aren’t from here. We’re from Minnesota in America.” 

“Oh, Americans!” Fizz exclaimed. “What brings you here?” 

“We moved here. Our Mom’s from Doncaster.” Barbie said quietly. 

“I see! Is it your first time here in the UK?” Anthony inquired. 

Blitzø nodded. “Yes. We just moved here like two months ago.” 

“The ministry is quite fast. They probably tracked you down as soon as you moved,” Fizz pointed out. “My father works as an Auror in the ministry. They’re basically magical policemen.” 

“What even is a po… policemen?” Anthony asked, head tilted to the side. 

“They’re like Aurors but for muggles, Anthony,” Fizz responded. “Anthony here is a pureblood. He’s a Malfoy, hence the hair.” 

Anthony scrunched his nose. “My grandmother is a Malfoy.” 

“And yet you and Molly still have the signature blond hair.” 

“Heed him no mind,” Anthony said as a joke. “My last name is actually Marcone.” 

“He’s Italian,” Fizz said upon seeing Blitzø’s eyebrows raised. “I’m a half-blood myself. My mother is a muggle which explains why I know about the muggle world more than this twat does.” 

“So rude!” Anthony dramatically exclaimed. “How did your parents take it, then? Were they shocked?” 

“We haven’t got a mom anymore. But our dad was livid, to say the least.” Blitzø answered. 

“Sorry ‘bout your mum, mate,” Fizz said. “Your sister here’s the silent type, yeah?” 

“She’s just shy,” Blitzø responded. “She isn’t the friendly type.” 

Barbie squeezed Blitzø’s arm in protest. 

“She seems to think otherwise now, doesn’t she?” Anthony said with a laugh. “Do you guys know about the different houses yet?” 

At the mention of this, Barbie perked up. “Y-yes. I told Blitzø about them earlier.” 

Anthony smiled at her. “Oh, you do?” 

“I read… about them.” Barbie replied. 

“Cool!” Fizz praised. “Which house do you think you’ll get into?” 

Barbie shrugged. “Dunno. But I think Blitzø will be in Gryffindor.” 

“I still don’t know what that means.” 

“Hence why you will end up there.” Barbie joked.

This made Fizz and Anthony laugh. Blitzø furrowed his eyebrows. “Yeah! A lot of smart ones came from Gryffindor, sure, but so did most of the knuckleheads.” Anthony said with a laugh.

Blitzø simply sat back looking defeated as they continued to talk about the houses. A few minutes later, an old woman passed by their booth while saying ‘Anything off the trolley?’. Both Anthony and Fizz opened the door quickly and excitedly stood as they talked about what they wanted to get. 

Hagrid helped them withdraw some pocket money, so Blitzø stood up from his seat to check out what was available and Barbie followed. He saw a bunch of colorful candy and asked the pair before him for a recommendation. 

“Chocolate frogs are the best!” Fizz said, pointing to the pentagon-shaped boxes at the very center of the trolley. “You can get collectible cards with each pack, too! Be careful, though, because they move.” 

“I’ll have two, please!” Blitzø said with a smile as he handed the lady a single silver coin. 

She gave him back a few bronze coins as his change and proceeded to entertain the two boys who were grabbing almost everything they could see. Blitzø went back inside and handed Barbie one box. “I got you one.” 

Barbie smiled gratefully before opening her box. She was frightened when the frog began to move, but Blitzø caught it in time before it could jump away. 

“Is it… alive?” Barbie asked. 

“It isn’t,” Anthony said while he chewed a liquorice wand. “It’s just enchanted. You can eat it without worrying.” 

With that, Barbie began to munch on her chocolate frog quietly. She pulled out the card that came with the box and curiously looked at it before giving it to Blitzø. “Who’s this?” 

“You got Newt Scamander!” Fizz exclaimed. “He’s bloody awesome. He’s a magizoologist who’s amazing with creatures!” 

Blitzø smiled and gave Barbie the card back. “You like creatures too, Barbs.” 

Barbie nodded as she stared at the card bewilderedly. Blitzø then proceeded to open his box and ate the frog before pulling out the card. “I got Jocunda Sykes!” 

“She’s the first witch ever to go across the Atlantic with a broom!” Fizz explained. 

As the train ride continued on, the four children got to know each other further, happily chatting away until the train had reached its stop. Fizz and Anthony had told them to change into their robes before arrival. Barbie looked around nervously, watching students get off the train and talking loudly amongst one another. 

“You ready, Barbs?” 

“Ready.”

Out of the train they went, unsure of what the future held for them, but determined to make the most of it. 

Chapter Text

As soon as they set foot in the Great Hall, Barbie’s eyes were sparkling with wonder and so were Blitzø’s. The ceiling looked like there wasn’t a ceiling (Fizz explained that it was bewitched to look like the sky) and candles were floating alongside the very peculiar makeshift heavens. Both Anthony and Fizz were buzzing with excitement as all the first years walked towards the very front. Anthony was saying hi to everyone he knew, waving wildly with glee. 

The headmistress stood in front of them, face stern as she looked at the crowd. 

“It is wonderful to see all of you here tonight. As you all know, I am Minerva McGonagall, the headmistress of Hogwarts’ School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,” She said, voice weirdly modulated even without the use of a microphone or speakers. “I would like to request all of you to settle down as we will now begin the sorting ceremony.” 

A black-haired man with dark robes walked over holding a brown, pointy hat similar to Professor McGonagall’s. He smiled at the students who looked up at him curiously. 

“Thank you, Professor Longbottom. Now, as I call your name, please step forward and take a seat right here as you will be sorted into your houses.” Professor McGonagall said, flicking her wand which made a large chair appear. Oohs and aahs could be heard from all around the crowd. 

“You excited?” Anthony asked Blitzø who was bouncing up and down by his heels. 

“Nervous,” Blitzø replied. “I hope we get sorted in the same house.” 

“We can still be friends if we ain’t!” Anthony said with a smile. “Right?” 

“Right.” Barbie said quietly with a nod which surprised Anthony. 

“Aw! Are we friends, Barbie?” He asked in a hushed voice as Professor Longbottom motioned for them to keep quiet. 

“Yes.” Barbie replied which made Anthony and Fizz squeal quietly. Blitzø chuckled at this. 

“Charlotte Morningstar.” Professor McGonagall called out. A tall and pale girl with blonde hair strode towards the front and took a seat. 

“Her father is Lucifer Morningstar,” Fizz whispered. “He’s a direct descendant of Godric Gryffindor!” 

Blitzø nodded in amazement. “Oh wow! No doubt she’ll be in-” 

“Gryffindor!” The hat yelled out. 

The table full of Gryffindors cheered as Charlie skipped towards them with a big smile on her face. She looked rather good-natured and confident. Blitzø thought she was pretty. 

“Asmodeus Bulstrode.” 

A dark-skinned boy with long, curly hair tied up into a bun walked forward in an elegant gait. 

“The Bulstrodes used to be purebloods but they were fine with bringing in half-bloods. Asmodeus is a half-blood. His mother is a muggle-born!” Anthony whispered quietly. 

“Gryffindor!” 

“Buncha Gryffindors today.” A lanky boy who looked Latin-American (much like Blitzø and Barbie) spoke. 

“What’s it to you, Samaniego?” Anthony said with a raised eyebrow and arms crossed over his chest. “I’ll laugh in your face if you get sorted into there.” 

“Pft. And be the first Samaniego who isn’t a Slytherin? I’d rather die.” The boy replied sassily. “And what about you? You’re not only a Marcone, but also a Malfoy. You'd be such a disgrace if you weren’t sorted into Slytherin.” 

“I keep telling you lot time and time again that it was my grandmother who was a Malfoy! Leave me out of all that codswallop!” Anthony exclaimed as quietly as he could.

“But still, your mother is a Dolohov, yes?” The boy pressed in a haughty tone. “You reek of dark magic.” 

Anthony had both his fists balled angrily as Fizz tried his best to hold him back. “Vaffanculo.”

“That’s enough, Samaniego. Quit sticking your nose in stuff that isn’t your business.” Fizz chastised. 

“Oh, and is this your business, Fowler?” The boy said. “Why don’t you crawl back to the muggle home you keep visiting every summer? You scum shouldn’t be allowed to attend this bloody school.” 

“Val, that’s enough,” Another boy—pale, black-haired, and blue-eyed—interjected. “Is this really worth your time?”

“I guess not, Vox. Hope you don’t get into Slytherin, losers.” 

Anthony simply rolled his eyes. Fizz sighed. “You both will hear even worse stuff here. Some families just can’t let go of their prejudice. When you do, you tell us so we can help you out.” 

The twins nodded in understanding. 

“Anthony Marcone.” 

“See ya!” Anthony said with a smile before walking to the chair and taking a seat. 

“Which house do you think he’ll be in?” Barbie asked Fizz. 

“Slytherin, probably. He comes from a long line of-” 

“Gryffindor!” 

It was quiet for a moment before the Gryffindor table cheered, welcoming Anthony with open arms. Val and Vox smirked at each other, snickering in amusement. 

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Fizz said, completely surprised. “Let’s hope his parents don’t kill him.” 

“Why does it matter?” Blitzø asked. 

“Families like to keep up reputations, Blitzø,” Fizz explained. “It matters a whole lot in this world.” 

Blitzø pressed his lips in a thin line. The Rosier family, what were they like? Were they also like this? Were they even purebloods? 

“Molly Marcone.” 

Fizz gestured to the small, blonde girl who looked a lot like Anthony seated in the chair. “That’s his twin sister.” 

“Slytherin!” 

“Oh, Anthony is definitely dead.” Fizz said, watching as Molly stared helplessly at her twin brother before walking to the Slytherin table. 

When Blitzø looked at Anthony, though, he looked like he couldn’t care less. He was definitely happy to not be in Slytherin. 

“Cherri Barnes.” 

Fizz waved at the girl with dirty blonde hair who waved back at him. “That’s Anthony’s best friend right there.” 

The ceremony continued, with Fizz also being sorted into Gryffindor. The twins could only hope that they would be sorted together at the very least. 

“Blitzø Buckzo.” 

Blitzø squeezed Barbie’s hand before letting go of it and walking to the chair. He looked up at Professor McGonagall who placed the hat atop his head. It felt weird and it sort of smelled funny.

“Hmm.. Yes… I see some very… cunning lineage. But you differ from that… I see…” The hat spoke. “Best be…. Gryffindor!” 

Blitzø could see Anthony and Fizzarolli practically leap out of their seats. Blitzø took one last glance at Barbie before rushing over to his friends. 

“Barbie Buckzo.” 

Timidly, Barbie sat on the chair and the hat was placed on her head. Blitzø nervously gritted his teeth and watched as his twin sister rubbed her hands together shakily. Anthony and Fizz looked nervous as well, hoping alongside Blitzø that Barbie would make it into Gryffindor as well. 

There was a long pause before the sorting hat shouted out its final decision. “Gryffindor!” 

Relief flooded within Blitzø’s body as he watched his twin sister rush towards the Gryffindor table with a big smile on her face. 

Dragging on until every last student was sorted, they found that both Valentino and Vox were sorted into Slytherin after the ceremony when they saw the pair making faces at Anthony from the Slytherin table. The headmistress then announced the beginning of the feast. Suddenly, the table was filled with various food items—ranging from a plate of chocolate chip almond cookies to a large roasted turkey with cranberry sauce on the side. The twins had never seen such a vast amount of food in their lives. Barbie looked at Blitzø for approval, to which he nodded at and she began to shovel mashed potatoes onto her plate. 

As Blitzø began to haul food onto his own dish, he saw what he could only describe as the most gorgeous boy in his life walk towards Professor McGonagall with a graceful posture. Said boy had brown hair and blue eyes with porcelain skin and high cheekbones. He watched as the boy spoke with the headmistress, clearly distressed.

“What’s up with him?” Blitzø asked Anthony who was munching on roasted turkey. 

“Oh, that’s Stolas Goetia,” Anthony replied after swallowing his food. “He’s part of the Goetia family. They’re related to the Gaunt family who were direct descendants of Salazar Slytherin. Poor guy got sorted into Ravenclaw. He’s obviously scared for his life.” 

“You should be, too!” Fizz exclaimed. “Your father will hex you.” 

Anthony shrugged. “I could care less. They could disown me for all I care. I’ve never really cared about that pureblood nonsense, anyways. It’s just fun to gossip about it. Plus, Nonna left all her assets to me before she passed away—bless her soul. I won’t be poor.” 

“If you get a howler tomorrow, I’m laughing my arse off.” Fizz teased. 

“What’s a howler?” Barbie asked curiously. 

“It’s a letter that talks! They’re really loud, too.” Fizz said with a smile. 

As they continued talking about howlers, Blitzø’s gaze wandered off to Stolas Goetia who looked like he was about to kneel in front of the headmistress. He was clearly asking her to be sorted into Slytherin and the headmistress was refusing. It was so unfortunate. 

The Gryffindor prefect, Beezlebub, led them into Gryffindor tower and helped them get settled in, informing them of the password to get the fat lady to let them in whenever they needed to. 

Mostly covered in red, Blitzø found that the Gryffindor common room was very homey. It had a sofa set in front of a fireplace, as well as another behind it with a coffee table that had a few books and the latest newspaper on top. There was also a seat by the windowsill with a cushion in case anyone wanted to take a quick afternoon nap. Various paintings decorated the walls and a wide array of knick knacks were littered all over the room. The three of them then proceeded to the boys’ dormitory while Barbie made her way to the girls’. Walking up the flights of stairs was definitely not an easy task, that was for sure. Everything seemed so far away from each other due to the size of the castle—Blitzø knew how he was going to stay fit despite all the food they were allowed on a daily basis. 

“Who do you think our roommates are gonna be?” Fizz asked hopefully as they walked towards their room. 

Anthony clasped his hands together. “Hopefully someone nice! Or someone we know at the very least.” 

“How many people are in one room?” Blitzø asked. 

“Four. So, there’s three of us and one more person.” Anthony answered. 

Something then occurred to Blitzø at that very moment: How did they know that they were going to be roommates?

With a scratch of his nape, Blitzø asked. “How sure are we that we’re going to be roommates?” 

“Oh, they usually just know,” Fizz said. “I don’t know how, but they just do. It’s weird. Our stuff will all be up there as well.” 

Upon opening the door, they were greeted with a standard-sized room that had four four-poster beds with red drapes. The room was lit with four oil lamps placed on the nightstand on each bed. Their trunks were placed on top of their mattresses, with Blitzø being on the bed nearest to the door. 

“Hi!” A small boy—though not as small as Fizz was—greeted from the bed farthest in the room. He had dirty blond hair, a freckled face much like Blitzø’s, fair skin, and green eyes. “I’m Moxxie Carmichael! What are your names?” 

“I’m Fizzarolli Fowler, you can call me Fizz. This is Anthony Marcone and Blitzø Buckzo.”

Blitzø waved shyly at Moxxie who waved back before turning his attention to Anthony. “A Marcone in Gryffindor? Blimey! That’s got to be the first time ever! Have you heard from your parents yet?” 

“Not yet. He’ll probably get a howler at breakfast tomorrow.” Fizz said, trying to hold his giggles in.

“It’s like my downfall is your joy,” Anthony said disapprovingly before collapsing onto his bed which was between Fizz and Blitzø’s. “Wish I could be Blitzø. No one in his life really knows about all this baloney except him and his twin sister.” 

Blitzø huffed after moving his trunk onto the floor so he could properly lay down on the bed. “Oh, trust me, you do not want my life.”

“What’s life like as a Blitzø Buckzo, anyway?” Fizz asked, laying on his stomach. 

“Uneventful,” Blitzø grumbled. “You get no mom, shitty dad, and timid twin sister—not that Barbie isn’t a joy to be around.” 

Fizz giggled. “What about the move to the UK? How’d that come about?” 

“Well, our dad’s obsessed with our mom and decided to move here after she died so he could ‘connect’ with her more. I dunno what kind of crap he’s on because mom grew up in Minnesota and was only born in Doncaster. Besides that, she barely even knows anything British besides the common media inaccuracies portrayed in Hollywood.” Blitzø criticized. 

He decided not to mention the fact that their father practically starved them to the bone, beat the living daylights out of them whenever he felt like it, and was busy getting high on who knows what. They’re better off not knowing all that. 

“You sound like you have such a deep-rooted hate for him. He must not be a good person,” Fizz stated. “Is he?” 

With the shake of a head, Blitzø's life story was dismissed which he was grateful for.

“How did you three meet?” Moxxie asked curiously. 

“We met Blitzø and his twin sister, Barbie, on the train!” Fizz exclaimed. “Anthony and I, on the other hand, met in a Quidditch cup a year ago. We’ve been friends in secret, though, because his parents bring me to tears.” 

Anthony snorted. “My parents are barely even parents. They only become ‘parents’ when Molly, Jonathan, and I do something that displeases them.” 

Just then, a terrified look crossed Anthony’s face. “Oh- fuck-” 

Fizzarolli looked confused, but then realization struck him and he wore the same expression as Anthony. 

“What’s going on?” Moxxie asked Anthony who began to pace back and forth. 

“Jonathan,” Fizzarolli spoke. “He’s Anthony’s older brother. He’sin the sixth year and he’s even more terrifying than Anthony’s parents. I’ve seen him beat up his own little brother!” 

“Oh, sono fottuto.” Anthony muttered under his breath. 

“He’s in an entirely different house, Anthony. I assume he’s in Slytherin?” Blitzø said, to which Anthony nodded. “You’ll be fine as long as you steer clear from Slytherin.” 

“My sister’s in there! I can’t just avoid her,” Anthony groaned. “Merlin, I hate life.” 

Blitzø looked at his friend sympathetically. Why were wizarding families so rough? 

“You’d think after the second wizarding war, my family would change. But no! They’re still choosing to be a bunch of arses! Hai rotto il cazzo!” Anthony exclaimed, his accent a mix of British and Italian. 

Not really understanding what Anthony was talking about, Blitzø chose to look up at the ceiling of his bed instead. He sighed, thinking of how life wasn’t going to be easy even here, either. He hoped that Barbie was okay and that she had nice roommates. He hoped their father fell in a ditch somewhere. He hoped his mom was watching over him. He hoped to God that everything would turn out okay in the end. 

Chapter Text

September 10, 2019

It had been exactly ten days since the Buckzo twins arrived at Hogwarts’ and they were adjusting quite well—or at least, Blitzø liked to think they did. Barbie was still as timid as ever, quietly lurking about and relying on him to make the decisions and socialize. She, apparently, had the Morningstar girl as a roommate and said that she was very loud and tried to be friends with everyone. There were two other girls with Barbie and Morningstar, but Barbie was too shy to interact with them aside from the casual ‘hi’ every time she’d bump into either of them. 

Anthony did get a howler, and it was horrific. It was his father who sent it as his mother refused to make contact with him for the time being. 

“ANTONIO LORENZO MARCONE, WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?” The howler bellowed, much to Anthony’s dismay. They were having breakfast in the Great Hall when it came. 

“Poor Anthony.” Barbie whispered to her twin and Moxxie who both nodded in agreement. 

“YOU ARE THE FIRST MARCONE IN THE ENTIRE BLOODLINE TO NOT ONLY FAIL TO BE SORTED INTO SLYTHERIN, BUT TO BE SORTED IN GRYFFINDOR OF ALL HOUSES! YOUR MOTHER AND I ARE SO DISAPPOINTED IN YOU! SEI UNO COGLIONE! DO NOT EVEN THINK OF COMING HOME FOR WINTER BREAK AS WE REFUSE TO SEE YOUR RIDICULOUS FACE! And please do tell Molly that we are proud of her.” 

With one last wheeze, the red envelope tore itself into shreds right in front of Anthony who was red in the face from embarrassment. “I cannot believe they actually sent me a howler. With curse words too! Have they no shame? Even added that little bit about Molly. Merlin.”

Fizz looked at his friend remorsefully. “It’s okay, Anthony. The worst is over, at least. You wanna stay over at my place for winter break? We can work things out.” 

Cherri, who was sorted into Hufflepuff but decided to sit with Anthony for breakfast, held her friend’s hand in her own as a form of comfort. “You could stay over at mine as well if you want! My parents will be fine with it.”

Anthony huffed, poking his scrambled eggs with his fork as Val and Vox mocked him in the background. “I’ll have to think about it. I might just stay here for winter break. They might flame you for taking me in.” 

Before they could continue their conversation, a lanky male with Slytherin robes strode over to Anthony, icy glare prominent. He had the same blond hair as Anthony that was slicked back—in contradiction to Anthony’s wild hair—but had green eyes and sharper features. As soon as Anthony saw him, he tensed up. 

“Antonio,” The male spoke, his accent more Italian than that of Anthony’s. “I see mamma and papa have made their sentiments known.” 

“I don’t need another earful from you, Giovanni.” Anthony muttered. 

“They have Italian names,” Fizz whispered loud enough for only Blitzø, Barbie, and Moxxie to hear. “That’s Jonathan.” 

“Is that so? You dare talk to me in that way all because you got sorted opposite from Maria and I?” 

“Leave me alone,” Anthony said in a whine. “Please. I already got my scolding. I do not need another.” 

“Oh, but it seems you do, no? Your tone does not please me, and neither will it mamma and papa.” Jonathan said, looming over his brother. 

Anthony sighed. “You and I both know that being sorted into here was not my choice. Why would I make my life difficult? I am not stupid.” 

Jonathan raised his eyebrow at his brother. “But you have always been different, which has led to this outcome. Why choose to be different and disgrace the family name?” 

“I don’t know? Get off my back. Please,” Anthony said. “At least let me have my breakfast in peace. All my friends are here.” 

Jonathan grunted in response before staring down at everyone at the table. With a huff, he held his chin high and walked back to the Slytherin table where Molly was looking at him with disdain. Anthony let out a sigh of relief before forking as much of his eggs as he could into his mouth. 

“Slow down, Anthony. You might choke.” Cherri said, offering a cup of water to her friend who was hunkering down as much food as he could as a form of stress eating. 

Blitzø now developed a new fear of the Marcone family and tried to steer clear of Jonathan as much as he could, which wasn’t that difficult. He was just thankful that he wasn’t Anthony at that point. 

On that same day, they attended their classes for the very first time. Their first period was potions with the Hufflepuffs and Blitzø wasn’t exactly keen on it as much as Fizz and Barbie were. They seemed rather excited to get the opportunity to concoct mixtures and learn about what they did. Anthony and Cherri were mostly goofing about during this time, earning a frustrated sigh from potions teacher Professor Slughorn. 

After potions, they had Defense Against the Dark Arts and Blitzø found the subject rather intriguing. He could say that out of all the subjects, D.A.D.A. was his favorite. They began learning about dark creatures such as zombies and vampires and the twins were more than surprised to learn that those creatures were actually real. 

Transfiguration followed and Barbie loved it. She felt really excited about learning how to turn a rat into a goblet. By the end of the lesson, Anthony had managed to turn his rat into glass, Moxxie made his have goblet stands for legs, Barbie’s transfigured into a goblet with rat fur, Blitzø’s into a rat with a goblet for a head, and Fizz’s failing into turning into anything at all. 

“It’s okay, Fizz,” Moxxie said comfortingly. “You can practice!” 

After lunch time, they had Charms, followed by Herbology, and ending with History right before supper. All their other subjects were taught during other days. 

What Blitzø really loved most of all, though, was flying. They had their flying classes on Thursday and he was more than exhilarated, to say the least. He was one of the few students who was able to successfully mount and fly his broom on the first try. Anthony thought he was brilliant and that he’d get into the Quidditch team in their second year if he really wanted to (he’d love that if he actually knew what the heck Quidditch was).

Wizard school was a lot different from muggle school. They used quills instead of pens, parchment instead of white paper, and there were no electronics whatsoever. The twins did just fine because they never really had their own phones, but it still felt weird to live in a life where there was no technology at all. Moxxie, who had a muggle father, and Fizz both explained to them that technology just didn’t work at Hogwarts’; or anywhere in the wizarding world for that matter. It would take a while of getting used to, but he knew they’d manage.

During the entire week, they also had a few classes with the Ravenclaws (History, Astronomy, and Herbology), which meant he saw Stolas Goetia again. It didn’t really matter to him at first. He just felt really bad for the guy who once held a regal stance. His head was always hung low and he had heard from Moxxie that apparently, almost all his friends had abandoned him because he was sorted into Ravenclaw. The only people he had left were his cousin, Asmodeous Bulstrode, and his friend, Vassago Alcaraz. But whenever they weren’t around, seeing as Asmodeous was in Gryffindor and Vassago was in Hufflepuff, he was always alone. 

Apparently, his family didn’t disown him, but his father personally went to see the headmistress to discuss his concerns about the sorting. The headmistress herself had said that she thought Stolas was best suited in Ravenclaw and that the sorting hat had made no mistake. His father had left in a huff and told Stolas to lay low as they would be dealing with this soon enough. 

Despite all this, though, Stolas Goetia was incredibly clever. He did amazing in every single class and excelled particularly in Herbology and Astronomy. He would always be seen reading in the library or at the courtyard, the astronomy tower, or the courtyard.

Blitzø felt sorry for him and wished he could do something, but Stolas didn’t seem like the type to mingle with muggle-borns. Although he looked nice, Blitzø couldn’t shake the feeling that he was somehow stuck up. He didn’t really care for criticizing people he didn’t know, but he also didn’t want to make friends with someone who could give less of a shit about him. 

“Earth to Blitzø?” Fizz called out, waving his hand in front of his friend who had zoned out while looking at his food. 

“Oh, shoot. Sorry. Did I zone out?” 

“Yeah, you did,” Anthony said with a mouth full of food. “Are you guys done with your second wizarding war essay?”

Barbie then placed two rolls of parchment in front of Anthony. “Here.” 

“Woah! Didn’t Professor Binns say one roll of parchment only?” Anthony asked as he checked out Barbie’s essay.

“He said at least one.” Barbie replied. 

Fizz shivered. “He still gives me the creeps. You know they said he died in his office and came back as a ghost to continue teaching? Who in Merlin’s beard does that?!” 

“He just loves teaching, I suppose.” Blitzø said quietly. 

“No, he loves torturing us. Why else would he bore us about the bloody goblin rebellions?” Moxxie stated as he stabbed his steak with a fork.

After eating dinner, Blitzø decided to spend some extra time finishing his essay. It was due in two days and he hadn’t completed half of it yet. He rushed to Gryffindor tower and stuffed three rolls of parchment, his quill, a bottle of ink, and some cookies he nicked from dinner and wrapped in parchment into his messenger bag before heading into the library, straight to the history section. The library was quite full despite it being rather late. Blitzø figured that most students were probably catching up on schoolwork or reviewing for quizzes. 

There, he placed his messenger bag on an empty seat and began to check out the shelves for any books on the second wizarding war. He was quite shocked to hear the timid Professor Longbottom had not only taken part in the war, but played a huge role in it as well by pulling Godric Gryffindor’s sword out of the sorting hat. Ever since he found that out, he held huge respect for the said teacher. 

Once he found the book he was looking for, he grabbed it and took a seat, noting that it was seven pm after taking a glance at the wall clock, which meant that he had two hours until curfew. 

With a sigh, he opened the book and began scribbling away on his spare roll of parchment, highlighting the points he wanted to include in his essay. 

“Do you mind? The seats around the history section are all taken.” 

Blitzø glanced up and saw none other than Stolas Goetia with a shy smile and arms full of books. He looked around and sure enough, all the seats were indeed full.

“Oh, no, sure. Have a seat.” 

The brunette hummed thankfully before setting the books on the table and taking a seat across Blitzø. “I’m Stolas Goetia, by the way. What’s your name?” 

“Blitzø Buckzo.” He responded with a smile. 

Stolas’s features lit up at the mention of Blitzø’s last name. “Ah! The Gryffindor with a twin sister who’s caught Professor Binns’s attention?” 

“Yeah. Barbie’s really been doing well, hasn’t she?” 

The boy across from him nodded in agreement. “She has. She and I have the highest marks in history, I think.” 

Blitzø’s chest swelled with pride for his sister. He was more than happy to hear that her intelligence in muggle school manifested into Hogwarts’ as well. 

“What are you working on, then?” Stolas asked, looking over at Blitzø’s notes. 

“Oh, it’s the essay about the second wizarding war. I’m trying to finish it in time.” Blitzø said sheepishly. 

“Ah, I see. Would you like some help with it?” Stolas offered. 

Blitzø looked up to examine the boy who held a kind smile. Maybe he misjudged Stolas a little bit. Stolas seemed really nice. Not as stuck up as he thought he would be. 

“You’ll help me?” Blitzø asked.

“Why not? I’ve got time to kill,” Stolas said, leaning over to have a clear view of Blitzø’s work. Blitzø handed him the parchment that contained what he had started on for his essay. “Oh, you’ve got it down to a tee. This is really good, Buckzo.” 

“Oh.. Uh.. Thanks, Goetia.” 

Stolas scrunched his nose. “You know what? Forget I ever called you Buckzo. Can we call each other by our first names instead?” 

Blitzø nodded. “Yeah, sure. I didn’t really dig the last name basis anyway.” 

This made Stolas titter quietly. “You are quite funny, Blitzø. Though, I can’t help but notice that your accent does not sound quite British. Are you American, perhaps?” 

“Yeah. I’m from Minnesota.” Blitzø replied as he continued to write his essay. 

“Oh, I see. No wonder,” Stolas said with a nod. “Where is… Minnesota?” 

“It’s at like… the top of the States I think. Like it’s at the top but sliiiightly top right, you know?”

Stolas nodded in understanding. “Ah, I see. Was Minnesota a good place to live in?” 

Blitzø shrugged. “It was okay, I guess.” 

As Blitzø continued to work, Stolas had given him a list of things to include in his essay, which he gratefully accepted. Time continued to pass by and by the moment it was close to curfew, Blitzø was almost finished with his essay.

“Thanks, Stolas,” Blitzø said with a smile. “You really helped a lot.” 

“Anytime.” Stolas replied, beginning to pack his things into his bag. 

They walked out of the library together and said their goodbyes before going in opposite directions towards their dormitories. Blitzø had definitely misjudged Stolas. 

“Hey, Blitzø!” Moxxie greeted as he watched Anthony and Fizz play gobstones on the floor. “Your essay done yet?” 

“Yeah, I’m almost done,” Blitzø replied, setting his bag on the floor beside his bed. “You know, I met Stolas Goetia today.” 

The three of them immediately stopped what they were doing and piled onto Anthony;s bed, ready to hear what Blitzø had to say. This made Blitzø look at them weirdly. 

“Aaaand?” Anthony asked, voice laced with anticipation. “What happened?” 

“He helped me with my history essay. He’s actually so nice. I didn’t expect him to be that nice.” 

“Stolas has always been nice,” Anthony stated. “He was just born into a family full of gits.” 

“Much like you. But your niceness is questionable.” Fizz said, earning a smack from Anthony. 

As the night went on, they continued to talk about everything under the sun, eager for the next day of classes. Blitzø found his mind wandering back to Stolas. He genuinely hoped the best for Stolas because he seemed like a decent person. And Professor McGonagall was right, he did deserve to be in Ravenclaw. 

Chapter Text

October 17, 2019 

Blitzø knew from a very young age that he didn’t think the way normal kids thought. He was around children his age a lot and he figured it out from the get go. But what he didn’t expect was the fact that wizarding world kids—especially the purebloods or the half-bloods who grew up in pureblood households—were so blissfully unaware about the hardships of the real world that it almost unsettled him. 

Take Anthony for example. You’d think that he’d be aware at least in the slightest that life wasn’t a fairytale he could prance around in and things would somehow turn out okay because of his upbringing, but that isn’t the case at all. He was positive that he’d be just fine and that he didn’t need his family as a very mature eleven year-old. It sometimes made Blitzø pity him, but more than often he just thought that Anthony was an airhead. 

If there was anyone who was painfully aware that things would not turn out okay in the end and that life was full of shit, it was him. Even Barbie seemed unaware. She would always stand behind him, being unable to actually have her own life and make her own choices. Blitzø loved her, sure, but it got tiring to somehow carry the weight of his twin sister instead of simply worrying about his own life. It felt like he had a giant iron ball chained to his ankle. 

Did he think that he was better than everyone? Of course he didn’t because he’d rather be ignorant than to be as aware as he was. But at the same time, he wished that somehow, the people around him would be enlightened enough so he could at least have someone to talk to that would understand the way he felt. 

With a sigh, he looked up at the ceiling. The drapes around him were drawn and nothing in the room made a sound except for Moxxie’s quiet snores. It was probably three in the morning and he couldn’t sleep. He found himself missing his mother. He wished he could hug her again. He wanted nothing more than to go back to sitting on her lap as she brushed his hair and told him fairytales she knew by heart. He wanted to go back to the times they’d go to the park and the three of them would chase each other around. They didn’t have money, sure, but they were happy despite everything. Even with a drug addict and alcoholic father and a shabby apartment, their mother made sure that they grew up happy. He was happy. And it was because of her. 

When she died eight months ago, her funeral was small. The only people who attended were them, their father, her close friend, and a man their father had chased away in a drunken rage. The twins had later found out that their mother had cheated on him with that man. They’d met at the restaurant she was waitressing at and he apparently had treated her better than her own husband ever did. Their father never blamed her, of course, which they were so thankful for. 

Blitzø never blamed her, either. He knew that she no longer loved their dad. She once asked him if he’d be opposed to going away for a while—just the three of them. He asked if their dad would come. She said he wouldn’t and that they would be away from him for a long time. He told her that he loved the idea and that he wanted them to go away. She died a week later in the place she worked at due to a gas leak that caused an explosion in the kitchen. 

The day their mother died, Blitzø and Barbie weren’t at school. They were at home crying because their father had locked them in the closet. Their mom didn’t come home for the very first time and wasn’t there to defend them from their father. He yelled at them for not having breakfast ready on the table—a task their mother usually did—and threw them into the cramped space before taking the keys and locking them inside. They were able to break the doorknob and make their way out a day after. Starving and thirsty, they sped out, only to find their father collapsed on the living room floor and their mother nowhere to be seen. It was only another day later when their Aunt Sera, their mother’s friend, called their home phone to inform them that their mother had passed away yesterday and no one had gone to the morgue to claim her body. Needless to say, they were both a wreck and made their way to the hospital on foot, cheeks stained with tears and bodies shaking in distress. 

Everything else was a blur that Bltizø could barely remember. All he knew was the entire time, he was in a lot of pain both physically and emotionally. They fought with their father against the move, saying that it was pointless to go to a different country if their mother wasn’t even there. But in the end, they had no choice but to go with him. They had no other relatives to run to, anyway, and didn’t want to get separated from each other either so they didn’t call CPS on their own father. 

Blitzø wished that he didn’t have to worry about these sorts of things—he wished for that everyday. But this was his reality; his life. He had no choice but to suck it up. This whole entire fantasy of being free from their father would end as soon as it was summer break and wouldn’t continue for another two months. It took every fiber in Blitzø’s being to not just go rogue and run away. 

He figured that it was no use and that his thoughts wouldn’t let him sleep, so he got out of bed and walked to the bathroom quietly before beginning to get ready for the day. He washed his face and brushed his teeth and changed into his robes, steps heavy with laziness. He decided that he’d break curfew for the first time and head to the field to clear his head. Taking his wand with him, he slid out of their room, into the common room, and out of the door in five minutes tops. He then began the long walk to the field, regretting his decision a little bit but pushing forward nonetheless. 

When he got to the field, he went into the broom storage and took out one of the brooms that looked the newest (which wasn’t saying much because they were all old and worn down) before positioning himself at the very center. With the kick of his feet, he took off and began zooming up into the dusk. He shivered a little, the autumn air nipping at him, before letting out a loud whoop of excitement. He sped around back and forth, thinking about nothing but the feeling of the wind in his hair and his body zipping through the atmosphere. 

For the first time in a long time, Blitzø felt like a kid again. He was smiling from ear to ear and he felt lightheaded from all the fun he was having. He never wanted this to end and practically whined when he saw the sun begin to rise, signalling that it was time to come down. With a huff, he landed in the middle of the field and began to walk to the broom storage to return the broom. 

“Wow.” 

Blitzø almost peed his pants when he heard someone from behind him speak. He turned around to see a familiar set of grey eyes and dark hair before exhaling. 

“Jesus christ, you almost scared the crap outta me there, Stols.” He said, clutching his chest dramatically. 

Stolas snorted at this. “You are an incredibly fair flier for a muggle-born.”

“Didn’t even know I was good until my first flying lesson,” Blitzø replied, placing the broom back on the rack. “Say, what are you doing here?” 

The taller boy looked taken aback. “What are you doing here? And past curfew at that.” 

“I came to clear my head,” Blitzø said. “And you’re one to talk! You’re also out here and it’s past curfew for you too!” 

“I… came to clear my head as well,” Stolas answered timidly. “I come here everyday to do so.”

Blitzø tilted his head to the side, much like a dog would. “Really? What do you do here, then? You don’t seem like the flying type.” 

“I am the flying type,” Stolas said with a scoff. “I just do not care for it as much as I do reading. I come here to read.” 

With a raised eyebrow, Blitzø looked up at him. “You come here to… read? In a dark field?” 

“There is a wand lighting charm which I am sure you have learned in class and I like the fresh air,” Stolas haughtily replied. “It is stuffy in the Ravenclaw common room. I need a change of scenery every now and then.” 

People probably just bullied him into running away. Blitzø thought. “I see. The field is spacious after all. But we gotta go now if we don’t wanna get caught. It’s almost six o’clock.” 

Stolas pulled his pocket watch out before nodding. “It is five fifty. Let us go before a teacher arrives.” 

As they walked back to the Great Hall, Blitzø let his eyes roam around the halls. They were empty and no one was around yet except them and it was quiet for the most part. The only sounds that could be heard were the wind wooshing and their footsteps. It was awkward, to say the least, but Blitzø didn’t know how on earth he was supposed to make conversation. What did he and Stolas even have in common? 

“Hey, Blitzø?” Stolas initiated. Whew. 

“Yeah?” 

“Do you read muggle literature?” 

Blitzø raised an eyebrow at this. As far as he knew, Stolas’s kind didn’t usually engage in anything muggle-related at all. Why was he asking him this?

“Uh… Sometimes? It’s mostly Barbie who does the reading. Why?” 

“I just… have you read the book called Paper Towns by author John Green?” 

Blitzø hummed at this. That book was recommended to him by Barbie and he had read it at the public library in one sitting. He really liked it. “Yeah, I have. Why?” 

“I came across it one time,” Stolas said. “It was in this old shop and I purchased it with prior thinking that it was a novel by a wizard. It was in a wizard’s shop, after all. Turns out that John Green is a muggle. I was so shocked when I was one page in and nothing wizarding world related was mentioned.” 

Blitzø tittered, hand over his mouth. “Wait, you thought John Green was a wizard?” 

“Yes! The book was in a wizard’s antique shop! It wasn’t even antique, either, because it was published in 2008.” Stolas grumbled. 

“Seems pretty antique to me. We weren’t even fully conscious in 2008.” 

Stolas’s eyes went wide. “Oh, right! We were just born in 2008.” 

"God, you're both so aware and unaware. It's funny."

It was Stolas's turn to titter. "But, you know, I really liked Paper Towns." 

"How come?"

"It just captured the downsides of idealization so well. Quentin idealized Margo so much that he forgot she could have flaws. In his head, he and Margo were so compatible and he thought he knew her, but he didn't. He only saw what he wanted to see and when he was confronted with Margo's true nature, he was let down. It wasn't even Margo's fault. She was just human and being herself. It wasn't her fault that Quentin wanted her to be something she wasn't." Stolas said, gaze far off as he spoke. 

Blitzø was amazed at how much Stolas had analyzed the characters. After knowing that it was about muggles, he still continued to read it and actually empathized with them. 

But before Blitzø could say anything, a loud voice called out to him.

“Blitzø!” 

Both their heads whipped around to see Anthony who had his arms over his chest. “We were looking everywhere for you!” 

Blitzø rolled his eyes. “What are you? My dad? Jeez.” 

“Well, sorry for being concerned,” He said, pulling Blitzø by the arm. “C’mon. I’m starving.” 

With a huff, Blitzø took one last glance at Stolas who smiled at him and gave him a small wave before they entered the Great Hall. “God, Anthony. Breakfast isn’t until fifteen minutes from now.” 

“Everyone’s here waiting for you, twat,” Anthony said. “Moxxie was looking everywhere for you and woke us up. Now we’re all up and hungry.” 

“God, you guys are so clingy.” Blitzø joked.

Anthony raised an eyebrow at him. “What were you doing with the Goetia boy?” 

“Oh, Stolas?” Blitzø asked. “Yeah, no, we just ran into each other. No biggie, really.” 

Anthony eyed him but didn’t say anything as they got to the table where all their friends were. Everyone bombarded Blitzø with questions about where he was, but he simply groaned and took a seat, telling everyone to shut up. 

It was only six fifteen in the morning and so much already happened. What a productive day. 

Chapter Text

October 29, 2019

It became a nightly routine for Blitzø to sneak out into the field and ride a broomstick around until the sun rose. Sure, he was losing sleep, but he didn’t really sleep a lot to begin with. It was probably why he was so short, but that’s besides the point. He knew he had to take a breath away from the world because he’d explode if he didn’t. Things were better for him at Hogwarts’, though. At least he had the freedom, the time, and the space to be a child. He knew that eleven years old was such a young age. 

And because of his constant hobby of swerving around the air seated on a large stick, he also began to spend a lot of time with Stolas. And he’d also begun to learn a lot of things about him. 

For one, he found out that Stolas actually really enjoyed being in Ravenclaw. He felt like he belonged there. But there was also the fact that his family expected a lot from him. He was the oldest son of Paimon and Calypso Goetia. The Goetias were distant relatives of the Gaunts and not only were they a pureblood family, but every single family member was also sorted into Slytherin during their time in Hogwarts’. He had two younger sisters and a brother who all looked up to him. 

Paimon was furious when he had heard about Stolas’ sorting. Much like Anthony, Stolas had received a howler but was smart enough to not open it in the Great Hall as to avoid humiliation. In his own words, he was lucky enough to not get disowned. 

Stolas also never really cared about blood-status. He made it clear to Blitzø who was weary of the way he acted around the pureblood. The first thing Blitzø encountered upon his arrival at Hogwarts’ was discrimination, so he figured that maybe Stolas was somehow the same. But he was mistaken, because Stolas was far from all those people who acted as if one’s heritage was more important than that of their character. He was also incredibly kind and loved the most mundane things like a good book or a pretty looking flower. Blitzø had come to realize that Stolas Goetia was just a normal kid. 

Barbie had researched all about Stolas after Blitzø had told her all about him. They both unearthed the horrifying discovery that the Goetias were inbred as they did their very best to keep their bloodline amongst themselves. Both twins shivered at this information and Barbie stated that she had to step out of the library to take a deep breath before continuing her quest, but carried on discussing the family. Apparently, a seer had prophesied that the first born son of the eleventh generation of the Goetia family would be one of the most brilliant wizards the clan will ever see—the entirety of the wizarding world included. He would be bright, bold, ambitious, brave, and quick-witted. The family has since then awaited for this child to be born, hopeful that he would be the one to bring the Goetia name back to the top. And that child happened to be Stolas. Blitzø could only imagine how let down the Goetia family was after the sorting ceremony. It apparently even made headlines in the Daily Prophet (wizard newspaper with moving pictures). 

Besides that, Stolas was apparently a prodigy in everything he did. He was amazing at gardening, astronomy, caring for magical creatures, writing, the works. What made Blitzø physically recoil, though, was the fact that Stolas was gifted in Quidditch (which Blitzø had now learned was basically a ball game played on broomsticks that involved a lot of throwing, catching, and chasing). He started riding a broomstick when he was a year old ang began formally playing Quidditch when he was five after having gotten private training lessons to become a chaser from former Bulgarian National Quidditch Team seeker Viktor Krum himself (Anthony had explained to him that Krum was a huge deal in Quidditch). As soon as he arrived at Hogwarts’, Stolas was being eyed by everyone and Slytherin was reportedly waiting for his arrival, ready to make him their next chaser. What made things worse was the fact that his father had forbidden him to enter the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. No wonder Stolas played it off as if he didn’t care about flying during their very first encounter on the field—he was trying to hide the fact that he was really good at it because he wasn’t allowed to do it anymore. Blitzø felt terrible for him. 

“Stolas’s life is sad, yes,” Anthony said. “But you mustn’t associate yourself too much with him, Blitzø. It’s dangerous. He’s a pureblood whose parents are worse than mine. You’re better off staying away from all that. It’s too risky. Even purebloods who aren’t that high in the food chain steer clear from their family.” 

Blitzø knew that Anthony was right. He was a muggle-born. Associating himself with someone as high-profile as Stolas was a disaster waiting to happen. But Stolas was such a nice person. He didn’t want Stolas to think that they couldn’t be friends just because of his status. That would be somehow similar to purebloods refusing to associate themselves with muggle-borns. 

Knowing he didn’t have that much time to think it over, Blitzø sighed and began playing with the edge of the parchment on his desk as Professor Flitwick discussed the precautions when casting the fire-making charm. Fizz caught onto this and shot him a questioning glance, but Blitzø just brushed him off. He didn’t want to be interrogated at the moment. 

After charms, Blitzø quietly walked behind the rest of his friends who were skipping towards their Herbology class. They’d had this class with the Ravenclaws, which meant he’d see Stolas again for the first time that day after skipping his usual flying session earlier that day. He just had to play it cool. 

But ‘playing it cool’ just wasn’t an option with Blitzø. 

His initial plan of avoiding Stolas in such a way that didn’t seem suspicious was short-lived because the moment Stolas smiled at him, he immediately smiled back and began talking to the Goetia once again. Did Anthony glare at him the whole time? Of course he did. Did Blitzø bring himself to care? No, he didn’t. 

“What do you think of devil’s snare?” Stolas asked, pointing to the illustration of it in the book as Professor Longbottom discussed its properties. Blitzø had moved from his initial spot beside Barbie to the empty seat beside Stolas. She didn’t seem to mind, anyway. 

Blitzø shrugged at the question. “They’re quite interesting. But I don’t really know all that much about them to judge them.” 

“They fear the light,” Stolas said, pointing to the text that stated such. “Much like vampires.” 

“Much like us when we’re out on the field and we’re rushing so we don’t get caught.” Blitzø joked, making Stolas titter as quietly as possible. 

After class, Stolas was unsure about whether or not he’d walk with Blitzø to History. But of course, Blitzø sensed this and naturally pulled Stolas into their group as they walked to Professor Binns’s classroom. 

“This is Stolas. But you all know him,” Blitzø introduced as Fizz, Anthony, Moxxie, and Barbie stared at him quizzically. “Stolas, this is Fizzarolli, Anthony—which you probably already know, Moxxie, and Barbie who you also already know.” 

Stolas bowed his head at them, earning shocked looks from everyone. “Hello. It is nice to meet you all.” 

“Blitzø, you tosser,” Anthony groaned. “You never listen.” 

“And you’re over dramatic but you don’t hear me complaining,” Blitzø quipped. “Now be nice to Stolas because he’s nice. You said it yourself.” 

Stolas bashfully scratched his nape as Anthony sighed. But still, the blond obliged, basically prompting both Fizz and Moxxie to interrogate the poor lanky boy. 

“Oh. my. gosh!” Fizz exclaimed. “An actual Goetia up close!”

“He’s not an alien, Fizz.” Blitzø said with disbelief in his voice. 

Moxxie practically bounced on his heels as he walked. “Why aren’t you in the Quidditch team? I was waiting to see you play!” 

“Oh- I-” 

“Shush, you two,” Barbie said, raising her wand up threateningly at the pair. “Or I’ll have my way with you.” 

The pair pressed their lips into thin lines, eyes weary. Barbie was definitely more advanced at magic than Moxxie and Fizz were despite only having been learning it for about a month and they weren’t taking any chances. Blitzø smiled, happy that Barbie was finally developing somewhat of a personality. 

Stolas smiled gratefully at the other Buckzo who simply nodded at him before tucking her wand into her robes and quietly humming to herself. The remainder of the walk to the classroom became relatively quiet. 

“Come join us at the Gryffindor table later for dinner,” Blitzø said with a smile. “You’ll love it there!” 

Stolas’s gaze immediately dropped to the floor as he shook his head. “I- no. I cannot. My father has eyes everywhere. He will know about this and might forbid me from ever speaking to you.” 

Blitzø frowned. Couldn’t Stolas have a normal life?! Why was his family so cruel?! He chose not to say it out loud, but he was rather agitated at the thought of Stolas barely getting any freedom.

During dinnertime, Stolas barely even looked at Blitzø’s way. He sighed, spreading his mashed sweet potatoes all over his plate. 

“Stop playing with your food, cretino.” Anthony tutted in a playful tone. Blitzø simply stuck his tongue out at him. 

Just then, an owl came swooping in and dropped a letter in Barbie’s direction. Luckily, she had caught it on time before it could land in her bowl of soup. Blitzø tilted his head curiously, watching across him as his sister examined the crumpled white envelope in her hands with the words ‘Barbie and Blitzø’ messily written on it. 

“Ooh! Barbie’s got a letter!” Fizz exclaimed. “Looks like it’s from a muggle! Have you been expecting someone to send anything?”

Barbie shook her head no. “No, but I know who it’s from.” She then held out the letter to her brother, gesturing at him to take a sniff. 

When he did, he immediately leaned back and almost puked. It was the familiar smell of the stuff rolled in paper that their dad would always smoke. Blitzø always hated how it smelled. “Oh, that’s nasty.” 

Anthony scrunched up his nose in disgust. “Eugh! That smells horrible!” 

“Can’t believe the smell stayed despite it travelling so far,” Barbie commented as she opened the envelope. “Ah, no wonder. Some of it fell into the envelope.” 

Moxxie, who was beside Barbie, scooched away from her. “Get it away!” 

Barbie shook her head and took the paper out before stuffing the envelope into her pocket. “You’re all drama queens.” 

Not so much as sparing a glance on the folded paper in her hand, she put it on the space in front of Blitzø’s plate and continued eating. He sighed and picked it up, scoffing as it had one of Barbie’s drawings on the back, indicating that their father had ripped out a page from the old sketchpad their mother had gotten her as a present for their fifth birthday. He was such an unbelievable prick. 

Reluctantly, Blitzø opened the letter and began to read his father’s sentiments written in pencil.  

Ill get straight to the point where the hell is your money??? Obviously you two have money because youre in that fancy ass school so where is it?!?!?!?!???!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??! I deserve that money as much as you two do. more even. give IT TO ME. im all out of fucking weed and buze and i need it so you bothbetter magic that shit out of the goddamn bank and give me all of i t. 

-dad

Blitzø took out his wand and immediately burned the letter, shocking half the entire Gryffindor table from the sudden burst of flames. How on earth did their mother end up with such a stupid man? Sighing inwardly, he shoved an entire white chocolate cookie into his mouth before quietly screaming. All of his friends watched this unfold with appalled looks on their faces. 

“Has he gone mad, Fizzy?” Anthony asked, watching as Blitzø let his forehead slam onto the table. 

“Mental. Absolutely mental.” Fizz replied after taking a sip of his grape juice. 

Barbie quietly shook her head in disapproval. “He asked for money, then?” 

“Yeah. Said he needed the money for you know what.” Blitzø spoked against the surface of the table, mouth still half-full of cookie. 

“God, I can’t believe him,” Barbie said with a groan. “Glad I didn’t read it.” 

“Happy to take the fall.” Blitzø replied sarcastically. Gosh, he was gonna need at least three hours of just randomly swooshing around in the air to get this out of his system. 

The rest of their friends exchanged looks, but decided not to question it as the twins often chose to keep their personal lives outside of Hogwarts’ to themselves. They didn’t really like to talk about their muggle lives in detail. 

After dinner, Blitzø stomped up to Gryffindor tower and buried himself into his bed, drawing the drapes and tuning the world out as his friends talked about why he was acting that way. He just couldn’t believe their father would go as far as sending a letter to them to ask for money. Should he tell an adult about this? A teacher? No, he shouldn’t. The only adult he ever fully trusted was dead, anyway. Other than that, adults have always let him down more than they’ve helped him. 

With a sigh, he covered himself with his blanket, whining into the mattress in frustration. He wanted to scream, yell, punch a wall, anything. He was so incredibly angry and he didn’t know what to do about it but wait it out. 

Once he was sure that everyone was asleep, he took his wand and marched out to the field. Stolas wasn’t there yet, which meant that it was probably only about one in the morning. With a huff, he took out a random broom without giving it much thought before mounting it and soaring through the sky. It was ridiculously cold and he didn’t have his robes on, but his fury kept him warm as he fled through the field. He couldn’t yell out his frustrations, so he resorted to throwing his body around in the air while he shivered from the chill. 

Why was his life so unfair? If he was meant to be a wizard, why wasn’t he born into a loving home like Fizz? Why was he dealt a horrible hand in life? Was the universe out to get him? It felt like he was moaning about his horrible father every single day. He wanted to divert his attention, but every single time he felt like he was forgetting about it, his father would come to bite him in the butt. Why was he doing this? Was it a ploy to hurt him? But what did he do? He didn’t ask to be- 

And just like that, Blitzø found himself frozen mid-air. His eyes darted down to see Stolas, worried look on his face as he held his wand up. He then flicked it down, slowly lowering Blitzø to the ground. 

“What in Merlin’s name are you doing, Blitzø?!” Stolas exclaimed quietly. “How long have you been at this?!” 

“What time is it?” Blitzø asked, happy to move again after Stolas performed a counter spell to make him move again. 

Stolas checked his pocket watch. “It is three fourteen o’clock!” 

“Two hours at best, then.” Blitzø replied with a sigh. 

Stolas’s eyes almost fell out of their sockets. “What?! Blitzø, how did you not fall off that horrid broom?! Merlin and Godrick, dear Lord.” 

“Quit being such a drama queen,” Blitzø grumbled. “I’m fine, aren’t I?” 

“You clearly aren’t fine,” Stolas said with a stern expression. “What is the matter?” 

“Nothing is ‘the matter’ so go away.” Blitzø angrily jabbed before beginning to mount the broom again. 

“Accio broom.” Stolas said before the broom fled from Blitzø’s grip and into his. This made the other groan. 

“Just leave me alone!” Blitzø exclaimed, face and ears turning red. “I came out here to forget my problems but you’re just creating new ones for me!” 

A fire ignited in Stolas’s eyes. “You’ll get hurt if you fly around recklessly like that!” 

“What does it matter to you?! It’s not your business!” 

“It is my business! I care about you!” 

“Why do you even care?! You know nothing about me! What, is this so you can be the goody two shoes you usually are?! Making a scene so you can be nice because that’s all you have going for yourself right now because your family wants to forget you even exist?!” 

The look on Stolas’s face immediately made Blitzø regret his words. Why had he said that? He knew he didn’t mean it. 

“Wait, Stolas. I didn’t mean-” 

“I get it, I do,” Stolas said, voice cracking as tears welled up in his eyes. “You think I’m some sort of washed up member of a pureblood family who puts on a show to somehow stay relevant. 

“No, Stolas, that’s not-” 

Stolas dropped the broom on the grass and nodded his head. “My kindness towards you has been nothing short of genuine, Blitzø. I am sorry that it seemed fake to you. I won’t ever bother you again.”

Blitzø felt a lump rise in his throat as he began to panic. No no no no. “Stolas, hold on-” 

It was no use. Stolas was already running away from him. And he didn’t try to chase him. He had lost his newest friend. 

Chapter Text

November 7, 2019 

The problem with Blitzø Buckzo—aside from all the other problems that were present, was the fact that he didn’t know how to talk about his problems to anyone. Despite being Barbie’s twin, he was treated much differently from her. He wasn’t even the older twin, but even his mom treated him like her eldest son when she was still alive. She often chose to confide in him instead of Barbie, and although she never really broke down in front of him, she still somehow managed to make him her little counsellor. 

But Blitzø didn’t think that this was a problem. Their mom didn’t have that many friends and she couldn’t really talk to her own husband, so he was the next best thing. He would do anything to help her out, even if it was just a little bit of help. But what she did led to him internalizing his problems because somehow, even if he did have his own problems, his mother's problems would always be bigger than his own. No matter how hard he had it, his mother would always have it worse. 

This mindset manifested into his everyday life. Barbie was quiet and recluse, so no matter how hard he found it to navigate the world, she would always find it harder. His father was a drug addict and an alcoholic, so no matter how hard it was for him to perform his tasks, he would always find it harder. Blitzø knew that much and he knew not to complain. 

So when he was beating himself up over the fact that Stolas never showed up in the field to do his usual reading in the past week, he knew that everyone else around him had it harder and didn’t talk about it. He missed the lanky boy, as much as he hated to admit it. And it wasn’t just the fact that he had lost one of the most interesting people in his life, but it also had to do with the fact that he had hurt someone’s feelings. His chest would ache whenever he saw Stolas’s teary eyes in his dreams and he would wake up in a cold sweat. He’d then practically sprint his way to the field at one in the morning and wait for Stolas’s arrival, only for the sun to rise and the area would be sans his familiar hunched over frame. 

Barbie knew that something was wrong, and he knew that she knew. But what was he supposed to tell her, exactly? That he drove Stolas away because of his horrible temper? That he yelled at the poor guy for no reason and made him cry? God, he sounds like a horrible person. Maybe he is a horrible person. 

“You’ve been so out of it, Blitzø,” Fizz said wearily, “You okay?” 

They were in the library to work on a group essay about how to properly care for magical herbs for their Herbology class. Fizz and Moxxie decided to form a group with Blitzø and Anthony took Barbie and Charlie Morningstar. 

Obviously, Fizz had expected that Blitzø would include Stolas somehow. But when he simply sat in his chair while he quietly fiddled with his hands, the grey-eyed boy knew to intervene. He wanted to ask what was wrong, but maybe that wasn’t the best thing as of the moment. 

“I’m fine,” Blitzø responded. “What should I do?” 

Moxxie pointed to the book on herbs in his hand. “Can you make notes about important information we could use from here?” 

“Mkay.” 

Blitzø’s sour mood went on for a while. No one was asking him what was wrong and he was somehow both relieved and hurt. Relieved that he was being given the time and space he needed, but hurt because it felt like no one really cared. Did no one care? Was he not significant to anyone? Not even Barbie? 

He was quiet in class, quiet during mealtimes, and quiet in their room. The loss of Stolas didn’t really hit him hard—their bond wasn’t strong enough for that. What hit him the most was the fact that his anger had hurt someone. It felt like he was becoming his own father. He didn’t want to be his father. Cash Buckzo was the worst person to ever step foot on this planet and Blitzø’s worst fear was to become like him. 

-

November 15, 2019 

Christmas was fast approaching. The castle was already covered in snow despite it only being the first half of November. Barbie and Blitzø were both mulling over coming home for the holidays to see if their father was still alive. They hated him, sure, but they were also worried. Okay, maybe it was Barbie who was worried and Blitzø was just playing along—which meant he wanted to find any sort of alternative just to avoid going home or at least shorten the visit. 

So, he decided to talk to Professor McGonagall about it after dinner. 

“Professor?” He called out to her as she walked towards the direction of her office. She was sporting her usual hat, coupled with brown robes that extended to the floor. 

With her head held high, she turned around, only for it to lower at the sight of him. “Ah, Mister Buckzo. To what do I owe you the pleasure?” 

“I was hoping to talk to you about something.” 

“Of course. Follow me.” She said before heading to her office as Blitzø quietly trailed behind him. 

Her office was extravagant, just as herself. A giant metal statue of three cats rotated, revealing a staircase. They climbed up into a dark room that immediately illuminated upon the headmistress’ arrival. Her office was filled with shelves upon shelves that contained books, folders, rolls of parchment, and so much more and you could barely see the color of the walls (a crisp mahogany color). On her desk was an ink bottle holding a brown quill and a bowl of chocolate chip cookies. She took a seat and gestured for Blitzø to do the same on the chair in front of her. He obliged, quietly looking around the room as he did so. The room oddly smelled so much like her—very old, sort of like a grandma smell. 

She gestured to the bowl full of the pastry on the table. “Would you like a biscuit, Mister Buckzo?” 

Blitzø gratefully accepted one and took a bite. “Thank you, Professor.” 

She nodded, helping herself to a cookie as well with an expectant look directed towards Blitzø.

“I was hoping to ask your help with something, Professor,” Blitzø said timidly. “It’s about our father.” 

She raised an eyebrow at this. “You would like to ask how he is doing, I presume?” 

Blitzø nodded. “Barbie wants to know. And we were hoping to get home for winter break for a day to just check on him and then come back… we know this is a big ask but we really hope you consider.” 

She stared at him for a moment, eyes contemplative. He was never really able to read her. She seemed like a mystery to him, especially because the only time he would ever really see her was during meal times. 

“What you are asking is that you will return to the muggle world to check on your father and then come back to Hogwarts’ straight away, correct?” 

Blitzø nodded. “Yes, Professor. We’d do it ourselves but we don’t really know how to travel back and forth yet.” 

She nodded back, seemingly analyzing all the options available. “I see. Consider your request approved. I will get back to you in terms of your mode of travel. Hagrid shall be accompanying the both of you on your trip.” 

This made Blitzø beam happily. It was good that them coming back to check on him didn’t necessarily mean that they had to stay over for the entire break. “Thank you so much, Professor!” 

She nodded with a small smile on her face. “Of course, Mister Buckzo. Also, I heard from Madam Hooch regarding your performance in flying. Keep it up, Mister Buckzo. I hope to see you try out for the Quidditch team next year.” 

Blitzø bashfully scratched his nape. “Y-yes, Professor. I’ll keep that in mind.” 

“Very well, then. Off you go.” Professor McGonagall dismissed, waving her hand at him. 

When he made it out of the office, Barbie was waiting for him by the statue. She was leaning against the wall and playing around with a leaf she had levitated in the air. 

“Hey,” Blitzø said. “She said we’re allowed to go for a day. Hagrid will come with us.” 

Barbie nodded in approval. “That’s great. Just for a day?” 

This made Blitzø look at him weirdly. “Do you want to stay with him?” 

“No.” She said with a grimace as she shook her head. 

As they walked back to Gryffindor tower, Blitzø felt unnerved. Barbie was staring at him the whole time and it was just weird. What the heck was her deal?

“Spit it out, Barbs,” Blitzø urged. “You’re freaking me the fuck out.”

She raised an eyebrow at him. “What’s wrong?” 

Blitzø stopped in his tracks. “What do you mean ‘what’s wrong’ ?” 

“Something’s bothering you,” Barbie explained. “And you aren’t hanging out with Stolas anymore so I bet it has something to do with him.” 

“Do I need to hang out with him for things to be okay?” He replied irritably. 

The other Buckzo simply shrugged. “Whatever, dude. I was just asking.” 

They stayed silent the entire walk back. But before Blitzø could march up the stairs, Barbie spoke. “Your temper won’t help you evade every situation, Blitzø. Being angry doesn’t hide the fact that you’re experiencing vulnerability.” 

She took off, not waiting for his reply. What she said infuriated him because she was right. He couldn’t hide the fact that he usually defaulted to getting angry because it was the only way to fully hide how he was truly feeling. It sucked. He wished he was better at emotions. 

-

December 1, 2019 

The rest of November carried on the same way. Blitzø never spoke to Stolas again—not even to apologize. And he was still grouchy. Anthony obviously wanted to punch him through his teeth, but was holding back fairly well. 

“It’s freaking December, Blitzø,” Anthony said frustratedly. “Are you still going to act like that?” 

Blitzø raised his eyebrow. “Like what?” 

Anthony groaned, shoving mashed potato into his mouth while Moxxie patted his back. “We’re worried about you, mate.” 

Now that his feelings have already brewed and have been buried deep, he decides to ask? Blitzø felt himself seethe with annoyance. “What? Worried about what?” 

“You’re acting a bit off, Blitzø,” Fizz stated. “Since November. Is something the matter?” 

“I’m dandy. Get off my back.” Blitzø grumbled, poking at his food with his knife. 

Moxxie furrowed his eyebrows. “You clearly aren’t.” 

“Stop,” Barbie said. “You won’t get anything out of him if you keep prying. All hell will break loose.” 

“No,” Anthony said, slamming his palms on the table. “You have to talk about it, Blitzø. You won’t get anything good out of bottling all that up!” 

Barbie shrugged. “I warned you.”

An ache was beginning to throb behind Blitzø’s right eye. Was it so hard to just leave him alone? 

“Nothing is wrong so you can stop asking.” He replied, gripping the knife in his hand tightly until his knuckles turned white. 

“Aren’t we friends? You can talk to us about it.” Moxxie offered with a kind smile. 

“There is nothing to talk about!” Blitzø spoke, voice increasing in volume. 

“There clearly is!” Anthony interjected. “How will we know what’s wrong if you aren’t telling us anything, grullo?!”

Blitzø could feel his anger rising by the second. They weren’t going to stop, were they? His head was aching so much. He wanted to throw up. He had to get out of there. 

“Shut up.” Blitzø said under his breath which Anthony had heard. 

“Who are you telling to shut up?!” He yelled. “Chi cazzo sei?!” 

He was at his boiling point. He had to run away. But before he could even stand up, Anthony grabbed him by the wrist. 

“Where the hell are you going?! We’re not done yet!” 

“Let me fucking go, Anthony!” Blitzø said through gritted teeth. 

“Not until you tell us what the hell is going on with you!” 

“Let him go.” Barbie said calmly, trying to remove Anthony’s grip from her brother’s wrist. 

Anthony relented. “Are we just going to let him carry on like this?! He’s being such a dick!” 

That was it. “ I’m the dick?! Me?!” 

“Yes! You’re the dick!” Anthony yelled right back. 

“Well at least I don’t push my dirty little nose into other people’s business! Your life is already full of shit so why do you want to egg on mine?! Stick to your own shitty life and wallow in your own pile of shit, you massive asshole!” 

Anthony’s usually sparkling green eyes turned watery. He wore the exact same look Stolas wore when Blitzø had lashed out. Hurt. 

“Is that what you fucking think, Blitzø?” Anthony said, voice shaking. “Is that what you really fucking think?” 

Blitzø pulled his hand away from Anthony and took his things before storming out of the Great Hall. He had to get out of there. Anywhere but there. He had hurt yet another person because he couldn’t keep himself in check. He ran and ran across the halls in frustration, trying hard to look for a place he could hide in. 

He somehow found himself cramped inside the broom storage, limbs folded into himself as he wept. He didn’t mean to hurt anyone. He just wanted to be left alone. He wanted people to let him process things on his own. He didn’t want people to force him to talk or disrespect his boundaries. He just wanted to be alone. Alone was all he ever knew, anyway. 

Alone. He was alone. 

Chapter Text

November 9, 2019

Stolas wouldn’t deny that his feelings were very hurt. He thought Blitzø was nice. He didn’t think Blitzø would lash out that much or scream at his face like that, let alone say the things he said. He was always so gentle—Stolas saw that in the way he treated Barbie. He never raised his voice at her and always did as much as he could for her. He didn’t think Blitzø would be the abrasive type. But he had a rough front and Stolas knew that now. 

“You okay, Stowie?” Vassago asked with concern etched on his face. 

They were in the courtyard, waiting for Asmodeus. It was their free period and they had about an hour and thirty minutes to kill before their next class. 

Stolas shook his head. “I am not.” 

“Can I give you a penny for your thoughts?” 

Vassago was one of the most jubilant people Stolas had ever seen in his life. Growing up in a pureblood family that was always so kind and accepting, Vassago was not only born with privilege, but a heart of gold as well. He was kind, caring, and fought for the better of others. 

“I… don’t really know.” He said, hanging his head low.

“Oh, c’mon, Stowie. It’s just me,” Vassage said, moving closer to try and reach his eyes. 

And not only was he privileged and kind, but he was also attractive. Although he had Mexican features, his eyes were the perfect shade of blue-grey. His hair was bright red because he was a metamorphagus (which meant he could change his appearance at will) and was born with the most fiery primary red hair known to man. He liked to add a few yellow streaks in it from time to time. 

Stolas leaned back and looked at his friend who smiled at him. “Remember that Buckzo bloke?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Well, there’s something I have to tell you about him.”

Stolas told Vassage everything. From their first meeting in the library to Blitzø screaming at him at the field, he let everything out. By the time he was done, Vassago had a frown on his face. 

“He did what?!” Vassago exclaimed. “Oh no, no, mi amor! How dare he?!” 

He felt relieved to know that Vassago shared his sentiments. But then again, Vassago always took his side no matter what. “I thought he was nice, too!” 

“What are you two talking about?” Asmodeus asked, sitting on the grass with them. 

“Get this, Ozzie! Stolas made friends with this Gryffindor boy and he was horrible to him! Stolas asked if he was okay and he lashed out!” 

Asmodeus had a silly look on his face, so Stolas decided to tell him the whole story as well. But after he had heard what happened, his eyebrows were furrowed. 

“He wasn’t okay and you were asking him to tell you why?” Ozzie asked for confirmation to which Stolas nodded. “Ah, then there’s your problem.” 

Both Stolas and Vassago looked at him with confused expressions. “Huh?” 

Ozzie was always the most logical between the three of them. “He got upset because you were trying to get him to tell you what was wrong when he didn’t want to talk about it. People usually say things they don’t mean when they’re upset.” 

Huh. Stolas’s expression softened as Vassago began to argue about how it was absurd to dismiss Blitzø’s actions and Ozzie began to argue back by saying that he wasn’t being dismissive. Blitzø was agitated and he added fuel to the fire. It made a lot of sense now. 

“He’s right,” Stolas said, making them both stop arguing. “No wonder I couldn’t understand why Blitzø was so upset. He was irritated because I was proper forcing him to talk when he clearly didn’t want to!” 

Vassago sat properly and sighed. “Fine. He’s right.”

This made Stolas laugh. “You are so ridiculous, Vassago.” 

“Just a Stolas defender.” He said proudly. 

Ozzie smiled at Stolas. “I hope you don’t blame yourself too much, though. You were only trying to help.” 

Stolas nodded. “How can I fix this?” 

“Leave it be for now,” Ozzie replied. “Now’s not the right time.”

“ When is the right time?” Vassago interjected. 

“He’ll know it.” Ozzie said, gesturing to Stolas. 

After hanging out at the courtyard, Vassago and Stolas bid their goodbyes to Ozzie and began walking to their potions class. As Vassagp talked about how one of his classmates made their cure for boils brew blow up, his mind drifted elsewhere. For the first time in his life, he actually made a mistake that someone outside his family blew up at him for. It was refreshing. Most of the time, people just look away whenever he messes up (aside from the people who raised him, of course). Blitzø actually had the courage to yell and lash out. It made him feel… normal? Yes, normal. It made him feel like a regular person. He couldn’t wait to apologize to Blitzø and talk to him about it like how a regular person would. 

December 1, 2019 

The scene unfolded in front of him like a melodrama. He saw Anthony slam his fists on the table, Barbie telling him to stop, Blitzø stroking his temple as he took a deep breath, he saw it all. Although he couldn’t hear their argument (he saw Barbie cast a muffling charm to block out their yells) the looks on their faces told Stolas just about enough. Blitzø was angry. His shoulders were hiked up and his nostrils flared as Anthony seethed in his own anger, too. What made things different was the fact that Blitzø somehow looked angrier than Anthony did. There was so much rage within him and it looked like it was burning him from the inside. 

What a day to pick sitting down at the Gryffindor table to have lunch with Ozzie, eh?

Tears were welling up in Anthony’s eyes as Blitzø spoke. His fist was tight around Blitzø’s wrist and Stolas was surprised it wasn’t broken yet. Blitzø then yanked his arm away and stormed out of the room. Barbie unsheathed the charm and said: “I warned you and you didn’t listen. Now he’s said stuff he doesn’t even mean and your feelings are hurt.” 

“Are you sure he didn’t mean any of that?” Fizz asked as he stroked a crying Anthony’s back. 

Barbie nodded. “He’s like that. He gets mad so people don’t see that he’s hurting inside. He’s always been like that. I honestly don’t know what to do with him.” 

Ozzie shot Vassago a look that said ‘I’m right!’ and the other groaned and looked away. Stolas sighed. This confirms it, then. Blitzø wasn’t trying to be mean, he was just trying to protect himself. 

“I feel so shitty,” Anthony said, sniffling. “I pushed him too hard, didn’t I? Still feel really hurt about the bloody things he said, though.” 

“You just wanted to help, mate.” Moxxie said comfortingly. 

“He’s probably shutting himself down right now,” Barbie said. “He gets overwhelmed a lot and kinda shuts down when that happens.” 

“He’s been your rock for eleven years, Barbs,” Fizz said. “But he has so many things he needs to deal with, too. He isn’t as tough as he looks.” 

“Yeah,” Barbie replied. “He does everything for me because I’m shy and can’t really do much. He did a lot for mom, too. And dad. I guess it’s been weighing on him recently now that he’s had the time to really think about it.” 

“He’s just a kid,” Moxxie breathed out. “You both are. What happened to the both of you that made him the way he is?” 

Barbie shifted in her seat uncomfortably. Their past is clearly a sore spot. 

“You don’t have to talk about it, Barbs,” Fizz said with a smile. “We understand.” 

“In time,” Barbie said. “When we are both ready. It’s his past, too. He gets to decide if he wants to talk about it as much as I do.” 

They all nodded and stared at their plates awkwardly before deciding to leave their lunches to go watch Quidditch practice. Gryffindor had the pitch that day and Fizz was apparently eager to watch them play and show Blitzø the basics upfront (which won’t be happening anymore for obvious reasons). 

“How do you think he’s holding up?” Vassago asked. 

“Who?” Ozzie asked. 

Vassago rolled his eyes. “The Buckzo kid, you great, thick idiot.”

“Who are you calling an idiot?”

Stolas tuned them out and finished the rest of his lunch before standing up. “I’m going to go read.” 

The pair nodded at him and he set off to go to the library with his heart heavy and in need of a distraction. He felt even more guilty now that he knew that Blitzø was someone who hated people prying on his emotions. 

-

December 3, 2019 

It had been two days since the incident. Blitzø had separated himself from his friends and Barbie stuck around to make sure that he wasn’t alone. It was painful to watch. Stolas wanted to intervene. But he obviously couldn’t, so he quietly sat at his desk as Professor Binns went on about the goblin rebellions (as usual). Fizz, Anthony, and Moxxie were whispering to each other and Barbie rolled her eyes at them. She probably thought they were pathetic at this point. 

Blitzø clearly knew what was going on around him and barely spared them a glance before moving his wand and casting a muffling spell on them. He didn’t want to hear it, Stolas presumed. He was probably sick of everyone harping on him.

Sometimes, Stolas wondered how hurt Blitzø must have been growing up to be filled with so much rage. His body was so little. He was short for his age, yet he somehow still had so much anger within him and Stolas wasn’t sure how that fit in his body. He had a horrible life but he wasn’t filled with that much negativity. How did Blitzø come to that point? 

The bell pulled Stolas out of his thoughts and students began to pour out of the room, leaving Professor Binns to his own discussion as he continued to talk, yelling for students to come back because he wasn’t finished. He gathered his things and left the room, heading straight for Ravenclaw tower. The eagle door knocker perked up at the sight of him and asked him a riddle. 

“Glittering points that downward thrust, sparkling spears that never rust. What are they?” It asked. 

“Lightning.” 

The door opened and Stolas made his way inside before barrelling into his room and plopping onto his bed and sighing. He then took out his book about Quidditch and began to read. His roommates made their way in as well, nodding at him. He nodded back in acknowledgement. It was a shame that his roommates all became good friends while he was just… there… the person they just happened to share a room with. 

Husker Ivanov was one of his roommates. He was a short boy who had brown hair and brown eyes. He was very reserved and often kept to himself because he was a muggle-born and didn’t really know how to navigate the world just yet. 

Then there was Zestial Dacre. He was a true Ravenclaw who seemed well beyond his years, being a half-blood with a family full of Ravenclaws. He was lanky, dark-skinned, and had the blackest eyes Stolas had ever seen. 

And to put them all together, they also had Alastor Breaux. He was also a muggle-born who lived with his mother. Their father would only come to visit them on the weekends, spending his time with his ‘real’ family on the weekdays. It was quite sad, but Alastor seemed unphased. He had brown hair, tan skin, and eyes that resembled a doe’s. He was tall, but Zestial was taller. 

They talked amongst themselves, discussing their days like how normal friends would. He sighed, turning his back towards them as he played with the sheets on his bed. He wished he was their friend. He wanted friends so bad. 

He sat up and stuffed his wand into his robes before shutting his book and leaving it on his nightstand. They should have some privacy. He nodded at the trio who nodded back before exiting the room, deciding that he’d have some dinner instead of just spending his time in bed. 

Walking down to the Great Hall, he saw the Buckzo twins enter before him. He watched as they took a seat away from their three friends who all frowned in response. But they chose to ignore it and went back to their conversation instead. Stolas shook his head and walked over to the Hufflepuff table where Vassago was at before taking a seat beside him. 

“Heya!” The metamorphagus greeted. His hair was shorter, a trick he usually did whenever he ate so it wouldn’t get in his eyes. 

“Hey, Vassago. They haven’t served dinner yet?” 

Vassago shook his head. “Not yet. In a while, I suppose.” 

Just as he spoke, the empty space in front of them was suddenly filled with plates of heaps of food. Stolas tittered. “Just in time, then?” 

Stolas began to dig in, happy to be able to spend time with his best friend. He wished Ozzie was there with them, but he was probably with his other friends. Despite that, he was delighted to hear Vassago’s chattering as he ate. Vassago was like his personal book that spoke to him.

In the end, Stolas went back to his room and felt empty again. The three came back later than he did and were happily talking amongst one another. At least Blitzø had Barbie and his friends (if he ever decides to talk to them). Stolas didn’t really have anyone readily there to talk to.

He was alone.

Chapter Text

December 10, 2019

There were intentions on both ends to let this drag on as long as it was, but it did and Blitzø felt horrible each passing day. He wanted to talk to Anthony so bad; wanted to say sorry. But ‘sorry’ is one of the hardest things when you don’t even know how it works. When does one even say sorry? Is there a time and a place for it? Did the sun have to shine a certain way? And would he even tell Anthony? Apologies had to come with explanations, right?

Oh, dear. He was so lost. 

It was awkward in their room. Because he wasn’t really on speaking terms with Anthony, both Fizz and Moxxie were sort of an extension of that (he did still speak to them, if you count nodding and waving as speaking to each other). He didn’t really even mean to ignore Anthony; in fact, he wasn’t even ignoring him at all—there was just a silent, mutual agreement between the two of them that they weren’t talking. And honestly, he didn’t know what the hell they were waiting for.

Blitzø was supposed to be the sociable twin, but he didn’t even know stuff like this. Imagine how Barbie would handle something like this. 

Classes were even horrible. The three didn’t hide the fact that they were talking about all the fun stuff like blowing something up or finding a way to sneak candy inside the school or looking for secret passages in the walls. Blitzø wanted to join in. He really did. But he knew that that would mean he’d have to ask for forgiveness which he did not know how to do. 

He couldn’t exactly ask his beloved twin sister for advice. She barely even knew how to make friends (and now she can’t hang out with her only friends because of him). And the fact that his only friend other than his roommates was a particular grey-eyed Ravenclaw who he didn’t really talk to anymore, either, so there was that. 

“Buckzo!” 

His train of thought was caught short after Professor Flitwick had called out his last name. He took a look at Barbie, but his twin simply nudged him, signalling that their teacher was referring to him and not her. 

“Yes, Professor?” He quietly replied.

“I asked you to demonstrate how to properly cast the levitation charm as a review, seeing as this was the first one I had taught to the class. Were you not listening?” 

Blitzø scratched his nape. “Sorry, Professor. What did you want me to do it on?” 

Professor Flitwick then gestured to the book on his table. Barbie nodded at her brother for encouragement. 

“Alright,” He said, walking over to the table. He gripped his wand in his hand and spoke the incantation. “Wingardium leviosa.” 

The book began to levitate upwards, with Blitzø guiding it with his wand. Professor Flitwick and the rest of the class clapped their hands in praise. “Well done, Mister Buckzo!” 

“Alright, Blitzø?” Fizz asked, looking up at him as he walked back to his seat. 

“‘M fine.” He replied before going back to his seat.

Moxxie shot him a weary glance, which he dismissed with the wave of a hand. Anthony glanced at him before quickly looking away. Why were they pretending to care? They decided to side with Anthony when there wasn’t even a requirement to pick sides in the first place. 

“I’m not gonna make you tell me,” Barbie began. “But you have to sort yourself out. Everyone’s worried.” 

“As far as I’m concerned, my mom died a while ago. So why’s there someone nagging at me?” He joked. But Barbie didn’t seem to like that and turned away from him. He sighed, leaning back into his chair and staring out at the window as the class continued. 

After classes, Blitzø decided to skip dinner. He wasn’t really in the mood to eat anything and he was definitely not in the mood to be around people at that moment. He felt like throwing up. His sister wasn’t amused with him and he had no one else to hang out with, so why bother with anything? It was fine. He could be alone. He was always alone, anyway. 

Footsteps heavy, he walked around the castle with no particular destination in mind. He just needed to walk this off. Feeling this way was a common occurrence and he just needed to tough it out. He was alone before Hogwarts’ and he would survive being alone in Hogwarts’. It’s just the way it is. 

Twenty minutes of walking later, he had unknowingly reached the transfiguration courtyard. There was no one there, with most of the students being at dinner. He decided that this would be his official spot for the night and sprawled himself out in the middle. The grass was poking at his skin, but he didn’t mind. It was peaceful—quiet. The sky was now completely black and the stars were shining brightly. He watched them twinkle, humming as the sound of crickets chirping filled his ears. He wished he were an insect. Life would be so much easier then. No school, no problems, no nothing. Just chirp, hop, fly, eat. Or maybe an owl. How was his owl? He was probably having fun in the owl house. They had an unlimited supply of mice there. He should check on it. And give it a name. What the fuck? It didn’t have a name yet. He was a horrible owner, he decided. The worst owner out there. A disgrace to the owl owners community. Was there one? He should join so he’d know more about caring for owls. Could he even join one if there was one? He had forgotten to name his own pet owl and that was probably grounds for banishment. If he was the president of that community, he’d ban himself. 

A thought popped into his head. Stolas kinda looked like an owl. He had a pointed nose and although his cheek bones were high, his face shape was sort of rounded if that even made sense. His chin was also pointed. And he had these big, owlish eyes. Yep. Stolas was definitely an owl. Did he know that? He probably did. Or maybe not. He probably didn’t even care. 

“Blitzø?” 

He looked away from the sky, train of thought cut short once again at the sound of his name. What he didn’t expect after turning his head, though, was to see Anthony. 

“Oh, hey,” He said, sitting up. “What are you doing here?” 

“We didn’t see you at dinner and Barbie said she didn’t know where you were so we went out looking for you,” The blond replied, taking out a paper bag from his messenger bag and crouching down to hand it to Blitzø. “I got you some dinner. Barbie did a spell to make it bigger on the inside so there’s a lot of food in there.” 

Blitzø gratefully accepted it, the smell of fried chicken wafting from the bag enough to make him hungry. “How’d you know where to find me?” 

“I just… knew?” Anthony said, unsure. “Can I sit beside you?” 

“Oh, yeah, no, sure.” Blitzø replied, scooting aside to make room for Anthony even though they had the entire courtyard to themselves. Anthony didn’t question this and took a seat. 

With a sigh, Anthony leaned back, his arms behind him for support as his legs were spread out. Blitzø took out a chicken leg and quietly munched on it. They sat there in silence for a while, with the chirping of crickets being the only thing they could hear. But it wasn’t a bad kind of silence. It was nice—comfortable. Almost needed. 

“Blitzø?” Anthony called out. “I’m sorry.” 

Blitzø furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “Why are you sorry? I should be the sorry one.” 

“I just…” Anthony said, running his hand through his hair. “I’m sorry for pushing. I knew I shouldn’t have. I know you have a hard time talking about things and I’m sorry for trying to make you talk. I know you didn’t mean those things. I reckon you even feel bad for saying all the rubbish you said.” 

Blitzø took in a shaky breath. “I’m still sorry, Anthony. I know I hurt your feelings.” 

“Well, then, we’re even. I hurt yours too, you tosser.” Anthony said with a smile. 

He had never known this kind of kindness before. The kind of kindness that allowed reciprocal forgiveness and acknowledgement of mutual mistakes committed between each other. Blitzø had only ever known pointing fingers, staying angry at each other, and nonexistent apologies. He had never known someone like Anthony before. Then and there, he knew that he wanted to be Anthony’s friend forever. He didn’t ever want to lose him to anything. 

“I missed you, Anthony.” Blitzø said quietly, setting the paper bag full of food onto his lap. 

“I missed you too, Blitzø. All our other mates as well. Can we be friends again?” 

“Of course we can be friends again!” Blitzø exclaimed. 

Anthony smiled. “Really?” 

“Really.” 

“Let’s go find the others!” Anthony said, getting up excitedly. “Come!” 

Blitzø laughed and picked up the paper bag before running after Anthony. He wasn’t alone; not since he met Anthony and the others. He had his people, he had a family. A family he would do anything for. Fights and misunderstandings were normal in a family, but they still cared about each other either way. Strife was below the bond they had. It would always come first. 

- 

December 20, 2019 

“Merlin, I just realized that I have no place to come home to during winter break,” Anthony said with a groan. “Shall I stay here, then?” 

“We’re staying here, anyways,” Barbie said, gesturing to her and Blitzø who was scarfing down an entire summer sausage. “We’re just gonna go back home for one day and then you can spend the rest of winter break with us.” 

“You three can come over to my place if you want! It’s in Es- Muggle London. Fizz said enthusiastically. “Moxxie included!” 

“I can’t. We’re going to Greece to see my nana for the holidays. Do you guys have phones, though? We can video call!” 

“I don’t,” Anthony said with a grimace. “And my parents will definitely take a piss if they find out I’m staying in a muggle house.” 

Fizz frowned. “Your parents are wankers.” 

“We’ll write to you two,” Blitzø offered, drenching his third sausage in sour cream. “Every few days.” 

“Why are you so hungry? Are you expecting?” Fizz joked, poking Blitzø’s stomach. 

“Yes. Anthony and I have been pregnant since September. Can’t wait for you guys to see its first photo.” 

Anthony burst out laughing, tears in his eyes. “Cretino!” 

“Do you even know how getting pregnant works?” Barbie asked. 

“We went to American school. Of course I do.” Blitzø said, taking a big bite out of his sausage.

Riiing! 

“Ugh. There’s the bell,” Moxxie groaned. “History for first period is actually so cruel.” 

“It’s torture,” Anthony agreed and stole Blitzø’s pancake before getting up to head to class. “Hurry up, Blitzø. You’ve had enough summer sausage.” 

Blitzø inhaled the last of his food before standing up to head to class with his friends. 

-

“Mister Buckzo.” Professor McGonagall said, patting Blitzø’s shoulder to get his attention.

They had just finished Transfiguration class and were headed to the Great Hall for lunch. Blitzø waved his friends off, telling them to meet him there. 

“Yes, Professor?” 

“I have arranged your departure for the 21st. You shall be leaving with Hagrid first thing in the morning tomorrow. He will be waiting for you by the gate,” She said, hands folded behind her. “You shall be travelling by floo to get to your town. Hagrid will guide you. He will then pick you up from your house at noon the very next day to head back to the school.” 

“Thank you, Professor!” Blitzø beamed. 

She smiled at him. “Of course, Mister Buckzo. Have a safe tip. Run along now.” 

“What’d she talk to you about?” Fizz asked as Blitzø took a seat beside him. 

“She told me about our trip back home,” Blitzø responded, piling food onto his plate. 

“I swear, it’s like he’s feeding a second human.” Moxxie remarked, watching as Blitzø made a tower of mashed potato. 

Blitzø stuck his tongue out at them and began eating his fill. Anthony shook his head at him. “You’ll be gone for just one day?” 

“Yeah,” Blitzø replied. “We leave first thing tomorrow.” 

“Oh, the horror!” Anthony dramatically exclaimed. “What ever shall I do without you?!” 

Barbie rolled her eyes at this. “You’re so ridiculous.” 

“I love my Buckzo twins. Especially the one carrying my child.” Anthony said, winking at Blitzø who pretended to twirl his nonexistent long hair. 

“Why am I so disgusted right now?” Fizz said, looking like he was about to throw up. 

The rest of the dinner carried on with the friends giggling amongst each other as they continued to joke about everything they could. They had a long winter break ahead of them. 

Chapter Text

December 21, 2019

The air was already very crisp and chilly and everyone was sure that it would snow right before Christmas. Buzzing with the chatter of students excited to get home for the holidays, the palace was significantly livelier and the halls were filled to the brim with trunks, pet cages, and all one would need on their trip back home from Hogwarts’. Blitzø and Barbie packed lightly, though, since they would only be there for a single night. He had used his former muggle-school gym bag to stuff all their needed belongings in. Barbie decided to take her owl—Eliza—with them on the trip so that they could write back to the people they needed to if trouble ever came after them. 

“Oh, I’ll miss you all so much!” Fizz exclaimed, hugging his four friends who were all red-faced. “Two weeks without you lot! Two whole weeks!” 

“Don’t be ridiculous, Fizz,” Anthony said. “Two weeks is nothing.” 

“You won’t miss us?” Moxxie said with a small pout, clearly joking. 

Anthony snorted. “Why would I?” 

Although it was cold, the sun was shining particularly bright and lifted everyone’s spirits up. Blitzø looked like he was about to tie himself down to the castle, though, so there was that. 

He hated the idea of seeing his father. Sure, it would only be for a day and they would leave straight away, but he wasn’t exactly thrilled to see the one person he dreaded the most. His hatred for his dad ran deep and he wished every single day that he wouldn’t have to see him again anymore. He didn’t know why Barbie wanted to see him, honestly. He knew Barbie didn’t like him just as much, so why did she want to do this? Blitzø was his twin sister’s bitch, though, because he’d do anything for her—even if that meant that he had to see their dad again. 

“Because you love uuuuus!” Fizz exclaimed. 

“OI, Anthony!” Cherri called out to her friend. 

“Hang on. I’ll say goodbye to Cherri and see you all off.” Anthony said, running over to the blonde-haired girl. 

Moxxie played with the hem of his jumper and began to speak. “I feel bad for Anthony. Do you think he’ll be okay?” 

“He’ll be fine, mate,” Fizz reassured. “Being away from his family is like a Christmas miracle for him. Plus, he’ll have Blitzø and Barbie when they get back.”

The twins nodded in agreement. 

Both of their friends were dressed warmly for the trip. Moxxie wore a way-too-big jumper and warm looking pants with his snow boots (even though it wasn’t technically snowing yet). Fizz, on the other hand, sported a grey hoodie, baggy jeans, and sneakers. To tie the look together, he had a red beanie on his head with an adorable little pom-pom. Blitzø thought he looked cute. Although they were the same height, Blitzø thought that Fizz looked a lot tinier than him. 

“I’m back!” Anthony called out. “Come, now! I’ll walk you all to the gate.” 

And so they did. Chatting amongst themselves, the walk to the exit felt like one of the shortest walks in the world. Although they would be back in two weeks, Blitzø felt like he would miss them. He didn’t really like to show how he felt, but at that moment, he really felt like he was about to cry. Anthony slung his arm over his shoulder. 

“Alright?” 

Blitzø nodded. “Yeah. I’m fine.” 

Anthony raised an eyebrow at him, but thankfully didn’t question it. 

When they reached their destination, Hagrid was already there with Eliza perched on his shoulder. “Hey there, Buckzo twins!” 

Barbie smiled at him. “Hi, Hagrid! Thanks for getting Eliza down.” 

“Of course, li’l Barbie. Ya sure ya don’t wanna bring ol’ what’s-his-name wiv ya?” 

Blitzø shook his head. “He should stay here. He’s enjoying it at the tower and he might get fussy on the train. He likes the open air.” 

“Much like you, eh?” Anthony joked, referring to Blitzø with a smile on his face. 

“Alrighty then! Say g’bye tuh yer friends now. Best be off early.” 

After the twins said goodbye to their friends, Hagrid led them to his hut where he explained they would be travelling. When they got there, a weird looking puppy that looked a lot like a muggle dog—except for the fact that it had a split tail—greeted them enthusiastically. Barbie smiled at the small creature.

“That’s called a crup, Blitzø. They’re like muggle dogs.” 

Barbie crouched down to pet the animal who wagged its tail furiously. 

“Aw! Li’l Gilbert likes ya!” Hagrid cooed. “Ya like creatures, do ya, Barbie?” 

“I do! I can’t wait to learn about them in third year.” 

Hagrid smiled. “You’ll make a fine student, ya will,” He said, clasping his hands together. “Alright! On with it, then. Right this way.” 

Hagrid ushered them to the poorly made-looking fireplace. It was definitely too big for the house. Blitzø looked at it with a confused expression on his face. A fireplace? How would they travel using a fireplace? 

“Ya jus’ take some pow’er, get in, an’ say where ya wanna go. Then ya throw it on ta the floor an’ ya get there!” 

“Seems pretty easy enough,” Barbie said quietly. “What should we say?” 

“Jus’ say Bentley. Professor McGonagall ‘ad it all arranged. Remember ta say it clearly.” Hagrid said, offering the bowl of green powder to the twins. It looked akin to matcha. 

Fair enough. They’d just have to get into the unlit fireplace, say the name of their town, and they’d get there. Sure. It’d be fine. 

Barbie took a handful of the powder and stepped into the fireplace. “Bentley.” 

Blitzø flinched when a bunch of green flames engulfed his sister. It was only for a split second and she was completely gone when it ended. He looked at Hagrid in alarm. Did a weird looking fire just eat his sister?! 

“She’s fine, Blitzø,” Hagrid said reassuringly. “Ya go on next, then.” 

With a skeptical look, Blitzø also grabbed a handful of the powder. “Are you sure this is okay?” 

“Posi’ive.” Hagrid replied, smile never leaving his face. 

Blitzø took a deep breath before speaking. “Bentley.” 

Immediately, an unfamiliar heat embraced his entire being and a swirl of colors quite literally assaulted his line of vision. He felt like he was being stretched, but it wasn’t painful. It was like that weird feeling you’d get when you ride an amusement park ride that flies upwards. In about a minute, he was sliding out of a dirty chimney and into an unfamiliar house. 

Barbie was already there, dusted off and well-kept. She helped Blitzø up from the floor and performed a charm to make him look presentable. “There you go.” 

“Is that even allowed? We can’t perform magic outside of school.”

Barbie shrugged.

“Wizard stuff is so weird.” Blitzø said with a grimace. 

“It is. I’m already adapting quite well but stuff like this makes me feel queasy with confusion sometimes.” She agreed. 

They took a look around and examined the house they were in. It was very spacious and empty except for furniture that had plastic covers on them. They were in what Blitzø guessed was the living room. It seemed like the house hadn’t been inhabited for a long time. It smelled a lot like wet wood and dust, making Blitzø sneeze. The wallpaper on the wall was also yellowing and peeling, revealing the concrete underneath. The windows had tape white tape exes on them and some were cracked. 

All of a sudden, there was a tapping noise at the window behind them and they saw Hagrid. He was smiling at them with Eliza on his shoulder. He beckoned them to come out, so they did through the clearly termite infested door that was almost about to fall off its hinges. It was already snowing out and they’d regretted not dressing warmer. They only had to hope that their father was paying the rent on time so they could have the heater on. 

“Yer stuff’s already at yer house. We jus’ ‘ave to walk it there. Only a short walk now, off we go.” 

And so they did. Barbie rubbed at her arms, which Hagrid had spotted. He took out his little pink umbrella (which they’d discovered was his wand), a handkerchief, and a coin. He had then transfigured the handkerchief and coin into small jars. He then casted a charm that  made blue blames appear into the jars before sealing their lids. 

“Here ya go.” He said, handing the twins each their own jar. 

“What about you?” Blitzø asked, feeling the heat immediately spread throughout his ice-cold hands.

“I’m alright. Rather used to the cold.” He replied with a smile. Blitzø didn’t believe him, but he kept quiet. 

The walk to their apartment took about twenty minutes. By the time they had got there, their faces were already red and their noses were runny.

“Alright. I’ll pick ya both up tomorrow no later than twelve. If anything goes wrong, use this,” Hagrid told them, handing Barbie a shard. “This is a two-way mirror. Works the same way as yer li’l muggle telly-phones do. Jus’ call out me name an’ I’ll immediately come ta get ya.” 

The twins nodded, thanking him for his help. They bid their goodbyes and quickly made their way into the building, escaping the cold. Eliza was now flying alongside them, quietly flapping her wings. Just then, the landlord was walking down the stairs and had seen the twins approach.

“Why, hello there,” She greeted with a warm smile. “Back from school for the holidays, now, are we? And you’ve got an owl! Very adorable.” 

Their landlord, Mrs. Alicia Jennings-Taylor (a short, brunette woman with piercing green eyes and really soft-looking skin), was one of the nicest people to walk the Earth. In the two months they’d stayed there before going to Hogwarts’, she often gave them food on the days they were starving—and even when they weren’t—with a smile on her face. She also lent Barbie some of her books to read and let Blitzø make mudpies in the backyard (as long as he didn’t dirty up the inside of the building with his muddy shoes). She was probably in her late fifties but didn’t have a single gray hair and she always seemed happy no matter the circumstance. She was happily married and had two kids who were already in their early thirties named Phoebe and Ford. Her kids were as kind as her whenever they visited and adored the twins, saying that they were happy to finally see kids in the building. What made it the most shocking? She had a really cool wife and her name was Maddox . Maddox was a kind woman who was taller than Alicia and had a different hairstyle every single time Blitzø saw her. He couldn’t believe it. You could do that? What would that even entail? How would that work? He was too shy to ask, of course, but it was really interesting to know. It made him wonder what else was possible. He thought it was cool, though, and it made him see Alicia in a whole other light. It was pretty badass to do something that most people didn’t really do. Even if his dad—who often talked about Alicia and Maddox if they were dog poop he stepped on—didn’t really like her ‘lifestyle’. 

Maddox owned a restaurant in Doncaster which got so popular that she’d decided to branch out in London. Phoebe was the one who took over that branch since her parents really wanted to stay in Bentley and Ford often helped her out there. Alicia didn’t want to solely depend on Maddox’s income since she had a successful career in interior designing before she had even met her wife, so she decided to buy a building and rent it out to tennants. The place was small, really, and only had four rooms she could rent out, but it made her happy and who was Blitzø to judge? 

She often talked to the kids about everything under the sun and they loved to listen to her. She’d tell them stories about what it was like to travel around before for her job and then eventually settling in Doncaster when she fell in love with Maddox. Blitzø always thought that she was such an interesting person. Their family was so full of love and he could see why Phoebe and Ford were the way they were; why Alicia was always smiling. He wished he had that kind of life. It seemed to be so healing in a sense. 

“Yeah!” Barbie replied enthusiastically. Alicia was the only adult Barbie seemed to fully trust. “We missed you, Alicia! And this is Eliza. She’s a snowy owl.” 

It then dawned on Blitzø that they’d never really talked about her or anything like that while in Hogwarts’. He felt oddly guilty. 

Alicia smiled warmly. “Nice to meet you, Miss Eliza. Anyway, I’ve missed you both, too. It’s quite lonely without you two here since Maddox is currently in London and has been there for a month. Phoebe and Ford were sad to hear that you both would be away for the rest of the year.”

She wasn’t there when Professor McGonagall and Hagrid came to pick them up, so she didn’t really know what exactly happened. She was simply informed through letter (upon Barbie’s request since she knew that Alicia would probably get worried because of their absence) that the twins would be going to a muggle boarding school.

Eliza was hooting quietly and perched herself onto the handrail of the staircase, eyeing Alicia curiously.

“How are they? The last time Phoebe and I talked, she promised we’d make bracelets.” Barbie said. 

“Oh, she came over about two weeks after you left with a bracelet making kit,” Alicia replied. “She said it was such a shame that she wasn’t even here to send you both off.” 

Barbie’s shoulders sagged. A lightbulb suddenly turned on in Blitzø’s head. This was why Barbie wanted to go home—it wasn’t to check on their dad. It was to see how Phoebe was doing. She could have just told him, but then again, Barbie didn’t really talk much in general.

“That’s too bad…” Barbie muttered quietly. 

Alicia clasped her hands together. “Hang on, love. I think she left something for you. Give me a minute.” 

After speaking, she disappeared to the room in the back, leaving the twins just awkwardly standing by the stairs. 

“You wanted to go home because of Phoebe?” Blitzø asked, but it came out as more of a statement. 

Barbie smacked him on the arm, cheeks turning red. “Shut up.” 

Blitzø was confused. Why was she embarrassed? It wasn’t a crime to want to come home for another reason other than their dad—it was more of a relief, actually, because he thought that she was actually starting to care about him. 

His thoughts were cut short when Alicia returned with a bracelet and a keychain in hand. “She made these for the both of you. A bracelet for Barbie and a keychain for Blitzø!” 

They gratefully received the items, Blitzø curiously staring at his own in his hands. It was a red, blue, and black beaded keychain that had a Spiderman charm hanging at the end of it. He felt oddly weird—Phoebe had remembered the one time he mentioned that he liked Spiderman and wanted to see a Spiderman movie in an actual theater someday. Was this how it felt like when adults actually pay attention to you? It was a good feeling. A really good feeling. Blitzø decided that he’d put this keychain somewhere important; like on his messenger bag, maybe. He’d have to think about it. 

He looked over Barbie’s shoulder and saw that her bracelet was a pink, yellow, green, and white beaded bracelet that had several charms. It looked really nice and he was impressed at the choice of colors—pastel and easy on the eyes. Barbie liked those kinds of colors. 

Yeah, this was how it felt to be seen. He decided that it was the best feeling ever and that he’d like to be seen every once in a while. 

After receiving the gifts, Alicia told them to stay down for a bit because she would have Maddox cook them a meal. They told her that it was alright because they had a very big meal back in Hogwarts’, but she insisted and they thought it was rude to continue saying no when she was very enthusiastic to have them back even though it was too early for their second meal since it was only 9 am and they ate at seven.

About thirty minutes later, Maddox, who now had purple hair, came over with a plastic bag full of groceries. “Phoebe and Ford will come over for dinner.” She said. 

“You were so worried about starving when we literally have Alicia and Maddox.” Barbie whispered, making Blitzø flinch.

“You caught onto that?” 

Blitzø had been stuffing himself with all the food he could possibly eat in Hogwarts’ because not only was he going to miss how it tasted (he’s overdramatic), but he was also worried about not being able to eat while they were at home. He couldn’t really force Barbie into doing it, so he made Anthony do the ‘big bag’ charm again and filled it with a whole lot of food for them to eat. He didn’t even tell her about it and she knew. He couldn’t really hide anything from her, could he?

“Course I did,” She said monotonously. “You hover and worry all the time. You’re like a mom.” 

Blitzø grimaced. “Mean.” 

The ground floor of the building was basically a makeshift house. It had a kitchen, a dining room, a storage room slash office, and a bathroom. There was also a backdoor which led to the backyard which had a mini garden and a patio. They were in the living room watching television. Barbie let Eliza out for a bit so she could fly around. They seemed to have forgotten why they were here, but it wasn’t like their father was excited to see them. He never even checked downstairs if they were already home. 

Their father worked as a mover. He made just enough to pay rent and buy cheap food. He worked every single day except Saturdays, which meant he didn’t have work that day. Whenever he got home from work, he would either be piss drunk or high from something unknown. They were only able to move to Doncaster due to the fact that he sold the house (Blitzø was highly against it because that house was the one his mother grew up in) and all the furniture. 

“Blitzø, Barbie! Time to eat!” Maddox called out. 

He didn’t want to think about their father anymore. All he wanted to do was tuck in to the magic of Maddox Jennings-Taylor’s cooking and then make mud pies out in the back. 

Chapter Text

After their meal, Barbie stayed in the kitchen with Maddox who was teaching her the different herbs and spices and what they did to food while Blitzø and Alicia were out in the garden to check on the flowers. The once small patch of pansies grew significantly and was now an actual flower garden with a few plants here and there. Blitzø didn’t really know what the other flowers were.

“Your garden is so cool-looking now,” Blitzø said, now dressed in a coat too big for him that Alicia let him borrow. “How are the flowers still alive?” 

“They can grow in snow, Blitzø. And I take care of them well.” Alicia answered with a smile, using a small shovel to get rid of the thin blanket of snow on top of the soil. 

After that, they both decided to sit in the patio chairs and Maddox brought them two mugs of hot chocolate. Blitzø was slightly too short for the chair, so his legs were hanging above the floor. He swung them around a bit, enjoying the few pieces of snow slowly falling from the sky. 

“How’s school, Blitzø?” She asked, taking a sip from her mug afterwards. 

“S’ok. Barbie’s adjusting really well.” He replied with a small shrug.

Alicia put her mug down onto the table. “I’m asking about you, darling. Have you been adjusting well?” 

Blitzø blinked at her, mug still in his hands as he awkwardly tried to think of what to say. He didn’t really talk about how he felt—mostly because no one really asked. And now that he was being asked, it just felt weird. Like an unfamiliar feeling. 

“I’m… doing okay, I guess? I dunno.” He said, eyes now focused on his feet.

“Mhm? Do you like it there?” She asked again, clearly probing. Blitzø felt slightly annoyed.

“Why are you probing?” He asked quietly. This made her laugh. 

“Ah, now I see why Barbie said you have a bad temper,” She chuckled, her hand on her chest. This made Blitzø embarrassed. “I’m not trying to really poke around, honey. It’s just that I don’t really know much about you. You usually only talk about your sister.” 

Blitzø pressed his lips into a thin line, deciding on what to say. “There’s not much about me to talk about.” 

“Sure there is!” She said enthusiastically. “You clearly have a big personality, which means there’s something that makes it.”

“I… I don’t know…” He muttered, poking at the marshmallow floating in his drink with his pointer finger. 

She hummed. “Okay, how about this? I ask, and you answer. Sounds good?” 

Blitzø looked at her, studying her face for any ill intent. But he couldn’t see anything. She looked like she genuinely wanted to get to know him, which was weird because why? But, she had been so kind to him that he decided it was okay. He trusted her—not as much as Barbie did—and she didn’t have any grounds to hurt him, anyways. Unless she was a sadist, but she clearly wasn’t because her children seemed to almost glow with all the love she had raised them with. 

So, he nodded. 

“Splendid,” She said, clasping her hands together. “Let’s start with the basics, then. What’s your favorite color?” 

Blitzø looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully before answering. “Red.” 

“A lovely color indeed. Did you know that that is Maddox’s favorite color, too?” 

“Red’s awesome.” 

“It is,” She agreed while nodding. “How about your favorite subject in school?”

Blitzø’s stomach dropped. He wasn’t in muggle school anymore, so he couldn’t answer the question truthfully without lying. He didn’t want to lie either. 

“S-science.” 

But he did. Oh, well.

“Wow! Science is actually really complicated. What do you like about it?” 

Oh, god. Why’d she have to ask more about it? “Biology.” 

“Oh, biology? What are you learning about it right now? I’m not sure what kids your age learn in school these days.” 

“Just stuff. Can we please not talk about school anymore?” He said, trying to change the subject.

“Oh, of course. I’m sure you’re probably sick just thinking about it now because of all the time you’re spending there,” She said, smile still on her face. “What about hobbies? What do you like to do for fun?” 

OH MY GOOOOOD. Blitzø wanted to tear his hair out. How on Earth would she be able to tell her about flying?! He was about to pass out. He couldn’t take this anymore. He probably looked constipated. Should he tell her he liked soccer? But he didn’t know the first thing about soccer… or football rather. What the hell? How about reading? But then he’d have to talk about a book and all the books he’s ever really read were wizarding books. How about music? He didn’t know a single thing about that. 

All of a sudden, Alicia burst out laughing. She was laughing so hard, tears formed in her eyes. Blitzø looked at her with a confused expression, head tilting to the side as he tried to figure out what was so funny. 

“Oh, darling, I am so sorry,” She said before reaching into her pocket to reveal… a wand?! “Hold on a minute.” 

She casted a spell to remove the chocolate mustache Blitzø had been sporting for the past few minutes before tucking the object into her pocket again. Blitzø paused for a few minutes, processing what just happened before yelling.

“WHAT THE HELL?!”

Alicia laughed again, hand pressed to her stomach as she tried to calm herself down. “Oh, my stars. Hold on, sweetheart, I am so sorry.” 

Maddox peeped her head out of the door upon hearing Blitzø’s voice booming. “What is the matter? ” She asked.

“He knows now, honey,” Alicia said after getting herself to calm down. “I was waiting for him to slip up but he’s really good at hiding secrets.” 

“Ah,” Maddox said with a small chuckle. “She’s a witch, Blitzø. And so am I.” 

Maddox's face then proceeded to morph into an exact replica of Alicia’s and Blitzø dropped his mug onto the ground. What was going on?!

“I’m cooler though,” Maddox said, stepping out onto the patio as her face went back to normal. “I can shapeshift and she can’t.”

“You were just born lucky,” Alicia replied. “Did Barbie slip up?” 

“I slipped up,” Maddox replied. “I accidentally told her I used vervain for my digestive problems.” 

Barbie stepped out this time, arms crossed over her chest. “No wonder you guys go back and forth so quickly! You apparate! I was wondering how Maddox got here in thirty minutes with groceries when you said she was in London!” 

“Oops,” Alicia said sheepishly. “I guess I slipped up, too.” 

“Explain yourselves, please.” Barbie demanded, standing beside Blitzø. It was funny to look at, considering how tiny she was. 

“We’re witches. Phoebe and Ford are, too. Well, Ford is a wizard but you get the point,” Maddox explained, leaning against the wall behind Alicia. “Ford isn’t actually helping out at the restaurant. He’s an auror which is why he’s in London. Phoebe, on the other hand, just really likes to cook.” 

Blitzø felt his jaw drop. “Then why are you here in Doncaster?!” 

“We want to live a muggle life,” Alicia replied. “I used to be an auror, not an interior designer. Though, I would have loved to be if I grew up as a muggle. And Maddox here used to be a candy maker at Honeydukes. Have you heard of it before? It’s quite popular in the wizarding world. She was also a potioner.” 

“Yes. Our friends told us about that,” Barbie said. “So you can just… give up being involved in the wizarding world? Just like that?” 

Alicia nodded. “So long as you still abide by the rules, then yes. You can do that. We don’t exactly tell everyone around us that we’re magical. But, we were very adamant that you both were magical. Phoebe and Ford like you so much because you reminded them of Hogwarts’ in a sense.” 

“They still went even though you were living a muggle life?” Blitzø asked, bewildered. 

“They wanted to go. We were always transparent about our origins, after all. We told them what we were and what they were. Especially because… well, it’s complicated but let’s just say that both of them have a sort of… monthly problem.” Maddox said.

Both Blitzø and Barbie furrowed their eyebrows at this, but something clicked in Barbie’s head. 

“You were a potioner, Alicia was an auror. They both have lycanthropy, don’t they?” Barbie stated, making the couple genuinely shocked. 

“Oh my- you are so brilliant, Barbie. How did you put two and two together?” Alicia said in awe.

“Well, you were an auror which meant you handled a lot of cases like children getting bitten by werewolves. Maddox was a potioner which meant she knows a lot about potions- duh. And Maddox said they both have a monthly problem, so it wouldn’t take an idiot to realize that you found Ford and Phoebe during a mission and decided to adopt them and Maddox brews them wolfsbane every month.” 

“I was an auror who specialized in lycanthropy cases, actually,” Alicia said. “Well done, Barbie. Right on the nose. That’s brilliant! Phoebe and Ford were mainly the reason why we decided to live a muggle life. They were better off growing up away from all the stigma.” 

“You’re so much cooler now, Maddox,” Barbie mused. “Wolfsbane is so hard to brew. Is that why they were allowed at Hogwarts’? 

“Ah, well, I’ve had a lot of practice over the years. And yes, it was because I was supplying them with a steady supply of wolfsbane. Though, Professor McGonagall has now been very vocal that wizards and witches who suffer from lycanthropy are allowed at Hogwarts’ so long as they are taking wolfsbane.” Maddox replied with a smile.

“Hold on just a minute,” Blitzø said, still in shock. “I haven’t recovered from the fact that the both of you are witches and now this? I’m getting overstimulated right now because what?!” 

The couple laughed. “What really is your favorite subject, Blitzø?” 

“It’s Defence Against the Dark Arts,” Blitzø mumbled. “And I like flying. I plan to try out for Quidditch next school year.” 

“Oh, that is lovely,” Alicia said. “Just like Ford. He loved D.A.D.A. and used to play Quidditch for Ravenclaw. He was a beater.” 

-

After the whole ordeal, Phoebe and Ford had arrived shortly with groceries for dinner. They had apparated instead of taking the train like they initially planned since Blitzø and Barbie already knew what was going on. Barbie was happy to see Phoebe and they began talking about magical creatures. This left Blitzø and Ford to themselves, and Blitzø couldn’t help but ask him Quidditch questions.

“Was it fun being a beater?” He asked, bouncing on the heels of his feet. 

“It was. I actually considered joining a national team,” Ford replied. “But I think I’m better suited at being an auror. My grades were so stellar, the ministry was willing to overlook the fact that I’m… well.. me.” 

“They’d be stupid not to let you,” Blitzø said. “I think it’s stupid that they’re condemning people like you for something you can’t control. You’re taking wolfsbane, too, so to be horrible towards you is just stupid in itself.” 

Ford smiled. “You’re quite mature for a boy your age. That’s very nice. Thank you, Blitzø. Phoebe and I really appreciate people such as yourself.” 

Blitzø smiled at him knowingly. “When did you try out for Quidditch?” 

“In my third year. I wasn’t sure if they would accept a werewolf into the team so I hesitated. One of my friends who was in the team convinced me to join. Is his son your classmate, by any chance? He and his wife had him very early on in their lives. His name is Fizzarolli Fowler.” 

Blitzø gasped in surprise. “He’s my friend!” 

“Oh, what a lovely coincidence. He’s in Gryffindor, then? Augustus must be proud.” Ford said with a fond smile. 

“Yeah! He’s really fun to be with. No wonder he loves Quidditch so much, though.”

“Oh, yes. His father was one of the best in the team. He was our seeker and he was a bloody good one. Is Fizzarolli any good at flying?” 

“I don’t know, honestly. I mean… he can fly but he doesn’t really do it a lot. He’s probably just a big fan of Quidditch in general."

"Ah, I see. From the way I've known him, though, he seems to love flying. He’s been trying to get my daughter on a broom whenever they visit.” 

Blitzø had a confused expression on his face, so Ford kept on talking. “I married his aunt, Blitzø. My daughter is his cousin.” 

To say he was flabbergasted would be an understatement. “The coincidences are just too much.”

This made Ford let out a hearty chuckle. 

It was getting late, so Maddox and Phoebe started to make their supper. Ford and Alicia kept the twins occupied. 

“Does your father know you are here?” Alicia asked.

Barbie nodded. “He knows. He’s probably just passed out which is why he’s never checked if we arrived.” 

Alicia shook her head. “Sometimes, I just want to give that father of yours a talking to. Leaving his children unattended all the time to get pissed—sorry for my foul language, children—is such horrible behavior!” 

“It’s fine,” Blitzø said, shrugging. “We’re in Hogwarts’ most of the time, any- WAIT A SECOND. Does Professor McGonagall know about you guys?!” 

“Of course she does, sweetheart.” Alicia replied. 

“And she never told us?!” Barbie exclaimed in disbelief. “Not cool.” 

Once they ate, Ford freely used magic to clean up and they watched a little more TV until nine o’clock, halting when Maddox told them that it was time for them to go to bed. Pouting, they trudged up the stairs after thanking the family as they wouldn’t be seeing both Ford and Phoebe in the morning since they had to get back to London. 

“God, I forgot we have a dad to come home to,” Barbie said, frustrated. “You think he’ll be on the floor or on the sofa?” 

“In the bathroom, probably.” Blitzø joked. 

When they opened the door, the familiar smell of weed hit their noses. Barbie gagged in disgust. They made their way in and saw that the entire place was a mess. There was trash all over the floor, the coffee table was crooked, the sink was full of dishes—everything was a mess. Blitzø’s gym bag, though, was placed neatly on the sofa. Their father was nowhere to be found. 

“He’s probably in the bathroom.” Barbie said, agreeing with Blitzø’s prior statement.

They walked towards the bathroom and sure enough, their father was passed out inside. His head was atop the closed toilet and his body was sprawled on the floor. There was vomit on the toilet seat and it smelled horrible. Barbie gagged a second time and Blitzø sighed. He kicked his father’s shin. “Wake up, dad.” 

He groaned in response, eyes still closed. Blitzø kicked him a second time. “Wake uuuup.” 

“Get the fuck away from me, you little cunt.” Cash slurred, still not opening his eyes as he waved his arm around to try and swat Blitzø away. 

“WAKE UP! WE CAME HOME TO SEE IF YOU WERE ALIVE AND THIS IS HOW YOU GREET US?!” Barbie yelled. Okay, maybe she didn’t entirely want to come home just because of Phoebe. She was hard to read sometimes. 

“What the fuck?! I never fucking asked you to come home, you little bitch!” Cash yelled, his palm instantly flying to his temple. “Fuck, my head fucking hurts. Get me a fucking advil.”

Barbie held her hands up in surrender and walked out of the bathroom. Blitzø heard the balcony door open and then slam shut. He sighed, tugging on his father’s arm. “Dad, get up.” 

“Fuck you,” His dad said, pulling his arm away. “You fucking look just like her. You and your sister. You fuckers remind me of how much it fucking kills me every single day. Why don’t you just get the fuck on back to your fucking fancy shit ass school? Leave me the fuck alone.” 

Blitzø sighed once again. Their dad had obviously gotten way thinner than he had been before they left. Has he been eating? God, it’s a good thing he’d brought all that food. He’d just give it all to his dad since Maddox and Alicia promised them breakfast in the morning. 

“I don’t fucking care about you and your whining, okay? Get the fuck up.” 

Blitzø always thought that he was mature enough to cuss. His dad did it all the time and he was a kid in an adult’s body, so why not just do the same? 

“Speak like that to me again and I’ll bash your head in.” Cash threatened, head finally rising from the toilet. 

“You and what army? Don’t make me laugh. You can’t even get up from there,” Blitzø replied coldly. “I’m leaving. I hope you never get up.” 

Before Blitzø could make it out the door, he heard their dad sob. This was a new one—he never cried after their mom’s funeral. Turning around reluctantly, he saw that Cash now had his back leaning against the toilet while in a fetal position, body shaking as he continued to cry. 

“It’s been so fucking hard, Blitzø,” He said. “Your mom’s fucking gone and I can’t fucking look at you and your sister in the eye unless I’m high or drunk as fuck.” 

“You think you have it hard, dad?! Barbie and I are eleven. Eleven! And you expect us to do everything while you make money that you use to smoke weed, drink beer, and barely pay rent. You don’t even buy food anymore. You just fucking rely on Alicia, which you backstab all the time, to feed us! Do you know how stupid that is?!” 

“That fucking dyke deserves all the shit I throw at her.” Cash said. 

Blitzø felt himself seethe with anger. “She’s been nothing but good to us! She’s feeding your children! God fucking damn it, dad, are you fucking serious?! Are you an idiot?! Oh my fucking god.” 

“I don’t fucking care. She’s weird just like you and your sister,” Cash said arrogantly. “Your weird fucking mother died on me and now you’re in a weird school to learn how to be even more fucking weirder than you already fucking are. And for what?! Just so you can go off to your weird fucking world while I’m stuck here with nothing?!” 

“You think I wanted this shit?!” Blitzø roared. “I never fucking asked for any of this! I never asked to be a wizard, never asked to have powers, never asked to be born! And yet you act like this is something Barbie and I forced you to fucking do! We never forced you into shit! We owe you nothing!” 

“You fucking hate me so much but you don’t fucking know half of the shit that’s going on.” 

“I don’t care about what’s going on! I’m supposed to be a fucking kid, dad! A kid! I’m eleven but I’m over here worrying if my sister is growing up okay and is eating right when I’m literally the same age as her! I’m over here yelling at my dad for getting drunk instead of eating like a normal person! I even stuffed my face days before we left and brought home food from Hogwarts’ for Barbie to eat because I was sure that we’d fucking starve here! Don’t you get it?! I don’t care about how hard it is for you because you have children to raise and you aren’t even doing it! I’m doing it and I’m not even a teenager yet!” 

Cash blinked at him, seemingly taking in everything he just said. His tear-stained face was ridiculous to look at. Blitzø wasn’t even crying. He was just angry. He hated his dad so much. He fucking hated him. 

“I’m sorry.” Cash said. 

“You say sorry now but you and I both know that you’re going to do this again. You’re not going to change, and I don’t expect you to. But saying sorry? Saying sorry also means swearing that you’re never going to do something again. So no, don’t say you’re sorry. Don’t ever fucking say you’re sorry!” 

“Blitzø- fuck. Okay, look. I’m going through a lot of shit, okay? But I swear, I’ll be-” 

“No. NO. You’re not in the position to explain yourself because I am done, you hear me?! DONE. You don’t get to do this to me. You don’t.” 

“Blitzø just fucking listen-” 

Blitzø balled his fists in anger. “All I’ve been doing is listening! Well, guess what? Fuck listening! I don’t want to fucking do it anymore. Go fuck yourself!” 

He exited the bathroom after that. Barbie was on the couch, looking at him with a sullen expression on her face. 

“Blitzø-”

“Just- just don’t, Barbie. Fucking don’t.” 

She kept her mouth shut and he walked to the balcony, opening the sliding door before closing it shut. It was snowing harder and he wasn’t even wearing any socks in his shoes, but he didn’t care. All he wanted to do was hurl himself off the building. He wanted to break his neck or something. He just didn’t know what to do anymore. He screamed, chest heavy with anger and frustration.

As if she were responding to him, Eliza went swooping in. She landed on the railing in front of him, hooting quietly as if she were telling him something. She stared at him with her big, golden eyes as her head tilted to the side. Did she know how he was feeling? 

Slowly, he approached her and reached out. She immediately leaned forward and mock-preened his fingers. It hurt, sure, but Blitzø somehow found it comforting. 

With shaking hands and a heavy chest, he looked up at the moon, hoping that if it were some sort of divine being, it could hear him; it could see him. And he hoped it would make life better for him. 

Chapter Text

December 22, 2019

Barbie fell asleep on the couch, but Blitzø didn’t sleep. He stayed up until the sun shined, cleaning up the entire apartment as he did so. Eliza was watching him as she sat atop a table ever so gracefully. He did the best he could, but the entire place still smelled like weed. 

Cash never came out of the bathroom; he was probably doing more drugs in there. Blitzø couldn’t bring himself to care. After their argument, he had realized that their father was always going to think of himself first. He was always going to be selfish and the earlier they accepted that, the better. He took it upon himself to just swallow everything up because it’s not like getting angry would change things. He would just have to keep dealing with it. And reporting this to the authorities wasn’t an option because, again, that would obviously mean that he and Barbie would get separated somehow. He didn’t want that. 

After cleaning everything up, he decided to take a walk outside, bringing a coat with him this time around and putting some socks on. He took Eliza with him, the bird seemingly growing fond of him. They toured around Bentley for a bit, and by the time they had gotten back, it was already ten in the morning. 

Maddox had arrived an hour ago and breakfast had been served half an hour ago. She welcomed him in the living room with a warm smile. Barbie was seated beside her, a potions book open on her lap.

“Good morning, Blitzø. Coming back from a walk?” 

“Good morning, Maddox,” Blitzø greeted, nodding at the woman who now had green hair. “Yeah, Eliza and I took a stroll around.” 

“Well, I hope you’re hungry. Come and tuck into a traditional English breakfast.” 

Blitzø didn’t realize how hungry he was until he started eating. Maddox’s cooking was divine as always, but he skipped the baked beans because… ew. He then chugged two cups of orange juice because he was also ridiculously thirsty. 

“Blitz ø.”

He had flinched, looking for the source of the sound. Mid-frantic searching was when he realized that Hagrid gave him a two-way mirror. He took it out of the back pocket of his pants and saw Hagrid’s face on the shard. 

“Oh, hey, Hagrid.” 

“Alright?” He asked. 

“Yes, I’m fine. Are you coming to pick us up?” 

“It’s only eleven. Would ya like me tuh?” 

Blitzø thought about it for a moment, then looked at Barbie who nodded. “Yeah, okay.”

“Is that Hagrid?” Alicia asked, peering her head into the dining room. 

“Yeah. Wanna say hi?” Blitzø offered, handing her the shard.

“Oh, yes!” She said, gratefully accepting the shard. “Hello, Hagrid!” 

“Why, it’s Miss Jennings-Taylor. ‘Ello there!” 

 “How are you? I haven’t heard from you since Phoebe left Hogwarts’!” 

“I’ve been well enough! How about ya? Ya doin’ alright there?” 

“Yes. Muggle life is definitely more fun than it looks,” She said with a smile. “Well, I won’t keep you long. You better get on here and bring these kids back to Hogwarts’.”

“Will do, Alicia. See ya when I get there!” 

With that, Hagrid disappeared from the mirror. 

“I’ll go up and leave some food out for dad,” Blitzø announced. “Thank you for your hospitality, Alicia and Maddox. You guys are the best.” 

“Of course, darling. We love you both as one of our own,” Maddox said, ruffling his hair. “Feel free to send us a letter if you need anything.” 

Sighing to himself, Blitzø climbed up the stairs and entered their apartment. Their dad still hadn’t come out of the bathroom, which made him shake his head in disbelief. He took out the paper bag from his gym bag and opened the bathroom door to see his father fully awake and in the bathtub. He clearly hadn’t slept as well, but he didn’t look high so Blitzø guessed he just stayed up for the hell of it. 

“Here,” Blitzø said, tossing the paper bag into the bathtub. It landed on Cash’s face and smacked him, but he didn’t even flinch. “That food’ll probably last you three days if you eat it slowly. Eat it if you want or don’t. I don’t care. Just don’t fucking die or Barbie and I will get in trouble with muggle child protective services.” 

“If I don’t get an STD then I’ll stay alive.” Cash muttered.

“You’re really starting again?” Blitzø grumbled. “Do you really want to pick a fight with me?” 

“I’m not tryna fucking pick a fight with you,” He replied weakly. “I’m just saying it as it is.” 

“Then don’t fucking sleep around if you don’t want to get an STD,” Blitzø argued. “That’s literally common sense.” 

“It fills the fucking void, Blitzø. What else do you want me to do?” Cash said. 

“I don’t know? And I don’t care,” Blitzø stated. “Just stay alive or I will buy a gun, dig you up from your grave, and shoot you.” 

Cash didn’t say anything else. He just stared at the wall in front of him. Blitzø sighed for the nth time and walked out of the bathroom. He picked up his gym bag and took in the apartment one last time before getting out and slamming the door. He wouldn’t be back for another six months and he was grateful for that. Hopefully Cash gets fatter the next time he sees him. 

When he got to the bottom of the stairs, Hagrid’s voice boomed as he declared he had arrived. “Am here!” 

“Hey, Hagrid,” Blitzø greeted, gym bag on his shoulder. “You should eat something before we go.”

“Oh, no, that’s alright. Had me fill at the leaky cauldron!” He exclaimed with a smile.

“Hagrid!” Maddox greeted. “Lovely to see you, mate.” 

“It’s lovely ta see you too, Maddox!” He said. 

While they spoke, Blitzø pulled Alicia to the side to talk to her. “Alicia, do you know if I could switch out Wizard money for Muggle money?” 

“I’m afraid you can’t do that, love. Gringotts doesn’t allow that. Why do you ask?” 

Blitzø sighed in defeat. “I just wanted to get something for my friend. He’s a pureblood and has never really seen a lot of muggle stuff before. But I only have wizard money.” 

“I see. How about this, then?” Alicia said, pulling out her wallet. “You have your Wizard money with my Muggle money and I’ll have it exchanged at Gringotts.” 

“What? But wouldn’t that be extra work for you?” Blitzø asked. 

“Oh, honey, it’s not a big deal. I can apparate, remember? I can go from one place to another very quickly.” She reassured. 

Blitzø knew that Alicia would just keep on insisting, so she let her. He exchanged a total of ten galleons with her and he had gotten a total of sixty pounds. Blitzø was shocked, to say the least. He didn’t know that wizard money was worth that much. But then again, knowing Alicia, she probably snuck in a few extra pounds. 

They then bid their goodbyes and made their way out of the building. Hagrid led them back to the house they came from the previous time, a jar of floo powder in hand. Blitzø and Barbie didn’t really talk to each other during the walk and there was tension in the air.

“Hey, Hagrid?” Blitzø asked. “Can we stop by London first? I’d like to get something for our friends.” 

“Course ya can!” Hagrid exclaimed. “Ta Diagon Alley, then?” 

“No. Not yet. I’d like to get Anthony something first.” 

“The Marcone boy?” He asked, to which Blitzø nodded. “Ah, I see. Ya wanna get ‘im somethin’ muggle-related since ‘e’s a pureblood?” 

“Yes. I think he’ll love something from there. Then we’ll go to Diagon Alley to get something for Moxxie and Fizz.” Blitzø said.

“Alrighty then!” Hagrid said enthusiastically.

-

Blitzø had a hard time choosing something for Anthony, but he ultimately settled on a baseball, a baseball bat, and a baseball glove; he had gotten a really cheap deal at a secondhand store and spent 50 pounds on the three things. They weren’t brand new, but they were good enough. Blitzø figured that since Anthony loved Quidditch, which was a sport, he’d love baseball as well. 

After London, they went to Diagon Alley. Blitzø only had a few galleons left, so they stopped by Gringotts to get more money. Once they’d replenished their allowances, they browsed around to see what presents they’d get their friends. Barbie was still awkwardly hovering around Blitzø, but he didn’t have the energy to deal with that at the moment so he just let it go. 

He decided on getting an Ireland National Quidditch Team jersey for Fizz since he mentioned that he loved that team, a bunch of candy for Moxxie who he noted liked to sneak desserts in from dinner, and a copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them for Barbie (which he bought very discreetly). Barbie got Anthony an exploding snap deck, Fizz a broom polishing set and Moxxie a self-inking quill. 

By the time they were all finished, it was one o’clock and they were starving. So, they stopped by the Leaky Cauldron to have their fill. After their meal, they had used the floo network to get back to Hogwarts’ since there was a public fireplace within the building. 

Anthony was waiting for them by the entrance steps when they arrived. He waved at them enthusiastically, happy that his friends were back. It had also started snowing in Hogwarts’ so he was dressed in several layers of clothing and a pair of thick gloves. Blitzø carried the now really heavy gym bag containing all the gifts which they had wrapped in the stores they got them in—even the ones Barbie had gotten.

“Hiiii!” He exclaimed. “How was the trip?” 

“Very… well, I don’t even know,” Blitzø said. “How about you? How’ve you been all by yourself?” 

“Same answer you gave me,” Anthony said cheekily. “Hi there, Barbie!” 

Barbie nodded at her friend before scurrying off into the castle. Anthony shot Blitzø a pointed look. 

“Best be off, then. You enjoy the rest of yer break, Blitzø!” Hagrid said. 

“You too, Hagrid! Thanks so much for taking care of us!” 

“What’s up with Barbie?” Anthony asked. 

Blitzø sighed. “It’s nothing, Anthony. Don’t worry about it. She’ll come around.” 

“Nuh-uh,” Anthony said, stepping in front of Blitzø to stop him from walking forward. “I’m not letting you sweep this under the rug. Haven’t we established that it’s better to just talk about it than to leave it be?” 

“God, Anthony, c’mon,” Blitzø whined. “I’ve had it rough. Can we please not do this right now.” 

Anthony sighed, knowing Blitzø enough to know that a small spark would cause a wildfire. “Alright, fine. But we’re revisiting this issue.” 

Blitzø smiled gratefully, realizing how tired he was. He yawned and Anthony understood. They made their way to the dormitory and without a second thought, Blitzø let the gym bag drop to the ground and he sank into his mattress, sighing happily at the feeling of a soft surface. Anthony chuckled at this. 

“Good night, Blitzø.” 

-

December 23, 2019

It was six in the morning when Blitzø fully awoke. He was asleep until eight pm, woke up, and then kept taking naps and waking up again until he finally decided that he was done sleeping. Anthony, on the other hand, was sleeping very soundly on his bed since it was.. well… six in the morning. 

He got out of his bed and trudged into the bathroom. He decided he’d take a really long and hot shower because he felt like he was about to throw up. 

After his long and hot shower, he brushed his teeth and got dressed for the day, feeling very happy with himself. He then got out of the bathroom and looked around, noting that Anthony had not been cleaning up. Well, at least this gave him something to do. He picked up all the clothes Anthony had on the floor and folded each of them before stacking them all on his trunk. He then used his wand to gather all the rogue parchment on the floor, directing them onto the table in front of Moxxie’s bed. Afterwards, he conjured up a feather duster and cleaned up all the cobwebs that were already littered on the windows for some reason even though he’d only been gone for a short while. Anthony was definitely a pureblood—he knew that much. It’s not like this was his fault, really. He was raised with his ass being handed to him and Blitzø really did understand that. They can’t help how they’re raised. 

By the time he had finished, Anthony was already stirring awake.

“Good morning,” Blitzø greeted. “Have a good sleep?” 

“I should be asking you that,” Anthony said groggily. “You slept so much I thought you died.” 

Blitzø laughed. “Sorry. I didn’t get to sleep while I was there.” 

“You alright, mate? And answer me truthfully this time.” 

This made Blitzø sigh. “I promise I’ll talk about it. Just not now, okay?” 

Anthony shook his head. “Okay. C’mon. Let’s go get breakfast.” 

The two boys made their way down to the Great Hall, stomachs rumbling and eager. When they arrived, food had already been served and Barbie was already there, reading a book as she ate. Anthony made his way towards her and Blitzø followed. 

“Hiya!” Anthony greeted, taking a seat beside Barbie who smiled at him. 

Blitzø sat next to Anthony, immediately piling food onto his plate. 

“Morning.” Blitzø greeted his sister who nodded in return.

Why was she being so quiet? 

They ate in silence, Anthony humming quietly as they did so. Blitzø tried to think of anything else other than the other day. 

When they finished eating, all three of them went out into the transfiguration courtyard that was covered in a thick fleece of snow. Anthony tried catching snowflakes with his tongue as the twins stood beside each other awkwardly. 

He didn’t know how to approach his sister, but he somehow wanted to make it right. Why was Barbie avoiding him? Did she not like that he cussed out their dad? But that was a long time coming, so probably not. Did she feel angry because she said he was worrying about her even though she wasn’t his responsibility? That was probably it. 

“I can hear you thinking,” Barbie said quietly. “The wheels in your brain need to get greased up. They’re squeaky.” 

Blitzø blinked at her before laughing. “The heck, Barbs?” 

“I’m sorry you have to worry about me, Blitzø,” She said, watching as Anthony oddly did somersaults in the snow. “You really don’t deserve to parent your own twin sister.”

Blitzø sighed. “Is this what this was about, Barbs?” 

She nodded, fiddling with her gloved fingers. “I feel really guilty, Blitzø. I know you’ve been through a lot and that I’ve been adding to the burden, but it didn’t really feel real until you said it out loud. I’m really sorry.” 

“Barbie,” Blitzø began, trying not to get distracted at the fact that Anthony was not making snow angels while laughing maniacally. “I know we have a fucked up life, but you’re the best thing in my book. You don’t need to say sorry for anything because although this wasn’t a task I wanted to take, I was still happy to do it. I’m always gonna be here for you and I’m always gonna care for you. I’m actually really proud of you because you’re slowly coming out of your shell.”

“I just.. you deserve all the support you’re giving me, too.” Barbie said, looking down at her feet. 

“Gosh, Barbs, you’re killing me,” Blitzø sing-songed. “We can’t really do much about anything, can we? We have each other. That’s all that matters.”

“I’ll be a better sister, Blitzø. I promise.” She said determinedly. 

“Oh, hush. You’re already a great sister. But if you’re going to try, don’t get all over my face. You know I hate that.” He said playfully. 

“Are you done making up?” Anthony said, cheeks and nose red from the cold. “Come play in the snow with me!” 

And they did so until it was time for dinner. 

Chapter Text

December 24, 2019

It was Christmas Eve and Blitzø was on the edge of his seat, buzzing with excitement as he couldn’t wait to give Anthony and Barbie their presents. 

He didn’t really have an allowance or any source of income growing up, so he was never really one to give gifts. But now that he had enough money to not only supply his school needs and the things he wanted for himself, he discovered that gift-giving was something he actually really liked. Loved, even. He was so stoked about getting presents that he wasn’t even really thinking about how much they cost (and boy, oh boy did Fizz’s present in particular cost him almost half of the money he had on hand), but rather how happy it would make the person receiving it. He was determined to find a wizarding world job that paid a lot so he could spoil everyone (it was ridiculous, but he was ridiculous). 

At breakfast, he was really jittery and seemed like he was going to bounce around the walls. He was so full of energy and so excited that he could barely contain himself. He was scaring both Anthony and Barbie, though, who were totally confused by his behavior. 

“What the heck is wrong with you?” Anthony asked, nervously holding his toast in his hand. 

“I’m excited!” Blitzø said, wiggling around like a worm in a bag of salt. 

Barbie scoffed. “He’s excited to give you your present.” 

“Hey!” Blitzø exclaimed. “I got you one, too!” 

“I know you did. I saw four presents in your gym bag before I put mine in,” She said, sipping her hot chocolate. “I got you one, too.” 

“I’m more excited about receiving than giving. But thank you. I didn't think you got me one.” Blitzø said with a big smile while Barbie grimaced at the last thing he had stated,

“Oh, man. I didn’t get you anything!” Anthony said with a pout. “I didn’t have time to shop!” 

“That’s fine, Anthony. We didn’t get you gifts so you could get us one in return. We got you one because we love you!” Barbie said with a smile. 

While Barbie and Anthony argued about the art of gift-giving, Blitzø somehow found his eyes wandering once again at the Ravenclaw table. There, he was surprised to see none other than Stolas Goetia. That got Blitzø wondering if he got kicked out just like Anthony did. But Stolas did say that he wasn’t, so why didn’t he go home? 

“He’s at it again, Barbie.” Anthony said.

“If you listen really closely, you can hear the creaking of the wheels inside his head. Just going eeengk eeengk.” Barbie joked, laughing mid-sentence. 

“Ha-ha, very funny,” Blitzø said sarcastically. “So, I think a lot. Is that a crime?” 

“No, but it’s funny to point out so please bear with us.” Anthony teased. 

Once they had finished their breakfast, they began to have a nice stroll around the castle as they had nothing much to do. While they walked, Blitzø had caught a glimpse of Stolas once again who was perched up on a tree in the Viaduct Courtyard. He was quietly reading a book, glasses atop his nose (When did he start wearing glasses?) as he munched on a piece of bread with a napkin wrapped around it. The leaves were protecting him from the sunlight, but a single ray hit his cheek and his skin practically glowed. It was trippy. Blitzø thought he looked like Edward from Twilight.

“Hey,” Anthony said quietly, snapping Blitzø out of his thoughts. “You okay?” 

Blitzø simply nodded and they continued their walk, leaving Stolas to the world in the pages of his book.

-

December 25, 2019

“Merry Christmas, Anthony!” Blitzø greeted excitedly upon hearing the chiming of the bell, signaling that it was midnight. “Merry Christmas, Barbie!” 

They were able to have Barbie sleep in the boys’ dormitory for Christmas upon being permitted by the headmistress. They were really excited about it and decided that Barbie would sleep in Fizz’s bed which was between Anthony's and Blitzø’s. 

“Merry Christmas, boys!” Barbie said enthusiastically. “Should we give our gifts right now?” 

“I suppose we don’t have to wait for Christmas morning,” Anthony replied with a smile. They then piled onto Fizz’s bed. “Which means I get to tell you that I was pranking you. I did get you lot gifts! Oh, I’d been dying to tell you! You won’t believe what I got you guys!” 

The twins watched as Anthony bounced off his bed and quickly reached beneath it. While their friend did so, they rummaged through the gym bag for their own gifts to give. To Blitzø’s surprise, Barbie had taken out two neatly wrapped items—he didn’t see Barbie get a fourth one, so he was intrigued. 

Anthony emerged from below the bed, no presents in hand with a dopey smile on his face. “You know what? I’ll give your presents last.” 

Barbie chuckled. “I suppose I’ll go first, then. Here you both go. Merry Christmas!” 

Tearing away the wrapping paper from the rectangular object, Blitzø was shocked to find that Barbie had gotten him a copy of Quidditch Through the Ages, in the same manner that he had gotten her a book on creatures. He smiled widely, looking up at his twin who had a shy expression on her face. 

“Do you like it?” She asked, peering over at Anthony who had the deck of cards in his hands. 

Exploding snap was a card game that involved…well… snapping fingers and exploding. Blitzø thought that it suited Anthony a lot since he was so eccentric himself. 

“Like it? I love it, Barbie!” He exclaimed. “Father never allowed me anything of the sort! I only ever discovered gobstones through Fizz. This means so much to me. Thank you!” 

Anthony gave his friend a hug, making her flinch in surprise. “I’m happy you like it.” 

“This is awesome, Barbie. Thank you,” Blitzø said, gesturing to the book. “I’ll read this religiously.” 

“I just thought it’d help you prepare for tryouts. It's a while until then, but I know you'll start getting ready soon,” She said, smiling at him. “Get you geared up with the knowledge so you can catch up with all the Quidditch talk.” 

Once Anthony had finished caressing every single card in the deck (both twins were mildly weirded out by this), it was Blitzø’s turn to give them their gifts. The look on Barbie’s face was priceless when she had seen the embossed text on the cover of the book. She immediately leapt to her twin and embraced him—something she rarely ever did—as she sobbed into his shoulder, saying he was the best brother ever. Barbie was always very appreciative when it came to gifts. 

Anthony, on the other hand, tried to figure out what the hell Blitzø had gotten him. He tried to be very polite about it, of course, but Blitzø found it funny that he tried to force himself to look like this was something he had wanted all his life. 

“This is for baseball, Anthony,” Blitzø said. “You like Quidditch so I thought you’d like this one. It’s a muggle sport!” 

The blond-haired boy’s face immediately lit up at the mention of muggle sports. “Ah! I see! Did you get me this to teach me how to play?” 

“Yeah! I thought you’d love it.” 

“This looks like a beater’s bat! Only, it is longer.” Anthony exclaimed, picking up the wooden baseball bat. 

“It’s called a baseball bat. And this is called a baseball mitt,” Blitzø said, holding the brown glove in his hand. He held the baseball in the other.  “This one’s a baseball.” 

Anthony smiled, examining each object. “Thank you, Blitzø! I am so excited to learn how to play this. Shall we have a go tomorrow?” 

Blitzø nodded. “Yeah! It’ll be fun!” 

Now, it was finally Anthony’s turn to give them their gifts. He took out Barbie’s gift first—an unwrapped brown box that had holes at the top—basically shaking with anticipation. Anthony sure loved to give gifts. 

Barbie let out a squeal and tackled Anthony when she had fully opened her gift. Blitzø peeked into the box and saw that it was… a kitten?! It meowed quietly, looking curiously up at him with its big, green eyes. It had grey and black fur, making it have a sort of rugged look. It was adorable, nonetheless, and Blitzø was swooning. 

“Oh, Anthony, I simply love you!” Barbie exclaimed. “You’re the absolute best! How did you keep the little guy hidden from us?!” 

“I asked Hagrid for help, of course,” Anthony said with a proud smile. “He is still a baby so you will have to take good care of him. Hagrid informed me that he is half-kneazle. You do know what a kneazle is, yes?” 

“Yes, I do! Wow! A half-kneazle?! Amazing!” Barbie exclaimed, picking up the little kitten who meowed up at her, “Hi, little one! I’m your mommy now!” 

“What’s a kneazle?” Blitzø asked. 

“Basically a magical cat-lion,” Barbie replied, still in awe of her new pet. “I can’t thank you enough, Anthony! Oh my gosh.”

Blitzø had never seen Barbie so happy before. It looked good on her. 

“Anything for my favorite Buckzo girl,” Anthony said with a smile. “Now, for my favorite Buckzo boy. Are you ready for this? You’ll immediately know what it is upon seeing it, but I still took it upon myself to wrap it so you would have something to tear at.”

Blitzø raised his eyebrow at this, but his smile was still present. “Lay it on me.” 

As soon as Anthony plonked the present onto the bed, Blitzø almost cried. The long, narrow handle and the shape of the bottom gave it away—it was very obviously a broomstick. His very own broomstick. He wouldn’t need to use the janky, ancient brooms in the broom storage anymore because he’d have his own to mount and fly around in. He couldn’t believe it.

“O-oh… oh…” Blitzø said, covering his mouth in surprise as he felt a lump grow in his throat. “Anthony, I c-c-” 

“Hush!” Anthony shushed. “You can and you will. Open your gift and take a good look at it now, lad.” 

Blitzø did as he was told. He unwrapped the gift with shaky hands, trying to stop himself from straight up crying with joy. When it was out of the wrapping, it was absolutely glorious. The broomstick had a lengthy, wooden handle which curved near the bristles to provide a more comfortable seating experience (a feature the broomsticks in Hogwarts’ did not have) and metal footrests to put your feet in. The said bristles were lined with golden straps, making the broom look ridiculously handsome. Oh, Blitzø could cry.

“Anthony, Jesus Christ- what the hell? I can’t right now.” Blitzø spoke incoherently, hands rested on his lap as he stared at the contraption. 

“Do you love it? I got you the Firebolt Supreme! I know you don’t know much about brooms yet, but I can assure you that it is the absolute best one and I have the exact same one back at home!” Anthony said happily. 

Blitzø looked at Barbie who smiled at him encouragingly, as if she were telling him that it was, indeed, his broom. 

He hesitated, reaching out to touch it. When he did, it felt like it fit perfectly in his hands. It was as if he was meant to ride it. 

“Now I can be assured that you won’t end up dead whenever you go out on one of your evening cruises,” Anthony said. “And yes, Blitzø, I am aware that you recklessly fly around with the old brooms in storage. It’s a miracle that you have not broken a bone. Not even Madam Hooch uses those brooms for intense flying unless necessary. It’s what motivated me to get you that broom.” 

The broom was clearly expensive—it was evident in its appearance. And he knew that things like these would barely even make a scratch on Anthony’s Gringotts vault, but Blitzø still felt indebted somehow. “Anthony, this must have cost a fortune.” 

Anthony scoffed. “Pft. Stop that, Blitzø. I know you are thinking of ways to repay me so stop. I do not wish to be repaid, nor will I allow any attempts to do such a thing. What I wish for you to do is to take that broom first thing in the morning and ride it until your bottom feels numb. Do you hear me? It would make me the happiest to see you using it happily.” 

Blitzø nodded, eyes teary and heart full as he pulled his friend into an embrace. It was the best Christmas he had in his life and it was one he and Barbie would remember until the day they died. 

Chapter Text

December 25, 2019

“Oi!” Anthony exclaimed. “Hurry up, Blitzø! You’re moving too slow!” 

“Pipe down a minute, will you? It’s freezing cold!” Blitzø exclaimed, hugging himself as he watched his breath turn to vapor. 

Anthony stuck his tongue out at his friend. “You bought me this thing, so you suffer the consequences!” 

It was around eight in the morning and Anthony was dragging Blitzø to the Quidditch pitch as soon as they had woken up. The blond was adamant on trying his new baseball set that he even whined for Barbie to come because he wanted her to play, too. 

“Why is he so energetic when it’s so early and it’s this cold?” Barbie said, practically shivering as she spoke. 

“He even wanted me to try out the Firebolt but I told him no,” Blitzø added. “I’m so hungry right now, Barbs.” 

Barbie groaned. “Stop, stop, or I’ll get hungry, too.” 

“Anthony!” Blitzø yelled. “Can’t we do this after breakfast at least?” 

Anthony paused, turning around with the baseball equipment in his arms. “Yeah, we should have done that, actually. I’m famished.” 

Both Buckzo twins groaned in annoyance. It was a good thing they hadn’t gotten that far yet. 

As soon as they got to the Great Hall, all three of their stomachs groaned. The Christmas breakfast was unbelievable and they couldn’t wait to dig in. The room itself was decorated with several wreaths, bells, and a huge Christmas tree at the front. They really outdid themselves. 

When they got a good look at the food items on the table, they were stunned. There was a vast selection, but what caught their eyes was the gigantic roasted lamb and equally humongous roasted turkey. There were also mashed potatoes, pigs in blankets, mince pie, Yorkshire pudding, treacle tarts, cranberry sauce, and so much more. They immediately took their seats and began to haul a bunch of food on their plates. 

“Is this even a Christmas breakfast?” Barbie asked as she stabbed a piece of lamb with her fork. “This is like… a Christmas all-you-can-eat buffet!” 

“I am so staying here every bloody winter break!” Anthony declared, shoving a weird spoonful of turkey, cranberry sauce, chocolate cake, and grape jelly into his mouth. Blitzø had to physically recoil at this. 

While they ate their meals, one of the kids who stayed behind sat beside Anthony who was busy eating more food. Blitzø eyed the student quietly, observing him as he nudged shoulders with their friend. The boy was a Ravenclaw who had long, black hair, blue eyes, and a ghastly complexion (he was probably sick or something). When Anthony looked up from his plate, he smiled. 

“Hey, Pentious!” 

Said boy smiled back. “How’ve you been Anthony?” 

“Great! I haven’t seen you since Diagon Alley. How are you?” 

“Oh, I’ve been well. My parents have…”  

Blitzø drowned them out as he focused on eating. It wasn’t his business to listen in on what they were talking about, anyway. And needless to say, he didn’t really care. It was Anthony’s business with his friend—nothing to do with him. 

“These are my friends, by the way! They’re twins.” Anthony said, gesturing to the Buckzo twins who were seated side by side. 

They both looked up from their plates awkwardly smiling at the boy who shifted his gaze back and forth amongst them. 

“Ah! You’re the twins everyone’s talking about! You both do look incredibly the same. It’s uncanny,” He said, immediately covering his mouth right after. “Oh dear, I’m so sorry! Was that offensive?” 

“Nah. You’re good,” Blitzø said, waving his hand. “We know we look alike so it ain’t offensive.”

The fact that they looked so much like each other was something they knew and something they’ve had to live with for a long time. It actually surprised him that it took this long for someone to point it out. Usually, it was the first thing people would say whenever they saw them. They had the same black hair, brown eyes, button nose, sharp jawline, tooth gap—hell, even their height was the same! They were like the same person, except that one was a boy and one was a girl. 

“I thought it was offensive!” Anthony exclaimed. “That's why I never brought it up!” 

Barbie snorted. “Why would it be offensive? It’s not like you’re insulting us. You’re just pointing out the obvious.” 

“Maybe they think we’re ugly, Barbs,” Blitzø joked, raising his eyebrow. “And that’s why they feel it’s offensive.” 

Anthony immediately panicked, making jazz hands as he tried to explain himself. “No, no! I don’t think you’re ugly!” 

“Nah, our feelings are already hurt. No take backsies.” Blitzø teased, turning away from Anthony with his arms over his chest. 

“Aw, c’mon!” Anthony whined. “I never said anything about you being ugly!” 

“I think that’s exactly what you said.” Barbie said, which made Pentious titter. 

“You guys are so funny,” He remarked. “I like you guys already.” 

While Barbie and Anthony bickered, Blitzø started up a conversation with Pentious. “You said people talk about us?” 

“Oh, yeah!” Pentious replied, nodding. “Everyone likes you guys! Some are even saying that you guys are probably the most competent in our year! Barbie in academics and you in flying! Everyone’s so impressed because you both grew up in the muggle world but you’re somehow doing way better than the rest of us who grew up around magic.” 

“Everyone but Vox and Valentino, that is,” Anthony said, rolling his eyes. “Those two alongside their little Slytherin minions have been nothing but complete pain in the asses. I had to hex Val one time for talking rubbish about Barbie cheating in tests.” 

“I never cheat!” Barbie exclaimed, shocked that someone accused her of such a thing. 

“We know, Barbs. Don’t worry,” Blitzø said, comforting his sister. “What else did they say?” 

“They called you a try-hard and that you probably won’t make it into the Quidditch team next year,” Anthony revealed. “But I hope you don’t take what they say to heart, Blitzø. You’re a really good flier and I just know you’ll make it into the team!” 

Blitzø rolled his eyes. “I’ve heard worse insults from my own father. They can suck on my Firebolt. Thank you again, Anthony.”

Anthony laughed at this. 

“By the way,” Pentious said after downing his orange juice as if it were whiskey. “Have you heard about what happened to the Goetia?” 

This caught Blitzø’s attention. Stolas was the only Goetia who was currently at Hogwarts’. 

Anthony eyed Blitzø before responding. “No. What happened?” 

“His father came here last night!” Pentious whisper-yelled, gesturing for them to huddle closer. “I saw him in the common room earlier. He looked completely clobbered!” 

Blitzø furrowed his eyebrows. “What? Clobbered as in… beat up?” 

“Yeah! He got a bust up lip and a broken nose! There were bruises all over his entire face and he even limped a little,” Pentious explained. “I felt so bad for him. I tried to offer help, but he just turned his head away from me and told me to leave him be. He’s a Goetia through and through, he is. He often treats us like we’re below him.” 

Blitzø cocked his head to the side at this. Stolas never acted that way towards him or his friends. Why was he any different to his housemates? 

“There’s always going to be a little bit of Slytherin in all of us because we were raised that way,” Anthony said with a sigh. “I find myself being incredibly haughty sometimes. It’s a bad habit.” 

“We still love you.” Barbie reassured, which made Anthony smile. 

“Anywho, it’s terrible. He hasn’t left his room since last night and his roommates refuse to talk about it.” 

“Bless ‘em,” Anthony said. “They’re kind enough to respect his space.” 

“Or they just don’t want to be involved,” Pentious interjected. “Either way, I feel bad for him. He’s just a kid like the rest of us but the burden he carries is really heavy and-” 

Anthony cut Pentious off with a nudge when he saw Stolas enter the Great Hall. Blitzø had never seen someone that beat up since his mother’s funeral when his father kicked the living shit out of her lover. 

Stolas’s porcelain skin was, indeed, littered with cuts and bruises, with his left eyebrow split into half. His nose was broken and wasn’t even snapped back to its proper position and his lower lip had a huge wound. He limped to the table and sat down beside a small brunette who looked at him mournfully as he scooped up some food for him before piling it onto his plate. Stolas nodded gratefully at the said brunette. 

“Well, that’s worse than I expected,” Anthony remarked, looking rather sullen. “Aren’t you going to check on him, Blitzø?” 

Blitzø shifted uncomfortably in his seat and Barbie kicked Anthony underneath the table. “Ow! What was that for, Barbie?!” 

Barbie simply shook her head at him as Blitzø began poking around at his plate. He suddenly lost his appetite. How could he eat when he badly wanted to check on Stolas but couldn’t? 

-

“Okay, you need to tell me what’s going on.” Anthony said after they entered their dorm room. Barbie retreated to her own room, saying that she wanted to get some cuddles in with her cat (which didn’t have a name yet).

Blitzø buried his face into the mattress. “Stooop.” 

“No, Blitzø,” Anthony said, tugging at his friend’s leg. “You’re clearly distressed and the whole Stolas ordeal has been bothering you, so you need to talk about it. Like right now.” 

“I don’t owe you anything.” Blitzø mumbled into the mattress. He was feeling surprisingly calm. Usually, he’d be riled up at this point. 

He heard Anthony sigh before the space by his head dipped. “I know you don’t. And it’s good that you know that you don’t. But I want you to talk about this because it’s clear you need it. You don’t even have to talk to me about it. You have Barbie if it’s too awkward to talk to me about it.” 

Blitzø raised his head up and saw Anthony looking down at him with a worried smile on his face. He sighed and flipped himself over so that he was facing the ceiling. “I just… it’s hard to talk when holding it in is all you’ve known.” 

“You don’t have to hold anything in with me,” Anthony encouraged. “I’m never going to judge you. We’re friends, aren’t we?” 

Blitzø nodded. “Yeah.” 

“And friends are supposed to be there for each other. Let other people love you the way you love them, Blitzø.”

He blinked up at his friend. That was pretty mature coming from an eleven-year old. Anthony simply nudged him with his pointer finger. 

“Okay,” Blitzø said, sighing as he sat up. “I’ll tell you.” 

Anthony clapped his hands happily and adjusted his position so he was leaning against the headboard of the bed, making Blitzø chuckle and roll his eyes. 

“Remember when we had that fight?” He asked.

“The two of you or the two of us?” Anthony asked.

“The two of us,” Blitzø replied and Anthony nodded. “Yeah, well, before we did, he and I fought as well.” 

“Really?!” Anthony exclaimed. “For the same reason?” 

Blitzø nodded. “Yeah. But he was less gracious about it than you were.” 

“Oh, Blitzø,” Anthony said with a frown. “After losing him, you lost me for a moment, too. And a part of Fizz and Moxxie as well. I’m so sorr-” 

“Don’t pity me,” Blitzø said, raising a hand at Anthony as a way of signalling him to stop. “There’s nothing about me to be pitied.” 

Anthony pressed his lips into a thin line and nodded, signalling for Blitzø to continue. “He was trying to get me off the broom because he said it was dangerous and I told him I didn’t want to. After that, he tried to ask me what was wrong and I just sorta… blew up on him.” 

“What did you say to him?” Anthony said, looking like he was getting war flashbacks from the time Blitzø blew up on him. 

Blitzø winced, recalling everything he had said. It still made him want to gut himself alive because what the hell? Why did he say that? 

“I… I told him that he’s trying to be nice to stay relevant because his family hates him.” Blitzø said, squeezing his eyes shut.

Anthony gasped and covered his mouth. “You told him what?!” 

“God, I know,” Blitzø exclaimed, covering his face with his hands as he groaned. “I fucked up really bad.” 

“ So bad,” Anthony said in disbelief. “Now I’m just thankful that you told me to wallow in my own shit and called me an asshole because that’s actually less offensive.” 

“I’m still really sorry about that.” Blitzø said, turning his head to look at his friend. 

Anthony smiled. “We’ve talked about that already. No need to bring it up anymore. I’ve forgiven you and you’ve forgiven me.” 

Blitzø nodded. “So, yeah. We didn’t speak to each other after that and that was like two months ago.” 

“Gosh,” Anthony exclaimed. “I know I told you to stay away from him but I didn’t think you’d actually do it.” 

Blitzø laughed, gently smacking Anthony on the arm. “Quit taking credit for my tomfoolery.” 

“Tom- oh my Merlin,” Anthony breathed out as he giggled uncontrollably. “You’re such an idiot, Blitzø.” 

“Yeah. I lost one friend and almost lost another because I’m an idiot,” He said, making Anthony look at him with sympathy. “I wish I wasn’t this way.” 

“It’ll take some time to be better, Blitzø,” Anthony said. “Maybe you’ll never even fully get over what’s bothering you. But you have to know that trying to be better is already worth so much.” 

Blitzø smiled. “Yeah?” 

“Yeah.” Anthony replied, smiling back. 

“Do you think I should let him know that? That I’m trying to be better?” Blitzø asked. “I mean… our bond never got to the point where it became strong enough for me to… really care if you know what I mean. But I still hurt him. And I feel like he deserves at least that.” 

Anthony nodded in approval. “And an apology, too.” 

“An apology…” Blitzø parroted. 

“An apology.” Anthony said, patting Blitzø’s shoulder. 

Chapter Text

December 26, 2019

Blitzø found that coming up with the proper apology was hard. He didn’t want to seem stand-offish or to make Stolas think that he was arrogant, but Blitzø always sounded mad when he talked and it wasn’t helping him out. 

He tried practicing on Anthony, but he did it so many times that Anthony swore up and down that his ears would start bleeding if he didn’t stop. He then tried it on Barbie, but after the tenth attempt, even her cat—who she named Newt after Newt Scamander, author of the book Blitzø got her—didn’t look impressed. He sighed, pacing around the room as he spoke under his breath. 

“If you don’t do this somewhere else, I will throw you out myself! It’s two in the freaking morning, Blitzø!” Anthony yelled, throwing a pillow at him. 

So, he ended up in the common room instead. He tried writing a letter, but later found out that Barbie had everything he didn’t because he was fully convinced that he was somehow illiterate after failing to write a simple letter. He wasn’t failing school, sure, but he might as well be. 

Seeing that this was going nowhere, he decided to just go back to bed. Maybe some sleep would do him good.

-

It did not do him good. Why? Because he couldn’t sleep!

He had to drag himself to the Great Hall for breakfast because Anthony couldn’t. At least food helped him recover some of his lost energy. He still felt horrible, though, and wanted to throw up. On top of this, he still didn’t know how to approach Stolas or what to say to him. 

He knew he had to apologize, but how would he do that? He made a mistake and he wanted  Stolas to know he was sorry, but did Stolas even care in the first place? Did Stolas even want an apology? 

Why was this so hard? 

Since he didn’t really feel sleepy—just incredibly tired, if that made sense—he decided to spend time in the Transfiguration courtyard instead. Anthony was with Cherri who had just come back early from home and Barbie was busy making Eliza and Newt become friends, so he was basically left alone to do his own bidding. He contemplated going up to the owl tower to check on his owl, but it was too far away and there were too many steps to climb and he wasn’t physically okay at that very moment to do that. 

Lying on the courtyard as the sun hit his face was the better option. Although a few students did already return from celebrating Christmas with their families, there weren’t enough to fill the halls yet and he had the space all to himself. It was peaceful, he loved the feeling of just using the snow as a mattress despite the cold, and he could just wind down for a moment. 

It was perfect until he heard the crunching of snow, indicating that someone was walking into the courtyard. They probably hadn’t spotted him yet considering that the snow was still thick and he borrowed Anthony’s white coat to wear, so he stayed still. He didn’t want to be seen laying on the snow like that; it was weird. And awkward. 

The footsteps got closer and closer, but he had a hood on which meant his peripheral vision was blocked and he couldn’t exactly turn his head to check. 

“Oh, my stars!” 

He whipped his head upwards to see none other than Stolas. His face looked worse up close, but it was definitely healing better. He was happy to see that he did something about his misaligned nose, at least. 

“Blitzø?!” Stolas exclaimed, looking down at the boy who laid on the floor with a shy smile. “I almost stepped on you! Merlin, you scared me to death!” 

“Sorry,” Blitzø said, sitting up. “Laying on the snow feels comfortable.” 

“I could imagine,” Stolas replied curtly. “I shall take my leave, then, seeing as this area is taken.”  

Just when Stolas was about to turn around, Blitzø called out to him. “Stolas, wait.” 

The taller raised his eyebrows at him, urging him to talk. Here goes nothing. 

“I… I’m sorry,” Blitzø breathed out. “I don’t know what came over me. I just… I didn’t mean what I said. I didn’t think that you were being nice to me to stay relevant. I still don’t think that. I was just really upset and I wanted you to go away. I’m sorry.” 

Stolas sighed. “I know, Blitzø. And I’m sorry, too.” 

“Sorry for what?” Blitzø asked, eyes glistening from the cold air as he looked up at Stolas. 

“I’m sorry for not considering that you were going through a tough time. I just didn’t know how to approach you after that, but I did mean to apologize. I truly am sorry.” 

Blitzø furrowed his eyebrows. They both had the same problem, then. Stolas didn’t know how to apologize, either. 

“I… yeah. I’m sorry,” Blitzø said sheepishly. “And… uh… apology accepted.”

Stolas smiled. “May I join you?” 

Blitzø nodded and Stolas took a seat beside him. They sat in silence for a while. It was comfortable—cozy. Blitzø didn’t even think to ask Stolas what had happened because he knew that Stolas would talk about it at his own time. That’s just how Stolas was; he moved at his own pace. Unlike Blitzø, who moved at the pace of others. He wished he was like Stolas. 

“Can you come with me to the Ravenclaw common room later?” Stolas asked, breaking the silence. 

Blitzø blinked at him, confused, but he nodded. “Okay. We can go now if you want.” 

“We can do that.” 

This was how Blitzø ended up waiting by the door of the Ravenclaw common room. He watched Stolas solve a riddle before entering and he found it so school. The riddle made him scratch his head in confusion, but Stolas only thought about it for a second before blurting out the answer. How in the world was ‘I have branches, but no fruit, trunk or leaves. What am I?’ a bank?! 

After about five minutes, Stolas emerged with a wrapped box in his hands. He then held it out in front of Blitzø with a shy smile. 

“I got you something for Christmas.” 

Blitzø was flabbergasted, but he accepted the gift. “I didn’t get you anything!” 

“I didn’t expect you to,” Stolas said, chuckling. “Go on, then, Open it.” 

He tore through the wrapping paper quickly, revealing a box containing moving figurines of a few famous Quidditch players from national teams. 

“Woah!” Blitzø exclaimed as he watched the toys move inside the box. “This is so cool! Thank you, Stolas!” 

Stolas smiled. “I’m glad that it is to your liking.”

“I love this!” Blitzø exclaimed. “I’m sorry I didn’t get you anything.”

“It is fine, Blitzø. I’m just happy we’re okay now.” 

Blitzø looked up at him and smiled back. “I really appreciate this, Stolas. Thank you.” 

“Of course,” Stolas said, nodding. “Anthony and Fizz will definitely be jealous.” 

Blitzø laughed, examining the box. “Oh, there’s a figure of someone from the Irish team! That’s Fizz’s favorite!” 

“Rub it in his face, then.” Stolas encouraged, making Blitzø laugh even more. 

-

December 27, 2019

“Glad to see you two aren’t cross with each other anymore.” Anthony said, eyeing both Blitzø and Stolas who were reading Quidditch Through the Ages together. 

“Oh, please,” Blitzø said. “You didn’t even know that we weren’t okay until I told you so.” 

Anthony stuck his tongue out at Blitzø. “Whatever. It’s nice to see you make new friends.”

“Like you didn’t tell me to stay away from him.” Blitzø quipped, making Anthony squeak with embarrassment. 

“W-what?” Stolas asked, blinking up at Anthony. 

“Gotta run! Bye!” He exclaimed, running towards Barbie who was chasing Newt around. 

They decided to all huddle up in the Gryffindor common room since they didn’t really have a place to lounge around. Stolas told Blitzø that he couldn’t really offer up the Ravenclaw common room, either, because he wasn’t confident enough to do so. Plus, the majority of them were Gryffindors, anyway. 

The both of them were on the sofa in front of the fireplace, each wrapped in individual blankets as they read through the book. 

“So, the game won’t end unless the snitch is caught?” Blitzø asked and Stolas nodded. 

“Yes.” Stolas said, nodding.

Blitzø furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “What’s the point of all the other balls, then?!” 

“To gain more points so that even if the other team catches the snitch, they can still win,” Stolas explained. “That’s why I wanted to be a chaser: so that I can earn enough points to secure victory.” 

“I think I want to be a keeper,” Blitzø said. “No, wait, I think being a beater is better.” 

“Don’t you want to be a seeker?” Stolas asked. “You’re nimble. It would work great with flying around fast enough to catch the snitch.” 

Blitzø thought about it. “I dunno. Too much pressure.” 

Stolas laughed. “Okay, fair enough. I feel like you’d be a great seeker, though.” 

“Aren’t you going to join the Ravenclaw team?” Blitzø asked, hopeful that Stolas would say yes. 

“Yes. I will.” Stolas said, nodding. 

Blitzø cheered. “That’s awesome! Finally growing a backbone?” 

“Of course. I didn’t get beat up for nothing,” Stolas joked, earning a curious look from Blitzø. “I guess I should talk about it, huh?” 

Blitzø nodded. “Only if you want to.” 

“Ah, the inevitable,” Stolas said, shifting his position so that he’d face Blitzø better. “I was supposed to come home for winter break so that father and I could discuss my future as a Ravenclaw.” 

“And?” 

“I did not go home, obviously. He sent me several angry howlers, but I chose to ignore all of them. I did not want to go back home because I knew that he would only berate me during my stay. We would not be able to come to a conclusion because no matter what, I am still a Ravenclaw and it has been settled. I cannot change anything about that and neither can father.” 

Blitzø hummed. “Can’t you talk to the sorting hat about it?” 

“Well, as evidenced by Anthony still being in Gryffindor despite his father’s wrath, I cannot.” 

“Damn,” Blitzø breathed out. “So, why did he beat you up?” 

“He came to the school on Christmas Eve, trying to drag me back home. I told him I wouldn’t come and he beat me up,” Stolas said, sighing. “He did quite the number on me. My left side is in immense pain.” 

“Why not go to the hospital wing, then?” Blitzø asked. 

“Madame Pomfrey will ask what had happened and I wish not to tattle on my own father. He might actually take my life if I were to do so.” Stolas replied. 

Blitzø sighed. “That sucks. I’m sorry, Stols.” 

“Don’t be,” Stolas said, resting his temple on the sofa’s headrest. “It is not your fault my father is the way he is. This is simply but a cruel twist of fate.” 

“Well, at least you get a lot of time away from him while you’re here.” Blitzø said with a smile. 

“Yes, that is one of the upsides of Hogwarts’,” Stolas agreed. “That and the endless amount of books I am able to read. As well as Quidditch which I won’t be giving up anytime soon.” 

Blitzø snorted. “I better see you on the pitch next season.” 

“Of course you will,” Stolas said with a grin “Though, the Inter-house Cup has been rather delayed. It’s set to start this January instead of the usual November.” 

“It’s supposed to be in November?” Blitzø asked, to which Stolas nodded. 

“It says so riiiight,” Stolas said, flipping through the pages of the book on Blitzø’s lap. “Here.”

Blitzø skimmed through the page. “Huh. Well, what do ya know? I wonder why.” 

“Probably because Slytherin had to hold try-outs in October,” Anthony said. “They were missing a chaser.” 

Stolas buried his face in his hands. “They were expecting me that badly?! Why wasn’t I aware of that?” 

“The team captain asked everyone not to tell you. But because I’m a snitch, I’m telling you.” Anthony said with a toothy grin. 

“You could’ve at least told me.” Blitzø said. 

“Nah. You would have told him.” Anthony replied cheekily. 

Stolas turned to Blitzø. “Would you have told me?” 

“Hell yeah.” Blitzø said with a smile. 

Chapter Text

January 2, 2020

Fizz and Moxxie had finally come back for the next term and everything felt complete. The break somehow brought Blitzø’s heart closer to them and Anthony and Barbie seemed to have felt the same way. 

“I have gifts for you guys!” Fizz exclaimed, digging through his trunk as soon as they made it to their dorm. Barbie had gone up with them as well. 

“Me too!” Moxxie said excitedly as he began searching in his own trunk. 

And that’s how Blitzø ended up with new brown fingerless Quidditch gloves from Fizz and an oversized red sweater from Moxxie. Barbie got her own gifts (a new set of quills from FIzz and a copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard from Moxxie) from the pair which she clearly hadn’t expected because she simply sat there in shock, staring at the items on her lap. Anthony, of course, prepared lavish gifts for his two friends who’d shamefully given them their own gifts to him—which Anthony couldn’t quite comprehend, stating that he was so happy to have even received anything. 

Afterwards, the four of them tumbled to the Great Hall in a hurry to have lunch as Barbie trailed behind them while shaking her head because it was only twelve o’clock and lunch was until one. Anthony waved Stolas over from the Ravenclaw table and the taller complied, joining them for lunch at the Gryffindor table, much to Moxxie and Fizz’s confusion. 

“He and Blitzø are friends again,” Barbie explained. “He’s been hanging out with us since after Christmas.” 

They then proceeded to accept that this was normal now and Blitzø was grateful for that. After lunch, Stolas excused himself so he could go see Asmodeus and Vassago who’d just come back from their homes as well. 

“I can’t believe you got Blitzø a Firebolt!” Fizz exclaimed. “A bloody Firebolt! That’s wicked!” 

“Oh, enough with you,” Anthony said, smiling. “You’ve got your own Comet 290.”

Fizz made a face of disbelief. “Not nearly as good as the Firebolt, mate!” 

Blitzø hummed as he listened to his friends talk. He was pretty excited about Quidditch tryouts which were scheduled all the way in June. They had a lot of time to practice and Fizz had hauled his own broomstick from home to do just that. 

“Will you be trying out for the Quidditch team, Anthony?” Moxxie asked. 

“Nah,” Anthony replied, much to Blitzø and Fizz’s shock. “Next year, maybe.” 

“Why delay it?” Blitzø asked. 

“Just don’t feel like it right now. Maybe next year, I will.” 

Anthony was always so hard to figure out, but Blitzø didn’t pry. He probably had his own reasons. 

-

January 10, 2020

Classes had officially begun in Hogwarts’ a week ago and not even Barbie was thrilled. They’d been so accustomed to their two weeks of freedom that getting back to regular classes felt like a chore. Still, Blitzø, Fizz, and Anthony made time to sneak in a bit of flying as much as they could. It was better to start early, Anthony said, which Blitzø couldn’t get for the life of him because Anthony wasn’t even trying out and was just there to help them train. 

“Ugh. How many more classes until this day ends?” Moxxie groaned, textbooks wrapped in his arms as they trudged to their next class.

“That was just the first period,” Barbie said, wrinkling her nose in annoyance. “We’ve got… a lot more periods to go.” 

“I can’t do this anymore!” Anthony exclaimed, stomping his foot, which caused half the hallway to stop walking to look at him for about a second before getting back to waking again.. “We’ve got to take a stand. 

“Are you thick? We have to learn this if we want to be normal members of society,” Fizz quipped. “No matter how much we hate it.” 

This made Anthony whine in annoyance. “I don’t care! This is gobshite!” 

Blitzø burst out laughing at this. “You British people come up with the most funny-sounding curses.” 

“Much better than you Americans who are limited to just three curse words and rotate around variants of the three,” Anthony replied. “Fuck, shit, arse, fuckwad, bullshit, arsehole, fucker, shitstain, arsehat, so on.” 

At this point, even Barbie was giggling at Anthony’s ridiculousness. He’d come up with about twenty American curse words when they’d gotten to class and were in a chirpier mood because of this. They powered through the rest of their lesson swiftly, leading all the way to Charms which they had with the Slytherins. 

Blitzø was digging through his messenger bag when he’d realized that he left his homework in the dorms. They had about ten minutes before class started.

“Aw man,” He said with a frustrated sigh. “I left my homework back upstairs.” 

Anthony grimaced. “Tough luck. How’re you gonna get to class in time?” 

“I’ll just accio it from the bottom of the tower,” Blitzø said. “Cover for me if ever?” 

“We got it, mate.” Moxxie assured. 

And so Blitzø ran as quickly as he could back to Gryffindor tower, accio-ed his homework from the common room, and sped back to the charms classroom in about seven minutes tops. He was just about to make the turn to get to the room when all of a sudden, he collided with someone’s chest. This made Blitzø tumble backwards, landing on his butt as he did so. 

“Watch it!” The person exclaimed angrily. 

“Oh, I am so sorry!” Blitzø apologized, quickly standing up to meet the person’s eyes.

His panicked expression immediately dissolved when he saw who had bumped into. Valentino Samaniego. He’d heard from Pentious that he and Vox have been talking shit about him and Barbie these past few months and just the thought of that made his head ache.

“Why, if it isn’t the incompetent one of the twins,” Valentino taunted, a wicked smile on his face as he did so. It made Blitzø want to hit him. “What’s your name again? I don’t think it’s special enough for me to remember.” 

Blitzø scoffed at this. “Is it? Or are you just too stupid to retain any information?”

Sneering, Valentino inched towards him with his chin held high. He was tall for his age, much like Stolas, and was very lanky. He had dark skin, unruly brown hair with tight curls held together by a hair tie, and brown eyes. For an eleven year old, his features were definitely very sharp. “Did you just call me stupid, pendejo?” 

“Oh, you didn’t catch that? That just proves my point, then.” Blitzø taunted with a tight smile.

To his surprise, Valentino chuckled at him. He raised an eyebrow at the taller as if daring him to strike. 

“Stupid? When you exist? Oh, dear Buckzo, you sure do know how to crack a good joke,” Valentino said, his tone arrogant and borderline annoying (okay, maybe not borderline but really annoying). “I’m not the one stupid enough to befriend not just one, but two disgraces to their respective bloodlines.” 

Anthony and Stolas. Blitzø’s blood was already reaching boiling point. One more word out of Valentino and he knew he wouldn’t be able to hold himself back. Valentino could insult him all he wanted but his friends were where he drew the line. “What do they have to do with this? Do you have nothing on me so you choose to shit on my friends instead?” 

“Oh, on the contrary, Buckzo, your friends make you who you are. Therefore, in insulting them, I am insulting you in extension.” Valentino mused, a smug smile still on his face. 

“Golly, I’m shaking in my boots,” Blitzø quipped, voice dripping with sarcasm. The bell then rang, signalling that it was time for class. “Why don’t you stop this bullshit so we can get to class, Samaniego? Or do you want to become even more stupid by skipping?” 

“No one’s as stupid as someone who was raised by muggles. You’re not even excelling in anything other than flying unlike your sister. Are you the runt of the pair, then? You’re just as good as any mudblood out there,” Valentino said with a smirk. “But then again, your sister is your twin. So, in a sense, she’s kind of a mudblood, too.”

What happened next was quick and Blitzø didn’t even register what he was doing until it was too late. He had hexed Valentino so that his teeth would be elongated, making the other yelp in panic. He began to yell but was unable to speak coherently because of the overcrowding in his mouth. 

“What is going on here?!”

Great. A Ravenclaw prefect had caught them in the halls and Blitzø was sure he was done for.

“Ten points will be taken off Gryffindor and I’ll make sure you get detention for this! No hexing anyone!” She exclaimed, ushering Valentino to the hospital wing. 

Blitzø stood in the middle of the hall in shock because what just happened? 

-

“You hexed Valentino?!” Anthony exclaimed, making Blitzø shush him in a panic. 

They were hanging out by the kitchen because Blitzø couldn’t take the stares the Slytherins were throwing at them so they opted to have lunch there instead. They went down to the house elves and had asked for some food, to which they excitedly complied, seeing as they were happy to serve. Stolas wasn’t with them because he was at the Hufflepuff table with Vassago. 

“God, I know we’re the only ones here besides the house elves but can’t you keep your voice down?” Blitzø complained with a groan. “And yes, I did hex him.

“That’s bloody brilliant, mate!” Fizz said with a proud smile. “Why’d you hex him?” 

Blitzø cleared his throat and scratched his nape, feeling a bit shy. He didn’t know why, but the fact that he and Barbie were called… that felt embarrassing for some reason.

“I just… he was being mean to Anthony, Stolas, and Barbie. He said some nasty stuff.” He explained.

“Serves him right, then,” Barbie said smugly. “I hope his teeth never go back to normal.” 

“Yeah. Still got detention, though, which sucks for me.” He grumbled. 

Anthony beamed. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think that Blitzø would be the first of us to get detention. I am beyond proud!” 

“I always thought that Anthony would be the first.” Moxxie said. 

“I totally would have been if Blitzø wasn’t so eager.” 

“He called us it, didn’t he?” Barbie whispered, standing behind Blitzø. “He called us the slur.” 

With a small nod, Blitzø confirmed her suspicions and he felt her sigh behind him. 

“Even here, bigotry is present.”

Of course it was. They were surrounded by it. 

After eating, they proceeded to their classes. Blitzø’s detention was going to start that night and he was lucky enough to be tasked to simply clean a classroom which would carry on for three days. He’d heard from Anthony that some students were tasked to do horrific tasks like enter the forbidden forest or disembowel toads. 

He knew that he hated getting in trouble, but people like Valentino would never know their place if they weren’t taught it. What he did was simply a taste of what he could do if his buttons were pushed. He knew magic now and that somehow made him feel unstoppable. 

Gone were the days that the Buckzo twins were treated as vermin or pushovers. He’d make sure that no one would hurt him or Barbie ever again—he’d promised himself and he was going to see it through. Their father was no exception to this rule and the moment they get home for the summer, his father would no longer be an authoritative figure that would get to decide for them. It simply isn’t fair. 

If the world was going to be unfair, then Blitzø was going to make it fair.